The Minneapolis journal., 1903-03-26


cupied as prominent position in the eye
of the homeseekers as it does at the pres,
ent moment, and never did any section of
the continent Of America deserve that
interest more. The Northwest Terri
tories contain no gold mines, deposits of
precious stones have not been found with
in their limits but the vast reaches Of un-
dulating prairie give promise of great
er and more permanent prosperity than
ever followed the pick of the miner. TO
be the bread basket of the world is their
ultimate destiny and it's fulfilment is not
far distant. - -.'-s-" = -.
: Already the $4,000 farmers of the prov
1nce of Manitoba produce for home con-
sumption and export no less than 100,
100000 bushels of wheat and the area of
land under cultivation in that province
is as nothing to the vast tracts OF fertile
land which are as yet virgin prairie,
.,. Movement Westward. .,
The tide of i1nmigrat ton ever sets west,
and the settler, and, with him the inves
tor, has turned his attention to western
Canada, and this joint Investigation has
opened up what may be described truth
fully as the promised land. -. x :
AS a general rule, it may be taken for
granted that people who have comfort
able homes and substantial bank ac-
counts do not move. They leave the role
Of the pioneer to- their succeeding gen
GRAFTON, to younger men who have every
thing to gain and very little to lose.
These men, properly styled home seekers
are the people who have for the past two
years been prospecting Assiniboia, and
the number of them who have taken up
their abode in the district speaks louder
than any words in the praise of the coun-
try. Less than one quarter of the excel
lent wheat land of this district has been
put under cultivation and millions of
acres of the finest wheat land In the
world have never seen the plow. Is it
then a matter of wonderment that when
the Canadian Northern railway opened
up this splendid tract there was a rush
second hardly to that in the Oklahoma
district? Settlers began to pour in and
are still pouring in in one continuous
stream, for the vastness of the country
makes it possible for all to obtain not
only land, but good land. ~fo:
A Land of Promise. "'@
People who are looking for a new coun
try in which to settle, investors seeking
new fields for their capital, are naturally
desrous of locating in a district with a
fertile soil, a suitable climate, and one
that offers the possibility Of building up
the Institutions of modern civilization.
Manitoba and the northwest territories of
Canada offer to-day the largest area of
unbroken wheat land Of the highest quail
ity on the American continent. It's adj
vantages are. without number, its disad
vantages practically nil. Western Canada
to-day is in a position to offer land to all
the landless nations of the world. The
value Of this land has been tested and
proved. The day of experiments is past.
There are no longer failures or disappoint
ments.. The conditions are now thorough
ly understood. Settlers now know how
to go about the tilling of the soil in order
to secure the best results. The doubts
which existed in the minds of people in
bygone years as to the suitability of tho
country for agricultural purposes have:
been entirely dispelled by successive years
of big crops. Farmers the world over.
know better than to bank on every year
being bumper one. The seven years Of
plenty and the seven years of scarcity
have existed III all countries and in all
ages, but, one year with another. the set
tiers in Manitoba and Assiniboia have
Jared better than the farmers of any other
district on the globe. The. climate is
even one not subject to great extremes of
heat cold, while the rainfall for the
past ten years has maintained regular
average. There are no droughts and no
floods.
"Nut Mountain Country"
In eastern Assiniboia there is no part Of
the country which compares with the
Nut Mountain and Quill Lake districts.
It is for the most part made up of pleas
antly undulating prairie land broken here
and there with grove of poplar trees
| and intersected with numerous small
streams. The country is pleasant to the
eye and the soil is surpassed nowhere. ~
For years it has been looked at with
longing eyes by the prospecting farmer
but the absence Of railway facilities rem
dered colonization on any extensive scale
an innpnssibility. Two years ago when it
became known that the Canadian North
ern railway was to tap this section Of
the country there was a rush of home
steaders and the competition among the
capitalists who desired to secure" large
tracts became very keen.
..@ Early Selections. -
Messrs Oldfield and Gardner were early
On the scene and after making thorough
personal inspection of the whole country
as far west Prince Albert fixed upon
| the Nut Mountain district, Immediately
east of the Quill Plains, as Offering the
| best inducements alike to the settler and
the investor. They consequently secured
| for clients a large tract of the best land
in this favored vicinity, and are now in a
| position to place this on the market in
! lots to suit any purchaser. .r.> .s.ss -
The pioneers of the district who went
| in before the railway have been rea ping
| crops of wheat that average over rs and in
many cases 80 bushels to the acre. Others
l
ing of a more diversified nature have also
experienced the greatest success and
would not exchange their holdings for To-
cations in the better settled portions of
the country. II
The Canadian Northern railway, the
main line Of which system now penetrates
| the district, will put settlers in direct
touch with Winnipeg and the larger cities
! of the south and east as we'll as cheap
and easy route for the shipment of their
grain tc the lake ports at Port Arthur
on the Canadian side, as well as Duluth, or
| the American.
Famous Saskatchewan Valley.
Farther west in the territory of Sas.
katchewan Messrs. Oldfield and Gardner
have a tract of land which probably has
no equal in the west. Located in the ia
nous valley of the Saska tchewan river il
a tract of 100000 acres of the finest farm
ing land ever put on the market. Thi:
land which extends from the BattleforC
country on the west to the vicinity o.
Saskatoon, a point on the Prince Alber
branch of the Canadian Pacific railway, il
l all situate in the valley of the north Sas
katchewan river. The land is all ad
& mirably suited for either wheat raising
or mixed farming and there is abundance
of wood for fuel and building purposes
close to hand. Like the Nut Mountain
and Quill Plains country, this section viii
1 be tapped by the main line of the Ca