144 THROUGH CANADA 



Great plains roll away before the eyes, untouched 

 by human hand, unbroken by agricultural implement, 

 as virgin as when the primeval light fell on them. 

 Here and there a solitary homestead comes into 

 sight, but the lonely pioneer of civilization only 

 emphasizes the awful sense of detachment.* Herds 

 of cattle raise their startled heads in mute surprise 

 at the invader. Horses swish their long tails and 

 with ears erect make ready for a stampede. At 

 intervals a golden cornfield flashes into sight, and 

 a wagon drawn by a team of horses, carts sheaves 

 for threshing. A crow, whose solitary habits were 

 in keeping with the loneliness, idly flitted across the 

 scene. Of other signs of animal life there were few. 

 Prairie chickens found sufficient covering in the 

 standing corn or sheaves to hide themselves from 

 view. Gophers, po-ta-chi-pin-gwa-si, " the thing that 

 blows up the loose earth," as the Saltaux Indians 

 call them, were seen close to the railway cutting, 

 reared on their hind legs and gazing in curiosity, as 

 if daily intercourse with the new order of things had 

 blunted their timidity. We were on the look-out 

 for larger game, but saw nothing but a badger, which 

 dodged behind loose stones and soon disappeared. 



Calgary takes a place second only to Winnipeg. 

 It has a population of over 60,000, and has progressed 

 so far in democratic principles as to municipalize its 



♦ Two years have witnessed a great change in this district in the 

 number of settlers, 



