The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-07-21
0URNORTH BOUNDARY
Line Between British America
and United States.
CAUSE or NATIONAL JEALOUSY.
rsny Persons killed in Border Quarrels
-Iph.bitaats Of Both Countries
Clever smuggIers.

nsf n the American Eeftiements oi La
rofa and Minnesota and the Canadian
nrovincs Of Manitoba, there is long dis
lance az frontier practically rnguarded and,
e might be said, practically unknown. Inc
fraveler With the curiosity. time and pa
thence necessary to the work, can trace the
1roundsyv line. II he is equipped with the
.,ecessary instruments. De Will have 10
walk straight ahead, regardless oil naiurai
obstructions and barriers, and at eqnai as
fances OF mile apart he VIII nnd erected IN
the woods, on the hilisides. or IN Ine open
or level. nurveyors' stones, standing nearly
two feet above the earth's surface, IN wnicn
fhey are irnbedded so hard that nothing
but the application OF tremendous force
Thee stones face the north and south.
Hbev mark what is doubtless the longest
and strsightest boundary line between TWO
nations ID the world. The one which sep
arates the Asiatic possessions OF Russia
from the Chinese empire Is probably next
in length. but is not nearly 30 symmet-
rical asid unvarying or nearly so well de-
fined. There 10 not q more clearly defined
frontier In the world than this. The north
ern faces Of the surveyors stones
hear the initial letters ID. A..
for British America, and their
south fsees convey to the wayfarer in
4he magic istters ~. s. A." that he Is on
the borders OF the land of the free and the
home Of the brave. III these stones were
"a eiRht Of each other and could be seen in
fheir continuity from the east to the west
end Of the long straight line they consti-
tute they would be q testimonial to the
men who placed them there after fifty
four-sorty or fight" had resulted in the
Aahburton treaty and something less than
6fty-f0ur.f0rty without fight.
When these demarcation monuments
we're first erected, the country was pri-
mieval wilderness. Along the line, and for
miles back Of 1t on either side. it Is not
much more now. Dense woods cover most
81 the country and the roads are few. The
settlements, both on the Canadian and
American sides, after getting west OF Da-
kota. are few and far between. On the
Canadian side of the country is Amos
wilderness yet. Wandering Indians of
most miserable aspect, and belonging
TO tribes OF most unpronounceable
names. swarm over the country and sub
nist upon the game which thatcountry still
Idly Of late years, but 1t still remains
hunters paradise. There are now at least
dozen English lords and dukes shooting
Ia Western Canada. The MARQUIS
de Moros, who was lately sent to Jail in
Paris for misdemean0r, spent several
years in the northwest country when he
was In better financial form. Only a few
years ago he was the owner OF q ranch of
several thousand acres near the line, but
this and the fine bIooded stock kept on it
st the time have all gone under the ham
mer to meet debts of honor contracted at
the gaming tables of Paris and Monaco
The marquis was popular man along
the border. He was thoroughly
French, and. OF course, disliked the Eng
lish with all the emphasis of nasal ejacu-
lati0n. This at once gave him position, for
here, Is in in every other border line that
ever existed, there is an antipathy existing
between the peoples living on the two sides
OF 1t which nobody can explain. In times
Of profound peace this feeling has fire.
quently asserted itself in brawls and, FREE
quently, murders which are not made SUBJ
5ects OF international concern only
because the two governments real
lxe that while they spring out of
the most intense and exaggerated national
telling they cannot be dignifed into mat
ters Of diplomatic importance. The popu-
iation Is sparse and scattered, and as a re-
ault Of this isolation the settlers, both
Canadians and Americans, turn to fighting
IS means OF amusement II somebody
had attempted to keep a notched stick in
dlcating the number OF border murders
which have occurred within the past five
years, the effort would have been failure.
- many OF these cases are never heard OF
outside the immediate vicinity OF their oc-
currence. None Of them, il may be said.
ever find their way into the newspapers. III
accurate statistics were possible. It would
Be found that not less than 500 lives have
been sacrificed in the manner indicated
and In the time named. Alexander Mac
kenxie, who was some years ago chief of
the military patrol of the Dominion gov
ernment, expressed the opinion that fully
100 men lost their lives every year from the
feelings of nationalism which prevail eyery
where along the border. The border nen
OF this country. as everywhere else in
the world since border lines were
bility of maintaining the glory and
honor Of the United States rests directly
upon them. They are always, they i'm
agine, face to face with the enemy and
they imagine, also, that II they should re-
lax their vigilance for single moment or
suffer any affrent or insult to pass un-
challenged. the entire country would be
overwhelmed. With lot Of bigoted and
ignorant Canadians on the opposite side,
equally prejudiced and equally determined
II Is not strange that the soiourner in he
borderland should find many unknown and
unmarked graves, and many chastity
skeletons which mark the scenes of the
COYOTES feasts.
The Canadians are the more bitter of the
two elements confronting each other on
this imaginary line. Most of them ara
trappers, as are the most of those living ON
tne American side. The Canadians saw
tnat the americans smuggle, almost with
out question or resistance tboussnds ~
dollars worth Of Canadian furs every vaar
While the Canadian trappers are ahsolutcly
shut out of the United States. The Don,in.
ion parliament has sprotectedn the Cana.
dian trapper by imposing ipports on
American skins, but none would ever IA
taken over In any event. The movement
enureiy TINS way, and the Canadian
uapper Is not without just cause of COM
plant, II IL is true, as he claims thar the
Americans rob him of his stocS wh;ls sh '.e
ting him out OF their markets. The Ans-;-
cans, however, deny this. Thew lnS;Sttha,
It Is the Canadians who are the resI s,,,,,s.
giers, and that it is their patriotic ras;st-
ance TO foreign invasion, and their ,,,;l;tar,,
assertion OF the doctrine of proteeiion -
American industry which has dottsd the
border with an untimelv cemetery
However this may be, it is certain that
there is . great deal of smueeline, dons
along this line thousand miles IN In, uuho
Il is confined almost entirely 10 nelts and
3urs, as those are the only prodnc,s ~
British America for which this eonntry has
any use. The conditions are exeellen, tar
the smuggler's work. Such long line Of
communication cannot be adeouatsly nr,.
tected. and the government seems to baSa
recognized the hopelessness OF the s,,sss
BY making only feeble attempt a, il A
lew revenue officers are scattered here and
there. miles apart. along the lire. Now
$nd then they catch smuggler in the act
q bringing in lot of peltries. His stocs
- cOnhscated, but nobody has ave- 49,
81 . conviction, under the Federal statn,as
Tor an offence of smuggling committsa IN
this part of the country. "a
The favorite method of smuggl;ny IL hr
water. There are number OF small ana
streams which. rising in csr-
edian soil, short distance north Of sha
hne. fall south into the Misseuri r,var