Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-19
CANADA A WON
DERFUL COUNTRY
Something of Its Scenery and
HospitabIe People.
ILLUSIONS ARE DISSlPATED
But They Have Been More Than
Compensated For.
RECEIVED WITH OPEN ARMS
Entertained by officials of the City
of Montreal-Some Houses Of
History.
But They Have Been More Than
Compensated For.
RECEIVED WITH OPEN ARMS
snec,sI From q stan Correspondent.

Special From stan Correspondent.
MONTREAL July H. 1905.
The Dominion of Canada is a wonder
full country. There Is not a single mem
Der of the party of Washington CORE
spondents who are making tour OF the
last west " who is not willing to admit
that fact without discussion or qualifica-
ton. The natural resources of the land
are hardly less remarkable than the limi-
tations of the sleep supply. Handclasps
are warm and sincere, welcomes are ex-
tended in English end French-the two
official languages of the country-and hos
pitality and nervous prostration walk
hand In hand.
That of course, is Canada between
trains Canada from a car window Is
an entirely different proposition. And 1t
may be well to mention right here that
the trip thus far has been one of lost IL
lusions. Most of the members of the party
had their own ideas concerning Canada.
Being newspaper men and OF necessity,
we'll Informed, they realized, to their own
satisfaction at least, that Canada was a
bowling wilderness. inhabited by couriers
du bots real estate agents and foot-warm-
ers. They expected that soon after cross
ing the border and swinging over to the
Grand Trunk for the journey to Montreal
they would sit al the windows of their
steam hea ted bar. hot water bottle at
their feet, and watch the bow-legged polar
bears playing leap frog in the summer
sunshine. They expected that the scenery
would be wild and woolly and uncombed,
and that glaciers and chasms and things
would touch elbows all along the line and
that, in general. the effect upon the I'M
initiated would be wholesome and awe-in-
spring
But so far there has been nothing of the
sort on tap. The scenery has been of the
real cczy and homelike variety, the kind
that may be poked In the ribs, and called
by its first name, and even admired at
short range without palpitation of the
heart that sinking sensation under the
belt buckle. And the only polar bears that
have been noted by the disillusioned ones
from the vantage of the car windows have
borne strong resemblance'to the common
or garden COW, as they stood inside the
worn fences along the line masticating one
of last weeks meals and gazing at the
speeding express with tolerant eyes.
Some of the Compensations.
But there have been lots of other things
IN the way of compensation for these lost
illusions. New ideas have jumped up out
of the ground to confront the folks from
Washington. and some of the members of
the party have absorbed information like
two dollars worth of Florida sponges Can
ada is a big country. and 1t wouldn't be we'll
to forget 1t. 1t is a big country physically
and mentally. Its people are human beings,
with good. red blood and lots Of il. They
believe in the future of Canada, and they
intend TO make the future Of Canada come
up to their beliefs. But II isn't everybody
outside the borders OF the dominion that
knows these plain. simple facts, and the
whole of Canada's people aided in no un-
generous way by the Canadian government,
are doing heaps and heaps of missionary
To
what they are doing and what they intend
to do. Publicity is coin of the realm In
Canada. and its face value is known and
recognized bv all The people think that
great, big and. and go back home and tell
about 1t. without making converts, and con-
verts are what they want.
The Grand Trunk celebrated the arrival
of the party in Toronto by turning out
special train of four cars. efficiently manned
by engineer and six chefs, and an
nounced that an attempt would be made to
break the record between Buffalo and Mon
treal- Everybody was tickled to death
before the start Later. when the eleven,
unanimously and involuntarily began to
play foot ball and lacrosse within the mar
row confines of the car. there was some
slight change of opinion. and this, too.
despite the fact that the Grand Trunk road
bed is reminiscent of Pennsylvania avenue
But hardly anybody could ride down Penn
sylvania avenue on the tail of a comet with
out getting shaken up some little bit ANY
how, the record was broken, the special
covering the distance at an average speed
of more than sixty miles an hour
Real Beginning of the Trip.
The most interesting part of the trip be-
gan at Montreal. II was here, in this fair
city hundred years before the British
conquest of Canada, that the French bar
tered with the Indians and sent out their
hardy soldiers, priests and voyageurs to ex-
piore the vast wilderness beyond. build
forts. establish missions and plant little set
Elements. From here, until long after the
British occupation, the needs of the In
dams, in the way of firewater and evening
clothes, were supplied in exchange for furs