Dick Did Not "Paddle His Own Canoe," But The Station Master
Did For Him On The Lake Here, And He _Nearly_ Succeeded In Catching
A Large Trout!
He and I wandered afterwards on the Rocky Hill, and
picked enough blueberries for dinner, and I refreshed my eyes with some
lovely-berried red-leaved little shrubs.
Since luncheon a telegram came,
telling us we might go over the bridge, and so off we went, and on
arriving walked all about, some sketching the fallen engine, &c. We set
off with Mr. Egan the manager, in his car in front of us, _en
route_ for Eat Portage, where I am finishing this journal up to this
date, Wednesday, September 17th. It is lovely weather now, and this
place is very pretty, and looks quite civilized after our wilderness
kind of scenery. Mr. Egan is now going on to Winnipeg, and will post
this for me. After our return from the Rockies to Winnipeg, we shall go
to Chicago, Washington and Philadelphia, where write.
Letter No. 6.
_September 21st_, 1884. - I am beginning this in our car _en
route_ to the Rockies, in fact with their snow-covered summits well
in sight. I posted a letter to you, No. 5, at Winnipeg, and also a
newspaper for Mary. From Winnipeg the Canadian Pacific Railway is much
more comfortable, for on the boundless flat of the prairies there is no
need for many tressel bridges or crumbling embankments, and we went
along without fear, excepting that in the neighbourhood of settled
parts, we had to look out for cows. Once we stopped very suddenly (their
brakes are so good in America), having near gone over one in the dark.
They use sometimes a curious kind of sound from the engine, not unlike
the _moo_ of a cow in distress, and I saw it effectually drive some
off the line. The maids met us at Winnipeg Station, and seemed anxious
to go to the Rockies, so we settled they might, and they rushed back for
their things, but they returned only in time to see our train off! On
the whole we thought it was as well they had not come, for maids don't
generally like this kind of life, and we did not need them. We changed
cooks at Winnipeg against my wish, but the others were not satisfied
with our first one, and we have certainly not changed for the better; he
is a coloured man called David, and has been ill, or pretends to be,
since yesterday, and another coloured man whom, we call Jonathan, comes
in to help him.
_Saturday_. - We arrived at Moose Jaw after a very rocking journey,
so bad that I could not sleep, and sat in a chair part of the night; at
last, however, the cold and sleepiness overcame all fear, and I slept in
my bed soundly. We saw lots of Indians in red and white blankets, ugly
and uninteresting creatures. We made acquaintance with the Roman
Catholic Archbishop, who has been travelling in the car next to ours.
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