There are now more than thirty thousand Mennonites in Canada. They were originally Lutherans from Poland and Prussia, who about 1787 accepted refuge in Russia from religious persecution at home. They were favoured for a time by the Russian government, and became prosperous farmers and stock raisers, and also manufacturers. Just before the Canadian Pacific Railway was built, a number of them emigrated to Canada, settling along the Red River Valley in Manitoba. Their migration was financed to the extent of a million dollars by the Canadian government. This the Mennonites later repaid, and their communities thrived and prospered. After the World War, the Mennonites in Russia suffered severely at the hands of the Soviet government. Their lands, factories, and other possessions were confiscated. Thereupon, with the aid of wealthy Mennonites in Pennsylvania, a fresh emigration to Canada was financed. These Mennonites were taken to southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan, where they were located on desirable lands. Among them were some who before the revolution in Russia owned farms of from ten to fifteen thousand acres. One man had been worth a half million dollars, and was one of the largest horse breeders in Russia. Of the Mennonites who first came to Canada, some have since gone to Mexico, where they have formed colonies similar to those established in the Dominion. The immigration offices of Canada are filled with stories of settlers who have made good. Many of these stories are in the form of letters written by the men and the women who have fought and won their battles with the land, some of whom are now wealthy and nationally prominent. Canada is perhaps a generation nearer the pioneer stage than we are, and on her farms of the frontier thousands are to-day laying the foundations of fortunes, as our farmers did when they settled the West. From the human documents I have examined I quote the advice to prospective settlers given by a man who, twelve years after landing from England with one dollar in his pocket, sold out his farm for thirty-five thousand dollars. These, says he, are the secrets of success in Canada: 1. Get a farm if it takes your last ten dollars. 2. If you are not married, get married, for successful bachelor farmers are not plentiful. 3. Give your hired help, and the members of your own family, an interest in the farm; whether it be a quarter section of land or a setting of eggs. Get them interested. 4. Work with and for your neighbours. Coöperation is the A B C of success. Always lend a hand to those in need, especially newcomers, and you will be repaid a hundredfold. Above all, value the good-will of your neighbours. 5. Lastly, be a true Canadian all the time, for no other country on earth will appreciate it so much or give so much in return. CHAPTER XXVI EDMONTON--THE GATEWAY TO THE NORTHWEST