■*« n-j .«>A^> .^^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 m IIIIIM ll|||^ 12.2 m I.I ^ 1^ Iili2.0 1.8 1.25 U 11.6 /] <^ /# A "c^l c* c"! ^?- V %, ^ >^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 «V iV <5^ ^ s? \ ^2 per i,ooo ft. board measure would be a very moderate figure to place it at, which would give $200,000 for every 100,000,000 ft. This would simply place millions of dollars in the coffers of the Ontario Government. It is further to be noted that red pine at present in the district is absolutely valueless. It would not pay anybody to take it out. A railway would enable the saw mills to cut it into all kinds of dimension timber at a moderate prorit, and although it would not Hkely sell at a price to give the Government a bonus for the license, it would yield at least from $1 to $1.25 per 1,000 ft. for crown dues, recent sales of wliite and red pine having been made on the basis of $1.25 for crown dues. After passing the height of land the character of the country changes, and there is as good land as anywhere on the continent lying north and west of l-uke Temiscamingue up to Lake Abittibi, south-west and west of Lake Abittibi, around Night-hawk Lake district, and away west of the line dividing the district of Nipissing from Algoma. The land east of Night- hawk Lake, and up the river of the same name, is good agri- cultural land, clay soil with black mould. Recent surveys 130 miles north of Sudbury indicate beyond doubt that this land extends a long distance north. What the extent of this large agricultural district may be it is at present impossible to say, but it is known to many people who have passed through it in different directions, that the soil is a heavy loam on top, capable of growing any kind of produce that can be grown in a temper- ate climate. This will appear plain when it is remembered 5 lii^iias that all this fine district now spoken of, and which although about 140 miles north of the C. P. K., is still south of the 49th parallel, and consequently in the same latitude as Dakota, hut not subject to the fit.'rce blizzards and (levastatinj:^ storms of that region. The intention is to build a branch line at a point on the north side of the Montreal river to the head of Lake Temisca- mingue, a distance of about 15 miles, with an additional 15 miles to the head of Quinze rapids. This branch would give an outlet to a large farming district on the River Blanche, and the country now partially settled at the head and west of Lake Temiscaminrjue. The great lumber legion on the Upper Ottawa and Keepawa waters would be served by this branch line, lumbermen utilizing the road to get in supplies. Temiscamingue lands only require railway facilities, when a large number of settlers will be attracted to that promising region, where some thirty townships have already been sur- veyed by the Ontario Government. The reports of actual settlers and surveyors as to the soil and climate of this new territory, are all that can be desired. Seeding commences about the first of May, and ends so far as oats are con- cerned, about the first of June. Haying commences about the 14th of July. Navigation opens early in May, and closes sometimes as late as December. Steamers were running on Lake Temiscamingue until the i2lh December in 1892. Hay, oats, potatoes, beans, peas, etc., are grown to perfection in the district even now, and sold at good prices to lumbermen. The soil is good clay loam, with black muck overlying. Lake Abittibi also is described as surrounded by level clay land of excellent quality, and wheat has been grown successfully at the Hudson Bay posts, as well as oats, rye, and root crops, and it is perfectly safe to s=iy that this large agricultural area is less affected with summer frosts than were many parts of southern Ontario when first opened for settlement. The whole region between the mam line of the C. P. R. and Lake Abittibi can be made of enormous value to the coun- 6 try at large. All it wants is development and railway commu- nication. Sections of it are rich in minerals. The gold fields around Lake Wahnapitae, which the railway will pass through, bid fair to equal any other locality in this respect in the Dominion. The forest wealth is beyond question, and the agricultural lands can be made capable of sustaining a very large population. There are numerous fal and rapids which can be made to furnish power for mills and factories, and it is destined to become a great attraction to the tourist and sports- man. Lake Temagamang alone will attract thousands annu- ally to its shores, as its waters are clear as crystal, deep and cold, and abound with fish. It is also st]jcld»d with numerous islands, estimated from 1,300 to 1,600. From Lake Abittibi to James Bay it may be said that this territory is practically unexplored. It is wel! known, how- ever," that the most northerly tree of the continent is the spruce, and when our pine forests are exhausted, spruce will take the place of pine, as it is now doing in many localities. Spruce is the most desirable tree for pulpv/ood, and as there is a rapidly increasing demand for pulp, spruce is becoming more valuable every year. Mr. Borron in his report on the basin of Moose river, 1890, says, " There is no tree which possesses in an equal degree the power of adapting itself to all the changes of soil and climate In this northern territory as the spruce. It is consequently the tree most commonly met with from the moment we cross the height of land until we arrive at the coast of James Bay. On the rich soil of the sheltered river bottoms it overtops all the other trees, and attains a circumference of from six to eight feet in the aggregate. There is an enormous quantity of spruce of useful sizes in this territory." It is not practicable to float the timber of this large aren, as the rivers all run north into Hudson Bay. A railway is a necessity to give any value to the timber of this region. The mmeral and agricultural resources of the James Bay territory are not sufficiently known to speak definitely, but it is a well established _fact that there is considerable agricultural land near the shores of James Bay, and that the climate is even more moderate than farther south. The resources of this reg'on, inckiding the rich fisheries of Hudson Bay, can be made tributary to Ontario by the construction of the James Bay railway to the mouth of Ruperts river on the east side of James Bay, the uearet>t point where a harbor can be found, as the south and west shores of James Bay are too shallow to admit of shipping facilities with- out an enormous expenditure. The James Bay Railway Com- pany desire to push the construction of the railway from .Toronto to Lake Abittibi without delay, and if sufficient assist- ance is given by the Dominion and Ontario Governments, from a point south of Parry Sound to Lake Abittibi, say 325 miles, the agricultural, timber, and mineral lands of ihis rich territory will be opened up and developed during the next few years. Railway enterprise alone will reveal the possibilities of this sectii-n of new Ontario. The undersigned are indebted to the published reports of the Dominion and Ontario Governments regarding the territory in question, and to surveyors and explorers, who have given their impressions of the country, including the report of the engineer of the James ^^ay Railway Company, who made an examination of the country between Lake Nipissing and James Bay in the tall of 1895, and as the consensus of opinion is all insupport of what has been said, the undersigned feel that the James Bay Railway Company can confidently appeal to the Dominion and Ontario Governments for substantial support to an undertaking that will open up and develop a large area of land that will have the effect of increasing, to a very large extent, the population of this Dominion, and adding to the wealth of the whole country, and the Province of Ontario in particular. All of which is respectfully submitted, GEO. A. COX, WILLIAM MACKENZIE, GEO. H. BERTRAM. Toronto, 22nd Feb., 1897. 8