The lakes and gaily coloured hills that elsewhere I
should admire, make our railroad so dangerous that we have
To creep
along, sometimes over long spidery wooden bridges, and again on most
shaky and uncertain looking embankments, and round sharp corners; every
now and then we stop for no apparent reason, and then all rush to the
platform of our car to see what is the matter. Once a party of the
railway officials got out and ran back; we thought some of our luggage
had fallen out, but it seems one of the bridges over which we had just
passed was rather shaky, and they went to investigate. If we had gone on
last night we meant to be detached at Rat Portage, or Lake of the Woods,
but now we go on to Winnipeg if, please God, we can get there.
_Wednesday 17th_. - Soon after writing yesterday, our steward came
in with a solemn face and said: "I have unpleasant news to communicate;
a wire has just come to forbid the train crossing the tressel bridge in
front of us, so every one must walk, and the luggage be carried over."
The railroad is only lately completed, and they have had no experience
hitherto of the effect of heavy rains. Some of the bridges are only
temporary ones, but no doubt it will be a good and safe line soon. When
one considers the country it passes through, and the difficulties of all
sorts that they have had to encounter, I think the Canadian Pacific
Railway Company and engineers, &c., deserve great credit. "There is a
train to meet us on the other aide of the bridge to take us on to
Winnipeg;" upon which there was a general outcry. "Part with our
comfortable car and provisions Forbid the thought!" "How long will it
take to repair the bridge?" "I don't know at all; it may be days or a
fortnight." After confabulating with the conductor of the train, we
settled to remain this side of the bridge, and be shunted off till it
was repaired, and tacked on to a train again for Winnipeg. We went as
far as the bridge, and a curious scene was before us; the passengers for
Rocky Mountains on the other side had been waiting there for hours, our
train being delayed by the accident, and they proved to be some of our
long lost friends of the British Association; we greeted each other with
effusion; they rushed on our car, and spoke _all at once_ about the
glories of the Rockies and the dangers they had escaped, and the
_fun_ they had, &c. Some conducted me to the bridge to see what had
happened there; considering that there was a great gap in the bridge,
and the tressels were lying about anyhow, and a great iron crane hung
suspended over the hole by one hook, and the engine lay on its side
below, the wire message telling us it would not be safe to go over was
rather ironical!
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