were said to have come from Cassiar, and had, if I recollect right, fifty- four points which were of perfect symmetry, a circumstance not usual in reindeer or cariboo. Since that time moose-horns have been brought from Alaska far surpassing any which are found in Canada or elsewhere, but the heavy cost of carrying them from the interior has hitherto made these splendid trophies, some of which measure six feet and upwards, very expensive. It is only the extreme cost and difficulty of travelling which has hitherto kept all but a very few of the most adventurous big- game hunters out of Alaska, but, as besides moose and cariboo there are great numbers of wild sheep (Ovis Dalli) in the mountains between Cook’s Inlet and the Yukon, and bears are in many places very numerous, it is probable that this will soon be a new hunting-ground for sportsmen as well as fur-traders, I found the Museum at Victoria, under the care of Mr. Fannin, making good progress, though the number of people in British Columbia who take an interest in natural history was still very small, and the insects of the northern part of it were still quite unknown,
I had no time to go up the coast, and was obliged to return to Calgary to see some sheep-farms near there before returning east. Though the grass on the rolling hills north of Calgary seemed as well or better suited for sheep than at Swift Current, and two large flocks had been established there for some years, it seemed to be the general opinion that they did not pay so well as cattle, and certainly required a good deal more attention and care than cattle do. Few people will eat mutton in this country if they can get beef, and there are very few who really understand the management of sheep. The extreme solitude of a shepherd’s life and the hardships of winter make it very difficult to find trustworthy shepherds who can keep sober, and the errors of a drunken one may be very serious here in winter both to shepherd and sheep-owner. As time goes on, no doubt sheep will be kept in smaller flocks in enclosures, as part of the stock of a mixed farm; but I feel convinced that Alberta will never be the seat of a sheep-breeding industry of any great importance as compared with Australia, New Zealand or Argentina. After coining to this conclusion, and before making a report, I desired to visit Chicago, the most important market for live-stock in America, to see if there was any outlet for Canadian sheep and cattle there. A railway now connected the Canadian Pacific Railway with Chicago, and I made the journey in about forty-eight hours, passing through a great extent of very flat and uninteresting country in the States of North Dakota, Minnesota and Nebraska. The country was being rapidly settled, at any rate along the lines of railroad, but though a great many small towns which serve as local agricultural centres had sprung up, these seemed to me the least attractive part of the United States I have passed through. Though a vast number of people succeed, by dint of hard work and strict economy, in getting a bare living out of it, there is little to attract in the climate or scenery, and the life of the people seems, as far as one can judge from what one sees and hears, very devoid of social and other enjoyment. The great mixture of races which have immigrated to these north-western plains, amongst whom Scandinavians, Finns and Russians are numerous, must
