A trip to Manitoba, or, Roughing it on the line

Preface To Canadian Edition

tT is one of the peculiarities of life in this " New World" that railways, which were first desired as a means of more readily carrying traffic already existing between towns, or entrepots of trade already built up, have come with us to be used as a means of settling the wilderness.

The backwoodsmen of forty years ago looked forward hopefully to the time when, his settlement having become populous and important enough, he might reasonably expect the extension of the railway system to his doors. The settler of to-day is unwilling to take up lands which are not within easy distance of at least a projected railway, if not one in course of construction.

vi

Preface

The Canadian Pacific Railway, west of Winnipeg, is destined to be (as several Trunk lines south of it have been) a great colonization worker. Between Winnipeg and Lake Superior the line is a necessity to afford access from Canadian waters to the fertile lands of our great North-West. Its chances, as a colonization road, until those richer lands further on are filled up, are doubtless not very great. The country is, in a large part, rough and not easy to subdue by culture.

The plunge into this howling wilderness of wood, lake and rock, interspersed, and not rendered more valuable or romantic, by vast swamps or muskegs, to find a practicable railway route through it and build a line so far away from towns and the comforts of civilization, was a rough task for men. For women still harder, although it was but to accompany and care for them, to repeat in a new form what women have done when " roughing it in the bush " in the now settled parts of Canada forty years ago.

The writer of this sketch of rough life, under a novel combination of circumstances, with constant

Preface.

vii telegraphic communication with the outer world and railway work before them, has drawn a faithful picture, with a hope that it may be read with some interest now as a representation of one phase of the march of civilization into the wilderness and in the future, by those who go up to possess that goodly land, as a record of the rude work done to open a pathway for them to their new homes.

Ottawa, July, 1880.

Chapter I. Page

The Grand Trunk Railway — Sarnia — " Confusion worse confounded " — A Churlish Hostess — Fellow-Passengers on the Manitoba — " Off at last ! " — Musical Honours — Sunrise on Lake Huron — A Scramble for Breakfast — An Impromptu Dance — The General Foe 13

Chapter II

Sault Ste. Marie — Indian Embroidery — Lake Superior — Preaching, Singing, and Card-playing — Silver Islet — Thunder Bay — The Dog River — Flowers at Fort William — " Forty Miles of Ice " — Icebergs and Warm Breezes — Duluth — Hotel Belles — Bump of Destructiveness in Porters 23

X

Chapter III. Page

The Mississippi — The Rapids — Aerial Railway Bridges — Breakfast at Braynor — Lynch Law — Card-sharpers — Crowding in the Cars — Woman's Rights ! — The Prairie — "A ,Sea of Fire" — Crookstown — Fisher's Landing — Strange Quarters — " The Express-Man's Bed " — Herding Like Sheep — On board the Minnesota , 37

Chapter IV

Red Lake River— Grand Forks — The Ferry — Custom-house Officers at Pembina — Mud and Misery — Winnipeg at last — A Walk through the Town — A Hospitable Welcome — Macadam wanted — Holy Trinity Church — A Picturesque Population — Indians shopping— An " All-sorts " Store — St. Boniface and its Bells — An Evening Scene 48

Chapter V

Summer Days — The English Cathedral — Icelandic Emigrants— Tableaux — In chase of our Dinner — The Indian Summer — Blocked up — Gigantic Vegetables — Fruitfulness of the Country— Iceland Maidens— Rates of Wages — Society at Winnipeg — Half-breeds — Magic of the Red River Water— A Happy Hunting-ground — Where is Manitoba ? 62

Contents.

xi

Chapter VI. Page

Winter Amusements — A Winnipeg Ball — Forty Degrees below Zero — New Year's Day— u Saskatchewan Taylor " — Indian Compliments— A Dog-train — Lost in the Snow— Amateur Theatricals — Sir Walter Raleigh's Hat — A Race with the Freshets — The Ice moves ! — The First Steamer of the Season — Good-bye to Winnipeg 74

Chapter VII

A Manitoban Travelling-carriage — The Perils of Short Cuts — The Slough of Despond — Paddy to the Rescue! — " Stick-in-the-Mud " and his Troubles — McQuade's — An Irish Welcome — Wretched Wanderers 85

Chapter VIII

Faithless Jehu — The " Blarney Stone" — Mennonites in search of News — " Water, Water everywhere" — A Herd of Buffaloes — A Mud Village— Pointe du Ch§ne and Old Nile — At Dawson Route — A Cheerful Party — Toujour s perdrix — The " Best Room" — A Government Shanty — Cats and Dogs — Birch River — Mushroom-picking— The Mosquito Plague — A Corduroy Road— The Cariboo Muskeg 97 xii

Contents.

Chapter IX. Page

The " Nor'- west Angle" — The Company's House — Triumph of "Stick-in-the-Mud"— On the Lake of the v Woods — A Gallant Cook — Buns a Vimprevu — A Man Overboard ! — Camping out — Clear Water Bay — Our First Portage — A Noble Savage — How Lake Bice and Lake Deception won their Names — At our Journey's End , . 112

Chapter X

Making a New Home — Carriere's Kitchen — The Navvies' Salle-a- Manger — A Curious Milking Custom — Insect Plagues — Peterboro' Canoes — Fishing Trips — Mail-day— Indian dread of drowning — The Indian Mail-carrier and his Partner — Talking by Telegraph — A Fire in the Woods 125

Chapter XI

Irish Wit — Bears ? — Death on the Bed Pine Lake — A Grave in the Catholic Cemetery — The First Dog-train — A Christmas Fete — Compulsory Temperance — Contraband Goods — The Prisoner wins the Day — Whiskey on the Island — The Smuggler turned Detective—A Fatal Frolic— ' ' Mr. K 's Legs " 137

Contents.

xiii

Chapter XII. Page

Birds of Passage — An Independent Swede — By Sleigh to Ostersund — A Son of the Forest — Burnt out — A Brave Canadian Girl — Houghing it in the Shanty — The Kitchen-tent — Blasting the Rock — The Perils of Nitro-glycerine— Bitter Jests 151

Chapter XIII

We lose our Cows— Cahill promoted — Gardening on a New Principle — Onions in Hot-houses — Cahill is hoaxed — Martin the Builder — How the Navvies lived — Sunday in Camp — The Cook's Leap — That "Beautiful Skunk !"— Wild Fruits— Parting 165

Chapter XIV

For Ostersund — Lake Lulu — Giant Rocks and Pigmy Mortals — The Island Garden — Heaven's Artillery — Strange Casualty at the Ravine — My Luggage nearly blown up — The Driver's Presence of Mind — How to carry a Canoe — Darlington Bay — An Invisible Lake — Lord and Lady Dufferin — A Paddle to the Rapids — The Captain's Tug — Monopoly of Water-carriage — Indian Legends — The Abode of Snakes 177 xiv

Contents.

Chapter XV. Page

Clear Water Bay transformed— Cahill's Farewell — Ptarmigan Bay — A Night under Canvas — "No more Col- N lars or Neckties ! " — Companions in Misfortune — Cedar Lake — Lop-sticks " — An Indian Village — Shashegheesh's Two Wives — Buying Potatoes — Seniores Priores — Excellent Carrots ! — Frank's Flirtations with the Squaws — The Dogs eat Carriere's Toboggan 192

Chapter XVI

Falcon River— An Unlucky Supper — The Fate of our Fried Pork — A Weary Paddle — A Sundial in the wilderness — A Gipsy Picnic — "Floating away" — The Dried Musk-rats — Falcon Lake — How can we land? — Mr. M "in again" — Surprised by Indians— How we dried our Clothes — The Last Night in Camp 206

Chapter XVII

Indian Loyalty — A Nap on Falcon Lake — A False Alarm — -The Power of Whisky — "Magnificent Water Stretches " — A Striking Contrast — Picnic Lake — How we crossed Hawk Lake — Long Pine Lake — Bachelors' Quarters at Ingolf— We dress for Dinner

Contents.

xv

— Our Last Portage — A Rash Choice — " Grasp your

Nettle 99 — Mr. F 's Gallantry— Cross Lake —

Denmark's Ranche — A Tramp through the Mire.. 218

Chapter XVIII

Tilford — Pedestrians under Difficulties — The Railway at last — Not exactly a First-class Carriage — The Jules Muskeg — Whitemouth and Broken-Head Rivers — Vagaries of the Engine-driver— The Hotel at St. Boniface— Red River Ferry — Winnipeg — "A Vagabond Heroine" — The Terrier at fault 235

Chapter XIX

The Minnesota again — Souvenirs of Lord and Lady Dufferin — From Winnipeg by Red River — Compagnons de Voyage — A Model Farm — " Bees " — Manitoba a good Field for Emigrants — Changes at Fisher's Landing — A Mild Excitement for Sundays— Racing with Prairie Fires — Glyndon — Humours of a Pullman Sleeping Car — Lichfield 247

Chapter XX

Lakes Smith and Howard — Lovely Lake Scenery — Long Lake — The Little American — " Wait till you see our Minnetaunka ! " — Minneanopolis — Villa Hotels — A xvi

Contents.

Holiday Town—The Great Flour Mills— St. Paul's — Our American Cousins— The French Canadian's Story — Kind-hearted Fellow-passengers — A New Way of Travelling together — The Mississippi — Milwaukee, the Prettiest Town in Wisconsin — School-houses — A Peep at Chicago — Market Prices — Pigs ! — The Fairy Tales of Progress — Scotch Incredulity — Detroit Ferry — Hamilton — Good-by to my Readers. 258

A

Teip to Manitoba.

Chapter I

The Grand Trunk Railway — Sarnia — " Confusion worse confounded"— A Churlish Hostess — Fellow-Passengers on the Manitoba — "Off at last ! " — Musical Honours — Sunrise on Lake Huron — A Scramble for Breakfast— An Impromptu Dance-— The General Foe.

FTER a long day's journey on the Grand Trunk Railway, without even the eccentricities of fellow-passengers in our Pullman car to amui^e us3 we were all glad to reach Sarnia, The monotony of the scenery through which we passed had been unbroken, except by a prettily situated cemetery, and the tasteful architecture of a hillside church, surrounded by trees just putting on their spring foliage.

A Trip to Manitoba.

It was eight o'clock when we reached the wharf, and the steamer Manitoba only waited for our arrival to cast loose her moorings and enter the dark blue waters of Lake Huron. " Haste " will not express the excitement of the scene. Men, rushing hither and thither in search of friends, traps, and luggage, were goaded to fury by the calmness of the officials and their determination not to be hurried. Hearing there was no chance of having tea on board that night, and discovering near the wharf a signboard announcing that meals could be obtained at all hours (except, as we were told, that particular one), we with difficulty persuaded the proprietress to let us have something to eat. Amidst muttered grumblings that she was " slaved to death/' that her " life was not worth a rap," and so on, every remark being emphasized with a plate or dish, we were at last supplied with bread, cheese, and beefsteak, for which we were kindly allowed to pay fifty cents each.

The scene on board the boat beggars description. The other steamers being still ice-bound on Lake Superior, the Manitoba was obliged to take as much

Fellow Passengers, freight and as many passengers as she could cany, many of the latter having been waiting in Sarnia upwards of ten days for her departure. Surveying parties, immigrants of almost every nation on their way to make homes in the great North-West, crowded the decks and gangways. The confusion of tongues, the shrill cries of the frightened and tired children, the oaths of excited men, and the trundling and thumping of the baggage, mingled with the shrieks of adjacent engines " made night hideous." Porters and cabmen jostled women laden with baskets of linen, brought on board at the last minute, when the poor tired stewardess had no time to administer the well-merited reprimand ; passengers rushed about in search of the purser, anxious to secure their state-rooms before they were usurped by some one else.

It was midnight when the commotion had subsided, and quarters were assigned to all but a stray man or two wandering about in search of some Mr. Brown or Mr. J ones, whose room he was to share. Climbing into my berth, I soon fell asleep ; but only for a few moments. The shrill whistle, the vehement

A Trip to Manitoba.

ringing of the captain's bell, the heavy beat of the paddles, roused me ; and as we left the wharf and steamed out from among the ships and small craft dotting the water on every side, " Off at last ! " was shouted from the crowded decks. Then the opening bars of " God save the Queen " were sung heartily and not inharmoniously, followed by three cheers for her Majesty, three for her Imperial Highness, three for her popular representative Lord Dufferin, and so on, till the enthusiasm culminated in " He's a jolly good fellow ; " the monotony of which sent me to sleep again.

At four o'clock next morning I scrambled out of my berth at the imminent risk of broken bones, wondering why the inventive powers of our Yankee neighbours had not hit upon some arrangement to facilitate the descent ; dressed, and went Lin search of fresh air. Picking my steps quietly between sleeping forms — for men in almost every attitude, some with blankets or great-coats rolled round them, were lying on the floor and lounges in the saloon — I reached the deck just as the sun rose above the broad blue waters, brightening every moment the

Sun-rise on Lake Huron.

band of gold where sky and water met. Clouds of ink-black smoke floated from our funnel, tinged by the rising sun with every shade of yellow, red, and brown. Mirrored in the calm water below, lay the silent steamer — silent, save for the ceaseless revolution of her paddles, whose monotonous throb seemed like the beating of a great heart.

For an hour or more I revelled in the beauty of water and sky, and ceased to wonder why people born on the coast love the sea so dearly, and pine for the sight of its waves. When the men came to wash the decks, a pleasant brawny fellow told me we were likely to have a good run up the lakes. The storms of the last few days having broken up the ice, and driven it into the open, there was hope both of the ice-locked steamers getting out, and of our getting into Duluth without much trouble — -" unless the wind changes, which is more than possible/' he added abruptly ; and walked off, as if fearful of my believing his sanguine predictions too implicitly.

Later the passengers appeared, grumbling at the cold, and at being obliged to turn out so early, and wishing breakfast were ready. Of this wished-for

A Trip to Manitoba.

meal the clatter of dishes in the saloon soon gave welcome warning. Dickens says that when, before taking his first meal on board an xlmerican steamer, " xhe tore after the rushing crowd to see what was wrong, dreadful visions of fire, in its most aggravated form, floated through his mind ; but it was only dinner that the hungry public were rushing to devour/' We were nearly as bad on the Manitoba, the friendly steward warning most of us to secure our seats without delay, the cabin- walls being gradually lined with people on either side, each behind a chair. One of the " boys" strode ostentatiously down the long saloon, ringing a great hand-bell, which summoned a mixed multitude pell-mell to the scene of action, only to retreat in disappointment at finding the field already occupied.

It was amusing to watch the different expressions on the faces down the lines while waiting for breakfast. Men, chiefly surveyors, who during their annual trips to and from work had got used to " that sort of thing," took it coolly ; judiciously choosing a seat directly opposite their state-room door, or standing in the background, but near enough to expel any

A Scramble for Breakfast 19 intruder. New men, looking as uncomfortable as if they had been caught in petty larceny, twisted their youthful moustaches, put their hands in their pockets, or leant against the wall, trying to look perfectly indifferent as to the event ; some of their neighbours smiling satirically at their folly. Old farmer-looking bodies, grumbling at the crush, mingled with Yankees, toothpick in hand, ready for business ; sturdy Englishmen whom one knew appreciated creature comforts ; and dapper little Frenchmen, hungry yet polite. Here stood a bright-looking Irishwoman, who vainly tried to restrain the impatience of five or six children, whose faces still shone from the friction of their morning ablutions ; there, an old woman well-nigh double with age, who, rather than be separated from the two stalwart sons by her side, was going to end her days in a strange land. Here was a group of bright, chatty little French Canadians, with the usual superabundance of earrings and gay ribbons decorating their persons; there a great raw-boned Scotchwoman, inwardly lamenting the porridge of her native land, frowned upon the company. The bell ceased, and — " Presto ! " all were seated,

A Trip to Manitoba.

and turning over their plates as if for a wager. Then came a confused jumble of tongues, all talking at once ; the rattle of dishes, the clatter of knives 3,nd forks, and the rushing about of the boy- waiters. It required quick wit to choose a breakfast dish, from the " White -fish- finanhaddie- beefsteak -cold roast beef - muttonchop - bacon - potatoes - toast - rollbrown bread-or-wbite-tea-or-coffee," shouted breathlessly by a youth on one side, while his comrade screamed the same, in a shrill falsetto, to one's neighbour on the other ; their not starting simultaneously making the confusion worse confounded. Such was the economical mode of setting forth the bill of fare on the Manitoba. There were three hundred and fifty people on board ; more than one-third of whom were cabin, or would-be cabin, passengers. The accommodation being insufficient, some were camping on the upper deck, some in the saloon, many on the stairs, and others wherever elbow-room could be found. Breakfast began at half-past seven, and at half-past nine the late risers were still at it ; and it was not long before the same thing (only more so!), in the shape of dinner, had to be gone through.

An Impromptu Dance.

As Lake Huron was calm and our boat steady, we had more " God save the Queen " after dinner, besides " Rule Britannia " and other patriotic songs, several of the passengers playing the piano very well. Some one also played a violin, and the men, clearing the saloon of sofas, and superfluous chairs, danced a double set of quadrilles, after having tried in vain to persuade some of the emigrant girls to become their partners. They were an amusing group — from the grinning steward, who, cap on head, figured away through all the steps he could recollect or invent (some of them marvels of skill and agility in their way), to the solemn young man, only anxious to do his duty creditably. But alas for the short-lived joviality of the multitude ! After touching at Southampton the boat altered her course, and the effect of her occasional rolls in the trough of the waves soon became manifest.

One by one the less courageous of the crowd crept away. Every face soon blanched with terror at the common enemy. Wretched women feebly tried to help crying children, though too ill to move themselves; others threw them down anywhere, to be

A Trip to Manitoba.

able to escape in time for the threatened paroxysm ; all were groaning, wan and miserable, railing at the poor, wearied stewardess, calling her here, there, and everywhere at the same time, and threatening her as if she were the sole cause of their woe. About midnight, our course being altered, "Richard was himself again."

Chapter II

Sault Ste. Marie — Indian Embroidery — Lake Superior- Preaching, Singing, and Card-playing — Silver Islet- Thunder Bay — The Dog River — Flowers at Fort William — " Forty Miles of Ice " — Icebergs and Warm Breezes— Duluth — Hotel Belles— Bump of Destructiveness in Porters.

HE scenery just before entering the St. Mary Kiver, which unites Lake Huron and Lake Superior, is very fine. As the steamer threaded the group of islands with their high, rocky, picturesquely wooded shores, we were sometimes near enough to distinguish the many varieties of mosses and ferns just springing into life ; then, steaming across the rippling water, we reached some point whose distant beauty had made us long to carry away more than a memory of its outlines ; and so, winding in and out amongst the islands of this North American archipelago, 'we " fetched " the Sault Ste; Marie

A Trip to Manitoba.

about sunset.* The " Sault," as it is generally called, is a pretty little village, situated at the foot of a hill on the north shore of the canal. Having to remain an hour there, we went ashore, up the long straight street, to a frame-house, or store, where there was an extensive display of Indian work. The Lake Superior and Huron Indians are particularly noted

* The island-studded northern expanse of Lake Huron is known as Georgian Bay. As the level of Lake Superior is between thirty and forty feet higher than that of Lake Huron, there is a corresponding fall at the head of the St. Mary River. This difference of level prevents direct navigation between the two lakes ; consequently, the Americans have constructed across the extreme north-eastern point of the State of Michigan a fine canal, which gives them exclusive possession of the entrance by water to the great inland sea of Lake Superior. When, in 1870, the Eed River Expedition, under Colonel (now General Sir) Garnet Wolseley, sought to make the passage in several steamboats en route for Thunder Bay, the State authorities of Michigan issued a prohibition against it. Fortunately, the Cabinet of Washington overruled this prohibition, and the Expedition was permitted to pass ; not, however, until valuable time had been lost. Considering the importance of this canal to the Dominion Government, and that at a crisis the United States' Cabinet could close Lake Superior to our vessels of war, I think some steps should be taken by which the Imperial Government would become joint proprietors of the canal, with an equal share in its management at all times.

Indian Embroidery.

for the beauty of their embroidery on skins, silk, birch bark, and cloth, in beads, porcupine quills, or silk. Their imitative genius is so great that the squaws can copy anything, and I know people who have had their crests and coats-of-arms embroidered upon their tobacco-pouches and belts, from an impression on paper or sealing-wax. Generally they copy flowers and ferns, invent their own patterns, or, what seems even more wonderful, make them by chewing a piece of bark into the form they require — the bark assuming the appearance of a stamped braiding pattern. As the white people put an exorbitant price on the flour and trinkets they give in exchange for the Indian's work, the latter ask, when selling for money, what seems more than its full value ; but many who travel that way provided with cheap trinkets and gaudy [ribbons, get the work cheaply enough.

There is quite a large Roman Catholic church in the village ; but we had to be content with a tiptoe peep through its windows, as after the " angelus " the door is locked. There are some small trading stores, a few scattered houses, long, pretty winding

A Trip to Manitoba.

roads up the hills, skirted by cozy little farmhouses and wheat fields, and one or two more dwellings of more pretension occupied as summer residences by Americans. A little higher up, on the other side of the canal, lie the low white buildings of the American fort. That fortification, with its sentries and the national flag floating over the chief bastion, looked gay enough in the rays of the fast-setting sun. After remaining several hours to coal, we left the little village in the darkness, and when day dawned again found ourselves out in the broad waters of Lake Superior — called by the Indians " the Great Sea " (Kitchee Kumma). For hours no land was to be seen on either side, but we were visited by two little birds, quivering with cold, weary from their long flight, almost too timid to alight upon our boat, yet too tired to resist the resting-place. Poor little wanderers ! many a lonely emigrant, who had left all he loved behind to try his fortune in an unknown land, felt sympathy for them.

Seeing nothing but water and sky to interest us without, we turned our attention to our fellow-passengers within. At one end of the long saloon a

Preaching, Singing and Card Playing. 27 zealous Cecilite, the centre of a mixed group, was " improving the occasion," Bible in hand — exhorting his hearers to turn from the error of their ways, and denouncing the world and its wickedness, as exemplified in the group of card-players close by. Their "Til order it up!" "Pass!" "Til play it alone!" mingled with the grave accents of the preacher, whose exhortations were answered by shouts of laughter and ringing glees from the other end of the boat, where stood the piano and its satellites. In vain the poor' Cecilite tried "to stem the torrent" of what he considered " Satan's doings ;" his obstinacy and want of tact only increased the mischievous delight of his enemies. At the sides of the saloon small knots of French Canadians chatted merrily ; at the top of the stairs an emigrant or two were allowed to infringe the rule of " no deck passengers," because of the crowd onboard. Poor things ! One did not wonder that they escaped gladly from the jarring sounds and offensive smells below.

Early on Saturday morning we passed Silver Islet, that mine of wealth to our neighbours across the line. It lies in an island-dotted bay, and is so covered with

A Trip to Manitoba.

mining works that it looks like a pile of buildings rising out of the water. The crushing-mills are on the mainland close by. Silver Islet first belonged to a Canadian company ; but from the lack of enterprise or capital it was sold to an American company for a nominal sum, and, as is often the case, the sanguine nature of Cousin Jonathan, acting on the motto, " Nothing venture nothing win," has been successful, and the company is now (1879) shipping $20,000 worth of silver ore a day. The islet can be visited only by those who have especial permission to see the mines and works, or friends among the officials, neither of which had we.

The adjacent village, at which the Manitoba stopped, did not look as if times were very prosperous with it Two smoky little tugs lay idly at the small wharf, and the few red wooden houses built against the rocks, their flat roofs piled up with the bales of goods and boxes — the ever-present blue barrels of coal-oil being most conspicuous — seemed tenantless. Leaving Silver Islet far behind, we rounded Whitefish Point, with its tall lighthouse, and saw a very distinct mirage — a long stretch of cold blue water,

Thunder Bay.

filled with great blocks of ice. It was rather amusing to see the eagerness with which glasses were levelled at the " counterfeit presentment" of a scene, of whose reality we should soon have even too much.

At the entrance of Thunder Bay, we passed Thunder Cape on our right and Pie Island on our left; the former, a bold promontory, rising 1300 feet above the sea-level, and wooded with a short stunted growth of bush, principally poplar. Save for its picturesquely situated lighthouse and log hut, where the keeper lives, no other sign of habitation was visible. Thunder Bay and Cape probably take their names from the fierce and frequent storms that rage there ; Pie Island from the peculiar formation of its northern end. Passing many rocky islands, with tiny waterfalls zigzaging down their sides, we arrived at " Prince Arthur s Landing" and walked up the long pier, partly roofed to form a temporary warehouse for a pile of freight, in the teeth of a blistering hot land-breeze, which drove the dust in blinding, choking eddies about us. After looking at some specimens of Lake Superior agate, which were on exhibition in a dusty shop, and buying soma C

A Trip to Manitoba.

lemons at what we thought the exorbitant price of a dollar and a half per dozen, we were glad to retrace our steps to the steamer, where we found the captain ready and anxious to start.

x Half an hour's steaming brought us to the mouth of the Kaministiquia, or Dog River, and entering it, we were at once in another country. No more dusty roads, baked-lookirig piers, nor begrimed aborigines ; but bright rippling water, cool green fields, dotted here and there with leafy trees, cattle grazing or lying lazily in their shade, trim fences, long grass-grown country roads, and soon the white walls and flowery garden of Fort William, the Hudson Bay Company's trading post. The rockery in the centre of the garden would have gladdened the heart of an Ontario gardener. I believe that wealthy people there have had large fragments of Lake Superior rock brought down to adorn their lawns and gardens. We found friends at the fort in the factor and his family, with whom we spent a pleasant half-hour. Mr. Mclntyre is well known, and many will owe him gratitude for his kindness as long as Fort William or the Canada Pacific Railway remains in their memory.