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library

KINGSTON, ONTARIO

NIPISSING & JAMES' BAY RAILWAY.

A DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY TRAVERSED BY THIS
RAILWAY BETWEEN

LAKE NIPISSING & JAMES' BAY

GIVING THE RESOURCES OF THE SAME,

AS WELL AS THE DISTRICTS ADJACENT THERETO, TOGETHER
WITH OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION RELATING TO

HUDSON'S BAY AND STRAIT.

" dDmtu solum fortt patria est.

TORONTO :
COPP, CLARK & CO., PRINTERS, 67 & 69 COLBORNE STREET.

1884.

NIPISSING AND JAMES' BAY RAILWAY.

HEAD OFFICE - - - TORONTO.

gtredors.

WILLIAM HENDRIE, W. B. McMURRICH,

WILLIAM THOMSON, JOHN C. BAILEY,

JAMES WATSON, * • PETER A. SCOTT,

J&ttN-MACNAl!. • ALEXANDER KIRKWOOEK

ALEXANDER NAIRN.

'

(gtffctta.

W. B. McMURRICH President.

ALEXANDER NAIRN Vice-President.

JOHN C. BAILEY Chief Engineer.

JULIUS MILES Secretary.

i

>?86

J

NIPISSING AND JAMES BAY RAILWAY.

This Railway which was granted its Charter in April, 1884, by the
Dominion Legislature, is designed to be built between Lake Nipissing and
James Bay (the southern prolongation of Hudson's Bay), and will be in
length about three hundred and fifty miles. It will start from a point on
the Canadian Pacific Railway at or near the intersection or crossing of the
Gravenhurst and Callender Railway (Ontario Pacific Junction R.) now
under construction — not far from Callender Station — thence northerly,
skirting Lakes Temiscaming and Abbittibbe, thence following as closely as
possible the Valley of the Abbittibbe River, until Moose Factory, on James'
Bay is reached. Moose Factory is an old Hudson's Bay Station or trading
place and is situated upon an island six or seven miles above the open bay
or mouth of river, or twenty-five miles from the open sea, the channel on
the east side of the Factory is one mile in width, the average difference
between high and low water marks in the Moose River and its branches is
not more than ten feet.

From Lake Nipissing to within thirty miles of James' Bay there is land
of excellent quality, this is particularly noticeable in the neighbourhood of
Lake Temiscaming, and is well adapted for farming, grazing and dairy pur-
poses, also splendid forests of red and white pine, black birch, jack pine,
maple, ash and other marketable timber, all of which will, when this rail-
way is in operation, prove a mine of wealth, not only to the active and
enterprising lumberman, but to the Province at large ; and the land now
occupied by this primeval forest will be brought under cultivation as the
timber is taken away, and make place for those who with small capital
cannot afford to purchase farms in the more settled districts. Stock raising
will be a special feature and no doubt will be carried on extensively.

Besides the land and timber — are the mineral resources — Professor Bell
says : —

Around James Ray and up the eastern side of Hudson Bay lie great deposits of iron
and coal, so close together that, with the cheap water freights which the region may afford,
the district along James Bay may yet become another Pennsylvania. And after referring
to the soil, climate and forests, says : " Minerals may, however, become in the future
the greatest of the resources of Hudson Bay ; large deposits of rich iron-stone on the
Mattagami River, in 1877, have been found ; inexhaustible supplies of good manganif-
erous iron ore were discovered on the islands near the east main coast of James Bay, and

promising quantities of galena, and also near Whale River, traces of gold, silver and
copper. On the east main coast lignite was found," etc., etc.

Another explorer, referring to the great deposits of iron, coal and other minerals of the
neighbourhood of James Bay, says : " I have no hesitation in pronouncing this district
the richest mineral region in the Dominion, perhaps on the continent." Anthracite and
iron are found along the rivers south of James Bay. Again Mr. Borron, Stipendiary
Magistrate of Lake Nipissing District, who has made a great many trips between Lake
Nipissing and James Bay, reports to the Ontario Government : " There are also in the
neighbourhood of James Bay, north of the Heights of Land, enormous pe it l>eds. per-
haps the largest in the world, and which will average from eight t:> twenty feet in thick-
ness ; and in view of this prodigious quantity, the question of its economic uses and va'ue
will naturally suggest itself. Besides lignite or brown coal, kaolin or china clay and iron."

" Lignite has been found in large quantities, three feet thick, both sides of the Abbi-
tibbe River, north of the Height of Land. We are therefore assured not only of the
existence, in large and workable quantities, of lignite, iron ore, gypsum, etc., etc., but of
inexhaustible beds of peat, and deposits of porcleain or china clay, of superior quali y."
There are other reports made by several surveyors who have been employed in that dis-
trict, and who corroborate all that is said by those quoted above.

All this, with the large business to be anticipated from the fish and oil
products of Hudson's Bay should convince the most obstinate and indiffer-
ent as regards Ontario's future welfare, that this work— in fact a National work
— should no longer be delayed, as it will be par excellence, a Colonization
Road in every sense of the word, and will do more for Ontario than any
railway yet built within the last fifteen years, to the contrary, notwithstand-
ing— the promoters of such a scheme therefore hope and expect the coop-
eration of all those immediately interested in Ontario's trade, together with
the liberal subsidies expected from the Dominion and Local Legislatures —
the very word railway is now synonymous with progress and wealth, and
the want of railway facilities is acknowledged by all, and the only valid
reason why any locality is without such is simply a financial question. In
Norway, Sweden and Russia, where only a few lines exist but with no com-
plete system, the Governments have turned their serious attention to the
business, seeing they were being outstripped by much younger countries,
and appointed Boards of Commissioners who have thoroughly investigated
the railways of the world, to report on the cheapest and best methods of
building the same, so anxious are they to have their several countries
opened up and hilly developed, and strange to say, countries almost similar
in every respect to the one we propose penetrating and for the same
purposes, to bring forward the timber, fish, oil, minerals, etc., etc.

With such varied and bountiful gifts then from nature, and so lavishly
bestowed upon our own country, the projectors of this Knterprise have
undertaken to construct this " Thoroughfare" in the shape of a railway,
which will be the means cf bringing within the reach of all, those, now
hidden treasures, for without this channel of communication, the country

to all intents and purposes is nothing better than a primitive wilderness —
but when brought to light, will contribute in no small degree to the wealth
and prosperity of the Province and no effort should be spared to secure
for Toronto -the chief city of the Province of Ontario her just share of
the trade north of Lake Nipissing, and by the completion of the Ontario
Pacific Junction Railway — now under construction, and with which line
we immediately connect, we shall have direct communication between
Toronto and Hudson's Bay, Toronto being the terminus, as it should be,
for such an important railway.

The distance from Toronto to Gravenhurst via Northern Railway is 115
miles, thence to our starting point near Callander as per surveyed route
no miles, thence to James' Bay 350 miles making the total distance be-
tween Toronto and James' Bay 575 miles.

As already mentioned, the district traversed by the railway contains
everything that tends to create a traffic for the same — in land, timber,
minerals and magnificient water powers and taking only sixty miles on each
side of the line which will be tributary to it, this alone amounts to thirty-
six thousand square miles — but there will be twice this area, the products
of which in the form of traffic must and will find its way to our railway —
the stone flagging with other economic minerals found in the immediate
vicinity of Lake Temescaming will amount to no small item as freights —
these flags range in thickness from six inches up to eighteen inches and
from six by eight to ten by twenty feet area.

It is also well known to all those conversant with the internal eco?wmy of
railway building and railway management, that railways create a traffic and
springs up very often where least expected — not alone in freight but with
passengers as well.

Looking at this territory again as a field for emigration — we might say
that no emigrant or indeed Canadian farmer, but would recoil from the
idea of pushing his fortune in such an apparently outlandish country — in
fact could not be induced to take the land as a free gift unless convinced
in his own mind or actually assured that some means of ingress and egress
would be provided tor him in the shape of a railway no matter how cheaply
built, for notwithstanding how fertile the land may be or how propitious
the seasons or whatever other inducements are brought to bear, the farmer
or settler can make no profits for his labour unless he has a ready and
reliable market, in fact, the disadvantages sustained by a man fifty or sixty
miles back from any railway or market town will suggest itself at once, who,
ill supplied with the actual necessaries for himseif and family, has to labour

in clearing his farm from three to five years before he is fairly independent
of extraneous assistance, contrasts strongly with the man who settles on, or
takes up land in the vicinity of some railway, where he is comparatively
independent and is at all times within easy reach of work.

The railway is the great agent and pioneer of civilization, the locomotive
must precede the plough and the farm the town, the building of this rail-
way will at once tend to settle the whole district north and south and on
each side of the track, and so foster the rapid growth of a new population,
and it will be readily understood that these great lumbering and mining
enterprises which will commence immediately on the completion of the
railway, will be of paramount importance to the settlers or farmers ; the
millions of dollars invested in these add much to the taxable property, but
their chief value lies in the fact that thousands of persons and domestic
animals employed by, and connected with these operations become con-
sumers of the very products and articles the farmers have to sell or dispose
of.

Taking a commercial view of the whole project as here submitted for
the first time in its present shape to the public— and weighing the facts
carefully and calmly — it gives great promise of an important future.

In winter the climate between Lakes Nipissing and Temiscaming is
colder than it is at Toronto, almost similar to the weather in Montreal, but
the cold is accompanied by a drier and brighter atmosphere which causes
a much less disagreeable feeling of cold than a warmer temperature accom-
panied by a dampness and it is well known that, owing to this drier cold
in winter, people suffer much less than they would in Southern Ontario.
During the winter too, in the north, the snow which falls, remains on the
ground and packing under foot makes it very favourable for teaming and
lumbering operations ; both in summer and winter the climate is pleasant
and healthy — a healthful climate and country imply good water and this
is found in abundance all over, in the shape of lakes, rivers and streams —
many of the likes possessing great natural beauty, the water in all cases
being pure, clear and cold throughout the year, teeming with valuable fish
of a superior quality, such as salmon trout, white fish, maskinonge, speckled
trout, bass, pike, pickerel, sturgeon and other kinds — the flesh of which is
sweet and firm, the scenery is beautiful and without any doubt whatever
this country will be a noted resort for tourists, invalids and others and will
possess many other advantages to those inclined to seek homes in a new
and fertile country, and hundreds of people from all parts of Canada and
the United States, will gather here every summer to enjoy the scenery, to
renew their health and strength in its invigorating atmosphere, and indulge

in the sports in the way of fishing and hunting which the greatest part of
this country affords, no doubt summer hotels will be erected at Lakes
Nipissing, Temiscaming and other places — north and south, the air being
so dry and cool malaria or ague is unknown, a disease so prevalent in some
of the low lying lands of Southern Ontario.

The following is taken from a phamphlet lately published by the Crown
Lands Department written by Messrs. Kirk wood and Murphy, who from
personal observations can testify to some of the facts already stated on the
" Undeveloped Lands of Northern and Western Ontario," from which the
following facts are condensed : —

North and west of Lake Nipissing the land is good, and there is more fertile arable
land in the country on the west bank of the Ottawa above the Mattawan, than on the
banks below it. A line drawn from Lake Nipissing to the lower end of Lake i emiscam-
ing with the Ottawa to north and west, and the Mattawan to the south would form a
rough triangle, enclosing an extensive area of good hardwood land, in every way well
adapted for settlement, touching on one side a great navigable reach of the Ottawa, and
on the other a large lake which at small cost could be rendered easily accessible from
Lake Huron, and on the very route which must be used fur the timber trade now
extending to Lake Temiscaming. Lake Temiscaming with iis tributary the Blanche,
which enters at its northern end, presents more than 120 miles of unbroken navigation.
It is the great basin ■ f the Ottawa and drains an area of over 19,000,000 acres. The
Blanche is navigable 60 miles above the lake and for that distance the country is level
with very good land as far inland as has been explored. It is a valley extending to an
unknown distance with a rock foundation the -ame as the most productive lands in
Canada, and a climate fully equal to any on the north shore on the St. Lawrence.

Between Lakes Temiscaming and Abbittibbe (80 miles in a straight line), the soil is
generally a level alluvial over a limestone formntion with a heavy growth of hardwood
timber and within the latitude of 490. Mr. Marcus Smith, says in his Repoit of
Exploration 1876 : — " Near the west end of Lake Nipissing, there are extensive flats of
good land. Up the River Beuve which flows into the nor.h side of the lake near the
west end, he travelled two days, and f >un very fine land covere I with soft manle, birch,
ash, &c. The land in the valley of the stream appeared very rich, covered with maple
and other hardwoods." South of Lake Nipissing from the head waters of the Mattawan,
westward, there is tract of land of good wheat growing quality, extending 6j miles.
South-east from Lake Nipissing to Lake Opeon.ru — tfie first twenty miles is all good
arable land, and about two-thirds of the remiinder is good with hardwood timber.
Ascending the South River of Lake Nipissing, land of excellent quality is found lar into
the interior. All of the interior country is well watere , with valuable water powers
and interspread with groves of white pine of the b*_st description.

EXTRACTS

FROM A PAMPHLET JUST PUBLISHED BY THE CROWN LANDS
DEPARTMENT OF ONTARIO— MARCH, 1884.

The Algoma District is one of the most important divisions of the Province of Ontario.*

Its boundries, as originally defined, were as follows : — " Commencing on the north
shore of the Georgian Bay of Lake Huron at the most westerly mouth of French River,
thence due north to the northerly limit of the Province, thence along the said northerly

♦Ontario— A poetic Indian name, signifying a beautitnl prospect of hills nn 1 waters.
The word " Algoma" means " Lake and Laud of ALjouia," or Algonqui.i tribe of Indians.

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limit of the Province westerly to the westerly limit thereof, thence along the said westerly
limit of the Province southerly to the southerly limit thereof, thence along the said south-
erly limit of the Province to a point in Lake Huron opposite to the southern extremity of
the Great Manitoulin Island, thence easterly and north-easterly so as (o include all the
Islands in Lake Huron not within the settled limits of any county or district, to the place
of beginning."

By Proclamation of 13th May, 187 1, the Territorial District of Thunder Bay was
defined as "All that part of the District of Algoma lying west of the meridian of 870 of
west longitude." This meridian is a little to the east of the Slate Islands in Lake Su-
perior, and near the mouth of Steel River.

NORTHERLY AND WESTERLY BOUNDARIES OF ONTARIO— AWARD
OF THE ARBITRATORS.

To all to whom these Presents shall come :

The undersigned have been appointed by the Governments of Canada and Ontario as
arbitrators to determine the northerly and westerly boundaries of the Province of Ontario,
do hereby determine and decide that the following are and shall be such boundaries ; that
is to say : —

Commencing at a point on the southern shore of Hudson's Bay, commonly called
James' Bay, where a line produced due north from the head of Lake Temiscaming would
strike the said south shore ; thence along the said south shore westerly to the mouth of
the Albany River ; thence up the middle of the said Albany River, and of the Jakes
thereon, to the source of the said river at the head of Lake St. Joseph ; thence by the
line to the easterly end of Lac Seul, being the head waters ol the English River ; thence
westerly through the middle of Lac Seul and the said English River to a point where the
same will be intersected by a true meridional line drawn northerly from the international
monument placed to mark the most north-westerly angle of the Lake of the Woods by
the recent Boundary Commission ; and thence due south, following the said meridional
line to the said international monument ; thence southerly and easterly following upon
the international boundary line between the British possessions and the United btates of
America, into Lake Superior.

But if a true meridional line drawn northerly from the said international boundary at
the said most north-westerly angle of the Lake of the Woods, shall be found to pass to
the west of where the English River empties into the Winnipeg River, then, and in such
case, the northerly boundary of Ontario shall continue down the middle of the said Kng-
lish River to where the same empties into the Winnipeg River, and shall continue thence
on a line drawn due west from the confluence of the said English River with the said
Winnipeg River, until the same will intersect the meridian above described ; and thence
due south, following the said meridional line to the said international monument ; thence
southerly and easterly, following upon the international boundary line, between the
British possessions and the United States of America, into Lake Superior.

Given under our hands, at Ottawa, in the Province of Ontario, this third day of

August, 1878.

Signed and published in the presence of Robt. A. Harrison.

E. C. Monk. Edwd. Thornton.

Thomas Hodgins. F. Hincks.

This vast territory is about 760 miles in length, with a breadth of 370 miles, and is
situated principally between the 46th and 51st parallels of north latitude, and the 76th
and 95th of longitude west from Greenwich.

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It contains about 200,000 square miles, or 130,000,000 of acres of land and water.

Its endless variety of hill and valley, river and lake, rapid cascade and waterfall, is
unrivalled in the world.

But not only is it great in respect to its area. Its soil furnishes unparalleled diversity
of wealth. The miner is invited to the development of its mineral riches, hidden for
ages ; its plains and fertile valleys bid the husbandman welcome ; and industries, in their
manifold branches, stand waiting the command of intelligence and energy, without
respect to nationality or social condition.

It is only of late years that attention has been directed to this new field for enterprise
and development. In a very short time it will be traversed throughout its length from
Lake Nipissing to Rat Portage, by the main line of the Canada Pacific Railway, with
a branch from Sudbury Junction to Algoma Mills on Lake Huron ; and other lines are
projected from Michipicoten and Lake Nipissing to James' Bay.

This region is drained by two grand water systems having their source in what is
known as the Height of Land, which extends from Lake Abbittibbe on the east, to Lake
St. Joseph on the west, and varies from 1,000 to 1,500 feet above the level of the sea.
Those rivers running southward flow into the Great Lakes and the River St. Lawrence,
and those running northward empty their waters into Hudson's Bay.

To intending settlers this country possesses many important advantages over the more
distant praries of the west — proximity to leading markets ; the abundance and purity
of its waters ; the ample supply and cheapness of timber for building, fencing and fuel ;
and the greater cheapness of implements, clothing, etc.

SURFACE OF THE COUNTRY.

The whole of the territory south of the Height of Land is watered by numerous large
and small rivers, and innumerable lakes and lakelets.

The character sties of these rivers are much modified by the nature of the geological
formations through which they pass, and the different powers of resistance of these
formations to the transporting and eroding effect of the water.

In a formation composed of the harder crystalline rocks which obtrude themselves
above the surface, the waters have not the same power to form for themselves channels
as in a country based upon sedimentary deposits.

The irregular depressions and clefts in the surface of the Huronian formation become
filled with water, and form lakes, whose overflow tumbles in cascades and rapids, and
finds its way into other lakes lying at a lower level, until it is received into Lake Huron
or Superior. In this district the country is dotted with lakes, and the connecting rivers
are generally short. The navigation, in this northern river system, consists of stretches
of deep and still water, interrupted by rapids and falls, around which the light canoes of
the voyageurs are portaged by hand.

This river system, fortunately for us, is thus furnished with a series of reservoirs, which
cannot be destroyed, in the lakes themselves. These lakes receive the waters from rain
and the melting of the snows in the spring, and hold them stored up against the summer
heat.

Through the rocks of this region run numerous bands of crystalline limestone or marble,
which Ir ■»m their softness give rise to valleys with a fertile soil. The hill-sides are gener-
ally covered with vegetable mould which sustains a growth of trees, giving them an aspect

12

of luxuriant vegetation. But when fire has passed over these hills, the soil is in great
part destroyed, and the rock is soon laid bare. In the valle)s and lower parts, however,
there are large areas of good land, having a deep soil and bearing heavy timber. These
are the chief lumbering districts of the country, and constitute a great source of wealth to
the Province. In these regions the occupations of the lumberer and the farmer are a
great encouragement to one another, as the wants of the lumberman afford to the farmer
a ready market for his produce at high prices.

There are many reasons why the forest-region of the hills should be protected by the
settler. The vegetation and the soil which now cover the hillsides play a most impor-
tant part in retaining the waters which here fall in the shape of rain or snow. But for
this covering of the soil, the rivers and mill-streams which here take their rise, would,
like the streams of Southern France, and of the North of Italy, be destructive torrents
at certain seasons, and almost dried-up channels at others. The effect of this great
wooded area in tempering the winds and moderating the extremes of climate, must not
be overlooked by the settler in estimating the value of his homestead.

COUNTRY NORTH OF THE MATTAWA RIVER AND LAKE NIPISSING.

Geological Ft itures — Sequence of the Formations.

That part of the Ottawa River which lies between its tributary the Mattawa, and a
point about three miles south of the mouths of the Montreal and Metabechuan Rivers,
appears to cross the axis of an anticlinal arch, which separates the rim of ihe great South-
ern trough of fossiliferous formations of which the western geological area of Ontario has
been described as forming but a part, from a northern trough, whose strata probably run
under the waters of Hudson's Bay.

The lowest rocks which this undulation brings to the surface are of a highly crystalline
quality, belonging to the order which, in the nomenclature of l.yeUis called metamorphic
instead of primary, as possessing an aspect inducing a theoretic belief that they may be
ancient sedimentary formations in an altered condition. Their geneial character is that
of a syenitic gneiss. Their general colour is reddish, and it ari-.es from the presence of
reddish feldspar, which is the prevailing constituent mineral. The feldspar, however, is
often white, and frequently of a bluish grey. The rock is in no case without quartz.
Hornblende is seldom absent, and mica very often present. The prevailing colour of the
quartz is white, but it is often transparent or translucent. The hornblende is usually
black and sometimes green. The mica is often black, frequently brown, and generally
of a dark tinge. The rock (carefully distinguished from dykes), is almost universally
small grained, and though the constituent minerals are arranged in parallel layers, no
one constituent so monopolises any layer as to exclude the presence of others ; but even
in their subordinate arrangement there is an observable tendency to parallelism. A thick
bed of reddish feldspathic rock, for example, will in section present a number of short
dashes of black homb!ende or black mica, all drawn in one direction, destitute of ar-
rangement, apparently, except in regard to their parallelism ; or it will be marked by
parallel dotted lines composed of these minerals. The continuation of these lines will be
interrupted irregularly, and before one ends another will commence above or below it,
the lines interlocking among one another. Sometime^ thin continuous parallel black
belts will run in the rock for considerable distances ; or it will he barred by parallel
streaks of white quartz or whire feldspir, in which, as well as the red part, these dark
and dotted lines will occur. The same description of arrangement will be found where
the whole ground of the rock is white instead of red, and then the red feldspar will occa-
sionally constitute streaks. There is no end to the diversity of arrangement in which the
minerals and the colours will be observed.

While the subordinate contents of beds will be thus arranged, masses will be divided
into beds shewing nearly as great a diversity. The beds will be sometimes very thick,
and these usually are of the red variety of rock ; at others they will be thin, and the

1.1

hornblende or the mica, or both, will be the dominant minerals, or equal the others in
quantity. In this case the mass will present a light or dark grey colour, and the mica,
rendering the rock fissile, will cause it to yield good flagging or tile stones. The reddish
feldspathic masses are stronger and more solid than the others, yielding less to the influ-
ence of the weather, and when their bulk is con-uderable they rise into hills, and largely
prevail in all the ranges met with. The thin bedded rocks often constitute the valleys.

The dip of the strata is usually at high angles, and towards the Mattawa it appears to
point more generally southward. But there evidently exist many undulations, often
accompanied by contortions. Some of the undulations give northern and sometimes
eastern dips. It is not supposed, however, that these undulations have any dependent
connection with the anticlinal axis, or, that its position will be peculiarly marked by any
of them. The arch is of too gentle a nature to have produced any palpable change in the
slope of the highly tilted strata, and it is probable that these had assumed their twists
and undulations before the existence of the arch, and that the forces producing it oper-
ated on the wrinkled mass merely as a whole, without, in any very perceptible degree,
affecting the relation of its parts.

Ascending Lake Temiscaming, the slates come in upon the gneiss about three miles
below the mouths of the Montreal and Metabechuan rivers on the west bank, and about
three miles above them on the east ; and they occupy both sides to within two and a-half
miles of the Hudson Bay Company's post. In this distance they may have a direct
breadth of about seven miles, in which they are affected by at least one undulation, and
constitute hills of 300 to 400 feet. These slates run in a westerly direction forty miles,
in a line about S. 40° W. from Lake Temiscaming to Bass Lake, on the Sturgeon River,
which discharges into Lake NipisMng on the north side, and it is probable they come out
on some part of the north shore of i -ake Huron. On Lake Temiscaming they are followed
by the sandstones, which cross the lake with a strike of N. 6o° E., and dipping north-
ward at a very small angle, after having been piled up into a range of about the same ele-
vation as the slate hills, they reach the Company's po-t, where, nearly flat, they run under
a narrow gravel hill 130 feet in height : emerging beyond, the}' continue to a distance of
about half a mile above the post, and are then interrupted on both sides of the lake by a
mass of syenite. 1 his syenite does not possess the gneissoid arrangement of the rock
lower down the river, but it appears to be nearly similar in other respects, being com-
posed of reddish feldspar, white or colourless quart/, and a sparing quantity of green
hornblende. The breadth of, this syenitic band is pretty nearly three miles on both sides
of the lake. On the west it is succeeded by the san Is! ones, which run along the coast
for a distance of four miles, nearly on the strike of the measures, dipping towards the
water at a small angle, and -ire followed by the slates which come from behind them, and
continue in a straight line for nine miles to the western bay at the head of the lake, form-
ing high perpendicular cliffs for part of the way and rounded hills for the remainder.

The limestones constitute the two large islands near the head of the lake, the two
smaller ones between them, the island at the entrance of the eastern bay and a very small
one on the west coast, as well as the promontory which separates the ea-U bay from the
west. The strata lie in the form of a shallow trough, based sometimes on the sandstones
and sometimes on the slates, occupying the breadth of the lake — from five to six miles —
and extending from the south si ie of the southern great island to some unknown distance
northward, being either a projecting point or an outlier of some more extended calcareous
area.

The largest and best quality of flagging slabs is found on the east side of Lake Temis-
caming, about seven miles above the Galere, where five miles of the coast present a suc-
cession of cliffs which would yield a great abundance of almost any dimensions. Roofing
slates exist about five miles up the Montreal River.

Lakes, Rivers and Agricultural Capabilities.

On the north bank of the Mattawa a range of hills, of no great elevation, runs nearly
the whole way from Trout Lake to the mouth, and between their base and the margin of
the water there are good mixed wood flats, with elm, ash, maple, and a few oaks ; but
the slopes produce soft woods chiefly, the prevailing species being red pine.

To the north of Upper Trout Lake there is an extensive spread of flat hard-wood
country running in an east and west direction, possessing a good soil, consisting of loam

14

in some places and clay in others, and the timber, in a great measure, composed of black
birch, maple and basswood.

Associated with this tract is another, at the distance of five miles on the west side of
Seven League Lake, on the Ottawa between the Mattawa River and Lake Temiscaming,
running in a south-westerly course to the vicinity of the Mattawa, and reaching as high
as the Galere on Lake Temiscaming, though it is not there much nearer the lake than it
approaches the river lower down.

Lake Temiscaming, a magnificent stretch of navigable water, the largest and deepest
on the whole course of the Ottawa, extends seventy-five miles without any obstruction to
vessels of the largest tonnage. It consists of three lakes,- the lower, middle and upper,
connected by narrow straits.

The Upper Lake extends from Fort Temiscaming to the " Head." This beautiful
sheet of water has all the characteristics of a true lake. It is from six lo eight miles wide,
indented with deep bays, bold promontories, steep cliffs and low banks, and is studded
with picturesque islands, two of which are of considerable size.

The Montreal River, its largest tributary as regards both extent and volume, takes its
source at the northern Height of Land, flows for about sixty miles in an easterly direction,
and sixty miles more south-easterly, discharges into Middle Lake by several mouths.

The River Blanche, which derives its name from the white or turbid colour of its water,,
discharges into Lake Temiscaming at its " Head," and is navigable for twenty-five miles.
The area of the clay land drained by this river has been estimated to be between 500 and
600 square miles, equivalent to twelve townships ot fifty square miles, or 32,000 acres
each. This is the largest area of land fit for settlement, in one unbroken clay block, in
the unsettled portion of Ontario.

The limit southward of this tract of good level country is associated with a change
occurring in the quality of the rock formations of the district in the vicinity of the mouth
of the Montreal River on the right side of the lake, and a few miles higher up on the
left. The unbroken monotony of the hard syenitic gneiss, constituting so much of the
banks of the lake and main river further down, here ceases ; a more distinctly stratified
set of rock, of a less crystalline and more easily disintegrating character, presents itself.
The ranges of the hills become more determinate, the valleys wider, and many of them
are occupied by clay lands. At its very extremity both sides of the lake present a favour-
able aspect ; good stratified limestone there makes its appearance, constituting the large
islands already mentioned, and the promontory separating the east and west bays. Its
escarpment does not exceed 100 feet, and it runs northward into the interior with an even
continuity of height, which can be followed by the eye for miles.

The marshes, arising from the sediment deposited by the Blanche and other rivers at
their mouths, are extensive, and produce an abundant supply of good meadow hay.

The general character of the country south and east of Lake Tamagamingue is undu-
lating but not very broken. This lake is a fine sheet of very clear water, abounding
with bass, pickerel, pike, and salmon trout, and filled with islands. The scenery is
beautiful, resembling that of the Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence. The lake has
two outlets, one flowing south into the Sturgeon River, which empties into Lake
Ni pissing, and the other flowing north into the Montreal River, which discharges into
Lake Temiscaming. Numerous lakes, of various sizes, are dotted at intervals over this
country. Otter Tail Creek is the principal stream falling into the Ottawa.

Throughout the whole of this region there is good clay soil along the flats of the
rivers and creeks ; generally, however, a sandy loam prevails.

After traversing the township of Widdifield, on the north-east shore of Lake Nipissing.
the land descends gradually to the north, showing a level country of hard-wood timber,
with here and there some rock, and generally a good loamy soil.

15

Turning east, between townships 17 and 13,* on the nineteenth mile from the boundary
of Springer, the country is flat in some places, but generally undulating with fair soil.
From the twenty-first to the forty-fourth mile on this line, there is a good tract of country
with rolling land and good soil, fit for farming purposes, the timber being chiefly maple
and black birch of large growth and good quality, with some good scattering pine.

The Township of Widdifield (No. 17) is nearly all good hard-wood land and is by far
the best tcwnship in this section of the country. Finer hard-wood bush is rarely seen.
There are a few bass-wood trees, iron -wood in some places, and a grove of beech on the
east boundary a few miles north of Trout Lake. The fall from the height of land to the
River Vase ar the end of the portage is 22 feet 1 1 inches, and from this point to Lake
Nipissing, the fall is 26 fert 6 inches, which makes the height of Lake Nipissing above
the waters of the St. Lawrence at Three Rivers, 665 feet.

The ascertained height of the surface of Lake Huron above the sea, according to the
Michigan surveyors, is 578 feet.

Townships 22, 23, 27 and 28 contain a large percentage of good land, with consider-
able pine.

Townships I, 5, 9, 13 and 18 also contain a fair percentage of good land, with very
little pine. The timber is chiefly balsam, spruce, birch, with occasional patches of
hardwood .

The Jocko River runs eastward through a fine tract of country to the River Ottawa.

Sturgeon River, emptying into Lake Nipissing, is a fine deep stream, having an
average breadth of six chains to the first fall, about six miles from its mouth.

The Veuve or Widow River, empties into Lake Nipissing about four miles west of
Sturgeon River.

Lake Nipissing lies immediately above the 46th parallel of latitude, and across the
80th of longitude. In form it is very irregular, but has an extreme length, east and
west, of about forty miles, and a maximum breadth, north and south, of about twenty
miles. Its area in round numbers is about 300 square miles.

The northerly shores of the lake are low, genendly of flat rock and sand, and the
water shoal upon a sandy bottom. Its waters pass out into French River by three
distinct outlets through myriads of islands.

The French River, though sometimes merging into one vast lake, is, throughout the
greater part of its length, divided into two main channels. From its entrance on Georgian
Bay to its outlet on Lake Nipissing the distance is about forty miles, and the navigation
is obstructed by falls and rapids. The scenery of the Thousand Isles of the St. Lawrence
is tame and uninteresting as compared with the endless variety of island and bay, granite
cliff, and deep sombre defile, which mark the character of the beautiful, solitary French
River.

HEIGHTS ABOVE THE SEA.

The height of the surface of Lake Temiscaming at its head above the waters of the
St. Lawrence at Three Rivers, which is about the highest point affected by the action of
the tides, is 612 feet. 'Ihe level of the Mattawa, at its junction with the Ottawa, is 519
feet 5 inches.

* These numbers have reference to an exploration made by the Department of Crown Lands in 1882,
and are applied to townships lying east of the T. wnship of Springer and the Indian Reserve, which
with the exception of Widdifield, have been outlined, but not surveyed or named.

16

The height of the surface of Upper Trout Lake, the source of the Mattawa, is 690
feet, and of the Height of Land between it and the Vase River on the canoe portage, is
7 14 feet 5 inches.

Lake Ontario 235 ft.

Lake Simcoe 710

Lake Muskoka 735

Lake N ipissing 642

Lake Huron 585

Lake Superior 627

Lake Nipigon 879

Lake Winnipeg 710

Lake Erie 561

Lake Abbitibbe 857

Height of Land, where we propose crossing I,IciO

Height of Land, between Lake Winnipeg and Lake Superior 1,400

Lake Michigan 587

LAKE ABBITTIBBE AND THE COUNTRY SOUTH OF IT.

White and red pine are found scattered over the whole region between Lake Temis-
caming and Lake Abbittibbe. They are quite abundant and of excellent quality on the
slopes of the hills along both sides of the Height of Land. On the hill rising to the
height of 700 feet above Lake Matawagogig on the north side of the Height of Land,
several trees have been measured and found to be from eight to nine feet in circumference,
at a height o{ four or five feet from the ground ; and from the summit of the hill gioves
of white pine are observed in all directions. White spruce, yellow birch and cedar are
also tolerably abundant an I of good size. Fine specimens of the latter tree, tall and
straight, are observed, chiefly in hollows among the hiils, on the south side of Lake
Abbittibbe.

Sugar maple is tolerably plentiful round the head of Lake Temiscaming, but is not
seen further north. The same remark applies to swamp maple and white oak. Large
numbers of these grow on low level land near the mouth of the Blanche, and also in
smaller quantities at the mouths of other rivers falling into the same lake.

The most abundant tree in this region, north of the limit of sugar maple, is aspen,
after which come canoe birch, spruce, h'anksian pine, and Canada balsam. Elm and ash
occur occasionally on low flats as far north as Lake Abbittibbe.

The whole region, extending northward from the mouth of the Montreal River, which
is about thirty miles south of the head of Lake Temiscaming, may be correctly described
as a level clay plain, with a great number of rocky hills and ridges protruding through it.

The height of th-^ clay appears to be pretty uniform throughout the whole region.
Around Lake Abbittibbe it is about thirty feet above the level of the lake, which is
estimated to be 245 feet higher than Lake Temiscaming. On the Blanche, the highest
clay plains, about thirty-five miles up the river, are about 275 feet above Lake Temis-
caming. The Height of Land Portage is about 60 feet above Lake Abbittibbe, or 305
above Temiscaming. Taking the mean of these heights, and adding it to 612 feet,
height of Lake Temiscaming above the sea, we find that the height of this clay plain
above the sea is about 900 feet.

The largest areas of arab'e land are on the Blanche, and around Lake Abbittibbe.
This lake is surrounded on all sides by level clay land. At a good many points, however,

17

the rock rises above the level of the clay. To the north, and especially to the north-
westward, the clay level seems almost unbroken, and it is well known that it extends in
this direction to the shores of James' Bay.

Several acres of this clay soil are cultivated at the Hudson's Bay Company's Post at
Abbittibbe with satisfactory results, and some of the residents are inclined to insist that
all the ordinary cereals can be cultivated as successfully there as on the St. Lawrence.

Indian corn is grown at more than one locality near the head of Lake Temiscaming,.
and is said to ripen well.

THE TERRITORY NORTH OF THE HEIGHT OF LAND.

Between the Great Lakes and James' Bay the country is of a very different character
in each of the two geological areas which it embraces, namely, the Laurentian and
Huronian plateau ; and palaeozioc and tertiary basin of James' Bay. The former is
somewhat elevated, undulating, and dotted with great numbers of lakes ; whi!e the
latter is low, level, swampy, and, as far as known, generally free from lakes, constituting
a well-marked geographical as well as geological basin, bounded by a distinct rim of
hard ancient rocks for five-sixths of its circumference, since it contracts to a width of
only about 200 miles where it opens into Hudson's Bay on a line between Capes Jones
and Henrietta Maria. This rim is high, and has a steep slope to the centre all round.

Owing to the unyielding nature of the rocks, all the rivers running into James' Bay
meet with a great and very rapid descent on reaching the edge of this basin. As a-
consequence, "the long portages" on all of them occur where they pour down rhis
slope. The Long Portage of Rupert's River is close to the bay, while those of Abbit-
tibbe, the Mattagami, and the Missinibi are met with at a short distance southward of
the margin of the palaeozoic rocks. The Kakeami, or principal fall of the Albany,
occupies a corresponding position. The Kenogami River, flowing from Long Lake to
the Albany, offers a more uniform and gentle descent into this basin than any of the
other rivers which have been examined.

Although the Laurentian and Huronian Plateau between the Great Lakes and James'
Bay may be styled a rocky country, still, the proportion of its whole area in which the
bare rocks are exposed is much less than is commonly supposed. This opinion is formed
after an examination of it in hundreds of places, at a distance from the shores of lakes
and rivers, throughout an area of nearly 200,000 square miles between the Ottawa River
and Lake Winnipeg. The high and rocky points are naturally more conspicuous in
proportion to their horizontal extent than the rest of the country, while the portages,
which are almost the only parts seen by ordinary travellers, are nearly always at the
most rocky places in the valleys or lower levels. As a matter of experience, in this
sort of a country, in the District of Algoma and elsewhere, the quantity of cultivatable
land on the establishments of settlements, always proves to be much greater than it
appeared while in a state of nature.

The banks of the Mattagami and Moose Rivers from the Long Portage to Moose
Factory usually consists of brown gravelly earth, underlayed by bluish bouldery clay,
and gradually diminish in height, in descending the river, from fifty feet, above high
water mark at the foot of the Long Portgage, to only about ten at the junction of the
Missinibi.

The solid rock is not often seen, except under the water in the bed of the stream.
Leaving the foot of the Long Portage, the first exposure of solid rock, which is also the
principal one on the river, begins at 17 miles, or, at the head of the Grand Rapid, which
is about a mile and a quarter long, and has a fall of about twenty feet. The blue clay
at the Grand Rapid contains the first marine shells observed on the river. The height
above the sea level is in the neighborhood of 300 feet. Lignite, having a bright glossy
fracture, is found on the shore at the foot of the rapids. .
2

18

This locality is also remarkable for the occurrence of a large deposit of iron ore. Its
position is on the north-west side of the river, at the foot of the rapids.

Leaving the Grand Rapids, no rock /'/* situ is observed until arriving at the " White,
or Gypsum Banks," on the Main Moose River. They occur on both sides of the river,
and begin at thirty-eight miles above Moose Factory. The gypsum bank on the south-
east side runs for about two miles ; that on the opposite side, about half that distance.

The Moose River divides into the Mattagami and Missinibi branches. Fragments of
lignite are strewn, often in abundance, along the bed of the river to Coal Brook, where
it is seen in situ, during very low water. Similar lignite is found on the Albany River.

CLIMATE, AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, STOCK-RAISING, &c.

Throughout the whole of the region from Lake Nipissing to the Lake of the Woods,
the depth of snow is generally less on an average than it is at the City of Ottawa. Only
in one locality between these two points is the snow found generally so deep as at this
city, namely, in the immediate neighbourhood of Lake Superior, where the lake appears
to have a local influence on the humidity of the atmosphere, and, in consequence, on the
amount of snow-fall.

In going northward, from the Height of Land towards James' Bay, the climate does
not appear to get worse, but rather better. This may be due to the constant diminution
in the elevation, more than counter balancing for the increased latitude, since in these
northern regions a change in altitude affects the climate much more than the same amount
of change would affect it in places further south. The water of James' Bay may also exert a
favourable influence, the bulk of it being made up in the summer time, of warm river water,
which accumulates in the head of the bay, and pushes the cold sea-water further north.
The greater proportion of day to night during the summer months may be another cause
of the comparative warmth of this region.

The rain-fall at Moose Factory forms no criterion as to what it is on the southern high-
lands, where, without being too wet, there is sufficient rain and dew to support the most
luxuriant vegetation. The snow fall at Moose Factory is not nearly as heavy as it is
south of Lake Nipissing and French River.

The following tables of temperature and rain-fall at Prince Arthur's Landing and
Moose Factory are taken from the Report of the Meteorological service of Canada, for
the year ending 31st December, 1881.

19

PRINCE ARTHUR'S LANDING.

Mean temperature of )
the several months . . )

Highest temperature in
each month

Lowest temperature in }
each month *j

Rainfall in inches in
each month

Number of days on
which rain fell in
each month

<

<

!*

<
OS

«
w

a

<

CL,

<

►-9

si

D

•-9

O
D
<

w
«

H

H
00

o'5

107

25-8

34'2

5° '4

56-5

67-1

64-4

537

29-8

38-4

45-5

7i'8

70-8

807

88-6

8<;-6

72-3

36-6

25*4

12*0

3'i

20'2

29-5

43"2

38-0

33o

000

OOO

O'OO

076

3-23

174

271

2 '97

7-38

0

O

0

3

IO

8

8

6

15

40-6

69-8

22 9

49 8

15*3 J3'3

j
2 66 roo

5

42-8

19-4

MOOSE FACTORY.

1881.

M
<

z

•<
►■a

>

<
0
a
n

H

fit)

u
M

•<

t

<

<

•"5

><

•-s

g

K
Id
03

a

u

e

H

M

K
05

O

6

0

32 6

«

a

H

O

to
12-3

g

S

a

H
O

U

0

Mean temperature of )
the several months. . \

io-6

69

161

22*6

48-2

47 "4

64 0

6o-8

51-5

8-o

Highest temperature in )
each month (

20-I

36-i

44*2

56-8

79-0

83-0

90-5

88-5

76-8

71-2

52 'O

37' 1

Lowest temperature in i
each month \

39-6

34-5

H'3

179

14 0

2b-8

41-5

38-2

35 0

12-5

29*1

22 '2

Rainfall in inches in )
each month \

00 -o

C20

010

Ol6

052

3'53

2'35

2'82

4-80

1-52

0*90

OOO

Number of days on )
which rain fell in >
each month )

0

■

2

5

«

14

16

13

17

5

■

O

20

RESULTS OF METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS AT MOOSE

Mean temperature

Highest temperature

Lowest temperature

Monthly range

Mean daily range

Mean temperature of warmest day

Mean temperature of coldest day .

Amount of rain in inches

Greatest fall in one day

Number of days' rain

Amount of snow

Greatest fall in one day

Number of days' snow

Number of fair days

Percentage of cloud

[877.

29 .0
44'o

80
36-0
ill

40 'O

16-3

0-85

o'35

5

o-8

0-3

6

19

73

2ou.7
38-4

9-8
48-2

!3'3
361

1 '3

0*29

0*29

1

o"5

0'2

9

21

80

327
35*9

68-6
19-8
30-0

13.3

42-5

217
64-2
20*9

36-8

267 77

1
o'3

0'2

9
22

53

0'2

0*2

5

23

47

20°.4

48-1

22 -4

7o-5

21 'O

37-6
i-o

0*04

0*04

1

o-8

0'2

15
16
6l

35°-6
66-i

8-9
57'2
16-6

6l *2
237

1*22

0'37

6

O'l
O'l
2
22
65

47-3
76'5

I9'I

i6'4
73'5

23-1

i-95
0*41

07
4

76

21

FACTORY, compiled at the METEOROLOGICAL OFFICE, TORONTO.

1878.

1879.

>-

i

a

p
<

H

a

s

i

M

w
n

0

H
O
O

2
n
3

a
>•

05

»

H
O

K
O

a
■<
u
z,

<

•"5

<

m
u
Em

si
«

hi

5

<

w

St
►"5

Cm*
1-9

57°-o

66°. 9

63°. 0

5i°-7

4o°-9

26°. 5

7°.6

3°-9

6°.7

12°. I

24°. 2

39°. 9

5o°. 2

6o°.3

92-1

91-6

81 -3

73'9

66-8

40-8

329

24*0

19-1

46-3

52-2

73'3

817

84-8

26*9

41-8

34'9

31-1

7-6

4*3

18-4

40-3

4i-3

33'4

7-0

22*2

27-0

357

65-2

49-8

46-4

42-8

59"2

36-5

5i-3

64'3

60 "4

797

59'2

511

547

59-i

20-3

21'2

16-8

17-6

156

no

13-2

194

21'2

26*0

146

I9-9

190

21-6

88-i

84-2

74'9

68-o

63-4

38-i

28-4

20 6

i6-5

39 '5

44 "2

59'9

70-8

76-2

32*4

52-4

5o-8

40*2

212

n-8

ii'5

28-2

306

107

I'O

28-5

34-2

42*6

1 '64

279

61I

5-46

174

R

R

o*o

O'O

o"6o

fOO

2-08

3'47

5 '42

0-56

i-33

123

ro6

0-51

0-30 ' 075

no

087

2'12

9

12

17

19

H

3

1

0

0

3 5

16

18

S

....

....

3-0

25-5

27-4

96

8-i

9*8 15-8 2-0

5'o

....

3-0

7-0

4-0

2'0

2*0

4.0 | 7-0

10

47

....

1

....

5

19

23

16

IO

13

12

5

3

....

21

18

14

11

12

9

7

15

18

15

13

20

12

13

63

59

70

75

7i

79

78

6l

55

63

69 67

68

56

22

TABLES

Shewing the Monthly Mean Temperature (Farnh. Therm. ) for two years, at the Hudson
Bay Company's Post on Lake Temiscaming, Lat. 47° 19' North; Long. 79° 31'
West ; 630 feet above the level of the sea. — From a Register kept by Mr. Severight.

1843-4.

MONTH.

H*

to

£

'A
O

z

0
0

H

g

D

a
0

w

g g

5

S

0

OQ

OS

•<
H

Q

O

-J

-8

Bi
<
H

3

a

i

S
0

s
s

0

it
0

D

s

I843-
November . .
December . .

1844.

January ....
February ....

March

April

May

June

July

August ....
September .
October

24 5/30
18 26/31

— I 12/31

8 24/29
13 18/31

33 i7/3o
42 4/31
56 2/30
58 5/3i
56 26/31
48

34 6/31

29 6/30
26 5/31

12 24/31
28 6/29
33

53 23/30
57 M/31
70 22/30
72 11/31
7i 9/31
63 i5/3o
46

27

22 25/3I

10 2/31

19 22/29
25 IO/3I

45 2/30
5o H/31
61 6/30

66 15/31
63 25/31
56 15/30
42 9/3i

26 2/3
22 1/2

7 1/6
19

23 1/3
44
50
62 2/3

65 2/3
64
56
40 5/6

3
2

13
7

14
23
12

9
10

13
11

10
10

5
9
8

8

4
8
6

7
8

5
13

6
6
5

2

3

3

2

4

12
11
15

9

5

10
5

7
7
4

"6*

1844-5.

MONTH.

H

00

s

to
P

0

0

i

CQ

p

OQ

Mean for each
Month.

w

5
to

D

pa

H

J
O

0
p

3
0

<
H
►J
O

§

S
0

to

<

1

i

GQ

g

s

0

1844.

November . .
December . .

1845.

January ....
February ....

March

April

May

June

July

August ....
September . .
October

24 I6/3O
II 23/31

8 19/31
11 15/28

19

26 19/30
38 16/31
51 18/30

Sl
58

48 7/3o

38

3i 4/3o

19 H/31

17 23/31
24 25/28
34 25/31
43 16/30
56
69 25/30

75 7/3i

76 16/31
58 5/3o
5o

28 4/30
16 8/31

13 18/31

20 4/28
28 20/31

36

49

62 6/30

67 27/31
67 9/31

53 H/30
46

28

15 5/6

13 1/3
185/6
27 1/2

35 i/3
47 5/6
61 1/6

67

67 i/3
53 i/3
44 2/3

4
9

6
7
9
5

13

12

8

15

1

11

7
8

15

8

10

11

7

7

12

10

8

10

8
8

3
5
3

5
5

2
3

3

3
2

8
6
6

6
19

7

8
6

6
5
7
6

23

Farming and gardening have been successfully carried on by the officers of the Company
at their posts on Lakes Mattagami and Missinibi. At the latter, spring wheat has been
found to ripen well. At Moose Factory, although the soil is a cold, wet clay, with a
level, undrained surface, farm and garden produce, in considerable variety, are raised
every year. Oats, barley, beans, peas, turnips, beets, carrots, cabbage, onions, tomatoes,
&c., are grown without any more care than is required in other parts of Canada.

Wheat may be successfully grown where the soil is suitable in all that part of this
territory lying to the south of the fiftieth parallel of latitude. The mean temperature of
the summer south of that parallel is sufficient to ripen this cereal. Indeed wheat has
been grown at Abbittibbe House, Flying Post, and New Brunswick, on or about the
forty-ninth parallel, and at Lac Seul, between the fiftieth and fifty-first parallel. Indian
corn, a more delicate plant than wheat, has come to maturity at Osnaburgh House on
Lake St. Joseph, north of the fifty-first parallel.

Barley, oats, rye, peas and beans succeed well. The invariab'e excellence of the
crops of the Windsor bean and the kidney-bean at Moose Factory is surprising.

The vetch grows wild everywhere, but nowhere is it so abundant as on the coast of
James' Bay.

There is probably no food plant that is likely to be of more importance to the inhabi-
tants of this territory than the potato. There is none the cultivation of which has been
so successful in every part. The fitness both of soil and climate for its growth has been
established beyond dispute. Whether viewed in reference to size, quantity or quality,
the crops at Moose Factory and Matawagamingue (260 miles further south), will compare
favourably with those in the best potato-growing districts in Ontario. Peaty soil is
particularly well suited to the growth of potatoes. There are millions of acres of peat
mosses in this territory, very extensive areas of which can be easily reclaimed, and when
the country is settled and means of transport provided, hundreds of thousands of tons of
potatoes may be grown and sent away to supply the wants of other countries.

The fitness of the soil and climate for the growth of root crops will make the breeding
of cattle and dairy husbandry important resources of this territory. Among these crops
the turnip is entitled to a place in the front rank. The carrot, beet, and parsnip can also
be grown.

Cabbages, spinach, lettuce, mustard, cress, and radishes are grown without any diffi-
culty. Rhubarb also grows well. The cauliflower appears to be one of the surest crops
at Moose Factory, and is sometimes ready for the table as early as the first of August.

Whatever doubts exist as to the agricultural value of the country north of the Height
of Land in respect to its grain-growing capabilities, there can be none in regard to its fit-
ness to produce the more important roots and grasses. From the Height of Land north-
ward to the coast of James' Bay, nothing on the north shores of Lake Huron or Superior
can exceed the luxuriance of the native grasses. Cows and oxen are kept at all the
principal Posts, and they are invariably found to be healthy and in fine condition ; a good
evidence of the salubrity of the climate, and excellence of the pasture. At Moose
Factory where some sixty head are constantly kept, a certain number are slaughtered
every Fall, and are quite fat, although then taken straight from the grass.

The only fruits that appear to be cultivated in the garden are the red and black currant
and raspberry. The red currant is remarkably prolific. The strawberry and gooseberry
might be raised with little trouble, for they are found growing wild in many places, and
nowhere more plentifully or of finer quality than on the coast. The huckleberry or
blueberry is found in great profusion from the long portages to the Height of Land.
Indeed it may be said to abound from the coast of Hudson's Bay to the shores of Lakes
Huron and Superior. It is nowhere in greater profusion or of finer quality than on the
Height of Land itself.

24

There is another wild fruit which may be noticed. This is a bush or tree not unlike
the wild cherry in appearance.* North of the Height of Land, it attains a height in
some places of ten to twelve feet, but is generally about six feet. The fruit grows singly,
not in bunches or clusters on the tree. It is an oblong or pear shape, larger than the
blueberry, but smaller than the grape. When ripe it is of a purple or blue color. It is
sweeter and has more flavor than the huckleberry, and is preferred by the natives to it.
It is to be found all the way from James' Bay to Lake Huron, but nowhere in greater
perfection than on the Mattagami River. The fruit is not only pleasant and wholesome,
but the juice would make an excellent wine, and the tree is worthy of cultivation and a
place in our orchards and gardens.

GENERAL ACCOUNT OF HUDSON'S AND JAMES' BAY.

In the popular mind Hudson's Bay is apt to be associated with the polar regions ; yet
no part of it comes within the Arctic Circle, and the latitude of its southern extremity is
south of London Few people have any adequate conception of the extent of this great
Canadian Sea. Including its southern prolongation, James' Eay, it measures about one
thousand miles in length, and is more than six hundred miles in width in its northern part.
Its total area is in the neighborhood of 500,000 square miles, or upwards of half that of
the Mediterranean.

The resources of Hudson's Bay and the country immediately around it are varied and
numerous, although, as yet, few of them are at all developed. The fur trade is the prin-
cipal and best known business which has hitherto been carried on in these regions ; but a
considerable amount of oil, derived from the larger whales, the porpoises, walruses, white
bears and various species of seals which frequent the northern part of the bay, has been
carried to New England, and small quantities, principally of porpoise and seal oil, have
from time to time been taken to London by the Hudson's Bay Company. The trade in
oil might be greatly extended in these quarters. Other articles have been exported from
the bay, but hitherto only in trifling quantities. They embrace whalebone, feathers,
quills, castoreum, lead ore, sawn lumber, ivory, tallow, isinglass, and skins of seals and
porpoises. The fisheries, properly speaking, of Hudson's Bay, have not been investigated.
Both the Indians and Eskimo find a variety of fish for their own use, and fine salmon
abound in the rivers of Hudson's Strait. Water fowl are very numerous on both sides of
the bay.

But perhaps the most important of the undeveloped resources of the country around
the bay are its soil, timber and minerals. To the south and south-west of James' Bay,
in the latitude of Devonshire and Cornwall, there is a large tract in which much of the
land is good, and the climate sufficiently favourable for the successful prosecution of stock
and dairy farming.

Some of the timber found in the country which sends its waters into James' Bay may
prove to be of value for export. Among the kinds which it produces may be mentioned
white, red and pitch pine, black and white spruce, balsam, larch, white cedar, and white
birch. The numerous rivers which converge towards the head of James' Bay offer facili-
ties for " driving" timber to points at which it may be shipped by sea-going vessels.

In view of the completion of the railway from Lake Nipissing to James' Bay, minerals
may become in future the greatest of the resources of Hudson's Bay. Little direct search
has been made for the valuable minerals of these regions. A large deposit of rich iron-
stone has been found on the Mattagami River. In 1877 inexhaustible supplies of good
manganiferous iron ore were discovered on the islands near the Eastmain coast, and pro-
mising quantities of Galena around Richmond Gulf, and also near Little Whale River.
Traces of gold, silver, molybdenum, and copper have also been found on the Eastmain
coast. Lignite is met with on the Missinibi, gypsum on the Moose, and petroleum-bear-
ing limestone on the Abbittibbe River. Soapstone is abundant not far from Musquito Bay
on the east side, and iron pyrites between Churchill and Marble Island on the West.
Good building stones, clay and limestones exist on both sides of the bay. A cargo of
mica is said to have been taken from Chesterfield Inlet to New York, and valuable de-
posits of plumbago are reported to occur on the north side of Hudson's Strait.

* This is probably Amelanohier Sanguinea, a variety of the Canadian Medlar.

25

EXTRACTS FROM MR. DAWSON, M.P. FOR ALGOMA DISTRICT.

Hansard, March, 1884.

REGION NORTH OF LAKE SUPERIOR.

Mr. Dawson, in moving for a return of all reports not hitherto published, relating to
the character and probable resources in agricultural lands, forests, minerals and other-
wise of the country through which the Canadian Pacific Railway is being constructed to
the north of Lakes Huron and Superior, embracing all information in possession of the
Government in respect to the whole of the region intervening between the Great Lakes
and the southern coast of Hudson's Bay, said. In making this motion, it is not my
intention to press for very voluminous return of papers. Last year I made a motion for
certain papers, and explained that what I wanted was a synopsis of the information.
Well, that synopsis came down, it was not at all voluminous, and it contained all the
actual information required and all in the possession of the Government ; whereas, if
they had sent down all the papers, they would have filled a volume. I want something
of the same kind now. I do not wish to have a voluminous return brought down, but
the pith and substance of the reports that have been sent in. The country to which this
motion relates embraces a third part of the entire distance across the continent. It has
been represented very often as a sterile and barren country, and, if such is the case, if
all this is true, then the Pacific Railway would be a most unfortunate undertaking ; but
I have information, and I am satisfied from what I have seen myself and from the reports
of others, that that country is very far from being a barren country, that throughout its
entire extent of 1,000 miles from the Ottawa through to Rat Portage, to the verge
of the prairies, there are immense tracts of very good land, that the whole country
is covered with forests and nutritious grasses, cattle that range through it get fat in
summer, and the forests of lumber are practically inexhaustible.

An Hon. Member. Timber limits.

Mr. Dawson. For my part, I possess no limits, but there is room for the lumber
trade to be carried on there in regions which have not yet been touched by the lumbermen.
There are many parts of that country more especially in the valleys among the hills,
where the soil is exceptionally rich, and to form an idea of that country I would only ask
hon. members to look across the Ottawa, to look to the valley of the Gatineau. The
Gatineau runs through a country of the same kind. A country entirely composed, or
nearly so, of different forms of Laurentian rock, and the hon. member for Ottawa tells
me that he has a population in his constituency of over 50,000, 30,000 of whom are in
the valley of the Gatineau. The county of Pontiacis precisely the same, the same sort of
rock, the same sort of country as that north of Lakes Huron and Superior, and in that
county there is a very large and thriving population. With regard to the country imme-
diately north of Lakes Huron and Superior and extending back to the Pacific Railway,
as a proof that it is not unfit for settlement, I may say that we have now 20,000 settlers
along the Georgian Hay and up to Sault Ste. Marie, all living comfortably, cultivating
the soil to the north, and they grow most beautiful wheat. It is an admirable country
for growing wheat where the land is good. I do not mean to describe it as a paradise,
but I do say there are large tracts of excellent land in it, and the settlements now extend
along the Thes^alon and back to the Bruce Mines — which, looking from the shore, seems
to be the most dreary part of the whole country — 4.0 miles already, and the settlers all
express themselves highly pleased with the land. In the valleys of the Mississagua and
Thessalon to the east and Goulais River to the west of Sault Ste. Marie there are also
large tracts of good land, tens of thousands of acres, in many places, room for a dozen
townships, with sufficiently level land equal to that of the prairies of the west, and with a
climate far milder in winter, and 1 think, just as good in summer. Now, Sir, as you
proceed west of Lake Superior you find an equally good country in the valleys of the
rivers. Along the coast of the lakes the country is very rough and broken, but when
you get inland to these river valleys you find excellent soil. Then as regards the Pays
Plat River which flows into Nipigon Bay, a gentlemen connected with the Pacific Rail-
way, and a most intelligent man, told me he had been through it and that there was room
enough for at least half-a-dozen townships, of the most magnificent land, all level, or
nearly so, between the ranges of mountain on each side. The same may be said of the
Black Sturgeon River which flows into Black Bay, a large river with very extensive flats

26

at the mouth where there is room for several townships. In the valley of the Kaminis-
tiquia, again there is quite a large extent of good land. A thriving settlement has already
sprung up there where they grow wheat and cereals of all kinds, and the people are
highly pleased and satisfied with their lands. Going further back, away from the
immediate coast of the lake, and westward from Lake Nipissing there is a considerable
tract of fair land between Lake Nipissing and the west branch of the Great French
River. There is some very good land in that section. In the valley of the Spanish
River again, according to the surveyors' reports, from the point where the line crosses-
that river to Lake Huron, there is a considerable tract ot good land ; and to show that
people appreciate the land there I am told that a company is now being organized to
form an extensive cattle ranch on the Spanish River where they think the conditions are
as favourable as in the North- West. Large sections of the land have been burned over
and are almost like prairies. In the valleys of the rivers the soil is very rich and produces
all that is required for the support of cattle ranches. As you proceed still further west
and still further to the north, the country becomes more level ; as to that country not
being valuable there never was a greater mistake. Mr. Dymond, who was formerly a.
member of this House, a highly accomplished gentleman, and whose statement would
not be called in question, a gentleman well qualified to describe the country, visited that
region and collected a large amount of information for the Government of Ontario ; and I
may say that that Government values the timber in that country as worth $150,000,000.
Now, Sir, if I may be permited, I wish to read a few extracts describing the country
between the Height of Land which runs from the neighbourhood of Lake Temiscaming;
and the Ottawa kiver westward, all the way to the vicinity of Thunder Hay and beyond
that. Now, in that country, after you pass the Height of Land, according to the de-
scription I have of it, there is an immense tract of level country where the soil is good.
It extends westward from Abbittibbi along the slopes of the Moose for 350 miles, and
then on the slopes of the Albany River and along nearly its whole extent, the country is
very little broken by hilly ground. Last year Dr. Bell, describing this country before the
Emigration Committee, said :

"To the southward of James' Bay, the southern prolongation of Hudson's Bay,
and to the south-westward, there is a long tract of land which, sooner or later, will
be, I believe, of value for agricultural purposes. It extends for a distance of nearly
200 miles in a southerly and south-westerly direction. The immediate shore of James'
Bay, towards the south end, is very low and level, and the country for some distance
back is covered with sphagnum moss, but this does not exist far inland. The greatest,
extent is between the lower parts of the Albany and Moose Rivers, but beyond that,
there is a level tract of excellent land, well wooded ; and southward and south-
westward of that again, the country rises pretty rapidly for a short distance and we
come upon a plateau which extends inland for another 100 miles, and over the
greater part of that the land is excellent as far as I could judge. I have surveyed
all the principal rivers and lakes and canoe routes of that country, and made excur-
sions inland to see the rocks and the soil, and it would be what we should consider,
in Western Canada, good land. On the eastern side of James' Bay, there is a narrow
strip extending about 100 miles from the southern extremity, which would be useful
for cattle raising. It is already used by the Hudson's Bay Company for that purpose,
and they have shown that sheep and cattle can be reared there successfuly."

Again he says in respect to the timber :

" On the head waters of the Moose River, white pine is abundant and of good size..
Red pine also exists and extends rather further north than the white. Then there is
'Jack pine' or 'cypress,' or more properly the Banksian pine, which, though not a
timber tree in its southern extension, becomes so in the northern region, which is its
home. In the Albany region I have seen large groves of this tree, quite different
from the ordinary scrubby variety."

As to climate he says

" In regard to the clir
id south-west of Jame
England, and southward of that, it is in the same latitude as the northerly parts of

" In regard to the climate for agriculture, the country that I have spoken of, south
and south-west of James' Bay, lies in the latitude of Cornwall and Devonshire, in

27

France ; and while these countries enjoy exceptionally favourable conditions, there is
no peculiarity of climate that would make the district I have referred to, worse than
the average of the face of the earth in those latitudes, and, therefore, I think it is
likely to be of value for agriculture, as far as climate is concerned."

As to the dates of the opening of the river he remarks as follows :

"When I was at Martin's Falls, on the Albany, I collected the dates of the open-
ing and closing of the Albany River for about forty years preceding my visit, and
since that I have obtained the dates for over ten years, so I have an exact record of
the opening and closing of the Albany for fifty years, and the average time that it is
open is fully six months."

In respect to the fishery resources of the Hudson's Bay he says :
' ' In regard to the whale fishery, the large whales are confined principally to the
north-west part of the bay. The Americans from New Bedford and New London
have resorted to the north-west part of the bay to fish whales for twenty years or
upwards, and have generally been very successful. From one to three or four or five
vessels go every year, and according to the Report of the United States Commissioner
of Fisheries, the returns have been very large."

Then, in answer to the question. " What is the liability to summer frosts in the
country around Hudson's Bay ? " he says :

" In the larger area of agricultural land south and south-west of James' Bay, I
think not very great. In 1877, on my homeward journey, I left Moose Factory on
the 1st October, and at that time all the tender plants — the tobacco plant, castor oil,
bean, common beans, cucumbers, balsams and other tender plants, were perfectly
green, standing in the open air, and probably remained so for some time after I left,
as we had no frost. And at the posts of the Hudson Bay Company, inland, they are
not often troubled with early autumn frosts. I think the sowing is done on an aver-
age at the same time as in corresponding latitudes in Lower Canada."

Again, speaking of iron ore, he says :

" Iron ore is very abundant on the east coast of Hudson's Bay and on the islands
northward from Cape Jones. At the commencement of Hudson's Bay proper, there
is an inexhaustible quantity of rich and valuable ore — valuable from the fact, that it
contains a great amount of carbonate of manganese, making it available for the manu-
facture of Bessemer steel."

A country with all these resources, with forests and iron ore and lying alongside a
great highway, easy of access, surely cannot be called a barren country ; and yet not
many years ago, not a hundred years ago, an hon member of this House said :

" That railway north of Lake Superior runs for 700 or 800 or 1,000 miles through
the most inhospitable country on the face of the globe- -I do not speak now of Mani-
toba, but north of Lake Superior, from Callender even to Winnipeg. It is question-
able in my mind whether there are 10,000 acres adapted for settlement along the
whole line of the route, and, if you carry on a railway through a country not adapted
for settlement, it strikes me forcibly it will be carried on with a very large expense to
the country, and will not be remunerative to the contractors. Unless there is some
way-freight for a railway, it is utterly impossible for it to be a paying concern."

This wholesale denunciation of an immense region like that described, has a Yery-
bad effect when it comes from such a high authority as this did. Sometimes hon..
gentlemen in their argument, to carry out a particular view, express themselves with-
out reflection as to the character of a country. I do not know whether that hon.
gentleman did so or not, but he spoke as if he did, because I believe he is very much
better informed. It is a great pity that such reports should go abroad about a very

extensive portion of the country. From the ascertained sources of the Moose at
Lake Abbittibbi to the source of its westerly branch north of Lake Superior, the dis-
tance is 350 miles, giving over 30,000 square miles of territory on the waters of the
Moose where the soil is in great part very good — that is a country as large as Scotland
or Ireland— and containing, according to the estimate which I have obtained, upwards
of 20,000,000 acres of very fair land. I may be permitted to read from a paper which
I have obtained from an officer of the Government appointed to explore that country
— some information furnished by Professor Bell. He says :

" As to the position and extent of this basin (of the Moose) which is one of the
largest and most important drainage areas in the Dominion. It lies between the
parallels of 47° and 51° north latitude and 78° and 85^° west longitude. Its outline is
approximately circular, measuring 330 miles from east to west, or as far as from
Toronto to Montreal, by 300 miles from north to south. As much misapprehension
exists in regard to its climate, etc. , I may here compare its general position as to lati-
tude with European countries with which we are more familiar. Its most northern parts
correspond with the extreme south of England, while the bulk of it is in the latitudes
of the northern parts of France, the southern parts of Germany, the central parts of
Austria and the great wheat districts of Southern Russia. It is far removed from
the cooling influence of the Arctic current of the Atlantic coast and may be considered
to enjoy an average climate for its latitude as compared with the rest of the world.
As might have been expected, wheat ripens well in this district as we know from the
testimony of those who have tried it, while Indian corn comes to maturity in the
southern parts of it. Timothy and all other kinds of hay as well as root crops and
vegetables thrive remarkably well. The region seems to be admirably adapted for
stock raising and dairy produce. The abundance of wood and the purest of water
are important considerations.

"As to soil, elevation, etc., the greater part of the region may be described as a
tolerably level plateau with an elevation of less than 1,000 feet above the sea. The
southern part is more broken than the northern, and the whole area has a gentle slope
towards the north.

"The Moose River has upwards of a dozen principal branches, rising near the
Height of Land, flowing often for long distances parallel to each other, but gradually
converging towards the head of James'" Bay. The western branches unite to form the
Moose River proper, which is only about forty miles in length, and this receives the
eastern branches on its way to the sea."

Dr. Bell goes on to say :

" The late Walter McOuat — a thoroughly reliable authority — in speaking of the
south-eastern part of the region in question, says in his Geological Report for 1872 :
' The whole region, extending northward from the mouth of the Montreal River,
which is about thirty miles south of the head of Lake Temiscaming, may be pretty
correctly described as a level clay plain, with a great number of rocky hills and ridges
protruding through it. * * The height of the clay appears to be pretty uniform
throughout the whole region. * * Taking the mean of all the heights * * we
find that the height of the clay plain above the sea level is about 900 feet. * *
Lake Abbittibbi is surrounded on all sides by level clay land. * * To the north
and especially the north-westward, the clay level seems almost unbroken and it is
well known that it extends in this direction to the shores of Hudson Bay. Several
acres of this clay soil are cultivated at the Hudson's Bay Company's post at Abbit-
tibbi and with satisfactory results. The only crop grown at present is potatoes ; but
I was informed by the man who has charge of the farming operations (a French Cana-
dian, who has been more than thirty years in Abbittibbi, but was brought up as a
farmer near Sorel, in the Province of Quebec), that several other crops, including
wheat, had been tried in former years, and with such results that he is inclined to
insist that all the ordinary cereals can be cultivated as successfully at Abbittibbi as
on the St. Lawrence. Such an opinion from a man who has been for so many years
practically engaged in the cultivation of the soil, is worth recording and ought to be

29

reliable. Indian corn is grown at more than one locality near the head of Lake Temis-
caming, and is said to ripen well. I am able, personally, to testify to this, as I was
shown some good ripe ears which had been grown during the summer of 1872, on the
farm of Mr. Angus McBride, at the head of the Lake.' Similar testimony might be
quoted from the reports of Mr. E. B. Borron, who has travelled much through the
country drained by the various branches of the Moose River.

" In various parts of the district there is a prospect for the discovery of several of
the more valuable metals. It is especially the case towards the south-east side ; while
in the northern part, I have found large deposits of iron ore, gypsum and lignite. So
little intelligent exploration for mines has yet been done in the vast region northward
of the great lakes, that we can hardly form any idea of the rich mineral resources
which lie dormant in this part of the Dominion. I am convinced from what I have
seen, that there is nothing in the climate of this region which would prevent it being
successfully farmed. "

A country with all these resources cannot be called a barren country. In the forests
at Lake Abbittibbi there are pines three feet in diameter, and towards the head of the
Albany River, and near Lake St. Joseph, there are forests of pitch pine, which is a
valuable wood in that country, with trees averaging nearly two feet in diameter, accord-
ing to the authority of Prof. Bell, who has explored that region. I believe the value of
the country is equal to that of any part of the North- West I believe that the vast
region north of the Height of Land and along the waters of the Moose and Albany
is in a great measure valuable for agriculture, aud will yet sustain a very large popu-
lation. It is not alone this great country which will give traffic to railways, but
through that country this Parliament has already granted four charters to railways
leading down to Hudson's Bay. I believe that great inland sea, with which the Cana-
dian Pacific Railway will be connected, and with which this country will be connected,
possesses resources which are not yet dreamt of. I believe the region to be opened
will prove very rich in fisheries of every description, and in minerals. I believe we
will have a great traffic arising from that bay, and I should not be at all surprised if
it were found before long that the section of the line north of Lakes Huron and Supe-
rior was the best paying portion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, considering the
mineral wealth and the resources of that immense region. We know that in a country
farther westward, 200 miles north of Lake Superior, wheat grows well ; we know
that there are rivers there which are navigable for miles, with magnificent forests and
excellent land on their banks ; we know that cattle thrive throughout that whole
region, and why then should it be called a barren country? With regard to its
mineral wealth, I should think that the testimony of such a man as Professor Agassiz
should have very great weight, and he declared long ago that one of the most import-
ant regions of the world — and he had travelled over the whole world, and was con-
sidered one of the first scientists of his day — was that country north of Lake Superior,
and that it would eventually prove to be one of the richest mineral regions on the face
of the earth. The results so far obtained have demonstrated the accuracy of that
statement. A few days ago there were no les3 than $100,000 paid in New York for a
mine, covering a few acres in Thunder Bay, within fifteen miles of Prince Arthur's
Landing. That gives some idea of the resources of this country, and as it is opened
up, no doubt its mineral interests will be of very great importance.

Mr. Trow— I have only a few words to say, and I would not have risen but for a
remark which has been made by the hon. member for Algoma. Whether inadvert-
ently or not, but certainly not intentionally, in my remarks the other day on the
Canadian Pacific Railway Resolutions, I stated that I had travelled over a portion of
the intended route of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and that I considered that the
portion which came under my observation was inhospitable and not adapted to suc-
cessful settlement. Furthermore, during my travels I fell in with parties whom I
presumed were familiar with that portion of the country, and the information which
I gathered from them was that the land was not adapted to cultivation ; that the
climate was not suitable, and from the inaccessable mountains and ravines which were
described as abounding in that country, I naturally came to the conclusion that that
information was correct, and I wrote to a local paper in my riding at the time to that
effect. However, since I made that statement I have taken the precaution to read

30

some reports on the subject, and more particularly the reports of Mr. Borron, a for-
mer member of this House, who is employed by the Ontario Government. In that
gentlemen I have very great confidence, and believing every word he states to be cor-
rect, to the best of his knowledge, I have come to a different conclusion with refer-
ence to the adaptability of many portions of that section of the country to settlement.
He has made observations on the country, from Lake Superior to James' Bay, and
also to Hudson Bay, and down the various rivers and ravines, and he has travelled
there very extensively for several summers. I yield to his judgment, and I believe
there are large tracts of land upon and adjoining these rivers which are adapted to
settlement. There are very large limits of excellent timber, and there is no doubt
there are very valuable minerals. 1 merely make this statement because the hon.
gentleman mentioned my name, and in order to contradict the statement 1 made the
other day. I have no desire to misrepresent or decry the country and would not do
it under any circumstances. My object is to see the country settled and aid in its
settlement and progress to the best of my ability.

Mr. White (Renfrew) — I am glad the hon. member for Algoma (Mr. Dawson) has
drawn the attention of the House to the question now under consideration and I
think after the speech which has been delivered by my hon. friend from South Perth
(Mr. Trow) the House must admit the value of the motion which has been submitted
by the hon. member for Algoma. I was, I confess, considerably surprised on reading
the statement made by the hon. member for South Perth in the discussion which took
pla^e on the Canadian Pacific Railway Resolutions. I was greatly surprised to learn
that that hon. gentlemen had stated that there were not, in his opinion, 10,000 acres
of cultivatable land, between Callander and Winnipeg ; because 1 had known, of my
own knowledge, long previous to that time, that in the immediate vicinity of Callander,
and between that place and Sudbury Junction, a larger portion of land than the
quantity mentioned by the hon. member for Perth was cultivatable and was actually in
occupation by settlers at the present moment. I think it is to be regretted that state-
ments such as those which fell from the lips of the hon member for Perth, in the
discussion to which I referred, should have been sent to the world on the authority
which satements made by hon. members in this House must naturally have in the
country, and I am glad to know that the hon. gentlemen has to-day admitted that
the information on which he made that statement was incorrect. I have a statement
made by a gentleman on whose opinion, I think I can thoroughly rely, that large por-
tions of the country between Callander and Winnipeg are cultivatable and are admir-
ably adapted to settlement. I hold in my hand a letter which was written to me
some years ago by Mr. Wm. Bell, D. L. S., who was occupied for some years in sur-
veying limits under the authority of the Ontario Government, on the north shore of
Lake Huron, and between that section of country and the Ottawa River. He said :

"Along the Amable Dufond River, and several miles west of it, there are extensive
flats of rich, loamy soil, thence westward a beautiful undulating country extends to
Lake Nipissing and South River and a considerable distance west of that river. The
soil is generally a sandy loam on the higher lands and clay loam on the flats. In some
parts the timber is pine, mixed with hardwood, and in many places, hemlock, hard-
wood and balsam. From Lake Nipissing, the country ascends gradually to the south,
and at a distance of fifteen miles from the Lake in that direction extensive ridges of
maple, birch and beech occur, mixed occasionally with hemlock, balsam and pine.
The soil is a sandy loam. The whole country described abovei s tit for settlement.

''On the north side of Lake Nipissing and Mattawa River a large tract of country
extending northerly to Lake Temiscaming is covered chiefly with hardwood, balsam
and spruce. Pine is most abundant near the Ottawa, but a few miles west of that river
it becomes scarce. Over a large proportion of this tract, the soil is a clay loam of
good quality and nearly all of it is suitable for settlement."

He concludes his letter in these words :

"In my opinion, there is no part of the unoccupied land of the Crown which
affords so large an unbroken tract of country suitable for settlement as the territory
described therein."

31

I know, that as a matter of fact, that on the shores of Lake Temiscaming, both in
the Province of Ontario and the Province of Quebec, wheat of the very best quality-
has been grown ; and there is at present a grist mill in the vicinity of that lake which
is used for the grinding of wheat grown by the settlers. It is also a well known fact
that at the head of Lake Temiscaming there are great clay flats covered with splendid
oak timber. I might go on reading extracts at great length to show the fertility of
the soil in the section of country referred to ; but I will content myself with reading
one statement made by a gentleman who is now a member of this House ; I refer to
the hon. member for Selkirk (Mr. Sutherland). In 1878 he appeared before the
Committee on Immigration and Colonization, and in the course of an examination as
to the character of the country lying between the head of Lake Superior and Rat
Portage, he was asked the following question : —

" By Mr. McNab -I wish to ask the character of the Land along Rainy River, and
whether it is likely to be settled ? Is that outlay of money likely to be of benefit to
the country, assuming our all-rail route is completed ? "

The outlay of money here referred to was for the construction of a system of tram
ways proposed to connect the waters of Lake Superior with those of the Lake of the
Woods. The answer was as follows : —

" I contend that if the railway is not built for four or five years— and I don't think
it is possible to build it in less time than four years — if this route is not opened up,
there is no chance of settling the fertile belt here on Rainy River, as there would be
no opportunity of settlers seeing the country, and they would not go. There are
seventeen townships surveyed there, with about 23,000 acres in each township. I
have talked the matter over with Col. Dennis, and from the field notes of the sur-
veyors he estimates that there are at least 150,000 or 200,000 acres of excellent land
there. There are about 400,000 acres altogether. I am satisfied he is under the
mark, and I have seen a good part of the territory along Rainy River, and have heard
a good deal about it from others."

In view of all the statements which have been made as to the fertility of a large
portion of that country lying between the eastern terminus of the Canadian Pacific
Railway, at Callender and Winnipeg, and in view of the great mineral and timber
resources in that large extent of territory, 1 think that my hon. friend from South
Perth (Mr. Trow) must admit that the (Government were wise in deciding to push
through the road north of Lake Superior as rapidly as possible, and 1 think it is an
advantage to this House and to the country that the lion, member for Algoma has
submitted this motion, which I have very much pleasure in seconding.

Mr. Cockburn. — I have been very much interested in the discussion which has
taken place on this subject. Some of my remarks have been anticipated by the hon.
member for North Renfrew (Mr. Haggart). I cannot speak from personal experience,
in such glowing terms as the hon. member for Algoma has done, of that portion of
country north of Lake Huron and Lake Superior ; but I have some personal know-
ledge of a portion of the country, within 200 or 30O miles of where we now stand,
and I know from personal observation that considerable belts of land lit for settle-
ment do exist in the northern part of Ontario, and I suppose the same thing is true
of Quebec, though I cannot speak of that from personal knowledge. The great
North- West has received so much attention during the last few years that the settle-
ment of the newer portions of the older Provinces is entirely neglected. I cannot
claim that the soil in our free grant districts will compare in fertility with the soil of
the North- West ; but there are other advantages in favour of these free grant districts.
The hon. member for North Renfrew (Mr. White) has already described the country
around Lake Temiscaming better than I can ; and hon. gentlemen from Ontario have
recently received from the Provincial Commissioner of Crown Lands reports of the
country around Lake Nipissing. I hold in my hand a report lately issued, which
shows that, though some of the lands surveyed are almost valueless, others are very
good indeed. Mr. Niven, a suiweyor, who was sent out by the Ontario Government
to explore that district, reports regarding one section, as follows : —

32

" Township No. 17 north of Lake Nipissing is nearly all good hardwood land, and
is by far the best township in the entire area explored. I never saw finer hardwood
bush than many parts of it — a few basswood here and there, iron wood in many places,
and a grove of beech on the east boundary, a few miles north of Trout Lake. "

Mr. Niven also speaks of the township of Widdifield, in which I have been myself-
It is in the very next division from here. Mr. Niven says of it :

' ' Township of Widdifield is immediately on the north shore of Lake Nipissing and
traversed by the Canadian Pacific .Railway. About two-thirds of the entire township
is fit for settlement."

With a railway running through that township, and a roundhouse there to acom-
modate sixteen engines, I should think it would offer very good inducements to people
who cannot go to the North- West, because there they would find fuel and fencing, as
well as the land, for nothing. I cannot say that this is a land flowing with milk and
honey, but there are belts of good land, with the advantage of being within easy
access, and the expense of reaching there being small, I therefore think it very
important that this discussion should have taken place to-day, in order to call the
attention of intending settlers to this part of the country. The Canadian Pacific
Railway has already been built along the entire length of Lake Nipissing, and with
the construction of the proposed railway from Lake Nipissing to Lake Temiscaming,
there is no doubt that a very rich country will be opened up. It is a matter of very
great satisfaction to find, on closer examination, that the northern portions of the
Province of Ontario are proving to be so valuable.

Mr. Sproule. I think the hon. member for Algoma ought to be congratulated on
taking this opportunity of bringing such an important subject before this House and
the country. When we remember the statements made from time to time in refer-
ence to that country and the impressions created upon the public mind. I think we
must acknowledge that a great deal of information regarding it that would be profit-
able to the public is yet hidden from our observation. If we consider the extent of
country, a distance of nearly 1,000 miles long in one direction and from 200 to 500
miles wide in another, and if we remember that in Ontario, where there is not per-
haps one-third as large a territory settled, we have to-day a contented population of
2,000,000, I think we must admit the importance of this question. Again, if we
compare the geographical position of the country with other parts of the world, with
reference to its latitude and longitude and its altitude from the sea, we find that it
compares favourably with other parts of the world that are thickly populated to-day,
that sustain a contented and happy people ranging from three to forty people to every
square mile. If we think again of its rivers, the length and number of which are,
comparatively speaking, equal to those found in any other part of British North
America, if we remember the clearness and pureness of the waters that flow down
its fields, we cannot fail to properly estimate its importance. If we look at its mineral
resources, we find the deposits there are similar to those found in other parts of the
country that have been partially explored, and are yielding as a return for those explo-
rations some of the greatest sources of wealth to be found in the Dominion, we may,
from that direction too, estimate its importance. If we look at its soils, we find they
also compare very favourably with the soils in the richest parts of Ontario, which
have been cultivated for years. If we look at its timber, the want of which is being
felt very largely at present, both in this part of the country and the North-West —
if we look along its navigable streams, extendiug hundreds of miles, useful for navi-
gation and transportation, and see the large forests of valuable timber that extend
along those streams, which must be very useful at no distant date to this country, we
cannot fail to be impressed with its importance. If we remember its lakes, teeming
with as fine fish as can be found in any part of the country, from that point of view
also we must be struck with its importance. Then look at its climate. Hon. gentle-
men have been pleased to say in this House that it has a very inhospitable climate,
but measuring its climate from the depth of the snow, from the length of the summer
and the length of the fall, or from the number of months during which its rivers are
navigable, we find that it compares very favourably with the climate of many other

33

parts of the country largely populated and wealthy to-day. If we look at its grasses
and its plants and vegetables, we find that they are the same as those found in other
parts of the country about which we know a great deal more to-day. I saw only a
year ago a single potato that was brought down from Port York which lacked only
one ounce of two pounds weight, and which being cut through, appeared to be of the
very best quality ; and the carrots brought down from there, both as regards size and
the quality of the root itseif, are decidedly much superior to what we find in the
best parts of Ontario and Quebec. I say, considering the importance of the subject,
no matter in what light you view it, it must be a matter of considerable interest to
the people of the Dominion, and the people of Ontario especially, because a large
extent of this territory belongs to Ontario, and when we remember that in a short
time we will have opened up a large portion of the country, some 400 or 500 miles in
length, with a railway, we will see the necessity of bringing in some way prominently
before the eyes of the world the resources of the territory that will be opened up for
settlement there. The hon. member for Muskoka said, that, from his knowledge of
the country, he was inclined to believe there was a great deal of broken land in it,
but only a few years ago I heard a gentleman, who apparently had opportunities of
being conversant with the country, say there was not 10,000 good acres in the JVlani-
toulin Island ; that it was a place that could not be settled ; that no large number
could reside there and support themselves on its products ; yet, in travelling through
that country, although we must confess there is a large amount of broken soil, that
is not an unmixed evil ; bee mse it cannot be used directly in the raising of grain, it
is very useful for the purpose of grazing, and some of the finest cattle of this country
that cost the smallest amount of money has been raised in Manitoulm. From the
meagre information that we have, we learn that in every part of it there is found
some of the best arable land known in the Dominion. If the soil and climate, if its
waters, if its altitude from the sea, if its depth of snow, the length of its winters,
the mildness of its summers, are the same as in other parts of the world, well known
and amply tested, and found suitable for agricultural purposes, we must admit that
it compares favourably with other known parts of this country. It is important that
the information asked for should be laid before the country through this House,
because any information we have had heretofore has been extremely meagre. I was
pleased to lind that the hon. member for South Perth was ready to accept the infor-
mation, coming from a source which he would, perhaps, look upon as more valuable
than that coming from any other source — the information given by a representative
from the Ontario Goverment. I am pleased to find that there seems to be every
chance of our receiving information which will satisfy those that are skeptical, as the
investigation proceeds, as pioneers reach different parts of the country and send
back reports, which will only be found to corroborate the reports we have as to the
richness of the country. I am glad the hon. member for Algoma has put this notice
on the paper. 1 hope it is only the opening up of a great question which will be
ventilated year by year and be brought home prominently before the attention of the
people of this and other countries, and I doubt not that at no distant time this region
will be found to be one of the richest sources of wealth to Ontario and the Dominion.

Mr. O'Brien. — I do not propose to add anything to what has already been said, in
regard to the value of this country for the purposes of settlement, but what I wish
to say is, that that value is, so far, merely theoretical, and will be" of no avail to the
wealth of the Dominion until more extended railway communication is given to it.
Not a day passes on which I do not receive letters from those I represent, asking, in
almost despairing terms, when are they to have the benefit of railway communication.
There are settlers in some parts of the country who are raising large crops of grain,
who are entirely dependent upon the lumber interest for their market, who are 50
miles away from any source of obtaining supplies, and who are every day looking
most anxiously to see whether the long promised railway is likely to reach them. If
•ever there was a case in which the interests of the poorer class of settlers deserve
consideration, it is the cases of those men who, at a time when the JVorth- West was
not entering into competition with it and under circumstances of the greatest possible
hardship, made homes for themselves in what was then almost an unknown wilder-
ness. I do trust that the Government will, at the very earliest possible moment,
take the claims of these people into consideration and carry out the promises made
long ago — promises made only, I might almost say to be broken — to give them the
means of obtaining what has become to them a matter of necessity. I only say
3

34

this, not that I have any fear but that the expectations held out will ere long be
realized ; but, on their behalf, I would take this one opportunity, the last that will
probably occur, of impressing upon the Government the great necessity there is, not
for action, but for speedy action ; and I venture to say that next summer, if the
opening of next season does not show that steps have actually been taken for the
completion of this work, my place in this House will be a very useless one, for there
will be such an emigration from that country that I sha^l have very few people left
to represent. Some have already gone. In many townships there are less people now
than when the census was taken in 1881, and if speedy steps are not taken for the
construction of the railway, the population will diminish in a still greater ratio ; and
I think it is hardly worth while for us, when we are building up Provinces so far
from ourselves, to do it at the expense of depopulating a country which will, in many
respects, compare favourably with the most fertile portions of the North-West.

Motion agreed to.

Quoting again from the concluding remarks made by Mr. Barron in his report of
1883, to the Ontario Government, with reference to the country north of the Height
of Land, he says :

' ' That the climate is remarkably healthy, the cold in winter being not quite as
severe as in most parts of the North- West, and the mean summer temperature
sufficiently high to bring to maturity, in two-thirds at least of the territory, all the
more important grain and root crops, if not flax, hemp, hops, and other crops of a
like nature which are as yet untried. * * *

" As the breeding of cattle in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, to be after-
wards sold and fattened in the south for English markets, has long been found
profitable both to the breeders in the north and feeders in the south ; so likewise
may we anticipate that the breeding of cattle in this territory, to be afterwards
fattened in Southern Ontario, will be extensively followed, with great advantage to
the people of both sections of our Province.

" My explorations also enable me to say with confidence that the mineral resources
of this territory promise to become of very great value and importance. Iron, lead,
and copper ores, china clay, gypsum, and fine yellow and brown ochres, have been
already found, and this for the most part in great abundance. Lignite, or brown coal,
has been discovered in seven or eight different places, and beds of this coarse but
useful fuel are believed to underlie large tracts of country.

" The peat beds are so extensive as to be practically inexhaustible, and these
together with the lignite will in all probability prove, sooner or later of inestimable
value as fuel, rendering the people of Ontario to a considerable extent independent
of foreign service for their supply of this indispensable necessary of life." * * *

With reference to the timber he says :

' ' That irrespective altogether of the value of the pine now on the ground, the
prospective value of the timber which seven million acres of good forest land may
be capable of producing by the unaided efforts of nature alone, should be fairly taken
into account, for if not to ourselves such a forest, more than royal in its dimensions,
will surely prove a valuable legacy to posterity."

35

EXTRACTS FROM " THE GLOBE," APRIL, 29th, 1884.

Mr. H. J. Hubertus, of Ottawa, who recently passed over the Pacific Railway to
the end of the track near Sudbury, gives the Ottawa Citizen the following description
of the district through which he passed : — Along the shores of Lake Nipissing, com-
mencing at Calender, the soil is generally clay — always clay bottom. In exceptional
cases it is sandy. I noticed exceptionally fine land on the Indian Reserve, which I
believe extends fifteen miles along the lake. I saw large birch trees, and was told
there was maple. There had evidently been terribly destructive fires through this
country even near Sudbury, the timber having been completely destroyed, and the
soil having been burnt down to the clay bottom. The young timber is often not
more than 25 years old. I fully believe that the clay country extends from the
east end of Lake Nipissing to a point on Lake Superior at the east end to Goulais Bay
or Bachewaning Bay and southward to the shore of Lake Huron. This will probably
cover a distance on the main Pacific line of over two hundred miles. Taking the
distance from Sudbury to Sault Ste. Marie by Algoma branch it would be 180 miles.
At the Sault I have seen this clay country. It is probable that it averages a depth to
the north of Lake Huron of fully 300 miles. A gentleman who crossed from the
Montreal River to the head waters of the Wahnapitfe and Sturgeon Rivers tells me
there is equally good land there, and all travellers and explorers tell us that there
is a good clay country on the Abbittibbi and Moose Rivers on the Hudson Bay slope.

There is a stretch of very inferior sandy and rocky land commencing at a point
east of Lake Nepigon and extending about 200 miles to a point east of Michipicoten
River on Superior. But this only to the south of the crest between Lake Superior
and Hudson Bay. I believe that not under 50 per cent, of the land in the clay
country is fit for settlement. As to the nature of the climate west and north of
Lake Nipissing, I was a good deal discouraged about the future of the district when
I was told that there had been frost every month last summer. I was told that
potatoes and oats had frozen and failed. But I was reassured when Mr. Duchesnay,
the resident engineer at Sudbury, told me that potatoes had ripened well, and I was
also told that Mr. Yeilding, late of this city, had successfully raised all kinds of
vegetables at Sturgeon Falls. All clay lands in new districts require drainage, as
they are wet and cold and liable to frosts. Frosts were quite common in Wellington
and Grey counties in the period of early settlement. No fears are entertained by
settlers. Sudbury is only 850 feet over sea level. Lake Huron is 575 feet, and Lake
Nipissing 65 feet higher, or 640 feet, therefore Sudbury is only 210 feet higher.
West of Sudbury the line passes along the height of land between the Hudson Bay
and St. Lawrence waters at a height of 1,400 feet. Lake Superior is 598 feet above
sea level. Mr. Duchesnay, who is a native of Quebec, and who was last year near
Sudbury, tells me the snow was about three feet deep, and was all off by the 1st of
May.

The climate he thinks about like that of Montreal or Ottawa. The longitude is
about five degrees west of Ottawa. I was told that asbestos, mica, copper, and iron
had been found. These are to be expected from the formation, which is Laurentian
and Huronian. There is no limestone to be found along the line. The company are
using gneiss rock in the construction of abutments. They own limestone islands in
Lake Nipissing, but appear to find gneiss cheaper. The same difficulty occurs on the
Algoma branch. They get limestone on islands north of the Manitoulin Islands.

There being no limestone, of course the water is soft, good for washing, and very
agreeable to drink. I have suffered from malaria in limestone districts. I was
particular in enquiring, and found no fever prevailing, the diseases being all inflam-
matory from exposure. As to the extent of the timber it must be enormous, as the
head waters of the streams emptying into the Ottawa and Lakes Nipissing and Huron
are not yet encroached on. Mr. Klock is making a raft of square timber near Veuve
Station, and Mr. James Worthington is making two rafts of square timber at Sudbury
Junction for shipment by rail.

36

I think the advantages to the settlers are very great. I saw patches of land from
50 to 200 acres and upwards near stations where the land was a clay loam and the
timber easy to clear, where a squatter, with a supply of flour, pork, and tea, could
readily build a shanty, and soon make a home for himself. If he did not wish to
stay he could quickly transfer his improvements. See how valuable his products will
be where all provisions have to be brought in now, and the prices the very highest,
and with how little a man can make a start here. Perhaps $50 or a $100, and in a
few months an express train on the Pacific will pass each way near his door every
day. Taking Calender as a point near where good land is open to the settler, it is
only 225 miles from Ottawa and 345 from Montreal.

Mr. "W . B. McMurrich, President of the Lake Nipissing & James' Bay Company,
chartered during the last session of the Dominion Parliament, was interviewed a day
or two ago with reference to the objects of the Company in building the road, and the
benefits expected to arise after the road is constructed and equipped. " We propose
to construct a road," said Mr. McMurrich, "from some point at or near the junction
of the Calender Branch Railway with the Canadian Pacific Railway along the valley
of the Sturgeon and Abbittibbi Rivers to Moose Factory. The proposed road will be
a continuation of the Northern Railway from Gravenhurst, or rather from Calender.
The distance from Toronto to Moose Harbour by the new road will be about the same
as from Toronto to Quebec. The distance from Calender to Moose Factory by the
projected route is about 350 miles. Mr. J. C. Bailey, formerly of the Credit Valley
Railway, the Chief Engineer of the new road, has estimated that it will cost about
$18,891 per mile to construct the line. The country north of Calender around Lake
Temiscaming is suitable for settlement, and the branch road to Lake Temiscaming
will make the valuable timber lands in that vicinity tributary to Toronto, and at this
lake there is stone suitable for paving purposes. On the shores of James' Bay large
deposits of iron and gold have been found. The products of the whale fisheries will
likely be sent from Hudson Bay to the States by way of this road. The subscribed
capital of the company is $200,000."

37

NAVIGATION AT MOOSE FACTORY.

The following table, handed to the reporter by Mr. McMurrich, was compiled by-
Mr. Woods, a Hudson Bay official. It shows the dates of the opening and closing of
navigation at that point for the last fifty-four years : —

1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
1837
1838
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855
1856
1857
1858
1859
1860
1861
1862
1863
1864
1865
1866
1867
1868
1869
1870
1871
1872
1873
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880

ite

of Opening.

Date of Closing.

June 1

Nov. 15

May 10

" 11

' 17

Dec. 2

1 22

Nov. 28

4 25

4 26

' 13

' 22

' 27

' 20

' 24

' 18

■ 16

' 29

' 11

« 25

4 23

« 22

1 22

4 19

' 12

4 16

' 10

4 13

' 17

4 11

' 29

4 16

' 13

to 21

4 26

■ 22

4 24

' 7

or

9

4 25

« 9

4 15

' 21

4 28

" 18

to 2

4 27

' 31

4 28

4 31

Dec. 9

' 16

Nov. 8

■ 26

to 31

9

" 23

4 16

" 21

to 25

4 24

■ 20

to

22

4 19

4 14

to

19

4 17

' 24

4 24

' 13

4 16

1 1

4 19

1 22

to 2!

4 16

4 24

to

29

4 24

' 22

4 30

" 19

4 26

4 16

4 20

4 14

4 28

" 23

to

28

4 24

" 24

to

31

4 29

• 25

6

• 11

4 27

■ 12

4 23

■ 16

4 20

■ 14

4 18

' 16

4 20

' 19

4 15

' 10

4 24

' 20

' 15 to 20

« 15

3

" 11

4 23

" 26

4 20

38

EXTRACT FROM OTTAWA "CITIZEN."

THE UPPER OTTAWA

Rev. C. A. M. Paradis, missionary from Temiscaming, who has spent many-
years up in this wilderness of the Ottawa region, has given far more than a passing
glance at the situation of matters in general. He has carefully prepared a memor-
andum setting forth the wants and requirements necessary for the improvement and
opening up of the valuable tracts of soil to actual settlers, the better facility that
will he afforded our lumber kings, and lastly, a point that is of the most vital import-
ance to the city of Ottawa, the forming of a grand chain of communication that will
divert the vast trade, daily growing in importance, from that section of our province
bordering on Lake Ontario, and compel it to follow the natural channel down the valley
direct to this city, and hence to the seaboard. To remedy the existing evils he sug-
gests the building of a dam, about 48 to 49 feet wide, at the head of the Mountain
rapid, which winds up the Sept. Lievres lake, distant eleven miles from the Mattawa.
The effect of this would be to lower the waters in Lake Temiscaming 21 feet 6 inches.
This would have no injurious effect on the lake, as it is one of deep water, having an
average of over 100 feet, aud at some point is several thousand feet. On the other
hand, it will give to the Government several thousands of acres of most salubrial soil,
unsurpassed for its productive qualities by even the famed prairie farms of the North-
West. The sale of this alone, not to take any notice of the great benefit and advan-
tages for carrying on the lumber trade, and the immense traffic brought direct into
the Ottawa market, would far more than pay the Government for the outlay that
would be incurred in the erection of the dam, at the point named, and the construc-
tion of two or three very short canals, connecting our great chain of lakes.

Passing over the various benefits that would naturally flow through this section of
country and the vast aid given in the further developing of our timber resource, the
matter of colonization is carefully considered. After referring to the many coloniza-
tion schemes, he shows that Temiscaming at a far less expense would prove a greater
source of wealth than even Lake St. John, and that in this region there are vast
tracts of territory capable of furnishing good homes to thousands of our Canadians,
who to-day are seeking them in other lands.

The document shows a deep, thoughtful study, and that the writer has not in a
flippant manner gone over the ground. He has canoed it every mile ; penetrated
into the solemn depths of the forests, where the foot of the white man has never
before trod ; examined the soil, wandered for miles along the banks of the Temisca-
ming and its many tributaries, he has gazed upon the rapids, as the water dashes
in its seething, foaming torrent, over its rock rent bed, and knows to a positive
certainty the correctnesss of every assertion made.

A petition is now in the hands of Messrs. Frank McDougal and P. H. Chabot, two
gentlemen who take great interest in developing our resources, and building up the
capital as a seat of commerce, and is already signed by nearly all our leading lumber
merchants. It is presumed that the petition will be presented to Sir Hector Langevin,
Minister of Public Works, to-morrow.

The following are extracts taken from an interesting pamphlet just pub-
lished by Charles Napier Bell, Esq., of Winnipeg, entitled " Our Northern
Waters," (written for the Winnipeg Board of Trade and presented to the
Minister of Public Works, Manitoba,) containing a great deal of valuable
information regarding Hudson's Bay and Strait, climate, resources, <fcc, &c.

39

DISCOVERY OF THE BAY.

The early discovery and occupation of the country in and about Hudson's Bay are,
as in many other cases, shrouded in a good deal of obscurity. The British claim as
the first discoverers of the whole coast of this part of North America, in the persons
of John and Sebastian Cabot, about the year 1497 ; but it is contended on the other
hand that their discoveries did not extend to the north of Newfoundland, which still
retains the narao they gave it. There appears to be only hearsay evidence of what
they did, or where they went, told afterwards at second-hand to third parties.

The French claim discovery, in 1504, through fishermen of Brittany, and a British
geographical work, published in 1671, with a map attached, fixes the scene of their
operations at Hudson's Strait, but this claim does not seem to be well founded.

The first authentic account we have of the exploration of the Straits and Bay is
that of Henry Hudson, who, on April 10th, 1610, sailed in the little Discoverie. He
ventured through the long straits, discovered the great bay that bears his name, at
once his monument and his grave He and his men wintered in its southern extremity,
and in coming north during the next summer, near the east coast, half way back to
the Strait, he, his son, and seven of his men, in a mutiny, were put into a shallop
and cut adrift, on Midsummer-day, 1611. He was never again seen.

It has been claimed that in 1656 the first exclusively commercial sea voyage was
made into Hudson's Bay by a Frenchman named Jean Bourdon, but this has been
disproved.

The Englishmen, trading as above stated, in 1668, were induced to do so by two
French Canadians, De Grozelier, and Radisson, who having been already engaged in
the trade of the Bay, and having failed in procuring from their own government cer-
tain privileges they desired, went to England, and induced some Englishmen to join
them in the trading voyage of 16(18, under command of Capt. Z. Gillam. This was
the origin of the Hudson's Bay Company, and they immediately commenced to build
forts and establish themselves in the trade, which occasioned a desultory warfare
between the English and French traders for a number of years.

Hostilities continued until the Peace of Ryswiek, in 1697, put a stop to the lighting,
and at that date Fort Albany only was in the possession of the British and this posi-
tion remained unchanged to the time of the treaty of Utrecht in 1713, by which treaty
the whole of the Hudson's Bay was ceded to the British.

For fifty years more the Hudson's Bay Company occupied only the posts on the
coast in the bay, and as in L763, by the Treaty of Paris, the rest of Canada was
ceded to Great Britain, the Company began to enter into the country towards the
Red River, but it was not until 1774 that their first establishment was erected at
Lake Winnipeg.

It is very easy to follow the business of the Company since 1735, and I have pos-
session of the names of the vessels, with the dates of the arriving at and sailing from
Moose Factory since then and up to 1883.

The same information is also published, covering like data at York Factory between
1789 and 1883, and which furnishes an excellent account of how trade has been carried
on with perfect regularity.

With the exception of one occasion (1779), Moose Factory has been visited by a
ship in every year since 1735.

This shows a very surprising state of regular navagation, and the truth of it can-
not be gainsaid, for the list was kindly furnished by the Hudson's Bay Company's
officials in Loudon.

40

HUDSON'S BAY.

The Hudson's Bay is a great inland sea extending between the 51st and 63rd degrees
of north latitude, and is about 1,000 miles in length by 600 in width, having an area
of about 500,000 square miles. It drains an extent of country about 2, 100 miles from
east to west, and 1,500 miles from north to south, or an area of 3,000,000 square miles,
Its western feeders issue from the Rocky Mountains, its eastern from Labrador, and
its southern from a point far within the boundaries of the United States, where,
indeed, from the same lake source, water flows south to the Gulf of Mexico. Even.
Lake Superior is nearly tapped to supply material for this great body of water, for
the south-eastern watershed is close to Thunder Bay.

The southern end of James' Bay is in the same latitude as the south of England,
so that seven degrees length, at least, of the bay is in like latitude as from the Eng-
lish Channel to the north of Scotland.

The average depth of the bay is about seventy fathoms according to Chappelle, who*
made extensive soundings ; this depth is evenly distributed, and there is a singular
freedom from shoals or dangerous reefs, and the approach to the west shore shows a
level sandy bottom.

On the east side of the Bay, and extending nearly the whole way along the coast
at a distance of a hundred miles from it, is a string of islands, The Sleepers, which,
however, present an easy approach, the Moose Factory ship track being to the imme-
diate west of these. The east coast has bold high shores, while the west and south
shores are low, with nearly level land gradually rising as they extend inland.

The tides on the west side decrease from twelve or fifteen feet at York to nine or
ten at Moose Factory, at the southern extremity of James' Bay. On the east coast
the tides are still lower.

Several large islands lie in the northern part of the Bay, amongst which are
Marble, Mansfield (or Mansel, as the old works have it), and Southampton.

On Charlton Island, in James' Bay, several ships' crews have wintered, from the
days of Capt. James, in 1632, to 1833 and 1873, the latter dates being those on
which the ships of the Company remained there. The vessel which wintered there
in 1873, arrived at Moose Factory, from London, on the 2 1st August.

Other islands are : The Sleepers, Nastapoka, Hopewell, Long Island, Belanger's
Island and Flint Island, which are about the lower and eastern side of the Bay.

JAMES' BAY.

James' Bay begins at Cape Jones on the east side, and Cape Henrietta Maria on
the west, and runs south about 360 miles, with an average breadth of about 150
miles. The Bay is named after Capt. James', who wintered there in 1632.

The trading schooner starts on her trips along the coast on June 1st, and is
generally laid up by the middle of November ; shore ice forming after that time
prevents her running later, though James' Bay does not close at that time. (This is
supplied by a gentleman who resided at Moose for seven years.)

41

The south end of James' Bay is distant from Michipicoton, Lake Superior, in a
straight line, only 281 miles, and from Nepigon, via the Albany, 468 miles, of which
270 miles of the Albany River is said by Dr. Bell, who has surveyed it, to be,
except in very low water, navigable by powerful steamers of light draught, leaving
only 198 miles of land carriage to connect the waters of Lake Superior and James'
Bay.

There are several Hudson's Bay Company posts or forts on the east, south and
west shores of the Bay, amongst which are Albany, in 52*12 N. lat., 82*15 W. long.;
Moose, 51*16 N. lat., 80*56 W. long. Rupert's House is on the east side.

Fort Albany has also been named Fort St. Anne and Fort Chechouan at different
times. It was established in 1864. Fort Moose is also the site of the old French
posts, Fort Monsoni and Fort St. Louis. It was built before 1686. Rupert House
was at different times called Fort St. Charles and Fort St. Jacques, and was built by
Capt. Z. Gillam, in 1668.

HUDSON'S STRAIT AND ITS NAVIGATION.

Hudson's Strait is about 500 miles in length, and varies from 45 miles to 150 miles
in breadth, having an average of about 100 miles. The two narrowest points in the
Strait are between Cape Best of Resolution Island, and the Button Islands, at the
eastern entrance ; and opposite \orth Bluff, near the Savage Islands. Between
Resolution Island and the mainland, and on the north side of the Strait, there is a
wide passage of some 10 miles, called Gabriel Strait. Button Islands, on the south
of the entrance, are at least 10 miles from the mainland of Labrador. There are,
therefore, no less than three eastern entrances into Hudson's Strait, the first 10 miles
in breadth between Resolution and the north shore ; the second or main entrance,
between Cape Best and the Button Islands, 45 miles in breadth ; and lastly, the
several channels lying between the islands on the coast of Labrador, of which four
are marked on Captain Becher's. chart, within a breadth of 10 miles. The steamers
of the Company bound for Ungava Bay pass between the Button Islands and the
mainland of Labrador. I will show that it is the general opinion of sailors that the
entrance of the Strait once passed, the navigation becomes comparatively easy.

HUDSON'S BAY OPEN.

Regarding the season of open water in the Bay, it is important to know that all
the evidence advanced proves that it is, as might be expected, from its great size and
position, open the whole year, and is in that respect so much superior to the lower
part of the St. Lawrence River.

We have very satisfactory statements on this point, and as a sample of the number,
I quote in full what was brought out by the Committee of the House of Commons,
at Ottawa, in April, 1883.

In answer to the question, '* Have you the dates of the opening and closing of
navigation of Hudson's Bay?" Dr. Bell, of the Geological survey of Canada, who
has spent six seasons about the Hudson's Bay, testified as follows : — "In regard to
the Bay itself there is no date for the opening or closing of navigation, because the
Bay is open all the year round, like the ocean in corresponding latitudes. It is
strictly correct to say that the Bay is open during the winter, because, although in
the shallow water at the head of James' Bay, a narrow margin of ice forms, it does
not extend outwards, and is due to the land-locked nature of the Bay and the shallow-
ness and freshness of the water. Further north there is a margin of ice along the
shallow water, but it never extends so far but a man on the beach can see the fog on

42

the open water on a clear morning. On parts of the eastern coast, I am told, the
sea washes against the rocks all winter, just the same as on the coast of Nova Scotia
or Newfoundland."

Dr. Bell also says that the fact that the ice forms along the shores would only inter-
fere with the navigation of the Bay, in that vessels could not get into the harbors,
longer than in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The rivers falling into the Bay are open for an average of six months. This is
amply proved by the records kept at the various posts of the Hudson's Bay Company,
on the Bay, and which, being kept by the officials for over fifty years, have been
presented to the Canadian Government. We have, therefore, undeniable data to sub-
stantiate this fact, and even further that the Nelson River is open still longer. Dobbs,
writing in 1744, gives a number of dates of the opening of James' Bay, and I may
mention one given on page 13. There was no frost on the 24th October to freeze the
fish they caught, and they had to stop fishing on that account. On the 28th October
ice showed in the river and the geese began to leave. November 13th the river
(Albany) was full of heavy ice, and on the 18th November it froze over but the
weather was " still moderate. " In the following spring (1731) the ice was gone to
sea May 12th. November 10th, 1731, the Albany Kiver was frozen over. Dobbs
here closes with the remark, " So far goes this journal."

Dr. Bell informed the House of Commons Committee, in 1883, in answer to a
question, that the temperature of Lake Superior, below the immediate surface, is 39°
Fahr. ; along the east shore of Hudson's Bay, it averaged 53° in the summer months,
according to the observations he made in 1877. He spoke of the summer alone, and
it was so warm that they bathed in it with more comfort than they could in the water
of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Owing to the fact that it is land-locked and the summer
warm, the water becomes heated, and at the same time is not carried off by cold
ocean currents, as on the Atlantic coast. The Bay is very tranquil in the summer,
and the sun shines longer there each day than in the more southern latitudes in the
summer months, and that has the effect of heating the water. The harbors are not
closed by ice till the middle of November, and sometimes not till near Christmas.
There is no difficulty in a vessel leaving the coast of the Bay up to the latter part of
October or the middle of November. Shore ice would not interfere with navigation
for over six months of the year. The floating ice in James' Bay in the spring is from
the shores and rivers, and would offer little obstruction to a steamship, being light and
rotten after it lloats.

Captain E. B. Fisher, who made eight whaling voyages to the Bay, covering some
16 years time, writes as follows : — "The Bay is open all winter, except a little ice
that makes near the shore, and that breaks up in every gale of wind. It was never
very cold where I wintered, in a small harbour to the northwest. Whalesmen never
have any trouble in coining out, as they leave as soon as their summer whaling is
over, and are always out by November 1st."

It will be seen, therefore, that practical whalemen say they do work between the
15th of May and the 1st November, or during a period of five-and-a-half months if
it is necessary, so that the opinion of Dr. Rae on this matter would seem to be very
far wide of the actual fact. Only one captain of a whaling vessel, Captain Spicer,
seemed to think that a whaling ship could not depend with certainty on getting out
after October. The log books show that the vessels have, as a rule, begun to get
ready for wintering about the end of September.

Captain Tabor, of New Bedford, who whaled in the Bay in 1862, and again in
1863, remarks: — " Hudson's Hay is open all winter, and what little ice makes on the
shore breaks up with every gale of wind. About thirty feet rise and fall of the tide
in the Strait and northern part of the Bay, and the currents are swift."

43

The whalemen seem to winter at Marble Island and other places in the northren
and northwestern part of the Bay, and as they agree in the main with the extracts I
have given, it is useless to quote the remarks of more of them, but there are many
more to refer to if they are called for.

Mr. W. A. Archibald, who lived at Moose Factory, on James' Bay, writes under
date of January 19th, 1884: — " Che ice in Moose Kiver breaks up in May from the
10th to the 20th as a rule, and the river remains open till the middle of November.
The Day is open for navigation from 1st June to 1st December. On 1st June the
trading schooner starts on her trips along the coast to gather up the winter's catch of
furs. If the English vessel is not too late in arriving, the schooner's work is done
and she is laid up by the middle of November. Shore ice may begin to form any
time after that date. I saw but one storm of any violence while I was there, and
the little coasting schooner, which happened to be caught out in it, came safely
through that. From what 1 know of Hudson's Bay and its connections with the
Atlantic, and I have coasted about in those regions for many years, I should judge
that steam vessels can navigate those waters from June to December in ordinary
years without any danger or difficulty.

The lower St. Lawrence (notwithstanding its comparative narrowness) is partly
open, even in the middle of winter. But the difficulty, as in the case of the Hudson's
Bay, is the apparent impossibdity of getting into harbors. Harbors such as Churchill
or York, on Hudson's Bay, would have the advantage over Quebec or Montreal of
connecting directly with the open sea, and hence in autumn vessels would not be liable
to be frozen in, as occasionally happens in the St. Lawaence, as, for example, in the
autumn of 188U, also in the autumn of 1870, when the outward-bound shipping got
frozen in below Quebec, occasioning a loss, it was said, of over a million of dollars.
Again, in the spring, there might be no more uncertainty about entering from sea than
in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where vexatious delays are not uncommon after the open
season is supposed to have arrived.*

The Montreal harbor master, according to the United States report on commercial
relations tor 1878 (page 657), furnished a table showing the average opening and
closing of that port for ocean-going vessels for twenty years to be : — Average opening
1858 to 1877, 1 May ; average closing 25th November.

Summary of the opening and closing of Hayes' River, opposite York Factory, for
various years from IS'AO to 1880, according to report of Mr. Wood, Government
Meteorological Observer at York Factory : —

Date of Opening. Date of Closing.

1830 Mav 17 December 2

1835 " 4 November 18

1840 " 1J " 16

1845 " 22 " 24

1850 "31 " 28

1855 '; 21 " 24

I860 " 16 " 19

1805 " 10 " 20

1870 " 11 " 27

1875 " 19 " 15

1880 " 26 " 20

The records of the Hudson's Bay Company, as presented to the Government in
1880, show that the Hayes' River, at York Factory, for an average of 53 years was
open on the 15th May. Only once in the 53 years did it remain closed till the end of
May or rirst of June. Once (in 1878) the river closed as early as the 3rd of November,
but the average closing for 53 years was about the 20th of November. It must be

* Dr. sBell.

44

borne in mind that the Hayes' is but a small river in comparison with its neighbor,
the Nelson, which is distant from it at York about six miles. The Nelson closes
much later than does the Hayes', if indeed it can be said to close at all.

It is interesting, then, to note the comparison between the opening of the harbors
of York and Montreal, though a fortnight is here given against York to clear the
river and again in the fall when ice first forms : —

Montreal. York.

Opening of harbor 1st May. 1st June.

Closing of harbor 25th of November. 10th November.

This proves conclusively that the harbor at York is open and clear of ice for five-
and-a-half-months of the year, and that vessels could approach docks between those
dates. At a port on Nelson River these dates would be extended.

SAILING SHIPS vs. STEAMERS.

It must be thoroughly understood that all the vessels spoken of in these pages are
sailing ships, and that so far steamers have never gone into the Bay. The importance
and value of many points brought out by my quotations will be appreciated when
the additional advantages that steamers would have had in the same situation are
kept in view. The vessels which were in use 274 years ago, when the Hudson's Bay
was discovered, and first navigated, may be better imagined than described, and a
glance at a model, or sketch of one of them, which gives their dimensions, will
afford some idea of what they might be expected to do in our northern waters.

It is surprising to one who reads the books of two hundred years ago, and com-
pares them with works of recent date, which bear on this subject, to find that in the
earlier days there was scarcely any mention made of danger in the navigation of the
route into Hudson's Bay. It seems as if some forty or fifty years ago, it suddenly
afflicted people as with a nightmare to hear the matter spoken of, and yet facts seem
wanting to prove that any losses had occurred to alarm people in this manner. It is
evident to anyone, who looks for the cause, that as people had been shut out of any
trade in that direction, it was highly desirable to keep any adventurous persons from
trying to gain a foothold in the future, and the best means to be adopted were those
of magnifying the dangers of the navigation.

I believe it is about thirty years since the American whalers with their vessels
began to seek their cargoes of oil in the north of the Bay, and the trade has been
carried on very quietly ever since.

It is a fact that the first vessel that ever floated on the waters of the Bay, after
pushing through the Strait, was a little ship of 55 tons burden.

Davis, the discoverer of the Strait that bears his name, made his discoveries in
1585, with the Sunshine, of fifty tons, and the Moonshine, of thirty-five tons, and the
following year he took with him in addition to these two vessels, the North Star, of
ten tons.

Captain Bylot, in 1«>15, sailed into the Bay with a vessel of 55 tons, and Ellis is
careful to note that this was the fifth voyage of discovery into these northern waters,
made by this little vessel.

45

Capt. Fox, the discoverer of Fo^x" Channel, sailed from London on the 8th of May,
1631, in the Charles, a pinnace of only 20 tons burden, and entered Hudson's Strait
on the 22nd of June, and pushed through what ice he saw without difficulty.

All the vessels, it is seen, were small, and they must have been rudely con-
structed.

It seems almost absurd to point out the difficulties encountered by sailing vessels
as compared with steamers, but so many cases of ships becalmed in ice are met with
throughout the authorities that I herein quote from, that it may be well to show
some of them.

CLIMATE OF HUDSON'S BAY.

" The countries about the Bay are capable of great improvement, the lands south-
ward and westward of the Bay are in good climates, equal in their several latitudes
to those in Asia and Europe, and the climate improves farther within land."*

" It is vastly colder at Fort Churchill than a few leagues up the river among the
woods, where the factory's men lived comfortably in huts or tents all the winter,
hunting, shooting and fishing the whole season. "+

Robson, Dobbs, Ellis, Hearne and other writers state that when Europeans have
once lived in the country about the Bay, that they are never content to live out of it
again, and this fact is proved in our own Province every day, and the climate during
the winter months at York is but very little colder than at Winnipeg, and during the
summer it is warmer there than in this Province.

ARCHANGEL.

The City of Archangel, in Russia, is situated at the head of the delta of the
Divina, in lat. 64°. 32' N., and long. 40°. 33' E. It may be said to date its existence
from a visit paid it by the English voyager Chancelor, in 1553, and indeed, an English
factory was established there by consent of the Russian Czar in 1584.

The total value of exports, in 1874, amounted to £1,234,390 in 472 ships, of which
62 were steamers and 220 coasting vessels — a large proportion being carried to
England.

The harbor is open only from June to October. The best season, however, is from
the middle of June to the middle of August. After that period the nights become
cold, and in September it is often stormy.

Population in 1867, 19,936.

The exports are flax, flax-tow and cordilla, oats, linseed, wheat, deals, tar, pitch,
resin, mats, beef and pork, calf and seal skins, train oil, cordage, feathers and linseed
cakes.

A ship starting from Archangel, at the south end of the White Sea, for England,
must sail north full seven degrees to round North Cape, the most northerly cape in

* Robson, page 62. t Dobbs, page 55.

46

Norway, and this for five-and-a-half degrees within the Arctic Circle, or to a distance
of over 500 miles farther north than the track followed by vessels sailing out of
Hudson's Straits for English ports.

It can be seen on the inspection of a chart which shows the bend of the Gulf
Stream, that the influence of that great current of warm water does not set east of
Cape North, along the Lapland shore, between 25th and 45th degrees of east longi-
tude, and vessels sailing along that coast, going to or coming back from the White
Sea, are subject to the full effect and influence of the great Arctic Ocean. *

The Meteorological Department, at Toronto, have kindly given me many statistics
of their stations at York and Moose, and a few extracts from them are given herewith,
though it is impossible to make many comparisons, as the returns for some months of
either summer or winter have not been made to the head office.

Lowest temperature on any day during the year.

Manitoba. Moose.

1876 —44

1877 —47

1878 —36 —35

1879 —50 —45

1880 —44 —39

1881 —40 —39

Highest temperature on any day during the year.

Manitoba. Moose.

1876 97

1878 93 92

1879 93 84

1880 90 87

1881 93 91

The mean average temperature for several months at Moose.

1878. 1879. 1880.

May 47 40 40

June 57 50 55

July 61 60 59

August 63 58 55

September 52 49 52

October 41 45 38

The mean average temperature for several months at York.

1876. 1878.

May 38 33

June 49 65

July 57 74

August 56 59

September 46 38

October 26 22

The mean average temperature for several months at Winnipeg.

1876. 1877. 1878. 1879. 1880.

May 53 55 48 53 55

June 60 57 65 64 53

July 67 68 70 68 66

August 64 64 67 64 62

September 53 56 52 51 52

October 37 39 36 44 38

York.
—53
—45
—33

—40
—39

York.

99

106

1881,
48
47
64
61
52
33

1882.
35
52
68
55
49
28

1881.
57
62
69
66
51
34

See Maury's charts.

47

From July to October, the temperature at Moose and W innipeg is very much alike.
In September and October, Moose has the best of it.

It will be understood that the readings for York and Moose are taken at the forts,
■which are on tide water, and have been described as most exposed, but they give us
a fair idea of what the climate is about the Bay, as far north as York or Churchill.

The fact of the water in the rivers rushing down before the ice is broken up at
lower levels proves that the climate inland is more genial, and this is the case with
all the rivers flowing into the Bay.

According to Ballantyne, vegetation in the valley of Hayes' Biver, thirty miles
from its month, on the 23rd June, was found by him to be in an advanced state, the
trees being covered with foliage, and on the 25th June he described the Hill Kiver,
"Along its gentle sloping banks the country was teeming with vegetable and animal
life."*

E. S. Matheson, C.E., under date Feb. 4th, 1884, writes me in reply to my ques-
tion as to how he stood the cold at the mouth of the Nelson River, when surveying
it, during the winter of 1882-83, as follows: — "I found the climate much milder
than I had expected. In November, we built our shanty in five or six days, and
commenced work, and for nearly four months we slept out without tents, and there
were not more than ten days, during that time, in which we had to remain in camp
through inclemency of the weather. When you take into consideration the exposed,
place in which we were working, viz., on the Nelson Biver and the sea coast, you
can rest assured that the cold would not prevent men or machinery from working
farther inland."

"In summer, when the wind is about west-south-west, it becomes sultry, and if it
happens to blow fresh, it comes in hot gusts, as if it blew from a lire, and the hardest
gusts bring the greatest heats ; but this is not the case when the wind blows from
any other point. "+

This was written in 1752 as a proof that a genial and hospitable region lay in that
direction, for it must be explained that at that date nothing was known of the in-
terior to the south-west of York Factory. It is most likely that the " ehinook" or
warm winds from the Pacific may reach even as far east as the Bay, and produces
the "hot gusts" mentioned by Kobson. We know that for a certainty a genial and
hospitable region does exist in the position indicated by him.

LETTER OF CHABLES HOBETZKY,

Lately in the Htdson's Bay Company's Service, to Col. Dennis, 4th Nov., 1878.

In regard to the country for agriculture, the country that I have spoken of, south
and south-west of James' Bay, lies in the latitude of Cornwall and Devonshire, in
England, and southward of that, it is in the same latitude as the northerly parts of
France ; and while those countries enjoy exceptionally favorable conditions, there is
no peculiarity of climate that would make the district I have referred to, worse than
the average of the face of the earth in those latitudes, and, therefore, I think it is
likely to be of value for agriculture, as far as climate is concerned.

The temperature below the immediate surface of Lake Superior is 39° Fah. ; along
the east shore of Hudson's Bay it averaged 53° in the summer months.

* Ballantyne's Hu.l e 4 t Robson, page 44.

48

What is the liability to summer frosts in the country around Hudson's Bay ? In
the larger area of agricultural land south and south-west of James' Bay, I think not
very great. In 1877, on my homeward journey, I left Moose Factory on the 1st
October, and at that time all the tender plants — the tobacco plant — castor oil bean,
common beans, cucumbers, balsams and other tender plants -were perfectly green,
standing in the open air ; and probably remained so for some time after I left, as we
had no frost. And at the posts of the Hudson's Bay Company, inland, they are not
often troubled with early autumn frosts.*

How about late frosts in the spring ? No late frosts in the spring. I think the
sowing is done on an average at the same time as in corresponding latitudes in Lower
Canada. I have spoken of the southern region. Further to the north-west, at
Norway House, in 1879, they had a frost in the latter part of September, which
blighted the tender plants, and it was remarked as the first that had occurred there
in thirty-four years. Wheat ripens perfectly every year in that region.

Where is that ? About twenty miles down the Nelson River from the north end
of Lake Winnipeg. The climate, there, 1 think, is as good as in Manitoba, on
account of certain favourable conditions.

Moose Factory enjoys the most favorable climate on the Bay. You are there away
from the influence of the open sea. James' Bay is far south, and comparatively
narrow, and the water is warmer than at York Factory. "+

Ellis mentions that in the spring of 1747, "the ice in Hayes' River gave way on
the 16th May, floating gently to sea. On the 5th June, nineteen bark canoes, laden
with furs passed down on their way to York Factory, and on the next day, seventy
more," — a clear proof that the rivers inland, had been open at least a fortnight or
three weeks previously. +

SALMON FISHERIES.

It is not generally known that large quantities of salmon are taken in Hudson's
Bay and Strait, and from one or two of the rivers of the Hudson's Strait, a consider-
able number of barrels, in salted condition, are exported every year by the Hudson's
Bay Company.

Dr. Bell caught a species of salmon, attaining a weight of about 10 lbs., on the
east coast of the Bay. He found the Indians fishing with gill nets, set in about two
fathoms of water. They were taking them in considerable numbers, the lish having
a strong resemblance to the common salmon (S. Solar) in outline, fins, head and
mouth, and the flesh the same color and flavor. The average size is, however,
smaller, the largest which they saw during the summer weighing only about 10 lbs.,
but many were nearly as heavjr. They were caught all along the eastern coast. The
Indians also killed them with spears (like those used by the Mic-Mac Indians), in
the mouths of small rivers, and in shallow arms of the sea.

According to Hearne, the season for salmon in the neighbourhood of the Church-
hill River begins at the latter part of June, and ends about the middle or latter part
of August. This writer states, that in some years, salmon are so plentiful near
Churchill River, that he has known upwards of two hundred fine fish taken out of
four small nets in one tide, within a quarter of a mile of the fort.

* See Table of mean average at Moose, for September of various years, on page 49.
f Dr. Bell before House of Commons Colonization Committee.
J Ellis, page 209.

49

FURS.

The very name, Hudson's Bay, is so associated with the fur trade, that it is un-
necessary to more than state that large quantities of furs are exported yearly by the
Hudson's Bay Company in the two or three ships which go to the Bay for the pur-
pose of taking out goods for the trade and carrying back the "fur catch" of the
previous year. Besides York, Churchill, Moose, Albany, Martin's Falls, East Main,
Rupert's House, and Fort Chimo, many small winter posts are established for the fur
trade, and in the spring the coasting schooners sail from post to post and collect the
fur for shipment from Moose, York and Churchill.

A steamer runs to Fort Chimo, at the foot of Ungava Bay, and takes out furs, fish,
oil, etc.

Amongst the skins of animals exported are given moose, musk-ox, various kinds
of deer, beaver, wolf, fox of various kinds, lynx, Polar bear, black and brown bear,
otter, martin, fisher, ermine, wolverine, skunk, etc.

At one time the whole fur trade of the Northwest was conducted through the
Hudson's Bay route, but of late years the districts lying adjacent to the rail routes
have sent their furs through the United States, via New York or Montreal.

TRADE AND COMMERCE.

As long ago as 1748, this subject was dealt with so fully that I cannot do better
than simply quote the words then written by a ship's captain, after his return from
a voyage to Hudson's Bay.

" Discovery promotes trade more than anything, not only as it opens new branches,
and thereby brings a clear accession to commerce, without adding in one shape what
may be lost in another, but also of quickening, improving, and enlarging many old
branches ; since it is visible that there is a circulation in trade, and whatever creates
an exportation on one side, must encourage manufactures, and heighten importations
on the other. But, above all, it contributes most effectually to the extending navi-
gation. A new trade immediately calls for an increase of shipping, and this exactly
in proportion to the demands which this new trade creates, either for our own goods
and manufactures, or for the produce of the new discovered country ; so that the
benefits received from thence, are clearly doubled to us in this respect.

" After this short explanation of the benefits that arise from discovery, we need
not wonder, that the best friends to commerce, who at the same time are the best
friends to their country, have always considered it in so favorable a light. It must
be allowed, that they have sometimes met with opposition, as what truth is there,
that has not been denied ? what useful design, that has not been opposed ? We may
from hence conclude, that no arguments can be now offered against discovery, but
what are built upon another foundation which, when examined, will be found as
sandy as the former, viz., the doubting whether anything of consequence is left to
discover."

CONCLUSION.

We have, in the very heart of our Dominion, an immense inland sea which never

freezes, it is connected with the Atlantic Ocean by a wide passage which never

freezes over, and is open for navigation for at least five or six months, if not during

the whole year. This great body of salt water has emptying into it a large number

4

50

of rivers, many of them navigable for large l'iver steamers for long distances inland,
they are well-stocked with the finest edible fish, and in some places their banks are
clothed with timber, much of which is valuable for export. The islands of the Bay,
and many localities on the mainland are rich in mineral-bearing rocks and forms of
coal. The northern waters are frequented by schools of whales which are already
affording a bountiful harvest to the enterprising whalers. At all points in the great
Bay, porpoises abound, which supply hides and oil. Furs are obtained from the full
list of fur-bearing animals frequenting the adjacent country. Large game supports,
in a great measure, the Indian population. Feathered game is so plentiful, that at a
single post, 36,000 geese are killed in the autumn, as the year's supply. Vegetables
are raised at all the forts in the southern part, and at some of those in the noith.
Horses, cattle, etc., are kept, and an abundance of fodder is found for them. At
least three harbors are frequented by ships, and for 274 years sailing vessels of all
descriptions, from the pinnace of 20 tons to the 74-gun man-of-war, have anchored
in them after passing through the Strait and across the Bay. British regular troops
and immigrants have sailed through these waters and landed at these harbors.

Should we not, as Canadians, anxious for the full development of the great natural
resources of our country, take what nature offers us so freely, and make use of her
bountiful gifts.

The estimated cost of building the railway complete, exclusive of rolling
stock, and equal in every respects to the Canada Pacific Railway, will be
$18,891 00 per mile. These figures are based on present prices of wages
and materials. Wages for labor cannot possibly be higher than one dollar
and a half per day, but in all probability may be lower. As will be seen
by the detailed estimate, nothing has been omitted to make it a first-class
road. Expensive station buildings will not be necessary for a great many
years ; at the same time my estimate provides for good, plain substantial
structures.

I have allowed the full price and usual quantity for fencing, although
fencing over one-half the ground should not be necessary for some time to
come.

Ties should and will be delivered for a great deal less than I have allowed,
as the timber is plentiful throughout ; will be almost on the track, and
hence long hauls will be saved. Although I have put down a price per
acre for right of way, this will actually cost the Company nothing, as
the Government always grant this free to railways going through Crown
Lands. There is plenty of good ballast on the line, and materials for the
construction, such as tools, plant and provisions can be taken over the C.
P. Railway and laid down at the very spot where work has to be com-
menced.

Should the Gravenhurst Link be not finished in time, rails and fastenings
can also be carried over this railway from either Montreal or Brockville,
and delivered at the point of commencement.

51

Houses and shanties can be built at different and convenient points
along the line for the accommodation of the laborers to live and board in,
and which can be well and cheaply built, as timber for that purpose is
plentiful and at all places convenient, and I consider this estimate now
submitted ample, indeed very full, inasmuch as the country through which
the road will pass encounters no serious engineering difficulties, either in
earth work, rock work, or bridge work, one noticeable feature being with
regard to the rivers is, that as a general thing the bottoms are all good,
solid rock, hence easily and economically bridged.

With respect to this railway as a financial undertaking, and the antici-
pated traffic to be derived therefrom, sufficient testimony in these pages
has already been adduced we think, to show the very great intrinsic value
of this hitherto terra incognita — but which might, if necessary, be multiplied
to an extent far exceeding the limits of this pamphlet did we wish to array
long columns of figures and statistics to prove more fully, if possible, the
utility and profits to be derived from a scheme which shall expose its
treasures to the reach of enterprise ; time will, however, demonstrate this-

The length of the railway is about 350 miles, but for the sake of argu
ment and to keep within reasonable bounds with our present calculations,
let us call the distance 300 miles by 120 miles (60 on each side of the line) ;
this gives 36,000 square miles of area — equal in acres to twenty-three mil-
lions and forty thousand acres (23,040,000) from which traffic will imme-
diately be derived, making use, however, of some of these noble rivers
which will act as feeders in the way of bringing down timber either in
logs or rafts, will extend this area. Suppose, for instance, that we only
take half of this area as timbered land, the result will be freights sufficient
from this alone, to keep an ordinary railway busy for a period of eighty
years.

Practical lumbermen calculate the average yield of pine in a fairly good
bush at 7,000 ft. B. M. ; but we will take the average given in the State of
Michigan at present, at 3,750 ft. B. M. per acre ; and the hardwood lands,
maple, birch and spruce at 12,000 ft. B. M. per acre; cordwood at 40
cords per acre ; and hemlock bark at 5 cords per acre ; and instead of
taking the twenty-three million acres of land, we shall distribute this over,
say one million acres ; it will be seen from this the enormous amount of
freight to be carried over the railway each year, estimating wood and ties
to weigh one and a half tons per cord, and lumber one and a quarter tons
per 1,000 ft. B. M. ; cordwood, of course will not for some time to come
pay to carry any very great distance, but a great deal of this will be con-
sumed by the railway itself; as the locomotives should be all wood burning ;

52

this will be the best and most economical fuel to use for many years ; ties
however will form no unimportant part of the freights, as railway building
is increasing every year, consequently the demand for these will be very
large and continue to increase, and which must be supplied in the near
future altogether from Northern Canada ; the forests of Southern Ontario
and the United States are being denuded rapidly of this useful timber, hence
attention must necessarily be directed " Northwards " for the supply. Iron
ore, stone, stone-flagging, and various other economic minerals, together
with the vast quantities of supplies required for the lumbermen and settlers,
also cattle, with the ordinary passenger traffic, and the impulse given by the
completion of this " avenue " co the North will extend through the whole
region and stimulate its rapid settlement. It will be borne in mind that it
was the timber trade alone that made our present Northern Railway what
it is, and the revenue derived from this one source was enormous. The
Nipissing and James' Bay Railway is not depending altogether on the pro-
ducts of the forest; other, more lasting, and not less remunerative, await us.

The subsidies expected to aid in building the road, will be a land grant
from the Dominion Government of at least six thousand acres per mile,
beginning at the " Height of Land" going northwards, equal in length to
about one hundred and fifty miles, and a grant of money from both Legis-
latures of four thousand dollars per mile, extending the whole distance of
350 miles; these with the stock and bonds will prove sufficient to complete
the whole scheme.

It is proposed to divide the road into three sections ; the first section
will begin at the Calender end at a point on the Canada Pacific Railway,
thence to Lake Tamiscaming, about 81 miles. Section No. 2, from this
point to Lake Abbittibbi, about 91 miles, and from this to the mouth of
the river at James' Bay will be section No. 3, about 178 miles.

53

ESTIMATED COST OF NIPISSING AND JAMES' BAY
RAILWAY.

Quantities. Per Mile,

12 Acres Right of Way (100 feet wide) @ $ 2 00 $ 24 00

12 " Clearing and Chopping 20 00 240 00

3 " Grubbing 100 00 300 00

4 " Close Cutting 30 00 120 00

640 Rods of Fencing 0 60 384 00

18,000 Cubic yards Earth Excavation 0 25 4,500 00

2,000 " " Rock " 180 3,600 00

$9,168 00

Iron Bridging and necessary Trestles $1,250 00

Masonry for Bridges and Culverts 300 00

Culverts and Cattle Guards 200 00

2,640 Ties for Track, at 16 cents 423 00

Track laying $200 00

2,000 Cubic yards of Ballast, at 40 cents ... 800 00

2,173 00

1,000 00

Buildings, Tanks and Turn-tables 750 00

Telegraph line complete 50 00

Freight on part of materials 80 00

88 Tons of Steel Rails, 56 lbs. per yard, at $36 $3,168 00

6£ " Fastenings for same, at $36 225 00

Frogs and Switches 60 00

3,453 00

Engineering 300 00

Legal and Preliminary Expenses and Purchase of Right of Way . . «200 00

$17,174 00
Contingencies, 10 per cent 1,717 00

$18,891 00

Toronto, May, 1884.

J. C. BAILEY,

Chief Engineer,

54

-&*T2<T JL.1X CI^IL.

NIPISSING AND JAMES' BAY RAILWAY.

Capital Stock, - $2,000,000.00.

SHARES, $100.00, EACH.

Total Length - 350 Miles.

Total Cost ----- 86,612,000.

Issue of $1,200,000, of ordinary stock in shares of $100 each.

Issue of £1,000,000 sterling of 5 per cent, first mortgage.

Bonds of £100 each.

6,000 acres per mile, over 150 miles $ 900,000.

$4,000 per mile, over 350 miles 1,400,000.

COPP, CLARK & CO., GENERAL PRINTERS, COLBORNE STREET.. TORONTO.

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