This picture is not the product of the artist's imagination, but is based upon solid fact. The long line of "prairie schooners" with their snowy tops drawn by fine horses, and filled with people and their possessions, were photographed at Crawford, Nebraska. The party was en route overland to Lacombe, Alberta, the distance being about 800 miles .... They were coming to "the land that produced the finest of the wheat" -- where cyclones are unknown, where the crops show large and profitable yields, and where civil rights and religious liberty are maintained and enjoyed.

- Canada: The Granary of the World, 1903.

The Canadian "conductor" of the multicultural chorus is an interesting figure. His Stetson hat and brown clothing look very like the "fatigues" worn by the Royal Northwest Mounted Police -- apart from the red scarf around his waist. This Canadian character probably signified the rule of law on the Canadian frontier.