Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-01


their car after day of the strenuous hos
pitality and sightseeing provided by the
Canadians, and 10 o'clock often finds the
car dark and silent
Shipping the Wheat.
The Washingtonians were brought TO
Winnipeg in their two special cars over the
Canadian Pacific, after having spent an in
structive day at Fort William and Port
Arthur, two neighboring and rival towns on
the north shore of Lake Superior in Thun-
der bay. These are the main shipping ports
Tor the western wheat. dozen immense
elevators line the shore, with total stor-
age capacity of 2oe0o coo bushels of wheat
Steamships and barges carry the whea I
down the lakes to the seaboard and the
1ourlng mills of eastern Canada. One mill
is now being built In Fort William which
VIII turn out 1000 barrels of -four q day
All of this immense body of wheat is
moved in jiffy, the harvest does not
occur until September, and the lake closes
in December. Every hour Is precious and
the one object is to get time-saving devices
Tor handling the wheat. At one big ele-
Vator hfteen cars are unloaded simultane-
ously. their contents being transferred to
the elevator within fifteen minutes Then a
snip comes alongside and the wheat is
poured INTO her hold in a few hours and she
goes at fuil speed down the lake to get into
line FOR passage through the 500 canal.
Az winnipeg the Washingt onians were
dehghtfully entertained by the board of
trade. They inspected all the industries
and at night were rendered A banouet
winch was attended by the leading citizens
ana the officials of the province When the
party turned out of their berths next morn
ing they found themselves speeding south
westward on a branch of The Canadian
racine into the heart of probably the great
est ana richest wheat country in the world
Every Acre Under Cultivation.
This country has passed beyond the
pioneer days. Every acre of 1t. practically
is under cultivation and good fences. com
portable houses and barns dot the land
scape- The days journey, on a tour which
Is 10 oring US back towards Winnipeg, was
very interesting. We Travelled over n level
tfeeieSs plain that was fairly rIotinR in
Neroufe. Wheat, wheat, as far as the eve
r,nne+ rJu.u te reach' ana where there was not
wheat there were oats and hay and prairie
grass, everywhere long and lush and rank
Along The railway right of way the prairie
grass was dotted with numberless varieties
OF flowers. Big ffocks of fat cattle and
beautiful horses fed in the pastures and
the land smiled with peace and plenty.
IN order TO give the visitors a practical
ldea OF big prairie farm the train was
Stopped at crystal City, a typical little
prairie town. The country band played
ankee Doodle" the mayor welcomed the
visitors In the town hall. decorated with
luii-length portraits of King Edward and
for a spin over the prairies
hou cannot describe the wonderful tonic
OF ms northern air: straight from the
9kon peaks of snow. across a thousand
Hiies OF prairie and pine, the wind comes
Whlstiing, filling your lungs and tingling
the cheek until you thank the Master for
the mere privilege of breathing
Al was rather novelty TO visit a stock
farm IN the heart of Manitoba, whose barns
are lighted by electricity and whose denart
ments are connected by telephone. II is
nothing to find a farm of 3.0G0 acress I'm
here all fenced and cultivated They do
things on big scale
Where Town and Prairie Meet.
Leaving Crystal City we continued on our
swing back to the main line, passing farm
and town and always finding something
interesting. The approach to the town is
always the same. You are speeding along
over the prairie. watching the herds in the
pastures, the little gophers kow-towing be-
side the tracks, an occasional flight of
prairie chickens from the covert when
away off on the horizon you see a smudge
OF red 1t is the roof of the inevitable
wheat elevator, which soon comes into
view as tall, bleak-looking building be-
side the railway track
There is a quaint little brick or frame
station, neat looking hotel in the offing,
king Edwards" the long street facing
the station with the hitching posts for the
country teams. and the dusty public square
The houses invariably are neat and attrac-
tive. and there is a bit OF garden and
front yard with few hardy plants Trees
and shrubs are being imported from Man
chur1a and Norway and opulence In these
small towns is indicated by the number of
trees around the house.
The little towns begin and end in a sharD
line drawn by the prairie. You stem TO
the edge of the boardwalk in front of the
last house at the end of the street, and the
prairie stretches out before you, illimitable,
lone. N @ M