Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1908-12-15
WESTERN CANADA AS SEEN BY
A NOTED WRITER.

I@uti sun -sUuGu, tut CelcDEdtcU novel,
ist, who made somewhat extended
trip through Western Canada, during
The past summer, grows enthusiastic in
his description of Tine Last Best West
which comprises the Provinces of Map
itoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, as all
other writer's who have ever visited
that great country. TO extract from
what he has said we find the following:
That black strip across the land
scape-it was not the shadow of pass
ing cloud, but the record of plough
These yellow gray bands were the fields
OF stubble already reapcd These other
bands of green, of pale yellow, of deep
bright yellow-they were the fields of
wheat, among which the binders were
yet to do their work The centuries
OLD soil was finding is first upturned
exposure to the sun. Surely the plough
had come. There is no more thrilling
experience than this, of seeing the
ancient wilderness Just passing into
the first loose fingers of civilized mans
occupation
Here was the wheat, crowding up
to the trail, high as the wagon seat as
we drove through AT the edge of
grumbling cow mans unowned but
long occupied range, we reached down
and plucked off ripe wheat in handsful,
crumpling out into the palm the full
ears of triple rowed kernels, magnif-
cent grain, the food which the world
must haye-that grain upon which the
whole civilization of the earth seems so
strangely to depend; for, when the
wheat has come, civilization has taken
hold of the land never again to lose its
grasp. One who loves the open air and
the wild world cannot suppress sigh
of regret at first thought of the passing
plains, at the thought of the dead ro-
nance of the rancher; but, none the
less, there must come the soberer
thought that the wilderness of this
world, as we'll as the scant fields of the
older world, belong to the world and
the worlds peoples
Extended personal inquiry in the
course of long Journey failed to dis
cover one farmer who was homesick or
disconnected, or who declared that he
was going back 10 Old England or to
the States Without exception they de-
clarcd that they were not only con-
tented, but prosperous. In most cases
their one or two crops had given them
their lands and their first farmstead
buildings of rude comfort, at least,
fully paid for; and this land was their
own. No basement life for these set
tiers, nor for their children, nor their
children's children; no rack rents, no
struggle with worn, exhausted soil;
no cap-touching to so-called superior
class. Here was different field for
humanity. Is there any difficulty in
predicting the difference between the
product of such fields and those of the
"pent and huddled East?"
ut was fascinating sight, this
middle land between The old and the
new. Most fascinating of all was the
air of hope and confidence. Something
set the blood tingling in the veins. No
one here spoke of despair or discourage
ment. These men made no repining
at their lot as frontier farmers Their
sole and epgrossng concern was the
question of means of getting out their
wheat to the markets-for even in
Western Canada farming has run in
advance of transportation.
'In such regions as this, one still
travels as one likes across country,
paying no attention to roads; although
now and again one comes upon roads
rucely ploughed along the section lines,
in some cases, near the railroads, fairly
well worked. The time of Toe main
travelled road is passing rapidly, even
in Canada. Soon the fences will come
along the highways, and all travel will
follow the lines bounding artificial
rectangles. Exulting in our liberty,
for the most part our party continued
to travel direct toward destination
We still held to the prairies, and still
on every side of us was wheat, wheat,