CHAPTER XIV 



1884-1885 



Accompanies Members of the British Association to West- 

 ern Canada, 1884 — Incidents of the Trip — North- West 

 Rebellion of 1885 — Explorations in the Rocky Moun- 

 tains — Descriptions of Climbing Mountains — Many 

 Incidents — Travelled on C.P.R. from the Summit of 

 theSelkirks to Ottawa, being One of the First Passen- 

 gers over Parts of the Road — Destruction of Forests 

 by Fire. 



AFTER my younger son and I came back from Nipigon in 

 the autumn of 1884, the British Association was about to 

 start on a trip over the Canadian Pacific Railway to see the 

 country as far west as the line had been built. Dr. Selwyn was 

 to go with the party and intended Dr. Bell or some other officer 

 to go with him as well. At this juncture, Mr. Van Home, who 

 was later President of the C.P.R. , asked Dr. Selwyn to permit me 

 to go out with the Association and talk to them about the prairies. 

 Of course, this was agreed to, as Van Home at this time was a 

 power in the country. I was informed by Dr. Selwyn that I 

 would be expected to go with the party when they left Toronto, 

 and I prepared myself accordingly and overtook them at 

 Owen Sound. The S.S. "Algoma" was set apart for the party 

 and I met them and obtained passage on the vessel and we were 

 about ninety-eight in the company when we started on our long 

 journey. I remember little of the trip on the lower lakes except 

 that, the first evening, a large party of us went into the hold and 

 there saw the dynamo at work which supplied the steamship with 

 electricity. This was the first vessel on the Lakes that was lit 

 up at night by this means. I knew none of the party and was 

 not introduced, so that I was usually alone until after we passed 

 Sault Ste. Marie. We sailed from there in the evening and the 

 day had been quite warm and, as we passed up along the American 



