he value of these lands is
usually doubled the moment they are broken and occupied even with but
inferior buildings--only so that shelter is obtained. For "new comers,"
wishing new lands, this road and that of the "St. Paul and Pacific Main
Line Railway," at Wilmar, and on to the fertile valley of the Red
River, afford, in our judgment, the best lands. This latter road, now
that it is under the control of the Northern Pacific Railway Company, is
destined to play an important part in the settlement and development of
that vast region--so rich in agricultural wealth--lying along the Red,
Saskatchawan, and Assiniboine Rivers. It must indeed prove the link
which some day, in the near future, will bind the new province of
Manitoba and the adjacent country to the northwest of it.

It is, indeed, the intention of the Northern Pacific Road to construct
from the point of junction of the St. Paul and Duluth arms, on the Red
River, a branch road, northward to Pembina, and it cannot be long ere it
will be continued to Hudson's Bay.

The trade and travel between British America and the States, overland
from the present terminal points of the arms from St. Paul of the
N.P.R., is quite considerable, giving constant employment, during the
summer and fall, to about one thousand ox-teams. Goods from all parts of
Europe and the States are obliged for the most part to take this route.
The distance overland is about four hundred and fifty miles. It is a
singular and picturesque sight to witness one of these trains, whether
coming in or departing. They sometimes number a hundred teams, though
oftener much less. They are all single ox-teams, the vehicles being
two-wheeled. A convenient sort of harness is used on the oxen, not
unlike, in style, that on our truck horses. One driver--a half-breed
usually--manages a half-dozen teams by tying the heads of the five to
the rear of each cart and then leading the sixth or foremost team by
means of a raw-hide rope attached to the animal's head. One thousand
pounds constitutes a load for a strong ox. Thus stoves, flour,
implements of agriculture, bales of goods, and even boxes of choice
wines from France, marked "For the Bishop of Prince Rupert's Land, via
St. Paul, U.S.A." Either the body of the church or that of the bishop
must be large, judging from the quantity of these wet goods which we saw
moving to the frontier.

There is a freshness in Western life that charms one, especially at the
first. N