There is, of course, any quantity of timber for building and fencing, though much has been destroyed by fire, the varieties being those common to the whole country.

To the south, in the Yellowhead, and on the Upper Athabasca and its tributaries, there is considerable prairie also, more easily reached than Peace River; but this is apart from my subject.

I may say, in conclusion, that the Upper Peace River country is a very fine one, drained by a vast and navigable river, compared with which the Saskatchewan must yield the palm, and, beyond doubt, this will be the first region to attract settlement and railway development.
Aside from settlers and a railway, the chief needs of the country are a good waggon-road to Edmonton and mail facilities, which were almost non-existent when we were there, but which have recently been to some extent supplied.

Nearly three months had elapsed since we entered the country, and not a letter or paper had reached us from the outer world at any point.

The imports into the country were increasing very fast, and, through competition and fashion, its principal furs were immensely more valuable than in the past.
As for the natives of the region, we found them a very worthy people, whose progress in the forms of civilized life, and to a certain extent in its elegances, was a constant surprise to us.
As for the country, it was plain that all we met were making a good living in it, not by fur alone, but by successful farming, and that its settlement was but a question of time..