Ladys Life on a Farm in Manitoba | Page 2

known each other in some prior state.
Some are going into Minnesota, three of them having bought 13,000
acres in the Red River valley, which they are going to farm on a large
scale, and hope in four years to have made fortunes, another owns
mines in Colorado, having been one of the first pioneers of the San
Juan district; he is in a fair way to a princely fortune. I fear golden
apples will not be strewn on our paths, even though we are bound the
furthest west. Fifteen days have we been out of sight of land; two days
out from Queenstown we broke a piston-rod, which obliged us to lay to,

in a fearfully rough sea, for five hours. Next day one of our four boilers
burst, and again another piston-rod; which accidents, combined with
contrary winds and heavy seas, reduced our speed to nearly half for the
remainder of the journey. Our spirits have not flagged, as, thanks to
various small games such as pitch-and-toss, running races when the
ship was rolling, quoits, and cards, we have not found time unbearably
long. The last few days we have had big sweepstakes on the run of the
ship; but, unfortunately, none of our party have won them. One evening
we had a concert; but you may imagine the talent on board was not
great when they had to call upon one of us to accompany the prima
donna, and the other to sing a second in a duet; another evening we
danced--or rather tried to--our band consisting of a concertina and a
flute, played by two of the steerage passengers, but the vessel rolled so
persistently that we often lost our equilibrium and reeled like drunken
men and women.
I must stop: curiosity bids me go on deck. We shall shortly be in the
quarantine harbour, the entrance of which is said to be very fine;
though I very much doubt our being able to see anything, as, in spite of
being in this much boasted climate of the new world, it is raining and is
dull enough to rejoice the hearts of true John Bulls like your daughter's.
* * * * *
NAVY YARD, NEW YORK, April 30th.
I hope you will have got our letters sent off by the ship's boat the night
before we were allowed to land, as, though we arrived in the quarantine
harbour at 7 o'clock, it was too late for the Custom-house and medical
officers to inspect us; we therefore had to lay to, and only moved up to
the wharf about 8 o'clock the next morning. We were greeted by a most
kind letter of welcome, and the first thing we saw as we got to the dock
was the Navy Yard Tug with the Commodore and daughters on board
to receive us; and, thanks to them, we had no difficulties or bothers.
The Custom- house men went through the form of opening two of our
boxes and inquiring into the age of our saddle, which had been used but
looked terribly new, hardly as if it had been in wear six months, which
is the given period for things to pass in free of duty. We then steamed
round New York through much shipping and under a most marvellous
new suspension bridge, which is to join New York and Brooklyn, to the
dockyard; where we had another most hearty reception from our

hostess. They had all been in a fidget at our being so many days late,
and directly the ship was telegraphed off Sandy Hook the last night, in
spite of the pouring rain, the Commodore had gone down in the tug to
the Quarantine Harbour to try and get us off.
Since our arrival we have been "doing" New York, and are woefully
disappointed in the size of the streets. Fifth Avenue I expected to find a
Parisian Boulevard with trees lining the "side walks," instead of houses
of all shapes and sizes, which are good inside, judging by one of the
large ones we went to see, but nothing much from the outside.
Day-light in the streets is almost shut out in the "City" part of the town
by the endless telegraph wires and advertisements hung across, to say
nothing of the elevated railroads built on iron girders, which circulate
round at the height of second-floor windows. We have made a good
deal of use of the railroad; it is pleasanter than our under-ground, the
atmosphere being "rather" clearer, though at first it is startling to see
the twists and curves the trains give to get round the corners of the
streets, and to watch the moving of objects at about forty feet below
you.
I am not at all surprised people do not care to