To give an idea of Quebec province, I will briefly outline a journey made in 1905 by Mr. A. P. Low (now Deputy Minister of Mines) into the Chibougamau district. It is by no means remote, being not much more than a hundred miles from a railway. How Mr. Low came to be sent there was because certain prominent citizens of Quebec, having received interesting tidings from the Chibougamau district, suggested to Sir Wilfrid Laurier that a member of the Geological Survey ought to go and have a look at it. The interesting tidings are worth recalling, since they illustrate the sort of treatment pioneers receive at the hands of Fate. It appears that Mr. Peter McKenzie made a “prospecting and trading journey” through the region in 1903, and while this enterprising gentleman was looking for iron ores “he chanced upon an important discovery of asbestos” (I quote from a Government record, save that I decline to spell the infusible fibrous mineral with a “u”). Thus encouraged, Mr. McKenzie re-visited the district in the following year, and this time he searched for copper deposits, and found “a large mass of gold-bearing quartz.” Had he gone yet a third time, and tried to locate a tin mine, he would, I presume, have stumbled upon a reef of diamonds; but that is mere conjecture. Now for Mr. Low’s experiences. Leaving Ottawa on June 21st, he went by rail to Lake St. John, and there secured the services of eight Indians, four (who knew the Chibougamau district as well as I know Charing Cross) being engaged to act as canoemen, the other four being required merely to assist with the baggage on the outward journey. And here let me point out what a useful rôle, in connection with the development of Canada, is served by the red man, now that he has been tamed and completely cured of his old abominable practice of removing people’s scalps. To the prospector and the surveyor the Indians are invaluable pilots and porters, their navigation of swift currents being marked by a skill to which the average white man is a stranger. Sustained toil is not to their liking, since it is inconsistent with that large measure of leisure and meditation which they associate with human existence; but, for the rest, Canada’s pioneers and explorers give them a good name. One distinguished surveyor, who has had much experience in the wilds, told me he could recall only a single instance of dishonesty on the part of an Indian who had served him; nor, when he detailed the affair, could I shut my eyes to an element of justification in the delinquent’s conduct. [Illustration: ASBESTOS QUARRY AT THETFORD, QUEBEC PROVINCE] [Illustration: FARMLAND SCENERY, ASCOT, QUEBEC PROVINCE]