The Bemidji pioneer., 1900-06-21
THE EDITORIAL
EXCURSION.

EACUJkoIUlN. !.
The Northwestern Editorial AS
sociatiOn Takes In Winnipeg
and Lake of the WO0ds.---Rat
Portage a Surprise to Them.
A week ago last Sunday the North
western Editorial Association which is
composed OF the editors of the Sixth
and Seventh congressional districts,
arrived at Crookstonto rendezvous for
their annual trip, which this year was
to include Winnipeg, Rat Portage,
Fort Francis, the Seine river country
and the Y ermillion iron range. Be-
fore reaching the rendezvous, however,
it was ascertained that the trip down
Rainy river would hageto be aband-
oned on account Of low water, and that
the iron range could not be reached.
On Monday afternoon the party,
made up OF sixty ladies and gentle
men of the highest integrity, reached
Winnipeg, which they found holding
open arms to receive them, and good
big arms, too. Mayor Wilson is a
big man all round. BY special street
car rides the party was shown the city
and its park system, and given all
possible views OF the features
that make Winnipeg the commercial
centre If the British Northwest. The
city is a substantial wholesale empor-
ium, and commands the trade Of a ter
ritory as large as four or FIVE western
states, though not SO populous. In
the evening the party took the Cana-
dian Pacific train for Rat Portage,
where they arrived at four o'clock in
the morning Of Tuesday, and at once
took passage on the steel steamer
Keenora for a trip down Lake Of the
Woods as far as. the low stage of wat
er would permit. The forenoon was
spent BY most Of the party in their
staterooms, owing to the lack of sleep
the night before. But after din
ner everybody put in all their time
viewing the beauties of the thousands
of islands that dot the lake, and in
watching the shores of Rainy River,
which was entered shortly after the
dinner hour. In the middle Of the
afternoon the steamer arrived at
Boucherville, which was as far as it
could go, and tied up for an hours
inspection of the farms in the neighbor-
hood. Everybody went out into the
country and looked at the farms and
gathered flowers. The night was put
in on the boat, which tied up until
four o clock the next morning, at a
point about twelve miles from Bouch-
eryille. The evening was put in list.
ening to the Brainerd Quartette and
hobno obbing with English lords who
happened to be aboard. It was a jolly
evening and we'll spent. The next.
forenoon was put in the statero ooms,
.groaning and wishing for dry land, by
everybody on board except Charley
Mitchell, who grunted it out over the
taffrail, swearing and gesticulating#
with his head and shoulders until the
boat shook with his efforts to disgorge.
He disgorged. The lake had been a
#trife rough, but at noon it cleared the
big lake and entered the archipelago,
and everybody came ondeck as clipper
as ifsnothing had happened. The fick-
leness of human nature was never bet-
ter shown up than by this sudden
change in disposition. The balance
of the journey home to Rat Portage
was round of unadulterated pleas
5ure. The Keenora is a superb steam
er, capable of carrying 200 passengers,
and it made about twelve miles an
hour on the trip. At Leclair, which
is at the mouth of the Rainy river, the
United States has, a customs officer,
Deputy Gibbons, who is kept toler-
ably busy looking after the interests
of the government, but who has time
enough on his hands to wish some
times that he was at Rat Portage or
Warroad. We found that there are
quite a number Of Would-be settlers
on the lands of the Red Lake cession
along the Rainy River, who are ur-
gent that that part Of the cession be
put on the homestead market. The
land along the south side of the river
is said to be as good as on the north
side, which is exceptionally heavy.
Notes About Hat Portage.
AT Rat Portage the association was
received with banners, so to speak.
The board of trade turned itself loose
and took us over to the Sultana mine,
twelve miles distant, where many of
us for the first time looked into a
gold stamp mill where the gold ore is
crushed and the precious metal ex-
tracted by the mercury plates, the
bo;,or ,,,,e,e rs,,,-aJ r.,