Canada : a descriptive text book

PRESENTED

THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO!

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35Gc

•

CANADA

A Descriptive Text Book,

Compliments of the Publishers . . .

WARWICK BROS & RUTTER

68 and 70 Front Street West

TORONTO

J 'angnwr am i in my luutiier s nuuse,

But mistress in my own.

— Kipling.

TORONTO

WARWICK BRO'S & RUTTER
1900

CANADA

A Descriptive Text Book,

By E. R. PEACOCK, M.A.,

Upper Canada College.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION

By the Very Reverend G. M. GRANT, LL.D.,

Principal of Queen's University, Kingston.

Daughter am I in my Mother's house,
But mistress in my own.

— Kipling.

TORONTO

WARWICK BRO'S & RUTTER
1900

Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year one thousand
nine hundred, by WARWICK BUG'S & RUTTER, Toronto, Ontario, in the Office of the
Minister of Agriculture.

INTRODUCTION.

BAVING lived in Great Britain for seven years, I know somewhat of
the general ignorance of Canada to be found there, even in edu-
cated circles. Canadians who are inclined to resent this should
reflect on the meagreness of their own knowledge of Australia or even
of Great Britain and Ireland, and on the greater ignorance of Canada to
be found everywhere in the Republic which immediately adjoins their
borders. The truth is that the concerns of our own neighborhood and
land are so pressing and important that an effort is required to learn
anj^thing accurately about any other country. But the British Empire
is now rising on the horizon as a reality to the average man ; and there-
fore it is fitting that the youth of tiie parent kingdoms should know
something of those daughter nations which have steadily rejected that
extraordinary vision of piecemeal dismemberment, which, half a cen-
tury ago, was cherished by a not unimportant section of economists
with a faith child-like and sincere, as if the vision had been vouchsafed
to their spirits by God. There is place now for a text-book in British
schools on the Dominion of Canada, — a vast region bounded on three
sides by three oceans and on the fourth side by the watershed of the
continent, — a country with a varied history, with interesting problems,
with infinite resources, and with a people just awakening into national
selfconsciousness. Mr. Peacock has been selected to write the text-
book, and the work has been to him a labour of love, done with literary
skill as well as conscientiousness and a sympathetic insight into the
needs of schools.

Canada has had heroic epochs of different kinds in the course of her
development. Parkman describes those of the old or French regime,
from the time of Champlain to the day when Wolfe and Montcalm fell
on one battlefield behind the old city founded by Champlain. Stories
crowd his glowing pages concerning adventurous explorers, Indian

[v.]

vi. INTRODUCTION.

ambuscades and horrors, infantile faith and splendid martyrdoms of
Jesuit and Recollet fathers, and wars waged against the British and
British colonists on sea, lake, land and river. All that was introduc-
tory. The real history of Canada begins with the Peace of Paris, when
France withdrew from the long conflict waged for "a few arpents of
snow," in 1763, when practically the whole of the North American con-
tinent was handed over to Great Britain, to be developed under a freer
air than Latin civilization breathed at home or permitted abroad. In
the very next decade came the schism of the British race, with the vain
struggle of the revolutionists to win or to conquer Canada, a struggle
repeated with overwhelming numbers through successive campaigns in
1812-15 and then defeated still more decisively. But that which makes
the true life of a nation is to be found not only in the stirring events of
war but in the piping times of peace. In our case, it should be looked
for in the unrecorded privations endured by the United Empire Loyal-
ists, while they hewed out, from the forest primeval, farms for their
children, and in similar work done by hearts of oak from the highlands
of Scotland, \>y Irish peasants and English gentlemen and labourers, by
hardy fisher folk on the lower St. Lawrence and the Atlantic coast, by
lumber-men in the backwoods and by recent pioneers to the prairies of
the great Northwest and the mountain ranges of British Columbia. In
the lives of those emigrants amid strange surroundings ; in their
struggles with isolation, poverty, and a winter sterner than they had
ever known before ; in the experiences of their children who as sons of
the soil readily adapted themselves to its conditions ; in the formation
by them of infant settlements which have developed into prosperous
communities ; in the growth of municipal life and the struggles for con-
stitutional freedom, until, in 1867, Canada rose to be a confederation of
Provinces which soon after extended from ocean to ocean, and in its
subsequent expansion into its present assured position of junior part-
nership in the Empire, — our true history is to be found.

To the political and historical student, probably the chief interest of
Canada lies in the existence, side by side, of two civilizations of differ-
ent types, — French speaking Quebec with its racial peculiarities, its
people devotedly attached to their own language, laws and literature,

INTRODUCTION. vii.

and their own religious traditions and forms, wedged in between the
English speaking maritime provinces on the one side and Ontario and
the great west on the other. Will gradual fusion take place between
those widely sundered elements and a nation be formed combin-
ing the best qualities of both, as Norman, Saxon and Cymri fused in
England, Teuton, Norseman and Celt in Scotland, and equally compo-
site elements in Ireland ? Oracles gloomily predict political strife, end-
ing some day in open conflict, and possibly with not a few of these, the
wish is father to the thought ; but careful students of our actual
development during the last fifty years— the period in which both
races have worked together harmoniously in provincial and federal
affairs, since their emancipation from the Colonial office — take a very
different view. They entertain no doubts concerning our future. The
interaction of the two elements gives distinctive colour to our national
life. To despair of a peaceful solution of the problem, on a continent
where English speech and constitutional forms are so overwhelmingly
predominant., argues astonishing lack of faith in our own ideals and
moral forces and in the far reaching results of free institutions.

G. M. GRANT.

QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY, KINGSTON, CANADA,
May, 1900.

CONTENTS.

PAGE.

INTRODUCTION .-. v.

CHAPTER I. —HISTORICAL SKETCH, 1497-1900 - . . 1

Summary 6

CHAPTER II. —THE DOMINION OF CANADA —PHYSICAL FEATURES 9

Summary 14

CHAPTER III. — THE GOVERNMENT— THE PEOPLE— LIFE OF THE

PEOPLE 1G

Summary , 23

CHAPTER IV. — EDUCATION IN CANADA 25

CHAPTER V. — MANUFACTURES— FISHERIES— MINING 30

CHAPTER VI. —LUMBERING 36

CHAPTER VII. —FARMING 43

CHAPTER VIII. — CANADA BY THE SEA 53

Nova Scotia 57

New Brunswick GO

Prince Edward Island 62

CHAPTER IX. — QUEBEC 65

CHAPTER X. — ONTARIO 74

CHAPTER XL — MANITOBA AND THE NORTH- WEST TERRITORIES 82

CHAPTER XII. —BRITISH COLUMBIA 94

CHAPTER XIII. —RAILWAYS IN CANADA. . 101

[ viii.

CANADA.

CHAPTER I.

HISTORICAL SKETCH, 1497-1900.

to the west, thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean
lies Canada, Britain's greatest colony. It is a country so large
that on a fast train going all the time nearly six days and nights
are required to cross it. To-day, one may take a fine Canadian steam-
ship at Liverpool, Bristol, London or Glasgow and reach Canada with
the greatest comfort in about a week. But long ago things were very
different ; then one must sail, and perhaps take two months in crossing.
Four hundred years ago John and Sebastian Cabot left Bristol in their
little vessels, and after many weary weeks of tossing about on the great
deep, they reached the island of Newfoundland, lying at the mouth of
the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This island is bigger than Ireland and has
many rich mines and timber forests. But it is best known for its cod
fisheries. Off its coast lie the finest feeding grounds in the world for
cod. The bottom of the ocean rises so that it is near the surface, and
over this great bank the fish are caught. Here one may see in the
season hundreds of large fishing smacks at anchor. And all around
them, dotting the sea in every direction, are the small dories from
which the men fish. If one were to go ashore he would find acres of fish
split open, salted and drying in the sun. Sailing across a narrow
channel to the north, the Cabots came to a part of the mainland, now
called Labrador, where they found great numbers of seals. After hav-
ing explored a considerable part of the eastern coast of North America,
they went back to England. Newfoundland and Labrador belong to
Britain, but are not part of Canada and have a government of their
own. Newfoundland is Britain's oldest colony.

Nearly forty years later from France came Jacques Cartier, who sailed
past Newfoundland into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This gulf is about
as large as the whole of England and Scotland. After crossing it he
entered a river, miles wide at its mouth and stretching far into the
interior. Up and down its flood now sail the ships of all nations, going
and coming from the port of Montreal. But in those far away days
the country was covered by huge forests, and the only people living in

CANADA.

•

them were Indians ; — tall, straight, copper-coloured fellows who never
smiled. They were always grave and dignified, except when excited by
the thought of fighting and killing people. Then they were like fiends.
They painted their bodies with red and yellow ochre, stuck feathers in
their hair and danced around their camp fires. As they danced they
sang of their brave deeds and became more and more
excited. They soon began to shout and wave their
tomahawks, while the squaws sang to encourage them,
and the little papooses looked on in wonder. Presently,
the braves would start off through the dark forests,
stealing on and on, toward the camp of the enemy.
In the middle of the night, when all were sound
asleep, the raiders would rush in with wild yells and
kill most of the sleepers before they had time to fully
wake up. Then the victors would return with shouts
of joy, carrying the scalps of their victims at their
belts and dragging along a few whom they had
kept alive to torture.

These Indians were the finest hunters in the
world. They could glide through the forest like
snakes, could imitate the cries and calls of every
bird and animal, and could put an arrow clean
through a deer at a hundred yards. They were always hunting, and
got large quantities of skins. The French wanted these, because furs
were very valuable in Europe. So they settled at Quebec on the St-
Lawrence and began trading with the Indians. They gave beads, toma-
hawks, guns and powder, and received in return shiploads of furs.
The life of the Indians was so free and simple, and the hunting and
canoeing seemed so fine, that many of the young Frenchmen left the
settlement, married squaws and lived with the Indians. These men
were called Coureurs des Bois, and they became almost as great hunters
as the Indians themselves. In time the settlement grew larger. Then
there were wars with the Indians. Hundreds were killed, and many a
poor fellow was tortured in the most cruel way before death came to
relieve him of his sufferings, for the Indian shows no mercy to his
enemies. Still the settlement grew, and after a while another French
village sprang up on the Island of Montreal. People took up land all
along the St. Lawrence, and the most daring went to live, even as far
inland as the great lake now called Ontario.

Time has brought many changes to the Indians and those who still
survive in Canada are the wards or children of the Dominion Govern-
ment, which looks after them on reservations set apart for their use.

Indian of tlie Past.

CANADA. 3

Government schools are established where they are trained, not only
to read and write, but also to work at some useful occupation. In
addition, the different churches have several mission schools for Indians.
Many of them learn to farm or do other work and make an effort to
adapt themselves to civilized life, but they are gradually disappearing.
The Indian makes a pathetic picture in his modern surroundings ;
all the old war paint and romance are gone, and he lingers, hesitating
like one who has out-lived his welcome and knows that he must go
though he fain would stay.

Farm Scene on Indian Reserve.

After about a hundred years the British came and the gallant Wolfe
defeated the French at the battle of the Plains of Abraham, just outside
Quebec, in the year 1759. The fortress of Quebec with its frowning
citadel was taken, and soon all Canada belonged to the British. Ever
since then the Union Jack has been Canada's flag and the Canadians are
as proud of it as the British, and just as ready to die for it, because it
stands now and has always stood for all that is greatest and noblest in
the life of Britain.

Before long British people began to arrive in great numbers. They
settled all the way up the St. Lawrence from Montreal to Lake Ontario,

4 CANADA.

and along the lake. Many went to the Niagara River, with its wonder-
ful falls, and to Lake Erie. At first they had a hard time for the coun-
try was covered with forest, which must be cleared before any crops
could be raised. But the land was rich and the settlers had brave
hearts and helped one another, so before long all were comfortable.
And now, nowhere could one find happier or more prosperous people
than the children of these early settlers.

Shortly after Britain had taken Canada from the French, the British
colonists to the south rebelled, bringing on the American war of Inde-
pendence, which established the United States of America as a new
country governed in its own way. During the war there were many
people who left the United States and came to Canada, settling in
Acadia down by the sea, and away up by Lake Ontario and Niagara
Falls. These people left their homes because they wished to remain
British subjects, and were known as United Empire Loyalists. All the
while, the old Province on the St. Lawrence continued to be French,
and so it is largely to this day. But though the people speak French,
they are loyal subjects, and have given to Canada many of her best
statesmen and soldiers.

In time Acadia was divided into three Provinces, Nova Scotia, New
Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. All these names show the
people's loving memory of the lands they had left. Next, Upper and
Lower Canada, the names given respectively to the new settlement by
the Great Lakes and to the old French province, were called Ontario and
Quebec. In the meantime bold men had been pushing their way far
out to the west, and there they found a land that rolled away like the
ocean, for a thousand miles without a break. Over it roamed huge
herds of buffalo, and fur-bearing animals of all kinds were found in the
east and north. At first the trappers and the traders had things all to
themselves. The Hudson's Bay Company sent out its agents who
established trading posts at many points. They bought all the furs
and supplied the Indian and white hunters with whatever they required.
But, before long, people began to come as settlers, and the settlement
gradually grew until it was big enough to make the new province of
Manitoba.

Along the western edge of the prairies, as the plains are called,
stretches a lofty range of mountains known as the Rockies. Beyond,
is a country nestling behind the mountains, and kissed by the soft
Pacific breezes. Here gold was discovered about fifty years ago, and
men came from all parts of the world, greedy for wealth. They held
possession until they could find no more gold in the loose earth, and then
gave way to other settlers who, in time, became numerous enough to

CANADA.

form the province of British Columbia — the country from which we set
sail when we wish to cross the Pacific Ocean to Australia, New Zealand,
Japan or India.

Between Manitoba and British Columbia lies an immense plain larger
than the whole of France and Germany combined. It is composed of
the finest farming and ranching land, and here, as well as in Manitoba,
every settler and each of his boys on reaching the age of eighteen,
is given practically free, a large farm, in a country which produces the
best wheat in the world. There is
no cutting down of trees or clearing
away of rocks to be done in this
country, but the land lies level and
rich, ready for the plough. In some
parts huge herds of cattle and bands
of horses are raised, to be shipped
to England and the continent. This
is called ranching and is a most in-
teresting employment. Here are
the famous cowboys who live aK
day in the saddle, can bring down r
galloping horse with a rope, or throv
up an apple and put two shots into
it with a revolver before it falls.
Ranching is easy in this country,
for the cattle may be left out all
winter to forage for themselves, while in the summer they grow fat on
the luxuriant grass of the plains.

Farther north still, is a great lone land of lake, and plain and river,
the haunt of the hunter and the trapper. Beyond the northern mountains
lies a district, until the last few years practically unknown. But men
will risk any danger for gold, and some miners sailed up the Yukon river
for seventeen hundred miles, in search of the precious metal. They
found rich deposits and now there are thousands of miners in the country.
Towns have sprung up, government has been established and life and
property are protected by British law quite as effectively as in the
older parts of the country.

Wheat.

6 CANADA.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY.

1497. Canada discovered by Cabot ; 1535, Jacques Cartier takes
possession for France ; Port Royal (now Annapolis, Nova Scotia)
founded in 1605 — the first permanent settlement in Acadia.

1608. Champlain founds Quebec, beginning settlement of what
French called Canada ; in 1609 Champlain helps Hurons and Algonquins
to defeat Iroquois and wins the undying hatred of Iroquois for French.

Company of One Hundred Associates takes over government of
Canada, 1628, promising to settle the country in exchange for monopoly
of fur trade. In same year Kirke with English fleet captures French
fleet on its way to Quebec ; 1629, Champlain surrenders Quebec to
Kirke. England restores Canada and Acadia to France. 1632, Cham-
plain first Governor of Canada. Death of Champlain, 1635. In 1649
Iroquois attack and destroy Huron missions, putting to death with
terrible torture Jesuit missionaries Breboeuf and Lalemant. Hurons
almost annihilated.

In 1663, charter of Hundred Associates revoked and royal govern-
ment begins in Canada under a Governor, Intendant and Bishop.
Frontenac appointed Governor, 1672 — the only man who always kept
the Iroquois under proper control. Terrible massacre of French at
Lachine, near Montreal, by Iroquois in 1689. Frontenac, who had
been recalled to France returns to Canada to save it from annihilation
by the Iroquois. His vigorous measures soon check Indians.

1698. Death of Frontenac. For many years thereafter there were
frequent outbreaks of border warfare between the English settlers to
the south with their allies the Iroquois and the French settlers with
their Indian allies.

In 1713, by Treaty of Utrecht, England finally obtains possession
of Acadia (Nova Scotia and New Brunswick).

In 1735 a Frenchman builds Fort Rouge, near spot where Winnipeg
now stands, and shortly afterwards discovers the Rocky Mountains.

1745. Louisburg, strong French fortress on Cape Breton Island,
captured by English colonials under Pepperell but restored three years
later by treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. City of Halifax founded by English
1749. Much fighting on borders between English and French settlers-
many atrocities by Indian allies.

1755. Gen. Braddock, with 1,200 men, defeated and killed by French
near Fort du Quesne, where Pittsburg now stands. English carry off
the French settlers from Acadia. Montcalm takes command of French
in Canada, 1756, and France declares war against England — the Seven
Years War.

CANADA. 7

1757. Loudon fails to take Louisburg from French ; Montcalm
besieges British in Fort William Henry and garrison surrenders, but his
Indians massacre many of English prisoners.

1758. Montcalm defeats Abercrombie at Ticonderoga with great loss ;
Amherst, Boscawen and Wolfe take the great fortress of Louisburg ;
Abercrombie superseded by Amherst.

In 1759, Wolfe and his army scale heights above Quebec, defeat
French in battle of Plains of Abraham. Both Wolfe and Montcalm
killed but Quebec capitulates to English.

1760. French frcm Montreal besiege British in Quebec all winter
but in spring are driven off by the fleet ; British troops concentrate
around Montreal but French capitulate and hand over all Canada.
Military rule till 1763, when Peace of Paris confirms Britain's right to
Canada. In same year famous Indian Chief Pontiac forms a conspiracy
to take all British border forts, but is foiled. Quebec Act, 1774, estab-
lishes government by Governor and Council appointed by Crown.

1775. Revolutionary Americans invade Canada, but fail to take
Quebec.

In 1784, 25,000 British Loyalists leave United States and settle in
Canada and Acadia. They were afterwards known as United Empire
Loyalists.

1791. Constitutional Act grants slight measure of Representative
Government and divides Canada into two provinces— Upper Canada
and Lower Canada, English criminal law to prevail everywhere ; but in
Lower Canada French law to prevail in civil cases. This is still the
case. First parliaments meet at Newark (Niagara) in Upper Canada,
and in Lower Canada at Quebec. Population of Upper Canada 20,000,
of Lower Canada 130,000.

1807. Parliament of Upper Canada makes provision for beginning of
school system.

1812. United States declares war against England and invades
Canada at three points, but driven back ; Canadians capture Detroit.
Gen. Brock, Canadian Commander-in-Chief , killed at Queenston Heights.

In 1813, Americans capture British fleet on Lake Erie, take York and
re-take Detroit, hold western part of Upper Canada. French-Canadians
beat back a greatly superior force of Americans at Chateauguay and an
American force is also beaten at Chrysler's Farm. Americans abandon
Western Canada.

In 1814 Americans invade Upper Canada near Niagara, defeat Cana-
dians at Chippewa but are defeated at bloody battle of Lundy's Lane
and driven back. Peace signed between Britain and United States.
1817. Bank of Montreal founded.

8 CANADA.

Between 1820 and 1832 the Lachine, the Welland and the Rideau
canals constructed.

1837. Rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada on behalf of Respons-
ible Government.

1841. Upper and Lower Canada united and granted responsible gov-
ernment ; Nova Scotia and New Brunswick given similar privilege
in 1847.

1843. First settlement in British Columbia on Vancouver Island. A
governor appointed for this new settlement 1850.

1867. Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick unite to form Do-
minion of Canada with Ottawa as capital. Canada divided into two
provinces, Ontario and Quebec. John A. Macdonald, the first Prime
Minister of the Dominion. British North America Act, the Dominion
Constitution.

1869. Red River rebellion of half-breeds at Fort Garry. Col. Wols-
ley (now Lord Wolsley) leads 1,300 men through the wilderness to sup-
press the rebellion but rebels retire quietly before he arrives. Rupert's
Land and North-west territory bought from Hudson's Bay Company.
Part of it formed into Province of Manitoba which enters confedera-
tion in 1870. Fort Garry becomes Winnipeg the capital.

1871. British Columbia enters the Dominion on condition that a
railway be built to connect British Columbia with the east.

1873. Prince Edward Island enters confederation.

1881. Contract let for Canadian Pacific Railway which was com-
pleted in 1886.

1882. Four districts — Alberta, Assiniboia, Athabasca and Saskat-
chewan— formed in North-west Territories, and given local government
with capital at Regina.

1885. A rebellion of half-breeds and Indians in North-west Terri-
tories put down after considerable loss of life.

1887. The Canadian Pacific Railway opens its line of steamships
between Vancouver and Hong Kong.

1891. Death of Sir John A. Macdonald, first Premier of the Dominion
of Canada.

1894. Great conference held at Ottawa of delegates from all parts of
British Empire to discuss means of furthering trade between British
Colonies.

CANADA.

CHAPTER II.

THE DOMINION OF CANADA— PHYSICAL FEATURES.

CHE Dominion of Canada occupies all the northern half of North
America, except the bit at the extreme north-west, called Alaska.
This formerly belonged to Russia, and was sold to the United States
in 1867 for the sum of seven million dollars, or about £1,400,000.
Canada is almost as large as the whole of Europe, and larger than the
United States, without Alaska. Running along the west side of the
country, from north to south, is a range of mountains called the
Rockies. They extend in an unbroken chain from fifty to four hundred
miles wide at the base, and rising in some of the higher peaks to a
height of over three miles. Between the mountains and the Pacific lies
British Columbia, broken by many smaller ranges. To the east of the
Rockies stretch the prairies and the older Provinces, with Hudson Bay
and the Atlantic ocean beyond.

To the north of Canada lies the Arctic ocean ; to the west the
Pacific. The United States and the Great Lakes form the southern
boundary, while eastward the country stretches to the Atlantic. On
the west coast are several fine harbours, the best of which are Esqui-
malt, the station of the North Pacific squadron of the British Navy ;
Vancouver, the terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway and the
starting point of steamers for Australia and Japan ; and Victoria, the
capital of British Columbia, situated on Vancouver Island. There are
many harbours on the east coast. The best known are Halifax and St.
John, the latter on the Bay of ^undy. The Gulf and River St. Law-
rence for seven or eight months in the year open a splendid waterway
for the ocean steamers to the ports of Quebec and Montreal.

On the north-eastern coast is Hudson Bay, a land-locked sea, as
large in area as France, Germany and England together. This great
inland water is entered from the Atlantic by a strait 400 miles long.
Into it every year comes the supply ship of the Hudson's Bay Company
which brings supplies of all kinds and goes back loaded with valuable furs,
thus keeping up an interesting link with the old French days. Many
people expect that before long a railway will be built from Winnipeg
to the Bay, and a line of large steamers established to give a more
direct route to England for the wheat and cattle of Western Canada.
2

10

CANADA.

In Canada the rivers, plains and mountains are on a very large
scale. Along the southern edge of Ontario from the head of the St.
Lawrence River stretches, the most wonderful chain of fresh water
lakes in the world. They extend for over a thousand miles westward,
and one can sail all the way in a large vessel. Lake Ontario is as
large as Wales, and Lake Erie a little larger. Lake Huron is as big
as Belgium and Holland together, while if Scotland were put into
Lake Superior, the largest of all, one would see nothing but a
few mountain peaks. In the North- West are lakes like Winnipeg,
Great Slave and Great Bear, each of which is larger than Lake

Camp of Deer Hunters.

Ontario. By a system of canals to overcome the rapids, a con-
tinuous waterway is open for steamers drawing fourteen feet, from
the Atlantic ocean to the head of Lake Superior — a distance of over
two thousand miles. It is intended, as soon as possible, to make the canals
deep enough for ocean ships. Then a steamer from Liverpool will be
able to sail into the heart of the country, unload its cargo for Western
Canada at Fort William and reload with grain, cattle, horses or dairy
products for the British markets

Into the basin of the great lakes run hundreds of rivers, draining all
the country round, and supplying water power which will yet be

CANADA. 11

used by many a factory and mill. The lakes and rivers are richly
stocked with fish. The lake fisheries are very important, and give to
Ontario one of its chief industries. The rivers offer sport to thousands,
for the fish are many, and anyone may catch them. There are no pre-
served waters or private rivers, except at a few points in the east. The
country north of Lake Superior is a sportsman's paradise, for hunting
as well as fishing is of the best. Deer of various kinds and all the
different wild fowl are there in great numbers, and may be hunted
during the open season.

Into the Pacific ocean, through British Columbia, flow the Fraser,
the Skeena, the Columbia and the Stikine. The Columbia and the
Stikine enter the ocean through United States territory. The rivers
of British Columbia are the world's greatest salmon rivers, and in
the sand of most of them gold is found. Into the Arctic flow the
Mackenzie, the Back and the Coppermine. The Mackenzie is a very
large river and receives several important tributaries. The Yukon
enters Behring Strait through Alaska, but farther up it flows through
Canadian territory which has become famous owing to its gold fields,
and is known as the Yukon district. To the east, we find the Atha-
basca, Peace, Nelson, Churchill, Severn, Albany, Saskatchewan and
many other rivers, all navigable for hundreds of miles. And then we
come to the noblest of them all, the St. Lawrence, which drains the
great lakes and offers to the traveller from Europe the most picturesque
and interesting entrance to the North American continent. The
Atlantic steamships sail up the river past the ancient city of Quebec,
with its quaint architecture and massive fortifications, to Montreal,
the commercial metropolis of Canada.

Let us take an imaginary journey from Montreal to the head of navi-
gation, rioting some of the interesting features as we pass along. We
go by steamer up the river to the City of Kingston, where we
enter Lake Ontario. On the way we pass through several canals to
avoid the rapids, but if we were coming down, the steamer would
run the rapids — a most exciting experience. We also cross the
Lake of the Thousand Islands, one of the most beautiful spots in the
world, and the summer resort of thousands of tourists. After a
trip of two hundred and forty miles across Lake Ontario, we go through
the Welland Canal to Lake Erie. This is to avoid the Falls of Niagara,
which prevent ships passing up the river. While the vessel is going
through the canal we can run over by rail and have a look at the great
falls — one of the wonders of the world. The Niagara river, the outlet
of Lake Erie, suddenly flings itself over a perpendicular cliff a hundred
and fifty-eight feet in height. Within recent years the enormous

12

CANADA.

water-power of Niagara has been turned to practical uses and drives
large mills and electric railways. In the form of electricity it is trans,
mitted to neighbouring cities, and thus we have machinery driven by
the falls which are many miles distant. A long sail over Lake Erie
brings us to the Detroit river. More ships pass up and down this
river than at any other point in the world.
These are employed in the inland navigation
of the continent, and many of them are as
large as ocean ships. They carry grain from
Fort William, Duluth and Chicago to Buffalo,
Kingston or Prescott ; iron ore from the
mines round Lake Superior to Cleveland,
canned meats from the great packing houses
of Chicago for distribution all over the
world. Others are loaded with lumber from
;" the forests of Georgian Bay and Michigan,
salt from the wells along Lake Huron, copper
from Parry Sound, and countless other com-
modities. If we stop here for a short time
we shall get some idea of the immense traffic
of the lakes. Up and down before us pass
the vessels in such quick succession that a
steamer goes by every minute. Let us board one of the passenger
steamers and continue our journey. We pass through Lake St. Clair
and the St. Clair river into Lake Huron. If we were going to Chicago
we should turn slightly to the left and presently enter Lake Michigan.
Instead of sailing straight across the lake, we shall turn to our right
when part of the way up and enter Georgian Bay in order to enjoy a
sail through some thirty thousand islands. The scenery here is beauti-
ful, while the fishing and boating are excellent. Passing Manitoulin
Island, where there is still unclaimed land for settlers and where many
fishermen live, we enter the St. Mary river and soon reach the village
of Sault Ste. Marie. Here in old days the Indians tortured the Jesuit
missionaries ; but the Indians are gone and we find a thriving town
rapidly becoming an important manufacturing centre, where pulp mills
have been erected, which are said to be the largest in the world. At
this point we must pass through a canal in order to avoid the rapids,
and may go either by the American or the Canadian side. Every-
thing works by electricity and we are soon through along with
many other vessels. The navigation season lasts only about eight
months each year, yet during that time a greater tonnage passes through
these canals than goes through the Suez canal in the whole year. Not

Niagara Falls

CANADA. 13

long ago a wonderful sight was to be seen on the St. Mary river. A
large vessel ran foul of another and sank right across the ship channel,
which at that point was narrow. Before the channel could be
cleared a line of ships extending for twenty miles was waiting to get
through and a most exciting rush took place when the way was opened.
On reaching Lake Superior we have a sail of four hundred miles ahead
of us over a lake which is the largest in the world, and yet whose water
is as clear and cold as that of a mountain spring. At the head of the
lake we find Port Arthur, arid Fort William with its huge elevators
from which most of the grain of Western Canada is shipped.

'•£&**

Elevators at Fort William.

The Dominion of Canada occupies half a continent and naturally the
climate varies greatly in different sections of its immense area. It has
been pictured as a great wilderness of snow and ice with a narrow fringe
of habitable land running along the edges, but that idea has been long
exploded. Away to the extreme north, along the Arctic Ocean, such
conditions prevail, but in no other part of the country. The sub-arctic
climate extends southward over the barren plains, for a considerable
distance, particularly on the east side of the continent. But it soon
begins to moderate, especially in the centre and west and when the
united districts are reached, we find in the north and east, the clear,
dry cold of winter and heat of summer. This climate is extreme but
exhilarating and much more endurable than a milder but moister climate.
In the west the chinook winds from the Pacific sweep over the plains
and prevent the extremes that are experienced further east. Beyond

14 CANADA.

the mountains, in British Columbia, the climate is generally mild. On
the coast it is very mild. In Eastern Canada the climate is subject to
extremes but in the southern part of Ontario it is much modified by the
presence of the Great Lakes, as is also the case in Nova Scotia and
Prince Edward Island owing to the sea breezes. Fogs are frequent along
parts of the east coast in the spring and autumn. The snow-fall in
the east is much heavier than that in the west. There is usually good
sleighing for three or four months in New Brunswick, Quebec arid
Northern Ontario. The southern part of the latter province gets very
little snow and the same is true of most parts of British Columbia.
There is a fair snow fall in the territories, which in the western part,
however, is soon swept away by the chinook.

SUMMARY OF PHYSICAL FEATURES.

Dominion of Canada occupies all northern part of North America ex-
cept Alaska. Area, 3,470,000 square miles; greatest length. 3,200;
greatest breadth, 1,900 miles.

ROCKY MOUNTAINS extend along Western side from north to bouth —
to the east of them a great plain, with low mountain ranges in south-
east. Highest peaks in Rockies, mounts Brown and Hooker, 16,000
feet high. Between Rockies and Pacific are several short parallel
ranges — Coast, Cascade, Gold, Blue and Selkirk. The region between the
Cascades and Rockies is called the Great Western Plateau and is a per-
fect sea of mountains. Mountains of south-east, Laurentian, Notre
Dame, Cobequid, Watchish.

RIVERS. Into the Pacific— Fraser, Columbia (through U. S. territory),
Skeena, Stikine and Yukon, (into Behring Sea, through Alaska) ; into
the Arctic Ocean — Mackenzie, Coppermine, Great Fish ; into Hudson
Bay — Churchill, Nelson, Severn ; into James Bay — Albany, Abittibi ;
into Gulf of St. Lawrence — St. Lawrence, Restigouche, Miramichi,
Richibucto ; into Bay of Fundy — Petitcodiac, Kennebeccasis, St. John, St.
Croix. The Mackenzie drains Great Slave Lake, and receives the waters
of the Liard and Great Bear which drains Great Bear Lake. Into these
lakes flow the Peace and the Slave, draining Lake Athabasca and
Athabasca River. Length of Mackenzie across lakes and up Athabasca
River, 2,300 miles. The Nelson drains Lake Winnipeg which receives
the Saskatchewan, the Red, and the Winnipeg flowing from the Lake
of the Woods. The St. Lawrence drains the Great Lakes and receives
the waters of the Ottawa with its many large tributaries, the St.
Maurice, Saguenay, and Richelieu.

CANADA. 15

LAKES. Superior (420 by 160 miles), Huron, (280 by 190 miles), St.
Clair, Erie (250 by 80 miles), Ontario (180 by 65 miles), Nipigon, Nip-
issing, Simcoe, Temiscamingue, Woods, Rainy, Abittibi, Great Bear,
Great Slave, Reindeer, Athabasca, Winnipeg, Winnipegosis, Manitoba,
Deer, St. John, Mistassini.

COAST LINE very irregular, and therefore affords many good harbours.

COAST WATERS. On the north coast there are numerous bays and
gulfs but they are of no commercial importance owing to the ice. On
the east, Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, Hudson Strait, Hudson Bay, James
Bay, Strait of Belle Isle, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Bay of Fundy. On the
west, Hecate Strait, Queen Charlotte Sound, Strait of Georgia, Juan
de Fuca Strait. No capes of much note ; only peninsula of great
importance, Nova Scotia.

ISLANDS. In the North, Prince Albert Land, Boothia, Baffin Land.
In the east, Anticosti, Prince Edward Island, Sable, Cape Breton, Mag-
dalen Islands, Grand Manan. In the west, Vancouver, Queen Charlotte
Islands.

CANADA.

CHAPTER III.

THE GOVERNMENT— THE PEOPLE— LIFE OF THE PEOPLE.

CANADA is a self-governing Colony of Great Britain. A Governor-
General from Britain represents the Queen and takes about the
same part in the government as does the Queen in that of the
Empire. He represents British authority, but acts according to the
advice of the Canadian Parliament. The Dominion of Canada is a Fed-
eration composed of seven Provinces and several Territories. The pro-

Parliament Building

vinces are Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba,
British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, and the territories, Alberta,
Assiniboia, Sackatchewan, Athabaska, Keewatin, Mackenzie, Ungava,
Franklin and Yukon. Ottawa is the capital of the Dominion. The
Parliament is made up of a House of Commons and a Senate. The

CANADA. 17

Provinces and Territories send members to the House of Commons and
the number each has a right to send depends upon its population. The
members are elected by the people, and almost every man over twenty-
one years of age, has a vote. The Senate is composed of men chosen
for life by the Governor-General-in-Council, which means, that when
there are vacancies in the Senate, the Prime Minister, after consulting
his Cabinet, recommends certain men to the Governor-General, and he
usually appoints them to fill the vacancies. Both the House of Com-
mons and the Senate must pass every Bill and the Governor-General
must sign it before it becomes law.

After a general election the political party which has a majority in
the Commons is called the party in power. When Parliament assembles
the Governor-General sends for the leader of this party, and asks him
to form a ministry. He selects from the Commons and Senate a certain
number of the ablest men in his party, to form a Cabinet and these
Cabinet Ministers, with the leader, who is called the Prime Minister,
form the Government. That is, they manage the affairs of the country
according to the directions of Parliament. One Minister has charge
of the Postal service, another of Trade and Commerce, another of
Militia and Defence and so on. A general election is held every five
years, but if he thinks necessary, the Prime Minister may appeal to the
country before the five year period has been completed. We see then
that the central Government of Canada is very much like that of
Britain.

It would be quite the same, if England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales,
had each, in addition to the Parliament at Westminister, one
of its own to attend to matters of local interest. The Dominion Parlia-
ment deals only with matters of interest to the Dominion, or to more
than one of its Provinces. In addition, each Province has a Parlia-
ment of its own, much like that of the Dominion and these
Parliaments settle all questions that affect only their own Province.
The Governor-General is represented in each Province by a Lieuten-
ant-Governor. The Territories will be formed into Provinces as
soon as their population is large enough. At present, the Dominion
Government exercises a general control over their affairs and one of the
Cabinet Ministers, the Minister of the Interior, has this as his special
department. The districts of Alberta, Assiniboia, Saskatchewan
and Athabasca, which are the most thickly settled, have been united
under one government with Regina as the capital. Keewatin is
administered by the Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba, while the
Department of the Interior takes direct control of the rest of the
territory.

18

CANADA.

It might look as if the ties which bind Canada to Britain were very
slight and could be easily broken at any time, but such is not the case.
The bonds of union .are the strongest possible,— affection and self-
interest ; and Canadians are as proud of their Empire as are the people
of Great Britain and Ireland. They take the keenest interest in all
questions affecting the welfare of the Empire and
show an increasing desire to help in its work. A
striking proof of this was given on the outbreak of
the war in South Africa. Canada was at liberty to
remain a mere on-looker; she was not forced to
take any part in either the fighting or the cost of
the war : yet, from the whole country came
a demand that the Dominion should share in
the work. The Government called for vol-
unteers therefore to form a regiment, and
the Royal Canadian Regiment, one thous-
and strong, was sent to the war, followed
almost immediately by another thousand
men, half artillery, and half mounted
infantry. Then a great Canadian, Lord
Strathcona and Mount Royal, at his own
expense raised a body of Canada's famous
Western Rough Riders numbering nearly five hundred. He equipped
them in the most complete manner with horses and outfits, and landed
them in South Africa. This is the noblest gift that any private citizen
gave to the Empire during the war. The Canadian troops were not
sent to Africa for mere show either. They fought bravely with the
home troops, many of them were killed and wherever engaged they won
the praise of the Generals for their good work.

Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal, better known perhaps as Sir Donald
Smith, is a striking example of what a determined, able man may do in
Canada. He came as a boy from Scotland to work for the Hudson's Bay
Company, and lived for many years at its lonely trading posts. He rose
step by step until he became Chief Commissioner of the Company. Then
he began to invest for himself and was soon recognized as an able finan-
cier. He was one of the leading promoters of the Canadian Pacific Rail-
way, and took part in many other important enterprises. Now he is
Canada's chief representative in Britain, and has been made a peer of
the realm. Lord Strathcona has given very large sums to educational
institutions in Montreal, and with Lord Mount Stephen, another famous
Canadian, founded the Royal Victoria hospital in that city at a cost of two
million dollars. It is no wonder that all Canadians are proud of him.

Strathcona Horse.

CANADA.

19

When we consider the size and wealth of the country, Canada's popu-
lation is very small, for London alone has almost as many inhabitants
as the whole of the Dominion. The population is fast increasing but there
is ample room for all who come. In the older provinces the country is
fairly well settled, although there is still a good deal of unclaimed land.
There are many towns and several cities, but most of the people live
in the country. In Canada nearly every farmer owns his land
of which he has usually from a hundred to two or three hundred acres.
In the early French days, it was the custom to have the farms run
back from the river in long strips. This enabled the settlers to build

Farm Buildings.

their houses near one another along the river and thereby avoid the
loneliness of a new country with few inhabitants. The custom remained
after tKe necessity for it had passed away and in most parts of eastern
Canada the farms extend for a mile or more from the highway to the
bush that is usually left at the rear end of the lot. If the settlement is
new, the houses are of logs or square timber, the barns small, and a
large part of the farm still uncleared. But in the older sections
one finds good brick or stone houses, and immense barns. The farmers

20

CANADA.

have learned to combine everything under one roof, and the stables,
mows, granary, tool and machinery room are usually all in one build-
ing. In the West, the country is as yet sparsely populated, and
many sections have not been taken up. But the settlers have com-
fortable homes and better opportunities for rapid advancement than
those in the older sections of the country.

Frenchmen were the first settlers in Canada,
and the Province of Quebec is still nearly all
French. The farmers are called habitants and
live in a very quiet, simple way. They are
cheerful, full of innocent fun, and make good
citizens. The habitants have very large famil-
ies ; indeed a family of twenty-four is not un-
common. Some years ago the Quebec Govern-
ment offered a hundred acres of land in the
unsettled part of the Province to every farmer
who had twelve living children, and the num-
ber of habitants who came forward to claim the
reward quite astonished those who had passed
the law. In Nova Scotia also, the early settlers
were French, and were called Acadians. There
are still some French people in the maritime
provinces but most of the inhabitants are descended from British ances-
tors and this is true also of the people of Ontario. British Columbia is
peopled mainly by settlers from Eastern Canada and from Britain. But
the population of Manitoba and the North-West Territories is the most
interesting of all, for here one sees more varied and interesting types
than in any other part of Canada. People from the eastern provinces
and the thousands of settlers from Great Britain and Ireland form the
largest class. But there are also settlements of Germans and Swedes,
Galicians, Doukhobors, Mennonites and Quakers — all happy in the free-
dom and comfort of their new homes, and learning to take a proper
pride in the fact that they are British subjects. During the last few
years many people from the United States have crossed the border and
taken up land in the North-West.

Town life in Canada differs from that of England in many respects ;
one or two points are worthy of notice. There are not many very poor
people in Canadian cities for nearly everyone can make a comfortable
living if he is willing to work The houses of the labouring people
are much better, and they are not nearly so closely crowded as in Eng-
land. There is far more fresh air and sunlight. Many of the houses
have gardens attached and all have at least a little bit of yard. The

Hockey Flayer.

CANADA.

21

Canadian town labourer is more restless than the Briton and not always
so thorough. But he has greater self-confidence and is much more
ready to try new ventures. The people are just as fond of sports as in
England, and get a better chance to take part in them so that almost
every young fellow plays some manly game.

Canadians take much of their pleasure out of doors. The young
people row, or paddle in canoes, or sail. They play lacrosse, tennis,
football, cricket, golf and baseball. In winter too the fun goes on.
Hockey is perhaps the finest game in the world. It is certainly one
of the most exciting to watch. The players dash about on their skates
with wonderful speed and skilfully manage the 'puck with their curved
sticks. The way in which they combine and shoot this rubber disc
along the ice from one to another is astonishing. Skating is indulged
in by old and young alike. Besides the ice on the rivers and lakes,
nearly every town has a rink where the skating is not stopped by the
snow which is so likely to spoil the outdoor skating at any time. In
the evenings there are often hockey matches and thousands of people
turn out to see them.

Ice-boating, where possible, is capital sport. The boats go very fast,
and in a good breeze have been known to reach a speed of sixty miles
an hour. Snow-shoeing, tobogganing, coasting
and . skieing have many followers. It is
beautiful sight to see a long line of men
and maidens starting off for a snow-
shoe tramp. They are dressed in
picturesque white blanket suits with
knitted red or blue sashes and toques.
Each man carries a torch and they
wind in a long line over the fields of
glistening snow with shouts and peals
of laughter. The older men do a great
deal of curling, and get keen enjoyment
out of their cup matches and bonspiels.

Life in the country is, of course,
somewhat different from city life.
Most pf the games already mentioned
are played to some extent, for the
young fellows gather from the different farms and have their games at
some central place in the evenings. Occasionally the farmers take a
day off and have a big picnic to which the people come for miles
around, bringing their baskets of good things to contribute to the
common store. Sometimes it is a church picnic, sometimes a politi-

Lacrosse Player.

22

CANADA.

cal gathering, but all are much alike. After dinner there are various
athletic sports, a large dancing platform provides fun for many, while
there are speeches for the elders and usually some patriotic songs.
During harvest time, however, every one is too busy for games, and
work from daylight till dark is the order of the day. The country
people have much more spare time in winter than in
summer, and in the long evenings are quite free
from work. Sleighing parties are then very
. popular, for every farmer has several horses and
one or two large sleighs. Nothing is more
exhilarating than to dash along in a country
sleigh, behind a lively pair of horses, with
jingling bells and merry laughter. After an
hour or two of driving, all gather at one of
the farm houses to dance or play games.
The country folk know one another inti-
mately and almost all are treated as equals,
so there is a great deal of pleasant inter-
course. But people are thrown more upon
their own resources than in town. They
necessarily live a quieter but often a much
happier life. In the newer settlements of
the west, people are too far apart to enjoy many of the pleasures we
have just mentioned, and in winter must keep themselves occupied with
books and indoor occupations. As the settlement grows however, the
farm house finds others going up on all sides, and new friends come to
take their part in the social life of the community. And there are
features about the life which are hard to find elsewhere — its freedom
and independence make up for much. The feeling of equality with all
one's neighbors, and particularly the knowledge that the land is one's
own is worth a great deal. The West has its special pleasures too, of
which riding is not the least. Every boy has a pony and rides a great
deal. There is good shooting also, for prairie chickens (grouse), ducks,
geese and other wild fowl exist in large numbers. Even the young boys
become capital shots and get many a bag of prairie chickens. In the
fall there is deer hunting in many parts, and an occasional coyote hunt
breaks the monotony of the winter.

One thing worthy of special notice in country life is the way in which
farmers help one another. There is a system of mutual help, quite
necessary in a new country, but which, besides enabling the farmers to
get their work done better, leads to much kindliness and good fellow-
ship. If a man has a particularly hard bit of work to do, he holds a bee,

Winter Sports.

CANADA.

23

and all come to help. The fall threshing and barn raisings as carried

on in Eastern Ontario are good examples of how this works. All the

neighbors go to the farm at which the work is to be done and help the

owner. He does the same for the others, and so on it goes. These

bees are often very jolly affairs, although much hard work is done. The

dinner in the middle of the day is quite an

event. While the men work at the barn the

women are busy within doors preparing a

huge meal. Pies and cakes and a big baking

of bread have been prepared beforehand.

Pots of potatoes and vegetables are put on

to boil and great joints of beef put to roast

in the oven. Long tables are set on trestles

and laden with substantial good things.

When all is ready one of the women blows

a tin horn, and work ceases at once. Then

the fun begins and the place rings with talk

and laughter. But the desire to help one

another is best seen when trouble comes.

The farmers stand by one another in the

most loyal way, and many a helping hand is Hunting.

extended to any one of their number who is visited by misfortune.

CANADA, A SELF-GOVERNING COLONY OF GREAT BRITAIN. GOVERNOR-
GENERAL, RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF MINTO, G.C.M.G. PRIME
MINISTER, RT. HON. SIR WILFRID LAURIER, G.C.M.G,, P.C.
HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR CANADA IN LONDON, RT. HON. LORD
STRATHCONA AND MOUNT ROYAL, G.C.M.G.

Dominion of Canada established by British North America Act,
1867. The system of government, a federal union having a central
government controlling matters essential to the general development,
the permanency and the unity of the whole Dominion ; and a number
of local or provincial governments having control of matters affecting
their province alone, and of certain matters defined in the Act, such as
Education. Each government is administered in accordance with the
British system of parliamentary institutions. The executive govern-
ment and authority is vested in the Queen and exercised in her name by
the Governor-General, aided by a privy council or cabinet, whose mem-
bers must have seats in either the Senate or the House of Commons.
Legislative power is a parliament consisting of a Senate and a House of
Commons. Senate consists of eighty-one members distributed between
the various provinces and territories. House of Commons chosen by vote

24 _ CANADA.

of people every five years, at longest, consists at present of 213 members
elected from various provinces and territories, according to population.
Justice is administered as in England, by judges, police magistrates
and justices of the peace. Canada consists of: (1) Seven provinces:
Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island,
Manitoba and British Columbia. (2) Of four provisional districts :
Assiniboia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Athabasca, with a local govern-
ment like that of the provinces. (3) Of three other provisional dis-
tricts : Ungava, Franklin, Mackenzie, and the provisional territory of
Yukon, which are administered by the Dominion Government, and (4)
the district of Keewatin, which is under the jurisdiction of the Lieuten-
ant-Governor of Manitoba.

Capital of the Dominion, Ottawa.

Population of the Dominion at last census in 1891, 4,833,239 ; esti-
mated population, 1900, about 5,300,000. Over 86 per cent, of inhabi-
tants natives of British North America ; foreign born, 647,362 — 475,456
from Great Britain ; 80,915 born in United States. English speaking,
3,428,265; French, 1,404,974.

Defence. Imperial army consists of 2,000 troops at Halifax. Dominion
has a large militia force. All British subjects between 18 and 60 liable
to service. Active militia, 1898, 36,650 officers and men. Royal Mili-
tary College at Kingston, founded 1875. Imperial authorities grant its
graduates a certain number of commissions in the Imperial army each
year. Naval defence in hands of Imperial authorities. There are
thirteen ships on Atlantic in North America and West Indies station,
and seven on Pacific.

Religion, absolutely free, no State church. All religions allowed
equal rights.

CANADA. 25

CHAPTER IV,

EDUCATION IN CANADA— COMMON SCHOOLS AND KINDER-
GARTEN, HIGH SCHOOLS, UNIVERSITIES. OTHER
MEANS OF EDUCATION.

BRITONS the world over have always been believers in the value of
education and those in the colonies have led in the effort for its
advancement. One of the first acts of the old Puritans after
settling in Massachusetts was to enact that "every township after the
Lord hath increased them to the number of fifty householders, shall
appoint one to teach all children to write and read : and when any town
shall increase to the number of a hundred families, they shall set up a
grammar school." The early British settlers in Canada had the same
desire for their children, so the country has always had a good system
of local schools. In the early days when the settlers were poor and
scattered the school-master received a very small sum of money and
"lived round." That is, each settler took it in turn to keep the master
at his house and so the dominie moved from house to house with his
little bundle of clothing and often a very scanty knowledge of the sub-
jects he was supposed to teach. A small log building was put up in the
most central spot and the children often came on foot, for miles through
the woods, to attend. Many a boy who afterwards became famous in
Canadian history received his early education from some old soldier, in
one of those little log schools. The value of good mental training was
ever in the eyes of the builders of the country, and the humble begin-
nings have developed until now Canada occupies a leading place in the
educational world. At the great Centennial Exposition held in Phila-
delphia in 1876 the experts appointed to compare the various systems of
the world, put in first place that of the Canadian province of Ontario.
At present the law compels all children to attend school long enough to
learn at least to read, write and keep simple accounts. But the
children, as a rule, do not stop here ; nearly all complete the common
Bchool course, and a large number go on to the High Schools, while
many take a University course and fit themselves for one of the pro-
fessions. The great majority of the students at the Universities are
the sons and daughters of farmers. And it is becoming more and more
common for the sons of well-to-do farmers to take a university course
and then go back to farm life.
3

26 CANADA.

The basis of all education in Canada is the public or common school.
Whenever the people in any section reach a certain number, the law
enacts that they must have a school. The government of the province
supplies part of the funds from the general taxes, and the people of
the section contribute the rest. In the new parts of the country the
government grant is larger, as the settlers are neither numerous nor
wealthy. A school-house is built and a teacher engaged, to give the
pupils a good general knowledge of reading, arithmetic, writing,
geography, British and Canadian history, with literature and gram-
mar. The school-house is much used also as a hall for evening

Public or Common School Building.

gatherings. In many sections a singing school is formed in the winter
by some local musician, and meets one night a week. The young
people of both sexes attend, perhaps more for the fim and the jolly
drives home together, than for the music. At the end of the course, a
concert is given, and the hall is packed with the farmers and their
families. The programme of songs, readings, and dialogues is not very
elaborate, but it gives more pleasure than many a first night perform-
ance at a great London theatre. In the towns and cities there are
similar schools for all children, but on a much more extensive scale.
Here the buildings are large and instead of a single teacher for the

CANADA. 27

whole school, there is one for each grade. In many of the towns
kindergartens have been introduced for the very young children and
are proving wonderfully successful. The public schools are absolutely
free to all children and are attended by rich and poor alike.

Next come the secondary schools, known in different provinces by
various names — high schools, collegiate institutes, academies, grammar
schools, seminaries. One of these is situated in almost every town, and
here the public school course is carried on a step further, with the
addition of classics, modern languages, science and book-keeping.
These schools also are supported partly by Government aid, partly by
the locality in which they are placed. In most of them the pupils pay
a small fee, but so small that it excludes very few. Pupils who take a
full course may go on to the normal training schools and fit themselves
for teaching, or they may attend one of the universities. Many, of
course, go into business, or a trade, or to work on the farm. Hundreds
of young men and women in Canada teach in the public schools as a
stepping-stone to something else. Many of the best known public
men began life as teachers. A notable example is the Prime Minister
of Ontario, who taught for years in a country school. But it is a great
pity that teachers' salaries are not high enough to tempt men to take up
teaching as their life-work. No doubt this will come in time, but at
present most of the teachers are young.

In addition to the government schools, there are a number which
copy such English Public Schools as Eton and Rugby. These are of
course somewhat expensive
and are attended by the sons
of the wealthier people. They
are maintained by endow-
ments, by the gifts of the
wealthy, and by the fees col-
lected from pupils. The gov-
ernments do not contribute
anything towards their sup-
port. The best known of
such schools is Upper Canada
College, founded in 1829 by
the famous old Waterloo hero, Upper Canada C°Uege-

Lord Seaton, in the city of Toronto. There are also many private
schools for girls, and numerous institutions of a special nature, each
devoted to the teaching of some such subject as art, music, or business
theories. The government provides schools for the deaf and dumb and
the blind,

28 CANADA.

There are in the Dominion a number of well equipped universities.
At most of these there is a good Arts faculty, a medical school, and
a school of practical science. All the leading religious denomina-
tions have theological colleges in connection with one or other of
the universities. A noticeable feature about Canadian college life is
that nearly all the men work hard. Most of them are farmers' sons
who will have to earn their own living, and must, therefore, work
to get ready for the struggle. The cost of a college course is not very
great, and many men pay their own way by teaching for a few years
before going up, and working during the long summer vacations.
These men go into the church, teach in high schools, or go to one of the
special colleges and fit themselves for law, medicine or applied science.
The schools of practical science are at present very popular, as their
graduates are much in demand as Surveyors and Electrical and Mining
Engineers. Increasing numbers of young women attend the universi-
ties where they have the same privileges as the men. The majority of
the teachers in the public schools are women, as well as many in the
High Schools.

The provincial government of Ontario has established a large agricul-
tural college at Guelph, with an experimental farm and dairy in con-
nection. It is largely attended by the sons of Canadian farmers, and
also by young men from various parts of the world who intend taking
up farming or ranching in Canada. Here men receive a thorough
training, not only in the theories of cattle breeding, butter and cheese
making and the value for food and best methods of growing different
roots and grains, but they learn also, in a practical way, how best to
apply these theories. The University of Toronto grants degrees to the
graduates of the college. There are also several schools of dairying
which give a short, practical course on this most important subject.
The course is given during the winter so that farmers may easily
attend, and great numbers do so. Schools of Mining give practical
instruction to men who wish to engage in this industry and also, with
the help of the Universities, provide the higher scientific training for
those who desire it.

But there are other means of education than schools, and from these
everyone must learn. We are always at school and on the care or care-
lessness with which we learn the lessons our everyday life places
before us, depends success or failure. Every Canadian takes a keen
and often an active interest in politics, for the opportunities are many.
In addition to Dominion and provincial politics, there are the county
and township councils with their important powers of local self-gov-
ernment. The men elected to these are chiefly farmers, and the interest

CANADA. 29

aroused in a farming community over questions of local improvement,
or expenditure is very strong. Men cannot take part in discussions
and political campaigns of this kind without learning a great deal that
is useful. It trains the powers of judgment and resource, it quickens
the interest in and desire for information, and above all, it gives a
knowledge of men. Newspapers, too, are great educators, though
unfortunately their influence is not always in the direction of higher
things, and every little town has at least a weekly paper, if not a
daily. All members of the family read the papers, the children as well
as the older folk, and through the paper many of their opinions are
formed. Churches have their influence in education, and every
denomination is well represented in all parts of Canada. There is
absolute religious freedom and the church plays a prominent part in
the social as well as the religious life of the community. This is
especially true of the country.

Speaking generally, we may say, that every one in Canada receives
some education, and compared with other countries the standard is
high. But just because an education is so easily obtained, many fail to
appreciate its value and are inclined to forget their own responsibility
in the matter.

30

CANADA.

CHAPTER V.

CANADIANS A WORKING PEOPLE— MANUFACTURES-
FISHERIES— MINING.

r spite of all that we have said about sport, the Canadians are
essentially a working people. The leisure class, as in most new
countries, is small and nearly everyone has some occupation at
which he works regularly. Even the members of Parliament are paid
because there is not in Canada the rich class of people who can devote

Pulpwood on River Bank.

themselves to public life without thought of the cost. One result is
that there is much less difference between the various classes of society
than in an old country. The working man, while respectful to his
employer, is more independent than his brother in England because he
feels surer of a livelihood. It is our wish in this and the following
chapters to tell something of the occupations of the people in Canada.

An English boy would naturally put manufactures first, but in Canada
these do not occupy so important a place as in England. Yet they are

CANADA. 31

quite worth considering, for there are many great manufacturing firms
in the Dominion, and the number is rapidly increasing. There are a
dozen large factories making agricultural machinery of all sorts —
binders, mowers, rakes, threshing machines and ploughs. The value of
the annual exports of agricultural implements to Australia alone
amounts to over half a million dollars, or one hundred thousand pounds
sterling. There are important bicycle factories which do a large export
business, but depend chiefly on the home market. An industry has
sprung up within the last few years that promises to reach very large
proportions. This is the manufacture of pulp and paper. There are in
Canada immense forests of spruce and poplar, the best woods for pulp,
and from pulp most paper is now made, besides a great many other
things. One large firm manufactures all kinds of tubs and pails from
this material. But it is most important for paper making, and the pulp
and paper mills are rapidly increasing in number. The London Daily
Chronicle gets its paper from Canada, and no doubt many other firms
will soon follow its example.

There are a number of large cotton, woollen and flour mills. Pianos and
organs are extensively manufactured, and Canadian furniture has a wide
sale in British markets. Of course innumerable other articles are manu-
factured, but as a rule, more for home consumption than for export.

But the country has other industries, as important, as interesting,
and more distinctively Canadian. Fishing is very good sport, and the
delight of all boys, but it is also the business by means of which many
thousands of people live, and in Canada this industry occupies a most
important place. There are four great fishing grounds — the Gulf of St.
Lawrence and Bay of Chaleur, the Bay of Fundy, the Great Lakes and
the salmon rivers of British Columbia.

The fisheries of the St. Lawrence and Bay of Fundy are the oldest
and most important. They rank among the great fisheries of the world.
Cod, mackeral, halibut, herring, hake, salmon and other fish are
taken in immense numbers and shipped to various parts of the continent.
Great quantities of lobsters and oysters are found along the north shore
of Prince Edward Island. The oysters are shipped in ice, even as far as
England, while the lobsters are canned and may be sent anywhere with-
out fear of spoiling. Much of the fish is salted and goes to the West
Indies, with which the Dominion has a large trade. In the days of
slavery in the Southern States the Magdalen herring were much in
demand. These fish are a rather coarse kind of herring and were
found in immense shoals round the Magdalen Islands. The practice
was for several schooners to go to the islands in company at the
proper season. The crews joined their seines together and worked

32

CANADA.

gradually towards shore, driving the shoal before them. When they
got close to shore they literally shovelled fish into the boats until
they were full. The fish were then pitched into the hold loose, with
plenty of salt, and within a week all the schooners were full to the

hatches of herring, which were taken
home, smoked and shipped to the South-
ern States for the slaves. A com-
mon fish in the waters of the Gulf
is the haddock which, when cured
and smoked in the Scotch way is
called Finnan Haddie, and
^,,.. furnishes a favorite breakfast
dish.

Fresh water fish of many
kinds are found in the Great
Lakes. These are packed in
ice as soon as caught and

distributed fresh over all the central part of the continent. Lake trout,
whitefish, lake salmon, herring, black bass and pickerel are some of the
chief varieties. Sturgeon are also caught weighing from fifty to five
hundred pounds, but their flesh is rather coarse. Pike are numerous
in the rivers and smaller lakes, and one variety, the maskinonge, grows
to a great size. Specimens have been caught over five feet in length
and weighing almost a hundred pounds.

The British Columbia salmon fisheries are the most interesting of all,
because there is nothing quite like them anywhere else. We all use
canned salmon which is generally put up in little round tins with
brightly coloured labels. If you look at the label, you will see in
addition to the picture " Skeena River Salmon" or " Fraser River
Salmon," and that means that the fish came from British Columbia. It
is easier to get salmon in that province than anywhere else in the world.
In the season when the fish are running up stream, the flow of water is
actually impeded at shallow places by their numbers. Standing on the
banks one sees the whole river red with the gleam of their sides, from
which the scales have been rubbed in the struggle. Fishing with a
hook and line is useless in such waters. Any number of fish can be
scooped out at will with a landing net or even the bare hands may be
used with success. In the lonelier parts of the country a bear has
often been seen to go down into the shallow rapids, seize a large fish in
his claws, drag it ashore and eat it on the bank. The canning factories
are built by the streams and the beautiful fish that are flung in at one
side by the thousand, very soon come out in cans at the other.

CANADA. 33

We turn naturally to mining next, for British Columbia is the chief
mining province. Best known are the gold, silver and coal mines
of the Kootenay district. It is but a few years since the first
large mines were opened, but development has been exceedingly rapid
and mining towns have sprung up in all directions, while Rossland, the
centre of the gold country, is almost large enough to be called a city.
In this country the metal must be separated from the quartz in which it
is imbedded and the process is so expensive that only wealthy companies
can work the mines. In another part of British Columbia is the famous
Cariboo district where so much gold was found about fifty years ago, in

Mining Scene.

the earth and the sands of the river beds. These mines were for a long
time partially abandoned, but men are finding that with proper working
gold can be got in the Cariboo district still. The country about Lake
Atlin also promises to be very rich in the precious metals. In the
East Kootenay country are the coal fields of the Crow's Nest Pass,
which are believed to be the largest undeveloped coal areas in the world.
They are just being opened up, and it is found that they contain
immense deposits of the finest steaming coal. Already this coal
is largely used by the steamships on the Pacific, and by the people

34 CANADA.

of the plains to the east. It is also specially well adapted for use in
smelting. A railway has been built from the east through the Crow's
Nest Pass into this district and gives an easy entrance to the mining
region of Southern British Columbia. Prospectors say that there is
plenty of iron in the Crow's Nest, and if this proves to be true, we shall
see great smelting works there before long, with all the increase in
population and business which that involves.

Everyone has heard of the Yukon district called the Klondike, away
to the north. All the papers were telling a few years ago of its wonder-
ful wealth and men hurried from every part of the world to make their
fortunes, for the gold could be dug out of the earth without expen-
sive machinery. They had a terrible time in getting from the coast to
the Klondike and many perished in the snow. Others died of want or
cold after they reached the land of gold, for the winters are very long
and exceedingly cold. The country is almost within the Arctic circle
and during the summer there is hardly any night, while in winter most
of the day is just a sort of twilight. Everything had to be carried
over the mountains on sleighs drawn by dogs, or by the men them-
selves, so it was impossible to get in enough food. The second winter
things were much better, and now there is a telegraph line, and a
railway has almost reached Dawson City, the
chief place.

It was always possible to reach the Klondike
without much discomfort by taking the
steamer up the Yukon. But that involved
v~ a long voyage round by Behring Strait to
St. Michael, at the river's mouth, and a
river trip of seventeen hundred miles. As
the river was closed by ice for nine months
in the year, not many trips could be
H&-'-' made.

Gold mining now goes on systemati-
cally all around Dawson, and some of the
miners strike very rich claims, but many
are disappointed. The gold is found in
nuggets in the earth, sometimes of con-

V.'ashing Gold.

siderable size but usually qnite small.

The earth is dug out during the winter and piled in a heap, and when
the warm weather comes it is washed out and the gold collected.
People may now live in fair comfort though everything is still very
costly. There is a good hospital, and several doctors practise in the
town. There are churches, hotels, theatres and banks, while substantial

CANADA. 35

shops and houses are rapidly replacing the huts of earlier days. It is
likely hydraulic mining on an extensive scale will soon replace the pre-
sent primitive methods and greatly increase the output of gold which
even now is large.

In Ontario, there are important gold mines in the Rainy River dis-
trict. At Sudbury, great quantities of nickel are mined and shipped to
the United States. This metal looks like silver and will not rust. It
is much used for plating other metals, in alloy for coins, and in making
armour plate for the United States men-of-war. The Parry Sound dis-
trict is rich in copper, while silver is found north of Lake Superior.
There is a great deal of iron in Ontario, but as yet it is of comparatively
little value, for no coal has been discovered near enough to make smelting
profitable.

Up to the present time British Columbia and Nova Scotia have been
the chief mining provinces. Gold has been mined in the latter for many
years in sufficient quantities to yield the mine owners a fair profit. But
the mineral for which Nova Scotia has long been noted is coal. There
are several large mines, but those at Sydney, in Cape Breton Island, are
particularly valuable. Here one may see a large ship loading at the dock
with coal, which has been taken from under the sea right where the ship
is riding. For the mines extend a considerable distance under the sea,
though the entrance shaft is on land. Quite recently a very strong com-
pany of capitalists has secured valuable iron land on Newfoundland, just
opposite Sydney, and is now building at Sydney what will be perhaps
the largest iron and steel works in America.

CANADA.

CHAPTER VI.

mm.

Cutting down Trees.

LUMBERING.

>HE eastern half of Canada was once covered
with forests, and great tracts are still un-
cleared. When the early settlers came,
they had to go to work with axes and clear
a small patch of land. Then with the logs,
roughly squared, they built a house, filling
in the chinks with mortar or clay. At one
end was a stone chimney with a fire-place
that would hold half a dozen big logs. Here
roaring wood fires were built, and no one
could wish a more cheerful place than the
living room of one of these log shanties on
a cold winter night. The settler went to
work every winter to clear more of his land
and before long had several good fields. At
first, when he had to get rid of the logs and stumps he burnt them and
made potash from the ashes. But later, saw mills were put up here
and there, for the settlers began to want finer houses and that meant
sawn lumber. There was a growing demand also in England for timber
and the United States furnished a market for the coarser lumber which
England did not want. In this way one of Canada's greatest industries
developed.

Large sections of the country are still covered with pine forests, and
this makes the most valuable lumber. There are also thousands of
square miles of spruce and large areas covered by such hardwoods as
maple, beech, birch, ash and oak. But when we speak of Canadian
lumbering we usually mean the operations by which the pine is brought
to market.

Early in the fall bands of young men start for the shanties from
almost every part of Eastern Canada. They are chiefly farmers' sons
and farm labourers. In addition, there are the regular shantymen, who
spend most of their lives at the business, but they go into the
woods earlier to begin operations. During the spring and summer, part
of these regular lumbermen work in the saw-mills, while the rest are the
famous rivermen who bring down the logs from the shanties to the mills.

CANADA.

37

On their way to the shanties the men go by rail as far as possible, and
are then driven on big lumber sleighs for miles into the woods. Many
of the young farmers bring horses with them and act as teamsters
during the winter. In the preceding summer the forest-rangers and
the inspector choose a section of the woods for the season's opera-
tions, and here the shanty is built. It is a long, low log building with a
roof sloping from front to rear, a great door at one corner, and bunks for
fifty men. The bunks are built along one side and end, in a double row,
one above the other, like the berths of a steamship. About the middle
of the side opposite the bunks is the " caboose," or cooking fire. Here

Luinberman's Log House.

sand is laid over a large patch of ground, to the depth of a foot, and this
is the shanty oven. The smoke escapes through a hole in the roof. The
cook first builds a large fire and keeps it going until the sand is red-hot
right through. He then rakes off the coals and buries in the burning sand
the flat iron kettles in which he bakes his bread and pork and beans. He
covers them up and draws back the coals. Everything is cooked beauti-
fully in this way ; the shanty bread is as white and light as that of the best
housewife in England. All meals are much alike and consist of fresh bread,
baked pork and beans, molasses, rice, and tea with plenty of sugar.

38 CANADA.

When the men reach the shanty they are divided by the foreman into
four gangs, each with a boss and a special class of work to do. The best
men fell the trees and cut them into logs. Another lot drag the logs to a
central point for the teamsters who draw them to the lake or river,
while the green hands make roads and clear away brush before the men
who are dragging in the logs. Everything moves with the utmost
regularity, and an astonishingly large amount of work is done. The
logs are all drawn to the nearest lake or stream, where they are piled
on the ice or on the bank if the current be too swift for good ice.
The supplies are hauled from the supply depot by men called coasters,
each of whom has a team of heavy horses and a large sleigh. They often
come sixty or seventy miles through the woods with their loads. Each
shanty has a storehouse and a stable for the horses. The men retire very
early and are up long before daybreak. The teamsters rise before three
o'clock and feed their horses ; half an hour later all have breakfast, and
by four they are off to work. About noon they have a cold meal, and at
dusk return to the shanty with such appetites as only shantymen have.
Nothing so sharpens the appetite as the long day among the odorous
pines, with the smell of the freshly cut wood and the hard work in the
cold air. There are no more healthy or hardy men to be found anywhere
than the lumbermen of Canada. After supper the men lounge about for
an hour or two, telling stories, reading, playing cards or carving with
their jack-knives. The advent of a newspaper is a great event, and the
occasional visits of the missionary are looked on as a pleasant break in
the monotony.

Were it not for the hard frost and snow, it would be impossible to
carry on lumbering operations. The ground and swamps in the forest
freeze hard, and then, when they are covered with snow, the lumbermen
can go anywhere and haul their logs with ease. But it is not very
cold in the forest, for the trees keep off all winds, arid the men never
suffer from cold while working.

As soon as the ice on the smaller streams begins to break up in April,
the rivermen get to work floating the logs down the flooded streams.
It is hard work, and men often spend hours wading in the icy water.
But the greatest haste is needful, for the water soon subsides, and any
logs not down must be left till next season. About the time the smaller
streams are clear, the ice on the lake begins to go. The logs are held by
a boom till all are in the main river, or usually a lake expansion. When
all are down, the men let them drift. A boom is a long chain of logs fast-
ened together end to end by means of short bits of rope or chain, and is
used for holding and dragging logs. The men follow the drive, sweeping
the river as they go — that is, leaving no logs lying on the shore or in the

CANADA.

39

mouths of creeks, but keeping all moving before them as they work their
way slowly down stream. The drives, as they are called, often number a
hundred and fifty thousand logs, and quite cover the river for a mile or
two. The cook's caboose follows the drive on a large raft, and cooking
is done as it drifts along. In the evening the raft is moored at a con-
venient spot and the men sit on the grass and eat their meals. They
sleep in tents unless the mosquitoes become too troublesome, when they
often push out into mid- stream and sleep on the raft.

Rafting Logs.

But it is at the numerous rapids that- the river driver finds the excite-
ment and danger of his occupation. Here, as the logs go through, they
gradually stick and pile up along the sides until the whole river, except
a narrow channel, is blocked. The water is dammed back and rushes
through the channel. The men guide the logs with their long
pike-poles and try to keep them running but a log is sure to stick
before long and those coming swiftly behind pile up and make a, jam
that closes the channel. The men rush down and try to let off the jam,
before it gets too big. They work hard, hopping about from log to log
with the utmost dexterity and every moment running risks from which
only their skill saves them. Presently the key log is found and worked

40 CANADA.

loose by means of cant-hooks and pike-poles. Then there is a rush of
foaming water and tossing logs, over which the men must run or be
crushed to death. To the onlooker the task seems impossible, but
they dash across whirling logs, balancing themselves like acrobats,
leaping hither and thither and never missing their step on the heaving,
tossing mass. Every man wears boots whose soles are studded with
sharp nails to prevent slipping, but despite this their skill and coolness
are wonderful. To see a man poise himself daintily on a rushing log,
moving his feet rapidly to keep on the upper side, then with a mighty

Saw Mill TntcMor.

leap, land on an equally unstable footing and keep his balance while
the foam tosses and the water roars about him, is a sight to stir the
coldest heart.

As the logs come into a lake they are caught in booms and towed
across by a steam tug and so they move slowly down stream taking the
whole summer for their journey and reaching the mill usually about the
end of August or first of September. The saw-mills are built on the
bank of the river, at some point where there is good railway or
steamship connection. Ottawa, the Dominion capital, is the chief of
these lumber centres. During the summer a saw-mill presents a scene
of the liveliest activity. At night electric lights are called into service

CANADA. 41

and so night and day the busy hum of the saws is heard. The logs are
hauled up from the river by endless chain carriers, placed on moving
carriages and cut into lumber by the lightning band-saw and the
gang-saws which cut up half a dozen logs at once. Thence machinery
carries the boards to the edgers to be trimmed, the outside slabs to the
wood-pile to dry for fire-wood and the saw-dust and small bits to the
great furnace which burns all refuse. As the boards move out on their
carriers a man stands by who swiftly measures and marks them. Outside
they are sorted and stacked in piles ready for shipment.

The Ottawa is the most important lumber river in Canada, with the
St. John second. Into the former flow half a dozen large rivers, each
bringing down its two or three drives every year. In addition to the
rough logs for the mills, a great deal of square timber for England
comes down the Ottawa. The timber is fastened together in cribs,
and a great number of these cribs are joined to form a raft which often
covers an extent of an acre or more. The men have a little hut on the
raft and live there. When falls or rapids are reached the timber must
go through a slide just wide enough to receive a crib, so the raft is
broken up, sent through one crib at a time and put together again
below. The water rushes through the slide very swiftly and a trip
down on a crib is a most exciting experience. At the bottom it shoots
into the river with a plunge which buries half its length in the water
for a moment. The rafts go slowly down the Ottawa until they join
the St. Lawrence above Montreal, then down the St. Lawrence to
Quebec, where the timber is loaded on ships for England.

In British Columbia also, lumbering is an important occupation, for
the Douglas firs which grow to an immense size and the cedars, make
capital lumber. The Douglas firs are hardly equalled anywhere else in
size. They often reach a height of three hundred feet with a girth of
fifty or sixty. The forests of British Columbia lie along the coast and
are very extensive. The Douglas fir and the cedar are the most import-
ant trees for lumber but there are several other varieties as well.

42

CANADA.

CANADA. 43

CHAPTER VII.

FARMING.

Fruit Growing, Dairy Farming, Poultry, Wheat, Ranching.

BUT after all has been said, the farmer remains the great man in
Canada, and farming in its different branches, the leading industry.
From Nova Scotia to British Columbia, in almost every part of the
country the farmers form the chief class of citizens, and a most intelli-
gent class they are, well read and deeply interested in all public ques-
tions. Most of them are always anxious to improve their business by
new and better methods and in this effort the Dominion and Provincial
Governments give great assistance. The Dominion Government has
established in the different parts of the country, experimental farms
where scientific men are continually at work making practical tests as
to the value of different kinds of seeds and roots, the effects of various
fertilizers, the best breeds of stock for different purposes and how best
to feed them. Reports of all experiments are furnished free to the
farmers and from time to time special reports are published regarding
any new weed that may be dangerous or any pest that threatens crops
or stock. Travelling schools go about also to give practical instructions
in butter making and the handling of milk. At these schools lectures
are given on the fattening of poultry and their preparation for market,
the proper handling of fruit and similar subjects. The farmers them-
selves have local institutes or societies where they meet and discuss
matters of interest to their work. In Ontario there is a large Agri-
cultural College where young men going into farming may receive a
scientific training in its various branches, and there are smaller schools
of agriculture in Quebec and Nova Scotia.

Farming is a wide word, and there are several allied branches of
industry included under that heading which differ in most of their
features. Fruit growing is one of the pleasantest forms of farming and
one which is rapidly growing in importance. Nova Scotia has been
famous for its apples from the early Acadian days, while from Western
Ontario hundreds of tons of beautiful apples, peaches, grapes and straw-
berries are annually shipped to the neighbouring cities and to Britain.
British Columbia has a good climate for fruit, and fruit culture is grow-
ing. Within the last two years the introduction of cold storage has

44

CANADA.

enabled dealers to begin the shipment of various fruits to Britain on an
extensive scale and much is expected of this trade hereafter. The fruit
growers have of course many enemies to contend with and must be
continually on the watch. Fruit is so perishable that any delay in
picking or shipping is fatal, yet the fruit often ripens so fast that
delay in both is inevitable. Various insect pests have to be care-
fully guarded against, also the danger of frost in the spring time.
It is only the active, resourceful men therefore who succeed at fruit
farming, for in this business the cost of stupidity, ignorance or care-
lessness is ruin.

Dairy Cattle.

The farmers of Eastern Canada devote a great deal of attention to
dairy-farming ; in fact many of them have given up almost entirely the
growing of grain except for fodder. In the west also more attention is
paid to dairying each succeeding year with good results. Cheese and
butter factories are built throughout the country, in the East at very
short intervals, and to these almost every farmer sends milk. A
favourite plan is to have two sets of machinery and to make cheese dur-
ing the summer and butter during the winter. The cheese industry is
one of the most important and is growing with great rapidity. Nearly
all the cheese is shipped to Britain in whose markets it is a favourite on

CANADA.

45

account of its good quality. The export of butter on a large scale
began later and the volume of trade is not nearly so large as that of
cheese but it is overtaking its rival. Large areas of the country are
particularly well adapted for dairying and Canada seems destined to
take a first place in this particular business. The closest attention is
being paid by government and people alike to perfecting the best
methods for carrying it on and so far no industry has given better
returns for the care bestowed upon it.

Prize Cattle.

On every farm there are flocks of poultry. The cities of the United
States have always furnished a considerable market for dressed poultry
and eggs. Now the introduction of cold storage has made it possible
to ship them to Britain so that the trade seems capable of indefinite
extension. The eggs are gathered up regularly by buyers who drive
through the country and call at each house once or twice a fortnight
during the summer. A short time before Christmas the turkeys, geese
and other fowl that have been fattening are killed, dressed and taken
to what is called the " turkey fair." Here they are bought by dealers
who ship them to the various markets for the Christmas trade. So im-
portant is this trade considered that in some particularly suitable

CANADA.

CANADA. 47

localities, such as Prince Edward Island, the government has established
poultry fattening stations as examples to the farmers in methods of
feeding.

Except in the ranching country, the Western farmers devote their
energies mainly to wheat growing. Wheat is what the English call
corn. When the threshing and marketing of the crop are over in the
fall, ploughing begins and goes on steadily until stopped by the frost
in November or December. In April the land is seeded with wheat,
after which the ploughing is completed and the oats and other crops put
in. Then the farmer waits for the harvest, busying himself meantime
with his dairy cattle, and the cultivating of the potatoes and other
roots, or in breaking up fresh prairie land. In July the hay is cut,
dried in the sun and stored in the barns or in stacks. If many cattle
are kept, the green Indian corn is cut and stored in a silo, to be pressed
and used as winter food for the milch cows. As the wheat begins to head
out, the western farmer casts many an anxious glance at the weather
probabilities, for occasionally a late night frost comes at this season and
damages his crop. In August the wheat is ripe and the harvest begins.
The grain is rapidly cut and bound in sheaves by machines called bind-
ers. In the East it is stored in barns to be threshed later, but the crop
is too large for this in the West, so it is hauled to a stack and piled
ready for the threshers. Just before cutting, the western wheat fields
present a lovely picture. As far as the eye can reach, the grain waves
and ripples to the warm summer breeze like a sea of gold.

As soon as the grain has been cut and stacked, comes the threshing —
a most important part of the work. In the west people live far apart,
and each man's threshing is too big a job to be done by a bee,
so a threshing gang goes with the mill. They sleep in a large con-
veyance somewhat like a car, which is drawn from place to place by the
traction engine which draws the threshing machine about and supplies
the driving power when the mill is at work. As the hum of the thresh-
ing mill begins, the scene is a lively one and worth watching. Every
man has his appointed place, and the stack of grain grows rapidly
smaller as the pile of straw heaps up, and the bags are filled with bright,
clean grain. As soon as threshing is over, the farmer hauls his grain
to the nearest railway station where it is sold and stored in the eleva-
tor for shipment to the East over the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Sometimes he prefers to hold his grain for a " rise" in price, but this
is a risky bit of speculation in which only those can indulge who are
well established.

In Southern Alberta, and to a smaller extent in several other parts of
the territories, the chief business is ranching. Each rancher has from

4S

CANADA.

one to ten sections of land, or from 640 to 6,400 acres, usually well
watered and covered with grass which makes good fodder both summer
and winter. This grass is peculiar inasmuch as it does not form a turf
like that of other countries, but grows more in tufts. The close
cropping of sheep is therefore very injurious, and sheep ranching is for-
bidden in Southern Alberta ; though in some other parts of the territories
large flocks of sheep are kept. Most of the ranches are owned by
Englishmen who had some capital with which to begin, but companies
usually operate the larger ones.

The cattle and horses are branded with the stamp of their owner
and then allowed to roam at large on the plains. They remain out all
winter, and can live easily on the grass ; but a certain amount of wild

Threshing in the Field.

hay is stacked every summer for use when a thaw is quickly followed
by frost, as it is then very difficult for the cattle to get at the grass.
Twice each year — in the spring and fall — there is what is called a
"round up "of all the cattle in each district. A certain number of
cowboys are sent out from each ranch, and they gradually gather in to
a central place all the wandering cattle or horses. Then the cowboys
go through the herd, cutting out the cattle of their own ra.nches,
with their young. The brand is the means of identification, so that
cattle brands are of the utmost importance in the Northwest, and the
man who fails to respect them must expect severe treatment if found
out. The cowboys and their ponies show remarkable skill in selecting
and cutting out their own cattle. In this way the herd is gradually

CANADA.

49

separated into various groups, and these are driven to their own ranches,
while the cattle that have strayed in from other districts are all sent to
one ranch, and the various brands advertised in the newspapers, so that
the owners may come and claim their cattle. Thus each rancher gets
all his cattle together twice a year. The herd is gone over and the
young ones branded. As many as possible are sold and shipped to
England, the United States or the mining districts of British Columbia.
The branding is most interesting to the onlooker, and shows the cow-
boy at his best. The animal is caught round head or horns by a rope

Railroad and Elevators.

dexterously thrown by the cowboy Another gets his noose over the
hind leg ; then the victim is thrown and branded with a hot iron.
When all have been branded and counted those not sold are turned
loose to wander at will till the next round-up.

Horses are treated as the cattle, but all that are sold must be broken
to riding. The western pony or broncho is a hardy, stubborn fellow,
who, when broken in, will patiently endure almost any amount of hard
work. When tamed he is a thoroughly obedient and faithful com-
panion, intelligent and easily managed ; but he does not give up his
freedom without a struggle. The breaking in of the pony is known

50

CANADA.

as "broncho-busting," and calls for all the cowboy's skill. It takes
from three to six weeks to tame a broncho, and as there are many to
be broken every spring, the cowboys are kept very busy. The horses
are quite wild at the beginning, but have become thoroughly obedient
before a good rider lets them go. The first few lessons give hard
work to both rider and broncho. The pony is caught with the
ropes, thrown and blindfolded, and after much bucking and struggling
finds himself encumbered with halter and saddle— not the little English
saddle, but the big, comfortable western one, with its high pommel in
front for the rope, and the wide wooden stirrups. As he springs up

Round-up.

he finds a cowboy on his back, while another on a trained pony circles
about him and keeps him from running too wildly with a quirt or a bit of
rope used as a whip. Then the fight begins in earnest, with skill and
cool determination pitted against wild, blind fury. The pony springs
forward and sidewise, shakes himself like a dog, jumps high into the
air and comes down suddenly with his feet close together and his
back arched. He rushes forward and stops suddenly, lies down and
rolls over, and tries a dozen other tricks, but all to no purpose. An
ordinary rider could not stick on for half a minute, but the cowboy sits
as coolly as if nothing were happening, only dismounting when the pony
lies down and remounting the moment he rises. Then the pony

CANADA. 51

tries his last trick. He rears high on his hind legs and lets him-
self fall backward, hoping to crush his rider. But just at the right
moment the nimble cowboy slips off, and the horse gets a bad shaking.
As he recovers from the shock and picks himself up, he finds the
persistent rider still in his place. It is no wonder that after several
such attempts the poor broncho gives
up in despair and submits quietly to
learning the fine points of riding.

The cowboys guide their horses, not
by the bit, but by the pressure of the
rein on the horse's neck. They teach
the ponies to respond
instantly to this pres-
sure, and also to stand
perfectly still when left
with the bridle
rein trailing over
the head. Their
own mounts are
wonderfully
clever little fel- •>—• cowboy ami 1*0,^0.

lows, and at the

round-up, the way in which they will follow a steer in and out through
the surging, bellowing herd, until they have driven it out, is quite re-
markable. When the rope is thrown by their riders they stop at once
and throw their weight on the haunches, so as to pull up the captured
animal with a sudden jerk. They enter thoroughly into the spirit of
their master's work, and aid greatly in carrying it out. The cowboys
are a jolly, noisy, restless lot of men, picturesque in dress and manners,
brave and strong, but full of mischief and rough fun. They are, per-
haps, the finest riders and revolver shots in the world, while their
handling of the long rope, or lasso, seems to the tenderfoot, as they
call any newcomer, simply marvellous.

There is one incident in ranch life which the cowboy always fears,
and yet it never fails to call forth all his noblest qualities. At the
round-up, and when the separated herds are being driven to the ranches
afterwards, the cowboys are constantly on the watch to guard against a
stampede, for, with the exception of a prairie fire, there is nothing so
dangerous or so hard to stop as the stampede of a large herd of cattle.
The slightest accident may start one, but few things will stop it except
the exhaustion of the cattle themselves. At such a time the instinct of
the cattle to keep together comes out strongly. A sudden revolver

52 CANADA.

shot, or a shout, or the taint of some animal in the air, may start a few
of them running, and unless they are instantly stopped the whole herd
will be off, thundering across the plains at a pace which tries the mettle
of the swift little ponies. It is at night that the stampede is most likely
to occur, and then, of course, it is much more dangerous than in the
daytime. If the night be stormy, or they notice any restlessness among
the cattle, the cowboys keep moving about on their ponies and singing
to soothe the frightened beasts. But once off, the fear of the cattle
becomes a mad frenzy, and there is nothing left for the rider but to
fly through the darkness at the side of the rushing herd, and hope that
no lurking gopher hole may catch the foot of his pony. Woe to the
man who is foolhardy enough to venture in front of the tossing horns
and thundering hoofs ! Unless he can split the herd by shooting two or
three of the leaders, he and his pony will be trampled to death in the
wild rush. The usual method of the riders is to get upon one flank by
the leaders and keep pressing in on them, in order to turn them
gradually till they are moving in a circle. If they succeed, the mad
pace gradually slackens, the cowboys begin to sing and soothe the
animals, until at last they stop, and the wearied ranchmen breathe
freely again.

CANADA.

53

CHAPTER VIII.

CANADA BY THE SEA.

CHE early history of Acadia is a romance which furnishes delightful
subject matter for the story-teller as well as for the historian. It
is a story of brave deeds and noble endurance, of undaunted deter-
mination against great odds. Here for generations Frenchmen and a
few Scots struggled to overcome the hardships of a severe climate, the

treachery of the savages, and the discouragement of frequent failure.
Now and then they varied the monotony by attempts to destroy one
another, thereby adding to their sum of woes.

In the year 1604 a French noble named de Monts set sail for Acadia
with two ships and a very mixed company. There were gentlemen like
the Baron de Poutrin-court and the great Champlain, who devoted his
life to exploring and colonizing Canada, but there were also criminals
and wanderers of all sorts. They settled on the island of St. Croix, and
while de Monts returned to France for supplies and more settlers,
Champlain and his men passed a most distressing winter, suffering from
cold and lack of supplies. On the return of de Monts, they all crossed

54 CANADA.

over to Annapolis basin, as it is now called, and founded Port Royal,
the first permanent French settlement. This was the beginning of that
great struggle to found a colony which went on for so many years, in
spite of discouragement and failure. The Colony grew very slowly, and
meanwhile settlements had been made at Quebec and other points on the
St. Lawrence. The French always made a distinction between the two
colonies, calling the one beside the Bay of Fundy, Acadia, and that on
the St. Lawrence, Canada.

Before many years a Scotchman, Sir William Alexander, determined
to take possession of Acadia for his king. Having obtained a charter,
he brought out a number of Scotch settlers and called the country Nova
Scotia, the name still borne by one of the Provinces. But though the Scotch
remained and held a little settlement they were soon forced to acknow-
ledge the lordship of the French. For a hundred years the French con-
tinued to rule Acadia, though with frequent interruptions from the
sturdy Puritans of New England, who on several occasions seized the
French forts. In course of time as the colonies in Acadia and on the
St. Lawrence became important, a very strong fortress was built at
Louisburg, on the island of Cape Breton, which is now a part of Nova
Scotia. This point became a subject of fierce contention between
French and English, for here lay in security the French privateers
which were wont to sally forth and carry destruction to the shipping of
New England. Once the New Englanders captured the fortress, but it
was returned to France by the careless monarch of England and not till
the final struggle of the Seven Years War did it pass into the possession
of the English.

Many an interesting story might be told, did space permit, of the
early days in Acadia, but one must suffice. Charles de la Tour, after
years of noble work for his King in establishing French power and re-
sisting the English, was named the King's Lieutenant-General in Acadia.
But the Seigneur d'Aulnay Charnisay had large powers also and was
jealous of his successful rival. De la Tour, having received a grant of
four hundred arid fifty square miles along the St. John river, built a
fort at the river's mouth and thither he came to live with his beautiful
wife, his children and his followers. He ruled all the country round,
and well upheld the dignity of the King. Charnisay, whose fort was at
Port Royal, across the Bay of Fundy, trumped up charges against de la
Tour, and after years of intriguing, obtained from the King a decree
depriving de la Tour of his power and authorizing Charnisay to arrest
him. But so stout was the resistance at the fort on the St. John that
Charnisay withdrew discomfited. When he came again, de la Tour
secured aid from Boston, and falling unexpectedly upon the besieger,

CANADA. 55

drove him in utter rout to his own stronghold, but unfortunately did
not kill him. Some time later de la Tour was forced to go to Boston
and at once the enemy appeared with a force, to take the fort. But
Madame de la Tour inspired her garrison with courage, and so well
did they fight that Charnisay was forced to retire in disorder. He then
invested the place closely, and sought to starve the garrison into sur-
rendering, meanwhile keeping away de la Tour's ship which hung des-
pairingly in the offing. When hunger had greatly weakened its defend-
ers he again attacked the fort and once again was beaten back. He
waited for some time and attacked in force. Inspired by their noble
leader the garrison fought with the energy of despair. Time after time
were the enemy beaten back from the palisades, but at last a traitor,
tempted by Charnisay's gold, threw open the gates. Even then the
fight was desperate, and Charnisay fearing that this woman would foil
him yet, called for a truce. He professed great admiration for the
bravery of Madame de la Tour and her followers and promised them the
honours of war if they would surrender. To save her followers, Madame
de la Tour signed the articles of surrender, but so soon as he had them
all captive, the brute led this noble lady with a halter round her neck,
into the court yard and forced her to look on while every one of her
faithful followers was hanged. Then Charnisay carried her off to Port
Royal where within a few days she died, heart broken at the loss of her
children and subjects.

During the seventeenth century Acadia changed hands several times
in the contests between France and England, till, by the treaty of
Utrecht, in 1713, all except the islands of Cape Breton and St. John
passed finally into the possession of Britain. St. John was the name
given to the island which now forms the Province of Prince Edward
Island, and on Cape Breton stood the fortress of Louisburg, with its
fine harbour and commanding position.

Most of the Acadians refused to take the oath of allegience to Britain
at the time of the transfer, and when war again broke out they secretly
aided the French. So troublesome did the matter become that the
British forced most of the Acadians to leave their homes, and carried
them away to distant parts of America. It was a sad blow to them,
and for many years the rich lands of the Nova Scotian valleys lay
desolate. Many of the Acadians fled and settled on the island of St.
John and in other parts of the French possessions. Most of those who
were carried away settled in the Mississippi valley, and a French colony
is still there in which one finds the quaint customs and distinctive dress
of the old Acadian days. In the course of years many of the exiles
wandered back to the land from which they had been driven.

56 CANADA.

The year 1756 marked the beginning of that great struggle known as
the Seven Years' War, in which Britain won so much glory and territory.
The war was waged vigorously in New France, and by 1760 the whole
country was in the hands of the British. Louisburg was captured, after
a hard struggle, in 1758, and French influence in Acadia was over. For
a number of years, the whole territory, including the island of St. John,
was administered as one colony. Then it was split up into four pro-
vinces,— Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape
Breton Island. The latter soon joined Nova Scotia, and there have been
three provinces since then. After the American War of Independence
about ten thousand of the loyalists who came to Canada, rather than
give up their British citizenship, settled in Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick. The British Government gave them all possible aid,
and they formed a splendid addition to the population of the new
colonies. But they had given up their comfortable homes in order
to enjoy the rights of British subjects, and when they found that the
government was in the hands of a governor and a few councillors ap-
pointed by the King, they protested vigorously. In time these protests
bore fruit, and responsible government was granted to the Maritime
Provinces, as they were called. In 1867 came Confederation, when
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick entered the Dominion of Canada.
Prince Edward Island joined a few years later.

The Bay of Fundy, which separates Nova Scotia from New Brunswick
and is so important to both provinces, deserves a moment's considera-
tion. It is over a hundred miles long and fifty wide. It is famous for
its high tides, which in the long narrow bays at the head reach a height
of from fifty to seventy feet. As the tide forces itself into some of the
narrow channels a bore or tidal wave is formed which comes rushing
along, in a great foam crested wave, as high as a man. Wherever the
shores are low and for many miles up the rivers there are immense
marshes which have been dyked off and form very rich meadow lands.
The fisheries of the bay are exceedingly valuable.

There are still several thousands of Indians in the Maritime Provinces,
but they have changed wonderfully since the days of the haughty
savages. They are a humble, peaceable people, who live on reserva-
tions set apart by Government and support themselves by doing a little
farming, by fishing, hunting, trapping and berry picking. The squaws
weave beautiful baskets and do bead work and the men often act as
guides and canoe-men for the hundreds of tourists and hunters who seek
sport in the wilder parts of the country. For these provinces, parti-
cularly New Brunswick, furnish some of the best fishing and shooting
to be found on the continent. During the season there is good deer

CANADA. 57

shooting and the hunter may also have a look at thelom/y moose,
though at present the law protects this animal from destruction. Wild
fowl of various kinds are numerous, and the fishing is excellent. Trout
and salmon are the two chief game fish. The salmon rivers of New
Brunswick have long been famous and are annually visited by ardent
fishermen from all parts of the continent and even from Europe. The
Restigouche and the Miramichi are perhaps the best known salmon
rivers, but there are many others.

This country by the sea is becoming ever more popular with people
who wish a pleasant place where they can rest and enjoy themselves
during the hot months of summer. The sea breezes and good bathing,
the beautiful scenery and the quiet, are all attractive features to such
people. So the number of summer cottages and hotels grows apace.
The favorite resorts are the north shore of New Brunswick and most
of the Prince Edward Island coast.

In many respects the people of the Maritime Provinces may not
appear to have been so progressive as those in other parts of the
Dominion. They form the oldest community in Canada and they live
in the part that is best adapted for dairy farming, yet Ontario is far
ahead of them in that branch of industry. In fact they have been a
little slow in developing their best interests so far as money is con-
cerned. But in one point they have outstripped all other parts of the
Dominion and taken a place quite out of proportion to their importance
in other respects. The Maritime Provinces have given to Canada more
famous men than perhaps all the other provinces put together. There
have been great statesmen, writers, college professors, poets and sol-
diers. This fact is no doubt due partly to the greater age of the com-
munity, but it is due much more to the devoted way in which from the
first the people of almost every class have striven for good education.

NOVA SCOTIA.

Nova Scotia is the most easterly province of
Canada, and forms a long peninsula lying east
and west. It is about three hundred miles long
and from eighty to one hundred in width. So
that in area it is nearly half as large as England.
To the south is the Atlantic Ocean, and to the
north, separating it from New Brunswick, the Bay
of Fundy. The narrow Isthmus of Chignecto forms the only connection
with the rest of the continent. The Island of Cape Breton lies to the
north-east and is an important part of the province, from which it
5

68 CANADA.

is separated by the Strait of Canso. This island is settled by
people from the Highlands of Scotland, who still preserve the Gaelic
language and many of the Highland customs. The people of the main-
land are chiefly of British or of United Empire Loyalist descent. In
the Annapolis valley and several other parts are many of the French
Acadians, while about Lunenburg is a prosperous German district whose
origin dates back to the middle of the last century. As in the rest of
Eastern Canada, most of the population is native born.

In no other Canadian Province is the climate so much like that of Eng-
land as it is in Nova Scotia. It is rather moist and not subject to very
great extremes. On the southern shore there are frequent fogs from the
Atlantic. The southern coast has many fine harbours, and round the
whole peninsula there are numerous smaller bays, important to the
fishermen and in the coasting trade, though not large enough for ocean
ships. Much of the land along the coast is too rocky and wild for culti-
vation, but the interior presents a fine picture of cultivated farms and
wide-spreading orchards. Farming is not so carefully carried on as it
might be, and the farmers have been a little slow in adopting new
methods in their work. In fact the Nova Scotians, like the English,
are conservative about changes, and as a result sometimes miss the
first-fruits of success in business.

Though the pine forests are now pretty well gone, there is a good
deal ot spruce, and lumbering is carried on extensively. As compared
with other industries manufacturing is not of very great importance yet,
but thousands of men are employed in shipbuilding. Twenty years ago
Nova Scotia owned more ships for her size than any other country in the
world, and they were all built at home. They were engaged chiefly in
the carrying trade, and were to be seen in almost every harbour of the
world. The great increase in the number of iron and steel vessels has
greatly injured Nova Scotia's shipbuilding, but it is still very important
and the Province may again before many years occupy a first place. It
is expected that when the works in course of erection at Sydney begin
to turn out their immense quantities of iron and steel, shipyards will be
opened near by for the construction of large ocean vessels.

All kinds of minerals are found in this Province, but the chief are
coal, iron and gold. The coal mines have long been extensively worked
and the coal shipped to the cities of the Eastern part of the continent.
The coal is like that of the north of England. There are also extensive
deposits of gypsum, from which comes the plaster of Paris used so
much in modelling.

Nova Scotia stands first among the provinces for her fisheries. There
are important fisheries on all three coasts — the Atlantic, the Bay of

CANADA. 59

Fundy and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In addition to the large quanti-
ties used in the Province there are important shipments to the West
Indies, to South America and elsewhere.

A country with so much shipping and fishing must nave a great
many sailors among its population. There are many who regularly
follow the sea, and thousands more along the coast who take part
in the fishing and also do a little farming. The interior is given up
chiefly to farming but the farmers are only beginning to realize their
opportunities. On account of the moist climate much of the country
is admirably suited for pasturage and dairy farming will soon be the
leading industry, for cheese and butter factories are being established
and proper methods taught. The apples of Nova Scotia have been
celebrated for many years, and almost every farmer in the western part
of the province has a large orchard. The apples are exported in
increasing quantities to Britain. The government has established
a school where the proper care of fruit and fruit trees is taught
and the industry has received more careful attention of late. Along
the north runs a line of hills which keep off the fogs and cold winds
of the bay. Behind them lies the Annapolis valley, the mild climate
of which so pleased the first settlers after their hard experience on the
island of St. Croix. This is the oldest part of the province, and the
best for fruit growing.

Except for the heather, Cape Breton scenery is remarkably like that
of the Scotch highlands — the rugged hills, the unexpected mountain
lakes, the shaggy woods are all there. And the Gaelic tongue is there too,
for nearly all the inhabitants are Highlanders or of Highland descent.
Many summer visitors are beginning to visit the island and enjoy a
few weeks of its invigorating salt breezes.

Sydney, the former capital of Cape Breton, is the chief port for the
shipment of coal. The new iron and steel works promise to add greatly
to the importance of the place. The once great fortress of Louisburg
has fallen to ruins, but the prospects of the historic old town are
brightening, for it is likely to become the winter port of Sydney,
whose harbour is closed by ice during that season. On the main-
land there are many small towns along the coast, the importance of
which depends on the shipping, the fisheries and lumber. Some of these
are Yarmouth, Truro, Windsor, Pictou and New Glasgow. The last
two are in the heart of the coal regions and are rapidly developing
their manufactures. Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia, is a fine city
with a population of about fifty thousand. It is well built and is
beautifully situated on a magnificent harbour, large enough to protect the
whole British navy. Halifax is one of Canada's winter ports and has a

60 CANADA.

large ocean trade. During the winter when the St. Lawrence is closed
by ice the steamships unload and take on cargoes at Halifax or St. John.
The harbour and city are well defended, for it is the summer station of
the North Atlantic squadron of the British navy, and there are import-
ant Imperial dock yards and arsenals. This is the only spot in Canada at
which a British regiment is regularly stationed, but just now the city
is garrisoned by a Canadian militia regiment in order to free the British
troops for the war. Dalhousie University is situated at Halifax and
there are smaller colleges in several towns, notably King's College, at
Windsor, the oldest in Canada. The people of the Maritime Provinces
have always been great believers in the value of a thorough education,
and many of the young men take a further course at one of the British
universities after graduating from Dalhousie.

The Province in addition to its facilities for communication by water
is intersected by several railway lines, and is connected with the rest of
the Dominion by the Intercolonial Railway, which runs from Halifax,
through New Brunswick and Quebec, to Montreal. This railway is
owned and operated by the Dominion Government, and other railways
are given running privileges over it in order to reach Halifax and St.
John, to which another branch extends.

NEW BRUNSWICK.

New Brunswick is the largest of the Maritime
Provinces, but the most thinly populated. It
stretches northward from the Bay of Fundy for
two hundred miles to the Province of Quebec.
On the east is the Gulf of St. Lawrence and on
the west the State of Maine. The southern and
eastern parts of the Province are well populated,
but in the north there are still large tracts of

forest land. The government has a system of granting farms to settlers
in this northern country on easy terms. The price is very small and
the farm may be paid for either in money or by doing a certain amount
of labor on the roads in the vicinity. The climate of New Brunswick
in the southern part is much like that of Nova Scotia, but it is not so
moist and is subject to greater extremes. The winter is usually very
steady, with plenty of snow and an even, cold temperature. The
people are chiefly of British descent, with a good sprinkling of United
Empire Loyalist stock, and most of them are native born.

New Brunswick has twice suffered terribly from fires, and many peo-
ple have not yet quite recovered from the losses caused by the last one.

CANADA. 61

In 1825, after an unusually dry summer, a fire started in the woods on
the upper waters of the Miramichi river. It swept on before a driving
wind and burned up everything over an area larger than Wales. Many
people perished in the flames, and those who lived in that district lost
everything they possessed. The Government helped the sufferers in
every possible way, but it was long before the effects of this disaster
had passed away. In fact, the track of the fire is still visible, and the
land has never been useful since. In 1877 more than half of St. John
was burned down, and property valued at twenty-five million dollars
destroyed. Thousands of people were ruined and had to move to other
places in search of work. It was a sad blow to the ambitious little city
and one not easily overcome. But the recognition of its importance as
a winter port has of late years given St. John new life, and its progress
has been very rapid.

The chief industry of New Brunswick is still lumbering, with agricul-
ture following closely. Every winter immense quantities of logs are cut
on the head waters of such rivers as the St. John, St. Croix and Mira-
michi and sawn during the summer at the large mills further down.
The pine forests are becoming exhausted, so the lumbermen have
turned their attention to spruce, and, as this reforests rapidly, the
supply seems likely to continue for many years. Mixed farming is carried
on in all parts of the country, with increasing attention to dairying, for
which the country is so well suited. In some of the counties there are
large stock farms, where cattle are raised for the British and American
markets. There are various mineral deposits in the province, but
mining is in its infancy as yet. Fishing, however, has long been carried
on extensively, and New Brunswick stands next to Nova Scotia in this
industry. There are fisheries on the Bay of Fundy, the Gulf of St.
Lawrence and the Bay of Chaleur. The salmon rivers are, of course,
fished for pleasure chiefly.

Manufactures are not very extensive as yet. There are several
woollen and cotton mills, and hardware, leather and machinery are also
manufactured. On nearly all the rivers there are numerous saw-mills.
Those of the St. John, the Miramichi and the St. Croix are very large,
and cut an immense amount of lumber each year.

Towns are scattered throughout the farming country and along the
coast, but the population of most of them is not above three or four
thousand. Fredericton, the capital, is a prettily situated town of about
eight thousand inhabitants. It is on the St. John river, eighty-four
miles from the mouth. The town is noted for its fine trees, and has a
beautiful Anglican cathedral. It is the military centre of the province,
and in it are situated the Parliament buildings and the provincial

62 CANADA.

university. Moncton, the headquarters of the Intercolonial railway,
is an important railway centre and has extensive manufactures. It is
at this point that the Intercolonial divides, one branch going to St.
John and the other running through the Chignecto peninsula and Nova
Scotia to Halifax.

At the mouth of the St. John river stands St. John, the chief com-
mercial city. It has a splendid harbour, always clear of ice, and, as a
result, its shipping trade is growing very fast. It is one of Canada's
winter ports and the chief shipping port of the Canadian Pacific railway
during that season. Despite the fact that it has a population of only
forty-two thousand, St. John ranks fourth among the cities of the
British Empire for the number, tonnage and size of vessels owned.
The only places that surpass it are Liverpool, London and Glasgow.

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

The smallest province of Canada is the most
thickly settled and the most thoroughly tilled.
Prince Edward Island lies in the Gulf of St. Law-
rence, east of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia,
from which it is separated by Northumberland
Strait. The land is nearly all fertile and very
little of it is not under cultivation. It is kept
rich by a natural fertilizer called mussel-mud.
This consists of the decomposed remains of millions of oysters, crabs,
clams and other shell-fish. Great deposits of it lie along the coast, the
layers often reaching a thickness of twenty-five feet. During the
winter a machine is placed upon the ice, which raises the mud in large
quantities, and it is spread upon the land before the frost leaves.

In the old days the land in Prince Edward Island was held by
absentee landlords, called proprietors, but the Government finally
bought out these men, and most of the farmers now own their land.
The population is chiefly of Scotch descent, with a good many
Acadians, whose ancestors wandered to the island during the troublous
times in Acadia. There are a few Indians, who live on a reservation
and are fairly successful farmers.

The island is a popular resort for summer tourists, as there is splendid
surf bathing all along the north shore, and the sea air is very bracing.
The climate is like that of Nova Scotia, somewhat moist, and not
subject to the extremes of the inland. The spring season is some-
times made rather unpleasant by fogs and damp winds.

Farming is the leading industry and nearly all the island is under
careful tillage. The farmers are progressive and usually very prosper-

CANADA. 63

eras. A good deal of stock is raised, but dairy farming receives most
attention. Large quantities of hay and potatoes are grown for ship-
ment to the United States, and poultry raising on a large scale is a
recent development. There is now a line of ships running direct to
Britain, and the island is splendidly situated for the shipment of all
farm and dairy products to that country.

The fisheries are of great value to the country and might be consider-
ably extended ; the island is situated in the centre of the gulf fisheries.
In addition to the various fish of the gulf there are extensive lobster and
oyster fisheries.

Communication with the mainland is kept up the year round. Dur-
ing the summer many lines of steamers call, but in winter it is some-
times difficult to get across Northumberland Strait. The journey is
made daily by a steamer constructed especially for the service. It is a
very strong, heavy boat, so built as to run up on the ice and crush it.
A much more interesting way to cross is to go on the ice boat from Cape
Traverse to Cape Tormentine in New Brunswick, a distance of nine
miles. These boats are box like things with a double keel. They are
rowed through the open water and when a floe is reached the double
keel serves for runners. The hardy crew springing out, seize the
leather straps and run with the boat over the ice.

Prince Edward Island has several excellent harbours, the best being
that of Charlottetown, the capital. This city has a population of about
sixteen thousand. The situation is good and the city presents a very
neat, trim appearance. It has many handsome buildings, including
those of the legislature and a small college. There are also several
private schools and convents. The other towns are small and situated
along the sea coast. A railway runs the whole length of the island
and touches at all the important places.

MARITIME PROVINCES.

NOVA SCOTIA. Capital, Halifax.

Population in 1891, 450,396.

Area, 20,600 square miles including Cape Breton, 3,120 square miles.
Length 350 miles, breadth 120.

Physical features : Surface diversified by lofty hills, broad valleys,
numerous lakes and rivers. Chief river, Annapolis. Cobequid moun-
tains in north, greatest elevation 1,200 feet. Coast line 1,200 miles;
shores abrupt and irregular, with many inlets and fine harbours, espec-
ially in south-east ; numerous small islands near coast.

Industries : Lumbering and ship-building important, agriculture in
all its branches, including dairy farming, stock raising and fruit grow-
ing. Exports of apples very extensive. Minerals very important, par-
ticularly coal : gold, gypsum and iron extensively mined.

64 CANADA.

Fisheries by far the most important in the Dominion. Value of pro-
duct 1897, $8,090,346, cod, lobsters, herring, mackerel, haddock, hake.

Manufactures limited but increasing in value.

Cities and towns : — Halifax (49,000 estimated), Dartmouth, Yar-
mouth, Sydney.

Education free and non-sectarian. Dalhousie College and University
at Halifax, University of King's College, Windsor.

Government vested in Lieutenant-Governor assisted by an Executive
Council, a Legislative Council, and a Legislative Assembly. Province
has ten Senators and twenty Representatives in Dominion Parliament.

NEW BRUNSWICK. Capital, Fredericton.

Population in 1891, 321,263. Area, 28,200 Square miles. Length,
north to south, 230 mil s, breadth, 190.

Physical features : Surface generally undulating, elevation slight,
highest point 2,170 feet. St. John River. 500 miles in length, chief
natural feature, drains 9,000,000 acres of the province ; Miramichi next
in importance, Restigouche, Richibucto, Petitcodiac, St. Croix. Lakes
numerous but small. Coast line (on three sides), 500 miles, indented by
large bays and fine harbours. Dense forests of pine, cedar, spruce cover
large areas in north and northwest ; lumber leading source of wealth.
Agriculture next and increasing rapidly in importance. Soil exceed-
ingly fertile, grains, roots, hay and fruits largely grown. Dairy farm-
ing and stock raising growing rapidly. Fisheries rank next in value
to those of Nova Scotia, herring, salmon, cod, lobster, smelts, sardines,
haddock, oysters.

Chief manufactures : Lumber, salmon, lobster and oyster canning,
textile and paper mills, iron works.

Minerals : Gypsum, coal, asbestos, stone.

Cities and towns : St. John (46,000 estimated). Fredericton, Portland
(now incorporated with St. John), Moncton.

Education : Schools free and non-sectarian : University of New
Brunswick, Fredericton.

Government administered by Lieutenant-Governor and an Executive
Council ; there is a Legislative Assembly elected by the people. Province
has ten Senators and fourteen Representatives in Dominion Parliament.

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. Capital Charlottetown.

Population in 1891, 109,078. Area, 2,000 square miles. Length 140
miles, breadth from four to thirty-four.

Physical features : Surface rolling and well watered, greatest eleva-
tion about 500 feet. Deeply indented coast line, bordered by several
small islands.

Industries : Agriculture the leading pursuit, grain, vegetables and
grasses principal crops. Stock raising and dairying important. Fish-
eries important and capable of great development, lobsters, herring,
oysters, cod, mackerel, hake.

Cities and towns: Charlottetown (12,000 estimated), Summerside,
Georgetown, Souris.

Education : Schools free and unsectarian. Two colleges, Prince of
Wales and St. Dunstan, the latter belonging to the Roman Catholics.

Government vested in Lieutenant-Governor, an Executive Council,
and a Legislative Assembly. The Province has four Senators and five
Representatives in the Dominion Parliament.

CANADA.

CHAPTER IX.

QUEBEC.

CHE early history of French Canada, like that
of Acadia, is full of interest and romance,
The story of Champlain's untiring struggles
to found a colony, of the patient heroism of the
Jesuit fathers among the Indians, of the explora-
tions of LaSalle and the Jesuits in the western
wilderness are but a few of the subjects which
lend interest to the history of the French in

Canada. Cham plain founded Quebec in 1608 on the site of an Indian
village. The position was well suited for defence and was soon strength-
ened by a palisade fort, later replaced by a stone one. The colony
was long managed by a company which paid very little attention
to its development, but thought only of the valuable fur trade. Just
one hundred years before the English captured the country, however,
the King withdrew the company's charter and the colony passed
under Royal rule. Those who were sent out to take charge found
that most of the young men, allured by the charms of hunting and
trapping, were slipping away from the settlement to live with the
Indians. As a colony could not very well grow under these conditions.
Talon, who held the office of Intendant, determined to stop the
practice. He sent to France and got several shiploads of French country
girls to come over as wives for the young men of Canada. The King
took a great interest in this experiment and gave a handsome dowry to
each girl on her marriage. Talon was a man of energy and when the
ships arrived he ordered all unmarried men to choose wives without
delay. The men went to the ships, chose their partners on the principle
of "first come, first served," and were married before they left the
water's edge. Anyone who did not do as ordered was to be dealt with
severely, and the King ordained that any young man who refused to
marry should not be allowed to hunt, fish, or trade.

After the change to Royal government, things went on somewhat
better and the little settlements and lonely seigniories between Mont-
real and Quebec gradually increased in number. But the hostile
Iroquois were always a source of danger ; sometimes they lurked in the

66

CANADA.

woods on the lookout for anyone so unhappy as to stray away from the
clearing ; at other times they would make a sudden descent in force and
fall upon some sleeping settlement. The most dreadful of these raids
was the massacre of Lachine, when many people were slain only a short
distance above Montreal. The French colonists showed the utmost
bravery in their difficult position, and deeds of heroism were constantly
occurring.

For instance, the Seigneur de la Vercheres dwelt at a lonely spot on
the St. Lawrence, a short distance below Montreal, so exposed to attacks
from the Iroquois that it was called the Castle Dangerous of Canada.
And it was here that Madeleine, the fourteen year old daughter of the

Quebec,

Seigneur, proved herself a heroine whose name should live so long as
history is written to serve as an inspiration to girls and boys. One
morning when her father was away at Quebec, and most of the peo-
ple at work in the fields, she was at home with only two soldiers, an
old man of eighty and her two little brothers. Suddenly the Iroquois
attacked the fort. The soldiers at once gave up in despair when they
thought of their weakness and the strength of the enemy. But the
brave little girl took command and set such an example of calm courage
that the soldiers were ashamed and took heart again. She held the
Indians at bay, until some of the women from the fields managed to
steal into the fort. So well did the young leader dispose her forces,

CANADA. 67

and take measures against every stratagem of the Indians that for a
whole week she kept them off and foiled their best efforts. Her broth-
ers, one twelve and the other ten years of age, proved able assistants
and used their guns right bravely. When the siege had lasted for a
week help arrived from Montreal. The relief party expected to find
the fort in ashes and the inmates slain. They found instead, the garri-
son uninjured and a girl of fourteen in command.

The story of Daulac and his companions is one which cannot be
told too often, for it records the heroic devotion of men who volun-
tarily gave up their lives to save their fellows. Roberts, in his history
of Canada, tells the story as follows : " Among the names of the
heroes of Canada abides imperishable that of Daulac des Ormeaux,
familiarly known as Dollard. This young nobleman's name had suffered
a stain in France. He came to Montreal in search of an opportunity for
some deed that would wipe out the reproach. At length word reached
the settlement that a great war party was on its way down the Ottawa
to exterminate Ville-Marie. Dollard, with sixteen comrades, vowed to
shatter the wave e'er it broke on the city, and to restore respect for
French valour. They took the sacrament together and went forth to
the fate of Thermopylae. Nor was this new Thermopylae less glorious
than that immortal one of old. With a handful of Huron and Algonquin
allies they ascended the Ottawa and entrenched themselves in the ruins
of an old stockade at the pass of the Long Sault rapids. Seven hundred
yelling Iroquois swooped upon them, and were beaten back. Appalled
at the terrific odds, most of Dollard's Indians forsook him. But one
Algonquin chief, and a half score of the more warlike Hurons, stood
faithful. Men were these savages, of the old, heroic pattern. For three
days, — burning with thirst, for there was no spring in the fort, — faint-
ing with hunger, for there was no time to eat, — gasping with exhaustion,
for the foe allowed them no respite, these heroes held the pass ; and the
bodies of the Iroquois were piled so deep before them that the palisades
ceased to be a shelter. Not till all were slain but five, and these five
helpless with wounds, did the enemy win their way in. Of the five, four
died at once ; and the last, having life enough left to make it worth
while, was tortured. But the Iroquois had been taught a lesson. They
slunk back to their lodges ; and Montreal drew breath a while in peace."

After the massacre of Lachine, Frontenac, Canada's greatest governor,
who had gone back to France, was recalled. He soon compelled the
Iroquois to look on him with fear, and the colony was given a respite
from its dangers. From that time the country increased more rapidly
in importance and strength. Warfare with the English colonists to
the south, broke out occasionally and took the form of border raids in

68 CANADA.

which both sides, to their shame, made use of Indian allies, who, in the
name of Britain and of France, committed the most dreadful atrocities.
As the eighteenth century wore on the outbreaks of warfare became
more frequent till the last great struggle came, and Canada passed
under British rule. In the course of time, as the country filled up, the
old French part came to be known as Lower Canada, a name which was
changed, at the time of Confederation, to Quebec.

The Province of Quebec extends eastward from Ontario to the Gulf of
St. Lawrence and along the north side of the gulf almost to the Atlantic
ocean from which it is separated by a narrow strip of Labrador. To the
south are the United States and New Brunswick, but the largest section
is north of the St. Lawrence, and runs up as far as James bay. The area
of the province is 347,350 square miles, or a little larger than the com-
bined areas of France, Italy and Switzerland. It is the second largest
province in the Dominion and stands second in population. Quebec is
cut in two by the St. Lawrence river, which grows ever broader as it
descends until it reaches a width of twenty-five miles just before enter-
ing the Gulf. Running along the south-east is a range of mountains
called the Notre Dame, which end in the high plateau of Gaspe, where
Cartier first landed to take possession of Canada for the King of France.
In Gaspe, parallel to the Notre Dame, run the Shickshock mountains
with several peaks nearly as high as Ben Nevis in Scotland. In
the North are the rugged Laurentian mountains. Between the highlands
and the river lies a broad belt of flat agricultural country.

A number of large rivers flow into the St. Lawrence, usually forming
a succession of rapids and falls, though several of them are navigable
for many miles. The Ottawa river, which forms the boundary between
Quebec and Ontario, runs in a great irregular curve. From its source
to the city of Ottawa it has many a rapid and fall, with broad deep
reaches between. From Ottawa to the point where it enters the St.
Lawrence, a little above Montreal, the river is navigable except at one
place, and there the rapids are overcome by a canal. The St. Maurice,
which is over four hundred miles in length, brings down immense quanti-
ties of lumber to be sawn at the city of Three Rivers, situated at its mouth.
The Saguenay is navigable for nearly a hundred miles, and is famous for
its magnificent scenery. For the last seventy-five miles of its course it
flows between cliffs often 1,200 feet in height. The beautiful scenery
and fine fishing make the river the favourite resort of thousands of
tourists. Into the St. Lawrence from the south flow the Richelieu, the
Yamaska and the St. Francis. The Richelieu drains lake Champlain,
and by a system of locks, vessel communication has been established
between tho St. Lawrence and the Hudson, on which New York is

CANADA. 69

situated. The St. Francis drains a group of beautiful little lakes in
the Eastern Townships known as Magog, Memphremagog, Massawippi
St. Francis and Aylmer. The Laurentian area in the north is dotted
with small mountain lakes. The largest are St. John, the source of
the river Saguenay, and Mistassini, about which very little is as yet
known.

The people of Quebec number a million and a half, most of whom live
along the St. Lawrence between the western boundary and a point not
far east of Quebec city. Nearly all the inhabitants are of French
descent and still speak French ; but their language is somewhat differ-
ent from that spoken in France. The English-speaking population lives
chiefly in the cities and in the counties south of the St. Lawrence, oppo-
site Montreal. This section is known as the Eastern Townships, and is
the most prosperous farming community in Quebec. The farmers pay
particular attention to dairying and the raising of fat stock.

The French Canadians are nearly all Roman Catholics and very much
devoted to their church and cures, as their priests are called. They
are very handy workmen under direction, and flock to the towns to
work in the factories. Strikes are almost unknown among them. The
farmers, or habitants, live on small farms as a rule, and when the sons
grow up and marry, instead of taking up land in the unsettled parts
of the country, they prefer to build on the homestead and divide
the farm. These people love company and like to have their houses
together. They build therefore near the road, and as the farms
are long and very narrow the highway in a populous country section
often looks like a long village street. The habitants are a very simple,
contented people, easily satisfied and adhering to a greater or less
extent to the old methods of farming. Many of the cures have taken
up the question of improvement, however, and are using their great
influence to arouse the people of their congregations. Some of them
have even taken charge of co-operative cheese and butter factories,
in order to have a start made in the right direction.

The habitant is a quite picturesque fellow as he rides along the road in
his French cart on a hot summer day, and he is even more so in winter
when he wears a dress that is distinctively his own. He is clad in thick
trousers of grey home-spun and a coat of the same material, with a cap-
uchin or hood, which can be drawn over the head when driving in cold
or stormy weather. About his middle is wound a long scarlet sash, tied
so that the tasseled ends hang loose at the side. On his head is a
knitted capote of some* brilliant colour with a tassel, and on his feet
" beef-skin " moccasins with long leather tops that come nearly to the
knee. Both the summer and winter vehicles used are peculiar. The

70 CANADA.

cart is a high two- wheeled gig, usually without springs, and with a seat
that will accommodate two persons. The sleigh used in winter is called
a "burlo" and is very low with a high back, and a dash-board to stop the
snow that flies from the horse's feet as he trots. The horses are sturdy
little animals, short and thick-set. They are a breed that has been
developed in Quebec, will stand much hard work without exhaustion,
and are known as French Canadian ponies.

The habitants retain many of the picturesque customs and ceremonies
of the early French settlers. They are fond of meeting together
for enjoyment, and will go long distances to attend the dances which
are frequently held. The fun goes on from early evening till four or
five o'clock in the morning, growing ever more lively as the night wears
away. These dances are still conducted as they were a hundred years
ago— the "fiddler" sits on a high seat and "calls off" the various
movements as he plays, while the dancers go through the figures and
step dances of their great-grandfathers. After the midnight mass on
Christmas Eve, which every one attends, several families usually
gather at some farm house for a big supper, at which one may hear
many an old French chanson and see some of the quaint customs of long
ago. These people cling to their language also, and their love for the
past is shown in the fact that they do not speak modern French but the
language of last century, with only such changes as life in an English
speaking country has caused. According to the law of Canada, French
and English are both recognized and both are used in Parliament. The
English of the French Canadian is a peculiar patois helped out by
violent gesticulations. A stanza from the poet Drummond, who has
pictured so well the life and thoughts of the habitant, will give some
idea of this patois and also describe in his own words the dress of a
French Canadian farmer :

" Wall ! w'en de ole man an' Bateese come off de magasin
Bateese is los* hees Yankee clothes — he's dress lak Canayen
Wit' bottes sauvages— ceinture fl6ch6— an' coat wit' capuchon
An' spik Francais au naturel, de sam' as habitant."

The habitant is singularly independent of many things which to most
people are absolutely necessary. He grows his own tobacco and makes
much of his sugar from the sap of the maple. From his sheep he gets
wool, which his wife spins and weaves into the strong "home-spun"
cloth of which his clothes are made. Very often he makes his own
whiskey also, and a great deal of the habitant's whiskey blanc is used
throughout Quebec.

The upper class among the French Canadians are more like the people
of Paris, but they have a courtly manner which suggests old France

CANADA. 71

rather than the modern Republic. This class has given to Canada many
of her greatest public men, and one of the boasts of such men has been
that they were British subjects. The leader of the struggle for respon-
sible government in Canada was a French Canadian, the Hon. L. J.
Papineau. Another who took part in that struggle, George Cartier,
helped later on to bring about^ the confederation of the provinces, and
was Knighted for his services to the country. The present distinguished
Premier of Canada, Sir Wilfrid Laurier is a French Canadian.

The northern part of Quebec is covered by forests and most of the
south-east also, although there forest fires have done great damage.
Lumbering is naturally the leading industry of the Province. In the
Eastern townships there are large groves of maple and during the early
days of spring the manufacture of maple sugar and syrup is carried on
extensively. Agriculture stands next to lumbering in importance, and
then comes fishing. The fisheries of the lower St. Lawrence and of the
Gulf are extensive, and furnish employment for most of the inhabitants
of that district. From the Gulf to Quebec the scenery is magnificent,
and at many points there are beautiful summer resorts where the visitor
finds good bathing, boating and fishing, as well as a delightful country
for drives or rambles.

Of late years several companies have begun to make use of the
immense water power of the rivers north of the St. Lawrence. Large
companies have been formed and machinery put in to generate electri-
city for distribution to the manufacturers. Already there are several
pulp and paper mills and numerous other industries have been organized
to take advantage of the cheap power. The province has valuable
minerals, but like Ontario, is hampered by the absence of coal. There
are deposits of the best iron, but the only place at which it is mined to
any great extent is above Three Rivers on the St. Maurice. Gold and
copper mines are also worked, the latter quite extensively.

Quebec, the capital of the province is the oldest and most historic
city in Canada. It is beautifully situated on the St. Lawrence. The
town is strongly fortified, the citadel standing on a high cliff which from
the river side is almost impregnable. Nearly the whole population is
French. Quebec has important shipping and manufacturing interests,
and is the centre of the ocean lumber trade. In addition to being the
seat of the Provincial Government it is an important military post.

Montreal, the largest and most important city in the Dominion, has a
population of two hundred and fifty thousand. Most of the wealthy
citizens, of whom there are many, are English-speaking, while the oper-
atives are chiefly French. The city is situated at the foot of Mount
Royal, which gives to the citizens a splendid park with an outlook for

72

CANADA.

miles over the surrounding country. Montreal is substantially built,
most of the buildings being of stone. Notre Dame, the French cathe-
dral, seats ten thousand people, and the cathedral of St. James is an
exact copy, on a reduced scale, of St. Peter's at Rome. Along the river
front are miles of massive docks, piers and wharves, for Montreal is at
the head of ocean navigation and during the season one of the busiest
ports in America. The city has railway connection with every part of
the continent and is the headquarters of the Grand Trunk and the

Montreal Harbour.

Canadian Pacific railways. By means of the St. Lawrence, the Ottawa
and the Richelieu, with their canals, travel and transport by water are
possible in many directions.

Other cities are Three Rivers, Hull, with pulp, paper and wooden-
ware factories, Sherbrooke, Sorel, St. Hyacinthe and Richmond.

CANADA. 73

QUEBEC, CAPITAL QUEBEC. POPULATION IN 1891, 1,488,535. AREA,
347,350 SQUARE MILES, INCLUDING A NUMBER OF ISLANDS, MOST
IMPORTANT, ANTICOSTI, MAGDALEN, BONAVENTURE. LENGTH OF
PROVINCE FROM 700 TO 1,000 MILES, BREADTH ABOUT 300 MILES.

Physical features : Surface greatly diversified, most striking feature,
the numerous rivers and lakes. St. Lawrence, draining almost entire
Province, traverses the country from south-west to north-east, between
two principal mountain ranges; Notre Dame (Mount Bayfield, 3,973
feet) south of river ; Laurentian, average height 1,600 feet, north. Chief
Rivers flowing into St. Lawrence, from north, Ottawa, St. Maurice,
Montmorency and Saguenay, from south, Richelieu, Yamaska, St.
Francis, Chaudiere and Etchemin. Into the Ottawa flow, the Gatineau,
du Lievre, Coulonge, Black, du Nord, Petite Nation and Assomption,
all important lumber rivers. The Ottawa river is on the border between
Quebec and Ontario. St. John is the largest and most beautiful of the
lakes, area 360 square miles. Other lakes besides the expansions along
the St. Lawrence and Ottawa, are Lake Champlain (partly in the
United States), Memphremagog, Magog, Massawippi, St. Francis,
Aylmer, Megantic and Spider. Mistassini north of the St. Lawrence,
is said to be very large but has not been thoroughly explored. The
Province is noted for the beauty of its scenery, the many points of
natural and historical interest attracting large numbers of tourists.
Nearly one-third of the whole area is covered by forests, and lumbering
is much the most important industry. Most important timber region
is along the Ottawa and its tributaries, but the spruce forests in eastern
part of province rapidly increasing in importance owing to growth of
pulp and paper industry. Agriculture and stock raising next in import-
ance, dairy farming developing, fisheries of Gulf and lower St. Lawrence
extensive— cod, herring, salmon, lobsters, mackerel, smelts, sardines.

In manufactures the province stands next to Ontario, chief products,
lumber, cheese, textiles, furniture, leather, paper, boots, shoes, flour.

Cities and Towns : Montreal, (240,000 estimated), Quebec, (73,000 esti-
mated), Hull, Sherbrooke, St. Hyacinthe, Three Rivers and Richmond.

Education : Under control of Superintendent of Public Instruction,
assisted by council of 35 members. Separate Schools are maintained for
Protestants where they are sufficiently numerous. Universities, McGill,
Laval, Bishop's College.

Government : Executive vested in Lieutenant Governor assisted by
executive council of 7, all of whom must have seats in the Legis-
lature. There is a Legislative Council and a Legislative Assembly.
Province represented in Dominion Parliament by 24 Senators, and 65
Representatives.
6

74

CANADA.

CHAPTER X.

ONTARIO.

D

kURING the period of French occupation of
Canada, there was very little settlement west
of the Ottawa river. Early in the history of
the country, however, Fort Frontenac, situated at
the point where the waters of Lake Ontario enter
the St. Lawrence, became an important outpost.
The Fort was maintained by the great explorer La
Salle, who had secured trading rights on the lakes

in exchange for keeping up the fort at this point. It was of the utmost
importance in overawing the Indians, and was also a trading post.
Later on another fort was established at Niagara, and a third at Detroit.
But it was not till after the conquest of Canada by Britain that Upper
Canada, as the country west of the Ottawa river came to be called,
attained a position of much importance. After that event it became
the home of many British colonists as well as of a large number of United
Empire Loyalists. By 1791 the settlements west of the Ottawa had
grown so large that the Constitutional Act divided Canada into Upper
and Lower Canada, each with a Government of its own. So matters
remained until the rebellions of 1837 in both provinces, which arose
over the question of responsible government. In 1840, after the close
of the rebellion, Upper and Lower Canada were re-united, so to remain
till 1867, when they were again divided into the Provinces of Ontario
and Quebec, in order to form part of the new Dominion of Canada.

The country about Georgian Bay early became the scene of the most
active labours of the untiring Jesuit Fathers, who toiled long and suc-
cessfully among the Huron Indians of that region. They endured hard-
ships, disappointments and even persecution with the utmost patience
and were rewarded by receiving almost the whole Huron nation into
Christianity. But the Iroquois, the terrible enemies of Hurons and
French alike, kept up a constant warfare, gradually weakening their
foes, until in one great massacre they killed thousands of the Hurons.
The missionaries, true to their followers, remained with them to the last,
and were put to death with horrible tortures by the victorious Iroquois.
The reman t of the scattered people fled helplessly in various directions,
and the once mighty Huron nation was thereafter but a name.

CANADA. 75

The Province of Ontario lies to the west of Quebec, occupying the
territory between the Great Lakes and James Bay. It is a little larger
than the German Empire, and among the provinces stands next in size
to British Columbia and Quebec. But in importance, wealth and
population it is first. The inhabitants number over two millions,
or about one-third of the population of the Dominion. The southern
and eastern parts of the province are well settled, containing many
large cities and towns, but the north is still covered by forests, with
but an occasional settlement. Part of this northern land is rocky and
unsuitable for cultivation, but it gives promise of being one of the best
sections of the country, owing to the rich mineral deposits. Farther
east is a section with soil and climate admirably suited for farming.
This is the Lake Temiscamingue district, near the head waters of the
Ottawa. Settlers are taking up land rapidly, coming chiefly from
Quebec and the older parts of Ontario. South-east of this section is the
pine district, which has added so much to the wealth of the province.
The fishing and shooting in northern Ontario are hard to surpass,
while the scenery on the inland lakes and rivers rivals that of even the
Thousand Islands and Georgian Bay. Colonization roads are constructed
by the Provincial Government from the nearest railway point to the
various settled parts of the new country. These roads are quite unlike
those of an older land. They are called corduroy roads, and are made
by laying small logs close together across the path and filling in a little
with earth. A long trip over a new corduroy road is an experience not
soon to be forgotten. The log roads are gradually replaced, however,
by better ones as the settlements grow and traffic increases. Canadian
highways do not compare at all favourably with those of England, but
a strong movement is now on foot throughout Canada for the improve-
ment of the roads.

The climate of Southern Ontario is modified by the Great Lakes, but
the north has the clear, dry, inland climate — very hot in summer and
cold in winter. On the whole, however, the dry climate of the north is
the pleasanter, as the moisture of the lake region makes the cold much
more penetrating.

The farmers of Ontario are, perhaps, the most progressive and pros-
perous in Canada, and farming has been more specialized than in any
other part of the Dominion. In the eastern section the most careful
attention is paid to dairy farming, and cheese or butter factories are within
easy reach of every farmer. Further west is a rich farming community,
where much attention is paid to fat cattle, grain and cheese. Between
the two is the famous fruit peninsula, pushed like a wedge between lakes
Erie and Huron, with a smaller peninsula standing between lakes Ontario

76 CANADA.

and Erie. In addition to fruit-raising, mixed farming is carried on
throughout the peninsula, and the district is one of the richest in Can-
ada. Tobacco and hops are extensively grown in the extreme south-
west. All over this section apples are grown for shipment to the
British and other markets. Near Toronto hundreds of acres are devoted
to the culture of strawberries. In the Niagara peninsula, which is one
of the best fruit sections in the world, many kinds of fruit are raised,
but particular attention is paid to grapes and peaches. A drive through
this peninsula in September, is a revelation in the possibilities of fruit
culture. There are orchards of trees simply breaking down under
their load of luscious peaches, and vineyards where the grapes are meas-
ured not by the basket, but by the ton. Owing to the quantities of
grapes grown, the making of wine has become an important industry,
both about Niagara and further west on Pelee Island.

Throughout all the older parts of the Province one sees comfortable
brick and stone houses, large barns, and neat, well-tilled farms with herds
of thoroughbred cattle and numbers of good horses. On every hand are
signs of thrifty industry and comfort. At short intervals, particularly
in the west, stand busy manufacturing towns and quiet country villages.
Every mile or two country school houses are met with, and in each vil-
lage rise the spires of two or three churches.

The surface of the country is irregular but in no part are there high
mountains. The Laurentian hills run from near Kingston, towards the
north-west to Georgian Bay. They reach a height in some places of
over two thousand feet. The Blue mountains to the south of Georgian
Bay are of about the same height. The rivers and lakes of Ontario are
numerous. In the east is the St. Lawrence into which flows the Ottawa
with its many affluents. Both of these are border rivers. The great
lakes all receive the waters of numerous rivers, like the Trent, Moira,
Grand, Thames, Saugeen, Maitland, French, Spanish and Nipigon. The
lakes of the Province are almost innumerable, the largest are Simcoe,
Rideau, Nipissing, Nipigon, Tamagami, the Peterborough lakes, the
Muskoka lakes, and the Lake of the Woods, on the border.

The people of North America are very fond of out-door life, and many
thousands spend the summer months at some resort where the air is fresh
and the life free. As a result, nearly all the little inland lakes have
their summer visitors. At the Thousand Islands there are hundreds of
beautiful cottages and many large hotels. Excursion steamers, pleasure
yachts, canoes and small boats are constantly winding their devious
way through the maze of islands. Dances, sailing matches, picnics help
to keep up the merriment during the whole summer. About one hundred
miles north of Toronto are the beautiful Muskoka lakes, and there the

CANADA. 77

scene is repeated in a simpler way. The Georgian Bay district is rapidly
becoming equally popular and the seeker after the delights of the wilder-
ness is driven ever farther afield. Many of the young men in Canada
prefer to take their holidays in a freer style than is possible at a
fashionable summer resort, so they go far away to the lakes and rivers of
the unsettled country to camp, as it is called. They live in tents, cook
their meals over an open fire, and spend their days in canoeing, fishing
and hunting. It is not an uncommon thing for young fellows to take
their canoes, a tent, and some light provisions and start off for several
weeks of exploring on the inland rivers and lakes.

Owing to the number of rivers flowing through the more rugged
parts of the province, water power is almost everywhere available for
manufacturing purposes. Hence Ontario is rapidly assuming an import-
ant position as a manufacturing province. At Sault Ste. Marie, for
instance, on the rapids of the St. Mary river, are situated the largest
pulp mills in the world. In all the towns of the western peninsula
there are factories for the manufacture of a variety of things — agricul-
tural implements, edged tools, mill machinery, pianos, organs, furniture
and various other articles. There are also large breweries, and dis-
tilleries, the latter exporting extensively to Britain and the United
States. On Georgian Bay and in the Ottawa district are great saw mills
and factories for cutting and dressing lumber. Throughout Eastern
Ontario there are cotton, woolen and knitted goods mills, carriage
factories, locomotive and car works and implement factories. Although
as yet most of their output is sold in Canada, the export trade in manu-
factured goods is growing.

The western peninsula is important for its salt and oil industries.
Along Lake Huron is an extensive area, producing large quantities of
salt. The salt is pumped from wells in the form of strong brine, which
is evaporated and the product refined at Windsor, Sarnia, Goderich
and other points. A little further south is the oil region, which has for
many years supplied most of Canada with its coal oil. Here, at centres
like Petrolea and Oil Springs, are thousands of wells producing crude
petroleum, which when refined yields illuminating oil and many valu-
able by-products. The industry has been a most profitable one and
employs many hands.

The maple leaf is usually spoken of as the emblem of Canada, just as
the shamrock is the emblem of Ireland, or the thistle, of Scotland. The
reason is that all over Eastern Canada are groves of this beautiful hard-
wood tree. The maple has been of great value to Canadians, for not
only does it furnish a very fine hard- wood for polished interior work
and for fire wood, but from its sap the maple syrup and maple sugar

78 CANADA.

of Canada are made. Every spring, during parts of March and
April, the sugar making goes on, and there are few more delightful ex-
periences for a boy than to spend some days at a sugar camp. The trees
are tapped as soon as the heat from the sun is strong enough to make
the sap run during the day and under each dripping spile is hung a tin
bucket to catch the sap. At the camp is a large stone fire-place, called
an arch, on which is set a great flat pan. Once or twice a day the men
drive through the woods with a puncheon and gather the sap. It is
poured into the pan under which a fire is kept going night and day.
The sap looks like water, but its taste is sweet, and as it boils the
water evaporates leaving the delicious dark syrup. This is poured into
cans and sealed for future use or shipped to the city markets. But the
great event at camp, is a " sugaring off." A couple of large black pots
are hung over a fire outside, each containing a quantity of maple syrup
which is slowly boiled. At a certain stage, a little of it when cooled,
mates delicious taffy. Over each pot hangs a small bit of fat pork,
the drip from which keeps the syrup from boiling over. The pots are
carefully watched, for there is quite an art in knowing just when the
syrup has been boiled long enough. When this point has been reached,
the pots are placed on the ground and their contents thoroughly mixed
by means of wooden paddles, then run into moulds and allowed to harden.
This is the method of making maple sugar, a most delicious sweet, and
in the early days an invaluable addition to the larder of the settlers.

Ontario has a very complete system of communication. Railways run
in all directions, while the great lakes and the St. Lawrence afford a
waterway along the whole southern boundary. The Ottawa river is
connected with Lake Ontario by the Rideau canal, running from Ottawa
to Kingston, a distance of about one hundred and thirty miles. The
rapids of the St. Lawrence are overcome by canals, while the Welland
and Sautt Ste. Marie canals complete the navigation system of the lakes.

The people of the Province are mainly of British descent but most of
them are native born. In the west there is a large and very prosperous
German community, while many French-Canadians have settled in the
north and east. The descendants of the United Empire Loyalists form
a considerable part of the population. There are a few hundred In-
dians who live on land reserved by government for their use. They
cultivate their land to some extent, but live chiefly by hunting, fishing,
berry picking and acting as guides for hunting and camping parties.
Some of the best steamboat pilots on the upper St. Lawrence are
Indians. The women make baskets and beaded work, afterwards
tramping through the country to sell their wares at the farm houses or
at the summer resorts.

CANADA.

79

The fisheries of Ontario, carried on chiefly in the Great Lakes, are
very valuable and furnish employment for a large number of men.
Great quantities of fresh fish are consumed in the country, and there
are also important exports to the cities of the United States. By the
use of ice and refrigerator cars, fish may be shipped to distant parts of
the continent and reach its destination in a perfectly fresh condition.
The rivers and lakes of Northern Ontario afford capital sport for the
fisherman, as they are well stocked with such game fish as trout, bass,
pickerel and pike.

Mining is another industry which is rapidly developing. The most
important centres at present are the Rainy River district, where gold

Toronto, Ontario.

is extensively mined, the nickel and copper mines about Sudbury and
the copper district of Parry Sound. But the area of mining land is
very large, and many metals are found in paying quantities. Iron of
the best quality exists in several sections, but is at present not valuable,
owing to the absence of coal.

Toronto, the capital of the Province, is situated on a fine bay over-
looking Lake Ontario. Between the harbour and the lake is a long,
sandy island which furnishes a splendid breathing place and recreation

80 CANADA.

ground for the citizens, many of whom live there during the summer
months. In the evenings thousands cross by the ferry boats to enjoy
a stroll in the parks or to attend the entertainments provided by the
ferry company. Several yacht and boat clubs have their club houses
situated on the bay. The population is about 220,000 and the city
covers a wide area. The streets are wide and shaded by beautiful trees.
Hamilton, at the western end of Lake Ontario, is a manufacturing and
business centre with a population of about fifty thousand. London,
with forty thousand people, is the distributing point for the western
peninsula. Ottawa, the Dominion capital, is picturesquely situated
on the Ottawa river. The Chaudiere and Rideau falls furnish immense
power, which is transmitted in the form of electricity to all parts of the
city. The Parliament buildings form perhaps the finest group of build-
ings in Canada. Ottawa is the chief centre of the lumber business of
Ontario and has large saw mills and piling yards. The Roman
Catholic University is situated in the city and also one of the
Provincial Normal schools. Kingston, on Lake Ontario, at the en-
trance to the St. Lawrence and the Rideau Canal, is a fortified city and
has important shipping interests. It is the seat of the Royal Military
College and of Queen's University. Other cities are Brantford, Wind-
sor, Peterboro, Guelph, Stratford, St. Thomas, Belleville, St. Catharines
and Chatham.

ONTARIO, CAPITAL TORONTO. POPULATION IN 1891, 2,114,321. AREA,
222,000 SQUARE MILES; LENGTH N.W. TO S.E., 750 MILES, N.E.
TO S.W., 500 MILES.

Physical features : Surface usually undulating. Many lakes and
rivers. The Laurentian mountains (highest elevation 2, 100 ft. ), extend
from Kingston to Georgian Bay. Blue mountains, south of Georgian
Bay, reach an elevation of 1,900 ft. The north-western part of the
Province is drained by the Nipigon and other rivers flowing into Lake
Superior. Into Georgian Bay flow the Spanish, French, Maganetawan,
Severn, Nottawassaga and Muskoka rivers ; into Lake Huron flow the
Saugeen, Maitland and Aux Sables ; into Lake St. Clair the Thames ;
into Lake Erie the Grand ; into Lake Ontario the Trent, Moira,
Napanee and Salmon. Large tributaries of the Ottawa on the south
are : Nation, Rideau, Mississippi, Madawaska, Petewawa, Borinechere.
The largest lakes (excluding the Great Lakes), are Simcoe, Nipigon,
Nipissing and Lake of the Woods. The water boundary of Ontario
extends along the Great Lakes and their connecting rivers for a distance
of 3,000 miles.

CANADA. 81

Industries : Agriculture, lumbering, fruit farming, stock-raising,
fishing, manufacturing, mining and dairy farming.

Cities : Toronto, (225,000, estimated) ; Ottawa, (56,000, est.) ; Hamil-
ton, (50,000, est.); London, (38,000 est.); Kingston, (18,000): Brant-
ford, (15,450); Windsor, (12,000); Peterboro', (12,000); Guelph,
(10,500) ; Stratford, (10,432) ; St. Thomas, (10,370) ; Belleville, (10,000) ;
Berlin, (9,332); St. Catharines, (9,170) ; Chatham, (9,052).

Education : School system under control of Minister of Education.
Law provides for the maintenance of separate schools for Roman
Catholics. Education practically free ; attendance compulsory between
ages of 7 and 13. Provincial University at Toronto. In this city are
also the universities of Trinity, McMaster and Victoria. At Kings-
to.i is Queen's University, at Ottawa the Roman Catholic University of
Ottawa, and at London the Western University.

Government : Executive power is vested in a Lieutenant-Governor,'
aided by an Executive Council of 8 members ; Legislative in an assembly
of 94 members elected for four years ; sessions are annual. The Pro-
vince has in the Dominion Parliament 24 senators and 92 representatives.

CANADA.

CHAPTER XI.

MANITOBA AND THE NORTH-WEST

TERRITORIES.

AR away to the north-west of the early French
settlements in Quebec, lay a great unknown
he haunt of the Inflian> tne buffalo and
tne beaver. The country was little more than a
tradition to the French, but it was not long to
remain so. The desire for the profits of the fur
trade and the love of adventure led the French
Voyar/eurs and traders ever westward. Two French-
men, Groseilliers and Radisson, pushed their adventurous way to the
waters of Lake Superior. Here they heard of a sea to the north, and
a fur country which offered rich rewards to the trader who should
brave the perils of the long journey. The next year, Groseilliers visited
this country accompanied by a small band of picked men and was much
more successful in securing furs than even he had expected. He there-
fore made his way back to Quebec with a scheme for the establishing
of a trading post on Hudson Bay. But the Intendant discouraged him,
preferring to have the Indians come to the French with their furs.
Foiled in this quarter he went to Paris, and failing there crossed over
to England where he succeded in arousing the interest of Prince Rupert.
Through him others were interested in the venture, and in 1668
Groseilliers set sail for that great bay which had long before been
discovered by the English. After a favourable passage, he established
the first fort on the shores of the Bay. The venture was successful
and on their return to England laden with furs, the merchants obtained,
through Prince Rupert's good offices with King Charles II. , a charter
granting them sovereign rights in what the charter called Prince Rupert's
land. This was a territory whose boundaries were quite indefinite, but
which reached later on to the Pacific and the Arctic Oceans. Thus
originated the Hudson's Bay Company which long governed the north-
west country, and is still a most important commercial force.

French jealousy of the new company was soon aroused. Radisson
and Groseillers having quarrelled with the English took charge of a
French expedition to Hudson Bay. This was the beginning of a long
and bitter rivalry. The French did not depend wholly on the success

CANADA. 83

of their expedition by sea, but sought also to hold the Indian trade by
pushing ever westward by the inland route. In 1731, Verendrye with
his three sons, a Jesuit missionary and a number of Coureurs de-s Bois,
made the journey from Lake Superior, across the Lake of the Woods, to
the Red River, and at the point where it is joined by the Assiniboine
he biiilt Fort Rouge, near the spot on which Winnipeg now stands. In
his steps followed the French Canadian traders, collecting furs for the
commercial houses of Montreal. This was the beginning of the North-
West Association, for years the bitter rival of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany. The servants of both companies intermarried with the Indians
and as a result there grew up a race of men, who to the wild blood of
their Indian mothers, added the intelligence and power of their white
ancestors. These men were destined to play an important part in the
history of the North-west.

The only aim of those interested in the West so far, had been to obtain
valuable cargoes of furs, but we come now to the beginning of an agri-
cultural settlement. In 1810 the affairs of the Hudson's Bay Company
were not in a prosperous condition, and Lord Selkirk proposed to take
over part of the Company's possessions in order to found a colony. In
spite of opposition he was granted a large section of country in the
Valley of the Red River, on condition that he should establish a colony
and furnish from among the settlers such labourers as were required by
the Company in their trade. In 1811, the first settlers were sent out,
most of them from Scotland and Ireland. But the Red River
Valley was the hunting-ground of the fierce Bois-Brules, the French half-
breeds, to whom reference has already been made, and it was the country
in which the North-West Company secured the buffalo for their supplies
of pemmican, or dried meat. The settlement therefore was fiercely
opposed and the settlers endured the greatest hardships. Once, most of
them were induced by their enemies to remove to Georgian Bay, but
others took their places. Then the allies of the North- West Company
murdered the governor of the settlement and several of his people. In
reprisal the Earl of Selkirk seized Fort WTilliam on Lake Superior, the
chief post of the North- West Company and arrested the officers. But
quieter councils prevailed finally and the two companies joined forces.
The little colony grew steadily till, in 1870, there were 12,000 people,
10,000 of whom were half-breeds of either French or Scotch parentage.

In 1870, the Dominion of Canada bought out for a large sum the claim
of the Hudson's Bay Company to the whole territory, leaving them their
rights of trading. For various reasons the half-breeds objected to the
transfer, and, led by one of their number, named Louis Riel, set up a
government of their own. A settler who refused to recognize the

84

CANADA.

authority of this new government was put to death. As soon as news
of this was received, a military expedition was organized in the east to
crush the rising. At its head was the present commander-in-chief of the
British forces, then Colonel Garnet Wolsley. After a long and toilsome
march, the little army reached Fort Garry only to find that the rebels had
dispersed, the leaders having fled over the border into the United States.
Many of the volunteer force settled in the country, which was immediately
constituted as the Province of Manitoba by the Dominion Government.

Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The new province prospered, and the growth of the capital, the name
of which had been changed from Fort Garry to Winnipeg, was remark-
able. In 1885 Kiel came back from the United States and again incited
the half-breeds and Indians to rebel. The militia of Canada, under
General Middleton, suppressed the rising after several lives had been
lost, and later on Kiel and the other ring-leaders were hanged. Since
then the history of the province and of the territories farther west has
been one of peace and steady progress. The most important event was
the opening of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1886.

The term, Western Canada, is a wide one including, as it does, the
provinces of British Columbia and Manitoba, as well as the various
territories. The present chapter deals mainly with Manitoba and the

CANADA. 85

districts of Assiniboia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Athabasca, for, with
the exception of British Columbia, the rest of the vast territory is at
present practically unsettled.

It is not very long since people looked on the North-West of Canada as
a great, frozen wilderness, which offered inducements to none but the
hunter and the fur-trader. All that has been changed, and the wilder-
ness turns out to be one of the most fertile and valuable parts of the
Dominion. Manitoba, Assiniboia, Alberta and Saskatchewan cover an
area equal to that of France and Sweden combined. Manitoba is
situated to the west of Ontario and north of the boundary line between
Canada and the United States. West of Manitoba is Assiniboia, extend-
ing along the International boundry line and still farther west between
Assiniboia and the mountains is Alberta. Saskatchewan lies north of
Manitoba and Assiniboia and east of Alberta, and Athabasca lies to
the north of Saskatchewan and Alberta. The territory is so large
that there are considerable variations in climate. In the eastern
part the climate is subject to extremes. In winter the cold is intense
with a moderate snowfall. The severity of the cold is largely counter-
acted, however by the dryness of the air, and is not so much
felt at Winnipeg as in Eastern Canada, though the thermometer is
usually several degrees lower. The climate of the western part is much
milder. The warm cliinooTc winds from the Pacific during the winter
temper the climate and keep the snow from accumulating, with the
result that horses and cattle are usually able to forage for them-
selves. Occasionally during the winter on these great level plains,
a high wind arises and blows the powdery snow in clouds so that it is
very hard to judge directions and one is apt to become bewildered. The
wind is very cold and the fine particles of snow sting as they are driven
against the face. These storms are very different, however, from the
tornadoes of the south-western part of the continent, which usually occur
during the summer and destroy everything that lies in their path. The
North-west of Canada is fortunately well out of the track of such storms.

In the north and east the country is chiefly rolling prairie land, diversi-
fied north of Manitoba by large lakes, several lines of hills and a cer-
tain amount of wooded country. The chief lakes are Winnipeg, Mani-
toba and Winnipegosis. The Red River flows from the south, through
a fertile prairie country. A short distance below lake Winnipeg into
which it flows, the Red river is joined by the Assiniboine which runs
eastward through Assiniboia and Manitoba. The city of Winnipeg is
situated at the junction of the two rivers. Farther north the Saskat-
chewan flows for thirteen hundred miles into lake Winnipeg. There
are many other smaller rivers and lakes.

86 CANADA.

Speaking roughly, Western Canada is divided into three divisions — the
great prairie wheat belt, extending through Manitoba, Eastern Assini-
boia and Saskatchewan ; the ranching country of Southern Alberta and
part of Assiniboia; and the more diversified sections in northern Alberta
and other localities which are particularly well suited for mixed farming.
The Canadian wheat belt is said to produce the finest wheat in the world
and the reason for this is rather interesting. Unless the wheat is ripe,
the frost which comes occasionally in the late summer will damage the
grain. Hence it is important that the wheat should be seeded and har-
vested early. Ploughing goes on all the autumn until stopped by the
frost in November or December, and as soon as an inch or two of ground
is thawed in April, the wheat is sown. " After that the lack of spring
showers, very common in the west, makes no difference, for the frost as
it thaws, furnishes moisture to the roots, while the hot inland sun forces
on growth with great rapidity." Thus the frost curiously helps the
farmer to avoid the frost. It is under these conditions that the Mani-
toba hard wheat is grown which millers pronounce much better than
that grown in warmer climates. Wheat is the mainstay of the West ;
but as the country develops, much more attention is paid to mixed farm-
ing— growing grain, raising cattle and dairying. The farmer who can
combine these is much surer of a steady income than he who stakes
everything on even so staple a commodity as wheat. But the majority
as yet prefer to take the risks with the gains and grow wheat. In
southern Alberta and part of Assiniboia, ranching is the important in-
dustry, as both the character of the country and the climate, are par-
ticularly well suited for stock raising. Into Alberta and Assiniboia
extends an alkali area, a continuation of the great desert of the western
states. Irrigation renders this land suitable for cultivation and is now
being put to extensive use in the Alberta sections.

Coal exists under large areas in Alberta. In many cases the veins
are not thick enough, nor the quality good enough, to make mining,
except for local consumption, worth while. But there are extensive
collieries at several points which supply considerable quantities of coal
for the plains. Farther north, in Athabasca, there are said to be
vast petroleum fields, but as yet they have not been developed.

It is difficult to give an idea of the extent of the western plains, but in
Manitoba and the three territories it is estimated that there are over
100,000,000 acres of wheat land, requiring only to be ploughed and
seeded to yield a harvest ; and should this vast territory become thickly
populated there is still Athabasca with large areas of good land, and
beyond that the Mackenzie territory which many claim is a country of
great promise, though it is probably too far north for very successful

CANADA. 87

wheat growing. The other territories are valuable mainly for the fur
trade, but there are indications in some of them of rich mineral deposits
which will prove of value later on. In the Yukon district they have
already done so.

All this does not mean however that every part of the country more
particularly under discussion is suitable for farming or ranching ; far
from it. As in every other land there are good and bad sections, and
the settler previous to taking up land should make the most careful
inquiries in order to insure getting a good farm. Discontented settlers
are bad for a new country, and with such an abundance of good land
available it would be a pity that the settler should find himself in a
district that placed serious impediments in the way of success.

Farms in the North-West are usually obtained from the Dominion
government, or the Canadian Pacific Railway. The government will
give to any settler who applies for it and pays a small office fee, one
hundred and sixty acres of farm land, on condition that he lives on it
and does a certain amount of work. If at the end of three years, the
conditions have been complied with, he receives a clear title to the land.
In addition, where possible, a wood lot is assigned to each settler, in the
nearest wooded section, in order that he may be able to provide himself
with fuel. The Canadian Pacific Railway sells its land for a small
amount.

When a settler came to Canada in the early days, the mere possession
of a farm was but a small step towards independence, for he had to face
long and hard labour in clearing the land of trees before it was of practi-
cal value for the raising of crops. But on the western prairies there
a#$ neither trees nor stones to interfere with cultivation. Without the
need for any preliminary dressing the new land is ploughed and seeded,
and yields a crop the first year. It is a good land for determined,
energetic men and to such yields rich rewards. But it is no place for
the shiftless or the dependent ; they should go to the tropical countries
where at least a living is assured, almost without labour. In the keen,
clear, northern air men must work hard and intelligently if they are to
prosper. When the country was first opened up companies were
formed to carry on farming on an extensive scale, but on the whole, the
small farmer has proved the more successful. It is otherwise in
Alberta, however, provided there is careful, practical management, for
ranching without capital is difficult work.

While wheat and cattle are the chief products of the North-West,
others are every year becoming more valuable. In addition to wheat,
oats, potatoes and various root crops are extensively grown. In Mani-
toba, particularly, the farmers are branching out in various directions,

88 CANADA.

and wheat has long ceased to be the only resource. Fat stock, hogs
and poultry are all receiving increasing attention, while dairy farming
is developing rapidly. Formerly, if an early frost damaged a man's
wheat, he sold it at about half price and lost heavily ; now he feeds it
to his hogs and loses very little, as in the end the return is almost as
great as it would have been from the uninjured wheat. In this and
many other ways the people are learning, through experience, to make
the most of their opportunities as well as to avert failure and loss.

At almost every station in the wheat country there is at least one
large elevator for storing and shipping grain. These are large, frame
structures, with immense grain bins, and are built beside the railway
tracks for convenience in loading cars. The farmer drives up to the
elevator, and in a few minutes his grain has been unloaded, elevated,
cleaned and, if necessary, loaded on the cars. These buildings are so
named because the grain is lifted by machinery and stored high enough
above the ground to run easily from the bins, through chutes or spouts,
into the cars. The same process goes on at points like Fort William,
where the grain is transferred from cars to vessels for its long trip on
the lakes. The grain elevators in Western Canada at the present time
can store more than twenty million bushels of grain.

Coal mining in Alberta is carried on at several points, and the in-
dustry is growing in importance. The fisheries of the rivers and lakes
are extensive and valuable. In the northern and eastern parts of Mani-
toba, lumbering is carried on for the local markets. Manufactures are
as yet unimportant with the exception of milling. There are several
very large flour mills which ship not only to all parts of the Dominion,
but also to Great Britain, China, Japan and Australia. One mill at
Keewatin has a capacity of 3,000 barrels per day, and another at
Winnipeg of 2,500 barrels.

The prairies have witnessed many a change during the last genera-
tion. Thirty years ago immense herds of buffalo roamed unhindered
save for the Indians and the white hunters who killed them for their
skins and for food. Thousands of them were needlessly slaughtered,
and now the buffalo in his wild state has entirely disappeared. Only a
few specimens remain in captivity. The Indian, too, in his old, free
state, is gone ; there remain only those who are dependent on govern-
ment aid for food, and they are gradually disappearing. In the early
days a journey across the plains was a matter of several weeks of toil-
some and dangerous travel ; now one crosses in a day or two on a train
which provides every convenience and luxury the traveller could desire.
Then one saw an occasional squatter's hut or a rickety Red River cart
drawn by oxen. Now, as the train speeds along, there are frequent

CANADA. 89

glimpses of cultivated farms and comfortable houses. Along the lines
of railway are numerous growing villages and towns ; while by con-
trast and as a reminder of what has been, great heaps of bones are
passed occasionally, piled up ready for shipment to the refineries — the
last melancholy record of the buffalo, once lord of the prairies. The
prairies themselves are a constant source of interest to the newcomer.
The feeling of illimitable space grows upon him, and as he stands in
spring-time in the midst of a billowy sea of flowers, whose limit is the
horizon, he is filled with a sense of his own insignificance, and becomes
humble with the vision.

The majority of the people in Western Canada are from the older pro-
vinces or from the British Isles. But there are communities of other
nationalities also. Amongst the earliest of them were perhaps the Ice-
landers, of whom many thousands have settled in the country. They
are most successful farmers and make excellent citizens. There are also
settlements from most of the northern countries of Europe, notably
Sweden and Russia. In Manitoba there is a strong French element, and
of late many settlers from the United States have taken up land farther
to the north and west. The most successful settlers are of course those
who have had practical experience in farming.

Very often in a new country there is almost no law and neither life nor
property is respected. One of the great advantages of the Canadian
North- West is that law and order are as strictly enforced as in older
countries. Life and property here are as safe as they are in Great
Britain. This is largely owing to the character of the people who
have settled the country. But much of the credit. belongs to the Cana-
dian North-West Mounted Police. This splendid body of men preserves
order throughout the whole vast territory north and west of Manitoba,
prevents smuggling, supplies information regarding every part of the
country, and keeps all lawless characters on the move. The men never
shrink from the most trying work, and they show the greatest coolness and
skill in dealing with the manifold difficulties which they are called upon to
rectify. They have an admirable patrol and scouting system and cover
the whole International boundary between the mountains and Manitoba
at short intervals. The mounted police are neither soldiers nor constables
but combine the best qualities of both. When sent to make an arrest,
no matter how dangerous the task may be, the policeman never returns
without his man, and as a result he is respected and feared by all
law-breakers.

The customs of older sections soon follow the settler, and one now
finds in the towns and villages, churches and church societies, fraternal
and benevolent bodies, and clubs with various ends in view. The
7

90 CANADA.

farmers have organized institutes in many places, for the discussion of
questions affecting their work, and in most of the more thickly settled
localities there are societies for the advancement of agriculture and
stock-breeding. An exhibition of stock and farm products is held every
autumn and prizes are awarded in the various classes.

The chief city of the North- West is Winnipeg, the capital of the
Province of Manitoba. The growth of this city has been very rapid
and there is now a population of over forty thousand, where in 1870
stood the little trading post of Fort Garry. Winnipeg is the natural
distributing point for the North-West and seems destined to become a
very large and important city. It is already a large railway centre and
has also facilities for communication by water with many parts of the
country. Winnipeg is the educational and social, as well as the political
and commercial centre of the North-West. The University of Manitoba
is the leading university west of Toronto. It has an arts faculty and
several theological colleges. Other important towns in Manitoba are
Brandon, with a large export trade in wheat, and Portage la Prairie
which has extensive flour mills. In Assiniboia are Regina, the capital
of the United Districts of Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Atha-
baska ; Moose Jaw and Medicine Hat, a divisional point on the
Canadian Pacific Railway, and the centre of the cattle and sheep ranch-
ing district. The most important town in Southern Alberta is Cal-
gary, a railway junction and the headquarters of the ranching interests.
Other places are Lethbridge, with large coal mines, and Macleod. Ed-
monton, situated on the Saskatchewan river in Northern Alberta, is
connected with the Canadian Pacific Railway by a branch line from
Calgary. It stands in the midst of an extensive agricultural settlement
and is one of the largest markets for raw furs in North America. The
chief towns of Saskatchewan are Prince Albert and Battleford.

Long before Great Britain had conquered Canada, the active fur-
traders penetrated into all parts of the vast country which now forms
Manitoba and the territories. They had even pushed their adventurous
way across the Rockies and on through the mountainous country to the
Pacific. By the middle of the eighteenth century the Hudson's Bay
Company exercised a rough sovereignty over an empire stretching from
the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from Lake Superior to the Arctic "Ocean.
They built strong forts on Hudson Bay and the Pacific and held them
against jealous rivals. They established trading posts in all parts of
their vast dominions and collected immense quantities of furs which
they bought from the half-breeds and friendly Indians. But the settler
gradually encroached upon their boundaries and drove the beaver and
the fox, the buffalo and the bear ever northward. Then came the sale

CANADA. 91

of the whole territory to the Dominion Government. The Hudson's
Bay Company retained its rights of trading and has still as its field of
operations, an unsettled country larger than all the Czar's dominions in
Europe. The whole of the northern and north eastern parts of Canada
are still given over to the trapper and the Hudson's Bay trader. Frank-
lin territory is practically unknown save to the Esquimaux, and an
occasional exploring party. But Mackenzie, parts of Yukon, Keewatin
and Ungava, are splendid hunting grounds where fur-bearing animals
abound. And throughout these the great company has still its trading
posts. Even Athabasca is as yet practically unsettled save by an occa-
sional Hudson's Bay factor in his lonely post, round which the Indians
gather during the long winter. Travel in all this great country is by
dog team and snow shoes, during the winter which lasts from six to
eight months of each year. The furs and provisions are piled on a
toboggan or sled, the dogs are fastened to it in a long line, and the
driver on his snowshoes keeps up with the team as they travel, and
urges them on when they show signs of lagging. In summer the traders
and trappers travel in canoes along the great rivers and lakes which
are so numerous. All along Hudson Bay and the northeast are tribes
of Esquimaux who live in their queer ice-houses during the winter
and wander about in the summer. They are hated by the Indians and
until recently, did any of them venture too far south, they were almost
certain of annihilation. The company's servants had sometimes much
ado to keep the Indians from making destructive raids on the little peo-
ple. Though the Hudson's Bay Company has parted with its sovereign
rights its influence in all the north and west is very strong still. Its
trade in furs is as large as ever, and it has also become an important fac-
tor in the business of the settled west, acting as one of the chief agencies
for supplies of all kinds. A recent writer speaks of the great company,
at the present day, as follows : " The posts of the company reach from
the stern coasts of Labrador to the frontiers of Alaska, and throughout
this enormous region it yet controls the traffic with the aborigines. To-
day there are one hundred and twenty-six posts at which this active
trade is conducted, besides those numerous wintering stations or out-
posts, which migrate according to circumstances and mercantile condi-
tions. * * * * Search all Europe and Asia and you will find no
parallel to the present sway of the company, for it feeds and clothes,
amuses and instructs as well as rules nine-tenths of its subjects, from the
Esquimaux tribes of Ungava to the Loucheaux at Fort Simpson, thou-
sands of miles away — all look to it as a father."*

'Beckle* Willson, " The Great Company."

92 CANADA.

MANITOBA, CAPITAL WINNIPEG. POPULATION IN 1891, 152,506 ;
ESTIMATED PRESENT POPULATION, 225,000. AREA, 73,956 SQUARE
MILES.

Physical features : Surface in general consists of a series of succes-
sive levels, locally known as steppes or benches. In north and east sur-
face broken and hilly, abundantly watered, with good timber. Principal
rivers, Assiniboine, Red — both navigable — English, Souris and Pem-
bina. The large lakes are Winnipeg, Winnipegosis, Manitoba and
Dauphin — great numbers of small lakes and streams. Land : Chiefly a
rolling prairie, dotted with poplar and other small timber. Soil very
rich, deep, black, clay loam.

Industries : Agriculture, particularly wheat and oats. Mixed farm-
ing rapidly developing — cattle, horses, dairying ; fishing, manufactures
rapidly increasing with growth of popiilation, large flour mills, also
furniture and carriage factories, breweries, meat curing and packing
establishments.

Cities and towns : Winnipeg, (42,000, est. ) ; Brandon, Portage la
Prairie, Selkirk.

Education : Schools free and non-sectarian well established through-
out the Province. University of Manitoba at Winnipeg.

Government : Executive government administered by Lieutenant-
Governor, assisted by an Executive Council of five members, who must
be members of the Legislative Assembly. Province has 4 senators and
7 representatives in the Dominion Parliament.

TERRITORIES. AREA : ASSINIBOIA, 90, 340 SQUARE MILES ; SASKATCHE-
WAN, 114,000; ALBERTA, 100,000; ATHABASKA, 251,300; YUKON,
198,300 ; MACKENZIE, 563,200 ; UNGAVA, 456,000 ; KEEWATIN,
756,000 ; FRANKLIN, UNKNOWN.

Physical features : Rocky mountains along northwestern boundary ;
Reindeer or Caribou hills in Northern Athabasca, southern portion
generally level ; lands mainly prairie ; eastern extremely uneven, large
areas occupied by Hudson Bay. Numerous large lakes : Great Bear,
Great Slave and Athabasca the largest. Two great river systems, one
draining into Arctic Ocean, the other into Hudson Bay, Mackenzie, the
great Arctic river ; Churchill, Nelson and Severn run into Hudson Bay.
Saskatchewan with its branches an immense inland river system ;
drains a large area, crossing country from west to east ; flows into Lake
Winnipeg.

Industries : Agriculture in all the southern part ; immense wheat
belt, other grains and roots grow also, ranching, dairying developing.

CANADA. 93

In north, rich deposits of minerals, gold fields of Yukon most important ;
coal in all districts, fields in Alberta especially important and worked
in several places. Many other minerals supposed to exist in large
quantities in the north and east. Immense quantities of petroleum are
known to exist in the valleys of the Peace and Mackenzie rivers.

Hudson's Bay Company has posts in various parts of north and east,
and carries on still a very extensive trade in furs. The trading posts of
the company are pushed far up to the north.

Towns : Regina, Calgary, Battleford, Edmonton, Fort McLeod,
Dawson City.

Education : Under control of Council of Public Instruction. Schools
free and established wherever there is a small settlement.

Government : Yukon is a separate territory administered by a com-
missioner appointed by the Dominion Government. Keewatin adminis-
tered by Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba. Ungava, Mackenzie and
Franklin under control of Canadian Government. Alberta, Assiniboia,
Saskatchewan, and Athabasca administered by a Lieutenant-Governor
and an Executive Council, whose members have seats in the Legislative
Assembly which is elected by the people. Capital, Regina.

Immense areas of fertile land are available for settlement, and may be
obtained from Government or from railways. Every actual male
settler, over 18 years of age, may obtain free from the Dominion
Government, 160 acres of good land, on application to the local agent of
Dominion lands, and on payment of an office fee of $10. The home-
steader must secure his title to the land, by beginning actual residence
on his homestead within six months, unless it be winter time, when he
may wait until spring, and by cultivating a part of it. He must con-
tinue to live upon and cultivate the land for at least six months out of
every twelve for three years from date of making the homestead entry.
He is then given a clear title to the land and may do with it what he
pleases. If he desires to secure the title before the three years are up,
he may buy the land at the Government price which is at present $3
per acre. The Government provides so far as possible wood lots for
settlers, and also the right to cut enough timber for building and fenc-
ing. Grazing lands are leased on easy terms, and coal lands may be
purchased at a reasonable price per acre. When a settler has secured a
homestead from the Government, he may also, if the land be available,
purchase the adjoining quarter section at the Government price, now
$3 per acre.

94

CANADA.

CHAPTER XII.

1

BRITISH COLUMBIA.

'N the year 1577 Sir Francis Drake, while on his
adventurous voyage around the world, sailed
northward along the Pacific coast of North
America, almost to the present boundary line be-
tween Canada and the United States. From this
point he caught a glimpse of the snowy mountain
peaks of the country that is now named British Col-
umbia, and thus we find the first mention in history
of the western province of Canada. Between 1577 and 1790 the country
was visited several times by explorers : in the latter year, Captain Van-
couver explored to some extent the coast of British Columbia, and his
name was given to the large island lying off the coast. Other countries
cast covetous eyes towards the new territory ; both France and Spain had
designs upon it, but they failed. The Russians were more successful,
and the first attempt at a permanent settlement was made by three Rus-
sian traders, who desired to engage in the fur trade with the natives.
Shortly afterwards, Mackenzie, the famous explorer whose name is
perpetuated in the great river which he discovered, reached the Pacific
by land from the east, having crossed the Rocky Mountains after over-
coming the greatest difficulties. For a time the Russians had the trade
almost to themselves, then ships from Boston and New York began to
take part also. Later on, the Hudson's Bay Company established
posts and made a vigorous effort to capture the trade. So successful did
their effort prove that by 1835 the company occupied the whole country
between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific, and maintained a num-
ber of flourishing trading posts. This was the beginning of the colony.
Difficulties arose between the company and its rivals, who claimed the
territory, but these were for the time overcome. In 1849 the Hudson's
Bay Company made Victoria, on Vancouver Island, the capital of the
Western part of its territories, and appointed Richard Blanchard as
governor. It was proposed to colonize the island, and the governor had
power to organize courts and a government as soon as they should
become necessary. On the mainland, which seemed to be a sea of
mountains, no serious attempt at colonization was made, but in 1856
gold was discovered in the sands of the Fraser and Thompson rivers.

CANADA. 95

The gold was plentiful and easy to work, and in a wonderfully short
time the news of its discovery had reached almost all parts of the
world. From every country came adventurous spirits in thousands
seeking rapid gains. The excitement in California was pretty well
over, and many of the lawless characters came north from the dig-
gings. The district in which the gold was found was called Cariboo,
and this name soon become known in every land. For a time law and
order were difficult to maintain, but these troubles gradually passed
away. The boundary between the United States and the new territory
had never been definitely settled, though it had been roughly stated
as the Columbia River, from the coast to the 49th parallel, and thence
along that line to the great lakes. The citizens of the country to
the south began, about 1845, to claim the whole territory as far
north as Alaska, which was then owned by Russia. They did not
get it, but by the Oregon Treaty of 1846, they secured all the lower
valley of the Columbia. Thus did unjust demands, loudly proclaimed,
receive a much richer reward than they deserved. For a time, dur-
ing the mining excitement, Vancouver Island and the mainland were
separated, and New Westminster became the capital of the latter.
They were reunited in 1866, and in 1871 British Columbia entered
Confederation. The Province made one important stipulation before
entering the Dominion, namely : that within two years the construc-
tion of a railway should begin, to connect British Columbia with the
rest of the Dominion, and that it should be completed within ten years.
The task proved too great for the time specified, but by 1886 the
Canadian Pacific Railway had reached the Pacific coast, and British
Columbia felt that it was indeed a part of the Dominion.

The province of British Columbia extends from the summit of the
Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, and from the International
boundary line on the south to the 60th degree of north latitude. The
territory of Alaska extends a long, narrow arm southward along
the Pacific coast for nearly 300 miles. There is still a good deal of
uncertainty regarding the actual boundary between Alaska and the
British territory. British Columbia is the largest province in the
Dominion and contains an area of 383,300 square miles of the most
diversified country in Canada. The province extends for about 700
miles north and south, by 400 east and west, and includes the islands
of Vancouver and the Queen Charlotte group.

The mountains form the most prominent physical feature of the
province. Along the eastern border separating it from the rest of the
Dominion, run the Rocky Mountains, a mighty range, whose peaks
tower far above the perpetual snow line, while the base occupies a

96 CANADA.

space often several hundred miles in width. Two of the peaks, Brown
and Hooker are over 16,000 feet in height, while many others are only a
little less. The scenery in the mountains is magnificent, but cannot be
described. Travellers pronounce it quite equal to the scenery in the
Alps of Switzerland. The Canadian Pacific Railway crosses this range
by one of the passes and the traveller has an opportunity of seeing all
the varied beauties of the district. Parallel to the Rockies, run such
ranges as the Cascade, Coast, Gold, Selkirk and Blue Mountains. Be-
tween the mountain ranges are elevated plateaus and valleys, contain-
ing millions of acres of rich land. These plateaus and valleys are cut
by numerous rivers, the most important of which are the Fraser,
Columbia, Thompsgn, Kootenay, Skeena, Stikine, Liard, and Peace.
During the latter part of its course, the Columbia flows through United
States territory. The Fraser is a large river with a total length of
about 740 miles. For the last eighty miles of its course it flows through
a rich plain which has been formed chiefly from its own silt. The
Fraser is navigable from it mouth, for one hundred and ten miles, for
river steamers, and again for smaller craft further up. Large vessels
can come up the river as far as New Westminister which is fifteen miles
from the mouth. The rivers of British Columbia are closely connected
with the prosperity of the country, for on most of them are situated
numerous salmon canneries. The Fraser and the Columbia are the most
important and the number of salmon in these rivers is amazing. Dur-
ing the season of the salmon runs, certain parts of the river may be seen
packed with wriggling masses of splendid fish making their way to the
spawning grounds. The canning of salmon has increased very rapidly
and the business is now a most valuable one. The annual salmon pack
has increased from 9,847 cases in 1876 to 566,395 in 1895, and yet the
number of fish does not seem to be at all diminished. To guard against
such a possibility, however, the Government has established fish
hatcheries. Though not extensively developed as yet, the cod, stur-
geon and halibut fisheries of the coast promise to reach very large
proportions.

British Columbia is so large, that its climate naturally varies a great
deal in different parts. The mild breezes from the Pacific modify the
climate along the coast so that it is milder than that of the south of
England. The interior is dry in the south, with hot summers, while a
little farther to the northwest, there is a greatly increased rainfall and
the heat of summer is much less excessive. In nearly all parts of the
country, the western slopes of the mountains are moist while the eastern
slopes are dry. The air currents flow eastward as a rule from the
Pacific ; as they ascend the western sides of the mountains they deposit

CANADA. 97

their moisture and then come down the eastern sides as dry winds. In
the extreme northern part of the country the climate is severe, particu-
larly during the winter.

Though so mountainous, British Columbia has thousands of square
miles of the finest agricultural and ranching land. In a country so
varied, all kinds of land may be found, from the rich river bottom such
as that in the Fraser delta, through all the stages to the bare rock with
a little sand and moss on the mountain heights. In the valleys of the
sections where the rainfall is plentiful the land is rich and heavy, in
other parts it requires irrigation from the mountain streams to make it
productive. On the higher plateaus, cattle and horses flourish on the

Parliament Buildings, Victoria, British Columbia.

rich bunch grass, and ranching is a profitable occupation. All the grains
and vegetables of a temperate climate are grown, and in addition, fruit
growing is becoming important and promises to assume large propor-
tions. The Provincial Government grants land on easy terms to
settlers, who must take possession of their farms and actually live on
them. The Dominion Government also owns land in British Columbia,
which is available for settlers, on payment of a small price per acre and
actual settlement. All the land for twenty miles on each side of the

98 CANADA.

Canadian Pacific railway line belongs to the Dominion Government, and
is administered by the Department of the Interior, in much the same
way as the public lands of the North-West Territories.

Immense areas of the province are heavily wooded; as a result lum-
bering is a most important industry though as yet only in its infancy.
The finest growth is on the coast, and in the Gold and Selkirk ranges.
The two most important trees for lumber are the Douglas fir, and the
cedar, but there are also several kinds of pine, in addition to spruce and
other trees. The Douglas fir grows to a height of two or three hundred
feet and is the most important tree for lumbering purposes, being
especially suitable for use in framing, bridge and ship building, and for
masts and spars. The cedar grows to a great size, and the amount of
cedar cut almost equals that of the Douglas fir. Vancouver is the centre
of the lumber trade, but New Westminster and Victoria have also
extensive saw mills.

Mining is the most important industry of British Columbia and it seems
capable of indefinite extension. Gold, silver, lead, copper and coal are
all worked extensively, and yet there are immense areas of mineral
land still to be explored. The gold mines have always aroused most
interest, and were the means of first opening up the Province to settlers.
The early mining was all placer or surface mining. This declined for
many years, but is rapidly growing again, and now the introduction of
hydraulic mining has added a new feature and made much more exten-
sive operations possible. By means of a powerful stream of water the
earth and gravel are loosened, so that they may be easily shovelled into
the washing machines, which remove the earth and leave the gold.
Quartz mining has made great strides recently, and large towns have
sprung up as if by magic where a year or two ago there was nothing but
the lonely rocks. The quartz in which the gold is imbedded, after
being taken out of the mines, is crushed by means of expensive stamp
mills, and then reduced in order to get the gold.

There are mines in many parts of British Columbia, but the
Kootenay district is at present the most prominent, for it contains the
gold mines of the Trail Creek region, of which Rossland is the centre,
the famous Slocan silver and lead mines, and the coal district of the
Crow's Nest Pass. Mining towns are springing up in all directions and
new mines are continually being opened, some, perhaps, to fail, but
many to become permanent producers. The coal mines of the Crow's
Nest Pass region have recently been opened up by a railway leading
from a point on the Canadian Pacific to the east of the Rockies,
through the Crow's Nest Pass into the Kootenay district. The coal is
the best of steaming coal, the seams are immensely thick and extensive,

CANADA. 99

and already large shipments are made for the use of Pacific steamships
and to the plains towards the east. At Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island,
are extensive coal mines with an annual output of over a million tons.
The coal is of the best quality and is much used by the steamers of the
Pacific. Large quantities are shipped t6 San Francisco and other cities
of the Pacific coast.

Vancouver Island is the largest on the west coast of America. It is
about two hundred and forty miles long with an average breadth of
fifty miles. It is separated from the mainland of British Columbia by
the Gulf of Georgia which is from twenty to sixty miles in width. The
coast is much broken by bays and inlets. The interior is rugged, cov-
ered with forests and has not been very thoroughly explored. There
are many lakes and small streams. On Vancouver Island is situated
Victoria, the capital of the Province. The city occupies a commanding
position on an arm of the sea, and has a fine view over the Straits of
Juan de Fuca to the mountains of the mainland. There are many fine
structures, notably the new Government buildings. The city has an
extensive trade and manufactures of considerable importance, particu-
larly in iron. Victoria is the most English city in Canada, and is a
favorite place for tourists. Nanaimo is connected by a deep channel
with a good harbour. Esquimault is the station of the North Pacific
Squadron of the British Navy. It has a large graving dock, a naval
arsenal, hospital, and stores.

Vancouver is the most important city on the mainland. It is situated
on Burrard Inlet with the salt water on three sides and the mountains
behind. Vancouver is the western terminus of the Canadian Pacific
Railway and the starting point for the Canadian Pacific line of steamers
running to Japan and China. A line of steamships runs also from Van-
couver to Australia, calling at the Sandwich Islands, on the way. All
steamers call also at Victoria. Vancouver has connection by water
with all points of importance along the Pacific coast, to the south and
with Alaska. The shipping of the city is therefore very large, and
valuable. The British mails are carried by the C. P. R. steamships to
Japan and Hong Kong. New Westminster, on the Fraser river, has a
large trade in salmon and lumber, and is the centre of a rich agricultural
country. Nelson, Rossland and Kaslo are the largest of the numerous
mining towns.

100 CANADA.

BRITISH COLUMBIA, CAPITAL VICTORIA. POPULATION IN 1891, 98,173.
PRESENT ESTIMATE, 200,000.

Total area. 383,300 square miles ; length 764 miles ; breadth, 400.
Vancouver Island, 15,937 square miles ; Queen Charlotte Islands, 5,000
square miles.

Physical features : Four principal mountain ranges traverse the
mainland, northwest to southeast. On eastern border, Rocky Moun-
tains rising to about 16,000 feet, west of Rockies, Selkirk and Gold
ranges with many elevations of 10,000 feet , further west Cascade and
Coast ranges with mean elevations of 6,000 to 7,000 feet. Country be-
tween Gold and Cascade ranges, great interior plateau, numerous moun-
tain lakes, long, narrow and deep, Arrow, Kootenay, Okanagan,
Shushwap, Stuart, Tacla, and Babine. Rivers: Fraser, Columbia,
Skeena, Stikine, Liard, Peace, Thompson and Kootenay. Pacific coast
much broken by bays and long narrow inlets like the fiords of Norway.
Coast line, including indentations, 12,000 miles. Many islands, the
largest Vancouver and the Queen Charlotte group. Many fine harbours.

Industries : Mining, chief source of wealth. Fisheries, particularly
salmon canning. Agriculture, ranching and fruit growing ; lumber.

Cities and towns : Victoria (25,000, estimated), Vancouver (30,000,
estimated), New Westminster, Nanaimo, Rossland, Nelson.

Education : Schools undenominational and free ; attendance com-
pulsory.

Government vested in Lieutenant-Governor, and an executive council
who must be members of the Legislative Assembly. The Province has
in the Dominion Parliament, three senators and six representatives.

CANADA. 101

CHAPTER XIII.

THE RAILWAYS OF CANADA.

CO a country as large as Canada, with its wheat fields far from either
ocean, a good system of railways is of the utmost importance. And
for so new a country, the Dominion has been wonderfully fortunate.
All the older parts of Canada are a network of railways, while even in
the newer sections the iron horse follows closely in the track of the set-
tler. Two of the roads take rank among the great railways of the world,
and several others have a very large mileage. This with one of the
most wonderful systems of inland navigation in the world — one capable
still of very great extension — assures to the Dominion excellent trans-
portation facilities.

The first Canadian railway was a short line opened in Lower Canada
in 1836. The first line in Upper Canada was the Northern Railway,
begun in 1851. From that time railway extension has been very rapid,
and there were in 1898 over 16,000 miles of railway in operation.
The Dominion has 166 railways. Twenty-five of these have been
amalgamated and form the Grand Trunk railway system. The con-
solidation of twenty-three others has produced the Canadian Pacific
railway system. The remaining 118 have more or less consolidated.

In 1852 the Grand Trunk railway was begun and within a year was
completed between Portland and Montreal. By 1856 it had been
extended to Toronto, thereby becoming the first great railway of Canada.
In ths meantime the Great Western railway had been built through
Western Ontario. This, with many other roads, was in course of time
amalgamated with the Grand Trunk, which went on acquiring smaller
lines and building new ones, not only throughout Eastern Canada, but
on through the United States to the great centres of that country.
To-day the Grand Trunk has under operation over four thousand miles
of road, with a fine equipment of rolling stock, terminal wharves and
elevators. It crosses the eastern portion of Canada — the most popu-
lous and important part of the Dominion — from Quebec to Sarnia, on
the Detroit river. By means of the Intercolonial, it reaches the Atlan-
tic coast of the maritime Provinces and by its own line, Portland, a large
sea port in the State of Maine. From Sarnia the Grand Trunk runs
through a splendid tunnel, under the Detroit river and across United
States territory to Chicago.

102 CANADA.

The Intercolonial railway was constructed by the Dominion Govern-
ment, as part of the scheme of consolidation which led to the Confede-
ration of the Provinces. In 1876 the line was opened between Quebec
and Halifax. At present, it runs from Halifax to Montreal, while a
branch runs from Moncton to St. John, New Brunswick. The Inter-
colonial controls 1,355 miles of road, and is owned and operated by the
Dominion Government. Both the Grand Trunk and the Canadian
Pacific have certain running privileges over its line.

When British Columbia entered confederation, it stipulated that
within ten years a railway should be built across the continent from
eastern Canada to the Pacific. After an extensive survey, the Domin-
ion Government began the construction of the road, but the work pre-
sented unusual difficulties and was finally handed over to a strong com-
pany composed chiefly of Canadians. The engineering difficulties, par-
ticularly in the section through the mountains, seemed insurmountable
but the company undertook to finish the work within ten years, in
return for a grant of twenty-five million dollars and twenty-five million
acres of land in western Canada. The work was begun in 1881 and in
1886, the railway was completed. The Canadian Pacific, familiarly
known as the C. P. R., is the greatest railway system in the world and
includes over nine thousand miles of road. The main line, running from
ocean to ocean is over three thousand miles in length. The Company
owns and operates two important lines of steamships and its own tele-
graph system. One steamship line runs on the Great Lakes between
Fort William and Owen Sound, for the transport of passengers and
grain, while the company's Pacific line runs between Vancouver and
Japan and Hong Kong. With the railway, it furnishes the shortest
and quickest route between the east and Britain. The C. P. R. now
carries the British mails to and from China, Japan, Corea and other
places in the far east. Running from Vancouver to Australasia and
touching at the Sandwich Islands, is a line of steamships which con-
nects with the Canadian Pacific at Vancouver.

The difficulties overcome in building the Canadian Pacific Railway take
rank among the most remarkable engineering feats in the history of rail-
way construction. The main line runs from St. John, N. B. to Mon-
treal, and Ottawa, thence by the Ottawa valley to the north shore of
Lake Superior. At this point the difficulties began for the line had to be
cut through a wild rocky country. From Port Arthur and Fort William
at the head of Lake Superior the railway runs by way of the Lake of
the Woods to Winnipeg. Between Winnipeg and the foothills of the
Rockies, construction was easy, as the line lay straight across the
prairies from east to west. But when the foothills were reached, the

CANADA. 103

real difficulties began in earnest. In the first place the country was
unsettled, and it was necessary to bring supplies hundreds of miles for
an army of workmen. Then two great mountain ranges, the Rockies
and the Selkirks had to be crossed, and for over six hundred miles, the
road led through the mountains. Upward it climbed over seemingly
impassable places, crawling around the bases of great cliffs, crossing
yawning canons on bridges of trestlework that look in the distance like
great spiders' webs. The work was pushed on through tunnels cut in
the solid rock and along great embankments, twisting and turning,
but ever climbing upward, till the summit of the Kicking Horse
pass was reached. Then the difficulties began again, for the road crept
slowly downward over places just as hard to cross. For many miles
the railway was built beside the Fraser river, creeping along the edge
of the precipice and in some places on platforms built over the torrent
which rages two hundred feet below. All the way the greatest pre-
cautions had to be taken in order to insure absolute safety, the trestle
work was made doubly strong, and miles of sheds were built of suffi-
cient strength to resist the rush of an avalanche of snow and debris from
the mountains. Yet the work was done quietly and quickly, but so
well that it has stood the test of years and the road has a splendid
record of successful and safe operation.

To British Columbia, and more particularly, to the Northwest Ter-
ritories and Manitoba such a line meant everything. It made settle-
ment possible, for it afforded settlers easy access to the country, and
gave an outlet to the markets for the products of their farms. The
building of the road meant the difference between stagnation and pros-
perous development and the results seem to have justified the large
grant of the Dominion Government. As the prosperity of the North
West and of the Company are closely related, the latter has done
much to encourage development by building branch lines to the various
settlements and providing elevator facilities for the shipment of grain.

In addition to its value to Canada, the C. P. R. and its continuation,
the steamship line to the far east, is an important link in the chain that
binds together the various parts of the British Empire. Mails are
carried much more quickly than by any other route, between Britian
and the East. Troops may be transported from Liverpool to Hong
Kong in less than thirty days, and sailors to reinforce the Pacific
squadron in twelve. This is a much shorter time than is possible by
any other route, and in addition the sea voyage is broken by a comfort-
able overland journey of five days, through British territory. Along
the line at the most interesting points the company has built fine
hotels which furnish pleasant resting places for the tourist. The trip

104 CANADA.

through the Rockies reveals some of the finest mountain scenery in the
world, so that it is becoming ever more popular with travellers.

A Canadian trans-continental railway train is a most complete affair
and makes travel Very comfortable. The engines are much larger than
those used in Britain, while the coaches, known as cars, are about as large
as two English passenger carriages. The coach is not divided into com-
partments, but down the centre runs a long aisle while on each side are
plush covered seats. There is a baggage car in which all heavy luggage
is carried. The passenger receives a brass check or tag for his luggage,
and does not need to trouble about it further until his destination is
reached. There is a dining car where meals are served as in an hotel,
and sleeping cars are provided — plain, comfortable ones for those who
wish to travel cheaply, and luxurious ones for those who can afford to
pay a higher price. At points noted for their scenery, such as the
Rocky Mountains, observation cars are attached from which the
traveller may view the beauties of nature while sitting comfortably at
his ease.

Quite recently the construction of a new Canadian railway has been
begun in the west. It is known as the Canadian Northern, and work
is proceeding rapidly. At present the line is to run from Port Arthur
to Winnipeg, and thence in a northwesterly direction. It is intended
later on, to extend the railway westward to the Pacific and eastward to
the Atlantic. Another important railway system is the Canada Atlantic
which runs from a point on the south eastern boundary, through Ottawa,
to Parry Sound on Georgian Bay. By means of a line of steamships it
is enabled to secure much of the grain from the west which is brought
to the head of Lake Superior, and it also carries a great deal of the
lumber from the Georgian Bay and upper Ottawa districts.

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