The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-03-17
WHOLESALE MARRYING.
Manitoba Matrimonial Bureau
That Did Big Business.
Homeless Girls Exported from England
to vii tho Demand OF Bachelors for
Wives - Short Courtships
Wcre tho Rule.

mot many years ago I was in the
wholesale matchmaking business" said
an ex-officcr of the army, according to
the Elmira IN. ~ Telegram. at was
matchmaking Of the matrimonial kind
At that timc--in 1879 and 1SS0-Mauito-
ba was being opened to settlement, and
there was Il rush Of colonists thithcr
from Ontario and Quebec and from
Great Britain. The settlers were
moGcly men. Some of them had fnmi-
lies and would send for them ~; soon rs
they had got somewhat fixed, but very
many of them were bachelors They
were making homes for themselves, and
naturally they found that they needed
wives. Not Il few of them were SONS Of
English farmers, and nearly all were
respectable aud Woodworking fellows.
They could not afford to go aud get
wives, and so hclpmates had to be i'm
ported for them. Young wozlcn, guar
antecd as to responsibility, We're
brought over from England in great
numbers, and the business rapidly grew
TO be an important branch of the immi-
grafton traffic. One philunthropic lady
an England devoted her attention to cx-
porting homeless but worthy girls by
the shipload to Quebec, whence they
were forwarded to Manitoba. Trains
would come into st. Bonifacc, across
the river from Winnipeg. bringing two
or three carloads of available wives at
II time. They were chapcroncd with
due regard to propricty and were con
signed to the land and mining agents,
who conveyed them to Winnipeg, where
emit p1 VII
their temporary accommodation. The
accommodation was very temporary
because they were soon dis
were bachelors, applied for the
girls as fast as they were brought in
Their applications were not considered
unless they were properly guaranteed
as to their character and ability to sup
port wife. Few of them came to Win
nipeg from shorter distance than two
hundred and fifty miles. Most com
monty they were certified by letters
from land agents, Stating that John
Smith. for example, was located on such
and such Il tract of land, was the owner
of fifteen hundred horses, was sound
and kind and so forth On making
formal application for wife John
Smith was asked what sort of "A woman
he Observation-Disclosures blonde or bru.
nettc, tall or short. plump or thin, etc
Having stated his preferences lie was
introduced to one of the awaiting ladies.
whcreupon matters were quickly ar
ranged. remarkable point was that
no sutton had ever to be introduced To Il
second girl. Invariably he was content
with the first one and Immediately mar
ricd her. Apparently the men consid-
cred that when they had gone so far as
an introduction they had committed
themselves irretricvably. In this way,
by Il process of artificial selection, nv
self and other persons officially in
charge at Winnipeg made matches by
wholesale. The young women were
given free transportation, of course the
object being to make homes in Mani
toba and thus secure the permanent
settlement of the country. Incidental
ly the natural increase of the popula-
ton was provided for. l remember one
man who drove seven hundred miles to
get wife lie was present when Il
train load of girls arrived and spotted
the young woman he wanted off-hand.
Within seven minutes after the train
came in the pair were united in matri-
mony, and the bridegroom started away
with his bride in a blackboard wagon"