Introduction
At the start of the nineteenth century, railways brought a handful of struggling colonies together to form a great nation, and Sandford Fleming (1827-1915), then just a young Scottish surveyor from Kirkcaldy, played as important a part in that as any other man.
IN 1845, eighteen-year-old Sandford Fleming left home in Kirkcaldy for colonial Canada. He qualified as a surveyor, and kept busy with engineering work on the railways and with graphic design: his threepenny postage stamp was Canada’s very first, and it made the industrious beaver one of Canada’s enduring symbols.
By 1855, Fleming was Chief Engineer on the Northern Railway and the mastermind behind the Intercolonial railway, which linked the maritime states in the east to the mainland. His engineering standards were of the highest class, but even more importantly his railway persuaded New Brunswick to join with Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec to form the historic Canadian Confederation of 1867.
It was nothing less than the beginnings of Canadian self-government, and in 1871 the expectation of a transcontinental railway to conquer the trackless passes of the Rocky Mountains, conceived and engineered by Sandford Fleming, brought Northwest Territories and British Columbia into the Confederation.
In 1880, with six hundred miles of track down, Fleming was fired.
Fleming’s threepenny beaver of 1851 is considered Canada’s first official stamp, and the first official postage stamp anywhere to feature an animal. The Queen’s VR monogram nonetheless appeared with the beaver. See Canadian Museum of History: The Canadian Stamp Collection, which includes some short videos.
Précis
Young Scottish surveyor Sandford Fleming emigrated from Kirkcaldy to Ontario in 1845. He worked on Canada’s first postage stamps and became a railway engineer. He rose quickly in his profession, and in 1867 his proposed transcontinental railway persuaded the separate colonies of the British-controlled province to form the historic Canadian Confederation. (51 / 60 words)
Young Scottish surveyor Sandford Fleming emigrated from Kirkcaldy to Ontario in 1845. He worked on Canada’s first postage stamps and became a railway engineer. He rose quickly in his profession, and in 1867 his proposed transcontinental railway persuaded the separate colonies of the British-controlled province to form the historic Canadian Confederation.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 45 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: if, may, not, or, otherwise, whereas, whether, who.
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
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Jigsaws Based on this passage
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