160 TRAVELS IN THE EIGHTIES. 



Bound Winnipeg the appearance of the country is 

 flat and low, broken up into brown and green grass 

 patches, small lakes, bogs and irregular clumps of 

 birch and maple following the course of the Eed 

 Eiver and Assiniboine. 



In spring most of it is under water. In summer 

 a mirage plays along the junction of land and sky 

 that we associate with African deserts, raising the 

 trees and distant farmhouses till they appear to be 

 standing in lakes of water. Settlers are few round 

 Winnipeg, though it is the commercial capital of the 

 North- West. The great farming and also the great 

 grazing district of Canada lie farther west. 



The smooth level grass makes a road almost un- 

 necessary. Trees raised above the ground by the 

 mirage kept deceiving us, and appeared like buffalo 

 or cattle until the brown herd was seen, which 

 allowed us to drive up into far closer proximity than 

 most Western steers would do. It is proposed to turn 

 some hundreds of cattle out with them, and allow 

 them to run together. So far as they have interbred 

 hitherto, the result has been interesting. Numerous 

 half-buffalo cattle may be seen, whose " robes" give 

 promise of becoming superior to the true buffalo 

 " robe " in softness of texture, in variation of shade, 

 in distribution of hair, and less inclination to the too 

 great woolly development of the wild buffalo skin. 

 These skins would, under these circumstances, should 

 the experiment prove successful, fetch at least as 

 much as the old " robes," which now cost over four 



