New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-11-03

country wAioh they intepdsd their town to serve as
the depot Of supply and shipment they might easily
have escaped the disaster that came so heavily
upon then.
In the course Of my western correspondence have
had frequent occasion to speak OF the deadly BOOM
that a,hacous. absurd and ruinous spirit OF specua-
ton which occasionally sezes the people Of new
town and drives them, like herd of crazy cattle, peD-
nell into disaster. There are several towns In Can
ada which have been the victims of the BOOM" Some
have got over IT, Some haven't When / visited
Penbina last May, town of North Dakota, that
almost touches the Canadian border. gentleman took
me upon drive. Without saying where we were
going or what we were about TO see. he sped his
horses over the line and were soon riding
alongside railroad grade. evidently several years old,
over which the grasses had grown. We came at
length splendid iron bridge 1t had been built Of
the very finest material but had grown rusty and
shabby The board flooring had rotted away. and the
approaches either side in wreched condi.
ton of decay. At last we drove into town-the
dsmallest, drearest and most woe egone town ever
saw. The streets, handsomely laid out and
paved, were overgrown with weeds and choked with
dirt From countless building sites. houses that had
once stood in grassy lawns and pretty gardens had
been taken down and removed while lawns and gar
dens were given 10 prairie grasses and wild
bushes. Here and there the relic of what had once.
and but lately, been imposing structure was liter
number Of very largo and well-but business
blocks Of brick and stone, two huge hotels and great
postofice and public building, almost entirely empty
and idle window glasses broken locks rusted of. A
striking picture of the abominatlon Of desolaton
presented TO the human eye. This was
the city ofEmerson. Five years ago It contained
10000 people Business lots Man-st. were selling
for 81 900 front foot. Now you buy the whole
for what then the price OF respectable lot
Emerson had BOOM and died Of it.
Winnipeg didn't die, but there were times whom
conservative opinion regarded the chances as about
even whether It would not The trouble was
that they built up the city before they had properly
settled the country round about While the people
spending in the work of creation, money foaed
about plentifuIy. 1t from London, Montreal
and Toronto. So long as It came. all was well but
when it stopped and Winnipeg left to It's own
sources everybody suddenly realized that his financial
balance in red ink, that be had market nobody
to buy from him, and not much to sell. anyhow.
Failures followed like thundercaps in hot moist.
electric air But they hardy, resolute people.
They knew what the matter was and they quickly
set about rernedying it They brought in farmers.
They discounted their future cheerfully but
sagaciousy, and soon they had the country
at work producing Crop after crop came along
TO help out and they enjoying the legitimate
fruits of their pluck and wisdom. They stand a. last
1887 produced Ia 600 600 bushels Of hard No wheat
upon 200 acres, yield of 324 bushels to the
It produced 100000 bushels of oats and 1000
600 bushels Of barley It's agricultural exports reached
a value Of 81 100000 while half the crop con-
verted az home into -four and canned goods. The
wheat Of Manitoba is the wheat of North Dakota The
climate is practically the same, with the favorable
conditions if any there be- 10 the advantage of Mani
toba. In considering the agricultural possibilities of
the Canadian Northwest It must be remembered that
hough higher in latitude It IS much lower in altitude
than our own Northwest, and that the Thermometer
falls quickly you travel toward the stars than
you travel toward the pole. AL down the valley
Of the Mackenzie blow the warm winds Of Japanese
The northern limit Of the growth Of is not
found untn you touch the Arctic ocean. The northern
limit Of the cultivation of the potato 500 miles
above our border. The time will and is quickly
approaching, year by year, when wheat will be grown
in as large quantity north south of the nfteth
parallel.