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ANARYOF'
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How to Reach It
How to Obtain Lands
How to Make a Home
A07 Western Canada
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
The Inland Empire 5
Growth of Population 10
Soil and Climate of Western Canada 11
Manitoba... .13-21
Fruit and Ornamental Trees 14
Mixed and Dairy Farming • 16
Crops of 1906...' '.' 18
Land for Immigrants, etc 18
Cities and Towns 19
Saskatchewan 22-27
Crops, Stock-Raising, Dairying.. 24
Towns 26
Alberta 28-39
Towns 31
Horse Raising 32
Sheep, Hog and Poultry Raising 32
Alberta Winter Wheat. 34
Irrigation and Irrigation Development 35
Beet Sugar Industry in Alberta 36
Dairying t 37.
Poultry Raising 38
Minerals. . 39
System of Land Survey 40
Free Homestead Regulations 41
Mineral Land Regulations 42
Lumber and Grazing Regulations 44
Government Land Offices 45
Railway Land Regulations : 47
Settlers' Effects 49
General Information 52
How to Reach the Canadian West 60
New Ontario 61
Settlers' Reports 66-79 WESTERN CANADA
EMBRACING
MANITOBA, SASKATCHEWAN,
ALBERTA and NEW ONTARIO
■Q^A^tQ-
THE INLAND EMPIRE
Speaking in Winnipeg in the year 1877, the late Lord Dufferin,
then Governor-General of Canada, referred to Manitoba as the
key-stone of that mighty arch of sister provinces which spans the
continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It was bold, picturesque
and eloquent language—it marked the thought of a great statesman, who, even at that early stage in the opening up of the West,
could picture and predict other provinces yet to be created in
that wonderful stretch of prairie land that lay for a thousand miles
to the west of Manitoba, and that was some day to be the scene
of ever-broadening harvests, multiplying towns and villages, and
expanding pastures. Thirty years have now elapsed, and the prediction of the far-seeing statesman has been realized in that inland
empire, which, with Manitoba, now embraces the new and vigorous
provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta, and which is the centre of
an industrial, commercial and agricultural development that can
scarcely be credited by those who have not been actual witnesses
of its wonderful achievements.
In those thirty years it has been demonstrated beyond a doubt
that Western Canada, with its illimitable dimensions,. its wealth
of resources, and in the strength of its material might, is destined
to be the peer of any power on earth. A land of stupendous
possibilities; a rich alluvial region, whose only limit seems to be
an ever-receding horizon—truly has it been said that the development of this Kingdom of the North represents the genius of the
twentieth century, for here a nation is to be builded that will 6 WESTERN CANADA
play a most important part in solving more than one of the
economical problems that now confront the statesmen and the
philosophers in the older portions of the world.
Canada is a country of great distances. Extending from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, it is more than equal in size to the United
States, and, in fact, covers 3,614,000 square miles—one twelfth of
the land surface of the earth. The Eastern Provinces of Canada
are a land of woods and forests, of sea ports and harbors, lakes
and valleys, corn lands and pastures, more extensive than half a
dozen (European kingdoms, practically all throbbing in some
degree with the energy of strenuous commercial activity and rich
in agriculture, timber and mineral resources.
The provinces which make up the agricultural region of Western Canada—Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and incidentally
may be included, New Ontario—comprise practically 600,000 square
miles, and embrace within their combined limits the vast extent
of the available agricultural region of the Great West.
It has been estimated that one-half of this area is well
adapted to cultivation, and that nearly all the cultivable area will
produce wheat. Explorations show that for a hundred miles or
more at a time no bad soil is seen in any direction, and explorers
confidently predict that wheat culture will yet extend to what even
now is considered the remote north.
A very important consideration in this connection is undoubtedly
the climate, and many wrong impressions regarding Western Canada frequently prevail on this point. It will interest and probably
astonish many to be informed that Edmonton—a thousand miles
northwest of Winnipeg—has as high an average annual temperature as St. Paul, in Minnesota, five hundred miles south of Winnipeg; but a glance at any map having climatic lines will show that
this, is true. Further, that Northern Michigan and Manitoba have
similar temperatures, and that as we go north and west the
influence of the winds from the Pacific have a marked effect in
modifying the climate. The mean temperature for July in Winnipeg is 66, which is higher than in any part of England. The
average diurnal range is also much greater than that in England,
being from a maximum of 78 degrees to a minimum of 53 degrees.
This high daily temperature during the growing months, with the
long hours of sunshine, matures the crops quickly.
In Alberta remarkable characteristics of the climate are the
light snow-fall and the warm chinook winds, and especially is this
the case in the southern part of the province. Both cattle and
horses can remain outside the entire winter, living and doing
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WESTERN CANADA
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AflARY AT BIRTLE, MANITOBA.
exceedingly well on the sun-cured' buffalo grass which covers the
plain.
Three times the size of the German Empire, and five times
larger than Great Britain and Ireland, Western Canada is a vast
plain, watered and drained by three great river systems—the Red
and the Assiniboine in Manitoba, the Saskatchewan in Southern
Alberta and Saskatchewan, and the Peace and Arthabaska in
Northern Alberta. With a gentle slope to the east and a slight tilt
to the north, this plain stretches for fully a thousand miles from
the Rocky Mountains on the west to the granite country of New
Ontario on the east, and from the International Boundary on the
south to a yet-to-be-determined point on the north, and the river
systems make it one vast network of interesting valleys, the«
topographical features, as well as the climate, in a large measure
accounting for the remarkable productivity of the soil.
The completion of the Canadian Pacific Railroad saw the
beginning of the real development of modern Canada. It was then 8 WESTERN CANADA
that Eastern Canada, emerging from her forests and fields, first
gazed upon the rolling prairies and unexplored North-West, and
learned of the vast and rich interior which had hitherto been
scarcely considered as a factor in the economical problems of the
Dominion. The announcement that in the Canadian North-West
had been discovered more than two hundred million acres that
would produce wheat and that this vast area could undoubtedly,
if properly developed', cover many times over England's demand
for wheat to meet her annual bread deficiency, naturally riveted
the attention of the whole world, and a stream of settlement
immediately began to flow into the country. It was not, however,
until the dawn of the twentieth century that the real rush began,
and since 1900, when the people of the republic to the south began
to fully appreciate the agricultural possibilities of Western Canada,
and to realize what a wonderful agricultural country lay immediately to the north of their own boundary, the influx has continued
with ever-increasing volume.
Bringing with them capital, effects, and the necessary knowledge
to develop the country, settlers are coming in thousands from the
United States and from Great Britain, and every country of Europe,
come other thousands to take advantage of the opportunities
offered.
With regard to capital, the development of Western Canada
has been unique, for with the twentieth century discovery of the
West by those who come to make their homes in the country,
there has been concurrently a corresponding awakening of the
investing class and the capitalists to the opportunities offered
them. The result has been a remarkable inflow of capital from
England and European countries, and from the United States, and
there is no lack of funds for either public or private improvements.
To sum up—what is the immediate outlook for Western Canada? It is a country that is now a long way beyond the experimental stage—a country that has been tried in the most exacting
test to which a new country can be put, and has come triumphantly
through the ordeal. There can be no doubt now that the settlers
who are so rapidly peopling the Great West of Canada and making
their homes here, are destined to be the wheat producers for the
British Empire, and that they will also supply for all deficiencies that
may arise in other countries. In this connection there seems to be
no limit to the expectations that may reasonably be formed. For
instance, what were once, in the imperfect- knowledge of the
country, supposed to be semi-arid districts are now, on thorough
investigation, found to be capable of producing full crops, and WESTERN CANADA 9
providing opportunities for which no superior can be found elsewhere for cereal and garden roots, for dairying and for stock
raising. In other districts, which were once little thought of,
winter wheat is revolutionizing the character of the whole terri-«
tory, and elsewhere irrigation is proving an assured method of
getting the best results.
Once. it was thought that there were large areas of doubtful
rainfall. The soil was known to be first class, but natural. conditions were thought to be too uncertain to justify any attempt at
settlement. Later explorations and practical experience has shown
that conclusions in this regard have often been arrived at too
hastily—and it now seems certain, that there is very little really
waste land in the whole vast territory.
For soil and climate Western Canada cannot be beaten—it is
destined to be the bread basket of the world—the stockman's
paradise, and the home of millions of happy, contented and pros-
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perous people, living under the best form of government, and
with natural advantages which are unsurpassed.
Growth of Population.
The recent census gives the population of■ Manitoba as 360,000,
Saskatchewan 240,000 and Alberta'185,000. The total of these three
provinces in 1901 was 419,512. The total in 1906 is 785,000, an increase in five years of 365,488.
All this has been accomplished without what one might call a
boom. Business and production have kept pace with, the advance
of lands and other real estate. While there has.'.no ,."doubt been
some speculation, the actual settler has established himself on the
soil, and by actual work brought values up to and beyond the expectation of the most sanguine. WESTERN CANADA 11
Soil and Climate of Western Canada.
Professor Thomas Shaw, now of the editorial staff of the
Orange Judd Farmer, an eminent agriculturist, writer and lecturer,
after a 'recent trip through Western Canada, spok:-in the following
terms on this subject:
"The contemplation of this great country is bewildering whether
viewed from the standpoint of size or resources. In size it is an
empire. Our party has been travelling over it as fast as the engine
could carry us for the past sixteen days, and'we have only seen a
very limited portion of its entire area. Its resources are almost
fabulous in the aggregate, whether viewed from the standpoint of
' minerals, timber or agricultural production. But beyond all question, the agriculture of this country will be its greatest industry
through all the centuries.
"The first foot of soil in the three provinces of Manitoba,
Saskatchewan and Alberta is its greatest natural heritage. - It is
worth more than all the mines in the mountains from Alaska to
Mexico and more than all the forests from the United States boundary to the Arctic Sea, vast as these are. And next in value to
this heritage is the three feet of soil which lies underneath the
' first. The subsoil is only secondary in value to the soil, for without a good subsoil the value of a good surface soil is neutralized in
proportion as the subsoil is inferior. The worth of a soil and subsoil cannot be measured in acres. The measure of its value is the
amount of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash which it contains,
in other words, its producing power. Viewed from this standpoint,
these lands are a heritage of untold value. -One acre of average
soil in the North-West is worth more than twenty acres of average
soil along the Atlantic seaboard. The man who tills the former
can grow twenty successive crops without much diminution in the
yields, whereas the person who tills the latter must pay the vender
of fertilizers half as much for materials to fertilize an acre as
would buy the same in the Canadian North-West in order to grow
a single remunerative crop.
"Next in value to the soil is the heritage of climate. No
citizen of north-western Canada should be anxious to apologize
for the climate of his country. Good as the' soil is, it would never
have brought supremacy in grain production in this country, had
it not been for the climate. The blessing of the climate is threefold. It consists in the purity of the air, in the temperature of the
same and in the happy equilibrium in the precipitation. Every one 12
WESTERN CANADA
knows the value of the pure air in this country, viewed from the
standpoint of health. But does everyone know as to the inestimable character of the blessing which pure air proves to the agriculture of the country? It prevents the rapid decay and transformation of the vegetable matter in the soil, and also the too rapid
transformation of inert fertility, thus virtually preventing, waste
in the hand of nature. In this fact is found our explanation of the
extraordinary fertility of the soil. The cool temperature of the
summer nights is responsible for the large relative yields of the
grain. Raise the temperature of the summer days and nights, and
the yield of grain will be proportionately reduced. The relatively
cool temperature is one of the agricultural glories of this land.
The relatively light precipitation is also a great boon to the northwestern farmer. It grows his crops and does not destroy them,
when grown. Nearly every portion of these three provinces has
a rainfall of 15 or 20 inches; enough to grow good crops of grain
on farms that are properly tilled, and not enough to waste the
fertility of the soil through cracking. In this, another reason is
found for the wonderful producing power of these lands.
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DELIVERING GRAIN FOR SHIPMENT.
Manitoba is the pioneer province of the West. . As the Red
River Settlement it stoutly maintained for years the possibilities .
of the fertile valleys of the Assiniboine and the Red. After the
Dominion was formed it was taken in as a province.
It is the smallest of the western provinces, measuring but
65,000 square miles, yet it is as large as England, Scotland, and
Ireland and. has 27,000,000 acres of arable land, about one-sixth of
which is under plow.
The Dominion census of 1906 gives a population of 360,000.
Most of this population consists of emigrants from Great Britain,
the United States and Eastern Canada. Manitoba being the most
thickly settled portion of Western Canada conditions here may be
regarded as a fair index of the whole.
In 1906 about 4,S50,000 acres were under plow.
The average yield of wheat for 1904 and 1905 was about 20
bushels; the average price 85 cents and.65 cents respectively. The
cost of seeding, harvesting and marketing being reckoned at $6.00
per acre, we have a balance ranging from $11.00 to $7.00 clear profit
to the farmer. When it is remembered that land can be had for
from $8 to $30 per acre, according to location and improvements,
the financial end of Manitoba farming may be appreciated.
Manitoba is a thoroughly settled community, and in nearly
every part the difficulties of the pioneer are a thing of the past.
A glance at the' map will show the excellence of the railway com- 14 MANITOBA
muhications. From Winnipeg the branches of the Canadian Pacific
Railway spread out like a fan. The main transcontinental line
passes through Winnipeg, and extensions are built as needed to
keep pace with, and sometimes even to anticipate the rapidly increasing population.
The southern half of the province is generally open prairie,
bat the northern half is mostly covered with timber, consisting of
poplar, birch and spruce.
The climate of Manitoba is typical of the interior. The winters
are cold, but the air is dry and the days bright. Spring comes
early and suddenly. The summers are warm and the days long,
making the growing season equal to that of the states lying to
the south.
Telegraph lines connect every part of the Province with Winnipeg, and the telephone and electric light are found in all places
of importance. The postal service is thoroughly well organized
and reaches every part of the Province, while the public schools
are efficient and numerous. Statistics show that on January 1st,
1906, there were 1,360 organized school districts, 63,287 registered
pupils and 2,272 teachers. Of these schools 29 had been organized
within the year. 7 colleges (6 in Winnipeg and 1 in Brandon)
and a university in Winnipeg were maintained.
In Canada there is no established church, every religious body
being on an absolute equality in the eye of the law. Fraternal
orders and other benevolent associations are a prominent feature
of the social life of the country. Associations of importance from*
a more strictly business point of view are the agricultural societies
with their annual fairs, and the farmers' institutes for the discussion
of practical questions.
Fruit and Ornamental Trees.
No better currants (black, red and white) can be grown than
in Manitoba. Gooseberries, raspberries and strawberries yield
regularly crops of the finest fruit and stand the climate well; crab
apples, too, are heavy bearers and when well sheltered hardy
varieties of the standard apples can be grown where the altitude
is not too high. Ornamental trees and shrubs do well and some
farmers now have their lawns very tastefully arranged with such
trees and flowering shrubs. The Dominion Government supply
from the Experimental Farms 1,500 trees to all applicants owning MANITOBA
15
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APPROACHING THE FERRY.
farms in Western Canada. These are delivered in good condition
at the nearest station free of cost. All that the farmer is expected
to do is to take good care of the trees. Some of the early settlers
now have groves of trees which will supply them with both
shelter and wood for fuel for years to come. The seed of the
box alder or soft maple can be gathered in the fall of the year in
abundance. Trees of this variety are no more trouble to grow than
a crop of turnips.
Mr. A. P. Stephenson, of the "Pine Grove" farm near Morden,
Manitoba, has an orchard containing about five hundred apple
trees, of which three hundred are bearing. Most of his trees are
still very young, but the annual yield is considerable. Mr. Stephenson is quite optimistic as to the future of apple growing in Manitoba, and it is believed that in time the production in the province,
will fully supply the local demand. 16
MANITOBA
At a convention of Manitoba market gardeners, held recently,
Dr.- Thompson, a successful fruit-grower, stated that he believed
there was no country where small fruits could be grown with less
trouble than in Manitoba. There were few insect pests or diseases to interfere with their growth. Dr. Thompson called the
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APPLES ON A. P. STEPHENSON S FARM, NEAR MORDEN, MANITOBA.
attention of the farmers to the fact that when more was grown
than was wanted, they would find a very profitable local demand
for it. He had, therefore, no hesitation in advising the farmers
of Manitoba to grow small fruits.
Mixed and Dairy Farming.
For many years Manitoba was treated as almost exclusively a
wheat-growing country, but this is changed now, and stock-raising
and dairying are attracting much attention. On January 1st, 1905, MANITOBA 17
the number of horses in the province was set down at 143,386;
cattle, 306,943, of which 127,562 were milch cows; sheep, 18,228; pigs,
118,986. Cattle raising is especially profitable, as there is a
splendid market close by. At least 80,000 cattle are required each
year for home consumption, while the young cattle find a ready
sale among the ranchers of the west. . ' .
Dairying is becoming a more important industry every year in
Manitoba.
In 1896 the Provincial Government established a dairy school
in Winnipeg, which has been a great success. It is fitted up in the
most modern way, and has trained many of those now in charge
of the creameries and factories throughout the Province. Any
resident of Manitoba may attend without paying fees.
The dairy statistics for the Province of Manitoba for 1906 are:
Pounds Price Value
per lb.
Butter, dairy 4,698,882 18.3 $840,006.85
Butter, creamery 1,552,812 22 342,495.48
Total :•':.; $1,182,502.33
':'...-:.;■ Pounds Price Value
per lb.
Cheese, factory 1,501,729 13 $195,244.51
Total dairy products $1,377,746.84
Dairy butter shows an increase in one year of about 39 per cent,
and an increase of $1.33 per 100 pounds in the price.
Creamery butter shows a gain of 20 per cent., with an average
price of 22c per pound.
The amount of cheese manufactured was 25 per cent, over 1905,
and the advance in price was $3 per 100 pounds.
Manitoba has great, advantages as a dairy country. The pasturage is very rich and nutritious, with an abundance of variously
flavored grasses; the witer supply is excellent, and ample both for
watering the stock and for use in the dairies, streams of pure running water being often available.
The annual government report on the crops and agricultural
conditions in the province for the year 1906 has been issued. The
total wheat yield for the province was 61,250,413 bushels, being
over 5,000,000 bushels increase over last year. Other crops show MANITOBA
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A FARMER'S HOME, 3 MILES FROM WINNIPEG.
a proportionate increase. The whole report shows that the
farming community of Manitoba is in a most flourishing condition.
The oat crop for the Province of Manitoba for the year 1906
was 50,692,977 bushels; barley, 17,532,553 bushels; flax, 274„330
.bushels; Rye, 100,000; Peas, 67,301 bushels; corn, 249,840 bushels;
Potatoes, 4,702,595 bushels.
In 1905 the estimated amount expended in farm buildings in
Manitoba was $3,944,101, while in the year 1906 it was $4,515,085.
Liberal Exemption Law.
Manitoba has a liberal exemption law; that is, the law protects
frorti seizure for debt,, where no mortgage exists, a certain number
of horses, cattle, swine and poultry, some household effects and a
year's provisions, so that if 'a settler who has not mortgaged his
property is overtaken by misfortune, he cannot be turned out of
his house and home.
Land for Immigrants.
The new comer has the choice of four ways of securing a farm;
he may homestead, he may buy land from the Canadian Pacific
Railway Company, or other holders, he may rent an already cultivated farm, or he may buy an improved farm on the crop payment MANITOBA 19
plan. The terms on which nearly all the farms are leased is the
half-share plan. The owner of the farm provides the seed (and if
he is wise, sees that it is clean and of the best quality); he also
pays for one-half the threshing and half the twine, and in return
gets one-half the crop put into the granary on the farm. The
tenant does all the work and also the statute labor, which is
generally five days for a half section, and he, too, gets one-half the
crop. To buy a farm on the crop-payment plan the holder in most
cases asks a cash payment of from $500 to $1,000. The purchaser
delivers in the nearest elevator one-half the crop till the land is
paid for. The price is agreed upon and six, per cent, interest is
charged on the unpaid principal. The purchaser, if the land is of
good quality and near to market, runs no risk, as he always has a
fair return for his labor and in a few years owns the farm. ■ .'.=
Opportunities to rent farms in the older settled, districts are
not uncommon, and are often worth seizing. The farms are rented
generally during the winter or early spring for a year or more, the
rent depending largely upon the kind and value of the, improvements.
Cheap Fuel.
Besides the large tracts of- forests, both in -, and adjacent to
Manitoba, there are vast coal areas contiguous to the province of
such extent as to be practically inexhaustible. The Manitoba
Legislature has effected an arrangement by which this coal is to
be supplied at a rate not to exceed $2.50 to $5 per ton, according
to locality.
At Banff, Alta., deposits of anthracite coal have been recently
opened up by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. The coal
resembles that obtained from the famous Pennsylvania mines,
and will be supplied to the whole of Manitoba and the North-
West.
Cities and Towns in Manitoba.
Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba, and the largest city in Canada west of Lake Superior, is about midway between the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans. In 1870 its population was 215; in 1874 it was
1,869; in 1902, 48,41,1, and 1907, 110,000, and is steadily increasing.
Winnipeg is naturally a centre for the wholesale and jobbing
trade of the North-West and every branch of business is
represented; all the principal chartered banks of Canada have
branches here, and there are a large number of manufacturing 20
MANITOBA
'■•". .■:.■; - J)
A MANITOBA PIONEER.
establishments. There are extensive stockyards, and immense
abattoirs, arranged for slaughtering and chilling the meat for shipment to Europe and other markets. There is ample cold storage
in the city for dairy produce, etc. It is an important railway centre,
from which both the East and the West may be reached. Branch
lines run to nearly every part of the Province and a branch of the
Canadian Pacific connects with the Soo line at Emerson thus
affording a direct and easy route to St. Paul, Minneapolis and
Chicago.
The yards of the Canadian Pacific Railway at -Winnipeg are
the largest in the world operated by one .company, and contain
120 miles of track.
Winnipeg is the political as well as the commercial centre of
Western Canada. The Legislative and the Departmental buildings
of the Manitoba Government and the chief immigration, lands
and timber offices of the Dominion Government for the west are
located here. The Canadian Pacific Railway Company has its MANITOBA
21
chief offices in the west in Winnipeg, and also the head offices of
its land department,, where full information regarding the company's land can be obtained.
The largest towns in the province outside of Winnipeg are on
the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway:—Portage la Prairie,
56 miles west (population about 5,500), and Brandon (population
11,000), 133 miles west are important railroad junction points and
centres for a considerable area of grand farming country.
There are many other important towns, with populations ranging from 3,000 to 5,000. Grain elevators have been erected at
nearly every railway station. Stores will be found in every town
facilitating the business of the neighboring settlements.
ON LAKE WINNIPEG. SASKATCHEWAN
Btsaasy" - -~~mimn
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The Province of Saskatchewan contains 229,239 square miles.
It is 700 miles from south to north and a little more than 400 from
east to west. It, therefore, of necessity has a variety of climates.
The northern half is largely unexplored. The southern half may be
divided into the agricultural and grazing sections.
The eastern portion, for a distance of some 120 miles west
from its eastern boundary, is practically a continuation to the
westward of the grain-growing areas of Manitoba. The soil is a
friable loam, easily worked, and, producing excellent crops of
wheat, coarse grains, and vegetables. The winter climate answers
all requirements, both as to degree of cold and as to sufficiency
of snowfall, for the production of the No. 1 hard wheat for which
Western Canada is now noted. This district will one day be one
of the greatest wheat-producing sections of the American continent, and for the following reasons: 1st—It has a soil particularly rich in the food of the wheat plant. 2nd—It has a climate
that brings the plant to maturity with great rapidity. 3rd—On
account of its northern latitude it receives more sunshine during
the period of growth than the country to the south. 4th—Absence
of rust due to dryness of climate. 5th—Absence of insect foes.
These conditions, are especially favorable to the growth of
the hard, flinty wheat so greatly prized by millers all the world
over, and commanding a higher price than the softer varieties
grown elsewhere.
The summers leave little to be desired in an agricultural country, cyclones or violent storms being thus far unknown. In most
parts good water can be obtained at a reasonable depth. SASKATCHEWAN 23
Coal in abundance is found in the south, in the district drained
by the Souris River. Sufficient wood for all purposes for many
years to come is to be found along the rivers and in the Moose
Mountains.
The possibilities of Southern Saskatchewan are shown by the
averages of tests made at the experimental farm- at Indian Head,
where eleven varieties of the most suitable wheat, sown on April
the 15th, were cut in 130 days, and yielded 4,314 pounds of straw
and 43 bushels and 2 pounds of grain per acre.
This area embraces the Regina and Moose Jaw plains, nearly .very
acre of which is first class wheat land, the celebrated Indian Head
district and the favored Moose Mountain settlement. Only a few
years ago hundreds of thousands of acres of these lands could
be bought from the Railway Company at $3.00 per acre, and. a
very large proportion of the free grant lands were vacant. Now
the free homesteads are exhausted and lands sell freely at from
$8.00 to $20.00 per acre. This part of the province is well served
by the main line and branches of the Canadian Pacific "Railway.
North of the Qu'Appelle River, along the Pheasant Hills and
the Manitoba and North-Western branches of the Canadian Pacific
Railway are excellent mixed farming tracts.
Southwestern Saskatchewan, embracing that section of country
lying between the South Saskatchewan River and the International
boundary, and west of the Moose Jaw district, has hitherto been
regarded as semi-arid, with here and there localities with sufficient
rainfall to insure average crops four years out of five. The rainfall at Swift Current, however, for the past ten years compares
favorably with that of the best wheat growing districts in Canada.
From Swift Current to the Alberta boundary is mainly a ranching country. Two features have peculiarly fitted it for cattle and
sheep. The first is the "buffalo grass." The plains are covered
with a short, crisp herbage, which, though it turns brown at midsummer, remains green and growing at the roots. On this cattle
and sheep thrive the whole year round, and there is little need to
provide other fodder at any season of the year. The other natural
advantage is the "chinook" wind. This blows from the mountains and licks up the snowfall in winter with wonderful rapidity.
The severity of the climate is greatly mitigated thereby, and cattle
and sheep face the winter with little or no artificial protection.
The Cypress Hills are especially adapted for stock-raising.
Further north, between the south and north branches of the
Saskatchewan River, are immense stretches of open prairie land 24
SASKATCHEWAN
«*:»-,
:>,
CATTLE IN SASKATCHEWAN.
particularly suited to wheat growing on an extensive scale, and it
is probable that these plains will within a few years compare favorably as a grain-growing section with the southeasterly portion
of the province. The Moose Jaw Branch of the Canadian Pacific
Railway, and also the Pheasant Hills Branch from Saskatoon to
Wetaskiwin, will assist in developing this territory.
North and east of the arable part of Saskatchewan stretch extensive tracts of the finest spruce timber. From this the settler
now gets, and will get for all time, cheap building material. It
will also be very valuable when the opportunities it gives for
pulp and paper industries have been recognized.
The series of lakes north of the Saskatchewan River are well
stocked with fish. Lake trout, pike, pickerel, sturgeon and white
fish abound, and are available for export as well as local consumption.
Dairying in Saskatchewan
On the open prairie portions of the" province farmers devote
their energies largely to exclusive wheat growing, but in the
eastern and northeastern districts conditions for mixed farming
and dairying are eminently suitable. The naturak growth of grass SASKATCHEWAN
25
is abundant and affords ample pasture of excellent quality for
stock. In addition to this the country is well watered. Where,
streams and small lakes do not exist a sufficient supply of good
well water is easily obtainable within from fifteen to thirty feet
of the surface. Furthermore, the settlements suitable for mixed
farming are comparatively well wooded with bluffs of trees which
serve as shelter for stock during the warm summer months and
also from the cool autumn winds, as well as affording relief from
flies. The trees in most districts are of such a size that they can,
in many cases, be used in providing buildings for comfortably
housing stock during the winter months, thus permitting the settlers to engage in mixed farming without any great outlay of
money when they first arrive in the country.
With the exception of one creamery, which commenced operations in 1906, all the creameries in the province are co-operative
institutions and are under the direct control of the Department
of Agriculture, Regina. The local matters requiring attention are
supervised by a Board of Directors appointed each year for that
purpose, and the Department assumes the work of finding a market
for all produce beside keeping the books for all creamery companies. • Detailed certified reports are sent weekly by creamery
managers and from these patrons and companies receive a monthly
advance on their butter and at the close of the season, when all
butter has been marketed, the balance remaining, after deducting
THRESHING IN SASKATCHEWAN. 26 Saskatchewan
manufacturing expenses, is distributed by the Department. This
system tends to establish confidence among the dairy farmers as
the financing is altogether under Government control, and monthly
payments are promptly made regardless of any sales of butter.
While the creamery work is but in its infancy, it is estimated that
upwards of 300,000 pounds of butter will be manufactured during
this year. In addition to this, the make of dairy butter is estimated at over 700,000 pounds.
Official Report for 1906
Figures have been compiled indicating the agricultural progress
of the Canadian West during the past year, showing that the grain
crop of the three provinces totalled 201,020,14s' bushels. There
are 1,200 interior elevators, and yet these are insufficient to handle
the grain crop.
The cattle industry also is a very important factor in the
country's wealth, $4,029,639 net having been paid to ranchers
alone last year, the prices ruling fairly high, an average of over
$47 per head for export steers being paid. Some 130,000 head of
cattle were received at the Winnipeg stock yards, and nearly
86,000 were carried to the seaboard over the Canadian Pacific
'Railway, an increase of 27,000 compared with the pfevious year.
The supply of hogs was altogether inadequate to meet the
demands of the market, and an average price of $7.11 per hundredweight prevailed.
The supply of sheep is much below the requirements of the
• market.
Towns in Saskatchewan
Regina, formerly the territorial capital and now the capital of
the province, has a population of about 7,000, is on the main line,
of the Canadian Pacific Railroad, and is the terminus of the Areola
branch from the southeast.
Prince Albert, the oldest town of size in the province, with a
population of 4,000, is located on the Saskatchewan. River, near the
centre of the. province.
Moose Jaw, population 7,000, is a divisional point, on the main
line of the Canadian Pacific Railway; it is an important business
centre and is situated in one of the best wheat sections of the
province. It is the point where the Soo line, running to St. Paul, SASKATCHEWAN
27
Minneapolis and Sault Ste. Marie, connects with the main line of
the Canadian Pacific Railway. A branch line is being built north'
westerly and will open up immense tracts of finest wheat lands,
Saskatoon, with a population of about 2,800; Is a thriving tSwri
Oii the Pheasant Hills branch; and is the junction jidint bf that
iifie with the line funning from Regina to Prince Albert.
Weyburn, on the Soo line, is becoming a very important business centre.
There are many other important towns, and at nearly every
station are elevators, stores, and all the business facilities which
the settlers require.
HIS FIRST HARVEST. 28
4» Alberta 4»
North of the International Boundary line and immediately east
of the Rocky Mountains lies the Province of Alberta—a land
blessed with all that is necessary to happiness and prosperity.
Between the 49th and 60th parallel of latitude between the 110th
and 120th meridians lie 281,000 square miles of possibilities. No
other political .division of the great virgin empire of the North-
West contains more that is necessary to modern civilization and
less that is useless. Here are mountains and plains, foothills and
valleys, rolling prairies with wooded stretches between, dense
forests and grassy meadows, clean-shored, timber-girded lakes and
winding brooks, cold mountain streams and navigable rivers, and a
soil rich in the alluvial and vegetable accumulations of centuries.
And as if not content with these outward signs of her favor, Nature
hid beneath the surface vast deposits of coal and other minerals;
she filled the subterranean reservoirs with gas and oil, and sprinkled the sands of the mountain streams with gold. That no living
thing should go athirst she gathered together the waters of the
mountains and brought them to the plains to be directed by the
ingenuity of man to the use of the grazing herds and the planted
fields. Then, to crown her effort and leave nothing incomplete,
she brought the Chinook wind, warm with the breath of May, to
temper the north wind.
One of the first things that strikes the casual observer in looking over the map of the Canadian North-West is the apparent
remoteness of Alberta. Leaning against the eastern shoulder of
the Rocky Mountains it seems a long way from the great centres
of civilization. It must be remembered, however, that to be remote
from one place is to be near another and that isolation itself has
advantages.
On reaching Alberta.you feel at once the sundering of eastern
ties—even the middle west is out of your mental range—you are 26 SASKATCHEWAN
manufacturing expenses, is distributed by the Department. This
system tends to establish confidence among the dairy farmers as
the financing is altogether under Government control, and monthly
payments are promptly made regardless of any sales of butter.
While the creamery work is but in its infancy, it is estimated that
upwards of 300,000 pounds of butter will be manufactured during
this year. In addition to this, the make of dairy butter is estimated at over 700,000 pounds.
Official Report for 1906
Figures have been compiled indicating the agricultural progress
of the Canadian West during the past year, showing that the grain
crop of the three provinces totalled 201,020,148' bushels. There
are 1,200 interior elevators, and yet these are. insufficient to handle
the grain crop.
The cattle industry also is a very important factor in the
country's wealth, $4,029,639 net having been paid to ranchers
alone last year, the prices ruling fairly high, an average of over
$47 per head for export steers being paid. Some 130,000 head of
cattle were received at the Winnipeg stock yards, and nearly
86,000 were carried to the seaboard over the Canadian Pacific
'Railway, an increase of 27,000 compared with the previous year.
The supply of hogs was altogether inadequate to meet the
demands of the market, and an average price of $7.11 per hundredweight prevailed.
The supply of sheep is much below the requirements of the
• market.
Towns in Saskatchewan
Regina, formerly the territorial capital and now the capital of
the province, has a population of about 7,000, is on the main line,
of the Canadian Pacific Railroad, and is the terminus of the Areola
branch from the southeast.
Prince Albert, the oldest town of size in the province, with a
population of 4,000, is located on the Saskatchewan. River, near the
centre of the province. .
Moose Jaw, population 7,000, is a divisional point.-on the main
line of the Canadian Pacific Railway; it is an important business
centre and is situated in one of the best wheat sections of the
province. It is the point where the Soo line, running to St. Paul,
Vi 30
ALBERTA
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A HOME IN WESTERN CANADA,
There are few summer or winter storms. As a consequence,
' a fine class of cattle can be raised very cheaply and with less
. danger of loss in this district than in some other parts. The
advantages which tell so heavily in favor of the district for cattle
raising, tell as heavily in favor of dairying.
Native fruits—wild strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, saskatoon and cranberries, cherries and black currants—grow in profusion almost everywhere, and tobacco is successfully cultivated.
Splendid vegetables are raised, and Wetaskiwin is noted for its turnips. All through the country small game, principally mallard and
teal, prairie chicken and partridge, is very plentiful, and deer may
not infrequently be found.
To accommodate the great increase of settlement north of
Calgary the Canadian Pacific Railway Company are constructing
two branch lines in an easterly direction from the Edmonton
Branch. They start from Wetaskiwin and Lacombe, running
through very fertile districts, and will connect with the Pheasant
Hills branch.
Southern Alberta, between Macleod and Calgary,, h,as attracted
many settlers lately. Four years ago the sixty miles, from Macleod
to High River were given up to ranching, and there was hardly a
house to be seen; now there are thriving towns ejght to twelve, ALBERfA 31
miles apart. The soil is very fertile, water may be easily obtained;
unlimited supplies of timber await the lumberman in the mountains,
and grey sandstone for building purposes is plentiful. Fall wheat
is grown successfully. Southern Alberta is level, open prairie in
the eastern portion, but is much broken along the western side
by the foothills of the Rockies. The live stock industry is still
the chief one, although the conditions are fast changing the large
herds to smaller ones, which can be more easily handled and
cared for. Large numbers of young beef cattle are usually imported from the east to be fattened on the Southern Alberta ranges,
and are again profitably shipped as matured beef to European and
eastern markets and to British Columbia and the Yukon. Mixed
farming is now extensively carried on in Southern Alberta, and
is very profitable. With a rapidly extending system of irrigation,
this and other farming operations will develop very quickly.
Chief Towns.
Calgary is a busy city of 15,000 population, which is rapidly increasing. Lt is situated at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow
Rivers, about 70 miles east of the Rocky Mountains. It is the centre of the northern ranching districts of Southern Alberta, and
supplies many of the smaller mining towns in the west. It is built
principally of grey sandstone. It is the junction of the Calgary
& Edmonton branch with the main line of the Canadian Pacific'
Railway, being a divisional point, with machine shops, etc. It is
also the headquarters of the British Columbia Land and the Irrigation Departments of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company.
Edmonton, on the north bank of the Saskatchewan, is the
provincial capital and the market town for the farmers, traders,
miners, etc., on the north side of the Saskatchewan, and for the
trade of the great Mackenzie Basin. It is a well built and prosperous town with a population of about 12,000.
Strathcona, on the south bank of the Saskatchewan (population 3,500), and the present northern terminus of the Edmonton
branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway, is another rising centre.
Medicine Hat has a population of 3,500 and is situated on the
banks of the South Saskatchewan River. Natural gas wells supply
the town with the material for heating and. lighting.
There are a large number of other important towns and villages throughout Alberta, which are growing both in wealth and
population. 32
ALBERTA
Horse Raising.
The Alberta horse has already become noted for endurance,
lung power and perfect freedom from hereditary and other diseases.
Thoroughbreds from Great Britain and Kentucky, Clydesdales
from Scotland,. Percherons from France, and trotting stock from
the United States have been imported at great expense, with the
result that the young horse of Alberta will compare with any in
Canada, and finds a ready market. Good three-quarter bred Clydes
and Shires which at maturity will weigh 1,400 to 1,600 lbs., have
been selling at three years old readily from $100 to $125. Good
quality of other classes bring from $60 to $100.
^^WliiilSlipHlilfcSl
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ALBERTA HORSES.
Sheep, Hogs and Poultry Raising.
For sheep there are thousands of acres of rich, well watered
grass lands, adapted in every way to produce first-class mutton and
fine fleeces. Sheep mature early owing to the excellent quality of
the grass. The popular breeds are Shropshires and Downs, in
some cases crossed with Merinos.
The favorite breeds of hogs are Berkshires, small Yorkshire
Whites and Tamworths, Hog raising may be increased indefinitely, as the demand exceeds greatly .the supply. At present Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta do not produce 50 per cent, nor
British Columbia 25 per cent, of the ham and bacon they consume. 33
'SslSISSi!
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ALBERTA SHEEP.
The Orient will also take a large quantity. As things are the
' Eastern Provinces and the United States, meet the demand, but
there is no reason why the West should not raise its own hogs.
One of the most profitable branches of farming in the Canadian West is the production of eggs. During the winter months
prices range from 30c. to 60c. a dozen. There is a ready demand
for fowls for home consumption, the supply not nearly equalling
the demand. This climate cannot be surpassed for the rearing of
turkeys, the dryness and altitude being especially favorable for this
profitable bird. Geese grow to a. large size on the rich pasture
without very much care or extra feeding.
Cattle Raising.
There are countless herds of fat cattle on the ranges of Southern Alberta, which at any season are neither fed nor sheltered.
Shorthorns, Herefords and Polled Angus (black and red of the
latter), are the chief breeds. There are some Holsteins and Ayr-
shires, but they are not generally used, except where dairying is
the desideratum. For the small stock breeds, where dairying and 34
beef producing must go hand in hand, probably a good milking
strain .of Shorthorns will be the most profitable.
The ranching, industry in Southern Alberta seems, however, to
be undergoing a radical alteration: The rancher is giving way to
the mixed farmer. Some of the larger men are realizing on their
property, and are being replaced by farmers, who have some of
their land under crop, but keep a herd of cattle as well.
Crops of 1906
The crop areas and yields of 1906 in Manitoba, Saskatchewan
and Alberta, according to the Provincial official returns, were as
follows:
Bushels. Acres. Average.
Wheat 94,119,626 4,614,827 20.39
Oats 86,216,627 2,024,127 42.59
Barley : .20,779,734 591,393 35.13
Flax • 695,180 49,372 14.08
Game in Alberta.
Alberta is an attractive country for the sportsman. Wild duck
of all varieties, geese, prairie chicken, blue grouse, snipe, partridge
and all other game are usually plentiful, while in the north and the
mountain regions of the south, deer, moose, and other large game
are by no means uncommon. Bands of antelope are also often
seen on the plains in the south. Trout of several species abound
in most of the streams and lakes of Southern Alberta.
Alberta Winter Wheat.
The development of winter wheat cultivation in the Province
of Alberta has been so rapid and successful, that those who have
not been favored with an opportunity of seeing the growing crops,
the reaping, threshing and marketing of same, are apt to discredit
the published reports.
fhe area sown in 1902 was only 3,444 acres and this yielded in 35
... ..
M^MIM$M^BMi&:§MM
MAIN IRRIGATION CANAL, THREE MILES FROM HEAD. GATE.
1903, 82,420 bushels, an average of 23.86 bushels per acre. In 1903
some 8,300 acres were sown, yielding in 1904, 152,125 bushels. The
crop of 1905 was very large. In 1906 the spring conditions were
not as favorable as in the previous year; the acreage under crop
was 43,660 and the estimated yield 907,421 bushels.
In Alberta are millions of acres of virgin prairie land as good
as that which has already been cultivated and it is only natural to
predict a tremendous influx of farmers to take advantage of the
conditions which prevail.
Irrigation and Irrigation Development.
The Canadian Pacific Railway Company has now under construction one of the largest irrigation schemes on the American
Continent. It embraces an area of some 3,000,000 acres lying east 36 ALBERTA
of Calgary between the Bow River and the Red Deer River.
Of this area the Company expects to be able to supply water
to irrigate about 1,500,000 acres. Canals have already been completed which are capable of furnishing water for irrigating 110,000
acres.
The district comprised within the Company's irrigation block
is at the present time the largest unoccupied block of good land
in the West, and with the introduction of the irrigation system,
will afford a first-class opportunity for ranchmen who desire to
obtain ranges for grazing purposes, to which are attached lands on
which fodder may be raised every year by irrigation. It will also
attract the immigrant who desires to obtain a small holding where
he can combine ranching on a small scale with dairy or mixed
farming.
Full information, maps and pamphlets descriptive of this
scheme may be obtained on application to J. S. Dennis, Superintendent of Irrigation, Calgary, Alberta.
Many individual owners or ranch companies have undertaken
irrigation of their own land, and there are some large corporations carrying on the work on a large scale. The Calgary Irrigation Company has 35 miles of main ditch to the west of Calgary,
and the Alberta Railway and Irrigation Company, with headquarters at Lethbridge, have constructed 130 miles of ditch. As a result
a prosperous beet sugar' factory has been established at Raymond,
and three good settlements have sprung up.
Beet Sugar Industry in Alberta.
The character of the soil and climate of Southern Alberta has
for many years indicated the suitability "of the district for the
growth of sugar beets. It was not, however, until actual experiments in connection with their growth were made in the Raymond
District, south of Lethbridge, that it became evident that both the
soil and the climate were specially adapted to the growth of these
roots. Following that experiment a beet sugar factory was erected
at Raymond and has been in operation for four years. The beets
raised in that district are of very exceptional quality both as to
purity and percentage of saccharine matter, and the factory is turning out a large quantity of first-class sugar. Following these, experiments have been made at certain points adjacent to the main
line of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company between Calgary
and Medicine Hat in the growth of sugar beets and the results 37
POLO ON THE PRAIRIES OF WESTERN CANADA.
obtained indicate that thai district will produce beets of first-class
quality. The sugar beet, while necessitating considerable labor in
its cultivation, gives a first-class return to the farmers and it now
seems certain that within a short time large areas in Southern Alberta will be devoted to the production of sugar beets and in the
near future several large factories will be in operation producing
sugar on an extensive scale.
Dairying.
There are now nineteen Government creameries in operation, of
which number probably eight will be running all winter. Besides
these, there are private creameries located at Didsbury, Knee Hill,
Berrydale, Bowden, Red Deer, Pine Lake, Maytdn, Neapolis, Content, Ponoka, Valley City, Highland Park, Lamerton, Leduc and
Cardston. A number of others are under project.
The main creameries established on the co-operative principle
and operated by the Provincial Department of Agriculture are situated at Calgary, Olds, Markerville, Red Deer, Evarts, Blackfalds,
Lacombe, Earlville, Wetaskiwin, Clover Bar, Innisfail, Beaver
Hills, Stony Plains, Martins, Ferry Bank, Rosenroll, Pine Lake,
Stettler and Crossfields.
The main creameries are equipped with first-class cold storage
rooms and other modern improvements. A regular semi-weekly 38 ALBERTA
refrigerator service is furnished by the Canadian Pacific Railway,
which makes it practicable to ship perishable food products to the
markets in the pink of condition.
Good prices are obtained for the output of butter, which finds a
ready market principally in British Columbia, and for shipment to
the Yukon territory, and the markets for creamery butter in China
and Japan are, though limited, increasing satisfactorily, and shipments are going forward by nearly every steamer leaving Vancouver for the Orient.
Poultry Raising
Not enough attention is given to the business of raising fowls.
Intent upon larger things, the Alberta farmer neglects the incidentals. The climate is wholly favorable and the business needs
only close attention and ordinary judgment. There is a large
field in Southern Alberta for the industrious poultry raiser. A
few acres and a few hundred chickens will yield a good income.
With eggs at 25 to 50 cents per dozen and dressed poultry
15-22 cents per pound on the Calgary market, little need be said
about this valuable side issue of the Southern Alberta farm. An
enormous market exists in the Province of British Columbia.for
poultry products and this market is increasing every year. An
egg gathering station is maintained at Calgary by the government,
where the highest market price is paid for eggs, and from which
periodical shipments are made to western points. No less than
$367,950 worth of poultry and eggs were imported to Calgary by
jobbers alone during 1905 for distribution in Alberta and British
Columbia points. It only remains for the farmers of this district
to go into the poultry business on a larger scale, in order to have
this money circulated in Alberta. The climate is ideal for poultry
raising and the market the best in Canada. Many a Southern
Alberta farmer keeps his grocery bill square' with the products
from the poultry yard; and yet little attention is given to improving his breeds, or to housing or feeding their domestic
feathered friends A fine opeirng awaits those who will undertake
poultry raising on a scientific basis, and put really fine fowls upon
the market. Alberta needs enthusiastic poulterers as much as
breeders of pure-bred horses, tittle and swine. One thing the
poultry raiser there has, is a .good market all the year round.
There is money in the business when rightly managed, and com- ALBERTA . 39
fort, cleanliness, a little grain and a good alfalfa field to range
over, about comprise the requisites.
There is always a demand for chickens and eggs and many
have found the business profitable, but whether it be on a large
scale or not, the farmer's wife and daughters can always make
good pin money with poultry.
Turkey raising has come to be an industry of importance. In
parts of Southern Alberta, where range is good, thousands of
these birds grow and fatten for market in the coast cities and
thousands of dollars are brought into the country every year
through this business alone. Where large' areas of wheat stubble
may be utilized for forage ground, the expense of putting turkeys
upon the market is reduced to a- minimum.
Minerals.
For years past gold in paying quantities 'has been found on the
banks and bars of the North and South Saskatchewan and in the
Pembina, Smoky, Macleod and Athabasca rivers. Veins of galena
have been located, which are pronounced by experts to contain
a large percentage of silver.
Vast areas are underlaid with rich deposits of anthracite,
bituminous, semi-bituminous coal and lignite. The coal mines
already discovered are of sufficient extent to supply Canada with
fuel for centuries. Lignites are now mined at Medicine Hat, Cypress Hill, Red Deer, Otoskwan, Edmonton, Sturgeon River and
Victoria," and are obtained at the pit's mouth at from 65c. to $2.50
per ton. The semi-bituminous is mined at Lethbridge (where
$1,500,000 have been invested), Taber, Pot Hole, Milk River Ridge,
Woodpecker, Crowfoot and Knee Hill Creek, and is obtained at
from $1.50 to $3.00 per ton. The true bituminous is mined at
Waterton River, Pinche.r Creek, on each of the South, Middle and
North Branches of the Old Man River, on High River, Sheep
Creek, ^Fish Creek, Bow River and Canmore, and fetches similar
prices to the semi-bituminous. The most important anthracite
deposit is near Banff, where at Bankhead the Canadian Pacific
Railway Company is developing a. mine of splendid quality. It is
the only one now operating in Canada, and will supply the country
from Winnipeg to Vancouver with a hard coal „equal to that
shipped from Pennsylvania; 40
WESTERN CANADA
System of Land Survey.
The land is divided into "townships" six miles square. Each
township contains thirty-six "sections" of 640 acres, or one square
mile each section, and these are again sub-divided into quarter-
Sections of 160 acres. A road allowance, one chain wide, is provided for between each section running north and south, and between
every alternative section east and west.
The following is a plan of a township:
Township Diagram.
N.
SIX MILES SQUARE.
W
u
<
Ot
v,
W
►J
1—1
IS
55
1
31
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Government lands open for homestead (that is for free settlement).—Sections Nos. 2, 4, 6, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 28, 30, 32,
34, 36.
Canadian Pacific Railway Lands for Sale.—Sections Nos. 1, 3,
5, 7, 9, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 31, 33, 35.
School sections.—Sections Nos. 11 and 29 are reserved by Government for school purposes.
Hudson's Bay Company's Land for Sale.—Sections Nos. 8 and
26. WESTERN CANADA
41
Free Homestead Regulations.
- Any even-numbered section of Dominion Lands in Manitoba
. or the North-West Territories excepting 8 and 26, which has not
been homesteaded, reserved to provide wood lots for settlers, or
for other purposes, may be homesteaded upon by any person who
is the sole head of a family, or any male over 18 years of age, to
the extent of one-quarter section of 160 acres, more or less.
Entry must be made personally at the local land office for the
District in which the land to be taken is situate, or with any Sub-
Agent for the District. A fee of $10 is charged for homestead
entry.
A settler who has been granted an entry for a homestead is
required by the provisions of the Dominion Lands Act and the
amendments thereto to perform the conditions connected therewith, under one of the following plans:—
(1) At least six months' residence upon and cultivation of the
land in each year during the term of three years.
It is the practice of the department to require a settler to
bring 15 acres under cultivation, but if he prefers he may substitute stock; and 20 head of cattle, to be actually his own property,
with buildings for their accommodation, will be accepted instead
of the cultivation.
(2) If the father (or mother, if the father is deceased) of any
person who is eligible to make a homestead entry under the provisions of the Act, resides upon a farm in the vicinity of the land
entered for by such person as a homestead, the requirements of
the Act as to residence prior to obtaining patent may be satisfied
by such person residing with the father or mother.
(3) If a settler was entitled to and has obtained entry for a
second homestead, the requirements of the Act as to residence
prior to obtaining patent may be satisfied by residence upon.the
first homestead, if the second homestead is in the vicinity of the
first homestead.
(4) If the settler has his permanent residence upon farming
land owned by him in the vicinity of his homestead, the requirements of the Act as to residence may be satisfied by residence
upon the said land.
Note.—The term "vicinity" used above is meant to indicate the
same township or an adjoining or cornering township. 42 WESTERN CANADA
A settler who avails himself of the provisions of Clauses (2),
(3) or (4) must cultivate 30 acres of his homestead, or substitute
20 head of stock, with buildings for their accommodation, and have
besides 80 acres substantially fenced.
The privilege of a second entry is restricted by law to those
settlers only who completed the duties upon their first homesteads
to entitle them to patent on or before the 2nd June, 1889.
Application for patent should be at the end of the three years,
before the Local Agent, Sub-Agent or the Homestead Inspector.
Before making application for patent the settler must give six
months' notice in writing to the Commissioner of Dominion Lands
at Ottawa of his intention to do so.
Synopsis of Regulations
For Disposal of Minerals on Dominion Lands in Manitoba,
Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Coal.
Coal lands may be purchased at $10.00 per acre for soft coal,
and $20.00 for anthracite. Not more than 320 acres can be acquired
by one individual or company.
Permits to mine coal for domestic purposes may be issued on
application to the Agent of Dominion' Lands for the district in
which the lands are situated for an area not exceeding three acres,
which area must previously have been staked out by planting a
post at each corner. The frontage must not exceed three chains
or the length ten chains; Rental $5.00 an acre per annum, and
royalty 20 cents per ton for anthracite coal, 15 cents per ton for
bituminous coal and 10 cents for lignite coal. Sworn returns of
the quantity mined under a permit to be made monthly. No rental
to be charged if the permittee is the owner of the surface.
Placer Mining and Dredging in the Rivers.
Placer mining claims generally are 100 feet square; entry fee
$5.00, renewable yearly. On the North Saskatchewan River claims
are either bar or bench, the former being 100 feet long and extending between high and.low water mark. The latter include bar dig- WESTERN CANADA 4g
gings, but extend back to the base of the hill or bank, but not exceeding 1,000 feet. Where steam power is used, claims 200 feet
wide may be obtained.
A Free Miner may obtain only two leases of five miles each
for a term of twenty years, renewable at the discretion of the Minister of the Interior.
The lessee's right is confined to the submerged bed or bars of
the river below low water mark, and subject to the rights of all
persons who have, or who may receive entries for bar diggings or
bench claims, except on the Saskatchewan River, where the lessee
maj' dredge to high water mark on each alternate leasehold.
The lessee shall have a dredge in operation within one season
from the date of the lease for each five miles, but where a person
or company -has obtained more than one lease one dredge for each
fifteen miles or fraction is sufficient. Rental $10,00 per annum for
each mile of river leased. Royalty at the rate of two and a half
per cent., collected on the output after it exceeds $10,000.00.
Timber on Dominion Lands
In Manitoba, the North-West Territories, and within the Railway Belt
in the Province of British Columbia.
A license to cut timber can be acquired only at public "competition. A rental of $5.00 per square mile is charged for all timber
berths excepting those situated west of Yale in the Province of
British Columbia, for which the rental is at the rate of 5 cents per
acre per annum. In addition to the rental, dues at the following-
rates are charged:—Sawn lumber, 50 cents per thousand feet B.M.;
railway ties, eight and nine feet long, iy2 to 1J4 cents each;
shingle bolts, 25 cents a cord; all other products, 5 per cent, on the
sales.
A license is issued as soon as a berth is granted, but in unsur-
veyed territory, no timber can be cut on the berth until the licensee
has made a survey thereof.
Homesteaders having no timber of their, own are entitled to a
permit free of dues to cut the following quantities:—3,000 feet of
building logs, not to exceed 12 inches at butt end, or 9.250 feet
board measure. If the timber is cut from dry trees, 3,000 lineal 44
WESTERN CANADA
feet of any diameter may be taken; 400 roof poles; 500 fence posts;
3,000 fence rails.
Homesteaders and all bona fide settlers whose farms may not
have thereon a supply of timber, or who are not in possession of
wood lots or other timbered lands, will be granted a free permit
to take and cut dry timber for their own use on their farms, for
fuel and fencing. A permit fee of 25 cents in each case is charged.
As the regulations governing the cutting of timber on Dominion
lands are undergoing important changes, it would be advisable
for settlers interested to communicate with the Crown timber
agents in regard to dues, etc.
Grazing
In Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
A settler in the vicinity of unoccupied hay lands may obtain
a lease for an area thereof not exceeding forty acres. The term
of the lease is five years and the rental twenty-five cents an acre
per annum payable in advance. Leases for hay purposes of not
more than 640 acres and not less than 160 acres of school lands
may be issued upon payment in advance of the rental at the rate
of twenty-five cents an acre per annum. Applications for permits
'to cut hay are made after the first day of January in each year to
the agent of Dominion Lands in whose agency the land containing
the hay is situated, and permits are issued on and after the first
day of April following, upon payment of a fee of fifty cents and
the dues hereinafter prescribed. If before the 1st of April, more
AN ALBERTA RANCHER S HOME. WESTERN CANADA 45
than one application is received for a permit covering the same
tract of land, the agent, if he cannot arrange a division of the
land to suit the applicants, may post a notice in his office calling
for tenders for the purchase of the hay, and the permit is awarded
to the person offering the highest cash bonus. No hay shall be
cut prior to a date to be fixed each year by the Minister of the
Interior. The dues chargeable for permits to actual settlers who
require the hay for their own use are ten cents an acre or ten
cents per ton, and 50 cents office fee, and to all other persons the
rates are fifty cents an acre or fifty cents per ton, payable in
advance.
Information for Settlers.
Newly arrived immigrants will receive at any Dominion Lands
office in Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Alberta information as to the
lands that are open for entry in that district, and from the officers
in charge, free of expense, advice and assistance in securing lands
to suit them. Full information respecting the land, timber, coal and
mineral laws, as well as respecting Dominion Lands in the Railway belt in British Columbia, may be obtained on application to
the Superintendent of Immigration, Department of the Interior,
Ottawa; the Commissioner of Immigration, Winnipeg, Manitoba;
the Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture, Regina, Sask. The
Dominion Lands Agents in Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Alberta
can furnish information only regarding land in their respective
districts.
For disposal of the public lands by free-grant the'Dominion
has established the following agencies, at which all the business
in relation to lands within the district of each must be transacted:
Government Land Offices.
(Figures are inclusive.)
Winnipeg District—Includes all surveyed townships, Nos. 1 to
25 north; ranges—all east of 1st meridian, and ranges 1 to 8 west;
also townships 1 to 4, ranges 9 to 14, and townships 5 to 7, ranges
9 to 12 west. Agent, Winnipeg.
Yorkton District—Townships 15 to 20 inclusive, in range 23;
townships 15 to 21 inclusive, ranges 24 and 25; townships 15 to 22
inclusive, range 26; townships 15 to 24 inclusive, range 27; 46 WESTERN CANADA
townships 15 to 26 inclusive, range 28; townships 17 to 26 inclusive, range 29; townships 17 to 38 inclusive, ranges 30 to 34, all
west of 1st meridian; townships 19 to 38 inclusive, ranges 1 to 6;
townships 22 to 38 inclusive, ranges 7 to 9, west of 2nd meridian;
townships 24 to 38 inclusive, ranges 10 to 20, all west of 2nd meridian.
Brandon District—Townships 8 to 12 inclusive, ranges 9 to 12;
townships 5 to 12 inclusive, ranges 13 to 14; townships 1 to 12
inclusive, ranges 15 and 10; townships 1 to 18 inclusive, ranges 17 to
22; townships 1 to 14 inclusive, ranges 23 to 28; townships 1 to 16
inclusive, ranges 29 to 34, all west 1st meridian.
Dauphin District—All townships lying to the north of the
Brandon district and north of that part of the Yorkton district lying
east of range 13, west of 2nd meridian and west of the Winnipeg
district.
Alameda District—Townships 1 to 9, ranges 1 to 30, west 2nd
meridian. Agent, Alameda:
Regina District—Townships 10 to 18, ranges 1, west of 2nd to
30 west of 3rd; townships 19 to 21, ranges 7 west of 2nd to 29 west
of 3rd; townships 22 and 23, ranges 10 west of 2nd to 29 west of
3rd; townships 24 to 30, ranges 2 west of 2nd to 29 west of 3rd;
townships 31 to 38, ranges 2 west of 2nd, to 10 west of 3rd. Agent,
Regina.
Lethbridge District—Townships 1 to 18, ranges 1 to 24 west of
the 4th meridian; townships 1 to 12, range 25 west of the 4th
meridian to B. C. Agent, Lethbridge.
Calgary District—Townships 19 to 30, ranges 1 to 7, west 4th
meridian; townships 19 to ,34, ranges 8 to 24, west 4th meridian;
townships 13 to 34, range 25, west of 4th meridian to B. C. Agent,
Calgary.
Red Deer Sub-District—Townships 35 to 42, range 8, west 4th
meridian to B. C. Agent, Red Deer.
Edmonton District—Townships north of and including township 43 from range 8, west of 4th meridian to British Columbia.
Agent, Edmonton.
Battleford District—Townships north of and including township 31. range 11, west of 3rd meridian to 7 west of 4th meridian.
Agent, Battleford.
Prince Albert District—Townships north of and including
township 39, range 13, west of 2nd meridian to 10 west of 3rd meridian. Agent, Prince Albert.
At the offices in the districts, detailed maps will be found showing the exact homestead lands vacant. WESTERN CANADA
47
Labor registers are kept at the Government Land and Immigration offices and may be made use of free of charge, by persons
seeking employment as well as by farmers and others seeking help
of any kind.
Railway Land Regulations.
The Canadian Pacific Railway Lands consist of odd-numbered
sections along the Main Line and Branches, in the Lake Dauphin
District in Manitoba and in Central Alberta and Saskatchewan.
These are for sale at the various agencies of the Company in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, at prices ranging from $3.00 to
$25.00 per acre.
Maps showing the lands in detail have been prepared and will
be sent free to applicants.
Terms of Payment.
If land (not exceeding 640 acres) is bought for actual personal
settlement within one year, the aggregate amount of principal and
interest is divided into ten instalments; the first to be paid at the
time of purchase; one year's interest to be paid at the end of the
first year; and the remainder of the instalments annually thereafter.
The following table shows the amount of the annual instalments on a quarter section of 160 acres at different prices:—
At :
160 ACRES
I 8.00 per acre
9.00
10.00
11.00
12.00
13.00
14.00
15.00
CASH 1ST YR's
PAY'T INT.
$191.70. .
. 215.70.
. 239.70.
. 263.60.
. 287.60.
5.28 and nine instalments of $160.00
73.46
81.62
89.78
97.96
. 311.55. .106.10
. 335.60. .114.32
. 359.50. .122.44
180.00
200.00
220.00
240.00
260.00
280.00
300.00
Purchasers, who do not undertake the settlement conditions,
are required to pay one-sixth of the purchase money down and the
balance in five equal annual instalments with interest at six per
cent.
Interest at six per cent, will be charged on overdue instalments. 48 WESTERN CANADA
General Conditions.
All sales are subject to the following general conditions:—
1. All improvements placed upon land purchased to be maintained thereon until final payment has been made.
2. All taxes and assessments lawfully imposed upon the land
or improvements to be paid by the purchaser.
3. The Company reserves from sale, under these regulations,
all mineral and coal lands, and lands containing timber in quanti-„
ties, stone, slate and marble quarries, lands with water power
thereon, and tracts for town sites and railway purposes.
4. Mineral, coal and timber lands and quarries will be disposed
of on moderate terms to persons giving satisfactory evidence of
their intention and ability to utilize the same.
Liberal rates for settlers and their effects are granted by the
Company over their railway.
Towns.
The Company offers for sale at its Land Office in Winnipeg
lots in the various towns and villages along the Main Line and
Branches.
The terms of payment for these lots are:—One-third cash, balance in six and twelve months, with interest at eight per cent.
For full information apply to
F. T GRIFFIN,
Land Commissioner of C.P.R. Co., Winnipeg.
Information as to prices and terms of purchase of railway
lands, may be obtained from all station agents along the Company's
main line and branches. In no case, however, is a railway agent
authorized to receive money in payment for lands. All payments
must be remitted direct to the Land Commissioner at Winnipeg.
The Canada North-West Land Company.
This Company owns 550,000 acres of selected lands in Manitoba
and Saskatchewan. These lands are on sale at the various land
agencies of the Canadian Pacific Railway Co. For maps and further information application should be made to the office..of the
Land Company at Winnipeg. WESTERN CANADA 49
British Columbia.
For descriptive pamphlet of British Columbia and particulars
of lands, town lots, and timber areas for sale or lease by the Railway Company, in that province, write to J. S. Dennis, B.C. Land
Commissioner, Calgary, Alta.
Stop-Over Privileges.
Intending settlers are given the privilege of stopping over at
stations where they wish to inspect land. If stop-over is desired,
application should be made to the Immigration Office of the Company at Winnipeg, -in case the settler's ticket does not specifically
provide for stop-over privileges.
Settlers' Effects.
Freight Regulations for their Carriage on the C. P. R.
1. These rates are subject to the general notices and conditions of carriage printed in the Company's form of Shipping
Receipt, and will apply only on shipments consigned to actual
settlers, and are entirely exclusive of cartage at stations where this
service is performed by the Railway Company's Cartage Agents.
2. Carloads of Settlers' Effects, within the meaning of this
tariff, may be made up of the following described property for the
benefit of actual settlers, viz.: Live Stock, any number up to but
not exceeding ten (10) head, all told, viz.: Cattle, calves, sheep,
hogs, mules or horses; Household Goods and personal property
(second-hand); Waggons, or other vehicles for personal use
(second-hand); Farm Machinery, Implements and Tools (all
second-hand); Softwood Lumber (Pine, Hemlock or Spruce—only),
and Shingles, which must not exceed 2,000 feet in all, or the equivalent thereof; or in lieu of," not in addition to the lumber and shingles, a Portable House may be shipped; Seed Grain; small quantity
of Trees or Shrubbery; small lot Live Poultry or pet animals; and
sufficient feed for the live stock while on the journey. Settlers'
Effects rates, however, will not apply on shipments of second-hand 50 WESTERN CANADA
Waggons, Buggies, Farm Machinery, Implements or Tools, unless
accompanied by Household Goods; and will not apply on Automobiles, Hearses, Omnibuses, or similar articles, under, any circumstances.
3. Merchandise, such as groceries, provisions, hardware, etc.,
also implements, machinery, vehicles, etc., if new, will not be regarded as Settlers' Effects, and, if shipped, must be charged the
regular classified tariff rates. While the Canadian Pacific Railway
is desirous of continuing to give liberal encouragement to settlers,
both as to the variety of the effects which may be loaded in cars,
and the low rates thereon, it is also the duty of the Company to
protect the merchants of the North-West by preventing as far as
possible, the loading of merchandise of a general character in cars
with personal effects. Agents, both at loading and delivering stations
must personally satisfy- themselves that contraband articles are not
loaded, and see that actual weightis charged for when carloads exceed
24,000 lbs.
4. Top Loads will not be permitted.—Agents must see that
nothing is loaded on top of box or stock cars. This manner of
loading is dangerous and is absolutely forbidden.
5. Passes.—One man will be. passed free in charge of full carloads of settlers' effects when containing live stock, to feed, water
and care for them in transit. Agents must fill out the usual live
stock form of contract.
6. Settlers' Effects, to be entitled to carload rates, must consist
of a carload from one point of shipment to one point of destination.
Carload shipments will not be stopped in transit for completion
or partial unloading.
7. The minimum carload weight of 24,000 lbs. is applicable only
to cars not exceeding 36 feet in length; larger cars must not be
used for this business. If the actual weight of the carload exceeds
24,000 lbs. the additional weight will be charged for at the carload
rate.
8. The minimum charge for less than carload shipments will be
100 lbs. at regular first-class rates.
9. Should a settler wish to ship more than ten head of live stock,
as per clause 2, agent will apply to his General Freight Agent for
rate.
10. Less than carload shipments will be understood to mean only
Household Goods (second-hand), Waggons, or other vehicles for WESTERN CANADA
51
;.■' ->?>-P^SMMt
«';";K"^--*iir-.-/\lf
^St
isSf ?■*;■■.-■;•.*
mmw-
SSiS
;t^pJ|f||jgL
r-**«*asEE'.'«^-u"' ""
m
'MM
KJfe
TOS'lsKt *"a«esSiitSi 52 WESTERN CANADA
personal use (second-hand), and second-hand Farm Machinery, Implements and Tools. Settlers' Effects rates, however, will not apply on shipments of second-hand Waggons, Buggies, Farm Machinery, Implements or Tools, unless accompanied by Household
Goods; and will not apply on automobiles, hearses, omnibuses, or
similar articles under any circumstances. Less than carload lots
must be plainly addressed.
11. Shipment of settlers' effects from connecting lines will be
charged from the Canadian Pacific junction point the settlers'
effects rates from that point.
12. Car Rental and Storage of Freight in Cars.—Under this tariff,
when freight is to be loaded by consignor, or unloaded by consignee, one dollar ($1.00) per car per day or fraction thereof, for
delay beyond 48 hours in loading or unloading, will be added to the
■rates named herein, and constitute a part of the total charges to be
collected by the carriers on the property..
General Information.
The question, "How much money is necessary?" is a difficult
one to answer. It depends upon circumstances. Very many men
have gone into Western Canada without any capital and have
prospered.
Generally, it may be said that a settler commencing en a half section will need four good horses, which will cost from $600.00 to
$700.00; harness, $65; one breaking plow, or a combination plow,
$27.00; one set of harrows, $25.00; one waggon, $75.00 to $80.00, if new,
and if second-hand, $45.00; one seeder, $85.00; one mower and rake,
$95.00; two cows, $80.00; provisions for himself and family, about
$200.00. A habitable house, 18 by 20, one-story .high can be built
for $200.00. It will, of course, have to be added to for the winter.
He should also have one brood sow, $15.00; forty or fifty hens,
$15.00. With this outfit he will be in a position to commence
comfortably, and will be much better off than most of the early
settlers were twenty years ago. Some of those who had scarcely
any capital are now in independent circumstances. The outfit mentioned will cost about $1,500. When the first crop is ready for
harvest a binder will be required, but it can be paid for out of the
proceeds of the crop.
A young man entering for his homestead, say, in May or June,
for which he pays the Government agent $10.00, can with prac- WESTERN CANADA 53
tically no capital, start for himself. If he is willing to work and
understands horses and general farming he can earn from $160.00
to $180.00 for the summer season. He can employ a neighbor to
break ten acres on his land, and in. November can put up a cheap
house at, say, from $40.00 to $50.00 and live on his land during the
winter months, when the wages are not as high as in the summer
season, thus complying with his settlement duties. He can do this for
three years, and at the end of that time will be entitled to a recommendation for his patent. He will then be in a position to borrow
sufficient capital on the security of his homestead to purchase the
outfit necessary to enable him to devote his whole time to the
cultivation and improvement of his farm. A settler with a family
old enough to work can follow the same course. To enable a
settler with a young family to start-comfortably on a quarter section of free grant land, he should have at least $500.00 to $1,000.00
capital.
Customs Regulations.
Settlers' Effects.
. The following is an extract from the Customs Tariff of
Canada, specifying the articles that may be admitted free as
Settlers' Effects:
"455. Settlers' Effects, viz: Wearing apparel, books, usual and
reasonable household furniture and other household effects; instruments and tools of trade, occupation or employment, guns,
musical instruments, domestic sewing machines, typewriters,
bicycles, carts, wagons and other highway vehicles, agricultural
implements and live stock for the farm, not to include live stock
or articles for sale, or for use as a contractor's outfit, nor vehicles
nor implements moved by mechanical power, nor machinery for
use in an3' manufacturing establishment.; all the foregoing if
actually owned abroad by the settler for at least six months before
his removal to Canada, and subject to regulations by the Minister
.of Customs: Provided, that any dutiable articles ' entered as
settlers' effects may not be so entered unless brought by the settler
on his first arrival, and shall not be sold or otherwise disposed of
without payment of duty until after twelve months actual use in
Canada."
"A settler may bring into Canada free of duty live stock for
the farm, on the-following basis if he has actually owned such live r
54
WESTERN CANADA
stock abroad for at least six months before his removal to Canada,
and has brought them into Canada within one year after his first
arrival, viz.:
If horses only are brought in, 16 allowed.
" cattle " " 16 "
" sheep " " 160 "
" swine " " 160 "
If horses, cattle, sheep and swine are brought in together or.
>art of each, the'-same proportions as above are to be observed.
Duty is to be paid on the live stock in excess of the number
above provided for.
For custom's entry purposes a mare with colt under six •months
old is to be reckoned as one animal; a cow with a calf unde'r six-
months old is also to be reckoned as one animal.
Cattle and other live stock imported into Canada are subject
to Quarantine Regulations."
The settler will be required to fill up a form (which will be
supplied him by the customs officer on application) describing
the kind and value, etc., of the goods and articles he wishes to
be allowed to bring in free of duty. He will also be required to
take the following oath:
I, , do hereby solemnly make
oath and say that all the Goods and Articles hereinbefore jnen-
tioned are, to the best of my knowledge and belief, entitled to
Free Entry as Settlers' Effects, under the tariff of duties of Customs now in force, and that all of them have been owned and in
actual use by myself for at least six months before removal to
Canada; and that none of the goods or articles shown in this
entry have been imported as merchandise or for use in any manufacturing establishment, or as a contractor's outfit, or for sale, and
that I intend becoming a permanent settler within the Dominion
of Canada, and that the "Live Stock" enumerated and described
in the entry hereunto attached is intended for my own use on the
farm which I am about to occupy (or cultivate), and not for sale
or speculative purposes, nor for the use of any other person or
persons."
Cattle Quarantine.
Settlers' cattle should when possible be accompanied by a
certificate signed by a veterinarian of the United States Bureau WESTERN CANADA 55
of Animal Industry or a State Veterinarian stating that no contagious disease of cattle (excepting Tuberculosis and Actinomycosis) has existed in the district whence they have come, during
the period of six months immediately preceding the date of their
removal therefrom.
Cattle for breeding purposes, or milk production, six months
old or over, must be accompanied by a satisfactory Tuberculin
chart signed by a veterinarian of the United States Bureau of
Animal Industry, or willbe quarantined until tested.
Cattle re-acting to the test will be returned to the United
States or slaughtered without compensation.
Swine.
All swine are quarantined for thirty days and will not be
admitted unless accompanied by a certificate signed by a veterinarian of the United States Bureau of Animal Industry that neither
Swine Plague nor Hog Cholera has existed within a radius of
five miles of the premises in which they have been kept for a
period of six months immediately preceding that date of shipment.
Swine found to be suffering from contagious diseases will be
subject to slaughter without compensation.
Sheep.
Sheep are admitted subject to inspection at port of entry and
should be accompanied by a certificate signed by a veterinarian
of the United States Bureau of Animal Industry or by a State
Veterinarian, stating that no contagious disease of sheep has
existed in the district whence they have come, during the period
of six months immediately preceding- the date of their removal
therefrom.
These regulations also apply to goats. 56 WESTERN CANADA
Immigration Statistics.
The number of immigrants into Manitoba, Saskatchewan and
Alberta has been increasing steadily for the last few years, a
marked feature being the number of settlers from Great Britain,
Ireland and the United States. The official figures for the years,
July 1, 1900, to June 30, 1905, are :
British. American. Continental. Total.
1900-01 11,810 17,987 19,352 49,149
1901-02 : 17,259 26,388 23,732 67,379
1902-03 41,792 49,473 37,099 128,364
1903-04 50,374 45,171 34,785 130,330
1904-05' 65,359 43,652 ' 37,255 146,266
1905-06 86,796 57,796 44,472 189,064
Of the 86,796 British immigrants of 1905-06, 65,932 were from
England and Wales, 15,846 from Scotland, and 5,018 from Ireland.
Educational Facilities.
A school district in Saskatchewan and Alberta comprises an
area of not more than twenty-five square miles, and must contain
not less than four resident ratepayers, and twelve children between
the ages of five and sixteen inclusive. Any three qualified ratepayers may petition for the formation of a school district, and upon
its proclamation the ratepayers therein may establish a school and
elect trustees to manage it. These trustees have power to erect
and equip buildings, engage certificated teachers, levy taxes and
perform such other acts as may be necessary for the proper conduct of a school.
The classes of schools established are denominated Public and
Separate. The minority of the. ratepayers in any organized public
district, whether Protestant or Roman Catholic, may establish a
separate school therein, and in such case the ratepayers establishing such Protestant or Roman Catholic separate school shall be
liable only to assessment of such rates as they impose upon themselves in respect thereof. Schools are maintained by Legislative
grants and by local taxation. WESTERN CANADA 57
The school year for which grants may be paid does not exceed
210 teaching days. The Legislative grant is paid as follows:—-
To rural districts: for each day a school (with an average attendance of at least six pupils) is open, $1.20, and for each additional
day over 160 days, 40 cents per day, provided that these additional
days shall not exceed 50 in number. For a teacher holding a first-
class certificate, 10 cents per day for each day such teacher is actually employed in the school; to each school, according to its percentage of attendance, a sum not exceeding 25 cents per day. The
grants to village and town schools are similar to the above,' except
that the grant made for each day a school is open is 90 cents.
High Schools receive a special grant of $75.00 per term for each
department. Salaries average about $50.00 per month. In the programme of studies provision is made for teaching the elementary
subjects and such additional subjects as are required for teachers'
examinations and university matriculation. The last half-hour of
school may be devoted to such religious instruction as. the trustees
may determine.
In the Province of Saskatchewan for the year ended December 31st, 1905, there were 726 schools in operation, with 821 teachers
engaged. The estimated expenditure for fourteen months ending
the 28th of February, 1907, is $250,000.
In Alberta the number of schools in existence January 1, 1905,
was 484; January 1, 1906, 602; the pupils enrolled January 1, 1906,
were 24,254; the teachers employed January 1, 1906, were 628; the
total grants paid the schools in 1905 were $120,723.61, while the
estimate for 1906 provided $165,000 for the same purpose.
Harvest Hands.
So bountiful are the harvests that it is now necessary to bring
in from Eastern Canada and elsewhere, from 20,000 to 25,000 farm
laborers to work in the wheat fields. These earn good wages and
many remain and become actual settlers themselves. Cheap rates
are offered to points in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta,
and special trains run for their accommodation. Those who go
are given certificates and when they have them properly filled out
and signed by the employer to the effect that the holder has done
one month's farm work he is returned to his home at a low fare.
Agents meet each train en route with maps of the province. WESTERN CANADA
IjLsf&'.grs
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HARVESTERS EN ROUTE FOR THE WHEAT FIELDS.
Milling in Western Canada.
Wheat-flour milling is the most important manufacturing interest in Western Canada, and the product not only finds a- ready
market throughout the whole Dominion, but is exported to Great
Britain, Newfoundland, South Africa, China, Japan and Australia.
Mills are located at different points throughout the country, one
at Keewatin, having a daily capacity of 4,000 barrels, and another
at Winnipeg of 3,800 barrels; another mill has recently been completed at St. Boniface with a capacity of 4,000 barrels. Other mills
are in course of erection. There are also oatmeal mills in operation at Winnipeg, Portage la Prairie, Brandon, Pilot Mound and
Strathcona.
Mills and Elevators.
The grain elevator system throughout Western Canada is perfect, the facilities now existing being sufficient to handle, if necessary, 125,000,000 bushels of grain in less than, six months' time. The
rapid increase in the storage capacity is one of the best indications
of the continuous development of the country's agricultural re- WESTERN CANADA
59
sources. In 1891 the total storage capacity was 7,628,000 bushels;
in 1901, 18,879,352; in 1902, 23,099,000; in 1903, 30,356,400. For the
year ending June 30, 1904, the total storage capacity was 41,186,000.
The Canadian Pacific Railway terminal elevators at Fort William have\a capacity of 8,493,400 bushels; "D" containing 3,000,000.
The seven terminal elevators have a capacity of 15,000,000 bushels;
the 912 public country elevators and 64 warehouses, 27,214,000
bushels, the average capacity of these being about 28,000 bushels.
The following is a summary:—
Canadian Pacific Railway : Bushels.
Ontario 12,217,000
Manitoba 14,078,500
Saskatchewan and Alberta 8,614,000
34,909,500
Canadian Northern Railway:
Ontario 6,467,000
Manitoba 4,780,400
; 11,247,400
Grand total 46,156,900
CANADIAN PACIFIC GRAIN ELEVATORS, FORT WILLIAM. 60 WESTERN CANADA
How to Reach the Canadian West.
Colonists having arrived in Canada at Quebec or Montreal in
summer, or Halifax or St. John, N.B., in winter, travel to new
homes in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta or British
Columbia by the Canadian Pacific Railway direct. Settlers from the
Eastern States travel via Montreal, Prescott or Brockville, and
thence by the Canadian Pacific; but if from Southern and Western
New York and Pennsylvania via Niagara Falls, Hamilton, Toronto
and North Bay, thence Canadian Pacific Railway; those from the
Middle States either by Toronto, or St. Paul and Emerson, Man.,
or Minneapolis and Portal via St. Paul; from the Middle Western
States by Portal (or, if for Manitoba, by Emerson, Man.); from
the Pacific Coast States by Vancouver or Sumas, or through the
West Kootenay mining regions and Canadian Pacific from Ross-
land and Nelson.
On the same fast transcontinental trains with the first-class
cars are colonist cars, which are convertible into sleeping cars at
night, having upper and lower berths constructed on the same
principles as those of first-class sleeping cars, and equally comfortable as to ventilation, etc. No extra charge is made for this sleeping accommodation. Second-class passengers, however, must provide their own bedding. If they do not bring it with them, a
complete outfit of mattress; pillow, blanket and curtains will be
supplied by the agent of the company at the point of starting at
a cost of $2.50—ten shillings.
The trains stop at stations, where meals are served in refreshment rooms, and where hot coffee and tea and well-cooked food
may be bought at reasonable prices.
All trains are met upon arrival at Winnipeg or before reaching that city, by the agents of the Government and Canadian Pacific Railway Company, who give colonists all the information and
advice they require in regard to their new home.
Special round-trip explorers' tickets can be obtained by newly
arrived settlers at the Company's Land Office at Winnipeg, the full
, price of which will be applied on account of purchase money if the
holder buys from the Company 160 acres or more. NEW ONTARIO
61
4» New Ontario 4*
The Rainy River District.
Before reaching Manitoba, the traveller on the Canadian Pacific Railway passes a fertile belt estimated to contain about 600,000
acres of good agricultural land, which lies in the valley of the
Rainy River. Fort Frances, the principal town on Rainy River,
has a saw mill and several flourishing stores and industries; its
population is about 1,400. The region is reached during the season
ot navigation by steamer from Kenora, on the main line of the
Canadian Pacific Railway. All the cereal and grass crops common
to Ontario grow there, and garden crops flourish exceedingly. The
country is well wooded with pine, oak, elm, ash, basswood, soft
maple, poplar, birch, balsam, spruce, cedar and tamarac. Lumbering operations are extensively carried on and there are well-
equipped sawmills on Rainy River, Rainy Lake and at Kenora.
There are gold mines now being worked on the Lake of the Woods,
Rainy Lake and Seine,River, and elsewhere mining operations are
being carried on. The mining and lumbering industries combined
afford the settler the best markets for his produce at prices considerably higher than can be secured in Eastern Ontario. The
lands are owned and administered by the Government of Ontario
(Department of Crown Lands, Toronto), and are open for settlement in 160 acre lots free, with conditions of residence, cultivation
of ten acres for every 100 located and erection of buildings.
Any person may explore Crown Lands for minerals and mining lands may be purchased outright or leased at rates fixed by
the Mines Act. The minimum area of a location is .forty acres.
Prices range from $2 to $3.50 per acre, the higher prices for lands
in surveyed territory and within six miles of a railway. The rental 62 NEW ONTARIO
charge is at the rate of $1 per acre for the first year and from 30
cents to 15 cents per acre for subsequent years, according to distance from a line of railway and whether the land is situated in
surveyed or unsurveyed territory; but the leasehold may. be converted into freehold at the option of the tenant, at any time during the term of lease, in which case the first year's rent is allowed
on the purchase money. At the expiration of ten years, if all conditions have been complied with, the lessee is entitled to a patent
without further cost and free from all working conditions. A royalty of not more than three per cent, is reserved, based on the
value of the ore, less cost of mining and subsequent treatment for
the market, but not to' be imposed until seven years after the date
of the patent or lease.
The Wabigoon Country, Rainy River District.
North of the country, bordering on the Rainy River, described
above, and directly on the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway, is
a section to which the Wabigoon River gives its name. ■ The laud
was thrown open for settlement in the spring of 1896, and has been
rapidly taken up. The settlers consist almost entirely of a -good
class of Ontario farmers, and the development of the country is
being pushed forward with energy. The little towns of Dryden,
on the Canadian Pacific Railway, and Wabigoon are the business
centres of the district and have steamboat communication via Lake
Wabigoon with the mines and fishing and shooting regions in the
vicinity.
The land is not free grant, but is sold to actual settlers only,
at fifty cents per acre (subject to settlement regulations), one-
fourth down and the balance in annual instalments. How much
agricultural land there may be available at this point has not as
yet been definitely ascertained, but it is estimated at two million
acres. The land, although not a prairie, is easily cleared. Some
stretches are entirely destitute of timber, having been swept by
forest fires, and require only a little undert,brushing before the
plough starts to work. Elsewhere the growth is light, and may be
cleared with much less labor than is required in heavily timbered
countries. At the same time, sufficient large timber for building
purposes is to be found here and there, so that it will be seen, the
• advantages of a prairie and of a timbered country are here com- NEW ONTARIO £3
bined to a large extent. The country is well watered, and possesses a good soil and a good climate. It is adapted to mixed
farming, but particularly to dairying and stock-raising.
Thunder Bay District.
In the vicinity of Port Arthur and Fort William, two important
points on Thunder Bay, Lake Superior, there are a number of
townships of good agricultural land similar to that of the Rainy
River Valley, besides a country rich in gold, silver and iron. The
land here is given as free grants, subject to settlement duties, and
is attracting a good many settlers from the United States. The
principal movement of settlers to this district is occurring in the
Slate River Valley, the White Fish Valley, south and south-west of
the two towns, and the township of Dorion, east of Port Arthur,
on the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
The Dominion Government maintains a Settlers' Home at Port
Arthur, and an agent of the Department of the Interior, Mr. R. A.
Burriss, is located at this point.
Algoma and Nipissing.
At Sault Ste. Marie, at the junction of Lakes Superior and
Huron, another stretch of country adapted for settlement is reached. The country to the north of Lake Huron is known as the
Algoma District, and includes St. Joseph and Great Manitoulin
Islands. It contains a large proportion of fertile land, but sparsely
settled, yet considerable development has already taken place. A
fine stretch of agricultural land containing at least 200,000 acres has
recently been discovered north and west of Chapleau Station on
the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway. It surrounds Trout
Lake and is due east of the. Michipicoten iron district. Already
there are thriving, settlements not only on the large islands of St.
Joseph and Manitoulin, but here and there along the north shore
also, from Goulais Bay, about twenty or twenty-five miles northeast of Sault Ste. Marie, to the valley of the French River, some
two hundred miles to the eastward, and elsewhere.
Sault Ste. Marie is the central point of the Algoma District
The town is easily reached either from older Ontario or the United 64 NEW ONTARIO
States. It is situated on the "Soo line," a branch of the Canadian
Pacific, connecting with St. Paul and Minneapolis in the west, and
Boston in the east. In addition, several steamship lines call there.
Large pulp and paper mills, iron smelters and other industries are
making Sault Ste. Marie an important industrial centre. The Algoma Central Railway, now running from Sault Ste. Marie northwards, will aid materially in the development of the country.
The land, while good, is not in an unbroken continuous
stretch, as is the case of the southern portion of Ontario. It may
be.described as an undulating plateau some 600 or 1,000 feet above
the sea level, covered for the most part with a vigorous growth of
forest. Between the ridges and protected by them, stretches of
arable land, often unbroken for thousands of acres, wind in and
out. As a dairy, stock and sheep-raising country, it has all the advantages of cheap laud, good transportation facilities, rich soil,
good water and cheap building material, while its climate is unexcelled for the production of vigorous stock and vigorous men.
The Algoma and Nipissing districts are known to be rich in a
variety of minerals. Gold, silver, copper and iron have been discovered to the north of Lake Huron, and this region contains the
most extensive nickel deposits in the world, which are now being
worked in the vicinity of Sudbury. It also contains the richest
silver and cobalt mines in the world. New discoveries of mineral
are being made daily. The farmer has the best of markets at his
door for all produce. Cleared farms can be bought at very reasonable rates, with buildings ready for occupation.
The Timiskaming Country.
Another agricultural section in the northern part of the province is the Timiskaming country, which borders on Lake Timiskaming, a broadening of the Ottawa River. It is in the Nipissing
District, and about two hundred and fifty miles west of Toronto
in a direct line.. It is reached from Mattawa on the Canadian
Pacific Railway, partly by railway and afterwards by steamboat
on Lake Timiskaming.
The whole country is overlaid by a rich, alluvial soil, level in
character, and equal in fertility to any in the province. The land
is thickly timbered with a somewhat small growth, but for the
most part may be cleared without excessive labor; 600,000 acres NEW ONTARIO
65
nave Deen placed on the market at fifty cents per acre. The country is attracting quite a number of settlers from the older parts of
Ontario, and is well worthy of attention. The region of the Upper
Ottawa is to-day one of the most important lumbering districts in
Canada, and affords the settler an excellent market for the products of the farm, while the market for pulp wood, with which the
country is covered, furnishes the new settler a source of income.
A pamphlet giving full particulars regarding New Ontario may
De obtained on application tc-the Department of Crown Lands,
Toronto, Ontario.
SsllSN
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A HOME IN WESTERN CANADA. 66 SETTLERS' REPORTS
SettlcRvS Reports,
HOW MEN AND WOMEN FROM VARIOUS COUNTRIES
HAVE SUCCEEDED IN WESTERN CANADA.
A Glasgow Man's Success.
Moose Jaw, Nov. 20th, 1906.
"I-came from Glasgow, Scotland, in 1887. The cash and effects
at that time of myself and brother, who accompanied me, were
less than $1,000. I homesteaded a quarter section and pre-empted
another quarter. My brother Thomas homesteaded a quarter section. We worked together. Since that time we have bought three
quarter sections and now have a section and a half. We have a
crop of 300 acres each year..
"We have 24 horses, 80 cattle, a number of hogs and poultry.
We have always made considerable butter each year. Our profits,
have been put into improvements from year to year. We have 200
acres, fenced, have a new barn, which cost $3,000 and a house which
cost $2,700. with other out-buildings. We would not sell our land
at $30 per acre. The total value of land, stock and implements is
easily $40,000.
"I was a bank clerk in Glasgow, and my brother Thomas was
a lawyer. We knew nothing about farming—never handled horses
before coming here. Many dollars were lost the first years of
our farming in experimenting, until we learned how to farm and
how to care for our live stock."
Wm. Bennie. SETTLERS' REPORTto
67
How $200 Became $20,000.
Jas. McMillan, located on Sec. 30, Tp. 15, R. 25, W. of 2nd
meridian, about eight miles south-east of Moose Jaw, says:
"I came here from London, Ont., in 1883. . My cash on hand
and effects did not exceed $200. I homesteaded a quarter section,
and have since bought another quarter section.
"For the last five years I have cropped from 150 to 200 acres.
I keep stock as well as raise grain. I have, at present, 20 horses,
60 cattle, a number of hogs and poultry. I do considerable dairying, and always find a good cash market for everything I have to
sell at Moose Jaw.
"I have a fairly good house, good stables and granary. If $20,000
were offered me, cash, to-day for farm, stock and implements, I
would not take it."
BH6HHre£t
IMS
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laKmtm
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SP111M^**K¥
ON THE BANKS OF THE SASKATCHEWAN RIVER, NEAR EDMONTON. 68
SETTLERS REPORTS
Well Satisfied with Saskatchewan
Neudorf, P.O., Sask., Sept. 29th, 1906.
I arrived here in 1894 and selected my homestead, being at that
time 22 miles north of Grenfell. I had $1,100.00 in cash, and «was,
therefore, in a position to purchase the necessary implements and
cattle. Having a large family—eight children—and the first few
years not being very good ones, I made only slow progress. I
was, however, able to purchase an additional 160 acres in 1899 and
another 160 last year, at $10.00 per acre. On these lands I have
cultivated 220 acres and will thresh this fall about 1,800 bushels
of oats and 2,600 bushels of wheat. I have 11 horses, 28 cattle,
• all implements, pigs and domestic fowl. My implements, horses'
and cattle are all paid for. I. have married four of my children,
giving each of them the necessary cattle, wagons and plows, and
have assisted them to establish themselves on their lands. I am
very well satisfied with my new home, and only wish that there
was more land in my vicinity to buy for my younger children.
JOHANN HUBENIG,
From Czernowitz, Bukowina, Austria. SETTLERS REPORTS 69
A Worker in this Land can Reach Independence.
Stockholm, Oct. 2nd, 1906.
Through reports from successful countrymen living in the
Esterhazy Colony, I emigrated with my family from Hungary in
1901. As I could not find any homestead in the Esterhazy Colony,
I went eight miles further west, and located on my present homestead, half a mile from Stockholm Station, which was placed here
at the building of the Pheasant Hills Branch, two years ago.
My two sons have homesteaded still further west in the neighborhood of Lipton. The capital I brought with me was $200.00.
I have cultivated 70 acres of land, and expect to thresh 1,200
bushels of wheat. I have two horses, two teams of oxen and
twenty-two head of cattle. I have all my machinery paid for except my binder, and have good buildings on my farm, which I
would not sell for less than $30.00 per acre.
I am very well satisfied with my success, which testifies to the
fact that any one who is willing and able to work on land in this
country, can reach an independent future.
John Sivak,
From Szabolco Komitat, Hungary. 70 settlers' reports
Glad He Came.
Stockholm, Sask., Oct. 1st, 1906.
Looking back over the 17 years I have spent in Canada, I cannot but feel really satisfied with my present position. On my
arrival here I had very little money, only sufficient for my homestead entrj' fee and one cow. By exchanging work with my neighbors, I acquired an ox-team, and gradually the most necessary
implements. As I am a good carpenter I was employed in building houses within our colony during the first three years, and
could thereby care for my large family and gradually put my land
under cultivation. The long journeys to our nearest town, White-
wood, made the first years rather difficult, but by sticking to it
we were well rewarded by being prepared to take the greatest advantage of the new railway, which, after a long wait, was constructed six miles north of my farm.
I and my son own now 480 acres of land with a good living
house, necessary stables and barns, 26 horses, 80 head of cattle,
necessary implements, in short, all that is necessary on a well conducted farm. This year we have threshed 3,500 bushels of wheat
and 1,000 bushels of oats and have a good yield of potatoes. On
an average we have threshed 3,000 bushels of wheat the last five
years. On account of advanced years I am leaving the care of the
larm to my oldest son. In conclusion, I may say that I am ver>
well satisfied with the result of my labors here.
A. P. Sjostrom,
From Dorothea, Sweden. SETTLERS REPORTS , 71
A Report of Progress.
Edmonton, Alberta, 29th Oct., 190,6.
I and my whole family are well satisfied with the results from
our labors since we came here in the spring of 1899—now seven
and a half years ago. We have been carrying on a mixed farming
business. We came here with about $6,000 all told. We bought
500 acres of land at a little less than $.6 per acre. We have now 15
horses, 40 head of cattle, 145 hogs, and plenty of implements and
machinery to run the farm, a good log house with seven rooms, a
log barn, 28xC6 feet, two small granaries, and barley and oat bins
in the barn, a small horse stable for colts and breeding mares, 14
x 24 feet, wood house, 8x6 feet, smoke house, 10x10 feet, and a hen
house, 14x18 feet; besides a considerable amount of cheap stabling
and sheds for stock cattle and for hogs. Our horses and cattle
are good stock; the cattle are about one-third pure-bred Shorthorn;
horses are Morgan and Cleveland bay, of good type and quality,
and the hogs are Poland China and Berkshire, and three pure-bred
Berkshire sows. Have had plenty to eat and- wear, good health,
and good schools for our children to attend, our oldest son attending college in Edmonton. Have had good crops. Our wheat was
frosted one year, but made 60c. per bushel by feeding to hogs;
it was also damaged by hail once, but we again fed that to advantage to hogs and cattle. We have 164>< acres broken, 37 of
which is in Timothy, the rest being in pasture and timber. The
land is all fenced, and field fenced from pasture land. We live
three miles from Edmonton.
D.' W. Warner. SETTLERS REPORTS
The Bryce Farm.
One of Western, Canada's farmer magnates, W. H. Bryce, of
Areola, Sask., has on hand an enterprise for the advancement of
his large stock-raising interests. Mr. Bryce, who is a cousin of Rev.
Dr. Bryce, the historian of Manitoba, was one of the pioneer
. farmers in the Areola district, where he began with small capital
in 1882, before the days of railway communication in that part of
the country. He has now a magnificent farm of 3,000 acres, and
an elegant home eight miles from Areola. His family are enjoying at "Doune Lodge" refinements which popular fallacy is accustomed to associate only with the city life, and which many sons
and daughters of the soil foolishly leave home to seek, but never
find.
Mr. Bryce has unbounded faith in Western Canada and in
farming, using this word to include both stock raising and grain
growing.
He is noted among Canadian horsemen for his importation of
Clydesdales. Last year his importations cost some $20,000, and
his success in the horse raising industry was fully attested at the
Winnipeg exhibition by the number of prizes won by his exhibits.
His first prize horse, " Perpetual Motion," Was a magnificent
animal. Mr. Bryce believes that in the next ten years there will
be a considerable demand for first class stock, and he is taking
timely steps to prepare to aid in supplj'ing this demand. He considers the climate and soil here well adapted to horse raising and
especially favorable for developing good feet and bone. He also
gives attention to cattle raising and has forty head, twenty head
of grade stock and twenty head of registered. Shorthorns are his
favorites in cattle, and each year bring him prizes and medals at
agricultural and stock shows.
His is one of the finest farm ranches in Canada, the barn alone
is worth $10,000. Mr. Bryce's original capital of $500 has worked SETTLERS' REPORTS
73
marvels, for, to-day, the. original "homestead" has grown to 3,000
acres, with a cattle run in Moose Mountain of 640 acres more.
The foundation of Mr. Bryce's fortune was laid when he bought.
1,000 acres of Canadian Pacific Railway lands at $2.50 an acre—
land which to-day is rated at $30 an acre. In 1906 10,000 bushels
of wheat and 5,000 of oats were raised. He is fond of experimenting, and this year has seeded 160 acres with an improved variety of
English clover, and is testing the capabilities' of an automobile
thresher.
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GROWN ON THE BRYCE FARM. 74 SETTLERS' REPORTS
Made the Hit of His Life.
Killarney, Manitoba, August 18th, 1906.
So many people coming to this country, wonder how the old-
timers got on. I think they should be told that it was by hard
work and sticking to the job. My own experience proves this.
.1 arrived here in 1882 with $75 cash. I came from Iowa, where
ague got into my bones, and, hearing about Western Canada I
struck out for the open plains. The beginning was uphill work,
but the ague.left me, and I felt well and was able to work, and
work it was, for I had to haul my grain to Brandon, 60 miles away,
and was glad to get 45 cents a bushel for it. Since then I have sold
wheat as high as $1.30, and the biggest yield I ever got was 50
bushels to the acre, but the average yield, year in year out, gives 25
bushels to the acre.
My $75 proved a good investment in Western Canada, for today, standing on my 200 acres (under cultivation) with 320, acres
rented ground for pasturage and hay lands, I am an independent
man; horses, cattle, swine, poultry, etc., implements, and here on
"Sunny Heights" I live with my family in comfort and peace.
I consider I made the hit of my life the day I started out for
Western Canada with my little capital of $75. I came against.the
advice of my own family, but to-day they admit they wish they had
struck out for the land where a poor man can succeed on less than
one hundred dollars.
Fred. Finkbeiner,
Killarney, Manitoba, Box 505. settlers' reports
75
SHIPPING SHEEP AT MAPLE CREEK, SASKATCHEWAN.
Percy's Place Not for Sale.
Arcola, Saskatchewan.
Perhaps a man who has seen considerable.of farm life both in
Canada and the United States.may be allowed to give an opinion
on Western Canada as a productive country. I came here with a
single shilling in my pocket, and claim to have "made good" on
that amount. True, I had always worked on a farm, and I had
the asset of experience, but against that I had again the liability
of a new country, far away market and no railway. Since then 76 settlers' reports
I have seen the Canadian Pacific Railway spread out like the
fingers on a hand all around me; markets spring up at the door; a
rush of settlers following after, and to-day you can't find an unbroken acre betwixt my place and Arcola town on the C. P. R.
Five years ago I took a trip to Kansas, saw farming operations
carried on there; spent a winter and—well, here I am back in
Canada West, and mighty glad to call it home!
I consider there is no country under the shining sun to equal
Western Canada. Good prices for everything that grows; everything will grow that you can stick in the ground, and as for
health, my boy, who walks two-and-a-half miles to school, winter
and summer, hasn't missed a day since he began. That, I think,
speaks for the health of the place as well as the weather. Winter
is a moderate season, my horses running out all winter in the
hills. They tell me my place would bring in fifty dollars an acre
to-day if I sold, but "Percy's place" isn't for sale!
Thos. Lees Percy.
Sept. 19, 1906. (Percy Dist.)
A Story of Success
Municipality of Daly,
Brandon, Manitoba, October 2, 1906.
It may interest you to know how a Huron County man, who
came to the Canadian West on borrowed capital, got on; 1881
found me a squatter on the present place, some nine miles from
the city of Brandon, and it may please you to know that the land
I purchased from you at $4 an acre'to-day you couldn't get back
at $40, supposing you were aching to buy. "Sunnyside," my place,
has at the time of writing (a busy time it is) 24 stacks of grain SETTLERS* REPORTS 77
representing the summer's yield in grain. I have 1,160 acres of
land; 600 under cultivation; 100 head of stock, 17 horses, 35 swine,
and poultry that refuse to be counted. My milk cows are thoroughbred, and each spring I market, say, $1,000 worth of beef on foot.
This year I will market 8,000 bushels of wheat, 5,000 bushels of
barley, and almost double that amount in oats, while my wild hay
lands (160 acres) will give in returns $7 per ton. I put $2,000 this
year in the ground, counting the expenses of plowing, seeding,
hired help to garner my crop, and the last penny paid to the
threshers, and will reap $6,000 clear cash from the venture. This
gives me $4,000 profit, and if my bones ache a bit from the effort
to gain this, why that's all right, for without boasting, I think I
may say "Sunnyside" can hold its own against any farm anywhere!
As I said, I began life on this place in 1881 with a single pair
of oxen, and I owed the money that went to buy them; but I've
squared that debt many a day ago, and I guess Tom Clark blesses
the day he hit Manitoba.
In the 25 years I've farmed here I never had a failure. I've
suffered from want of farm help—the great drawback of the West
—and although I'd pay $300 a y ar round, and give board to a
good man (harvest times paying $2 a day), I can't get one. Every
man that comes to the country "moves oi. after a season and buys
an acre for himself; and I don't blame him, for a man should be
his own master in the great west .
I am secretary-treasurer of the Hunter School District, and
while I am telling you of my own success I might mention the
names of a dozen neighbors who've done just as well. From
where I sit I can look out on the homes of Venning, Gray and
Hunter, all of them wealthy men, and they, like myself, made it
on the farm.
Thomas Clark. 78 settlers' reports
Where a Young Man Gets a Chance.
Portage Plains, Manitoba,
Sept. 1st, 1906.
As a Scottish immigrant, who has lived in the country since
1873, I may, after twenty-eight years, be able to say whether I
believe Western Canada makes good its promises to the settler.
Western .Canada, in my opinion, is the best colony in the Empire for Scottish people to come to- The conditions of the climate,
soil, customs of the people—rthe latter congenial to a high degree
—suits our countrymen and women. Scotch people need feel no
hesitation in coming out to Canada West; every kindness and every
friendly help is given; and my own experience may illustrate this.
When I went home to Scotland, a delegate farmer, speaking at
a public meeting in Cheshire, one of my audience rose up and
asked, "What is the price of a homestead in Western Canada?"
I told him it would cost him an entry fee of two pounds ($10).
"But," he asked again, "what if I found myself in Canada without the two pounds, what then?"
I answered his practical question in this way: "Well, sir, you
might do as I did under these very circumstances; when I landed
in Western Canada I wanted a homestead, and I hadn't two pounds
to pay the entry fee, so I went to work and dug a well for which
I was paid two pounds. I put the money into that homestead, and
I have since that time refused $8,000 for it!"
I have been asked regarding the climate: On our place we have
never had to quit work on account of the mercury dropping. All
winter we haul our grain, wood, rails, etc., and the sunshine is
beyond compare. It is the healthiest country I know of; a country
where a young man gets a chance—where industry finds reward—
and if a man who is sober, industrious, and capable comes here,
even though his hands and pockets be empty, it is all the capital
he requires. I have proved this myself and so has my brother.
r
William Fulton. settlers' reports 79
An Orkney Island Man Speaks.
"Harray Acres," Yorkton, Sask.
October, 1906.
I am not an old-timer of the plains, but it may interest Orkney
friends to know how a man can get along on a Western Canadian
prairie farm, who comes to this new world without money. I am
a practical farmer from Pomona, Orkney Islands, and after trying
fortune in New Zealand concluded to test some of the statements
made about your wonderful West. To say every fact I ever heard
stated has been abundantly verified is little, for my own experience
has proved that too much cannot be said for this country.
I arrived in Winnipeg in 1898, and sitting in one of the hotels
met a Yorkton man, Francis Bull, whose pioneer experiences, told
•in a little circle of chums, interested me greatly. I decided to
ask Bull what chances for a fellow lay in Yorkton. His answer,
gave me some misgivings, but I decided to go. "You can do well
enough," said Bull, "if you are willing to work and wait." I had
worked in New Zealand and "waited"; and having but five dollars
in, my pocket knew I had to get to work pretty soon. I went to
Yorkton, taking a job with a farmer, and worked for wages one
year, saving up $150. This was all right, I thought, so I hired for
two more years and got onto the swing of Canadian farming. I
then bought 160 acres, paying a deposit of five dollars—two dollars
an acre the price—improved it some-—sold within three years for
$1,000, taking the crop of seventy acres myself. This crop I took
off paid for every dollar's worth of improvements done. I then
purchased a half section at $3.50 per acre, broke 180 acres, fenced,
sold it two years later at $9 an acre, and had one crop off it for
sale. I then bought this farm I live on at $15 an acre, it is 480
acres in size, and I only wish it were twice the size.
Off 275 acres in 1906 I took 12,000 bushels of grain, 4,500 being
best grade wheat. In a granary, 16x24, to-day I have stored 4,500
bushels of wheat, 190 bushels being of Red Fyfe, taken from a
patch of five bushels sown as a test. This reaped 51 bushels to
the acre.
Am I satisfied? I think my statement answers that. Being a
new-comer perhaps my experiences may be of use to another man
who fears to come without capital. With capital I cannot begin
to say how a man can make money on a Canadian farm. It simply
overwhelms one, the simple facts of this wonderful country.
I have nothing to say against New Zealand. It's a fine climate
—but you can't eat climate, and a fellow has to live. In Canada
you get climate all right, and you get. what's more, cash returns
for your labor! John Howrie. 5Sp®-;'::.:.;-;,>?pSW,
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O THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY
WESTERN CANADA
BRITISH COLUMBIA
1S THE ONLY ROUTE TO THE
FERTILE FABM LANDS OF
■■ THB MINING, LUMBERING, FISHING
AND FARMING REGIONS OF
t= oiao the BEST to tie States of 'WASHINGTON and OREGON and all points on Puget Sound
j.s ai»" and t]le Paolno coast, and the Shortest Route to the KLONDIKE
' and ATLIN GOLD FIELDS
BE ST/RE AND ASK "TOUR STEAMSHIP AGENT FOR PASSAGE BY THIS LINE OE RAILWAY
COLONIST SLEEPING CARS
Are supplied for all holderB of Second Class or Colonist Tickets ' ekee- Off charge. Passengers are, however,
required to provide their own bedding. If they do not bring it with them, sleeping car outfit may be
purchased from the railway agent at the Port of landing at a very reasonable price,
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION APPLY TO STEAMSHIP AGENT, OR TO
ALLAN CAMERON, , 62-65 Charing Cross, S. W., and 67-68 King William St., E. C . .London, Eng. '
Gen. Traf. Agent 24 James St : Liverpool, Eng.
-j 41 "Victoria St Belfast
F. W. FLANAGAN, 18 St. Augustine's Parade , Bristol
Gen. Passr. AgentH 67 St. Vincent St / Glasgow
W. R. CALLAWAY ...General Passenger Agent, Soo Line : ... Minneapolis, Minn.
M. ADSON ......General Passenger Agent, D. S S. & A. Line Ddltjth, Mich.
E. V. SKINNER .Assistant Traffic Manager 458 Broadway, New York
E. J COYLE Assistant General Passenger Agent Vancouver, B.C.
A. O. SHAW ..General Agent, Passenger Department ..232 South Clark St., Cbicago
M. M. STERN District Freight & Passenger Agt The Nave, Perry Bldg., San Francisco
. C.B. FOSTER District Passenger Agent 71 YongeSt., Cor. King, Toronto
F. R. PERRY District Passenger Agent .......363 Washington St., Boston
W. B. HOWARD District Passenger Agent 8 King St-., ST. John, N.B.
w. r. MaoINNES Freight Traffic Manager ; /. Montreal
W.B. BULLING Assistant Freight Traffic Manager, Eastern Lines ". Toronto
F.W.PETERS Assistant Freight Traffic Manager, Western Lines Winnipeg
c. e. Mcpherson,
GEN. PASSENGER AGENT, WESTERN LINES,
WINNIPEG, MAN.
C. E. E. USSHE.R,
ASST. PASSR. TRAFFIC MANAGER,
WESTERN LINES,
WINNIPEG, MAN.
WILLIAM STITT,
GEN. PASSENGER AGENT, EASTERN LINES,
MONTREAL.
ROBERT KERR,
PASSENGER TRAFFIC MANAGER.
MONTREAL. THE GREAT HIGHWAY
ACROSS CANADA
TO THE
CANADIAN
WACIF1C/
■LWAY/'
PACIFIC COAST
THE ORIENT, THE TROPICS, AND
THE ANTIPODES
THE BEST, CHEAPEST AND QUICKEST WAY
NEW ONTARIO MANITOBA SASKATCHEWAN
ALBERTA BRITISH COLUMBIA PUGET SOUND
THE YUKON ALASKA CALIFORNIA
JAPAN CHINA PHILIPPINES NEW ZEALAND
'HAWAII AUSTRALIA
AROUND THE WORLD
IS BY THE
CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY
Featured Collection
The Chung Collection
Western Canada : the granary of the British Empire Canadian Pacific Railway Company 1907
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