Chapter I: Front Matter

[Cover Illustration]

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

THE NEW WORLD FAIRY BOOK
Canadian Legends and Tales of
Imagination,
Red and White. Sixth Edition.

THE STORY OF CANADA
In the Story of the Empire Series. Third
Edition.

NEW CANADA AND THE NEW
CANADIANS
Second Edition.

PROFESSOR BLACKIE, HIS SAYINGS
AND DOINGS
By his Nephew. Second Edition.

OLD HIGHLAND DAYS
Life of Dr. John Kennedy.

THE
BOOK OF THE WEST

_By_
HOWARD ANGUS KENNEDY

_The Story of Western Canada, its Birth and_
_Early Adventures, its Youthful Combats,_
_its Peaceful Settlement, its Great_
_Transformation, and its_
_Present Ways._

THE RYERSON PRESS
TORONTO

‾Copyright, Canada, 1925, by‾
THE RYERSON PRESS

_THIS BOOK_
_IS WRITTEN FOR_
ALL LOVERS OF THE WEST WHO
ARE NOT TOO YOUNG TO
THINK OR TOO OLD
TO LEARN

_Study to be quiet and to do your own_
_business, and work with your own hands,_
_that you may act honestly to others and_
_lack nothing yourselves._
_—PAUL THE APOSTLE_

CONTENTS
—————
PAGE
A HILL-TOP ADVENTURE. FOREWORD 1

THE OLD TIMES

I. ADVENTURES WITHOUT A MAN 4
_Giant Lizards, page 5. Birth of the Mountains, 7. Ice
Age, 7. Rhinoceros and Mastodon, 8. A Continent Waiting
for Man, 8._

II. THE INDIAN BY HIMSELF 9
_First Arrivals from Asia, 9. Spreading South and East,
11. Corn Found, 11. Gardening Begins, 12. Wanderings of
Northern Indians, 13. Prairie Left to the Last, 14. Life
and Death, 15. The Mound Builders, 16. The First
Plainsmen, 17. Buffalo Hunting Starts, 18. Blackfoot and
Cree come out of the Woods, 19. Life in a Hunting Tribe,
20._

III. THE WHITE MAN COMES EXPLORING 23
_Indians Hear Strange News, 23. Why the White Man
Crossed the Sea, 25. French Ascend the St. Lawrence, 26.
La Salle, 27. English Discover Hudson Bay, 25. Radisson
and Groseillers reach the West, 31. Hudson’s Bay Company
Started, 33._

IV. THE REIGN OF KING BEAVER 35
_His Achievements, Dead and Alive, 35. “Rupert’s Land,”
37. Trading on the Bay Shore, 39. French Opposition, 40.
Forest Runners, 41. The Vérendryes, 41. First Sight of the
Mountains, 43. The English Strike Inland, 44. Indians on
Horseback, 45. Hearne Reaches the Arctic Sea, 47. Eskimo
Massacred by Indians, 48._
_The Rival North-west Company, 49. Mackenzie Crosses to
the Pacific, 50. Thompson Descends the Columbia, 50.
Fraser of Fraser River, 51. The Companies at War, 52. Lord
Selkirk’s Colony on Red River, 53. Battle of Seven Oaks,
55. The Rivals Join Forces, 56. Company Rule Extended to
the Pacific, 56. The Fur Trader’s Life, 56. Travel by Land
and Sea, 57. Perils of the Straits, 57._
_The West as Paul Kane saw it in 1847, 60. Isolation of
Red River, 61. Slaughter of Men and Buffalo, 61. The Cree
and Blackfoot Feud, 62. Indian Dance and Horse Race, 63._
_Tragedy of Arctic Exploration, 64. Fate of Franklin,
65. North-west Passage Found, 66. Amundsen Gets Through,
66._

V. THE FARTHEST WEST 68
_North-west Passage Hunt not Wasted, 68. Drake on the
Pacific Coast, 69. Captain Cook, 69. British and Spanish
on Vancouver Island, 70. United States Frontier Fixed, 71.
Company’s Forts and Farming, 72. Dogs Bred for Wool, 72.
Indian Sports and Slavery, 73. Flat-Heads, 74._
_First White Colony, 75. The Gold Rush, 75. Company
Rule Ended, 76. British Justice, 79. Coal Found, 81.
Federation with Canada, 81. The Hog of San Juan, 82._

VI. THE WINDOWS OPENED 83
_Exploring for Homes, 83. “Paradise of Fertility,” 84.
The Door Still Shut, 84. Toleration of Savagery, 85.
Alexander Henry, 86. Indians and Christianity, 86. A Peace
Maker, 87. Rupert’s Land Enters Dominion, 88. Trouble on
Red River, 89. Wolseley’s Expedition, 90._

VII.  THE MOUNTED POLICE 91
_New Danger on the Frontier, 91. Mounted Police
Organized, 92. Campaign against Whiskey Smugglers, 93.
Indians make Treaty, 93. Redcoats and Redskins, 94. Sioux
from the States, 96._

THE GREAT DIVIDE

VIII. OUR FIRST AND LAST INDIAN WAR 98
_Riel’s Second Revolt, 99. The Indian Peril, 99. Duck
Lake Fight, 99. Battleford Besieged, 100. Frog Lake
Massacre, 101. An Army from the East, 103. The Railway
just in Time, 104. Relief of Battleford, 105. The Fight on
Cutknife Hill, 106. Fish Creek, 111. Victory of Batoche,
112. Surrender of the Chiefs, 112. The Hunt for Big Bear,
114._

THE NEW TIMES

IX. OPENING THE DOOR OF THE WEST 117
_The Railway to the Pacific, 117. A National Necessity,
118. How it was Got, 120. Difficulties of Construction,
121. Finished in Five Years, 122._

X. OUR FATHERS AND MOTHERS COME IN 124
_British Settlers in the East, 124. Their Children
Colonize the West, 126. Immigrants Direct from Europe,
126. Early Isolation, 126. King Steer and King Wheat, 127.
Collecting Buffalo Bones, 127. The Ranching Era, 127._

XI. RIDING THE PLAINS IN 1905 128
_A Ride through Two New Provinces, 128. Calgary, 129.
Livestock in the Park Lands, 129. Untouched Prairie, 129.
“We are Canadians Now,” 130. Wild Life, 131. Antelope and
Railway, 131. Thin Thread of Settlement, 132. Hospitable
Métis, 133._
_Turn the Key and Walk in, 135. A Man from Iowa, 135.
Kings and Presidents, 136. Law and Order, 137.
French-Canadians’ Return, 138. Revisiting a Battlefield,
139. Indians Farming, 139. A Sylvan Home, 140._

XII. LEARNING TO BE CANADIANS 141
_Freighting, 141. The Blacksmith’s Wife, 141. Health in
the Air, 142. Scandinavians, 142. “Who are the Slavs?”
143. Small Beginnings, 143. A Spinning Bachelor, 143. A
Doukhobor Village, 145. The Long Migration, 148. The
Newcomer Learns, and Teaches, 149._

XIII. THE TREE OF FREEDOM 151
_Twin Provinces Born, 151. How to Cultivate the Tree of
Freedom, 153. The Political Art of Living Together, 154.
Loyalty to Union, 155. The Two Empires, 156._

XIV. ON THE WINGS OF THE WEST 158
_“Cultivating our Garden,” 158. Seeing the West from
the Air, 159. Victoria, 159. Federal Observatory, 159.
Ships, 160. What the British Navy Means, 160. Vancouver,
160. Fish, Forest, and Mine, 161. A Pioneer Family, 162.
“Simple Life and High Standard of Living,” 163. Fruit
Valleys, 164. Westerners and the War, 164. Sea of
Mountains, 165. Airplane, Wireless, and Forest Fires,
166._

XV. A FLIGHT ACROSS THE PLAINS 167
_Wealth of Coal and Water Power, 167. Manufactures,
168. The Chinook, 169. Watering Dry Land, 169. Bees, 170.
Natural Gas, 170. Quality in Cattle and Sheep, 171.
Regina, 171. Rare Clay and Common Dirt, 171. Network of
Railways, 172. Better Houses, 172. Telephones, 172. Tree
Planting, 173. Nomads Yet, 174. Climates, 175. “Test and
Select,” 176. Wasteful Cultivation, 176. Automobiles, 177.
The Business End of Farming, 178. Experimental Farms, 179.
Universities, 180. People Wanted, 180. Small Farming, 181.
Butter and Cheese, 183. Winnipeg, 184. Sports, 185. Boys
and Girls, 185. Citizen Soldiers, 186._

XVI. UP TO THE NORTH AND HOME AGAIN 187
_The Caribou Pastures, 187. Reindeer and Food Supply,
188. Police on Arctic Islands, 189. Wireless on the Arctic
Coast, 190. Up the Mackenzie, 190. Peace River, 191. Homes
in the Brush, 191. Buffalo Flourish Again, 192. Fur
Farming and Trapping, 192. A Beaver Colony, 193._
_New Settlers and Canadian Ideals, 194. Harmony and
Variety, 196. A Sure Foundation, 196. Pure Canadian, 199._

THE SPIRIT OF THE WEST 201

INDEX 203

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE
PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS OF THE WESTERN PROVINCES _Frontispiece_

VERY EARLY WESTERNERS 5
_Giant Lizards on the Red Deer. Drawing by
E. S. Christman._

INDIAN LACROSSE PLAYER 13
_Drawing by George Catlin._

EARLY BUFFALO HUNTING 24
_Drawing by George Catlin._

TOWING THROUGH THE ICE 29
_From Gerrit de Veer’s “Vraye Description
de Trois Voyages,” Amsterdam, 1600._

THE VOYAGEURS’ WAY TO THE WEST. A PORTAGE ON THE
OTTAWA 36
_From W. H. Bartlett’s Engraving in
“Canadian Scenery.”_

CHIEF POUNDMAKER 36
_From Pastel by Edmund Morris._

CHIEF PIAPOT 36
_From a Photograph._

BEAVER AT WORK, AND BEAVER HATS 37
_From Horace T. Martin’s “Castorologia.”_

THE BEAVER AND THE UNICORN 37
_From John Ogilby’s “America,” 1671._

IN A SWIFT CURRENT 52
_Drawing by Frederic Remington._

ON THE WINTER HIGHWAY 52
_Drawing by Frederic Remington._

LORD SELKIRK, FATHER OF WESTERN SETTLEMENT 53
_From a Painting by Raeburn._

FORT DOUGLAS; WHERE WINNIPEG NOW STANDS 53
_Built to Protect the Selkirk Settlers.
From a Water-Color believed to be by Peter
Rindifbacher, Dutch Artist._

COAST INDIAN MASKS 73
_From the Marquis of Lorne’s “Canadian
Pictures.”_

ON THE CARIBOO TRAIL, THOMPSON RIVER 77
_From the Marquis of Lorne’s “Canadian
Pictures.”_

FORT CHIPEWYAN, LAKE ATHABASCA 96
_From a Drawing by W. S. Watson, 1899._

BUFFALO HERD AND PRAIRIE FIRE 96
_From a Painting by F. A. Verner._

MOUNTED POLICE CHASING WHISKEY SMUGGLERS 97

THE COVERED WAGON 97
_A Returned Canadian, Home-seeking. From a
Photograph by H. A. Kennedy, 1905._

AN INDIAN ULTIMATUM 102
_Facsimile of Big Bear’s Demand for
Surrender of Fort Pitt._

ON THE BATTLEFIELD. FRIENDS AGAIN 112
_Mounted Police Officer and Cree Indian,
Sir Archibald Macdonell and Piacutch. From a
Photograph by H. A. Kennedy on Cutknife Hill,
1905._

A HORSE RANCH 112

WHERE NO TREES GREW. FORESTRY STATION, INDIAN HEAD 113

QUALITY RAISING QUALITY. SCHOOL FAIR PRIZE WINNERS 113

ANTELOPE ON THE PRAIRIE 132
_From a Drawing by George Catlin._

FROM THE RUSSIAN OVEN 176

AT THE SPINNING WHEEL 176
_Doukhobor Housewives. From Photographs by
H. A. Kennedy._

THE OLD HOUSE AND THE NEW. ON A RUTHENIAN FARM 177

A FAMILY FROM POLAND 177

LAKE LOUISE, ROCKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK 192

MOUNT ROBSON, JASPER NATIONAL PARK 193

THE E. P. RANCH, HIGH RIVER 193
_The Prince of Wales and his Canadian
Home_

SKETCH MAP OF WESTERN CANADA 206

* * * * *

Hearty thanks are given to the Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, and the publishers of “Canadian Pictures,” for the use of pictures from that book by the late Duke, Governor-General of Canada; to Mrs. H. T. Martin for the beaver pictures from her husband’s book; to _Harper’s Magazine_ and Mrs. Remington’s executors for the two travel scenes by Frederic Remington; to the American Museum of Natural History, New York, for the giant lizards; to the scientific staff of the Victoria Museum at Ottawa for checking my pre-historic facts; to many other officers of the Dominion and the four Western Provinces, and unofficial informants, for pictorial and other details; above all, to the numberless good folk all over the West who have made my travelling and living among them an endless revelation and delight.—H.A.K.

THE BOOK OF THE WEST

THE BOOK OF THE WEST
—————

A Hill-Top Adventure

_B__ULLETS whistled about my ears as I leapt from my horse on Cutknife Hill. The Indians had us neatly ringed in, as once they used to trap the buffalo. Puffs of smoke rose from the gully on our left, from the gully on our right, from the creek-bed in our rear, from the ridge beyond the gully on each hand. Man after man fell, killed or wounded. The friend who had shared his supper with me, the night before, lay dead, a bullet through his head. The next bullet might go through mine. For five long hours the painted braves kept up the zip-zip-zip, shooting us down like rabbits. It was my first adventure in the West,—and the last of its kind the West will ever know._

_That little war of 1885 was the Great Divide of Western History. It marked an end and a beginning. The rising on the Saskatchewan was the last volcanic outbreak of the fire primeval, the savage spirit of the old Wild West. With the suppression of that rising, the fire was quenched for ever. The old times ended; our own new times began._

_Standing on the Great Divide of the Rocky Mountains we see, looking back, the long road we have travelled up from the Atlantic, and then, looking forward, the long road stretching down to the Pacific. So, looking back from the Great Divide of Western History, we see a moving picture of romance, of wonderful discovery, of long-drawn struggle against fearful odds; a picture brightened with heroic deeds, though darkened now and then by clouds of crime. Then, looking forward, we see the moving picture of our modern West, the inrushing flood of humanity, these forty years of peace and safety, of swift transformation from a hunter’s wilderness to a land of a million homes, of marvellous, though unsatisfying, progress._

_This picture too is crowded with adventure, of many kinds. People are constantly having adventures without knowing it. They pass through life and think it dull because they have a dull habit of not looking at the thousand points of interest as they pass._

_When the first Indian landed in empty America, far back in the mysterious past, that was a great adventure. And when the last family of European newcomers stepped off the train this very morning, after a journey of 6,000 miles by sea and land, that was just as big an adventure to them. When a boy has learned to shoot, and hunts down a coyote, he feels that he has had an adventure; but when he merely hunts up a stray cow in the brush of the back pasture, on his pony, that too is an adventure, and tests his power of observation and discovery as well as horsemanship._

_Yes, and every spring when the farmer tests his grain for germination, and fans the last weed seed out of it, and treats it with formalin for smut, and carefully cleans his drill, he is preparing for a yearly adventure, as truly as the fur-hunter centuries ago when he patched his canoe and packed his belongings for a journey of months and years through an unknown land._

_For me, it is an adventure to sit down and write this book, as truly as when I saddled up and rode out of Battleford on my way to Cutknife Hill. A hard adventure, too; harder work than rounding up cattle, or clearing brush, or pitching hay, or stooking heavy wheat, or anything else I have ever done on the farm. But there is great pleasure in doing hard things, as every true Westerner knows by experience._

· · · · · ·

_A moving picture of the West is what you ask from me: a moving picture in words that help you to see in imagination events as if they were happening under your eyes. You want me to tell the story of our Western home, and how it came to be ours,—yours and mine. You want me to conjure up a picture of the West as it was and as it is._

_“The West as it was” may have a more thrilling interest to some of my distant readers than “the West as it is”; but among Westerners themselves the glimpses of modern life in the later chapters of this book will have an interest keen enough, for it is their own life. The questions touched by me, or by the men and women whose words I give, are questions that Westerners have daily to face and often to wrestle with._

_The West is so vast, so full of contrast, so rich in variety of scene, of climate, of industry and of people, that no one book can describe it all as it is. To do that would need a library, with picture gallery attached. I can only do my best, with two hundred pages of print and pictures, to paint in true colors on the smallest scale the country that I love._

_The West as it is to be,—the West as it will be when we have all done our best for its prosperity,—ah, that I must leave for you to imagine and create._

THE OLD TIMES