The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-02-15

Another fact bearing on tn p.ubi I'm. OF immi-
siation which cannot be ov-rio k ii by the Cana
'nah authorities is thas 1t Il iusE-.8n subject
can enter Can3Gs VITA NO caD.;ai. aad may do
-. while in the case " Il +, e!xnrr some re-
sonFces are usually ESSENTIAL. aaI, "a has been
atieady stated, nearly all of the families coming
N"m ua United States b3ins with them consid-
2iaHie capital. ard ue it in Il v.iopinE the land
sheN take up. Consequently. frem ap Lrely eco
ioitiic point of view. the american settler IL the
more desirable; but British people cannot fail TO
ask what influence this influx Of fCreikners will
have on the future relations OF Canada toward
the mother country. The newcomers from Amer
lea and Europe may make good enough Cana
dians, but Will they become loyal subjects OF the
British Empire? The two tenn are not synory-
nous.
WHERE THE INVASION BEGAN
A word about the invasion of Canada 1t
, began originally III Manitoba, around the
little city OF Winnipeg, which at the close
of our Civil War had less than 2.00) in
habitants II was then but an out4kirt of
a trading post, known az Fort Garry, situ-
ated on the Red River Of the North. q few
miles south of where It .empties into Lake
Winnipeg forming one of a cluster of In
! land seas in the great Northwest..
The country about Winnipeg city is. like
The plaine of Colorado. high and dry. The
very winds are vital with electricity and
life. Winnipeg has the same business thrill
of activity that distinguishes Chicago from
other cities. The atmosphere is pure md
bracing. The skies are clear. the tempera-
| ture cool, but so dry. f. the air that one
does not mind" the cold. as the inhabitants
say.
Winnipeg is about $50. miles in a straight
line north of Fargo. where the Northern
Pacific crosses the Red River. The stream
is narrow, but deep. and navigable. for a
is narrow but deep, and navigable for q
long distance. BY river the go miles straight
line distance from Fargo TO Winnipeg is
increased to more than 500 miles. The soil
of the river bottom is of a heavy blue
clay. but exceedingly fertile. The upland
is like Colorado. r
The first boom was in the ed River. Val
ley of Dakota. when the swedes and other
Europeans came in and began raising
wheat. The yield was m
During the early days 'Winnipeg's growth
was slow. Itiremained but a village at
tached to the Hudson Bay Company's trad
ing post. known. as Fort. Garry. until The
boom came. For 80 years the great Pro-
vince, now called the center Of North Amer
lea. had been ins5the cntrol of the Hudson
Bay Company, with its vast fur trading
ramifications, penetrating the frozen re-
cesses OF the North, even beyond the Artfc
Circle.
EARLY SCOTCH AND IRISH SETTLERS.
The early settlers Of Manitoba were
brought over from Scotland and the north
OF Ireland in 1872 by Lord Selkirk. who had
a grant from the Hudson Bay Company Of
Il6 square miles of land for colonization
purposes. He was regarded as a visionary
and. as usual, was opposed by the high and
mighty conservatives the aristocrats of
England and Canada, and also by the FUR
traders and Indians. who disputed the COM
pany's right to introduce civilization into
the Northwest.
few years ago. when Winnipeg began
to hum with Chicago-like enterprise. visit
or. drove a few miles up the river and
viewed with astonishmeit and delight the
old colonial dwellings-p o the FrenchSSa and
Scotch ~areonauts, With great wtiIdmiiis,
like those of scenes In Normandy. whiri-
ing in the winds sweeping across theScoun-
try supposed to be only fit for Indians and
outlaws of the IOuts Rtela type. @It4wus
easy to see the possibilities Of lovely homes
and fertiles farms by simply glancing at
those old homesteads. dc historic and
charming as those of Nirgihia.7 and New
England.
This wonderful region was only surren-
dered to Canada in 1865. The claim for it
now is that taxes are small and liberty
great. Twenty-Five millions of acres Of
and there is room for 100000 more people.
though the country is well settled. as in
Illinois or Kansas in the most prosperous
sections of to-day.