THE OMAHA ILLUSTRATED BEE.
February 11, 1900.
Training Little Boys
ril'M iii-loln wnu un on the derstanri nir of what tt means to train a, I ' 1 - - 1r 1. i'Vit; ""r . . . 1
w
finished production; when the
stage la aglow with the lights and
the aymmetry of color and mo
tion and that' charm that ema
nates from the presence of little children;,
when the parents' heart .thrills with pride
aa they see ' their little ones go through
their parts with that half-shy assurance
that charms the rest Into a realization of
the beautiful Innocence of the child, there .
la one phase-of the juvenile operetta, that
Is entirely lost sight of by the anrapt audi
ence on the other side of the . footlights
lost sight of,' that Is, If It has ever bocn
real I led, and that Is, the "how"' of the
thing.
It Is peculiarly fitting that little children
ahould be employed In the production of
those beaut'ful make-believes that delight
them ao In story and aong, and as the di
rector stands, baton in hand, directing the
songs and dances that move off like clock
work with each acene on' the eventful day
of the production, one la quite pardonable
for the delusion that It Is a pleasure to
deal with all the dear little sprites and
fairies, fireflies, frogs and all the rest of
the familiar oharaoters of the nursery
rhymes. There are few If any In the audi
ence who know the tumult ef fear and ap
prehension hidden behind the director's en
couraging smile, or that the hand that
wield the baton Is only kept from shaking
by the seme strong nerve that has bus.
talned her during the past weeks of re
hearsals. In fact. It la only when one un
dertakes the staging of one of these affairs
or assist In that scantily appreciated task
that he cornea to anything approaching un-
Alberta a
(Copyright. 1906, by Frank Q. Carpenter.)
jjanjiN iun, r e. . ispeciai .orre
If ' I spondence of The Bee.) I write
1 this at Edmonton, the blo-crest
city of central Alberta and the
depot for the vast territories
which stretch from here to the Arotlo
ocean. Edmonton Is the northernmost
point of continuous railroad connection on
tbla continent. It lies S50 miles above our
state of Montana and there Is a line of
railroads from It to the edge of Central
America. Aa It Is now, one can go In a
sleeping car from the Isthmus of Tehuan
tepec clear across Mexico and the United
States and this far into Canada. When the
railroads now planned are completed there
will be an extension northward to Al.--.ka,
and, If the road ahould be built across
Bering strait, we may some day be able
to go from Calais, on the English channel,
by way of Paris, Moscow and the trans
Siberian road over to North America, and
on down through here to the Isthmus of
Panama and thence by the intercontinental
line to the strait of Magellan, or almost
to Cape Horn by rail.
Edmonton has already two railroads. It
Is reached by the Canadian Pacific and the
Canadian Northern. By this time next year
the Grand Trunk Pacific will have been
built through It, and eventually there will
be extensions northwesterly to the Klon
dike and Cape Nome.
A Metropolis of the North.
For years this has been one of the great
trading points of the north lands. There
are wagon and. water routes from here to
the Arctic ocean, which In a straight line
la aa far above Edmonton as from Phila
delphia to Salt Lake City. By the lines
of travel and freight the distance is al
most aa great aa from New Tork to San
Francisco.
The supplies come to- Edmonton by rail
and are then- taken by wagons to Atha
basca landing on the Athabasca river. They
are floated down the river to Lake Atha
basca and thence Into the Great Slave lake
and on Into the Mackenzie, which carries
them past the various trading posts to the
Arctic ocean. Large cargoes of goods pass
over that route every year and hundreds
of thousand dollars' worth of furs are
brought back over It to Edmonton, to be
hipped from hero to New York or London.
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Where the Illusion Is Dispelled.
Strip the stage of oil Us settings and turn
off the electric lights; hush the music and
substitute for the elves and fairies and
fireflies and all the rest, a half hundred or
more llttlo girls and boys In heterogenous
school clothes and effervescing with the
spirits that have been curbed all day In the
school room; pluce before them a wildly
gesticulating young woman endeavoring to
bring order cut of a chaos that rings and
echoes through the semi-dark emptiness be
yond a floor line of gaudy red and green
and white glass bulbs that must not be
stepped on or stepped over, and you have
your first glimpse of the real; of the "how"
a Juvenile operetta Is staged.
It Is as disappointing and as shocking as
was that first revelation of the facts con
cerning the nursery rhymes and fairy tales
and to make It even more tragic It is
fraught with consequences. In brief, tht
person who pays 60 cents or $1 for a ticket
to a juvenile performance is not over
charged even If. he falls ' to get value re
ceived In pleasure, and the person who
trains and directs the affair earns a life
mortgage upon the gratitude of the organ
ization that derives the benefits of the per
formance. Trouble at the Start.
The first step is the culling of desirable
material. It is llttlo trouble to get children
for such things. They are willing enough
IIAYMAKER3 IN UTTLE BOT BLUE." rl"!1""1 1 1111 f $ Tt V t.. ' . , V.'!lT" "
lot of children for a theatrical perform- I Wl5 - 1 'li -'LJ J ! 'XX. I '
New Canadian Province Just
This trade made Edmonton a town before
the railroads came, and, with the new
lines here and building, we promise to have
one of the biggest cities of the northwest.
The place la rapidly growing. It has now
something like 10,000 people and Its citizens
claim that it will equal Winnipeg some day.
Edmonton lies on the north bank of the
Saskatchewan river, a stream almost as
big aa the Mississippi and more than 1,000
miles in length. The river here flows
through a valley about a mile wide, the
stream Itself being about 1,000 feet wide.
There are high bluffs on each side of the
Saskatchewan, and Edmonton is built on
one of the bluffs.
The town winds Its way with the river,
and Main street, which Is laid out along
old Indian trail. Is as crooked as a dog's
hind leg. The town is like most of those
of the west. It has buildings-of all shapes,
materials and heights. The older ones are
of one story, but the newer are of brick
and stone and many are four stories high.
The prices of business property are out of
alght. A fifty-foot lot on Main atreet Bold
last week for 120,000 and a common demand
for land in the business section is $400 or
$000 per foot front.
Much Like St. I.onls.
Edmonton, as far as Its location Is con
cerned. Is much like St. Louis. It Is on a
good-sized river surrounded by a farming
region almost as rich as the Mississippi
valley, with a vast country beyond It
which will some time be thickly populated.
The Peace, river district, which extends
northward and westward for hundreds of
miles. Is composed of good farming lands
and It has not yet been opened to settle
ment. All supplies for that district will
pass through Edmonton and the town will
be the key to the future trade of the north.
At present It Is at the northwestern end
of the wheat belt and towna are springing
up In every direction, for (hundreds of
miles to the east and south of it.
I came here from Calgary over the Cana
dian Pacific- railroad. There are towns
everywhere building between the two
points. They look like the frontier settle
ments of Minnesota and North Dakota.
Their houses are wooden and their streets
unpaved. although a few of the older
places have sidewalks of boards. Every
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HOMESTEAD OF A GALLICIAN SETTLER IN ALBERTA
and Little Girls to Produce
: cm
CHORUS OF
and as a rule the parents are too until
the sorting process begins and It Is then '
that the first real trial presents Itself. Of
course everybody's little boy or girl cannot
have the leading part, but, oddly enough. It
Is only a minority of 'parents who recognlxo
this very obvious' fact and In consequence
the most desirable material la frequently
greatly reduced at the very start.'
But even after the restless little people
have been parceled off with reference to
town has a coat of new paint and Its store
windows are packed with new godds. Great
quantities of farming machinery are kept
In sheds or out In the open awaiting pur
chasers. I notice that the cattle are feed
ing out of doore. The grass Is gray. It is
cured on the stalk, and' the ' animals are
fat. although there ,1a aome snow on the
pound.
Western Canada Climate.
I am aurprlsed at the climate of this
part of Canada. It is as mild ' as that of
our central states for the greater part of
the winter. The coldest part of Canada Is
farther eastward. About Winnipeg the
thermometer frequently falls to 40 degrees
below zero, and the coon-skin coat Is In
evidence from November till May. Here
the weather Is tempered by the warm
winds which blow over the Rockies. It Is
heated by the Japanese current to such an
extent that it keeps British Columbia and
Washington green the year round and
takes the edge off the cold of Edmonton
and Calgary. Edmonton Is in latitude 54.
It Is several hundred miles south of St.
Petersburg and In what the Europeans
think the heart of the temperate zone.
Indeed the bulk of progressive Europe
lies north of the forty-ninth parallel, which
forms our northern boundary. All the Brit
ish Isles, Holland, Belgium, Scandlnacla, a
large part of France, two-thirds of Ger
many, and about three-fourths of European
Russia are north of that parallel. 8t. Peters
burg, for Instance, Is hundreds of miles
north of Winnipeg, which is tn the latitude
of Paris. Berlin is also far higher up on
the globe. Western Europe Is kept warm
by the gulf stream. Similar Influences
warm Edmonton, but they come from the
Japanese current, and are moderated con
siderably by the wide stretch of mountains
which they must cross before they reach
here.
Farming; In Alberta.
This whole state of Alberta Is compara
tively temperate. The climate of Calgary U
much like that of Denver, and all along
the foothills of the Rockies the weather Is
mild. The state is adapted to mixed farm
ing. It produces enormous crops of oats,
barley and timothy and both winter and
spring wheat. Within forty miles from here
they are growing oats aa tall as a man,
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choruses, scenes and aatural fitness the '
trouble Is not over. If by chance aome
youngster overhears aome well Intended
suggestion thnt he might be aulted to a
certain part like as not he sets his heart
on thut part or on that chorus and the
director 1b fortunate If the result Is nothing
more serious than an nnpry letter from
an Irate mother who has hurried to make
tip a costume for Elizabeth or Johnny,
only to learn thnt It cannot b used In
the 4iart to which her child has been ai-,
signed. It Is amazing; the estimate that
It frequently develops some of the small
Innocents have conm to plnce upon their '
own accomplishments. In this day of
, dancing; schools the majority of children
appreciate their ability to the utmost and
Insist upon Its being recognized by others
as well.' And not Infrequently the mischief
Of older heads is recognized when aome
FROGS AND SPRITES IN "LITTLE BOT
youngster's ambition has fceen disappointed.
An amusing but serious Instance of this
aort occurred during the rehearsals for
"Little Boy Blue," presented under the
direction of Miss Blanche Sorenson at the
Lyric theater ' Saturday evening. One
youngster conceived the notion that he
should have a certain part. He was one
of several others asked to try the part,
and when it developed that his voice was
not strong enough and another must take
with timothy quite aa high. I had myself
photographed today between sheaves of
oats and timothy with a little bundle of
winter wheat leaning against my Chest. The
wheat almost tickled my chin and the oats
and timothy were as high as my head. The
people claim that the oats produced here
will run from seventy-five to 100 bushels per
acre and about forty pounds to the bushel.
Winter wheat is said to produce forty
bushels per acre, and the yields of barley
are large. The farmers are now raising
barley for hogs. They claim that barley
fed hogs are better than corn-fed hogs, and
say that they will be soon supplying Can
ada with pork. At present much of the
hog products come from the United States,
there being a tariff of 2 cents a pound
against our pork. These. western Canadians
do not understand pork packing, and most
of the Edmonton stores are now supplied
by our Beef trust.
A New Canadian State.
Alberta is a brand new state. It was a
part of the northwest territory until last
September, but it now has a governor of its
own and has members in the Canadian Par
liament. The province has an area of 253,000
square miles. It begins with Montana and
runs iiorth through eleven degrees of lati
tude. Its western boundary is along the
line of the Rocky mountains, and on the
east It Is bounded by Saskatchewan. The
province Is about 400 miles wide at tha cen
ter and it Is GOO miles long.
The southern part of Alberta is devoted
to ranching. The country there Is dry,
grows rich grasses, horses and cattle.
Many of the stock farms ,are owned by
Americans, who have winter residences at
Medicine Hat and Calgary. The, central
part of the province' Is given up to mixed
farming. It is largely settled along the
lines of the railroads, and the whole of this
part has been opened to homesteadlng. The
northern part is said to be good, but so far
the only settlements are along the Peace
river, and these are few and far between.
They chiefly consist of Hudson's Bay posts
and Indian settlements, at some of which
are mission stations, the missionaries rais
ing wheat.
Talk with Lieut. Gov. Bulyea.
I met at Edmonton Mr. G. II . V. Bulyea,
the lieutenant governor of this province,
and had a talk with him about his princi
pality and Its new citizens. Said he:
"Alberta promises to be one of the most
populous parts of the new Canada. We
have already about IW.Ono people, and we
can support several millions. We are hav
ing a larse Immigration from the United
States, and fully one-third of our citizens
are Americans, the remainder being equally
divided between the Canadluns and the
Europeans."
"What are the-Amerlcans doing?" I naked.
"They are mostly farmer, engaged In
raising wheat and other greJn, Not a few
are cattlemen, who have come across the
boundary, and are now running large herds
about Calgary and Medicine Hat. We have
ulso a colony cf Mormons, who have irri
gated Innds about Iethbrldge, where they
are doing mixed farming and susar-beet
raising."
"What kind of settlers are the Ameri
cans?" "They are the very best. The most of
them bring money with them, and they buy
lands, In addition to the homesteads, which
they get for nothing. They understand how
to farm, and are able to go to work at once
In the right way. The most of our Cana
dian and European Immigration coir.es In
ith empty pockets, or with little more
than enough to support themselves while -.opening
up their farms. They are chiefly
homesteaders. Many of the Americans take
advantage of tae homestead act, but nearly
every one buys some land adjoining htm."
Sons Queer European Immigrants. .
"Tell me something about , your European
immigration, governor.. I understand you
are. getting the off-scourlngs of the south
eastern part of that continent." "
-I do not believe that," was the reply.
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BLUE."
the place he stirred up a strike among the
youngsters, and it was not until he failed
to appear for dress rehearsal that an excuse
sufficiently strong could be secured to dis
lodge him.
Nerve Racking Business.
And when the preliminaries have been
gone through and the churouses all se
lected the first essential is the most difficult
task even for a person gifted with the
East of the Rocky
"The most of our immigrants come from
the British isles and from Germany, Scan
dinavia and Iceland. We have also Gall
clans. They come from Austria-Hungary,
and might be called Austrian Poles. These
men are thrifty, and, although they are ig
norant, they will in time make good citi
zens. They are not satisfied until their
farms are broken and well stocked. The
average Canadian pioneer sees first after
his physical comforts. He puts up a good
houso and then tries to pay for It. The
Gnllclan Is satisfied with a few logs daubed
with mud. He uses this until he has paid
for his farm. His whole family aids him,
the women and children working In the
fields, as well as the men. Every dollar Is
saved, and It Is Is only when the family has
gotten ahead that It builds a good home."
"But do the Gallclans make good citi
zens?" "Yes, they want to get as far away from
Europe as possible. They take out natur
alization parers, they send their children to
the Canadian schools.and make them learn
English. Many of the Gallclans buy lands
as soon as they get a little ahead, although
they often have to borrow money to pay
for the seed for their first crop. They are
good citizens."
Northern Alberta.
"Do you expect much from the northern
part of your province?"
"Yes. There is no doubt but that we can
raUe wheat In every part of It and wo have
the advantage of being able to do mixed
farming. This ought to be a great dairy
country, but the trouble Is that our men
will not milk. Farm hands look upon that
aa a woman's business, and they cannot be
hired to handle cows. . We grow oats and
flax here about Edmonton. They are rais
ing wheat along the Peace river, and there
Is reason to believe that' it can be raised
beyond our state. I met a man the other
day who had Just come from the southern
shores of the Great Slave lake. That ! as
far above the United States, I should say,
as St. Paul Is above New Orleans. He tells
me that the soil Is good ther and that
spring wheat can be matured. You see the
land drops from here down to the Arctic
ocean. " The lower the altitude the warmer
the climate, provided It Is noi too far north.
I have no doubt one might rulse wheat for
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a Juvenile Opera
EOMEJ OF THE FAIRIE3 IN
ability to direct children, get their atten
tion and hold It. Even to these few gifted
ones it is nerve racking business and It Is
accomplished at the expense of Intense
nervous strain and fatigue. There is no
authority suoh as prevails In the school
room, and to complicate matters the wings
and the scenery afford Ideal opportunities
for hide and go seek opportunities that
nre invariably Improved to the utmost
unless a director can dominate by sheer
force of will. The arrangement of tableaux
Is a most difficult feat and Is particularly
. In the early stages often excruciatingly
funny. No better or convincing proof could
be asked of the fallacy of the traditional
grace of childhood than a group of from
six to a dozen children rehearsing a
tableaux. While one Is gotten Into position
another gets out, and at last, when all
have been Induced to keep their places, it
Is only a few moments until a graceful
poise has been Intensified to the rigidity
of an Iron poker and the heavenward gaze
perverted to a stony stare or a grin as,
with distended necks they endeavor to get
the effect of the group without getting out
. of position. Another moment and one
loses his equilibrium and sprawls to the
floor with a crash that undoes the labor
of half an hour or more.
When the Boy Gets Busy.
The rehearsal of the fireflies chorus In
"Boy Blue" only a few days before the
performance was equally discouraging and
entertaining. The darting movement was
a most impossible lunge and the heels came
down on the floor with a certainty that
suggested a cavalry charge. To make It
hundreds of miles north of Edmonton."
"What do you think of Edmonton, gov
ernor?" "It will be the largest city of the north
west. It will be the key to this whole re
gion and the supply point for the Mac
kenzie river. When the Hudson's bay route
to Europe il completed a great part of the
goods from Asia will pass through .here and
we wilt have a short haul for our products
to that point. I doubt not we shall some
day have railroads from here to Hudson's
bay."
Political Canada.
"What do you think of the future of this
country politically?" I asked.
"It Is great " was the reply. "We have In
northwestern Canada as much arable land
as Is in the whole United States. The
country will undoubtedly support millions,
and It is bound to bo the most Important
part of the domlhlon."
"Do you think It will ever have more
power politically than eastern Canada?"
"I do. Under our old form of government
this region sent only four members to Par
liament. Alberta will now have eight mem
bers and Saskatchewan about the same.
Our representation Is fixed, as you know,
by the status of Quebec. The constitution
provides that Quebec shall have sixty-five
members and no more, and that the ratio of
all the other provinces shall be the same aa
that of Quebec. At every census the popu
lation of Quebec is divided by sixty-five and
the quotient forms the ratio of representa
tion for the other provinces. This ratio Is
now about 25, OCX). As our country grows Its
representation must increase, and when we
have 10,000,000 people, as we may have, we
will be the ruling part of Canada."
Eastern vs. Western Canada.
"But will the two countries not split
apart? Eastern Canada Is largely manu
facturing; western Canada will always be
more or less agricultural."
"I think not," jsald Governor Bulyea. "I
look for a harmonious future."
'"ihe eastern Canadians are for a high
tariff against the United Slates," said I.
"What do you people want?"
"Many of us believe In reciprocity," re
plied the lieutenant governor. "We should
like closer trade relations with you, and we
will, I believe, eventually have reciprocal
treaties. We expect some day to be filling
ALBERTA CATTLE IN PRAIRIE GRASS.
"LITTLE BOT BLUE."
mord realistic, one Ingenious youngster
located the switchboard and flushed the
electric lights on and off to the delight
of another chorus waiting In the wings
until the absorbed director located the
cause of the disturbance and put an end.
to It. loprived of this pastime, the boy
gathered the members of the frog chorus
In one of the boxes and thore set up a
rehearsal that sounded loud even above
the fireflies.
Reward Comes, at I.nat.
, But the day of the dress rehearsal came
at Inst and then the little people all caught
the spirit. The figures and scenes that hml
seemed to mean little before found a new
Interest, and but for the distracting re
sponsibility of keeping the costumes from
destruction before they could be gotten
off. the rehearsal was a delight and the
little amateurs Irreslstable to a degree of
winning forgiveness for all past offences.
And at last, out of nil anxiety and work
and apprehension, comes a success that Is
no less gratifying than astonishing to the
director. The marches for which she had
held her breath lest the leader start the
wrong way, as usual, move off with an
accuracy that nerves her for the next
figure. The carelessness and heedlessness
that were distracting only the day before
give place to an alertness that needs only
a motion or a look to direct, and as the
children forget themselves in the choruses,
to a grace that is truly charming to
those beyond the footlights and marvelous
to the director. "Yes," said Miss Sorenson
last week, "I know that they will come
out all right, but the suspense Is awful."
Aountains
your bread basket. Your wheat fields have
already reached their limit, and your pop
ulation Is so growing that you will have to
buy wheat of us. When that time comes
we will break the tariff wall, for the west
will want to send Its grain where It can get
the most for it. I know that eastern Can
ada Is anxious for high protection. There
Is a different feeling here and this will In
crease as the country grows."
"Will Canada ever be annexed to the
United States 7"
"No. Such a thing might have come to
pass fifteen years ago, when we wanted
your country to Join us in treaties of reci
procity. Ypu refused and we have learned
that we can stand alone. We have discov
ered that we have a mighty estate In our
undeveloped resources, and we do not In
tend to divide It with any people. We are
glad to welcome Americans and to make
thorn Canadian citizens. We are glad of
your dollars and glad to have you work
and trade with us, but as to our country
being .annexed to yours, that possibility
has forever passed away."
. FRANK O. CARPENTER. .
Wedded at Eighty-Eight
"Better late than never," exclaimed Dea
con Stephen L. G. French of Nashua, N.
H., when he announced his marriage en
gagement to Mrs. Julia Kimbull. "The one
great mistake of my life is that I was
never spliced," added the deasun.
He Is 88 years old and his prospective
bride is 75. He Is an Inmate of the Hunt
Homo for Aged Couples, but which also
accepts single men.
Mrs. Kimball is an Inmate of the Home
for Aged Women. The trustees of both
Institutions are said to favor the match,
and after the marriage, which will take
place at the Old Ladles' home, has been
performed, the couple will reside at the
other Institution.
Deacon French was the market gardener
for many years and a pillar of the Congre
gational church, but hue of late been ac
companying Mrs. Kimball to the Methodist
church. He previously asked Miss Sladock,
a 83-year-old inmate of the home for
women, to espouse him, but she declined.
It is now said she has declared Mrs. Kim
ball to be a giddy widow and that the home
will be better off without her.
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