Our North- West Prairies. 149 



feet ; that of the Qu'Appelle is somewhat less. Their width 

 varies from half a mile to a mile. As the waters fell in the 

 prairie country to the east of Brandon, these rivers, which 

 appear to have been enormous streams with strong currents, 

 cut their way into the drift deposits of the upper steppe 

 gradually downward to the level of the lower steppe below 

 Brandon. The sources of supply for these streams may 

 have been in part the retreating glaciers, but were more 

 probably a greater rainfall than now and the general drain- 

 age of the country through which they ran. This country 

 must have been in its earlier days covered with grass 

 marshes. The smaller river valleys as those of the Souris, 

 Cut Arm Creek and the Little Saskatchewan have probably 

 somewhat similar origins. A contributing cause in every 

 case has however no doubt been the annual spring freshets 

 which extend into the month of July in the larger rivers, 

 and which year by year carry down with them in their con- 

 stantly turbid waters large quantities of soil to the Eed 

 Biver. 



A writer in the February number of The Century, speak- 

 ing of the vast prairies of the valley of the Mississippi and 

 its tributary streams, tells us " This region was not origin- 

 ally wooded. This is proved not only by the story told by 

 the soil, but by the fact that though it was not without its 

 woodlands at its settlement, it has no characteristic trees. 

 All are derived either ±rom the Appalachian region or from 

 the west and north, ninety varieties coming from the east 

 and only nine or ten from the west and north. The great 

 prairie region has sought all the trees it possesses from ad- 

 joining regions." This opinion probably expresses the gen- 

 erally prevailing impression of the relations of forest trees 

 to the prairies. And yet in regard to our Canadian prairies, 

 whether in the North-west or in Ontario and Quebec, it is 

 not altogether correct. The subject is in some respects asso- 

 ciated with the early history of the prairies. There is no 

 doubt that when these prairies were in process of formation, 

 when immense areas were in the condition of marsh in 

 which tall grasses were the leading feature, and when this 

 marsh was being gradually changed in its character to dry 



