settlers
generally were well-to-do in the world. The houses of some of the more
wealthy inhabitants were very handsome-looking buildings, particularly
that of Mr McAllum, where in a few hours I landed. This gentleman was
the superintendent of the Red River Academy, where the children of the
wealthier colonists and those of the gentlemen belonging to the Hudson
Bay Company are instructed in the various branches of English
literature, and made to comprehend how the world was convulsed in days
of yore by the mighty deeds of the heroes of ancient Greece and Rome.

Here I was hospitably treated to an excellent breakfast, and then
proceeded on foot with Mr Carles--who rejoined me here--to Fort Garry,
which lay about two miles distant. Upon arriving I was introduced to
Mr Finlayson, the chief factor in charge, who received me very kindly,
and introduced me to my fellow-clerks in the office. Thus terminated my
first inland journey.

CHAPTER SIX.

RED RIVER SETTLEMENT--ORIGIN OF THE COLONY--OPPOSITION TIMES AND
ANECDOTES--THE FLOOD OF 1826--CLIMATE--BEING BROKEN-IN--MR. SIMPSON, THE
ARCTIC DISCOVERER--THE MACKENZIE RIVER BRIGADE.

Red River Settlement is, to use a high-flown expression, an oasis in the
desert, and may be likened to a spot upon the moon or a solitary ship
upon the ocean. In plain English, it is an isolated settlement on the
borders of one of the vast prairies of North America. It is situated
partly on the banks of Red River, and partly on the banks of a smaller
stream called the Assinaboine, in latitude 50 degrees, and extends
upwards of fifty miles along the banks of these two streams. The
country around it is a vast treeless prairie, upon which scarcely a
shrub is to be seen; but a thick coat of grass covers it throughout its
entire extent, with the exception of a few spots where the hollowness of
the ground has collected a little moisture, or the meandering of some
small stream or rivulet enriches the soil, and covers its banks with
verdant shrubs and trees.

The banks of the Red and Assinaboine Rivers are covered with a thick
belt of woodland--which does not, however, extend far back into the
plains. It is composed of oak, poplar, willows, etcetera, the first of
which is much used for fire-wood by the settlers. The larger timber in
the adjacent woods is thus being rapidly thinned.

The settlers are a mixture of French Canadians, Scotchmen, and Indians.
The first of these occupy the upper p