24 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[July 13, 1895. 



NORTHWARD TO THE FAR WEST.-1I. 



{Continued from page 5.] 



The next morning we were fast approaching Thunder 

 Bay, and to the left the rock-bound shores of Isle Royale 

 loomed up from the placid bosom of the lake. Thunder 

 Cape, sometimes called the "Sleeping Giant," is before us. 

 It raises its head l,35Uft. above the crystal waters which 

 lave its feet, so gently when calm, or dashing against the 

 rugged sides in vain attempt to beat it down when the 

 "Storm King" rides forth from his home in the north. 

 The old Indian tribes looked upon these mountain peaks 

 with awe, and thought the thunder clouds were huge birds 

 that had their homes or nests in these high hills or moun- 

 tains. 



The scenery now becomes grand and beautiful in the 

 extreme, and the North Shore well deserves the enco- 

 miums lavished upon it. As we enter Thunder Bay we 

 pass Pie Island in our unpoetical language, or "Mahke- 

 neeng" or Tortoise in the ruder but more poetical dialect 

 of the Indian. The island is about eight miles long and 

 five wide. One point is elevated 850ft. above the lake. 

 The French or English voyageurs gave it the name of Pie 

 Island on accounf of this bluff or knoll being like an in- 

 verted pie in shape. The Indians thought it resembled a 

 tortoise. This elevated point is basaltic, rising perpen- 

 dicular near the top, like the Palisades of the Hudson. 



We do not go into Port Arthur, which used to be called 

 Prince Arthur's Landing, but continue on up the bay into 

 the Kaministiquia River to Fort William. As we steam 

 slowly up the river we have a fine view of McKay's Moun- 

 tain, about three miles west and rising 1,000ft. above the 

 lake level. 



The Falls of Kakabeka can be visited by rail by staying 

 a day at Fort William. The fall is about 200ft. high- 

 higher than Niagara, but of course of much less volume. 



Those going to try the far famed waters of the Nepigon 

 leave us here and take the train back eastward seventy 

 "miles. 



Almost every fisherman knows what fishing there is 

 along the north shore of Like Superior, and especially in 

 the Nepigon. 



We are sorry to leave the staunch Athabasca and our 

 comfortable stateroom for the more confined quarters on 

 a sleeper, but we must now take the only route, which is 

 rail — and we were fortunate in finding the Winnipeg 

 sleeper not full when the train pulled in from the east, 

 and we secured good quarters. Fort William was built 

 in opposition to Fort Arthur and hence "boomed" a little, 

 but was now quiet. It was Hudson's Bay Company's post 

 originaljy and some of the old buildings now stand. 



The old fur house of the fort shelters the engine used 

 on the coal derricks, and the great elevators of the 

 Canadian Pacific overshadow them all. Whittier's lines 

 are again brought to mind. The past and the present go 

 hand in hand. 



Again westward we turn our faces and leave the 

 "brother of the sea" behind us. 



We whirl along through a very rough but pretty 

 country, with lakes here and there and rushing streams, 

 that look as if full of fish and which are. When in 1870 

 Wolseley led his army to Fort Garry, now Winnipeg, he 

 used those lakes and rivers much of the way, as many 

 are connected. 



At many Of the stations we saw civilized Indians, or 

 partly so, and the ladies were much taken with the 

 papooses strapped up in the queer cradles their mothers 

 use. One squaw stood looking at the train and rocked 

 her babe with one hand, as the board it was strapped to 

 stood on the ground. The little one was as content and 

 as happy looking as if it was in a patent rocker, probably 

 more so. 



As we traveled west and evening came on the air 

 became cool, and though it was August we never suffered 

 from the heat again. There are no towns of great im- 

 portance between Fort William and Rat Portage, but the 

 ride is very interesting, as the country is so wild and 

 rough. From Eagle River, where there are falls of some 

 magnitude, to Rat Portage the scenery is wild and pleas- 

 ing. Keewatin and Rat Portage are only four miles 

 apart and are situated at the outlet of the Great Lake of 

 the Woods, where the waters break through the rocks 

 and plunge into the Winnipeg River. Two hundred 

 years ago the Hudson's Bay Company had a post at this 

 point, but the town is not yet twenty years old. 



All these Hudson's Bay Company's posts were links in 

 the chain which the company established, extending 

 from Fort William through Fort Garry (Winnipeg) to 

 York factory on the Hudson's Bay. Several millions of 

 dollars worth of furs passed through these posts in their 

 palmy days. One never realizes what a power the Hud- 

 son's Bay Co. must have been in the days gone by until they 

 visit the Canadian Northwest and see the traces of their 

 organization. The great company yet exists and has its 

 stores in every town or city of any size, all the way to 

 Victoria. 



Rat Portage is fast becoming the fashionable summer 

 resort of the Northwest (Canadian) and is honored with 

 the title "Saratoga of the West." The fishing in the 

 vicinity is of the finest, and the Lake of the Woods offers 

 great attractions for the tourist. Several steamers ply on 

 the lakes and our Canadian cousins camp along its shores 

 and are great for canoe trips over it and its connections. 



The amount of fish taken from the lake is stupendous. 

 Ten cars of fish a day are shipped by one company from 

 Rat Portage. Lake trout, mascalonge, pickerel and bass 

 abound. For the finest bass fishing one wants to take a 

 canoe to Bass Lake, which is reached by a short portage 

 from the Lake of the Woods, and here they will find 

 nearly virgin waters. Indians can be hired for one dollar 

 per day and their grub. The lake is about ten miles long 

 and is about forty miles from Rat Portage. 



The Lake of the Woods is the largest body of water 

 touched by the Canadian Pacific between Lake Superior 

 and the Pacific, and is sixty -eight miles in length by fif- 

 teen to twenty-five miles broad; it is studded with islands, 

 some claim thousands, but as to the truth of these ac- 

 counts we will not vouch. One of the most noted is 

 Manitou Island, and the Indians are very superstitious in 

 regard to it. They think that the "Mache Manitou," or 

 great evil spirit, holds undisputed sway on its rocky 

 shores.. It is not known that any Indian canoe ever went 

 near its shores, and they will not look that way, it is 



aid, or speak of it when near by. Their superstition is 

 that if any one dares to speak within hearing of the evil 

 spirit, or looks or points at the isle where his malicious 

 and whimsical will rules, it will cause a storm to arise 

 and overwhelm the daring one. 



A summer could be well spent cruising about the Lake 

 of the Woods and down the Rainy River into the Rainy 

 Lake chain, but one must go prepared for the flies, 

 which, at seasons, are very bad all through this country. 



Westward from the Lake of the Woods we run into a 

 more prairie-like country, but it is not the prairie of the 

 South— there is plenty of brush and considerable water. 

 As we are eating our breakfast in the dining car we gaze 

 out of the windows and note the great number of prairie 

 chickens and ducks which fly up from the grass and out 

 of the little sloughs. 



There is plenty of good shooting for the man with the 

 ' 'scatter gun" in this country. 



As Winnipeg is the capital of the Province it is worthy 

 of some notice. It is the site of old Fort Garry, and the 

 stone gateway of the old fort still stands. In 1870 the 

 population claimed was 215, not counting military forces 

 there; the buildings, all told, in fort and out, forty-six. 

 Population claimed in 1894, 35,000 and 1,100 business 

 places. Winnipeg had a big "boom" with a capital "B" 

 in 1881, but the collapse of said "boom" did not mean 

 death to the town, and to-day it is going along in a very 

 respectable fashion. There are several good hotels. The 

 Hudson's Bay Company have one of their largest stores 

 and storehouses here, and it is like visiting a museum to 

 go through the establishment, as they deal in every con- 

 ceivable thing. 



A canoe trip up the Assiniboine River from its junction 

 with the Red River is very interesting and the scenery of 

 an order that is very pleasant to look upon, even if it can- 

 not be called grand. 



The Canadians are all great for sport, and Winnipeg 

 boasts of a fine boat club, which was holding a regatta 

 while we were there, and we bad the pleasure of seeing 

 races rowed in four-oared, double and single shells of the 

 latest model on the historical Red River cf the North, 

 where only a few years ago floated the bark canoe of the 

 aborigines. 



The summer climate of Winnipeg would cause one to 

 doubt the stories that up here is where our "blizzards" 

 come from, as it is very warm and Balubrious. The dry- 

 ness of the atmosphere makes the heat and cold more 

 durable than they are with us on the lakes. We had 

 letters to one of the Government officials, who had come 

 up to help put down the rebellion in 1870, and who be- 

 came enamored of the country and never went back. 

 He was very kind and showed us the Government build- 

 ings and explained their system, which in some ways the 

 Canadians think they are ahead of us in, and candor urges 

 us to admit that they think right — however, we will not 

 dip into politics. 



From Winnipeg west our afternoon's journey took us 

 through a level country, but not the Darren, treeless 

 plains. What surprised me was that there was so much 

 brush and vegetation, also the abundance of wild flowers. 

 There were also a great many ducks in the sloughs and 

 little streams, and chickens enough to please the sports- 

 man. All along through this country the lover of the 

 shotgun can find sport. 



We are gradually climbing toward the great plains, 

 which lead to the foot of the Rockies, and at Brandon we 

 are up 115ft. above the altitude of Winnipeg and 133 

 miles west. Toe twenty-four-hour system in use on the 

 Canadian Pacific west of Fort William is puzzling at 

 first to tho3e unaccustomed to it, but we soon learn how 

 to figure, and it seems quite natural to say 16 or 17 

 o'clock. 



We have followed the valley of the Assiniboine to Bran- 

 don and now we leave it. We pass through a fine farm- 

 ing country, and sometimes after dark we pass from this 

 into a more open and rolling country, and during the 

 night pass through Regina at an altitude of 1,875ft., and 

 the capital of the Northwest Territories. Here also are 

 the headquarters of the Nortwest mounted police. Mem- 

 bers of this body of soldiers are seen at nearly every point 

 along the line, and with their jaunty and showy uniforms 

 they are very noticeable individuals. They are all young, 

 strong and athletic fellows, finely mounted, and they do 

 most excellent service through this entire country. One 

 would be apt to think they were play soldiers to see them 

 about the stations with their shining top boots, silver spurs, 

 skin-tight trousers with broad yellow stripes, the jaunty 

 little red jacket and then such a cap, about the size of a 

 pill box and worn just above the ear. One feels like cry- 

 ing "Where did you get that hat?" every time he meets a 

 police. Their white belts are pipe-clayed as neat as can. 

 be, and their hands are generally covered with white 

 gloves with huge gauntlets. Given a very, very small cane 

 or crop and our mounted police is complete — when off 

 duty. 



There are 1,000 of these men in the Northwest, and it is 

 doubtful if the same number of men distributed over such 

 a territory would do as good service elsewhere. 



About 7 o'clock the next morning we are ready for 

 breakfast, and as we roll along over the great plains, 

 which we have now reached, and which end only at the 

 base of the Rockies, we gaze upon the numerous prairie 

 dog villages and the usual alkali lakes of the Western 

 plains. 



This country was only a few years ago the range of the 

 most northern or Canadian herd of buff ilo, but they are 

 all gone, and all that is left are the deep worn trails and 

 wallows yet plainly to be seen, and the piles of bones at 

 many of the stations, gathered up ready for shipment. 



At about every station there are Indian women and 

 half-breeds selling buffalo horns, polished and orna- 

 mented, with deer, antelope and coyote skins. A bunch 

 of three or four pairs of horns can be purchased for $1.50. 

 These squaws do not like to be photographed, and when 

 they would see us point our camera at them they would 

 cover their heads with blankets. 



Late in the afternoon we arrive at Medicine Hat and 

 find we are not as high as at Swift Current, having 

 dropped from 2,400ft. to 2,150, showing the depression in 

 the river valley. 



We are now on the South Saskatchewan and cross it at 

 this point. The river is navigable for 800 miles below to 

 Lake Winnipeg. We have a half hour here to get out and 

 stretch our limbs, and we find plenty to occupy our time. 

 Tuere are always a large number of Indians hanging 



about, and as they are genuine plains Indians, in full paint 

 and native dress, they are objects of much curiosity. 

 Then a squad of mounted police add color to the scene, 

 and last, but not least, a large grizzly bear in a pen is worth 

 seeing. We tried to photograph the Indians and the bear, 

 but they were both shy, so we did not succeed very well, 

 Mr. Lo knows the value of his ugly phiz, and has to be 

 tipped as a usual thing. Westward still a few miles from 

 Medicine Hat we pass one of the Canadian agricultural 

 farms. It is night before we get to Gleichen, so we do 

 not get the glimpse of the Rockies that can be had at this 

 point; but we can see the sparkling waters of the Bow 

 River shine in the moonlight as we follow its winding 

 course toward Calgary. F. F. FMSBIE, 



[to be continued.] 



A FEW REMARKS ABOUT A LIVE 

 WESTERN TOWN.-1II. 



BY GEORGE KENNEDY AND HORA.CE KEPHART. 



This is not quite so true a story as that one of Kephart's, 

 but he has kindly agreed to vouch for it just the same. 

 It is not so hard on the town either. Indeed, if I had 

 been he I would rather have refused to tell the story and 

 let me go ahead with those turkeys (and I have a notion 

 to do that anyway now), because he can never go hunt- 

 ing at that town any more without having the leading 

 citizens get after him after sundown with their coats 

 turned wrongside out and their dander up. Mighty good 

 hunting there, too. And I may as well admit, now the 

 thing is done, that it was not a bad idea on my part to 

 get as many other people to stay away from there as 

 possible. Not that they kill much game, but they keep 

 it so scared all the time that it won't lie to the dogs. 



I feel bound to say in extenuation of the town in ques- 

 tion that the misdemeanor referred to and called by the 

 long name was not committed by a colored woman. If 

 it had been the mob would have just naturally wrecked 

 the place. 



My remarks are about 



The Calm Courage of Mr. Jim Hilliard, 

 which he kept the hotel at the same town some years 

 before the miscalculators (I believe that is the word Mr. 

 K, uses) came there. A little boy had been carrying my 

 lunch basket and extra shells all Christmas day, and as 

 we came in sight of the village he became loquacious. 



"Thev's goin' to be a fight in town to-night." 



"What about?" 



"Oh, it's jest a ordinary fight. Them Lollards wuz 

 over here Thanksgivin' from Long Prairie and cleaned the 

 town out, and when they got through they 'lowed they'd 

 be back Christmas. 



"How many Lollards are there?'' I inquired. 



"Three, but they're right good fighters." 



And so, after supper, while Ml-. Hilliard was in the 

 midst of a long account of his troubles and misfortunes 

 as a cattle raiser, the fracas suddenly began in the neigh- 

 boring saloon, Yells, retorts, cuss words, scuffling, fall- 

 ing chairs; and as a knife interfered with the cuticle of 

 one of the over-sanguine Lollards and he gave a scream 

 that made you almost feel the blade yourself, the fighting 

 ceased and the sounds died away. A general fight seems 

 to have two prima characteristics: it starts before you 

 know what's up and stops before it's over. This one 

 hardly broke one of Hilliard's sentences. He finished 

 his story with imperturbable gravity. Tom felt 

 like asking nim if he knew there was a fight — if 

 he had not heard that awful scream. Directly, how- 

 ever, he seemed to realize for the first time 

 that there had been some little disturbance. He said, 



"Well, I believe I'll go over and see what wuz all them 

 fellers fightin' about. I think them Long Prairie fellers 

 got the worst of it this time." And he sauntered out. 

 He evidently knew something about it after all. 



Perhaps half an hour elapsed before he came back. His 

 thoughts, always calm and philosophic, dwelt upon the 

 event and the curious ethnological aspects of the Lol- 

 lards' principal antagonist. 



"Well, sir, d' you know there ain't a man in this town 

 can arrest that there Town Marshal of our'n but me? No, 

 sir; there wasn't one of 'em dared touch hide ner hair of 

 him. 'N so they came to me as soon as I got there 'n' 

 says, 'Hilliard, don't you 'spose you could arrest Henery?' 

 'N' I allowed I could, 'n' so they says to go ahead, 'n' I 

 says 'What for?' says I, V they says, 'Well, it's a leetle 

 uncertain who cut Lollard. Some says it was Henery 'n' 

 some says it was another of the Lollards did it by mistake, 

 'n' some think likely Si Lollard cut himself; but if you 

 don't lock Henery up they says he'll sure be fightin' ag'in 

 inside of fifteen minutes. It ain't reasonable to suppose 

 we're goin' to keep 'em 'apart all night, 'n' it ain't right 

 to expect the Lollards to go as long as they've been cut 

 and hain't cut back any.' 



"Well, I see they would have trouble if somebody 

 didn't take Henery up and arreBt him, so I says, 'AH 

 that's in favor of me bein' Town Marshal pro tern, so I 

 can lock up the present incumbent, say 'I.' And every- 

 body voted for it, and so I went in and got him." 



"He made no resistance?" I inquired. 



"Why, he come along like a yoke of oxen." 



It was the unconscious fearlessness of the man that im- 

 pressed me and doubtless everybody else. 



"Huh! why, he jest follered me along as if I wuz lead- 

 in' him to water. And what beats me is there wasn't 

 another man in town dare rub up ag'in' him even. Why, 

 he fairly weakened up there by the Baptist Church, across 

 from the lockup. So I says to him if he is got enough, 

 and will go home and not stir out till he comes to the 

 Squire's in the morning, and will consider he is my pris- 

 oner, I'll be easy on him, and spare him the disgrace of 

 actually bein' locked up in his own lockup; so I let him 

 go home. But I wuz the only man in the hull town 

 could arrest him. (With fatherly pride) — He's a son-in- 

 law of mine." 



I learned that the Lollards retired during the night 

 bearing their wounded with them, and leaving word that 

 they would be back either New Year's or Washington's 

 Birthday and wipe out the place — Town Marshal's a spe- 

 cialty. 



The latest fish story is tol I by John Troy, a Boston Es lerinan, who 

 has just arrived in this port on the fishing boat Iolanthe. lie says 

 that early on Thursday morning last, while trolling off Chatham, 

 Mass , in a 14ft. dory, a swordflsh 12ft, long became tangled in the 

 buoy line and carried the boat a number of miles out to sea. Troy 

 a lys that he was not picked up until Saturday morning, until whicn 

 time he was without food or water.— Commercial Advertiser, 



