The Henson Journals

[51]

Friday, September 13th, 1912. En route for Winnipeg.

We passed the night tolerably. The new arrangement of sleepers is wonderfully convenient, though of course there is little comfort & less cleanliness. Our position in the 'observation' car was more than commonly exposed to the motion of the train: writing was all but impossible, as this page attests. We breakfasted about 8.30 a.m. at a cost (including the tip) of 1.75. The dust thrown up by the train made the observation car practically useless, & the motion was so violent that letter–writing became a physical impossibility. Thus the journey tended to become very tiresome. The country through which we travelled was monotonously varied, stone thinly wooded, or burnt out trees alternating with lakes. It is but a single line furnished at intervals with sidings. The darkie who attended on our car made us a pot of tea, which was not supplied before 6 p.m. on the dining car. It may be inferred that English visitors are not yet the dominant factor in the tourist traffic to British Columbia.

About 6 p.m. the weather had changed for the worse: it began to rain, a circumstance which, if it added to our gloom, at least mitigated the plague of dust. I beguiled the way by reading von Hügel's "The Mystical Element of Religion as studied in St Catherine of Genoa & her friends" – a book of great significance & interest but difficult to read with due understanding in my present circumstances. However I had no other literature in my bag.

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