41^4 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Nov. 18, 1898. 



NOTES OF A TRIP TO MANITOBA. 



In Two Parts-Part One. 

 The attitude of Bohemians in New York, Paris, and 

 elsewhere is this — we wiU hear anything that is intexest- 

 ing, and it is aU the more interesting if true, but if it be 

 uninteresting, although true, we have no use for it. In 

 many respects my trip resembled a thousand others, and 

 these common parts are the ones which I shall be careful 

 to omit. I was in search of what interested me. With 

 suflSlcient confidence in my instinct of choice, but in 

 doubt of my unprompted industry. I drew up and signed 



The only buffalo now in Manitoba are those in possession 

 of Sir Donald Smith in his park at Silver Heights. These 

 I saw Sept. 7, 1893. They then numbered 10—2 fine old 

 bulls, 3 old cows, 3 young bulls, 1 yearling calf, 1 three- 

 months' calf. With them also is a cross between a buffalo 

 and a highland cow, a rough, mean-looking animal. 



These are all that are now to be found in Manitoba, as 

 the famoxis Bedson herd is no moi'e. Dr. Howden, of 

 Winnipeg, related to me a curious adventure with the 

 Bedson buffalo. While driving with a friend outside of 

 Winnipeg some years ago, there was, on the road just 

 ahead of them, the flaming red wagonette of an adver- 

 tising tea house. The buffalo were feeding in the dis- 

 tance, but as the red rig approached they became much 

 excited, and very soon came rapidly toward the tea cart 

 with angry demonstrations. The driver tried to drive off, 

 but they were too quick for him. The horse broke loose 



LAKE CHASKA AND BURNT HILL. 



a vow that I would have a skin, a sketch and a page of 

 ioumal for every day I was away. Then I set out from 

 Toronto via the Great Lakes, 



Among the passengers was a young doctor, who told 

 me: "Early in June, 1889, near Burlington, I found a 

 nest of a yellow warbler, building in a Tartarian honey- 

 suckle. In the morning the male was killed by a cat, and 

 the next morning 1 found the female dead and hanging 

 from the nest by the neck in a loop of horse hair, about 

 6in. long. After the death of the male I had seen a 

 cherry bird stealing the materials of the yellow bird's 

 nest, perhaps the robber had deranged the horsehair so 

 the unhappy female had been entangled by chance, or 

 was it suicide?" 



His other story was that -'Dr. I., of Toronto, had a 

 snipe which broke its leg, but it made for itself a sort of 

 splint of mud and feathers, which effectually bound the 

 breach till it was perfectly healed." 



At the "Soo" I saw some ravens picking up food from 

 the surface of the water as they flew, and at Thunder 

 Cape I made an observation on the perfect accuracy of 

 oral tradition, which I am sm-e would interest Max MijJler. 

 No one on board seemed to know its height, and the most 

 commonplace fellow passenger on board asked me. I 

 didn't know, but having a vague idea that it was 800ft. 

 high, I kept on the safe side and said it was "nearly 

 1,600ft." He set off to air his new-found knowledge, and 

 I heard him tell the next man it was 1,600ft, high, and 

 the next passed it on, saying it was over 1,800ft. high, 

 and presently one carne and said, with the air of a man 

 bursting with information, "How high would you sup- 

 pose that to be?" I said 1 didn't know; what height is it? 

 "Well, sir," said he, "1 hear them say it's 3,000ft. sheer 

 at the cliff, and double that a little way back!" 



Recent investigation has brought to light and clearly 

 demonstrated the astonishing fact that Dante made the 

 preliminary studies for his "Inferno" on the C. P. R. R., 

 along the North Shore of Lake Superior, so that the 

 sooner we get out of it the better. I positively saw noth- 

 ing at all of interest till we reached the classic precincts 

 of Rat Portage, and here, as there was time, I got out and 

 was surprised to see that many of the telegraph poles 

 were bored by woodpeckers. Such ill-directed labor 

 looked, at first blush, like pure malevolence, for the poles 

 are cedar and have no bore worms in them, while the 

 spruce, which abounds on every side, is full of wood- 

 pecker food. But, when more facts are arranged, it 

 seems that the woodpecker discovers the borere by hear- 

 ing. They hear this tremendous humming in the poles 

 and conclude that the father of all the borers is in there, 

 and would be a glorious ca.pture, hence the excavations. 



The Lam-entian Inferno runs out just about where the 

 Manitoba Paradise runs in, i. e., Long. 90° W. Here we 

 begin to have a level alluvial country with aspen forests, 

 and to make discoveries which were both true and inter- 

 eeting 



At Beausejour Station was an Indian with two young 

 moose for sale; they were much like httle calves, with 

 short thick necks and long ears. They were dullish red 

 in color, without spots, and stood about 36m. high at the 

 shoulder. But the stop of three minutes was not enough, 

 either for a sketch or a photo, so I missed a good chance. 



At Selkirk the Rev. Mr. McLaughlin, a missionary from 

 Berens River, came on board, and 1 got from him all the 

 information I could about the parts of every region he 

 had visited. He remembered the abundance of moose, 

 caribou and spruce partridge along the east coast of Lake 

 Winnipeg, and the total absence of small deer and elk, 

 so far as he knew. But his item on buffalo wa.s the most 

 interesting. In 1889, when he resided at a station called 

 Victoria, north of the Saskatcliewan, some Indians whom 

 he knew personally killed 5 buffalo out of a herd of 11, 

 near the Hand Hills. He saw a part of the spoils, includ- 

 ing a large head, which was sold in Winnipeg for $130. 

 He said also that it is quite well known that there are a 

 considerable number of buffalo still in the woods of the 

 Peace River. 



As new buffalo notes are at a premium just now, I give 

 here aU that I have; 



almost immediately and the man escaped on its back, but 

 the oft'ensive red cart was totally demolished. 



According to Rev. Mr. McKellar, missionary to the 

 Saskatchewan, the last year in which the buffalo came in 

 numbers was 1878. During the latter part of that summer 

 the herds of buffalo in the South Saskatchewan were 

 literally countless. As fax as the eye could see in a day's 

 travel the whole country was dull brownish with their 

 woolly coats. But that was the last of them. No more 

 great herds ever came to the north. The last wild buffalo 

 noted in ^Manitoba were three, which, according to Dr. 

 Shaw, of Carberry, crossed the Assiniboine 4 miles north 

 of Grand Valley about Nov. 7, 1879, traveling rapidly 

 northwesterly, and were lost in the region west of Riding 

 Mountain. A Mr, McFadden saw them crossing the As- 



In the Winnipeg Free Press, April, 1891, there appeared 

 an account of a tragedy that took place in the St. Peter 

 Reserve. A famfly of 18 Indians were in one tepee to- 

 gether when they were attacked by wolves and only two 

 men escaped alive! 



In the Canadian Sportsman for May 28, 1890, the fol- 

 lowing appeared: "A dispatch from Winnipeg states that 

 a few days ago a party of loggers stumbled over a pile of 

 bones on the south side of the Lake of the Woods that 

 were the silent and ghastly record of the terrible death of 

 some human being. The bones consisted of a human 

 skeleton, and the skeletons of seven wolves. A revolver 

 and seven empty cartridge shells were lying near the for- 

 mer, and it is supposed that the man was attacked by a 

 pack of wolves, and had made a desperate fight for his 

 life, killing seven of their number before being overpow- 

 ered by the ferocious beasts. An old explorer named 

 McManus, who has lived at Rat Portage for years, has 

 been absent on the lake for a longer time than usual, and 

 it is feared that it is he who has fallen a victim to the 

 wolves. An Indian from Rat Portage is also missing, and 

 it may be be who has met such a horrible death, but the 

 revolver and remnants of clothing, it is said, resemble 

 those worn by McManus." 



I wrote to the Reverend Mr. McLachlan, of Berens 

 River to learn the truth of the St. Peter tragedy, and re- 

 ceived in reply the following interesting letter: 



Berens Rivkr, March 9, ISQZ—Mr. Ernest W. Thompson: Dear Sir— 

 Your letter catne to band by the last mail, and in reply I hag to state 

 that 1 have raade inquiry regarding the story of which you write and 

 find it without foundation. I heard the story last winter, and a young 

 man at Bad I hroat River is said to be its author. There is no doubt 

 whatever of its being a hoax. 



Wolves are quite numerous here this winter, but do not seeto to 

 band together to any extent, and are not, so far as I know, dangerous. 

 Last week one of the Indians on going to his flah cache, where he had 

 been doing his fall fishing, found a splendid black wolf in 'a trap. He 

 tied his mouth with a line, took him out of the trap, and nitched him 

 up in his dog train and made him help haul home the load of fish. 

 The H. B. Co. officer here had him chained up at the fort, and intends 

 trying to make a cross with one of his dogs. I have seen a number of 

 wolves, but none like this specimen. The fur is exactly like a silver 

 fox in color, thick and beautiful. The ears are much more rounded 

 than usual, giving the head more of the appearance of a bear than a 

 wolf. I have handled it, but there is never any sign of crossness, and 

 no attempt at biting. 



Foxes have been very plentiful, and some splendid black and silver 

 ones have been taken. Deer freindeer) have been remarkably scarce ' 

 this winter. I fully believe they have migrated on account of the 

 wolves. Ptarmigan have been abundant this season, owing probably 

 to deep snow to the north of us. 



At any time I shall be most happy to furnish you with any inform- 

 ation in my power. I remain, yours truly, J. A. McLachlajt. 



It is just possible that the Rat Portage tragedy may be 

 similarly explained away. 



These anecdotes refer to the great gray wolf, but the 

 prairie wolf (C latrans) figures much more conspicuously 

 in the annals of the settlement now. They are so numer- 

 ous that the skins of as many as seventj^ or eighty find 

 their way to the main store at Carberry in a single 

 winter, and one or more may be seen in almost any 

 morning's drive. 



Mr. Etobt. McOuUough related to me the following inci- 

 dent of one of these: "One winter's morning I went, 

 with a boUer in my hand, to get some feed from the 



CLAIM SHANTY, GALWAY'S LAKE, 18!ii!. 



siniboine, and Dr. Shaw saw their trail a few hours later 

 where they crossed the Rapid City trail. 



At Winnipeg I visited the shop of my friend Hine, the 

 taxidermist, and saw there a very large timber wolf 

 which had been killed within the city limits last winter. 

 This was also the only one that had been seen near Win- 

 nipeg for years, while the prairie wolf is as common as 

 ever. This, it seems to me, illustrates a curious sort of 

 selection. These animals are similar in food and habits, 

 and have the same enemies, and yet the larger and 

 stronger animal succumbs. The sole reason for this that 

 I can see is that the lesser one is enabled by its lighter 

 weight to pass over the snow when pursued, while the 

 greater weight of the timber wolf proves its destruction. 

 Even in the timbered parts of Manitoba large wolves are 

 very rare now, but occasionally one heare of some tragic 

 adventure that reminds one that the timber wolf still 

 exists and is a foe to be feared when hard pressed. Mr. 

 Gordon. Wright, of Carberry, informs me that in the 

 winter of 1890-91 a man was attacked by wolves in the 

 woods near High Cluff and entirely devoured. 



driving shed. The door was slightly open and as 1 

 approached I saw an animal inside, which dashed abuiiV 

 in the shed, its action showing it to be a wild creature. 1 

 ran to the door just in time to prevent its escajje; barring 

 the passage with the boiler, I rushed to the stable and 

 back with a fork. The wolf, for such it was, took refuge 

 under a reaper and there 1 speared him, but tiie fork only 

 pierced the loose akin of his belly and he turned on me. 

 I held the fork to the ground with all ray strength and 

 was barely out of reach of his jaws, for the handle was 

 short, but I dared not withdraw the fork to strike him 

 again and had nothing to finish him with, so that it was 

 a deadlock. However, after a struggle, 1 got the end of 

 the handle fixed imder a beam and rushed off to get a 

 club. When I came back the wolf was gone. I thought 

 to see no more of him, but next morning I found him 

 but a few yards from the same place, quite dead, the 

 fork having penetrated his bowels when 1 speared him. 

 But why should lie return to this shed?" 



And Mr. T. Kerr tells me that one winter a prairie 

 wolf without any hatir on it hid itself under his straw- 

 etack. and although driven away it returned and ensconced 



