34 The Edmonton Beds 



The river is swift and full of falls and rapids. 

 We passed through much country covered with 

 the black alkaline shales of the marine Pierre 

 beds. Some exposed sections are at least three 

 hundreds feet thick, covered with a scanty 

 growth of short grass. We passed a large lake, 

 miles in length, covered with wild ducks and 

 other water fowls. No trees grew along the 

 shore. 



We crossed the International Line at Sweet 

 Grass and Coutts. Here we noticed a change; 

 the country is a rich loam thickly covered with 

 buffalo grass. We left Lethbridge on the 21st of 

 July. This is a pretty town, with a beautiful 

 park that promises to be a beauty spot some day 

 in the near future. The country .north is largely 

 settled, I am told by farmers from the United 

 States, and they are making the desert to blossom 

 as the rose. We could see the Canadian Rockies 

 looming up in the West. 



At Calgary I stopped to have a row boat made 

 and Charlie went on to Acme. Calgary is the 

 metropolis of Alberta. I noticed many comfort- 

 able farm houses, fields of wheat, oats and flax, 

 or herds of horses and cattle. On my way to 

 Acme I saw plenty of hay on the open prairie. 

 They speak of raising 120 bushels of oats to the 

 acre and sixty bushels of wheat. Certainly a 

 farmer's paradise. Our car arrived at last after 

 being eight days on the road. At Acme we got 

 well acquainted with the pest of the north, for 



