Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1888-07-26
NOTES OF TRAVEL In THE NORTHWEST
BANFF, y. W. T., July 9, 1888.


which the limits of my time and of yom
space forbid mentioning. For example
those wonderful young cities, st. Paul
and Minneapolis would be well worthy
of a letter. A still more interesting sub
ject would be found in Lake Minneton-
ka-the perfection of summer resorts
a beautiful body of water, 20 miles long
by miles wide, located about an hour
by rail West of Minneapolis. Not less
interesting would be an account of oul
journey through the lake region of Min
nesota, and down the valley of the Red
River of the North-the great wheat belt
of the world. The city of Winnipeg
the capital of Manitoba, would be well
worth a letter, too. But will pass over
all these things, to tell something of the
Rocky Mountain region of Canada
how to get here, and what it is like.
| We took the st. Paul, Minneapolis
and Manitoba train at st. Paul, on the
morning of Monday, June 25, and after
an exceedingly interesting journey up
the Mississippi for IS miles, thence
Northwest. through the Lake Region
or Park Region, as it is appropriately
called some 100 miles further; thence
down the broad, seemingly endless,
prairieS which constitute the Red River
Valley, we crossed the Canadian line
about 2 P. NJ of Tuesday. At Emerson,
Manitoba, we changed-neither cars nor
trains, but simply conductors, to the
Canadian Pacific Railway, and reached
Winnipeg that evening about Cor, as
they say, Is o'clock. We remained at
Winnipeg until Thursday morning
about 1925, when we took the Canadi-
an Pacific West bound Trans-continen-
tai train, and after a continuous journey
of two days and two nights, covering
| 921 miles, we arrived here on Satur-
day morning in time for breakfast-the
first meal eaten on "sOlid ground" since
leaving Winnipeg.
FROM WINNIPEG TO THE MOUNTAINS.
1t may be briefly said, that the first days
journey from Winnipeg is mostly over the
valley of the Red River of the North
broad prairieS, as level as the sea, far as
the eve can reach in all directions. have
seen the prairies of Indiana, Illinois,
Kansas, IOwa-indeed of nearly all the
States of the Great West; and have
crossed the Plains in two directions. l
have seen level lands before, but never
have l seen anything approaching the
Red River Valley in this particular. The
sea is nothing to it, for there are waves
on the sea, while here there are not even
ripples, save those which the wind makes
in passing over field of wheat. The
soil is deep, black, and rich looking.
Houses are few, and those small and
recent looking. But there is little room
to doubt that these rich prairies will
some day support moderately heavy
population.
The early part of the second day takes
us through country not very different
from that passed on the first, but having
the appearance of higher attitudes, and
the soil being too rich looking. In the
early part of the day we pass number
less small lakes, swarming with wild
geese, ducks, gulls and pelicans. Tim
ber is very rarely seen, and then only
small shrubbery on the borders of
streams. Later in the day, the country
comes to partake of the appearance of the
great plains of the United States-in-
deed it is but part of the same tract
but the vegetation is ranker here, and
the sage bushes are more plentiful. 1t
soon becomes apparent from the winding
bluffs on either side that we are going
up the valley of some ancient dry course
ri %O1
the summit of divide. About 3 P. NJ.
we reach Dunmore Station, at the top of
the hill; and an hour later after descend |
ing steep grade, we are at Medicine |
Hat, a town of 700 population, on the
banks of the South Saskatchewan River. |
Here the train stops for about half an
hour, and the passengers all get out to
take some much-needed exercise, and |
perchance to trade some with the Indi-
ans who swarm about all these stations
with polished buffalo bones for sale.
The scarlet coats of the Mounted Police, |
seen at nearly every station, are conspic-
uous here. Crossing the Saskatchewan
on steel bridge-said to be over 1000 |
feet long-we climb steep grade for
some miles, and on again on an unbrok-
an plain. Here all travellers remark the
rapidly disappearing traces of the now
almost extinct buffalo-hundreds of |
deeply-worn paths or trails, running,
generally, North and South, thousands |
of depressions in the ground made by
their paving and wallowing, and myri-
ads of bones bleaching in the sun. In
the autumn, antelopes are numerous on
these plains, but now they are said to be
'back in the woods" wherever that may
be, for saw nothing between Winnipeg
and the Rocky Mountains which even
remotely resembled what we call woods
in Ohio. GOphers, common enough be-
fore, are abundant here. About 10
o'clock in the evening git is not vet
dark-we can barely trace the outlines
of the mountains, lying low, like a cloud
bank, against the Western sky; but a
a hundred miles of plains are to be
crossed before the foothills are reached,
and it will be daylight tomorrow before
we are there.
Next morning we wake up about 4
o'clock, or little earlier, to find our
selves surrounded by tall mountains,
winding around among perpetually
changing wonders, with the most beau
tiful of mountain streams Bow
River-just below us, now in deep blue
pools, and now dashing itself snowy
foam over rocky shadows. Six o'clock
finds us at Banff, the station for
THE CANADIAN NATIONAL PARK.
Like our own government, the Cana
dian government has reserved a tract in
the most beautiful part of the Rocky
Mountains for National Park. This
tract is 26 miles long, Northeast and
by 10 miles wide. 1t en-
braces parts of the valleys of the Bow,
Spray and Cascade rivers, Lake Mime
wauka, and parts of several fine noun
tain ranges. Banff Station is situated
on the North side of beautiful valley
about miles long East and West, by
J miles wide, surrounded by Sulphur