I have often pictured the prairies to myself, but somehow the picture never comes up to the reality. How strange it is to gaze over a seemingly limitless extent of grass-land as flat as any Scottish haugh-land. The sky was exquisitely bright--white clouds sailing over a delicate blue--but the colours of the prairie surpass my powers of description. The wild flowers fairly took my breath away--there were blues, purples, whites, and yellows, the latter predominating. Standing outside of the car one never tired watching the changing hues--here were broad belts of yellow, there patches of blue and white and purple. Or all the colours were commingled in a dazzling confusion. The rails are laid flat on the prairie and the sweet flowers grow up to the rails. Butterflies in absolute clouds--great big fellows--danced and flitted about, and now and again a flight of birds appeared. But huts or houses were seen only at very wide intervals--sometimes many miles were passed without any sign of human habitation. I enjoyed the ride of 500 miles through the prairies much more than anything else I have yet seen. It was a new experience. What an expressive silence seemed to overhang the vast stretch of grass-land. A heavy storm of rain and sheet lightning suddenly came on and drove us into the car at sunset. When I woke this morning at four o’clock and looked out of the carriage window I saw an exquisite sunrise--a beautiful pink flushed all the east, and the prairie fairly gleamed with golden yellow and blue. [Illustration: [_Photo by Gutebrunst, Philadelphia._ PROF. GEIKIE IN 1888.] The notes on Winnipeg and on the journey thence to Toronto are interesting as showing how little future developments were expected at this date. Of Winnipeg, described as being “in the far west,” Prof. Geikie says:--“Winnipeg is a surprising place for so far distant a region. Here are some 25,000 inhabitants: it is quite a considerable town--with churches, theatres, etc., etc., and a Scientific Society.” Speaking of his journey eastwards he says:--