BRITISH COLUMBIA AND SOME REFLECTIONS
A man might try to describe the Rockies as he sees them from the
railway; but he could not succeed. Let me content myself with an
ungrateful reflection. The through traveller in that astounding region
is sated with scenery—bored with beauty. A hundred grand mountains,
entrancing valleys, noble rivers, bewitching glades, and glorious
waterfalls—that quantity would leave you still exclaiming, still in an
extremity of enthusiasm. But when you have experienced a sunny day and
starry night of peerless panorama, and find there is yet more to come, a
heaviness comes over your senses. Because the eye has been debauched,
the numbed brain can no longer receive definite impressions. In a feeble
revolt, and hungry for contrast, you long for a sight of something ugly,
like a row of London suburban villas.
Among the mountains there are halting-places of luxury, loveliness, and
slippered ease. One of these is Banff, where you may swim in an open-air
bath of sulphur water, which flows soft and warm from fiery entrails of
the earth. On certain stretches of the line, trains pause beside pretty
buildings, where fountains play in gardens ablaze with blossoms, and
where in dainty observation-towers telescopes give you intimacy with the
stretches of eternal snow high overhead.
[Illustration: BIG TREES IN VANCOUVER, B.C.]
Constantly in the hurrying waters of fairy rivers one sees the
dismembered trunks of trees—some jolting onwards to be butchered into
planks, the respited majority stranded on rocky islands or sandy shores.
The trees of Canada are apt to excite one’s sympathy. You pass acre upon
acre of mountain side that has been swept by prairie fires. They are a
pathetic sight—those black, leafless forests of carbon. Some of the
abbreviated trunks remain erect, some lean at perilous angles, some are
prostrate. The ground is strewn with ashes and sorrow. In those regions
of blackness and death, I saw no moving thing, save only, on occasion, a
yellow flying grasshopper—a creature that flutters forward slowly,
makes a grating noise. Conspicuous among plants that push their way
through the desolate ashes is the great willow herb, commonly called the
“fire rod.” Settlers tell you it appears only on land that has been
swept by fire; but there is another justification for the very
appropriate name. The spike of ruddy blossoms suggests flame, while the
clouds of feathery seed resemble smoke.
The living forests are as inspiriting as the dead forests are
depressing. Canada has vast tracts dense with majestic trees, which grow
bolt upright to give one another room. In the island of Vancouver, that
richly favoured region, I journeyed for hours, in the makeshift rolling
stock of a mining railway, through an interminable paradise of lofty
trees and lovely undergrowth. Sometimes we zig-zagged on a switchback
track right up mountain sides; sometimes we crept cautiously along the
edges of deep ravines. Away beyond the forest-wrapped island lay the
Pacific Ocean—a broad stretch of soft blue.
Man looks a poor little thing in a forest. But, while incidentally
unafraid of grizzly bears, he exercises over the trees a dominion as
absolute as it is tyrannical. Far in the land of shadows and moss I came
upon two specimens of my species—mere dots of creatures less than six
feet high—who were assaulting a Douglas fir which, with a girth of
three yards, rose to an altitude of over a hundred feet. This is what
was happening: Standing on spring boards lodged in the trunk some four
feet from the ground, they were working their saw towards a V-shaped cut
previously chopped on the other side. I was encouraged by example to
stand a few yards from the toilers, and facing the back of the saw. The
tree, for all that it leaned slightly in our direction, was destined to
fall—everybody was positive—on the other side.
A few years ago some men were felling a tall tree in a London suburb,
and they worked for many hours with saws, axes and spades, likewise
employing an elaborate tackle of ropes; but in the end that tree came
down in an unintended direction, doing mischief to a cab horse. My brain
was busy with this memory as, with head thrown back, I watched the top
of the Douglas fir. It was at least some comfort to reflect that, if
human judgment proved at fault, one would see the thing coming, and
there should be time to dodge the danger. “She is moving,” someone said.
I watched intently. Yes, she was—but how gently, slowly, and silently.
No one spoke. Without a tremor, that one tufted tree top went on moving
softly towards the other tufted tree tops that were motionless, and the
direction of the fall was fulfilling prophecy. In the lapse of seconds,
slowness became speed, and silence gave place to thunder. Creaking and
groaning, the murdered monarch went crashing through the crowded company
of his fellows, who seemed to yell with pain as their limbs were bruised
and torn by the helpless falling form, which struck the ground with the
report of cannon. Under the soles of my feet I felt the earth heave, and
then came the gentle patter of a shower of branches.
[Illustration: FRUIT-PICKING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA]
Perspiration was streaming down the hairy chests of the woodmen. They
told me why they waste so long a stump. The base of the tree is charged
with resin, which proves an obstacle to the saw. They also told me that
they can “throw” a tree in any direction with precision. Man’s mastery
over these wooden giants is, indeed, complete. Elsewhere in the forest
we saw a felled tree of formidable dimensions girt about with steel
wire, which extended through the undergrowth to a raised platform beside
a railway line. Presently from that platform there came the hullabaloo
of escaping steam and revolving wheels, the steel wire tightened, and
the huge bulk was hauled with contemptuous ease through the wilderness
of ferns and shrubs. At an incline of stout logs some show of resistance
was made, but the engine gave a vicious snort, and the poor old tree,
jerked out of his momentary anchorage, was dragged without ceremony on
to the platform. Anon we saw noble firs subjected to further
indignities, they being either towed or shoved by a locomotive along a
timbered track. Still later we beheld them drawn from the water into a
saw-mill, whence they emerged as clean yellow planks, which were loaded
into a steamer soon to depart for Liverpool.
There are growing communities of luxurious families who—in both senses
of the phrase—live on fruit ranches in British Columbia. They dwell in
paradise, and find it pays. But I have qualms about advertising their
felicity. The existence seems to be altogether too restful and romantic
to be deserved by mortal man. Instinctively I find myself recommending
to my friends the prairie homestead rather than the British Columbia
orchard.
* * * * *
Life on the plains is delightful enough in all conscience. It is good to
wander in the sunny prairie, looking at the flowers, birds, and insects.
Swallows and blackbirds occur in clouds. Pairs of milk-white doves float
amorously by. There are rooks far in excess of the farmers’ wishes. You
will occasionally see a robin that is larger and lankier than the
English kind, suggesting a tiny eagle. In Eastern Canada I saw many
sparrows, and Professor George Bryce, of Winnipeg College, told me these
adventurous little immigrants have spread across the continent within
his memory. They were introduced from England by ladies who, in 1880,
made pets of them on Boston Common. Around Portage la Prairie I saw
humming birds—sprightly scraps of gorgeousness. Prairie chickens and
pin-tailed grouse are never far to seek. On almost every stretch of
water you see cosy companies of wild duck among the lilies and rushes;
while geese, swans, pelicans, herons and snipe may there be seen.
In sheltered places the little garter snake makes his home. When
Winnipeg Penitentiary was being built, the workmen discovered thousands
of these harmless reptiles in a neighbouring cave. Minks, weasels,
squirrels, badgers and gophers are common enough. The gopher is a grey
little creature something like a rat and more like a squirrel. He has
the queerest way of squatting bolt upright upon his haunches, and
staring defiance at passing carriages and trains. Often he holds a stalk
of bearded grass in his mouth, and this gives him a comical whiskered
appearance.
Frequently in the great grain district one sees the “French weed”
(_Thlaspi arvense_), which seeds in silver discs. It is the farmer’s
chief pest, being highly prolific and difficult to eradicate. In France,
its native land, this innocent-looking member of the mustard family
grows within decorous bounds, giving no trouble to agriculturists, so
that French visitors to Canada resent the ill-will it there excites. The
wild mustard, accidentally introduced in wheat imported years ago for
cultivation, is another agricultural nuisance, though it works less
havoc than the native thistle—a bright-hued offender. A while ago the
Russian thistle filled farmers with fear, but stern measures were taken,
and it has been exterminated. Many a flowery stretch of land owes part
of its beauty to the wild oat, a frail, fluffy growth whose seed sails
for miles at the impulse of the gentlest breeze.
* * * * *
I think Canada’s chief charm is her people, with their delightful
freedom from snobbishness and their sense of the dignity of labour.
Prime Ministers of Provinces give themselves no airs of superiority,
and, so far as manner is concerned, there is nothing to distinguish a
railway director from a railway porter. One class, however, does seem to
occupy a position of some superiority. I refer to shoe-blacks. It is not
in my heart to begrudge them their exaltation of spirit. They are
artists. Canadians, not particularly concerned about dress in a general
way, have agreed in attaching great importance to a well-polished boot.
In the haphazard British Isles almost anyone is considered capable of
applying blacking and brushes to footgear, but in Canada the operation
ranks as an art, whose professors are understood to have been born with
their special aptitude. Britishers on a first visit to the Dominion
mechanically place their boots outside their bedroom doors on retiring
for the night. How the bell boys smile! The desired end is not to be
attained that way. In the morning you must go yourself, with your boots
on your feet, to one of the palatial saloons where the art is practised.
The result, attained by protracted and cunning exertions, is sure to
surprise and please you. Nay, in the joy of finding your boots
transformed to mirrors, it is likely you will not bewail the substantial
fee demanded.
It is, by the way, a curious feature of the country that it dispenses
with small payments. A box of matches, a newspaper, a tram ride—for
each of these, five cents is the charge. A bronze coinage exists, but it
can hardly be said to be used; indeed, in the west, shopkeepers refuse
to accept it. The only thing you can buy for two cents, so far as my
experience goes, is a postage stamp of that value. But note the happy
significance of this disdain of coppers. Money is a utility constantly
accessible to all classes in Canada, every form of manual and mental
labour yielding in that country an easy margin beyond the living wage:
wherein lies the difference between Great Britain on one side of the
Atlantic and Greater Britain on the other—between the small country at
the zenith of its development and the large country that offers
ever-widening opportunities to industrious humanity.
Of what the Dominion is, and of what it will become, I have attempted to
afford some glimpses in this book, which haply may assist in stimulating
young Britons to cross the sea and enter into their inheritance. And
with Canada’s expansion we may dream of the day when our Empire, grown
strongest on the North-American continent, shall join with the sister
democracy of the United States in leading the world to universal peace.
INDEX
A
Acadia, settlement in, 12
Agricultural pests, 261
—— possibilities in the North West, 134
—— produce of Saskatchewan, 195
—— prospects in Northern Alberta, 223
—— —— in Northern Saskatchewan, 195
Agriculture, height above sea level, its relation to, 39
Aix la Chapelle, treaty of, 12
Alberta, 222
——, coal in, 177, 187
——, gold in, 178
——, undeveloped state of, 133
Alaska, coal in, 188
Angling, Quebec’s famous, waters, 43
Animal life in Northern Saskatchewan, 201
—— —— in the Great North Lands, 227
—— —— on the prairie, 260
Antimony, where found, 179
Appalachian region, minerals of the, 181
Arsenic, where found, 179
Asbestos, discovery of, 34
——, location of quarries, 179
——, value of annual output, 42
Ashwapmuchuan river, experiences on, 38
Assiniboine, 236
Athabasca river, richness in bitumen, 186
——, salt deposits in, 186
B
Bad Lake, plunder and bloodshed at, 24
Banff, 256
Barley, most suitable kinds, 88
Barr colonists and the Government, 159
—— colony, the, 147
Battleford, 148
Bird-life on the prairie, 260
Birds of Northern Saskatchewan, 203
Bitumen deposits in Athabasca, 186
Blackfeet Indians, beliefs of, 205
—— ——, teaching the children of, 206
—— ——, the, a spiritual awakening among, 207
Booth, Mr. J. R., an interview with, 56
——, ——, on manual labour, 72
——, ——, some personal incidents, 62
Breaking the prairie, process of, 85
British capital in Canada, advice and a warning, 189
British Columbia, 256
—— ——, beauty of scenery, 256
British Columbia, coal in, 177, 188
—— ——, conditions of union, 110
—— ——, copper in, 178
—— ——, platinum in, 178
—— ——, extent of forests, 257
—— ——, fruit farming in, 259
—— ——, gold in, 174, 178
—— ——, gold-copper ores in, 178
—— ——, lead deposits in, 178
—— ——, mercury found in, 178
—— ——, salmon fisheries of, 242
—— ——, silver-lead mines of, 178
—— ——, undeveloped state of, 132
—— ——, value of minerals, 187
—— ——, wolfram deposits in, 179
—— —— and the Canadian Northern Railway, 234
Buffalo, exterminating the, 29
“Buffalo Bill,” 30
Business ethics, Canadian, 189
C
Canada a century ago, 166
Canada-Atlantic Railway, early experiences of the, 70
Canada, discovery of diamonds in, 183
——, division of, 14
——, early history of, 5, 11
——, mineral output of, 193
——, mineral wealth of, 173
——, mining richness of, 177
——, population statistics, 4, 111
——, railway extensions in, 131, 231
——, struggles for, between England and France, 12
——, unification of, 14
—— and the U.S.A. correspondence of mineral deposits, 180
—— ——, mineral values compared, 181
Canadian boundary defined, 13
Canadian National Exhibition, the, 82
—— Northern Railway, growth of the, 232
—— Pacific Railway, _see_ C.P.R.
Canadians, characteristics of the, 261
——, economic freedom of, 262
Canneries, labour conditions at, 251
——, number of, on Fraser River 249
Canning, new method of, 251
—— industry, inception of, 247
Cannery, operations in a, 248, 250
Calgary, 113
——, irrigation at, 125
Castlegar, 106
Cattle-raising in Manitoba, success of, 93
——, suitability of Northern Saskatchewan for, 201
Cazakoff, Mr. M. W., on the Dukhobors, 106
Cereal crops, perfection of, in Northern Alberta, 223
—— produce of Saskatchewan, 195
Champlain, Samuel de, 12
Charles II., interest of, in Hudson Bay, 15
Chaudière Falls, harnessing the, 60
Chesterfield, 143
Chibougamau district, mineral richness of, 34
Chief Pie-a-Pot, eviction of, 120
Chinese labour in the Canneries, 251
Christianity among the Red Indians, 206
Chromite mines, location of 179
Church Missionary Society, work of the, among Red Indians, 204
Churchill, 138
—— river district, agricultural experiences in, 196
Churchill district, fertility of, 135
Climate, excellence of Northern, for agricultural operations, 140
Coal areas, extent of, in Canada, 133, 181
—— —— in the West, 188
—— in Alberta, 177, 187
—— in British Columbia, 177
—— in New Brunswick, 177
—— in Nova Scotia, 177
—— in Peace River district, 228
—— in Saskatchewan, 187
——, where abundant 177
Cobalt, nickel deposits in, 178
——, silver mines of, 178
——, —— of, how discovered, 184
Cody, Colonel, 30
Colonists, early, sufferings of, 169
—— experiences and life, _see_ Immigrants
Constitution, the, of 1840, 14
Copper deposits, location of, 174
—— in Ontario, 178
—— in Quebec Province, 24, 178
Copper-mining, great possibilities of, in Keewatin, 144
Cordilleran Belt, stupendous mineral wealth of the, 187
Corundum, location of deposits 179
Cows, best daily breeds for Canada, 96
C.P.R., annual profits of the, 112
——, capital of the, 115
——, completion of the, 31
——, cost of constructing the, 111
——, establishment of the trans-Atlantic service, 123
——, history of the, 109
——, how the, was built, 116
——, laying the first track of the, 111
——, paternal character of the, 112
C.P.R., present strength of the, trans-Atlantic service, 123
——, purchase of the, from the Federal Government, 111
——, rate and value of annual dividend, 114
——, some engineering triumphs of the, 117
——, stories of the, 113
——, total mileage and rolling stock of the, 124
——, the, and irrigation, 125
——, the, and its “ready-made farms” scheme, 127
——, the, and water traffic, 123
Cree Lake, 201
—— River, 200
Cunard, Samuel, 2
D
Dairy-farming, prospects in the prairie provinces, 97
Daylight, duration of, 140, 145, 223
Diamonds in Canada, 183
Dowling, Mr. D. B., opinion on the coal areas, 188
——, ——, travels in the north, 137
Dukhobors, beliefs of the, 101
——, communal life of the, 103
——, the, 99
—— and Tolstoy, 101
Dunvegan, 223
E
Easter-tide among the Blackfeet, 208
Edmonton, 133, 222
Emigrants, after thirty years, 100
Emigrants’ experiences, 147
Emigrants, Government’s care for, 149
Emigrants in 1811, 167
——, the raw material, 99
Emigration, Lord Selkirk’s scheme, 166
—— from U.S.A. to Canada, 4
_Empress of India_, the, 123
Engineering triumphs of the C.P.R., 117
Europe and Western Canada, opening of new route, 171
Experimental Farms, value of, to settlers, 128
F
Families, inducements to large, 44
Farming elements of success, 146
—— methods in Manitoba, 88
—— possibilities, valuable data, 38
—— prospects in Manitoba, 84
——, suitability of Northern Alberta for, 202
——, —— of Northern Saskatchewan for, 202
Farms, free, 237
—— on the hire-purchase system, 127
Federal Government, establishment of, 28
Federation, benefit to Canada of, 111
Feldspar, location of deposits, 179
Fertility, disadvantages of super-abundant, 91
Finance, mining and, 189
Fire, a prairie, 152, 157
First European colony in Canada, 12
—— operations in prairie farming, 85
Fish, abundance of, in Sakatchewan lakes and rivers, 198
——, ——, in northern lakes, 40
——, prolific yields in northern lakes and rivers, 142
Fish, quantity of, in British Columbia, 244
Fodder crops, richness of, 88
Forest lands in Northern Saskatchewan, 198, 200
Fort Chipewyan, 224
—— Garry, 29
—— McMurray, 224
—— Nelson, capitulation of, 21
—— Providence, 224
—— Simpson, 225
Free homesteads, 237
French rule, end of, 13
—— weed, prevalence of, 261
Fruit prospects in Manitoba, 98
—— ranches in British Columbia, 259
Fruit-growing, success in Quebec Province, 42
Fruits, wild, of Northern Saskatchewan, 200
Fullerton, 143
Fundy, Bay of, coal fields at the, 182
Fur traders’ rivalries, 23
G
Gas, natural, tapped in Alberta, 186
Geological comparisons with U.S.A., 180
—— research in unexplored Quebec, 34
—— surveying, constant Government activity in, 177
Gladstone, William Ewart, an anecdote about, 73
Gleichen, 205
Gold in Alberta, 178
—— in British Columbia, 178
—— in Keewatin, 143
—— in Nova Scotia, 178
—— in Ontario, 178
—— in Quebec, 178
Gold in Yukon territory, 178
—— in Peace River district, 228
——, value of, produced from Yukon, 187
Gold-bearing quartz, discovery of, 41
Government activity in scientific research, 173
—— aid, value of, 153
Grain-growing, success of, in Manitoba, 88
Grain, total, carried by the C.P.R., 116
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, 232
—— —— —— ——, character of land opened up, 235
—— —— —— ——, incorporation of, 235
Graphite, location of deposits, 179
Grass River district, minerals located in, 143
Grasses and clovers, cultivation of, 88, 91
Great North Lands, alluring agricultural prospects of, 225
Growth, rapidity of town-, 161
Gypsum, where found, 179
H
Hamilton, visit to, 53
Herring, extraordinary prolificness in British Columbia, of, 244
Homes provided by C.P.R., 127
Homesteads, free, 237
Horse-breeding, Canadian prospects of, 92
Horse-raising in Manitoba, its history, 91
Horses, demand for, 92
——, what breeds are wanted, 93
House, building the first, 155
Hudson Bay District, mineral richness of, 134
—— ——, nature of trading, 16
—— —— railway, the proposed, 134
—— —— route to Europe, opening of, 171
—— Strait, mica deposits at, 174
Hudson’s Bay Company, early history of, 15
—— ——, purchase of, 28
—— —— and Nor’ West Company, amalgamation of, 26
—— —— war with France, 18
_Hudson’s Bay_, Fight of the, and the _Pelican_, 19
Hume, William, biography of, 246
Hunting, possibilities of, in Quebec, 43
I
Iceberg, description of an, 8
Ile à la Crosse, 197
Immigrants, arrival on prairie allotment, 152
——, building the home, 155
—— experiences, 147
——, first operations on own land, 152
—— journey across country, 150
—— outfit, 148
——, plentitude of food, 153
——, reasons for independence, 154
——, recreations of, 159
——, the first rush to the prairie provinces, 122
Immigrating, Quebec’s unique plan, 44
Immigration, beginnings of, 1
Intensive methods of farming, results from, 96
International Financial Association, operations of, 28
Investments, Canadian, advice on, 189
Iron deposits, richest in world, 184
—— in Nova Scotia, 177
—— in Ontario, 177
——, prospects of mining, 41
—— in Quebec, 177
Irrigation, extent of, by C.P.R., 125
J
Jacques Cartier, the discoveries of, 11
Jasper National Park, 237
K
Kaksakin’s conversion, 206
Kansas Pacific Railway, construction of the, 30
Keewatin, abundance of fish in, 142
——, agricultural and mineral prospects in, 136
——, climate of, 144
——, opening up its resources, 132
Kicking Horse Pass, building the railway at, 118
L
Lac la Rouge, 197
Lake Winnipeg, 138
—— ——, fertile lands to the north of, 136
Land, irrigation of, by C.P.R., 125
——, price of under the C.P.R., 125
——, value of, 43
——, farming, where available, 84
Laurentian plateau, mineral yield, 183
Laurier, Sir Wilfrid, 195
Laziness, fatal to farming, 161
Lead, the, mines of British Columbia, 178
Lesser Slave Lake, 223
Lignites, location of, 177
Limestone deposits, extensive, 143
Live-stock, history and prospects, 91
Lloydminster, 161
Logging, process of, 259
Low, Mr. A. P., scientific expeditions of, 33
——, ——, geological explorations of, 136
Lumber mill, machinery of a, 64
——, the centre of the industry, 57
Lumbering, how logs are reduced, 63
——, how trees are felled, 258
——, removal of logs, 259
——, value of annual production, 43
——, value of the waterways in, 61
M
Machinery, extensive use in agriculture, 89
McKenzie Bay, Magnetic Rock in, 40
McKenzie, Mr. Peter, discoveries of, 34
McInnes, Mr. W., report on vegetation in the north lands, 139
Macoun, Mr. John, scientific labours of, 175
Magnesite, where occurring, 180
Manganese, location of deposits, 178
Manitoba, beginnings of, 28
——, its plains and prairie, 83
——, land awaiting settlement, 84
——, mineral deposition, 186
Maple syrup, production of, 43
Medicine Hat, Irrigation at, 125
Mercury, production of, 178
Mesabi iron deposits, 184
Mica deposits, location of, 174, 179
Mine swindles, how engineered, 191
Mines, management of, 192
——, purchasers of, Government advice to, 192
Mineral deposits of Canada, zones of, 181
—— ——, parallels with U.S.A., 180
—— output of Canada, 192
—— resources, untouched, in Canada, 133
—— richness of Hudson Bay district, 134
—— —— of the North lands, 143
—— springs at Roche à Miette, 238
—— wealth of Canada, 173
Mineralogy of Canada, the Government’s research work, 174
Mining companies, advice to investors, in, 189
—— ——, some causes of failure, 192
—— investments, advice and warning, respecting, 189
—— richness of Canada, 177
Missionaries and the Red Indians, 204
Montreal, early adventurers from, 22
——, some particulars about, 75
Mount Royal, founding of, 13
N
Natural gas, discovery of, at Pelican Portage, 228
Naval engagement, a, of 1697, 18
Nelson, 145
Nelson house and district, 140
New Brunswick, coal in, 177
New Brunswick, mineral possibilities of, 182
—— ——, wolfram deposits in, 179
—— England, 12
—— France, 12
—— Hudson Bay line starting point and proposed route, 139
Niagara, at the Power houses, 53
——, a visit to the Falls, 47
——, beneath the cascade, 49
——, distribution of power, 55
——, experiences at the cataract, 50
——, how it makes electricity, 53
Nickel deposits, chance discovery of, 185
—— ——, of, in Keewatin, 144
—— —— in Ontario, 178
Northern Canada, development of, 132
—— territories, agricultural possibilities in, 38
North lands, richness in timber, 141
North-West Company, origin of, 23
—— ——, floral fertility in the, 73
—— —— mounted police, establishment of, 31
—— ——, stories of the, 119
Nova Scotia, coal in, 177, 181
—— ——, gold in, 178
—— ——, iron in, 177
—— ——, tin in, 174, 179
—— ——, wolfram deposits in, 179
O
Oats, a good course for Manitoba, 87
——, annual yield of, 42
——, average yield from good farming, 87
——, best kinds to grow, 87
——, popularity of “Banner,” 87
——, yield from virgin soil, 164
Oil-fields, certainty of, in Alberta, 186
Oil, prospects of in Peace River district, 229
Ontario, copper in, 178
——, gold in, 178
——, iron in, 177
——, mineral possibilities of, 182
——, nickel in, 178
——, silver in, 178
Oncorhynchus, the, 245
O’Sullivan, Mr., on the climate in the northern territories, 138
P
Palæozoic region, mineral products of the, 182
Paper making, operations in, 64
Passengers carried by the C.P.R., 116
Paul Little Walker, 209
Peace River valley, 227
Pelican Portage, 228
_Pelican_, the fight of the, and the _Hudson’s Bay_, 19
Petroleum, extent of fields, 179
——, prospects of in Peace River district, 229
Pigs, success in raising, 98
Platinum, location of deposits, 178
Ploughing, first, of the land, 132
Police methods in the North West, 120
Population, distribution of, 111
——, growth in U.S.A., 2
Port Nelson, 131
Portage la Roche, 203
Portland cement, output from Quebec Province, 42
Potatoes, annual yield of, 42
——, average crop, 164
Potatoes, successful raising in Saskatchewan, 197
Prairie, animal life on the, 260
—— farming, 83
—— ——, preparing the ground, 86
—— fire, experiences in a, 152
—— fires, devastation of, 237
——, open air life on the, 260
—— Provinces, the, 84
—— ——, mineral wealth of, 186
Prince Albert, 202
—— Rupert, 241
Prosperity in farming, steps to, 146
Ptomaine poisoning, causes of, 249
Pulp-wood, abundance of in Central Saskatchewan, 197
Pyrites, location of deposits, 179
Q
Quebec, Act, the, 13
——, Dufferin Terrace, 9
——, first impressions, 9
——, the slums of, 10
—— Province, copper in, 178
—— ——, early colonising of, 32
—— ——, extent of, 32
—— ——, gold in, 178
—— ——, iron in, 177
—— ——, mineral output, 42
—— ——, mineral possibilities, 182
—— ——, mineral wealth of, 41
—— ——, prospecting in, 33
—— ——, prosperity in, 33
—— ——, value of forests, 43
R
Railway building in Canada, some of the difficulties, 117
—— extensions in Canada, 231
——, projected new route to Europe, 131
Railway prospects in Northern Saskatchewan, 200
——, the Government’s first, 110
Ready-made farms, 127
Red Indian ethics, a typical example of, 35
—— —— raidings, 23
—— Indians, Government treatment of, 217
—— —— in Canada, proportion of, 111
—— ——, North-West, treaties with, 30
—— ——, aid in prospecting, 34
—— ——, mission stories of, 207
—— ——, teaching the, to read and write, 214
—— ——, the compact of 1807, 26
—— —— and Christianity, 206
—— —— and missionary effort, 204
—— —— and railway builders, 119
Red River district, first settlement in, 26, 27
Reindeer Lake, 198
Riel rebellion, the first, 29
—— ——, the second rising, 31
—— ——, the, and the railway, 122
Roblin, the Hon. R. P., 84
Robson, Mount, ascents of, 238
S
St. Lawrence bridge, the new, 10
Salmon, British Columbian, average sizes, 249
——, extraordinary quantities of, 243
—— Fisheries, history of inception, 245
—— ——, the, of British Columbia, 242
—— Fishermen, pay of, 253
—— ——, stories of, 252
Salmon, fluctuation of supply, 254
“Salmon” is not really Salmon, 245
Salmon, method of catching, 248
“Salmon,” species of, 245
Salmon, the best species for canning, 248
——, tinned, consumption of, 254
——, ——, process in producing, 248, 250
Salt deposits, where worked, 180
—— found at Fort McMurray, 228
—— —— in the Athabasca region, 186
Saskatchewan, 195
——, abundance of fish in, 198
——, coal fields in, 187
——, fertility of northern section, 196
——, minerals in, 177, 186
——, production of cereals, 195
——, stock raising in, 197
——, value of agricultural produce in, 195
Saw-fly, European, ravages of, 37
Saw-mill, in an up-to-date, 64
Scientific prospecting, Canadian Government’s interest in, 33
Selkirk, Lord, Centenary celebrations, 170
——, ——, his work, 26
——, ——, Reminiscences of, 166
Settlers, experiences of, _see_ Immigrants.
Settlers and the C.P.R., 114
Shaughnessy, Sir Thomas, and the carriage cleaners, 129
Sheep-farming, some experiences and opinions, 97
Sherbrooke, copper deposits at, 174
Silver-lead, in British Columbia, 178
Silver in Cobalt, 178, 184
—— in Ontario, 178
Simpson’s Pass, 238
Smallholdings scheme of the C.P.R., 127
Smith, Mr. J. Obed, 2
Split Lake, 139
Sporting, prospects in Canada, 43
Stocken, Canon H. W., 205
Stock raising in Saskatchewan, 197
Sturgeon industry, the, in British Columbia, 244
Success in farming, requisites for, 146
Sudbury, nickel deposits at, 143
——, —— mines of, 178
Sulphur springs, region of, 229
Sunflowers as food, 107
Sunlight, duration of, in the North-West, 145
T
Tar-sands, discovery of, in Athabasca River, 186
_Thlaspi arvense_, prevalence of, 261
Timber, abundance of, around Lake St. John, 37
——, ——, in Northern Saskatchewan, 198, 200
——, cutting, processes of, 63
—— in the North, considerable wealth of, 141
——, quantities of, in Vancouver, 257
——, size of in the Ile à la Crosse district, 197
Tin in Nova Scotia, 179
—— deposits, location of, 174
Tinned salmon, consumption of, 253
Tobacco, annual crop, 42
Tolstoy and the Dukhobors, 101
Toronto, its history, 76
——, life in, 77
Toronto, municipal administration of, 78
——, some particulars of the Exhibition, 79
——, the Exhibition, its inauguration, 79
——, the Garden City of Canada, 77
Touchwood, 237
Towns, rapid growth of, 165
Transatlantic service, the first, 1
—— travelling, some contrasts, 6
Transport on the lakes, 122
Travelling in pre-railway days, 150
Trees of British Columbia, unsuitability for paper making, 68
——, method of felling, 258
Trekking to a settlement, 150
Tyrrell, Mr. J. Burr, explorations in the North West, 134
U
United States, comparison of mineral values, 181
Unknown lands in Canada enormous extent of, 132
Utrecht, treaty of, 12
V
Vancouver, richness of timber in, 257
Varnoe, experiences at, 102
Vegetable-growing, increasing demand for, 98
—— ——, prospects of, in the Far North, 225
Vegetable prospects in Northern Alberta, 224
Verigin, a visit to, 101
——, Mr. Peter M., 106
W
Waswanipi, cultivation at, 40
Water-power in Canada, 55
—— —— in Northern latitudes, 203
—— ——, utilisation of, at Niagara, 53
Waterways, utilising the, 61
Weeds, varieties of, 162
Western Canada-Europe, opening of new route, 171
Western Canada, in the old days, 166
Wheat, best grades for Manitoba, 87
——, excellence of, grown in Northern Saskatchewan, 196, 197
——, superiority of Red Fyfe, 87
——, suitable kinds to grow, 86
——, yield from virgin soil, 164
Wheat-growing, conditions of success, 88
—— —— in Northern Alberta, 223
—— —— in the Far North, 224, 226
“White coal,” 51, 55, 203
Wild fruits of Northern Saskatchewan, 200
—— mustard, prevalence of, 261
Winnipeg a century ago, 169
Winnipeg Centenary Exhibition, 170
——, early history of, 29
—— Exhibition, financial interest in, 172
Winter in the farming districts, 162
—— in the northern latitudes, 198
Wolfram, location of deposits, 179
Wood pulp industry, annual value of production, 43
——, processes of manufacture, 63
Work, willingness to, a necessity, 161
World’s Fair at Winnipeg, 171
Y
Yellowhead Pass, scenery around, 237
Young, Mr. R. E., experiences of, 133
Yukon, coal in, 188
Z
Zones of Mineral deposits in Canada, 181
Printed by
Cassell and Company, Limited, La Belle Sauvage,
London, E.C.
TRANSCRIBER NOTES
Mis-spelled words and printer errors have been fixed.
Inconsistency in hyphenation has been retained.
Inconsistency in accents has been retained.
Illustrations have been relocated due to using a non-page layout.
Some photographs have been enhanced to be more legible.
The map of Canada at the front of this ebook was made by joining
together the two endpapers.