The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-04-29
RIDING A LOCOMOTIVE.
DOWN THE ICE-CLAD ROCKIES0S a
OANIDIIN PACIFIC ENGINE.
Two Thousand Miles Through snow-GoId
Dust Of Fraser Eiver and How Ameri-
cans Plan to Got 1t.

VANCOUVER. Il. C.-Two thousand
miles through the snow. A ride through
vast white plains which glitter under
the sun like the ice fields of Lieutenant
Pearys Greenland tour! Hauled by the
iron horse through hundreds OF miles OF
silvery hills and rolling plains. Dragged
up and down the ragged passes or goT-
geous white mountain ranges, the neads
of some OF which are capped with vast
blue glaciers, and the faces OF which are
rough with beard Of frosty pinesl Dur
ing the past four days L have Travelled
from Minneapolis to Vancouver over the
new line, known as the Soo-Pacif1c, the
| last great arm to reach out from the
| Mississippi to grasp the riches or the
| great northwest. 1t has now been in
| operation only few weeks and II opens
| up some new and interesting country.
| Leaving Minneapolis, 1t cuts across MIN
nesota, ploughs its way through some OF
| the richest of the undeveloped lands OF
North Dakota, and enters the Canadian
| boundary In the province Of Assiniboia.
| Joining the Canadian Pacific at Portal
/ about 500 miles west Of Winnipeg. ana
| thence onward without a change Of cars
10 Vancouver. 1t runs through a new
| country. and IT VIII throw open TO settle
ment, I am told, millions Of acres OF
| good government land. The biggest town
in the United States on the western part
| OF the road 10 Minot. which has about
| 1900 population Tributary TO this there
are about 100000 acres OF government
land already surveyed, and in the Moose
/ river valley and the De Lac valley the
! road runs for one hundred miles through
some of the richest farming lands Of the
| country, none Of which have as yet been
touched by the plough. The British prov
| inces have vast areas of good farming
and grazing lands, and there is here in
| this northwest great world which awaits
the advent Of muscle and brains to make
1t produce enough TO feed the nations.
We people of the United States have
but little idea OF the vast extent OF
Canada and her provinces. Did she be-
| long to the United States we would have
| long before this have built an empire upon
her territory. and her property would be
worth billions where ii is now worth
thousands. Look at her agricultural area.
| From north to south for a distance OF
1909 miles the cereals can be cultivated,
distance about as far apart as Rome
is from st. Petersburg The Province of
Ontario Is as wide, taking its northern
most and sOuthernmost points. as Cleve-
| land Ohio, is distant from Mobile, Ala,
| and Canada can grow anything that
we can, with the exception Of rice. cotton
and tobacco. Ontario grows more corn
| to the acre than any Of our States. ex
! cept Missouri, and the wheat fields of
the Dominion are among the best OF
the world. The Manitoba wheat is noted
In the markets Of Europe, and II is said
| good wheat can be grown as far north
| as the Mackenzie river basin. Along the
Canadian Pacific road passed a number
| of big farms, and there IS one great ag-
| ricultural stock company which runs it's
farms on a big scale and has about a
dozen farms of ten thousand acres each.
| This company engages in wheat raising.
as well as stock and sheep farming. and
aims to keep about 1900 acres under
cultivation at each of its ranches. II
manages everything on scientific princi-
pies and is, am told, doing well
This is not the case. however with
! many Canadian farmers. There is n dis
| affected class here, as there is I'm the
| United States. and the cry of hard times
Is often heard. Many young fellows have
come odt from England TO pick the dol
lars out Of the soil with Kid gloves, who
are now going about bare banded and red
| nosed, With patches on the seats of their
pantaloons. Some Of them are the good
| for-nothing second sons of old families
who came here and bought land, thinking
| II would farm itself. and others were sent
out by their rich fathers TO learn farm
| ing. A few years ago a number Of sharp
| Canadians made a business Of going to
England and bringing back young En-
| glishmen for agricultural tuition. They
would get from $500 to 81 900 per year
for bringing the young men here. and hav~
Ing them work on their ranches, learning
practical farming The yong men when
| they arrived were allowed to do rauch
as they pleased and between doing a
little work at long intervals, and smoking
and hunting and drinking, they passed
the time until they could purauade their
fathers to buy ranches for them. A num-
Der Of such men. and younger sons are
| In the dominion to-day. They are face
| tiousiy termed remittance men, because
they depend upon remittances from home
TO keep them going. Numbers of good
| stories are told here Of how they keep
up appearances, Of their excuses and
arguments which they send home TO ex-
| tract more money. The latest Is regard
ing a British Columbia good-for-nothing,
| who had bled his father until the old
gentleman had written from England
| positively declining to send any more
money. This state continued up until
| six weeks ago, when the boy wrote home
| an enthusiastic letter about his ranch
and his prospects Among other things,
he told his father that he had now
stock of seven hundred blooded gophers
on his place, and IL he had 500 to keep
| tnem III SOOu cOnultlon, he would come
out all right. The name of gopher. ground
| squirrel, was a new one TO the old man.
| and he sent the money He evidently
thinks his boys stock a fine variety OF
| sheep or cattle.
Speaking Of sheep. | find that the
profits are fast being knocked out of
sheep farming. Australian mutton is be-
ing frozen and sent by the shiploads
10 the London markets, and several car
goes have been shipped TO Vancouver ard
sold at less than the cost Of the handling
| in order 10 introduce the meat In the
stores here ! see canned Australian NUT
| ton for sale at seven pounds for dollar,
| and the sheep-growers of Montana, North
| Dakota, and Canada are losing money.
| l Travelled here with a Manitoba stock
man, who told me that he had $500 sheep
last year. but that he had sold all
| but 100, and he said he intended TO sell
them in the spring, and get out Of the
business. There is no money in IL now"
he said. 81 refused $50 a head for sheep
a year ago. which j would now be glad
10 sell for Sl25. / have gotten numerous
| letters from sheep men In Montana. want
ing to sell out TO me, and there are great
numbers Of Montana sheep-growers who
want TO come to Canada for work. /
/ got seven such letters in my yesterdays
mail. Sheep are worth practically nothing
In Montana. l know OF one firm there
who owned two years ago about 1900
sheep. They feared that they would be
crowded out and they wanted to buy