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23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

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THE

NORTH-WEST TERRITORIES:

BEINO AN ACCOUNT OF THEIK EXTENT, SOIL, AND NATURAL RESOURCES';
THE ROUTES OF TRAVEL ; WITH A SKETCH OF THEIR HISTORY

f ■ '^i •'

, DOWN TO THE ORGANIZATION OF THE

!«-; ',

I^ROVIlSrCE OF IVTAISriTOBA^.

BOOKSELIi.EB,

TORONTO,

ILLUSTRATED BY A MAP.

I- ■

TORONTO:

A. S. IRVING, PUBLISHER, KING STREET.

• 1871.

Bell , B»An * Co. , PriBt«n, M sad M Tonge Stltet, Toronto.

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CHAS. LEVEY & CO.,

MACEINEBT
BROKERS,

73 to 77

Adelaide Street- West,

TOROUTO, OXTT.

OUR SPECIALTIES /."IE

ENGINES AND BOILERS,

All Sizes, New and Seooad-hand,

Of which we have always one of the largest and most complete stocks in tlie

market. Also,

WOOD WORKING MACHINERY,

Of Latest Improved Patterns,
IN STORE AND TO ORDER ON SHORT NOTICE.

SHINGLE MACHINES

AND JOINTERS.

Turbine Water Wheels,

BEST DESCRIPTIONS.

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M>j < >#

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'1|}3U9J)S pUB SS9U}l|3j| 0} UaAjS U(L^

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tflTheeler A IVilson's

HIIJ.NT MOTION

EWING MACHINES

'♦»*'

Castings and IVIachiners

>« ■..JKiMaMl

MMLilL ©14BM© AM©

Hoisting Maohinery, Cabinet Factories, Join«
Factories, Grist Mills, Saw Mills,

Plans, Price Lists iin

37 SPARKS STREET, OTTAWA.

REPAIRS AND ALTERATIONS.

JOHN FENSOM,35to37

BRASS FOUNDER,

Plumber, Steam Fitter

SODA WATER MACHINE MAKER,

SASH BARS,

l!AS ANli COAI. (Ill, lllANliKMKHS ON
MAM) AND ,MA1)K lo lUiliKll.

JOELIKQ ur ALL KINDS ATTZNDEC TO,

93 Queen SL. West, Toronto.

Alto, frnprirlor of lUv TOHONTO STKAM

SOItA UATKH MAXrfAITOHV, Trmiirr-

tnif SIrrrt, tt'vtt of liny SIrrrt.

EOWtll W

3DST,A.:BXjISHIIiID !«

MAN IJFACTUliE

■<.;.'.,j|r.'!ii.'vfc.3 „.:;.; ^^»

iAiRia®

Aco., Aco., ScG.

Ilhistrated Catalogue on

(Snooeasor to Kershaw dc Edwards,)

9"$$^%- ^^OO

id IXEachlnery of all hinds.

B14BISI © 41ira bref Il!@^»,

inet Factories, JoiiiflU* Factories, Boot and Shoe
ist Mills, Saw Mill8,Kpioe Mills, etc.

Plans, Price Lists anl (;;Qtaiogue of Patterns rurnlsliod on application.

NSOM, 35 to 37 Adelaide St. West, Toronto.

5C$rtinto

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:QS7i.siiiS£(ais

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33ST.A.E3IJISIIEI3 1380.

lAT^^lJFACTUKEK OF

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MAXnTTAOTTTHiaiB 07

IRON VAULTS, DOORS, &c.,

i^oxi

Aco., &o., &a..

or:
9t.

nfed Catalogue on upplication

tl Set^ ~Woi7l^s.

jsi^r'A.xir^iHHET) ttfiias

'a
o Kersliaw 4c Edwards,) Murafaoturer of

IMES, ESaiSTET km FRIf AXE Of FSOIS.

filSiriD rOB CtBG^XiAil.

1-^"^)

MANUFACTORY AND SALEROOM:

WILLIAM DIXON,

FIBST CLASS tmUC^S lU.!

[Steam (Enoine Wotks,

MANUFACTURER

STABLE & STATIONARY

STEAM wGimm,

AUV B0Xt.4!llS.

ill I k infis oCGonrincj Tor SLoafln& Water Saw Mills.
JrsfK iPltOrS FOR ST:4MPiya SBPFT MKTfiLS.

Burglar Proof Safes

IRON DOORS.

IRON SHUTTERS.

IRON VAULT LININGS,

1 . !

T
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BSF

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■\ i i

-U.J

•

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■s \

1 • •■

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And every description of IZron Work for Public Build
NAf^l«:«R<M>>I: n> > i4-ioi-iii ^4<|||fll•4>. iintloyi^f

K. ij. HOOK i:, 51 riMMttf Si. KiiMtJnr

General A^rent for Ontario and the

J Alls LOCKS,

SAFE Z^OCKSp

on Work for PnbHo BuU^ca. J«ll«. Registry Offlcofl. etc.
ill N<|iiiii-«>. iiiiaoi^l.]*,,,,.!,.!^..^ Hull. :\loiil im>iiI.

vimi Hi, HuMiJToiMKiito,

jnt for Ontario and the vA^^ (iTSend for an Ulu«tra,ted Price List.

70 & 72 KISU STREET WEST, TORONTO.

Mk I) solicit, .m ins|Krtioii nl hi, |.ir>;r .iiul ...,iiul sl.K.k ol l-irst-Llass
I .uiiaijfs, iii.ulf lioin

LJITEST EHrOLTSH Alfn AmURTCAJI HSiE^^lft,

('i':s°MiM-riwfi IN PAii'i' <M-

FAMILY ROGKAWAYS, OPEN PONY PHiETONS,

i^UiiiT ()I>i;n iuu!<iii.;.s,
LOS 11F&QXK», &irM]|£S HXMTOmB,

All work made of the best material and special attention given to lightness and strength.

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iUmr!lMiliHlllfinll llllnl

EQIHfllinl 1 IfuilNlffllllH

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Ontario Vinegar Works,

UPPER JAMES STREET,

HAMILTON.

v ■

BIRELY & CO.,

MANUFACTUUKUS OV

WHITE WINE PICKLING,

* ■ '

MJLUT, OZDSH,

No. I and Extra Vinegars.

JOHN MACNAB & CO.,

(Late LYMAN & MACNAB),
IMPORTERS & WHOLESALE DEALERS IN

BXtZTZSE,

asEMAxr,

FRENCH,

AlffSZUCOAXT,

and CANADXAir

SHELF AND HEAVY ..

HARD ^/V A R E,

5 Front 3treet, Toronto.

JOHN MACNAB. T. HEKBEBT MARSH.

13,

HEINTZMAN AND COMPANY,

MANUFACTURERS OF

AmAWWm Ml' f 141®f ®Sf IS

And Dealers in Organs, &c.

FIRST PRIZES AND DIPLOMAS AT

And at

TORONTO,
1870.

KINGSTON,
1867,

HAMILTON,
1868,

Thi'ee First Prizes anil I>iploinaN.

WABEROOMS AND FACTORY,

115 and 117 King Street West, Toronto.
S; DAVISON & Co.,

IMPORTERS AND DEALERS IN

FANCY GOODS,

Vuloaaite Jewellery,

COMBS, BRUSHES, &c.,

33 OOJ^BOK^IVE ST.,

TORONTO.

2-E

NtWMN

^p. I'lllMI"

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Lrh

THE

fV^

NORTH-WEST TERRITORIES:

BEING AN' ACCOUNT OF THEIR EXTENT, SOIL, AND NATURAL RESOURCE* J

THE K0UTE8 OK TRAVEL ; 'WITH A SKETCH OF THEIU HISTORY

DOWN TO THE ORGANIZATION OF THE

r»i^ovi:NrcE of jmanitoba..

ILLUSTRATED BY A M A«P.

1^ '

TORONTO:

A. S. IRVING, PUBLISHER, KING STREET.

Entered, according to the Act of Parliament of Canada, in tlie year
Ona thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, by A. S. Irving, in the
OflSce of the Minister of Asriculturo.

^1 ' /

rm Lll

PREFACE.

On the 15th of July, 1870, that vast region, commonly known as the
North-West Territories, was formally transferred to the Dominion of
Canada. By this important measure, a prolonged struggle between
the spirit of free colonization and the expiring genius of monopoly
was brought to a closg. The possession of this noble domain, so far
from dim'nishing tlie interest felt by our people, during years of dis-
cussion, has only served to intensify it. The pro? j^) :ct opening to our
view is a most magnificent one. In whatever aspect it be regarded,
the transfer of the North-West is pregnant with the most important
results, not only to Canada, but also to the struggling millions of
Europe, for whom that fertile land, like a generous mother, is unfold-
ing her ample bosom. It is only recently that we have learned to
realize in part the value of the prize. As long as the Hudson Bay
Company and its agents could do so, they never ceased to misrepre-
sent the nature and resources of the country. Now that their arts
can no longer avail them, we have begun to appreciate its vast
prairies, its mighty rivers, its navigable lakes, its mineral wealth, its
immeasurable capacity for future greatness. ' '

In a political point of view, the possession of the territory is
scarcely less important. With the annexation of British Columbia,
now on the eve of accomplishment, the Dominion of Canada will
stretch, in an unbroken line of British territory, from the Atlantic to
the Pacific — a power capable of resisting aggression, and strong
enough to preserve its autonomy on the Continent by its own strength
and with its own resources.

•*m

It is not surprising, therefore, considering the vast importance of
the subject, that a demand for reliable information regarding th©
Xorth-West is constantly increasing. A large number of books have
already issued from the press. Th'-se, taken together, cover the entire
ground ; but they are scarcely cessil^lo to the great mass of the
people. In the following work, a attempt is made to abridge and
condense these books, and to present all that is likely to interest the
general reader in a concise form and at an extremely reasonable price.
Of course, wo lay no claim to originality ; our book is professedly a
compilation, and as such is submitted to the public. At the same
time, every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, and to afford as
fiUl a view of the subject as can be given in the limited space at our
command.

The work is divided into three parts. The first contains an
account of the nature, extent, and resources of the country. The
second discusses the means of communication with, and through it ;
including some remarks upon the proposed railway to the Pacific. In
the concluding division, a sketch is given of the country's history,
from the Hudson Bay Charter of Charles II. to the establishment of
Canadian rule in Manitoba under Lieutenant-Governor Archibald.
So far as regards the Hudson Bay Company, wo have not thought it
necessary to occupy more space than is required to enable the reader
to understand fully the nature and scope of the compromise effected
under the auspices of Earl Granville. The events which have sub-
sequently occurred belong to the debateable ground of contemporary
politics. People are not yet agreed as to the view which ought to be
taken regarding the abortive insurrection under Kiel — the visit of
Mr. Howe — the unsuccessful mission of Mr. McDougall — or the
merits and demerits of the Manitoba Act of 1870. It is, of course,
impossible to narrate passing events, uninfluenced by praconceived
opinions ; still, we have endeavoured to present a sketch as fair and
unbiassed a^ possible.

"We may add that the map which accompanies the work has been

"•"^r"

11 *

designed and executed expressly for it, and is as complete as we have
been able to make it.

In conclusion, Ave desire to express our obligations to the published
accounts of Messrs. Russell, Hind, Dawson, and Mair, as well as to
those of Loul Milton, Sir George Simpson, Bishops !Machray and
Tach(', Dr. Schultz, and others, from all of whom we have borrowed
freelv.

THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORIES.

FIRST PART..

CHAPTET? i.

GRAND DIViSTONS.

As Mr. Russell'vS very able and exhaustive work on " The Hudson's
Bay and North- West" is now an admitted authority, we shall follow
it in the "grand divisions" and boundaries as therein given. The
grand divisions are as follows :

1. East Main, or the peninsula of Labrador.

2. South Hudson's Bay Territory — between that Bay and Lakes
"Winnipeg and Athabasca, from the northern water-shed ot the St.
La-\vrence to lat. 60° N.

3. North Hudson's Bay Territory or Barren Ground, extending
from the preceding to ihe Arctic Ocean.

4. The Mackenzie Eiver Country, from lat. 60° ."N". to the Arctic
Ocean.

5 The Pelly River or Mountain Territory, embracing all north
of British Columbia from the crest of the Rocky Mountains to Alaska.

6. The Red River, Saskatchewan, and Peace River Country, or
Central Prairie Land, extending from the Lake of the Woods and
Lakes Winnipeg and Athabasca to the Rocky Mountains, and from
the United States boundary line, lat. 49° N., up to lat. 60° N.

To the first five grand divisions, it is not considered necessary to
devoiu more than a brief space, not only because they cannot properly
be termed agricultural — though two of them have undoubtedly large
portions of arable land ; but, as the Hudson Bay Company, by the
" compromise" of Earl Granville, retains the exclusive right to the fur
trade in those parts, it is presumed that the interest of the "requiring
present" is more particularly centered in the Fertile Belt. However,
the boundaries and some few extracts are necessary, if for no other
purpose than as an introduction to the proper description of the 6th
division — the Central Prairie Country.

EAST MAIN.

The boundaries of Lalrador, or East Mnir, are as follows: James'

.r.

Bay on the "West; Hudson's Bay and Hudson's Straits on the North-
West and North; on the East, the Atlantic Ocean, From South
Hudson's Bay Territory it is divided by Eupert's liivor, which crosses
the ill-defined boundary of East Main and the Province of Qn ' "o, as
shown on the map. The area thus contained is set down at • about
four hundred and twenty thousand superficial miles." Keeping to
the evidence of Mr. Gladman — who was xijjwards of thirty years in
the Hudson Bay Company's service — given before a committee of the
Canadian Legi.slature in 1857, we find that he raised "good potatoes,
turnips, and vegetables," at East IMain Old Factory, which is upwards
of fifty miles north of Rupert's Kiver. And he also stated that at
J3ig River, which is about one hundred and twenty miles above East
jNIain Old Factory, there were grown potatoes and other vegetables.
These facts derive a certain importance when contemplating the prob-
able future extent of the fisheries on the shores of this immense tract.

SOUTH Hudson's bay territory.

Crossing Rupert's River from East Main, we enter the second
division. South Hudson's Bay Territory, and taking for our boundary
on the left, as we proceed toward Lahe Winnipeg, the height of land
or watershed Avhere the separate rivers which empty into Hudson's
Day and those which feed the St. Lawrence take their rise, wo shall
reach the northern part of the Lake, though in a somewhat circuitous
manner, having first turned southward to Rainy River and then north-
westward. From thence, by the northern pnrt of Lake Winnipeg,
continuing in a north-westerly direction, we shall cross Lake Atha-
basca at about parallel of lat. 60^ N. From this line eastward to
Hudson's Bay we have the confines of the second division, which
contains four hundred a"d thirty thousand superficial miles. Of the
general features of this tract it will be necessary to speak somewhat
fully when we come to consider the question of "routes." At present
we can only make room for some extracts describing the richness of
this large and extensive farming country in the south-west corner of
the division, which large tracts become the more important when we
know that through them passes the road that is now constructed
between Lake Superior and Red River.

Mr. Dawson, in his report of 1858, Avherein he more fully than
elsewhere describes this country, alludes to Rainy River as follows : —
"Rainy River, which forms here the boundary between Canada and
the United States, is a beautiful stream varying from 250 yards to a
quarter of a mile in width, and flowing, Avith a winding course, tlirough
a valley of deep alluvial soil. The banks rise from the height of 30
to 40 feet, with a gentle slope to the river, while back of that the
country is apparently level. The prevailing growth of wood is poplar,
as in the rich alluvial soil at Red River ; but the balm of Gilead tree
is abundant, and elms, in many places, line the margin of the stream.
On landing to dine to-day, I went a few miles into the woods, and
found the soil of the richest description, growing poplar and balm of

Gilead trees of a very large size. We camp in the evening on a sandy
point, the first we have seen growing red pine. The distance we have
come to-day cannot be more than forty miles ; such an extent of ricli
land without a break, or a country so well ad.-^pted for settlement, I
have seldom seen. Rainy liiver does not seem subject to great floods ;
the trees on the bank grow within a few feet of the water as it now
is ; four feet over the present level I should think the greatest height
to which it ever attains. It is said, however, that it is sometimes as
much as three lower, so that there may' be a difference of six or seven
feet between extreme low and high water. * * * About Itainy Lake
and from thence to llainy liiver and the Lake of the "Woods, following
from the latter place the proposed route across to Eed River, the
country is, I think, as well adai)ted for settlement as any other part
of North America. The climate is good, the soil in general fertile,
water-power is to bo had in abundance, and in the wood.T there are
many valuable kinds of timber. This, of itself, is a country of consid-
erable extent; tlie distance from the head of Rainy Lake, by the pro-
posed route, being about two hundred and sixty miles, and yet it is
but small and insignificant when compared with the vast region with
which the road would open a communication."

Sir George Simpson in his "Journey Round the World," used tho
following words when referring to Rainy River : " Nor are the banks
less favorable to agriculture than the waters themselves to navigation,
resembling, in some measure, those of the Thames, near Richmond.
From the very brink of tho river there rises a gentle slope of green
sward, crowned in many places with a plentifid growth of birch,
poplar, beech, elm, and oak. Is it too much for the eye of philanthropy
to discern through the vista of futurity this noble stream, connecting,
as it does, the fertile shores of two spacious lakes, with crowded steam-
boats on its bosom, and populous towns on its borders ? "

That the noble baronet denied the truth of this glowing picture, in
his oral testimony before the Committee in England, is well known, but
the public have long since felt convinced that tho reason of his doing
so, was that the very existence of the Hudson Bay Company .n which
he held a very high position, would be jeopardised by such '.nowledge
becoming ^'eneral. Accordingly the welfare of the monopolists was
preferred to tlie common Aveal, in Sir George Simpson's self accusation.
Or, as one reviewer puts it : — he first described a Garden of Eden, and
then asserted that a human being could not live in it. However,
while the foregoing extracts, now fully and frequently corroborated,
leave no doubt on the public mind as to their truthfulness, we need
not stop to question the A^eracity of one, whose zeal for the monopoly
obscured many of those finer principles which had at one time raise
him high in the estimation of the world.

Professor Hind has also, in reference to tliis tract along Rainy
River, given his testimony. He says that it stretches in direct distance
about sixty miles, with a breadth of from half a mile to twelve miles,
and contains over two hundred and tAventy thousand acres of rich
alluvial land, highly suitable for cultivation. On the north shore of

."Lac Seul, which is ^bout one hundred miles north of Eainy Lake,
there is a large grain-growing tract, and when we find that at New
Brunswick House wheat was grown with apparently good, success, we
are prepared for Mr. Kussell'e statement, " that a line from the north
side of Lake Abittibbi, passing a little north of New Brunswick House
and a hundred miles north of Eainy Lake, striking Lake "Winnipeg
north of Fort Alexander, may be taken as the northern line of the
cultivation of wheat." As the " immense space " between this line
and Eainy Eiver has not as yet ^ 'cn explored, there is every reason to
believe that other large tracts similar to those lately discovered near
the shores of Lake Nipigon, are inviting cultivation.

NORTH Hudson's bay territory.

Is bounded on the north l)y the Arctic Ocean, or the oast by the
Hudson's Bay, on the south by the G0° parallel N. lat., and on the
west by a line from Great Slave Lake to Great Boar Lake and thence
to Coronation Gulf. This whole tract which has a superKcial extent
of over four hundred thousand miles is extremely cold and barren, the
only animals being the Eeindeer and Musk Ox. Mineral wealth,
especially copper has been much sought after in this region, many of
the exi)loration3 made by the Hudson's Bay Company having been
undertaken with this end in view. Of the results from mining many
writers appear very sanguine. Passing westward to the Eocky
Mountains we cross what is laid down as the

MACKENZIE RIVER COUNTRY. '

This division, running northward from 60 ° North latitude to the
Arctic Ocean, encloses an area of about two hundred and seventy
thousand square mUes, and though it lies in the same latitiade as
the former, has a climate mucli less severe, which may be attriVuted,
in a great measure, to breezes from the Pacific Ocfean, passing through
gorges of the mountains, and also to the prevalence of limestone.
Trees grow on the very shores of the Arctic Ocean. Mr. Eussell con-
denses authorities as follows : — " Being of Silurian and more recent
formations, and generally a plain, it would have been a good agricultu-
ral country had its climate admitted. Such as it is, though its south-
ern boundary is the limit of profitable wheat cultivation, Colonel
Lefroy and Sir John Eichardson say that at Fort Simpson, a hundred
and fifty miles further north, witu a mean summer temperature of
59 1 ° Fah., barley grows well ; and the latter says that at Fort Nor-
man, three hundred and forty miles north of latitude GO ® , (the assum-
ed southern boundary of this section) potatoes are raised, and in good
seasons barley ripens well, and that latitude 65 ° may bo considered
as the northern limit of the growth of barley. He adds, that at Fort
Good Hope, a hundred and eighty miles north of Fort Norman, that is
fifty north of the Arctic Circle, turnips attain the weight of two or
three pounds in favourable seasons, but barley has failed when tried.
Fort Simpson is evidently within the limit of barley cultivation, for

which, on the authority of Ernan, quoted by Sir John Richardson, it-
is necessary only that the mean temperature of any one of the three
summer months shall not fall below 47 ° 75 Fah At Fort Simpson,
the mean of each of five months is above that, being for May 48 "^ 16,
June, 63 ® 64 ; Ju!^ , 60 ° 97 ; August, 53 ° 84 ; September ; 49 <= 10.
The three winter months, however, are there extremely cold, the mean
being 10 ° below zero, that of the spring months, 26 ° 66 above zero,
and of autumn, 27 ° 34. If, therefore, we draw a lino across this ter-
ritory at latitude 65 ° north, we find that we have in the south part of
it an area of a hundred and twenty thousand square miles, which, with
the necessary allowance for waste lands and positions unfavourable in
elevation or aspect, nearly all admits of the growth of barley, as well
as vegetables, and that most admit of the growth of rye in the part of
it adjoining the limit of profitable wheat cultivation."
Crossing the Rocky Mountains, we enter the

PELLY RIVER, OR MOUNTAIN COUNTRY,

which extending westward to the Pacific, has for its southern boun-
dary the Simpson Eiver, while Alaska, lately bought by the Ameri-
cans from Russia, and the Arctic Ocean, limit its extent on the
north. This section is noted for its mountainous nature, and the pe-
culiarity of its climate, in being proportionately warmer in winter,
and colder in summer than any other part of British North America.
The mean winter temperature ranges with that of New York City,
and yet the summers at Sitka are not sufficiently warm to ripen grain.
Still, with all these disadvantages, we liavo north of the Simpson
River very extensive valleys inviting cultivation.

The fishing is good also, and all parties agree in advancing its min-
eral wealth, as something that compensates for all other drawbacics.
Mr. R. concludes his chapter as follows : — " Such advantages may not
be common, and may be limited to a small part of this territory ; but,
good lands, with a moderate climate, on fine salmon rivers, with valu-
able timber forests and beds of coal, situated within a hundred miles
of the continually open navigation of the Pacific and its commerce,
taken together with the gold-bearing character of the country, (for
which the River Stikene to the northward of the Simpson is famous,)
render the southern part of this tenitory of considerable, immediate^
and still greater future value."

4»

CHAPTER ir.

CENTRAL PRAIRIH DIVISION.

Such being tho surrounding sections, we now come to tho sixth
grand division, generally alluded to as tho Xorlh-West or lied lliver
Territory, although the latter term in strictness only embraces a com-
paratively small portion of tho former, Avhich, following ^Ir. Kussell,
wo will term *' Tho Central Prairie Land." This division is bounded
on the south by 49"^ X. lat., the boundary line between tho British
Possessions and tho United States ; on the east by the Lake of tho
Woods, the Kiver Winnipeg, Lake Winnipeg, and from thence by a
line drawn through Athabasca Lake to 60° N. lat.; continuing
westward along that parallel of latitude to tho Eocky Mountains, is
the northern boundary ; while tho Rocky Mountains divide it from
British Columbia on the west. It contains within these limits an
area of about four hundred and eighty thousand square miles, which
is about ten times the size of tho State of Pennsylvania ; or, taking a
European comparison, we find that the kingdoms of Great Britain and
Ireland, Prussia and Belgium, and the Empire of France, could all be
comfortably placed within the limits of this Central Region. Now,
the united population of those enumerated countries is above 95,000,-
000 ; accepting tho theory of certain writers as to the requirements of
a healthy population, and only calculat-ng on one inhabitant to the
same amount of land in the Territory ai, in Europe supports three, we
have still room and scope enough for upwards of 30,000,000 of meu.
Figures, however, or proportionate extents, are of very questionable
value when forming an opinion of a country; as mere statistics they
may assist, but seldom receive great consideration when a distinct idea
or realization, if we may use the ten^, k sought to be attained. This
being so, and it also being paramountly requisite that the people should,
as speedily as possible, become conversant with all the capabilities and
resources of this immense division, both for their individual interests,
and from national considerations, the extent, resources, and unrivalled
advantages of the separate sections within the " Central Country,"
or Fertile Belt, will, it is hoped, be sufficiently unfolded within the
following pages.

By referring to the map, we see that the section now treated of, and
it is the only part particularly claiming the immtdiate consideration of
the Canadian public, presents the appearance nf a vast plain, drained
by the Assiniboine, Saskatchewan, and Peace R'vers. These waters,
rU taking their rise at the eastern base of the A^ocky Mountains, in
close proximity to each other, between lat. 49"^ ant! 52° N., (a section
noted for a great amount of limestone) have, of course, largely con-

tributod to the fertility of tho prairies throu^'h which tliey pass. A
glance at the map will show the separate tracts that those rivers drain :
tho groat extent of which, iia a whole, will become more readily
apj)Areiit by giving tho length of tho boundaries of tho "Central
Pmirio Laud," or, as wo liavo been accustomed to hear it denominated
the North- West Territory. From the south-east angle of tho Lake of
the "Woods along the northern boundary line of the United States, to
tho base of tho llocky Mountains, which junction forms tho south-
west angle of the great section, the distance is stated as about 890
miles. This boundary runs almost wholly through a prairie country,
a great portion of wliich is claimed to l)o of tho richest soil. The
exception being that "barren ground" which, skirting tho eastern base
of the Eocky Mountains, for about 150 or 200 miles in our territory,
is known generally as tho American desert. Turniug northward for
our western boundary, anil along what has been so frequently termed
tlio " backbono of the country," wo roach tlio G0° jiarallel north lati-
tude, at about OaO miles from tho south-west angle. Tho eastern
boundary, following lakes and rivers as it does, is longer, making
the figures more than a 1,000. As the natural features of both sides
liave, in a manner, tond«d toward each other in their northward
course, they shorten tho lino along their G0° N. lat. to about 300 miles.
Now, when the reader has made the slightest comparison of those
distances with those of places well known, and has realized the fact
that so large a proportion of this immense division is as susceptible of
tho very highest state of cultivation as any other similarly large divi-
sion of the habitable globe, ho will have, we think, good grounds
for continuing his research into the varied advantages of the different
sub-divisions hereafter to be severally treated of.

By the map,having seen that the Central Plain or Prairie Land is about
€qui-distant from tho Pacific and Arctic Oceans, and from Hudson's
Bay, the denomination of " central" becomes quite appropriate. NoVv
from this, and tho fact of the sources of so many large rivers being
either in or on the borders of this division, there may arise the impres-
sion that its elevation must be extremely high. This, however, is not
so. The Saskatchewan finds its level in Lake Winnipeg at 620 feet
above the sea, and this river in its thousand mile course has compara-
tively no rapids. Again, Lake Athabasca is only 600 feet above tho
sea. And while tho same even flow in the waters of the River
Athabasca which empties into it, is observed the Mackenzie River, or
River of the North, which,rising in close proximity to the Saskatchewan
and Athabasca rivers, amidst the glaciers of tho Rocky Mountains, has
nearly from its source a gradual descent to the Arctic Ocean, —
1000 miles of uninterrupted navigation, the current flowing at six
miles per hour. Now, accepting these figures, we may safely assume, as
all writers agree, that from a point in the east base of the Rocky
Mountains at about 62 ° north latitude, the plains are a gradual
declination eastward to the Lake of the Woods, and northward to the
Arctic Ocean. This depression in going northward wiU assist in ex-
plaining why wheat can be grown so much farther northward, near the

base of the Ilocky Mountains, on the Atlantic coast, than on this point,
we may also allude first to the isothermal lino which followed on the map
designates the mean temi)oraturo across the continent from tho Atlantic
to the Pacific. And secondly, to tho northern limit of " coniferous
trees." Tho latter, it appwirs by the Litest maps, do not grow higher
than about the centre of East Main, on the Atlantic coast, but the lino
turning northward as it goes westward, makes tho Arctic Ocean at the
mouth of tlie Mackenzie liiver its boundary. The lino of " Pasture
Grapes" corresj)onds with tho foregoing in ascending proportionately
higher ivs they tend westward than the isothermal line, though tho
grapes are not marked as extending licyond the Great Hear Lake. The
foregoing brief reference to the ,q'adual fall of the rivers through tho
alluvial plateau, tho richness of which none attempt to deny, tho
impression will undoubtedly present usclf of an immense tract inter-
spersed with prairie and wild land, with freipient ridges f)f hills. And
by again turning to the map, it will l)o seen that there mu.st be a
height of land or watershed near the boundary between ourselves and
tho United States, wliero many of tho great rivers of the Western
states take their rise but a short distance below the 49 ° parallel of
north latitude. Thus we have tho section treated of as the " Central
Prairie Land," claiming the characteristic of a basin, though on a very
extensive scale. From the different altitudes given by many writers,
this could bo easily shown, but for present iiurposes avo may accept
the natural features of tho country, the course of tlio rivers, (tc, &c.,as
suiUcient verification of the statement, that the average height of the
►States immediately south of the boundary is about UtOO foel. nioro than
that of tho Fertile Belt. In this fact alone, we have strong testimony
in favour of the assertion that Minnesota in comparison with tho rich-
ness of the Korth "West is but a sand pit. Of course the name " Cen-
tral Prairie Land" must not bo accepted strictly, as by an authority
which will frequently bo drawn upon, wo shall show an intermixture
of grassy plains with wooded lands, the former greatly prevailing over
the latter in tho southern half of the section, and vice versn in the
northern half. But taken as a whole a greater preponderance of clear-
ed Land, as farmers in Ontario would term it, with neither stump nor
stone, is witnessed stretching away to the northward,as the pioneergoes
westward. Even on the banks of the Hay Eiver, near the GO ® north
latitude, he is revelling in these great natural meadows, which undulat-
ing to the breezes of tho Pacific, apparently invite the impoverished
millions of the Old World to come and take possession.

RED RIVEU SECTION (eAST SIDE.)

Commencing at the eastern boundary, and accepting Lake Win-
nipeg, which recommends itself as such in preference to other points,
as our starting place, we will in rotation as quickly as possible traverse
the streams which feed it. Turning southward then on the lied
Eiver, which as better known to Canadians than any other, we pass
Fort Garry at the junction of the Assiniboine, and continue our way

as far as Pembina, an American fort, near the boundary. This river
is nearly 600 miles in length, but only about 100 miles of its course
is Avithin British territory. From Eed River, eastward to the Lake
of the Woods, a distance of about 90 miles, wooded land is intermixed
with prairie, the latter, however, being almost continuous for about
25 miles from the river banks.

As to the soil in this tract, Mr. Dawson and Mr. Hind agree as
to there being between ten and twenty feet of " black mould " on a
" thick bed of alluvial clay." For a graphic description of the gen-
eral features of the 90 miles between the river and the Lake of the
Woods, we draw upon the correspondence of Mr. Charles Mair, pay-
master on the road between Fort William and Fort Garry. He writes
as follows : —

" To geuoralize truthfully regarding this country, one must travel
extensively in it, and observe closely, and this the writer has not as
yet been able to do. There is a section of it, however, and that a
considerable one, which is now sufftciently familiar to be Avritten about
with confidence, and from personal knowledge. The section is known
m iliic; cr/uutry as the Oak Point Settlement, and is the place selected
as the Head Quarters of the Government road, now under construc-
tion from Fort Garry to the Lake of the Woods. It lies some 25 or
.0 miles due east from the Village of Winnipeg, and is situated just
.it the termination of the prairies. The whole tract is watered by the
Kiviere la Veine, which draws its supply from three branches that
unite within the woods, and cuts its way westward until it loses itself
• in an extensive peat bog and juniper swamp about 8 miles from its
forks. On the western edge of this swamp it re-appears, and con-
tinues its way sluggishly, and with greatly decreased volume, to its
junction with Eed River, about tAvo miles below Fort Garry. Fol-
lowing these branches up stream, the eastern one penetrates for a
number of miles into the Avoods — its Avater slightly brackish — and the
middle one is unimportant. But the remaining and main branch,
after taking an east course for tAVO miles or so, bends sharply to the
south, and folloAvs the line of junction of the Avoods with the prairie
to a great distance. The Avater is deliciously pure and fresh, and
gratefully cool in summer ; and the stream abounds with fish — prin-
cipally carp and pike.

" The settlement, such as it is, consists of some thirty families, some
of whom are Canadians, with a parish church, though not as yet a
resident cure. It oAves its origin to the last great ^overflowing of the
Red River, Avhich forced numbers of the settlers to seek a less exposed
district, and at present it is one of the two parishes Avhich suffer
comparatively little from the calamities of last summer. The settle-
ment, as compared with the tract fit for settlement, is, of course, a
meagre affair; and it is of the latter, the Avriter desires to give
Canadians some idea, presuming it to be, as it doubtless is, (with one
exception) an index to the country Avest of t . The exception referred
to is the great abundance of wood Avhich stands ready for use when
the mighty Avave of immigration pours in to possess and occupy. From

V I

this point a level, and unbroken forest stretches eastward for 60 miles
to the Lake of the "Woods. This forest bears but little resemblance to
a Canadian one. It consists principally of aspen, generally of small
girths; white spruce, of fair sizes; some oak in places; considerable
quantities of juniper (the Canadian tamarack), and white cedar,
together with balsams and immense quantities of quapemug or red
wUlow — the inner rind of which is universally used in this country as
tobacco. There is a spec; es of fir, too — the Banksian pine — closely
allied to the red pine of Canada. It is rare, however, though a large
pinery is said to exist dbout the sources of White !Mouth River, many
miles east of this. Most of these wodtis are substitutional or secondary.
The primeval groAvth was possibly oak — an immense forest of which
probably at one time covered the surface now usurped by lighter and
inferior timber. The charred oak stumps are sLiil to be seen here and
there amidst the young aspens that have sprung up in their stead —
just as the poplar or cherry usurps the place of the pine in Canada. A
great quantity of young timber has been destroyed by fire ; and a still
greater quantity by Avind-falls — the force and range of which must
have been terrific; for everywhere are to be seen trees whose tops have
been snapped off like pipe-stems ; and the earth is strewn with their
trunks in all directions. So speedy is the growth, howeA-^er, that but
few vacant places are now to be seen, and the forest, if unmolested,
will become denser and more valuable year by year.

" A coarse, nutritious grass is abundant everywhere in the woods, and
the meadows, or muskegs, as they are called here, nourish an exceeding-
ly luxurious growth of " blue-joint" and beaver-hay. The soil which
supports this vast expanse of wood is very poor indeed. There are
portions, no doubt, where oats or potatoes might succeed ordinarily
well, but even the best of it is inferior. The surface mould is nowhere
more than an inch or two in depth, and the subsoil is a hungry com-
pound of water-worn pebbles, gravel and sand. The value of the tract
lies in its wood . and in its hay meadows scattered at convenient inter-
vals along the road-line to the lake. It would seem, indeed, that the
rich land begins where the forest ends.

** No sooner will the immigrantwho has toiled his way four hundred
miles westward from Lake Superior, emerge from the wilderness of
woods, than he wUl feast his eyes upon one of the richest prairie tracts
in America. One is almost afraid to speak what is merely the sober
and now familiar truth, lest it should be imputed to imagination. For
my own part, and much as I long, in common with every right-minded
Canadia I, for the honourable and powerful extension of o^ interests
westward, I would perish rather than deceivo any one in this regard.
There is, in truth, a prospective poetry in the soil here — the poetry
of comfort and independence ; comfort not to bo wrung from the sour
and ungracious earth by slavish and destructive labour, and independ-
ence unpurchased by years of biting anxiety, and a constitution in
ruins.

" What would the young Canadian fanner, ploughing and cursing
amongst his rocks, think if he Avere told that within a bow-shot from

1' 1. >

where I now write he could run a furrow for miles through a vegetable
loam two feet deep ? He has heard of Minnesota, perhap??, and its
boundless prairies, but Minnesota is saiid compared to this. The best
of it requires manuring, after a few successive crops of wheat, whilst this
would yield wheat without manuring for a century. He has reaped,
perhaps, his twenty bushels of it to the acre, on his new land, and
thought it a famous average. What -svould he think of the puzzle-
headed and very unscientific Mr. Amabl j Ducharme (the ignorant, yet
something agreeable old fellow from whom we rent our headquarters,)
reaping, two summers ago, 57 bushels of wheat from 2| bushels
planted 1

U •

RAINY LAKE SECTION.

Passing eastward over the Lake of the Woods, we come into Avhat
Bishop Tache terms the Rainy Lake District, and which he thus
describes : —

" The eighth district comprises the region watered by Winnipeg
Eiver, its sources and its affluents. This country is generally ill-suited
for colonization, except on the banks of the Kainy Eiver, some islands
on the Like of the Woods, and some isolated spots on Winnipeg
liiver. Fine forests, in which are many of the most useful kinds of
timber, as I said before, give a great advantage to this section of the
country. It is, in fact, almost the only place in the Northern Depart-
ment which furnishes first class timber. Game is here less plentiful
than elsewhere. Furs are found here as in all wooded districts. The
district also produces wild rice, nlzania aquatka, known to travellers
as ' wild oats' {folle avoina). I am not aware that the grain is to be
found elsewhere in this country. The precious plant grows in slug-
gish and shallow rivers, and is a valuable resource. The Indians
collect the grain in canoes by beating the grass with sticks as they
paddle through the crop. They heat the grain to free it from its
husk, and make soup of it. It makes an excellent soup, and is pre-
ferred by many to' common rice.

" Eainy Lake District, which connects Red River Settlement with
the west of Canada, appears to be the natural route by which British
subjects would travel to this part of our Gracious Sovereign's domin-
ions. Roads through it have been made the subject of special study
\>y order of the Canadian Government. The resulting official reports
may greatly assist in enlightening the public mind ; but I take leave
to say thaf the difficulties appears tu me to be greater, and the advan-
tages less, than they are estimated by the authors of these reports.

" Cataracts, waterfalls and rapids, we have said, constantly inter-
rupt navigatio'. As it were in compensation, these obstructions
multiply the grandeur and picturesque views which they are ever un-
folding to the enraptured gaze of the asionished traveller. Willingly
he halts by cataracts to watch the roaring waters leaping down in
foaming waves, and again rushing forward to new leaps, dividing the
flood in descending steps. Then the whirling pool returns back on

1 p

■■;.., m

itself as if to examine the obstacle overcome with so great an effort ;
and in the violently agitated water under the falls, eddies twirl round
one another in wild confusion. And now, become calm, the stream
rests in mirrored lakes, to the margin of which come rocks to admire
themselves, and to display the richness and variety of their forms.

" Fort Francis, at the extremity of Rainy Lake, was for a long time
the principal post in the district. It has, however, ceded the post of
honor to Fort Alexander, at the mouth of Winnipeg Eiver, only a few
leagues from the mouth of Red River."

CHAPTER III.

RED RIVER SECTION. (WEST SIDE.) ' '

To the soil and climate on the west side of Red River, for ahout
fifty miles west along the boundary. 49 ° north latitude, and from this
point of fifty miles west, stretching away north-westwardly, the same
general description as that given to the east side, hetweea the river
and the Lake of the Woods, is applicable. The same alluvial plain
still continues to spread westward and north-westward. Too level it
may be in some places near the Red River to warrant dry farms with-
out drainage, but herein being the/ great secret of its extraordinary
richness, it is not anticipated that this momentary disadvantage or
outlay will long prevent the emigrant from occupying even the very
lowest sections ; especially as we find that the big swamp in rear of
the Red River settlement is nearly thirty feet above the surface of the
river ; and that the swamp on Rat River — a small tributary of the Red
Riqer, on the east side — admits of still more easy drainage. Of
course, to the traveller. who enters the Territory in the spring or fall,
these numerous swamps, marshes and ponds — then, more or less, filled
with water — will present such an obstacle to immediate settlements
along Red River, that, without a corresponding knowledge of the reme-
dy — easy drainage — many may be deterred from locating in this sec-
tion ; they preferring the higher prairie grounds of the Assiniboine
and the Saskatchewan — the Mississippi of the north. Portions of it,
too (the Red River section), are at times subject to inundation ; but
this is now of rare occurrence, and not thought a matter worthy of
much consideration by the resident farmers, who only see in it the
wavelet of that former annual rush of waters, that during many cen-
turies had been enriching the section by alluvial deposits drained
from the present State of Minnesota. The river itself is about 500
feet in width ; sluggish, and of a dark brownish color, with a depth
. that admits of constant navigation, with a small steamer, to the
United States boundary; unless in an extremely dry season, when, for
some time, interruptions occur. At the enlargement of its waters by
the junction of the Assiniboine is situated Upper Fort Garry, which,
being the seat of government and chief centre of commerce, was
chosen as the headquarters of the insurgents under Riel — the circum-
stances of which uprising, both as to its cause and effect — wiU here-
after engage our attention. As to the extent of the settlement of
which Fort Garry is the admitted capital, irrespective of its being the
seat of government, it appears to extend about twenty miles up the
Red River towards the American boundary, and about thirty miles
in the opposite direction to Lake Winnepeg ; while westward up the
Assiniboine it reaches about sixtv miles.

I',

•■' I

Of tlie beauty and picturosqueness of the scenery in and around Fort
Garry, and on the banks of the Ked River, we have seen nothing more
worthy of a place than Governor Ramsey's (American) happy and artistic
portraiture " of the contented settlers having their dwellings and out-
buildings spread along the river front, with lawns sloping to the water's
edge, and slirubbery and vines literally trained around thorn, and trees
intermingled — the whole presenting the appearance of a long suburban
village — such as you might see near our eastern seaboard, or such as
you find exhibited in pictures of English country villages ; with the
resemblance rendered more striking l)y the spires of several large
churches peeping above the foliage of the trees in the distance. "White-
washed school-houses glistened hero and tliere, ^^'nid sunlight and
green ; gentlemen's houses of pretentious dimensions, and grassy lawns
and elaborate fencing, the seats of retired officers of the Hudson's Lay
Company, occasionally interspersed. Here an English Bishop's par-
sonage, with a boarding or high school near by, and over there a Cath-
olic Bishop's massive cathedral,with a Conventof the Sisters of Charity
attached, while the two large stone forts (at which reside the officers of
the Hudson Bay Company or of the colony) ; one called Upper JFort
Garry, and situated at the mouth of the Assiniboine ; and tho'^other
termed Lower Fort Garry, which is twenty miles further down the
river, helped to give additional picturesqueness to the scene."

Westward from Fort Garry, about one hundred and fifty miles up
the Assiniboine, we reach Portage la Prairie, which, although long
known, has, as it were, received its proper introduction to the world
from the pen of a Government official, who, in the following graphic
and comprehensive picture, has given such a description as only per-
sonal observation can produce. It is as follows : —

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE. ■

" With these general remarks, we shall now take our trip to Portage
La Prairie, ascending the left bank of the Assiniboine. The most
forbidding portion of the route is in the neighbourhood of the village
of Winnipeg, which stands on comparatively high ground, flanked on
the left by Red River, and on the right by a series of extensive
marshes, good for grazing, but worthless at present for farming. Low
grounds lie westward along the road for several miles, though there
are some fine farms even here, and, onwards, extends a sallow and
comparatively meagre country, strewa with small boulders, until we
reach Sturgeon Creek — a little pebbly stream, over wliich stands a
miserable, rickety old mill, with an external undershot wheel. This
is the only tributary of the Assiniboine for seventy-five miles, and
above this point to Headingley, a distance of six miles, the soil is
dense and stiff. This feature characterizes the country as we ascend
to Lane's Post, twenty-five miles further on, and though it is all what
woiQd be called excellent farming land in Canada, and is covered with
luxuriant grasses, it lacks sand to give it looseness. Over all this the
road is beautiful ; and I may here say, once for all, that, -with the ex-

26 .

ception of one or two wet places, the road to the Portac^e is niagnili-
cent. One may drive at the fastest trot over it, and Avill meet Avith
exactly three stones on the way, and these are small ones and pleasant
things to look at. The samn road, or cart track, extends westward
quite as good to Edmonton House, a distance of nearly one thousand
miles, and three hundred miles after that to the mountains. Nature
is the road maker here, and she has done her work admirably. Ijo-
yond Lane's Post for many n.des, the ascent is gradual, but mor(;
noticeable, and the surface soil is characterized by eccentric alterna-
tions of loam, sand and clay. Througliout, the route on the left is
bounded by tlie timber which lines the river, and, on the right, by
near or far bolts or clumps of wood, — or by tlie horizon, into which
vast expanses of j)rairies weep and lose themsfdves. As we ascend, the
country improves at every step, the right extent being relieved by tho.
Big Pidgo, as it is called — a long belt of timber, some three miles olf,
Avhich stands on slightly elevated ground witli a direction from west
to east — rand, as usual, by tho timber brit along the river on the left.
To Poplar Point, however, hfteen miles from Portage la Prairie, the
route, though very tine and inviting, has little nf the vastness pecu-
liar to tho upper country. There is an indefinable sense of narrowness
and constriction, due, doubtless, to the frequent occurrence of timber,
with which the country is studded ; and, tiiough the soil is in tlie
main rich and productive, yet one grows exceedinudy nice about soils
in this country, and land which would be fouglit for in Canada is
passed here witli a leer and a scowl. It is at Poplar's Point that the
true, the virgin, the sublime prairie begins. There the awful solitude
opens upon the sight and swells into an ocean, and the eye wanders
over til j ' silent space" of the West. The man must be corrupt as
death, wlio, unaccustomed, can look unmoved upon this august mate-
rial presence, this calm and imutterable vastness. ^Nlan is a grass-
hopper here — a mors insect, making way between tlie enormous discs
of heaven and earth. And yet man is the jnaster of all this. Hither
will he come and plough, and plant, and reap, and pocket his greasy
gains, and feel no awe of anything. Many things will he grumble
about, doubtless, for man is an habitual grumbler ; but he will not
complain much over his land.

Half an hour's drive brings us to the Portage, a mixed settlement
of half-breeds and Canadians, amongst whom the most substantial
farmers are IMr. McLean and Mr. McBain.

* t iti He * *

The soil of the greater portion of the district is incredibly fruitful,
being loose, friable, and easily worked, and consisting of a deep admix-
ture of deep, black sand, with rich vegetable loam, resting upon
substrata generally of sand, but in some places of clay. The sandy
subsoil includes the very best land in the district, as it retains the
moisture, and is, besides, in some mysterious .vay, a perennial medium
of underground communication with the waters of Lake Manitobah,
and an infallible register of the water-level in that vast reservoir.

»,

Water is found everywhere at an average depth of 6 feet, aiTording au
unfailing supply of moisture to the vegetahlo tissues above, whilst on
the other hand, the surface soil is preserved from the sourness incident
to long continued rains, Avhen such do occur, by the porousness of the
subsoil, which immediately absorbs the excess of moisture without in-
creasing the average level beneath. Whilst tlie foruyoing is but a rough
statement of the nature of the district and its adjuncts, it must also be
observed tliat there is a characteristic fertility of the soil Avhich seems
to be inherent and peculiar to itself There is a spontaneity, so to
speak, about it, a generous and surpassing productiveness which seems
to set time and seasons at defiance. The jiotato planted in July,
maures in October, and, though not a drop of rain shouLl fall for an
entire summer, a circumstance which occurred a few years ago, yet
the cereals spring up and yield abundantly, in defiance of all known
precedent.

The climate, besides, is one of the finest that can be imagined.
In the month of ^larch, at a time when tlie inhabitants of Eed Kiver
settlements are shivering with cold, the irdiabitants of the Portage la *
Prairie district, a degree further west, are g^'uerally enjoying genial
weather ; and at no time is the winter season so severe as in the lower
settlements. There is enough snow to facilitate winter employments ;
but never enough to impede travel ; and scarcely ever more of it than
one foot in de]itli on a level. In summer the weather is, of course,
hot enough, though a pleasant breeze is generally stirring on the
prairies. The nights, however, are invariably cool and pleasant; and
the dreadful sulfocation, restlessness, and exhaustion of ordinary
Canadian July weather, are entirely uuknown. If a man sweats and
fevers by day, he, at all events, sleeps soundly and comfortably by
night — a })lessing which only those can appreciate who have endured
the unmitigated torture of the heated terms in the east."

That the foregoing description is not quite borne out by Mr. Eussell
in his work, will perhaps be the more easily understood when we
remember that the former wrote from actual observation, surrounded
by that vast richness whicli he so ably portrays, while the latter take.?
his data from reports, and apparently puts great faitli in surveyors'
notes. Nor when we grant to the one that his personal acquaintance
Avith his theme is greatly in his favor, could we do better than endeav-
or to find a solution of whatever slight discrepancies there may be
between these gentlemen, in the fact, that one rather leans to the
character of an advocate, and the other to that of a judge, Not that
there is virtually any material difference between them more than
might be supposed to arise Avhere the first speaks of the whole fi;om a
part seen, and the rest " heard of ;" while the second condenses from
blue book and reports, where every line by its technical and mathemat-
ical exactness, chills the slightest touch of imaginative allusion. As
an instance,the resident writer in one or his articles closes a paragraph,
in which he refers to the " inexhaustible fertility" of thfi soil, with the
following words : " And from Portage la Prairie it stretches northward
to Manitobah ; and westward — everywhere." Noif had he said north-

•westward, instead of westward ; or, westward with some cxceptionai'
sections, Mr. Russell's exactness could have found nothintj; wrong. As
it is, wo have north of the boundary in the southwest corner of the
Fertile Belt, skirting the Rocky Mountains, and stretching eat- My
along the height of land drained by the tributaries of the Missouri and
the A8siniboine,what has before been alluded to as the continuation ot
the " Araerican Desert." That we have such a portion of ' barren
ground' is certain, but that oven this comparatively small section is
diversified by tracts of " rich land" is as certain ; while for its extent
we have every assurance that it does not roach nearly to tlie upper
branches of the Assiniboine. This, some ^vriters go far to prove by a
calculation of the comparative bodies discharged by rivers draining
certain extents of this territory, which is either in or on the borders of
this " barren ground." Now taking into consideration the different
areas drained, and the amount of water discharged by the Assiniboine
— the Qu'Appelle and the Souris, the latter of which is the most south-
erly, and the Assiniboine, the, most northerly. We can only accept
the disparity of the country through which the Souris runs, to that
which borders on the Qu'Appelle, as a solution of the fact that the
length of the rivers being the same, the Qu'Appelle discharges double
the quantity of water that the Souris does. Thus we have the "light
sandy soiF' of the latter absorbing twice the quantity of " the compar-
atively sandy soil" of the Qu'Appelle ; and the same rule holding good,
we can not do otherwise than attribute the great body of water in the
Assiniboine — always remembering the extent of territory drained to
be equal — as attributable to the rich, loamy soil through which it takes
its way. All this, however, while it shows that we have some " poor
Jand," though a very small portion, is more })articularly a proof of the
inferior soil of Minnesota when compared with the Fertile Belt ; at
the same time admitting that the line separating the good from the
bad has at times run considerably north of the 49 ° parallel north lat-
itude. Still, on consulting Mr. Hind, we see that when alluding to
the " infertile tract," every page of his work has many allusions to
" good portions ;" small prairies of several miles across, sometimes nine
and ten miles. Nor must we forget what that gentleman would select
as good land after having traversed hundreds of miles through the
Fertile Belt, where there was so little that even he could term ques-
tionable.

M . Russell, when closing his chapter on " Infertile Lands on the
Souris i.id Qu' Appelle," after drawing largely on Mr. Hind, gives
Ills decision as follows : ' >Vhen we read such descriptions, and turn
to Mr. Hind's large map of exploration that accompanies his report,,a8
published by the Canadian Government, and see large tracts, Avatered
by fine streams, designated as 'rolling prairie, good clay soil;' 'level
plain, dark rich loam ;' 'open level prairie of light sandy loam, with
clumps of willows;' 'rolling prairie of light clay loam, marshy in
many places,' (thirty miles of this in one t 'act apparently) ; ' rich
black soil ;' 'rolling prairie of sandy clay ;' '1 jvel open prairie, full of
anar;hy ponds;' and in the first great bend ff the Souris, a tract of

f I

.an.
■Mi

twenty miles Ly ten, apparently with several streams issuing from it,
of ' slightly undulating prairie, of rich satidy loam, with clumps of
young ^)oplar ; ' and when we consider that these tracts, with the ex-
ception of marshy sjjots in them, are generally ready to receive the
plough, v'thout the trouble and cost we have in Canada in clearing
and in taking out stumps and stones, we are led to believe, that if
these expressions have been used Avith accuracy, which there is no
room to doubt, considerable tracts of this region, not included iii the
fertile belt, commonly spoken of, are really far from being quite unfit
.for settlement."

1 i'.]::'l4.

CHAPTER IV.

W[NNIPRG DASLV.

Eoturning now to the Rod JMver, and following its course to Lake
Winnipeg, we come upon this sheet of water, two hundred and eighty
miles long and fifty-sevon Inroad. \

The lake, as before stated, is about six hundred and twenty-eight
feet above the sea, and eujpti.H into Hudson's Buy, by the Nelson
Kiver, which river traverses South Hudson Torritu-y, a rocky or
Laurentian country, soutnward of the !Nelson, and generally westward
of Lake Winnipeg, i' of +lie same rocky formation, vvhile that to the
eastward, generally ternieithe Winnip.^g Basin, is Silurian lime-stoue
formation, which, more or less predominating through the Fertile Belt,
suetchiis a thousand miles westward to the base of the Rocky Moun-
tains. As to the extent of the Winnipeg Basin, or more properly
what is termed the Winnipeg Basin, there appears to b*^ no certain
answer as ye^ given ; some writers allowing it much more of length
and breadth than others. But be its boundaries what they may,
whether they are held to tend westward on the Saskatchewan, or skirt
the shores of Lakes Manitoba and Winnipegoos, they nevertheless
comprise a very large area, the mineral wealth of which cannot be
better described than by incorporating the testimony of Professor
Hind, delivered before the British Statistical Society, 1864, as fol-
lows : —

" I now pioceed to glance at the mineral wealth of this central
region of British America. The little that is knowi. of it already
establishes the great fact, that within one hundred milet^i of the entire
length of Lake Winnipeg, on the west side, there are salt springs
sufficient to produce as 3 ouch oi that important material, at a very
small cost, as will bt required for gencrutiona to come. Iron-ores of
the best description Jbr common purposes are distributed over vast
areas adjacent to worJ-able beds of lignite coal. Some of 'the beds
of coal are twelve feet in thickness, and have been recognised in the
western part of the basin of Lake Winnipeg over several degrees of
latitude and longitude.

"It is important to bear in mind that with the lignite coal the vast
deposits of clay ironstone are associated. These extend much further
east than the lignite layers, which have been removed by denudation
and form a very peculiar and important feature in the rocks west and
south of the Assiniboine after it makes its north-westerly bend.

" A large ptTt of the region drained by t! e noi-th and south
branches of the Sasltatchewan is underlaid by a variety of coal or
lignite. On the North SaskatchcAvan, coal occurs below Edmonton).
in workable seams.

"A section of tlie rivei- bank in that m'ij,'lihourlioo(l shows, in a
rertical spaco of sixty feet, tliroe seuins of liynito — tho iirst onu foot
thick, tho second 2 fuot, ami tho tliinl G foet thick. Dr. Hector, who
made tlie section, states that tho six-foot soam is pure antl compact.
Fifteen miles below the l>razen liiver, a large tributary to the North
.Saskatchewan from the west, tho lignite-bearing strata again como into
view, and from this point they were traced to the foot of the Kooky
Mountains. On the lied Deer Kiver the lignite formation was ob-
served atvaiious points. It forms beds of great thickness ; one group
of seams measures twenty feet, ' of which twelve feet consisted of pure
compact coal'— (Dr. Hector). These coal beds were traced for ten
miles on lied Deer Kiver. A great lignite formation of cretaceous
age, containing valuable beds of coal, has a very extensive develop-
ment on the upper waters of the North and Hout'i Saskatchewan, the
•Missouri, and lar to the north in tho valley of tho Mackenzie. Colonel
Li'froy observed this lignite on Peace Kiver, and Dr. Hector recognized
it on Smoking Kiver, a tributary of Peace Kiver, also on the Artha-
basca, M'Leod Kiver and Pembina Kiver, all to the north of tho
Siskatchewan, " thus proving tho range of this formation over a slope
rising from 500 to 2,300 feet above the sea, and yet preserving on the
whole the same characters, and showing no evidence of recent local
disturbance beyond the gentle uplift which has ellected this
inclination,"

The learned gentleman when referring to tho gold fields of Win-
nipeg, dwelt with a great degyee o'f minuteness on the probable extent
of the gold-bearing rocks, asserting his confidence in " an eastern or
Winnipeg gold-l.»-iring area, wholly distinct from the Rocky Mountain
gokUfields ; that the St. Martin's rocks formed part of this area ; and
that it extended in a north-westerly direction towards Lake Artha-
baska in the form of a narrow belt of intrusive gold-bearing quartz
veins, penetrating Silurian and Devonian rocks, and resembling in
some important particulars the auriferous region in Victoria." Gold,
he said, had also been found "on the Assiniboine — the Qu'Appelle
Kiver, near the Touchwood Hills — on numerous tributaries of the
North Saskatchewan, and in the fiats of the great river itself, while at
Edmonton, they obtained $1,5 a day in pure gold, by simply waslung
the alluvial mud of the Saskatchewan.

THE SASKATCHEWAN RIVER.

Of the Sasketchewan River and country, the extract from Profes-
sor Hind's address we have just given — though more directly relating
to the Winnipeg Basin — advances no uncertain opinion as to tho vast
mineral wealth of the different sections drained by this great river and
its numerous tributaries. And as somewhat introductory to the sub-
ject of its fertility, as a whole, we clip from the testimony of Governor
Ramsay, (formerly Governor of Minnesota), the following : —

" But without casting more than a passing glance on the agricul-
tural capacity of remote Peace River, we may come down to the fertile

tr.t

\ ■

valley and ])lain of tlio great Saskatcliowan, tlio Mi,ssi.sHii»pi of the
North, which pours its Waters from the Jiocky Mountains over more
than a thousand Tnilcs of aj,'ri(;idtural territory, teeming' with coal and
otlier mineral trcu.surcH, into Lake AVinnipeg ; and we may note the
still more fertile and desirable lands of its south or Jiear Kiver brancii,
the winter homo, in its wooded valleys, of the buffalo and myriads of
other game ; as far north as these regions are, actual experiment has
shown them to bo capable of raising successfully nearly every cereal,
hardly excepting corn, and every vegetable that can bo produced in
our lands of the temperate zone further soutli.

" From what I have seen of the land in that section, and from
what I learned respecting its caj)acity, and making every allowance
for its extraordinary fertility also, I liesitate not to ascribe to the whole
of the upper plains on both branches of the Saskatchewan River, an
agricultural value superior naturally to the fields of our New England
in their primitive condition, and though lack of timber might be an
objection to some portions of the Saskatchewan Territory, yet it has
mineral coal in abundance, which may be easily mined to supply fuel
for a population of the densest character."

Accepting this latter extract, corroborated as it is by the former
from Professor Hind, and by numberless writers of still later date, to
whom we shall refer, as a fair representation of the innate wealth of
this vast tract, which stretches westward for a thousand miles to the
base of the Eocky Mountains, we will now glance briefly at the promi-
nent features of the principal sections as#iaapped out or bounded by
the great river itself or its tributaries. ' .

MAIN SASKATCHEWAN'.

i^ I

Ascending the Main Saskatchewan from Lake AVinnipeg, to what
is termed " the junction," where the north and south branches
meet, we first encounter numerous rapids between Lake Wintiipog and
Cedar Lake ; ttie extent of which is seen by ■ oLlng the distance
between the two lakes as being but twenty miles, whilst the difference
in their level is upwards of sixty feet. But from Cedar Lake to
Tobern Eapids, a distance of about one hundred and eighty miles, there
exists no obstacle to the navigation of steamers ; and beyond these
Falls, which are not of much magnitude, the river is usually seen
winding in magnificent curves through a valley about a mile in width,
and "from 150 to 200 feet lower than the general level of the country
on each side.'

Of the soil on the north side of the Main Saskatchewan, above
Cedar and Marshy Lakes, there is not such fine quality as that on the
south side. Large tracts on the fo'rmer being but a little above the
level of the river, are necessarily marshy and " unsuitable for cultiva-
tion." To the southward, however, from the main stream, the tract in
general, claims from Mr. Hind, the character of " rich black mould,"
with " wooded portions" interspeiaed, though a narrow strip of sandy
soil, averaging about two miles in breadth, borders the river bank. He

'■•

u(U1h, ivfeniii;,'to tliat section south of Fort ii liiCornc, "on the hlopos,
the gra.s.s is lon;^' ami luxuriant, all'onlin;,' fine pastura^'u. Tlio goiioral
aspect of the country is lii<,'lily favourablo for iij,'riciilturc ; the soil tloep
and uniformly rich, rivallin;,' tho low prairies of llvd ]vivcr and tho
Assiniboino. Air. liussoU closes his chapter on this point as i'ollowa: —
" This favourahlo country of mixed woodland and prairie, extends
southwards from tlio forks of the Saskatchewan, eighty miles, to the
treeless prairie region on tlu^ northerly waters of the Kiver Qu'AppcUe,
south-aasterly it extends, inc luding tho woodeil region on lioot Kiver,
through to tho fertile country on tho Assiniboino iJrcady described,
making together in that direction, a breadth of three hundred and
twenty miles of fertile country, intcrsporsod with woodlands, between
the forks of tho Saskatchewan and tho AHsiniboino, opposite the
mouth of tho Souris."

Leaving tlie main stream, wo find that tho length of the North
branch from its source in the liocky Mountains, to the junction, is
about seven hundred and thirty miles, while that of the south branch,
which is tho principal stream, is about forty miles more. lioth
branches take their rise in the liocky ^Mountains, and near each other ;
but diverging one to the northward and the other to the scuthward as
they gain volume, they acquire a distance from each other at two hun-
dred and fifty miles from their source of about three hundred miles.
Thus between the forks of tliis great river, wo havo a plain greater in
breadth than Ontario between Toronto and Windsor, and nearly equal-
ling the distance between the former city and Montreal. Such a com-
parison, nicaking at once apparent its great extent, may serve to give
an adequate idea of tho estimated amount of land that the Saskatche-
wan drains, amounting to the enormous surface of about five hundred
thousand square i>iiles.

At tho commingling of the two branches, ^Ir. Hind has placed
the temperature of the soutli branch at 5 ° higher than that of the
north branch. Tho waters of tho former are a yellowish brown in
color, and turbid ; while tlioso of tho north brancli are a shade lighter
and clearer — tho one resembling the waters of tho Mississippi, tho
other those of tho St. Lawrence — another instance, if we required one,
proving the prevailing character of the soil on the respective branches.
To particularly describe tlio tracts on these rivers appears somewhat
unnecessary, not only as many of the extracts in the following chapter
refer to them, but since we find that the worst part of the South Sas-
katchewan — that which runs through what is termed the American
Desert — has no inconsiderable share of " fine prairie land." We
may be prepared to concede to the 200 miles of the south brancli
imimediately above the forks the character it claims for " richness and
fertility," the more especially when we find that Mr. Hind alludes to
tho Moose Woods section, about mid-way between the forks, and
where the " light sand " commences, as follows : — " As we approached
the Moose Woods, wo passed for several hours between a series of low
allu-vial islands from ten to twelve feet above the water. They sus-
tain some fine elms, balsam, poplar, ash, ash-leaved maple, and a vast-

profusion of la poire The river valley is bounded by low hills lead-
ing to the prairie plateau, four to eight miles Lack. The country here
furnishes an excellent district for settlement. The spot where we are
encamped for the night is an extensive, open, undulating meadow,
with long, rich grass ; and, on the low elevations, rose-bushes iu bloom
grow in the greatest prolr.. '/n. It is only ten feet from the water,,
yet it does not appear to be flooded in the spring. Water marks and
ice marks are nowhere seen above four feet from the present level of
the broad river. . . . Jieyond the Moose Woods, on the east
bank, the })rairie is occasionally wooded with clumps of aspen ; on
the west side, it is treeless, and shows many sand-hills. During the
afternoon, Ave landed frequently to survey the surrounding country.
Nothing but a treeless, slightly undulating prairie was visible. Many
large fragments of limestone, not much water-worn, lie on the hill-
bank of the river, which is about 100 feet in altitude. The river
continues very swift, and maintains a breadth of 250 yards."

To nearly the source of the north brancih, the same general
description of rich undulating prairies, with wooded land interspersed,
applies ; though these extensive tracts are generally more valuable
than those oh the south branch — there being immense plains 200 and
300 miles in length classed as highly favourable for agriculture ; the
soil deep and uniformly rich, rivalling the low prairies of the Eed.
Kiver and the Assiniboine. The various exploring parties describe it
as extremely fertile, with a climate corresponding to that of Eed
Eiver. Mr. Eussell condenses the authorities as follows : — " The north
branch, for 520 miles up from the Forks, and the Battle Eiver, for its
whole course of 450 miles (excepting a short elbow of it), traverses a
rich prairie country, more or less interspersed with woods."

The remaining two hundred and eighty-two miles of the upper
course of the North Branch lie in the thick wood country, which to
the commencement of the mountains, about two hundred miles, is re-
presented as abounding in marshes with patches of fine land in parts.
In this distance the banks of the river display beds of lignite coal.
Beyond it the remaining course of the river lies in the valleys of the
mountains to the glaciers at its source.

The Battle Eiver enters the north branch about a hundred and
seventy miles above the main forks. It drains a large ^art of the
country between the north a:id south branches. It has its source
about ten miles from the north branch, thirty miles above Edmonton,,
but they are a hundred and thirty miles apart at the middle of its course,
and between them the pasturage is described as very rich. Coal
presents itself there in the banks of the stream, two hundred and fifty
miles from its mouth. The river runs in a deep and narrow valley
through a rich country. The name of the river in a manner com-
memorates the numerous fights that took place on its banks, and in its
neighbourhood, between the Oees, Blackfeet, and whatever other
roving bands of Indians passed this dangerous ground. Prominent
among other tributaries are the Eapid Eiver, Carrot or Eoot Eiver, the
Little Pas Eiver, and the outlet of Moosi Lake ; but as these drain

^' ■ ' -

tracts of country equally rich with those which have been heretoforft
described as drained by the North Saskatchewan, particular mention
is hardly required, as Avhen we have it on good authority that a party
desiring to locate cannot go ten miles in any direction in the section
now treated of — the North Saskatchewan, without coming upon the
prairies, stretching away in their vastness before him ; it would be
presumption on our part to attempt to influence him in his choice.

However, someAvhat in opposition to the foregoing description of
the Saskatchewan, we must give place to the opinion of Bishop Tache,
whose work is hereinafter particularly alluded to. He says : "of the
Eiver Saskatchewan, that it is of peculiar importance, as well from
its great size as from the richness of the country through which it
flows. Its name is an abbreviation of the Cree Avord KisMiatchPAcan
{Rapid Stream.) Its principal sources are in the Rocky ^Mountains,
which, thanks to its windings, gives it a length of more than 1200
miles. Thig great riter divides into many branches that flow caprici-
ously through the vast plain Avhich they cut in various and frequently
quite opposite directions.

" The principal branch of the Saskatchewan is its northern one, called
simply the Saskatchewan, and by our voyageurs Pas River. {Riviere
du Pas.) I said above that it rises in the Rocky Mountains : its
source is a small lake near Mount Forbes, at about 51 ° 50 north lati-
tude. Winding amongst the mountain spurs near its source, it follows
a north-easterly direction to Pine Point, {Pointe mix Pins) thence it
runs nor'-nor'-tasterly to the foot of Big Horn Hiils, whence having
received the streamlet of this name, it hastens eastward to Mountain
House. From this point to Fort Edmonton, its general direction is
north-easterly ; it continues in the same direction till it crosses the
54th parallel of latitude, along which it runs, and then turns south-
ward towards Fort Pitt, and thus between the latter and Fort Edmonton
describes a large and almost regular curve. From Fort Pitt the river
continues its south-easterly course to the Elhotv, whence it turns
suddenly towards the north-east, first reaching Carlton House, and then
Cumberland House. From the latter point its general course is south-
easterly, although its great windings sometimes carry it towards the
north and sometimes towards the south.

" From its source to Mountain House, about 150 miles, the river is
quite unnavigable, although its breadth there is about 130 yards.
Beds of coal begin to show there, — but interruptedly. All around
is rather dense forest. Quite close to Mountain House there are
small falls, folloAved by rapids. Very near here, too. Clear-water
River joins the main stream. From Mountain House to Edmonton,
about 150 miles, is navigable with barges. This advantage, however,
is not without some difiiculties — as much from the rapidity of the
current as from very low water at certain seasons of the year. So great
has been the inconvenience froAi these causes, that men have preferred
to leave their boats and cut a road through a partly-wooded country.
About midway between the two establishments, the Saskatchewan
receives Brazeau River, called also North Branch, {Fourche Nord)^

, . 36

which has led to its being confounded with the main stream. A little
lower down, ^Vhite-earth Eiver joins from a jiretty lake, which there
was an effort to render celebrated by statements that there were very
rich gold mines on its shores, as well as in the bed of the river."

After referring to many of the disadvantages attending the naviga-
tion of this great river, the reverend gentleman thus sums up : " How-
ever it may be as regards the difficulties which I thought it right to
enumerate, the advantages are not to be lost sight of."

From the lower part of Cedar Lake to Edmonton, a distance of
about 1000 miles, for a period of six weeks, and that in the least
favourable years, steam navigation would really meet with only one
insurmountable obstruction, viz.. Coal Eapids ; or if you will, from
the iiiouth of the southern branch to Carlton. It has been suggested
that this serious difficulty may be lessened by following the south-
ern branch for about 60 miles, to a point where the road from Eed
Eiver meets it, and then to proceed by land to Carlton, whence
traffic might again pass by water as far as Edmonton. * * *
The coal fields which cross the different branches of the Saskatche-
wan, are a great source of wealth, and favour the settlement of the
valley in which nature has multiplied picturesque scenery that chal-
lenges comparison with the most remarkable of its kind in the world.
I can understand the exclusive attachment of the children of the Sas-
katchewan for their native place. Having crossed the desert, and
having come to so great a distance from civilized countries, which are
occasionally supposed to have a monopoly of good things, one is sur-
prised to find in the extreme west so extensive and so beautiful a
region. The Author of the universe has been pleased to spread out by
the side of the grand and wild beauties of tlie Eocky Mountains, the
captivating pleasure-ground of the plains of the Saskatchewan."

1 /

CHAPTER V.

LAKES MANITOBAH AND WINEPEGOOS SECTION.

Almost midway between, ami nearly parallel with the north branclt
of the Assiniboine and Lake "Winnipe", are the Lakes Manitobah and
Winepegoos. The latter receiving the waters of the Saskatchewsvn,
flow southward and discharge into Lake Manitobah, from which they
empty themselves into Lako Winnipegr, by the Little Saskatchewan, a
river about ^0 miles long. The length of the two Lakes Manitobah
and Winepegoos, is in the aggregate, about 200 miles, and their breadth
averages about 25 miles. The country between Lakes Manitobah and
Winepegoos, according to Mr. Dawson, has " a rich, alluvial soi','' below
the low ground through which the Little Saskatchewan makes its way.
Nor could it be- otherwise, it being a limestone country, and in part
thickly wooded. In rounding the south end of Manitobah, we come
upon Manitobah settlement, which is said to have even a richer soil
than Red River. It is principally prairie ; and Portage la Prairie, so
ably described by Mr. Mair, lies about 20 miles south of it. Turning
either westwardly or north-westwardly from Portage la Prairie, we
traverse the same imdulating and fertile plains, which, according to all
authority, continue with comparatively small portions of unfavourable
land interspersed — in the former direction about 900 miles, and in the
latter, between 1200 and 1500 miles. The White Mud River, empty-
ing into the south end of Lake Manitobah, drains about 80 miles of
this rich, sandy loam. From the mouth of this lake in a westerly
direction to Lake Dauphin, the opinions of Mr. Hind and Mr. Dawson
differ as to the advantages for settlement, the former leaning to an
unfavorable conclusion, whilst the latter pronounces it desirable. Aa
regards the tracts on Red Deer River, however, which is 200 miles long
and empties into the Winepegoos, there is no divided opinion. Maple
is found here, and the soil is extremely fertile ; and of Swan River, a
little south of it, Mr. Dawson even speaks more glowingly as follows :
" About thirty miles above Swan Lake, the prairie region fairly com-
mences. There the river winds about in a fine valley, the banks of
which rise to the height of eighty or a hundred feet. Beyond these,
an apparently unbroken level extends on one side for a distance of
fifteen (' iwenty miles to the Porcupine Hills, and for an equal distance
on thn other to the high table-land, called the Duck Mountain. From
this, south-westward to Thunder Mountain, the country i the finest I
have ever seen in a state of nature. The prospect is boi ided by the
blue outline of the hills named, while, in the plain, alternate wood and
prairie present an appearance more pleasing than if either entirely
prevailed."

To the " Swan Eiver District," Bishop Tache also gives a very
favourable cliaracter, though not so decided as the foregoing. He says :
" Swan River District is to the south of CUinihorland District, and
extends to the frontier of the United States, including Winepe'goos
and ]\ranitobah Lakes, and the country watered by the rivers flowing
into Jind out of these lakes, as well as that through which Assiniboino
River flows, to within GO miles from its junction with Red River,
Like its neighbor to the west, 8\\an ])istrict includes desert, prairie
and forest. It is, however, of much less importance than Sask ttchewan
District. Here not only is the desert sterile, but the prairie is some-
what of the same character. It is the centre of the prairie of which 1
spoke before, and is not so valuable as the outskirts. Its forests are of
importance, and timlier of greater utility than that on the western
boundary, begius to appear on the eastern. Dauphin Mountains,
Duck (Canard) Mountain, Thunder Hill, Porcupine Hills, and Pass
]\Iountains are well wooded. These hills, which arc connected with
Pembina jNIountain, * * '^ now distinctly niaiiv the division
between the transition formation on their east, and the secondary
formation of the plains on their Avest. Swan River District encloses a
large extent of useful land in the midst of these alluvial deposits, which
are not 3'et sufficiently raised to be free from inundation."

To one of the tributaries of th3 Swan River, Mr. Dawson thus
alludes : — " Numbers of horses were quietly feeding on the rich pasture
of the valley as we passed ; and what with clumps of trees on the rising
ground, and the straani winding among green meadows, it «eemed as
if it Avanted but the presence of human habitations to give it the
appearance of a highly cultivated country." Athabasca River
em]itying into Atha])asca Lake, comes next, and is spoken of as of
imrivalled merit, remembering its great northern latitude. Forty miles
from its mouth, a Mr. Fond had formed a kitchen garden equal to
anything Mr. McKenzie had seen in Canada. Mr. Russell says, " the
line of mean summer temperature of Halifax, Xova Scotia, passes
through that vicinity." Coal is generally alluded to in this section as
existing in seams about eight feet thick.

The Upper Churchill or Beaver lliver, rises about forty miles from
Fort Edmonton, on the north branch of the Saskatchewan, and
traverses about five hundred miles of the Central Prairie Land. It has
a large body of water, and from its source till it debouches in Hudson's
Bay, is almost eleven hundred miles in length. Its course being
through the northern lialf or what is called the prairie section, drains
wooded lands in a greater proportion than it does prairie, though it is
spoken of as being exceedingly rich in " pasture grasses." Even the
upper part of it is said to bo very productive, and abounding in the
finest fish, Avith any quantity of game, numberless bull'aloes roaming
over the patches of prairies. Peace River claims the same cliar-
acter for fertility, &c., &c., though in a somewhat less degree, as it
is farther north. The entire length of this river is ui>Avards of one
thousand miles, Avhich being added to the length of Lake Athabacsa,
makes the Mackenzie proper ab')ut two thousand four hundred miles.

I •

/ -

Mr. Mack(3nzic spoaks of extensive plains which afford pasture to

Humorous herds of bufl'alot

id at date 10th Mav, at Di

vj, ciu ^iunregMi,

56 ^ C north latitude, where the mean temperature during the three
summer months is about two degrees warmer than at Halifax, ho
writes as follows : — " From the place which we cpiitted this morning,
the west side of the river displayed a succession of the most beautiful
scenery I had over beheld. The ground rises- at intervals to a con-
siderable height, and stretches upwards vu a considerable distance ; at
every interval or ])ause in the rise, there is a gently ascending space or
lawn, which is alternate with abrupt precipices to the summit of the
whole, or at least as far as the eye could distinguish. This magnificent
theatre of nature has all the decorations Avhich the tribes and animals
of the country cavi afford it ; groves of poplars in every shape, enliven
the scene; and their intervals are enlivened withA'ast herds of elk and
l)uffaloes, the former choosing the steo}) uplands, and the latter prefer-
ring the plains. At this time the butlaloes were attended with their
young ones, and it appeared that th < elks would soon exhibit the
same enlivening circumstance. 'I'he whole countrv exhibited an
exiiberant verdure ; the trees that bear a blossom were advancing fast
to that delightful tvppearanco."

This is certainly no unfavourable picture, and yet the Bishop of St.
Boniface goes far »:"yond it, in the statement •' that the magnihcent
expanses of Peace Eiver, lying beyond the so-called Fertile Belt, are
superior to it both in climate and soil." But as this section, with that
of the Mackenzie Eiver country, is very fully described by liishop
Taclie, wo shall consider it at greater length in the following
chapter.

CIIAPTEE Vr.

THE MACKEXZIE AND PEACE RIVER COUNTRY.

When we rememljer tlie position that Eishop Tachu has for so many
years held in the North West — the great portion of it through which.
he must havo passed, and the facilities he has necessarily had of
acquiring the most reliable information from others, it will be admitted
that there was obvious reason why his work on the Korth West|of
America should be looked for with no small degree of interest.
Especially so, as ho had been accredited with saying that some of the
writers on the country had been " extensively imaginative." But any
apprehension regarding the Bishop's treatment of the subject, if not
whoUy groundless, was comparatively so, as it now appears that this
very able and exhaustive work will greatly accelerate rather than
retard the tide of emigration to those regions : the first small wavelet of
which has already reached the Saskatchewan. Nor is this feeling the
less strong, because every page of the work shows the determination of
the author to deal truthfully with the question, though in so doing he
may, as he himself says, somewhat " disarrange the symmetry" of that
Fertile Belt, which has been called the ** Rainbow of the West." And
though thi5 he certainly does, we find an ample equivalent in his assur-
ance, " that more cultivable land will be found in the forest region
than has been lost from the prairie."

Admitting, in general terms, that he regards the prairie region as of
less extent than we have been heretofore led to beheve, and that even
the central portions of those vast plains have not the ricliness that has
been attributed to them ; that the scarcity of timber and fuel in many ,
districts is at present a great drawback to colonization ; afid that the
frosts are more severe than have been I'eported ; still, all these, which
are the principal objections, sink into insigr'ficance when he so grr.ph-
ically portrays the brilliant and prosperous future of millions of men in
the North West. That he has approached the subject with the earnest
desire, as he says, ** to satisfy the legitimate curiosity of serious men
who think of this country," is at once apparent on perusing his work.
And thouf^h he has, perhaps, kept his imagination too much in check
when treating of the resources or beauty of the different districts, stiU,
the facts and figures which are so copiously given, in all probability
will do more for the advance of the provinces through immigration,
than any number of " glowing pictures."

Moreover, when he makes the following admission, that " as we
love the people more than the land in which they live, as. we prefer
the well-being of the former to the splendor of the latter, we now
repeat that, for our population, we very much dread some of the

. 41 -

promised changes," — we may, at least, freely accept every word that
he writes in favour of the country, while giving due weight to the
disadvantages under which he asserts any large number of immigrants
must temporarily suffer.

In his division of the North West, Rupert's Land and Red River
Territory, all of which he combines under the general denomination of
the Northern Department, he draws a diagonal line from the fiouth-
eastern extremity of the country to Mount Traffic, near 0-4 ® north
latitude, and 128° west longitude : such a line being, in some
measure, parallel to the isothermal, and therefore very accurately
dividing the barren from the fertile tracts, the latter of which is termed
the Southern*Division, and the former, the Northern. To the North-
ern Division he devotes little space, anticipating for it neither a
brilliant future nor even any probable change. Moreover, to the
southern half he assigns a much larger portion of desert thah many
former writers, placing the figures at about equal to those of the
Prairie Land. That we have a certain portion of this which has been
termed the American Desert, north of the 49 ° latitude, we have before
stated, but when we gave it the dimensions of a triangle, each side of
which is about 300 miles long, we had consulted the best authority on
the point. However, as former writers differ from this last authority
as to the degree of sterility in this section, generally, we must, it seems,
await further and better information.

In his introduction to the Prairies or Plains, the Bishop says : " Let
us leave the desert to enter a more agreeable region, — that of the
prairies. These plains, about which I am going to speak, have, in
some places, a little of the aridity of the Neighbouring desert without
its sterility : elsewhere this resembles forest land, without its depth ;
the whole forming a distinct country, worthy of the greatest interest,
without, perhaps, having all the advantages attributed to it. Our
prairies rest on the 49th parallel of latitude, and on the desert about
which we have just been speaking. To the north they are bounded
by the wooded country, in other directions they are also bounded by
Avooded country on which they yearly encroach, and from which they
are at present separated by a curved line that, waving irregularly to the
north of the Saskatchewan, crosses it near the mouth of its southern
branch, and thence proceeds in a straight line to the foot of Riding
Mountains to cross the extremity of Lakes Manitobah and "Winnipeg,
and stops at the height of land which was formerly the bank of the
Lake that has been replaced by Red River Valley."

To the forest region, which stretches northward from the j^rairies
•to the confines of the Southern Division, he devotes much attention,
and adds a classification of the different trees and plants. He also
claims that " more cultivatable lai'd will be found in the forest region,
than has been lost from the pra' le." This assertion becomes very
important, when we find that in referring to the prairies he said, " that
at the risk of appearing to be unreasonably retrograde, I dare positively
affirm that not more than one-half of the area of the prairie within
the limits I have ascribed to it, or within the region usually called the

; /

(

?•

Fertile Belt, is fit for H.leir; and that this half has not all tha
advantages attributed tc ' "

An immense numhe; 'i ifuo are also included in the Forest
Region limits, which woui ■ r -Co, .ilv warrant a very largo deduction,
from the habitable land, though lar^^. ^rtions of it will bo reclaimed
and rendered salubrious by clearing. Fires in this region are also very
frequent and very destructive, " but," ho says, " if I had to draw a,
fertile belt, instead of making a rainbow in heaven or on earth, I
would extend the limits of the prairie and stretch them into the forest
region, along the banks of the great streams ; for the region is traversed
by beautiful rivers, and will probably some day see settlements disput-
ing with them the possession of their banks. IJainy Eiver is one of
these streams, notwithstanding the swamps which encroach on its
lower banks. There are great advantages ofi'ered by nearly all the
rivers flowing from the Eocky Mountains. Protected by this poAverful
rampart in one direction ; in another, they have not to fear the
injurious influence which northerly winds in the eafit acquire in
sweeping over the far encroaching Hudson's Bay. Nor need they
dread the injurious influence I ascribed to southerly winds rushing,
with unchecked violence, across the desert, that, so to speak, goes as
far as the Gulf of Mexico to meet them. Were it not for the distance
of the rest of the world, and the difficulty of communication, the plateau
that borders these beautiful rivers would evi this have been occupied."

This introduction being so inviting, wo would take the liberty of
incorporating a few extracts referring to the hydrography of the
" Arctic Basin." Most of the rivers have been described in the pre-
ceding pages ; but beyond the new and varied infsrmation contained,
the following will show the very valuable nature of the work : —

" Mackenzie River is the great artery of the Arctic Basin, or of the
north-western region throughout its length, from Mount Hooker to the
Arctic Ocean. This giant river receives the tribute of all the streams
in the territory on its left, and on its yght it loses only those which
flow directly into the Arctic Ocean. I place the source of the river ^
near Mounts Hooker and Browne, at the head of Athabasca River,
close to the sources of Columbia River, for, in a straight line at all
events, this is its most distant part from its mouth. This magnificent
stream receives, besides a multitude of small tributaries, the waters of
Lesser Slave Lake, Lac la Biche, Clear-water River, the great Atha-
basca Lake and Peace River ; crosses the south-western part of Great
Slave Lake, and further on receives Mountain River, riviere mix
Liards, and the river of Great Bear Lake.

" At diff'erent places along the stream the river is known by difi"eront
names. It bears the name Athabasca between its source and the little
affluent from Lac la Biche. It then borrows the name of the later until
it is joined by Clear-water River, better known as " la petite riviere Ba-
haska." It then becomes Athabasca River up to the lake of that name, or
" Lac dee Gollines." Then it is Rock River, of which the continuation
is called Slave River until it loses itself in Great Slave Lake. From ils
escape from this lake to its mouth it is known as Mackenzie River.

V-m

" The river is navigable, if not from its source, at least from Jasper
House to its mouth, a distance of about 2,000 miles. In this long
line, navigation in boats of the country, is interrupted at only two
places : by the group of rapids in the riviere a la Biche and one in
Slave River. The latter rapids, which are about 1200 miles from tho-
Arctic Ocean, present the first obstacle to vessels going up stre' Ves-
sels of less draught could easily navigate from above these rnp.'s ^ ho
foot of river a la Biche rapids, but not at all seasons of ' 9 y< as
when the water is low there are numerous sand banks ih. 'ho -fr&y^
From the latter rapids to Jasper House the current ». :tc». Jingly
strong, and the water generally shallow; so that here, na Ration i»
very difficult and possible only in boats of the countr • when power-
fully propelled.

" The breadth of the river — at first only about a quarter of a mile —
gradually increases, but irregularly. In some places it is two miles
broad ; and, in short, as regards its length and its volume of water, is
one of the finest rivers in the world.

" From its source to Lake Athabasca the water is muddy, being
strongly charged with clay and sand, that form shifting banks difficult
to become familiar with and to avoid. The turbidness of tho water
increases the inconvenience of these obstructions.

" During July this river, like all others rising in the Rocky Moun-
tains, experiences a. sudden increase, due to the melting of snow. In
its upper part particularly, it then becomes an impetuous torrent, and
navigation is very difficult and often dangerous. This happens fre-
quently, when there is intense heat of several days' duration in the snowy
region. The phenomenon lasts generally inversely as its intensity.

" The delta of Athabasca River at its entrance into the lake of tho
same name is remarkable, and all the more so as it is also acted upon
by a great stream, Peace Rivet, ^v■hose mouth is quite close to it.
These two powerful streams carry with them, besides sand and clay, a
great quantity of debris, and this heaped against the south-western
shore of the lake, forms the tongue of land that separates the two
great sources of Mackenzie River. The tongue is not yet completed.
Fivers cP Embarras and d' Epinettes, Lake Mamawee, the Quatre
Fourches and very numerous water courses intersect the tongue of the
land, and are still waiting for its completion. The channels of several
of tho branches of the delta change their direction as the water rises
and falls in the Athabasca and Peace Rivers. Some of them cut the
tongue of land at right angles to the main streams. When tho water
is high, a portion of the delta is submerged. The high points covered
with hay then form small islands, generally of an oblong shape, that
look like the twine of an enormous net, of which the gigantic meshes
are represented by small sheets of water separating the islands. Hence
the name Athabasca or Ayabaskaw (net of hay) that our " voyageurs"
often pronounce Rabaska.

" The southern border of Great Slave Lake, from a combination of
circumstances similar to that I have just described, is being gradually
increased b Dosits from the rivers discharging into the lake, and by

the north winds, which are strongest and most common, driving dcbrin
towards the southern shore, the lowest and easiest to stick to.

" Upper Athabasca Eiver flows through a fertile and well wooded
country. After an extremely rapid descent from the great mountains
it receives the water of Lesser Slave Lake, a magnificent basin, a kind
of enormous fish-pond, 75 milt^ long and 30 miles broad, whoso shores
rise like an amphitlieatre and are very picturesque. This tributary on
the left, has its pendant in the beautiful Lac la Biche, a little further
down on the right. The latter lake is not so large as the fymer, but
it is quite as deserving of praise, and is surrounded by a very fertile
country, very well suited for colonization. From Lac la Piche there
is a land road to Eod Eiver and, therefore, to the United States.
Already trafhc passes along this road, and Lac la Biche may become
the centre of the trade which will bo carried on along the whole of
Athabasca-Mackenzie River.

" The next most important tributary is Clear-water of Little Atha-
basca piver. This delightful little stream, rising to the east of Methy
Portage, has, up to the present time, and in spite of the difficulties of
navigation, enjoyed almost the exclusive privilege of supplying a route
to Athabasca-Mackenzie. On descending from the heights of Methy
Portage one takes boat on this little river, which, in order to keep the
traveller in the midst of the beauties it presents to his view, places
obstructions in the way necessitating the portages of White Mud, the
Pines, Big Stone, the Nurse, and the Cascades. The river is not
navigable by other boats than those of the country, and, even then,
the navigation is not easy.

" Descending the great river, one enters Lake Athabasca at its
south-western extremity. It is a beautiful expanse of deep, limpid
water, measuring over 200 miles in length at an elevation of about
600 feet above sea-level. This lake does not pay tribute to the giant
river of the north until it has itself received, as tribute, a share of
Lake Wollaston. The latter, like Island Lake from which Clear-water
Eiver flows, does not decide on a northerly course until it has given a
share of its water to Churchill Eiver, of which it feeds the tributaries.

" I said that Peace Eiver joins the great stream a little below
Athabasca Lake. Many consider Peace Eiver to bo the source of
Mackenzie Eiver. It is of less importance to discuss this opinioii
than to make known the river itself. Peace Eiver is, unquestionably,
one of the most beautiful in the country, perhaps in the world. Its
navigation, at any rate in boats of the country, is uninterrupted,
except by a small fall and a few rapids. These obstructions might
be removed by works of secondary importance, and then the river
would be navigable, throughout its length, for boats of considerable
size, and this, too, nearly throughout the summer.

" Flowing through a valley as beautiful as it is rich, the stream
rises in the Eocky Mountains, quite close to the sources of the
celebrated Fraser Eiver, with which, as Eiver Athabasca does with
Columbia Eiver, it forms a water channel that almost uninterruptedly
connects the Arctic Ocean with the Pacific.

IV,

t»

" The route is certainly not without difficulties, but these are
much less than would naturally bo supposed to be connected with
crossing the Rocky Mountains by water. It was discovered by Mac-
kenzie in 1793, and has been uc«^d by fur traders. There are those
who maintain that it is the natural road to the North-west. The
valley watered by Peace River cannot but become peopled, and then
many inquisitive and interested individuals will admire this grand
stream that is now probably regarded with indifference by the poor
family of beavers living on its banks.

" Passing from Peace River to Slave River, let us rapidly descend
the latter to its falls, which we shall avoid by way of Chest Portage
(Portage cle la Cassette). This is the beginning of the second group
of rapids on Mackenzie River. The first group, in River la Biche, is
formed by calcareous strata crossing the stream ; this one is due to
azoic spurs which come here to salute the great river, or to +.est it»
power by throwing obstacles in its way, but unable to check the
violence of the stream, the furious river bounds over the obstructions,
making amends to itself for its exertions b; a magnificent display of
falls and rapids. The traveller has time to gaze on the scene, for,
besides the Chest Portage, he has also to pass Raft Portage
(iVEmbarras), Burnt Portage (Brule), Mountain Portage, and lastly
the Portage of the Drowned (des Noyes).

" As we cast a last glance at this rugged picture, let us take courage
to continue the journey, while we regrot that we do not find a fine
ship here, which might now take us on, without hindrance, to the
whale fisheries of the Arctic Ocean. In default of this means, let us
embark in the barge which awaits us. Fifteen mUes further on, we
shall pass Salt River; and if wo have not yet acquired the habit of
eating entirely without salt, we can lay in a supply from the crystal-
covered sides of the river, which look like banks of snow. Still
further on, after passing another delta, we shall have an unbounded,
view across the Great Slave I.ake, another fresh-water sea. Stony
Island, a naked mass of granite, tells us that, on the east and north,
this great lake, like all its giant brothers, is solidly banked with,
primitive rock ; while, to the south and west, the shore is limestone.
Tlie lake is one of the largest in the world. Its depth is equal to
that of liake Superior. Its waters are grand, and maintain an
immense number of fish. Unfortunately its navigation is certain
only from the beginning of July to the middle of October.

" Having crossed Great Slave Lake the great river takes, defin-
itively, the name of its discoverer. Before descending this part of the
stream, let us land, and be more polite than we have yet been, for up
to the present time we have visited no one en route. Here there are
missionaries, a bishop and priests. Sisters of charity also reside on this
bank, at Providence, the residence of the Vicar of Mackenzie River.

" Let us proceed again, and .«»top at the mouth of another large
river, that called Mountain River, or Riviere aux Liards. Those who
would learn how a large river pours down over scarped heights, and
how our voyageurs are bold enough to trust themselves on roaring

»•>

"waters which rush with frightful noiso between their confining walla,
such have only to ascend Mountain River. At first they will have
no difficulty, but I promise them excitement as they approach the
summit of the mountains. They will go close to the sources of Pelly
and Lewis Rivers, which, with Mountain River, form another alra'ost
uninterrupted water-connection between the seas on the north and the
west,

" In descending Mountain River, one has to firmly grasp the boat,
as, at many points, the current is so violent that the steerer lashes
himself to the boat to avoid being violently pulled out of his place by
the blows which the water gives to the helm ho holds in his hand.

' " Having returned to Fort Simpson, where Mountain River flows
into Mackenzie River, let \is continue our course down the latter, to
admire the wild beauties it presents to us . Now it is the chain of
the Rocky Mountains which the river, in its turn, goes to salute.
This powerful wall drives back its swift visitor, which occasionally
alters its course to avoid an encounter. Further on, it appears as
if the impatient river, rushing against rocks instead of describing
numerous curves, had thrown itself across the enormous masses tliat
confine it on either side. Numerous affluents descend to it from the
mountains, bringing tribute from lakes.

" Having examined the coal beds, and the lignite basin across
which the great river flows here — there is before us a hill over GOO
feet high, cut vertically, that invites us to view a large river flowing
at its base ; it is the Great Bear Lake River. We may ascend it, to
visit the enormous lake that gives it its name ; but let us not forget
that it is covered with ice during eleven months in the year, and that
we cannot, therefore, stay long, however great the interest it may
excite by its size, or by its historical associations from having been
made the winter quarters of Arctic expeditions. An additional reason
for our feeling an interest in this lake, is that its exceptionally severe
climate has not deterred the missionary who carried the torch of faith
there. We shaU visit the missionary at Good Hope, the last of our
stations. Let us pass over what is called the ra2nd, and which, when
the water is low, may occasionally falsify my Statement, that the river
is navigable for large vessels to the Arctic Ocean, where it flows out
across a delta of alluvial land.

" The Arctic Basin includes several other rivers which, although
practically useless, are not without interest, and have been rendered
celebrated by the names and adventures of the noted travellers who
have explored these inhospitable shores. Coppermine River is the
first of these which have attracted attention. Its investigation was
+\e object of the first land expedition made in the Arctic regions, that
of Samuel Hearne, in 1771. Then Fish or Back River, which, like-
the preceding, has been the theatre of many stirring scenes, and wit-
nessed the land expedition made by Anderson and Stuart in 1855.
It was at the mouth of this river that the discoveries were made
which put an end to the uncertainty about the fate of Franklin and
his courageous companions."

•♦

'%tai;

CHAPTER VII.

> tk-

III, I

SOIL, CLIMATE, &C.

"VVe have already given some information regarding the extent, charac-
ter, and resources of the different divisi j.i3, especially of those that will
bo first settled. Wo think it advisable to lean in favour of saying
too little, rather than too much, of those sections that as yot, have had
comparatively nothing ollicial to stamp their character. The inacces-
sibility of the country heretofore has, it is true, caused, descriptions of
these territories to bo read witli a great deal of doubt ajid perplexity.
However, this difficulty, the want of di ect communication, is nearly
overcome, and, in a very few years, the nature of its soil and climate
will be as well established as that of Europe. It is affected by the
same causes precisely, varied in a greater or less degree, in different
localities, by circumstances peculiar to each. The west side of the
continent of Europe is Avarmer on the same ])arallol of latitute, than the
cast side, the prevailing Avinds being westerly. The causes and effect
are precisely the same on the contnient of America, only they operate
in a somewhat greater degree, there being a larger and warmer ocean
to the windward of it, and a colder sea to chill the coasts of Hudson's
Bay and La])radoi'.

" "What then," one writer asks, " is this immense region, equal in
area and c! nnte to many of the most powerful kingdoms of the Old
AVorld, coji, losed of ? Bare rock, snow-clad mountains, and sandy
plains, or swamps .and morasses, the friends of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany Avould h;t "0 us believe. \Ve find, however, that the construction
of this part of the globe is- very much like the rest of the world, vary-
ing from the primitive to the secondary and tertiary formations, with
limestone, coal, &c., in abundance : and to assert that a country of
such formation, and Avith such a climate, is unfit for the abode of man,
is simply to assert that the laws of nature are reversed in regarci 1o it."
HoAvever, the evidence on behalf of the Hudson's Bay Company was
given to establish the false and unfavourable vicAv, though many whose
names are associated Avith the " attempt," noAV vicAV Avith deep regret
their action in the past. Such being the case, Ave do not think that
there are any noAV Avho consider it necessary to disprove the unjust,
ungenerous, and unpatriotic evidence giA'^en before the Committee of the
House of Conimons in 1857.

However, as the foUoAving extracts dispose of many of the untruth-
fid assertions advanced by the Company ; and as some of them are
from gentlemen well known in Canada, and others from those Avell
qualified to give "advice to farmers" intending to emigrate to the
Country, Ave give them a place.

The Eev. John Scott, at the designation of the Eev. William
Fletcher, as missionary to the Red River Settlement, after speaking of
it as a field for missionary effort, described it " as a country of very
great extent, capable of sustaining a population of 30,000,000." " In
considering this country as a mission field," he continued, " it must
not be regarded so much on account of what it now is, as on account
of what it is evidently destined to become. Lord Selkirk and Lord
Milton speak of it in very flattering terms, both as to soil and climate.
The face of the country is level, being woodland along the rivers, and
prairie in the interior. The soil is rich, producing excellect samples
of wheat, oats, barley, and corn. As a wheat country, it is destined
to be unrivalled on account of its alluvial deposits. Its mineral
wealth is ^Iso important. Between the two branches of the Saskat-
chewan, there is a gold field 400 miles long and 300 broad, while
along the Assiniboine there are rich coal beds."

Bishop Machray, long a resident of the North- West, said, at a
a missionary meeting held in Toronto in September, 1867, when
alluding to the scene of his labors, "^ that the soil was exceedingly
good. At the part where he was stopping, the land had been in crop
for 30 or 40 years, and unless something extraordinary happened, the
crop was still excellent. There were in the neighborhood of the
settlement all the advantages necessary for insuring the greatness of
the country." He attributes the want of success in gold mining
operations at the base of the Rocky Mountains, to the miners " being
isolated from the rest of the world."

In a condensation of one of the Rev. George Macdougall's speeches,
he says : — " The cattle live out all winter ; except once during
the last five years there was no need to feed horned animals or horses.
This country extends 1,000 miles from the Red River to the Rocky
Mountains. As to minerals, he could trace 300 miles of coal in one
direction. On one small creek he saw a seam of coal extending for
six miles, and four or five feet thick. On the Athabasca River, 100
miles to the north of him, coal coidd be seen all along the banks ;
also, on the southern banks of the Saskatchewan. In one place he
had seen it, where it had been on fire from time immemorial. There
was timber, too, in abundance. Some of the finest rivers in the world
ran parallel for hundreds of miles, and on the higher portions of their
course, near the Rocky Mountains, there was the finest timber.
Gold is there, and it will come in due time. Every river on the
eastern slope of the Rocky Motintains is full of gold. It might be
asked, why is not this gold taken out? Men cannot at present find
provisions while they try to do it. Flour is there $1 per pound,
working cattle, $2u0 each; Miners will not work there under $10
per day. !Men must go in there, else provisions cannot be furnished
in sufiicient abundance to suppoit the minors. If Dr. Taylor would
come out his waj, we would show him mountains which were the
backbone of this Continent. I^et him see one sunrise from the eastern
slone of the Rocky Mountains, with the strawbei-ries at his feet and
the eternal snows above him, at the summit of the moiintains. and he

! ..

' \'-

>■

would soon acknowledge tlie Alps, of which he was so fond of talking,
to be small. When he came to Eed Kiver, he felt cross with the
Canadians every hour on account of their indiflference to this fine
country. Americans are wide awake. An old farmer -who wanted
me to preach at his house, showed me the wheat he raised. He had
raised 300 bushels of wheat weighing 68 lbs. to the bushel. He had
seen there the finest specimens of flax, fit for thread of the finest
quality for fishir g and other purposes. Native hops worth 75 cents
a pound in St. Paul's could bo gathcrad by the waggon-load."

Sir George Simpson, who was forty years Governor of the Hudson
Bay Territories, in his book, the "Overland Journey Round the
World," thus speaks of the valley of the Kaministaquoia, — a river
which falls into Lake Superior, near Fort William : —

"The river, during the day's march, passed through forests c^elm,.
oak, fir, birch, &c., being studded with hills not less fertile and lovely
than its banks ; and many a spot reminded us of the rich and quiet
scenery of England. The paths of the different portages were spangled
with violets, roses, and many other wild flowers, while the currant,
the gooseberry, the raspberry, the plum, the cherry, and even the vine
were abundant. All this bounty of nature was inspired, as it were,
with life, by the cheerful notes of a variety of birds, and by the restless
flutter of butterflies of the brightest hues. Compared with the ada-
mantine deserts of Lake Superior, the Kaministaquoia presented a
perfect paradise. One cannot pass through this fair valley witliout
feeling that it is destined sooner or later to become the happy home of
civilized men, with their bleating flocks and their lowing herds, and
their full garners. The miners of Lake Superior, besides establishing
a continuity of route between the east and west, will find their nearest
and cheapest supply of agricultural produce in the valley of the
Kaministaquoia."

He says of Rainy River, that " it is not interrupted by a single
impediment for nearly a hundred miles, while yet the current is not
strong enough to retard an ascending traveller." Again, "Nor are
the banks less favorable to agriculture than the waters themselves to
navigation, resembling in some measure, those of the Thames, near
Richmond. From the very brink of the river there rises a gentle slope
of green-sward, crowned in many places with a plentiful growth of
birch, poplar, beech, elm, and oak." His book fully corroborates our
accoimt of the richness of the soil at Red River ; and when he comes
to the banks of the Saskatchewan, ho writes thus : — " Lofty hills, and
long valleys full of sylvan lakes, while the bright green of the surface,
as far as the eye could reach, assumed a foreign tinge under an uninter-
rupted profusion of roses and blue-bells. On the summit of one of
these hills we commanded one of the few extensive prospects that we
had of late enjoyed. One range of heights rose behind another, each
liecoming fainter as it receded from the eye, till the furthest was
blended in almost undistinguished confusion with the clouds, while
the softest vales spread a panorama of hanging copses and glittering
lakes at our feet."

CLIMATE.

In concluding this chapter, which completes the descriptive part, we
think it advisable — though numerous statements have already been
made, to refer briefly to the climate, especially so, as graphic pictures
of the storm that raged through those sections in January of last
year, were extensively copied ; and the impression has gone abroad
that the climate is as rigid and severe as it has heretofore been to the
interest of some to represent it. In the first place, to dispose of the
unfavourable opinion which the descriptions of this " fearful storm"
has left : we gather from the reports that the seven persons who lost
their lives, were frozen to death in Minnesota, between Torts Aber-
crombie and Pembina ; and necessarily the North West, so far as this
fearful storm is concerned, is not responsible for the calamity, though
numbers of the prisoners who attempted to escape from Tort Garry,
with unsuitable clothing, did get their toes and fingers frozen. Min-
nesota is certainly south of the Red River Territory, but when we find
that it is the highest land in"North America, with the exception of
the Rocky ^lountains, we are in a great measure prepared for the
evidence in favor of the Red River Territory as to climate, which may
be condensed as follows : —

The isothermal line which passes througli Toronto, though not
given on the map, also passes through the lio.d River in the neighbor-
hood of, if not above Fort Garry. This isothermal line, denoting the
mean temperature, we infer that, though the thermometer registers a
much greater degree of cold in winter, along the Red River than hero,
still, from the peculiar dryness of the atmosphere in winter, the cold
is not felt to the same extent, or we should not find that men could lie
out on the plains with their buffalo robes as their only covering, as
numerous of the insurgents are said to have done, and as Ave know that
others have done. Horses that are bought for the American market,
winter at large about forty miles west of Fort Garry, on the prairies,
in the charge of herdsmen, who drive them at evening to the clumps
of trees along the banks of small streams. With these for their onlv
shelter, and the long prairie grass their only food, they are in good
condition in the spring. Now accepting these two facts as sufficient
proof that the settlers on Red River enjoy a climate equal in mildness
to that of Ontario, we find, as an additional proof, that the mean tem-
perature of the seven warm months at Fort Garry, is fully one-half a
degree warmer than the mean of the corresponding seven months at
Toronto. With such data to establish the character of the climate at
Fort Garry, proceeding westward, we find that the climate improves so
rapidly that at Portage la Prairie, which is only one hundred and fifty
miles distant — and almost due westward — the spring genemlly sets in
three weeks earlier than at Red River. Then, again, starting from
Fort Garry, and going north-westward, about four hundred miles, to
Fort Carlton,) wliich is about 150 miles north of the latitude of Fort
(inrry) on the north branch of the Saskatchewan, above the forks, wo
find, according to Capt. Blackiston, the same temperature to prevail at

the Fort, on the Saskatchewan, as on the Eed River. Mr. Russell
finds as the "result of this rapid increase of heat westward," as shown
by Mr. David Thompson, " that Dunregan, on Peace River, latitude

56 ° north, has a mean annual temperature of 35 ° 51 : equal to that
of Fort William, on Lake Superior, latitude 48 ® 23 north; with a mean
temperature for four summer months, May to August, inclusive, of
62 ° 9 ; while that of Fort William for the same montlis, is only

57 ° 13, or 59 ° 9 for the warmest three of them ; yet Dunregan is
aboui five hundred and forty miles further north than Fort William."

Again, Captain Palliser, Avho explored the Saskatchewan country
personally, says "its climate is somewhat similar to that of Red
River; but decidedly milder in the southern and western parts."
This, in fact, is fully established by following the isothermal or mean
temperature as given by Governor Stevens, which, commencing in
Green Bay, Wisconsin, passes Little Falls between St. Paul's and
Fort Ripley, iMinnesota, crosses the Red River near Fort Garry, and,
after passing over Lake ManitobaL and striking the forks of the
Saskatchewan, proceeds north-westward to the sources of Beaver
River. From which wo gather that the sources of Beaver River have
as good a climate as Fort Garry ; and Fort Garry as good as Green
Bay, Wisconsin, or Little Falls, ^linnosota.

From the foregoing, and by following the other and more northerly
isothermal lino that has been before alluded to ; and by noting the
nortliAvestwardly tendency of those lines marking the limit uf "con-
iferous trees" and "pasture grasses," we are not prepared — even
though we were so disposed— to question the assertion of the Bishop
of St. Boniface, as to the climate of the I'eace River Country, being
as good as, if not better, than, tliat of Red River.

As to the cause of this northerly divergence of the mean
temperature, we will briefly give the accepted theory. The Pacific,
flowing up the western coast of Xorth America, is noted for its
singularly warm currents ; the breezes from which, passing through
the gorges of the Rocky INIountains, come eastward till met by the
cold Arctic currents of the Hudson's Bay. On the Pacific coast there
are no icebergs ; but on the Atlantic coast and in Hudson's Bay, they
remain in such masses as to block up the passage for nine out of the
twelve months. Hence the intense cold in East Main, and, at times,
in Lower Canada and South Hudson's Bay Territory, including the
Lak.i Superior Section, as compared with the congenial climate of the
Noi'th Saskatchewan, receives a clear and adequate explanation.

At the last moment, avc have received the official report of Lieut.
W. F. Butler of H. M. 69th Regiment. This gallant officer was sent
in advance of the expedition by Avay of Pembina ; and altjiough the
insurgents gave hira some little trouble, he managed to reach Sir Chas.
Wolseley and communicate to him the actaal state of afi"airs at Fort
Garry. Subsequently this exceedingly able officer was commissioned
by Lieut. Governor Archibald to explore the Upper Saskatchewan,
with a view of ascertaining the actual state of the country, the con-
dition of the Indians and more particularly to what extent the small-

fit

pox, had afflicted them. Lieut. Butler's entire report is extremely in-
teresting ; it is, however, too late for us to afford our readers even a.
sketch of his intelligent researches. At the same time, we cannot
forbear from adding corroborative evidence to the information already
given, regarding the inexhaustible richness of the Upper Saskatchewan
district. We quote from the concluding portion of Lieut. Butler'a
report : —

" People will not build houses, rear stock, or cultivate land in places
where their cattle are liable to bo killed and their crops stolen. It roust
also be remembered that the 8askatchcwan offers at present not only
a magnificent soil and a fine climate, but also a market for all farming
produce at rates which are exorbitantly high. For instance — flour
sells from £2 10s. to £5 per the 100 lbs. ; jwtatoes, 5s. to 7s. a
bushel ; and other commodities in proportion. No apprehension need
be entertained that such settlements would remain isolated establish-
ments. There are at the present time many persons scattered through
the Saskatchewan who wish to become farmers and settlers, but
hesitate to do so in the absence of protection and security. These
persons are old servants of the Hudson's Bay Company \,ho havo
made money ; or huuters, whose lives have been passed in t^e Great
West, and who now desire to settle down. Nor would another clasa
of settler be absent. Several of the Missionaries in the Saskatchewan
have been in correspondence with persons in Canada who desire to
seek a home in this Western land, but who have been advised to
remain in their present country until matters have become more settled
along the Saskatchewan. The advantages of the localities which I
have specified — the junction of the branches of the Saskatchewan
Kiver, and the neighbourhood of Edmonton — may be stated as fol-
lows : — Junction of North and South branch — a place of great future
military and commercial importance, commanding navigation of both
rivers — enjoys a climate suitable to tlie production of all cereals and
roots, and a soil of unsurpassed fertility — is situated about mid-way
between Eed Eiver and the Rocky Mountains, and possesses abundant
and excellent supplies of timber for building and fuel — is heloio the
pre mued interruption to steam navigation on Saskatchewan River,
know 1 as "Coal Falls," and is situated on direct cart road from
Manitoba to Carlto:i

" F.dmoivton, the centre of the Upper Saskatchewan, also tho
centr* fl a largo population (half jreed) — country lying between it
a.H Yicr 'vii. -'Ty fer il . — is witiiin easy reach of Blackfeet, Cree,
and A "*iiiihuii.ic country ; summer frosts often injurious to wheat, but
all oiuer "o|j-J thrive well, and even wheat is frequently a large and
productiv! -crc ]) : tiaibi r for fuel plenty, and for building can be
obtained in

Hi,

;£uantitie3 10 miles distant ; coal in large quantities
ao river ; and gold, at from three to ten dollars a

on the banlv of '
day, in sand-bars.

" Such, sir, are the views which I have formed upon the whole
question of the existing state of affairs in the Saskatchewan. They

result from the thought and experience of many long days of travel
through a large portion of the region to which they have reference.
If I were asked from what point of view I have looked upon this
question, I would answer : From that point which sees a vast country
lying, as it were, silently awaiting the immense wave of human life
which rolls unceasingly from Europe to America. Far off as lie the
regions of the Saskatchewan from the Atlantic sea-board, on which
that wave is thrown — remote as are the fertile glades which fringe the
eastern slopes of the Eocky Mountains — still that wave of human life
is destined to reach those beautiful solitudes, and to convert the wild
luxuriance of their now useless vegetation into all the requirements of
civilized existence. And if it bo matter for desire that across this
immense continent, resting upon the two greatest oceans of the world,
a powerful nation should arise, with the strength and the manhood
which race and climate and tradition should assign to it^-a nation
which would look with no evil eye upon the old mother land from
whence it sprang — a nation Avhich, having no bitter memories to
recall, would have no idle prejudices to perpetuate — then surely it is
worthy of all toil of hand and brain, on the part of those who to-day
rule, that this great link in the chain of such a future nationality
should no longer remain undeveloped — a prey to the conflicts of
savage races — at once the garden and the wilderness of the central
continent."

CHAPTEE VII.

•».!*•

, THE SENATE COliIMlTTEE.

In this chapter, by way of addendum to the informatinn regarding
soil and climate, contained in former chapters, we prjpose to give sl
condensation of the evidence taken by a committee of the Dominion
Senate during the session of 1870. At that period, many settlers and
others recently froui the North-West, were at Ottawa ; the Senate,
therefore, with a view of extending popular knowledge on the subject,
invited these gentlemen to communicate their view" respecting "the
condition, climate, soil, population, resources, and nutaral products of
the countrv," &c. Availing ourselves, to some extent, of an abstract
of the evidence given in the "Year Eook and Almanac of Canada for
1871," we transcribe such portions as seem likely to be of value and
interest to our readers. The conclusions at which the Committee
arrived are embodied in the following clauses of their report : —

2nd. The vast extent of co mtry capable of cultivation, the favor-
able accounts uniformly given of its agricidtural qualities, and tho
salubrity of the climate, leave no room for doubt on the minds of the
Committee that the region north of the United States Boundary, west,
of the Watershed of Laku Superior, and extending north of the
northern banks of the Saskatchewan Eiver, is a good wheat and
vegetable-producing country.

3rd. The principal drawbacks would seem to be distance from
navigation and railway communication, absence of mai'kets for agricul-
tural prodr.cts, occasional Aasits from grasshoppers, and tho cold of
winter. But the testimony of all the witnesses examined upon this
latter point tends to establish tho fact, that although the thermometer
indicates a much lower degree of temperature at Eed River, in winter
months, than in Ontario, yet the cold in its effects upon individuals,
produces scarcely, if at aU, more inconvenience in the former than ia
the latter country.

4th. The Committee are satisfied that if measures are taken at an
early date to afford facilities for access through British Territory to
the Red River, it will be found to be not only a very desirable home
for immigrants, but will materially enhance the prosperity and
promote the best interests of this Dominion.

Then follows the evidence : —

John James Setter — Is a farmer and school teacher living at
Portage La Prairie, and was born at Red River. Has resided there
ever sinc3, except three years passed in Minnesota. He had travelled
about 110 miles west on the Assiniboine in the terrritory, and
between the Assiniboine and the boundary line seventy or eighty

miles. The country is pretty equally divided between wooded and
prairie land. The woods are invariably found on the banks of« the
streams. They consist of oak, ash, elm and poplar; and he would
call largo timber there, trees a foot and a half in diameter. There is
pine, but not the white pine ; and there is white cedar, but no red.
The streams have generally muddy bottoms ; there is very little
rock. The.se are not generally difficult to cross. The bottoms are
soft. The alluvial deposit varies in depth. On the Ked Kiver it is
about a foot deep, Avhilst up on the Assiniboine and in the neigh-
bourhood of the Portage it is about three feet in depth, and in some
places six. White mud underlies the alluvial deposit iu the Portage •
section, and clay in the Ked Kiver. (Colour of this clay is lightish.
Gophir mounds are very common on the Assiniboine. The belts of
timber are wide on the south side of the Assiniboine. That river is
from 150 to 200 yards broad where it Joins tbo Ked Kiver. Ked
Kiver is navigable from Winnipeg to Fort /. ' i 'i-ombio, for vessels
drawing four feet. Avenge width of belts oi timber is about 4
miles, but does not state t'lis of his own knowledge. Prairies are 12
or 14 miles wide on north side of the Assiniboine. He has a form of
25 acres under cultivation. Soil alluvial. It was a prairie and
virgin soil. Light colour. But it is in some places black. The wild
grass on it is the ordinary prairie grass. It grows iu the bottoms . so
tall that you can tie it over a horse's back iu riding through it ;
but the ordinary grass is short. Kaises wheat. This weighs 641bs.
to a bushel ; but he has seeen it weigh GSlbf. This is spring wheat ;
faU wheat is a failure. Barley, oats, peas, potatoes, turnips, and
carrots are also raised. A variety of Indian corn is raised They
generally put crops in from middle of April to middle of May, and
harvest in August. They have never had the potato disease, nor the
weevil in wheat. He does not think there are any farms on the
wooded lands, but the soil in the woods appears to be richer than in
the prairie. He spoke of fall wheat not answering on prairie lands,
but stated that Canadians were of opinion that it would answer if
farms were opened on tlie timber land.

Water can be found on the As.siniboine at 8 or 10 feet. Water is
generally hard. There is abundance of limestone in the lower part of
of Ked Kiver, and in places near the Assiniboine. There are hills or
blufts on the south side of Assiniboine, a beautiful country, as well as
f-n the west of Ked Kiver. There is no fuel on the prairie, but on one
side of the line there is plenty of timber for fuel and building houses
for some time to come. Timber has to be brought five or six miles to
the prairies of which he is speaking. Coal has been discovered by
Indians, about 40 miles from Portage la Prairie, cropping out on the
river banks. They have frosts in September, but not sufficient to
blanch the prairie grass. There is a kind of grass which remains green
at the bottom all winter. Horned cattle are kept in, in winter ; but
horses may run out all winter. They feed cattle in the winter. One
year he bouglit a new place, and being short of stabling, he left out
some of his cattle, and these were the fattest in the spring. They were

.■+

- - • 56 ^

sheltered from winds. Snow is generally a foot and a half deep ;
but in places there are drifts. Weather in winter is dry, and there aro
no sle^tv storms. Temperature at times 43 ° and 44 ° below zero, but
very ru iy. Some of his neighbours have left 30 or 40 horses running
at large all winter for the last 10 years. They live on prairie grass.
When ho was in Minnesota it was 41 ® below zero. They can move
about in the cold weather with comfort. They have no thaws in win-
ter. Snow begins about the middle or latter part of November. Win-
ter is steady. Spring commences at the end of March ro first of
April. The roads are sufficient for carriages, and all the smaller
streams are bridged. From this place to Fort Garry there is a good
road. The average height of the prairie grass is not more than a foot.
Mowing machines are used, The prairies are subject to fire ; and it is
against the law to set fire to them in the settlement. There are very
few French farmers in the settlement. The French generally pursue
hunting. The principal farmers are English and Scotch. Ten years
ago there were buffalo in the immediate neighbourhood of Assiniboine.
Now there are none inside of 300 miles. There are some rabbits, and
the birds are ducks, geese, cranes, swans, snipe, a small partridge,
prairie chickens t^d pigeons. The heat at midsummer goes as high as
90 ° . Warm w^ ather commences ot ibe middle of May. Nights are
generally cool. Oats do well, and yield 33 lbs. to the bushel. Potatoes
do very well, as do also carrots and turnips. Witness said he had not
«aten a good potato since he came to Canada. The grasshoppers did
not make their appearance till 1857, but he had heard they had been
there in the early days of the settlement. Their next appearance was
in 1364. They did great hurt. For three times within 14 years they
have deposited their eggs. He generally described that they were not
troubled with other kinds of insects. They don't raise fruit, but they
have wild plums, strawberries, choke cherries, cranberries, gooseberries,
•wild peas, blueberries, sour grapes, currants, and some other varieties.
They get lumber in the settlement. There is a saw mill at Lake
Winnipeg. Lumber is generally cut by hand in saw pits. 100
boards 8 inches wise, cost £2 10s. sterling. They have elm but make
no use of it. Fencing is made of poplar. Houses are made of frame
work and with logs, roofed ,vith thatch. Of fish, they have white
fish, sturgeon of a large size — from 100 to 200 lbs — cat-fish, perch,
pike, and gold eyes. Population of Portage La Prairie is about 300.
" Natives, some Canadians, but no French." They have three Episco-
palian churches. Presbyterians have their services in a private house
at present. Witness has about 40 pupils in his school. He bad 76

aches the ordinary branches.

There is a higher school be-

liray's, at St. John's, where

logy. There are no Protes-

l Catholics do not mix, as a

before the grasshoppers came. He

The settlement is entirely Protestant

longing to the Protestants, Bishop M;

they teach classics, mathematics and t'

tants at St. Bonif aca.> Vt< 'testants

rule. There is a splendid Lone cathe(lral belonging to the Catholics.

He considers Red Eiver a liner country tlu.n the State of Minnesota.

" It is the best country I have ever seen." Thu only thing to detract

from its agricultural advantages is, that it is so far from the soa board.
They are not troubled by the Indians. Tliero is never now any inter-
marriage between the Indians and the whites. Women have fro-
(juently 14 children.

Joseph Monhnan — Lives in St. Peter's Parish, Indian Settlement.
Speaks English, Cliippewa and Cree. Hi.s father, an Englishman ;
his mother, an Indian of the Cree tribe. Has been as far north as
Norway House, at the extremity of Lake Winnipeg. Also up the
vSaskatohewan to Moose Lake ; and to Carlton House on the Xorth
branch of that river. Has been along the Qu'Appello River. Knows
the neighbourhood of Rainy Lake and the Lake of tlio Woods.
Has been employed by the H, 13. Company ; but very little hunting
and trapping. Was with Mr. Dawson in 1858. Koad between
Fort Garry and Lake of the Woods is level generally, with some
slight ridges ; runs through a fair country, except some swamps.
Distance, 90 miles. A railway could be easily constructed. About
15 miles are swampy; but a wooded ridge of a fine character runs
through it for a long distance ; soil generally sand. Good soil for
30 miles from Fort Garry. He agreed with Mr. Setter regarding the
capabilities of the country ; he has not over-rated its advantages.
There are pines 3 feet in diameter. Rod River is navigated to Fort
Abercrombie, 290 miles into American territory from St. Peter's
Parish. Last year, witness had a crop of wheat so heavy that it
could not support itself. Sowed on 22nd April, one bushel, yields
35. Has seen one grain of wheat make 55 heads. 65 or GGlbs. per
bushel is the average. Barley exceeds that in luxuriance. Has seen
a crop off the same land for 25 years ; the last much the same as the
first. The late frosts do not commonly injure the grain ; none has
been injured where he lives. Potatoes very fine; has grown them
21bs. each. Keeps 30 cattle and horses ; the latter could winter out.
snow reckoned deep at 3 feet. Hemp grows high. Water can be
obtained anywhere by digging in the plains. Has seen fine wheat
250 miles north of Red River. Fort Pelly country is full of lakes
and brackish water ; is excellent for cattle. The frost is no injury to
farming. Has seen a pumpkin weighing 23 lbs.; they have also
melons of all kinds.

Rev. Mr. Fletcher — Bom in Aberdeenshire, Scotland ; went
to Portage La Prairie in 1868 from Ontario. Had been in
Canada over twenty years, and is a minister of the Canada
Presbyterian Church. He has been over a great deal of the Red
River country from Portage to the Assiniboine to Fort Garry, and
from Fort Garry to Stone Fort on Red River. There are 150 Presby-
terian fimilies in his district. He should estimate the po])ulation at
about 12,000 in the districts with which ho is acquainted. From
Lake Winnipeg to Fort Garry the people are almost entirely Pro-
testant on both sides of the river. The Protestant churches mix a
great deal. There are 10 or 12 of the Church of England, 4 of
Presbyterians and 3 other places of meeting in private houses ; 6 or 6
Wesleyan Methodist places of meeting. He believed the Catholics

■•■■■■«•«*■

and Protestants in the settlement were about equal in numbora.
Many of the Roman Catholic churches are built at considerable cost,
of stone, which is obtained in abundance below Fort Garry. Ho
should think the cold averaged 30° below zero. The range is more
equal than in C'anada, and, owing to the dryness of the climate,
persons feel the cold less than they do in Canada. He has known it
as cold as 40° below zero. On the Assiniboine, seed time began last
year on April 16th, and cattle fed then on the wild grass just outside
the fences. The wild gi-ass seemed to bo refreshed with the winter's
snow, and cattle ate it greedily. They prefer it to hay. Tliey had
not ploughed before the IGth of April, and then there was some frost
in the ground. There has been no potato disease. He has seen as
excellent vegetables as he ever saw in Canada. On an acre of cabbage
not a head wanting, and each ten inches. Indian corn might not be
a safe crop, but some early varieties, such as the Early Yellow, would
ripen. Wheat is harvested fully as early as in Canada West. Usual
time of harvest is August. He would say the yield of wheat was 30
to 36 bushels per acre. His opinion was that all the cereals did not
give less than 20 returns to the bushel down. Grasshoppers were
again feared. The weevil and midge are not in the country. He has
seen heads of grain growing 5 inches long without a single grain
missing. The club wheat he has seen grown is longer than any
he has seen in Canada. There is smut in the grain. They prefer
their own flour to American. There is a good deal of drinking.
Liquor tomes chiefly from the States, although some whiskey is made
in the settlement. Indians drink when they can get liquor. Traffic
in furs has been virtually free for years. As compared with Canada
as a home for immigrants, there are some things which cannot
be procured, but the country is favourable for farming, and a living
can be got at far less cost of labour. The prairie grass returns where
the sod has been broken by the plough. The land is very
easily drained. Most of the schools are under the control of the
Church of England, but worship is everywhere free. He can travel
on wheels anywhere in the country. There is no fever or ague, and
those who had it on coming to the country, have found it leave them.
There are more French than English half-breeds.

Mr. Donald Codd — Is a draughtsman. Was born in England.
Resides in Ottawa. Went to Red River in June, 1869. He was
employed by Mr. Snow and Colonel Dennis. Country between Oak
Point and Fort Garry is excellent land. It is all prairie, with clumps
of trees — small oak and poplar chiefly. He found the winters very
much like the winters at Ottawa, only there were no decided thaws.
In summer he remembers the thermometer 92° and 93° in the shade
in August, and that was considered a hot summer. The nights were
cool, never sultry. They generally burnt poplar for fuel. The hotel-
keeper told him he paid 3s. for a small cart-load.

James Lynch — ^Waa born at Niagara, but went to settle at Red
River in June last. Is a doctor, but went to Red River with the
intention of farming. Went about the country looking for a suitable

?■«;

place to settle, and finally selected a small settlement up the "VVhito
Mud liiver, about 8 miles from the moutli. Ho settled on the shores
of Lake Manitoba, in the vicinity of Wliito Mud Kiver. To get his
fi.rm he just stuked it out of the pniirio an<l declared it his. lEe staked
out a block of GOO acres, and nobody molested him or complained.
It was the custom of the country. There were two clumps of trees
on it — oak principally, covering 50 acres of ground. Tiit3 prairio
burns evetyfall. Indians had not complained of his taking his claim,
but they should bo settled with by the (jlovernment for their rights.
Indians had committed no hostile acts, except killing a few cattle.
There are capital fish in Manitoba Lake. Climate resembles that of
Canada, except that in summer the nights are cool, and weather never
sultry. It is a good country for settlement ; exceedingly healthy ;
just such a c»uutry as he would like to make his homo in. The
wheat crop is excellent. Ho does not know anything about frosts
doing any harm in summer. Firet frost of any severity is in Septem-
ber, They make fences with poplar poles. Fuel question may shortly
be a difficulty. From 50 to 100 Canadians settled in the territory
last summer. Many took up lots just as he did. Saw a great many
ducks in the country, and there are a good many elk by the Assini-
boine. There are plenty of prairie hens, which are larger than tho
Western — a cross between the (juail and the partridge. The water
of the rivers is wholesome, but that of the lakes contains a good deal
of sediment. Tho horses are poor. The cattle are largo and very
fine. He see no obstacles to the settlement of Red River that may
not bo surmounted. Timber may be grown for fuel. If these troubles
are settled, I intend going back, and will invite my friends to accom-
pany me. I went to the Red River Territor3^ with the intention of
becoming a settler. From what I saw of it I considered it a desirable
place of residence, and favourable to the occupation I designed to
follow, that of stock-breeding and farming. I saw the country with
the eyes of a practical farmer — of a Canadian who had travelled con-
siderably over thia continent, and visited other of the colonies. I
saw it during an exceptionally unfavorable summer and autumn, and
an unusually severe winter. I had ample opportunities of observing
those peculiarities which must strike every stranger visiting the coun-
try for the first time, and I unhesitatingly give it as my sincerest
convictiDn that as regards climate, judging from what is prominently
noticeable in the general good health and fine physique of the natives,
and from my own personal experience, it even possesses many advan-
tages over Canada. The fertility and inexhaustible nature of the soil
are superior to that of any other part of the world.

Arthur Hamilton — Was born in New Brunswick, but lived the
greater part of hia life in Hamilton. Went to Red River in June,
1869. Is a land surveyor, and was engaged in making surveys and
overseeing works on road between Oak Point and Lake of the Woods.
He explored fifty-five miles. That section of the country is all
timbered, gravelly, sandy ridges, and some swamps. The soil is much
better than it is about Ottawa. There is a good deal of lime in the

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earth. It is not, however, to be compared to prairie soil. He found
the summer pleasant, the winter, cold and clear. He saw some frost
in the woods in September, but he was told that the frosts are earlier
in the woods and swamps than in the open prairie. He was favor-
ably impressed with the half-breeds. They are willing, good Avorkers.
The climate and country are magniticent.

Major Boulton — Is a native of Ontario. "Went to Eed liiver in
August, 1869. Was engaged in Colonel Dennis' survey. After leav-
ing Pembina they enter a prairie country. As they got near Assini-
boine they saw clumps of woods. The principal part of the land,
from the boundary line to Assiniboine, is tit for settlement. Distance
is about sixty-four miles. About Stinking Eiver the country is
really beautiful. Eose trees and strawberries grow in luxuriance on
the higher parts of the prairie to which he has referred. The grass is
very nutritious, and during winter horses scrape the snow av> ay to get
it. He saw the first well to the noith on a stock farm. It supplied
250 to 300 head of cattle. This well was twenty-five feet deep. As
he went north he found the couixtry more wooded and stony. There
are no stones on the prairie. He had not seen fruit trees on the
prairie, but one or two gentlemen had lately put out apple trees, and
they appeared to bo doing well. The production in the harvest fields
on the banks of the river was certainly wonderful last summer. But
the grasslioppers have done much harm, and the blackbirds are in-
jurious. The crop was large — sufficient to last the settlement for two
years. The yield is far superior to that of Upper Canada. The grass-
hoppers have done damage for the last six or seven years, more or less.
The houses are generally made of oak logs. The town of Winnipeg
consists of about forty houses. They farm back about twenty acres
altogether. They haVe no rear line. From the parts of the country
he has seen it compares favorably with Ontario. Sheep and pigs
both flourish iii the country. Sometimes there is a superfluity of the
latter, and people have had to drown them in the river, for there is
only a limited market for surplus production. The Indians expect to
make a treaty and get provisions, blankets, etc., for their land. But
they don't expect to get anything for the settled parts of Red Eiver.
It is necessary to pay attention to the claims of the Indians to prevent
disputes arising hereafter. He intends t(} go back when the troubles
are settled. He would not recommend men to go there to settle with
insufficient means. If they go in September it will be a year before
they get anything off" their i'aniis. Tlie best time to leave this country
would be the latter part of July. Five men Avith $200 each could
leave here and buy two horses and a waggon at St. Pnul's, and arrive at
Fort Garry in a little over three weeks, with their horses and their wag-
gons still their own. There is no necessity for a guide over the jirairie.

Dr. John SchnUz — Is a doctor of medicine, and iisis resided at
Fort Garry for nearly ten years. He was born in Canada, and
formerly resided in Essex County. He has i)racticcd me;licine, and
been engaged in fur trading. He has been all through the country
between Eed Eiver and Lake of the Woods, and he has been some

'iff
.*?

70 miles on the Assiuiboine. Estimates the population of Red River
at 1 2,000, including Indians and half-breeds living in houses. Four-
tenths are French, and the remainder English, Scotch, and a very few
Irish. There was a census taken before he went there, giving
the population at 8,000. The winter is colder than Ontario, but
with the same clothes that he wore in Essex, he suffered less from the
cold. The cold and snow are very dry. The average depth of
the snow is 18 inches. He has known the. thermometer fall as low as
— 45°. Snow generally begins to fall on the 10th of November.
Spring opens about Easter Day. Plougliing is all done in the spring.
There is not much seed put in before the 22nd or 23rd of April.
The heat of the summer is not extreme. July is the hottest month.
They have not much wet weather. He has noticed small patches of
alkali deposits on the prairies. They occur in the neighbourhood
of Lake Manitobah. The cattle go and lick them up. He has never
seen any country superior for settlement, and he has been in
AVisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois. The alluvial soil is over a
foot in depth. There is below it a sort of clay mixed with sand,
called white mud. The White Mud River, so named from the
character of the soil, is one of the best districts for agricultural
jiurposes. He has seen coal brought from the u]:)perpart of the Assini-
boine, which appeared to burn well. As you go further from
the rivers you meet with the buffalo grass, which is not so long, but
more nutritious than the ordinary herbage. The average yield
of grain in this country is greater than in Canada. Last year the
yield of wheat in some parts was 40 bushels to the acre. The
average is not much over 30. It weighs over GO lbs. to the bushel.
Oats are 32 lbs. to the bushel. Barley turns out equally well.
Vegetables, and especially potatoes, yield very well. In the town the
price of five-eighths of an ordinary Canadian cord of wood would be
^1. Hay is 5s. a cart load. Cattle come in about Christmas, and
are turned out early. Has two houses of briek, and two of Avood.
He lives in a wood house. There is white pine near the Lake of the
"Woods. He found the Indians as he came to Canada via Fort
Alexander and Lake of the "Woods well disposed. He would
recommend emigrants to go to this country to settle, in preference to
Canada. The country is healthy. Inhere is an absence of fevers and
epidemics. The emigiant sliould take agricultural implements with*
him. A man with from £50 to £100 stg. would have no difficulty
in making a satisfiictory living. Fish are very abundant. Lake
trout and white fish can hv aught in winter. There is a demand for
labour in the harvest season, but as a rule every man does his own
work. There are mowing and reaping niachines in the country. It
is his intention to return to the country.

Charles Garrett — Has lived for upwards of eleven years at Red
River. Previously resided in the neighbourhood of Toronto and Lake
Simcoe. Has been living at a phice called Sturgeon Creek, on the
Assiuiboine, seven miles north of the town of "Winnipeg, where ho
has farmed for the last eight years. Receding frem the river the soil

62 ' ■": :•" ■ .'"

is good — a mixture of mould and clay without a boulder. Ploughs
that go through it are hard to clean. Has been to Lake Manitobah
and seen the salt licks, which are four or five acres as a r/'e. Timothy-
grows well, but the dry springs are against the growth of clover. Has
seen clover stand for yeara. The wheat crops are not injured by cold
winds or by mildew. Has seen the harvest as early as the first week
in August. Frost takes possession of the ground about the 15th of
October, and farming commences again on the 15 th of April. The
grass is very rank, and cattle eat the grass as soon as the snow is off
the ground, on April 1st. Has learnt from persons beyond Portage
La Prairie and north of the Saskatchewan; that the country west of
Portage La Prairie to Port EUice, and up to the Qu' Appelle, is admir-
able for agricultural purposes ; in fact it has always been confidered
the finest portion of the country. Raises wheat ; gets 22 to 25
bushels return for one sown. Oats are a safe crop, and yield 55
bushels to the acre. Thinks the country favorable for immigrants.
N^ever knew one more favorable for farming. Has heard it stated that
by the Mackenzie Kiver, in the more distant North-West, the spring
is a fortnight earlier than with them, and that it is the finest part of
the country for settlement. Has seen coal from the upper part of the
Assiniboine, three days' journey, or 80 or 90 miles from Portage La
Prairie. House building is about twice as dear in Eed Eiver as in
Canada. Timber is more expensive, and nails are 20 cents a pound.
Lumber is $40 a thousand, lime is 18 cents a bushel, and labor in
proportion. Shingles are $4 per M. Stoves are chiefly imported
from Canada and dear. Paid £14 sterling for one which he coidd
have bought for $50 or $55 in Ontario. Boots, shoes and woollen
goods, come from Canada in bond. Eate of carriage from St. Cloud
is 16s. a cwt. to the settlement. At Winnipeg a tax of 4 per cent, is
levied on all goods. Tavern keepers' license is £10 sterling per
annum. An emigrant should buy a waggon and horses at St. Paul's,
to transport himself and family, and his plough and agricultural im-'
plements that he muSt take with him. A light steel plough is the
best for the soil. It might be better to take oxen, as they are always
worth their price. Best time to go is latter part of May and month
of October. It would take a team about twenty days from St. Cloud.
By going in May he can build a house and plough the ground ready
for spring. They do not plough deep. Carpenters are in demand.
They have been getting 10s. a day. Plasterers the same. For stone
masons there is no demand. Immigration has been increasing since
he went there. The educational facilities are good. He should think
the 12,000 population in the Eed Eiver country might be divided
into one-third French, and two-thirds English speaking.

Charles Mair — Is a native of Lanark, Canada. Went to Eed
Eiver two years ago, as paymaster on the Fort Garry section of the
Eed Eiver road. Is familiar with the country from a point 60 miles
east of Fort Oarry to 120 or 130 miles west. Has crossed the
Assiniboine at two different points — one 1 30 miles west from Fort
Garry — and knows the country between that river and Pembina and

wm *

St. Joseph — half-breed settlements on the frontier. It is a beautiful
rolling country and well timbered. Receding from the rivers the
country is rich. There is wood enough for ordinary purposes. One-
tenth of the land is covered with wood, though it is small. The
country is not well watered. There are not many lakes or streams.
But they could always get water by travelling for it. "VVaggono coiUd
be taken over every part of it. There are plenty of birds. All the
Canadian kinds, beside the magpie, which is very common. There is
a species of small hare in the country. There are geese, including the
Avhite Arctic goose. Has seen all the aquatic and land birds, except
woodcock and quail. There are squirrels, but they are smaller than
in Canada. Has been over the country between Manitobah Lake and
the Assiniboine. It is a fine country. Has taken up handfuls of
vegetable loam at a depth of 6 feet on the prairies. Has seen coal
deposits. It is used at Fort Edmonton and Fort Garry in the forges ;
it appeared friable when I looked at it, from exposure. The deposits
have been on fire several times. It is considered good coal. It is
brought from the Souris River, 180 miles west. The Assiniboine is
navigable as far as Portage La Prairie by steamboat. But it is shallow
and its bed is sandy and shifting. It might be dredged. He has
known as many as 65 or 70 bushels of wheat grown to the acre ; the
average yield, I have heard, placed at 40. I may say that a farmer
going from Canada to Red River, considers he has found a better
country than he has left. On the other hand, a Red River farmer is
disappointed with the soil of the Western States ; he considers it
thinner and poorer. Has known wheat grow on the same soil forty
years and succeed. The formers never use manure. Fish are plen-
tiful. He did not find the cold atlect him so much as in Canada.
He intends to return to the country. There woidd be no difficulty
in opening a railway from Fort Garry to St. Paul's. The country is
admirably adapted for sheep. There is no danger from wolves or
.other wild animals.

lisf

SECOND PART.

CHAPTEE I.

THE ROUTE.

From the last Eeport of Mr. Dawson — that of 1869 — on the line
of route between Lake Superior and the Eed River Settlement,' we
make the following extracts, which give so practical a view of that
which has not improperly been termed the " grand difficulty" to our
immediate colonization of the Korth West Territories. As the best
introduction to the subject is given in Mr. Dawson's letter, to the
Minister of Public Works, it is here copied in full,

"Ottawa, 1st May, 1869.

" I have the honour to submit to your notice a repoiu on the sub-
ject of opening the communication between Lake Superior and the
Eed Eiver Settlement.

" The country to be traversed is rocky and mountainous on the
borders of Lake Superior ; but, at a short distance in the interior, a
high plateau is attained, where the waters of the St. Lawrence and the
Winnipeg have their common source. The lowest pass in this elevated
region is 839 feet above the level of Lake Superior, or 1,479 feet
higher than the surface of the sea. Proceeding to the Avestward, the
descent, by the water courses, is very gradual, amounting only to 450
feet in a distance of some three hundred miles. The country, never-
theless, continues rocky and mountainous as far as Fort Frances,
where the eastern border of the great Silurian belt, which underlies the
flat region to the west, is reached, and from thence to the Lake of the
Woods, the country is comparatively level and the navigation uninter-
rupted.

"In tlie region between the high plateau of the water shed and
Fort Frances, the valleys between the mountain ranges are occupied
by deep lakes, and those, on one of the routes which have been fol-
lowed, occur in such close succession, and are otherwise, so advantage-
ously situated in relation to each other, as to afford an easy means of
obtaining continuous navigation, at a moderate outlay, and this, too
in a region where rock, mountain and Avater are so commingled as to
render it exceedingly difficult to establish lines of land transport.

" The scheme of opening the communication proposed in the fol-
lowing and in previous reports, has for its ultimate object a railroad
from Lake Superior to the navigable Avaters of the interior ; navigation
rendered continuous, by means of lock and dam, from its terminus to

rf . I > w

the north-west angle of the Lake of the Woods, and a railroad from
the latter point to Fort Garry.

" The railroad at Lake Superior would bo forty miles in length.
The navigation commencijig at its terminus, would cover a distance of
three hundred and eleven miles, and woulil be connected at its west-
ern extremity by a railroad of ninety miles with Foit Gan-y.

" Some years must elapse in carrying such extensive works to com-
pletion. In the meantime it is proposed to open the communication
as speedily as possible, by good waggon roads connecting the navigable
waters of the central section with Lake Superior at the one' end, and
with Fort Garry at the other. And, at the sanio time, to lessen the
number of transhipments, in the region of the Lakes, by such prelim-
inary works as could be rapidly carried out.

"By adopting a progressive system of this sort, a first-class
communication would be attained as quickly as by any plan that can
be adopted.

" Tho fa-st preliminary works would attract the trade of the North-
West Territories to Lake Superior, and their enlargement and exten-
sion might be proceeded with as fast as possible, or as the means of
the country would permit, always going on with those which were
jnost wanted, and would in turn produce the greatest effect, until tho
whole were completed.

" Good waggon roads at either end of the navigable section, com-
bined with a little improvement in tho region of the Lakes, would at
once give to the people of the Eed Eiver Settlement a better means of
obtaining their supplies than that which they now possess, and would,
at the same time, afford to immigrants the means of reaching the
Psairies of the West.

I have the honor tp be, Sir,

Your most obedient Servant,
(Signed), S. J. DAWSON."

Hon. William McDougall, C.B.

The foregoing not only explains the purpose of tho preliminary
means of communication, now completedj but also leaves the ultimate
object sufficiently clear; we may therefore, before giving his arguments
in favor of the route by Lake Shebandowan, incorporate, somewhat as
a ground work for them, his description of the country between Lake
Superior and tho Red Eiver Settlement : —

" Between Lake Superior and Eainy Lake, the face of the country,
as a general rule, is rugged and cut up with Lakes. Tho summit of
the water-shed or dividing ridge, is c^uite near Lake Superior, being
forty-five miles distant at Pigeon Eiver, and measuring in a direct North-
East course to the sources of the Kaministaquia, about seventy at the
bottom of Thunder Bay. The passes in the dividing region vary in
height from 840 feet to 1,100 feet above the level of Lake Superior —
that is by following the water courses, but tho great elevation of tho
country is considerably higher. As may be supposed, the streams run-
jiing down from such a height, in so short a distance, have a very

rapid course, and as a consequence, could only bo rendered navigable
at an expenditure whfch, whatever the future may require, is quite out
of the question for the present.

" Proceeding from the head of the water-shed to the Westward, the
descent is much more gradual, the dift'erenco of level between Lac des
Mille Lacs, which is close to the summit, and the Western extremity
of the Lake of the Woods, being only 450 feet in a distance of 300
miles. Between tlie height of land and Rainy Lake, the Lakes are so
numerous and so large, that it would be difficult to say whether land
or water* predominates. The Lakes, however, afford the means of
making a very good water communication, at a moderate outlay.

" From Fort Frances, at tlic foot of Eainy Lake, to the north-west
angle of the Lake of the Woods, the navigation is uni'.iterrupted, save
by two large rapids, easily overcome. From the Luke of the Woods
westward to Fo"*; Garry, the country is Jow and level, but although
swamp, quito ■ ^icable for a road by a iinc which has been explored
and on whic good deal of work has been already done in the
western section.

" There is thus, between Lake Superior and the Eed Eiver Settle-
ment, a country presenting very different characteristics in different
sections. First, a rugged and broken region, extending from Lake
Superior to the summit of the watershed, in which the rivers are not
navigable, and the ground is difficult for roads,

" Next, a country extending westward from the watershed, still
very rough and broken, but intersected in every direction by deep
lakes Avhich occupy a very considerable portion of its area, and Avhich,
on one of the lines explored, can be easily connected so as to render
the navigation through it uninterrupted.

" This section ends at Fort Frances, where there is a complete and
sudden change in the character of the country, and from this point
the navigation becomes continuous to the north-west angle of the Lake
of the Woods.

" From the latter point to Fort Garry, the distance is 90 miles
overground, which the explorations have proved to be practicable for
a road.

" The entire distance between Fort William and Fort Garry, by
the route which it is proposed to open, is 441 miles, as follows : —
" From Lake Superior to the navigable waters of the Sum-
mit region 40 miles.

From the terminus of the Lake Superior road to the north-
west angle of the Lake of the Woods 311 miles.

North-west angle to Fort Garrv 90 miles.

44^ miles."

Such being the nature of the tract through which the road must

pass, we can, by referring to the map, the more easily understand the

arguments of Mr. Dawson in favour of the Lake Shebandowan

Route, which are as follows : —

"My report of last year contained a brief description of the

-• w

country between Lake Superior and the Eed River Settlement, witli
an estimate of the cost of opening the communication in such a
manner as I believed would involve the least possible outlay, while it
would, at the same time, have the effect of attracting the trade of the
-N'orth-West Territories to Canada, and servo as a preliminary step to
works of a more comprehensive character in the future.

*' I have now the honour to report on the operations of last
summer, undertaken and carried on under the direction of the
Department of Public Works, with the view of ascertaining whether
an improvement might not be made in the eastern section of the
route, by deviating from the projected Dog Lake road, and adopting
the WeSt instead of the ^^orth branch of the Kaministaquia, as the
basis of a line which should embrace all the navigable water which
could be rendered available.

" It was known, from the reports of the Red River expedition,
that a series of largo lakes existed at the soui'ce of this branch, and
it appeared probable that the navigable water which they afforded
might admit of being utilized as a link in the line of communication ;
and as their value in this respect depended, in the first place, on
their level relative to each other, and to the lakes on the opposite side
of the water-shed, and, in the next, on the practicability of rendering
them accessible from Lake Superior, the first step taken was to deter-
mine the levels, and the next to look for ground practicable for a
road through the broken and mountainous region which lies between
them and Thunder Bay.

" On referring to the map it will be seen that at the head of the
Matawin, or west branch of the Kaministaquia, there are two large
lakes, named respectively Shebandovvan and Kashaboi.ve. These are
on the eastern slope, and immediately opposite to them, on the west
side, is the large basin of Lac des !Millo Lacs, which sends its waters
to Rainy Lake.

" The distance between Kashaboiwo Lake and Lac des Mille Lacs
is one mile and sixty chains, including an intervening lakelet or pond.
This pond is distant from Lac des Mille Lacs 50 chains, and on a
higher level by 14 13-100 feet. Between the two, runs a gully, the
highest point in which is 25 feet over the level of Lac des Mille Lacs
and 10 87-100 feet higher than the pond. This is the lowest pass
existing between the Avaters flowing westward to Rainy Lake and
those runnirg eastward to Lake Superior, — that is, between the
boundary line and Nipigon Bay.

" The pond just referred to is the source of the Matawin, and it
sends its waters by a small rivulet, making a descent of 4 90-100 feet
in a distance of 9 chains, to Kashaboiwe Lake, which latter is 9 14-
100 feet above the level of Lac des Mille Lacs. The stream by which
Kashabowie Lake discharges its waters is of considerable volume, and
descends 29 33-100 feet in its course of 70 chains to Shebandowan
Lake, making the latter 20 19-100 feet below the level of Lac des
Mille Lacs. . .

" Forty miles westward of the pass above referred to, that is, by
way of tlie liaril and Windegoostcgon Lakes, the water level at the
head of the Franch Portage is SH fuet below that of Lac des Mill©
I^ics.

"Such dilferences of level are not very formidable, and miglit in
this case be easily overcome, us will be explained further on. In tho
meantime, I may remark, that these lakes dill'er so littlo in level as
to afford the means of obtaining, at a modora^^^o outlay, 70 miles of
\xnbroken navigation, through the high region which separates tho
two great river systems of the "Winnipeg and St. Lawrence, and that,
not by narrow and tortuous channels, but through lakes aflbrding
ample room for navigation."

"This navigable section might be extended and rendered con-
tinuous to the Westward, by means of lock and dam. Its Eastern
extremity would bo within forty miles of the Depot at Thunder
Bay, with which point it can bo connected by a land road for tho
present, and a railroad in the future. Tho pass, as stated, is tho
lowest which can exist on the British side, as determined by tho
explorations, and yet these waters are at an elevation of 839 feet over
the level of Lake Superior, or 1,479 feet higher than the surface of
the sea.

" It is a matter of no small importance to have such an extent of
navigation in the higlicst part of tho route to lied liiver, and iu a
region very difficult for roads.

" In regard to the country intervening between these waters and
Thunder Bay, it is rough and mountainov.s ; but, with tho aid of
the Indians, who have tlieir hunting grounds in that region, after a
good deal of exploration, a line practicable for a road was dis-
covered."

Now, passing over his evidence regarding tlio three different
routes, we give his decision, wliicli, iu itself, embodies all tho
prominent points. He says : —

" In view, therefore, of all the circumstances the lino which
has been adopted as tho best is that already referred to as leaving tho
Dog Lake line at the eighth mile, striking from thence to the mouth
of the Mattawin and following the valley of that river to tho
Shebandowan Lake, or rather to the lirst chute below it, where
it is proposed to construct a dam.

" In further reference to the waters of the summit region, She-
bandowan Lake on tho Eastern side of the water-shed, and Lac dos
Mille Lacs on the West, are both fed by the drainage of areas
sufficiently extensive to afford a supply for a canal, but Kashaboiwo
Lake, which intervenes between them, is on a higher level, being.
9 4-100 feet over Lac des Mille Lacs and 29 33-100 above Sheban-
dowan Lake, and it is doubtful if it could afford a supply for a canal
both ways.

"It is quite practicable, however, to bring either Lac des Mille
Lacs or Shebandowan Lake, 'or both of them, to the level of
Kashaboiwe Lake, but there would bo an evident advantage in

■^.

raising Shebaiulowan Lako and making it tlit.' -aimnit luvel ami
source of supply, as a considorablo amount of lockago would thoroby
be saved and tlie road from Lako Superior would at on(;(» .strike the
liighest water level on the whole route. If, on the other bund, Lne
des ^lillo Lacs were raised to the levtd of Ka.shuboiwo Lako ami
made the souree of supply, there would be an aseent of ."30 feet from
Shebandowan Lake, wbieh would have to be overcome by lo(k.><. It
is possible, a.s stated, to raise both Shebandowan Lake and Lac des
Mills Lacs to the level of Kashaboiwe Lako, and if this were done, and
a cut made through the dividing ridge, there would be a canal without
locks extending across the summit of the water-shed.

" The raising of Lac des ^lille Lacs, however, wouM not even-
tually save lockage, and although the level is in its favour, as com-
})ared to Shebandowan Lake, it is doubtful if it could bo more
economically brought to the necessary height. On .some ])arts of its
western coast the country is low, and the height and nature of the
dividing ground between its waters and the streams running off from
its borders, on that side, would re(pure to be ascertained before
attempting to raise it beyond the extent of three or four feet, which,
in any case, will be necessary, in order to givtj a sufficiency of water
in the direction of BarilLake and the Freucli Portage, and so small a
difference would be unattended with any risk of sending the water in
other directions.

" As regards Shebandowan Like, the country around it is moderate-
ly high, and it receives the drainage of a considerable area on either
side, so that, in all probability, its surface could be raised to the ne-
cessary level by damming its present outlet only.

" It will occur, however, that Kashaboiwe Lake, which is already on
the highest level, might be so arranged as to afford a supply of water
for a canal both ways. It has a surface area of about eight square
miles, and it receives the drainage of a considerable tract on both
sides, besides which there are lakes on its tributary streams, which
could bo converted into reservoirs to afford a supply in periods of ex-
treme drought. But, even if the supply were so ample as to preclude
all doubt as to its sufficiency, there would bo nothing gained by adopt-
ing Kashaboiwe Lake, for both Lac des Mille Lacs and Shebandowan
can be raised to its level at less outlay than would be involved in con-
necting the latter M'ith it by means of locks.

" A dam which should raise the surface l;.'ve' of Shebandowan Lako
to the extent of 30 feet over what it is at present, would be equiva-
lent to 30 feet of lockage and would bo far !■ os costly.

'• In respect to tlie Sunfmit rond, it may be vi'gardeil, to all practi-
cal purposes, as a part of Kasliaboiwe Lake, fur it can, at small outlay,
be reduced to the samcs level and still have a sulficient depth of water.

" The dividing ridge is, as stated, 50 chains in width and 2.5 feet
over Lac des Mille Lacs at its highest part ; through the ridge runs a
gully Avhich, apparently, is filled with boulders and fragments of
rock, and it could be easily excavated to a sufficient depth.

" Such, in a brief view, is the route by the Matawin or West branch

of the Kaniinistaquia. As compared to the J'og Lake route its prin-
cipal advantajjes are, first, tliat the navigable waters of the summit
plateau can be reached in an inibroken lino of road from Lako
Superior ; ■whereas, by the Dog liake line, the land carriage would bo
in two sections, one of 25 miles Irom Lako Superior to Dog Lako, and
another of ten or twelve miles across the Height of Land.

" In the next jdacc, the navigation of the upper waters of Dog
Hiver and the Savanne would bo tedious, on account of the narrow-
ness and tortuosity of the cliannels, ■whereas, by the Western route,
once the Lakes were attained, there would be ample room for naviga-
tion ; and, lastly, by adopting tho Shebandowan lino, a saving in
distance of about twenty miles will bo etiected, as will at once appear
on reference to tho plan.

" Both routes are practicable, and tho Dog Lako lino would be at-
tended with the least outlay in the first instance, but would be more
•'xpensive to keep in operation, on account of the diflftculties of navi-
gation, tho additional transhipment, and the long land carriage, in
such an isolated situation as the height of land on that route.

" By adopting the west, instead of tho north branch of tho Kaniin-
istaquia, there will bo no change in the starting point, and as the
divergence occurs beyond the i)oint to which the work on Dog Lake
road has, as yet, reached, the outlays so far made, on that lino will
not bo lost, and some timber prepared for a dam at Dog Lake can bo
floated down and used in the construction of a bridge over the Kamin-
istaquia.

" Apart from tho deviation proposed in the Eastern section, as
above set forth, I believe the scheme suggested in my report of last
year, embodies tho principle which should be adopted in opening the
communication, as a first step towards works of a more extensive
character, in the future. I would remark, however, that the infor-
mation which has been obtained since that report was written, as to
tho traffic likely to arise, would seem to warrant additional expendi-
ture over what was then proposed, so as to diminish the number of
transhipments, and this can be done without greatly increasing tho
outlay.

Without incorporating tho very lengthy and able description of
the work to be done, and the manner of doing it on the " preliminary
line of communication," we may give a brief summary of the estimat-
ed outlay. The amount required on the three sections is as follows : —
Lake Superior Section, $80,000 ; Lake Eegion Section, $79,900 ;
Fort Garry Section, $87,000 ; in all, $247,000, or say, in round num-
bers, $250,000. These preliminary works, which are now almost
completed, are to be of a permanent and substantial character, and will
form a strip in the general plan. Their only object is, of course, to
render accessible the trpct of navigable water which " is cut off from
Lake Superior on one side by a formidable barrier of mountain and
rock, and from Red Eiver Settlement by a region of quagmire and
swamp." This provisional undertaking need only be mentioned now.
because it is the basis of the combined system of railroad and canal

"wliicli Mr. Dawson proposes as an ultimate result. Wo ciniiot aflfonl
space for the lengthy discussion re<,'arding the water connnunicatiou ;
but ti e results will bo found below. There vould bo two railroads,
" ( )np of about 40 miles between r.ako Superior and Sliebandowau
Lake, ivnd one of 1)0 miles between the North-west angle of the I-ako
of the Woods and Fort CJarry. Tho former will be over very rough
ground, with difUcult grades, and its least average cost may bo set at
that of the general cost (jf railroads in this country, say 1^40,000 per
miles, making its entire imdmble cost ^1,000,000. In regard to tho
lino between tho Lake of the Woods and Fort (Jarry, it will pass over
very level ground, and its cost may be safely set at $30,000 per mile,
equal to .S-)700,006 for tho entire distaniio of ninety miles. Tho two
Railways at either end of tho navigation would thus involve an outlay
of ^4,300,000.

TOTAL COST.

40 miles Railroad, Lake Superior to navigable water of
interior $1,600,000

311 miles of continuous navigation, improved by locks

and dams l,r)00,000

90 miles Eailroad, North- West angle Lake of the Woods

to Fort Garry 2,700,000

Total $5,800,000

COST OF TRANSPORT.

Supposing a scheme of railroad and canal, as above indicated, to
be carried out between Lake Superior and Red River Settlement, the
transport of heavy freight, according to McAlpine's scale, which is
generally adopted, would be nearly as follows, from Toronto to Fort
Garry ; —

94 miles railroad, Toronto to CoUingwood, at 12| mills a

ton per mile $1 18

534 miles by lakes, from CoUingwood to i'ort William, at

2 mills per ton a mile 1 07

40 miles by rail from Fort William to navigable waters

of interior section, at 14 mills per ton a mile 68

311 miles lake and river navigation, from terminus of Lake
Superior Railroad to north-west angle Lake of the

Woods, at 4 mills per ton a mile 1 25

90 miles rail, north-west angle to Fort Garry, at 12 mills
per ton a mile 1 35

1069 miles. Total cost $5 53

" The distance from Toronto to Fort Garry, by way of Detroit,
Chicago and St. Paul, is 1572 miles, and supposing the railway com-
munication to be complete, the cost per ton, reckoned at 12^ mills

per mile, would bo $19 65. xs'othiiig coiild show more clearly the
vast superiority of the Canadian line in point of natural advantages."

In tlae foregoing extracts there will be found sufficient, from the
very full and explicit arguments of Mr. Dawson in favor of the route
proposed between Thunder Bay and ]Jed River, to convince our read-
ers of its advantages over that through the State of Minnesota, which
has latterly received so much attention. In the report, every question
that could arise appears to have been anticipated, and this in so clear
and lucid a manner, as to render almost unnecessary the slightest com-
ment. For not only the best means of opening communication, both
for the present and the future, are given, but the cost of doing so is
as reasonably stated as figures can be, ^/hen comparisons are the basis'
of the calculation. And lastly, we have the presumable advantages so
moderately estimated, and still so greatly in favor of the Canadian
route, that it appears more than strange how the oi)inion has been
entertained that the" North- West traffic must reach the market through
the United States. That this wrong impression — and tjjat it is a
wrong one the following report of Mr. Da^'vson will still more conclu-
sively prove — has gained a very decided hold upon some who deem
themselves authorities on this subject there is no doubt; and this in
direct opposition to facts which are indisputable. That the American
Press, and more especially the western portion of it, should labor to
establish such an impression, we are not surprised, when we consider
the magnitude of the trade anticipated ; but when we see that editors
in ihe Eastern Provinces of the Dominion both publicly and privately
advance similar views, a diiferent reason must be found. Nor is it
only in those places, but even in England the same opinion appears
to Iiave become, in a measure, established, when we read in buch a
liii/^i authority as the Pall Mall Gazette, " that the Red River is
pfH'liodly inaccessible from Canada;" and "that — ignoring specula-
tive ii^^t'.iotism — the natural lines must prevail; Minnesota will
iihvavis be close to Red River, Canada far from it." True to the letter
t]y>' .'r*-px is, for Minnesota bounds the Red River Territory, and
Cr'; via -s some several hundreds of miles from it; but it is not true
• I the way in which he wishes it to be understood, though he does
claim that his is " practical speculation " as opposed to the " enthu-
siasm that will see no difficulty."

Now, as to this gentleman, we will suggest on the strength of several
quotations contained in the very able article referred to, that tl.e
Avriter had been lately consulting some work published in favor of the
H. B. Company's former policy ; and necessarily while we must ex-
cuse him for his assertion on the ground of " authority," we, at the
same time, earnestly desire that before ho attempts to write on Red
River affairs, he will (if he wishes his opinion respected), consult some
authority opposed to tlie former policy of the H. B. Company. For
by doing so he will in the first place see, that tlje presumption hereto-
fore existing, " that the North West or Red River Countrj' was some-
" where beyond the United States, within latitude and longitude
" both uncertain, and that the only means of communication with it

h V

■" was through tho United States or Hudson Bay," was an impressioa
established at some considerable cost and trouble by the H. li. Com-
pany for the express purpose of keeping both Canada and Great
Britain ignorant of tho richness and vastness of their domain. In the
second place, by consulting some truthful authority, he would also as-
certain the fact that prior to the amalgamation of the North- West and
H. B. Companies, some lifty years ago, the journey was made between
Fort William and Fort Garry, a distance by the old route of about
five hundred miles in about ten days, and this with the boats heavily
laden. Taking these facts together with the statements of Mr. Dawson,
it is presumable that even he, though not at all "enthusiastic," would -
admit that what could be done in that primitive manner when a road .,
was unknown in ten days, could be done now in half the time at the
very least. Is it necessary, when we consider the continuous water
communications to within ninety miles of Fort Garry, (direct from Eng-
land, if you please), to inquire whether these means of transit will not
be cheaper for the products of the North- West, than about eight hundred
miles of railway freight through Minnesota ? Always remembering in
making this calculation, that land transport will nevercompete with water
carriage, there being at least one third reduction in favour of the latter.
As to the sectional opposition of some members of the Eastern
Provinces, we find its cause in their fear of Ontario claiming the
principal portion of the trade, to the detriment of the older Provinces
generally, and the city of Montreal in particular. This, they think,
would become a certainty so soon as cheap and quick communication
between the two Forts is established. Arguing from the same
sectional basis, they urge that, in the Lower Provinces, Ontario and
around the shores of Lake Superior, we have still a great amount of
unoccupied land fit for cultivation, without at once in " hot haste "
going to the Red River. In zeal for their own particular section,
they lose sight entirely of the'fact that, if the Fertile Belt is not
occupied by the British and Canadians, it will be by the Americans.
As such thinkers, however, are in a slight minority, their futile
opposition is only alluded to to show its cause, which, once known.
vrill render unnecessary any argument to dispose of it

Though we have not here alluded to the proposed railway from
Ottawa to Fort Garry along the height of land north of Lake
Superior, ':ieither its importance nor political necessity has been lost
sight of or attempted to be ignored ; but, as a complete survey of it
has not as yet been made, in comparison with the Fort William road,
it may be looked upon as rather of the " great future " than the
'* requiring present."

That such a railway, however, will be built, there appears little
doubt, but with it we are not so particularly interested at the
present as with that from Thunder Bay, which, even after the
railway to the north or the south of it is finished, must always remain
the best and cheapest route for commercial purposes. Railways never
can supersede water communication, as the St. Lawrence sufficiently
proves, as it bears, to tide water in the spring, what has accumulated
at its hundreds of inlsnd ports during the winter.

CHAPTER II.

THE BRITISH PACIFIC RAILWAY.

The stipulations insisted upon by British Columbia, as a basis of
union with the Dominion, have definitively settled the question of an
inter-oceanic KaUway througli British teritory. It has been agreed
that this vast undertaking shall be commenced, at both ends, within
two years ; and be completed within ten years after the admission of
the Pacific Province. The scheme, as originally laid before the House
of Commons by Sir G. E. Cartier, pledged the Dominion to construct
the road, upon its own responsibility. It is evident, however, that
this would involve an outlay far beyond the resources of the Domin-
ion. Hon. D, L. Macpherson, viewing the enterprise as, to a large
extent, Imperial in its character, expressed every confidence that the
Home Government would, at least, afford us the advantage of its
guarantee. Obviously, it would be rash to pledge the honour and
credit of the Dominion, on an expectation which might prove baseless ;
and it would certainly be dangerous to proceed without some assur-
ance of English aid. It is probable, as the Minister of Militia remark-
ed, that if the undertaking proved beyond our strength, British
Columbia would not insist upon the literal execution of the compact ;
still, it is always unwise to enter upon an agreement with a tacit un-
derstanding that it may, and probably wiU, be broken. Wisely,
therefore, we think, the discussion resulted in a withdrawal of the
original scheme and the substitution for it, of a proposal to assist any
company or companies that may be formed to carry out the work in
two ways : — first, by a grant of land along the line of route ; and
secondly, by a subsidy of a fixed sura per mile, payable gradually as
the railway is constructed. Meanwhile the Ottawa Government have
instructed Mr. Sandford Fleming to proceed at once in the explora-
tion of a route, and when that is done, there is not the slightest doubt
that European capitalists will speedily come forward to construct the
work. We may here remark, in passing, that the line marked upon
our map is one that has been explored ; it has, therefore, been indi-
cated, although it is open . to serious objection is. In the first place,
like the American lines, it would pass through the American desert —
an objection which is already proving injuji jus to the North Pacific ;
and secondly it would retard the opening up of the Upper Saskatche-
wan Country, which abounds in riches, both agricultural and mineral.
The line ultimately fixed upon, will doubtless, be about a hundred
miles further north, at least in the western portion.

The advantages of a British Pacific Railway have so often been
stated that we shall only summarize them here. Economically : — 1..

V ,•

•

m
',>?

The route through British territory is sliorter, by at least five hundred
miles. 2. Along the greater portion of our road, and^especially at its
Pacific terminus, we have coal in abundance, which the Americans
have net. 3. The road would traverse so rich a country, that tho
local traffic, in the course of time, would go far to sustain the road ;
whereas, both the American lines pass for 500 miles over the dreary
expanse of the American desert. 4. Tho Rocky Mountains in British
territory are much more easily penetrated, and the passes are available
for railway construction at far less expense than in the United States.
5. We have our choice between a railway and a combined system of
railway 4ud canal, which the Americans have not. Add to these con-
siderations, one of incalculable promise in the future, which we give
in Mr. liusseil's words : —

" Our route through British Columbia would have tho advantage
of being shorter to China and Japan ; the distance from any port in
these countries to Bute Inlet being upwards of 550 miles less than to
San Francisco. This is best seen by measurement on a terrestrial
globe ; for the ordinary projections of the hemispheres in charts and at-
lases give rise to a very erroneous idea as to distances between the
continents.

" Taking this 550 miles into account, the distance from any port
in China or Japan to Liverpool would be 751 miles shorter by our
route, through British Columbia, than by the American Pacific Eail-
road."

Thus, with all the advantages we possess in shortness of route, facili-
ty of construction, and diminished cost of working, there can be no
doubt that Canadians will eventually become, as an English reviewer
phrases it, " the common carriers between Europe and the East,"

We now proceed to lay before our readers, Mr. Dawson's views
regarding inter-oceanic communication, both by land and water, that
an intelligent judgment inay be formed regarding the advantages of the
route as well as the difficulties to be su. ounted. The following ■
rather copious extracts are given, because it is almost certain that the
line indicated by Mr. Dawson, or something very near it, will ulti-
mately be adopted. That gentleman is discussing a " Route to the
Pacific":—

" It must in course of time, become a matter of great importance
to open a line of communication completely across the continent
within British territory, btit whether this should be effected solely by
railroads, or partly by rail and partly by taking advantage of the
navigable water which is so plentifully distributed, at least to the east
of the Rocky Mountains, is a question for the future.

RAILROADS.

" The country is well adapted for railroads between the Red River
Settlements and the Saskatchewan and Athabasca Rivers. Practicable '
passes have been found too in the Rocky Mountains, and in these the
^cent is generally,easy from the east. It is only when the summit

has been crossed that serious difficulties present themselves. Between
the Fraser River and the forty-ninth parallel, British Columbia is one
sea of mountains, but through these, the persevering efforts of explorers
have led to the discovery of lines said to be practicable for railroads.
In regard to the passes in the Rocky Mountains, Captain Palliser, who
-was sent out by the Imperial Government, speaks favourably of the
British Kootamie Pass, near the boundary line, where explorers from
Montana are now said to be mining for silver and gold. Dr. Hector,
a gentleman whose researches are of great practical value, was favour-
ably impressed with the Kicking Horse Pass, somewhat further to the
north , Ijut probably the best of all would be the Atlmbascai Pass,
which has been the longest used, and is the best known. Mr. Wad-
dington gives the latitude of this pass as 52° 54' North,and its height
as 3,660 feet above the sea level, and describes several routes by which
it may be reached from the Pacific. He says also that the upper
Eraser is navigable for 280 miles of its course.

" The same authority maintains that by adopting the Athabasca
and Tete Jaune Pass, or, as it is sometimes called, the Leather Head
Pass, a railroad from Edmonton House, on the Saskatchewan, to But«
Inlet on the Pacific, would only be 654 miles in length.

** Until the country becomes better known, all that can be done is
to indicate the probable position of an inter-oceanic railroad, and, if
one should ever be built, as it doubtless will, in British territory, the
following will likely be its general course.

" The valley of the Ottawa, and its tributary the Montreal River,
might be followed to the meridian of 82 degs. west longitude, from
thence the direction will be north-west to the outlet of Lake Nipigon,
where it would join the line above suggested, for a railroad from
Lake Superior to the Red River Settlement, passing by Lac Seul and
the north end of the Lake of the Woods. From the Red River
Settlement the ground would be very favourable to Edmonton
House, on the Saskatchewan, and from thence the route indicated by
Mr. Waddington might be followed to the Pacific.

"By this route the distance from Montreal to the Pacific, as
computed by Mr. Russell, would be as follows : —

Montreal to Fort Garry 1,367

Fort Garry to Edmonton House, over the prairies 825

Edmonton House to Bute Inlet 654

Total 2,846

" If this line — the practicability of which has yet to be ascer-
tained — were carried out, it might be tapped by an extension of the
projected Toronto and Nipissing Railroad, and it would thus be in
onnection with the railway system of the Dominion at its most

important points.

* * * * * * ,

RAILWAY AND WATER COMMUNlOATinN CONBINED.

** Thunder Bay, Lake Superior, is already acces8ij)le to any class

•. V

of vessels which can navigate the great lakes. From thence west-
ward to Red River, the route is, as already described, forty miles of
land road, succeeded by three hundred and eleven miles of navigation
now broken, but susceptible of being rendered continuous, and
which, again, is followed by ninety miles of land road, ending at
Fort Garry.

" Commencing at Fort Garry, the navigation might be rendered
continuous, at small outlay, by way of Lake Winnipeg and the
Saskatchewan to Edmonton House, a distance of 1060 miles. Ed-
monton House is within 500 miles of the Pacific Ocean, and the
distance might be surmounted, according to the best information
which can be obtained, by a railroad of 654 miles, or by taking
advantage of the navigable waters of the Upper Eraser and following
a more tortuous route, the distance would be 841 miles, of which 309
would be by water and 532 by rail. So small an amount of naviga-
tion would not compensate for such an increase in distance, and in
this instance the continuous railway would be the best.

" By this route the total distance from Thunder Bay to the
Pacific would be as follows : — miles.

Land. "Water.
Thunder Bay to the inland water at Shebandowan Lake 40
From terminus Lake Superior road to North-west angle

Lake of the Woods .* 311

North- West angle to Fort Garry 90

Fort Garry to Edmonton House 1060

Edmonton House to Gulf of Georgia 654

1371

784 784

2155

" It is quite practicable to make the navigation continuous from a
point within 40 miles of Lake Superior to Lake Winnipeg ; and, if
this were done and the few impediments in the Sackatchewan removed,
there would be continuous navigation from the base of the Rocky
Mountains to the ocean, with one break of only 40 miles at Lake
Superior, and this break might in time be overcome by lockage.

'* So great an extent of navigable water, or water susceptible of
being made navigable, running through British America, traversing
the vast prairies of the West and ending at the seaports of the
Atlantic, is a feature in connection with the Western Territories the
importance of which it would be difficult to overrate.

" It is well known that railroads cannot compete with water in the
transport of bulky and heavy freight, and if ever a line of com-
munication should be established across the continent in British
territory, and, providing it combined with the necessary amount
of railway, all the navigable water which could be rendered av...lable,
I believe that no other trans-continental line which can be put in
operation, north of the Gulf of Mexico, would be in a position
to compete with it.

" Everything in this regard, however, must be the merest con-
jectiire until the country is opened up and becomes better known.
The first grand step is to open the communication between Lake
Superior and tlie Bed Eiver Settlement in the manner in which it
can be most rapidly done, to be at the same time effective ; and if the
barrier is thus broken through, even in a moderate way at first,
many additional influences will be brought into play and improve-
ments urged on until a first-class line of communication has been
obtained. Before concluding this subject, I may state what is known
of the Saskatchewan, in regard to its capacity for navigation.

. , THE SASKATCHEWAN

is not a river of such great volume as might be supposed from the
immense area which it drains. It gathers its waters from a country
larger than Canada, and yet it is not equal in size to the St. Lawrence,
The precipation is less in the prairies of the West than in Canada —
less snow in winter and less lain in summer, but yet enough of both
to make the Saskatchewan a very large river.

"There is a fine harbour on Lake Winnipeg, just at the mouth of'
the Saskatchewan. Ascending from thence for a mile or so, the first
and greatest impediment presents itself. This is called the " Grand
Rapid," and hero the river makes a descent of about 43 feet, nishing
with great impetuosity over flat ledges of limestone rock. Between
the Grand Eapid and Lac Bourbon there are several little rapids,
having an aggregate fall, of about 20 feet.

" Lac Bourbon is distant from Lake Winnipeg about twentj""
miles, and from thence westward to the Rocky Mountains, or at least
to a distance of eighty miles beyond Edmonton House, the naviga-
tion is reported to be uninterrupted except at two points, where there
are impediments, it is said, easily overcome.

" The first is at a rapid called Tobern's Falls, about 140 miles
above Lac Bourbon, where, from a.11 that can be learned, a lock of
moderate lift might be required. The next is at Coles' Rapids, on
the North Branch, just above its junction with the South Branch.
Here a series of swift runs and little rapids, extending over a distance
of eighteen miles, would require in some places to be cleared of
boulders, and probably a few glance dams might be necessary.

" These impediments cannot be considered serious in a navigation
of eight hundred miles, otherwise uninterrupted."

Having now given all the information yet collected regarding both
the railway and the combined system, the question still remains,
whether private capitalists are likely to come forward to secure the
completion of one or both 'I It has been stated that an English com-
pany will apply for incorporation, with a view of undertaking the
railway, on the terms agreed upon by Parliament. We may add that
the question is, at the present time, being fully explained to the
British public by Mr. Waddington. He is thoroughly conve'-^ant
with every feature of the great undertaking, and has ventured to ro-

*'" I.

fr«

-quire, as a primary stipulation, that the whole of the amount shall be
furnished by English capitalists. Mr. George Laidlaw, lately in Eng-
land, also discussed the question very ably there, and has so far
■succeeded, we are told, as to have made it an "interesting topic amonc
the great English capitalists." The expenditure he estimates at
$70,000,000, exclusive of the Government money grant, on the prin-
ciple which he thus briefly states : —

" The cost of the line would most likely be limited to $25,000 per
mile. The Goverumeats would guarantee in proportion to their in-
terests the bonds of the company to the extent of $15,000 per mile.
The Government would give a bonus of 20,000 acres per mile in
alternate sections along the route, against which the railway company
would issue second preference bonds to the extent of $15,000 pe?
mile, enough to make up for the discounts on all the issues, and to
net $25,000 a mile. The company would take 10,000 or 20,000 able-
bodied laborers from the emigration societies, or private sources, sub-
ject to approval, and on the following terms : — To work for the com-
pany 200 consecutive days, at 2s. per day and bush fare, and then to
receive 100 acres of the company's land and a free grant of 100 acres
from the Government, on condition of having fulfilled their contract.
The cost of the emigrants' passage at a low fixed rate — say $12 —
would be deducted out of the amount paid during the 200 days'
labor."

The prominence given to Mr. Laidlaw'-^ views by the English Press,
and the practical shape in wlxich he has laid them before the public,
may induce them to give it more earnest consideration than they have
heretofore done. Altogether there appears no reason to doubt, that
withyi a reasonable time, private capital and enterprise will make
good the connection between the Atlantic and Pacific through British
Territory. Whether, however, the time be long or short, Canadians
ought never to lose sight of the fact that inter-oceanic communication
is an imperative necessity, if we desire to consolidate and preserve our
autonomy as a Dominion. The people of British Columbia are so
convinced of this, that, as Ave have seen, they make its completion a
sine qua non, if they are to cast in their lot with us. The Americans,
on the other hand, who have long since cast longing eyes upon the
fertile basin, never cease to discourage an enterprise which woidd prove
fatal to their schemes of annexation. They never seek, like the recreant
politicians and schemers at liome, to depreciate the resources of the
great North-West; on the contrary, they are fully alive to the dazzling
prospect of its future, and do not hesitate to express the most flatter-
ing opinions regarding it. Their present aim is to lull the ears of our
people against any call to make it practically a Canadian possession.
The North Pacific Eailway is to run at a distance of between one and
two hundred miles from the boundary line through the barren desert ;
and yet the Americans are urging every argument to prove t^iat that
line will supersede the necessity of any railway which, both in war
and peace, we could call our own. The sooner the people of Canada
realize the the momentous issues involved in this question of com-

™unication the hotter. Wo have surely had experience enough of
what we may expect from the tender mercies of the Americans, when
any popular breeze sets in against Britain and Canada. Tlie abrogation
of the Reciprocity Treaty, the closing of the Sault St. Marie Canal, and
the threat which President Grant was not ashamed to make, that the
bonding system should terminate, ought to convince our people that,
at any cost and by every sacrifice, they ought to secure themselves
against the petty spite and vindictiveness of the Butlers, the Sumners,.
and the Grants of the great Republic. To do this effectually, we
must have uninterrupted communication thfough all our vast territory.
Setting aside, however, the political contingencies which may, at any
moment of caprice or whim, sever our great Dominion in two, it is
evident that the North Pacific Railway could do little or nothing to
develope the resources of the North-West. It is too far from the
country; it is open to all the objections we have urged against any line
through American Territory ; it would enrich a not always friendly
neighbour at our expense; and it would seriously impede the complete
settlement of the country. With these facts established, who will
question the propriety of the step taken by the Dominion Government
in at once setting before them, as a matter of serious duty, the en-
couragement of an enterprise, with which is closely connected out
very existence as an independent people ? ■

< - V

s' ;

^ v

CHAPTER III.

INTERIOU COMMUNICATION.

As regards the opening up of communication in the interior, the
chief question at present appears to be : — How can Fort Garry be most
easily connected by navigation with the Saskatchewan liiver 1 Mr.
Hind, in his report of 1859, anticipated the importance of tlijs means,
of communication. He says : — " public attention in the North-
Western States of the Union, and in Canada, has been directed to the
Valley of the Saskatchewan, and the feasibility of employing it as a
link in a greut chain of communication between tlie Mississippi and
St. Lawrence on the one hand, and the western slope of the Kocky
Mountains on the other."

Passing by, however, the national character of the enterprise, the
desire to secure the commerce which will very shortly teem from the
valleys of this magniticent river is arousing the serious attention not
only of the residents, but of all those wlio are either intending emi-
grants, or are in any way interpstod in ascertaining the future position
of the grand centre of trade and commerce.

The third requisite to the quick filling up ot a new country, after
* climate and soil have been pronounced favorable, being a cheap means
of conveyance, the advocates of the North-West, as a field for emigra-
tion,' have only to point to its broad rivers, navigable for largo steam-
boats for hundreds of miles, to prove conclusively that in this respect
we have nothing to fear from competition. As an instance of this,
which is, in a general sense, applicable to the hole extent of the
" central prairie country," we will refer to the present discussion as to
the quickest means of connecting Red River with the Saskatchewan.
Here their several advocates have given us the choice of three different
routes, each of which could be rendered navigable at a comparatively
trifling expense, when we take into consideration the immense stretch
of country which the latter river^drains, and the fact that the propor-
tionate cost of railroad travelling or traffic compared with that by
boat, is in the ratio of three to one.

Mr. Hind, in his report of 1859, suggests that a dam of 85 feet-
high across the South Saskatchewan af the Great Rend, would turn
its waters into the Qu'Appelle and thus give continuous navigation from
Red River Settlement up the Assiniboine to the mouth of the Qu'
Appelle ; then up the Qu'Appelle Valley to the South branch of the
Saskatchewan; then up the South Branch to Bow River," which tak-
ing its rise in Bow River Pass " one of the best in the Rocky Moun-
tains," makes the aggregate length of about six hundred miles.

As against tliis project, after the damming has been accomplished,
the reader must have seen that the country beyond the Great Bend

on the. South Branch, though in part good, is not one which, by its
richnosa, commends itself to the emigrant. On the North Branch,
wo shall find the first Settlement, and therefore it is with it, which,
strictly speaking, drains the Fertile Belt, that communication should
be first opened. Even now the traffic, is considerable through the pre- •
sent route by Lake Winnipeg, Cedar Ltike, and by portage round the
Kapids. This, however, being very circuitous, and Lake Winnipeg
aomowhat dangerous, especially to the boats now employed on its
waters, it is desirable to find a shorter and safer means of connecting
the North Branch with lied River or Fort Garry. This, Mr. Mair,
in one of his letters to the Globe, enters into quite fully, urging, that
insteiftl of damming the South Saskatchewan and turning its waters
through the Qu' Appelle, the present outlet of Lake Manitoba be
dammed, and its waters caused to flow from the southern portion of
the Lake along one of the small creeks, the Deep Creek he prefers,
into the Assiniboino at Portage La Prairie — thereby opening a direct
route from the Assiniboino through Lake Manitoba, Winnepegoosis
and Cedar Lake, to the Saskatchewan. This last would be reached
above the Grand Eapids which have heretofore proved the great ob-
stacle in navigating this river. As a proof of the ease with which this
could bo effected, as regards the water course between La Portage and
the Lake, he alludes to the singular underground current which ap-
parently connects the two as evidenced by the wells of the settlors on
the Assiboine, rising and subsiding with the waters in the Lake.
This, together with the opinions of Mr. Hind and Mr. Dawson, in.a
great measure corroborative, is sufficient to leave on this point no
consideration worthy of being noticed in opposition to the plan. But
in reference to the dam across the outlet of Lake Manitoba ho is not
so clear, and this is the more singular as it is on a similar point in
Mr. Hind's scheme, the dam at the Great Bend, that ho makes the
greatest objection. However the omission will hardly be pressed as a
point against the project, since the coat can be nothing compared to
the advantages which he claims in brief as follows : —

" This general scheme of a steamboat route to the Saskatchewan
has, in all respects, an incomparable advantage over any other. It is
vastly shorter, will open up the finest wood lands in the lake country,
inexhaustible fisheries, salt springs of great value, and the Swan
River and other fur districts which will be a source of considerable
profit for years to come.

" As before stated, by damming the outlet of Lake Manitoba, its
waters would bo ejected into the Assiniboino without any artificial
excavation, and they would soon form a wide channel for themselves.
Some excavation, however, would doubtless be required to make the
route practicable for steamers. To connect Lakes Manitoba and Win-
nepegoosis directly, a short cutting would have to be made across
Meadow Portage, and another across Mossy Portage, to connect the
latter water with Cedar Lake, an expansion of the main Saskatchewan.
But these improvements having been effected and there remains one
of the most magnificent water courses in America."

^ "

" i

-.■'<i

rf /•

By referring to the map, the chain of conuuunication is readily fol-
lowed, and the great advantages to he obtained, being easily mado
apparent, cannot fail to recommend themselves when the trifling cost
is placed in comparison with the facilities of secure and cheap naviga-
tion. Especially so when we know the dangers, the toils, and the
cost of a rapidly increasing navigation, which even twelve years since
was of sufficient impv^rtanco to warrant the following paragraph in Mr.
Hind's report. He says : —

" In reply as to whether there would be sufficient business to
warrant the placing of steam vessels on these north-western waters,
(irreipective of the establishment of a continental route to the ^^acific
through British territory); I was informed that there would be plenty
of freight to carry for the present requirements and traffic of Rupert's
Ixind ; as during the year (1858) no fewer than 1G7 freight boats of
the largest class, belonging to private traders and merchants, as well
as the Hudson Bay Company, (many of thera loaded with valnablo
furs), had passed Norway House, at the northern outlet of Lake Win-
nipeg, en route to York Factory, and returned with heavy cargoes of
merchandise, brought by sea to York, consisting chiefly of the usual
supplies for Selkirk settlement, ammunition and a great variety of
goods for the prosecution of the Indian trade, both by the Company
and 'Freemen.' The aggregate quantity of freight transported by
tWs fleet of boats from the seaboard to Lake Winnipeg, and from
thence distributed along its principal feeders, would bo upwards of
800 tons. It is well known that there are large quantities of goods
imported by other lines of communication, chiefly through the United
States Territory at present ; and as the York Factory route is to be
partially abandoned, a largo portion of the importations of Rupert's
Land will have henceforth to enter the Winnipeg Basin from the
south, so that there will doubtless bo sufficient commerce in view of
the great water facilities aflbrdcd by the coxintry to encourage the
initiationof steam navigation."

THIRD PART.

r* ' CHAPTER I.

THE HUDSON BAY COMPANT.

Having in the preceding pages given a condensation of (in some-
cases conflicting) authorities, both as to the /ast resources of tha
North- West, and also as to the manner of opening communication
with and through it, we will now glance at the singular history of tha
Hudson's Bay Company, which, at the time of the acceptance of the
" compromise " of Earl Granville, had existed about two centuries.

Let it not be thought for a moment that such a sketch of the
Company's career is rendered unnecessary by the late settlement.
The territory, it is true, has been annexed to the Dominion ;
the rights of the monopoly have been ostensibly bought and paid for ;
and the entire question has apparently been set at rest for ever. Wft
say apparently, for, in fact, it is far otherwise. The monopoly still
lies like a night-mare upon that vast domain ; their proprietrxy
ri hts, instead of being extinguished, have been settled upon a firmer
bois ; and even now, when its political power ought to be at an end,,
it contrives to rear its head, as powerful, as selfish, and as unscnipulous
as ever. Its employees, leagued, as they are, with the recalcitrant
portion of the French population, still misrepresent the resources of
the country, obstruct its settlement, and retard its inevitable destiny.

Still, it is not our intention to devote much space in replying to*
the advocates of the Company ; for the " monstrous imposition "
which the monopoly has always been, is easily proven from the
Avritings of their own officials, and by missionaries in the Indian
Territories, without drawing at all upon the works of travellers and
still later correspondence. At the same time, as we do not, in this
brief sketch, attempt to make out a case against the Company, but
simply to leave a fair impression of their past record, and their
present position, we will proceed to give an account of the ancient
regime of the Hudson's Bay Company.

The first two paragraphs of the renowned Charter are short, and
' give the purport of the Deed as follows ; —

" His Majesty's Royal Charter to the Governor and Company of
Hudson's Bay : —

" Charles the Second, by the grace of God, King of England,
&c., to all to whom these presents shall come. Greeting : Whereas our
dearly beloved cousin, Prince Rupert (and seventeen others, whose

«■ .*

names and titles follow) have, at their own great cost ami charges,
undertaken an expedition for Hudson Buy, in the Xortli West parts
of America, for the discovery of a now passage into the South Sea,
and for the finding of somc^ trade for furs, minerals, and other con-
eiderablo commodities ; and by such their undertaking have already
made such discoveries as do encourage them to proceed farther in
performance of their said design, })y means whereof there may
probably arise great advantagt; to us and our kingdoms ; and whereas
the said undertakers, for their encouragement in the said design, have
humbly besought us to incorporate them, and to grant unto tliem and
their successors the whole trade and commerce of all those seas, straits
and bays, rivers, lakes, creeks and sounds, aforesaid, which are not
now actually possessed by any of our subjects, or by the subjects of
any other Christian prince or state.

'* Now, know ye, that we, being desirous to promote all endea-
vours that may tend to the j)ublic good of our people, and to
encourage the said undertaking, have, of our especial grace, certain
knowledge, and mere motion, given, granted, ratified and confirmed,
and, by the presents for us and our successors, do give, grant, ratify,
and confirm, unto our said cousin. Prince Rupert, «fcc., that they and
such others as shall be admitted into the said society as is hereafter
•expressed, shall be one body corporate and politic, in deed and in
name, by the name of The Governor and Company of Adventurers
of England trading into Hudson Hay, # * * a^j at all
times hereafter, shall be personable, and capable in law to have,
purchase, receive, possess, enjoy, and retain lands, rents, privileges,
liberties, jurisdiction, franchises, and hereditaments, of what kind,
nature, or quality soever they be, to them an<i their successors."

By the foregoing paragraphs of the Charter, the reader will per-
ceive: — First, its ambiguity in defining the extent of territory granted;
and secondly, the considerations stipulated for in it : both points
being of great importance wh«n disposing of the title assumed by the
successors of Prince Rupert and those seventeen other " adventurers."
Clearly from the correspondence which has taken place during the
last ten years, closing with Earl Granville's proposition, the title which,
the Hudson Bay Company endeavored to set up, vested in them
through the Charter of Charles, and therefore the qxiestion as to their
legal rights under it may be briefly considered. First, w^e find that
there are very grave doubts whether, when King Charles signed
it, the right to grant belonged to the Crown of England at all, it
being asserted and proven that at the date of the Charter (1669), and
for many years after, the territories claimed under it by the Hudson
Bay Company belonged to France, or at any rate, most undoubtedly
•luite as much to France as to England. This doubt apppars to have
been prevalent in England at the time, as the document itself excludes
from the grant " all tlie lands, territories, etc., at that time possesse-l
hy any other Chri^stian Prince or State" For the proof. As early as
the year 1598, letters-patent were granted by Henry IV. of France to
Sieur de la Roche, appointing him Lieutenan.,-viovernor over the

vA~

countries of Canada, other territories and rivers, and Labrador ; the
latler being part of the territory claimed by the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany.

There are numerous documents of the same kind j but passing over
these, we come to a Charter granted by Louis XIIL, in 1626, which
defines the country under Charter to La Compaqnie de la Nouvellb
Fhakce in almost the same words as those used by Sir J. H. Pelly,
long afterwards, in describing tlie Hudson's Bay Territories ; and from
this fact it might bo inferred that the prior Charter gave rise to the
Charter of Charles, The Charter to La Compagnie de la Nouvelle
France may bo rcforredto in Les Edits et Ordonnances de la NeuveUe
France, in the library at Ottawa.

Nor was it only granted and claimed, but it was actually occupied
by the French. Numbers of the French Fur Company of Quebec,
established forty years before the Hudson Bay Company's Charter
was granted, traversed the whole of the country since claimed by the
monopoly ; but from which they, (the Hudson's Bay Company), were
excluded by that clause in their Charter respecting the rights of " any
other Christian Prince or State." This fact is established by the
Paris Documents, for in them we find that "in 1663 the Indians of
Hudson's Bay returned, and the Governor, M. le Baron d'Avangour,
sent to Hudson's Bay Sieur de la Contoure with a party, who pro-
cef (ted from Quebec overland, and took possession of the Bay in the
King's, name ; noted the latitude, planted a cross, and deposited, at
tie? foot of a large tree. His Majesty's arms engraved upon copper, and
laid between two sheets of lead, the whole being enclosed in the bark
of trees."

This, then, gives us two valid objections to the rights claimed by
the Company. First, that the Country, at the time the grant was
made, did not belong to England, and therefore could not become the
subject of a grant, even admitting that the Crown had constitutional
power to make such a grant as claimed, which is very questionable.
And secondly, that it was for the most part, prior to the date of the
charter possessed by the subjects of another Christian Prince, and
therefore is excluded by the very terms of the Charter possessed by
the Charter itself. But even for the moment forgetting this, we find
that in 1690 the H. B. Company, knowing that the Charter of Charles
required Legislative confirmation to invest them with legal rights, ap-
plied to Parliament for a confirmation of the Charter; and the Parlia-
ment, by Act of 1st and 2nd William and Mary did confirm the Char-
tered rights for seven years and no longer — the words of the Act, so
that in 1697, all rights under the Charter became extinct j for the
Act was never renewed, the Company preferring to continue their
trade on the quick-sand of Royal prerogative for a century and a half,,
rather than accept tlie decision of the House of Commons on their
Charter.

Again, the Treaty of llyswick 1697, made over to France a very
large portion, if not the whole of the Territory now claimed by the ob-
fiolete Charter ; and therefore, as no reservation in favour of the Com-

pany was made, their rights, supposing them to have been valid before,
Avere thus effectually extinguished. The results of this Treaty, Mr.
Bancroft, in his History of the United States, thus records : — " In
America, France retained all Hudson's Bay, and all the places of
Avhich she was in possession at the beginning of the war ; in other
words, with the exception of the Eastern moiety of Newfoundland,
France retained the whole coast and fidjacent islands from Maine to be-
yond Labrador and Hudson's Bay, besides Canada and the Valley of
the Mississppi," which latter included what is now known as the Red
Eiver Territory. During the time which elapsed Tjetween the Treaty
of Eyswick and the Treaty of Utrecht in 1714, almost the whole of
the Hudson's Bay and adjacent Territories remained in possession of
the French. The H. B. Company appear to have had only one single
Fort — Albany on the shores of the Hudson's Bay. By tlie last named
Tieaty, however, all of the Territories around Hudson's Bay were made
over to England which has ever since possessed them. There was also
a stipulation that the Quebec Company bo allowed to retire from the
Bay and all its lands with munitions' and property. While by the
Treaty of Ryswick, when the territories were surrendered to France,
no such stipulation was deemed necessary or proper in favour of the
Hudson's Bay Company.

Again we find that the Monopoly had been brought into collision,
not only with the French, but also with the United States, and not
even then was compensation allowed them for one of their very best
tracts of land. When the boundary was settled in 1818 the Crown
deliberately made over to the Americans, not only some of the finest
portions claimed by the H. B. Company, but also that which was part
of Lord Selkirk's Settlement, and yet no compensation was given.
This was certainly strange; if, as was advanced before the Canadian
delegates, they could prove a title, dating one hundred and fifty years '
prior to the settlement of the boundary, why thus surrender their prop-
erty without a murmur'? Another instance among many, of this non-
assertion of rights, is shown in the peculiar conduct of the H. B. Com-
pany, during the memorable dispute between them and the Nor'West
Company, .when the Hudson's Bay Company had ample grounds, if
their assumed rights were legal, to have brought the question to a satis-
factory issue. But the North-West Company came, armed with the
opinions of Sir Arthur Pigott, Serjeant Spankie and Lord Brougham
which disposes of the boundary thus ; " such a boundary must be im-
plied as is consistent with the views, and with the professed objects of
a trading company intended not to found kingdoms and states, but
to carry on fisheries in those waters, and to traffic for the acquisition
of furs and other articles mentioned in the Charter," so the Hudson's
Bay Company chose a surer and easier way; "they bribed rivals
whom they could not defeat, and the Companies united and agreed to
carry on the fur trade together to the exclusion of all others." On the
othei' hand, the North- West Company had denied the validity of the
Hudson's Bay Company Charter, had taken advice from the leading
counsel of the day upon it, had tried every lawful and unlawful means

to withdraw it ; and then we seo them, when the License of Trade
was granted, ranging tlieraselves under its protection, asserting what
they had before denied, and proclaiming its validity as soon as they
were admitted to share its profits.

Eeverting for a moment to the history of the Earl of Selkirk's
settlement on the Eed Eiver, we find that, in 1803, when his Lord-
ship first visited Canada, the H.B. Company carried on a very
limited trade, which was confined solely to Hudson's Bay and London."
Between his Lordship and the North- West Company a feeling of
rivalry eventually sprung up ; and the former, in order to check the
trade of the latter, after the failure of his " tract scheme " in Canada,
returned to England and obtained a deed from the H.B. Company of
a very large portion of land — 74,000,000 acres — now known as the
Red River Settlement. It may be stated, in reference to the applica-
tion for this title, that when Lord Selkirk applied for it to the Com-
pany, they endeavoured to argue him out of his project, by showing
him that they had no power to make such a grant. As, however, he
proposed to take all responsibility, the deed was made, no considera-
tion being required, it having simply been given and accepted as an
experiment, the success of which was very uncertain.

Without following, in detail, the events of the intervening years
between this date and 1821, — although they have afforded material
for many histories, — we will simply mass together the more prominent
points. Lord Selkirk delegated his authority, under the deed, to one
Miles Macdonell, who, in 1814, notified the several parties in charge
of North- West Company posts, that they were to quit such " posts
and premises" within six months after date. In endeavouring to
enforce the pretensions set forth in this notice, the appointee of Lord
Selkirk raised amongst the Indians, as well as amongst the members
of the North-West Company, such a strong feeling of hostility
against the Hudson Bay Company, that, in 1815, Fort Douglass, in
which Miles Macdonell was domiciled, was utterly destroyed and
himself and secretary taken prisoners to Montreal by the North-West
Company. The settlement established under Lord Selkirk's grant
was broken up ; the colonists were dispersed ; and articles of capitu-
lation entered into by the H.B. Company and the Indians. These
articles are remarkable, as being the first evidence of any right on the
part of the H.B. Company to enter into the country ; and also
because, amongst other restrictions, they were bound to enter the river
with only from < ]\vee to four of their former trading boats, and from
four to five men per boat as usual." Even this concession, being " for
the purposes of trade," is in itself sufficient evidence that the mono-
polists hud not theretofore heLl sovereign sway. In the autumn of
the same year (1815), while Miles Macdonell was still in prison, Mr.
Semple, Governor of H.B. Company, re-established a fort, which was
almost immediately destroyed, after a struggle in which the Governor
and twenty-two others lost theii* lives. The colonists were again
dispersed, with the exception of those who joined the rival North-
West Company. Intelligence of this loss of life having come under

t" *

the notice of the Imperial authorities, the Hudson Bay Companj-,
fearing that their " charter " was in danger of being submitted to
legal investigation, amalgamated with the Xortli-West Company, and
thereby procured the " License of Trade " hereafter alluded to.
" From which period," says a writer in the North British Review, who
displays intimate acquaintance with the subject, " dates the extraor-
dinary claims made by tlie Hudson Bay Company to an exclusive
right to trade in, and to absolute possession of, the territories which
are unvvatered by the rivers flowing into the bay."

As regards the extent of country traded in by the monopolists,
the reviewer adds that, in 1749, when the first legislative inquiry
instituted into the Company's att'airs took place, the witnesses proved
that the Company's servants never went farther than a hundred
miles into the interior.

As the foregoing facts dispose of the principal claims advanced
under the " monstrous grant," as it is termed, of the monarch

"Who never said a foolish thing,
And never did a wise one,"

we shall conclude this chapter with the words of a late writer, who
has sometimes been i .garded as an advocate , of the Hudson's Bay
Company : — " This," he says, speaking of the grant, " has been styled
an indefinite charter ; we might call it one which, if not illegal, was
null and void. If the lands in question were under the Dominion ot
the English crown, the grant cannot be defended on constitutional
grounds. The right of the Crown to alienate territory without the
assent of the Parliament, is a right of which the existence is very
questionable. There is no evidence, however, to support any claim
on the part of the Crown to the lands of which, in 1670, it made so
liberal a gift. Consequently, such a grant is as truly void as the don-
ation of the New World, which the Pope awarded to the Portuguese.
Moreover, Hudson's Bay and the surrounding territories were then (at
the time of the grant), in the actual possession of another Christian
Prince."

LICENSE OF TRADE.

Of the numerous Canadian Companies' that traded westward of
Lake Superior to the Rocky Mountains, and even on the Pacific slope,
before and upwards of one hundred years after the giving of the
Charter to the Hudson Bay Company, we need only mention the
Nor'- West Company of Montreal, Avhich requires some notice, as it
waH it which, rising superior to all others, and even the Hudson Bay
Company, amalgamated with the latter, and procured, in 1821, the
License of Trade.

This license was on several occasions renewed ; but even in the
transformation, as it was called, of 18G.3, the power of the Imperial
Parliament to reserve the privilege of establishing •' any colony or
colonies, province or provinces, or for annexing any part of the afore-

' .

said territories to any existing colony or colonies, etc.," is clearly
asserted. At the same time the obligations incumbent upon the com-
pany, in reference to their dealings with the savage, are as clearly de-
fined. The paragraphs are as follows : —

"And we do also hereby require that the said Governor and
Company, and their successors, shall, as soon as the same can con-
veniently be done, make and submit for our approval, such rules and
regulations for the management and carrying on. said fur trade with
the Indians, and the conduct of the persons employed by them there-
in, as may appear to us to bo effectual for diminishing or preventing
the sale or distribution of spirituous liquors to the Indians, and for
promoting their moral and religious improvement. Eut we do hereby
declare that nothing in this our grant contained shall be deemed or
construed to authorize the said Governor and Company, or their suc-
cessors, or any persons in their employ, to claim or exercise any trade
with the Indians on the north-west coast of America, to the westward
of the Stony Mountains, to the prejudice or exclusion of any of the
subjects of any foreign states, who, mider or by force of any conven-
tion for the time being, between us and such foreign states respec-
tively, may be entitled to, and shall be engaged in, the said trade :
Provided, neverthless, and wo do hereby declare our pleasure to be
that nothing herein contained shall extend or bo construed to prevent
the establishment by us, our heirs or successors, within the territories
aforesaid, or any of them, of any colony or colonies, province or pro-
vinces, or for annexing any part of the aforesaid territories to any ex-
isting colony or colonies, to na in right of our imperial crown belonging,
or for constituting any such form of civil government, as to us may
seem meet, withjn any such colony or colonies, or provinces.

" And wo do hereby reserve to ua, our heirs and successors, full
power and authority to revoke these presents, or any part thereof, in
so far as the same maj'' embrace or extend to any of the territories
aforesaid, which may hereafter be comprised within any colony or
colonies, province or provinces, as aforesaid.

" It being, nevertheless, hereby declared that no British subjects,
other than and except the said Governor and Company, and their suc-
cessors, and the persons authorized to carry on exclusive trade by
them, shall trade with the Indians during the period of this our
grant, within the limits aforesaid, or within that part thereof which
shall not be comprised within any such colony or province afore-
said."

Xow, to enter upon any further discussion of the claims under
either the Charter or the Licer>se, is not our intention. It having
been shown that the Charter itself, remembering who at the time
possessed the country, we think that it disposes of itself ; and when
we have got rid of this document, signed by a " Stuart, ignorant of
geography, granting a title to whatever territory is accessible from
the Hudson's Bay, either by land or sea — in other words, with the fee
simple of the whole habitable globe ;" we pass to the License, and
find that the principal consideration on which it is held, is the " moral

■•

ftl

'x^

and religious improvement of the savage." On this point volumes
could be written ; and that they would be fo; A interesting, may bo
gathered from the single fact that, so late as 1868, the Hudson's Bay
Company officials entered the Indian teiritories with their barter —
rum — strapped upon the backs of the voyageuTS, and this, too, when
the trappers and Indians were verging on a state of starvation. Of
the proviso in the License regarding the prospective stipulation far
the annexation of any part or parts to Canada, and the reason why it
has not heretofore been acted upon by the Imperial Parliament, tho
discussion on Earl Granville's proposals, as reviewed in tho following
chapter, will afford ample information.

Before closing this chapter, however, we would refer such readers
as desire further proof on these points to two authorities — one for,
and the other against, the Company, and both of 1869. The latter
wiU be found in the North British Revieiv, of March, entitled, " The
Hudson Bay Company." The former, written by Mr. Forsyth, Q. C,
appeared in two successive numbers of Good Words, and is especially
noticeable, from the fact that it was about the only defence published
in England on the side of the Company during the time of the " com-
promise" discussions. • That he had a difficult task must be admitted,
but having once undertaken it, he should have endeavoured not to
make so many mis-statements, when he must have been supplied with
the very latest information. These, however, cannot be disposed of
now ; the more especially so as it is rather the great number of the
errors, than their magnitude, which strikes the reader. This is at-
tributable, no doubt, to the fact of Mr. Forsyth's realizing that, in
spite of his able advocacy, it was impossil)le to make out a case for
the Company. The next best thing, therefore, that could be done,
was to secure the " extenuating circumstances," by en;jnerating every
possible circumstance that could, by any means, be claimed as in favor
of the monopolists. In opposition to his view of tho question, we
turn to the other article named, and, as a proof of its fairness, we may
state that th« upholders of tho " compromise" quoted largely from it,
in favor of the proposed arrangement. It shows how hard they
were put to it for an authority at that time, when we find the writer,
after glancing at the scheme proposed by Mr. Disraeli's Administra-
tion, viz. — that of a tax upon tho land, than which the reservations
are infinitely worse, observing — " It is improbable that Earl Granvillo
will approve of, or Mr. Gladstone will sanction, any such arrangement."
That Mr. Gladstone had modified his opinions on the Hudson's Bay
question, was admitted by him in the House of Commons ; but as he
gave no reason for the change, the public have assumed that his feel-
ings were too thoroughly honest in 1857, or better perhaps, " too ro-
mantically enthusiastic in the cause of right." Although he thinks
he was " too hard" upon the monopolists when he submitted that
notable amendment which proposed to open for civilisation those im-
mense tracts of prairie land, and to leave in the hands of the fur
traders the fur trapping regions, the people in this country do not
agree with him. Even his staunchest admirer will hardly concede that

the soil of America can prove congenial to the worst species of absentee
landlordism — that which is carried on by a joint stock company whose
only ambition is gain. That this is the temper — the intention of the
" renewed monopoly," none will dispute, having once read the debates
which the " proposals" of Earl Granville originated in the Hudson
Bay Company's House in England. From them it may easily be as-
sumed, that though the revived company cannot, as heretofore, assert
and retain its position solely through the false representations of its
members, it will, nevertheless, still continue to exercise its injurious
influence by bribery, and increase its profits by extortion.

However, to refer to the opposing opinions of influential per-
sonages and prominent writers is not our intention, — even if space
would admit— no more than it is our desire to follow the " wondrous
evidence of design" in the conduct of the Company, which, ever
tending to its own aggrandizement, might be discussed under some
such heading as tlie following : first, the singular diplomacy of the
Company, which was always inimical to the welfare of British North
America ; secondly, their false representation and bribery, which are
notorious ; thirdly, their iniquitous dealings with the ignorant and
dependent savages ; and lastly, the proofs of its tyranny and oppres-
sion. The task would, however, be fruitless ; the acceptance of the
proposals of Earl Granville by both parties disposes of the past, and
makes it perhaps preferable to forget a great deal rather than revive
it. More especially so, as we are to " become as brothers in the great
work of colonization." ^or is it to be supposed that any considerable
portion of intending emigrants wonld be extremely anxious to follow
the dark history which Thomas Simpson aUudfis to as follows : —
" Viewing the service generally, I must candidly confess, judging
from the actions of others, that its promises of happiness are hollow,
whilst an awful fatality seems to overhang its retiring members — a
punishment for the unprincipled sluCl licentious lives they have led."
"We will not even revert to a " tithe of the grievances " which made
the condition of settlers " deplorable and heartrending," well knowing
that the reader, when he once realizes that a letter could not be sent
to England without exciting the direst enmity of the Company,
unless they had first read it and were satisfied with its contents ; that
letters coming to the settlers were opened by the Company ; and that
all trafiic with other places was forbidden, as contrary to " the funda-
mental laws of Rupert's Land," will at once understand the effect of
a power, which, claiming to be paramount over the third of a conti-
nent, was exercised without regard to loyalty, morality, and religion.''

CHAPTER II. . ...

THE COMPROMISE.

Before referring to the pamphlet issued to the members of the
Hudson Bay Company, and embracing the principal correspondence
on the subject, from the year 1864 to 1869, with the final proposal of
Earl Granville to the Company and to the Canadian delegates, it may
be advisable to give a slight sketch of the action of Canada during
the fifteen years of discussion. It is evident that any attempt to do
so, with accuracy and impartiality, must necessarily fail. We are too
near the events we are endeavouring to chronicle to mete out an
equal measure of justice to very public man who has taken an
active part in the conduct of tliis great question. It must be left for
history, at its own time, to return an unimpeachable verdict. It will
then be clearly seen who " have deserved well of their country " by
contending for its best interests ; who have disgraced themselves, in
the hour of duty, by " masterly inactivity," and who have deceitfully
and maliciously betrayed the cause which, by every consideration of
honour and patriotism, they were bound to subserve. Some material '
to aid in forming a judgment may nevertheless be found as we proceed.

The closing letter of Messrs, Cartier and McDougall, our delegates,
was, as one paper put it, "clearly unanswerable ;" but as it was
simply the last denial of the Company's claim, reference to the main
body of it may be dispensed with. The additional matter, however,
which was gleaned during the last six months that they were
" spectators " of the proceedings, requires to be briefly noticed.

" What it was worth to have the obstruction quietly removed,"
appears t . have been the real question — the point on which they
joined issue, after the failure of our repeated attempts to have the
validity of the Charter itself tested.

The following short extracts contain the substance, which many
may not have waded through a voluminous correspondence to find : —

" The first attempt of the Imperial Government to estimate, and
express in pounds sterling, the compensation which it would be
reasonable to offer to the Company, was made by the Duke of New-
castle in 1864. The greatest sum which, after " very grave considera-
tion," his Grace felt himself able to propose for the surrender of the
country west of Lake Winnipeg was £250,000. But the payment
was subject to the following conditions : —

"1. £150,000 was to be derived from the sale of lands by the
Government within the territory. The payment was to be made at
the rate of Is. per acre sold, but to be entirely dependent on the
Government receipts.

"2. Payments were to cease whenever they reached £150,000;
and absolutely, at the end of fifty years.

. • \

" The Company was to bo paid one-fonrtli of the sum received by
Covemment for export duty on gold or for mining licences or leases
for gold-mining in the territory for fifty years, or until the aggregate
amounted to £100,000.

" 4. The payment of any part of the £250,000 was contingent on
the ability of the Company to place Her Majesty's Government in
possession of an " indisputable title " to the territory ceded by them
as against the claims of Canada.

•'The last condition was objected to by the Company on the
ground that they could only give such title as they had, which they
contended *| must be taken for better or worse." The Duke of New-
castle renewed his offer, modifying the last condition into a stipula-
tion that, in case it should be found advisable, the territory eastward
of a line passing through Lake Winnipeg and liake of the "Woods,
might be ceded or annexed to Canada, in which case nothing woidd
be payable to the Company in respect of that territory.

After reviewing the proposed conditions, regarding the manner
of holding and the time of sale, the delegates continue : —

" But in order to arrive at some result that can be expressed in
figures, let us assume that the sum ascertained by the Duke of New-
castle to be sufficient " compensation" would, under his proposition,
have been paid withhi 50 years, and at an average rate per annum.
We thus give the Company the benefit of all the doubts in the case,
and reduce the question to a simple problem in arithmetic : What is
the present value of an annuity of £5,000 for fifty years 1

" That value, we submit, is the highest amount in cash which can
be claimed as an equivalent for the offer made to the Company in
1864, by his Grace the Duke of Newcastle.

" The next offer of the Imperial Government which mentions a
specific simi, is that made by his Grace the Duke of Buckingham and
Chandos, on the 1st of December last. It differs from the previous
offer in several important particulars :

"1. It embraces the whole of the territory claimed by the Company.
' "2. It proposes to allow ^the Company to retain their " posts" and
certain allotments of land in their vicinity, with a small reservation in
each township as it is surveyed.

" 3. It proposes to allow the Company one-quarter of the receipts
from land (free grants being treated as sales at one shilling per acre)
one-quarter of the sum received by Government as an export duty
for gold and silver, or for licenses for mining for gold or silver.

*' 4. It limits the amount to be received under these heads con-
jointly, at £1,000,000 sterling. , , . ,

" The other stipulations are uniinportant for the purpose of ascer-
taining the cash equivalent of the proposition."

Now, by again resorting to the annuity tables, we have the fol-
lowing question, viz. : What is the present value of an annuity of
£3,575 per annum for 280 years 1 The Government mining receipts
are omitted from the last term for two reasons : 1st, Because it has
not been shown that there are mines in the Territory that would pay

working. 2nd, Because Canada is tending strongly to a " free min-
ing policy."

The third proposition from the Imperial Government which hears
on compensation was submitted by Mr. Cardwell, and is alluded to as
follows, the conclusion of the letter being added :

" The basis of the calculation which seems to have been made, or
agreed upon, is very simple. The old Hudson Bay Company had
recently sold all the rights and property of the Company, of every
description, for the sum of £1,500,000. An inventory, agreed to by
both sellers and purchasers, set down the assets, exclusive of "Terri-
torial rights," as follows —

1 — The assets (exclusive of Nos. 2 and 3) of the Hud-
eon's Bay Company, recently and specially valued ' *
by competent valuers, at £1,023,569

2 — The ' landed territory' (not valued)

3— A cash balance of 370,000

£1,393,569
"On the face of their own statement, £1,500,000, less the . above
sum, or £106,431, was the amount which the new purchasers actu-
ally paid for tlie ' Landed Territory.' Under the agreement of 1865,
this seems to be the highest sum which Mr. Cardwell and the repre-
sentatives of the Canadian Government, thought could, in any event,
be demanded by the Company, as indemnity or compensation for the
surrender of the rights they * would be able to establish.'

" We have thus attempted to convert into their equivalents in cash
the two offers made to the Company since 1857 by the Imperial
Government, and to ascertain the amount of the indemnity contem-
plated by Mr. Cardwell and the Canadian delegates in the arrange-
ments of 1865. To arrive at any result, we have had to assume fig-
ures which, according to our experience, the facts of a new country
will be more likely to reduce than to increase. We have also omitted
conditions either implied or expressed in the proposals of 1864 and
1868, which we believe would have imposed considerable expense
upon the Company.

"There is another mode of estimating the amount to be paid, on
the principle of compensating for actual loss only, which remains to
be considered.

" The stock of the Company has for sometime been quoted at an
average of 13^. The capital is nominally £2,000,000, and the shares
£20 — the value of the stock, therefore, in cash, assuming that the
whole of it could be sold at the market rate, is £1,350,000, or £43,-
569 less than the value, according to their own estimate, in 1863, of
the Company's assets, exclusive of the * landed territory.' The money
obtained from the public for shares, beyond the £1,500,000 paid to
the old shareholders, will no doubt be amply sufficient to make good
any deficiency in the valuation of 1863.

" From a consideration of these data we submit, that, if the
.validity of the Charter is not now to be questioned ; if the territorial

oxtent of the country affected by it is not to be defined ; if the claim
of Canada to include within hor boundaries a largo portion, if not the
whole, of the country occupied by the French at the time of the
session in 1763, is not to bo investigated and finally determined — if
the admitted incapacity and the notorious neglect of the • Company to
perform the duties of government (which were part of the considera-
tion for the riijhts conceded by the Charter), are not to be taken ns
sufficient on public grounds to justify cancellation and re-entry by the
Crown — then the very highest indemnity which ought to be paid, in
cash, for a surrender of the territorial claims of the Company, with the
reservations and other privileges offered by His Grace the iJuko of
Buckingham and Chandos, is the sum indicated by the foregoing com-
putations.

" We must, in conclusion, express to Earl Granville our strong
conviction that no immey offer, which, either the Imperial or the Cana-
dian Government would deem reasonable, will be accepted by the
Company, and that, to delay the organization of Constitutional
Government in the North-West T rritory until the Hudson's Bay
Company consent to reasonable terms of surrender, is to hinder the
success of Confederation in British America and to imperil the in-
terests and authority of the British Crown in the territories now
occupied by the Company.

** We therefore respectfully submit for Earl Granville's considera-
tion, whether it is not expedient that the Address of the Canadian
Parliament be at once acted upon, under the authority of the Imperial
Act of 1867.

" But, ii his Lordship should see any sufficient legal or other ob-
jection to that course, then we ask, on behalf of the Dominion Govern-
ment, for the immediate transfer to that Government, of the * North-
West Territory,' or all that part of British North America, from
Canada on the east, to British Columbia, Alaska, and the Arctic
Ocean on the west and north, not heretofore validly granted to, and
now held by, * The Government and Company of Adventurers of Eng-
land trading into Hudson's Bay,' by virtue of a Charter of King
Charles II., issued about the year 1670.
We have the honor to be, Sir,

Your obedient servants,

OEO. ET. CAKTIEE.

Sir Frederick Rogers, Bart., etc.,
. Colonial Office."

WM. MacDOUGALL.

A copy of this final letter, on the part of our delegates to the
Colonial Secretary, having been transmitted to Sir Stafford Northcote.
it received from him a reply quite characteristic of the monopolists.
There is nothing new in it ; nothing that we have not had before in
various forms, and therefore we may the more quickly dispose of it.

In answer to that part of the letter which refers to a " proper ad-
justment of difficulties," he said : —

"But as Earl Granville, who has had i)ersonal communication with
the delegates, is of opinion that their letter, taken in connection with
previous correspondence, leaves little present hope of bringing niatters
to a settlement by way of compensation, the committee are forced to
adopt the conclusion that it is intended as a virtual refusal on the part
of the delegates to entertain the question in a serious spirit."

Again, after speaking, in a patronizing strain, as to the difficulties
we should encounter in endeavouring to govern the Terrftory, and
kindly doubting whether we could accomplish the task successfully,
he closes the paragraph with those stereotyped sentences : —

" Should, however, Her Majesty's Government decide on this
measure, the Committee Avill do all in their power to arrive at a good
understanding with the Dominion Government as to the details of the
arrangements which should be made in the two portions of the now
imited territory, and to facilitate the establishment of a strong
administrative system in both."

Then, near the conclusion, he adds what we have never seen
omitted in a letter from the Governor of the monopoly, though there
may be a slight variation of thb phraseology, the following : —

" Of course," he says, " if Her Majesty's Government should be
of opinion that the great objects in view could be equally well
attained by the exercise of the powers actually possessed by, or
which might be granted to, the Company, and should consider that it
■would be preferable to adopt this method of government rather than
to erect the Territory into a Crown Colony, the Committee would at
once fall in with sucb a suggestion, and would request Earl Granville
to state to them what establishment would, in the opinion of Her
Majesty's Government, bo sufficient to meet the necessities of the case.

" It can hardly be necessary for me to add that, in the event of
such an arrangement being made, the Company would rely on the
cordial co-operation of the Government in submitting any needed
measure to Parliament, and in protecting the Settlement from any
trespass or interference on the part of Canada."

So much for Sir Stafford K^orthcote, whom we will take, as the
Duke of Newcastle advised us to take the title, "for better for
worse," and pass on to the " only cornpromis« that would be attempted
by the present Government." Our delegates Avere given to understand
that, should this proposal fail to find acceptance at the hands of
either party, it would be necessary to refer the question to the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

The following were the terms proposed by the Colonial Secre-
tary :—

" 1. Tho Hudson's P>ay Company to surrender to Her Majesty,
all the rights of government, property, &c., in Rupert's Land, which
are specified in 31 and 32 Vict., c. 105, sec. 4; and also all similar
rights in any other part of British North America, not comprised in
Rupert's Land, Canada, or British America.

" 2. Canada is to pay to the Company X300,000 when Rupert's
Land is transferred to the Dominion of Canada.

" 3. The Company may, within twelvo months of the aurrendev,
select a hlock of land adjoining each of its stations within the limits
Bpocified in article 1.

" 4. The size of the blocks is not to exceed acres in the

Bed River territory, nor 3,000 acres beyond that territory, and the
aggregate Qxtont of the blocks is not to exceed 50,000 acres.

" 5. So far as the configuration of the country admits, the blocks
are to be in the shape of j)arallelogram8, of which the length is not
more than double the breadth.

"6. The Hudson's Bay Company may, for fifty years after the
surrender, claim in any township or district within the Fertile Belt,
in which land is set out for settlement, grants of land not exceeding
one-twentiet' nart of the land so set out. The blocks so granted to
be determined ^y lot, and the Hudson's Bay Company to pay a rate-
able share of the survey expenses, not exceeding an acre.

" 7. For the purpose of the present agreement, the Fertile Bolt is
to be boundad as follows : On the south by the United States
boundary ; on the wcL't by the Rocky Mountains, on the north by the
northern branch of the vSaskatchowan ; on the east by Lake Winnipeg,
the Lake of the Woods, ai 1 the waters connecting them.

" 8. All titles to land up to the 8th March, 1869, conferred by the
Company, are to be confirmed.

" 9. The Company is to be at liberty to carry on its trade without
hindrance, in its corporate capacity, and no exceptional tax is to be
placed on the Company's land, trade, or servants, nor any import on
goods introduced by them previous to the surrender.

"10. Canada is to take over the materials of the electric telegraph
at cost price, such price including transport, but not including
interest for money, and subject to a deduction for ascertained deterio-
ratio*!!.

"11. The Company's claim to land under agreement of Messrs.
Vankoughnet and Hopkins to be withdrawn.

" 12. The details of this arrangement, including the fiUing-up the
blanks in articles 4 and 6, to be settled at once by mutual agreement."

Such is the proposal which we were called upon peremptorily
either to accept or reject as a " basis of further negotiation." We are
told that it caused the Company's shares to decline from 14| to
13f.

" Why this should have been the case we cannot determine, unless
that, year after year, they considered their claims on us enhanced in
value, proportionately, to the amount of injury they entailed upon
British North America. They must undoubtedly have had a process
of calculation of which we know nothing ; for, first comparing the
terms with those that were previously offered by other Colonial
Secretaries, it must be admitted by all parties that the worst for us,
and the best for them, came last.

Without attempting to compare it with former propositions, it will
be sufficient to note that the terms offered by the Duke of Newcastle
to the Company were equal to granting them an annuity of £5000 for

fifty years : in comparison with this, the Dulce of Buckingham's was
considered large ; and yet the payments, wliich he stipulated the Com-
pany should receive, were not to exceed in the aggregate £1,000,000.
What Mr. Addorley proposed, our delegates were confident the Cana-
dian Parliament would have accepted, so that the obstruction might
be quietly removed.

Now, for the moment forj^etting Mr. Cardwell's proposal, wliich
was still more in favor of the Dominion, we will see how Lord Gran-
ville's ultimatum compared with these. Taking figures, we find that,
in the Fertile Belt alone, there arb believed to b« 200,000,000 acres ;
it follows that the Company's nhare will be 10,000,000 acren. Now
Bupposing — and it is not such an extravagant supposition, when wo
remember how rapidly the Western States have been populated, that
this immense tract is surveyed and partially settled before the expira-
tion of the term, what does the monopolists' claim amount to, the
land being sold at an average of $5 per acre 1 Just $50,000,000.

The average price is too high, some may say ; but what have we
in substantiation 1 The price of farms — that is the pre-emption or
squatter's rights in the settled portions are now disposed of — and this
when there are neither roads nor commerce — for between $4 and $8
per acre ; and in Minnesota the price ranges from $4 to $7 per acre.
Moreover we have never as yet been led to suppose that the Hudson
Bay Company are lacking in tactics equal to those which the Canada
Company employed so successfully to the filling of their coffers. The
Canada monopolists did not sell their land to the first settlers ; they
waited till its value had become increased many fold by the arduous
toil of those who were neither too well fed nor too comfortably clad ;
and can wo, judging frrTn the past of the Hudson Bay Company,
imagine that they will be less exacting or less mercenary 1

Then follows the second specialty, — the reservation around each
of their forts, of " thousands of acres" which will, of course, in the
very nature of things, become the sites of future towns and cities, and
therefore externally valuable. Besides this, their fur trade is not to be
interfered with, and lastly, we pay them £300,000 down, as it were,
to bind the bargain j for that is, after all, only a drop in the bucket.
All these payments, rights, privileges and reservations we give them
for that which cost them, according to their own computation, just
£106,431.

Now we find it as an ever recurring assertion on the part of the
monopolists, that all they desired Avas that the sharoliolders shall lose
nothing by the transfer ; that, in fact, they felt the justice of the
Dominion's claims, and being also well aware of the necessity for the
immediate establishment of a responsible Government, would place no
obstacle in tlie way. Yet the Colonial Secretary, after having such
assurances brought prominently to his notice by our delegates, was
forced to tempt them with what are better terms than they themselves
proposed to the Duke of Newcastle.

Clearly, if Lord Granville believed that the Company was speak-
ing the truth, when it asserted the desirability of Canada's getting

100

possession of the North-West, coupled with the assurance of their
willingness to assist us in so doing, it seems somewhat difficult to
imagine why he thought his final proposal would not be acceptable to
them. From his perfect knowledge of the affairs of the Company, he
was well aware that they would be enabled to follow the fur trade
almost without competition for many years. Ho may, perhaps, have
been cognizant of the fact that " the number of the finer and more
costly skins was increasing — even rapidly increasing, as the larger and
more ferocious animals were killed off." He may also have heard that
in the Fertile Belt the Company had lost caste to such an extent that
even a show of respect was denied its officers ; that men laughed at
the selfish formula of paying the three tributary " pepper-corns " to
t]"' high official. He must have known that it was years since they
hud iested a claim by law, and that the Company was then simply
t'Iciated as a species of tenant-at-will. It therefore appears extra-
oa'inary that his Lordship should have feared that the "proposal"
woulii not be acceptable to them. As the last and greatest reason of
alij ch3 Colonial Secretary must have seen that the counter proposal to
that of the Duke of Newcastle, made by the Hudson Bay Company
themselves to the Imperial Government, only stipulated that in con-
sideration of " right, and title, the sum of £1,000,000 should accrue to
them within a certain period." This Sir Stafford Northcote, in his
speech on the "couipromise" before the "board," admitted; alluding
to the death of the Duke in such a manner as to lead the reader to
suppose that, had it not been th •'; a new Minister was taking office, the
Imperial Government would have made the stipulation, accepted the
Territory, arid handed it over to Canada. Such having been the in-
ten'.ion of the parties interested at that time, when we compare it with
the last prf4J0sed and accepted compromise, we are compelled to agree
with tho30 who will neither accept the witticisms of his Lordship as
nor his arbitrament as just.
No^ ■■ believing the intention of these provinces, in relation to the
North- West, to be a desire to build up a nation, in other words, make
the British American Confederation lasting and secure, it may be a
subject for enquiry v^hether we have made a sure advance towards the
attainment of oui oLJ'^ct by accepting the compromise. When, how-
ever, we find that no alternative was open, save that of working our way
cautiously through the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which
\vfUiil have taken some, it may be many, years, it appears there was
no choice, in view of the necessity of immediate action, but to secure
the Hudson's Bay Company in their " reservations and privileges," so
far, at least, as could be done at that time. Mr. McDougall asserted
that the compact would never be willingly assented to by the Domin-
ion, and whilst he was '-ight as to the feeling in Canada, he (unfortun-
ately for himself), appears to have forgotten that the residents of the
country itself might desire to be heard on the " transfer." As this
alleged oversight, however, in not consulting them prior to sending
the delegation to England, is one of the " underlying grievances" that
caused the Eebellion, it will be alluded to in the succeeding chapter^

reasonmg,

CHAPTER III.

J m

THE RED RIVER REBELLION — CAUSES.

Having, in the last chapter, given a brief resume of tlie discussion
on the transfer or compromise, we now proceed to lay before the
reader, as succinctly as possible, the more prominent features of what
is known as the Red River Rebellion. In our endeavour to do this
briefly, and at the same time minutely, we are met by the somewhat
singular difficulty of a " profusion of authorities." To some, no
doubt, this may appear an advantage rather than otherwise; but, hav-
ing examined the bulky literature the newspapers accumulated upon
the subject during those eventful months, we are inclined to dissent
from that opinion. Divested of exaggeration, the facts are few and
simple enough. The Dominion Government, by the compromise, ef-
fected under the auspices of Earl Granville, obtained the right to
confederate with the other British American Provinces, those portions
of British North America known as Rupert's Land and the North
West Territories, or any of them.

The deed of transfer had not been given by the Company, nor had
■we paid the purchase money ; but, in the expectation that the bargain
would be ratified at the appointed time, and in the absence of any
popular demonstration by the people of the Red River against the
union with Canada, the Canadian Government decided on sending out
the Hon. William McDougall as Lieutenant Governor, with all "con-
venient speed, to report and take the necessary measures for incor-
porating it with the Dominion, and to ascertain the requirements of
the country." In pursuance of this policy, the Lieutenant Governor
was dispatched — himself " in haste to go," it is said — and attended
by a numerous retinue, among whom were the proposed Councillors
for Red River, and other gentlemen, military and civil. Thus accom-
panied, and having stowed somewhere among the sixty waggons which
carried him and " his fortunes," a " magnificent throne and para-
phernalia of office," the Lieutenant Governor left St. Paul, Minnesota,
and after a weary journey, on the 2nd of November crossed the boundary
line between the United States and British Territory ; reposed that
night in a Hudson Bay fort, two miles from the boundary, and was
next morning expelled from that part of the Queen's Dominions over
which he was appointed to govern. At the date of his expulsion, the
country was under the control of the French half breeds, or Boin BruU,
of wliose temporary rule we shall therefore endeavour to give a con-
nected, though somewhat abbreviated account, from itj inauguration
to its extinction ; first, however, having disposed of Mr. McDougall's
claim upon our attention.

MPIM»<

102

!■

Proceeding, then, to separate the few grains of fact from the im-
mense amount of fiction, wo are fir?t compelled to take some notice of
the warnings which the Ottawa C'ibinet received that the entrance of
Mr. McDougall as Lieutenant Governor would be opposed. For,
although at no time till Mr. McDougall had left St. Paul, en route for
Fort Garry, did the ill feeling become --vhat may be termed a "popular
demonstration," still there appears to have been sufficient intelligence
brought under the notice of the Government to have aused it to adopt
an explanatory, if not a conciliatory, tone. So far back as August,
1869, private information of the most reliable character was laid be-
fore Government that the Lieutenant Governor's authority would be
disputed. Mr. Cyrille Graham is reported to have called their atten-
tion to the existing "state of discontent;" and, from the correspond-
ence of the American Consul then resident at Fort Garry, it may bo
gathered that, as far back as September, a hostile feeling was evidenced
sufiiciently strong to have made the Government at Ottawa paus&
before determining to carry out a policy which, in fact, jeopardized
the very existence of British institutions in that portion of Her
Majesty's dominions. As a member of the Cabinet, the late Minister
of Public Works becomes responsible, along with his colleagues, that
this information failed of its intended effect. The Government havo
made a plausible efibrt to lay the entire blame at the door of the ex-
Governor. It is charged against him that he withheld from the Privy
Council " the very alarming information communicated to him by
Colonel Dennis" (Review, p. 9). On the 28th of August, tho
Colonel, then engaged in conducting the surveys, wrote that " tho
uneasy feeling" had become so marked, that he anticipated having to
" cease operations and await further orders." If this accusation were
well founded, no censure can be too severe for this culpable suppression
of the truth. Unfortunately, however, the matter has now resolved
itself into a question of veracity. Mr. McDougail, in his published
defence which has recently appeared, distinctly denies the charge. He
claims that, so far from urging the survey at all risks, he managed to
reduce the twenty townships, which the Premier proposed to survey,
to one ; that he urged the greatest caution in conducting the opera-
tions ; that he instructed Colonel Dennis to consult both Governor
McTavish and the people of the country; that the danger apprehended
was from the Indians, and that so far were the Government from
being ignorant of tho state of affairs, that he was authorized to take
with him " 350 breech-loading rifles, with 30,000 rounds of ammuni-
tion." Finally, Mr. McDougall asserts that " when the letters of
Colonel Dennis arrived," he " was absent from Otwya on official
duty." (Eight Letters, &c., p. 39.) On the whole, we are inclined
to think that the omis of blame must be equally borne by every mem-
ber of the Cabinet ; by Mr. McDougall, neither more nor less than by
the others. It cannot now bo doubted that the survey was a grave
mistake. In the minds of the ignorant inhabitants, it was immedi-
ately associated with the confiscation of their property and a complete
disregard of their rights ; it formed a plausible pretext for the insur-

s.;

103

rection, if even we deny that it was the cause of it. The scheme was
a gigantic blunder — would that we could call it the only one in this
chapter of disasters.

The appointment of Mr. McDougall himself, was another. We are
not about to re-open the story of thgt gentleman's " unusual proceed-
ings" at Manitoulin. It may be, as he asserts, that his conduct has
been misrepresented, and that instead of being solely answerable for
those proceedings, he only shares the responsibility with the members
of three successive administrations (Letters, p. 44), the fact will still
remain, and it should have been an insuperable objection to his
appointment, that whether rightly or wrongly, arbitrary and inequit-
able dealings with the Indian tribes were attributed to him,and liad made
him personally distasteful, if not odious, to the nations of the North
West. The Indian does not easily forget ; and we may well suppose
that Mr. McDougall's " unusual," if not unjustifiable, acts did not fail
to receive material addition, with darker colouring, before it reached
the hunters between the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, The subject
may, perhaps, have passed entirely from the honorable gentleman's
mind, but it still rankled in theirs. We can fancy his feelings, as ho
looked across the boundary at his rebellious subjects, and learned that
one of the causes of his ludicrous situation at Pembina, dated back to
the time when, as Crown Land Commissioner, he took an " unusual"
course with the Indians of Manitoulin Island.

In tracing the honorable gentleman's course in the North 'v\ est,
we find that ho was on several occasions cautioned in a purely friendly
spirit, to assume the virtue of reconciliation, " if he had it not ;" but
he treated such weU-meant advice as " fancies to be laughed at."
The spirit in which he acted may be easily conjectured when we find
it reported, " that shortly after his arrival at Pembina, two French
half-breeds waited on him, and presented him witli a letter they were
commissioned to carry to him. He took the letter, looked at it, said
it was dirty ; read it, asked who it came from, tore it in pieces, and
threw the fragments in the faces of the messengers • turned on his heel
and walked ofl:."

This may be what Mr. McDougall calls " conciliation /' it was
nevertheless very injudicious, as one of those messengers commanded
the Fort at Pembina. This is only one of many stories, all tending to
prove that, by his cold and haughty bearing,he had become so obnoxious
that it is questionable had he even obtained a welcome at Fort Garry,
Avhether his reign would have been sufficiently long to have estab-
lished the Government on a firm basis. In view of this grave question,
perhaps it is better for the future of British North America, that Mr.
McDougall has once more taken his seat in the Dominion Parliament,
as the representative of North Lanark,

Let us now turn from Mr, IMcDougall to the Government of which
he was a member. To their reticent policy, the Canadian public may
attribute, — in the first instance at least, the failure in the North West,
It appears impossible to deny, that their action was characterized by
great want of consideration, even if they were not " wholly guided by

104

motives of temporary, political expediency." Without reverting to
any of the numerous grievances, this country has suflFered at the hands
of the Hudson Bay Company, and in a certain measure, at the hands
of the British Government from the tardiness of its action, we
believe we may assume, that the people of these Provinces accepted
the "compromise" with no particular feelinr if gratitude to any of
the parties concerned. It was acquiesced . merply as a measure
of expediency, wherein the disagreeable f I costly part of the
arrangement were merged in the greatness f the brilliant future
opening before them. On these grounds they tacitly assented to the
necessity of the contract, and to the payment of the £300,000, not
for one moment thinking that anything further in the way of a " dis-
pute" could arise, or that a second drain would be made upon the
public chest, in enforcing the agreement. With such feelings predom-
inating, the people of the Dominion had no objection to have bonfires
lighted, and champagne dinners given in honor of the delegates who
had, in some way or other, terminated the tedious controversy ; never
anticipating any objection from ,the half-breeds who had petitioned
for it as far back as 18.57. Matters being thus left in the hands of our
government, their first mistake consisted in not plainly announcing
and expounding their policy, unless, indeed, they had no scheme
sufficiently well-defined to admit of enunciation. The people of these
Provinces have so long enjoyed the blessings of representative govern-
ment, that it appears never to have entered, their heads that their
rulers had determined to adopt an irresponsible .system in the Xorth
West. It may be that the Government were ashamed of the plan they
had adopted ; it would certainly appear so, when we remember the
studied concealment and reserve with which they contrived to
enshroud the whole subject. If, as has been frequently reported, the
appointment of a non-elective Council was merely a temporary expe-
dient, the precursor of free institutions at no distant day, they were, in
duty, bound to reassure the minds of those who Avere already mur-
muring at the prospect of a government copied exactly from the galling
rule from which they were just being emancipated. A frank and
honest exposition of their policy would, perhaps, have saved the
Dominion all the trouble, vexation and expense that followed. It is
not at all clear that any such Council as the Government attempted,
and failed to establish, was necessary or even judicious ; that, however,
is beside the point at issued — the culpable reticence and reserve of the
Cabinet, after direct information had been received of the prevailing
and increasing disaffection. Thus stood matters : the Cabinet aware
of the growing dissatisfaction, and the public ignorant of it, at the
time when Mr. Howe's "journey of discovery" was about to be under-
taken. Previous to that time, however, and about six weeks before
Mr. McDongall's departure, numerous criticisms appeared in the press
on *he Government policy of sending a Canadian Council with the
Lieut.-GDvernor to legislate for the people of the Red River Settlement.
To this version or perversion of their intentions, the Government did
not take the trouble to give a direct denial, although as it turned out,

105

they either altered their, programme and decided to take only a
minority of the proposed council from Canada, or such was their
original intention. It vras announced that although hundreds applied
for the situation only sufficient to form a minority in the council were
to be accepted. Knowing the ease with which a denial of the charge
could have been made by the government then, it seems lanientable in
the extreme, that they did not condescend to give it, if only to silence
the murmurs of opposition. It now appears certain, that the bitter
controversy that then arose, unfortunately added fuel to the flame that
had already been lighted in the Nor'-Weat. That it did not originate
the ill-feeling appears certain ; but that it gave form and substance to
it, — that it acted as a basis of the rebel Bill of Eights, appears certain.
2^or could such a result have been un-anticipated by any one at all
conversant with the history of those 15,000 settlers. It has been
under a species of " family compact" government that they have lived
for the ^ast fifty years, and therefore their determination not to be
" bought like sheep," or " made Irishmen of," is nothing more than
might have been looked for under the circumstances. Admitted, that
they took an extreme view of the opposition charge against the Ottawa
Cabinet, or perhaps more properly that they accepted what was written
against the government without the usual and necessaiy allowance ;
still the relative position of the parties is not altered ; the submission
of their intended policy to the half-breeds, and a pHin and thoroug7i.
explanation of it, were clearly incumbent upon the go\ smment. This,
however, was not done till the evil effect of their reticence had become
so marked, that when they proclaimed that a majority of the council
should be residents of the settlement, it was simply laughed at by the
half-breeds, who by this time appear to have thought that any such
majority would consisc of those who had contrived to make them-
selves particularly obnoxious to them and their interests. The settlers
appear to have expected that some such conciliatory and explanatory
measures would have been adopted. Being disappointed in this, they
the more readily listened to American sympathizers, and to the more
ambitious amongst themselves, who readily perceived the power placed
in their hands by the ill-advised and contemptuous silence of Sir John
A. McDonald and his Cabinet. The' at once availed themselves,
therefore, of every means to instil the most seditious doctrines into the
timorous and ignorant minds of the half-breeds : calling upon them to
resist the encroachments of an enemy bent upon despoiling them of
their homes, their heritage, and their freedom itself, or, as one of the
clergy put it, of their "faith and farms together." In such a com-
munity barely acquainted with civilization, but retaining a lively
recollection of a power whose history was to them little else than a
record of avarice, rapine and bloodshed, we cannot wonder when there
was no truthful representation of Canada's intentions : first, at their
easy yielding, and then at their firm detennination to resist every
attempt of their purchaser — as they termed Canada — to takejpos-
sesBion.

Nor Bhould we at this point forget, that though many of tb'^.

106

grievances of which the half-breeds complaiHed, were imaginary ; still,
it must be aduiitted that thoy have had some causes of complaint, and
those not so trivial as some have endeavored to make out.

In the first place, we will allude to that feeling which we find
referred to in tne London press, as follows : — " That the information
of the transfer or compromise having been eflfected, was the signal for
disaflfection and armed revolt." At the time such declarations were
first made, Canada uoes not appear to have given them adequate
weight ; for, though it seems to have been lost sight of at the time, we
find afterwards that liOuis Kiel's most determined movement, during
which he ventured upon the arrest of the late Governor McTavish, was
made on the ground that the half-breeds not being a party to the
transfer, it was null arid void, " and the territory held to be the pro-
perty solely of its present inhabitants." That this view of the ques-
tion was first disseminated by the Hudson Bay Corapany'a otticials in
the country, there appears little doubt, though it is not likely that,
when sowing the " wind," they anticipated the '• -yhirlwind." The
half-breeds themselves at length appear to have realized the extreme
character of the revolt, the point being decided against Kiel by a large
majority. They thus appear to have consented to pass over their
personal feeling at not being consulted, prior to the transfer, in return
for the practical benefits about to be obtained.

In the second place, they accuse the government of having sent
road-makers " under the cloak of charity," who swindled the settlers,
and necessarily produced a certain amount of dissatisfaction. This, it
is asserted, was another Hudson Bay Company operation ; but never-
theless, it produced an elfect. Again, we have it " that the primary
difficulties were rather of a personal than a political character, and
that it was the personal odiousness and unpopularity of some of those
who put themsalves forward as the especial representative* and expo-
nents of Canadian int»Tests that sowed the seeds of the whole trouble.
This feeling, we are told, was aggravated by the airs and insolence
towards the half-breeds of a few Canadian snobs sent there by the
Government on official business."

In substantiation of this, we have one correspondent naming a
Government official who should have known better, who, "after
having received the hospitalities of many families in the Settlement,
saw fit to ridicule in a public print, those who had entertained him —
to speak and write disparagingly of the settlers as a body, and the
ladies in particular." Then again, we find that a Canadian was.
horse-whipped in Fort Garry, for " ungentlemanly conduct j" and in
fact when we know the class of persons who were sent up by the
Government, and who assumed to be representatives of Canadian
manners and morals, and who withal took upon themselves to intimate
that there was not a man in the whole North West qualified to sit in
the council of Mr. McDougall : we are not surprised that gentlemen of
Fort Garry, and there are such in every sense of the word, should
have experienced something stronger than a distaste for things
Canadian, judging from the articles, — exquisites though they thought

107

themselves — that were sent up in the character of pioneers. Trifling
as this latter objection to Canada may appear, in the older Provinces,
where constant contact with the snob has made him rather a source of
auiusement than otherwise, it nevertheless appears to have caused an
inju.ious impression, which "taken in connection with the blundering
of the Government, produced a deep feeling of hostility and resent-
ment." In this way we find that public feeling was already aroused
before Colonel Dennis* surveying operations commenced ; and though
it has been asserted by many of the half-breeds themselves, that his
conduct on the whole was rather conciliatory than otherwise ; still, it
seems more than strange that, being so well aware of the increasing
disaffection that he gave prominence to it in his communications to Mr.
McDougall, he should order Mr. Webb to commence operations by
running a base line through the very midst of the most bitter of the
Prench half-breeds. The consequence of this step was that Mr.
Webb's men were stopped by a small party of half-breeds, headed by
Louis Eiel, who, on coming before the magistrate, refused not only to
gi\e any excuse, but any promise to allow the survey to proceed. After
some deliberation, it was decided to withdraw Mr. Webb from that
district. It was, whilst celebrating this triumph over Colonel Dennis
at Brousse's house, that the greater achievement — that of preventing
at all hazards, the approaching of Governor McDougall — was resolved
upon.

Another oversight of the Ottawa Government was shown in the
matter of the " Indian Claim." According to all precedent of the
Imperial Parliament, and by express injunction in the Royal Procla-
mation still in force, it was required that the Indian lands should b«
purchased or acquired by treaty, before occupation. This, it appears,
was thought unworthy of consideration — at any rate it was not acted
upon ; for we find one tribe of Indians contesting the right of immi-
grants to settle on the lands a short distance above Portage La Prairie,
and another part/ notifying Mr. McDougall of their rights. Whilst on
this point, no matter how we may disagree with Louis Eiel and his
party in other respects, we find that they systematically avoided
enlisting the fierce passions of the Indians in the strife, which though
only one of words, — with one lamentable exception — might not long
have continued so, had the Indian been allowed free license. For
this, however, so far as the reports go, we have wholly to thank the
residents of the settlement, and more especially the half-breeds. In
consequence of the Canadian Government's disregard of the injunction
■contained in the Proclamation, the settlers who went in the fall were
nothing but despoilers, though they themselves can hardly be expected
to have known it. The Indian title to the great portion of the
Territory (if not all, as some assert,) ^till remains perfect ; and before
the Government were justified in sending emigrants, or making sur-
veys, this should have been disposed of. If necessity required that
such steps should be taken before a treaty could be made, then a com-
munication stating the fact was due to the savage, who, on such points,
is as determined as his civilized brother. >

i 'Jj;

108

Hitherto, British rule in America has been distinguished by a
scrupulous regard for the rights of the Indian. Whatever wrongs the
native may have suffered at the hands of the Government and officers
of the United Statee, we have secured an enviable character in this
respect, by an unvarying policy, equitable, considerate, and straight-
forward. Our success has been attested by an American Consul, who
in an able report, directs the attention of his Government to the
splendid results of our administration of Indian affairs. The Indian
of the North West is loyal to the Imperial Government, and would,
with proper treatment, transfer his allegiance to the Dominion. Nor
when we remember their antipathy to the "long knife," can we sup-
pose a more eflfectual reserve for years to come, either to repel foreign
invaders, or to keep in check that notorious clique of sympathizers
who look upon everything British as deserving nothing short of utter
annihilation. Of course the "dark brother" may be an expensive
part of the bargain, but that ought to have been considered in the
compromise ; for the Hudson Bay Company did not, and could not,
extinguish the Indian claim, and therefore, Canada must meet it.
Nor will this be such a trifling matter either, when we note the price
of a similar claim in Minnesota, which was nearly $3,000,000. When
we consider that the Indian of the North West is as intelligent as his
southern neighbour, we must admit that he had a direct interest in
not allowing Mr. McDougall, through his agents, to act in an " unusual
manner."

To these causes of discontent were added, " misapprehensions" of
the circumstances under which Canada sought to make it a part of the
Domii ion." When we remember what a fine opportunity the Ottawa
Cabinet, by their reticence, had given to the Opposition press, it can-
not be wondered at that the insurgent party found sufficient arguments
in the Eeform papers, when somewhat distorted, to make out a very
fair case.

The Government organs may now assert that their policy was
stated, and this cannot be denied ; but when was it stated 1 Not
until the insurgents had organized to oppose what they understood to
be the Government policy — a policy which the Government would
not, or, at least, did not ".ondescend to repudiate at the proper time.
In looking back over the terrible mismanagement, this appears to
have been the worst blunder of all ; nor does it lessen it, in any de-
gree, to know that this " strange silence" was not occasioned by there
being anything in their intentions savoring of a " family compact,"
or anything which must necessarily have been kept dark. Their
policy may not have been so advanced as that of the Imperial Govern-
ment in 1 792 — they may not have wished to grant representative
government at once, as Colonel Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor
of Upper Canada, proposed when the population in this Province was
lees than that of the Red River Settlement at the present time, and
more sparsely settled. Still, any fair explanation of their intended
procedure, had they chosen to make it, would have sufficed to ensure
a firm support to the Council, serving avowedly as a preparative for

1. ,-^

109

•^ ■ >'

representative government. Tha such was then the intended poKcy,
there appears but little doubt ; b\it how was the press of Canada, how
were the people of Ked River to divine that intention '? Even grant-
ing that all parties were fully aAvare of it — h the intention alone of
the people at Ottawa a sufficient guarantee of fulfilment ? England
does not conduct her diplomacy in this way, and the residents at Red
River, while still loyal to the (^uoen, and desiring connection with
Canada, had a right to know more than the suoposed intention of the
Ottawa Cabinet, before submitting to its decrtoa. The evil, however,
did not end here. One devious step leads to another. The ball had
been started, and who was to stop it? Enquiry had been made, and
who was to answer it? •

The Hon. J. Howe, Provincial Secretary, was travelling through
the country in a semi-official character, but ho would not say what the
policy of the Dominion Government was to be. That was the Hon.
Mr. McDougall's duty, and he (Mr. Howe) was not paid for conduct-
ing the business of two departments. This being the situation of
affairs, it does not ajjpear at all extraordinary that the settlers should
come to the conclusion that the Canadian Government, in plain lan-
guage, desired possession, and would just send up Mr. McDougall,
with " something in his pocket," to arrange matters, and stay, without
as much as saying " by your leave." Such, it was asserted, was the
sum and substance of the Canadian policy ; and when we remember
how the half breeds have been schooled of late years, not only by
their suffering under the Hudson Bay Company, but by the insinua-
tions of designing Americans and ambitious residents, it becomes
quite easy to understand that they were not at all satisfied with an
assutfted intention, more especially so, as by acts of officials, acting
under the Government, they were not led to judge favorably of the
superior who was to come.

jtji

. : CHAPTER IV.

THB RED RIVHR REBELLION — PROORBflB.

Having thus endeavoured, in no spirit of hostility to the Govern-
ment, to indicate what appears to us to bo its chief mistakes in deal-
ing with the people of the North-West, we may at once enter upon a
narrative of the events in their order. It is to he regretted that wo
are not yet in a position to give a definitive verdict regarding the mis-
sion of Mr. Howe. The honourable gentleman's visit was undertaken
with a view of acquiring some knowledge of the wants and wishes of
the public, " so that the businesg in his office might bo naore judici-
ously carried on." The purpose wai certainly a laudable one ; but
how was it executed 1 It is obvious " that Mr. Howe," to use Mr.
McDougall's words, "might very easily, under the circumstances, have
paved the way for the entry of the Canadian Government ;" did he
endeavor to do so 1 We arei sorry to say, with all accessible evidence
before us, that we cannot answer this important question in the aflSrm-
•ttive. The honourable gentleman admits that even " the English
part of the population were uneasy and dissatisfied, and were discus-
sing the matter among themselves." What steps did ho take to dis-
abuse the minds of the people of their erroneous impressions] Instead
of addressing the inhabitants, as such a boasted master of rhetoric
might have done, he appears, according to his own statement, to have
deliberately abstained from doing so. '* He conversed," he tells us,
" :*Teely with all classes and orders of people :" and when his remarks
are quoted against him, characterizes them as "absurd chaff," "wittic-
'isms," or " general observations." Surely, if ever there was an occa-
sion when a sworn adviser of the C'rown should have given expression
to nought but serious and carefully considered opinions, this was the
one. That Mr. Howe was unequal to the grave emergency, we are
compelled to believe, for wo have it on his own admission. But a
much graver charge remains behind. It is alleged, on the authority
of s^eral Winnipeg officials, that, so far from indulging in mere ill-
timed badinage, the Secretary threw the entixe weight of his influ-
ence, and I'ihat of his Government, on the side of discontent and dis-
affection. He is represented as saying that "he entirely approved of
the cours'j the half-breeds were taking, and if they held out, they
would get all they wished. That Nova Scotia held out and succeeded
on no better plea. # * * That he would do his best for the half-
breeds in Parliament, * * * and that the settlement would pros-
per, if left to govern itself" These statements, if true, look very like
treaeon to Queen and country, with a darker fringe of unfaithfulness
to the sworn obligations of a Privy Councillor. There was only

Ill

needed, in addition, unauspectod treachery toward a colleague, and
the picture is complete. We hare it in the further report, that " Mr.
Howe alio told Mr. Bannatyne that Mr. McDougall was unpopular in
Canada ; and hinted at tlie probability that he would make himself so
if allowed to govern Ked River." The words in italics, if really em-
ployed by Mr. Howe, were probably suggested by that gentleman's
recollections of Macbeth, where the worthy Thane, being asked by his
still worthier spouse, at what time Duncan was to leave the castle, re-
plied, with a similar hint, — " To-morrow, aa he purposes." IJoth in
Scotland and iniCanada, the words fell on no unwilling ears, and were
followed in each case by murder and usurpation.

As we have already stated, however, these reports involve too seri-
ous an imputation upon the Secretary to bo accepted without the
strongest proof ; at the same time, its very gravity is the best of all
reasons for a most searching investigation. That Mr. Howe was not
incapable of prejudicing the people againt the in-coming Governor, by
means of inuendo, appears from his own version of words used by
him at Fort Garry. On being asked by Mr. Blake " if he" (Mr. H.),
" had counselled them not to resist, but to obtain their rights by con-
stitutional means ] " he simply replied by making an observation which
may have served as "^counsel " in the wrong direction, — " that if Mr.
McDougall teas a sensible man" (mark the insinuation) * he would
learn the views of the country, and govern himself accordingly."
These, be it remembered, were the terms in which Mr. Howe chose to
speak of a public officer of the Queen ; the Government representative
for whose appointment he was jointly responsible with his colleagues.
Is it any wonder that the people, of whose discontent this model
peace-maker was fully aware — and who were, in fact, on the eve of
armed revolt-=— should interpret his words as actually meaning, — " You
are quite right, gentlemen, go-a-head 1 "

Having thus accomplished nothing, unless it was mischief, by his
mission to Fort Garry, what do we find next 1 Mr. Howe met Mr.
McDougall " on the plains ;" did he give the latter the slightest infor-
mation regarding the actudl state of affairs, or offer him any advice re-
garding the course he ought to adopt on assuming Lbe reins of govern-
ment ? Mr. McDougall was surely entitled to this much as a matter
of courtesy, leaving the question of duty entirely out of view. For-
sooth, Mr. Howe could not think of " keeping the Governor and
family in the cold " to inform him of the " dangerous state of affairs,"
though it appears there was considerable time occupied by the, Secre-
tary in proving that the soil was " excellent," and the climate " ex-
ecrable." Nor could he, it seems, prevail upon himself to part with
his friend and ex-colleague, even though the storm was blowing in the
face of the Governor's party, till he had indulged them with a ctory
about "floating across a river through the ice." There was, iiowjver,
another and shorter story about some iced-champagne, the slightest
allusion to whi^^h would have been of much greater importance t > Mr,
McDougall at the time; that Mr. Howe did not think fit to comn^^ini-
cate. Mr. Howe does not appear to have alluded to tha disaffection,

112

cither facetiously or otherwise, though he could have given invaluable
information, which, as Mr. McDougall says, ho would '-willingly have
turned back to receive." That Mr. Howe failed to do this, we have
his own admission, with an excuse so trivial, that it does not deserve
a moment's consideration in view of the impending calamity, which,
from tirat to last, ho appears to have treated as a fit theme for jesting.

So much, then, for Mr. Howe's share in this history of blunders.
Visiting tlio territory ostensibly as the avani rouricr of the new
government, he systematically abstained from preparing the way
for it. Advised of the misapprehensions which prevailed, he
made no effort t(j remove them. Aware of the disaffection which
had already, on the 4th of October, jirovcd an obstacle to the survey,
he deliberately concealed from the Governor the alarming state of
affairs. The Secretary admits that he did nothing ; his enemies
allege that he ditl mischief. An old saw tells us — ** it is better to do
nothing than to do niiscbief ;" but there was a third course — the best
of all- which C'luiiala had a right to expect at the hands of Mr.
Howe — to do his duly. That most assuredly he did not do; and the
consequence was, that the country })roke out into open rebellion
almost immediately after he had left it.

Another feature in the insiiriiiotion was the .attitude of the H. B.
Company and its olftcials. It Avould have been perhaps too much to
expect any cordial assistance from them. Men do not like to surren-
der power ; and never look with favoiiring eyes xipon those who
supplant them. The utmost that could be asked of the out-going
rSgime was, that it should place no obstacle in the way of a peaceable
transfer ; and as far as possible ensure it, by firmly maintaining law
and order until it had taken place. Governor McTavish and his
associates have been charged with instigating the revolt. This may
or may not be true ; one thing, however, seems clear — that they
made no vigorous effort to discourage or check it. They evidently
disliked the Canadian Governor, and perhaps the Canadian Govern-
ment ; and the best that can bo said of them is, that they let things
take their course, utterly heedless of results. They said " no " so
gently, that the half-breeds construed it a^ " yes." N'ow it must bo
admitted that this undignified neutrality may have been partly caused
by the gratuitously insulting manner in which the Company's officers
■were treated during the negotiations. We cannot help thinking that
the appointment of Mr. McDougall was an unfortunate one. He
was the most active member of the delegation to England, and
unquestionably deserves credit for the earnest zeal with Which he
pressed the claims of Canada. At the same time, the bitter attacks
he appears to have made upon the Company and its agents would
have sufficed to make him their personal enemy — even if they had
not been galled by the premature exultation with which he boasted
that ho was to be the first Lieut. -Governor. Moreover, after the
appointment had been made, Mr. McDougall treated Governor
McTavish with coldness until he found himself expelled the terri-
tory, and hoped to re-enter it by the aid of the man he had despised.

-» r

< m V

113

That there was no lov« lost between tlie two polcntiitcs is evident
from the report of Mr. Jiannatync, that, " when in the Council of
Assiniboia, ho heard the Governor of tlio Company Hwtar heavily at
Mr. McDougall " after reading a letter froui him urj^'ing the isHtie of a
" law and order" proclamation. Tln! iudiiferonce and quasi liostility
of the Hudson Iky (!ornpany thus resulted, in great mf-asure, from a
pure feeling of personal enmity. IJe that us it niiiy, this " masterly
inactivity " of theirs has eost the Dominion over ^ 1,800,000, besides
that portion of the exi>ens(! whicli devolves uj)()n the Imperial
(Jovornment. It appears, therefore, that something like tlie hardened
impudence of conscious guilt must liave prninpted tlie ( 'om}>any to
demand pecuniary compensation for damage lone and goods ajtpro-
prir.tod by the insurgents, as well as interest at 5 per cent, on the
£300,000 from December 1st, 1869, to the date of actual payment.

The arguments of the delegates when in London, conclusively
prove that the Hudson ]>ay Company had virtually no riglit or title
to the soil. They had simjdy a "claim," or more i)roperly an
'* interest," which interest the Canadian ( lovernnient were willing to
purchase for £300,000, in addition to the land reservations — clearly
on the understanding that tlio Company were to ensure our peaceable
possession of their claim or interest. N^ow they were either in pos.sea-
sion, or they were not. If the former, the transference was a direct
necessity to their fulHlment of the contract ; if the latter, then their
acceptance of the .£300,000 was illegal, and their title to the reserva-
tions lapsed to the people of the North West Territories. Xor does
this view of the case appear to have escaped the notice of Sir Staftbrd
Northcote, Governor of the Hudson Bay Company, who, in apparent
trepidation, — the danger of a collision being immnient — wrote to Earl
Granville, that, " it is most undesirable to leave matters in their
present undefined position," — which undefined position he almost imme-
diately defines as follows : — •' That the committee cannot recognize, in
the circumstances which have occurred, any reason for the Dominion
Government delaying the performance of the engagement * * *
and causing the stipulated price of the land to be handed over to the
Company," and thereby ho might have added relieve them from the
responsibility. But to this view, Earl Granville dcmuiTed, stating in
substance that the Canadian Government urge a temporary delay in
proceeding with the transfer, from a conviction of the present situation,
and not from any desire to repudiate or postpone the performance of
any of their engagements ; adding, " that it would be impolitic to put
nn end to the only existing authority in the country, and compel
Canada to assert its title by force ;" he also believing, " that a short
delay in the completion of the contrac, thowever in itself inconvenient
may be more than compensated by ensuring that the surrender is
finally effected with full consent and agreement of both parties
interested."

From what has been already stated, the reader will observe that,
even during the initiation of the movement, elements of disorder were
at work, eminently unfavourable to what the malcontents termed

(rV

"CaDadian domination." E^en amongst the better class of the half-
breeds of both sections, there i^as :;; feeling of jealousy at being passed
over to "played-out Canadian politicians" as they were pleased to
characterize the members of the Privy Council. The Company's
officials who could have removed any false impression, held grandly
aloof until it was too late, preserving that contagious silence which
unaccountably seized the Hon. Prov. Secretary also, as soon as he
had crossed the boundary. Such beini; the relative situation of the
parties at the commencement of thd emeute, we shall find little
difficulty in tracing briefly its rise and progress ; for although contem-
porary reports were somewhat confused and conflicting, the main facts
of the case may be readily gleaned. To many, a sketch of the insur-
rection may seem trite and iminteresting, still, a history of those event-
ful months is necessary for our purpose, and we believe, will be accept-
able to those who have not yet seen it in a collected form.

" Ever since the commencement of the last negotiations for the
transfer of the Territory to the Dominion of Canada;" we are told,
■*a few individuals disloyal to the Queen, and claiming relationship
south of tho boundflTy, had been exceedingly busy in their efibrts to
create a spirit of opposition to the proposed transfer among the people."
With the ^.'igliah-speaking part of the population, these persons appear
to have .jee "ouerally unsuccessful. To the comparatively favorable
recept' .1) -x.ou arguments met with from the French half-breeds, we
were m a great measure indebted for the incipient rebellion at Eed
Eiver. To the latter, the arguments of the sympathizers appealed
more forcibly. They were told that, by the entrance of the immi-
grants, the free and roving life to which they have become passionately
attached, would at first be restricted, and eventually stopped. The
English-speaking people, on the other hand, were less moved by such
a prospect, as they had of late years been turning their attention to
farming in preference to the chase ; still, we find that they, from
jealousy at being passed over in forming the Council, " were only
desirous of preserving the tranquillity of the colony, and destitute of
any enthusiasm in the mat^ter." Such being the prevailing tone, we
find that " throughout the autumn, reports were in circulation of move-
ments among the French half-breeds, and Sunday public meetings
were held by that section of the people, which ended apparently in no
practical purpose." Still, the ball was kept rolling ; week by week
the malcontents became less reserved ; and the interest taken by the
people more marked." The loyal portion of the community, though
they well knew that such meetings were being held, seem to have been
totally unable to counteract their influence, and contented themselves
with preparing quietly for whatever emergency might arise, so soon as
Mr. McDougaU, who was shortly expected, should enter the Territory.
Prior to this event, however, the insurgents represented themselves as
being constituted into a corporate body, called the " Republic of tho
Half-breeds," of which John Brousse was President, ar 1 Louis Riel,
Secretary. On the 21st of October, they took possession of the high-
way at St. Norbert's, nine miles south of Fort Garry, and subjected all

115

outgoers and incomers to a rigid search. On the 25th of October, a
meeting of the Governor and Council of Assiniboine was convened, at
which these people attended ; but all the attempts of the Council to
dissuade them from their course were unavailing. They de^antlj
asserted that they would not become "the colony of a colony."
" Further attempts to move the half-breeds from their resolution, were
persevered in through the agency of the members of the Council
belonging to their own class, but still w ithout effect. The Eoman
Catholic priesthood as a body, refused to interfere; but the parish
priest of St. Norbert's openly countenunced the insurgents."

On the 2nd of November, Mr. McDougall crossed the boundary
into the British Possessions, and next morning was forced to return
to United States Territory. From this date up to the 16th, there
appears to have been a great amount of talking and writing, without
much action, on the part of the people of the Settlement. In fact,
they appear to have been as much astonished at their own temerity
as the rest of the world. At the latter date, however, they once
more commenced operations by holding another meeting ; at which
there appears to have been a certain desire manifested for an amicable
adjustment of the difficulties, not only regarding the grievances of the
half-breeds, but also as to the course they should pursue touching the
expelled Governor. The delegates, who had written instructions
from the inhabitants of their respective parishes, attended in force.
The names of those acting were as follows : — French side : Frangois
Dauphinie, Pierre Poitras, Patrice Breland, Pierre Laviellier, William
O'Donohue, Andre Bucheman, Pierre Paranteau, senr., Louis La Certe,
Baptiste Touron, Charles Nolan, Jean Baptiste Perrault, John
Brousse, President ; Louis Eiel, Secretary. English side : Henry
McKeuney, H. F. O'Lone, James Ross, Maurice Lowman, Dr. Bird,
Donald Gunn, Thomas Bunn, Henry Prince (Chief of Saulteaux
Indians), Eobert Tait, John William Tait, George Bunn, John
Garrioch.

A discussion took place as to the propriety of keeping Mr.
McDougall out and of resorting to arms. It was carried on for
several hours ; when, not having docided on fviiy course, the meeting
adjourned till the next day. In the mean time, Governor McTavish's
proclamation, calling upon the disaffected to lay down their arms and
submit to the Queen's authority, appeared ; and at the meeting on the
1 7th it was, after some opposition, permitted to be read, when after a
very short discussion, the Council again adjourned till the 22nd, no
course having yet bee'i decided upon. At the third meeting the
question arose as to Mr. McDougall being allowed to enter the Terri-
tory. The proposition advanced by the English section was, that he
should be allowed to enter, on condition that he would not assume the
governorship "until the rights of the people were respected and
granted." To this the Louis Eiel party demurred, and waxing warm,
" declared as a body that Mr. McDougall should not enter the Settle-
ment unless over their dead bodies." After which outburst of
passion, we are told the meeting adjourned till the next day. Before

the hour of assembling, however, news was brought that the French,
having seen that " war " could not be conducted without " munitions,"
had seized the cash and books of the Government of Assimboia, and
had taken forcible possession of the Fort. This intelligence, as may
be expected, rather disconcerted the English delegates, who, however,
at length decided " to go and see what the new aspect of affairs
meant." At this, the meeting of the 23rd, on the strength of the
seizure, it may be presumed, the question as to 7tfr. McDougall's
entrance was laid aside, and " the advantages and disadvantages of
coufederation -with Canada " came up for discussion. Now, at this
stage of the revolutionary proceedings, it may be well to note that
the great majority werfs satisfied that their best and only course was to
go into the Dominion with the rights of British subjects, and the
tariff and other regulations of Canada modified to meet the peculiar
circumstances of their case." Then arose the question — what form of
government should be established until arrangements were com-
pleted 1' Here the great difficulty appears to hav3 occurred ; for, on the
French announcing their intention of forming a " Provisional
Government " to upset the Hudson Bay Company's rule, the English
made some strong protests, and the meeting broke up in confusion,
after making an arrangement to meet again on the 1st of December.
Before tbo time arrived, however, it appeared that a serious disturb-
ance was apprehended from false rumours of a counter revolution
circulated by designing persons ; and, for the sake of humanity and
peace, an effort was made to unite the two parties. Accordingly it
was agreed that the rule of the Hudson Bfiy Company be permitted
to continue as usual, until the Queen's Proclamation had been issued ;
further, that, in the meantime, an " Executive Committee " should be
forijfied of representatives from all parts of the Settlement, whose
duty it should be to treat with Canada for the rights claimed by the
people. This proposition, though at first a.greed to by the French,
was at last rejected in favour of the pet idea of a " Provisional
Government," Avhicli had at least the virtue of a comparatively high
sounding title. . .

I ' :i 1.

!";;. ' .1'

M - ' .r

I •{ , 'l

CHAPTER V.

- • • THE RED RIVER REBELLION — SUPPRESSION. - :

On the 1st of December, Mr. McDougall decided to assume the
offensive. Accordingly, ou that day lie issued a proclamation announc-
ing the transfer of Kupert's Land and his own appointment of Lieu-
tenant-Governor ; and, at the same time, gave to Colonel Dennis a
commission " empowering him to attack, arrest, disarm, and disperse
armed men disturbing the public peace ; and to assault, iire upon, or
break into houses in which these armed men were to be found." Be-
fore inquiring into the motive or justification of these acts, it seems as
well to note in the first place their immediate effect in the settlement.
At no period, since the outbreak, do the people appear to have been
more favorably inclined to submit to the Queen's authority through
her representative. The great bulk of the settlers were dissatisfied
with the uncertainty that pervaded every relation of life ; and minor
jealousies and rivalries were beginning to manifest themselves amongst
the staunchest supporters of the Provisional Government; still though
these circumstances were concurring to heal the breach, it must not be
forgotten that the opposing influences were yet at work, and that, by
thorough organization, they had so far succeeded in frustrating every
attempt of the unorganized majority to proclaim their intentions. As
an instance of the better feeling which prevailed, we find that at the
meeting on the 1st of December — -the one which so speedily broke up
on the report of Mr. McDougall's Proclamation — the English haU-
breeds refused to accept the Provisional Government, and were waiting
patiently in the anticipation that the French would quarrel amongst
themselves, and thereby strengthen the position of the loyalists.
That the body dispersed immediately on receipt of the news was to be
anticipated, and it is stated that the " majority decided to obey the
call of Mr. McDougall," while even the French " were for the time
disconcerted." That tliis favorable turn in affairs continued for some
little time seems certain, as it appears that the " loyal whites and half-
breeds began rapidly to rally, having occupied the Stone Fort; while,
on the other hand, the insurgents were beginning to disperse, and had
withdrawn their forces from the printing office and other places in the
town of Winnipeg." A still better authority we have in Mr.
McDougall's triumphant despatch to the Secretary of State, dated the
6th December, with the vaunt that the " enemy now melts away before
a proclamation and a conservator of the peace." That Mr. McDougall
continued to labor uiJer the delusion of his success for a few days
longer, was perhaps fortunate for all concerned, as about the 10th of
the month it appears to have been admitted by all, no doubt by the

118

Governor himself, that " only evil " was *' to be apprehended from the
action of Colonel Dennis under his commission." Perhaps, to th«
very fact of defeat following so quickly upon the heels of his boasted
success, the Governor's " accepting the situation " so resignedly, is
greatly attributable. In fact there was hardly sufficient time for the
realization of his good fortune before he was too well assured that the
half-breeds had re-assembled to the number of 400. What the eiFect
•^f the Proclamation might have been had Mr. McDougall entered the
'territory with the Colonel, we need not stop to enquire. It certainly
was the height of indiscretion to commission that gentleman, who had
acquired such objectionable prominence through his surveying opera-
tions. The few facts in connection with the Colonel's incursion are
easily told. After issuing what was termed his " war" proclamation,
ho occupied the Stone Fort with about 50 Cree Indians, and, in its
neighbourhood, organized and drilled the loyal English and Scotch
half-breeds. This warlike attitude, however, lasted but for a few days.
Then disbanding his force, and issuing his " peace" proclamation, the
Colonel returned to his chief, after having accomplished more injury
to the cause of Canada, by the Stone Fort warfare, than had been
accomplished since the commencement of the emevte.

As has been seen, Aiel's party during this time had not been idle.
The brief period of confusion on their part, in the beginning of De-
cember, soon gave place to action. The Proclamation was denounced
as " premature and illegal," and accordingly the " daubs of bad writ-
ing" — the French, it seems, are always critical — though duly avouched,
were 1' oked upon as so much waste paper. The most bitter feelings
were cherished against Mr. McDougall by the French, for attempting
to delude the people, while even the English and the Scotch were
rendered lukewarm by what appeared to them an undeniable piece of
assumption, both impolitic an 1 illegal. In point of fact, they con-
sidered it to be virtually a declaration of war in an Indian country.

Having thus indicated the original causes of discontent, let us now
inquire how far the Hon. William McDougall was responsible for the
overt acti of rebfUion afterwards committed. Something very like
fatality cnpears to hang about the questions here involved. During
the session of 1870, Mr. McDougall himself was stricken down by
disease, at the very time when he w»s naturally anxious to make the
necessary explanations. This year, not to speak of the absence of the
Premier in Washington and the hasty manner in which the business
of the session was dispatched, the hand of sickness was laid upon the
Hon. Mr. Howe, and thus again the promised explanations were de-
ferred. Meanwhile, two pamphlets have appeared, which we presume
may be taken to contain the cdse on each side respectively. The first
(from the press of John Lovell, Montreal,) is attributed to Sir Francis
Hincks; indeed, to those who know the Finance Minister's style, it
can hardly be said to be a matter of doubt. It is entitled th« "Hon.
William McDougall's Conduct Reviewed," and puts the case against
the unfortunate ex-Iieutenant GoTemor as strongly as it can be put-
rather too strongly, eveb for a thorough-faced casuist. The other

is a reply from the pen of Mr. McDougall himself. It is, on t.ie
whole, a satisfactory vindication of the hon. gentleman's acts and
motives, although we must say we felt some disappointment at not
meeting an explanation of one or two facts prominently put forth in
the Government pamphlet.

Let us endeavour to state the case fairly on both sides. We have
referred to the matter of the survey in a previous chapter ; there is no
necessity, therefore, of recurring to it here, further than to rerord our
conviction that Sir Francis Hincks, if, indeed, he was the anonymous
pamphleteer, has made a most disingenuous use of the documents at
his command. In fact, throughout this brochure, there is [constantly
displayed so glaring a perversion of dates and documents that th .
reader never feels safe so long as he treads upon the treacherous ground.
For example, the Hon. Mr. Howe arrived at Fort Garry on the 9th of
October, and, on his return, met Mr. McDougall going thither. Sir
Francis Hincks claims that "on a reference to dispatches and dates, it
will appear that Mr. Howe must be exonerated from all blame :" that
is regarding his alleged " sympathy with the disaffected," and " con-
cealment of information" from Mr. McDougall. Will it be believed,
that the very documents quoted by the pamphleteer, themselves con-
vict the Provincial Secretary 1 " There has been during the autumn"
wrote Governor McTavish to the Hudson Bay Company, a few days
after the departure of Mr. Howe, " considerable agitation among the
Canadian half-breed population, &c. They seem to have been fully, if
not correctly, informed of how the Government was to be composed ;
and they eeemed to think their interests would be overlooked, and
their religion interfered with." Mr. Howe m.ust have ascertained
these facts from Governor McTavish ; did he venture to explain mat-
ters to the malcontents, or did he inform Mr. McDougall of the
danger? «He did not. "On the 4th of October," (we quote the
pamphlet), " several days before Mr. Howe's arrival," Colonel Dennis'
surveying party were stopped ; of that Mr. Howe must have been
aware ; what effort at pacification did he make 1 None ; he did not
even take the trouble to speak with Mr. McDougall on the subject,
three weeks after. About the time of Mr. Howe's arrival, " application
was made to Father Superior Lestanc, the Vicar-General of the
Diocese," to interfere in the cause of law and order. He declined,
alleging as a reason — ^that " an idea possessed the half-breeds, that tha
Company was in collusion with the Canadian Government, and that if ,
they got the idea that the Church was also in sympathy with that
Government, the clergy would lose their influence over the people in a
religious point of view." Now it seems hardly credible, nevertheless,
it is the fact, thAt this extract, which indicates clearly that if Father
Lestanc had any sympathies at all they were with the insurgents, is
quoted " to exonerate Mr. Howe from all blame." A moru feeble de-
fence could hardly have been made.

We have now to inquire how far Mr. McDougall was justified in
issuing the Proclamation and Commission of December 1st. It is
unfortunately th« case, that the despatches of Mr. Howe to the €rOT-

120

emor were always written about a week after they could have been of
service. That of the 19th November tells Mr. McDougall, "you can
claim or assert no authority in the Hudson's Bay Territory until tiie
Queen's Proclamation, annexing the country to Canada, reaches you
through ..his office. It wiU probably be issued on the 2nd December,
and will bo forwarded by a safe hand as soon as received." This
despatch reached Mr. McDougall on the 6th December — five days too
late. So with regard to that of the 29th N 'vember, set out in the
Government pamphlet, which has really no bearing upon the matter
at all.

The clearest evidence against Mr. McDougall is furnished by his
own pen. Thus, in writing to Governor McTavish, November 7th,
ho says : " I shall remain here till I hoar officially of the transfer ef
authority, and shall then be guided by circumstances as to what I may
say or do." Moreover, in a despatch to Government, 13th November,
Mr. McDougall says : " The recommendation that I should issue a
Proclamation at once is not made for the first time ; but I have uni-
formly replied that, until the transfer of the Territory uas taken place,
and I am notified of the fact, I shall not assume any of the responsi-
bilities of government." So again : — " I expected to hear bythis
time that the transfer had been agreed to, and the Imperial order in
Council passed. If I do not receive notice of this order in a few days,
I shall bp much embarrassed." Clearly, then, Mr. McDougall's origi-
nal intention was to, await intelligence from Ottawa of the actual
transfer. It, therefore, seems almost inexplicable why he changed his^
mind, and issued his Proclamation of December Ist. The pleas put
forth in his pamphlet are not wanting in plausibility, but they have
too much the air of having been manufactured after the event. The
Hon. gentleman urges that the date of transfer was agreed upon before
he left Ottawa ; that Sir Curtis Lampson, Deputy Governor, informed
him that the date originally fixed, was finally resolved up5n ; that
Earl GranvillO; in his latest despatch, had settled upon the same date ;
and that Governor McTavish had been duly notified. All this is
doubtless true ; but it does not explain why Mr. McDougall, after
protesting so strongly, in the middlo of November, that he would not
issue a Proclamation until advised of the transfer, actually did issue
one on 1st December. The evidence that he adduces in justification
of his actual course, would undoubtedly have been more convincing
had he not so frequently asserted his belief that the issuing of thvj
Proclamation would be indefensible. On the whole, we venture to
record our conviction, that, as a reply to the Government brochure,
Mr. McDougall's pamphlet is satisfactory, but as a defence of his own
consistency, by no means clear.

Returning again to the half-broods, we find that after the proclama-
tion and commission had proven failures ; after the English and
Scotch loyalists had disarmed, and the Canadian loyalists were in
prison ; after the Nor' -Wester had been stopped, and the first bill-of-
rights had been issued, there arrived at Fort Garry as commissioners
Yicar Thiebaiilt and Colonel De Salaberry. That these gentlemen did

121

not succeed in eftecting more than the Secretary of State in his " voy-
age of discovery," appears quite clear ; unleas we credit them with
preparing the people for the entrance wf Mr. Donald A. Smith, who,
holding a prominent position in the Hudson Bay Company, was
chosen by the Ottawa Cabinet as their commissioner ; and judging
from the reception of this gentleman by the settlers, we seem o see
the '* beginning of the ending," though Louis Kiel still raised his
objections. At the mass meetings held on the 19th and 20th of
January, wo are told that thd interest was so great, even on the first'
day, as to what Mr. • Smith's propositions would be, and what his
powers were : that the discussion took place in the open air — the num-
ber of people being so great — ^and lasted five hours. The documents
produced were the " instructions" to Mr. McDougall from the Secre-
tary of State ; and the letters brought from Canada by Vicar Thiebault
and addressed to the Bishop of Rupert's Land and Governor
McTavish.

Tlie meeting of the second day was even larger than the first, the
proceedings being marked throughout by a " friendly spirit," and a
strong desire for a peaceable adjustment uf the difficulties, though the
actual business accomplished may be said to be shown in the follow-
ing motion : " That twenty representatives be elected by the English
settlers to meet twenty French representatives, on Tuesday, the 25th,
at noon, at the Court House, to consider the Commission and decide
what would be best for the welfare of the country."

At the convention of the 25th, which was carried on with closed
doors, except to the clergy, Judge Black was elected chairman,
William Coldwell and Lewis Schmidt, secretaries ; Idessrs Ross and
Kiel, translators. On the motion of Riel, it was agreed to translate
-Mr. Smith's papers. Other preliminaries having occupied most of
the second day, on the third, the convention was addressed by Riel,
who called attention to the importance of Mr. Smith's commiss'on,
saying, " There were ample grounds in that document for the belief
that Canada was disposed to do us justice." Mr. Ross followed,
taking the same grounds, and strongly advocating a reconciliation
with the Canadian Government. At this point in the proceedings the
Chairman and Mr. Ross urged the reading of the " Government of
Canada's Proclamat u as to their duty as British subjects;" but this .
for the time was objected to, though when Mr. Smith, on the motion
of Louis Riel, came before the convention, he was loudly cheered,
receiving, in fact, quite an ovation.

Mr. Smith having suggested that the " desires of the Convention"
should be as definitely placed before him as possible, that he might
the more fully reply, the proceedings terminated, after some discus-
sion as to whether the old Bill of Rights or a new one should be
submitted as a basis, the following motion by Riel having first been
passed. It was moved, " that a committee composed of three English
and three French meet at the Court House on the 28th, to draw up a
Bill in accordance with the wishes of the people, ample time being ..
allowed the Committee to frame such a Bill well." Carried. The

122

following CoEimittee were then appointed : — Thomas Bunu, James
Eoss, Dr. Bird, Louis Rid, Louis Schmidt, and Charles Nolan. Tlie
following is the Bill of Rights, as submitted to the Convention : —

" In the event of the country,entering tho Dominion as a Teiri-
iory, the people demand —

"1. Present 4 per cent. Customs' duty to continue till uninter-
rupted communication shall have been secured with 8aint Paul.

" 2. During this time no direct taxation shall be levied except by
Local Legislature for municipal or other local purposes.

" 3. All military, civil and other public expenses connected with
the General Government to be defrayed by the Dominion.

" 4. Territory to be governed by Canadian Lieutenant-Governor
and Legislature of 15 Local representatives and 5 Canadian officials.

" 5. When the Territory becomes a Province, it shall be governed
by a popular Legislature and responsible Ministry under a Lieutenant-
Governor appointed by Governor-General.

" 6. Dominion Parliament not to interfere in Winnipeg more
than in other Provinces.

" 7. Governor's veto to be overborne by two-tliirds vote.

" 8. A Homestead and Pre-Emption Law.

"9. $15,000 per annum appropriation for schools, roads and
bridges, while the country is a territory.

" 10. All public buildings to be at the cost of the Dominion
Treasury. *

"11. Railroad to be guaranteed to I^ke Superior or Pembina
within five years after Confederation is effected.

" 1 2. Local military force to consist of natives only, for four
years.

" 1 3. English and French to be used in Courts and Legislature.

" 14. Judge of the Supreme Courts to speak both languages.

"15. Indian treaties to be made.

" 16. One member in Senate and three in Lower House,
Dominion Parliament.

" 17. All existing rights and privileges to be confirmed.

" 18. Between two miles and four miles back from the river,
instead of being held by settlers as hay-growing ground, to be held
in fee simple.

" 19. Civilized British subjects, over 21 years, and foreigners,
householders of three years' residence, to vote.

" 20. North- West Territory not liable for the Hudson's Bay
Company's £300,000.

The Convention liwing debated on iiese, at length decided to
modify Nos. 1, 4, 9, ll, 16 and 18, and withdraw No. 12. Upon
submitting them io the Commissioner, Mr. Smith, as to the amended
bill thus presented to him, intimated his belief that all, or nearly
all, of the items would be granted by the Dominion Government.
The Convention then proceeded to elect a Provisional Government,
which, it was announced, was not only to rule in the North-A i^'est till
the Ottawa Cabinet, first having agreed to the Bill of Rights should

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establish its aulliority ; but there also appear to have been certain
powers assumed, sufficient for the purpose of legalising a general elec-
tion of the Council, when every male resident, over twenty-one years,
was to have th(^ privilege of voting for a Kapublican Government, pro
tern. The officers -"hosen by — or more properly in the case of liiel,
forced upon the Convention — as constituting the Provisional Govern-
ment, were Louis Kiel, President ; James Ross, Chief Justice; Thomas
Bunn, Secretary of State ; Louis Schmidt, Assistant Treasurer, and
O'Donoghue, Secretary of the Treasury. The delegates to proceed to
Ottawa in company with Vicar Thiebault, Colonel De Salaberry, and.
Commissioner Donald A.. Smith, were Father Ilichot, Mr. Scott, and
.Fudge Black.

These arrangements being con^^eted, and the delegates being
guaranteed tlieir (expenses to Ottawa, Messrs. ^rcTavish, (^owan and
IJannatyne, who had been arrested, were released, and the settlers
looked forward to a peaceable settlement of the difficulty. Such an-
ticipation, however, appears to have been of brief duration ; for, on
the 11th of February, a few days after the adjournment of the Con-
vention, a party of French attempted to arrest one William Dease ;
lie, however, escaped, but eight persons who were in the house were
taken prisoners. This act, from the prominent position (tf Bease
among his neighbours, revived all the former 1-ears, and spread a gen-
eral gloom over the settlement. However, fourteen of the prisoners
confined in the Fort being released the following day, the excitement
again so quieted down that IMonsieur Le President Eiel's furnishing
Dr. Cowan's house as a " royal residence," Avitli Dr. Schultz' fur-
niture, was treated as a huge joke. J5ut such feeling of security was
almost immediately dispelled, and this time by the loyalists of Portage
la Prdlrle, St. Andrews, and lower down the settlemctit. They, it
seems, had arisen with the avowed object of releasing tlie remainder
of the prisoners, though the ulterior object Avas the deposing of Iliel
and those delegates of the late Convention wlio had submitted to him.
That the loyalists had decided on this step after due consideration,
appears from tlie fact of the large number of moii that they had at one
time together. Of course the ligures, as tlien given, cannot be relied
on; but it was stated that in the vicinity of the Stone Fort, or on the
march to it, there were 700 to 1,000 loyalists. TJiis may be exag-
gerated, but we find from the same authority that the French ortly
numbered about GOO ; however, it must not be forgotten that the in-
surgents Avere not only in fortifications, but, as Louis Eiel sajd,
'' they would wait to be attacked." Tlie imminent danger of an en-
counter caused the President to liberate the prisoners, they having
been prevailed upon to agree with the conditions required by the
Provisional Goyernment. This news being communicated to Major
Boulton's party, they, after some bitter discussion among themselves,
decided to disperse. And it was in returning to their homes that the
Portage la Prairie party, having to pass Fort Garry, were taken
prisoners.

Among those thus unfairly taken, through breach of faith, was

121

Thomas Scott, afterwards shot by command of Kiel, on the miserable
subterfuge of having broken his parole, but in reality because the
outspoken bravery of his nature mado him vehemently assert, on all
occisions, his detestation of Eiel ^nd his party. Thai this was a
" mistake" on the part of Riel — which, according to some, is " worse
than p crime," the sequel clearly shows. The act was as illegal as it
was inhuman, and created a feeling of abhorrence in the Eed Eiver
Settlement only exceeded by that so univt "aally expressed in Canada,
He undoubtedly thought, that by compromising his party by this overt
act of bloodshed, they would necessarily (to ensure their own §afoty),
follow him to any extreme, even to that of attacking the British and
Canadian troops. But if such was his reascinfng, he greatly erred, as
with the murder of Scott, his own power received its death-blow.
True, he for some considerable time afturwards continued to hold high
revel at Fort Garry, but those who had joined with him to secure hheir
rights, remained not to assumt, the rebponsibilHies of his atrocious act.
Such intention was so manifest that oven the arrest of the delegates,
MesevB. Eichojt and Scott, on the arrival at Ottawa, on the charge of
being accessories to the maider of Thomas Scott, caused but little ex-
c'.iement in ho S'3ttlement. This, however, may be in a measure
attributable to theii* release following so quickly their arrest, and in
part to the intiniation that the provisions of the Manitoba Bill "would
be all that even they could desire." Nor, judgijig by the manner in
which the Bill was received by the former supporters of Riel, does
such assurance appear to have been anything but too well founded.

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CHAPTER VI.

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PBOTIKOB OF MANITOBA.

THE

The provisions of the Act constituting the Province of Manitoba
may be briefly stated as follows : — In this we have the Province as
shown on the map, extending to the 99th meridian, that is to say,
three degrees or 180 miles from east to west, and one and a half
degress or 90 miles from north to south. In common with the other
Provinces of the Dominion, Manitoba — except in so far as affected
by this Act — is subject to the provisions of the British North
American Act. In the first instance, the new Province is to be
represented in the Dominion Senate by two members, but when it
shall have a population of 50,000 it will bo entitled to three senators,
and four when the population increases to 75,000. In the House of
Comnp.ons it ia to be represented until 1881 by four members, and on
the completion of the decennial census in that year and afterwards its
representation will be adjusted according to the terms of the British
North American Act. The four districts, each of which is to. elect
one of the aforesaid members, will be defined in a proclamation of
the Governor-General The Executive of Manitoba is to consist of
a Lieutenant-Governor and five Councillors, and the seat of Govern-
ment is to be at or within a mile of Fort Garry. The Local Legis-
lature of the new Province will be formed by two Chambers ; a
Legislative Council — for the first four years of seven, and after that
of twelve members appointed for life — and a Legislative Assembly of
twenty-four members, representing as many districts, are to be speci-
fied by the Lieutenant-Governor. Such Legislature to sit for four
years, unless in the meantime dissolved by the Lieutenant-Governor.
The electoral body will comprise all male persons who are twenty-one
years of age, and not subject to legal incapacity, they being bona fide
householders and British subjects, either by birth or naturalization,
and having resided in the Territory for one year previous to the
issuing of the writ of election. But these enactments only apply to
the first election, future ones having to be provided for by the Local
Legislature. The records and journals of the two Houses, the Acts
of the Legislature, and the pleadings of the Courts of Law are to be
printed in both the French and English languages. The New
Province, not being in debt, will be entitled to interest at the rate of
five per cent, on $472,000. Thirty thousand dollars will be paid by
Canada for the support of the Government and Legislature ; and a
further sum of 80 cents per head, on a population estimated at 17,000,
to be augmented after the decennial census of 1881, and subsequent
decennial periods, in proportion to the increase of the popidation,

126

itatil it reaches 400,000 souls. Tho Dominion, in addition, pays iho
Lieutenant-Governor. Judges of tho Superior and County Courts,
Customs Department, Postal Arrangements, Protection of Fisheries,
Militia, Geological Survey, Penitentiary, and such other chargen aa
may i)crtain to the General Government. Tho present Customs duties
are to contimue in force for three years. All ungranted or wasto
lands, except those reserved by tho Hudson Bay Company in accord-
smco with tho terms of tho Act by which they surrendered tho
Territory, arc to be administered by the Government of Canada ; and
the lands, amounting to ono million, four hundred thousand acres, set
apart for tho extinction of tho Indian Title, or in other words for the
benefit of tho lainilics of half-breeds, arc also to be controlled by thr.
Governor-General in Council. All grants of land in freehold made
by the Hudson Bay Company, prior to March 8, 18G9, will be con-
firmed. The same rule will apply to grants of estates less than free-
hold, as well as to all titles by occupancy under the license or
authority of the Company, in that part of the Province where the
Indian Title has been extinguished. Further than this, all persons
in peaceable occupation of tracts of land where tho Indian Title has
not been extinguished arc to have the right of pre-emption. Under
regulations to be made by the Governor-General, the Lieutenant-
Governor is also to adjust, on fair and equitable tenns, all rights of
common and cutting hay hitherto enjoyed, or for the commutation
thereof by grants from the Crown. It is specially enacted that no
law shall be passed by the Provincial Legislature, injuriously aflfecting,
in any way, denominational schools, either Catholic or Protestant.
An appeal against any Educational Act that infringes upon this
proviso, will lie to the Governor-General in Council ; and, if powersi
are required to enforce his decisions, the Parliament of Canada may
be invoked to compel due compliance by an Act for the purpose.
The other tenitories, lying beyond the narrow confines of the Province,
will be governed by the Lieut.-Governor of Manitoba, act?>'.^ under
a further and distinct commission from the Governor-General.

Such, devoid of mere technicalities and formal clauses, being the
provisions of " the Act to establish and provide for the Government of
the Province of Manitoba," we were led to anticipate the general satis-
faction with -which it was received ; nor at all astonished that a tacit
understanding should have been adopted, that agitation of any kind
was not only unnecessary but unadvisable, until after the arrival of
the Lieutenant Governor. Still there remained the echoes, as it were,
of the many rumours that had so materially assisted to keep the coun-
try in its former state of dread expectancy ; but these in general did
little narm, while the report that Colonel Wolseley was the bearer of
an amnesty for Louis Kiel and his principal supporters, appears to
have been beneficial rather than otherwise, as no action was taken by
these former usurpers of .authority, probably in the belief that such
was the case. On the morning of the 24th of August, however, whea
his ex-Excellency heard the bugles of tho fastly-approaching regulars,
he appears to have thought that his pardon was not forthcoming, and

127

tLat to be simply Ix)\ii8 liiel beyond Fort Garry, was better than to
remain an imprisoned President within it. As to his muvementa 8inc«
that time, wo have numerous though varying reports; none of which,
however, contain anything of further importance than that he was in.
hiding near the boundary line, having for companions a few of liis old
followers.

Adverting briefly to the opinions and actions of the ImperiaF Gov-
ernment during this period of making " not very agreeable history," we
hnd that during the first stages of the revolt, the belief of Her
Majesty's Ministers was that the difliculties had mainly arisen through
the precipitancy and ill-advised measures of the Canadian Government
and its appointee. Nor does it indeed seem that such opinion is yet
changed, at least as to the statesmanship prior to the revolt ; for,
though l^rl Granville has alluded on several occasions, in very flat-
tering terms, to the action of the Dominion Government since th«
time of the revolt ; still, there appears to be nothing that can be so
construed as to give them a "character" prior to that time. Even in
one of the latest of these laudatory despatches to Sir John Young, that
of the 18th of May, Earl Granville only says, in giving an account
of what has passed to the House of Lords, " I had much jjleasure in
acknowledging publicly the singular judgment, decision, and concilia-
tion with which your Government has acted since thi» unfortunate
outbreak." All of which praise seems to be merited by the Ottawa
Cabinet, as to what was done after the unfortunate outbreak, for there
are few but agree witli His Lordship that the Canadian Government
did exhaust every means — some of which were very questionable — of
" explanation and conciliation before having recourse to force." More-
over, the tone of such despatches being so marked from that of those
whicli had preceded tlxem ; and this, too, before all the facts could
have been before Her Majesty's Ministers, we may perhaps bo right
in accepting their being made " publicly," as much with the view of
ensuring future amity between ourselves and the former insurgents, as
■ of compliment to the (Canadian Government. But be this as it may,
we find this was of much -more import to the future of these Provinces,
at the time, that the Imperial Government were willing to endorse
such Imperial countenance by material assistance and support, suffi-
cient to establish the authority of the Dominion in the North- West.
The negotiations regarding the sending of the troops, having continu-
ed for some time, on the 23rd of April, the following ultimatum as to
Imperial co-operation was received by Sir John Young, from Earl
Granville.

" On the following conditions troops to advance. 1. Kose to be
authorised to pay j£300,000 at once, and Her Majesty's Government
to be at liberty to make transfer before the end of June. 2. Her
Majesty's Government to pay expense of British troops only, not ex-
-ceeding 250, and Canadian Government the re^t, sending at least 500
trained men. 3. Canadian Government to accept decision of Her
Majesty's Government on all points of the Settlers' Bill of Eights.
4. Military arrangements to be to the satisfaction of General Lindaay."

128

On the 28th of April, Sir John Young asked for 390 of Her Majesty's
troops, instead of 250, as proposed by Earl Granville ; he, on the
part of the Canadian Ministry, engaging that throe-quarters of the
whole cost rf the expedition should be paid by Canada. On the 30th
Earl Granville accepted this proposal, p'»/ided the Canadian Govern-
ment, in other respects, accepts his ot tne 23rd, which does not ap-
pear to have been directly answered.

Of the expedition itself, nothing need be said but that it was a
success. And when we remember the difficulties that were overcome
and the dangers that were encountered, both of which have been so
jninutely and graphically portrayed by the correspondents who accom-
panied the troops, we think that the greatest praise, both to Coknel
Wolseley and those under him, is found in the simple fact that the}'
were successful. For a time, even after the arrival of the expedition,^
the same general apathy before alluded to, appears to have continued ;
bat this, at length, gave place to a certain animation, when the question
of an address to the Lieutenant Governor began to be discussed.
Archdeacon McLean first submitted one to his parishioners, drawn
principally on the basis that the futu'-e prosperity of the Province
would be best secured " by forgetting the past." In this view, how-
ever, Drs. Schultz, Lynch, and some of their friends did not at once
coincide. To the more moderate we were indebted for the very
able and considerate addresses that were presented, through the ma-
jority of which, the extreme opinions of one party are greatly modified
by the language of the other. In the replies to these, the Lieutenant
Governor adopts the same moderate and conciliatory tone ; he, on
every occasion, evincing his unmistakable desire " for the people," as
he said, " to turn your eyes rather fcrward than backward, making it
your first duty to aid in the organization of the country and the
establishment of peace and good order."

In his several Proclamations the same spirit ever predominates, he
going so far as, in his appointment of Justices, to confer the honor
upon some who had sat in the Council of Louis Eiel. True, there
was some considerable objection to this act of extreme conciliation, as
it was called ; but the prevailing principle being that of ** compromise,"
the somewhat violent protests found only a very moderate support.
Of course different people take different vi;ws of this "zeal for. con-
ciliation;" but, in the main. Governor Archibald has the support of the
great majority in the older Provinces, and when we find that the same
may be said of the settlers themselves, we are led to believe that in
his onerous and responsible position he has adopted a wise and prudent
course. Such a course will eventually make the North-West Terri-
tories — rich in^all the requisites of wealth and prosperity — the fairest
portion of the British American Confederation.

The Canadian Government has at length explained it? policy re-
garding the lands "vested in the Crown and administered by the
Government of Canada for the purposes of the Dominion ;" these
regulations will be found in the Appendix. This po .:y appears to
have met with general app obation from all parties, amended as it has

■'^A

129

l>«eii at the luggestion of Mr. McDougall and the Manitoba represent-
atives. We cannot conclude this part more appropriately than with
the words of Lieutenant Goyemor Archibald : —

" The fate of this country — the North "West — is in the hands of
its own people. Let wise counsels prevail ; let the people devote
themselves to the task of developing their great resources in a spirit
and with an energy worthy of the mighty heritage which has fallen to
them ; and then may we fairly hope for that blessing which a kind
Providence seldom withholds from efforts well intended and well
directed."

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APPENDIX A.

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UANITOB^ LAND REGULATIONS.

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On the 2 nil of March last, the Government issued a set of legula-
lations regarding the lands in Manitoba. These rules were afterwards
amended, upon the 29th of April, in several importanL ^oints: —
First, The period of occupation is shortened from five to three years ;
secondly, naturalized citizens are made equally eligible with native-
born subjects to receive patents ; thirdly, no condition of settlement i.<
requisite for volunteers ; fourthly, the road allowance is widened from
a chain to a chain and a half ; and lastly, the option is given to settlers
■on prairie lands, to acquire suflBcient wood-land to supply them with
building material and tiring. The scheme, as thus amended, may be
shortly stated as follows :

1. System of Survey : — The system of survey shall be rectangular ;
the townships shall consist of 36 sections of one mile square each,
and road allowances ; the international boundary shall form the base
for townships ; the meridian lino run in the autumn of 1869, for some
90 miles north from the international boundary line, and known as
the "Winnipeg meridian, shall be adopted and continued as the meri-
dian from which the ranges of townships shall number, east and west,
in the Province.

2. Lands for the Half-Breeds :— The distribution of the 1,400,000
of acres, appropriated under the Manitoba Act, for the benefit of the
families of the half-breeds. Every half-breed resident of the Province
of Manitoba at the time of the transfer thereof to Canada (the 15th
day of July, A. D. 1870), and every child of every such half-breed,
sh;-ll bo entitled to participation in tha 1,400,000 acres — the most
liberal construction being put upon the word ** resident."

No conditions of settlement shall be imposed on grauts made to
half-breeds in pursuance of A. provisions of the Act referred to ; and
there shall be no other restrictions, as to their power ot dealing with
their lands when granted, than those which the laws of Manitoba may
prescribe.

The Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Manitoba shall
"designate the townships or parts of townships in which allot-
ments to the half-breeds shall be made, ard the mode of
alloting those lands shall be as follows : If not already obtained,
an accurate census shall be taken to determine the number of
persons who may be entitled to participate upon such class; the
number of acres to which each may be entitled shall be ascertained ;
the number and area of individual grants having been ascertained, the
land selected by the Lieutenant Governor for the purpose shall be

131

divided up accordingly ; tickets shall be piopared, each to contain
thereon a description of the lands intended to satisfy the particular
«laim, for which a book of record shall bo prepared ; then, everything
being prepared, the tickets may be put into a box, and the Lieutenant
Governor shall draw them at random. Claimants of the ago of 18,
and over, shall receive their patents without unnecessary delay, and
minors, on arriving at that age ; in the settlement of Crown Lands,
unappropriated public lands shall, until further directions, be open for
sale, at the rate of $1 an acre in cash.

3. Pre-emption Eights : — Any person, being the head of a family,
or a single man above the ago of 21 years, who has made, or shall
hereafter make, a settlement in pers6n on the public lands, who has
inhabited and improved the same, and who has erected, or shall erect
a dwelling thereon, may have himself entered with the land-officer of
of the division in which such land is, for any number of acres, not
exceeding 1 60, or a quarter section of land, to include the residence of
the claimant; and being a subject of Her Majesty by birth or natur-
alization, may obtain a patent therefor, upon paying to the Crown the
price of such lands.

4. Homestead and Volunteers' Rights : — Any person who is tho
head of a family, or who has attained the ago of 21 years, shall, after
the 1st day of May, 1871, be entitled to be entered for one quarter
section, or a less quantity, of unappropriated public lands, for the pur-
pose of securing homestead rights. "With respect thereof, each officer
and man of the Ontario and Quebec battalion of rifles, now in Mani-
toba, shall be entitled to a free grant of one quarter section. No other
person shall be entitled to more than one homestead right at any time ;
and after tho first of May, 1874, the Governor may withdraw from
the operation of the above system, to the width of three town-
ships on each side of the line, then sanctioi^ed for the Intcr-Oceanic
Railway.

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:r,.;\ , ,. ) : ; APPENDIX B. \ -..^ ,!, i,,. :

EMIGRATION AND TRAFFIC COMPANIES.

Of the companies which have been recently formed to foster emi-
gration to the territories, the first place must be given to the North-
West Emigration Society. The objects of this Association will be
readily understood by a reference to the duties of the Executive Com-
mittee, as presented in its constitution : — " It shall be the duty of the
Executive Committee to procure ^nd direct the publication of infor-
mation as to the best and cheapest routes for emigrants to the In orth
West, to make arrangements with railway and steamboat lines for a
system of through tickets for passenger and freight, to encourage the
formation of Emigration Companies, to appoint proper agents en route,
to establish Branch Associations throughout the Dominion, to com-
municate and make arrangements with the General and Local Govern-
ments for the prompt settlement of emigrants upon lands in the North
West, and generally to take such measures as may be lawful and ex-
pedient to accomplish the objects of the Society."

The Company has been active in collecting information ; and when
it is remembered that it comprises prominent men of both political
parties, such as the Hon. John Murrich, Hon. William McI)ougall»
Hon. M. C. Cameron, Dr. CannifT, W. H, Howland, Walter McKen-
zie, Q. C, and others, united for a common purpose, we have a certain
indication that the Company will conscientiously carry out its proposed
objects. From the materials collected by ibis Society, we gather the
following facts and figures as to the route via St. Paul ; but the regula-
tions and price of the other routes having been modified since- the
issue of their last circular, it will bo necessary to state the new ar-
rangements. ,

The route to which the Emigration Committee apparently leans, as
at once the most expeditious and suitable for emigrants having families,
is as follows : — Toronto to CoUingwood, via Northern Railway ; thence
to Duluth by steamer ; thence to St. Paul by rail ; from thence to
Twenty-five Mile Point on Red River, by stage ; and from thence to
Fort Garry by steamer, down the Red River. The cost for passengers
by this way will be as follows : — First class, to Duluth, $22.50 ; to
St. Paul, $25.00 ; to Fort Garry, $50.00. This fare from Toronto to
Fort Garry, includes meals on Canadian steamboats. Second class, to
Duluth, $12.00 ; to St. Paul, $15.00 ; to Fort Garry, $37.50— ex-
clusive of meals. ^

The only other routes to Fort Garry, claiming attention from emi-
grants, are those by Northern Railway and Lake Superior steamers to
Fort William and Duluth respectively.

' k

133

The first of these — that by Fort "William, or what is termed the
Canadian or Dawson's route — will be open for traffic by the end of
May. On this, according to the Government intimation, emigrants
will bo forwarded from Toronto to Fort Garry at the extremely low
rate of $30, and freight at a correspondingly low figure. In a great
part, this route is the same as the former — from Toronto to Colling-
wood, by Northern Ilailway; thence by steamer to F^^t "William.
Thence diverging from the former route, 40 miles by waggon road to
Lake Shebandowan j and thence by boats and steamers to the .North
"West Anglo of the Lake of the Woods ; and from thence, over a
Waggon road, to Fort Garry, a distance of between 90 and 100 miles.
On this route the steam launches have already been tried, and are
found to be admirably adapted to the purpose required, making some
eleven miles an hour, which is a good speed for vessels of the kind.
The Department of Public Works is working hard to ensure that every
thing shall be in running order, and the Canadian route to Fort Garry
rendered expeditious and comfortable. The Minister o:'' Public Works
has appointed Mr. Arnold mechanical superintendent of the route be-
ween Lake Superior and Red Kiver, and a large and efficient force has
already been despatched, to insure the thorough completion of the
route.

The other route, that of the Lake Superior Eoyal Mail Lii.e, pro-
ceeds by way of Duluth to Fort Garry, in connection with the North
Pacific Railway and the steamers on Red River. As far as Duluth,
we follow the same line as in route No. 1 — from Collingwood by the
steamers Manitoba, Cumberland and Chicora, which are intended to
form a bi-weekly line between Collingwood at one extremity, and Du-
luth at the other — then by the Northern Pacific Railway from Duluth
to Dakotah City, on Red River, and thence by steamer to Fort Garry.

On the first of July, when the North Pacific Railway will be com-
pleted to Dakotah City, the Company will be enabled to make con-
nection between Toronto and Fort Garry within eight days. The
price of passage for emigrants by this line, although slightly in advance
of the Fort William, or Government route, will be amply compensated
for in the difference in time.

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APPENDIX C.

HINTS TO EMIGRANTS.

From various sources, we compile the following advice to those
intending to make the North West their future home : — If the emi-
grant be a tradesman or professional man, he must nevertheless be able
and willing to farm, in case no other opening should offer upon his
arrival in the settlement. It must be borne in mind that the exhaus-
tive labor of clearing land is unnecessary in the North West. Nature
has provided much for the settlor there. The vast prairie, with its
virgin soil and its luxuriant pasture, is before him, productive beyond
any Canadian experience, and capable of sustaining innumerable
droves of cattle and horses. One yoke of oxen breaks up the turf
everywhere, and men can be hired in the settlement to plough the
virgin soil for five dollars per acre. If the emigrant has a large family,
he ought to leave behind such members as are sick or infirm, or unable
to assist him in the new country, until he has fairly established him-
self in his new home, when he can send for them. If a man of
family, he ought to take with him from Ontario not less thaij "^SOO
cash, inclusive of the necessary outfit. Single men may get
along very well with $200 to $250. Emigrants ought to take farming
implements Avith thera, but had better confine themselves to such as
are absolutely necessary, such as ploughs, harrow teeth, scythes, &c.,
unless tliey can afford to take through patent rakes and seed drills,
mowers and reapers — which indeed are almost a necessity, and can be
used everywhere in the North West, Threshing machines can be .
purchased in Minnesota. It is well to remind the emigrant that he
will be at no expense in building a barn for storing his croj). The
• dryness of the climate admits of the stacking of grain in the fields,
where it is also threshed out.

Major Wallace, who was for some time a resident of the country,
has condensed his views regarding stock raising, as followji ; —

" The country all along the Assiniboine is especially suited to the
raising of stock. It would not be advisable, in our opinion, to adopt
the Australian system of ranges in this country. That system caused
trouble there, and so it would here. What we want is population,
and it would never do for a man or a company to possess themselves
of an UP" jasonably large tract of country to the exclusion of others.
Besides, it would be of no object in stock raising, as your cattle can
range and feed over the limitless prairies back of the farms.

" Hay Avould require to be cut in the summer, for winter use.
JSI one other but the natural grasses are used in ^his country ; and
thousands of acres of unoccupied prairies are in waiting for the mower
of the industrious farmer.

" Cattle are fed and housed for between five and six months in the ■
year.

135

■f

" Stock farming can be carried on on as large a scale as you wish.
You can feed as many catilo as you can cut hay for. Of course you
would have more trouble than you would in Texas, but then their
relative value per head would more than compensate you.

" There will be no difficulty in finding a market for your stock for
some time to come.

" Good cows are worth from £5 to £7 sterling. Oxen from £Q
to £10. Horses from £15 to £25. There is a good demand for
horses, and any one paying attention to tlie improvement of tlie breed,
jy the introduction of good blood, would do well in raising horses.
Don't know the price of sheep."

Labor and Chances of Employment : — Tliero is an opening for
every class of tradesmen and mechanics. A limited number of the
foUoAving would find immediate employment : Blacksmiths, carpentei-s,
painters, bricklayers, plasterers, shoemakers, carriage-makers, tinsmiths,
practical engineers — that is, men who understand the manufacturing
of the steam engine — millers, and brick makers. At present there is
no cabinet factory in the country ; neither is there a foundry ; only
one tannery, no brick manufactories, no woollen mills, no flax mills,
no soap factories, no potteries, no oatmeal mill. Good wages are paid
framers, carpenters, and plasterers — $2.00 to $2.50 per day, and board
is not more than $4.50 per week. The manufacture of household
furniture, from the difficulty of carriage, would prove very lucrative.
Useful laborers have obtained at the rate of $1.00, with board. Of
course, in a new country like the North West, fresh openings are con-
stantly presenting themselves for all kinds of labor, skilled and un-
skilled. Manufactories of various kinds are either projected, or in
course of construction — such as breweries, grist mills, flouring mills,
cabinet, tobacco, and agricultural implement manufactories. There
will, therefore, be no lack of employment for ci;iy number of men,
willing to adapt themselves to the requirements of the country.

Living and Prices : — Some articles, in immediate demand by the
settlers, bring very exorbitant prices. For example, lumber is quoted
at from sixty to seventy dollars per thousand feet, and that not of the
best quality. The demand now being so great for building material
in and around Fort Garry, incoming emigrants have adopted the
plan of procuring their lumber at Fort Abercrombie, and other points
on the Red River, and floating it down to the settlement. By this
means, the price of lumber has been reduced one-half, and Mie cost of
transport considerably lessened. . , >' . ' '

The latest market quotations, this spring, are as follows :■ — Wheat,
$2.25 per bushel; barley, $1.30 ; beef, per hundred, $10.00; pork,
per hundred, $17,00 ; butter, packed, 38c per lb. Poultry, and other
farm produce, at a correspondingly high rate — pr itoes, for example,
averaging 50c per bushel, the year round. When it is stated that the
cost of growing crops in Manitoba is only one-half what it is in On-
tario, it will be seen that these prices are extremely remunerative to
the farmer — a sufficient proof that those Avho go to the North West,
with a view to bettering tlieir fortunes, will hardly fail to secure an
abundant return.

1871.

LAKE SUPFHIO I

ROYAL MAI iUNE.

Saint Paul, Fort Garry, Duluth,

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K«Sk

FOKT avilli-a^m:.

■■-.i\) '\

THE ROYAL MAIL LINE OF STEAMERS FROM QUEBEC
AND MONTREAL, daily in connection wiJh the NORTHERN RAIL-
WAY OF CANADA, and the magnificent, first-class, upper cabin,
Royal Mail Steamers CHICORA (Capt. McGregor), CUMBERLAND
(Capt. Pollock), MANITOBA (Capt. Symes^, will form a bi-weekly
line from Collingwood.

^^ SEE FUTURE ADVERTISEMENTS FOR DAYS OF
SAILING, calling at

"BBTTCS MZXTES, SAT7LT STE. 3&CABXE, FOBT
WIZ<LIA3ff, AND DT7LT7TB,

• Making direct connection at Duluth with the Lake Superior and
Mississippi Railway for

Saint Paul and Minneapolis,

And all points West, North, and South. — The Saint Paul and Pacific
and the Northern Pacific Railway for all points in

Red River Country and Fort Garry.

Passengers by this route will find that for comfort, health, speed, and
cheapness it cannot be surpassed, affording to the pleasure-seeker,
tourist, and invalid the opportunity of viewing the most picturesque
scenery in the world, on the waters of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior,
comprising a journey of 850 miles of uninterrupted water travel.

For the Rates of Passage and through bills of lading apply to G. E.
JACQUES & CO., and ALEX. MILLOY, CANADIAN NAVIGA-
TION CO., Montreal.

Also, for STEAMER CHICORA, No. 8 Front Street, Toronto..
STEAMER CUMBERLAND, No. 50 Front Street, Toronto.
STEAMER MANITOBA, N. R. Co., Brock Street, Toronto.

Adaxn. Holpb., Tordxito,

General Agent.

NEAT.

CHEAP.

RAPID.

^ ^^^ *

Nos, 94 & 96

«b

Yonge Street,

TORONTO, ONTARIO,

AND GENERAL

JOB PRINTERS

Publishers of

The Canadian Builder

AND MECHANICS' MAGAZINE,

CNd: o nsrT£3:ij"5r .)

Is divided into the followinjj dciiartmsjita :— Architecture and Building ; Surveying ani

Engineering ; Scientific ; Metal Workers ; Stone and Brick ; CaiTiage and Waggon

Makers; Woodwork; Painters; Inventions, &c. Each department is edited by

gentlemen engaged in the profession or trade treated of, therefore the whole

is thoroughly practical and reliable.

Terms— 50 Cdnts per Annum, in Advance.

All Communications, Remittance!!, and Orders, should be Addressed to

SFLL, BABZSB ft CO.,

Printers • I'uulishers, 96 Yonge-St., Toronto.

''0ir^- .,■■*''

'1 ^*^"'

. '^»':.

'**»' '-.',■*■*■

R. S. WILLIAMS & CO..

MANUFACTURERS OF

And mielodeons in all Styles.

GENERAL AGENTS FOR UNION PIANO COMPANY, NEW YORK.

^ OFFICE AND WAUEROOMS,

143 Y03V0E HTREET, TORONTO.

STEAM FACTORY, HAYTEll STBEET. ♦

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