Fort Ellice 16 July 1879 Marcus Smith letter to his wife
Fort Ellice 16 July 1879 Marcus Smith letter to his wife
Fort Ellice 16 July 1879 Marcus Smith letter to his wife

Fort Ellice 16 July 1879 Marcus Smith letter to his wife
Lot 31 in our auction Saturday 31st July 2021
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Fort Ellice July 16th 1879

My dear Wife

                I have just arrived here by steamboat from Winnipeg up the Assiniboine river about 750 miles but it is only 240 miles by land the roads however are impassable owing to the late heavy rains so I put everything on board the steamboat 26 men 30 horses 8 beef cattle 20 carts and tons of supplies we were just 6 days in coming up are now in camp and I hurry to write this to send back by the boat this is the first season a boat has ever come up this far which can only be done in very high water- the weather appears to be settling into fair with moderate heat the mosquitos are ravenous- I shall work a few days with the party then go on exploring up the Q(u)’Appelle River and westward as far as the South Saskatchewan and to Fort Carleton for some supplies- I expect to arrive there about the middle of August and receive letters by the mail leaving Winnipeg on the 29th instant- It leaves every three weeks- Returning I shall meet the party again early in Sept. and give them directions to complete the season’s work- I am very well but tired as I have been up since 3 o’clock this morning taking notes of the country from the upper deck of the steamboat- I suppose Arthur is now home and enjoying himself and I hope you will all spend a pleasant summer. I have met here a Mr. Hawk (the son of an English Nobleman) and his wife who came out to hunt Buffalo- but there are no Buffalo in the country and the Indians are starving. They are coming in numbers to this post begging for something to keep them and their children from starving I suppose Sitting Bull, and his people (some 7000) are killing the Buffalo as they come across the boundary line I fear there will be much trouble- I want you to send to Mr.Brophy two or three of my maps from the roll in the closet off the sitting room- Select those that have a firm black line showing the railway from Lake Superior to the Rocky Mountains a few of the maps have a dotted line this – – – – –  which are proofs and I want to keep, give them to his brother and he will mail them to Brophy-

Love and kisses to all

Yours ever

M. Smith