IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) z i 1.0 I.I 1.25 ■^|2^ 12.5 ■50 ■■■ HlH ::i2.o 2.2 :!: 1^ U IIIIII.6 6" V] vl ^^'"%%- ^;. '^/ > /J "■^ '/ Photograpnic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. U580 (716) 873-4503 #.% > CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de niicroreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notat tachniquaa at bibliographiquaa Tha inatituta haa attamptad to obtain the baat original copy availabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibliographically unlqua, which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction, or which may aignificantly changa tha uaual mathod of filming, ara chackad balow. 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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthoda. errata I to t I pelure, on A n 32X : : "» / f 3 1 s : 3 4 5 6 Cm < ;5 CO OCEAX TO OCEAN -M*. fk. ^^^ ^^aubforb .^Ifiniiiq !i ^^x petition jMn.>L'«i! « /^ N ADA IN |ST^ ii\' T]IK KK\'. <.n':()KGK M GKANT «.K HALtKAX, V. 8. 1^1 N L V it U V: I ' A N I > f I E V X S E I > E I) T T 1 N rLLUSTR/.-i'EU TOR') NTT O? f^KLFOKH lUUiTKERS;, PUi5LlSHEI{ KH77. 4 4f^ ji*. y^' ^^ ^. \ %' l».u/>_.- w f^; "f». % Mi. .»»•.. ■« ' *• '■^ w OCEAN TO OCEAK ^ ■^♦►■ x 0. S^mhiaxh Fleming's €^Mlon THROUGH CANADA IN 1872. BY THE KEV. GEORGE M. GRANT, OF HALIFAX, N. S. ENLARGED AND REVISED EDITION. ILLUSTRATED. TORONTO I BELFORD BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS. 1877. ^^!te^:afg^. Eiiturt'd acfunliiig to Act of I'arliamcnt of Cuna^ia, in tlio Year 1877, by i!K«>l{(JK M. (;ilANT, In the Office of the Minister oi Affriciiltiire. n riUNTEn AND BTJSRKOTYrKI) HY TiiK Globe Pkintino Comi-asy, TORONTO. BOt'XD BY Hi'NTKR, Rusk & Co., TORONTO. i CONTENTS. I by Co., CHAin'ER I. Paoe rNTROI)lv.TOKY i 1? FROM HALIFAX, >OV°A SCOTIA, TO THUNDER DAY, LAKE SUPEUIOR, CHAPTER II. Halifax. — Jntcrcoloni.al Railway.— Moncton. — Miramichi.^ — Ecsti- pouchc— Matai»cilia. — Cacouna. —Lord DuflTerin. — Riviere du Loup. — Quebec. — Montreal. — Toronto. — CoUingwood. — A man overboard. — Owen Sound. — Steamer Francrs Smith. — Provok- ing delays. — Killarney. — Indians. — Pruce Mine.s. — Sault Ste. Marie. — Lake Superior. — Sunset. — Full Moon.— Harbour of (^largantua. — Tlio Botanist. — Michipic(*ten Island.— Ne]tigon Bay. — Grand Scenery. — Sunday on Board. —Silver Islet. — Prince Arthur's Landing 26 CHAPTER UI. FROM TIIUNUEU BAY TO FORT OARRY. Shebandowan Road.— ^Rich Vegetation. — Rivers Kamini8ti(|uia and Matawan. — Shebandowan Lake. — Luggage. — P^i^iigrants. — Canoe Train. — Irocjuois Indians. — Sir George Simpson's Guide. — Lake Kashabowie. — The Height of Land. — Lac dea Mille Lacs — Baril Portage and Lake.— First Night under Canvass. — Lake Windigostigwan. — Indian Encampment. — Chief Black- Bt(me's Wives. — The Medicine Man. — Lake Kaogassikok. — Shooting Maligne Rapids. — Lake Nequaquon. — Loon Portage. — Mud Portage. — American Portage. — Lake Nameukan.— Rainy Lake. — Fort Francis. — Rainy River. — Hungry Hall. — Slap-jacks. -Lake of the Woods. — The North- Wet Angle. — A Tough Night. — Oak Point. — First glimpse of the Prairies. — Flo- ral Treasures. — The Dawson Route. — Red River 41 CHAPTER IS^. PROVINCE OF MANITOBA. Extent. — Population. — Land Claims of Original Settlers. — Sale of Lots in Winnipeg. — Hud.son's Bay Company. — Clergymen of the Settlement. — Military Camp. — Archbishop Tache. — United States Consul. — Conflicting opinions respecting the Fertile Belt. — Our outfit for the Prairies, — Chief Commissioner Smith. — Hudson's Bay Company. — Lieut. -Governor Archibald. — De- parture from Silver Heights.^ White Horse Plains. — Rev. Mr. f IV, CONTENIH. McDougal. — Portage la Prairie. — The T^ast Settlor. — Climato, etc., of Miinitoltii, cnniitiiriMl with the ohU-r Provinces. — Sioux IndiacH in war I'uint. - (Jcnoral rcnmrkH on Manitoba. -Knii< S rants and the United States' Agents. — Treatment of the In- ians 73 CHAPTKIl V. FKOM MANITOn.\ TO' FOHT C.MlI/roN ON TIIK NOUTII HA.SKATCIIKWAN. Fine Fertile Country— Tliewatrrciuestion. Duck Shooting. — Salt Ijakes. — Camping on i\w Plains. — Fort Kllico. — Qu'Appelle v'^ al- ley. -" Souzie." The Uivor Assiniboine. The Buffalo. Cold Nights. -Hich Soil. - Lovely Country. — Little Touchwood Hills. — Cause of Prairie Fires. — A Day of Host. — Prairie Uplands. — Indian Family. -liulfalo SeuUs. — Desolate Tract. — Quill I^ake. — Salt Water. Hroken Prairie.- Round Hill. -Prairie Fire. — I^ich Black Soil.— Magnificent Panorama. — Break-neck Speed. — The South Saskatchewan. Sweethearts and Wives. — Fort Carlton. — Free Traders. — The Indians. — Crop Raising 108 CHAPTER VI. ALOXO THE NORTH SA.SKAT("HEWAN TO EDMONTON'. The Thickwood Hills.—TheSoil.— Slough of Despond.— Bears' Pad- dling Lake. — Indian Mis8i(ms Result. — Pemmican. — Jack-fish Lake. — The Crec. and Blaekfeet. — Change in Vegetation. — Re- semblance to Ontario. — The Red deer Hills. — Rich Uplands and Valleys.— Fort Pitt.— The Horse Guard.— Fresh BuflTalo M«3ftt.- -Partially Wooded C-ountry.- C^ec Guests. — Shaganap- pi. — Glorious View. — Our Longitude. — The Isothermal Lines. — Scalping Raids. — The Flora. — Victoria Mission. — Indian School. — Crops Raised. — A Lady Visitor. — Timber. — Horse Hill. — Edmonton. — Coal. — Wh ji f :\ \i i OCEAN TO OCEAN. THROUGH CANADA IN 1872. CHAPTER I. Introductory. Travel a thousand miles up the St. Lawrence ; another thou- sand on great lakes and a wilderness of lakelets and streams ; a thousand miles across prairies and up the valley of the Sas- katchewan ; and nearly a thousand through woods and over great ranges of mountains, and you have travelled from Ocean to Ocean through Canada. All this country is a single Colony of the British Empire ; and this Colony is dreaming magnificent dreams of a future when it shall be the Greater Britain, and the highway across which the fabrics and products of Asia shall be carried, to the Eastern as well as to the Western sides of the Atlantic. Mountains were once thought to be effectual barrriers against railways, but that day has gone by ; and, now that trains run between San Francisco and New York, over summits of eight thousand two hundred feet, why may they not run between Victoria and Halifax, over a height of three thou sand seven hundred feet 1 At any rate, a Canadian Pacific Railway has been undertaken by the Dominion ; and, as this book consists of notes made in connection with the survey, an introductory chapter may be given to a brief history of the pro- ject. For more than a quarter of a century before the Atlantic was connected by rail with the Pacific public attention had been frequently called, especially in the great cities of the United 18 OCEAN TO OCEAN. States, to the commercial advantage and the political necessity of such connection ; but it was not till 1853 that the Secretary of War was authorized by the President to employ topograph- ical engineers and others " to make explorations and surveys, and to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean." From that time the United States Government sent a succes- sion of well-equipped parties to explore the western half of the Continent. The reports and surveys of these expeditions fill thirteen large quarto volumes, richly embellished, stored with valuable information concerning the country, and honestly pointing out that, west of the Mississippi Valley, there were vast extents of desert or semi-desert, and other difficulties so formidable as to render the construction of a railroad well nigh impracticable. Her Majesty's Government aware of this re- sult, and aware, also, that there was a fertile belt of undefined size, in the same longitude as the Great American Desert, but north of the forty -ninth degree of latitude, organized an expe- dition, under Captain Palliser, in 1857, to explore the country between the west of Lake Superior and the Rocky Mountains; and also " to ascertain whether any practicable pass or passes, available for horses, existed across the Rockv Mountains with- in British Territory, and south of that known to exist between Mount Brown and Mount Hooker," known as the " Boat En- campment Pass." It was unfortunate that the limitation ex- pressed in this last clause, was imposed on Captain Palliser, for it prevented him from exploring to the north of Boat En- campment, and reporting upon the Yellow Head Pass, which has since been found so favourable for the Railway and may soon be used as the gateway through the mountains to British Columbia and the Pacific. The difficulties presented by passes further south, and by the Selkirk Mountains, led Palliser to express an opinion upon the passage across the Mountains as hasty and inaccurate as his opinior. about the possibility of con- olitical necessity at the Secretary iploy topograph- ms and surveys, aiical route for a Pacific Ocean." Lit sent a succes- tern half of the e expeditions fill bed, stored with f, and honestly ,lley, there were ler difficulties so ail road well nigh I ware of this re- belt of undefined •ican Desert, but .'ganized an expe- ilore the country .ock'<' Mountains: le pass or passes. Mountains with- L to exist between is the " Boat En- ihe limitation ex- Captain Palliser, lorth of Boat En- Head Pass, which Railway and may jntains to British •esented by passes IS, led Palliser to the Mountains as possibility of con- cc i/3 U H H >-) < { .l.j4i:.-4^^ I*/. ■ Ii«ii I , riij (■ /-..■, .Mi yadi. ;il i!i - ^^.'.wmitmm, iiit»*H>».^»> CO 03 ^ <: H H < en 'NTRODIJCTOIJV ''■t.on had ,„ade connection b tloon '' t '>" """ '"^ -"P^' -'" .British Columbia, withon ; 1 ':,'''^'''r-'''--n WaL i'e.T.to.y, l,e added :-... .so,, .„„ f ''™"S'' l^n'M States «- whole, would never leadn l ^ °" "' "'« -""■y. - foniVon. Canada, ac-o.,.;! ^ ^i- :,"- »'' ^-".nic: ' y ti-rongh British Teniton The ," ^•■'"''''■' "^^'"^ive- 'Of effecting s„ch an object '..„d L .■ ' '''"•''^^'' «""« ^y »»t.-ono„,ical bonndaiv 1 no h-, , ""'"'""'"to choice of an 7-' al.'0 almost deban-ed hi f"" ^'""'^^ "' "'" «««» «.« Pacific Coast on the wes' ' t""^ T ^''""'"^ "-^ss (ron y opinion, is thelW.e«, J , ^^'''"^^^-^'-tothissweo,.. K--!way exploratory .„„C ' ?" ""^ ^'"""^'i-" Pacific ";ons, in Ottawa, in^h sIloflTzf'' '" t'", «""^<^ "^ «<>- of the Yellow Head Pass o" e ';. oT, ' "'""•™"'"°"- '"Cfic are shown; and as com , lie '" "W'~<^'' *» the l«rt is to bo found in subseou 't " ""'""''' *° *'"' ««»"<" ' ' W>tain Palliser's oxplorat Ire'tl^"'" '"" J°"'™'^ "^ )-.., from ,857 to ,860, we f "i""' "^ P^™" ^^ ^o„r Maj-ty's Oovemment in a arle bC . '" T'""" ^-^ ^^-^ f of all similar literature The ! ' "'^"■'' ^'""•«'' '^e i.an half a dozen copies in the Do "":• '"■""""''^' "<" '"o- %.slative Library at Ottawa 3 tL V""- ^ ™''^ "' «'« ' ' "•"t-- They deserved a better Lef t' "'" '"°"" '» "he •^orts of his associates. Lie. t Ln Bn T """""^"^ ''"^ ">« iiourgean and Mr. S„l ;,,„ ^TJf^'''^"' ^- Hector, M. Z -t.ng fiiots about the soil, f/e Tor? b 7'* ""'"' '""^ ■•"'-- the plains and the n.o„;ta^Is m I """' "'" "'« «"">«'« '»' f «- expedition. On M, s .f"''""" ""^ "^ ''"'an- "-•--''»-~-c:;s:;;;j;,;4-- 90 OCEAN TO OCEAN, i- I had the charge of making the nia[)s, both geographical and geo- logical ; and, whenever a side journey promised any result, no matter how arduous or dangerous it might be. Dr. Hector was always readv. His name is still revered in our North- west, on account of l.is medical skill and his kindness to the Indians, and most astonishing tales are still told of his trav- elling feats in mid-winter among the mountains. After i)rinting Captain Palliser's journal, Her Majesty's Grovernment took no step to connect the East of British Am- erica with the (/cntre and the West, or to open u[) the North- west to emigratioii, although it had been clearly established that we had a country there, extendiniMHct. Kiill Mikui, llarhoiircif (iiirn:iiiiliiii. Tlio lll'itiui- int. — .Miclii|)iri>toii ImIiuuI. Nc|ii>^urboc and Ontario ; and the Canadian racific ivailway is to connect tho latter with Manitoba and Uritish Colinubia, as well aH with the varions unborn Provinces which, in tho rajiid [)rogrcss of ovents. shall spring uj) in tho intervening region. I hit th(! work of actual railway construction is an old story ; and, if told at all, must be served uj) at some other time in soukj other way. It has now been told by Sandford Fleming, tho Kngine(!r-in chief, in an interesting ami well written volume, *' Tlu^ Intercolonial ; a Historical Sketch of tho fnception, I i hurri- hiskey, trans- led uj), West t high? seamed lone of ugli to as the \ I a t HALIFAX TO THUNDER BAY 29 o H y. H Q We reached Collingwood at midday, and were informed that the steamer Frances Smith would start for Fort William, at two P.M. Great was the bustle, accordingly, in getting the baggage on board. In the hurry, the gangway was shoved out of its place, and when one of the porters rushed on it with a box, down it tilted, pitching him head first into the water be- tween the pier and the steamer. We heard the splash, and ran, with half a dozen others, just in time to see his boots kicking frantically as they disappeared. " Oh it's that fool S ," laughed a bystander, "this is the second time he's tumbled in." " He can't swim," yelled two or three, clutching at ropes that were tied, trunks and other impossible life-preservers. In the meantime >S rose, but, in rising, struck his head against a heavy float that almost filled the narrow space, and at once sank again, like a stone. He would have been drowned within six feet of the wharf, but for a tall, strong fellow, who rushed through the crowd, jumped, in, and caught him as he rose a second time. S , like the fool he was said to be, returned the kindness by half throttling his would-be deliverer ; but other bystanders, springing on the float, got the two out. The rescuer swung lightly on to the wharf, shook himself as if he had been a Newfoundland dog, and walked off; nobody seemed to notice him or to think that he deserved a word of praise. On inquiring, we learned that he was a fisherman by name Alick Clark, on his way to the Upper Lakes, who, last summer also had jumped from the steamer's deck into Lake Superior, to save a child that had fallen overboard. Knowing that (Janada had no Humane Society's medal to bestow, one of our party ran to thank him and quietly to offer a slight gratuity; but the plucky fellow refused to take anything, on the plea that he was a good swimmer and that his clothes hadn't been hurt. At two o'clock, it being officially announced that the steamer would not start until six, we strolled up to the town to buy suits of duck, which were said to bo the only sure defence \i 30 OCEAN TO OCEAN. ll.W I I I against mosquitoes of portentous size and power beyond Fort William. Meeting the Eector or Rural Dean, our Chief, learn- ing that he was to be a fellow-passenger, introduced the Doctor to him. The Doctor has not usually a positively funereal aspect, but the Hector assumed that he was the clergyman of the party and a D.D., and cottoned to him at once. When we returned to the steamer, and gathered round the tea table the Rector nodded signiticantly in his direction : he, in dumb show, de- clined the honor ; the Rector pantomimed again, and with more decision of manner ; the Doctor blushed furiously, and looked so very much as if an " aith would relieve him," that the Chief, in compassion, passed round the cold beef without a grace. We were very angry with him, as the wJiole party doubtless suffer- ed in the Rector's estimation through his lack of resources. The Doctor, however, was sensitive on the subject and threaten- ed the secretary with a deprivation of sundry medical comforts, if he did not in future attend to his own work. At six o'clock it was officially announced that the steamer would not start till midnight. July 17th. — The Frances Smith left CoUingwood at 5.30 A.M. " We're all right now," exclaimed Hugh, and so the passengers thought, but they counted without their host. We steamed slowly round the Peninsula to Owen Sound, reaching it about eleven o'clock. Leith, a port six miles from Owen Sound, was reached at 6.30, and we walked round the beach and had a swim, while two or three men set to work leisurely to carry on board a few sticks of wood from eight or ten cords piled on the wharf. Half a dozen of the passengers volunteered help, and the Royal Mail steamer got off tAvo hours after midnight. An inauspicious beginning to our journey. Aided all the way by steam, we were not much more than one hundred miles in a direct line ft-om Toronto, forty-four hours after starting. At this rate, when would we reach the R ocky Mountains 'I To -' : » n HALIFAX TO THUNDER BAY. 31 nd Fort f, leiirn- Doctor aspect, le party oturiied Rector low, de- ith more looked e Chief, ;e. We IS sufFer- 3S0urces. lireateii- oniforts, steamer at 5.30 so the We caching at 6.30, two or 7 sticks Half a 1 Mail all the 1 miles arting. '? To i make matters worse, the subordinatos seemed also to have learned the trick of how not to do it. Seemingly the Frances Smith wanted a liead, and, as the Scotch old maid lamented, " its an unco' thing to gang through the warld withcot a heid." June I8t^'. — To-day, our course was northerly through the Georgian Bay towards the Great Manitoulin Island. This is- land and some smaller ones strc tching in an almost continuous line westward, in the direction of Lake Superior, form in con- nection with the Saugeen Peninsula, the barrier of land that separates the Georgian Bay from the mighty Tiake Huron. These two great inland waters were one, long ago, when the earth was younger, but the waters subsided, or Peninsula and Islands rose, and the one sea became two. Successive terraces on both sides of Owen Sound and on the different islands showed the old lake beaches, each now fringed with a firmer, darker escarpment than the stony or sandy fiats beneath, and marked the different levels to which the waters had gradually subsided. The day passed pleasantly, for, as progress was being made in the right direction, all the passengers willingly enjoyed themselves, while on the two })revious days they had only en- joyed the Briton's privilege of grumbling. Crossing the calm breadth of the bay, past Lonely Island, we soon entered the Strait that extends for fifty miles between the Xorth shore and Manitoulin. The contrast between the soft, rounded outlines of the lower Silurian of Manitoulin, and rugged Laurentian hills with their contorted sides and scarred foreheads on the mainland opposite, was striking enough to justify the declara- tion of a romantic fellow-j^assenger, *' Why, there's quite a scenery here !" The entrance to the Strait has been called Killarney, according to our custom of discarding musical ex- pressive Indian names for ridiculously inappropriate European ones. Killarney is a little Indian settlement, with one or two Irish families to whom the place appears to owe very little more than its name. 0\\ the wharf is an uushingled shanty or 32 OCEAN TO OCKAN, the store, the entrepot for dry goods, hardware, groceries, Indian work and everything else that the heart of man in Killarney can desire. The Indians i>ossessed, until lately, the whole of the Island of Manitoulin as well as the adjoining Peninsula ; but, at a grand poiv wow held with their chiefs by Sir Edmund Head while he was Governor of Old Canada, it was agreed that they should, for certain annuities and other considerations, surrender all except tracts specially reserved for their permanent use. Some two thousand are settled around those shores. They arc of the great Ojibbeway or Chippewa nation, — the nation that extends from the St. Lawrence to the Red River, where sec- tions of them are called Salteaux and other names. \f est from the Red River to the Rocky Mountains, extend the next great nation of the Algonquin family, — the Crees. The languages of these two nations are so much alike, that Indians of the one nation can understand much of the s})eech of the other. The structure is simple, there being about a hundred and fifty monosyllabic radical roots, the greater number of v/hich are common to Ojibbeway and Cree, and on these roots the lan- guage has grown up. Most of the Ojibbeways on Manitoulin are Christianized. At one point on the Island, where the steamer called, we met Mr. Hurlburt, a Methodist Missionary — a thoughtful, scholarly man — who has prepared, with infinite pains, a grammar of the language, and who gave us much in- teresting information. He honestly confessed that there was little if any difi*erence in morals between the Christianized Indians around him and the two or three hundred who remain pagan; that, in fact, the pagans considered themselves superior, and made the immorality of their Christian countrymen their great plea against changing from the old religion. July 19th. — This morning we entered a beautiful island- studded bay, on the north shore of which is the settlement round the Bruce and Wellington Copper Mines. The mines •ocenes, man in Island lit, at a X Head lat they irrender eat use. Chey arc ion that lere sec- 'est from 3xt great linages of ' the one |er. The nd fifty hich are the Ian- mitoulin ere the onary — infinite uch in- ere was tianized remain superior, jn their island- btlement mines ^ p . ( ItAMFAX TO TIUJNDKIJ I'.AY. :\^ have hcv.n vory jnoductive, and give omployincut now to thipo or four hundred men and boys, Avhoso l)ahitati()ns aio, as is usually the case at mines, more shantii^s. One, a little larger than tlu; otliors, in which the (laffer lives, is digiiiliod with th(^ title of '* Apsley House." From IIk; Uruce Mijies we sailed westerly through a chaiiuc! almost as beautiful as where; tiie St. Ijtnvrenoe runs through tli!> tiiousand islands. A silver streak of sea, glittering in the warm sun, fdled with rounded islets of old Huronian rock, that slo})ed gently into the water at one point, or more abruptly at smother, and offered every variety and convenience; that the heart of bather could desiie; low, rugged, pine clad shores ; soft bays, hero and there, with r.andy beeches; all that is retjuired to make; the; sciie one of perfect beauty is a back-ground of high hills. Kverywlicre through Ontario we miss the mountain forms, without which all scenery is tame in the eyes of those who have once learned to see the perpetual beauty that clothes the oveu'lasting hills. St. Joseph, Sugar, and Neebish Tslands, now take tlie place of ]\ranitoulin ; then we come to the Ste. AEarie River, which leads u}) to Lake Superior, au"ig- ments of clouds left behind by the heavy columns, in ten minutes the storm |)asscs o\er us to tlie east, our sky clears as if by mngie, and wind and r.iin are at ai\ end. The sun sets, as if sinking into an ocean ; at tlu; same moment the full moon rises beliind us. nnd un<1ei- licr mellow liglit Liiko Superior is entered. Those who have never seen Superior get an inadequate, even inaccurate idea, by hearing it spoken of as a * lake,' and to those who have sailed over its vast extent th(^ word sounds ludicrous. Though its water are fresh and crystal, Superior is a sea. It breeds storms and rain and fogs, like the sea. It is cold in mid-summer as the Atlantic. It is wild, masterful, and dreaded as the Ulack Sea. July 20th. — Sailed all night along the X. E. coast of the great Lake, and in the morning, entered the land-locked harbour of Gargantua. Two or three days previously the Chief had noticed, among the passengers, a gentleman out for his holidays on a botanical excursion to Thunder Bay, and, won by his enthusiasm, had engaged him to accompany the expedition. At whatever point the steamer touched, the first man on shore was the Botanist, scrambling over the rocks or diving into the woods, vasculum in hand, stuffing it full of mosses, ferns, lichens, liverworts, sedges, grasses and flowers, till recalled by the whistle that the captain always obligingly sounded for him. Of course such an enthusiast became known to all on board, especially to the 3n (K:KAN to (W'KAN, I i •i : Hiiiloi's, wlio (l('sii;niit(Ml liiin ms • lIm' iiimu fliiil leathers j,'f)isH' or, inoro ln'iolly, MIk^ litiy picker' or ' li.iyniiikcr.' TJiey regainlfd liiiii, 1)('(;!UIH(H)|' his sciontitic riiiliii!;, with tlw i'OS|i(!ctfiil toleniiu'o witli \vlii<'li fools ill I lie Miist ;ii(^ icLfjirdcd, jind would wait Jiii oxti'ji iiiiiiiitc I'oi'liiin or liclp liiin on Uojinl, if ilu^ stcaiiicr woio, cii.st looso IVoni tlie pier Itoforc he couhl sci'iiiiiblo up tlie side. 'IMiis luoiTiiiiLf th(! lii'st object iluii mot oui* cy(s, ou looking out of the window of tlie state-rooin, was our Hotanist. on tlui liighcst peak of the rugged hills that enclose the harl)Our of Uargantua. Winv was pi-oof that we too Jiad time to go ashore, and most of us huri-ied oil' for a rand)le along the beach, or for a swim, oi- to climb one of the wooded rocky heights. Kvery day sinct! leaving Toronto we had enjoyed oui- di[». Half a do/(!n llshermen, Alick (Mark among them, had come from C'ollingwood to fish in Superior for white-fish and salmon- trout, and liaAing fixed on (largantua for summer liead-ipiarters, they w(^r(! now getting out their luggage, nets, salt, barrels, boats, i^c. We went ashore in one of their l)oats, and could not help congratulating them hear lly on the beauty of the site they had chosen. The harbour is a perfect oblong, land-locked by hills three or four hundred feet high on every side except the entrance and the upper end, wlun-e a beautiful beach slo[)ef gradually back into a level of considerable extent. The beach was covered witli the maritime vetch or wild pea in flower, and beach grasses of various kinds. Our Botanist was in raptures over sundry rare mosses, and beautiful specimens of Aspidium fragrans, Woodsia hypeiborea, Cystopteris montana, and other rare ferns, that he had gathered. The view from the summit away to the north, he dfjscribed as a sea of rugged Laurcntian hills covered with thick woods. From Gargantua we steered direct for Michipicoten Island. In the cozy harbour of this Island, the >S'. S. Manitoba lay beached, having run agroui^d two or three days before, and a little lug was doing its best to haul lier off the rock or out of I isH or, vait iiii ['V woio side, looking , on tlic •bour of asliorc, I, or fov jid cojuo salmon- [VI arte r«, I barrels, id could lie site -locked except sloped e beach v^er, and iptures pidium d olhei- summit rentian Island. oba lay , and a out of IIAIJKAX TO I'lllNDKK i;AV. »7 i A tlio nnid. Kor tltr('(! Iiouis tin; Fiiiiti-r.< Shnth added In r rllbits (o tliosc (»f tli»5 tu«(, but \vitli(Hit success, and bad to jj;ivo it up, and leave her consort stranded. In the nieantiiiie some of tho pass(!ngers went oil witli tlie llotanist to collect ferns and mosses. I!*' led tlicui a rare cliase over rocks and tlu'ou;^li woo«ls, being al\va\.-s on the looV out for tl)e places that piomised the rarest kinds, <[iiitr indifrcrent to the toil or danger. Scrambling, pulling, rubbing their sliins against the rocks, and half bi"»!akintf their necks, they toiled painfullv after him, onlv to Hud him on his knees before something of beauty that seem- ed to th(>m litth; different from what tliey had passed by with indiiference thousands of times. lUit if tliey could not l.ioiuistly admire the moss, or bi']iev(^ that it was woi-tli going though so much to get so little, they admired tju; enthusiasm, and it proved so infectuous that, before^ many days, abnost every one of the passengay, which will (hen be the summer iBMiiiW 38 OL'KAN TU ncKAN. ' tenninuH for tho trallio from th(3 Wost, (unless Tliuny the KoM ridj^es of tho islands that stud the Ihiy. I Mulls, froui three hundrcMl to one thousans for the Can- adian Pacific Railway. The Chief therefore has business liere, and the Doctor also linds some ready to his han(\, for one of the engineers in chai'ge is seriously ill ; but the captain can spare only an hour, as he wishes to be out of tho l»ay by the western channel, which is much narrower than the eastern, before dark. We leave at 5. IK), and are in Lake Superior again at 8.30. The passengers being anxious for an evening service, tho ca})tain and the Rural Dean re([ueste(i our secretary to conduct it. He consented, and used, on the occasion, a form compiled last year s})ecially for surveying parties. The scene wasunusul and, perhaps, therefore all the more impressive. Our Secretary, di'essed in grey homespun, read a service compiled by clergy- men of the Uigu'ches of Rome, England, and Scotland ; no one could tell wnicli part of it was Roman, which Anglican, or which Scottish, and yet it was all Christian. The responses were led by the Dean and the Doctor, and joined in heartily by Ivonuinists, Episcopalians, Baptists, Methodists and Presbyter. .i ay KetH M'tlioni I iption. i[f t Vol II ilj'CS of \vva\ to if llicm iilsiiins. iiv, and flistiiut yoiiltliy lidencos I ilesiro stiitiou, lio Ciiii- iS lioio, of the spare esteni before liu at ice, the oiidiict in piled unusul etary, clergy- no one [jlican, )onses tily by bvter. HALIKAX TO TUl'NDKK MAY. no iauH. Tlio liyinns were, *'Kock of AcrcH " and " Mun of my Houl ;" these, with the ^Ulloria pKfrt," were accompanied on a piano by a youiig hidy who had acted for years as the leachir of a choir in an Kpisi^opal Chapel, and she was supported ri^ht and left by a Presbyterian and a l^aptist. The sermon was sliort, but, ac- cording to the Doctor, woiiM ** have been better, if it had been shorter ;" but all liuteneil attentively. The effect of tiie whole was excellent ; when the service was over, many remained in the saloon to sing, converse, or join in sacicnl music, and th<' evening ])assed deligiitfully away. Tho. ice was brok;nidu. Lai\e Kaslialiow ic. 'i'lio Hoivlit (if Land. Lae Lake. I'or*. I'rancis. I!ain\' l{i\er. — Luxuriant Vej^ctation. Hun<,'r.v Hall. Slap-jacks. Lake <>f tin; Woods. The North-West Anf,'le.— A tou^tfh ni;,'ht. Oak point. — First y:Iiinpse of the prairies. Flond treas- ures. —The Dawson route, lied Uiver. July 22nd. — At 5 A.M , arrived at Prince Arthur's Landing, Thunder Bay, a lino open harboui-, about four miles from the mouth of th(; Kaniinisti(|uia river, with dark cliH's of basaltic rock and island scenery second only to Ne])igon. Population is Howing i'a])idly to these shori^s of Lake Su})erio)'. Alieady more than a hundred stores, shanties, or houses are scattered about * the Landing.' 'I'he chief business is silver mining, tind prospecting for silver, coppei', gnlena, and other valuable min- erals known to exist in the neighbourhood. The engineer of the sur\'eying parties bei Vveeii Ottawa and Red Kiver, and tlie assistant sui)erintendent of the DaAvson Eoad to Fort Garrv met us at tlie LandinLj and invited us to breakfast in their shanty. After bi-eakfast, our baggage was })acked on a heavy waggon, and instructions were given to llit.' driver to keep moving till he readied Shebandowan Lake, the first of the chain to be traversed in canoes, Shebandowan is forty-five miles from Lake Superior, about 800 feet higher, and near the summit or watershed of the dis trict. At 10.30 A.M., we started for that ])oint, the Chief and ihe Doctor in a buggy, tiic olhcis in a light wiiggon. Drove in I !1 42 OCKAN TO OCEAN. three hours to " fifteen-mile shanty " through a rolling country with a steady upward incline, lightly wooded for the first ha!f and more heavily for the latter half of the distance. The flora is much the same as in our Eastern Provinces ; the soil light, witli a surface-covering of peaty or sandy loam, and a subsoil of clay, fairly fertile and capable of being easily cleared. The vegetation is varied, wild fruit being especially- abundant, — raspberries, currants, gooseberries, and tomatoes ; flowers like the convolvulus, roses, a great profusion of asters, wild kallas, water-lilies on the ponds, wild chives on the rocks in the streams, and generally a rich vegetation. It is a good country for emi- grants of the farmer class. The road, too, is first-rate, a great point for the settler ; and a market is neai'. Whatever a set- tler raises he can easily transport to the ready market that there always is near mines. Miners are not particular about their lodging, but good food and plenty of it they must have. At the fifteen-mile shanty., we stopped for an hour and a half to feed the horses and to dine. Bread, light and sweet as Paris rolls, was baked in Dutch ovens, buried in the hot embers of a huge fire outside, near the door. The Scotch boss of the shanty accepted the shower of compliments on its quality v/ith the canny admission that there were " waur bakers in the warld than himsel.' " We walked on for the next three or four miles till the waggon overtook us. The soil became richer, the timber heavier, and the whole vegetation more luxuriant. Six miles from the fifteen mile shanty we crossed the Kaministiquia — a broad and rapid river, which, at this point, is, by its own course forty-five miles distant from where it falls into Lake Superior. The valley of the river is acknowledged to be a splendid farm- ing country. A squatter, who had pitched camp at the bridge end last year, on his way to Red Uiver, and had remained in- stead of going on because everything was so favourable, came up to ha\e a talk with us, and to grunible, like a true Briton, I I ? country first lia!f The flora oil light, a subsoil ed. The indant, — ^vers like Id kallas, 3 streams, ' for emi- 3, a great er a set- bhat there (Out their TQ. ind a half t as Paris ibers of a le shantv ^yith the ;lie warld till the 3 timber i)ix miles iquia — a n course kiperior. id farm- e bridge ined in- le, came Briton, THUNT)ER BAY TO FORT OARKV. 13 that the Government wasn't doing more for him. Timothy was growing to the height of four and five feet, on every vacant spot, from chance seeds. A bushel and a-half of barley, which seemed to be all that he had sown, was looking as if it could take the prize at an Ontario Exhibition. The soil, for the next Ave miles, was covered luxuriantly with the vetch, or wild pea. The road led to the Matawan, — a stream that runs out of Lake Shebandowan into the Kami- nistiquia. Both rivers are crossed by capital bridges. The sta- tion at the Matawan was in charge of a Mr. Aitken and his family, from Glengarry. He had arrived exactly two months ago, on the 22nd of Mjiy, and he had now oats and barley up, potatoes in blossom, turnips, lettuce, parsnips, ciicumbers, etc., all looking healthy, and all growing on land that, sixty days before, had been in part covered with undergrowth, stumps, and tall trees, through which fires had run the year previous. Mr, Aitken was in love with the country, and, what was of more consequence, so was Mrs. Aitken, though she confessed to a longing for some neighbours. They intended to make it their future home, and said that thev had never seen land so well suited for farming. Everything was prospering with them. The very hens seemed to do better here than elsewhere. One was pointed out with a brood of twenty strong healthy chickens around her ; Guinea hens and turkeys looked thriving. Everything about this part of the country, so far, has aston- ished us. Our former ideas concerning it had been that it was a barren desert ; that there was only a horse trail, and not always that, to travel by ; that the mosquitoes were as big as grasshop])ers, and bit through everything. Whereas-, it is a fair and fertile land, undulating from the intervales of the river up to hills and rocks flight hundred feet high. The road through it is good enough for a king's highway, and the mosquitoes are not more vicious than in the v/oods, and by the streams of the Lower Provinces ; yet, not half a dozen settlers are on the road *SWI i I ; i i :< i 44 (X'KAN T(» (M'KAN. for tlio iii'st Iwt'int/y-.siN inilos ; and for i\u; next twenty, not lialf that ]iunib(.'r. How many coltais, small laniKU'.s, anrl plougli l)oys in Britain, wonld rejoico to know that they conhl get a hnndred acres of f'.iK'li land foi* one dollar an aei'e, money down ; or at twenty cents per aci'o after live years' S(>ttlement on it ! They could settle along tho high road, take their ])ro- duce to a good market, and be independent landholders in five years. This was the information about the price of land that the settlers gave us. Wliy free grants are not offered, as in other parts of Ontario oi' in ^Manitoba, it is im})0ssible to say. Fi'om the Matawan to Nhebandowan lake was the next stage > twenty miles long. Wo i)assed over most of it in the dark, but could see, from tin; pom- timlier and other indications, that the latter half wuh not at all as good as the hrst. The road was heavy, var^dng Iststween corduroy, dee]) sraid, and rutty and rooty stretches, over which the waggon joltinl frightfully. So passed the first dii.y of our expedition, for we counted that the journey only began at Thunder J>ay. July 23rd. — Rose at sunrise, and found that the baggage waggon had not arrived. An hour after it came in, and, along with it, two young gentlemen, M . ... and Ij . . . with fi ca\ioe and Indians on their way to Red River. They were travelling for pleasure, and as they had been on the road all night, and were tired, seedy and mosijuito-bitten, they represeiiUd \ery fairly, in their own persons, the Anglo-Saxon idea of pleasure. At 8 A. M., the baggage having been stowed in the canoes, the Indians paddled out, and hooked on to a little steam tug, kept on the lake for to^ving purposes ; a lino was formed, and after a few preliminary })nifings, the start was made and we proceeded along the lake. The mode of locomotion was, to us, altogether new, and as charming as it was picturesque: The tug led the way at the rate of seven knots, towing first a large, barge with immigrants, second a five fathom canoe witli thre(> of our party and seven Indians, third a four fathom canoe with Tii'.iNni:!; r,.\v to i.^oirr caiji.'Y 45 woiity, not riiHU'.s, nnd tliey could ,ci'e, inoncy scttloinont ! tlieir ])ro- (loi's in five f land that crod, as in )le to say. next staj^oj 1 tlie dark, itions, that The road , and rutty frightrully. funtod that me \vai;<»on ng with it, itli a canoe travelling night, and iiLi'd \ery pleasure, le canoes, itcam tug, nied, and e and we ^as, to us, [ue: The •st a largo. nth tlnxH? iiioo with two ot" us ;ind six Indians, t'ourtli yum) a>; uiiml)iM' three, tit'tii .M . , and L . . . .'s (•;iiii-»'. \V(! glided along with a delightful luotion, siiiijig on oui- baggage in the i»otlo;ns of Ihe canoes. The morning was and (ire swci)i, with abumlant indications of niinenil wealth, (lold and silv Indian. Commissioner of the TT \ ' 1 .1 ^51-} 4G orKAN TO OCEAN. Dominion. So at least they hoped and they declared them- selves willing to cede, for a consideration, all their rights to the land, that would hinder settlers from coming in. Poor creatures ! not much use have they ever made of the land ; but yet, in admitting the settler, they sign their own death war- rants. Who, but ,they, have a right to tlie country ; and if a man may do what he likes with his own, would they not be justified in refusing to admit one of us to their lakes and woods, and fighting us to the death on that issue 1 Tliree hours' steaming brought our flotilla to the west end of the lake. A portage of three quarters of a mile intervenes between it and Lake Kashaboiwe. The Indians emptied the canoes in a trice ; two shouldered a canoe, weighing probably three hundred pounds, and made off at a rapid trot across the portage. The others loaded the waggon of the station with the luggage, and carried on their backs, by a strap passed over their foreheads, what the waggon could not take. This portage strap is three or four inches broad in the middle, where it is adjusted to the forehead ; its great advantage to the voyageur is that it leaves him the free use of his arms in going through the woods. A tug has been placed on Kashaboiwe, but as the machinery was out of gear the Indians paddled over the lake doing the ten miles of its length in two hours. The wood on this lake is heavier than on Shebandowan : poplars, white birch, red, white and scrub pine, all show well. The second portage is between Kashaboiwe and Lac des Mille Lacs, and is the Height of Land where the water begins to run north and west instead of east and south. The lakes, after this, empty at their west ends. At the east end of Lac des Mille Lacs, a little stream three yards wide, that flows in a tortuous channel with gentle current into the lake, eventually finds its way to Hudson's Bay. The Height of Land is about a thousand feet above Lake Superior. We now entered Lac des Mille Lacs — a lovely lake twenty- 'fc-i red them- ' riijhts to in. Poor land ; but leath war- ; and if a ley not be md woods, vefit end of intervenes nptied the 5 probably across the ation with massed over his portage vhere it is voyageur g through but as the the lake le wood on rs, white Ihe second cs, and is orth and empty at e Lacs, a s channel Its way to sand feet twenty- si it Im THT^NDEH BAY TO FOUT OAP.HV. 47 two miles long ; its name explains its characteristic. As the steam launch, stationed on it, happened unfortunately to be at the west end, the Indians again paddled for about four miles, when we met the lauch coming back ; it at once turned about and took us in tow. After a smart shower the sky cleared, and the sun shone on innumerable bavs, creeks, channels, headlands, and islets, which are simply larger or smaller rocks of granite covered with moss and wooded to the water's brink. Through these labyrinths we threaded our way, often wondering that the wrong passage was never taken, where there were so many ex- actlv alike. An Indian on his own L'round or water is never mistaken, and we went on as surely as if on a king's highway. Fortunately, the fire-demon has not devastated the shores. The timber, in some places, is heavy : pine, aspen, and birch being the prevailing varieties. Every islet in the lake is wooded down to the water's edjxe. Our Botanist exulted in his holiday and looked forward with eager hope to the flora of the plains. As wo drew near our third portage for the day, his face clouded. *' Look at the ground burnt again." One asked if it was the great waste of wood he referred to. " It's not that, but, they have burned the very spot for botanizing over." What is a site for shanty and clearing, compared to botany. At the end of I^ac des Mille Lacs is Baril Portage, less than a quarter of a mile long. No steamer has been put on Baril lake; but the Indians paddled over its eight miles of length in an hour and forty minutes. The bluffs around Baril are bolder than those rising from the previous lakes, and the vegci- tation very similar. We hurried over the next portage, and, at the other end met tlie station-keeper, who had a comfortable tent pitched for the emigrants, strewn with fragrant pine and spruce branches. It was impossible to avoid admiring the activity and cheer- fulness with which our Indians worked. They would carry as heavy a load as a Constantinople porter, at a rapid trot across 48 OCKAN TO OCKAN. ilic jmrtagc, run bark tor unotliui' load witlioiil a iiiiiuito's luilt, and HO on till all tlu; Itij^'^ai^i^ wms porhiged, and everything in roadinosis loi- .siarliug on tlnMuixt lako. The canoos ■\vere always their iirst car istruct the [on; at the diameter f iky or hol- ;, separated [tion owing lans suffer- •tage, and r I received it at tlio hands of tho Doctor : ho liiis iilroiuly had about a dozen caso.-., oitiiui* of white or red men, since we left Owen Sound. Our party have, thus far, received little at the Doctor's iuinds, sundiy medical comforts always excepted. After paddling over four miles of the next lake the Indians advised camping, though the sun was more than an hour high. As we had exj)oii(>nced the discomforts of camping in th«^ dark the night Ix-fore, and as the nn^n were evidently tinMl, wi' landed and ])itclied the t(mts on a rocky promontory at tho foot of a wooded hill. Scarcely were our lires lighted, when M 's canoe came up, and then another with a stray Indian, his wife, papooses, dog — that looked half wolf, and all their traps. After a good swim, we sat down to our evening meal, which Louis had spread (m a clean tai)le-cloth on the sward. In front of us was the smooth lake ; on the other side of it, two miles oft", the sun was going down in the woods. Th(i country ahead broke into knolls, looking in many parts like cultivated parks; mound us the white tents and the ruddy fires, with Indians flitting between, or busy about the canoes, gave animation to the scene and made up a picture that will long live in the memory of many of us. The Indians never halt witiiout at once turning their canoes upside down, and examining them. The seams and crevices in the birch bark yield at any extra strain, and scratches are nuido by submerged brushwood in some of the channels or the shallow parts of the lakes. These crevices they carefully daub over with resin, which is obtained from the red pine, till iJie bottom of an old canoe becomes almost covered with a black resinous coat. Of course, the more uniform the blackness, the harder the service the canoe has seen. The stray Indian pitched camp a hundred yards off from us ; and, with true Indian dignity, did not come near to ask for anything, though quite equal to take any jing that was oflered or left behind. I» — 52 OOKAN TO OUKAN. July 25tli. — IFp hofbre lour A.M., and, after a cui) of hot toa, that alwayH has a woudrouH tVa.i^rauoo in tho wildcu-noss, .startod in (>xc'«'Mrnt spirits. Our (hrco (muocs hatl triiul a race tho ni<,dit lu'lbri', over th«' last four miles of tho day's journey, and they nMiewed it this niorniuiJ. 'rhe l)est crow was in the five-fatholu hoat, of which l;;nace was captain, and Fiouis steers- man. Tiie captains of the other two, I'.aptiste and Toma, j)Ush(Ml their old master hard to-day; as one or th(! otiier stole ahead, not a ^dance did l^Miace ^dve to either. Doggedly, Jind with averted head, he du,i? his pa«ldle deopi-r in lh(! water, and pe;,'i:;ed away with his sure, steady stroke, and thou;;h the others, hy spurtin*;, t'oreed tluMuselves half a canoe len, up," moos that (id stroke g of war. water as canoe — Inding be- Icd at the uld shoot le frantic ohing up |ry of our iiblv with ough the (Is. Once, ead by a Ithe curve a heavy line dragging at tlio stern and called Louis' attention to it. No one ever oliargcil (li(( other willi iM-ing unfair, and no angry word was ev(«r heard; in fact, the Fndians grow on us (h>y by (hiy^ It is easv to understand how an I'lii'dishtniUi, travellini' for weekH together with an Indian guide, so often conti'aets a strong friendship forhini; for Indian jiatienee. endtnanee, dignity, and self control, aw. the very (|ualities to evoke fiiendsliip. The sun rose bi'ight but was soon eloude(l. Ten good ndles were made and then th(^ halt called Ibi- lircfakfast. at a beautiful lieadland, just as it connnencitd to rain. Now waptiste, but Tgnace proudly held his own and would not be beaten. However, among the many tuiiis of the river, Toma, followed by Baptiste, circum- vented their old master, by dashing thiough a passage over- grown with weeds and reeds instead of taking the usual channel. When Ignace turned the corner he saw the two young fellows coolly waiting for him a hundred and fifty yards ahead. Thej gave a sly laugh as he came up, but Ignace was too dignified to tike the slightest notice. Baptiste was so pleased that he sang us two Iroquois canoe songs. Eighteen miles, broken by two short portages (for we took a short-cut instead of the public route), brought us about mid-day to Rainy Lake. The engineer of the steam launch here promised to be ready in two hours, and to land us at Fort Francis, at the west end of Rainy Lake, forty-five miles on, by sundown. But in half an hour the prospect did not look so bright, as, across the portage, by the public route, canfiC a band of eighteen emigrants, men, Vv^'omen and children, AvJiohad left Thunder Bay five days before us, and whom we had passed this forenoon, when we took our short cut. They had a great deal of baggage, and were terribly tired. One old woman, eighty-five years of age, complained of being ill, avid the doctor attended to her. As we had soup for dinner, ho sent some over to her, and the prescription had a good effect. While waiting here we took our half dried clothes i 11 •*" >\ ^ THUNDER BAY TO FORT GARRY. 57 -^'^y, the leaving I to 48°, Bay was )t on an M dinner. ' a hard proudly ong the circum- ^e over- channel. f fellows '. Ther nified to he sang took a lid-day |e ready end of half an )ortage, |s, men, before )ok our lerribly Incd of >up for had a jlothes out of the bags, and, by hanging them on lines under the warm sun, got them pretty well dried before starting. At three P.M., at theory of '' All aboard," our flotilla formed at once, — the steam launch towing two large barges with the emigrants and their luggage, and the four canoes. The after- noon was warm and sunny, and tbicre was a pleasant breeze on the Lake. In half an hour every Indian was asleep in the bottom of his canoe. The shores of Rainy Lake are low, especially on the northern side, and the timl)er is small ; the shores rocky, witli here and there sandy beaches that have formed round little bays ; scenery tame and monotonous, though ^he islets, in some parts, are beautiful. By nine o'clock, we had made only thirty miles. Our steamer was small, the flotilla stretched out far and the wind was ahead. We therefore determined to camp ; and, by the advice of the engineer, steered for the north shore to what is called the Fifteen ]Mile House from Fort Francis, said house being two deserted log huts. Our botanist, learning that we would leave before day-break, lighted an old j)ine branch and roamed about with his torch to investigate the flora of the place. The others visited the emigrants to whom the log-huts had been assigned, or sat round rousing tires, smoking, or gathered bracken and fragrant artemisia for the beds. July 27th. — Had our breakfast before four A.M., and in less than half an hour after, were en route for Fort Francis. Two miles above the Fort the Lake ends and pours itself into Rainy River, over a rapid which the emigrants' barges had not oars to shoot. They were cast off", and we went on to the Fort and sent men up to bring them down. The Fort is simply a Hudson's Bay Company's trading post ; — the shop and the cottages of the agent and employes in the form of a scpiare, siu'rounded by stockades about ten feet high. From the Fort is a beautiful view of the Chaudi^re Falls which have to be portaged round. 1 08 OCEAN [TO OCEAN. I : These are formed by the river, here nearly two hundred yards wide, pouring over a granitei ridge in magnificent roaring cas- cades. A sandy ])kiin of several acres, covered with rich grass extends around the Fort, and wheat, barley, and potatoes are raised ; but beyond tin's plain is marsh and then rock. A few fine cattle, in splendid condition, were grazing upon the level* On the potato leaves we found the Colorado Bug, that frightful pest which seems to be moving fnither east every year. Half a dozen wigwams were tenanted in the vicinitv of the Fort, and there were scores of roofless polos, where, a fortnight ago, had been high feasting for a few days. A thousand or twelve hundred Ojibbeways had assembled to confer with Mr. Simpson, the Dominion Indian Commissioner, as to the terms on which they would allow free passage through, and settle- ment in the country. No agreement had been come to, as their terms were considered extravagant. Justice, both to the Indians and to the emigrants who are in- vited to make their home in this newly opened country, demands that a settlement of the dilHculty be made as soon as possible. It may be true that they are vain, lazy, dirty, and im^)rovideKt. The few about Fort Francis did not impress us favourably. They contrasted strikingly with our noble Iroquois. The men were lounging about, lolling in their wigwams, i)laying cards in the shade, or lying on their faces in the sun ; and, though not one of them was doiuLC a hand's turn, it was a matter of some difllculty to get four or five to* go with us to the North-west Angle, to replace those who had come from Shebandowan and whose engagement ended here. There were some attempts at tawdry finery about them all. The men wore their hair plaited into two or more long queues, which, when rolled up on the head, looked well enough, but which usually hung down the sides of the face, giving them an efieminate look, all the more so because bits of silver or brass were twisted in or rinsed round with the plaits. One young fellow that consented to ! I i i THUNDER BAY TO FORT GARRY. id yards ing cas- 3h grass ;oes are A few le level* 'rightful V of the ortnight isand or rith Mr. le terms 1 settlo- , as their lO are in- lemands lossible evident, urably. he men ards in kigh not )f some l-th-west ran and [iipts at I plaited on the Iwn the more ringed ted to paddle, had long streamers of bright ribbon flying from his felt hat. Another poor looking creature had his face streaked over with red ochre — to show how is in a few minutes with wild pea and vetch vines eight feet high, which grew so thickly, not far off, that it was almost imposdble to pass through them . The land is a heavy loam, — once the bed of tlie river, and the luxuriance of the vegetation shows that it is of the best quality. He made a list of the following plants while we halted, "and these," he truly remarks " are only an index to the vast profusion of nature's beauties in this region : — Lilium Canadense, " Philadelphicum, Vicia Americana, Calystegia spithamea, " sepium, Aralia hispida. Lobelia Kalmii, Similacina stellata, Lathvrus venosus, " ochroleucus, Monarda fistulosa. Viburnum pubescens. Astragalus Canadensis, Erysimum chieranthoides, Asarum Canadensis, Lopanthus anistatus." Besides these tjjere were grass(?s and sedges in abundance and many other species not worth nientioniifg. Enough was seen, however, to satisfy the writer that Rainy River will yet sup- port a large population, mainly composed of agriculturists. On we swept, down the broad pleasant river, with its long reaches, beautiful at night as they had been in the bright sun- shine. At times a high wall of luxuriant wood rose on each side, and stretched far ahead in curves that looked in the gloam- i • H if 62 OCEAN TO OCEAN. iiig like cultivated parks. Occasionally an islet divided the river; and, at sucli places, a small Indian cam}) was usually pitched. Of the sevonty-live miles of Rainy River, down which wo sailed to-day, every mile seemed well adaj)t(;d for cultiva- tion and the dwellings of men. At eleven o'clock the moon rose; at ]ialf-})ast twelve we reached Hungry Hall, a post of the If. \). Oompany and a village of wigwams, out of which all the natives rushed, some of them clothed scantily and others less than scait'ly, to greet the new comers, with " Ho ! Ho ! " or " R'jou, li'jou." Baptiste urged us not to stop here, as the InditJis of the placd were such thieves that they would " steal '■;l.ie b ■]le. Ho 5 more ; lasers on ng sedge mbrokeii io, is the : thumler id to the In half north to lake had 1 a circle, isite quar- n on our the right, and, and, [nough to ait. The [asses and t bo mis- wood on ligrants, [of gneis- id wood. [tree, and sen since |h he was lel came fsir party L'dest for ti : seven hours. Louis at once sot to work to got dinner ; and, it being Sunday, several delicacies were brought out in addition to tiio standing dishes of pork, biscuit an»l tea. From the Colonel's stores came MuUagatawny soup, Bologna sausage, French mustard, Maruialadr, and, as evety one curried with him an abundani, supply of " black sauce," we had a great feast. After dinner, all the party, except the j»agan Ojibbewaya, assembled for divine service. The form compiled for the sur- veying parties was read ; the " Veni Creator' sung in Troquois by the IndiMUs ; and a short sermon preached. Although the Iroquois understood but few words of English, they listtmed most devoutly., and we ILstrned with as much attention to their singing. To hear those children of tlie forest, on a lonely isle in a lake that Indian tradition says is ever haunted by their old deities, chantinij the hymn that for centuries hits been sun" at the great Councils and in the high Catlitdrals of Christen- dom, moved us deej^ly. After tea, candles were lit in the tents, as this evening we were not too tired to read. Our candlestick was a simple and effective Indian contrivance. A stick of any length you desired was slit at the top and then stuck in the ground. A bit of birch-bark or paper was doubled ; in the fold the candle was placed, and the ends were then inserted in the slit. The stick thuf^. held the ends tight, and the candle upright. We spent a quiet [)leasant evening, and about ten o'clock turned in. July 29th. — There was a heavy sea on The Traverse;, and, as the little steamer was not very sea- worthy, it was doubtful if she would attempt the passage. But, while we were at breakfast, she was announced as making in our direction. Orders were at once given to take down the tents and embark the stores, but the Indians showed some reluctance to move. They said that it would be safer to trust to the paddles ; that the waves in the middle of the traverse, would be heavy, and that, if the 5 11 fl: r ! C6 OCEAN TO OCEAN. canoes were forced throiijj[h them, the bow or side would be broken in. Wo overrultjd their doubts, vlth a show of con- fidence, and stiirted at 7.30 A.M. Instead of the long single lijie of canoes that had been formed on previous days, they were now formed two abreast, and the connecting lines of the first two were sliortened, and tied to the middle bench of the big barge wliicii contained the emigrants* luggage. This worked admirably, as the barge broke the waves, and, in the comparatively smooth water immediately be- hind her, the two canoes rode easily, the five-fathom one to windward and a smaller one under her lee; close after the.se came the other two canoes. The passage was made safely, and the water for the rest of the day was only rippled slightly, as we took a circuitous route through innumerable islets, instead of the short and direct one over the unbroken part of the lake. The forenoon was cold and cloudy, but occasionally the sun shone cheerily out. All were thankiul for the clouds and cool- ness, as they could note and enjoy the changing scenery, where- as the day before yesterday, in coming down Rainy River, they liad suffered from the rays of the sun beating down fiercely, and reflected on every side from the water. To sit still in the canoes and suffer headache and drowsiness was a heavy price to jiay for the pleasure of a glowing sun. The Indians who seemed able to do without sleep, if necessary, but willing to take any qu:intity when they could get it, slept soundly in the bottom of the canoes. At mid-day we landed for dinner in a bay on a fire-swept islet. The Colonel and the boys made the circuit of the islet with their guns ; but saw nothing worth shooting at except a solitary duck, which they did not get. Lake of the Woods has been shorn of much of its beauty by fires. The fires have also revealed the nakedness, as far as soil is concerned, of its shores and islets which are low, hard, gneis- soid rocks, covered with but poor timber even where it has <^en spared. ^K THUNDKK HAY TO KoUT CAIUIY. hi 3 would be ow of con- >een formed at, and the I tied to the emigrants* broke the ediately be- lom one to after these safely, and slightly, as lets, instead of the lake, dlv the sun ids and cool- lery, where- River, they fiercely, and jtill in the heavy price dians who willing to idly in the lire-swept )f the islet ^t except a beauty by far as soil lard, gneis- |t has '^en A In the afternoon a fnvotirable wind helped us on ; the barge hoisted a snil, aud between wind and steam we made seven or (jiglit miles ail hour. The tui,' stopped twice for wood ; but such (lespatcli was shown that thotii^'li tlicre was neither wharf noi- platform, and the tUL( had to bo held by boat hooks to the rocks, and at the same time kept from dasljing :ig,iinst them, tiie wiioh^ thing was done at each place in ten minutes. The last eiirht or nine miles of the Lake, wliieh were to be the last of onv jotirnoy by water, led uj) a long bay to what is called the North-west Angl(% a point from wliieli a road has been made to Fort (larry, so that travdleis by this route now escape the terril)l(! portages of the \Vinni[>eg river and the roundabout way by fiaki^ Winnipeg. The breeze eha.soN TO OCEAN. As we rounded out of the Bay into a little creek, the Angle i loam with clay under- neath, like prairie ; witli the prairie so near, it is not likely to be soon cultivated ; btit the wood on it will be in immediate demand. The next section of the countrv is of a different character. It is light and sandy, getting more and more so, every ten miles further west. This change in the character of the soil afforded a feast to our Uotanist. In the course of the day he came on two or three distinct floras ; and althougli not many of the spe- cies were new, and in general features the productions of the heavy and the light soils were similar to those of like land far- ther east in Ontario and the Lower Provinces, yet the luxuriance and variety were amazing. He counted over four hundred dif- ferent species in this one day's ride. Great was the astonish- ment of our teamsters, when they saw him make a bound from his seat on the waggon to the ground, and rush to plain, wood, or marsh. At first, they all hauled up to see what was the matter. It must be gold or silver he had found ; but when he came back ' triumphantly waving a flower or bunch of grass, they exclaimed, *' Did you ever see the like of that V they looked angry or amused, according as tliey were sober minded teamsters or the reverse. The internal c:ichniuation of a Scotch lad, from the kingdom of Fife, over the phenomenon, w;is so violent, that he would have exploded had he not relieved himself by occasional mtmss, ni 11: '• ■ ! 70 OCEAN TO OCEAN. witticisms ; " Jock," ho cried to the teamste: ahead, " tell yon man if he wants a load o* graiss, no' to fill the buggy noo, an' a'll show him a fine place where we feed the horse." But when one of us explained to the 8oot that all this was done in the in- terests of science, and would end in something good for schools, he ceased to jibe, thoiiifh hn could not altogether suppress a deep hoarse rumblinix far down in his throat — like that of a distant volcano, — -when the Professor would come back with an un- usually largo armful of spoil. The bonny Scot was an emigrant who haJ been a farm servant in Fife live years ago. He had come to the Angle this spring, and was getting thirty dollars a month and his board, as a common teamster. He was saving four-fifths of his wages, and intended in a few months to buy a good f\irm on the Red River among his countrymen, and settle down as a Liiird for the rest of his life. How many ten thousands of Scotch lads would follow his example if they only knew how. At our first station. White Birch river, thirty miles from the Angle, the keeper of the Station was a very intelligent man, a Scotchman, who had once been a soldier. He was studying hard at the Cree and Ojibbeway languages, and gave us much interesting information about the country and the Indians. He attributed the failure of Mr. Simpson to make a treaty with the Indians at Fort Francis, in great measure to the fact that Indians from the United States had been instigated by parties interested in the Northern Pacific Railway to come across and inflame their countrymen on our side to make ])reposterous demands. The story does not sound improbable to those who know the extremes which Railway Kings and comp; nies in New York, and elsewhere in the Republic, have gone to in push- ing their own line and doing everything per fas atque nefas to crush oi)position. It is a little remarkable that the Indians all over the Dominion are anxious to make Treaties, and are easily dealt with, except in the neighbourhood of the boundary line, I .: " tell yon ;y noo, an' But when i In the in- lov schools, ress a deep f a distant Lth an un- 1 emigrant He had )y dollars a was saving IS to buy a , and settle many ten f they only 3S from the ;ent man, a s studying e us much le Indians. ,reaty with the fact i gated by ome across eposterous those who ies in New in push- ite nefas to [ndians all are easily idary line, \l THUNDER BAY TO FORT GARRY. 71 Mr. Simpson, in his Report dated November, 1871, states that he had no difficulty with the Indians in Manitoba Province, ex- cept, near Pembina ; and there he says, " I found that the Indians had misunderstood the advice given them by parties in the settlement, well disposed towards the Treaty, or, as I have some reason to believe, liad become unsettled by the represen- tations made by persons in the vicinity of Pembina whose interests lay elsewhere than in the Province of Manitoba ; for, on my announcing my readiness to pay them, they demurred at receiving their money until some further concession had been made by me." Seventeen miles further on — at White Mud river — we dined. Had we known what was before us, some would have voted for remaining all night. The next stage was to Oak Point, thirty-three miles distant. The first half was over an abominable road, and, as we had to take on the same horses, they lagged sadly. The sun had set before we arrived at Broken Head creek, half-way to Oak Point. Hereabouts is the eastern boundary of Manitoba, and we are not likely to forget the rough greeting the new Province gave us. Clouds gathered, and, as the jaded horses toiled heavily on, the rain poured down furiously and made the roads worse. It was so dark that the teamsters couldn't see the horses ; and, as neither of them had been over this part of the road be- fore, they had to give the horses free rein to go where they pleased, and — as they were dead beat — at the rate they pleased. The black flies worried us, and we were all heavy with sleep. The hours dragged miserably on, and the night seemed endless; but, at length emerging from the wooded country into the prai- rie, we saw the light of the station two miles ahead. Arriving there wearied and soaked through, we came to what appeared to be the only building — a half-finished store of the Hudson Bay Company ; — entering the open door, barricaded with paint pots, blocks of wood, tools, etc., we climbed up a shaky ladder 72 OCEAN TO OCEAN. i ! , I ' I ; to the second story, threw ourselves down on the floor, and slept heavily beside a crowd of teamsters whom no amount of kicking could awake. That night-drive to Oak Point we made a note of. July 31st. — Awakened at 8 A. M., by hearing a voice ex- claiming, " thirty-two new species already; it's a perfect floral garden." Of course it was our botanist, with his arms full of the treasures of the prairie. We looked ou } and beheld a sea of green sj)rinkled with yellow, red, lilac, and white, extending all round to the horizon. None of us had ever seen a prairie be- fore, and, behold, the half had not been told us ! As you cannot know what the ocean is without seeing it, neither can you in imagination picture the prairie. The vast fertile beautiful expanse suggests inexhaustible national wealth. Our uppermost thought might be expressed in the words, " thank God, the great North-west is a reality." JO ^ Oak Point is thirty miles east from Fort Garry, and a straifi'ht furrow could be run the whole distance, or north all the way up to Lake Winnipeg. A little stream — the Seine — runs from Oak Point into the Red River. The land along it, in sections extending two miles into the prairie, is taken wp by the Fi-ench half-breeds; all beyond is waiting for settlers. After breakfast we started in our waggons for Fort Garry. Tall, bright yellow flowers, as golden rods ; red, pink, and white roses; asters, and an immense variety of composita3, thickly bedded among the green grass, made up a bright and beautiful carpet. Furtlier on, the flowers were fewer ; but everywhere the herbage was luxuriant, admirable for pasturage, and, in the hollows, tall enough for hay. Even where the marshes in- tervened, the grass was all the thicker, taller and coarser, so that an acre of marsh is counted as valuable to the settler as an acre of prairie. The road strikes right across the prairie, and, though simply a trail made by the ordinary traffic, is an excellent carriage } I >'. THUNDER BAY TO FORT GARRY. 73 or, and ount of ^e made 3ice ex- ct floral i full of a sea of iding all lirie be- As you ther can t fertile h. Our " thank straight the way 'ins from Isections French IT- Tall, white thickly jautiful -^where md, in shes in- jser, so Itler as Isimply irriago road. Whenever the ruts get deep, carts and waggons strike off a few feet, and m.ike another trail alongside ; and the old one, if not used, is soon covered with now grasses. Immense numbers of fat plover and snipe are in the marshes, and prairie hens on the meadow land. At ^ P. M., we reached the Rod River, a broad, deep, muddy coloured stream, winding sluggishly and tortuously through a land fat and level as Holland, till it empties itself into the gi-eat lake Winnipeg. At a point below its junction with the Assiniboine we crossed in a scow ; drove across the tongue of land, formetl bv it and the Assiniboine coining from the west into the village of Winnipeg, and from there to the Fort, where the Government House is at present. Thus we finished our journey, from Lake Superior to Red River, by that Dawson road, of which all had previously heard much, in terms of praise or disparagement. The total distance is about live hundred and thirtv miles ; fortv-five at the begin- ning and a hundred and ten at the end by land ; and three hundred and eighty miles between, made up of a chain of some twenty lakes and lacustrine rivers, separated from each other by spits, ridges, or short traverses of land or granite rocks, that have to be portaged across. Over those throe hundred and eighty miles the only land suitable for agriculture is along Rainy River, and, perhaps, around the Lake of the Woods. North and south the country is a wilderness of lakes, or tarns on a large scale, filling huge holes scooped out of primitive rock. The scenery is picturesque, though rather monotonous, owing to the absence of mountains; the mode of travelling, whether the canoes are paddled or tugged, novel and delightful ; and, if a tourist can afford a crew of Indians and three or four weeks' time, he is certain to enjoy himself, the necessity of roughing it adding zest to the pleasure. The road has been proved on two occasions to be a military necessity for the Dominion, until a railway is built farther buck i )i,v~ttmamM.u,t 74 OCEAN TO OCEAN. { ; from the boundary line. If Canada is to open up her North- west to all the world for colonization, there must be a road for troops, from the first : there are sufficient elements of disorder to make preparedness a necessity. As long as we have a road of our own, tlie United States would perhaps raise no objection to Canadian volunteers passing through Minnesota ; were we absolutely dependent, it might be otherwise. In speaking of this Dawson road it is only fair to give full credit for all that has been accomplished. Difficulties have been overcome, insomuch that, whereas it took Colonel Wolsiey's force nearly three months to reach Fort Garry from Thunder Bay, a similar expedition could now do the journey in two or three weeks. But, as a route for trade, for ordinary travel or for emigrants to go west, the Dawson road is far from satisfactory. Only by building a hundred and fifty-five miles or so of railway at the beginning and the end, and by overcoming the intervening portages in such a way that bulk would not have to be broken, could it be made to compete even with the present route by Duluth and the railway thence to Pembina. The question, then, is simply whether or not it is wise to do this, at an expenditure of some millions on a road the gi'eater part of which runs along the boundary line, after the Dominion has already decided to build a direct line of railway to the North-west. The station-masters and other agents on the road, as a rule, do their utmost ; they have been well selected, and are spirited and intelligent men ; but the task given them to do is greater than the means given will permit. The road is composed of fifteen or twenty independent pieces ; is it any wonder if these often do not fit, especially as there cannot be unity of understanding and of plan, for there is no telegraph along the route and it would be extremely difficult to construct one. ^orth- ad for sorder a road jection jre we Lve full 'S have Colonel y from rney in igrants )nly by f at the rvening CHAITEE IV. Province of M(ui'doho, Extent. -Population.- Laud claims of ori!,nnal sottierr<. — Sale of Lots in Winiiipui,'. — Hudson liay Conii)any. Clerg\ muu of the settlement.— .Military eamp. Arelibishop TachC— United State Consul. — Conflietin;^ opinions respectiuf,'- the fertile Ik-lt. Our outfit for the Prairies.- Chief Commissioner Smith. Ifudson's Bay Com- pany. — Lieut.- (Jovernor Archibald. — Departure from Silver Iloijfhts. White Horse Plains.— Rev. Mr. MeD<)uj,'al. Portaire la Prairie.- The last settler. -Cli- mate, etc. of Manitoba compared with the older Provinces. Sioux Indians in war paint. — General remarks on Manitoba. - Emljfrantsand the I'nitod States Agents. Treatment of the Indiatis. August 1st. — Fort Garry. — Tlie Province of Manitoba, in which we now are, is the smallest Province in the Dominion, being only three degrees of longitude, or one hundred and thirty-five miles long, by one and a half degrees of latitude, or a hundred and five miles broad ; but, as it is watered by two magnificent rivers, and includes the southern ends of the two great lakes, Winnipeg and Manitoba, which open up an im- mense extent of inland navigation, and as almost every acre of its soil is prairie, before many years it may ecpial some of the larger Pi'ovinces in population. At present the population numbers about fifteen thousand, of whom not more tlian two thousand are pure whites. One-fifth cftlie number are Indians, either living in houses or wanderers, one-thiru.uf.ry, vere dis- persed by a company of United States regalu; , aft r being compelled to disgorge their j)lunder. A battalion ot Ci-na- dian militia, stationed at different points along Red River, now keeps the peace and guarantees its permanence. The land difficulty has been settled by faith being kept with the half- breeds ; a treaty has been made with the Indians that extin- guishes their claims to the land ; and, as the whole of the Pro- vince has been surveyed, divided off into townships, sections and sub-sections, emigrants as they come in can either get accurate information in the Winnipeg Land-office as to where it would be best for them to settle, or they can visit and then describe the piece of land they wish to occupy. There is room and to spare for all, after doing the fullest justice to the old settlers. Even the one-sixth reserved for them cannot, in the natvire of things, be permanently held by those among whom it may now be divided. There ^"s no Jewish law preserving to each family its inheritance forevei*. The French half-breeds do not like farming, and they thei-efore make but poor farmers ; and, as enterprising settlevs with a little capital come in, much of the land is sure to change hands. The fact that land can be bought from )tliers, as well as from the Government, will quicken instead of retarding its sale. After break fjxst this morning, we had an opportunity of con- versing with several gentlemen who called at Government House : the United States Consul, the Land Commissioner, '1 PROVINCE OF MANITOBA. 77 3eds 3rs; uch be rill ton- mt ler, Officers of the Battalion, Dr. Sclniltz, and others. All spoke in the higlic terms of the clii»vite, the land, and the prospects cf the Piovii -e '^.nd of the 'sorth-wcst. No'^hing shows moie conclusively Mie wondevAil progress of Manitoba and the settled condition in. which it has emerged Troin the chaos of two or thr'^e years ago, than the far that the Hudson's Bay Company sold at auction, the other day, in building lots, thirteen acres of the five hundred of their Reserve around Fort Garry, at the rate of $7,000 pe?" acre. At half the rate, for the rest, the Hudson's Bay Company will receive for this small reserve more than the money payment of £300,000 stg., which Canada gave for the whole territory ; and, if a few acres favourably situated bring so much, what must be the value of the n^any millions of acres transferred to the Dominion ? The j)olicy of the Company now is exactly the opposite of what it used to be ; formerly all their efforts were directed to keep the country a close preserve ; now they are doing all in their power to open it up. The times have changed and they have changed with them. And, regard- ing them merely as a Company whose sole object has been and is to look after their own interests and pay good dividends to the shareholders, their present policy is as sagacious for to-day as the former was for yesterday. While a fur trading Com- pany with sovereign rights, they did not look beyond their own proper work ; they attended to that, and, as a duty merely incidental to it, governed half a continent in a paternal or semi- patriaichal way, admirably suited to the tribes that roamed over its vast expanses. But, as they can no longer be supreme, it is their interest that the country should be opened up ; and they are taking their place among new competitors, and pre- paring to reap a large share of the fruits of the development. For many a year to come they must be a great power in our North-west. To-day was spent in seeing men and things, the land and the rivers, in and around Fort Garry. The Chief drove twenty ^hM 78 OCKAN TO OCiCAN. miles down the Red Kiver, to the Stone Fort, the Governor and the rest of the party accompanying him five miles to Kil- donan, where they called on the Kev. Mr. Jilack. The farms have a frontage of eight chains on the river, and run two miles back, with the privilege of cutting hay on two miles more in the rear. The j)eople are Highlanders from Sutheihiiid-shire, and, they knew but little about scientific farming wlum they settled: the excellence of the hin. ' '.er authority ; but he speaks in glowing terms of the Red-deer liake and River which runs into the Athabaska, sometimes called Lae la Biche, a better name, be- cause there are innumerable " Red-deer" lakes. In that far l!i :m 80 OCEAN TO OCEAN. away country, fixtfndirit,' to the north of the Nortli 8;i.skat(;h«- wan, (lie wheat crops of tlie mission have never sufFcred from suiiiiiHsr frosts but oiioo. It certainly is one of tlio anomalies of tlio North-west, that the way to avoid frosts is to ;:,'o fartlicr north. To lioiir on the Maine day tlie U. »S. Consul and the Arclihisliop speak about tlie fertile belt is almost like hearing counsel for and aL,'aiust it. The (Jonsul V)elieves that the world without the Saskatchewan would be but a poor afi'air ; the Archbishop that the fertile belt must have been so called be- cause it is not fertile. But how explain the Arclibishop's opinions] The evidence he adduced in support of them sugj^ests the exitjiination ; lu^ conliued himself to facts that had been brought before him ; but his induction of facts was too liniitod. It doubtless is true that at Lac la Bicho wheat is raised easily, and that at the R. C, Missions, near the Saskatchewan, it suf- fers from summer frosts ; but the only two R. C. settlements that we heard of in the Saskatchewancountry.viz. : those at St. All)ert*s and Lake St. Ann's, we vi3ited, and could easily under- stand why they suffered. They are on the extreme north-west of the fertile belt, at an altitude above sea-level of from 2000 to 2500 feet, and were selected by the half-breeds not with a view to farming, for the French half-breed is no former, but because of the abundance of white-fish in the lake, and stur^, on in the river, and because they were convenient for buffalo hunt- ing and trapping, as well as for other reasons. The substance of the disputed matter seems to be this: every one else believes in the fertile belt of the Saskatchewan; the Archbishop believes that there is a belt farther north much more fertile. At Fort Garry farewell greetings had to be exchanged with- the Colonel and his son. Military duties required his presence in the Province for ten days, and we could not wait. Horetski, who had been sent on ahead to make the necessary arrangements for the journey westward, joined us ; so that our party from this date numbered six. A French half-breed, named Emilien, PKOVINCK OF MAMTOHA. 81 "Jiiskatohe- ;i;i'od tVoin f\nom:vUo& il and the ko hearing t i]w world aiVair ; the called be- j-clibiHliop's cm suggests t had been too Uiuitcd. ■aised easily, owan, it suf- . settlements those at St. easily under- |o north-west ,f from 2000 not with a farmer, but landstur^,-on Ibulfalo hunt- lie substance else believes Ishop believes lUanged with his presence it. Horetski, irrangements ir party from led Emilien, ^ liud been engaged to conduct us acro.ss tlu* plains as tar as Fort (larloton, after the approved styh^ of i)rairio travel. Kmilicn'H cavalcade for this purpose was, in our ignorant eyes, unncces- sarily large and imposing ; but before many days we found that everything was needed. The caravan is not more ne(Mled in the East, across tne deserts, tlian it is in tins Wi^st, across the fertile l)at un'ahabitrd |)rairies. F'rovisions for the whole party and for the rtiturn journey of the nuui must b<5 carried — unless you make frecpient dtilays to hunt. Your tents and theirs, in other words, hoiisf ami furniture ; kitchen, larder and pantry ; tool-ch(!st and s[)are axle-trees ; clotlies, blankets, water-proofs, arms and ammunition, medicine-chest, books, paj)er boxes for specimens to be collected on the way, and things you never think of till you miss them, all are or may bo recpiired. Our caravan consisted of six Red lliver wooden carts, in which were stowed the tents, baggage and provisions ; a hoj-se to each cart, and three di'ivers, one of them the cook for the j)arty, two buckboards, or light four-wheeled waggonettes, for any of us to use when tired of the saddle ; saddle horses, and two young fellows with Emilien to drive; along a pack of eighteen horses, as a change of horses is required once or twice a day when it is intended to travel steadily at the rate of two l^lndred and tifty miles a week. The native horses are small, except those that have been crossed with Yankee or Ontarian breeds ; but, though small and of* on mean-looking, it is doubt- ful if the best stall-fed horses coi Id keep up with them on a long journey. Emilien started from the Fort with his carts and bands of horses at 10 A.M. We followed at mid-di>y, the Governor accompanying us to Silver Heights, six miles up the Assini- boine. This had been his own country residence, but is now owned by D. A. Smith, Escj., M. P., the head of the H. K Company in America. We met here Mr. Christie, late chief 6 i :ii ] 82 OCEAN TO OCEAN. factor at Edmonton, ^Ir. Hamilton, of Xorway House, Mr. McTavish antl others from different i)arts of the great North- west ; and received from Mr. Smith assistance and highland ^osmcalit}', of the same kind that eveiy traveller has experi- enced, in crossing the continent, wherever there is an H. B. post. A few words about this Hudson's Bay Compar.y may be allowed here, not only because of the interest attaching to* it as the last of the great English monopolies, but because, to this day, it is all but impossible for a party to cross the country from Fort Garry to the Pacific without its co-operation. Its forts are the only statiors on that long route where horses can bo exchanged, provisions bought, and information or guides obtained. The Comjiany received its charter in the year 1670. The objects declared in that charter were fur-trading and the Christianizing of the Indians. The two objects may be con- sidered incongruous in these days ; but liistory must testify that the Company as a rule sought to benefit the Indians as well as to look after its f vn interests. At first, aud for more than a century, it displayed but little activity, though its profits were enormous. Its operations were chiefly confined to the shores of Hudson's Bay ; but in 1783, a rival Company called the North- west, — consisting chiefly of Canadians — disputed their claims, entered the field, and pushed operations so vigorously tl'at the old Company was stirred into life and activity. A golden agfe for the red man followed. Rival traders sought him 'out by lake and river side ; planted posts to siiit every tiibe ; coaxed and bribed him to have nothing to do with the oi)position shop ; assured him that Thomas Codlin and not Short had always been the friend of the Indian ; gave him his own price for furs, and — what he liked much better — paid the price in rum. Over a great part of North America the conflict raged hotly for years, for the Territory over which the Hudson's Bay Company claijned jurisdiction was the whole of 3iitish America, — outside of the settled Eastern Provinces of Upper I PROVINCE OF MANITOBA. 8S louse, Mr. eat Noi-th- I highland has experi- H. B. post, ay may be ing to* it as Luse, to this bhe country ation . Its horses can II or guides ! year 1670, ing and the uiy be con- ■j testify that IS as well as iiore than a profits were ,he shores of 1 the North- heir claims, |sly that the golden agft him 'out by ibe ; coaxed isition shop ; had always 11 price for liice in rum. raged hotly dson's Bay of 3iitish Is of Upper aiid Jjower (JanacUi, New !>runswiclc, and Nova 8cotia, — a territory twenty-six hundred miles long and fourteen hunih'cd broad. Tlie rival Companies armed their agents' sei'vants, and half-breed voyagcms, and many a time the quarrel was fought out in the old-fashioned way, in reinoto wildernesses, wliere there were no Courts to interfere and no laws to ap})oal to. In 1821 th(! two ('ompanies, tired of this expensive contest, agreed to coalesce, and the presimt Hudson's Bay Coni[)any was incoi'})orated. Sonu; details as to its constitution may be gleaned from a work published in 181'.), untitled " Twenty-live years in the Hudson's J3ay Territory," bv John McLean. The sliare- holdeis elected a (governor and Committee to sit in London and iej)rc.sent th ai. This body sent out a Uovernor to the Territorv, who.se authority was absolute. He held a Council at York Factory in Hudson's Bay, of such cnief factors and chief traders as could be present ; but these gentlemen had the right only to advise, they could not veto any measure of the (iov. ernor. The vast territorv of the Conn»any was divided into four departments, and rhosc dei)artments into districts. .Vt the head of each departmentand district a chief factor or chief trader generally presided, to whom all otliciaJs within its bounds were amitalist><, and forty being divided among the chief factors and chief traders. The tirst territory lost by the ( omp-iny was two-thirds of ¥•< I i II 'I Mil 84 OCEAN TO OCEAN. that lying between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific. Oresxon was lost to them when vielded in 184G to the United States, aftei" the ten ye irs' joint occupancy ; and Vancouver's Island and Jiritisli ( 't)luuil>i;>. Avhen tiiey were formed into Provinces. The fertih^ plains along the Ptjd llivei*, the Assini- boine, and the tNvo Saskatchewans ought to ha\>' been oj>ened u}) by tiie Kmpij'e and formed into Colonies long a;^o : but their leal value was not known. Tt was not the business of the ('om)iany to call attention to them as fitted foi' any othei- pur- pose than to feed buffalo : for those plains were their hunting- grounds, and their posts on them were kept up chiefly for the purpose of suj)plying theii fai- northern posts with j)e!nmican or preserved bulfalo-nieat. The ('om})any did what every other cori)oration would have done, attended simply to its own busi- ness. The more sagacious of its leading men knew that the end was coming, as the country could not be ke})t under lock and key much longcM-. They could not enforce their monopioly ; for they had no autliority to enlist soldiers, they were not sure of their leual ri'dits. and the tide of eniigratit)n was advanciuijr nearer every day. Eight or nine years ago, when (governor Dallas waG shown some goM washed from thi^ sand-bars of the Saskatchewan, l;is remark was, " the beginning of the end has come." (iold would bring minei's, nierciiants, farmers, and free-trade, so that fur-bearing animals and mono})olies would need to fall bi'.ck to the frozen north ; still, the end would have been lonirev delaved had the British Provinces not united. But, in 1869, the (Company's rights to all its remaining terri- tories were bought up, under Imperial authority, by the Do- minion of Canada, and, as a niono])oly and semi-sovereign power, the Company ceased to exist. To return to our diary. A walk in the garden at Silver Heights was sutiicient to prove to us the wonderful richness of the soil of the Assiniboine valley. The wealth of vegetation and the size of the root crops astonished us, especially when •5\ PROVINCE OF MANITOBA. 85 ho Pacific. ;lie Unitofl 'luicouvev's )rme(l into the Assiui- ?cn ()i»('iiecl ) . hut tlieii" ness of the othoi- jmr- (ir hunting ietly for the 1 pennnican every other ts own busi- Ihat the cno west. As s[)ecimens of what may be done here, the farm of one Morgan was p-ointed out. He had ])Ougl)t it some years ago, for .£;■>() ; and this year, he had already been offined £450 for the potatoes growing on it. A Wesleyan missionary told us that, last year, he had taken the aveiage of ten oood farmers near Portage la Prairie, and found that their returns of wheat were seventeen bushels to one, — and that on land whicli had been yielding wheat for ten years back, and which would con- tinue to yield it, on the same terms, for the next thirty or forty. We drove on in the quiet, sunny afternoon, at a pleasant rate, over a fine farming but unfarmed country, to the White Hor.se Plains, and rested at " Lane's Post," about twentv-five miles from Port (rariy. J.ane is a North of Ireland man, a good fjirmer, and, like all such, enthusiastic in praise of the country. '' What about wood and water I" we asked. '' Plenty of both everywhere," was his answer. Wherever wells had h I H n hi il! SG OCEAN TO OCEAN. been dug on the jmiirio near to liis place, water had been found. On the Assiniboine and tlie ('ro(>l: much, — before all were' brought togetner. Wute.ing, haru'-ising. saddling, and I % PROVINCE OF MANITOBA. 87 »een found. ;, or north fiber ; and, ew in five fther which le, siive all iiny shapes h only the rating, yet le road was •med never- •etc'hed the snn, in his th the sea. • the night, miles from enty of dry ir at hand. Her drove y at Fort lim to onr »vell known intelligent les over the our guides, ee servant not so easy itli canoes. le, and the galloping before all Idling, and (: -■3 4 such like, all took time. To-d*iy the Chief and Secretary drove on ahead twenty-seven mile, to Portage la Prairie. The rest followed more slowly, and the whole party did not reunite for the .second start of the dav till four P.IVI. The road and the country v;ere much the same as 3^esterday. We were crossing tlie comparatively narrow strip of land be- tween the Assiniboine and Tiake Manitoba. Long Lake, or a creek that is part of it, is near the road for the greater part of the distance. It is difficult to get at the water of the lake, because of the deep mire around the shores ; and so we took the word of one of the settlers for it, that it is good tliough warm. Water from a well by the roadside was g3od, and cold as ice. All the land along this part of the Assiniboint, north to what is called the " Ridge," for eight miles back has l^een taken up, but a great part is in the hands of mc^n who do noi understand the treasures they could take out of it ; and there is abundance of the same kind of land farther back, for new settlers. As we drove on in the early morning, prairie hens and chickens rose out of the deep grass and ran across the road, ^dthin a few feet cf us ; while, on mounds of hay in a fiold lately mown, sat hawks looking heavy and sated as if they had eaten too many chickens for breakfast. On the branches of oaks and aspens sat scores of pigeons, so unmoved at our approach that they evidently had not been much shot at. We asked a farmer who had recently settled, and was making his fortune at ten times the rate he had done in Ontario, if he evci shot any of the birds. " No," he contemptuously answered ; " he was too busy ; the half-breeds did that sort of thing, raid did little else." Day after day, he would have for dinner fried pork or bacon, and tea, when lie could easily have had the most delicious and wholesome varieties of food. He told us that, in the spring, wild geese, wavies, and ducks could be shot in great numbers, but he had eaten only goose in Manitoba. Portage la Prairie; is the centre of what v\'ill soon be a M: 88 0(^EAM TO OCEAN. ' ii I I i i i? ill thriving settlement. On the way to the little village, we passed, in less than ten miles, three camps of Sioux — each with about twenty wigwams, — ran^^ed in oval or circular form. The three camps probably numbered tliree hundi'ed souls. The men wore handsonif^ fellows, and a few of the women were ])retty. We did not see many of the women, however, as they kept to the cann)s doing all the dirty work, while the men marched about along the road, every one of them with a gun on his shoulder. The Indian would carry his gun for a month, though there was not the sli'/^tost chance of getting a shot at anything. These Sioux fled here nine or ten years ago, afte • the terrible IVIinnesota massacre, and here they have lived ever since. One amiable-looking old woman was pointed out as having roasted and eaten ten or twelve children. No demand was made for their extradition, probably because they had been more sinned against tlian sinning. Frightful stories are told of the treatment of Indian by miners ; and tiiere are cora})aratively few tales of Indian atrocities to balance them. When the Sioux entered British territory they had with them old George III medals, and they declared that their fathers had always considered themselves British subjects and that they would not submit to the rule of the '• long knives." They are and always have been intensely loyal to their great mother, and during Kiel's rebel- lion, were ready and anxious to fight for the Queen. We were told that the United States authorities had offered pardon if they would return to their own lands, for the Government at Washington is desirous now to do justice to the Indians, though its best efibrts are defeated by the cupidity and knaveiy of its airents ; but the Sioux would not be charmed back. The settlers all around the Portage speak favourably of the Sioux, They are honest and harmless, willing to do a day's work for a little food or powder, and giving little or no trouble to anybody. Tlie Doctor at the portage entertained us hospitably. He spoke highly of the healthiness of the climate, showing himself ^ilj PROVINCE OF MANITOBA. 89 •illage, we -each with brm. The The men ere pretty, ley kept to '11 marched [inn on his ith, though ,t anything, the terrible unce. One nna roasted as made for nore sinned le treatment few tales of oux entered III medals, considered t submit to s have been iel's rebel- \Ve were Id pardon if ernment at lans, though liverv ot its lack. The the Sioux, work for a to anybody, bably. He linir himself -# as an example. THoro s(M'ms notliing lucking in tliis country but good industrious settlors. At four P.M. wc started for the next post, Rat Creek, ten mihs off. Th(^ sky was threatening, our, as \v(! always disre- garded ap])eiU-ancos. no one pi-oposod a halt. On the open ])rairie. when just well away from the Hudson I'ay Company's store, we saw tiiat wo worf in foi- a storui. Kvory form of boauty was combined in tlio sky at this time. To the soutli it was such l)bio as Titian loved to paint : Itluo. tliat thoso who have seen only (lull Kui>lish skies say is now]i(»re to bo seen l)ut on canvas or in heaven ; and tbo bbie was ltorflero»l to tlio west v.ith vast V)i]lowy mountains of the fleociost wliite. Next to these and right ahead of us and OAOihoad, was a swo-len black cloud, along the uudor surface of whicli greyer masses woi-e eddying at a terrific rato. Kxtonding from this, and all aiound the north and east, the expanse was a dun-colourod mass livid with liijht ning, and there, to the right, and behind us, torrents of rain were ])ouring, and Hearing us every moment. The atmospliere was charged with electricity on all sides, lightning rushed to- wards the earth in straight and zi twenty millions of bushels. P)ut, uj) to 1857, enough wheat was not raised in the State to supjdy the wants of.tlie few thousands of lumbermen who tirst settled jMinnesota. Flour had to be sent uj) the Mississippi from St. Louis, and the imprsssion then was very general that one half of Minnssota consited of lakes, sandhills, sandy prairies and wilderness, and that the winters were so Ioiil,' and so cold in the other half that farming coidd never be carried on profitably. Severe remarks could be intide with tnith against Minnesota, but it is also the truth that twenty years ago its [)opulation was five thousand, and that now it is five hundred thousand. The soil of jVIinne- sota is not equal in quality to the soil of Manitoba. Calcare- ous soils arc usually fertile. And Manitoba has not only abundant limestone everywhere, but every other element re- quired to make soil unusually productive. Whereas, when you sail up the Red River into Minnesota, the limestone disappears, and the valley contracts to a narrow trough, only two or three miles wide, beyond which the soil is often thin and poor. But, notwithstanding all difHeulties, most of the emigrants to Min- nesota are prospering. Jlundreds jf thousands of hardy Welsh- men and Scandinavians poui-ed inxo the new State, secured land under the Homestead Acts or bought it from Railway Com- panies, lived frugally — shiefly on a bred and milk fare — for PROVINCE OF MANITOBA. 93 », do r.ie nd- { Thus, in .t tho wlieut sh(!ls. Thn , hud hoAm a on an aver- I'cond yeai'» hvm wvW to 'heat-raising ly he caUed ta tliis year \\i to 1857, V tho wants 1 Minnesota, ouis, and the f Minnssota derness, and ler half that ere remarks t is also the ve thousand, I of Minne- i\. CJalcare- as not only element re- [\s, when you disappears, wo or three poor. But, nts to Min- lardy Welsh- ecnred land I way Com- k fare — for the first few years, and they arc now well-to-do farm<'rs. Seeinj; tiiat all the t.-onditions for prosperous settlement are more fa- vourable in Manitoha, is it not easy to foresee a simih rly ra[»id deve]o}mient, if those entrusted with its destinies and with the rlestinies of our j^reat Noi th-west act with the energy .md puh lie spirit of which our neighbours show so shining an example I It is not hard to trace the sources of those alarming rumours, that we heard so much of at a distance, concerning the soil and climate of ^Manitoba. Our friends on l^at Creek gave us an inkling of them. On their way from St. I'aul's, with their teams and cattle, at every post they W(n( repeatedly warned not to im}>overish their families by going to a cohl, locust-de- voured, barren land, where there was no market and no freedom, but to settle in Minnesota. Agents otfered them the best land in the world, and when, witli liritisli stupidity, they .shut their ears to all ten'ptations, obstacles were thrown in the way of their going on, and coi-ts and charges so multi[>lied, that the threatened impoverishment would liave Ijecome a fact before they reached Afanitoba, had they not been resolute and trusted entirely to their own resources. Kven when they arrived at Winnip^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (716) 872-4503 ^ !>• o 94 OCEAN TO OCEAN. Provinces. There is no severe weather till the beginning of December. The jiverago depth of snow from that time is two feet, and there is no thaw till jMarch. The severitv of the in- tervening months is lessened by the l)iiglit sun, the cloudless skies, the stillness and dryness of the air. On iiccount of the steady cold tlie snow is dry as meal, and the farmers' wives said that " it was such an advantage that the children could run about all winter, without getting their feet wet." They could not say as much in Nova Scotia. This drynciis of the snow is also an important fact ^us regards railway construction. Let the rails be raised two or three feet above the level of the prairie, and they are sure to be always clcav of snow. In fact there is much less risk of snow blockades in the winter on our western plains than in the older Provinces or in the North- eastern States. In March, and even in April, tliere are some- times heavy snow-storms. But the snow soon melts away. It is what was intended for spring rain. Hay is needed in those months more than in the winter, when the horses and even the cattle can paw oft' the snow and eat the nutritive grasses un- derneath ; whereas, in March and April a crust is often formed, too hard for their hoofs to remove ; and the more hay that is cut in the autumn the less risk from prairie fires, as well as the better provision for the live stock. This hopeful — even enthusiastic — language about Manitoba may be discounted by some readers, in view of the locust phigues that have retarded the prosperity of the Province sin^^e 1872. Our hopvS were founded not only on what we saw, but on the descriptions of the settlers and on their brave and cheery tone. They ignored rather than anticipated difficulties. They had a pride in- the new land they had made their own, and faith in its future. Everywhere, in conversation with them, we found combined with this contidence, the rising of that national senti- ment, that pride in their country, which is both a result and a safe-guard of national dignity and independence, as distinguished PROVINX'E OF MANITOBA. 96 beginning of , time is two tv of the in- the cloudless i?count of the innei's' wives liiUlreu could wet." They •ynCi^s of the construction. [3 level oi the low. In fact ivinter on our 11 the North- ere are some- olts away. It icded in those and even the o grasses un- often formed, e hay that is as well as the out Manitoba of the locust ^rovince sin».e we saw, but e and cheery ulties. They )wn, and faith lem, we found ational senti- a result and a distinguished ,v from a petty provincialism. This Great West will, in the future, probably manifest this spirit more than even the East- ern Provinces, and so be the very backbone of the Dominion ; just as the ]>rairie States of the neighbouring republic are the most strongly imbu^'d with patriotic sentiments. The sight, the possession of these boundless sees of rich land stirs in one that feeling of — shall we call it bumptiousness — that Western men have been accused of displaying. It is easy to ridicule and caricature the self sufficiency, but the fact is, a man out West feels like a young giant, who cannot help indulging a little tall talk, and in displays of his big limbs. At 4 P.M., we prepared to follow our party, but at this moment, a body of si.xty or eighty Sioux, nobh; looking fellows, came sweeping across the prairie in all the glory of ptiint, feathere, and Indian warlike magnificence. They had come from Fort Ellice, had recently travelled the long road from Mis- souri, and were now on their wav to Governor Archibald to ask permission to live under the Ilriti.sh flag, and that small reserves or allotments of land should be allowt.l them, as they were determined to live no longer under the rule of " the long knives." Some of them rode horses, others were in light bag- gage-carts or on foot. All had guns and adornment of one kind or another. A handsome brave came first, with a painted tin horse a foot lonf hundreds of ^presented the 1 to more, addi- Itrength. With . 'i'i ■■£ 'i the same apparent generosity, but with as cool a calculation of profits as that which sent Stanley to discover Livingstone, free grants of land were therefore offered to the whole world. Home- stead laws provided that those farms should not bo liable to be seized for debt. As it was necessarv that the emigrant should be able to get easily to his farm and to send to market what he raised, companies were chartered to build railways in every direction, the State subsidising them with exemptions, money bonuses, and enormous land grants. The ancient maxim had been, ** settle up the country and the people will build railways if they want them." The new and fc jtter maxim is, " build rail- ways and the country will soon be settled." Tliese railway corporations became the emigiation agents of the United States, and well have they done tiie public work, while directly serving their own interests. With the one aim of securing settlers, whose labour on parts of their land would make the other parts valuable, they organized, advertised, and worked emigration schemes with a business-like thoroughness that has attracted far less attention than it deserves. What a proud position the United States, as a country, was thus made to occupy in the eyes of the whole world ! *' Ho, every one tliat wants a farm, come and take one," it cried aloud, and in every language. Poor men toiling for a small daily wage in the old world, afraid of hard times, sickness and old age. heard the cry, and loved the land that loved them so well, and offered so fair. They came in thousands and found, too, that it kept its word ; and then they came in tens and hundreds of thousands, till now less liberal offei-s have to be made, because most of the public do- main that is worth an v thing has been absorbed. Those hard- working masses prospered, and they raade the country great. Some of them who had been rudely expatriated, who had left their mother land with bitterness in their hearts, vowed vengeance and bequeathed the vow to their children. Others attributing their success to the new institutions, began to hate *»»■««;*;;- J 98 OCEAN TO OCEAN. the forms of government that they identified with their days of penury and misery. Others were wiser, but their riterests were bound up with their adopted country, and, when it came to vhe question, they took sides against the okl and with the new. Had the State hekl aloof, maintaining that any inter- ference or expenditure on its part in connection with emigration was inconsistent with political economy, that the tide of popu- lation must be left to flow at its own sweet will, and railways be built only where there was a demand ibr them, the great west of the United States would not have been filled up for many a year to come. And had the Imperial authorities thought less about imaginary laws of political economy and more about pressing practical necessities, millions, who are now in a strange land bitter enemies of the British crown, would have been its loyal subjects in loyal colonies. The past is gone ; but it is not yet too late to do much. We now stand on a more fiivourable vantage ground than before, not only positively but comparatively, for our vast virgin' prairies are thrown open, while there is but little good land left in tlie United States available for settlement under the homestead laws. The great lines of communication from the sea-board are beginning to touch our North-west territory ; and, if we act with the vigour and wisdom of which our neighboui's have set the example, the ever-increasing current of emigration from the old world must flow into Manitoba, and up the As- siniboine and Saskatchewan rivers. _ We must act, to bring about such a result. It will not come of itself. While we stand looking at the river, it flows past. Labour is required to divert it into new channels, or it will flow over the courses that have been made for it, or simply overflow them. We are now able to oflfer better land, and on easier terms, to immigrants than the United States or any of its mil way com- panies offer, but they will continue to attract them if we fold our arms while they work. They have many influences on their PROVINCE OP MANITOBA. 99 th their days of their riterests I, when it came d and with the that any inter- with emigration he tide of popu- II, and railways n, the great west [id up for many liorities thought and more about now in a strange Id have been its to do much. We ^ind than before, our vast virgin* little good land iment under the lication from the it territory ; and, li our neighbour snt of emigration and up the As- sido ; the gravitating force of numbers ; past success on a grand scale; grooves worn smooth by the millions tramping westward ^ a vast army of agents paid in proportion to their succes ; every principal railway station in Furope, and even in the Dominion, pimered with their glowing advertisements ; floods of pam- phli'ts in every language; arrangements pc^rfectcd to the minutest details for forwarding the ignorant and helpless stranger from New York ami Chicago to any point he desires; and perhaps a comfortable log slianty ready for hini whon he gets there. They offer great inducements to men to organise colonies ; advise neighbours to club their resources and emigrate together, so that one may help the other ; lay off village i)lats and draw beautiful sketches of future cities ; and cheor the droo})ing s])irit of the foreigner, when he is discouraged with difficulties that had not been advertised, with brilliant pro[)hecies and an infusion of the indomitable Yankee si)irit. They make the doubter believe that it is better to pay their company from $5 to 815 an acre for " the best land in the world," " rich in minerals," " no long winters," accompanied with free passes over the railway, and long credits, " one-tenth down, and the rest when it suits you," than to take up free grants elsewhere. In all this business, for it is purely a business transaction, though gilded with soft hues of buncombe, references to down- trodden millions, American generosity, free institutions, and such like, they have hitherto had no competitor; for, until our North- west was opened up and proved to contain farms for the million, we could not well com[)ete. What the mass of emigrants wanted was prairie soil } land that they could plough at once without the tedious and exhausting labour of years required in wood- land farming, chopping, rolling, burninp;, grubbing, stumping, and levelling. Such land the Dominion can now offer, and it is therefore the great and immediate duty of the Government to see that it be opened up, and brought within reach of the ordi- nary class of settlers. ;£.y^^i»^^k>!0Hlim3!tm9,t.A^i... ii 11 100 OCEAN TO OCRAN. To whiit point in tho Dominion should tlio einiut Mani- tobe is now within reach of the emi<^rant, and there is a good market in Winni[)ey. This little villajj;e is becoming a town; houses are springing up in all directions with a rapiility known only in the history of Western towns; and the demand for provisions, stock, farm implements, and everything on which labour is ex[)ended, is .so much greater than the 8up])ly, that prices are enoi'mously high. The intending settler, therefore, should bring in with him as much of what he may require as he possibly can.% Besides a rich soil, a healthy and — for the hardy populations of northern and pinitral I:]urope — a jdcasant climate, law and order, and all the advantages of British connection, Manitoba otters other inducements to the emigrant. The (jrov'ernment of the Dominion has opened the country for settlement on the most liberal terms possible. Any person, the subject of Her Majesty by birth or naturalization, who is the head of a family or has attained the age of twenty-one years, is entitled to be entered for one hundred and sixty acres, for the purpose of securing a homestead right in respect thereof. To secure this land he has only to make affidavit to tho aL jve ^ Ject, and that he purjioses to be an actual settler. On filing this affidavit with the land officer, and on payment to him of $10, he is permitted to enter the land specified in his application. Five years thereafter, on showing that he has resided on or cul- tivated the land, he receives a patent for it ; or any time before the expiration of the five years he can obtain the patent by paying the pre-emption price of one dollar an acre. This farm, HI PROVINCE OF MANITOBA. 101 L-e. This farm, no matter liow vahmblc it may bccomp, nnd liis bonsft and fur- nituro, barns, staMfs, fences, tools, and farm iinphunentH are declared free from Heizuro for debt ; and in addition to the ex- er ■■ 'on of all tiioso, thoro are also exempted, " one cow, two oxen, one horse, four sheep, two pigs, and the food for the «ttmo .or thirty days." There are, and can be, no Indian wars or dilVicp.lticH in Mani- toba. This is a matter of tlie utmost iiiipoitanco to the intend- ing setth^r. When we returned from our expedition, the Chief was interviewed at Ottawa by a deputation of the Russian sect of Mennonites, who are lookin^^'out for the best place in America for their constituents to settle in, and one of their first (lUestions referred to this. He answered it by pulling a boy's knife out of his j)Ockct, small bhide at one end cork-screw at the other, and told them that that was the only weapon he had carried while travelling from Ocean to Ocean ; adding that he had used only one end of even so insignificant a weapon, and that end not so often as he would have liked. - As the mode of settling with the Indians adopted in Mani- toba is based on the system that has been long tested in the older provinces, and that will ppobably be extended to the whole of the North-west, a few words on the general question may not be out of place. There are three ways of dealing with the less than half-million of red men still to be found on the continent of America, each of which has been tried on a smaller or larger scale. The first cannot be put more clearly or badly than it was in a letter dated San Francisco, Sept. 1859, which went the round of the American press, and received very general appro- val. The writer, in the same sjjirit in which Roebuck con- demned the British CTOvernment's shilly-shally policy towards the Maories, condemned the Federal Government for not having ordered a large military force to California when they got pos- session of it, "with orders to hunt ard shoot down all the In- dians from the Colorado to the Klaniath." Of course the ^vr i r ■■-rmumiaiitm. SHkyiBiaut'if.'Jt,i '-•»*W«,|j.U.V, ? ' I i! I 102 OCKAN TO OCEAN. ter adds that such a method of dealing witli the Indians would have been the clieapoHt, "and perlmps the most humane." With !ej,'!Uit the same time, do substantial justice and give satisfaction to the Indians. The treaty-making j)rocess is interesting, as illustrative of several points in the Indian character. Though it took ten days to make the first, yet, in the light lately thrown on the difficulties of drawing up a treaty that shall express the same thing to both parties, the time cannot be considered unreason- ably long. The Indians first elected chiefs and spokesmen to represent them. On these being duly presented and invited to state their views, they said that there was a cloud before them which made things dark, and they did not wish to commence the pro- ceedings till the cloud was dispersed. It was found that they referred to four Swampies who were in prison for breach of contract, and the tribe felt that it would be a violation of the brotherly covenant to enter upon a friendly treaty, unless an act of indemnity were passed in favour of the four. As they II I Uli ] f if ..( i 106 OCEAN TO OCEAN. begged their discharge un the plea of grace and not of right, the Governor acceded to their petition ; and the Indians thereupon declared that henceibrth they would never raise a voice against the law being enforced. The real business then commenced. Being told to state their views on reserves and annuities, they did so very freely, and» substantially, to the effect that about two-thirds of "fhe province should be reserved for them. But when it was explained that their great mother must do justly to all her children, " to those of llic rising sun as well as to those of the setting sun," and that it would not be fair to give much more than a good farm for each family^ they assented. Fortunately the Governor could point out to them a settlement of Christianized Ojibbeways numbering some four hundred, between the Stone Fort and the mouth of Red River, as a proof that Indians could live, prosper, and provide like the white man. This mission was established by Archdeacon Cochi-ane, and has now a full- blooded Indian for its clergyman. Many of them have well- built houses and well-tilled fields, with wheat, barley and potatoes glowing, and giving promise of plenty for the coming winter. The Indians of this district form a parish of their own, called St. P» ♦^^ ''s, and return a member to the House of Assembly; they have the honour of being represented, by a gentleman who has successively held the offices of Minister of Agriculture, Provincial Secretary, and who is now Provincial Treasurer. In the end, it was agreed that reserves should be allotted sufficient to give one hundred and sixty acr3S to each family of five ; that the Queen should maintain a school on each reserve when the Indians required it ; ancj that no intoxicating liquors be allowed to be introduced or sold within the bounds of the reserves ; also, that each family of five should receive an annuity of $15, in blankets, clothing, twine, or traps; and, as a mark of Her Majesty's satisfaction with the good behaviour PROVINCE OF MANITOBA. 107 of Her Indians, and as a seal to the treauy, or Indian luck- penny, a present of $3 be given to each man, woman, and child. Every one being satisfied, the treaty was signed, the big orna- mented calunif t of peace smoked all round, and the Oovernor then promised each chief a buggy, to his unbounded delight. One important consequence of these Indians being pleased is that the Indians farther west, having hoard the news, are all anxious for treaties, and have been on their good behaviour ever sin'ie. ^.:'': n CHAPTER V. From Manitoba to Fort Carlton on the North Saskatchewan. Fine fertile couHtrj'. -The water queBtioii.— Duclt shooting'. Salt Lakes.— Campiiigr on tho plains.—Fort Ellicc. -Qu'aitpelle Valley. -" Soiizie"— The River Assiniboine.— The Buffalo.— Cold niyhts. Rich soil. -Lovely Country.- Little Touchwood Hills.— Cause of prairie fires.- A day of rest.— Prairie uplands. -Indian family.— Red River Carts. — P.ufTalo skulls.- Desolate track. - Quill Lake. Salt water.— Broken prairie.— Round hill. -Prairie fire.- Rich black soil. Red River Brigades.— Magnificent Panorama. —Break-neck speed.— The South Saskatchewan,— Sweet" hearts and wives. —Fort Carlton.— Free traders. The Indians.— Crop raising. August 5tli. — Tliis morning it I'ained lioavily, anrl delayed us a little ; but by the time we had our morning pannikin of tea, the carts j)acked, and everything in its place, the weather cleared up. We got away at 5 A.M., and rode sixteen miles before breakfast, reaching Pine Creek, a favourite camping ground ; still following up the course of the Assiniboine, though never coming near enough to get a siglit of it, after leaving our first camp from Fort Carry. Tho next stage was fourtean miles to Bog Creek ; and after dinner, eleven miles more, ma'iing forty- one for the day. Instead of the level prairie of the two pre- ceding days and the black peaty loam, we had an undulotincr and more wooded couatry, with soil of sandy loam of varying degrees of richness. Here and there ridges of sand cJunes, covered with vegetation, sloped to the south, having originally drifted from the north, probably from the Riding Mountains, of which they may bv. considered the outlying spurs. From the top of any one of these a magnificent view can be had. At our I'eet a park-like country stretched far out, studded with young oaks ; vast expanses beyond, extending on the north to the Riding Mountains, and on the south to the Tortoise Moun- tain on the boundary line; a beautiful country c.\ tending hundreds of square miles without a ettler, though there is less 7 . MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON. 109 bad land in the whole of it than there is in the peninsula of Halifax, or within live or ten miles of any of our eastern cities. TIjis almost entire absence of unproductive land is to us very wonderful. If we except the narrow range of sand- hills, there is actually none ; for the soil, even at their base, ia a light sandy loam which would yield a good return to the farmer. The soil about these hills is not equal to prairie. Its flora is not that of the prairie. Both soil and flora are like those of the Rice Lake plains, and the C-ounty of Simcoe in Ontario, where excellent wheat crops are raised. The only question, suggestive of a doubt, that came up was the old one of " Is there plenty of water 1 " The rivers are few ; the creeks small. Along their banks there is no difliculty, but what of the intervening ground ] We had heard of wells sunk in diff'ei-ent places, and good water found from four to fifty feet down. But, yesterday, Grant informed us that a beauti- ful stretch of prairie, immediately to the west of his location, which had been taken up by a friend of his, had been aban- doned because no water could be got. They had sunk wells in three places, one of them to the depth of seventy-five feet, but pierced only hard white clay. Grant believed that this stra- tum of clay extended over a limited area, and that, under it, water would be tapped if they went deep enough. But the matter is of too great importance to be left to conjecture. Test wells should be sunk by the Government in different places ; and where there are saline or brackish lakes, or even should the first water tapped prove saline, artesian wells might be tried, so as to get to the fresh water beneath. Till it is certain that good water can be easily had all over the prairie, successful colonization on a large scale cannot be expected. The general belief is that there is water enough ^everywhere. There is an abundant rain fall, and the water does not form little brooks and run off, but is absorbed by the rich, deep, porous ground. Still the claims of our North-west on the at- •■#i»84**-tfe well to be prepared with an answer. Nothincf could be more exhilarating than our rides across the prairie, especially the morning ones. The weather, since our arrival at Fort Garry, had been delightful, and we knew that we had escaped the sultry heat of July, and were just at the commencement of the two pleasantest months of the year. The nights were so cool that the blanket was welcome, and in the evenings and mornings we could enjoy the hot tea. The air throughout the day was delicious, fresh, flower scented, health- ful, and generally breezy, so that neither horse nor rider was warm after a fifteen or twenty miles' ride. We ceased to won- der thiit we had not heard of a case of sickness in the settlers' families. Each day was like a new pic-nic. Even the short terrihc thunder storm of the day before yesterday had been enjoyed because of its grandeur. Grant told us that it was the heaviest he had ever seen in the country, and that we had felt its full force. Three miles away there had been no hail, August 6th. — Up before four A.M., but were delayed some time by the difficulty of lassoing the horses that were wanted. The Doctor had, meanwhile, some shooting round the little lake by which we had camped ; and getting some more on the way, Terry the cook was enabled to serve up plover duck and pigeons, with rice curry, for breakfast. Our morning's ride was sixteen miles, and brought us to the Little Saskatchewan, — a swift-flowing pebbly-bottomed stream, running south into the Assiniboine. Its valley was about two miles wide and two hundred and fifty feet deep. All the rivers of the North-west have this peculiarity of wide valleys, and it constitutes a serious difficulty in the way of railroad making; they must be crossed, but regular bridging on so gigantic a scale is out of the ques- MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON. Ill tion. The hill sides sloping down into the valley or intervale of the river are green and rounded, with clumps of trees, most of them fire scorched, in the depressions. "We hailed the sight of this fl \viiig stream with peculiar de- light ; for it was the first thing that looked, to our eyes, like a river in all the hundred and twenty miles since leaving the Assiniboine. The creeks crossed on the way were sluggish and had little water in them, and most of the swamps and lakelets were dried up, and their bottom covered with rank coarse grass, instead of the water that fills them in the spring. This morn- ing, however, we passed several pretty- well-filled lakes, — plo- ver and snij)e about most of them, — on the height of land from which the ground slopes toward the little Saskntchowan. Our second stage for the day was only eleven miles ; but the next was fourteen, and we drove or rode along the winding road at a rattling pace, reaching our cam})ing ground, at Salt Lake, an hour before sunset. This lake is bitter or brackish, but, on the opi»osite side of the road, there is good water ; and, although the mosquitoes gave us a little trouble, we fared well — as at all our camps. This was the first salt lake we had seen, but farther on the way there are many such ; and grievous has been the disappointment of weaiy travellers, on drawing near to one of them and preparing to camp. The causes are proba- bly local, for good water is found near, and, all around the grass is luxuriant. A white crust forms on the dried up part of the bottom and the shores are covered with saline plants, chiefly reddish-coloured, thick, succulent samphire and sea-blite growing together and extending over several acres of ground. The following arc the principal plants: — Scir/ms marithnus, L.; Salicornia herhacea, L.; Glaux maritima, L.; Suada maritima^ Dwnot, var. prostrata; Pall. Glj/cena (listane. These have a wide range over the whole interior wherever salt lakes are found." A bathe in the little Saskatchewan before breakfast was our 112 OCEAN TO OCEAN. :l ill 1- first good wash for two or three days, and we enjoyed it pro- portionately. Our horses did their forty-one miles to-day, seemingly with greater ease than they had any previous day's work. !Most of them are of pure native breed ; some of them — the largest — have been crossed with Canadian, and the swiftest with Yankee breeds. In all our pack there are only two or three bad hoi'ses ; none of them looked well at first, but, though small and common looking, they are so patient, hardy and companionable, that it is impossible for their riders to avoid becoming attached to them. Hardly two of the saddles provided for our party were alike. There was choice of English, American, Mexican, and military, — the first being the favourite. August 7th. — Made a good day's journey of forty-five miles, from the Salt Lake to the junction of the Qu' Appelle and Assiniboine rivers. The first stage was ten miles, to the Shoal Lake — a large and beautiful sheet of water with pebbly or sandy beach — a capital place for a halt or for camping. The great requirements of such spots are wood, water, and feed for the horses ; the traveller has to make his stages square with the absence or presence of those essentials. If he can get a hilly spot where there are few mosquitoes, and a sheet of water large enough to bathe in, and a resort of game, so much the better. Arrived at the ground, the grassiest and most level spots, gently sloping, if possible, that the head may be higher than the feet, are selected. The tents are pitched over these, one tent being allotted to two persons, when comfort is desira- ble, though sometimes a dozen crowd inside of one. A water- proof is spread on the ground, and, over that, a blanket. Each man has another blanket to pull over him, and he may be sound asleep ten minutes after arriving at the ground, if he has not to cook or wait for his supper. The horses need very little attention ; the harness is taken off and they are turned loose — the leaders or most turbulent ones being hobbled, /. e., their fore feet are fettered with intertwined folds of shagannappi or MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON. 113 raw buffalo hide, so that they can only move about by a succession of short jumps. Hobbling is the western substitute for tether- ing. They find out, or are driven to the water, and, immedi- ately after drinking begin grazing around ; next morning they are ready for the road. A morning's swim and wash in Shoal Lake was a luxury, and the Doctor had some good shooting at loons, ducks, yellowlegs, and snipe. Our second stage was twenty-one miles to Bird's Tail Creek, a pretty little running stream, with valley nearly as wide, and banks as high as the Little Saskatchewan. It is wonderful to see the immense breadth of valley that insignificant creeks, in land where they have not to cut their way through rocks, have eroded in the course of ages. At this creek, we were only twelve miles distant from Fort Ellice. The true distance from Fort Garry, as measured bv our odometer, is two hundred and fifteen miles. As our course lay to the north of Fort Ellice, the Chief and two of the party went on ahead to get provisions and a half dozen Government horses that had been left to winter there, and to attend to some business, while the rest followed the direct trail and struck the edge of the plateau overlooking the Assiniboine, — which was running south — ^just where the Qu'Appelle joined it from the west. The view from this point is magnificent ; between two and three hundred feet below, extending far to the south and then winding to the east, was the valley of the Assiniboine, — at least two miles wide. Opposite us, the Qu'Appelle joined it, and both ran so slow- ly, that the united river meandered through the intervale as circuitously as the links of the Forth, cutting necks and pro- montories of land that were almost islands, some of them soft and grassy, and others covered with willows or timber. The broad open valley of the Qu'Appelle stretched along to the west, making a grand break in what would otherwise have been an unbroken plateau of prairie. Three miles to the south 8 114 OLKAN Tu (;niiri<'H, and at fotir oVdook, wlion we camn out of tho tontK, shivering' a littlo, tlio cold w((^ grasH was cornfoitlcHS onouj?li ; but a warm (Mip of tea around tlm caniji fire put all right. VV^o wcMo on lior.schack hcforo Kunriso, and a trot of thirteen niilos, t)vor a beautiful and sonu«what l>rok««n country. fitt'.Ml us for breakfast. Mr. McDouufal told us that in the elevates of aspens — too often fire-scathed. In the hollows gi'ew tall rich grass which would never be mowed ; everywhere else, even on the sandy ridges, was excellent pasture. We met a half-breed travelling, with dried meat and buffalo skins, to Fort Garry, in his wooden cart covered with a cotton roof, and he informed us that men were hunting, two days' journey ahead, about the Touchwood Hills. This excited our MANlTOliA TO INHJT < AIII/PoN. 11!> moil to tlid lii;^li('Ht pitch, for tlio huflulo Imvo not como on tliiH nnit<5 for iiiiiny V'^hih, iind cii^^or ho|K!H weiv ^'xchiin^ed timt W'l might H(!« iiitd ^et Ji shot ni tlnMii. Wonchu'fiil HtorioH wore told uf thti buiiiih)-huntH in tormor cluyH, and men hitherto taciturn, jKM-hapH hocauw tlioy knew littlo Kn;(liHh, hc^^an oxphiinin^ volubly — j'kin^' out tlicir moanin;^ with cxjUTSHive ^n-Htitnihi- tion — thu nature of a hnllalo hunt. Fine fellows all our half- hreedn were as far as riding, huntini,', camping, dancing and Hwch like were concerned ; tiiough they would have made hut poor farm-servant.s. Two of them had belonged to Iliel'M body- guard in the days of his little rebellion. The youngest was Willie, a boy of sixtej^i who rode and lassoed and raged and stormed ami swore on the slightest provocation bei,t(U' than any of t.hem. H<^ looked part of the horse when on his back, and never shirked the roughest work. We were horritietl at his ready profanity, and the Doctor rowed him up about it ; but, though they all liked the Doctor, for lio had physicked two or thn^e of them successfully, and had even bound up the sore leg of one of the horses better than they could, the j'vwing had no erfect. The Secretary then tried his hand. Finding that Willie believed in his father, an adventurous daring Scot who had married a squaw, he accosted him one day when none of the others were near, with : "Willie, would you like to hear me yelling out your father's name, with shameful words among strangers]" He looked up with a half-puzzled, half-defiant air, and shook his head. "We)l, how can 1 like to hear you shout- ing out bad language about my best friend I " A few more words on that line, and Willie was converted. We heard no more oaths from him exce[)t the mild ones : ** By George," " by Jing " or "by Golly," and in sundry ingenious ways thereafter he showed a sneaking fondness for the Secretary. We rested to-day for dinner on a hillock beside two deej) pools of water, and the Doctor made us capital soup from pre- served tomatoes and mutton. Ten or eleven miles from our uv>stts«:>ibu« ■■^^tuimmi'^ 120 OCEAN TO OCEAN. H \\\ i 1 'I (lining table brought us to the end of this section of wooded country, wliere we had intended to camp for the night, but the ponds were emi)ty and no halt could be made. We therefore pushed on across a vast treeless plain, twenty iriiles wide, with the knowledge that if there was no water in a marsh beside a solitary tree four miles ahead, we would have to go oflf the road for tive miles to get some, and, as the sun was setting, the prosi)ect for the first time looked gloomy. Making rapidly for the lonelv tree, enough water for ourselves and horses was found, and with hurrahs from the united party, the tents were pitched. Forty-two and a half miles the odometer shewed to be our day's travel. August 10th. — The night of the 8th having been so cold, we divided out more blankets the following evening by dispen-* sing with one tent, and sleeping three, instead of two, in each. The precaution turned out to be unnecessary, though we kept it up afterwards, for the nights were always cool. This feature of cool nights after hot days is an agreeable surprise to those who know how different it usually is in inland countries, or wherever there is no sea breeze. It is one of the causes of the liealthy appearance of the new settlers even in the summer months. In the hottest season of the year the nights are cool, and the dews abundant, except when the sky is covered with clouds. No wonder that *;he grass keeps green. Our morning's ride was across sixteen miles of the great plain, four miles from the easterly edge of which we had camped. The Secretary walked the distance and got to the breakfast-place ten minutes after the mounted party. A morning's walk or ride across such an open has a wonderfully exhilarating effect. The air is so pure and bracing that little fatigue is felt, even after unusual exertion ; seldom is a hair turned on horse or man. The plain was not an unbroken expanse but a succ^ ssion of very shallow basins, enclosed in one large basin, itself shallow, MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON. 121 from the rim of wliich you could look across the whole, whereas, at the bottom of one of the suuiller basins, the horizon was exceedingly limited. No sound broke the stillness except the chirp of the gopher, or prairie squirrel, running to his hole in the gound. The character of the soil every few yards could be seen from the fresh earth, that the moles had scarcelv fin- ishod throwing up. It varied from the lichest of black peaty loam, crumbled as if it had been worked bv a gardener's hand for his pots, to a very light sandy soil. The ridges of the b'usins wej-e often gravelly. Everywhere; the p:istu)age was excellent, though it was tall enough for hay only in the depressions or marshy spots. Our two next stages carried us over twenty-five miles of a lovely country, known as the Little Touchwood Hills ; aspens were grouped on gentle slopes, or thrown in at the right points of valley and plain, .so as to convey the idea of disltince and every other effect that a landscape gardener could desire. Lake- lets and pools, fringed with willows, glistened out at almost every turn of the road, though unfortunately most were saline. Only the manor-houses and some gently-flowing streams were wanting, to make out a resemblance t-^ the most beautiful parts of England. For generations, all this boundless extent of beauty and wealth had been here, owned by England ; and yet statesmen had been puzzling their heads over the " Condition of England, the Poor, the Irish Famine, the Land and Labour, and similar Questions," without once turning their eyes to a land that offered a practical solution to them all. And the beauty in former years had been still greater, for though the fires have somehow been kept off this district for a few years, it is not very lonar since both hardwood and evergreens as well as willows and aspens, grew all over it ; and then, at every sea- son of the year, it must have been beautiful. Of late years fires have been frequent ; and they are so disastrous to the whole of our North-west that energetic action should be taken i Ui : J I 122 OCEAN TO OCEAN. to prevent them. Formerly, when the Hudson's Bay Company was the only power in this Great Lone Land, it was alive to the necessity of this, and very successful in impressing its views on the Indians as well as on its own servants. Each of its travellinf]j parties carried a spade with which the piece of ground on which the fire was to be made was dug up, and as the party moved off, earth thrown on the enibors extinguished them. 1 5ut since miners, traders, tourists and others have en- tered the country, there has been a very different state of affairs. Some of the spring traders set fire to tlje grass round their camps, that it may grow up the better and be fresh on their return in autumn. The destruction of forests, the drying ' up of pools, and the extermination of game by roasting the spring eggs, are all nothing compared to a little selfish advan- tage. And the Indians and the Hudson's Bay parties seeing this, have become nearly as reckless. This afternoon we had some idea of the lovely aspect that this country would soon assume, if jnotected from the fire-demon. The trees grow up with great rapidity ; in five or six 3' ears the aspens are thick enough for fencing purposes. There was good sport near the lakes and clumps of trees, and Frank shot prairie- hen, partridge and teal, for dinner and next day's breakfast. As he was confined to the roadside, and had no dog, he had but indifferent chances for a good bag. We had to push on to do our forty-one miles, and could not wait for sportsmen. At sun- set the camp was selected, by a pond in the middle of a plain, away from the bush so as to avoid mosquitoes ; and as Emi- lien was tired enough by this time, he agreed readiFy to the proposal to rest on the following day. August 11th. — Breakfast at 9 a.m., having allowed ourselves the luxury of a long sleep on the Day of Rest. The water be- side our camp was hard and brackish, scarcely drinkable, not good even to wash with. It gave an unpleasant taste to the tea, and even a dash of spirits did not neutralize its brackish- ay Company- was alive to ipressing its ants. Each tlie piece of up, and as sxtingiiished ers liave en- ent state of jrass round be fresh on , the drying oasting the fish advan- irties seeiusf 3ct that this fire-demou, I 3' ears the •e was good hot prairie- i breakfast, he had but jh on to do 1. At sun- 3f a plain, L as Emi- diry to the i ourselves ! water be- kable, not aste to the 5 brackish- I ers and I of the I week were these effects more apparent, when frequent disa- greements and petty disputes or quarrels of a more serious kind would take place, when each was' ready to contradict the other, and, at the slightest occasion or without any occasion, to take offence. But to-morrow would be the Sabbath ; and no wonder that its approach should be regarded with j)leasu- rable anticipations, as furnishing an opportunity for restoring the exhausted energies of both man and beast, for smoothing down the asperities of our natures, and by allowing us time for reflection, for regaining a just opinion of our duties to- wards one another ; and the vigour with which our journey would be prosecuted, and the cordiality and good feeling that characterized our intercourse after our accustomed rest on the first day of the week, are sufficient evidence to us that the law of Ihe Sabbath is of physical as well as moral obligation, anii that its precepts cannot be violated with impunity. We cer- tainly have had much reason gratefully to adore that infinite wisdom and goodness that provided for ns such rest." — All which is sound common sense. Crede expartis ! Our Sunday dinner was a good one. Terry had time and did his best. The Chief gave a little whiskey to the men, to take the bad taste from the water and kill the animalcuhe ; and Emilien took as kindly to resting as if he had never travelled on Sundays in his life. The afternoon was sultry and thundery. Heavy showers, we could see, were falling ahead and all around, but although the clouds threatened serious things, we got only a sprinkling, and the evening cleared up with a glorious sunset. After tea Mr. McDougal led our family worship. "We did not ask the men to come, but the sound of the hymn brpught them round, and they joined in the short service with devcut- ness, Willie, who had done a good day's work in snaring fat gophers, being particularly attentive. They were all thankful for the rest of the day, 126 OCEAN TO OCEAN. August 12th. — "The 12th " found us up early, as if near a hi<^hland moor, and away from camp a few minutes after sun- rise. Another delightful day ; sunny and breezy. First stage, thirteen miles ; the second, sixteen ; and the third, fourteen miles, or forty-three for the day ; every mile across a country of unequalled beauty and fertility ; of swelling up- lands enclosing in their hollows lakelets, the homes of snipe plover and duck, fringed with tall reeds, and surrounded with a belt of soft woods ; long reaches of rich lowlands with hill- sides spreading gently away from them, on which we were always imagining the houses of the owners ; avenues of whis- pering trees through wljich we rode on, without ever coming to lodge or gate. Our first *'' spell "* was through the most beautiful country, 'Clmply because longest spared by lire. Many of the aspens were from one to two feet in diameter. Most of the water was fresh, but probably not very healthy, for the lakes or ponds were shallow, and the water tainted by the annual deposition of an enormous quantity of decomposed organic matter. In summer when the water is low, it is difficult to get at it, be- cause of the depth of the mire. When the buffalo ranged through this country and came to ponds to drink, they often sank so deep in the mud that they were unable to extricate themselves, especially if the foremost were driven on by those behind, or the hunter was pressing them. The harder the poor beasts struggled, the deeper they sank ; till, resigning them- selves to the inevitable, they were trampled over by others of the herd. The old deeply indented trails of the herd, in the direction of the saline lakes, are still visible. They used to lick greedily the saline incrustations round the border, as they do still when near such lakes. Like domestic cattle, they in- stinctively understand the medicinal value of salt. From this * The term " spell" is oomiuoiily used, all over the plains, to indicate the length of Journey between meals or stopping-places ; the latter are sometimes called spelling, places, by half-breeds and others. I if near a after sun- zy. First the third, le aci'oss a knelling up- >a of snipe nded with with hill- 1 we were !S of whis- coming to il country, the aspens water was ; or ponds deposition atter. In at it, be- lo ranged hey often extricate by those r the poor ing them- others of d, in the used to L*, as they they in- 'rom this le length of led spelUii(;< MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON. 127 point of view, it is doubtful if the saline lakes will prove a serioiis disadvantage to the stock-raising farmer. In British (Jolumbia and on tlio Pacific Coast generally, such lakes are found, and the cattle that are accustomed to the water, receive no injury from drinking it. On our way to dinner, two hirgo white cranes rose swan-like from a wet marsh near the road. Frank with his gun and Willie with a stone made after them. The larger of the two flew high, but Willie's stone brought down the other. As he was seizing it, the big one, evidently the mother, attacked him, but seeing the gun coming, flew up in time to save herself. The young one was a beautiful bird, the extended wings measu- ring over six feet from tip to tip. As soon as Willie had killed his game, he rode ofl'in trium[)h with it slung across his shoul- ders. In twenty minutes after his arrival at camp, he and his mates had plucked, cooked and disposed of it, all uniting in pronouncing the meat " first class." After dinner a good chance of killing a brown bear was lost. At a turn of the road he was surprised on a hillock, not twenty yards distant from the buckboard that led our cavalcade. Had the horsemen and guns been in front as usual, he could have been shot at once ; but before they came up he was ofl^, at a shambling but rai)id gait among the thickets, and there was not time to give chase. This was a disappointment, for all of us would have relished a bear-steak. The low line of the Touchwood Hills had been visible in the forenoon ; and, for the rest of the day's journey, we first skirted them in a north westerly direction, and then turning directly west, we gained the height bv a road so winding and an ascent so easy, that there was no point at which we could look V>ack and get an extended view of the ground travelled in the course of the afternoon. It is almost inaccurate to call this section of country by the name of Hills, little or big. It is simply a se- ries of prairie uplands, from fifty to eighty miles wide, that I 128 OCEAN TO OCEAN. ]- ti swell up in beautiful undulations from the lovol prairies on each siflo. They hiive no decided summits Irom which the ascent and the plain beyond can be seen ; but everywhere are grassy or wooded rounded knolls, enclosing fields, with small ponds in the windings, and larger ones in the lowest hollows. The land everywhere is of the richest loam. Every acre that we saw might be ploughed. Though not as well suited for steam- ploughs as the open prairie, in many respects this seciion is better adapted for f>M>ining purposes, being well wooded, well watered, and with excellent natural drainage, not to speak of its wonderful beauty. All that it lacks is a murmuring brook or brawling burn ; but there is not one, partly because the trail is along the watershed. On a j)arallel road farther north pass- ing by Quill Lake, Mr. McDougal says that there are running streams, and that the country is, of course, all the more beau- tiful. Our camp for the night was beside two lakelets near forks where the road divides, one going northerly from our course to the old Touchwood ^rading-post, fifteen miles distant. So passed the 12th with us. If we had not sweet-scented heather and Scotch grouse, we had duck and plover and prairie hen ; and, beside the cheery camp-fires under a cloudless star- lit-sky, we enjoyed our feast as heartily as any band of gypsies or sportsmen on the moors. August 13th. — Heavy rain this morning which ceased at sunrise. Got off an hour after, and descended, in our first stage of fourteen and a half miles, the western side of the Touchwood Hills. This side is very much like the other ; the descent to us was so imperceptible that nowhere could we see far ahead or feel certain that we were descending, until the most western upland was reached, and then, beneath and far before us, stretched a seemingly endless sea of level prairie, a mist on the horizon giving it still more the look of a sea. Early in the morning we came upon two buffalo-teuts by the MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON. 120 irairies on which the i' where are vith small st hollows, ere that we I for steaiTi- I section is (ocled, well io speak of ring brook ise the trail north pass- re running more beau- near forks r course to t. eet-scented xnd prairie idless star- of gypsies ceased at our first ide of the tlier ; the aid we see until the th and far prairie, a of a sea. ts by the roadside. In those wore the first Indians we had fallen in with since meeting of the Sioux at Rat Creek, with the exception two or three tents at the crossing of the Assiniboino. They were two families of Bungys (a section of the Salteaux or Qjib- beway tribe) who had boon hunting buff*alo on the prairie to the south-west. Tlioy had a good many skins ou their carts, and th(^ women were engaged at the door of a tent chopping up the fat and moit to make pemmican. Marchaud, our guide, at once struck a trad(! with them, a ievv h.uidfuls of tea for sev- eral pieces of dried l)uff'alo meat. The men seenujd willing that he should take ns much as he liked, but the oldest squaw hag- gled pertinaciously over each piece, and chuckled and grinned horribly wlien she succeeded in snatching away from him the last piece he was carrying ofl". She was the only ugly being in their camp. The men had straight delicate features, with little appearance of manly strength in their limbs ; hair nicely trim- med and plaited. Two or three young girls were decidedly pretty, and so were the pappooses. The whole part}' would have been taken for good looking gypsies in England. The road on this stage was the worst we had travelled over ; so full of ruts and boulders that the axle of one of the carta snapped, and as there was not time to make another, the cart had to be abandoned by the road-side till Emilien's return froui Carlton. It was a marvel )iow well those Ked River carts stood out all the jolting they got. When any ])art broke be- fore, a thong of shaganappi or buffalo raw-hide thong had uni- ted the pieces. Shaganappi in this part of the world does all that leather, cloth, rope, nails, glue, straps, cord, tape, and a number of other articles are used for elsewhere. Without it the Red River cart, which is simply a clumsy looking but re- ally light box cart witli wheels six or seven feet in diameter, and not a bit of iron about the whole concern, would be an im- possibility. These small-bodied high-wheeled carts cross the miry creeks, borne up by the grass roots, and on the ordinary 130 OCEAN TO OCEAN. « » trftil tlie liorsoH jog nlong with thorn at a Rtoady trot of four or five inilos an hour. Onlinary carts wouhl stick hopelessly in the mud at the crossings of the crcseks and marsh(3S, and travel slowly on a good trail. A cart without an ounce of iron was n cuiiosity to us at first, but we soon found that it was the right thing in the right place. After l)r(!ak fast wo ont(M('d on a plain that stretched out on every side, hut tiie one we had left, to the horizon. This had once been a favourite resort of the buffalo, and we passed in the course of the day more than a score of skulls that were bleach- ing on the ))rairie. All the other bones had been cho[)ped and boiled by the Indian women for the oil in them. The Chief picked up two or three of the best skulls to send as specimens to Ottawa. Gnvit was Souzie's amazement at such an act. He had b(!en amused at the Botanist gathei'ing floweis and grasses ; but the idea of a great 0-ghe-ma coming hundreds of miles, to carry home bones without any marrow in them, was inexplicable. He went up to Frank and explained by gestures that they were quite useless, and urged him to throw them out of the buck- board, and when Frank shook his head he appealed to Mr. Mc- Dougal to argue with us. All his efforts failing, he gave it up ; but whenever his eyes caught sight of the skulls it was too much for even Indian gravity, and off he would go into fits of laughing at the folly of the white men. Our second spell iv^as nineteen, and the third, nine miles across this treeless desolate-looking prairie. Towards evening the country became slightly broken and wooded, but we had to camp on a spot where there was not enough wood to make the firts for the night. Knowing this, Marchaud passed the word to the men on horseback, two or three miles before arriving at the camp. They dashed into the thicket, pitched some small dead dry wood into the carts, and then each throwing an up- rooted tree from fifteen to twenty-five feet long, and four to six inches in diameter across his shoulders or on the pommel of his I! 1 MANITOBA TO PORT CATUTOK 131 f four or L'lessly in nd travel iron was t wtt8 the id out on This had sed in the •0 bloach- i[>prd and rhc Chief specimens 1 act. He d f^'rassea ; miles, to ?xplicable. they were the biick- ) Mr. Mc- ave it up ; too much laughing ine miles s evening had to make the the word riving at me small g an up- our to six ael of his w saddle, cantered ofl'with it, Sancho Panza like, as easily as if it was only a long whip. Tlu^y had done this several times be- fore, Willio generally picking out the biggest tree to carry. No matter how unwieldy the load, they rode their horses firmly and gracefully as ever. The prairie crossed to-day extends north-easterly to Quill Lake, the largest of the salt lakrs. Just on that account, and because all th(i ponds on it are saline, clearly shown even where dried u}) by the reddish samphire or white incrustations about the edges, one or two test wells should be sunk here. To-day we had two opi)ortunities of sending to iled Hiver letters or telegrams for home, and — l(;st one should fail — availed ourscilvesof both. Tying our packets with red tap(^, to give them an oiiicial look and thus iin[iress I'osty with due care, and sealing the commission with a [>lug of tobacco, we trusted our venture with the comfortabh; feeling that we had re-established our communications with the outer world. * All day our men had been on the outlook for buffalo but without result. Marchaud rode in advance, gun slung across his shoulders, but although he scanned every corner of the hori- zon eagerly, and galloped ahead or on either side to any over- hanging lip of the plateau, no herd or solitary bull came within his view. They were not far off, for fresh tracks were seen. The tracks of former times are indented in the ground like old furrows and run in parallel lines to the salt lakes, as if in those days the prairie had been covered with wood, and the beasts had made their way through in long files of thousands . August 14th. — The thermometer fell below freezing point last night, but the additional allowance of blankets kept us warm enough. At sunrise there was a slight skiff of ice on some water in a bucket ; and, in the course of the morning's ride, we noticed some of the leaves of the more tender plants * It is only fair to mention that both messengers, one of them a French, and the other a Scotcli half-breed and parishioner of Mr. McDougal's, praved trusty. Everj' letter or teleg'ram we sent from the plains reached home sooner than we had coimted on. \ If fk i -M 132 OCEAN TO OCEAN. withered, but whether from the frost or bliglitj or natural de- cay — they having reached maturity, — we could not determine. The sun rose clear, and the day like its predecessors was warm and bracing, the perfection of weather for travelling. We had hitherto been on the height of land that divides the streams running into the Assiniboine from those that run into the Qu'Appelle, and this, in part, accounted for the absence of creeks near our road. To-dav we got to a still higher eleva^ tion, the watershed of the South Saskatchewan, and found, in consequence, that the grass and flowers were in an advanced stage as compared with those farther east. The grass was grey and ripe, and flowers, that were in bloom not far away, were seeding here. The general upward slope of the plains between Red River and Lake Winnepeg, and the Rocky Mountains, is towards the west. The elevation at Fort Garrv is 700 feet, at Fort Edmonton 2088 feet, and at the base of the Mountain Chain 3000 feet above the sea. This rise of 2,300 feet is spread *ver a thousand miles, but Captain Palliser marked three dis- tinct steppes in this great plain. The fii-st springs from the southern shore of the Lake of the Woods, and, tending to the south-west, crosses the Red River well south of the boundary line ; thence it runs irregularly in a north-westerly direction, by the Riding Mountains towards Swan River, and thence to the Saskatchewan — where the north and south branches unite. The average altitude of this easterly steppe is from 800 to 900 feet above the sea level. The second or middle steppe, on which we now are, extends west to the elbow of the South Sas- katchewan, and thence northwards to the Eagle Hills, west of Fort Carlton. Its mean altitude is 1608 feet. The third prai- rie steppe extends to the mountains. Each of these steppes, says Palliser, is marked by important changes in the composition of the soil, and consequently in the character of the vegetation.* ^ For an exceedingly clear description of the boundaries of these three steppes, and of the Western, Eastern and transverse watersheds of the whole area, see " Report of the Geology and Resources of the region in the vicinity of tlie 4i)th parallel, by George Mercer Dawson," p. 2—10. MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON. 133 were Our first spell to f! ly was fifteen, and our second, twenty- miles, to the Round Hill, over rolling or slightly broken prairie; the loam was not so rich as usual and had a sandy subsoil. Ridges and hillocks of gravel intersected or broke the ge. eral level, so that, should the railway come in this direction, abun- dant material for ballasting can be promised. The prairie to-day had an upward slope till about one o'clock, when it terminated in a range of grassy round hills. For the next hour's travelling the road wound through these ; a suc- ce^ion of knolls enclosing cup-like ba,sins, which in the heart of the range contained water, fresh and saline. Wood also be- gan to re-appear ; and, when we halted for dinner, at the height of the range, the beauty that wood, water, and bold hill-sides f^rive were blended in one spot, v/e were three oi" four hun- dred feet above the prairie ; the scenery round us was bolder than is to be found in any j)art of Ontario, and resembled that of the Pentlands near Edinburgh. The hill at the foot of which we camped rose abruptly from the rest, like the site of an ancient fortalice. Horotski described it as a New Zealand pah ; one hill like a wall riclosing another in its centre, and a deep precipitous valley, that would have served admirably as a moat, filled with thick wood and underbrush, between the two. Climbing to the summit of the central hill, we found ourselves in the middle of a circle, thiri}' to forty miles in diameter, en- closing about a thousand square miles of beautiful country. North and east it was undulating, studded with aspen groves and shining with lakes. To the south and west was a level prairie, with a sky line of hills to the south-west. To the north-west — our diic^tion — a prairie fire, kindled probably by embers that had been left carelessly behind at a camp, partly liid the view. Masses of fiery smoke rose from the burning grass and willows, and if there had been a strong wind, or the grass less green and damp, the beauty of much of the fair scene we were gazing on would soon have vanished, and a vast black- ened surface alone been left. X 134 OCEAN TO OCEAN. ill It was nearly 4 P.M. before we left the Hound Hill, and then we passed between the remaining hills of the range,, and gradually descended to the more level prairie beyond, through a beautifid, boldly irregular country, with more open expanses than in the Touchwood Hills, and more beautiful pools though the wood was not so artistically grouped. Passing near the tire, which was blazing fiercely along a line of a quarter of a mile, we saw that it had commenced from a camping ground near the roadside. Heavy clouds were gathering that w^ld soon extinguish the flames. As there was the api)earance of a terrific thunder storm, we hurried to a sheltered sjmt seven or eight miles from Round Hill, and camped before sunsvt, just as heavy drops commenced to ftill. The speed with which our ar- rangements for the night were made astonished ourselves. Every one did what he could ; and in five minutes the lior.ses were unharnes&ed, tire tents pitched, the saddles and all perish- able articles covered with waterproofs ; but, while exchanging congratulations, the dense black clouds drove on to the south, and, though thi; sky was a-fiame with lightning, the rain scarcely touched lis. August 1.5th. — Early in the morning raiu pattered on our tents, but before day-light it had passed off, and we started comfortably at our usual hour, a little after sunrise. Our aim was to reach the south branch of the Saskatchewon, forty-six miles away, before night ; the diF.tance was divided into three spells of thirteen, seventeen and sixteen miles. The scenery in the morning's ride was a continuation of that of last night ; through a lovely country, well wooded, abound- ing in lakelets, swelling into softly-rounded knolls, and occa- sionally oi)ening out into a wide and fair landscape. The soil was of rich loam and the vegetation correspondingly luxuriant ; the Hora the same, and almost at the same stage as that we had first seen on the prairie, a fortnight before, near Red River; — the roses just going out of bloom ; the yellow marigolds and MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON. 135 ill, and ige,. and through f nests.— Courtesy to Indians.- Shaj,'anapi)i. — Mr. McDoupfal.— Glorious view. — Our Longitude.— The Isothermal lines— Scalpinj,' raids.- Jaeta'a bravery. — The flora.— Victoria Mission. — Indian selutttl. Crops raised.— A lady visitor.— Tiinber. -Ilorso Hill. — Kdmonton. — Coal.— Wheat and other crops. — Gold Wiishiny. —Climate.— Soil.— Indian Races.— Half-breeds.— Watcr.—Fuel.— Frosts. August 17th. — The distanco from Fort Garry to Edmonton is nine hundred miles, and is usually regarded as consisting of three jmrtions ; two hundred and fifteen miles to Fort ElHce on the Assiniboine ; three hundred and nine more to Fort Carlton ; and about three hundred and eighty up the North Saskatche- wan to Edmonton. On this third part of the journey we were now entering. It rained this morning, but we rose early, as usual, and pre- pared to start. There was a good deal of confusion and delay, as Horetsky, who had employed the new men and made the arrangements, had remained over night at the fort. The new horses could not be found for some time ; and, wi^h one thing and another, it was seven o'clock before vre got oflf on this stage of our journey. The sky soon cleared and the day turned out as sunny and breezy as any of its predecessors. The road follows the upward course of the Sa.sltatchewan, but as the river soon makes an almost semi-circular sweep, first south and parallel to the South Saskatchewan, then northerly as far as Fort Pitt, the road •' 'rikes across the chord of the arc, over a broken and hilly coantry called the Thick wood Hills. 144 OCKAN TO OCR AN. Lakes arc always in sight, — one of tluMii vnry largo ami very salt — and extonsivo views of fhio pastiuc lands aro had fioin ovory el(5vation. Tiio soil and its productions, greatly to the disai)i)oiiitin('nt of our IJotanist, resoni))led what wo had every- ^h for tlio last fortui'dit. Tii il some places was equally rich and dcci) ; but generally not quite as good. Every- thing indicatcMl a cool and moist climate. There were few of the prairie llowers, hut a great variety of grassos, of wild peas, and beans, all green succulent herbage; a country better adapt- ed for stock raising than for wheat. The road was rough with rOots, stones, and occasionally deej) ruts, and so hilly that the jog-trot had often to bo exchanged for a walk. Mr. Clark's horses, with the exception of aspjin attached to a large waggon of his own that ho had lent us, turned out to be miseiable beasts ; stilf jointed or sore backed, and obstinately lifeless ; so that wo would hav(; fared badly, h;id it not been for the six government horses brought on from Fort Ellice, The two Carl- ton half-breeds, employed to drive the carts or horses, were old and stupid, incurable smokers anil talkers. The one called Le- grace was dried up as a mummy ; the other fat Jind greasy, popularly known among us as " Haroosh." Ho owed the name to Terry, who, hearing him drive his red horse with frequent howls of " Ho Rouge ! Ho Rouge !" took for granted that this was the " Haroosh" famili \r to himself in early days, and the proper north-west cry to lazy horses. Terry, accordingly, never whacked his unfortunate white nag without yelling " Haroosh !" The only acquisition to the party from Carlton, was the young hunchbacked Indian called Keasis or the little bird. Our breakfast-place was fifteen miles from camp, beside a marsh or pool on the road, twenty feet wide, and so deep that the water came into the buck-boards and up to the axles of the carts. It is well enough named the Slough of Despond. Often have carts stuck, and whole brigades come to grief in it. Why the H. B. Company has never bridged it is a puzzle, except on ALONG THK NORTH SASKATCIIKWAN. 145 and very luul fiom itly to the liiid every- [)l!icoH was )il. Every- Ri'o few of wild peas, tter adapt- •oii;,'h with y that the [v. Clark's ge waggon miseiable ifole.ss ; so for the six 5 two Carl- ;, were old called Le- id greasy, tlie name [i frequent that this , and the y\y, never aroosh !" he young beside a [deep that ties of the Often It. Why [except on the princiido that no |)rivato company cares to do any work that will be a public brnofit, for it has lost enough by it to build ten bridges, Whor*; tliore is any considerable tralUc, nothing is so expensive as a slough, a hole, or any serious obstrtuition on the road. Wo took dimicr fifteen miles finther on, besidt* a pretty little running stream, and camped b(;ror(» sunset, after making only eight miles more, bcsidt; Th(! IW^ars l*addling Lake, a good place to stay over Sunday, as there is abund ince of wood, water and pasture. Th(» lake is very shallow but has a fiiiu smdy bottom and the Indians have often seen bears about its shores, enjoying themselves in the water. Henco its name, a translation of which is sufficient for us. Every one from the Saskatchewan that we previously mot, had spoken so enthusiastically of this river and of the great country it waters, that we were somewhat disappointed with what we had seen to day. True, we had })aHsed over only a speck, and that so elevated that much could not bo looked for from it. The soil a[)peared good, and the grasses were so thick that thciy almost formed a sward ; but the largcu* wood had been burnt, and willow bushes, scattered all round, indicated an in^ difierent sub-soil. Besides, we liad not got rid of the salt lakes. Mr. McDougal, however, ridiculed our doubts : we had only to go out of our road a little, to tind a rich and beautiful country, extending north to the line of continuous forest, and to-morrow and every successive day, as we journeyed west, would show pretty much the same. Faith in the future of the Saskatchewan and its fertile belt is strong in the mind of almost every man who has lived on it, and it is impossible to see even the little of the two great branches of the river that we saw, without being convinced that they are natural highways along which many steamers will soon be plying, carrying to market the rich produce of the plains that extend to the east, west, and north. When the tents were 10 "tdHii^ » ■tifjfe ' 1 >i \ 146 OCEAN TO OCEAN. pitched Souzie went down to the lake and shot four or five ducks, as a contribution to our Sunday dinner. The night was cool, as we had expected at the elevation ; but there was no frost. Augiist, 18th. -Took a much-needed long sleep, as usual on Sunday mornings ; breakfasted at nine o'clock, and had service at eleven, Mr. McDougal assisting. We think ourselves fortu- nate in having fallen in with Mr. McDougal. He is thoroughly acquainted with the country, a man of ready resources and an obliging fellow traveller. Widely different opinions have been expressed, about the value of missionary work among the Indians, by the half dozen persons we have hitherto met, who profess to be less or m'-re acquainted with the subject. One gentleman's information was veiy decided : — " The Protestant missionaries had made no converts ; the Roman Catholic missionaries had made some, and they were the greatest scoundrels unhung." Another v/as equally emphatic on the other side. One witness was doubtful, thinking that something could b River ^askat- d been 5ry in- ly was where ed for ' three J other laster, np, he to in- dished confidential relations with Frank from the first, taught him Creo words, and told him long stories, ex'iilaining his meaning' by ge^sticulations of fingers, hands, shoulders, mouth, and eyes, so expressive tliat Frank understood as well as if all had boon broad liOwlands. A clump of tall pointed white and branching poplar spruce, on the banks of English Pvivor, was the first variety from the universal aspen or occasional balsam poplar, that we had seen since leaving Fort Garry, with the exception of a few white birches on the banks of the Saskatchewan. The aspen is the characteristic tree, just as the buffalo is the characteristic animal of our North-west ; the other trees have in great measure been burnt out. Fortunately the aspen is good wood for carpenter work ; good also for fuel, being kindled easily and burning with- out si)arks. In the course of the afternoon, the Little Bird having gone in too extensively for pemmican became so ill that he gave out altogether. This generally happens with the new men that are picked np at the forts along the route. They are often half- starved, except when employed, and then it takes them a week to go through the surfeiting and sick stages before shaking down into proper condition. Legrace and Haroosh were far too old litinds to suffer any evil consequences, no matter what the quantity they ate. One of us took the Little Bird's work, and made him get into a buckboard where he lay prone, head wrapped up in his blanket, till the camping ground was reached. Then he stretched himself beside the fire, the picture of utter wretchedness. The Doctor prescribed castor oil, and Terry put the dose to his mouth. As the Little Bird took the first taste, he looked np ; noticing the comical look about Terry's amorph- ous mouth, he thought that a practical joke was being played at his exi)ense, and with a gleam of fire in his eyes spit it out on him. The Doctor had now to come up and with his most im- pressive Muskeekee ohnyou (chief medicine man) air, intimate I -^cv 156 OCEAN TO OCEAN. ;1 -:\\ that the doso must l;e taken. The Little liird submitted, drank it as if it were hemlock, and rolled liiinsclf up in his blanket to die. But in the niorninri; he was all right again, though weak ; and gratefully testified that castor oil was the most wonderful medicine in the world. August 21st. — Our destination to-day was Fort Pitt on the Saskatchewan, but learning that a visit to it involved twelve or fifteen miles additional travelling, as the main road keeps well to the north of the river, it was decideil that Horctzky, and Macaulay — one of the Hudson's I3ay otlicers that joined our party at Cai-lton — should ride ahead to the Fort for supplies, and meet us if possible in the evening at the guard. Every station of the Hudson's Bay Comjjany has a guard, or judici- ously selected spot, well sup})lied with good water, wood, pastur- age, and shelter, where the horses are kept. From this depot we expected to be furnished with fresh horses and men in place of those brought from Carlton. To-day's travel was through a hilly well-watered country. The first spell brouught us to the base of the Bel Deer Hill, close to a spring of cold clear water beside a grove. The soil was a deep loam all the way. The grasses and flowers resembled those of Ontario and the Lower Provinces rather than the prairie flora. Such common wild fruits as cur- rants, goose-berries, choke-cherries, tfec., were in abundance. We seemed to ha\e taken leave of the prairie and its character- istic flowers since crossing the North Saskatchewan. The road from Carlton to Fort Pitt runs among the sandy hills, that skirt the course of the river. The nearer the river the more sandy the soil, and the less adapted for cereals, because of droughts, and early frosts which are attributed to the heavy mists that cling about the river banks. After breakfast, the road ran through a still more broken country and along a more elevated plateau. The windings of the Bed Deer and its little tributaries have cut out, in the "#i'L=J ALONCJ THK NORTH SASKATCHEWAN. 157 J, drank liinket to h weak ; onderful t on the vvelveor L'ps well ky, and ned our applies, Every • judici- pastnr- s depot n place )iintry. I- Hill, The lowers rather cur- dance, 'acter- B road , that more ise of leavy oken [?s of the course of ages, gi*eat vulloys and enormous "punch bowh," re- sembling the heaviest parts of the south of Scotland, on the rich grassy sides of which thousands of cattle or sheep ought to be grazing to make the resemblance complete. At a point where the plateau is about 400 feet above the level of ♦^he Saskatche- wan, a round sugar-loaf hill rises abruptly from the road nearly 200 feet, called the Frenchman's Knoll, because long ago a Frenchman had been killed here. We cantered or walked to the top, and had a far extending view of level, undulating, and hilly country. Most of the wood was small because of recent fires, and it was all aspen, exc(;pt a few clumps of pines far away. The sky line beyond the Saskatchewan was an elevated range with distinct summits, several of which must have been as high as the IVIountain behind Montreal. The ::;;iiallness and sameness of the wood gave monotony to the view, which was redeemed only by its vastness. Near this, the trail to Fort Pitt branched off. Keeping the main road for a mile, we halted for dinner ; then moved on, first descending the long winding slopes of a hill to the south, and afterwards going west, up a valley that must have been formerly the bed of a river, or cut out by an overflow of the Saskatchewan. In the course of the afternoon, we crossed three clear streamlets running over soft black bottoms ; in spite of this abundance of good water the lakelets in the lowest hol- lows were saline. The soil everywhere was of the rich loam that had become so familiar to our eyes ; uplands and valleys equally good. The grasses were thick and short, almost form- ing a sward ; green and juicy, though they had been exposed to all the summer's heat. In the marshes the grass was from four to six feet high, and of excellent quality for hay. After crossing the last creek, a handsome young Indian came galloping towards us, to say that Horetzky and Macauley were already at the guard ahead, with Mr. Sinclair, the Hudson's Bay agent at Fort Pitt. This was good news, for we had cal- ^ 158 I ,t ,. ■ I - i ; I;: OCEAN TO OCKAN. ciilatccl on liiiving to wait Hevrral ]umv» for our two outriilera. (iettiny to tlio guard before KUUHct, tents wcro at once pitcljeil. Wo had ridden nioro than 40 niles, and our avant-couriers about r)2, besides attc^ndin^ to all our commissions at the Fort. This was tijo first guard we liad scon. They are usually at a distance froni the; Forts, and it so happened that this one;, al- thoiii^di ten miles from the Fort, was by the roadside. We could not have seen a better specimen, for, on account of the grasses being ho good, more horses are kept at Fort Pitt than at any other post on the Saskatchewan. There are 300 now, and they increase rai)idly, though the prairie W(dves destroy many of the foals. All were in prime condition and some of them very handsome. Not one in ten of th.ose horses had over got a feed from man. Thoy cro})i)ed all their own food ; and sleek and fat as they are now, they are etpially so in midwinter : pawing oft' the dry sjiow they find the grasses abundant and suc- culent beneath. Better witnesses to the suitableness of this countiy for stock raising on an extensive scale, than those 300 horses, could not bo desired. When weak or sickly, or re- turned from a trip, knocked up with hard driving and cudgel- ling, for the half-breed looks upon cudgeling as an essential and inevitable part of driving, they may be taken into the barn at the Fort for a time and fed on hay, but not otherwise. At the guard only one Indian is in charge of the whole herd. The horses keep together and do not stray, so gregarious are they. The chief difticulty in obtaining some for a journey is to detach them from the pack. There is a thick grove of as- pens where they take shelter in the coldest weather, and near it is the tent of the keeper. His chief work seems to be mak- ing little inclosures of green logs or sticks, and building fires of green wood inside to smoke off the mosquitoes. Round these fires the horses often stand in groups, enjoying the smoke that keeps their active tormentors at a little distance. In con- sidering this fact of horses feeding in the open all winter, it is AT.0JTO THE NORTH SASKATOHKWAN. 159 woll to remombor tliat Fort I'itt is botwoou two und threo hundrnd milcH fiirthor north tlmn Fort (Jarry. After inspecting tlio horses, vv(; were taken into the keeper's t(!nt to see how ho was housed. It was a roomy h)dj^e, called a fourteen skin, because constructed of so many buflfalo hides stretched and sewed to;,'(!ther ; the smallest lodges are made of five or six, and the largest of from twenty to twenty-five skins. The fire is in the centre, and the family sleep round the side, each member having his or her appointed corner, that nobody else ever dreams of (mcroaching upon. The smoke of the fire dries the skins thoroughly, keeps out the mostpiitoes, and gives the inmates sore eyes. We all pronounced it veiy comfortable, but many people would j)robably prefer a house with more than one room. Mr. Sinclair .showed ns the utmost kindness, giving us good advice, good horses, good men, and with no more show than if lie had merely run down to the guard on his own busine.ss. The kindness we appreciated most at the time, it must be con- fessed, was a huge shoulder of fresh buffalo meat, some tongues, and a bag of new potatoes. Terry was at once set to work on the fresh meat, with orders to cook enough for twenty, with a corresponding allowance of j)otatoes. None of us had ever tasted fresh bufialo before, nor fresh meat of any kind since leaving Red Hiver ; and as we had resolved not to go out of our way to hunt, tliough Mr. Sinclair told us that buffalo were in vast numbers twenty miles to the south of Fort Pitt, it was only fair that our self-denial should be re])aid by a good sup- per at the guard. And that supper was an event in our jour- ney. Falling to with prairie appetites, each man disposed of his three portions with ease. The prairie wolves were yelping not far off", but nobody paid any attention to them. Tender buffalo steak, ;md new potatoes in delicious gravy, absorbed everyone's attention. The delights of the table when you are in the best of health and keen-set are wonderful, as a junior '^0>J^ rff i ■i-l ': 160 OCEAN TO OCEAN. member of the party remarked, handing in his plate for a fourth or fifth helping, " man, what a lot more you v^an eat when the things are good" ! ^retting out of the tent after supper with an effort, a spectacle to gladden a philanthropist's heart was presented round Terry's fire. Tlie men were cooking and eating, laughing and joking, old Ilaroosh presiding as king of the feast. He sat on a hillock, holding tit-bits to the fire on a little wooden spit, for Terry's frying pan could not keep up to him, and his grefisy face shone in the ruddy light. So they continued till we went to bed. That they were at it all night cannot be positively affirmed, but in the morning the first sight that met Dur eyes was Ilaroosh in the same place and at- titude, cooking and eating in a semi-comatose state. August 22iid. — There was at least an hour's racing and chas- iiig of the guard horses this morning, before our quota could be caught; but, we got such good horses in exchange for our poor- est that the delay was not grudged ; and three smart Indians, Louis, Oheeman (the little fellow), and Kisanis (the old man), instead of the Carlton three. We breakfasted at sunrise and said good-bye to Mr. Sinclair at 7 o'clock. On account of the lateness of the start, we divided the day's journey into two spells, one of nineteen, and the other of twenty-one miles. The country round the guard is fertile, and beautiful in out- lin'^ ; Mr. Sinclair said that it would yield anything. At the Fort and along the sandy banks oi the river, their crops often suffered from Indians, droughts, and early frosts ; but it was impossible to have their farm ten miles away from where they lived. Our first spelling -place to-day was Stony Lake ; after dinner «ve crossed Frog Creek, Middle Creek, and Moose Cieek, and camped on the banks of the last named. This was one of our best days. Everything contributed to make it supremely enjoyable. We had fresh spirited horses under u«, a cloudless sky and bright sun above ; and an atmos- h' >'! ■■^. ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN. 161 IWO inner , and phere exhilarating as some pure gentle stimulant. The country was of varied beauty ; rich in soil, grasses, flowers, wood, and water ; infinitely diversified in colour and outline. From ele- vated points, far and wide reaches could be seen. Here was no dreary monotonous prairie such as fancy had sometimes painted, but a land to live in and enjoy life. Last but not the least im- portant item, Terry had in liis cart new potatoes and buffalo steak, good as any porter-house or London rump steak ; man could want nothing more for animal enjoyment. In the fore- noon, we rode up two or three hill-sides to get wider views. With all the beauty of former days, there was now what we had oftem cravr;d for, variety of wood. Clumps and groves of tall white spruce in the gullies and valleys, and along lake sides, branching poplars with occasional white birch and tama- rack, mingled with the still prevailing aspen. The sombre spruces were the greatest relief. They gave a deeper hue to landscape, and their tall pointed heads broke the distant sky line. Recent fires had desolated much of the country, but there was enough of the old beauty left to show what it had been and what it could soon be made. Sometimes our course lay across a wide open^ or up or down a long bare slope ; some- times through a forest where the trees were far enough aj)art for easy riding, while a little beyond the wood seemed impene- trably close. In the afternoon we crossed plateaux extending between the different streams that meander to the south ; and here the trail ran by what looked like well cultivated old clear- ings, hemmed in at varying distances by graceful trees, through the branches of which the waters of a lake, or the rough back of a hill gleamed, while high uplands beyond gave a definite horizon. The road was not very good in many places because of the steep little hills near the creeks, or boulders, deep ruts mole and badgyr holes ; but ten dollars a mile would put it in good repair, and, as it was, our carts did their usual forty milefj easily. 11 162 OCEAN TO OCEAN. f ■I M V'' 1 ■ >i I. 1 ri i ^ I j Mf i- I After dinner we came on our first camp of Crees — a small body, of five or six tents, that had not gone after the buffalo, but had remained quietly beside some lakes, living on berries and wild ducks. Two broad-backed healthy young squaws met us first, coming up from a lake with half-a-dozen dogs. One squaw had a bag, filled with ducks, on her neck, and the other had tied her game around the back of a dog. Some of the men came up to shake hands all round and to receive the plug of tobacco they looked for. Others, manly looking fellows, lounged round in dignified indifference, with blanket or buffalo robe folded gracefully about them, — evidently knowing or hoping that every attitude was noticed. Not a man was doing a single hand's turn, and not a woman was idle. The women wished to trade their ducks for tea or flour ; but if we stopped the carts and opened the boxes there would be no getting away from them that night, so the word was passed to push ahead. We were not to be let off so easily. Eight or ten miles further on, two elderly men on horseback — evidently Chiefs — overtook us, and riding up to our Chief with all the grace of gentlemen of the old regime, extended their hands. Being welcomed and invited to ride on and camp with us, they bowed with an ease and self-possession that any of us might have envied, and joined our party. At the camp, the Chief treated them with great civility, ordering pemmican, as they preferred it to fresh buffalo, and handing them the fragrant tea they love so well ; not a muscle of their faces moved, though their souls were rejoicing ;' asyft smile when they first came upon us, and a more melancholy smile in the morning when departing, were the only indications of feeling that either gave. With the exception of the dull half- opened Mongolian cross-eyes, they had all the appearance of Italian gentlemen, and they were really handsome fellows, with well cut refined features — handsomer than any of us, or even than the young English trader, who " never allowed an Indian to enter his rooms ; if a Chief came along, he might sit in the 'r ;. small 'iiffalo, berries vs met One ! other lie men plug of 'ellows, buffalo mg or s doing women stopped g away L ahead, further ertook itlemen led and an ease I joined h great buffalo, not a oicing ;" ancholy ications ill half- ance of vs, w^ith 3r even Indian b in the ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN. 163 kitchen awhile." So far below the salt have the sons of the soil to sit now. But " Rolling Mud " and the " Walker with out-turned feet," as our two guests were called, were entitled to move in the highest circles, as far as api)oarance and a perfect nil admirari manner were concerned. They could be guaranteed to look on, Avithout opening their eyes at a modern ball. After supper, one of our party lolling lazily on a hillock, happened to stretch out his long legs between tlie two and the big open fire. In an undertone, the Chief called his attention to the undesiijned rudeness. "Oh " said he " they'll never mind." And certainly they smoked on and looked as tho' they saw not. " They will not say anything, but they will mind and not forget," q.iietly remarked Mr. McDougal. The long legs were withdrawn. Our Chief always treated the poorest Indian with perfect courtesy. So as a i\Ae do the H. B. officials, and much of their success in dealing with the Indians is due to this simple fact. We Anglo-Saxons are apt ,to sneer at French politeness. I verily believe that the chief reason why the French have often succeeded better than ourselves with the North American Indians was in virtue of that same politeness of theirs. The average Briton seems incapable of understanding that " a nig- ger " that is, any man whose skin is not white, has exactly the same rights as, and perhaps finer feelings than, ho himself. But prick the redskin and he'll bleed just as if ho were white and a Christian. In the afternoon's drive, the big Cai-lton waggon, drawn by the span, broke down. The iron bolt, connecting the two fore wheels with the shaft, broke in two. Sliaganappi had been sufficient for every mishap hitherto, but this seemed too serious a case for it ; but, with the ready help of Mr. McDougal, sliag- anappi triumphed, and we were delayed only an hour. No one ever seems non-plussed on tlie plains ; for every man is a Jack c fall trades, and accustomed to makeshifts. When an »-.^ I' 164 OCEAN TO OCEAN. axlo broke, tho men would liaul out a piece of white birch, shape it into souiothin^' like tlic riglit thing, stick it in, tie it with shaganajipi, and bo jogging on at tlie old rate, bcjfore a profos- sional carriage builder could have made u[) his mind what was best to bo done. Mr. McDougal in particular, was invalujible. In every diiliculty we called upon hiiu and ho never failed us. He would come up with his uniform solxu" [)leasant look, take in tho bearings of tho whole case, and decide promptly what was to be done. Ife was our dens rx niarhhia. Dear old fel- low-traveller ! how often you are in our thoughts ! Your memory is green in the heart of every one who ever travelled with you. Both j'osterday and to-day, the sasketoon berries, that are put in the best of berry i)emmican, wim-o pointed out to us, and tho creeper which the Indi;ins make into kinni-kinnick, when they can't get the bark of the red willow to mix with their tobacco. The sasketoon are simply what are known in Nova Scotia as IndiiUi pears, and the kinni-kinnick creop«n' is our squaw-berry plant. Just as the sun was setting behind the Moose Mountain, we had ascended the high ridge that rises from Middle Creek, and were crossing the narrow plateau that separates it from Moose Creek. Getting across tlie plateau to the edge of the descent to Moose Creek, a glorious view oj^ened out in the glowing twilight. To our immediate left, coming from the west, and winding south and east, the Saskatchewan, not quite so broad as at Carlton, but without any break or sand-bar, (lowed like a mass of molten lead, between far extending hills, covered with young aspens ; like the Rhine with its vine-clad slopes near Biugen. Right beneath, was the deep rugged valley of Moose Creek, broken into strange trans vei'se sections by its own action and by swirling overflows of its great neighbour, and running round north and north-west into the heart of the mountain that fed it, and that formed our horizon. Crossing the creek we h, shape it with I profos- hiit was iiluiihlo. died us. ok, take \y what old fol- ! Your :,ravellcd b are put and the iien they tobacco. :>cotia as iw-beriy tain, wo eok, and u Moose ; descent glowing est, and so broad ed like a ed with )es near f Moose n action running }ain that reek we tern ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN. 165 cam pod on its bank. Our tents weio i)itc.'h(Ml and flics burning brightly, long before the twilight had forsaken the west. Then a mighty siijjper of buffalo steak for us, and limitless i)emmican for our Cree visitors, rounded off one of the pleasantest days of the expedition. August 23rd. — Away fi-om camp before sunrise. The sun usually rose and set in so cloudless a sky on the prairies that the Chief had all along roughly determined the longitude of our camps and the local time in a simple way that may as well be mentioned. His watch ke[)t Montreal time, and he knew that the longitude of Montreal was 73 ® 3.3'. Sunset last night was at 0.34 p.m., and sunrise this mornmg at 7.2G a.m., by his watch. That gave fourteen hours and eight minutes of sun- light : the half of that added to the hour of sunrise made 2.30 p.m., on his watch, to be mid-day. We were thus two hours aiul a half behind Montreal time, and as four minutes are equal to a dc^gree of longitude, we learned that we were 37 '^ 30' we.st ofeMontreal, cr in longitude 111 ® . At the same time we were in latitude 54 ® , 350 miles north of the boundary line, and 700 miles north of Toronto. Yet the vegetation was of the same general character as that of Ontario ; and Bishop Tache had told us that at Lac la Biche, 100 miles further north, they had their favourite wheat ground, where the wheat crop could always be depended on. But we can go still farther north. Mr. King, the second H. B. ofilcer who had joined our party at Carlton, told us that he had never seen better wheat or root crops than are raised at Fort Liard on the Liard river — a tributary of the MacKenzie, in latitude GO ® . This testimony is confirmed by Sir John Richardson who says " wheat is raised with profit at Fort Liard, latitude 60 ® 5' North, longitude 122 ^ 3r vVest, and four or five hundred feet above the sea." And numerous authorities, from MacKenzie in 1787, whose name the great river of the Arctic regions bears, down to H, B. officers and miners of the present day, give similar testimony concerning immense tracts along the Athabaska and the Peace rivers. ll OCEAN TO OCKAN. < I ) ll' i; ( :! uv Tliore are several reasons why tlie isothermal lines should extend so far north in this longitude, and why there should be the same flora as farther south, though the summers are shorter. The low altitude of the Rocky Mountains, as they run north, permits the warm moisture-laden air of the Pacific to get across j meeting then the colder currents from the north, refreshing showers are emptied on the i)lains. These northern plains of ours have also a comparatively low elevation, while farther south in the United States, on the same longitude, the semi- desert rainless plateaux are from five to eight thousand fet high. Combined witli these reasons, another may be suggested, that — the summer days being much longer as you go north — plants get more of the sun, that is, more light and warmth within the same period of growing weather. The summer days where we are now, for instance, must be two hours longer than at To- ronto. But these and such like general reasons by no means deter- mine the fitness of every section of the country for cereals. Much land south of 5-i ® is unsuited for wheat because of drought or early frosts. Probably this is so with much along the banks of the Saskatchewan. It has been proved at any rate that there is less or more risk, in places ; but those places are as a rule adapted for stock-raising, and, in such a country as this, cattle and sheep are as much needed as flour. To-day we travelled 42 miles. The first spell, ten miles to the Little Lake, was over a cold and moist soil as shown by the more northern character of the vegetation. The ground was profusely cov^ered with tlie low scrub birch, which is found every- where in the extreme north. The second spell was fourteen miles, over ground that improved as we journeyed west, across Dog-rump Creek, up the opposite hill, and four miles farther on to two beautiful lakes well stocked with wild fowl. The creek gets its peculiar name from a blufl, projecting beyond a bold ridge that bounds the valley to the west. A lively fancy , ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN. 167 1 should oulcl be shorter. 1 north, across j :reshing lains of farther le semi- et high, id, that — phmts ;hin the here we at To- LS deter- cereals. ause of ih along uny rate aces are mtry as niles to own by and was d every- burteen I, across I farther ■1. The syond a ly fancy { sees in the bhiff a resemblance to a dog's rump. Beavers had built a dam a few days before across the creek below the road, and in consequence tlie water was too deep for the buckboards. Untackliug the horse we ran the buckboards across a slight bridge of willow rods t^iat some good Samaritan had made for foot passengers. The roati then wound up to the top of the ridge and gained the i)latcau beyond, through an extremely pic- turesque narrow steep pass. From the summit wo had a good view of the creek meandering through valley and lake towards the Saskatchewnn. . At the second spelling-place we caught up to a large brigade of Hudson's Bav carts, that had left Carlton for Edmonton a week before us, heavily laden with stores. They were driven by several of INIr. ^NrcDougal's people, half-breeds and Crees from Victoria, an united family of husband, wife and half-a-dozen young children being at the head of the brigade. The expense of bringing anything into or sending anything out of the coun- try by this old-fashioned way is enormous. The prime cost of the articles is a bagatelle. Transport swallows up everything. No wonder that the price of a po\md of tea, sugar, or salt is ex- actly the same. The weight is the same, and the cost for carriage the same, and that determines the price. One of the Crees in this brigade, called Jack, was pointed out to us as having in the last Indian war done a very plucky thing. A company of Crees and half-breeds from Victoria were hunting butFalo on the plains. Onci morning Jack and an old man were left behind to bring up the kitchen and baggage carts, while the main body started ahead for another cam}). Just as the main bo('y got over the first ridge, a war-party of Blackfeet swooped down on them with their usual terrific yells. They turned campwards, from the mere instinct of flight, though knowing that no relief could be there. The Blackfeet had just got up to them, shot an I scalped the two hindmost, and would soon have massacreed every oae, when Jack, who had heard the I! 168 OCEAN TO OCEAN. m yells, api>cared over tho ridge, and firing his gun at the eneiny, shouted to an imaginary force bfhiiid liiin, ** hurrah ! here they are boys ; we've caught them at last." The old man at the same moment was seen hurrying up, and the Blackfeet imagin- ing that they had fallen into a trap, turned tail and fled precip- itately. With the best intention in the world, we voted Jack the Victoria Cross. The t'lird s[)ell was eight n mV:, ( \^er fine meadow lar.d, covered vvith ricli pas 'i rage m; it >xtt; tided without break for fifty miles to the north. On 'JiMi.ud the Doctor shot some ducks for the pot. E^ery lakelet had .• I'iU'it one flock among the reeds, or swimming about ; but not having a dog to bring them out, it was unsatisfactory work shooting them, unless they were close to the shore. A little after sunset, we camped near the Hiding or Snake Lake. As we were now only 110 to 120 miles from Edmonton, it was proposed at supper that Horetzky should ride ahead with our letters of introduction to Mr. Hardisty ; order pack-saddles, secure a guide, and make as many arrangements as possible, for our journey over the mountains. At Edmonton, or at any rate at Lake St. Ann's, fifty miles farther west, wheels must be dis- carded and everything carried on pack horses. A different out- fit is required and as some of it has to be made to order, time would be ^-Tained for the whole party if one got to the Fort before the others. Macaulay v/ho had been away on a visit to Scotland for the last twelve mouths, and whose wife and family were at Edmonton, offered to accompany Horetzky. So it was decided that after an early breakfast next morning, the two should ride on rapidly, each taking two horses, a blanket, and some pemmican. August 24th. — Rose early, but as for the sake of Horetzky aD.d Macaulay, breakfast was served before our first spell, it was 6 o'clock before we got away. Our two couriers preceded us by half an hour, but expected to be at Edmonton a day and a half be- ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN. 169 fore us. Passinc^ the Riding or — as it is called on Palliser's Map — tho Snake Lake, the siiKill of deciyin;^ fish-offal explained the o'^ect for which a nnniher of log shanties had been erected at t.> points near its shores. Tho lake swarms with white-fish. ScDn after, vo crossed the creek t' \t issues from the lake. The cellar c" a do.scrted shanty by the roadside showed the character rt* the soil; eighteen inches of black loim, and then successive layers of tenacious clay, through the uppermost of which the tissues of pli'nts extended. The country now became more hilly ; the hill-sides covered with heavy wood, and the hollows with marshes or lakelets. Vegetation everywhere was wondtn-fuUy luxuriant. ,'L."^rs re-appeared, but the general color was blue in place o^ ciie »;•- mer yellow or lilac; mint, blue bells, a beautiful tal' liv kspur, but princii)ally light and dark blr.3 asters. Our Bota;.' ;o was disappointed to find that, amid such wealth of vegtv ^tion, there were few new species. The same plants have kept .>y us for a thousand miles. Mint and a saxifragaceous plant had accom- panied us from Rainy Lake ; gentians, asters, castilia, anemones, and golden rods from the eastern verge of the prairie. W^ divided the day into two spells, — sixteen miles of the richest soil and pasturage ; and twenty-four miles to Victoria over a great deal of inferior ground. One large section of this showed little but scrub birch. Another, ter. miles broad, near Victoria, was a sandy ridge producing scrub pine, or as the peo- ple here call it cypress, very like the country between Bathurst and Miramichi, that was burnt over by the great Miramichi fire, and where in the Lower Provinces the scrub pine is chiefly found. The ground was literally covered with cranberries, bear- berries, the uva ursi, and other creepers. In the forenoon the water was in the lakes ; in the afternoon in streams, all of which fortunately for us were bridged, rough- ly indeed, but the worst bridge was a great improvement on deep black quagmire. Pine, White Mud, and Smoking Lake 170 OrKAN TO OCEAN. -■< f! '!■ Croeks woro tlio su^jgostivo names of the chief streams, names that we had heard before and probably wouhl hear again. America lias been called the cotmtryof inventions, — but it can- not invent names. In the North-west, there are half-a-dozen " Red Deers," " White Muds," " Vermilions " ; next in popu- larity to these come the names of members of the Royal Family. Tiio first part of the day was bright and pleasant ; but at two o'clock heavy clouds gathered in the north-west. The wind drifted the thickest masses completely to our right, while all to the left the sky remained a clear bright blue. It thundered on the right ; and then we could see the rain falling in half-a-dozen different places while intervening districts escaped. At one point, not very far from us, the rain must have been terrific, ' and right thankful were we that our course had not taken us there, or we would have had Rat (Jreek over again. The central mass of cloud hung over this point, and all at once seemed to have the bottom knocked out of it, when a deluge either of rain or hail — probably of both — descended, like a continuous pillar, to the ground for a quarter of an hour, uniting the earth to the clouds as if by a solid band. The end of the tail of this cloud swept round over our heads, and gave us first a gust of wind, and then a smart shower of rain and hail for two or three min- utes. The sky cleared completely at 3 o'clock ; but, two hours later, as wo crossed Smoking Lake Creek, and entered again on good land, thundery clouds rose the second time from iV ' western horizon, and soon covered the sun and sky before us. We were now in the bounds of Mr. McDougal's old mission settlement ; and at his word we " hustled up," or pushed our horses to their utmost speed to reach a good campxiig ground before the storm would burst. We got to the spot aimed at in time, our course for two miles being up a rich valley that is now behind the north- ern ridge or bank of the Saskatchewan, but that formerly, when the river was higher, must have been one of its beds, the ! H' ! ^i ^- 1 ' ' J i ; ■ i i 1 ■1 i> , ■ : Mn f I KM o H o a w H M O I y\M)N(} TIIK NOUTII SA8KAT(;HK\VAN. 171 o H y, O ?3 a u H Cm O ■ \ intervonin;^ ridge boinj,' then iin islanay fort of Victoria in on the river slope of tluH ridge, and thuH travellers, passing along the main trail up the valley, might be in entire ignorance tiiat there was a settlement near. When we rode up, however, two or three men were making liay in the valley, and, hailing the sight as a sure sign that civilized beings and dwellings must be not far off, we camped at a spring beside them ; and, with a rapidity, that astonished them and ourselves, had everything made tight be- fore the rain commenced. After all the threatening the shower did not amount to much. In half an liour tlie sky was clear again and the Doctor and Mr. McDougal drove over to the fort, a mile distant, for supplies, and to announce that there would bo service in the church next day. They returned after dark with beef, bread, and milk. Mr. Tait, the Hudson's Bay agent, had no fresh meat ; but, hearing of our arrival, he with oriental hospitality had ordered a young ox to be killed and a quarter sent over for our use. August 2.")th. — Another day of rest, and a long sleep to begin it with. At 10 A. M. walked over the rid<'e to service, at Vic- toria. Tiio church is also used as a school-room, the Mission House, and Fort are all at the west end of the settlement. The log-houses of the English and Scotch half-breeds, intermingled with the tents of the Crees, extend in a line from this west end along the bank of the river, each man having a frontage on the river, and his grain planted in a little hollow that runs behind the houses, beneath the main rise of the ridge. Most of their hay they cut "ithe valley, on the other side of the ridge, where we had campeqwOTnp«H>v- j 172 OCEAN TO OCEAN. i i; i I autumn, wlion ovTiy tiling is expected to be rij)c and ready for ingatlicriiig. The settloniont is seven years old, and consists now of between twenty and thii'ty families of half-breeds and from ten to a liundred tents of Crees, according to the time of the year, each tent housing on an average seven or eight souls. It ows its origin to Mr. McDougal who selected the place as a mission field because the Crees resorted to it ; and as a suitable locality for a half-breed settlement, on account of its advantages of soil, river, lakes abounding in fish and wild fowl, and near- ness to the plains where the buffalo are always found. Last year Mr. McDougal was removed to Edmonton, and the charge of Victoria given to Mr. Campbell who had been conducting a successful mission among the Stonies at Woodville to the south- west. Mr. Campbell was at present on his way home from Red River, wliere he had gone to attend the first Wesleyan conference of Manitoba, and consequently there had been no one attending to the mission fcr some weeks, except the school- master. This removal of missionaries from one tribe or even station, wliere they have gained the confidence of the Indians, to anothei' locality, seems a mistake to outsiders. The personal influence of the missionary is the only thing that can be counted upon in work among heathen, or any rude and primitive people, and personal influence can be gained only after a long inter- course with them. When we arrived at tlie church it was almost filled with about eight}'' whites, half-breeds, and Crees. The men sat on one side, the women on the other, and the children in a little gallery or loft with the schoolmaster and monitors. The ser- vice was in English, but some Cree hymns were sung, and Mr. McDougal announced that there would be service in Cree in the evening, through the medium of an interpreter. The conduct of all preeent from first to last was most devout notwithbi/and- ing that many present understood English imperfectly. The children led the singing, and tnough there was lack of bass- ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN. 173 voices on account of tho absence of tlie principal members of the choir, it was singularly sweet and correct. Some of us were moved more than we cared to show, when we heard the first Cree hymn sung. Service over, two of our party dined at the Mission House, and the others at the Fort ; and, after a walk through the set- tlement along the bank of the river, we returned to the church to see the Sunday School. Mr. McKenzie, the toachor, was about to leave for another mission, and his successor Mr. Sny- der was also present. There were sixty names, forty of them half-breeds, and twenty Indians, on the roll ; but only thirty- two were present, as wliole faniilies were absent, freighting or hunting. We examined the three advanced trlasses, numbering twenty-one, of the biggest boys and girls. All read the JCnglish Bible more or less iiuently ;aid with understanding, for they answered every (piestion put to them. Their knowledge of hymns was such as could be fotind only in a Methodist school ; if any of us named a hymn in the collection, the tune was at once raised and all joined in without books. The more ambi- tious tunes were of course the favourites with the children. i..e Indians delight in hymn singing, and the missionaries take advantage of this, making it one great means of reaching their hearts. Heathon Crees who come to Victoria only for a few weeks send their children to the school ; they pick up some hymns at any rate, and sing them when fuv away on the plains. Mr. Snyder had been schoolmaster for the last few years at White-fish Lake, a settlement of Crees fifty miles to the north, where good work has been done. He liad eighty Cree children at his school. When the Indians moved out to the plains to hunt buffalo, the nuister would pack up his sj^elling books and slates, and go oft' with them, setting up his establishment wherever they halted. He spent from two to six months of the year, teaching in this rotary style, — hunting half tho day, teach- ing the other half. The Crees at White-fish Lake are all I jMPdRaii li ■■!'*■ 174 OCEAN TO OCEAN. li'!' ! i {| ; H i [i nr : ■I I y Christianized and value the school highly. They are beginning to settle down to steady farming-work too, several families not going to the plain.j now, but raising wheat, barley and potatoes instead. At Victoria wheat has been sowed for seven successive years, and was a failure only once, the cause then being an ex- treme local drought. At White-fish Lako it has never been a total failure. Victoria is on the most northerly bend of the North Saskatchewan ; the plate-iu is very elevated ; and many of the plants in the country round, have more of the sub-arctic character than in any other part of the fertile belt ; so that we were not surprised when told that there were generally light frosts in July and August. Indeed Mr. McDougal had been warned in planting the settlement, that he was choosing one of the worst spots on the river. The future may show that he was wiser than his friends. In the evening, we went to church again ; more C^rees were present than in the forenoon, but not so many of the lialf-breeds. Mr. Tait acted as interpreter and also led the meeting, with modesty and fervour, in prayer in Cree. It must be a great advantage to a missionary to have such a man in charge of the Fort. We had seen enoi.gh to-day to convince us, more than all the arguments in the world, that missionary labour among the Indians is a reality, and that the positive language on the other side is the language of ignorance, self-interest, or down- right opposition to tiie Gospel The aims of traders and mis- sionaries with regard to the Indians are different ; the formei' wish that they should continue hunters, the latter that they should tr.ke to steady employment. It is not wonderful then that some traders should feel annoyed at what they regard as a steady working against their interest. But, as the Indian has no chance of existence except by conforming to civilized ways, the sooner that the Government or the Christian people awake to the necessity of establishing schools among every •fei ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN. 175 tribe the better. Little can be done with the okl, and it may be two three or more generations before the old habits of a people are changed ; but, by always taking h<^!d of the young, the work can bo done. A mission without .icliools is a mistake, almost a crime. And the ]M(^thodists deserve the praise of having seen and vigorously acted on this, and they can point to visible proofs of success in their Indian missions. It is greatly to the credit of tJio Indians in British America, that they have never injured or stolen from any missionary. They have i)lundered posts, stri[)ped traders naked, and mur- dered some who perhaps had given them cause; but even when at war, the missionary is allowed to enter and speak in their great councils and is everywhere treated with respect. Rever- ence is a strong trait in the Indian character. His own lan- guage supplies no words for i)rofane swearing ; if he wishes to blaspheme, he must boi'row from the French or English, Is not his dignity of speech and manner connected with this ven- eration for Deity 1 We invited Mr. Tait and the schoolmasters to walk over the ridge and have supper with us. Mrs. Cam[)bell also did us the honour of coming, and, so for the first time, our camp was graced with the presence of a lady. Her presence lighted up every- thing, and had a very apj)reciable effect on our style of pas- sing things round the table ; every one was as anxious to help her to something as if she had been Her Majesty ii> person; Terry, naturally and nationally the soul of politeness, was es- pecially attentive. Rath(?r than let her put preserved peaches on the plate beefsteak had been on, he removed the plate and whipping out his pocket handkerchief, that had not been washed since he left Fort Oarry, proceeded to clean it. Luckily the Doctor noticed him in time to snatch the plate away, or — but we must draw a veil over Terry as cook or table-maid ; in no house is it wise to look too closely into how things are done in the kitchen. .ii '/ .''•' , ' 176 OCEAN TO OCEAN. ! ■;. -} I i Siii-^e tho commencement of our journey, Sundays had in- variably been our most pleasant and profitable days, and this was no exception. The kindness of every one at Victoria was something not soon to bo forgotten. They welcomed us for our own sakes, and for the end the expedition had in view, as they had long prayed for tho opening up of the country. It was in our favour also here as elsewhere that a Doctor was with us. He visited and prescribed for all the sick in the settlement, and finding in the Fort a medicine chest that had been sent out as a present by Dr. Ray but had never been used, he explained to Mr. Tait how and when to give the difiercnt mcdic'nes, and wrote outgeneral directions that could be easily understood and acted upon. August 26th. — Rose ver}-- early, the Doctor acting as camp- master and making every one fly around, so that we got off half an hour before sunrise. The thermoinet(;r then stood at thirty degrees, and heavy hoar-frof^t lay on the rich deep grass. A dense fog rose as the frost exnaled in dew, and, the sun's rays striking on this, formed a beautiful fog-bow that hung before us during more than an hour's travelling. Passing up the valley })arallel to the river, we then skirted the edge of the plateau that bounded it on the north, going through tall heavy grass and a country which seemed to possess every qualification for stock-rai:;ing. The road showed the influence of recent rains that, the Victoria settlers told us, had been so lieavy this Au- gust as to have cou4)letely stopped haying operations. Every marsh was a bog, every creek swollen, nd as good soil makes bad roads, our progress was slow. Still by pegging away we made forty -four miles in our three spells. The first was to the Wassetcpo'v, (or opening in the bank) so called from the cleft it has mado. "n the ridge, to get to the Saskatchewan. The cleft, instead o! siiowing the usual broad rounded valley, is cut sharp and tl>an asj if w'tL a knife, partly by the force of the stream an11 and gave a good lieat wlien tlie bellows was ap})licd, but it would be very dithcult to kindle without the.bellows. It keeps burning a long time and loavfs a great deal of dirt, dust and a.sh, '' a*: the rate of two ton of aslios to one of coal." The sec- tion ai, I'^duionton is three feet thick, and it crops out in several places, with a conglonieratf^ beneath it tliat i-eseniblrs ironstcme in nodules ; at the Pembina liver, seventy miles to the west, there is n seam ten feet thick ; and Mr. llardisty informed us that at the Rocky Mountain House, one luindred and forty miles to the south-west, the seam is ten feet, the coal of a supe- rior quality, and used regularly in the forge. Many other seams are found over a wide extent of coMi'iy, and it is reason- able to infer that several of these will y;e' 1 good fuel, for even in the richest coal countries there is no such abundant outcrop as here. What we tried was picked uj> from the river or from the outcrop, and was hard, shaly anland. The n})lands do not yield such good cro[>s because there is a slight infusion of alkali in the surface s©»il, wiiicli subsoil plougli- ing would probably do away witli In the evening the Secretary held Divine service in the ball room of the Fort. About tifty men, most of them eini)loyed about the post, were present. There were also some miners who had recently arrived from Peace River, anc^ whose i^eports of the Ominioa gold-mines were not very encoui-aging. The njci who wash the Saskatchewan s;ind bars for gold make on an average four dollars per day, but that does not satisfy them ; five dollars a day is called wages. This year there are only fifteen miners on the Saskatchewan. Three or foiu intend starting to-morrow for the Red Deer, a tributary of the Bow River, in some canyons of which heavier Lrrains of gold than usual have been found. On the North Saskatchewan the "old miners or washers ranu'e up and down for about one hundred and thirty miles, Edmon- ton being the central point of this distance. It was for a long time sui)posed that all the gold in the Saskatchewan and the other rivers — in the same longitude — came from the Rocky Mountains, and these were diligently prospectt.'d near their sources. But not a trace of gold has been found there, and it is now thought probable that a stratum of gold-bearing quartz extends across the country, some distance on the west side of the mountains. Float silver is also found in soiue of the rivers, but not in suliicient quantities to encourage prospecting. This seems the proper place, before going on with our diary, I I ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN. 181 cat are ar, two iiistearl re dug. y years, Pai-t )ve is a l>lough- thc ball iiploved minors reptu'ts g. Tho ke on an i them ; ro only Deer, a lieavicr ;rs range Eibnon- )r a long and the Rocky ir their !, and it g (juartz b side of e I'ivcrs, »' IV diary, i for somo grneral ohscrvations on tlie country, between the Nortli-West Angh'! of thr Lake (»f the Woods and Kibnonton ; particuhuly witli a view to its capabilities as a great tield for colonization. We can speak ])Ositively only of what we saw, and tliat includes a very narrow strip. All admit that the line of our route does not show the best Innd, liowever mucli they dill'cr MS to the (piantity that is availabh; for se*^tlement. Some observers, h^ng resident in tlu; countiy, declare thi\t the fertile belt practically means the whole distance ])etween the North and South Stiskatchewan, and other vast regions to the east, north, and west, especially a broad belt along the basis of the liocky IMountains to the south of Kdinonton, two hundred miles long by fifty broad, the home of tho Rlackfeet, and pro- nounced by many to be the garden of the North-west. Others maintain that, as far as the Saskatchewan country is concerned, only a nari'ow belt along such rivers as the Battle, Vermilion, and Red Deer can be cultivated with success. It is not neces- sarv to decide between those views now. We know on the authority of .Ca})talu Palliser, who crossed and re-crossed tlu! ]dains several times, tliat the central American desert does ex- tend into British Territory forming a trijingle, having for its base the forty -ninth ])avall(d from longitude 100 '■^ to 114 "^ W,, with its r.pex reaching to the fifty- second parallel of latitude. But the first emigrants will select land alon:'; the courses of streams, especially the navigable rivers, and they will soon find out all about the iiautervening districts. Speaking generally of Manitoba and our North-west, along the line we travelled, it is iiiipossiblc to doubt that it is one of the finest i)asture countries in the woild, and that a great part of it is well adapted for cereals. The climatological conditions are favourable for both stock raising and grain producing. The spring is nearly as early as in Ontario ; the summer is more humid and therefore the grains, grasses, and root crops grow better ; the autumn bright and cloudless, the very weather for !•; 182 OCEAN Tn OCEAN. !.-| l\ I ! luirvostini,' ; jind tin; wiiilcr lias less snow an '1 fnwernnow-storms and tlK.ii^di, in niunv parts (-older, it is healthy and pleasant because of the still di y ail', the cloudless sky, lUid briijiht sun. The soil is almost everywhere a peaty or sandy loam restin;jf on clay. Its only fault is tlnit it is too rich. Crop alter crop is raised without fallow or manure. As re;i;ard.5 the practical experience of farmers on the subject there is litth) to appeal to, and that litth; is chieHy favourable. Theoidv lar-^e settlement is about Red IJivei*. The farms there are most inconveniently shaped, beinuf very narrow lon<^' stri[)s ; none of tlie pcoph' were skilled farmer.s to bei^dn with, and, till the last two or thi-ee years, they had no market excejit the II. J^. Company. I5ut the Scotch farmers there are all making' money now, and their testimony is uniformly in favour of the country for farming purjioses. The other settlements are few and far between, on the «!dges of rivers or hikes, where wood and water are easily obtainable. The [)opulation of these consists entirely of half-breeds, and tlieir method of farming is uni(pie. They are farmers, hunters, ii.shermen, voyageurs, all in one ; the soil is scratched, three inches deef), eaily in May, some seed is thrown in, and then the whole household go otl' to hunt the buffalo. They get back abont the first of August, spend the month haying and harvest- ing, and are olf to the fall hunt esirly in September. Some are now so devoted to farming that thev onlv go to one hunt in the year. It is astonishing that, though knowing so weP how not to do it, they raise some wheat and a good deal of barley, oats and potatoes. There is a great difference, however, between the Scotch and French half-breeds. The Fi-ench who inter- married with the Indians, often became as the Indians; just as the Spaniards in Mexico and South America who intermarried with the natives sank to their level. Th.e squftw was treated as his wife. Her people became his people, but his God hei* God. The children have Indian characteristics, the habits, f ALONG THK NOHTII SASKATCinnVAN. 18.3 weaknessoH, tinrl ill-rogulated passions of nomatls. Thoy excol the Indian in strcni,'tli of l)oreed has generally a field of wheat before or beliind his house, stacks, barn, and provision for a year ahead, in iiis granary. The Metis has a patch of potatoes or a little barley, ami in a year of scarcity draws his belt tighter or starves. It is interesting as on.il travels in the great North-west to noU), liow the two old allies of the middle ages have left their marks on the whole of this great country. The name of almost every river, creek, mountain, or district is French or Scotch, The climate and the soil are favourable ! What about water, fuel, and the summer frosts, the thre(^ points next in import- ance ? A large population cannot be expected unless there is good water in the form of rivers, lakes, springs, or wells. In many parts of the prairies of the U. S., dependence is placed mainly on rain water collected in cisterns ; but such a su[)ply is un- wholesome, and to it may be attributed much of their prairie sickness. In connection with this question of water, the exist- ence of the numerous saline lakes, that has been again and again A ^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I US 1^ 1^ I li£ III 2.0 im ll'-2^ll'-^ -^ . ^ 6" ► P^. vl 7. y ^, Photographic Sciences Corporation d V •c^\^ ^> 4^ <^ V ■^>. O^ ■^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. ]4580 (716) 872-4503 184 OCEAN TO cCEAN. Il m i! noted, forces itself on our attention ; the wonder is that former observers have said so little about them. Palliser marks them on his map in two places, but they are rt^ally the characteristic feature of the country for hundreds of miles. In many parts they so completely outnumber the fresh water lakes, that it is "Water, water, everywhere And not a drop to drink." Some of them are from five two twenty miles long, others only little pools. Some are so impregnated with salt that crystals of sulphate of soda are foruied on the surface, and a thick white incrustation is deposited round the shores. Others are brackish or with a salt taste that is scarcely discernible. We noted several facts about these lakes that may be stated. (1) That they have no outlet. (2) That they are often side by side with fresh water lakes, and that in these cases the latter occupy the higher situation and their outflow consequently falls into the former. (3) That a few feet away from their immediate shores, on wiiich marine plants grow, the usual flora and grasses of the country flourish. (4) That the tracks of the buffalo show that the water is drunk by them, and horses drink it when they cannot get fresh water, though it acts medicinally on them. Whence have they origin.ated ? Several theories may be suggested. Here is one that explains all the facts so far as known to us. Suppose that formerly a superabundant quan- tity of alkali. le matter was diffused through the soil generally, over our Northwest, as we know it is over a wide extent of the American desert and in sections on the Pacific coast. We found it so in some places where there are no lakes, and where it could be carried off by rivers. On the bank of the Assiniboine near Fort Ellice, similarly on the Saskatchewan near Edmonton, and at other points it was observed. If it had once been gener- ally diffused through the soil, what must have happened in the course of centuries wherever there was an ordinary rainfall ? I f J \ i ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN. 185 orraer tliem eristic parts tit it is s only tals of white rackish > noted That yy side occupy Is into n'ediate grasses buffalo it when ally on nay be > far as t quan- tierally, t of the e found Iiere it niboine lonton, I gener- in the linfain The water, percolatincf tlirough the soil, would carry off the alkaline matter into lakes and rivers, and it would be retained only in those lakes that had no outlet. This theory explains all the features of tlu; case, and starts no now difticulties. It sug<:fests too, that the one great reason why the American Desert must remain both descit and bitter is. that there is no rainfall on it, whereas farther north in the same longitude there is abundance of rain. Apart from those saline lakes, is tliere a sutficient supply of water? In brief we must ans\v*»r that, in many parts there is, in others we do not know yet. Test wells must be sunk and then we can speak positively. The question of fuel is next in importance in a country where the winters are severe, for corn cannot be grown for fuel in our North-west as it has been on the prairies of Illinois. At piesent there is little wood except along the rivers and creeks, and on some of £lie hills, until we go back to the continuous forest on the north, or to within two hundred miles of the Rocky INIoun- tains. This scarcity of wood is of little consequence, if the vast coal-measures, that extend from the Red Deer and Row Rivers to the McKenzie, inove to contain good coal in large enough seams to be worked with protit. Ry river or rail, coal can be carried in all directions for every purpose ; and it is highly ])ro- bable that we have the most extensive coal fields in the world. The importance of definitely ascertaining the (puility of each prominent seam is very great. Rut even though wood may not be absolutely required for fuel, every encouragement for its growth should be given. Wood is needed for many purposes, and the plains would.be warmer in winter if they were not treeless. The remaining difficulty is the recurrence of summer frosts. In many localities these are dreaded more than anything (?lse. At one place in June or July, at another in August, sharp frosts have nipped the grain, and sometimes even the potatoes. ■ t 186 OCKAN TO OCRAN. At Edmonton, 2088 feet above the sea there is invariably a nij^lit or two of frost Ix-tweon tlie lOtli and 20th of August. At Victoria and Fort Pitt to tlio east, and still more so at the R. C. mission of Lake St. Albert and Lake St. Ann to the west of Edmonton, tlie grain has sufll'ered more or less frequently from the same cause. Tins enemy is a serious one, for against it man seems ])owerloss. lint admitting that tliere are frosts that cannot be avoided, and tliat no imj)rovement will ensue on the geniM-al cultivation of the land, the draining of bogs, and the j)eoj)ling of the country, thei-e remain large and fertile tracts free from tliem, and, where the frosts are frequent, other crops than wheat can be raised, and the pasturage remains unrivalled. It is only fair to the country to add, that the power of those frosts to injure must be judged not by the thermometer, but by actual experience. It is a remarkable fact, that frost which would nip grain in many other countries is innocuoiis on the Red River and Saskatchewan. Whatever the reason, and Mr. Spence in a recent pamphlet on " Manitoba and the North- west of the Dominion," has assigned several, — such as the dry- ness of the atmosphere, the heat retaining character of the soil, and the sudilen change of temperature that enables vigor- ous plants to bear an atmosphere at 20 ® better than at 35 ® when the latent heat of the earth and the ])lants has been given off, — the fait is undoubted. Due regard to times and seasons will also enable the farmer to escape very often the daiigers peculiar to a locality. Thus, at Edmonton, if they sow late and the wheat is in the milk when the frost comes, it is injured. The remedy is to sow early. Looking fairly at all the facts, admitting all the difficulties — and what country has not drawbacks — it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that we have a great and fertile North-west, a thousand miles long and from one to four hundred miles broad, capable of containing a population of millions. It is a fair land; rich in furs and fish, in treasure, ^ of the forest, the field, ^ 1 ALONG THK NOllTIl SASKATCHEWAN. 187 ariably a jjust. At t the R. e west of tly from st it man [osts that |ue on the and the ile tracts lier croj)S nrivalled. ' of those iv, but by st which is on the I and Mr. le North- s the dry- er of the les vigor- at 35 o has been imes and often the , if they comes, it and the mine ; seauKMl by navii^able rivers, interlaced by nu- merous crcM'ks, and beautified with a thousand hik(!S ; broken by swelling uplands, wooded hill-sides, and bold ridges ; and protected on its t!Xi)Osod sides by a groat desert or by giant mountains. The air is \nu'c, dry, and l)racing all the year round ; giving promise of health and strength of body and length of days. Here we have a home for our own suiplus poi)ulation and for the stream of emiuration that runs from northern and central E]uroi)e to America. Let it be opened up to the world by rail and steamboat, and in an incredibly short time the j)resent gap between Manitoba and lii-itish Columbia will be filled up, and a continuous line of loyal Provinces extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific. culties — to avoid i-west, a es broad, is a fair the field, ! !! i ClIAPTEPt VII. From Fort Edmonton 1o the Rircr Athahni^rn. I'lilsc Report.- Si Mizie's farewell. St. Albert Mission. Rislioj) (irandiii. -Small-pox. — Great Mortality. Indian Orphans. — The Sisters of Cliarity. Uoad to Lake St. Ann's- Luxuriant Ve;,'ctation. Pelican.— Early frosts. Pack horses, -Lcavins: St. Ann's. Indians. Vajionr Uf)oths.- Thick woods.— Pcnihina I'iver.— Coal. • Lob- Btiek Canij). Condemned doj;s. Heaver dams. .Murder. Horse lost. A Birth-day -No trail. — Muskeirs. Windfalls. -Heavers.— Traces of old travellers. —Cooking l)emmican. — Crossinjr tlie McLcod.- Wretched Hoad. Inxpinis Indians. Slow pro- gress. - Merits of i)eninucan.- Had Miiske.!,'-s. I'n beau ehemin. -A mile an hour. - Plum-puddin;; Camp— Ten hours in the saddle. Athabasca River. - Tlic Rockj- Mountains. -Bayonet Camp. August 28tli. — Tt is proverbially difficult to get away in a hurry from a Hudson's Bay fort, especially if outfit is required ; but, we were furthered, not only by the genuine kindness of Mr. Hardisty but by a fsvlse alarm that quickened every one's movements, and so we got off early in the afternoon. A report reached Edmonton in the forenoon, that the Crees and Blackfeet were fighting on the other side of the river, a re- port based, as we afterwards learned, on no other ground than that " some one " had heard shots fired, at wild duck, probably enough. Where there are no newspapers to ferret out and communicate the truth to every one, it is extraordinary what wild stories are circulated ; and how readily they are believed, though similar (m dih' have been found to be lies time and again. As we would be detained with long pow-wo%vs, if either party crossed the river, every one helped us to hurry off. We had to say good-bye not only to the Indians wdio had come from Fort Pitt, and to 'Mv, McDougal and the gentlemen of the Fort ; but also to Horetskv and to our botanist, as the Chief had de- cided to send these two on a separate expedition to Peace River, by Fort Dunvegan, to report on the flora of that country, and on the nature of the northern passes through the Ptocky Moun- FORT EDMONTON TO ATHABASKA RIVER. 189 tains. Wc i)iirtod witli regret, for men get better acquainted with each other on sliiplmaid, or in a niuntli's travel in a lone himl, than they woiiUl under ordinary circumstances in a year. Souzie was more sorry to part with Frank than with any of tlie rest of us. lie had been teaching iiim Cree, and Frank liad got the length of twenty-four words whicli he aired on every i)0s- sible occasion, to his tutor's unbounded delight. Souzie mounted his liorsc and waited jjatiently at the gate of the Fort for two hours, without our knowledge. When Frank came out he rode on with him for a mile to the lieight of a long slope ; then he drew up and i)utting one hand on his heart, with a sorrowful look, held out the other ; and, without a word, turned his horse and rode slowly away. Our number was now reduced to four. We were to drive out fifty miles to Lake St. Ann's, and " pack " our travelling stores and baifijfage on hoi'ses there ; taking with us three new men, and the faithful Terry, to whose cookery we had beconjc accus- tomed, as eels are said to get accustomed to skinning. Mr. Hardisty kindly accompanied us ten miles out, to the guard at Lake St. Albert, to see that we got good horses. Tlio road is an excellent one, j)assing through a rolling prairie, dotted with a great number of diied marshes on each side, from which im- mense quantities of natural hay could be cut. Crossing the same Sturgeon Iliver that we had crossed yester- day morning on our way to Edmonton, a hill rose before us crowned with the Cathedral Church of the mission, the house of the Bishop, and the house of the Sisters of Charity ; while, up and down the river extended the little houses and farms of the settlers. We called on Bishop Grandin and found him at home, with six or seven of his clergy who fortunately happene^o be in from various missions. The Bishop is from old France. The majority of the priests, and all the sistei-s, are French Canadians. The Bishop and his staff received us witl; a hearty welcome, showed us round the church, the school, the garden, and intra- 190 Ol'KAN TO 0(.'KAN. duced us to tho sisters. TIio clnirch rpj»rosi'ntH an cxti jiordinary amount of I.ibonr and ingonuity, when it is considered tliat there is not a saw mill in the country, and tliat every phink had to bo made with a wliip or liand saw. The altar is a beautitV.l i»ieco of wood-work in tlie early Norman stylo, executed as a lahotir of love by two of tho Fathers. The siioristy behind was tho original log church and is still used for service in the winter. This tit. Albert mission was formecl nbout nine years ago, by a number of s(;ttlers removing from Lak(i St. Ann's in hope of escaping the frosts which ha Al'llABAMA KIVKH. 101 iionlinary that there had to bo ititV.1 j»i(3C0 s a hibonr ul was the winter. lis aj^'o, by ill ]i()i)C of lown their Ivcd lliver, uusaml, all it rnged in bled, all up St. Albert. I rest. The ss that is a d the dying, The scourge ed a severe Many are lers in tlieir lalf the vear children are mt, no pem- than edu'^a- lut he must one of them il among the with a view heavy ; and ve too many 5. The land is good, but, on account of its elevation, and other local causes, subject to sinnnier fiosts ; in sj>ite of thesif, cei'eals, an well as root crops, succeed when can? is taken, fjust year they reaped on tlu • '^sion farm twenty n.'turnsof wheat, eighi.een of bjiilcy, sixteen of potatoes. Turnips, beets, carrots an