A Trip to Manitoba — Reading Notes

The Grand Trunk Railway--Sarnia--"Confusion worse confounded"--A Churlish Hostess--Fellow-Passengers on the _Manitoba_--"Off at last!"--Musical Honours--Sunrise on Lake Huron--A Scramble for Breakfast--An Impromptu Dance--The General Foe.

Saulte Ste. Marie--Indian Embroidery--Lake Superior--Preaching, Singing, and Card-playing--Silver Islet--Thunder Bay--The Dog River--Flowers at Fort William--"Forty Miles of Ice"--Icebergs and Warm Breezes--Duluth--Hotel Belles--Bump of Destructiveness in Porters.

The Mississippi--The Rapids--Aerial Railway Bridges--Breakfast at Braynor--Lynch Law--Card-sharpers--Crowding in the Cars--Woman's Rights!--The Prairie--"A Sea of Fire"--Crookstown--Fisher's Landing--Strange Quarters--"The Express-man's Bed"--Herding like Sheep--On board the _Minnesota_.

Red Lake River--Grand Forks--The Ferry--Custom-house Officers at Pembina--Mud and Misery--Winnipeg at last--A Walk through the Town--A Hospitable Welcome--Macadam wanted--Holy Trinity Church--A Picturesque Population--Indians shopping--An "All-sorts" Store--St. Boniface and its Bells--An Evening Scene.

Summer Days--The English Cathedral--Icelandic Emigrants--_Tableaux_--In chase of our Dinner--The Indian Summer--Blocked up--Gigantic Vegetables--Fruitfulness of the Country--Iceland Maidens--Rates of Wages--Society at Winnipeg--Half-castes--Magic of the Red River Water--A Happy Hunting-ground--Where is Manitoba?

Winter Amusements--A Winnipeg Ball--Forty Degrees below Zero--New Year's Day--"Saskatchewan Taylor"--Indian Compliments--A Dog-train--Lost in the Snow--Amateur Theatricals--Sir Walter Raleigh's Hat--A Race with the Freshets--The Ice moves!--The First Steamer of the Season--Good-bye to Winnipeg.

A Manitoban Travelling-carriage--The Perils of Short Cuts--The Slough of Despond--Paddy to the Rescue!--"Stick-in-the-Mud" and his Troubles--McQuade's--An Irish Welcome--Wretched Wanderers.

Faithless Jehu--The "Blarney Stone"--Mennonites in search of News--"Water, Water everywhere"--A Herd of Buffaloes--A Mud Village--Pointe du Chêne and Old Nile--At Dawson Route--A Cheerful Party--_Toujours perdrix_--The "Best Room"--A Government Shanty--Cats and Dogs--Birch River--Mushroom-picking--The Mosquito Plague--A Corduroy Road--The Cariboo Muskeg.

The "Nor'-west Angle"--The Company's House--Triumph of "Stick-in-the-Mud"--On the Lake of the Woods--A Gallant Cook--Buns _à l'imprevu_--A Man overboard!--Camping out--Clear Water Bay--Our First Portage--A Noble Savage--How Lake Rice and Lake Deception won their Names--At our Journey's End.

Making a New Home--Carrière's Kitchen--The Navvies' _Salle-à-Manger_--A Curious Milking Custom--Insect Plagues--Peterboro' Canoes--Fishing Trips--Mail-day--Indian dread of drowning--The Indian Mail-carrier and his Partner--Talking by Telegraph--Prairie Fires.

Irish Wit--Bears?--Death on the Red Pine Lake--A Grave in the Catholic Cemetery--The First Dog train--A Christmas Fête--Compulsory Temperance--Contraband Goods--The Prisoner wins the Day--Whisky on the Island--The Smuggler turned Detective--A Fatal Frolic--"Mr. K----'s Legs".

Birds of Passage--An Independent Swede--By Sleigh to Ostersund--A Son of the Forest--Burnt out--A Brave Canadian Girl--Roughing it in the Shanty--The Kitchen-tent--Blasting the Rock--The Perils of Nitro-glycerine--Bitter Jests.

We lose our Cows--Cahill promoted--Gardening on a New Principle--Onions in Hot-houses--Cahill is hoaxed--Martin the Builder--How the Navvies lived--Sunday in Camp--The Cook's Leap--That "Beautiful Skunk!"--Wild Fruits--Parting.

For Ostersund--Lake Lulu--Giant Rocks and Pigmy Mortals--The Island Garden--Heaven's Artillery--Strange Casualty at the Ravine--My Luggage nearly blown up--The Driver's Presence of Mind--How to carry a Canoe--Darlington Bay--An Invisible Lake--Lord and Lady Dufferin--A Paddle to the Lakes--The Captain's Tug--Monopoly of Water-carriage--Indian Legends--The Abode of Snakes.

Clear Water Bay transformed--Cahill's Farewell--Ptarmigan Bay--A Night under Canvas--"No more Collars or Neckties!"--Companions in Misfortune--Cedar Lake--"Lop-sticks"--An Indian Village--Shashegheesh's Two Wives--Buying Potatoes--_Seniores Priores_--Excellent Carrots!--Frank's Flirtations with the Squaws--The Dogs eat Carrière's Toboggan.

Falcon River--An Unlucky Supper--The Fate of our Fried Pork--A Weary Paddle--A Sundial in the Wilderness--A Gipsy Picnic--"Floating away"--The Dried Musk-rats--Falcon Lake--How can we land?--Mr. M---- "in again"--Surprised by Indians--How we dried our Clothes--The Last Night in Camp.

Indian Loyalty--A Nap on Falcon Lake--A False Alarm--The Power of Whisky--"Magnificent Water Stretches"--A Striking Contrast--Picnic Lake--How we crossed Hawk Lake--Long Pine Lake--Bachelors' Quarters at Ingolf--We dress for Dinner--Our Last Portage--A Rash Choice--"Grasp your Nettle"--Mr. F----'s Gallantry--Cross Lake--Denmark's Ranche--A Tramp through the Mire.

Tilford--Pedestrians under Difficulties--The Railway at last--Not exactly a First-class Carriage--The Jules Muskeg--Whitemouth and Broken-Head Rivers--Vagaries of the Engine-Driver--The Hotel at St. Boniface--Red River Ferry--Winnipeg--"A Vagabond Heroine"--The Terrier at fault.

The _Minnesota_ again--Souvenirs of Lord and Lady Dufferin--From Winnipeg by Red River--_Compagnons du Voyage_--A Model Farm--"Bees"--Manitoba a good Field for Emigrants--Changes at Fisher's Landing--A Mild Excitement for Sundays--Racing with Prairie Fires--Glyndon--Humours of a Pullman Sleeping Car--Lichfield.

Lakes Smith and Howard--Lovely Lake Scenery--Long Lake--The Little American--"Wait till you see our Minnetaunka!"--Minneanopolis--Villa Hotels--A Holiday Town--The Great Flour-mills--St. Paul's--Our American Cousins--The French Canadian's Story--Kind-hearted Fellow-passengers--A New Way of Travelling together--The Mississippi--Milwaukee, the Prettiest Town in Michigan--School-houses--A Peep at Chicago--Market Prices--Pigs!--The Fairy Tales of Progress--Scotch Incredulity--Detroit Ferry--Hamilton--Good-bye to my Readers.

The Grand Trunk Railway--Sarnia--"Confusion worse confounded"--A Churlish Hostess--Fellow-Passengers on the _Manitoba_--"Off at last!"--Musical Honours--Sunrise on Lake Huron--A Scramble for Breakfast--An Impromptu Dance--The General Foe.

After a long day's journey on the Grand Trunk Railway, without even the eccentricities of fellow-passengers in our Pullman car to amuse us, we were all glad to reach Sarnia. The monotony of the scenery through which we passed had been unbroken, except by a prettily situated cemetery, and the tasteful architecture of a hillside church, surrounded by trees just putting on their spring foliage.