Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1909-10-07
ALEX. CAMERON
WRITES OF TRIP
Interesting letter to Friends Here
Telling of His Trip Westward to
RedIandS, California
He SAW BIG CROPS IN ALBERTA

Mr.. Cameron Came Across Many Old Cavalier
County Friend and lat ..Moosejaw, Calgary,
Vancouver, Seattle and San Francisco Took
In All the Sights-Tells of Wheat Yielding
so and Oats l25 Bushels an Acre in Alberta
A number of my friends in Cavalier
and Pembina counties asked me to write
to them when [ reached home, which
would incur a great many personal
letters, and as my ideas have always
had a tendency to run more to my
mouth than to my fingers, this would be
a real task, so / am taking this method
of combining them all in one. which /
consider a real stoke of business.
After visiting an old friend at Drayton,
John Stewart, L took the Sault road by
way of Forest River and Portal on my
way west, striking the main line at
Moose Jaw, where | stayed a day visit
ing relatives whom [ had not seen in
many years 1--WE won't bother counting
how many.
Great fields of grain, wheat, oats and
barley, ready for the reaper, made a
beautiful sight on the Dakota side, but
after crossing the line at Portal we
passed thru more unimproved prairie.
and where cultivation exists the crop is
practically flax. | was agreeably sur
prlsed at the size, push and energy of
Moose Jaw.
My next stop was Calgary where I
stayed two weeks. The country we
passed thru between Moose Jaw and
Calgary, Saskatchewan and Alberta,
was largely u%nimproved prairie.
was prepared to find Calgary a city
about the size of Moose Jaw, which has
a population of 10000, but instead |
found Il busting growing city of 10000.
The fine massive public buildings and
business blocks of quarried stone were
particularly CONSPICUOUS. Here | visited
several cousins, also renewed some
friendships begun back in the old
school days in Ontario somewhere back
IN the nineteenth century,.
Miss Moody, a sister of my wife, also
lives on her brothers farm near Calgary,
and L spent a short time there and then
starting on my long drive of 12O miles
to the Hand Hill, which lie northeast of
Calgary. L might say right here that
while the territory under cultivation in
the vicinity of Calgary is comparatively
small, the grain crop for quantity and
quality | have never seen equalled in
North Dakota, even in the early days.
There is no lodged grain and it required
over four pounds of the best of Irvine to
the acre to tie it. My brother-in-law
expects l25 bushels of oats by weight to
the acre. In examining their last years
oats you would think you had your
hand In wheat or barley, it is SO firm.
[ saw few fields of wheat but those
saw we're we'll filled and orc would
reasonably expect fifty bushels to the
acre from them, at least that is what
they estimate it at. / started out alone
with a horse and buggy for the Hand
Hill where my wife's parents, sister and
brothers live. Northwest from Calgary
l traversed what is known as the
Z. t. Il. lands, some of which have re.
Gently been sold but scarcely any is
under cultivation This is a ROLLING
prairie covered with rank vegetation
I'Iha coil ir q Ior1, o1o, 1oo~ C.-.11
lakes are numerous as you travel along
the trail on the way to Carbon where
I spent the first night.
One of the interesting features to mt
was the thousands of beautiful cattle
Short horn and Hereford, all around
those little lakes. They were fine, bott
IN breed and condition. Having lived
in a cattle country like Arizona | thot [
had seen fine herds, but the Alberta
cattle quite surpassed them. Those
cattle belong to what is known as the
Burns Co. They have 14.0OO head or
those preiries. The G. p, r. has sold
considerable quantity of this land a
prices from So to 500 an acre. The,
are also building lrrigating bitches anc
branch lines of railway northwest from
Calgary, both of which / crossed on my
drive. neglected to mention that the,
fatten these cattle on hay and maxi
them equal to any stall fed cattle in tn,
world.
The winter wheat failed last year il
the major portion of the province, bu
wherever the wheat was irrigated tn,
crop was all right. The winter whoa
this year looks we'll so far.
My difficulties began the second da,
of my drive. After crossing the Rel
Deer there were but few settlers ane
the trail very indistinct and no one t,
inquire of where the trail branched
My only guide was my compass. Thos'
who have driven over what is known al
the Turtle back will appreciate M,
difficulty. The soil is of heavy clay
l-.1l