While he referred to the proprietor and the whole shop force in very creditable terms, still I was the subject of his special write-up, as a great mechanical engineer, and the main schemer in the construction side of the business; and he was just about right, only he swelled it up too much. He made my conferees and even the boss a little jealous, who all took some comfort in grinningly quoting to me the magnificent terms used by the reporter.

American style of sawmill machinery was certainly ahead of Canadian, but in those days both were in the experimental stage, and so were a matter of much interest to me, because of the prospect of improvement; and in this we had the backing of the mill men. They had commendable patience with any change that offered fairly well. I invented new improvements in some machines, on which, according to the old idea of general proprietorship, Mr. Hamilton claimed the patents. I protested, and hotly argued the matter, backed as I was by the patent law. Had I pushed the question, I could have beaten him; but there was not enough in it. He afterwards frankly admitted that his course was wrong.

THE WINNIPEG MILL

In the winter 1881 and 1882 two friends called at my house in the evening, just before I came in from the shop. Their business in Peterboro was to obtain machinery for a sawmill, to be built in Winnipeg, Manitoba; and as they afterward told Mr. Hamilton, they did not know him, but knew me, and had come on my account; and for that reason, came first to my house, to talk the matter over with me. They were Samuel Saunders, superintendent, and Mr. Elvidge, millwright. Mrs. Trout met them at the door, and after Mr. Saunders had introduced himself as an old boyhood acquaintance, and Mr. Elvidge as a more recent friend, they were shown into the parlor. Then she went back to prepare supper for two guests, as well as the family. The children in the kitchen had their curiosity excited; so Walter, the oldest, ran through the hall to the open parlor door, made his observations, was greeted, and ran back. Then Jennie, the second

child, did the same. George, too, had to satisfy himself; and lastly, Nellie, the two-year-old, toddled up to see. Then the friends bursts into a loud laugh, "An alternating boy and girl, a designing draughtsman's family sure enough." And as I shortly afterwards came in, they finished the laugh on me.

Well, they gave us a nice contract for a complete circular mill-boilers, engine and all machinery for the Sprague Lumber Company. A month or two afterwards Mr. Elvidge came to our shop, and anxiously inquired for a millwright to build the mill in his place; as the Stearns Manufacturing Company of Erie, Pennsylvania, had offered him the superintendency of their business on the Pacific Coast, and they wanted immediate acceptance. It evidently might be a good life job, and he earnestly endeavored to be relieved of his contract with Sprague; but there seemed to be no millwright open for engagement; so I told Elvidge, if no other man could be got, I would go up and build his mill. He slapped me on the back, with, "Oh, Trout! that is the move. I will be forever obliged to you, and Sprague and Saunders will be perfectly satisfied." But I said, "Mr. Hamilton won't be willing. He won't consent." "Oh!" he said, "I'll make him." He accordingly went into the office and eloquently pleaded, showing the advantages to me of a magnificent two months' vacation, and the fresh millwright experience I would get, which would be of such general advantage in my regular work; and he prevailed. The old man said I might go; and Elvidge left in happy mood. But the old man reconsidered, and finally relented; so calling me down to the office, he said, "It's no use Trout, you can't go, you are one of the men around this shop that can't be spared. Elvidge must get somebody else." My reply was, "I am sorry, Mr. Hamilton, to find you coming to this conclusion, as I am sure this job would be to my benefit, and yours, too; and all I have to say further is, that I am going." "What, Trout! has it come to that?" "Yes, just to that. You will please govern yourself accordingly." "Well, Well!"

I had a great interest in our immense expansive Northwest, and wanted to see the ambitious new city of Winnipeg, where

a few are said to have made fabulous fortunes; and others had lost in booming the city nearly to death, the people being speculatively crazy.

The first of August, 1882, I left to begin work on the mill. The only route then was by way of Chicago and St. Paul. In the early morning of the fourth day from Peterboro, we crossed the boundary, going back into Canada. It was cold, a thin sheet of fog covered the landscape. Drops of water bent down the tall grass, and drops were falling from the roofs of the cars, but it had not rained. It was only the cold, heavy dew. After breakfast in Winnipeg at eight o'clock, when I began to feel comfortably warm, a young man in shirt sleeves came in, looking flushed, and said, "We are going to have another hot day." I thought to myself if this is hot what sort of cold weather do you have? But I found in walking around for a half hour or more that it was what I would call pretty warm weather. At the mill I fitted up a somewhat sheltered place to do some necessary drawing, and felt no serious heat; and was surprised to see in the evening paper that the temperature had been up to 98 degrees. Next day at drawing, I scarcely perspired, though the temperature had touched 101 degrees. A pleasant breeze blew, and the dry, clean air carried off the perspiration as fast as it came; and at evening the paper I had been working on all day was clean, and my hands and linen were unsoiled; with the best conditions in the cities, dirt is manifest in one hour of work. This clean, dry atmospheric condition of the Northwest saves the sensations in the extremes of either heat or cold.

In building the Winnipeg mill there were matters that would be interesting to mechanics that I must pass over. Mr. Saunders had been a mill superintendent for many years, and felt competent to criticise, if not to direct millwrights; so when he found me taking short cuts and layouts he had not seen. before, he felt scared and protested. A certain peculiar belt drive he declared impossible. I said it could be done, and would work perfectly. "Oh, yes, I know, Trout, you theorize and calculate, but I go by practice." "Wait," I said, "till the calculations fail, then come to me."

When the mill started, he carefully examined every movement, found everything going perfectly; then he owned up.

Some of the other mill proprietors complimented Mr. Sprague, saying, "You ought to be a happy man, your mill goes every hour of the day, week in and week out, turning out its regular good quota of lumber continuously, while our mills are shut down one-third of the time for repairs."

Twenty-four years after this I went through Winnipeg, and, of course, stopped to see the mill. Mr. Sprague, the former young man proprietor, was sitting at his desk, a hoaryheaded man. I knew him because I expected to find him there. When I announced myself, he promptly remembered me, and greeted me cordially. Putting on his hat he said, "I know you want to see the old mill." He showed me the front part as I had left it, log haul, logway, carriage and circular, humming away in the old steady fashion, and the engine, too, on its original foundation, running its lively old chug, chug, for twenty-four summers. Its cylinder had never been rebored, and the circular arbor boxes had never been rebabbitted. The two boilers had renewed grates and furnace lining, but nothing more. All this signified not only good initial construction but steady, careful attention as well. The same engineer that started the mill was there still on duty, a white-haired man, deservedly conscious of his fine record. The lumber finishing end of the mill had been changed, and a resawing and a planing mill added, with the necessary power plant, all under the care of the old engineer, who had such help as he needed.

To return to the narrative of 1882, the mill was finished early in October; and I was paid $5.00 per day with board for the time of construction, the best pay I had ever had up to that time. It was a satisfactory job for all concerned.

SHORT TERM OF PRAIRIE LIFE.

The Dominion land policy of the time was very liberal, granting free homesteads to every male citizen. When the Winnipeg boom in city lots subsided, the craze turned to the agricultural lands of the province. Everybody went for a homestead, till nearly all the best available land of the province

was taken up, with scarcely any show of settlement. Many never intended to settle, but held their claims to transfer to some jumper for a consideration. I was importuned by many friends to go and locate a half section, that I could do the settlement duties and follow my trade; and then at the least would have a fine property in reserve for my children. The prospects and the baits held out were alluring, but this Trout would not bite. However, when near the station to take the train for home, a young man, running, overtook me, and said, "If you have the least idea of entering for land, I have a proposition that you will be sure to consider." "Well, what is it?" "I have a half section in the Turtle Mountain district, and I have a good chance on a half section in the Souris district, which I prefer, but I can't hold both." "What's the matter with the first one?" "Nothing, only it is farther from settlement. There is one family close by it. I will take you there at my expense, and you can give me any nominal consideration." I turned with him, and we took the first train west to Brandon, where I found three of my Scotch cousins, Donald MacKinnon, hotel keeper, who had a claim near the one I was to see; also John Munn, and John MacKinnon, real estate men. From there, by a lazy little Indian pony and buckboard, we started on our sixty-mile southern journey, taking the well-traveled trail to Souris, where we stayed in a good-sized farmer's village overnight. Its new country character may be judged by the fact that on the previous night a skunk, having regard to his prior right, took possession of a residence, and drove the family out. It was a case of eviction without due process of law, and in the end his skunkship got the worst of it. But everywhere the buoyancy and hopefulness of the people were persistently manifest. There was hard work, but abounding health and strength to stand it.

We left Souris at daybreak. The fall and winter days are very short up there. We crossed the Souris river, a large, sluggish stream, and through a beautiful, slightly undulating country all day. There were one or two springs of nice water along our trail. These are rare enough to be precious. Our destination lay four or five miles to the left of our main trail;