Transportation to Saint Leon

Translated from Odile Martel's book  Pionniers de la Montagne Pembina

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Manitoba becomes a province

In 1870, Manitoba's entry into the Canadian confederation was the entry. From 1871 to 1876, a multitude of government surveyors marked Pembina Mountain in townships, in sections of one square mile and in quarter sections.

At that time, Manitoba's population was made up of two linguistic groups in roughly equal numbers, English and French.

 

The Influence of Monsignor Taché 

Following the Manitoba Act of 1870, a large wave of immigrants from Ontario threatened the Pembina Mountain area with being invaded by English and Protestant immigrants.

To restore linguistic and religious balance in Manitoba, Bishop Taché of Saint-Boniface made numerous appeals to Quebec settlers through Quebec parish priests. In 1874 he organized a colonization society for French Canadians and sent Father Albert Lacombe, OMI, to Quebec and the United States in search of French-speaking settlers. Thousands of Quebecers had emigrated to the United States, mainly to Massachusetts, to work in the textile industry, but because of a recession

economic growth, they were currently unemployed. For example, lawyer Charles Lalime of Worchester, Massachusetts, was appointed Immigration Officer by the federal government, which seemed to support Bishop Taché's decision that Pembina Mountain should be a French region.

It was between 1877 and 1878 that white settlers began to arrive in small groups in this area. People came from Ontario and Quebec in search of rich farmland, others came from the other side of the sea, to fulfill their dreams of freedom and independence in this "territory of promises."

Conditions conducive to colonization

Thanks to these apostles of colonization, hundreds of Catholic and French families from Quebec and New England settled in Manitoba and established prosperous parishes.

Our pioneers from eastern Canada crossed the U.S. trail across the border into the village of Emerson, passing the only available track, the Boundary Commission Trail, which linked to the "Brandon House 'Trail" heading northwest. These trails were old trails established by Hudson's Bay fur traders and

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the Royal North West Gendarmerie and often referred to as "paths" by those who have painfully crossed the vast meadow, bushes, ponds, and along rivers, for no bridge existed at that time. On steep, slippery banks, the cars sometimes overturned, sending all their possessions to float in the river. Even more tragic was the loss of an animal or a beloved being.

The people who walked were strong adventurous singles, loyal brave men, teenagers, mothers and their grandchildren. Few women had the impudence of wearing men's pants to make this trip. Instead, the women rolled up their skirts and walked behind the cars pulled by big oxen. Rain, mud, mosquitoes, black flies were constant companions during this long journey for which it often took more than three days to cross twelve miles.

Railways

The great western prairies were connected to eastern Canada by railways whose

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construction had begun in 1870. The two places that served as starting points for settlers on their way to Pembina Mountain were St. Boniface and Emerson, where the first rails were laid in 1878, and 1880. There was also a steamer who travelled from the United States to Emerson in 1878 according to Joseph Charbonneau who wrote to Charles Lalime in Worchester, Massachusetts, on February 27, 1878:

"The most beautiful and shortest way to get to the Mountain is to get off the steamer at Emerson and take the path that follows the border (..)".

It was not until 1890 that the railway went to Manitou, a distance of ten miles from Saint-Leon.

To get from these two places to Saint-Leon, the settlers had to follow some pitiful trails drawn first by the Indians or surveyors, but their many turns made them very difficult for the traveller because the oxen were the only beasts harnessed at that time. The settler who made this long walk also had to wear many things essential to his survival: food, clothes, a pickaxe, an axe, some utensils and many other things.

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The Costs of Travel and Some Concessions

The settler who wanted to emigrate from Quebec or the United States to Saint-Léon had to have some money or borrow some money. For example, the trip from Quebec City to St. Boniface cost about $25 with the right to carry 150 pounds of baggage, and a concession (a quarter section) cost $10 around 1880. The settler also had to buy food, a stove, some tools, and some utensils.