An Ocean Cruise and Journey Overland:
Part II: Rail Travel Overland
An account of a journey
from Glasgow to Nelson, British Columbia
Quebec, Canada, to Nelson, British Columbia
Tuesday, June 18, 1907 - Sunday June 23, 1907
By Harry Sinclair Clark
Tuesday 18th day of June
After an early breakfast we were permitted to land. We had to go to the immigration hall to get
our railway tickets for Nelson and pass the medical inspector again. About half an hour was spent
in getting past the barricade, so particular was the immigration agent. Alex and I got our tickets, a
long slip of paper, that would take us right through to Nelson. The next performance was the hunt
for our luggage among the huge pile that had come off the Cassandra and had been brought up on
trucks to the platform. It should be mentioned that the railway station is only five minutes walk
from the pier where we landed. I discovered my trunk about the bottom, but easily accessible. A
check was put on the trunk and a duplicate was given to me, to be given up when the trunk was
wanted. There was such a crush at the money exchange office that I never tried to get my few
shillings changed. 
A stall in the station kept all sorts of things and they took British money in
payment of goods, but we did not get full value for our money. Only 20 cents worth for a shilling
instead of 24, of course we expected this. I had only five shillings in silver, with which I bought
three loaves, half a dozen oranges, some apples with a basket to hold them and one or two other
things, this cleared out my stock of home money.
The train came into the station shortly before 12 o'clock. Each carriage was made like a saloon, 30 persons at each side making sixty in all. The seats were of wood with cane bottoms and backs and held two comfortably. After getting shunted back and forward for sometime we at last cleared the station. Our large luggage van had to be left behind at Quebec, eight large coaches and two vans now made up the train for Montreal. The railway rises considerably after Quebec and the engine did not appear to be a very powerful one. About six hours was spent in getting to a junction some distance from Montreal. There we were told to go into the colonist car next to the engine. All the other carriages went on to Montreal but we never went near the city.
The night was dark with thunder and lightning, and I never knew we were on another train till the increased speed made me aware of the fact. The country we passed through on our way up was mostly sandy scrub with some nice villages with quaint French names. There was an entire absence of animal life, either furred or feathered. Some black sheep were seen and a few diminutive cows and horses. The trees were mostly Silver Birch with a lot of nice ferns growing in between. Houses and farm buildings were all made of wood, some of them with stone foundations. All the C.P.R. engines have a musical bell and it sounds like a church bell ringing when they leave the stations. There are no side doors on the carriages, the doors being at either end and you can walk from one end of the train to the other. Some of the chaps got off at the small stations to have a walk about the line. The fun began when the train started, everyone rushed to their carriage and some of them were in danger of being left behind. The Colonist cars are well built, airy and well finished. Two of us sleep up above the other two on the seats. There is a boiler at one end of the car to boil the water and a lavatory at the other end. No soap or towels being provided by the C.P.R. You fetch your own.
Wednesday 19th day of June
All last night we were speeding through the Province of Ontario. I looked out once or twice and the whole countryside appeared to be lit up by the glare of the lightning. The fire could be seen leaving the clouds so dark was the night. We were all awakened after twelve o'clock by the conductor to have our tickets examined, a nice time of night to disturb the passengers. My temporary bed felt very hard and the rattle of the racing train was terrible to hear. The road bed out here is not the nicely made line such as you see in Scotland but a make-shift arrangement of sleepers and rails fastened by a big spike. I was standing on the rear platform of the carriage and it was only with great difficulty that I preserved my balance. The train stopped at Ottawa for sometime but it was too dark to distinguish anything beyond the station lights. Alex and I made our tea on the spirit stove this morning and enjoyed our first cup of tea since leaving Scotland. The bread and tongue were very good and tasty after the ships combination of luxuries. If you want hot water on this train you have to get sticks and light the boiler fire and it is a case of first come first served. We have a better plan than this, our own stove doing the needful. The train is still going through Ontario, I am writing this at a place called North Bay. All the men are outside reclining on the railway bank. North Bay is a junction of the Grand Trunk and C.P.R. lines and is a small place built of wood with a few shops. We were about two hours in North Bay but we never left the station. The train may have gone on without us, no intimation having been given to the passengers of the duration of the stoppage.
Ontario must be a very wealthy province, timber of all kinds abounds and there are many magnificent rivers to take the logs down to the sawmills. Every stream we passed was covered with floating trees and logs. The tree I most admired in its growing state was the Birch tree. Silver white with its tall graceful stem and tapering branches covered with dark green leaves, it looked magnificent. Huge forests of this particular tree were seen all along the railway side and lumber camps abounded. Beautiful too were the stretches of water with the hills for a background. We stopped at a station called Chapleau for refreshments, I bought a loaf of bread and some cakes for our supper. All day we had been travelling on an emigrant train and it was a pleasure to get out for a few moments. This train has to make way for all other trains on the line and we had a great many stoppages yesterday. Some of us were chasing butterflies (big ones) whilst others collected firewood for the stove. There is no settled time for meals on board, each one pleases himself and tea is prepared at all hours. The C.P.R. engines are not beautiful to look upon but there can be no doubt to their drawing power, it is magnificent. Some of the wagons have a holding capacity of 60,000 pounds and measure 36 ft inside. The way the engines are driven is a revelation to the inexperienced traveller. No Scotch or English driver would dare to travel like they do out here. The whole train was pitching like a ship in a storm and it was a dangerous proceeding going from one carriage to another. I went up to get my kettle boiled on the stove at tea time. An extra special lurch of the train sent me into a corner all in a heap, the water being spilled on the floor. Then the next time my kettle with the tea cup and tea went flying and I gave it up as a bad job. Alex succeeded where I failed, the driver having slackened speed in the interval.
You will find the places we passed through on the map. Some of them are not even marked on the map being only a single house with a name painted on the gable. The weather is glorious at present, the sun shining all day from a cloudless sky.
Thursday 20th June
We stopped for some time at a station called Schrieber this morning just after I awoke. The bed was pretty hard but I slept all right. I believe I could sleep anywhere now. The train got on very well today. Fort William on the shores of Lake Superior was reached about ten o'clock and we all got out to stretch our legs. Alex bought some bananas, a tin of apples and some toffee. Fort William is a very important place being the junction of the railway and the steamboats owned by the C.P.R. All the Longshoremen were out on strike, many of them parading the streets. Nearly everyone out here sports a hat, crushed felt being the most popular type of headgear. Some very beautiful houses were seen along the railway track, wood with a stone foundation finding the most favour. The roof is composed of pieces of wood made to resemble slates.
Lake Superior is a magnificent sheet of water. The train passes along its northern shore and beautiful it looked with the sun shining on the water. All day we rushed through Ontario, water and woods and rivers passing before our eyes in endless procession. We received many a greeting from lonely timber camps and isolated houses. The lumber-mans life appears to be a very healthy one. Big strong fellows they were, sun-bronzed and muscular. Two of them were seen taking their tea on a raft of logs in the middle of a river. Canoes were seen on the lakes and once I saw a specimen of the noble Red Man and in another were two Indian women.
The dust and heat were almost unbearable during the afternoon. Fine, white, filling the air and covering our clothes, Alex and I were seated on the back platform and we were like two sweeps when we came in. Late in the evening the train arrived at Kenora, it is a meal station with a restaurant belonging to the C.P.R. Fifteen cents was charged for a loaf of bread and other articles were priced very high. Oranges are two and half each and are poor quality at that price. Kenora was the last stop before Winnipeg was reached. The conductor told us we would have to change there. Everyone was soon busy packing up and sleep under the circumstances was wellnigh impossible.
Before reaching Winnipeg a tremendous thunderstorm broke over the country. Fire appeared to be falling from the sky, so intense and blinding was the lightning. The storm continued all the way, sometimes dying away and then coming back with increased brilliance. Some amusement was caused by the conductor announcing that we would reach Winnipeg at 24 o'clock. This being our first experience of the new method of reckoning time. It was nearer 2 than 24 when we reached Winnipeg. 24 corresponds to our midnight and 2 o'clock was 2.am. A sleepy crowd were turned out at Winnipeg station to board the Western train. Alex and I got in first and secured a comfortable seat each. After a considerable delay we steamed out of Winnipeg en route for the far West. Everyone turned in to obtain some more sleep before morning came in. It is very unfortunate to pass all the large towns without being able to visit them. Montreal, Ottawa and now Winnipeg have all been passed through in the hours of darkness.
Friday 21st June
After a few hours sleep on my hard couch, I descended from my perch to see what was going on. The train was now speeding through the fertile prairie land of Manitoba. Hardly a shrub or tree visible as far as the eye could reach. Wheat fields of enormous extent and huge grain elevators were passed by only to give place to other fields and prosperous looking little villages. All the houses were built of wood and looked very nice with their gardens and fruit trees. Brandon was reached about seven am. ten minutes were allowed for refreshment at the restaurant. The negro conductors placed small stools on the track to allow the ladies to alight. The train being a very long one and the platform very short, makes it a considerable drop from the carriage steps to the ground. Alex and I tried to obtain some things but the shops were all shut. Brandon appears a go-ahead little place, one or two nice hotels and a number of shops with plenty of room for expansion being the chief features of the place.
This train we are on now is composed of Colonist and Tourist cars and goes right through to Vancouver. Many Canadian farmers were on the train with their wives. They had been shopping in Winnipeg and were now on their way home. We passed an hour or two with them exchanging ideas and getting some first hand information.
The Cassandra's passengers are pretty well scattered now. Many left at Winnipeg and a few more at other stations. We stopped at a small station some miles west of Brandon to allow a man, his wife and three children to alight. They had come all the way from Scotland and the little ones were quite down with the noise and the heat.
Broadview was the next stopping place on the timetable. We reached the town about 12 o'clock central time. The time changes here from central to mountain, but what difference there is I do not know. Canadian time is beyond me. Alex did a sprint up to the grocers, while I went round to the bakers for a loaf of bread. We arrived back in plenty of time loaded with eatables, 2 packets of biscuits, tin of meat, oranges, butter and figs were a few of the things obtained at a reasonable rate. We dined off a tin of apples with Swiss milk, soda biscuits and snaps. The figs were for dessert. Alex discovered two blocks of nice candy on the shelf in the train, nothing could have been more acceptable, it had probably been left behind by someone.
All afternoon we rolled across Saskatchewan, a magnificent country abounding with game with plenty of water and nice farms. The gophers were a treat. They are little animals about the size of a rat and the colour of a squirrel. All along the line they were seen in vast numbers and some of the chaps got out to throw stones at them but there were no casualties among them. As soon as they are disturbed they assume an upright attitude and very quaint little animals we found them.
The flourishing town of Moose Jaw was reached at tea time. Strawberries were seen for the first time out here. Moose Jaw is the nicest place I have seen since I landed in the Dominion. The ladies were all nicely dressed, it being the height of summer out here and parasols abounded. The men all wear loose clothing with a soft hat and a sash or belt around their waists. One of the carriages was left behind here and we had to remove farther up the train. An old lady on the train was going to Lethbridge on the Crows Nest Branch. She had come all the way from Ontario for a holiday and to visit her friend. The basket with her provisions was nearly twice the size of our one. We boiled her some water on the spirit stove to make tea and she gave us some bread, a piece of cake and three boiled eggs. All this provender had been brought for the journey. She did not require it all, hence her reason for parting with it. I had an egg for supper along with the bread and it was delicious.
Oxen are put into the shafts of the wagons out here, it looks very curious to see two oxen pulling a cart. The life of the Plains can be understood out here. Lonely riders are seen here and there driving in the cows, while two horse buggies go roaming over the Prairie, no roads being visible. Sometimes a family group are seen taking the air, outside some primitive dwelling. The train flying through miles and miles of territory with no sign of human habitation. A group of Red Indians were seen in the neighbourhood of the line along with their squaws and equipment. Three Japanese were seen to-day and a Chinaman was taking his ease at Moose Jaw. They will become more numerous as we approach the Pacific Coast. The train stopped at Medicine Hat about 3 o'clock in the morning. We had all been warned before this and had everything ready to lift.
Cold and dark with a heavy rain falling, we could distinguish very little of our surroundings. The Waiting Room looked very tempting with its bright lights after the gloomy train, the oil having failed just before we came away. Acetylene gas is used in all the newest carriages on the C.P.R. but this was an exception. The startling intelligence was given when we arrived that there would be no train for Nelson before 20.55 the next evening. That would be about fifteen hours to wait. All the passengers have gone to sleep on the seats. I dozed away for a short time but the seat was the reverse of comfortable so I gave it up as a bad job. Medicine Hat is written on the lamp, white letters with a blue ground. The refreshment room is open all night for the convenience of passengers. Several Canadian magazines were found lying about, they helped to pass the time away until daylight came in. The train we arrived with missed the connection by about seven hours and as there is only one train each day to Nelson, the seven hours would have made a great difference to us all.
The train journey has been a gem compared with the first part of our journey. Of course one has to put up with some discomfort on the train. Smoking is allowed in the carriages, the beds are hard but solid, no fear of falling through them though. The first two days the travelling was very rough, but after that it improved considerably. The weather has been all that could be desired. Fine warm days and nights being the rule. The air of Alberta is very clear objects at considerable distance away looking very close at hand.
Saturday 22nd of June
It is a fortnight now since we left Glasgow and a very long tine it appears to me. This day finds me at Medicine Hat, a small town of the mushroom variety. A few years ago it was a cluster of wooden houses, today it is a town of 6,000 inhabitants. The weather was of the worst possible description, rain falling in torrents all day accompanied by a cold wind. Something like the weather we had in Scotland the week before I left.
A natural supply of gas is utilised to light the town and the railway station. Very strange to see the street lamps burning all day and night but it a sad waste of good gas. The two nicest houses in the place are side by side and belong unto two brothers called Day. Wood is the principal building material here as elsewhere throughout the Dominion, a stray house here and there being composed of brick or concrete.
The streets were in an awful mess with the rain. About half a dozen of us went for a walk in the afternoon our boots were a sight when we got back to the station. They had to be scraped with knives to get the huge cakes of mud off them.
An iron viaduct crosses the South Saskatchewan at the eastern end of the town. The river is pretty wide at this point and must be a lovely place for a sail on a fine day. Cowboys in characteristic costumes flashed through the streets on active little horses. Only one or two bicycles were seen, the streets being impassable for cyclists. The rest of the day was spent in the station waiting room. Crowds of people were always coming and going and a strange crowd indeed they were. It was the railway pay-day, that is the reason why the station was so busy. Nearly every railroad hand wears gloves of some kind and all of them are encased in overalls.
I got my breakfast at the King Albert restuarant kept by a Jap or a Chinese. Everything was first class and clean. Porridge and milk with ham and two eggs, toasted bread and chip potatoes and a nice cup of tea all for 25 cents which is very cheap according to the prices out here. A tin of salmon (also bought in a Japanese shop) with bread and butter made a nice dinner for me, Alex being frightened to take any. The station restuarant here is kept by a Chinaman and the porter at the station belongs to the same race. They keep their pig-tails tucked up inside their caps out of the way.
The Western Express came in about 8 a.m. with a large luggage van attached. When the luggage was turned out on the platform my trunk had not come but Alex's was seen unharmed with no marks on it. The train also brought some of Cassandra's second cabin passengers on it. They had landed at Montreal from the steamer and got the train right through to Medicine Hat. The crowd is gathering at the station and we may expect a big crowd on the train tonight. Very few are going to Nelson, about a dozen all told. After a long weary day in Medicine Hat we got into the train shortly after seven o'clock or nineteen o'clock is the proper way to say it. The two chaps we met in Glasgow are still with us and a fellow named McLeod who had come all the way from the Isle of Harris. He is a nice chap dressed in Harris Tweed and looks a typical Highlander. His destination is the same as ours, Nelson.
The train got away from the station on time and we were glad to be moving again. The stove in the carriage was soon set alight. A supply of sticks and charcoal being supplied by the C.P.R. Alex and I each had a cup of cocoa and enjoyed it very much. One of our cups met an untimely end the other day, it was accidentally pushed over the window when the train was in motion. An excellent substitute was discovered in an empty apple tin but it had been left behind in the hurry and confusion when we left the train at Medicine Hat. McLeod had a cup but no saucer, so we used his cup and our saucer! Four of us with two cups and saucers, a tin of sardines and bread with butter sat down to supper. The little kettle (far too small) had to be filled about half a dozen times before we were all satisfied. We retired to rest about ten o'clock after seeing the huge blaze from a natural gas retort, the whole countryside being lit up.
A big crowd came in at one of the numerous stations on the line and two vacant seats where we had just put our luggage were required by a C.P.R. newsagent for his books, papers etc. It was a rude awakening in the small hours of the morning but we are all getting accustomed to this. The first night on the train after leaving Quebec we were all awakened at midnight by the ticket checker, the next night we were all bundled out at Winnipeg and a similar fate befell us at Medicine Hat. Truly the ways of the C.P.R are a little nuisance.
Sunday 23rd day of June
Sunday morning broke mild and clear, the rain having passed away. The train was speeding through the Rocky Mountains when I woke and the scene was impressive and grand. Great snow-clad peaks reared their heads far above the surrounding hills, dense woods covered their slopes with a carpet of green and the little villages looked smaller still beside such a mighty background. The Columbia river was seen on the way down and many smaller rivers but it was the magnificent trees which I admired the most, lifting their massive trunks straight upwards into the blue void and crowned with a wealth of foliage.
Fernie was passed before breakfast, it is a mining and lumber village situated at the foot of the mountains. Numerous Chinamen were seen standing at this places of business. The "How Foon" laundry was close to the station and I counted another three Chinese laundries in the small place. The almond eyed Oriental is seen everywhere, on the trains and at the stations, the soles of his sandals two or three inches in thickness and a vacant expression on his countenance.
Cranbrook B.C. is a nice little place, everyone dressed in style, being the Sabbath Day. We endeavoured to get something to eat, the train stopping for a short time there but we only got a loaf of bread. However we still had some biscuits and some meat so we were not to be pitied.
The scenery after Cranbrook was passed became magnificent. The Morgie river runs alongside the
railway for a considerable distance. It looked like some huge lake from the carriage window, its
width must be considerable. The lumber camps were all silent, the day of rest is evidently well
kept out here. The sun shone brilliantly all forenoon and the heat in the railway carriage was
almost unbearable. The snow upon the high peaks looked very cool to the eyes and one wondered
how the snow did not melt on a day like this, but the altitudes of these mountain range from 8,000
to 10,000 feet though they do not look it.
After a magnificent journey we arrived at Kootenay Landing half an hour late, the journey being
accomplished in seventeen and a half hours. The steamer for Nelson was waiting at the quay with
steam up ready to start. A few minutes sufficed to get the passengers transferred from train to
steamer. Porters transferred the luggage and goods from the vans, the train was on one side of the
pier and the steamer on the other. The steamer was very nice and magnificently appointed,
Nairn's inlaid linoleum
was on the floor
and very strange it was to discover it in this outlandish spot. There were writing desks, nice cabins
and a refreshment bar on board and tea was served in a grand salon. The price would be grand too
I suppose. This was the first time I had seen a stern wheeler. The paddle box is placed at the stern
instead of the side and there is only one set of paddles.
Kootenay Lake is a fine stretch of water. High mountains crowned with snow hem it in upon both
sides and the slopes are covered with fine trees. The boat left the pier at Kootenay on the finest
afternoon I have witnessed for many years. The sun shone down from a clear sky and the wind
was very light and warm.
A young man who has been some time in British Columbia was telling us on the steamer that it
hardly ever rains at Nelson in the winter time. Judging by the weather today the summer days
should also be practically rainless.
The S.S. Kustanook, to give the steamer it's right name, called at all the little places on the lake.
One place we touched at could boast a Post Office printed in letters bold and clear but no other
houses were in the neighbourhood. All afternoon we cruised up the Lake, once we ran aground
on a bank but no harm was done. The captain reversed his engines and after a few minutes of
ineffectual striving we were once more afloat. Boating appears to be a favourite pastime on the
Kootenay Lake. Numerous canoes were seen and every small place had a boathouse.
The C.P.R. Railway Barge was passed on the way up. Trucks or vans were run on from the pier
at Kootenay on to the barges built especially for the purpose. They hold about half a dozen big
vans and are propelled by steam. The speed attained cannot be more than two miles an hour or so.
We saw a nice house with a bit of cultivated land on the lake side. The owner must love solitude
as there are no houses within a dozen miles of it. After about four hours of tacking about the lake
the smoke and houses of Nelson were seen in the distance. Between eighteen and nineteen o'clock
we ran into the harbour of Nelson and our long pilgrimage was over.
A gentleman on the pier offered to show us to an hotel. There were four of us all told. Angus
McLeod from Harris, --- Toovey last place of residence Bridge Camp B.C., two years out from
England was fourteen months in Calgary and A.S. & H.S. Clark completed the quartet. After a
stiff journey lasting about ten minutes we arrived at the Klondyke Hotel and were admitted for the
night. The charge (a dollar a day) being too much but we will soon flit when we get work.
After partaking of a good supper we had the luxury of a wash and brush up before setting out to
view the town. Nelson occupies a commanding position on the Lake, it stands over one thousand
feet above the sea and is almost surrounded by high mountains. The streets are paved with rough
planks for foot passenger and an antiquated lot of cars propelled by electricity are the means of
locomotion from one place to another. The Salvation Army band came down one of the streets as we passed and we stopped for a few
minutes to hear them play. They lined up at the corner of the street and played a few well known
hymns. After that we went down to the station to see if our luggage had come in. Alex's box was
all right but McLeods box had the lid wrenched open and broken in two halves. Some of the other
boxes were in a like condition but mine was not among them. We retired to bed at an early hour
meaning to have a busy day on the morrow. An ordinary bed seems strange after the makeshifts of
the last fortnight but was none the less welcome for all that.
We went to see Mr Stocks next morning but he was away from home. The other two fellows
engaged themselves as deck hands on the C.P.R. steamer. After waiting about all day we went up
again to see Mr Stocks in the evening. We found Mrs Stocks at home and were told that Mr
Stocks would be in shortly. They have a very nice house situated high above the bay and
commanding a magnificent view of the mountains. Mr Stocks gave us an introduction to a Mr
Campbell at Bonnington Falls some few miles from Nelson. Picking strawberries was to be our
first start in this Land. A visit was paid to a drapers for a pair of overalls, price one dollar, then
across to the Hudson's Bay Stores for a quantity of provender.
The train left Nelson at 9.25 and was due at Miles Ferry at 10 a.m. My trunk had arrived in the
interval very much knocked about, one of the handles being amissing.
There is no station at Miles Ferry, no platform either. There is only a board nailed to a telegraph
pole.
Mr Campbell's ranch was pointed out to us, high up the mountain side, it was a terrible climb for a
hot summers day. The way lay through a ravine filled with stones and rubbish brought down from
the heights above. A small shanty was given to us for habitation. Built of unhewn logs placed one
above the other with two rooms and a large camp stove.
Shortly after one o' clock we started work at the fruit picking and kept working until about seven
o' clock.We are to receive 40c for two dozen baskets but we do not know what wages we will
receive being on piece. However, we are the proud owners of a shanty perched high up above the
Kootenay River.The river make a sudden descent at this place, the falls being very beautiful.
Supper is over for the night and Alex and I are seated at our cabin door, enjoying the cool of the
evening.
The engine was standing with its front wheels buried in the
water.
The streets are very steep, the town rising abruptly from
the waters edge to the high mountains at the rear of the town. Some of the buildings are very
handsome, the Post Office is built of granite and stone occupies a prominent position in the centre
of the town. In the residential part of the town there are many handsome houses built of wood
with nice gardens.
Part I: Aboard the T.S.S. Cassandra |
A Letter Home From Alex
