The enclosure took in the pretty ravine
formed by a creek in the neighborhood--the ravine that is now bridged by
one of our public streets. It consisted of two large wings, one for the
boys and one for the girls, joined together by a dining hall used by the
boys. There were also two pretty gardens in which the boys and girls
could disport themselves separately. The large trees that surrounded the
building have long since disappeared. The young girl spoken of as a
pupil seems to have had her youthful mind captivated by the beauty of
the site, and indeed nowhere could the love of nature be better
cultivated than along the bends of the Red River near St. John's, where
groves of majestic trees succeed each other, where the wild flowers
flourish in the sheltered nooks and the fire-flies glance among the
greenery at the close of day and where for sound we have the
whip-poor-will lashing the woods as if impatient of the silence.
Among other schools was one commenced in the early thirties by Mr. John
Pritchard, at one time agent of Lord Selkirk, at a place called "The
Elms," on the east side of Red River, opposite Kildonan Church. Mr.
Pritchard was entrusted with the education of the sons of gentlemen sent
all the way from British Columbia and from Washington and Oregon
territories, besides a number belonging to prominent families of Red
River and the Northwest.
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