'^^ 
 
 vsr. 
 
 IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 1.0 
 
 I.I 
 
 m 
 
 ■A&12.8 
 
 ut liU |22 
 2.0 
 
 
 11.25 III 1.4 
 
 I 
 
 IMI 
 
 liJ4 
 
 ill 1.6 
 
 i 
 
 
 "> 
 
 
 <y^ A? 
 
 
 ^J" 
 ^ 
 
 '/ 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sciences 
 
 Corporation 
 
 23 west MAIN STRCfT 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 
 
 (716)872-4503 
 
 

 1 
 
 CIHM/iCMH 
 
 Microfiche 
 
 Series. 
 
 CIHIVI/ICIVIH 
 Collection de 
 microfiches. 
 
 Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Instltut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 
 
 i> 
 
 ^ 
 
 
Tschnical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notat tachnlquaa at bibllographlquaa 
 
 Tha Inatltuta haa attamptad to obtain tha baat 
 original copy availabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia 
 copy which may ba bibliographically uniqua, 
 which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha 
 raproduction. or which may aignificantly changa 
 tha usual mathod of filming, ara chackad balow. 
 
 D 
 
 n 
 
 D 
 
 Colourad covars/ 
 Couvartura da coulaur 
 
 r~| Covara damagad/ 
 
 Couvartura andommagia 
 
 Covara rastorad and/or laminatad/ 
 Couvartura raataurAa at/ou paliiculAa 
 
 Covar titia miasing/ 
 
 La titra da couvartura manqua 
 
 Colourad maps/ 
 
 Cartas giographiquas an coulaur 
 
 Colourad ink (i a. othar than blua or black)/ 
 Encra da coulaur (i.a. autra qua blaua ou noira) 
 
 rn Colourad platas and/or iliustrationa/ 
 
 Planchas at/ou illustrations •n coulaur 
 
 Bound with othar matariai/ 
 Rail* avac d'autras documents 
 
 Tight binding may causa shadows or distortion 
 along intarior margin/ 
 
 La raliura sarrAe paut causar da I'ombra ou da la 
 distortion la long da la marga intAriaura 
 
 Blank laavaa addad during rastoration may 
 appear within tha taxt. Whanavar possibia, thasa 
 hava baan omittad from filming/ 
 II sa paut qua cartainas pagas blanches ajoutias 
 iors d'une restauration apparaissant dans la texte, 
 mais. lorsque ceia Atait possibia, ces pages n'ont 
 pas 4t4 filmAas. 
 
 The 
 toti 
 
 L'institut a microf ' ..m* la maillaur axemplaira 
 qu'il lul a 4tA poaaibia da aa procurer. Lea ditaiia 
 da eet exempiaira qui aont paut*Atre uniques du 
 point de vue bibilographiqua, qui peuvent modifier 
 une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une 
 modification dans la mAthode normala de f ilmaga 
 sont indiqute ci-deaaoua. 
 
 pn Colourad pagea/ 
 
 D 
 
 Pagea da coulaur 
 
 Pages damaged/ 
 Pages endommagAea 
 
 Pages restored and/oi 
 
 Pages restauries at/ou peiiiculAes 
 
 Pages discoloured, stained or foxei 
 Pages dicoiortes, tacheties ou piqutes 
 
 Pagas detached/ 
 Pages d^tachAas 
 
 Showthroughy 
 Transparence 
 
 Quality of prir 
 
 Quality InAgala de I'impression 
 
 Includes supplementary materii 
 Comprend du material suppKmentaire 
 
 Only edition available/ 
 Seule Mition disponible 
 
 I — I Pages damaged/ 
 
 r~| Pages restored and/or laminated/ 
 
 r~lr Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ 
 
 I I Pagas detached/ 
 
 r~~|' Showthrough/ 
 
 nn Quality of print varies/ 
 
 |~n Includes supplementary material/ 
 
 r~n Only edition available/ 
 
 The 
 posi 
 of tl 
 fllml 
 
 Grig 
 begi 
 the I 
 sion 
 oth« 
 first 
 sion 
 or ill 
 
 The 
 shal 
 TINI 
 whii 
 
 Map 
 diffc 
 entii 
 begi 
 right 
 requ 
 metl 
 
 Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata 
 slips, tissues, etc., have been ref limed to 
 ensure the best possible image/ 
 Les pages totalement ou partieilement 
 obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, 
 etc., ont M fiimtes i nouveau de fapon A 
 obtenir la meiiieure imege possible. 
 
 y 
 
 Additionol comments:/ 
 Commentaires supplAmentaires; 
 
 Irregular pagination. 
 
 This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ 
 
 Ce document est filmi au taux de reduction indiqu* ci-dessous. 
 
 10X 14X 18X 22X 
 
 MX 
 
 30X 
 
 y 
 
 12X 
 
 16X 
 
 20X 
 
 24X 
 
 28X 
 
 32X 
 
The copy fllmad here het been reproduced thenkt 
 to the generosity of: 
 
 Netionel Librery of Censde 
 
 L'exempleire film* fut reproduit grAce k la 
 gAnAroeit* de: 
 
 BibliothAque nationale du Canada 
 
 The images appearing here are the best quality 
 possible considering the condition and legibility 
 of the original copy and In keeping with the 
 filming contract specifications. 
 
 Original copies In printed paper covers are filmed 
 beginning with the front cover and ending on 
 the last page with a printed or Illustrated impres- 
 sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All 
 other original copies are filmed beginning on the 
 first page with a printed or illustrated Impres- 
 sion, and ending on the last page with a printed 
 or Illustrated Impression. 
 
 Les images sulvantes ont AtA reprodultes avec le 
 plus grand soln, compte tenu de la condition et 
 de la nettetA de Texemplaire filmA, et en 
 conformit6 avec les conditions du contrat de 
 fllmage. 
 
 Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en 
 papier est Imprimte sont f ilmte an commengant 
 par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la 
 dernlAre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'Jmpression ou d'illustratlon, soit par le second 
 plat, salon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires 
 originaux sont f limAs en commenpant par la 
 premlAre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustrstlon et en terminant par 
 la dernlAre page qui comporte une telle 
 empreinte. 
 
 The last recorded frame on each microfiche 
 shall contain the symbol ^^> (meaning "CON- 
 TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), 
 whichever applies. 
 
 Un des s/mboles sulvants apparattra sur la 
 dernlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le 
 cas: le symbols -^ signlfle "A SUIVRE", le 
 symbols V signlfle "FIN". 
 
 Maps, plates, charts, etc.. may be filmed at 
 different reduction ratios. Those too large to be 
 entirely included in one exposure are filmed 
 beginning In the upper left hand corner, left to 
 right and top to bottom, as many frames as 
 required. The following diagrams illustrate the 
 method: 
 
 Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent Atre 
 fllmto A des taux de rMuctlon difftrents. 
 Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre 
 reproduit en un seul clichA. 11 est fllmA A partir 
 de Tangle supArleur gauche, de gauche A drolte. 
 et de haut en bas. en prenant le nombre 
 d'images nAcessalre. Les diagrammes sulvants 
 lllustrent la mAthode. 
 
 1 2 3 
 
 32X 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
J 
 
 % 
 
 / 
 
 
 T 
 
 AI^ 
 
 WIT 
 
 1 
 

 
 /. 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE; 
 
 SKETCPIES OF TRAVEL 
 
 FROM 
 
 LAKE ONTARIO TO LAKE WINNIPEG, 
 
 AND 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION, CLIMATE 
 CIVIL INSTITUTIONS, INHABITANTS, PRODUCTIONS * 
 AND RESOURCES OF THE RED RIVER VALLEY ; 
 
 WITH MAP OP MANITOBA AND PART OP THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORY AND. 
 DISTRICT OP KEWATIN, PLAN OP WINNIPEG, AND OF THE DAWSON ROUTE, 
 VIEW OP PORT GARRY, AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 BY 
 
 J. C. HAMILTOJSr, M.A., LL.B. 
 
 CANADIAN COPYRIGHT EDITION. 
 
 BELFORD BROTHERS 
 
 1876. 
 
W\p\rr\\L^TorJ , Cro 
 
 ' Thf ncwg has flown frne mouth to mouth : 
 The North for ance has banged the South."" 
 
 —Old Scotch Sono. 
 
 " It is indeed n Land woi'th flghtintf for," 
 
 — Db. W. H. Russell. 
 
 Entered according to the Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the 
 year one thouHand eight htindred and seventy-six, by James 
 Cleland Han»ilton, in the Office of the Minister of Agriculture. 
 
 UUNTRR, KOBE AKI) CO., PRINTF.RS, 
 26, WELLINGTON HTKK.KT, 
 TORONTO. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Two centuries have passed since a Jacobite poet published 
 his " Proposition for the Advancement of Experimental 
 Philosophy," wherein he sketched a plan for the establish- 
 ment of a Philosophical College. Of its score of professors, 
 four were to b<3 always travelling beyond the seas " to give 
 a constant account of all things that belong to the learn- 
 ing, and especially natural experimental philosophy, of 
 those parts." 
 
 They were to take a solemn oath never to write any- 
 thing to the College, but what, after a diligent examination, 
 they believed to be true. 
 
 It is in the spirit here indicated that the writer took up 
 his pen, on Lake Superior and the R«d River of the North, 
 and began these sketches, now presented collectively, but 
 much of which first appeared in a Toronto journal. 
 
 He endeavours to tell you plainly what he saw and 
 gathered in a summer trip from the capital of Ontario over 
 the beautiful Northern waters and some of the mineral 
 regions, rich with hidden treasures, of the " North Shore." 
 From these he will ask you to pass, b}'^ lake, rail and river, 
 to the Prairie Province, and to hear of the immense fertile 
 region of which it is the key, and which a popular writer, 
 
IV 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 traversing its broad plains when in their winter slumber, 
 has called the "Great Lone Land." 
 
 The traveller here finds a region larger than many 
 European States, which, though unsurpassed in climate 
 and resources, has remained, as a great hunting reserve, 
 untouched by the wave of civilization, which has spread 
 along its southern, and beyond its eastern and western 
 limits. 
 
 He may enter the little quadrilateral, carved out of this 
 great North land, which has become a part of the Dominion, 
 with the bison on its coat of arms, and bearing the 
 name of that Great Spirit, the guardian of its plains and 
 rivers, the Manito of its wild children — their " speaking 
 God" — Manitoba. Our readers will leani of its city and 
 villages, its broad prairies through which flow rivers that 
 drain the richest soil ; of the men of various hue, speech 
 and origin, who are gathering in its valleys and finding 
 happy homes in this wonderful West. We will refer 
 to the gieat Companies, of which the most famous re- 
 ceived its charter about the time that Cowley framed 
 his college scheme, whose servants followed the chase, and 
 were ever friends of the Red man, but who found even 
 this broad land scarcely broad enough for them, few as 
 they were, and strove to the death for mastery and undi- 
 vided gain. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAIJE 
 
 Toronto to Thunder Bay — Modes of Travel — Owen Sound — The 
 " Frances Smith "— Gitche-Gumee— The North Shore— Thunder Bay 
 and Cape— Prince Arthur's Landing— Fort William— R. C. Mission 
 —The Dawson Road — Railway along the Kaministifiuia 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Thunder Bay to Red River— Duluth— Superior City— Duluth to Fargo 
 —The St. Louis River— The Northern Pacific Railway— "The Last 
 Turn "—The Mississippi— Scenery — Fargo 11 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Down the Red River — Its Sources and Tributaries— Tlie Prairie — Red 
 Lake River — Grand Forks— Frojf Point — The Roseau— What the 
 Geologists say — An Ante-Diluvian — Emerson — Whitehaven— The 
 " Nigger"— A " Buck "—Metis— Point Gruette— Scratching River- 
 Settlements — Mennonites — Sunset — Governor M'Dougall and his 
 Guard— Cawtain Cameron and his "Blawsted Fence "—Butler— Wol- 
 seley- Good Night — Verses 17 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Winnipeg— For. Garry — City and People— The Barracks— Fort Osborne 
 —Hudson's Bay Company Reserve — A Gala Day— Winnipeg Institu- 
 tions a nd Environs —Artesian Wells — Water Works— Illustrations- 
 Garry Pets — Train Dogs— Deer Lodge— Silver Heights— Indians, 
 Carts and Shagynappi — Police— Plan of City 34 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Geographical Position of Manitoba— Three Divisions— Red River— The 
 Roseau Valley — The Assiniboine — Its Parishes— Pembina Railway- 
 Emerson— Mennonite Country and Settlements —Point du Chene — 
 Caleclonia- Millbrook — Railway from Thunder Bay— Lake Winni- 
 peg—Icelanders — Peguis — Whitwold— ( Uandeboye — Grassmere- Vic- 
 
VI 
 
 lUiNTKNTS. 
 
 PAUB 
 
 t<»ria-KMckwood -New Penitentiary— WtHxUandH— Meadow Lea- 
 Other SettlenientH — Portace la Prairie -liunwide — WeHtbounie — 
 Paleutine - The Danes — Canal — Fanning in Maniuette - MuttHra. 
 l^ynch, Shannon and Othent— Railway— iJufferin— West Lynne— 
 Boyne Settleinent— Pembina MountainH— Coal -DimenHionn of Pro- 
 vince—Mode of Snrvey— Our Map 48 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Indians and llalf-Breeds— Treaties and Reserves— Governor Morris ami 
 Commissioners A National (iiievanccj— Cree and Sanlteaiix Orators 
 — The QifAjtiwlle Treaty -(Jrand Result Prosnects of the Indians 
 —Rev. Mr. McDotigall at Bow River— His Death -The Sioux— 
 Half-Breeds, how Dealt with — Commissi<mers - Numlwr, Reli^fion 
 and Pr(Hi>ects of the Metis- Opinions of Mr. Machar and Others- 
 Buffalo Hunting 64 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Government and Civil Institutions — Ori^dn— Dominion Parliament- 
 Cabinet— N<»rth West Council— Kewatin— Local Legislature— Black 
 Rodand Lords— Constitutional Change— Courts— Chief Justice Wood's 
 Charge -Public and other Schools— Educational Endowment— Reli- 
 gion— Rifle Association —Agricultural Associatitm- Literary Pursuits 
 —Population 83 
 
 CHAPTER Vin. 
 
 Climate-Productions— Health— Elevation of Red River Valley— Iso- 
 thermal Line— Opinions of Professor Wharton, General Hazeu, Gov- 
 ernor Ramsey and other Americans— Cereals — Opinions of Professors 
 Hind and Macoun, Mr. Dawson and othei-s — The Winters — Red River 
 Courting — Opinions of Immigrants — The Dawson Route— The Tele- 
 graph —Steam CJijmmunication through C'anada a Necessity — Progress 
 and Prospects of the Through Route 96 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Manufactures, Imbour, Trade and Markets — Lumber Mills — "Kittson" 
 Line— American View— Imports for 1874— Ditto to July, 1875— Prices 
 Current — Trade of Winnipeg with North-West — Prospects— Coal, 
 Minerals— Fish and Game — Timber and Fruit Trees — Various Indus- 
 tries—Outfit of Settler 140 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Grasshopper Plague : its History and Incidents — Remedies — Illus- 
 trations — Opinions of Messrs. Riley, Taylor, Spencer, Machar, Nim- 
 mons and Mennonit'js : how treated in Minnesota and elsewhere — 
 Prospects 157 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 ▼tt 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PACK 
 
 From the Old to the Stone Fort P»»int 
 OakH- Hoped thftt Fled -The FloodH 
 
 H- Hoiiei 
 f-PreiMlM, 
 
 Douglas- FroR Plains Meveu 
 Tait^H Creek - Kildonan-The 
 
 Half-Prei'dM, their Hoiuen antl PrcmpectH— Hay Privile^'e— the Stone 
 Fort- Penitentiary- Selkirk and the ('. P. P. CnmHinK A new City 
 —Steamboats— Pegiiis Trade— ( 'la ndelM)5'e Settlenieut- Old Friem(» 1«»9 
 
 CHAPTER XIT. 
 
 The Hudson's Pay Company- The Selkirk Settlement- The Fur Trn.le 
 —Northern NinirodM — The North-We«t Company— Fort William- 
 Little York The (hand P(»rta>,'e- Earl Selkirk— Bohl Adventurers- 
 War of 1812 Speech of Mr. Dawson, M. P. P.— Fight at Fro^ Plains 
 —Fall of (Governor Semple and Party— Trials at Quebec and York in 
 1818— Song of Pierre Falcon— De Keinhard's Case- Assiniludne a 
 Cn>wn Colony- Its Population— Union of the C'ompanies-- Effect on 
 Indians and others— Evidence of Col. Crofton and Admiral Back- 
 Governors and Judges of Assiniboia— The (Joods Trade— Hard Bar- 
 gain—Statistics of Trade— St. Paul and St. Louis get a Slice 184 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Across tlie Prairie— Garry to Fargo— Boatman do not Tarry!— St. 
 Norbert — Delorme's — ^lusic— Ray of Sunshine— Drivers— Indians- 
 Blackbirds — Wildacre— Wright's— A Beautiful Animal The Senator 
 Snores- Orion— Sunrise— Above the Marais— Pembina— "Old Mid- 
 nights" -The " Guttesland "— The Mennon Bold— " Old Jake "— 
 Carrie— Other Companions — Troubles by the Way— Senatorial Wis- 
 dom— Fargo 220 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Pembina Branch— New Civilization- Sioux Massacre of 18<)2 — 
 Sneech of Dr. Schultz— What the Bishons say — Indian Keven^e and 
 Pluck— Little Crow— A Temperance jVfission — Noisy Girl— ISIiime- 
 sota Chippewas— The Totems or Insignia of Tribes— Cust«tms and 
 Numbers— Eastward Bound— Mont^ Men— Kincardine, Goderich, 
 Sarnia— Soldiering — Practical Information to Immigrants and Tour- 
 ists — Adieu 241 
 
V 
 
 .1 
 
 t( 
 
 t] 
 
THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 TORONTO TO TIIUNnKR HAY — MODES OK TRAVKL — OWEN HOUND — THK 
 •' FRANCES HMITH" — OITfllE-OUMEE — THE NORTH SHORE — TlirN- 
 DER HAY AND t'Al'E — l'RIN«'K ARTHUR's LANDIN(» — FORT WIL- 
 LIAM — R. C. MISSION — THE DAWSON ROAD — RAILWAY ALONO THE 
 KAMINISTIQUIA. 
 
 " The f/reatcst hlemiuj in a p/casant frienii/' 
 
 We had pulled half way thronf,di long vacation ere decid- 
 ing on leaving " cap and gown and store of learned pelf" 
 Then the route must be considered. There is the Collinir- 
 wood steamer, also the Beatty line from Sarnia, the 
 Windsor boats, the " Ward" steamers at Detroit, the "all 
 rail " route. Desiring to enjoy the lake breezes, and to 
 test the working of the narrow gauge road, a pleasant 
 evening found us in the parlour-car of the " Toronto, Grey 
 and Bruce," bound for Owen Sound, there to take the 
 Frances Smith for Thunder Bay. 
 
 The progress of Ontario cannot be more marl :od any 
 where than by one who on this road passes rising towns 
 and well- tilled fields where late the forest waved un- 
 touched. We reach Owen Sound by 10 p. m., but find 
 that the vessel is not yet come to hand. A load of Men- 
 
2 
 
 TirK IMIAIUIE PllOVINCE. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ! ! 
 
 nonitcs to Duluth took an extra day, so we have a few 
 hours to see the tine harbour, the mountain, and good 
 folk of "the Sound." Right glad were we at last to spy 
 the smoke stack and side-wheels of the vessel as she 
 steamed into the harbour. Cai)t. Tait Robertson so(jn 
 welcomed the i>arty who were to tind their home with 
 him across two lakes ; and the gallant vessel was off at 
 good speed — all well i)leased with the accommodation, 
 and, we may say, not dissatisfied with each other, as the 
 liap[)y manner in which the hours sped away soon showed. 
 
 It is not the intention of the writer to dwell much on 
 this })art of his trip, as many of his readers have, to some 
 extent, become familial' with this way to Thunder Bay. 
 
 At the Village of Killarney we first see Indians in their 
 bark-covered conical tepees or tents, dotted over the rocky 
 shore. At Garden River we glide in beautiful water past 
 log-houses of white and red men, and at both these places 
 we run out and buy ])retty baskets and mats of scented 
 grass, bark and porcupine quill work. Through many a 
 glassy bay, past many a lovely island and wood-covered 
 nook our vessel glides. While the sun shines, we watch her 
 course. Darkness falls, then fair friends charm away the 
 silence — nmsic and songs fill the cabin, and we move in 
 the mazes of ciuadrilles, waltzes, galops and Sir Roger. 
 
 We come to wjiters studded with cedared isies, that re- 
 mind us of dear Yohocucaba, in the Muskoka region,* 
 
 * This is a beautiful hunuuer retreat in Lake Joseph. The so Indian-like 
 name was IngtMiionsly formed by adding together the first two letters in the 
 names of five of the foundcT.s of the Yo-ho-cu-ca-ba Club. JtJsto pcr/tetua / 
 
SAULT STE. MARIK. 
 
 3 
 
 and arc in sight of two towns, diviiled by the Sault Ste. 
 Marie River ; on the north is the capital of our Algonia 
 District, a scattered town. We see the bishop's residence 
 near the water, and the school in which Indian boys and 
 girls of the Ojibway nation are taught. One of these 
 three islands, near the North Shore, is the romantic grave 
 of the late Colonel John Prince, who was, when he died, 
 judge of this immense sparsely populated region. We 
 cross and are in the short canal, have time to run through 
 the little Michigan city on the South Shore, pass into the 
 grassy enclosure with flag holding U. S. colours, and see 
 Fort Brady, with its park of artillery, white officers' (quar- 
 ters and barracks, with two companies of Uncle Sam's 
 infantry. Close to the present canal, also on the American 
 side, is the great excavation destined to be the sliip canal. 
 Its locks will be 80 feet wide, aftbrding 18 feet of water, 
 and admitting vessels of the largest size on the lakes. 
 Soon we are on the stormy waters of Lake Superior, the 
 big sea water, Gitche-Gumee of Longfellow's " Hiawatha." 
 Our vessel has on this trip no time for side excursions 
 passing Michipicoten and Nepigon Bay. We are much 
 interested in the little red houses on the rocks which 
 we are told form Silver Islet. At the wharf, where we 
 stop a few minutes, a score of men with spade and pick 
 were taking up hard rocks that foimed the wharf and 
 tide-breaker; their foreman informed us that these rocks, 
 till lately considered refuse, can now, by improved machi- 
 nery, be made to yield many dollars' worth of ore to each 
 ton. A busy place is this Silver Islet, with crushing mills, 
 
i ; 
 
 4 
 
 TirR PRAiRir-: province. 
 
 store-houses, and clap-board dwellings, all owned by a 
 great American Company, and under charge of the able 
 and ingenious manager, Captain Frue. 
 
 Fifty stamps are being worked, and from 100 to 150 
 tons of ore crushed per day. The yield is reported by 
 the Company to be in value from 836,000 to $40,000 per 
 month, the whole cost of getting out, crushing and wash- 
 ing the ore by Captain Frue's process amounting to only 
 $2.25 per ton, while eight ounces of silver are, on an aver- 
 age, extracted from that (quantity of rock of low grade. 
 
 The Frances Smiith has no time to lose. Her whistle 
 sounds, we gather a few specimens of the white quartz 
 rock and are off, soon pass the great headland of Thunder 
 Cape, and are in Thunder Bay, in sight of the rising vil- 
 lage of Prince Arthur's Landing. The Queen's Hotel, a 
 large frame house, faces us, with guests from many a 
 (quarter. The site of the village, which now contains 
 probably 1,000 souls, is very fine : on the west side the 
 Kaministiquia, emptying with its three mouths into the 
 bay ; McKay's Mountain, rising 1,200 feet high, and the 
 Welcome Islands ; opposite are Pie Island, of 31,000 acres in 
 extent, with an altitude of 850 feet, having on its western 
 end the strange round cap or dish-shaped protuberance 
 whence it takes its name. Thunder Cape rises behind 
 us 1,400 feet high, and be^'-ond is the great lake whose 
 waves, unceasing and monotonous, lash the shore. As 
 we pass the west end of Pie Island a hut may be seen 
 which marks the place where silver ore was lately found, 
 and a mine is being sunk by Professor Ames and some 
 
PRINCE ARTHURS LANDING. 
 
 other Aiuerican.s. At the cast end of thu village is a little 
 river — McViear's Creek — round which are piles of lumber 
 and log and clap- board houses. Close to the creek is the 
 bark conical wigwam of an Indian. Along the shore 
 boys pick u[> agates. The village site, with its scattered 
 white houses, gradually rises. We pass up Arthur street, 
 leaving the reservation for a park of some ten acres on 
 our left, and the commodious grounds, residence and 
 offices of Mr. D. J). Van Norman, Sti[)endiary Magistrate 
 and Registrar, on the right, the land rising gradually, so 
 that after a half-mile walk we are on high ground, with 
 a line view of the harbour, village and surroundings. This 
 street we have been on turns to the left, and, in the 
 course of a few rods further, runs into the well-known 
 road, the Dawson route to Manitoba. 
 
 Prince Arthur's Landing received its name from Colo- 
 nel Sir Garnet VVolseley, in honour of His Royal High- ' 
 ness, then in Canada. It was at this, then insigniticant 
 hamlet, that the Expeditionary force, on its way to Red 
 River, disembarked on the 25th May, 1870. 
 
 The inhabitants of the Landing are such as an adven- 
 turous wild life, the outskirts of civilization, and the 
 speculation in minerals and lands bring together, to 
 which, in the season, are added tourists from far and near ; 
 from Nova Scotia — from many other ])arts of the Do- 
 minion. But here [)asses a black-robed man — a priest 
 from the Mission up the river. Tliis half-score of 
 rough fellows are navvies from the railway line. Three 
 young gentlemen, undergraduates of Yale, with their 
 
6 
 
 THR PRATRIE PROVTNC.'K, 
 
 guns and li.sliing tackk", '.vure here. They had seen the 
 falls of the Kaministiquia, and fished there and elsewhere 
 in the region, and were about to start for ])rairie chicken 
 shooting on the plains of Minnesota. The number of 
 saloons and drinking places in the village was astonish- 
 ing. All seemed onl}'^ too well patronized. Strong rough 
 fellows from the woods often pass, with coarse brown 
 dress and unshaved faces. One stout man of more than 
 middle age, whose hair hung in curls, in which grey and 
 black were equally mingled, was pointed out. He was 
 a graduate of Cambridge, but, years ago, gave himself 
 up to a roving life and dissipated ways. He discovered 
 several mines, made large sums by selling his rights, which 
 were soon spent in sprees on the South Shore. His 
 countenance still retains many traces of intelligence, and 
 we saw him last as a deck passenger on the way to Du- 
 luth, addressed with some attention and civility by those 
 who knew him. When not actively engaged he lives a 
 hermit life. How the inhabitants of the Landing spent 
 their time was a matter of amusement. At the hotels and 
 like places of resort, and not at offices or shops, we must 
 seek them. One talks of Silver Islet, another of Shuniah, 
 the Cornish, 3 A, the Bruce mines. Thunder Bay, or She- 
 bandowan, and each [)ulls from his pocket a specimen of 
 the ore or quartz supposed to contain silver, as " blende" 
 or "native," or in sulphates and other forms. Various as 
 the specimens may be, and to the unskilled, scarcely differ- 
 ing in structure and appearance, yet our friends here will 
 at once name the mine whence the\' come. 
 
FORT WTLTJAM. 
 
 len of 
 mde " 
 
 Three tuf^s ply in the harbour of Prince Artlnir, and 
 form in summer thejchief means of communication between 
 the Landing and the Fort. Owing to the nature of the bot- 
 tom, it is necessary to take a circuitous course of a mile 
 or so into the bay, pass the two smaller mouths of the 
 Kaministiquia River, and enter the tliird, which, after 
 a half- hour's puffing of the little steamer, brings us in 
 sight of the ancient fort of the great Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany, now in charge of Captain Mclntyre and employes, 
 among whom we see white men, Indians and half-breeds. 
 The river is here just broad enough for the lake steanier 
 to turn in, and runs swift and dark in its hed, the fort 
 being on the right. It is not long since the place was 
 guarded with a high stockade fence, and block-houses 
 pierced with port-holes. These have given way to a neat 
 picket that divides the grounds from the road that skirts 
 the river's side. Two small cannon stand as watch-dogs, 
 one on either side the gate. Within the few acres that 
 form the square of the fort are wide stoi-e-rooms, one 
 of stone, very thick and substantial ; others of wood, the 
 shop for retail dealing, and two neat dwelling-houses. 
 Vast in value have been the pelts here stored, and hence 
 sent to the selling agents of the fur companies, during the 
 last hundred years of their reign and dealings here. Fort 
 William was years ago the main depot of the great Noi-th 
 Western Company, which united with the Knglish Cor- 
 poration in 1821. Before the factor's pretty vine-clad 
 house was a garden blooming with flowers of many varie- 
 ties, and a rockery that particularly attracted our atten- 
 
8 TIIK T'HAIKrE PROVINCE. 
 
 tion. Its formation was of large (luaitz and other min- 
 eral-bearing rocks, in which slione clearly traces of silver, 
 lead, iron and copper, and blocks of the beautiful amethysts 
 that are found throughout this wonderful region, but 
 chiefly at Amethyst Harbour, near the mouth of McKen- 
 zie River, some twenty miles east of Prince Arthur. The 
 river banks are low at the fort — probably about ten feet 
 above the ordinary level of the water. Two miles farther 
 up they rise to double this height. On the left bank is 
 the Catholic Mission of the Immaculate Concej)tion, with 
 Indian reserve twenty -five miles square. Above the 
 Mission, ten miles distant, are the extensive lumber works 
 of Mr. Adam Oliver, the residences of the Messrs. McKel- 
 lar, and the wharf on which is piled many a ton of steel 
 rails, ready for the track of the Canada Pacific Railway, 
 the terminus whereof is here placed by the powers that 
 be. The bank is high, and affords a level bed on which 
 the track has been graded for about half the forty-seven 
 miles that are to form the connecting chain between Thun- 
 der Bay and Lake Shebandowan. The contractors, 
 Messrs Sifton and Ward, had a large force employed in 
 getting out trees and making cuttings, and were to be so 
 engaged during the winter. The work on the lock at 
 Fort Frances is also being expeditiously carried out. 
 Government surveyors have reported favourably on 
 the route via Sturgeon Falls and the head of Rainy 
 Lake. The contractors named have also in hand the 
 Red River end of this section of the great road, but 
 the middle part of it, being over rough land full of en- 
 
THE RAILWAY TERMINUS. 
 
 9 
 
 m 
 
 out. 
 |y on 
 
 Lcainy 
 the 
 „ but 
 of cu- 
 
 '^ 
 
 ginooriny dirticulties, is not yet located. There is much 
 tine hind in the free j^'ant sections of the Kaminis- 
 tiquia valley, where one hundred families have establish- 
 ed themselves during the past few months. Along the 
 banks, as far as we went, was a rich alluvial soil. This 
 large increase of settlers is no doubt partially due to the 
 grasshopper plague in Manitoba, of which we will speak 
 hereafter. 
 
 Very amusing to the visitor is the jealousy existing be- 
 tween this region and Prince Arthur. " Why," say resi- 
 dents of the latter, " require vessels to run up the Kani- 
 inistiquia to the Railway, when at the Landing in Thun- 
 der Bay is a splendid natural harbour, safe for vessels of 
 any burden, and not so soon closed by the ice ? " " Your 
 harbour," say the gentlemen of the river, " cannot be safe 
 till well dredged and a great breakwater made to ward ofi' 
 the winter storms." To secure their ends, the Prince Ar- 
 thurites were passing a by-law to devote a sufficient sum 
 — $32,000 — to continue the railway to the Landing, so 
 we hope all parties will soon be satisfied. 
 
 There will in time be a spreading population both at 
 the Landing and up the river. We cannot afford to let 
 Manitoba be drained long into the United States through 
 the Pembina route. A through line of rail must ere long 
 connect Thunder Bay with the Kewatin District and 
 Red River. In summer this will be a pleasant and pop- 
 ular mode of ingress to the Prairie Province. 
 
 We met several who had gone over the Dawson Road 
 to Garry, and who told with interest of its varied scenery 
 
10 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 ii 
 
 and incidents by sta^e, (>j)en boats and small steamers, 
 over lakes and rivers, during the five hundred miles of the 
 course of this Government road. W. H. Carpenter & Co. 
 had the contract from the Canadian Government for the 
 conveyance of persons and goods on this route during the 
 summer months, but it is closed as soon as the frost sets 
 in. They received an annual subsidy of $76,000 in addi- 
 tion to the fares they made. The charge for each passen- 
 ger from Prince Arthur to Winnipeg was $10 ; to return it 
 was $15. Moals were provided at rude stations at thirty 
 cents each. It is understood that the Dominion Govern- 
 ment will soon take the control of the route into their 
 own hands. There are many rich mineral deposits al- 
 ready discovered in the region through which this road 
 runs. Valuable tracts of timber, especially near the Lake 
 of the Woods and on the banks of Rainy River, will be 
 brought into access from Winnipeg as soon as the railway 
 is constructed. The grain crop of the Province will also 
 by this route seek shipment on Lake Superior. 
 
 For fuller accounts of the region traversed by this road 
 we can only refer readers to the several interesting nar- 
 ratives which have appeared, especially that of Professor 
 Hind's expedition of 1857. This route, however, goes 
 from the north-west angle of the Lake of the Woods by 
 land to Red River, while Professor Hind and Colonel 
 Wolselej' followed the longer and more romantic course 
 from that point by Winnipeg River to the lake, and 
 up Lake Wirmipeg and Red River to Fort Garry. 
 
rnei's, 
 )fthe 
 fc Co. 
 )r the 
 igthe 
 t sets 
 addi- 
 assen- 
 bum it 
 thirty 
 overn- 
 ) their 
 jits al- 
 ls road 
 le Lake 
 will be 
 ailway 
 ill also 
 
 IS 
 
 road 
 
 ig nar- 
 •ofessor 
 r, goes 
 ods by 
 Colonel 
 course 
 ce, and 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 TirUNUEH HAY TO KKI) RIVEU — DULl'TH — SUPKRIOR <*1TY — DrLrXH 
 TO FAIUK)- THE ST. LoL'IH KIVKR — TlIK NolJTUKKV I'ACIKH' KAIL- 
 WAY — "THK last turn" — THE MISSISSI IM'I — SCENERY — KAROO. 
 
 A PLKASANT sail of oij^'litoon hours in the Manitoba, an 
 excellent vessel of the Sarnia line, brings us in sight of 
 this little city, at the western end of Lake Superior, and 
 cree})ing up the stony and almost treeless hill that rises 
 beliind. It is a straggling town, that grew too fast, where 
 the town-lot fever struck deep and had many victims. 
 The Northern Pacific Railway runs from Duluth to the 
 Missouri River. Great were the hopes raised in the 
 hearts of the Duluthians as this railway was being con- 
 structed and Jay Cook reigned. But the day came, the 
 money king fell from his greenback throne, the road got 
 into the sheriff's hands, and the little city came to a sud- 
 den halt. The land fever had its crisis — many of the 
 stores are vacant. " To let " is on some of the pretty 
 houses that lie on the hillside, and vacant lots are a drug 
 in the market. For its future, Duluth must depend on 
 the development of the grain trade to be produced by the 
 prairies through which the Northern Pacific runs, and 
 the mineral resources in which, no doubt, the whole sur- 
 rounding region abounds, and its connection by Red 
 River boats, stages and pro})osed railway with the^British 
 
12 
 
 THK PHAIRIK PUOVINCK. 
 
 Fertile lielt to tlie North West. A nan'ow-''au«^e rail- 
 road is beiii«j .surveyed, to run northerly .seventy-five 
 niileH to a rieh iron region. At a distance of six miles, 
 across the St. Louis Bay, in the State of Wisconsin, is 
 Su|)eiior City — witli a fate similar to that of Duluth. 
 
 From Duluth to Fargo, on the Red River, is 254 miles. 
 For some distance, the Northern Pacific runs along the 
 cour.se of the St. Louis, wliich opens with a long marshy 
 mouth into Lake Superior. The soft bed soon gives 
 place to a rocky bottom of the most rugged appearance, 
 in whicli, in the wet season, the river runs a foaming tor- 
 rent. Now its bed is nearly dry, with liere and there a 
 little waterfall and rapid. The ground along its banks is 
 deceitful — full of sand and boulders. At .several places we 
 find our train passing through the air with no aj)i)arent 
 support from terra Jirma. We thus rest on wooden stilt- 
 like frame-work, of which one end ])ierces the ground, the 
 other supports the roadway. To the unaccustomed the 
 j)o.sition is anything but assuring. However, railways 
 nmst be built, and when stone and iron are scarce timber 
 must answer instead — and does till the crash comes, as 
 come it surely will. At the old Indian town of Fond du 
 Lac, fifteen miles fi'om Duluth, where a century ago our 
 great Nor'- West Comi)any had an imj)ortant fort and 
 depot — but that was while this region was still British — 
 the river runs a beautiful glassy stream, then spreads into 
 a crystal lake, with bushy isles and banks of grass and 
 rushes. The grand and rugged scenery now begins, end- 
 ing at Thompson, where the road ciow.ses the St. Louis. Li 
 
 111 
 
 I i 
 
v^ii rail- 
 inty-five 
 ix miles, 
 jiisiii, is 
 luth. 
 )4 miles, 
 long the 
 marshy 
 ►n gives 
 (Cuvjince, 
 ling tor- 
 there a 
 banks is 
 (laces we 
 ij)})arent 
 len stilt- 
 und, the 
 lied the 
 railways 
 I timber 
 omes, as 
 Tund du 
 ago our 
 ort and 
 ritish — 
 ads into 
 ass and 
 ns, eiid- 
 uis. In 
 
 TIIK NOIITMMKN I'ACIKK UAII-WAV. 
 
 m 
 
 this short distance, about ei^ht miles, wc pass ami sue the 
 Dalles of the St. Louis in thtur l»road and unhewn bedsot" 
 slate, foaming and seething in a thousand whirlpools. 
 Pine-cl.'id hills hang over them. Then the aspect changes 
 — the wild waters gather into a ([uiet stream, and glide 
 past, with surface scarce broken by a ripple. Our Yale 
 friends take the road for St. Paul's, which branches from 
 the Northern Pacific, twenty-four miles from Duluth. 
 Doubtless the prairie chickens will soon groan for their 
 coming. We have now left the St. Louis and enteiod a 
 beautiful land. Great elms spread their arms on either 
 side. No scant has nature here shown in her wild garden. 
 In rows and in groups stand the elms, and as the train 
 goes swiftly through, the nearer trees seem to recede, and 
 those behind to move on in a majestic dance of giants. 
 We think of the German legend, the Erl-King, that holds 
 out its enchanted limbs and cries " Come hither, come 
 hither, my child ! " or do these giants of the plain resent 
 this encroachment on their beautiful domains, and shake 
 their arms and struggle to pursue as the train goes whist- 
 ling and rattling through their avenues ? The scene still 
 changes — beautiful lakes in smiling meadows of luxuriant 
 verdure appear one after another. Wild ducks and geese 
 swim upon them, while pigeons and blackbirds are plenti- 
 ful. We look for signs of inhabitants, but they are few. 
 Fences are seldom seen. The great meadows that skirt 
 the grassy lakes and ponds are swampy, and will not be 
 cropped till the drier and richer prairie land has been 
 exhausted. Lake, pond, meadow and park, as demesnes 
 
r 
 
 u 
 
 TIIK IMtAIUrK I'lloVINri:. 
 
 hi 
 
 of soin«5 ;(r<(nt noltlrmim, ju'l' pji.ssud in rapid review, Imt 
 nature alone has been tlie unrivalled gardener. Cedars 
 and hanlwoods come in view ore we reaelj Brainerd, a 
 little city in the torest, one hundred and fifteen miles on 
 our way. Here are the workshops of the road, a largo 
 liotel and handsome white hoard building, also put up by 
 the Railway Company as a temporary home for emigrants. 
 Each altcrnato section or square mile along the line be- 
 longs to the Company, who offer strong inducements to 
 settlers. The main street has a few buildings and stores, 
 but the most noticeable features are its billiard and drink- 
 ing saloons. Over one, beside which grows a tree, is the 
 name, " The Last Turn." This is the spot where two 
 Indians, in 1873, last turned their poor eyes on the light 
 of this world. Accused of ravishing a young woman, 
 murdering her, and destroying her remains by fire, they 
 wore arrested. A lot of roughs sat playing cards and 
 drinking, and as the play lagged, one jumped up and 
 cried, " To the jail ! the Indians ! " The result was soon 
 reached. This tree was the gallows, and this saloon sign 
 their only monument. Wldch were the more guilty, the 
 I)oor struggling victims, or those who yelled round them 
 and shot at them as they hung, eternity alone will reveal. 
 The unfortunate girl's name was Ellen McArthur. She 
 was quarter Chippewa, and was walking over the prai- 
 rie towards her uncle's when met by the two scoundrels, 
 her murderers — Gegeance and Tibiscogushekweb. The 
 meaning of this last name is " The same sky further off." 
 Before this, these fellows had killed one Bearman, of 
 
 i li 
 
THK MISSISSIIMM, 
 
 IT) 
 
 large 
 
 oveal. 
 
 She 
 prai- 
 idrels, 
 
 The 
 • oft-." 
 n, of 
 
 Little Falls. The railroad now crosses the UpptM* Missis- 
 sippi, a yellow stream tlovviiig through iniuldy l>anks of 
 Home eighty feet in height. It was spanned by a wooden 
 bridge of the stilt and girder kind, but we pj sed over 
 on a scow. About the end of July a lieavy train was on 
 the bridge and nearly over, when the timbers cracked. 
 Down went the cars, <lrawing the engine, with its engi- 
 neer and brakesman and six others to destruction, few of 
 whom lived to see another day. Those who did may see 
 and admire, if tiiey can, another bridge, twin brother of 
 the last, completed across the chasm. Terrible was the 
 Hcene as the confused crashing heap went, with the cries 
 of broken and drowning men into the waters. The rest of 
 our ride was over the prairie. The quality of the land 
 we had ])assed was poor, light or swampy — now it im- 
 proves, becomes loamy, and as we come nearer Red River, 
 we see the deep black soil which is universal along the 
 bed of that river. Due north are the head waters of the 
 Mississippi and Red River ; the little streams and lakes 
 that form the beginnings of these two great rivers, in many 
 l)laces but a few rods apart, yet the waters of the one will 
 go to the Southern Ocean; of the other, to Hudson's Bay. 
 At Detroit Lake we are much tempted to stay and try our 
 hand on the ducks that cover the beautiful water. At 
 Glyndon, two hundred and forty-one miles from Duluth, 
 the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad crosses the Northern 
 Pacific and goes north as far as Crookston, a di.stance of 
 seventy miles. Twelve miles more bring us into the 
 f little city of Moorhead ; but we keep our seats, 
 
 "OO' 
 
r 
 
 I i 
 
 i ! 
 
 u 
 
 TJIK PRAIRIK PItOVINCK. 
 
 pass over a long bridge that s[)ans the Red River of the 
 North, alight at the Headquarters Hotel, with its long 
 two-storied balcony, and find ourselves in snug quarters 
 and at the western end of our trip. Our course will to- 
 morrow be northerly down the river. . 
 
 H 
 
tj 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 DOWN THE RED RIVER — ITS SOURCES AND TRIBUTARIES — THE PRAIRIE 
 — RED LAKE RIVER — GRAND FORKS — FROO POINT — THE IIOSFIAU — 
 WHAT THE GEOLOGISTS SiY — AN ANTE-DILUVIAN — EMKKSON — 
 WHITEHAVEN —THE "NIGGER" — A " BUCK " — METIS — POINT 
 GRUETTE — SCRATCHING RIVER — SETTLEMENTS — MRNNONITES — 
 SUNSET — GOVERNOR m'dOUGALL AND HIS GUARD — CAPTAIN CAME- 
 RON AND HIS " BLAWSTED FENCE " — BUTLER, WOLSELEY — GOOD 
 NIGHT - VERSES. 
 
 MoORHEAD is on the Minnesota, and Fargo on the 
 Dakota or west side of the Red River of the North. They 
 are straggling villages. The latter is a seat of law, with 
 large court-house and gaol ; Dakota is not yet organized 
 as a State, but is a territory under Federal control. The 
 prairie extends on all sides, and through it, between the 
 two towns, and dividing State and Territory, flows the 
 dull and muddy stream. The rain of the previous day 
 had formed a tenacious mud. The International was ready 
 for her passengers in the early morning. This vessel is 
 of the scow-built, light water kind used on these waters, 
 where, in the dry season, the bottom often lies at twenty 
 or thirty inches from the surface — scow-built, with round 
 nose, propelled when floating by a horizontal wheel at the 
 rear ; and when stuck on the stones or mud, jmlled off by 
 a cable, one end of which is attached to a tree on the bank, 
 the other to a capstan turned by the "Nigger" engine, 
 c 
 
18 
 
 TFIK PRAIHIK PROVINCK. 
 
 Tlie Inter uittional is the oldest vessel of the Kittson line, 
 and carried Ca[)tain Butler in July, 1870, when he went to 
 s|jy the land for Colon el Wolseley, and then to see the "Great 
 Lone Land " beyond. She is in length one hundred and 
 forty feet ; breadth, about one-third of length ; three- 
 decked — the lowest for freight, engine, deck passengers, 
 cattle, &c. ; the second, with cabin, state-rooms and covered 
 promenade ; the third has the wheel-house and open deck. 
 Than Captain Seger and Mr. Joseph Smith, the purser, 
 none could be more attentive to passengers, and, what we 
 also admired, civil and kindly to the crew of thirty or 
 more that worked the craft and the scows, which some- 
 times ran on in the more rapid current, but were more 
 generally lashed to our side. We started with one such, 
 laden with bags and barrels, over fifty tons, for Garry, but 
 at Grand Forks exchanged these for two barges, laden 
 each with fifty tons of rails for the Canada Pacific. The 
 Red River rises in Otter Tail Lake and Traverse Lake, in 
 Minnesota ; passes between Moorhead and Fargo ; its 
 breadth for its first 100 miles varies from 150 to 300 feet. 
 A strange rover is he as he winds through this wonderful 
 prairie land for 700 miles, joined here and there by twenty- 
 three smaller streams, the largest of them being the Assini- 
 boine, entering at Winnipeg ; the Red Lake River, which 
 joins the Red River at Grand Forks ; and the Roseau River, 
 which drains the wooded country between the Lake of the 
 Woods and Red River, at Pembina entering the Dominion, 
 and linally lost in Lake Winnipeg, where its waters mingle 
 with tliose of tiie Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, and other 
 
m line, 
 vent to 
 ''Great 
 3d and 
 three- 
 engers, 
 lovered 
 n deck, 
 purser, 
 hat we 
 irty or 
 L some- 
 e more 
 e such, 
 ry, but 
 laden 
 The 
 ake, in 
 ;o ; its 
 feet, 
 nderful 
 wenty- 
 Assini- 
 which 
 River, 
 of the 
 ninion, 
 mingle 
 other 
 
 •I 
 
 THE RED RIVER. 
 
 19 
 
 rivers, and thence pass into Hudson's Bay Vty Nelson 
 River. 
 
 The head of steam navigation on the Red River is about 
 46 degrees 23 min. The river is five feet deep at the 
 mouth of Sioux Wood River, at Cheyenne six feet, thence 
 to Goose River nine feet, with an intervening rapid with 
 but five feet of water on it. From Goose River to Red 
 Lake River twelve feet — thence to Lake Winnepeg fifteen 
 feet. Tliese measurements are in its ordinary state ; when 
 we passed down, the water was lower ; when the spring 
 floods come, and the snow, melting on the prairie, flows 
 in, the river swells in compass, in many places overflow- 
 ing the banks. As we passed slowly around various 
 curves, Captain Smith pointed to several coulees with 
 little water in them, which are at such times swollen to 
 rivers, up which the vessel may float, and even shorten 
 her course in Red River, by, to borrow a surveyor's phrase, 
 passing along the bases of triangles. 
 
 The sun rises ere we pass far from Fargo. Very pretty 
 is the sight as we cleave our devious way between stately 
 elms, cotton-woods and oaks,',that line the banks, but so 
 winding, that our prow points as often towards the Ant- 
 arctic as the Arctic pole. Among our passengers we find 
 a Government ofiicer on his way to the Indian country ; 
 two Montreal gentlemen, who have no doubt an eye to 
 prospecting in lands and the fur trade ; a young civil en- 
 gineer, and a fair lady who has joined hand and heart, 
 and goes to find a home in the little ca})ital ; a young 
 banker, who will take charge of a branch of one of our 
 
20 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 -i ! 
 
 Ontario banks just ojiencd there; and others, whom plea- 
 sure or hope of gain bring to see the Prairie Province. 
 Beautiful is the scene as the vessel winds along. Willows 
 sweep our side as she creeps on, hugging the bank for 
 deeper water or to get room for the next turn. Nature 
 has with lavish hand studded the banks for half our way 
 with clusters of stately elms, ash, oak, maple, bass wood, 
 poplar and cotton-wood, that spread their branches over a 
 rich vegetation — long grass, wild plum and cherries, prairie 
 roses, the white blossom of the wild hop, wild tea, the wind- 
 ing convolvulus ; the dark green of ivy and grape vines 
 hang from the trunks ; clusters of the pink squaw berries, 
 Scotch thistles of great size ; beautiful flowers of many 
 varieties — purple, white and yellow — dot the green carpet. 
 This lining of the prairie is of varying depths, from 
 fifty or one hundred yards to a mile, and through it we 
 may see the sky. The upper deck is generally on a level 
 with the land, but sometimes, as at Frog Point, the banks 
 rise as high as the top of the smoke-stack. During the 
 numerous stoppages of the vessel we run up to view the 
 land — see a rich meadow stretching before us. On the 
 river's bank may be seen the log house of a settler, and 
 in grass to their knees, as Wordsworth has it. 
 
 "Tho cattle are grazing, 
 Their lieads never raising, 
 Forty feeding as one." 
 
 Hard indeed was it at once to realize the vastness of the 
 prairie — a sea of waving ^rass extending from us to the 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
THE PllAIlUE. 
 
 21 
 
 11 plea- 
 3vince. 
 
 nuows 
 
 mk for 
 Nature 
 ur way 
 
 5SW00d, 
 
 \ over a 
 prairie 
 e wind- 
 »e vines 
 berries, 
 f many 
 L carpet. 
 IS, from 
 h it we 
 a level 
 banks 
 ling the 
 new the 
 On the 
 ler, and 
 
 :% 
 
 Is of the 
 to the 
 
 Missouri — measured by miles not acres, coursed through 
 by numerous rivers, of which tlie Red River of the North 
 with its tributaries is but one, for ages the home of the 
 red man and the bison ; its soil enriched and enriching 
 year by year with the ashes of the prairie grass ; its ver- 
 dant outskirts only yet touched by civilization, destined 
 to be the happy home of millions of the Saxon race. As 
 we run over it, coveys of prairie chickens start up or run 
 chirping to the parent birds. Our feet scatter the little 
 mounds of the gophers or ground squirrels ; but the air is 
 hot as it sweeps over th. broad level, and we return to 
 the bushes that skirt the river, to be thence soon escorted 
 to the boat's deck by a lively band of mosquitoes. 
 
 On board again, we lie in wait for the chance hawk or 
 pair of ducks, which we pop at with revolvers — to the little 
 damage of the birds, however. The young men jum}) 
 over to one of the scows, set up a target and practise with 
 their revolvers. Some puff the fragrant weed, or read, or 
 while away an hour in whist or euchre ; run out as the 
 vessel again rubs her broad nose on the bank, to view 
 the prairie, and find to our sorrow that the poor cottage 
 we hoped had been left, is still in sight from a different 
 standpoint ; we have gone circling round through the 
 prairie. The water is low; f^it cattle stand in it switching 
 the flies oft' with their dripping tails. The " Nigger " is 
 oft-times called into play. We cannot expect tc^ see Garry 
 before Saturday evening, although we left Fargo on Tues- 
 day morning. The Government officer says " Thnt won't 
 do for me," and leaves us at Grand Forks to take the four- 
 
 I 
 
22 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 i 
 
 hor.sc .stage wliicli will cany jjiin in in thirty hours. We 
 hear complaints of monotony. 
 
 The sun sets, the trees are higli enough to conceal the 
 best part of his glory, and from them now come in my- 
 riads buzzing swarms with spear bills that seize on every 
 exposed part. We take refuge from them on the upper 
 deck, where the cool breeze stops their humming, and at 
 hist retire to our berths discomfited. Still disturbed from 
 above and from beneath, we dream of rivers that run 
 straight through flowery meads, of mines with " pockets " 
 of gold and gems, of town lots that are such in fact as well 
 as on paper, where prices e'er go up and taxes are un- 
 known. But the music breaks out with threatening hum- 
 hum and troubles move below, and we open our eyes with 
 thoughts on murderous raids intent. As each night grows 
 on, a great reflecting lamp is set on either side of the prow 
 to light the way. Beautiful and strange is the sight as 
 the lamps throw their white weird light on the weeping 
 willows, clinging vines, and shadowy poplars which we 
 pass — like a theatric show with ever-shifting scenes. The 
 moon sails above and below each bank — the varying pano- 
 rama is reflected in the water. The wheel-house rose on 
 the upper deck. Its roof was a ftivourite vantage-ground 
 from which on clear evenings to look on the glorious sun- 
 set of the prairie, of a varied beauty and magnificence 
 surpassing descri])tion. 
 
 On the last day of the trip some rain fell. The woods 
 also generally receded from the banks, leaving them cov- 
 ered, however, with willows, bushes and vines. The mos- 
 
PKMMINA, THK IJOSKAF. 
 
 28 
 
 quitoes were not so assiduous in their jittentions. Pem- 
 bina is reached in the early morning. At the Hudson 
 Bay post of West Pembina the Customs officer welcomes 
 us to Her Majesty's dominions. 
 
 From the east the Rose.iu river now comes in with 
 slow, reluctant motion, to swell the tide flowing to the Bay 
 of Hudson. It has drained the lake of the same name 
 which lies a few miles south of the boundary, and some 
 great muskegs, or swamps, which form in winter the pas- 
 ture ground for hundreds of ponies of the Indians of the 
 Eeserve. They paw away the snow and reach the long 
 rich grass, and are in better condition in the spring than 
 when turned out in the autumn. Then starting on a 
 southerly course, the Roseau runs for awhile still in Min- 
 nesota, with the evident intention of joining Rainey River 
 and the Mississippi ; but the way is blocked with sand 
 and detrital matter, so he tacks about, passes swiftly for a 
 dozen miles over a gravelly bed — the rapids of the Roseau, 
 where are many excellent mill sites — and finally zigzags 
 into Red River past this beautiful well-wooded Indian 
 Reserve of 13,500 acres, and forming its northern boun- 
 dary, bearing many great pine logs, hewn from the Pine 
 river, Roseau and Lake of the Woods forests, to the saw- 
 mills of Garry. This reluctance to travel northward 
 seems inbred, not only in the Roseau but in the Red 
 River and most of the waters of any size hereabout. If 
 we listen to what the geologists s.ay, we will hear a won- 
 drous tale. They fetch out instruments and find tliat our 
 outlet into Lake Winnipeg is but seven hundred and ten 
 
\ an itr f mi -■'■• li*""' 
 
 II 
 
 24 
 
 THE PHAIUIE PROVINCP:. 
 
 feet or so above the level sen. We'are here on the Inter- 
 national, some eight hundred feet high — but following up 
 the Red River till its sources in Lake Traverse separate from 
 those of the Minnesota, we ascend to but nine hundred 
 and sixty feet above salt water. Elevate this northern 
 end of Red River Valley, or lower the other extremity but 
 a few hundred feet, and the course would be changed — 
 the canoe here launched would float to the " Father of 
 Waters," pass St. Paul's at an elevation of but six hun- 
 dred and seventy feet, and at last feel the warm sun of 
 New Orleans. 
 
 This and other more startling sights might have been 
 witnessed in pre-Adaniite times. We might indeed have 
 taken passage on an iceberg, and ridden from the North 
 Sea all over this beautiful valley, then but a rocky ocean 
 bed. The breadth of the submergence is estimated to have 
 been from the high lands east and south of the Lake of the 
 Woods to hills west of Manitoba Lake, or perhaps farther 
 west, with a height given by Mr. G. M. Dawson at 1,428 
 feet. He says : 
 
 •' The river valle3^s and lower levels frequently'' show 
 tile or boulder-clay, while the summits of the plateaus 
 are generally covered with shingly deposits, which appear 
 to consist chiefly of beach material like that of the flanks 
 of the Rocky Mountains, and may have been carried here 
 by small icebergs from the mountains themselves, or by 
 shore ice." 
 
 A "superficial current," mingling with a "deep nor- 
 thern flow," like tht! Arctic curient and Gulf Stream on 
 
 I 
 
 b 
 
f 
 
 »3 
 
 Q 
 
 O 
 O 
 
 33 
 H 
 
 O 
 H 
 
 Q 
 o 
 
 n 
 
 Q 
 
 H 
 X 
 
TKSTIMONY OF TIIK |{()(KS. 
 
 27 
 
 the NewfouiHlljuul Banks, was wliat bore thorn on, rolHnir 
 ^i-cat l)ouldcrH with tlioni, of which .some of the most 
 tnarked specimens are found in the region of the Lake of 
 the Woods. One suclj, says the geoh)gist lefenod to, of red 
 granite, and actually lying in the groove it liad made in 
 the lake bed, was found to be eleven feet long by seven feet 
 high. 
 
 The traveller may become acqu.iinted with this and 
 other old antediluvians by diverging from the Dawson 
 route and calling at Buffalo Point, in the south-west mar- 
 gin of the lake. Some of them form fine perched blocks. 
 How long have they sat waiting to tell their strange story 
 of Hood and earthquake, of the subsidence of the ocean 
 bed, and the formation of new courses for great rivers ? 
 Their tale would be of the crossing of the Straits by the red 
 man while Carthage was yet a flourishing city ; ere Nero 
 looked on his burning ca])ital ; while rude barbarians, 
 clothed in skins of beasts, dwelt in the British Isles. In- 
 dian boys may then have played round these old relics 
 as familiar landmarks, and, in summer evenings, jumped 
 from them, laughing, into the water. They tell us of the 
 time when French rule was claimed from these parts 
 down to the Mexican Gulf, and all the intervening region 
 was called in honour of a Louis ; of the chase of great 
 beasts, and fierce struggles between the Ojibwa}- and 
 the Sioux ; of the hardy traders and hunters who [)a9sed 
 from the dalles of the Winnipeg to the old town, their 
 chief depot at the Two Mountains, now a great city ; of th(^ 
 
■H 
 
 THK PHAIHIK FMlOVfNfE. 
 
 qujiirel.s of the rival Cumpaiiies, and the [)a.s.sa<,'e ofthe^'al- 
 lant Wolseley. 
 
 Ah we look on the stream, uj) whose course our thouf,'htH 
 have passed, we recall the concluding words of Bryant's 
 " Story of the Fountain : " 
 
 " Haply shall tliose groon hills 
 Sink, with tho lapso of years, into the gulf 
 Of ocean waters, and thy source be lost 
 Amid the hitter brine i or shall they rise, 
 Upheaved in broken cliffs and airy peaks. 
 Haunts of the eagle and the snake, and thou 
 Gush midway from the bare and barren steep i " 
 
 But let us revert to tho things that now are. Lo, with 
 his squaws and papooses of all ages, is seen on the banks^ — 
 sometimes dressed as poor white men dress, but generally 
 with a blue or white bhmket over his shoulders, hair long 
 and unkempt, complexion very dark, figure generally of 
 light build, and countenance of low expression. Here and 
 there are a few cords of wood which squaws have cut and 
 piled for sale to the passing steamboats. On one a 
 " buck " stands, waving a blue blanket over his head as 
 we approach, signalling his desire to effect a sale. Among 
 the trees we see here and there the residences of this poor 
 remnant of brave nations: sometimes they are daubed with 
 mud— more often the wigwam conical in shape, is made 
 of sailcloth or birch bark, supported on saplings ten feet 
 high, not closed at top, as the smoke from the fire within 
 must get out there or by the door in front, which gene- 
 rally faces the rivijr. Sometimes we see Indian boys fish- 
 
 
 
ic a 
 as 
 ^ong 
 )Oor 
 vith 
 acle 
 feet 
 :,hin 
 ne- 
 sli- 
 
 FNDIANS, METIS ()H MOFS-HIU'LKS. 
 
 29 
 
 iii^ — oftciior soo that lines or nets have \)vv\\ set to eatch 
 the great catfish which abound in this miuhly river, and 
 are of excellent quality, clear of flesh and with spotted 
 skins. This band has decreased since 1871, and now num- 
 bers 480 souls*. Tli(!y have a do/en houses built — the 
 major part of them live in skin tents. They are docile. 
 Men of lighter though not less dirty liue are sometimes 
 visible with the red folk. These are " half-breeds," or 
 more shortly, '* Breeds " and " Metis," from the Si)anish 
 American mestee or miiMt'C, as are called all whose blood 
 is mixed. They are also called hois hrnU)^, from their 
 dark complexion, like scorched wood. The growing town 
 of Emerson, whose wooden houses we see from the vessel, 
 and the village of Whitehaven are passed, and the set- 
 tlers' cottages are often seen, log-built, })lastered with mud, 
 and thatched with the long bluejoint hay of the prairie, 
 which is said to wear as well as shingles. At Scratching 
 River is laid out on paper the town called Morris, in 
 honour of the popular Lieutenant-Governor of the Pro- 
 vince. At Point Gruette the Crooked Rapids are passed, 
 twenty-five miles from Garry by land, but so circui- 
 tous is our course that we have yet nearly twice that dis- 
 tance by water. As to these and other so-called rapids 
 on this river, they seem so named by contradiction so far 
 as locomotion is concerned, as they are but places where 
 the current is roughened by passing over stones, and we 
 always go sloivly and get ready to work the " Nigger." 
 Let us not forget the pretty cottage on the left bank, be- 
 low Dufferin. Here Captain Cameron for a time resided. 
 
80 
 
 THK PRAIRIE PIlOVINCn. 
 
 
 He was aido-do-camp to the Hon. Win. McDougall, C. B., 
 who came, to be first Governor of the Province, but got 
 no further than the Hudson Bay post at Pembina, being 
 there held in surveillance by Kiel's band of half-breeds 
 during the month of November and till the 18th of Decem- 
 ber, 1869. He wearied of the business and returned to 
 Ottawa. The gallant captain ventured on to the River 
 Sale, which here runs into Red River. Three score of 
 half-breeds were before him with a barricade — a "blawsted 
 fence " he called it, and would, Romulus-like, have leaped 
 it, but that was not to be. His horses' heads were turned 
 southerly. Discretion was the better part of valour. The 
 captain lived to be a major, and to command the expedi- 
 tion which in 1874 settled the international boundary be- 
 tween this territory and the States, Mr. Provencher came 
 thus far at the same time, and met the like fate. He also 
 survived the discomfiture, and is now Indian Agent for 
 Manitoba. The cottage and a larger house near by, used 
 as a depot for emigrants, belong to Government. The 
 broad faces and stout forms of Men nonites, dressed in brown 
 homespun — men, women and children — here greet us in 
 numbers. We have elsewhere seen and heard of them occa- 
 sionally, as many have settled near the river's banks. The 
 purser informed us that several parties of them passed in 
 by boats this season. They have generally large families 
 — children of every age up to puberty. One man had his 
 second wife and twenty-three childi-en. 
 
 The sun falls, leaving the west in a blaze of glory. 
 Preparations are made tor the last night on board. We talk 
 
J.B., 
 
 got 
 
 ►eing 
 
 reeds 
 
 cem- 
 
 id to 
 
 liver 
 
 >re of 
 
 wsted 
 
 eaped 
 
 urned 
 The 
 
 xpedi- 
 
 ry be- 
 
 L- came 
 e also 
 
 Int for 
 , used 
 The 
 
 Ibvowu 
 us in 
 occa- 
 The 
 ised in 
 milies 
 ad his 
 
 glory, 
 'c talk 
 
 PASTIME ON SHIFBOARI). 
 
 81 
 
 of old times, and of the "Company" which hite ruled all 
 we saw ; compared notes as to the future. Two go to see 
 the beauties of the Saskatchewan. One will renew his 
 acquaintance with the buffaloes. Others will look up 
 locations, quarter sections, town lots, ar d otherwise seek 
 pleasure and fortune. State-room doors open and shut 
 with " good-night ! " The old vessel still puffs on in a 
 wheezy way in the still damp air. We awake in the 
 morning and find we are laid up in the As.sinii)oine, under 
 the martello towers of the old fort where Scott fell — where 
 Captain Butler played his provoking game of billiards 
 while Kiel looked on, and where Wolseley won his laurels. 
 Our notebook has furnished a means of recreation. 
 Would the indulgent reader see some vacation verses sug- 
 gested by the scenes we have passed through, and indited 
 as we floated down ? 
 
 THE RED RIVER OF THE NORTH. 
 
 'Neath high arched skiea of clearest she^n, 
 Sweeping thro' prairies' boundless green, 
 Where branching ehns and poplars throw 
 Dark shadows on the flood below ; 
 Through the great rival nations' land, 
 Uniting them with silver band, 
 A Queen thou art of wide domain, 
 Red River of tho Northern Plain. 
 
 Thy crown is of the azure hue 
 
 Of sun-set sky and pearly dew ; 
 
 Thy tresses of tho ivy made, 
 
 Twined with the willows' lighter shade ; 
 
32 
 
 i 
 
 i; J 
 
 Hi j 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 The Bois des Sioux, the small Marais, 
 Unite to make thy girdle gay ; 
 The Roseau comes with garlands, fain 
 To deck the Queen of Northern Plain. 
 
 A Naiad Queen — thy bounteous hand 
 Refreshes oft the parched land ; 
 The cattle bellow forth thy praise, 
 The blackbirds laud ihee in their lays : 
 The plover, mallard and wild-goose. 
 The slow-paced bear, the antler'd moose, 
 Come, lave and drink, a thankful train. 
 Queen River of the Northern Plain. 
 
 Pray tell us of those ancient men, 
 The Sioux, the Blackfeet, the Cheyenne, 
 Whose forms majestic by thy face 
 Reflected were — a stately race ; 
 Whose children, as by thee they stand, 
 Scant remnant of a noble band, 
 To match tiieir sires will strive in vain ; 
 Bold rovers of the Northern Plain. 
 
 Then tell us of the men who came 
 In humble guise and holy name, 
 Who bore the cross, and taught that loss 
 Was gain, and gain on earth was dross 
 With H'.m before whose sacred throne 
 The red and white man count as one ; 
 Good men ! ye sought for heaven to gain, 
 The wild men of the Northern Plain. 
 
 But ah ! my Muse, in shame and tears, 
 With downcast eyes, of after years 
 She tells. By lust and lucre nurs'd, 
 Came wrongs and cruel deeds that curs'd 
 
MSTIME ON SHIPBOARD. 
 The land, and made the red man full 
 
 And fade, who had been king of alP 
 Shall Canada permit the stain 
 
 To rest upon the Northern Plain ? 
 
 Astrean Muse, thy tears repel. 
 
 And of the years approaching tell 
 ''Fair Queen, thy virgin shores shall be 
 The home of thousands blest and free 
 From despot's rod, from priestcraft's s'nare ; 
 Thy waters pure their freight shall bear • 
 Long will they laud thy glorious reign ' 
 Queen River of the Northern Plain " 
 
 and fall into the Red River. '"'"'^"'^ P''*'"^ 
 
34 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVING' K. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WIXNIPEO — FOKT GARRY — CITY AND PEOPLE — THE BARRACKS — FORT 
 OSBORNE — HUDSON BAY COMPANY RESERVE — A GALA DAY — \VINNI- 
 PEO INSTITUTIONS AND ENVIRONS — ARTESIAN WELLS — WATER 
 WORKS — ILLUSTRATIONS — GARRY PETS — TRAIN DOGS — DEER LODGE 
 — SILVER HEIGHTS — INDIANS, CARTS AND SHAGYNAPPI — POLICE 
 — PLAN OF CITY, 
 
 The Old Fort faces the Assiniboine just before its junc- 
 tion with the Red River. We are under the shadoAV 
 of high stone walls, seamed with cracks, and evidently, of 
 no modern origin. They form a rectangle of five hundred 
 and ten feet in breadth, and six hundred feet long. A 
 gateway opens in the middle of the wall dicing the Assini- 
 boine ; through this we see a grass plot, having at its 
 further extremity a two-and-a-half storied house, with 
 staiis ascending from the exterior to the second story ; 
 on each side are four wooden houses, some of old logs axe- 
 hewn, others clapboarded. Each corner of the enclosure 
 is guarded by a round stone tower. These were erected 
 in 1840. Passing to the east side we find a store, which 
 opens to Garry or Main Street, and is filled with goods of 
 every variety, from fierce hunting and bowie-knives, many- 
 barrelled pistols and rifles, to pretty articles for ladies' 
 toilets and boudoirs. This store has been thus opened to 
 the street since Riel ruled. Tlien the eastern side was all 
 closed ill by the higli wall, made of hewn pine logs laid 
 
KS — FORT 
 — WINN I - 
 I, — WATER 
 ;EK lodge 
 1 — POLICE 
 
 its junc- 
 shadow 
 
 dently, of 
 himdred 
 
 long. A 
 e Assini- 
 
 Infj at its 
 lae, with 
 ^d story; 
 llogsaxe- 
 jnclosure 
 |e erected 
 le, which 
 goods of 
 }s,many- 
 pr ladies' 
 Ipciied to 
 was all 
 lojzs laid 
 
 
 '!'"™i:,J;;*|i 
 
i 
 
FORT rjAHHV ; SCOTT. 
 
 35 
 
 hoi"i/oiitaliy, wliicli encloses now tVoin tliis store to tlie 
 tower on the north-west corner the newer p.-irt of tlie 
 fort, which was so enLarged about 1850. These logs 
 show the tooth of time, which has eaten holes in many 
 to their centres into which the hand could be pushed. 
 Here and there we see where the red man's lead has 
 pic ed the wood. At this side, too, fell, after a mock trial, 
 Thomas Scott on the 4th of March, 1870, pierced, but 
 not killed, by rebel bullets. His body was ])laced within 
 a rude coffin and carried within the fort. His friends 
 asked for it and were refused, and why ? Because the 
 assassins had done their work so unskilfully that the 
 man still spoke in his cofHn, and so continued till night 
 fell — then the knife ended his torture. Chains taken from 
 the fort were placed around the coffin ; Dr. Schultz's 
 stolen cutter was used as a hearse ; Kiel's minions in this 
 carried the remains down the Red River to where the 
 Seine joins it in St. Boniface, and pushed it through 
 a hole in the ice to its last resting-place in the deep mud 
 of the river, where doubtless it still lies. On the north 
 side of the fort, facing the city, the wall is the highest. In 
 its centre is a castellated gateway ; within is the large 
 frame house formerly occupied by the Govei-nor of the 
 Company, now by the Hon. Alexander Morris, Lieut.- 
 Governor of the Province, and a store-house and oftices. 
 Some trees and shnibs surround this, and a large garden ; 
 but the grasshoppers were there before me, in contem})t of 
 high walls and massive towers. A rental of $'2,0{H) a 
 year is })aid to the Company for that i)art of these pre- 
 
ae 
 
 THE PRATT^IE PROVINCE. 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 i> 
 
 niisos occu])i<3(l l>y tlic Licutonant-Govcnior. [Our fron- 
 tispiece view of the fort shows the sides facing the rivers, 
 and is from a sketch made on the spot by Mr. Verner. 
 The smaller views are from excellent photographs by Mr. 
 S, Duffin, of Winnipeg.] Passing along Main Street, we 
 see on each side many substantial houses, dwellings, offices, 
 stores and warerooms ; some of these are of white brick ; 
 among such on our left are the Custom House and Dominion 
 Land Office, and Mr. Hespeller's block. A large brick 
 hotel was here erected, but its walls were not sufficiently 
 sunk, and the whole structure will soon have to be taken 
 down. Main Street extends from the fort to Burrows 
 Avenue, a distance of nearly two miles, following in main 
 the Red River, but taking a short cut along the base 
 of the triangle that forms Point Douglas. From the Fort 
 to the Wolsely House, now the Presbyterian College, 
 this street is fjiirly built up, and the land bordering upon 
 it is held at figures that would astonish those who saw 
 the poor little village of Winnipeg as described by Cap- 
 tain Butler five years ago. The triangle referred to, 
 bounded by Main Street and Red River, holds the old 
 village, and is mostly built upon. The Point Douglas 
 road runs through it from the river westerly, and streets 
 branch off either side of it. West of Main Street the city 
 is also fast filling up with frame houses of all sizes. Every 
 mechanic seems to have his own homestead, however 
 small. First is erected towards the middle of the lot a 
 small house, just sufficient for immediate necessity ; in time 
 a two-story addition is added in front, and the part first 
 
fron- 
 vers, 
 irner. 
 \f Mr. 
 >t, we 
 »ftices, 
 Drick ; 
 liniou 
 brick 
 iently 
 taken 
 Arrows 
 a main 
 le base 
 ke Fort 
 :Jollege, 
 or upon 
 lo saw 
 y Gap- 
 ed to, 
 he old 
 ouglas 
 streets 
 he city 
 Every 
 owever 
 e lot a 
 in time 
 it tirst 
 
 
 TTTY OF WTNNIPKf}. 
 
 87 
 
 erected forms the rear of tlio completed mansion. Mer- 
 chants and others whohave succeeded well — and there are 
 many such in the city — have erected, or are now erecting, 
 more pretentious and comfortable residences. Many of the 
 stores on Main Street are handsome buildings and well pro- 
 vided — but as happens, especially in new places, where each 
 builds to suit his fancy, present wants, and pocket, there 
 is no uniformity in s^ze or proportions. This time may 
 remedy. Some of the surveys are unsymmeti'ical and 
 have lots, even in outlying parts, absurdly small in pro- 
 ])ortion. This might well be provided against by legis- 
 lation. One of the finest of the recently erected stores 
 is that of J. H. Ashdown & Co. The building is 72 x 28 
 feet, three stories high, and is built of the handsome light- 
 coloured brick of Manitoba, with stone basement, the cor- 
 nices, window caps, &c., being of galvanized inm. The 
 materials used in the building were procured in Manit(^^)a, 
 at a cost of some Sl-J,0()(). The principal of the firm, Mr. J. 
 H. Ashdown,arrived in Manitoba, previous to the Red River 
 rebellion, with scarcely any capital. The stock contained 
 in the building is valued at about $50,000 and keeps four- 
 teen salesmen and workmen fully employed. 
 
 We will only mention further among the brick build- 
 ings, the Ontario Bank, Merchants' Bank, the store of the 
 Hon. A. G. B. Bannatyne, the new Post Office, and the 
 stores of Dr. Schultz, Mr. McMicken, and Higgins & Young, 
 and residence of the Chief Justice. So great has been the 
 demand for jjlaces of l)usiness that many buildings in the 
 
i\ 
 
 ,!: 
 
 :iH 
 
 TIIK PJtAIKIK I'UOVINCK. 
 
 ycmii*,^ city h;ivo jilrcjidy, ^;iy liy tlircc or foiii' yc'irs' rcntnl, 
 or even loss, rcpuid their total cost to thoir owners. 
 
 Main Street lias a [>laMk sidewalk IVom tlu; Foit to Bur- 
 rows Avenue ; is graded, surlaee diwi^ed, but insuttieicntly 
 so, and su[)plied in many plaees with water cisterns, to use 
 in case of fire. The city lias several hotels and far too 
 many saloons. The chief hotels are the Grand Central 
 and the Exchange. 
 
 Turn we again ; and following, as the sun is setting, the 
 strains of music, pass to Fort Osborne, on the banks of 
 the Assiniboine, we find that the strains proceed from a 
 band of some fifteen performers, regimentaled in the 
 uniform of Canadian Militia, standing in the parade 
 ground of an enclosure, in which we see a sergeant putting 
 his scpiad through evening drill, and a lot of jolly fellows 
 playing football, and are kindly welcomed by some young 
 Canadian officers, among whom we may mention Captain 
 Herchuier and Lieutenant Nash. The enclosure is sur- 
 rounded by a high white fence, and on each side of the 
 parade ground within are half-a-dozen neat wooden build- 
 ings, forming the officers' and men's quarters, stables, etc. 
 About one hundred officers and men were here stationed, 
 including a battery of artillery. The time of half of the 
 men was about expiring, ;(nd a like number recruited in 
 " Canada," as the older Provinces are called in Manitoba, 
 have just come through by the Dawson road to take their 
 [)laces, making the trip from Fort William in six days, the 
 soldiers having aided much in working their passage. 
 Behind the barracks, Colony Creek runs down to the As- 
 
FOKT OSHOKNK; Hl'DSON MAY COS UKSKKVR. 
 
 :j!) 
 
 ssage. 
 e As- 
 
 Hinihoine, ami licyond it is a vviiul-mill with sails sot. Wo 
 saw several others round the country, hut most of them 
 have heen dismantled and their machinery taken farther 
 West, steam mills here taking theii* places. 
 
 Between the barracks and the heart of the city is a lar<je 
 tract — a .s(juarc through which, on the city map, W(^ find 
 that ten streets run from north to south, and Hve crossing 
 these. It contains twelve hundred lots, of which wo think 
 (piite one thousand are vacant ; yet the city is spread- 
 ing out in other directions, and l jn along the Portage 
 road, beyond this tract. This seems anomalous. Let us 
 ask the cause. We are told, " Oh, that is the Hudson 
 Bay Company's [)roperty — they ask more than other pro- 
 prietors ; in fact, value their lots as highly as good resi- 
 dence property in Toronto, and annex terms as to im- 
 provements ; so people buy and build elsewhere. Such is 
 the })resent a|)])ai'ent state of affairs. The patent deed to 
 " the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England 
 trading into the Hudson's Bay " (the Company's cor[)orate 
 name), conveying this 450 acres of land between the As- 
 siniboine and Red Rivers, is dated 5th June, 187B, and 
 is made pursuant to the Order in Council of June 23rd, 
 1870, whereby the North-west Territory and Rupert's 
 Land were admitted into the Dominion. At an auction 
 sale of lots in their reserve west ot Main street, on Octo- 
 ber 15th, 1874, the Company sold fifty-eight building lots 
 for $25,695. 
 
 Some irritation exists in the Province at the generous 
 mannoi- in which the great (JonipMiiy was ti-eated, and tlu^ 
 
40 
 
 TICK I'KAIIIIK I'KOVINCK. 
 
 It 
 
 ftUeged arbitrary nianiier in which they hold these lands 
 in tlio centre of a growing population, and other lands 
 round every fort or trading post, and a slice out of every 
 township ; but more of this hereafter. The Portage road 
 was being graded diagonallyacrossthis tract from the main 
 street, cutting uj) the lots as laid out. The Company are 
 in litigation with the city as to this. Other " Ccmipany " 
 grievances are lieard of, but they are of local importance. 
 The 17th of August, 1875, was a gala day in Garry, 
 when its beauty and its chivalry, including the Masonic 
 and Orange fraternities and firemen, in full regalia, assem- 
 bled at the laying of the corner stone of the city market. 
 In the absence of the Governor — off to treaty with In- 
 dians, but from whom a congratulatory letter was read 
 by Mayor Kennedy, and received with applause, for His 
 Excellency is deservedly held in much popular esteem by 
 all — Chief Justice Wood was called on for a speech, and 
 we had the [)leasure of hearing his " big thunder " in the 
 young prairie city. Well did he refer to the wonderful 
 growth, prosperity and future of Manitoba, and its one 
 city, Winnipeg ; to the rivers that flowed bj', and the 
 beautiful and great lake into which their waters enter — 
 one and a half times as large as Lake Ontario. He 
 showed that Winnipeg was at once the geographical cen- 
 tre of Manitoba and the commercial and political hub of 
 the Nor'-west, and predicted its future greatness. Excel- 
 lent speeches were also made by the Premier, Mr. Davis, 
 and that good friend of Manitoba, Mr. J. W. Taylor, Uni- 
 ted States Consul at Winnipeg. Near this spot is the 
 
 '', 
 
I » 
 
 lands 
 lands 
 every 
 I road 
 main 
 jy are 
 )any " 
 ance. 
 ^arry, 
 asonic 
 issem- 
 larket. 
 th Tn- 
 s read 
 •or His 
 em by 
 h, and 
 in the 
 derful 
 ts one 
 d the 
 ter — 
 He 
 1 cen- 
 ub of 
 xcel- 
 Davis, 
 ,Uni- 
 is the 
 
 II' 
 
 i! 
 
 
 B 
 
 % 
 d 
 
 e 
 a 
 
 r, 
 
 d 
 
 o 
 e 
 
 y 
 
 n 
 
 'S 
 
 
 n 
 
 g 
 
 ic 
 
 )f 
 il 
 
 ic 
 )- 
 
 ts 
 
 ^1 
 
 I'Ji' .:S»^*«0:?^ *!•-■? •- 
 
-The Pf?airie Province- 
 
 -PLAN OF THE 
 
 crrr ow winmipes 
 
 1876 
 
 ^.G^.Weatm a cottDel : 
 
 I L- 
 
 'V 
 
 /' 
 
 ^.-'' 
 '\\/ 
 
 / 
 
 
 ,/' 
 
 
 I'^^'k 
 
 
 ALEX"! CRAIG STEAM UTf 
 

 / 
 
 .X' 
 
 
 nr'^-|nr 
 
 _:LJ 
 
 
 
 '^\ "^Oy. -V— ' 
 
 
 
 J L.J l_J - 
 
 'Si ^' i~ r' i ' rn r 
 
 
 
 
 
 _^«vwfW2£wg^J_* 
 
 ALEXr ClfAlG STEAM LITH .TORONTO. 
 
m/m 
 
 40 
 
 alleged 
 in the 
 round 
 townsl: 
 was be 
 street, 
 in litig 
 grievar 
 The 
 when ii 
 and On 
 bled at 
 In the 
 dians, 1 
 by Ma^ 
 Excelle 
 all— Ch 
 we had 
 young 1 
 growth, 
 city, M 
 beautifi 
 one anc 
 showed 
 tre of Ii 
 the Nor 
 lent spe 
 and that 
 ted Stat 
 
COURT HOUSE ; LEPINE ; NEWSPAPERS. 
 
 41 
 
 frame building used for Court-house, Gaol, and Parliament 
 House. The city is much in need of better accommoda- 
 tion for all these purposes. Here we saw a tall, well-look- 
 ing French half-breed, Ambroise Lepine, Kiel's Adjutant- 
 General, undergoing, with some impatience, the sentence 
 of imprisonment for his share in the Scott tragedy, and 
 refusing to live in banishment, or to accei)t the teims on 
 which alone he can regain his political status. In the 
 next cell were two Americans awaiting extradition on 
 a charge of murder. 
 
 On Sunday Wirmipeg is I'cmarkably quiet and orderly. 
 In the early morning, the St. Boniface ferry is loaded 
 with well dressed French-speaking folk on their way to 
 mass at St. Boniface. The other denominations have 
 each their church edifice in the town. There are many 
 public and private schools, and a Young Men's Christian 
 Association, with free reading-rooms. Several newspapers 
 — among them the Free Press, a daily and weekly, and the 
 Standard a weekly — are ably conducted. The gentlemen 
 of the city have a club, where we had the pleas\ire of meet- 
 ing and forming the acquaintance of several of the mer- 
 chants, lawyers, and legislators of the Province. Winni[)eg 
 is a city — the only city of the Province — and has its Civic 
 Council; and that worthy body, following tlie fashion of 
 its more eastern prototypes, spends more time in personal 
 bickerings and disputes than in legislating for the public 
 weal, yet it is gradually working out a system of fire pro- 
 tection, drainage, and other needed im[)rovements. Blue- 
 coated j)olice parade th(5 streets. Society, too, has its 
 
 n 
 
42 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE, 
 
 i ! 
 
 ill 
 
 f 
 
 ii i 
 1 
 
 V' 
 
 cliques and coteries, up-towri and down-town divisions. 
 A main cause of differences is the rancour still existing 
 from the effects of the Kiel rebellion and Scott tragedy. 
 The assessors' rolls for 1875 show about 2,000 males and 
 1,000 females as real estate owners; many are non-re- 
 sidents. The population of the city numbers about 6,000 
 souls. 
 
 In 1875 the value of real property was... $1,808,567 
 
 personal " "... 801,212 
 
 Total assessment $2,609,719 
 
 Protestant heads of families, 1,003 ; Catholic heads of 
 families, 145. 
 
 Among the heaviest ratepayers were the following, as- 
 sessed for real and personal property : — Hudson's Bay 
 Company, $595,000 ; Hon. Mr. Bannatyne, $84,000 ; Mr. 
 McDermott, $78,876 ; Mr. Macaulay, $44,500 ; Mr. Alex. 
 Logan, $53,000. 
 
 The water supply is generally obtained from the rivers, 
 delivered at the houses in barrels drawn by mules or oxen. 
 Wells, unless sunk to the rock, are alkaline. In many 
 phices flowing wells of excellent water exist. To make 
 such, the ground is bored for a depth of from 25 to 100 
 feet ; then rock is met, and below it is a sandy bed hold- 
 ing good water. The well must be tubed round to prevent 
 alkaline infiltration. When so completed the water rises 
 in abundance to within a few feet of the surface. Such 
 a wi^ll has just been sunk at tha new ])enitentiary on 
 Stony Mountain. At a de])th <»f 100 feet rock was 
 
•9 
 
 K 
 
 H 
 
 O 
 
 I 
 
 
 ' 111 
 
 ll 
 
 was 
 
WATER sri'I'LY ; (JAKUY I'ETS. 
 
 43 
 
 I*>:1 
 
 U'^- 
 
 thrown up which Professor Ames pronounced to be 
 Silurian. It has distinct traces of ocean sliells and 
 crustacefe imbedded in it, and is one of the many proofs 
 thnt ages ago this valley was the bed of the ocean, and 
 has been upheaved by volcanic agency. 
 
 Dr. Owen, so long ago as 1848, described Lower Silurian 
 limestone as found at the Stone Fort, and in his Report to 
 the American Government gave an extensive list of fossils 
 imbedded in it. 
 
 A continuous stream of the purest water lately rose 
 from a spot in the river's bank at Point Douglas, when 
 the railway engineers were boring to find a proper bottom 
 for the proposed bridge across Red River. 
 
 Besides the wild men from the plains, we see, here and 
 there, other former denizens of the wilds — the pets of 
 Garry. In the half acre attached to the Ontario Bank is 
 a pretty i-ed doe. Young black bears are often seen 
 chained in the gardens. Foxes peep from their holes, but 
 run in as far as the cord will allow as we approach. A 
 young cinnamon Bruin has his lair behind one of the 
 warehouses. A pair of Buffalo calves were expected in 
 soon by one of the traders. Every house of any preten- 
 sions has its show of stuffed birds, skins and horns. In 
 some the only carpets are the soft furs of bear, wolf, 
 buffalo, mink, and badger. The priests at St. Boniface 
 are skilled in the curing of birds' skins, and have many 
 specimens. These important-looking big dogs that walk 
 with measured ivond svhieli cannot Ik; mistMkon, are 
 " train dogs," who, as soon as the snow falls, will b(; 
 
i 
 
 IH 
 
 44 
 
 TliK FKAIKIE PllOVINCE. 
 
 harnessed to tobogans with sh<f(/fjii<ipf>}, and run witli 
 bags of flour, pemmiean and the like, many a mile, and at 
 no slow pace. At Prince Arthur we first met a pair of 
 these fellows enjoying their summer holidays with otium 
 c/UAn (li(jti!t<Uc, but were shown the sled and harness in 
 which they have often gone as far as Dulutli and back. 
 
 The toboffan is made of sound white birch wood, eii^ht 
 feet long, and shaped like a straight moccasin, with a turn 
 up before and behind, width two feet, with canvas sides 
 some eight inches high, resembling a canoe, but the bottom 
 projects out behind to carry baggage. The harness is of 
 the Dutch species, sufficient for the purpose ; the absence 
 of sliafts sometimes causes the last dog's hind legs to get 
 into trouble. When all is ready for a start, the dogs, 
 generally four or five to a team, at the driver s order, fall 
 into place, and away they go to distant posts, often 
 travelling fifty milec a day, at a rate of six miles an 
 hour. 
 
 The Portage Road, so called because leading towards 
 Portage La Prairie, is of two chains' breadth, and running 
 westerly, passes through a beautiful part of the city 
 and environs, having the verdant banked Assiniboine — 
 whose waters are of much lighter colour than the Red 
 River — on the left. On the right we soon come to the 
 large establishment of Hon. James McKa}'-, called Deer 
 Lodge ; the house with double verandah and extensive 
 outbuildings, on the roofs of which are displayed a dozen 
 pairs of antlers of I'ed deer, elk and moose. Mi-. McKay 
 is, in physical proportions and politically, one of the most 
 
 
SILVER ri RIGHTS ; INTMAN^S ; IIFD lUVKR CARTS. 4.") 
 
 an 
 
 •ds 
 
 noted men in tlie Province : a member ot" (iovernmeiit, and 
 an Indian Treaty Commissioner, a trader and contractoi'. 
 Six miles out are the " Silver Heij]jhts," so called as the 
 land rises in beautiful rolling bluffs marked with sliining 
 poplar and maple. The j)lain we drive on is dotted over 
 with many <tn ox or pony cart and little tent of traders, or 
 servants of the Company, some hundreds of which had 
 gone or were now about to start with winter supplies to 
 far distant posts and stations. Many of them will travel 
 3,000 miles ere they again tent out here. But here are 
 tepees of different construction and ownership. Two 
 stalwart Indians in their blankets stand at the door of 
 smoke-blacked tents ; one has red leggings ; the other has 
 a tuft of feathers. This is a brave — he has killed his 
 men. Each feather is for a scalp torn off. Another 
 young warrior comes strutting on ; red-legginged, witli 
 worked moccasins, and red-handled tomahawk in hand. 
 His squaw follows with a heavy bundle on her back. 
 Papooses — shy little black-eyed fellows — were playing 
 about, some throwing a ball. This was a band of Crees 
 from the Red Hills. The Winnipeg racecourse, a mile in 
 circumference, ma}?- be seen from the Portage Road. While 
 all the requirements of civilized, even fashionable life can 
 be obtained, though at enhanced expense, in Gariy, we 
 are attracted most by the more romantic part of the place 
 and people — red men and half-breeds ; the former in their 
 well-known blankets over rough European dress ; the 
 latter in European costume, moccasined, driving theii* pony 
 and ox carts. The Red River cart is sui generis, made 
 
46 
 
 TIIK PRAIIUK rUOVINCE. 
 
 I|v I 
 
 wlioll^y oi' vvoofl ; l]i(3 Im I »s, oC gi-ocn timber, .'ire |>i<'rctMl for 
 tho .spokes ; tliu hitter, of dry oak, are then inserted and 
 ►soon clasped firndy by the drying hub. No ii'on, not a 
 nail can be seen in the vehicle. Iron was a heavy and 
 dear article to convey inland. Three years ago a keg of 
 nails cost $25. It can now be had for i?3.50. No 
 cruel wooden yoke is used, but the ox is harnessed with 
 sluuiynappi — home-made harness of buffalo or ox hide, 
 and collar such as we use for horses. One rein to the 
 horns suftices to guide the patient beast, which moves 
 over the soft prairie with half a ton weight at a quick 
 walk, living only on the grass and water, that grows or 
 runs spontaneously, at each resting-place. No shoes are 
 on either pony or ox. Stony roads would soon ruin the 
 hoofs and shake such vehicles to pieces, but tlic way of 
 these men is along the river beds and over the yielding 
 sod of the prairie, as it spreads far and wide to the Rocky 
 Mountains. Here we find specimens occasionally of cer- 
 tain free-traders, often Americans, who, for good reasons 
 known to themselves, prefer to keep clear of Uncle Sam's 
 marshals. They have had little difficulties, ending in the 
 shooting and scalping of red skins — or have run off a few 
 ponies — or, being Government agents,have set up a trading 
 post on their own account with goods that poor Lo should 
 have had. These fellows are shyer now of the Queen's 
 possessions than they were before the Mounted Police 
 took possession of the Nor'-west, having first themselves, 
 with patient, hearty labour, built their forts. We hear of 
 the good work and fame of this force on all hands. 0[)en 
 
TIIK MOrNTEI) POI.KK ; HOOP-tTp. 
 
 4: 
 
 wliiskcy traHut with tlic Indians is stopped on the phiins. 
 Both tiaJers and Indians foarand lespeet the iuave tiiiee 
 hundred who guard the far Nor'-west. 
 
 The preservation of* peace and the developcnient of the 
 V^ alley of the Saskatchewan and its triimtaries depend 
 much on the proper increase and maintenance of this 
 citizen soldiery. But a few months since a large band of 
 marauders lived in free and glorious style at Hoop-up as 
 they styled their den in the Bow River country, Tliey 
 were armed to the teeth and well fortified. Now their fort 
 is deserted, and they are scattered in Montann. Half a 
 score of their number were caught and tined, one in $500 
 and three months' imprisonment, and his stock of robes 
 confiscated, at Fort McLeod, for selling liquor to redskins. 
 Three were still awaiting trial. The consciences or love 
 of freedom of their comrades suggested that discretion 
 was the better part of valour, so Hoop-up is empty. 
 None of this force is now stationed within the Province, 
 but is divided between Fort Pelly, Fort M('L<M)d, (*Mi-Iton, 
 Edmonton, and Cypress Hills. 
 
 •*| 
 
CHAPTKK V. 
 
 f 
 
 I' 
 
 I ' 
 
 UEU(iKAI'III<'AL I'OSITION Ol' MANITOHA — THKKK DIVISIONS — RED 
 RIVKR — THK U<)SKAr VALLKY — TMK ASSINIBOINK -ITS I'AIUSIIKS — 
 I'KMUINA RAILWAY — KMKRSON — MKNNONITK «JOUNTRY AND SKT- 
 TLEMKNTH — I'OINT DU C'HENE — <!ALEDoMA — MILLUKOOK —RAILWAY 
 FROM THUNDER UAY — LAKE WINNIl'EO — ICELANDERS — I'EUUIS — 
 WHITWOLD— <'LANDEUOVE — (JRASSMERE — VK.TORIA — ROCK WOOD — 
 NEW PENITENTIARY— WOODLANDS — MEADOW LEA — OTHER SETTLE- 
 MENTS — J'ORTAOE LA PRAIRIE — UURNSIDE — WESTROURNE — PALES- 
 TINE — THE DANES — CANAL— FARMING IN MARQUETTE— MESSRS. 
 LYNCH, SHANNON AND OTHERS — RAILWAY — DUFFERIN — WEST 
 LYNNE— BOYNE SETTLEMENT — PEMBINA MOUNTAINS -COAL— DI- 
 MENSIONS OF PROVINCE — MODE OF SURVEY— OUR MAP. 
 
 The Province of Manitoba was established on the 23rd 
 of June, 1870, by order of the then Governor-General, 
 Lord Lisgar, in Council, under authority of the Act of the 
 Dominion Parliament passed 12th May, 1870. It lies in 
 the middle of the North American continent, nearly equal- 
 ly distant from the Pole and Equator, and Atlantic and 
 Pacific. Its southern boundary is the northern limit of 
 Minnesota and Dakota, being the i)arallel of fort^'^-nine 
 degrees north latitude, along which it extends from the 
 ninety-sixth to the ninety -ninth degree of West longitude. 
 In shape a parallelogram,bounded on the north by the par- 
 allel of fifty degrees thirty minutes North latitude, which 
 runs through the southern extremities of Lakes Winnipeg 
 and Manitoba. The Red River courses through the Pro- 
 
 (J 
 
nivrsioNs OK 'iiii; pkovinck. 
 
 19 
 
 — RED 
 II KS — 
 > SBT- 
 ILWAY 
 Jt'lH— 
 OOl) — 
 KTTLK- 
 I'ALKS- 
 IKHSKH. 
 
 - WEST 
 AL— I>I- 
 
 c 23vd 
 cneral, 
 
 of the 
 lies in 
 
 equal- 
 
 vinee from the southern boundary till it enters Lake 
 
 VV^innipofT at a distance of about forty miles north of the 
 
 City of VVinnipe<ij, and about one hundred miles from tlio 
 
 United States boundary. At the south-eastern extremity 
 
 tlie Roseau enters, drainin*^ a rieh ])asturo land and con- 
 
 neetingf Red River with a valuable wooded country, which 
 
 is generally rich, but nuich of it will require draining. The 
 
 Roseau Rapids will afford many excellent mill sites. They 
 
 extend for a distance of about fifteen miles, through 
 
 which the stream runs swiftly over a gravelly bed. The 
 
 Assiniboine.rising in the western territory .winds northerly 
 
 past the village and English settlement of Portage La 
 
 Prairie, which has several stores and mills ; thence eastei'- 
 
 ly between banks along which are many beautiful spots 
 
 occupied by old half-breed families, originally from the 
 
 Selkirk settlement, ,'md by the more modern residences of 
 
 later settlers. It so wi.ids through the parishes of High 
 
 Bluff, Poplar Point, Bale St, Paul, Francois Xavier, Head- 
 
 ingly, St. Charles and St. James, till it joins the Red River 
 
 at Fort Garry. Near Pigeon Lake is, as described in 
 
 Mr. Shantz's narrative, the Hudson Bay Company's post, 
 
 known as "White Horse Post," where they carried on fjirm- 
 
 ing on an extensive scale, 9,870 bushels of grain having 
 
 been raised in 1871 on two hundred and ninety acres of 
 
 land. The Company also then maintained here about 
 
 500 head of cattle. The Province is by these rivers divided 
 
 into three sections. 
 
 1 ' . 
 
 f. 
 
 It! 
 
 E 
 
i i'*- 
 
 ■/ !■ 
 
 I ■■- 
 1 t ,:. 
 
 IS 
 
 IJO 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 FIRST DIVISION. 
 
 The first is that east of the Eed River, with the fast 
 growing town of Emerson at its south-western corner, 
 through which the Pembina branch of the Pacific Railroad 
 will run. Capital and enterprise are here at work. A 
 sale of town lots was had in Winnipeg in December 1875 ; 
 the number of lots sold was fifty-one, and the prices ran 
 from $25 to $57, the average per lot of the entire sale 
 being about $40. We next pass five townships reserved 
 for French Canadians resident in the United States whom 
 it is proposed to induce to come to Manitoba. Then 
 we come to the Mennonite country — the Rat River 
 Reserve it is called — which begins at a distance of eighteen 
 miles from the southern boundary, in the sixth range of 
 townships east of the river, and extends north and west 
 across the river, there called the Pembina and Scratching 
 River Reserves, embracing in all twenty-five townships. 
 The Mennonites who came in 1874, with the exception of 
 about thirty families, settled on the Rat River Reserve, and 
 a considerable number of the arrivals of last year joined 
 them, so that there are now upon this reserve about five 
 hundred families. The other thirty families settled at 
 Scratching River. The Rat River settlers broke about 
 three thousand acres of land, and sowed the same last 
 spring, but suflTered severely from the grasshoppers. The 
 thirty families that settled at Scratching River escaped 
 the grasshoppers and had good crops. The Pembina Re- 
 serve has been only recently made, and has upon it about 
 three hundred families. The Mennonites have given the 
 
fast 
 ner, 
 road 
 A 
 S75; 
 ran 
 sale 
 srved 
 ^hom 
 Then 
 River 
 hteen 
 ige of 
 west 
 iching 
 ships, 
 on of 
 e,and 
 oined 
 t five 
 ed at 
 about 
 e last 
 The 
 caped 
 a Ke- 
 about 
 n the 
 
 MENNONITE SETTLKMKNTS. 
 
 51 
 
 following names to their settlements, viz. : — BUimenhof, 
 Hochfeld, Blumenort, Bergthal, Schonthal, Chorlitz, Ro- 
 senthal, Tannenan, Steinl)aeh, Grxinfeld, Schonweise, Stein- 
 rich. Four other villages are not yet named. The near- 
 est of the above, Schonthal, is twenty-iive miles ; the 
 farthest, Steinrich, is thirty-three miles south-east from 
 Winnij)eg. Passing northerly, we cross the little Rivei- 
 Seine, which doubtless received its name, Seine River, or 
 German Creek, from the hardy old continental soldiers 
 who followed Lord Selkirk to this region, and wliich flows 
 past the village of Point de Chenes, north-westerly, 
 through a rich soil, of which a large pcn'tion requires to be 
 drained, and "enters Red River below^ St. Boniface. Cale- 
 donia is a flourishing settlement of nearly one hundred 
 souls, three miles north of Point de Chenes, and twenty- 
 eight from Winnipeg, on the Dawson Road, with a good 
 supply of growing wood for all purposes. Ten miles from 
 this is the yet younger Millbrook settlement. The rail- 
 way from Thunder Bay will pass through the northern 
 half of the section of the Province in which we now are 
 on its way to cross the Red River below Sugar Point. 
 
 SECOND DIVISION. 
 
 The second geographical division is that west of Red 
 Kiver and north of the Assiniboine, through rive town- 
 ships of which the railway must also pass on its coui'se 
 by the Narrows of Lake Manitoba t(j the Saskntchrwan 
 Valley. 
 
 In the noi'th-east corner of this, on the banks of Ijake 
 
 if 
 
 ! 
 
 n\ 
 
i ! 
 
 ; 
 
 ii I 
 
 I 
 
 ISr 
 
 52 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 Winnipeg, is the Tcelandic settlement, which includes 
 Great Black Island. 
 
 The Icelanders, as might be expected, require to be 
 situated on the shores of an expanse of water. Here 
 they will be congregated in long narrow villages close to 
 and parallel with the shore, for convenience of fishing, 
 boating, &c., having their farming and pasture lands 
 in the rear, which latter, respectively, it is presumed, 
 will be held, more or less, by each community or vil- 
 lage in common, as we learn from the Report of Sur- 
 veyor-General Dennis. It is hoped that this branch of 
 a hardy and intelligent race will do justice to the good 
 character given them by Lord DufFerin in his interesting 
 " Letters from High Latitudes." They are said, indeed, 
 thoroughly to enjoy and appreciate the advantages afford- 
 ed to them on Canadian soil, and though not so well pro- 
 vided at the outset as the Mennonites, are equally wel- 
 come. The first instalment was of three hundred who 
 arrived in October, 1875, and proceeded to their locations. 
 The shore plot assigned them consists of a double row of 
 lots, each lot 300 feet square with a road allowance or 
 street along in front and rear, with cross streets (between 
 lots) connecting these at convenient distances. 
 
 Near the Lake, in the parish of St. Peter's, now called 
 Dynevor, is laid out the prospective town of Peguis, so 
 called in honour of a former Chief of the Swampy Crees. 
 South-west of this are Whitewold and Clandeboye. The 
 central portion contains the fine and rapidly filling town- 
 ships of Grassmeve, Greenwood, Roekwood, Victoria, 
 
STONY MOUNTAi: 
 
 PENlTKXTtARY. 
 
 59 
 
 jailed 
 [is, so 
 
 ;!rees. 
 The 
 
 town- 
 ktoria, 
 
 W'outlJaiids and Meadow Lea. In Rockwood is Stony 
 Mountain, " Tt is," says Professor Hind, writing in 1858, 
 " a limestone island of Silurian age, h.iving escaped the 
 denuding forces which excavated the Red River valley." 
 * * * " Viewed from a distance Stony Mountain re- 
 quires little effort to recall the time when the shallow 
 waters of a former extension of Lake Winnipeg, washed 
 the beach on its flank^ or threw up as they gradually re- 
 ceded, ridge after ridge, over the level floor of the lake, 
 where now are to be found wide and beautiful prairies 
 covered with a rich profusion of long grass." The moun- 
 tain is of some fifteen hundred acres in extent, raised by 
 gradual ascent till its highest part is sixty feet above the 
 plains. About one-fifth of this area is the government 
 reserve of well-wooded land, known as Stony Mountain 
 Park. The new Provincial Penitentiary is erected on a 
 bluff surrounded by the park. It is of white brick, 
 which is seen on the plain for many miles, the foundation 
 is of native limestone, the jjlan and arrangements are 
 similar to those of the Toronto Central Prison. The at- 
 mosphere is here clear and bracing on the warmest summer 
 day. The view is extensive and varied. " From the 
 roof," says a recent visitor, " may be seen the city of 
 Winnipeg looking immense in its long stretch of Main 
 Street, and scarcely broken from the parishes of St, Boni- 
 face, St. James and St. Charles, St. Jolm and Kildonan, 
 and St. Paul, as they stretch on eitlier side in an unbroken 
 line of dwellings along the Assiniboine and Red Rivers, 
 while in other directions may be discovered the liome- 
 
54 
 
 THE PRATRIK PROVINfE, 
 
 W -' 
 
 steads of Grassiiicre, Rock wood and Victoria, liaiif^ing 
 out from tlie woodlands over the Prairie for miles." 
 
 Noi'th-west from Portaoc^ La Prairie are the settle- 
 ments of Burnside, Westbourne, Wopdside, Totogan and 
 Palestine, and some townships reserved for Danish im- 
 migrants on the borders of Lake Manitoba, Portage 
 Creek and the stream runiung through swampy land 
 a few nules east of it, called Rat Creek, are said to 
 have sometimes at high water actually connected the 
 Assiniboine and Lake Mjinitoba, which is less than 
 fifty feet above the level of Lake AVinnipeg, and twenty- 
 six miles from the Assiniboine. Government has caused 
 a survey to be made, for the purpose of testing the practi- 
 cability of here joining these waters ; and Mr. Hermon, 
 P.L.S., reports their relative level to be such as to admit 
 of turning those of Lake Manitoba into the Assiniboine- 
 To regulate its depth and for the creation of water ])ower 
 — both objects of great importance — Mr. H. B. Smith' 
 C.E., proposes that a ship canal of seven feet in depth' 
 and having a breadth at bottom of 100 feet, be cut, with 
 an average grade of six feet three inches in the mile. A 
 dani would also be laid across Partridge Crop River, the 
 only outlet of the Lake, to raise its sui'foce. This would ele- 
 vate the In.ke and i:iver surfaces three feet. The cost of 
 canal and locks is estimated at 5:5878,400. At present the 
 navigation of the Assiniboine is impossible at low water, 
 owing to rapids at a few miles from Winni|)eg, and to occa- 
 sional rocky and sand shoals and large boulders ; but at 
 hiiih water Red River steamers have ascended as far as the 
 
 ■1 
 
THE ASSINIBOINE ; POUTAGE LA PRAIRIE. 
 
 57 
 
 ele- 
 
 ;t of 
 
 the 
 
 iter, 
 
 CCrl- 
 
 t at 
 the 
 
 Portage. The stream is winding and slow in its course, 
 and so suffers from evaporation and absor[)tion that its 
 volume is larger beyond the Province limits than at its 
 confluence with Red River. It was through the region 
 between Lake Manitoba and Red River that the first 
 trial survey of the Pacific Railway ran, and many too con- 
 fidently invested here largely in wild lands, which have 
 as yet brought no return to speculative purchasers, as the 
 track is to run through the firm bottom said to exist at 
 the " Narrows " of the Lake, and no sufficient demand has 
 yet arisen to make these lands saleable. Such lands will, 
 however, ere long find a market, as this region between 
 Lake Manitoba and the Assiniboine River is being rapidly 
 brought under cultivation. Some of the settlers in this 
 neighbourhood had last year considerable crops, producing 
 on the average twenty to twenty-five bushels per acre 
 (after feeding the grasshoppers), for which they received 
 highly remunerative prices : oats commanding $1 per 
 bushel ; wheat, $1 50 to $1 75 ; barley, $1 50 to $2 ; and 
 potatoes, 75 cents. The returns of the hired threshing 
 machines, as we learn from a late number of the Free Press> 
 show the entire crop of the County of Marquette to be 
 about 40,000 bushels in 1875. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of Lake Manitoba some of the 
 leading farmers are gathering valuable herds together, and 
 the more enterprising of them are already reaping con- 
 siderable advantage from investments made a few years 
 ago in the impoi'tation of thorough -bred bulls. Of these, 
 Mr. Walter Lynch was among the most prominent. Some 
 
\'' 
 
 50 
 
 thf: prairie provinc^e. 
 
 
 of his .sales liavo been remarkably <^ood, coiisiclering the 
 circumstances ; such as a heifer calf at $300 and eight bull 
 calves Jit about an average of $150 each. He has in yard 
 still, we believe, seven cows and six calves, all the product 
 of one Durham bull and three cows imported in 1871^. 
 
 Messrs. Shannon, Newcome, and others in this neigh- 
 bourhood also have considerable herds of grade cattle. 
 
 Messrs. Hugh Grant, K. McKenzie, M.P.P., Hon. Mr- 
 Ogiltree, Paschall Breland, of White Horse Plains ; 
 Thos. Lumsden, of St. Francois Xavier ; John Taylor, 
 M.PP. ; W. Tait and W. B. Hall, of Headingly, and 
 John F. Grant, of St. Charles, are also extensive farmers 
 and breeders of horses and cattle. It may be mention- 
 ed that it was at this village of Headingly that the 
 strange career of the so-called Lord Gordon, or Lord Glen- 
 cairn, ended in 1874. After perpetrating enormous frauds 
 in England and the States, and almost causing an interna- 
 tional squabble, he was arrested here by Alexander Munro, a 
 Toronto detective. The story entitled "Glencairn: a 
 Dramatic Story in Three Acts," is told in Chambers s 
 Journal for November, 1875, and ends thus. Munro 
 says :— 
 
 " I told him that I had come to arrest him, and that I 
 had a warrant. He asked if it was another case of kid- 
 napping, and I said it was not, but everything regular, 
 and I showed him the warrant. He said it was all right, 
 and, just glancing at it, professed himself ready to go ; 
 only he wished to be allowed to put on warmer clothes. 
 He got dressed, and was all ready to go, with the excep- 
 
a 
 
 Ihes. 
 3ep- 
 
 LORD GORDON 1 HEADTNGLY. 
 
 67 
 
 I 
 
 tion of a Scutch cap, whicli ho wished to f^ot horn the bed- 
 room. T closeiy followed him. On entering the bed-room 
 he laid hold of a loaded pistol, and, declaring that he would 
 not move a step further, he j^ut the pistol to his head. I 
 made a rush to prevent his shooting, l)ut it was too late. 
 He pulled the trigger and shot himself through the 
 head. He sank down and died almost immediately." 
 
 The author, who is Dr. W. Chambers, in concluding this 
 drama of real life, says : — 
 
 " In none of the printed proceedings or elsewhere is 
 there a scrap of intelligence concerning the real name or 
 the relatives of this remarkable person. No one seems to 
 know whc or what he was, who were his ^.i^rents, or where 
 he was born. He altogether remains a mystery. It would 
 be curious to know if any one lamented his lost oppor- 
 tunities of well-doing or mourned his deplorable fate." 
 
 THIRD DIVISION. 
 
 The third division of the Province is that west of 
 the Red and south of the Assiniboine Rivers, having 
 at its south-easterly extremity the villages of Dufferin 
 and West Lynne ; near its centre, the Boyne settlement, 
 on the River lies de Bois, of about forty families, who 
 have excellent grain and grass lands ; and west of these, 
 the rolling land called the Pembina Mountains, and the 
 river of the same name. Poplar is here the most abun- 
 dant tree, though groves of oak are found. " The soil is 
 fertile, though not so deep or inexhaustible as that of 
 the Red River Valley, and rests on a gravelly drift sub- 
 
.vr^^" ; 
 
 58 
 
 THE PriAiniE PROVINCE. 
 
 soil. Tlio rain-ikll of this region is probably slightly 
 less than that of the Red River Valley, but appears to 
 be sutticient for agricultui'al purposes." (Report of Mr. 
 G. M. Dawson to the North-west Boundary Commis- 
 sioners, 1875, page 288.) It is in this region, and still 
 more in the more western valley of the Souris River, one 
 of the triljutaries of the Assiniboine, at a distance of two 
 hundred and fifty miles from Red River, that large depo- 
 sits of lignite have been found, and it is hoped that ere 
 long the fires of Winnipeg will be hence supplied with 
 fuel in convenient form and at moderate ctost. 
 
 A charter for a Provincial railwav, the " Manitoba 
 Southern," to connect this sorth-west part of the country 
 with the capita], has already been obtained. If the canal 
 referred to be constructed, the carriage of tins fuel will be 
 also facilitated. In one place in the Souris Valley Mr. 
 Dawson found the lignite seven feet three inches in thick- 
 ness : " The lignite (page 91 of the Report referred to) is 
 continuously visible for at least two hundred feet along 
 the face of the bank, and seems to preserve uniformity 
 of character and thickness. It is quite black on freshly 
 fractured surftices, and in many places the structure of 
 the original wood is still quite discernible." On the op- 
 posite side of the same river valley, and elsewhere along 
 the stream, seams of lignite of good quality are described 
 in the same Report, which continues thus : " The whole of 
 these deposits, though in some places showing a dip 
 amounting to a few degrees in one direction or other, 
 appear to have no determinate direction of inclination, 
 
 ] 
 
COAT,; WATKR-COITRSKS ; A15KA OF IM?OVT\('K. 
 
 59 
 
 long 
 
 nity 
 
 shly 
 
 e of 
 
 |op- 
 
 ong 
 
 bed 
 
 e of 
 
 dip 
 
 ler, 
 
 lion, 
 
 ■ 
 
 but over lai'^T {ii'cus to ' as nearly as possible linrizon- 
 tal." This coal region v'< 1 be nearer to Red River, and 
 prol)ably of more convenient access, than the great beds of 
 coal well known to exist in the Saskatchewan Valley. 
 
 The various streams that course through the Province 
 and flow into its two niain arteries have been referred to 
 in this or in other parts of this narrative. They are in- 
 vahiable to the agriculturist and l)reeder of cattle. Their 
 banks m overed witli verdure, and their course may be 
 marl- d ./, the windinfj lines of ti'ees and shrubs that 
 spi i i^-: 1. ) on either side. 
 
 In dimensions, the Province measures from the United 
 Sti :. line to its northern boundary 102 miles; from east 
 to west it is 120 miles. Its total area is of about 13,900 
 square miles, or nearly nine millions of acres. Proposals 
 have been made for enlai'irement to the north and on 
 either side, but no definite arrangement for this end has 
 yet been agreed on. 
 
 To facilitate an understanding of the Map, we may say 
 the lands, as surveyed, are laid oft' in quadrilateral town- 
 ships containing thirty-six sections of one mile square in 
 each, together with road allowances of one chain and fifty 
 links in width between all townships and sections. 
 
 The townships are numbei'ed consecutively from one to 
 seventeen, from the southern boundary noi'therly. Ranges 
 of townships, each six miles broad, are numbered east and 
 west resjjectively, from the " principal Meridian," which 
 will be seen on the Map to enter the Province at a dis- 
 tance of about ten miles west fi'oni Pembina, and thence 
 
 •■.J:i 
 
1 
 
 j 
 
 60 
 
 THK PUAtHIE PROVINCE. 
 
 
 
 puss nj» till it cruHses the l><)uri(lary line bi'twcun tlio two 
 lakes. The mode of division is simple and convenient. 
 
 Tlie Diagram on the map shows how each township is 
 laid out in sections, and how they are numbered. 
 
 As soon as a new settlement is formed, the neighbours 
 gather together and choose a name, which, being commu- 
 nicated to the Land Office, is generally adopted as that of 
 the township ; thus townshij) 14, in the fourth range east, 
 became, at the request of the Messrs. Muckle and Gunn, 
 Clandeboye ; and anothei* twelve miles furtlier north, 
 Whitewold. Millbrook is the last which has thus been 
 christened, and is eighteen miles east from Winnipeg, in 
 tlie sixth range. 
 
 There are three Government Land Offices, viz., at Win- 
 nipeg, Westbourne and Emerson, where all necessary in- 
 formation, including lists of lands open for sale or settle- 
 ment, may be obtained. Offices for the registration of 
 deeds are established, and the system of land conveyance is, 
 like that in Ontario, simple and inexpensive. 
 
 The homestea<ls entered in the Province till the end of 
 1874 numbered 2,537, of which 283 were entered in 1872, 
 878 in 1873, and 1,376 in 1874, representing 405,920 
 acres. Notwithstanding the grasshopper plague of the 
 last summer, 500 homestead entries, representing 80,000 
 acres, were made in Manitoba up to the end of October, 
 1875 ; pre-emption entries, in connection with homesteads, 
 of 61,500 acres were made ; 5,000 acres were sold for cash, 
 and 17,000 were disposed of under military bounty 
 warrants. Lands which have been reserved in ftivour of 
 
 I 
 
! 
 
 LAND AOENCIKS ; FREE DISTRICTS. Gl 
 
 certain coinpauies, on condition of oarly scttloinont, arc 
 shewn on tlie map. Some being within others beyond 
 the present limits of the Province. 
 
 To summarize : the settlements formed in and near the 
 Province, and named as above since Confederation, not 
 including those of the Mennonites, Danes and Icelanders, in 
 each land district, with the agents' names, are as follows: — 
 
 DISTUrOT No. 1. -WINNIPEG. 
 Donald C'odd, Atjcnt. 
 Settlements. 
 
 Township 14— llange 1 W Argyle. 
 
 8 " lE&W Riviere Sale. 
 
 " 13 "IE Grassmere. ' 
 
 '• 13 " 2 E Rockwood. 
 
 12 " 2 W Union. 
 
 ♦' 14 '• 2 E Victoria. 
 
 " 15 " 2 E Greenwood. 
 
 " 16 ♦' 2 E Dundas. 
 
 9 " 4E Prairie Grove. 
 
 " 10 " 5 E Plympton. 
 
 11 '• 4 E Springfield. 
 
 11 " 5 E Sunnyside. 
 
 10 " 6 E Millbrook. 
 
 10 " 7 E Richland. 
 
 12 " 6E Cook's Creek. 
 
 17 " 4 E Whitewold. 
 
 14 " 2W Woodlands. 
 
 13 " 2W Meadow Lea. 
 
 13 " 3 W Poplar Heights. 
 
 13 " 4 W Ohsowo. 
 
 16 " 3 & 4 W Simonet. 
 
 17 " 3 & 4 W Belcom-t. 
 
 12 " 5 W Melbourne. 
 
 14 " 4E Clandeboye, 
 
62 
 
 TIIK IM{AIini<; PHOVINCK. 
 
 Township IT) RaiiK"' '- W 
 11 " I E 
 
 .Fivchi'iul. 
 .I'nint. 
 
 DTSTRKT No. 2 DUFKEiaN. 
 
 Geo. NEWfo.MU, Aumt. 
 
 Kincrsoii P.O. 
 
 SK'rriiKMKNTM. 
 
 TownHhij) 1 Range 2 E Diifferin. 
 
 7 " (J E Clear Spriim'. 
 
 (5 " 4 k 5 W 15..yiu-. 
 
 •A " 2E Almonte, 
 
 1 " ;i E Hu.lHon. 
 
 2 '* 3 E Franklin. 
 
 1 " 4 E Belcher. 
 
 2 " 4 E rany. 
 
 ;{ '• IE White Haven. 
 
 2 " 2 E lAFarais. 
 
 3 •' 3 E Mellwood. 
 
 
 DISTRICT No. 3.~WESTB0URNE. 
 
 A. MlLLH, Afient. 
 
 Settlements. 
 
 Township 12— Range 8 W Burnside. 
 
 "13&14 " 9W Westbourne. 
 
 13 " 11 W Golden stream. 
 
 " 14 " OW Totogan. 
 
 •• 14 " low Woodside. 
 
 14 " 11 W Palestine. 
 
 •* 16 " 14 W Beautiful Plain. 
 
 " 14 " 12 W Livingstone. 
 
 Mr. Donald Codd is General Ai^ent for Dominion 
 
l)V\l MAI'; ACKNOWI.KIUiMKNTS. 
 
 (i.'i 
 
 Lands, l»utli in this Province and the North-West 
 Ten'itory. 
 
 Our Map has been carefully framed from the most 
 recent and rcliabV^ sources. Our readers are referred 
 to it for other geographical details in regard to the 
 Province. 
 
 Wo beg here to acknowledge the kindness of Surveyor- 
 General Dennis, who has given us much relialtle informa- 
 tion regarding land and other matters in Manitoba. 
 
 m 
 
 %' 
 
 Union 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 I 
 
 Indians and half-breeds— treaties and reserves — governor 
 
 MORRIS and commissioners — A NATIONAL GRIEVANCE — CREE AND 
 SAULTEAUX ORATORS — THE QU'aPI'ELLE TREATY — GRAND RESULT 
 — PROSPECTS OF THE INDIANS — REV. MR. MCDOUGALL AT BOW 
 RIVER — HIS DEATH— THE SIOUX — HALF-BREEDS, HOW DEALT WITH 
 — COMMISSIONERS — NUMBER, RELIGION AND PROSPECTS OF THE 
 METIS — OPINIONS OF MR. MACHAR AND OTHERS — BUFFALO 
 HUNTING. 
 
 When the famous bargain was made, in 1870, between 
 the Imperial and Canadian Governments and the Hudson 
 Bay Company, which, in so far as that corporation's ques- 
 tionable title was concerned, added three millions of 
 s([uare miles to the area of ^he Dominion, it was not an 
 estate without incumbrance that we got. 
 
 The Company still retained their forts, trading posts, 
 and certain important reserves ; and as to the twentieth 
 part of each township, we had to settle the claims of the 
 Indian owners, survey, and then hand it over in fee to 
 the Company. The rights of old settlers under agree- 
 ments with the Company were also respected and con- 
 firmed, and, indeed, in many cases much enlarged. These 
 were mainly in regard to farms facing the Red and 
 Assiniboine rivers. The people of mixed blood then 
 raised further claims. Their half-brothers, the Indians 
 l)ad also a paramount title which none disputed. The 
 
 I 
 
INDIAN TREATY-MAKING. 
 
 65 
 
 >osts, 
 iieth 
 
 the 
 
 [e to 
 
 l^ree- 
 
 con- 
 
 'hese 
 
 and 
 Ithen 
 lians^ 
 
 The 
 
 efforts of the Government have been unceasing in exam- 
 ining and disposing of all these claims, and, thus ftir, 
 marked with eminent success. Let us first refer to the 
 Indians. The first treaty made with them since Lord 
 Selkirk induced the Croes and Chippewas to cede the " Old 
 Settlers' Belt," in 1817, was "''>cted by Governor Archi- 
 bald in 1871, and included s ne Province of Manitoba. 
 The Indians dealt with were 3,374 of the last-named 
 tribes. Next, a great tract lying north and west of the 
 Province, and inhabited by less than 1,000 Chippewas, 
 was ceded. On the 3rd of October, 1873, a third treaty 
 was made at the north-west angle of the Lake of the 
 Woods with the Saulteaux tribe of Ojibways, inhabiting 
 the country between Manitoba and Ontario, said to num- 
 ber 3,000. By this treaty 55,000 square miles, now 
 forming the Kewatin District, were secured for settle- 
 ment, railway and lumbering purposes. This was mo.st 
 important, as the railway to connect Thunder Bay and 
 Red River will pass through this region ; so does also the 
 Dawson route. It has most valuable timber and mineral 
 deposits, which are thus opened to enterprise. On the 
 loth of September, 1874, a fourth treaty was made at 
 Qu'Appelle Lakes, by which 75,000 square miles were 
 ceded. The Indians concerned were about 3,000 Crees, 
 Saulteaux and mixed breeds. The lands in this treaty 
 extend from those in the second treaty to the South Sas- 
 katchewan River and Cypress Hills on the west, the Red 
 Deer River on the north, and the United States boundary 
 
 on the south. 
 B 
 
 £i 
 
GO 
 
 THE PKAIllIE PROVINCE. 
 
 By a fifth treaty, made in the fall of 187o, the Indian 
 title to the territory cast of Lake Winni])ego8is, and on 
 either side of Lake Winnipeg, has been extinguisiied. 
 The Governor and party making this treaty went from 
 the Stone Fort through Lake Winnipeg in October. We 
 take the following from his Report : — "The journey is of 
 interest, as having been the first occasion on which a 
 steam vessel entered the waters of * Berens River ' and of 
 the ' Nelson River,' the waters of which river fall into the 
 Hudson Bay, and as having demonstrated the practica- 
 bility of direct steam navigation through a distance (jf 
 8()() miles from the City of Winnipeg to ' Norway House.' 
 I n)ay mention here that the prevalence of timber suitable 
 for fuel and building purposes, of lime and sandstone, of 
 much good soil, and natural hay lands on the west shore 
 of the Lake, together with the great abundance of white 
 tish, sturgeon and other tish in the Lake, will ensure, ere 
 long, a large settlement." As the lands lying between 
 those in the third treatv and the Province of Ontario were 
 granted previously, it will be seen that in the immense tract 
 of the North- West, from Thunder Bay to Cypress Hills, 
 with Manitoba in the centre, the Indians have been peace- 
 ably dealt with, and little or no cause of uneasiness need 
 be feared from them. On the contrary, they will be found, 
 wh(!ther hunting, acting as guides, wandering over the 
 plains, or on theii' reserves learning the arts of civilization, 
 while fairly dealt witli, and paid their annual allowances 
 honestly, the friends of the white population. It is 
 certainly matter for congratulation that this great and 
 
COMMISSIONERS ; A NATIONAL GRIEVANCE. 
 
 G7 
 
 [ndian 
 rid on 
 [islied. 
 ti'tjm 
 . We 
 f is of 
 liicli a 
 and of 
 ito the 
 actica- 
 mce of 
 Jouse.' 
 Liitable 
 ,one, of 
 b shore 
 white 
 re, ere 
 twee 11 
 were 
 e tract 
 Hills, 
 peace- 
 need 
 bund, 
 er the 
 ation, 
 ances 
 It is 
 t and 
 
 valuable territory, more extensive in area than many 
 European States, has been tlius ha|)i)ily incorj)orated with 
 the older provinces of the Dominiim.* 
 
 In nciTotiatino: treaties, the Lieutenant-Governor is the 
 chief commissioner. He is L;'enerally accompanied by 
 Hon. Mr. Christie, Mr. S. J. Dnwson, or Col. J. A. N. 
 Provencher, Indian Commissioner in Manitoba, instructed 
 direct from Ottawa, and by some half-breed gentlemen, 
 such as ILjn. James McKay, Mr. Charles Nolin, and Mr. 
 Pierre Levailler, who can speak the languages, and hiive 
 had fre(iuent dealings with the aborigines. A com[)any 
 of troops from Fort Osborne, ;it Winnipeg, go as escort. 
 The I'ed man takes a long time to talk, retire, hold coun- 
 cil, and pow-wow before he can l)e brought to terms. The 
 items of former treaties are known and discussed all over 
 the territory. Debates in Parliament, and controversies 
 as to them in the leading papers, are carried to the chiefs 
 by their educated h:ilf breed friends, and the orators of 
 the aborigines come prepared with data to support argu- 
 ment. 
 
 'i'he terms of the treaty being agreed on, are i-educed 
 to w^'iting, ex[)lained to the recognised chiefs of l)ands by 
 interpreters, and signed by all concerned. That made at 
 the North-West Angle is so signed by Kee-ta-kay-|)i-nais 
 and twenty-three brother chiefs, all making theii- marks. 
 The Indians sometimes evince a l)r<)therly regard for their 
 
 * Since the fir«t fuur treaties were luade, it has liecu ili.senvereil that tlie 
 trilie.s dealt with were larger than then .suppo.sed, and an addition of one- 
 fifth may ''e made to the nuni])er,s stated. 
 
G8 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 i 
 
 'I 
 
 I 
 
 half-breod relations, and stii)ulate that hunting ground 
 privileges be secured by treaty to them. At the Qu'Ap- 
 pelle negotiations, these Cree and Saulteaux children of 
 the plains showed that they had been considering the 
 Hudson Bay Company's affairs, and found as much diffi- 
 culty to understand why they got the £300,000 from 
 Canada as many of our readers have exi)ericnced. It 
 was, in fact, tlieir national grievance. "They claimed," 
 says Governor Mollis, "that the sum paid to the Coni- 
 patiy should be |)aid to them." He adds that he explained 
 the nature of the arrangement with the Company, and 
 their further demand, also objected to, for a valuable 
 reserve in the territory of these tribes. It ai)})ears that 
 the pow-wow was then adjourned, and that it took three 
 days after his Honour's explanations were given for these 
 simple folk to discuss and understand British justice. 
 We can imagine the earnest bands collecting by their tent 
 fires at the Calling Waters, harangued by the Cree chief, 
 " Loud Voice," and the Saulteaux Mee-may, on the same 
 theme as had been discussed by our statesmen at West- 
 nnnster and Ottawa ten years ago. The Crees for a time 
 refused to treat, but the Saulteaux were more good-na- 
 tured and came to terms. 
 
 The connnissioners congratulated tliemselvos that they 
 had a good escort under Colonel Osborne Smith. They 
 were far from home, surrounded by many hundred bar- 
 barians in their native wilds, each tribe jealous of the 
 other. The Crees were very cross, and showed knives 
 and ))istols; but at last, influenced by example, and by 
 
 i ^ 
 
 i 
 
THE QU APPELLE TREATY. 
 
 no 
 
 L'OUlld 
 Ll'Ap- 
 
 eii of 
 g the 
 I cliffi- 
 
 from 
 (1. It 
 imed," 
 
 Coin- 
 ilained 
 V, and 
 iliuil >l e 
 ■s that 
 : three 
 r these 
 ustice. 
 h' tent 
 
 chief, 
 same 
 
 AVest- 
 tinie 
 
 od-na- 
 
 .t they 
 They 
 d bar- 
 of the 
 knives 
 lid by 
 
 half-breeds favourable to the Company, they also by their 
 chiefs joined in the indenture. 
 
 In an interesting narrative* by an eye-witness of these 
 proceedings, we gather the following as to the main point 
 discussed ; the Indians said, " A year ago these people 
 (the Company) drew lines and measured and marked the 
 land as their own — why was this ? We own the land, the 
 Mm niton gave it to us. There was no bMrgain ; they st<»l(> 
 from us and now they steal from you. When they wert; 
 small the Indians treated them with love and kindness ; 
 now there is no withstanding them, they are first 'm every- 
 thing." Governor Morris asked, '' Who made all men ? — 
 the Manitou. It is not stealing to make use of His '.;ifts.' 
 The Indian Pah-tah-kay-we~nin, replied thus beautifully. 
 " True, even I, a child, know that God gives us land in 
 difterent places, and when we meet together as friends, 
 we ask from each other and do not tpiarrel as we do so.'' 
 8ays the narrator, ■" State policy not philanthropliy, ari'l 
 that ^ iefly, will effect philanthrophy's noblest work — the 
 teen g and hardly used peoples of the Old World will 
 here iind a home, their moiety and fee — even as their 
 life -so plain that in the beautifid words of Pah-tah-kay- 
 w -nin, ' Even I who am a little child know that.' Ft 
 was done, a little crov/ding — the low-toned voices and 
 laughter of the Indians, a touch of the pen and an empire 
 changed hands ! " 
 
 The Saul teaux and Ojibways or Chip|>ewas take their 
 
 * Nows on the Qu' Appelle Treaty by F. L. Hunt, Canadian Month!, 't, 
 ^rarcll, m76, page 173. 
 
i1 
 
 i 
 
 70 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 r 
 
 HS 1 
 
 W4' ' 
 
 
 nariies from tlio skill with which tliey guide canoes — mak- 
 ing them lea/p over the rapids. 
 
 Tlie scene, wlien treaty-making is going on, is often 
 higldy picturescjuc and tlic speeches abound in imagery. 
 We cm give space for but one other exam[)le. At tiie c<in- 
 chision of the treaty at the North- West Angle referred 
 to as related by Governor Morris, Ma-we-dopi-nias came 
 forward, drew off his glove and spoke as follows : 
 
 " Now you see me stand before you all, what has Ijccii 
 done here to-day has been done openly before the Cboat 
 Spirit, and before the nation, and I hope that I may m.\ <'i- 
 hear any one say that this treaty has been done 
 secretly, and now, in closing this Council, I take off* my 
 glove, and in giving you my hand, I deliver over my 
 birth-right and lands, and in taking your hand, I hold last 
 all the promises you have made, and I hope they will last 
 as lonof as the sun ijoes round and the water flows." To 
 which the Governor replied, " 1 accept your hand, and 
 with it the lands, and will keep all my promij^es in the 
 firm belief that the treaty now to be signed will bind the 
 red man and the white man together as friends forevei'." 
 
 Each treaty provides that one o]' more I'eserves, generally 
 of sufficient area to allow a square mile to each family of 
 five, shall be set apart for the tribe ; each chief gets a [)re- 
 sent of some coveted article;?, and about 825 or so per 
 anniun. Each head man receives about B15 and every 
 other man, woman and child a less .sum — also clothing, 
 [)Owder and shot to each band. Each chief receives a tiag 
 and a me»liil which must not be of base metal or it will 
 
 fl 
 
PROUUESS OF CIVILIZATION. 
 
 71 
 
 — iiitik- 
 
 s often 
 iiayt'iy. 
 he con- 
 efei'red 
 Ls came 
 
 e Gicat 
 V iie\er 
 I done 
 otf' my 
 '01' my 
 M I'nst 
 
 ill last 
 To 
 
 I; and 
 in the 
 nd the 
 
 evei'." 
 lerally 
 liily of 
 
 a [)re- 
 
 80 [U'J' 
 
 evei'y 
 'tiling, 
 a tiaii' 
 it will 
 
 5) 
 
 be i-efused with disdain. Medals soi-'iven hiivi} descended 
 as heirlooms from father to son for several jLrenerations — 
 one sueh is now said to be held by Pahtalujuahong Chase, 
 an hereditary Chief of the Ojibway Nation, and Presi- 
 dent of the Gi'and Council of Indians of Ontario, who is 
 a clergyman, and, on a recent visit to Paris, preached in 
 the English cliapel. His grandfather received from 
 George III. a silver medal, which has now descended to 
 iiis grandson. When the Prince of Wales visited Canada, 
 this Chief read to him the address pre])ared 1)} sh - In- 
 dians. Those who work on their reserves are also given 
 farming implements, seed, and cattle sufficient to start 
 Hiem in htisbandry. It is also provided that a school be 
 established in each reserve as soon as it can ha prac- 
 tically stistained and attended. The inti'oduction and sale 
 of intoxicating liquors is strictly })r()hibited. 
 
 Some bands, says Colonel Provencher, have made 
 astonishing [)rogress, particularly if we consider the means 
 at their command. One half, at least, of the bands at 
 St. Peter and Pembina, near the Red River, Fort Alex- 
 ander, on Lake Winnipeg, and Fairford, above the " Nar- 
 rows " of Lake Manitoba, are at present acMicted to 
 agriculture, and are sufficiently civilized to warrant us in 
 believing that in fifteen or twenty yeai's they will be able 
 to do without assistance fr(jm Government — (Report of 
 Department of Interior for 1S74, page oG). The impor- 
 tance of this work to Manitoba and to the cause of huma- 
 nity makes it pro[)er to consider Colonel Provencher's in- 
 teresting re[)ort for the year l<S7o as to two of the bands* 
 
72 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 He refers thus to that settled near the mouth of the Red 
 River : — 
 
 " The band at St. Peters is the most numerous, the best settled, 
 and most progressive of all the bands which have been party to 
 Tieaty No. 1. It numbers 1,043 souls, and their reserve is of 
 15,2(i() acres in area. More than half oi the band consists oi half- 
 breeds, for many years settled on the banks of the Red River, who 
 compose the Parish of St. Peters. There are in that parish l.'iO 
 proprietors of 15,000 acres of land, of which about 2,000 are under 
 cultivation ; 120 houses, valued at 830,000, and 100 other buildings, 
 having an approxinitate value of .^28,500. Moreover, 55 families 
 are settled outside of the reserve, where they have their farms, 
 houses, ifec. The balance of the band, to the amount of 100 fami- 
 lies, make a living from hunting, hsliing and voyaging. The lirst 
 of these occupations has the least to do with the resources of those 
 Indians. Fishing, though not the element of a large trade, con- 
 tributes, nevertheless, to the support of a great many families at a 
 time of the year when they would lack all other means to procure 
 the necessaries of life. " 
 
 As to the Fort Alexander band, he states : — 
 
 " This band numbers 506 persons, settled at the mouth of the 
 Winnipeg River. Their reserve, surveyed during the Fall of 1873, 
 embraces 7,500 acres, on both sides of the river. They have made 
 remarkable progress, if consideration is taken of their isolated posi- 
 tion, and of the want of communications with the settlements of 
 the Province, who could have set them an example. These Indians 
 have no less than 45 houses, well and strongly built, of the value 
 of $12,000, and farm about 1,000 acres of land. They have not as 
 yet suflfered from that ruinous plague, the grasshoppers. For many 
 years they have had a school, originally supported by the Mission- 
 ary Society of the Church of England, and at present by the Indian 
 Department, This one school not being sutKcient for the require- 
 ments of teaching, principally on account of the extent of the re- 
 
OTHER TIIKATIES PROPOSED. 
 
 7:i 
 
 quire- 
 he re- 
 
 serve, they have built another school-house in the hope that the 
 Government would assist thcni as well in the Hnishing of the build- 
 ing as in the payment of the teacher's salary. From last accounts, 
 about 3(5 children attended the school already established, and ;50 
 more are of age to attend the other school when built." 
 
 The (jstim.ited expense of tlie Iiidijin Depiirtnieiit of 
 Manitoba and the North-West for the linancial year eiid- 
 iiii-- with June, l.SJO, is 818(),()0(). For tiie following year 
 it is calcuhited ))y the Department that ^^-iO.OOO will he 
 ruquired, which will inchide S<S(),0()() for expenses in eoii- 
 nection with proposed new treaties — 8.5,()()() to procure 
 farming implements for the Sioux, and a small sum to aid 
 in publishing a Chippewa grannnar or dictionary. When 
 we consider ihe extent of the valuable territory i)eaceably 
 secured and opened to the innnigrant, it will be admitted 
 that the sum payable, and all pains that can be employed 
 in civilizinu' and Christianizinu; these abori'dnes will f(n*m 
 but a trifle compared with the value to accrue to our own 
 and future generations. The Government has now agents 
 in the farther West, sounding the Peigans, Blackfeet, 
 Crees, Stonies and other tribes, and prei)aring the way 
 for treaty and civilization. One of these, a well-known 
 missionary of the Wesleyan Church, writing, in Octobei", 
 1S7-J, from Bow River, near the Rocky Mountains, stated 
 that he had been travelling on the prairie for three 
 months, had visited 497 tents, including nearly 4,000 
 natives, all of whom, with one excei)tion, received the 
 Governor's message with gratitude, and will anxiously 
 await the comino- of the Commissioners. This iientleman. 
 
74 
 
 THK I'RAIUIK I'KOVINCK. 
 
 1 
 
 ii 
 
 tliL' Itov. Oeorgtj McDoii^^all, r(!l'i're(l, in liis letters, in tlie 
 lii^^liest terms to tlie l)eliJivioMr and utility of the luountt.Ml 
 police; also glowini^Hy described the rich valley of ihe 
 Ij'iw River, and its attraction to American traders who 
 aie reaj)in<^' rich liarvests from its furs, 
 
 As the letter referred to is in many respects im))()rtant 
 and interesting^ we will make some extracts from it, 
 thus : 
 
 "^ieal• tlio ccnlliuuicc of tliu Rod Deor uid Bow Rivers. I foinid 
 the Plain Assinilxiino ciiiii}), numl)uriiig seventy tents, a peo^ile 
 H[)eaking the same langiia:j(e as our Mountain Htonies. They ai)- 
 iMjared greatly delighted with our visit, and exi)reHsed astonishment 
 when I told them that I had a s«m living among their kinsmen of 
 the mountains, and that numbers of them could read the Great 
 Spirit's iiook. 
 
 " I fomid that on several points the Indians were quite united. 
 1st. That they would receive no presents from the Government 
 until a time for treaty was appointed. 2nd. Although they all 
 seemed anxious to avoid collision with the white man, yet they 
 expressed a firm resolve to oppose the introduction of telegraph 
 lines and the making of roads ; and such was the state of the na- 
 tive mind that a rash act on the part of a white man, or some slight 
 depredation committed by an Indian, would have involved the 
 whole country in an Indian war. But to the credit of the poor red 
 men let it be written, that no sooner was the Qiieen's message read 
 and explained to them than they said : " That is all we wanted." 
 If the intelligent public only knew the false reports that have been 
 invented and circulated by interested white men, who, reckless of 
 all consecpiencos, would delight in involving the Government in a 
 war between races, they would not be surprised at the vitiated 
 .state of the Indians. 
 
 "A great change has come over the scene in the last fifteen 
 
llliV. ({KoUdK MCDOIMIALI.. 
 
 4-i 
 
 fteen 
 
 months. IMeii of UusiiiL'ss liJid fuiiiid it to thoir ititorost to «.'stal>- 
 lisli thcnisclvoH on tho banks (»f our hujuitifiil rivi-r. A stock raiser 
 from across the mountains had arrived with sovoral hundred head of 
 cattle. And now on tlie very hills, where two years ago I .saw 
 herds of bullalo, the domestic cattle ,!,'ently irra/e, i-etjuiring neither 
 shelter n(jr f(jdder from their master all the year round." 
 
 It is with unfoi^MiL'd .sorrow that we huve luariit'il, since 
 |)('iinin<^' the above, of tlie sad end of tliis worthy >trvnnt 
 of the cliureh and state. Alioiit the 'iotii of Jaim;ny, 
 187G, his hor.se eaiiie riderless to tlie eainp; hut tlie mis- 
 sionary liad peri.shed in the severe eold of a snow storm. 
 Mr. MeDougall was universally esteemed, and had '^wnt 
 knowledge of the West and inthience with the native 
 tribes. He was a Seotchmau, and at his death alM)ut 
 fifty-five years of ai,''C, during; early life he was in ni'T- 
 eantile business. His ministerijil eareer be<;an in bS^O, it 
 Rice liake Indian Mission, near Cobour<^', Ontario. He 
 was afterwjirds at Garden River and Rama Settlements. 
 In 1800 he went to Rossville Mission, at the North end 
 of Lake Winni{)eg, and remained in the North-West till 
 his death. As the Indians retreated with the butl'alo, 
 he followed, goin<,^ to the Saskatchewan in l(S(j4 and 
 opening new fields for mi.ssionaiy enterprise. He bad 
 great faculty for learning the different Indian dialects, 
 and had all the attributes of a hunter and i)ioneer. lie 
 was at home in the .saddle or the snujky tent, among the 
 red men, who had confidence and regard, amounting to 
 love for him. This he fully returned. When the small- 
 pox decimated wliole tribes, in the terrible manner de.s- 
 

 IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 1.0 
 
 1.1 
 
 ■^ lii 12.2 
 
 US 
 
 lU 
 
 u 
 
 liO 
 
 u& 
 
 
 |L25 mu ||.6 
 
 
 < 
 
 6" 
 
 » 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sciences 
 Corporation 
 
 23 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. MSM 
 
 (716)873-4903 
 
 m 
 
 v 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 :\ 
 
 ^v 
 
 \ 
 
 4 
 
 
 
76 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 ■ill 
 
 .! 
 
 cribed by Butler and other travellers, he and his family 
 did not shrink from their duty. Three of his own house- 
 hold were cut off and he himself bore the marks of the 
 disease till his death. The tale of this part of the devoted 
 missionary's career is full of touchin<j incidents, such as 
 would move the most hard-hearted to sympathy. Ilis 
 name will, in the future history of missionary zeal, V)e 
 cou]>led with that of Livingstone. Ilis career in the 
 North-Wcst gained the conunendation of Lieutenant- 
 (lovernor Morris and of the Minister of the Interior and 
 the Premier, who have all referred to it in late reports 
 and addresses. Mr. McDougall intended, it is said, on the 
 close of his important pioneer work, to return to Ontario, 
 to which a host of friends, of all denominations, would 
 have welcomed him ; but his familiar face will not again 
 be met in our streets. At the Council Chambers in the 
 West, his clear and unbias.sed judgment will be missed, 
 and tliose who used to call for it will sigh as they sny — 
 
 (( 
 
 His voice is silent in your Council Hall 
 For ever." 
 
 From the report of the Minister of the Interior, laid 
 before Parliament in February, 1870, we tind that the 
 number of British Indians in Manitoba, the North- West, 
 and Ivewatin, now under treaty, is 13,944. Those not 
 yet treated with are: in Rupert's Land, 5,170; from 
 Peace River to the United States, 10,000. There are also 
 1,450 Sioux, who are part of that once great nation, and 
 in 1803 fled to our territory from Minnesota, and will be 
 
sioirx; ojibways; oamblinu. 
 
 77 
 
 laid 
 the 
 
 V^est, 
 not 
 
 from 
 also 
 and 
 
 11 be 
 
 referred to again in chapter XIV. They have caused un- 
 easiness at Portage La Prairie. A reserve was assigned 
 to them on the Little Saskatchewan and inducements 
 offered to them to settle there, but they in 1875 and 
 the previous year comi)lained that the locusts liad des- 
 troyed their little crops and came to the region near 
 Lake Manitoba, to fish and gain subsistence by occa_ 
 sionally working, begging, or worse resorts, among the 
 settlers. It will probably be necessary to induce them 
 to remove from the settlement in order to quiet the 
 uneasiness of the whites. They are feared as nmch 
 for the havoc which they and their confederates have 
 wrought in the quiet villages of Minnesota, as for the 
 pilfering habits that are now their chief cause of an- 
 noyance. They are, however, regarded as in physic jue 
 and intelligence the best S[)ecimens of the race to be met 
 with. There are other Sioux farther west in our terri- 
 tory who are on as friendly terms with the Goverinnent 
 as could be desired. The love for intoxicants is deej) and 
 [)revalent in this unfortunate race. They eagerly swal- 
 low the vilest decociions, and baiter all they have for 
 rum. Next to this is their passion for gambling. Thus 
 occupied, they become greatly excited, and pass hour 
 after hour till every article i)ossessed, the la.st blanket, 
 hatchet, knife, or mocassin, is gone. A striking picture 
 by Mr. F. A. Verner, of Toronto, which our readers may 
 see at the ' Centennial,' thus represents a i)aity of 
 Ojibway Indians engaged. The scene is laid neai- Fort 
 Frances, in the Kewatin district. The players have no 
 
 i'k 
 
 il 1 
 
 t-] 
 
 li 
 
7^s 
 
 THE PllATKIE PROVINCE. 
 
 I' 
 
 cauls. A few balls in the closed hand are used instead, 
 and the game is " guess liow many." 
 
 HALF BREEDS. 
 
 The Act of 1870, which constituted the government 
 of Manitoba, reserved lands to the extent of 1,4()(),()()() 
 acres for the Ijenefit of the families of the half-breed 
 residents. It was also provided that each head of a 
 family of this class should have 160 acres, and each 
 child then born 1J)0 acres of land granted to him or her. 
 As surveys were proceeded with, provision was made for 
 this demand but no grants have yet been actually made. 
 
 Various diiiiculties arose ; some half breeds were found 
 to be living with Indians, having the same habits, and 
 claiming [)ensions and other government aid as members 
 of tribes, which was inconsistent with their claims as half 
 breeds. Wearied with the delay and too often improvi- 
 dent, many of the half-breeds have signed agreements now 
 held in hundreds by Winnipeg merchants and speculators 
 thei'e and elsewhere, purj)orting to barter away this their 
 bii'thriglit. The price given was generally small, seldom 
 more tlmn 840 and that in truck or barter. Government 
 has decided to grant the lands direct, to those entitled 
 under the Act, leaving them to settle the matter as they 
 may with the holders of the assignments. The Provincial 
 Legislatuie also enacted that such assignments are to be 
 of validity only as giving liens on the land when granted 
 for the amount paid and interest. Last summer two gen- 
 tlemen were appointed commissioners to make personal 
 
half-breeds; numbers; religion. 
 
 7!) 
 
 investigation and report the names of all halt'-ljreeds en- 
 titleil to ''rants. As soon as these lands have been con- 
 veyed, their .sale and purcha.se will be extensively and 
 legitimately carried on. An unlimited choieeof the finest 
 land at low price and with only such burden in respect 
 of settlement duties as the Government niav .see tit to 
 impose for the protection of the country from too exces- 
 sive speculation, will be offered. These commi.ssioners, 
 Messis. Matthew Ryan and J. M. Machar made their 
 report in the autumn of IS?'), and patents will no doul)t 
 .soon be i.ssued to all entitled, who are of sufficiently 
 mature age, and proper pn)visi()n will be !iiade as to 
 minors. Mr. Machar favours me with some interestin'' 
 data, the result of his observation and enquiry as follows 
 — The total number of the Manitoba Metis, of all extrac- 
 tions, is about 1(),()()() ; of French origin somewhat over 
 half; of the rest, the Scotch number about five-sixths; 
 Engli.sh, Irish and others, one sixth. The Scotch were 
 principally from Orkney, some from Caithness and Suth- 
 erland. About two-thirds of the race are en^x^iiTod in farm- 
 ing of a rude and unskilful kind, on the banks of the Red 
 and^'Assiniboine Rivers. Nearly one thou.sand of l.he 
 Manitoba half-breeds have already moved Westwnrd and 
 may be found near Carlton, Qu'Ap|)elle, St. Laurent, 
 Edmonton and Prince Albert ; so that their numl)er in 
 the Province is, after making alhnvance for natural in- 
 crease, certainly no greater than in 1870. As to Religion 
 they were then classed thus — 
 
 15 I 
 
 1,^ 
 
 \m 
 
 m 
 
 ^i 
 
 i 
 
II 
 
 80 THE PRAIIIIE PllOVINCE. 
 
 Roman Catholics 5,000 
 
 Church of Enghmd 4,300 
 
 Presbyterians 700 
 
 About one-third are traj)i)ers, boaters, coureurs des bois> 
 voyageurs and Hudson Bay eni[)loyees. Five per cent, of 
 the whole live like Indians — the rest " like Christians." 
 The Indian physique generally preponderates, but this is 
 less marked in those of Scotch and English jiarentage. 
 Mr. Machar thinks that in longevity they are on as high a 
 level as whites, and that the amount of lunacy, idiocy, il- 
 I'jgitimacy and crime among them is less in proiiortion 
 than in most civilized countries. There seems little more 
 absorption or amalgamation of blood now among them. 
 They are so large a community that there is ample op- 
 portunity for intermarriage among themselves, and mar- 
 riages of whites and Indians are at present of raie occur- 
 rence. 
 
 The Metis present a strange mixture of complexions, 
 from the fair skin and soft curling locks of a Northern 
 Euro[)ean origin, to the dingy hue and straight black 
 hair of the Indians. Their language is as various as their 
 origin, a curious medley of Chi p])ewa,Cree, French, Gaelic 
 and English. They move across the plains in long pro- 
 cessions with ox and pony carts, the creaking of whose 
 unoiled wooden axles is heard a mile off, with the dis- 
 cipline of a caravan, and in garbs which show the Indian 
 and European taste commingled. When the buffalo sea- 
 sons arrive captains of parties are chosen, and all go to- 
 gether in strict discipline, having rules which are carefully 
 
BUFFALO-HUNTING; RULES OF THE CHASE. 
 
 81 
 
 2s bois* 
 cent, of 
 itians." 
 this is 
 outage, 
 s high a 
 iocv, il- 
 portion 
 le more 
 nr them. 
 
 D 
 
 iple op- 
 d iiiar- 
 (X'cur- 
 
 exions, 
 orthern 
 
 black 
 as their 
 
 Gaelic 
 ig pro- 
 ' whose 
 lie dis- 
 
 Indiaii 
 ilo soa- 
 
 oo to- 
 irefuUy 
 
 enforced to avoid surprise from treacherous Indians, 
 and to combine all means in the hunt of the great bison. The 
 usual place of rendezvous was White Horse Post, near the 
 south end of Lake Manitoba, whenc. the gay cavalcade 
 of men, women and children, with carts and iimumerablo 
 dogs, would start out. An interesting writer says of 
 this race : — " Nomadic as to one half of his origin, pas- 
 toral and agricultural as to the other, a hunter by his 
 Indian blood, a citizen from his European instincts, thrifty, 
 indolent, staid, mercurial, as father or mother predomin- 
 ates in his nature, the Red River half-breed has a story as 
 curious as any which while away the winter nights in the 
 chimney corner of his ancestral Highland home." Back 
 from the hunt, none so happy iis he, the robes are sold, the 
 pemmican stored away, and then comes the gay season, 
 with its music and merry dance and song. The half- 
 breeds live generally on amicable terms with the Indians, 
 are social and hospitable, and are to a considerable extent 
 educated. As the carrying facilities of the country are 
 developed, and a steady market for gi-ain and other farm 
 produce is created, they will no doubt settle down to a 
 much greater extent as agriculturists and graziers 
 than they have ever yet had inducements to do, as have al- 
 ready Mr. Pierre Delorme and many other intelligent 
 men of his class, the names of some of whom are mentioned 
 as farmers on the banks of the Assiniboine. Heretofore 
 the chase has been to them a necessity as well as a pas- 
 time, which they pursued with wonderful success. They 
 have now, to secure the buffalo, to go to a distance of 
 
 ':fl" 
 
 .1 I 
 
 ' N 
 
 in 
 
I I 
 
 li 
 
 ^iil I 
 
 82 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 from three to five hundred miles west of Red River, and 
 in a few years, so great is the wanton destruction of that 
 animal, that unless some decisive means for preservation 
 be adopted, it will be practically out of reach of those 
 who desire to adhere to homes and attachments in Mani- 
 toba. It is estimated that fully 16(),()0O buffalo have 
 annually been killed for some years past. None have 
 been .seen ea.st of Red River since about 18G5. It should 
 not be forgotten that the mixture of Indian blood is by no 
 means confined to the Nor'- West. Factors, partners, com- 
 manders and other officers of the great companies, who 
 took native wives, have for ages, on retiring from active 
 life, settled in our older [novinces, where they and their 
 descendants are often met with in the circles of wealth, 
 influence and respectability, the offspring showing the 
 maternal origin in their hois-hride complexion, dark eyes 
 and straight falling hair. We find, too, that miscegenation 
 has gradually but certainly taken place among all the 
 tribes, settled on reserves near centres of civilization. 
 Many of the Iroquois at Caughnawaga, opposite Lachine, 
 and elsewhere on the St. Lawrence, have as much the 
 ai)pearance of French Canadians as of Indians. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 'I 
 I 
 
 OOVKUXMKNT AM> (JIVIL INSTITUTIONS — ORKilN — DOMINION I'AK- 
 LIAMENT — UAIJINET— NOHTH WKST COUNCIL — KEWATIN — LO<AL 
 LE(iISLATURE — HLACK ROD ANI> LORDS — (,'ONSTITUTIONAL t'llANOE 
 — COURTS — CHIEF JUSTICE VVOOD's CHAROE — PUBLIC AND ()THER 
 SCHOOLS — EDUCATIONAL ENDOWMENT — RELIOlON — RIFLE ASSOCIA- 
 TION — AORICULTUKAL ASSOCIATION — LITERARY PURSUITS— I'orU- 
 LATIOX. 
 
 By the Dominion Act, 3*) Vic. c. 3, under whicli the Pro- 
 vince was carved out of Rupert's Land and the North 
 West Territory, provision was made for the estabhsh- 
 ment of its government, as also for that of the part of the 
 territory not included within the limits of the Province. 
 Manitoba was given a representation in the Canadian 
 Senate of two members. The Hon. M. A Hirard, of St. 
 Boniface, and Hon. John Sutherland, of Kildonan, were 
 appointed such Senators. To the Canadian House of Com- 
 mons four elective members came from the Prairie Pro- 
 vince, and these are in the present, being the second, 
 parliament of the Dominion : Messrs. John Schultz, M.D., 
 Donald A. Smith, A. G. B. Bannatyne and Joseph Ryan, 
 re[)resenting respectively Lisgar, Selkirk, Prove ncher and 
 Marquette, the several sections forming the North, Mid- 
 dle, South and Western parts of the Province, into which 
 it is divided for electoral purposes. 
 
 The Local Government is in the hands of a Lieutenant- 
 Governor, appointed by the Governor-General, and of an 
 
 
 m 
 
 I :! h 1 1 
 
 < U 
 
 )V 
 
 il 
 
 '-5 : )* 
 
 ? f| 
 
34 
 
 TIIK PUAIIIIE PHOVIWCE. 
 
 Executive Council, the members of which must ulsu be 
 members of the Provincial Parliament. The present 
 members and the offices filled by each are as follows : — 
 The Hon. R. A. Davis, Premier and Treasurer; Hon. 
 James McKay, President of the Council ; Hon. J. Royal, 
 Minister of Public Works, and H(m. J. Nonjuay, without 
 [(ortfolio. Hon. Colin Inkster was President of the Coun- 
 cil, but resigned when lately appointed sheriff. 
 
 The legislative power was, till the fourth of February, 
 lH7(i, vested in the Lieutenant-Governor and two Houses 
 — the Legislative Council, of seven members appointed 
 l»y the Lieut-Governor, and the Assembly of twenty- 
 four members elected by the people. The Legislative 
 Council was deemed a .source of useless expense in a 
 country so new and undeveloped as Manitoba. The ef- 
 forts of its venerable members were insufficient to raise 
 its dignity, or make its existence appear a political ne- 
 cessity. The example of Ontario, which had happily 
 dispensed with Black Rod and Lords in miniature, was 
 quoted, and on the Province coming to Ottawa for " bet- 
 ter terms," the abolition of this little Chamber was in- 
 sisted on. The Province will now receive $90,000 an- 
 nually from the Dominion to provide for its general 
 governmental expenses. 
 
 The important constitutional change referred to was 
 voted by both Houses, the Hon. Dr. O'Donnell only pro- 
 testing, and intimating his intention of appealing to the 
 Supreme Court. The Lieutenant-Governor gave the royal 
 assent to the Act as stated on the 4th of February. His 
 
THE PROVINCIAL LEGESLAIURh. 
 
 So 
 
 Honour thus referred to this event in his speech to tlie 
 menilxTs : " I have watched with deep interest your ac- 
 tion with regard to the measure for carrying out the 
 public V)usiness with the aid of a single clianiher only. 
 The members of the Legislative Council have dis|)lay(Ml 
 a spirit of devotion to the interests of the people in vot- 
 ing for the extinction of their offices as Councillors, which 
 they were entitled to hold for life. I sympathize with 
 those in both Houses who Jissented, as I am aware, to the 
 change with reluctance and hesitation, regarding as they 
 did, the Upper Chamber as a check and protection, but 
 yet did so in the belief th.at the necessities of the Pro- 
 vince required the step to be taken." And in conclusion 
 Governor Morris said : " I have now the honour to bid 
 you farewell, and do so with more than ordinary earnest- 
 ness, in view of the passing away of a body of men to 
 whom I tender my heartiest acknowledgment for the 
 uniform courtesy I have received at their hands." 
 
 The English and French lanjjuaffes are both used in 
 the Legislature. It is hoped that the use of the French 
 language will soon be dispensed with, in so far at least as 
 the printing of proceedings is concerned. The expense so 
 occasioned is a considerable item, and little needed, as 
 most, if not all, of the members can read English. 
 
 The appearance of this little Legislatui'e, especially in 
 its first session, was such as tended to amuse spectators 
 accustomed to more august gatherings of the i)eoplo's 
 rei)resentatives. Ancient English forms and precedents 
 were followed as far as circumstances permitted ; but 
 
 ' 
 
 if. A 
 
 
 > i', 
 
 M 
 
 ' ' it 1 
 
 m 
 
 ' 'j- 
 
 ^^-J 
 
86 
 
 TIIK PUAMUK PUOVINCK. 
 
 ! 
 
 tlit'io weiv, uiiion^' the inein))cr.s of iaixe<l blcxxl, some 
 more accustoiiied to the chaso of the bison than to fol- 
 lowing,' orators throuf^li lal>yriiitlis of ar;;uinont The 
 favourite flress of one, of taste akin to (jiaril)ahli, was a 
 rc<I tiannei sliirt and nioecasins. Wlien Mr. Arcliiltahl 
 first appeared in ;.,dorious arra}', to take his f,'uhe)'natnrial 
 seat in the' Le<,dslative (.'ouncil Chamber, an astonislied 
 legislator ejaeuhited ; "T'tens! Ca ii'pM pas un hniaiiLe ; 
 cest nil fai%(Ui dorS!' Wc find the spirit of Ontario 
 in tlie statute book and judieature, as well as in the 
 forms of the Legislature. This is the more apparent 
 since Lieutenant-Governor Archibald left the Province 
 and the pi'esent Chief Justice was a[)pointed. 
 
 The Ontario lawyer finds himself at home in the Courts 
 of Manitoba. English law, as to civil rights, has l)een in- 
 troduced by local enactment as it stood in 1870. The law 
 as to criminal offences is that of the Dominion. The 
 Court of Queen's Bench — Chief Justice Hon. E. B. Wood, 
 Justices McKeagney and Betournay, who, as other Can- 
 adian Judges, hold office by appointment of the Governor- 
 General in Council, and during good behaviour — holds its 
 sessions thrice a year in Winnipeg, having legal antl equit- 
 able, civil and criminal jurisdiction in all matters. In ic- 
 gard to costs, civil cases are divided into a higher and 
 a lower scale. Through the over-ruling influence of the 
 Chief Justice, the code to which he was in practice ac- 
 customed, as set out in the Ontario Common Law Pro- 
 cedure Act and the General Orders of the Ontario 
 Court of Chancery, has been adopted. Mr. Cary, a 
 
 1 
 
TIIK rorUTS; TIIK NOUTII-WEST ('OUNCtL. 
 
 ST 
 
 cultivated f^ontlcinan, is at once Prothonotary, Master 
 in C'hanoery, Cle»*k of Records and Intiirpreter of the 
 Court. The judj,'es sit separately exercisinLj original jur- 
 isdiction, a!id ill htinco togetlier on appeals, »!«c. The Pro- 
 vince is divided into several Judicial districts, in which 
 county courts are held hy the jud^'es nanu'(i, as occasion 
 arises. The Chief Justice practically acts as Chancellor 
 He complains that he has not enouj^li of work to occupy 
 his time. The bar has some ahle representatives. 
 
 THE NOHTII-VVEST COUNCIL. 
 
 The Lieutenant-Governor is also Lieutenant-Governor 
 of the North-West Territory, and is aided by a council, 
 the members of wliich are the Honourable Messieurs M. 
 A. Girard, D. A. Smith, H. J. Clarke, Q.C., Pascal Breland, 
 Alfred Boyd, J. C. Shultz, M.D., Joseph Dubuc, A. G. B. 
 Bannatyne, W. Fraser, R. Hamilton, J. Royal, Pierre De- 
 lorme, W. R. Bown, James McKay, Wm. Kennedy, J. H. 
 McTavish and Wm. Tait ; F. G. Becher, Es(j., being the 
 Clerk. 
 
 The last meeting of this body took place on the 24th 
 of November, 1875, at Winnipeg. The Governor, in his 
 opening address, reviewed the proceei lings of the Council 
 since its formation in March, 1873, quoting part of the 
 address then delivered, thus : — 
 
 " The duties which devolve upon you are of a highly 
 important character. A country of vast extent, which is 
 possessed of abundant resources, is entrusted to your keep- 
 
 flit! 
 
 I ''si 
 
 i.l 
 
i 
 
 l\>. 
 
 11 
 
 m 
 
 ._._.',M- 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 ing, a country which, though at present but sparsely set- 
 tled, is destined, I believe,to become the home of thousands 
 of persons, by means of whose industry and energy that 
 which is now almost a wilderness will be quickly trans- 
 formed into a fruitful land, where civilization and the arts 
 of peace will flourish. It is for us to labour to the ut- 
 most of our power in order to bring about, as speedily as 
 possible, the settlement of the North-west Territories, and 
 the development of their resources, and at the same time 
 to adopt such measures as may be necessary to insure the 
 maintenance of peace and order, and the welfare and hap- 
 piness of all classes of Her Majesty's subjects, resident in 
 the Territories." 
 
 His Honour then refers to the fact that in expectation 
 of the early appointment of a separate Lieutenant-Gov- 
 ernor and Council for the North-west, the present Coun- 
 cil act only provisionally, saying : — 
 
 " A new Council is to be organized, partly nominative 
 by the Crown, and partly elective by the people, with the 
 view of exercising its functions under the presidency of 
 a resident Governor within the Territories themselves. 
 T am confident that that Council will take up the work 
 you began, and have so zealously endeavoured to carry 
 out, and I trust that they will prove successful in their 
 eftbrts to develop the Territories, and attract to them a 
 large population. 
 
 " Though you had many difiiculties to contend with, 
 you surmounted most of them, and will have the gratifi- 
 cation of knowing that you, in a large measure, contributed 
 
GOVERNMENT OF THE TERRITORIES. 
 
 89 
 
 to shape the policy which will prevail in the Government 
 of the TeiTitories, and the administration of its affairs." 
 
 The Council, in reply, expressed the satisfaction they 
 felt for his Honour's approval of their efforts, the confidence 
 that their successors would cordially take up the work 
 they had begun to develop the Territories ; they recorded 
 their pleasure at the conclusion of the Indian treaties. 
 They then expressed their friendly feeling to the Presi- 
 dent, and conclude thus : — 
 
 " When we retire from the Council we will continue, 
 in whatever sphere in life we may occupy, to be actuated 
 by the same feelings of warm attachment to the Sovereign 
 and loyal devotion to our country." 
 
 The Government of the Territories soon to supersede 
 the present Council is that provided by the Act of 1875, 
 38 Vic. cap. 49, under which the Dominion Government 
 were authorised to appoint a Lieutenant-Governor and a 
 Council of five members — three of whom to be stipendiary 
 magistrates — Messrs. McLeod and Ryan have been ap- 
 pointed such magistrates. The other appointments will, 
 no doubt, soon be made, and the proposed Government 
 established with seat probably at the Forks of Battle 
 River and the Saskatchewan, near Carlton House, five 
 hundred miles west from the Province, which is already 
 marked as an important place in the future. Three 
 thousand carts went past it on the trail last season, and 
 a considerable settlement is springing up round the qnar- 
 tev^ of the mounted police. The stage company having 
 the line between Winnipeg and Fargo have made pro- 
 
 i I 
 
 !• M 
 
J , 
 
 t: 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 :!■■ 
 
 'il'i 
 
 90 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 j)().sals to put weekly stages on the route between Win- 
 nipeg and Carlton House. 
 
 That part of the Territory north and east of the Pro- 
 vince has, however, been recently detached from the 
 western portion and erected into a district called Kewa- 
 tin, or the North Land, to be under the immediate con- 
 trol of the Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba. So much 
 of this district as may not prove to be in Ontario, will no 
 doubt ultimately be incorporated with the Province of 
 Manitoba. As stated before, executive authority through- 
 out the North-west is enforced by the mounted police, an 
 excellent force of three hundred officers and men. The 
 following are their stations for the year 1876 : — Head- 
 (juarters of the force, Livingstone or Fort Pelly ; A troop, 
 Fort Saskatchewan ; B troop, Cypress Hills ; C troop, 
 with artillery, Fort McLeod, Old Man's River ; D and E 
 troops, Fort Pelly ; F troop, the Elbow, Bow River, 
 
 Judicial authority over this immense region is vested 
 in the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench. The stipen- 
 diary magistrates and the inspectors, or officers in charge 
 at headquarters of the police, have authority to arrest 
 and, in a limited extent, to try summarily. These 
 powers will continue under the new regime. The im- 
 portance of the position of the Court in such a country 
 as this can not be overestimated. Lynch law is un- 
 known. The lawless find themselves more comfortable 
 in Montana and Nevada than within the domain of the 
 British lion. This cannot be better illustrated than by 
 quoting part of the charge of Chief Justice Wood to the 
 
THE "AROUS-EYE" OF JUSTICE. 
 
 !)1 
 
 grand jury at its session in Winnipeg in the month of 
 October, 1875. Were any excuse necessary for so occu- 
 pying the reader's attention, we would say that the his- 
 tory of the hist few years is that of [>eace and prosperity 
 advancing to make these plains their tributaries — Justice 
 with strong arm and steady voice "drills the raw world 
 for the march of mind : " 
 
 " Were the Province alone concerned, I should at once 
 dismiss you and the petit jury to your homes, for all the 
 issues of fact in the cases in the civil docket, although 
 numerous, will be tried without the intervention of a 
 jury. Four cases appear in the calendar for ortences 
 committed in the North West Territory, and beyond the 
 bounds of the Province, but over which by statute this 
 Court has jusdiction, of men charged with murder of 
 several Indian men, women and children at Cypress Hills, 
 in North West Territory, in the month of May, IST^J 
 We all recollect the shudder of horror with which, short- 
 ly after the bloody tragedy, we received the intelligence 
 of the wanton and atrocious slaughter by a band of 
 whites, chiefly from Fort Benton, of the Assiniboine In- 
 dians peacefully encamped at Cypress Hills, whose first 
 intimation of danger was the sharp rattle of the deadly 
 repeating rifle from a treacherous and concealed foe. 
 Three persons, charged with complicity in this murder, 
 are indicted, having been brought upwards of one thous- 
 and miles and lodged in Winni[)eg gaol." 
 
 "These cases have the greater importance as the crimes 
 involved were committed far away from the abodes of 
 
 m 
 
 Hi 
 
 i 
 
 m 
 
1 
 
 92 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 civilization, and where it might be supposed the arm of 
 Britisli justice would not reach. It is at considerable 
 disadvantage that the persons charged are at last brought 
 before a Court of Justice. Public law and order and the 
 interests of justice alike demand that we should deal 
 firmly but cautiously in all these cases. We must let it 
 be known from the Rocky Mountains to the boundaries 
 of Ontario and Quebec that all are under the protection 
 of and answerable to British law, and that however far 
 removed from settlement, and however remote from the 
 habitation of the white man, the commission of crime 
 may take place, the Argus eye of justice will find it out, 
 and the law will apprehend, bring to trial and punish the 
 offender." 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 Public schools are in operation in the Province, under 
 competent teachers, controlled by a board appointed by 
 the local government. The Province gives an annual 
 grant of $7,000, which provides a sum of from SI 20 to ^150 
 for eacli school, which is generally supplimented by sub" 
 scriptions. There are a Protestant and a Roman Catholic 
 superintendent. Higher and grammar school education 
 is sufficiently provided for by St. Boniftice College, under 
 control of Archbishop Tachd, which has been established 
 for many years, by the Church of England College of St. 
 Jolin, and " Manitoba College," under charge of the Pres- 
 byterians, all which prepare boys for entrance to univer- 
 sities and give instruction in theology. There is also a 
 
arm of 
 derable 
 Drought 
 md the 
 Id deal 
 b let it 
 ndaries 
 >tection 
 ver far 
 om the 
 ' crime 
 it out, 
 ish the 
 
 under 
 
 ied by 
 
 annual 
 
 o^loO 
 
 >y sub" 
 
 itholic 
 
 cation 
 
 under 
 
 lished 
 
 of St. 
 
 Pres- 
 
 niver- 
 
 ilso a 
 
 EDUCATION ; AGRICULTURAL AND RIFLE ASSOCIATIONS. 93 
 
 Wesleyan Institute. There are in Winnipeg and else- 
 where in the Province day and boarding schools for girls. 
 
 For the purpose of creating a permanent provision in 
 aid of education, two sections, or 1,280 acres, are 
 set apart, under a Dominion statute, in ^.very town- 
 ship as surveyed. The provision thus made, if honestly 
 utilized, will in time [)roduce a magnificent educa- 
 tional endowment. No provincial university has yet 
 been founded, but the subject has been discussed. 
 Manitoba College sends young men to finish their cur- 
 riculum at Toronto University. A young gentleman 
 trained at St. John's lately took his B.A. degree at C'am- 
 Ijridge, where he gained a sizarship. At a recent 
 public meeting in Winnipeg, one of the speakers proposed 
 that a college affiliated to the great unsectarian University 
 of Toronto should be established in ManitoVja. Another 
 suggested that the existing colleges of Manitoba, St. John 
 and St. Boniface, might be affiliated under a board of 
 regents incorporated as a university. It is hoped that 
 when the time for action comes, large and enlightened 
 views in respect to higher education will prevail. The 
 cause will certainly not be promoted by conferring any 
 pretentious powers of conferring degrees, so called, on 
 ))rovincial colleges for many years to come. 
 
 It is scarcely needful to remark that there is no religion 
 established by State. All forms of worship are practised 
 on an equal basis. 
 
 The Provincial Agricultural Association sti'ives to in- 
 troduce good breeds of cattle, and to obtain and encourage 
 
 M 
 
 I i 
 
94 
 
 THE PRAIUIE PROVINCE. 
 
 the uiiltivcation of grains most suited to the soil and 
 climate. The order of Good Templars has many branches, 
 in which much interest is manifested. 
 
 Among other public institutions the Province has a 
 Ritle Association, consisting of some two hundred mem- 
 bers. This Association was formed in the summer of 
 187-, the president being Major A. Irvine, of the Do- 
 minion Forces in Manitoba. The position is held for the 
 year 187(3 by the Hon. A. G. B. Bannatyne, M.P. The 
 ranges of the Association are at St. Boniface on the east 
 side of the Red River, about one mile trom Winnipeg. 
 The annual matches are well attended, and are conducted 
 after the manner of a miniature Wimbledon. The scores 
 of tlie competitors show that Manitoba is worthy of a 
 representation in the annual team sent by the Dominion 
 to Win\bledon. This institution is botn flourishing and 
 public-spirited. At the matches for 1875 the amount 
 given in prizes w. . 81,075, of which $400 were contri- 
 buted by the Dominion Government. Under a plan con- 
 trived by Captain E. Brokovski, executive officer for the 
 past three years, marksmen are enabled to shoot after the 
 most recent rules and shape of bull's eye adopted at 
 Wimbledon, on the old iron section target. The Associa- 
 tion is now rei)resented in the Dominion Rifle Association 
 by tive Manitoba members^ including three Members of 
 Parliment, the Mayor of Winnipeg and the Collector of 
 Customs. 
 
 Newspaper and other literary work has its head-quar- 
 ters in Winnipeg. Emerson has a weekly sheet. The 
 
THE CENSUS. 95 
 
 magazines of the older provinces receive many able and 
 interesting contributions from Manitoba. 
 
 Mutual Improvement Societies have sprung up in every 
 Nnllage, whose weekly meetings., with literary and musi- 
 cal exercises, are looked forward to with plcjusure, and 
 attended with profit, in the long winter evenings. 
 
 The population of the Province at the census taken in 
 1870 was made up thus : — 
 
 French half-breeds 5,094 
 
 English do 4,07G 
 
 Christian Indians 581 
 
 Other persons 1 ,(il 4 
 
 Total population, not including pagan Indians. .11,905 
 As to religion, the Roman Catholics claimed then aljout 
 tive hundred in excess of the Protestants. With the sub- 
 sequent rapid growth of Winnipeg, and the large increase 
 by immigration of Mennonites, Icelanders, Danes and 
 people from the other Provinces, Ontario especially, and 
 the States, to the rural districts, it is estimated by Sur- 
 veyor-General Dennis that the population of the Province 
 is now about 32,000. The Manitobans, including mem- 
 bers of the Provincial Government, however, claim that 
 the population is now 30,000. The growth has been 
 greatly checked by the grasshopper plague, as is else- 
 where explained. 
 
 '1,! 
 
 . ; I 
 
 ii 
 
 m 
 
i I 
 
 I 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 ;LIMATE — PRODUCTIONS — HEALTH — ELEVATION OF RED RIVER VAL- 
 
 LEY — ISOTHERMAL LINE 
 
 OPINIONS OF PROFESSOR WHARTON, 
 
 GENERAL HAZEN, GOVERNOR RAMSAY AND OTHER AMERICANS- 
 CEREALS — OPINIONS OF PROFESSORS HIND AND MACOUN, MR. DAW- 
 SON AND OTHERS — THE WINTERS — RED RIVER COURTING — OPI- 
 NIONS OF IMMIGRANTS— THE DAWSON ROLTE — THE TELEfJRAPH — 
 STEAM COMMUNICATION THROUGH CANADA A NECESSITY — PROGRESS 
 AND PROSPECTS OF THE THROUGH ROUTE. 
 
 " Here Plentifs liberal horn shall pour 
 Of fruits for thee a copious shower, 
 Rich honours of the quiet plain. ^^ 
 
 —Spectator, No. 100. 
 
 Mr. Blodgett, in his well-known work on the Clima- 
 tology of the United States, says : — " The increase of 
 temperature westward from the sources of the Mississippi 
 in Northern Minnesota, is quite as rapid as it is south- 
 ward to New Mexico; and the Pacific borders at the 
 50th parallel are milder in winter than Santa Fe. In 
 every condition forming the basis of national wealth, the 
 continental mass westward and north-westward from Lake 
 Superior is far more valuable than the interior in lower 
 latitudes, of which Salt Lake and Upper New Mexico are 
 the prominent known districts." The elevation of Lakes 
 Traverse and Big Stone, into which gather the streams 
 tliat form the sources of the Minnesota and Red Rivers is 
 
CLIMATE ; RAINFALL. 
 
 })7 
 
 K VAL- 
 [AKTON, 
 ICANS— 
 H. DAW- 
 IK — OPI- 
 KAPH — 
 ROUKESS 
 
 9G0 feet. The sources of the small streams here joiiuiig, 
 and much of the State of Minnesota, are fully 1,400 feet 
 above sea level. 
 
 Where we embarked at the crossing of the North Paci* 
 fie Railway the river was 10(/ feet lower than Lake Tra- 
 verse, and it enters Lake Winnipeg at an elevation of 
 710 feet. As the Province is a plain, seldom many feet 
 above the river, we are led to trace the effect of this 
 position of its surface as compared with that of lands 
 having a higher level. We ({uote from the interesting 
 work of Dr. Hurlburt, published in 1872 :* " The summer 
 isothermal of 70°, which at the Atlantic coast crosses 
 Long Island in latitude 41°, passes through Pittsburg, 
 Pennsylvania, Cleveland and Chicago, rises on the Sas- 
 katchewan to latitude 52° (in longitude 110°), but 
 sinks again on the high plateau of the desert areas 
 of the United States to latitude 35°, in longitude 105'; 
 rises to latitude 47° in Oregon and falls again to lati- 
 tude 30° through California. The isothennal of 65' for 
 the summer, which, on the Atlantic coast, is off Boston 
 (in latitude 42°), rises through Canada to the north of 
 Quebec, crosses the Red River at latitude 50°, in the 97th 
 meridian, and Mackenzie's River near the GOth parallel. 
 
 " The continent, which is nearly two miles high in 
 Mexico, spreads out like a fan northward, retaining a 
 high altitude through the United States, but fiilling to 
 800, 600 and even to 400 feet in British America. 
 
 * The Climates, Productions and Resources of Canada. By J. Beaufort 
 
 Hurlburt, M.A., LL.D. 
 G 
 
 m 
 
 i.i i 
 
I ' 
 
 98 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 |i i 
 
 r M 
 
 M 
 
 One mile in height (5,280 feet) causes a fall of fifteen de- 
 grees in temperature. Hence the anomaly of a milder 
 climate going north.** 
 
 Between the Laurentian highlands in the east and the 
 Rocky Mountains a great summer wave of warmth passes 
 far to the north, reaching the highest latitude near the 
 ea.stern base of the latter range ; while in winter a com- 
 pensating and long continued flood of cold air invades the 
 whole region of the plains and the eastern and western 
 Hanking ranges. — Mr. G. M. Dawson's report, 1875 ; sec 
 64G. 
 
 We learn from the same source that, at Winnipeg, the 
 average fall of rain during the spring and summer 
 months is 16 inches. Mr. Dawson adds : " It would ap- 
 pear not only on theoretical grounds, but as the result 
 of experience, that the rainfall of the Red River Valley, 
 {issisted by the water remaining in the soil from the 
 spring floods, is, as a rule, amply sufficient for agricul- 
 tural purposes ;" sec 662. 
 
 The annual mean temperature at Wmnipeg is 32.59. 
 The mean temperature for each month, as supplied by 
 Prof. Kingston, of Toronto University (same report ; sec. 
 708), from three years' observations, is as follows : 
 
 January 2.91 July 65.87 
 
 February 2.99 August 64.75 
 
 March , 9.00 September 51.29 
 
 April 30.21 October 40.01 
 
 May 51.18 November 14.58 
 
 June 63.64 December 56 
 
SUMMER TEMPERATITHE. 
 
 0?) 
 
 sn de- 
 iiilder 
 
 d the 
 passes 
 ar the 
 , CO ra- 
 les the 
 restern 
 5 ; sec 
 
 eg, the 
 ummer 
 lid ap- 
 j result 
 Valley, 
 om the 
 gricul- 
 
 32.59. 
 lied by 
 •t ; sec. 
 
 15.87 
 14.75 
 »1.29 
 tO.Ol 
 .4.58 
 .56 
 
 The summer temperatures are those of chief importance 
 for agricultural purposes. The (;ol<l of winter has no ef- 
 fect upon those annuals for whicli the summer is loni,' 
 enough and warm enough to secure their maturity. But 
 the frosts of winter have a powerful effect in pulvcrizin;^ 
 the soil, and the snowy covering protects the ground from 
 ttie winds and sun of the late months and early spring ; 
 then the gradual melting of the snow fills the soil with 
 moisture, so necessary for seeds and plants, presenting 
 such a contrast to many countries in the south of Europe 
 and many Western States, where the ground, exposed for 
 months without such a covering, is too dry for vegeta- 
 tion, or, if the wheat does spring, it is exposed on the 
 bare surface and " winter-killed." As to the rainfall, 
 Dr. Hurlburt adds (page 12): "Through the valley of 
 the St. Lawrence it is for the three summer months 
 from eight to ten inches ; many parts of it, with Mani- 
 toba and British Columbia, have nearer twelve than ten. 
 With the greater heat, which causes a rapid evaporation, 
 these copious rains are of vast importance, and explain 
 the extraordinary growth of vegetation throughout these 
 countries." 
 
 The Mississippi marks the Eastern boundary of the 
 great treeless region that extends thence to the Pacific 
 slope. The dryness of the air, want of regular rains, cold 
 nights and alkaline soils, render most of this vtist region 
 of the United States unsuited for the growth of the most 
 valuable grains and grasses. Fifteen years ago, one of 
 their own writers, Professor Wharton, stated that they 
 
 ^ 
 
 a 
 
 
 %] 
 
 ! 
 
 
 V 
 
 ,,» 
 
 
 f » 
 
 l 
 
 r;, A 
 
 
 !^i 
 
 I 
 1 
 
 .| ^ 
 
 
 
 
 " 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 
 
 % 
 
 'i 
 
 li . 
 
100 
 
 THK PHAIUIE niOVINCE. 
 
 
 
 had reached the weHtern limit of aralile land. Suih has 
 heen the uniform testimony of their scientitic men, save 
 such as wrote in the interest of the promoters or unfortu- 
 nate hond-holdersof the North Pacific Railway, and en<lea- 
 voured to truide emi'^ration to their almost worthless hind 
 west of Red River. Gen. W. R Ilazen, wrote thus — 
 in a letter which was widely |>ul)lished by the Unite<l 
 States j)ress, and remains uncontra<licted, from Fnrt 
 P^nford in Dakota Territory, January 1, 1874 — " Respect- 
 ing' the agricultural value of this country, after kaviiKj 
 the excellent wheat growing valU'i) of the Red Rivar 
 of the North, following westward 1000 miles to the Sierrns, 
 excepting the very limited bottoms of the small streams, 
 as well as those of the Missouri and Yellow Stone, from a 
 tew yards in breadth to an occasional waterwashed valley 
 
 of one or two miles This country will not produce 
 
 the fruits and cereals of the east, for want of moisture, 
 and can in no way be artificially irrigated, and will not in 
 our day and generation sell for one penny an acre, except 
 through fraud or ignorance I will say to those hold- 
 ing the bonds of the Northern Pacific Railroad, that, by 
 changing them into good lands now owned by the road 
 in the Valley of the lied River of the North, and East of 
 that point, is the only means of ever saving themselves 
 from their total loss." 
 
 In a late letter to the New York Tribune, General 
 Hazen wrote fully and to the like effect as above stated. 
 We extract as follows, from his long communication : — 
 
 " Much has been said of the agricultural advantages of 
 
 H< 
 
 » i 
 
GKNKIUI. IIAZKNS VIKWS. 
 
 101 
 
 tlie Black Hills, hut Prof. Jennoy's expedition reports 
 that on the llth of Juno they encountered a snow storm 
 there of such severity jus to batfle all efforts to proceed,' 
 and on the lOth of September, ' ice on still water froze 
 half an inch thick.' With these facts, rememl)erin<^ the 
 altitude of this rc^um is 1,()()() feet above the sea, intel- 
 ligent men are able to judge for themselves the desire- 
 
 abloness of this section for agriculture The 
 
 reports in the office of the General Land Commissioner at 
 Washifigton show that the Surveyor-General of New 
 Mexic(j and Arizona estimates that an amount not to ex- 
 ceed one acre in seventy can be cultivated in those Ten-i- 
 tories, and that 'cultivable is synonymous with irrigable.' 
 In Coloi'ado, the various Surveyors-General have placed 
 their estimates from one acre in thirty to one in sixty, 
 while Mr. N. C, Meeker's letters would appear to put it 
 somewhere within these limits. The grazing interests here 
 are, however, much more valuable than the agricultural, 
 a fact just dawning upon the Greeley colony. The ar.able 
 lands of Utah correspond in (quantity very nearly to those 
 of New Mexico, while the report of General John Day, 
 Surveyor-General, [)laces those of that State as one acre 
 in sixty. The proportion of araV)le land in Montana and 
 Idaho is somewhat greater than in the other middle ter- 
 ritories, but the same necessity for irrigation exists in all 
 of them alike, as well as in the western half of Texas, 
 Indian Territory, Kansas, and Nebraska. The eastern 
 portion of Dakota, including the Valley of the Red River 
 of the North, is most excellent and requires no artificial 
 
 t -J 
 
 ■H 
 
 *; 
 
 i 
 
 VI 
 
 vm 
 
!():> 
 
 THK PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 inigation. The pastoral interests are valuable all over 
 this region." 
 
 General Hazen concludes thus : — " The building up of 
 new and i)opulous States, such as Wisconsin, Iowa, and 
 Missouri, will no more be seen on our present domain, 
 and all calculations based upon such a thing are false 
 while all extraneous influences brought to bear upon emi- 
 gration to carry it west of the 100th meridian, excepting 
 in a few very restricted localities, are wicked beyond ex- 
 pression, and fraught with misery and failure." 
 
 Surely if emigrants from the British Isles were honestly 
 advised, they would seek our well watered valleys of the 
 fertile belt, whose climate is in no place too cold for the 
 development and comfort of an active race ; they would 
 not turn from the territory where exist the free laws and 
 settled Government of the British Dominion, to try ex- 
 periments of irrigation in Colorado, or to trust to the 
 fitful climate and arid soil of Kansas and Nebraska. 
 
 Another American writer says : — " The United States 
 embrace nearly the entire desert areas of North America, 
 so merciful have they been to their northern and southern 
 neighbours in drawing the boundary line." 
 
 The Hon. Alex. Ramsey, then Governor of Minnesota, 
 visited the Selkirk Settlement in 1851, and in an address 
 delivered at St. Paul, on his return, gave a glowing pic- 
 ture of what he had seen and learned of our Fertile Belt. 
 He further said : — " I hesitate not to ascribe to the whole 
 of the upper plains on both branches of the Saskatchewan 
 river, an agricultural value superior naturally to the fields 
 
m 
 
 OPINIONS OF GOVERNOR RAMSEY AND OTHERS. 
 
 103 
 
 over 
 
 ip of 
 , and 
 main, 
 false 
 I emi- 
 jpting 
 id ex- 
 
 nestly 
 of the 
 •or the 
 would 
 vs and 
 ry ex- 
 o the 
 ia. 
 
 States 
 nerica, 
 iithern 
 
 lesota, 
 ddress 
 
 Ig pic- 
 Belt. 
 
 whole 
 
 lewan 
 
 fields 
 
 of New England in their pristine conditions It has 
 
 mineral coal in abundance to supply fuel for a population 
 of the densest character." 
 
 It is beyond the limits of this work to discuss this in- 
 teresting subject more minutely. We only ask our readers 
 to remember that Manitoba is, though the coldest part of 
 it, still well within the great Canadian Fertile Belt, which 
 extends northward above Lake Winnipeg and westward 
 through the vast Saskatchewan, Bow. and Peace River Val- 
 leys to the Pacific. Besides the European emigrants each 
 season entering the Province, there are many from the 
 United States who pronounce themselves uniformly satisfied 
 with our land for the production of grain and root crops. 
 The Emerson Colony, settled near the southern l:)oundary 
 of Manitoba, is a case in point, being composed of former 
 residents of Northern Wisconsin. Professor Hind gives 
 an interesting account of various farms on the Assini- 
 boine, in 1857. One of these was Mr. Gowler's, ten 
 miles from Winnipeg, since that deceased. " His barn, 
 which was very roomy, was crammed with wheat, bar- 
 ley, potatoes, pumpkins, turnips and carrots." He had 
 grown fifty-six measured bushels of wheat to the acre, 
 had a splendid crop of melons, and smoked strong tobacco 
 cropped in the neighbourhood. — page 150, vol. I. 
 
 It is as growers of cereals and root crops that the Mani- 
 toba farmer will excel. It is hoped that in time hardy 
 varieties of apples, pears and the like fruits, may be in- 
 troduced, but, as may be remarked in our notes elsewhere* 
 few such trees have yet succeeded ; nor has their loss been 
 
 •'} 
 
 M 
 
104 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 ! 
 
 i i: 
 
 H 
 
 felt so much as might be supposed, the supply of small 
 fruit being abundant. Mr. Taylor, the excellent American 
 Consul at Wiimipeg, and other gentlemen of intelligence, 
 do not despair of success in this department ; but it is 
 useless to expect roots and slips from comparatively warm 
 regions to thrive or pass through the trials of the Nor'-west 
 winters. Plums, cherries and the like small fruit grow 
 luxuriantly. The success of the country as a grower of 
 grain is evidenced on all sides. Specimens of its wheat 
 lately sold in New York were pronounced worth fifteen 
 cents per bushel more than eastern grain. The soil, an 
 alluvial deposit of great depth, is rich in the necessary 
 qualities. It is ploughed in the fall, and the seed is 
 sown as soon as the frost is out of the upper crust in 
 the spring. As the season advances the frozen ground 
 below gradually melts and supplies refreshing moisture 
 to the roots. When summer has once set in, the days 
 are long and warm, but the nights have always an 
 exhilirating coolness. The samples of grain exhibited 
 have equalled the best in Ontario. The average pro- 
 duction of wheat is between thirty and forty bushels 
 to the acre. Weary months have not to be spent in chop- 
 ping, logging and burning trees and stumps. Two pair of 
 oxen will, with a strong plough, break the sod which a 
 winter's frost mellows and prepares for the harrow and 
 seed. Reaping machines are used to great advantage 
 on the level fields. Vegetables and roots are of wonder- 
 ful size. Hay is cut on the prairie, self sown. Though 
 the raiser of stock in Manitoba will require to lay up a 
 
CATTLE BREEDING ; WHEAT GROWING. 
 
 105 
 
 :ourid 
 Lsture 
 days 
 an 
 3ited 
 pro- 
 ishels 
 chop- 
 air of 
 ich a 
 ' and 
 tage 
 Inder- 
 lough 
 lup a 
 
 large amount of dry fodder for the winter, yet he can do 
 so at the cost of curing only. In the rich grass meadows 
 of the Roseau and other places, where protected by trees 
 from the wind, Indian ponies pass the whole winter 
 under the open sky without injury. Elsewhere stabling 
 is necessary. Farther west, in the Saskatchewan valley, 
 the snow-fall is less, and cattle live all winter on the un- 
 cured herbage in the field. 
 
 It is a theory that seems established by experiment, 
 that all grains reach perfection at the northern limit of 
 their growth. Two is the average of grains to the cluster 
 in the Eastern States, but three in Manitoba. Recent 
 accounts by Professor Macoun, who, in the summer of 
 1875, visited the Peace River country, prove that in 
 that far Nor'-west, wheat, tlie most important of crops, 
 reaches its highest perfection, though cultivated but rudely 
 by half-breeds, producing five and even six grains to the 
 cluster. Comparing the productiveness of Manitoba, 
 wherewith we have within our limits mainly to do, with 
 that of the States of North America, in which wheat is 
 largely grown, and we there find the production as 
 follows : — 
 
 Red River Valley, 30 to 35 bushels to the acre. 
 Minne'sota " 17 to 20 
 Wisconsin " 14 " " 
 
 Pennsylvania 15 " " 
 
 Ohio 15 
 
 It will be remembered that the quality of the grain is 
 
f 
 
 ' 
 
 it 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 106 
 
 THE PKAIRIE PliOVINCE. 
 
 also .superior to that of the more southern latitudes. Mr. 
 G. M. Dawson (sec. 644 of Report) makes this calcula- 
 tion : — Tiiking one half of the area of the Red River 
 Valley, 3,400 square miles, equalling 2,176,000 acres, and 
 for simplicity of calculation, supposes it to be entirely 
 sown with wheat. Then at even 17 bushels to the acre, 
 the crop of this valley would amount to 40,992,000 
 bushels. 
 
 THE WINTERS WITH REFERENCE TO HEALTH AND 
 
 VEGETATION. 
 
 People of lower latitudes are disposed to shrug their 
 shoulders when they speak of Manitoba winters, and to 
 think them a succession of Nor'-westers. Wits among 
 our southern neighbours too jest with this for a theme. 
 The Danhury Newsman says, in a modest postcript to a 
 letter from Fort Garry, in amusing exaggeration, which 
 in some localities passes for wit : — " The weather is so cold 
 up here that a young man of industrious habits requires 
 sixty cords of hard- wood for courting a Red River girl 
 during the month of January. The stoves are fourteen 
 feet long and nine high." 
 
 Minnesota with a climate as cold and more subject to 
 winter winds, or blizzards, has long been the resort of in- 
 valids, the dryness of the atmosphere being especially 
 favourable to consumptives. We met many in Manitoba 
 of weak constitution who had been induced to settle there 
 by reason of the uniformity of the climate, and can record 
 the satisfaction with which they, and indeed, nearly all 
 
THE WINTERS; SNOW-FALL 
 
 107 
 
 we met spoke, especially of the winter. The snow talis 
 to a depth of from one to three feet, and remains dry and 
 crisp for five months, without the frequent thaws that 
 occur in the Province of Ontario and Lake States. Senator 
 Sutherland, from Kildonan, stated before a committee of 
 Parliament in March, 1875, in effect that the people of 
 Manitoba had not of late raised more grain than was 
 needed for home consumption, but they would soon be 
 able to raise great quantities for export; grain-giowing 
 would be most profitable foi- many years ; in Manitol ihe 
 average yield of wheat was fully thirty bushels per acre ; 
 root crops yielded enormous returns ; frost seldom att'ected 
 the growth, except slightly in the spring. Grasshop})ers 
 had affected the crops within the last few years ; but for 
 forty years previous to that time he had not known them 
 to be in the country to any great extent, and he did not 
 think they would return this year. 
 
 The report of the Committee on Immigration and Co- 
 lonization, of the House of Commons, at Ottawa, presented 
 on the 10th of April, 187G, contains some matters of in- 
 terest and importance regarding the region under discus- 
 sion, the result of careful inquiry. We take from the 
 report as follows : — " The Committee have carefully 
 examined Professor John Macoun, of Albert Uuiver- 
 sity, Belleville, who accompanied Mr. Fleming, Chief 
 Engineer of the Pacific Railway Survey, across the Con- 
 tinent to the Pacific Coast, in the capacity of botanist, 
 with reference to the agricultural capabilities of the 
 North-west Territ(jry, particularly including the Peace 
 
 
•r 
 
 JOS 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 :; 
 
 'ill 
 
 n;: 
 
 u 
 
 River districts and the Province of British Columbia. He 
 showed very clearly that vast areas in those hitherto but 
 little known regions, contain agricultural resources of 
 unbounded fertility, coupled with climatic conditions 
 favourable to their development. He also showed the 
 presence of very large deposits of coal and other valuable 
 minerals. 
 
 " The Committee also examined Mr. Henry McLeod, an 
 Engineer of the Pacific Survey, who crossed the Conti- 
 nent to the middle of the Rocky Mountains. He cor- 
 roborates the evidence of Professor Macoun, in reference 
 to the great fertility of the soil and adaptability of the 
 country for extensive settlement." 
 
 A complete report of this region has not been published 
 by Professor Macoun ; but we may state that the result 
 of his evidence, and of statements made by him is as 
 follows : — He had found that the entire district along 
 the Peace River for a distance of seven hundred and sixty 
 miles, in a belt one hundred and fifty miles wide on each 
 side was as suitable for the cultivation of grain as that of 
 Ontario. He had brought samples of wheat weighing 
 sixty-eight pounds, and of barley weighing fifty-six 
 pounds, to the bushel. The climate was even more suit- 
 able than in Ontario, for there were no wet autumns nor 
 frost to kill the young grain. There were but two seasons 
 — sunnner and winter. He said in illustration, that on a 
 Thursday last October, 1875, the heat was so great that 
 he had to shelter himself by lying under a cart, while on 
 the next Sunday winter set in in full vigour and con- 
 
PROFESSOR MACOUN S ACCOUNT. 
 
 109 
 
 fl 
 
 as 
 
 each 
 at of 
 hing 
 /■-six 
 suit- 
 nor 
 sons 
 on a 
 that 
 e on 
 con- 
 
 tinued steadily. The plants he found in that region wore 
 the same as those on Lake Erie, and further discoveries 
 satisfied him that the two arejis were similar in tvery 
 resi)ect. The ice in the rivers broke up in April. Stock 
 raising was not difficult, because the grass remained fresh 
 and green up to the very opening of winter. He had seen 
 thousands of acres of it three and four feet lonjj; on 
 levels two hundred feet above the Peace River. He es- 
 timated that there were 252,0()(),()0() acres of land in that 
 region adapted to the growth of cereals. He had tested 
 the temperature and showed by figures that the average 
 summer heat at Fort William, Fort Simpson, Edmonton, 
 and throughout that region, was similar to that of Toronto, 
 Montreal, and higher than that of Halifax. He was posi- 
 tive that the climate was uncommonly suitable for agri- 
 culture, and stated that the farther one went north the 
 warmer the summer became. There was no doubt they 
 were abundantly long enough to ripen wheat thoroughly. 
 Besides the peculiar excellence of that country for cereals, 
 he had found thousands of acres of crystalized salt, so 
 pure, that it was used in its natural state by the Hudson 
 Bay Company. Coal abounded in the richest veins, and 
 was so interstratified with hematele or iron ore, yielding 
 fifty per cent., that no locality could be better for manu- 
 facturing. Thousands of acres of coal oil fields were 
 found. The tar lying on the surface of the ground was 
 ankle deep ; miles and miles of the purest gypsum l)eds 
 cropped out of the river banks ; coal beds abounded 
 on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains and ex- 
 
 1 ')^ 
 
110 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 i!i 
 
 I \Vn 
 
 I i i i 
 
 tencled in large seams through(jut the country at their base 
 for a distance of one hundred miles. In short, Professor 
 Macoun believed the North-West to be the ricliest part of 
 Canada, and prophesied that it would yet be the home of 
 millions of })eople prosperous and ha{)py. 
 
 The Committee proceed to refer to the evidence of Se- 
 nator Sutherland to the effect above stated, and conclude 
 thus : — " The winters in the North- West, except on the 
 Pacific Coast, appear to be rigorous ; but the climate is 
 reported to be singularly healthy, and the seasons for 
 agricultural operations do not appear to be widely different 
 in the Province of Manitoba, from what they are in On- 
 tario, but infjict very similar. The presence of what are 
 termed summer frosts in the North -West Territory, ap- 
 pears to be precisely similar in character to those which 
 prevail over a very large extent of the northern part of 
 this Continent." 
 
 Peoj^le along the St. Lawrence, will be surprised 
 when they learn that on the eighteenth of April, 
 1876, when the ice was yet piled mountains high, 
 round Victoria Bridge, ploughing had begun at Bat- 
 tle River, and the steamer Northcote was getting up 
 steam for Edmonton, on the Saskatchewan, near the 
 Rocky Mountains, and on the Red River, the season's na- 
 vigation was also begun. So quickly does the winter pass 
 into summer, that there were then at Winnipeg trotting 
 races on the ice of the Assiniboine ; boating on the Red 
 River, skating in the rink, and cricket playing on the 
 |jrairie ; all within the radius of a mile. 
 
OPENING OF NAVIGATION. 
 
 Ill 
 
 ^pril, 
 
 up 
 the 
 Is na- 
 
 pass 
 
 bting 
 
 Ked 
 
 the 
 
 Red River navigation opened about the same time the 
 previous year. 
 
 Though navigation will close annually about the end 
 of October, yet there will be no difficulty in running the 
 railway trains over the track on the plains of the Pro- 
 vince. The frost and snow so open the soil that the 
 labour expended upon it goes much further than in 
 Europe and elsewhere where the surface is not covered 
 with snow. There is abundance of work that can be 
 better done in the winter than in summer, such as fenc- 
 ing and cutting wood from swamps, into which horses and 
 men easily penetrate on the ice-bound surface, and con- 
 veying produce to market, with a speed and in quantities 
 which would not be possible on wheels. Saw mills cease 
 working, but the men employed are soon off to the logging 
 camps, hewing and hauling the logs to the ice-bound 
 streams that will in spring carry them to Winnipeg or 
 Emerson. 
 
 We have elsewhere stated the favourable report which 
 Colonel Crofton gave, after a year's residence at Fort 
 Garry, and could readily multiply evidence of the like 
 impartial and intelligent persons. In the vessel in which 
 our party went dow.? the river to Winnipeg were several 
 farmers, one an old Scotchman from near Miramichi in 
 Quebec. 
 
 He seemed charmed with the country, nor had he tired 
 of it when we afterwards met him in our wanderings. 
 He lamented the time he had lost on the banks of the 
 St. Lawrence in clearing his poor land of trees and in 
 
 m 
 
 iai 
 
,|l!|, 
 
 112 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 yojii'H since, removing the stones, the only sure cro]), 
 for they came up with every jiloughing. He heard till 
 about the grassho|)[)ers and what they had done, and yet 
 was determined to take uj) a free claim, erect his cabin 
 on a ((uarter section, and having done that^ and made 
 such other preparations as were deemed needful, he 
 would sell out his old farm for what could be got, and let 
 the family follow. This, he said, would without doubt 
 lead to many of his former neighbours soon joining him. 
 
 Mr. Lilies, of West Pilkington, Ontario, in the autumn 
 of 1875, received a letter from one of his four sons then in 
 Manitoba, which is so life-like that we will copy it. He 
 says: "Don't fear of us starving in Manitoba; we are 
 doing better here than we could do in Ontario, despite 
 the ravages made by the grasshoppers. Two of us have 
 cleared one hundred and sixty dollars per month all sum- 
 mer, burning lime and selling it at 45c per bushel ; an- 
 other has averaged $5 per day with his team, sometimes 
 teaming to the new penitentiary, and sometimes working 
 on the railroad. The fourth works at his trade, waggon 
 making, in Winnipeg for $G0 per month, steady employ- 
 ment. Our potato crop is splendid, our peas are excel- 
 lent, and we had one field of wheat that suffered no 
 intrusion from the pest. The weather is mild, prairie 
 chickens are very numerous, and our anticipations as re- 
 gards a good time next year are big." 
 
 Mr. Jacob Y. Shantz, an old and respected resident of 
 Berlin, in Ontario, was consulted by his persecuted coun- 
 trymen in Russia as to a home in the West. A few 
 
V 
 
 sum- 
 an- 
 
 times 
 
 iggon 
 iploy- 
 
 jnt of 
 
 ANALYSIS OF THE SOIL. 118 
 
 samples of Manitoba soil were sent to Senator Eniil Klotz 
 
 of Kiel, who had them analyzed by Professor F]mmerling, 
 
 an eminent chemist, who, in April, 1872, gave an analysis 
 
 of this soil as compared with the richest in Holstein. 
 
 Senator Klotz wrote with the result. Part of his ref)ort 
 
 we copy as follows : — 
 
 " Kiel, 4th May, 1872. 
 
 " After considerable delay, I succeeded in obtaining the analysis 
 of the Manitoba soil from Professor Emraerling, Director of the 
 Chemical Laboratory of the Agricultural Association of this place. 
 Annexed I give you our analysis of the most productive soil in 
 Holstein, whereby you will see how exceedingly rich the productive 
 qualities of the Manitoba soil are, and which fully explains the fact 
 that the land in Manitoba is so very fertile, even without manure. 
 The chief nutrients are, first, nitrogen, then potash and phosphoric 
 acid, which predominates there ; but what is of particular import- 
 ance is the lime contained in the soil, whereby the nitrogen is set 
 free, and ready to be absorbed in vegetable organisms. The latter 
 property is defective in many soils, and when it is found defective, 
 recourse must be had to artificial means by putting lime or marl (a 
 clay which contains much lime) upon the same. 
 
 ' ' According to the analysis of the Manitoba soil, there is no 
 doubt that, to the farmer who desires to select for his future home, 
 a country which has the most productive soil and promises the 
 richest harvests, no country in the world offers greater attractions 
 than the Province of Manitoba, in the Dominion of Canada. 
 
 "analysis of the holstein soil and MANITOBA soil compared. 
 
 Holstein Excess of properties 
 
 Soil. of Manitoba Soil. 
 
 Potash 30 198-7 
 
 Sodium 20 138 
 
 Phosphoric Acid 40 294 
 
 Lime 130 5526 
 
 Magnesia 10 G'l 
 
 Nitrogen 40 446*1 
 
 H "(Sd.) EMIL KLOTZ." 
 
 ' . (• 
 
;M, 
 
 11^ ! 
 
 114 
 
 THE I'llAlUIE PllOVINCE. 
 
 We now know how suti.sfactory this has proved to the 
 intelligent ininiigrunts. The fucilitics of Manitoba, as 
 compared with Minnesota, are being put to a imictical 
 test by the Mennonites — while many have settled in the 
 Red River Valley, others have selected homes, for the 
 present at least, in Minnesota and other Western States. 
 
 STEAM COMMUNICATION TIUIOUGH CANADA A NECESSITY. 
 
 Canada fell heir to a great estate when these Western 
 plains became hers. Her duty was proportionately great. 
 She was, however still struggling to complete the Inter- 
 colonial Road, to connect the older Provinces with the 
 Atlantic sea-ljoard. Each Province was also heavily en- 
 gaged in works of internal improvement. The whole, 
 population of the Dominion was exceeded in number by 
 that of each of several of the United States, yet the con- 
 struction of a railway to the Pacific, through a region, 
 of which little was known was urged as a necessity to 
 be undertaken at all hazards and at any cost. It cannot 
 be denied that much has been done in gathering definite 
 information, as to this immense undeveloped territory, 
 and discovering practicable routes. An army of geolo- 
 gists, surveyors and engineers is still at work on the 
 various sections into which the great route is divided. 
 It will be seen, how disadvantageously Manitoba must 
 struggle until she obtain direct steam communication with 
 Ontario. Her development is retarded and the farther 
 West is left isolated and comparatively valueless. Farmers 
 may sow and reap, but the country will, to a great ex- 
 tent, " smother in its own fat." 
 
STEAM COMMUNICATION NEKDEl). 
 
 115 
 
 Befurc .steam was used on Red River, tliousands of 
 carts went yearly to Miiuie.sota, untroubled by custom.s 
 orticers. Now, that means of tratfic is almost entirely 
 stopped, much to the annoyance of the half-breeds for- 
 merly so enf^aged. The free navigation of Red River 
 was unfortunately not provided for in the treaty of 
 Washington. The Yukon, Porcupine and Stikine, in the 
 distant and sterile wilds of Alaska, were opened, but this 
 great commercial road was not thought of, or its con- 
 sideration was tabled by influence of the " Adventurers of 
 England " and Kittson & Co. 
 
 Coasting and trade restrictions are onerous, and the 
 result is that the St. Paul Company charge what they 
 please, and their vessels are loaded to the water's edge. 
 Produce not required for home consumption will .scarce 
 repay the cost of removal to markets by the present ex- 
 pensive and crowded ways of transport. The " Dawson 
 Route," in its present state, and until immen.sely im- 
 proved, with its many necessary changes, risks and de- 
 lays, can be practically of little use for freight. Few 
 passengers, save those interested in the works at Fort 
 Frances, the lumber business at the Lake of the Woods, 
 and a company of soldiers passed through by this road in 
 1875. The Minnesota Railroad, with its dangerous, .stilt- 
 like structure, and the monopolist " Kittson Line " being 
 preferred. As a Minnesota newspaper states : — " The 
 freiofhts from Moorehead, Minn., to Manitoba increased 
 from barely 1,400 tons, in 1874, to more than 3,800 tons, 
 in 1875— more than doubled : and all the travel to and 
 
 lis 
 
 "i til 
 
 II 
 
ii 
 
 116 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 
 M 
 
 • :li 
 
 'Ii 
 
 from Winnipeg went with the freight Ijy rail and over the 
 Northern Pacific road." 
 
 The Pembina branch first, and so soon as through con- 
 nection to Lake Superior can be made with the American 
 North Pacific road, is looked to as the means of immediate 
 relief. This line was referred to in debate in Parliament 
 on 14th February, 187G. Hon. Mr. Letellier de St. Just, 
 Minister of Immigration, said : "The rails will be at Pem- 
 bina in the spring, the Northern Pacific Railway only 
 having fifteen miles of embankment and fifty miles of 
 track-laying to do." 
 
 Senator Girard — " They have only fifteen miles from 
 Glyndon to Crookston to build." 
 
 Hon. Mr. Letellier — " To reach the boundary line. If 
 when the American line was laid, the Canadian Govern- 
 ment were not prepared to go on with their work, then 
 gentlemen opposite might well reproach them for not hav- 
 ing the rails." He described the different links in the road 
 to Manitoba, and said that this continuous road and water 
 way would do all that was required for some time to 
 come. " Even with the accommodation that existed at 
 present, immigration had been pouring fast into Mani- 
 toba, and when all links in the road were completed the 
 Government would have two very fine modes of commu- 
 nication, sufficient to bring any amount of population, 
 and at a lower cost than by rail alone. This showed 
 that the Government had done something, and that the 
 facilities were far ahead of those of old Upper and Lower 
 Canada." 
 
THE DAWSON ROUTE. 
 
 117 
 
 ver the 
 
 rh. con- 
 nerican 
 aediate 
 iament 
 t. Just, 
 ,t Pem- 
 ly only 
 liles of 
 
 js from 
 
 ine. If 
 jovem- 
 k, then 
 ot hav- 
 he road 
 1 water 
 ihne to 
 sted at 
 
 Mani- 
 bed the 
 ommu- 
 iilation, 
 showed 
 lat the 
 
 Lower 
 
 But the patriotic Canadian cannot with patience see 
 much of the trade of this immense region drawn, as it 
 will be, to enrich our southern neighbours. Sympathies, 
 too, would soon follow the path of interest. 
 
 The branch of the great Canada Pacific Railway to the 
 harbours of Lake Superior must be pushed to comple- 
 tion, and the natural advantages offered by the water 
 stretches of the Kewatin and Thunder Bay districts must 
 also be made serviceable to commerce. 
 
 THE DAWSON ROUTE. 
 
 As to the present " Dawson Route," the main stages 
 and the distances from Prince Arthur's Landing, are to 
 
 Clandeboye 16 miles. 
 
 Matawin 24 " 
 
 Brown'sLane 32 " 
 
 Shebandowan • 45 " 
 
 Kashaboiwe 64 " 
 
 Height of Land 74 " 
 
 Baril 93 " 
 
 BruU 101 " 
 
 French 115 " 
 
 Pine (fe Deux Rivieres 132 " 
 
 Maligne 152 '' 
 
 Island 162 " 
 
 Nequaquon 187 " 
 
 Kettle Falls 207 " 
 
 Fort Frances 252 " 
 
 II 
 
 ^1 
 
 '^m 
 
II 
 
 118 
 
 THE PRAIKIE PROVINCE. 
 
 
 1 
 
 It^ 
 
 N.-W. Angle 377 miles. 
 
 Winnipeg 477 " 
 
 These distances were those given to Government by 
 Mr. Dawson ; people living along the route say they should 
 be about live per cent. more. 
 
 It will be noticed that the greater part of this road is 
 by water. When the canal is completed at Fort Frances 
 the^e will be uninterrupted water communication begin- 
 ning at one hundred miles from Winnipeg of about 200 
 miles through Rainy Lake and River and the Lake of the 
 Woods. The distance will be from Winnipeg hut half 
 that by the crooked Red River to Lake Superior. 
 
 Steam tugs of various sizes are now used on the larger 
 water stretches, open row boats large enough to hold 
 twenty persons are also employed. Better vessels will in 
 due time be supplied. To construct, equip and keep up 
 the Dawson Road has occasioned great annual outlay, 
 epecially in some of its early years, so the offer of Messrs. 
 Carpenter & Co. to work it for an annual bonus of $76,000 
 was accepted, but their contract has v>erminated, Govern- 
 ment having again, very wisely as we thirk, taken the 
 working into their own control, and intending to use 
 the water stretches in connection with the railway till, 
 at any rate, the latter be completed. 
 
 The vast interests involved in the region between 
 Thunder Bay and Red River, the fact tha.t during the 
 present and the next few years public money to the ex- 
 tent of so me millions of dollars will be spent to open up 
 
HISTORY OF THE DAWSON ROUTE. 
 
 119 
 
 communication through this region, as part of the national 
 highway from ocean to ocean, and from the greatest gra- 
 nary of the continent to the lakes, make it proper to ask 
 the intelligent reader's further attention to the subject. 
 
 The Dawson route has already had an interesting his- 
 tory. It was not long since deemed a military necessity. 
 Its existence was demanded in order to secure the North 
 West to Canada. The Hudson's Bay Company looked on 
 its construction with jealousy, as is abundantly evident 
 from the correspondence between the Company's officers 
 and Government officials, in 1868-9, when the hundred 
 miles between Ked River and the Lake of the Woods 
 were in part constructed. 
 
 Had this Dawson route not been available for Colonel 
 Wolsely's little army, Rupert's Land might have fallen a 
 prey to Riel and O'Donoghue's French half- breeds and 
 Fenians or perhaps have remained in the hands of the 
 " Adventurers of England." 
 
 The accompanying plan and sectional view, in so ftir 
 as they relate to this route, and some of the following 
 statements of fact are furnished by Mr. Oliver A. How- 
 land, who passed over and spent some time upon it, in 
 1874, and has given the subject careful consideration. 
 
 On the plan the reader may see at a glance the old 
 North West voyageurs' track from the Grande Portage otf 
 L'Isle Royale, westward, the Dawson road and the line 
 of the Canada Pacific Railway as now proposed. The 
 ideal route during the season of navigation, for cheap 
 transportation of the produce of the North West, would 
 
 H- 
 
 2? t 
 
 
 I 1:1 
 
 iA 
 
r ' 
 
 \ \\ 
 
 Xy ! 
 
 120 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 seem to be one consisting of, first, a link of railway of 
 100 miles long over the level country between Red River 
 and the Lake of the Woods ; next, by steamers over the 
 waters of that lake and of Rainv River and Lake to the 
 first falls of the Seine River, making 200 miles of excellent 
 navigation, broken only by the twenty-eight feet of lockage 
 at Fort Frances, and scarcely inferior in capacity to that of 
 the Uppci St. Lawrence, and thence by rail 180 miles to 
 Thunder Bay. This would involve transhipments at the 
 termini of the water stretch ; but when grain can be and 
 is daily transhipped by the elevators, at Montreal, at a 
 cost of eight cents per ton of thirty- three bushels, it is 
 difficult to discover how an item of sixteen cents per ton 
 could turn the scale in favour of the all-rail route. Even 
 immigrants and other passengers might be carried on such 
 a line, without disadvantage in point of time, and at a 
 saving of cost in competition with an American rail route 
 ma Duluth. From a common point on Lake Superior 
 the distances would be, to Fort Garry via Duluth, 150 
 miles lake navigation and 480 rail ; to Fort Garry via 
 Thunder Bay, 250 miles lake and inland navigation and 
 280 miles rail ; in other words, an excess of 100 miles of 
 navigation on the Thunder Bay route against an excess of 
 200 miles of railway by Duluth. 
 
 As passenger steamers travel at rather more than half 
 the speed of passenger trains, there would thus be a slight 
 advantage in point of time in favour of the suggested 
 route ; so that practically a highway over which our immi- 
 sn^ants could travel to the prairies as quickly and more 
 
Iihalf 
 light 
 ested 
 mmi- 
 more 
 

 
 
 
 \ 
 
 .4' 
 
 c^- 
 
 ,1»t 
 
 •l^« 
 
 
 
 , Main If J ^a/f 
 
 
 7^^£/e^ 
 
 80 Allies, 
 
 
 y *'^t5Vi^//;5//;W t/Z^r/lfiuk jRatl^^r/u^c trjJVe^ua^i/Mf /^o/ta^& :^1^0X/iVef^ 
 
eons ufth tJie Canada J^r/eiyic ^iZl . 
 r?/ o^^Mnitol^a. 
 
 I 
 
 ?,9 
 
 ( 
 
 f 
 
 
 it' 
 
 ,f 
 
 ct 
 
 S 
 
 eft 
 
 
 c;?;> 
 
 
 /,5A/lles 
 
 
 
 ^/%{- ^:^6^^./l^e^ 
 
 
 

 H 
 
 iSi f 
 
 'if! ! 
 
 h 
 
THE "PUBLIC mind" PERPLEXED. 
 
 125 
 
 cheaply than by the American route, and by which grain 
 and other freight could be carried thence on terms defy- 
 ing competition by any all-rail route on our own territory 
 or elsewhere, could thus be obtained by the construction 
 of 280 miles of rail. The " public mind," perplexed by a 
 confusion of motives on this subject, desiring to forward 
 the colonization of Manitoba, and anxious, on the other 
 hand, not to be diverted from the project of a direct line 
 to the Pacific, has permitted the latter motive to have the 
 greater weight. The feeling and clamour so raised b.'tve the 
 tendency to drive on the construction of the " all-rail " 
 route with, perhpps, too little regard to our present capa- 
 city and to the neglect of other and natural advantages. 
 In the meantime, and until some Canadian route is com- 
 pleted, the Northern Pacific and the " Kittson Line " con- 
 tinue to carry the traffic of Manitoba through Minnesota 
 and down Red River for $40 per ton, pocketing $500,000 
 per annum by the process and crippling the progress of 
 settlement in that Province. The point must not be 
 overlooked that, in adopting the through line, 450 miles 
 long, as the colonization route in preference to one nearly 
 200 miles shorter (as regards construction), we delay the 
 opening of the route in about the same proportion. 
 
 Guided by the experience of the Intercolonial road, it 
 seems as likely to be seven years as four before a train will 
 pass on the rails from Thunder Bay to Fort Garry, and 
 therefore for so long we shall be unable to interfere and 
 raise the siege of Manitoba. Is this prospect satisfactory ? 
 The best remaining hope of alleviating the position of the 
 
12(3 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 .!l 
 
 iiitiii 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 i, ' 
 
 
 ^ ■ 
 
 
 f 
 
 
 ( • 
 
 } 
 
 k 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 ( 
 
 
 
 
 .) 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 ii 
 
 
 
 Province, for some years to come, is by making the most 
 of that part of the Dawson route between Lac des Mille 
 Lacs rid Rat Portage, where it is tapped by the terminal 
 sections of the railway — sections which are likely to be 
 completed fur in advance of the remainder of the road. A 
 lock of nine feet lift would join Nameaukan Lake to 
 Rainy Lake, and extend that noble chain of waters to a 
 point 220 miles eastward of Rat Portage, and within 130 
 miles of the eastern extremity of Lac des Milles Lacs. 
 This length of 130 miles is practically broken into three 
 subdivisions by three tremendous accumulations of lock- 
 age (for particulars of which we refer to the plan), and 
 which render a continuous canal too serious an under- 
 taking to be entered upon at present ; but by the con- 
 struction of seven locks of about ten feet lift, three on the 
 Maligne River, and four at the outlet of Baril Lake, with 
 a cutting of about a quarter of a mile in length to join 
 Baril Lake to Lac des Mille Lacs, and a dam at the outlet 
 of the latter lake to raise it (two feet) to the level of the 
 former, and some channel improvements, the navigation 
 may be rendered otherwise continuous. The three great 
 portages — Neqiiaquon, between Nameaukan and Ne- 
 quaquon or Cross Lakes, Pine Poiiage, between Sturgeon 
 and Kaogasikok Lakes, and Great French Portage bet. 'veen 
 Kaogosikok and the Windegoostigon Lakes, would, in the 
 aggregate, require the building of about nine miles of 
 railway. 
 
 The main obstacle to the success of this route, the 
 transhipments, amounting in all to eight in number be- 
 
lal 
 
 A 
 
 to 
 V a 
 
 WATER STRETCHES; CONNECTING LINKS. 
 
 127 
 
 tween Rat Portage and Lae des Mille Lacs, at the esti- 
 mate of eight cents per ton, would involve only a ehari,'e 
 of sixty-four cents per ton of thirty-three bushels on tho 
 carriage of wheat, supposing that no improvement V)o 
 found practicable in the manner of transhipment. But, if 
 the cars could be ferried over the broken sections from 
 Lac des Mille Lacs to Nameaukan Lake, running over 
 the intermediate portages, the actual transhipments would 
 then be reduced to two in number, one at the beginning 
 and the other at the end of the great water stretch of 220 
 miles terminating at Rat Portage. But even without this 
 improvement, a route consisting of only 180 miles of rail- 
 way and 340 miles of excellent navigation, though broken 
 into four sections and burdened with the full addition of 
 sixty-four cents per ton for elevating, should still be aVjle 
 to carry grain and passengers at rates which would Vje 
 an immense improvement on the terms of the present 
 monopoly. 
 
 It is improbable that there will be anything in the 
 construction of these nine miles of railway and seven or 
 eight locks to prevent these works being accomplished by 
 the time the Pacific Railway sections to Lac des Mille 
 Lacs and from Rat Portage to Fort Garry are ready for 
 the iron; and it is certain that by the simultaneous o|)en- 
 ing of the line proposed in connection with those two sec- 
 tions of the Canada Pacific Railway, a competitive reduc- 
 tion would be at once accomplished in the traffic rates up- 
 on all routes to Manitoba, such as, in a few years, would 
 amply recoup an expenditure of 8500,00(/ on the water 
 
 1 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 I I 
 
 
128 
 
 THK PUAIRTR PROVINCE. 
 
 ii 
 
 !i;i 
 
 stretches and their intermediate links, besides immensely 
 fHcilitatinnr the early settlement and development of the 
 Prairie Provinc3 nnd the other Provinces which will ))e 
 created out of the great Nor' -West. 
 
 Tlie water route, once established to this extent, would 
 certainly never be suffered to fall into disuse. The trade 
 of the North West, growing incessantly, would not only 
 encDurage its maintenance, but would soon demand its 
 further improvement. The examples of all great parallel 
 rail and water routes on this continent suggest the proba- 
 V)ility of the much abused Dawson route, now regarded 
 as but the humble precursor of the railway, becoming in 
 the end the almost unrivalled carrier of the trade of the 
 great North West. The possibility of attaining such re- 
 sults by using the means nature has placed before us, 
 seems to make the subject, at all events, worthy of more 
 ])atieiit consideration than it has yet received. 
 
 It should be remembered that the magnificent Winni- 
 peg River, through which the Lake of the Woods empties 
 into Lake Winnipeg, has, for ages, been used as a high- 
 way by voyageurs. As Mr. Dawson remarks * : — " Men, 
 women and children have passed by hundreds up and 
 down the Winnipeg, and the boats of the Hudson's Bay 
 Company, some of them the most unwieldy tubs imagin- 
 able, are constantly used on its waters. In former times 
 the whole trade of the northern posts of the continent 
 
 i' J 
 
 4- 
 
 * See Canadian Parliamentary Report, 22nd March, 1871, by S. J. Daw- 
 won, C.E., as to the Red River Expedition, and as to Strictures published in 
 England by an Officer of the Force. 
 
AN EXTHAORDINAUY "NARHATIVE. 
 
 12!) 
 
 passed by the Winnipeg. At the very time the expe- 
 ditionary force was passin^^ two frail and poorly manned 
 canoes, the one occupied by a very fat newspaper editor, 
 and the other by a gentleman who had his wife witli 
 him, passed over all the ra[)idf', portages and whiil pools 
 of the Winnipeg without its occurring to the occupants 
 that they were doing anything extraordinary." 
 
 That the navigation of this river may in time bo 
 opened to grain vessels, which will thus carry the produce 
 of the Ked River and Saskatchewan Valleys to the water 
 stretches of the Dawson route, is confidently alleged by 
 engineers of ability. Thus the reader will at once see the 
 immense iinportance and interest which will, in the near 
 future, attach to the development of the natural resources 
 of this region. 
 
 We may probably be referred, in answer, to the reports 
 published by those interested in writing itp the glory of 
 the expedition of 1870, especially to the extraordinary 
 " Narrative " by an " Officer of the Force," published in 
 an Edinburgh Magazine. We have only to say that, so 
 far as facts are concerned, we prefer to rely on the state- 
 ments of the able engineers of Canada and of the civil 
 servants who accompanied tlio expedition, rather than on 
 those of an officer who does not hesitate to slander the 
 public men of Canada, and that in terms too gross to be 
 repeated. It is well known that if that officer had not 
 been ably supported by the civil force and the many 
 intelligent British and Canadian officers with the expe- 
 dition, and had his judgment in some important matters 
 
 ;!i 
 
 m 
 
130 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 
 I; 
 
 i 
 
 I i 
 
 not been overruled by the General in chief command, he 
 would never have got further than Lake Shebandowan, 
 
 The difficulties of the route are not to be compared to 
 those of the expedition of 1847, when Colonel Crofton 
 took 383 persons, men, women and children, with cannon 
 and heavy stores, from Fort York in Hudson's Bay to 
 Fort Garry. In his evidence before the Imperial House 
 of Commons, elsewhere referred to. Colonel, now Lieut. - 
 General Crofton, says of the route in question : — " I would 
 undertake to take my regiment by it. I did worse than 
 that, for I took artillery from Fort York in Hudson's 
 Bay, to Red River, 700 miles by the compass, over lakes 
 and rivers, and that is a much ivorse route than the other. 
 I am quite sure of it, for I have gone both." 
 
 Had Colonel Crofton been in command in 1870, he 
 would not, despite the earnest advice of those who knew 
 that of which they spoke, have insisted on dragging boats 
 up the rocky foaming bed of the Kaministiquia, where 
 they were torn and bruised, their equipments lost, the 
 men wearied with such arduous and worse than useless 
 labour, and a great additional expense occasioned. When 
 he returned to England he would, we think, also have 
 avoided exaggerating the difficulties of the expedition, in 
 order to raise his own merits in public esteem, and even 
 though Governor Archibald held the seat for which his 
 ambition craved, his pen would not have been employed 
 to lampoon our statesmen, nor would it have endeavoured 
 to detract frora the well-earned praise of those who, with 
 
WHAT THE ROUTE HAS COST. 
 
 131 
 
 him, carried the expedition to a bloodless and successful 
 
 issue. 
 
 We refer thus shortly to the article mentioned, as 
 seems necessary. It must be considered cum grano. 
 The writer is a very gallant officer, though his feats have 
 not yet been those of a Hannibal, or even a Napier of 
 Magdala. He has doubtless since seen cause to regret his 
 ill-advised statements and aspersions, if indeed he conde- 
 scends to think at all about that summer trip over the 
 Dawson Route. 
 
 As misapprehension exists with regard to the past 
 expenditure on the Dawson Route, much being, in Parlia- 
 ment and elsewhere, charged to management, which be- 
 longed to the account for construction, building of boats, 
 gr?.tuities paid to Indians, losses by the Red River insur- 
 rection^ and conveyance of troops and police, we will here 
 give a synopsis of the figures relating to the period when 
 Mr. Dawson was Superintendent, which is as follows : — 
 
 18<)7-8 
 
 18(38-9 .... 
 
 1869-70 
 
 1870-1 
 
 1871-2 
 
 1872-3 
 
 1873-4 
 
 Outstanding, including estimated cost 
 of works in progress 
 
 Total expenditure 
 
 Total 
 Expenditure. 
 
 S cts. 
 1,000 00 
 19,113 1.? 
 161,125 34 
 160,423 40 
 305,577 84 
 259,803 27 
 242,844 85 
 
 1,149,887 82 
 145,000 00 
 
 1,294,887 82 
 
 Total 
 
 I iVENUE. 
 
 $ cts. 
 
 60,705 06 
 46,178 44 
 12,492 00 
 
 108,239 88 
 
 233,615 38 
 

 !*, 
 
 > 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 ; 
 
 ■a 
 
 132 THE PBAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 Gross expenditure $1,294,887 82 
 
 Off working expenses 496,074 85 
 
 Expended on construction, plant, building, &c $798 ,812 97 
 
 Working expenses $496,074 85 
 
 Revenue paid and accounts accrued 233,615 38 
 
 Actual cost of working expenses over returns for above period $282,459 47 
 
 Take the year ending with June, 1873, and the official 
 returns show that the above sum of $259,803 was made 
 up of and chargeable to three accounts, thus : — 
 
 Construction of Route $113,06G 00 
 
 Fort Garry Road 32,000 00 
 
 Staff and maintenance 114,637 00 
 
 Total spent in 1872-3 $259,803 00 
 
 Let us look on our maps, and we will see, parallel to 
 this route, the great railway from Duluth, westward, to 
 Red River, over which now passes practically all the 
 traffic of our North- West. It was begun at about the 
 same time as our Dawson road, but 8,000 men were put 
 to work upon it, whereas 300 men only worked on our 
 lino, and they for very broken and liniifced periods. 
 
 Any account of the projected routss for the through 
 transit of this region would be very defective, if it did 
 not refer to the more southern railway route proposed by 
 various engineers, and notably by the gentleman from whom 
 the '* Dawson Route " took its name — Mr, Simon J. Daw- 
 son, civil engineer, and now member of the Legislature 
 of Ontario for the Algoma District. He led the explor- 
 ing expedition, of which Professor Hind was a member. 
 
 •^-*i'ft.. 
 
RAILWAY LINE PROPOSED EY MR. DAWSON. 
 
 133 
 
 in 1857; and in 1870 had charge of the 700 men 
 voyageura, boatmen, raftsmen, teamsters, whites, red men 
 and half-breeds, forming the pioneers and working force 
 that accompanied the Uttle army. The course suggested 
 by him is shown on our chart. 
 
 The more northerly line cannot be considered as so 
 definitely determined on, that some deviation may not be 
 made in its course before its main construction is pro- 
 ceeded with. It will be noticed that Mr. Dawson's line 
 uses the Narrows of the Lake of the Woods, at a place 
 about two miles north of the American boundary, in 
 preference to Rat Portage. The numerous islands in the 
 channel render bridge construction at the Narrows, in 
 Mr. Dawson's view, a matter of but little difficulty, and the 
 rocky land on either side of Rat Portage, with much 
 necessary tunnelling and blasting, would be avoided. 
 
 In an able report on " The Shortest Route for a Rail- 
 way between Lake Superior and Fort Garry," dated 22nd 
 December, 1873, and which Mr. Dawson still refers to 
 with confidence, he states that from Thunder Bay to 
 Sturgeon Falls on the Seine River, a distance of about 
 IGO miles, the ground is in some parts rather broken, but 
 that from reports of surveyors, he is warranted in saying 
 that it is quite practicable, and that he has himself been 
 over a great part of it. Mr. Dawson says that the line 
 referred to should have the preference if, as he thinks 
 will be the case, it be found practicable, and among the 
 advantages to be probably obtained in adopting this route 
 he enumerates the following : — 
 
■t':\ 
 
 134 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 li:!^ 
 
 I I 
 
 hi ■ f 
 
 is 
 
 ** 1st. It would be the shortest which could be adopted between 
 Lake Superior and Fort Garry. 
 
 '* 2nd. It would be further south, on a lower lev^el and, conse- 
 quently, in a better climate than any other line which could be 
 projected, within British territory, between the same points. 
 
 " 3rd, It would lead to the development of a country rich in timber, 
 having valuable minerals and, in some parts, presenting fine agri- 
 cultural land, and thus create a local traffic, which it would be 
 needless to look for in lines further to the north. 
 
 "4th. At some points, it would touch on and for a great part of 
 the way be contiguous to navigable waters which would render a 
 wide extent of country tributary to its trafl&c. 
 
 " 5th. It would be easy of construction, inasmuch as the present 
 line of communication would afibrd the means of carrying men, 
 supplies and materials to various points, thus admitting of work 
 being carried on simultaneously, at moderate intervals of distance 
 throughout its whole extent. 
 
 '* 6th. Every link of it would become available and yield a re- 
 turn, as made. Thus, when Shebandowan was reached, on the one 
 side, and the Lake of the Woods on the other, the expense at 
 present involved in maintaining teams of horses, for transportation, 
 would be done away with. Fort Garry would at once become easy 
 of access, and the traflfic would rapidly increase as the road was 
 extended. 
 
 " 7th. It might be made to form a portion of the Great Pacific 
 road, by being extended to Nipigon Bay and the eastward, and, 
 even between Nipigon Bay and Fort Garry it would still, I am 
 warranted in believing, be the shortest practicable route. 
 
 "Moreover, it should not be lost sight of that, in bringing the 
 main Pacific line by the route indicated, the expense of a branch 
 would be altogether avoided. 
 
 " 8th. In the summer season, the shortest line between Fort 
 Garry and Lake Superior, other circumstances being equal, would 
 command the traffic of the West. Now, a line from Thunder Bay 
 
 
ADVANTAGES OF A MORE SOUTHERN LOCATION 135 
 
 to Fort Garry, by the route suggested, would be 375 miles in 
 length, or to make full allowance for deviations, say 390 miles. 
 This would on the one hand be shorter, by about fifty miles, than 
 a line from Nipigon Bay, and on the other nearly, if not quite, a 
 hundred miles shorter than the route by the Northern Pacific and 
 projected Pembina line. In fact, as regards Fort Garry, the Thun- 
 der Bay line w^ould have an advantage of 300 miles over the route 
 by Duluth. That is, taking Thunder Bay as the starting point, to 
 go by water to Duluth 200 miles, and thence by rail to Fort Garry 
 500 miles, would be 700 miles as against 390 miles by the route 
 under consideration. 
 
 " But other circumstances would not be equal, for there is a tract 
 of navigable waters on the Thunder Bay route which, when heavy 
 and bulky articles of agricultural produce come to be carried, can- 
 not be left out of consideration, and I do not hesitate to say that, 
 if a railroad is run from Lake Superior to the North- West Terri- 
 tories, at a distance from and in a way to ignore these navigable 
 waters, the day will come when the error will be seen and felt. 
 
 " Apart from the comparative advantages arising from a saving 
 in distance, probable easier grades, a lower general level, a better 
 climate and a region in which are mines, forests of valuable timber 
 and areas of agricultural land to be developed, there are others of 
 scarcely less importance ; and among these, I would call attention 
 to the excellence of Thunder Bay as a harbour. Well sheltered on 
 all sides, it is at the same time easy of access to sailing vessels, as 
 well as steamers. It opens early in spring, as compared to most of 
 the other ports on Lake Superior, and, in the fall, never freezes to 
 an extent to impede navigation, till the middle of December. 
 
 " Last spring was unusually late, but Thunder Bay was open on 
 the 9th May, while Duluth was blocked with ice for a fortnight 
 longer, and Nipigon Bay did not open till the 23rd of May." 
 
136 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 ( 
 
 "A 
 
 
 If 
 
 1 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 111 
 
 I 
 
 i3 -I 
 
 II ! 
 
 i I :'-.-i*ki I ' 
 
 PROGRESS OF THE RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION. 
 
 The line of this railway from Fort William towards 
 Lake Shebandowan, for a distance of twenty-two miles, 
 and at the Red River end, eastward from Selkirk to Cross 
 Lake, twenty -five miles, has been graded and made ready 
 for the rails, and so the matter of actual construction 
 rests, at the beginning of the season of 1870. As the road 
 will not follow the windings of lakes and rivers, but run 
 north of the " Dawson Route," its length from Red Rive^' 
 to Fort William is estimated at but 414 miles. The tele- 
 graph line has already been erected all this distance and 
 still farther westward 500 miles past Fort Pelly or Living- 
 stone to Battle River, or, following the curves of the pro- 
 posed railway track, nearly 700 miles from Selkirk. The 
 first telegram from \^hat far-off station was received at 
 Winnipeg on the sixth of April, 1876. The telegraph 
 will so follow the surveyor and precede the laying of the 
 iron. 
 
 Connection through the " Narrows " of Lake Manitoba 
 with the interior water system and summer communica- 
 tion on it by steamers, would fully meet the require nents 
 of the case for many a day, so far as the Red River 
 country is concerned. Companies of surveyors locating 
 the road bed at various points between Fort Pelly and 
 Nipissing give gratifying reports that the engineering 
 difficulties in construction will be much less than antici- 
 pated. Forty mile stretches on either side the Winnipeg 
 River unfortunately offer great difficulties, and render 
 progress there slow. It may possibly, on this account, be 
 
PROGRESS OF THE C. P. RAILWAY. 
 
 137 
 
 yet deemed advisable to swerve southerly from the line 
 between Rat Portage and Selkirk, as laid down on our 
 map, and strike the Pembina branch nearer Winnipeg. 
 However delayed may be the route westerly from Mani- 
 toba through the passes of the Rocky Mountains, yet a 
 continuous steam route through British territory to Red 
 River should be practicable before the end of this decade. 
 The Linited States have mainly grown for many years 
 through railway enterprise opening up their western lands. 
 But foreign capital and imported muscle built most of their 
 railways. The Canada Pacific Road is destined to pass 
 through a region unsurpassed for fertility, and by a route 
 of more than two days travel from ocean to ocean shorter 
 than any other to the Pacific. Much of the young Cana- 
 dian population has for the last ten years or more been 
 lured over the Border, and may be found in Michigan, 
 Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Colorado, Kansas and Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 Our prairie land was locked up by the Hudson's Bay 
 Company ; now, r»,s we see, it is admitted to be the best 
 of all. Open it to the world by steam communication over 
 our own soil, and let our countrymen know that they can 
 carry their grain to Fort William steamers at moderate cost, 
 and they, and many Americans with them, will swarm 
 over and soon fill up the Prairie Province. They will be 
 but the more patriotic after experiencing the " new civili- 
 zation" of the Western States, with trials by Judge 
 Lynch, the sad and ill eflfect of American-Indian treat- 
 
 \ f 
 
r%- 
 
 138 
 
 THE T'VIAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 Nf 
 
 m 
 
 ' 1 
 
 \ ■ 
 
 1 
 
 ^ i 
 
 14 
 
 \A 
 
 I 
 
 ment and more " politics to the acre " than are for the 
 good of any country. 
 
 It is estimated that the amount of money brought 
 into Canada by immigrants during the year 1875 was 
 $906,000, and the amount of settlers' effects entered 
 $433,000, making a total of $1,339,000; but, of course, 
 the amounts not reported would very considerably 
 swell this sum. Of the whole amount $380,000 was 
 brought in by the Mennonites. It cannot be denied that 
 true economy would advise a generous expenditure to 
 prepare '"^e country for the reception of such additions to 
 its inhabitants. 
 
 The British Commissioners of Emigration, in 1871, re- 
 ported that " Canada can not absorb more than between 
 30,000 and 40,000 emigrants a year, and the excess be- 
 yond that number can obtain employment only in the 
 labour market of the United States." 
 
 It appears from the admissions of their most reliable 
 men that emigrants can no longer obtain good wheat 
 lands in the Western States at first cost, certainly none so 
 good as in our great Fertile Belt. It is in the interests 
 alike of the Mother Countrv and of the older Provinces 
 to guide their surplus population to these possessions, 
 which only need to be made known to be appreciated, 
 and strong arms to develop their riches. With steam 
 communication, the land would at once rise in value, and 
 all near railroads would be eagerly sought for. Thus a 
 great part of the cost of construction would be made by 
 sale of the large reserves which the Dominion Govern- 
 
 
 I 
 c 
 f 
 f 
 I 
 t 
 c 
 
 r 
 
PROGRESS OF THE C. P. RAILWAY. 
 
 139 
 
 ment hold. In parts of Ohio, where wheat brings ninety 
 cents per bushel, unimproved land sells, as we learn, at 
 from $30 to $50 per acre. In Iowa, where wheat was but 
 fifty cents per bushel, such lands of equal fertility can be 
 bought for one-sixth of the price paid in Ohio. Elsewhere 
 the result has been much the same as to all lands worth 
 cultivating, when traversed and opened to market by rail- 
 ways. What cause for doubt then can there be as to the 
 rich river valleys of our Fertile Belt ? 
 
ff 
 
 il. 
 
 \t 
 
 I' I 
 
 W'} 
 
 iiiii Ni 
 
 i 
 
 !' 
 
 ■^i 
 
 1 
 
 
 1^ 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 MANUFACTUHES, LABOUR, TRADK AND MARKETS — LUMBER MILLS — 
 " KITTSON " LINE — AMERICAN VIEW — IMPORTS FOR 1874 — DITTO 
 TO JULY, 1875 — PRICES CURRENT — TRADE OF WINNIPEG WITH 
 nor'- WEST — PROSPECTS — COAL, MINERALS — FISH AND GAME — 
 TIMBER AND FRUIT TREES— VARIOUS INDUSTRIES — OUTFIT OF 
 SETTLER. 
 
 There are several steam flour mills in the neighbour- 
 hood of Winnipeg, and within its limits, one woollen 
 factory, three saw mills, and two sash and planing 
 factories. The most extensive of the lumber establish- 
 ments are those of Messrs. McCaulay & Jarvis, which 
 were at work day and night and capable of turning out 
 50,000 feet in the twenty-four hours. This firm has two 
 mills — the saw-mill supplied with logs floated down the 
 Red River many a mile. Two circular saws are in con- 
 stant operation here, driven by a Waterous engine of fifty 
 horse-power. Near the saw mill is the sash, shingle, and 
 picket factory, driven by a Minneapolis engine of fifty 
 horse power. The yards are piled high with cut lumber 
 of all dimensions, and there will be no scarcity of 
 building material. The fires are fed entirely with 
 saw-dust, carried, as it falls, to the furnaces by an 
 endless chain The mill and factory give employment 
 to nearly one hundred men ; the pay is from S3 to 
 $1 50 a day. The produce sells in the mill yards at the 
 
 
MANUFACTURES ; KITTSON MONOPOLY. 
 
 141 
 
 ^ i 
 
 rates given in the price list copied below. The raw ma- 
 terial used is brought a long way on rafts, and is mostly 
 from Minnesota forests, but some of it comes, by tbe Ho- 
 seau and Red rivers, from the Lake of the Woods region. 
 The greater part of these pine lands is owned or controlled 
 by an American company witb whom McCauley & Jarvis 
 have made arrangements, under which, they assert, that 
 they can for ten years yet hold a monopoly of this most 
 profitable business. Logs of clear otutf cost them about 
 SI 2 per M. feet. It was late iu the season of 1875 before 
 a supply of logs could be got in, but by dint of employing 
 a large force and running the saws night and day, tlie 
 mills succeeded in turning out the astonishing quantity 
 of 3,340,000 feet of lumber during the summer, The run- 
 ning expenses of the concern averaged about $1,500 week- 
 ly. During the winter the firm's lumbermen were get- 
 ting out five million feet of logs, of which one-fifth would 
 be from the region of South-east Manitoba, the remainder 
 from Minnesota. 
 
 There seems ample room for investment in manufac- 
 tures of furniture, which is imported from the States, 
 Ohio especially. When, too, we see the boats and scows 
 of the Kittson line of steamers, which has, by recent 
 arrangement, swallowed the " Merchants' line," their late 
 rivals, and so again practically monopolized the carrying 
 trade, loaded down with wares and products, carried often 
 two thousand miles before reaching their destination, we 
 feel convinced that capitalists will find in this growing city 
 and rapidly filling Province, most profitable means of in- 
 
 
 f • 
 
142 
 
 THE PHAIUIK I'UOVINX'K. 
 
 i 'H 
 
 ff 
 
 
 vestment in nianutactures of many kinds. The " Kittson 
 line," or Red River Transportation Company, has for stock- 
 holders Hudson's Bay officials and St. Paul merchants. 
 They have been accustomed to charge such freights as 
 that one trip at high water repaid to the Company the 
 whole cost of the vessel. Until railway communication 
 comes to its relief, the Red River region will thxis be 
 held like the cow in the story, the adventurers of England 
 at one end, Kittson, Sibley & Co. at the other, and the 
 restive creature will be milked between them. 
 
 [;M 
 
 
 I I 
 
 h :^ 
 
 AN AMERICAN VIEW OP RED RIVER TRADE. 
 
 It is not to be wondered at that our wide awake neigh- 
 bours comment on the growing importance of the Nor'- 
 west trade, with interest scarcely less than our own. To 
 illustrate this we refer to a late issue of the St. Paul 
 Press, which, after giving certain details from the cus- 
 toms returns, continues thus : — 
 
 " We have frequently had occasion to refer to the mag- 
 nitude of trade between Manitoba and Minnesota, of which 
 ample evidence is afforded by the statistics of navigation 
 of the Red River of the North. The goods represented 
 by these sums were transported on Minnesota railroads 
 and on Minnesota steamers to their place of destination, 
 as were also nearly all immigrants to Manitoba, besides 
 the products of that country seeking market here and 
 abroad, and also travellers therefrom. The aggregate, 
 therefore, of benefit derived by Minnesota from inter- 
 course with Manitoba cannot easily be estimated." 
 
 Ml! ii 
 
 -V- 
 
IMPORTS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 14:i 
 
 The following is, for the Province, a statement of i\w 
 value of imports, duty collected, kc, during the fiscal 
 year ending 3()th Juno, 1874: 
 
 IMPORTH. 
 
 M 
 
 TOTAL 
 VALIK. 
 
 GREAT 
 BRITAIN. 
 
 H 
 
 '■J 
 
 2 
 
 i 
 i 
 
 »3 
 =: H 
 
 8 
 
 o a 
 
 X 
 
 •< 
 
 Dutiable (loodu $ 
 
 Free Ouoils 
 
 1,472,220 
 381,130 
 
 875,708 
 148,012 
 
 554,100 
 227,171 
 
 1,852 
 5,36(t 
 
 7,208 
 
 2,287 
 2,287 
 
 38,267 
 38,207 
 
 07,471 07 
 
 
 
 Total 9 
 
 1,853,660 
 
 1,024,020 
 
 781.277 
 
 07,471 07 
 
 More recent reports of the customs of the port of Win- 
 nipeg for the year ending June 30, 1 875, show that the 
 total imports at that port for the year amounted to $1,243,- 
 309, of which the United States, principally Minnesota, 
 furnished 1781,323, and Great Britain, $457,449. Th*^ 
 amount of duties collected at Winnipeg for the same per- 
 iod was $172,600. In addition to the goods which y vMed 
 these duties, Manitoba merchants also imported from 
 Ontario and Quebec,during the fiscal year, goods on which 
 duty had been paid to the amount of $180,000. During 
 last season a party with outfit goods and provisions, in 
 charge of Mr. 0. E. Hughes, of Kew, Stobart &; Co., Win- 
 nipeg, went with boats by Lake Winnipeg, to open direct 
 trade between Winnipeg and the Far West. 
 
 We since learn that Mr. Hughes has succeeded in es- 
 tablishing a trading post at Cross Lake, one hundred 
 miles north-west of Norway House, and about five hundred 
 miles from Winnipeg, where he is doing a large and in- 
 creasing business. 
 
r 
 
 
 ,1 
 
 ',V ■ 
 
 i:^, 
 
 ,1 , 
 
 
 
 .1 
 
 1 
 
 ■ 1 ■; 
 
 \"- 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 1- : 
 
 i 
 
 
 r 
 
 !: 
 
 -1 
 
 
 
 144 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 Mr. J. J.Healy, an extensive trader of the Bow and Belly 
 Rivers region, the last stronghold of the buffalo, visited 
 Winnipeg in the autumn of 1875 for the purpose of open- 
 ing direct trade. He sent 2,500 buffalo robes that season 
 to Montreal in bond, via Benton and the United States 
 railroads, and stated that 100,000 robes were exported 
 from the Bow River country in 1874. 
 
 There is an immense business done in his region hy 
 traders — mjstly Americans. Mr. Healy estimated it at 
 one million of dollars annually. The natural outlet for 
 this is through the Red River valley. 
 
 Other extensive traders are making arrangements to 
 bring their furs from this region to the Winnipeg market. 
 We learn from a late number of the Free Press, " that the 
 competition will, it is likely, be unusually sharp, as some 
 large Montreal and Toronto buyers, who have never been 
 here, contemplate coming this year. The stock of goods 
 held by the merchants for this particular trade will not 
 be less than before, and is likely to be increased by the 
 addition of at least one more dealer who has bought 
 heavily for this trade. Few have any idea of the vast- 
 ness of this interest and the amount of money expended 
 here for furs ; but some idea may be had from the fact 
 that the entries of fur exports at this port alone amounted 
 for the year ending June, 1875, to $588,958, a respectable 
 offset to our imports of about $2,000,000 in the case of a 
 new country." 
 
 The follov/ing is the price list of the Winnipeg markets, 
 in September, 1875 : — 
 
 '^Mk. 
 
WINNIPEG PRICES CURRENT. 
 
 145 
 
 Wheat, per bushel 81 
 
 Barley, none, worth 
 
 Flour, per cwt 2 
 
 Pollard, " 1 
 
 Bran, " 1 
 
 New Potatoes, per bushel 
 
 Onions, " 2 
 
 Beef, per lb 
 
 Mutton, " 
 
 Veal, " 
 
 Pork, " 
 
 Sausage " 
 
 Chickens, each 
 
 Turkeys, per lb 
 
 Beans, per bushel 8 
 
 Bacon, per lb 
 
 Shoulders, " 
 
 Ham, " 
 
 Pork, per barrel 25 
 
 Eggs, per dozen... 
 
 Butter (fresh), per lb 
 
 '' (salt— imported) per lb 
 
 Cheese, (imported) " 
 
 " (home-made) N 
 
 Pemmican, per lb 
 
 Buffalo tongues, each 
 
 DriedMeat, perlb 
 
 Salt, per barrel 1 
 
 Mutton tongues, per dozen 1 
 
 White Fish, each 
 
 Mackerel, perlb 
 
 Salmon, " 
 
 LakeSuperior Trout 
 
 Herring, per cwt 6 
 
 Apples (green), per barrel <» 
 
 " (dried), per lb 
 
 Peas, split 
 
 Smoked Venison 
 
 00 
 
 @ 
 
 SI 25 
 
 85 
 
 (( 
 
 1 00 
 
 50 
 
 (( 
 
 3 75 
 
 50 
 
 :( 
 
 2 00 
 
 50 
 
 (i 
 
 2 00 
 
 00 
 
 a 
 
 1 00 
 
 00 
 
 iC 
 
 2 50 
 
 09 
 
 (( 
 
 18 
 
 10 
 
 (' 
 
 20 
 
 12 
 
 (( 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 (( 
 
 18 
 
 16 
 
 (( 
 
 25 
 
 16 
 
 iC 
 
 20 
 
 00 
 
 <( 
 
 16 
 
 25 
 
 a 
 
 ;i 50 
 
 15 
 
 i i 
 
 18 
 
 m 
 
 a 
 
 10 
 
 18 
 
 a 
 
 20 
 
 00 
 
 i b 
 
 30 00 
 
 2:. 
 
 n 
 
 30 
 
 25 
 
 <( 
 
 30 
 
 80 
 
 C( 
 
 40 
 
 00 
 
 (( 
 
 20 
 
 one. 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 i( 
 
 00 
 
 50 
 
 l( 
 
 00 
 
 15 
 
 a 
 
 00 
 
 50 
 
 i I 
 
 00 
 
 00 
 
 (( 
 
 00 
 
 08 
 
 (( 
 
 00 
 
 10 
 
 t( 
 
 I2h 
 
 15 
 
 (( 
 
 00 
 
 08A 
 
 ii 
 
 00 
 
 50 
 
 (I 
 
 8 00 
 
 00 
 
 <• 
 
 8 00 
 
 12i 
 
 n 
 
 20 
 
 15 
 
 i i 
 
 00 
 
 00 
 
 li 
 
 20 
 
Mill 
 
 I'^infi 
 
 146 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 Wood, per cord 32 50 (5). 4 50 
 
 Hay, perton 8 00 "10 00 
 
 Buffalo Ptobes, (prime winter) 7 50 "15 00 
 
 Buff alo Leather, per skin 2 'iO "3 00 
 
 MooseLeather, " 6 00 " 7 00 
 
 Deerskin. " 5 00 " 00 
 
 Sinews, each 12^ " 00 
 
 Beaver's Tails, each 100 " 00 
 
 We take these autumn prices as being the average for 
 
 the year, but as spring came on some articles advanced, 
 especially ^heat, which was quoted in March at $1 75c. 
 to $2 25c. per bushel. 
 
 LUMBER MARKET. 
 
 Common lumber • $25 00 
 
 Select 30 00 
 
 Stock 12 to 14 inches 28 00 
 
 Dimension lumber 12 to 20 feet 25 00 
 
 No. 1 fencing, 6-inch , 30 00 
 
 No. 2 do 25 00 
 
 No. 1 clear 55 00 
 
 No. 2 do 40 00 
 
 No. 1 flooring 45 00 
 
 No. 2 do 40 00 
 
 Square pickets 30 00 
 
 Flat do 25 00 
 
 Lath per thousand 5 00 
 
 Shingle double XX 6 00 
 
 Shinglex 5 00 
 
 A shingle 4 00 
 
 These were the net cash prices. 
 
 FUR MARKET IN DECEMBER, 1875. 
 
 Beaver, per lb. $1 00 to 2 50* 
 
 Bear, per skin 2 00 12 00 
 
 Fisher 5 00 9 50. 
 
 IS| ^i 
 
 .,J 
 
FUR MARKET; WAGES. 147 
 
 Lynx $1 00 to 3 00 
 
 Marten 1 50 6 50 
 
 Mink 1 00 2 75 
 
 Otter 6 00 10 00 
 
 Skunk 40 75 
 
 Wolverine 2 00 3 00 
 
 Redfox 1 00 1 50 
 
 Crossfox 1 50 8 00 
 
 Silverfox 25 00 75 00 
 
 Muskrat 12 22 
 
 Wolf 1 00 3 00 
 
 As to workingmen's wages — Mr. H. Linton, superin- 
 tendent of roads, has twenty men under him ; the best 
 get $2 a day, and so down to $1.70 ; man and team get 
 $5 a day. Living is so dear, he considers ^2 here not 
 better than $1.50 in Toronto. Common board and lodg- 
 ing cost $5 a week. Domestic service is also well paid 
 for, at $10 to $16 per month in private families, and still 
 more in the hotels. 
 
 There is a good demand for money, which can be in- 
 vested, on excellent real estate security, at 12 per cent, 
 per annum. More enterprising capitalists will find ample 
 scope in the timber regions surrounding the Roseau and 
 Winnipeg Rivers and Lake of the Woods. This lake 
 discharges its waters by the Winnipeg River, which will 
 afford numerous and ample water powers ; the vertical 
 descent from lake to lake being three hundred feet. 
 
 The Indians and traders now look to Winnipeg and 
 the Hudson's Bay forts for their market and supplies. 
 Let companies of agriculturists and traders occupy con- 
 venient positions in the interior, and they will find ample 
 
148 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 i , 
 
 ' 
 
 1 
 
 11 
 
 
 1 
 
 II 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 [ii: li 
 
 demand for all their flour and like produce, receiving 
 furs in exchange, and thus the difficulty raised, as to 
 the expense of shipment, will be obviated. Lands 
 of some thousands of half-breeds will soon be in the 
 market at low figures, as many of this class will not settle 
 down, the lands reserved at present for them must be 
 thrown open. We only thus glance at this land question 
 as one of interest, and refer to the means that far-seeing 
 and energetic persons with some capital and united eftbrt 
 are beginning to use, at once to increase their fortunes and 
 open up the vast resources of these fertile plains. 
 
 The carrying trade of the city from the States and 
 Provinces to the south and east is in the hands of the 
 company mentioned, who have steamers and many scows 
 which they tug; but we learn that three or more steamers 
 are being constructed by private enterprise for the Red 
 River grain trade and will be launched soon. The " Kitt- 
 son Line " managers are alert and determined to hold to 
 their monopoly, and will therefore probably buy up these 
 yf els as they have those of other rivals. 
 
 r. Schultz has a small steamer that plies in the rivers. 
 '^( internal trade and navigation a good steamer was 
 in 1875 put on Lake Winnipeg. Lakes Manitoba and 
 Winnipegosis will also be navigated by vessels of light 
 draught. The steamers Colville and Northcote will con- 
 tinue to ply on Lake Winnipeg and the Saskatchewan. 
 The extent of the water system immediately available 
 is marvellous. Some obstructions in the Red River, 
 between Winnipeg and the lake, impede navigation when 
 
 •' w 
 
EXTENT OF NAVIGABLE WATERS. 
 
 149 
 
 the water is low, but can be removed at trifling expense, 
 and we will then hear, as a common occurrence, of steamers 
 floating from above Edmonton down the Saskatchewan 
 to the northern end of Lake Winnipeg, which they will 
 enter at a distance of 300 miles from the mouth of Red 
 River, then coasting by the Icelandic and other settle- 
 ments along the lake shores, entering the Red River 
 laden with grain and all other produce of the farm, with 
 salt, coal, kerosene and various minerals from the teem- 
 ing Nor' -West, and with fish from the lakes, passing the 
 bridges of the great Canada Pacific Railway, reaching the 
 Lower and Upper Fort, and so on to the American 
 Northern Pacific Railroad at Fargo ; or the course may 
 be turned westerly after passing Fort Garry. The Assi- 
 niboine may, and will no doubt ultimately, he opened to 
 the Pembina mountains and Souris valley regions, a dis- 
 tance of 250 miles to the west. 
 
 If the proposed canal be constructed, the water of Lake 
 Manitoba will be raised and made more serviceable for 
 trading purposes than it now is, and a further extensive 
 and valuable water stretch, through that lake and Win- 
 nepegosis, will be made available. 
 
 While Winnipeg will probably retain the pre-eminence, 
 many another town will spring up along the course of 
 stream and lake and add to or take from the cargo as 
 the vessels pass. 
 
 VARIOUS INDUSTRIES. 
 
 In addition to the cultivation of grain, referred to else- 
 j 
 
150 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 
 k 
 
 j 
 
 
 l'^' 
 
 Mil 
 
 w 
 
 where, the farmer will find Manitoba unsurpassed as a 
 grazing country. Horses, cattle and sheep flourish and 
 increase abundantly. Excellent horses and graded bulls 
 were long since introduced. High stepping steeds and 
 fat cattle may be seen on all sides, and are held at high 
 figures. Sheep were introduced fort}'^ years ago, and are 
 not subject to the rot and other diseases of warmer cli- 
 mates. Mr. Thos. Spetice says in his pamphlet on Mani- 
 toba (page 30) : " Beyond all question, wool would be the 
 best crop to raise for some time to come, for exporta- 
 tion, as the freight on two hundred dollars worth oi wool 
 will not be worth more than on five dollars worth of 
 wheat. 
 
 TIMBER AND FRUIT TREES. 
 
 Many are starting orchards and have satisfactory suc- 
 cess with the plum and such smaller fruit, which is in- 
 digenous ; with the apple only partial success is yet 
 reported, as stated elsewhere. No special inducement 
 to plant forest trees, such as has been tried in some of 
 the prairie States, has yet been offered to settlers, a rea- 
 sonable supply of timber for the purposes of settlement 
 having been so far found available in Manitoba. 
 
 The Minister of the Interior has, however, announced 
 that a scheme to induce the planting of prairie land with 
 trees will be immediately adopted, and cuttings of trees 
 suited to the country furnished to settlers at cost through 
 the Government land agencies. It is to be hoped that 
 this will be generally taken advantage of, and that an 
 
 1 
 ' 
 
 { '^'^ 
 
FOREST CULTURE. 
 
 151 
 
 amelioration of the climate will so result, as has been the 
 case most markedly in formerly exposed lands in the 
 Western States after being so protected by wind-breaks. 
 Our Government will, to a great extent, in encouraging 
 this culture, follow the example set in the United States. 
 The lav/ there provides that the settlers may 
 
 1. Enter public land up to the extent of IGO anres for 
 timber culture. 
 
 2. He must break and plant one-quarter of the land 
 entered. 
 
 3. One-fourth of this area must be planted within two 
 years, one-fourth more within three years, and the re- 
 maining half within four years from the date of entry. 
 
 4. The trees must be not less than twelve feet apart 
 each way, and must be kept in a healthy and growing 
 state for eight years next succeeding the date of entry ; 
 and on the above conditions being fulfilled, the person 
 will be entitled to a patent. 
 
 The State of Minnesota has also passed a law to en- 
 courage this industry. 
 
 From an essay lately published by the Hon. L. B. 
 Hodges, Superintendent of tree planting on the St. Paul 
 and Pacific Line of Railway, it is ascertained that in 
 Minnesota alone, up to the middle of January last, the 
 enormous area of 170,307 acres had been entered under 
 the Acts encouraging tree planting ; and that the success 
 attending the operations so far had satisfactorily proved 
 that this new industry, if prudently and patiently fol- 
 lowed up, is even a surer source of wealth than wheat 
 
 '4 V 
 
152 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 % 
 
 if i' 
 
 I llj'l 
 
 Ml 
 
 \i 
 
 I Ml 
 
 growing, and without the additional expense and anxiety 
 connected with the latter. 
 
 Surveyor-Generaj Dennis, in lately laying a scheme for 
 encouraging forest culture before the Minister of the In- 
 terior, quotes from the above mentioned essay, thus : 
 
 Mr. Hou,; es i>- jvit that in Minnesota forest trees pro- 
 perly cared fo*\ Mt an expense in all not exceeding live 
 cents per tree, iiave ^ ^en known to turn out one cord of 
 wood per tree within sixteen years from the planting. 
 He mentions instances of cottonwood, in Minnesota, of 
 seventeen years' growth, from fifty to sixty feet in height 
 and sixty to eighty inches in circumference. 
 
 The most desirable varieties for propagation, as proved 
 in Minnesota, are the white willow, the cottonwood, Lom- 
 bardy poplar, box elder and balm of Gilead. Of these, 
 the cottonwood is the most valuable, being very hardy 
 and of wonderfully rapid growth. 
 
 To the various trees for culture mentioned above, 
 should be added, says the worthy Surveyor-General, the 
 following varieties indigenous to the Province, that is to 
 say : the poplar, aspen, ash-leaved maple and elm, the 
 rapid growth of which, under ordinary circumstances, 
 proves that they would abundantly repay for cultivation. 
 
 Mr. Hodges asserts as undoubted facts : 
 
 1. That, at a trifling expense, the stockyard and build- 
 ings on the bleakest prairie homestead may be surrounded 
 within five years by a belt of trees, forming a wind-break, 
 affording an effectual protection. 
 
 2. That a grove of trees can be grown as surely as a 
 
 iii' 
 
 ^M,., 
 
TREES ; COAL ; MINERALS. 
 
 153 
 
 crop of corn, and with far less expense in proportion ♦^.o 
 its value. 
 
 3. That ten acres properly planted to timber, and ^ o- 
 perly cultivated, will, in five years, supply fuel in abun- 
 dance for a family, and also fencing for a farm of one 
 hundred acres. 
 
 4. That apparently worthless prairie lands can, by 
 the planting and cultivation of timber thereon, be sold 
 for .f 100 per acre within twenty y ■*..- 
 
 5. That the net profits of lanc^ p" o>erly planted and 
 cultivated with trees will, with' " te "? years, realize at the 
 rate often to one as compared wit:, the profits attending 
 the raising of wheat. 
 
 Other propositions, even more forcible than those above, 
 are put forth in the essay mentioned, and the author 
 states his ability to prove all he alleges. 
 
 It is hoped that Manitoba settlers will follow the ex- 
 ample set them in Minnesota. 
 
 COAL, MINERALS AND FISH. 
 
 The valuable region north of the Red River has yet to 
 be fully made known. That it will be found replete with 
 mineral and other wealth there is no doubt. Hon. Dr. 
 Schultz, in moving, in the House of Commons, on 22ud 
 March, 1876, for Returns of imports and exports through 
 posts on Hudson and James Bays, speaks of the present 
 and possible trade of thkt country as follows — (Page 773, 
 Hansard Reports) : — " There is in these bays themselves 
 and on their shores the possibility of .i great trade for 
 
 » ■ 
 
 ^1 
 
■« ' «mw>M I 
 
 L. • 
 
 154 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 
 .1 
 
 I 
 
 •i 
 
 ' i 
 
 "I 
 
 il!^ 
 
 Canada. From very credible sources he (Dr. Schultz) 
 learned that at Paint-Hills and on Paint Islands, in James 
 Bay, there is a vein of magnetic iron ore, which, when 
 examined by a [)ractical English miner in 1865, was pro- 
 nounced to be one of the largest and most valuable veins 
 of that mineral in existence. Graphite or plumbago, in a 
 very pure state, is also found at the same place. Galena 
 is very abundant along the east coast, and a quantity 
 sent to England was found, when assayed, to contain 80 
 per cent, of lead and 8 per cent, of silver. Coal is also 
 said to exist near the Little Whale River, and the Esqui- 
 maux report iron mines on the mainland near Hudson's 
 Straits. All this mineral wealth is especially valuable 
 because found on the shores and near the excellent har- 
 bours of these bays. There is also a very large fishing 
 interest in these regions. Immense numbers of white 
 porpoise or arctic whales annually visit the Hudson's and 
 James Bays, where they enter the rivers, and could in 
 these rivers, as well as on the shores of the Bay be profit- 
 ably fished. The Hudson's Bay Company, who carried on 
 business in two of these rivers, captured 7,749 of these 
 fish, which yielded 768 tons of oil, worth upwards of 
 £27,000 stg. in the London market. Porpoise skins are 
 also a valuable article of trade, a very superior sort of 
 leather being made from them. On the islands of the 
 bay, seals are to be found in great numbers, as well as the 
 walrus and the polar bear. Salmon are abundant in the 
 rivers, which drain the range known as the South Bel- 
 chers, and cod fish are also found about Hudson's Strait." 
 
GAME ; FISH ; SALT SPRINGS. 
 
 155 
 
 Game and fish aro abundant in the Province, and of 
 great vaiiety. The valuable resources of Lakes Winnipeg 
 and Manitoba will soon be developed by the hardy men 
 from Northern Europe and Iceland who have selected 
 their shores as their homes. Saline springs, producing 
 salt of excellent quality, are common near Lake Mani- 
 toba and elsewhere, and will be of much value, in a coun- 
 try in which the curing of meat will soon be an extensive 
 and lucrative business. The prairie will for many years 
 continue to be the home of feathered and other game in 
 great variety. We refer our readers to what has been, in 
 other parts of this narrative, stated as to the productive- 
 ness of the farther West and of the region north and east 
 of the present limits of Manitoba. 
 
 The immigrant is advised to come to Manitoba early in 
 the summer season, not later than in June, though much 
 of the land is locked up at present in reserves for In- 
 dians, half-breeds, railway construction, and for particu- 
 lar nationalities or companies whose agents have obtained 
 the right of selection of large adjacent tracts on condition 
 of speedy settlement, yet no one who desires to settle as 
 a farmer will find difficulty, for years to come, in obtaining 
 his farm of 160 acres. These reserves are shown on our 
 map. An office charge of $10 and three years' actual 
 residence, cultivation and improvement of a reasonable 
 part will be required, and then will be obtained a deed in 
 fee. A quarter section near by will, meantime, if he so 
 desire, be reserved with right to purchase at Government 
 upset price — now one dollar an acre. The planting of 
 
 I' i ' 
 
Ilil p 
 
 loG 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 i ' 
 
 i 
 t 
 
 v. 
 
 jji' 
 
 land successfully with trees will probably soon be con- 
 sidered equal to actual occupation for the purpose of secur- 
 ing a homestead, as stated, but the deed will not issue till 
 six yeard expire from the time of locating. To buy the 
 necessary outfit of a farmer, put up a log house and stable, 
 and lay in provisions till the home supply may be ex- 
 pected to come insufficiently, will require a sum variously 
 estimated at from six hundred to one thousand dollars. 
 For further particulars on this head, see the " Practical 
 Information," which concludes our last chapter. 
 
 
 Mil 
 
 ! ! 
 
 : i I 
 
 i •!! 
 
11 
 
 e, 
 
 ly 
 
 'S. 
 
 al 
 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE GRASSHOPPER PLA(;UE: ITS HISTORY AND INCIDENTS — i.uMKDIEH — 
 ILLUSTRATIONS — OPINIONS OF MESSRS, RILEY, TAYLOR, SPBNCER, 
 MACHAR, NIMM0N8 AND MENNONITES : HOW TREATED IN MINNE- 
 SOTA AND ELSEWHERE — PROSPECTS. 
 
 Everywhere wc saw traces and heard sad tales of the 
 grassho[>pers. Many of the farmers let their fields lie 
 waste rather than plant for them to eat as they had done 
 for two years. In the gardens of Government House and 
 of the Penitentiary, in the old fields at Kildonan and 
 along the banks of both rivers we saw the etfects ot' the 
 ravages. The garden of Deer Lodge was destroyed in a 
 few hours. Mr. McKay had the insects swept up and so 
 filled two bushel baskets. They were scalded in hot water 
 and fed to pigs. It is difficult to form an adequate idea 
 of the numbers that came down and devoured every i^reen 
 thing which they found. One calculating individual gives 
 the following account of his experience : — " When I saw 
 them travelling on the street I took occasion to count a 
 few of them, and found that there were at least twenty 
 to the square foot on an average. That would give sixteen 
 hundred and two millions to the square niilo. Now, allow- 
 ing that they were placed, one behind the obhei* in a row, 
 and each to occupy one inch of space (and allos^ ing that 
 at present they cover say twenty miles in width north 
 
 fir" 
 
 1 
 
atiiii 
 
 U -f 
 
 1 1 i 
 
 "1 
 
 ' if 
 
 158 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 and south, and one hundred miles east and west), there 
 would be twelve hundred and sixty-seven thousand three 
 hundred and sixty millions of hoppers in the Province ; 
 placed as aforesaid, they would encircle the earth seven 
 hundred and ninety-one times, and have one hundred and 
 eighty-two millions to spare ; or, in other words, they 
 would form a band around the earth sixty-six feet wide. 
 
 The insects which are found on this continent are of 
 three kinds : first is the Galoptenus Spretus, distinguished 
 by its length of wings, which extend, when closed, one- 
 third of their length beyond the tip of the abdomen ; 
 second, the Calojptenus fenior rubrum, or common red- 
 legged grassho))per, with shorter wings ; third, the Pacific 
 migratory locust, Oedipoda atrox, more than an inch in 
 length, with several roundish brown spots on back and 
 wings, and a dark fuscous spot behind the eye, which is 
 seldom seen on this side of the Pacific slope. Their 
 habits and the treatment required by each are the same. 
 The first mentioned species, the Spretus, or Hateful, 
 locust, is that which invades and devastates the prairies. 
 Their natural breeding ground is in the arid plains of 
 Colerado, U^ah, Idaho and Montana, to the south and 
 west of the Mississippi. They are generally, therefore, 
 called Rocky Mountain locusts. From its more northern 
 position, Manitoba is much less liable to their visitation 
 than regions farther South, in the United States' terri- 
 tories and the swivrms which, invade this Province are not 
 so dense or destructive. Much attention and learning has 
 of late years been bestowed on this subject in Minnesota 
 
r 
 
 e 
 
 e 
 
 f > 
 In 
 
 d 
 
 '. 
 
 THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN LOCUST. 
 
 159 
 
 and elsewhere in that part of our neighbours' territory 
 most subject to the pest. We are indebted to the labours 
 of Professor C. V. Riley, (State entomologist of Missouri) 
 and to a report lately published by the authorities of 
 Minnesota, for our illustrations and some of the remarks 
 exi)laining them.* 
 
 Here is the famous ras- 
 cal of life size, as he .'■ 
 resting himself after a loug 
 flight, or digesting the dinner of herbs to which he has so 
 unceremoniously helped himself Next we see three fe- 
 male locusts who have pierced nest holes in the surface of 
 the prairie, which they cover. 
 
 Rocky Molxtain Locaax : — a, a, a, female i» different positions, ovipositinj? ; b, 
 egff pod extracted from cfround with the end broken open, showing how the e!,^K« are 
 arranfred ; c, a few eK'!,'s lyin;^ loose on the <,'round ; d, e, shows the earth jiartially re- 
 moved to illustrate an et,'g:-mass already in place, and one being placed ; /, shows where 
 such a mass has been covered up. 
 
 * See Seventh Annual Report, lH7o, on the Noxious, Beneficial and other 
 Insects of the State of Missouri. By C. V.Riley. M.A., Ph. D. Pul)lishH.l 
 l)y Egan & Carter, Jeffei'sou City, Mi.ss(juri, U. S. 
 
100 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVT^X'E. 
 
 I ^1 
 
 There are usually from thirty to one hundred eo-o-s in 
 this mass. From these eggs the young locust emerges— 
 kicking off a thin white skin which enshrouds it— and the 
 larva is at once a locust. As it grows its skin distends 
 till it bursts, and the locust comes forth in a new trarment. 
 It is now called a pupa ; the knobs on its back gradually 
 grow into wingfc, when it is a full-armed locust. The fol- 
 lowing picture shows these several stages in the develop- 
 ment of the locust aftei" it leaves the ^gg : 
 
 How voraciously the3'oung 
 locust feeds ; and what a 
 destructive creature he is 
 before, as well as after, his 
 wings appear, we need not 
 recount. 
 
 All records of the grass 
 hopptr plague prove that their visitations are periodical, 
 that they do not come further east than the Lake of 
 the Woods, and that, in many years, they will not be seen 
 in Manitoba, or if at all, to no mischievous extent. 
 
 The Jesuit history of missions in California states, that 
 the year 1722 was disastrous. They came again in 1746, 
 continuing three years ; next in 1753, 1754 ; afterwards in 
 1765, 17G6 and 1767. During this century the periods of 
 greatest destruction were 1828, 1838, 1846 and 1855. The 
 locust s extended theselvesin one year over a surface com - 
 prised within thirty-eight degrees of latitude, and in the 
 broadest part eighteen degrees of longitude. — See article 
 
 Rocky Mct'ntain Loctst ; — a, newly- 
 hatched larva ; b, full grown larva ; c, 
 Itujia. 
 
 ^ 
 
' 
 
 LOCUSTS, THEIR HABITS AND CURK. 
 
 161 
 
 on Grasisko'ppers and Locusts of America in Smithsonian 
 Reports for 1858, page 200. Since the settlement uf Min- 
 nesota, there have been six grasshopper years, 1856, 1857, 
 1865, 1873, 1874, and 1875. The history of Red River 
 settlement presents a similar pro})ortion of years of suf- 
 fering and exemption. Since Lord Selkirk's settlement in 
 1812, the locusts have appeared in 1818 and 1819; then not 
 till 1857 and 1858 ; next in 1864 and 1865, doing little in- 
 jury ; then in 1867, 1868, 1869 and 1870, and again in 
 these last three years. In 1872, they came too late to do 
 much damage to the wheat which was then ripening. 
 
 The last four years have been very unfortunate, there 
 being but one full crop — the average loss being fully one 
 half the crop. Mr. Taylor, the United States Consul, 
 who has given much attention to this subject, estimates 
 that, with the extension of settlement in Manitoba, the 
 average annual loss in locust years will be reduced to ten 
 per cent., the rate observed in the States west of the Mis- 
 sissippi, still more exposed to the pest. Among the means 
 to be used for their destruction, Mr. Taylor first enume- 
 rates natural remedies. It is a curious fact that the im- 
 munity of any particular district may turn upon the fact 
 of a bright sun and clear sky, through which thc}^ move 
 on, while the sun shines in the warm air, but settling 
 down and taking refuge in the shrubs and grass as rain 
 approaches — " Thy crownt/J are as the locusts, and thy 
 captains as the gi-eat grasshoppers, which camp in the 
 hedges in the cold day ; but when the sun arises they flee 
 away, and their place is not known where they are." — 
 
162 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVI>X'E. 
 
 i^J 
 
 
 iir 
 
 Nahum iii. 17. Among other descriptions of them in 
 holy writ, the most wonderful is that in the second chap- 
 ter of Joel, to which we refer our readers. Processor 
 Hind met them near the Qu'Appelle river in July, 1858 : 
 — " Here we observed during the morning the grass- 
 hoppers descending from a great height, perpendicularly, 
 like hail — a sign, our half-breeds stated, of approaching 
 rain." They were, he adds, excellent prognosticators — a 
 thunder storm soon came on. But, to revert to our im- 
 mediate subject, the means of relief from the pest. 
 
 (1) A fly, resembling the house fly, deposits its larvte 
 between the head and body, which penetrate and destroy 
 the gi^asshopper. This fly is the Tachina or Sarcophaga. 
 (2) The Ichneumon, Pimpla instigator, deposits its eggs 
 in t le egg-sack of the locust, and when the larva of the 
 Ichneumon fly comes out it sucks the eggs of the locust, 
 destroying them. (3) The red parasites, found near 
 the base of the wings eat into the back, and destroy the 
 insect. These were very frequently observed. Birds — 
 the blackbird, crow, domestic fowl, &c. — make havoc of 
 them. Beasts, too, are used to trample them, when they 
 fall in the evening, in the European plains. In Hungary 
 and elsewhere, horses, camels, cattle, &c., are driven over 
 and trample them. It is suggested that the disappearance 
 of the buffalo has tended to increase their number, as the 
 •:i.''(4s and young grasshoppers are most numerous on the 
 piths which these animals would take. Next in order are 
 ^.numerated mech* nical means, which, if on a sufflciently 
 large scale and i)ersevered in, have been found, to some 
 
 , 
 
 M.^ 
 
HOW TO ESCAPE THE PLAGUE. 
 
 10.3 
 
 extent, successful. When the soil is ploughed early and 
 deep the eggs are destroyed and the ravages are lessened. 
 The crops should be planted early and may be harvested in 
 time to anticipate the pest. Government may also aid a 
 general effort, as has been for ages done in China, Greece, 
 Italy, Hungary, France and Russia. In Minnesota this has 
 been tried. The bounty system was partially and tardily 
 applied, but with very successful results in Le Sueur, Blue 
 Earth and other counties. Blue Earth county j-.aid in 
 1875, S31,225 for 15,766 bushels; Todd county, S833 for 
 130 bushels ; Meeker, S959 for 293 bushels ; Brown, 81,600 
 for 4,525 bushels; Sibley, 88,784 for 439,225 pounds, and 
 Nicollet county $25,000 for 25,000 bushels of the full- 
 grown locusts. The total damage to crops by the locust 
 invasion of 1875 is estimated at 82,000^000. 
 
 There is no crop which may be grown with assurance 
 of immunity in a locust year. They prefer unripe cereals 
 and juicy grasses, and, unless hard pressed, will pass ..>eas 
 and beans. These are a valuable and generally sure crop 
 and may be planted as a fringe round the fields, and, 
 especially if a ditch full of w r can be added to this 
 green wall, will so protect th< 'ther grain by diverting 
 the young insect before iJ; is winged, its most hungry 
 and dangerous stage, from passing the bairier, the more 
 rash and daring intruders fl uidering into the water and 
 being drowned. If the Manitoba people had used such 
 efforts last year unitedly, where settled close together as at 
 Kildonan, they would have gained much in the result. 
 
 It must not be supposed that all the crops were de- 
 
1G4 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 =1 
 
 
 it;:. 
 
 stroyed. No better wheat and potatoes can anywhere 
 be found than were in 1875 harvested at Portnge la Prairie, 
 and along the Red Paver between Fargo and Pembina, 
 and in the neighbourhood of St. Joe, at the south-west 
 corner of the Province. All this is spring-sown, in rich 
 well-drained soil. Efforts in the infested regions, made by 
 settlers and their families during the few hours in which 
 the locust rested, such as building tires, surrounding the 
 field or garden with a ditch into which the insects fall and 
 drown, beating with bushes, &;c., have been successful in 
 saving large parts of the crops. The Consul and Mr. 
 Spencer, Collector of Customs at Winnipeg, are among my 
 authorities for this statement. 
 
 Since the harvest season we have had favourable ac- 
 counts from many places where partial crops were saved. 
 In the Bo 'ne settlement in the centre of the Province, 
 a large acreage was harvested^ yielding 35 bushels to the 
 acre. In the Pembina Mountain region also a fair crop 
 was cut. Mr J. M. Machar, one of the Government com- 
 missioners who, last summer, spent some months in the 
 Province, gives the following as his experience : — 
 
 *' Between the Assiniboine and the southern shore of 
 Lake Manitoba there lies a district of about ten miles 
 square, chiefly settled and farmed by emigrants from On- 
 tario. Last fall these farmers harvested, in spite of the 
 grasshoppers, a two-thirds crop, which is better than an 
 average crop in Ontario. Instead of, as in the parishes 
 of Bale St. Paub and Francois Xavier, sowing nothing, as 
 did many of their neighbours, or lazily watching the 
 
 w^ 
 
I i 
 
IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 /> 
 
 
 1.0 
 
 1.25 
 
 |io ^^" ii^H 
 lit 1^ 
 
 £? HA 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sciences 
 
 Corporation 
 
 23 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. I45M 
 
 (716)872-4303 
 
 4 
 
 ■1? 
 
 <^ 
 
 <^\^\ 
 
 
IfH 
 
 /o:i 
 
 Wif 
 
 /o/ 
 
 >> 
 
 
iO/ 
 
 /oo 
 
 fi9 
 
 SH 
 
m 
 
 .97 
 
 ^6 
 
 ^r\ oJitAf// 
 
 y 
 
 ..~s>- 
 
 vtVd*""^ 
 
 
 ///tr 
 
 I'M n . 
 
 r' 
 
 
 Ji 
 
 Ji 
 
 t^ 
 
 j^ ^. O'ntvtt l)finlln/o/M, -/ 
 
 hlavh Townshifi is i 
 
 „ Si'cHon 
 
 " »' Contain 
 
 lief 
 Moiinleil Pttliif Hint 
 Itinti/H, Trutln He 
 
 fr^y 
 
 V^'l 
 
 W, 
 
 >// 
 
 ■'vvt, 
 
 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 
 
 1 
 
 A 
 .■ 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 n 
 
 
 Tif- 
 
 fM „ 
 
 t f-i(tf trail. r 
 
 /^•' 
 
 -x^ 
 
 Mills 
 
 Hri^hfa uli'iyp t/if Sty) 
 
 .^^J 
 
S6 
 
 .9J 
 
 .9i 
 
 MAP 
 
 OF Tflhl 
 
 
 JSND IMRT OF THE DISTHET OF 
 
 A 
 
 i, W\ 
 
 MIJ 
 
 i^^ 
 
 ^^iT 
 
 ,4 k. 
 
 HIIKWINO 
 
 Li. 
 
 [TOEY 
 
 .1 
 
 THE TO^VWSHIPS A. SETTLEMENTS 
 
 pRAWN FROM THE LATEST GOV. MAPS, SURVET^' &REFORTS 
 
 I^OK 
 
 V. 
 
 (•(• 
 
 ^ 
 
 THE I»I{AIRIE PHOVINCE 
 
 Scale i 11' J .Milcti fa theJrifh 
 
 5J ' 4n .V, 
 
 »^ 
 
 i=^=ij- 
 
 »o Mitf» 
 
 id 
 
 TOWNSnfH DJAr7HAM 
 
 Shewing ttw manner of 
 NUMBEHTWO THE SKCTIONH 
 
 7fi-/6 
 
 ,A GEXVestnuwott m. 
 
 
 ^.1- 
 
 5^ 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 ;?M- 
 
 
 1 
 
 ^5 
 
 St,(h 
 
 It 
 
 ?!* 
 
 ^l 
 
 
 id- 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 — r— 
 / 
 
 . .. .- 
 
 I 
 
 1)!h 
 
 t9^ 
 
 if- 
 
 
 ltl»lt 
 
 t^ 
 
 TnloUf'. 
 
 Jiarh Townahift is bAfileii Sr/iinre 
 
 „ HcrHnn „ I . 
 
 " " Contains bi^t arren 
 
 I Inferences - - 
 
 ; Atoiiiiteit Po/iif Stations marked thus 
 
 '■ H()iir/ti, Tfoiln a r „ „ - 
 
 I'uHt Ofj'ires . . „ . .J, 
 
 t'lifirrliCH . . . ,, i> 
 
 A////S „ . „ 
 
 Hri^htH II h'jvf tttf Sea ore marhffl in flf^t 
 
 6 
 
 -"V, 
 
 l_ 
 
 "^lafft^i 
 
 ' T'r. of Wales W^ 
 
 .>■ J''- 
 
 >:i 
 
 S2 
 
 Jf 
 
i!) 
 
 ,Phf 
 
 "i^^inl 
 
 ^ 
 
 _• 
 
 _/r' 
 
 V^ 
 
 0^, 
 I, '"^^^ 
 
 
 ftoHe 
 
 
 1 bantered accnrih'ng ittttie Arf of Parlinttwnt 
 
 < of Canada in dte yfar /fijb by .Tas.neland HtnuUtoti . 
 
 { xn the Off we af the Mtnisier of ^ioriruthtt.' . 
 
 I ALEX^ CRAIG. STEAM LITH. TORONTO. 
 
 Itie, 
 
 \\r ■ 1 
 
 'i^ 
 
 1 4\_i 
 
 j 1 / 
 
 /i 
 
 svia XBu^^ 
 
 1 * 
 
 -JL. h 
 
 1^1 
 
 ! /J 
 
 /^ 
 
 /.v 
 
 -'^ ^^^ ^ w^ s7„i:^ 
 
 .lyffcQiYTn 
 
 ^^< 
 
 \ 
 
 J03 
 
 iO'Z 
 
 lOi 
 

 'A ''"^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 r ■ ' ■ 
 
 s" 
 
 "VI 
 
 l^ynq^^USf^ULe^ 
 
 IV 
 
 in 
 
 I 
 
 f " 
 
 
 
 J ' — 'i. 
 
 r- -.4 
 
 J^ i. . 
 \, IV i -ju [ ,1 
 
 
 SiifUjL I ltd tit nn 
 
 lOO 
 
 .9.') 
 
 .9fi 
 
''^^ 
 
 .9H 
 
 96 
 
dt 
 
 if) 
 
 96 
 
 .9.J 
 
I 
 
 ! 
 
 if;. 
 
 \ ■' 
 
m 
 
 FIGHTING THE LOCUSTS ; EATING THEM. 
 
 165 
 
 grasshoppers devour what they had sown, as did most of 
 the others, these brave men sowed in hope, and when the 
 enemy appeared, turned out and fought him. I saw a 
 forty -acre field of splendid wheat at Portage Creek, the 
 propei'ty of a family of New Brunswickers named Green. 
 They spread a swath of straw right across the middle of 
 the field. Then, through the long June days, the whole 
 family — four stalwart young men and three young ladies, 
 daughters of the farm, but as truly refined as any of the 
 graduates of our cit}- boarding schools — armed themselves 
 with boughs, and forming in line, drove the ' hoppers ' 
 before them into the straw. It seems that the brutes 
 have their own idea of comfort, and like to have a bed 
 under them. At all events, they concluded to roost 
 there. When evening came a match was ai)plied, and in 
 five minutes nothing was left of the invaders but their 
 horny coverings, which at the time of my visit in August, 
 still littered the ground in millions. Of course I am not 
 prepared to say whether the ' hoppers ' were as numerous 
 in that section as they were on the Red River, where, in 
 June, I saw them sweep all before them ; but in view of 
 these results, and of the successful campaign of last sum- 
 mer in several of the Western States, one cannot help 
 thinking that whatever Government may do should be 
 in the direction of encouraging and helping people to hel]) 
 themselves." 
 
 We did not meet any who had tried the edible quali- 
 ties of the grasshopper, but Dr. Riley declares in favour 
 of such diet, and describes the most epicurean methods of 
 
 K 
 
 \ I 
 
 
 1.' . 1 
 
 .1 
 
J'' fl 
 
 ^;i 
 
 r.i i 
 
 1G6 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 preparing it. The insects yield, he says, an agreeable 
 nutty flavour when, the legs and wings being removed, 
 they are fried in butter. Palatable soup may also be made 
 from them. The Indians catch, roast and eat them, and 
 in the East, the Arabs esteem them a delicacy. 
 
 Dr. Riley does not regard John the Baptist as so badly 
 off in the way of dainties, as we are accustomed to con- 
 sider that prophet of the wilderness, whose food was 
 locusts and wild honey. 
 
 That the farmers of Minnesota and Dakota were wise, 
 in sowing as usual in the spring of 1875, we had ample 
 proofs as we passed from Winnipeg along their broad 
 fields ripening with a rich harvest. The vessel in 
 which we sailed from Duluth carried in her hold 5,000 
 barrels of Minnesota wheat flour, and had to leave as 
 many more for the next boat to carry. Mr. Nimmons, 
 who settled in 18G9 about six miles north-west of 
 Winnipeg, furnishes a worthy example, which some 
 older settlers would have done well to follow. He 
 has a fine farm of 320 acres, or half a section, and last 
 autumn found a ready market in Winnipeg for some 
 hundreds of bushels of potatoes. Starting without capi- 
 tal he struggled on through difficulties, and then had 
 nearly 100 acres broken, and 50 acres under heavy crops 
 of barley, wheat, oats, peas, turnips and potatoes, for all 
 of which he obtained good prices. A sample of his last 
 year's wheat of 66 pounds to the bushel has gone to the 
 Centennial. When asked how he had escaped the grass- 
 hoppers, he answered that he had fought them in every 
 
 
HOPES FOR THE FUTURE. 
 
 167 
 
 stage of their growth, commencing the previous fall by 
 ploughing and reploughing their eggs under the ground, 
 thereby preventing them hatching ; but, of course they 
 came on to his fields last summer from the uncultivated 
 prairie in myriads. These he battled against by fire, and 
 by driving, so successfully as to save nearly his entire 
 planting. Mr. x^immons summed up the matter by stat- 
 ing it as his belief that the grasshoppers may be met and 
 conquei-ed by hard work and common sense means ; and 
 that in closely- settled neighbourhoods, if each occupant 
 does his share, a fair crop may always be counted upon. 
 As this opinion tallies with the experience of Messrs. 
 Tristan and Morgan, of Headingly, and that of many 
 others, and indeed is but to repeat the history of the 
 plague in other lands, we have no doubt it is correct. 
 
 It is generally hoped that but little of this plague will 
 be felt for some years in Manitoba. The grounds for 
 such confidence are the historical facts as to its periodicity 
 stated, the great numbers of the parasites found on speci- 
 mens examined, and the fact that the locusts flew ofi" 
 without depositing their eggs. In lands where nature 
 has dealt with less lavish hand, the farmer might well 
 hesitate to embark his means and labour in tillage, but 
 the great returns which the marvellous rich, deep soil of 
 this Province will yearly produce, will doubtless allow an 
 ample margin for periodical losses from this plague, and 
 these losses too may be anticipated, and to a great extent 
 met and lessened, by united skilful eflbrt, when the lands 
 
 
168 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 become settled, as no doubt they soon will be, with indus- 
 trious fanners using all modern means of agriculture. 
 
 The Mennonites, coming from a land where this i)est is 
 not unknown to settle here, should convince us that it is 
 not to be too much dreaded. No settlers can be found 
 more shrewd and capable of selecting a good home and 
 forming opinions as to agricultural matters, than the}'. 
 They are quickly occupying the beautiful townships as- 
 signed them on either side of Red River, between Win- 
 nipeg and Pembina. 
 
 ♦.■■ 
 1 '. 
 
 
 ( 
 
 M 
 
 *) I 
 
 
ndu8 
 
 )est i.s 
 b it is 
 found 
 e and 
 
 they, 
 ps as- 
 
 Win- 
 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 FROM THE OLD TO THE STONE FORT — POINT DOUOLAS — FROCJ PLAINS 
 SEVEN OAKS — HOPES THAT PLED — THE FLOODS — TAIT's CREEK — 
 KILDONAN — THE HALF-BHEEDS, THEIR HOMES AND PROSPECT** — 
 HAY PRIVILEGE — THE STONE FORT — PENITENTIARY — SELKIRK AND 
 THE C. P. R. CROSSING — A NEW CITY — STEAMBOATS — PEOUIS — 
 TRADE — CLANDEBOYE SETTLEMENT — OLD FRIENDS. 
 
 Through the kindness of Mr, John Rowan, engineer in 
 charge of the C. P. R. construction here, I enjoyed, behind 
 his fine bays, a visit on the 18th of August to several 
 places of interest. Our way was along the west side of 
 the Red River northerly. Leaving the new market bridge, 
 we drove on Main street for half a mile between rows of 
 neat frame houses, past the Wolseley House, late an hotel, 
 now the College of the Presbyterian Church, in which 
 Professors Bryce and Hart are doing a good work. Main 
 street is here a fine level two chain, or L32 feet road, well 
 tjraded and surface-drained. A few minutes more bring 
 US to the Shultz-Pritchard estate, which runs from Main 
 Street back about two miles. Next is the Magnus-Brown 
 estate of the like extent, with its broad Burrows'-avenue 
 and some houses and gardens. After this is a property 
 of some chains in width which has not been put in the 
 market, and then a plot of thirty acres of flat prairie 
 which has been selected for a cemetery. 
 
 Between this part of Main Street and the river are the 
 pretty residences of Dr. Shultz, Mr. A. W. Burrows, and 
 
r 
 
 ii 
 
 lijii 
 
 f 
 
 170 
 
 THE niAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 ! I 
 
 others, and behind them are scon embowered in trees, the 
 house of Bishop Machray and the English Cathedra), 
 Church and College of St. John. These are beyond Point 
 Douglas, and form a village of some extent and much 
 natural beauty. We also see, on the stime side, the sub- 
 stantial residence of Mr. Inkster. Near this was fought, 
 in the days when the Nor'-west and the Hudson's Bay 
 Company strove for mastery, the battle in which twenty 
 of the adherents of the latter Company fell. This, with 
 Kildonan and its history, will be referred to again as 
 we come to speak of the Hudson's Bay Company and the 
 fur trade. The region, over which we are now pa.ssing, is 
 indeed the classic ground of the Province. Five miles 
 more of driving on the level, varied only by an occasional 
 coulee, or gully, formed by spring floods in the plain, 
 bring us to the Scotch Settlement uf Kildonan, with its 
 stone church and school-house, where the Rev. Dr. Black, 
 the venerable pioneer of the Presbyterian Church in 
 Manitoba, officiates. The country adjacent is well fenced 
 and farmed, and in the hands of the most independent 
 class in the Province, many of them dfjscendants of the 
 emigrants who came out under Lord Selkirk. 
 
 Before us was here seen a narrow line of vapour hug- 
 ging the ground, isolating the trees, and making them 
 leap fantastically from the ground. This is the mirage of 
 the prairie. 
 
 We were never on this drive without the sight of trees, 
 mostly poplars, with tufts of willows, hazelwood and 
 vines. They line the river's edge, and that of every 
 
 
HOPr.S THAT PLED; TAIT's CUKEK : FLOODS. 171 
 
 
 Htreain that runs into it; in the prairie, too, little ^reen 
 clumps appear every half mile, and in some places an un- 
 dergrowth of young trees has sprung up thickly. This 
 hns been the result of but a few years. Old .settlers say, 
 that not long ago the prairie grass and (lowers were the 
 only green things vi.sible. To the left, at a distance of 
 eight miles, we see the white brick walls and towers of 
 the new Provincial Penitentiary in course of erection. 
 The rising ground on which it stands is Stony Mountain. 
 (This and Pembina Mountains .so called, are really not 
 mountains or even hills, but parts of the plain elevated a 
 few score feet above the main surface in broad terraces.) 
 The object in placing this building so far away from 
 Winnepeg is, ])robably, that the inmates may work quar- 
 ries of .stone. We now paiss the residence of Mr. Stewart, 
 a retired officer of the Company, who accompanied Dr* 
 Rae in his Polar journey, and here we notice that the 
 ground is marked ovor at regular intervals with small 
 numbered stakes. We are, in fact, in an embryo city that 
 perished unborn. A trial survey of the Canada Pacific 
 was made here in 1871, when it was proposed to run 
 the line south of Lake Manitoba, along the Assiniboine. 
 Forthwith, the sanguine proprietor laid out his land in 
 lots, called streets after his relatives and friends, and made 
 ready for fortune. The great road, however, after due 
 consideration, did not aj^prove of the lay of the land, 
 looked for higher ground, and its engineers withdrew to 
 find the ])roper height of land at Selkirk or Mapleton a 
 place twelve miles further down the river. 
 
172 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 li!^ ' 
 
 Ini 
 
 
 iiir 
 
 
 
 -w 
 
 'r^ 
 
 4.f' * 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i ■ ■ 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 V '■ 
 
 • t 
 
 I :■ 
 
 ;| 
 
 I 
 
 (I, :t 
 
 '§! 
 
 We cross Tait's Creek, not a very great landmark, you 
 may say, but a very important one nevertheless. And 
 why ? Here the waters of the flood were stayed. It is 
 also, as we know, solemnly agreed and provided that the 
 great road shall pass through the Province. Why, then, 
 lay it more than a score of miles away from its only city, 
 its centre in every respect ? Patiently, read the answer, 
 • lear reader. As we now enter upon higher land, observe, 
 and you will find that the river's banks take a bolder 
 aspect, with a stony bottom. Three times, in the memory 
 of men still living, has the Red River co\ered all the plain 
 over which we have trotted. In 1826, 1852 and 1861 its 
 waters crept up and up till boats were used in the Fort 
 at Garry ; The foundation of one of the stone towers was 
 so undermined that it still leans over from the per- 
 pendicular; The dwellers in these level lands lied to 
 higher plains, or took refuge in upper stories of strong 
 houses, and saw their household goods and fences swim- 
 ming round them in sad confusion. The high land, on 
 which we now travel, continues to the Eagle's Nest, ten 
 miles below the Lower or Stone Fort. This the skilled 
 eye selected as the appropriate bed of the great road, and 
 through it our readers may, ere many months pass, iiear 
 its whistle. But is the ambitious little city to be in yearly 
 danger of the rising angry waters ? Nay, say its inhabi- 
 tants, the banks are wider, the river's course is broader, 
 the country lias become dryer. This, too, said to me 
 a good priest at St. Boniface, as he pointed to the banks 
 and assured me there was now ample room, and that no 
 
 
 ! * 
 
 K_ 
 
THE HALF-BREEDS AND THEIR HOMES. 
 
 173 
 
 
 cause existed to fear anything more than a slight wetting 
 of the surface. The fall to Lake Winnipeg is about half 
 a foot per mile in the course of the stream. When the 
 wind blows on the lake, its effect is felt far up the river, 
 damming it back and raising its waters ; and this is still 
 more the case when in spring its surface is covered with 
 a heavy coat of ice. 
 
 Thus far we have gone along the high-road — the king's 
 road of old maps — at a distance lately of a mile or more 
 from the river. Now we run to its side. We have left a 
 quiet prairie where houses and people are scarce ; now we 
 pass house after house, all of a like simple style — of hewn 
 logs, one, or one and a half stories in height, with shingled 
 or thatched roof, doors near the ground, round mud-built 
 oven and root-house in the garden, and cattle shed in rear. 
 Dark-looking and plainly dressed women and black-eyed 
 children, all seeming to prefer sc^uatting on the grass, 
 floor, or even the bare black gi'ound to using any chair or 
 stool — scarce articles here — the dark hair falling in 
 twists down the back, tied with bows of gay ribbons ; feet 
 moccasined or bare. The whole river's bank, for mile 
 upon mile, seems a long street with houses on but one 
 side. Thus, in old days, the half-breeds, descendants of 
 hardy traders and settlers who married squaws, 8ett1e<l 
 close together for mutual protection, near the water, 
 where they caught their meat, and in which, in light 
 canoes or dug-outs, they sped in quest of game or for sup- 
 plies and to barter at the Fort. 
 
 Their holdings were narrow, and as families increased. 
 
 '1 
 
 M 
 
174 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 1 1 
 
 ' ' t 
 
 III 
 
 > 1 ' '\ ; 
 
 a new house was often built beside the parents' and the 
 land divided longitudinally. The farm lot extended back 
 two miles. For a like extent in rear ench settler was 
 accustomed every fall to go out with his scythe and ox- 
 cart, and cull the best of the long grass. Thus arose the 
 peculiar title called "hay privilege." The Dominion 
 Government has, dealing justly and generously, confirmed 
 these old settlers in their title to the whole tract of land 
 held or used behind each residence, so that the lots front- 
 ing on the Red and Assiniboine Rivers are often of only 
 a few chains in width, but four miles in depth. This will 
 be found an inconvenience, as tlie country settles in rear, 
 but will be cured in time by new arrangements of con- 
 tiguous sub-divisions. Much more like their wilder than 
 their Saxon parents are most of these simple people in 
 their rustic homes. The men move with a swinging, 
 slouching tread, their toes often turned in. They love 
 fishing and hunting. Though possessed of the finest land 
 on the continent, it lies idle, or if tilled, it is in the most 
 meagre fashion. The peasant women — pretty brunettes 
 when young, too soon look old and haggard through ex- 
 posure and dislike to wearing any sufficient covering from 
 the sun. They are more skilful than squaws in the 
 making and embroidering of moccasins and white 
 moose-skin slippers and basket work. A retiring race, 
 they feel the pressure of the white man's course. Before 
 long they will have melted away from the Red River and 
 Assiniboine, and must be sought at the far interior forts, 
 ' by the banks of the Saskatchewan and Peace rivers and 
 
 HI 
 
 1 
 
 < ■ 
 
THE TELEGRAPH; THE STONE FORT. 
 
 175 
 
 tlieir tributaries. Their pleasant riverside sites are, one 
 by one, passing into the hands of new comers. Yet 
 while we thus refer to the Metis as a class, let us not 
 forget that there are, and will continue to be, a large nuin- 
 ber of able men and valued members of society, of this 
 mixed race, in the Red River country. In the Houses of 
 Legislature, as traders and business men, and as fair cul- 
 tivated ladies in hospitable homes, we meet them. We 
 may mention especially, of French half-breeds, the Hon. 
 Charles Nolin, lately Provincial Minister of Agriculture 
 and Emigration ; Pascal Breland, Pierre DeLorme, an J Mr 
 Gingras, all prosperous merchants and traders ; and of the 
 English and Scotch half-breeds, Hon. John Norquay, Hon. 
 John Sutherland, Senator ; Hon. James McKay, and Mr. 
 R. Tait, the m.iller. The newer element is represented 
 in the Provincial Parliament by six out of twenty-four 
 members, the others being of this old stock. 
 
 Again we seek the higher road, sacring the blackbirds 
 and hearing the whistle of the prairie hen as we pass. 
 Along the well-beaten track are poplar poles on which 
 are carried the single wire that can in a moment tell our 
 case ten thousand miles away : thus does the telegraph 
 precede the train. On some of the green |)osts we see 
 bunches of leaves, the dying sap making a last effort at 
 animation. Ox carts go creaking past, poor Lo sulks 
 silently along, the ground squirrel drops into his hole, and 
 the hawks soar higher as they hear our wheels. Here and 
 there is a white patch on the black ground, where the 
 alkaline solutions held in this wonderful deep soil, have 
 
 ^1 
 
 H 
 
17(3 
 
 THE PRATRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 Jill 
 
 n 
 
 !v 
 
 '§ 1* 
 
 ¥ 
 
 I 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 V 
 
 ': ! - ! 
 
 
 ii' ■ 
 
 [ t 
 
 
 
 .i 
 
 p 
 
 w 
 
 come to the surface and dried. It is noon as we approach 
 a stone enclosure evidently planned for the like design as 
 the old Fort, at Garry ; this is the Lower or Stone 
 Fort. Its walls are not so high as those of the other, 
 and are evidently incomplete, as they are not coped, but 
 crumble at top. They are of limestone, which is abun- 
 dant in the bed of the river close by. Small towers 
 grace and guard the corners. It faces the river, and con- 
 tains half-a-dozen store-houses and a general shop. The 
 area within is probably of three acres. At the north side 
 is an oblong building, of no great size, of hewn logs, and 
 doubly surrounded with walls. This is the miniature 
 temporary Penitentiary of the young Province. Within 
 are accommodations for the twenty-three prisoners and 
 the guards. We never entered any place where more 
 neatness, cleanliness and order prevailed. Most of the 
 prisoners were out in the yard and garden, clad in white, 
 with " P. P." stamped on them, working under orders of 
 armed guards. All were male. Among them were three 
 Sioux Indians, from the Portage band, all restless fellows 
 when brought in. They each attempted to escape, but 
 now are among the best workers. We were shown a pair 
 of stout boots made by one of them. The Warden, Mr. 
 Bedson, conducts the establishment with little expense to 
 Government, and with honour to himself. At his pretty 
 residence, "Daisy Lodge," across the road, we saw the giant 
 head and antlers of a moose, and a great variety of skins 
 of wild beasts and birds, and e.^perienced true Nor -west 
 hospitality. 
 
 iiLU 
 
SELKIRK AND THE "CROSSING. 
 
 177 
 
 Mr, Bedson will, no doubt, make his mark in the Prai. 
 rie Province. An Englishman without fortune, he was ser- 
 geant in the army when eighteen, and came to Win- 
 nipeg as quartermaster-sergeant in the Second Battalion, 
 under Colonel Wolseley. This officer, having made his 
 way from Thunder Bay, arrived at the Stone Fort on the 
 22d of August, 1870 ; only the Regulars were with him, 
 the Militia Com|>anies being still struggling through the 
 Winnipeg. The advance was however made up the Red 
 River. Riel's headquarters in Fort Garry were reached 
 on the 24th, but the bird had flown; the Union JaC' 
 was hoisted, and Manitoba became in fact, what it had 
 been in name only before, a Canadian Province. The 
 large garden of the prison had little living in it, save 
 a tame bear fretting at its chain. The grasshopj^ers 
 had here nibbled many a sweet morsel, and left all 
 bare behind them. A second growth was, however, 
 making fair progress. In sight of the Stone Fort, with 
 a connnanding view of it and the river, is the summer 
 residence of Mr. Thomas Howard, M.P.P., a very pretty 
 place. The banks are here high and clean ; passing uj) 
 we see the neat English Church (St. Clements) between 
 our path and the river. We notice a bit of canvas tiut- 
 teiing in the wind, and, approaching, tind it is the cover- 
 ing of an Indian child's grave. Traces of other graves are 
 visible. The body having been interred, the grave was 
 covered and guarded with a fence of small logs [>laced 
 over and around it ; such articles as the deceased was sup- 
 posed most to need in tiie next world were then [placed 
 
 
 :| 
 
i-.ii 
 
 178 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 I 
 
 i ,! 
 
 on top, and all was covered with the cloth raised in the 
 usual shape of graves with us. Alas ! poor ghosts ; soon 
 destined to be scared from your resting place by the shrill 
 whistle of boat and steam-car, and all traces of your tombs 
 obliterated by the advancing tide of the white man ! 
 
 The river now curves to the east, but soon returns 
 in banks 700 feet apart, forming a semi-circle. This 
 is Sugar Point. Here, in spring, the ice floe coming 
 down is broken, and the force of the stream is les- 
 sened. The chapel we see, marks the place of the 
 crossing of the great Canada Pacific Railroad. A rope 
 is stretched from bank to bank to aid the passage 
 of the scow that serves for ferry. The work of Sifton 
 & Farewell (the contractors on this end of the line), 
 is seen in the long clearing through the trees and the 
 telegraph line extending westerly. Mr. Sifton's substantial 
 wooden house and some workshops are here, and the com- 
 pany's shed is seen on the opposite bank. The banks are 
 adorned with beautiful groves of soft maple, elm, oak and 
 poplar. The stream must be here bridged, and that will 
 be a large item of cost, owing to the length and the fact 
 that a draw must be provided to permit of the passage of 
 the lake and river craft. Twenty miles above is Lake 
 Winnipeg, a great inland sea, with an area of 9,000 
 square miles, into which flow mighty rivers ; on the 
 North-west, the Saskatchewan ; on the East, the Win- 
 nipeg and Beren's River ; and on the South, the Red 
 River, on whose broad banks we stand. Hardy Ice- 
 landers are settling on its westerly shores, attracted by 
 
> 
 
 'J 
 
 2 
 
 j'.d 
 
 ''n 
 
 !;« 
 
 
H 
 
 
 I 
 
 'It. 
 
 
 fs'^iy; 
 
 ih :: 
 
 I5' 
 
 I 
 
 ! I 
 
 k 
 
 , i 
 
ST. PETERS; DYNEVOR; LAKE SHIinnNG. 
 
 181 
 
 its unHurpassed fisheries and rich soil. But let us look 
 further about " the crossing. " 
 
 Already is heard the noise of the hammer and l)lack- 
 smith. Several residences and stores are up or in course 
 of construction. The Pembina branch passing up from 
 Winnipeg will, as just decided by the Government, soon, on 
 the opposite or easterly end of the bridge, crossing here, 
 join the main line from Thunder Bay. The surround- 
 ings seem to mark the site of what may in future become 
 an important city of the Province. The ground, which, 
 rising fully twenty feet above the river bed, forms a dry, 
 well-wooded plateau, has for many acres around, been se- 
 cured and laid out in lots by some Winnipeg capitalists 
 A prettier or more promising location can scarcely be 
 conceived than this, called Mapleton on the Government 
 map, but by its founders Selkirk, in honour of the old 
 nobleman, who induced so many of his hardy countrymen 
 to seek fortune in this then unknown region. North 
 of Selkirk, between the river and its left bank, is a 
 lagoon of a mile in length, now the resort of wild fowl, 
 but destined to be a harbour and dockyard for the lake 
 shipping. A beautiful wooded island is at its northerly 
 end. We come in sight of St. Peter's Church, in the 
 parish now called Dynbvor. Eight miles above, on the 
 east highland, before the river forms three branches and 
 is lost in the lake, is the site of the prospected town of 
 Peguis, which may wait further notice from the historian 
 of the future. Yet this region above Selkirk is already 
 no terra incognita, A steamboat was launched on the 
 
i 
 
 1 i' 
 
 II n 
 
 182 
 
 TEE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 
 V 
 
 t:'; 
 
 ! ' 
 
 '■ '., 
 
 
 ' k 
 
 », ■ ', 
 
 t i:,!. 
 
 M 'tiis 
 
 irii'H 
 
 lake near by, and made her trial trip during my stay in 
 the Province. Arrangements are also being made by the 
 Government and the Company to place vessels of light 
 draught on Lakes Manitoba and Winnipegosis. In July, 
 1875, the Company's steamer " Northcote " successfully 
 made her first trip to Edmonton, on the Saskatchewan. 
 But little blasting and dredging is needed to make the 
 river easily navigable for larger crafts from Winnipeg to 
 the lake of that name. 
 
 Over the prairie and through woods and willow bushes 
 of some growth, to the west of the river, we push oui- 
 way some seven miles, seeking the Clandeboye settle- 
 ment and Muckle's Creek. A wild, rolling land, in which 
 many fat catcle and a flock of a hundred sheep are graz- 
 ir.^ ; prairie chickens start up under the horses* feet, and 
 hawku circle above them. Passing the track of the great 
 road as surveyed, on the now proposed route through the 
 Narrows of Lake Manitoba, and under the telegraph 
 wire, we come in two miles more to the houses and barns 
 of Messrs. Alexander Muckle, J.P., and Robert Muckle, a 
 beautiful and romantic place, uniting the desiderata of 
 good land, prairie, wood and water privileges. The creek 
 that passes through the estate is twenty feet in depth and 
 navigable by Red River steamers. On its bank, within 
 gunshot of the house, were wild duck and plover. A 
 hawk flew down almost at our feet and tried to carry 
 ofl" one of Miss Minnie's chickens. He last rested on 
 a tree near by, whence he fell screaming, pierced with 
 deadly lead from Mr. A. Muckle's gun. His wings are 
 
 I li 
 
 i 
 
 
 '' i 
 
stay in 
 ) by the 
 of light 
 [n July, 
 essfuUy 
 3hewan. 
 ake the 
 lipeg to 
 
 bushes 
 ish oui" 
 
 settle- 
 i which 
 e graz- 
 iet, and 
 le great 
 igh the 
 egraph 
 i barns 
 ickle, a 
 rata of 
 3 creek 
 )th and 
 within 
 er. A 
 I carry 
 ted on 
 1 with 
 gs are 
 
 RURJLL HOMES. 
 
 183 
 
 now spread in our sanctum far away from the fatal 
 tree. 
 
 We refer thus to the beautiful home of these kind 
 friends and their amiable mother, as there are many 
 readers in Ontario, Quebec and elsewhere who will be 
 interested in learning of their happiness and prosperity. 
 This, too, furnishes a ready example of one of the thous- 
 ands of choice sites for rural homes, with rich grain, mea- 
 dow and pasture land, that lie ready for the ind astrious 
 immigrant. 
 
 jii 
 
 4 
 
 
 I 
 
i •' 
 
 
 1 
 
 [ ' 
 
 
 fli' 
 
 r- 
 
 I 
 
 ! 
 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE HUDSON RAY OOMPANY — THE SELKIRK SETTLEMENT — TlfK FTR 
 THADK— NOHTHEUN NIMROT)S — THE NORTH-WEST (JOMPANV— FORT 
 WILLIAM — LITTLE YORK — THE ORANDE I'ORTAOE — EARL SELKIRK 
 - B(»LI) ADVEVTURERS — WAR OF 1812 — Sl'EEf'H OF MR. I'AWSON, 
 M.P.P. — FIOHT AT FROO PLAINS — FALL OF GOVERNOR SEMPLEAND 
 PARTY — TRIALS AT YORK AND QUEBEC IN 1818— SONO OF PIERRE 
 FALCON — DE REINHARD's CASE — ASSINIBOINE A (JROWN COLONY 
 — ITS POPULATION — UNION OF THE COMPANIES — EFFECT ON IN- 
 DIANS AND OTHERS — EVIDENCE OF COL. CROFTON AND ADMIRAL 
 BACK — f;OVERNORS AND JUDGES OF ASSINIBOIA— THE GOODS TRADE 
 — HARD BARGAIN — STATISTICS OF TRADE — ST. PAUL AND ST. 
 LOUIS GET A SLICE. 
 
 m ! 
 
 
 1** 1 
 
 The chronicles of the fur trade in the North-west are di- 
 vided into four periods : — First. From the Treaty of 
 Utrecht in 1714 to 1763, in the hands of the French ; 
 Second, From 1563 to 1821, when the Canadian and 
 the English companies held joint and rival sway ; Third, 
 From 1821, when the companies united, until 1870, when 
 the North-west became part of the Dominion ; Fourth, 
 The present period, in which the company's trade in land 
 and goods will equal or exceed its fur trade, the last hav- 
 ing ceased to be a monopoly. 
 
 The history of this trade is full of romance and adven- 
 ture. It was carried on by men who feared exposure, 
 hardship anp danger as little as did those who, seeking a 
 
KAllLY FUR TUADKUS ; (iUANl) I'OllTAfiE. 
 
 l.S. 
 
 •UK FUR 
 — FORT 
 
 SELKIRK 
 
 F'AWSON, 
 
 ll'LEAXD 
 
 F PIERRE 
 
 COLONY 
 
 T ON IN- 
 
 \DMIRAL 
 DS TRADE 
 
 AND ST. 
 
 are di- 
 eaty of 
 French ; 
 ian and 
 
 Third, 
 0, when 
 Fourth, 
 
 in land 
 LSt hav- 
 
 adven- 
 :posure, 
 eking a 
 
 short way to El Dorado, braved the open Polur sua. It was 
 he«,'iui l>y French adventurers hefore the American Revol- 
 ution. Sir Alexander Mackenzie, in his history of this 
 trade, jiublished in 1801, remarks that it recjuires less 
 time tor a civilized peoj)le to deviate into the manners 
 and customs of savage life, than for savages to rise into a 
 state of civilization. 
 
 Such was the event with those who accompanied the 
 natives on their hunting or trading excursions, they he- 
 came attached to the Indian mode of life, and l<jst all 
 relish for their former habits and native homes. In the 
 earliest history of New France we find them hunting and 
 fishing on the Saguenay, T'ldousac being their chief trad- 
 ing [)ost. The Ottawa country next was penetrated, and 
 thence they passed to the west and north of the great 
 hikes. Some became a kind of pedlers, coi/reurs des hois, 
 and were middle men between the Montreal merchants and 
 the Indians. Setting off from Lachine in birch bark canoes, 
 the frailest yet most fit vessels for so great a journey, when 
 propelled by these skilful voyageurs, laden with goods 
 to the water's edge, they were absent for from a year to 
 eighteen months, during which time they merrily toiled 
 with paddle over the rivers and along the margins of 
 lakes, carried great burdens across ])ortages, finding their 
 food on the land or in the water, with gun and spear, or 
 .subsisting on pemmican, the flesh of the buffido, boiled 
 fine and mixed with its tallow, and occasionally flavoured 
 with wild berries. Sometimes Indian corn similarly pre- 
 pared took the place of the buffalo meat. 
 
 i-i) 
 
 I' i\ 
 
m 
 
 186 
 
 THE PRATRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 m 
 
 r 
 
 !■ .l' 
 
 H-- 
 
 m 
 
 W- \ 
 
 1 1: 
 
 t\ < 
 
 ; 
 
 
 !■■ 
 
 ! 
 
 1 , 
 
 
 
 
 They were careless of danger and never knew fatigue. 
 Trading posts and stations were established at important 
 centres, some of which were in time surrounded with pal- 
 isades and armed. 
 
 Owing to the great length of the journey it was also 
 divided ; those who hunted or dealt direct with Indians, 
 meeting those who dealt with the capitalists of the trade 
 at certain trading posts. In time the Grand Portage on 
 the north shore of Lake Superior was made a chief depot 
 and place of exchange. This was the case before, and 
 when the Nor'-West Company was established. Here the 
 "Northmen" or "Winterers" as were called those from 
 the Indian country, with their furs, met the canoe men; 
 "Pork-eaters," also "Goers and Comers," they were 
 named, who performed the journey between the Grand 
 Portage and Montreal. The Northmen were regaled with 
 luxuries from the larder of the Pork-eaters and the 
 Company, settled their accounts, and after a fortnight of 
 pleasure were off again for another long trip to the fur 
 regions. Thus meeting only occasionally, and then in this 
 wild place, with civilized men, it was not strange that the 
 Northmen forgot the manners of their eastern fathers, 
 lived when away as did the Indians, took their daughters 
 as wives, and became the fathers of the Metis, the hardy 
 mixed race found in Manitoba and the territories, and 
 which now numbers many thousands. 
 
 Mackenzie gives an instance of the strength of the ca- 
 noe men, stating that he had knov/n some of them set off, 
 carrying two packages of ninety pounds each, and return 
 
atigue. 
 )ortant 
 th pal- 
 as also 
 ndians. 
 trade 
 age on 
 ' depot 
 e, and 
 Jre the 
 i from 
 
 3 men; 
 
 ' were 
 
 Grand 
 
 i with 
 
 Ld the 
 
 ght of 
 
 le fur 
 
 in this 
 
 it the 
 
 thers, 
 
 ^hters 
 
 lardy 
 and 
 
 e ca- 
 toft, 
 turn 
 
 NORTHMEN ; GOERS AND COMERS ; OLD FORTS. 187 
 
 with two others of the same weight in the course of six 
 hours, being a distance of eighteen miles over hills and 
 mountains. 
 
 The traders from the far off Athabasca country did not 
 come to the Grand Portage, but were met by the Pork- 
 eaters at Rainy Lake, where they got supplies and ex- 
 changed ladings. 
 
 A half military discipline was observed, and much re- 
 spect paid by these people to the men in command, whe- 
 ther en route, or at the forts and posts. 
 
 Twelve hundred men, says Mackenzie, were sometimes 
 assembled at the Grand Portage, indulging in the free 
 use of liquor and often quarrelling with each other, yet 
 always shewed the greatest respect to their employers, 
 who were comparatively few in number. 
 
 The south end of this great carrying place is now in the 
 State of Minnesota, where its north-east corner juts into 
 Lake Superior, due west of Isle Royale, and at the distance 
 of thirty miles from Fort William, 
 
 It ended at Pigeon River, where the voyageurs again 
 took canoes and passed on by the series of lakelets and 
 streams that lead to Rainy Lake, and thence to the Lake 
 of the Woods. 
 
 The country was all under French sway, and so con- 
 tinued till the Treaty of Versailles, in 1763. Among their 
 many forts were Fort Charles, at the Lake of the Woods ; 
 Fort Dauphine, at the head of Lake Manitoba, and Fort 
 de la Reine on the Assiniboine ; Fort Bourbon, at the 
 head of Lake Winnipeg, and Fort Rouge on the site of 
 
 im 
 
 ! V 
 
ffw 
 
 ri : 
 
 til* '^' 
 
 |l:|' 
 
 ^1^ 
 
 i«i; 
 
 ^11 
 
 in 
 
 IH'.. 
 
 m 
 li 
 
 » .1 
 
 ill 
 till 
 
 . ii 
 
 
 188 
 
 THE PKAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 the present town of Winnipeg, a few rods north of the 
 present Fort Garry. Thence they extended westerly to 
 the Saskatchewan and the north, and this was long 
 before the Hudson Bay Company had wandered from 
 their more northern regions, or dreamt of the claim to so 
 great and valuable a part of the continent, which has 
 been the creation of later years. 
 
 The Sieur Varennes de la Verandrye, a Frenchman of 
 distinction, was the first white person who explored and 
 described the Lake Winnipeg region. The family of this 
 traveller is yet represented in Lower Canada by that of 
 Sir Etienne Paschal Tach^> late Premier of Canada, and 
 by Archbishop Tachd, of St. Boniface. This was in 1731, 
 He penetrated west to the Swan River and Saskatchewan 
 regions, and was soon followed by others. 
 
 Says Mackenzie, page XI, " The Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany in the year 1774, and not till then, thought proper 
 to move from home to the east bank of Sturgeon Lake, in 
 latitude 53 deg. 56 min. north, and long. 102 deg. 15 
 min. west . . . From this period to the present time* 
 they have been following the Canadians to their ditferent 
 establishments." At page LXXIII, he says: " The Fronch 
 had two settlements upon the Saskatchewan, long before 
 and at the conquest of Canada, the first at the Pasquia, 
 near Carotte River, and the other at Nepawi, where they 
 had agricultural implements and wheeled carriages." 
 Much ill-will towards the English had been instilled into 
 the Indians by the French, and for some years after tlie 
 cession of Canada to England, fear of the aborigines de- 
 
 fc. I 
 
TEi: NORTH-WEST COMPANY. 
 
 189 
 
 of the 
 rly to 
 long: 
 I from 
 (1 to so 
 3h has 
 
 nan of 
 d and 
 of this 
 hat of 
 a, and 
 1731, 
 piewan 
 
 Oom- 
 3roper 
 ke, in 
 )g. 15 
 
 time- 
 f'erent 
 ronch 
 efore' 
 iquia, 
 
 they 
 ges." 
 
 into 
 • the 
 s de- 
 
 terred the English from going far into the country and 
 the fur trade languished. 
 
 Good prices were a strong inducement, and in twenty 
 years an army of traders and of their employees were so 
 again engaged. The young men of Canada looked to em- 
 ])loyment in this trade as their surest means to advance- 
 ment and competency. 
 
 In the year 1793 the merchants engaged in the trade 
 formed, says Mackenzie, a junction of interests, under the 
 name of the North West Company. The management 
 was entrusted to Messrs. Benjamin and Joseph Frobisher 
 and Mr. Simon McTavish. Mr. Peter Pond was after- 
 wards added to their number. The trade was so consoli- 
 dated and directed by able men, and the company thus 
 formed was for thirty-eight years, and till its consolida- 
 tion with the Hudson Bay Company, one of the most 
 powerful combinations in Canada. Their trade was car- 
 ried in schv^oners on the great lakes. The old French 
 posts and forts were in their hands. Fort William, on 
 the Kaministiquia, became one of the most important 
 of their forts. In its ancient store-rooms, which have 
 wooden or stone walls as thick as those of the old houses 
 in Quebec, may still be seen arms of ancient make, gilt 
 knee and shoe buckles, and other dress articles such as 
 the partners, commanders and other officers of the Com- 
 pany in the time of the Georges wore. A high [)alisade, 
 of posts set on end, surrounded the enclosure, and was 
 only removed, and replaced by a neat [)icket fence, within 
 a few years by the present officer in charge. The ser- 
 
 i i 
 
 HI 
 
Ill 
 
 » . '; 
 
 190 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 |i|i 
 
 Mi 
 
 1 ' ' 
 
 1 ■ ' '■ 
 
 .■ 
 
 
 1 
 
 \ 
 
 l;; . ' 
 
 i 
 
 i ; 
 
 If 
 
 
 ) i I 
 
 vants of this Company were estimated at 5,000 men, 
 with sixty trading posts, in 1815. They passed along 
 the North shore, through the Village of Penetanguishene, 
 and County of Simcoe, down Yonge Street, the main entry 
 to Toronto (then Little York) from the north, and which 
 roadway they helped to construct, as by it their goods 
 often found their way to Lake Ontario. 
 
 Our chart of the region between Lake Superior and 
 Manitoba, shews the course of the old voyageurs westward 
 from the Grand Portage ; following the Rainy Lake and 
 river stretches. The international boundary now pursues 
 this route, running, in an arbitrary course, across the 
 Lake of the Woods to the North- West Angle, then falling 
 southerly till it strikes parallel No. 49. Part of the lake, 
 and of the land on its western shore, is thus put under 
 the American flag. We have no arrangement with that 
 nation to hinder their erecting a fort or custom-house on 
 this important projection into our territory, nor any pro- 
 vision to facilitate improvements, or management of the 
 water courses. 
 
 As the country settles and this route increases in im- 
 portance, a new difficulty, such as that of the Haro straits, 
 may arise. We humbly hope that the next noble and 
 learned commissioners v/ho undertake to negotiate trea- 
 ties, in which Canada is concerned, will have more accu- 
 rate knowledge of the geography and history of the 
 regions in question than did those who, acting on imperial 
 instructions, and, so far as their limited knowledge guided 
 them, in imperial interests, have heretofore settled our 
 
TREATT-MAXING ; WAH OF 1812. 
 
 191 
 
 international boundaries, by giving away whatever was in 
 dispute, or specially coveted. "But, to return to the story, 
 
 In 1788, says Mackenzie, the gross amount of the ad- 
 venture for the year did not exceed £40,000, but, by the 
 exertion, enterprise and industry of the proprietors, it 
 was brought, in eleven years, to triple that amount and 
 upwards, yielding proportionate profits, and surpassing, 
 in short, anything known in America. In 1798, the 
 shares were increased to forty-six, and new partners were 
 admitted. Most of the furs were sold in England. Some 
 were sent to China and the East through the United 
 States, or in ships of the East India Company, and traded 
 for tea and other commodities ; but a loss of £40,000 was 
 experienced in the latter venture in the four years pre- 
 ceding 1796. 
 
 The employees of the North West Company had no 
 insignificant part in the war of 1812. A military |tost, 
 for the protection of the fur trade, was established by 
 order of the Company and General Brock, on the Island 
 of St. Joseph, in Lake Huron, under command of Captain 
 Roberts. 
 
 On the fifteenth of July, Roberts set out with his little 
 army of forty-two regulars, three artillerymen and one 
 hundred and sixty voyageurs, half of whom only were 
 armed with guns, and two hundred and fifty Indians. On 
 the seventeenth, they landed near Mackinac, which was 
 garrisoned by sixty soldiers under command of Lieutenant 
 Hancks. The garrison was summoned to surrender, 
 which they did with little delay. Apart from the value 
 
 I 
 
1!):^ 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 J 
 
 r 
 
 lir ' 
 
 i ( 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 
 l\ 
 
 :i!t 
 
 ! 
 
 iii;! 
 
 I , 
 
 of the acquisition in itself, says the historian McMillan, 
 the occurrence had an excellent effect in retainina' the 
 North West Indians in the British interests. 
 
 In an interesting debate as to the north westerly 
 boundary of Ontario, in the Legislative Assembly at 
 Toronto, on the 4th of February, 1876, Mr. S. J. Dawson, 
 uiuiuber for Algoma, thus refers to this great partner- 
 shi)» : 
 
 *' At the time of the formation of this Company, there 
 were in Canada a number of men remarkable for their 
 energy and enterprise ; many of them were the descend- 
 ants of those whose fortunes had been lost at CuUoden, 
 and even some of the Scottish chiefs who had been pre- 
 sent at that memorable conflict, were then in the country 
 Thev were men accustomed to adventure, and had been 
 trained in the stern school of adversity. They joined the 
 North West Company, and soon gave a different com- 
 ])lexion to the affairs of the North West. Under their 
 management order succeeded to the anarchy which had 
 prevailed under the French regime. Warring tribes and 
 rival traders w^ere reconciled. Trading posts sprung up 
 on the Saskatchewan and Unjiga ; every post became a 
 centre of civilization, and explorations were extended to 
 the shores of the Arctic Sea and the coasts of the Pacific 
 Ocean. It has been tie custom to ascribe to the Hudson's 
 Bay Company the admirable system of management 
 which brought peace and good government to the then 
 distracted regions of the North- West, but it was due to 
 these adventurous Scotchmen. Sir Alexander Mackenzie 
 
 --==-14=- 
 
THE X. Y. COMPANY; THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY. 193 
 
 traced out the great river which now bears his name, 
 and was the first to cross the Rocky Mountains and 
 reach the Pacific Ocean. Fraser followed the river now 
 called after him, and, a little later, Thompson crossed 
 further to the south and reached Oregon by the Cc^liim- 
 bia." 
 
 It will be seen in another chapter that on the da\- in 
 which this discussion took place in T I'onto, an impor- 
 tant constitutional change was made at Winnipeg — the 
 abolition of its Upper House or Legislative Council. 
 
 Disagreements arose, in time, among the partners and 
 some of them, among whom were Sir Edward Ellice and 
 Sir Alexander Mackenzie, formed another, styled the X. Y. 
 Company. This only increased the causes of trouble 
 among the adherents, and had a bad effect on the trade 
 and evil example to the Indians. 
 
 ] IT 
 
 
 THE HUDSON S BAY COMPANY. 
 
 The famous charter incorporating Prince Rupert, Chris- 
 topher, Duke of Albemarle, son of General Monk, to 
 whom the race of Stuarts owed so much, William Earl of 
 Craven, Henry, Lord Arlington — of " Cabal " fame, or in- 
 famy — Anthony, Lord Ashley, unworthy ancestor of good 
 Lord Shaftesbury, Sir John Robinson, and twelve others, 
 knights, baronets, esquires and citizens, as " The Gover- 
 nor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into 
 Hudson's Bay for the discovery of a new passage into the 
 South Sea, and for the finding some trade for furs 
 
 HI 
 
i. 
 
 i : 
 
 
 1 
 
 1- 
 
 ,. 
 
 
 Ill: 
 
 
 i>. 
 
 
 !!• 
 
 iitll 
 
 in 1 
 11 • 
 
 i! 
 
 194 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 minerals, and other considerable commodities," wa« dated 
 the second day of May, 1670, in the twenty-second year 
 of King Charles the Second. Judicial and executive 
 authority was so conferred on the Company, together with 
 the sole trade in all seas, straits, lands, &c., that lie within 
 the entrance of Hudson's Straits, or the rivers that enter 
 them, not already occupied by any other English subject, 
 or other Christian Prince or State, yielding therefor two 
 elks and two black beavers, whensoever the king or his 
 heirs should visit the said territory. 
 
 For the political history of the Hudson's Bay Company 
 we have here no space. History tells us how the Canadian, 
 traders spread over the Southern part of the territory 
 and even followed up the English to the hunting grounds 
 between the lakes and Hudson's Bay. A deadly rivalry 
 arose. Hunters and voyageurs strove together for the 
 mastery of important posts and hunting grounds, and 
 blood was frequently shed. In the midst of this sad state 
 of affairs, Lord Selkirk became Governor of the Company, 
 and formed a scheme for settling the Red River Valley 
 with his hardy countrymen. The first colony came in 
 the autumn of 1812, and sottled between Fort Garry and 
 Kildonan, the parish which we have described elsewhere, 
 and which is five miles north of the present city of Winni- 
 peg. These hardy Highlanders suffered for many years from 
 the storm that raged between the two companies. The Earl 
 had come out at the invitation of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany, and obtained an immense tract of land from them. 
 He built a fort and store at the river bank, the name of 
 
 jiii. 
 
LORD SELKIRK; TROUBLES AJVD BLOODSHED. 195 
 
 which is still preserved in that of Point Douglas, now a 
 most important part of Winnipeg, which he till his death 
 supplied by shipments from England of arms, ammunition, 
 clothing and food. The foundation of the old fort may 
 yet be traced on the Logan Estate, near the river's bank. 
 The half-breeds and retainers of the North- West Com- 
 |)any, with their strong French Canadian feeling, were 
 jealous of outside interference. The new comers were 
 twice driven to take shelter at Pembina, where was Fort 
 Darr, a Hudson's Bay post. In their absence, their home:- 
 were destroyed. 
 
 In 1815, a large body of emigrants arrived and found 
 their friends in \. ^verty and wretchedness. The settle- 
 ment was for a time forsaken, some going to Hudson's Bay 
 forts, but others toiled, with women and children, a weary 
 journey over what is now the " Dawson route " to Fort 
 William, thence made their way by Penetanguishene to 
 Canada West, where their descendants may yet be found. 
 The next year evil feelings had culminated. On the 19th 
 of June, an encounter took place on Frog plains, between 
 Fort Douglas and Kildonan, on the west bank of the river, 
 in which Mr. Robert Semple, then governor of the Selkirk 
 settlement and fort, and twenty-one others — five officers 
 and sixteen men — of his party, were killed. 
 
 At the time of this attack, Lord Selkirk was on his 
 way to Rupert's Land, and heard of the affair when in 
 New York. Peace had come for a time in Europe and 
 he had induced some disbanded soldiers to follow him. 
 His company consisted of eighty men and four officers of 
 
 iHl 
 
\y f 
 
 :i 
 
 190 
 
 THL PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 I! 
 
 li^ 
 
 II 
 
 1^ 
 
 the De Meuron regiment, a score of the men of tho Wat- 
 teville regiment, and a few Glengarry men. They passed 
 up by Penetanguishene and the North shore, and encamp- 
 ed on the left bank of the Kaministiquia River, opposite 
 Fort William. Here his Lordship soon found straorsilers 
 from Red River, who had known of, and some wIk^ had 
 suffered from, the acts of the Nor'- West Company- 's peo- 
 ple, and who laid informations before him as a Justice of 
 the Peace, charging a number of those in the Fort as 
 guilty of larceny, riot and murder. There were in and 
 about the neighbourhood of Fort William, engaged in the 
 fur and goods trade, about two hundred French Canad- 
 ians and half as many Indians. Lord Selkirk soon com- 
 menced hostilities, but under cover of his office as a Jus- 
 tice of the Peace. He had been enjoined by the Canad- 
 ian authorities not to use the old soldiers with him in any 
 aggressive operations. His veterans, nevertheless, with 
 constables' warrants in their hands, arrested such of the 
 incriminated adherents of the Company as they could 
 seize, and when the rest took shelter within the liigh 
 wooden palisades of the fort, they broke open the gate, 
 their companions flocked across the river and soon took 
 possession of the post, which they held till May, 1817. 
 The prisoners were brought to York, now Toronto, and 
 tried before the full Court of King's Bench, in the month 
 of October, 1818. Before proceeding to give any details 
 of these interesting trials, we may refer shortly to the high 
 and patriotic, if somewhat arbitrary, character of Lord 
 Selkirk. Desirous of securing a happy home for his 
 
TIIK SFJ.KIHK SKTTI.KMKNT. 
 
 11)7 
 
 ^ Wat- 
 passed 
 ticamp- 
 pposite 
 ai^uflers 
 
 or? 
 
 10 had 
 
 's peo- 
 
 ;tice of 
 
 •"oi't an 
 
 in and 
 
 i in the 
 
 Canad- 
 
 1 com- 
 
 a Jus- 
 
 ^anad- 
 
 in any 
 
 , with 
 
 of the 
 
 could 
 
 16 high 
 
 J gate, 
 
 1 took 
 
 , 1817. 
 
 o, and 
 
 month 
 
 details 
 
 le high 
 
 e Lord 
 
 ■or his 
 
 countrymen and for those who had served in the wars iA' 
 liis king, or were turned out of ancestral liomes hy " im- 
 proving" landlords, who thought shee[)-fiirming more pio- 
 titphle than tenant culture, he could find no })hu'e in 
 Europe, as he thought, safe from the destroyer- -war. He 
 also seems to have feared to settle near the American 
 border, and hoped in the rich prairies of the Winnipeg 
 basin, to find a secure home. He was lavish of both time 
 and treasure, and yet was witness of much trouble and 
 suffering among his faithful followers. He died in France 
 in 1820. The territory which was granted to him by the 
 company's deed, dated 12th June, 1811, is described 
 thus : — 
 
 " Beginning on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg at 
 a point 32 degrees 30 minutes North latitude; thence run- 
 ning due west to Lake Winnipegoshish ; thence in a south- 
 erly direction through said lake, so as to strike its west- 
 erly shore in latitude 52 degrees ; then due west to the 
 place where the parallel of 52 north latitude intersects the 
 west branch of Red River, otherwise called the Assiniboine 
 River, then due south from that point to the height of land 
 which separates the waters running into Hudson's Bay 
 from those of the Mississip^ and Missouri Rivers; then in an 
 easterly direction along the height of land to the source of 
 the River Winnipeg ; thence along the main stream of those 
 waters and the middle of the several lakes through which 
 they pass to the mouth of the Winnipeg River, and tlience 
 in a northerly direction through the middle of Lake Win- 
 
 si 
 
 
 
. I 
 
 I ; J 
 
 urn 
 
 TIIK IMJAIUIK I'KOVINCI-:. 
 
 'I, 
 
 II 11 
 
 i' I 
 
 Tiipeg to the place of bc^itiniiiL^ on tlio wcstoni slioro of 
 that lake." 
 
 It will bo noticed that a large and valuable part of this 
 territory is now included in the limits of the State of 
 Minnesota and Dakota Territory. That arose, as we 
 know, as a result of treaty-making by English dii)loma- 
 tists with our acute American cousins. 
 
 In 1830, the Company repurchased from Lord Selkirk's 
 heirs, for £84,000, the ])art of the land to which they laid 
 title, being that above described, with the exception of 
 portions meantime deeded to settlers. 
 
 Lord Selkirk, during his stay, obtained a valuable ces- 
 sion from the Indians by treaty, made on the eighteenth 
 of June, 1817, with the five chiefs of the Crees and Chip- 
 pewas. Two miles on either side of Red River, from its 
 mouth to Red Lake River, now in Minnesota ; and the 
 like extent on either side of the Assiniboine, from its 
 junction at Fort Garry to Muskrat River, were given up 
 to the settlers. This land is now marked on the map 
 and known as the "Old Settlers' Belt." In Indian par- 
 lance, this belt was described as the distance, on either side 
 the rivers, that might be seen under a horse's belly. 
 
 The Indians always asserted, when any question arose 
 as to the terms of this transaction, that they, or their 
 fathers, only agreed to give Lord Selkirk a lease for 
 twenty-two years. The treaties made with them, since 
 the creation of Manitoba, have put an end to such discus- 
 
 oxwiio. ^gj, SELKIRK CAUSES CELEBRES. 
 
 Detailed accounts of the proceedings in these then ex- 
 
 ) i 
 
THK SKLKFRK CAFSKS CKLKIMn'.S. 
 
 l!)0 
 
 loro of 
 of til 19 
 
 tate ol' 
 
 as wc 
 
 plonia- 
 
 ilkirk's 
 icy laid 
 Dtion of 
 
 ble ces- 
 hteenth 
 d Chip- 
 rom its 
 xnd the 
 rom its 
 iven up 
 le map 
 ian par- 
 ler side 
 
 tn arose 
 or their 
 Base for 
 n, since 
 discus- 
 
 ihen ex- 
 
 citin<,' and celebrated, hut now iilniusl loiMot(rn, luit yet 
 important trials, arc ^dvcn in two rare Ijooks |)ul)lisl»c(l in 
 Montreal, in 1819. 
 
 The indictments were iind(»r jMitliority of an Act 
 passed in the forty-third year of (Jcorore the 'I'hird, 
 whereby cognizance of offences committed witliin the 
 Indian territories, or ()arts of America not ivlthin the 
 limits of Upper or Lower Canada, or of any civil govern- 
 ment of the United States of America, was given to Lower 
 Canada ; but the Governor of that Province was autho- 
 rised, when convenience and justice so required, to trans- 
 mit any persons (;harged with such offence to Upper Can- 
 ada, for trial there. The Court was presided over by 
 Chief Justice Powell, find Judges Campbell and Boulton. 
 The Crown counsel were Attorney-General (afterwards 
 Chief Justice), Sir John Beverley Robinson, niid Solicitor- 
 General H. J. Boulton. 
 
 Messrs. Samuel Sherwood, L. P. Sherwood, and W. W. 
 Baldwin, father of the Hon. Robert Baldwin, were counsel 
 for the prisoners. As related in the ev'dence of the case 
 against Paul Brown and Francois F. Bouolier, the story is 
 a sad and cruel one. Governor Scmple, learning of the 
 approach of the half-breeds, and that they had arrested 
 three of his men, hastily left Fort Douglas with about 
 thirty in his party, to go towards the settlement at Kil- 
 donan. They were soon met on Frog Plains by the half- 
 breeds on horseback, instigated by the North West Com- 
 pany. Angry words passed between Semple and Francois 
 F. Boucher. Semple ordered his followers to arrest 
 
i' 
 
 200 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 Ill; 
 
 am 
 
 fV 
 
 ^'i 
 
 t 
 
 :;ih3 
 
 1' 1 ■ 
 
 1 
 1^ 
 
 
 Bouchei", who slid oft* his hoiso and ran away. The men 
 on either side were vaiiously armed with guns, tomahawks, 
 bows, arrows and spears. 
 
 Two shots were fired, by which Mr. Semple and Mr. 
 Holte,his lieutenant, who was by him, fell. The first shots 
 might have been accidental, but their report and the sight 
 of blood raised a savage desire for ruthless extirpation. 
 Immediately a volley was poured in, by which nearly all 
 the Selkirk party were killed or wounded, as they had 
 gathered round the Governor and Mr. Holte. Michael 
 Heden one of the company, and the most important witness 
 for the Crown, in his evidence says : " I was very much 
 frightened when I saw Mr. Holte and Governor Semple 
 fall. A short time after, I saw the wounded men crying 
 for mercy, but the half-breeds rode up to them and killed 
 them. Their bodies were, by friendly Indians, brought into 
 Fort Douglas next day fearfully mutilated. The attack- 
 ing party was under Cuthbert Grant, a Scotch half-breed, 
 and a chief clerk of the North-West Company." 
 
 John Priichard, one of Semple's followers, tells how he 
 saw Lieutenant Holte fall ; also, Sinclair, Bruce, and Mc- 
 Lean. Captain Rogers ran towards the attacking party, 
 calling out that he surrendered and praying them to spare 
 his life. Thomas McKay, a half-breed, shot him through 
 the head, and another Bois-brul^, ripped him open with a 
 knife. The half-breeds were painted in a hideous manner, 
 and as they attacked gave the war whoop, like Indians. 
 Pritchard was insulted and threatened, but his life was 
 spared at his earnest entreaty. Cuthbert Grant told him 
 
SURRENDER OF FORT DOUGLAS. 
 
 201 
 
 that his party had intended to surround Fort Douglas 
 and shoot all who ventured out. A peremptory surrender 
 was insisted on, and Pritchard carried this message as 
 Grant's ultimatum to the fort. Mr. McDonnell was, after 
 Semple fell, in command, and seeing resistance futile, this 
 was agreed to. An inventory was taken of the property, 
 which was signed by Grant, to whom the fort was aban- 
 doned, on the twenty-second ; the Hudson Bay people 
 proceeding down the river to a Hudson Bay fort on Lake 
 Winnipeg. 
 
 Cuthbert Grant was one of the four chiefs of the half- 
 breeds, the others being Bostonnais Pangman, Wm. Shaw 
 and Bonhomme Montour. 
 
 In 1816, there was no house but Fort Douglas at Bed 
 River ; the others were burned down by the Nor- West 
 Company's half-breeds, and the settlers, em]">loyed in the 
 day time on their lands, used to come up to the fort by 
 the river's bank to sleep. 
 
 The evidence of the witness Heden, who was a black- 
 smith, was impeached, especially as to his statement that 
 the Bois-brul^s fired first, and it was alleged that he had 
 said : " We cannot blame the half-breeds, for our side 
 fired first, and if we had gained the day we should have 
 done the same, or as bad, to them." Chief Justice Powell 
 charged the Jury, who, after some deliberation, gave a ver- 
 dict of not guilty. 
 
 Similar verdicts were given in the other cases, among 
 which we may only mention that against John Cooper 
 imd Hugh Bannonnan, charged with stealing cannon from 
 
 m 
 
 ' !* 
 
1 
 
 V 
 
 \ i 
 
 
 i "^ ! 
 
 s:i! 
 
 f 
 
 "■'l 
 
 Iff 
 
 ll I 
 
 ■ r 
 
 I'i 
 
 
 
 202 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 the dwelling house of Earl Selkirk, on the third of April, 
 1815. 
 
 Much latitude seems to have been given in the admis- 
 sion of evidence at the trials. It showed clearly an ex- 
 asperated state of feeling — that the people went about 
 armed, and that hostile rivalry between the two com- 
 panies existed. Earl Selkirk did not appear at the trials 
 at York. He seems to have felt, and probably with reason, 
 that public feeling in Canada in favour of the Nor'-West 
 Company, would be too strong for him and his cause 
 
 An interesting discussion as to the boundary of Upper 
 Canada, now Ontario, is reported. These proceedings, 
 and those in the trial at Quebec, soon to be referred to 
 aftbrded ground for the argument advanced by some, 
 that the whole of the present Province of Manitoba, and 
 much more to the west, and between it and Hudson's 
 Bay, might of right have been claimed as part of the 
 great Province of Ontario. This and other interesting 
 matters will soon be submitted to the arbitration agreed 
 on between that Province and the Dominion. 
 
 TRIALS AT QUEBEC. 
 
 
 til 
 
 
 ; j 
 
 
 ■ 1 
 
 4 
 
 5 ;! 
 - . 'j 
 
 1 , 1 
 
 \ '' 'l 
 
 ^ 4 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 ' 
 
 
 U 
 
 & 
 
 k. 
 
 
 Two other trials, arising out of the same troubles, took 
 place before Chief Justice Sewell and Judges Perrault 
 and Bowen, at Quebec, in May and June, 1818. Charles 
 de Reinhard, formerly a sergeant in the De Meuron 
 regiment, who had entered the service of the North West 
 Company, having, with Mainville, a half-breed, arrested 
 
 *J>w<^ 
 
MURDEll OF OWEN KEVENY. 
 
 203 
 
 Owen Keveny, an intelligent retainer of the other Com- 
 pany, murdered him in a dastardly manner in the dalles 
 of the Winnipeg river, near Rat Portage. Enquiry was 
 made for Keveny, when the murderer answered that he 
 would not return again, that he was well hid — " il nc re- 
 viendra plus, il est hien caehS." De Reinhard was found 
 guilty, and sentenced to death in the old fashioned man- 
 ner, including the direction that his body be anatomised 
 — a thoughtful provision for the medical profession. 
 
 Exception was taken to the ruling of the Court on the 
 trial, that the dalles of the Winnipeg were not in Indian 
 territory, but within the limits of Upper Canada, and so 
 not under the cognizance of the Court. 
 
 The judges delayed the execution of the sentence un- 
 til the opinion of the Imperial authorities could be ob- 
 tained. They seem to have disagreed with the Quebec 
 Court. The result was that De Reinhard was released 
 from custody. The facts and the stigma still remain. 
 
 The only excuse he could allege was, that he acted 
 under orders from his superiors, and that was, in those 
 rude times, too often consideued sufficient to justify any 
 acts by the faithful servants of the Company, however 
 unlawful or cruel. 
 
 The other case was that of Archibald McLellan, a 
 partner in the North- West Company, who was charged 
 as an accessory to the murder of Keveny. He was ac- 
 quitted by the jury. Cuthbei't Grant and Joseph Cadotte 
 seem not to have been brought to trial. Owing to the 
 destruction of tlic Canadian Parliamentary documents by 
 
 ^>m^ 
 
204 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 
 * '■ 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 [ 
 
 il' 
 
 I 
 
 i I 
 
 i N 
 
 fire in Montreal, and to the like loss of the Quebec Court 
 records, it has been a matter of difficulty to trace the post 
 verdict proceedings accurately. Through the kind offices 
 of Colonel Gugy, of Quebec, a search in the records kept 
 in the gaol of that city has been made, and the following 
 entries found there, viz. : — " Charles de Reinhard, Archi- 
 bald McLellan, Cuthbert Grant, Joseph Cadotte, com- 
 mitted on the 19th March, 1818. By virtue of a writ of 
 habeas corpus, removed from the common gaol of the 
 City and District of Montreal therein detained under a 
 charge by a bill of indictment found against them for 
 having unlawfully and maliciously, and of their malice 
 aforethought, killed and murdered Owen Keveny, in the 
 Indian territory." All but De Reinhard were bailed on 
 the 4th of April, 1818, by order of the Court of King's 
 Bench. As this record shows, which continues thus : 
 De Reinhard was, " by the Court of Oyer and Terminer, 
 sentenced to be hanged on Monday, the first of June. 
 Respited till 26 June ; second respite 2nd October ; third 
 respite ,first Friday in March next. On the 10th October, 
 1821, pardoned by His Royal Highness." This was n 
 the second year of the reign of George the Fourth. 
 
 These trials were long and ably conducted. Attorney - 
 General Uniacke and Solicitor-General Marshall appeared 
 for the Crown in both cases. Messrs. George Vanfelson, 
 Andrew Stuart, and Valliere de St. Real were counsel for 
 the prisoners. The most remarkable feature brought out 
 in the evidence is, that the so-called savages were less 
 bloody than the Metis, or as they are more generally 
 
 M" 
 
DE REJN hard's TRIAL ; PIERRE FALCON's SONG. 205 
 
 called the Bois-hruUs, and white employes of the con- 
 tending companies. A band of Ojibways, in 1815, aided 
 and guarded the poor Selkirk settlers to the fort on Lake 
 Winnipeg and hindered their utter destruction at Red 
 River, when that seemed inevitably decreed by the bar- 
 barous half-breeds in the interest of the North West Com- 
 pany. Keveny was found by his intending murderers 
 living and trading happily among the Indians. He was 
 made prisoner and carried away beyond their observation, 
 and then murdered with Mainville's gun and De Rein- 
 hard's sword. '* Make the prisoner believe that he is 
 going to Lac la Pluie ; we cannot kill him here among 
 the Indians," said one conspirator to the other. When 
 tiiey had got to where the river makes an elbow, an ex- 
 cuse was made for the party to go on land. Then De 
 Reinhard said to Mainville, " We are far enough from the 
 Indians; you may tire when he comes near enough to 
 embark." The murder was then committed and the body 
 hidden in the woods. After the onslaught, in which 
 Governor Semple fell, the colony was dispersed ; Init, on 
 the arrival of the old soldiers — some of whom ])reccded 
 and some went in with his lordshiji — it gathered again. 
 The Earl died in France in 1820. A union of tlie two 
 companies was brought about the next year through the 
 agency of Sir Edward Ellice and Lord Bathurst. The dis- 
 turbing element being removed, ])eace was restored. 
 
 We are indebted to Professor Bryce, of Manitoba Col- 
 lege, for the following translation or paraphrase of a curi- 
 ous fragment of Bois-brul^ literature celebrating the 
 
 i 
 
 ■ M 
 
 Af 
 
20() 
 
 THE PRAIRIK PllOVINCE. 
 
 % 
 
 U. 
 
 I* 
 
 Battle of Frog Plains. It was the extempore production 
 of Pierre Falcon, an almost entirely illiterate half-breed, 
 composed, it is said, and sung as he rode away after the 
 battle. This old bard was living in the Province till 
 within a recent period, had a small official position under 
 the Hudson's Bay Company, and is said to have been re- 
 spected by his people. Our readers may find the original 
 French words and an interesting article on the settlement 
 in the Gaiiadiau Monthly Magazine for 1874, p. 279 : — 
 
 SONG WRITTEN BY PIERRE FALCON. 
 
 " Come listen to this song of truth ! 
 A song of the brave Bois-brul^s, 
 Who at Frog Plain took three captives, 
 Strangers come to rob our country. 
 
 *' When dismounting, there to rest us, 
 A cry is raised — the English ! 
 They are coming to attack us, 
 So we hasten forth to meet them. 
 
 " I looked upon their army, 
 They are motionless and downcast ; 
 So, as honour would incline us, 
 We desire with them to parley. 
 
 " But their leader, moved with anger, 
 Gives the word to fire upon us ; 
 And imperiously repeats it, 
 Rushing on to his destruction. 
 
 " Having seen us pass his stronghold. 
 He had thought to strike with terror 
 The Bois-brules : ah ! mistaken. 
 Many of his soldiers perish, 
 
 
duction 
 f- breed, 
 fter the 
 Qce till 
 1 under 
 )een re- 
 original 
 tlement 
 !79:— 
 
 
 
 (( 
 
 (( 
 
 UNION OF THE COMPANI?:S. 207 
 
 But a few escaped the slaughter, 
 Rushing from the field of battle, 
 Oh, to see the English fleeing ! 
 Oh, the shouts of their pursuers ! 
 
 Who has sung this song of triumph ? 
 The good Pierre Falcon has composed it, 
 That the praise of these Bois-brules 
 Might be evermore recorded." 
 
 The North Vv est Company was not incorporated, nor 
 had they any charter save the agreement of the partners. 
 They claimed no territorial rights, but those of landlords 
 of the sites actually occupied. They had no courts, nor 
 did their officers claim judicial powers beyond those of 
 justices of the peace, which some of them held by ap- 
 pointment of the Canadian Executive. The Hudson's Bay 
 Company cannot be considered to have acquired, when 
 this North West Company joined it, any further exten- 
 sion of territorial authority than the latter Company en- 
 joyed, which was subservient to Canada. 
 
 The Hudson's Bay Company's operations were long con- 
 fined to the regions north of the Manitoba lakes. They 
 did not enter the Saskatchewan valley till shortly before 
 1780, nor the Red Uiver valley before 1805, and yet, 
 when Canada came to treat for the occupation and settle- 
 ment of the great Fertile Belt, she was asked to consider 
 that the claims of the Company thereto wei'e valid, as if it 
 had been all occupied by them since 1G70, and the |)rice 
 demanded was in the like proportion, and finally agreed to, 
 as we shall now briefly explain. Wc refer to this as 
 
 if 
 
 if ,: 
 
208 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 m 
 
 m\ 
 
 Hr 
 
 V ,', 
 
 if 
 
 » t 
 
 I 
 
 a matter of historical int' rest. The contract has been 
 made, some details only have yet to be completed. Among 
 these is the laying off reserves round many important 
 posts ; a matter which the public should regard with in- 
 terested vigilance. 
 
 This union of contending parties was a fortunate thing 
 for all concerned. The united Company was so enabled 
 to put more restraint on their own employees, and, by 
 p.xample and police, preserve better order among the In- 
 dians and half-breeds. Causes of dispute still sometimes 
 arose. 
 
 In 184(), Colonel J. F. Crofton was sent from England 
 to Red River, with eighteen officers and three hundred 
 and twenty-nine men, under secret instructions, and re- 
 mained more than a year. They were intended to ward 
 against threatened Indian troubles and to deter filibus- 
 tering expeditions from Canada and the States. This 
 little army went by Fort York, and thence by boats up 
 Lake Winnipeg and Red River. 
 
 The evidence of Colonel Crofton, as given before a 
 Committee of the Imperial House of Commons, on 19th 
 May, 1857, is valuable, being that of a disinterested wit- 
 ness. Still living in mature old age but totally blind, 
 and now of the rank of Lieut-Gen. in the British army. 
 We refer to it shortly. He says : '' Since the junction 
 of the two Companies, the issue of spirits in barter for 
 fur gradually ceased, and I think about ten j^ears before 
 I arrived in the colony, it had altogetner ceased ; and 
 from that time the Indian lace were increasing, as shown 
 
 J 
 
has been 
 Among 
 mportant 
 with in- 
 
 ate thing 
 enabled 
 and, by 
 the In- 
 
 )metimes 
 
 England 
 
 hundred 
 
 and re- 
 
 to ward 
 
 r filibus- 
 
 3s. This 
 
 boats up 
 
 before a 
 on 19th 
 sted wit- 
 ly blind, 
 sh army, 
 junction 
 arter for 
 rs before 
 ed ; and 
 IS shown 
 
 EVIDENCE OF COLONEL CROFTON AND ADMIRAL HACK. 209 
 
 by the census : before that they had l)een decreasing. 1 
 am sure that justice was practically administered — there 
 was no crime. T attribute this to the absence of spirits. 
 
 " I tliink," he adds, " the Hudson's Bay Company's oth- 
 cers have an experience of natives — half-breeds and In- 
 dians — that no other body can have, and I think they 
 managed them exceedingly well." The Comj.a'xy's gov- 
 ernment of Red River he characterized as patriarchal in 
 every sense. 
 
 A question (No. 3334) asked this witness was: "What 
 do you suppose would be the result of having any loose 
 form of government among the Indians ? " 
 
 He answered : " I think they would kill one another. 
 The Americans would soon use them up if they were 
 there." 
 
 Rear Admiral Sir George Back, who accompanied Sir 
 John Franklin and Sir John Ross in some of their expe- 
 ditions, and spent much time at Hudson's Bay Company's 
 posts, says before the same committee : " The Indians 
 seemed always to feel that they could fall back upon the 
 clemency and the benevolence of the white man, at any 
 extremity. The feeling of the Indians towards the officers 
 of the Company was very good. I never knew an instance 
 to the contrary." 
 
 Colonel Crofton also expressed a high opinion as to the 
 fertility of the country. The climate he thought not 
 more severe than that of Upper Canada. '' The season 
 opens about the first week in April and closes about the 
 middle of November."..." The finest weather is what is 
 
210 
 
 THE I'UAIIUE PROVINCE. 
 
 t^ 
 
 \u 
 
 lifeMI 
 
 
 rallod tlic Fall, wliicli cxtenils from August to the middle 
 of Noveiubcr." 
 
 To question 3201, " Had you an opportunity of seeing 
 any agriculture while you wore there if" he answered: — 
 "A great deal. They grew oats, barley, and wheat chief- 
 ly, but all sorts of vegetables. The wheat ripened in 
 ninety days from sowing. It ripened very perfectly. It 
 was the finest I ever saw." 
 
 He goes on to speak of the extent of the fei'tile region 
 as being the prairie land from Red River to the base of 
 the Rocky Mountains. "It is," he says, "fit for agricul- 
 ture. It might maintain millions." 
 
 It is unnecessary to cite the evidence of the author of 
 " The Groat Lone Land " and other travellers further to 
 prove the friendly feeling that has ever existed in the 
 natives towards the officers of the Company, and which 
 will doubtless remain. As long as the region is under 
 the sway of Canada just and liberal treatment will surely 
 be enforced and have its reward. 
 
 The control of the Company's affairs was vested by the 
 charter in a Governor, Deputy-Governor and five Direc- 
 tors, annually elected in London by the stockholders. 
 Their powers in Rupert's Land were exercised by a Gover- 
 nor, the same person often holding office for many years. 
 Sir George Simpson was the first appointed after the 
 union in 1821, and held office till his death, in 1860. Mr. 
 Alexander Grant Dallas succeeded him, and was followed 
 by Mr. Wm. McTavish, in 1864. Mr. Donald A. Smith, 
 M.P. for Selkirk, is now Governor of the Company. 
 
(JOVKliNcmS, .iri)f}KS, AND IM'IOF'LK OK ASSINII'.ni A. 211 
 
 he middle 
 
 of seeinsf 
 iwered : — 
 
 Gtat chief- 
 ipeiied in 
 ectly. It 
 
 ile region 
 base of 
 ' agricuJ- 
 
 uthor of 
 irther to 
 d in the 
 id which 
 is under 
 ill surely 
 
 i by the 
 e Direc- 
 :holders. 
 ^ Gover- 
 y years, 
 ■ter the 
 0. Mr. 
 ollowed 
 Smith, 
 7- 
 
 Till IS.'J}) the (iovcriior wns Judw sdso. A Ki'coniiM' 
 was then apjiointcd, Mr. Abram Thom, who presided 
 till lcS54, with some intermission, during \/hich Colonel 
 Caldwell, in chnrgc of somc! ti'oops at the sottlenicnt, 
 acted with much ability. Mr. Frank (Jodshali Johnson, 
 a Montreal lawyer, was next Governor of Assiniboia and 
 Recorder ; then Dr. Bunn, who was ecpially skilled in 
 law and physic. Judge John Black was ajipointcd in 
 18()2 and held office till the creation of thy Province of 
 Manitoba, when the appointment or its Judges came 
 under the control of the Dominion Government, as stated 
 in another chapter. 
 
 The population of the colony in 181G is stated at 20'), 
 in 1823 at GOO, in 1843 at 5,143, in 1858 at 8,000, and 
 in the next ten years about 4,000 were added. Various 
 families have, at different times, moved from the original 
 site to Portage La Prairie and elsewhere in the Province. 
 Till its entering the Canadian Confederation, the settle- 
 ment, including fifty miles in depth east and west of the 
 river, was ruled by the Council of Assiniboia — with the 
 Governor of the Company, and the Recorder, at its head, 
 and formed in every respect a Crown Colony. As Mr. 
 Dawson argues in the speech referred to, tlie Hudson's Bay 
 Company established this colony in conformity with the 
 conditions of their charter. The Imperial Government- 
 maintained troops there as it had done in Canada : it cor- 
 responded with the Governors of that colony, both directly 
 and through the Hudson's Bay Company, and in every 
 way recognised it as a colony. 
 
J.I ■ ll 
 
 1 
 
 'r 
 
 5li 
 
 
 212 
 
 THK PIUIUli: PliOVINOK. 
 
 /Vft^'i' tliti miioii of i\\o. two coiiiiKuiios tho people of tliis 
 settloineiit were long the only whites in tiie country, save 
 the .servants of the Company and the oucaHional mission- 
 ary or adventurer. Their young peo[)le united in mar- 
 riage with the natives, daughters of Cree, C^hippewa and 
 other chiefs ; and \vc Hnd among the well-to-ch) half- 
 breeds the names of the old Scotch Highbinders. Native 
 instinct has led the cliildren to till the farm, while the 
 French Metis prefers the chase. The strong fibre of the 
 Scottish mind has not generally given way but has often 
 raised the Indian to its own level, and many traits of 
 character will be found in the Bois-bruMs of the North- 
 West which seem to have V)een derived from the half-wild 
 and sometimes cruel followers of the heroes of Waverley. 
 
 Owing to the exceeding richness of the soil carelessness 
 in farming has resulted. The same land is for many years 
 in succession cropped with wheat. Manure used to be 
 got rid of by burning or by drawing it to the ice that it 
 might Hoat away. 
 
 The amount of imports to the Red River settlement for 
 a number of years before Confederation was $100,000 per 
 annum ; but it is estimated that as much more, entering 
 from Hudson's Bay, was distributed along the interior. 
 On the other hand, the annual average export of furs fit)m 
 the various possessions of the Company was at this period 
 about $1,800,000, oi- nearly six times the value of imports 
 to all their posts which amounted to about $300,000. The 
 amount of cultivated land in Rupert's Land in 1866 was 
 but 20,000 acres, as Mr. Dodds estimated in his address 
 
 ii > 
 
ASSIXinOTA AND TFfK II. R COMPANY. 
 
 218 
 
 lu of this 
 try, Huvo 
 mission- 
 in nuir- 
 ewa and 
 ;lo lialf- 
 Nativo 
 /hWo the 
 •e of the 
 las often 
 traits of 
 3 North- 
 lalf-wild 
 '^averley. 
 Blessness 
 ny years 
 id to be 
 e that it 
 
 ment for 
 1,000 per 
 enteri no- 
 interior. 
 iva fit)m 
 is })eriod 
 imports 
 i){). The 
 8GG was 
 address 
 
 )jc refi 
 
 d to. TheC( 
 
 soon to 00 reierreu to. iiie i^ompany professed to sell laud 
 to half-breeds and other settlers at 7s. f)d. an aero, but the 
 consideration was seldom paid, and the possession of those 
 who did not interfere with the fur trade was not often 
 (piestioned. Windmills were used to grind the grain, and 
 there were then eighteen of these mills in the settlement. 
 Mutual advantage brought about the union of the rival 
 companies, the united Com])any so continuing till 18G9, 
 when its im])erial sway passed by hard bargain to the 
 Domini(tn, the company retaining its forts, trading posts, 
 and valuable reserves round them, as also a certain amount 
 of land in each township. It cannot be doubted that the 
 North- West Company was of much benefit to Canada. Its 
 catch of peltries was yearly carried to Montreal, which was 
 one of the great fur marts of the world. The older corpora- 
 tion having swallowed up its rival, ])elti'ies that formerly 
 found their market in the Canadian metiopolis, were sont 
 by way of Hudson'sBay to England. Every avenue of com 
 munication with Canada was closed, and reports, often en- 
 tirely false and unfavourable to the country and its trade, 
 were spread in order to secure a continuance of the rich 
 profits enjoyed from the monopoly. This monopoly was 
 rigidly enforced by the ofiicers of the Company, who even 
 assumed the right to fine and imprison the free trader who 
 ventured to oflter a skin for sale to any but themselves. 
 Persons still living, among them Mr. A. G. B. Bannatyne, 
 M.P. for Provencher, were so imprisoned for trading un- 
 licensed. The goods trade was an important pendant of 
 the fur trade, as rigidly guarded as a monopoly. As to 
 
 N 
 
t:i 
 
 
 214 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 J 
 
 I'l 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 ii ■ 
 
 ) 
 
 
 the •orofit and r ature of this trade, we have the words of 
 Mr. James Dodds, in an address to the shareholders of 
 the Company, at the London Tavern, in March, 1866 : — 
 " Our goods trade was entirely barter, an enormous truck 
 system, and formerly, from the ignorance of the Indians, 
 tne disposed of our goods at twenty times their veal value. 
 Now that this charm of our exclusive right has been dis- 
 pelled, traders come up from the States and traverse the 
 country, and a number of pushing and successful mer- 
 chants have established themselves on the Red River." 
 
 That " The Adventurers " and the Indians were very 
 good friends, and that the latter were very serviceable and 
 well managed, cannot be doubted after reading the above. 
 
 The stock of the Company is reported to be ten millions 
 of dollars. They employ as much in the fur trade. Sir 
 Edward EUice stated in 1857 that the annual profits were 
 twelve pci- cent. Such profits were made, though the Com- 
 pany's affairs were conducted in an expensive manner. 
 Much capital was sunk in the erection of the great forts, with 
 walls and towers, several of which we have described or 
 mentioned, and in keeping up costly establishments. Many 
 of theseare now far away from the wilder regions in which 
 game is found. An inexpensive trading house here and 
 there will, now at least, answer all the requirements of the 
 trade. Within the last score of years the merchants of Mani- 
 toba have been successful in securing a part of this rich 
 traffic, but with limited capital and the fear of the Company 
 constantly before? them, their efforts were hampered till 
 territorial jurisdiction was taken from the Company, and 
 
 3» 
 
 ■wo mju i wi ii. 
 
THE FUR TRADE. 
 
 215 
 
 words of 
 lolders of 
 ., 1866 :— 
 ous truck 
 : Indians, 
 real value. 
 \ been dis- 
 iverse the 
 ssful mer- 
 River." 
 were very 
 iceable and 
 the above, 
 en millions 
 trade. Sir 
 Tofits were 
 h the Com- 
 7Q manner, 
 i forts, with 
 escribed or 
 mts. Many 
 IS in which 
 3e here and 
 fients of the 
 nts of Mani- 
 >f this rich 
 le Company 
 impered till 
 mpany, and 
 
 the present system of legal institutions and mounted police 
 introduced. The factors' license is now no longer requi- 
 site ; all fur traders are on an equality. Capital is being 
 largely embarked in this enterprise, both by traders indi- 
 vidually and by an incorporation which revives in its 
 name and head-quarters the Company that succumbed in 
 1821. Prices of furs have ranged continuallj^ with an 
 upward tendency, while the demand is increasing. Buffalo 
 robes which ten years ago sold for five or six dollars 
 now sell for nearly double these figures, and there is a 
 similar rise in the value of other furs. Access to the fur- 
 trading regions is yearly becoming more easy and less 
 expensive. Old voyageurs spent many months in gfiinincr 
 points now reached in a few lays, and goods and supplies 
 are transported from Montreal or Toronto to Winnipeo- 
 for one-tenth the sum that their carriage by rivers, lakes, 
 and portages cost a few years since. The saving in time 
 is proportionately great. Canadians may, therefore, well 
 congratulate themselves on the gain that has thus arisen 
 to them since Confederation — or, shall v e rather say, the 
 annual loss thus averted ? — in the recovery of at least a 
 large proportion of this valuable trade. 
 
 It would be a mistake to imagine that the spirit guid- 
 ing the Company's affairs is changed. Though excluded 
 from their self-asserted mono})oly of the staple article of 
 commerce, they hold their lands in Ine exclusive spirit of 
 persons whose interest it is to drain the country's re- 
 sources, and not ot those having a desire to devcloj) its 
 agricultural and other pernuinent interests. As inmiigra- 
 
|r ' 
 
 
 
 I'i 
 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 . 
 
 
 j 
 
 '"S 
 
 n^ 
 
 PM 
 
 ■if 
 
 i 1 
 
 
 
 Is' « 
 
 ^^1 
 
 
 - ( 
 
 \ ■ ! 
 
 \ 1 
 
 i 
 
 V. 
 
 21G 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 tion advances and centres are formed, irritation and 
 trouble will arise. Under article five in the deed of sur- 
 render, the Company is entitled to one-twentieth of all 
 land in the great Fertile Belt as it is surveyed and set 
 out into townships. In carrying out this agreement, the 
 Company have assigned to them, in every fifth township 
 as surveyed, two sections, or 1,280 acres, and, in every 
 other townshij) 560 acres ; and this applies to all lands, 
 whether arable or mineral. All this is in addition to the 
 sum of £300,000 stg. paid, and to the land in and around 
 every fort or trading post occupied. 
 
 What the Company pretend to have lost, as to the fur 
 trade monopoly, they have more than gained by their 
 treaty and statutory title to these lands which will be 
 made yearly more and more valuable by the labour of 
 inmiigrants, and the expenditure for public works, and 
 opening of the country at the expense of the Dominion 
 and Provincial exchequers. 
 
 We have referred to the thousand lots, the finest pro- 
 perty in Winnipeg, now held by this Corporation at such 
 prices as force settlers to {)urchase further from the rivers 
 rather than pay their figures. ]t seems quite mysterious 
 how they obtained so large a block here, even under the 
 terms of the statutory agreement. Some of these lots are 
 claimed by old residents, by reason of prior occupation, 
 and they will not tamely submit to be ejected. At Fort 
 William we were pointed to a tract of beautiful land, on 
 the banks of the Kaministiciuia, which the astute factor 
 claims for the Company, and which will be rendered very 
 
THE COLOSSUS OF THE NORTH-WEST. 
 
 217 
 
 tion and 
 ed of sur- 
 etli of all 
 ed and set 
 3ment, the 
 township 
 in every 
 all lands, 
 ion to the 
 ,nd around 
 
 to the fur 
 1 by their 
 ch will be 
 ! labour of 
 vorks, and 
 
 Dominion 
 
 finest pro- 
 Lon at such 
 I the rivers 
 mysterious 
 under the 
 ese lots are 
 occupation, 
 At Fort 
 il land, on 
 itute factor 
 dered very 
 
 valuable by the completion of the Tlumder Bay Branch 
 of the Canada Pacific Railroad. So doubtless, it \,ill be 
 at Fort Frances, and in each Province, Territory and 
 District where this Corporation has the smallest post. 
 When the immigrant gets to the forks of tlie Saskatche- 
 wan and to the banks of the Peace River, if he find a 
 coal mine or open an oil well, " The Adventurers' " agent 
 will be there soon after, with a claim to the choicest 
 locations. Well may the Manifcoban exclaim : — 
 
 " He doth bestride the narrow world 
 Like a Colossus : and we petty men 
 Walk under his huge legs, and peep about, 
 To find ourselves diahonourable graves ! " 
 
 Other trading corporations are , generally limited as to 
 the time during which, and the amount of land, they may 
 hold in mortmain. This Company is untrammelled. 
 Another hard bargain will probably be forced on the Do- 
 minion and Manitoba, to place matters on an equitable 
 footing. When such is made, let us hope it will be less 
 one-sided than was the last. 
 
 TABLE OF FUR TRADE SALES. 
 
 The following is a comparative statement of furs sold 
 in London by the Hudson's Bay Company and Messrs. C. 
 M. Lampson & Co., their agents, compiled by Mr. Wil- 
 liam Macnaughtan, fur commission merchant, New Y(jrk, 
 and will be worth considerinir :- 
 

 14 
 
 ))i 
 
 ft 
 
 iii'^ 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 J. 
 
 21cS THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 1872. 1873. 1874. 1875. 
 
 Beaver 204,073 165,536 173,855 185,200 
 
 Muskrat 2,828,299 2,350,643 2,253,024 1,835,593 
 
 Bear 11,645 10,683 9,710 12,102 
 
 Otter 16,086 15,817 15,460 20,107 
 
 Fisher 9,176 5,835 5,434 7,210 
 
 Marten 84,050 85,104 94,143 166,512 
 
 Mink 111,742 85,826 98,852 109,647 
 
 Silver Fox 1,147 1,275 1,237 1.515 
 
 Cross Fox 5,097 4,550 4,183 4,652 
 
 Red Fox 54,818 50,162 62,303 83,091 
 
 KittFox i;3,200 8,250 7,845 15,190 
 
 Grey Fox 19,733 22,407 19,388 25,934 
 
 Lynx 13,658 6,671 9,054 14,833 
 
 Wildcat 4,382 9,208 6,149 10,316 
 
 HouseCat 5,415 6,442 8,183 11,547 
 
 Raccoon 325,9-18 384,923 390,854 464,673 
 
 Wolf 3,475 7,981 15,729 6,075 
 
 Badger 3,256 5,076 4,94x 5,552 
 
 Opossum 106,451 167,201 133,440 166,337 
 
 Skunk 137,647 188,603 175,873 298,800 
 
 Much of the Company's trade now passes through 
 Winnipeg. The steamers " Northcote" and " Colville" on the 
 Saskatchewan and Lake Winnipeg, belong to the Com- 
 pany; One other matter of importance may be well hert; 
 referred in connection with the fur trade, viz : the 
 market ^r grain and the necessaries of life so created, 
 in the interior. For many .years the demand will be 
 generally equal to the supply, as it often now far exceeds 
 it, causing a large importation through Winnipeg and 
 more westerly points. The settler, miller and clothier, 
 need not wait for the steamer or railcar, but may exchange 
 their productions for the lighter furs that will be more 
 
 L* i'*^'^: 
 
AMERICAN FUK TRADERS. 
 
 219 
 
 1875. 
 
 85,200 
 
 ^35,593 
 
 12,102 
 
 20,107 
 7,210 
 
 66,512 
 
 09,647 
 
 1.515 
 
 4,652 
 83,091 
 15,190 
 25,934 
 14,833 
 10,316 
 11,547 
 64,673 
 
 6,075 
 
 5,552 
 166,337 
 }98,800 
 
 through 
 3" on the 
 le Com- 
 ^ell hei e 
 iz : the 
 created, 
 will be 
 exceeds 
 )eg and 
 jlothier, 
 :change 
 je more 
 
 
 easy of transport, and increase in value, as they move 
 each mile eastward. 
 
 ST. PAUL AND ST. LOUIS GET A SLICE. 
 
 For years before Confederation, long cp.valcades of 
 half-breed ox and pony carts with furs for barter came 
 annually by the Mississipi Valley to St, Paul. Hunters 
 from the settlement, too, roamed without restraint, over 
 the United States territory, and generally brought their 
 peltries to Hudson's Bay oiores. In 1844, Mr. Norman W. 
 Kittson, of St. Paul, established a trading post at Pembina. 
 The Company strove in vain to break up his establish- 
 ment, and went so far as to arrest Mr. Kittson for in- 
 fringement of their chartered privileges, but did not press 
 the charge. 
 
 The trade, thus tapped, soon grew into importance. Iii 
 1850, $15,000 worth of fun, were sold. Five years latei 
 they roached 840,000, at an : xpenditure of $24,000. The 
 fur trade of St. Paul with British territory, before the 
 time of Confederation, much exceeded $100,000 a year. 
 
 On the establishment of steam navigation on Red 
 River, by the fortunate company of which Mr. Kittson is 
 still a director, the Pembina post was given up, and Mr. 
 Kittson's name, as far as the fur business was concerned, 
 disappeared in that of a St. Louis fii-m, Pirre Clioteaux 
 & Co., who now do a large business in furs gatliered 
 from both sides of the boundary. 
 
 1; 
 

 1 i'N' 
 
 ll 
 
 K 
 
 i 
 I 
 
 it 
 
 'i 
 
 CHAPTER XITl 
 
 ACROSS THE PRAIRIE— GARRY TO FARGO — BOATMAN DO NOT TARRY ! 
 — ST.NORBERT—DELORME's— MUSIC—RAY OF SUNSHINE— DRIVERS — 
 — INDIANS — BLACKBIRDS — WILDACRE — WRIGHT's — A BEAUTIFUL 
 ANIMAL— THE SENATOR SNORES — ORION — SUNRISE — ABOVE THE 
 
 MARAIS — PEMBINA — " OLD MIDNIGHT's " — THE " GUTTESLAND " 
 
 THE MENNON BOLD — " OLD JAKE " — CARRIE — OTHER COMPANIONS 
 — TROUBLES BY THE WAY — SENATORIAL WISDOM — FARGO. 
 
 ALO^^G RED RIVER SOUTHERLY. 
 
 Our trip down the Red River has been told, and we have 
 made the reader acquainted, to some extent, with the 
 Dawson Route. It remains to tell of the stas^e road from 
 the Prairie capital to the American Northern Pacific. 
 This is the only means of access from the south-east dur- 
 ing the cold season, and will, till railway communication 
 be completed, be of manifest importance. 
 
 The office of Carpenter & Blakely's St. Paul Stage Com- 
 pany is near the old post office, and here, for $15 in sum- 
 mer, while the river opposition lasts, and for $24 in win- 
 ter, may be obtained the necessary ticket. This company 
 carries the mail for the United States and Canada, for 
 which service it receives something over $25,000 a year. 
 The same company have made proposals to run stages 
 from Winnipeg along the Assiniboine, to Fort Pelly or 
 
 i 
 
 11 ii 
 
r tarry! 
 
 [IIVERS — 
 AUTIFUL 
 OVE THE 
 
 LAND 
 
 )) 
 
 [PANIONS 
 
 we have 
 ith the 
 ad from 
 Pacific. 
 st dur- 
 lication 
 
 e Com- 
 n sum- 
 ri win- 
 mpany 
 da, for 
 I year, 
 stances 
 illy or 
 
 CROSSING THE ASSTNIBOTNE ; ST. NORBERT. 221 
 
 even Carlton. The careful traveller will not fail to fill ;i 
 handbasket with provisions fir the way. 
 
 At earl}^ dawn, towards the end of Auojnst, we are 
 called, and soon find the two-horse waggon filled with 
 men travellers. There is trouble in the stables, horses 
 are sick, and we are to take the first fifteen miles thus, 
 and then to get a four-horse stage the rest of the way. 
 
 Oft' we go in the cool morning, a light rain falling, 
 and the wonderful black loam sticking in lum})S to 
 the wheels and horses' hoofs. Our way is ])ast the spot 
 where Scott was shot, under the towers of the old 
 Fort, and we haul up on the bank of the Assiniboine. 
 No bridge or means of crossing is apparent, but the driver 
 has an idea, and, like Chieftain to the Highlands bound, 
 cries, " Boatman, do not tarry!" But long lie calls, till 
 from the opposite bank — a hundred yards across — moves 
 towards us an open scow. How propelled, and why it 
 should come across at all, is a mystery. Down we slide 
 over the mud and are on board. A little man with red- 
 dish hair seems at once ferryman and co-traveller. His 
 carpet bag he throws in with ours and announces that he 
 has done with the ferry, and is oft" to the land of freedom. 
 He shows us the modus operandi of the craft. A cable 
 runs across from bank to bank ; attached to this by a 
 pulley from bow and another from stern, the scow lies in 
 the current, which is the pi-opellirig power ; the pulley 
 rope is hauled in on the end of the boat which is desired 
 to go forward, the rope on the other end being loosened, 
 so the scow swino-s oft* at an angle of about thirty degrees 
 
■ I 
 
 I'll' 
 
 i!-v 
 
 I'l M I. 
 
 III! II 
 
 
 222 
 
 THE PRAIUIK PIIOVINCE. 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 M 
 
 : ;! 
 
 and the current slowly pushes it over. To return, the op- 
 posite tactics are ado])ted. At St. Boniface, over the Red 
 River, there was, till within a few months, a similar 
 mode of ferryage ; now a heavy wire takes the place of the 
 rope and a hidden wheel under the vessel is moved by 
 steam. These contrivances may do for a time, good ft)lk 
 of Garry, but are i 3'^ no Liieuns satisfactory. Should the 
 rope of the one give '''-V who would pull the stage and 
 horses out of the mud int which they would soon be 
 capsized ? Should the wire cable give way, its weight 
 would render unmanageable and perhaps sink the St. 
 Boniface ferry. Bridges are much needed over both 
 rivers. The Dominion Government has offered .$25,000 
 towards defraying the expenses of a bridge to connect the 
 city with the Pembina Railway station at St. Boniface, so 
 before many months, a safe crossing will, doubtless, be pro- 
 vided — the city contributing such further outlay as may 
 be needed. 
 
 Up the bank again, and we are in the prairie on the 
 west side of the Red River. The chickens don't like the 
 misty weather, and we start but one covey before reach- 
 ing the hamlet of St. Norhert, where a diminutive mail 
 bag is left. Near this lived relations of Riel, now spend- 
 ing his years of banishment in New England. Roads 
 lieavy and horses fagged, but we reach the end of the first 
 fifteen miles' stage in time for breakfast at 
 
 DELORMES. 
 
 Good Pierre Delorme, come forth, and ban jour to 
 
 J^' 
 
le op- 
 Red 
 mihir 
 of the 
 d by 
 folk 
 d the 
 and 
 :m he 
 
 A BUFFALO-HUNTER TURNED GRAZIER. 
 
 223 
 
 you — a tall French half-breed, with curly hair tuniin«^ 
 silvery, moustachoed but beard shaven. In early life a 
 buffalo hunter and trader, you left, as September came 
 on, this pretty place by the river's bank, for the far off 
 plains, taking tents and guns, wife and family, and return- 
 ing in the spring with pony and ox-carts laden with skins 
 and pemniican. A tall man and large hearted— surrounded 
 by children, from the full-grown blushing damsels with 
 plaited hair, who prepare our breakftist, to the little tod- 
 dler that peeps from behind a door, bv becomes more 
 docile ere we leave. Count them, and the; /ou will see 
 to how large a tract this good family vil] be entitled un- 
 der the " Manitoba Act," since he and e ory pair of bright 
 eyes among the household will get p '}) for a quarter sec- 
 tion of as good rich meadow land as the world affords. 
 
 Talk with Pierre, as he comes to the door and points to 
 his herd of many cows, log barns and great stacks of hay. 
 He looks across the river to cottages among the bushes, 
 and these are his. His hay farm contains already fifteen 
 hundred acres. He has a grade bull from the States, and 
 has given up buffaloes to raise fat cattle for the Garry 
 market, where they fetch good figures. He has half a 
 dozen sheep that seemed rather lean, and were the only 
 live mutton we saw on the road ; the long pi'airie, and 
 sharp-pointed rye grass and low ground is not well 
 adapted to them, but they do well in other parts of the 
 Province and produce great fleeces. As to the fruit, he 
 has plenty of small fruit; he had also planted some 
 apple trees in a place sheltered with poplars, but the frost 
 
w 
 
 in 
 
 It 1 1 
 
 II' 
 
 Pil 
 
 
 224 
 
 THE EMIATIITE PROVINCE. 
 
 cut them down ; tl«ey Jire springing up, and ho liopos to 
 succeed with them or witli some hardier variety in time. 
 Good potatoes and onions were in the garden. 
 
 Delorme is of plain habits, does not smoke, and shakes 
 his head when we talk of Scott. " All right but for that," 
 he says. He perhaps thinks of what we elsewhere heard. 
 His brother, who dwelt in the Pembina region, had also 
 been a trader, but offended an implacable red man, and 
 was left by him stark dead but a year ago. Mr. Delorme 
 was a member of the first Dominion Parliament, but gave 
 up politics for which he had no taste. In fact, the good 
 Bois-brul^ felt quite bewildered in Ottawa, soon resigned 
 his seat, and went back to his home on la chere Riviere 
 Rouge. He is, however, still one of his Honour's advi- 
 sers, being a member of the North-west Council, as stated 
 in a previous chapter. His house is a model of the better 
 class of the Metis, so we will glance at it : — 
 
 A story-and-a-half high, of logs, but clap-boarded with- 
 out, having a large sitting-room, off which are half a dozen 
 doors opening into dining-room, little parlour and bed- 
 rooms. A table, chest of drawers, sewing machine, and 
 half a dozen chairs with seats of wood or shagynappi, and 
 box stove, are in the reception-room, into which the outer 
 door opens direct. No carpets are seen — a city luxury. 
 Neatly served, plain and substantial was our morning 
 meal, and then we roamed about, scaring the golden 
 plover, blackbirds and sni])e, for the stage had not yet 
 arrived from above. The mercantile men lay down for a 
 snooze. A pony is brought to the door, and we find it 
 
 iSi. 
 
 'i^' 
 
3S to 
 
 iime. 
 
 lakes 
 hat," 
 eard. 
 also 
 and 
 oi'ino 
 
 gave 
 
 A KKJ) JlIVKIl FARM HOUSK. 
 
 225 
 
 saddled with a jn-ctty honic-made affaii* of skin richly 
 wrought with beads. The senator sat or walked ahout, 
 and smiled as he pondered on the coming greatness of the 
 Dominion. 
 
 One, more prying, opens the parlour door, and finds 
 to his astonishment an excellent cottage piano of London 
 make. Such an instrument nuist have some one to use 
 it. The pretty girl with ])laited hair has milked her 
 cows and washed the dishes. Coy and shy, with little 
 understanding of our rude tongue, yet soon she came, did 
 honour to the teaching of the good nuns of St. Boniface, 
 her instructors, gave us with tine expression a " Wedding 
 March," and was at the last notes of a " Ray of Sunshine" 
 as the stage drew up, and we shook hands with many 
 thanks and adieux to the fair musician and the whole 
 family now laughing around us. 
 
 The stage that has just passed down took two days and 
 live hours from Fargo, but was heavily loaded. 
 
 We left Delorme's at 10.30, and had a heavy four- 
 horse stage with canvas cover, seating nine persons, and 
 with room beside driver for two more. Twelve miles in 
 this run — but there was little run in the ])oor horses. 
 They had lived on grass only for three weeks ; oats had 
 been sent from St. Paul, but the low water in the river 
 had impeded the work of the " Kittson Line," and no 
 grain could be got. Such oats as the now country had 
 started, had fattened the " hoppers." Sadly hung the pcjor 
 steeds' heads and angry waxed the drivers. He who first 
 took the lines was a young fellow, and was by no means 
 
» , 
 
 ^\'W 
 
 
 I ill 
 ll 
 
 li' 
 
 f, ':, 
 
 r 
 
 M 
 
 22n 
 
 THE PUAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 cultivated in profanity. His oaths were many and vile 
 — attacking the parentage of the patient animals, their 
 heads, their tails, their hoofs, the fleecy clouds that hung 
 over them, and the black wash through which they trod 
 — all terribly strung together. The second driver hold- 
 ing the four lines, had a particular antipathy to the off 
 wheeler. He breathed profanity and spat out horrid 
 curses from between the coarse red bristles that lined his 
 jaws. Can lie, Saxon though you call him, be of better 
 mettle than this band of dark aborigines whom we have 
 just passed ? They have taken down the poor smoked 
 buffalo hide that formed their tent ; a squaw carries it and 
 other articles in a bundle on her stooping back. Other 
 squaws have similar loads, and strange to say, an old man 
 with wrinkled face also bears his bundle ; but then he is 
 not a chief or brave. Beside them trots a large black 
 dog, having strapped on his back a buffalo robe, and seem- 
 ing proud of the business. 
 
 Still we move along the telegraph line, and always in 
 sight of the elms that mark the river. This wire and the 
 high posts supporting it are valued land-marks to the 
 plain-driver, who, when untrodden snow covers the 
 ground and fills the air, can, by driving from post to post, 
 still keep his course. To lose the way then on the prairie 
 might prove no matter for jest. 
 
 Wild ducks are on the lakelets and streams, paying us 
 little attention. Many cattle are passed, all feeding one 
 way, with tails to the wind. Ponies are scattered among 
 them, the first letter of the owner's name branded on their 
 
TllK STAGK AND ITS OCCUPA.irs. 
 
 227 
 
 1 vile 
 their 
 hung 
 
 one 
 
 
 haunches. But who are the passengers? First, the 
 worthy HC!iator, who falls asleep at 11 a.m.; the ex-terry- 
 man, who chews his (piid and thinks of home ; a young 
 Detroit merchant traveller, who dozes off at noon ; another, 
 who has a pet dog, with which and the <lriver he dis- 
 courses on the box, and a chiel wlio is taking n()tes !in<l 
 inly praying that the next time he comes this way oats 
 may be as abundant as oaths. Consider the lilies as they 
 grow, covering the ponds, from which the black heads of 
 young duck peep, and forming hiding places for the brown 
 mud hens. These bushy yellow tlowers are wild arti- 
 chokes, and these opening disks sunflowers. That cloud 
 of blackbirds scurries away from a hawk, which rests on 
 a telegraph pole till we pass. Impudent little robbers 
 are they. The farmers can't find bo3's enough to scare 
 them from the fields, so they plough a furrow and sow it 
 thick with grain steeped in strychnine. The next turn 
 of the sod covers their bodies. We end the second stage 
 at 1 p.m. 
 
 The sky cleared, and the new team moved on well. The 
 driver was an old man, and more modestly profane ; used 
 but two forms — a curse and adjuration — which he con- 
 sidered sufficient for the occasion. He has credit for 
 po" .'ers equal to his fellow-drivers on an emergency. The 
 next Jehu was like him. The fiftli, a decent young fel- 
 low, who swore monotonously, and was sad, quite discon- 
 solate indeed, about the horses. If they do not get grain 
 very soon he will quit his seat, with its " s25 a month and 
 found," and go to shooting prairie chicktii.s, which f'.tch 
 
r 
 
 ff' 
 
 1 
 
 
 ^i 
 
 228 
 
 THE PKALKIE PllOVINCE. 
 
 twenty cents a piece in Garry or Fargo. We soon came 
 to Sale or Stinking River, so called from the weed found 
 in its nniddy 1)0(1 ; pass many good new waggons and ox- 
 carts of stout polite Monnonites, who bow to us or lift the 
 hat. 
 
 In the next ride we pass, by a long bridge, Scratching 
 01* Briar River, which flows into the Red River. Seven 
 miles or so from this, on Plum Creek, is Wild-acre, an 
 Ontario colony, mainly from Na})anee, having been pio- 
 neered by Mr. George Wild, and forming the nucleus of 
 a prosperous settlement. Early last summer they had a 
 large area ready for cultivation. The land is very rich 
 and rolling, with good wood supply on the east side of 
 Red River. In their vicinity a considerable number of 
 Mennonites have settled, and along the river front a 
 number of Ontarians have secured farms. Some twenty 
 miles west the bulk of last vear's immioTation of Men- 
 nonites have settled, as stated in another chapter. From 
 this section of country a very large and prosperous trade 
 nuist settle towards Wiuni[)eg in a few years. 
 
 We go down a large dry ditch, the bed of the Marais 
 River in wet seasons, by " Little Lake," filled with innu- 
 miMable wild fowl, and at 7 l>.m. are oo miles from Garry, 
 in the garden and substantial story and a-half log house of 
 Wm. Wright, an old P]nglishman, who, with his good Cor- 
 nish wife, has lived here for four years, 
 
 Wright ])urchasod -i half-breed's claim, with the present 
 house and barn, i'or S4()(), and took up the adjoining 
 (]uarter section as a tVee-grant settler. Corn is in the 
 
 V>«i- 
 
AT THE MARAIS. 
 
 1 came 
 1 found 
 ind ox- 
 lift the 
 
 atching 
 
 Seven 
 
 icre, an 
 
 en pio- 
 
 cleus of 
 
 y had a 
 
 ly rich 
 
 side of 
 
 nber of 
 
 front a 
 
 twenty 
 
 :)f Mcn- 
 
 From 
 
 js trade 
 
 Marai.s 
 h inn 11- 
 1 Garry, 
 lOuse of 
 L)d Cor- 
 
 ]"> resent 
 Ijoining 
 
 in the 
 
 garden in tassel, but turned brown and dead by the late 
 frost, potatoes growing well but tops nipped. The 'hop- 
 pers were here three days . and destroyed sixteen acres of 
 grain. They darkened the air and covered the ground 
 The only wild animals that touch his fowl and pigs are 
 an occasional fox or prairie wolf The sunset was very 
 fine this evening. For hours the mists had been rising 
 from the distant margin of the prairie in wonderful shapes, 
 making cities, palaces and castles of snowy whiteness. 
 Over them was the rich splendour of the sunlight break- 
 ing through thick clouds of every conceivable form, colour 
 and shade, and between them and above was the expanse 
 of deep, deep blue. The stage had not come, so we took 
 tea, fanned off the mosquitoes, talked of 'hoppers, of In- 
 dians, of half-breeds, of game, and of the " husky " dogs. 
 A squaw worked silently about the house. But what is 
 that pretty animal that comes with a driver ? His general 
 build is that of a colley dog, yet the head, with its ears 
 and beautiful restless brown eye, was, as was the tail, 
 that of the fox or wolf. His legs and feet were small and 
 well made. He was playful yet snappish, and quick to 
 turn and run when attacked. His colour, a tawny 
 white. He, with four others, were, when pups, brought 
 in by an Indian to Norway House, and said to be the 
 cross offspringof wolf and fox ; we surmised, however, that 
 an Esquimaux dog, rather than a wolf, had been one of 
 the jnirents. Crosses between wolf and dog are not un- 
 common among the Indians, the Oreos especially, and in 
 the far off Hudson Bay forts, are said to be unequalled in 
 
I 
 
 If 
 
 1^ 
 
 230 
 
 THE PIIAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 strength, fierceness and endurance, and are therefore used 
 in making long sled journeys. Then the travellers tell 
 us of the storks they have shot on the upper waters of 
 the river flowing beside us, of the cranes of the Sand 
 hills, the bitterns of Scripture that may be seen running 
 and playing with each other near Otter Lake — cunning 
 fellows, that can count up to ten, but if one man out of a 
 loss company leaves the waggon, in hopes of crawling up 
 his absence from his comrades, is remarked by the watch- 
 ful birds, and away they go to the liead waters of the 
 Mississippi, So passes the evening till bed time. The 
 good senator takes a couch, the ex-ferryman retires to the 
 stage coach, the others get a big mattress and quilts on the 
 floor ; mosquitoes, the pet dog and cat, the dog that is half 
 wolf and half fox, and visions of prairie wolves trouble for 
 a time, but soon comes "nature's sweet restorer." The 
 senator snores, we follow the timely example, nor wake 
 till we hear the stage hoi'ses' bells in the early morning. 
 
 ABOVE THE MARAIS. 
 
 The Pleiades were up, watching the silent air ; 
 
 The seeds and roots in earth were swelling for summer fare, 
 
 —Keats. 
 
 Orion was guarding the west. For an hour yet tlie 
 skirmishers of old Sol appear in the eastern horizon. 
 Then he himself lea})s out very red and large, rises with 
 balloon-like vault above the green edging of Red River, 
 drives through a skirting of white clouds and soars into 
 the clear blue sky. Wo pass a canij) of Indians, twelve 
 tents picturesquely grouped, men, women, children and 
 
 tiv v^^. 
 
PEMBINA ; MENNONITES. 
 
 281 
 
 jfore used 
 ellers tell 
 waters of 
 the Sand 
 1 running 
 —cunning 
 n out of a 
 awling up 
 he watch- 
 ;ers of the 
 ime. The 
 tires to the 
 lilts on the 
 that is half 
 trouble for 
 ,orer." The 
 , nor wake 
 y morning. 
 
 er fare, 
 —Keats. 
 
 ur yet tlie 
 !rn horizon. 
 3, rises with 
 Red River, 
 [ soars into 
 ans, twelve 
 liildrcn and 
 
 ponies scattered here and there ; also more Menn<mites. 
 We see a four foot post with small staff nailed to it. This 
 marks the boundary between the Queen and Uncle Sam. 
 Here is the old Hudson Bay fort — a few wooden houses 
 surrounded by fences. We come to West Lynn, passino- 
 this we are in the town of Pembina, where our baofo-aofe is 
 examined, at 630 a.m., a place of some 500 inhabitants, 
 that was settled by British, thinking they would be on the 
 Queen's soil,but in time found that they had been mistalcen. 
 The less said of the poor hotel the better. We pass over 
 the Pembina River, adashing stream, on foot, the lightened 
 stage following on the rotten wooden bridge that totters 
 under it. Then find on the right the United States fort 
 and barracks of Pembina, the white board 'd houses pret- 
 tily showing among the trees. The mercantiles break 
 out with the "Star-Spangled Banner" as we pass the 
 Hag. Wc are now joined in company by Mr. Wm. Gidley, 
 manager of the northern half of the stage road; by a lady 
 ard her little girl, whose merry eyes and chattering en- 
 deared little Carrie to us ; by a smart Ontario boy, wlio 
 had been two years in the Pi'ovince, and was going home 
 for a visit ; and by two Mennonite gentlemen, intelligent, 
 plainly dressed, having broadcloth overcoats lined with 
 dressed sheepskin, the woolly side next the person. They 
 were on a business trip to St. Paul, but would soon 
 retuin. 
 
 Kight hundred families, in all about four thousand live 
 hundred of their country folk, have settled on Manitoba 
 soil, as stated in Chapter V. Others rested on their way 
 
(if 
 
 U 
 
 232 
 
 THE PllAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 .1; 
 
 in'* 
 
 /[. 
 
 i I 
 
 ; I 
 
 in Ontario, but will, doubtless, soon join their brethren 
 here, and if they report favourably, many more will follow 
 from Russia. Our two com]ianions passed the timo in 
 chat, or with tlieir pipes and a religious book which one 
 of them had. We asked them how they liked Manitoba. 
 "O," said they together, brightening up, " a guttes-land, 
 a sell ones-land." "'A guttes-land' you say, and I believe 
 you, old Mennons," said the ex- ferry man, rousing himself, 
 "and you broad-brims have the best of it; you get a free 
 passage from Quebec, and then squat here close to the 
 river, with one hundred and sixty acres, a free gift to 
 each of you, and the railroad soon to pass your doors. 
 Then you have no fighting, no lawyer's bills, and I guess 
 but little doctor's stuff to swallow or pay for, you'll soon 
 make this a land of Goshen." " How's that about fiofht- 
 ing and doctors," put in the smart boy, while the two 
 Mennonites looked on, half understanding and much 
 amused. " Why, these old sober-sides are a sort of Dutch 
 quakers," replied tlie ferryman, "but I would not advise you 
 to tackle any of their boys without taking their measure 
 well. If they don't strike from the shoulder, they may 
 squeeze like the bears of Russia, from which they came, 
 being invited to leave because they won't go soldiering 
 for the Czar. I'm told they settle their disputes by 
 friendly arbitration, hate the smell of gunpowder, and as 
 to ] iiysic tlie very women are stronger tlian our average 
 American men. When I was coming down on the old 
 [fiter/iati'^ncd, one of the fraus borrowed a mattress, dis- 
 appeared down the hatchway about noon, but was up 
 
THE MENNON BOLD. 
 
 233 
 
 brethren 
 ill follow 
 
 tiinu in 
 lich one 
 lanitoba. 
 :,tes-land, 
 I believe 
 I himself, 
 jet a free 
 se to the 
 e gift to 
 ur doors, 
 d I guess 
 ou'U soon 
 out fight- 
 
 the two 
 nd much 
 of Dutch 
 dvise you 
 L' measure 
 hey may 
 hey came, 
 soldiering 
 ^putes by 
 31', and as 
 ir average 
 I the old 
 ;tress, dis- 
 it was up 
 
 again before sunset with a little Mennon in her arms, 
 whose first squall was heard about Pembina. Ask ])urser 
 Smith and he'll tell you all about it." 
 
 "They are indeed a remarkable people; have beeu 
 harshly treated ; they deserve our sympathy and will make 
 good settlers," said the Senator. 
 
 " Tl lose are the people tliat should set up for women's 
 rights. They could enforce their doctrines," said Mer- 
 cantile No. One. " Yes," said tlie Senator, " I have no 
 doubt they will create a new civilization in this home 
 which they take to so readily. We don't grudge the 
 ten or twelve dollars a liead, and tlie land and other fa- 
 vours extended to them, and if report speak true, your 
 western people rather envy us the acquisition of this stout 
 fraternity." '* As to that," said Mercantile No. Two, " the 
 investment ain't a bad one if we are to take the Castle 
 Garden view that each healthy immigrant is directly 
 worth one hundred dollars or more to the country, and 
 these emigrants who settled along our Union Pacific road 
 were found even more solid than that; ncjiil}^ every head 
 of a Mennonite family having brought < . with him to 
 stock his homestead. The storekeepers 1 k on them as a 
 god-send — their pockets were full of thai ■ s and kreutzers. 
 "But pardon me," he continued, "is i' not a somewhat 
 peculiar policy, one that only Willia i Penn or George 
 Fox, the Quakers, and you Canadians, would have hit 
 upon, thus to settle non-combatants and give them so 
 many square miles at the door of the country, round 
 

 234 
 
 THE PRATRTE PROVINCE. 
 
 the land and water liigliways, wliicli we Yankees may 
 •some day take a fancy for." 
 
 Before the Senator had time to clear his throat for a 
 reply, the smart boy, who could not sit many minutes 
 quiet, but varied his amusements with the perpetration of 
 prac^tical jokes, singing snatches of songs, and firing off 
 his revolver at stray prairie hens and blackbirds, broke 
 out witli a rattling ditty as follows : — 
 
 ' it 
 ; I 
 
 I 
 
 THE MENNON BOLD. 
 
 A beautiful home has the Mennon bold ; 
 
 His harvest he reaps and he sells it for gold ; 
 
 From lawyers' bills and from doctors' pills, 
 
 He is free as the winds of western hills. 
 
 The prairie land is a beautiful land, 
 
 The chosen home of the Mennc^nite band. 
 
 He never would fight for Gortachakoif, 
 And the word of the Czar was — " Drill, or be off ! " 
 O'er Gitche-Guniee, then away came he, 
 With h'." frau and his kind, to the land of the free. 
 The prairie land is a beautiful land, 
 T^e chosen home of the Mennonite band. 
 
 The Metis may laugh by the River Rat, 
 
 At his sheep-skin coat and his broad-brim hat ; 
 
 But he drives his steer, and he drinks his beer ; 
 
 And a happy home is the home he has here. 
 The prairie land is a beautiful land, 
 The chosen home of the Mennonite band. 
 
 Three stagers after entering " foreign soil " are passed 
 monotonously; w^oatlier fair, and horses still liay fed onl}^ 
 
 l'M^ 
 
HORSES; DllIVERS; OLD JAKE; OLD PAT. 
 
 235 
 
 cos may 
 
 oat for a 
 minutes 
 ration of 
 tiring off 
 s, broke 
 
 ff!" 
 Free. 
 
 X. 
 
 ire passed 
 y fed only 
 
 — but in some of this prairie hay are found wild pea 
 vines, which were eagerly eaten, and gave some spirit to 
 the stock. 
 
 The road manager was on his settling tour, and wo had 
 at several stations to wait for more than an hour while 
 he was passing accounts with the station-keeper. A good, 
 heai-ty, bluff fellow, and s[)ecimen of a western boy as 
 one would care to meet is Gidley. " Monte " men and 
 cross Indians had better keep shy of his bui'ly ai-m and 
 " little shooter," yet we were sorry to see that he, too, had 
 what must be regarded as the language of the road. This 
 driver he praised for good management and glossy skin 
 of his four steeds ; the next he scolded for careless h.tbits. 
 The pavSsengers beside him he would amuse with stories; 
 but praises, scolds and stories ^ve < ; 11 filled in, bedecked 
 and jewelled, so to speak, with varied oaths and curses. 
 It is said that Nor'-west horses are so used to this that 
 they will not go well without the proper langua^^a of the 
 road. Drivers of " bull-teams " on the Missouri plains 
 have credit for being able to swear continuously for fifteen 
 minutes and not repeat the same expression. The red 
 man supposes the oft-heard words refer to the oxen. One, 
 when met on the plains, and asked if he had seen a train 
 pass, could not understand or answer till the motion of 
 the whip and driver's language were imitated, when he 
 (|uickly j)ointcd to the trail, saying, '' Ugh, Agh, Gee, Haw, 
 
 G- 
 
 D— ! 
 
 1 )' 
 
 The eighth stage of sixteen miles brought us to Kelly's 
 Point at half-past 7 p.m. The next eleven miles' run 
 
'? ! I 
 
 230 
 
 THE PllATKTE PROVINCE. 
 
 mill. 
 
 was more full of the peculiar troubles incident to 
 staging on the plains than all the others. The four 
 spiritless steeds were in connnand of " Old Jake," a 
 grizzled little man, who limped up with a sad counte- 
 nance. His oaths were low and deep, often broken 
 off half complete. On an ordinary occasion they would 
 have stirred the most weary jade to activity, but now, 
 a:, ^e looked at the black-clogged wheels and low-hung 
 heads, he sighed in despair : " What's the use," he would 
 say, " in exerting oneself or pushing the beasts who 
 have had no corn for so long ; they are like a man shut 
 off from his grog, sir ; " so he would close his lips with a 
 grim shake of the head and drop the whip. In an hour 
 we had not made more than two miles. The rain fell 
 slowly, the air was warm, and the roads sticky. Remem- 
 ber that McAdam is unknown, and corduroy only met at 
 bridge and swamp crossings. The Prairie Road is but the 
 track ove:' the grassy plain. Hard and glittering in dry 
 weather, but heavy and sticky when wet. As darkness 
 fell, mosquitoes came in buzzing clouds. Every exposed 
 part was simultaneously attacked. The coach was like 
 an angry beehive. All, from little Carrie to the grave 
 senator, had to tight them, and still the swarms were not 
 lessened. The Mennonites — Old Midnights, the smart 
 boy now called them — put up the long collars of their 
 sheep-lined coats and smoked philosophically. I escaped 
 and sat beside old Jake. The nigh wheeler, " Old Pat," 
 was failing, and the old man was in sad pickle. Two of 
 us at k'st started on foot, plodding on for three miles till 
 
GRAND forks! CJOOSK mVRR; TARdO. 
 
 2:^7 
 
 :lent to 
 he four 
 n<K.Gj ft 
 counte- 
 broken 
 Y would 
 ut now, 
 w-hung 
 e would 
 its who 
 an shut 
 I with a 
 :in hour 
 ain fell 
 [lemem- 
 ' met at 
 but the 
 \ in dry 
 arkness 
 exposed 
 ^as like 
 e grave 
 ^ere not 
 J smart 
 of their 
 escaped 
 Id Pat," 
 Two of 
 dies till 
 
 we came to tlie station ; ])ushed open the door au<l struck 
 a light ; roused uj) a c()U[>le of men lying on a ludr hrd 
 in one corner, who got up and made known to the female 
 department thathungry visitors would soon he with tliem. 
 The place was new and very poorly provided. Tlirowing 
 myself on a mattress I waited. Soon in came the Mer- 
 cantiles, then the smart boy, lastly old Jake, canying 
 Carrie, followed by her mother. The team had entirely 
 given in, were unhitched and led to the station. Jake 
 roused a pair of stout oxen and was otl' for the w^aggon, 
 which the stout beasts pulled up in time. Tlie Mennon- 
 ites had remained stationary, puffing their meerschaums 
 — good old Midnights ! The senator had settled in his 
 mufflers to a nap, when an inquisitive gopher jumped on 
 his knee and spoiled his slumbers, The ex-ferryman, too, 
 slept and dreamed of the scow on the Assiniboine. Our 
 stopping place was where the Upper Marais joins the Red 
 River. 
 
 After midnight we were off with fresh horses, all but 
 the driver inside the coach, making ourselves as comfort- 
 able and getting as many naps as possiVjle. The eleventh 
 statreofhorsesbrouo'htus to Grand Forks. The Red River 
 is here joined by its second largest tributary, the Red 
 Lake River, much increasing its volume. Here the Kitt- 
 son line of boats have their repairing and dock yarrls. A 
 pretty village, with prairie behind, wood and river in 
 front. A number of Chip])ewa tents were in sight. Their 
 owners, with tomahawks in hand, and some with faces 
 striped with paint, were sitting in blankets round the 
 
288 
 
 TUK PRATRIK PROVTNrE. 
 
 11 i 
 
 Hudson Uay store, tlio only <»no now in this rcoion, sctutli 
 of the lino, tluis sliowing their contidcnee, wliicdi is uni- 
 versal among the tribes, in the great Company. Soon we 
 pass large fields, some in fallow ])reparing for spring graiJi ; 
 in others tine crops of wheat were being cut with horse- 
 machines. The twelfth run of twenty-two miles brought 
 us to Frog Point at tea time. Goose River was reached 
 before ten p.m. We see good fields of wheat and potatoes, 
 We listen to Gidley's stories ; learn wisdom from the 
 senatoi' — the ex-ferryman and smart boy togetlier promise 
 to give up the use of the " weed," so well had the senator 
 discoursed, in that kind and mellifluous manner that be- 
 comes him, of its baneful effect. Brightly shone the sun 
 of the Sabbath morning ; many and gay were the black- 
 birds, and merry was their whistle ; f^iir was the prjiirie, 
 with its long grass and varied flowers, as we ended our 
 last course from point to point of tne Queen River of the 
 North ; came in view of the pretty town of Fargo, and 
 were greeted by mine host of the Head Quarters Hotel. 
 We had made the trip of about 250 miles in three days 
 and four hours. Our last station was the sixteenth. Shall 
 we say with Tom Hood, 
 
 " The greatest pleasure of all the rout 
 Is the pleasure of having it over." 
 
SOMtll 
 
 is iiiii- 
 m we 
 
 j^rniii ; 
 
 liorse- 
 ouglit 
 
 :,at()(.;s, 
 ni the 
 romisG 
 lenator 
 lat be- 
 lie Sim 
 
 black - 
 
 )rairie, 
 led our 
 
 of the 
 ^o, and 
 
 Hotel. 
 ;e days 
 i. Shall 
 
^, 
 
 4^ ^ 
 
 IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 1.0 
 
 I.I 
 
 ■so ■^™ i^H 
 
 ■tt l&i 12.2 
 
 lU 
 
 u 
 
 lAO 
 
 m 
 
 2.0 
 
 11-25 HI 1.4 
 
 I 
 
 1.6 
 
 Hiotographic 
 
 Sciences 
 
 Corporation 
 
 23 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 
 
 (716) •73-4503 
 
 M 
 
 4: 
 
 A 
 
 •S^ 
 
 :\ 
 
 ;V 
 
 :\ 
 
 \ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 4S 
 
 ^\^\ 
 
 


 1 
 
 Im 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 1 u\ 
 
 i 
 
 
 ! ■; I 
 
 • 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE PEMBINA BRANCH— NEW CIVILIZATION — SIOUX MASSACRE OF 
 1802 — SPEECH OF DR. SCHULTZ — WHAT THE BISHOPS SAY — IN- 
 DIAN REVENGE AND PLUCK — LITTLE CROW — A TEMPERANCE 
 MISSION — NOISY GIRL — MINNESOTA CHIPPEWAS — THE TOTEMS OR 
 INSIGNIA OF TRIBES — CUSTOMS AND NUMBERS — EASTWARD BOUND 
 — MONTR MEN — KINCARDINE, GODERICH, SARNIA — SOLDIERING — 
 PRACTICAL INFORMATION TO IMMIGRANTS AND TOURISTS — ADIEU. 
 
 THE PEMBINA BRAJJCH. 
 
 Our course has been along the Dakota or western side 
 of the river. Tlie railway is to run on the other side. As 
 to its prospects, a few words : — A branch of the St. Paul 
 and North Pacific Railway already runs from Glyndon to 
 the Red Lake river at Crookston. The directors of this 
 road have agreed to recommend its immediate com- 
 pletion to Pembina, on the border. It is hoped that the 
 financial condition of the company will permit of this 
 being done shortly. 
 
 The country to be passed through offers little difficulty 
 to the engineer. The road bed over part of the line, from 
 Pembina to near St. Boniface, opposite Winnipeg, is ready 
 for the rails, of which thousands of tons have been carried 
 into the Province. We visited the northern end, then 
 constructed to about twelve miles from Garry, late in 
 August, 1875. Driving over the St. Boniface ferry, we 
 
242 
 
 THE PilAilllE J»KOVrNCE. 
 
 v. 
 
 i: 
 
 I ! 
 
 If 
 
 f 
 
 41 
 
 I 
 
 passed the brick cathedral of Bishop Tachd, with the com- 
 modious residences and schools, in shaded lawns, attached 
 (which are shown in one of our illustrations), drove 
 up the YO'cud that skirts the river till it diverges into the 
 prairie. Chickens sprung up in covies ; the mare stood 
 well as we blazed away with two-barrelled gun, then 
 picked up the pretty brown grouse and off again, driving 
 through long grass, to find another flock. A long black 
 ditch was finally reached. One end of this ran into 
 a coulee — Anglice, gully — the other led to the " Pembina 
 Bj-anch," already seen as a long dark line two miles away. 
 
 These ditches, connecting with the streams and coulees 
 form an extensive and very valuable system of drainage, 
 which will soon bring thousands of acres of rich, but wet 
 land into cultivation. 
 
 We were soon driving among light-haired Swedes and 
 Germans, who were busy with spade and barrow scooping 
 out ditches four feet broad by as many deep ; the earth 
 piled in the middle forms the road bed, the ditch running 
 along the whole course. It is noticeable that this mode 
 of construction is ado[)ted for the purpose of keeping tlie 
 road bed at once dry, and high enough to be above the 
 snow fall. 
 
 When the American and Canadian ends of this line 
 meet together, what will be the position of the prairie 
 capital ? By rail to St. Paul in twenty-two hours ; thence 
 to Chicago in twenty hours; thence to Toronto in nineteen 
 hours ; or from Wiimipeg to Toronto, direct in sixty -one 
 hours. 
 
 i j^ 
 
THE SrOUX MASSACRE IN MINNKSOTA. 
 
 243 
 
 As to telegraphic communication, that is, as we have 
 seen, completed from the south and east not only to 
 Winnipeg, but to Battle River and Carlton, five hundred 
 miles west of Red River.* 
 
 and 
 
 e 
 
 arth 
 
 ig the 
 
 THE SOURCES OF THE RED RIVER. 
 
 It was the Sabbath, and we stayed for the Monday 
 morning train at Fargo. The Red River runs under its long 
 bridge. We strolled in the afternoon up its sedgy banks. 
 Had we time, we would have liked to wander on past Fort 
 Abererombie and Breckenridge to the main southern 
 source of this river — Lake Traverse. Beyond this lake 
 and divided from it by but a marsh, is Big Stone Lake> 
 whose waters run through the Miiniesota River southerly. 
 The region thus bounded, and on to Mankato, south-west 
 of St. Paul, was but thirteen years ago the theatre of the 
 Sioux Massacre. The greater contest between the north 
 and south States diverted our attention from the terrible 
 story of the barbarities inflicted in cold blood by the in- 
 furiated savages on the settlers of this devoted region. 
 For weeks the unequal struggle went on. New Ulm and 
 other rising villages were destioyed, women and young 
 children falling victims in scores, till a sufficient force was 
 gathered and placed under Col. Sibley. 
 
 Dr. Shultz thus refers to this strife in an interesting 
 
 * Lord Dnflfenn in his speech at the in-oroKiitioii of Parlianient, at the end 
 of the Si»riny Session of 187(», stated this distance at 700 miles west of Red 
 Rivei'. The figures so yi\t'n arc in-ithahly so made up hy the curves of the 
 proposed railway's course. 
 
I 
 
 
 244 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 > ! 
 
 speech on Indian affiiirs in the North-west Territories, 
 delivered in the House of Commons, at Ottawa, on the 
 31st of March, 1873 :— 
 
 "Ten years ago, this tribe of Sioux were in as profound 
 a state of peace with the United States as the Crees are 
 now with us; but a grievance had been growing ; the con- 
 ditions of tlieir treaties had not been carried out; remon- 
 strances to tlieir agents had been pigeon-holed in otticial 
 desks; warniiii-s fvijm half-breeds and traders who knew 
 their language had been pooh-poohed by the apostles of 
 red-tape, till, suddenly, the wail of the massacie of '(i3 
 echoed through the land. Western Minnesota was red 
 with the blood of the innocent, and for hundieds of miles 
 the prairie horizon was lit with burning dwellings, in 
 which the shriek of childless women had been silenced 
 by the tomahawk of the savage. The military power of 
 the United States was of course called into requisition ; 
 but the movement of regular troops was slow, while that 
 of the Indian was like the * pestilence which stalketh 
 in darknciss.' Where least expected — where farthest re- 
 moved from military interference ; in the dead of night 
 they ap[)eared, and the morning sun rose on the ghastly 
 faces of the dead, and the charred remains of their once 
 happy homes. 
 
 " Trained soldiers, in the end, overcame the savages; but 
 not until a country as large as Nova Scotia had been de- 
 populated ; not until the terror had diverted the stream 
 of foreign emigration to more southern fields, and not un- 
 til three military expeditions, in three successive years, 
 
 ^^^ 
 
itories, 
 on the 
 
 :>found 
 les are 
 lecon- 
 'omon- 
 ofHcial 
 knew 
 ties of 
 of '03 
 as red 
 f miles 
 igs, in 
 lenced 
 wer of 
 ition ; 
 that 
 Iketh 
 st re- 
 night 
 lastly 
 once 
 
 s; but 
 in de- 
 ireani 
 )t un- 
 years, 
 
 THE SIOUX MASfiAf'RR IN MINNESOTA. 
 
 245 
 
 liad traversed the Indian country, at an expenditure to 
 the United States Government of ten millions of dollars, 
 and necessitated, since that time, the maintenance of ten 
 military posts, with permanent garrisons of three thousand 
 men." 
 
 Thirty-eight of the worst of the red miscreants were 
 tried, found guilty, and on the 26th day of February, 
 18G3, executed on one gallows at Mankato. Many others 
 were imprisoned, and the Minnesota band of Sioux was 
 dispersed. We purpose thus referring to^ these events 
 shortly as they relate to the history and prospects of 
 Manitoba. Aftei- their defeat, Little Crow, the Chief, 
 with his broken bands, settled at Devil's Lake, in Dakota, 
 half way between the Northern Pacific Railway and our 
 territory. Friendly Indians suffered with, and for the 
 sins of the others. During the winter that followed they 
 had little but frozen roots to eat, and hundreds of them 
 perished from starvation. 
 
 The Sioux reserves in Minnesota were broken up and 
 the nation was scattered as vagabonds, although many of 
 its people had made much progress in civilization. 
 
 A band of about sixty Sioux families entered Manitoba 
 and sought British protection. They were assigned to a 
 reserve, but pay unwelcome visits to white settlements. 
 Much annoyance has been last summer felt from them at 
 Portage La Prairie, sixty miles west of Winnipeg. Some 
 half a dozen of them here, in open day, and in sight of 
 the village, in July, 1875, killed one of their own number — 
 a bad Indian they said he was. There was no sufficient 
 
24G 
 
 TIIK I'KAIHIK IMIOVINCK. 
 
 ii'il 
 
 1' 1 
 
 t 
 
 1 ' '• 
 
 1'" 
 
 t 
 
 force to arrest and brinj^ to justice, ami the {[u'lvX \Hui] hi of 
 the Portage were made uneasy. 
 
 Arrangements liave been made by our Government and 
 accepted by this band under which they will soon be 
 placed on a reserve suited to thera, and su[)i)lied with 
 means tending towards their education and civilization. 
 
 The following pastoral was lately issued by Dr. Machray, 
 the Bishop of Rupert's Land to the Clergy and Laity of 
 the Chuich of England in his diocese : — 
 
 "Dear Brethren, — Our Church is establishing a 
 mission for a tribe of outcast Sioux Lidisms, who have 
 found for about thirteen years a refuge under the British 
 flag, in this Province^ and who are now about to be set- 
 tled by the Government of the Dominion of Canada on 
 reserves. Their history is dark and sad, but they have 
 been quiet since they resided here ; still the tragedy in 
 Minnesota which drove them from the United States, was 
 one of the most terrible in Indian warfare. The Ameri- 
 can Church, through Bishop Whipple, has taken a deep 
 interest in the tribes, and has some very flourishing 
 missions among some of the branches. There is, therefore, 
 every promise of our mission having a ready welcome, and 
 so of being privileged to bring these poor heathens to the 
 knowledge of our God and Saviour. 
 
 " I add a few words from the noble-hearted Bishop of 
 Minnesota, Bishop Whipple, who dared all things for these 
 red men, when to speak a word for them was enough to 
 be branded as a traitor and enemy of the white settler. 
 
 " ' I feel a deep pity for this poor people. They have 
 
OPINIONS OF TIIK CLERGY. 
 
 247 
 
 0| 1<3 of 
 
 nt and 
 )on b(! 
 I with 
 tion. 
 tchray, 
 aity of 
 
 ling a 
 c) have 
 Britinh 
 be set- 
 ada on 
 y have 
 jody in 
 es, was 
 Ameri- 
 a deep 
 rishing 
 jrefore, 
 fie, and 
 to the 
 
 ihop of 
 r these 
 ugh to 
 tier. 
 y have 
 
 Hiniied deeply in acts of bloodshed, but were more sinnod 
 jigainst. I belic5ve that like wrongs would have led any 
 (Christian nation to commence a war. They had an In- 
 dian paradise. They sold it to us. In the first treaty 
 they were greatly wronged. Afterward, they sold 8()(),0()0 
 acres of their reserve, and after waiting four years, and 
 not having received anything, they began war. It is all 
 a sad, sad story, which brings a blush of shame to my 
 cheeks. I believe it might have hoen all avoided. They 
 have lost all, and are now literally men of the trembling 
 eye and wandering foot — homeless, dying, without know- 
 ing so much as that there is a Saviour ! ' 
 
 " The Church Missionary Society has given a vote to- 
 wards buildings, and a yeaily sum of £100 towards the 
 missionary's salary. We ho])e for some help from one or 
 two churches in Canada, but must do what we can our- 
 selves." 
 
 In a letter of the 3rd of March, 1876, to the New York 
 Time8, Bishop Whipple refers in plain and severe terms, 
 to the subject of American Indian treatment, pronouncing 
 the system " a web of blunders, full of shameless fraud 
 and lies." He continues thus : — 
 
 " Morth of us there is another nation of our own race Since the 
 American revolution they have expended no money in Indian wars. 
 They have lost no lives by Indian massacre. The Indians are loyal 
 to the Crown. It is not because these Indians are of another race. 
 It is not because there is less demand for the Indian's land. It is 
 not because their policy is more generous. We expend ten dollars 
 for their one. It is because with us the Indian is used by corrupt 
 men as a key to unlock the public treasury. In Canada they are 
 

 I ll 
 
 24S 
 
 TIIK IMIAIIUK IMIOVINCK. 
 
 'ii| 
 
 I ■ 
 
 i r. i 
 
 ' iii 
 
 l»>*''i 
 
 
 f}j 
 
 tho wurds of a Cliristian nation. 'I'licy sdIocL ^txxl mun aH a^t^nts. 
 Thoy give tho Indians pursonal rights of pru])orty. Thoy niako thoni 
 amenablu to tho hiw — crime does not go unpunished." 
 
 With good cause, indeed, may the excellent Bishoj) of 
 Minnesota lament, and all good men mourn with him ; 
 but tho remedy lies at Washington, and in the hands and 
 hearts of the people. Were the rogues of high and low 
 degree, from guilty state sc(;retarios to free traders at 
 Benton and Hoop-up, brought to justice ; had the goods 
 and the moneys by Congress intended for the Indians, to 
 any fair extent, reached them ; had treaties been made, 
 but to be trampled on ; had those who should have 
 guarded the red man's rights, not [)oisoned him with 
 rum, and then robbed him of annuity, furs and land ; 
 Sioux massacres and Blackfeet wars would be as unknown 
 to the South as they have been to the North of the boun- 
 dary. Let the spirit of the great nation rise in this its 
 year of pride, to the level that its founder prayed for, and 
 let its hand .strike, as Jackson would have struck, and the " 
 white man may yet pass without escort by the Yellow- 
 stone or over the Black Hills, as securely as he now may 
 along the Assiniboine or over our Pembina Mountains. 
 
 It is not many years since the Sioux and Chippewas 
 were at enmity. At Fargo a Chippewa brave showed an 
 example of the wonderful endurance for which the race 
 was famed. Tied to a stake and slowly burning, he was 
 scalped ; the wet scalp struck in his face, yet he uttered 
 no cry. At St. Paul an angry Sioux followed a Chippewa 
 into a store, shot him there, and escaped. "Let him go ; 
 
 I S' 
 
INDIAN (MrSToMS; MTTI.K CUOW ; 
 
 "notsy cnuL." 
 
 249 
 
 ko thuiii 
 
 ihoj) of 
 h him ; 
 ids and 
 ,nd low 
 iers at 
 D goods 
 ians, to 
 I made, 
 d have 
 m with 
 I land ; 
 known 
 ) boun- 
 this its 
 ■or, and 
 ind the 
 Tellow- 
 w may 
 ains. 
 ppewas 
 wed an 
 he race 
 he was 
 littered 
 ippewa 
 im go ; 
 
 lot tliem kill each other, so they lot us alone," was the 
 verdict of the Minnesota people. Little Crow, chief of 
 the defeated Sioux, after his defeat sent i)resents to wes- 
 tern tribes and revisited B\jrt Garry and St. Joseph in 
 I)erson in order to enlist sympathy and obtain ammunition. 
 He found neither. He was then dressed in a black coat 
 with velvet collar, a breech-clout of broadcloth, had a fine 
 lady's shawl wrapped round his head and another round 
 his waist, and carried a seven-shooter. A ball from the 
 rifle of a Mr. Lampson, who met Little Crow as he was 
 journeying from St. Joe, put an end to the career of this 
 able but cruel savage. We heard of the sufferings and 
 cruelties of this terrible time still on all hands. Meeting 
 an American officer, we asked whether such a catastrophe 
 (jould again arise along the Red River. " No," he said> 
 " there is little danger. The hostile tribes are further 
 west, and still remember their severe punishment. There 
 are garrisons at Pembina and other posts, and on the 
 banks of the Missouri are a cordon of posts." 
 
 A TEMPERANCE MISSION. 
 
 Let us look at this party of three Indians and two 
 scjuaws that follow a white man into the smoking car of 
 our train at Brainerd. The white man sits beside the 
 younger woman and they all chat together in Chippewa. 
 He is a U. S. Dei)uty Marshal, and these are witnesses 
 going with him from Leech Lake, in Northern Minnesota, 
 to St. Paul, to give evidence in a case of indictment 
 for selling licpior to Indians. A descri[»tion of the dam- 
 
I 
 
 \4 
 
 il 
 
 1 1!| 
 
 hi 
 
 Id' 
 
 li 
 
 2.)() 
 
 THE PIIAIRTR PROVING K. 
 
 Bel of uiglitLM^n smniiiers may suffiw. Her long name 
 trariHlatcfl means " Noisy (Jirl." Her foreliead is hound 
 witli a dirty hatidkerehief, a short V)lack chiy [)ipc is gen- 
 erally in her mouth. Her hair is long and hlaek, forehead 
 low, lips thick, colour, copper; she wears silver earrings, 
 white and black beads and black rings ; her <lress is Euro- 
 [)ean, but without a hat, and with a blanket to throw over 
 her, and moccasins on her feet. She is a Marten. These red 
 folks are not of the staid deportment described in older 
 narratives. They laugh and chat together, and seem to 
 enjoy their pipes and the prospect of a visit to the State 
 capital, where we hope they will tell the truth through 
 their interpicter. This Leech Lake fair one is, as wo 
 stated, a Marten — such is the division or clan of the tribe 
 to which she belongs. 
 
 Knowing of the old custom of tribal division, we wished 
 to test how far the Indians actually carried it into prac- 
 tice, and got the inter j)reter to ask liis friends, who 
 seemed to ap[)reciate and understand the matter fully, 
 and immediately replied. The interpreter spcjke of the to- 
 tems, or insignia, as the " marks" of the tribal division. 
 The Chipj)ewa nation is divided into thirteen tribes or 
 clans, distini^uished by the names of animals, being The 
 Bear, Loon, Marten, Bull-pout Fish, Sandhill Crane, Stur- 
 geon, Lynx, Wolf, Reindeer, Diver-duck, Kingfisher, Bald 
 Eagle and Goose. There are, as the officer in charge in- 
 formed us, 30,000 Chippewa Indians on the Government 
 payroll in Minnesota. Many more do not get Govern- 
 ment sup[)ort. When on their reserves their own laws 
 
 ■J. 
 

 MONTE MEN; MDOUHEAD ; HOMEWARD HOUND. 251 
 
 and ou.stoms prevail, Imt when not there they are bound 
 l>y tJie general law of thi3 lan<l. 
 
 FROM TUE RKD RIVER EASTWARD. 
 
 At all the stations, and in the cars, are posted up warn- 
 in<^s a<^ainst Hhart)ers and three-eard mont^ men, yet wo 
 lieard on all sides of the harvest these fellows were reap- 
 ing. A father and son, who were on the boat as we went 
 down the river, had lost, in betting at St. Paul Junction, 
 one a watch, the other the cash he was to buy his farm 
 with. The smart boy was not smart enough for the oc- 
 casion, and, trying to win, left part of his savings in an 
 unscrupulous rogue's pocket. 
 
 On Sunday evening we walked over the bridge to 
 Moorhead to find a church. The saloons and taverns 
 were all open, bars and billiard-tables occupied as usual 
 and without concealment, but we could find no open place 
 of worshif). The parsons seemed to be off for their va- 
 cation. 
 
 The prairie to the west of Fargo caught on fire, and as 
 night fell burned with a strange lurid light. The smoke 
 rose up in a broad cloud between us and a beautiful rosy 
 sunset. On Monday morning we are again spinning 
 along through the park-like region, through which wild 
 pigeons fly, and we i»ass many ponds full of ducks. 
 
 We cross the Mississippi on a new bridge, and see again 
 the rocky banks and beautiful dalles of the St. Louis, 
 entering Duluth at sunset. Very early, on the second of 
 September, we steam oil in the good propeller Ontario, 
 
252 
 
 THE PilAIRlE PROVINCE. 
 
 M I 
 
 m 
 
 !> 
 
 i i. 
 
 
 llil 
 
 P fit if 
 
 fl^ii: 
 
 m 
 
 
 '^m 
 
 < 
 
 1, 
 
 t' I ! 
 
 * 
 
 ^^ 
 
 Capt. Robinson, of the Beatty line, bound for Sarnia. Pass- 
 ing between Isle Roy ale and the Grand Portage, evening 
 brings us to Prince Arthur's Landing; noon of the fourth 
 finds us at Sault Ste. Marie ; in another day we reach 
 Kincardine, a busy town of 3,500 souls, with immense salt 
 works, many substantial stores and residences, and an air 
 of thrift and prosperity. The weather has been blustery, 
 and the tables are not always well filled with guests at 
 meal time, but 5,000 barrels of flour taken on at Duluth 
 steady our vessel. Next we come to Goderich, standing 
 high up over its excellent harbour ; early on the sixth we 
 are at Sarnia, which, with its street railway and many 
 new buildings, seems quickly gaining a city-like appear- 
 ance. Here we disembark, and take the Great Western 
 Railway. 
 
 We have run a race from Duluth with the Sovereign, 
 a trim propeller of the Windsor lino, which still ketps its 
 own ahead of us. At Sarnia and at various stations on 
 the line, our train is boarded by jolly companies of red- 
 coats, men and ofl[icers, going to the annual militia drill for 
 Central Ontario, at London. More regiments there meet 
 us coming from other regions, and the station has quite a 
 war-like appearance. We roll past fields in which reapers 
 are yet gathering the harvest, which is generally stated to 
 be of unusual abundance, even for this, the garden of the 
 province, and we at last arrive at the city of our choice, 
 where friends greet us and our vacation trij) is over. 
 
 PRACTICAL INFORMATION. 
 
 Mr. E. Brokovski, of Toronto, formerly editor of the 
 
 
 I 
 
PRACTICAL INFORMATION. 
 
 253 
 
 the 
 
 Manitoba Gazette, kindly furnishes the following list of 
 questions, lately propounded by himtoan old and respected 
 resident of that Province, and the answers received; which 
 our readers may consider as eminently reliable. 
 
 Q. — How long have you resided in Manitoba and been engaged in 
 agricultural pursuits there ? A — Eighteen years. 
 
 Q. — What opinion have you as to the adaptability of the climate and 
 soil of Manitoba for agricultural purposes ? A — The climate and soil of 
 Manitoba are well adapted for agricultural purposes. 
 
 Q. — What is the average depth of the vegetable deposit or top soil on 
 the farm you now cultivate ? A. — Average depth of soil on my farm is 
 about eighteen inches. 
 
 Q. —Has it been customary for you to apply manure or artificial mat- 
 ter to any extent in tillage and crop raising ? A. — I am not in the habit 
 of applying manure except for root crops ; it is not absolutely necessary 
 to do so ; but it pays. 
 
 Q. — Give list of grains, etc., which you have successfully cultivated ? 
 A. — I have raised successfully, wheat, oats, barley, peas, rye, etc., etc. 
 
 Q. — What has been your success in raising garden produce? A.-- 
 Have succeeded admirably with all kinds of garden produce ; also* 
 strawberries, currants, asparagus, rhubarb, etc. 
 
 Q. — Give the average yield per acre and the minimum and maximum 
 weights of grain per bushel. A. — Wheat yields in some instances sixty 
 bushels per acre ; but averages twenty -five or thirty bushels, with in- 
 ferior cultivation, and weighs over sixty pounds per bushel. I prepared 
 for the Centennial Exhibition a bushel of grain weighing sixty-nine 
 pounds to the bushel ; oats weigh over forty pounds ; barley over fifty 
 pounds. 
 
 Q. — Give average quantities of the amount of seed generally sown by 
 yod per acre, of the diflferent classes of grain ? A.— I sow two bushels 
 of wheat to the acre ; three bushels of oats ; three of barley, and one 
 and a half of peas. 
 
 Q. —State how often you have sown any one class of grain in the same 
 soil for consecutive seasons, and if so, did this result in deterioration of 
 

 
 u 
 
 11 
 
 iv,l 
 
 
 254 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 quality ? A. — Three successive crops of wheat can be raised on my land 
 without deterioration to the soil or grain. Thirty successive crops have 
 been raised on some of the points of Red River, where the vegetable de- 
 posit is eight feet deep. 
 
 Q. — Wliat is the cost per acre for breaking prairie soil ; and the cost 
 per diem in this respect for a team of horses or oxen ? A. — The cost 
 for breaking soil is $5 per acre. Horse teams are worth $5 per day ; 
 oxen, $2. 
 
 Q. — Give the earliest and latest dates at which you have commenced 
 ploughing for spring crops ; also, the dates at which you have harvested ? 
 A. — Have commenced ploughing as early as the 12th of April ; and com- 
 menced harvesting by 28th July. Average time is April 25th, and 
 August 12th. 
 
 Q. — Give the ordinary prices of the following livestock : horses, oxen, 
 milch cows, sheep, pigs, and domestic fowls ? A — Horses are worth 
 from $300 to $400 a span ; oxen, $120 to $180 per yoke ; cows, from $30 
 to $50 each ; sheep, $6 ; pigs (half grown) $5 ; chickens, 37 cents ; 
 turkeys, $1 50 each. 
 
 Q. — What is the average time (if at all) at which you have housed 
 your live stock for winter, and about what time have you generally 
 turned them out for pasturage in the spring ? A. — Usually commence 
 stabling cattle about middle of November, and turn them out about 1st 
 of April. 
 
 Q. — Give a rough estimate of the amount of capital required by emi- 
 grants for the suitable location or settlement of a quarter section of land 
 in Manitoba, at a moderate outlay ? A. — $1,000 is the veiy least that 
 an emigrant should attempt to settle with on a quarter section of new 
 land, 
 
 Q. — Do you regard the climate of Manitoba as healthy ? A. — Ex- 
 tremely healthy. 
 
 Q. — Have your grain or root crops ever suffered from any pest or in- 
 sect other than grasshoppers? A. — Grasshoppers are the only pest we 
 are troubled with. 
 
 Q. — How often have your crops lieen a total failure through the ra- 
 vages of grasshoppers ? A. — One total failure a?i(l four partial failures. 
 
EXPERIENCE OF OLD RESIDENTS. 
 
 255 
 
 >n my land 
 crops have 
 ;etable de- 
 
 1 the cost 
 
 —The cost 
 
 per day ; 
 
 ammenced 
 larvested ? 
 ; and com- 
 25th, and 
 
 'ses, oxen, 
 
 are worth 
 
 from 130 
 
 J7 cents ; 
 
 /e housed 
 generally 
 
 commence 
 about 1st 
 
 d by emi- 
 an of land 
 least that 
 an of new 
 
 A.— Ex- 
 
 est or in- 
 y pest we 
 
 ;h the ra- 
 failures. 
 
 of this 
 
 do 
 
 I intend to place your usual ex- 
 -I intend cultivating all of my land that 
 
 Q. — In the sprmg 
 tent of land under crop ? A. 
 is broken up. 
 
 Q. — Do you find a ready sale at fair prices for all your farm and gar- 
 den products ? A. — A ready sale at good prices for all kinds of produce. 
 Last summer T sold $30 worth of peas from two quarts of seed of garden 
 peas ; sold in pod at $4 per bushel ; got from $3 to $4 per bushel for 
 new potatoes ; and in the fall sold potatoes at $1 per bushel. Wheat is 
 now worth $2 25 ; oats, $1 50 ; barley, $2 ; potatoes, $1 50. No garden 
 produce for sale. 
 
 The Hermitage, 
 
 Headingly, Manitoba, Jan. 28th, 1876. 
 
 W. B. Hall. 
 
 A communication from Mr. Burrows, who is widely 
 known as an extensive dealer in land in Winnipeg, for- 
 merly of the Dominion Land Office, and who is full of 
 well-grounded enthusiasm as to the future, has reached 
 us. Though many of the points referred to are already 
 placed before our readers, yet they are of so much prac- 
 tical interest that we give the following from Mr. Bur- 
 rows' letter, as an excellent summary of the advantages 
 offered to settlers on Government lands in Manitoba : — 
 
 1. Each individual settler over 18 years of age is entitled to a 
 free grant of 160 acres on completion of settlement duty for three 
 years. 
 
 2. In addition, the homestead settler is allowed a pre-emption 
 or credit of three years upon an adjoining 160 acres, at one dollar 
 per acre. 
 
 3. Each settler may purchase the balance of the section (640 
 acres) for cash at the Government price of one dollar per acre. 
 
 4. There are still large quantities of valuable land within reason- 
 
25(j 
 
 TIIK FMIAFRFE PROVTNCK. 
 
 m 
 
 
 -'i 
 
 i:': 
 
 1 
 
 ' il' 
 
 
 wr i» 
 
 j 
 
 able distancu of Winnipeg open for settlement or location ; such as 
 tlio greater part of seven townships in Ranges 2 and 3 east, on the 
 west side of Hed River, commencing from the outside of the Half- 
 breed Reserve near Point Grouette, 30 miles south of Winnipeg, 
 and extending thence to the boundary line at Pembina. Again, 
 on tlje east side of Red River, along the Pembina Branch Railroad, 
 are Mix townships, including the greater part of the late reserve of 
 Emerson, most of which are still available for settlement. 
 
 Again, west of this city we find parts of several townships, in and 
 near the settlements of Victoria, Woodlands, &c., and between 
 Shoal Lake and LakeManitoba,open for location,all within 60 miles 
 of this city. Then passing further west,beyond the line of Rat Creek 
 and Lake Manitoba, we find hundreds of thousands of acres of the 
 richest lands available to the settler. On the southern trail of this 
 district the land is mostly prairie, but having an abundant supply 
 of wood contiguous, (m the slopes of the Riding Mountains, and is 
 already dotted with nuclei of settlement at many points as far as 
 Shoal Lake West. 
 
 Westerly of Lake Manitoba the land is abundantly dotted with 
 groves t)f considerable extent. This whole district centreing for the 
 present around Portage La Prairie, Palestine, Burnside, 4&c., already 
 possesses a good market in the wants of the Mounted Police, rail- 
 road and telegraph construction survey, exploration, trading and 
 settlement parties. Of the 3,000 carts estimated to have passed 
 west over the Portage between Lake Manitoba and the Assiniboine 
 River last season, fully one-third were laden with flour, oats, barley 
 and vegetables. Truly this want will soon find a local supply nearer 
 home, but ere long some point on the south shore of Lake Mani- 
 toba, coTuuianding its navigation, will loom forward and speedily 
 take rank as a city of the Prairie Province. This section, as proven 
 by exporieneo in the past, is calculated to attract settlement much 
 before a more heavily wooded district, and must soon be supplied 
 with railway i-oinnumication, which will be readily funished by 
 American capital on tlie completion of the Pembina branch. 
 
HINTS TO EMiailANTS AND TOrniSTS. 
 
 •257 
 
 In addition to the free grant districts roforrod to, it is nndor- 
 stood that the half-breed reserves will bo distributed diiriuir the 
 coming summer. If this much-to-be desired cousuuinuition is 
 reached, then the greater part of the l,400,0tK) acres, comprising 
 some 54 townships of our finest lands surrounding Winnipeg, wdl 
 be thrown upon the market and probably sold at about the 
 Government price in consequence of the hard times and consecpiont 
 scarcity of money. This will furnish an opportunity, scarcely like- 
 ly to happen again, of securing farming lands at a merely nominal 
 price, that in a few years will be the most valuable land in the Do- 
 minion. 
 
 The Pembina Mountain district to which you refer is deservedly 
 attracting attention, and is rich in every re<|uisite of sottlenient. 
 Pioneered by a valuable class of settlers, mills, schools and stores 
 are being supplied, and altogether the settlers are displaying a de- 
 gree of enterprise and vim that must soon carry them to the front 
 rank of our new communities. 
 
 Yours, &c., 
 
 A. W. BUKROWH. 
 
 Winnipeg, Feb. 22nd, 1876. 
 
 The tourist will find no route offering more induce- 
 ments than that we have described. With a, couple of 
 blankets, waterproof boots, and strong, warm clothing, he 
 may, on landing at Prince A.rthur, and examining its 
 interesting mineral region, pay a visit to the Giand 
 Portage and Isle Royale ; then pass up the Kaministi(juia, 
 see the Old Fort and Mission and the beautiful Kakahoka 
 Falls, which are higher than Niagara ; jjass on hy the 
 Dawson route, through Kewatin, stopping at Rainy River 
 and the Lake of the Woods, to enjoy tlieir romantic scenery 
 and drop his line in their clear waters. He will find good 
 
M 
 
 IV 
 
 258 
 
 THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE. 
 
 ■:•) 
 
 use for gun and rod on the louto tlirough lj(jtli piairieand 
 lake regions of Manitoba and Minnesota. The " through 
 ticket " from Toronto to Winnipeg cost last year but $34. 
 Great inducements are offered to emigrants to Manitoba, 
 as stated in a previous chapter. Their passage from Europe 
 is aided by the Dominion Government on terms which 
 may be ascertained on api)lication to any of the agents, 
 who can be found in any city of considerable size in 
 Canada oi- Europe. The traveller from our older Provinces 
 can go by the " all-rail " route through Chicago and St. 
 Paul, the ticket from Toronto costing about $50 ; but that 
 described in our first chapters, taking boat at Colling wood, 
 Owen Sound, Windsor, Sarnia or Southampton, is cheaper 
 and more pleasant. Excellent mealsand accommodation are 
 supplied on the boats. After leaving them at Duluth, meals 
 are extra, but can always be had at moderate prices. Be- 
 tween Fargo and Winnipeg a provision basket may well 
 be carried. By all means avoi ' the gamblers, thimble- 
 riggers and three-card mont(^ men — insinuating rogues 
 who infest the route of the Northern Pacific Railway, 
 sometimes in the guise of smart merchant travellers, some- 
 times in that of bluff hearty farmers or of mechanics, and 
 so fleece the unwary. The quiet traveller will never be 
 molested, but will receive as much courtesy as he gives to 
 those with whom he mingles. The settler should enter 
 the Province as early in the spring as possible. It is not 
 advisable to buy teams or waggons on the route, but the 
 Ontario farmer who is so supplied, will fare pleasantly, 
 by bringing his team by boat and rail to Fargo, then 
 
FINIS AND ADIEU. 
 
 259 
 
 iiie and 
 .hrough 
 mt$34. 
 mitoba, 
 
 Europe 
 s which 
 
 agents, 
 
 size in 
 'ovinces 
 
 and St. 
 3ut that 
 igwood, 
 cheaper 
 tion are 
 h, meals 
 !es. Be- 
 lay well 
 himble- 
 
 rogues 
 tailway, 
 s, some- 
 lies, and 
 lever be 
 gives to 
 d enter 
 [t is not 
 but the 
 asantly, 
 o, then 
 
 liarnessing up, and driving in over tho stage road. Horses 
 can be bought at Emerson and elsewhere near the border, 
 at from $00 to $150, and farm waggons at from $05 to $85 ; 
 also oxen, which do best for breaking the prairie, at $150 
 per yoke. Cows cost $35 to $45 each. The Government 
 land and emigration agents at Emerson will always be at 
 hand to give correct information. 
 
 Those who proceed on to Winnipeg, or go by the Daw- 
 son route, will there find the like facilities on a larger 
 scale. 
 
 Finally ; to avoid trouble at the Custom House, each 
 emigrant should procure, from the nearest United States 
 Consulate to which ho resides in Ontario or Quebec, a Con- 
 sular certificate to the effect of the goods being personal 
 effects in transit from one Canadian port to another, for 
 which a fee of from $1 to $2 50 will be charged accord- 
 ing to contents of invoice, which he must produce when 
 obtaining certificfite. No delay of any moment will occur 
 in entering the Province of Manitoba, if the emigrant will 
 take the precaution to have his invoice or list of goods 
 certified by the Customs authorities at the port in 
 Canada from which he starts. The production of the cer- 
 tified invoice is all that is necessary. No fees are charged 
 for this certification, the possession of which enables the 
 emigrant to pass his goods at the Custom House in Mani- 
 toba without further trouble. 
 
 We wish you all a very ha[)py journey, and adieu ! 
 

 .J S 
 
 
 
 
 ■' ! • 
 
ADVKRTTSEMEXTS. 
 
 IMPERIAL BAN^K_OF CANADA. 
 
 C.A.I>IT.A.L $1,000,000. 
 HEAD OFFICE TORONTO. 
 
 ^ircttorB. 
 
 IT. S. TTOWI.AN]), Esq., President. 
 
 T. R. MIOIlRirT, Esq., Vicc-PvcHidcuf, St. ( ^atliarines. 
 
 JOHN SMlTJr, Esq. T. R. WADSWORTir, Ehq. 
 
 Hon. J. R. "^.EN.SON, St. (.'atharineH. 
 WM. RAMSAY, IOsq. ROliT. (.'ARRIE Esq. 
 
 P. HUGHES, Esq. .JOHN EISKEN, Esq. 
 
 IJ. R. WIIVKTE, '.'ashier. 
 
 BKA\4'IIKH. 
 
 ST. CATHARINES, INGERSOLL, PORT COLBORNE, WELLAND. 
 
 AGENTS IN CANADA: BANK OF MONTJ{EaL. 
 AOENTS IN NEW YORK: It. BELL & O. F. SMITHERS. 
 AGENTS, LONDON, ENGLAND: Mkhhk.s. BOSANQUET, SALT & Co. 
 
 Sterling Exchange, Gold and Currency Drafts bought and sold- 
 
 A HATI.VOH l»KI>AKT!HK.\T 
 
 Is open in connection with ttu; R.ank, sums of .$4.00 and upwarrls received on deposit, 
 
 and interest allowed at current ratcH. 
 
 ^W. F. ROSS & Co., 
 
 SUCCESSORS TO 
 
 CORNELL & CO., 
 
 Watches and Gold Je-^ellery, 
 
 83 KING STREET EAST, 
 
 re O Tl O IsT T O. 
 
 We send goods to all parts of Canada, C.O.D., per Express. 
 
!■ I 
 
 ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 CANADIAN €4)I*YK10IIT UDITION. 
 
 ■ t 
 
 it ,M 
 
 9, 
 I!, , 
 
 r'-^ 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 NORMAN MACLEOD, D.D 
 
 Minister of Barony Parish, Glasi,'ow ; One of Her Majesty's Chaplains ; 
 
 Dean of uw (-hapel Hoyal; F)«fan of the Most Ancient 
 
 and Most Noble Order of the 'I'histle. 
 
 IJV HIS IIROTHER, THE 
 
 REV. DONALD MACLEOD, B.A. 
 
 ! 
 
 One of Her Majesty's Chaplains, Editor of " Good Words," &c. 
 
 Complete in 1 VOL., DEMY, 8vo., with PORTRAIT, CLOTH, GOLD 
 
 ana BLACK, $250; HALF CALF, $400; FULL 
 
 MOROCCO, Gilt Edges, $600. 
 
 The following extract is from* the *' Memoii" itself; it shows what 
 Dr. Macleod thought of such a work as the present : — 
 
 ^''From his Journal^ Oct. nth, 4:45 a.m. 
 
 " Have l)een reading a little of ' Brainard.* Next to the BIBLK 
 Ciiristian Biography is the most profitable. In as far as it is true, it is a 
 revelation of the living God, through His living Chu;ch." 
 
 The following extract is taken from a letter of Dean Stanley's,: — 
 
 " He was the chief Ecclesiastic of the Scottish Church. No other 
 man during the last thirty years in all spiritual ministration so nearly 
 filled the place of Chalmers ; no other man has occupied so high and 
 imj)ortant a position in guiding the Ecclesiastical movements of their 
 country since the death of Robertson, we might almost say, since the 
 deith |of Carstares. * * * Macleod represented Scottish Protest- 
 antism more than any other single man. Under and around him men 
 would gather who would gather round no one else. When he spoke it 
 was felt to he the voice, the best voice of Scotland." 
 
 BELFORD BROTHERS, PubUshers, 
 
 TORONTO. 
 
i. 
 
 D.D 
 
 laplainH ; 
 
 I," &c. 
 
 LOTH, GOLD 
 iL 
 
 t shows what 
 
 4:45 a.m. 
 
 HE BIBLE 
 s true, it is a 
 
 ANLKY s,: — 
 
 No other 
 3n so nearly 
 so high and 
 i^nis of their 
 ly, since the 
 ish Protest- 
 d him men 
 he spoke it 
 
 ers, 
 DNTO. 
 
 ADVEUTISEMENTS. 
 
 BKOKOVSKI & CO.. 
 
 WINNIPEQ, MANITOBA 
 
 fm^ I 
 
 omntission j|cn|hante 
 
 AND manufacturers' AGKNTS. 
 
 Consignments received and prompt 
 returns made. 
 
 CAIN & STEIKHOFF, 
 
 Muin Ht., Winnipo);, 
 
 Saddlers & Harness Makers. 
 
 A H]>lundi<l 8t()ck of llarnuHs, Muhllos, liridlcH, 
 Whips, etc., always on hand. 
 
 A. G. B. BANNATYNE, 
 
 Main st., Winnipeg, 
 
 ^tttuvits, Frobisians» 
 
 J. G. MACKENZIE & Co., 
 
 IMI'ORTKkS 
 And W)i lusalc ncaliTH In 
 
 ililhandloKijnJiijIooda, 
 
 381 A 383 ST. PAUL STREET, 
 
 MONTRKAL. 
 
 WM. chambeb:. 
 
 IMFOKTKK A.vn MANrKACTirilRK OK 
 
 GUNS, RIFLES & PISTOLS, 
 
 Dealer in English Breech and Muzzle Loading 
 Shot Oons. Repairing promptly executed. 
 
 <.arry Hi. Hinnlpcg. 
 
 G. E.JAQIIES&CO. 
 
 Ilavo Hpcuial facilities for shipping to 
 
 MANITOBA, 
 
 Via Duluth, Ft. William or St. Paal. 
 
 Got their Rates before malting any passenger or 
 freight eiigaguments. 
 
 lOrS FOR SALE :N WINNIPEG AND SELKIRK. """"-^''78^.^= '.V. K,Sr" "• 
 
 HIGGINS & YOUNG, 
 
 Wholesale and Retail 
 
 Cr ROC K lis. 
 
 Boots, Shoes, Glassware, &c. 
 
 THE ROYAL FOOD 
 
 VOii 
 
 InPAiiTS AND Invalids, 
 
 Nutritious, Delicious and Economical. 
 Sold everywhere. 
 
 Prepared by 
 
 KENNETH CAMPBELL & GO. 
 
 Montreal. 
 
 HIGGINS, YOUNG & PEEBLES, 
 
 Wholesale and Retail 
 
 Staple & Fancy Dry Goods. 
 
 ? 
 
 THE COOK'S FRIEND 
 AKING POWDER 
 
 ? 
 
 .For raising all kinds of Bread, Biscuit, &c. 
 
 "BEST IN USK," 
 
 KETAlIiED ETERYWUEBE. 
 
 Manufactured only by 
 
 W. D. McLAEEN, 
 
 MOMTRBAL. 
 
n 
 
 advi:utisi:mknts. 
 
 C BISHOP & CO., 
 
 Engravers,) Lithographers and Printers, 
 
 I dp SAIN 7' JAMES ST.. 
 
 MONTREAL. 
 
 BROWN BROTHERS, 
 
 (ffilbolesalc .^(atioufrs, l^oalibinbers anb Recount gook glanufaclurcrs, 
 
 WALLET, DIARY AND POCKET BOOK MAKERS, 
 
 m Sz 08 KING STREET EAST, TORONTO. 
 
 V 
 
 \.'. 
 
 \ , 
 
 : i 
 
 ,! siff 
 
 Ilii 
 
 i 
 
 A cnm]>k'to assortment of ^'em'ral and commercial Stationery, Printers' and Book- 
 binders' Material, licatlier, &e., always in stock. Account I'ooks, Wallets, I'ocket 
 Books, liill Cases, Diaries, &c., mannfactnretl of the best material, close prices. 
 
 WILLIAM DRYSDALE & CO,, 
 
 PUBLISHERS, BOOKSELLERS AND STATIONERS. 
 
 Orders for Books promptly attended to. Slailed at published prices, free of postaKc. 
 Catahj^nes furnished on api>lii;ation. 
 
 232 ST. JAMES STREET, MONTREAL. 
 
 Nortli-West Fm-nit^ire House 
 
 Has always on hand a full assortment of FUllNITUllE, Wholesale and lietail. 
 PICTUKK FRAMES made to order. CHKOMOS mounted, &c. 
 
 MAIN ST., WINNIPEG. 
 
 (McDermott's Block.) 
 
 McLENAGHAN & MALLOCH, 
 
 General Dry Goods Merchants 
 
 MAIN STKEET, WINNIPEG, MANITOBA. 
 A\ K.VI>EKIi:.\CRI> TAILOR A.M> MILLI\KK ©\ THE PREMISES. 
 
 R(!ARS\VELL, Law Bookseller, Law Stationer, &c., Toronto, Ontario. Books 
 . and Law Forms can be mailed to Manitoba and British Columbia at four cents 
 a i)ound. Catalogues free. 
 
ADVKUTISKMKNTS. 
 
 HALF-BREED LANDS IN MANITOBA 
 
 rinters, 
 
 LHAL. 
 
 luifiuturcrs, 
 
 NTO. 
 
 Ts' nnd Tidok- 
 iiUt'ts, I'ockt't 
 i)rict'rt. 
 
 :ONERS. 
 
 )()staKO. 
 
 Ise 
 
 and lletail. 
 
 !^IPEG. 
 
 It iH probable, accunltn^' to aimouiict'iiunt nf tlii' Doiiiinloii (lovenuntMit, that 
 during,' the HiniiiiRTnf lH7t;, the Half- Mn-f.l lit'si'ists in Manitnba (i.lutM of IIM) acroH 
 each), Home 54 TownHhlps, tir 
 
 One Million Pour Hundred Thousand Acres, 
 
 will be patented to the KJ'iintet's. Tliese plots, lyiiiy near the Red and A.ssinib(.iiie 
 llivers ; an far as l'o[)lar Point Westward, l>eyond Selkirk to thi> North, and near 
 Knierson on the South ; make in all the most valuable tract of hind in the Xorth-wt-st. 
 
 The allotment of Scri[» (100 acreH each) abo\it 
 
 200,000 ACRRBI 
 
 to the Half-Breed heads of families and old settlers, whieli may be located anywhere 
 on U(»vernment lands, will also, it is promised, be distributed to them without delay. 
 The K'reater part of this immense acreage will then be thrown upt)n a market unable 
 from its limited capacity to absorb it, and consenuently will l)e sold at absurdly l'>w 
 prices. It is jmibable that these lands may then be purchased at from '.\0 to W cents 
 per acre. 
 
 A. W. BuuKOWrt, Winnipeg, Manitoba, will undertake, for intendiny investors, 
 the purchase of these lands, after the issue of Scrii» and Patents, and guarantee 
 satisfaction. For thi.s he possesses unusual advanta,i,'e.s in his extensive ac([uaintance 
 with the settlers, through his former connection with the Land Office in Manitoba, 
 when the original census^ofjthe Half-Breed and Old Settlers was revised liy personal 
 attendance for the basis of these grants. He is also fully accpiainted with the value 
 and (piality of all the land referred t(». 
 
 (^ITY LOTS in Winnipeg and outside TOWN PLOTS, also llIVKll FRONT, 
 
 and ([uarter section FARMS for sale on favourable terms. 
 
 ants 
 
 SES. 
 
 rio. Books 
 t four cents 
 
 Mes^jus. MORPHY, MORPHY & MONKMAN, Barristers, Toronto. 
 WALKER & PENNOOK, - - " Ottawa. 
 
 GILMOR & HOLTON - - - Advocates, Montreai-. 
 J. H. FLOCK, Esq., .... Barrister, London, 
 
1 1., 
 
 ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 m 
 
 
 !S;i 
 
 n- 
 
 M 
 
 i 
 
 ) ;i:iis, 
 
 11: 
 
 
 s I' 
 
 I ^ 
 
 GHOW^TH. 
 
 Daily Witness - 
 Tri-Weekly Witness 
 Weekly Witness 
 Northern Messenger 
 
 Totals 
 
 I §75. 
 
 12,300 
 
 3.000 
 
 16,700 
 
 21,500 
 
 1876. 
 
 12,590 
 
 3.200 
 
 26,700 
 
 47.000 
 
 - 53,500 89,490 
 Total Increase in One Year 35,990. 
 
 JOHN DOUGALL & SON, 
 
 Publishers. 
 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 J. M. McGkEGOR 
 Auctioneer and Real Estate Agent. 
 
 1S76. 
 
 12,590 
 3.200 
 !6>700 
 ^7^000 
 
 (9,490 
 0. 
 
 )N, 
 
 ihers. 
 
 iNTHSAL, a. 
 
 Military Land Warrants and HalJ-Breed Sc.Hp, 
 TRANSFERS BOUGHT AND SOLD. 
 
 ''Daily Free Press" Office, 
 
 JOHN SCHULTZ, 
 
 DEALER IN 
 
 Let W 
 
 OFFICE— MAIN STREET, WINNIPEG, 
 
 NEXT TO ONTARIO BANK. 
 
 Twenty thousand acres of Land in Settlement Belt for sale on easy terms ; also 
 CITY LOTS in Winnipeg, Selkirk, and Portage la Prarie ; and IMPROVED 
 FARMS near Winnipeg for Sale or Lease. 
 
 DETROIT SEED CO., 
 
 Growers and Importers of all kinds of 
 
 SEEDS, PLANTS, &C. 
 
 Everythin'£ for the GARDEN. SEEDS sent by Mail in papers, &c. SEED 
 BOXES on Commission. CATALOGUE Free on Application. 
 
 20 k 22 Michigan Av., 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 li^^ 
 
 '1 
 
 ^> 
 
 tsi'"'! 
 
 ir 
 
 li 
 
 '4 
 
 :U 
 
 w 
 
 s ■;! 
 
 WINDSOR AND LAKE SUPERIOR 
 
 ;,^. 
 
 ox w 
 
 THE BEST ROUTE TO MANITOBA 
 
 And the ISTorth-^West. 
 
 Connects in the West with the Northern Pacific Railway and the Dawson Road, 
 and at Windsor with the leading American and Canadian Railways and the Montreal 
 Steamers. The first-class fast sailing and elegantly equipped Steamern, 
 
 ASIA, AND SOVEREIGN, 
 
 Will, during the Season, make regular weekly trips from WINDSOR and DETROIT 
 to FORT WILLIAM, PRINCE ARTHUR'S LANDING and DULUTH, calling 
 both ways at all intermediate ports, presenting to PLEASURE SEEKERS, SHIP- 
 PERS, and 
 
 EMIGRANTS TO MANITOBA, 
 
 Many important advantages in TIME, ECONOMY and CONVENIENCE not 
 afforded by other Lines. 
 
 I'''or Informatioro as to Freight cr (Passage apply to 
 
 MONTREAL { ^^^^d^ZTl ''" ^T. CATHARINES { «^Nkelon, M.P.R 
 
 KINGSTON— J. Swift & Co. WINDSOR— G. W. Gibdlestone. 
 
 TORONTO— G. E. Jaqueb & Co. SAIINIA— W. J. Keays. 
 
 GEORGE CAMPBELL, Manager, Windsor. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 ^lENCE not 
 
 THE CHAMPION MEAT MARKET, 
 
 N". P, Clark, Proprietor. 
 
 The best quality , and anything you want in the line. A fine assortment of 
 
 FAMILY VEGETABLES ALWAYS ON HAND. 
 
 Prompt delivery in all parts of the City. Remember the Old Stand. 
 
 New Lumber Yard. 
 
 We offer to the Citizens of Manitoba a full assortment of 
 
 DRY PINE LUMBER. 
 
 In our Yard, between the Ferry and the Emigrant Buildings. 
 FA VOURABLE. -Call 
 
 CLARK & McLURE. 
 
 PRICES FAVOURABLE. — Call and examine our Lumber before purchasing 
 
 elsewhere. 
 
 THOMAS SCOTT, Agent. 
 
 Hardware, Stoves, and Tinware, 
 
 PAINTS, OILS, PUTTY, AND GLASS, 
 
 IMMIGRANTS' and EMIGRANTS' OUTFITS Cheap, but of the best quality, at 
 
 McMICKEN Sd TA.YL0R'S, 
 
 M.AIN ^TREET WINNIPEG 
 
 Contractors and Builders should call on us. Agents for MiLBURN Waggon Co. ; 
 HAYXEti Bkos.' Pianos ; Babcook Extinguishing Co. 
 
 BROKOVSKI & HARRIS, 
 
 MANITOBA LAND, 
 
 §fal iutatf, General and lotwardittg l^gentju. 
 
 Investments and all description of Locations made. Loans by Mortgage negotiated. 
 Agents for the purchase and sale of Half-breed Land Scrip, River Farms and Volun- 
 teer Warrants. Titles searched. Passengers, Freight, and Live Stock forwarded. 
 Information furnished to intending Settlers and Emigrants for Manitoba. Copies of 
 Maps and Plans may be had on application. 
 
 E. Brokovski, 
 
 Main St. , Winnipeg, Man. 
 
 T. N. Harris, 
 
 Union Block, Toronto, Ont. 
 
f 
 
 m 
 
 j!^ ii*?i 
 
 pi: .! 
 
 b 'i 
 
 !:■ : 
 
 it' 
 
 ;^ 
 
 
 H: i 
 
 M 
 
 ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 Selkirk Mills and Sash and Door Factory. 
 
 MACAULAY & JARVIS, 
 
 MANUFACTURERS AND DEALERS IN ALL KINDS OP 
 
 Pine and Hardwood Lnmlssr, 
 
 LATH, SHINGLES, PICKETS. DOORS, 
 Sash, Mouldings, Balusters, Blinds, Newels, Flooring, Siding, cfec., 
 
 9 
 
 C. W. RADIGER & BROTHER, 
 
 "Wliolesale and Eetail G-rocers, 
 
 Wmm AW® IFIMI MBE@M41iFfi'« 
 
 AND 
 
 IMPORTERS. 
 
 TOB-A.COOS -A.1>TID Oia--A.IiS 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 actory. 
 
 s, 
 
 ta!bit, 
 
 >, 
 
 Vding, &c.. 
 
 :r, 
 
 r — TI: 
 
 Manitoba 
 
 Free Press, 
 
 DAILY & WEEKLY. 
 
 KENNY & LUXTON, Publishers. 
 WM. F. LUXTON, Editor & Manager. 
 
 Daily issued every lawful clay at .5 p. M. ; 
 and Weekly every Saturday. 
 
 SUBSCRIPTION RATES. 
 
 Daily, 25 cents per v^^eek ; Weekly, §2.50 per annum. 
 
 The FREE PRESS is the only daily published in Manitoba ; and the Weekly 
 Edition has a larger circulation than all other papers in the Province combined. 
 
 KENNY & LUXTON, Winnipeg. 
 
 D. M. FEERY & CO., 
 
 ocers, 
 
 SEED MERCHANTS, 
 
 ^» 
 
 ii^lillS 
 
 '» 
 
 DETROIT, 
 
 3 . 
 
 MICHIGAI^ 
 
 * 
 
5- i 
 
 '1 
 
 \f. i • ' 
 
 I 
 
 ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 George Ptf fillips, |r., f.f .S. « COB., 
 
 CITY SURVEYOR, WINNIPEG, 
 
 Who has for a number of years been employed on the Government Surveys in the 
 Settlement Belt, and has recently made the Official Survey and Plan of the City of 
 Winnipeg, is at all times prepared to do any kind of surveying or engineering work. 
 Orders by Mail or otherwise promptly attended to. 
 
 OjBpce on the Corner of MAIN and THISTLE STREETS, 
 
 WINNIPEG, MANITOBA. 
 
 APOTHECARIES' HALL, 
 
 GARRY STREET, opp. NOTRE DAME STREET. 
 
 DEUGS, CHEMICALS, PATENT MEDICINES, ESSENTIAL OILS, 
 TOILET ARTICLES, PERFUMERY, and everything usually found in a First- 
 Class Drug Store. The Trade supplied with Bottled Oils, Essences, Dyes, Patent 
 Medicines, etc. A specialty made of the supply and prejjaration of all VETERINARY 
 MEDICINES, of which a full Stock is always on hand. Manufactory of the DEX- 
 TER CONDITION POWDERS-sold Wholesale and Retail. Tratlers, Surveyors 
 and others supplied with Drugs, Medicines, &c. , packed so as to be safely transporteil 
 to any part of the Province or North-west. 
 
 Dr. CURTIS J. BIRD, Proprietor, 
 
 BAIN & BLANGHARD 
 
 nAlS i^TKEET, M'l.\x\ll*ECi. 
 
 John F. Bain. Jedley Blanchard. 
 
 THOS. iNGLES, 
 
 Ji«|itftt & €Ml ^nginttr, 
 
 Office over Dr. Bird's New Drug Store, 
 MAIN ST., - - WINNIPEG. 
 
 CLARK & WEEDON, 
 
 IIM lgf4fl AillfS, 
 
 Provincial Aqent of the Confederation Life Ass. 
 
 (Established 1873.) WINKIPEG, Man. 
 
 Send for Circular issued monthly, containing list 
 
 of Land for sale in Town and Countrj-. 
 WiLLOioHBY Clark. Louis Wekdok. GARRl' ST., 
 
 S . D U 1^' F I N , 
 
 Pttotograplier, 
 
 MAIN ST., WINNIPEG, 
 
 Views of Fort Garry, Winnipc<f, and North-west, 
 
 Printed lists on ai)i)lication, and 
 
 orders filled by post. 
 
 FEED. J. HOSKIN, 
 
 mAlX ST., Wlx^x\IPE«ii, Mau. 
 
 American Currency bought and sold. 
 
 Collections promptly attended to. 
 Deposits received on interest. 
 
 G. D. NORTHGRAVES, 
 lUaUl) itlakir anb JJetDellcr, 
 
 de^vler in 
 
 WATCHES, CLOCKS, aad JEWELLERY 
 
 of every description- 
 
 - - - WINNIPEG 
 
 H. S. DONALDSON & BRO., 
 
 dealers in 
 
 Boobs, Stationery, Fancy Goods, Clocks, Watches and Jewellery. 
 
 Watches and Jewellery repaired. 
 Sign of the BIG BOOK and WATCH, MAIN ST., WINNIPEG- 
 
 ! 
 
 .- i. 
 
; €S., 
 
 c 
 
 Surveys in the 
 in of the City of 
 igineering work. 
 
 ?£f7'5, 
 
 T. 
 
 S^TIAL OILS, 
 und in a First- 
 !, Dyes, Patent 
 VETERINARY 
 ry of the DEX- 
 .clers. Surveyors 
 iely transportetl 
 
 5, Proprietor, 
 
 :<^ I N , 
 
 ipher, 
 
 INIPEG, 
 
 g, and North-west . 
 •ation, and 
 post. 
 
 SKIN, 
 
 ■EC;, Mnu. 
 
 jht and sold, 
 ptly attended to. 
 erest. 
 
 JRAVES, 
 
 JEWELLERY 
 tion. 
 
 WiyNlPEG 
 
 d Jewellery.