Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1908-10-21
SOUTHWEST CANADA
EDITORS LEAVE THE MOUNTAINS FOR
SOUTHERN ALBERTA.
Returning Via the Southern Pacific They
Visit Mcleod. Lethbridge and Medicine
Hat. Where They are Hospitality
Entertained and See Many In.
terestins Sights.

During the night our special pulled
out OF Banff, and leaving the noun.
tains behind us, we sped eastward
through the night to Calgary, and
thence ran almost directly south.
When we awakened in the morning
we were passing through some of the
finest fields of grain that we saw in
southern Alberta. Exter ding as far
as eye could see, the immense fields
of wheat and oats the shocks stand
ing thicker than we have ever seen
them elsewhere, was sight to see.
The farms seemed to be we'll i'm
proved. with good buildings, and a
more advanced state of farming in
every way than in the country several
hundred miles to the north which we
had left but few days before. In addi.
tion to the beautiful farms of Sunny
Southern Alberta" there were i'm.
mense herds of live stock feeding on
the hills. and prosperity seemed on
every hand
On Monday morning we arrived at
Mcleod, a thriving little city of 1900
people between the Blood and Peigan
reservations, surrounded by one of
the best wheat countries in Canada.
One field of 200 acres of fine wheat
was visited, which is claimed aver.
aged 3S bushels to the acre, fortune
in itself for the owners. This section
is directly in the territory swept by
the warm Chinook winds, which
blow through the passes in the Rocky
Mountains and temper the climate,
dispensing the falling snow and rails
ing the mercury several degrees Here
we met Ed Thompson. big strapping
fellow who used to live in Decorah,
said to be the best separator man in
all Alberta.
After luncheon the train departed
leastward and RON th~o~si, ths--sse---s-
tion to Lethbridge. The road makes
q detour to find q favorable crossing
over st. Mary's valley, which is a
mile wide and 800 feet deep. with
enormous cut banks on either side.
The crossing is made by q series of
trestles, one over q mile long. and q
Howe truss bridge. the line running
through broken ranching country,
necessitating very heavy cuts and: fills.
Arriving at Lethbridge thestrain was
at once run down to the deep valley
of this river, so that the party could
see the great steel bridge under con.
struction. It-is over one mile long
and 307 feet high. the highest for it's
length OF any in the world. construc-
but it will save IA miles of track and
l8 bridges for the company. Here we
drove twelve miles into the country
to see the immense wheat fields and
the threshing operations carried out
on an immense scale with tremen.
dous engines and machines. We
crossed and recrossed the big irriga.
tion bitches which cover all this t. r
ritory ami saw the farmers plowipg
with big traction engines, turni2g a
dozen burrows at once. Then we
drove over to one of the big coal
mines for which this section is noted
and there our train ran out from
Lethbridge to meet us, aud we let
the rigs that brought us out 20 back
to the city with Onlv the drivers.
In the evening we were entertained
with q band concert on the public
square. reception at 81 Q club house
and dance at the hall. Lethbridge
is splendid city Of about 5000 peo-
pie. and to our mind has as prosperous
q future before 1t as almost any part
of Canada. With its railroad facili.
ties. it's immense coal mines, and its
magnificent wheat fields. yielding
abundantly with irrigation. and q
progressive, industrious people, there
is no question about its future. Here
we saw sew; raj hundred homesteaders
standing out all night waiting for the
opening of the land Office under the
new pre-emption law. enabling q
homesteader to file and secure addi-
tional land at $3 per acre.
Early next morning we left Leth-
bridge. running for q hundred miles
through an almost dead level plane.
broken in places by deep gulches, and
on through the mining regions Of the
Kootenay. 1t is mostly level range
country. and looking across to the
southwest we can see the mountain
peaks of Montana outlined against the
sky.
Before passing the Sunny Southern
Alberta section, few words in gener-
al respecting its agricultural and min.
eral development may be Of interest.
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