Canada -- Description and travel; Canada -- Emigration and immigration
somewhere. I was told--in fact we were all told--that living in the
country was very cheap, and that living in Montreal was dear, but
according to Deacon it is just the reverse. He said he did not think
we could live in Regina, or thereabouts, supposing we got nothing to
do, under ten or twelve dollars a week, instead of five which we pay
here. I don't say that I believe it; someone must be in the wrong;
and until we can find out for ourselves it is impossible to say who
it is. It may just as well be Deacon as anyone else. Still, it would
have been unwise to go west so soon on pure speculation. The end of
it was the gentleman started away by himself, and Mr. Barnes said we
were quite right to stop where we were. He said, somehow or other,
he had managed to get a wrong impression of the whole affair. He has
since exerted himself a great deal in making enquiries in Henry's
behalf, and he gave me an introduction to a young fellow in the
Harbour Commissioner's office, which, however, did not prove of much
value. We have had to take our present diggings for another week,
not having been able to get finished up here in time. I do not want
to leave the place and leave any stone unturned, and there are
several people I can see yet. We see Roland Stanley nearly every
day, at a fish and game club where he introduced us, and which forms
a most convenient meeting place, &c. Like everyone else, he is very
good-natured, but his power of assisting us, so far, seems to lie
chiefly in his willingness to do so had he the power. He has given
over his farm to his son, and only kept his house and a few acres,
comprising his garden chiefly, so there is no chance of his taking
either of us. Holloway and Darwin are our two next best men; they
are both young, and both back us up most energetically. We are going
to spend the evening to-morrow with the Darwins, and on Sunday
evening we dine with the Holloways, which is a great improvement on
a crowded boarding-house. The latter is a partner in a well-to-do
hardware establishment, which means to say they import all sorts of
saws, chisels, axes, hammers, etc., from Sheffield; and the latter
is accountant in a bank here. He has got a mother and two sisters,
both possessing every claim to amiability. Holloway went with me on
Wednesday to the Grand Trunk Railway Works, and introduced me to
several people, and "boosted" me all he knew, but it was no go, they
sacked seventy-five men last month, and are going to do the same
again this month, things are "that" slack. Yesterday he took me down
to the Canadian Pacific Works, but the man we wanted was away, so we
are going again on Monday. There is also another man I am going to
see on Monday, who has a good-sized iron-foundry. I went down there
to-day, but he was out of town. Also I am going to see another
engineer to-morrow, so you see I am not done yet. I saw the son of
President Arthur, of the United States of America, this afternoon,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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