Elbows of the Little Sask. 9 Sp 1879 Marcus Smith letter to his wife
Lot 25 in our auction Saturday 24th July 2021
#marcussmith #bcsurveyor #canadianrailways #bchistory
Elbow of the Little Saskatchewan
Near Riding mountain House
Sept. 9th, 1879
My dear Nannie
I arrived at Shoal Lake P.O. yesterday and got your letter of July 26th but no newspaper I am glad to hear that you are all well and that the girls are enjoying themselves at Cacouna but you did not state who they were with- We have travelled 900 miles since leaving Ellice with a buckboard 3 carts and 9 horses traversing the country in every direction- more than half the time without any trail but my examination of the country has been very successful and will fix the location of the line at least 400 miles- it ought to do it for 800 miles if the Govt. have common sense- The whole of Fleming’s line will have to be abandoned- it is a most shameful piece of work after all the money that has been spent upon it- but what can one expect from such men as Rowan and other working under such directions as Fleming could give-
I am in good health but getting weary of constant going- and am a little bilious of late from too good living- Prairie chickens and ducks with green peas (canned) and potatoes everyday- the latter we get from time to time at the Hudson’s Bay Co. post or when we came upon a settlement-
I am camped on the banks of the little Saskatchewan which seems to have been a camp station of the Mounted Police force for the ground has been mown- a piece fenced in and there are two very high swings &.c. The view up the River is beautiful and for the first time I am compelled to rest for 2 or 3 days waiting to hear from the survey party who are I believe about 30 miles east of this- I have sent a surveyor to them- and fill up the time by writing letters- the mail for Winnipeg being due at Shoal Lake (15 miles off) in five days but I am glad of the rest. The weather is very fine but windy and the mosquitos are gone just two days ago- I have yet to explore about 100 miles up the East side of the Assiniboine nearly to Fort Polly near which I came last week on the west side of the River
This will take me 8 to 10 days as there is a good deal of brush at the close I shall be 300 miles from Winnipeg (I am near 200 miles) but I shall have a good road or trail all the way and expect to reach Winnipeg on the first week in October- The survey party under Mr. Barclay will be 5 weeks later as they have a great deal to do and October in this country is a very fine month for work- I don’t think I shall wait in Winnipeg for them but come on to Ottawa-
Love and kisses to all and I think a little spanking for baby would do her good
Yours ever
Marcus Smith
P.S. I shall look at Dr. Grant’s land as I pass and if he has not sold it may purchase half as he proposed
