The river press., 1884-02-20
THE GREAT LONE LAND.
From the Shadow of the Rockies in Pull
man Car--Major Crozier's Opinion
Of the Country

/ the intention of obtaining his views Of
the territory which is still very far
west indeed
Yes said the major, in reply to a
! question regarding the weather, you
i'll Ontario, and, for the matter Of that,
people in Manitoba, will hardly believe
the climate out west is as mild as it is.
You have heard, / suppose, of the CHI
nook wind? Well, they tell some
pretty queer stories about it, and some
OF them are only to be laughed at. But
| TO it we are largely indebted for the
mildness of our winters. | have known
several inches of snow fall in a day, and
| then the chinook wind come along, and
before twentyfour hours the snow would
be all gone. This wind blows from the
outhwest, and to give you an idea OF
how it changes the temperature, may
tell you that | have seen it 800 below
zero, and shortly afterwards as many
above. This, of course, was at Fort
Macleod; further east it is not felt to
such an extent"
How is the country around Macleod
settling up?u
"Why, ten years ago it was only
mounted police post in the wilderness,
where the face of white man, except
ing the police, was hardly seen from one
years end to the other To-day the
whole country around is settled by su-
perior class, principally Englishmen,
who are engaged in stock raising. At
Macleod a snug little town has sprung
up, and one that is bound to grow as the
almost inexhaustible resources of that
district are developed"
How about market for their stock 81
asked the reporter.
mo trouble about that was the re-
ply. II have seen beef steer sold at
Macleod for $75, and that is not bad
price, you know. Last year oats sold
for six cents a pound, but of course that
to be satisfied with something little
more reasonable. AS regards settle
ment, [ never could have thought
it would have been as rapid as it
has Three years ago [ was at Qu'Ap-
pelle when we signed an important
treaty with the Indians. At what was
called Moose Jaw creek then there was
not even an Indian dog, while to-day it
is large and thriving town. Brandon
is a magnificent city also. But what
surprised me most on my return journey
was Winnipeg. When / saw it ten
years ago it was a dreary enough look
ing spot, but to-day-Well, / suppose
you know what it is as well as [ do. A
city with broad streets, magnificent
buildings, sumptuous hotels and family
residences and electric lights. It took
me as long to go from Macleod to Fort
Shaw five years ago as from Calgary to
Toronto, and [ was just week on my
journey to Toronto, almost without
change of cars, and Pnllmans all the
way
"How about the Indians ~
II consider the Indian difficulty his
been solved. Two years ago we had
some trouble with the Blackfeet at
Blackfoot crossing on the Bow river.
But bold front and the good name our
previous dealings with the Indians had
given us did much to settle the difficult
ty. We were only thirty-five against
the whole Blackfoot camp. The disap-
pearance of the buffalo has in some
cases led the Indians to steal cattle, but
On the whole we have had very little
difficulty with them. They know that
they get justice, and if !. white man of
fends against an Indian he is punished
"Where do you get your re-mounts,
major?n
''At present we get most Of them from
Oregon aggd Montana, but the raising of
horses ia our own country will soon rem
der us Independent Of our friends south
of the linesn
II have often wondered,n - said the re-
porter, chow you manage to watch such
an extensive territory with your COM
paratively small force?"
I'VE have not much difficulty, as
said before, the Indians have come to
understand that we are as much their
friends as the white mans. They often
come twenty or thirty miles with infor-
nation regarding smugglers or whisky
traders. Then we have postsall over the
country, although, of course, the inter-
walls between them are, in some cases,
very great The force at each post is
regulated by its importance. At some
We have only sergeant and three er
four Gnen, while others are i'm charge Of
am offlcer. Patrolling goes on between
the posts winter and summer alike, for
up rear the mountains there is compar-
atiVeiy little snow. Once month. or
otteaer II deemed necessary, an officer
visits and inspects them, and if any,
thing Is wrong it is reported without
delay. From Crows Nest pass. in
the Rocky mountains, to Whoop-up, we
have seven outposts, and very little can
go on in the district without our know
ing it,
Major Crozier is first in command at
Macleod, and before leaving was enter
tanned at public dinner by the citizens
with an address Before returning to
what is now no longer the Great Lone
Land, he will visit his father and
friends in Belleville.
------.--< - 49, -
Parties are at work this winter getting
out stone for large stone building to be
erected at the new town near Sun River
Ieayings.