THE EED RIVER MAILS. 



257 



eaten food for two days, having been longer on his 

 journey than he expected. He had no means of killing 

 the prairie hens which were so abundant on the trail, 

 and which might have provided him with food. He 

 carried the mail in a large leather bag, by means of a strap 

 passing round his head ; he was poorly clothed, wet, and 

 miserable, and had been fifteen days coming from Crow 

 Wing. We gave him some buffalo meat and pemmican, 

 on the strength of which he hoped to reach Pembina 

 in two days.* Serpent or Snake Eiver, where we arrived 

 during the afternoon, flows between steep sand-banks and 

 hills ; the soil is very light, and after passing Serpent 

 Eiver is scarcely fitted for arable farms, but might fur- 



* The subjoined notice of the u Red River Post Office" is from the 

 Nor'wester of the 28th January, 1860 :— 



THE POST OFFICE. 



" The year 1858 witnessed a new feature in the postal arrangements of 

 the country. In that year, the Canadian Government authorised the con- 

 veyance of mails to and from the settlement, via Fort William. Since that 

 time, therefore, and up to the beginning of the present winter, we have had 

 two lines of mail communication — one through American and one through 

 British territory. The former has hitherto on the whole given great satis- 

 faction, and we doubt not the latter will also give satisfaction, after some 

 more experience of the route and its requirements. In June, 1859, the two 

 lines together brought in 713 papers and 400 letters, besides a number of 

 magazines and reviews. The last mail, which arrived on the evening of 

 the 19th instant, brought in 880 newspapers and 210 letters. This is the 

 largest number of papers ever brought in by a single mail. The number 

 of letters is smaller than by previous mails ; but there will of course be a 

 fluctuation. Our mails are only monthly. We may, it is true, send to 

 Pembina twice a month ; but as there is but a monthly mail from there, 

 the arrangement is but unsatisfactory. Let us have a genuine fortnightly 

 mail. There was one from July, 1858, to July, 1859: why was it 

 given up P 



u The outgoing mail on the 28th ultimo conveyed 350 letters and a large 

 numbers of newspapers. As that was the" first instance of newspapers 

 being sent abroad from this settlement, it will mark an important era in 

 the history of the Red River Post Office." 

 VOL, I. S 



