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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 th: CIUKI" CROWKOOT. THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. .^ ..^^ . .. !3# ttsftii - ■:^ f \ i I ! 3 i i f ■f \ i Plllpp'''l r- Ml 3 a as in !^^: J * • I f , ' I t t V i ■.y < >\ m % ■■n\ 'si' > > ? itf^ # as' 3 as r. i X \ \ » !■ K «1 ^.■ 5ilii' '"ii,,". 1 'iit '.^^ '■i ■ ^ #■ *»?■■ r ;? ^■ *. : -n v"^ :p-^t^^_-.'##*ifj|<;.. ^% V fji-*^" m- THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES 4 ■j''3 ^ P^ ;i ije ..,-ir H: P':>- - w- fa: From Winnipeg to Cold Lake Fifteen I lundred Miles BY JOHN P. PENNEFATHER, M.D. WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS LONDON KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO. L PATERNOSTER HOUSE, CHARING CROSS ROAD 1892 TI) re 3 ^ o s. s !R T/ic ng/iis of translation and of reproduction arc reserved. INTRODUCTION. TlIK object in publishing tlicsc notes is to place before tiie public, in as brief a manner as possible, a true description of the climate, soil, and inducements for emigration uf Manitoba and the North-West, the line between them being an imaginary one. The writer having travelled over a considerable portion of the country, and being resident in it for thirteen years, qualifies him t*^ form an opinion, and in no instance has he exaggerated the inducements which this grea' land holds out as a home for the redundant Anglo-Saxon race. It must be remembered that the country is a progressive one, and things fore- shadowed soon become a reality, so that the descrip- tion of one year of the growth of Winnipeg and l^rovincial towns, would be found incomplete in a few brief months afterwards. Winnipeg has just added to her attractions a large and well-appointed park for exhibition purposes, where two large and unusually successful agricultural shows have been held. i' LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. A Settlei's Farm Prairie Town Commencement of a Town Threshing from the Stook . Chief Crowfoot . Prairie Vihage . Shooting a Rapid A Saskatchewan Steamer Hay Harvest Harvesting A Ranch .... Ranch Homestead Improved Farm-house « Winnipeg ... A Londoner Sawing Wood Prairie Farm-house . Picnic A Crack at the (ieese Frontispiece ^o face page 3 10 18 21 30 . . 46 • 52 • 57 . 60 • • 63 . 66 . 70 • 74 . . 78 . 82 . 88 . 92 \111 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Canadian Pacific "Empress" Ocean Steamer To face page 99 Reaping and Binding a Heavy Crop . .101 A Settler's House— Second Year i'^''^ A Snug Farmer s Homestead no After Ten Years in Manitoba . .116 I'rairie Chicken Tailpiece 99 [OI 1 06 [ 10 116 THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. Ax inherent love of change, four sons growing up, with other reasons, induced me to contemplate leaving London, where I had resided for some years. My clioice lay between the African and American con- tinents, an essential being that the flag of England should wave over the land of my adoption. I eventu- ally^ decided on emigrating to the latter, choosing the province of Manitoba as my future home. In answer to an application made by one of my sons to the Messrs. Allan, 1 received a sheaf of literature, relating to the British Possessions in Canada, painting in glow- ing terms the advantages the great North-Wes'^ held out to immigrants. In my younger days having seen most of the world — though liberally discounting what was stated in these pamphlets, I decided tnat there was sufficient evidence to show that North-Western Canada was a desirable country for migrating Saxons to settle in, and a residence here of over twelve years has but confirmed this belief. Contrary to the advice of many, I threw up fairly I THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. bright prospects in old England ; and, having hastily completed my arrangements, we sailed from Liverpool in the good ship Ilihcrniay and after an uneventful voyage of twelve days, landed in Halifax on the 5th of April 1880. After resting there a few da3's, we started on the long railway journey to Winnipeg. At that time this was accomplished by several lines, partly running through United States territory, necessitating various changes. Though travelling even then was fairly comfortable, it was far different from the luxurious ease with which the journey can be now accomplished, entirely on Canadian soil, in the magnificent cars and under the perfect service of the Canadian Pacific Railway, which spans this vast continent from ocean to ocean. We made brief halts at Montreal and Chicago, and arrived on the east bank of the Red River on the 14th of April. There was no bridge at that time across the river. A blinding snowstorm was in full vigour, and we had to turn out up to our knees in the beautiful snow, flounder down to the water's edge, and cross in a small boat to an island of ice in the centre, get across it the best way we could, and embark in another boat, which conveyed us to the Winnipeg side of the river. The remembrance of our first arrival in Winnipeg calls up very pleasant recol- lections of the kindness of the then immigration agent, Mr. Hespeler, now German Consul here, Commiserat- IS. g hastily Liverpool neventful he 5th of d on the time this running g various ^as fairly luxurious mplished, cent cars an Pacific om ocean icago, and zr on the that time ras in full knees in ter's edge, ice in the ouid, and us to the nee of our jant recol- tion agent, )mmiserat- r ! I Hi :i' liii.; V. p m i TIIIRTEEX YEARS OX THE PRAIRIES. ino; us for tlic inhospitable reception the clerk of the weather was giving to the old-world folk, he energeti- cally exerted himself in our behalf, and no doubt saved us much unpleasantness. By his kindness we had an oiunibus sent down to the river-side, and gathering some of our traps together, the luggage remaining on the other shore, we drove to an hotel, and though allowed to get out and enter the passage wa\', we were then informed that the house was full. i\Iy wife was half frozen, and a lad}^ and gentleman residing in the hotel were very kind, getting her some hot stimulant, which, with a good warm at the stove, set her all right. I was fortunate enough to secure ([uarters, such as they were, at an adjoining hotel. Such accommodation was at this time very scanty and very crude, and stopping-places of all kinds were much crowded. The ways of hotel life in England and those then prevailing in Manitoba were so very different, that it took us a little time to get accustomed to the change. One episode I may mention. Returning to the house after a shopping expedition, I found my wife and little girl cooped up in our very contracted sleeping apart- ment. On inquiring the reason, I was told that all the ladies had been requested to leave the small sitting- room provided for their use, as the landlord's wife wished to take her music-lesson. 1 fear my remarks at this were somewhat unparliamentary, but older resi- dents laughed at il, my only notice of much stranger THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. " occurrences which I have since encountered in tlic new world. Every one I came in convict with was kind and friendly, and I proved the truth of the old adage, that " in a multitude of counsellors there is safety." I received much disinterested advice where to settle, biassed it no doubt was, as each person claimed that the part of the province he was best acquainted with was by far the most desirable to locate in. So that 1 felt very much in the same position as the boy in the cake shop, wlio is told to choose what he likes best, but who, in tlie multitude of good things to choose from, finds a serious difficulty in making his choice. However, meeting an old-country man who had been in Manitoba for some time, and had been employed in the Government survey, which afforded him the best opportunities of forming a correct opinion, and acting on his advice, I purchased a section of land, 640 acres, from the Hudson's Bay Company, situated on the Cypress River, about one hundred miles from Winnipeg. When the North -West was taken over by the Dominion Government, two sections were reserved to the Hudson's Bay Company in each township, and it has so chanced that this land is, as a rule, the most valuable in each district, and the section I purchased was no exception to it. Taking counsel from those who knew the country, I purchased oxen ; horses were to be had in abundance at fairly reasonable prices, but they were all recently i THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRH-S. he new nd and adage, safety." ' settle, ed that id with ) that I i in the is best, choose oice. id been )yed in le best ting on s, from ypress )y the Iserved [p, and most :hased luntry, dance Icenth^ imported from the eastern provinces, and would pro- bably have to endure a good deal of hardship and cx- j)osure vvitli prairie grass as their only food, for which they were not fitted, until climatiscd. For one hundred and fifty dollars I got a fairly good yoii 1/^' f J !! 1 ' 1, ' >l < THIRTEEN YEARS OX THE PRAIRIES. 1 1 I was contemplating taking my wife and little girl to a village some fifty miles off, when, our nearest neigh- bour, a Gloucestershire clergyman's son, offered us the use of the upper part of his shanty, which he used as a lumber loft. Anything was preferable to being at the mercy of tiiese winged pests, as we found it impossible to keep the tent free from them, so that during the building of our house, for which I had made arrange- ments, we gladly accepted the offer. This was a rude change from a Ilarley Street house and staff of servants ; but, so venomous were these midges, that, notwith- standing the drawbacks and disagreeables of the situa- tion, and they were very many, our lof' life was more tolerable than tenting. I have rarely seen the mos- quitoes so bad since then, and after the land was cultivated around the house, they gave us but little trouble. We occupied our time in cutting and saving hay, and drawing the logs for our house. The lumber I had to get from Winnipeg, bringing it by steamer U) a place called Smart's Landing, and then teaming it about twenty miles across country ; so what cost me some eighty dollars a thousand, could be purchased in Ontario for eight or nine. We got a neighbouring settler to plough up live lucres for barley, and an acre of garden ground ; the barley grew splendidly, and we would have had some very useful grain for winter feed, but being unable to properly fence the place, as the flies prevented our ^:^ ill II' 1 ' ' ! ■ ! k l! ^1 I.; 12 THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. getting into the bnsli, our neighbour's cattle got in and made sliort worlc of our grain. Tlie potatoes we planted did well, and kept us supplied. In October a portion of the house was habitable, and we very gladly moved into it. We were unable to ])roperly plaster it before the frost set in, and the ther- mometer used frequently to fall to thirty degrees below zero in our bedroom. My little daughter used to get up in the morning with her hair all frozen ; but the days were bright and cheerful, and we had all made u]-) our minds to rough it, and were in vigorous health. I was able to purchase some poultry, and a couple of cows and pigs. Provisions were scarce and dear ; we had to send for groceries and flour to Nelsonville, (H'er forty miles distant, on a very bad trail, at times quite impassable. We, however, got along all right, and employed our- selves drawing fire and fence wood ; this, with feeding the stock, constituted our first winter's work on the farm. Provisions running low, and having occasion to go to Winnipeg, I determined on laying in a six months' supply at the Hudson's Bay Store there. I hired a team to drive to Emerson, expecting to be back before Christmas Day, leaving man and sleigh at West Lynne. I took the train at Emerson to Winnipeg, where I was delayed longer than I expected, and got back to West Lynne on Christmas Eve, The following morning at dayligiit I started on my THIRTEEN YEARS OS THE PRAIRIES. 13 the go rot i homeward journey, the tliermomcter marking forty-tluee degrees below zero. It was pretty cold, and, as we iiad about sixteen hundredweight of provisions on our sleigh, we were not able to go very fast, as the roads were in bad order. We were making for a stopj. ing- place twenty-five miles out, v.iiicli we expected to reach early in the day. It was pleasant enough while tlic sun was shining, but as evening came on it was intensely cold, and we did not reach our destination until dark. Very hungry and very cold, the glimmering light in the distance cheered us with the prospect of a warm stove and a good meal on our arrival ; the former was tliere, but on inquiring what I could get to eat, I was informed there was nothing in the house. This I could not credit, but it proved to be near the truth. On expressing my surprise at their being without provisions for travellers, the man in charge of the place coolly said that people had no business travelling on Christmas Day. This stopping-place was afterwards the well-known hospitable home of mine host, Billy Brown. On pressing the boss, I found he had got out a gallon of rye whiskey from the store in West Lynne, which I repurchased from him. After tapping the barrel and drinking a merry Christmas to every one else, I started on a voyage of discovery to the kitchen, and I soon detected by the brogue that the presiding goddess was a countrywoman of my own, so again # '1 M 77// A' 77: /•:.%• V/.M/v'\ r).V 77//-: rRAII^lRS. drinkini;' lo old Irclaiul, 1 souiuIchI \\c\' as to tlir roii- tcnts of (lie laidiM'. Wlu't'.RM' ilui to my o\V!i toiicli of the l)idi;"iu^ ov to tlic little keg, she ])ro(liuHHl two dozen iVesh ei^i^s, hiwitl, and hntler. Here was a j;rani! Ihul lor a hnni;rv man I I was rnnsiderini;' in wiial way 1 should have tlu> ei;|;s cooktHJ wluMi two tUluM" travellers eanu^ in, who were out on some business lor the proi(>eted South-Wcstern Rail- way. The i^arties wiie Mr. Clreenway, the present Premier of Manittiha, ami Mr. I\I*Grii;gor. They were rather (.lismayed on lindini^ there was nothini;- to eat, hut I eheercxl them u]) by telling what 1 hatl got hold o\' ; so with bread and butter and the eggs, and rye eoneoctetl into steaming hot iliji, we spent a merry night, and envied not other mortals who were feasting on roast beef and plum jnidding, waslicd down with sparkling Pommery. Next morning we started early, but the snow-drifts were vcr\' bad, and we had to remain in a farmliouse for two days, in conscquenec of a blizzard. On arriving at Nelsonville 1 cnga :d another pair of horses, and divided my load, reaehing home two days after. 1 was doubly welcome, for they were completely run out of all provisions, their dinner on Christmas Da}' being a prairie chicken and a pudding made with what my wife called tallow, and some tea borrow^ed from a neighbour, with a piece of rag soaked in grease for light. riiih"ri:i-\ v/m/'s os rm: vrmriks. )ay lat ■11 a for llovvcvcr, I hion^lit an am|)lc stoic, and rasrs were sdoii uiipack'cd, and months hnsily at vvijrk. We ,!j:ot in ahont twenty-live arn.'S of wheat rnid oats this sj)iin;^'^, and had a lirst-ratc ci-op ul sj^Iendid .i;iain, the wheat sown l)ein;^ the (lolden Droj). I sowed aI)out two acM'cs of" (lax, anfl have never seen the jilant L;row so hixurionsly in any part of the wrudd ; our potatoes, not very ear(iuliy jilanted, yielded an ahundant retnrn, and our kitchen jj^arden proved to he very ])rodnetivc. 'Idicrc was a patch of nhout half an acre, which I had jilonL;hed close to the dwellin^^ to j^^uard against lire. One evening I scattered some white turnip seed over it, and sent' the man on the following moi'ning to hai'row it in ; they were kept fairly thinned out for the pigs, and 1 do not think that the best cultivated turnij) field in all England could grow such immense roots as were pulled in the early autumn in this primitively farmed jiatcli of land. We got up an abundant supply of excellent hay, and built an addition to the dwelling-house, and in com- ])arison with the houses of other settlers, it was a very comfortable home. We all now considered that we might fairly look for- ward to success in our farming operations. My inten- tion was to cultivate a field of five hundred acres of wheat, keeping the remainder of the land for hay and summer feed. Several railways were prospected, one running l6 riiiRrnns years ox the prairies. I ^ I ■ '■ through ni\' laiul, l)ut it was certain that wc could not be very far thstant from a hne. Two of my neighbours started a general store ; a very fair hotel was started b}' a cocknc}' ; a grist and saw mill were built within a lew hundred yards of my house, so that the difiiculty of procuring provisions and lumber ceased before we were eighteen montlis in the country. These stores contain everything, from a needle to an anchor; a good deal of their business is carried on in trade for farm-produce, which is generally shipped into Winnipeg for sale. The store in our neighboui"- hood was an excellent one, where luxuries as well as necessaries of all kinds were to be had. A black- smith's and waggon shop appeared in the fall, so that W"c began to feel ourselves quite independent. iVbout this time I purchased a score of sheep ; all of them lambed early in January. 1 expected to lose both ewes and lambs, but they all did well, and added about thirt\' to my flock. Keeping in view m}- intention of having a five-hun- dred-acre field of wheat, I now made my first mistake, and sold my sheep, the trouble of fencing in suf- ficient pasture for them, and ':hc herd law existing in the settlement, helping to decide me . But I never ceased to regret it ; experience proved had I paid m.ore atten- tion to the rearing of stock, and less to the growing of wheat, my farming venture in JNIanitoba would have turned out more profitabty. But the ease with which wheat is grown, and the ^^m 1 THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. 17 ig 111 tased Ittcn- lig of have the produce, from twcnty-fivc to forty buslicls per acre, was strung inducement to expend all our eflbrts in its prochictioii. My sons all worked hard, tliough cricket and foot- l)all was tiie severest work they had engaged in at liome. We liad this year considei'ably extended oui" area of land for cropping, and sowed oats, wheat, and barley in good time. It provetl to be a very wet season, the rains continuing to the latter end of the summer, seriously injuring tiie grain, though the growth of straw was phenomenal. But as we now had cows, poultry, pigs, our own flour, quantities of vegetables, and, from time to time, a supply of elk and moose meat, which we got from the Indians in exchange for flour, together with prairie chicken, partridge, and rabbits, the spoil of our guns, we were not much exercised over the damaged crop. The winter passed pleasantly enough, one great felt ^vant being, that no Episcopalian clergyman ever came ..car the settlement. Presbyterians and Methodists held services every alternate Sunday, and there was a resident Roman Catholic priest at the village of St. Leon, about fifteen miles distant. But the third year of our residence found this grievance taken away, for we had a parsonage built, and a resident clergyman, who has, however, in consequence of lack of funds, been since removed. We also had a good school and teacher, an English tailor, with several other useful additions to our village B iS rillRTEEN YEARS OX THE PRAIRIES. community, wliich was named after the then Premier of Manitoba, the much regretted Jolin Norquay. Wc kept the plouglis busy, and in the third year sowed a considerable acreage. Tiie crops all looked most promising, but a frost in tlie early days of August sadly injured the wheat. Acting under pressure of the millers and grain buyers, farmers had got out of sowing Golden Drop, and planted Red Fyfe, a grain several da3's slower in maturing, and I cannot help thinking thereb}' com- mitting a great mistake. The soil and climate of Manitoba will always produce hard grain, and a week is of great importance in ripening, as the grain, once out of the mulch, will withstand certain degrees of frost, while if in the milk or mulch, it will be ruined by it. The flour made fi jm this wheat was rather dark, and the bread made from it sweet. The price offered by buyers was so low as to induce few of the settlers in my district to team it twenty miles to a market. It made first-rate feed, wdien crushed, for the stock, and the best of it ground for flour made excellent and wholesome bread. It was whispered that several millers made largel}^ by the frozen wheat of Manitoba, buying at fifteen and twenty cents a bushel, and mixing it with the soft wheat grown in the eastern provinces, the roller pro- cess requiring the hard grain of Manitoba for grinding purposes. i ■4 rii O o H 73 o X o TIIIRTnr.X YEARS O.V THE PRAIRIES. 19 This frost did not discourap^c us ; wc increased our rultivatcd land, and in the spring of '84 we put in ahout one hundred and seventy acres of crop ; live acres of this was cro]-)pe(l with an early sprinp^ wheat 1 had imported from l-Ji^land, from the well-known hrm of Messrs. Oaksiiott of Reading, who very liherally sent me out four sacks of wheat with the understand- ing that 1 was to return them filled with the Manitoba produce. All went well, the crops, especially the English wheat, looking most luxuriant; and so pleased were the surrounding farmers at its appearance, that it was all bespoken at two dollars a bushel. But on the 1 6th of August the temperature fell to six degrees of frost, followed by several days of scorching sunsliine, which so damaged the grain as to render over two-thirds of it entirely useless, and the remainder barely good enough for chicken feed. I cut a few acres, and turned the cattle into the remainder. My sons became disheartened at these consecutive failures, due to climate, and though assured by old residents that such early frosts were before unknown, they decided to abandon farming and take up other pursuits, which they carried out, and, I am happy to say, have all succeeded, though I believe they would be in much more independent positions had they con- tinued on the farm. There can be little doubt that the farmers cultivating their own lands will ere long be the wealthiest members of the community. 20 TIIIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. Labour was so scarce and expensive that I did not sec my way to carrying on fanning operations witli hired men, so I decided to abandon what had cost me several thousand dollars, and to again resume the practice of ni}' profession. I did not, however, arrive at this conclusion without man}' heartburns. We had conquered the inevitable troubles and diffi- culties attendant on first settling in a new countr\', but my wife's very natural dislike to the j^lace decided -le, and I determined to build a residence in the town of JManitou, on a branch of the Canadian Pacific Rail- wa}'. While the house was in progress early in the year 18S5, what is known as the half-breed rebellion broke out, under the leadership of Louis Riel, who was sub- sequently hung at Rejina. Lieutenant-Colonel Osborne Smith, who was then raising the Winnipeg Light In- fantry, now the Manitoba Light Infantr}', offered me the position of surgeon to his corps, which I accepted, ar.d having filled up our ranks, we started by the Canadian Pacific Railway for Calgary, nearly a thousand L'liles distant. We made brief halts at Portage La Prairie, Brandon, Broadview, Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Maple Creek, and Gleichen. The greater number of them were then small villa^ics, but they have since grown into important and well-populated towns. On arrival at Calgary we were met and inspected b}' Major-General Strange, who was in command of the Alberta force, after which we # THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. ndon, reck, then )rtant y wc , who h we pitclicd our camp under the hill, crowned by the bar- racks of the North-West Mounted Police. On April the 23rd, Crowfoot, tlie chief of the Black- feet, who has since died, paid us a visit. He was a fuie-looking man, about sixty years old, dressed in a semi-military costume, tricked out with a good deal of gold lace. lie was accompanied by about forty of his band, together with chiefs Old Sun and Hear Child. The Blackfcet were not at all disafTected, their old chief being always friendly towards the white man. Bull's Head, the chief of the Sarcces, came in the day after and had an interview with Lieutenant- Colonel Smitli, who sent him back rejoicing with a goodly supply of tea and tobacco. Calgary, even at that time, was a considerably-sized town ; it has since grown rapidly, and is a very thriving centre, and, from its geographical position, will in the future become an important city. It is well situated, having the Bow or Elbow river running close to it, and in the distance are plainly visible the snow-clad peaks of the Rocky Mountains. Our butcher was Mr. A. C. Sparrow, and finer beef and mutton than he supplied the battalion with could not be found in Smithfield Market. They were all four or five year old beasts that had never been under shelter, or had received a bite of food except that which the prairies afforded them, keeping throughout the year in first-rate condition. While lying in Calgary the most sensational stories i 22 THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. were circulated as to the atrocities perpetrated by the Indians on prisoners they had captured, especially on several females who were known to be in their power. These proved afterwards to be absolutely without any foundation ; but it inflamed the feelings of the men, and there was a general desire to get after Big Bear and his band and take vengeance upon them. Wc left Calgary on the 28th of April, marching north, to Edmcnton, having to our left the ranges of the Rockies, g'istening in the sunshine. We halted eight miles out to get the baggage train, ill' m i ii m i scow containing the gun horses, considerable time was lost. Though in a hostile district we received no molestation, though the high precipitous banks, well wooded, invited an attack with impunity. Coal was to be seen sticking out of the river's bank, and on the bends of the river were beds of gravel and black sand, vvhich yield a paying amount of gold and platinum to those going to the trouble of washing it out. This gold is su})posed to have found its way into the river by glaciers. It has not been found lower than Fort Pitt, or higher up than Rocky Mountain House, one hundred and fifty miles above Edmonton, on the Sas- katchewan river. Gold is also found in the M'Leod, the Athabasca, and in larger quantities on the Peace river. We observed on the river bank an expensive outfit for securing the coveted metal ; but it was, un- fortunately, at the time idle. On Saturda}- the iCth we arrived and landed at Fort Victoria. This at one time had been a very important Hudson's Bay post, but of late years had been almost entirely disused. It is beautifull}' situated, and will no doubt in days to come become a town site, when the banks of this splendid river will be dotted with towns and residences. The waters here abound in fish, both pike and sturgeon, with which we were well supplied. There was a small band of Crees in the neighbourhood under Paean ; these were friendly disposed towards the whites. Paean shot one of Big Bea'"'s scouts, who was sent to induce them to join in the rebellion. THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. 1 ■> : was d no . well ^as to n the sand, um to This river Fort e, one i Sas- 'Leod, Peace ensive .s, un- iGtli it one post, Id. It lys to if this lences. •gcon, small these n shot them The folIowiniT mornini; we marched to Saddle Lake, twenty-eight miles distant. On arriving there we met Major Steel and Cai)tain Oswald in romniaiid of a eom- ]-)any of scouts raised in Calgary. ('a])tain Oswald had just returned from Vovi Pitt, wliich had been raided by Big I>eai, and the M'Lean famih' taken prisoners. On Sunday the 24th, after a brief address from the General, we marched at 3. 30, ])assing by a succession of very ]:)retty lakes and tame surroundings. About 4.30 we ari"ived at I-'i'og Lake, a charming situation, but recently the scene of a horrible tragedy. Shortly after camj)ing the scouts reported having found the remains of four bodies. I was directed by the General to inspect them, and about a mile distant, close to the burned mission- house, lay the charred remains of four men. The extremities were burnt (,;ir, also the faces and front portions of the head, the backs of t!ie trunks being comparatively uninjured, pi-oving the correctness of the rumour w^e had heard that, after being shot, the bodies had been covered with jKtroleum and set on fire. Portions of cassocks adhering to the back showed the remains of three of them to have been the priests in charge of the mission and a lay brother, the fourth body being that of the Indian instructor. A few yards off la\' the bod}^ of a fine young man, supposed to be Gilchrist. The remains were placed in a common grave, and decently covered over. On the following morning Captain Clarke of our corps, being a Roman Catholic, read the prayers of his Church over the remains, so C r 34 ]}{n miirdnrd mm IimvcIIk^ satis- l.u'liiMi oi" kiinwini;- lliat lh(^ sad KMiinants ol" mortality \V(M(^ al least tiwih^l with (hrislian sympalliv, and K'OiM'vod Clnistian iMirial. Il was sad l<> scr a jilacc^, whirli had (nid(Mi(ly mudi pains Ix-slowcd upon il, i(Mid(MTd waster A im( llv qardcn, tastdidly laid out, sun"ound(^d owe ol" (lu^ (^oUa.qf's, and in iVonl ol" the missi.>n was a larp\ W(^ll -tilK^I lie Id, k adv lor croppini;'. l-'or many y(\'ns (his ]>la('(' had l)(>(n tlio ahodi^ oTlwc* or thro(' i^'irsts, who had d(^V(»1 Iat(^ Mr. ( "lowanlook's h(ms(\ ahont two milos distant from our iMmp. This pr(nTil to he a i::o[M\ log huilding, l)(\ni- tit'ully situat(ul on [he hanks <)( a small rivrr, which was dammed for th(^ jnnposcs oi' a saw-mill, tluMi in eiiurse oi' ereetiiMi. !\lr. (iowanlo(d<, his wir(\ and a Mr. Ciilelirist resided 1um-(^ ; th(\v W(M'e all rejiorted as having been mnrdert\l, minute^ details as to their assassinntiiin being given ; our ohjcu't was to fnul the bodies and bury thcMii. 'Idie house had hcvn rnnsneked throughout, autl the paper on the walls slaslunl into ribbons; a cretonne partition was cut into shreds; the tloors littered willi books, jtajiers, and letters ; not a single article o( tui'niturc or even a cooking utensil was Ici't. Outside tlie house tiie same confusion reigned. ihjikIi:i:n yhans on iiiJ' rh'.in^ins. 35 ' satis- »rt;\lity V, and I plarc", ipou it, litl nut, ol" tlir •(^ppini;'. ^ n\' two ; In [hr iivratclul r lluMU, lisUMint; Ac Mr. ■om our r, wliich (luMi in W'c, and |rc'p(^rtrcl to lluMT liiul llir In 1. sacked IIuhI int(> [xls ; tlir ; nnt a nsil was reigned. Aronnd lay tin- inaeliinciy I"«m- a first-rlass snw-niill, which would have lar^'ly l»rne(i|fd thf disliict. in scanliinf^ r<»r the hndics, I a|)|n oat lird Mir inill darn, anil was shuck with (hr cnnntic.s nnndxr oi pike swiiuMunj; abnul, and ihnu^hf it nnf inipiohahlr that llic vil'-'ins had ended theii helhsh work by llii"Vvin(^ ||i(< h(i(h'es into the liver, and JMriee the (^qeat nnnd)er o( these lish had e()nJ4;|•e^^'lle)rt Pitt were a"! manner of articles, stores, waggons, half-consumed tins of various provisions, &c., anri some of all the almost innumerable articles to be found in a I II 36 THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. M i ii iM I I first-class Hudson's Bay post, mixed up with other things wliich had belonged to the ladies occupying the fort. Mr. M'Lean had a small party of mounted police under the command of Captain Dickens, a son of the celebrated author, with him in the fort. I failed to get the true history of this episode of the rebellion, but it is a fact that the police left the M'Lean famil}- in the fort, and went down by boat to Battleford. Mr. M'Lean, relying on his influence with the Indians, had gone into their camp when Big Bear detained him, and it was said that on his recommendation the police took this course. But, with a fairly strong position, well provisioned and ammunitioned, this act met with scant commendation ; but such reticence was observed in everything in connection with it, that a correct opinion was impossible to arrive at. The M'Lean family were assured by Big Bear of hie protection and care — a promise which, I believe, he fulfilled to the best of his ability, for they arrived at Pitt bearing little trace of hardship or suftcring. Majors Steel and Hatton, with their scouts, were ordered to follow on Big Bear's trail, and report to General Strange on locating him. It was believed by all that these acts of lawlessness proved his intention of fighting it out, and that with the reinforcements he was supposed to have got from Poundniaker, he was now picking out an advantageous position to stand and give us battle. It was ascertained that the Indians had I ii other ring the d pohce n of the ;d to get ion, but amily in rd. Mr. ians, had him, and Dhce took ion, well ^ath scant lerved in :t opinion iiily were care — a lest of his trace of |uts, were report to iheved by intention mients he T, he was [stand and idians had TIIIRTHEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. 37 divided into two bands, the warriors going to Pitt, the remainder passing it by anotlier trail. The tainted air coming from a block of poplars close by led to the finding of a body advanced in decomposi- tion — two bullet wounds through tlic head, one through the thigh, the chest ripped open, and tlie thigh slashed down to tlie bone, the head scalped, witli the heart stuck on a stick, were sad evidences of the redskins' deviltry. The remains w^ere identified as Cowan's, a mounted policeman, vvlio was known to have been shot ; but it would seem that he had first sent several of the rascals to their happy hunting-grounds. It is stated that Cowan was returning from scouting, and reached the fort just as Big Bear, with two hundred and fifty warriors, had camped on the hill above it, and had summoned the fort to give up arms and ammunition. On seeing Cowan and the second policeman, who was also scouting, coming towards the fort. Big Bear hid in a poplar bluff, and opened fire. In defending them- selves Cowan was killed, and Loasby severely wounded. The latter managed to get into the fort, and eventually recovered. The following morning wc were greeted with the news that the trail of mounted men wms struck, though cleverly covered from the site of the fort for some dis- tance out. Every particle of horse or cattle manure liad been removed from it. We had also tlic satisfac- tion of hearing that four Indians had been met with on the previous evening by Steel's scouts ; one of them 38 THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAUUES. I ^ i I i I '^ n^ was shot dead, and there was evidence to show tliat at least two of the others were badly wounded, and, it is believed, subsequently died. The Indian killed, and whose body we found when on the march, lay on the hillside stark naked ; he was known as Mamnook, one of the Saddle Lake Indians, and was a splendid specimen of a man. He was one of three brothers holding prominent positions in their tribe, and cele- brated for their fine physique. This fellow lay nude on the green grass under the bright morning sun rays, and, I regret to say, minus his scalp. This mutilation was done by a teamster, of whom several were Mon- tana men, who, when opportunity offers, pay off the redskin in his own coin, it being popularly supposed among them that the spirit of a scalped warrior can- not reach the happy hunting-grc unds of their people. This man when shot was clothed in a mounted police- man's uniform, and was armed with one of their car- bines. He was said to be the first Indian who fired at and wounded Cowan, so that a just retribution soon overtook him. On Wednesday, the 27th of May, we camped in the evening on the side of a hill, having passed on a short march of nine miles several Indian encampments re- cently occupied, evidencing that Big Bear's band was but a short distance ahead of us. We came upon one large enclosure composed of young trees stuck in the ground, and roofed over with branches adorned with large strips of various coloured calicoes, where a great pow- i THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. 39 )W that -d, and, I killed, I, lay on imnook, splendid brothers .nd celc- lay nude sun rays, [lutilation ere Mon- ty off the supposed rrior can- ir people, cd police- their car- lo fired at ition soon ped in the on a short Dments re- nd was but one large he ground, with large great pow- wow and sun-dance was to liave been held, but vvc pressed them too closely. On tlie moiniiig of the 28th of May we were early on tlic marcli,and came on a strong force of tlie rebels, who were circling on the top of a hill. After exchang- ing a few shots, the nine-pounder was brought to bear on them, and the Light Infantry were ordered to clear tlic hill ; but after two shots, and before our men could i-cach the >, the dusky warriors made off. At 3.30 on the following morning we were on the march, and at 6.30 the column was halted, the scouts forming the advance having heard the neighing of a horse to the right of the force, and soon afterwards vvc observed mounted Indians galloping on the outskirts of the bush. Big Bear's position was admirably chosen, on the top of a hill, almost perpendicular, in- tersected by a narrow gorge filled with all kinds of impedimenta, called Frenchman's Butte. Their posi- tion was separated from the rise of ground we halted on by a deep ravine about three hundred yards in width, the ground of it being a complete swamp. A line of rifle-pits were constructed by them along the top of their position. Their evident desire was for us to attack them, and while entangled in tlie morass, pick us off at their leisure. Major Steel was ordered to make a reconnaissance along our side of the ravine to look for a crossing, as well as to find out, if pos- sible, the enemy's strength. They resorted to a clever ru5C to attain their object of deceiving us as to their 'Ui I! I 1 40 THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. strcngtli. Some half-dozen or so of braves, keeping in shelter of the bush, kept ahead of the scouts firing single shots, leaving Major Steel under the impression that a large body of Indians were lining the opposite side of the ravine for a long distance, which was so reported to the general. The 65th Montreal Rifles, forming part of our force, were much weakened, detachments of this corps beinig Bear had stowed it. He destroyed the rest, with a quantity of bacon, which had far from an appetising appearance. The flour was tested before being supplied to the men, for fear that it might have been tampered with. While at Frog Lake two more bodies were found and buried, and ten miles further on we found a further supply of flour. As we approached Beaver River many comfortable-looking Indian houses were to be seen, but all abandoned. In these houses a considerable amount of valuable furs was found, which scouts and teamsters quickly appropriated. Among th.. escaped prisoners was a man in the Hud- son's Bay employment, who complained bitterly of the injury the Indians had inflicted upon him, but this ■ 46 rillRTnEN YILIRS OX Till- PKAIRIl'S. II .gentleman's share of loot in ihc fur line must have well (M")mj)Onsatecl liim for his losses. Ik-ini:; a resident in the district, he was ahk^ to make iiis way to the various caches and hiding-places, where Iiidicms and half-hreeils had stowed away theii" plunder, and helji iiimself. The day hefore our arrival at l^eaver River a scout reported havings seen an Indian, and also havini;; found traces of a considerahle party havini;- crossed. A nii;ht march was ordered, as it was thoui;ht ]')rol)al)le this band W(^uld pillage a Hudson's Hay Company Store in the district, knmvn to contain a considerable quantity of ilovu". For five miles we waded through a shaking bog ; the gun was pulled through by the infantry, the six liorses being unable to move it. Right glad were we all to get out of this place. Several times I thought my horse and self would disappear bodily, so far down did he sink. On emerging from it, the trail lay through a cut in the forest, admitting of single file only. We arrived at the end of the tinibcr at i A.M., and bivouacked. At daylight, no sign of an enemy being discernible, we marched on through a lovely country, and pitched camp about a mile and a half from the river, headquarters being located in the mission-house, the dwelling and chapel of Father La Groffof the Chippewa Mission, who had been captured by the Indians and his place looted. The rest was very grateful to man and beast, and no event of in- terest occurred except the arrival in our camp of m ■^ *it i ^ well -nt in :,) the s and 1 liclp scout found V nii;ht \c this itore in uantity shnkinp; try, the id were thoui;ln- u- down ail lay o-lc file I A.M., enemy lovely a half in the ilher La captured est was nt of in- camp of a !5 ■J) '* mm ""'.uw* f t I ' 'i I , «' Hll rillRTEEX YFwiRS OX THE PRAIRIES. 47 Father La Groff, who was paddled across the river by a Chippewayan Indian. It was arranged that this priest, accompanied b}^ Father Prevost, the much-esteemec chaplain of the r)5th, should visit the Chippewayans next day and take them General Strange's ultimatum, namely, that tliey should come to our camp and surrender, and lay down their arms, and in the event of their refusal their houses would be burnt down, and the band pursued. In the meantime preparations were being made to enable the troops to cross the Reaver Rivet — a broad, deep, and rapid stream, tlien considerably swollen by late heavy rains. Up to June the lith neither of the priests had returned, and considerable anxiet}' was felt about them. About two o'clock in the morning I was awakened by the crack of a rifle-shot, followed by several others. It was reported as an attack on one of the sentries, replied to by his comrades on outpost duty, but the truth of this was more than doubtful. The attack was -n imagination only. About seven o'clock a bustle in the camp denoted something un- usual, and it proved to be the return of the priests, who announced the acceptance of the terms. Shortly after twenty-three Chippewayan braves came into camp and piled their arms, and on the following morning the remainder of the band came in. Among them were some very fine-looking men. The Chippe- wayans claimed that they were unwilling participators in Big Bear's proceedings, but were compelled to join 48 THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. f tlieni. But the prnv^crbial lying of an Indian prevents any credence being attached to what they say, especi- ally where their personal safety is concerned. The weapons of the first batch who surrendered consisted of two Winchesters, three flint single guns, five per- cussion single guns, twelve double, and one breech- loader. The squaws and cliiklren came in with the second lot. The part\', as a whole, were very dirty and repulsive-looking, and the thouglit would force itself upon one that, after many years of attempted civilisation and religious teaching, the only apparent result is that the race have acquired all the worst vices of the white man, retaining all the natural vices and villainies of the redskin. Thev seem to be a blot on the fair face of nature, and the sooner the Indian of the woods and prairies is a tradition the better. That this will come to pass appears inevitable, disease, hereditary and acquired, making heavy inroads among them, and combined with their extreme indolence, which frequently leaves them on the verge of starva- tion, all points to their coming extinction. Strolling up to ,'e a look at the prisoners, I hap- pened to arrive . as some food had been given to them. This consisted of a tough-looking bannock, and the stomach and entrails of a bullock just killed ; this they cut into strips, barely warmed and unwashed as it came from the animal, tore it in pieces with their teeth, and devoured it. As we had been living on canned meat the whole time, with hard tack, the meat I i| THIRTEEN YEARS OX THE PRAIRIES. 49 ircvcnts cspcci- i. The insisted ive per- brcecli- vith the ry dirty Id force :tcmptcd apparent c worst ral vices le a blot ndian of -. That disease, s among idolcnce, starva- s, I hap- givcn to Dan nock, t killed ; nwashed ith their iving on ;hc meat '^^M being only fibre from which all nourishment had been ]3ressed out, the coming in of this band with a goodl}^ lierd of cattle, over forty head, wa; a welcome event to us all. These cattle had been supplied to them by Government, to encourage them in farming, as well as a large supply of agricultural machinery, but tlic result has been very unsatisfactory. Our commissariat officer soon took possession of the herd, and fresh meat for breakfast on Sunday the 14th of June made it a red-letter dav. No sugar, potatoes, bncon, coffee, or salt were in store, and were it not for our g Colonel was ordered to us" his own diseretion as to his future lUoviMucMits. Two e(MU|iani{^s of th(^ regiment were ( ni|)1oyed in cutting throUL;h di-.ise hush to a ford ahout forty 'iiiles distant, which it was supposed Hij; Hear was uiakinj; for. C\aptain Constantine, tlu> adju- tant o\' ihc \Vinniiu\i;"s, and tlu^ well-known n(>wspa]X'r eorrc\si-!ondent, (ieori;e Ilaui, volunteered, L;uided h)- a Sioux Indian named Ckm^-^c^ l^(\'itty, to ascertain the hearings of this crossing, and, if possihlc^ spy out l-)ig Hear's movements. This was a plucky offer, for, indejiendent o( the dangers to he apprehended from marauding Indians, the mosquitoes in this hnv, marshy lanil were in millions. It was owing to information sent hv Ca]")tain Constantine oC his finding fivsh tracks that General Strange decided on cutting a way through the bush. Until the 19th of the UKMith tluM-e was nothing to disturb the monotony of camp life. On that evening a ctunncr arrived with the welcome intelligence that all the prisoners in Big Bear's hands were on their way to Fort Pitt, under escort of the wood Indians of the Croc tribe. The surrounding hills echoed with tlie cheers given when ♦^his announcement was made to the troops. fi 1 **i^ ,j^ TlURTl.ES YEARS O.V 77//: PRAIRIES. 5' V. On 1 Lake, ("nlolicl s rutiirc lit \V(M(^ n ford >sch1 Bii; lu' adju- vvspaixr led l\y a rtain llu' spy out "Icr, lor, tl (Voin marshy rniation 1 tracks tlirougli M'c was On that clligcncc were on ic wood mg hills mccmcnt m II Hig I'x'ar was so harassed hy the raj)idity with whieh Sti'ange fuliovved him iij), that he and his hand l)eeamc dcmoiahsed. ( )n hearing the news, (icMicral Middleton returned to I'oit I'itt with all tli" nu ii who aeeom- panied him In rx'aver Kivci", with the ex("ej)tion of Steel's command. Str.inge's foico was ordered to !-emain in eamj) at i»eaver River ind await further orders. Knmonr reached us that ("oloiiel Otter was ill j)nrsiiit of l)ig l>ear, and that (IcMieral Middleton, who was evidently very anxious to i)e in at the death, would take steamer and head him off. With the sunt nder of the IVI'Lean family, and the escajie of the other jirisoneis, and the proven falsity of all the horrihle rumours concerning them which harl heen so industriously cii(MiIated, the interest of the cam]-)aign died awa\'. I lad I'ig I5ear and his hand fallen into our hands while these reports were credited, I d<3 not think man, woman, or child would have heen spared. I paid a visit to our detachment at Cold Lake, from where we had received some magnificent trout caught hy La Touchc Tuppcr, our quartermaster, who with paymaster Lcacock accomj^anied Colonel Smith. These trout are very large, thirty and thirty five pounds in weight, the flesh of a pale pink colour, and of a par- ticularly delicate flavour. Pike arc also numerous in the lake, and arc quite different in flavour to the ordinarv jackfish. Whether this is due to some peculiarity in the water, or to other causes, I cannot say. The lake J i II I . 52 rillRTEl-N Yl-ARS OS I III- /'AM /A7/:,V. is ovrr twciit}' miles in I(iii;lli, aiul about scvciilccFi iniU^s in w idlli. It i.'- .) rounded hv a sand and jKbhic bcarli, and its hanks I'.v thickly wooded with pines ol' larf;e i;rowth. It is a heautilul sj)ot,and the suiTound- ini;" eountiv is niai^iiilieent iiastui'e land, the pi-avine ami vt^teh, and i;rass(\s on tlie 20th of June, eoverinj; the horses' knees. I!vcm- liinr ha man eoulil desire may be found in this rav ill tliis locality arc very marked, rani^ing from 90' to 100" in tlic sun at midday, vvitli a variation of often so' at ni^lit. Canon M'Kay returned with the news that no other prisoners were held. A courier was despatched to Cold Lake with orders for Colonel Smith to join as soon as possible. The Colonel arrived that evening-, and on the following morning the force commenced the march back to Fort Pitt. The infantry marched as far as Frog Creek, arriving there at 10 I'. M. in a downpour of rain. The evening was very sultry, and m\'riads of mosquitoes were on the wing, which made marching anything but l)leasant. But orders were peremptory, so that we had to push on. At Frog Creek the good ship Nortli- Wcst was waiting for us under the command of that well-known Saskatchewan navigator, Captain Street. We made Pitt early next day, and pitched our camp in tlic garden of the fort. Word had reached us before leaving Beaver River that forty lodges of Crees were ready to come in and surrender, and directions were sent to them to follow on to Fort Pitt. W^e lound General Middleton camped on the hill above the fort. Under his immediate com- mand were the 90th Winnipeg Rifles, the Midland, the Grenadiers, the Field Battery, Boulton's scouts, Dennis Intelligence Corps, and Brittleback's, late French scouts, and Mounted Police. General Strange's force con- sisted of the 91st Winnipeg Rifles, 65th Mont»-eal Rifles, Steel's scouts, Hatton's scouts, and about 54 IJIIKri'lS V/.l/v',S(',V //// /'AM/A7/;.V. if ! V y M tv\tl\< nitu nl tin Ntillli \\'i-{ Mnniihd I'niin iiinl« i ( .ipl.iin r.)ii\, ill rli.iiiM' <;n );.i(« il .It lir.|.Mu Tui. Kiinioiii'. \v»ir lilc lli.il I'.ij; I'.r.ii \v,r. .inxinir; In MUiiihNi. ImiI w.is Ir.iihil nl •.])(( dv «l( 'I t;ih 11. \\'«" lonihl Ml. I\1'I (Mil .11 It'll Till, lonKill}; llniM llic Wnl'-C lor his lihliiin rx|><-i iciu'cs. \\\- l.i\ loi s("\»l.il «l;ivs ;il I'lll, liic :.|(Mliiri:. /'////- ,rs.\\ A'< '////- //V.v/, niitl .V<'; ///<('/<•, willi I»;ii7;( s, iMiii^; .nu'IioKil in llic river, w.iiliiis; 1<> li.iirpnil llic iKwips lo Scdkiik . /i/ tlu" S.isk.ililiew.iii ;i.nl I like W'iliiiipcT^. A \orv p.iinliil riit-iiinsl,im"(> nct-iii red while llie (ohms W(M(^ .It rill, n.uiiely, IIk^ de.ith ol ('<>I««ii( I Willi, ims, M.r., eoniin.nulini; ihe Midland haltalioii, uii<> diec! nl Ivphnivi levti. The d( .ilh nl this L;.ilkml nllieei, u hn had .uiwilly ilistin,i;uished hims(dl in the e,iiiip.ii};n, .iiid w.is heln\(d h\ .ill, was ,i e.iiise nl ^real reL;ret In the whole I'oivo. ll(^ di(d i>nh«>.ud the sl<-aniei , and his reiii.hns werc^ sent aeii^ss eovinli v iVoiii rriiie(> AlhcMl lo UattlcMoid l(>r k iiiov.il hv Ir.iin to the east. Ahoul two huiuhtul iiuMi o\' {]]c WinnipeL; Ij'i;ht Infantrv, with C\>loneI Siihtli in etMiimaiul, wvvc left al ritt to ivreivc^ tho sinriMulcr oi' the C'rtM\s. Bit;- I)car liad i;ivon hiinsclf up, and was now in i)rison at Prince .Alhcrt. While there, 1 was pn^scnt at an iiUiM'view which Gencfal Middleton had with him. ()nc> ol" his sons, an intellis^ent-lookini;- lail oC about sixteen 3'ears old, was keeping" him company. Canon M'Kay acted i W 1 -. ^'M / iiiK 1 1 / ,v v/ .lA". (>\' I III ri' III: 1 1 '.. 55 iiiiin\ (Mr; In I. w. ' \\»)rs<' , /•////- , Itcinr; troops iinipc^;. r It trees 'illi.nus, ar Prinec Ui>rvii"\v of his n years >iv actcil 'f-i m m ,1. iiili I |it( l( I I'M; l>(.ii |i| til, It Ik \v,r; a l>.il| 1 1 If III, Wand' I iii>', Spiiil, tin mm. t I in hu Inil nl tin ill !( I ., at tempi rd In 1 mi mi i I Miieidr, .hihhinj^ liiiir.« II in iIk M^nmi nl the Im.hI with a hiit< ImiVh kllili, riniii llii,, linwev'l, Im te(')V(l«d. I(e VV.'IS alhiuaid'. liird ;iiid cniivietf d rd aetive pat ti'ipati'in in tin I'ini' i,ak< massaeir, fnr vvlii' h Im' vva. Imnje With the !.nirrndeinl the (Ve»:. the k h* llinii tei - minat( (1, and ( 'nlnm I Smith retnined with tli'' Winni- pe^' Ia,L;hl Inhintiy In W^iniiipeg. 'I his oflicft di' d while nil a \i it tn hi , icl.'itjnns in I'!n;.;Iand a few ye-ars aitei'. riier( was mver a eampaif^n that, did not ^ive birth to sniiie heart hiirnin;^^'-., and fin , nne jjinvefl i\(, e.\ee|)ti()n. (ieneral Slran^^'^e ehafed ,1 j^r/nd deal nndM the tif^ht elieek-strinf^ lse of the eampait,M), U> tlur Minister of Militia, throiiL^h the General-in-C"hief, rir-ver rcacliin/^^ that official ; bnt time, tlie ^neat lieajer- of all tronbles, lias toned down these renieinbranees. I had a splendid opportunity of ff^rming an opinion Hi ri 5^» ! iiiif (lie X.'llh-W'isl (.11 (Mil ( Ii.r (' Mllcr r.ii' rxar, ;in< cl llic old wi'iM, il scciiicd .ilmosl ini'H-dil»K' l<> me tli.it lli<; .(- iiiilliniis ol .itics ol splendid i.ind, teeming willi Itrlililx, ^.lioiild rciii.iin slill iiii- oiTUpird, iiol r\{\\ Ml ppi ill ini; tlic hiin.iln. i lie (< tiillt- K\ss herds lli.il rei'eiill\- lo, lined over llie prairies were w.iiitoiiK ( \(eniiiii.it(-d, iinlil llieii" species i,^; now alino-t exiincl. Il i.s s.iid llicir dc. tniclioii w.r. eii- i'our.t,i;cd !>\ ( ioxci iiiikmiI i)\\ tiic ground thai, while haxini; so unhU" a snppl\ ol lood, Ihc Indians coiild iu'\(-i' lu^ induced to riilli\al(> iheir land. Ilimdieds ol thonsands ol liusse animals were slan_L;htei((l lor their skins, Ayr, Icr tlu-ir very ton,L;nes alone, and the e,\- iH^piion, notw ithst.indini;' all the ( loxcrmiiciit have done and aro dcunj;- for them, is to med an Indian who is (MuIiMvoiirinj;' to support himsidt" hy mannal labour. Provos o\ thi^sr animals mii;ht ha\(> been kept in i\M"tain distrirts undiM" ( lovtM'nnuMil protection, and in this way I'oni^tMiial employnuMit iini;ht have heiMi roiiiul for many rc\lskins, as W(^II as retainini;- what iiiiL'ht have hccn maiK' a valuable sourro {)[' i\-\cuu(^ to the ctunitry. I\Ci;rc^ts ari\ howcwiM', I'utile, and the wallows and trails are tlu^ only iwidcMiees \ci\ oi' these animals having' existed, exeeplins;" the bleaehini;- boiuxs, whieh may be seen in immense piles at the various stations along the line oi' the Canadian Paeific Raihvay waiting earriagc to Eastern points. The bulTalo have gone I I-S. Im ill, ;ii)il «il williii}^ I tlic (»Vi 1- <'(! ;ilmtist »r spltiulid 1 still iiii- I'lic COlllll- irics were -; i^; iii>\v I w.r. (11- li;it, while i.iib; r(>iil(l iimirrcis n| ,1 Inr tlicii- 1(1 (lie CN- li;i\(' (lone iaii who is i;il lahouj-. II kept ill Oil, ;iiul ill H'cn foiiiul hat iniL'ht ]\\v to the lie wallows so animals iu\s, which us stations av waitinjj ri ^sTU have gone *i ;1 §1 •N.:^ TIIIRTEnX YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. r/ ^V. TfC 1 f ' ■'. ^ 1 and liavc left all tlic more room for the luiiiiati species, who aic incredihl}' slow in avail inj^ themselves of the heritage at their disposal. Alonjj^ the banks of the Saskatchewan for hundreds of miles, aronnd the towns of Edmonton, Cali^ary, pjattleford, Prince Albert, and in the Beaver country, there are hundreds of thousands of acres awaiting the settler, r.of of barren land, but well timbered, well watered, and \vith a soil capable of producing in the greatest luxurlanc l' wliatever land can grow. I can only account for the extraordinary way in which tliis large tract of fertile country has failed to attract settlers in hundreds of thousands by the sup- position that ICuropean peo|)Ie have been so long led to associate Eastci'n Canada, from the numerous picto- I'ial representations, witli regions of snow and ice, in fact, have been led to regai'd it as but one degree re- moved from the Arctic circle. This is not to be won- dered at, as nearl}' every pictorial illustration of Canada depicts a winter scene, snow-shoeing, tobogganing, slcigh-di-i^'ing, &c. Many look at these pictures, few read anything about the country. Hence the conclu- sion that if chis '"s the normal condition of climate in Eastern Canada, what must the climate of the North- West be? — perpetual ice and snow at the best. How mistaken a conclusion ! There is a longer continuance of fine warm wT'ather throughout Canada than prevails in Great Britain. The cold is no doubt greater in winter, but every one who knows both climates readily admits that the dry bracing cold of Canada is far more 58 THIRTEEN YEARS OS THE PRAIRIES. bearable, and can be more easily guarded against, tiiari the damp, penetrating atmosphere so often to be found in tiie Britisii Isles, and the farther north-west you go, the less is the snowfall and the climate is milder. C)l course, during the winter months, which may be reck- oned from the latter end oi' November to the beginning of March, there are occasional severe storms, but what country is free iVom them ? The winter of '90 and '91 in England was far severer than in any portion of the l)omiiii(,)n. The through trains of tiie Canadian Pacific, running from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, ran throughout this long stretch of thousands of miles close on time. Such a contretemps as being snowed up was unknown. The majority of English settlers in the country prefer the winter months. Baron Mun- chausen stories have been written home by young " ne'er-do-weels " who have been sent out to Manitoba and the North-West with the expressed hope that something migiit come of them, what, the womb of the future would unfold, and it is from the pens of youths of this cliaracter that untrue descriptions of the country have appeared in old country papers. Canada can afford to do without this class : their migration from England and elsewhere is a gain to those countries ; their immigration is a loss to Canada. 1 am very far from trying to convey the notion that there aie ,i«» dra^vbacks to settlement in this countr}*, or that any o'l :. able to live in comfort in Europe should leave the Ji'iv'irici' of old world livilisation to come to TIIlRTlUiS YEARS ON Till-: PRAIRIES. 59 , tliaii found L>U gU, •. or : rcck- innini; t what ik1 '91 of the .^acific, n, ran miles mowed tiers in Mun- young initoba )C that of the youths ountry da can n from ntries ; m that ountry, should ome to 1 i« % Canada. No. 1 address myself to those, single or married, wiio find tiie battle of life a difficult strnggle, who are willing to work, and wh(; d(j not expect to find ('vei^vtliing i^eady to theii" hand on tiie virgin slo{)Cs of the Canadas, bnt who will labour to utiHse tiie gilts which God has given them to tlie fullest advantage, appreciating those advantages and ignoring the little unpleasantnesses insejxarable to all sublunary life, in one shajDe or another. For such a bright future, if not for himself, for his childixn, will ci'own his endea- vours. Some years ago, when I commenced to jot down an odd note, the country was far behind what it now is. The Canadiaii Pacific Railway was then only under construction from Winnii)eg; now, this line not only ti-avcrscs tlie whole of the North-West and British Columbia to the seaboard, but several branches in con- nection with it are completed, and others are building. The North-Wcstern Railway has opened up an im- mense section of country. The Calgary and Edmonton Railway is fast constructing, and will open up the whole Saskatchewan country, as well as that magnifi- cent district I have briefly described. The Northcri' Pacific has entered the province and runs through th district where I first settled, about six miles from t' e farm. I made a trip out there last summer in the com- fortable cars of this compan}', reaching there in three hours. North of my old home is a branch of the Cana- dian Pacific, about nine miles distant. In fact the country w i i 1 3 l>iiMni'-< '. in lilt" iicn Inlinr l.> he inl( i n d i| willi i.nl w.i\ • m .ill tliii (I i.'ii . I lir; nu ,in . ,i I,n.>;i iiu ic.im' ni ill.- N.iliit' <'l l,im!, nit ii ,r.i(I \,ilu( .-I I.iiiih i .' |>i < << |nr| ■., ,111.1 ,1 1. .i.l\ l.l.ililx I.M 111! ilr.p.> .,il .«! llu III, ,1 . w < II ;r. nnliniili.l in. .iir. el I. >. .>in.>l ion, m Inwiiii'ir. i,iiI\\m\' . .11 N, i.>i 1 h. 1 . i'. n.> 1 .nlw i\ in ( .i . .il 1' i il.ini I li.il r.iii b.'Mn to r.'inp.iii' with llii' < .iii.i.li.m I'.i. iln Inii li>i llu ..nni.Ml .111.1 i'.Miv cnt.'ii.'c'. .ill. 'i . Ic I |.> llu n p.r. .( nv.ri '-;. rii.Mi!',li ill.- wli.'l.- ■■.>il kI I\l,inil. ^\nu'(~ will ir (Inn, lilt' . . mi.IiI i. >ir. .ipiir.n l.> I>r iiKtir l.a.Mii.iM. I.M (he . nil i\ .il i.Mi .-1 win. it tli.in in .'llur |\n(s. .\ l.n ;;•' .iir.i. Known .i • llic r.'il.n'c ri.iin., i'. .1 \ .I'-l \\ ]',(.! 1 i^i.wxni!; <■( nil.', 1 liiMi'.,ini !■• ol .'.'ic. Ixiii:; rnlliv.U<'tl llin.- \r.nb.. In the icnt i (- « «l tin di.liirl i-^. tlu^ i-.M |>.M .it(^ t.wxn . ,1 I.n :;(' rilw 1 lieu- ;nr ;li!i~(> dillricnl i.nl- W'.u ^^ n.wv vnnnini; into it, rul il i- .i Imisn ln\c <'l nulu'-tr\. 1 .iiul .',( ]M(".(nl sell'- .iIkmiI hciv liom (en to till V (loll.u s an Arvc. V^\ ' \vlu\U Jistri.-t r\l(Muls \o r.r.mdon, wln
  • i <• ', i.l IIm' III nil >i (• n < >l li« I M.iin'', '■• ■, l)iiii:', ill .In. t 1 '.linrl > r,ipitll\' (111 r;i;l- ln\t' <'l lom t( 11 IS .ils'> -ic 1 ,;i 1,1;-. iui' r;irnuTS ;n(' in a ])v tlie I I i 1 ■ 'i !.: ,t;! it rillRTEEX YEARS OX THE PRAIRIES. 61 i North-Wcstcrn Railway, fine herds of cattle, in the pink of condition, may be seen from the railway carriage windows ; smiling plenty covei's the broad surface of the land. No doubt these settlers had all their troubles and trials, and probably oftCii g ie^ous ones to encounter; but they had the courage to grapple with them, the pluck to overcome them, and are now enjoying their victory. There is still abundant room for veiy many more, who will commence under much more comfort- able surroundings than the pioneers enjoyed, but it is only the settler with means that should think of i. seat- ing in these neighbourhoods. Any one with capital sufficient to purchase an improved farm with buildings on it, many of which are to be had at very reasonable prices, escapes all the pioneer's trouble, and his capital affords him an immediate return. There is no country that I know of that is more suitable for military and naval men, who, under the existing regulations,, are retired from the services in the vigour of their manhood. Many of them have large families, and their reduced income renders it difficult for them to enjoy the same kind of life they have been so long accustomed to ; but in Manitoba aud the North-West, with an income barely sufficient for genteel support in England, they would find them- selves, when settled on a farm here, surrounded by every reasonable comfort, and in a position to make comfortable provision for their families. The want of congenial society may be brought forward as a great ri m I ll ii; :. U^ r,2 TIIIRTEEN YEARS 0\ THE PRAIRIES. drawback, but this is casih' obviated by four or six families locating near eacli otlicr, which would make them independent of all other society. Once settled on the farms, all they would be required to purchase would be clothes and groceries; the latter can be (jbtaincd in exchange for eggs, poultry, butter, &c., so that in a short time a straitened income, with difficulty made to make both ends meet in the old countries, would here soon place the settler in comparative affluence. Farming on a gigantic scale by companies, and the almost inevitable failures attending the experiment, has no doubt injured the North-West in the opinion of many, debiting to the country and climate the failure which is rightly attributable to inexperience, mis- management, and lavish and unnecessary expenditure on the part of those who were entrusted with the management. Though having unshaken faith in the success of farming in this country, I would not invest a cent, no matter what capital I had l^'ing idle, in these joint-stock company farms. There is a far safer and more profitable way for any one desirous of investing money in agricultural pursuits. Let the capitalist purchase farms of from i6o to 640 acres in different districts, build on each farm the necessary buildings, place on it the necessary stock and machinery, retain- ing the whole as his absolute property, and then place on the several farms families which he has pitched upon in the old country to carry or the work of the if i 1 1 istmg )italist fcrcnt [dings, tctain- placc litchcd )f the I' -isa TIIIRTEES YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. -'.3 farm, sliaring wifh them equally the produce returned. I believe no investment open for the eiupioyment of capital in the present day would secure a better return without the possibility of loss. Of course, due care siiould be taken that the proper class of men would be placed in charge, but there could be little difficulty oi" fniding, in the country districts of England, Scotland, and Ireland, many eligif)le persons who would gladly embrace such an offer. Wi^ilc the farmer on his 160 acres, a quarter section, is gettii g on successfully, in mai y instances on very insufficient means, the com- pany's farm, with an unsparing expenditure, is daily gc::ting behindliand, and the shareholders at last, tired of paying out money for which the} never get any return, close down the business. Frequently as this programme has been gone througli in the Xorth- West, we yearly hear of one or more of these wild speculations entered into. Ranching is different. With ordinary luck the animals reared on the ranches produce annual returns, so that a fairly proximate income may be looked for, and the expenses attending the carrying on of a ranch may be more readily estimated than those of a farm, subject to the caprice, and oftentimes inexperience of tlie factor in cliarge, or, to use a more high-sounding title, the managing director. Breeding a good class of horses suitable for cavalry and harness purposes promises to be a very paying industry, as the country is well adapted for their o.V>.^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 liO 2.8 iM 111112.0 6" 11= U IIIIII.6 # p^^. <^ /2 W/ oS^ ' :> 4> o / /A Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80 (716) 872-4S03 u.. s If I ' i * (: I: 1 :: 64 THIRTEEN YEARS OX THE PRAIRIES. breeding. A large number of horses are raised on tiie ranches in tlie Alberta district, where good three- and four-year-olds can be purchased for a hundred and fifty dollars, about thirty pounds English money. A British Cavalry Commission visited these ranclies and pur- chased several animals, and it was understood reported very favourably, but it has not led to any large trans- actions. Conspicuous branding on the animals is a drawback to their sale in England; but some other than a permanent mark might be impressed on them yearly after shedding their coats, which would be sufficient for purposes of identification. Patches of various coloured dyes might with advantage be substi- tuted for the present practice. A large number of ponies are bred in Montana, useful hardy animals, almost impossible to tire out ; these can be purchased at a very low price. The long inland journey to a port is the main diffi- culty in the export of animals to Europe, but with the Hudson's Bay Railwa}' built, which is now a burning- question in Manitoba and the North-West, if even the ocean passage were only open for two months .in the year, it w^ould give an immense impetus to all industries, but the information received all points to the fact that Hudson's Bay is navigable to the open sea for at least twice that number of months out of the twelve. With such a comparatively close seaboard, the millions of acres of pasture land capable of fattening and keeping a beast in condition all the 3'ear round, would gradually I If THIRTEEN YEARS OX THE PRAIRIES. 6; Dll tllC 2- and id fifty Britisli d pur- :portcd trans- Is is a : other 11 them add be :chcs of : substi- iiber of mimals, rchased tiin difli- vith the burning ;vcn the s .in die dustries, act that at least With Hons of eeping a radually I % M become stocked, and the meat supply for t!ie teeming millions of Great Britain would for al' time be assured. In Manitoba the cattle, as a rule, are better for being liouscd in the winter, or provided with good shelter. They also require provender, whicli, with the exception of a few districts and very exceptional years, is so easily secured in summer from the luxuriant natural grasses of the prairies, that no difiiculty arises from th>s. There are a few districts where hay is difficult of getting, but a few acres of late sown oats cut green, and treated in the same manner as grass, makes spIcncHd feed. Tliis can be grown in any part of the country with the crudest possible cultivation, so tliat winter food supply is always readily obtainable. Sheep do well, and stand tlie cold winter weather bravel3\ Few countries can grow roots to compare with Manitoba and North-West products. All that is needed is a good frost-proof root-house to successfully carry on sheep-farming, the animal, not like the Australian, which arc comparatively useless for food, there can be turned out in Manitoba and the North-West as good nuitton as on tlie Salisbury Plains. The Shropshire Downs and Border Lcicesters seem to be the favourite breeds ; but, like the varieties of grain and plants, there has been little endeavour to find out the particular breed most suitable to the climate. Cereals arc sown, and live stock placed on the land with no scientific data as to their being the most suitable. More attention is now being paid to this very important subject. The E ( ; i H|. it 66 THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. ^n-ain wliicli matures in the sliortcst time after sovvinjj: is that which tlie farmers of tliis country should adopt. The cHmate will soon impart to it that hardness which the millers require, and if it be absolutely necessary for them to have the hard Red Fyfe variety, let the ])rice paid for it be conmiensurate with the risk taken in growing it. INIany of the farmers of Manitoba have been almost ruined by devoting themselves ex- clusively to its production. The country is especially adapted for mixed farming, and when properly carried out it cannot fail to be remunerative. Cheese and butter of first-rate quality can be made from cattle having no other feed than the natural grass, but the method of production is generally of a primitive description, greater attention being given to the quantity rather than to the quality produced. Im- proper places for storage, both on the producer's part and the local merchants', prevail. The tubs are placed in cellars with all manner of vegetables and other matters lying alongside, which makes it, by the time it gets to the retailer, anything but a first-class article, and to strangers it must convey a very erroneous impression. As good butter can be made in Manitoba as is to be found in the London market, the choicest productions of Normandy and Belgium. Farming, to carry it out successful!}^, is a science, and with few exceptions it has been carried out hitherto in this country in a very unscientific manner. The majority of those who have settled here have not been IS. f :r sowing:? lid adopt. CSS which necessary :y, let the risk taken Manitoba selves cx- especially rly carried n be made he natural lerally of a ig given to need. Im- kiccr's part re placed in ler matters imc it gets icle, and to impression, as is to be productions a science, out hitherto inner. The ,ve not been O X V. :ll i f !i- t 11 ^V: , 1 ; ? I X lit 1? N f Ijl 1 1 1 T 1 . 1 4 fl ;) rri - 1 1 '^ rillRTEFN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. ^'7 I % farmers, and tlioiigli many, in spite of tlicir ignorance of agricultural matters, have, in consec|uencc of the unusually favourable surroundings, done well, many «)thers have been led astray by tlic magnitude of the farms they had so easily acquired, and though they would probably have been very successful if farming a few acres, they became demoralised, exaggerating the value of their possessions, and, underrating the effect of inauspicious seasons and other possible ills that aft'ect a farmer's profits, they incurred unjustifiable liabilities. A man for $io enters on the possession of 160 acres of land, and for ,^320 a further 160 acres. Very pro- bably this settler would have considered himself a large farmer with 30 acres of land in the old countries, and for which he would pay a smart rent; here he has over ten times as much practically given to him in per- petuity : can any one be surprised that under these circumstances he forms an exalted idea of his pecuniary position, and feels it impossible that he can ever see a poor day again. He sets to work with a will, builds a shanty, and breaks up as much land as he can, sows his crop, which looks promising, when around comes the local agricultural machinery agent, and the follow- ing colloquy, or something very like it, takes place. "Well, Jack, Sandy, Pat," or whatever Christian name is most significant of his nationality, " I guess you arc going to have a fine crop. You'll want a reaper to take it off." Settler: "I'll try and do without it another year," feeling that with the small crop he (.S / mKlllS ) 1 ,l,V,v ('V /■/// I'h- \IKII s. i -■ \\,\s in, ii<« I, unit I 111 (iit.it riiM h,r-»nf; rNnru.ivc tn.n Iiiik i \ !.» Ii.i\\» .1 il. i>n( tlir p« I '.IDslV (' |V'V\« !•-< «>l tin .1!;* Ml I'H \.lll, .IIhI ( \( II lu.illv .in onllilol « \pj ir.i\ (' .I!',! iillm.il iii,n Inm i \ r. oivlrutl .ind p.iul l<t( •. wliiili tilt •mIIIci r. ir>''iiu «l, 1 1 lie » ,111 not iiu • 1, will \u n n< w » r,iimr, lioiii rii;lil (m \c\\ \H'\ mil. inttK '.I 1 lir tiojv. tiiiii Kill nii|ili« u nll\ ;nui thr iiil« k .I j;.>(-- en .hrinnnl.ilin!',, iinlil llu' srllN i \('»\M\t^s llu' p.iti nt tt'i ill'. Iionu'.tr.iil, ,ni -tiiii'l ion ; Ijirn tlic ,'.tii\\ i'. Innu «1 on, .nul tlu" lo» .il .i^cni ol llio |t>.m «ompiinv ;i]>|>(\n s on tlu^ sronr. ! jo Know'. ni' li.ibilitir-. .m-l niiJci l.ikts lo Iciul liiin so nnuli ;U rii;ht pci cc\\{ n iH'ili.ip'< iiioic. I'Vctpunliv IIm- ;nuonnl. .il llu^ avi\u\> (>l ilio lo.ni .i,i;(MiI, i^ soiin- Inin- dri\ls ol iloUars 1>( \»muI wlial iho l.iinui w.iiil'. lo pav his di^bts. li j,:(-iuM .illv ntpiius Inil lillh^ |HMsnasion lo inJnro him to .u'l'ipt this, wlnrh \\c liop( s lo rniplov ]>i\Milahl\ o\\ ihr lann ; aiul ho now starts aL;ain I'lrar ol\irht, wilh iho tAOi^ptivMi iM a inoilf;.im- on liis I. nul, Iwniui; iaj;hl o\ xcu ptM ccui. intrn-sl. liis opri-.ilioiis vlv> nv'«l turn out as suiTi'sstnllv as luM-\|H-rls; ailri" a payuuMit o-r t\vv> ol lutiMost nioncv, \]c lalls into ancars, law ]M\HH\\ini,i;s tollow, ami in ilis^nsl, il' loiXH-losuro is not nuuli\ luMhiows \\\i iho larni lo lIu' loan I'ompanv, anJ leaves, a saiKliM', it not a wisii" man. 1 lad ho closed his oars lo liio local maehino man in ihc liisl instaiK'o, and conlonicd himscll" wilh rullixaling unly iiiiKiii ^ )/ lA's "V /'// rh' iiiy'irs. ( »^' lilli untiv in a l'"''»- M u NV i*^- IH.HIV tl\l \\\ so uiuvli lunUlv tin' ,,ls to l^iiy lo cMUploy jmain rlcar n liis laml, ojHMalious is; alter a uio animus, s» \v< losiuc »; |n i'oiu\>any, \\m\ lu- in the iirst *■ i\aliuU' ^^'^ Iv as niiicli l.iml ,1 :, willi lii . av.iiI.iM. m.iiHial laltniii.lir rmiM pi.ipiilv v\"il,, liiivilM', iio iii.n liiiHl V milil lir niiilil |i,i\' nal( •] iMi 1 1( 111 III lllf nlKc ,f|||(i| |,|||(|; ;i, alilili tin y lil' vvilli, l»iit il » xha (av.itioii ritiiM lir |tlar( <| i diir lo a loo r.ijM i d( .iic (o \n { licli, and iiKiniin!; li.ihilitic. loi vylii<|i tli( y aic dc- |)('ndii- tain can tiiis niethoil of farming !)e canied on more successfully antl at less cost than it can in the I'luvincc of Manitoba. Kxjiensive fertih'sers are reciuircd for the production (»f all ciops in Cireat Hritaiii; here, fof many years, the piolific soil will rerpiire no stimulant ; but, if wheat fainiing be the sole object, I believe manuiM'ng is advantageous after the fnst breaking. It warms the soil and forwards the gernn'nating grain. The winter frosts penetrate to a great depth, and if the natural fall rains have taken place, its advent finds the soil pretty moist, holding it fast until the hot spring and summer suns unlock it and draw it up by rajMd evaporation, which keeps tlic surface soil cold and somewhat retards the grain growth, while, on the other hand, it, in seasons of drought, supplies the requisite root moisture. There is yet much to learn how to most successfully grow wheat and other cereals in this country, but no doubt the problem will in time be solved. Drainage, cultivation, and settlement, with tree culture, which the Government encourages, will in time check, if it does not entirely banish, the early August frosts, which have for the last few years worked such havoc wnth the wheat crop in many parts of the province. i. I 1 i rrliants. Ury art: ixlucc in lie iarni, real Uri- on iiioif rrovinci" liicd for here, i't>r tiinulant ; I believe \king. l^ ing grain, and if tlu; . finds the lot spring by rapid cold and the other requisite I e ucce ssfully try, but no Drainage, which the if it does which have ,c with the •'V X ft: TiiiKriiiiN YiiARs OX riir: pkairii-s. 7' .m VVlNMPKC. No notes on Manilol)a would be complvtc without, prominent ('(jnsiiler.ition of the I'l'airie Cit/, vvilii its unrivallec] i)osition at the conlluence (»!" two mighty riveis, and vviiieii now j)resents a very (hlVeie it appeai- ance IVcjin tliat wiiich it wore on my liist intioductioii to it tiiirtcen years ago. Hriei alhision lias been made to the hotel accommodation then existing; now, though the resident population is some 30,000 and the transient largely in excess of what it then was, the number of hotels have outstripjied the re(|uirements. The'-c are many fnio buildings replete with all modei'n comforts devoted to this puiposc, and there is now completed a monster erection of seven stories containing some hundreds of rooms, all furnished in the most ex- pensive style, fitted throughout with every appliance for the comfort of the guests, the property of the Northern Pacific Railway, and built on the city ter- minus of their line, with which it is connected, and will no doubt be largely patronised by travellers on this route to the North-West. Many imposing public and private structures have been built which would be an ornament to any city in the world. The Government buildings arc very hand- some. Three bridges span the rivers, and two more are about to be built. Trains from all directions run 72 THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. r«i into the city, though there are at present only two ter- mini. Business houses, wliolesale and retail, abound. There is a large opera-house, and the building of another is contemplated. A military school has been formed at Fort Osborne, with a lieutenant-colonel, com- mandant and staff, and about one hundred mounted infantry. Officers of the local militia can here qualify instead of being obliged as heretofore to go to the Eastern Schools. The city is lit by electr'c light, the houses by incan- descent light. There is a telephone service, and the streets are traversed by tramcars, the motive-power of the future for them to be electricity. There is a very handsome City Hall, with Mayor and Corporation. The University of Manitoba and St. John's College arc situated at the north end of the town, on the banks of the Red River, the Chancellor of the University being the Metropolitan of Rupert's Land, who resides at Bishop's Court, in the immediate vicinity of the College, and takes an active interest in the education of the pupils. The University is not a teaching body, and has hitherto acted in connection with several colleges, under a joint system ; but it is generally considc red that the time has now arrived when the University should become an educational institution, and not be, as at pre- sent, a mere conferrer of degrees. Difficulties lay in the way with regard to the rights of the existing colleges, and it is probable that the extended role of the Univer- sity will operate somewhat hardly upon them ; but it is im- & TIIIRrEnN YEARS OS THE PRAIRIES. 75 WO tcr- ibouncl. ding of as been lel, com- nounted - qualify ) to the )y incan- and the ■power of Ls a very rporation. oUege arc banks of iity being csides at jc College, n of the lody, and colleges, :1( red that |ity should as at pre- lay in the colleges, e Univer- ; but it is ■^, for the public good, and in the interest of higlier edu- cation, so that private interests must be sacrificed for the general weal. These colleges have done good work in the past, and in any future arrangement their professors may be absorbed into the teaching body of the University. A thriving Medical College has been established, and at tliC present session there are over fifty students. An excellent medical and surgical education can be had in Winnipeg, the Winnipeg General Hospital, which is the centre for treatment to the whole North-West, providing the means of acquiring a practical knowledge of medicine and surgery in its generally crowded wards. There is a maternity charity in connection with it. A large hospital has been built at the St. P)oniface side of the river, and is under the charge of the Sisters. 1\-) this hospital there is no medical staff, but it is largely utilised by medical men for their private patients. Many of the graduates educated at the M.mitoba Medical College have taken the degrees and diplomas of European universities and colleges with great credit. While the curriculum embraces all the subjects neces- sary in the colleges of Europe, and extends over a period of four years, the entire expen.se is much under what a professional education would cost in any other place. The University grants the degree of M.I), and M.C. This College is likely to attract a large number of students in the future. It must not, however, be taken that I consider the management of cither college ■y^k i It 1 ii! 74 rinNri:i:\ v/:,i/v\s- o.v rnr: ri<.iiir li()s|>i(;il as hv any means luMlrcl. W-ry lar IVoiii it. As inlant instilnlions [\\r\ arc cxcclKiil, bnl w- i\u\vc some swcci^ini; rt-lmnis in lluir niacliinrry luMoii (lu'V can (Wpcct to rank with similar institutions in other plai'es. l>oth (N)li(\L;(' and hospital are woi Ued on narrow lines— the i>rolessional jMomoteis ol" hoth, \vli« • naturally i;ravitaleil inti) tlu' various positions in eonneelion with tluMU, ic\ih)uslv exeiudiui; any piolessional man likely to eomj>ete with thcMU. I'luis all vaeaneies an* liiled iVoin tiie students, who blossom, in two oi' thrcn- months altcM" passing;, into hdI-ll(Hli;ed professors. The arguuuMil would s(HMn to l^c [\\c eounliy is youni;, thiM'nstitutitMis are youui; ; professors musl he youni;' also. JMit time will jM"ovi> tlu^ mistake of the dinhietion, and a wiser system in the interests of eollei;x* anil hospital will inevail. The law has eompK>t(^ maehincry for turnint; out attorneys anil hanistiMs, and to juili;i^ by the lari;"e number who embraee it, and wi^ar sueh a sueeessful t aj")]>earance, the jirofession hiMvniustbc a vcmv luerative I one. A ehief justiee and thive iudi;i\s hold coui"t in \Vinniix\i;-, also County Court judi;es antl stipendiary » magistrates. There are live I-.piscopalian ehurchcs, besides several Presbyterian and Methoilist j^laees oi' worship, and tw o jcwisl 1 s\ najj'oijues. At St. Honiface, a ]")art of Winni- peg", there is a lari^c Roman Catholic cathedral, close to which is the residence of Archbishop 'l\'iche. In the centre oi' the citv is a larue Roman Catholic church, ?f I bvil \(- in t>llu r I narrow laturally Lion witli an \'\\^c\\ ;nv lill^-*l >rs. 'ri>*' is youni;, ^t)rs iiuisl ;ikc (>r till- •nini;- out llic lari;o suoccssiul y UuM-ativo d court in iipcntliarv dcs several p, and tw<» oi' Winni- cdral, closc> ic. In the )lic clunxh, I /. /. ! Ifl 3 ■•■■i I 1 ■■ 1 1 ' t TIIIRTEEX YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. 75 St. Mary's. There arc two convents, and the Sisters keep schools, which arc well attended and much appre- ciated. Winnipeg returns one member to the Dominion House and two to the local Legislature. The head of the Government is the Lieutenant-Governor, who is appointed by the Government of Canada. lie has a handsome residence, and receives between salary and allowance an income of about fifteen thousand dollars a year. The appointment is held for five years. If this position were given to men who, instead of economis- ing tlic salary during their term of office — it generally being the last acknowledgment give i by the Govern- ment in power to their party supporters — to one who was in a financial position to keep up the dignity of the office, and supplement the expenditure of the salary attached to it by a liberal addition from his private re- sources, the position would carry much greater weight and would be of far greater utilit3\ There are many influential persons in the United Kingdom who would willingly take the Lieut.-Governorship of Manitoba for five years, and whose residence in Winnipeg would be of great advantage to the trade of the city, not alone by the income they would certainly expend, but by the friends that would be induced to visit his Honour dur- ing his term of office ; and as the appointment would still rest with the Dominion Government, Canadians could take no umbrage at it. The objections ought only to be made by those looking forward to the ornamental 11 ti"! I 76 THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. if HI r;] ji,! i' m •I .; ^ position and its emoluments. All others must acknow- ledge the advantage of having a man of rank and means at the head of the Government of the province, and more especially the merchants and tradesmen of Win- nipeg. By these remarks it must not be supposed that I cast the slightest reflection on those gentlemen who have filled this important position so ably. Indeed, I feel sure they would one and all agree with me that a Lieut.-Governor with a large private income occupying Government House in this city would be a boon to Winnipeg, and if selected from among the English nobility would draw us still closer to the mother country, and when the great military road provided by the Cana- dian Pacific Railway is utilised by the home authori- ties for the transportation of troops to the southern dependencies of Great Britain, an influential English- man at the head of the provincial Government might be an extra inducement for making this city a head- quarters for British troops, the pecuniary value of which to Winnipeg would be very great. The markets are well supplied with meat and fish, the latter chiefly coming from the Pacific coast. Both are retailed at a considerably less cost than in London. Vegetables are, comparatively speaking, scarce — an evidence of the want of enterprise, as land can be had for a mere song to rent close to the city, capable of growing any amount, all that is required being a proper cellar to keep them during the cold weat'ier. A winter supply of vegetables is a much-felt want, and any one THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. 77 icknow- d means ICC, and of Win- )sed that nen who Indeed, nic that a Kcupying I boon to c English :r country, the Cana- ic authori- i southern X Enghsh- lent might ty a head- [C of which and fish, last. Both lin London, [scarce — an lean be had 1 capable of ig a proper A winter Ind any one 1 m undertaking it properly would be certain of a handsome return for bis trouble. Chief among the employers of labour is tlie Canadian Pacific Railway, who in their shops and premises in Winnipeg give employment to six or seven hundred liands. The cliief repairing for the western division is done in the Winnipeg shops, and with their vast roll- ing Steele some idea of the magnitude of the work may be formed. There are also ironworks carried on by a priva .. firm. A colossal fiour-mill belonging to the Messrs. Ogilvie is kept constantly running, which witii tlieir grain and wholesale business employs a large number. Tliere are several saw-mills, and the demand for lumber, both in the city and at outside points, is generally brisk. A woollen-mill, which promises to be a great success, has lately been established at St. Boni- face, and is turning out excellent work, which will be a boon, for clothing material as a rule is dear and bad. There are abundant openings for many other indus- tries, and the projected water-power canal, if carried out, would give a great impetus in this direction ; but unfortunately the city fathers are not in accord on the matter, and have succeeded in delaying the prosecrtion of the work for a period of nearly two years. Many a growl of dissatisfaction is expressed at this, but the bark here is not often followed by the bite. The deepening of the channel of the river to Selkirk is spoken of. This would enable timber to be brought up to Winnipeg direct from the lake. «■ % ^r' 78 THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. t ^ i\ Tlicrc is no lack of amusement in tlic city — cricket, football, lacrosse, and baseball having all their votaries. There is a rowing club, which has gathered the laurels from our cousins over the border, and who would prove no mean antagonists to the Oxonians and Light Blues, with whom they will probably some day join issue. Races are held twice a year, and attract a good number of the sporting fraternity. The race track is about three miles from the cit}^ belongs to a company, and is carefully kept. There are running and hurdle races, but the chief interest centres in the trotting-matches, over which considerable sums of money change hands. Balls are frequent in the winter, when tobogganing and skating carnivals are the order of the day. The social life of Winnipeg is somewhat peculiar. Ostensibly democratic in their ideas, there is a hidden desire to be thought better than one's neighbour in the social scale, and the inhabitants are split up into coteries. There are no shops, they are all stores. The shop- keeper is a merchant, the shop-boy a clerk. At the head of this community stands the retail establishment of the Hudson's Bay Company, where dry goods and groceries of all kinds can be purchased. But here the designations are more high-sounding, the gentleman presiding behind the grocery being the assistant to the commissioner in the grocery department, his opposite colleague being assistant to the commissioner in the boot and shoe division, and so on through this admir- able and well-ordered establishment, which commands -cricket, notaries. 2 laurels Id prove It Blues, in issue. I number is about ly, and is ile races, -matciies, ee hands. )ogganing I' peculiar. a hidden our in the o coteries. he shop- At the blishment cToods and t here the q;entleman tant to the s opposite ner in the his admir- commands 3 \ -♦'•-.''.> "V ■ », \ 1 M\i)(i\FK sAWiNC \\(i(i|v i' ? 1 I '^ in r^ I rUlKTF.liS Yl'.AKS OX Till': I'NAlKIliS. 7') I >, ;i Iaij;{' ti.idc lioin tlic j^nicral cxrcllciicc oftlu- articlrs sold tlK"r(> ; but one ('.'imiot Iiclp fccliiij^', vvlicii ni.ikini^^ piiirhascs, that y<>ii arc hciiif; waited on by the very salt of the eartii in the retail line. Nowheic eaii you receive greater eivihty, or IVom no body of" em|)loy( es more attention ; bnt, when aeenstoined to plain sho|) and sliop assistant, these In'gh-sonnding titles ratlu r ^rate on one's ear. Whatever may be said to the eontraiy, the inhabi- tants of the West love titles as nnich if not inon? than their Eastern hemisphere brethren. A minister of th(-' local Lej;islatnrc is entitled by cnstom to the ])i-efix of Honourable, vvhieli he of course ought to droj) with his oflice ; but, as a rule, it is clung to with the tenacity of the octopus, and C(jnsc(iucntly the prefix rather pro- vokes contem]:)t and ridicule. It is said this is a land where Jack is as good as his master; but, somehow, a great many considv,r tliemselves masters, and look down on Jack. However, it is occasionally somewhat awkwardly asserted, namely, when the servant coolly informs her mistress that, unless she comes and helps her at the wash-tub, or cooking-stove, she won't work any more; and the poor mistress, in terror at being left without help, has to obey her maid with socialistic inclinations. On the subject of servants there is much to be sa'd. The chief servant supply is from Icelandic and German nationalities. They arrive here not knowing a word of the language, and almost entirely ignorant of domestic ! ii So 77///C77'/:.V YI-ARS OX THE rRAIRII-S. 14 ilutics. 'Ihc iiHmis;i;iti()ii a^^ciUs instil into them tliiit tlicv aic to take no scrviif iiiukr a \vaf;c ol prol)al)ly quailiupic the siiiii tiicy cuuUI lani in tluir own country. However, tliey arc better than notliin.i;, and are hired. Alter inueh trouble in teaehinj;, and putting; uj) with endless inconvenii nee from their i^Mioranee td' I'Jiglish, and wlien j^ettiii};' a little into the ways of the iiousr', generally, at the insiii^alion of some ac(|uaintanee, they become restless, and desire to leave; they take an(nher ])Iace and carry out the same j)ro^ManHne, not caring to what inconvenience they subject their emj)I(.)yers. The wages given are, to commence with, usually IVom eight to twenty tlollars a month, at the rate of I'rom about twenty to lifty pounds a year. W persons interested in obtaining places for servants in Kngland knew that hundreds of general servants could find immediate em- ployment at these wages, without undergoing a micro- scopical scrutiny as to their past lives, a difficult}' which tliey have to encounter in tlsc old country may readily be overcome, places will be easily found for them before they leave the shores of England, so that there will be no waiting on arrival here to look for a situation. One advertisement in a Winnipeg paper stating that a hundred servant women were ready to take service in Manitoba, and asking for applications stating duties and wages, would meet with such a response as to en- courage its repetition. One great mistake the ladies of Winnipeg at present make is taking servants who have tlum tliat ;n country. arc liircd. 1^ up vviti» ol" Knglisli, the house, lUance, they take anotliei" lot caring to k)ycr.s. The ly froui eight f from about ns interested lul knew that nniediate em- ,ing a micro- a ditliculty country may |.;.ly found for igland, so that to look for a ler stating that Itake service in stating duties [)onse as to en- ;c the ladies of ^ants who have 77///C77-/:\V V/'/l/v'V ()\ Till: /7v\l //v7/:.V. St I lived in this country in (.tlicr situations without rccc iv- ing a chaiactcr from tiuir last placc>. If the rule oi' w- (juiring characters was strictly observed, ladies would not be so much at the URicy of their servants, anil tiie wandeiing spirits woidd s(jon lind a difli( iihy in finding situations. At present haidly a (piestion is asked as to antecedents when the wages point has bicn satisfac- torily arranged, siini)ly because the supply is not at all equal to the demand, and in the absence of help, the Work of the house devolves on the female iinuate oi* inmates. From London alone a laige »;ontingent of servants might migrate to this country, antl by .so d(jing better their position in every respect, and, if matiimo- nially inclined, have a brighter pn^spect of securing an eligible life-partner lu-rc than they would in the old country. I hope these remarks may fall under the observation of some of those ladies interested in finding positions for young women compelled t) earn their bread. Many lady helps have come out to Manitoba and the North-West. 1 have met scveial who have all expressed their satisfaction at having come out here, much preferring the life to that of a governess at home. Of course there are menial duties to perform, but the mistress of the house generally takes her share of them, and if the lady help be a sensible girl, making the best of the situation, she soon becomes one of the famil}', and secures a happy home for herself in this new and promising land. There are several public banking establishments in i # if! m 82 rillRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. 1 -. i if the cit}', and three or four private ones. Tlic trach'ri^ conmiunity liavc every iacihty afforded them of obtain- in.n' funds for business purposes ; in.deed, the many faihu'es tliat have occurred, truly or not, are by many ascribed to tlie readiness with wliich money is advanced to traders. Were a farmer to enter one of these insti- tutions to seek an advance, an antedihivian animal entering the sacred precincts would not be regarded with greater astonishment by tlie banker and his satel- lites, though their winkle business depends on the suc- cess of the farming communit\', and their returns are dependent on good or bad seasons. There are certain times of the year when farmers may require accommo- dation for a few months, certain to have sufficient to meet an}/ reasonable liabilities they may require to incur ; but banks here are not intended for their benefit, and they must either go wnthout or get into the hands of the usurer, a ^i^cmis Juviio abounding in the Nortli- West. There are so-called ]M-ivatc banks in towm and country that do business for the moderate percentage of from four to five per cent, per month, and upwards. iVt their heads are Christian Jews, not the " Simon pure " Shylock, but his first-class double. The sound advice which bids one to ware them in the old lands, equally applies to this genus to be met with in the land of the setting sun. There can be no doubt that agricul- tural operations, cattle-dealing, and kindred industries are crippled by the absence of bank accommodation. But the profits attaching to them would be more ■^f •RIBS. The trading :ni of obtain- ;d, tlic many arc by many y is advanced :,[' these insti- hivian animal ,t be regarded and his satel- :1s on the siic- -ir returns are ere are certain [uire accommo- ve sufficient to nay require to "or their benefit, into the hands ; in the Nortl^- iks in town and rate percentage h, and upwards, c " Simon pure " le sound advice d lands, equally in the land of ubt that agricul- ndred industries accommodation, would be more Li •f t I I ^i •I I ;k . :f: I'i .-. THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. 83 than swallowed by tlic rapacious money-lender, if compelled to resort to him. An agricultural bank that would deal with the farmers, and afford them reasonable assistance when required, would be certain of success, and many who have had to abandon their farms would now be thriving agriculturists, had they been able to secure accommodation in the time of their need, and for which they could have given secu- rity. Their charter preventing banks having dealings in real estate is given as the cause of this universal rule among these institutions here. But one can hardly accept this as an explanation for it, as in England, Scotland, and Ireland bank accommodation is very far from being tabooed to the farming class. The farmers in this country are in great need of a bank that will recognise them as customers, and there is a very profitable field for the establishment of one, with head- quarters in Wiiriipeg, and branches throughout the province. There is also a Dominion and Private Savings Bank. The former is largely patronised, the latter is a recent institution. Divinity, law, and physic have numerous followers. The professions are no doubt overdone, many hanging on, hoping for a rapid increase in the population, by immigration setting into the city and surrounding country. There appears to me to be too eager a desire for professional life. The rich men of this country will be the descendants of those farmers who are now tilling its fertile soil. Taking up and cultivating a portion of u ! ",:l !( li 84 THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. tlic enormous tract of virgin country awaiting man's occupancy will surely lead to comfort and competency in the future, while professional life at its best is a thorny paih beset with many difliculties, and any great measure of success is vouchsafed to only a minimum number. The health and freedom enjo^^ed by one occupation does not admit of comparison with the other. Agriculturists, no doubt, have their days of trouble and periods of anxiety; but perseverance and prudence is bound to triumph in the end, which can- not be guaranteed in professional life. Land may be purchased close to the city of Winnipeg for from five to twenty dollars per acre ; the latter improved land, fenced, and with tolerable buildings on it. There is a ready sale for everything the farmer can produce in the Winnipeg market, yet it is very difficult to get good butter ; cream cheese is never seen ; eggs, except in the spring, are scarce, and contain much chicken meat. Vegetables, as before mentioned, are scarce, and the supply of poultry of all kinds is not nearly equal to the demand, so that they have to be brought in from Chicago and Eastern Canada. Hams and bacon cured in the province are almost unknown, and it is the same with many other articles of daily con- sumption, which can be produced quite as good and at less cost in the country, but at the present time hav to be imported from the East. If some of the market gardeners and dairy farm-keepers, so thickly congre- gated around English cities and towns where competi- RIES. . aiting man's competency its best is a :ind any great y a nunimum oyed by one ,son with the their days of ^-severance and nd, which can- Land may be g for from five improved land, •^^ There is a can produce in J difficult to get en ; eggs, except in much chicken )ned, are scarce, uls is not nearly ve to be brought lada. Hams and ost unknown, and icles of daily con- itc as good and ai present time hav 3me of the market so thickly congrc- ■ns where competi- TIIIRTEEM YEARS OX THE PRAIRIES. 85 tion makes it an incessant labour to earn a livcliliood, would but transfer themselves and their capital to this country, their energy would find a more ample and easily-earned reward. Land can be rented close to the city at merely nominal prices. There are two breweries, one belonging to E. L. Drewry, an extensive establishment, where very superior ale, porter, and lager beer is brewed. 'J'he excellence of the liquors turned out at this, ** The Red- wood Brewer}'," have commanded for its produce a large sale outside as well as tliroughout the province. There is a good opening for a distiller}'. Barley, with ordinary care, can be grown in the province to compete with any similar grain in the world. There is no chance of its being touched with frost, as, if got in at the right time, it will be harvested before there is any danger from this cause. This grain is at present, as a rule, cultivated in a very slovenly manner. Sown after all the rest of the crop is in, and ripening during the hay harvest when farmers arc busy, it is cut down, and oftencr than otherwise is allowed to remain on the ground, and not even stooked, until a leisure day enables the farmer to draw it in. Growers of barley can well imagine the appearance of this grain when threshed ; but, as it is generally grown for home con- sumption, for feed, the colour of the grain is not an object. During the late years of early frosts, barley would have been a more certain crop than Red Fyfe wheat ; and at the price paid for the latter, even that ! N ^'i 86 THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAHUES. graded No. i hard, it would have proved, if properly cultivated and harvested, more remunerative. A dis- tillery would be an incentive to its cultivation, and malt, which is now all imported into the province, would be manufactured. Flax grows luxuriantly, but twine, large quantities of which are required in harvesting operations, is im- ported chiefly from the United States, the carriage and duty making it expensive to the farmer. It is grown altogether for the seed. There is but one crushing- mill in the province, belonging to a Winnipeg firm, and this one is at work for only a small part of the year. There are several oatmeal mills, which supply the local demand. It is said that poplar bark is well adapted for making paper, but, though any amount of it can be readily obtained, no manufactory of the kind has been started. In Winnipeg, beef by the quarter may be purchased for five cents per pound, cuts from ten to fifteen cents ; this is also the ^ neral price prevaihng for poultry. Potatoes retail for from twenty-five to fifty cents per bushel, according to the time of the year. Fuel is expensive, hard coal costing ten dollars a ton, over two pounds English ; soft, eight dollars ; and wood ranges from four dollars to six dollars per cord. Coal is sure to be much cheaper when the valu- able seams existing in this province and the North- West are worked. Railways are in course of con- struction to these fields, and it is not improbable that I li TIIIRTEE ' YEARS OX THE PRAIRIES. S7 properly A dis- ion, and province, quantities ns, is ini- rriagc and . is grown crushing- g firm, and he year, supply the xrk is well ^ amount of of the kind )e purchased iftecn cents ; for poultry. fty cents per ten dollars a ight dollars; ix dollars per hen the valu- ed the North- •ourse of con- aprobable that i good coal will ere long be obtainable at from three to four dollars a ton, perhaps for less. Of fish there is, as a rule, a good supply, generally coming from the Pacific coast. Salmon sells at from fifteen to twenty cents a pound. The fish is inferior to tliat caught on the coasts and in the rivers of Great Britain, after allowing for its deterioration in the long land journey before reaching Winnipeg. The flesh is much redder, and to those accustomed to the rich, pink, curdy salmon caught in the rivers of Ireland and Scotland, loses by comparison. Herrings, smelt, and cod-fish are very reasonable in price, and tlie rivers and lakes of Manitoba, aggregating some 30,000 square miles of lishini^-ground, furnish very fine delicate- flavoured trout and whitefish. Sturgeon, gold eyes, pike, and suckers are abundant. Last year 4,6oo,oo<:j lbs. weight of trout and whitefish were exported. To the speculator and investor, Winnipeg and its vicinity presents a rich field, which many have availed themselves of to their great advantage. The growth of tlie city is steadily and soundly progressive, the fictitious values of the boom have long since passed away, and for safe and remunerative investments few cities in the world afford better opportunities. Real estate is steadily increasing in value, tlie commerce and importance of the city is yearly progressing, and though Winnipeg may not spring into the gigantic proportions of Chicago with the same rapidit}', that in time she will attain to it there can be little doubt. It If' f8 THIRTEEN YEARS OS THE PRAIRIES. i ;• r^ i: iri' is the distributing- point for a country containing luui- (Ircds of millions of acres, situated at the confluence of two noble rivers, increasing yearly in volume, which ibr a com]:)aratively small outlay can be made entirely navigable into the great lakes with which they arc con- nected — a possible and practicable waterway of the luture, extending from tlie city of Winnipeg to Rocky Mountain House on the shores of the great Saskat- chewan, one hundred and fifty miles above Edmonton. That the future will see this an accomplished fact few would den}'. Those who know the country recognise the almost limitless possibilities of the greatness to which it may attain, and what to many would now appear as the dreamings of romance will in time be- come the realisation of the future. As the country de- velops, so must the city of Winnipeg advance, Other and important cities are springing up in this immense domain, but tlic outcome of Old Fort Garry will hold its own as the gateway and capital of the great North- West. Since residing here I have known several who have gone to other lands ; dissatisfied with their prospects here, some returned to Europe, some wandered to Africa and Australia, but almost every one of them re- turned here, experience proving to them that the future was brighter, and present ills more bearable, in this vigorous young city, than in other parts of the world. Commercial depression, scarcity of employ- ment, and a straitened currency is occasionally felt luin- IKC of vvhicb Uircly c con- of the Rocky ■ Daskat- iionton. "act few cognise ness to lid now imc be- jntry de- Other immense ill hold North- vho have Drospects dci-ed to them re- that the bearable, ts of the employ- nally felt i 'i I'ICNIC. TIIIRTEEX YEARS OX THE PRAIRIES. 89 licrc, as in all other places ; hut tlic exhilarating climate, the prevailinjj^ hi'ight sunshine, and the ahounding evi- dences of rapid progress, recognisahle on all sides, coun- teract desponding influences. And those ills which, among other surroundings, so frequently lead to sad results, are here cast ofT as evanescent troubles, to be soon overcome and foi'i^ottcn. Gamk. Though not one solitary specimen remains to repre- sent the once countless herds of buffalo which roamed over the prairies of the North-West, there is still a fair head of various game to tempt the sportsman. The moose, cariboo, elk, jumping deer, black and cinnamon bears, lynx, wolverine, timber and prairie wolf, fox, beaver, and smaller animals are fairly plentiful, and if the laws arc strictly enforced as to the close seasons for the various species, they will become more abun- dant. More especially must be guarded against a too sentimental feeling as to the rights of the redskins to shoot at all times and seasons for sustenance on their preserves. This privilege they have grossly abused, killing animals heavy with young outside their limits for the mere love of destruction, as neither their flesh nor pelt is then of any value. As the Government feed the Indians, so should they strictly enforce game laws. A herd of buffalo might with advantage have been kept '4: I 1* '. .* 90 riURTHUN YEARS OS THE PRAIRIES. m f \-> on each reserve, vvliich would not only have preserved this valuable animal, hut would have provided food for each (;f the bands, as well as occujiation in properly herding them. Regulations which govern them in other matters could have been made as to the number of live animals they should at all times be able to pro- duce. The Dominion Government have shown a strange disregard to the preservation of the buffalo. It is to be hoped the local governments may not act in a similar spirit towards the other wild animals of the country. Of the feathered tribe, there are the prairie chicken, or, more properly, the grouse, an excellent bird for the table; the partridge, very unlike the English bird in habits, as, when disturbed in the bush, they always perch on some adjacent tree, and you may shoot three or four on the same branch, one after the other, the re- port of the gun not disturbing them. You must, how- ever, select the lowest perched bird first. I have myself in this way killed three — an unsportsmanlike prov >.jding, some will exclaim. My excuse is I was shooting for the pot. These, with snowbirds, are permanent dwellers in the land. Of migrating game wc have geese, duck, widgeon, snipe, plov«, •, and the sand-hill crane, when properly cooked a very appetising morsel. There are a host of small birds, from the falcon to the humming- bird. I have watched several of the latter skimming around the apple-blossoms in my garden. The ubiqui- tous swallow finds this a well-stocked hunting-ground. :rvctl .d for ipcrly m in inibcr ) pro- nvn a )uftak). lot act nals f>r :hickcn, for the bird in always ot three the re- st, hovv- nysclf in ^,jding, bting for dwellers se, duck, lie, when here arc umming- skimming le ubiqui- 3--ground. Ill I KILLS YL.iRS ON THE PKAIRILS. y« Tlie myriads of mosquitoes arc preyed upon by thcin as well as by tlie night-hawk, and a laigc kind of dra- gon-fly called the mosquito-hawk, 'riioiigh they must devour vast quantities of the pests, their numbers do not appear to diminish. I must not foiget to mention what are known here as rabbits, though they live above ground, and more resemble the Knglisii hare. At times the underwood swarms with these animals, their fur turning white in the winter months. A couple of guns can, in a short time, bag a hundred of them. Their flesh is excellent. A curious fact in connection with them is, that every seven years they almost die out. They may then be found around the bluffs dead in hundreds, and when the disease which carries them off appears among them, the Indians cease to use them as food. They arc veiy scarce for two or three years after this periodical epidemic appears amongst them, but they rapidly increase again up to the seventh year, when this disease again devastates them. If some scientific searcher could discover the cause of this re- curring mortalit}', and find it to be communicable to the species elsewhere, he would be entitled to the large reward offered by the Government of Australia for information which would lead to the extermination of the animals there, which have increased so rapidly as to cause serious mischief. Wolves afford very good sport for the huntomon, and both in Manitoba and the Territories there are packs of hounds kept for this purpose, which give a h rr 92 THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. good account of both fox and wolf. The latter give capital runs. Valuable medicinal herbs abound on tlie prairies and in the woods. The Indians and half-breeds collect large quantities of senega or snake-root, tons of which are annually sent out of the countiy, cliiefly to the United States. There are many other herbs of equal value, but as yet they have not been sought for. There are also many kinds of wild flowers indigenous to the soil, brilliant of hue, but, with the exception of the dog-rose, which growls in great profusion, are generally without perfume. The well-known flower- seeds, mignonette, sweet pea, &c., do well ; indeed, all annuals that can be grown in England will here grow luxuriantly ; but perennials, as a rule, perish in the severe winter frosts, though, if well covered over with manure, they might withstand it. One sadly misses the sweet-smelling flow^ers and glorious roses of old England, the climbing ivy, and many-hued scented creepers ; but, if the nostrils are not regaled, vision is abundantly favoured by the bewildering beauty of the woods and prairies. In the fall of the year, words cannot describe, or painter's brush limn, the gorgeous masses and variety of shades of colouring which the eye c:>n then feast on. This sublime loveliness, born of decay, must be seen to be appreciated. Hops grow most luxuriantly in the woods, and in their wild state would compare favourably with the cultivated plant around the valleys of Kent and Essex. give incs )llect ;hicb ) the equal ; for. [^nous ion of 1, are Lower- ed, all ; grow in the r with misses . of old iccnted ision is of the words irgeous ich the is, born and in ith the 1 Essex. ■^ _) n ''fl THIRTEEN YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. 93 No attempt to cultivate tlicni 'las yet been made, but, MO (loul)t, atteiitiou will be soon directed U) it, as if so luxuriantly /^rowing in the wild state, tiieii' culture would no doubt prove very i)r(jritable, and, in com|)ari- son with what is re(|uisite in Knghind and els('where Joi' Uieir ])ropaf:;ation, it would be attended with but trifling' expense, all that would be necessary being to judiciously lliin out a poplar blulV, leaving good protec- tion on the veige, and set the plants at the rtjots of each standing tree, when for years they would require no further attenti(jn. Raspberries, quite as large as the English garden raspberry, are in great profusion ; plums of fair size arc )ilentiful. 'i'he cranberry, bluberry, and saskato(jn berries are very abundant, and the small wild straw- berry in some seasons covers the ])rairie. The fruit is small but the flavour delicious ; pails of these straw- berries can be purchased in the season at about seventy-five cents. Imported red and black currant trees produce quite as well as in Great Britain. Every known vegetable can be cultivated to the greatest per- I'ection with very ordinary care. In fact, so freely and rcac'-'ly do they grow, that they do not, as a rule, re- ceive that modicum of attention required, quantity more than quality being the general aim. Potatoes, without a shovel of manure, produce from three to five hundred bushels per acre. How many a stalwart Irish family have been reared on three or four acres of land, ay, on one acre, before the staple food of the Irish SI' if' >)l / ////v" ;•/■;• \ )h i.vs ('.\ / /// I'h' \ih'ir v. IK ' I piM'^.nit li. 1 imr '.nl»ji I ( In tlr;i;\^(', (lir pl;nil ihiii 1 « .pni illf: I ,11 t l\)l rnll i\ ,l(li>n. Willi ,1 rnnplciil i nw^, .1 It \v pi;;^ .lU'l p«Milli\, ,1 wiiin ',1i;imI\, :iihI l\vriil\- i\\r .itic-! (»l l.nitl In. I'wn pi>'piil\, Liml lli.il li>i ;i ItMUi lime will Hipiiir iio ni.iiinir, in \\ li;il minlnil 1 .Mil. I .m 111' li l.niiiK lt\f. will' ;iii' now (mini!; I"! •;nli- ^r-t«'n<(^ iMi llir \\ oi n mil ■ kiI i>I (ixii n;ili\< l.ind ; ;in«l \ (I nnlliiMv; .M ;icir'. <>l llir. 'oil ,n«' ;i\v;nlin!', ocrnp:! li.Mi. ;niJ ^.iv Inur-; Iwtnlv li\< .icirs ;]'- ;i Im<' r.ill lioni llir ( ».^\ (1 niU( nl Im 1 hr .r-Ki ,, .'ii' .nn i.il<" nvrr ri>;Iilr(n, ;in! .1 l.uinlx. ,\ J^'ml Nnimn (..\\ ;n r:w\ b<^ pni rli.i-'t'.l l.n li\(^ ponntl'-;, v'"in,<; pi'V- I'M rij-Jil sbillin>;'-. W'hiMi tMU^ it.i.l'. ».| .>! lr(d;n>l"tm '. on lli<' l\mvn lnj;lil;\n«l> ol SfnlLuid, mid IIk- .ipp'iisl;nu"(' l«> K^^^tMio llu'tn lidin dcilh l»v bunjixM . il r.nuiol l.iil l<> poini lo llu- l.wl IhnI llic m.uliiuiM \- iov ]MiMn.Min!; innnij;i;\liiMi lii lliis connlrv hns b(\Mi \ (M \' iinM'liriiMi 1. ll i'. lnu~ lli.il ;in inllnx n( ]\in]M^r^ in tln^ land i'> l.ir troni d(-sir.iM(\ hul vc.ir .Hln V(\ii . wilb r.n(' inl1(^s, nrt^^ssilalinii;- ( lovcMinncnt and looal nirasnios o1 irlicM. \\\^n1d nt>t it \\a\c \h'c\\ far hottrr, and nuudi loss rostl\ , (.^ have sent tlu^ fainiiics tv-" Manit('>bn aiul tlu^ Ni^rtli-Wt^st, providing- tluMii wilh {he small caiMtal require^] to start ihcm on tluMrlanns? The late famine i^rovailinj;- ou ihc \\\s{cvu stM-b«xird ci Ireland during- tlie winter, whieli was, lunvevei*, e I; / NIL- I I IN VI I A", n;; / /// /•/' Ulll ',. 'r-, nlv- ni :l nioi I .;nl. iiml ■up:> II nni inllK niinlvv lu\ <>l y aWcv ^\-;\'\\ry\ \t i>n«l rcu tar amilirs III with t.inns ? \-l>(i;\r(l nvovcr, « iiIIiImIi (| ll V I Im I II m -,( ( III Mill ' i( ( |( fl 1. ' ( r'tV I rilll' III Wnll; ; ;nifl ;i l;il!','' |i!ivMh' I'ImI luii'l, lli.ll:' ; fill--, ;iii I i|l|)nt hllM I IIIM ll ll III il (I'll lj> Ml 1 1) M it I' ill I ll ' i|i r t -, lir I'll r llir ;iiil III ll ll M ;, iiimm » |i»(i.illv ;r; il i-; < < »iilf fn[il.i I' ' I III |iiM\ii|r ;i l.iijM- aiiii lovv.ii'l-; ;i'^;^i .1 iii.c il I' » w v;li'» li;l\r ,1 L III >wl< i|j',' i|l 'il llii' ' , 'ii ;if inn. I livr arif ., <•! <<»|(|, '.liiiiy l,iiif| 1,11 liflNi \(, MCJcrl '.( (I imr; ( »l l.llif I Mil nli('||i iiil 1 1 1« ' '' iiili 1 1 '/, ' ll ViMi li J^ « ;i( h .crliMii iiiln lliiily ;m |( l;iiiii',, |f ;iviii|', Mi' I' rii;iiii- I I If; Imi I \' ;iri f"; Im i m;i( I \\M y • a 1 1' I ' '»iiiiiinii;i/'/ ; hniM '.n r;irli lliill\' ;i(i(".;i '.iiil;iM«' li« iiii* ',1' ;i' I, |)i';il< ;iii»l t»;i'k- scl Im ;i(lc'. oil «;mIi l;illii, ;iii'| pinvi'l' Mif .' I M' r Willi a c-r,.v, a (nii[)lr (i| pi)':., aii'l y'»l<'' <>\ n/jn, v/iMi s(mmI jiraiii Millii i( III l<» !.<»w lii ; laii'l, al .'i.'fd |»')t;ilor--, j |t|,i((' llic «liHn(iil hiiiiilif'. on Mir I.iikI , in Mif r;itly spiiii/;, willi IiiihI . I'» pun li;i:,c \n<)<\ iinlil Ii;ii vr.t, Mi*- wliolc to l»<" paid lor l>y ' mall aiinii;il iii',t;iliiif nf,, aii'l I reel ;aiic llial on cadi j.r'ctioii lw( nly llitivin^^ farriili' ■, would l«' loiind lidorc llify wci'' llircf; yfar-, in Mk- connlfv. Ami to llic siiri'>im(lin^ farmers far li <>f tlirsc scttlciiiciits would l>< >l matcrinl iKriffif, provifl- iii/^^ labourers at the busy s^-asons of fhf yf:af. 'I Ik- plan is a (rasihle one, aii\il'\ f^e carried out with advanta^^e to all. Thr- comparatively large tracts of land hitherto j^dven free were, no doubt, 11 H 96 rillRTEEX YEARS ON THE PRAIRIES. ill I;? i • I : : I K' iii ! <'i ■ V - ''' '■ r ji I 11 i K 1 ; given with a view of co npcting witli the United States in attracting immigrati ~sn, but those who have Hved in tiie country now sec t>]c mistal^e, for throughout the province not a tenth of ^\\c land taken up is under cultivation, or is being utilised, and the settlers are generally a mile apart, when twenty families would do well and prosper on six hundred and fifty acres ; two settlers, particularly if bachelors, would improve neither their own condition nor the land they dwelt on. The cliildren of Irish or Scotch settlers placed on these thirty-acre farms would grow up in the ways ^^f the country, and would in time move to homesteads of their own in the further west. Of course, my scheme of thirty-acre farm grants only applies to those who are sent out to this country and started in farming at Government expense. To those gentlemen owners of small estates in Ireland, who will avail themselves of the proposed opportunity of selling to the tenants now in occupation of the lands the freehold of their farms, I would say that no country in tlie world offers better inducement for the investment of their capital. Farm- ing their own demesnes, as most resident Irish gentle- men arc accustomed to do, they would be here able to utilise their agricultural experience to the best advan- tage ; and tlic money paid for their estates, judiciously employed, would return a larger income, without in- curring the slightest risk, than in any other country I am acquainted with. It would be very easy for several friends to settle in the same district, and thus keep up itatcs 'cd ill Lt the under •s arc would acres ; iprove clt on. 1 these of the ;ads of scheme dio are ling at ners of ;lves of its now farms, s better Farm- gentle - ; able to ; advan- liciously lout in- Duntry 1 • several keep up THIRTEEN YEARS OX THE PRAIRIES. 97 old acquaintances and friendsliip in a country which will assuredly, in the course of time, become as great, if not greater, than the miglity republic tiiat borJors us. To tliose who can live in comfort in the time- honoured land of old England I do not address myself. It would, indeed, be unwise for any one with sufficient means to live there to transport themselves and their families to the American continent ; but many an Irish estate will be sold, and, when all charges are paid off, but a comparatively scanty remainder will be left to support the owner and his family hi that position which they were accustomed to hold. Here they can, for a small outlay, secure a larger landed estate than they had parted with, and, by the exercise of ordinary prudence, surround themselves with all the comforts and many of the luxuries of life ; and what to parents will probably prove the greatest attraction, as the resources of this great land gradually develop, nume- rous opportunities will be afforded for the advancement of their children's interest. The English farmer who has been vainly struggling against falling marlvcts and adverse seasons for years past, until resources and energy are alike nearly worn out, can by coming here recuperate both once more. All the soil requires is the willing hand to work it, wlien, in return, it will yield its teeming treasures. That vast mineral wealth lies under the surface of the North-West there can be no doubt. Coal abounds ; evidences of petroleum have been met with in many places ; gold, silver, copper, and G ' t l.f 'I' n 98 rmirinj;iniL;' up in various localities, and all liMid to assure a v(M"v brii^lit future lor this, the- loyalest eolony o\' (irtMt Britain. Polities here are always a hurninj^ (|ucstiim. Tiicy piMvadi' every etMumnnity, c^ven the soeial eircU^ is not saercd iVoni their intrusion, riu'y arc everlastini^Iy Inibblini;- uji, aiul sway all elections, from tlu> post of seaveni;(M- to that ofpriMiiior, and, as we are overloadcnl witii govcrnnieut, iiavini;- the Donn'nion Ciovcrnment, the L(H\'d ("lovcrnnient, and the Municipal Government, with, a short time since, th.e County Councils, " which have been happily wiped luit," a great field is prescntctl tor the ]tolitical adventurer, a role which is i;enerally taken up lor the shekels it may brini;- in, and is pur- sued as a means of livehhood, w^hich well-known fact tlocs not place all, particularly local politicians, in that proud position which Cicsar's wife was supposed to occupy. Conservatives antl Grits are the opposing' ]-)arties. What the origin or meaning of the latter term, as applied to a political party, is, I have been unable to ascertain. It can hardly be taken in the dictionary' meaning of tlie word, but nevertheless it signifies here what the word " reformer " does in Eng- land, and no English reformer was ever more Kncom- promising in his political doctrines than is the Canadian Ilia ins world ;t, niul isliiiij; ml all )yalcst riicy is not -^tiiiKiy X)St ol loadi'd nniciit, nincnt, ' wliicli jscntctl ncrally is pur- wn fact in that Dscd to pposing : latter :c been in the eless it in Eng- i.ncom- lanadian vf [111 « i.ii W''M \\t'>i I", Mi Iv'ii'iijJllll' '''''"■' vi 11*11 r'i,. 'liiViiiiT ' y, liii. ,,,',', !l il'i 'if:'':;«'|'',,',i,, II . ^ . nil' ; III /I J1l;,li|i;!|!!''i,:,;^.:,iS iltf'' '^>|i i;;i|!(' .ill' . 'I'L, In" I|!i'r'''''-il|'vii4iili\ : i i.M'l', i' if:'l",i'''''''V ill ■ifi:^«ii.;;ii 1 I'li'mi'l I'' " :l||ifei?-'i' :\tM}iyl'lE mm. M' \'¥m '< '' li'l'l , TU:: 1 1 vW '■'■■ ■' f IP ■ ','1 W'lilV' ill' '* If Jill ,ii wmt^ 'HlW ii'''ii rillRlEE^ YEARS OX Till- PRIIRIES. ')') Cirit. I lis (;p|-)onrnts cannot do ri;ut it is to the Conservative jKirty, and more esj)(>eially to the old warrior Conservative ehicT, vSir John Mardonrdd, that Canada owes the ])'*oiiiinent ])osition she now oecMipics ainont; the conntries of the world, and the hiilliant lutun^ which is rapidly nnloldin^;- lor liei'. The suc- cessful fedcrati(jn (jf the provinces, and theii" increasini^f homogeneity, is due to the acumen and h^i-esi^dit of the Conservative chieftain. Jhe j^reat transc(jntinental railway, the world-renowned Canadian Pacihc, would, hut for him, he now under consideration instead of heiuf;" an accom])lished lact, perfect in all its nu"nutest details, and spreatlini;' out its tentacles over thc^ oceans of the world in the shape of magnificent steamships, to feed the colossal road which is the wondei- and admira- tion of every traveller. For his share in hriuL^in^^ about these two events, brilliant epochs in Canadian chronology, his name will ever be indissolubly con- nected with the brightest pages of early Dominion history ; and when to these arc added a Hfe-long service in his adopted country's interests, as its leader and guide, Conservatives of the future have tangible evidence to point to of the great benefits secured b}"- their prede- cessors. And pre-eminent among them ail, for untold time, must rank the name of John A. Macdonald, w^hose statesmanlike qualities enabled him to shape out of chaos what will in the future become one of the dominat- ing nations of the earth ; and not only did he build it up, It ^f »i ii If u n KTO llIlKriiliS M-AKS o.v ////•; I'KAlKirS. I>iil l.uiiuluil it siu'rcssliilly on tlic wnfM's .i;(u^r;i(>liy. I l(- Ituiiul it the t,";in;ul.js, t-ninposctl nl m.inv parts; lie i(-lt it wchlcil inlt> one miand wlioli , .i \.\st ddiniiiion. W'li.il \\'asliinj;loM aciMin|ilisliei>i l«»v tlir Amnieaii \\t • jniblit- l>y lorn' ol arms, l\lac«lonaM hv statesniausliii) {HWoMvilly l>r«>iii;lit abmii. I'm , to all it\t( uts and pui- poses, i\\c ("anatlians areas tree as the Aineriean |Kople, and were tluv to liesiie to sever all eonnet'tion with (treat l>rilani, no atteiu|>t to enloree nnwillini; allej;i- ant'e WtuiKl in- made hy that i>o\vei. lUit it is happily the j;Iory ol tlu" Canadian to leel that he is a snhjeel ol Kngland's iuIcm', .nul that tlu^ lair land he tlwells in is the hi ii;lUest jewt 1 in Ihitain's erown, peoj)ied hy loyal hearts, and tiue to tlu^ inothiM-land. l'!i-eentiie ulter- ini;s as to annexation to the I'nited States arc oeea- sionally heard ; hut thoui;h the whole mii;ht and pDwer o\ the so-eallevl rcMoiiuers, haeke wc^lci^ U^idini: to sevtr- ance tV»>in Kni;land. thetriumjth ol' the oUl Conservative chiet" ]"»roved unmistakahly the feclini;" o[ the {>eo|ile on tliis suhjeet. It will he a hrij^ht day for Kni;land, and a hap]\v day tor her ei^lonies, when the scheme of Im- perial lederation which is now talked ol", and hy many regarded as impracticahle, becomes an accomplished tact. The day that dawns on the fruition of this idea will see the Anglo-Saxon race the most powerful of the world's peoples, in a position to look calmlv on at the disputes of otlier nationalities, secure by their fedcra- if 1 j: u ; I': H ^ f *i. a. I a St TijiRTi'r.x v/:.iAvs n\ riir. I'hwih'ir.s. II =1 -> .'„ ' L> ' _ > V -t*. lJ ■r. ^ y^ ^ ■^ > •"^z^ y. "*■ " V ^ --Hf ' — ' --— y. *^ >•»— H- ' — - ^ '&^ y. "- -^ ts- ij ti(i!i ni^Minst any ruid aH rouibii)ali< iis wliicli iiiii^lit. he attcni|)1('(j, and n'lyinjjf inlircly on tlicir own rcsonrcrs inr (V'lv r('(|uircMn(Mit. ICacli Inyal lirait must wish Ihai this, tJic i^ianrlcsl courcption nl tli'' closin^^ years <)(" lJ)c ni"n('t(HM»tli ('cnlniv, may n ; it is lor tJiem to elaborate it. ("I.IMAI t.. The jirevailini; (Mimatc of Manitoba and the North- Wcst is mueh maiii,Mic