The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-11-14
WONDERS OF THE
QUEENS DOMAIN
The Marvelously Fertile Province of
Manitoba Described.

The Marvelously Fertile Province Of
Manitoba Described.
BRIEF RECORD OF ITS HISTORY
Not Only DO Its Farmers Raise the
Best and Most Abundant Yields of
Wheat to BE Found Anywhere, but
They Are Also Diversiiyins Their
Crops and Laying tho Foundations
. ""'a Splendid Future.
Special Correspondence of The Tribune.
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sept. 16.--Leav-
ing Brandon eastward. the next place
of Importance Is Portage la Prairie. II
miles distant Between these two
places, stations succeed one another at
| intervals of five or eight miles, many
of them surrounded by bright and busy
towns. and at nearly all are tall and
massive elevators. Certainly the Cana
dian Pacific has amply provided for the
care and shipment of grain and stock
here, as along the entire route. to a
! anu
These fields of golden grain that we
are passing through are among the
beauty spots" of the Dominion. Think
of miles upon miles of wheat forming
! golden rows across these nrairi5S AS
we near Portage la Prairie the country
| becomes more checkered with the fields
of grain and more thickly popu-
lated with comfortable farm houses
| peering out from among the aspen trees
h l. h. I,. t,nt-
boine River, along which We have been
travelling. Portage la Prairie is also
/ located on the Assiniboine River, an
other cky of days growth. and the
center bf a well developed and pros
porous farming region. Its huge ele-
vators and flour mills, its busy streets
and substantial houses, tell eloluently
| their own story. 1t is also on. of the
principal grain markets in the province,
and junction point of the Manitoba
! railway, which extends northward 223
miles towards Prince Albert county. and
the Lake region. Its close proximity to
! Lake Manitoba, about twenty-five miles
due north. gives the town additional i'm
| portance as Il pleasure resort. This
/ lake Is 1S2 feet above sea level, with an
area of 1000 square miles, and noted
| for myriads of water fowl and chickens
while moose, elk and black tailed deer
/ tit lOuHu III th' iNitiiitN
BIG WHEAT YIELDS.
The wheat yields in the Portage plains
district Is turning out phenomenal, for
the tales told by the threshers put all
estimates Of the yield in the shade. one
Charles Cuthbert threshed from a field
| of twenty-one acres LBS bushels. or
| an average of fifty-seven bushels per
acre. on the McLarsn farm, three
miles north westward. the wheat crop
surpasses anything ever seen by the
writer. 1t is no eXaggeration to say 1t
stands even four and Il half feet In
| height Is as close as it can grow. and
the weight of the big heads causes the
rank straw to bend over heavily. Two
| or three binders with four horses
abreast were at work on this part of
the field, but could not cut a full swath,
as the machine damned" too often.
The use of the sheaf carriers had to be
dispensed with, as the sheaves come
SO fast and heavy that they must be
| dropped just as quickly as formed,
which was surprisingly fast The
stacks We're half as big again as orii-
nary ones. and stood very thickly all
over the field: the yield will be fifty
| bushels per acre of choicest wheat, with
! no sign of smut on it. The reader may
imagine the striking contrast of scenery
in coming from among the mighty
works of God" in the Selkirk and Rocky
mountains into the great granary of the
world. where it Is estimated "a million
stacks of grain are awaiting the thresh-
| er."
Resumlng our journey, we soon leave
the broad prairie behind us green as a
billiard table. 1t Is simply an extension
of the great wheat basin of North Da-
! kota, reaching to the North and West
apparently without limit. This great
widening and tree bordered meadow
comprises the valleys of the Red and
Assniboinc Rivers that unit at Win
| nipeg, which magic city we enter for a
four days sojourn after one long prairie
ride full Of surprises and education.
MANITOBA'S HISTORY.
1t may be of interest to our readers
to learn something of the early his
tory of Manitoba, its discovery. it's de-
! velUpment, the causes for building the
Canadian Pacific railway and cunse-
quent rapid development of the DOinin-
| ion given In substance from copious
memoranda grouped at various inter-
views with Professor John Macoun
| naturalisD. and member of the Geo
| logical Survey OF Canada" who is said
| to he one of the best informed men
and most reliable authorities to be
found concerning the history Of the Do
/
minion.
| There are some who maintain that
| the honor and glory OF penetrating this
northwest country is due to French eX-
piorers about the year 1856, through
the lake of the Assiniboincs tWinnipeg)
to Hudsons Bay. Others affirm that
the cele eJrated la Gerandryc from
Montreal was the first explorer who
reached the forks of the Red and As
siniboine rivers, the present site of
Winnipeg, in 1882, and there built a
fort which he called Fort Rouge, a
name now borne by the most fashion
able part Of the city. He was the
forerunner Of the indc.endent licensed
fur traders. followed BY the great
Northwest company of Montreal. who
were in turn followed by the English
Hudson's Bay company. who claimed
the whole country, 'Ruoert's Land"
under the royal charter given by
Charles ii. in 1870 to their first COVER
nor, Prince Rupert.
After bitter struggles between the
rival companies for years, which term
mated in massacre at Red River in
1916, peace was brought about by roy
al proclamation. commanding cessa-
tion of hostilities and the sending of
peace commissioners to Red River, the
present Winnipeg. when the two com
panies became united and under the
rule of the present Hudson's Bay COM
pany tranquility reigred once more and
after much weary negotiations, this
vast territory of millions and millions
of acres. was added to the Dominion
of Canada on July Il, 1870, and to that
part of 1t known as the Province of
Manitoba was given responsible gov
ernment. For some years, as in the
case of all new countries. the people
of Canada failed to realize the incal-
culable value of their acquisition. and
the tide of immigration flowed in on
the country slowly and fitfully. The
construction of railways in the north
western states banished the dog train.
the Red River cart. and the steam