162 Bird-Nesting 



has been found in England, and is consequently included in the 

 British list of birds. 



I returned to the hotel and had breakfast, and then, packing 

 up, I took the morning train for Raeburn, intending to spend 

 two or three days at Long Lake. 



Leaving Oak Lake, we travelled through a stretch of rolling 

 prairie, passing numerous ponds, which otter suitable breed- 

 ing places for ducks and water-birds ; and, thirty miles from 

 Oak Lake, Brandon is reached, which is the largest grain 

 market in Manitoba. It has five grain elevators, and although 

 the town is only seven years old, it has well-made streets and 

 many substantial l)ui] dings. To the north of Brandon we have 

 a splendid view for miles across the Assiniboine river, as 

 Brandon is Ijeautifully situated on high ground. Here the 

 mountain time changes to standard time, and we put our 

 watches forward one hour. 



Leaving Brandon behind, we cross the Assiniboine by an 

 iron bridge, and ascend a sandy slope, and reach a plateau, 

 near the centre of which is Carberry, a fine district for the 

 ornithologist. After passing Austin, the railway descends into 

 a bush}^ district, with frecpient ponds and small streams, and 

 this appears to be a fine ornithological district, judging from 

 the number of gulls, terns, ducks, and other wild fowl, which 

 were observed on the ponds from the train window. 



Soon the train arrived at Portage-la-Prairie, and twenty 

 miles further Raeburn station is reached, my last stopping- 

 place, and thirtj^-five miles west of Winnipeg. 



It was three o'clock in the afternoon when I reached Rae- 

 burn, and I enquired at the station if there was a place where 

 I could secure a bed for a couple of nights, and was directed to 

 a white-washed log cabin in the distance, the only dwelling in 

 sight, which the station-master had the audacity to call " the 

 hotel." On arriving here I found an Irishman standing in the 

 doorway, with five bare-legged children playing around him. On 

 enquiring if he could give me bed and board for two or three 

 days, he replied, " Of course I can, that is just what this place 

 is kept for : this is tlie hotel." So he took my valise, and I 



