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6
THROUGH CANADA
WITH A KODAK ^. ^ V/f 6l
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C O X T i: \ I' S.
I.
II.
III.
i\.
V.
VI.
VII.
Vlll.
X.
\I.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
XV,
(»rT\VAUI» llolNIt.
<^i i;iii:r,
MONTKK.VI,,
.\ ( ANAhl AN I.AKK \<>\ \,
IN A UAII.WAV ACCIhKNT.
TIIK KOCKV MulNTAINS,
A VISIT T(» IlKITISII COMMI-.IA.
(11 ISAy Ladv
AUKKDKKN, ......
The First Icel)erg on the Horizon. /''rom a Sketch by
Ladv Ahkrdkkn, . . . . .
Ouehec, from the .South Side of the River,
ii I lamiltnii I!.iy,
'I'lic Kads nnd I-assii's who accinn|iiiiiitil us,
I'liiviisity liuil'lin^^s, 'romntit,
('it|)laiii Macinastrr,
( in\c'liriU'lll I louse, TorniitK, . ' .
'flu- laU- Sir AlfMiinl^r ('ani|ilii'II, ■
lalh <)l Nia^'ara, ....
Ahovt.' Niagara, ....
\'icu (if ' )ll;iuii,
I.ord Stank')' (imu l!arl <<\ I )(.'iliy), -
La Mill. Will
Tlu' \i( \v from the Terrace outside rirlianient \\\\
Kiileau Hall, ( )ttawa,
The Tolio^man Slide at Kidiau Hall,
Westward ! .
All Aboard ! - . . .
The Car in which we travelled West,
John r.arher, our Car I'orter,
A ^'ounL; Setllenu lit.
Mr andMrs O'lirien,
All that is left of the lUiflalo,
llow a jouriu'y from Wiinii|ieij[ for < )ttawa wa> .u-co
in days ^oni- hy,
Manilou, Manitolia,
(■ireetin<^s from a ( iroup of Manitohans,
Mr and Mrs I'eter ( Iraham's (.'ottaj^e,
Mr and Mrs John Camphell's Ilou>e,
The I)aroui,di i-amily at (llenfern, -
Scene of Accident, /-'roj// a Ski/Ji hv L\t>\' Ai;i:ki)i-;KN,
Our i;ni,nne, as l'hotot;raphed after the Accident, -
Off A.^ain ! - - ^ -
A l\eL;inuni of Workers on the Prairie,
< )ne of Sir John laster-Kaye\ i)i^r farms in Allierla,
Passing; a CarduU of I'.mii;ranls - " Take our I'ictures."
Maj) show ini^ rej^ion of Summer drouf^hts in North Anuaica
A Horse Kanch near Cali^ury,
Ajiproachin^^ the Rockies, .' - . .
'■ The Three Sisters,"' - - . .
\ iew from the W indow of the Hanff Hotel,
Cascade M(,Hnitain, Banff, - . . .
Tile \ an Home Kant^e. sketched from lield liy \..\\\\
Al!i:ki)Ki;.\, - " .
A Trestle Urid-e. - - - - .
iplisliec
lAI.K
55
59
^'.?
67
6.S
73
74
75
76
11
79
So
Si
S4
<^7
'39
140
VI 11
]jst of Illustrations.
\'anc()uver. -■-''""
The late Mr (>. C. Mackay,
Lieut-Clovernor of British Columl)ia,
Admiral llolham, ---"''
11. M.S. "Warspitc," - - ,' • , \, •, '
Lord Ahcr.lccn and I'n.t. II. Drummond in the Railway
f^. _ - - ~ •
The flit Passenger Train on the Shush vvap and Okanagan
Line, - - - ' ' "
Mr Lenuime's little Steamer, ".',,.'
Transferring the Luggage from the Train to the Steamer, -
Entrance Ciate to (Uiisachan Farm,
In the Woods of C'.uisachan, 15. C, - " "
View from the front-door of (uiisarhan. /'ro/// a sketch hy
Lady Abkrdken, - - - ■ "
(juisachan, B. C. , -
C.oing out for a Bear Hunt. - - ' '
Watching the (iame-bag, - - - ■ '
" Foo."' "nir Chinese Cook. - - - ■ "
Willy, the Indian boy, with liis white pony
Residence Ko. I, -
Resilience No. 2, -
Residence Tso. 3, -
Residence No. 4, -
The C.uisachan Staff, - .; "
Starling for a Drive with " Charlie and 1 into,
Mr Smkh exhibiting the wild Indian jioiiy,
Coutts on " Aleck "'— " Spot ^' in attendance,
rianting Scotch Firs from (-uisachan, Inverness-shire, at
Cuisachan, B. C, -
S.S. " Penticton "' waiting to bear us away,
(lood bye I -
C.oing to work at Coldstream Ranch,
The S.S. " Fmi)ress of India," - - - "
Sarcee Indians, ---"""
Crowfoot, Chief of the Blackfeet, - - - '
Indian curios. /J';v77C';/ /m' Mr f. Crant, -
215, 216, 217, 225,' 226, 227, 22S, 229, 231, 232, 233,
235> 237, 239, 241.
Making a " Brave "' at the Sun-dance,
An Indian Lodge or Wigwam, - - ', t 1 1
Eastern part of Rasa-an Village, Prince of \\ ales Island,
Alaska, - - ■ ' ' "
Memorial bust of Sir John Macdonald,
Homeward bound, ----''
I'AC.K
142
143
146
147
148
151
157
159
160
162
163
165
166
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
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iSi
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191
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199
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213
214,
234,
219
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224
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249
I
I.
OUTWARD BOUND.
ATRIP to Canada ! Yes, we had often talked about
it. We had paid a visit to India, Ceylon, Aus-
tralia, Tasmania, New Zealand; and we much
wished to see something of this other vast and fair
Dominion, which forms part of the British Empire. But,
in spite of our voyagings, we have never been friends of
the sea ; and when we talked of Canada we were always
very conscious of the fact that the wild waves of the
ocean separated its shores by the space of seven days
from Britain.
However, last year our desires, coupled with doctor's
advice, overcame our fears, and on a fine evening in
August we found ourselves dropping down the Mersey
on board the s.s. " Parisian " of the Allan Line, one
of the largest ships plying between this country and
Canadian ports. Have you ever been on board an
Atlantic liner when in port? If so, you know how
delightful everything looks. A large beautiful deck
above, snug little berths below; a splendid saloon, a
reading-room, a smoking-room, books, mu.sic, games;
A
I it
i*l
Through Canada with a Kodak.
and you look in tlie pretty little prospectuses handed to
you about the interior arrangements of the ship, and
you see {)ictures of a hapj)y comj)any seated at long
tai)les enjoying the best of fare, ladies and gentlemen
^
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Out-auud Bound - I'hc ''Parisian" '' droftpin;^- d^-on tin: Met
scv.
singing and playing, reading, and playing at games, and
altogether having a good time of it. 1 ,ook at th
given in those pages, and say whether life at sea does not
seem a very attra(-tive thing, sailing along in one of these
anie
])ictures
:«l
Outward Bound.
l)rave ships under a gor)d cai)tain, surrounded hy
luxuries, and with no cares, no responsibihties, no
work, no telegrams, no letters ?
So one thinks, and so one continues to think for an
hour or two after starting ; hut wait a wee, and see if you
don't begin to wisii that you could gi\e effect to second
thoughts, wlien you find yourself tossing about in the Irish
Channel in n gale a few hours later. but the least said
d
iS
ot
se
-•/ Ii night, noi oi the long wait we had next day at
iMoviile, near I -ondonderrv, for the l^nglish mails, which
had been delaxcd sf)me hours in crossing from Holvhead
to Kingstown, in consequence of the storm, I should
like, though, to be able to give you a sight of our last
glimpse of the shores of " Ould Ireland,"' as we saw them
Through Canada with a Kodak.
disa])pearing next evening. A succession of bold bluffs
and headlands jutting out into the sea, one beyond the
other, as far as the eye could reach in the gathering
darkness, the green slopes here and there just visible,
and the heavy black clouds which had been overhanging
us all day fringed with a glory of red and purple and
orange. Lord Aberdeen and I leant over the taff-rail
and caught some whiffs of a dear familiar peat-smoke,
which sent us happy to our cabins that night Pray
enquire no further : you shall hear none of our groans.
Suffice it to say that the 750 passengers on board were
in a decidedly subdued frame of mind for a few days,
your Editor amongst the number. vShe had not yet
even conceived the idea of telling her friends of the
Onward and Upward Association something about
this expedition, or elpe she would doutbless have used
her Kodak, to bring before you various scenes and
attitudes of different degrees of misery. Our fellow-
passengers therefore escaped the danger of being
introduced thus to you, and I shall hope to show
some of them to you in a happier aspect later on.
When we began to be in a state to realise one another,
we found that we might almost consider ourselves already
in Canada. We were of all degrees : cabinet ministers,
governors, senators, professors, business men, were there,
and so were also emigrants of many various classes and
from all countries, bound to many various destinations.
-1
Outward Bound.
Hf
Some were going for the first time to seek their fortune,
they knew not where ; some were going out to join friends
who had already |)rospered; some were returning from
paying a brief visit to their friends in '' the old country,"
as wc; soon became Canadian enough to call it. Amongst
such company, who were all also so willing to impart
information to strangers and "tenderfeet" (this being the
name for new-comers in Canada), we were able to pick
up a good deal about the country and the })eople amongst
whom we were going to live for the next three months.
I will try to filter down to you a little of what they told
us bv deu;rees, but first I want to introduce to vou a
number of youthful emigrants, in whom I think you
will be specially interested. I'hese are a party of fifty
young girls of all ages, from three to seventeen, taken
from misery and destitution to Miss Rye's Homes,
from whence they will be drafted, either as servants or
else ado})ted into colonists' homes. Much care has to
be used in selecting only suitable, healthy children for
emigration, but when this care is used there are endless
openings for them in Canada. Miss Macpherson, whose
name is so well known as having been the first lady to
undertake the emigration of children, told us that this
year she had had 900 applications for children, of which
she had only been able to supply 150.
These little ones whom we saw on board the " Parisian"
were all full of eager expectation regarding their new
1]
ill
f I
Through (Canada with a Kodak.
homes, and, after the first few days of sea-sickness and
discomfort consequent on the vaccination to which
every steerage passenger to (.'anada must submit, they
made themselves very hai)i)y with their skipping-ropes
and various games. A part of the ship had been
partitioned off and fitted up on purpose for them — a
httle dining })lace, a row of Httie tin basins and two
storeys of Httle box-like berths where they lay snugly
packed away at night ; the kind matron, who had crossed
the ocean some forty times on like business, slee})ing in
a little cabin opening into this special section.
The chaplain accomi)anying the ship often had special
services for the children, and it was very pleasant to hear
the bright hymn-singing, which always brought together a
number of the other passengers. As we think of those
little ones we wonder how thev are getting on in their
scattered homes. We had hoped to see them again in
Miss Rye's Home, near Niagara, l)ut, to our regret, we
never managed the expedition. The matron told us that
very probably a fortnight after we landed the children
would all be engaged, or adopted in homes where they
knew they would be cared for. I think I have behaved
very badly to you in not having photographed either these
children for you, or a typical emigrant Norwegian family,
who would have made a delightful grouj) if I could have
made them understand what I wanted. 'Jliere they were,
father, mother, and a whole succession of little flaxen-
Outward Bound.
=*>
haired boys and girls, the latter each with a little yellow
l)ig-tail, after the fashion of some of the foreign dolls we
buy. There are always a number of Scandinavians in
every ship-load of emigrants going to Canada, for they
are most thrifty, hard-working people, and when they get
settled, generally soon send money home to bring out
their relations. I shall have more to tell you about them
by-and-by. Meantime, I must tell you about what is
always the great excitement of a voyage to Canada. \\'e
were seven days out from Liverpool, and were preparing,
in various ways, for a concert, which was to be given on
behalf of the Liverpool Home for the Orphan Children
of Seamen who have perished at sea, when a rumour
went round that an iceberg was in sight. An eager
crowd was soon scanning the horizon with telescopes and
field-glasses, and before long a tiny, cone-shaped,
glistening white hill hove in sight, resjjlendent with
shades of transparent green and blue. We looked at it,
and we photographed it, and we sketched it, and we
talked about it, till another, and yet another, came in
view, and during that evening and next day some
thirteen were seen in all the various lights of sunset and
sunrise, and mid-day They were very beautiful, but
their beauty needs to be seefi to be understood. I am
almost ashamed to let you see the reproduction of a
little sketch I attempted when the first iceberg was
visible on the horizon. These icebergs, which are
111
1
8
Through Canada with a Kodak.
morsels detached from the great glaciers of Greenland
by the summer sun, cause great anxiety to the officers
commanding ships on the Atlantic. 'I'his is more
especially the case in the neighbourhood of Newfound-
land, which is very subject to fogs; for, as the saying
goes, it is celebrated for "fog, dog, and cod." Often
and often ships have to lie outside the Straits of Belle-
Isle for days enwrapped in dense fog, afraid to budge,
Ihcjiyst Iceberg on the Horizon
in case ont' of these great ice monsters may be
looming near at hand, ready to overwhelm the unwary
seaman and his craft. This very ship of ours, the
" Parisian," had a narrow escape in May. In the fog she
ran atilt against what was called a small iceberg, but
which one of the passengers decribed to me as having a
most alarming appearance. In a moment there appeared
as a vision just in front of the bows, a towering white
mass, part of which seemed to overshadow the deck.
%
Outward IJound.
i
This passenger told mu that the feeling of alarm was
swallowed up in an o\crpowering sense of wonder and
awe at the marvellousness and magnificence of the scene
presented, and that it was only later, when the skill of
captain and officers had averted a catastro})he, that the
perilous ])osition in which the ship had been placed was
fully realised.
The bright sun and t;lear skies which we enjoyed
gave us immunity from all such dangers. We sailed
peacefully through the Straits, on either side of us the
line of the low blue hills of Labrador and Newfoundland
gleaming in the sun, and in the reflected light of long,
trailing, flaky, |)inky-white clouds, which we soon began
to associate with Canadian skies. Then we floated out
of sight of land again, into the great Gulf of St Law-
rence, on into the big river itself, along the picturesque
shores of French Canada, dotted with groups of cosy, wee,
tin-roofed cottages, in which lived the French-Canadian
fishermen, and every now and again a picturesque little
church and school. It was all very peaceful, and a great
contrast to the beginning of our voyage. But I must
not linger longer over our voyage, and so I leave you, till
next letter, within sight of the beautiful city of Quebec.
! 'I
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( ) u !•: 15 !•: c.
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NO words could ever des(:ril)e (^)uel)ee ; so you must
try to form nn idea of it from tlie pictures we
have given you. We saw it in every variety of
weather: — first, in the uncertain reddish hght of a dull
sunrise on the morning of our arrival ; and next in a
howling storm ; then, when its bright s[)ires glittered in
the glorious Canadian noon-day, or with the grey of its
old gables transfigured in the sunset. We saw its bright
roofs and spires bathed in the sunlight of noon ; again
in all the glories of a gold and purple sunset ; and at
night we saw the whole city gleaming with the myriads
of electric lights shining about her crags. Queijec
exercises a curious t'ascination on the visitor ; it trans-
])orts him into the past whether he wills it or no; the
sentiment of the place dominates him, and it is the only
town that I have seen which I can conceive im})osing on
her children the same strange potent spell which binds
us Scotch folk to our own never-to-be-surpassed "■ Auld
Reekie."
It is strange that the emigrant to the New A\'orld
I
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12 Ihrough Canada witli a Kodak.
should make ac(iuaintana' with it first in tliis old-world
city, full of associations and traces of the j)ast — its very
inhabitants seeming to transport you to a I'Vance of two or
three centuries ago. Nevertheless the emigrant will find
that the demands ofthj present and future have not
been forgotten, that his needs have not l)een overlooked,
and that the (lovernment and the Railway Companies
have amply provided for his reception. And besides
the (iovernment and the Railways, there is the Women's
Protective Immigration Society, which takes special
charge of all women emigrants disembarking at Quebec,
whether travelling alone, or with one of those j)rotected
parties — by far the best auspices to travel under — which
have si)ecial arrangements on board ship, and a matron
to themselves. 1 hope to say something later on in
these j)apers to young women thinking of emigrating;
but meanwhile I would like to take this opportunity of
saying that there is a constant demand for women-servants
in all parts of Canada, the wages being from $8 to $12
(^i, I2S. to ;^2, 8s.) a month in Eastern Canada, and
increasing as you go Westward to as much as $20 {£4)
per month. Good general servants, who are not afraid
to work, and who will adapt themselves to the ways of
the country, are sure to get on in Canada and to find
hapi)y homes. Girls who only wish to take to one branch
of domestic work had better not go, except in limited
numbers, as it is the exception, not the rule, to keep
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more than one servant, and those will succeed l)est who
will put their hands heartily and readily to anything.
Servants who have had some training in geiieral work will
l)e particularly valued. If any girls reading these words
make up their minds to emigrate, they cannot di> better
than go out with one of the prcHected parties arranged hy
the Hon. Mrs Joyce, of the United British Women's
l'jnigratif)n Society. 'I'he passage with one of these
parties costs ^£4, los., and all who go may he sure of
.securing a situation immediately on arrival.
Ikit to return to our own doings at (Quebec. 'I'he
scene on our arrival at the wharf was a busy one. Most
of the emigrants diseml)arked here, and we saw our little
friends destined for Miss Rye's Homes marched off two
and two very hai)i)ily to the train which was to convey
them furtiier West. There were a great many "(lood-
byes " to be said to our good ca|)tain and officers, and to
the friends we had made on our passage out, and who
were all now dispersing far and near. Soon we were
crossing the river in a ferry-boat, and next found
ourselves dashing up the (queerest, ([uaintest, roughest,
steepest streets you can imagine. These led up to the
Citadel, which crowns the heights, and where the
(iovernor-Cleneral lives when he is staying at Quebec.
The present (iovernor-deneral, Lord Stanley of Preston,
and his wife, Lady Stanley, were not at (Quebec when we
arrived ; but they sent us the kindest of welcomes, along
14 Through Canada with a Kodak.
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with a hospitable invitation to stay at the Citadel. And
never did any guests feel more grateful than we, when
we f( and ourselves in a cosy room overlooking the town
and the busy river. We watched our old friend the
" Parisian " making ready for her further journey to
Montreal, and we " Kodaked " her, and, as she steamed
away, waved our final greetings with a towel out of the
window.
Then we had time to take in our position, and
to survey the whole surrounding country from a delightful
terrace which had been built out beyond the spacious
ball-room erected whilst Lord Lome and Princess IvOuise
were in Canada. In the distance lay long lines of low
blue hills ; the broad, stately river winding below, laden
with ^•essels of every description bound to and from many
European ports, while darting in and out amongst them
flashed the white sails of pleasure boats. The city, with
the imposing tower of its Uni\-ersity, its many spires, its
bright roofs made of j)lates of tin, [)resents a strange
contrast to the heights clad with verdure and forest
which met the eye of the adventurous French explorer,
Jacciues Cartier, who arrived here in the autumn of 1535,
with his three shi])s, the "(irande Hermine " (120 tons),
the "Petite Hermine'"' (60 tons), and the " Emerillon '
(40 tons), and stayed one whole winter. \\'e could not
but often dream that we could see those three brave
little ships, wiUi their gallant captain, floating in these
s
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unexplored waters, and exciting the wonder of the Indian
Prince Donnacona and his savages, crowding around the
new arrivals in their Httle bark canoes.
You must get out your history-books if you want to go
back to that time, and, if you want to trace out how
Quebec was founded a half-century later by Champlain,
how it became half a mission, half a trading station, how
it was defended against the many attacks of the Indians
and became the centre of the Colony of New France ;
and then how it was neglected and misgoverned by
corrupt officials from France, and finally how it was
conquered by the splendid daring of General Wolfe in
1759. We had the great advantage of seeing the scenes
of all these historic deeds under the able guidance of
M. Lemoine, the historian of Quebec, to whose kind care
we had been confided by our friend Sir Alexander
Campbell, Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, whom we were
fortunate enough to have as one of our fellow-passengers
in the "Parisian." M. Lemoine showed us the steep
precipitous cliff up which Wolfe and his men clambered
that memoraljle night, and the spot where he overthrew
the few men carelessly guarding the heights : where his
men formed up in line, and advanced over the plains of
Abraham : where Montcalm, the gallant French defender,
rode out and saw the English red-coats, and heard the
Highland bagpipes, and exclaimed, "This is a serious
business ! " Then we saw the spot where Wolfe fell
Quebec.
17
pierced by three bullets — where he fell, only to hear
the cry, a moment later, " They run ! see how they
run ! " " Who run ? " demanded Wolfe. " The enemy,
sir. They give way everywhere." " Go," said the dying
man, "go, one of you to Colonel Burton, and tell him to
march Webb's regiment down to Charles River, to cut off
their retreat from the bridge." And then, turning on his
side he murmured, "Now Cod be praised. I will die in
peace," and expired. Almost at the same moment his
noble-hearted enemy received his deatii-wound, though
riding into the city he tried to reassure his friends, saying
" It is nothing ; it is nothing ! " We saw also the monument
in the (Governor's garden, which commemorates both the
conquered and the conquering General.
But I have not space to tell more of all we saw at
Quebec, nor of the delightful day we spent at the falls of
Montmorenci — higher than those of Niagara — and known
to the people of the neighbourhood as " La Vache "
(the cow), because the foam has the appearance of
frothing milk.
In the winter this spray freezes till a cone is formed
some seventy feet high. Then sledges with metal
runners called '■^ toboggans ^^ are prepared, and from the
height of this cone the young people of Quebec amuse
themselves by shooting down one after another, and
sliding away far across the smooth surface of the river
below. Oh, the fun these Canadians have in winter,
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Quebec.
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with their sledging, their skating, their tobogganing, and
their snow-shoe ex[)editions. 'J'he snow-slioe is a ntxx's-
sary equipment for those who have to take long journeys
in the winter. It looks rather like a lawn-tennis racket,
and consists of a light frame with netting across, whii;h
prevents the wearer from sinking into the snow. But
some practice is re(}uired in order to use this novel
foot-gear easily.
One word about the l^'rench Canatlians. Tluy iue a
thrifty, contented, law-abiding, religious peo])le. When
the British conquered (Quebec they wisely allowed the
people to retain their own laws and customs, and the
result is that nowhere can be found more loyal subjects
of the British Crown, 'i'he atmosphere of modern France
has never reached them, and they are still the same
simple Norman and Briton peasants who came out some
hundreds of years ago. They are very much influen( ed
by their priests, who maintain a strid rule over them
and all their family affairs. The regulations are very
strict — for instance, about dancing, the popular snow-shoe
expeditions, and other amusements. Some restrictions
are, however, i)eing relaxed. I'or examj)le, fifty years
ago meat was absolutely forbidden all through the forty
days of Lent, and this was found to l)c a great hardship
in many cases in that severe climate. 'I'he rule has not
been so rigidly enforced of late years.
The French in Canada are increasing rapidly by reason
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20 Through Canada with a Kodak,
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of the large famiHes they generally have. Twelve,
fourteen, and sixteen children are quite an ordinary-sized
family, while we heard of a well-authenticated case of one
couple rearing forty-four children. The country is
therefore filling up, and some of the people are moving
into the New England States, and westward to Manitoba.
'i'he general desire is, however, to stick to their own
country, and the Quebec Government facilitates this by
giving 100 acres free to every family which numbers
twelve children. As we drove along the well-kept road
to and from Montmorenci, we i:)assed various character-
istic little villages ; the houses bear evidence of being
built for contingencies of either extremes of climate :
verandahs and green sun-shutters, and netting over doors
and windows, as protection against the blazing heat and
the mosquitoes and flies, but also peculiarly-shaped
roofs, curved at the bottom in such a way as to prevent
the snow from making a permanent lodgment.
I'he crops we saw were very poor indeed, but we were
told that it had been a very bad year for agriculturists
round ubouL Quebec. We were especially struck by the
universal civility and gentle courtesy of the people — no
pushing either of themselves or of their sights, only a
quiet readiness to help strangers, and to give them any
information which they might be in need of, without
looking for reward. When we were in Quebec we
imagined this was the hereditary French politeness
Quebec. 21
showing itself, but our experience afterwards sliowed us
that civility and a spirit of kindlint,'ss towards visitors is
more or less a characteristic of all Canadians.
There is much more that I would like to tell you
about Quebec and its neighbourhood, but my space is
more than filled, and I cannot even describe to you the
little carts, dragged by dogs trained to harness, like those
^i'^'^
A (Jin'/'tr Calcche.
used in this country in bygone days, until they were for-
bidden l)y law ; nor yet can I dilate on the curious old-
fashioned vehicle, peculiar to Quebec, called a calcche.
You see a picture of one here. Try to imagine a very high
gig, with a hood, swung on enormously high C-shaped
springs ; next imagine a weedy-looking horse tearing
along, after the fashion of Quebec horses, at full gallop
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up and down streets steeper than the Edinburgh Higii
wStreet, and full of holes and pitfalls, and then you will
be able to judge of the courage of those who trust their
persons in such a conveyance. Nevertheless, I will con-
fide to you that we found this method of progression
most comfortable, and we congratulate Quebecers on
having discovered a way of making the roughness of
their streets unperceivable to the traveller.
And now adieu to Quebec. We shall meet again in
Montreal.
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MONT R E A L.
G
LAD to see you at Montreal ! " "Well, and what
do you think of Canada ? " " Lord Aberdeen,
I think? You're heartily welcome, sir!" "Grand hotel
this ! Nothing to beat it on the Continent ! " Such-like
were the greetings which fell on our ears as we entered
into the vast central hall of the Windsor Hotel, Montreal,
after a hot and dusty railway journey from Quebec.
This hall and the spacious dining-saloon and public
drawing-rooms of the hotel are practically a club for
the inhabitants of Montreal and its visitors. Here we
find many of our fellow-passengers from the " Parisian "
again — here, too, was our captain ; this celebrity and
that were pointed out to us by the head waiter, as they
sat at the innumerable small tables at meals, and before
many hours had passed we felt ourselves quite habitues
of Canada's commercial capital, and accustomed to her
ways. Quite conscientiously, too, could we pass muster
with the most exacting Canadian in paying due tribute
to the comforts, the conveniences, and the splendour of
the Windsor Hotel.
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As at Quebec, our thoughts irresistibly turned to the
contrast between tliis jjroud and splendid city, with her
beautiful buildings, and churches, and luiiversities, to
the nestling Indian village found 1)\' |ac([ues C'artier at
'^^^^&s^0^:::w^m
i
Jac(]tics Cartic):
the foot of the mountain which he first called Mont
Royal (the royal mountain), in honour of his king. We
fancied we could see the groups of "braves," with their
scjuaws and children, crowding out of their little huts to
k
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Through ("anada with a Kodak.
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look at these strange beings ; the women stroking the
moustaches and beards of the explorers, to maki; sure of
tlieir reality ; tlie infirm, and sick, and feeble, with their
paralysed chief at their head, imploring for the 'Miealing
touch " which they believed these denizens of another
world could give.
The words which were spoken by NFaisonneuve, the
leader of the little band of forty-five emigrants who
landed on the island of Montreal in 1642, with the
intention of founding a colony and a mission, have
indeed come true. No sooner had the little party landed
than they gathered together for prayer and in consecra-
tion of their mission in this new land, and at the close
of their worship Maisonneuve turned to his companions
and said, " You are a grain of mustard seed that shall
rise and grow till its branches overshadow the earth.
You are few, but your work is the work of fiod. His
smile is on you, and your children shall fill the iand."
Many were the vicissitudes which that litt'e colony
had to pass through, many were the heroes and heroines
whom they were destined to nurture amidst the rough
experiences of a life spent in constant dread and danger
of the Indian's tomahawk and scalping-knife. But
Maisonneuve's words proved prophetic, and in place of
the small barricaded fort of Villa Marie of Montreal,
defended by a few missionaries and devoted women,
there rears itself the largest, most prosperous city in
Montreal.
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Canada, slicltcrcd by Iut Royal Mountain, on which she
lavishes her proud care. A lovely winding drive has
been laitl out round the sides of the mountain, by wliich
the visitor gradually ascends to a standpoint, from which
a glorious \iew of the river and scenery below must be
obtained.
Unfortunately the weather was very unfavourable when
we made the ascent, and we could only form a dim con-
ce})tion of the splendid })anorama spread out before us,
with the rushing white waters of the Lachine Rai)ids in
the distance. Hut you can get an idea of the view from
the picture we have given you.
On the sides of the mountain itself large and most
carefully-tended cemeteries have been laid out separately
for Protestants and Roman Catholics, and are considered
one of th'; sights of the place. We drove through them,
admiring many strange bright plants and trees, and then
we wended our way to return a visit made to us in the
morning by an old friend of the family, Mr Crombie,
who had been for many years a London City Missionary,
but who has now in his old age gone out with his wife
to make his home with his son, a minister in charge
of a Presbyterian Church in Montreal. We found
them enthusiastic in praise of their new country,
and the beneficial effects that its climate had had on
their health.
But I must cry. Halt ! For I see that I am dangerously
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near writing a journal of all our doings, and this will
never do. So, only one or two more remarks about
Montreal, where, indeed, we only stayed two nights, as
we were hurr)ing on to our children, who had preceded
us across the ocean. But we had time to inspect a
pleasant little Home for Female Emigrants in Mansfield
Street, which is under the charge of a lady who takes the
liAcliest interest in those who pass through her hands.
They are met at the steamers, and for the first twenty-
four hours can remain at the Home free of all charge.
Very often, even on the first day, they find places to
which they can go at once, but if they require to stay a
little longer the)' pay a small sum per day. But all may
be sure of a welcome here, and of help and wise advice.
And then I must tell you of the evening we spent at
the beautiful house of Sir Donald Smith, whose name is
a household word in Canada, as well it may be, for he
has acted the jjart of a fairy godfather to his adopted
countr}-. I think we must some day try if Sir Donald
cannot be persuaded to tell the O.U.A. some of his
stories of the by-gone days of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany, of which he is President, and in whose service
he has taken many an adventurous journey. He could
tell us not only of the hardships of cold, but of the hard-
ships or heat, which beset the hunter. That very evening
we were with him he told us of the terrors of the Labrador
mosquitoes, and how they have vanquisht
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Sir Donald Smith.
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would fly from no other enemy. He instanced one case
in which a friend of his was so sensitive to their bites,
that he had to stop every half-hour on the march to wash
away the blood which was pouring from his head and
face.
\Vc had all manner of stories that night, for amongst
Sir Donald's guests were — Mr Shaughnessy, the Vice-
President of the Canadian Pacific Railway; the Rev-
Mr Barclay, whom many of you may have heard of, as
he was colleague with I)r Macgregor, at St Cuthbert's,
I^Minburgh, for some years before going to the Montreal
congregation, by whom he is held in such high esteem ;
and last, but not least, Father Lacombe, a priest mission-
ary amongst the Indians, who has given all his life to
their cause. I have had a photograph of him engraved
so that you may have a glimpse of the kindly, noble old
face. He lives far away in the North-West, and is not
often seen in civilised haunts, but his name is everywhere
loved and respected among Protestants and Roman
Catholics alike. His life of love and whole-hearted
devotioin to his mission has gained for him enormous
influence amongst ^^mes saiwages," as he playfully calls
the Indians. For instance, when the Canadian Pacific
Railway Company first began to lay out their railway
through the red man's territory, there were rumours,
and more than rumours, that the wild "Bloods" and
"Plackfeet" meditated wrecking the pathway of the
IV.
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Father I.acoiid\
32
Through Canada with a Kodak.
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iron fiend which threatened their solitudes. Father
Lacombe's aid was invoked as mediator, and the
"Bloods" and the "Blackfeet" buried the hatchet.
His talk with us will always be a happy remembrance ;
his fatherly solicitude over his flock, and the way
in which he identifies himself with them is most touch-
ing. "You must never drive the Indians, or frighten
them ; you must draw them by ever telling them of
the love of the Father." Only once, he told us, was
he in momentary danger from any Indian. An Indian
lad had been falling into bad ways, and Father Lacombe
told him that if he persisted in these ways he would
surely reap the fruits of his sin. A few days later the
boy was ill, and Father Lacombe went to see him, and,
laying his hand on his knee, asked him how he was.
The boy jumped up in a fury, and seizing a knife, made
a lunge at the missionary, which, fortunately, the latter
eluded by a rapid movement. The boy had remembered
the words spoken to him a few days before, and thought
that Father Lacombe had the power to bring punishment
and death upon him by merely touching him. Amongst
other work done for the Indian by this good man has
been the making of grammars and translations of parts
of the Bible, and other books for their use. He says
that when he is quite worn out with active work, he will
come and build a Hermitage near Haddo House, and
write books for and about his Indians.
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33
Some day I must tell you of other missions amongst
the Indians, of the Church of England's Mission, and
of our Presbyterian Church Mission, which are doing
splendid work, and for which I would like to ask your
support. To-day I have simply told you our impressions
of one who is surely following Christ, if ever man did,
and taking His message of love and mercy to dark souls,
and to whom, therefore, all Christians can with heart and
soul say, "God speed." Meanwhile I must tell you how^
Mr Barclay joined with Pere Lacombe in telling us of
the North- West. He had gone with the Canadian troops
as chaplain, on the expedition to quell the last insurrec-
tion amongst the half-breeds, and we were told on all
hands how magnificent his tall manly figure looked in
uniform, and how his conduct with the troops won for
him universal respect. I wish you could have heard
him describing the services he had in far out-of-the-way
places on the Sabbaths. The military band led the
psalms and hymns, and the host of men's voices rose up
in the open air, in regions where divine worship had
never before awakened echoes, and amongst the worship-
pers were found lonely settlers who had for years been
far from any church, and who hailed this opportunity of
joining in public prayer and praise once more, and to
whose eyes the sound of the well-known tunes brought
tears of joy.
One more glimpse must I give you of the interior of
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34 Through (Canada with a Kodak.
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Sir Donald's hospitable mansion — not of his library,
lined with the beautiful red wood of California and
British C:olumbia ; not of his uni(iue Japanese room,
where you might spend hours in examining curiosities
which can l)e seen nowhere else out of Jai)an ; not of his
beautiful])- decorated drawing-rooms ; but of one picture
in liis picture galler)-. It is full of other treasures, but
this is the one you would most like to see. It is Dainted
by a French artist, and the scene is in France. A number
of peasant girls, their heads veiled, after foreign custom,
are passing u\) the lane to the little church in the distance,
their friends standing about in groups invoking blessings
on the young liv-es about to dedicate themselves to (iod's
service. In the foreground of the picture we have a
touching scene of one family kissing and blessing their
own child, about to join her companions. (Grandparents
and parents lift up their hands and eyes to Heaven on
behalf of their darling, whose face bears a look of such
humility, and love, and steadfastness, that one turns
away from the picture with the sense that one has been
standing on hallowed ground.
But the boat which is to take us westward is waiting
for us at Lachine, and if we are to arrive at Hamilton
next month we must hurry westwards. So, good-l)ye.
Sir Donald, and good-bye to your guests : but ai/ revoir!
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IV.
A CANADIAN LAKE VOYAGE.
THAT was a mistake when 1 said the boat was waiting
for us at Lachine I I must have been thinking of
the Lachine Rapids, which are one of the sights which
all right-minded visitors to Montreal go and see, and
down which they generally descend in a steamer. We
had fully intended to include them in our programme,
but want of time and heavy rain prevented our going,
and so I cannot give you the description of an eye-
witness. There are a number of these rapids on the
St. Lawrence, those of Lachine being the best known.
They presented formidable obstacles to the early ex-
plorers, until the Indians guided them over the dangers
in their bark canoes. It is said that the safest course
for the steamboats to take was discovered by first
shooting the rapids on rafts, on the bottom of which
W'Cre nailed many spikes of wood, and the deepest
course was then known by examining which spikes had
been broken off by contact with the rocks, and which
remained intact.
A somewhat risky experience ? But think of the
A Canadian Lake \'oyage.
37
anxiety which the first captain must have suffered who
tooiv a steamer full of passengers down this succession
of waterfalls, with rocks which can he touched on either
side with a boat-hook. It is not thought much of a feat
now, however, when it is done every day in the utmost
safety.
We determined to make the most of our last day
at Montreal, and so, instead of joining the boat either
at Montreal itself or at Lachine, we left late in the
afternoon by train to (J(;ieau, about 30 miles west of the
city. There we had ordered a " machine " to meet us to
drive us for the mile and a naif between the station and
the river. But our " machine " did not turn up, and we
fell to the mercy of a youthful Jehu, with an extremely
shaky and antediluvian tra]), who took a mischievous
pleasure in landing us ever and anon in dee[) black ruts
with which the road abounded, looking back with a
twinkle to enjoy the anxious glances of his passengers at
the angle in which the frail wheels found themselves during
these plunges. J]ut the rough transit did not blind our
eyes to the peaceful I'rench Canadian scenes through
which we were passing, nor to the gorgeousness of the
golden sunset which was glorifying the whole landscaj)e.
Soon we were established in our new abode, the " Cor-
sican," with its clean caljins and attentive stewards, and
its genial, sailor-like captain, who had been navigating
the river for twenty-eight years, but who came originally
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from Maidenhead. He was good enougli to invite us to
his own u})])er deck, near the steersman's cabin, and once
having clambered up the ])recipitous ladder which led
thither, we enjoyed a magnificent view. That first even-
ing was lovely ; the glow of the sunset melting into full
moonlight in an incredibly short space of time, and we
sat and sketched, and congratulated ourselves on having
taken the boat instead of the hot stuffy train. Next day
was too hazy and grey for a proper view of the far famed
"Thousand Islands," through which the "Corsican''
threaded her passage. No name could better describe
the scene than the " Thousand Islands."' The broad
river, which, at places, is seven miles across, is literally
studded with islands of all shapes and sizes, some scarcely
more than a rock on which a bush has taken root, others
large enough to maintain a small colony. Nearly every
island has its villa and its flag, and its little pier with
brightly coloured i)leasure-boats lying around. .Steam
launches ply busily from one point to another, whistling
importantly th- ir :.pj)roach, while fishermen are seen
pursuing their craft devotedly in every little l)ay. The
air resounds with the laughter of picnic parties : for this
is one of the great holiday haunts of the Americans, and
at night the villas and the hotels vie one with another as
to who can best illuminate their respective islands. It is
therefore a gay and attractive scene that the river here
presents, but we agreed that it has not the same imposing
1
A Canadiiiii l.aku Voyage.
39
beauty tliat wc saw further east. Hut now, in the afternoon,
we are ajjproaehinjj; Kingston, full of historical associa-
tions, fro'-*i the old days of I'Vontenac onwards, and which
commands the river in a most picturescjue way. Our
captain told us we could have just two hours ashore, and
so we hurried off, desirous first of all to assure ourselves
of the well-being of a daughter of one of Lord Aberdeen's
tenants who had emigrated hither two or three years
back. We found her happy and bright, and ((uite a
Canadian, giving her verdict in favour of the "' new
r'^*?*??
/\i)ii^sroii, Ontario
country " most emphatically. She had been with the
same mistress ever since she came out, and appeared to
be a great favourite with the latter. Having received this
further testimony in favour of the emigration to Canada
of the right sort of hard-workini; girls, we proceeded
round the sights of the town, under the guidance of a
genuine Irish cabman, who did the honours, impartially
of the Barracks, of the Military College, of the Martello
Towers, and of the Penitentiary and the Lunatic Asylum
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Through (lanadu witli a Kodak.
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and the (juccn's College - this latter being a iVeshyteriaii
I'niversit)-, |)resided over hy the well-known and elocjiient
l*rin(i|)al (Irant. Then, after a conity little tea at the
hotel, we S( iirried hack in good time before the bell of
de[)artiire sounded, and we sailed out int(j I-ake Ontario
in the rays of the setting sun in the ha|)|)y delusion that
we were to glide over waters as smooth as the river wiiich
we had just left, till we found ourselves at 'I'oronto, which
we were to reach next mori.'.ng.
Alas for our ho|)es I We descended to sui)[)er, but
scarcely were we seated, than swish-swash came a wave
through the port hole, sweei)ing over glasses and plates
in its {)assage. \\ c do not know much of what happened
in the suj)i)er saloon after that. We were each alone in
our narrow berth bewailing our folly for having trusted
the treacherous waters instead of having resorted, bag and
baggagi', to the train at Kingston. I'jUt, at three in the
morning, hark, what is that whistle? What is that
welcome clanking of a chain ? Are we stopping? \'es,
indeed. And is there any chance of esca])e ? The
thought occurred simultaneously to two passengers, who
appeared witli wan faces and dishevelled hair at the door
of their cabins at the same time, and confronted one
another with the same (juestion. The thought was
(juicklx- put into action, after Lord Aberdeen had obtained
the kindl)' co-operation of the captain, who even refrained
from scoffing at such deserters, and admitted that it had
I I
A (laiKuliaii Lake N'oyage,
41
conic up a pretty stiff and unexpected p;ale. And a few
minutes later we were left rejoiein^^ on a deserted pier
with naught hut a tea-kettle, a |)laid, and an uinhrella in
our hands. I hit a Robinson Crusoe inhabited that pier
• — as fate would have it, he was Ouso by name and he
was like his namesake in hos|)itality also, and in his
ability for making the best of whatever strangers came
his way. He asked not our name or our business, but
made us free of the otTwc which he occupied as agent
for the steam-boats. He asked us if we wanted any-
thing, he iirovided us with money, he volunteered to stir
up a cab in the town to fei' h us to the station a couple
of hours later, and he showed us his method of getting
water out of the lake by means of a soda-water bottle
with a long string round the neck. What say you to this
as a specimen of Canadian hospitality and courtesy?
'J'he recipients of it were, any way, genuinely grateful,
and very joyfully did we balance ourselves on the edge
of the pier in the dark, and, in the midst of the gale,
fish for water, and then make our tea in the shelte'- of
the office, listening to the storm outside. \'ou will think
us very cowardly sailors, I fear ; but it is no joke, i assure
you ; and if you love not a storm at sea, remember our
advice and keep to the train when you come out to
Canada. j\lr Cruso was as good as his word, aiul in
due course a cabman, who had been unwillingly aroused
out of his early morning slumbers, appeared, and about
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5 ..M. we boarded a train Ijound \Vest, in which with
difficulty we found a corner among the half-awake pas-
sengers who had been travelling all night. From the
window we caught a glimpse of our poor ship ploughing
her way through the waves, and we congratulated our-
selves afresh on our escape. We got long before her to
Toronto, but not even here at the "Queen City" did we
halt. We were to make accjuaintance with her a few
days later under more auspicious circumstances, and so
we only stopped long enough to change from one train
to another, which, skirting along a lake, brought us,
after an hour's journey, within sight of a most attractive
first view of our new Canadian home. You shall not
set this view yet. I will but put you down on the
])latform at Hamilton, and we will go on to " Highfield,"
and i)repare breakfast and a warm welcome for you
there.
t !l
HAMILTON.
I AM sure that any of you who have travelled will
agree that one of its chief pleasures is coming home
again. And we felt almost like getting home when we
walked into the cool, comfortable dining-room, where
breakfast had been prepared for us by those of our
household who had preceded us to '' Highfield," the
house which was to be our home whilst in Canada.
Here is a picture of Highfield. I will hut give you one
of Hamilton, for it is a place which photograjjhs do not
do full justice to. The town lies on a gently-rising slope
round the head of a beautiful bay, and nestles under a
steep ridge, which stretches miles and miles away to the
heights of Niagara. Here it shelteringly protects the
town, which fondly acknowledges its sway, and which
demands from all strangers and new-comers a due tribute
of loyal admiration for the ''Mountain.'" As an illustra-
tion of this admiration, the day after we arrived, a boy,
of about thirteen, came up to Lord Aberdeen as he was
walking in the grounds, and said, " Is Lord Haddo at
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Through Canada with a Kodak.
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home?
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\'ell, no, he is not, hut I am his father.
What do you want with liim ?"
"Well, I wanted to interview him, and ask what his
lordship thought of our city, and I wanted to put the
interview in my father's news})aper.''
Lord Aberdeen was rather startled, in spite of having
become somewhat familiarised to the custom of " inter-
viewing " which prevails universally on the other side of the
water, by means of which public men make known their
views. He had scarcely, however, expected his eleven-
year old son to be called upon to give his opinions as
yet, and he tried to explain to the youthful journalist
that in the old country boys were not expected to air
their views so soon. But our young friend was not
easily Jjaffled. He still persisted in asking '"if Lord
Haddo had made arrangements to inspect the public
buildings of the city, and especially if he had visited
'the Mountain^' and what he thought of that.''' Lord
.Vljerdeen informed him that his boy was at that moment
enjoying a clamber up the steep, and did his best to
satisfy his enterprising enquirer by expressing his own
appreciation of the heights under whose shade they were
standing.
Well, climb up this Mountain (almost on the side of
whi(-h stands Highfield), in the cool of an early Sei)tember
evening, and see tlie town spreading itself out east and
west below you— wide and well-kept streets, trim lawns
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Through Canada with a Kodak.
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as green as those in England, liouses nestling amongst
trees, handsome buildings, church spires and factory
chimneys comj)cting for j)re-eminence. And beyond
the city, and its manufactories, and its wharves, lies the
bay, all gleaming with the bright colours of the setting
sun, amid which little yachts and pleasure boats are
making their way home. Our thoughts linger fondly
over the restful days spent in this peaceful retreat, and
1 fancy that both we and our children associate Highfield
to a great extent with sunshine and butterflies. Perhaps
we had a little more of the former than we cared for just
at first for days with the thermometer over 90 deg. in
the shade do not as a rule commend themselves to
Scottish-bred folk. But after all we had not much to
grumble at, for the heat was not accompanied by our
much-dreaded foes, the blood-thirsty mosquitoes. True,
this race of pests, who are supposed to avoid Hamilton
as a rule, had sent out this year an advance-guard to
survey the place, and even we, though late in the season,
heard ominous trumpetings as we laid our heads on our
}3illows, but it seems that as yet they were but vegetarian
specimens of the race who had arrived, for none of our
party suffered at their hands. Nor did they suffer at
ours. We did not capture a single specimen. And this
is . great deal to say for such an insect-hunting family as
we must confess ourselves to be.
As we sat iri the pretty secluded little grounds which
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Through Canada with a Kodak.
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surround Highfield that first day, we became conscious
that we were by no means alone, and our children, who
had joined us, were soon in full pursuit of the wonderful
creatures, which looked like butterflies on the wing, but
turned into grasshopi)ers when they alighted, of the
''Camberwell Beauties," and the "Admirals," and the
many other l)rightly-coloured visitors of our garden.
But we did not do much that first day — we had not the
necessary implements, and we had to sally forth in search
of the wherewithall to make butterfly nets, and killing-
boxes, and specimen boxes, and I know not what. (And
here, by way of a parenthesis, I must beg the readers of
"Wke Willie Winkik," who look in here, to under-
stand that we are a fa mil)' of scientific entomologists,
that we employ the most humane methods in killing our
victims, that we should look with horror on any one who
should stick pins through them alive, and that we do not
kill thost; we do not need for our cabinet. Pray forgive
this parenthesis, good readers. I feared that we might
be confounded with the cruel boy whom our magazine
has held up to reprobation.)
And here let me introduce the four young butterfly-
hunters of High field. Of course if you ever hear that
their mother — your staid editor — joined them in their
wild pursuit of her majesty the glorious red-winged I
swift-flying "Queen of S])ain," or if you hear of her
anointing telegraph poles and trees with honey and
Hamilton.
49
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molasses, and flitting about with others of the staff of
"Onward and Upwarj)" at dead of night, with lanterns,
capturing unwary, but magnificent moths, who had im-
bibed the sweet draughts too freely, you will surely not
believe such tales !
Suffice it to say that a really beautiful collection of
moths and butterflies resulted from our stay at Highfield,
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One of the carhcst of these refugees was Robert I-auil,
aiul he selected the head of the lake, more because of
the game to he found there, and the scenery, than because
of the fertility of the soil. His first acre was ploughed
with a hoe, sown with a bushel of wheat, and harrowed
with a leafy bough. He was his own miller, too, for
some years, until a iMench-C'anadian arrived and set up
a mill some seven miles away. Then other farmers
came, and in 1S13 (leorge Hamilton laid out his farm
in village lots, and gave the future town its name. Lying
ns it does so near the frontier, it did not escaj)e anxious
times during the war of 181 2 and the following years,
and in [832 it narrowly escaj)ed destruction at the hands
of a terril)le visitation of the cholera, and the same year
b\- a raging fire. These trials did but ])rove the mettle
of the inhabitants of the young town, and |)erhaps furnish
the reason w!iy its streets are now so broad, and so cared
for, its buildings so solid, its sanitary arrangements so
th(jroughly looked into, its ])rovisions against destruction
by fire so complete. A popular writer described Hamil-
ton in 1858 as "the ambitious and stirring little city,"
and the name stuck; only "-little" she is no longer,
being the third city in the Dominion, having a popula-
tion of over 50,000, and her critics have missed out the
"stirring," so if you seek for news of Hamilton in the
general newspai)ers, you must look for it under the
heading "The Ambitious City." But she is not. and
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56 Through Canada with a Kodak.
need not, be ashamed of this nickname, for she has
shown herself amuitious to seme purpose. I could take
up a large part of these Canadirn talks by describing
to you the public buildings and their uses, the magni-
ficent school buildings and the good work that goes on
in them, the institutions — socir.l, literary, })hilanthropic,
and' religious — the many manufactories, which cause
this tov;n to be regarded as the Birmingham of Canada,
the acres of vineyards around the fruit gardens and
orchards, which ^ive this part of the country the name
of " the (jarden of Canada," the churches of all de-
nominations whose services we attended, and above all
the people, of Hamilton. But, having regard to the
length and purport of these sketches, I will not launch
into so large a subject. Suffice it to say that the
kindness and good fellowship extended to us by the
inhabitants of Hamilton, of all dasses, did what only
true hearty courtesy and kindness can do, viz., we felt
ourselves to be no mere tourists and strangers, but fellow-
citizei.s of "no mean city." And in proof of this asser-
tion, I have, by my side here, in the office of " Onward
AND Upward," two beautifully-bound books, concerning
the birds and plants of Canada, and which were presented
to me by the Free Library Committee, as being the fust
citizen to apply for a book, on the occasion of Lord
Aberdeen's opening of the new^ buildings. (I must con-
fide to you, however, that your President's character had
-^
Hamilton.
57
to be inquired into before I was admitted as a reader.
I had to produce a certificate of character for honesty,
and so forth, signed by two citizens of Hamilton. You
will be glad to know that I found two Senators willing to
vouch for me !)
There is no doubt that if you want really to know
something of a country, its customs, and its people, it is
a grea<^ advantage if you can settle down in some typical
place for a few weeks, instead of merely travelling through
and seeing the sights of each town. In the latter w^ay
you may see more perhaps of the buildings, institutions,
&:c., for if you have but a day or two, ou map out your
time, and spend it in driving from one place lo another,
and you thus get through a great deal : but if you make
yourself at home anywhere for a bit, you will not do the
tourist so much, but if you mix at all with the people,
you almost unconsciously get to understand them and
their ways of thinking, and the why and v.herefore of
their customs and institutions. This was our experience,
living our every-day life, interchanging visits, reading the
daily papers of all sections of politics, mingling with
clergy, statesmen, merchants, agriculturists, ike, and
hearing various opinions from all sorts and conditions of
men. And the sum total of what we learnt made us feel
that the more the old country learnt to know her grown-
up child over the sea, the more she would be proud of
her in all ways, and the more earnestly did it make us
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Through Canada with a Kodak.
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wish and pray that the future of Canada may be worthy
ofh(
id that th
( lod-feai
industrious
present
simple, education-loving stock may only be reinforced by
those worthy to combine vv-ith them in building up a
grand nation and country.
As I have said before, none need fear to go out to
(Canada wno are ready to work. Our lads and lasses
who went out with us with the intention of settling (and
of whom I give you a group sitting outside " Highfield "),
have nearly all found happy homes. One, indeed, has
come back because of her father's death, but I feel much
temj)ted to give you extracts from some of the letters of
others. They have not suffered at all from the cold of
the winter, but seem to have enjoyed the merry winter
customs, and seeing all the skating and the sleighing
going on round about them. For one thing, the hearti-
ness of Canadians towards new-comers counts for a great
deal : they do all they can to make everyone feel welcome
and one with them there is a freeness, a sense of
equality, a consciousness that everyone will be taken just
for what he or she is worth, and nothing more or less,
which cannot altogether be attained in the old world,
and which must always be refreshing to anyone of inde-
pendent spirit. '' Prove yourself to be a man, a woman,
and we shall resjject you, and you shall have an etjual
chance with any of us, and what is more, we will do (jur
l)est to put you into the running with us from the lirst."
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Through Canada with a Kodak.
Human nature is undoubtedly the same everywher^^,
and Canadians would not wish to claim for themselves
immunity from ail faults, but they may fairly claim that
anyone wishing to live a free, independent, self-respecting,
law-abiding, and Cod-fearing life, has as few impediments
under the government, the public life and customs, the
bright climate, and the sanguine temperament of Canada
and her folk as they will find in any land under the sun.
Lord Aberdeen was accused of distributing, in some
of his speeches in Canada, what was termed " taffy to
the Dominion." (Is this word derived from "toffee," I
wonder? Anyway it means something sweet.) Perhaps I
shall be accused of following in his footsteps. Well, we
can only speak of that we do know, and what we have
seen, and I can honestly say that I am not conscious of
having flattered. Next month I invite you to accompany
us to some of Canada's autumn fairs, and to see some of
her products.
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Through (.'aiiada with a Kodak.
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provided for, but the ornamental, and the amusing also,
were given their full place. Trotting races, the Wild
\\'est wShow — a' })erformance after the manner of lUiffalo
Bill, with cow-boys and wild Indians and buck-jumping
hMrses, and side perfo .,an . of all kinds — were all to
hand for the diversion c 'h •,. vho were not interested in
the all-absorbing agricultu^.d wc'. and prospects of the
country. And in spite of the vast concourse of people
assembling daily (it is reckoned that 300,000 visitors
attended the Fair each week), there was a remarkable
absence of any disorderly conduct or unseemly language.
All strangers are struck by the good behaviour of the
crowd, and by the evidence it gives of the high moral tone
prevailing in Canada, and which, amongst other results,
shews itself in a popular agreement that no intoxicating
drinks shall be sold on the grounds during the Fair.
Lord Aberdeen had the honour done him to be nsked
to open this vast Exhibition, and to give an address
on the occasion, and it was then that we first visited
Toronto, and that we were first brought into contact
with a Canadian crowd. The opening ceremony is
somewhat a trying one, for it takes place in the open air,
the speakers occupying a platform given up afterwards
to acrobats and jugglers, and having to address a vast
crowd in an amphitheatre opposite, with the racing-course
intervening. The ordeal, however, was safely got through,
and the audience were very kind, and appeared satisfied.
Toronto.
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But I must return to our Toronto Fair, and I feel I
ought to take you round the Dog Show, and the J^oultry
Show, and the Honey Sliow, all of which were excellent ;
and then I ought to tell you of all the strange imple-
ments for sowing, and reaping, and l)inding, and digging,
and I do not know what besides ; and then we ought to
see the roots and the vegetables, and the niagnif ■ o^/
show of fruit ; and t^en we ought to stand in th( '-in.
and see the Herefords, and the Shorthorns, a'> 1 >'ir
own Aberdeen-Angus cattle being led out, and reei .ng
very much at home, and the Clydesdales, too, d the
roadsters, and the wonderful jum[)ing-horse " Rosel)ery,"
who cleared the seven-feet jump easily. Besides there are
the Manitoba exhibits, and those from the Xorlh-West
and British Columbia. And there are the birds, and the
insects, and the snakes to be seen. AVell, what do you
say to going through all these shows, and my pointing
out the merits of each exhibit ? If^ you were wise you
would not absolutely trust yourself to my knowledge on
all these subjects, even though I had the benefit of being
shown all by our most kind friend. Captain Macmaster,
Vice-President of the l^air. But e\en if you would, I
am afraid you would not care for a whole number of the
Magazine to be devoted to Canada, which would be the
result of your rashness, and if you or any of your friends
want to know more in detail aboui the agricultural
resources of the country, I would advise you to write to
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llu' llii;h ("oniniissioiKT for Canada, 17 N'ictoria Street,
London, S.W., and ask for some of the rei)()rts on
("anado made l)y the Jiritisli tenant-farmers, who went
out in 1H91, on the invitation of the Canadian (lovern-
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nient and visited every i)nrt of the country, and who have
made most valuable rejmrts on all they had seen, for
the use of those wanting full and reliable information.
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Toronto.
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Some of these tenant-farmers were jiresent at the Toronto
I'air the same day as we were (on our second visit), and
we saw them going about everywhere making notes.
But I have told you notiiing yet of our host at (iovern
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ment House, where we stayed for the nigiu. We had
had tile good fortune to i)e fellow-passengers across the
Atlantic with the Lieutenant-( Governor of Ontario, Sir
Alexander ('ampbell,"^ and he had i)roved the best and
* Sir Alexander Campbell died in May iSyi'. after tlie.'-e letters were puhlisheil.
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Through Canada witli a Kodak.
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kintk'st of friends, l)Oth as regards bodily and mental
wants, for as t(j the former, lie had made us free of his
private j)rovision of tea and butter, and Devonsliire
cream, and as to the latter, he told us much which
enabled us to feel that we knew a good deal about
S/r Ah-vamlcr Caii//>/H-i/,
Intc Licutcnant-CiOi'cynoy of Ontario,
Canada before we got there. He has lived a long life of
public usefulness to his ado])ted country, and we count the
friendship with which he honoured us as one of the solid
gains which our trip to Canada brought us. And now,
t
Toronto.
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he and his daii^^httr, Miss Marjoric ( 'amplK-ll, took care
of us ill thi-ir pleasant (lovornnicnt House, and tlirough
their kinihiess we made otiier friends ani()nL;st others,
Mr Mowat, tlie lion, i'rime Minister of ( )ntario, and die
Speaker of the l)oniinion .Senate, the lion. Mr .Mian;
and we renewed ae([uaintan(;e with our friend, Mr I'.dward
niake, one of the leaders of the ()|)position, and a well-
known orat(jr and statesman. Then Sir .\Ie.\ander drove
me all round the city next morning, and showed me the
new and the old |)arts, the (^)ueen"s Park, and the differ-
ent colleges and schools, and the beautiful Uniwrsit)-
liuildings, which were in large parts destroyed hy tire
last year. They still presented a gratid appearanci-, and
I am hai)py to say they are to be worthily restori'd.
Now for a i)ee[) at the London Fair, and then both
you and I must have a rest. A bad cold unfortunately
prevented me from accom[)an) ing Lord Aberdeen to
London, as 1 much wanted to do, but he came home
full (jf praise of the bright appearance of this Noung city
of 35,000 inhabitants, which goes by the name of the
" Forest City," on account of the great number of trees
planted along the well-laid broad streets. 1 have given
you two peeps '" London and its surroundings, but must
leave you to imagine the rest, as I cannot give a personal
report. But one thing I can tell you. Just after we left
Canada, a very spirited little monthly jxiper for women
was started in London, called Wives and Daughters. If
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ever any of you go to Canada I advise you to take it in,
and meanwhile 1 hojje to give )0U extracts from it now
and again. And now, ( iood-night, ladies and gentlemen.
I hope that my inefficiency as a guide to the agricultural
fairs will not prevent you from allowing me to conduct
you to the balls of Niagara, and then to Canada's capital,
and then we must hie away West. But now once more,
Cood-night !
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0\ second thoughts, 1 think wc had better not
hnger at Niagara. Vou must ha\e heard it
descriljed so often, and have seen so many pictures of it,
that we should be going over what you would fee/ io be
well-known ground. So I will onlv give vou a little
picture of these wonderful falls, and then pass on.
Only do not you ever think that vou can have the
slightest conception of what "the I'alls" are reallv like
until )'0U have been there, until you have stood and
gazed at them, and have looked at them from this point
and from that, above and below, here where they are
about to precipitate themselves in a wild surging flood
over the cliffs, and there where the mighty volume of
water, having poured itself down o\er the crags and
rocks in grand magnificence, convulses itself into terrific
and seemingly useless fury in its efforts to make its way
along its course. Watch, and look, and listen to the
roar of manv waters, and go back again and again, and
then \ou will know what you have felt Niagara to mean,
ihouiih vou ma\' ne\i'r be able to describe it.
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Through Canada with a Kodak.
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It is the Niagara district that shares with that ininie-
diatcly round Hamilton, the distinction of producing the
finest fruit in the Dominion, as well as the greatest
(luantity. And we found that reputation to he in nu
wise exauuer
ated
when we
visited the Fair at Hamilton
and saw the rows and ro
ws ol ai)i>les
and
])ears, a
nd
pt'aclies, of all sizes and descriptions ; and then the
gra[)es I \\'h\ have I not a photograi)h to show you the
loni
pile(l-u[) tables, co^■ered with lovely clusters
of
i)looni-co\ere(
-rap
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N
ie iMagara wliite grape is
h.itt
su[)poseci
open-air
lo o
;rapej
e the best of the varietii;s of Canadian
II of which have a taste somewhat
.'s^ an oi wmcn nave a lasie some)
peculiar to thcmsekes and not liked by ever\'i)ody.
Speaking from experience, 1 can only say tliat we thought
we had never tasted b(,'tter grai)es in our lives, than some
which we g' chered, grf.wing in a [perfectly wild state up
the cliffs, near Dundas, where we had scrambled u\) in
pursuit of butterflies and a most s])lendid view. Some
day you will have a better chance of tasting Canadian-
, grown grapes wlien niore s])ecial arrangements are made
for their conveyance by the steamers. As it is, if you
want the best apples in the market, you will always ask
for "Niagara" aj)ples. But we are lingering too long in
the fruit orchards of Ontario, and we must repair to
the station again at Hamilton and take our tickets for
Ottawa, the capital of the Dominion ; tor Ottawa, which,
some twenty-five years ago, went l)y the name of Bye-
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74
'rhrouL!;h Canada with a Kodak.
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town, a Hudson IJay ("ompany station and a centre for
tlic lumberers. Now at a distance we see the proud
towers of the l\arliament Houses and (lovernment
Huildings, commanding the heights above tlie river, and
we see a town which, though far smaller than Montreal,
. //'('rr A'/'ai^ara.
or Toronto, or even Hamilton, can well challenge com-
parison in point of lier picturesque situation, and one
\\T;..n nul<^ from all ijccounts, be a centre of l)rightness
:\n(\ mirt'i .:il tl.i-')Ugh the merry Canadian winter. She
owis 'u-'- po,-;itH)n as capital tc the fact that when all the
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'J'hrough Canada with a Kodak.
different provinces in Canada were confederated into
one Dominion in t866, there was too much jealousy
between the ureat cities of Montreal and I'oronto to
allow of either of these being chosen, and so the Queen
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Lonif Stanley.
chose the little Indian town of Ottawa, standing on the
confines of (luebec and Ontario, to be the centre of
Ciovernment. AVe spent some most interesting days
fl)
Ottawa.
77
here. I will but mention our visit to Sir John Macdonald,
and the kindness with which he received us, for I cannot
attempt a task which would take too long, viz., to tell you
about the statesmen and leaders of political life in Canada
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at whose hands we received kindness. They were good
enough to gather at a dinner given to Lord Aberdeen
later on, and both then and at all times they did all in
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Throimh ('anada witli a Kodak.
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their power to make our visit combine l)Oth instruction
and pleasure, ^'ou will have noticed in the papers that
after Sir John Macdonald's death, before Sir John A})bott
became Premier, Sir John ^J'hompson, the Minister of
Justice, was first summoned by the (lovernor-Cieneral to
form a d vernment. \\'e had the chnnce of making Sir
John and Lady 'I'hompson's acquaintance in the steamer
which took us across the Atlantic, and we and our
Kodak did our best to take photographs of them, but I
am sorr)- to say that that l)est on that occasion was a
failure, and so you are cheated of [)ictures which we
should have much liked to reproduce in our Maga/ine,
and which would have reminded us of many pleasant
talks.
At Ottawa, as elsewhere in the I )ominion, the Scotch
element is strong . and at the house of our kind friend
Sir James (irani (or, as we should delight to call
him in Inverness-shire, " Corrymon)," which is the old
home of his famih-, and the laird of which he is by
descent) and Lady (Irant, where we were introduced to
a number of prominent citizens, we found that not a few
claimed Scottish birth or ])arentage. Under Sir James's
escort, too, we visited the beautifully-arranged (ieological
Museum, where we were shown specimens of all the
valuable minerals that lie buried in Canadian soil, and
which will enrich man)- future generations. A\'e saw,
too, samples of the beautiful precious stones which
'
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Ottawa.
i
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(Canada can j)roduce for her (-hilclicii, Lahradoritcs, and
Sodorites, and Pcrthites, and Astcrias, all radiating with
beautiful soft blues and pur[)les, and golden and silver
colours. They have not yet become flishionable, but
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when they are known their time will come. 'J 'hen we
went upstairs and saw^ the cases of birds and butterflies,
and Lord Aberdeen brought away with liim two loxely
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Through Canada with a Kodak.
httlc stuffed owls, not more than five inches high, and
these little owls now look down on me from the top of
A pah- 0/ . \ci-cd/nn or Saii-ivhct Owls.
my bookcase at home, and exhort me to be as wise as
they are. But we brought something else besides these
wee owls back from Ottawa. Of course a " Fair" was
Ottawa.
8i
going (Ml here too, and after the parade ol cattle and of
cart horses came some pairs of fast trotting carriage
horses, and among these were a pair of hlack horses
whicli Lord Aberdeen admired so much that he houulit
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what is said to them very well. They go very fast, and
take us up to J.ondon from our little farm at Dollis Hill,
fully five miles away, in half-an-hour easily. Here they
are, ready to start.
At the Ottawa Fair we also had the opportunity of
making acquaintance with the Hon. Mr Carling, Minister
for Agriculture. He was good enough to offer to take
us to see the (iovernment Mxperimental Farm he had
established about three miles from the town. So on a
glorious September afternoon we drove out, in company
with Mr Carling and Mr Mackintosh, one of the Members
of Parliament for the city, another kind friend of ours.
The Farm was taken in hand by Mr Carling about four
years ago, and scarcely a day passes when he is at
Ottawa without his visiting it. There are about 500
acres in all ; but it ' s not yet all cultivated. Experiments
of all sorts are carried on here relative to seeds, feeding-
stuffs, flowers, fruit, vegetables, trees, poultry, cattle,
sheep, pigs, horses, t\:c., &c., and the results of the
experiments are published from time to time. I'he
farmers from all over the Dominion can send their seeds
here to be tested as to fertility, nutritiousness, &c. ; and
this thev ran do free of cost, for the l^ost-Office carries
everything addressed to and from the Experimental Farm
free. ^\nd the farmers are largely taking advantage of
the o])portunities thus afforded them, and are cultivating
their farms according to the advice given, and so far the
Ottawa.
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results have been found satisfactory. Then, again, seecU
are sent to careful farmers in the various provinces for
them to test in tlieir various locahties and climate, and
to rejjort upon. W'c saw at the Farm various houses
and })lots of ground where experiments were l)eing carried
on, and we saw also a dairy in process of (construction,
where they are to test the i)roduce of various breeds of
cows as to milking powers, and the different methods of
making butter, cheese, »!vc. Exi^eriments are also being
made as to the expense of feeding animals. 'J'o illustrate
this Mr Saunders, the energetic manager, showed us
some s})lendid, sleek, healthy-looking Clydesdales, which
were fed at a cost of only 15 cents a day (about 8d.), by
having their hay and all their food chop})ed uj), and not
wasted in any way. I will not, however, keep those of
you who are not interested in agricultural matters longer
at what we found to be a most engrossing place ; nor
will I tell you just now of the half-hour spent with Mr
Fletcher, who superintends the entomological and garden-
ing departments, and who makes researches as to the
insects which are injurious and those that are beneficial,
and how to keej) down the former and encourage the
latter.
No, we must hurry off to see some of the saw-mills at
work, which are one of the sights of Ottawa. As you
look on the enchanting view down the river, from the
high terrace outside the Tarliament Houses, you see
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84
Through (Canada with a kodak.
thousands and thousands of huge i)ilcs of sawn planks,
and wlicn you go down amongst them, you walk througii
them as through narrow streets of high buildings, and
\ou wontler how there tan ever he enough demand for
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all this Avood. Both by day and night (by the use of the
electric light) do the huge saw-mills work on, replenishing
and increasing these vast stores of wood, which are
destined to travel to all parts of the world. It is a
wonderful thing to stand in one of these mills, vibrating
'^ ' !'
Ottawa.
85
with the workings of the mighty engines working the
huge saws and l)Iades, and full of busy workers moving
between the machinery, which is acting out its relentless
will on each victim from the far away woods which it
receives into its jaws. \'ou see these huge forest trees,
cut down hundreds of miles away, each marked with its
owner's brand, floated dov,-n the river, and guided
down the rushing water to the sj)eiMal mill to which it
belongs. In a moment it is hauled up, dripping, and
dark, and rough, and it is under the steel teeth of tlu'
huge monster - a crasii and a hiss, and in a few moments,
after having run the gauntlet of one machine after
another, the king of the forest emerges out of the other
end of the shed, a pile of common-])lace looking ))lanks.
" Lumbering," as it is called, has been (jne of the chief
industries of Canada during the last fiftv vears, and
young men loving a rough adventurous life have de-
lighted in its freedom, its variet\-, and its dangers. The
lumberers live amongst the forests in rough shanties all
through the winter, felling the trees, and marking them,
and taking them down all sorts of [)recii)itous slides,
called "skidways,"' through snow, and ice, and drifts, to
the water's edge. Their dress is rough, they sleep in a
blanket on a bunk, and their food consists for the most
[)art of |)ork and home-made bread, and huge potions
of tea (no intoxicating drinks are ever allowed at the
shanties), but they seem to be none the worse for their
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iKiidshii)^. As tlK'V work they shout tlic nicrry himhcrcrs"
son^s, and now and again thi'\' have a tiliancc of us'uv^
ih( iiIIls whicli lie always ready to hand, and tlicy get
sonic tivsli venison as a reward of their skill. They also
trap hears oecasionally. The traj) is Ibrnied of an
en(l')sure of stakes dri\en into the ground. A log is
then suspended above, i)roj)pe(l up \)y a stick to whieh
the bait is attached, and when i)o()r " Mr IJruin" is unwary
enough to sei/e the tempting dainty he is done fori
Whin spring conies, the lunihernian's duties alter.
Tiiev have to see that the logs brought down to the
waters edge get proi)erly into the current, that none get
caught 1)\ the rocks or other impediments, and the
('angers encountered in driving down timber like this
are vtr\' considerable, although the skill of the men in
jumping from log to log in the water, in guiding them
with their long hooks, and in running their flat-bottomed
boats tlown the rapids, is very remarkable. On rivers
whire large cataracts occur, artificial channels are made,
called "slides."" These are lined with timber, and at
the upper end gates are put up through which the [)ent-ui)
water can be admitted or shut off. I )own these '' slides "'
pass the "cribs," which are formed of logs fastened
together with large pieces of timber on the top. Often
a rouLth wooden hut is also fixed on the crib for the
raftsmen, who guide their craft either with long oars,
called ''sweepers."" or put u^) a sail on an improvised
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'I'hrough Canada with a Kodak.
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mast. 'I'licrc is one of these slides near Ottawa, on
which visitors are taken who desire to have the sensation
of " shooting a slide." When you embark above the crih-
gates, you are hidden to take a firm hold of a i)oie
fastened on to the logs beneath ; the gates are thrown
<)l)en ; the water surges over; the crib, cafefully steered
through the gateway, advances over the entrance, and
then leaps with a rush down the narrow channel till it
reaches the calm water below. >\'e did not ourselves
taste the pleasures of the plunge, but have taken this
account of it from an article on " Lumbering," by Prin-
cil)al (Irant, in J^ictiiresijue Canada, 'J'he sensation must
be much the same as that enjoyed l;)y the Canadian
tobogganers, whose sport reigns supreme among the
many winter amusements. We visited Rideau Hall, the
residence of the CiOvernor-( leneral, and saw the high
toboggan-slide put up by the Manjuis of Lome, of which
we here give you a picture, which is the centre of so
much bright, healthy fun. I need not describe to you
what a toboggan is, for you see it here in its rapid
headlong descent, with its laughing, breathless freight,
and the mischances and tumbles, and occasions for
merriment to which its voyagers are exposed. Here I
shall leave you a while to amuse \ourselves, or to wait to
see one of the (lovernor's toboggan parties by torchlight,
and if you get tired of this, try your hand at our old
Scotch game of curling, for which you will find ample
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Through (anatla with a Kodak.
facihtics hartl l)\, or tr\ your snow-sliocs, or summon a
sloigli and liavc a iR-witching drivf to thr sound of tlit-
jangh'ng hells along the smooth, (lr\-, hard, snow-covered
roads. I go to |)rei)are our car tor our Westward trip.
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ACROSS Till': I'kAlklKS.
Now, in witli yoLi, if you do not want to be left
behind '. And jjlcasu runiL'ml)er that you have
to kcc'i) your wits about you during this journey when
)<)U get out at railway stations. We have left the
wiiistles behind us in the old (xmntry, and in their stead
you iiear a bell, which at first reminds you more than
anything else of the bell of a country church or school,
and when you hear that bell, scramble in as best you
can, for there will be no slamnu'ng of carriage doors, no
crying of ''Take your seats," no guard's whistle as a last
warning. 'I'he conductor calls "All aboard,"' but if the
train is a long one, you are as likely as not to miss hearing
him. And at every station where we stop you will see
after the train has actually started, a rush of stragglers
scrambling u[) on the "platforms" at either end of the
long cars. Of course you know that trains in America
are not at all like those in this country. Here you have
a picture of our car, and all the carriages are constructed
on this i)rincipal with a ])latform at each end, over which
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Through Canada with a Kodak.
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you can [)as.s when the train is in nu)tit)n. IV()i)Ic'
walk from one carriage to another, and (hiring the long
'./// .l/'oan/ r
Across the Prairies.
93
journeys dining-cars arc attached at certain hours of the
day, where passengers can go and have tlieir meals, and
feel very niucli as it' tliey were in a moving hotel. Little
tables for two or tour people are placed down each side
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into comfortable little rooms at night, when partitions
were put up, and (-urtains drawn, and beds pulled down
by our faithful ])orter, John (who ministered to all our
wants most assiduously), and during the day could be
used as one long sitting-room, })anelled with pretty white
mahogany, where we read, and wrote, and ]:)ainted, and
where we had many a pleasant little tea-party during the
four weeks while we inhabited it.
We thought we had chosen tjuite the best time of year
for our tri]), although it might be considered a little late
Across the I 'rallies.
95
by some, for when we woke up tlie first morning after
leaving C)ttawa, we found ourselves passing through roads
all flaming with the gorgeous autumnal tints of the mai)le
i
John Bai/'cr, our Car-Potter.
and other trees, and underneath the trailing leaves of
various berry-bearing jilants made a carpet of rich yellows,
and reds, and browns. I think, if 1 am to be truthful, 1
must admit that this scenery would have borne rather
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'I'hrough Canada with a Kodak.
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a forbidding aspect if it had not l)cen for these rich
colourings, and we can scarcely wonder if newly-arrived
emigrants bound Westward feel rather depressed at pass-
ing through a stretch of such apparently sterile country
.1 I 'on/ig- Settlement.
at the outset of their journey. The trees are stunted,
the vegetation allows us to see the stony character of the
soil below ; some of the telegraph poles even have to be
upheld by heaps of stones around them, and the desola-
tion is often rendered greater by many of the trees
having been the prey of forest fires, the result either of
Across the Prairies.
97
d,
le
)e
a-
of
the (\T,rek'Ssn(jss of settlers or Indians, or arising from
sparks from tht* engine falling on the dry inflammable
substances all around. And yet this region has charms
of its own the fishermen can tell of the wealth to be
found in the rivers and lakes, the geologist and the miner
will tell you of the yet comparatively unex{)l()red riches
of silver and copper and other metals which are stored
up for Canada's children beneath the unpromising look-
ing surface, and the artist will revel in the wild grandeur
of the mountain and lake scenery all along the coast of
Lake Su[)eri()r. A succession of magnificent promon-
tories, frowning rocks and crags, surrounding the lovely
bay of that vast expanse o\' water calling itself a lake,
meets your eye as the train bears you along, and you lav-
down your ])encil and brush in bewilderment as to which
j)oint to seize amidst so much beauty, and instead, you
revert to the faithful rai)id Kodak to record )-our
memories of 'I'hunder Bay, and Jack fish i)a\, and the
Lake of the \Voods, and many another spot of beauty.
And then one dav as you wake up and peej) out behind
the blind of ycnu" car, the mountain, and the kike, and
the torrent ha\e disaj)j)eared, and instead y(Hi behold a
vast stictch of grassy country, and you realise that you
see before vou the far-famed wheat-lands of Manitoba,
and that Winnipeg, the City of Prairies, lies hard by.
At Wituiipeg we felt almost as if we had a home
awaiting us, for our friend, Sir Donald Smith, about
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Through Canada with a Kodak.
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whose generosity to liis native country I have told you
before, had written to us even before we left England,
and had bidden us to come to his house at Silver Heights,
and to make ourselves at home. And so, on the veran-
dah of Silver Heights we were assembled with my
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J/r ( ^'J!r/,ii (.■('//(> c/tn'sti-nrd the I.nkc oj K illivncv i and ///.\- re/A'
fa/A-i/ii,- to I.07-d Ahi-rdrcii.
brother (who met us here), and Mr Traill, Sir J)onald's
manager. Here, too, are Sir Donald's buffiiloes, the
last remaining in Canada of the millions who used to
inhabit the prairies, and whose bones you still see in
dismal heaps as you pass along.
Across tlu' Prairies.
99
. And now, wliat am I to say about Winnipeg? It is
700 feet al)ovL' the sea level, it has a {)0|)ulation of
28,000 (twenty years ago there were only 215 inhabit-
ants), it lias some fine buildings, wide strtets, it is lighted
. ;// tltui is lilt ol th,- ruflalo.
with electric light, it is a great railway centre, and is
destined to become a great capital. \"ou still, however,
can see how recent is its birth, for side by side with a
fine house stands an old Red River settler's log hut, the
wide streets are still mostlv un))a\'ed, and on a wet day
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scrvr as adniirablc illustrations of the richness and the
hiackncss of Manitcjha soil, and you still see passing
through the city by the side of a carriage and pair, the-
old Red River carts made entirely of wood, creaking as
thev go. '!"he rate of progress amazes the inhabitants
themselves, and it is very pleasant to hear stories of
things as they were and as they are. I'or instance, look
at this dog-carriage ; that is the vehicle in which the
("•(nernor and his wife used to be transi)orted to Ottawa
not so manv vears ago. Rather a different business
now-a-days, is it not? We must not linger long here,
much as I should like to tell you of the many impres-
sions left on our minds by \Vinni|)eg, its inhabitants and
its surroundings, and of all the truly Scotch hosi)itality
with which we were entertained whilst there, and again
on our return journey, not only l)y Sir Donald Smith,
and the Lieut. -(Governor, Mr Schultz, and his wife, but
by many other friends of whose kindness we cherish
grateful memories.
One of the impressions most strongly left on our
minds by our stay in Winnipeg was the strongly marked
reliuious tone of the communitv. I'his is not onlv
shown bv the number of churches and religious institu-
tions, but in the evident earnestness of i)urpose, which
causes peo[)le who have but little s[)are time in this young
city, to devote themselves to active works of religion and
ben jNolence. 'I'he great scarcit\- of ser^•ants often throws a
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102 'I'hrough (Janada with a Kodak.
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large part of the household work on the ladies themselves,
and yet they contrive to throw themselves into Christian
work, and to take charge personally of the orphans and
the aged poor, and to befriend the stranger in a way
which may well i)ut us to shame. One of their latest
organisations undertakes to send out monthly ixirceb: of
literature to settlers in Manitoba and the North-West.
It is difficult for those at home to realise the isolation of
such settlers ; everything has to be begun and carried
on by the work of their own hands, and their whole
thoughts are absorbed by the desi)erately hard work
which is an essential for success. Church is far away,
there are no libraries or reading-rooms or means of self-
improvement at hand, and the temptation must be great
in such lives to forget mind and soul in the struggle for
material prosperity. 'I'hose who stay at home and have
friends in these distant [iarts should remember that no
greater kindness can be shewn than by sending out good
weekly newspapers and magazines, perhaps a picture
now and again to brighten up the walls of the wooden
house, perhaps some flower seeds from the garden at
home, which will bring tender thoughts to the minds of
those now so far away, and who will teach their children
to tend the little plants sent by "grannie" or "auntie,"
and so make them think of doing their best to make
their homes beautiful and home-like. Frugality, and
self-denial, and strength of character are developed by
{ »
Across the l*rairi(js.
'o;>
the stern life .vhich must he led by the settler in
Manitoba who means to pros[)er. It is our part to do
our best to prevent the possibility of thesi' sterner virtues
from becoming too stern, and Irom growing into a mere
{)assion to get on and to make money. And if you have
no friends in Canad.i yourselves, may 1 ask. those who
are willing to do so to save uj) their papers, and i)ictures,
and magazines, and to send them to Maihuiic Gmtticr,
the L.A. Association for distrihutiui:; JJteraturc to Settlers^
IVinnipCi^, Manitoba. The ladies of this Association are
deluged with applications for monthly packets of such
literature, and find that packets containing consecutive
issues of the same magazine are those most valued. They
will be very gratified for all contributions, helpful for mind,
and heart and soul, and tending to give thoughts which will
uplift the common daily work which would otherwise be
drudgery.
Now let me tell you of a visit we paid to some new
settlers from Scotland who are amongst those w^ho need
help and sympathy to be shown in this way. And first
1 will quote from a letter from Sir George Baden Powell
to the Daily Graphic to e\j)lain how they came over
from Scotland :
THE KMIORATION FIND.
The general public — and so many arc now-a-days interested in
emigration and colonisation — will remember that the scheme was
inaugurated in 1888, when the (jovernment finally decided to offer
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Through Canada with a Kodak.
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^'lOjCXJO if aiiniliLr /J2000 was j^ivcn l)y private cliarity. At first
(lio I''im(l was adininistcrc'd !>) tin- Scotcli ( )rticf, iiiulc'r tla- jicr-
sonal guiilancc nf Lord I.otliian. Iml in iIil- sccoii'l year a special
Colnnisation IJoard was appt)iiite(l, CDiisistin^ of representatives
of the In)))erial and Canadian ( lov ernnunts. tlu' private sul)scril)ers,
and the land companies aidini; the expt'rinirnl. 'I'hc jiroposal was
MiUi/'toii, M(iii/ii>/'(i.
to select and import to Manitoba such families among the crofters
as might apply. It was estimated that a sum of ^120 per family
would be sufficient to establish them on the l6o-acre lots ofifered
them by Canada. This sum was to be eventually repaid by each
family, security being meanwhile given by a mortgage on the hold-
ing and on the goods and chattels.
Across I lu' rr.)iiifs.
»o5
I ill. iik>i >i,\r oi'i
irS wiTi' tli.'>|),il(hf
ami ls\fl\f
111(1
III Mil), iSSS, ii|^likt'ii lainil
10 familii's Inllowcd in Juik' i>1' tlu' Naiiir )iai. In April, |SS<),
loily-iiiiu' I'aii.ilics v.iTc sciil mil. 'I'ln- jduriuy trDin Smtlaiid to
Maniloiui was arc<)in|ili>lu't.'ast)ii, and t'\tra I'lhut^ had to lir made In pr<)\i(K' duiii willi
necessaries for the lir>l wIhUt. ManyoCilu- ciolirrN <^:i\v i.'\ idciiri'
at Diicc of an indolciil reliance on ciiarily, and maintained that
( loNermneiil waN to liiid a iionie for, and t-veii clothe llieiii. l>iit
the spirit of the country r^ooii lell upon them ; lliere was work ami
hope in the atmosphere: hy the second year actual crops i;a\e
earnest (or the hiture, and !•) the third, with its excellent har\e>l,
indolence and ^ruiiihlinjj; iiad been completely jiushed a>ide and
lortjoUen, in haliitN of hard work and conlideiice ii
I plenty ami >ui'ceM.-..
1 a
fut
lire of
.MKK'IINC. Willi hll IK ri.'l 1I..S.
The second hatch of emigrants also met with ditticullies at the
outset, Mighleen families cnlianced their diftlcullies hy refusini^ to
lake the lands chosen for llieiii, and wanderinLj alield to find
others.
The heads of some of th
ese wandennt;
faniil
les, inakinj;,
after all, but a ])oor seK'Ction of lands, fell lo ihe tem])tation of
excellent waives in a di.slaiit lumber induslr)', and after a wh.ile
deserted their holdinj^s, and somehow found the means of trans-
ferring themselves and their laniilies hundreds of miles lo the wage
earning locality. J'ossibly they w ill return to tluir holdings, especi-
ally as all who remained are now doing well, and feeling more than
contented : the very greatest original grumbler among them on f.rst
arrival declaring that now no power on earth sliall drag liim from
his holding.
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TIlfM' rt Ikivo ii.iw |»iiil( |,i| llirm.«>c'Ivis \i.iy I'lmlortalilc
lioiisis ; llity uuii \snrki1114 oMii, milk cows, ami tvin horses;
tlifv an- iu'cusid (il liaxiiiL; l"»ii_i;lii iiiuir waj^^nii.s ami ri'apiTs and
Mmii'is and <>[\w\ aijricullural niacliiiK'N llian llir) liaw iii'cd uf ;
ami, as I pdintrd •At\ ai \\\r li.^iiniinL.' "f this arlick', the actual
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diii/iiii^xjriiti/ ii i;ri>ii/> oj Munitol'iins a! Manitoha.
results oftluMr lalxmrs arc to iiiacc eacli fainily in a fair way to own
a prosperous farm of 160 acres. Some live close ijy lakes and
streams, affording plenty of good trout and wild fowl. (iood
school and kirk acconniiodation is already provided, and there can
he no doubt hut that in another three years these settlements will
he among the most well-to-do of the jirairie "locations." Lord
Lothian is certaiidy to he congratidaled upon the success of his
experiment.
Across the Prairies.
107
Mr Scarlh, DcMiiitiion Mcml)Lr of I'jrliamuiU for
Winnipeg, took great i)crs()nal troiildc; in the settling of
these Higliland erofters, and lie and Mrs Scarth lived
amongst them for tlu- first few weeks, when they arriveii
as strangers, without friends, and had to he camped out
in tents. He now kindly madi' all arrangements for u^
to visit the settlement, and I will give you a few extracts
from my journal ahout our visit, written at the time, along
witii S(jme pictures which tell their own laK- :
Tl"l'>l).\N, (Jclolicr 7tli, lSt)0. Willi In lilllc lioU'l {\>v hn-.iU-
(Ust, iiiiii l>y iiiiu- wctl- rciuly for our sUirt. KilhiriK'y miIkt a.
rcspcctal)li' little ])I;i(:c lor I'mir yi'ars old. Mr I/ilor, tlu- local
inLTchniil. wlio li;iN liiUtii groat chargv "' t'^' llii;lilanil crofters
wliDiii Wf IkkI come to see, liad arranged to drive us at Mr Scartli's
re(|uesl. So off we went, A., CouUs, Mr l.alor, and uiy>elf, in
what they call a "Democrat," a sort of long, four-wheeled cart,
with two seats, one behind the other. It was a perfect day for our
lorly miles drive across the prairie ; not nuu'li sun, luit a bright
shining always in the long fleecy clouds, which extend themselves
in long, long stretches of manifold shapes in the way which we have
come to look upon as especially Canadian. No wind, but an inde-
scnbably brisk bracing air, which we want to inhale in long
breaths all the while. And, as we thought when travelling on a
previous occasion in Texas and Dakota, driving on the prairie and
on the trails running through the |)rairies is unlike any other driving.
The soft elasticity of the ground carries one over all the bumps, and
jars, and ruts ; and roots and hillocks are all [)assed over as the
most natural things in the world. lUit with all this, I am not going
to rave about the scenery (jf Manitoba : for to a mountain l)red visitor
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108 'iniroLigh Canada with a Kodak.
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these everlastiiii; |)rairies, willi their serpenline black trails windini,'
through them, appear, on hrst ac<|uaiiitance at any rate, niex-
jiressibly dreary.
Of course to-day we have been L^oin.g ihroui^h lanee even any atteni])t after the conimonesl sort ol tidiness, much
less any effort to nurture a few flowers, a jilant, or a tree. BuL the
Maniloban^ have >hown thai they value education, for little schools
;ire i>lanled down everywhere where there are hfteen children to
attend, and the teachers are not badly paid. We went into one of
these schools to-day, where there are about twenty children, and a
pleasenl looking young man, an M.A.. who also has a farm ni the
neighbourhood, was leaching them. lie said the great .lifhculty
was the irregularity of allendance, which made his work resemble
that of Sisyphus and become real drudgery. Such country schools
are shut uj) during the winter, and in the autumn the children are
kept away for harvest work, so that it is only the three spring
months that can be depended on.
Our fust visit was to the old Irishman ()"lhien, who con-
stituted himself the god-father of the jilace, and insisted on its
being called Killarney. I am afraid that my smothered exclamation
of anuisemenl on lirsl sight of the lake, remend)ering our fu'st sight
of til'.' real Killarney, was taken as disrespectful by our cicerone, but.
Ml truth, it /'s the i)rettiest thing we have seen in Manitoba.
After seven or I'ight miles we came to the first crofter, one John
Macleod. who had been one of the grumblers about small things,
but he made no grumble to us, and said he thought he should get
along well now. Then came John Nicholson's section, lie is one
of the most successful, but, unfortunately he and his wife were away
from home. lli' had his ten acres cultivated according to sti]mla-
Across till' Prairies.
I0()
tioti ihc first year (1889), tliis yt'ur he Inul 55; next )var he is
|)re]Xirin<^ lor 75. His whcul hasliern thraslu-d, ami we saw il all
ill Ills new little wooden harii — 900 Imshels, reinx'senlint; about ^ 150.
His first barn was still staiidini^. maiK- of sods. Other four crofters
t(j the West are relations, and all on one >e(nioii, and are doing well.
We saw two more of llu' Lewes families, |ohii Campbell and his
.l/r luuf Mis l\fi> Cfii'ianf .< cotta'^i.
wife and children, in whose cotlai^e also was old .Mr> Maclcod,
whose husband holds nieelin<;> while the missionar) is away
in the winter, Mrs .Mac(lonald. I'eter (.rahani and his wile, a tidy,
capaiilc-looking woman with live bonii)' bairns. We photographed
some of the ])eople and their places, thoui^h some were \ery un-
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Through Canada with a Kodak.
willing, being in their working cloliics. One re(|uires to think of
vviiat these people were before they came out. to appreciate their
jiresent position and prospects. Some who came knew nothing
about agircultural work — one had never used a hay-fork in his life.
And that tiiey should have got on so well as they have done is very
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.1/r a)i J/rs J oltn t aiiipl'rll s hoiiw.
creditable, both to themselves and their neighbours. After leaving
the crofters we came in sight of Pelican Lake, ami then, descending
a steep brae, the sight of which rejoiced our hearts, we came upon a
]irosperous-looking farm, 640 acres, owned by a man whom we passed
plougliing. We slopjied to ask our way, but, after all got rather
A
cross tlic
rairu's.
I I I
usluiy, and wlmiI a <;oi)(| l>ii out ol nur ua)' up ,i rouLjli hill, which
landed us on the i'|iecl. and newly married, ]uil us
rit:;ht attain, and we were llu'n nady lor our lour o'eloek luncheon,
at Mrs Daroui^h's. at tlie farndiou>e oT ( ik'nli rn. 'Hie threshing; was
goini^j on then', and tlu'y had had ;i Inisy dny. v ith lO or 17 men
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J'hi' hufoiii:,!: iiinHy lit t l was awav bevond their reach
^^ell, here ,s the true unvarnished statement of the fa.n.
as written at the time : -
'• Wc startcl H-on, Winnipcj^ soon a-tcr .ix, a,ul ahoul ci.^ht uv
Had just Kone across u> the dining-car and hc^un our dinnc,; uhen
tlH^rc came a sudden treniendous screwing on of the brakes a series
ofjerks, an al>rupt transi;..-ence of crockery and ^k.ss Iron, table, to
iW and then the car was n.otionle.s, and all was perlectiy still
feop le looked at one another for a ,non.ent-the .san.e unuttered
thought passmg through each nund, -^hen can.e the tidin-^s • The
engine is oft the rails ! ' A. rushed oH with others to see ^ha, had
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'I'll roll uh ("anada \vitii a Kodak.
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I'L'ally (iccuriL'd. ami ui' \\i.i"r anui/cd In timl how imicli (lainat^i' ua>
diiiU'. ulu'ii ur r(in'iiil)tTc'(l tlir comiiaiiliM.'!) .sliij;lit shdck wi.' had
fcii. Tlir niLjiiu' waN lyint; <>n its side, on llir liaiik, all cnmiiilril
and linn. llu; fuinul half inlo iIk' i^iDund and >lill smoking; aua) ;
llii- Iciidrr. upside down across llir rails, lowcrinjj; alio\ (,■ the liii^i^at^c-
\aii on its sidr. ( )n the ollK'r sidr ol the line, one car hall tlou n llu-
ani
ami
hre'' ni< >re > ill the rail
Ik' tinx'e last ears, nirhidimi' llu
dinniLi-ear and ours, wen- slill on IIk rails.
N
o one could asccatani
the cau.-
iilthe ai-cidenl. and for a lew minutes there was Lireal
•^uspcaise as to whether anv one waskilleil or injured. MarvellousK
and inercilulU' no one was knied. and the entrine-dru er. tne-nian.
ami express niesseiisjer werc' onlv soniew liat cut and hruisc'd
IK'
driser had. with Ll^real presence of niind. turned oil sleani. put on (he
liiakes at llie llrst jerk, and tlu'ii jumped oil': the lireman reniaineil.
ihinkini^. as he himself expressed il. that the enL^iiU' would "ride
Hie tie-
It is Wonderful how he escaiied. when the part of
lie
eiiLrine w hen.' he was siltine; was all smashed. All inthel\
an,
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Through ('anada with a Kodak.
iipprouch slowly and cautiously. A party from our train wurv on tin
outlook for thcni, and motioned thcni to proceed l)y swiiii^ing ,i
lantern backwards and forwards, l)ul they crept up inch by inch
makin<; sure of their way as they came. And then all at once ihi-
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''xIE^^^ZiHIH^^^ .<.hotOi^,aplu\{ hy ike Ktuh'k the iiiorn!)ig a/ici- accident.
l)lace was alive with groups of the new-c(jmers, surnjunding the
remains of our wrecked train, examining, en(|uiring, testing the
amount of damage done, and ere long setting to w'ork with pick-
axe and spade to remove the debris which lay across the lorn-up
line. It was soon tlecided that lhe}■ mid-da}- the line was in ordiT for us to proceed, and
a new enijine was ni readm
W
e iiail alreadw however, walked
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fi)r\vanl to ihi' sroiu' of the disasti-r. hnviiij^ arr.iiiLji'd with the coii-
ihictor til Ik' pirkt'd up l)y tlic Iniin as it fame up. We tiied some
pliotos. lUit the weather was very daik for that. Il was only now
ihat we aseeitaiiied the cause ofour aecideiil. /.r., a thoxi- ofcatlle,
which in the pitch) Mack ni};ht, were not percei\e(k A liij^ ox was
killed, and two poor cows ^oi their k'l^s broken. Is il not wonder-
lul liow animals sutler in silence? I'ancy our not iieariiiL; a sound
from these ])oor 1 leasts under the train when we were standing;
aliout . They were not discovered till the men set to uiirk. The
next day as we passed, the poor cows were l\in{^' |iiteously on the
liank. with such a scared look in their eyes, and makinf^ miserable
attempts to rise. 'Ihe railway people (Iare of till.' Disrrl, lliesf.
'I'lic unslioni iR'lils, IjouikIIcss and hrautiful,
1-nv uliifh the speech of Mni^laml Iiun do nainc-
'I'lie Prairies. I lieliold ihem for the fii^l,
And my liearl swells, while ihe dilated sight
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120
Tlirtnigh (aiKula with a Kodak.
'I'likfs in ilic Liu'iifliii}; vii.sIik'j>s. 1.i> 1 ilicy lie
III airy iiiKliiliilioiis, lar aua),
.\> illiu' ocean, in his gentlest >,ul'1I,
Stodil slill. uitli all his rouuilcd liillow^. lixcil
And ni(itinnks-» Ini ever. Motionless?
No — they are all unchained again. 'I'lic el
olid
S\\
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ver with tluir shallow-,, and lienealli
'I'he ^urlace roils and lUicluates to ihv e\e.
Man halli no iiarl in all llii> iiloriouh work
Ma
nd llial liuill tlu' lirniaiient hat
1 hea\e(i
And snioollird llu'si.' \erdanl ^wrlls, and sown their slopes.
Wit
1 lu'riiagt',
11
le iireat heavens
Seem to >(oo|) down upon the x'l'iie in love, —
A nearer \aull. anil of a lender hlue,
Than thai whirh hends above the t'astern hills.
In these plains the lii.MUi i'vci]-. no more, where once he
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The earth with ihunderinL: steps - \el here I meet
Hi
s anci
eiil iootprints stamped lieside the pool.
Still this Lrreal solitude is ciuick with iTe
M
vriads ol insects, iraudv as tin
ly
lowei
hev
Hull
er over, iieiitle (juadrupeds,
lIIiI
iird>. that scarce have learned the fear of man.
A
re here, and s
idiim rei)tile.s of the iiround,
Starllinu: lieaulitul.
T
le liee.
A more adventurous colonist than man,
With whom he comes across the eastern deeii,
Iills tile savannas with his murmurin^s,
And hides his sweets, as in the olden age,
Within the Imllow oak. I listen lont:
To 1
us domestic iium, and tliinl
Hear
The sound of tliat advancing multitude
I 1) ii Kail u a\ .\( < kIcm t.
I _' I
Which MH>n >hiill till lhc>>L' iiiM.'il>. \ \<>\n ilic L;it)un(l
C'oiucs u|i llir laiij^li uf cliildn n, ihr m.Ii \.ii.T
( )f in;ii(lcn>, ami llit- >\\ei't ainl '.okiiiii h\iiih
Of Siililialli \\iir.shii)|n.'i>. Tlir Inu <>| luriU
lii'inls w itli the luslhn^ nf ihr hra\ y L,naiii
( )\t.-r thr (laik-liii>u II ruiiii\\>. All al (Hicr
A IrcsliLT wind su^'i-'ps li\, ami biraUs in\ dirain.
And I am ill thi' u ildiriii.>>. atmir. .
AlolU' ! \rs, I ihink ihal settlors on tin.: juaiiir imi>.t
ivalisc what solitudr means in a wa\ which can scarccK
1)L' understood 1)\' those li\in,ii in mountainous rei^ions.
Tlu' mountains and tree-clad craus seem to encircle and
protect those who dwell amoii!.
thei
u wuh >o rial and
li\ini:; a personality that these can never feel alone" in
their com|)an\. Hut n'o to the prairie counlr\ and look
around --you max see tlu- bright colours of hullerily and
(lower, you may smile at the cunning looks of the little
ral)l)it-like sort of creatures called " prairii- dogs," who
rear themselves uj) on their hind legs and look at \nu
and then '//c/'x//, f^n'sfo," the\- are oft": you may hear the
rusliuiu through the air ol the
Hock
s ot wild
leese oN'er
head on their wa\' to their winter (iuarter>. hut of humai
labitation xou will see hut scant signs.
Vou
r e\i' ma\
scan manv S([uare miles around, and Net xou ma\' scann'lx
he able to detect an\' indication of the fact that the lord^
of this rich harvest land are hegiiuiing to enti
Ul)011
th
eir inheritance
\Ct it i
s so.
And
\w had 1
)aid
Dur Western \isit during harvest-time we should haw
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Through Canada witli a Rochik.
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seen some such sights as nou see re|)resente(l iii the
aeeonipanying i)ictures. When you are reacHng this, we
shall he hearing rejoicing a(:(V)unts of tlie hounteousness
of the harvest wliieh farmers in M.anitoi)a and tlie North-
West ha\-e been ^'[i.therinu; in this war without anv
mMg9iM^¥'''^^
■''S;-1t,„
HBTgiff?i^S
. / ra^hiiiiit of -A'orkcfs on tlh J''r(iiri(\
damage from the dreaded earlv frosts. And I sliali i)e
trxing to grow wise as to the reasons whv the Manitol)an
black mud. whii~h hes from two to four feet in depth on
the surface of the soil, is so rich as to produce magni-
ficent crops without manure. Once more, too, it will he
impressed on us that tlie settlers who do hest are those
1 n a Rai I wav Accidciil.
'-\5
he
)an
on
igni-
v\
lio acla|)t thcnischcs most lo thr nicthotU ot farniini
found sucrcssful in the n
cw countrv,
or nistanrc.
th(
y
must not ])loug"h deep as thev do at liome, but only
al)()ut two inches, and then thev must put in a (~roj) at
the hrst l)reaking, as tliis has hi'en found the best way of
sul)duinL;- the sod, besides the advantage of yielding
profit to the farmer the fust year, when his means are not
generally i)lentiful. 'I'his sod is verv hard tt) break at
first, but subsecjuent ploughings are easy. As we went
along, we found one and another of our fellow-passengers
ibout all tl
th
H'se things, anc
1 t
o
.i//i>-7t'.'/ix' ri-i;/o>/ iij sitiiiiiicr (hoia^'/its in Xori/i . \ii/i'>'i\n.
regions where summer droughts i)revail, where rain falls
hut rarely during the [)eriod while the cro],)s are growing
and requiring moisture. If you look at the map, you will
see that but a small part of this region is included in
the Dominion of Canada, and this is a matter of no
small importance to intending settlers.
As we get further West, we begin to hear about other
sources of prosperity besides wheat — we hear of the grass
lands of Alberta, and its openings for large ranches for
the breeding of horses ; we hear, too, of coal-fields of
1 n a Railway Accidciil.
such extent that all j)ast fears as to tlu- fuel resources of
( 'anada have been set at rest. 'I'hen, too, there is the
timber, and larL^e i)etroIeuni dej)osits. Hut 1 eannot en-
large on these things in this |)ai)er. norwill I describe to you
the young towns of this region : Regina, the capital of the
11.
. / horse raii'./i mar ( 'ti/i;"ry.
North-West, where too are the head-ciuarters of the smart
red-uniformed ('anadian Mounted Police : Medicine- Hat,
a little town in a cavity, surrounded by strongly indent-
ed hills, where we had the pleasure of inspecting a charm-
inglv-ai)])ointed hospital, erected through the efforts of
Pf!
I ■
.4*
* ut travellers
who pass through these countries only by the railway can
know nothing of the lives and customs of the true type
of Indian. For knowledge of these we must go to the
hunter, the Hudson's Kay ('ompany trader, and the
missionary, and we must hunt records of the ])ast, which
already have supplied material for tales of thrilling
adventure to the writers of boys' books.
When the Europeans came to America, all this vast
region, of which we have been speaking, wrjs only
]i
In a Railway Accident.
129
inhabited by various tribes of Indians, who Hved almost
entirely on the proceeds of their fishing and hunting.
(Gradually the white men came to realise what a source of
wealth existed in the herds of fur-covered animals which
roamed over these endless plains and mountp'^^s, and the
skins of which could be obtained very easily from the
Indians for a few beads, ornaments, or better still, for
muskets when they had learned how to use the.n, or for
the spirits, which were to work such havoc among the
native races. And in 1669 Prince Rupert formed a
Company, which was endowed by King Charles II., with
" all countries which lie within the entrance of Hudson's
Straits, in w^hatever latitude they may be, so far as not
possessed by other Christian States." The new Com-
pany entered vigorously on its work, establishing central
trading stations throughout their domain, formed of a few
wooden huts, and surrounded by palisades or walls and
well-barred gates. These were generally near rivers, and
to these the savages brought their merchandise of skins,
and feathers, and horns, at stated seasons of the year.
They encamped before the fort, and a solemn transaction,
of bartering and of affectionate speeches, took place, and on
the results of this bartering the Company grew fabulously
rich. A century later their continued success caused
another Company to be formed, and many were the feuds
which ensued, until the two decided to unite and to work
together. Oh, the yarns that might be told of those
')
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130 Through (\inada with a Kodak.
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'A
golden days of hunting, of the adventures and hair-
breadth escapes, and in all the Red Man plays a con-
spicuous part. Round his loyalty or his enmity centres
many a tale. Those days are over now. In 1869 the
Government took over the domains of the Hudson's Bay
Company for ;!^3oo,ooo, and certain lands round the
trading stations, and from that time the era of the Indian
was over. They cannot stand before the forces of
civilisation, and they are doomed to give way to those
who have entered on their predestined work of cultivating
the land and building cities, thus multiplying the
population and replenishing the earth. Meanwhile, the
missionaries have been busy. The authorities of the
Hudson's Bay Company always encouraged their efforts,
and did much for them by forbidding the use of spirits at
their stations, and in later times the Government has
endeavoured to exercise a paternal care over these
perishing tribes, gathering them into reserves, trying to
teach them agriculture, educating their children, granting
gifts and pensions, and doing all in their power to pro-
mote the success of the Missions. But of the heroic work
of these missionaries, and of what they have been able to
accomplish, we must tell you some- other time, if you will
not tire of the subject.
i;-l
X.
TMK KOCKV MOUNTAINS.
A NJ) now we have come to the last part of the
/^ trip through which I have endeavoured to act
as your conductor. And if I have felt myself inefficient
in that capacity during the earlier parts of our journey,
still more do I feel the impossibility of doing justice t(')
all the glories of the scenery through which we shall now
pass. For even the prairies of the North West prove them-
selves to be not so limitless as they appear at first to those
traversing their vast extent day after day ; and one night,
as we peep out of our berths behind the closed blinds of
the car, we find ourselves standing still at the very foot
of the Rockies. In the conflicting light of the stars and
early dawn, we see ourselves guarded by three high
purple peaks, known as the Three Sisters, and we feel
ourselves once more safe at home in the bosom of the
mountains. Soon the heavy engine which is to pant up
the steep inclines in front of us comes, and hooks us on,
and all day long, as we clamber the snow-covered Rockies,'
and steam on slowly through the heart of the Selkirks'
along the Columl)ia River, and the wild waters which
sweep down the Kicking-Horse Pass, and pass under the
shade of the crags of huge "Sir Donald," we rush about
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132 'I'hrough (\ina(la witli a Kodak.
from side to side, and from end to end of our car,
atlemj)ting, if not to ph()tograi)h or sketch, at least to
imprint some memory of tlie magnificent panorama
unrolling itself before our eyes. Hut all in vain ! There
is such a thing as being surfeited with fine scenery, and it
Approaching thi Rockies.
is a transgression against nature to hurry, as we did
through these glorious scenes. All that remains now is a
remembrance of tov'ering snow-capped peaks rearing
themselves up in all their strength above us, and stretches
of mountains changing in the varying light of sun and
cloud, from palest blues and greys to rich tones of yellow
\.
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.m
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;|
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IJ4 Tliruugli Canada witli a Kodak.
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11 ■I:
and red and i)iir[)lc, as vvc come nearer, and as the autumn
foliage shows itself blending with the deei) browns and
blueish-green colours of the waters foaming below. To
a|)i)re(iate scenery such as this frecjuent halts should be
made, and time should be allowed for the eye and mind
to drink in and realise what is before them. Solitude too,
and deep, unbroken stillness, are needed, if you would be
in harmony with th^-se surroundings, if you would have
nature lead you up irresistibly to nature's God, if you
would be able from your heart to bow yourself down and
say : -
" These are Thy glorious works, J'arent of good.
Almighty, Thine this universal frame,
Thus wondrous fair I Thyself how wonchous then !
Unspeakable I who sits above these heavens
Tt) us invisible, (jr dimly seen
In these Thy lowest works, yet these
Declare Thy goodness beyond thouglu
And power divine."
Another time we hope to be able to stop at various places
on this route, for a day at any rate, and perhaps I shall
thus be better fitted to be ;Our guide on some future
occasion. The only halt we did make in these regions
we enjoyed immensely. It was at Banff, where the
Ciovernment are forming a National Park, twenty-six
miles long by ten broad, and where the C.F.R. have put
up a most comfortable hotel, 4000, feet above the sea,
overlooking the Bow River. The hotel is about one and
'I'lic Rockv M ()iiiit;i i lis.
•35
;i half miles from the station. Our tniin arrived at the
station about i a.m., and we shall not soon forgcl tin
i)risk drive in the bright, frosty air, over snow-besprinkled
grounds, amidst snow-covered mountains, with stars
glimmering overliead. The hotel is a i)rettily-designed
1
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mMBHk ' ■' ^ ^ ' r^jm
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^■Bk. ^,^:v^^^H
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f^^^^BSLt 'k.'
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'SB^NK^t
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■fc^ -
*
/''roiii the wiiuiow of tit i' l\anff I loti'l.
wooden building, capable of accommodating a hundred
guests, and in the large entrance-hall a huge log-fire,
crackling away on an open hearth, bids welcome to weary
travellers from East and West, whatever hour of the
night they may arrive. Well, we had what is termed in
America "a lovely time" at Banff. The sun shone
brillianUy, the air was exhilarating, and we made the
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The Rocky Mountains.
137
most of our one day. We walked, and we sketched, and
we " kodaked" — we visited the hot sulphur springs, which
are much resorted to by invalids, and which boil out of
the ground at different degrees of temperature up to
90 or 92 degrees. Some of these look most tempting to
the bather, the clear green-blue water bubbling into a
large pool, enclosed by high rocks, and the rays of the
sun glinting through the opening above. And in the
afternoon Captain Harper, one of the Inspectors of the
Mounted Police, came round with his break and four-in-
hand, and took us for a drive round the Park, charioteer-
ing us most skilfully up and down the steep roads, winding
round Tunnel Mountain, and showing us many beautiful
views.
The time for departure came all too soon, and as we
were standing near the station in the darkness, waiting
for the arrival of the train, I heard a familiar Aberdeen-
shire voice putting the question, " Do you remember
" Titaboutie ? " " Remember Titaboutie ! " I should
think we did I The voice belonged to a daughter of one
of Lord Aberdeen's Tarland tenants, and we found that
she and her sister had both come out to Canada. One
was engaged at the Banff Sanatorium, the other was
with her brother on one of Sir John Lister-Kaye's farms,
and both said they liked the country. It was a touch of
home where we had least expected it, but it was by no
means a solitary experience. Wherever we went, it
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138 Through Canada with a Kodak.
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seemed as if we met " oor ain folk," and these same folk
seem generally to get "the guiding o't." That reflection
should do more than fill our hearts with pride of old
Scotland, it should bring home to those of us who arc
parents the additional responsibility of being parents of
children who belong to a race who seemed bound to rise
to high position and influence wherever they may go, the
world over. The thought that the destinies of countries
far away may one day largely rest in our children's hands
should fill us with a noble ambition for them, that they
may be able to say with others who have gone before —
" We cross the prairie as of old
The pilgrims crossed the sea,
To make the West, as they the East,
The homestead of the free.
'* We go to plant her common schools
On distant prairie swells,
And give the Sabbaths of the wilds
The music of her bells.
" Upbearing, like the ark of old,
The Bible in our van,
We go to test the truth of God,
Against the foes of man."
Undoubtedly Scotchmen have largely had to do with
the making of Canada, and happily they have for the
most part left their mark on her for good. We find their
names much associated too with the making of this
s
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140 'I'hroiigh ('anada with a Kodak.
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wonderful railway, by means of which all this marvellous
scenery is witnessed. If we think of what was considered
a good road in these parts before the railway came, and
then when we travel by this iron road cut through, or
cut out of the sides of, perpendicular cliffs, the workmen
■
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^^^M^0M^
'''*''
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M
^1,
A Trestle Bridge.
in some cases having had to be lowered by ropes from
above in order to get at their work, we get some idea of
the change which has been wrought. From side to side
of rushing waters the train crosses on trestle bridges like
that of which we give you an illustration, and finds its
way along ledges of rock, twisting and turning in every
The Kocky Mountains.
141
direction on the brink of the precipices below. On some
parts of the road great wooden erections, called snow-
sheds (having something of the character of tunnels), have
had to be put up to protect the line from snow in winter.
By this means the road is scarcely, if ever, blocked, even
during heavy falls of snow. And thus, by one device and
another, and by the exercise of constant, vigilant inspect-
ion, this railway company, though their system covers such
an extent of country, and has to face so many perilous
places, can, up to the present time, thankfully record that
they have only lost the life of one passenger, and that
was in consequence of his standing on the steps of the
car after being warned by the conductor not to do so.
I could tell you much of the glimpses we caught of life
in British Columbia, of the Indians spearing the salmon,
of the Chinamen washing the sand for gold, of the
villages of both Indians and Chinese, which are ([uite
different to any other we have seen, and the curious
burying-places, high up in the trees, which the Indians
make for their dead But I prefer to wait until I have
seen more of all this, and will then gladly give you a
paper or two, exclusively on British Columbia, if you
should wish it.
I will only ask you on this occasion to come straight
on to the cities of Vancouver and Victoria, and take a
look of these before we part.
At Vancouver we were most hospitably entertained by
!<
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142 Through Canada with a Kodak.
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the Mayor, Mr Oppenheimer, and his wife, and, in
addition to this, the Scotch and the Irish residents
combined together to give us a most hearty and kindly
reception one evening. In this way we heard much of
ail that was doing in the place, and of its wonderful
/ aiicotn'C);
growth since the disastrous fire which utterely annihilated
it five years ago. Within three months after the fire
four hundred houses had been erected, and the progress
has since been so rapid that there is now a population of
13,000. This is the more remarkable when we reflect
that the site on which the town stands was covered with
.^M
r
'I'he Rocky Mountains.
'43
a dense forest, of enormous pines, such as we now see
just outside the hmits of present habitations, 'I'heir great
roots have to be removed, and the heavy wood and dead
timber have to be cleared at an enormous expense before
the land can be utilised, yet a great part of this forest is
already ])arcelled out into building blocks, and is selling
'/'/;<■ /ati- Mr C. (,'. Matkay.
at a high price. And where the Douglas ])ine and the
cedar flourished undisturbed hut a few years ago, hand-
some streets are now formed, lighted with electric light,
and supplied with electric tram-cars. Most of the build-
ings are of wood, but there are a few^ ijrincijial streets
whi>re only stone or brick buildings may be erected.
(Ireat foresight is also being shown by the municipal
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144 Through Canada with a Kodak.
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authorities in matters of sanitation and drainage, unhke
some new towns, where such matters have been left to
chance ; and even in these early days a Public Park has
been set aside, with a circuit of ten miles, called after the
present Governor-General, the Stanley Park.
We had the advantage of being shown some of the
country round Vancouver by an old friend (Mr G. G.
Mackay) whom I have often seen during my child-
liood at my father's home in Inverness-shire. He
came out here three years ago to see if this would
be a good place for his sons, and liked it so much
that he never went back, but sent for his family to
join him. As he pointed out to us, the peninsula
on which Vancouver is situated on either side of her
beautiful harbour is bound to be built over, and to
become exceedingly valuable, as the city develops under
the increase of trade which must of necessity come,
through its being the terminus of the C.P.R., and com-
manding the shortest route to Japan, China, and India, by
the new magnificent steam-ships which are now running.
Just ten weeks ago, the advantage of this route over any
other was demonstrated by the Japanese mail reaching
Queenstown in twenty days from leaving Yokohama. You
may imagine the pride of the Vancouver people at seeing
" The Empress of Japan" sail proudly in after a nine day's
voyage from Yokohama.
The atmosphere of hope and faith in the future of their
I !>•
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Th».' Rocky Mountains.
»45
country make British ('olunibians a very delightful [)eo[)le.
There is a spirit of enterprise in the air which, coupled to
natural advantages, makes success a certainty. This
belief in the future was rather amusingly illustrated by a
huge sign-board which we found stuck into the ground,
on the borders of a dense forest with no house in sight.
The notice ran thus : —
" There is a tide in the aftUirs of men,
Which, taken at its flood, leads on to forliuu; !
This is the tide of your life ! !
Invest in the city of the future, Stcvrston,
And become
A MlLI.IONAIRK."
I wonder whether we shall find the city of Steveston an
accomplished fact this year ?
We must tear ourselves away from Vancouver and its
beautiful surroundings with regret, and embark in thc
" Islander" for the five hours' crossing to Victoria, under
Captain Hulden's care. See Mount Baker raising its
head high above the sunset clouds, all in a golden glor),
and seeming isolated far above all the rest of the common
world below. And there, opposite, are the peaks of the
famed Olympic Range, standing out a deep blue against
the sky, only hiddei.i here and there by a light mist curl-
ing about their sides. So we sail out of Vancouver, and
the sunset fades into moonlight over a delightfully calm
sea long before we reach V^ictoria, the beautiful capital of
n,
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146
Through Canada with a Kodak.
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Biilish ("lolumbia. Is it indeed Victoria and Vancouver
Island where we have arrived? Has not the "Islander"
lost her way, and brought us by a short route back to
l^^ngland, and landed at Torquay ? The resemblance has
almost a touch of the comical in it — the same scents,
the same sort of greenness all round, the same sort of
ferns and foliage a. id surroundings, and on that day, at
///s Honour the Lieut, -Governor 0/ British Columbia.
any rate, the same moist feeling in the air, developing
later on into a steady downpour. Then English voices
and faces abound, and English customs predominate so
largely that the illusion would be complete if we were not
recalled to our whereabouts by the presence of the
Chinese pigtail everywhere.
The residents of British Columbia would be hard put
-. illitefUrS
The Rocky Mountains.
'47
to it if it were not for these same Chinese. Domestic
servants are very difficult to get, and even when obtained
often give themselves such airs that the mistresses are
glad to return to the Chinaman, who will act as cook,
housemaid, waiter, groom, and gardener, all in one, with-
out giving any trouble. (lirls, however, who do come
out, and are ready to work and do what they are told, get
Adiitiral Ilothatn.
very high wages. Labour generally is very dear. An
ordinary labourer will get los. to 12s. a day, and mechan-
ics and masons get as much as 16s. to 20s. a day.
We much regretted that the steady rain prevented us
from seeing all the beauties of the place. But the
Governor of British Columbia, and Mrs Nelson, and Sir
Joseph and Lady Trutch, were ready to help us to see aU
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148
Tlirough Canada with a Kodak.
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that could be seen. The (lovernor kindly drove us
down to the magnificent harhour at ICscjuimault, three
miles from Victoria, the headcjuarters of the North I'acific
S(iuadr()n. Several warshijjs were riding at anchor, adding
one more touch to the likeness to ICngland. The Admiral
//..U.S. " llarx/i/fe."
of the Fleet, Admiral Hotham, had been good enough
to give us an invitation to tea on board the flagship,
the "Warspite," commanded by Captain Hedworth
Lambton, and so here, on the Pacific Ocean, I paid
my first visit to a British war-ship. Everything on board
looked spotless in its whiteness, and brightness, and
'I'hc Rocky Mountains.
149
h
trinincss, and the Admiral's room, in the end hows of
the ship, was hke a drawing-room for eosiness and
comfort— a bright fire burning in a grate, and comfortable
chairs and tables and ornaments, all looking as if we were
ashore. Admiral Hotham gave a high character to
British (Columbia ; he had l)een here for five months, and
this was only the second wet day he had seen — climate,
people, and all surroundings were amongst the pleas-
antest he had known in all his nautical wanderings. It
was sad that we should not have the ojjportunity of seeing
the i)lace to full advantage, but our brief stay was full of
enjoyments, including an evening at (lovernment House;
and here, too, we met our friend, Professor Henry
I )rummond, who had just arrived from Australia and
Iai)an, and who now joined our party for the homeward
trip.
Here, then, amidst the roses and fragrant breezes of
this favoured isle, I must leave you, with many regrets that
our trip has come to an end. It is a hurried journey
that we have taken, and we have had but glimpses of the
inexhaustable resources of this great country. But if
these little sketches have added somewhat to your
knowledge of what Canada is, if it has increased your
pride in her, if it has kindled a desire to do what may
be in your j)ower to build up her fortunes, I shall feel they
have not been written in vain. The high moral and
religious character of her present populations, the wise and
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Throug'i Canada with a Kodak.
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true foundations that they are laying for future develop-
ment and prosperity, n".akes one long that those remaining
in the old country should thoroughly realise how much
reason they have to rejoice in our common kinship, and
that those thinking of coming out to Canada to try their
fortunes should come with a hearty desire to do their
utmost for the land of their adoption. There has been
some disappointment this year at the increase of the
population during the last decade being only half a
million. Still all admit that the settlers are of a good
stamp, and this, after all, is of far more importance
than mere numbers. Strong in her sense of her future,
she can afford to wait. As we sail down her rivers and
lakes, and traverse her prairies, and climb her mountains,
the poet Whittier's words haunt us —
I J
" I hear the tread of pioneers,
Of nations yet to be,
The first low wash of waves where soon
Shall roll a human sea."
Our eyes may not see this consummation, but we may
join our prayers to those of a Canadian poet, with whose
words I will close: —
"Canada ! Maple-land ! Land of great mountains !
Lakedand and riverdand I Land 'twixt the seas !
Grant us, God, hearts that ave large as our he»-itage,
Spirits as free as the breeze !
The Rocky Mountains.
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"Grant us Thy fear, that we may walk in humility, —
Fear that is rev'rent, not fear that is base: —
(Irant to us rif^hteousness, wisdom, prosperity,
I*eace — if unstained by disgrace.
" (irant us Thy love, and the love of our country!
Grant us Thy strength, for our strength's ii^. Thy name ;
Shield us from danger, from every adversity,
Shield us, O Father, from shame.
" Last born of nations ! The offspring of freedom !
Heir to wide prairies, thick forests, red gold !
God grant us wisdom to value our birthright.
Courage to guard what we own."
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Lon/ Aberdeen and Projessor 11. Dnniiviomi in the Railway Car.
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XI.
A VISIT TO
BRITISH COLUMBIA
1892
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£JV ROUTE TO CiUISACHAN, B.C.
THE very mention of the place is restful and
delightful ! Never have we had such a holiday
anywhere, and even now a mere allusion to " Guisachan,
B.C.," IS sufficient to produce a soothing sensation in
the minds of the trio of holiday-makers whose visit I want
to describe. 13ut how to approach the subject in a calm
and judicial spirit! There's the rub! Our feelings
regarding the place are betrayed already, and how am I
to convince you that I am a trustworthy reporter ? AVell,
I must just let facts speak for themselves ; and now to
begin at the very beginning !
How did we get there ? Perhaps some of you may
remember in our travels last year, "Through Canada with
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a Kodak," a day's halt at fair Canadian " Banff," nestling
under the shade of the mighty Rockies, and yearly
attracting to its magnificent solitudes an increasing
number of seekers after change, and rest, and health. The
remembrance of our former experience led us to make this
again a resting-place, and much might be said concerning
the walks and drives, and exploring rambles taken, and
the friendships made, during the ten days which we spent
[)eacefully in the midst of the everlasting hills, enjoying
the most exquisite sunshiny weather all the while. But
on this occasion I must content myself by merely referring
to it as the place from which we started for our journey
to our Br'tish Columbian home.
Early in the morning the West-bound train, bearing the
traces of a prairie blizzard of hail and snow, through
which it had passed, but which we had escaped, picked
up our private car, whither we had repaired over night.
All day long we had the delight of passing afresh through
the scenes of beauty and grandeur which had so fascinated
us on o' previous trip. A brilliant sun lighted up the
snow-c; jd peaks, the shining glaciers, and the foaming
torrent , xnd melted away at last in a fiery glow of
glory. Evening found us arrived at Sicamous Junction,
where we were to spend the night, and where we
were to leave the main-line, and to wend our way
southwards along a track in course of construction to
our valley of the Okanagan. Sicamous, situated on the
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(luisachan Farm.
155
lovely Shushwap Lake, noted for its fine fishing, already
boasts of a good-sized hotel, although but few other
dwellings are to be seen. We had arrived in time to
travel by the first passenger train along the new line. As
mentioned, it was only now in course of construction,
and only half of the fifty miles between Sicamous and
Vernon, our county town, were completed. The railway
authorities, however, complied with Lord Aberdeen's
request for a special train which he chartered for the
occasion. As it happened, Vernon was to hold her first
Agricultural Show on this very day ; and, in consec^uence
of this, a number of other passengers desired conveyance,
and they were glad to get the chance of a train instead
of making the trip in one of the hand-cars used by the
workmen on the railway. These are worked by
means of a pump-like contrivance, and doubtless
look very cheery little vehicles. Let me own that
a difference of opinion exists amongst our own party
as to the charms of riding on these hand-cars.
Lord Aberdeen is enthusiastic in their praise, whereas
his wife is inclined to prefer her own feet as a means of
locomotion to whizzing through the air at the rate of
20 miles an hour, when a choice must be made, and our
little ten-year-old daughter — who formed the third of our
travelling party — inclined to the opinion of one parent or
the other in this matter, according to circumstances.
The first passenger train up the line was an event ll
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consisted of an engine and tender, our private car (lent
us through the kindness of Mr Spencer, of the C.P.R.), a
"caboose," which I think may be described as a glorified
guard's van, and two luggage trucks, on the top of which
travelled a medley of men, dogs, packages, trunks,
agricultural machinery, and all sorts of etceteras. We
were all much interested in our own appearance, and we
all got out at every halting-place, and surveyed ourselves
with mingled pride and curiosity. At one of these
temporary stations where we stopped to water the engine,
l)y means of a very primitive wooden contrivance, we
found (juite an orchard and nursery-garden right alongside
of the track. A\'e were not surprised that the owner,
Mr Thomson, was a Scotchman, nor that his wife was an
* 'Ironside" from the Haddo House estates, so accustomed
had we become to such coincidences ; but these things
being so, we were more than usually interested in hearing
of what a good thing they were making of their 75 acres,
what s})lendid fruit and vegetables could be produced in
that district, and how they kept cows too, and poultry,
getting 50 cents, (about 2s) per dozen eggs, and 50 cents,
per spring chicken. A great part of our journey lay
through very pretty country, skirting the Mara Lake,
through picturesque mountain and wood scenery, after
leaving Vernon, and then coming on the Spallumcheen
River, along which a passenger steamer plies to P^nderby,
half-way to Vernon. After Enderby our driver had to
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take us cautiously, and often at foot's-jiace, and even in
this way we bumped and plunged strangely over the half-
finished line, on which large gangs of workmen, mostly
(Chinese, were still working. But at last Vernon was
reached witho i arv misiap. The new little town of
wooden houses, hnt ;•.! ^ady possessing four hotels and a
fifth large one in uurst 'f erection, was evidently the
scene of unwonted bustle. Little groups of eager agri-
culturists were discussing the prospects of the district, and
their own individual fortunes ; here and there waggons
were unloading, buggies being unyoked, horses being led
about in ribbons and exhibition apparel. The Com-
missioner of Lands and Works for the Province, the Hon.
F. (j. Vernon, after whom the town was named, was
expected to open the Exhibition, but he not appearing,
Lord Aberdeen was taken possession of by the Chairman,
Mr Lumby, and the Committee, and the well-known
process of inspecting the show and of making and hearing
speeches was gone through with apparent satisfaction to
all concerned. I say the process was a well-known one,
but never at home have we had the pleasure of seeing
such fruit, such roots, such vegetables. I wish I could
give you some idea of the enormous size of the monster
cabbages, of the melons and golden pumpkins, some of
the former weighing as much as 30 and 40 lbs. The
apples made a splendid show, as did also the pears,
cherries, and all smaller fruits. (luisachan P'arm
Gui sac hail Farm.
J 59
did well, for it carried off six first prizes and six
seconds.
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Mr Lequ'uues little steamer ivliich took us up the Lake to Cuisa:hnn.
Up to now but little attention has Vjeen devoted to
fruit-growing, as this has been principally a stock-raising
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country, but the possihiMtics sliown by the few orchards
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'/'ranAyi-rr/'iti,'' the luggage frovi the train to the steaiiter.
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ah-eady planted point to its being found to possess
exceptional advantages for the pursuit of this industry.
(iuisarhad Farm.
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istry.
While at the show we heard many desires t'X[)ressed that
the large raiiche-owncrs in the neighbourhood c:ould be
persuaded to break up some of their j)roi)erty into fruit-
farms from 20 to 100 acres, and it is because of this that
i-ord Aberdeen has now asked Mr (i. (1. Mackay, of Van-
couver, to parcel out some of the property he has since
ac(iuired near Vernon into portions suitable for fruit-grow-
ing, and, at the same time, has arranged for the erection
of a jam-factory. But more of this hereafter. Suffice it
to say for the present, that great eagerness is being
manifested on the subject by the inhabitants of tlie valley,
and that a prosperous future is predicted for it by ex-
perienced judges, who point out not only the ca[)abilities
of production, but also the inexhaustible market existing
in the North-West Provinces, where fruit cannot be grown
to any advantage, and where there is a constantly growing
demand for it.
But we must not linger at Vernon, though we were
treated there with great kindness, and made many new
friends. Especially do we remember the courtesy of Mr
I )ewdney, the (Government agent, whose sad death since
then has evoked such sincere sorrow and deep sympathy
with his wife and family. We made acquaintance, too,
with the pioneer settler of these parts, Mr (iirouard, a
French Canadian, who arrived here in 1858, having taken
the best part of a year to travel hither from California,
and with Mr Stuart, the enterprising young editor of the
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'riirouj^h C.'iiiada with a Kodak.
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I't'^HOH Xra's, a capital local paper, which brings us ail
the news of the district every week. Kut the day was
wearing away, and my brother, who takes charge of (lui-
sachan, was anxious that we should start on the linal
/■'.It trance (,'nft' to (itt/xac/tun Farm.
stage of our journey. So we left the showyard before
the judging of the cattle and horses was coni-
])leted, but not before seeing a Ouisachan team
given a first prize, and another pair of useful horses
\ !!
(luisacliaii l-'arni.
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(wHicli Lord A. had just ,>urcha.scd, .,n ,ny hrutlKT
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telling him that such
a pair were needed or. t
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farm) gain.ng the same honourable position in another
c^lass.
The day was a general holiday, and the men who work
the steamboat which carries ])assengers up and do>vn the
( )kanagan Lake were away from work. In this emergency
a neighbour of ours at Guisachan, Mr Lequime, under-
took to take us home in his small steomboat. It was
not intended exactly for passengers, but we had a very
merry voyage, stowed away most of the time in a queer
little cabin, father and daughter beguiling themselves and
their companions by singing improvised Canadian railway
songs to Scotch tunes. Presently the moon came out,
and we had an opportunity of reconnoitring our Okana-
gan Lake beauties by moonlight. The time soon sped
away, and ere four hours had passed we found ourselves
turning into a bay, and presently we and our baggage were
deposited on a landing stage, whilst our crew were hieing
back to Vernon for an all-night ball in honour of the
.Show. They did not leave us, however, without securing
a cart from a neighbour for our luggage, whilst we walked
leisurely on to take possession of our new domain, only
two miles distant. 'J 'he telegram we had sent announcing
the exact day of our arrival liad never been received, and
hence we had all the fun of appearing unexpectedly, and
of a moonlight walk. Now, knowing that the beauty of a
country is often over-ra<^ed, we had schooled ourselves not
to expect much, so as not to be disappointed. Wc
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Through Canada with a Kodak.
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imagined to ourselves, therefore, a flat plain with bare
hills in the distance, a few scrubby trees and bushes here
and there, and a house set down in the middle of the flat.
Instead of which we found mountains looking more like
the Inverness-shire mountains of my youth than any others
we had seen in Canada, and about a mile from the land-
ing-stage we came to a gate leading into a wood. "Oh,
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if only that were our gate !" murmured Lord Aberdeen.
"But that's just what it is," answered Coutts, my brother,
and we turned into a regular delightful wood, with big
trees of two hundred feet high, through which the moon-
light fell in silvery streaks across the new road which my
brother and his assistant-manager, Mr Smith, had i)re-
pared for us as a surprise. About half-a-mile brings us
Guisachan Farm,
,67
tlirough the wood, and then, on emerging, we see our
house a niv.r^er of a mile away, standing against a back-
ground of purple hills, and commanding a charming view,
with a peep of the lake from the verandali. ( )n approach-
ing our habitation it looked very much deserted and locked
up, but Coutts knocked away in confidence that someone
would appear. Presently a cautious stei) was heard
within, and the door was presently opened a chink, and
we were demanded what \ - wanted. It was perhaps as
well for us that Coutts was with us, for Mr Smith after-
wards owned that he had been very susi)icious of us when
he heard footsteps on the verandah, and he had loaded
and brought his rifle with him behind the door, to re|)el
us by force if need be, and the dogs "Caesar" and "Spot"
were quite ready to join in the chase until they heard
the voice of their master assuring them that we were
friends.
A warm reception — was il not ? But we all agreed that
we could not have had a more delightful home-coming
than that moonlight walk with all its surprises, and then
the storming of the citadel was much more in keeping
with our mood than finding everybody and everything in
readiness.
It took but a few minutes, however, to lii.;ht up the
house, and to show how ship-shape everything had been
made to re( jive us, and we barely had time to examine
all the ingenuities and tastefulness of the two bachelors
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Through Canada with a Kodak.
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in the household arrangements, when it was announced
that "Foo," the Chinese cook and servant-in-general, had
not only been roused out of his slumbers, but had pre-
pared a substantial supper wherewith to appease our
hunger. And soon thereafter we were all in the land of
dreams, dreaming of delights, past, present, and future.
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(lUISACIIAN FARM.
. you come out for a bear hunt this afternoon ?'*
'hat waa the first communication which we
received from the outer world the morning
after our arrival at Guisachan. Two of our neighbours,
hearing of our advent, had come up to say that a bear
with her two cubs, had been seen coming down from the
hills to search for the berries which were scarce last year
higher up, and their present whereabouts being ascertain-
ed, it was proposed that they should pay for their temer-
ity with their lives. Perhaps you will think that such an
expedition does not sound like a very proper b^cinning for
a respectable farmer and his family to mak. his farm-
ing life in British Columbia. But truth wil! .at, and the
invitation was accepted and acted upon I fore we had
ridden the marches or examined the stod A beautiful
day it was, too, for a hunt or an expediti( .1 of any kind !
A quiet, gray morning, with light soft fleecy white clouds
floating about the mountain tops, had brightened out into
an afternoon full of sunshine, and we saw the surroundinjis
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Through Canada with a Kodak.
of our new home under the most favourable auspices, as
we trotted merrily over the fields, and through the woods,
in aji old buggy, which had seen much work, drawn by
wise-looking old horses, who were re[)uted to have taken
part in many an escapade in more )outhful days. 'I'he
scrub was reached where " Mrs Hruin " and her family
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iioi/i^ otitfo)- a />riir hunt.
were in hiding, and the guns were posted on a hillside
commanding a delightful view of the lake for sketching
purposes, and our bear hunters, with their dogs, i)lunged
about bravely round the outskirts of the thicket, v.hi'.li
was too dense and prickly for anyone to penetrate, except
Ciuisaclinii I'lirm.
at llic risk of clothL-s and skin. There was niiicli halloo-
ing, and barking of dogs, and beating witli sticks ; but no
results, though every now and then a ghmpse of the
l)rown fur was caught by one or other of the sportsmen,
and the end of it all was that we were obliged to own
that " Mrs Bruin " was cleverer than we, for all of a
sudden she was sj)icd scuttling ui) a hill a (luarter-of-a-
mile distant, having got away by a side where there was
no gun posted, and having determined to leave her
children in the lurch. vSo we had to satisfy ourselves
with having seen her, and we wended our way home
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under a glorious sunset sky, with hundreds of wild geese
Hying to their feeding grounds, filling the air with their
wild, peculiar cries. 1 will not tell you how many of
them were brought down on this occasion ! l)ut I can tell
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you wild goose is very good, and so are some of the other
game birds which were provided for us by our sportsmen
during our stay at ( luisachan. There are the wild duck,
of which there are several varieties on the Okanagan Lake,
(iLiisachaii I'arm.
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eese
heir
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1 tell
and which bring to (Hir minds an exciting chase, and a
brilliant long shot by my i)rother, sucii as sijortsmen love
to think back on, and good retrieving on the |)artot'good
dog " vSpot." Then there arc tht- " ruffed grouse," more
like our pheasant to eat, and what is called the " i)rairie
chicken," so named l)y early settlers, but which in reality
II '///v. the fmiian /'<>v. with /t/s- '<'ti.'t, ,'>i»iy.
ther
nen
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ike,
is a species of grouse, and, in our opinion, the best game
bird for the table which Canada possesses. And bear
steak and chops are very good, too ; for one of those rash
young bears was killed after all, and though he was very
thin, poor little chap, yet we thought him a good sub-
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siitutc for venison, as served up by " Foo," our ("hinese
rook.
The mention of that dignitary reminds me that I have
not yet intHKhiced you to our establishment, nor shown
you over the house. Well, first, besides ourselves, our
little girl, Marjorie, my brother Coutts, and Mr Smith,
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Sciences
Corporation
23 WEST MAIN HRGET
WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580
(716) 873-4S03
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176 'I'hrough Canada with a Kodak.
on the scene of action. On being called back, and a
humble suggestion made that he should wait a minute
and go 7vM Lord A., instead of in front of him, he waxed
fierce with wrath, and not only did he rush ahead and
scatter the birds, but for a day or two afterwards retired
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into the sulks, varied with ebullitions of wrath over the
unwarrantable interference with his liberties which had
occurred. But, nevertheless, he was a good cook, as
most of the Chinese are, and, when all is said, it is hard
to see how the British Columbian folk could get on
without the Chinese servants and labourers. You see
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them everywhere, and they are ready to be combined
cook, groom, housemaid, and gardener, and the general
verdict is that, after all, they are better than girls who
come out from the old country with all sorts of foolish
notions in their heads as to what work they should or
should not do. I regret to say that the general tone of
the girls who have gone to British Columbia, and who get
high wages (12, 15, and 20 dollars a month, and even
more), has not been such as to make employers very
anxious to repeat the experiment. Still, girls going West
to the Pacific coast are certain to find good places, and
if only they will be sensible, and ready to turn their
hands to anything, and to do as they are bid, they will
command first-rate wages and happy homes. In the
meanwhile the Chinaman has still the predominance,
and he possesses many advantages, though his wages are
high. But I must come back to our (iuisachan establish-
ment, and introduce you to Willy, an Indian boy, who
arrived every morning on his white pony at full gallop,
and who was initiated into the mysteries of blacking boots,
and the greater mystery of picking up " Foo's " tins and
empty bottles, feathers, and other debris^ so as to make
the place look a bit tidy.
Now, take a peep round the house, into the hall
decorated with horns and heads of deer shot in ] )akota
by my brother, and with various specimens of Indian
work : and then see the pretty bright sitting-room, with
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skins of animals, shot in the same way, scattered about
on the floor : pictures on the walls, and magazines and
other evidences of the last mail on the table ; the dining-
room at the back, to which communication is obtained
from the kitchen across a passage open to the air, thus
devised with the object of avoiding unnecessary kitchen
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smells, four big bed-rooms, two small ones, the office,
and a broad verandah round three sides of the house,
will complete the survey. It is the fourth mansion on
the Guisachan estate, and we give you a sight of the
four. The first as you see is a mere " shack," evidently
put up for shelter on the owner's first arrival. The
(iuisachan Farm.
iSi
second, though in ruins now, was doubtless a good
enough house for the country in its day. I'he third is
(juite a big house, with two good living rooms in it, and
is now inhabited by the men. It looks quite smart, now
.!//• Siiiiih e.vfu'NtiHg; the .ot " /« attendance
describing have been literally drunk away and are now the
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property of the license-holders. It is to be hoped that
the new settlers coming into the valley will help to
promote social gatherings and entertainments, which will
meet the natural desire for gathering together in a cheery
way, without sowing the seeds of intemperance and
misery.
Our neighbours were good enough to gather in our
house twice during our stay, and thus welcomed the new-
comers, and made us feel real Okanaganers. One of
these gatherings was in the evening, and was just an
old-fashioned Scotch "social," with tea and "bags" of
eatables handed round, or rather, to be strictly accurate,
we had the eatables without the bags. And a very
pleasant evening we had, with songs, and music, and
recitations, some in English and some in French, for the
benefit of our French Roman Catholic neighbours, who
represent the earlier settlers all round what is termed the
" Okanagan Mission." The Mission was founded some
32 years ago for the Indians, by a devoted priest.
Father Pendozy, of whose fame we heard much, and who
only died a few months before our arrival. The Indians
have mostly moved away to their reserve at the foot of
the lake, but " the Mission " is now the head-quarters of
a large district, and it is also the residence of a lay
brotherhood who cultivate a farm and orchard. The
two priests in residence. Father Marzial and Father de
Vriendt, were both amongst our guests at our "social,"
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(luisachan Farm.
•«5
and the latter gave us two songs, while the I*resl)yteria!i
minister, Mr. Uingell, gave us a recitation. It was the
first time that such a gathering had been held in the
district, but from the success which attended it, we hope
it will not be the last. Since then a magic-lantern has
been established at (luisachan, and we hear that the first
magic-lantern entertainment was well attended and much
liked.
The other gathering of which I spoke was a little
Sunday afternoon service conducted by Lord A. That
really came first, on our first Sunday, and was intended
as a sort of formal taking possession and dedication of
the house, and it was delightful to find all our neighbours,
both Protestant and Roman Catholic, gathering together
for the occasion. Some sort of gathering, such as this,
on the Sunday afternoon or evening, has also become
another institution at (iuisachan.
But the mention of a service reminds me that I must
tell you how active the Presbyterian Church in Canada is
in providing services for colonies of new settlers. We
were much struck with this throughout our trip. Even
in quite small places where we halted, we found that
provision was made for at least fortnightly services, and a
missionary appointed, who is paid out of a Home Mission
Fund, collected mainly by the zealous Dr. Robertson,
until such time as the yoiing community can afford to
pay for their own church and minister. Our friend,
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Mr (lordon of Banff, told us that experience justified this
action. If settlers are allowed to get into a habit of
not attending church, it will be generally much longer
before they move in the matter themselves than when
the means of grace have been placed within their reach
from the beginning, and many opportunities for pro-
moting religious influences, and for preventing evil will
have been lost. In the Okanagan Valley there is a
service now every Sunday ; at the upper end one Sunday,
at the house of some good neighbours, the Postills, and
at our end the next Sunday, at the Schoolhouse, which
the Board have gladly lent for the purpose, although
several of the members are Roman Catholics. At the
present time the minister lives in Vernon, 35 miles away,
and has to return there always in time for an evening
service. But already there is more than a talk of two
churches, one at either end of the valley, and a minister
of our own. We shall never forget the picturesqueness
of the scene which met our eye as we drove up to the
Schoolhouse for the morning service. As usual the
weather was gorgeous. The School is situated just at the
corner of a wood of tall trees gay in their brilliant autumn
colourings. Just inside this wood, and on its outskirts,
were tied up saddle horses and buggies of all sizes and
descriptions, and all around were standing picturesque
groups of men and dogs awaiting the moment for going
in. The brilliant sunshine pouring down on the scene
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and glinting on the stems of the trees completed the
t;harm and naturalness of the picture. No conven-
tionality, no black coats, no formal solemnity. There
were but three women in the congregation ; all the rest
were men and lads who looked as if they knew how to
work. Mr Langell quite adopted the same free and easy
attitude, and spoke to his hearers as if he were one of
them. I am so sorry that I cannot give you a picture
of that scene outside the church, and I would have liked
to put in the very forefront, the dearest and cheeriest of
old ladies, in an old-fashioned black poke bonnet — Mrs
Postill, who had driven over 16 miles or so with her son,
and who told us she had been the first white woman in
the valley, and that she would never forget all the kind-
ness shown her in those old days by the rough miners
and ranchers.
But all this while I am telling you nothing about the
farm itself. But where shall I begin ? Shall I describe
to you the cattle which we took over with the farm, and
which may be found anywhere within a 20 mile radius,
or the cows who did not at all understand thai their
mission in life was to provide milk for the human species ?
At the outset some of these same cows resented the idea
so fiercely that they had to be lassoed and thrown on
their sides to be milked. When we were there they had
somewhat reconciled themselves to the new order of
Guisachan Farm.
189
things, but the milkers had still to go and search for
them on horseback.
Or shall I show you our stud of horses — the old team,
and the new team, with the foal, Madge, who after the
fashion of the country, accompanied her mother when
out for work, and insisted always on running just in front
and so impeding progress ; the old white pack horse, and
canny Aleck, and pretty Harry from Dakota, and Pinto,
and wise old thirty-year-old Charlie, who was none too
old, however, to give our little girl many a delightful
canter, and who was a much more reliable steed than the
wild Indian pony which had been intended for her use,
but who absolutely refused to bear the indignity of any
mortal on its back, and who made good its escape to its
free companions, bridled and saddled, more than once,
and had to be re-captured.
No; I do not think that I will detain you here, nor will
I ask you to admire what is called the " barn " in Canadc,
but what we should call the stable. I may confess that
that building is not in the best of repair. Nor will I ask
you to admire our pigs, among which we boast of some
Berkshires; nor our white Leghorns, nor even will I
linger to point out the fascinating antics of the beautiful
but hated blue jays, the enemies of both farmer and
gardener ; nor the pranks of the magpies, who often made
the place lively with their chatterings and their quarrel-
lings over some coveted bone or other choice scrap.
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Through Canada with a Kodak.
No, but I will ask you to take a passing look at the
baby fir-trees which we brought out from the old (iui-
sachan, in Inverncss-shire, to be planted at the new
Ciuisachan. For " Guisachan " means " The Place of the
Fir," and though there are many firs all round about on
the mountains, there were none quite near the house ;
and then I must call upon you to admire our cabbages,
any one of which would require an ordinary wheelbarrow
as a conveyance ; and then look at our glorious melons,
and citrons, and cucumbers, and apples, even as we saw
them so late as in October. Unfortunately our photo-
graphs turned out failures, so you must take our word for
it when we tell you that the melons often weigh 30 lbs.
and more ; and also when we give you the following
example of what an ordinary orchard produces in this
country. Our next door neighbour has an orchard of
about a third of an acre containing twenty-four apple
trees, half of which are old trees and the others young,
some as young as four years old. This gentleman and
his wife have a family of four little boys, and take in
lodgers besides, having sometimes in the summer as
many as fourteen boarders. The i)roduce of the orchard
forms a never-failing item in the menu, and one of the
lodgers told us he could never have believed that apples
could be cooked in so many different excellent ways till
he went to lodge with Mrs Monson. But after the
powers of the orchard had been thus taxed all through
Ciuisachan Farm.
191
the fruit season, the owner was able to sell the residue of
the produce for 250 dollars. And such apples ! Such
facts, and the knowledge of the ever-increasing demand
for fruit of all kinds in the North-West Provinces, will
.V..S'. '■ /\ntnton " ivaitiiii;- to hear us aivay.
doubtless cause the valley to become ere long a great
fruit-producing centre. Two hundred acres of the (iui-
sachan farm will be planted with various kinds of fruit-
trees this year, and with the smaller kinds of fruit, such
as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, (^urrants, and
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gooseberries in between. All these fruits, as well as the
apples, pears, plums, melons, &c., flourish magnificently
and with the best possible results. Peaches and grapes
have also been tried, but we did not ourselves think the
specimens wc saw were satisfactory. A number of
|)urchasers have been taking up the lots subdivided for
fruit farms by Mr G. G. Mackay, who set a good example
in the neighbourhood by buying estates and dividing
them into lots. Hops, wheat, barley, and all root crops
yield abundantly, the wheat averaging 35 bushels an acre.
Good land for fruit growing is now fetching from 30 to
60 dollars an acre, and is steadily rising in value. A land
owner in the neighbourhood, owning a ranch which
consists of some 4000 to 5000 acres of rough hill range
land, and 500 acres of good rich agricultural land, was
offered 36,000 dollars for the whole. " Not I," says he,
" Not a farthing less will I take than 90,000 dollars for
the property." "Then do you think the men fools who
are selling their land for 60 dollars an acre ? " That is
just what I do think them. I know the worth of that
land, I tell you." The steady rise in price, which is going
on so far, justifies this opinion. There was one difficulty
in the way of the grower of small and perishable fruits,
and that was the difficulty about their transit, for though
the demand for fresh fruit is great, it of course cannot be
carried any great distance without injury. This has now-
been obviated by l.ord Aberdeen deciding to put up a
(luisaclian Farm.
Nvas
'93
jam factory and cannery, at the head of the lake near
Vernon, where all good fruit raised in tiie district can be
received, and this announcement has been greeted with
Cnhxi-f'vt- :
great satisfiiction. 'I'he site of the factory lias been
placed near \'ernon, both on account of the i)ro\iniity to
the railway, and because it is near the Coldstream pro-
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perty, which now belongs to Lord A., and part of which
he has entrusted to Mr Mackay ^ for subdivision into the
fruit farms which appear to be so much wanted, or fruit
farms combined with grazing ground, for those who wish
to raise cattle or keep dairy stock, for which there are
good openings.
We are often asked for advice as to what class of
settlers are likely to succeed in this part of British
Columbia. There are two classes whom the country will
suit, (i) Men with a little capital, say not less than ;^5oo,
who can buy 20 acres perhaps or more, have the means
to plant it and cultivate it, put up a little frame house and
be able to support themselves until the fruit begins to
bear. It takes four or five years for apple trees to bear,
but of course many of the other kinds of crops and fruits
bear the second or even the first year. A fruit-grower
who is keen about his trees will have each tree numbered
and entered in a book, and will find delightful occupa-
tion in carefully nurturing, pruning, and watching over
each young nursling, while he may expect an abundant
reward by-and-bye. There are some College graduates
now taking up land in our district, some of whom came
thinking of following the learned professions, but finding
these all full, are very sensibly devoting themselves to
^ Since the above was written, we grieve to say that Mr G. (/.
Mackay died suddenly (in January 1893), mwch regretted by his
friends and neighbours.
(luisachan Farm.
•95
G. G.
by his
fruit-farming. (2) The second class of men who can
succeed are those who will hire themselves out as
labourers, and who will set themselves to save their high
wages and meanwhile learn the ways of the country.
We are hopeful that a very good class of settler is
coming in amongst us, which will make the district a
desirable one for those who seek to find a home where
there will be good influences and a high tone.
1 must not forget to mention that the climate and its
healthfulness are great attractions. We certainly found
the climate a most perfect and health-giving one during
our all too brief sojourn ; but my brother gave it the
same character, as also did the old residents of the valley,
who seem never to have found out the need for a doctor.
The weather was a perfect " Indian summer," while we
were there at the end of October. They have, we under-
stand, about six weeks' hard winter with thermometer
often considerably below zero, and two months of the
summer are very hot, and the mosquitoes abound far
more than we should like. But, taking it all round, the
people seem wholly satisfied with their weather, ('ertain
it is that we at least agree with Mr Mackay when he said,
in a letter to the papers, that " if a man cannot be happy
here he can be happy nowhere," — nor a woman either,
say I.
Now Lord A. says 1 have been writing a puff, and let
my enthusiasm for our holiday-resort run away with me.
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196 Through Canada with a Kodak.
but he has to admit that all that I have said is true — and
he often wishes he were there.
I am afraid I have occupied an altogether unwarrant-
able amount of space in the Magazine this month, and
even now, I shall not be able to include the pictures of
the Coldstream Ranch in this month's issue. We felt
very badly when we had to wend our way to the point of
embarkation, and sadly say good-bye and sail up the
Lake to Vernon, under charge of good Captain Shorts,
who knows the country well, and who fell in with our
humour by singing its praises.
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Tin-: INDIANS OF CANADA.
YOU saw us off from (luisachan a few weeks ago, and
now this month I am afraid we must hid Good -hye
to British Columbia, though 1 would gladly linger there
with you awhile, and chatter on about our further ex-
periences whilst in that charming province, and about all
our plans for the future. But it will be better to wait
awhile until I can tell you whether our customers at
Vernon are satisfied with our dairy supplies from the
Coldstream, and until I can explain to you the i)rocess by
which we mean to try to turn out the best jams and
preserves in the Dominion. When you get a chance of
buying "Oka jam," mind you seize it, for nothing will
ecjual it, I am sure ! !
Before we leave the subject, however, I must tell you
about the Coldstream Ranch, which is the name of
the large property which Lord Aberdeen has bought
near Vernon.
Not such a smart house as at Guisachan, but there
is a good barn standing by the side of the house,
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198 Through ('anadii with a Kodak.
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and in the other pictures you will see some specimens of
our ('oldstream horses and cattle, though some of the
creatures have spoiled their likenesses by moving whilst
being photographed. You cannot judge from these
pictures of the beauty of the valley, which received the
following description from a business gentleman who was
sent lately to survey it : — " I wish you had been with me,
and I think you would agree that it is not only one of
the richest but one of the most beautiful valleys you ever
saw." It receives its name from a stream which is always
ice-cold even in our hottest weather. A considerable
portion of the property runs along the shores of the lovely
" Long Lake," pronounced by Lord Lome to be one of
the most attractive sheets of water he had seen in
America. We had a good view of the lake from a spot
where we picnicked one day during an expedition from
(iuisachan. This was at the other end of the lake
from that on which the Coldstream is situated, and
where residences are being erected on the shores, on
" lots " which have already been parcelled off from the
property. There is a curious feature about this lake :
One can see stretching across the lake what looks like a
bridge or dam. It goes in the district by the name of
" the Railway," and is in reality the work of the skilful
beaver architects and workers.
And now will you travel down with us to the coast,
and see the '' Empress of India " start from Vancouver
rii
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of
:ilful
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hound for Jai)an, China, and India? Slic is one of the
three grand new ships l)uilt hy the Canadian I'aeifie
Raihvay, whicli now make communication between China,
|a|)an, Canada, and l^lngland so easy and swift, that it is
[)()ssihle for letters from Japan to reach London in
twenty days.
We were very glad to have a chance of seeing over the
comfortable internal arrangements of the ship, with a view
of a possible expedition in the future to that wonderful
country, to pick u}) gossip for you ; antl even our aversion
to the sea did not prevent us from half-envying our
friends when we saw them making their start, amidst the
cheers of the N'ancouver public, who take vast interest in
these boats, which are so greatly promoting the prosperity
of their city and province. Amongst the living freight
carried on this occasion was a crowd of Chinamen on the
lower deck, who, having made their fortunes, were
returning home to their own land. It creates a curious
sensation to be brought face to face with this strange
people between whom and ourselves there seems to be a
gulf fixed — the two races having so little in common, and
yet, at any rate in British Columbia, depending so largely
on one anotlier. 'I'hey despise us, and look on us as
heathens, and are unwilling to let their dead bodies be
contaminated by resting in our soil, but endeavour to
have them all back to China for interment. And we, or
at least many of us, no less unjustly despise them, and
gely
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202 Through Canada with a Kodak.
call them " Heathen Chinee," having but scant respect
for the great forces lying hidden in that vast " Celestial
Empire," of whose internal affairs and workings we are
comparatively so ignorant.
But it was not of the Chinese that I was to talk in this
paper, but of another race with whom we are far more
immediately concerned, and concerning whom we have
far more responsibility. As you pass through Canada
from east to west, through her thick forests and over her
wide prairies, and her mighty mountains, it is a pathetic
sight to see what appear to be the ghosts of a people of
other days, stealing, gaunt and mournful, and silent, to
the towns and railway stations, and who, crouching
around, watch the new race rising up and possessing this
fair and goodly land over which f/iev held sovereign sway
in the times now gone by. They are an unattractive
sight, with their deeply-lined countenances, and promi-
nent features, bedaubed often with paint, their black
dishevelled hair, their array of ragged st[ualid blankets,
or tattered garments, to which fragments of tawdry finery
give the finishing touch to an aspect of distasteful
wretchedness. Perchance, mingling with a reflection of
national seif-complacency that the Canadian Covernment
have on the whole dealt fairly and justly with these
Indians within her borders, there comes also a scarcely
a(^knowledged thought that it is as well for these poor
folk that their race is yearly diminishing, and that by -and-
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Indians of Canada.
20J.
bye all traces of their existence will have vanished, save
in museums.
But can we thus lightly dismiss the fate and fortunes
of a nation whom we have disinherited ? Think of their
position a few years ago, ere the buffalo disai)peared
before the advance of the white man. 'I'hey were wealthy
in those days, wealthy after the only fashion about which
they cared aught. The vast plains were their undisputed
hunting-ground, and the unnumbered herds of buffaloes
provided for all their needs. Food, for they lived chiefly
on buffalo, eating son^etimes as much as eight or ten lbs.
a day; houses, for the tanned skins made comfortable
and durable tents, or " tee-pees," or " lodges " as they call
them ; clot/iwg, for from them they obtained their robes
and other articles of clothing. They had bands of
horses and ponies to transport them and their goods
to a fresh location, whensoever it pleased them to
move, and to carry them to the chase of the wild
beasts and birds, in which they so excelled. What
more did they need ?
Now they are confined to certain portions of the
country alloted to them by (lovernment, called " Indian
reserves " ; they are [)oor, for the buffalo has mysteriously
disappeared within the last twelve or fifteen years, and
they have to depend in large measure on the charity of
(iovernment, which gives them rations of food to save them
from starvation ; the wild animals and birds which they
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204 Through Canada with a Kodak.
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loved to pursue, which supplied them with food and
ornaments, and for which they commanded a ready sale,
are fast diminishing ; they are suffering from diseases and
vices introduced by the " pale-faces " ; and their ideas of
life and civilisation so totally differ from those of their
conquerors that it is with the utmost difficulty they can
set themselves to win their livelihood by what appears to
them the dull and distasteful work of agriculture. Small
wonder that the red man looks sad, and listless, and
hopeless, as he looks out on the altered conditions of life
for his race, and as he meditates on the future of his
country, which seems to have so little place for him unless
he alters all his habits and tastes ! An earnest effort is
being made, both by missionaries and by the Government,
to help him to accommodate himself to the new condi-
tions, but it is uphill work. But there is often an instinctive
want of trust between the two races, and a lack of under-
standing of one another. Wise men of science, and
sym])athetic and large-minded missionaries, are both now-
searching into the customs, habits, and traditions of the
different triV)es of North American Indians, and with a
wider knowledge of these there will come fuller power
to enter into their ideas and conceptions, to gain their
confidence, and consequently their co-operation in the
work of their own elevation and civilisation.
Our ideas of the Red Indian are largely the outcome
of the representation of him in the stirring tales of daring
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Indians of Canada.
205
adventure and cruel ferocity, which are considered the
fittest hterature for boys---but we go no further.
I would like to interest you in another way in these
children of the plain and forest, but my knowledge is so-
fragmentary and inadequate that I can only give you
glimpses into that little understood world of the Indian.
As you know, there are many different tribes, from those
of the East, who received the white men so hospitably on
their first appearance, but who afterwards became so
dreaded, to those in the extreme West in British
Columbia, who appear to be so distinct in character and
customs from those east of the Rocky Mountains that I
will defer all mention of them until another paper.
Amongst all these different tribes the chief religion appear.'f
to consist in a belief of spirits, spirits which inhabit earth,
air, water, as also animals, and even inanimate thing.s'
and whose protection must be sought, and whose ven-
geance avoided. I'hey do not, however, like other
heathen people, make images or idols of these spirits, and
their chief reverence is given to the sun and moon,' and
to one Chief Spirit, who re-appears in the legends of
various tribes under different names, and in many
characters.
Let me give you here one or two examples of their
religious traditions, as taken down from their own lips
by the Rev. E. W^ilson, and reported by him to the
British Association : —
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The Creation. — "It had lieen long time night. Napi, the
Ancient, saici, * Let it be day,' and it Ijecame day. Napi made the
sun, and told it to travel from east to west. Every night it sinks
into the earth, and it comes out of the earth again the next morn-
ing. Napi is very old every winter, but he 1)ecomes young every
spring. He has travelled all a'ong the Rocky Mountains, and
there are various marks on the mountains which remain as relics of
his presence. Napi said, 'We will be two people.' He took out
the lower rib from his right side, and he said, ' It shall bea woman,'
and he let it go, and he looked on it, and he saw a woman. He
then took a rib from the left side, and said, ' Let it be a boy,' and
it was a boy. Napi also made a numl^er of men with earth. Napi
and the men went one way, the woman went another way. And
the woman made women of earth, in the same way as Napi had
made men.
"At Morley, opposite the Rev, Mr Macdougall's house, and
down the river," said Big IMume, "there is a little stream; they
call it the men's kraal or enclosure ; on one side of the stream is a
cut bank and big stones ; this was the men's boundary, beyond
which they were not to pass. They used to hunt buffalo, and drive
them over the cut bank ; they had plenty of meat ; they had no
need to follow the buffaloes ; they hid themselves behind the big
stones and uttered a low cry ; this guided the buffalo to the cut
l^ank. and when they were over the bank they shot them with their
stone arrows and ate the meat.
" One day Napi went out on a long journey. He got as far as
High River. There he saw lots of women together, with the
woman made from his rib, who acted as their chief. There were no
men a^id no boys there. There were a great number of teepees.
Napi was alone. He told the women, ' I have come from the men.'
The woman chief said to him, ' CIo home ; bring all your men ;
stand them all on the top of this stone ridge ; our women shall then
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Indians of Canada.
207
go up one by one, and each take a man for a husband.' When
they were all up there, the chief woman went up first and laid hold
on Napi to take him, but Napi drew back ; the chief woman had juil
on an old and torn l)lanket, and had rubbed all the painl off her
face, and had no ornaments on her. Napi did not like her appear-
ance, and so he rejected her addresses. lie did not know that she
was the chief woman. She then w(;nt back to the women, and,
pointing to Napi, said, 'Don't any of you lake him.' She then
dressed herself in her best, and painted her face, and put on her
ornaments, and went and chose another man. All the women did
the same. Thus all the men had wives, and Najii was left standing
alone. The chief woman then cried aloud, ' Let him stand there
alone like a pine tree.' Napi then began breaking away the stony
ridge with his heel, till there was only very little of it left. The
woman then shouted, ' Be a pine tree.' And the pine tree stands
there now alongside the big stones, and they still call it the women's
kraal. Napi's flesh is in the pine tree, Imt his spirit still wanders
through the earth.
"The boy made from Napi's left rib fell sick. The woman took
a stone and threw it in the water, and she said, ' If the stone swims
the boy will live,' but the stone sank and the boy died ; and so all
people die now. If the stone had floated, all people would have
lived."
How Horses Oru;inatp:i). — "Along time ago there were no
horses. There were only dogs. They used only stone for their
arrows. They were fighting with people in the Rocky Mountains.
Those people were Snake Indians. They took a Blackfoot woman
away south. There were a great number of people down there, and
they tied the woman's feet, and tied her hands behind her, and a
cord round her waist, and picketed her to a stake, near the big salt
water. And tliey cried across the lake, 'See, here is your wife !'
Then they all retreated and left her. These Big Lake pecjple did
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not sec her at all ; but the waters rose and covered her ; and when
the waters abated, there was no woman there, but there were lots of
horses. The Snake Indians caught these horses, and that is how
horses began."
FUTl'RK LiKK. — "I asked ' Hig Plume' what did he think be-
came of the soul after death? lie replied that the souls of all Hlack-
feet Indians go to the Sandhills, north of the Cyprus hills (this
would be to the east of the Blackfeet country). What proof had he
of that ? I asked. ' At a distance,' said the chief, ' we can see them
hunting buft'alo, and we can hear them talking and praying, and
inviting one another to their feasts. In the summer we often go
there, and we see the trails of the sjiirits, and the places where they
have been camping. I have been there myself, and have seen them,
and heard them beating their drums. We can see them in the dis-
tance, but when we get near to them they vanish. I cannot say
whether or not they see the Clreat Spirit. I believe they will live
for ever. All the Blackfeet believe this ; also the Sarcees, Stonies,
Atsinas, and Crees. The Crees, after deatn, will go to the Sand-
hills further north. There will still be fighting between the Crees
and the Blackfeet in the spiritual world. Dogs and horses go to the
Sandhills too ; also the spirits of the dead buffaloes. We hand these
traditions down to our children. We point out to our children
various places where Napi slept, or walked, or hunted, and thus our
child n's minds become impressed.'"
\'ou have probably heard of the Indians' medicine-ba^^s^
and the name suggests that medicines are carried about for
cases of emergency, but their ideas of medicine and ours
are two very different affairs. When a young man grows
up he has to find out which of the many spirits is to be
his special protector, and then he has to carry the syml)ol
Indians of Canada.
209
of this spirit always on his person as a sort of charm.
(Front a pfioiojrap/! by />< ornc «5-= May.)
And here is an account, by Mr Hale, of the way they find
theii "medicine" : —
o
It
210
Throuj^h Canada with a Kodak.
n
I- „
!-M\
i
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I
" Young men j;») up on lo a hill and cryan
4
»
■ I
t
1?
It
'J
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I
Moki; AiJoUT Tin: Indians and thimk customs.
Now let me show you a {)icture of the fine old
Indian ('hief, "Oowfoot," whose [)hysiognoniy
and expression will tell you of the strength of character
and mind that lay behind. He was one of the far-seeing
Indians who understood that it was for the ultimate good
of the country that the white men should take possession
of the country, that railways should traverse its length and
breadth, though bringing destruction to the Red Men's
hunting-grounds, and that the land should be brought
under the dominion of the plough. He saw that the
only hope for the Indian was to accommodate himself to
the new order of things, and to co-operate with the
l^^nglishmen in spreading education, and civilisation, and
the art of agriculture. He was of great service to the
( lovernment when the great railway across the ('ontinent
was planned, and in many other ways managed to bring
his people to help, and not to hinder. In recognition of
these services he was given a pass (which you see him
wearing in the picture) not only over the (M\R., but
«f •■ • •*•••••
T
^ring
of
m
Ihim
but
11
H I
" Cri-TvA'oi," Ch:cfoffhc Blac'tf^ct.
214
I'hrougli CaiKula with a K<)al cities, ^^gfej^H^^ ^'^i'k^I vnms shown the
. / colli'ciion o/ci'u/'f and n>liip<,
:i'/iic/i tlie hniinus thrmv loit/i
schools, and colleges,
manufactories, and all m
the great centres of
into everything with mar-
telligence, taking in mat-
iitanr/. otts dexterity.
and institutions, and
that was being done in
population. He entered
vellous interest and in-
ters which one would
Indians of ( ana da.
I ^
have thought totally l)cyond tlic comprehension of a
man who had Hved his life on the |)rairie. And wlun
he came back to his (juarters near Calgary, he gathered
together his tribe, and is said
to have addressed them con-
tinuously for three days, de-
scribing all the marvels that
he had seen, picturing the
progress of the world in terms
of glowing elocjuence, and how
the Indians, too, might take
their share in the general pro-
sperity if they were wise in
time, and would learn all that v, ' •'.
was good from the white men,
without following their vices.
But Crowfoot, who died a few years back,
was bv no means a solitary instance of this
])Ower of oratory. Travellers and mission-
aries tell us that the art of swaying autliences
by public speaking is very often met with,
and that the speeches of the Indian orators
are full of pathos and figurative beauty
when heard by those who '-^^;?-ir:^::^'y;''r:::i'f
understand the language suffi- '^"'■"" ''"' '""' "^ ''' ''""'■
ciently to appreciate the force of the exi)ressi()ns used.
Mr John Maclean, who has laboured for many years
I'
It
H 1
2i6 Through Canada with a Kodak.
11; i .
■ ! ■ • .
h
I'.
^r:^
amongst the Indians in Al-
berta, gives us various illustra-
tions of such speeches in his
interesting book on "The In-
dianL and their Manners and
Customs." We may take as
an example part of a speech
by "Tecumseh," who, at the
beginning of this century,
helped the British so heroic-
ally in the war against the
Americans. When ( ieneral
Brock, in command of the
British troops, was preparing
to retreat into Canada, on
hearing of the defeat of our
fleet on Lake Erie, he con-
cealed the news of the defeat
from Tecumseh, fearing that
it would have a bad effect on
his Indian alMes. Tecumseh,
who had but a poor opinion
of Brock, addressed him thus
at a Council : —
" Father, listen ! Our fleet
has gone out ; we know they
have fought ; we have heard
>-i /'<■// of fentlicrs ivoyii in
time o/'ivar and at it>r-
vionin! (iniucg.
Indians of Canada.
217
cat
lat
on
seh,
lion
1US
eel
hey
the threat guns; luil \vc know nothing of what has happened to
our fiiiher with the one arm (Captain Barclay). Our ships have gone
i.>',-.-
^^.'.»: ^V^/rJ
for his red child- ■' '' J'ii/>oost" s^icnt/uui on its cradle /-oind. Tlte 'tvoodai
pi-oti'Ction nt the top is arrafv^ed so titat a cloth may
ren. If you have he th>oul,i; II " /''vrrr " af thi- s-ii>i'. orr.r ^- .lAn ).
220 Through Canada with a Kodak.
111
'•».
fi
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1"
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Hi
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■«lw'
dance is a solemn thing, a tribute that we ;////j'/ yield at
this time of year to the dreat Spirit." I think these
words will make us recall to mind professing Christians
who have much in common with these Indians whom
they would look on as mere savages.
But to return to the sun-dance. On passing through
an Indian reserve, near Calgary, we saw a large number
of trunks of trees leaning aganist one central pole, forming
a circle, and surmounted with what appeared a collection
of rubbish, sticks, and feathers, and such like. Our
guide explained to us that this is where the sun-dance
takes place, though last year, owing to the persuasions of
the missionaries, the ceremony did not take place, and
the authorities are anxious to do all in their power to
prevent its recurrence with its attendant cruel practices.
We give you a picture of what a young man who desires
to be made a " brave " has to go through. He first goes
up to the pole in the centre, and, clasping his arms
around it, prays for strength to go through the ordeal, for
which he is afterwards prepared. This preparation con-
sists in first painting the whole body a dead white, and
then making a slit below two muscles in the chest, under-
neath which a wedge of wood is introduced. The wedge
is then attached by cords to the top of the pole, and the
candidate for the honours of a brave has to sway himself
backwards and forwards and jerk himself until the wedge
is torn out of his flesh by force. He must not utter a
222 'I'hrough Canada with a Kodak
'1
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groan or a cry during the process, but is given a whistle
wherewith he may divert himself, and /le is considered
the bravest who laughs and jokes most during his agony,
which often lasts for hours. When the ghastly object is
at last accomplished, the newly-made brave is taken
charge of, often in a fainting condition, by the medicine-
men, who have various processes of their own whereby to
heal the cruel wounds. The bravery which is re(iuired
to go through such tortures clearly shows what backbone
there is in the Indian character, if it can only be made
use of for the service of the (iod of love, and the better-
ment of their race, instead of for such purposes as the
deliberate maiming and wounding of themselves in order
to please the imaginary requirements of their Great Spirit.
Many other stories could be told of the prairie tribes,
which would excite our sympathy ; but we must pass on
in our next paper to the coast Indians, and their customs
and arts, and home manufactures.
XV.
MANNERS AND TRADITIONS OF THE INDIANS OK
THE COAST AND ISLANDS.
AXTHEN we were in Vancouver last year we had the
y y opportunity of gathering together a small collec-
tion of Indian curios from Mr Landsberg, of \'ictoria
>vho has made a practice of collecting them for many
years, and who intended having a great show of them at
the Chicago " World's Fair." He gave us many interest-
ing details regarding the use of the articles, which are
now displayed on the walls of one of the corridors at
Haddo House-and some of which are now reproduced
ior your benefit from drawings made by Mr | (Irant
Hut besides the information there obtained, I have also
to thank the authorities of the Smithsonian Institute at
\Vashington, where a wonderful collection of Indian
curiosities is to be seen, for their readiness to allow me
to Hiake use of both printed matter and illustrations to
be found in a valuable publication of theirs, written bv
Lieutenant Niblack, on the Coast Indians. These are
my authorities ; and now, what shall I pick out from
these stores, to hand on to you ?
224 Through Canada with a Kodak.
You must remember, to begin with, that the Indians
i!
ill
f!
i
il
•V '
Vi^M^^ARJ^^^I^H
1
i
WA\\ 1
^^^9
1'' ill
,.%«^^|^^^
i ii
.*■ ^ ^S^HBi^SSBnflM
''^9
^^
Shi i m w
S'i 1 H
1
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Ni
15
2^
^"5:
If
to
of British Columbia, and especially those living on the
Manners and Traditions of Indians.
the
coast regions, on the adjacent islands and to
the north in the territory of Alaska, are alto-
gether different in manners and customs to
those races of the* interior about whom I
have tried to tell you a little in |)revious
papers. 'I'heir outward appearance is differ-
ent too- they are of shorter height, the
cheek-bones are less prominent, the nose is
straighter, and the face rounder and fuller,
and many hold them to be of Mon-
golian origin, and that they must
have crossed over from Asia by the
Behring Straits in times gone by.
Certam it is that they had attained §
no small measure of civilisation and «
a very complex tribal organisation ;5
before the white men arrived. I '^
will not trouble you with the names ^
of the different tribes, nor as to -^
which of them the special customs ^
to which I shall refer belong ; some |
are common to all, and some are the 5
special property of the Salish, or |
the Flingit, or the Haida, as the "^
case may be. t
Now, first I will ask you to look
at the picture of part of an Indian
II
226 Througli (.-anadii with a Kodak.
'1
f
il
■111
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*(l,
'Mi .
II
HA
village in the Prince of Wales's Island (page 224),
What do you think the carved columns in front of each
\^ house re[)resent ? " Idols," of
course you will say. Nothing of
the sort. These columns are
carve'l in devices which are to
them what crests are to us, and
signify that the persons using that
device belong to the same clan, or as
they call it, the same "totem." The
principal totems are the Crow, the
Raven, the Bear, the Beaver, the Kagle,
the Wolf, and the Whale. Representa-
tions of these animals, or of other objects
which are used as the signs of totem,
are carved on these totem columns out-
side the house, on mortuary and com-
memorative columns, on the articles for
household and ceremonial use, and are
tatooed on the skins. Look at the model
of one of these columns which we have-
in our collection. At the top is Hoots^
the brown bear, who is the totem of the
head of the household who erected it.
Hoots is wearing one of the grass hats,
made by Indians, but the signifi-
iress.
Hxfilained on p. 237.
(.'hi't'Ts ceremonial /lecui-iiri'ss. ^c a.\,' v. • 1
■^ cance of this here is unknown.
iff
Manners and Traditions of Indians. 227
teni,
out-
roni-
s for
d are
lodel
have
/oots,
f the
:d it.
hats,
n i fl-
own,.
TivV/f,'-, the heaver, the totem of the wife and eliiidren, is
at the '.>ottoni of the column, and between tlie two is
rei)resented ZiV/ or )'<'//, the great Raven, the benefactor
of mankind, about whom many wonderful stories are
related. His coat of feathers could be put off or on at
Mask used for cerciuonial purposfs and/oriiiiyly/or ivar. 7'/te
/art's nrcn'i' by pulling a string: "^ he face is paiydcd with
toteinic designs.
pleasure, and he had the power of transforming^ himself
into any form he choose to assume. He existed before
his birth, will never grow old, and cannot die ; and
endless are the adventures told of his peopling the world,
and providing men with fire, fresh water, fish, game, cVc,
I
II
228
Through (aiiiula with a Kodak.
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^md how he fought for them against their great enemy,
Sefi/H-ki-jas/i. Often some of these stories are illustrated
on these columns, and thus they become representations,
not only of the totemic relations of the household, but
also of the general legends or folk-lore believed in by the
tribe. But they are in no sense idols, though they
represent objects which the Indian
regards with superstitious respect ; he
believes that there exists between him
and his totem an intimate and alto-
gether special relation, which he must
respect if he is to receive protectioii.
If his totem is an animal, then he will
not kill any of its class, and if it be a
plant he will not cut it or gather it.
Those belonging to the same totem
may not marry, and thus it comes about
that the wife and her children belong to
a different totem to that of the head of
the household. In the northern coast
tribes, too, rank and wealth and pro-
in cere- ' ' t-
aJ:^'/!v ^'sLI'^n P^^^ descend through the mother,
r^,.;:;SM/;;:v;;:;; according to the system known as
'f^-^'^^»^' u matriarchy " or " mother-rule," a
system which has often been found to exist amongst
primitive races ; Vjut in southern tribes of British
'Olumbia this has given place to "father-rule," or
Krttt/,- usai
i
Manners and I'raditions of Indians. 227
|)ositi()n and inheritance l)eing obtained through tlie
father. Hut if a father has special reasons for wishing his
child to belong to his own totem, as, for instance, if he is
a chief, and desires his son to succeed him, he must
transfer him to his own totem by handing him over to his
or
Medicinc-tiian's apron, 'lotciii o/eat^h' tvorkcd i)i red clot li. aiiii
bchnv three rmvs of pvjtin henks to rattle as rcearer fz/orrs.
own sister, who will figuratively adopt him and tlius change
his totem.
The ties which bind the members of the same /oh'w or
phratry (an organisation in which several totems unite
together in some tribes) remind us much of the ties
Through Canada with a Kodak.
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existing between the members of our old Scottish clans.
If an Indian arrives at a strange village, where he has
reason to fear hostility, he will at once look out for the
house whose carved post indicates that its master belongs
to his totem. And //lerc he is sure in any ^.se to receive
protccUion and to be received with honour. If, again, a
member of a tribe is captured and carried off by another
tribe, it is the duty of those of his own totem in the
enemy's tribe to offer to redeem him and to send him
back to his own tribe, when his own relatives are ex-
pected to pay back the redeemer whatever he may have
expended.
The relationships and customs which spring out of
these totemic organisations are endless, and full of
interest, and are no'.v receiving the investigation from
men of science that they deserve. It is well that these
investigations should have been set on foot, for the old
ways and customs and traditions are fast disappearing,
and it is only the older Indians who can give reliable
information on the subject, and they are often very
reticent and unwilling to give up their knowledge to
strangers.
Then, again, the occasions on which the ceremonial
dances and feasts, or "pot-latches," can be witnessed are
becoming few and far between, owing to the discourage-
ment gi\en to them by the (lovernment, who are anxious
to prevent the Indians from ruining themselves and
i
i .
Manners and 'I'raditions of Indians.
231
)iiial
Id are
|rage-
dous
and
scjuandering their sul)stance at these feasts, as they were
wont to do. We had an opportunity, however, of seeing
a whole village start forth to one of these "pot-latches,"'
and a curious sight it was. The whole population came
Chicj's coat, made of l-dli\ gaud'-
iing f^dffy dai^t;-cr
s/wat/i, and pistol
pouch. L'scd Joy
ceremonial occaaions
234
Throuj^h C'anada with a Kodak.
4
h,
Hi *
•j: i
:i>r
h
'i'; ^k
H
tjf .
■%
yt\
<
ceive the best presents, and the poor ones the shabby
ones, such as a worn-out blanket or a strip of cloth.
Previous to the ceremony the host gathers together
his near relations, and, with their aid, makes out a list of
the j)resents to be given to each individual. On the
h'o7u and nrrort's and bKckskin actually used by an old chic/.
\ '
guests asseml)ling, the goods are all displayed about the
walls or on poles, or piled up on the floor. The host
stanc' . or sits in ceremonial attire, and presides over the
affairs with a ceremonial baton in hand. The herald
blows a whistle, extols the position and the virtues of the
i't : 4
bby
oth.
ther
it of
the
P
Manners and 'I'raditions of Indians.
35
the
Ihost
the
trald
the
t'ttrr'af -AHhu/rii l>07vl of iHautifxil shape , aiul co-'crcii :oith
toil' ink designs.
giver of the feast, calls out a name and the })resent whieh
that person is to receive. The host nods his head
solemnly, thumps on the floor with his baton, and an
attendant takes
the article and
deposits it be-
fore the recipi-
ent. Durinuthe
intervals, or at
the end, danc-
ing, feasting,
and singing are indulged in, and the ceremony may
at times prolong itself to several days. It need
scarcely be added that the receiving of such })resents
involves a suitable return on some future occasion.
It has been mentioned
that dantMng takes place at
the entertainments I have
described, and many of the
Indian curiosities which we
have brought home are
..v.//;^,/M;5^'.5^S;^S:'>^"; ment used for ceremonial
^'or n'c'a'T-i lit;- fill ipdsiw. , . ,, i ii
dancmg on these and other
festive occasions. \Ve must not think of Indian
dancing being such as that to which we are accus-
tomed, in which the whole company takes part ; but
236 Through Canada with a Kodak.
1:1
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( 1;
W- i
Hi : : '
1;
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it is rather a show performance by the few, the per-
formers being both men and women, whilst others sing
or play the drum, shake the rattles, blow the whistles,
and thump on the ground with batons to mark the time,
and the spectators sit round and look on, and signify
applause by grunts and cries of laughter. Niblack
classifies three classes of dance— (i) the stately, digni-
fied, and formal; (2) the wild, passionate, and furious;
(3) the ludicrous ; but, he adds that " the method of
dancing them is the same, the movements being slow, or
exaggerated, as the case may be. It consists mainly in
contortions of the body and hips, with the feet firmly
planted and the knees slightly bent. The body is
wriggled and swayed from side to side with redoubled
animation and fury as the dance advances, but the legs
remain bent at about the same angle, and the feet play
only a small part in the so-called dancing itself." Masks
of all descriptions are worn at these dances — some with
eyes that roll and jaws that move, others representing
animals with snapping beaks. Then there are ceremonial
coats and leggings, and finely worked girdles in beads or
in cedar-bark — blankets worked out in totemic designs,
and woven in a curious way with the warp of cedar-bark
hammered out, and the woof of fine mountain goat's
wool (which is found under the animal's outer covering
of hair), and batons, wands, head-dresses, ceremonial
spears, bows and arrows and I know not what besides.
Manners and Traditions of Indians. 237
irk
It's
f"g
lial
|es.
These articles of api)arel are reserved now for these
festive occasions, as for ordinary Hfe the Indians have
adopted the European costume. There is one cere-
monial head-dress used by a chief (repre-
sented in the illustration) which I should
like you specially to notice. It is carved
from hard wood, painted and inlaid with
abalone shell, and hanging behind are
three lengths of ermine skins ; round the
top we see remains of a fringe of seal
whiskers which surmounted the head-
dress, and inside which was placed a
(juantity of birds' down, which, through the
motion of the dancer, would fall like snow
around him at his will. This birds' down
would also be Vjlown from tubes and
scattered otherwise by the dancers, and
sometimes it would also be powdered over
the paint used on the face and body, thus
giving the performer a most startling appear-
ance.
The list of these paraphernalia gives you
some idea of the advanced stage to which
these Indian races had brought their industrial arts
and crafts before the advent of the white man. Their
carving, as shown on the totemic columns, funeral and
other chests, and on the spoons, bowls, and other
spoon canahitn{
trom the other. The (lovernments,
both of liritish Columbia and Alaska, are doing
their best to restrain the drinking and inmifjrality
and gambling which have played such havoc amongst
the tribes, and the missionaries are carrying on a
vigorous work amongst them, 'i'hest.; coast tribes arc
much more SLiscei)tible to the iniluences of (Christianity
than the tribes of the interior, and the Romnn Catholics
established successful missions at an early date, which
(.)
242
i'liruuuh (Canada with a Kuilak.
I
1'
♦•»
' »
M
arc slill ll<)Uii>luiiLi. Tlir ICiiiscopal and (A\\cr ("luirclus
an also al work, and liisliop Sillilof, of Ww Wcst-
niinstcr. lold ii.-. llial a \tT\ marked adxancc may now
l)t' si't 11 in tin- lialdls and custunis of tlu- |)c'o|)k'. On
onr occasion hitcK' he \va. received after a confirmation
ceremony to luncheon 1>\ an Indian lady dressed in
lawncU'r silk, and a tahle spread out with preserved
fruits and all sorts of delicacies. Advance is also hein^
made in the echualion and training of the childri'ii, and
al N'ale JAtton. a loveh' spot in the mountains, we had
the o|)portunit\ of serine a number of bright, attracti\e-
looking little Indian maidens heing trained as ser\ants.
lint 1 ha\e so little authentic information as to the work
of education and missions amongst these Indians that I
can onlv touch on the sul)je(^t, and hope that I may have
sufticieiul}- interestetl \-ou in these fellow-subjects of ours,
whom we lia\e dispossessed, to make nou wish to hear
more of this side of the subiect on S(jme future occasion.
•lus
V'st-
now
On
tioi)
[ ill
•VL'd
jinl''^' Sir j,,|,n Ak'xand
■\V\lvl),'' thr ,],,,, h ,,f
he
t-T Macdonald
ii piiiiiiisc made lliat
Was
hrieMv
snouid r,c given in a siux-
enough to al'lord
some jiartiiHiliirs of h
1-^ career
eednig numher. 'Ihe Kditor I
nc on
liii.
anada in 1S21, with I
"Hth of January, 1815
. and w em
Pt-"0|)le. The i)artyof
shores of the i)eautirul i.
"s parents, u ho were Sulherlandsl
emigrants settled (
;ike On tar
own near Kingston,
lire
on the
sketch remained identified with the "1
'" tlic day of his de.ilh,
'"• ii'i'l the suhject of ihis 1
.1111
csloiieCitv "^
sit is cal
intervals, he \va
i"i', with th
c e\(:e|)tion of one or
s Us representative, llrsl
lllle
ed
;\s I )
Canada, and then in that of the I)
Ills kilher and nioth
oiuinion.
cr Were of ijood f.
in llie Parliament of Old
ever since 1X44. ].],,( },
nnihes, iiut at ll
ic liiiie of their
ir
244
Appe) dix.
1:1
'I*
'it
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111
I
settling in Canada wore not, to use the ordinary phrase, "well off"
from a money point of view. They were, howuver, good, sensible,
people, and it is to their care, an(i watchfulness, and to their
example and training, that Sir John owcl '-"lost of the remarkahle
success that he achie\e
"V I
I may say that llu- union of Upper and Lower Canada, in 1S40,
was not found to work easily and smoothly, and there seemed to be
no way out of the difficulties that were created until 1864, when the
Maritime Provinces were iliscussinu; a closer union amoni; them-
selves at the suggestion of l)r Tupper, now Sir Charles Tupper,
the High Commissioner for Canada, in London, whose career is
another instance of what ability, energy, and assiduity can accom-
])lisli. Well, the long and the short of it was that Canada proposed
a nuich wider union, one which xNould include all the Colonies ;
after much negotiation this was brought about, and the new
Dominion, with Sir John as the Premier of the fwst (lovernmenl,
entered upon that era of rapid devloj)menl, and i)r()gress, which has
been w ilnessed in the last twenty-four }ears, and has attracted
attention all over the world. Sir John, as we must now call him
(for he received the honour of knighthood in 1867, in recognition
of his work), may not have been the originator of the idea ol
federation, and all the wonderful things that have happened since
then may not, as the children say, have come " out of his own head."
acceiited that mucli of Canada's success is due to
orally
liis ability, tact, patience, knowledge of iletail, and the remarkable
faculty lie jiossessed of conciliating conflicting interests, and smooth-
ing away difficulties. To appreciate the result of the life and
labours of Sir John Macdonald, it is necessary to know something
of Old Canada fifty years ago, as well as of the great Dominion of
to-df
Then British North America consisted of the Maritime
Provinces and Canada, the country west of the Lake Ifuron to the
Pacific Coast, being under the control of the lludson Hay Company
(th
e provmces o
f M
mitoba, the \orlh West Territories and British
Columbia not being then organised), the great hunting grounds of
ndiaiis and trajipers. an(
1 the home of the buffalo, now extinct, anc
many other fur-bearing animals. There were only sixteen miles of
railway in operation, and all the ])rovinces were as separate and dis-
i •
A|)|)cndix.
'47
•inn r,„,n cad, ,„!,.,■ .s u,.. 0,„a,h, a,„i Aus.n.lia T,7ll~u„.u
V , • , ' '"" """ '"-"'■ l"«^ I'"' '■" tlH- .linn „r si
;:";■'';: "'•^''''■"-'■"-^"-'•".•""-li.iau.,,..,,,.,,,™;,.
ll.. l..i,M,Mg „l ,l,e Ca.,;,.li;,„ |.a,i,;,. ,,■.,;,,.. , , >
\\i)rl
acilir Railway, an.I ..Hkt pul.l
ic
I have nearly come to ih
annot write all I should like t
which Sir John Macdonal,!
^ ^'lul <.(• the space allotle.l to nu
with
^ides th
I )se (
:iy ahout tile many wi
s name is especially id
and I
(•cnstnictioii of (ji
lealniirwith the formation of (he I
'•"uiitry what it is to-d;
^' t,n-eat railway, which ha
ve h
U'.
Hut I
^L' measures
•-■ntilied, lie-
"iininon. and thi
eljied to make tl
le
position h
nia\- ad
<-■ occupied as a slat
hat, apart from the hitrh
part ()|
th
<-■ l-'inpire, he was
csman, which was r
•-■(■oi^nised in e
\,
"1 his social lift
very
' one was more
<-' a most ch;
P<>[)ular in the I)
irmm-r i„;u,.
•"I'l no one had m
oininion am
on<
ore
rientl
T
pleasant and
I'c in his
)r<'fital)le, for
IK-- v\as full
"I'l and youn^L;,
society was holh
'ictes, ha
*>( reminisce
(I read
with a wonderlul
Iroin
!!(
M
everything that is u,,rth r
'"^''iinry. He was the n
"i Ls and aiiec
•-■adiinj-, an
gihed
cipient of II
tT .Majesty, and his I,
ian\- honour;
United K
as been lai
"ii,^
"■^ memory in St Paul's Cathed
ral
such an
'XCe
ti> receive much su[
'-■111 and appropr
ip'ori.
ifis 1
he followed I
lie afford.-
)y a I
young men, boil
late one that
;in e\am|)le that
I and the
it is sure
iiiav well
lor It slu)ws, in the t
at lioine
il'sl ])\ilO
;^'"i in the colonic
w
hat a man can d,, f,
>r th
e ifood
1:1
'■(
1)
248
Appendix.
his a)untry, if he throws his heart and soul into his work ; and,
secondly, the opportunities for advancement that exist in the
Colonies for those who adopt the riglit methods to earn success.
He said of himself, nearly twenty years ago, in the course of a great
speech, "There does not exist in Canada a man who has given
more of his time, more of his heart, more of his wealtli, or more of
his intellect and power, such as they may he, for the good of this
Dominion of Canada,"' and those who knew him think that no more
appropriate epitaph could be written on the toml) of the lamented
statesman tlian those very words.
On the occasion of unveiling the memorial to the late
Right Hon. Sir John Alacdonald, in St i*aurs Cathedral,
on 16th November 1S*.)2, the Karl of Roseberv said : -
Mi
1
I
'v
My Lords, Ladies, and (lenllemen, !t gives me great pleasure
to come here to-day to unveil this bust. We arc gradually collect-
ing within this cathedral the Lares and the I'enates — the household
gods — of o\ir commonwealth. Up above there sleep Wellington
and Nelson, those lords of war v\iK) preserved the l-'mpire ; below
here we have th* "ffigies of Dalley and Macdonald, who did so
much to jireserv We have not, indeed, their bodies. They
rest more fitly m: le regions where they lived and laboured ; but
here to-day we ..secrale their memory and their examjile. We
know nothing of parly [lolitics in Canada on this occasion. We
oidy recognise this--that Sir John Macdonald had grasped the
central idea that tlie iiritish I'lmpire is the greatest secular agency
for good n(>w l^no\\n to mankind : that that was the secret of his
success, and that he determined to die under it, an))ed the c"r])se of I'ennyson : to-ilay we
drive one more nail in on behalf of Sir John Macdoii.ild. liut this
standard, so richly studded, imposes on us — the survivors — a solemn
obligation. It wouM be nothing were it the mere symbol of violence
anil rapine, or even of contpiest. It i> what it is because it repre-
sents everywhere |)eace and civilisation and commerce, the negation
of narrowness and the gos])el of humanity. Let us then to-day, l)y
the shrine ol this signal statesman, once more remember our re-
.sponsibility and renew the resolution that, come what may, ue will
not flinch or fail under it.
)llect-
;ehold
lingt
on
below
(11(1 so
They
d ; but
We
We
led
thi
|agency
)f his
that
//,
iiiuivayd Ju'tin
111
tin
f
■', : I
\
f
'.it-
-i
n
i
i
;|*;;
,*v
Mi
ill
•^i^
W. H. Whiik ^*v; Co., I'rinUrs, Edinburgh
Is
?■;