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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATES

Gift of
WILLIAM INGLIS MORSE

TKIP TO MANITOBA;

KOTTGHLNG IT ON THE LINE.

MARY FITZGIBBON.

Staotttu :
EOSE-BELFORD PUBLISHING COMPANY.

MDOCCLXXX.

Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year
one thousand eight hundred and eighty, by Mart I'itzoibbon, in
the Office of the Minister of Agriculture.

DEDICATED

|airg fflttffcrin:.

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 exist
ing 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 for
ward hopefully to the time when, his settlement hav
ing become populous and important enough, he might
reasonably expect the extension of the railway sys
tem 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 pic
ture, with a hope that it may be read with some in
terest 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.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

PAGE

The Grand Trunk Railway — Sarnia — "Confusion worse
confounded " — A Churlish Hostess— Fellow-Passen
gers 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

Contents.

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 Minne
sota  37
CHAPTER IV. '
Red Lake River— Grand Forks — The Ferry — Custom
house Officers at Pembina — Mud and Misery — Winni
peg at last — A Walk through the Town — A Hospit
able Welcome — Madadam wanted — Holy Trinity
Church— A Picturesque Population— Indians shop
ping—An " All-sorts " Store— St. Boniface and its
Bells — An Evening Scene  48
CHAPTER V.
Summer Days— The EngUsh Cathedral— Icelandic Emi- -
grants— Tableaux — In chase of our Dinner — The
Indian Summer— Blocked up— Gigantic Vegetables
— Fraitfulness 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 — " Saskatchewan Tay
lor " — Indian Compliments — A Dog-train — Lost in
the Snow — Amateur Theatricals — Sir Walter Ra
leigh'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 Wan
derers  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 Chene
and Old Nile— At Dawson Route— A Cheerful Party
— Toujours perdrix — The " Best Room" — A Govern
ment Shanty— Cats and Dogs — Birch River — Mush-
i
room-picking — The Mosquito Plague— A Corduroy
Road— The Cariboo Muskeg  97

Contents.

CHAPTER IX.
PAGE
The "Nor' -west Angle" — The Company's House — Tri
umph of "Stick-in-the-Mud" — On the Lake of the
"Woods — A Gallant Cook — Buns & I'mvprevu — A Man
Overboard! — Camping out — Clear Water Bay —
Our First Portage — A Noble Savag6 — How Lake
Rice 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 Red Pine Lake— A
Grave in the Catholic Cemetery — The First Dog-
train — A Christmas Fe'te — Compulsory Temperance
— Contraband Goods — The Prisoner wins the Day
— Whiskey on the Island — The Smuggler turned De
tective—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 — Roughing 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— Ptar
migan Bay — A Night under Canvas — "No more Col
lars or Neckties ! " — Companions in Misfortune —
Cedar Lake — " Lop-sticks " — An Indian Village —
Shashegheesh's Two Wives — Buying Potatoes — 8en-
iores Priores — Excellent Carrots! — Frank's. Flirta
tions 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 In
dians — 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

PAGE
— Our Last Portage — A Rash Choice — " Grasp your
Nettle" — 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 Vaga
bond Heroine" — The Terrier at fault  235
CHAPTER XIX.
The Minnesota again — Souvenirs of Lord and Lady Duf-
ferin — From Winnipeg by Red River — Oompagnons
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 Pull
man 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.

PAGE
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— Mil
waukee, the Prettiest Town in Wisconsin — School-
houses— A Peep at Chicago— Market Prices— Pigs !
—The Fairy Tales of Progress— Scotch Incredulity—
Detrdit Ferry— Hamilton— Good-by to my Readers. 258

Teip to Manitoba.

CHAPTER I.
The Grand Trunk Rail way — Sarnia — "Confusion worse con
founded" — A Churlish Hostess — Fellow-Passengers on
the Manitoba — "Off at last ! " — Musical Honours — Sun
rise on Lake Huron — A Scramble for Breakfast — An
Impromptu Dance — The General Foe.
i FTER a long day's journey on the Grand Trunk
Railway, without even the eccentricities of
fellow-passengers in our Pullman car to amuse us,
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.

14 ,4. 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 ex
press 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 sign
board 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 re
mark being, emphasized with a plate or dish, we
were at last supplied with bread, cheese, and beef
steak, 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. 15
freight and as many passengers as she could carry,
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, crowd
ed 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 min
ute, 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. Jones, whose room he was to share. Climb
ing into my berth, I soon fell asleep ; but only for
a few moments. The shrill whistle, the vehement

16 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, won
dering why the inventive powers of our Yankee
neighbours had not hit upon some arrangement to
facilitate the descent ; dressed, and went tin 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. 17
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 revolu
tion 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 believ
ing 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

18 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 American steamer,
" he tore after the rushing crowd to see what was
wrong, dreadful visions of fire, in its most aggrava
ted form, floated through his mind ; but it was only
dinner that the hungry public were rushing to de
vour." 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 sum
moned 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 break
fast. Men, chiefly surveyors, who during their an
nual 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 stand
ing 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 in
different as to the event ; some of their neighbours
smiling satirically at their folly. Old farmer-looking
bodies, grumbling at the crush, mingled with Yan
kees, 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 fric
tion of their morning ablutions ; there, an old woman
well-nigh double with age, who, rather than be separa
ted 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,

20 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
and 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 - potat oes - toast - roll-
brown bread-or-wbite-tea-or-coffee," shouted breath
lessly by a youth on one side, while his comrade
screamed the same, in a shrill falsetto, to one's neigh
bour 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 ac
commodation 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. 21
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 South
ampton 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 them
selves; others threw them down anywhere, to be

22 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.
J HE scenery just before entering the St. Mary
River, 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

24 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 posses
sion of the entrance by water to the great inland sea of Lake
Superior. When, in 1870, the Red 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 manage
ment at all times.

Indian Embroidery. 25
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 im
pression 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 exor
bitant price on the ilour 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

26 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 Ameri
can 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 KummcC). 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-pas
sengers within. At one end of the long saloon ft

r reaching, H%ngimg 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 exem
plified in the group of card-players close by. Their
"I'll order it up!" "Pass!" "I'll play it alone!"
mingled with the grave accents of the preacher,
whose exhortations were answered by shouts of laugh
ter 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 con
sidered " Satan's doings ;" his obstinacy and want of
tact only increased the mischievous delight of his en
emies. 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

28 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 enter
prise or capital it was sold to an American company
for a nominal sum, and, as is often the case, the san
guine 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 stop
ped, 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 White-
fish Point, with its tall lighthouse, and saw a very
distinct mirage— a bng stretch of cold blue water,

Thunder Bay. 29

filled with great blocks of ice. It was rather amus
ing 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 some
C

30 A Trip to Manitoba.

lemons at what we thought the exorbitant priee 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.
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-looking 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 gar
den 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 WiUiam
or the Canada Pacific Railway remains in their
jnemory,

" Forty Miles of Ice" 31

We left Thunder Bay for Duluth at three o'clock.
The day had become cloudy, and showers fell all the
evening, but not heavily enough to prevent every
man, woman, and child from rushing out to " speak "
the down-coming boat Ontario, and hear her report
on the state of the ice-fields. She had been six days
ice-bound at Duluth, and the answer to our captain's
inquiry was —
" Forty miles of ice ; only one passage. If you
hit that, all right ; if not, you won't get through."
And wishing us luck and good night, with three
hearty cheers from either deck, we parted. Naturally
anxious as we were for a speedy journey, the possi
bility of failure in hitting the Qne open passage lent
the additional charm of uncertainty to our voyage ;
not charming, however, to the poor emigrants whose
stock of provisions was too scanty to admit of a long
stay on board, while the commissariat of the steamer
was not prepared to supply them. Knowing this,
the captain — a pleasant, handsome man— quoting
the saying that " Fortune favours the brave," put on
steam. By eight o'clock on Sunday morning we had met

32 A Trip to Manitoba.
great blocks of ice, and grown accustomed to hear
ing them bump against the side of the boat ; and
before noon we were well into the ice-fields, with
loose blocks of ice on every side, and a rough surface
of piled-up masses as far as the eye could see. Up
a narrow strip of blue water we steamed, the pas
sage closing in our wake. Then the way became
blocked ahead, while the vessel heeled to one side
with a lurch, as a great block went under her keel.
The captain held on steadily but slowly, stopping
the machinery until a large berg was passed, and
taking advantage of an opening created by the waves
as they bore the floes upon their crests. As the ice-
blocks closed in behind us the certainty of being
unable to return, and the difficulty of going ahead,
gave increased excitement to our adventure.
One of its strangest features was the heat.
Though clothed in the lightest summer dresses, we
were uncomfortably warm — and this with miles of
ice around us ! The warm land-breeze, and our
captain's promptitude and determination, enabled
us to reach Duluth that evening. A change of wind
the same night drove the ice back into the bay, and

Duluth. 38

from the hotel windows we saw and commiserated
four vessels locked fast, their creVs and passengers
suffering from cold and short rations for four day3.
The change of wind made us glad of our fur jackets.
Duluth, situated on the rocky north, or Minnesota,
shore of the extreme western end of Lake Superior
— otherwise St. Louis Bay — was apparently planned
in expectation of its one day becoming the principal
centre of commerce between America and Canada —
in short the great capital of the lakes. Everything
is on a large scale. The streets are broad; the
wharves and warehouses extensive ; the hotels
immense ; the custom house and other public build
ings massive and capacious enough to accommodate
any number of extra clerks when the rush of busi
ness shall come — a rush which is still in the future.
During the day and a half we spent there, the hotel
omnibus and one other team were the only locomo
tives, and a lame man and a water-carrier with a
patch over his eye the only dwellers in Duluth we
saw ; while the people from our boat seemed to be
the only visitors who woke the echoes in the sleepy
place. It was like a city in a fairy tale, over which

34 A Trip to Manitoba.
a spell had been cast ; its very cleanliness was de
pressing, and so suggestive of disuse, that I think a
mass of mud scraped off the road might have given
some appearance of traffic and life to the scene.
There are people in Duluth, however, though it is
difficult to say where they hide themselves ; for
some of our party went to service in a little church on
a hill, and came back charmed with the eloquence
of the clergyman and the sweetness of the voices in
the quartette choir, to say nothing of several pretty
girls they noticed amongst the congregation. Still,
Duluth will always seem to me like a city in a dream.
On the opposite, or Wisconsin shore of the lake, is
Superior City, a pretty, half-built town, rising slowly
into commercial importance. Unfortunately we
were unable to cross to it.
I cannot leave Deluth without speaking of the
" girls" in the hotel, as they were called, in order not
to wound the sensitive democracy of the Yankee
nature, which abhors the name of servant. There
were three in the great dining-saloon, whose super
abundance of empty chairs and tables gave even
greater dreariness to the house than its long, empty

Destructiveness in Porters. 35
corridors. Pretty fair girls they were, neat in dress,
but so tightly laced that it was painful to look at
them. Their slow, stiff, automatic movements were
suggestive of machinery, and in keeping with the
sleepy spell cast over the town. All the lithe, living
gracefulness of their figures was destroyed for the
sake of drawing in an inch or two of belt. Watching
them, I attacked my breakfast with greater energy,
to prove to myself that there was something substan
tial about the premises.
One word respecting the treatment of luggage in
that part of the world by porters and officials, whose
organ of destructiveness seems to be abnormally de
veloped. Boxes are thrown pell-mell into the hold,
or tossed on end out of high baggage-vans, with such
unnecessary violence that nothing less than cases
of solid iron or stronger metal could have stood it.
Trunks, " stationary" boxes warranted to stand any
ill-usage, were cracked and broken; and the poor
emigrants' boxes, of comparatively slight construc
tion, soon became a mass of ruiDs, with their contents
scattered on the ground. It was the same every
where — at Duluth, at Glyndon, and at Fisher's Land-

36 A Trip to Manitoba.
ing, where we took the Red River boat. At Glyn
don half the baggage was piled on an open truck,
and the heavy rain we passed through that night
completed the ruin the officials began. A member
of the Hudson Bay Company, who had travelled a
great deal over this continent, said he found it best
to carry his baggage in a small hand-valise, or in a
very large trunk so heavy that it required two men
to move it; anything between the two was invariably
smashed.

CHAPTER III.
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.
, FTER leaving Duluth at four o'clock on Tues
day morning by rail, the country through
which we passed was very beautiful. Lake succeeded
lake, then came wooded hills and tiny mountain
streams, crossed by high bridges. These bridges
were without parapets, and so narrow that, looking
out of the window of the car, one saw a deep gorge
sixty or seventy feet below. One railway bridge
across the Mississippi — a narrow enough stream
there, at least to eyes accustomed to the broad St.
Lawrence — was more than seventy feet high, and so
unsafe that trains were allowed only to creep slowly

38 A Trip to Manitoba.
across it. The rapids on the St. Louis River, along
the banks of which the Northern Pacific runs, are
magnificent. For some miles the high banks occa
sionally almost shut out the view ; then, as the train
winds round a sharp curve, a mountain torrent of
foaming water bursts upon the gaze. Rocks tower
above it, with great trees bending from their heights;
in the stream are huge boulders round which the
water whirls and hisses, sending its spray high over
the rugged banks, in every nook and crevice of which
grow long ferns and graceful wild-flowers. Then
follows a long smooth stretch of water with grassy
wooded shores, and through the trees one catches
distant glimpses of yet wider and more beautiful
falls than those just passed.
We breakfasted at Braynor at nine o'clock, and
heard with pleasure that we had forty-five minutes
wherein to satisfy exhausted nature. Everything
was delicious, and we should have done the fare even
greater justice had we known that it was the last
good meal we should obtain for thirty-six hours.
When we returned to the car we were greatly amused
by an irrepressible fellow-traveller, whose over-

Card-Sharpers. 39

politeness and loquacity savoured of a morning dram
or two. He insisted on pointing out the exact spot
— marked by a tall, rough-looking post with a cross-
tree on it, that stood near the rails — where two
Indians had been " lynched " for some crime by the
citizens ; which exploit being regarded with pardon
able pride by them, was boasted of to travellers ac
cordingly. Volumes might be written on Yankee
oppression of the poor Red-skins, and yet leave the
disgraceful story but half told.
Our train was crowded, and during the morning
two rather well-dressed black-eyed men came on
board. The conductor told us they were the pests of
that part of the road — three card-monte" men — and
that, in spite of being carefully warned, many tra
vellers, especially amongst the well-to-do-farmer class
emigrating to Manitoba, were daily fleeced by them,
there being no apparent redress, as they are sharp
enough to evade any direct breach of the law. These
men succeeded in drawing two boys of eighteen or
twenty into their toils, and obtained possession of
their watches, as well as all the money they had
about them. When the lads protested vehemently,

40 A Trip to Manitoba.
the sharpers offered to return the former upon re
ceipt of five dollars, which they knew their victims
did not possess. To our great relief, the men got off
at the station where we stopped for dinner.
We changed trains at Glyndon for the branch
line, then only recently laid to Fisher's Landing, but
since that time continued to the frontier station of
Pembina. There was only one passenger car to hold
all those who had comfortably filled three on the
other line, and it would be difficult to convey any
idea of the crowding and crushing that ensued to
obtain seats, and pack away the numerous travelling-
bags, and provision-baskets brought by the emigrants
from Ontario. Having gentlemen with us, we were
soon provided for ; but just before the train started
a very dirty, fashionably dressed young woman,
carrying an equally dirty baby, came in. Looking
about her, and not finding a vacant seat, she said in
an insolent tone, giving her head a toss : —
" No seats ? Wall, I guess I ain't agoin' to stand
and hold this here heavy child ! " and sat down in
my- lap. I had, like most people, often been " sat
upon," figuratively, during my life, but never liter-

The Prairie. 41

ally, and it was with some difficulty that I managed
to extricate myself. The girl next proceeded, with
the assistance of a dirty pocket-handkerchief and the
tin drinking-mug belonging to the car, to perform
her toilet and that of her infant ; her efforts result
ing in a streakiness of dirt on both faces, where the
colour had been uniform before.
We were on the prairie — the great rolling prairie,
at last ; and I was disappointed — nothing but grass
and sky, desolate and lonely. These, however, were
my first impressions. How fond I grew of the prai
rie I know now that I am away from it ; perhaps for
ever. Towards night, black clouds gathered in the
sky, and distant thunder heralded the coming of one
of those great storms for which the prairie is so fam
ous. The air was so charged with electricity that
the train had to be stopped several times, and the
wheels of the cars drenched with water to prevent
their taking fire. As night closed in, incessant
flashes of white -sheet lightning almost blinded us.
Each white flash was riven by red forks of flame, un
til with the horizon one constant blaze, the plain
seemed a vast sea of fire. Over our heads, in great

42 A Trip to Manitoba.
zigzag lines, shot the fire fluid, as the thunder rattled,
roared, crashed, and broke around us ; then, in a
momentary lull, came torrents of rain, rushing madly
across the sward, and drowning the noise of the fast
flying-train, as if some fiend upon a diabolical errand
were borne through the warring elements. It seem
ed as though two or three storms had met, to con
tend for mastery ; flashes of white, yellow, and red
lightning outdid each other in brilliancy, and peals of
thunder, near and distant, reverberated in quick suc
cession. No one who has encountered a rain-storm
on the prairie can form an idea of its grandeur and
force. During a short lull in the storm, we stopped at a
place called Crookstown for tea, following a touter of
the "Eo-tel" there — or rather a railway lantern, as the
darkness completely hid the man — through mud and
water up to our ankles ; over stumps and sticks;
through a dilapidated gateway, stoup, and wash-house,
to a long, low room, where the table was laid for tea.
Seated round it on benches, chairs, three-legged stools
— in fact, on anything they could get hold of— were
the engine-driver, conductor, express-man, and other

Fisher's Landing. 43
officials. The meal consisted of bread and butter,
potatoes boiled in their jackets, fried bacon swim
ming in fat, and scalding tea in handleless cups. Ask
ing for eggs, we were told that there was not one to
be had in the " town." Query, what is a town ?
Crookstown could not boast of half a dozen houses
besides the station.
Another hour's journey brought us to Fisher's Land
ing, on Red Lake River, where we were to remain
until next morning. Although the boat was at the
landing, we were not allowed to go on board until all
the freight was shipped. This intelligence was given us
by a rakish-looking Yankee, who added that his "Ho
tel" was the best in the place, and if we would come
" right along" he would give us rooms for the night.
Gathering up our traps, and thinking we could not
do much worse than remain in the crowded car all
night, we followed, paddling through the mud to the
much-boasted " Ho-te\." This was a house built of
boards, the entrance room or office having a high desk
or counter across one corner; a recess, under the
stairs in the other containing a bench, on which were
ranged two or three pails and a basin, while on the

44 A Trip to Manitoba.
wall hung the general towel, looking rather the worse
for wear. A room opening from the recess had a
table set like the one at Crookstown, apparently for
breakfast; the floors were literally covered with mud.
What, we surmised, can the bedrooms be like in such
a place ? Our question was only too soon answered.
Presently a shaggy -headed, untidy woman made her
appearance, hastily fastening her clothes. She was
very cross, and grumbled that there were only two
rooms, but that she would take one of us in with her
(an offer which was politely declined), and snappishly
ordered a man to show the way upstairs. Clamber
ing up a steep flight of steps after our conductor and
his lantern, we were ushered into a room containing
a bed — which had all the appearance of having been
slept in for a week — a rocking chair, and a bureau ;
a smaller room opening out of it also contained a
very-much-slept-in bed. Throwing open the door
of the latter room with a flourish that would have
been creditable in a professional showman, he intro
duced us.
" This, ladies, you can have. Two can sleep here
nicely. True, the bed has not been made, but I ean

" The Express-man's Bed. 45
soon settle that ! " and putting his lantern on the
floor, he gave the bed a poke or two, and tried to
smooth the frowsy-looking coverlet.
" Oh, that's the express-man's bed ! " he said, in
answer to our inquiry as to who was to occupy the
outer room. " Must have it, you know ; always
stops here. The best room in the town ! "
Seeing that we did not appear satisfied, he added —
" You can lock your door " (there was a whole
board a foot wide out of the partition) ; " and, after
all, it's only the express-man ; you needn't mind him.
Then in the morning you can sit here, for he is off
early, and we make it the ladies' sitting-room." And
drawing the rocking-chair to the window, he set it
going. But as we still did object to the express-man's
proximity, he led the way to another room, about
the same size, but with a door that we could latch,
a bunk bed, a wooden box, and for toilet apparatus,
a yellow pudding-bowl, and white jug full of water.
With some difficulty we succeeded in getting a lamp,
and spreading our rugs over the bed, we lay down.
When the tramping about downstairs ceased, some-

46 A Trip to Manitoba.
time after midnight, we dozed until morning. I was
up first, and, going downstairs in search of water,
could not help laughing at the absurd sight of a row
of legs and dangling braces under the stairway, the
heads belonging to them being bent over the pails I
had noticed there the night before. Seven men had
slept on the floor of the express-man's room that
night, for which accommodation they paid three
dollars. During the day some twenty women emi
grants, who were obliged to leave the car, taking
refuge there from the mud and rain, were charged
twenty-five cents a head ; and, as a concession, chil
dren were taken at half-price.
Breakfast was a repetition of the supper at Crooks
town, and although blessed with excellent appetites
generally, we lost them completely at Fisher's Land
ing. About noon, we smuggled ourselves on board
the Minnesota, and a few judicious tips enabled us
to take up our quarters there at once. How we did
enjoy our dinner! Never did fish, flesh, or fowl
taste so good, and we felt compelled to apologize
to the steward for the emptiness of the dishes
he carried away. However, he did not appear as-

On board the Minnesota. 47
tonished, as the bill of fare at the " I7b-tel " was
well known.
It was Thursday morning before all the freight
was stowed away and we could leave the landing —
or " Fisher's," as habitue's of the road call it. The
Minnesota is a very comfortable boat, and with the
exception of one or two farmers and their families,
and an old . Frenchwoman, we had her to ourselves.
The captain was a genial, large-hearted Yankee, the
steward and pretty little maid were very attentive ;
and, by contrast with the " iZb-tel," we thought our
selves in pleasant quarters.

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.
ED Lake River flows into Red River at Grand
Forks, some twelve or thirteen miles below
Fisher's Landing. It is much the narrower stream,
with so many bends that when we were not running
headlong into the left bank we grounded on the
right. The boat frequently formed a bridge from
one bend to the other, and heads were ducked down
or drawn back suddenly to avoid having eyes
scratched out by the spreading boughs of beech and
hazel which stretched over the stream. It was no
thing unusual to find our course impeded by a large
branch becoming so entangled in the wheel at the
stern, that men had to get down and chop it away
before the boat could proceed.

Pembina. 49

At Grand Forks, where there is a Hudson Bay
Company's trading post, a billiard saloon, hotel,
general store, and post-office all in one, and a few
smaller houses, the ferry is a large flat-bottomed sort
of platform, railed on either side and fastened to a
long thick rope stretched across the river. When
there is a load to ferry over, this platform is let
loose from the shore, and the current carries it across,
the rope keeping it from going down stream. The
shores of Red River are almost bare ; a few miser
able poplars here and there, one or two small log-
houses and mud-built huts from which wild, dirty
Indians emerged to watch the boat pass, were all we
saw upon them. The banks are for the most part
so high that only from the upper deck could we see
inland. The frontier post, Pembina, is well known as the
spot beyond which in 1869 the rebel Louis Riel, the
" Little Napoleon " of Red River, would not allow
Mr. McDougall, the " lieutenant-governor of Mani
toba," appointed by the Canadian administration, to
pass. Here we had a visit from the custom-house
officers. They were good specimens of their differ-

50 A Trip to Manitoba.
ent countries. The Canadian was a round, fat,
jolly, handsome, fair man; the Yankee was tall,
slight, and black-eyed, with a cadaverous look, in
creased by his close-fitting mackintosh and cowl.
They did not give us any trouble, and I felt sorry
for their lonely life, and the pounds of mud they
had to carry with them everywhere.
Such mud ! There is no wharf or planking of any
kind, and all freight and baggage is landed on (or
into) the muddy bank. Barrels rolled through it
became unrecognizable, and were doubled in weight
before they reached their warehouse. Men worked
on bare feet, with trousers rolled to their knees, and
the slippery swashy look of everything was horrible.
An Indian (not of the Fenimore Cooper type) leant
against an old cooking-stove stranded on the bank,
and an old squaw squatted on a heap of dirty straw
watching with lack lustre eyes the disembarkation.
A mile or two above Pembina is the American fort,
with its trim barracks, fortifications, mounted guns,
sentries, and some military life about it. Near it is the
house built by Captain Cameron, R.E., when in charge
of the International Boundary Survey. The remain-

Winnipeg. 51

der of our journey up the Red River of the North
was uninteresting, and we hailed with delight our ar
rival at Winnipeg, on Saturday morning, the 4th of
June. It took some time to disembark from the Min
nesota. The emigrants had been up at daylight,
and after making haste to get their property together,
found that they had to wait the arrival of the cus
tom-house officer. At about eight o'clock, a waggon
being procured to take our luggage, we, carrying our
travelling-bags and shawls, walked — for there were
no cabs nor omnibuses — into Winnipeg.
The Minnesota had stopped at the old custom
house wharf, the bulk of her freight being for that
end of the town, and we had to traverse the entire
length of Winnipeg to reach Mrs. T  , who had
kindly invited us to remain with her until Mrs.
C  could find a suitable house. Up narrow,
rickety planks, through mud and mire, past two log-
houses fast falling into ruin — which were pointed
out as having been the only houses in Winnipeg,
besides the Fort Garry settlement, ten years before,
and within three years used as custom-houses — we

52 A Trip to Manitoba.
made our way to the broad main street. This is
lined on each side by large, handsome shops, one or
two banks, the new post-office in course of erection,
and the large square town-hall, also unfinished.
Then follow the new custom-house, land office,
Canada Pacific Railway offices (square white brick
buildings), and the round turret-like bastions of
Fort Garry,* with its massive wooden palisades, and
low log buildings at the extreme end of the street,
where it terminates at the mouth of the Assiniboine.
We had to cross a few yards of prairie in order to
reach Mrs. T  's house, formerly the officers'
quarters of the mounted police force, now removed
to Battleford and Fort McLeod. We were received
very cordially, a welcome being extended to me,
although a total stranger.
The first thing that struck me in Winnipeg was
the mud. I had heard that Red River mud was the
worst in the world, and I now for the first time
realized how bad mud could be. Not only was the
roadway so soft that every turn of a wheel loaded

* Fort Garry stands at the confluence of the Assineboine
with the Red River.

Holy Trinity Church. 53
it inches deep with the sticky compound, and made
it so heavy that the driver had frequently to stop
and clear his wheels with a stick, but, trodden from
the crossings on to the side-walks, it covered them
with a slimy mixture very difficult to walk on.
From the windows I could see people slipping, sliding
about so much, that any one ignorant of the cause
might have attributed their unsteadiness to the
strength of their morning libations ; the absence of
women from the streets making that solution appear
possible if not probable.
On Sunday we went to Holy Trinity Church, a
pretty little frame building with a full congregation.
Part of the church was occupied by the regiment of
artillery quartered in Fort Osborne, a neat little
barracks to the west of the prairie. The choir was
passable, and could boast of one thoroughly good
tenor. An energetic clergyman preached an excel
lent sermon.
Towards the end of June, Mr. C  and his party
left for the line ; and we, having taken the house
vacated by the T  s the week before, were busy
getting comfortably settled. Numbers of people

54 A Trip to Manitoba.
called ; many of them old friends whom we had lost
sight of for years ; and every one was so cordial and
friendly, that we anticipated great pleasure during'
our stay in Winnipeg.
It is a strange place, peopled with a strange variety
from all quarters of the globe. Tall Indians stand
in groups at the street corners, wrapped in long
dirty- white, dark-blue, or scarlet blankets, held well
about their shoulders, and hanging below their knees.
They wear beaded or embroidered cloth leggings,
blue, scarlet, or black, tied with gay ribbons. Their
feet are in moccasins, their long black hair is braided
with beads or ribbons, and a black silk handerchief,
in which either feathers or a bunch of ribbons are
fastened, is folded and knotted round their foreheads.
Young squaws with shaggy, flowing hair, short,
coloured merino skirts, and shawls over their heads,
sit on the side- walks, chattering in their guttural
tongue, and laughing over some joke; fat, glossy,
half-breed ponies, in gorgeously beaded saddle-cloths,
stand at the edge of the road awaiting their masters
 short, lithe, dark men, who seem to touch the reins,
vault into the saddle, and reach the end of the street

Winnipeg Indians. 55
in the same instant. The speed and strength of
these small horses is wonderful ; their glossy coats
and well kept manes testify to the care taken of
them. An Indian never beats his horse, nor drags
at the reins in the cruel way so common among more
" civilized " riders, but sits his horse as though it
were part of himself. A long train of ox-carts is
waiting to be loaded for the distant prairie hamlets.
The half-breed driver stands by in trousers and
checked shirt, a loosely knotted handkerchief about
his neck. He sometimes wears a hat, but oftener
his short, shaggy black hair is his only head-cover
ing. His squaw sits in the bottom of the waggon ;
his little brown papooses are peeping out from be
tween the bars at the side. Other children, laced
up in queer, birch-bark cradles, or moss bags, leaving
only their arms free, and the upper part of their
bodies visible, lean against shop-doors or scattered
bales of goods.
I watched some Indians shopping, and was aston
ished to see how invariably they waived aside inferior
goods and chose such materials as merinos at a
dollar and a half to two dollars a yard. One of

56 A Trip to Manitoba.
the merchants told me it was useless to offer them
anything but the best. An Indian who could not
speak English or French, and wanted five things,
divided his money according to his idea of their re
lative cost in little piles on the counter, and going
through a pantomime descriptive of his wants, was
handed first some silk handkerchiefs. Taking one
up, he felt it, held it up to the light, and throwing
it aside, shook his head vigorously, uttering an "Ugh!"
of disgust. When shown a better one he was doubt
ful, but upon a much superior article being produced
he took it, and willingly handed over one pile for it.
This, however, was too much, and when given the
change, he put it on one of the other piles, and pro
ceeded in the same way to make the rest of his
purchases. " How easily they could be cheated ! " I said to the
clerk after the Indian had left.
" No," he replied, " not so easily as would appear.
They generally come in from their camps in great
numbers about once a year to sell their furs and
make purchases. They go to different shops, and on
their return compare notes as to the quality and cost

Mennonite and Icelandic Settlers. 57
of their goods. Then, if one has paid more than
another, or has been cheated in quality, he will never
enter the shop again, and the firm that gives the
greatest bargains is most patronized on their return."
A few minutes later another Indian came to buy
a blanket, and was told to go upstairs where they
were kept. Slowly and doubtfully he ascended,
feeling his way step by step, and holding closely to
the banisters till he reached the top ; then he turned
to look back and express his astonishment in the
" Ugh ! " which, in different accents, means so many
different things.
The Mennonites and Icelanders interested me
very much. The former, who are all thrifty and
energetic, make excellent settlers. They have a
large settlement some twenty miles south-east of
Winnipeg. The dress of the women is quaint, yet
neat. They wear short, full skirts, just showing
their small feet ; jackets, and becoming white caps,
from under which their round black eyes, small
straight features, and intelligent expression, greet
one pleasantly. The men are taller, with a quiet,
unconscious air of superiority which is refreshing.

68 A Trip to Manitoba.
The dress of the Icelander is somewhat similar, but
they are more lethargic-looking. They have bright
" milk and roses " complexions, great opaque blue
eyes, and a heavy gait that gives them an appear
ance of stupidity, which is not a true index of their
character ; they learn English rapidly, and are teach
able servants, neat, clean, and careful, but have not
constitutional strength to endure hard work, and
when separated from their friends become lonely and
dispirited. There is a large settlement of them at
Gimli, about sixty miles from Winnipeg, on Lake
Winnipeg. Some of the authorities in Winnipeg
told me that, as an emigration speculation, they
were not a success. The grass-hopper plague which
visited Manitoba during two consecutive seasons
destroyed their crops, and the ravages of small-pox
during the fall of '76 and spring of 77 told upon
them so severely that they have so far only been an
expense to the Canadian Government.
The Hudson Bay Company's store had a great at
traction for me. It was a long, low building within
the precincts of Fort Garry, stocked with everything
either useful or ornamental from a ship's anchor to

The Angelus across the Prairie. 59
a lace pocket-handkerchief ; a sort of curiosity shop
of all the necessaries and luxuries of life ; an out
fitting establishment where one could not only clothe
oneself from head to foot, but furnish one's house
from attic to cellar, at very reasonable prices. What
ever the charges may be at the outlying posts, com
petition keeps them within bounds in Winnipeg. As
a rule the goods are excellent in quality, and to
judge by the number of carts, carriages, and saddle-
horses always grouped about the door of the store,
a thriving business is done there.
The Red River at Winnipeg is much wider than
at any other point, yet so high are the banks, that
until quite close to it one cannot see the water. On
the opposite or western shore is St. Boniface, the
terminus of the branch line from Selkirk, and the
site of the Roman Catholic cathedral, convents, and
schools. The cathedral, a large square building, has
a musical chime of bells, and the ringing of the
" angelus," whose sound floated over the prairie un-
inarred by steam whistles, factory bells, or any other
Of the multitudinoussounds of alarge city, was always
Welcome. Nowhere is evening more beautiful than

60 A Trip to Manitoba.
in Manitoba. One instance in particular I noticed.
The sun was setting low down in the heavens as in
a sea of gold, one long flame-coloured line alone
marking the horizon. In the south-west rose cloud
upon cloud of crimson and gold, crossed by rapid
flashes of pale yellow and white lightning, which
momentarily obliterate their rich colours. To the
south was a great bank of black thunder-cloud
crested with crimson, reft to its deepest darkness by
successive flashes of forked lightning. Immediately
overhead a narrow curtain of leaden clouds was
driven hither and thither by uncertain winds ; while
below, the prairie and all its varied life lay bathed
in the warmth and light of the departing sun,
throwing into bold relief the Indian wigwam, with
its ragged sides and cross-poles.
Squaws were seated round the camp fires, or dip
ping water from a pool hard by ; Indians were stand
ing idly about ; droves of cattle were being driven
in for milking ; groups of horses, their fore feet tied
loosely together, were hobbling awkwardly as they
grazed; tired oxen were tethered near, feeding
after their day's work, while their driver lay under
his cart and smoked. Above the low squat tent of

Sunset from the Prairie City. 61
the half-breed, there rose the brown-roofed barracks,
¦ its lazy flag clinging to the staff. Through the sur
rounding bushes water gleamed here and there. In
the distance could be seen long trains of ox-carts,
coming from remote settlements, the low monotonous
moan of their ungreased wheels making a weird ac
companiment to the muttering thunder ; or a black-
robed procession of nuns, on their way to the small
chapel on the prairie, whose tinkling bell was calling
them to prayers. An Indian on his fiery little steed,
his beaded saddle-cloth glistening in the sun, was gal
loping in mad haste over the grass, away to the low
hills to the north, which deserved their name of Silver
Heights as they received the sun's good-night kiss.
Then the clouds, losing their borrowed tints, closed
in like a pall ; the low wail of the wind grew louder
as it approached and swept them away to the south,
leaving night to settle down upon the dwellers of
the prairie city, starlit and calm, while the distant
glow of the prairie fires rose luridly against the eas
tern sky. But all night long the creaking moan of
the ox-carts went on, giving the prairie a yet closer
resemblance to " an inland sea."
E

CHAPTER V.
Summer Days — The English Cathedral — Icelandic Emigrants
— Tableaux — In chase of our Dinner — The Indian Sum
mer — Blocked up — Gigantic "Vegetables — Fruitfulness of
the Country — Iceland Maidens — Rates of Wages — So
ciety at Winnipeg — Half-breeds — Magic of the Red River
Water — A Happy Hunting-ground — Where is Manitoba?
J HE summer passed uneventfully. Day after day
we watched for the white-covered mail-waggon,
pails dangling underneath it, dogs trotting behind,
rousing as they passed countless wild brethren from
every quarter of the prairie. At sight of the wag
gon, we put on our hats and went to the post-office
for letters from home ; then drove across the prairie
to Silver Heights, or down to the English Cathedral,
which stood on the fairest bend of the river, and in
a pretty, wooded dell — but, alas, it was encircled by
a tangled, uncared-for churchyard, overgrown with
weeds and thistles, the tombstones broken and pros
trate, thfe fences so dilapidated that stray cattle

A Prairie Cathedral. 63
leaped over them and grazed amongst the unrecog
nised graves. I was told that arrangements had
been made for a city cemetery on the prairie, but
the ground was merely staked off. A man who asked
his way there was directed to go straight across the
prairie to the east, until he came to where grass and
sky met. Forgetting that as he advanced the
horizon receded, he thanked his informant and went
on his fruitless search ; but after wandering many
hours, like the boy after the pot of gold at the end
of the rainbow, he returned weary and unsuccessful.
At the cathedral we heard the chorister boys chant
the evening psalms ; then went on to the little vil
lage of Kildonan, standing among green fields and
thriving farms ; or turned in another direction across
the Assineboine, up a lovely road leading for miles
through the woods. One morning we went to the
emigrant sheds to see several hundred Icelanders
embark in their flat-bottomed boats, with their quaint
wooden chests, on their way to Gimli. On another
occasion we helped to organize a Sunday-school fes
tival, and after giving the children an unlimited
supply of cake, strawberries, and lemonade, w«

64 A Trip to Manitoba.
amused them with some tableaux. Taking posses
sion of a disused old church, we made an impromptu
stage ; by laying boards across the chancel rail
ings ; and the effect was so good, that some play-
loving people enlarged on our idea by putting up
rough side-scenes, and giving a series of entertain
ments the following winter, with the average amount
of amateur skill.
One very hot Sunday, when we were without a
servant, I rashly left our joint of roast beef on the
kitchen table, while we discussed the pudding. Sud
denly an ominous noise was heard. " Oh, Miss
F  ! " exclaimed my hostess, starting up, " Do
stop that dog ! The wretch has stolen the beef — all
to-morrow's dinner ! "
To rush out of the house and over the prairie after
the brute was the work of an instant; not so to
catch him. On I ran, urged to redoubled exertions
by Mrs. C  , who pursued me, excitedly flourish
ing her table napkin, while her little girl scrambled
after her, screaming at being left behind. Every
now and then the dog would stop to take breath,
sitting still with aggravating coolness till I almost

A True Indian Summer. 65
touched him, when off he would start again at re
doubled speed. At last, after wildly throwing two
or three handfuls of stones at him and all the sticks
I could pick up as I passed, I aimed furiously at the
barracks and hit the dog on the head, when he
dropped the beef, and I returned hot and breathless,
but triumphant.
The days were sultry, but the nights cool enough
to make a blanket necessary, except just before the
frequent thunderstorms. Well might the Indians
call the Province " Manitoba " (God speaking), in
their awe of the Great Spirit whose voice alone is
so terrible. October is the most beautiful month in
that region, bright, clear and balmy — the true In
dian summer, with cool, dewy nights, when the
aurora sent its long streaks of white and red light
from the horizon to the zenith, to fall again in a
shower of sparks, each night more beautiful than
the last. Till, early in November, a storm of rain,
succeeded by snow and frost, ended our Indian sum
mer, and in forty-eight hours we had winter. Not
weeks of slushy snow, changeable temperature, chil
ling rains, and foggy skies, as in Ontario, but cold, .

66 A Trip to Manitoba.
frosty, bracing winter at once. By the end of No
vember the river was blocked, the boats had stopped
running, and our only communication with the out
side world was by means of the daily stage. But
the wretchedness of a journey over the prairie to
the nearest railway station was only encountered by
those whose business made it unavoidable.
Before navigation had quite ceased, a provincial
exhibition of the agricultural and other products of
the country was held in the town-hall. Many of
the vegetables were so large, that a description of
them was treated with incredulity until some speci
mens were sent to Ottawa, to be modelled for the
Philadelphian Centennial Exhibition. One Swedish
turnip weighed over thirty-six pounds; some potatoes
(early rose and white) measured nine inches long and
seven in circumference ; radishes were a foot and a
half long and four inches round ; kail branched out to
the size of a currant bush ; cabbages, hard, white, and
good, grew to a foot and a half in diameter, and there
were cauliflowers as large. Neither Indian corn,
melons, nor tomatoes were exhibited, chiefly because
most of the farmers in Manitoba have cultivated

Corn and Fruit. 67
wheat-growing rather than market-gardenmg, as the
former brings in the largest returns for the least
labour. Corn is grown in Manitoba larger and far taller
than any I saw in Ontario. Tomatoes will grow in
profusion in a dry spot, especially where, as in Kee-
watin, a hundred miles from Winnipeg, a southern
exposure on sandy soil can be found ; the same may
be said of melons. Fruit trees are most difficult to
cultivate, the frosts being so severe. Yet with care
that obstacle may be overcome, and a few apples,
grown and ripened in Mr. Bannatyne's garden, in
Winnipeg, were exhibited. Every other kind of
garden and farm produce was shown in abundance.
The prairie soil is so rich that it yields a hundred
fold, and the absence of the great preliminary labour
of "clearing," which the early settlers in Ontario
had to contend with, renders it a most advantageous
country for emigrants. The chief difficulty is the
scarcity of labour. All men not going out to take
up land for themselves are employed on the railway;
and women either are married and obliged to work
on the farms with their husbands, or get married

68 A Trip to Manitoba.
before they have been long in Manitoba. Many
were the complaints I heard from people who had
taken out female servants, paying their expenses
and giving them high wages, only to lose them be
fore they had been a month in the province. Their
sole resource then was to employ Icelanders, who
often could not speak a word of English, so that
all directions had to be given by pantomime. Any
one seeing the strange gesticulations and frantic
efforts of some of the more energetic mistresses
might be excused for thinking himself let loose in
a city of lunatics.
Mrs. C  had one of these Icelanders as nurse
maid, and she did very well, picking up enough
English in a few weeks to understand all we wanted.
But I noticed that, however quickly she walked
about the rest of the house, the stairs were as care
fully traversed as though she had been an Indian.
One day, hearing her in great distress on the kit
chen stairs, I went to see what was the matter.
The staircase was a narrow one between two walls,
but without banisters; on the third or fourth step
from the top sat one of the children, aged four years, .

Iceland Maid-servants. 69
and a few steps below stood the maid clinging to the
smooth wall, her face white with terror, as, when
ever she attempted to advance, the child made a
feint to oppose her passage and push her back.
Afraid either to turn round or retreat backwards,
she stood trembling and calling for help, and it was
impossible to avoid feeling amused at the absurdity
of that big girl being intimidated by such a mite —
who, with the original depravity of human nature,
was enjoying the fun.
A friend of mine went through some odd experi
ences with these Iceland maids. Upon the arrival
of a fresh domestic she was ordered to wash down
the hall and door-steps. Next day, at the same
hour, while a party of visitors were in the drawing-
room, the door burst open, and Christian, scrubbing-
pail and brush in hand, plumped down on her knees
in the middle of the floor, and went through a
vigorous pantomine of scrubbing^ Her mistress was
too astonished to speak for a moment or two, until
the girl, surprised at her silence, looked up, uttering
an indescribable " Eh?" of anxious inquiry, which was
Well-nigh too much for the gravity of her listeners.

70 A Trip to Manitoba.
Often, after ten minutes' patient endeavour to
explain something, one was rewarded by a long
drawn out " Ma'arum ?" infinitely trying to one's
patience. Yet, in time, they often make excellent
servants, and many people prefer them to Ontario
or English emigrants. And certainly in point of
economy they are infinitely superior to both ; for not
only will an Iceland maid waste nothing, but she is
content with five or six dollars a month in wages,
while girls from Ontario or England expect nine or
ten dollars. Servants taken out on the line of rail
way demand and receive from fifteen to thirty
dollars a month. These exorbitant wages are, how
ever, lessening as immigration increases.
Society at Winnipeg is very pleasant ; composed
chiefly of the old families who formed the Hudson
Bay Company and their descendants, many of whom
have Indian blood in their veins. Their education,
carefully begun by their parents, is often completed
in Scotland, and they are well-read, intelligent
people, as proud of their Indian as of their Euro
pean descent. Many of them are handsome and
distingue'-lodkmg. Their elegant appearance some-

" A Man's a Man for a' that? 71
times leads to awkward mistakes. One of these
ladies, meeting a young Englishman fresh from the
old country, and full of its prejudices, was enter
tained by him with reflections on race, and con
dolences at having to associate with half-castes.
At last he inquired how long she had been in
the country? Making him a stately curtsy, she
answered —
" All my life ! i" am one of these despised half-
breeds," and instantly left him. She said afterwards
she was sorry for the poor fellow's discomfiture ; but
he brought it upon himself by disregarding all her
efforts to change the conversation.
When the younger sons of good families are sent
to geek their fortunes in the New World, their social
standing is not fixed by their occupation, and a man
who has served behind a counter all day is as well
received in a drawing-room as one who has sat on the
bench or pleaded a case in court. Of course in such
a state of society impostors often effect an entrance,
and their detection makes their entertainers chary of
strangers afterwards. But so long as a man behaves
himself like a gentleman he is treated as one. Many

72 A Trip to Manitoba.
officials sent by the Canadian Government tempo
rarily to fill responsible posts, and officers whose
regiments have been disbanded, remain in Winnipeg,
preferring it to any other part of Canada and illus
trating the adage, " He who once drinks of the Red
River water cannot live without it." It is a very
muddy stream, however, and not at all inviting as a
beverage. A great many visitors, chiefly Englishman, go to
Manitoba for the shooting and fishing, which are
excellent. A friend of mine last year bagged four
hundred ducks, several geese, great numbers of par
tridges, loons, and as many hares as he would waste
shot on in a fortnight's holiday. No doubt, when
Manitoba and its capabilities become better under
stood, and the line of railway is completed, the
number of tourists in search of sport will much in
crease. How little the new province has been known
hitherto the following fact will show. A letter for
me,mailed inacounty town in England, in September,
and merely addressed to Winnipeg, Manitoba, omit
ting Canada, travelled to France, where it received

Postal Ignorance — and Honour. 73
sundry postmarks, and such sensible hints by the
post-office officials as, " Try Calcutta." At last, some
one better acquainted with the geography of this
side of the globe added, " Nouvelle Amerique," and
ray letter reached me, vid New York, in Christmas
week, richly ornamented with postmarks, and pro
tests from officials that it " came to them in that con
dition ; " tied together with two varieties of string ;
and frankly exhibiting its contents — a pair of lace
sleeves, which, but for the honesty of the mail service,
might easily have been abstracted.

CHAPTER VI.
Winter Amusements — A Winnipeg Ball — Forty Degrees be
low Zero — New Year's Day — " 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.
1 NOW lay several inches thick on the ground at
Christmas, and we had sleigh-drives over the
smooth white prairie ; one great advantage of Man
itoban winters being that when once the ground is
covered with snow, if only to the depth of five or
six inches, it remains, and there is good sleighing un-
til the frost breaks up in March or April. Sleighing
parties are varied by skating at the rink and assem
blies in the town-hall, where we meet a medley of
ball-goers and givers, each indulging his or her
favourite style of dancing — from the old-fashioned
" three-step " waltz preferred by the elders, to the
breathless " German," the simple dews-temps, and th«

A Winnipeg Ball. 75
graceful "Boston" dance, peculiar as yet to Americans
and Canadians. The band was composed of trained
musicians who had belonged to various regiments,
and, on receiving their discharge, remained in Canada.
The hall was well lighted, the floor in good condition,
and we enjoyed taking a turn upon it, as well as
watching the Scotch reels, country dances, and Red
River jigs performed by the others.
¦ It was a gay and amusing scene, but the heavy
winter dresses — many of them short walking cos
tumes — worn by the Manitoban belles, looked less
pretty than the light materials, bright colours, and
floating trains of an ordinary ball-room. The absence
of carriages and cabs, and the intensity of the cold,
compelled ladies to adopt this sombre attire. The
mercury averaged from ten to twenty degrees below
zero, frequently going as low thirty-three, and occa
sionally into the forties ; yet the air is so dry and
still, that I felt the cold less when it was thirty-
three degrees below zero in Winnipeg than when
only five degrees below in Ottawa, and did not re
quire any additional wraps.
On New Year's Day the now old-fashioned custom

76 A Trip to Manitoba.
of gentlemen calling was kept up, and we had many
visitors, among them the American Consul, Mr.
Taylor, known in the Consulate as " Saskatchewan
Taylor," from his interest in the North-West and
anxiety upon all occasions to bring its capabilities
before the public. He came in the evening, and,
following the American style, remained more than
an hour, so that we were able to get beyond the
conventional topics of health and weather, and found
him very pleasant and entertaining.
During the afternoon the maid came in, looking
rather flurried, and said that visitors in the kitchen
wished to see us. Going there, we were greeted by
seven Indians and their squaws, come to pay a New
Year's visit. As I looked at their brown faces and
long, loose hair, memories of stories told by cousins
in the Hudson Bay Company's service, of having to
kiss all the squaws on New Year's Day,"sent the
blood with a rush back to my heart ; but, happily,
this ceremony was dispensed with. Only one of
the party could speak English — a handsome, clear-
skinned, straight-featured Indian, in blue blanket
coat, red sash, leggings, and gaily-decorated hat. He

Tommy Harper. 77

stepped forward and made a little speech, wishing
us "A long life of many moons, sunshine, health, and
rich possessions, and the smile of the Good Spirit
upon the blue-eyed papoose ; " finishing by shaking
hands all round. The others, with an " Ugh ! " of
acquiescence, and smiling faces, followed his example.
Our hostess was unable to give them wine or whisky,
because of the stringent prohibitory laws, but she
regaled them on great slices of cake, with which they
were much pleased. When Mr. C  came in from
the line with his dog-train — four strong beasts draw
ing a light cariole or covered tobogan, more like a
great shoe than anything else— the blue and red
coat of his Indian runner, Tommy Harper, was much
admired by our visitors ; and he told us afterwards
of their admiration for everything they saw in the
house. This Tommy was a good-tempered old fellow,
but, when not running, was invariably asleep or
smoking over the kitchen fire.
About the middle of January (1877) we had a
terrible snow-storm, the worst that had been known
in Manitoba for years. At five o'clock in the even
ing the wind rose suddenly, and in half an hour was

78 A Trip to Manitoba.
blowing a gale, sending the snow whirling through
the air in such blinding volume, that it was impos
sible to distinguish anything twenty yards off. As
night closed in, which it does early at that season,
the storm increased in violence, and, although there
was then little snow falling, the wind drove in all
directions the dry snow lying upon the ground. .
Many people lost their way. A shop-boy running
home to tea, only round the corner of the block,
missed the turning into the gateway, and wandered
till daylight on the prairie, knowing it was certain
death to fie down. A family crossing the prairie,
and seeing the storm approaching, hastened to reach
a wayside inn four or five hundred yards distant,
but before they could do so lost sight of it. After
driving several hours they were obliged to stop;
and digging a hole in the snow with their hands,
covered themselves with robes and sleigh-rugs, and
drawing the sleigh over them as a little protection
from the wind, they waited until daylight — to find
themselves within a hundred yards from the inn !
All next day stories were continually reaching us of
narrow tscapes, of frozen feet and hands, of lost

Tableaux Vwants. 79
horses, frozen oxen, and travellers' miseries in gene
ral. But this certainly was an exceptional storm,
or " blizzard," as the natives say.
Towards the end 6f winter it was proposed that
some tableaux should be exhibited in the town-hall
for the benefit of a local charity. The suggestion
was hailed with delight, and every one likely to be
useful was invited to "talk it over" with Mrs.
C  . And talk they did, at such length and with
such vivacity, that I wondered how the two stage-
managers, Captain H  and Miss P  -, could
ever evolve order from such a chaos. The great
clatter of. tongues in that small room reminded me
of an old Scotch nurse of ours, who, being summoned
to keep house for a minister cousin, was anxious
first to learn how to play the lady and entertain her
guests. The cook advised her to listen at the draw
ing-room door when we had a party: but she quitted
her post in disgust, having heard nothing but "a
muckle clackit."
At last it was settled that the tableaux were to
represent the story of " Beauty and the Beast,"
"Elizabeth knighting Raleigh," scenes from" Hamlet"

80 A Trip to Manitoba.
and " The Bohemian Girl," an emblematic group of
the nations included in the British Empire, sur
rounded by representatives of the army and navy,
and some well-known statues. Assuredly there was
variety enough in our programme to suit all tastes !
Our dress rehearsal, held in the old chureh before
mentioned, was more amusing — to the actors, at all
events — than the performance itself. The "sides,"
which looked well enough to those without, proved
a delusion and a snare to those within. They were
used as dressing-rooms, but their partition from the
stage being only partial, and their flooring stopping
far short of the front, a great gap was left — a pitfall
down which everything tumbled. Their appoint
ments were primitive, consisting of a small looking-
glass, a pincushion, and a piece of comb in each
room. The " properties" on the ladies' side were an
old straw bonnet wreathed with artificial flowers,
and a gaudy overskirt ; and on that of the gentle
men, two hats, and a pistol and tin mug — which had
probably done duty for the "dagger and the bowl,"
in the last scene of a dreadful tragedy. Some of
our amateurs were fortunate enough to get complete

Stage Difficulties. 81
costumes made, but others appeared in a fragmentary
condition, with a bodice of the time of Elizabeth,
and a petticoat of that of Victoria. Sir Walter
Raleigh wore the old felt hat belonging to his
dressing-room, and pathetically appealed to the spec
tators to imagine it adorned with a white feather and
jewelled clasp.
The girls who appeared in more than one scene
had to change their dresses, and it is impossible to
describe the confusion of belongings then thrown in
a vast heap on the floor, or the despair of one young
performer whose polonaise had disappeared in the
gulf. As all were in different stages of deshabille,
no gentleman could be called to the rescue; so I lay
down on my face and groped about with my hands
till I fished it up. But before I succeeded, two or
three people were standing on my skirts, and a pile
of gipsy costumes was deposited on my legs. My
rising sent dismay to the owners' hearts, and they
wailed that they would " never be able to find their
things again ! "
When the great night arrived we, by means of
jewellery constructed of gold paper and glass buttons,

82 A Irip to Manitoba.
and other ingenious devices, made a brilliant show,
and the general effect was pronounced excellent.
We had crowded houses for two consecutive nights,
and the only drawback to the pleasure of our ta
bleaux was the sad and sudden death of one of
Captain H  's children, which took place on the
first night, and aroused general sympathy.
Soon after our theatrical entertainments the snow
almost entirely disappeared, cricket was played on
the prairie, and people began to look forward to the
reopening of navigation, and to bet actively on the
day and hour when the first steamboat would arrive;
though the ice was still so solid that horse-races
were held on the river.
The 25fh of April was a warm day, succeeding
heavy rains, and it was hoped that the ice would
move next day. In the evening we were at an
assembly in the town-hall, which is built on the
side of a broad, shallow coulSe or gully. About
ten o'clock, seeing several people look anxiously
from the windows, we went to inquire the cause, and
found the "water was out." Freshets from the
prairies were rushing down the couUe beneath,

Breaking up of the Ice. 83
carrying everything before them — dog-kennels, logs,
broken furniture, boxes, and all the usual debris
found scattered about the houses on the prairie.
The freshets increased so rapidly, that it was feared
if we did not leave at once we should never get
home, the water being level with the bridge, which
was in imminent danger of being carried away. The
lower story of the hall was also flooded, and con
sidered scarcely safe. So there was cloaking in hot
haste, and the gentlemen who lived near brought all
the top-boots and goloshes they could collect for the
benefit of those who had to cross the partially sub
merged roads.
The ice did move next day, and on the 27th, at
the sound of the steamboat whistle, I ran to the
window. As if by one impulse, every door on the
main street opened, and the inmates poured forth,
men putting on their coats, women their bonnets,
while holding the kicking, struggling bare-headed
babies they had snatched up in their haste to reach
the landing as soon as the boat ; boys of all sizes,
ages, and descriptions, gentle and simple, rich and
poor, mustered as though by magic. In five minutes

84 A Trip to Manitoba.
the streets and banks of the river were black with
people rushing to meet the steamer, and the shout
that greeted her at the wharf was loud and genuine.
It was the last time her arrival caused such excite
ment, as before another season the railway was run
ning to St. Boniface, and freight and passengers
could get to Winnipeg all through the winter.
The spring of 1877 was wet and backward, and
we looked forward to our journey out to the contract,
where a house was nearly ready for us, with any
thing but unmixed pleasure. In the hope that the
state of the roads might improve, we delayed our
departure until the first week in June. For my
own part, I rejoiced over every additional delay, as
I was loth to leave Winnipeg, and the many kind
friends I had made there.

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.
, FTER many days of packing, general confusion,
and disturbing dust, culminating in breakfast
in the kitchen, dinner on a packing-case in the par
lour, high tea at a neighbour's in our travelling-gear,
and a night at the hotel, we rose at five o'clock on
the morning of the 5th of June to be ready for our
journey to Clear Water Bay. All the teams, with
the household goods and chattels, had started the
day before, except two for personal baggage, and the
one we were to occupy.
Of course we were ready too soon, and hours were
spent in standing idly about, and going to the gate
to see if the teams were coming. When they were
at last packed and off, it was decided to be altogether
too late for us to follow until after luncheon, which,

86 A Trip to Manitoba.
with only an uncertain prospect of a heavier meal
later, we turned into dinner. Then some one re
membered half a dozen forgotten things, which it
was impossible to do without, and it was nearly
four o'clock when our waggon arrived — a springless
vehicle with three narrow seats, and drawn by two
broken- winded steeds.
After packing all our impedimenta in the waggon,
there was literally no room for us. What was to he
done ? Between our efforts to make the driver, a
stupid, tipsy French half-breed, understand English
by screaming it as loud as we could, the variety of
our baggage, and the curiosity of the passers-by, we
soon had a small crowd of interested listeners and
apparently sympathizing friends. Finally the livery
stable keeper made his appearance, and after some
discussion agreed to exchange that waggon for a
larger one. Jumping into it, he lashed the horses,
who went at a furious pace down the street, proving
their powers, but, alas, scattering the half-packed
contents of the waggon — rugs, cushions, blankets,
tin kettles, and pails — at irregular intervals over the
road. In half an hour a larger vehicle was brought.

A Miscellaneous Kit. 87
and we hastily repacked, receiving contributions of
our property from every one who passed while the
operation was going on, so that it was late in the
afternoon before we left Winnipeg. When we ar
rived at the river, of course the ferry-boat was on
the opposite side, and we had to wait for its return,
which seemed the climax to the day's worries. We
growled audibly, feeling that we were entitled to do
so, having had enough provocation to ruffle the most
angelic tempers. With scarcely room to sit, and no
where, to speak of, to put our feet, bodily discomfort
helped to put us out of humour.
Can you imagine a three-seated waggon, contain
ing a load of valises, travelling-bags, a tin box of
edibles for a week's journey, tents, blankets, pans,
kettles, pails, a box of earth filled with bedding
plants, a bundle of currant bush slips, a box of cats
— being the cat and five kittens — a box of family sil
ver, engineers' instruments, wraps of every descrip
tion, provender for the horses, a bag of bread, the
driver's own provisions (it was a part of the bargain
that he was to " find " himself), loose articles of all
kinds, thrown in at the last moment, five adults,

88 A Trip to Manitoba.
two children, one small dog and an unhappy-looking
canary ? This motley assemblage was stowed away
as well as possible, the kettles and pails being hung
at the back and sides, after the fashion of the travel
ling tinkers' carts. There certainly was a very emi
grant-like appearance about the whole thing, in spite
of the tasteful trimming of our shade hats.
The ferry-boat came for us at last, and as we drove
over the prairie at a moderate rate, delays having
become things of the past, we were for the next
hour almost merry. This transient joy was soon
dispelled by our driver, who, without any warning,
turned off the road through some swampy ground.
Pulling up suddenly before an apparently unbroken
line of trees, he craned his neck first one way and
then the other in search, of an opening, unheeding
the expostulations in French and English with which
he was assailed, until, finding what he sought, and
flicking his whip over the horses' ears, he condes
cended to reply, " Je fais le detour ! Bad, voila ! "
Then, urging his horses on, he charged into the
bushes, and drove along what had been once a cart
trail (one coujd hardly call it a road),* overgrown

A Delightful " Short Cut" 89
with underbrush. Long branches met overhead,
and we were kept busy, alternately warding them
off our faces and holding on to our seats — for the
track was a succession of uneven hills, hollows, and
short turns, with which our driver seemed as unac
quainted as ourselves.
About six o'clock we came to the high-road, which
crossed the end of our track — the high-road that has
cost our country nearly a million dollars — -the far-
famed and much-talked-of Dawson road. It was
some two feet higher than our rough track, and
separated from it by a large mud-puddle, in which,
after a lurch to one side and a violent jerk from the
horses, the waggon-wheels sunk on the other. A
volley of oaths was discharged by our half-breed,
followed by a crack of his long whip, and a sharp
struggle, and then the near horse fell back on his
haunches and we stuck fast. Down rolled the best
valise, out sprang Jehu, carrying with him into the
mud our biggest blankets Mr. C  , in slippers,
sat on the top of the waggon demanding his boots,
which were somewhere at the bottom ; somebody
else was searching wildly for a rope and axe, which.

90 A Trip to Manitoba.
proved to be nowhere ; everybody was giving a dif
ferent opinion on the best means of extricating our
selves, only uniting in one thing, namely, abuse of
the driver, who stood knee-deep in mud, hitching up
his trousers and muttering something about le dStour.
We women, meantime, tried to quiet the screaming
children, and prevent ' the " unconsidered trifles "
which filled the corners of the waggon from falling
out — a duty not unattended with danger, as pussy,
on guard over her nursery, and excited by the gene
ral bouleversemenl, gave a spiteful claw to any foot
or hand which approached near to her box.
No rope, axe, or chain, could be found ; there
was nothing but mud on every side to unload in,
and not a house for miles to shelter us for the night.
Fortunately, before very long a waggon passed on
the high-road, whose occupants were a kindly Irish
man, his wife, and child.
" Faith, is it help ye want, yer honour ? It's meself
never refused help to any* man," said Paddy ; and
jumping down, he produced a chain. Fastening the
pole of the waggon to one end, and the horses to the
other, he drove them up to the high-road, where,

A Rough Road. 91

having firmer foothold, a few pulls drew us out of
the mud-hole. We thanked the old man for his help,
but saw him and his chain depart with regret. Hav
ing better horses and a lighter load, he soon left us
far behind.
On we jogged, sometimes on the road, but more
often off it, driving through every clump of trees
that grew in our way, as the roots gave some firm
ness to the swampy ground. Now and then, when
returning to the road, the waggon would almost stick,
but, after a lunge, pull, and a struggle, attended by
a volley of French from our Jehu, and a screech
from the women, it righted itself again. A little
later we passed the teams that had left Winnipeg so
long before us in the morning; one of them was
stuckNdeep-4n the mud, and the drivers were just
parting company — the first, a French Canadian, de
clining to help the second, an Irish Canadian boy,
whose good-natured face was a picture of dismay,
as he stood contemplating the scene of disaster.
The Frenchman declared that he had stuck three
times, and had to unload both teams twice, and he
wasn't going to do it again ; so he whipped up his

92 A Trip to Manitoba.
horse and left poor young " Stick-in-the-Mud," as
we dubbed him, to his fate. Promising to send a
yoke of oxen from McQuade's, five miles further on,
where we intended putting up for the night, we also
left him, but not without regret. I could not help
feeling sorry for the poor boy out there alone on the
prairie, perhaps for the whole night, as it was by no
means certain that the hoped-for yoke of oxen would
be forthcoming. But the lad was so civil, and evi
dently so determined to make the best of things,
that fortune favoured him. A mile further on we
met a long train of carts, and Mr. C  shouted
to the driver of the first to go and help " Stick-in-
the-Mud," promising to pay him for his services.
By this time it was getting dark, the mosquitos were
troublesome, and the children were hungry and cross,
and we joyfully hailed the first glimmer of the lights
at McQuade's. But though in sight . of the haven
where we would be, our troubles were not yet over.
Crossing a broken culvert not half a mile from the
house, one of the horses fell in, and we all had to
get out and walk, an annoyance which we felt to be
the " last straw " on our much-enduring backs.

McQuade's. 93

McQuade's is merely a farm-house on the main
road. But in the usual condition of those roads it
is the first stopping-place from Winnipeg, and Mc
Quade's or " Little Pointe du Chene," as it is some
times called, is familiar to all the engineers on the
staff of that part of the Canada Pacific Railway,
The yard was full of the teams which had left Win
nipeg the day before, and the kitchen, or general
living room, was crowded with teamsters, who, how
ever, when we appeared, withdrew to a dark little
cook-house a few yards from the door.
The room vacated for us was low-roofed, with un-
plastered ceiling, whose rafters were hung with
bunches of garden herbs. Two narrow windows
were set sideways in the wall, their deep window-
seats serving as bookcase and sideboard : holding
the Bible and almanac, the old lady's best bonnet, a
pot or two of preserves, a nose-gay of spring-flowers,
and a .tea-caddy. An old-fashioned four-post bed
stead stood in one comer, covered with a patchwork
quilt ; in another was an impromptu bed, spread on
the floor, and occupied by a woman and two chil
dren, apparently asleep. A table, covered with oil-

94 A Trip to Manitoba.
cloth, with some cups and saucers on it, stood be
tween the bed and a dresser cupboard, containing
rows of shining milk-pans, piled one on the top of
the other and separated by a board. Behind the
house door a flight of narrow steps led " up ter
chamber," as the old woman in the rocking-chair in
formed us ; and underneath these stairs was a primi
tive washing apparatus, consisting of a bench hold
ing a basin and two wooden pails, with a long towel
hanging from a stick.
The farmer bustled in and out, greeting some of
us as old friends, summoning Alice, the maid-of-all-
work — a down-trodden, stupid-looking girl of four
teen — to make up the fire and get the kettle boiling,
and putting his head into the doorway, "just to tell
missus," as he ushered us in. " Tho missus," a kindly-
looking Irishwoman, in a white cap and kerchief,
wriggled over in her chair to greet us, for she was
" set fast by the rheumatism," and could not rise.
But from long confinement in her chair she had
learnt to get about in it very well; her natural
energy expending itself on shuffling all over the
room, screaming to Alice to know " why that there

An Irish Welcome. 95
kettle didn't boil ? " and generally making us wel
come in her way.
" There's lots of milk — plenty ; you are welcome to
it, and there'll be boilin' water presently. If I could
only get a holt of that Alice, I'd make things lively for
her! I'm wore out with her intirely. If you've brought
your own provisions, all right ; but there have been so
many travellers by lately, there isn't a bite in the
house, till me eldest darter comes and bakes for me
to-morrow." Yes, she had seven darters, all well
married round about, blessed be God ! and they came
turn and turn about to look after the old people, do
the work, and see after things, while she just kept
the bit thing Alice to do the chores and wait on her ;
but she warn't much good.
Thus our hostess ran on, until the horse was ex
tricated, and we got possession of our rugs and pro-
¦ visions. The boiling water appearing at the same
time, we soon sat down to tea ; and, as it was too
late to pitch our tent that night, we spread our
rugs and blankets on the two bedsteads "up ter
chamber" — a mere unfurnished garret — and were
soon in bed.

96 A Trip to Manitoba.
Not long afterwards, hearing a great deal of
laughter downstairs, I listened, and gathered that
" Stick-in-the-Mud " had arrived, and the men were
chaffing him for having paid the half-breed two 'dol
lars for lending him two oxen for five minutes to
extricate his train.
Tired as I was, the mosquitos were so attentive
that I found it impossible to sleep. About midnight
" that wretched Alice " crept up the stairs, and lay
down in a corner, partitioned off from the rest of
the garret by a grey blanket nailed to the rafters.
I am sure she did not undress much, nor could she
have slept long, as she was downstairs again before
three o'clock, and I heard the old woman rating her
from her bed.
When we descended at about six, the men and
teams were all gone, and the tenants of the floor bed
had taken advantage of an offered ride to help them
on their way. Poor woman ! she was journeying
from Detroit, to the work on " 15," to join her bro
ther. She had been a month on the road, and had
still another week or ten days of walking before
her.

CHAPTER VIII.
Faithless Jehu — The " Blarney Stone" — Mennonites in
search of News — " Water, Water everywhere" — A Herd
of Buffaloes — A Mud Village— Pointe du ChSne and Old
Nile — At Dawson Route — A Cheerful Party — Toujours
perdrix — The " Best Room" — A Government Shanty —
Cats and Dogs — Birch River — Mushroom-picking — The
Mosquito Plague — A Corduroy Road— The Cariboo Mus
keg. 'HEN we resumed our journey, the weather
was hazy and seemed to threaten a thunder
storm. Accordingly, we made great haste, in the
hope of reaching " Pointe du ChSne" proper before
the storm broke. But when all else was ready,
neither our Jehu nor his steeds could be found; he had
taken them about a mile further on, to spend the
night at a friend's, and did not make his appearance
until eight o'clock. As I bade our old hostess good
bye, she seized hold of my ulster, and feeling its
texture, said —

98 A Trip to Manitoba.
"Are you warm enough, child, in that thing?
Ye'll feel the cold drivin'. Ye'd better have a shawl."
Thanking her for her inquiries, I assured her that
I was quite warm.
" Ah, well," she said, patting me on the arm, " take
care of yourself. Good people are scarce."
Poor old creature ! her good nature made me glad
she was my countrywoman. A kind thought ex
pressed in the familiar accents of " Ould Oireland"
is welcome to the wayfarer in strange lands, even
though it may often be " only blarney" after all.
Reaching a bend in the little river Seine at noon,
we halted for dinner, and lighted a fire. But not
daring to waste much time in unpacking, we took
what we could eat in our fingers, and fed the child
ren. Before we had finished, we were joined by a
party of Mennonites, in a comfortable covered wag
gon drawn by two powerful horses. The family
consisted of an elderly man ; his wife, a pretty,
quaint-looking little woman ; a daughter, apparently
sixteen ; a boy of twelve ; and two little girls of
about six, looking like twins. They were well
dressed, in the quaint costume of their country. The

A Pleasant Ride. 99
man, who alone could speak English, told us they
were going to Winnipeg to hear the war news, and
gave a look of utter astonishment at our ignorance
of the latest telegrams. It made me feel quite
ashamed of not having taken more interest in the
progress of current events, to meet a party of emi
grants driving miles through these solitudes to hear
what I had passed heedlessly by when close under my
hand. The Mennonite elder was very polite ; but,
judging from the shrugs indulged in by the family
after a remark uttered in their own language, they
did not think highly of our intelligence.
Before we were packed into the waggon again the
rain came down in earnest, and the whole afternoon
was spent in vain endeavours to keep ourselves dry.
Waterproofs, blankets, umbrellas, all were soaked,
as hour after hour we were dragged slowly through
the muskeg, or marsh, following no apparent track,
and with the water often up to .the " hubs" of the
wheels. No sooner were our umbrellas placed in a
suitable position to keep off the rain, than Jehu
would make one of his dStours, and the wind and
rain meeting us on the other side, away flew our

100 A Trip to Manitoba.
wraps, and all the umbrellas had to be rearranged.
The difficulty of doing this, and yet keeping them
from dripping down some one's neck, was almost
insuperable. Mosquitoes, too, flying about in swarms
added their quota to our discomfort. The poor
canary had a hard time of it, for in spite of all our
care the cage repeatedly filled with water, which I
had to empty over the side of the waggon. Luck
ily, the cats kept quiet, and no one was anxious to
know whose feet were in the box of plants!
About three miles from Pointe du Che'ne, a herd
of buffalo feeding in the distance made us forget our
misery for a moment. They had not been met with
so near a civilized neighbourhood for years ; the wet
and stormy weather was the cause of their approach.
I was disappointed in their appearance ; they looked
to me very like a herd of farm cattle, but seemed to
feed closer together. I had, however, not much
chance to study their peculiarities, another detour
speedily requiring my attention. On looking for
the buffaloes when again at leisure, they were no
where to be seen.
Pointe du ChSne is, without exception, the mud-

The Dawson Route. 101
diest village I ever was in. We drove through streams
of mud ; fences were built in mud ; mud extended
on every side for acres. The houses were so sur
rounded with mud ; ankle-deep, nay, knee-deep, that
one wondered how the inmates ever got out. Yet
they told us that in a few weeks all would be quite
dry ; that what were now some of the largest mud-
lakes would then be the finest wheat-fields ; and it
is possible that mud here may have the same fertil
izing properties as it has on the banks of the Nile,
and that agriculture may be carried on upon the
same principles in this part of Canada as in Egypt.
At the Dawson route way-house we were received
by a white-haired old man en route to take a situa
tion as cook in one of the houses on the line — though
certainly no one ever looked less like a cook. He
ushered us into the kitchen, the only room boasting
a fire, and we were there met by the proprietor, a
depressed and apologetic sort of person. After sev
eral whispered consultations with a hopeless wife,
who moved in melancholy protest, or sat with her
head leaning against the wall, applying the corner
of her apron to her eyes so constantly, that that par-

102 A Trip to Manitoba.
ticular corner would not lie flat when allowed to
drop, he put up a stove in the front room, which
was soon festooned in every direction with our
drenched garments.
Two rooms upstairs, clean-looking, but almost
devoid of furniture, were allotted to us, and finding
that we should be unable tq continue our journey
for at least thirty-six hours, we tried to make the
best of them. Fearing that we might encounter
further delays where it would be impossible to get
food, we decided to husband what we had, especially
as we discovered that our Jehu, whenever he got
into the waggon from the wet muskeg, had sat on
the bag of bread, which still further reduced our
supplies. Accordingly we determined to content
Ourselves with whatever might be set before us,
which proved to be pork, bread, and tea for break
fast ; bread, tea, and pork for dinner ; and tea, pork,
and bread for supper. As we ventured to make a
mild remark upon the monotony of the bill of fare, a
bottle of pickles was produced next morning, our de
jected hostess informing us, in a sepulchral tone, that it
cost " one dollar, Hudson Bay Company store prices."

" Toujours perdrix." 103
Towards nightfall the French teamster arrived,
With his load rather mixed. He had been compelled
to unload and reload so often, that everything was
Where it should not be. Stove-pipes, down which
the rain poured in rusty streams, were lying on
the top of the best mattresses ; and, generally speak
ing, all the light things were underneath, and all the
heavy ones on the top. Soon after the Frenchman,
" Stick-in-the-Mud " arrived alone, drenched and
miserable. His load was again " stuck in the muskeg,
a matter of two mile off, he guessed." If left there
all night, it would sink so deep in that quicksand
like marsh that there would be little hope of ever
extracting it. The poor lad said his team was too
done up to be of any use, and he was so " dead tired,
he hadn't a leg to stand on." Still, he didn't object
to go back if men and teams were sent with him.
And after a great deal of tramping through the
muddy village, our people succeeded in getting a
yoke of oxen to send to the rescue of our Saratogas.
Meantime the best room of the inn had been "tidied
up" — I suppose in our honour, for next day our meals
were served there instead of in the kitchen as at

104 A Trip to Manitoba.
first. It resembled the " best room " of most Can
adian farmhouses. A four-post bedstead stood in
one corner, covered with a patchwork quilt, gener
ally the work of the wife when a girl ; a bureau was
decorated with the few books possessed by the fam
ily — usually a Bible, almanac, and photograph album
— the best cups and saucers, a looking-glass, and a
pin-cushion ; an old-fashioned roomy sofa filled an
other corner. The dining-table in the centre had
extension leaves, very far from level ; the wall was
decorated with a big clock, a couple of bright-coloured
prints, a portrait or two and a sampler ; and the floor
was covered in patches with rag mats.
If we flattered ourselves that promotion into the
" best room " would ensure privacy, we were doomed
to disappointment. The whole family, from the
doleful mamma to the youngest olive-branch, fav
oured us with their presence, sat on the sofa, and,
looking through the album, were kind enough to
discuss their relations and friends pro bono publico.
The youngest child, aged five, having an occasional
inclination to lay violent hands upon portions of our
dinner, was pounced upon by one or other of her

Exchange of Teams. 105
family, roughly shaken or thumped, and banged
down upon a hard wooden chair ; while from some
other loving relative came the remark, made between
set teeth, "I'd slap her, I would!" Poor little thing!
she did not seem " a' there," as the Scotch say ; the
frequent boxing and banging her poor head under
went probably increasing, if it did not occasion, her
stupidity. Early on Friday morning we set out again under
more favourable auspices, though the day was cold
and cloudy. One of the division superintendents,
or " walking bosses " as they are called, employed by
the contractors, had arrived at our resting-place the
day before, en route for the " Angle," and he offered
to exchange teams with us, if we would allow him
to accompany his good horses. This proposal was
gladly accepted, and with the utmost satisfaction we
saw our French-Indian Jehu depart with his ill-con
ditioned brutes.
After leaving Pointe du Che'ne, the road for some
distance lies up a long rocky hill, and then passes
through a comparatively well-wooded country. But
we thought little of surrounding scenery. The wind

106 A Trip to Manitoba.
was so cold, and the frequent snow-storms during
the day were so disagreeable, that we had quite
enough to do to keep ourselves and the children
warm. We had our dinner near a dismantled log-house
on the bank of a narrow creek, and reaching White-
mouth River about seven, put up at a shanty built
by Government to shelter travellers on the Dawson
road. It is kept by a Norwegian named Nord and
his wife, and can only boast of three small rooms
and a kitchen. It was too cold to camp out, so,
spreading our rugs and blankets on the floor, we lay
down and slept, too tired to heed the hardness of the
boards. On Saturday the air was warmer, and the road
comparatively good, and we were sufficiently at ease
to look out for and admire the wild-flowers that
grew on every side (Mr. R  good-naturedly stop
ping to gather some for us), and watch for the young
rabbits started by the dogs, who yelped loudly when
in full chase after them. We had two dogs when
we left Winnipeg, but now our pack numbered eight,
some joining us at every halting-place. But in the

Birch River. 107

same proportion that the dogs increased, the cats
decreased, a kitten being begged at every house, as
they were overrun with mice : and our cats were
received with almost as much delight as Dick Whit-,
tington's historical speculation. Unfortunately,
however, the recipients were too poor to make our
fortunes in return.
At noon we passed our teamsters and Mr. R  's
gang of navvies, rather picturesquely grouped round
their camp fire, where tea was boiling and pork fry
ing. The untethered horses were feeding by the
roadside, and " Stick-in-the-Mud," for once superior
to his name, was alone plodding steadily on. This
was our easiest day's journey, and it was scarcely
four o'clock when we reached Birch River, a dry
sandy hill round which a tiny creek wound. We
were glad of a few hours' respite to run about and
stretch our weary limbs. One of our party discover
ing that the banking of the shanty was full of mush
rooms, we gathered a great many, and took them to
the kitchen to be cooked.
This way-house is kept by two brothers, who
have literally nothing to do but cook, eat, and sleep

108 A Trip to Manitoba.
bare shelter being all that the Government supplies
to travellers. One of the brothers was making dough
nuts and boiling them in a pot of fat, and although
they did not look tempting I had the greatest curi
osity to taste them. However, as he did not give
me any encouragement to ask for one, my curiosity
remained unsatisfied, and I had to content my
self with the mushrooms, which had full justice done
to them.
As night came on, the mosquitoes were terrible ;
smoke was of no avail to keep them awajr. The cook
told me that the season for them was only just begin
ning, and that they were nothing to what they would
be in a month. The previous summer their cow had
literally been tortured to death, between the mos
quitoes and deer flies. Mr. C  had a mosquito
netting tent which was put up in the room we slept
in, so that we had comparative exemption from their
torments ; but it was too hot to sleep, and all night
long I heard the men outside fighting with and
swearing at their winged enemies.
We set out early on Sunday, as we had a long
day's drive before us, and were to have our first ex-

The Great Cariboo Muskeg. 109
perience of a corduroy road. The one in question
was a very bad specimen, a succession of deep mud-
holes, round some of which we skirted cautiously,
wondering how " Stick -in-the-Mud " would get
through, and plunging into some swamps, which
seemed to tax all the strength our team could exert
to lug us out again. We soon arrived at the great
Cariboo muskeg, on the smooth squared-timber road.
This muskeg must, at some earlier stage of the
world's existence, have been a great lake full of
islands ; now it is a grassy swamp, the water clear
as spring water, studded with groups of high rocks
of varied size and shape, overgrown by tall pines,
birch, scrubby underbrush, ferns, and moss. We
had been getting on with such comparative ease
that we began to think our fears of the " corduroy
road " had been groundless ; but before night we
experienced the wisdom of the warning not to
" halloo before we were out of the bush." We took
our lunch on some flat rocks, near a place known on
the road as " six-mile shanty ;" not without difficulty
as the dogs, like ourselves, were hungry, and while
we were in chase of a refractory umbrella carried
H

110 A Trip to Manitoba.
away by the wind, one dog demolished the butter
and another ran off with our roast of beef: and
when we reflected that it was the last fresh meat
we were likely to taste for months, we saw it de
part with regret, even though the ham had been
left us.
If the roads were bad^n the morning, they were
ten times worse in the afternoon; and nothing, I
think, will ever make me forget the last five miles
of real corduroy road we traversed before reaching
the "Angle." It consisted of round logs, loosely
bound together, and thrown down upon a marsh, no
two consecutive logs being of the same size. There
had originally been some foundation, and there were
still deep drains dug on each side ; but the logs had
given way at different ends in some parts, and alto
gether in others. It was bump, bump, bang, and
swash ; swash, bang, and bump ; now up, now down,
now all on one side, now all on the other. Cushions,
rugs, everything that could slide, slid off the seats;
the children were frightened and fretting; the bird
fluttered itself almost to death in vain attempts to
escape ; the kittens were restless ; and all our hair-

A Corduroy Road. Ill
pins, slipping down our backs, added a cold shiver
to our other miseries.
One longed to cry out and beg to be allowed to
stop, if only for a moment. But of what use would
that have been ? We had to endure it, so it was
best to get it over quickly. In many places the old
road was completely gone, and we had to drive
through such dreadful holes that we wondered the
waggon came out entire.* Never was smooth road
greeted with greater pleasure than we hailed the
last mile from the "Angle;" and never did more
stiff and weary travellers arrive at any bourn
than our party when alighting at the "Angle" that
night. * Much of this part of the road is now under water and
well-nigh impassable, the prospect of soon having the Canada
Pacific Railway in working order making it seem waste of
time and money to repair it.

CHAPTER IX.
The "Nor'-west Angle"— The Company's House — Triumph
of "Stick-in-the-Mud"— On the Lake of the Woods—
A Gallant Cook — Buns a I'vmprevu — A Man overboard ! —
Camping out — Clear Water Bay — Our First Portage — A
Noble Savage — How Lake Rice and Lake Deception won
their Names— At our Journey's End.
J HE "Nor'-west Angle" is a little village at the
north-west corner of the Lake of the Woods,
and at the mouth of a nameless river, or narrow
arm of the lake. The banks on one side are high
and wooded, on the other high also, but completely
bare of shrubs or trees; while between them the
river wanders hither and thither through marshy
ground, looking somewhat as one fancies the fens
at home must do.
The company's house is a long, low white build
ing* with narrow windows and doors, neat fences
and grass plots in -front, and a very fair kitchen
garden, showing signs of care and attention. The

The "Nor'-West Angle." 113
houses near are all one-storied, log-built, and plas
tered with mud inside and out. There are also
several birch-bark wigwams, full of smoke and
swarthy children; the owners squatting at their
low doors, or, with their dirty blankets wrapped
more tightly round them, leaning on the fence to
stare at the new-comers.
The "Angle" was quite lively that afternoon.
All our own teams were there, " Stick-in-the-Mud "
having arrived first after all, with his load in a bet
ter condition than the others. „ Such a genuine smile
of satisfaction beamed on his good-natured face, that
I could not forbear congratulating him on his tri
umph over difficulties. Several other teams had
brought supplies for the contractor ; and fifty or
sixty navvies going out in search of work on the
contract, were camped about everywhere ; some in
tents, some under waggons, while some sat up all
night round the fires, smoking and recounting
their experience of the road. Many of the men
were very lame and stiff, after their hundred-mile
tramp. Numbers of Indians had come in to trade,
and the ceaseless " tom-tom " from the wigwam on

114 A Trip to Manitoba.
the opposite bank told how they were gambling
away their earnings. They kept up this dissipation
until daylight, when they went away in canoes,
The way-house being full when we arrived, the
Hudson Bay Company's officer very kindly vacated
his quarters for us, and paid us every attention in
his power, even robbing his tiny garden of half its
early lettuce for our benefit. We had a comfortable
night's sleep, much enjoyed after our toils and
troubles, and on a misty summer morning we packed
ourselves and our luggage into a large rowing-boat.
The big steamer, Lady of the Lake, being, as usual,
stuck on a rock, about forty miles out, we were
towed behind a barge by a shaky looking little tug.
Glad were we to have room to move about a little,
and after the crowded and cramping waggon the
boat seemed a paradise.
Floating almost due north over the smooth waters
of the bay, we were soon on the Lake of the Woods.
The scenery is very lovely ; island follows island.
Some seem but a pile of moss-covered stone, every
crevice filled with ferns, blueberries, and wild juniper
bushes ; others are great masses of rock, their per-

On the Lake of the Woods. 115
pendicular sides covered with curling black cariboo
moss and crowned with great pines ; others, again,
have shelving sandy shores, covered with tangled
vines and bright-hued wild-flowers. As we passed
along, each long stretch of the lake appeared more
beautiful than the last. Then the sun went down,
turning to gold and crimson the fleecy clouds mir
rored in the lake, glinting on the distant white pines,
throwing into bold relief their darker brothers and
the jagged walls of moss-covered rock, in varied
tints — black, red, green and white. The shadows
slowly deepened, the long grey clouds hung like
a curtain in the sky, where the stars began to
gleam softly. The varied foliage turned to a
deep, rich blue, shading into green like a peacock's
tail. Silence was around us, broken only by the
weird cry of the loon diving in the distant bay,
and the ceaseless, monotonous puff-puff of the little
tug as she pursued her way over the peaceful
waters. About three or four o'clock — how little note we
took of time ! — we reached the rock on which the
big steamer was still fast, stopping to give her an-

116 A Trip to Manitoba.
other anchor and cable, and wishing her good luck
and a speedy release.
We had been amusing ourselves during the after
noon by watching the cook on the barge dive up
and down through the narrow doorway of a sort of
box, to a small, rusty, sheet-iron cooking-stove, with
an equally rusty stove-pipe. First seizing an axe,
he chopped up some wood from a pile in the corner,
and filled the stove; then he dragged down a bag
of flour into his den; then up again he started, as
suddenly as a Jack-in-the-box, for a round tin ; then
for some flat pans. Next we heard him shouting
from below, " Is that fire burning good, boys ? Cram
her full; pile in more wood, and don't heed the
smoke ! " and he suddenly appeared with the pans
full of buns, which were quickly baked. Then,
leaning over the railings of the barge, he cried —
" If you would have your tea now, ladies, while
the buns are hot, and would pass along your tea
kettle, I have some tea ready for you."
Accepting his invitation with thanks, a tin can of
buns was soon in our boat, and never did the light
est tea-buns, served in the daintiest of snowy napr

"A Man Overboard!" 117
kins, taste more delicious. The number we demol
ished proved our appreciation of his cookery.
About sundown we altered our course. After
passing a pretty green hill,' from which a group of
squaws, children and dogs watched us, we turned to
the west and entered Clear Water Bay. The night
was getting dark, damp and chilly, the children were
sleepy, and were tired and silent. The men on the
tug had become tired and drowsy ; nothing seemed
to stir but the flying sparks from the funnel of the
tug, which dropped all around us, and not even a
ciy from a loon broke through the stillness.
Suddenly — " Here we are ! " rang out from a dozen
voices, followed by a heavy splash and a cry of " A
man overboard ! " While we peered out into the
darkness, dreading we knew not what, a laugh came
from the barge. It was only the short stove-pipe,
which some one had knocked overboard in the dark
ness. In our relief at finding that the accident was
nothing worse, we quite forgot the future misery of
our poor friend the bun-maker, whose cookery would
have to be carried on amidst redoubled volumes of
smoke, A moment later the light of a camp fire

118 A Trip to Manitoba.
appeared, and leaving the tug the barge was poled
up to it. One of the engineers belonging to Mr.
C — — 's staff came to meet us. He had been or
dered into town, and had waited at Clear Water two
days for the tug or steamer to take him to the
" Angle," intending, if they did not arrive before
morning, to cross next day in a canoe.
We were soon comfortably settled in Mr. R  's
tent, while he directed a party of Indians, who
seemed to spring up in every direction, to put up
another. Some of the men on the barge had tents
too ; others made great fires, piled with broken
branches until the blaze shot up to the tree-tops.
The swift, silent movements of the Indians stepping
hither and thither, now in the glare of the fire, then
lost in the surrounding darkness ; the chatter of the
men ; the barking of the dogs ; and the sharp crackle
of the blazing logs helped to compose a strange and
lively scene. Gradually all grew quiet, and settled
down for the night ; the Indians, rolling themselves
in their blankets, lay down with their feet to the
fire ; and we felt that this was indeed a fitting end-:
ing to our day upon the Lake of the Woods,

Camping-out. 119

I think one always wakes earlier when camping
out than when sleeping in a house. Our first night
under canvas in the " Nor'-west " was no exception
to the rule. We were up and out before five o'clock ;
yet, early as it was, we found our camping ground
almost deserted. The Indians, who were nearly all
" packers," employed by the contractors to carry
stuff over the portages, had shouldered their packs
and gone, and only a few of the men still lingered.
One poor fellow had caught several fish, and on be
ing asked what he would take for them, replied that
he Would gladly exchange a couple for a piece of
fat and the loan of a frying-pan to cook his own
meal in. This offer was at once accepted, and be
fore long we had some nicely cleaned fish added to
our repast. The fire being stirred up, and the kettle
set on, I heard groans of despair over the condition
of the larder. The tin box which contained all that
was left of our supplies, became more difficult to
pack the more empty it grew, and being unloaded
the night before by hands ignorant of the necessity
of keeping it right side up, the salt was spilt into
the tea, and the preserves were smeared over all the

120 A Trip to Manitoba.
spoons. There was no bread left, and at last we had
to content ourselves with a rather light meal of fish
and salted tea, consoled by the reflection that we
were near the end of our journey.
The camping-ground did not look at all romantic
in the morning. Furniture was scattered every
where, boxes of all sizes and descriptions were
strewn about amidst dead fires and charred branches,
and a general air of untidiness and discomfort per
vaded everything.
Mr. R  left us soon after breakfast, and we set
out to walk over our first portage* This led us up
a narrow pathway, all hills and hollows ; then over
a smooth rock with a trail scarcely visible. A nar-
* A " portage " is the shore of a cataract, rapid, or chute,
along which the Indians carry their canoes and luggage. The
Winnipeg River, in its course of 160 miles from the Lake of
the Woods to Lake Winnipeg, makes a descent bi 360 feet,
occasioning falls, rapids, chutes and cataracts, which make
its navigation difficult. The portaging, or carrying power of
the Indians, says Major Butler, is remarkable ; one man often
carrying two hundred-weight for several miles. The skill
with which they avoid whirlpools, land below the fall, and
re-launch their canoes above it, beyond the power of the cur
rent, is unerring, and indispensable to travellers.

A Noble Savage. 121

row gully succeeded, still wet from the spring rain ;
then we passed through a belt of low-growing trees
leading to a bare rock, its crevices filled with moss
white as the rock itself. On reaching the highest
point we stopped to rest and look back. Clear
Water Bay lay far below us, glistening in the sun
light, and beyond, over the point that forms the bay,
the lake and its numberless islands extended for
miles. As we descended, we met the packers re
turning for another load, coming at a light, easy run,
one after the other, in Indian file their straps hang
ing loosely over one arm. Mr. C  's own man, a
handsome, lithe, graceful Indian of the Brant tribe,
stepped out of the fine to shake hands with us and
bid us welcome to the contract, with a natural polite
ness and grace which would have adorned the draw
ing-rooms of civilization.
This Indian, rejoicing in the name of Youal Car-
riere, was tall and slight, lithe as a tiger, and quick
as lightning ; never at a loss, naturally intelligent,
and an adept in almost everything he attempted.
Having had a fair commercial education when in
Brantford among his own people, he was as good

122 A Trip to Manitoba.
a clerk in an office as guide in the bush or cook
in camp. He was a keen politician, and ready to
discuss almost any question, yet always respectful
and attentive. Although never officious, he manag
ed to make himself indispensable. He was fonder
of life in the bush than in town, yet as ready to
amuse himself when there as any of his friends ;
rather inclined to brag of his doings and sayings, and
able to tell the best story in camp, whoever might
be his comrades.
We soon found ourselves on the shore of a small
lake, which obtained its name oddly enough. The
first party of surveyors who crossed upset two bags
of rice in its waters, and thenceforward it was known
as Rice Lake. On reaching the opposite shore, we
found a man waiting to cross. He had come down
the night before, but all the boats were on the other
side. The second portage was much shorter and more
level than the first, and consisted of a pretty wood
land track of less than half a mile to Lake Decep
tion, so called from the many times and many ways
in which the first surveying party were misled when

At our Journey's End. 123
running the line along its shores. One night, after
a hard day's work, they had settled down round their
camp fires, and while dozing over their pipes, were
roused by a shrill halloo from down the trail. Not
having had a mail for weeks, and expecting one
hourly, they all turned out to meet the carrier, shout
ing loudly to guide him to the camp ; but they were
answered only by the shrill scream of the screech-
owl, whose hooting had led them on their bootless
chase. Lake Deception is very beautiful, with deep
shady bays, high rocky shores, and fair green islands.
At the head of one of the bays Mr. C  had built
his house.
As we neared the wharf, where stood a small
shanty called by the men " The Fort," with a piece
of red cotton doing duty as a flag flying from its
roof, a canoe came out to meet us, and a warm wel
come from the doctor, an old friend, followed. The
Fort contained three rooms, each having a narrow
window, and the largest provided with a mud chim
ney and open fireplace. The furniture comprised a
couple of bunk-beds, a few shelves, one table, several
stools and benches, washstands built into the corners,

124 A Trip to Manitoba.
and a comfortable sofa, seeming very much out of
place, in what, to our eyes, looked anything but a
comfortable abode. Yet we were told it was one of
the most luxurious shanties on the line.
Our luggage could not be brought over until late
in the afternoon, so there was nothing to be done but
to exercise our patience and wait, enduring the dis
comfort of feeling as well as looking as if we had
travelled for a week, with all the dust of the Daw
son road, as well as all the mud of the muskegs, up
on bur persons.

CHAPTER X.
Making a New Home — Carriere's Kitchen — 'The Navvies'
SaUe-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. DETAILED account of how we spent the
few weeks would be of little interest, so I
will only give it in outline. We slept in the house
and took our meals at the fort, Carri&re doing the
cooking under a low tent close by, which, as a kit
chen, was decidedly a curiosity. It occupied a small
space not ten feet square, in only five feet of which
we could stand upright, and contained cases of tin
ned fruits, vegetables, sauces, and meats, barrels of
flour and meal, caddies of tea and coffee, a small
sheet-iron cooking-stove, all the pots, pans, paste
boards, and all other culinary necessaries. There was
also a rickety table, at which the men, often five and

126 A Trip to Manitoba.
six at a time, had their meals, sitting on the nearest
case, bag, or barrel. It was so crowded that one
wondered how Carri&re managed to get up such ex
cellent dinners with such limited accommodation. He
also made delicious bread, baking it in a hole in the
side of the hill, heated by building a fire round it.
By degrees we moved into the house, as the car
penters moved out, taking their bed of shavings
with them ; and we found daily amusement in the
novelty of our surroundings. The house stood on a
slight elevation in the valley above the lake, about
a hundred and fifty feet off. To the west was a
perpendicular wall of rock, rising to a height of
forty or fifty feet, covered with tall pines, moss, and
ferns. To the east lay a plot of grass, divided by a
deep narrow creek from half a dozen dirty tents
occupied by the navvies.
The largest of these had a fire burning before it,
over which hung a perpetual kettle of pea-soup.
Hard by stood a long table of rough boards, laid on
rudely fashioned trestles ; another board, narrower,
and several inches lower, serving as a seat. This
table was set almost as often as the pea-soup was

The Navvies' Salle-h-Manger. 127
stirred. Its appointments were simple, but satis
factory to the guests. There were tin plates and
cups, heavy knives and forks, a pepper pot, a mug
of mustard, another of salt, a bottle of pickles, and
one of sauce. When dinner was ready, the cook, a
little fat man, with an apron tied round his waist, a
long red tuque on his head, and his shirt-sleeves
rolled above his elbows, put his hands to his mouth,
and gave a loud halloo. Then from every part of
the works poured the men belonging to his mess,
going first to the creek to wash their hands. As
soon as they were seated, the little fellow filled their
plates first with soup and next with pork and beans,
out of another steaming pot. Ten minutes of rapid
feeding satisfied their appetites, and they adjourned
to the fallen trees and scattered logs to enjoy their
pipes at leisure.
Vigorously wiping down the table, the cook set it
anew for the "officers" — that is, the contractors,
engineers, and their assistants; the doctor, pay
master, and any one of similar status, who happened
to be en route to another part of the line. Their
dinner call was a shrill whistle, and their bill of fare

128 A Trip to Manitoba.
differed from the navvies' only in the addition of
pies made of dried apples, and an unlimited allow
ance of pickles and sugar. Their dinner hour, too,
was a "movable feast," as in rainy weather they
took it between the showers ; the navvies did not
mind a wetting.
Behind Mr. C  's house the ground rose more
rapidly to the line of railway, and at the north end
of the west rock was a fish-pond, which never had
any fish in it, although a good deal of attention was
paid to stocking it. About four hundred feet to the
east is another rock almost as high as the one on
the west, beyond which the lake narrows, and the
future railway crossing is projected. Of course it
took much longer to arrange and make up the neces
sary useful and ornamental "fixings," as the Yankees
call them, for our new house when we were thrown
entirely upon our own resources than it would have
done in town, where stores and assistants are always
to be had; and the saying that "necessity is the
mother of invention" was repeatedly verified in our
case. Time, therefore, never hung heavily upon our
hands, and everything about" us having the charm of

Insect Plagues. 129

novelty, gave zest to what to many people would
have been but a dull life.
The climate is delightful. A cool fresh breeze
always blowing from the lake, tempers the heat, and
to a great extent keeps off those foes to comfort in
the bush — mosquitoes, black-flies, sand-flies, and
deer-flies, or bull-dogs, as they call them there.
Manitoban mosquitoes are larger than those of
any other part of Canada, and nothing but smoke
will drive them away. Many people who live on
the prairies, instead of going for their cattle at milk
ing time, build a smudge (a fire of chips mulched
with wet hay or green twigs when well started, to
create smoke) near the milk-house, and the cattle
will come to the fire to obtain relief from the mos
quitoes. The black-flies are smaller, and the first
intimation one has of their attack is a small stream
of blood trickling down one's neck from behind the
ear. They bite and die, but there are myriads to
take their place. The black-flies are most trouble
some during the day, the mosquitoes at night.
Sand-flies, as their name implies, resemble a grain
of sand, and their bites are like a thousand red-hot

130 A Trip to Manitoba.
needles piercing the skin at once ; they are attracted
by a light, and no netting will keep them out.
Last, but by no means least, are the deer-flies, great
big brutes, larger than the largest blue-bottle fly.
They generally devote their attentions to cattle, and
I have seen the poor cows rushing madly down the
clearing, the bells round their necks jangling wildly,
lashing their tails and tossing their heads, never
stopping until safe from their tormentors in the
shelter of the dark stable. The dogs, too, are often
so covered with these wretched pests, that nothing
but dragging themselves through the thick under
brush will set them free. Their bite is very veno
mous. One of the engineers showed me the back of
his hand where one had bitten him a few hours
before ; it was blue and angry-looking, swollen to
twice its usual size, and very painful. Fortunately
the deer-fly does not bite often.
We were able to explore the lake, as Mr. C — -
had two Rice Lake or Peterboro' canoes. These
boats are built by a firm in Peterboro', Ontario, and
are steadier than birch-bark canoes, though not so
light. They are much used in all parts of Canada,

Mail-day. 131

although the Indians prefer the birch-bark. We
went out almost every evening, named all the bays,
points, and islands, caught lots of excellent pike with
a trolling line, which relieved the monotony of bacon
and ham for breakfast, or went to the net spread at
the mouth of a little river or creek emptying into
Lake Deception, and brought home great jack-fish
weighing from two to six pounds. From a little
stream to the north-west of the house we had delici
ous brook trout, and occasionally large lake trout,
from some of the other lakes, presented by the fisher
men in their neighbourhood. I weighed one which
was over nineteen pounds. Sometimes we took short
walks up the line, and through wood-paths made by
the men on their way to work. We picked blue
berries whenever our hands were not employed in
driving off the flies.
But our chief excitement during the week was the
arrival of the mail. Our first thought every Thurs
day morning was, " this is mail-day," and Joe's white
canoe was eagerly watched for — often in vain, as
storms on the Lake of the Woods, when the canoes
could not venture out, delayed its coming until
Friday.

132 A Trip to Manitoba.
Strange as it seems very few Indians can swim,
probably from their fear that they shall drown while
learning. They believe that, if drowned, their spirits
wander for ever in a vain search for the happy hunt
ing-grounds, and no Indian will marry the daughter
of one who has met his death in that way, lest the
curse should descend to him. Yet they have such
faith in their canoes and their own skill in their
management of them, that they will go out fearlessly
in storms that a white man would never face.
On mail-day our field-glasses were in constant
requisition, and whoever was lucky enough to an
nounce the appearance of Joe felt the hero of the
hour. There were other canoes as white as Joe's,
so after several disappointments I studied the trim
ming on his hat, and never made a mistake after
wards. Joe was such an important person that I
must describe him. He was a short, slight, though
broad-shouldered Indian, wearing a grey flannel
shirt, striped cloth trousers, alpaca coat, prunella
boots, and black felt hat, with several folds of pink
and white net twisted round it. He always had a
broad grin on his face, and a hearty " Bon jour, nit-

Talking by Telegraph. 133
chee," for every one. The dress of his companion or
partner differed from Joe's only in the absence of
boots and hat, and wearing the hair braided in two
long tails, instead of being cut short.
How we appreciated our letters no one who has
not been in the woods, with a mail only once a week,
can understand. I remember one day after our mail
had arrived, a lad coming in from the shanty to ask
if there was anything for him. His sad face, as he
turned away on being told that our mail-carrier was
no longer allowed to bring mails for the contractors'
men, haunted me for days. Poor home-sick boy!
he had not heard from his people for months. I
often thought of him afterwards, when, the contrac
tor having made arrangements for a mail-carrier in
dependent of the Government, I saw the huge bag
brought in every week, and watched the eager
crowd of faces waiting for its contents to be dis
tributed. We had another source of entertainment in the
telegraphic communication between Winnipeg and
all the houses on the line, one of the staff in the
office good-naturedly keeping us posted in current

134 A Trip to Manitoba.
events. Talking to others along the wire always
had a strange significance to me, like having an in
visible guest talking to us, who could only hear
what we chose to repeat. When anything amusing
was said, one involuntarily listened for the invisible
laughter. This telegraphic conversation was a nuis
ance in one way, for often in the middle of dinner
Mr. C  would exclaim, " There's D  calling !"
and away he would go, and probably not come back
till dinner was cold, the cook cross, and the confus
ion general.
We were not without visitors, for the doctor,
contractors, and engineers were coming and going
continually. About the middle of July, 1878, the
contractors' head-quarters at Darlington Bay being
finished, and more work going on at that end of the
line, his officials moved there, and we were left with
only a gang of forty men in a shanty near. Our fat
cook also went to Bear Lake, about a mile west of
the house, which by that time had received the name
of Inver Lodge.
One day towards the end of August a rumour
reached us that the woods were on fire on the other

A Fire in the Woods. 135
side of the west hill, and that the flames were travel
ling towards us. I put on my hat and went up to
see if the report were true, and found flames curling
along over the moss and underbrush near a sand em
bankment where two or three men were working. The
fire did not look very formidable to me, and on ask
ing the men if there was any danger of its reaching
the house, one put down his barrow, and while he slow
ly wetted the palms of his hands, and rubbed them to
gether, said, " Na fear, me leddie ; a barrowfo' o' sand
noo an' then wul keep it fra' gangin' any further."
So I went back reassured. But as night came on,
the blaze increased so much that it became alarming.
Mr. C  and the men were away at Keewatin,
some fifteen miles from us, and could not be back
before daylight. A kindly old Irishman, Michael
Cahill, who for a drink of butter-milk came in the
evenings to work in the garden, offered his services
to sit up and watch the fire.
" Not that he thought there was a ha'porth of
danger, but, Lord bless them ! the misthress and the
childre 'ud be frightened." Poor old man ! he had
a true Irish heart, with an air of better days long
vanished, and a deep loyalty to " thirn of the ould

136 A Trip to Manitoba.
stock ;" and his boasts of grandeur and valiant deeds
were mingled with childlike credulity.
The fire was at its height about midnight, and had
reached a large tree in a line with our house, when
the wind from the lake caught and drove it back.
The underbrush soon burned out, but the trees were
like pillars of flame, crackling and roaring in the silent
night, till they fell with a crash to the ground. Half
roused by thenoise,old Cahill would mutter something
about keeping watch until the master came home.
The old fellow had wrapped himself in his great coat,
and was sitting on a chair in the yard sound asleep.
Fearing that he might catch cold, I woke him, but he
treated the insinuation that he had slept a wink with
such indignant contempt that I had to leave him to
take his chance. The fire burnt itself out before day
light, and we felt as if we had made more fuss than
was necessary, when Mr. C  and the men arrived
after four hours' hard paddling. About Ingolf the
fires raged so fiercely that the engineers there moved
all their valuable instruments and papers into the
canoes, and left the shanty to its fate ; a change in
the wind, however, saved it, driving the flames back
when the walls were scorching.

CHAPTER XI.
Irish Wit — Bears ? — Death on the Red Pine Lake — A Grave
in the Catholic Cemetery — The First Dog-train — A
Christmas F6te — Compulsory Temperance — Contraband
Goods — The Prisoner wins the Day — Whiskey on the Is
land — The Smuggler turned Detective — A Fatal Frolic —
" Mr. K  's Legs."
tHE chimneys in Mr. C  's house were built of
mud, and one of them, which smoked when
ever a fire was lighted, had to be pulled down and re
built. The workmen, who were of various nation
alities — Carriere an Indian, old Cahill an Irishman,
a Scotchman, and a Mennonite, who thumped the
mud mortar with a dogged perseverance that was
quite amusing — were all engaged on this chimney.
One day I heard CarriSre contradict an assertion of
Cahill's with regard to the work, calling it " a d — d
lie !" Stepping back from the foot of the ladder on
which Carriere stood, the old Irishman lifted his
Btraw hat with the air of a courtier, and replied po-

138 A Trip to Manitoba.
litely, " Carriere, ye're a gintleman ! an' that s an
other." Before the chimney was quite finished, Mr. and
Mrs. C  went down to Keewatin to spend a few
days, leaving me with the maid and old Cahill to
superintend the house-cleaning ; and many a half-
hour's amusement had I, listening to the old man's
reminiscences of Ireland. When he found that I
knew and took an interest in many of the people in
his country his delight was unbounded. The height
of his ambition seemed to be to have " tin min
under him," and his greatest trial was " huntin' thim
tarmints of cows." He was the butt of all the jokes
and tricks in the camps round, yet he took every
thing good-naturedly; "the boys must have their
laugh sometimes" being his only comment. He said
he was only thirty-seven, but, according to his own
account, he had been "kept at school till he was
sixteen, lived tin years on the Knight o' Glynne's
estate, and gone fishin' with him in the Shannon,
been twinty-five years with Colonel Kitchener in
Limerick, siven years undher Mr. Usborne of Arn-
prior Canady West, and knew the Ottawa as well

Irish Wit. 139

as any man, two years with his brother in Michigan
and two years in Keewatin, and all the fault of the
editor of the Ottawa Times newspaper, for praisin'
up the country and tellin' lies about the wages."
Cahill always dressed in his best on Sunday.
How he managed to get up his white shirts was a
mystery. To be sure, one was made to last several
Sundays, for when one side got dirty he turned the
other out. The navvies called him the forest ranger,
because he always took the gun with him when he
went for the cows, and each day as he passed the
shanties on his way back empty-handed, they chaffed
him about his want of sport. One evening he re
turned as usual, apparently empty-handed, but
coming into the kitchen for the milk-pails, he pro
duced from his pockets five partridges and four
pigeons. When I asked him why he did not cany
them to show the men that he did shoot something
sometimes, he gave me a knowing look and said,
" Shure, I wouldn't give thim that satisfaction."
We were glad of the game, as a change from the
continual salt meat and fish, being unable to get
fresh meat until November, and then only Montana

140 A Trip to Manitoba.
beef. The second year the contractor bought only
Canadian cattle. The difference in the meat is very
great, the one being hard and full of thread-like
sinews, the other juicy and tender.
One evening in September before the mail went
out, I was sitting up late writing letters, when Mrs.
C  in a frightened tone called me to " listen to
that queer noise" — a crunching, rustling sound from
the rocks west of the house, just as if some heavy
animal was making its way through the underbrush
and dry moss. Rumours of the vicinity of bears
had reached us that day, and we jumped at once to
the conclusion that Bruin was upon us. What was
to be done ? We were quite certain the poor calf,
tethered to a stump on the grass plot, would fall an
easy victim. Then all the windows were wide open
downstairs, and we did not think it probable Biaiin
would respect the mosquito-netting sufficiently for
us to depend upon it as a defence. Mr. C  and
the men were away down the line, and the doctor,
who had come in that day, was enjoying a slumber,
from which it seemed cruel to disturb him after his
hard'day's tramp. However, as the noise increased,

Bears ? 141
and seemed nearer every moment, it had to be done.
Did you ever try to wake a very sound sleeper,
making apparently noise enough to awaken the dead,
and when about to give it up in despair have him
answer, after your last effort, in a mild, good-
naturedly aggravating tone, which impresses you
with the belief that he has only closed his eyes for
a moment's meditation ? Just so did our excellent
Esculapius. Imploring him to get up, and telling
him that the bears were upon us, I rushed to obey
Mrs. C  , who screamed to me to shut all the
windows. While I was scrambling on to the kitchen
table to reach the last, the doctor appeared, very
much en deshabille, with his hair rumpled and a
general air of incompleteness about him, demanding
the whereabouts of the bear ; and at the same mo
ment Mrs. C  , in her night-dress, leant over the
banisters above, listening with all her ears for the
answer. The absurdity of the whole scene so struck
me that I could scarcely refrain from laughing out
right. Sallying forth, armed with a big stick, the
valiant doctor drove out from behind the wood-pile
on the rock — a large, half-starved dog, who was

142 A Trip to Manitoba.
trying to worry a meal off the dried hide of a de
funct cow !
The night was brilliant; bright moonlight lay
like a long string of diamonds on the bosom of the
lake ; a blue, cloudless sky spread over our heads ;
but far away to the south a great bank of murky
clouds, lined with silver, was momentarily rent by
fierce flashes of forked lightning, followed by the
muttering of distant thunder.
In November a very sad accident occurred, by
which Mr. C  lost one of his staff. The weather
was cold and disagreeable, just the few transition
days between the beautiful Indian summer and clear
Canadian winter. Until then the thermometer had
registered 70° in the shade at noon, but the change
had come suddenly, as it always does in Manitoba,
and in a few days the smaller lakes had frozen over
wholly, but the larger ones only partially. The
mail had been delayed in consequence of there being
no means of passage either by land or water. On
the 10th Mr. W  and Mr. K  dined at Inver,
and the former resisted all persuasions to remain
until the morning, being anxious to reach his station,

Death on the Red Pine Lake. 143
Ingolf , next day in time to intercept the expected
mail-carrier, and feeling sure he could reach the in
termediate station, Kalmar, before dark. He left
about three o'clock. What seeming trifles sometimes
make all the difference between life and death !
That day dinner was half an hour late, an unusual
thing in our punctual house ; and if he had only had
that half -hour more of daylight, his fate would have
been changed. He crossed the first three lakes in
safety upon the ice, and naturally thought that he
should find the fourth equally firm, forgetting that
the sun had been shining on the north side with a
heat doubled by the high, rocky shore. He attempted
to cross, but, alas, never reached the other -side.
The next evening (Saturday), not hearing him
work the telegraph, Mr. K  , who had been de
tained at Inver, asked Kalmar when Mr. W  left,
and the answer that he had not seen him told us the
sad news at once. Next morning at daybreak a
party went in search of the unfortunate man, and
found his body not thirty feet from the shore. His
hat, profile (or map), and the long pole carried by
all who have to cross unsound ice, were floating near.
His. large .boots, which were so strapped round his

144 A Trvp to Manitoba.
waist that it was impossible to get them off, had
kept him down. The lake (Red Pine) is small but
deep, and he had died alone in the forest, with only
the giant rocks around him to echo back his dying
cries. While I write, memory recalls his laughing
air, when telling me that morning how he had tried
to cross the narrows of our lake, but had desisted,
fearing a ducking on such a cold day ; and I, point
ing to his immense boots, said they were scarcely
fit to wear when running such risks. How little I
dreamt what harm they were doomed to do ! His
great-brown eyes, with the sad, far-away look in
them, as if, unknown to himself, they saw into the
future ; his graceful, manly figure, as he sprang up
the hill behind the house, and his cheery " Good-bye,
till I see you again " can never be forgotten.
When the winter roads became passable, they took
him into Winnipeg, and laid him in the Roman
Catholic cemetery there — alone, away from all he
loved, without a kindly hand to tend his last resting-
place. His death cast a gloom over all our party.
Though grieving for him and missing him continually,
we could never realize that he was really dead. And
the knowledge that it was so even to us made our

The First Dog-train. 145
hearts fill with sympathy for one far away, to whom
the sad tidings would have more than the bitterness
of death.
Our great excitement after winter had set in in
earnest was the arrival of the first dog-train. Hear
ing the shrill " Marsh-sha " (Marcha) of the driver,
we all rushed to the window to see the pretty beasts,
in their gaily-worked saddle-cloths and merry bells,
come down the hill ; then, when a halt was called,
to watch them sit down on their haunches and look
proudly about them, as if quite aware of the interest
they excited. The taboggans they drew were not
heavily laden, and as far as I can judge from my
limited experience, the dogs are invariably kindly
treated by their drivers ; all looked well fed and in
good condition. During the summer, and sometimes
in the winter, when the poor Indians themselves are
more than half -starved, it is little wonder that the
dogs fare as badly as their masters, and look lean
and miserable.
The winter of 1878 was mild and open, more so
than had been known in the North- West for thirty
years. The snow had vanished almost completely
from thjj portages, and w?t"*- -c~~: ;d the ice on

146 A Trip to Manitoba.
many of the lakes. When at Christmas, the staff
accepted Mrs. C  's invitation to spend the day
at Inver, the question was whether they would come
with dogs or canoes ? Neither, however, were practi*
cable, and they had to walk — some of them eighteen
miles. We amused ourselves icing the cake, invent
ing devices, with the aid of scraps of telegraph wire,
as supports for the upper decorations, decorating the
house with cedar and balsam wreaths, and providing
as good a dinner as it was possible to obtain in the
woods. With the exception of having nothing for
our guests to drink, we succeeded tolerably well.
Being within the limits of prohibitory laws, it was
necessary to ask the Lieutenant-Governor of Mani
toba for an especial " permit " to have wine sent
out; and we were answered that, "if the men had
to do without whisky, the gentlemen might do with
out wine." So we had to content ourselves -with
half a glass of sherry each, the remains of some
smuggled out with our luggage in the spring.
We soon had proof that the men rebelled against
the prohibitory law. The presence of whisky be
ing suspected in a neighbouring camp, a constable
who had been but recently appointed, and was an-

Compulsory Temperance. 147
xious to show his zeal, never rested until he had dis
covered the smuggler and brought him to justice ;
the clause that the informer was entitled to half the
fine of fifty dollars not diminishing his ardour.
To a lawyer the proceedings would have been
amusing, for all parties concerned were novices in
their respective rdles. The justice of the peace, with
a great idea of his own importance, the majesty of
the law, and the necessity for carrying it out to the
the letter, had obtained several manuals for the
guidance of county justices of the peace, and stipen
diary magistrates, over the technicalities of which he
spent many a sleepless hour. No sooner had he
mastered the drift of one Act, than the next repealed
so many of its clauses that the poor man became
hopelessly bewildered. Handcuffs there were none,
neither was there a lock-up, and the constable spent
his time in keeping guard over the prisoner, being
paid two dollars a day for the service. The latter
was fed and housed, and, not having been overbur
dened with work or wages for some time, did not ob
ject to the incarceration.
Ultimately he was tried, found guilty, and fined

148 A Trip to Manitoba.
fifty dollars or a month in jail. Many arguments
arose between magistrate and constable, as the latter,
having served in the United States, and there learned
a smattering of Yankee law, was resolved to make
his voice heard in the case. The inability of the
prisoner to pay the fine of course made it necessary,
to fall back upon the alternative — thirty days in jail,
which jail was a hundred and odd miles off. There
was no conveyance to take him thither ; and no roads
even if there had been ; and the man refused to walk.
" If I had the money I'd pay the fifty and have
done with it," he said ; "but, not having it, I can't
do it. If I am to go to jail, all right — take me ; but
whoever heard of a man walking there of his own
accord ? " and he whittled away at the stick in his
hand, feeling that he was master of the situation. Be
ing remanded until the next day, to keep up some sem
blance of proper procedure, he went away quite con
tentedly, only to return the next day and the next
to repeat the same farce. At last both magistrate.
and constable began to look rather tired, while the
prisoner, on the contrary was quite at ease. The
wire was down between us and Winnipeg, and no ad-

The Smuggler turned Detective. 149
vice could be obtained. So at last the constable,
agreeing to forfeit his share of the fine, and the magis
trate to take a time-bill on the contractor for the re
maining twenty-five dollars, they let the man go,
neither of them, I am sure, seeing him depart with
regret. The next whisky seizure that occurred in the
neighbourhood was a small two-gallon keg, found in
the middle of a barrel of sugar. The load was owned
by one man and driven by another, whose consterna
tion at finding he was a holder of contraband goods
was so genuine that the authorities thought empty
ing the whisky on the snow was sufficient punish
ment — and possibly dreading a repetition of the last
trial — let the man go.
Soon afterwards several kegs of whisky were found
on an island in the Lake of the Woods. The owner
gave himself up, and entered the service of the con
tractor as especial whisky detective, and such was
his vigilance, that no whisky ever passed him. He
was quite impartial, not letting even our mail bags
go unquestioned, and so was not disliked. During his
term the line was quiet and orderly; but, unfor-

150 A Trip to Manitoba.
tunately, he went into Winnipeg on leave, shot a
youth belonging to one of the river steamers in a
drunken frolic, and was convicted of the murder.
One day, hearing a very preremptory-sounding
knock at the door — a knock at any time being an
event — I opened it . in haste, to see a short, jaunty-
looking man, red-haired, and red-faced, clad in long
stockings drawn well over his trousers, and moccas
ins, a short skin coat tied round his waist with a
red sash, and on his head a long red tuque.
" Good mornin', miss," said this odd apparition.
"I'm come for Mr. K  's legs." Seeing that I had
not the faintest idea of what he meant, he touched
his forehead again. " Please, 'm, Mr. K  sent me
for his legs. He said I'd find them in the office ; "
and the little fellow, who seemed all on springs,
craned his neck round to see into the room. Fairly
puzzled, I stood aside to let him pass ; so in he went,
returning instantly with a tripod on his shoulder.
" Here they are, miss," he said cheerfully. " Much
obliged. Fine day, miss ; " and was off to the lake
before I had recovered my surprise at his amazing
request and his general absurdity.

CHAPTER XII.
Birds of Passage — An Independent Swede — By Sleigh to
Ostersund — A Son of the Forest — Burnt out — A Brave
Canadian Girl — Roughing it in the Shanty — The Kitchen-
tent — Blasting the Rock — The Perils of Nitro-glycerine
— Bitter Jests.
"E had plenty of strange visitors ; almost
every day men passing along the line came
in, either to inquire the distance to the next shanty, or
to ask for a meal or a drink of milk. Some showed
a friendly disposition, and would entertain us with
their full family history. Others, with many pro
fessions of gratitude for our kindness, would eat
enough to last them a week, one would suppose, and
go on their way. Others, more taciturn and inde
pendent, took their refreshment in silence, and of
fered to pay for what they received. One in par
ticular, a tall, slight man, rather advanced in years,
came in one morning, and made us understand by

152 A Trip to Manitoba.
signs that he was hungry. When the meal was put
before him he sat down, took his hat off — this was
something unusual — and upon every offer of more
edibles bowed his thanks with much dignity. He
could speak neither English nor French, and looked
like a Swede. When his repast was finished, he of
fered by signs to mend shoes as payment. Thinking
that he was begging for shoes, we screamed, as every
one so oddly does to foreigners — as if it made our
language any more intelligible to them — that we
had none for him. Seeing we did not understand
him, he sat down and went through the pantomime
of mending shoes. Still shaking our heads, as we
had no shoes to be mended, he, after fumbling in his
pockets, produced a quarter, which he pressed us all
in turn to take. In vain we tried to make him un
derstand that his breakfast was a gift ; going away
a step or two, he came back again and again, still
offering the quarter. At last, out of all patience,
Mr. C  ordered him off the premises. The
stranger went up the hill, but lingered, until the
coast was clear, to put the quarter on the ice at the
door. Then, thinking perhaps that it might not be

By Sleigh to Ostersund. 153
seen there by the right people, he stuck it into a
crevice between two logs in the shed, and went away
whistling merrily, his pride relieved of his obliga
tion, as well as his pocket of his money.
Towards the end of the winter, the sleighing be
ing a little better on the portages, we drove to Os
tersund, the nearest house east of us. It was Sun
day, the 3rd of March, and a bright, clear, cold day.
Our conveyance was a sort of combination arrange
ment of a long, low platform with one seat, on two
bob-sleighs, which platform turned on a pivot inde
pendent of the sleighs. This was supposed to be
an invention that lessened the bumps and swings
experienced by the traveller, who was jolted over
the hills and hollows of the rough roads. Rough,
indeed, they were — up and down steep hills, among
and over huge boulders thrown out by the blasts in
adjacent cuttings, along the edge of narrow rocks,
where Carrie're had to hold on to the sleigh on one
side, to keep it from swinging round, and down the
face of the jagged cliff, into such deep gullies, that
it was a wonder we were not tipped over on the
horse's back, or left behind, when he went up the

154 A Trip to Manitoba.
ascent. The problem that chiefly occupied me dur-
this wild huntsman-like ride was : If the combina
tion sleigh were indeed a success, what would my
sensations have been without it ?
On the lakes the road was smooth and delightful,
and our old broken-down steed supplied by the
Government, derisively dubbed " Pegasus " by Mrs.
C  , achieved something approaching a trot. Poor
thing ! its hide had become so hardened by former
cruel treatment, that there was no spot on which the
whip had the least effect. We were accompanied
by the usual number of dogs, who ran yelping after
the rabbits in all directions. On one of the portages
we passed an old Indian, clad in a long blue blanket-
coat, with a red sash round his waist, and beaded
leggings, and moccasins ; his long hair was tied back,
and a red silk handkerchief was loosely knotted
round his brow. He leant upon his old brown gun,
and the tall trees, through whose leafless branches
the sunshine fell in long streaks on the snow and
moss, formed a fitting background for his gaunt
figure. Unheeding the hoarse barking of the dogs,
he replied to Carri^re's " Bon jour " with a guttural

Burnt Out. 155

" Bon jour, nitchee ; " but until we were out of sight
remained in the same attitude.
On the 26th of March, an event happened which
startled us all out of the even tenor of our lives.
Between ten and eleven in the morning, the roof of
our house caught fire from the kitchen chimney, and
having no engine or fire extinguisher about the prem
ises, we were houseless, with scarcely anything to
call our own, in half an hour. The moment we dis
covered the fire, we ran to the nearest cutting, where
there were twenty men, to ask their assistance.
After vainly attempting to get at the fire by chop
ping away the roof, they could do nothing but save
as much property as possible. Mrs. C  was at
Kalmar, and being too excited to remain inactive, I
deposited the children in the contractor's shanty,
persuading them to stay there until I returned, and
went back to the house to save what I could. I
had plenty of assistance. Never did men work
better. I have seen many a fire in crowded
cities, where engines and hundreds of people were
at hand, without half the proportionate amount
of goods being saved; and what was rescued

156 A Trip to Manitoba.
from the flames was not destroyed by rough hand
ling. The house was built of logs; the crevices being
stuffed with moss, and lined with thick brown paper,
the seams of the latter covered with a narrow bead
ing of pine. The roof was lined with tar-paper,
which made a dense and blinding smoke. It had
been built a year, and was so dry that it burnt like
a tinder-box. The cook, a bright, pretty Canadian girl, in her
anxiety to save her kitchen utensils, was caught by
the flames, getting her eyebrows and hair singed
while making a final dash for the boiler ; and in the
long weeks that followed before it could be replaced
she never ceased to lament her failure. She was
worth ten men, and saved many things which we
did not think of at the time, but should have found
it difficult to do without afterwards.
We were a motley group, sitting and standing on
the hill above the creek to watch our house burn to
the ground. Navvies of every nation ; tall, brawny
Scotchmen; jolly-looking Irishmen, their faces a
mixture of pity for our misfortune, and enjoyment

Roughing it in the Shanty. 157
of the " fun ; " stumpy little French Canadians ;
solemn/ stupid-looking Icelanders and Mennonites.
Carriere was there on his crutches. Poor fellow !
standing knee-deep in the lake to cut ice out had
brought on such a severe attack of rheumatism, that
it was with difficulty he moved about at all. We
were surrounded by a. heterogeneous mass of house
hold goods : here a pile of bedding, surmounted by a
looking-glass, there a basket of crockery, glass, and
china ; here a dismantled stove, with the fire yet
burning in it, there a clothes-horse, still covered with
clean clothes ironed that morning. A heap of wear
ing apparel, taken out of some cupboard, lay close
beside one of the stove-pipes. All round the house
were trophies of household furniture, just as they
had been carried out — the baby's cradle full of books
from the drawing-room table, china vases underneath
a heap of dinner plates, and rolls of plans from the
office, blown into every corner of the fences. And
all the time the house blazed on. Then the fire
spread, and ran up the hill at the back, burning the
old ice-house and a large tree, which fell to the
ground-with a crash the moment after the roof fell
K

158 A Trip to Manitoba. n
in. At the same moment a stock of cartridges ex
ploded, and a volley of musketry formed the fitting
finale to our fire.
The poor children, who had hitherto been wonder
fully good and patient, now became so nervous and
frightened that we could scarcely pacify them. Our
old friend, the contractor's superintendent, coming
back to his shanty shortly after the disaster, with
his usual unselfish kindness insisted on giving it up
to us, and going himself into a wretched lean-to
behind the store, until the house could be rebuilt.
It would be difficult to describe the discomfort of
the next few days.
Mrs. C  came home immediately, and we were
all busy sorting out the salvage, retaining what was
necessary to furnish the shanty, and storing the re
mainder in a log-house used as a workshop. How
we raked amongst the still hot embers in the hope
of picking up a relic, or with regretful interest
traced the shape of some favourite object in the
ashes ! As my room was the first burned, I saved
nothing but a few clothes, most of which were com
paratively useless, silk dresses and a log shanty not

Roughing it in the Shanty. 159
being harmonious combinations. All my books,
pictures, jewellery, and those odds and ends which,
though of little money value, had grown priceless
to me from association, were destroyed ; and my
desk also, containing my notes of dates and places,
so that in these pages I have had to trust entirely
to memory.
In dry weather the shanty we now occupied
was a very tolerable one, built of rough logs, their
crevices filled with mud both inside and out ; the
roof was of logs also, but cut in halves, scooped out,
and ingeniously interlaced — thus, vj^^^, to allow
the water to run off. During the cold weather these
logs had been filled with moss, and when the spring
rains began the water settled in places, rotted them,
and came through.
The shanty was divided into three by a partition
reaching half-way to the roof. In the first room
stood one bunk-bed filled with straw, in the second
were two narrow ones, so close together that two
people could not get out of bed at the same time.
One small window, half-way between each room,
gave light to both. There was no door into the outer

160 A Trip to Manitoba.
room, only a vacant space in the partition. In the
centre was an iron stove set in a box of sand. There
were two narrow windows on each side, and the
only door led into the outer world. When we had
made it as comfortable as we could, the outer room
had to be telegraph office (the instrument keeping
up such a continual ticking that we blessed an odd
day when the wire was down) as well as dining-
room. The big table filled up half the width of the
room, and the sideboard a quarter, leaving the re
mainder for the sofa, small tables — under which
were stored boxes and trunks of various sizes — safe,
and chairs. We covered the walls with pictures,
nails whereon to hang everything that would hang,
and small shelves. The matting saved from the hall
covered what was otherwise unoccupied of the
shanty floor. In fine weather it was not all un
pleasant, as the children and I almost lived out of
doors, and even when in the shanty kept our hats
on, ready to go out again the moment our office
was called on the line; as it was impossible to
impress children, aged two and five years respect
ively, with the -fact that their merry chatter and a

The Kitchen-tent. 161

telegraphic message in course of transition were
incompatible. In wet weather, cooped up as we were, with the
roof dripping in a dozen places, their number in
creasing after every storm ; with all our tin pans
called into requisition to catch the falling drops, and
the children feeling it a duty they owed to society
to empty their contents on the floor the moment our
backs were turned ; with the instrument at work,
and the current bad, I was often made desperate
by the utter impossibility of keeping the children
quiet. Rolling them in a shawl, I would rush out
to a tent pitched about ten feet from the shanty
door, and used as a kitchen, rather than endure any
longer the strain upon my nerves in the shanty.
This kitchen-tent had a few rough, heavy planks
for floor, and a stove at one end, with the pipe up
through the canvas, and the ridge pole and uprights
studded with nails, whereon hung cups, jugs, pans,
and tins. Two tables stood under the slanting roof,
with rows of nails beneath to hold irons and every
thing else with a handle. There was a small cup
board in one corrier, and the others were filled with

162 . A Trip to Manitoba.
boxes, barrels, and the maid's trunk. The tent had
been used as a cook-house so often that it was per
forated by small holes made by flying sparks, and to
touch the canvas with one's head was to invoke a
shower-bath. Soaking in wet weather and broiling
in fine, it was anything but a paradise of cooks, yet
it was wonderful how well the maid managed in it,
and how neat and tidy she kept it.
We were always intensely interested in the blast
ing of the cutting about three hundred feet from us.
At the sound of the horn we were on the watch to
see the men run off behind the rock. Then the
smoke curled up, and the report followed, sending
the flying stones well into the air, and in a second
we could hear them rattle down all round us, on the
roof of the shanty and far out into the lake. Hear
ing the horn one day when quite five hundred feet
from the cutting, I turned to watch, believing my
self at a safe distance ; and as I saw the stones fall
ing, and thought it a heavier charge than usual, I
heard the hiss of one fast approaching. Before I
could decide whether to run or not it whizzed past
— so close to my ear that I could feel the wind it

The Perils of Nitro-glycerine. 163
made — and buried itself in the sand not two feet
behind me ; while another fell within a few inches
of my feet in front. Snatching the child who was
with me up in my arms, I took care to get some
distance further up the hill before the next charge
exploded. One of the engineers told me he had seen stones
thrown thirteen hundred feet from a cutting. They
use nitro-glycerine, and have had several serious
accidents while handling it. One poor lad who was
carrying a can weighing fifty pounds up the dump,
tripped, and was blown to atoms ; part of one foot,
stuck in the fork of a tree about a hundred feet off,
being all that was found of him. A man lost his
sight and one arm from merely striking a rock where
some of the horrid stuff had been spilt. Often have
I watched the long train of packers coming down
the hill, each with a can of glycerine on his back,
and wondered how they dared carry it over the
rough roads, knowing that one false step would cost
them their lives. Once when I was out with the
children, the dogs barked furiously at one of these
poor men. Calling them off, I seized the opportun-

164 A Trip to Manitoba.
ity to make some remark about his load. "Ay,
miss ! " he said, sadly and bitterly ; " 'tis a main
(mean) load fur any man to ha' to carry." Yet, in
spite of the danger and the many accidents, I have
heard these packers chaffing each other when pass
ing. " It's a warm day," says one. " That's so ; but
maybe ye'll be warmer 'fore ye're to camp to-night,"
is the reply. " That's so. D'ye want any word
taken to the divil ? " Then again, " Where are ye
bound for, Jack ? " "Toh  , I guess." "Take the
other train, and keep a berth for me, man ! " " Is it
ye're coffin ye're carryin', Pat? " ask another. "Faith,
ye're right ; an' a coroner's inquest into the bargain,
Jim ! " Yet the wretched expression of these very
men proved that they felt the bitterness of death to
be in their jests.

. CHAPTER XIII.
We lose our Cows — Cahill promoted — Gardening on a New
Principled-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.
FEW weeks after the fire, the C  s had
another loss, in the sudden death of two cows.
No cause could be assigned for it; unless there
might have been poison in the wild hay which they
ate, put there by the Indians to kill the foxes. The
difficulty of supplying their place on the line in the
spring made the loss considerable, especially with
children in the house, and no fresh meat attainable.
CarriSre had been so completely laid up with
rheumatism that he had resigned his post, giving
place for our old friend Cahill, who immediately
undertook the charge of the garden, which he said
he nndersteod thoroughly. Looking one day into

166 A Trip to Manitoba.
the hot-beds, which he seemed to have taken much
pride in, I found he had filled more than half the
space with different varieties of onions, and another
part with carraway seeds ! When I asked why he
put them in there, he said —
" Shure, ye couldn't have anything betther nor in-
ions. Many's the thousand I've raised in Ireland,
when I was with Kurnal Kitchener in Limerick."
After the cress had gone to seed, Mrs. C  told
him to take it out, and sow other things in its place.
A little while afterwards, I saw the old fellow trans
planting something very carefully, which proved up
on investigation to be cress. When I told him it
was not worth the trouble, he looked up and said, in
a very indignant tone —
" Throw it away, is it ? Shure, If I'd known that
was all the good it was, it's meself wouldn't have
filled me hot-beds wid it ! The thrash I "
One day he received a very long, narrow parcel
and note through the mail. Early next morning, I
saw the old fellow sitting on a stump in the garden,
carefully spelling over the letter, which did not seem
a long one. When Harry ran up to him, Cahill

The " Governmi/nt Gardner." 167
brought the child back to me, and looking all about
to see that no one else was near, said, in a myster
ious tone —
" See here, Miss F  . I got a parcel be the mail
man yesterday, an' here's the spisification that came
wid it. Would you read it, miss, and till me, who
you think would send it ? I think meself it's a
trick, an' I'll be even wid thim yit." And he handed
me a crumbled piece of paper about four inches
square, on which I read —
" To Michael Cahill, Esq.,
" Office of the Civil Engineer,
' ' Lake Diception.
" Sir, " Hearin' ye were lately appointed Gov-
ernmint gardner, we send a sample of our goods.
Eny orders ye can sind will receive prompt attintion-
" Green and Brown, manufacturing company,
" County of Limerick, • " Ireland."
"Of course it's a joke, Cahill," I said. "But
where's the sample ? "
" Shure, I buried it behind the shanty ; it's a

168 A Trip to Manitoba.
wooden hoe, cut out o' the root of a three. I think I
know who sint it," he went on, drawing near, with
another cautious look around. It was wrapped up
wid some copies of the Otta/wa Citizen newspaper,
an' there are only two min on the line that take it at
all. So ye see I can spot them ! " Fumbling in his
pockets, he produced a scrap of the paper, and, turn
ing it this way and that, discovered some writing
which, upon close inspection, proved to be my own
name. His tormentors had wrapped it in one of the
papers I had lent him,
To describe the old man's wrath and astonishment,
mingled with keen sense of fun (for an Irishman can
see a joke, even against himself), is impossible. I
had little trouble in persuading him that to take no
notice of either parcel or " spisification" would be the
best way to disappoint his foes. Long afterwards,
whenever I met him, he gave me a knowing side
glance of mutual understanding that was irresistible.
In the mean time, the house was fast being re
built on the old site, but on a much improved plan.
The former had been a two-story building of squared
logs, and, to my eyes, an insult to the landscape.

Martin the Builder. 169
The new one, a low cottage of rough logs, seemed to
fit into the valley without marring the view from
any point. The beautiful wooded hill to the north,
which had been completely shut out by the old house,
now formed a lovely background to the cottage, and
garden. The little Frenchman Martin, the master builder,
was another character in his way ; a lively, energetic
little fellow, whose eyes were everywhere. Not the
driving in of a single nail escaped him. Yet, with
all his watchfulness, he did more work than any three
of his men. The habitual use of salt pork and beans,
added to the total absence of vegetable diet during
the long winter and summer, had caused scurvy to
break out among the men, and poor Martin was
suffering very much from it. To keep him in better
health until the house was finished, Mrs. C 
supplied him with potatoes, which he ate raw, sliced
and soaked in vinegar ; and I believe, from a con
versation I overheard between him and one of his
men, that these raw potatoes, bread, and tea con
stituted the man's entire food for the last six weeks
of his work on the line. Many others had not even

170 A Trip to Manitoba.
the potatoes, yet they daily passed the garden, where
lettuces and other vegetables, a cure for their suffer
ings, grew in profusion, and did not take a leaf. I
know, had I been in like position, early training
would have gone to the winds, and the Eighth Com
mandment would have become a dead letter.
We had unusual opportunities of seeing the real
life of a navvy while we lived in the shanty. Our
men came from nearly all parts of the world —
Russia, Sweden, Germany, Holland, Iceland, Ireland,
Great Britain, and the Dominion. There were also
many Scotch and French half-breeds, as well as full-
blooded Indians, among them, the contractors find
ing that associating the various nationalities in camp
was more conducive to peace and obedience than
when a large number of fellow-countrymen formed
a gang. Next to us, in reality under the same roof,
was the store, containing everything a navvy could
want — from hats and boots to pickles and tobacco.
Sunday, the only day off work, was the general
shopping day, and as it was also mail day, the place
was crowded, and the week's news discussed. A
little below the store was another large shanty,

Sunday in Camp. 171
where about a hundred and twenty men lived, the
kitchen ruled over by a tall and rather good-looking
Frenchman, who had lived amongst the Indians at
Fort Frances so long that he spoke their language
as well as they did. " Black Joe,"- as he was gene
rally called, was an authority amongst the men, and
was very fond of a little black poodle, which he
cared for as a child, spending all his leisure moments
in fondling it and teaching it tricks. He had an
assistant named Ironsides, who was not only " cookee,"
but could sew up and dress a cut as well as the
doctor, and his services were very often called into
requisition. Sunday was washing day in camp, too; every tub
was in use, and every low branch or rude fence hung
with the men's clothes. In one place you would see
a man sitting on a stump to have his hair cut ;
< another repairing the week's wear and tear of his
garments. A group of interested listeners lie or sit
round the happy possessor of the latest paper, who
is reading it aloud. Others, of livelier tastes, gather
round an accordion-player, who gives the " Marseil
laise" with the fire and feeling of a true artist. Some

172 A Trip to Manitoba..
hard workers, whose idea of pleasure is perfect rest,
lie on their backs in the sun, with their hats tilted
over their faces, sound asleep, heedless of the roars of
laughter from a cluster of men, to whom old Cahill
is relating one of his most wonderful stories ; others
stand before a small looking-glass hung against a
tree, performing their toilets with immense satis
faction : while more active spirits are on their way
to the lake, with their fishing tackle, for a long day's
sport. Card-playing was forbidden in camp. Of course
there were a few who gambled in defiance of orders,
but when detected they were at once dismissed by
the Superintendent, who declared that they ought
not to profane the Sabbath. Mr. R  was strict,
and apparently severe with the men, yet he was a
general favourite. He avowed one day that he
could manage any number of men, but the "weemin
were beyond him." The contractor had tried em
ploying women cooks, believing that they would be
more economical than the men ; but those he engaged
were such a trouble to look after, that he declared
«' either he or thim weemin would have to leave the

« 7-10's Leap." • 173

line." One woman cook was called by the men
"7-10," from her great size, and her camp being at
7-10 station. On her way across the Lake of the
Woods after her dismissal, the big steamer, as usual,
ran on a rock, and the passengers had to be trans
ferred to a row-boat large enough to hold thirty
people. " 7-10" refusing assistance, and attempting,
to jump into the boat, jumped completely over it,
and was dragged out of the water by the laughing
crew, who dubbed the rock " 7-10's Leap."
Mr. C  had all the stores of provisions which
were saved from the fire put into a small root-house
under the north hill. The ice in the lakes having
broken up unusually early the bad state of the roads
during the winter made it necessary for all supplies
brought on the contract to be "packed" — that is,
carried on men's backs. Each man being paid two
dollars a day, and not averaging more than sixteen
miles, made this a very expensive process ; conse
quently our supplies became' valuable, only what
was absolutely indispensable being sent for till
the Dawson road was passable and the steamer
running.

174 A Trip to Manitoba.
One morning I saw Cahill peering into the root-
house, and evidently watching something with great
interest. Then he ran to the shanty for his gun,
and my curiosity being aroused, I inquired what was
the matter. Touching the brim of his old straw hat,
he replied, " Shure, it's fine prey I've got to shoot
this mornin', Miss F  . As beautiful a skunk as
ever ye see !" and levelling the gun, he was about to
shoot, when memories of former odours made me
implore him to desist. "But he'll ate all the pork!"
the old fellow remonstrated, much aggrieved at be
ing deprived of so fine an opportunity of displaying
his prowess. I assured him that, if let alone, the
" beautiful skunk" would go quietly away when he
had enjoyed a good meal ; but, if disturbed, he would
use his natural weapon of defence, and destroy every
thing in the root-house. But —
'' A man convinced against his will
Is of the same opinion still,"
and old Cahill, though he shouldered his weapon
and walked away, grumbled as he went. We paid
frequent visits to the root-house that morning to
see if the intruder had gone, but he did not leave

Mrs. Bucketee. 175

until the middle of the second day. Skunks, or
polecats, are not numerous in that part of the
country. The dogs sometimes came in from a hunt
very strongly scented by them, but, with the excep
tion of our visitor, we never saw one about the
premises. They abound in prairies and swampy
grounds, and when attacked the odour they emit is
overpowering and indescribable; without exception
the worst that ever assailed our nostrils.
As the spring wore on we spent the brightening
days in gathering wild-flowers, going fishing, and
repeating the weekly routine of a quiet life in the
woods. The weather grew hotter, the flies more
plentiful, and our highest gratification seemed to be
to make a good smudge in the evening, sit round it,
and talk. How gladly we welcomed the first straw
berries and blueberries -which pretty Mrs. Bucke
tee, as we called her, brought to us ! She got the
name from always being hungry (bucketee) when
she came, and she laughed merrily one day when
called so inadvertently. We ourselves went out and
gathered several pailsful from the rocks on the first
portage. Blueberries, or huckleberries as they are

176 A Trip to Manitoba.
called in Ontario, grow much larger in the North-
West than I ever saw them elsewhere, being some
times as large as small Delaware grapes. The little
bushes grow thickly in the crevices of the rock, and
are so completely covered with fruit that their tiny
leaves are scarcely visible. They have a beautiful
bloom upon them when fresh, and are cool and delici
ous to the taste.
Summer swiftly passed and the time drew near
when I was to leave Lake Deception, and, after stay
ing a day or two at each of the other houses on the
line, turn my steps eastward, back to what my
friends called civilized life. It was not without
many a heartache that I bade good-bye to the wee
bairns whom I loved so dearly, knowing that, though
my regrets might be lifelong, in their childish hearts
the pain of parting would-be but the grief of an
hour.

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.
tHE 27th of August dawned sultry and oppres
sive, but having decided to leave Inver for a
long-promised visit to Ostersund on that day, and
feeling that if I did not get the parting with the
children over at once I should never succeed in
going away at all, I determined to carry out my in
tention, although by doing so I was obliged to fore
go the pleasure of visiting Kalmar, which I regretted
very much.
Mr. K  and Mr. F  came for me. about two
o'clock, and sending the man on with my travelling-

178 A Trip to Manitoba.
bag, I prepared to enjoy the first long walk I had
taken since I left Ontario. From the top of the east
rock I took my last look at the spot where I had
spent nearly sixteen months, on which I shall always
look back with kindly memories. Clinging to the
rough railing, and walking quickly over the floating
logs, we were soon across the boom in Lake Decep
tion, and over the first short portage to Lake Beau-
Beau — or " Champagne Charlie " Lake — a beautiful
sheet of water, with several pretty islands, along
whose southern shore the Canada Pacific'Railway
line runs.
Catching sight of a boat, which probably belonged
to a gang of men who were at work with pulleys, re
moving great fragments of rock from a cutting near,
Mr. F  took possession of it, and we rowed across,
ignoring the fatigue of the poor navvies, who after
a hard day's work, would have to walk round the
lake to recover their property.
On the opposite shore part of the trail lay through
a long, narrow valley, where it became such a mere
path that two could not walk abreast ; then it passed
over such lofty hills, and into such sudden dips of

Lake Lulu. 179

valley land, that one could not help speculating as to
the immense cost of filling up and levelling to bring
the line to a proper grade. We skirted the shores
of Lake Lulu, whose blue waters glistened in the
afternoon sun, as we caught a momentary glimpse
through the trees of a tiny hill, where a clear fresh
spring tempted us to sit on the gnarled trunk of a
fallen tree and refresh ourselves. How small we felt
by involuntary comparison with the gigantic rock
towfering above our heads, or even with the huge
fragments thrown out and scattered at its base ! I
wonder if future ages will look upon these blocks of
stone as we do upon Stonehenge, and conjecture with
what powerful weapons we ancients could have
moved them from their bed, and thrown them head
long into the lovely dell.
I should like to linger over the delightful three
weeks I spent at Ostersund, and describe in detail
the tranquil pleasures of every day. How we sat
working with the children, through long, quiet morn
ings, on the small space cleared in front of the house,
or wandered through the woods in search of mosses
and ferns ; how we went for long paddles on Lake

180 A Trip to Manitoba.
Lulu, either in the bright afternoon, when we took
the children with us over to the island garden, return
ing with supplies of ripe red tomatoes, or in the clear,
silent evenings, when we pushed out the canoe in any
direction — for all were charming — watching the
glowing sunset die beyond the hills, and the Indian
camp fires wake to life along the shores.
One of the strangest thunderstorms I ever saw
raged while I was at Ostersund. The whole day had
been warm, and as night fell the air became sultry,
and the sky assumed a leaden hue. Directly west
of us, the only bit of horizon we could see was across
the line of railway ; on either side of this, high
wooded rocks, some few hundred feet from the line,
dropped to a much lower level than that on which
the house stood, and beyond the brow of this de
clivity the sky had the appearance of a huge fire,
whose bright-red flames shot up into great clouds of
rolling, whirling smoke, their inky hue gradually
expanding until the whole sky became covered. Still
the flames raged on in a weird stillness broken only
by the sound of rushing wind, the crackling and
swaying of branches, or ajow, distant moan that

Strange Casualty at the Ravine. 181
warned us the storm was on its way. For more than
half an hour we watched the horizon, scarcely believ
ing that tys strange hue was not really the reflection
of fire in the woods, till, with the report as of a
thousand cannon crashing on all sides, and the fierce
blast of a tornado;' the storm was upon us. It spent
itself, however, in that one blast ; the red light grad
ually paled and died, stars peeped through the riven
clouds, and the muttering thunder rolled away to
the south.
A culvert was being built close to the house, and
we took the greatest interest in the proceedings of
all concerned — from the oxen, with their tinkling
bells, labouring up the steep with the heavy timbers
in tow, to the sad-faced contractor and his jovial,
good-looking partner. As I stood one morningwatch-
ing the latter go up with a springing step to the top,
to superintend the placing of abeam, I saw the chain
below snap, and at the same instant the huge beam
swung round, striking the < contractor, who, with a
groan, fell headlong to the bottom of the ravine — a
distance of twenty feet. Instantly half a dozen men
sprang down and pulled him up, while another ran

182 A Trip to Manitoba.
for Mr. K  , who telegraphed for the doctor. Most
fortunately a cross stick against which the poor man
struck had broken his fall, and except for a few
bruises and the shock he was unhurt, and back at
work again in a few days.
I fingered on at Ostersund until I heard that my
Heavy luggage had arrived at Keewatin, via Clear
Water Bay and the Lake of the Woods, having had
a narrow escape on its way over the portage. The
horse ran away, and dragged the cart over a number
of nitro-glycerine cans. The driver fled in terror,
but returned sometime afterward, and was astonished
to find an atom of either horse, cart or luggage re
maining. The driver was not wanting in bravery
either, for a few days before, the left wheel of his
cart had come in contact with a stump and turned
over, the whole weight of the horse's body falling
upon the man. Knowing that the load in the cart
was too heavy for the horse to raise unassisted, and
that if he struggled he would be pounded to death,
he had the presence of mind to seize the brute by
the ear, and hold his head to the ground until assis
tance came — an hour and a half afterwards — when

How to Carry a Canoe. 183
the poor fellow was too exhausted and numbed to
get up.
As it was necessary that I should repack my lug
gage before sending it to Winnipeg, I was obliged to
tear myself away from Ostersund, hoping to see my
friends again before I left the contract altogether.
This hope, however, was not fulfilled, and it was a
last- farewell I took of them as they stood on the
rustic wharf, while Mr. K  pushed off the birch
bark canoe in which I was lounging. Paddling
along the east shore, rather close in, as the lake was
rough we soon reached the portage to Middle Lake.
Lifting the canoe well out of the water, and turning
it over, Mr. K  raised it above his head ; then
slipping the paddles on his shoulders, and across the
bars of the canoe, he carried it with ease up the
steep bank and down the hill to the other lake. In
this way Indians will carry, or as they call it, " por
tage," their canoes for long distances. Middle Lake
is long, narrow, and swampy-looking, less pretty
than any we crossed on our way out. Leaving the
canoe at the next portage well drawn in under the
trees, and the paddles carefully hidden in the under-

184 A Trip to Manitoba.
brush, lest any stray traveller should take advantage
of it, we walked the remaining two miles to Dar
lington Bay.
The heavy rains of the week before had made
parts of the track very wet, but by jumping from
one log to another, and utilizing stones scattered
from the cuttings, we managed to cross very well.
One of the most beautiful spots is where the line
crosses War Eagle Rock Lake. Until on the very
brow of the rocky, perpendicular shore, one does not
suspect the existence of a lake, and when nearly
there I laughed as Mr. K  asked how wide a lake
I thought there was between us and the trail lead
ing through some trees apparently close by. A mo
ment later I paused in astonishment. At our feet,
full sixty feet below, lying between two walls of
rock, which looked as though an earthquake had
rent it apart to leave space for the sparkling
water, was the lake of the romantic name. Below
the boom, which is eighty feet across, the breach
widened, leaving space for a tiny rocky island with
•only - sufficient ¦ foliage upon it to make it pic
turesque — a natural fortress to guard the opening

Darlington Bay. 185

into the broad beautiful sheet of water which lay
beyond. A blacksmith's forge hidden amid the trees, with
the brawny smith singing over his work, was the
only object of interest we passed before reaching
Darlington, the contractor's head-quarters, where
Mr. K  was to leave me.
The bay is an arm of the waters of the Winnipeg
River, about three miles from its outlet — a low,
swampy-looking place. There is a cluster of shan
ties for the men, and another serving as offices, with
a remnant of civilization in one narrow window,
in the shape of a doctor's sign ; which hangs crooked,
however, as if ashamed of the bad company it has
got into. Further on are two log-houses with rather
more pretension to comfort about them, where the
contractor and chief engineer lived. I remained
two days with Mrs. W  , the contractor's wife.
whose kind hospitality will never be forgotten by
me, and went on to> Keewatin on Saturday evening.
Mr. F  's house there is built on the top of the
high, rocky land which commands a view of the
Lake of the Woods and the Winnipeg River, and is

186 A Trip to Manitoba.
close to the portage path over which Lord and Lady
Dufferin and their party crossed when on their trip
through Manitoba the previous summer, camping at
night on the shores of the river.
After spending Sunday morning in packing bag
gage to be sent by the Dawson route, we went for
a paddle up to the rapids. When the canoe had
taken us as far as possible, we got out and clambered
over the rocks into the foam. The mouth of the
Winnipeg is divided into two channels by a large
island ; the lower, on which we were, is a succession
of rapids each more beautiful than the last. Skirt
ing the shore through a pretty, wooded path, we
reached a bare hill above the highest rapid. At our
feet the water ran smooth and clear round a bend
on the river below. A little further it dashed
against great rocks, sending the spray whirling in
clouds over their heads where jagged edges fretted
it as it passed, or forming clear, deep, dark pools be
tween their smooth and solid sides. Then it swirled
round a tiny island, beyond which a long ridge of
piled-up rocks stretched its bare sides almost across
the stream, as though to stay its impetuous course.

A Paddle to the Rapids. 187
The varied expanse of water, framed in overhanging
trees, and rocks which rose black against the glow
ing sky, while the setting sun tinted every jet of
spray with crimson and gold, formed a picture I
would have liked to carry away with me in more
than memory. Over many of the deep pools there
were long poles with baited lines, and there, too,
the Indians catch large fish with both spear and net.
Half a mile above the rapids we reached the par
tially bored tunnel through the island which divides
the river, the rocks blasted out being used to fill up
the embankment at the crossing. A few days before,
this spot had been the scene of a narrow escape from
drowning. Two gentlemen, who attempted to cross
in a birch-bark canoe too near the rapids, were
caught by the eddy round the point ; the canoe was
capsized, and went to pieces over the first rapid,
while the canoeists, with great difficulty, swam to
the further shore, striking it only a few feet above
the rapid — barely enough to save their lives.
Returning from the tunnel, we went into a low-
roofed shanty, lately occupied by a family of nine.
Its accommodation consisted of bunks built into the

188 A Trip to Manitoba.
wall for beds, with some dirty hay in them, a smoky
mud chimney, a hole dug in the middle of the mud
floor to let off the water that dripped through the
roof, and the door hanging loose on its dried skin
hinges. There was no window, and but for the
many gaps between the logs of the walls, the inmates
must have had very little air.
On Sunday, the 29th of September, soon after
seven o'clock in the morning, loaded with wraps,
satchel-bags, and baskets, our travelling party was
on the way down a muddy hill to the little tug
awaiting it. Our old friend, Captain W  , greeted
us enthusiastically, and busied himself in improvis
ing seats for us with our bags and bale of blankets.
The little tug had been built by the captain's own
hands, and he naturally thought a great deal of it ;
but in our eyes it seemed the shakiest-looking craft
we had ever been afloat in. Blackened with smoke,
exposure, and hard usage, it was yet thoroughly
seaworthy, and although it rolled about until well
under weigh, was not uncomfortable. The stern
was roofed, but the rain drove in at the open sides,
until we stretched some waterproofs across from one

The Captain's Tug, 189
upright to another. The engine fires underneath,
where the energetic one-eyed stoker was not sparing
of fuel, made it very warm, and before long I found"
my way round the tiny wheel-house to the bow, and
settling myself as comfortably as I could upon a saw-
horse, enjoyed my trip over the lake in spite of the
drizzling rain.
As we passed the Hudson Bay Company's post at
Rat Portage, the man at the wheel pointed out the
channel he would take when carrying supplies for
the work on the next portion of the Canada Pacific
Railway, which would " likely be worked next
year ; " and the confident tone of monopoly of the
traffic on the lake with which the man spoke raised
vague speculations as to the mine of wealth this little
creaky boat must be to the four men who built and
worked it, their expenditure being literally confined
to their own provisions, the oil burned in their lan
terns, and the cost of cutting the wood for fires.
A long canoe, paddled by two grinning young
squaws, shot out from the company's post, and for
a time kept alongside us. About nine we entered
the Narrows, a passage only just wide enough to
M

190 A Trip to Manitoba.
allow the tug to pass, and were quickly in the Lake
of the Woods. I tried before to recall the impression
made by the beauties of this exquisite lake, when
crossing it for the first time. Its islands and shores
were then clad in all the young verdure of the
spring ; now they wore all the glory of the autumn,
in hues of crimson, yellow, red, and gold — -dark pines
blending with and forming backgrounds to the love
liest scenes that painter ever traced or pen described.
As I sat on the old saw-horse, vainly endeavouring
to grasp all the beauty around, the man at the wheel
told me the legends of each point and island, gathered
from the Ojibbeways during his life among them.
If any unwary traveller ran his canoe on yonder
great dark island, closely wooded to the shore, brav
ing the wrath of the Mutaha Manito (Bad Spirit),
who claimed it as his own, storms would be sent
over the lake by the offended deity, wrecks and
misery alone appeasing him. A Pale-face once, scorn
ing the warning of the Redskin, had landed there,
and even dared to build a fire on its shores ; but
before the sun again set he found an unknown grave
in the great lake. Never in the memory of the

The Abode of Snalces. 191
Indians had such a terrific storm raged as after the
perpetration of the impious act.
Further on we saw, in a broad expanse of water,
a long, narrow, lonely island, its trees low and
stunted, its underbrush so matted that it would
seem impenetrable, where the Kitchee Manito (Great
Spirit), grieving that the likeness of the Mutaha
Manito, the Kennebeck (serpent), should trouble
his children when upon the chase, or in their homes
in the good land he had given them, and yet too
merciful to destroy, sent his messengers in the silent
night to gather all the serpents together. He gave
them this island to live in, bidding his children
leave them unmolested. And the poor Indian, in
his gratitude, has never disobeyed the behest.
Another beautiful island is the resting-place of the
Great Spirit when he pays his rare visits to earth,
and the Indian leaves upon its shores his choicest
fish of the first catch of the season, and the first-
fruits of the chase as his oblation. Another green
hilly island is the grave of the braves, where they
are laid until the spirits come to lead them to the
happy hunting-grounds.

CHAPTER XV.
Clear Water Bay transformed— Cahill's Farewell — Ptarmigan
Bay — ANight underCanvas — "No more Collars or Neck
ties ! " — 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.
HOWARDS noon we turned westward into Clear
Water Bay, and were soon at the landing. How
changed from the night we landed here nearly a
year and a half before ! Then it was only a forest
traversed by a narrow path; now the scene is
crowded with a log storehouse and well-used roads,
several shanties, piles of glycerine cans, a barge
waiting the arrival of the tug, swarms of boats and
canoes, and groups of navvies standing round the
storehouse, whence we hear the twang of a rudely
played, but not unmusical, violin: Indians and
squaws, beside their wigwams, complete the picture.

Cahill's Farewell. 193
Here we met our old friend Cahill, who came on
board to say good-bye. He had been away hay
making when I left Lake Deception, and I regretted
not seeing him. He had made up his mind to leave
the country and return to Ontario. In despair be
cause he had not his two trunks with him, so that
he could accompany us, he implored us to wait until
he went and fetched them, and when we tried to
explain that we should have no means of conveying
his trunks he drew himself up and informed us with
dignity that he could afford to pay his way like any
other honest man, But at last, understanding that
our mode of travelling would preclude any such
weighty baggage as trunks, he bade us farewell and
a hearty God-speed, muttering as he walked away
that he would not be long after us in "this God
forsaken counthry, that all the gintlefolks were
lavin'." I have never heard if he carried out his
•threat, but wherever he may end his days, I am
sure his kind Irish heart will be unchanged.
Taking the barge in tow and our Indians — Car-
rie're, who was to act as guide, and a merry Iroquois
named Frank Saddler — •coming on board, we steamed

194 A Trip to Manitoba.
out of Clear Water Bay, and in the fast-falling rain
reached our landing place, a large rock on a sandy,
wooded shore, whence we were to make our first
portage into Ptarmigan Bay. The captain let the
tug run close up to this rock, and with little diffi
culty we disembarked on a spot that seemed to lead
nowhere. Bidding us a cordial good-bye, good
luck, and speedy return all round, the jolly old
skipper left us, and we watched the little tug, with
the barge hugged close alongside to keep it off the
sunken rocks, disappear in the rain.
We decided that it was too wet and late to make
any further progress that night, so Carriere and
Frank went in search of a camping -ground ; and
soon the merry ring of their axes, the crash of fall
ing timber, and the crackling of fires, which sent
ruddy gleams through the trees, raised our drooping
spirits and dried our damp clothes, and no merrier
party ever clustered round the welcome blaze. We,
enjoyed our pan of fried pork and cold roast beef,
accompanied by tin pannikins of tea, more thoroughly
than the most recherchS repast served in the most
perfectly appointed dining-room. Spreading the

" No more Collars or Neckties ! " 195
waterproofs, sheets and robes on the ground in the
tent, Mr. F  made the bed over its entire width
then rolled the ends up, leaving us space to dress.
We had a huge fire across the doorway of our tent,
and about ten or twelve feet off blazed another fire
behind which rose the tent of the gentlemen.
" Now we're in camp, away with the frivolities of
civilized life," cried Mr. F  , as he took off his
collar and necktie and tossed them into his wife's
lap. " I'm not going to put those on again until I
get to Winnipeg, and fashion demands the sacrifice ;
nor coat either — unless," he prudently added, " I'm
caught in the rain ;" and he looked up at the still
weeping clouds.
No ribbons, no bows, no extra adornments, were
to be allowed, and next morning, when I appeared
with some, I was voted a rebel by the assembled
travellers, and in mock politeness offered a stump to
sit on, and a knife, fork, and spoon all to myself.
Rising at seven, we made our toilets on the shore of
the small bay where we had landed the night before,
and it required some little practice to wash our-faces
standing or kneeling on the slippery stones, without

196 A Trip to Manitoba.
getting our skirts wet or letting the water run up
our sleeves.
After breakfast we packed up, and the men hav
ing taken over the canoes, we all followed, each
carrying what we could, through a narrow belt of
woods ; then the path rounded a grassy swamp to a
long, rocky point. Mr. M  was some distance in
front, with the frying-pan in one hand, and a basket
containing the knives, forks, etc., in the other, while
my load was the lantern, whisky-keg, and a small
tin pail of pork. Jush as I reached the rock, Mr.
M  , who was feeling his way along the top, and
warning me to be careful, slipped, turned, and, vainly
trying to grasp the rock, went down on all fours
with a run and splash into the lake. Away went
Frank after him, shouting with a laugh, " I'll save
the frying-pan ! "
" What's that ? " cried Mrs. F  , who was behind
me with a load of shawls.
" Only Mr. M  in the lake," said I : and adding
conceitedly, " Wait a minute, Mr. M  , and I'll
come and pull you out " — I stepped upon what was
apparently firm ground, and sank to my knees in

Cedar Lake. 197

soft, slimy mud, from which I was with difficulty
extricated. When the canoe loads were divided,
it was voted unanimously that Mr. M  and I
should be put in the same boat, to sink or swim
together. The day cleared, and we reached our next portage
after a three-hours' paddle, from Ptarmigan Bay to
a nameless lake, one of the most beautiful I ever saw.
The portage is about half a mile long, up a narrow
path over a hill, and the men loaded and travelled
so well, that in two trips they had carried every
thing over, while we, though more lightly laden,
only accomplished one. Somebody here called
attention to the wisdom with which I had chosen
my load, as it got lighter at every trip, especially the
whisky, which, by the way, was contraband. Of
course we gave the lake a name — in fact, it had half
a dozen before we left it, one being in honour of the
dear little baby, who, through all the discomforts of
our trip, enjoyed and bore it best amongst us. But
the name it retained was Cedar Lake, from a lovely
passage, three or four hundred feet long, between
the mainland and an island, each high, rocky bank

198 A Trip to Manitoba.
being covered with large cedars, which almost met
overhead. Passing out from among the cedars,
Carriere paused a moment ; then, steering the canoe
in another direction, said —
"This is the way, Mr. M  . I doubted a mo
ment, for I was only over this part of the trail
once, nearly four years ago. Four years this Christ-
mas. " Why, how can you tell which way to take ? All
the points and islands look alike to me."
" By some landmarks. I paid an Indian a dollar
to show me this road, and I never forget. * I know
the dry wood yonder, and I know the portage by a
big stone I cooked my dinner on. There's an old tree
fallen in the water by the landing, which will be
troublesome," he added. Ten minutes afterwards we
reached the spot, and had a great deal of difficulty
in getting the said tree out of the way, and ourselves
ashore. This portage is longer than the first, and over
quite a steep hill, where, in spite of its diminishing
character, I found my load almost more than I could
carry, and gladly gave the pork to Frank. It was

: Lopsticks." 199

noon when we reached the mouth of a creek in Shoal
Lake. Sitting down comfortably upon a quantity of
mown hay on tho shore, we had our lunch, the first
man over the portage having made a fire, and rested
for an hour. The unfortunate Mr. M  , reaching
from a log for water, and stumbling in again, afforded
us some entertainment, but this time I did not pro
pose to rescue him.
Shoal Lake is about twelve miles long and five
wide, and is at times the roughest lake in the chain.
Canoes are often _ wind-bound for days upon its
shores, and we congratulated ourselves on our good
fortune in having such a fine day to cross in. It
was a long twelve miles' paddle. As we crossed the
northern end, Carriere pointed out the winter trail
to the " Nor'-west Angle," six miles from its southern
shores, which could be followed for over nine miles
by the lop-sticks in view. The Indians formerly
made these lop-sticks only to commemorate some
great event, but now they will make one in return
for a bag of flour or a feast. Choosing one of the
taUest trees, they cut off all the branches, except the
very topmost, and their bare stems made them dis-

200 A Trip to Manitoba.
tinguishable from the rest of the forest a long way
off. There is a Hudson Bay Company's post on one of
the islands on Shoal Lake, and we could hear the
trained dogs there howling dreadfully. About six
o'clock we reached Indian Bay, on the northern shore
of Shoal Lake. Its entrance is guarded by an island,
and round its western point lie the low meadow
lands at the mouth of the Falcon River. The Indian
village on the shore of the bay comprises but a few
scattered log-houses and untidy-looking wigwams of
birch bark, most of them empty. The groundabout the
lodges was planted with potatoes, and upright poles
with cross sticks stood near, to dry fish and skins
upon. The Indians, with the exception of a few half-
grown boys, were all away at the Hudson Bay trad
ing-post to get their treaty-money, which varied in
amount according to their rank in the tribe, the
chief getting the immense sum of twenty-five dollars
a year. A group of squaws turned out to greet the
approach of our canoes, which excited far more in
terest than ourselves. We went up a long path to
the chiefs house, where an old squaw with five child-

Shashegheesh' s Two Wives. 201
ren, aged from sixteen to three years, lived. An
other house close by was inhabited by Shashegheesh's
youngest wife, a tall, slight, rather good-looking
squaw, wearing a merino skirt and loose cotton
jacket. Mr. F  had commissioned Carri&re to buy
some potatoes of her; but before the bargain was com
pleted, her old rival, a puffy-cheeked, but still hand
some woman, came forward, asserting her prior right,
assuring us that her potatoes were the best. On this,
the younger squaw, without a word of remonstrance,
dropped the half-apronf ul she had gathered ; and the
old one sending for a birch-bark tray, sold the pota
toes off her rival's domains, and pocketed the twenty-
five cents. Carriere tried hard to induce her to
throw in one or two miserable-looking carrots for the
same money ; but, laughing derisively, she declined
unless he would pay more. Anxious, however, to
sell them, she followed us down to the shore, carrots
in hand.
We peeped into the house ; it was bare of all
furniture, a roll of skins and some matting, which
they make themselves, being the only things we could
see. Yet Shashegheesh is one of the richest chiefs

202 A Trip to Manitoba.
in that part of the country, and has two wives, be
cause he can afford to build and keep two houses.
Several other houses, well built and with good mud
chimneys, were empty, but, Carriere said, only dur
ing the summer.
A tattered birch-bark wigwam near the landing
was inhabited by a squaw and half a dozen children.
A papoose, laced in his birch-bark cradle, his face
covered with blood, was roaring lustily. The squaw
said his face was sore,' and he had scratched it. His
screams increasing at our appearance, she seized hold
of the strap the cradle is carried by, and gave it a
violent shake, making a queer guttural remark that
silenced him at once. The inside of this wigwam
was more comfortable than Shashegheesh's house.
The floor was strewn with clean cedar-boughs, leaving
a round space in the centre, where there were still re
mains of a fire. The squaw and the girls here, too,
were better dressed than the chief's family. One
child about ten had a bright pink merino dress, pro
fusely trimmed with narrow black velvet and small
white china buttons; her hair was braided with
coloured ribbons and beads, strings of beads also en-

Frank's Flirtations with the Squaws. 203
circling her wrists, neck, and ankles. She came out
and danced for our entertainment, twisting and
whirling about, snapping her fingers over her head,
aud tossing her long braids about. Her friends all
regarded her performance with evident admiration.
While we looked on, a canoe, laden with cedar-
boughs, and paddled by two pretty young squaws,
came gliding in along the shore. Frank, who could
not understand a word of their language, sat on a log
near, and soon peals of merry laughter betrayed a
lively flirtation. Close together, the girls sidled up
to him ; and he, casting insinuating glances at them,
poked them in the ribs, when they ran laughing
away, hiding behind the low bushes that skirted the
shore. Presently they peeped out, to find an expres
sion of utter indifference on Frank's face, as he idly
kicked the pebbles at his feet. When they gradually
returned to the charge, Frank, with a laughing look
at us, said something in his own tongue, to which
they listened with finger on lip, looking at each
other, as though saying —
" What does it mean ? Shall we remain or fly ? "
Before they could decide, Frank made a feint to

204 A Trip to Manitoba.
spring after them, at which they turned, and fled like
frightened fawns. Not being followed, they ventured
to return, coming closer and closer, until Frank,
watching his opportunity, really sprang after them,
grasped the prettiest by the elbows, and bent her
lithe body back until he could look close into the
brown eyes. Then, as she struggled violently, with
a laugh he let her free. It was time to embark, and
kissing his hand to the girls, he leaped into the canoe
and pushed off, we following more slowly, taking a
last look of the group on shore — the Indian wigwam,
the pretty squaws, leaning sadly against each other
as they watched Frank's canoe round the point; the
stout matron, still flourishing the emaciated-looking
carrots, and shrilly vociferating their perfections to
Carri^re; and the dancing-girl waving a farewell
with a huge cedar bough.
Carrie're told us that during the previous winter
the village was full, and when he stopped a night
there, en route from Winnipeg, some, of the Indians
took his dog-train over to an opposite point for a
fiddler who lived there, and all spent the night in a
grand " spree " of dancing and drinking. But in the

Carriere's Toboggan Eaten by Dogs. 205
morning only the shattered remains of his toboggan
and dogs were to be found, the half -starved native
animals having devoured provisions and robes, and
gnawed the toboggan to pieces, so that he had to
make the best of his way home on foot — a sadder,
if not a wiser man.

N

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.
Sjri T ALF an hour after leaving the Indian village
Cja» we reached Falcon River, a narrow winding
stream running in a swamp between hills. About
half a -mile down we struck our camp for the night,
at a spot where a rude wharf or landing of logs had
been built by the contractors' haymakers. Inside a
rude "corelle," or paddock, where they had kept
their cattle, we pitched our tent and made a fire.
The night set in so dark and cloudy that, unless
within the immediate blaze, it was impossible to see
what we were doing. We were hungry, and the
added luxury of potatoes made us anxious to have
dinner as soon as possible. Carrie're brought in

The Fate of our Fried Pork. 207
wood for the night, Mr. F  made up our tent,
and Mr. M  superintended the stowage of the
canoes, while Frank put our precious potatoes in a
tin kettle over the fire, and, in mistaken zeal, the
frying-pan of pork at the same time. The latter, of
course, was cooked long before the former, so, taking
it off the fire, he set it on the ground hard by. Mr.
M  coming up a moment after, and yielding to
the universal desire to " poke the fire," stepped into
the pan of pork. While we were laughing over his
propensity for tumbling into things, Carri^re, who,
poor fellow, was still suffering terribly from rheuma
tism, limped up with a log on his shoulder, and also
fell foul of the pork. At the same moment a lantern
appeared in the distance, carried by Mr. F  , on
his return from the canoe. Jumping over the fence,
he exclaimed, " By Jove ! that blaze is good. I'll get
warm before I do anything else," and stepped back
splash into the ill-fated pan of pork, making what
was left of the contents fly in every direction.
" That's a bad place for it ! " said Carrie're, coolly
picking up the pieces, and putting it on the other
side of the fire.

208 A Trip to Manitoba.
" Are those potatoes boiled yet ? " Frank shouted
from the darkness, and, being answered in the
affirmative, made his appearance with the bag con
taining our dinner service of tin and other table
necessaries. Tea made, drawn, and the potatoes
boiled to a turn, Frank prepared to serve up the
dinner, but looked in vain for the pork,» " I say,
Carri^re, what have you done with the frying-pan ?
I left it just here !" he cried, seizing a brand from
the fire for a torch. Scarcely had he uttered the
words when a stumble and " 0 Lord !" told us that
the pork was really done for this time.
Rain fell heavily all night, but held off in the
morning long enough for us to get breakfast and
start, which we lost no time in doing as there was a
long paddle before us to our next camping-ground.
Oh, the windings of that Falcon River ! In some
parts not more than a canoe's length wide, and in
none more than two, it wound in and out, up and
down, this way and that. For a hundred feet we
were dead against the wind, then a sharp turn sent
us spinning along before it, when, standing up, I
held the waterproof in my outstretched arms as a,

A Sundial in the Wilderness. 209
sail. Each bend of the shore was so abrupt that
the impetus of turning drove the canoe half a length
into the long grass, and it was with some difficulty
backed out. We were cut off from our companions'
canoe, but could see their heads apparently only a
few feet from us, as the crow flies; but so numerous
were the turns of the river between us, that they
were really half a mile behind.
At noon we stopped at another haymakers' de
serted camping-ground, and took shelter from the
now pouring rain under a lean-to of poles covered
with bark. A low shanty near having a rude crank
for holding a kettle over the fire, we had a comfort
able lunch. Out in the open, where there were
remnants of rough cultivation, was a sundial made
of a jagged-edged flat piece of tin, the figures
scratched with a knife. Carri^re said that it was
the best camping-ground on the river, and, while a
gang of men were there, was very comfortable. Had
any one from the more civilized world seen us idly
lolling about on the logs or ground in our travelling
costumes, the Indians leaning against the uprights,
the baby as happy as a queen on an outspread

210 A Trip to Manitoba.
buffalo robe, the tin plates and mugs, knives, forks,
and kettles, to say nothing of the whiskyr-keg, and
general debris of a finished feast, and at the same
time heard the steady, drenching rain descending
round us, he might have wondered at the laughter,
fun, and chaff in which we all indulged.
But we could not stay there all day, and the rain
showing no signs of abating, we set out again. Not
far from the camping ground we passed an Indian
standing on the bank near two birch-bark canoes,
while up on the hill a wretched wigwam sent forth
the usual number of squaws, children, and dogs to
greet our approach. The Indian had no potatoes, no
ducks, no fish, no anything to sell ; so, with a. " Bon
jour, nitchee," we sped on. About this time I noticed
that my hat, a brown straw with green leaves some
where amongst the trimming, was weeping blue
tears all down my ulster. Taking the drenched and
now almost colourless leaves out, I sent them afloat
on the river, mentally resolving that if I ever under
took a journey of the kind again, I would have a
casing of waterproof, and leave voluminous skirts
and useless adornments at home.

The Dried Musk-rats. 211
At one of the landing spots was an upright pole,
from the top of which hung half a dozen musk-rats,
tied together with a red string; and such is the
honesty of the Indians, that they might hang there
until they rotted off, before any but the rightful
owner would touch them.
CarriSre said the swamp was full of traps, and
pointed out many spots where he knew they were
placed to catch the musk-rats, but which to our eyes
were undistinguishable from the rest of the swamp.
On, on, down the interminable river. The rain
was still falling, and we were all gradually getting
* numbed and quiet ; running into the shore, or spin
ning before the wind, no longer affording any excite
ment. We got so far ahead of the other canoe that
we could not hear even Mr. F  's " Whoop it up ! "
as he called a wild halloo he indulged in whenever
he thought our spirits needed raising. Pulling up
under the shelter of some bulrushes, for the wind
was becoming keener every moment, we waited with
chattering teeth until our comrades joined us, when
we kept together better for the remainder of the
way. During the afternoon we several times crossed

212 A Trip to Manitoba.
the south or first line surveyed for the Canada Paci
fic, which has been proved by recent inquiries the
most inexpensive route. But I could not help pity
ing the " party " that had to work through such a
wretched country.
As we neared the mouth of the river we felt the
wind very much, and vague fears of what the weather
would be like outside, and what chance there was
of landing, began to assail us. However, there was
nothing for it but to persevere. When nearly dusk
the wash of the waves on the shore warned us that
we were on Falcon Lake. Subdued by atmos
pheric woes, we heard the sound without comment'
but it revived the drooping energies of our canoe.
men, and, putting on a spurt, we were soon across
the bay. Beyond the point great white-capped waves
tossed and raged before the fury of the wind. If
we could only round the point, a good camping-
ground awaited us,but it was a question whether the
canoes could live through the turn. However, the
alternative of landing in a swamp made it worth the
attempt. Asking me if I was afraid to venture, and
being answered, " Not, if you are not ! " Mr. M 

Surprised by Indians. "213
headed the canoe towards the lake, and in a moment
we were abreast of the point, when CarrieYe said —
" Better not try it, sir ; it is too dark to cross the
lake, and on this shore the canoe would be dashed
to pieces before we could unload her."
. So we turned, and a few vigorous strokes drove
the canoe well up into the long grass, where we sat
a moment waiting for the next scene of the tragi
comedy. It was Mr. M  " in again " — but pur
posely this time. Rolling up their trousers as high
as they could, the men jumped into the swamp, and
though sinking nearly to their waists, they with a
" Heave-ahoy ! " pulled the loaded canoe well up to
the bank. Then bidding us stay quiet until they
got the tents pitched and the fire alight, they left us
in the fast-gathering darkness to do that hardest
work of all, which generally falls to woman's lot —
to wait. As we sat silently there, the baby asleep,
the maid telling her woes over the side of the canoe
in the most heart-rending manner, we were nearly
startled out of our wits by the sudden appearance
of a birch-bark canoe propelled by two shaggy-
haired Indians, which glided into the swamp along-

214 A Trip to Manitoba.
side of us. Listening to the ring of axes and voices
on shore, then pointing to us, they asked some ques
tion in their own tongue, which we answered by
pointing to the land and nodding. With an " Ugh ! "
they left their canoe and went on shore, where they
were immediately pressed into the service to unload^
and gather hay for our beds. They had a " tom
tom "—an instrument something between a drum
and a tambourine, which they play at all their feasts
and gambling-bouts — a scarlet top-knotted cock of
the woods, a small fish, a little birch-bark basket
with the lid tightly sewed down, and an old worn-
out blanket in their canoe.
It was quite dark by the time we had landed,
cramped and cold from our long day on the river.
I, however, was the best off, as I had the width of
the canoe to myself, and was not afraid to move
about a little, while Mrs. F  had to share her
seat with the maid and the baby. We floundered
helplessly up the wet path, sinking over our ankles
in many places ; but a glorious fire on the top of the
height greeted us, and a mug of hot whisky and
water — taken medicinally, of course — made us quite

How we Dried our Clothes. 215
ready to eat a hearty dinner and dry our wet
clothes. The tent was prepared, and, diving under
its folds, we divested ourselves of one garment, and
after drying it dived under again, to put it on
while we dried the next. Hammering sticks into the
ground round the fire, we soon surmounted them
with an array of different-sized boots and various-
coloured stockings. We held more voluminous
articles to the fire ourselves, avoiding the sparks as
best we might, and closing our eyes to let the smoke-
drawn tears roll slowly down our cheeks, to be
opened suddenly by an outcry from the other side of
the fire of—
" Look out there, Miss F  ; your flannel skirt
is burning !"
And as I grasp the precious article, and quench
the sparks with my hands, I see through the flames
some of his own garments floating into the fire.
The wind blows the sticks down, and prostrates an
impromptu clothes-line with all its load, while the
maid's lugubrious countenance, as she dries petticoat
after petticoat and skirt after skirt, set me specu
lating how much there would be left of her if she

216 A Trvp to Manitoba.
took them all off. Our Indian visitors sit hugging
their knees and holding their bare feet to the fire.
gazing at all the trouble we take over our absurd
superfluities of clothing with stolid indifference.
Frank is lying on the hay near, threatening them
with the dire vengeance he will wreak on their
backs if they get up in the night and burn the dry
wood he has had such difficulty in collecting, and
which is to be kept for cooking breakfast ; and of
how little value their life will be to them if they so
much as lay a finger on the tent he is going to leave
standing there ready to occupy on his way back.
The wilder his threats become, the more expression
less are their faces ; not a gleam of intelligence
crosses them when he says he knows well enough
they can talk English as well as he can.
" Wasn't he taken in once ? But never will Red
skin impose on him again." And he laughs scorn
fully at the idea.
We sat up late that night, as the rain had ceased,
and we had been so dull all day that we felt bound
to make up for it now, especially as this was to be
our last night in camp. Frank and Carriere vied

The Last Night in Camp. 217
with each other in relating their narrow escapes
from accidents and scarcity of provisions, when
Hudson Bay fare of "one pound of flour, half-a-pound
of tea, and one pound of fat pork, or one jack-fish
six mile long," would have been appreciated. These
stories were varied by anecdotes of people they had
travelled with ; some trick of speaking or pecu
liarity of expression or action, cleverly mimicked
by the Indians, pointing their story and giving
pungency to their wit.

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 — Our Last Portage — A
Rash Choice—" Grasp your Nettle"— Mr. F  's Gal
lantry — Cross Lake — Denmark's Ranche — A Tramp
through the Mire.
'EXT morning the sun rose bright and clear;
but as there was still a good deal of wind,
which was likely to increase as the day advanced,
we started early; not, however, before Mr. F 
had sent the strange Indians to shoot some ducks
we had heard on the lake. They returned with one
old and five young birds, for which they got five
cents apiece, and the remnants of our breakfast.
We all set to work to pick them at once. Carri&re,
at my instigation, tried every inducement in his
power, offering the Indians three times its value in

A Nap on Falcon Lake. 219
money, to purchase the little basket of wild rice
they had in their canoe, but without success. " It
belonged to another Indian, and they had not leave
to sell it," they said, in answer to all his persuasions.
We embarked on the Falcon Lake side of the point ;
the water was still so rough that the canoes had to
be held off the rocks to prevent their bumping.
Mr. F  and Frank struck directly across the lake
and hugged the western shore ; but Mr. M-  and
Carri&re, trusting to my being a good sailor, kept
in the middle of the lake, in a direct course to the
portage. The waves were just high enough to give the canoe
a cradle-like motion. Settling myself comfortably,
and being covered with a warm rug, I slept soundly
until we reached the portage — an hour's paddle — so
that I knew very little of the beauties of the lake.
Looking back at it as we sat on the shore waiting
for the other canoe, its shores seemed hilly, and de
void of bays or foliage. When the others came in,
they expressed astonishment that I could sleep when
the water was so rough ; they could not see us at all
times, and feared we were lost, and the reappearance

220 A. Trip to Manitoba.
of the canoe, apparently without me in it, had
puzzled them not a little. Before we were ready to
cross the portage our Indian visitors overtook us and
carried some of our baggage. When asked to take
a canoe, they looked at it, lifted it, shook their heads,
laughed, and told Carri&re it was " too heavy ; they
were not beasts." 'Mr. F  offered them a dollar
to take it over to the next lake — less than half a
mile. " No " — they lifted it again carefully, taking
everything out of it — " no ; they wouldn't do it for
five dollars."
Then Mr. M  and Frank, putting their folded
coats on their shoulders to rest the edge on, took up
the canoe, one end on Mr. M  's left shoulder, and
the other on Frank's right, and went off at an easy
run, the Indians watching them open-mouthed. Then
they again tried the weight of the other, anxious to
get the money, but too lazy to earn it. At last Mr.
F  had a "happy thought." Showing the Indians
the whisky-keg, and holding the open bunghole to
their noses, he made them understand that if they
carried the canoe over they should have some of
" the cratur " when they returned. This worked
like a charm ; in two minutes the canoe was hoisted

" Magnificent Water Stretches." 221
on their shoulders, and they were off at double the
pace of the others. Before they returned, Mr. F 
emptied out most of the whisky and replaced it with
water, shaking the keg well to give it a flavour. It
is against the law to give Indians spirits, but he knew
that this mild draught could not hurt them. They
were apparently quite satisfied, and left us, promising
to bring us some potatoes to the end of the next port
age. But either they detected the fraud, and did as In
dians generally do when cheated — said nothing at the
time, but would rather starve than give one a chance
to cheat them again — or they were unable to procure
the potatoes ; at all events, we saw no more of them.
The next lake at which we arrived was very
picturesque. I asked Carriere its name, but he
laughed and replied, " It has no name, Miss F  .
It is only one of those ' magnificent water stretches'
• we hear Mackenzie talking so much about." *
* During the debate on the building of the Fort Francis
Locks, when justifying their immense cost to the country in
order to utilize the water communication, the Honourable Alex
ander Mackenzie, then leader of the Government, and Minister
of Public Works, spoke frequently of the " magnificent water
stretches between them and Winnipeg."
Q

222 A Trip to Manitoba.
We were determined not to allow it to be nameless
any longer, and unanimously decided to call it Otley
Lake, after the brown-eyed baby. It is a small lake,
and soon crossed. A short portage follows, and on
the shores of the next and yet smaller lake we«top-
ped for luncheon. The portage was muddy ; we had
tucked up* our skirts as high as we could to keep
them out of harm's way, and were standing* idly
about, watching the maid wash, ancl Frank cook the
ducks, when we heard distant shouting. Before we
could decide whence it came, Mr. F  , who had
gone out in the canoe to reconnoitre, reappeared ; but
not alone. Mr. R  was with him, in a new and
spotless suit of Oxford grey, irreproachable collar
and cuffs, light-blue neck-tie, and new hat ; looking
clean, fresh and civilized. What a contrast ! Mrs.
F  gave her dress a shake, and straightened her
hat, while I, in my anxiety to let down the loops in
my skirts, made sad havoc amongst the strings ; and
the maid exclaimed, in a tone of personal injury —
" Law ! and we're such figures ! "
I reproached him for making us feel our position
so keenly. The scene would have made a good cari-

A Striking Contrast. 223
cature : our travel-tossed party, with draggled skirts,
and hats shapeless from much drenching rain ; the
men coatless, collarless, cuffless, with trousers rolled
up and hair guiltless of parting ; remnants of pro
visions, dishes, rugs, shawls, and coats littered over
the ground, — all in sharp contrast with the perfect
type and finished product of civilization landing
from the canoe. The very grace with which he lifted
his hat as he greeted us made us feel that contrast
more !
However, we soon forgave him, we were so glad
to see him ; especially as he brought the mail-bag.
While the men read their letters, I consoled myself
for having none with a can of California pears, which
were among the many things Mr. R  brought.
Don't misunderstand me, and think I ate them all;
but I confess to a fair share. The ducks, too, fried
in pork fat, were not bad, and we enjoyed our picnic
very much, even though, not having provided for
visitors, one did without a fork and another without
a spoon, to make them go round. Before leaving the
scene of our meeting, the lake was dubbed Picnic
Lake. It was only a hundred yards or so across to

224 A Trip to Manitoba.

Hawk Lake, which looked wild and stormy. But
Mr. R  had crossed in safety a few hours before,
so there was really little danger with good men and
canoes. It was impossible to remain where we were
without provisions, and there was every prospect of
the wind's increasing instead of diminishing; so there
was nothing for it but to venture.
Our canoe, as usual, took the lead, and shooting
beyond an island well into the open, was soon joined
by the others. Strict orders were given by our com
mander-in-chief, Mr. F  , to keep together : Mr.
R  and his two men in one canoe to the left to
wards the middle of the lake, about half a canoe's
length ahead, and three away from ours ; Mr. F  's.
being about the same distance on the right, and
nearest the shore. Thus Mr. R-  's canoe broke
the first dash of the wave, and ours made it still less
strong against Mr. F  's. But before long the
delight of dancing over the waves made Mr. M 
and Carri&re work to such purpose that" we regained
the lead, Mr. M  shouting, " Here comes another,
Carri&re ! Head her up ! " as a great wall of white-
capped water rushing down upon us seemed to thread

How we Crossed Hawk Lake. 225
ten destruction to our tiny boat ; then, with a splash,
struck it, dashing the spray over us as we rose above
it and were ready for another. As the wave passed
behind we could hear it strike the next canoe, and
then the wash of the water as it went under. It
was great fun, and I could have wished it to last
longer, but for a glance at Mrs. F  , who, with
whiteface and compressed lips,clasped her baby closer
in her arms, as each wave came. Though of too
true metal to make a fuss or give expression to her
terror, one could see what she suffered every moment,
until, getting to leeward of a large island, the lake
became calm and the tension of her nerves relaxed.
It took from an hour and a half to two hours to
cross Hawk Lake, but to me it seemed only a few
minutes. Turning into a bay to the east, we landed on our
last portage before reaching Ingolf . It was a long,
wet track, with a narrow ravine in the middle, over
which a rude road of loose logs had been made, while
down the hiljs trickled tiny streams and a brawling,
moss-bordered brook. There were two trails, and
• while the Indians and canoe-men ^ook the lower and.

226 A Trip to Manitoba.
shorter, we pursued the upper. We were too tired
to notice the beauty of the country, and were glad
to reach the canoes on Long Pine Lake. We passed
parties of men returning from their work, some of
whom took charge of our luggage ; and all crowding
into one canoe, we were soon at Ingolf, the most
western station on Contract 15.
Long Pine Lake looked still and pond-like; the
weeds and slimy tendrils in the water were too
visible, the bank we landed upon was too muddy,
and the scattered dSbris of recent building did not
add to its attractions. Although the engineers had
but lately moved into the house, and one wing of it
was still in the workmen's hands, everything was as
comfortable and well arranged as good taste could
make it. Bachelor's quarters they were — the only
house on the contract uninhabited by woman — but the
ingenuity and industry with which they had been
fitted up more than compensated for her absence.
The walls of the sitting, smoking, and general
lounging room were hung with trophies of the chase
— Indian work, pictures and photographs of lovely
faces from the artist world ; while books, papers, and

We Dress for Dinner. 227
easy chairs tempted one to linger. The dining-room
and kitchen were still unfinished. So, when we had
shaken ourselves straight, and resumed our despised
collars and neckties, Mr. R  took us over in the
canoe to the contractor's shanty to dinner. The
pretty woman who waited upon us could not com
plain of the fare not being appreciated. We did
full justice to it ; lingering until long after dark,
telling our adventures and sharpening our wits
against each other's. The doctor also joined our party.
But a six-o'-clock breakfast and early departure be
ing decided upon, we had to break up at a reason
able hour.
In the morning we found we must keep to the
canoe route, instead of going by waggon to Cross
Lake as we had intended. Rain had fallen all night,
but it was then bright and clear. Long Pine Lake
looked better in the sunlight, and the portage to
Hawk Lake, to which we had to return in order to
reach Cross Lake, unnoticed the night before, was
fully enjoyed now. The ground was carpeted ankle-
deep with moss of endless variety, and ferns spark
ling with rain-drops. Hawk Lake was calm, only

228 A Trip to Manitoba.
a light ripple glittering in the sun where had been
white-capped waves before. Crossing the north
west end, we struck a short portage to a tiny lake,
across which a few minutes' paddle carried us. It
was now comparatively easy work for the men, all
the heavy camping baggage having been left at In-
golf, and the remainder, except our hand-satchels,
sent on by packers going through to Cross Lake.
As Mr. R  and his men accompanied us, no double
trips were necessary.
Our last portage showed many signs of active
life ; there were several boats left by packers — gly
cerine cans, large racks on which whitefish-nets were
drying, a shanty with a rugged garden round it,
besides the well-worn paths which tell of frequent
traffic. The men went briskly up the hill with our
canoe, and were soon out of sight ; but thinking that
the lower path was likely to be the coolest and most
sheltered, we followed that. It was so pretty and
dry for the first half-mile that we congratulated our
selves upon our choice, and pitied the poor men toil
ing up the rocks in the heat. But our self-satisfaction
was short-lived. A few yards further the path be-

" Grasp your Nettle." 229
gan to descend, getting wetter and more swampy at
every step. Mr. R  , who carried his paddles,
threw them across the mud as bridges, and by taking
advantage of all the fallen trees and stumps, we got
on pretty well for a time. But the task became
more and more difficult every minute. Once, while
scrambling along a half-submerged log, I grasped
some tall weeds to save myself from falling ; they
turned out to be stinging nettles, and I do not feel
called upon to recommend them as a means of sup
port. Presently Mr. F  , who was in front, called
out —
" Hallo ! here's a jolly puddle ! " and plunged in up
to his knees. It was too wide to bridge, the paddles
were too narrow to afford us foothold ; and before
we guessed his intention, Mr. F  deposited the
satchels he carried on the other side, came back and
took his wife on his back, saying I was to wait till
he returned. The extra weight made him sink deeper
in the swamp ; and as Mrs. F  's dress floated on
the slimy surface, Mr. R  followed, and raising
it tenderly on the blade of the paddle, the procession
moved on ; while I, the sole spectator, stood, like a

230 A Trip to Manitoba.
stork, on a stump barely wide enough to support one
foot at a time, awaiting my turn.
When we arrived at the lake, a few minutes after
wards, we found the maid, who had gone on with
Mr. M  and the baby, while we were loitering at
the last landing, busy removing the mud which en
cased her clothes. She had found no friendly back
on which to rise above the swamp, and had accord
ingly fared badly.
While waiting for the canoes, we spread our shawls
on the grassy shore under some trees and sat down.
Presently some one regretted the absence of the
provision-bag, and the maid regretted that she had
not asked how to make the buns we had for break
fast. (She amused us much by her anxiety to collect
receipts.) To soothe these mourners, Mr. M  ,
with some little trouble, produced from one of his
pockets a can of salmon.
" Hungry ! Oh, yes, we were hungry enough to
eat anything." But when the tin was opened, we
found that canned salmon, without bread or vinegar,
went a long way. Even our hunger could not tempt
us to take more than one taste, after which we

Denmark's Ranche, 231
unanimously resolved not to spoil our appetites for
dinner. Cross Lake is long, narrow, and uninteresting, and
the surrounding country flat, though rocky. When
we crossed it was quite calm, but Carri&re said that
it was one of the roughest of the lakes in a storm,
the west wind having a clear sweep over it. After
paddling for about an hour and a ha*lf, when we
reached the spot where the railway line crossed a
narrow part of the lake, and the embankment was
partly filled in, we turned to our left up a narrow,
winding creek, very like Falcon River, and in five
minutes were at Denmark's Ranche.
Then we climbed up a very muddy bank, and
along a still muddier dump, or railroad embankment,
to a shanty, a large log-hut with several additions,
one of a single room ten feet square. The cook, his
wife — a delicate-looking woman — and two children
lived here. They welcomed us kindly, and with
many apologies for want of space: Their room was
neat and clean, and the inmates seemed contented
with everything except the mud, which was so deep
all round the shanty that it was impossible to go out

232 A Trip to Manitoba.
with any comfort, and the absence of exercise was
very much felt. The ranche was always full of
people coming and going, so there was no lack of
society or news. The room we dined in was large,
about twenty feet by sixteen. The table was cov
ered with brown oil-cloth, and had benches along it at
one end. The other was filled with temporary bunks
like the berths in a steamer, one above the other.
The menu contained, among other things, a wild
goose, roasted and stuffed with a mixture of bread
crumbs and raisins, more like an imitation plum-
pudding than anything else, flat pies filled with
dried apples, and the inevitable plates of fresh, sliced
cheese, which is the chief peculiarity of Ontario
farmhouse tables.
While at dinner a heavy shower fell, and we were
told that we could form no idea of the state of the
road in consequence of so much rain. No vehicle
could traverse it, and we must walk the remaining
six miles to the end of the track. Mr. M  went
immediately to detain the train until we could reach
it ; and after saying good-bye to Mr. R  , who
returned to Ingolf , we followed, Mr. D  coming

A Tramp through the Mire. 233
with us to "carry the baby," he said. And so
he did, the whole distance; and his own bairns,
miles away, had many a hug that day by proxy, I
fancy. Poor Carriere, too, though very lame, rather than
let the baggage be left behind, and Mr. K  in
convenienced, also came. -For the first mile it was
muddy, but, thinking it better than our expectations,
we slipped and plodded along very contentedly, stop
ping every now and then to scrape our boots ; but
this made our progress slow, and we had no time to
waste. Soon the path, or what had once been one,
terminated, and we had to jump the drain to the
embankment, and dimb that. In five minutes our
feet weighed pounds, and we understood the nav
vies' saying, that they " took up land wherever they
worked." Goloshes were useless, and we soon dis
carded them, and, but for fear* of hurting my feet
with hidden stones or sticks, I would have discarded
my shoes too. Still on we plodded, sinking to our
ankles at almost every step ; it was warm work.
At the end of the second mile, near a group of shan
ties, the road was a little dryer, and a pile of ties

2S4 A Trip to Manitoba.
gave us a resting-place for a few minutes. After
this the road got worse and worse, and trying to
walk on the greasy, slippery railway ties scattered
about was even more difficult than plodding through
the mud. The maid, who entered a protest against
the country at every opportunity, was sliding and
slipping over these ties in front ; glancing down the
embankment, three or four feet in depth, she uttered
a heartfelt " Thank God ! a path at last," and, giv
ing one jump, she sank nearly to her knees in the
marsh. The doleful expression of her face, and the
hopeless disappointment with which she scrambled
up the muddy bank back to the slippery ties, was
too much for my gravity. I am afraid my laughter
offended the poor girl; and it was scarcely fair,
either, as she had borne all the disagreeables far
better than people in her class generally do.

CHAPTER XVIII.
Tilford-^-Pedestrians under DiflSculties — 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.
rE reached Tilford about six. How we pitied
the pretty, sad-looking woman, wife of the
engineer, for having to live in a house stranded
upon a bank of mud just high enough to keep the
water out, and with mud and marsh on all sides for
miles, making it impossible to go out ! They had
no society, and only the bare necessaries of life
about them ; the mail carrier and the telegraph were
their only means of communication with the outside
world. Excusing our travel-stained appearance, they per
suaded -us to stay to dinner. My hands were so
muddy that I tried to keep them under the table as

236 A Trip to Manitoba.
much as possible; but, finding this awkward, I
looked to see if it was noticed, and was relieved by
finding I had companions in misery.
We left Tilford at seven, and for some little dis
tance the road seemed better. Fortunately, it was
a moonlight night, or we should have had difficulty
in keeping the trail. For some distance it ran along
the muddy dump, then came a great open culvert,
with a gang of men sitting round a fire at the
bottom. One of them called out as we appeared,
" Ye's can't git down here ; ye's'U have to go round."
Retracing our steps a hundred feet, we found a track
down the side to a submerged bridge, which we
traversed as quickly as possible, but not without
getting wet to our knees in ice-cold water. Next
we climbed up a narrow path, so close to the edge
that a false step would have precipitated us ten or
twelve feet to the rock below. A steep, uneven
fragment of path had to be traversed, and we were
in the middle of the cutting. Just beyond was
another culvert in a more advanced stage ; anct we
walked carefully across a narrow single board, whose
ends lay loosely over one another in the careless

The Railway at Last. 237
way in which men generally run up scaffolding, so
that one nail is the only thing that keeps them in
this world. The planks were slippery, and in the
uncertain moonlight we scarcely breathed while
crossing them. On, on, through more mud and
water, until, about half -past eight, we saw the white
washed walls of the telegraph office at the end of
the track, and Mr. M — — came springing down the
bank to meet us.
" I have just been asking if you were still at Til-
ford," he said. "I never thought you could get
through but would give in and stay there all night.
The engine-driver was getting impatient to be off,
so I came to find out."
When we reached the train a load of ties blocked
the way, so we had to climb up on a truck, jump
down again, and go round a cattle-van to the open
truck or freight car, where our luggage was already
piled, and on which we were to make our trip to
Winnipeg. Spreading the robes on the floor, Mr.
M  piled the bags and valises in the centre for
us to lean against, and covered us with blankets
and shawls. Before settling down, however, I took

238 A Trip to Manitoba.
friendly advice, and trusting to the covering of the
semi-darkness, changed my shoes, throwing the mud-
laden ones overboard. Then, when well under the
blankets, I was comparatively warm. Carriere and
Frank came to say good-bye before the train started.
They, poor fellows, had to trudge back to the ranche
that night, and I, being perhaps the only one of the
party who was never likely to see them again, parted
from the kindly, good-natured men with regret.
Mr. D  also left us, with many good wishes and
good-byes. The track was not ballasted for the first forty-five
miles, and the car rocked frightfully. The wind
was bitterly cold, and we crouched down closer
under the blankets, but were unable to keep warm
until- after ten o'clock, when Mr. F  stopped the
train at Whitemouth and borrowed a roll of blankets
from the 'engineer there. With this additional
covering, we succeeded in warming our wet clothes.
The dear little baby slept all the time in its mother's
arms, as cozy and comfortable as possible. Her only
dread was that it might be smothered, and many an
anxious peep was taken under its many coverings

The Jules Muskeg. 239
to make sure of its existence. We talked in snatches;
and until after eleven amused ourselves with learn
ing some railway technicalities, in order that we
might be able to talk of " when we were out on the
line." But as the moonlight faded, we grew very
quiet and drowsy. Once, when I was just dropping
into a little nap, Mrs. F  's caution, " Don't go to
sleep, or you will roll off!" roused me to the con
sciousness of not having a sofa or even terra firma
to repose upon.
On that part of the line the country is flat and
uninteresting, entirely muskeg or marsh, with the
exception of one small rock cutting, whereiihe ne
cessary drainage formed the principal item in the
cost of construction. On each side we could see the
long " take off's " glittering in the moonlight, like
silver ribbons thrown at random on the grass. The
Jules muskeg, about two miles across, was at first
only passable when frozen in winter, except for
pedestrians, and we heard of several gangs of men
who were sent there to work, digging all day and
being unable next morning to find any trace of their
labours. The only breaks in this monotonous marsh

240 A Trip to Manitoba.
are Whitemouth and Broken-Head Rivers, flowing
between wooded shores. The former is about forty
miles from Ingolf , and the latter nearly seventy.
Both are small streams flowing into the mo3t south
erly end of Lake Winnipeg.
At the junction near Selkirk are a small store and
bar-room, apparently well patronized, if one may
judge from the mental and physical wanderings of
a man who. asked the way to Winnipeg, and the
wild notes of a fiddle issuing from an open doorway.
While the train waited for the switch signal, we
were too tired to take much note of our surround
ings, the appearance of a rail fence between the
track and the out-lying country being more sugges
tive of approaching civilization to our Ontario eyes
than anything else.
Receiving the signal, the train backed down the
Pembina branch. There the wind was less trying,
tKe road smoother, and we were getting accustomed
to our cramped position. Gradually the train slack
ened, until it almost reached a foot-pace. Scarcely
had we begun to wonder what was wrong, when the

Vagaries of the Engine-driver. 241
speed suddenly increased, and after rushing madly
along for a few minutes slackened again, without
any apparent cause. The man who had held a lan
tern at the back of our truck from the junction now
began to grumble. " What can the driver mean by
going at such a rate ? " he exclaimed. Then, when
the train slackened, he growled, " Hang the fellow,
he's gone to sleep ! " At last Mr. F  said he
would go into the engine-car and keep the man
awake. When we stopped to take in water a few
minutes afterwards he left us, and we reached the
station at St. Boniface, the terminus of the railway,
at three o'clock, without any further anxiety. There
were only a couple of sleepy porters at the station,
so we left the blankets, etc., lying on the platform
until one porter found the man who had the key to
the storehouse. Picking up our satchels, and shiver
ing as the cold morning air came in contact with
our wet clothes, we went over the prairie a hundred
yards or so to a hotel, hastily put up for the accom
modation of benighted travellers, there being no
means of crossing the Red River for Winnipeg be
fore seven,

242 A Trip to Manitoba.
The house was crowded to excess, the bar-room
was full of noisy revellers, the landlord was in bed,
and there were no rooms to be had. We waited at
the head of a narrow flight of stairs, while a sleepy
porter roused five men from their slumbers in the
sitting-room, and heard a grumbling discussion going
on behind a half -open door near us, a woman in an
injured tone protesting that, "It weren't, no good
wakin' her ! She couldn't help the house not bein'
big enough, nor more people coming nor it would
hold ; " while the man said, " It weren't his'n, neu
ther ; but places must be found to put 'um in."
Presently the sitting-room door opened, and a
young man, looking as if he had slept in his hat,
and used his coat for a pillow, emerged, staring at
us as if taking an inventory of our wardrobe, and
disappeared downstairs. With a great yawn, and a
muttered remark about something being " a d — d
shame," a man who looked like a cattle-dealer fol
lowed. Then his partner appeared, an energetic,
scrubby-looking little man, who informed us that
we might enter : which we did, glad to get a place

The Hotel at St. Boniface. 243
to sit down in ; but hastily retreated, on discovering
another man just getting up from the floor, and one
busy lacing his boots. When the latter raised his
head, we recognised our clergyman from the Con
tract. He had come in over the Dawson route with
the poor man who had lost his eyesight and arm by
striking the rock where nitro-glycerine had been
spilt. His fellow-workmen had among themselves
collected eleven hundred dollars towards supporting
him, or getting him into some asylum, and he (the
clergyman) "was now returning by the line.
Mr. M  went back to the station to fetch a
robe and some blankets, which we spread on the floor,
and lay down to wait for morning. The room was
small — eight by ten feet — the furniture, a short un
comfortable sofa, two chairs, a table, and a couple of
pictures, of Pope Leo XII. and St. Joseph. Daylight
seemed a long time coming.
Mr. M  looked more like a ghost than any
thing else. The poor man had walked up and down
the station platform all the time. Neither store
keeper nor key being found, he had feared to leave
our luggage lying about unguarded.

244 A Trip to Manitoba.
Crossing the river in the clear bright morning
among tidy-looking women going to market, and
natty men in clean white shirts and well-brushed
clothes, made us feel more disreputable than ever
And we were disreputable ! Our skirts, draggled
and muddy half-way to our waists, clinging and wet
still ; our hair unbrushed, our faces bespattered with
mud, and blackened with smoke and dust from the
engine and our night's travel— the railway hotel not
having afforded us sufficient water to wash them ;
while the fatigue and wakeful night gave us a hag
gard, wobegone,been-out-on-a-spree appearance quite
indescribable. It is a long walk from the Red River ferry to the
Canada Pacific Hotel, but our anxiety to arrive there
before. Winnipeg was abroad, made us get over it as
quickly as possible. Haverty, the manager, received
us, regretting that until after breakfast he could only
let us have one room. Fortunately,I had some friends
whom I did not mind disturbing at that early hour,
so leaving my satchel to be sent after me, and taking
the back streets as much as possible, I went in search

The Terrier at Fay.lt. 245
of them. The maid who answered my knock was a
stranger to me, and, putting on a very forbidding
expression of decided refusal, was not, until I told
my name, inclined to let me in. My friend was not
up, but a few minutes afterwards I was warmly
Welcomed and given a bath and clean clothes before
any one but her husband saw me.
We were detained in Winnipeg nearly a week,
waiting for our luggage. Fortunately for me, the
friend with whom I took refuge was about my own
height, and very kindly lent me what I needed until
I could procure garments of my own. This was,
however, a great cause of trouble to a little English
terrier, of which she made a pet. Recognising her
mistress' slippers and dress, she rubbed her head
against my feet and was very affectionate, but glanc
ing up at my face and discovering that of a stranger,
she jumped back growling. Shortly afterwards,
tempted by the familiar clothes, she again made
friendly advances, only to snarl out her disapproval"
upon hearing my voice ; evidently feeling so puzzled
and imposed upon, that, until I had my own clothes,

246 A Trip to Manitoba.
she declined to make friends with me at all. Every
one was so kind that the days in Winnipeg were
all too short ; but the luggage arriving on Wednes
day, October the 10th, left us no further excuse to
remain, and with many regrets at parting, I said
good-bye.

CHAPTER XIX.
The Minnesota again — Souvenirs of Lord and Lady Duflferin
— From Winnipeg by Red River — Gompagnons de Voyage
—A Model Farm — " Bees " — Manitoba a good Field for
Emigrants — Changes at Fisher's Landing — A Mild Ex
citement for Sundays — Racing with Prairie Fires — Glyn-
don — Humours of a Pullman Sleeping Car — Lichfield.
rE came up the Red River in the Minnesota,
the vessel in which I had gone down two
years and a half before ; the same, too, used by Lord
and Lady Dufferin, with their party. Some Ameri
cans who were with us good-temperedly vied with
each other in their efforts to get the state-rooms oc
cupied by the vice-regal party, and the steward was
asked many questions as to their sayings and doings.
All the Americans took great interest in everything
about them ; carrying their admiration to the extent
of making birch-bark -covered needle-books of the
coarse red flannel spread upon the ground for Lord

248 A Trip to Manitoba.
Dufferin to walk upon — intending them as valuable
souvenirs for their friends.
We left Winnipeg about noon, for three days'
monotonous trip on the river. Novel or work in
hand, we went into the saloon to read or work,
furtively study our fellow-travellers, and by-and-by
make acquaintance with them. . We were a motley
group. Round one table gathered a knot of chatty
Americans, evidently travelling together, and quite
as much at home on board the boat as in their own
drawing-room. Besides this party of friends, there
were plenty of solitary units, of more or less amus
ing characteristics : a prettj', merry woman of about
thirty, mother of three children; a handsome old
lady, hard at work on an embroidered table-cloth —
a present, she told us, for a friend, to whose wedding
she was going;, a young clergyman, whose walk,
expression, and general appearance betrayed his
ritualistic tendencies, and who strolled up and
down, now and then stopping to join in the ladies'
conversation. A sad-looking woman lay on the
sofa, trying to hide her tear-stained face behind" a

Compagnons de Voyage. 249
newspaper which was never turned, the columns to
her containing only regrets for dear friends left
behind. A fussy old lady in a fashionable cap and
cannon curls, after informing us that she was Mrs.
B  -, of — — , drew her chair near every tete-a lite
couple, and, politely requesting to be allowed to take
part in the conversation, gradually usurped it all,
till, before she had apparently quite satisfied herself
upon every one's private affairs, she was left at
liberty to join another group. A tall, delicate, sad-
looking man, the defeated candidate for  , was
returning to Ontario, where he was soon after elected
for another constituency. A sleepy-looking young
Frenchman and his more lively friend, an energetic
speculator, who had gone to Manitoba prospecting
for land, were returning disgusted, having seen,
" dem' it, nothing but mud." A poor old lady was
kept in subjection by a tall daughter, with a face
so closely veiled that our curiosity was aroused.
Not until the third day did I come upon her— sud
denly— while her face was uncovered, and then no
longer wondered that she tried to conceal the dread-

250 A Trip to Manitoba.
ful squint nature had given her. There were, also,
a would-be-fast-if -she-could young lady of eighteen,
who had apparently read in novels of flirtations on
board steamers, until she hoped to make the same
experiences her own, and had not woman's wit
enough to hide her disappointment ; and a nice-
looking girl going home to get her wedding garments
ready, who moaned over the long journey to be
. taken again in six weeks, hoping to be asked " why
the necessity?" Finally a professor and his pretty,
lady-like wife, and one or two other nice people,
made up our compagnons de voyage.
I have already mentioned Red River and its many
windings, which it is needless to allude to here.
We passed Grand Forks at midnight on Saturday,
and, leaving an order for stages to be sent on in the
morning to overtake us, got off the steamer at ten
o'clock on Sunday, saving more than a day on the
river by driving to Fisher's Landing. The farm,
where we went ashore, is owned by an Ontario
emigrant. The house is situated in the midst of a
beautiful grove of oak and birch, among which

A Model Farm. 251
grassy avenues, with huge branches meeting over
head, formed roads to the neat farmyards and
granaries. A big bell hung on cross poles at the
entrance to one of the avenues leading to what was
once the rolling prairie, now fields of grain — six
hundred acres, without a fence, stump, or ditch to
mar the effect. The clear line of the horizon was
broken only by another farmhouse, owned by a
brother-in-law, whose farm lay beyond. The man
told us he had emigrated six years before to Mani
toba, and had gone as far as Emerson, where the
mud frightened him; and, turning back, he had
taken up this land, paying a dollar and a quarter
an acre for it, and had succeeded so well, that at
the end of the second year it had paid all expenses.
Since then he had built a good house and barns, and
bought extra stock, and he was putting money in
the bank. The only trouble he had was the diffi
culty of getting men at harvest time, the farms
being too scattered to be able to follow the Ontario
plan of " Bees ;" * and he often had to work eighteen

* " Bees" are gatherings from all the neighbouring farm-

252 A Trip to Manitoba.
or twenty hours running, the late and early daylight,
as well as the bright, clear moonlight, helping him.
The Yankee emigration agents have a powerful
assistant in the Pembina mud, in persuading Cana
dian emigrants to remain in Dakota or Minnesota.
But if these emigrants were less impatient or less
easily persuaded, they would find quite as good, if
not better land, in Manitoba than on the American
side of the line, besides being under our Queen and
laws. The stage was so long in coming, that some of our
party took advantage of the farmer's offer to drive
them to Fisher's Landing for seventy-five cents a
head. We were not long in following them, and
houses to assist at any special work, such as a "threshing
bee," a " raising" or " building bee." When ready to build,
the farmer apprises all his neighbours of the date fixed, and
they come to his assistance with all their teams and men,
expecting the same help from him when they require it.
They have " bees " for everything, the men for outdoor work,
and the women for indoor ; such as quilting or paring apples
for drying, when they often pare, cut, and string several
barrels in one afternoon. When the young men join them,
they finish the evening with high tea, games, and a dance.

Changes at Fisher's Landing. 253

after jolting for an hour and a half over a rough
road, most of it through farms, we reached Fisher's.
How changed the place was since we stopped there
on our way up ! We found a uniform row of painted
wooden houses, shops, offices, ware-rooms, and board
ing houses, besides several saloons and billiard-rooms.
Up the slight hill to the south, where had been rude
board shanties, mud and chaos, one or two pretty
cottages had been built, having green blinds, and
neatly arranged gardens and lawns. A medium-
sized wharf and gravelled banks had arisen where
was only a dismal swamp, while away over the
prairie lay the iron rails of the St. Vincent and St.
Paul extension line, soon to be running in connec
tion with the Pembina branch of the Canada Pacific
at the boundary, when the tedious trip upon Red
River can be avoided. The side tracks were full of
loaded freight, and cars waiting to tranship at the
wharf, the steamer which left Winnipeg two days
before we did having only just arrived.
In spite of the external improvement in the Land
ing, it had not improved in morals, and is quoted in

254 A Trip to Manitoba.
all the country round as the refuge of all the thieves,
gamblers, drunkards, and cut-throats from both
Canada and the United States. Certainly the men
we saw lounging about looked anything but pre
possessing. Hearing some shots fired during the
afternoon, I was told with a shrug —
" There's some one got a bullet in him 1 There's
always something of that sort happening on Sun
day. They can't work, so need some excitement.
It does not matter much, as there is no law in the
place, and they manage to bring their scores out
pretty even in the end, without any fuss about it."
Probably, however, the -town is not quite so black
as it is painted, and though not a desirable place of
residence, it might be worse.
All the afternoon we heard at intervals the whistle
of the boat we had left — so near that we began to
regret the two dollars' additional expense of the stage.
But we were told that, although scarcely a mile off
as the crow flies, it was, such are the windings of
the river, at least twelve or fourteen hours' journey
from the Landing. We left at a little after four,

Racing with Prairie Fires. 255
and until dark, when rain fell, we raced with
numbers of prairie fires ; some great walls of smoke
and flame, others mere narrow strips of fire, all trav
elling in straight lines, and not interfering with each
other. A tiny spark from the engine would ignite
a fresh spot, and before our car had passed it had
begun its race with the others. The driver, who was
a new hand, and ignorant of the road, dashed over
it at a breakneck pace, the cars swaying from side
to side like a ship in a storm. At Glyndon we took
on a Pullman sleeping car, when there was a scram
ble for berths ; a section containing two, an upper
and lower, costing four dollars for one night. Mrs.
F  and the baby taking the lower one, I prepared
to climb into the upper. Divesting myself of my
hat, dress, and boots in the dressing-room at the end
of the car, I put on an ulster, and mounting the steps,
held by the shining darkey attendant, went aloft.
The space between the bed and the roof was so small
that it was impossible to sit upright ; but the diffi
culties of getting comfortable were compensated for
by the amusement afforded me by my neighbours,

256 A Trip to Manitoba.
separated only by a thin slide, or the heavy curtains
hung on poles in front.
From one side came the expostulations of an
elderly man with a young Frenchman upon his de
mand for a berth, it being more proper that ladies
should be provided for first ; all his eloquence being
answered only by a fretful, '¦ But I wants my sleep ;
I have vera much fatigue ! " On the other side a
choleric old man growled anathemas at his boots and
the absence of a boot-jack, which gradually changed
into fierce snorts and rumblings as of approaching
earthquakes, terminating in startling explosions.
Opposite me, some one, after turning and twisting
about for a while, at last thrust a dishevelled head
between the curtains, and in shrill accents requested
the porter to open the ventilator — "she was just
melting ! " Scarcely was her request complied with,
than a night-capped, grizzled head appeared from
the other side, and in stentorian tones demanded,
where the deuce the wind was coming from ? "Shut
that confounded thing, or I'll break your bones ; "
to which, however, the porter paid no heed, and the

Lichfield. 257

grizzled head grumbled itself to sleep again, mutter
ing threats of reporting him in the morning.
It was very hot, and I found it impossible to sleep.
The strangeness of my surroundings, and the occa
sional thinking aloud of my neighbours, kept me
wakeful. We stopped at seven, at Lichfield, to
breakfast, where, for the moderate charge of seventy-
five cents each, a cup of bad coffee, a. roll, and some
fat bacon were served.

CHAPTER XX.
Lakes Smith and Howard — Lovely Lake Scenery — Long
Lake — The Little American — " Wait till you see our Min-
netaunka ! " — Minneanopolis — Villa Hotels — A 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 Wis
consin — School-houses — A Peep at Chicago — Market
Prices — Pigs !— The Fairy Tales of Progress — Scotch In
credulity — Detroit Ferry — Hamilton — Good-by to my
Readers. ,N leaving Lichfield our road lay through some
beautiful, slightly undulating country. Be
tween lofty bluffs, the train emerged along the
shores of a lovely lake, and before its beauties had
disappeared, another and another followed in rapid
succession. The first two, Smith and Howard, are
very much alike. Then we passed through two o
three pretty little villages, their streets avenues of

"Wait till you see our Minnetaunka 1 " 259
trees, the roads as well kept as the drive of an
English park, the houses and gardens marvels of
neatness, and glorious with flowers, and the orchards
laden with ripe fruit. As we passed Long Lake, a
narrow sheet of water that called forth expressions
of admiration from us all, a bright little American
child, with whom we had made friends, said
shyly— " You think that pretty. Wait till you see our
lake — our Minnetaunka : they call it Wayzata
now ! " she added sadly.
We did see it by noon, and its beauties justified
the preference. Minnetaunka — let us keep the old
name which the child seemed to love so well — about
twenty-five miles long, is full of islands kept in
perfect order. Their natural beauties are developed
with the taste and skill that characterize the Ameri
can nation, by the inhabitants of the beautiful villas
scattered along its shores. Tiny yachts and skiffs
lay at anchor, or, with all sails set, skimmed the
glistening water, bearing no doubt, pleasure parties
from the pretty villa hotels, which could only be

260 A Trip to Manitoba.
distinguished from private houses by the numerous
chairs and newspaper-readers on their verandahs.
A little steam-yacht lay at the wharf, while a merry
party of young people, laden with picnic baskets,
embarked. When the train sped on, and we had
strained our eyes for the last peep, the child, watch
ing our faces, asked —
" It is beautiful, isn't it ?"
We had no words to tell her how lovely we
thought it. Cedar Lake, which we passed before
reaching Minneanopolis, could not bear the compari
son. An old man, pointing out some large flour-
mills near the road, told us of a terrible explosion
there in 1877, when many lives were lost. The
machinery and mills were shattered to pieces, and
thousands of pounds' wortk of damage was done ;
yet in 1878 they were again in full working order,
and as celebrated as ever for the fineness of their
flour. At St. Paul's we changed trains, and" said good
bye to the charming Americans who had been the
pleasantest of travelling companions.

Story of a French Canadian Woman. 261

On the Chicago and Milwaukee line which we now
took, we saw more of the American element, and
felt Uncle Sam's land a greater reality. Every man
was a colonel or general ; every woman was neat
and pretty, but painfully slight. All were perfect
ly at home ; no matter how long the journey, they
did not get so tossed and travel-stained as we Ca
nadians. Before the train left St. Paul's we heard the story
of a poor little French Canadian woman. She was
returning to Quebec from Fort McLeod, eleven hun
dred miles from Winnipeg, in the North- West ter
ritories. She had gone there to settle, but a terrible
home-sickness for her own people had impelled her
to spend nearly her last shilling in the payment of
her passage back. Now she came in great distress
to tell of the loss of her pocket-book, containing
her tickets, and all she had to buy. food and lodging
on the way. A generous compatriot said he would
see that she was provided for] and the railway
officials offering to give her a through ticket for less
than half price, the money was soon collected from

262 A Trip to Manitoba.
amongst the passengers, the Yankees being the most
liberal. The poor thing, drying her eyes, acknow
ledged her gratitude with all the expressive gesticu
lation of her race.
Comedy and tragedy jostle each other in life. At
St. Paul's, also, our sleepy Frenchman and a friend,
who had left Winnipeg together to be travelling
companions to Ottawa, discovered that their tickets
were for different routes, and they had to separate.
They met again at Chicago, only to say good-bye
once more, their routes still not agreeing. At To
ronto they again encountered, to separate at Brock-
ville. One went by the "Canada "Central," and the
other the "St. Lawrence and Ottawa" at Prescott ;
so each entered Ottawa at opposite ends. And, as
one of them said, " The best of the fun. is, my bag
gage goes with T  , and I travel sans every
thing" From St. Paul's our road lay along the banks of
the most beautiful part of the Mississippi river,
which, shallow though it is, is also broad, bright and
clear. The surrounding country was in the height

Milwaukee and Chicago. 263
of its summer beauty. Charming villages nestled
under the high banks ; houses were built on pro
jecting shelves of rock, with so little space between
them, that it seemed as if a slight shove would pre
cipitate them over the edge. Every foot of ground
was utilized, and there was none of the debris that
hangs about the back yards and odd corners of Ca
nadian villages. At every wharf were numbers of
small craft and river steamers, seemingly plying a
thriving trade.
We passed Milwaukee — the prettiest town in the
State of Wisconsin — at night, and could only see,
through the misty darkness, its many light and tidy
streets. A noticeable feature in all the villages,
however small, was the size of the substantial
buildings devoted to education. Many of them
were very handsome, with grounds prettily laid out
and well kept, while the surrounding hamlets are
merely groups of neat little wooden cottages.
We had only an hour in Chicago, and saw no more
of the Western metropolis than could be gleaned
in a drive through to the station, or Great Western

264 A Trip to Manitoba.
depQt. Here the remainder of our Winnipeg friends
left us. Anxious to telegraph to friends in Toronto,
I, with some questioning, found my way through a
large baggage office, crowded with packages and
porters, up a rickety outside staircase to a small
room in a blackened row of buildings. My tele
grams despatched, I wandered through some of the
neighbouring streets in search of a restaurant,
whereat to replenish our luncheon-basket. Out of
mere curiosity I asked the price of the different
edibles displayed on the counter. A cold roast
fowl, weighing, possibly, a fraction over a pound,
was seventy cents; delicious fresh rolls, twelve cents
a dozen ; buttermilk on draught, six cents a glass ;
English ale, fifty cents a pint bottle ; black pudding,
two cents a pound ; and as much cold roast pork and
beans, or boiled ham, as I liked for seventy cents.
The man smiled at my ignorance in asking the price
of pork in Chicago — the great pork-packing centre
of the West.
As our train left, we passed car-loads of fat hogs,
lying two or three deep, waiting to be unloaded at

Fairy Tales of Progress. 265
some one pr other of the great establishments, where,
in but a few minutes, the pig is killed, dressed, cut
up and packed ready for shipment again as pork.
The public gardens in the suburbs, surrounded with
handsome private residences, are pretty, but until
we reached Detroit, there was little to interest us
in the country. Inside we had the usual mixture
of travelling companions. An animated discussion
arose between two old farmers, one returning to
Ontario from a short visit to a son in California, the
other going to Canada after an absence of over thirty
years. The former called forth the latter's expres
sions of wonder by recounting all the changes and
improvements he would find. More and more in
credible they sounded. A city where he had left a
swamp; thriving farms and villages where he re
membered dense woods, traversed alone by wolves
and bears; mills in the midst of impassable rapids;
bridges over falls no man dare cross in his day; and
when at last he was told that, instead of getting out
and entering boats at Detroit, the train, engine, and
all ran on board the iron ferry boat, and was taken

266 A Trip to Mcmitoba.
across intact, then carrying us through to Hamilton,
he bustled out of his seat in great indignation, ex
claiming —
" Hoot, mon, I'll na believe ony mair o' yure lies ;
I'm na sic an ould fule as ye tak' me for. The hale
train on a boat, indeed !" and he indignantly placed
himself at the other end of the car, his informant
only rubbing his hands together in great glee at the
fun. The little black porter on the Pullman was very
attentive, getting coffee for us at the different stations,
seeing our baggage through the custom-house at
Detroit, and when the train was on the boat, and it
was fairly under weigh, taking me down into the
engine-rooms, where I could look and wonder at the
power propelling the boat, laden with two trains
across the river. On deck, the lights from the
numerous ships and buildings enabled me to see an
outline of the city and river ; but I wished it had
been daylight or even moonlight, for then I could
have seen everything to greater advantage. Return
ing to the car, I passed the incredulous Scotchman

A A

Good-bye to my Readers. 267
standing open-mouthed near the machinery, and
watched him as he walked to the gangway mutter
ing, "Ay, it is a boat, after a'. Weel, weel, wonders
wull never cease." On Canadian soil again, and
speeding on to the end of our journey, we stopped
nowhere until we reached Hamilton, at three o'clock
in the morning of Wednesday, October 16th. There
my brother met us, and after spending the remain
der of the night, or rather morning, at the Royal
Hotel, we went on to Toronto by the nine o'clock
train, reaching that place before noon. There, too,
I will leave my readers, asking their indulgence for
this simple account of my trip to and life in Mani
toba.

THE END.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 9002 03229 0422

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