80 THE GREAT NORTH-WEST 



God made it, for the pleasure of those who love Nature, 

 and the good of those who are to come after us. 



As we neared Fort Stone we seemed to be approach- 

 ing civilisation; the unusual sight of a church spire 

 first attracting attention. This was at the " Indian 

 settlement." Where we find " Indian settlements " in 

 America, we may be sure that the march of civilisation 

 has made rapid strides through the district, and that 

 there is a religious and moral force at work which is 

 performing great things for good or evil, or that terrible 

 mixture of both which, to my mind, is the source of all 

 misery, and which is always found in greatest excess when 

 men congregate in cities and populous colonies. 



The settlers' houses seemed to be mostly, if not 

 entirely, built on the banks of the river facing the water, 

 and I was much surprised at the substantial manner in 

 which many of them were built. Some might be truly 

 called handsome mansions, and the grounds were laid out 

 with a taste and care that could not be exceeded in any 

 centre of an old civilisation. Stone was the material 

 mostly in use, and Stone Fort was the first building of 

 that description that I had seen in the country, con- 

 structed of any class of masonry. It is a place of no 

 great strength, and could be easily taken by escalade ; 

 but its walls were high and well built, and furnished with 

 demi-bastions at the corners. 



Corn-growing seemed to be then, as it certainly is now, 

 the chief industry of the settlers; but there was an abundance 

 of all sorts of domestic animals and poultry. During our 

 stay we lived on fresh mutton, and I bought a fine hog 

 and salted it to be eaten when we resumed our journey. 

 Flour, ground locally, was to be had for a song, so that I 

 was enabled to replenish all our stores. 



We arrived at Fort Garry, the chief post of the 

 Settlement, on the 15th, and stayed a week, anxious as 

 I was to resume our voyage. The colonists treated me 

 with the greatest hospitality, and I almost made up my 



