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5
3
[RE-PRINTED FROM THE NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW.]
The Greater
Half of the Continent.
" In re.sT onse to an urgent letter from C. C. Bonney, Esq., of Chicago, ex-President
of the Bar Absociation of Illinois, the editor of the North American Review has waived
his exclusive rights, under the copyright law, to publish Eragtus Wiman's article,
"The Greater Half of the Continent," which appeared in the January number of that
periodical. Mr. Bonney's request was'preferred because, as he expressed it, he "felt
that an article containing so much information, in such a compact shape, on a subject just
now so interesting to the people of the United States, should be published in pamphlet
form, and thus secure a wider distribution than its appearance in a magazine afforded."
As if in furtherance of this desire, a gentleman in Ohio (who does not wish his name men-
tioned), has provided a sum to print a number of copies sufficient to reach every newspaper
editor, writer, and author, together with a special list, outside of these, of "men who think,"
recently compiled from all parts of the country. This will require an edition of ten
thousand copies, which is now being printed and distributed." — Toronto Mail.
NEW YORK:
Printed for Erastus Wiman,
314 broadway.
• • •
• •
♦ 'i>-yj<t
• • •
• • •
I 'I
•J
• • »
• •
• • •
• • *
• •
• ••
THS GREATER
HALF OF THE CONTINENT.
It is not a lifctle singular that, in this counti 7, and in
this period of the easy acquirement of general informa-
tion, so little is known of the greater half of the continent
of North America, included within the British posses*
sions. It shows, for instance, how little is known even
of the broadest generalities, when the statement is re*
ceived with surprise, if not incredulity, that, excluding
Alaska, Canada is a larger country than the United
States. Yet such is the case; for the United States,
prior to the purchase of Alaska, was included within
3,036,000 square miles, while Canada stretches out to fill
3,470,392 square miles. It would perhaps help to convey
some conception of the magnitude of Canada when the
atatement is made that, in area, it comprises very nearly
forty per cent, of the entire British Empire, the extent
of which is recalled bv the boast that the sun never sets
on British possessions. A still further rather startling
statement in relation to Canada is, that, including the
great lakes which encircle it and which penetrate it, and
the rivers of enormous size and length which permeate it,
in it is found more than one-half of the fresh water of the
entire globe. Such broad generalities as these may well
excite the attention of the people of the United States,
THE GREATER HALF OF THE CONIINEKT.
who, in view of the magnificent proportions of their o^wn
rountry, have been unconsciously led to believe that it
comprises all that is worth having on the continent.
The impression of magnitude, so far as Canada is con-
erned, is, however, always accompanied by a conviction,
born of ignorance, that the Dominion is a region of frost
rxnd snow ; that it is a sterile and inhospitable waste —
simply a section of the North Pole. This conclusion con-
firms the conviction that Canada is of little or no use to-
the United States, so rich in resource, so varied in climate,,
and so self-contained and independent of the outside
world. The vast number who thus look upon the
northern half of the continent fail to remember that, by
the purchase of Alaska, and its subsequent development,
testimony was afforded as to the exceeding value of
regions very many degrees farther north than the average
of Canada, and that to-day, so full of promise is the
prospect for this latest acquirement of the United States,,
that no money payment, however large, would have the
faintest hope of acceptance for its cession to another
power. It is doubtful if, in any part of the United
States, a greater return has been realized in proportion to
the capital invested or the effort put forth, than that
which has rewarded the enterprises in the most northern
section of the United States. ' -^ i;-^ -voa r -t'
So far as the climate of Canada is concerned, it should
riever be forgotten that, within the parallels of latitude
which include the greater portions of the Dominion, the
development in the United States has been the most
marked Indeed, no development in the history of the
world is more rapid than the growth oi uiie commerce oi
i
¥
m
•■:*#
THE GREATER HALF OF THE CONTINENT.
5
the Great Lakes, which to-day act as a barrier, dividing
the two countries, but which, under happier conditions,
should be the bond that united them. Reference to the
extent of this lake commerce brings out another startling
comparison, which, creating surprise, shows after all how
little the average man knows even of his own country,
much less of the regions alongside of his own land. This
statement is^ that the tonnage and value of products
which passed through the Sault Ste. Marie Canal, com-
pressed within seven months of the season of navigation of
1888, equalled that which passed through the Suez Canal
in the entire year. Here, in the northern part of North
America, between two inland lakes, with only one shore
of these developed, a commerce has been created which
equals that between two oceans, whose traffic is almost as
old as the universe, and contributions to which are made
from every clime and country of the globe. Recall, also,
the fact that the water communication of the lakes is
competed with by the most perfectly equipped railway
systems of the age, while the commerce of Suez is practi-
cally without a competitor. This development of the
States and cities bordering upon the great lakes, and the
growth and productive forces which have been set in
motion, not only on the shores of these inland seas, but
on the wide stretches of country tributary to them, is a
testimony to the advantages of a northern climate that
it is impossible to ignore. So magnificent is this growth,
so significant is the lesson that it teaches, that, so far as
Canada and its climate is concerned, a true appreciation
of her vast value is, from the advantage of her location,
at length b. ginning to dawn upon the minds of observant
J
i
6
THE aREATER HALF OF THE CONTINENT.
men. The place that she should occupy, as the greater
and northern half of the continent, can be no longer
denied to her. A proper estimate will show Canada to
be a country having few equals in extent, none in riches
of resource, in accessibility, ease of interior communica-
tion, and, notwithstaixjing the smile that lightens up the
face of the reader, none superior to her in the advantages
of climate.
Perhaps the best test of climatic advantage is found in
the ability to produce, in the largest quantities, and of
the best quality, the most valuable and the most univer-
sally used article of commerce. Certainly, in this respect,
there is nothing surpassing the article of wheat, which
may be said to be the basis of civilized existence. The
steady movement toward the north of the wheat-producing
regions of this continent is remarkable. Wheat is a
plant so delicate, and so easily affected by frost and ad-
verse conditions, that it might be supposed to be cultured
safely only in the most temperate zones. Yet the move-
ment of the wheat- producing areas toward 3 the North
Pole has been as steady as the movement of the needle
in the compass in that direction. Within the memory of
many readers of this publication, the Gennessee Valley,
in the State of New York, was the great wheat-producing
region. So much so was this the case that Rochester was
named the " Flour City," from the number of its flouring
mills, and the activity of its commerce in that direction.
Since then it has changed the manner of spelling the
word which designates it, and though it is still called the
** Flower City," it is because of the development of the
nursery and seed interests, which so adorn and benefit it,
eater
mger
da to
•iches
inica-
p the
itages
indin
md of
niver-
espect,
which
The
ducing
it is a
md ad-
ultured
i move-
5 North
needle
mory of
Valley,
oducing
ster was
flouring
irection.
Uing the
jailed the
Lt of the
jenefit it,
THE GREATER HALF OF THE CONTINENT. 7
and the rest of the country. No longer is Rochester the
centre of the wheat-producing areas. Westward these
took their way, first to the valleys of the Ohio, then to
the prairies of Illinois and lowa, until now, in the most
northern tier of States and territories, is found the great
sources of national wealth in the production of this great
cereal. The milling activities of Minnesota, the marvel-
ous railroad development in the Northwest, both toward
the west and north, and more recently toward the east,
for the special accommodation of this flour and wheat
trade, tell the «tory, that so far as climatic advantage is
concerned, wheat has found its greatest success in States
to the extreme north. Is it to be supposed that there is
something magical in the 49th parallel that bounds
Minnesota towards the north '{ Its steady trend in this
direction for so many hundreds of miles makes it highly
probable that, beyond it, wheat should be produced,
largely p,nd profitably. Indeed, this is certainly so ; for
it so happens that, north of the Minnesota line, and
within the Canadian territories, are wheat areas possess-
ing all the advantages of the regions to the south, but,ia
richness, fertility and extent infinitely greater. It would
be a startling statement to make, as showing the advan-
tages of the much derided Canadian climate, that even in
its extreme northern latitudes, the Dominion possesses a
greater wheat-producing area than does the entire United
States ; that the soil of this wheat area is richer, will last
longer, and will produce a higher average of better wheat
than can be produced anywhere else on the continent if
not in the world. Wheat is known to have been grown
in the vicinity of numerous Hudson's Bay Company's
THE GREATER HALF OF THE CONTINENT.
I
stations for twenty consecutive years, without rotation,
without fertilization, and annually producing crops aver-
aging thirty bushels to the acre !
If, therefore, the production of this most valuable of
cereais is the truest test of climatic advantage ; if the
tenderness of the wheat plant in its cultivation is a deli-
cate standard of conditions, as it really is, it is submitted
that the prejudice as against the Canadian climate should,
in the first place, prevail no longer than it prevails against
the climate in similar latitudes in the United States,
where the greatest success has been achieved ; and,
second, that the advantages which the northernmost
portions of Canada possess over even parallels far to the
South, should be recognized. These advantages are
found in the often forgotten circumstance that climate is
much more the result of altitude than it is of latitude.
According to Humboldt, Europe has a mean elevation of
six hundred and seventy-one feet, and North America a
mean elevation of seven hundred and forty-eight feet. It
is a significant circumstance that the Canadian portion
of North America has an altitude of only three-hundred
feet. In the extreme northwest of Canada, the falling ofi^
from the height of land toward the vast body of water
known as Hudson's Bay is shown in the fact, that from
even within the Minnesota line the rivers all begin to run
towards the north. This low altitude, in its influence
upon the climate, is second only to the etf'ect of the
marine currents, which are singularly favorable to Canada.
These influences are shown in the startling fact that the
mean temperature of Hudson's Bay is three degrees
warmer during the winter than that of Lake Superior ;
1
THE GREATER HALF OF THE CONTINENT.
ft
and that it is on the southern and western shores of Lake
Superior where the most important development of
American enterprises has taken place, — developments
w that have yielded in lumlier, in iron and copper, riches of
greater magnitude than produced elsewhere in the
country ; and within parallels of latitude included in this
lake, an agricultural development more remarkable than
that elsewhere in the world. The moderating influences
of vast bodies of fresh water that never fre3ze over are
well known. In the great chain of lakes that surround
Canada, and the ^ ast number of lakes and rivers that
diversify her surfiice, there is a fresh water area of one
hundred and thirty thousand square miles, and as above
stated, comprising nearly one-half of the fresh water of
the globe. The effect upon the climate of this vast aggre-
gation is most beneficial, so that in altitude, and in other
influences that mitigate the extreme northern location of
the land, there are found considerations of the greatest
weight. These influences are shown in the warmer
climate of the great territory of Alberta, which lies
directly north of Wyoming, from the latter of which and
into the formsr, stock is being regularly driven at the
beginning of each winter, because of the pi ence within
the Canadian border, the year round, of an a mdance of
grass. The experience of last winter showed conclusively
that while throughout Manitoba and the Canadian north-
west territories the winter of 1888 was not excessively
severe, so far south as Iowa and Nebraska the severest
cold was felt, and as far east as even New York in the
famous blizzard, which never found its equal even in
Winnipeg, the most northern of Canadian cities. It is
■i
I
10
I'flfi GREATER flAtF OP THE CONTINENT.
true that in the northwestern portions of Canada the
winters are long ; that the frost is severe and continuous ;
but it is equally true that the climate is dry and
invigorating. • ^
But aside from this continued severity of the climate
in the winter, there are compensations and advantages in
the summer months in the extreme northern region
of Canada which must not be ignored. For instance,
what would be thought of a device that should provide,
underneath the whole surfa^.^ of a vast and fertile wheat-
producing area, of a well-spring of moisture, that should
continuously exude, and feel the delicate tendrils of roots
that the wheat plant sends down into the earth for sus-
tenance ? Yet this is precisely what nature has provided
in the thousands of square miles of wheat areas of the
Canadian no)'thwest. Ages of long winters, continuous
and often severe cold, have produced a frost line in the
earth far down below the surface, which being thawed
out during the summer months is full of force. What
seems, at first glance, a barrier to the productive powers
of nature, is, in this case, found to be contributory in the
highest degree to man's advantage. I'or ^his vast area of
ice, far enough below the surface to permit the giowth of
plants, holds in suspense and readiness for the iaiid abova,
the needed element of moisture, constant and assured,
which in other regions comes only in the rains and dews
that fall from the sky — & supply unceitain and uncon-
trollable. But there is still another advantage in these
northern wheat-fields of Canada, incident to the climate ;
and that is, that while these latitudes imply long wir ter
days, they equally imply the longest days iii summer.
■^.
TllU GRKATEU HALF OF THE CONTINENT.
11
'0,
m.
Thus, there is an average of two hours per day more of
sunshine during the period of the grow^th of wheat in the
Canadian northwest, than is vouchsafed in any other
locality where wheat can be produced. Not only is two
hours of sunshine in each day an inestimatable advantage,
but the sun is stronger and more forceful at this period,
and in this region, not only helping rapidly forward the
ripening process, but the heat is continuously sufficient to
cause an exudation of the moisture from the ice in the
ground beneath. So that, in this far north land, despised
in the minds of many for its cold and sterility, conditions
unite to make it the most productive, and the most valu-
able of all the wheat lands upon the continent. It >;vould
seem as if a conjunction had been formed by the heavens
above and the earth beneath to illustrate, in the highest
degree, the productive forces of nature, in regions where
man least expected this development. It so happens,
also, that the soil which enjoys these advantages of
moisture beneath, and iong, forceful rays from above, is
particularly rich and inexhaustibb. Lord Dufferin, an
observant and reliable authority, said that throughout
his whole journey of weeks through the Canadian north-
west, he was constantly reminded of the English kitchen
gardens in the vicinity of London. Cauliflowers grow
large enough to serve for three meals for an ordinary
family, while potatoes four and five pounds in weight are
nothing extraordinary. The average crop of wheau in
1887, in Manitoba, was thirty bushels to the acre, while
nowhere eke on the continent did ii exceed twenty
bushels to the acre, and in Minnesota and Dakota did not
average more than fifteen bushels. A mere handful of
:v>i.'
^
II
12
THE GREATER HALF OF THE CONTINENT.
settlers in Manitoba produced in that year, a surplus of
twelve millions of bushels of wheat, seven millions of
barley, and two millions of bushels of potatoes — the latter
crop being a failure so great in the States as to comnand
throughout the greater portions of the year a rate as high
as $1 per bushel, while at points of production within
Manitoba they could be had for one-eignth of that price.
It is true that early frosts in August of the present year
have partially injured the crop of 1888, and that there >s
this contingency always present in the northern regions ;
but early frosts are equally dangerous in Minnesota and
Dakota, while this year, as far east as Massachusetts, there
was serious damage done. There is no locality but has its
disadvantages with its advantages; but taking all the
circumstances in view, it may be very well claimed for
these northern wheat-producing regions that they are full
of the greatest promise, as being in the line of the steady
movement north of this most valuable product, and that
they cannot fail to have a most importarxb inliuence in
the world's future supply of the staff of life.
But it must not be inferred that the climate of
Canada is represented by the regions to the extreme
north which have just been referred to. The Dominion,
from its vast extent, as has been truly said, "possesses all
the climates of Europe, from the Mediterranean to the
Arctic Ocean, as might be expected, seeing that it extends
from the latitude of Rome, in Italy, to that of the North
Cape, in Norway, and is of almost equal art)a." The gulf
stream, i the Atlantic coast, and the Japanese current in
the Paci c, are both singularly favorable to Canada. In
the Province of British Columbia the thermometer in the
4
mkmmm
THE GREATER HALF OP THE CONTINENT.
13
summer months ranges from eighty degrees to ninety
degrees, while in winter, the cold rarely goes below
twenty-two degrees. On the Atlantic the climate of
Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick is in no respect less
desirable in winter than that of Massachusetts and Maine.
St. John, the chief city of New Brunswick, is in the lati-
tude of Milan, Lyons, and Venice, and tne whole province
is within parallels which include Belgium, Holland and
the German Empire, where populations are most dense.
Indeed, for more than half of the summer the maritime
provinces are most delightful resorts, as shown in the
steady stream of summer tourists that are settling in even
north of Mount Desert in Maine. In Ontario the climatic
conditions created by the practical encirclement of the
great lakes are especially favorable, and such stretches as
are included in the Niagara Peninsula, and those bordering
upon Lake Erie, force themselves upon the attention of
th'd student of North America as among the most
favored spots on the whole continent. So far as climate,
then, is concerned, there is no one thing in all the cata-
logue of advantages which Canada possesses that is of
greater value ; for, in its variety, it favors the produc-
tion of numerous cereals and crops, and, in its forcefulness
and vigor it stimulates the best efforts of its population.
Malte Brun said of these regions: "Everything is in
proper keeping for the developement of the combined
physical and mental energies of man. There are to be
found at once the hardihood of character which conquers
difficulties, the climate which stimulates exertion, and the
natural advantages which reward enterprise. Nature
has m«.rked out this country for eicalted destinies T
14
THE GREATER HALF OF THE CONTINENT.
9"
fy.
1
The immeasureable content with which the average
citizen of the United States contemplates tht fact that, as
between the Atlantic and Pacific, there are no stretches of
territory that do not contribute to his greatness, can
equally be shared by the Canadian. But the American
has limitations on the north by a line drawn at the St.
Lawrence and the Lakes, and along the forty-ninth
parallel, against which his commerce beats as against an
impenetrable wall, and like a wave rolls back upon itself
A night's journey from Boston or New York, and the
limit of his buasted areas towards the north are reached
two nights and a day, ever, from Chicago, in the centre of
his territory, and the ground to the north covered by the
trade of that great city is exhausted. Not so with the
Canadian. Not only does his territory stietch two hun-
dred miles further out into the Atlantic, on the Nova
Scotia coast, than the average of the United States — not
only does it then stretch across a vast continent of un-
told wealth to the Pacific, on the coast of British
Columbia, but extends as far north asthe Arctic Ocean.
Take in the stupendous figures included in these measure-
ments. Adopting the eighty -fifth degree of longitude as
a centre, Canada stretches west to the one-hundred and
thirtieth degree, and east to the forty- second degree —
forty-five degrees on one side and forty- three degrees on
the other. North and south the Dominion stretches from
the fifty-first degree of latitude, south to the forty-second
degree, and north to the frozen sea. George Johnson, the
accomplished head of the . statistical department of the
Dominion government at Ottawa, whose disposition and
ability to furnish the fullest information regarding
THE GREATER HALF OF THE CONTINENT.
15
average
b that, as
etches of
less, can
Lmerican
t the St.
tj^-ninth
gainst an
Dn itself
•
and the
reached
centre of
i by the
^ith the
w^o hun-
le Nova
ies — not
t of un-
British
; Ocean,
leasure-
Itude as
'ed and
egree —
frees on
es from
-second
son, the
of the
ion and
yarding
Canada are unequalled, makes some comparisons regard-
ing the size of the Dominion that are very instructive.
He says : - ::r.>:.:..^.':.-.r.-:-''^':y^,, \.. ..'K>r--.r- ^ .y-,.-" • ::».>'i -.'-^-'.^^-.m ^¥■^:?im "
*' It is difficult to afford an adequate coiiCeption of the vastnesg
of this country, Engiaud Wales and Scotland form together an area
of 88,000 square miles ; you could cut forty such areas out of
Canada. New South Wales contains 309,175 square miles, and is
larger by 162 square miles than France, continental Italy and Sicily.
Canada would make eleven countries the size ot New South Wales.
There are (in extent),three British Indias in Canada.and still enough
left over to make a Queensland and a Victoria. The German
Empire could be carved out of Canada and fifteen more countries of
the same lize. :
In the light of such comparisons, the statement made
in a previous page, that Canada comprises forty per cent,
of the area of the entire British Empire, is net so incre-
dible as at first sight appears. Judged by standards of
American areas, the com])arison was quite as interesting.
Thus, the province of Ontario, the fairest land of all the
North American continent, is larger than the six New
England States, with New York, New Jeresy, Pennsyl-
vania and Maryland, by twenty-five thousand square
miles. Ontario, extending over ten degrees of latitude,
and twenty degrees of longitude, the single province,
covers an area larger by ten thousand square miles than
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan combined; larger
than Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin by eleven thousand
square miles. The basin of the Hudson's Bay comprises
two million square miles, in which are the fertile plains of
the Saskatchewan Valley, measuring five hundred thous-
and square miles, and which, according to Lord Selkirk,
are capable alone of supporting thirty millions of people*
S' i
"•T\
16
THE GREATER HALF OF THE CONTINENT.
That he was right in this contention is proved by the inal-
cations of the enormous productive forces of this region
since developed ; and that a European area, similarly
situated east of the tenth degree of longitude, compre-
hends very nearly the whole of England and Ireland, the
northeast corner of France, the whole of Belgium and
Holland, and the greater part of the valley of the Rhine.
The vast expanse of Canada may be judged by the
extent of her rivers and bays. The St. John, in New
Brunswick, the largest river on the Atlantic coast south
of the St. Lawrence, is five hundred miles in length, and
is navigable for two hundred and thirty miles. The St.
Lawrence, one of the noblest of the great rivers in the
world, has a length of seven hundred and fifty miles, en-
tirely navigable. The Ottawa, which is a mere affluent
of the St. Lawrence, joining it six hundred miles from its
mouth, is in itself five hundred and fifty miles long. The
chain of great lakes is familiar to all who look at the
map, but not so, to the north, in an almost unknown
land, are the lakes Shebandowam, and Rainy lake and
river, a magnificent body of water, three hundred miles
broad and two hundred miles long. The Lake of the
Woods, too, is almost unknown outside of Canada, yet is
a vast stretch of water of almost marvellous beauty, espe-
cially its westernmost portion, of 80 miles, consisting of
land-locked channels — a lacustrine paradise. Then comes
the Winnipeg River, of which Lord Dufferin said :
" Whose existence in the heart and centre of the conti-
nent is itself one of nature's most delightful miracles, so
beautiful and varied are its rocky banks, its tufted
islands ; so broad, so deep, so fervid is the volume of its
" i iwibe
■■^jr^'
■ - wwLii f - M wr y u '
THE GRKATER HALF OF THE CONTINENT.
17
the inai-
is region
jimilarly
compre-
and, the
nm and
e Rhine.
by the
in New-
it south
^th, and
The St.
in the
les, en-
affluent
rom its
?. The
at the
known
fe and
I miles
of the
, yet is
', espe-
ing of
comes
said :
conti-
iles, so
bufted
of its
waters, the extent of their lake-like expansion, and the
tremendous power of its rapids." Here empties the great
Red River of the North, starting from the northern por-
tions of Minnesota, and the equally great Assiniboine, one
five hundred miles and the other four hundred and eighty
miles in length. Far beyond these is the Lake Winnipeg,
a fresh water sea 800 miles long, from the northwest
ancrle of which starts the Saskatchewan. The entrance
to this noble river has been called "the Gateway of
the Northwest," for here is a navigable stream, 1,500
miles in length, flowing nearly due west and east,
between alluvial banks of the richest soil. Reaching the
Rocky Mountains by this stream, beyond this range are
tho Athabasca and the Mackenzie rivers, the navigation
of the latter alone exceeding 2,500 miles, while the Frazer
River and the Thompson River to Vancouver are streams
of great magnitude. This enumeration of principal
streams will give some faint idea of the vast areas of
land through which they flow. But no better idea of
magnitude can be formed of the extent of Canada than
by the contemplation of the Hudson's Bay. This bay
would seem like a projection of Providence for the good
of mankind, by which is introduced into the heart of the
continent an ocean in itself, mid-way between the great
Atlantic and Pacific ocean?. Fancy a bay so long as to
extend from New York to Chicago, so wide as to extend
from Washington to the lakes projected like a huge
tongue of sea into the land. What would remain of the
fairest part of the United States ? Yet this is the pro-
portion of the Hudson's Bay, say 1,000 miles long and GOO
miles wide, running from ':he north into the heart of
■t4
m
18
THS GREATER HALF OF THE CONTINENT.
Canada, carrying with it enormous riches in sea wealth
for the supply of fish food so greatly benefiting, if per-
mitted, the prairie States to the south.
Having almost exhausted the space allotted, by a de-
scription of the climate and of extent of Canada, the
reader must be carried rapidly forward to a consideration
of the marvellous resources which this northern half of
the continent contains. Incidentally, in describing the
climate of the northwestern portions of Canada, allusion
has been made to the agricultural possibilities of that
region. There are comparatively few portions of Canada,
however, but possess great possibilities in this direction.
The Province of Ontario, which will be recalled as cover-
ing so vast an area, is peculiarly rich in this respect.
The excellent statistician of the Ontario Government,
Mr. Archibald Blue, at Toronto, says of his native
province: ^ ^ ^^ a ^
" But Ontario has something more to boast of than broad ex-
panse. It has a fertile soil, an invigorating climate, vast forests of
merchantable timber, treasures of mineral wealth, and water power
of limitless capacity. It has extensive areas which grow a better
sample and a larger yield of the staple cereals than any other
portion of the continent ; and it has more extensive areas not yet
brought under cultivation which may be converted into grazing
fields of unsurpassed richness, suitable for the production of the
best qualities of butter and cheese."
In a report on the trade between the United States
and the British Possessions in North America, made by
J. R. Larned, of the United States Treasury Department,
in 1871, it was observed that
i<
Ontario possesses a fertility with which no part of New Eng-
land can a'j all compare, and that particular secliou of it around
THE GREATER HALF OF THE CONTrNENT.
19
weaUh
if per-
Y a de-
Lcla, the
oration
half of
ng the
illusion
)f that
anada,
'ection.
cover-
espect.
nment,
native
•oad ex-
•rests of
r power
I better
Y other
not yet
grazing
of the
States
de by
iment,
r Eng-
iround
which the circle of the Great Lakes is swept forces itself upon the
notice of the student of the American map as one of the most
favored spots of ihe whole Contineni, where population ought to
breed with almost Belgian fecundity. *
• iikfc
Another American, whose \vorthy eminence none will
dispute, has also described Ontario, The Hon. David A.
Wells, in the stately pages of the North American
Review of many years ago, wrote as follows :
" North of Lakes Erie and Ontario and the River St. Lawrence,
east of Lake Huron, b.uth of the forty-fifth parallel, and included
mainly within the Dominion Province of Ontario, there is as fair a
country as exists on the North American continent, nearly as large
in area as New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio combined, and equal
if not superior to those States as a whole in its agricultural capa-
city. It is the natural habitat on this continent of the combing-
wool sheep, withoat a full, cheap, and reliable supply of the wool
of which species the great worsted manufacturing industries of the
country cannot prosper, or, we should rather say, exist. It is the
land where grows the finest barley, which the brewing interests of
the United States must have if it ever expects to rival Great Britain
in its present annual export of over eleven million dollars worth of
malt products. It raises and grazes the finest of cattle, with quali-
ties especially desiraiJe to make good the deterioration of stock in
other sections ; and its climatic conditions, created by an almost
encirclement of the great lakes, especially fit it to grow men. Such
a country is one of the greatest gifts of Providence to the human
race, bettor than bonanzas of silver, or livers whose sands contain
gold." ^ "-'"-
It is unnecessary to go into detail as to the advantages
which the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island claim, because
space will not permit, except to say that no country in
the world possesses a more favorable variety of climate,
better soil, a more thrifty or a more industrious people
20
THE GXEATEK HALF OF THE CONTINENT.
than these provinces, many of them possessing great
geographical advantages. This is especially the case v/ith
Nova Scotia. This province projects out from the main-
land into the Atlantic Ocean like an immense wharf,
being almost surrounded by tidal waters, no portion of
the interior being at a greater distance than thirty miles
from the coast. All of her coasts are indented and pro-
vided with fine harbors, accessible at all seasons of the
year. Its geographical position causes a variation of the
climate of the country of great advantage, and as a .
source of siupply in fruit, oats, potatoes, and numerous
other agricultural product-, should be of the greatest
value to the densely populated manufacturing centres of
New England.
But, great as may be the agricultural possibilities of
the Dominion of Canada, and the wealth in her vast
wheat- producing areas that these may yield at the bid
ding of man, it is in the natural resources of the country
that a still greater promise is found. In the matter of
the fisheries alone, Canada stands unrivalled. Very few
realize the vast stretches ol coast line along which Canada
controls the greatest fisheries in the world. Bounded as
the Dominion is by ihree oceans, it has beside its numer-
ous inland seas over five thousand five hundred miles of
seacoast, washed by wateis abounding in the most valu*
able fishes of all kinds. The older provinces of the con-
federation have two thousand five hundred miles of se^^
coast and inland seas, while the si-acoast of British
Columbia alone is over three thousaml miles in extent !
It is impossible to take these figures in and all that they
imply without realizing at oucQ the euormous magnituclQ
THE GUKATEK HALF OF THE CONTINENT.
81
of this interest. But it is not alone in the matter of ex-
tent of seacoasb line that Canada has a surplus in tish
wealth ; but, in the extreme northern location which she
occupies she possesses an advantage which is of immense
value, and this is that the fish are not only better and
firmer in northern climates, but that the supply of fish
food, owing to the extreme northern location, is inex-
haustible. As has been truly said by Mr, Harvey, " the
Arctic currents which wash the coast of Labrador, New-
foundland, and Canada, chilling the atmosphere and
bearing on its bosom huge ice argosies, is the source of
the vast fish wealth which has been drawn on for ages,
and which promises to continue for ages to come."
Wanting this cold river of the ocean, the fish which now
crowd the northern seas would be entirely absent. Pro-
fessor Hind says : " The Arctic seas and the great rivers
which they send forth swarm with minute forms of life,
constituting in many places a living mass, a vast ocoan of
living slime. The all-pervading life which exists here
affords the true solution of the problem which has so
often presented itself to those investigating deep-sea
fisheries, the source of food which gives sustenance to the
countless millions of fish." The harvest of the sea has
not yet been gleaned to the same extent as the harvest of
the land ; but this fact may be taken for granted, that of
all the countries in the world, and of ajl the riches qf
these countries, nothing can be made more useful, in q.
higher form, towil^rd sustaining life, or to a greater extent,
than the vast wealth of the fisheries of Canada. They
are practicilly inexhaustible, because the cold current of
the north brings with it the food on whigh these fish
22
THE GREATER HALF OF THE CONTINENT.
thrive, and the supply is one that can never fail. The
seacoasts of the Atlantic and the St. Lawrence on the
east, the long stretches of the Hudson's Bay coast in the
centre, and the three thousand miles of coast line of
British Columbia on the west, are in themselves a great
possession, while the fresh water fish of the great lakes
of the northwest, especially in the supply of the prairie
States, should be relatively as great a confribution to the
sustentation of human life as are the supplies of cattle
upon the plains.
In timber, Canada possesses a wealth of very great im-
portance to the United States. When the wide stretches
of treelees prairies which this country contains are
recalled, and the rapidly disappearing forests within the
United States, it is with a sense of satisfaction that one
turns to the northern half of the continent, containing as
it does the finest forests and the greatest supply of this
most essential element of human protection and comfort.
Within the catalogue of the woods of Canada, there are
sixty-five species of forest trees, including nineteen of the
pine family, while the space covered by timber within the
Dominion is something enormous. Excepting the great
triangular prairie east of the Rocky Mountains, lying
between the United States boundary and a line drawn
from the Red River to the upper Peace River, the whole
of Canada, up to the northern limit of the growth of trees,
presents one vast forest area, except where it has been
cleared by the hand of man. It is needless to further
dilate upon the enormous value which this area is to the
country to the south. It is sufficient to say that the source
of supply for the next hundred years for the progress o^
The greater half of the continent.
23
the United States, lies largely within the Dominion ; and
that no estimate of wealth, on the one hand, or of advan-
tage and possible convenience on the other, is possible, so
far as the United States is concerned. Fully one-half of
the lumber consumed in many Western States is now
derived from the r'anadian forests, climbing as it does
Over a wall in the shape of a duty of twenty per cent.
The protection thus afforded practically operates as a
stimulant for the destruction of American forests. The
hard and white woods in Ontario, almost within sight of
the border, are of inestimable value in the manufacture of
furniture; and there are enormous supplies of the beauti-
ful bird's-eye maple, black birch, oak, basswood, black
ash, and other highly ornamental woods, which, in this
country, are of great value for the highest grade of furnl
ture Jand interior decoration,
«
average
Perhaps of all the surprises which the
American encounters in discussing the wealth of Canadr,
nothing will startle him to a greater degree than this
statement :— -ThAt no country in the world possesses so
much iron as Oatiada, in no land is it so easily mined, and
nowhere is it quite so accessible to manufacturing centres.
This is a statement which no doubt will challenge contra-
diction, and it is to be regretted that the space is too
small to describe at length the location and precise advan-
tage which the iron supply of this Greater Half of the
Continent would afford to the United States. Take the
instance at New Glasgow, in Nova Scotia, where, within
a radius of six miles, there are found deposits of iron ore
of the highest quality, equal to that of any other portion
of the world, side by side with limestone, chemically pure,
24
THE GREATER BALF OF THE CONTINENT.
I ;:i
_l]l.
1
''*.
'd
*
in the immediate presence of coke in abundant quantities,
from seams thircy feet thick, lying directly on a railway
and within six miles of the Atlantic Ocean ! Could there
by any possibility be a combination more fortuitous than
this : Throughout Novia Scotia there are deposits of ore
of tlie greatest -nossible value; but, in Quebec, and
especially in Ontario, the value of the iron deposits is
something enormous. Near the city of Ottawa there is a
hill of iron called the Haycock mine, which would yield
an output of one hundr d tons per day of ore for one hun-
dred and fifty years without being exl:austed. On the
line of the Ottawa, on the St. Lawrence, in the Eastern
townships, on the Kingston and Pembroke Railway, on
the Central Ontario Railway, through Lake Nipissing, in
Lake Winnipeg on Big Island, and on Vancouver's Island,
there are enormous deposits of ore, all possessing this
singular advantage, of almost a freedom from phosphorus.
It has been truly said that '* what the devil is to religion,
that phosphorus is to iron." The poculir advantage of the
Canadian ore in this res|)ecfc is sufiiciently demonstrated
by the fact that, in the face of a duty of seventy-five
cents per ton, this iron is being steadily introduced, for
the purpose of mixing with other ores, at Joilet, 111., at
Pittsburg, Pa., and at other points. A market such as the
United States would aflford, if it were free, and the intro-
duction of enterprise and capital, would create for these
deposits the same development and the same value that
have followed the activity in the Vermillion, Menominee
and Gogebic regions. These latter deposits are almost
within sight ol Canada, and are but the edge of the great
Laurentian range or belt of minerals, which, starting on
THE GREATER HALF OF THE CONTINENT.
25
the Labrador coast, covers the vast area of Canada,
paralleling the St. Lawrence and the great lakes, till they
find an ending in the Algoma district — ^a locality that has
been aptly described a great treasure house of ninerals^
waiting only the touch of American enterprise, and stimu-
lated by an American market, to yield results far exceed-
ing those of any mineral development on the continent.
Coincident with the presence of these great deposits of
iron ore, are discoveries of even greater importance in
copper and nickel, and in other metals hitherto nameless
but of surpassing value. The copper development at
Bruce mines, and especially and recently at Sudbury
Junction, on the north shore of Lake Superior, is likely
to be even more profitable than that of the famous
Calumet and Hecla mines on the south shore of the same
lake, whose payment of thirty millions of dividends on a
capitalization of two and a half millions of dollars, is a
realization beyond the dreams of avarice. Already Ohio
capitalists have invested over a million of dollars on the
line of the Canadian Pacific Railway in these deposits.
The development of nickel, of which there are only two
or three known deposits in the world, is of great signifi-
cance ; while in gold and in silver, especially the latter,
very excellent success has rewarded the efforts of the
prospectors. Perhaps the most marvellous yield of silver
that the world has ever seen was at Silver Islet, within
the Canadian border, on the Lake Superior shore, where,
lor a space of two or three years, an output was realized
that enriched the owners wich a rapidity equalled only
by dreams in the " Arabian Nights." In British Colum-
bia immense quantities of gold are known to exist, and
■ifi\
26
THE GREATER HALF OF THE CONTINENT.
the fact that over fifty million dollar^ worth has been
mined from only a dozen localities, haidly yet developed,
is full of the deepeti . significance, as indicating what yet
remains in that distant region to reward the adventurous
effort of the denizens of this continent.
But it is not alone in these prominent metals that
Canada is rich in natural resources. In phosphates, she
possesses enormous quantities of the purest character.
No country in the world needs fertilizers more than large
portions of the United States, and no country is better
able to supply them than Canada. Analysis shows that
Canadian phosphates contain phosphoric acid up to forty-
seven and forty-nine per cent., equivalent to eighty to
eighty-eight per cent, of phosphate of lime. No contri-
bution to the wealth of the continent is of greater value
than the development of the Canadian phosphates. In
asbestos, in mica, antimony, arsenic, pirites, oxides of
iron, marble, graphites, plumbago, gypsum, white quartz
for potter s use, siliceous sand-stones for glass, emery and
numerous other products, Canada possesses enormous
quantities awaiting the touch of man. dn the matter of
lead, it is found in almost every province, especially in
British Columbia, the lead ore there containing as much
as fifteen and a half ounces of silver to the ton. The de-
posits of salt are the largest and the purest on the conti-
nent. Again, another surprise awaits the observer in
that in the article of coal. Canada possesses the only
sources of supply in the Atlantic and on the Pacific, and
that between these two there are stretches of coal deposits
amounting to ninety-seven thousand square miles ! The
magnitude of the interests involved in this question of
THE GREATER HALF OF THE CONTINENT.
27
the supply of coal, its contiguity and economy of
handling, are of vast importance to the United States. It
is significant testimony to the important position which
Canada holds on the question of coal supply, when it is
recalled that away down on the Atlantic, the manufac-
turing coal of Nova Scotia should without doubt supply
the manufacturing centres of New England, at a minimum
of cost; while midway across the continent, in wide
stretches of territory of the lowest temperature, supplies
should be drawn from the sources which Providence has
placed within the Canadian border, and, still further,
that, on the distant shores of the Pacific, San Francisco
and contiguous cities should at this time be drawing their
supply of artificial heat from the mines of British Colum-
bia, and paying a tax to the overburdened treasury of the
United States of seventy -five cents a ton !
And now, having most inadequately set forth some of
the plainly marked features of the greater half of the
North American Continent, it remains to be asked —
What destiny awaits it all ? It is true that the state-
ments made herein are nearly all in the nature of sur-
prises, but they take on this form mostly because of the
hitherto good-natured indiffer'^nce of the people of the
United States in all that relates to Canada. But a
change in this respect imjiends. The Canadian question
forces itself upon the public mind of the United States
for adjustment. Aside fro:n serious complications, in-
volving the relations with a European power, whose navy
is the only menace this country need fear, the circum-
stances of the hour make it imperative that at last a
policy must be decided upon, continental in its character.
4
I
V
28
THE GREATER HALF OP THE CONTINENT.
I
and continental in its consequences. The strange sense
of limitation that thus early in the history of the United
States is felt, when there is no more new territory to
occupy ; the necessity that exists for the widest field for
supply of wants that brook no refusal, as in lumber, non-
phosphorus iron ores, coal, fresh water fish in the North-
west, phosphates, barley, and other products, either
peculiar to Canada or geographically essential to local
progress and local convenience ; the serious unsettled
railway transportation problem, involving the possible
discontinuance of the Inter-state Commerce laws, or the
destruction of profit to the American railway systems
running east and west ; the future destination of immi-
gration, so as not to completely politically extinguish the
American; the worn-out but eminently dangerous fishery
dispute ; the canal discrimination ; a free St Lawrence to
supplement a free Mississippi, — all these are questions too
important to remain in chaos. But, in addition to all
these, is the necessity that arises out of the recent triumph
of the Republican party, that a policy should actuate its
leaders, commensurate with its greatness ; that its return
to power should be signalized by achievements that will
make its claim to continue! confidence less insecure than
it has hitherto been. The bitter lesson of defeat four
yoars ago, and of narrowed majorities in significant
localities since, will not be unheeded, especially if, in
manufacturing centres, it can be made to appear that by
opening up a market, continental in extent, an outlet is
afforded for the over-pro(AUction which the stimulant of
protection has created. If this market can be secured at
the expense of that hated rival, the British manufacturer,
THE GREATER HALF OF THE CONTINENT.
29
BO mncli the better for the purpose in view ; for the
frantic bid for the anti-British vote will unfortunately
still be necessary to political party existence. Still
another motive may be found for vast expenditures,
justified by the requirement of territory, in order to beget
a reduction of the surplus without the disturbance of the
•equilibrium of taxation. All this catalogue of essentials
in the present political situation revolve around a policy
which may have a Continental Unity for its aim, and
which, narrowed down to practical politics, involves an
attempt on the part of the United States to shape the
future destiny of Canada. The considerations that sur-
round this whole question are of a character most com-
prehensive, and they will, doubtless, be discussed in this
country with frankness and liberality. It is submitted,
however, that the almost universal conclusion reached in
the public mind, that Canada should form a part of the
Union, should be revised. Usually there are two parties
to a bargain ; in this case the parties number three, — the
United States, Canada, and Great Britain. Whether the
latter is quite ready for an extension over the entire con-
tinent, comprising 40 per cent, of her empire, of the prin-
ciples of the Declaration of Independence which in former
years she struggled so vainly to defeat, may well be
doubted. Whether the people of Canada themselves,
treated by the mother country with all the affectionate
consideration born of experience with her elder wayward
daughter, are ready to sever the slender ties that bind
them 10 British connection, even for material advantages,
is by no means certain. Indeed, to many it would appear
4hat no revolution in sentiment could possibly be greaw**
i)-.
30
THE GREATER HALF OF THE CONTINENT.
than the change which would be necessary to bring about
a willingness on the part of the Canadians to forfeit their
loyalty, and the many advantages which in their form of
government they possess. A political union, to those
best informed, seems most difficult and distant. To
these, however, a commercial union which, so far as trade
and commerce is concerned, would be just as advan-
tageous, is among the early atta:r>able possibilities*
Erastus WlMAN.
New York, December, 1888.
nh
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of
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ro
de
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