diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/62844-h/62844-h.htm')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62844-h/62844-h.htm | 11325 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 11325 deletions
diff --git a/old/62844-h/62844-h.htm b/old/62844-h/62844-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index a5e4501..0000000 --- a/old/62844-h/62844-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,11325 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd"> - -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en"> - -<head> - -<link rel="coverpage" href="images/img-cover.jpg" /> - -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" /> - -<title> -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Fair Dominion, by R. E. Vernède -</title> - -<style type="text/css"> -body { color: black; - background: white; - margin-right: 10%; - margin-left: 10%; - font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; - text-align: justify } - -p {text-indent: 4% } - -p.noindent {text-indent: 0% } - -p.t1 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 200%; - text-align: center } - -p.t2 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 150%; - text-align: center } - -p.t2b {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 150%; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center } - -p.t3 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 100%; - text-align: center } - -p.t3b {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 100%; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center } - -p.t4 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 80%; - text-align: center } - -p.t4b {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 80%; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center } - -p.t5 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 60%; - text-align: center } - -h1 { text-align: center } -h2 { text-align: center } -h3 { text-align: center } -h4 { text-align: center } -h5 { text-align: center } - -p.poem {text-indent: 0%; - margin-left: 10%; } - -p.thought {text-indent: 0% ; - letter-spacing: 4em ; - text-align: center } - -p.letter {text-indent: 0%; - margin-left: 10% ; - margin-right: 10% } - -p.footnote {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 80%; - margin-left: 10% ; - margin-right: 10% } - -.smcap { font-variant: small-caps } - -p.transnote {text-indent: 0% ; - margin-left: 10% ; - margin-right: 10% } - -p.index {text-indent: -5% ; - margin-left: 5% ; - margin-top: 0% ; - margin-bottom: 0% ; - margin-right: 0% } - -p.intro {font-size: 90% ; - text-indent: -5% ; - margin-left: 5% ; - margin-right: 0% } - -p.quote {text-indent: 4% ; - margin-left: 0% ; - margin-right: 0% } - -p.finis { font-size: larger ; - text-align: center ; - text-indent: 0% ; - margin-left: 0% ; - margin-right: 0% } - -p.capcenter { margin-left: 0; - margin-right: 0 ; - margin-bottom: .5% ; - margin-top: 0; - font-weight: bold; - float: none ; - clear: both ; - text-indent: 0%; - text-align: center } - -img.imgcenter { margin-left: auto; - margin-bottom: 0; - margin-top: 1%; - margin-right: auto; } - -.pagenum { position: absolute; - left: 1%; - font-size: 95%; - text-align: left; - text-indent: 0; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: normal; } - -</style> - -</head> - -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Fair Dominion, by R. E. Vernède - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Fair Dominion - A Record of Canadian Impressions - -Author: R. E. Vernède - -Illustrator: Cyrus Cuneo - -Release Date: August 3, 2020 [EBook #62844] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FAIR DOMINION *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines - - - - - -</pre> - - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="capcenter"> -<a id="img-cover"></a> -<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-cover.jpg" alt="Cover art" /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="capcenter"> -<a id="img-front"></a> -<br /> -<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-front.jpg" alt="LOOKING FROM LAKE AGNES DOWN ON LAKES MIRROR AND LOUISE." /> -<br /> -LOOKING FROM LAKE AGNES DOWN ON LAKES MIRROR AND LOUISE. -</p> - -<h1> -<br /><br /> - THE FAIR DOMINION<br /> -</h1> - -<p class="t3b"> - A RECORD OF CANADIAN IMPRESSIONS<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /> -</p> - -<p class="t3"> - BY<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t2"> - R. E. VERNÈDE<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t4"> - AUTHOR OF<br /> - 'THE PURSUIT OF MR. FAVIEL,' 'MERIEL OF THE MOORS,' ETC.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> - With 12 Illustrations in Colour<br /> - from Drawings by<br /> - CYRUS CUNEO<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> - LONDON<br /> - KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRÜBNER & CO., LTD.<br /> - DRYDEN HOUSE, GERRARD STREET, W.<br /> - 1911<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pv"></a>v}</span> -</p> - -<p class="t3b"> -PREFACE -</p> - -<p> -You know how long ago, in the earlier-than-Victorian -days, the country cousin, in order to -see life, went up to the Metropolis. A terrible -journey it was, but well worth the labour and -anxiety. Accounts are still extant of how the -bustle and noise of the streets amazed him, of -how endless the houses seemed, how startled -he was by the glittering, clattering folk, how -innocent and countrified he felt by comparison -with them. Nowadays, though the London -we know is to that old London as a vast and -sleepless city to a small somnolent town, the -country cousin is no longer carried off his feet -by a visit to it. It is not vast enough or noisy -enough or new enough to impress him. Perhaps -no single city ever will be again. -</p> - -<p> -But Canada! Some Winnipeg school teachers -who came over recently to see London, told -a journalist that it seemed so quiet -compared with Canadian cities. 'In our cities,' -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pvi"></a>vi}</span> -they said, 'it is impossible to escape from the -noise of the streets.' ... Yet the streets and -the cities are not really the things that impress -one most in Canada. The amazing things are -the forests and the fields, the prairies and the -lakes and the mountains: all the illimitable -space and the irrepressible men who are closing -it in and giving it names for us to know it by. -</p> - -<p> -Clearly the English country cousin who wishes -to be impressed should go to Canada. It is as -easy to reach as London was in the old days, -and there are no highwaymen. He will come -back—if he comes back—with many stories to -tell his friends of the wonders he has seen and -of the still more incredible things that will -soon be visible. That is at least my position. -I went out originally for the <i>Bystander</i>, which -wanted its Canadian news, like all its other -news, up-to-date and not too solemn, and I am -indebted to the editor of that journal for -permission to make use in parts of the articles -I sent him for this book, in which, by the way, -I have still endeavoured to avoid solemnity. -For some reason or other, many writers upon -Canada do fall into a solemn and portentous -way of describing the country—with the result -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pvii"></a>vii}</span> -that people who know nothing of the facts say -to themselves, 'This is indeed an important -Dominion, but dull.' As a matter of fact, of -course, Canada is a highly exciting country—from -its grizzly bears to its political problems—and -having spent delightful months in various -parts, some well known, others, such as the -French River, the Columbia Valley, and the -Selkirks, very little known; riding in trains or -on mountain ponies, sometimes trying to catch -maskinongés (a tigerish kind of pike), -sometimes trying to catch prime ministers (who -cannot be described in such a general way)—I -have tried to set down my impressions as -incompletely as I received them. Never, I -hope, have I fallen into the error of describing -exactly how many salmon are canned in the -Dominion, or what Sir Wilfrid Laurier should -do if he really wishes to remain a great party -leader. The errors I have fallen into will be -obvious, and I need not run through them here.... -As for criticisms—if now and then I stop -to make some—if I start saying, 'Canada is a -great country, nevertheless, we do some things -just as well or better at home,' no Canadian -need mind. Country cousins have said just -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pviii"></a>viii}</span> -that sort of thing from all time. Every -cousin—even the most countrified—makes some -reservations in favour of his own place; he would -not be worth entertaining otherwise. If the -criticisms are pointless, Canadians may say, -'What can you expect from a country cousin?' If -there is something in them, they will be -entitled to remark, 'This English country -cousin shows some intelligence. But then -he has been to Canada—the centre of things.' -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pix"></a>ix}</span> -</p> - -<p class="t3b"> -CONTENTS -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="noindent"> -CHAP. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -I. <a href="#chap01">THE START FROM LIVERPOOL</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -II. <a href="#chap02">THE STEERAGE PASSAGE</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -III. <a href="#chap03">LANDING IN CANADA</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -IV. <a href="#chap04">A FAIRLY LONG DAY IN QUEBEC</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -V. <a href="#chap05">THE ATTRACTION OF THE SAGUENAY</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -VI. <a href="#chap06">STE. ANNE DE BEAUPRÉ AND A TRAVELLER'S VOW</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -VII. <a href="#chap07">A HABITANT VILLAGE AND ITS NOTAIRE</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -VIII. <a href="#chap08">GLIMPSES OF MONTREAL</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -IX. <a href="#chap09">TORONTO, NIAGARA FALLS, AND A NEGRO PORTER</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -X. <a href="#chap10">MASKINONGÉ FISHING ON THE FRENCH RIVER</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XI. <a href="#chap11">SOME SUPERFICIAL REFLECTIONS AT SUDBURY</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XII. <a href="#chap12">THROUGH THE HIGHLANDS OF ONTARIO</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XIII. <a href="#chap13">THE OLD TIMERS OF KILDONAN AND THE NEW TIMERS OF WINNIPEG</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XIV. <a href="#chap14">A PRAIRIE TOWN AND THE PRAIRIE POLICE</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XV. <a href="#chap15">IN CALGARY</a> -</p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Px"></a>x}</span> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XVI. <a href="#chap16">THE AMERICANISATION QUESTION</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XVII. <a href="#chap17">AMONG THE READY-MADE FARMS</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XVIII. <a href="#chap18">INTO THE ROCKIES WITH A DEFENDER OF THE FAITH</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XIX. <a href="#chap19">A HOT BATH IN BANFF</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XX. <a href="#chap20">CANADA AND WOMAN</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XXI. <a href="#chap21">THE LAKES AMONG THE CLOUDS</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XXII. <a href="#chap22">A SOLITARY RIDE INTO THE YOHO VALLEY</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XXIII. <a href="#chap23">THE FRUIT-LANDS OF LAKE WINDERMERE</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XXIV. <a href="#chap24">THE SELKIRKS—A GRIZZLY-BEAR COUNTRY</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XXV. <a href="#chap24">AN EIGHTY-MILE WALK THROUGH THE COLUMBIA VALLEY</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XXVI. <a href="#chap26">FROM GOLDEN TO THE COAST</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XXVII. <a href="#chap27">A LITTLE ABOUT VANCOUVER CITY</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XXVIII. <a href="#chap28">THE HAPPY FARMERS OF THE ISLAND</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XXIX. <a href="#chap29">A CHAT WITH THE PRIME MINISTER OF<br /> -BRITISH COLUMBIA AND A BIG FIRE AT VICTORIA</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XXX. <a href="#chap30">BACK THROUGH OTTAWA</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#index">INDEX</a> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pxi"></a>xi}</span> -</p> - -<p class="t3b"> -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#img-front">LOOKING FROM LAKE AGNES DOWN ON LAKES MIRROR AND LOUISE</a> ... Frontispiece -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#img-028">CHATEAU FRONTENAC FROM THE OLD RAMPARTS. DAY. QUEBEC</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#img-032">CHATEAU FRONTENAC AND DUFFERIN TERRACE. NIGHT. QUEBEC</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#img-170">MOUNT LEFROY. CANADIAN ROCKIES</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#img-176">A TRAIL IN THE ROCKIES</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#img-192">THE HALT. SADDLEBACK. LAGGAN</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#img-198">LAKE LOUISE. LAGGAN. ALBERTA</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#img-204">IN THE VALLEY OF THE TEN PEAKS. ROCKY MOUNTAINS</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#img-206">ON THE TRAIL, YOHO VALLEY</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#img-216">THE DEVIL'S FINGERS. ROCKY MOUNTAINS</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#img-230">A SENTINEL OF THE ROCKIES</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#img-254">IN THE SELKIRKS. THE RETURN FROM THE HUNT</a> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap01"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P1"></a>1}</span></p> - -<p class="t2"> -THE FAIR DOMINION -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER I -<br /><br /> -THE START FROM LIVERPOOL -</h3> - -<p> -Canada and its wonders might lie before us, -yet it was not all joy there at the Liverpool -docks, where we waited our opportunity to -go on board S.S. <i>Empress of Britain</i>. For -one thing, the sun on that August day of last -year was so unusually warm that standing -about with a bag amongst crowds of people -who were seeing other people off was hard -work; for another, I had left behind me in my -Hertfordshire home my bull-mastiff, forlorn -ever since I had begun packing, and not a bit -deceived by the bone she had been supplied -with at parting. Even while she had gnawed it, -she had whined. All those other people already -on the great ship, the people in the bows—the -emigrants—were leaving more even than -a bull-mastiff: friends—for who knew how -long?—their parents in England perhaps for -ever. Here were thoughts to obscure the -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P2"></a>2}</span> -pleasure of those who were making for a new -world, thoughts to sadden those who, whether -by their own choice or not, were staying behind. -Less than my bull-mastiff could they be either -deceived or solaced. True, they might remember -that this is the way a great Empire is made. -We talk of the Empire often enough. But -then we who talk of it are rarely those who -make it or suffer for it; and perhaps we are -therefore more easily consoled by a great idea -than they. -</p> - -<p> -Luckily going on board ship has to be a -bustling business. My two companions and I, -who had been promised a four-berth third-class -cabin between us, had to bustle quite a -lot—to different gangways from which we were -rapidly sent back and into various queues, -which turned out, after we had waited in them -for some time, to be composed of some other -class of passenger. We were extremely heated -before we found ourselves in the end about to -be passed up a gangway at which the medical -inspection of a group of Scandinavians was -at the moment going on. Scandinavian seems -to be a roomy word which covers all Swedes, -Norwegians, Danes, Lapps; and no foreigners -not coming under this category are carried -by the 'Empress' boats. -</p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P3"></a>3}</span> -</p> - -<p> -The theory seems to be in regard to them -that they are the only right and proper -shipmates for English emigrants going to Canada. -They were being pretty carefully examined -all the same, men and women alike. The -doctors' attention seemed to centre on their -heads and eyelids. Hats were pulled off as -they came level with them, and tow-coloured -hair was grasped and peered into apparently -with satisfactory results, for only a couple of -elderly people were held back for a few minutes; -and they I fancy had not passed the eye test, -and were therefore not free from suspicion -of having trachoma—a not uncommon North -European disease supposed to cause total blindness, -which is least of all to be desired in a new -country. The two detained Scandinavians were -re-examined and passed, after which our turn -came. I think we all three felt a little uneasy -in the eyelids as we advanced upon the doctor, -but we need not have been anxious, for after -a swift glance at us he reassured us by grinning -and saying, 'There's nothing wrong with you, -I should say,'—and so we passed on board. -For the next hour or two we were part of a -whirl of confused humanity. There is always -a tendency among landsmen to become sheepish -at sea, and in the steerage there were nine -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P4"></a>4}</span> -hundred of us, most of whom had never been -at sea before. So we rushed together and got -jammed down companionways and in passages -which even on so big a liner as this could not -hold us all abreast, and scrummed to find the -numbers of our berths from the steward, and -flung ourselves in masses upon our baggage, -and pressed pell-mell to the sides of the ship to -wave good-bye, and formed a solid tossing -square saloonwards when bells rang and we -thought they might mean meals. -</p> - -<p> -Of course there must have been even then -self-possessed passengers, who knew what they -were about and only seemed to be lost with -the crowd, and to be vaguely trying to muddle -through. Canadians returning to their own -country were conspicuous later by reason of -their cool bearing and air of knowing their way -about the world. And the invisible discipline -of the ship that was to turn us all later into -reasonable and orderly individuals was no -doubt already at work. But the impression -any one looking down on us that first evening -would have received would have been the -impression of a scurrying crowd, fancifully and -variously dressed for its Atlantic voyage—clerks -in pink shirts and high collars and -bowler hats, peasants in smocks, women in the -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P5"></a>5}</span> -very latest flapping head-gear, or bareheaded -and shawled, infants either terribly smart or -mere bundles of old clothes. -</p> - -<p> -Up on the first-class deck superior people -were walking calmly about with just the right -clothes and manners for such a small event -as crossing the Atlantic must have been to -most of them. Occasionally one of these -upper folk would come to the rails, lean over -and smilingly stare at us: wondering perhaps -at our confusion. But then all our fortunes -were embarked on the ship, and only a little -part of theirs. -</p> - -<p> -When I went to sleep that night on a clean -straw mattress in a lower berth, with a pleasant -air blowing in through the port-hole in the -passage, we were, I suppose, out to sea, and the -air was Atlantic air, and no longer that of the -old country. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap02"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P6"></a>6}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER II -<br /><br /> -THE STEERAGE PASSAGE -</h3> - -<p> -Apart from its other merits the steerage has -this to its credit—every one is very friendly -and affable. No one required an introduction -before entering into conversation, and the -suspicion that we might be making the acquaintance -of some doubtful and inferior person who -would perhaps presume upon it later did not -worry any of us. I sat at a delightful table. -Some one who knew the ins and outs of a -steerage passage had advised me to go in to -meals with the first 'rush,' instead of waiting -for the second or third. His theory was that -the first relay got the pick of the food. So -my two friends and I had taken care to answer -the very first call to the saloon, which happened -to be for high tea, and, seating ourselves at -random, found that we were thereby -self-condemned to take every meal in the same -order—including breakfast at the unaccustomed -and somewhat dispiriting hour of 7 A.M. -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P7"></a>7}</span> -I do not know that it greatly mattered. In -the cabin next ours there were several small -children, who appeared to wake and weep -about 4 A.M., and either to throw themselves -or be thrown out of their berths on to the -floor a little later. Their lamentations then -became so considerable, that we were not -sorry to rise and go elsewhere. -</p> - -<p> -Besides the three of us, there were at our -table the following:— -</p> - -<p> -(1) A Norwegian peasant. Going on to the -land. Quiet and rapid in his eating. -</p> - -<p> -(2) Another Norwegian peasant, also going -on to the land. He must have arrived on -board very hungry, and he remained so -throughout the voyage. He used to help himself to -butter with his egg spoon, after he had finished -most of his egg with it. Moreover, he would -rise and stretch a red and dusky arm all down -the table, if he sighted something appetising -afar off. As we had a most excellent table -steward, whose waiting could not have been -beaten in the first-class, we all rather resented -this behaviour, and I—as his next door -neighbour—was deputed to hold him courteously -in his seat until the desired eatables could be -passed him. -</p> - -<p> -(3) A Durham miner going to a mine in -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P8"></a>8}</span> -northern Ontario. A cheery red-faced person. -He had bought a revolver before starting for -Canada, because friends had told him that -they were rough sort of places up there. I -afterwards stayed a night in a mining town, -and the only row that I heard was caused by -a young Salvation Army girl, who beat a drum -violently for hours outside the bar. We -advised the miner to practise with his revolver -in some isolated spot, these weapons being -tricky. -</p> - -<p> -(4) A small shy cockney boy who was going -out to his dad at Winnipeg. I don't know -what his dad was, but I should think a clerk -of sorts. -</p> - -<p> -(5) A brass metal worker from the North. -Going to a job in Peterborough. A quiet -pleasant young man. -</p> - -<p> -(6) A chauffeur who had also been in the -Royal Engineers. Had been in the South -African War, and told stories about it much -more interesting than those you see in books. -</p> - -<p> -(7) A horse-breaker, with whom I spent -many hours learning about bits and bridles -and shoes. He was the only married man -among these seven. He hoped to bring his -wife and family out within the year, and was -not going to be happy until he did, even though -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P9"></a>9}</span> -the kids would have to be vaccinated, and -he had most conscientious objections to this -process. -</p> - -<p> -All these men—even the Norwegian with -his egg-spoon habits—would be, I could not -help thinking, a distinct gain to any country. -I fancy too that they represented the steerage -generally. Of course there were other types. -I remember some characteristic Londoners -of the less worthy sort—gummy-faced youths -in dirty clothes that had been smart. There -was one in particular, whom the horse-breaker -would refer to as 'that lad that goes about in -what was once a soot o' clothes,' who had a -perfect genius for card tricks and making music -on a comb. His career in Canada, judging -by criticisms passed upon him by returning -Canadians, was likely to be brief and unsuccessful. -</p> - -<p> -The food—to turn to what is always of -considerable interest on a voyage—was good but -solid. Pea soup, followed by pork chops and -plum-pudding, makes an excellent dinner when -you are hungry. Everybody was hungry the -first day and also the last three days. In -between there was a cessation of appetites. -The sea was never in the least rough, but there -was some slight motion on the second day out, -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P10"></a>10}</span> -and the majority of the nine hundred had -probably never been to sea before. The strange -affliction took them unawares, and they did -not know how to deal with it. Where they -were first seized, there they remained and were -ill. The sides of the ship which appealed to -more experienced travellers did not allure -them. It was during this affliction that a -device which had struck me as a most excellent -idea upon going on board seemed in practice -less good. This was a railed-in sand-pit which -the paternal company had constructed between -decks for the entertainment of the emigrant -children. I had seen a dozen or more at a -time playing in it with every manifestation of -delight. Even now while they were ailing -there, they did not seem to mind it. -</p> - -<p> -Everywhere one went on that day of tribulation -one had to walk warily. -</p> - -<p> -Afterwards the sea settled down into a mill -pond, and every one began to wear a cheerful -and hopeful look. In the evenings, and -sometimes in the afternoons as well, some of the -Scandinavians would produce concertinas and -violins, and the whole of them would dance -their folk-dances for hours. It was -extraordinary how gracefully they danced—the squat -fair-haired women and the big men heavily -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P11"></a>11}</span> -clothed and booted. There was an attempt -on the part of some of the English people to -take part in these dances, but they soon realised -their inferiority, and gave it up in favour -of sports and concerts. The sports, though -highly successful in themselves, led to a slight -contretemps when the Bishop of London, who -happened to be on board, came over by request -to distribute the prizes. The Scandinavians, -who quite wrongly thought they had been left -out of the sports, seized the opportunity afforded -by the bishop's address (which was concerned -with our future in Canada), to form in Indian -file, with a concertinist at their head, and -march round and round the platform on which -the bishop stood, making a deafening noise. -It looked for a little as if there might be a -scuffle between them and the prize-winners, -but peace prevailed, though we were all -prevented from hearing what was no doubt very -sound advice. Apart from this, there was no -horseplay to speak of until the last night but -one, when a rowdy set, headed by a fat -Yorkshireman, chose to throw bottles about in the -dark, down in that part of the ship where -about fifty men were berthed together. For -this the ringleader was hauled before the -captain and properly threatened. -</p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P12"></a>12}</span> -</p> - -<p> -Our concerts went with less éclat. They -were held in the dining-saloon, and there were -usually good audiences. It seemed however -that we had only one accompanist, whose -command of the piano was limited, and in any -case self-consciousness invariably got the better -of the performers at the last moment. Either -they would not come forward at all when -their turn arrived, or else, having come forward, -they turned very red, wavered through a few -notes and then lost their voices altogether. -Our best English concertina player, a fat little -Lancashire engineer, had his instrument seized -with the strangest noises halfway through -'Variations on the Harmonica,' and after a -manly effort to restrain them, failed and had -to retire in haste. We generally bridged over -these recurring gaps in the programme by -singing 'Yip i addy.' -</p> - -<p> -It was so fine most of the voyage, that one -could be quite happy on deck doing nothing -at all but resting and strolling and talking. A -few of the girls skipped occasionally and some -of the men boxed: there was no real zeal for -deck games. The voyage was too short, and -with the new life and the new world at the -end of it we all wanted to find out from one -another what we knew—or at least what we -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P13"></a>13}</span> -thought—Canada would be like. We stood -in some awe of returning Canadians who talked -of dollars as if they were pence, and we wondered -if we should get jobs as easily as people said -we should. Almost every type of worker was -represented among us, and many types of -people. -</p> - -<p> -Chief among my own particular acquaintances -made on the boat were a young lady-help -from Alberta, two Russian Jews from -Archangel, a Norwegian farm hand from -somewhere near the Arctic circle, two miners from -Ontario, and three small boys belonging to -Perth, Scotland. -</p> - -<p> -I do not know how the Russian Jews came -to be on the boat. They had some Finnish, -and I suppose slipped in with the Scandinavians. -They also spoke a few words of -German, which was the language we misused -together. They were brothers, good-looking -men with charming manners. The elder wore -a frock coat and a bowler hat, and looked -a romantic Shylock. The other was clothed -in a smock, and was hatless. They said -they had fled from the strife of Russia, and -they wished particularly to know if Canada -was a free country. The younger man was an -ironworker and made penny puzzles in iron -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P14"></a>14}</span> -which, so far as I could make out, the elder -brother invented. They had one puzzle with -them, but it was very complicated, and I was -afraid that the sale of such things in Canada -might be limited, unless Canadians fancied -bewildering themselves over intricate ironwork -during the long winters. Still those two -fugitives rolled Russian cigarettes very well too, -which should earn them a living. -</p> - -<p> -The Norwegian was a simple youth in a queer -hat, which afterwards blew off into the sea -much to his sorrow. He was very bent on -acquiring the English language during the -voyage, not having any of it to start with. I -used to sit with him on one side and the small -Perthshire boys on the other, while we translated -Scottish into Norwegian and back again. The -Scotch boys would inquire of me what 'hat' -was in Norse, and I would point to the queer -head-gear above-mentioned, and ask its owner -to name its Norwegian equivalent. One of -the things that stumped me—being a mere -Englishman—was a question put by the smallest -Perth boy: 'Whit is gollasses in Norwegian?' -</p> - -<p> -It took me some time to find out what gollasses -were in English, and I don't know how to spell -them now. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap03"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P15"></a>15}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER III -<br /><br /> -LANDING IN CANADA -</h3> - -<p> -It was while we were still out to sea that I -first realised what Canada might be like, and -how different from England. We had been -steaming for five days, and hitherto the Atlantic -had seemed a familiar and still English sea. -The sky above, the air around, even the vast -slowly heaving waters and the set of the sun -one might see from an English cliff. But on -this last day but one, which was a day of hot -sun, the sky seemed to have risen immeasurably -higher than in England and to have -become incredibly clearer, except where little -white rugged clouds were set. Snow clouds -in a perfect winter's sky, I should have said, -if I had known myself to be at home; yet the -air round the ship was of the very balmiest -summer. We should never get such a sky and -such an air together in England, and we were -all stimulated by it and began to forget England -and think more of Canada. We wondered -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P16"></a>16}</span> -when we were going to see the lights of Belle -Isle, and somebody said we should pass an -island called Anticosti, and we began to look -out for Anticosti, and anybody who knew -anything about Anticosti was listened to like an -oracle. Not that anybody did know much—even -those who had crossed to and fro -several times. After all there was no reason -why they should, for Atlantic liners do not stop -there, and there is not much to be seen in -passing. Still we weighed the words of those who -had passed it carefully, and decided to see -what we could of it so that we might also be -regarded as oracles next time we came that -way. -</p> - -<p> -Though we had not seen Canada, yet we had -received a favourable impression of it, which -was lucky, because the next day, when we had -got into the St. Lawrence, it came on to sleet -and vapour. We of the steerage, who had -brought up our boxes and babies almost before -breakfast, so as to be ready to land at the -earliest moment, had to content ourselves -with sitting on them between decks (on the -boxes, for choice, but the babies would get in -the way too), and watch the little white villages -and tinned church spires and dark woods of -French Canada drive past the portholes in the -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P17"></a>17}</span> -mist. We should like to have been on deck -seeing more of our new home, breathing some -of its bracing air; but the rain was incessant. -Heavens, but it got stuffy too on that lower -deck. Nine hundred of us in our best clothes -and our overcoats—holding on to bundles and -kids, and sweating. It got so stuffy, that I -took the opportunity of crossing in the rain -to the first-class, and hunting out two people -to whom I had introductions. One was the -Canadian Minister for Emigration, who had -already been over to inspect us in a paternal -sort of way and declared that we were 'a -particularly good lot'—very different, he -hinted, from the sort of English emigrants -who used to be shipped over, and got Englishmen -a bad name in the new country for years. -His gratification at our general excellence was -so natural that I did not broach the question -of whether Canada's gain was England's loss. -I hope it was not. I suppose we can afford -to lose even good men, provided we are not -going to lose them really, but only station -them at a different spot along the great road -of the Empire. -</p> - -<p> -The other person I was anxious to see was -Archbishop Bourne, who was going out to the -Eucharistic Congress at Montreal. We -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P18"></a>18}</span> -discussed that extraordinarily lucid book of -Monsieur André Siegfried, which deals with -the race question in Canada. The archbishop -admitted its value, though he thought it -unfair in parts. He was assured, for example, -that the unsocial attitude of the Irish and -French Canadian Catholics towards one another -as well as towards those of another religion -was fast disappearing, nor did he seem to think -that the Church any longer tended to frustrate -enterprise by keeping its members under its -wing in the East. Many Catholics were going -West nowadays, and after the Congress he -himself was going West in the spirit of the -times. Perhaps he was right about the -<i>rapprochement</i> of the Irish and French Catholics, -though men on the spot maintain that their -unsociability is largely due to the fact that -both have a singular yearning for State employment -and the employment will not always -go round. -</p> - -<p> -It was still raining when I recrossed to the -steerage, and it was still raining when we got -into the Canadian Pacific Railway dock at -about 5 P.M. I was standing beside the -horse-breaker at the time, and the first thing that -caught his eye in Quebec was the shape of -the telegraph poles. -</p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P19"></a>19}</span> -</p> - -<p> -'Why, look at them,' he said, 'they're all -crooked!' -</p> - -<p> -A little later, he commented on the slowness -with which the French-Canadian porters were -getting the baggage off the boat. 'They may -have this here hustle on them that they talk -of,' he said, 'but I've seen that done a lot -quicker in London.' -</p> - -<p> -It was more loyalty to the old country than -disloyalty to the new that prompted the -remark, in which there was perhaps some -justification. A Canadian who was standing -by seemed to think so at any rate. -</p> - -<p> -'This is only French Canada,' he said, 'wait -till you get West.' -</p> - -<p> -Still we all of us had to wait a bit in French -Canada anyhow. We did not get through the -emigration sheds till 9.30 P.M., and then there -was one's baggage to be got through the -Customs after. Not that there was much in -that, the officials being most amiable. But -we none of us much enjoyed the emigrant -inspection. It is necessary and desirable no -doubt, but we felt that we had been inspected -pretty often already on board the boat, and -we had been up since daylight, and we were -hungry and miserable, and hot in the sheds -and cold out of them, and the babies fractious, -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P20"></a>20}</span> -and everybody shoving and pushing, and we -felt like some sheep at sheep-dog trials which -have to be driven through pen after pen, and -would go so much faster if they only knew how, -and the dogs didn't press them. However it -was all accomplished at last, and then the -emigrants got into the westbound train that -was waiting for them. First and second-class -passengers had long since vanished in carriages -to such abodes of luxury as the Cháteau -Frontenac and the rest of the leading hotels. -Now there were no carriages left. And we -heard that a hundred people at least had been -turned away from the Château Frontenac, so -full was it; and since in any case we wished to -start our Canadian impressions from a humbler -standpoint, we set out in the rain for a Quebec -inn which some of the Canadians returning in -the steerage had told us of. I suppose we had -a good deal more than a mile to go through -the rain carrying bags, along those awful roads -from the docks. I know something about those -roads, because I not only walked along them -that night, but next morning I drove a dray -along them. I had gone back to the docks to -get my trunk which I had had to leave there, -and the dray was the only thing I could get -to drive up in. Soon after we had started -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P21"></a>21}</span> -I said to the driver—a merry-faced French -Canadian—'Il trotte bien,' referring to the -horse, and he was so pleased with the -compliment, or the French perhaps, that he handed -me the reins and let me drive the rest of the -way through the stone piles and mud that -appeared to form the roads in lower Quebec. -In return for the reins I had lent him my -tobacco pouch; and when the horse leapt an -extra deep hole, he would stop filling his pipe -and hold me in round the waist. -</p> - -<p> -To go back to the inn—I suppose it was ten -o'clock before we got there. A few men sat -smoking, with their feet against the wall in the -entrance room where the office was; and after -we had waited about for ten minutes or so, -one of them told us if we wanted to see the -clerk we'd better ring a bell. We did so, and -presently a youth turned up and patronisingly -accorded us rooms for the night. -</p> - -<p> -'Is there any chance of getting a meal -to-night?' we inquired, somewhat damped -by his unenthusiastic reception. (I may say -that I never met an office clerk in a Canadian -hotel who did seem keen on welcoming guests. -That is one of the differences between the old -world and the new.) -</p> - -<p> -'Yup, there's a café downstairs,' said the -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P22"></a>22}</span> -youth, as he lit a cigar and sat down to read a -newspaper. -</p> - -<p> -We went downstairs, and there in a narrow -little room behind a long counter which had -plates of sausage rolls, under meat covers to -keep them from the flies, upon it, and little -high stools upon which you sit in discomfort -to eat the sausage rolls quickly in front of it, -we found a small pale-faced boy who said -'Sure!' in the cheeriest way when we -repeated our question about food. Five -minutes later he had produced from a stove -which he was almost too small to reach fried -bacon and eggs and coffee, and while we sat -and ate these good things, he gave us advice -about the future. He evidently knew without -asking that we were emigrants from the old -country, and he supposed we wanted jobs. He -recommended waiting as a start—waiting in -a hotel. Waiting was not, he said, much of -a thing to stick at; but there was pretty good -money to be made at it in the season. Lots -of tourists gave good tips—especially in -Quebec—and you could save money as a waiter if -you tried. He himself was from the States, -but he liked Quebec well enough. Of course -it was not as hustling as further west, and not -to be compared to the States. If a man -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P23"></a>23}</span> -had ideas, the States was the place for him. -There were more opportunities for a man with -ideas in the States than there were in Canada. -We asked him how much a man with ideas -could reckon upon making in the States, and -he said such a man could reckon upon making -as much as five dollars a day. It did not -seem an overwhelming amount to my aspiring -mind—not for a man with ideas. Perhaps -that is because one has heard of so many -millionaires down in the States, beginning with -Mr. Rockefeller. But then again, perhaps -millionaires are not men with ideas themselves -so much as men who know how to use the -ideas of others. -</p> - -<p> -Having started on money, the boy gave us -a lecture on the Canadian coinage, the -advantages of the decimal system, where copper -money held good and why—all in a way that -would have done credit to a financial expert. -We thought him an amazing boy to be frying -eggs and bacon behind a counter in a small -café: only you don't just stick to one groove -in Canada. At least you ought not to, as the -boy himself told us. Englishmen were like -that, but it didn't do in the States or Canada. -A man should have several strings to his bow, -and be ready to turn his hand to anything. -</p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P24"></a>24}</span> -</p> - -<p> -Refreshed by our supper and his advice, we -adjourned to the bar which was handy, and -got further enlightenment from the barman -there. He was a French Canadian, very -dapper in a stiff white shirt and patent leather -boots. Money was also his theme. He told -us he made forty cents an hour, and meant -to get up to seventy-five cents pretty soon. -That was good money to get, but he was worth -it, and if the boss didn't think so he would -try some other boss who did. It was no good -a man's sitting down and taking less money -than he was worth. A man would not get -anywhere if he did that sort of thing. He -certainly mixed cocktails at a lightning pace, -and all the time he chatted he strode up and -down behind the bar like a caged jackal. He -gave me my first idea of that un-English -restlessness—American, I suppose, in its origin—which -is beginning to spread so rapidly through -Canada. In America I fancy they are beginning -to distrust it a little. Too much enterprise -may lead to an unsettled condition that is not -much better than stagnation. Farm hands -tend to leave their employers at critical -moments, just for the sake of novelty. Farmers -themselves are so anxious to get on that they -take what they can out of the land, and move -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P25"></a>25}</span> -to new farms, leaving the old ruined. It may -be that in a newer country like Canada enterprise -is less perilous. That remains to be seen. -We retired to bed at midnight, sleepier even -than men from the old country are reputed -to be. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap04"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P26"></a>26}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER IV -<br /><br /> -A FAIRLY LONG DAY IN QUEBEC -</h3> - -<p> -Quebec city is full of charms and memories. -I am no lover of cities when they have grown -so great that no one knows any longer what -site they were built on, or what sort of a -country is buried beneath them. Their streets -may teem with people and their buildings be -very splendid, but if they have shut off the -landscape altogether I cannot admire them. -Quebec will never be one of those cities, -however great she may grow. Quebec stands on -a hill, and just as a city on a hill cannot be hid, -so too it cannot hide from those who live in -it the country round, nor even the country it -stands on. Always there will be in Quebec a -sense of steepness. The cliffs still climb even -where they are crowded with houses. And -the air that reaches Quebec is the air of the -hills. Always too—from Dufferin Terrace at -least—there will be visible the sweep of the -St. Lawrence, the dark crawl to the north-east -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P27"></a>27}</span> -of the Laurentian Mountains, and the -clear and immensely lofty Canadian skies. -</p> - -<p> -I spent the whole of my first day in Quebec -on Dufferin Terrace, except for that journey -down to the docks. Once I was on the terrace, -I forgot how bad the roads had been. You -might drive a thousand miles through stones -and mud, and forget them all the moment you -set foot on Dufferin Terrace. Everything you -see from it is beautiful, from the Château -Frontenac behind—surely the most picturesque -and most picturesquely situated hotel in the -world—to the wind on the river below. Most -beautiful of all the things I saw was the moon -starting to rise behind Port Levis. It started -in the trees, and at first I thought it was a -forest fire. There was nothing but red flame -that spread and spread among the trees at -first. Suddenly it shot up into a round ball -of glowing orange, so that I knew it was the -moon long before it turned silver, high up, and -made a glimmering pathway across the river. -</p> - -<p> -During this moonrise the band was playing -on the terrace, and all Quebec was strolling -up and down or standing listening to the -music, as is its custom on summer evenings. -The scene on the terrace has often enough -been described—with its mingling of many -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P28"></a>28}</span> -types, American tourists and Dominican friars, -habitants from far villages, and business men -from the centre of things, archbishops and -Members of Parliament, and ships' stewards -and commercial travellers, and freshly arrived -immigrants and old market women. The fair -Quebeckers love the terrace as much as their -men folk, and I saw several pretty faces among -them and many pretty figures. They know -how to walk, these French Canadian ladies, -and also how to dress—the latter an art which -has still to be achieved by the women of the -West. -</p> - -<p class="capcenter"> -<a id="img-028"></a> -<br /> -<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-028.jpg" alt="CHÂTEAU FRONTENAC, QUEBEC, FROM THE OLD RAMPARTS." /> -<br /> -CHÂTEAU FRONTENAC, QUEBEC, FROM THE OLD RAMPARTS. -</p> - -<p> -The terrace besides being gay is very friendly -too. My two companions of the voyage had -gone on that morning, being in a hurry to reach -the prairie; but I found several new friends on -the terrace in the course of the day. One was -a young working man from England, who had -brought his child on to the terrace to play when -I first met him. He was so well-dressed and -prosperous looking that I should never have -guessed he was only a shoe-leather cutter, as -he told me he was. But then he had been -out in Quebec for five years, and he was making -twenty-five dollars a week instead of the -thirty-two shillings a week he used to make in -Nottingham at the same trade. He said he -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P29"></a>29}</span> -had been sorry to leave England, but you -were more of a man in Canada. There were -not twenty men after one job—that was the -difference. Consequently, if your boss offered -to give you any dirt, you could tell him to go -to Hell. I suppose we should have counted -him a wicked and dangerous Socialist in -England, but there is no doubt that he is a -typical Canadian citizen, and the kind of man -they want there. Another acquaintance I -picked up was a commercial traveller from -Toronto—a stout tubby energetic man, who -asked me, almost with tears in his eyes, why -England would not give up Free Trade and -study Canadian needs? He was particularly -keen on English manufacturers studying -Canadian needs, and he put the matter in quite -a novel light as far as I was concerned. His -argument was that we made things in England -too well. What was the use, he demanded, -of making good durable things when Canadians -did not want them? It only meant that the -States jumped in with inferior goods more -suited to the moment. He assured me that -Canada was a new country, and Canadians -did not want to buy things that would last -hundreds of years. Take furniture, machinery, -anything—Canadians only wanted stuff that -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P30"></a>30}</span> -would last them a year or two, after which they -could scrap it and get something new. That -kept the money in circulation. Anyway, he -insisted, a thing was no good if it was better -than what a customer required. I had not -thought of things in that way before, and it -was interesting to hear him. -</p> - -<p> -My third acquaintance was a member of -the Quebec Parliament, who started to chat -quite informally, and having ascertained that -I was fresh from the old country took me to -his house, that I might drink Scotch whisky, -and be informed that French Canadians loved -the King and hated the Boer War. I think -when a French Canadian does not know you -well, he will always make these two -admissions—but not any more—lest you should be -unsympathetic or he should give himself away. -</p> - -<p> -That is why, since the position of French -Canadians in Canadian politics will some day -be of the greatest importance, we ought all to -be thankful for the existence of Mr. Bourassa. -Mr. Bourassa is represented—by his opponents—as -the violent leader of a small faction of -French Canadians, as a trial to moderate men -of all sorts, including the majority of his own -French-Canadian fellow-citizens. All this is -very true. In Canadian politics, as they stand -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P31"></a>31}</span> -at present, Mr. Bourassa stands for just that -and very little more. Politically he is an -extremist and a nuisance. But disregarding -for a moment immediate practical politics, -Mr. Bourassa stands for much more than that—stands -indeed for the real essence of French -Canada. He is the French Canadian in action, -shouting on the house-tops what most of them -prefer to dream of by the fire-side, insisting -upon bringing forward ideas which the others -would leave to be brought forward by chance -or in the lapse of time. -</p> - -<p> -He has been called the Parnell of Canada, -but these international metaphors are -generally calculated to mislead. The most that -Parnell ever demanded was Home Rule for -Ireland—that small part of Great Britain, that -fraction of the Empire. Mr. Bourassa does not -only want Home Rule for Quebec. He wants -it for Canada; only the Canada he sees thus -self-ruling is a Canada permeated by French -Canadianism. If Parnell had wanted Home -Rule, so that England, Scotland, and Wales -might be ruled from Dublin, he would have -attained to something of the completeness of -Mr. Bourassa's policy. Mr. Bradley, whose -book on <i>Canada in the Twentieth Century</i> is -as complete as any one book on Canada could -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P32"></a>32}</span> -be, and as up-to-date as any—allowing for the -fact that Canada changes yearly—declared in -in it, some years ago, that the French -Canadians realised that for them to populate -the North-West was a dream to be given up. -It may be a dream, but I doubt if it is given -up: and the dreams of a population more -prolific than any other on the face of the earth -may some day become realities. What is -against these dreams? The influx of English -immigrants? The rush for the land of -American farmers? But these are only temporary -obstacles. The Americans may go back again. -They often do. The English immigrants are -largely unmarried young men, and there are -no women in the West. They are making -ready the land, but the inheritors of it have yet -to appear. It is not strange if Mr. Bourassa -sees those inheritors among his own people—only -it is not yet their time, not for many years -yet—not for so many years yet that it seems -almost unpractical and absurd to look forward -to it. Even such a faith as that which -Mr. Bourassa has confessed to in regard to the -Eastern provinces—Quebec, Ontario, Nova -Scotia, New Brunswick—that 'In fifteen years -they will have become French in language and -Roman Catholic in faith,' seems highly unpractical. -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P33"></a>33}</span> -Ontario is not likely to become Roman -Catholic any faster than Ulster. But on the -other hand it will only increase in its -anti-Frenchness and its anti-Roman Catholicism -in so far as it is upheld and influenced by -Imperialism. Imperialism to Mr. Bourassa is -that bogey which goes about linking up all -those small non-conforming, hustling, militant -and materialistic communities which unaided -would come into the Catholic French-Canadian -fold. It is that odious system which -prevents other nations within the Empire—such -as French Canada—from developing -along their own natural lines. It is -something which easily causes Mr. Bourassa to -forget that England and Englishmen—representing -a distant sovereignty which keeps the -world's peace—have been a boon and a blessing -to French Canadians rather than otherwise; -and causes him to remember that they may in -a moment become an imminent sovereignty—imposing -conscription, war, chapels (things -that the Ontarian takes to like a duck to -water) upon the whole Canadian community. -Such impositions would not only strengthen -the non-French Canadians, and ruin the natural -progress-to-power of the French Canadians; -but they would topple down like a house of -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P34"></a>34}</span> -cards those splendid dreams which might in a -French-Canadianised Canada become realities. -What dreams? Rome shifted to Montreal for -one, and the Vatican gardens of the future -sweeping down to the St. Lawrence. The -whole vast wealth of the Dominion diverted -to the carrying out of those traditions which -are neither French nor English but Canadian -... started four hundred years before by -the captains and the priests, voyageurs and -martyrs, who in an age of unbelief went forth -in response to miraculous signs for the -furtherance of the glory of God. -</p> - -<p class="capcenter"> -<a id="img-032"></a> -<br /> -<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-032.jpg" alt="CHÂTEAU FRONTENAC AND DUFFERIN TERRACE. NIGHT. QUEBEC." /> -<br /> -CHÂTEAU FRONTENAC AND DUFFERIN TERRACE. NIGHT. QUEBEC. -</p> - -<p> -I said that Quebec was full of memories. -It is well to remember that most of these are -French-Canadian memories. The Englishman, -at home or touring, thinks most naturally of -Wolfe in connection with Quebec, and thinks -with pride how that fight on the Plains of -Abraham marked, in Major Wood's words, -'three of the mightiest epochs of modern -times—the death of Greater France, the coming of -age of Greater Britain, and the birth of the -United States.' The splendid daring climb -of the English army, the romantic fevered -valour of its general, the suddenness and -completeness of the reversal of positions, unite -to make us think that never was a more glorious -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P35"></a>35}</span> -event, or one better calculated to appeal to -men of the New World. But do not let us -forget that for French Canadians—great event -as it was, severing their allegiance to France -for ever on the one hand, leaving them free -men as never before on the other—it was only -one event in a new world that was already for -them (but not for us) three hundred years old. -'Here Wolfe fell.' But here also, long before -Wolfe fell, Champlain stood, and French -captains led valiant men on expeditions against -strange insidious foes, and the Cross was carried -onwards by the priests, and amid mystic voices -and divinations, and slaughterings and -endurances, the faith prevailed and the character -of the people was formed. They have no -hankering for France—these people to whom -Wolfe's battle seems but one out of many. -France, they think, has forsaken the Church. -But they are French still—these people—and -amazingly conservative in their customs and -their creed. We may tell them that England—which -sent out Wolfe—has given them material -prosperity, equality under the law, the means -of justice. They will reply, or rather they will -silently think, and only an occasional Nationalist -will dare to say:— -</p> - -<p> -'We owe nothing to Great Britain. England -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P36"></a>36}</span> -did not take Canada for love, or to plant the -Cross of religion as the French did, but in order -to plant their trading posts and make money.' -</p> - -<p> -Gratitude is not a virtue nations take pride -in possessing; they are indeed seldom nations -until they have forgotten to be grateful. I -suppose French Canadians are on their way -to forgetting to be grateful to England for -what she did in times past, but it is not because -they have any real quarrel with England, or -desire to injure her. Merely because they feel -that from England exudes that Imperialism -which appeals in no way from the past, and -menaces, they think, their future. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap05"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P37"></a>37}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER V -<br /><br /> -THE ATTRACTION OF THE SAGUENAY -</h3> - -<p> -Almost directly one lands in Canada, one feels -the desire to move west. It is not that the -east fails to attract and interest, or that a -man might not spend many years in Quebec -province alone, and still have seen little of its -vast, wild, northern parts. Again there is the -Evangeline country, little known for all that -it is 'storied.' But the tide is west just at -present. Everybody asks everybody else—Have -you been West, or Are you going West? -And every one who has been West or is going -feels himself to be in the movement. Some -day no doubt the tide will set back again, -or flow both ways equally. To-day it flows -westward. -</p> - -<p> -I should have been sorry, however, if I had -not gone eastward at least as far as the Saguenay, -and I am duly grateful to the American who, so -to speak, irritated me into going there. He was -a thin, pale youth, somewhat bald from -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P38"></a>38}</span> -clutching at his hair, who sat next to me at dinner my -third day at Quebec. He announced to the -table at large that he was travelling for his -pleasure, but to judge from his strained face, -travelling for his pleasure was one of the -hardest jobs he had tried. He had been -doing Quebec, and he gave all Canadians -present to understand that Quebec had made -him very very tired. Look at the trips around -too. Look at the Montmorency Falls. Had -anybody present seen Niagara? Well, if -anybody had seen Niagara, the Montmorency -Falls could only make him tired. One or two -Canadians present bent lower to their food. -But on the whole Canadians do not readily -enter into argument, and half Niagara Falls -is Canadian too, so that finding no opponents -the youth proceeded triumphantly to give the -relative proportions in figures of the two falls. -As he directed them chiefly at me, I felt bound -to say that I had seen falls about a tenth the -size of either which had struck me as worth -going to see. He then said that he guessed I -was from England. I said this was so. -Thereupon he told me that everybody in England -was asleep. I suggested that sleep was better -than insomnia, and shocked by my soporific -levity, he advised me to go and have a look at -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P39"></a>39}</span> -New York if I wanted to know how things -could hum. I said I supposed that New York -was a fairly busy place. A silly remark—only -he happened to be a New Yorker, and all that -tiredness left him. I learnt so much about -the busyness of New York that I have hardly -forgotten it all yet. -</p> - -<p> -Afterwards, but some time afterwards, when -the American had left the table, a Scottish -Canadian asked me if I had done the Saguenay -trip, and when I said that I had not done it, -he strongly advised me not to miss it. -</p> - -<p> -'It's the finest trip in Canada. Yes, sir.' -</p> - -<p> -I decided to go. It takes just two days -from the start at Quebec to Chicoutimi and -back, and you go in a spacious sort of -houseboat which paddles along at just the right -pace, first on one side of the river then on the -other, stopping to load and unload at the little -villages along the St. Lawrence. There to the -left—a great sheet of silver hung from the -cliff—were the Montmorency Falls, which had made -that young American tired. A hundred and -twenty years ago Queen Victoria's father -occupied the Kent house, hard by the Falls, -now a hotel. Wolfe lay ill for two weeks in -a farm close by; probably on no other sick-bed -in the world were plans so big with fate -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P40"></a>40}</span> -conceived. Then the Ile d'Orléans floats by—that -fertile island which Cartier named after -the Grape God four hundred years ago, because -of the vines that grew there. All this waterway -is history, French-Canadian history mostly. -With a fine mist hung over the river, concealing -the few modern spires and roofs, you can -see the country to-day just as Cartier saw it -when he came sailing up. Neither four hundred -nor four thousand years will serve to modernise -the banks of the St. Lawrence. Take that -thirty-mile stretch where the Laurentides climb -sheer from the water. That is what Cartier -saw—nothing different. No houses, no people; -only the grey rock growing out of the green -trees, and the grey sky overhead. Lower down, -with the sun shining as it did for us, Cartier -would see, if he came sailing up to-day, all -those picturesque French-Canadian villages -which have sprung up along the shore—Baie -St. Paul, St. Irénée, Murray Bay, Tadousac, -with the white farms of the Habitants, and the -summer homes of the Quebeckers and Montrealers, -and the shining spires of the churches, -and the wooden piers jutting far out into the -river. Those piers are particularly cheerful -places. There are always gangs of porters -waiting to run out freight from the hold, and -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P41"></a>41}</span> -a gathering of ladies in gay frocks who want -to greet friends on board, and heaps of little -habitants playing about or smoking their pipes. -The habitant appears to start his pipe at the -age of eight or nine years, judging from those -who frequent the piers. -</p> - -<p> -I think I was the only Englishman on board -that boat. Most of the passengers were -Americans, but cheerful ones—not like that young -man at the hotel—and we were all very keen -on seeing everything, so that it became dusk -much too soon for most of us. We got to -Tadousac just about dusk, which I was -particularly sorry for, since of all the places we -passed, it held the most memories. In 1600 -the whole fur trade of Canada centred round -this benighted little spot, and the men of -St. Malo were the rivals of the Basques for the -black foxes trapped by the Indians of that -date. I should like to have seen this queer -little port by daylight, but I suppose for most -purposes Parkman's description holds good, and -cannot easily be beaten:— -</p> - -<p> -'A desolation of barren mountain closes -round it, betwixt whose ribs of rugged granite, -bristling with savins, birches, and firs, the -Saguenay rolls its gloomy waters from the -northern wilderness. Centuries of civilisation -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P42"></a>42}</span> -have not tamed the wildness of the place; -and still, in grim repose, the mountains hold -their guard around the waveless lake that -glistens in their shadow, and doubles, in its -sullen mirror, crag, precipice and forest.' -</p> - -<p> -I know that Parkman goes on to say that -when Champlain landed here in April 1608 -he found the lodges of an Indian camp, which -he marked in his plan of Tadousac. When we -landed, there were also a few shacks in much -the same spot, and in one of the best lighted -of them hung a placard to this effect:— -</p> - -<p class="t3"> - THE ONLY REAL INDIAN<br /> - BUY WORK FROM HIM.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The lodges Champlain saw belonged to an -Algonquin horde, 'Denizens of surrounding -wilds, and gatherers of their only harvest—skins -of the moose, cariboo, and bear; fur of the -beaver, marten, otter, fox, wild cat, and lynx.' -</p> - -<p> -Other days, other harvests. From the shack -of the Only Real Indian I saw one stout tourist -issue forth (a Chicago pork-packer he must have -been, if persons ever correspond to their -professions), laden with three toy bows and arrows, -as many miniature canoes, and what appeared -to be a couple of patchwork bedspreads. That -the descendant of braves should live by making -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P43"></a>43}</span> -patchwork bedspreads seemed too much, even -though I had given up as illusions the Red -Indians of my boyhood. Far rather would I -at that moment have seen the stout tourist -come forth, either scalpless himself, or dangling -at his ample belt the raven locks of the Only -Real Indian. -</p> - -<p> -In the night we went on to Chicoutimi, but -saw nothing of that, being asleep. We had -sung songs, American songs—'John Brown's -Body,' 'Marching through Georgia,' etc., till -a late hour of the night; and in any case the -bracing river air would have insured sleep. -Only in the morning as we came down the -Saguenay again did I wake to its beauty and -strangeness. Men have learnt to tunnel through -rocks at last, but the Saguenay learnt this art -for itself thousands of years ago. A wide water -tunnel through the sheer rock, a roofless tunnel, -open to the sky, that is the Saguenay—most -magnificent at the point where Cap Trinité -looms up, a wall of darkness fifteen hundred -feet high. -</p> - -<p> -It is a curious fact that famous landscapes -always produce a remarkable frivolity in the -human tourist visiting them. Perhaps it is -man's instinct to assert himself against nature. -When the boat draws opposite Cap Trinité, -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P44"></a>44}</span> -stewards produce buckets of stones and passengers -are invited to try and hit the Cap with the -stones from impossible distances. I do not -know that it greatly added to the pleasure of -the trip, but we all tried to hit the cliff with the -stones and most of us failed, and had to content -ourselves with drawing echoes from it. After -that we went on, and some of the white whales -which are characteristic of the Saguenay began -to appear, and experienced travellers explained -that they were not really white whales but a -sort of white porpoise. Once again, as we -passed it, Tadousac was invisible, but this time -because a white fog had wrapped it round. So -silently we turned out of the Saguenay into -the St. Lawrence. I think the silence of the -Saguenay was what had most impressed me. -Not very long before I had steamed down the -Hoogly where by day the kites wheel and shriek -overhead, and the air buzzes with insects' -sounds, and all night the jackals scream—a -noisy river, full of treacherous sandbanks, its -shores green with the bright poisonous green -of the East. The Saguenay, unique as it is in -many ways, seemed by the contrast of its deepness -and silence, and by the fresh darkness of -the rocks and trees that shut it in, to be -peculiarly a river of the West. I do not know if it -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P45"></a>45}</span> -would have made the somewhat bald young -American tired. -</p> - -<p> -It is only fair to say that his attitude about -Quebec is not at all characteristic of his -fellow-countrymen. For most Americans, Quebec -province (and still more perhaps the woods of -Ontario) is becoming almost as popular a -playground as Switzerland is for Englishmen. -Camping out has become a great craze among -Americans, and if the camping out can be done -amid unspoilt natural surroundings, close to -rivers where one can fish and woods where one -can hunt, an ideal holiday is assured them. I -forget who it was who said that much of the -old American versatility and nobility had -disappeared since the American boys left off -whittling sticks, but in any case the desire to -whittle sticks is renewed again among them, -from Mr. Roosevelt downwards. And in -Canada this whittling of sticks—this return to -nature—can easily be accomplished. For the -north is still there, unexploited. In Quebec -province, fishing and hunting clubs of Quebec -and Montreal have secured the rights over vast -tracts of country. So vast are those tracts -that one or two clubs, I was told, have not even -set eyes on all the trout streams they preserve. -This may be an exaggeration, though probably -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P46"></a>46}</span> -not a great one. There remains—especially in -Ontario—much water and wood that any one -may sport in unlicensed, or get access to by -permission of the local hotel proprietor. Some -of the Americans on the boat had been fishing -in Quebec streams and told me of excellent -sport they had had, so that I began to wonder -why no Englishmen ever came this way. The -voyage to Canada is a little further than that -to Norway, but there are more fish in Canada. -And there is certainly only one Saguenay in the -world. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap06"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P47"></a>47}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VI -<br /><br /> -STE. ANNE DE BEAUPRÉ AND A TRAVELLER'S VOW -</h3> - -<p> -Ste. Anne de Beaupré is usually referred to -as the Lourdes of Canada. When a metaphor -of this sort is used it usually means that the -spot referred to is in some way inferior to the -original. In the case of Ste. Anne de Beaupré, -the inferiority is not, I believe, in the matter of -the number of miracles wrought there, but in -the matter of general picturesqueness. -Ste. Anne de Beaupré is not nearly so picturesque as -Lourdes. If you wish to palliate this fact, you -say, as one writer has said, that 'The beauty -of modern architecture mingles at Beaupré -with the remains of a hoary past.' If you do -not wish to palliate it, you say, as I do, that -Ste. Anne de Beaupré is not in the least -picturesque. I did not particularly care for the -modern architecture, and the hoary past is not -particularly in evidence. Do not suppose me -to say that Beaupré has not a hoary past. -Red Indians, long before the days of railroads, -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P48"></a>48}</span> -travelled thither to pray at the feet of -Ste. Anne. Breton seamen, who belong only to -tradition, promised a shrine to Ste. Anne, if -she would save them from shipwreck. They -erected the first chapel. The second and -larger chapel was built as far back as 1657, and -miracles were quite frequent from then onwards. -Nevertheless, the basilica is quite new, and so is -the whole appearance of the place. -</p> - -<p> -I visited it in company with a French-Canadian -commercial traveller. He was a -great big good-looking youth with curly hair -and blue eyes, and he travelled in corsets or -something of that sort for a Montreal firm. -I could not help thinking that many ladies -would buy corsets from him or anything else -whether they wanted them or not, because of -his charming boyish manner and his good -looks. He asked me to go to Ste. Anne de -Beaupré with him. He said that he supposed -that I was not a Catholic, but that did not -matter. He wished to go to the good -Ste. Anne, and it would be a good thing to go. -He had been several times before, but he had -not been for several years. He could easily -take the afternoon off, and first of all we would -go by the electric train to the good Ste. Anne, -and then on the way back we would step off -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P49"></a>49}</span> -at the Falls station, and see the Montmorency -Falls, and also the Zoo that is there. It would -be great fun to see the Zoo. He had not seen -the Zoo for several years, and the animals would -be very interesting. -</p> - -<p> -So we took an afternoon electric train. -There are electric trains for pilgrims, of whom -a hundred thousand at least are said to visit -the shrine yearly, and there are also electric -trains for tourists. We took a tourist train, -and having secured one of the little handbooks -supplied by the electric company, had the -gratification of knowing that even if the car -was pretty full it was, so the company claimed, -run at a greater rate of speed than any other -electric service. -</p> - -<p> -At times in Canada I found myself getting -very slack in attempting descriptions of things -simply because some company that had rights -of transport over the particular district had, -so to speak, thrust into my hand some pamphlet -in which all the description was done for me. -Thus it was in the case of the district line -between Quebec and Ste. Anne de Beaupré. 'It -is difficult,' I read in the electric company's -handbook which we had secured, 'to describe -in words the dainty beauty of the scenery along -this route.' -</p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P50"></a>50}</span> -</p> - -<p> -'That is a nuisance,' I said to my companion, -'because words are the only things I could -describe it in.' -</p> - -<p> -'It is much better to smoke,' said he. -</p> - -<p> -So we smoked; and now I tell you straight -out of that illogical pamphlet, that 'The route -from Quebec to Ste. Anne may be compared to -a splendid panorama. There are shady woodlands -and green pastures, undulating hills and -sparkling rivers, whose banks are lined with -pretty villages, the tinned spires of the parish -churches rising above the rest of the houses, -sparkling in the sun.' There, a little -ungrammatically, you have the scene 'to which,' -adds my pamphlet, 'the Falls of Montmorency -river add a touch of grandeur.' Ste. Anne de -Beaupré itself is twenty-one miles from Quebec. -We went straight from the station into the -church, where the first thing to catch the eye -are the votive offerings and particularly the -crutches, walking-sticks, and other appliances -left there by pilgrims who, having been cured -of their infirmities by miracle, had no further -use for these material aids. It is difficult to -arrange such things in any way that can be -called artistic, and since the general effect is -nothing but ugly it might be wise for the church -officials also to dispense with such material -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P51"></a>51}</span> -aids to faith. Apart from these the most -striking object is the miraculous statue. It -stands on a pedestal ten feet high and twelve -feet from the communion rails. The pedestal -was the gift of a New York lady, the statue -itself was presented by a Belgian family. At -the foot of it many people were kneeling. A -mass was being said and the church was very -full, and every time a petitioner got up from -his knees from the feet of the statue another -moved down the aisle and took his or her place. -I suppose we were in the church fully half an -hour before my companion found an opportunity -to go and kneel at the feet of the good -Ste. Anne, and having watched him there, I got -up from my place and went out into the village. -It was rather a depressing village, full of small -hotels and restaurants and shops stocked with -miraculous souvenirs. I suppose more rubbish -is sold in this line than in any other. After -inspecting a variety of it, I bought a bottle of -cider and a local cigar and sat on a fence -smoking until my friend reappeared. He came -out most subdued and grave—not in the least -the boisterous person who had gone in—and -said we would now go back. As we had to wait -half an hour for a returning train, I suggested -that we should go and have some more cider, -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P52"></a>52}</span> -but he said no, he would rather drink from the -holy spring. 'Although this water,' said my -pamphlet, 'has always been known to be there, -it is only within the last thirty or thirty-five -years that the pilgrims began to make a pious -use of it. What particular occasion gave rise -to this confidence, or when this practice first -spread among the people, cannot be positively -asserted. However it may be, it is undeniable -that faith in the water from the fountain has -become general, and the use of it, from motives -of devotion, often produces effects of a -marvellous nature.' Unfortunately, the fountain was -not working, owing, I expect, to the water -having got low in the dry weather, and my friend -had to go without his drink. He said, however, -that it did not matter, and remained in a grave, -aloof state all the way back in the train as far -as the Falls station, and indeed till we got to -the Zoo in the Kent house grounds. There, -the exertion of trying to get the beavers to -cease working and come out and show themselves -to me—an exertion finally crowned -with success, for the fat, furry, silent creatures -came out and sat on a log for us—livened him -up a bit. But he fell into a muse again in -front of the cage containing the timber wolf, -and remained there so long that I was almost -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P53"></a>53}</span> -overcome by the smell of this ferocious animal. -I got him away at last, and I do not think -he spoke after that until we got to Quebec -and were walking from the station to our -inn. -</p> - -<p> -'I have made a vow,' he then said suddenly. -</p> - -<p> -'What sort of vow?' I inquired. -</p> - -<p> -'I made it this afternoon,' he said, 'to the -good Ste. Anne—never any more to drink -whisky.' -</p> - -<p> -'It's not a bad vow to have made,' I said. -</p> - -<p> -'No,' he said seriously, 'whisky is very -terrible stuff. I shall never drink it again. -When I drink it it goes very quickly to my -head. Soon I am tight. That will not do.' -</p> - -<p> -'Much better not to drink it certainly,' I -agreed. -</p> - -<p> -'Yes,' he continued vehemently. 'I am -married. You did not guess that perhaps? -Also it is only recently that I have gone "on -the road." If the company I work for hears -that I go about and get tight, I shall at once -be fired. So I shall not drink any more whisky. -Never. That is why I made the vow to the -good Ste. Anne.' -</p> - -<p> -We walked in silence the rest of the way to -the inn, and I reflected on the nature of vows. -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P54"></a>54}</span> -It seemed very possible that a vow like this -might easily be a help to my companion. -He was obviously not what is called a strong -character. It is strange how often a charm of -manner goes with a weakness of the will. -And commercial travelling—particularly -perhaps in Canada—lays a man open to the -temptations of drink. If he went on drinking, -it would probably mean the ruin of the young -girl he had married. Only one has always the -feeling that a vow is only a partial aid to -keeping upright, just as a stick is to walking. -A man may lean too heavily on either. -Moreover, the making of a vow, while it may -strengthen a man temporarily in one direction -tends to leave him unbalanced in other -directions. It makes him feel so strong perhaps -in one part of him that he forgets other parts -where he is weak. I rather think that the last -part of these somewhat superficial reflections -upon vows occurred to me later in the evening, -and not as we were walking home. We had -had supper by that time, and my companion -had drunk a good deal of water during the meal—a -beverage, by the way, which is not particularly -safe either here or in any other Canadian -town. At times he had been depressed by it, -at times elevated. After we had smoked -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P55"></a>55}</span> -together and he had grown more and more -restless, he jumped up and said: -</p> - -<p> -'Let us go out for a walk.' -</p> - -<p> -'Where to?' I asked. -</p> - -<p> -'Oh, up on to the terrace,' he said. 'I tell -you,' he went on excitedly, 'where I will take -you. There is a special place up there that I -know very well. It is where one meets the -girls. We will go there to-night and meet the -girls.' -</p> - -<p> -Really, I could have given a very good -exposition of the temptation offered by vows -at that moment when he suggested this -Sentimental Journey. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap07"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P56"></a>56}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VII -<br /><br /> -A HABITANT VILLAGE AND ITS NOTAIRE -</h3> - -<p> -'Il trotte bien.' -</p> - -<p> -The second time I made use of this simple -compliment I was again being driven by a -French Canadian, and again it was on an -extraordinarily bad road. But the vehicle -was a sulky, and the road was a country -road—about halfway between Quebec and Montreal. -I had been already two days in the Habitant -country which the ordinary Englishman misses. -Tourists in particular will go through French -Canada too fast. Their first stop after Quebec -is Montreal, and the guide-books help them to -believe that they have lost nothing. It may -be that they do lose nothing in the way of -spectacular views or big hotels, but on the -other hand they have undoubtedly lost the -peaceful charm of many a Laurentian village, -and they have seen nothing at all of the life -of the French-Canadian farmer. That is a -pity for the English tourist, because they too, -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P57"></a>57}</span> -the Habitants, belong to the Empire, and we -ought to know them for what they are apart -from their politics—courteous, solid, -essentially prudent folk, often well to do, but with -no disposition to make a show of themselves. -</p> - -<p> -I had spent my two days at the villa of a -most hospitable French lady, in one of the -older villages on the St. Lawrence. It was -not exactly a beautiful village—rather -ramshackle in fact—but remarkably peaceful, and -the great smooth river running by must give -it a perennial charm, such as comes from having -the sea near. I had missed my train going -from that village, and had passed the time by -taking lunch at a little inn near the station. -It was Friday, and the landlord gave me pike -and eggs for lunch. I had seen my pike and -several others lying in a sandy ditch near, -passing a sort of amphibious life in it, until -Friday and a guest should make it necessary -for one of them to go into the frying pan. -The landlord came and chatted with me while -I had lunch, and was grieved to find that I -was not a Catholic. I was English, but not -Catholic? I said that was so, and he shook -his head sorrowfully. But there were Catholics -in England, he asked a little later. I said, Oh -yes, certainly. Many? I said that there -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P58"></a>58}</span> -must be a good many, but I could not tell -him the exact numbers. Would a tenth of -the English at least be Catholics, he next -demanded? I said I thought at least that -number, but I left him, I fear, a disappointed -man. He had hoped more from England -than that, and even my strenuous praise of -the fried pike did not draw a smile from him. -</p> - -<p> -My compliment about the horse drawing -the sulky—to go back to that drive, obtained -a better response. The driver replied in the -French tongue: 'Monsieur, he trots very well, -particularly in considering that he has the -age of twenty-eight years.' -</p> - -<p> -I said that this was wonderful, and the -driver replied that it was, but that in French -Canada such wonders did happen. He was -intensely patriotic, and this made the drive -more interesting. He was all for French-Canadian -things, excepting, I think, the roads, -which were indeed nothing but ruts, some -of the ruts being less deep than the others, -and being selected accordingly for the greater -convenience of our ancient steed. I liked his -patriotism. It was at once so genuine and so -complete. For example, when I said that I -had not seen any Jersey cows on the farms -we had passed, the driver said: 'No. The -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P59"></a>59}</span> -cow of Jersey is a good cow and gives much -milk. But the Canadian cow is a better cow -and gives still more milk.' I was unable to -make out what the prevailing milch-cow was -in that part. Canada has, I believe, begun -to swear by the Holstein, but this can hardly -as yet be claimed as the Canadian cow. Still -it passed the time very pleasantly to have my -driver so enthusiastic, and of what should a -man speak well, if not of his own country? -He articulated his French very slowly and -distinctly, so that I was able to understand -him more easily than I should have understood -a European Frenchman. I was surprised -at this, because one is usually told that French -Canadians talk so queerly that they are very -hard to follow. Perhaps my obvious inferiority -in the language caused those Habitants I met -to adapt themselves to my necessity. I can -only say that from a few days' experience of -conversation with all sorts and conditions, I -carried away the impression that French-Canadian -was a very clear and easy language. -As for the country, I should call it serene and -spacious in aspect rather than fine. The -farmhouses are pleasant enough and comfortable -within, but their immediate surroundings are -apt to be untidy. Very seldom of course -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P60"></a>60}</span> -does one see a flower garden, and vegetables -do not make amends for the lack of flowers. -On the other hand, the tobacco patch that is -so frequently to be seen in the neighbourhood of -the small farms is pleasant to look at, especially -for one who thinks much of smoke. There is -not much satisfaction to the eye in the small -wired fields, nor would either the farming or -the soil startle an English farmer. I think -that the maple woods are the one thing that he -would regard with real envy. -</p> - -<p> -Nevertheless, no one would have denied that -it was a really pretty village, to which my -driver brought me at last in the sulky. It -was built all round an old church in a sort of -dell, behind which the land rose steeply to a -wood of maples. I had been given an introduction -to the curé, and we drove to his house -by the church, only to be told by the sexton -(I think it was the sexton) that Monsieur le -Curé had, much to his regret, been called to -Quebec, but had begged that I would go over -to the notaire, who would be pleased to show -me everything that was to be seen. We went -to the notaire. I think he was the -postmaster too—at any rate he lived in the post -office, and a very kindly old gentleman he -was. I do not know one I have liked more -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P61"></a>61}</span> -on so short an acquaintance, though he did -start by giving me Canadian wine to drink. It -was a sort of port or sherry—or both mixed—and -was made, I think he said, in Montreal. -It had the genuine oily taste, but also a smack -of vinegar. That in itself would not have -mattered so much, if the notaire had not said -it was best drunk with a little water, and -provided me with water from a saline spring -which had its source in his backyard. These -saline springs seem not uncommon in Canada, -and must be considered as a distinct asset. -But not mixed with port. Some local tobacco -which was very good, as indeed much of the -tobacco grown in Quebec province seems to be, -took the taste away, and after that the notaire -proposed that he should take me out to see -one of the huts where they boil down the maple -water in the early spring. He told me that -my own horse and driver should rest, and that -we should go on the carriage of Monsieur -Blanc which was, it appeared, already in -waiting, together with Monsieur Blanc -himself. Monsieur Blanc was the local miller, -and solely for the purpose of showing the -village to a stranger from England he had put -himself to all this trouble. After we had all -bowed to one another and exchanged -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P62"></a>62}</span> -compliments, we started for the maple wood, and all -the way the notaire explained to me the economy -of the village. It appeared that the farms -round averaged eighty acres of arable land, -and a man and his son would work one of that -size. Each farmer would also have rights of -grazing on pasture land which was held in -common—not to mention his piece of maple -wood. All the farmers belonged to a co-operative -farmers' society, which saved much when -purchasing seeds, implements, and so forth. -The notaire himself was secretary of this -society. I believe he was also secretary of -pretty well everything that mattered, and -might be regarded as the business uncle of the -parish in which the curé was spiritual father. -As we drove along, avoiding roads as much -as possible, because the fields were so much -more level, he greeted everybody and -everybody greeted him, stopping their field work -for the purpose. Jules left hay-making to -show us the shortest cut to the nearest hut; -Antoine fetched the key. It was a tiny wooden -shack, the one we inspected—standing in the -middle of the trees—with just room in it for -the heating apparatus and the boilers to boil -the maple water in. The cups which are -attached to the trees in the early spring, when -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P63"></a>63}</span> -the sap begins to run—the tapping is done -high up—hung along the wooden walls. The -notaire explained the whole process to me. -In the spring, when all is sleet and slush and -nothing can be done on the farm, the farmer -and perhaps his wife come up into the wood, -and tap the trees and boil the water up until -the syrup is formed. It takes them days, -very cold days, and they camp out in the hut, -though it hardly seemed possible that there -should be room for them. But it is all very -healthy and pleasant, and they drink so much -of the syrup, while they are working, that -they usually go back to their farms very 'fat -and salubrious.' So the notaire said, and he -also assured me that seven years before another -English visitor who spoke French very badly -(he put it much more politely than that though) -had come to the village in the spring, and slept -in one of the huts for days, and helped make -the sugar and enjoyed himself thoroughly. I -told the notaire I could quite believe it and -wished I had come in the spring too. I am -not sure that I shall not go back in the spring -some day, for the simplicity of the place was -fascinating, even though the railway had come -closer, and land had doubled in value, and the -farmers were more scientific than they used to -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P64"></a>64}</span> -be and made more money, though even so—as -the notaire earnestly declared—they would -would never spend it on show. I remarked -that the notaire, even while he was recounting -these modern innovations, such as wealth, was -not carried away by the glory of them as a -Westerner would be. He took a simple pride -in the fact that the village marched forward, -but he was prouder still that it remained -modest. And when we got back to the post -office, he told me that what he liked best was -the simplicity of it all. People used to ask -him sometimes why he who spoke English -and Latin and Greek, for he had been five -years at college, qualifying to become a notaire, -should be content to live in such a small -out-of-the-way place, instead of setting up in -Quebec or Montreal. They could not understand -that to be one's own master, and not to -be rushed hither and thither at the beck of -clients, contented him, especially in a place -where the farmers looked upon him as their -friend, and he could play the organ in the -village church. He made me understand it -very well, even though his English was rusty -(for I think the syrup-making Englishman -had been the last he had talked with), and he -had a scholarly dislike to using any but the -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P65"></a>65}</span> -right word, and he would sometimes bring up -a dozen wrong ones and reject them, before -our united efforts found the only one that -conveyed his precise meaning. -</p> - -<p> -I think I understood, and many times on -the way back, seated behind the twenty-eight -year-old horse, I said to myself, that altogether -the notaire was a very fine old gentleman, and -if there were many such to be found in the -French Canadian villages, I hoped they would -not change too soon. To make the money -circulate—after the fashion of the Toronto -drummer—is a virtue no doubt; but courtesy -and simplicity and prudence are also virtues -that not the greatest country that is yet to -come will find itself able to dispense with. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap08"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P66"></a>66}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VIII -<br /><br /> -GLIMPSES OF MONTREAL -</h3> - -<p> -Just as a man who knows mountains can in -a little time describe the character of a -mountain that is new to him, so a man who knows -the country in general will soon find himself -becoming acquainted with new country. It -is not so with cities. Only a long residence -in it will reveal the character of a city. I -suppose that is because man is more subtle -than nature. A clay land is always a clay -land; it produces the same crops, the same -weeds, the same men. But who will undertake -to say what a city on a clay land produces? -Only the man who has long been familiar with -the particular city, and he probably will not -even be aware that it stands on clay. -</p> - -<p> -This is preparatory to saying that being a -stranger to Montreal, I did not find out much -about it in the few days I was there, and I -will not pretend that I did. It is, I suppose, -architecturally, far the most beautiful city in -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P67"></a>67}</span> -the Dominion, and indeed in the Western -Hemisphere, and for that very reason appears -less strange to European eyes than most other -Canadian towns. I would not suggest that all -European towns are architecturally beautiful, -or that Montreal is anything but Canadian -inwardly. Superficially it looks like some fine -French town. It also smells French. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - 'But them thereon didst only breathe<br /> - And sentst it back to me,<br /> - Since when it blows and smells, I swear,<br /> - Not of itself but thee.'<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -Thus England might address France on the -subject of Montreal, though indeed France -did more than breathe on Montreal. I would -not be taken to suggest that the smell is a -malodorous one—merely French. You get -just that smell in summer in any French town -from Rouen to Marseilles, and it is probably -due to nothing but the sun being at the right -temperature to bring out the mingled scent -of omelettes and road grit, cigarettes, <i>apéritifs</i>, -and washing in sufficient strength to attract -the sensitive British nose. As for Montreal's -French appearance—the city is by all accounts -strictly divided into a French East-end and -an English West-end, St. Laurent being the -dividing line. But when I passed west of -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P68"></a>68}</span> -St. Laurent, and hundreds of French men and -French women and French children continued -to file past me, and I asked my way many -times in English and was not understood, I -began to doubt the reality of that dividing -line. It seems a pity that there should be one, -but there is of course, and it runs through -Canada as well as Montreal. Race and religion -and language combine to keep that line marked -out, and it only becomes faint in business -quarters. -</p> - -<p> -The time has gone by for great commercial -undertakings to be conducted by means of -gesticulations or by the aid of an interpreter. -Master and man must speak the same language, -at any rate outwardly. Therefore all clerks -learn English, which is also American; and I -take it that statistics, if they were kept, would -show many more French Canadians speaking -English every year—whatever they may be -thinking. -</p> - -<p> -So commerce, long the butt of moralists, -takes its part among the moral influences of -the world. Already writers like Mr. Angell -have begun to assure us that it alone—by -reason of its enormous and far-reaching -interests—can keep international war at a -distance: here is an example of how it -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P69"></a>69}</span> -increases peace within a nation. In the end, -perhaps, Mammon himself may appear, purged -of his grossness upon the canonical list—St. Mammon! -</p> - -<p> -Montreal has, so I am told, sixty-four -millionaires—real, not dollar millionaires; self-made, -not descended millionaires; strenuous, not idle -millionaires. Most of them live in Sherbrooke -Street, or near it, on the way up to the Mountain. -It is a fine wide road with an extraordinary -variety of houses in it. You cannot point to -any one house and say this is the sort of house a -millionaire builds, for the next one is quite -different, and so is the next and the next. -It is natural that Canadians should be more -original in their house-building than our -millionaires. They are more original men -altogether. They have made their money in a -more original way, and when they have made -it, they have to think out original methods of -spending it—unlike ours, who find the etiquette -of it all ready made for them, and a practised -set of people who want nothing more than to -be able to help millionaires scatter their money -in the only correct and fashionable way. You -have to think everything out for yourself in -Canada, even to the spending of your money. -That is, if you have the money in large quantities. -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P70"></a>70}</span> -For the ordinary person the inherent slipperiness -of the dollar suffices, and he will find -that it will circulate itself without his worrying. -The diversity of house-building, such as may -be found in Sherbrooke Street, should give -encouragement to Canadian architects, but -does, as a matter of fact, let in the American -architects as well. I could not feel that they -had altogether succeeded in this street—certainly -not half so well as they have succeeded -in some of the business buildings, especially -the interior of the Bank of Montreal—but that -is not surprising. Architects must have their -motives, and the reasons that went to the -building of some of the stately private houses -of Europe have ceased to exist now. The most -that a man can demand from his house—certainly -in Canada—is that it shall be luxurious. -Nobody is going to keep retainers there. -The three hundred servants even that went to -make up the household of an Elizabethan -nobleman could not be had in Canada either for -love or money. Those three hundred serve in -the bank or the shops—not in the houses—and -it is there that the big man works also. -Slowly we come to the right proportions of -things; nor am I suggesting that the private -houses of the Canadian millionaires are in the -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P71"></a>71}</span> -least lacking in size. They are as large as they -need be, if not larger; and where they did not -altogether succeed was, I thought, in the -attempt made with some of them to achieve -importance by rococo effects. The road itself, -curiously enough, was rather bad and rutty; -I began to think, seeing it, that there is some -strange influence at work in French Canada -which prevents a road from ever being first-rate. -It may be that since roads there are only -needed in summer, for a half year instead -of a whole one, the care and affection we lavish -upon them is not necessary. The good snow -comes and turns Sherbrooke Street into a -sleigh-bearing thoroughfare only comparable with -those of St. Petersburg. The ruts are drifted -up and vanish—why bother about them? -It is a good enough explanation. If another is -needed, it may be that there is money to be -made—by those in charge of the keeping up of -the roads—by the simple method of not keeping -them up. -</p> - -<p> -Montreal has slums as well as Sherbrooke -Street, which seems to show that sixty-four -millionaires are no real guarantee of a city's -perfectness. I heard about those slums from -the editor of one of Montreal's leading -newspapers. The subject arose out of a question -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P72"></a>72}</span> -I put him as to whether he could tell me the -difference between Conservatives and Liberals -in Canada. Some people maintain that the -difference even in England is so slight as to be -unreal. To a Canadian who is not much of a -politician (but is, of course, either a Liberal -or a Conservative), the question amounts to -being a catch question. He has to think for a -long time before he answers. This editor, who -was a Liberal, took it quite coolly. -</p> - -<p> -'Oh,' he said, 'Liberals here are very much -like Liberals in the old country; we stand for -Social Reform and the interests of the People.' -</p> - -<p> -Then he told me about the slums in Montreal. -But for these I should have felt doubtful about -the parallel, even though it was drawn by so -eminent an authority as the editor of a newspaper. -For, naturally, at present in most parts -of Canada there is no People (with our own -English capital P) to stand for, just as there are -no peers and no Constitution. Where there -are slums, there may be a People to be represented. -The more is the pity that there should -be slums. Why does Montreal possess them? -Largely, I suppose, for the reason that any very -great city possesses them. There are landlords -who can make money out of them, there are -people so poor that they will live in them; -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P73"></a>73}</span> -and their poverty is accounted for by the fact -that cities draw the destitute as the moon the -tides. It seems against reason that Canada, -capable of absorbing hundreds of thousands of -immigrants, calling for them to be absorbed, -so long as they are able men, should have any -destitute to be drawn to the cities; but it has -to be remembered that no immigration laws -can really prevent a percentage of incapables -arriving. They may not be incapables as such, -but they are incapables on the land, which is -indeed in Canada endlessly absorbent, but -absorbent only of those who have in them in -some way the land-spirit. To expect the land -to take on hordes of the city-bred without ever -failing is to dream. It would be easier for the -sea to swallow men clothed in cork jackets. -Some are bound to be rejected, and they turn -to the cities. But the cities of a New World -cannot absorb indefinite numbers of men; -London or Glasgow cannot. The work is not -there for them—not for all of them. -</p> - -<p> -The Canadian winter also has to be remembered -as a factor driving men to cities like -Montreal. Even good men on the land cannot -always during the winter obtain work on the -farms; or think that the little they can make -there is not worth while. So they, too, make -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P74"></a>74}</span> -for the cities, not always to their own -improving. This problem of the Canadian winter -is one that has still to be reckoned with, and no -doubt the Canadians will solve it in due -course—perhaps by some extension of the Russian -methods whereby the peasant of the summer -becomes the handicraftsman of the winter. -It is not the winter itself that is at fault in -Canada, as used to be thought; it is the method -of dealing with it. The Canadian may not mind -the hard, cold months—may even boast of -them, but he cannot ignore them. And the -solution of the winter problem seems to be that -though Canada is marked out as an agricultural -country, it must also equally become a -manufacturing one, so that men—who cannot -hibernate like dormice—may be able to work the -year through. The whitest nation is that -nation whose leisure is got by choice not by -compulsion. -</p> - -<p> -There must be local reasons, too, for Montreal -slums, but these a visitor is not happy in -describing. Municipal mismanagement is -unfortunately not exclusive to Europe; and my -editor gave me examples of it in Montreal -which were impressive without being novel. -</p> - -<p> -He also pointed out that there were forty -thousand Jews in Montreal, as though that -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P75"></a>75}</span> -might have something to do with her slums. -Others point out that the Catholic Church, -which believes that the poor must be always -with us, is supreme in Montreal; poverty and -the faith, they say, go always together. I think -it is truest to argue that, while all these things -are in their degree contributory, it is not fair -to fix on any one of them as the chief cause of -the ill. One thing is certain. Montreal's slums -are not typical of Canada, but of a great city. -No great city has as yet found itself completely, -and the greater it is, the less soluble are its -problems of poverty. It may be that they can -be resolved only by the great cities ceasing to -exist in the form we know them. -</p> - -<p> -Meanwhile it looks as though the welfare -of employees is not being neglected by the -leading directors of industry. Take, for -example, the Angus Shops, which are larger than -any other engineering shops in the world. -Here are built these huge houses of cranks and -pistons, the railway engines of the Canadian -Pacific, that hustle one from end to end of the -Dominion; here also are turned out all else -that appertains to the biggest railway company -in existence. In these shops a system has been -introduced which might be called a Bourneville -system, only Canadianised. The management -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P76"></a>76}</span> -refers to it as Welfare Work, and it consists -mainly in certain methods whereby the men -can obtain good food—while they are working—at -low prices, apprentices are helped to an -education, the cost of 'holiday homes' is -defrayed, and so on. Very sensibly the management -admits the system to be a part of a business -plan, which it finds remunerative. The idea -that beneficence plays a leading part in it is -almost scouted; indeed it would not be easy -to persuade Canadian working-men that their -bosses were doing things from charity. I went -over the shops, and found them built on a vast -and airy scale. Not being an engineering sort -of person, I usually feel, when I invade a -machinery place, like some unfortunate beetle -that has strayed into a beehive, and may at any -moment be attacked by the busy and alarming -creatures that are buzzing about there. As I -watched the huge engines, swung like bags of -feathers from the roof, some black demon -would heave showers of sparks at me, and when -I started back, another would come raiding out -with red-hot tongs. I admired respectfully. -But I am one of those who can enjoy my -honey just as much without knowing just -how it was made. Still, here was a big bit -of Montreal, and what miles of French houses -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P77"></a>77}</span> -with green shutters one drove past to get -to it! -</p> - -<p> -It would be absurd to suggest that poverty -or slums are conspicuous things in Montreal. -The average tourist will see none of them, but -only many beautiful things—from the Bank of -Montreal to the Cathedral, from the Lachine -Rapids to the Mountain. I will not describe -shooting the Rapids, it has been so often done. -I wish I could describe the view from the -Mountain. It is the most beautiful view of a -city that can be seen. Marseilles from her hill -is beautiful, so is Paris from Champigny. -From neither of these, nor from any hill that -I know of, is there so complete a view of so fair -a city. The Mountain is wooded, and through -the arches of the trees you gain a score of -changing outlooks; but from the edge you see -all Montreal—houses and streets and spires, -each roof and gate, each chimney and window—so -it seems. And beyond, the great river, -and beyond, and on every side—Canada. If -there were a mountain above Oxford, -something like this might be seen. -</p> - -<p> -It was up this wooded steep to Fletcher's -field, where an altar had been set up, that the -great Eucharistic procession of 1910 wound its -way. I was in Montreal just before this event, -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P78"></a>78}</span> -for which the Montrealers had spent months -preparing, and I realised a little why Montreal -hopes some day to be the New Rome. The -whole city was in a fervour of enthusiasm. A -society had been formed for the special purpose -of growing flowers to line the way along which -the Cardinal-legate would walk, and gifts of -money for the same purpose had been received -from every part of Canada. The papers, of -course, were full of every detail about Church -dignitaries arriving or about to arrive. Nor -were the shops behindhand. 'Eucharistic -Congress! House decoration at moderate prices' -was everywhere placarded; and papal flags and -papal arms were to be had cheap. There were -Congress sales, too, and you could buy Congress -'creations' from the dressmakers, Congress -hats from the milliners, Congress boots from the -bootmakers. -</p> - -<p> -On the day that Cardinal Vannutelli arrived, -in a dismal and violent downpour of rain, all -Montreal in macintoshes was to be seen -dashing for the Bonsecours wharf to offer its -respectful greetings to the papal legate. -</p> - -<p> -Will the Montrealers' dream of providing the -New Rome ever be achieved? Who can say? -Rome, though Italians may become subversive -of the faith, will perhaps stand for ever. If it -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P79"></a>79}</span> -ceased, as the centre of the Catholic faith, -Montreal might certainly claim to take its -place. It is already the centre of -French-Canadian Catholicism; it might become the -religious centre of Canada. There is no -certainty that Catholicism will persist in Canada -only among the French Canadians. It seems -equally possible that Rome will prevail among -non-French Canadians. Both in Canada and -the States her strides forward have been -enormous—comparable perhaps only to the -steps taken in other directions by Free Thought -in Europe. Is it that Catholicism makes -peculiar appeal in a new country, or that in -these new countries the propagation of the -faith has been great and unceasing? These -are debatable questions (though undebatable, -I think, is the statement that in the New -World Rome has a marvellous history of things -attempted splendidly and achieved without -reproach). I will not debate, then, but rather -return to the Mountain and ask you to picture -the great Eucharistic procession moving slowly -up to it—up to the altar built there in the -open, under the high and clear Canadian skies—all -the inhabitants of a mighty city moving -with it, till the city itself is left behind and -all that is low and earthly left for the moment -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P80"></a>80}</span> -with it. Then you will have in your mind one -picture of Montreal at least not unworthy of -it. It will be a picture of Montreal at its best -and highest—a city of the faithful—near to their -Mountain. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap09"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P81"></a>81}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER IX -<br /><br /> -TORONTO, NIAGARA FALLS, AND A NEGRO PORTER -</h3> - -<p> -From Montreal to Toronto is a pleasant run -through a southern part of Canada. One -passes orchards and woods and Smith's Falls, -where bricks are made, and Peterborough, -which has the largest hydraulic lift-lock in -the world. The Union railway station at -Toronto, when I got there, was a seething mass -of people and baggage, with an occasional -railway official hidden in the vortex. I spent -an hour trying to put a bag into the parcel-room, -and after that gave up trying. Canadians -are singularly patient in matters of this kind. -Laden with heavy bags, they will collect in -crowds outside the small window of a -parcel-room, and burdened thus will wait there for -hours without a murmur, while the youth -inside lounges about at his leisure. My temper -has frequently been stretched to the limit in -Germany when I have had to wait perhaps ten -minutes for a penny stamp while the Prussian -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P82"></a>82}</span> -postal official behind the glass slit curled his -moustaches in imitation of the Kaiser. I think -the methods at that parcel-room in Toronto -were even more trying. I will admit that it -was Labour Day, and that Toronto was also in -the throes of the World's Fair. But in a city -of that size one would expect some preparation -to be made for forthcoming throes. The truth -seems to be that throughout Canada important -events, attracting immense crowds, are brought -off without any extra provision being made. -Montreal managed to contain its Congress -hordes pretty well, but Toronto during the -World's Fair had a general air about it of sleeping -six in a bed, if it slept at all. I kept coming -across the same sort of thing at other places. -Calgary, I remember, looked for the few days -I was there like the Old Kent Road on a -Saturday night, so crowded was it with people who -had come in to witness the return to its native -heath of a victorious football team. Regina -was overrun with the Canadian bankers who, -in massive formation, were touring the North-West. -In one or two small places in the Rockies -enormous trainloads of Canada's leading -merchants, who were inspecting British Columbia -with an eye to its future, were deposited -for a day in passing, and caused as much -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P83"></a>83}</span> -confusion as the canoe-loads of savages must have -done when they descended on Robinson Crusoe's -island. -</p> - -<p> -Labour Day is in the New World very different -from what it is with us. In Canada, if you -like, you may for three hundred and sixty-four -days labour and do all that you have to do, but -the three hundred and sixty-fifth is Labour Day, -and no manner of work—except transportation—may -be done that day. Transport work is -necessary, because by way of observing Labour -Day it is the thing to go somewhere in great -multitudes, preferably by rail, and pursue the -sort of pleasure that is only to be obtained by -those who seek it multitudinously. -</p> - -<p> -Toronto was on this occasion a chosen spot -for people to rollick in. This, added to the fact -that the World's Fair was also in progress, -prevented me from being able to get a room -for the night, though I applied at five different -hotels. At the sixth, which was full of excited -commercial travellers, I was granted a bed on -a top landing. I did not mind so much because -I was seeing Toronto in a lively state. -Ordinarily, I imagine, Toronto is the least bit too -decorous, not devoid of cheerfulness, but not -joyous either. There is nothing Parisian about -Toronto, you would say. This stands to reason, -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P84"></a>84}</span> -because if there is any Parisian air in Canada at -all it belongs to Montreal, and Toronto would -be the last place to imitate Montreal in any -manner. The extraordinary rivalry that exists -between the great East Canadian cities never -leads to imitation. On the plains it is different. -Winnipeg is the great model for all the little -towns on the plains. But while Quebec resents -the idea that Montreal is a much more important -city than itself, and Montreal regrets that -the seat of Government should be at so small -a place as Ottawa, and Toronto considers -Montreal ill-balanced in spite of its wealth, -each of them would only consent to expand -its own real superiority along its own -particular lines and in its own particular manner. -</p> - -<p> -Still on Labour Night Toronto was quite gay. -It did not look like the Boston of Canada at -all, though it has substantial grounds, I read -somewhere, for making this claim. I could -realise that it was entitled to make this claim -if it wanted to. If one shut one's eyes to the -crowds, one could feel an air of brisk sobriety -permeating it; and everything that one reads -about it goes to show that a brisk sobriety is -what it aims at. It keeps the Sabbath, for -example, most strictly, though it hustles or -almost hustles the rest of the week. I should -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P85"></a>85}</span> -guess Toronto places briskness next to -godliness, not a very bad second either. Its -industries and its opulence are too well known -to be worth detailing here. What struck me -as most interesting about Toronto was that it -seemed to represent more than any other place -in Canada what we mean in England when we -talk of Canadians. We do not mean the -French Canadians of Quebec Province, nor the -American Canadians and English public-school -boys who are to be found in such numbers in -Alberta and the plains. The sort of people we -are thinking of are people who have been born -in Canada, who have even spent generations -there, but are, nevertheless, British by descent -and British in tongue. There are people of -this sort in other parts of Canada. The -inhabitants of the Maritime Provinces are such, -in spite of the fact that Mr. Bourassa has -claimed that within fifteen years they will -have become French in language and Roman -Catholic in faith. Mr. Bourassa has made the -same claim, to be sure, with regard to the -inhabitants of Ontario. In the meantime, it -would be truer to describe the inhabitants of -Ontario as Canadians in the English sense. -And Toronto is their capital. It is, of course, -the home of the United Empire Loyalists who -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P86"></a>86}</span> -settled here when the States broke away from -our rule. The temper that made any rule but -England's and any liberty that was not English -liberty unendurable still remains, and I think -Mr. Bourassa will have his work cut out to -Gallicise them. Still even the sternest -traditions of loyalty do not prevent—nay, even -encourage—a certain change in the character -of a people. -</p> - -<p> -It is probable that Ontarians are less English -now than they were, just as Quebeckers are -less French. Which have the right to be -held more essentially Canadian may be -questioned, but I repeat that when we -in England talk of Canadians we have in -mind a type of men to which the Ontarians -correspond more than any others. It would -be absurd, no doubt, to look for the English -type in a metropolis like London, and perhaps -it is absurd to look for the Ontarian type in a -metropolis like Toronto. But it is less absurd, -I think, and anyhow I did look for it there. -What did I find? Well, I hope elsewhere to -go cautiously and delicately into this matter -of what a typical Canadian is like. Here I -will only say that if you can imagine a -Lowland Scot, cautious and self-possessed, -outwardly resisting American exuberance and -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P87"></a>87}</span> -extravagance, but inwardly by slow degrees -absorbing—and thereby moderating—that -hustling spirit of which these things are -manifestations, you have something not unlike the -Canadian of Toronto. Remember that Toronto -is the southern gateway of Canada. It fronts -on the States. It deals with the States. -Between it and the States there is constant -intercourse. It pursues the same industries, -following in many cases the same methods. -Many American managers of men are to be -found in Toronto. It is not unnatural that -some of the American spirit should dwell there -also, and even tend to breed there. -</p> - -<p> -Now for the Fair. Fairing is a pretty old -thing, and I have done a good deal of it, but -fairing at Toronto struck me as being -somehow new. I do not mean in the way of the -exhibits one saw. They were nothing out of -the way to any one who has seen the more -famous exhibitions of the Old World, and the -arrangements struck me as poor. The grounds -by the lake are fairly extensive, but the -buildings are second-rate. I thought when I saw -the fruit exhibit in one of them that the whole -display was little better than at a little English -village flower show. But the keenness of the -crowd visiting the ground! There was the -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P88"></a>88}</span> -novelty. They did not glimpse at things in -our blasé European way, and then sink into seats -to listen to the band. They did listen to the -band, but that was because the band was part of -the show; and they wanted to do the show, every -inch of it. Whole families camped for the day -on the grounds. They brought meals with -them in paper bags and boxes to fortify -themselves lest they should drop before they had -seen everything. Not that there was any lack -of smartness either. The ladies had on their -best hats and frocks, and the Canadian best in -these respects is very fine. But one did not -suspect them, as one would have suspected -ladies at the White City or the Brussels -Exhibition, of being there merely to show themselves -off. Their frocks were in honour of the Fair. -The Fair was the thing. It was a scene of the -greatest enthusiasm under a tolerably hot sun. -I had been asked to note if any English firms -had taken the trouble to exhibit, and I am -bound to say that I saw very few. It seems -a pity when one considers the sort of people -who visit the Fair—not merely a crowd amusing -itself for an hour or two with glancing at the -exhibits, but a crowd trying to find out what -there was to buy—a crowd with dollars in its -pockets and plenty of dollars in its banks. -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P89"></a>89}</span> -I dare say there are difficulties in the way. -There was not, for example, indefinite room -for more exhibits, nor are Canadian -manufacturers, with rumours of reduced tariffs -going about, to be presumed eager to encourage -competitors. Still, it seemed a pity. -</p> - -<p> -I clove my way to bed that night on the top -landing through a horde of keen commercial -travellers joyfully discussing all the business -the exhibition would bring them. Next day -I went to Niagara, by steamer, across the great -lake. Toronto owes at least half its greatness -to the Falls, and there should be, but I do -not think there is, a really big monument to -their discoverer, Father Louis Hennepin. Very -likely, though, the discovery of Niagara was -its own reward, especially for so inquisitive a -man as that friar. He has himself confessed -how, in the old days, when he was only a begging -friar, sent by the Superior of his Order to beg -for alms at the seaport of Calais, he used, in -his curiosity, to hide himself behind tavern -doors and listen to the sailors within telling of -their voyages, while their tobacco smoke was -wafted out and made him 'very sick at the -stomach.' In the end he was the first white -man to see the Falls, in the winter of 1687.... -</p> - -<p> -They were framed in a most gorgeous sunset -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P90"></a>90}</span> -when I saw them on an August day. The -green and white foam swooped from a mountain -of clouds all grey and gold—clouds piled -fantastically into the furthest sky. No one -seeing them in such a light could be disappointed -with them, but I would forbid any more writers -to write about them. Every man should be -his own poet where the greater sights of the -world are concerned. On second thoughts it -is permissible to read Mr. Howells on the -subject, and even Dickens, provided one is never -likely to see them with one's own eyes. I saw -the Falls at sunset, by starlight, and in the -sunrise, and I can commend them at all these times. -The river that drowned Captain Webb and was -crossed by Blondin on the tight-rope, though -extraordinary in its way, seemed to me -comparatively unbeautiful and uninteresting. Any -big sea on the Atlantic or Pacific is a finer sight -and grips a man harder. I like a river quiet -myself. Moreover, the villas above Niagara -River give the landscape a domestic air in -which its mad swirl seems only like an attempt -to show off malignantly. -</p> - -<p> -One of my pleasantest recollections of Niagara -is a conversation I had with the porter at the -hotel where I stopped on the Canadian side. -He was an American negro, extremely urbane -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P91"></a>91}</span> -and chatty. He told me that he guessed I -was an Englishman. It was pretty easy, he -said, to tell that. I did not feel sure whether -to feel flattered or not, but I felt sure later, -when he introduced me to the lift-boy—a typical -little stunted anæmic street arab from one of -our northern cities—with a wave of the hand -and the remark, 'Thar's one of your -fellow-countrymen.' Afterwards, in self-defence, I -steered the conversation towards Canada, and -the porter, who regarded himself as an American -citizen only, told me that the Canadians were -a slow, stupid people, who could not be trusted -of themselves to do anything but cultivate a -little land badly. -</p> - -<p> -'Look at Toronto,' he said; 'do you think -there'd be any hustle in that place if the -Canadians had been left to themselves? No, -sah. But we came along and lent them our -brains and our enterprise, and I guess now it's -a big fine city.' -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap10"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P92"></a>92}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER X -<br /><br /> -MASKINONGÉ FISHING ON THE FRENCH RIVER -</h3> - -<p> -A friend, acquainted with Canada, met me in -Toronto, and I told him I was tired of cities -and thought of going to the Muskoka Lakes. -</p> - -<p> -'What do you expect to get there?' he asked. -</p> - -<p> -'Scenery,' I said—'camping, fishing. A -Fenimore Cooper existence in the backwoods. Isn't -it to be had there?' -</p> - -<p> -'The scenery's all right,' he said, 'and you -can camp out of course, and there are some -fish. But if you mean you want a quiet, -unconventional life——' -</p> - -<p> -'I do for a few days,' I said. -</p> - -<p> -'You'd better go further than the Muskoka -district, then,' he said. 'It's beginning to be -rather a fashionable camping-ground—quite -pleasant in its way. If you care to see -charming American maidens in expensive frocks -falling out of canoes just on purpose to be -able to change into frocks still more expensive, -the Muskoka country is the place for you. If -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P93"></a>93}</span> -not, you had better come with me and fish for -maskinongés on the French River.' -</p> - -<p> -I did not know where the French River was -or what maskinongés were, or how you caught -them; but I said 'Yes,' being very tired of -cities, and we took the night train from Toronto, -and at 4.30 A.M. dropped off it on to a bridge -that spanned a deep, big river. The dawn -was exceedingly cold and grey. -</p> - -<p> -Literally we dropped off the train, for it did -not stop but only slowed down, and after us -the negro porter dropped our bags and tackle. -A minute later the train had vanished, and we -were left alone on the bridge, staring at the -rocky, wooded cliffs that rose on either bank. -Rock, wood, and water indeed met the eye -wherever one looked. It seemed a country -where Nature had once built mountains, savage -and sparsely wooded mountains in the midst -of a great inland sea, then in a cataclysmal -mood had dashed them to pieces in every -direction. And as the boulders and splinters of -boulders flew, some fell in circles and made -little lakes out of the great sea; some fell in -heaped cliffs and banks, between which the sea -was squeezed into winding, forking streams; -some fell and sank and left the sea a shallow -swamp above them; some fell and stood up -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P94"></a>94}</span> -out of the water and became islands of dry -rock. Every splinter that flew bore in some -crack of it a seed of spruce or fir or birch, -which grew; so that all this barren rock and -waste of water became crowned with trees. -I dare say any geologist could explain exactly -what did happen. I am merely explaining -what appears to have happened, when you -look at it the first time with eyes still full of -sleep. -</p> - -<p> -It was the French River at which we were -gazing, and it looked at this point somewhat -wider than the Thames at Hammersmith. It -was flat and full with a good current; and -my friend made some remark about never -having been given to understand, when he -was at school in England, that there was such -a river at all—much less that it was finer than -the Thames. -</p> - -<p> -'I doubt if one would find it marked on an -English school map even now,' he continued. -</p> - -<p> -'I don't know, I'm sure,' I replied. -</p> - -<p> -'Doesn't it show how disgracefully ignorant -we are of Canada?' he demanded in the -hollow tones of an Imperial enthusiast. -</p> - -<p> -'Yes,' I agreed. I daresay I should have -agreed anyhow. It was disgraceful that we -neither of us had known anything about the -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P95"></a>95}</span> -French River. But the reason I agreed so -quickly was that, if I had not done so, he was -capable of proving to me that such gross -ignorance, if persisted in, will some day prove -fatal to the Empire. Whereas I merely wanted -breakfast. Any one who has been dropped off -a train at 4.30 on a misty morning in the sort -of country I have described will sympathise -with me. -</p> - -<p> -Luckily the dawn soon became a little less -grey, and presently we beheld a wooden shack -standing on a crag some quarter of a mile up -stream, with a dozen canoes moored below -it. Presently also—and this was more to the -point—some one in the shack became aware -of us standing on the bridge, and put out in -an old boat fitted with a motor to fetch us. An -hour later we were enjoying breakfast inside -the shack, which is really a hotel of sorts, and -its proprietor, Mr. Fenton, was explaining to -us all about the fishing to be had on the French -River. For five dollars—or nine for two -persons, he would supply us with a canoe, an -Indian guide, a tent, provisions, and a hundred -miles or so of first-class fishing. -</p> - -<p> -Now for the benefit of all benighted Englishmen -who do not know the French River or -Mr. Fenton of Pickerel, but would like to make -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P96"></a>96}</span> -their acquaintance and that of the maskinongé, -let me enlarge upon my existence for -the next few days. -</p> - -<p> -Let me begin with Bill. Bill was our Indian -guide. He was an Ojibway. Youthful, well -built, reserved in manner, he paddled us on -the average eight hours, cooked three meals, -and set up or took down our tent in an -incredibly short time every day. When either -of us caught a fish, Bill laughed; when we -did not, he stared into space. He laughed -pretty often, for we caught quite a number of -fish. It seemed unavoidable on the French -River. Occasionally, in answer to questions, -Bill spoke. He spoke English. Once or twice -he spoke on his own account. I remember -his saying that he preferred eggs to fish. I -do not know how much Bill thought. Accustomed -to connect such outward reserve and -dignity as Bill showed with a philosophic mind, -I fancied for quite a long time that Bill must -think a great deal. I doubt it now. Those -who have studied the Red Indian in his native -haunts have discovered, I believe, that though -his mind works in mysterious ways, it does -work; but not quickly, or with superhuman -gravity or discernment. As for that look of -reserve—it indicates no more brain-work or -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P97"></a>97}</span> -brain-power than the look of reserve on the -face of an alligator. When I read hereafter -that the hero of a book has a reserved face -and an imperturbable manner (he so very often -has in the novels of ladies) I shall think of -Bill, and be delighted. Bill was so soothing. -So was the French River. It is worth an -Englishman's while to know of it—worth his -private as well as his Imperial while. American -sportsmen seem to know it well. They come -fishing up it in fair numbers earlier in the year, -and they come shooting later—deer and partridge -and cariboo. The partridge shooting -is said to be some of the finest in Canada. -</p> - -<p> -The French explorers also knew the French -River, for it was by this route that they -first found their way to Lake Huron when, -by reason of Bill's ancestors being out on the -war-path, seeking scalps, they found Lake -Ontario impossible of crossing. In width it -varies considerably. Sometimes it narrows -to rapids, at others it broadens to over a mile -across, and is divided into channels by steep -islands. The scenery of it is as changeful as -its channel. Now the banks are built in sheer -stone, a hundred feet high; again they rise -terrace by terrace, smooth as if men had made -them; a little later they are nothing but a -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P98"></a>98}</span> -chaos of strewn rock. Sometimes the firs -predominate, sometimes the birches, pale green -still these latter, or yellowing in the fall. Then -a splash of cherry colour or crimson shows a -maple on its way to winter. There are reedy -backwaters where great pike lie; and natural -weirs, below which the rock bass wait for their -food; the deep pools hold pickerel or catfish. -Everywhere the air exhilarates, and along -the wider reaches we used to meet a wind like -a sea-wind that put the river in waves and set -them tippling into the bows of the canoe. -</p> - -<p> -For the most part we trolled, six or seven -miles upstream from Pickerel landing, using -an artificial minnow or feathered double spoon, -which latter seemed to attract pike, bass, and -pickerel, though the last, like the cat-fish, -preferred a worm. However, it is a dull fish, -the pickerel, hardly worth catching. Not so -the cat-fish. A six-pounder of this variety -can be very strenuous indeed, and the only -drawback to it is, as an American we met -remarked, you would have to shut your eyes -before you could eat it. Certainly it is one -of the most grotesque and hideous of freshwater -fish, having four slimy tendrils growing -from the sides of its mouth, with pig's eyes -between. The bass is a fine eater. We got -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P99"></a>99}</span> -bass up to four pounds, and if it is not mean to -mention such a matter in connection with so -sporting a fish, you know that when you have -landed one you have landed a glorious supper. -Those suppers over the camp fire, which Bill -could set roaring within three minutes—so much -timber and touchwood lies everywhere—what -would one not give to enjoy the like in England? -In an artificial sort of way you can do so. -Here one is in the wilds as they were from the -beginning—except that the Indian is cooking -for the white man instead of cooking the white -man for fun. -</p> - -<p> -What a delight it was, too, to go to bed on a -couch of fir boughs, with the wind rustling -through the birches, to the soothing sound -of Bill, stretched at the foot of the tent, spitting -gently into the night. It was a soothing -sound, until I awoke one night to find that -Bill had drawn the flap of the tent tight, but -was still spitting—I do not know whither. -</p> - -<p> -We spent four days on the French River, -and our catch averaged over twelve pounds a -day. It would have been much more if we -had fished for every sort of fish and taken -no photographs. As it was we took a good -many photographs, and spent most of our -time trying to lure the maskinongé. It is -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P100"></a>100}</span> -the king-fish of these waters—a sort of -pike—but with the leaping powers of a salmon and -the heart of a tiger. Bill used to madden -us with tales of how the last party he had -guided had landed twenty maskinongés in -three days. We fished and fished, and then -I, trolling with a spoon, hooked one. We saw -him almost instantly take a great white leap -into the sun, thirty yards from the canoe. -Then Bill paddled gently for the nearest -shore at which one could land him, and I -played him the while with such care ... Oh, -my maskinongé, never to be mine! I got -him to the bank—a flat piece of rock with a -kindly slope to the water. Perhaps he was -not more than fifteen pounds in weight. -Perhaps he was. Bill said not. But then Bill -had not hooked him; and in fact it was -Bill who lost him. Anyway, fifteen pounds is -fifteen pounds, even if they do run to forty. -Yes, it was Bill that lost him. I stick to -that—though I admit that we had all been -stupid enough to come out without a gaff. So -it came about that, though I drew him ever -so gingerly to the rock, yet—yet as Bill made -a lunge at him to get him up—my maskinongé -leaped once more—and broke the line! -</p> - -<p> -There for a second he lay, all dazed and -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P101"></a>101}</span> -silvery, in the shallow water—then woke up -and vanished, spoon and all!... -</p> - -<p> -Bill vowed that the line was too weak; but -what line would have stood it? -</p> - -<p> -No matter—though I did not say 'no -matter' at the time. Some day perhaps I -shall go back to the French River. For fifty -pounds a man could get there from England, -spend three weeks in fishing, and return again -to the old country—a five-weeks trip in all—and -know, maybe, the best August and September -of his life. Yes, I hope to go back and catch -maskinongé, and listen once more to the wind -in the birches, and go to sleep again to the -sound of Bill spitting—for choice into the -night. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap11"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P102"></a>102}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XI -<br /><br /> -SUPERFICIAL REFLECTIONS AT SUDBURY -</h3> - -<p> -Coming away from the French River, we spent -a night at Sudbury, which lies in the midst of -'rich deposits of nickeliferous pyrrhotite.' Had -I a brain capable of appreciating nickeliferous -pyrrhotite, I should have got more pleasure -out of this prosperous mining town than I did. -My chief recollections of it are that it was -unattractive, that everybody looked prosperous -in it, that trucks were shunted under my bedroom -window all night long, and that the hotel -proprietor forgot to wake us at the time we -had requested, with the result that we got to -the station breakfastless, about half an hour -after the train was due to start. Luckily it -was late. I do not care for missing trains at -any time, but to have missed that train at -Sudbury would have been singularly annoying. -There was, in effect, nothing of interest -in Sudbury if you were not interested in -nickeliferous pyrrhotite. I know that I should not -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P103"></a>103}</span> -make such a remark. <i>Humani nihil a me -alienum</i> should be every writer's motto. But -it is one thing to possess a motto, another to -act upon it after trucks have been shunted -under one's window all night, and one stands -breakfastless on a dull station very early in the -morning, waiting for a train that will not come. -</p> - -<p> -Let me recall what sort of humanity was -about. There was a stout, middle-aged Indian -guide, who told us the finest trout fishing in -Canada was to be had a few miles from -Sudbury. He was the most cheerful Indian I saw -in Canada—really a cheerful man—creased with -smiles. There were miners looking out for -jobs or leaving them—mostly spitting. They -were all young men. I only saw about four -old men in the whole Dominion. I do not -know if Canadians are shut up after a certain -age, or do not grow to it, or retire like butterflies -to end their days far from the ken of man. -So that there was nothing surprising in there -being only young men at the station. More -surprising was the amount of nationalities that -seemed to be represented among them. They -seemed of every race and yet very alike. I -suppose a miner is a miner, whatever his -nationality, just as a mahout is a mahout. In the -strange worlds both these kinds of experts -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P104"></a>104}</span> -live in, the one sort in the bowels of the earth, -the other on the necks of elephants, our little -international distinctions would tend to become -of less importance. If a man is a miner, he -may also be a Belgian or a German or a -Yorkshireman—but his real country is subterranean: -he is before all things a citizen of the -underworld. I do not know if one would get to -recognise a miner in Canada quite so easily -as one gets to recognise a miner at home—for -miners there shift about more than in England, -and spend more time, therefore, in the upper -world; which stamps men differently. Still, -though tales of new finds in new countries, -where wages will be almost incredibly high, -constantly reach them, and tempt them forth, -after all they emerge from one part of the dark -earth only to plunge into another—passing the -between-time above-ground magnificently; but -less magnificently than their wives. The prices -paid by miners' wives for their hats at some -of the big stores would startle the more -extravagant of our own smart set. I believe there -were some lumbermen in the station too, -taking their ease, but I had not then grown -to know the look of a lumberjack as I did -later. The chief thing about him is his -magnificent complexion—enviable of women. Canada -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P105"></a>105}</span> -is not generous in the matter of complexions, -and one usually hears that the dry winds of -the winter time are accountable for making -them poor, especially on the plains. The hot -stoves of the shacks are a still more likely -cause. Why then should the lumbermen have -such incomparable skins? Partly because they -are men in 'the pink of condition'—so long -as they work (their condition out of it is best -realised by a perusal of <i>Woodsmen of the West</i>, -one of the few fine local studies of a real type -of Canadian life that have yet been written); -partly because their work is in the woods which -are windless and not dry. -</p> - -<p> -Tokens of the lumbering life—besides the -complexion—are jollity, a freedom from care -amounting to something even more delightful -than irresponsibility, an air of equality with -something of superiority in it—indeed, with a -good deal of superiority in it—and a childlike -loquaciousness or an equally childlike dislike -of talk. These last two qualities are both, I -fancy, Canadian in general. One is generally -told that the Canadians are ready talkers, -will always address a stranger in the train, -will be inquisitive and self-revealing to an -extent unimagined by the Englishman. Mr. Kipling -remarked, I remember, in his Canadian -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P106"></a>106}</span> -letters that you will learn from an Englishman -in two years less than you will learn from a -Canadian in two minutes. Mr. Kipling is -perhaps the best boaster Canada ever drew to -herself. My own experience in the matter of -Canadian conversation is that a lot depends -upon the individual. Introductions are -certainly not waited for, and on a journey one may -chat with strangers to one's heart's content. -But it must be borne in mind that the traveller -<i>par excellence</i> in Canada is the commercial -traveller whose business it is to talk. Off the -line—and on it, where other travellers are -concerned—one finds men with a gift of silence -that can at times be disheartening. It is -natural that this should be so. Men in remote -places lose the use of their tongues. All men -are not talkers, indeed I think the great majority -of men in any country are not talkers. When -Canadians do talk, it must be admitted that -they excel us, or their working-men do. Their -working-men are not only ready, but also, -superficially at any rate, remarkably -well-informed about things outside their own -particular job. They know what is being talked -of, the prices of things, the value of land, -astonishingly well. All Canadians know -something about land; and about what he knows, -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P107"></a>107}</span> -the Canadian is not deprecating. Precisely -for this reason, perhaps, the more educated men -among them are at times considerably less -interesting than ours. It is not that their -conversational topics are few, but that they are -circumscribed. The personal and dogmatic -element enters into them, with the result that the -subject discussed seems incapable of extension, -and tends to become circular. I have met quite -young men who were bores, and bores not only -in essence, but in manner, like the clergymen -of our comic papers. I do not know why it is, -but I do know that it is sad. It may be that -there are not enough women in Canada to -prevent it. Men are so patient they will -stand anything—even a bore. But where -women abound, a man may not be tiresome -either in his clothes or his conversation.... -</p> - -<p> -I believe the train at Sudbury was almost -an hour late, which is why I have gone on so -long noting trifles at large. When it did come -in, somewhere about 8 A.M., we discovered -that it was full up, and people had been standing -in the first-class carriages all night. They -had mostly breakfasted since, and the first-class -carriage we got into was littered from end to -end with bun-bags and sandwich-papers and -orange peel, and all the refuse that results -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P108"></a>108}</span> -from picnics in trains. Tired parents and -sleepy children were piled above this flotsam -in an atmosphere hard to endure. Yet -everybody was cheerful, and though we both wished -in our hearts that we could have got 'sleepers' -entitling us to Pullman accommodation, we -were both grateful—or ought to have been -grateful—that we were privileged to witness -the contented spirit with which these -representatives of the great Dominion bore their -trials. Not a grumble—oh, my brother -Englishman, not a grumble! Think of it. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap12"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P109"></a>109}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XII -<br /><br /> -THROUGH THE HIGHLANDS OF ONTARIO -</h3> - -<p> -I sat in the tail of the train smoking, while -Ontario dropped behind, league after league -of thin trees growing out of the rock, of rock -growing out of bog or lake, of bog or lake -covering all solid things. Sometimes the trees -were green and dark; sometimes green and -light; sometimes nothing but scorched trunks—black -skeletons of trees left by a forest fire -which had killed everything within reach like -a beast of prey, but consumed only the tender -parts. -</p> - -<p> -Somebody, as we swung over a typical piece -of muskeg country—black and juicy bogland -covered with a foot maybe of clear water—began -to tell a story of a train that had run off -the rails and plunged head first into just such -a place. It had been a long train, he said; -a goods train, and it had gone down and down. -When he saw it, the last truck only stuck out -of the muskeg. We listened respectfully. It -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P110"></a>110}</span> -was at least a well-found story, illustrating the -difficulties the engineers had had in laying the -lines across a treacherous ooze that nothing -seemed to fill or make firm. -</p> - -<p> -What will become of this one-thousand-mile -stretch of swamped rock-land? Nobody knows. -There it lies separating East from West, as land -impassable, unnavigable as water. Firs and -minerals, these are the only things to be -expected from it. Firs tend to grow less, but the -minerals of course may in the end so count that -no one will wish the country other than the -rock it is. All along the line the railway -authorities have up the names of stations, as -though there really were stations there, and, -even more, as though there were villages or -towns which those stations served. You are -carried past a hundred such stations—names -on a board and nothing more at all, unless it -be a solitary wooden shack in which some -railway subordinate passes his life seeing that the -line is clear. The gangs of workers, Galicians -or Italians, who do repairs along the line, -camp out; you see their camps now and then, -temporary settlements in this No Man's Land. -</p> - -<p> -'<i>Pays mélancolique et marécageux!</i>' So -Pierre Loti named Les Landes, and the description -fits this country too, though I doubt if -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P111"></a>111}</span> -melancholy is a word to be found in a Canadian's -vocabulary. 'Pretty poor stuff' a Canadian -might allow it to be, but would immediately -begin to talk of the fish in its waters, the big -game to be got among the woods, and the -mining possibilities it would reveal as soon as -prospectors and syndicates got together. There -never was a people less born to be depressed -than the Canadians; nor do I think they will -ever produce a Pierre Loti. -</p> - -<p> -For my part, I began to find this country -most fascinating when I started to think of -its effect upon the history of Canada. It is -easy to see that its very impenetrability -hindered for a long time the growth of the -West. Where there was no road there was no -way for progress, and the great wheatlands -were shut up beyond it, while Eastern Canada -developed. What is less easy to see is the -effect such a waste must have when the country -on the other side has been populated and -fertilised. A little time ago people began to -think that East and West would simply reverse -their order of importance. They said, 'Quebec -and Ontario have depreciated in value. The -rich land of Ontario has been ruined, why -should any one stay there when in the West -there is limitless wheatland to settle on?' -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P112"></a>112}</span> -But the trackless country still lay between—distance -is not annihilated by a single railroad, -nor by a dozen railroads. Quebeckers did not -move West much. Ontarian farmers began to -find that exhausted land could be renovated -by scientific methods. If the plains had -adjoined their farms, they would not have bothered -to try those methods, but the muskeg and -rock lay between. Some of them went West, -but not all; they did not like it that the West -was being settled from the States and Europe. -In any case the West would have been an -unfamiliar country—the American and English -immigrants only made it more so—and the -boasts of the West roused Eastern pride. Was -the West best? Ontarians looked about them -and found that not only could their present -farms be improved but that there lay still in -their own particular country virgin land that -needed only to be cleared and worked. Already -there is the new Ontario, north of the old -Ontario, offering fresh fields and pastures -new for the Canadian born who didn't mind -clearing land as well as working it. It is land -upon which the average immigrant is lost, upon -which the average Ontarian is at home. Thus -begins a northern movement which may spread -any distance. -</p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P113"></a>113}</span> -</p> - -<p> -I have not said, and would not say, that the -rock and water of Ontario account for this -northern movement, for the fact that people -are beginning to say, 'This East and West -business is overdone. Canada is not a thin, -straight line from the Atlantic to the Pacific, -but a country stretching north to Hudson -Bay, having the depth of the States almost, -if a race spreads hardy enough to inhabit it.' The -immediate cause of the northern movement -was the discovery that wheat was as hardy as -men, if not hardier, and would grow more -north than an old-time settler ever dreamed of. -The movement began in the North-West. All -I would say is that if the waste country had -not lain between the Ontarian farmer and the -West he would have rushed with the rest, and -the balance of importance would have shifted -altogether westward. As it is, Ontarian farmers -thrive again; new Ontario thrives excellently -in a score of ways; the Canadian-born prosper -in that part of Canada where they are—and -always have been—most massed and most -solidly Canadian. The West is a medley of -races; and if it had suddenly become dominant -by reason of its vastly superior prosperity, a -people that could definitely be called Canadian -would have been still further to seek than it is. -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P114"></a>114}</span> -Canada, in effect, would have had to restart -becoming a nation. -</p> - -<p> -All that day the rock and bog and timber -kept dropping behind the train, and it was -sunset before we came to the shore of Lake -Superior. A thunderous glow hung over the -lake, glimmering on the great granite cliffs. -It was dark before we came to Port Arthur—proud -possessor of the largest elevator in the -world, and fierce rival of Fort William. In the -morning we were in Manitoba. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap13"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P115"></a>115}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XIII -<br /><br /> - THE OLD TIMERS OF KILDONAN AND THE NEW<br /> - TIMERS OF WINNIPEG<br /> -</h3> - -<p> -Winnipeg introduces the West. 'If you like -Winnipeg,' I had been told before I got there, -'you will like the West.' I had been somewhat -disheartened by this information. I had -pictured Winnipeg as a smoke-laden city of mean -and narrow streets, set off with board walks -and wooden shacks of various sizes. I knew -that I should not like Winnipeg if it were like -that. Well, it is not like that. Main Street, -which follows exactly the lines of the old -Hudson Bay Company's trail, is a hundred and -thirty-two feet wide, and the other streets -are in proportion. Above is the immensely -clear and lofty Canadian sky. The wooden -shacks are not there, and you will have to go -far to find the board walks. True, the buildings -are, on the whole, less impressive than the -streets, but there are some magnificent blocks -rising several stories; and if you take an -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P116"></a>116}</span> -observation-car to go and see the sights of -Winnipeg, you will find yourself brought to -spots where further fine blocks are rising; -and with the eye of the imagination you will -behold Winnipeg as splendidly lofty as New -York. I am not sure that for a place as warm -as Winnipeg in summer and as cold in winter -(I have heard the very truest Canadians say that -they have been nearly frozen there in winter) -the laying out of the town in so spacious a -style is ideal. Streets narrower and more -easily screened from the sun and wind would -have seemed more comfortable to begin with. -But then Winnipeg is growing, growing, -growing; and it may be that some day even Main -Street will seem shut in when it has its -skyscrapers. -</p> - -<p> -Certainly it is a mistake to have preconceptions -of Canada. I found Winnipeg spacious -instead of mean. I next found that instead -of consisting of elevators and all the apparatus -connected with the storage of wheat, it was -all banks and cinematograph parlours. There -were, it is true, shops and such things -sandwiched in between. I recall a jeweller's shop -containing the suitable and attractive placard -in its window—'Marriage Licences for Sale -Here.' It is true, too, that banks and cinematograph -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P117"></a>117}</span> -shows are not unconnected with -wheat. In the banks you store the dollars -you have made out of wheat; at the cinematograph -shows you circulate them. But really -there was an almost incredible number of these -institutions. -</p> - -<p> -Of the two kinds of business I felt that -personally I would rather own a moving picture -show. Winnipegers are, I feel sure, easy to -amuse. And they look exceedingly prosperous. -The air of prosperity struck me as more obvious -in Winnipeg than in any other part of Canada. -This may have been due in part to the ladies' -hats. I saw some wonderful hats in Winnipeg. -Of course there are some women who seem -born to wear wonderful hats. Whatever they -put on seems wonderful. But in Winnipeg -this art of wearing wonders seemed almost -universal. Ladies who might otherwise have -passed for school teachers—so serene and even -precise was their general bearing—were to be -seen in hats that would be astounding either -on Hampstead Heath or in Covent Garden -opera. I was told the hats come direct either -from London or Paris, and form an important -part of the Steamship Companies' freights, -since they are charged for not by weight but -by their superficial area. I thought to myself, -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P118"></a>118}</span> -after I had seen a few samples of them, what -sleepless nights the creators of these marvels -must pass in the fear that they can never again -rival, much less surpass, the last consignment -to the Wheat City. -</p> - -<p> -The men too have a prosperous appearance—always -new hats, new coats, new cigars; -and I was so much impressed by it that I -began to study their faces to see if some new -type—with the Croesus gift—had been developed -in this western place. If they had all looked -alike, or had not all looked prosperous, it would -have been simpler. But they all looked -different—more different than Londoners—as they -would—for here all the nations of the earth -are gathered, and over a score of languages -are taught in the schools (just think of it!); -and among these different faces one saw the -old familiar aspects—the shrewd and the -foolish, the strong-mouthed and the weak, -the bluffer's and that of the man who counts. -Clearly, they were not all amazing organisers, -or men with the grit and the brains that must -take them to the top. Not any more were so, -I mean, than you would see in any big place. -No, it was the economic conditions, not the -men, which were changed. -</p> - -<p> -Yet there is one thing noticeable in most of -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P119"></a>119}</span> -the faces one sees here. It is a general air of -buoyancy—of greater expectation and, therewith, -of greater self-satisfaction—in a good -sense—than one sees at home. Just as the -London clerk's face might be made to read!—'I -am merely a city clerk on £50 a year—I -shall never rise much higher, and I hope I may -keep my place,' so the Winnipeg clerk's face -might be taken to announce—'At present I'm -helping along the Dominion Elevator Company. -Luckily for them they're a go-ahead lot. I -guess, though, they'll have to raise my salary -soon, pretty good though it is now. If they -don't, they'll have to look for another man. -There are plenty of jobs waiting for me.' -</p> - -<p> -If it is the truth, what could be better? -</p> - -<p> -That there are more jobs than men in the -West seems undeniable, though most of them -of course are on the land. I had the pleasure -of a talk with Mr. Bruce Walker, through whose -hands all the immigrants to the West pass. -Mr. Bruce Walker's office is in the station, -which is one of the sights of the West, when -an immigrant train arrives. For Winnipeg is -their distributing centre, and in the station, -when the train comes in, you may see more -types of men and women than a year's travel -in Europe would give you, and you may hear -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P120"></a>120}</span> -more different languages being spoken than -went to the unmaking of the tower of Babel. -To place all these people, men, women and -children, in positions suited to their capacities, -before the small sums of money with which -they have arrived in the New World have given -out, would seem to be a task which Napoleon -might have shrunk from. But Mr. Bruce -Walker appeared quite undismayed. Although -in the first six months of 1910 the immigration -from Great Britain alone had increased 98 per -cent. over any other corresponding period, he -had found no difficulty in dealing with it. He -admitted that it meant increase of work for -himself and his staff, but that was nothing, he -said, so long as there were more jobs than men. -'And there are more jobs,' he said. 'It's -amazing. But the extent to which Canada -can absorb men seems endless.' He told me -many excellent and amusing stories of the -difficulties that arise in connection with the -new-comers, but I have no space for them -here. -</p> - -<p> -The chief criticism to be directed against -the Canadian Government's methods in dealing -with immigrants is, I think, that it encourages -on to the land men who are in some cases -wasted there. It is natural that it should -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P121"></a>121}</span> -place immigrants on the land as far as possible. -The land is there, apparently endlessly absorbent. -It offers, superficially, work that any strong -and able-bodied man should be capable of -doing. Again, that Canadian theory that a -man should be ready to turn his hand to -anything, encourages the Canadian Government -to believe that it is justified in turning the -hands of immigrants to the work that most -obviously wants doing. On the other side, it -has to be remembered that while a man may be -capable of turning his hand to anything, he -is probably much more capable of turning his -hand to the work he has been trained to; and -not only that, but he is wasted to a large extent -if he is not doing it. I am thinking -particularly of the skilled workmen who emigrate to -Canada from England. Turn them on to -land and they may do fairly well; but turn -them on to the work they are used to, and -they will do much better. I do not say that -the Canadian Government is bound to find -for such men the work for which they are -fitted; but in so far as they undertake to find -work for immigrants, they should as far as -possible find the right work. That jealousy -which causes the United States to put obstacles -in the way of the skilled immigrant who -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P122"></a>122}</span> -comes into the country, should not be encouraged -in Canada. It is absurd to suppose that -Canada is already stocked with skilled workmen, -and I repeat it is waste to use men, who -are skilled, in work to which they are wholly -unaccustomed. Moreover, though these skilled -artisans may in many cases only spend a -certain time on the land (after which they find -the job which they want and are accustomed -to), yet in many other cases they may be so -sickened by their time on the land, doing -unaccustomed work badly, that they either -become wastrels, or leave Canada altogether, -believing it to be no country for workers like -themselves, and saying so with all the bitterness -of men who were capable of succeeding -but did actually fail. Another point to which -the immigration department might give all -the attention it can spare, is that of making -it as simple as possible for decent immigrants -to be joined at the earliest opportunity by their -wives and families. The lack of women in -Canada is a curse which there is no disguising. -For one thing, to have a country full only of -able-bodied men without wives or families is -to give it an air of prosperity which is unreal. -For another, it is to leave it without any of -the ambitions which cause the majority of men -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P123"></a>123}</span> -to save the money they make, and lay the -foundations of a civilised nation. The other -objections are obvious. A wise Government -policy might go far towards making the period -of separation between an immigrant and his -wife shorter. -</p> - -<p> -Later on, to get a contrast with Winnipeg, -I went out to see Kildonan with a friend. It -is the village where the Old-timers—the crofters -from the highlands, whom Lord Selkirk brought -out in 1812 to colonise the land—finally settled -down. They had hard years enough; trouble -with the Indians, great trouble with the rival -fur company. The fur-traders could see in the -farmers only men who would reduce the wild -and spoil their own industry. Only after years -were their disputes settled. Kildonan is three -miles out from Winnipeg by electric-car—along -a dusty road fenced with wire from the fat -black land. The crofters must have rejoiced -to see that loam. Nowadays it has mostly -been turned to market-gardening for the -supplying of Winnipeg, and the farmers have -shifted further West. We turned down a -country lane, shaded with maple woods and -golden birches, and came presently to the banks -of the Red River. Over on the other side, -standing among light trees, stood Kildonan -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P124"></a>124}</span> -Church, the oldest church in Western Canada. -We crossed by the ferry, and walked up into -the churchyard. It is not large, but it is full, -and everywhere you read the familiar Scottish -names—Macleod—Black—Ferguson and the -rest. The death among infants in those days -seems to have been great—naturally enough—for -Kildonan then was far from civilisation -and doctor's help; and so, many small, unconscious -settlers spent only a few days or weeks -in the new land. But there were others that -lived long. One of the most interesting -gravestones commemorated the death of a settler -who had come out from Kildonan, Sutherlandshire, -at the age of nine. This in the year -1815—the year of Waterloo. He had lived to -be past ninety. For his epitaph some one -had chosen those noble words from the Epistle -to the Hebrews: 'He looked for a city which -hath foundations—whose maker and builder -is God.' -</p> - -<p> -I think it cannot matter now that the old -man died before the great Canadian boom came, -before Winnipeg had become the biggest -wheat-centre of the world, before he could realise, -who looked for a city which hath foundations, -that even in his life he had attained to 'God's -own country.' -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap14"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P125"></a>125}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XIV -<br /><br /> -A PRAIRIE TOWN AND THE PRAIRIE POLICE -</h3> - -<p> -Any one who knows the plains of Canada is -aware that they rise in three tiers, the rise -having a westward trend, and that the scenery -of them varies as greatly as does the -vegetation. Any one who has only been through the -Canadian plains in the train is under the -impression that, save for a bit of rolling country -here and there in the distance, they are as -level as a billiard table; and that, except -that parts are cultivated and other parts are -not, they look the same almost from start to -finish. -</p> - -<p> -The moral is obvious. Do not suppose that -from the train you can see even the surface of -the world. -</p> - -<p> -This seemingly endless flat land, then, holds -hills and gullies, rivers and lakes—everything -indeed but trees. But what am I saying? -There are heaps of trees in reality. Only they -have a habit of concealing themselves, and -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P126"></a>126}</span> -those who want to see them in haste should -perhaps take a guide. -</p> - -<p> -There is more monotony in the towns of the -plains, I think, than in the plains themselves. -Not but what these towns must have differences -known to their inhabitants. A man who -lived in Moosejaw might conceivably deny -that he could feel equally at home in Regina. -A citizen of Regina would not dream of admitting -that he could find his way blindfold about -Moosejaw. Nevertheless all these little towns -are singularly alike in construction. It is -reasonable that they should be. They are -all centres of a country engaged in a single -great industry—the raising of wheat. Other -things are raised, but in such small quantities, -comparatively, that they do not count. And -the people engaged in this great industry of -wheat-raising are on a particular equality as -regards the work they do, the leisure they have, -and the tastes that result from the combination -of that work and leisure. Some are richer, -some poorer, some are wise, some foolish, but -mostly they are working together pretty hard. -The towns represent the places where they -come after their work to bargain and be amused. -Moreover, as I suggested in a previous chapter, -the model for all other towns of the plains has -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P127"></a>127}</span> -always been Winnipeg, and Winnipeg is the -embodiment of the notion that a city may be -a finer city than Chicago if it only tries hard -enough. -</p> - -<p> -Architecturally, Winnipeg looks as though -it always has allowed, and always will allow, -for its own expansion. Other great cities have -grown up anyhow, usually on lines that suggest -that their greatness was thrust upon them -unexpectedly. Winnipeg too has grown -big—beyond all expectation one would have -thought—yet it suggests in its lines that it -never felt, even in those far-off days when -Main Street was the Hudson Bay trail, that -it would be anything but tremendous. Very -likely it is an accident that Winnipeg did -possess this power of expanding and Winnipegers -did not deliberately foresee and provide -for its future vastness. Be this as it -may, the towns of the plains are not going to -leave anything to chance. They are so planned, -that when the time comes they will be ready -to outdo Winnipeg. They rather expect to -outdo Winnipeg. They even warn you that -they will. Here is an example. I got out -at some little station on the plains—let us call -it Thebes. I don't think there is a Thebes in -existence, but if not, it will come along soon, -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P128"></a>128}</span> -for the classics as well as the Indian languages -are being ransacked to provide names for -Canada's thousands of new-born towns. I -prefer the classical or Indian-named towns to -those that bear hybrid titles like Higgsville. -I saw at once that Thebes consisted of about -twenty shacks and a store. It was all there, -just outside the station, and beyond was level -prairie again, with one or two farmhouses on -the horizon—wooden boxes, like bathing-machines -off their wheels to look at. -</p> - -<p> -I should not have been impressed by the -greatness of Thebes, present or future, had I -not, just by the ticket office, come upon a -great placard, calling attention to a plan of -the district marked off in square blocks in red -and black cross lines. Beneath were two -fanciful spheres, side by side, such as -statisticians use—a large one marked Winnipeg, a -smaller one marked Thebes: also, the following -notification:— -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - 'In 1870 Winnipeg had 240 inhabitants.<br /> - In 1910 Winnipeg has 180,000 inhabitants.<br /> - In 1910 Thebes has 74 inhabitants.<br /> - How many will Thebes have in 1925?<br /> - Buy a Thebes town lot.'<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -It may be that the method is an American -one, recalling that by which Martin Chuzzlewit -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P129"></a>129}</span> -was persuaded to buy a lot in Eden city. An -old-fashioned Englishman, straight from the -old country, might even now be scared by it, -and decide on the strength of it not to become -a citizen of Thebes. He need not be scared. -He can dislike the advertisement if he -chooses, but he should bear in mind that by -just such advertisements men were attracted -to prosperity in the States as much as to -adversity—even in the Dickens period—that -real cities as well as sham ones were built up -by them, and that anyway most of the Canadian -land thus advertised is of an easily ascertainable -value. He should remember, too, that -a man nowadays, certainly in the new world, -is not presumed to take every advertisement -he sees as Bible truth. A smart advertisement, -such as the Thebes one, is to a Canadian or -American simply a proof that whoever it is -wishes to sell Thebes town lots is a go-ahead -person who clearly wants to do business, who -probably knows how business ought to be -done, who is likely to come to the point of -doing it more quickly and ably than a man -who won't even take the trouble to attract -attention. No doubt the purchase of town lots -is bound to be a speculative business. These -little prairie villages may or may not become -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P130"></a>130}</span> -Winnipegs. Of the particular chances a man -must satisfy himself. That there are chances -is a certainty; and the advertiser is only -clothing that certainty in what he considers -an attractive garb. -</p> - -<p> -I am very far from delighting in the 'plush -of speech,' as Meredith called the language of -the advertisers. Apart altogether from the -fact that Canadians have not as yet learnt the -art of understatement, the plush of speech is -far too common in Canada. I suppose it was -to be expected. Hard by lie the United States -whose advertisers have, in a very few years, -done more to blazon all the horrors of which -the English tongue is capable than their -great writers have done to point out its beauties. -Their example has spread. So that in Canada, -too, a barber's is announced as 'A Tonsorial -Saloon'; a hat shop is 'A Bon Ton Millinery -Parlour.' There may be some magic attraction -in the words. The desire for a hat in -the heart of a woman is not a definitely economic -want; perhaps to be able to get a hat from a -millinery parlour may strengthen that want. -Only I know that speaking for myself, I would -not willingly have my hair shortened oftener -than was necessary, even if a tonsorial palace -should be open to me for the process. -</p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P131"></a>131}</span> -</p> - -<p> -To go back to the prairie towns, their future -is ever before them, and their citizens talk of -them in the same proud, fond spirit as that in -which a mother will discuss the career of the -creature-in-the-perambulator, which for the -ordinary person is too embryo to be distinguished -as either a boy or a girl. Already, of -course, the prairie towns are of all sizes, though -you must never judge them by the size they are. -Take Regina. It is a capital city, but the usual -definition of a line—only reversed—best -describes it. It has breadth without length. -Its streets, which are called avenues, are -astonishingly wide, the more astonishingly, -because as soon as you start to walk along them -they come to an end in prairie. I thought a -notice which caught my eye as I wandered -through the town rather characteristic. The -notice was pasted outside a half-built block. -It ran:— -</p> - -<p> -'These premises will be open by September 5.' -</p> - -<p> -It was long past 5th September, and those -premises were not going to be open for some -weeks to come. The roof was not on yet, and -in fact I think the fourth wall had to go up. -Still, when they were opened, they would be -fine and solid. You could see that. It is the -same with many of these western towns -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P132"></a>132}</span> -themselves. Some day they, too, are going to be -fine and solid, but they are not really open -yet, though a good deal of business is being -done, with the roof still, so to speak, off, -and the fourth wall still to go up. On the -outskirts of Regina, for example, there are -some 1911 Exhibition buildings which look -rather larger than Regina itself. That is -enterprise. -</p> - -<p> -I stayed a whole day in Regina because I -wanted to see the barracks of the famous -North-West Mounted Police. It was a very -hot day, and I was not sure where the barracks -were, so I went into a hotel, partly to find out, -partly to have a drink. The hotel was cool and -pleasant, and after a little while a well-dressed -gentleman came over and began chatting. -We talked of various things, and then he asked -me if I would not like to have my suit pressed -for Sunday, as he would do it for a dollar. I -said I should like it very well, but I had not -time for it as I had to go out to the police -barracks. -</p> - -<p> -'You don't think of joining them, do you?' -he inquired with much disdain. -</p> - -<p> -'Why?' I asked. -</p> - -<p> -'You're a fool if you do,' he said; 'there's -too much discipline about them. You spend -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P133"></a>133}</span> -your whole time saluting every one you see if -you're in the police. I know what it is. I -was two years in the American Navy.' -</p> - -<p> -I did not inform the ex-naval clothes-presser -that I'd rather belong to the police than press -clothes, nor, indeed, did I waste any further -time upon him, and I only mention him because -he is one of the less valuable American types -that find their way into Canada, and also -because he was the only man I met who had a -word to say against the mounted police. -</p> - -<p> -The sun can be very hot on the prairie, and -it was very hot that afternoon when I did at -last set out for a two-miles' tramp to the -barracks. Nobody was walking that way -except myself, and nobody was even riding. -There was a fine dust about, and I needed -brushing as well as pressing before I reached -my destination. When I did get there, the -courteous welcome of the second-in-command -caused me to forget that the way had been -long, or that anything greatly mattered except -to hear about the North-West Mounted Police -from the officer who was good enough to show -me all round, from the horse-hospital to the -prison cells. The latter were the least -inviting part of the barracks, and I decided on -the spot that if I committed a crime I would -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P134"></a>134}</span> -not select the North-West of Canada for the -scene of it. -</p> - -<p> -I doubt if Canada, or England, has anything -to be prouder of than the North-West Mounted -Police. Some of their deeds have been told from -time to time—that of the mounted policeman, -for example, who brought a homicidally-disposed -maniac down hundreds of miles from the frozen -country, saved his charge from frost-bite, and -lost his own reason in the process; that of the -corporal who went into the camp where Sitting -Bull sat armed with all his braves about him, and -gave him a quarter of an hour to clear over the -border. But under a hundred less-known acts -the same spirit has run—the spirit of the one -representative of justice triumphant over -incredible odds. -</p> - -<p> -'It's made possible,' said my guide, 'partly -because we have men who regard every capture -they're told off to make as a matter of personal -honour, partly because people know that if a -man commits a crime, we get him in the end. -We go on till we do. Sitting Bull knew that -if he killed our corporal we'd hang him and -every man with him. So he went.' -</p> - -<p> -All kinds of men are represented in the -mounted police, but this officer told me that -the recruit they liked best to get was 'the -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P135"></a>135}</span> -young man with blood in him,' from an English -public school or university, as much as from -anywhere; fond of riding and shooting, and -not lost when he is acting alone hundreds of -miles from headquarters. The district patrolled, -remember, by five hundred men is not much -smaller than Europe minus Russia. Wanting -that kind of man, the authorities see to it that, -in barracks at all events, he is comfortable, -and very little in the way of the accommodation -for these police could be improved upon. -</p> - -<p> -The most historic part of the barracks is -that window through which Louis Riel stepped -out—to drop with the rope round his neck. -I was shown it hurriedly. It is the capture of -their man, not his execution, that is these -policemen's pride. Their record shows that -almost always they take him alive, with no -struggle—a strange thing, and one more proof -of the reputation the police have built up for -themselves. 'What is the use of struggling -with these men?' seems to be the natural -thought in the mind of the pursued; and no -doubt much bloodshed is saved as a result of it. -I learnt a lot of stray Canadian facts that -afternoon. I learnt that the immigrants known -under the somewhat vague heading of 'Galicians' -are at present considered the leading -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P136"></a>136}</span> -toughs, owing to their habit of using their -knives at random. Galicians mean roughly -all those who come from central Europe, and -would, of course, include Letts. So that it is -not, apparently, merely the climate of England -that induces in these particular aliens a -homicidal mania. It would be interesting to know -the opinion of a North-West Mounted Policeman -on 'the Battle of London.' Another thing -I learnt was that a hundred miles a day is no -unusual distance for one of these policemen to -cover on horseback, and that of all the districts -patrolled by them that in the neighbourhood of -the North Pole is most sought after. They do -not believe in English stirrups and girths any -more than they believe in the British truncheon. -They do believe in sobriety. The man with -the drinking habit cannot continue, so I was -told, a mounted policeman. -</p> - -<p> -As I walked back into Regina, I remember -seeing in one of the principal streets a second -notice which struck me as quaint. The notice -was:— -</p> - -<p> -'Please do not spit on the side-walks.' -</p> - -<p> -The quaintness of it consisted in the last three -words. 'Please do not spit' one could -understand. I should like to see that notice up -almost anywhere in Canada, since the habit it -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P137"></a>137}</span> -deprecates is almost universal. It is worst, -perhaps, in a smoking compartment, where it -is difficult to get one's legs away from the -neighbourhood of spittoons. I have sat for -hours feeling all the emotions of the son of -William Tell while the apple was still balanced -on his head, and his father was in the act to -shoot. But it is an uncivilised, unhealthy, -absolutely unnecessary habit anywhere. That -is why, for a public authority to suggest that -it may be done, provided it is not done on -the side-walks, is quaint. It should either be -ignored or penalised. When one reads, as one -does so often in the papers, of the ravages -made by tuberculosis in Canada, it almost looks -as if offenders should be penalised. Certainly -they should not be politely requested to spit a -few inches more to the left or the right. And -why provide them with spittoons? -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap15"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P138"></a>138}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XV -<br /><br /> -IN CALGARY -</h3> - -<p> -Alberta is at present the <i>débutante</i> of the -Dominion. -</p> - -<p> -Countries, like cities, used to grow up and, -if we stick to our metaphor, 'come out' -anyhow. It is true there were people called -statesmen who had at times bright ideas -concerning the commonweal which they tried -to put into practice, and sometimes succeeded -in putting into practice, with not unsatisfactory -results. But the commonweal they had -in mind was a limited one. It was not truly -'common,' either in respect of the people whose -weal was considered, or in respect of the weal -it was desired to affect. Statesmen, in fact, -thought usually only of a particular section or -part of the population of their country and also -thought only of a particular aspect of that -section's welfare—usually either its soul or its -prestige; very rarely its material prosperity. -</p> - -<p> -Things have not altogether changed. Things -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P139"></a>139}</span> -don't. Statesmen still consider particular -classes rather than the nation as a whole, -and their notions of what weal means are still -limited notions. But there is this difference. -That aspect of the commonweal which can be -referred to somewhat vaguely as material -prosperity now bulks very large in their minds, -and, as a result of it, the idea is beginning -to prevail that not only can cities be planned -before they are built, but that whole provinces -can and should be encouraged to grow in -certain thought-out directions. -</p> - -<p> -In the old world the new idea is likely to -work slowly and somewhat obscurely. Cities -and countries have already grown up there -in the old-and-anyhow style; and grown-up -things, like grown-up people, are not easily -changed. In England, for example, we may -think that large properties are a mistake; -but they will not, with anything that can be -called celerity, be turned into small holdings. -So with our cities. There they are—fully grown -and fully stocked with vested interests. The -possessors of those interests cannot see in any -proposed change the vast improvement that -the non-possessors see in it. The most that -can be expected in England in the immediate -future is that, slowly and imperceptibly, certain -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P140"></a>140}</span> -outrageous mistakes of the past will be remedied, -and that where new developments are essential, -they shall be the result of ideas, rather than -of confusions. The Town-Planning Bill is, I -imagine, a case in point. The most conservative -people are beginning to see that in itself -an idea is not a vicious thing and may even -produce a good result. -</p> - -<p> -In the new world (and perhaps in the German -Empire too) the notion of planning the future -of town or country instead of leaving it to luck -is having much swifter and more demonstrable -effects. On the Canadian plains, as I have -pointed out, towns are being laid out largely -with an eye to their future. The same thing -is being done for the countryside. It, too, is -being planned with an eye to its future. It is -not growing up just anyhow; it is being made -to grow in particular directions. -</p> - -<p> -How much this is the idea of statesmen, of -the public officials, that is to say, of the -Dominion; and how much it is due to the -managers of private companies and enterprises, -historians will some day be able to decide. I -incline to the view that at present the big -railway companies represent far the most -influential force in Canada, and that they, without -any of the outward paraphernalia of office, -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P141"></a>141}</span> -are deciding what Canada is to be for a good -many years to come. -</p> - -<p> -Naturally they work from what may be called -the railway point of view. Their notion of a -Canadian commonweal takes the form, therefore, -of a country in which a settled and prosperous -population lives along the lines of the -railroads, and is so distributed that there shall -be no uninhabited spaces through which the -running of trains will cease to be a paying -proposition. There are bound, of course, to be -some intervals of the kind. The highlands of -Ontario form such a gap in the system of the -Canadian Pacific Railway. That gap is not -easy to fill: Alberta is. -</p> - -<p> -A few years ago Alberta was far from being a -profitable country through which to run trains. -Cattle-ranching maintained the thinnest of -populations, and the leagues of sunburnt plains -east of Calgary seemed to offer few chances to a -more numerous class of settler. Any one who -had prophesied then that they would shortly -be crowded with wheat-farmers would have -been laughed at. But they are being crowded, -comparatively crowded, now. And the credit -for this must be given those who started the -Bow River irrigation works. No doubt there -are other reasons for the rise of Alberta. The -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P142"></a>142}</span> -discoverers of new wheats have helped it; -so have the American farmers who, by spoiling -the land across the line, created a demand for -new land. But the irrigation works are the -main factor, and when the Octopus, as the -Canadian Pacific Railway is not uncommonly -called, is had up for judgment, these and many -other of their achievements will help them to -make a stout defence. True, it is their own land -they are irrigating; it is passengers and freight -for themselves that they want to secure; but, -whatever the motive, they are advertising and -causing to be populated and cultivated hundreds -of square miles on either side of their own -particular land which might otherwise have -lain waste for many years. -</p> - -<p> -It may be said—Where is the plan in this? -Where is it any different from the schemes of -any railway country in the old world. The -difference is that in the old world as a rule the -railway company follows trade, and runs only -through populous parts where that trade is to -be got; whereas in Canada, railway companies -lay their lines through the desert, so to speak, -and then start to fill it in an orderly and -profitable manner. Alberta at present is being -planned into existence. It is not booming -simply on its own merits, great though these -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P143"></a>143}</span> -may be. It lay fallow for many years. For -all one knows, other parts of Canada may have -more of a future. But they are not being -boomed as Alberta is, because the time has -not yet come when they must, in the opinion -of the railway companies, be filled in. -</p> - -<p> -The need for the filling in of Alberta is one -of the reasons why Calgary has sprung up so -quickly. A few years ago Calgary had no -future to speak of. Men not as yet -middle-aged, can remember camping in Calgary in -tents. There was only one place to dance in, -and ranchers used to take turns at entering it. -Now Calgary is a stone-built town of solid -appearance, and still more solid importance. -Like so many other Canadian towns, it is -more important than it looks. It looks -bustling enough, but hardly important. There -are no buildings of a size to take the eye. The -hotels are singularly inadequate. They are not -only not comfortable enough for their guests, -but they are not large enough. I had -occasion to visit Calgary twice within a week, -and each time I got the last bed in a different -hotel, and tried to be thankful for it, but did -not succeed. I suppose that prosperity has -overtaken it at such a pace that it has not -had time as yet to consider its responsibilities. -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P144"></a>144}</span> -A town which permits one of its best hotels -to place three double beds in one bedroom—and -perhaps as many as nine guests in the -three double beds—may already be great, -but it has not realised its greatness. -</p> - -<p> -Calgary differs from the prairie towns which -lie between it and Winnipeg, in that it is not -really a prairie town, but a town on the edge -of the prairie. It looks at the mountains; -and it is built of the grey stone that is found -near by; the Chinook winds that sweep it -and make its climate comparatively mild, -are mountain winds; and it stands on the -Bow River, which is a mountain river, swift -and clear, and blue with the blue that is melted -from snowfields. This is none of your turbid -streams like the Assiniboine or the Red River. -All rivers must run to the plains at last, but -the Bow River does not seem to belong to -them, though it feeds them more than most. -In the old days Calgary, such as it was, owed -everything to the hills. The cattle-ranchers -settled round there because the Chinook winds, -scatterers of the snow, made outdoor grazing -possible for their cattle during months when -Manitoba and Saskatchewan were deep in -frozen drifts. And since it was just at the -foot of the mountains, the miners in the mountains -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P145"></a>145}</span> -used it as a supply centre. It is still -a centre for ranchers and miners; but its real -importance is that it has become the -headquarters of that prairie which produced once, -perhaps, half a ton of hay to the acre, and now -yields the finest wheat in the world. If any -statues are to be put up in the town—and -it would be as well to wait for a native sculptor -of talent—they should be the statues of the -men who constructed the irrigation works. -</p> - -<p> -Later on, but this is a smaller matter -perhaps, I should like to see a statue put up to -the man who will make it possible for the -bars of Calgary to be allowed to remain open -between the hours of 7 P.M. on Saturday, -and 7 A.M. on Monday. At present they are -shut during those hours, which means, I take -it, that Calgarians, if admitted, would drink -more than was good for them. The person -therefore, to whom the suggested statue should -be raised, would be the man who made the -Calgarian attitude towards the drink question -more civilised. I know that the problem is -not peculiar to Calgary or to Canada. It -may even be that Canada for a new country -does more to solve it than most. I recollect -than when I got back to England, one of the -first things that caught my eye was an -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P146"></a>146}</span> -interview given to a local paper by a leading -Hertfordshire man, who had also just returned -from travelling through Canada. He assured -the interviewer that, having been from end -to end of Canada, he had never once seen a -man the worse for liquor. It must have been -a delightful, but perhaps unique experience. -I had not his good fortune, and having talked -with many decent Canadians, seldom fanatics, -and rarely indeed total abstainers, who -nevertheless deplored the prevalence of the drink -evil in the West, I cannot think that that -Hertfordshire traveller's happy blindness is -a thing to be imitated. Drink takes another -form—perhaps a less vicious one—in a new -country; but it ruins more good men than -it does in an old one. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap16"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P147"></a>147}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XVI -<br /><br /> -THE AMERICANISATION QUESTION -</h3> - -<p> -There is vague talk at times about the -Americanisation of Canada. Very dismal -people talk about its Americanisation by force -of arms. Minor pessimists think the change -will come about peaceably. How can the -Canadians—they ask—continue to assert -themselves for ever against the constant influx -from the other side? -</p> - -<p> -Monsieur André Siegfried, in that most -lucid and excellent book, <i>Les Deux Races en -Canada</i>, considers this question a little, but -the very fact that he has called the book -<i>Les Deux Races en Canada</i>, shows that he -considers the question premature. The two -races he treats of are not the Canadians and -the Americans, but the French Canadians and -the Canadians who are not French. Certainly -these two peoples are at present, and must for -a considerable time to come, be considered -the two main races of the Dominion. They -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P148"></a>148}</span> -are still for all practical purposes separate -without being hostile; and it is quite possible -that one of these may Canadianise the other -before any real Americanisation makes itself -felt. Should the French Canadians get the -upper hand, it is pretty certain that American -influence would get a set-back of perhaps -centuries. Yet English writers as a rule -never seem to consider this contingency. -Perhaps if they did, they would begin to think -that they would rather see Canada -Americanised than Gallicised. -</p> - -<p> -Still the Americanisation may happen, and -it is at least an interesting possibility. Let -us consider the task that lies before the -Americans. They will have to absorb— -</p> - -<p> -(1) The French Canadians. -</p> - -<p> -(2) The Canadian born, who are not French. -</p> - -<p> -(3) The English who have immigrated. -</p> - -<p> -(4) Foreign immigrants; <i>e.g.</i> Scandinavians, -Galicians, Italians, Doukhobors—all that -strange assortment of people who have flowed -in from the poorer countries of Europe. -</p> - -<p> -The Americans themselves represent at -present only a small fifth in this conglomeration -of nations. Still, they have this in their favour, -that they start in while Canada is still an -unfixed nation. French Canadians—a small -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P149"></a>149}</span> -third—only number about three millions. -Non-French Canadians about the same. The whole -population is under ten millions. It may in -fifty years be ten times that number. So -that anything may happen. -</p> - -<p> -Meanwhile, many effective American influences -are at work. Their order of effectiveness -is not easy to define, but when one -considers their representatives of business -enterprise, capital, journalism and farming -at work in the country, one can see that the -Americans are likely to go far. -</p> - -<p> -What is their present value to the Dominion? -Take American farmers. They are an -undoubted gain to Canada in so far as they -possess energy, capital, a knowledge of the -local conditions, versatility and adaptability. -I hardly know if it is an example of their -versatility or their adaptability, but as soon as -they cross over the line, American farmers -who were Tariff Reformers instantly become -Free Traders. It is not, of course, that they -have adopted nobler principles in their new -country. It is merely that, having become -Canadians, they have now to support Canadian -manufactures, and pay more for their -farming machines and shoddy clothes. Naturally -they think tariffs a mistake. -</p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P150"></a>150}</span> -</p> - -<p> -Setting aside for a moment this political -elasticity as of doubtful value, Canadians may -still wonder if the American farmer is all -gain to them. Is it an objection, for example, -that the American introduces the purely -commercial spirit into farming? Not entirely. -Not certainly so far as love of gain induces -promptness and enterprise. It is, however, an -objection if it destroys that love of the land -which causes the English farmer to stick by -his farm, generation after generation. -Perhaps American farmers have not that land -love in any case. If they had, they would -not have crossed the line. In most cases, -they have crossed it to make money—more -money. It may be argued that the English -farmers come further for the same purpose, -but that is not really the case. English -farmers who come are mostly men who were -tenants, and find themselves either not making -money or expecting to have their rents raised -if they do. Or they are the sons of farmers -who have not the capital to start farming in -the old country, or cannot get the land. The -American farmer is usually quite ready to -admit that he is in Canada to make money, -and his enemies will admit for him that though -this ideal may lead him to adopt new methods -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P151"></a>151}</span> -of farming which are good, it also induces -him to adopt that very old method of farming -which consists of getting all you can out of -the land, putting nothing into it, selling it -to a fool and moving on to fresh land—which -is a bad method. Any one who is acquainted -with the States at all, knows how at present -people there are awakening to the viciousness -of this practice. All their papers and speakers -are full of the wastefulness which Americans -practised in the last century thinking it to be -smartness. Fine land, they say, was spoilt -by it; forests were annihilated; water supplies -were overdrawn; people were made restless. -It was getting rich quick at the expense of -posterity, and it bred in Americans a nomadic -spirit, and an imprudence in considering the -future, which has become a menace. -</p> - -<p> -Canadians cannot altogether condemn the -American farmer, for just these methods spoilt -so much of the land in Ontario; and only -now are their farmers beginning to improve on -them. Still, they would do well to indicate -to American farmers that they are welcome -only as improvers and not as wasters of the -new country. The trouble is to give an -effective indication of that kind. Settlement of -the land is still reckoned, especially by the -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P152"></a>152}</span> -railway companies, as the first of virtues, -covering a multitude of sins; though even -they, I think, are recognising a little that -the English farmer, whose aim is not an -immediate fortune, but a home which he can retain -for his life and hand over to his children -after him, is not to be scorned as he was a -few years ago. The ready-made farms, made -possible by the irrigation work of the Canadian -Pacific Railway, are the chief example of the -attempts made to draw the Englishman. 'We -hope,' said one of the Canadian Pacific Railway -officials, speaking a few months ago before the -London Chamber of Commerce, 'that the -Englishmen on these farms will leaven the lot.' A -few years ago, compliments of that sort were -not being offered to the English farmer in -Canada. Probably he was not so good a type -as comes in now. But it is to be remembered -that the English immigrant has always had -more adaptations to make than the American. -To the American from the northern States, -Canada is the country he is used to—only -a little more north. The Englishman finds -a new soil, new climate, new manners, and -new methods. I should say that man for -man, the English farmer knows at least as -much as the American about farming, and -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P153"></a>153}</span> -a great deal more than the average Canadian. -But when he goes out to Canada he has to -put this knowledge behind him and learn -afresh—a difficult thing for a conservative -race. The American can hold on to what -he knows and simply go ahead. The accident -of birth has given him a fine start over the -Englishman. -</p> - -<p> -The same advantage belongs to other Americans -in Canada. Business men, capitalists, -journalists have only had to cross a -non-existent line, instead of an undeniable ocean. -When Canadians complain that Englishmen -take no interest even in those Canadian schemes -for which they have found the money, they -forget that capitalists cannot always be close -to their investments. I repeat, the Atlantic is -not a thing to be denied, nor is it fair to call -the English mere moneylenders because they -have not always personally accompanied their -loans. At least they have shown themselves -trustful of the men on the spot. -</p> - -<p> -Nevertheless, I think that Canada has every -reason to be grateful for the able business -men whom the States have sent her. That -negro porter at the Niagara Hotel who said -that Canadians were a stupid people, and -would have done nothing without the -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P154"></a>154}</span> -Americans, was taking rather a spread-eagle view -of the facts. Still there is no doubt that -American brains have been—and still are—of -great service to Canada; nor can I see -that they can be charged with Americanising -tendencies. Business men are nearly always -cosmopolitan in their achievements, whatever -their motives may be. -</p> - -<p> -It is rather different with American -journalists. They can hardly as yet be charged -with being citizens of the world, and where -their influence penetrates, an American trend -is noticeable. They are beginning to leave -their mark in Canada. Canadian papers are -numerous and creditable, but an American -atmosphere broods over them. The most -trivial incident is magnified by headlines, -which repeat three times over in large type -and increasingly pompous language all and -more than all that follows in the news space. -I am not talking of the best Canadian -newspapers but of the average ones. If their -methods are American, so very largely are -the matters they deal with. In some small -up-country Canadian journal one will find -the leading columns occupied with the account -of some dinner given, say, by Mrs. Van -So-and-So of New York, wife of the Coffin King, -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P155"></a>155}</span> -with full accounts of the costumes, menu, -etc.,—wearisome and vulgar matter, staringly -of no interest whatever to the bucolic readers -of the journal in question. But it was all -very cheaply wired from the States: whereas -news from England would be costly in the -extreme. The result is that Canadians—in -spite of their local sagacity—are at least as -ignorant of the things that happen in Great -Britain and Europe as we are of what is -happening in Canada. Often I have felt -while the Canadian-born were talking to me -of the 'Old Country,' talking of it too, not -only in a loyal, but a fond and even wistful -manner—that they had in their minds a -picture of it that would probably have fitted -England better in the fourteenth century than -it does now. A poor, worn-out, tottering old -country is what they are thinking of; and -nothing would amaze some of them more -than to see modern England as it is. -</p> - -<p> -Why should they have got this idea into -their heads? Largely, I suppose, because the -new with them is necessarily best. The old -things were put up anyhow by men in a hurry -and they are always superseded by better -things. The very epithet 'old' connotes -badness to a Canadian. Then, again, it is a -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P156"></a>156}</span> -country of young men, and young men are apt -to favour youth, which they hardly associate -with England. No country—not even Spain—can -be as antique and ramshackle as many -of them undoubtedly believe England to be. -Birmingham and Manchester are on paper -such very ancient cities compared with Regina -and Moosejaw that the untravelled Canadian -thinks pityingly of the former; whereas he -considers the latter infinitely up-to-date and -important, and would be hurt to know that we -have in England hundreds of little prosperous -country towns very like them, of which the -ordinary Englishman hardly knows the names -and, if he did, would think no more of than he -would think of Regina and Moosejaw. -</p> - -<p> -I would not seek to minimise that Canadian -pride and optimism which finds such satisfaction -in everything that they build. Pride -and optimism are valuable assets to any -country. All I would suggest is that they -should realise that the English habit of -grumbling and self-depreciation does not indicate -that all Englishmen live in a tottering old -realm, doing nothing but decay and grumble. -</p> - -<p> -Here we come back to newspapers. Most -people derive their facts from newspapers -nowadays, and if Canadians find that everything -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P157"></a>157}</span> -of importance happens in the new world, -whereas in the old world nothing happens -except an occasional sensational murder or the -deposition of a third-class king, they cannot -infer that Europe is still an important continent, -and that perhaps the most important country in -it is England. What is to enlighten them? -I suppose the receipt of more news from Europe. -</p> - -<p> -Probably the All Red Cable would do much -in this direction. News has to be cheap or it is -not news (the converse proposition that news -if it is cheap must be news, is not true). Much -also might be done by private enterprise. -English publishers could do more to push their -wares. So could English magazine proprietors. -Most of the books and magazines one can get -in a hurry in Canada are American. English -Cabinet Ministers might now and again make -a tour in the Dominion and explain to Canadians -some of those political principles in which at -home they have such fervid belief. It may be -that the Americanising tendency is too strong -for any of these suggestions to be of much -avail in combating it. Reciprocity treaties -between the States and Canada may inevitably -result in closer union, though I never could feel -that it was a marked human characteristic to -pine for fellow-citizenship with the man whom -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P158"></a>158}</span> -one supplies with bread in return for a -reaping-machine. Trade relations may result in that -mystic fraternal sentiment by which nations -come together, though hitherto in the world's -history men have never shown any very frantic -desire for a heart-to-heart intimacy with their -tradespeople. 'Utility, Reciprocity, Fraternity' -sounds rather a cold cry by which to rally two -great people together.[<a id="chap16fn1text"></a><a href="#chap16fn1">1</a>] -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -<a id="chap16fn1"></a> -[<a href="#chap16fn1text">1</a>] This chapter was written before the -Reciprocity business flamed -forth. I return to the subject later. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -When all is said and done, and there are a -hundred other pros and cons which might be -considered, the chief obstacle to the Americanisation -of Canada is climate. Canada is north -and America is south; and those two show less -inclination to rush together than even east and -west. Of course it is not extremes of north -and south that are represented in the two -countries;—along the boundary the climates -are not dissimilar. Yet it seems to me that -while Canada is bound to be mainly a country -of northern peoples, Americans are fast becoming -more and more southernised, I do not mean -in the old sense of becoming languid and -effeminate and semi-tropical, but southernised -in just the same way as the French from being -Norsemen have become southernised. Have -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P159"></a>159}</span> -you seen prints of old Paris when it was a Gothic -city? If you have, you will realise the -completeness of the change that has come over it. -It spreads itself to the sun now, faces to the -Midi, and some such change might easily come -over New York, Chicago, and the rest of those -at present northern cities. Already the typical -American is far from being the son of a grim -and dour Pilgrim Father. Rather he is lively -and energetic—with a temperament always on -tiptoe—logical and apt to be materialistic, yet -sentimental and passionate too. You find such -a temperament among the French and Italians -of northern Italy. It is the sun working on -them. Even the stolid German and the moody -Scandinavian feels it when he gets to the States, -and thaws—into an American. -</p> - -<p> -It is not so in Canada. The northern immigrants -there remain silent and frosty, though -the touch of fortune makes them perhaps -more genial. Canada will never become a -southern country, even though its northern -parts are rendered temperate by the cutting -down of timber and constant ploughing. No, -I think Canadians will remain a hardy and -somewhat dour race, slow-moving on the whole, -but industrious and virtuous, suspicious of -talkers and hustlers; so suspicious, too, of free -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P160"></a>160}</span> -thought and new morals as to lay themselves -open maybe to the charge of hypocrisy; given -at times to self-distrust and self-depreciation, -but for the most part steadfast, and holding in -their hearts the belief that there is no place -like Canada and no men like the inhabitants -thereof. -</p> - -<p> -In short, they are as likely as not to end by -becoming Anglicised. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap17"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P161"></a>161}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XVII -<br /><br /> -AMONG THE READY-MADE FARMS -</h3> - -<p> -There was a time when Englishmen got a very -bad name in Canada. It was not to be wondered -at. For a long time English youths, who came -to be known as Remittance Men, used to be -shipped out by relations anxious only to get -rid of them. These helped to create an opinion -that Englishmen were more remarkable for -their drinking than their working powers; -and when to them was added shipload after -shipload of unemployables from yet lower -classes, Canadians began to get impatient of -English immigrants. It was not logical of -them to suppose that these were favourable -specimens of our working-classes; it is never -logical to suppose that the best men of a -country are ready to leave it. Logic, however, is -difficult to insist on under these circumstances, -and though there were plenty of Englishmen -even then, and even more Scots perhaps, who -were obviously as good as any farmers on the -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P162"></a>162}</span> -prairie, the bad name of the English clung to -them. That is all, or nearly all, changed now; -and the project connected with those farms, -which came to be known in the English papers -as the Ready-made farms, proved that the -Canadian Pacific Railway Company at any rate, -which is the biggest landowner in Canada, was -ready to welcome English farmers to the land, -if they could get the right sort. Readers will -perhaps remember that the idea of the company -was to provide farms ploughed, irrigated, sowed, -and furnished with house and out-buildings, -into which English colonists, having been handed -the front-door key, could enter—straight from -England—as well equipped almost as settlers -who had lived there for years. The purchase -money was to be spread over a certain term, -after which the land would become the property -of the farmers. -</p> - -<p> -The plan saves all that intermediate period -during which the ordinary homesteader has -to set up his shack, sink his well, and generally -unsettle himself over the tedious work of -settling in. Good farmers are not necessarily -born pioneers; and since the prairie in winter, -when work is slack, does not show a very -hospitable climate to new-comers and those -unaccustomed to it, it generally happens that -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P163"></a>163}</span> -the English immigrant has to waste the spring -and perhaps the whole working season in the -unremunerative business of settling in. The -Ready-made farms were intended to save all -this time and trouble, and they were at once -filled—in the spring of 1910—by specially picked -men from the old country. The men were not -all necessarily farmers, but they were, hypothetically, -at any rate, men of intelligence and grit. -</p> - -<p> -I wanted to see how they were getting on -after six months of this new life on the prairie. -For that purpose I took train from Calgary -with a friend, back along the line to Strathmore, -which is forty miles east, and is the station for -Nightingale, as this first colony of ready-made -farmers has been named. Strathmore itself is -not peculiarly beautiful or peculiarly interesting, -though it has a demonstration farm which is. -We went over the demonstration farm with -Professor Eliott, its manager, who struck me -as one of the keenest and most interesting men -of the West. What he does not know of the -productivity of the prairie is probably not -worth knowing; and his experience seems to be -at the service of any farmer who has the -intelligence to apply for it. He showed us his -barns and splendid teams of horses and leviathan -oats, and the little trees which he has planted -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P164"></a>164}</span> -in this country where it was thought no trees -would grow, and which he believes will change -the face of it in a few years. We were full of -the future of the prairie when we got back to -Strathmore, and put up for the night in the last -bedroom of the one and only hotel. The two -of us were lucky to get that last bedroom -containing a double bed to ourselves, for more -often even than in Calgary six people sleep -in such a room and are very glad of the -accommodation. So I was told. It shows how things -move in Alberta; what a hustle there is upon -the country. -</p> - -<p> -We tossed for the bed, and I got it, and the -other man took two blankets and the floor. -I slept very well, especially after a mounted -policeman came in and threw out two -gentlemen next door who were, as the hotel boy -tersely put it, 'seeing snakes together.' My -friend slept less well. The room was small, -not much bigger than the bed, and we could not -get the window to stay open. It had not been -constructed with a view to admitting fresh air. -Still, after breakfast in a dark chamber, where -about thirty guests of every profession and -clothing (but all land-seekers) ate in silence, -we started pretty fit for Nightingale in a -two-horse rig. -</p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P165"></a>165}</span> -</p> - -<p> -I wish I could describe the prairie. Harvesting -was over, so that in any case the leagues of -golden wheat which you read about in advertisements -were not visible. It was another kind -of monotony altogether that we drove through—a -kind I cannot begin to suggest the charm of. -It was a kind of bare, rolling, sunburnt country, -with a high sea-wind blowing through it, and -waves of dust and an endless sky. Intensely -wearisome or intensely refreshing it must be, -according to a man's temperament; and going -there from trees and hills must be like changing -from a room with patterned paper to one with -whitewashed walls. And then the soil, light -and fertile, stoneless, ready for the -plough—the farmer wants no variety of that. -</p> - -<p> -We drove fourteen miles, as far as I can -remember, to get to Nightingale, and it was -all bad driving. Alberta seems to want roads -badly. In the old ranching days roads mattered -less. The prairie was a ready-made riding -country, and nothing was produced or needed -that could not, so to speak, go of itself across -country. 'I never owned a plough the seventeen -years I was there,' a retired rancher told -me proudly. 'It was a fine country then.' But -it is a fine country now, too, and going to -be finer still when it has roads. At present even -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P166"></a>166}</span> -the roadways are changing. Once you could -go everywhere. Now from day to day a new -farmer takes up a new piece of land, and what -was the road is enclosed by a wire fence. -</p> - -<p> -One of the most inspiriting farms we passed -was that of a man who had been out from -Cheshire only three months. He was now a -chicken rancher—kept fowls, as we say; and -in his brief occupation had got up—off a quarter -block—eighty tons of hay, besides winning -thirty-eight prizes at Albertan poultry shows. -This would seem to show that Alberta is not -yet rich in pure bred fowls. The Cheshire -chicken rancher said he hoped to show the -people round what a good table bird ought to -look like. He was already a Canadian in all -but accent. May he prosper! -</p> - -<p> -After talking with him we drove on again -towards Nightingale in the same sea-wind along -the same bad roads. The sameness of the -country was amazing; nor should I have known -in the end that we had come to Nightingale -but for the man driving us. 'See that -avenue?' he said. 'The shacks standing -along that are the farms. It seems more -sociable being along a road.' 'Certainly,' I -said. So it is more sociable to live along a -road, provided you know it is a road. I -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P167"></a>167}</span> -didn't, but the colonists did, and that was the -main thing. We found those we visited -apparently contented and undoubtedly hopeful. -Canada has the gift of making men hopeful. -Though it had been in this part a very poor -year, owing to drought, and though the irrigation -had not been properly ready (but accidents -will happen, and the company was charging -only a nominal rent as a result of this) the -farmers seemed as cheery as they would have -been dismal in England. The crops had been -poor, but they would do for chicken-feed. -A bumper year was a sure thing some time or -other. The future held no clouds. They were -going to study Canadian methods suited to -the country. I rubbed my eyes. These -sentiments were being enunciated by an English -farmer, who was meanwhile giving us a most -hospitable English lunch. He was going to -tell more people to come out. It was the -finest farming land possible, once you get the -water on it. Only one must take local advice -how to run things. It was no good standing -out, and knowing better than people on the -spot, as one of the colonists was doing. He, I -gathered, was the only man regarded as likely -to do badly, being determined to stick to the -methods of his English forebears. His leading -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P168"></a>168}</span> -wrongheadedness was in declining to believe -that the winter was going to be or could be as -long and as hard as people said, and he had not -got in half the food needful for his cattle. -</p> - -<p> -I suppose, but for that winter, the prairie -would be the most sought-after country in -the world. But for that winter, however, -it would not possess the amazing friable soil -it does. As has been remarked, one cannot -have everything all the time. The winter -is very severe, and there should be no disguising -of the fact, nor indeed any exaggerating -of it. Formerly its hardships were no -doubt exaggerated. People had no use for -a hard winter. Nowadays leisured people go -in search of it—on the understanding, -however, that it shall be made easy for them. -They would like it less if they had to work -in it in a below zero temperature, twenty -or thirty miles from anywhere. I do not -say that work under such conditions should -or would disgust healthy and energetic men, -provided they were prepared for it. It might -even delight them. But it should be -prepared for. English farmers in particular -should be made to understand the drawbacks -as well as the advantages of the new land they -are going to. Honesty is in fact the best -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P169"></a>169}</span> -emigration policy. Given that, it is -tolerably certain that these transplanted English -farmers are going to find it more than worth -while to have settled in Nightingale or any -of the newer prairie colonies, and what is -more—Canada is going to find it more than -worth while to have them settled there. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap18"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P170"></a>170}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XVIII -<br /><br /> -INTO THE ROCKIES WITH A DEFENDER OF THE FAITH -</h3> - -<p> -For several days I had seen the Rockies far -off—a black and jagged coil of mountains, -that seemed at times almost to be moving -like some prehistoric great scaly beast on -its endless crawl across the plains. Now I -was to see them near by—some part of them -at least. What has any man seen in that -ocean of mountains but a few drops? -</p> - -<p> -At the unpleasing hour of 3.30 A.M. I -disengaged myself from one of the three double -beds with which my room in the hotel was -furnished, washed slightly, dressed completely, -and walked to the station. Calgary was -quiet at last. There had been a sound of -revelry by night. A man with a tenor voice -had been singing songs in some adjacent -room to the hotel up to 3.30. But his songs -and the vamped accompaniment to them had -ceased now, and peace prevailed. I don't -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P171"></a>171}</span> -remember to have passed any one on the -way to the station. There were two or three -sleepy-eyed people lounging about there; -there always seem to be a few in Canadian -stations, no matter what the hour. I think -they must be out-of-works who keep their -spirits up by listening to the squeaking and -clash of shunting trucks, and the letting off -of steam, and the great clang of the bells -that are sounded from the engines as a -trans-continental train comes in—all those sounds -of life and hustle that are dear to the Canadian -soul. -</p> - -<p class="capcenter"> -<a id="img-170"></a> -<br /> -<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-170.jpg" alt="MOUNT LEFROY. CANADIAN ROCKIES." /> -<br /> -MOUNT LEFROY. CANADIAN ROCKIES. -</p> - -<p> -The train I was waiting for entered slowly -with the usual peal of bells. All the blinds -were drawn in the sleeping-carriages; and -the only sign of life from them was the -protruded woolly head, here and there, of a negro -car conductor. I think I was the only person -who got in. -</p> - -<p> -'What a lot of people,' I said to myself as -I sat down in an empty smoking compartment, -and shivering lit a pipe, 'would envy -the prospects of a man about to spend days -and perhaps weeks in the heart of the Rockies.' 'What -a lot of people,' myself replied to me, -'would see the Rockies further before they -got out of bed at this unholy hour.' -</p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P172"></a>172}</span> -</p> - -<p> -My pipe held the balance between us and -gradually soothed the rebellious part of me. -It was still too dark to see anything, and there -was nothing to be done but wait patiently -for the dawn. I could not but regret that -I was missing the scenery of the foothills, for -which those who have lived among them -seem to have a peculiar affection. But I -was consoled by the entry a little later of -two fellow-passengers, who had evidently -been disturbed in their sleep and wanted -smoke and conversation. Strange and various -types one sees in a Westbound train. The -West is still—even to the Canadian born—the -Unknown and the Happy Hunting-grounds -and Eldorado and Ultima Thule and the -Blessed Isles. West is where the farmer's -son of spirit goes to seek fresh lands, where -the prospector goes to find gold, where -successful men go because they want to be more -successful, or maybe because they want to -retire and enjoy themselves, and they have -heard that West there is a climate which hardly -includes winter, and has none at all of that -fierce break-up of winter which makes the -plains in parts trying to the toughest -constitution; where the failures go because they -have tried all other places, and the last is -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P173"></a>173}</span> -West. All sorts of other men may be seen -going West too—bank clerks and lumbermen, -commercial travellers and engineers, tourists -and politicians, trappers and amateurs of sport. -But I never saw a more strangely assorted -pair than these two men who came into the -smoking compartment where I sat as the -train mounted the foothills. -</p> - -<p> -One was a very old man. I do not know -what his profession was, but his clothes and -himself were equally weather-stained and dirty. -He had the coarsest snow-white hair hanging -in cords about his neck and cheeks and mouth, -which gave him the appearance of a vicious -old billy-goat. He was, I discovered, a -moderately vicious old man. The other was a -lumberjack—hardly more than a boy, sturdy, -and strikingly handsome, with the clearest -blue eyes and a complexion that a woman -would give a fortune for. The old man—as -they came in together—was already engaged -in telling the young one what you might call -a backwoods smoking-room story, and he -went on with others even thicker, over which -the young one betrayed the hugest amusement. -What particularly won his laughter -and admiration was the fact that so elderly -a person should enter into such topics with -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P174"></a>174}</span> -so much zest. I can still hear him repeating, -'There ain't many fellows as old as you, -Daddy, that 'ud be such sports. No, sir.' -</p> - -<p> -And the old man would grin and chuckle -at the compliment, and become more highly -improper in the warmth of the boy's praise. -He became indeed so elevated by it—especially -after the boy had got up once or twice -and executed a brief step-dance to mark the -exuberance of his delight—that, thinking to -gain even more glory by being still more -startling, he dropped the subject of women -and took up that of religion. It seemed he -was an atheist of the old three-shots-a-penny -variety, and he went for Christianity hot -and strong. He had, it must be admitted, -a perfectly skilled command of the old cheap -arguments, and marshalled them in good order. -Only, the unexpected happened. The boy, -who had not minded being boyishly wicked, -was plainly shocked by this new thing, and he -said so in language so warm that a minister -of the faith he was defending would have -felt positively faint to hear it. The old man, -surprised and still more annoyed, brought -out further iconoclastic arguments, excellently -directed. It is true any theologian could -have warded them off easily enough. Any -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P175"></a>175}</span> -debater could have. But it was clear that -the boy had never argued in his life. That -didn't matter. He was not going to sit there -and listen to that sort of thing. He got indeed -quite hopelessly confused; intellectually he -was tripped time and again; he deferred -with a lamb's innocence to the old man's -boasts of having perused Persian literature, -Hebrew literature, all the books that have -to do with Buddhism and Zoroastrianism (I -am afraid I did not believe any of this); he -allowed that so much learning and thought -must be a fine thing, but not an inch did he -yield of his creed. And the more the old -man got at him with arguments the more -sulphurous grew the boy's language. I have -never known so queer a Defender of the -Faith as that lumberjack—or in a way a more -successful one. His manner was childlike, his -words unprintable; he made a muddle whenever -he attempted to follow the simplest of -the old villain's inferences. Yet never the -least shake could his opponent give him, and -his dogged reiteration of the statement that -'A man by —— could only stick to the —— -faith that he had, and Daddy was a —— fool -to think his that —— arguments made any -difference'—wore the old free-thinker out in -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P176"></a>176}</span> -the end. He did not give in, but he gave up: a -wiser but, it is to be feared, not a better old man. -</p> - -<p> -Meanwhile we were getting into the hills, -and my first impressions were rather of great -rocks than of mountains. Most people, I -suppose, come upon the Rockies first from the -east, and they seem tremendous if only for -the reason that one has come upon them -after days spent in those plains which, even -while they rise, rise imperceptibly. But -tremendous as they seem from the east, they -must be far more so from the north, and far -more beautiful from the west. On the east -the mountains have less height than on the -north. Their timber is poor by comparison -with the trees that grow further west; their -valleys have little of the luxuriance of the -Pacific valleys. One feels a certain coldness -and hardness about them, and after a little -while there seems almost a monotony of -corrugated peaks, all thrown together and -slanting eastward. They are striking enough -even so, and the view from the train, -especially when one considers that railways are -run through mountains by the easiest route -not by the finest, and that grades have to be -counted before landscapes, cannot disappoint -anybody. -</p> - -<p class="capcenter"> -<a id="img-176"></a> -<br /> -<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-176.jpg" alt="A TRAIL IN THE ROCKIES" /> -<br /> -A TRAIL IN THE ROCKIES -</p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P177"></a>177}</span> -</p> - -<p> -Comparisons with the Alps and the Himalayas -should be kept till the Rockies have -been seen at closer quarters. The finest view -I ever had of the Rockies was from a mountain -in the Selkirks, at a height of over ten -thousand feet, and over a hundred miles from -the nearest railway. There I forgot to make -comparisons, which after all are somewhat -useless. It is easy to say that the Alps are -softer and more pictorial—showing that deep -blue sky above their snows, which is rarely -if ever to be seen in the Rockies. The Canadian -skies are too lofty and distant ever to seem -to be resting even on the topmost snowfields. -The Himalayas again have giants unparalleled. -Kinchinjunga, leaning out of the clouds, -cannot be matched among the Rockies. But -the Rockies—well, the Rockies are different. -As yet we are only just getting to Banff. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap19"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P178"></a>178}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XIX -<br /><br /> -A HOT BATH IN BANFF -</h3> - -<p> -Everybody stops at Banff. The popular -places of the world are not necessarily the -most beautiful; and even if they start -beautiful, they are not rendered more so by the -accretion in their midst of a large number of -even first-class hotels. Perhaps first-class -hotels increase the feeling for beauty. Indeed -the sole defence of luxury worth consideration -is that it has this effect. Without luxury, -would there exist such an appreciator of -beauty as d'Annunzio, to name but one? -Pardon, I am getting away from Banff. -</p> - -<p> -It is a very beautiful watering-place at the -foot of mountains. It is not spoilt yet, and -it will be difficult to spoil it. The air is -superb. I learnt that just as I was getting -into it on my way from the station. I seemed -to be the only person walking into it that -morning—except for a local Canadian who -was going in to his work. It was still very -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P179"></a>179}</span> -early in the morning, and distinctly cold, -and I said to this Canadian workman: -</p> - -<p> -'It's pretty cold at Banff.' -</p> - -<p> -'It's the finest air in Canada,' he replied, -with that characteristic touch of resentment -of anything that might be taken as a criticism -of his native heath, which every Canadian -invariably shows. 'Yes, sir, it's the finest air -in Canada, and they're putting down concrete -sidewalks.' -</p> - -<p> -He was, as a matter of fact, engaged in that -work himself, and after I had expressed a -proper admiration of it, he became friendly -enough and directed me to the hotel I wanted -to stay in. -</p> - -<p> -I wish it had not rained at Banff while I -was there. It was an unusually cold and -early rain, and it prevented me from seeing -many of the sights of the place. The motor -boat, which as a rule runs several times a day -up the Bow River, did not run at all while -I was there, and so I did not see this lovely -valley. Nor did I take much stock of the -buffaloes of the National Park, which are -one of the greatest features of Banff, one that -tourists with cameras always make for first. -Rain was the reason of my abstention. On -the other hand, the rain was the immediate -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P180"></a>180}</span> -cause of my spending a most delightful -afternoon in a hot sulphur swimming-bath. There -are three such baths in Banff, and I chose -the upper one, walking two miles up a -winding road, whose woods were beginning to -show all the reds of autumn, to get to it. I -found that it was an open-air bath, fed by -a sulphur stream that trickles steaming down -the face of a mountain, and since no one had -been tempted there on so gloomy a day, I -had it all to myself, and swam up and down -in water that varied from 110° to 95° for an -hour or more, looking at the hilltops opposite, -and the mists that rose and sank about them. -The rain and the cold mattered nothing so -long as I swam there, wondering if luxury -could go further in this world of ours. For -there I was lapped about with all the warmth -and peace that come to the beach-comber -or the lotus-eater, and yet drinking in the -brisk mountain air and feeling the challenge -of the hills. It was to combine the emotions -of a man climbing the Alps with the emotions -of a man squatting in a Turkish bath; and -only when the latter threatened to become -rather the stronger of the two, did I get out, -feeling weak but fresh. I had the pleasure -while dressing of reading in a printed advertisement -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P181"></a>181}</span> -of the baths that I had been curing -myself of rheumatism, sciatica, asthma, anæmia, -insomnia and, I fancy, any other disease I -might happen to have latent. Certainly I -felt well and uncommonly drowsy when I -got back to the hotel. Indeed those who -intend to explore Banff with energy would -be well advised to postpone the baths till -their last day. There is plenty to explore. -The National Park alone is 5400 square miles -in extent, and encloses half a dozen subsidiary -ranges of the Rocky Mountains; and if Banff -is to be regarded as the centre for mountain -climbing, fishing, and big game hunting, there -is of course no end to it. Guide-books -mention in a vague way that it is such a -centre—which only means that if you want to do -any of these things from a highly civilised -and comfortable hotel, you had better make -Banff your stopping place. Good climbing is -to be had quite near, but whether the same -is to be said for shooting or fishing depends -upon whether anything short of the best in -these matters is good. You cannot expect -fish and big game to remain centralised. -Particularly is this the case with big game. They -avoid the centre of things, and prefer to keep -on the circumference. In these sort of matters -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P182"></a>182}</span> -guide-books are very little use. Nowhere -do conditions change more rapidly than in -Canada, and the man who wants big-horn -or big trout will have to make for the -circumference too. But there he will neither expect -nor find first-class hotels. -</p> - -<p> -Speaking of first-class hotels, I took part—quite -an unwilling part—in an incident that -goes to show some of the difficulties attendant -upon trying to run them in Canada. Frankly, -except for those run by the Canadian Pacific -Railway, there are practically none. It is not -to be wondered at. Cookery is an art, like -literature or music, not greatly encouraged in -a new country. Take waiters again. Though -the wages they make are good and the standard -of waiting expected from them is rarely the -highest, I believe they are a perennial difficulty -to hotel proprietors. On the trains and in the -big towns in the East one usually finds that -the waiters are Englishmen not long out; -and they are so not because they have acquired -the science of waiting in the old country (as -one might suppose, since it is usually well -learnt there), but because they have not as yet -acquired that Canadian spirit which makes -anything savouring of domestic service—or -even of undue courtesy as from man to -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P183"></a>183}</span> -man—distasteful to the Canadian born, who, in any -case, dislikes working for uncertainly long -hours. Englishmen, it has to be admitted, -are not particularly zealous for long and -uncertain hours of work either in these days; -and therefore it generally happens that as soon -as the newcomer is the least acclimatised, he, -too, drops waiting if he has taken it up. In -the East a freshly arrived immigrant takes his -place; but in the West there is no such constant -supply of spare white men. The result is that -Western hotels are more or less driven to -employ as waiters either women or Japanese and -Chinese boys. -</p> - -<p> -The hotel I stayed in at Banff had a staff of -the former. Heaven knows we have women -waiters enough in England, but in Canada I -do not think heaven can know.... As soon as -I came in to breakfast in the morning I became -aware of a sharp-featured maiden with -eyeglasses and tight lips and stiff white -cuffs—very much the type of the Girton girl in the -older times—who was clearly in charge of the -room, and meant to let every one know it. -I shrank down at the nearest table, and in a -hushed voice requested and received my -breakfast from one of the waitresses who were -theoretically in attendance. She was very kindly, -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P184"></a>184}</span> -only she brought me tea instead of coffee. I -wanted coffee. I felt it was taking a risk, but -as a man at his breakfast usually prefers his -own fancy to other people's, I looked about -delicately to see if I could catch my waitress's -eye and induce her to change the pot. By bad -fortune I merely caught the eye of the sharp -young lady who, coming up and learning from -my unwilling lips that I had been given the -wrong drink, said imperiously: -</p> - -<p> -'Kindly tell me which of the girls gave you this!' -</p> - -<p> -Now I had not particularly noticed the girl -who had been good enough to help me—an -inexcusable carelessness—which the sharp -young woman evidently interpreted as a desire -to fence with her, for while I hesitated she -went on: -</p> - -<p> -'I'll tell you why I want to know. There's -some game on this morning——' -</p> - -<p> -'Oh,' I said, 'yes.' -</p> - -<p> -'And I'm not going to stand it,' said the -sharp young woman fiercely. 'I fired two of -the girls yesterday, and I don't mind if I fire -the lot, so if you'll tell me which of them -brought you this I'll see to her straight away.' -</p> - -<p> -'I'm afraid I should not know her again,' -I said hastily. A scene of strife around my -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P185"></a>185}</span> -unlucky person, while breakfast got cold and -all the other guests at the other tables looked -on, was terrible to my fancy. The sharp one -seemed most disappointed. -</p> - -<p> -'I wish you could,' she said. 'I'd fix her -right now.' -</p> - -<p> -'Quite impossible,' I murmured, hoping that -I was speaking the truth. Not so far off there -was a young woman, standing chatting genially -with two men at another table, who might have -brought me that tea. -</p> - -<p> -'Oh, well, of course if you can't,' said the -sharp one, and presently brought me coffee with -her own fair white-cuffed hands. I thanked -her warmly, and she went away; after which -I was rewarded for my supposed chivalry by -the young woman who had been entertaining -those other two men coming up to me and -saying in a sweet voice: -</p> - -<p> -'I say, I'm awfully sorry that I brought you -that tea instead of coffee. The fact is we're -awfully rushed this morning.' -</p> - -<p> -'Not at all,' I said, 'don't think of it,' and -hoped inwardly that she would go away before -the sharp one spotted her and bore down upon -us. She did not seem so rushed as she had said. -</p> - -<p> -'Sure you won't have anything else now?' -she persisted in the kindliest way. -</p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P186"></a>186}</span> -</p> - -<p> -'No, thank you,' I said, and seeing, I suppose, -that I was not an entertaining person, she -flitted gracefully away to a third table where -another male sat, to whom I heard her whisper -in passing—on the way to further chat with -the other two men: -</p> - -<p> -'Now, mind you don't forget to meet me -outside the hotel at six sharp!' -</p> - -<p> -My sympathies almost went out to the -sharp-visaged spinster, for really there were quite -a number of guests looking about them for -food while the rushed staff chatted freely and -pleasantly with such male visitors as seemed -by their bearing to be worthy of being -fascinated. This at breakfast-time—breakfast-time -when an Englishman at all events wants food -and would not be put off by the conversation -of Cleopatra or Helen of Troy. Canadians may -be a more gallant race at this hour of the day, -but I am not sure of this. The preponderance -of Japanese waiters as one gets further West -seems to point to the fact that even they -prefer food—at meal-times—to sentiment. The -Japanese may demand high wages, and leave -their places suddenly if they feel like it, but at -least they do not threaten one with an emotional -scene over one's morning coffee. Nor do I -imagine that they require to be treated by their -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P187"></a>187}</span> -employers with quite that reverential respect -of which I remember seeing an example in a -small hotel in the Columbia Valley. I was -stopping at the hotel over Sunday with a -friend, and as we wanted to go out for the day, -we asked the manager if we could be supplied -with some sandwiches for lunch. He was a -mild and obliging young man, but his face fell. -</p> - -<p> -'I'll—I'll see what can be done,' he said, -and I heard him go to the young lady who -vouchsafed to wait at table occasionally in a -superior way. 'My God!' I heard him say -in an extremely humble voice to her, 'I'm -most awfully sorry to ask such a thing of you, -but these chaps want to go out and take some -sandwiches. I say, do you suppose it could be -managed?' -</p> - -<p> -We got two sandwiches each as a result of -his intercession, and in that mountain air we -could have done with six times the number. -But we realised from the manager's face when -he brought them to us that the goddess who -had provided them might, instead of doing so, -have stalked straight out of the hotel for good. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap20"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P188"></a>188}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XX -<br /><br /> -CANADA AND WOMAN -</h3> - -<p> -Few books are complete nowadays without a -chapter on the woman question. Man can be -treated of in between; one would not as yet -care to write a book without mentioning man -in it. As a subsidiary agent for keeping the -world going man is still not without his -importance. But woman, as I have said, must -have a chapter to herself. And since I -unwittingly arrived on the last page at the subject -of woman's work in Canada, I will pause—even -on the threshold of the mountains—and -go further into the matter. -</p> - -<p> -The most noticeable thing about woman -in Western Canada is that she has not yet -arrived there. If any one wished to get an idea -of how the world would arrange itself supposing -there were no women in it at all, they would -have to go a little further north and west, -into some of the British Columbian valleys or -into the Yukon country, and look around. -</p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P189"></a>189}</span> -</p> - -<p> -What a simple world it seems. No clothes -question, no washing, the simplest cookery, -one man one plate (and that plate never -washed), one knife for eating with or for -skinning a grizzly bear, no carpets or curtains in -the houses, no dustings or spring-cleanings, no -knick-knacks to knock over or break, no flowers -without or within except such as grow wild, no -luxuries, in short, either to enjoy or to pay for, -and a terrible amount of dirt. That is the -physical aspect of the world without women. -</p> - -<p> -The spiritual side of it is less easy to arrive -at. These bachelors you see in the backwoods -are a silent people, lacking in self-consciousness, -and, I daresay, in manners, but law-abiding -and amiable and peculiarly handy. All men -are handy who have not women to steal that -talent from them; and most womenless men -are silent too. One knows, of course, that -bores may be found among men at times, but -never chatterboxes. There is something to -be said for the view that speech arose by -women putting questions so often that men -were driven, in sheer weariness, to make -answers. -</p> - -<p> -Does it seem an unattractive life that these -hardy bachelors have perforce to live? -Perhaps. But you will not find them bemoaning -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P190"></a>190}</span> -their lot. That is not the way of bachelors. -We know they are to be pitied, but they do -not pity themselves. Seriously, the trouble -with these men is that they have none of those -inducements to consider the future which -make a man better than a machine. They take -the world as it comes, which is well enough -for themselves but not well enough for the -world. I doubt if it is well for themselves -really. True, they have nothing to worry them -so long as they are in health. They can make -big money when they choose and take holidays -when they choose, conscious that when their -money is spent they have only to set to again. -Their wages are indeed to them little more -than trinkgeld—and this means that those -splendid workers have no real reward for their -work, leave no successors to carry on the -traditions of their toil, enrich only the -bar-keepers and the rogues who live on the folly -of honest men. -</p> - -<p> -Clearly the most honourable opening for -women in Canada is marriage. Only wives -are capable of putting down the drink curse, -preventing the growth of a particularly odious -plutocracy, establishing a permanent instead -of a nomad population in the West. Nor might -it be a bad thing (but for Anglo-Saxon -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P191"></a>191}</span> -prejudices) if provincial governments there could -start marriage offices, due attention being paid -to eugenics. Even in so small a matter as the -following, the presence of wives should make -all the difference. All down the Columbia -valley I found the cattle ranchers, who were -bachelors, drinking tinned milk, while scores -of cows ran wild and went dry. When I asked -if it wasn't worth while to keep one cow milking, -I was always told, 'No, we haven't time to -bother about it,' till I came to the shack of a -married Swede, whose wife had time to bother -about it. In his shack tinned milk was -anathema, as it should be everywhere. -</p> - -<p> -As prejudice would undoubtedly prevent the -formation of governmental marriage offices, -marriage can only be considered as an indirect -opening for women. What are the directer -openings? A great deal depends on what part -of Canada immigrant women make for. In the -East there is no such lack of women as in the -West. The sexes are fairly balanced. In the -big towns there is the usual demand for domestic -servants, but not many more openings for -educated Englishwomen than there are in big -towns at home. There are a few more, because -those cities are going at a faster pace than our -English cities, and because all work there is -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P192"></a>192}</span> -more valuable than in England. Women skilled -in the arts that have to do with personal -decoration, such as millinery, dressmaking, etc., -could make their way there. -</p> - -<p> -Factory work in Canada is hardly worth going -into here, the chief point about it being that -wages are of course higher; nor did I notice -any unusual professions engaging the attention -of women, unless it were the checking of parcels -and the playing in hotel orchestras, neither of -which requires a man's strength. -</p> - -<p class="capcenter"> -<a id="img-192"></a> -<br /> -<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-192.jpg" alt="THE HALT. LAGGAN." /> -<br /> -THE HALT. LAGGAN. -</p> - -<p> -French Canada offers employment to but -very few. Western Canadians sniff at the -Habitants because they let their women work -in the fields; haymaking and hoeing. But -the idea of using women as outdoor workers is -not so uncivilised as it looks to those -unaccustomed to seeing it. Ethnologists are agreed -nowadays that the tribes in which women do -the fieldwork are not the least but the most -civilised, and maintain that the position of -women among such tribes is higher than among -any others. Women began to work out-of-doors -because the primitive peoples believed -in a connection between their fertility and that -of the earth; and where they do such work, -women are always the keepers of the grain -store—hold in their hands, that is to say, the -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P193"></a>193}</span> -food upon which the life of the tribe depends. -The most honourable primitive customs are not -always the best in modern times, but there -can be no doubt of the fertility of the French -Canadians. -</p> - -<p> -As one goes West, woman becomes more of -an indoor creature; and this may be due to the -greater chivalry of their men folk. But one -has to remember that the great charm of -Canadian life, especially on the prairies, is an -outdoor charm—working in the exhilarating -air—not cooking over a hot stove indoors. -One hears of a few cases in which women have -taken up farming or vegetable-gardening and -made a success of it, but no one could honestly -say that the fortune awaiting women who take -up such work is usually a great one. The work -is too hard, especially in the winter time. -Chicken-ranching is perhaps easier; but the -real demand in the West is for women to do that -housework which the men have not time for. -At such work capable women can earn from -three to five pounds a month with board and -lodging; and while they are likely to find it -rather harder—certainly not less hard—than -similar work at home, it has compensations -besides the money to be made by it. For one -thing there is none of the odium that attaches -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P194"></a>194}</span> -to it in the older countries. The cook is as -good as her employer, who probably did the -cook's work for years before the cook was to be -had. It is natural that the work which most -ladies have to do for themselves, because -neither love nor money can obtain them -substitutes, should lose its menial and unpleasant -aspect, and the finest ladies in western -Canada do it unashamed. Often their guests -will help them to wash up, and even prepare -the dinner. Personally, I found myself -becoming quite expert at cleaning fish for a hostess -who thereafter cooked it and dished it up, and -yet appeared at table as fresh and elegant and -apparently leisured as any lady who keeps a -staff of servants in the old country. And I -found as I got on that I rather liked cleaning -fish. -</p> - -<p> -It stands to reason that the lady help is not -wanted. The precise duties demanded of such -a lady are always a little misty, but I imagine -that they include a little sewing and a little -reading, the ability to chat pleasantly, to be -good-tempered (and possibly a Protestant), -to feed the canary, and, at a pinch, even to -clean out its cage. None of these talents are -needed in a new country, and I heard of forty -women who were on the books of an employment -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P195"></a>195}</span> -office in Calgary, all wanting to be lady helps -and all likely to go on wanting it till Doomsday. -</p> - -<p> -One hears a good deal of discussion (not in -Canada) of the openings in the colonies for -educated women. There is an English -committee—the Committee of Colonial Intelligence -for Educated Women—which, 'recognising the -crying need of our colonies for the best type of -educated women,' undertakes to furnish them -with detailed, practical and up-to-date -information, before advising them to go out. This -committee hopes later on to found settlements -in the colonies, where training, suitable to the -needs of each colony, can be given, and centres -can be formed to which the girls can return -in the intervals of employment. There is -much sense both in the recognition of the need -for educated women in the colonies and in the -perception that the most educated woman will -be lost there unless she is prepared to be -practical. The truth is that that same -adaptability which is required of men in Canada -is required of women also. They must first -suit the country before they can hope to leave -their mark on it. Educated women can leave -their mark there by their inward, not by their -outward, superiority. -</p> - -<p> -Centres to which the girls can go in the first -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P196"></a>196}</span> -place, and to which they can return in the -intervals of employment, are an excellent idea, -and one which central or local government -authorities in Canada would do well to support. -Of course the Young Women's Christian Association -already gives much help in this direction, -but it cannot be expected to have branches -everywhere. New towns and settlements are -planned and put through very quickly in -Canada, and wherever they result in creating -a demand for women's work, some such centre -for girls as near the railway depot as possible -should be started. For one thing it would -facilitate the engagement of girls, for another -it would attract a better class. Probably the -best openings of all for women in Canada—educated -women, I mean—are in the big cities -of the furthest West. In Vancouver and -Victoria wealthy people reside who can afford -to pay for such luxuries as private -school-mistresses and governesses. And the supply -of women is not so great there. Women also -seem to be more employed there as hotel -manageresses and under-manageresses, and as -cashiers in hotels and offices. I never heard -of women being real estate agents, but in a -profession in which the arts of persuasion play -a leading part, there seems no reason why they -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P197"></a>197}</span> -should not shine. Of bachelor girls, living -their own lives, I have also never heard in the -West. They could hardly have the hearts to -do it with so many bachelor men wasting their -lives around them. -</p> - -<p> -On the whole, the position of woman in -Canada is one of honourable toil lightened by -the high consideration in which they are held. -They have hardly as yet obtained that dominant -super-man eminence which American women -are said to occupy. That is, perhaps, because -they have not gone in so much for that culture -and social fastidiousness by the lack of which in -themselves some American husbands are made -to feel their inferiority. On the other hand -they seem to keep their men folk contented, -and remain contented with them. Divorce is, -I believe, uncommon in Canada. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap21"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P198"></a>198}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXI -<br /><br /> -THE LAKES AMONG THE CLOUDS -</h3> - -<p> -Who thinks the Rockies only of a forbidding -magnificence, of a grandeur always dark and -fierce? Let him go to Lake Louise. The -only phrase I know that fits it is that German -one—<i>märchenhaft schön</i>—lovely as a scene of -fairyland. Coming upon it suddenly, on a -moonlight night, it seems so unlooked-for, so -exquisite, that one says to oneself, 'Surely it -will vanish like a dream.' -</p> - -<p class="capcenter"> -<a id="img-198"></a> -<br /> -<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-198.jpg" alt="LAKE LOUISE, LAGGAN, ALBERTA" /> -<br /> -LAKE LOUISE, LAGGAN, ALBERTA -</p> - -<p> -It is quite a little lake, shut in for the most -part by hills. The hills are wooded at their -base, and wooded high up—wooded, indeed, -right into the clouds; but higher still they turn -to bare walls of rock or snow-strewn peaks, -where the snow and the flowers grow side by -side. Up among the heights other little lakes -lie—the Lakes in the Clouds, they are -called—and sometimes they are in the clouds and -sometimes not, and they are coloured like -thick opals and moonstones, and you can see -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P199"></a>199}</span> -the tall, slim firs growing at the bottom as if -they were real trees and not only reflections. -I think it is the colours of these lakes that are -so fairy-like. People may say of the Rockies -that they never give the contrast of white -snow-fields and deep blue sky that is so marked -in the Swiss and Italian Alps, but what of -that? The colours they do yield are, in truth, -far more delicate and varied—perhaps because -the Canadian skies are so much loftier and -farther away—and, if you do not believe it, go -and look at the waters of Lake Louise. They -are distilled from peacocks' tails and paved -with mother-of-pearl, and into them rush those -wild blues that are only mixed in the heart of -glaciers. -</p> - -<p> -Across the end of the lake stretches the hotel -garden—green turf crossed by one great border -of Iceland poppies, golden and orange, fringing -the water front. One other plant I should -have liked to see growing there—the opal -anchusa. Its colour is so exactly the colour -of the lake, in sun and in shadow. Still, more -colour is hardly needed anywhere round Lake -Louise. As I have said, the very snows are -gay when you get to them, and pied with -flowers, as old English meadows used to be -when old English poets used that word, before -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P200"></a>200}</span> -scientific farming came in and determined that -flowers were weeds and killed them. And I -had thought of these valleys as black and -frowning, full of melancholy noises among the trees, -rather than windless and radiant. -</p> - -<p> -The station for Lake Louise is Laggan, and -the time to arrive there is in the evening, just -before the moon rises. It does not matter if -the drive up from the station is accomplished -in the dark. The road is wooded and beautiful, -but do not wish for the moon till the last bend -of it leads you suddenly on to the lake. Then -wish for the moon hard. Or, if you want to -make sure of it, and the moon (though it seems -always magical in its uprising) follows laws -like other things and will not rise unless it is -due to, make cold calculations some time -ahead, and be sure they are right. There never -could be anything better worth timing than -moonrise on Lake Louise. -</p> - -<p> -If the poppied air that was fabled to pervade -certain lovely places in the old world hung -about this region, there would be no coming -away from it. You would remain gazing -drowsily for ever at the lake like the lover on -the Greek urn that Keats described. But all -around are the mountains which distil an air -keen and exhilarating, so that before you know -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P201"></a>201}</span> -it you are set walking, or riding or climbing—in -some way adventuring forth. Some people -adventure forth in a carriage, but that is -rather too like going out to battle in evening -clothes. -</p> - -<p> -Myself, having but two days at my disposal—which -I could very well have spent looking -across the Iceland poppies at the lake—was -urged by the air and a sense of duty to take a -long walk the first day and a longish ride the -second. For this second expedition I hired a -mountain pony and decided to reach the -Moraine Lake, which lies at the end of The -Valley of the Ten Peaks. It was my first -experience of a Rocky Mountain pony, and I will -state at once that it was an unfavourable one. -There exist, no doubt, a few excellent mountain -ponies. I bestrode one or two later in different -places. But this first one was so dispiriting -that he warped my mind concerning the whole -breed. The truth is that mountain ponies, -being intended for the average tourist who -seems to be not much of a rider, are both bred -and trained to go no faster, and exhibit no -more spirit than a bath-chair man. Not theirs -to trot or canter, even if a smooth stretch of -road present itself. Enough if they move -steadily up mountain trails and along mountain -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P202"></a>202}</span> -ledges and down precipitous tracks in a manner -designed to make the tourist feel that mules -are stumbling creatures by comparison. Enough -in one way but not in another, for to emulate -a baser creature corrupts the best-bred pony -in the world. Ponies have that much of -humanity in them. Besides, it is not worth -while to breed the best ponies for such work; -and, further and anyway, a mountain pony is, -so to say, a contradiction in species. A pony -as much as a horse is a creature of the plains; -place him in the mountains and he becomes -something different—scarcely a pony at all. -He is then an animal that picks up his feet -in a marvellous way, is free from mountain -sickness and the faintness that comes from high -altitudes, and carries a pack or a person on his -back. But he is no longer the friend of man. -He is merely the tool of the tourist. -</p> - -<p> -We started downhill—that pony and I—directly -after lunch. Words—words—words. -I mounted that pony directly after lunch. -The road led downhill in the first instance. I -tried to start the pony in that direction. That -is a truer description of what actually -happened. But after I had got his head set -towards the Ten Peaks Valley, he slewed it -round again. We had not by any means -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P203"></a>203}</span> -started. 'He is frightened of the hill,' I -thought to myself, and redirected his head, -encouraging him with words and reins. I -had no whip. The owners of these hired -mountain ponies seem to think whips unnecessary, -and, indeed, they are very little use. -I tried one cut from the roadside some five -minutes later. We had by that time made -about a hundred yards. I beat him also with -his own reins and my heels, and we accomplished -about a quarter of a mile downhill, -going delicately. I said to myself, 'Patience. -The descent will soon be over. The road then -rises. We shall see a different animal.' -</p> - -<p> -What I saw when we came, by sideways and -prolonged efforts, to the first part of the ascent, -was that, greatly as that pony hated a down-hill -grade, far more did he loathe an uphill one. -We mounted it at what seemed to be a mile -an hour or less, and I groaned to think that we -had eight or nine to accomplish before we got -to the lake, and the same in returning. By -late afternoon I judged we had made the half -distance and were still going weakly. I had -cut two or three different sticks by now, and -encouraged the pony with different words -from those I had used at the start. He woke -up once or twice and trotted for a moment. -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P204"></a>204}</span> -The road was not really steep for most of the -way; where it was steep I walked, dragging -the pony behind me. He did not seem to mind -whether I was on his back or off, provided no -motion was required of him. I found it was -cooler work to get off and pull him than to -propel him from the saddle. Always he stood -still for choice. -</p> - -<p> -The road was good—good underfoot and -good to observe from. On our left lay a broad -valley, and on our right the hills. I should -love to have paused voluntarily and absorbed -the views, but in point of fact I only paused -in passion to cut whips; the pony, meanwhile, -grazing. He knew the road to the Moraine -Lake better than I did, and he contested every -inch of it. -</p> - -<p> -I think I was aware long before the Ten -Peaks came into sight that I should not reach -the lake that day—or perhaps ever; but I -was determined that I would at least see where -it lay, though the sun set. -</p> - -<p> -We came within sight of it at last. Before -then the Ten Peaks had come into line one by -one till there they stood, ten white peaks all -in a row. At their base I thought I saw the -lake lying, very still and cold among its -ice-worn pebbles. -</p> - -<p class="capcenter"> -<a id="img-204"></a> -<br /> -<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-204.jpg" alt="IN THE VALLEY OF THE TEN PEAKS. ROCKY MOUNTAINS." /> -<br /> -IN THE VALLEY OF THE TEN PEAKS. ROCKY MOUNTAINS. -</p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P205"></a>205}</span> -</p> - -<p> -If I did not see it, if it was but a mirage, I -do not greatly care. I achieved something -more that afternoon than the mere sight of a -lake. I got that pony back to the hotel almost -in time for dinner. I was pretty stiff in the -arms. It was not to be wondered at. Hauling -a pony nine miles is no light work. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap22"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P206"></a>206}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXII -<br /><br /> -A SOLITARY RIDE INTO THE YOHO VALLEY -</h3> - -<p> -Emerald Lake is beautiful, but less beautiful, -I think, than Lake Louise. It is more like a -lake among mountains, and less like a lake in -a dream. I went to it because I wanted to -get into the Yoho Valley, if only for a day, -and the trail from Emerald Lake into the -Yoho is, I had heard, the most picturesque -of all. Even superficially to see the valley -takes four days, and I had left myself with -only one, so that it was in a deprecating spirit -that I asked the manageress of the lake chalet -if I could at least get within sight of the valley -and back before dark. She said that if I -started at two o'clock punctually, on a pony, -the thing could just be done. I said that I -had tried one or two mountain ponies, and -did not care about them when I was in a -hurry. -</p> - -<p class="capcenter"> -<a id="img-206"></a> -<br /> -<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-206.jpg" alt="ON THE TRAIL, YOHO VALLEY." /> -<br /> -ON THE TRAIL, YOHO VALLEY. -</p> - -<p> -'Oh, but I'll give you a slicker,' said the -manageress. 'You see there's no run on -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P207"></a>207}</span> -the ponies at present, and I'll ask the man -to give you his very best. He'll just get -you there and back in time.' -</p> - -<p> -I thanked her and said I would try the -slicker; and, half an hour later, the slicker -and I were skirting the wooded shore of the -Emerald Lake at what was, for a mountain -pony, quite a fast trot. We were alone together. -There were a few guests at the chalet, but -the lateness of the season and the snow-clouds -that loomed on the horizon had deterred -any of them from starting on the Yoho Valley -trip that day. Earlier in the year, there -would have been quite a party riding together -with a guide in the direction I was taking, -for there are four camps in the valley, placed -at picturesque points an easy day's ride apart, -where you may rest and sleep, one night -beneath a waterfall, the next on the edge -of a glacier, with the ponies tethered round, -and the camp-fires crackling pleasantly, so -that you feel that you are pioneering, but -pioneering luxuriously. -</p> - -<p> -But now, as I have said, it was late in -the season, and the snow-clouds were holding -themselves in the sky ready for further attacks, -and a keen wind was beginning to rise, so -that no one else thought the Yoho Valley -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P208"></a>208}</span> -tempting enough, and it was certain I should -have it all to myself if I got there. -</p> - -<p> -The trail was not difficult to follow. There, -at the end of the lake, was a mountain pass -visible from the chalet, and the thin white -line that screwed about among the rocks and -trees was the trail. The slicker trotted. He -trotted through the wood that borders the -lake; he trotted through a wonderful pebbled -valley beyond it which might have been a -sea beach (only everywhere slim spruces, like -sharp, green, tenpenny nails, grew out of the -pebbles); and he trotted up the first stretch -of trail leading to the pass ahead of us. Then -for an hour or more the slicker climbed as -steadily as a Swiss guide. The trail was -less than a yard wide and metalled with rolling -stones, and though it wound continually, its -most generous spirals left it, to my fancy, -almost sheer. We wound with it, past boulders -and hanging trees and little cataracts that -shot through air from some invisible lips of -stone above—between shadowy crags and over -unprotected places where the sun glared. In -the end the slicker brought me to the pass -itself, and we rode into a dark wood there, -and the trees grew bigger and bigger, and -the trail grew stickier and stickier, and the -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P209"></a>209}</span> -pass ended suddenly, and below, far, far below, -was the Yoho Valley. -</p> - -<p> -The story of the boy who cried 'wolf' when -there was no wolf is a familiar one, but much -more familiar in everyday life is the story of -the man who cries 'lion' when there is no lion. -You know him and you don't believe him. -You know that, moved by the immoderate -enthusiasm which is the chief qualification -for the profession of writing, he is doing his -level best to make you believe that the object -he is presenting to you is a lion, for the simple -reason that if you believe it, you will be more -attracted by it and him. Canada, being a -much-advertised country at present, is full of -lions. 'The finest view in Canada. Yes, -sir.' How often I heard that remark! How often -it turned out to be an overstatement. How -distrustfully I came to listen to it. -</p> - -<p> -Was it, then, that for some months I had -imbibed the Canadian air, that when I reached -the Rockies I too was carried away, and became -as immoderately enthusiastic as any Canadian? -I do not know. I merely have to confess that -I was carried away, that I have already cried -'lion' more than once, and that I must do so -once again now that I have got to the Yoho -Valley. Baedeker saves his own dignity—and -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P210"></a>210}</span> -that of literature—by using an asterisk at these -critical points, or two asterisks if his emotions -are very poignant. But I, who have to fill -paper, must use words. Well, I am not afraid -of exaggerating the beauties of the Yoho. -This valley of enormous trees spiring up from -unseen gorges to wellnigh unseen heights; -of cataracts that fall in foam a thousand -feet; of massed innumerable glaciers; this -valley into which it seems you could drop all -Switzerland, and still look down—is not easily -overpraised. The difficulty is to praise it -at all adequately. -</p> - -<p> -It seemed to me as I rode on along the -high trail that sometimes edged out to the -gulf below and sometimes swerved back from -it, that one of the wonders of the valley was -a thing that in smaller places would have -made for disappointment, and that is that -it lies, and always has lain, outside the human -radius. It has none of those connections -with men that set us thrilling in other parts. -No Hannibal ever led his army by this route -across these mountains. No hardy tribesmen -watched the approach of an enemy among -its crags, or bred among them a race of -mountaineers. No gods dwelt on its heights, and -no poets ever came near to sing them. History -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P211"></a>211}</span> -has nothing to tell of it. Little hills and little -valleys have their stories and their songs, -their memories and their miracles. They are -haunted still with those forgotten mysteries -which stir men's fancies more deeply than -things remembered or discovered can. This -valley walled about with mountains has been -above and beyond men's ken from the beginning -of the world: and now that men have -come into it, they find nothing to discover -in it except its vastness and immunity from -the touch of men. It strikes one even now -as not only devoid of human adjuncts but -needless of them. A man no more looks for -legends there than he would look for them -in the centre of a typhoon. -</p> - -<p> -I suppose that men did pass through it—even -before the valley became a known part -of the world, and even a sight for tourists. -It was not, as the phrase goes, untrodden by -the foot of man. A few prospectors must -have passed this way from time to time many -years ago. Some may have died there for -all one knows. Indian hunters, too, would -enter the valley in pursuit of game. But -no one possessed it; no one gave it the human -air: or, if they did, the records are lost. -Prospectors tell us only of their finds, nothing -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P212"></a>212}</span> -of their lives. Of the Indians, some one -someday may, perhaps, find some traces. At -present their white brothers are little troubled -by them or their history or their origin. -Canadians are content to think of them as -a primitive, decaying people who came from -God knows where to a country they never -realised was God's. It will be easier to forget -them than to understand them, these strange -men with faces no more expressive than wood, -who, if they ever came to the Yoho Valley, -must have passed through it more like trees -walking among the trees than like men that -stop and wonder, and leave a habitation and -a name. -</p> - -<p> -Shadowy, disregardable creatures, then, as -uninfluential as the slicker and myself, may -have roamed the valley in times past and -left no more traces upon it. We two realising, -I trust, our minuteness and unimportance, -went on, as it turned out, far beyond the point -intended for our afternoon's excursion. In -contemplation of the valley I had given the -slicker the rein, and he, poor pony, no doubt -thought that he was bound for the first camp, -there to rest the night in the ordinary course. -Presently I found him, his two front feet -planted firmly together, sliding down the -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P213"></a>213}</span> -slipperiest piece of trail we had yet encountered, -sliding and sliding till we had got to -the very bottom of the valley—whereupon -I discovered that we had indeed attained -the first camp. -</p> - -<p> -It was a queer, unexpected sight—a few -little lean-to tents and a couple of log huts, -standing side by side on a flat piece of the -valley floor, just beyond the spray of a -cascade that dropped from ledge to ledge of the -mountain opposite, starting so high up that -it seemed to spring from the sky. The place -seemed deserted, but while the slicker and -I paused to look about us, out of the biggest -tent there came a small, silent, yellow figure. -It did not speak to me, but only stared, and -I, having stared back for a little and having -wondered if it were some gnome peculiar to -the valley, suddenly saw that it had a pigtail, -and remembered that I had been told that -there was a Chinese cook in every camp. -</p> - -<p> -'Is this the first camp?' I therefore asked. -</p> - -<p> -'Yup!' -</p> - -<p> -'Can you give me some tea?' -</p> - -<p> -'Yup!' he repeated, and vanished into -the tent whence he had come. -</p> - -<p> -By the time I had tethered the slicker on -the grassiest spot I could find, that boy had -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P214"></a>214}</span> -tea ready. He stared at me while I ate it, -stared at me when I paid him for it, and stared -at me when, having offered the slicker some -bread and sugar in vain, I remounted him -and set him on the homeward trail. I had -not a watch with me. But it was evident -from the position of the sun that we had -very little daylight left for the return ride. -Dusk, indeed, came on just as we reached the -other side of the pass, with a mountain side -still to descend. Dusk and an exceedingly -cold wind—in the face of which that corkscrew -trail seemed doubly steep. It was one -of those occasions when vowing candles to -one's patron saint might have added to one's -peace of mind. But I have no patron saint -and could but give the reins to the slicker, -and he rewarded me for my trust by not -falling down till we had actually accomplished -the descent and were on the pebbled beach. -Then, in the pitch-dark night, we both rolled -over together. A match, lighted with difficulty, -revealed the fact that neither of us was -injured; and so, very steadily and cautiously, -we moved on to the chalet, where we arrived -to find dinner finished. But we had seen -splendid things, the slicker and I. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap23"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P215"></a>215}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXIII -<br /><br /> -THE FRUIT-LANDS OF LAKE WINDERMERE -</h3> - -<p> -It would have been harder to leave the Rockies -if I had not been bound for the Selkirks, which -have this advantage over the Rockies, that -they are perhaps less known. That part I -was bound for is, indeed, not known at all to -tourists, and very little known to anybody. -The known part of the range lies round Glacier -House, and includes Mount Abbott, the Great -Illecillewaet Glacier, Mount Sir Donald, etc., -which high places the railway has now made -accessible for tourists who can climb. The -part I was to see lies to the south-east, at -the head of the Columbia Valley, and is at -present a hundred miles from the nearest -railway station. -</p> - -<p> -First of all I took train to Golden. If you -take a map of Canada and follow the trans-continental -line westward, you will see that -it emerges from the Rockies at Golden. Golden -is a little mining town lying in the Columbia -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P216"></a>216}</span> -Valley, with the Rockies on one side of it and -the Selkirks on the other. It was chiefly to -see this valley—one of the most fertile in -British Columbia, but at present unopened—that -I got out at Golden with a friend. An -excursion into the Selkirks was to depend -upon the time at our disposal. We had been -told that near Lake Windermere, at a place -called Wilmer, there was a great irrigation -scheme in progress, which would shortly result -in 60,000 acres of dry belt-land being ready -for fruit-farming. This, when the rail from -Kamloops to Golden was completed, would -make the Columbia Valley as famous for its -fruit as the Okanagan. We both wanted to -see it. My friend wanted to buy land. The -problem was how to get up the valley. -</p> - -<p class="capcenter"> -<a id="img-216"></a> -<br /> -<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-216.jpg" alt="THE DEVIL'S FINGERS. ROCKY MOUNTAINS." /> -<br /> -THE DEVIL'S FINGERS. ROCKY MOUNTAINS. -</p> - -<p> -There were, we found, five different ways of -doing the eighty miles from Golden to Wilmer. -</p> - -<p> -1. The first was to wait for that day of the -week on which the stage-coach ran. It took -two days to do the distance, and was very -convenient if we did not mind waiting in -Golden a few days first. But we were in a -hurry. -</p> - -<p> -2. This way was by river-boat—a delightful -trip. But there were one or two objections -to it. The water of the Columbia was very -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P217"></a>217}</span> -low at this time of the year, the sand-banks -were numerous, and the boat had gone up -some days before and nobody knew when -it would get down again. We gave up the -boat. -</p> - -<p> -3. The third way, which we decided should -be ours, was to go up in the only motor which -Golden possessed. This would cost fifty dollars, -but the journey there would only take about -seven hours. When we had decided upon -this, we went to the proprietor of the motor -and found that the car was already out for -an indefinite number of days. -</p> - -<p> -4. This way was to walk the eighty -miles—a plan I favoured and tried on the way -back, as I shall describe. But my friend -could not fancy it. Statelier than myself, -he had to carry five more stones with him. -</p> - -<p> -5. This was the way we took. We hired -a two-horse rig which undertook to do the -journey in the same time as the stage—but -for twenty dollars apiece instead of five. -</p> - -<p> -We started from Golden on a Monday -morning in the two-horse rig, driven by a -young American. He had been in the United -States navy, and also in Alberta, farming, but -he had had no luck with his farm, having -started with too small a capital to tide over -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P218"></a>218}</span> -the two bad seasons which he had met there. -He told us that he found Canada very similar -to the States—neither much better nor worse; -and he took his own luck there philosophically. -He seemed to me altogether a capable man, -whose fortune might have been all the other -way. Anyway he drove excellently and was -not a grumbler, like the American ex-sailor I -met at Regina. -</p> - -<p> -Nothing could have been more beautiful -than the late September morning when we -started out of Golden. A spreading village of -pretty poplar-lined avenues and pleasant -bungalows, Golden explained its own name as we -went. The wooded hills on either side were all -splashed with autumn yellows, and the sun, -striking down through a grove of silver poplars -which shuts off the south end of the village, -made it all seem shot with gold. It is a mining -village, but compared with the usual mining -village of Great Britain it seemed as Eden to -the Inferno. -</p> - -<p> -Coming out of it we struck what is the -dominant scenery of the valley—the blue -Columbia winding in and out, sometimes wooded -to its brim, sometimes sweeping over into open -marshland, but always with the hills lightly -wooded, facing one another across it, and behind -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P219"></a>219}</span> -them the white peaks hung with snow. At -every mile or two a silvery creek, sometimes a -mere ribbon of water, sometimes almost a river, -rushed down to join the Columbia below; -by the side of these creeks mostly would be -the cleared land which small ranchers had -settled, and where they had gone on living -presumably on what they could grow off their -own places, since the chances of reaching a -market became obviously more difficult at -every mile. Every wind of the road—and it -mostly follows the river—gave views that were -always changing and beautiful. -</p> - -<p> -It was on the second day of our driving that -the appearance of the valley grew different. -The creeks became rarer; the soil drier. -Instead of silver poplars rising among a tangled -underbush, there were now jack-pines growing -out of a burnt-up sward. We might have -been going through some English park in the -south country, and some one had evidently -thought this before, for a man we met driving -told us that this part of the valley was known -as the Park. Passing through it we came at -last to the real dry belt. Those who know the -Okanagan would no doubt find it less strange, -but it amazed me to find a country among these -mountains almost Egyptian in its colouring and -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P220"></a>220}</span> -texture. Drier and drier became the soil; -the trees became sparser and sparser; there -was now no underwood at all. The straight -firs rose clear out of sandy hills and hollows. -Sandy they might appear, but this was not -sand in the vulgar sense. It was glacial -silt—bottomless drifts of powdered clay that has -slipped down from the mountains and piled -and sloped itself into 'benches' above the -river. -</p> - -<p> -We had to cross the river to get to Wilmer, -which is the headquarters of the irrigation. -Headquarters sounds imposing; and in a few -years, doubtless, Wilmer will be imposing, but -at present it consists of a few shacks, two -small stores, a dirty little hotel (in the bar of -which a man was shot the day after we left), -and one presiding genius who has made Wilmer -what it is and also what it will be shortly. -Need I say that it was a Scot who years ago -saw the far-reaching value of this land, conceived -the idea of irrigating it, and personally -superintended the carrying out of his conception? -I don't know that I need. I came to the -conclusion before I left Canada that Scots, more -than any other race, were at the bottom, and -generally also at the top, of most of the -enterprises that were being carried out there. No -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P221"></a>221}</span> -one talks of the Scotticisation of Canada. -Perhaps Scots do not proselytise. Perhaps -they do not find any other people worthy of -being taken into their community. They prefer -to remain an international oligarchy, managing -others but not admitting them to equal rights. -They effect their intentions by usually working -alone and always sticking together. A paradoxical -people. It is amazing to think that at -the beginning of the eighteenth century the -Scottish Highlander was regarded by the average -Englishman in much the same light as we now -regard the Hottentot or the Andaman Islander, -a hopelessly idle and uncouthly impossible -person, destined to remain a barbarian for ever. -<i>Dis aliter visum</i>. The Highlander now directs -the Empire, distinguishing himself in that -respect even more than his Lowland brother. -Yet only two hundred years have passed since -he was outside the pale. -</p> - -<p> -My friend knew Mr. Randolph Bruce, the -Highlander who presides over the Columbia -Valley Irrigation Works, and will, it seems to -me, rank as one of the many makers of Canada, -and Mr. Bruce most hospitably put us up while -we were in Wilmer, and showed us what he has -done and what he means to do. What he -means to do is to create a town on the shores -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P222"></a>222}</span> -of Lake Windermere, and he drove us down -there to show us the lake, which is not the -least like its English original, but very beautiful -nevertheless, lying as it does clear and still -among the sand-hills, a belt of autumn-tinted -trees around it, and, above, the hills and the -snows. It looked like some African lake -stretched at the feet of the Mountains of the -Moon. It looked as if it might lie thus for -centuries, silent and untouched by the hands -of men. But it was a Canadian lake, and -though it might seem to be at the very back of -the world, it was shortly to have a town built -on its shores. Mr. Bruce showed us the town -site, the hotel site, the site of the -bowling-green and the polo ground. I rather think -he showed us the race-course that was going -to be. I saw it all the more clearly because -Mr. Bruce also showed us the work already -actually accomplished—the canals and ditches -that brought the upper mountain lakes down -on to the benches of friable clay that were to -grow the apples we shall eat in England a few -years hence. It is all extraordinarily interesting, -seeing this town of the future and these -fruit-lands of the future—of which my friend bought -twenty acres, which were to be named after -him. The Columbia River ran just below the -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P223"></a>223}</span> -bench-land he bought, and I wished I had some -capital handy that I might buy the adjoining -plot, that I might also grow fruit there and have -a portion of the fair Dominion named after me. -If the Windermere race-course had already been -in existence, and a race being run, I should have -backed one of the horses against all my -principles, and laid out the proceeds in a fruit-farm. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap24"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P224"></a>224}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXIV -<br /><br /> -THE SELKIRKS—A GRIZZLY-BEAR COUNTRY -</h3> - -<p> -Behind Wilmer lies a part of the Selkirks which -is known only to a few ranchers in the neighbourhood, -and is scarcely accessible except from -this point. We had spent two days in the -neighbourhood of Lake Windermere, and on the -third, though each of us was booked to be -hundreds of miles further on our way by the -end of the week, and heaven only knew how we -were even going to reach Golden again, for we -had let the rig go back and the boat was -reported stuck somewhere on the Columbia -River, we neither of us could resist an offer that -was made us of an opportunity to climb Iron -Top Mountain, which was somewhere at the -back of this alluring country. -</p> - -<p> -The offer came from a Mr. Starboard. In -Canada you will sometimes find, several hundreds -of miles from civilisation, some strenuous and -capable man whom you would think civilisation -needed and would require. But the wilds in -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P225"></a>225}</span> -Canada are more important. Mr. Starboard -had come to these parts originally as a prospector -and miner, but the mine he had come to had -shut down—not for lack of silver and lead in it, -but for lack of transport facilities; whereupon -Mr. Starboard, fascinated by one of these -valleys, had started horse-breeding there, -occupying what time was left from clearing his -land in making roads through the mountains -and hunting big game. Dropping in at -Mr. Bruce's casually one morning, he asked us if we -should like to see the best view he knew of in -the Selkirks. We said we should; and each, -equipped with a toothbrush and a comb, was -driven out to Starboard's ranch for lunch. -</p> - -<p> -Travelling in the remoter parts of Canada -gives you strange table companions. You -never know quite what company you will meet, -though you can generally count upon its being -interesting. While we were being driven up -the Columbia Valley a few days before, we had -heard from various homesteaders that there was -'a big German bug' staying up in the mountains -with his friends, trying for bear. 'They -call him the Land Crab,' our informant would -usually add for further elucidation of the big -bug's official position. On arriving at -Mr. Starboard's ranch we found that the big bug -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P226"></a>226}</span> -in question was, in the commoner prose of -Europe, the Landgraf of Hesse with two -equerries and a small retinue. For a motley -collection, the party that sat down to lunch -that day in the chief room of Starboard's -ranch would be difficult to beat. There was -the Landgraf himself and his German -companions, a well-known Canadian official, three -valets—these all neatly dressed—Mrs. Starboard -quite wonderfully frocked, as the fashion -papers say, Mr. Starboard in ranching costume, -and ourselves who had slept in our clothes for -several days. The waiters were a Japanese -and a Chinese. We fed off bear, shot by one -of the Germans, who had been most successful -in their hunting both of bear and goat. -</p> - -<p> -Bear, by the way, was only one among other -delicacies. Its taste is rather like that of -Christmas beef stewed in the gravy of a goose. -Vegetarians would not care about it; but after -living on little else for two days I can answer -for its being both appetising and sustaining, -particularly in high altitudes. After lunch, -four of us, Mr. Starboard, the railway man, -my friend, and myself started for Iron Top -Mountain, which lay seventeen miles off along -a trail that rose steeply most of the way. The -ponies were excellent ones, better even than -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P227"></a>227}</span> -the slicker. Mr. Starboard had specially picked -them, because he wanted to see if they could be -got to carry us to the top of the mountain, a -little over ten thousand feet. He had never -taken ponies as high before, and doubted if the -test had ever been made in Canada, though I -fancy ponies have done as much or more in the -Himalayas. -</p> - -<p> -We did fourteen miles that afternoon, following -at first the bank of a blue foaming stream, -then turning eastward up a steeper valley -through which a smaller stream flowed. The -trail was far better than many roads in French -Canada or on the prairie, and had been -constructed by Mr. Starboard himself to provide -access to a silver and lead mine which had been -shut down for some time. It seemed extraordinary -that in a country so wild and remote -there should be any trail at all, but miners go -anywhere. A man who has to find his way -into the earth makes no difficulty about finding -his way across it. -</p> - -<p> -It was a day, half sunshine and half mist, -and the mountains would sometimes be shut -entirely in shrouds of vapour, sometimes would -reveal slanted white tops cut off in mid-air by -the fog below, sometimes would clear altogether, -so that one could see everything on them, -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P228"></a>228}</span> -from the snowslides down which the grizzlies -travel to the narrow tracks of the goats. As -we mounted, the valley grew steeper and steeper, -and the trail wound more and more. We passed -one place where, earlier in the year, there had -been a terrific slide of snow half a mile in width. -The huge firs still lay where they had fallen, -shattered and splintered before it. Half-way -down, the avalanche had met a great pinnacle -of rock that had stood the shock unmoved, and -caused the snow to part to left and to right, -where it had hewn two lanes of almost equal -breadth through the trees. It was just near -here that Mr. Starboard showed me a grizzly's -track, and told me that he had seen no less than -seventeen of these bears in the last fortnight. -He said that their numbers were increasing -yearly in that neighbourhood. A little later a -porcupine crossed the trail ahead of us, and -lurched unwieldily into the undergrowth. The -trees grew close together all the way, except -where we passed a great stretch of mountainside -where a forest fire had raged, and even -there the scorched trunks still stood, gibbeted -skeletons of trees. -</p> - -<p> -We put up for the night in a deserted mining -camp, almost a village it was, with wooden -shacks likely to be used again when the Kamloops -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P229"></a>229}</span> -to Golden Railway is completed and it is -worth while getting the stuff out of the mine. -</p> - -<p> -Up there it had begun to freeze hard, but a -big fire and much bear, which the railway man -fried over it with skill, kept us warm enough -till we went to bed under many blankets in one -of the shacks. -</p> - -<p> -It was bitterly chill—the start in the early -morning—after a breakfast of cold bear; and -very soon after we set out we got into snow, -and the trees ceased, and the ponies' flanks -began to heave steadily. The morning was as -bright as it was cold, however, and Mount -Farnham, shaped like a chimney-pot, glittered -right over us on the left. I remarked to -Mr. Starboard what a nasty mountain it looked for -climbing purposes, whereupon he astonished -me by saying he had been up it. -</p> - -<p> -'You went up to see if it could be done?' -I said, thinking I had struck a keen climber in -the European sense of the word. -</p> - -<p> -'No,' said Mr. Starboard simply; 'you -would not catch me going up a place like that -for the climb. I went there because I thought -there was silver and lead there.' -</p> - -<p> -The ponies were now beginning to show their -respective stamina, two of them going right -ahead, and the one that carried my friend -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P230"></a>230}</span> -getting slower and slower. We had got by this -time into a sort of rocky amphitheatre where -the snow lay thicker, and just as I passed -under a little cascade congealed into fantastic -icicles as it spouted from a cleft, I heard a noise -in my rear, and turned to see my friend and his -pony doing Catherine wheels in the snow -together. Luckily they fell—and rolled—softly -and rose uninjured; but very soon after that -the ponies had to be left. We turned them -loose on a platform of rock which was, -Mr. Starboard said, just short of ten thousand feet -up. Only a few hundred more remained to be -done, which we accomplished on foot through -knee-deep snow, gaining the summit just in -time. -</p> - -<p> -For the first time I got a view of the Rockies. -We looked down a long, narrow, purple valley -that ran at right angles to the Columbia River, -over the first hills beyond Wilmer, into a sea of -mountains. I had heard that phrase—a sea -of mountains—applied to the Rockies before, -but I had not realised its fitness before. -</p> - -<p class="capcenter"> -<a id="img-230"></a> -<br /> -<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-230.jpg" alt="A SENTINEL OF THE ROCKIES." /> -<br /> -A SENTINEL OF THE ROCKIES. -</p> - -<p> -There it was, a sea of white caps frozen -eternally in the very moment when they had -stormed the sky. -</p> - -<p> -For just five minutes we gazed, and then a -mist settled down on them, and, where we were, -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P231"></a>231}</span> -immediately a bitter wind began to blow and -caused us to make for the ponies hurriedly. As -we rode down the frozen trail we startled some -ptarmigan, which rose and fluttered above the -snow like big white butterflies. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap25"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P232"></a>232}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXV -<br /><br /> -AN EIGHTY-MILE WALK THROUGH THE COLUMBIA VALLEY -</h3> - -<p> -We got back to Wilmer the following morning, -and the problem then was—how to reach -Golden again. The boat was due up the -river some time in the day, but sandbanks -do not encourage punctuality. I had my -suspicions of that boat, and in any case, even -if it arrived that day, it would certainly not -start back again till the morning following. -I did not want to wait for it at Wilmer, and -decided instead that I would start walking -down the valley at once and pick the boat -up at Spellamacheen, forty miles downstream, -some time next day. My friend was as -suspicious of the walk as I was of the boat; and -since he had heard that some men were likely -to turn up that day in a motor from Golden -who might give him a lift back in case the -boat failed, he decided to wait for them. -</p> - -<p> -So we parted, and rather late in the day—at -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P233"></a>233}</span> -noon, to be exact—I set out on my walk. -Forty miles is not much of a walk. It can -be done in ten hours very easily—in eight -if you make up your mind to it. I decided -I would take nine hours over it and waste -no time. I did not stop for lunch in Athelmer—where -one crosses the Columbia—but merely -bought some chocolate and a pound of apples, -and hurried on. -</p> - -<p> -About a mile out of Athelmer I ate the -apples, because they were a nuisance to carry, -and wished I could as easily get rid of my -heavy overcoat, which had its pockets stuffed -with toilet and sleeping accessories just like -a suit-case. I also wished that I had on boots -that I had ever tried walking in. Still I did -six or seven miles in the first hour and a half, -and then I realised that two things -destructive to fast walking were about to happen. -One was footsoreness and the other was rain. -Both came upon me a few minutes later, and -both increased steadily hour after hour. The -valley which had looked so beautiful in all -the reds of autumn, as we drove through it -in the sunlight, was now filled with a clammy -mist; and the road which had seemed a fine -road for the horses in fine weather now struck -me as offensively sticky, and my pace declined -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P234"></a>234}</span> -to something under three miles an hour. I -consoled myself for a little with the thought -that I was getting an experience of autumn -in the Columbia Valley. Afterwards I decided -that I would gladly do without it. I could -have imagined it just as well. The road was -like glue and my coat had increased in weight -several pounds. To balance this as far as -possible, I sat on a wet spruce tree that had -fallen by the side of the road and ate my -packet of chocolate; after which I moved -on at a very sober pace. I began to doubt -if I should get to Spellamacheen that night; -and the doubt soon increased to a certainty -that I should not. Then I remembered that -on the drive out we had passed a place called -Dolans, only twenty-eight miles from Wilmer. -I did some mental arithmetic which seemed -to prove that even Dolans was a terrible -distance off, and I tried a little running, but it -was not of a kind to win a Marathon race. -Running through glue when you are footsore -is trying work. Nevertheless by six o'clock -I calculated I was only about three miles -from Dolans, which rejoiced me, until the -horrid thought cropped up—if I got in after -the supper hour, should I get any supper? -</p> - -<p> -It was by no means certain in that valley. -</p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P235"></a>235}</span> -</p> - -<p> -Providence a few minutes later sent a buggy, -driven by a small, glum-looking man up behind -me, and the glum-looking man said 'Care -to drive?' I said 'Yes,' and found he was -bound for Dolans like myself. We got there -about seven o'clock. The rancher and his wife -were in; also another wayfarer like ourselves, -who had arrived a few minutes before us. He -was an elderly man, with a great shock of -iron-grey hair, who was driving into Golden -in a farm-cart from some place several days -distant. He had the strangest pair in his -cart—a little brown mare of about fourteen -hands, and a great lanky horse the height of -a giraffe. -</p> - -<p> -We were all given a good meal, and ate -it in silence, and sat in silence to digest it. -Canadians in these valleys are often that -way; it is due not to unsociability but to -disuse of their tongues. Possibly to ruminate is -the better way, but silence can be oppressive, -and if you start a conversation and the other -people only reflect upon your words, they -may be weighing them as if they were gold, -but you are not sure enough of this to be elated. -I was rather glad to be shown to my bed, -which was in a barn (but the blankets were -clean, Mr. Dolans said), pretty early. -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P236"></a>236}</span> -Mr. Dolans sat on the bed for a bit, and advised -me to buy the ranch. I promised to think -the matter over, and went to sleep instead -in a nice atmosphere of hay, and got up for -six o'clock breakfast. The other two had -already driven off; but the rain had ceased, -and though the road was a mud slide, I started -for Spellamacheen in high hopes of catching -the boat in spite of being footsore. -</p> - -<p> -I need not have worried myself, for when -I got there at 12.30, I learnt that the boat had -just passed on its way up to Wilmer, and was -not likely to be down again for two or three -days. -</p> - -<p> -Spellamacheen consists of a rest-house ranch -in full view of a semicircle of snowclad -mountains, but I was a little disheartened in spite -of the view. I particularly wanted to catch -the midnight train from Golden to Vancouver, -and now I realised that to do this I should -have to walk the rest of the way—another -forty miles. From two o'clock to twelve is -ten hours. If I did four miles an hour, I -should catch the train to a nicety. -</p> - -<p> -When I am resting on a walk I am always -singularly optimistic. I was stiff after -lunch—partly from the unusual exercise, partly -from sleeping in wet clothes, and my feet -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P237"></a>237}</span> -were sorer than ever, but I set out for Golden, -confident that I should catch that train. A -young man with a bundle on his back, who -had got into Spellamacheen just ahead of -me, offered to hike with me. He also was for -Golden, but thought twenty miles more that -day would satisfy him. -</p> - -<p> -He was a pleasant and conversational young -man, and told me that he was from New -Brunswick, but had for the last eight months -been at work digging the ditches for the -Columbia Valley Irrigation Company. He -had had enough of it, he said; in fact too -much. Compared with New Brunswick, British -Columbia was no catch at all, and he meant -to go back home. Frenchmen are not fonder -of their 'patrie' than are the Canadian-born. -He brimmed over, did that young man, with -praises of New Brunswick—brimmed over very -intelligently, telling me about the Reversible -Falls of St. John and the conditions of -farming in the province with a clearness which -few Englishmen of his class could emulate. -He said that he would only get one and a half -dollars a day instead of two and a half, but -then one and a half would go much further -there than two and a half in British Columbia. -You could live better on it, and life was easier -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P238"></a>238}</span> -there. British Columbia was too rough: he -allowed there was no pioneer about him. He -had got tired of the Columbia Valley months -before, and had started to come out of it in -July, but had only got as far as Athelmer. -There he had gone to a hotel for the night, and -had got drinking, and somehow before he knew -it all the money he had saved during his months -of digging had been drunk. So he had gone -back to the ditches. But he meant to get -out of the valley this time. I gathered that -even this time it had been a near shave, for -having again got as far as the hotel, he had -found a lot of fellows drinking what he called -'Schlampagne.' He supposed there must have -been a hundred bottles of schlampagne drunk -last night, and whisky afterwards, but he -himself had been very careful and had taken -gin instead. You never knew, he said, what -the whisky would be made of, but if you -drank from a bottle of gin marked English, -it was all right. He felt a bit funny inside -to-day, but seemed quite cheerful about it -because he had won away from the hotel, -and was pretty sure now to get back to New -Brunswick, after which he would not go -pioneering again. He doubted, however, if we were -likely to get to Golden that day. There was -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P239"></a>239}</span> -a place called M'Kie's we could put up at -eighteen miles on, or if we felt like it, another -called Petersen's—eight miles further. I said -I wanted to catch the midnight train from -Golden, and was going to walk on by night: -at which he said he would do the same. He -repeated that he was funny inside and -footsore, but he thought he could do it. We -would get to M'Kie's for supper, or rather -get M'Kie to make us up a supper, which -we would eat upon the road, and we should -thus get into Golden in good time. He was -sure we were going at least four miles an hour. -</p> - -<p> -I was sure we were scarcely doing three, -and by the time we did get to M'Kie's, just -before dark, we were both so sure that a rest -would do us good that we thought we would -eat our supper there after all. -</p> - -<p> -M'Kie's was a shack just off the road, with -a huge puma-skin nailed to the verandah. -Inside was a very old woman, who said that -we could get our tea all right, but M'Kie wasn't -in yet, and we'd better wait for him. So -we sat down in the road, and I paddled in an -icy creek that went foaming by the house -door. Then the old woman asked us in -and chatted to us while she cooked the -meal. M'Kie turning up, we fell to, and -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P240"></a>240}</span> -M'Kie entertained us with trapping stories. -It seemed he was half-trapper, half-rancher, -and the big skin we had seen outside he had -got only a few days before. The mountain -lion had come down right into the sheepfold, -and his two dogs had treed it, and a single -bullet had brought it down. It was the biggest -skin that he had ever seen, and measured -ten feet six from tip to tail. It certainly -was a large skin, but a puma's tail counts -for a good deal. M'Kie had also shot a bear -in the sheepfold the week before, and he talked -so much about cinnamons and grizzlies, which -seemed very plentiful round there, that the -New Brunswicker insisted on our having his -opinion as to whether they ever attacked -unarmed men walking by night. M'Kie thought -not. So we started on again, somewhat -reassured, along what promised to be an -uncommonly dark road. -</p> - -<p> -The sky was all clouded over, and it was -now 8.30, and there was no chance whatever -of my catching the midnight train, since -twenty miles still remained to be accomplished, -and our limp condition made even three miles -an hour hard. But we walked on, mostly -because I now wanted to get the morning -train at eleven o'clock, and I felt that if we -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P241"></a>241}</span> -went back to M'Kie's and stopped the night, -I should be so stiff that I could not walk at -all next day. The New Brunswicker -sportingly said that he would go on for as long -as he could anyhow, though he wasn't bent -on any particular train; and for some four -mortal hours we splashed along through mud -and water in what was the next thing to pitch -darkness. To add to the discomfort, a high, -cold, and very wet wind began to blow, and -there was every prospect of rain soon descending -in torrents. It was at this point, I think, -that our thoughts began to turn to Petersen's. -The New Brunswicker remarked that if we -had passed Petersen's there was nowhere -to stop at between where we were and Golden; -but if we had not passed Petersen's, we might -rest there a few minutes and perhaps get -some milk to drink. Soon after this we felt -sure that we had passed Petersen's in the -dark; and though neither of us admitted -it, I think our respective hearts sank. We -decided to rest a little, which we did, and -we rested again a few minutes later without -deciding to do it. As we got up from a brief -smoke on a fallen log the rain began to pelt -down, and we saw a light just off the road. -</p> - -<p> -I own I should have wanted to stop at -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P242"></a>242}</span> -Petersen's anyhow, even if the New -Brunswicker had not confessed that he could not -go any further: but I don't know that I -should have had his perseverance in -knocking Petersen's up. There certainly was a -light there. But I was convinced that -everybody inside was deep in sleep. The New -Brunswicker thought somebody might be up, and -after knocking vainly for ten minutes at the -front door of the house he went round to -the back, while I sat on the doorstep, wondering -what fifteen miles in that black rain would -be like. -</p> - -<p> -A couple of minutes later, the New -Brunswicker appeared triumphant. The Petersens, -he said, were up—in their kitchen—and thither -we limped, much relieved. They were the -kindest people—Swedes, both of them, and -kept a milk cow, and gave us milk and -buttermilk. They said they were sorry they hadn't -a bed to offer us, but we could have the kitchen. -Fastidious travellers might have thought the -kitchen untidy and stuffy, and even the New -Brunswicker before he went to sleep on the -floor on his blankets, with some old clothes -that we found hanging on the walls over our -legs—even he got a broom (after the Petersens -had gone to bed) and swept a clean space -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P243"></a>243}</span> -for us to lie on. But at least it was warm, -and a haven of luxury compared with the road. -</p> - -<p> -Personally, I know that I was very sorry -to have to get up off that floor at 4 A.M., when -that industrious old lady, Mrs. Petersen, came -in again to relight the stove and to prepare -breakfast. She was followed presently by her -husband and son and a hired man, while from -the barn there issued forth not only that -shock-headed old man with the queer rig whom -I had seen at Dolans, but no less than five -other men who had been working in different -parts of the valley, and were hiking out before -the winter should come. These had all spent -their night in the barn, which seems to be a -privileged resting-place for travellers in this -part of the country. -</p> - -<p> -Mrs. Petersen had to get breakfast for some -dozen people, and an odd company we were, -all unkempt and unshaven, and most of us -looking, truthfully enough, as if we had slept -for some months in our clothes. We all -did a wash before breakfast, however. Two of -the men at table were socialists, and we had -a desultory conversation on that subject -while we were not occupied in eating -Mrs. Petersen's bacon and eggs. Nobody seemed -much to dispute the socialist position, but -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P244"></a>244}</span> -this might have been because nobody was -greatly interested in it. I remember that -the socialists thought that capital ought to -be done away with, but Mr. Petersen, who -no doubt had a small amount himself and -kept a hired man, thought it was a useful -thing, and should be retained. Everybody -went off directly the meal was finished, except -ourselves, who lingered because the New -Brunswicker had boldly requested the shock-headed -old man to drive us in to Golden in his -farm-cart, and we went to help harness the little -mare and the big giraffe. -</p> - -<p> -It was still raining heavily when we started, -and it rained just as heavily all the way into -Golden. I never was so damped in my life, -and this was due not merely to the rain, but -because the farm-cart was so full of the old -man's things (he seemed to be moving his -house in it) that the only place available -in it for me was a sack of hay. The cart -had stood out all night in the rain, and the -sack of hay was wet through, which made -it like a sponge, so that the more I dried off -the top of it the more moisture I seemed to -absorb from the under part. The little mare -and the big horse made about two and a half -miles an hour, and if I could have walked, -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P245"></a>245}</span> -I should have done so, for now again the -eleven o'clock train seemed in danger of -getting off from Golden without me. Indeed it -was half-past eleven before we got to Golden, -and, resigned to despair, I accompanied the -New Brunswicker into an inn, where I thought -I should have to wait again for the midnight -train. We ordered beer in the bar, and as -I was explaining to the proprietor what a -nuisance it was to have missed the train, -he put down his glass and said, 'Wait a -minute,' and went to the telephone. He came -back to inform me that the train had just -been signalled, being very late. He thought -I should just have time to catch it if I rushed. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap26"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P246"></a>246}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXVI -<br /><br /> -FROM GOLDEN TO THE COAST -</h3> - -<p> -I managed to get that train, and also a half -bottle of rye whisky on the way to it, and sank -into a seat in the smoking compartment, where -I sat all soaked and miserable, supping my -rye whisky at intervals and half dozing until -two grizzly-bear hunters got in a few stations -down the line. They were very wonderfully -arrayed in moccasins and Arctic socks and -turned-up overalls and sweaters and cartridge -belts; and though they were modest enough -in their bearing, and did not talk about their -exploits until they were asked questions, the -whole compartment was soon eagerly chatting -of nothing but grizzly bears. The two hunters, -who were amateurs of the sport, had been up -in the mountains alone, a three days' portage -from the railroad, and had got three grizzlies, -and would have got more, they said, but that -heavy falls of snow had forced them to decamp. -They spoke like good shots—which does not -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P247"></a>247}</span> -mean that they said they were good shots—and -they seemed very keen on their sport, -which they claimed to be the most dangerous -and exacting in the world; nor would they -listen to my meek suggestion that the Bengal -tiger would compare favourably with the grizzly. -</p> - -<p> -'It's a cat,' one of them said sniffily; 'you -shoot it off elephants.' -</p> - -<p> -I said that I knew Anglo-Indians who went -after tigers on foot, and I also argued that even -in the case of shooting from elephants the -combination of a charging tiger and a restive -elephant offered opportunity of showing one's -nerve to be in order such as is not to be despised, -especially if the howdah happens to have been -inexpertly fixed and slides at the critical -moment. They allowed that there might be -something in this, but persisted that in any -case tiger-hunting was done at ease, with -natives to do all the portering, whereas -grizzly-bear hunters like themselves had to carry -everything with them, and camp in the snow, -and shoot on mountain-sides, down which a -grizzly bear would charge at a man quicker -than a racehorse. They gave graphic descriptions -of charges of grizzly bears, with their back -legs flying ahead of their front ones. The -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P248"></a>248}</span> -last bear they had bagged had dropped, they -said, within twenty paces of them, after being -rolled over three times. -</p> - -<p> -I fancy they spoke reasonably enough, and -that the pursuit of the grizzly—certainly if -done without a guide—is as good a test of a -man's nerve as any other. As to the merits -of the grizzly considered as a brute likely to do -for you if you do not previously do for it, -and compared with such others as the tiger, -the buffalo, the rhinoceros, the elephant, or -the lion, there is no arriving at any final -conclusion. African hunters never seem agreed -about the comparative merits of the last three; -while one Indian sportsman supports the buffalo, -another will support the tiger. Not having any -experience of the grizzly bear myself, I can only -say that, judging from what I have heard, he -must be accounted big enough game for anybody. -There is no doubt that most of the old -trappers have a wholesome respect for him, -and the longer they are after him, the greater, -as a rule, their respect grows. His pace, -when charging, is said to be something terrific, -and, downhill, it always charges as soon as hit, -its back legs flying out before it at a nightmare -speed. Add that it seems less easy to drop -finally than any other animal, that your fingers -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P249"></a>249}</span> -may be frozen to the trigger in the intervals -of shooting, and that a single blow from one -of its front paws is strong enough to claw the -face out of an ox, and it will be seen that it is -no contemptible foe. On the other hand, -experts seem agreed that it rarely if ever charges -uphill, and if shot from above is therefore -comparatively harmless. If a man could always -pick his position for shooting, this would reduce -the value of the grizzly bear as a sporting -animal; but obviously the hunter cannot -always choose. Any one who has been on a -snowslide will realise that. From the point of -view of an unarmed person, the grizzly bear -would seem to be rather less dangerous than -he is sometimes made out to be. You will -often hear that grizzly bears will attack a -man at sight. The truth seems to be that—as -is the case with any other bears—attacks -are only to be feared either from female grizzlies -with cubs, or from a grizzly of either sex, if -the intruder is so placed as to appear to the -grizzly's eyes to be cutting off its retreat to -its lair. Of course no unarmed man would -elect to put himself in either of these positions, -and equally naturally he might unwittingly -do so—in which case it would be better not to -be that man, though I believe there is an -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P250"></a>250}</span> -authentic story of a lumberman who, returning -alone from his work, was suddenly attacked -by two grizzlies, and managed to kill both of -them with his axe, though the second mauled -him badly. Authentic or not, and one grizzly -or two, it is pretty certain that few people -would care to try a similar encounter. -</p> - -<p> -Afterwards the conversation shifted to -timber-wolves and the Yukon. One of the passengers -scoffed at the notion of a dog being able to -kill a timber-wolf, as happens in one of -Mr. Jack London's novels. A northern timber-wolf, -according to this critic, is at least twice the -size of the European wolf, with a disproportionately -large and powerful jaw—a single snap -from which would polish off any dog. Two or -three of the biggest dogs known could hardly -even hold a timber-wolf much less kill it. I -dare say there was more in this criticism than -in one I heard later, anent Mr. Maurice Hewlett. -A very solemn fruit-rancher was ploughing -wearily through one of Mr. Hewlett's earlier -romances, and he looked up presently to say -it was funny the sort of yarns these writing -chaps seemed to believe in. There was a girl -in the book who milked a wild deer. He had -seen plenty of deer in his time, but none of them -had seemed to fancy coming close enough to -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P251"></a>251}</span> -be milked. If a chap wanted to write about -the country he ought to know it right through -like Mr. Service. Had we read Service's -poems? Several of the men in the compartment -evidently had read them; and, indeed, -Mr. Service's poems concerning the Yukon -seemed to have reached the heights of popularity. -I think it is due in part to the fascination -which the north exercises on all sorts and -conditions of Canadians, not only because it -stands for romance and mystery, but because -a sort of idea is gaining ground that these -inhospitable and well-nigh polar regions only -await a sufficiently hardy type of colonist to -have as great a boom almost as some of the -more southern districts. The idea exists not -only among business-like estate-agents, who -see themselves in fancy selling Arctic blocks -to this expected race, but among quite -disinterested and patriotic people, who talk of it, -as Mr. Service himself does, as a strong man's -land. A few peculiarly strong men may survive -there; and it is excusable for a poet to regard -them as super-men—Canada's noblest type. -As a matter of fact it is at least as romantic -to weave halos about the heads of the crowd -that seeks the Yukon country as it is to make -one's heroine milk a wild deer. A certain praise -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P252"></a>252}</span> -is always due to pioneers, and the struggle with -nature at its cruellest and most wild is not a -bad test of an individual's character; but for -respectable ranchers and fruit-growers (who -have never been to the Yukon themselves, but -have struggled with nature quite as valiantly -elsewhere) to talk enthusiastically about the -great lone land as the country for breeding men -is absurd. Canadians may be able to colonise -further north than they have done at present, -and their descendants will, no doubt, be a -fine and hardy race. But there is a point in -the north just as there is a point in the south -beyond which no white man's country lies. -If any strong men are going to perpetuate -their families beyond that northern point, they -are going to be strong Esquimaux—not strong -Canadians. Esquimaux already do quite a -lot of grappling with nature in lone lands, but -they are not the heroes of Mr. Service's poems. -I don't wish to labour the point, but this -northern strong man business seems to me -entirely overdone. There is always going to -be romance attached to the uninhabitable -country, and adventurous young men will -get there; but the theory that these are the -people of whom Canada has peculiarly to be -proud will not do. Adam Gordon's bush-riders -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P253"></a>253}</span> -had a certain merit; so had Mr. Kipling's -gentlemen-rankers; so have Mr. Service's -prospectors; but none of them ever forwarded -civilisation very greatly. The fact is, there are -true and admirable pioneers, men like -Hudson and Thompson, of whom Canada has had -plenty; and there are pioneers of doubtful -value like those in Mr. Service's poems. These -latter are picturesque enough in verse, -especially in Mr. Service's verse, which catches the -fascination of the north at times admirably, -but the others are the men worth boasting -about. -</p> - -<p> -The rain persisted while we sat talking of all -these matters, and the mountains were hung about -with a clammy vapour which spoilt the view -from the train. I should like to have stopped -at Glacier, which is the usual centre for the -better-known Selkirks, of which many of the -giants have been climbed only within the last -six or seven years, but I had not time, and -they all swam by in the mist, which changed -into dusk as we reached Revelstoke. There a -number of lumberjacks filled up the carriage, -and were very cheery and conversational all -night. Having slept only two hours the night -before, I should not have minded being able -to get a sleeper, but they were all taken; and -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P254"></a>254}</span> -indeed there were not even seats enough to go -all round, though it was a first-class carriage. -In any case the lumberjacks in my part of the -carriage would have prevented sleep. -Sometimes they would sit down for a few minutes -and tell stories, then they would dart off to -have a look at a carriage-load of Doukhobors -who were on in front and seemed rather better -than a show to judge by the lumbermen's -guffaws when they came back from these trips. -Canadian trains may not always be restful, -but they are generally entertaining. The -distances traversed are so great that people -cannot afford to sit in them in hunched silence. -They have to unbend, and some of them -unbend thoroughly. That is why, though the -ordinary traveller has to pass through great -tracts of land in the train, he is not losing -local colour to quite the extent one loses it in -an European train. Some one in the carriage -is sure to know something about the district -one is passing through and to be ready to talk -about it. The smoking compartment becomes -an animated club-room in which conversation -becomes general on any subject. There is -no better place for a discussion of political -problems, and I fancy a great many Canadians -reserve their consideration of these for -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P255"></a>255}</span> -the time they have to spend in the train. -Certainly they grow very keen in the train, and I -have heard the warmest arguments and the -most libellous denunciations of leading -Canadian statesmen hurled freely about among men -who had never set eyes on one another before. -And there are plenty of other arguments with -which to pass the time. As we got to Sicamous -Junction, for example, we took on board two -fruit-growers, one of whom was a 'wet' grower -and the other a 'dry.' A wet fruit-grower is -a man who does not irrigate his fruit-land, -and a dry fruit-grower is one who, having -settled in the dry belt, has to irrigate. As -fierce a debate was started between these two -as ever you heard between exponents of wet -and dry fly-fishing. -</p> - -<p class="capcenter"> -<a id="img-254"></a> -<br /> -<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-254.jpg" alt="IN THE SELKIRKS. THE RETURN FROM THE HUNT." /> -<br /> -IN THE SELKIRKS. THE RETURN FROM THE HUNT. -</p> - -<p> -As far as fruit-raising is concerned, the 'dry' -men appear to have the advantage. Their -contention is that they can turn off the water -so as to leave their trees dry for the winter -when frost at wet roots is so fatal; while they -can turn the water on whenever it is wanted -for swelling the fruit. In addition, the dry -belt country gets a longer season of sunshine, -which is more favourable for the growth of -the earlier and finer dessert apples. It seems -curious that none of our finest-flavoured apples, -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P256"></a>256}</span> -such as Cox's Orange Pippin or Ribston Pippin, -seem to come to perfection in Canada; and I -found British Columbian fruit-growers very -anxious that English people should appreciate -this fact, and also get to know which are the -British Columbian apples most worth asking -for in England, as though some of the older -orchards are still growing comparatively -worthless apples, the new ones are being planted -only with a few best kinds, which are as wine to -water. One of these best kinds, by the way, -is called Wine-sap; two of the other selectest -varieties being Jonathan and Winter Banana. -The latter is said to have a strong banana -flavour. It is worth the English public's while, -if it is going in largely for British Columbian -apples, to encourage only the growing of the -best, and that is to be done by demanding only -the best from our own greengrocers by name. -It is just as simple to plant a good apple tree -as it is to plant a bad one, and there is no -reason why the world in general should not -eat only the best apples. So long as people -are contented to look only at the colour of -the fruit, which is no criterion whatever, and -to pay their greengrocers' price for an -unnamed sort, the best apples will not be for -sale, and one will go on being provided with -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P257"></a>257}</span> -highly-coloured samples that taste like inferior -turnips. -</p> - -<p> -The weather picked up in the morning, and -I was able to see some of the beauties of the -great Fraser River, though I somehow missed -the Chinamen washing for gold, Indians spearing -salmon, bright red, split salmon drying on -frames, Chinese cabins and Indian villages -with their beflagged graveyards, which are said -to be visible from the car windows. Perhaps -I was talking too much. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap27"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P258"></a>258}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXVII -<br /><br /> -A LITTLE ABOUT VANCOUVER CITY -</h3> - -<p> -A diminutive Japanese who picked up my -fairly heavy trunk, slung it over his shoulder -and walked down the platform with it as -though it were nothing but a shawl, was the -first person I met in Vancouver, reminding -me that that land-locked sea below was the -Pacific, which white men do not own but -only share with the brown and yellow -Orientals. I wonder—will the day come when -the latter want an ocean all to themselves? -And are there, in view of this contingency, -plans of this intricate coast among the Japanese -naval archives? They knew the other side -pretty well before the war began with Russia, -and they are not a people to leave things -to chance. The yellow men have known the -Pacific coast from San Francisco to -Vancouver as long as the white men, and put -in a great deal of work there and eaten much -humble pie, and also realised by the constant -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P259"></a>259}</span> -rise in their wages—ten times anything their -own country offers—that the white man is -strangely lost without them. They had no -flair for colonising half a century ago, when -the rush was made for the Pacific coast, but -they have it now. -</p> - -<p> -Vancouver is very beautifully situated. The -ground sloping to the shut sea, girt with those -huge, straight trees that give a sense of -luxuriance to this northern Pacific coast which no -tropic country can excel, is a perfect -situation for a big city. Vancouver is a big city. -It is so big that many people are afraid for -its immediate future. They say that it is -already far bigger than it has any right to -be, and that by the dubiously beneficent -aid of innumerable real estate men, it is -increasing at a pace that is bound to end in -disaster. The slump had been expected in -1909, it was expected last year, it is expected -this year. Some year it will come; and if -I were a patriotic and hard-working inhabitant -of Vancouver, I should then head a -deputation which had for its purpose the -dumping in the sea of a large number of the real -estate agents who swarm hungrily in the -place. There is a big street entirely filled -with their offices, and the mark of them is -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P260"></a>260}</span> -everywhere. Mr. A. G. Bradley, in that -encyclopædic work <i>Canada in the Twentieth -Century</i>, jeers at the English for their distrust -of the real estate man, who, he thinks, serves -a useful and necessary purpose. Better go to -the real estate man, says Mr. Bradley, if you -want to buy land, than to the bar loafer. -There is a great deal in that. In individual -cases they are excellent men. But, collected -together in vast numbers, as in Vancouver, -they can do mischief in a way the bar loafer -never can, and that is by so magnifying the -importance of the buying and selling of land, -that people take to it in exchange for work, -and falsely imagine that enormous prosperity -is coming to a place which is in reality doing -nothing but changing its land at fancy and -speculative prices, expecting the prosperity -somehow and some day to follow of itself. -</p> - -<p> -I suppose Seattle, with less justification, -is in very much the same case. Both, besides -being ports with great expectations, happen -to be the last place, so to speak, in their -respective countries; and there is something -magnetic in the attraction of a last place. Thither -drifts that very considerable population which, -by getting on geographically, almost persuades -itself that it is getting on materially. Having -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P261"></a>261}</span> -attained the limit, it stays there and does -as little as it can. Such people give a city -a false air of greatness, and are, in fact, a -surplus population with nothing to do but bid -up land against one another. -</p> - -<p> -Of course there are plenty of genuine citizens -in Vancouver, with all the enterprise and -intelligence that help to make cities great. -Practically, too, the greatness of Vancouver -is in the end assured. It is already a -magnificent port, having a big trade with the East, -but nothing to what it will have. The Panama -Canal will make it the centre, by sea, of the -world. Again, it is the terminus of the -Canadian Pacific Railway, and is destined, -every one says, to become the terminus of the -Grand Trunk, and any other railroad that -wants to outlet on the Pacific. Wheat has -begun to come through it from the prairie -that used to go west to Montreal. The new -reciprocity treaty will divert some of this -freight to the south, no doubt, but that -remains to be seen. In any case, besides -being a port, Vancouver will remain the -business capital of a province endlessly rich in -minerals and timber, and increasingly rich -in fruit- and farm-land. Some day, therefore, -Vancouver will extend to those remote spots -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P262"></a>262}</span> -where already town lots are being disposed -of. Some day. Only, a big city should not -live upon its future; and the sale of such -lots miles off in the backwoods to people -who, having bought them, cannot pay for -them or cannot put up houses on them, or -cannot afford to live in those houses even -if they put them up, because there is nothing -for them to do there and their money has -run out—this sort of sale, while it enriches -the real estate man, does not enrich anybody -else. Moreover, it creates a restless spirit -among those genuine farmers out in the country -who would honestly be farming their land, -if real estate agents would leave them alone, -and not persuade them that it is just as profitable -a game to hang about waiting for opportunities -to sell their farms in plots. Of course -they, like most other people who get as far -as Vancouver, are not mere innocents. Sellers -and buyers are probably equally aware of -the risks they run; but where a tide of -speculation sets in, the shrewdest people seem -ready to take the most absurd risks. And -the slump has taken so long in coming, and -the possibilities of Vancouver seem so -immense, that speculation in land has become -a perfect fascination. -</p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P263"></a>263}</span> -</p> - -<p> -'What will it be worth next year?' -</p> - -<p> -That is the formula you constantly see -at the end of an advertisement of some town -lot—five miles, perhaps, from anywhere. The -correct answer varies. If the slump does -not come off next year, the lot may be worth -double what is being asked for it now. If -the slump does come off it will be worth a -twentieth, perhaps, of what was given for -it. Slump or no slump, this method of -building up a city is unsatisfactory. Montreal, -Toronto, Winnipeg—these have become great -as the centres of comparatively populous -provinces, in which wealth has been gradually -and carefully created by agricultural and -industrial enterprises established on a firm basis. -The jobs have been waiting for the men. -In Vancouver alone, of all big Canadian cities, -the men are waiting for the jobs, or, what -is worse, waiting in the belief that money -comes anyhow, and that jobs are not the -prerequisite of money-making. I do not wish -to give the impression that Vancouver is -full of unemployed people, still less of -unemployable ones; merely that many of the -people there employed are not engaged in -the undertakings that ensure the continuity -of a city's prosperity. -</p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P264"></a>264}</span> -</p> - -<p> -Certainly any picture of Vancouver that -made it out gloomy would be a mistake. Nothing -could be livelier than its streets and its -people; and if the slump does not come, and -the Jeremiahs are wrong, Vancouver citizens -will be justified of any amount of exultation. -Already they have most of the things that make -citizens pleased and proud—a beautiful site, -fine streets, the most splendid of public parks, -water-ways innumerable in front, and, behind, -a country good to look at and rich in -potentialities. Vancouver's industries, even if they -do not justify the size of the place, are -important and prosperous; and its propinquity -to the salmon fisheries and vast timber tracts -of British Columbia is something which alone -would make a great town. In tone it is new -world compared with Victoria, but old world -compared with Seattle. There are many -English people there. Living is high. No -coin under five cents is, of course, in use, and -when you start the day by paying that sum -for a newspaper marked one cent, you find -it difficult to beat down prices during the -rest of the day. Apropos of newspapers, -I was told of a very successful strike among -the paper-boys of Vancouver some little -time ago. Many people must have heard -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P265"></a>265}</span> -of it, but it is worth retelling. The strike -was headed by a youthful organiser, popularly -known as Reddy, from the colour of his -hair. Reddy was alleged to be thirteen years -of age at the time, but Pitt was not so much -older when he became Prime Minister of Great -Britain. Holding the firm conviction that he -and his fellow-workers were entitled to at -least two cents out of the five for every paper -sold (I am not sure of my figures), Reddy -proclaimed a strike, and conducted it so -successfully that the newspaper proprietors of -Vancouver were compelled to wait upon him -humbly, and yield in every particular to -his demands. Among historic strikes this -seems worthy of a place. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap28"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P266"></a>266}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXVIII -<br /><br /> -THE HAPPY FARMERS OF THE ISLAND -</h3> - -<p> -There are no lotus-lands attached to the -Dominion, and will not be, unless we make -over to it at some date the West Indies. -But because Vancouver Island has a climate -excelling that of any other part of Canada, -and a beauty of scenery not surpassed -anywhere; because also the men who have settled -there have reckoned these possessions dearer -than other things, such as the fat soil of the -prairie and the chance of growing quickly -rich, Canadians of the mainland are given -at times to lay a charge of lotus-eating against -them. I think the charge is an unfair one. -Life may be less strenuous on the island, -and there are men there, no doubt, who take -their work there over easily. Against this has -to be set the fact that the work that does go -on in Vancouver Island goes on all the year -round, that the colonists are men with an -eye to the far future as well as to the immediate -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P267"></a>267}</span> -one (they have, that is to say, an English -ideal of permanent residence instead of the -notion of getting what they can from the -place and decamping), and that in their hands, -if the island is not being developed as fast as -it might be, it is at least safe from spoliation -and waste. Some day, when the mainland -Canadians have time to consider the amenities -of a country life as well as the necessities, they -will find themselves going to the island for hints. -</p> - -<p> -As one crosses from Vancouver, the beauty of -the straits prepares one a little for the beauty -of the island which, so far as I saw it, has no -bare or ugly places. Its coast-line has the -contour of the Scandinavian fiords, but its charm -is greater, owing to the luxuriant growth -of the tall and splendid trees. Right to the -edge of these rock-bound sea-water lakes -the forest grows—Douglas firs, surely the -finest of all straight-growing trees, cedar -and maple, jack-pine and arbutus, and at -their feet, flowers and mosses and saxifrages. -Arriving at Victoria, I went straight through -to Duncans, and, looking from the train, was -reminded by the greenness of the land, freshened -by the delicate rain that was falling, of the -mountainous parts of Ceylon—which impression -was strengthened by the fact of the -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P268"></a>268}</span> -smoking-compartment being crowded with Orientals of -all sorts, mostly Chinese, but Japanese too -and some Indians, all seeming very much -at their ease among the white men. It was -a harmonious sight; but what, I wondered, -would an Anglo-Indian say if he found -himself condemned to sit with his cheroot among -this riff-raff of natives? and what chance -of any agreement on questions affecting our -Indian Empire between the officials of India -and these Westerners who admit the Oriental -to an equality with themselves? -</p> - -<p> -I was bound on a visit to friends who had -a farm on Quamichan Lake, and found a buggy -waiting for me at Duncans station, driven by -an elderly man who had all the Canadian -optimism, in spite of the fact that he had, -in 1882, sold for a song the whole of Edmonton, -then in his possession. Another of the missed -millionaires of Canada. He brought me in the -dark to my friends' farm, and when I looked -out of my window next morning, I almost -believed myself to be back in England. A -little lake lay two fields below—a fresh-water -lake still and reedy, with woods or orchards -sloping to its edge, and in the distance a ring -of hills. It might be Grasmere transported -to some warmer county such as Devonshire; -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P269"></a>269}</span> -but Devonshire never grew such stately trees, -nor has England anywhere mountains wooded -like these to their peaks. A heat-mist lay -on the water, and the apples in the orchard -seemed the reddest I had ever seen. Only -the grass was not English grass, though it -was greener than most of the grass of the -new world. All round the lake were farms, -belonging largely to Englishmen, dairy-farming -or fruit-farming, making use of science -and co-operation, but not sacrificing beauty -to utility. Perhaps they could not spoil the -island if they tried. The trees are so dominant -and stately that every piece of cleared land -seems to look at once like a part of an old -English park. -</p> - -<p> -It should have been called New England, -this beautiful country which has so many -English people in it, which carries on so much -of the English tradition and sentiment, and -which has even the English pheasant. I saw -thousands of pheasants during the days I spent -there. They were put down on the island not -so very many years ago, and they have -increased enormously. The deer were already -there, and you may see them in the orchards, -unless they are very high-fenced, at almost -any time in the early morning. And there are -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P270"></a>270}</span> -grouse and partridges in plenty too, and beasts -that England no longer possesses—the coon -and the puma, and the bear and the wolverine. -To see the salmon leaping all across Cowichan -Bay, on a bright October morning, is a sight -for sore eyes, if they happen to be an angler's. -To drive along the roads is to realise instantly -that they are the best roads in the Dominion. -Duncans is particularly English, even for -Vancouver Island. I think it is vanity and -a certain cause of vexation to expect in the -new world a conformity to the ways of the -old, which necessary differences of living—the -indispensable growth of new habits, some -of them better than the old—render in time -impossible. Those who expect such a conformity -are usually the first to forget that the -old country changes too, and that it is we, -as often as those across the sea, who have -forgotten the ancient order and taken on the -new, generally without thought, and often -without reason. Though it is absurd to expect -to find Canada a replica in ideas and habits -of the old world, it is nevertheless pleasant -to come upon a community there which, -without holding itself too much apart from its -neighbours or standing out against what is -progressive, does represent some peculiarly -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P271"></a>271}</span> -English qualities at their best. That is, perhaps, -why the island makes a particular appeal to -the man newly out from home. I certainly -do not think its inhabitants are to be charged -with stiffness and unadaptability. Men who -have taken on the new life, and work in a spirit -of optimism not less than that shown elsewhere, -are rather to be admired than otherwise -if they have retained, and even insist on, -what is good in the old. And a love of sport -and beauty and sociability, and even of leisure, -is a good thing, especially when it is found -among men who do their own work as these -men do, and more especially when found -among women who work as the women of -the island do. The work is the best of all, -but all work and no play turns many people—and -not a few Canadians—not merely into -dull folk, but into narrow-minded and backward -ones, who will some day have all the -unpleasantness of being rudely awakened to -the fact. -</p> - -<p> -No doubt there are some ne'er-do-weels -on the island, but the great majority of those -I met seemed to me to be capable men, likely -to do well by what is the most beautiful, -and will some day be, perhaps, the most -valuable part of the Empire. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap29"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P272"></a>272}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXIX -<br /><br /> - A CHAT WITH THE PRIME MINISTER OF BRITISH<br /> - COLUMBIA AND A BIG FIRE AT VICTORIA<br /> -</h3> - -<p> -As everybody knows who has been in Canada, -there are two hotel systems in vogue there. -By the one system you pay for your room and -board separately, and this is called the European -plan. By the other you take your meals and -lodging at a fixed price, and that is called the -American plan. -</p> - -<p> -In much the same way one might say there are -two systems of life in Canada, and indeed -elsewhere. By the one you distinguish between -your work and your play, and treat each as a -separate item. By the other you mix the two -up, and are apt to consider yourself a -strenuous person. I don't know that it is fair to -describe these respectively as the American and -the European system of life; but I am pretty -certain that whether you apply the systems -to life or to a hotel, the results produced by -them are not on the whole very different. -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P273"></a>273}</span> -Applying them to life, the main distinction -seems to be that the exponents of the strenuous -or American method—those who get their fun -out of their work and their holidays out of their -forced travel, or their compulsory rest by -doctor's orders—are frequently led to confuse -the appearance of work with the reality, and -to be disentitled to wear that air of superiority -which, in the presence of confessed believers -of leisure, they too frequently assume. For, -when all is said and done, leisure is as necessary -to man as work, and everybody takes it, whatever -he may think. -</p> - -<p> -Vancouver laughs at Victoria for its -dead-aliveness and want of hustle. Victoria smiles -at Vancouver for its restlessness and -superfluity of energy. -</p> - -<p> -Now you see the point of my aphorism. I -do not propose to hold the balance between -these distinguished cities. Both have their -peculiar merits; and if Vancouver is likely in -years to come to leave Victoria far behind in -the race for industrial supremacy, Victoria is -none the less likely to remain ahead of Vancouver -in culture and the arts. At present I -should judge that Victoria is distinctly the -steadier city of the two. Speculation in land -is the exception rather than the rule; prices go -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P274"></a>274}</span> -up steadily, and the land is bought by intending -residents. At which point I will abandon -comparisons, which are the more absurd because -the destinies of the two towns are so widely -different. Vancouver is a great port on the -mainland of Canada, connecting it with Asia, -the western States, South America, and -whatever countries will henceforth export -merchandise via the Panama Canal. Victoria is the -political capital of British Columbia, with all -the prestige that attaches to such a position and -the finest climate in the Dominion. Not that -it is only that. Some of its inhabitants -consider that its prospects are immeasurably -superior to those of Seattle, 'since the riches -of Vancouver Island' (I quote from a local -pamphlet), 'in their entirety incomparably -more valuable than the gold-mines of Alaska, -are directly tributary to the British Columbia -capital.' -</p> - -<p> -There is a great deal in this, though one has -to remember that those riches will take many -years to develop. The drawback to the -immediate development of Vancouver Island is -that it is covered with enormous timber. -Reciprocity with the States is likely to give -a fillip to the lumber industry, and the clearing -of the land will then go on far quicker than -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P275"></a>275}</span> -hitherto. True, lumbermen do not actually -clear the land; they leave the stumps behind -them, and all the poorer trees. But they -undoubtedly open the land up. Moreover, the -revival of Esquimalt as a naval base will -revive the prestige of Victoria, and create -more work, besides inducing railwaymen to -press on into the island. -</p> - -<p> -I stopped there on my way back, partly to -see the town itself, partly because I wished -to see Mr. Richard M'Bride. The town -disappointed me just a little. It commands a -magnificent view of the mountains on the -mainland, and the country all round is -beautiful. But the villas and gardens, which one -hears so much praised, struck me as a little -commonplace. Perhaps it is that I like a -town to be a town and a garden to be a garden; -whereas Victoria is a sort of garden city, -grateful no doubt to those eyes that are accustomed -to the utilitarian towns of the West, but -altogether lacking in architectural fineness. -The Parliament Buildings are good, and would -be very good if those responsible for their -maintenance would remove the inscription -'Canada' from across the front of them. In its -coloured lettering it looks like the icing-sugar -mottoes you see inscribed on birthday cakes. -</p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P276"></a>276}</span> -</p> - -<p> -But let a more enthusiastic pen than mine -(again I fall back on that local pamphlet) -describe Victoria as it appears to Victorians. -</p> - -<p> -'If there are sights more beautiful than the -Olympian Mountains from Beacon Hill, or the -windings of the Gorge as the waters come -in from the sea between waving battlements of -plumy firs, then eyes have not seen them. -If there is a sweeter song than the skylark's -matin melodies high up from Cadboro Bay, -then ears have not heard it. If there be more -bewildering loveliness than clusters about the -shaded and flower-gemmed gardens of Victorian -homes looking seaward, then poets have not -written it in imperishable numbers, nor minstrels -celebrated it in well-remembered song. If -there be a city of dreams, even the fabled -Atlantis of antiquity, or vision of Babylonian -towers set in hanging gardens, and redolent -of strange odours of musk and myrrh, or fairy -casements opening out to perilous seas forlorn, -then never one approached in splendour this -jewel of all time, ringed by the azure seas and -sentinelled by everlasting hills.... A bird's -song drops like the sudden peal of a bell. -Outside are broad boulevards, grey with -powdery macadam, stretching towards the -bustling city; highways of progress and -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P277"></a>277}</span> -modernity, now scrolled by the flight of a -whizzing automobile, now echoing with the -staccato sound of hurrying hoof-beats. Inside -are flowers and brooding hedges, the sheen of -close-cropped grasses and sun-lacquered -tree-trunks—rest, peace, and sweet seclusion.' -</p> - -<p> -After this it comes almost as a relief to know -from the same pamphlet that 'the climate of -Victoria is best expressed in figures.' There is -a great deal to be said for figures. -</p> - -<p> -There is a very good, small, natural-history -museum in a wing attached to the Parliament -Buildings, but it is absurdly small. The -collection of Indian curios is remarkably inadequate, -and merely tempts the visitor to ask when -Canadians are going to devote some of the -money they are undoubtedly making to a -genuine study and collection of the remains -of their predecessors in the land. Indians -are not dying out as fast as some people -suppose; but their crafts are, and so are their -creeds and all that appertains to them. It -would be easy even now to create a magnificent -Indian museum, but it will become -less and less easy as the years go by. Relics -of Indian times are constantly being picked -up by men travelling in out-of-the-way parts, -or unearthed during railroad and other -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P278"></a>278}</span> -excavations, and if it were known that the authorities -would be glad to receive them and would -perhaps pay the cost of their carriage to some -centre, there is no doubt that many valuable -finds would be forwarded to them. The -making of museums, just like the building -of ships, is a branch of empire work which -should not be neglected; and Victorians are -eminently the people to recognise this. -</p> - -<p> -It was in his rooms in Parliament Buildings -that Mr. M'Bride conversed with me -on the subject of British Columbia. You -hear people say in Canada, that if ever that -astutest of party leaders, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, -goes out of office with his Liberals, Mr. M'Bride -will shortly after become Prime Minister of -the Dominion—as Conservative leader, be it -understood. He is not a great orator, and -he has no scheme even for a party millennium. -That, however, in Canada is a strength rather -than a weakness. Politicians are not expected in -Canada to bring about the millennium: indeed, -so far as I could make out, the average Canadian -is of opinion that when the millennium comes, -it will be noticeable for an absence of -politicians. They have not our reverence for these -great men. But on the other hand, they -require from them evidence of qualities which -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P279"></a>279}</span> -may or may not be present in our ministers. -One is a readiness to seize opportunity as -it comes. Another is, to have a practical -understanding of the ways of finance. Yet -a third is, to be in touch with men and -things—the sort of quality we mean, however -vaguely, when we raise the cry of a Cabinet -of Business Men. All these qualities -Mr. M'Bride possesses, together with that -readiness to seem agreeable which is almost a -necessity to a public man. -</p> - -<p> -Mr. M'Bride confined his conversation with -me to British Columbia—a big enough subject -for a short interview. I wished to know if -the survey of the province was being carried -out as quickly as possible. In a vast country -like British Columbia, it seems one of the -most important things. The right to acquire -land must be made simple and certain. -Mr. M'Bride declared that surveying was going -on as fast as men and money could do it, -and referred me to the surveyor-general for -details. I wish I could go further into the -subject, but there is no space for it here. Then -we got on to education, and Mr. M'Bride -asked me to assure the working men of England -that the education facilities of British Columbia -were as fine as any to be got anywhere. -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P280"></a>280}</span> -Perhaps this is so, though I heard some criticism -of the public schools from another eminent -Victorian. It is easier, perhaps, to be -enthusiastic than to be unanimous about any given -system of education. To take but one small -point, the co-education of boys and girls is -a thing upon which people are not agreed -even in British Columbia. -</p> - -<p> -I was on the steamboat, ready to start -for Vancouver, when the great fire of 1910 -broke out in the town. With a considerable -wind blowing it seemed to me not improbable -that the whole of Victoria would be burnt -down that night, and I had sufficient of the -journalistic instinct to leave my things to -go on by the boat and to go back myself to -watch the blaze. Luckily the wind dropped -and the fire was kept to one quarter, and I -rather regretted my haste when I found -myself stranded in Victoria at three o'clock in -the morning. Still, it was worth while to have -been there, if only to observe the working -of the Canadian mind in a crisis of this sort. -In England you would have heard ejaculations -of horror and much sympathy expressed -with those who were bound to suffer by the -fire. The Victorian crowd took it quite -differently. 'This'll create more work,' said one -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P281"></a>281}</span> -man fervidly. 'Just what the town needed,' -said another enthusiast. 'We'll be able to -have a better-looking street there after this. -Those shops weren't good enough.' I even -heard some of the men who had rushed out -of their burning offices talking keenly and -proudly of the sort of buildings they'd have -to start putting up next day—much better -buildings. Presumably they were insured, but -even so men in the old country would have -been a little shocked and perturbed, and -regretful of the old rooms they were -accustomed to. I fell asleep, when I had found a -hotel, almost oppressed by the optimism of -Canada. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap30"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P282"></a>282}</span></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXX -<br /><br /> -BACK THROUGH OTTAWA -</h3> - -<p> -It was just before sunrise that I first saw -Ottawa. I was on my way back from -Vancouver, and had spent four successive days -in the train, getting out only for minutes -at a time to stamp about platforms where -the train waited long enough to permit of -such exercise. -</p> - -<p> -Such days, varied only by meals for which -one is always looking, but never hungry, -tend to become monotonous, even though -one spends them mostly in the observation -car. The fact is, observation pure and simple -is one of the most difficult things possible -to a member of the human tribe—as hard -as doing compulsory jig-saws; and reading -humorous American magazines, one after the -other, is an alternative that also requires -the strong mind. If I must travel long -distances by train, I want to be the engine-driver. -</p> - -<p> -The country, I thought, looked less attractive -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P283"></a>283}</span> -as I repassed it now than it looked before, -and I put this down to the freeze-up, which -had come unusually early, people kept saying, -and gave to the land a black and ruffled look, -like a sick bird's. Later it would be beautiful -again in snow, and the life and work of the -season of snow would begin. Meanwhile, -people in the little northerly stations we passed -had the appearance of having stopped work. -You saw them standing about—always with -their backs to buildings to get out of the -shrivelling wind. I suppose in most of these -places there is a between-time in which nobody -can work. -</p> - -<p> -Nothing much was doing in Ottawa when -I got out there, but that of course was due to -the earliness of the hour. It was so early -that when I reached a hotel they told me -breakfast was not to be had for some time -yet, and so, since I was too wide-awake to -go to sleep again, I thought I would spend -the hour looking at the Dominion Parliament -Buildings. Perhaps it was the too early hour, -perhaps it was the coldness of the wind -blowing round that bluff above the river on which -the famous buildings stand—but I could feel -none of that satisfaction, when I looked at -them, which great architecture gives. The -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P284"></a>284}</span> -situation is fine, but not the buildings. Anthony -Trollope has written of them:—'As regards -purity of art and manliness of conception, the -work is entitled to the very highest praise.... -I know no modern Gothic purer of its kind or -less sullied with fictitious ornamentation'—but -I think he must have breakfasted handsomely -first. Some one else, but I forget who, and -it does not matter, has described the buildings -as 'a noble pile,' which seems to hit the -mark, if, as I fancy, that mid-Victorian -expression suggests something on so large a scale, -which has obviously cost such a lot of money, -that vague admiration is the least of the -emotions which should be produced by a -sight of it. 'A noble pile,' then, let them -remain, especially since, seen from some -distance, with the beautiful river below and a -spacious country stretched before them, they -possess a certain imposing appearance. Closer -up, one is less impressed. There is a -long-backed unmeaning set to the buildings, as -though the architects had found concentration -a vexation, and had decided to extend -instead. Still, they might have elaborated -painfully, and they did not—except for those -little turrets on the side-buildings, surmounted -by railings which one associates chiefly with -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P285"></a>285}</span> -the London area. Area railings are meant, -I suppose, to prevent errand-boys from falling -into the areas, but there can be few errands -to the roof of the Parliament Buildings. In -passing, I did not like those hundreds of silly -little windows that peep all round: one, as it -were, for every official to peep from. -</p> - -<p> -Reflection should serve to temper criticism, -however. The year 1867, in which the -Dominion Parliament required its Houses, was -not one of brilliant achievement in the -architectural world; and when it is remembered -that Canada itself was also a new country, -the wonder is that nothing worse was built. -Only a few years before, we in England had -been transfixed with admiration of the Crystal -Palace; Royal Academicians were above -criticism, and 'almost too great to live'; -bright in the sun gleamed the Albert Memorial. -We ruled the waves, but not the arts; and -'our daughter of the snows' took over our -large ideas and our little taste in building. -</p> - -<p> -Whether she took over our political ideas is -another matter, upon which I pondered as -I contemplated those Parliament Buildings. -There stood the House in which Sir John -Macdonald evolved that east-and-west policy -which seemed such an empire-cementing thing; -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P286"></a>286}</span> -where Sir Wilfrid Laurier teaches the world -how to lead a party; where not as yet had -been ratified that Reciprocity Agreement with -America which has been agitating our -statesmen so much this year, though, even as I -gazed, it must have been in course of -construction. Would an Imperial Parliament sit there -some day, I wondered, and direct the affairs -of the British Empire from what would be, -not so long hence, a far more central and -important spot than Westminster? I could not -quite imagine it. I could not even like the -idea, as some Imperialists at any price can. -Home Rule for England is one of the policies -I shall always stand for, I believe; even when -Canadians have that grasp of Imperial affairs -which we in England impute to them—by -comparison, we generally mean, with our own -English political opponents—that grasp which, -as a matter of fact, is much less common among -them at present than it is among us, whether -we be Liberals or Conservatives. -</p> - -<p> -I wish our party political system allowed -of our minimising the zeal and intelligence -of the side opposed to us without magnifying -those qualities in a third party which, in -strict reality, it scarcely possesses. I wish, for -example, that Tariff Reformers could deride -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P287"></a>287}</span> -the Imperialistic attitude of Free Traders (and -vice versa) without declaring that Canadians -could in this matter teach us all lessons. For -the truth is that Canadians could not give -lessons to either in this matter. They have -an Imperial sentiment all right, but they do -not worry over it as we do. Take that -question of Preference which has been making us -all so hot for several years now. It never -troubled Canadians at all. They thought that -there was a good deal in it from a business -point of view, and they were prepared to try -it—and did so. But they never for a moment -fancied or perturbed themselves with thinking -that, either with or without it, the Empire -would totter to its fall. Our fervours left -them entirely cool; and in that business-like -state of coolness, after duly granting us -Preference, they have, equally duly in their opinion, -set out to establish reciprocity with the States. -The only thing likely to make them hot in -this matter is the suggestion that they have -been lacking in Imperial spirit. Of course -they had been lacking in that early, romantic, -self-immolating and fantastically quaint, -Imperial spirit which we attributed to -them—just to make our own Little Englanders try -and feel ashamed; but, equally again, they -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P288"></a>288}</span> -never had it, and would not dream of claiming -it even if they could be made to understand -what our devotees meant by it. To forgo -trade in order to uphold the flag would not -appeal to a Canadian—mainly for the reason -that the idea would strike him as grotesque. -</p> - -<p> -In the matter of this Reciprocity Agreement, -then, I think it is we who are wrong if we -make it a reproach to the Canadians. It -may or may not be a sound economic -proceeding, but it is entered upon without -prejudice to Imperial sentiment. Only if we -first assume that all Canadians have been -burning for years past with the same zeal -for an Imperial Zollverein that has animated -our own Tariff Reformers, can we now credit -them with cooling off and backsliding. But -such an assumption would be a very great -mistake. All assumptions that Canadians view -our political problems from our point of view -are great mistakes. They no more do so -than we view theirs from their point of view. -We do not. Nothing struck me more forcibly -than the fact that what causes us political -turmoil in Great Britain is viewed with -complete coolness in Canada, and that what -Canadians are keen after remains unknown -to us. While I was there, I kept seeing letters -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P289"></a>289}</span> -in English papers (reproduced sometimes—but -very briefly—in Canadian papers) saying -that Canada was whole-hearted for Tariff -Reform, or that Canadian Free Traders were -sweeping the country; whereas the fact was -and is, that these two terms (whatever might -in reality be the state of Canadian parties) -never conveyed in the least in Canada what -we mean by them, and therefore conveyed -no truth that could be understood of both -peoples equally. -</p> - -<p> -Does this inter-Imperial lack of comprehension -threaten the future of the Empire? It -might seem so at first. Lack of understanding -between fellow-citizens cannot be a good -thing in itself. But it has this merit, that -it makes real interference on either side a -rare thing. If we understood—or believed we -understood—what was for the future welfare -of Canada, it is doubtful if we could refrain -from pointing it out, even if we could refrain -from insisting upon it. If the Canadians -thought themselves capable of directing us in -the right way—say in the management of -India—they would feel urged to give their opinion, -and Anglo-Indian officials, having this last straw -added to their backs, would strike <i>en masse</i>. -As it is, we let each other's real problems -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P290"></a>290}</span> -alone, and are satisfied with our own solutions -of them. Imperial Conferences are necessary -because in some matters the Empire -must work together, having the same interests. -Cables and Dreadnoughts are cases in point. -That Great Britain still bears the main -expenditure in all such matters is proof, if proof -be needed, that what American papers -somewhat unkindly call 'British Island Politics' -are, still, more Imperial than the politics -of any other part of the Empire. We pay -and we ask for little in return, and the Empire -will go on, even now that Canada has become -a nation. Only some mistake could, I think, -part us—a mistake as big as that which parted -us from the United States—and we are not -likely to make it; nor is Canada likely to -wish for it, however great she may picture -and make her own destiny. But that she -will want to rule entirely in her own house -is certain. Canadians themselves—the voters -I mean—are not likely for a long time to wish -for much more than they have in the way -of national liberty. I do not think they would -much worry as to whether their ambassador -at Washington, for example, was appointed -from Ottawa or from London. The results -in either case would be likely to be very similar, -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P291"></a>291}</span> -and in any case, as I have said, Canadians -are not obsessed at present with politics. But -it has to be remembered that besides Canadian -voters, there are Canadian politicians, and -since it is in the nature of politicians to be -at least as ambitious as other people, it is -natural that Canadian politicians should want -in their own hands all the important posts -that are to be had. Just at present Canadians -take such a disrespectful view of politicians in -general—which is unfair no doubt to their -own political representatives, but natural -perhaps in a new country which has not too -much time to reflect upon the real -benefactions politicians may confer, and rather -fancies, from isolated examples, that 'graft' -is what they are usually after—that they are -not likely to demand of their own accord -more power to the hand of their own -statesmen. But the accord of voters depends in -due course upon the persuasive powers of -candidates, and I foresee the candidates -persuading pretty hard in the near future: all -of which will make work for Imperial Conferences -of the near future, but not, it is to be -hoped, impossible work. -</p> - -<p> -I find that having represented myself as -reflecting upon Canadian politics outside the -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P292"></a>292}</span> -Dominion Parliament Buildings, I have -altogether omitted Canadian politics in favour -of Imperial considerations. Beyond showing, -or rather trying to show, that Canadian -politics—the things that really interest -Canadians—are not in the least what we are -accustomed to think them, I have got no further -at all. Still, that—if I have shown it—is -something, for it may suggest to some gentle -reader that an Empire is not a simple, extended -Great Britain, in which every one thinks -precisely the same things to be of the same -immediate importance; of which all the emotions -and reflections may be realised in full by a -perusal, let us say, of the Standard of Empire. -</p> - -<p> -And so I remove myself from that bluff -above the river at Ottawa to my hotel, and -thence to divers parts of that charming town, -which looked then—for Parliament was not -sitting—something like Oxford out of term; -and thence to the train carrying me back to -Montreal and Quebec. -</p> - -<p> -Afterwards came the return across the -Atlantic to a country smaller than Canada—(less -than a week of steaming, my friends), -in company with Canadians who were returning -to see what the old place was like after -many years. I think they would not be -<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P293"></a>293}</span> -ill-pleased with it, small as it is by comparison. -I hope they found behind it some of the qualities -which, as it seems to me, are to be found -also in THE FAIR DOMINION, making it to my -eyes yet more fair. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="index"></a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P294"></a>294}</span></p> - -<h3> -INDEX -</h3> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -ABBOTT, MOUNT, <a href="#P215">215</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Alaska, <a href="#P274">274</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Alberta, <a href="#P13">13</a>, <a href="#P138">138</a>, <a href="#P141">141</a>, <a href="#P142">142</a>, <a href="#P143">143</a>, -<a href="#P164">164</a>, <a href="#P165">165</a>, <a href="#P217">217</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Alps, the, <a href="#P177">177</a>, <a href="#P180">180</a>, <a href="#P199">199</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Angell, Norman, <a href="#P68">68</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Annunzio, Gabriel d', <a href="#P178">178</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Anticosti, <a href="#P16">16</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Archangel, <a href="#P13">13</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Athelmer, <a href="#P233">233</a>, <a href="#P238">238</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -BAIE ST. PAUL, <a href="#P40">40</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Banff, <a href="#P177">177</a>, <a href="#P178">178</a>, <a href="#P179">179</a>, <a href="#P180">180</a>, <a href="#P181">181</a>, -<a href="#P183">183</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Beacon Hill, <a href="#P276">276</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Beaupré, <a href="#P47">47</a>, <a href="#P48">48</a>, <a href="#P49">49</a>, <a href="#P50">50</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Beaupré, Ste. Anne de, <a href="#P48">48</a>, <a href="#P51">51</a>, -<a href="#P53">53</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Bears, Grizzly, <a href="#P246">246-50</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Belle Isle, <a href="#P16">16</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Birmingham, <a href="#P156">156</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Blondin, <a href="#P90">90</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Bourassa, Mr., <a href="#P30">30</a>, <a href="#P31">31</a>, <a href="#P33">33</a>, <a href="#P85">85</a>, <a href="#P86">86</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Bourne, Archbishop, <a href="#P17">17</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Bow River, <a href="#P141">141</a>, <a href="#P144">144</a>, <a href="#P179">179</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Bradley, A. G., <a href="#P31">31</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -British Columbia, <a href="#P188">188</a>, <a href="#P216">216</a>, <a href="#P237">237</a>, -<a href="#P238">238</a>, <a href="#P256">256</a>, <a href="#P274">274</a>, <a href="#P279">279</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Bruce, Randolph, <a href="#P221">221</a>, <a href="#P222">222</a>, <a href="#P225">225</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Brussels, <a href="#P88">88</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -CADBORO' BAY, <a href="#P276">276</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Calgary, <a href="#P141">141</a>, <a href="#P143">143</a>, <a href="#P144">144</a>, <a href="#P145">145</a>, -<a href="#P163">163</a>, <a href="#P164">164</a>, <a href="#P170">170</a>, <a href="#P195">195</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Canadian Pacific Railway, <a href="#P18">18</a>, -<a href="#P141">141</a>, <a href="#P142">142</a>, <a href="#P152">152</a>, <a href="#P162">162</a>, <a href="#P182">182</a>, <a href="#P261">261</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Cartier, <a href="#P40">40</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Ceylon, <a href="#P267">267</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Champlain, <a href="#P35">35</a>, <a href="#P42">42</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Chicago, <a href="#P159">159</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Chicoutimi, <a href="#P39">39</a>, <a href="#P43">43</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Chuzzlewit, Martin, <a href="#P128">128</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Colonial Intelligence for -Educated Women, Committee of, -<a href="#P195">195</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Columbia River, <a href="#P218">218</a>, <a href="#P219">219</a>, <a href="#P222">222</a>, -<a href="#P224">224</a>, <a href="#P230">230</a>, <a href="#P233">233</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Columbia Valley, <a href="#P215">215</a>, <a href="#P216">216</a>, <a href="#P225">225</a>, -<a href="#P234">234</a>, <a href="#P238">238</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Cooper, Fenimore, <a href="#P92">92</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Covent Garden, <a href="#P117">117</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -DICKENS, CHARLES, <a href="#P29">29</a>, <a href="#P90">90</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Dufferin Terrace, <a href="#P26">26</a>, <a href="#P27">27</a>, <a href="#P28">28</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Duncans, <a href="#P267">267</a>, <a href="#P268">268</a>, <a href="#P270">270</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -EDEN CITY, <a href="#P129">129</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Edmonton, <a href="#P268">268</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Eliott, Professor, <a href="#P163">163</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Emerald Lake, <a href="#P206">206</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -<i>Empress of Britain</i>, S.S., <a href="#P1">1</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Eucharistic Congress, the, <a href="#P17">17</a>, -<a href="#P77">77</a>, <a href="#P78">78</a>, <a href="#P79">79</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -FARNHAM, MOUNT, <a href="#P229">229</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Fort William, <a href="#P114">114</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Fraser River, <a href="#P257">257</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Free Trade, <a href="#P29">29</a>, <a href="#P149">149</a>, <a href="#P287">287</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -French River, <a href="#P92">92</a>, <a href="#P93">93</a>, <a href="#P94">94</a>, <a href="#P95">95</a>, -<a href="#P96">96</a>, <a href="#P97">97</a>, <a href="#P99">99</a>, <a href="#P101">101</a>, <a href="#P102">102</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -GLACIER HOUSE, <a href="#P215">215</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Glasgow, <a href="#P73">73</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Golden, <a href="#P215">215</a>, <a href="#P216">216</a>, <a href="#P217">217</a>, <a href="#P218">218</a>, <a href="#P224">224</a>, -<a href="#P232">232</a>, <a href="#P236">236</a>, <a href="#P237">237</a>, <a href="#P238">238</a>, <a href="#P239">239</a>, <a href="#P241">241</a>, <a href="#P244">244</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Gordon, Adam, <a href="#P252">252</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Grand Trunk Railway, <a href="#P261">261</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Grasmere, <a href="#P268">268</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -HAMMERSMITH, <a href="#P94">94</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Hampstead Heath, <a href="#P117">117</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Heights of Abraham, <a href="#P34">34</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Hennepin, Father Louis, <a href="#P89">89</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Hesse, Landgraf of, <a href="#P226">226</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Hewlett, Maurice, <a href="#P250">250</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Higgsville, <a href="#P128">128</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Himalayas, the, <a href="#P177">177</a>, <a href="#P227">227</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Home Rule, <a href="#P31">31</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Hoogly, the, <a href="#P44">44</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Howells, W. D., <a href="#P90">90</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Hudson Bay Company, <a href="#P115">115</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -IMPERIALISM, <a href="#P33">33</a>, <a href="#P36">36</a>, <a href="#P287">287</a>, <a href="#P290">290</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Illecillewaet Glacier, the Great, -<a href="#P215">215</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Iron Top Mountain, <a href="#P224">224</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Irrigation Company, Columbia -Valley, <a href="#P237">237</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Irrigation Works, Columbia -Valley, <a href="#P221">221</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -KAMLOOPS, <a href="#P216">216</a>, <a href="#P229">229</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Keats, John, <a href="#P200">200</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Kildonan, <a href="#P123">123</a>, <a href="#P124">124</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Kinchinjunga, <a href="#P177">177</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Kipling, Rudyard, <a href="#P105">105</a>, <a href="#P106">106</a>, -<a href="#P253">253</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -LACHINE RAPIDS, <a href="#P77">77</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Laggan, <a href="#P200">200</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Laurentian Mountains, <a href="#P27">27</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Laurier, Sir Wilfrid, <a href="#P278">278</a>, <a href="#P286">286</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Liverpool, <a href="#P1">1</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -LONDON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, <a href="#P152">152</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -London, <a href="#P73">73</a>, <a href="#P86">86</a>, <a href="#P117">117</a>, <a href="#P118">118</a>, <a href="#P119">119</a>, -<a href="#P285">285</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Loti, Pierre, <a href="#P110">110</a>, <a href="#P111">111</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Louise, Lake, <a href="#P198">198</a>, <a href="#P199">199</a>, <a href="#P200">200</a>, <a href="#P206">206</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Lourdes, <a href="#P47">47</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -MACDONALD, SIR JOHN, <a href="#P285">285</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Manchester, <a href="#P156">156</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Manitoba, <a href="#P114">114</a>, <a href="#P144">144</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Marseilles, <a href="#P77">77</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Maskinongé, <a href="#P93">93</a>, <a href="#P96">96</a>, <a href="#P99">99</a>, <a href="#P100">100</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -M'Bride, Richard, <a href="#P275">275</a>, <a href="#P278">278</a>, <a href="#P279">279</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Meredith, George, <a href="#P130">130</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Montmorency Falls, <a href="#P38">38</a>, <a href="#P39">39</a>, <a href="#P49">49</a>, -<a href="#P50">50</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Montreal, <a href="#P17">17</a>, <a href="#P34">34</a>, <a href="#P45">45</a>, <a href="#P56">56</a>, <a href="#P64">64</a>, <a href="#P66">66</a>, -<a href="#P67">67</a>, <a href="#P68">68</a>, <a href="#P69">69</a>, <a href="#P71">71</a>, <a href="#P72">72</a>, <a href="#P73">73</a>, <a href="#P74">74</a>, <a href="#P75">75</a>, -<a href="#P76">76</a>, <a href="#P77">77</a>, <a href="#P79">79</a>, <a href="#P80">80</a>, <a href="#P81">81</a>, <a href="#P84">84</a>, <a href="#P292">292</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Moosejaw, <a href="#P126">126</a>, <a href="#P156">156</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Moraine Lake, <a href="#P201">201</a>, <a href="#P204">204</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Murray Bay, <a href="#P40">40</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Muskoka Lakes, <a href="#P92">92</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -NAPOLEON, <a href="#P120">120</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -National Park, <a href="#P179">179</a>, <a href="#P181">181</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -New Brunswick, <a href="#P32">32</a>, <a href="#P237">237</a>, <a href="#P238">238</a>, -<a href="#P242">242</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -New York, <a href="#P39">39</a>, <a href="#P51">51</a>, <a href="#P154">154</a>, <a href="#P159">159</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Niagara Falls, <a href="#P38">38</a>, <a href="#P89">89</a>, <a href="#P90">90</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Nightingale, <a href="#P163">163</a>, <a href="#P165">165</a>, <a href="#P166">166</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -North Pole, <a href="#P136">136</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Nottingham, <a href="#P28">28</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Nova Scotia, <a href="#P32">32</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -OJIBWAY, AN, <a href="#P96">96</a>, <a href="#P97">97</a>, <a href="#P99">99</a>, <a href="#P100">100</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Okanagan, <a href="#P216">216</a>, <a href="#P219">219</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Olympian Mountains, <a href="#P276">276</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Ontario, <a href="#P8">8</a>, <a href="#P13">13</a>, <a href="#P32">32</a>, <a href="#P33">33</a>, <a href="#P45">45</a>, <a href="#P85">85</a>, -<a href="#P109">109</a>, <a href="#P111">111</a>, <a href="#P112">112</a>, <a href="#P113">113</a>, <a href="#P141">141</a>, <a href="#P151">151</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Orléans, Ile d', <a href="#P40">40</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Ottawa, <a href="#P84">84</a>, <a href="#P282">282</a>, <a href="#P283">283</a>, <a href="#P292">292</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Oxford, <a href="#P77">77</a>, <a href="#P292">292</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -PANAMA CANAL, <a href="#P261">261</a>, <a href="#P274">274</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Paris, <a href="#P77">77</a>, <a href="#P117">117</a>, <a href="#P158">158</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Parkman, Francis, <a href="#P41">41</a>, <a href="#P42">42</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Parnell, Charles Stewart, <a href="#P31">31</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Peterborough, <a href="#P8">8</a>, <a href="#P81">81</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Pickerel, <a href="#P95">95</a>, <a href="#P98">98</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Pitt, William, <a href="#P265">265</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Police, North-West Mounted, -<a href="#P132">132</a>, <a href="#P133">133</a>, <a href="#P134">134</a>, <a href="#P135">135</a>, <a href="#P136">136</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Port Arthur, <a href="#P114">114</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -QUAMICHAN LAKE, <a href="#P268">268</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Quebec, <a href="#P18">18</a>, <a href="#P20">20</a>, <a href="#P22">22</a>, <a href="#P26">26</a>, <a href="#P28">28</a>, <a href="#P31">31</a>, -<a href="#P32">32</a>, <a href="#P34">34</a>, <a href="#P37">37</a>, <a href="#P38">38</a>, <a href="#P39">39</a>, <a href="#P45">45</a>, <a href="#P49">49</a>, <a href="#P50">50</a>, -<a href="#P53">53</a>, <a href="#P56">56</a>, <a href="#P60">60</a>, <a href="#P61">61</a>, <a href="#P64">64</a>, <a href="#P111">111</a>, <a href="#P112">112</a>, -<a href="#P292">292</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -REVELSTOKE, <a href="#P253">253</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Red River, <a href="#P123">123</a>, <a href="#P144">144</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -'Reddy,' <a href="#P265">265</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Regina, <a href="#P82">82</a>, <a href="#P126">126</a>, <a href="#P131">131</a>, <a href="#P132">132</a>, <a href="#P136">136</a>, -<a href="#P156">156</a>, <a href="#P218">218</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Remittance Men, <a href="#P161">161</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Rockefeller, <a href="#P23">23</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Rockies, the, <a href="#P170">170</a>, <a href="#P171">171</a>, <a href="#P177">177</a>, <a href="#P181">181</a>, -<a href="#P198">198</a>, <a href="#P209">209</a>, <a href="#P215">215</a>, <a href="#P216">216</a>, <a href="#P230">230</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Rome, <a href="#P34">34</a>, <a href="#P79">79</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Roosevelt, Theodore, <a href="#P45">45</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Russia, <a href="#P135">135</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -SAGUENAY, <a href="#P37">37</a>, <a href="#P39">39</a>, <a href="#P41">41</a>, <a href="#P43">43</a>, <a href="#P44">44</a>, -<a href="#P46">46</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -San Francisco, <a href="#P258">258</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -St. Irénée, <a href="#P40">40</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -St. John, Reversible Falls of, -<a href="#P237">237</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -St. Laurent, <a href="#P67">67</a>, <a href="#P68">68</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -St. Lawrence, <a href="#P16">16</a>, <a href="#P26">26</a>, <a href="#P34">34</a>, <a href="#P39">39</a>, <a href="#P40">40</a>, -<a href="#P44">44</a>, <a href="#P57">57</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -St. Malo, <a href="#P41">41</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Saskatchewan, <a href="#P144">144</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Seattle, <a href="#P260">260</a>, <a href="#P264">264</a>, <a href="#P274">274</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Selkirk, Lord, <a href="#P123">123</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Selkirks, the, <a href="#P215">215</a>, <a href="#P216">216</a>, <a href="#P224">224</a>, <a href="#P225">225</a>, -<a href="#P253">253</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Siegfried, André, <a href="#P18">18</a>, <a href="#P147">147</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Sir Donald, Mount, <a href="#P215">215</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Spain, <a href="#P156">156</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Spillamacheen, <a href="#P232">232</a>, <a href="#P234">234</a>, <a href="#P237">237</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Strathmore, <a href="#P163">163</a>, <a href="#P164">164</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Sudbury, <a href="#P102">102</a>, <a href="#P107">107</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Superior, Lake, <a href="#P114">114</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -TADOUSAC, <a href="#P40">40</a>, <a href="#P41">41</a>, <a href="#P42">42</a>, <a href="#P44">44</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Tariff Reform, <a href="#P149">149</a>, <a href="#P286">286</a>, <a href="#P288">288</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Thames, <a href="#P94">94</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Thebes, <a href="#P127">127</a>, <a href="#P128">128</a>, <a href="#P129">129</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Toronto, <a href="#P29">29</a>, <a href="#P65">65</a>, <a href="#P81">81</a>, <a href="#P82">82</a>, <a href="#P83">83</a>, <a href="#P84">84</a>, -<a href="#P85">85</a>, <a href="#P86">86</a>, <a href="#P87">87</a>, <a href="#P91">91</a>, <a href="#P92">92</a>, <a href="#P93">93</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Town Planning Bill, <a href="#P140">140</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Trachoma, <a href="#P3">3</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Trinité, Cap, <a href="#P43">43</a>, <a href="#P44">44</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Trollope, Anthony, <a href="#P284">284</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -ULSTER, <a href="#P33">33</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -VALLEY OF THE TEN PEAKS, <a href="#P201">201</a>, -<a href="#P202">202</a>, <a href="#P204">204</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Vancouver, <a href="#P196">196</a>, <a href="#P236">236</a>, <a href="#P258">258</a>, <a href="#P259">259</a>, -<a href="#P261">261</a>, <a href="#P262">262</a>, <a href="#P263">263</a>, <a href="#P264">264</a>, <a href="#P265">265</a>, <a href="#P267">267</a>, -<a href="#P273">273</a>, <a href="#P274">274</a>, <a href="#P282">282</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Vancouver Island, <a href="#P266">266-71</a>, <a href="#P274">274</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Vannutelli, Cardinal, <a href="#P78">78</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Victoria, <a href="#P196">196</a>, <a href="#P267">267</a>, <a href="#P273">273</a>, <a href="#P275">275</a>, <a href="#P277">277</a>, -<a href="#P280">280</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -WALKER, BRUCE, <a href="#P119">119</a>, <a href="#P120">120</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Webb, Captain, <a href="#P90">90</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Wilmer, <a href="#P216">216</a>, <a href="#P220">220</a>, <a href="#P221">221</a>, <a href="#P224">224</a>, -<a href="#P232">232</a>, <a href="#P236">236</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Windermere, Lake, <a href="#P222">222</a>, <a href="#P223">223</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Winnipeg, <a href="#P8">8</a>, <a href="#P84">84</a>, <a href="#P115">115</a>, <a href="#P116">116</a>, <a href="#P117">117</a>, -<a href="#P118">118</a>, <a href="#P119">119</a>, <a href="#P123">123</a>, <a href="#P124">124</a>, <a href="#P127">127</a>, <a href="#P128">128</a>, -<a href="#P130">130</a>, <a href="#P144">144</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Wolfe, General, <a href="#P34">34</a>, <a href="#P35">35</a>, <a href="#P39">39</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Wood, Major, <a href="#P34">34</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -World's Fair, the, <a href="#P82">82</a>, <a href="#P83">83</a>, <a href="#P87">87</a>, -<a href="#P88">88</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="index"> -YOHO VALLEY, <a href="#P206">206</a>, <a href="#P207">207</a>, <a href="#P209">209</a>, -<a href="#P210">210</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Young Women's Christian Association, <a href="#P196">196</a>. -</p> - -<p class="index"> -Yukon, <a href="#P188">188</a>, <a href="#P250">250</a>, <a href="#P251">251</a>, <a href="#P252">252</a>. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p> - Printed by T. and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to His Majesty<br /> - at the Edinburgh University Press<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Fair Dominion, by R. E. Vernède - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FAIR DOMINION *** - -***** This file should be named 62844-h.htm or 62844-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/8/4/62844/ - -Produced by Al Haines -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you - are located before using this ebook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - - - -</pre> - -</body> - -</html> - |