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Un des symboles suivants apparaftra sur la darnlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE ", le symbols ▼ signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent hue filmte A des taux de rMuction diff Arents. Lorsqus le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clichA, 11 est filmA A partir da I'angia supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite. et de haut en bes, en prenant le nombre d'Imagas nicessalra. Les diagrammas suivants lliustrant la m^hoda. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 A Vol. X CA^ The univers pie in b likely t< greatest Americ that vei is almo half of t Canada of Alas! most p Europe hundred than am map of , of Canat from El PioVs CVs BULLETIN OF THE American Geographical Society. Vol. XXII I890 No. 3 i CANADA: THE LAND OF WATERWAYS. . . BY WATSON GRIFFIN. The belief that our earth was made for man is almost universal throughout the civilized world, and many peo- ple in both hemispheres are of the opinion that man is likely to reach the highest state of perfection and the greatest degree of comfort on the continent of North America. Yet the prevailing impression seems to be, that very nearly half of this North American continent is almost unfit for human habitation. This rejected half of the continent, which includes the Dominion of Canada, the island of Newfoundland and the territory of Alaska, lies within the same degrees of latitude as the most populous and most progressive countries of Europe ; it juts out into the two great oceans, and is. hundreds of miles nearer to both Europe and Asia, than any other part of the New World. Looking at the map of America and noting the geographical situation of Canada, it seems strange that the early adventurers from Europe passed it by to seek homes in more south 351 -i.iji?«i t 352 Canada: The Land of Waterways, ern latitudes. But this choice of location was not a mere freak. The early voyagers did direct their ships towards the northern part of the continent. They coasted along the dreary shores of Labrador, ventured into the Arctic Ocean in search of a north-west passage to Asia, and contrasting that inhospitable region with the temperate and fertile countries on the opposite shores of Europe made such unfavorable reports that the tide of emigration was turned to the South, very rnuch farther to the South than necessary. ^ The shape of North-eastern America is not unlike that of North-western Europe. Labrador slopes away from the Atlantic on one side as does Germany on the other ; its north-eastern spur, terminating in Cape Chudleigh is another Jutland ; Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay are the Skager Rack, Cattegat and Baltic on a little larger scale ; Fox Channel and the Gulf of Boothia resemble the Gulf of Bothnia, and Baffin's Land is the counterpart of Norway and Sweden. Perhaps this comparison would not bear very close analysis if the outlines of the different sections mentioned were taken separately, but there is certainly a general resem- blance in the contour of the two coasts. But while the climate of North-western Europe is moderated by the Gulf Stream, the Arctic current chills the opposite shore of America. If all countries lying in the same latitude enjoyed the same climate, the temperature of Labrador would be very like that of Germany, the whole Atlantic coast of British America would be well populated and the metropolis of this continent would probably be located in Newfoundland or Nova Scotia, instead of on the island of Manhattan. But climate depends as much ; Canada : The Land of Waterways. 353 upon local influences as upon latitude. The elevation, the character of surrounding waters, and the prevailing winds must all be taken into consideration. Nature has dealt harshly with Labrador, but it is a great mistake to suppose that she has treated the whole Dominion of Canada in the same way. On the contrary, the greater part of Canada is particularly favored by local surround- ings, and these can best be explained by describing the different provinces separately, but in doing this each sec- tion will be considered as a part of the whole Dominion.'^jjj^ Newfoundland, the sentinel island of British North America, has not yet joined the Canadian Confederation, but is expected to do so before long. It is twelve miles from the mainland of Labrador, from which it is sepa- rated by the Strait of Belle Isle, and its eastern point is only 1,640 miles from Ireland. It has been suggested that Newfoundland might be made a part of the main- land and the ocean voyage from America to Europe re- duced to two or three days by closing the Strait of Belle Isle and extending the Canadian railway system to St. John's, Newfoundland. The project has had the support of several eminent engineers and there are said to be no great difificulties to be overcome in carrying out the scheme, as the filling in material lies close at hand. A ship railway would be constructed across the new isthmus above the railway tracks, so that vessels bound for the St. Lawrence could still take the short route. It is claimed that the closing of Belle Isle would turn the Arctic current quite away from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and marvellously moderate the climate of the western coast of Newfoundland, the Maritime Provinces and the part of Quebec lying along the Gulf. 354 Canada : The Land of Waterways. A less formidable scheme is a proposal to construct a railway from Quebec City along the north shore of the St. Lawrence to St. Charles harbor in Belle Isle Strait, from which a fast line of steamships would be run to Europe ; and the promoters of the project believe that by bridging the St. Lawrence at Quebec and running fast trains to Belle Isle this line might be made very at- tractive to travellers subject to sea-sickness and business men who were pressed for time. However, as the coun- try between Quebec City and Belle Isle is always likely to be sparsely populated, such a railway would have to depend almost entirely upon passenger traffic be- tween America and Europe, unless by connecting with the Newfoundland railways it succeeded in greatly -de- veloping the trade between Canada and Newfoundland. Prince Edward Island, the smallest province of the Dominion, lies at the south of the Gulf of St. Law- rence and is separated from the mainland by Northum- berland Strait. It is 150 miles in length, varies in width from four to thirty miles, and has an area of 2,133 square miles, almost every foot of which is suitable for cultivation. The soil is naturally very fertile, and the island has a unique advantage in the possession of in- exhaustible supplies of natural manure in the form of mussel mud, formed by the decay of oyster, clam and mussel shells in all the bays and river mouths. A good dressing of this mussel •mud is said to have a marvel- lous effect, restoring fertility to the poorest soils. The chief crop of the island is potatoes, but all kinds of grains and vegetables are produced in abundance and all the fruits of the North temperate zone, excepting peaches and grapes, can be successfully grown. The Canada : The Land of Waterways. 355 2,133 ble for nd the of in- trm of m and \.good narvel- The inds of ce and epting The islanders claim that they have the best fisheries in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and they are now devoting spe- cial attention to the cultivation of oysters. The island is practically without mineral resources, although coal is believed to exist at a great depth. The climate is by no means severe, and the atmosphere is clear, fogs be- ing seldom experienced. In January and February the thermometer sometimes registers as low as fifteen de- grees below zero for a few hours at a time, but such cold is exceptional, the average of all temperatures dur- ing January and February for seven years being nearly seventeen degrees above zero. A Government railway runs through the province from end to end, with branches in various directions. Northumberland Strait, which is eight miles across at the narrowest point, never freezes over, but the floating ice is often packed so closely during midwinter that it is difficult to maintain communication with the mainland. A Dominion Gov- ernment steamer runs regularly with mails and passen- gers, but the islanders will never be satisfied until the Dominion Government undertakes the construction of a tunnel under the strait. While the people of Prince Edward have always wished to attach themselves to the mainland, they were for many years almost equally anxious to make Nova Scotia an island by cutting a canal through the Isthmus of Chignecto, thus enabling their ships to reach the Bay of Fundy without going around Nova Scotia. But Mr. H. G. C. Ketchum, a New Brunswick civil engineer, suggested that a ship railway across the isthmus would serve all the purposes of a canal, while it could be con- structed at less cost and maintained at less expense. 356 Canada : The Land of Waterways. Mr. Ketchum's proposal was approved by the Domin- ion Government and a large subsidy was granted to a company undertaking the work, which was begun a year and a half ago, and will be completed this autumn. This ship railway runs from Tignish to Amherst, a dis- tance of seventeen miles in a straight line, and is so level that a person standing at one end can see the masts of the ship at the other end. It will carry ships of one thousand tons, and is so designed that with slight alterations it might be adapted to large vessels, Mr. Ketchum does not anticipate that the railway now being constructed will ever be altered to accommodate vessels of more than 1,200 tons, but he thinks another track will be required in a few years for larger vessels. The Bay of Fundy at the terminus of the ship rail- way would admit, at ordinary high water, vessels of the largest draught, but at the other terminus the limit would be eighteen feet draught at high water, and a very long dredged channel would have to be made for the approach to the hydraulic lift. The channel now pro- vided is three-quarters of a mile long and admits vessels of only fourteen feet draught. By crossing the isthmus, instead of passing through Canso Strait, vessels bound to St. John, N. B., from all points in the Gulf and river St. Lawrence, will save five hundred miles, while there will be a saving of over seven hundred miles as com- pared with the route around Cape North, frequently taken to avoid the fogs and winds which prevail in Canso at some seasons of the year. The Bay of Fundy is noted the world over for its pe- culiar tides, which are generally supposed to be even more extraordinary than they really are. The Canadian Canada : The Land of Waterways. 357 Domin- nted to a in a year autumn. 'St, a dis- .nd is so see the rry ships hat with I vessels, way now nmodate another • vessels, hip rail- Is of the he limit and a nade for now pro- vessels sthmus, bound id river e there as com- quently ivail in its pe- •e even nadian school geographies make them seventy feet, whereas of- ficial records show that they never exceed fifty-five feet at any point, and do not average more than thirty feet. The highest rise is along the Chignecto Isthmus and in the Basin of Minas. At St. John the spring tide is twen- ty-seven feet, and the neap tide twenty-three feet. There are various theories regarding the cause of these won- derful tides, one being that a portion of the warm Gulf Stream seek^ an entrance this way to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and its incoming current is checked and thrown back by the Isthmus of Chignecto. I do not pretend to know anything about it myself, but if this is a branch of the Gulf Stream trying to force its way to the St. Law- rence, it would be interesting to speculate upon the prob- able effect of cutting a channel for it through Chignecto, and at the same time closing Belle Isle Strait to shut out the Arctic current. Whatever may be the cause of them, these great tidal waves, rushing up the rock-bound bay, turn inward wherever they find an opening made by a river channel, and go roaring up the valleys under the name of tide bores, so that in Nova Scotia river beds, which ordinarily contain nothing but rivulets, are full of water at flood tide. On the New Brunswick side the rivers, being much more important, do not dwindle to riv- ulets when the tide is out, but there is a very great dif- ference in the volume of water near their mouths at high and low tides. When the tide is out vast muddy flats are left bare, and it is only during spring tide that they are entirely covered. Thousands of acres of these marsh lands near the river mouths, both in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, have been reclaimed by dyking, and the land thus made available for agriculture is of extraordi- I 35« Canada : The Land of Waterways. nary fertility, producing astonishing crops for years with- out manure. The alluvial mud is sometimes carried to the uolands to be used as manure, and is almost equal to the mussel mud of Prince Edward for fertilizing pur- poses. The Bay of Fundy has a very foggy reputation among people unacquainted with it, but the records of the keepers of the numerous fog whistles along the bay do not make such a bad showing. An account kept by the keeper of the fog whistle on Partridge Island, at the mouth of St. John harbor, for seventeen years shows that during the six months, beginning with November and ending with April, the fog averaged 19 hours and 22 min- utes per month, or only 38 minutes per day. In the sum- mer months the bay is very often foggy, but the channel being wide, deep and free from treacherous shoals or rocks, while there are fog whistles, automatic whistling buoys and light-houses all along the coast, navigation is always safe. During the ten years from 1877 ^^ ^886 inclusive the tonnage of vessels arriving at and depart- ing from St. John was 10,793,846, and the total loss from disasters and casualties in the Bay of Fundy was only ^^ of one per cent. The Province of Nova Scotia is three hundred and eighty-six miles in length by from fifty to one hundred miles in width, with an area of 20,907 square miles, and extends from the 43d to the 47th parallel of latitude. Its coasts are rugged and uninviting in appearance, and Mr. Herbert Crosskill has compared the province to a splen- did painting in a coarse iron frame, but the rough looking frame with its coal, iron and gold, its many commodious harbors and rich fisheries, is as valuable as the fertile inte- rior. Owing to its almost insular position, and perhaps •s. Canada : The Land of Waterways. 359 years with- 5 carried to )st equal to ilizing pur- reputation records of ng the bay int kept by and, at the shows that ember and ind 22 min- [n the sum- he channel ; shoals or c whistling vigation is 7 to 1 886 nd depart- 1 loss from sonly^s^V idred and hundred liles, and litude. Its j, and Mr. jo a splen- looking imodious •tile inte- perhaps to the influence of the Gulf Stream, which flows not far from its southern extremity, the climate is very much more moderate than that of the neighboring State of Maine. Extreme cold is seldom experienced in any part of the province, but the northern counties are more exposed to the influence of the Arctic current flow- ing through Belle Isle than those in the south and along the Bay of Fundy. Thus, Annapolis township, where the climate averages about six degrees warmer than that of the State of Massachusetts, is seven or eigh*^ 'I'egrees warmer on the average than the counties in Cape \ leton and along Northumberland Strait, five or six degrees warmer than Halifax and Colchester co aties, and three or four degrees warmer than the . uned country of Evangeline, along cue Basin of Minas. YarmoL.ih, the most southern county, has very mild winters. According to the meteorological records at Yarmouth town for the seven years from 1882 to 1888 the minimum temperatures averaged in January and February 1.3°; March 5.6°; April 21.6°; May 30° ; June 38. i ° ; July and August 42° ; September 3 7. 7° ; October 28.2° ; November 18.4° ; December 5.2°. The average of all temperatures for the seven years from 1882 to 1887 was: in January and February 25.4° ; March 29.5°; April 38.5° ; May 47. 1° ; June 55.1° ; July and Au- gust 59.8° ; September 55.2'' ; October 47.6° ; November 40.2° ; December 30.9°. The average maximum temper- atures for seven years were : in April 59.4° ; May 67.9° ; June 75.3°; July and August 77.1° ; September 72.3° ; October 67° ; November 58.6°. The atmosphere of Yarmouth is moist, and the summer temperatures are very much lower than those of the Annapolis Valley. In I ! ii; 360 Canada : The Land of Waterways. Sydney, at the north end of the province, the thermom- eter sometim-s touches thirteen below zero, the average for January and February for seven years being 18.9 degrees above zero, while at Halifax, about half way be- tween Yarmouth and Sydney, the greatest degree of cold experienced in an average winter is between six and se ^n degrees below zero, the average of all tempera- tures at that point during January and February for seven years being twenty-two degrees above zero. The winters are short, but, except in the south-western coun- ties, the spring is long and backward, owing to the chill- ing influence of the ice that drifts through Belle Isle. This is especially true of the island of Cape Breton, which is besieged with drift ice every spring. The cli- mate of dl parts of the province is remarkably salubri- ous, and It is claimed that the average of life is longer than in any other quarter of the globe. According to the census of 1881, the number over eighty years of age in a population of 440,572 was 3,853, while there were twenty-four over one hundred years of age. In New Brunswick, with a population of 321,233, there were 2,227 over eighty, and twelve over one hundred years of age, while Prince Edward Island had eight over one hundred years old, and 883 over eighty years old, in a population of 108,891. The garden of Nova Scotia is in the Annapolis and Cornwallis valley, a district about eighty miles long and from four to twelve miles wide, protected from the summer fogs of Fundy and the chilling ocean winds by two ranges of hills, known as the North and South Mountains. The North Mountains skirt the south shore of the Bay of Fundy from Briar Island to the vs. Canada : The Land of Waterways. 361 le thermom- the average being 18.9 lalf way be- lt degree of veen six and ill tempera- ebruary for zero. The jstern coun- to the chill- Belle Isle. Lpe Breton, \. The cli- ibly salubri- e is longer :cording to ears of aore there were In New were 2,227 rs of age, e hundred 'opulation |apolis and long and from the winds by id South the south ind to the Basin of Minas, terminating in a bold bluff called Cape Blomidon. On the other side of Minas channel the range is continued under the name of the Cobequid mountains, acting as a shield against the cold winds coming from the Gulf of St Lawrence in the spring. The whole Annapolis Valley is an orchard of apples, which command a higher price in the English markets than those grown in any other quarter of the world. In this valley and its extensions there are already about forty thousand acres of apple trees. Thousands of trees are being planted every year, and it is estimated that there are nearly four hundred thousand acres capable of producing the very finest fruit. With forty trees to the acre and each tree averaging four barrels, the wealth producing possibilities of the district are immense. While the climate and soil seem particularly adapted to the production of apples, they are also favorable to peaches, grapes, melons and tomatoes ; Indian corn is extensively cultivated, Chinese sugar cane has been successfully grown, and it is alleged that peanuts have been raised and ripened in the open air from seed obtained in. South Carolina. King's county, the scene of Longfellow's Evangeline, although not quite so warm as Annapolis township, is equally fertile, and the dyked lands are as productive now, after centuries of tillage, as when they were cultivated by the simple Acadians.VAll the other counties bordering on the Basin of Minas, and those lying along Cumberland Strait and the Gulf, are good agricultural districts. Excepting Yar- mouth, none of the counties along the Atlantic coast are generally well adapted for agriculture, although they contain Email tracts of excellent farming lands, and no 362 Canada : The Land of Waterways. I !i I I |1 ' I i l-i doubt some of the land, now considered unsuited for cultivation, could be made productive under a system of scientific farming. Very little wheat is now raised in Nova Scotia, chiefly owing to the fact, that when it was extensively grown some years ago, the weevil was very destructive. Then the deep rich soil of the lowlands is lacking in silica, while the thin soil of the uplands, which used to produce good crops of wheat, has been worn out by cropping and can only be restored to productiveness by means of fertilizers. The gold bearing rocks of Nova Scotia extend along the Atlantic coast from Canso to Yarmouth, and are estimated to cover about three thousand square miles. Very little capital has been invested in their develop- ment, but nearly twenty thousand ounces of gold are annually extracted. Silver, copper, tin, lead, mangan- ese, plumbago and gypsum have also been found in the province, but have not yet been extensively mined. But Nova Scotia has most reason to thank Nature for the stores of coal and iron, with which the province is so richly endowed. The known productive coal fields occupy an area of 685 square miles, the veins being of extraordinary thickness, and there are believed to be considerable areas as yet unproved. The coal is bitu- minous, of first-class quality, particularly adapted to steam making, and as a rule well suited to the manufac- ture of iron. The principal mines are in Cape Breton, Pictou and Cumberland counties. The only place in Nova Scotia where iron is systematically mined is in Colchester county, but valuable iron ores exist in many parts of the province, while in Pictou and Cape Breton unsuited for r a system of ^ova Scotia, 5 extensively ^ destructive, is lacking in hich used to worn out by ctiveness by ixtend along Lith, and are iquare miles, eir develop- of gold are id, mangan- bund in the mined. But Lture for the )vince is so coal fields ns being of ieved to be coal is bitu- adapted to le manufac- ipe Breton, ily place in nined is in ist in many ape Breton Canada: The Land of Waterways. 363 counties they lie so close to the coal measures that iron making must eventually become the chief industry. At Londonderry, in Colchester county, two large furnaces are now in blast, and the iron produced is of superior quality, but as the iron works are situated in an inland town, with no water communication and very inadequate railway facilities, while both fuel and iron ore must be carried to the furnaces from a distance, the location does not seem to be particularly good. The best location for iron works in Nova Scotia appears to be in Pictou county. Here four different varieties of iron ore are found in large quantities within a few miles of each other, and are only separated from the coal measures by bands of carboniferous limestones, well adapted for fluxes. The town of New Glasgow is the centre of the Pictou coal district, and either here or at Pictou harbor, a few miles away, will grow up a great iron making city, which will be to Nova Scotia what Pittsburgh is to Penn- sylvania. Along Nova Scotia's five hundred miles of sea-coast are the breeding and feeding grounds of countless millions of fish. Prosperous fishing villages are found all along the rough looking coast, and the annual catch is greater than that of any other Canadian province. The timber resources are great, extensive lumbering operations are carried on, and ship building has always been one of the chief industries of the province, which owns more shipping in proportion to population than any other country in the world. The railway facilities of Nova Scotia are good. The Government Intercolonial Railway, upon reaching Truro, sends out one branch to Port Mulgrave on Canso 1 364 Canada : The Land of Waterways. !ii P! 1:1 i I I ■ 1 11' ' Strait, and another to Halifax. From Canso Strait this Government railway is now being extended to Sydney, Cape Breton, and the work will soon be com- pleted. There are also several railways in the province not controlled by the Government. At present there is no large city in Nova Scotia, although, if the business of the province were more concentrated, it would be sufficient to maintain one. In fact, the great need of Nova Scotia is concentration. There are too many good harbors, too many ports of entry, too many small towns, none of which can afford to provide adequate facilities for the cheap shipment of ^oods on a large scale. There are eleven harbors open throughout the year, viz. : Halifax, Louisburg, Yarmouth, Annapolis, Harrington, Liverpool, Lockport, Lunenburg, Parrsboro and Shelbourne, besides a host of good harbors which are open nine months of the year, but Halifax and Louisburg are the only ones, whose geographical posi- tion makes them available as winter ports for the Dominion at large. Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia, and the only city in Canada now occupied by British troops, has a popu- lation of about 45,000. It is 594 geographical miles nearer to Liverpool than New York, and has been de- clared by British naval authorities to possess the finest harbor in the empire. This harbor, which is six miles long, one mile wide, and opens into Bedford Basin, a deep land-locked bay six miles long by four wide, is easy of access and open throughout the year, but vessels are occasionally delayed outside by fogs. Its wharves are extensive, and it has the finest dry dock in the world, capable of taking in Her Majesty's ship Inflexible, the vays. Canada: The Land of Waterways. ;65 Canso Strait extended to soon be com- 1 the province resent there is f the business [, it would be g^reat need of re too many )o many small i^ide adequate Is on a large roughout the h, Annapolis, irg, Parrsboro harbors which Halifax and graphical posi- Dorts for the the only city , has a popu- aphical miles has been de- ess the finest is six miles ord Basin, a wide, is easy It vessels are wharves are in the world, njlexible, the HALIFAX. largest ironclad afloat. Adjoining this dry dock is a large coaling wharf, with facilities for the rapid coaling of vessels and storehouses containing everything neces- sary to the rapid fitting out of ships. Louisburg, Cape Breton, has a magnificent harbor, which is frequented throughout the year by vessels seek- ing refuge from Atlantic storms. It is close to an im- mense coal field, and is said to be the only port in America, this side of Vancouver, where coal could be ob- tained at mine prices in winter. The approach is bold and free from outlying shoals, the entrance being about half a mile wide with a depth of from nine to eleven fathoms of water ; and fogs rarely occur in the vicinity. This port is about 750 miles nearer to Liverpool than New York, and vessels making for it avoid dangerous 366 Canada: The Land of Waterways. Sable Island, which those bound for Halifax, St. John, Portland or Boston, must pass. It is nearly 200 miles nearer to Europe than Halifax, and it is claimed that in winter the ocean voyage from Liverpool to Louisburg is practically 300 miles shorter than that to Halifax, so that, if the port were connected with Montreal by a direct line of railway, passengers landing there could be in Montreal nany hours earlier than by taking the Halifax route. According to a survey made a few years ago, a direct line of railway between Louisburg and Canso Strait need not exceed eighty miles in length. From Canso to Moncton, New Brunswick, by the Intercolonial Railway, is 248 miles, but a much shorter line could be constructed between the two points. The distance from Halifax to Moncton is 187 miles. During the French rigime Louisburg was the strongest fortress in America ; now it is nothing but an unpro- gressive hamlet, having no railway connection with the rest of the continent excepting a narrow gauge coal tramway to Sydney, If direct railway communication is established, and the iron resources of Cape Breton are developed, a thriving town may grow up near the site of the old fortress, but it will always have strong com- petition from the towns of Sydney and North Sydney on opposite sides of the capacious harbor of Sydney, which affords perfect protection to the largest vessels for nine months of the year. Nine coal mines are tributary to these towns, and iron, copper and manganese abound in the vicinity. New Brunswick adjoins the State of Maine, and is in many respects its counterpart, but it has a much longer coast line, and the surrounding waters tend to moderate !i i ways, iifax, St. John, larly 200 miles ilaimedthat in to Louisburgr to Halifax, so lontreal by a there could be •y taking the .de a few years -ouisburg and lies in length, iwick, by the much shorter two points, is 187 miles, the strongest ut an unpro- ction with the V gauge coal )mmunication pe Breton are ear the site of strong com- ■th Sydney on ydney, which ssels for nine i tributary ta ;se abound in ine, and is in much longer to moderate Canada: The Land of Waterways, 367 its climate somewhat. There is a pronounced difference between the winter climate along the Bay of Fundy coast, and that of the interior and northern counties. According to the Dominion meteorological records from 1882 to 1888 the minimum temperatures at St. John for seven years averaged : in January and February — 14.5° ; March— 3.1°; April 16.5°; May 30.1°; June 39.9° ; July and August 44.6°; September 35.1°; October 25.8°; November 10.6° ; December — 1.6°. The average of all temperatures for seven years was : in January and F'eb- ruary 17.9° ; March 26.4° ; April t^-j.^"" ; May 47° ; June 56. i"; July and August 60.4°; September 54.4° ; October 45.2° ; November 36.1° ; December 24.3°. The average of maximum temperatures for seven years was : in April 60.7° ; May 69.5° ; June 77.5° ; July and August 83.8° ; September 75.3° ; October 63.1° ; November 56.9°. At Fredericton, not far from the centre of the province, the greatest degree of cold in an average winter is be- tween 25 and 26 degrees below zero, the average of all temperatures during January and February for seven years being between 12 and 13 degrees above zero, while at Bathurst on the Bay of Chaleur the greatest degree of cold in an average winter is 22 degrees below zero, and the average of all temperatures during January and February for seven years is about one degree lower than that of Fredericton. The most notable feature of the province is its exten- sive system of navigable rivers. The chief of these is the St. John, which is navigable for large steamers as far as Fredericton, the capital of the province, 85 miles above St. John City, and for lighter craft as far as the Grand Falls, 225 miles from the sea. It receives a ! . iili 1 ii- I I '! I i\ I |- 368 Canada : The Land of Watet'ways. number of navigable tributaries, and has many lake ex- pansions. In the lower part of its course it is very wide and remarkably deep, but before reaching the harbor of St. John it contracts and passes between two perpendi- cular cliffs, only three hundred feet apart. About a mile above the city a ledge of rocks stretches across the river, forming a dam, and a waterfall which under ordinary circumstances would necessitate the construction of a canal, but a sort of natural lock is formed by the tides ; for at high tide the water level of the harbor is higher than that of the gorge, so that there is a fall inward in- stead of outward, and at half tide during both rise and fall the water in the gorge is level with the harbor, and vessels can pass through in safety. Besides the St. John, the Bay of Fundy receives the waters of the St. Croix, the Petitcodiac, and a number of smaller rivers. The other important rivers of the province are the Mirimichi, Richibncto, and Nepisiquit, emptying into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the Restigouche, flowing into the Bay of Chaleur. Excepting the St. Croix, which is only navi- gable for sixteen miles from its mouth on account of rapids, all these rivers are navigable for many miles and most of them have a number of navigable tributaries, so that almost every part of the province has communica- tion with the sea. The rivers run through tracts of low- lying alluvial land of remarkable fertility, sometimes ex- tending for miles back from the river, but generally less than a mile wide. These low lands, which are called in- tervals, are partly covered with water in the spring, when the rivers are high. When brought under cultivation, they rank only second to the dyked lands along the coast of Fundy. The total area of the province is seventeen > many lake ex- ; it is very wide g the harbor of two perpendi- . About a mile Lcross the river, under ordinary istruction of a 1 by the tides ; arbor is higher fall inward in- both rise and le harbor, and :s the St. John, :he St. Croix, ■ rivers. The the Mirimichi, the Gulf of St. ito the Bay of is only navi- ►n account of any miles and tributaries, so J communica- tracts of low- ometimes ex- g^enerally less are called m- spring, when • cultivation, >ng the coast is seventeen Canada : The Land of Waterways. 369 million acres, and thirteen million acres are estimated to be suitable for agriculture. Millions of acres in the most fertile sections still re- main unoccupied and can be obtained by settlers as free grants, or purchased at very slight cost. New Bruns- wick does not at present raise enough wheat to supply its own population, although large areas of the province are suitable to wheat culture, and the average yield per acre is estimated at twenty bushels in the Government reports. The farmers in general raise enough wheat for their own consumption, but they seem to find it more profitable to grow hay and vegetables for market, so that the cities and towns are allowed to buy Western-" wheat and flour. A good deal of attention is now being paid to fruit growing and very fine apples and pears are produced, while the smaller fruits, such as cherries, rasp- berries, blackberries and blueberries, are raised in great quantities. But the province seems to be particularly adapted to stock raising and dairying, on account of the luxuriant pasturage, unfailing supplies of water and nearness to the markets of both Europe and the Eastern States. Iron ores are found in abundance in various parts of the province, and charcoal can be produced from the forests of hardwood in any quantity desired. There are extensive deposits of antimony, copper and man- ganese, while lead, silver, gold and tin have been dis- covered in various sections, but very little capital has been invested in their development and the value of the deposits is unknown. All New Brunswick was at one time a dense forest, and although enormous quantities of timber have annually been cut for many years, there still remain millions of acres of trees which have never I' ' I) ';:•;: Ml ■'' ' 'I '( ■• \'-\ Hi ij ''i i I I i J! 1 j IM 370 Canada : The Land of Waterivays. been touched by the axe. These forests are so near to navigable rivers connecting with the sea that the facih- ties for exporting himber are unequalled, but it has been argued with some force that, instead of exporting the rough timber, the people of New Brunswick should man- ufacture it into furniture and all kinds of wooden ware for export. Anthracite coal has been discovered in small quantities in Charlotte county on the Bay of Fundy, and there is bituminous coal in almost every county of the province, but so far as known the seams are all very thin, and the only one that is considered worth mining is at Grand Lake, in Queen's ^ ly, where a seam twenty-two inches thick is estin".ated to extend over an area of 600 square miles. This coal is excellent for steam purposes and is said to be unsur- passed for coking, but there is a streak of sulphur in it which detracts from its value as a fuel for blast furnaces. Compared with the marvellously thick seams of Nova Scotia the coal measures of New Brunswick seem of little value, but they have the advantage of lying much closer to Quebec and Ontario, which are destitute of coal, and it is possible that thicker seams may yet be discovered. Fishing is prosecuted in the Bay of Fundy, and the estuaries of the rivers flowing into it, at all sea- sons of the year, and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Bay of Chaleur from April to November inclusive, giving employment to thousands of men. The inland waters are full of salmon, trout and other fish which at- tract sportsmen from all parts of this continent, and even from Europe, the Restigouche, the Mirimichi and their tributaries being especially noted for their salmon. The most interesting commercial question now before ■ii zvays. are so near to that the facili- but it has been exporting the ck should man- f wooden ware discovered in >n the Bay of \ ahnost every 3wn the seams ; is considered ueen's r \y^ 3 estimated to This coal is I to be iinsur- f sulphur in it blast furnaces, iams of Nova swick seem of of lying much e destitute of is may yet be Bay of Fundy, o it, at all sea- Lawrence and nber inclusive, The inland ■ fish which at- nent, and even lichi and their r salmon, on now before Canada : The Land of IVaierivays. ^7^ the Canadian people is the location of the winter port on the Atlantic side of the Dominion. Before confedera- tion the whole foreign trade of Canada passed through American ports during the winter months. After con- federation the construction of the Intercolonial Railway made the ports of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia available, but when trade has got into a rut it is difficult to alter its course, and as the Intercolonial Railway followed the line of settlement instead of taking a short and direct route to the maritime ports, St. John and Halifax could not compete successfully with their Amer- ican rivals, especially as the Dominion Government subsidized a line of mail steamships having its terminus at Portland, Maine, an American port. Now a new or- der of things has begun. The maritime ports of Canada are connected with Montreal by two short lines of rail- way, one cutting across the State of Maine, and the other running entirely through Canada, so that the dis- tance is lessened by several hundred miles, and at the same time the Dominion Government has decided that steamship lines subsidized with Canadian money must make a Canadian port their terminus. Consequently a great deal of business, now handled by Boston and Port- land, is likely to pass through New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. New Brunswick has many fine harbors, but only those along the Bay of Fundy are unobstructed by ice at all seasons of the year. Of these the ones talked of in connection with the short lines of railway are St. John and St. Andrews. St. John, the metropolis of New Brunswick, is situated at the mouth of the St. John River, which, with its lake expansions and numerous affluents, makes all the central and north-western coun- L^ I' iil lii : I III ! I 372 Canada : The Land of Waterways, ties of the province tributary to the city during the season of inland navigation. The ice which forms in the river St. John is held back by the Narrows above the city, and the high tides make it impossible for ice to form in the harbor itself at any season of the year, so that the harbor is never obstructed by floating ice, and it has never been frozen over. It is claimed that this cannot be said of any other port on the Atlantic coast of America north of Baltimore. St. John harbor is not so capacious as that of Halifax, but the largest vessels can now be accommodated, and the space which can be made available for deep water wharfage by a slight expenditure is almost unlimited. The harbor is easily entered in any weather, so that vessels never have to wait outside on account of fog as they sometimes do at Halifax. The ocean voyage from Liverpool to St. John is about 200 geographical miles longer than to Halifax, but nearly 400 miles shorter than to New York, nearly 200 miles shorter than to Boston, and about 156 miles shorter than to Portland, Me. The distance to Montreal by the Can- adian Pacific short line through Maine is 481 miles, the distance from Halifax to Montreal being 758 miles. By the Temiscouata line, running entirely through Canada and connecting with the Intercolonial at Rivifere du Loup, the distance from St. John to Montreal is 590 miles, but it is claimed that the grades are much easier than by the line through Maine. It is said that the Grand Trunk company is about to acquire the Temiscouata Railway with a view to extending its line to St. John, so that the three great Canadian railways, the Canadian Pacific, Grand Trunk and Intercolonial are likely to be compet- '1 ! mys. y during the hich forms in arrows above lible for ice to the year, so ating ice, and claimed that the Atlantic St. John Halifax, but ated, and the deep water St unlimited, ther, so that Lint of fog as :ean voyage geographical y 4CXD miles niles shorter rter than to by the Can- miles, the I miles. By ugh Canada ire du Loup, )0 miles, but than by the rand Trunk ita Railway , so that the ian Pacific, be compet- es «f ore per :re are be- bborhood. in many i Eastern : beds of bog iron n the dis- reported in paying Canada: The Land of Waterways. 385 quantities, and very little of either has been mined. Ge- ologists say there is gold in many of the rivers and that rich deposits exist in Beauce, Compton, and surrounding counties, but the total value of the gold mined since confederation amounts to less than Tialf a million dollars, and the output has never exceeded 3,300 ounces in one year. Most of the silver taken out is found in the cop- per ores, which are widely scattered throughout the province, and are very valuable in some sections. Copper is now mined on an extensive scale in the East- ern Townships and the annual output is between two and three million pounds. In Megantic, Richmond and Wolfe are large deposits of what is pronounced the finest asbestos in the world. Several companies are now en- gaged in mining it, and most of the output is exported, being manufactured into all kinds of fireproof clothing and building material. There are deposits of apatite, or phosphate of lime, in various sections, the richest mines being located in Ottawa county. This county is prob- ably the richest mineral district of the province. Its extensive deposits of iron ore have already been referred to. Mica is found, and the plumbago mined here is said to be better suited to the making of crucibles than any found elsewhere, excepting that produced on the island of Ceylon. The farms of Quebec Province are generally long nar- row strips of land, frequently having a frontage on some river road, with houses and outbuildings near the river banks, so that the farm houses stretch for miles along the rivers, looking like continuous villages ; and just as the rivers of the province here and there spread out into lakes, so these straggling farm villages at certain points 386 Canada : The Land of Waterways. expand, and become towns and cities with varied indus- tries. Most of these towns are only of provincial im- portance, but the trade of the whole Dominion is largely tributary to Montreal, and to some extent to Quebec City. Quebec City in its historical and picturesque as- pects is probably better known to the world at large than any other town in Canada. Its quaint, old-fashioned streets, its impregnable fortress, and the grandeur of the surrounding scenery have so often been described by tourists that every one is familiar with them. It looks like a fossil town of the seventeenth century, and one might expect to dig it out of a rock rather than to find it perched on top of one. But it is neither so old nor so slow as it looks. It is true that a good sized town was there when the rest of Canada was a wilderness, and many of the old houses stand to-day, but a new city, fashioned after the old models has grown up around them, and during the last ten years the increase in pop- ulation in the city and suburbs has been considerable, while in tanning, shoe making, and several other lines of manufactures, the growth has been quite remarkable. The beautiful Montmorency Falls near the city are nc>w being utilized to generate power for manufacturing pur- poses. But although Quebec is not quite so slow as appear- ances would indicate, it cannot yet: hu: classed among the enterprising cities of Canada. However, its citizens are at least active in trying to secure Government assistance for a railway bridge across the river at this point, and such a bridge is certain to be built sooner or later. Connec- tion with the south shore is now secured by a ferry from Quebec to Levis, just across the river. At present the Canada : The Land of Waterivays. .^87 •led indus- i^incial im- 1 is largely ;o Quebec iresque as- large than -fashioned deur of the scribed by It looks y, and one 1 to find it old nor so town was mess, and new city, up around ise in pop- nsiderable, )ther lines imarkable. y are now uring pur- as appe;ir- among the itizens are assistance t, and such Connec- ferry from resent the only railways between Quebec City and the North-west run through Montreal, but the Quebec and Lake St. John Railway is to be extended westward to Lake Tem- iscaming, and eastward to Port Alphonse on the Sague- nay, ten miles below Chicoutimi, and it is claimed that this railway with its connections will reduce the distance between Quebec City and the North-west by 160 miles, and that it will run through a fertile country which will become tributary to Quebec City. When the St. Law- rence is bridged, this railway, in connection with the Temiscouata Railway, will also give St. John, N.B., and Halifax, a line to the North-west entirely through Canadian territory, considerably shorter than the Cana- dian Pacific Railway, a part of which runs through Maine. It is no exaggeration to say that Montreal, the com- mercial metropolis of Canada, has the most remarkable situation of any city in the world. Located on an island at the confluence of two great rivers, one of which is the outlet of a system of vast lakes, although 960 miles in- land, its harbor can be reached by the largest ocean ves- sels. Around the upper part of the island the two great rivers form lakes, affording harbor room for an immense fleet of lake vessels, and then the St. Lawrence descends to the lower harbor in extraordinary rapids, which make it impossible for ocean vessels to pass the city to the lakes above, and at the same time generate power sufficient to run all the machinery in a great city, while the Ottawa, dividing into two rapid streams, runs down at the back of the island, thus providing another water power and a waterway for floating timber, without obstructing the harbor of Montreal. Eventually the city will certainly spread over the whole island, which is about 32 miles long 388 Canada : The Land of Waterivays. and four to eight miles wide, but at present it occupies only a small part of it, being built on a series of terraces be- tween the river St. Lawrence and Mount Royal. Solid, conservative yet progressive, it has always been prosper- ous, but in the past a lack of public spirit has somewhat retarded its growth. Now, however, the desire for im- provement seems to animate the whole community; mill- ions of dollars are to be expended on harbor improve- ments, narrow streets are being widened, good pave- ments are being laid, and every street is brilliantly lighted with electricity. Being built entirely of stone and having many fine squares, substantial business blocks, magnifi- cent residences, large churches and numerous colleges, with the green mountain park in the background and the great blue river flowing by, the city is certainly one of the most beautiful in America, and when the projected improvements are completed every Canadian may justly feel proud of it. The population in 1881 was 140,000; in January, 1890, the assessors estimated it at 240,000, and there are believed to be from 25,000 to 35,000 people in the suburbs, which have grown up around the city since the last census. On reaching Montreal one first realizes that Quebec and Ontario are geographically one. Com- mercially this city belongs to Ontario rather than to Quebec Province, and the extraordinary advantages of its situation cannot be appreciated without a knowledge of Ontario's agricultural and mineral resources, its great natural waterways and its extensive system of canals. The Province of Ontario is the section of the Do- minion lying between the great lakes and Hudson Bay. A territory as large as New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan combined might be cut out of it, and :upies only srraces be- al. Solid, n prosper- somewhat re for im- nity.; mill- ■ improve- ood pave- tly lighted ind having 5, magnifi- s colleges, nd and the ly one of projected nay justly 0,000 ; in ),ooo, and people in :ity since t realizes le. Com- ' than to itages of lowledge its great canals. the Do- son Bay. sylvania, 3f it, and n ' I ! H I, " I / ) t /. Canada : The Land of Waterways. 389 there would still remain thousands of square miles. The exact limits have been for years a matter of dis- pute between the Dominion and Provincial o-overn- ments, but, according to the award of the boundary commission, its boundary extends from the Lake of the Woods and Winnipeg River, along the English River, through Lac Seul and Lake St. Joseph and along Albany River to James Bay, the southern shore of which it follows to a point due north of Lake Temis- caming. Running down to Temiscaming, it follows the Ottawa River to a point within a few miles of Montreal, and then strikes over to Lake St. Francis and extends along the St. Lawrence River to Lake Ontario, whence It spreads along the whole length of the great lakes as far as Pigeon River which, rising near Rainy River, empties into Lake Superior. Through the province from Lake Abittibe to Lake St. Joseph runs a height of land from 1,000 to 1,500 feet above sea level, on the southern slope of which are the sources of the rivers which empty into the great lakes and St. Lawrence River, while those flowing into Hudson Biy rise on its northern slope. The most peculiar r> :.ui I feature of Canada is its system of river reserv'-s, juiq this is most strikingly marked in the Provificc of Ontario. The rivers in general are very irregular in theJr course, and at almost every turn in them is located a reservoir in the form of a lake, the stretches of river between the lake reservoirs being each known by a different name. The system is shown on a large scale in the St. Lawrence River and the great lakes. The St. Lawrence proper may be said to begin at Montreal, the head of navigation for ocean vessels, 390 Canada : The Land of Waterways. but the great river has Its source somewhere in the wilderness of Northern Ontario and its first big reser- voir is Nepigon, a large lake of pure blue water, the outlet of which is Nepigon River flowing into the sec- ond reservoir, Lake Superior. Between Nepigon and Montreal there are seven such reservoirs connected by stretches of the St. Lawrence River under different names. This peculiarity is imitated throughout the province by numerous other rivers, sometimes almost in miniature, sometimes on a scale nearly approaching that of the St. Lawj nee and great Lkes. Often the lake reservoirs of one Iritiiular river are so close to those of another river systeii. r qt a short portage, or a few miles of canaling, will shorten navigation by many miles. At Sault St. Marie the level of Lake Superior is 591 feet above the St. Lawrence at Montreal, and the water reaches the lower level by one great fall at Niagara, and a series of rapids at different points which necessitated the construction of a number of canals. The Sault St. Marie rapids are avoided by a canal a mile long on the American side of the river, and a similar canal with a depth of eighteen feet at lowest water, is now being constructed on the Canadian side, and is to be com- pleted in May, 1892. There are seven canals, between Lake Erie and Montreal, having an aggregate length of 70^ miles, with 53 locks, overcoming a height of 533^ feet. These canals were first designed for vessels drawing only nine feet of water, but some years ago it was decided to enlarge to a scale of fourteen feet. The Welland Canal, 26^ miles long, connecting Lakes Erie and Ontario, and the Lachine Canal, 8^ miles long, overcoming the Sault St. Louis, or Lachine rapids, hi di lys. vhere in the rst big reser- ne water, the into the sec- ^epigon and onnected by ier different Dughout the les almost in oaching that ften the lake r. to those of >r a few miles y miles, perior is 591 nd the water "Niagara, and necessitated The Sault lile long on .r canal with s now being to be com- als, between te length of :ht of 5331^ for vessels y^ears ago it n feet. The Lakes Erie miles long, line rapids. Canada: The Land of Waterways. 391 above Montreal harbor, have been enlarged to the new scale, but the five canals between them have only a depth of from nine to ten feet of water on the sills at ordinary water level, and at extreme low water the depth is reduced to seven feet in two of them. The work of enlarging the Cornwall Canal is well under way, and in a few years all the canals on this route will have the same depth as the Welland, so that vessels drawing 14 feet of water will be able to come to Mon- treal from Chicago, Port Arthur and Duluth. But so sure as any two sides of a triangle are together greater than the third side, vessels from Michigan and Superior will not always circumnavigate the south-western penin- sula of Ontario to reach Montreal. The head of Georgian Bay is less than 123 miles from the Ottawa River. Between them stretch French River, Lake Nipissing, Lake Turtle, Lake Talon, Lake Trout and the Mattawan River. Less than eight miles of canaling would ensure a continuous waterway, but to enable large vessels to reach Montreal the Ottawa River canals would have to be enlarged. Many years ago Mr. Walter Shanly, the well-known engineer, surveyed the route and estimated the cost of a waterway from Montreal to Georgian Bay, with a depth of twelve feet, at $24,000,000, including the cost of en- larging the Lachine Canal, which was then of very limited capacity. A little later, Mr. T. C. Clarke, another eminent civil engineer, estimated that a water- way navigable for vessels drawing twelve feet of water could be made between Georgian Bay and Montreal at a cost of $12,000,000, not including the cost of the Lachine Canal, which is already reconstructed on the ,;'■( 111 392 Canada : The La?ici of Waterways. enlarged scale. The distance between Montreal and the mouth of the French River would be 430 statute miles, of which 30 miles would be canals with 69 locks. From the mouth of the French River to Sault St„ Marie the distance is 190 statute miles, mak- inix the whole distance between Montreal and Sault St. Marie by this route 620 statute miles, as compared with 1,000 miles by the lakes and St. Lawrence River. The distance from Buffalo to Sault St. Marie is 600 miles. Thus, by taking the Ottawa route between Montreal and Lake Superior, vessels would save a voy- age of nearly 400 miles through stormy lakes. There would be a simi'^ saving in distance between Montreal and Chicago, and the two cities would be brought within 971 miles of each other, so that ocean vessels in the port of Momreat would be practically as near to the elevators of the great Western metropolis as the Erie canal boats at Buffalo. It goes without saying that the carrying out of this scheme would give Montreal the control of the grain trade, and just below the point where the grain-bearing ships would reach Montreal island are the Lachine rapids, with power enough going to waste to run all the flour-mills in America. On the French and Ottawa rivers open navigation can be depended upon from May 5 to December i,and the season is sometimes longer. The St. Lawrence route is open a little longer, but Mr. Walter Shanly estimates that vessels could make at least three trips more in a season between Chicago and Montreal by the Ottawa route than by the St. Lawrence route, owing to the shorter distance. The river between Montreal and Ottawa City is now m ys. 1 Montreal uld be 430 canals with h River to miles, mak- and Sault s compared ence River, arie is 600 te between save a voy- es. There n Montreal be brought 1 vessels in near to the IS the Erie out of this the grain ain-bearing le Lachine to run all ind Ottawa upon from sometimes ttle longer, jsels could »n between han by the r distance, [^ity is now Canada : The Land of Waterways. 395 navigable for vessels drawing nine feet of water, the rapids being overcome by three short canals, having an aggregate length of 6 % miles, with eight locks. Above the capital city several locks and dams have been constructed to overcome rapids. It has been assumed that to compete with the St. Lawrence route the Ottawa canals must be made of the same dimen- sions as the new Welland — that is, fourteen feet deep, Mr. Clarke's estimate being for canals twelve feet deep. For my own part I am inclined to believe that a better plan would be to continue the Ottawa canals to Lake Nipissing on the present scale of nine feet, and enlarge the dimensions of the Sault St. Marie Canal to twenty or twenty-five feet. Then ships as large as the great ocean vessels could run between Lake Superior ports and French River, where they would transfer their cargoes to small steamers running down the Ottawa to Montreal. On this scale continuous navigation be- tween Georgian Bay and Montreal could be established at comparatively slight cost, and the largest vessels that are now able to reach Montreal from the Upper Lakes could come down the Ottawa, for practically a canal system is only as large as its smallest lock, and some of the canals on the St. Lawrence route have not yet been enlarged, as already stated. Vessels drawing seventeerk feet of water can pass from French River to Sault St. Marie by the sheltered channel north of the islands. There is a slight obstruction at one point, but it is to be removed this year. No doubt this channel could be made to accommodate vessels of the largest size. It would be worth while to consider whether connection could not be made between Nipissing and the Ottawa 394 Canada: The Land of Waterways. \n more cheaply by a ship-railway than by a canal. In connection with the Ottawa and Georgian Bay Canal scheme it has been proposed to construct a canal for vessels drawing nine feet of water from Caughnawaga, opposite the upper end of the Lachine Canal, to the Chambly Canal, which would be enlarged for a distance of about nine miles to the port of St. John's, Quebec, and it has been estimated that the whole work could be completed for about five million dollars. At consid- erably less expense a canal with a depth rf seven feet could be constructed from Caughnawaga, and if the State of New York would enlarge the Champlain Canal to the same scale as the Erie, grain for New York could be loaded into barges at Montreal instead of at Buffalo, saving hundreds of miles of canalage as well as a long lake voyage. The distance from New York City to Montreal harbor would be 394 miles, of which 105^ miles would be by canal, and the remainder open navi- gation. The distance from New York to Chicago by this route would be about 150 miles shorter than via the Erie Canal and Buffalo. But the best scheme for a waterway between Montreal and New York seems to be the proposed canal from Longueuil, opposite Mon- treal harbor, to the Richelieu River. The distance would probably be a little shorter than by the Caughna- waga route. On a summit of land between the Ottawa River and the lower end of Lake Ontario is a series of small lakes, some of which discharge their waters into the Rideau River, emptying into the Ottawa River at Ottawa City, while the others empty into Lake Ontario at Kingston through the river Cataraqui. By connecting and im- lys. Canada: The Land of Waterways. 395 a canal. In 1 Bay Canal a canal for lughnawaga, ^anal, to the 3r a distance in's, Quebec, work could At consid- f seven feet L, and if the Tiplain Canal 7 York could Df at Buffalo, ell as a long ork City to which 105^ r open navi- Chicago by ter than vza scheme for a •rk seems to posite Mon- ^he distance he Caughna- J2i River and f small lakes, ) the Rideau Ottawa City, at Kingston ting and im- proving these two river systems, continuous navigation for boats drawing 4^ feet of water has been established between Ottawa City and Kingston, a distance of 126^ miles. Even this canal is to a certain extent useful to Montreal as it furnishes an alternative route to Lake Ontario for small boats. The distance between Montreal harbor and Kingston by the Ottawa and Rideau route is 248 I miles, while by the St. Lawrence route it is only 1 78 miles, but not long ago when there was a break- dowo on the Cornwall Canal, temporarily stopping navigation on the St. Lawrence route, the blockade was partially relieved by loading grain and other produce into Rideau barges. Another scheme to avoid the navigation of Lakes Ontario, Erie and Huron and shorten the distance between Montreal and Georgian Bay, is known as the Trent Valley Canal, in making which it is proposed to utilize the series of bays, rivers and small lakes which stretch across Ontario almost continuously from the Thousand Islands to Lake Huron, beginning with Quinte Bay, which extends from near Kingston to Trenton at the mouth of the Trent River, and ending with the Severn River, which flows out of Lake Simcoe into Georgian Bay. To connect the waters which drain into Quinte Bay, with those draining into Lake Simcoe, only 13^ miles of canal would have to be cut, but eleven small lakes and four rivers would be embraced in the scheme of navigation, and to overcome rapids several other very short canals are necessary. The distance between Quinte Bay and Georgian Bay by this route would be 235 miles. A good deal of money has already been expended in improving navi- gation on this Trent system of rivers and lakes, and \ iC vM\ 396 Canada : The Land of Waterways. within a few years there will probably be navigation between Quinte and Georgian bays for boats drawing five feet of water. The western end of Quinte Bay has been connected with Lake Ontario by cutting through Murray Isthmus a canal without locks, 4^/^ miles in length, 80 feet wide and 1 1 feet deep at lowest water. The people of Toronto for many years discussed a proposal for a canal connecting Georgian Bay and Lake Ontario at Toronto, but this scheme seems to have been displaced by a project for a ship-railway which Mr. Kivas Tully is engineering. The distance from the mouth of the H umber at Toronto to the mouth of the Nottawasaga River, Georgian Bay, is 66 miles. The grades are said to be very favorable and it is estimated that a ship-railway with three tracks, capable of transporting a ship weighing 2,000 tons, including vessel and cargo, at the rate of ten miles per hour, could be constructed for twelve million dollars. This ship- railway would save hundreds of miles of dangerous lake navigation and 28 miles of canal between Chicago and Montreal, and its promoters claim that a vessel from Chicago, Port Arthur or Duluth, taking this route, could reach Montreal before one going around by Lakes Huron, St. Clair and Erie could reach Buffalo, and that even vessels bound for Buffalo would find it advantage- ous to pass through Toronto and the Welland Canal rather than go around by Detroit. Of course the suc- cessful operation of such a railway would be of great advantage to Oswego, as well as Toronto, but Montreal would probably derive the chief benefit. However, the construction of the Ottawa and Georgian Bay canals -would be much more advantageous to Montreal, not Canada : The La^id of Waterways. 397 navigation ts drawing •uinte Bay 3y cutting locks, 4^ :t deep at lany years Georgian erne seems lip-railway e distance ito to the Bay, is 66 ible and it ks, capable , including tiour, could This ship- serous lake hicago and essel from oute, could by Lakes 3, and that idvantage- and Canal se the suc- e of great t Montreal iwever, the Bay canals itreal, not only because the route would be somewhat shorter, but also because it would completely avoid the attractions of Buffalo, Oswego and Ogdensburg. A vessel passing through Toronto might unload at one of the American lake ports, but a vessel passing through Ottawa must unload at Montreal. But whatever route ships from the North-westmay ultimately take, it is certain that railway traffic from both the American and Canadian North-west will come down to Montreal through the Ottawa Valley. The Canadian Pacific Railway's short line to the " Soo" is already in operation, and is bringing an immense amount of American business to Montreal, while the Grand Trunk is likely to take the same short cut very soon, and other railways are sure to follow the example. But this is not the only short cut through Ontario for American traffic. The nearest way from Buffalo to any point in Michigan is through the south-western penin- sula of Ontario, and for all the country which sends its exports to Europe through Chicago, the shortest route to the sea-board is by the Grand Trunk and Canadian Pacific lines, crossing Detroit Strait and passing through Southern Ontario to Montreal. Besides the through lines, Ontario has many local railways, most of which are branches of the two great trunk lines, and the southern part of the province is a net work of railways. The Ottawa River above its tributary, Mattawan, has many lake expansions and one of them, Lac des Quinze, is not far from the height of land, on the other side of which lies Lake Abittibe. Between Lac des Quinze and Abittibe stretch several small lakes and rivers having a total length of about 66 miles, and the water- shed between the two systems is less than a mile in 398 Canada : The Land of Waterways. width. It would be worth while to have this route sur- veyed by skilled engineers to ascertain what it would cost to improve the upper Ottawa and connect it with Lake Abittibe, although it would not be advisable to un- dertake such a work until the northern country becomes populated. No doubt a waterway for barges of the Erie Canal scale could easily be made, and perhaps vessels of a larger class could be accommodated. The Abittibe River carries the outflow from Lake Abittibe down to James Bay at Moose Factory, meeting there the Moose River, which has two branches, the Matagami, rising in Lake Kenogamissie, and the Missinibe, flowing out of Lake Missinibe. Lake St. Joseph's outlet, the Albany River, empties into the bay at Fort Albany in latitude 52 degrees 8 minutes north, about one hundred miles north-west of Moose Factory. For six months of the year, all these rivers are navigable by large vessels for hundreds of miles. The Albany River has several navigable tributaries with numerous lake reservoirs, and these approach so close to both Long Lake and Lake Nepigon that it would not be very difficult to make connection with Lake Superior. Besides the Ontario i'ivers, James Bay receives from the west the Attahwah- piskat River of Keewatin, navigable for about 300 miles, from the east the East Main River, and from the south- east Lake Mistassini's outlet, the Rupert River. James Bay is 300 miles long with a width of about 150 miles and is so shallow that, excepting a channel down its centre, the muddy bottom may be touched with an oar by a person rowing in a small boat, when almost out of sight of land, and in the southern part of it the water is so muddy that fish cannot live there, while it M Canada: The Land of Waterway.',. 399 oute sur- it would :t it with bletoun- becomes s of the perhaps £d. The Abittibe ng there latagami, e, flowing mtlet, the Albany in 2 hundred months of ge vessels as several voirs, and and Lake to make le Ontario Attahwah- 300 miles, the south- tr. of about a channel ached with \en almost rt of it the re, while it is almost free from saline matter, owing to the volume of fresh water poured into the bay from the great rivers of which it is the outlet. The deep ship channel runs northward like a river in nearly a straight line from Moose Factory at the south of James Bay to Mans- a Island in Hudson Bay. Directly south of James Bay is a low, level, swampy basin bounded by distinct veins of hard rocks, the rim being high with a steep slope toward the centre, and the thought is sug- gested that this basin once contained a lake, which was the reservoir of all the rivers rising on the northern slope of Ontario's Height of Land, while what is now the ship channel of James Bay was a great river, carrying the waters of the lake through a long valley to Hudson Bay, receiving on its way several large tributaries. Such a lake, bursting from its bounds and spreading over the 'ley to the north of it, would form the shallow, muddy ^ lies Bay. The climate of Ontario varies considerably according to latitude and elevation, but the variations are not so great as might be expected considering the vast area of the province. According to the records of the Dominion Meteorological Department for the seven years from 1 882 to 1888 in Hamilton, at the head of Lake Ontario, the minimum temperatures averaged in January and Febru- ary— 11.8°; March— 2.3° ; April 16.8° ; May 29.1° ; June 37.8°; July and August 39.5° ; September 32.5° ; Octo- ber 20.9°; November 10°; December — 1.1°. The average of all temperatures for seven years was in January and February 21.7° ; March 28.8° ; April 42.3° ; May 55.1° ; June 64. 1° ; July and August 69.8° ; September 62.6° ; October 50.2° ; November 38.5°; December 28.8. The \ .lii I fi' i li I 1 .■ t .JS: 4CX) Canada : The Land of Waterways. average of maximum temperatures for seven years was in April 78° ; May 83.6" ; June 88.4° ; July and August 94.5°; September 88.4"; October ']'].']''', November 67.2°. At Moose Factory, on the southern shore of James Bay at the far north of the province, the minimum temperatures for seven years averaged in January and February— 38.5° ; March— 26.5 ; April— 8° ; May 16.9° ; June 28.6° ; July and August 36.4° ; September 30.9° ; October 13.1"; November — 8.9°; December — 25.1°. The average of all temperatures for seven years was in January and February — 0.8° ; March 1 1.8° ; April 25.2° ; May 43.9° ; June 52.4° ; July and August 60.9° ; Sep- tember 51°; October 39.1° ; November 21.3° ; Decem- ber 9.9°. The average of riiaximum temperatures for seven years was in April 54.4° ; May 75.7° ; June 84.9° ; Jul) and August 88.6° ; September 74.7° ; October 72.8° ; November 46. 7°. The greatest degree of cold expe- rienced in an average winter at Windsor, near the south- western corner of the province, is — 10°; Toronto — 16.1°; Ottawa — 26.9° ; Owen Sound — 28° ; Port Arthur — 35.6°. The average of all temperatures during the months of January and February for the seven years was 22.5° at Windsor; 19.6° at Toronto; 9.8'' at Ottawa; 16.2°; at Owen Sound ; 2.8° at Port Arthur. It will be noted that the temperature at Moose Factory, on the southern shore of James Bay, during the coldest winter months is not three degrees lower than that of Port Arthur, on Lake Superior. During the spring and early summer Port Arthur's temperature is five or six degrees higher, while in July, August, September and October the tem- perature at the two points is almost precisely the same. A slightly higher temperature prevails throughout the Canada : The Land of Waterways. 401 y^ears was d August lovember shore of minimum mary and ay 16.9° ; 3er 30.9° ; r — 25.1°. irs was in pril 25.2° ; .9°; Sep- ; Decem- atures for Line 84.9° ; iber 72.8° ; old expe- the south- to — 16.1°; ur— 35.6°. months of as 22.5° at ^a; 16.2°; 1 be noted e southern r months is Arthur, on ly summer ees higher, tx the tem- ' the same, ughout the district lying between the Height of Land and James Bay than at Moose Factory, but along the Height of Land the winters are somewhat colder, the difference in latitude being offset by the lower elevation as the country slopes toward James Bay. It is believed also that the many small lakes in this northern part of the province tend to moderate the climate. The thermometer never regis- ters quite so low in the most northern part of Ontario as it does in Minnesota, Dakota, Montana or Manitoba, and, what is even more important, cyclones and blizzards are never experienced in any part of Ontario, Because Hudson Strait is blocked with ice in summer it is com- monly supposed that any district bordering on Hudson Bay must be practically without summers, but when it is remembered that Hudson Bay is 825 miles long, while the strait to the north-east of it is 500 miles long, it can be imagined that the ice in the far north does not affect the south shore of James Bay to any great extent. In fact Hudson Bay proper never freezes over in winter, and, even as far north as Churchill, ice never extends far enough from shore to intercept the view of open water. The temperature of the bay is several degrees warmer in winter than that of Lake Superior. James Bay on account of its shallowness does freeze in winter, but the ice breaks up in the spring. The population of Ontario, which is now estimated to be two millions and a half, is nearly all concentrated in the country south of Lake Nipissing, all of which is compactly settled, excepting the district between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River, where the popula- tion is still sparse. The section between Lake Nipiss- ing and Sudbury is being rapidly settled, little commu- 402 Canada : The Land of Waterways. nities are growing up here and there along the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway from Sudbury to Port Arthur, and there is a small settlement between Lakes Temiscaming and Abittibe, but the whole country north of the Canadian Pacific Railway's main line may be described as a wilderness. Of the wilderness north of the Height of Land very little definite information can be had, but it is known to be heavily timbered, and from the reports of Government geologists and survey- ors it is learned that while some parts of it arc ocky and others swampy, there are vast areas of fertile land, while valuable minerals abound. The only settlers are the Hudson Bay Company's officers, and they do not devote much attention to agriculture, but there are small farms or gardens around nearly all their posts and from these some idea may be obtained of the agricul- tural possibilities of the country. At Moose Factory fine crops of oats, barley, peas, beans, tomatoes, tur- nips, potatoes, beets, carrots, cabbage, onions, lettuce, spinach and radishes are grown every year without any special care, and wheat has been successfully ripened there, but it is not usually grown at the Hudson Bay posts north of the fiftieth parallel of latitude, up to which point it is a regular crop. Strawberries, raspber- ries, gooseberries, red and black currants and huckle- berries, grow in great profusion throughout the district. Owing to the abundant supply of water, the luxuriance of the native grasses and the adaptability of the soil and climate for root-growing, this part of the prov- ince is especially suitable to stock-raising and the dairy industry. However, the lumberman and the miner will probably be the pioneers, for the ordinary farmer pre- le line of to Port n Lakes country line may ss north ormation ired, and J survey- re ocky tile land, ttlers are y do not here are posts and : agricul- Factory toes, tur- ), lettuce, hout any r ripened Ison Bay le, up to , raspber- i huckle- e district, uxuriance f of the the prov- the dairy Tiiner will rmer pre- Canada : The Land of Waterways. 403 fers a prairie farm in Manitoba or the Territories, to one that has to be cleared of trees before it can be ploughed. Coming south of the Height of Land to the sources of the Ottawa River, we find large areas of fertile land, and in the valley of the Blanche River there are esti- mated to be nearly 400,000 acres of clay land, suitable for cultivation, in one block. The country stretching from Lake Mipissing to the Lake of the Woods, and extending from the shores of Lakes Superior and Huron to the Height of Land, is known as the Algoma District, and has often been described by superficial observers as a worthless, rocky region, which must always prove an insurmountable barrier between Central Canada and the North-west. That it looks rocky and worthless, whether viewed from a steamship or from a railway car, cannot be denied, and the rocks are certainly there, but throughout this region are numerous little fertile val- leys, sheltered from the rough winds by the much abused rocky hills, and watered by swift flowing rivers and pretty lakes. It is claimed that, owing to the pro- tection afforded by the rocky hills and the moderating influence of the shallow lakes, these little valleys have a much milder climate than the lake shore, and that they are well adapted to growing hardy fruits, as well as grain and vegetables. It must be admitted that, these valleys being small, there is not much good land in any one spot, but altogether there are probably millions of acres available for cultivation between Nipissing and Port Arthur. West of that, along the Canadian side of the Rainy River, there are quite extensive tracks of good land. But the wealth of the region is in the rocks rather than in the soil, for there is reason to \ 404 Canada : The Land of Waterways. believe that it is the richest mineral district this side of the Rocky Mountains. To describe in detail the dis- coveries of minerals that have been made, and give rea- sons for supposing that the whole district is enormously rich in minerals, would occupy a whole evening, but, for the benefit of those who wish to know more about Canadian minerals, it maybe noted that Mr. H. B. Small, Secretary of the Dominion Department of Agri- culture at Ottawa, who is a member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, and has a wide reputa- tion as a writer on Canadian subjects, is now engaged on a work giving complete information regarding all the mining districts and minerals of Canada, which will be published in New York this year. The iron depos- its of Algoma are said to be even richer than those of Northern Michigan, silver has already been taken out in large quantities, gold has been found in many places, copper and nickel abound, and almost every other mineral excepting coal is known to exist there. Around Sudbury, a little to the north-west of Lake Nipissing, are most extensive deposits of the purest nickel. The Canadian Copper Company of Sudbury are mining and smelting it, and their output at the pres- ent time is equal to that of all the other nickel mines throughout the world, and it is said that, when the ex- tensions shortly to be undertaken are completed, the output will be ten times that of all the other nickel mines of the world together. The importance of these mines lies in the fact that it has lately been discovered that five per cent, of nickel, added to steel, increases its strength over thirty per cent, while the alloy is prac- tically non-corrodible, does not tarnish or rust, takes a ! \ Canada : The Land of Waterways, 405 ) side of the dis- ^ive rea- rrr ously but, for e about H. B. jf Agri- merican reputa- sngaged ding all lich will n depos- those of iken out n many st every ;t there, of Lake 2 purest Sudbury the pres- et mines 1 the ex- ited, the vc nickel of these scovered eases its ' is prac- , takes a finer polish, and lasts longer than steel. In view of the fact that not more than 1,400 tons of nickel are pro- duced in the world annually, apart from the output of the Sudbury mines, it seems evident that Canada must monopolize the nickel steel industry. On the east side of Georgian Bay, between French River and Simcoe, are the districts of Parry Sound and Muskoka, which contain some very good farming lands, but large tracts are almost worthless for agricultural purposes, owing to the prevalence of rocks. There are many pretty little lakes in these districts, and as fish and game abound they are much resorted to in the holiday season. So much for what is known as Northern, or New Ontario. Old Ontario, the country south of a line drawn from a little north of Ottawa City, to the mouth of the Severn River, contains very little land unsuitable for cultivation, although there are some districts in the eastern counties where it would probably pay better to keep the land in timber. The whole of this region was once a great wheat country. Ontario farmers for years grew almost nothing but wheat, and by continual recropping many farms lost the elements necessary to the successful growth of wheat, while remaining well adapted to other crops. Nevertheless, there are still large areas of good wheat land under cultivation, and according to statistics collected by the Bureau of Industry of the Ontario Government, the average yield of wheat, barley and oats per acre is now higher than in any State of the American Union. Ontario barley has a continental reputation, and that grown around the Bay of Quinte and in some other sections of the province is acknowledged to be superior to any grown elsewhere in America, so that it commands '! I 406 Canada : The Land of Waterways. a price of its own in the markets of the United States. But grain growing is largely giving place to dairy farming and fruit growing. There are many fine herds of cattle throughout the province, and there has lately been a most extraordinary development of the cheese industry. Ontario leads the Dominion in cheese making, and in England the superiority of Canadian cheese to the American product is so well recognized that shipments from Canada always command several cents more per pound than those from the United States. The fact that, owing to the freedom of Canadian cattle from disease, they are allowed to enter England alive, while American cattle must be slaughtered on landing, has greatly stimulated stock-raising in Ontario, and thou- sands of head are shipped by way of Montreal every year. Apples and certain varieties of grapes can be grown anywhere in Old Ontario, but the fruit garden of the province is the south-western peninsula, lying between Lake Erie and Georgian Bay, and bounded on the west by the Detroit River, Lakes St. Clair and Huron. This district rivals the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia in the production of apples, and in the southern part of it peaches, pears, plums and the finest varieties of grapes, grow to perfection. Fruit is most extensively grown along the lake shore between Hamilton and Niagara, where there are thousands of acres of peach orchards. So warm is the climate there, that almonds have ripened in the open air at Niagara, and the fig has been successfully cultivated with very little protection in winter, and ripens two crops in the year, but of course it would not pay to raise figs and almonds for market. I ndian corn is extensively cultivated, Ca?iada : The Latid of Waterways. 407 I States. dairy le herds Ls lately t cheese cheese anadian ognized several 1 States, in cattle d alive, ling, has d thou- al every can be garden a, lying nded on lair and alley of 1 in the le finest is most between lands of ;e there, Niagara, ith very )s in the igs and Itivated, Chinese sugar cane is successfully grown on a number of farms in the southern counties, and at Grimsby Mr. C. W. Wellington has had great success in raising African sugar cane, which he says is one of his best pay- ing crops. Pelee Island on Lake Erie is the most southern point in Canada, and strange to say it has a milder climate than the part of Ohio lying directly south of it. This is attributed to the shallowness of Lake Erie waters which surround it. The island is noted for its vineyards, and it is said that cotton has been successfully grown there, but I have been unable to verify this. On the mainland Essex and Kent counties, lying between Lakes St. Clair and Erie, are particularly suited to the culture of grapes and peaches, and the apricot, quince and nectarine do well. The mineral products of the peninsula are gypsum, salt and petroleum. Gypsum is mined in large quanti- ties along the Grand River ; salt underlies an area of about 1,200 square miles of the counties bordering on Lake Huron, having an aggregate thickness of over 120 feet, but being separated into six successive beds by thin layers of rock. In Lambton and Kent counties, along Lake St. Clair, are the Ontario oil wells which were great gushers thirty years ago, and still yield mil- lions of gallons of petroleum annually. The richest mineral district in Old Ontario lies back of Kingston and Belleville, extending towards the mines of Ottawa county, Quebec, in one direction, and towards Lake Nipissing in the other. Within this district, which may be regarded as a southern extension of the great mineral region of Northern Ontario, are found gold, mica, lead. H 408 Canada: The Land of Waterways. plumbago, phosphates, limestone and many thick beds of iron of superior quality. Although Montreal is the ocean port of Ontario, Toronto is the hub of the province, of which it is the capital. Here are the chief law courts of the province, the Provincial University and a number of denomina- tional colleges. Railways branch out from it in every di- rection. Its geographical position is not so good as that of Montreal, but every one of its citizens believes that it will be the chief city of the Dominion before the close of I. 'li m. ^'?/'^:'|,.Jr • ^ ■* /u d ^ . < '^^§^m , 'liC'"' J L Wid ' 1 ^^^H^^a. '^n^^^^^^H '^Ml^^^L " »hM t-t "^ WmA ' '^'^m!«^^^ 'isB^^^^^I ; |Hu||'» ^'jHit - 0^1 ^^ JhL' ■fi^ ^^^^^^^^^1 jfl ^ JHt ^^K 1 A yfl^HI i^^^BHft^^^^Bi '^' i . J ^^^^B m 1 ■ TORONTO UNIVERSITY. |l!^l' the century. However this may be, it is growing in a most extraordinary way. In 1871 its population was 56,092 ; in 1 88 1 it was 86,415 ; in December 1888, ac- cording to a special civic census, it was i 72,cxdo, and, as there are over 66,000 dififerent names in the new city direc- tory for 1890, there must now be at least 200,000 people in the city. At this rate of growth, it will not be many years before it ranks among the great cities of the world. There is never likely to be a very great city in the iiii Canada : The Land of Waterways. 409 k beds intario, t is the ovince, lomina- irery di- i that of It it will close of ing in a ion was 888, ac- and, as ity direc- o people be many le world. y in the western peninsula, because there are so many small cities which divide the trade between them. Of these the most important is Hamilton, a prosperous manufactur- ing town of nearly 50,cxx) inhabitants, situated in a pretty valley at the head of Lake Ontario, with a moun- tain at its back and a beautiful bay in front. This town has more manufactures in proportion to population than any other city in Canada. Kingston, at the east end of Lake Ontario, is not unlikely to become in future a great iron-making town, but it may have to compete for this industry with Ottawa, the capital of the Dominion, which is close to the most extensive iron deposits in Quebec, and within easy reach of those in Eastern Ontario, while it is nearer to the nickel mines of Sud- bury. Ottawa, being situated by the Chaudifere Falls of the Ottawa River, has one of the finest water powers in America. Its population last year was40,0(X), as com- pared with 25,600 in 1 88 1, an increase of 53 per cent, in eight years. To reach the Canadian North-west from Montreal by the most direct route, one must take the main line of the Canadian Pacific, passing up the Ottawa Valley and striking north of Lake Superior to Port Arthur, on Thunder Bay, and thence to Winnipeg, but if it is de- sired to pass through Toronto, that city can be reached by either the Ontario and Quebec branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway, or by the Grand Trunk. From Toronto, a railway runs north connecting with the main line of the Canadian Pacific at Callander. From Sudbury the Canadian Pacific sends out a branch line to Sault St. Marie, where it connects with lines running to Duluth and St. Paul. In summer the monotony of an all rail ■< -7- 4IO Canada: The Land of Waterways, trip across the continent may be broken by taking pass- age on one of the magnificent steamships which the Canadian Pacific Railway runs between Owen Sound on , Georgian Bay and Port Arthur. The distance from Owen Sound to Port Arthur is 520 miles, and the trip is made in 36 hours. By taking this route the traveller obtains many fine views of the savage scenery along the i ii!: PARUAMENT BUILDINGS, OTTAWA. north shore of Lake Superior, but nothing on the way equals in grandeur the approach to Port Arthur through Thunder Bay, with Thunder Cape towering over 1,300 feet above the lake on one side, and Pie Island rising nearly 900 feet on the other, while McKay mountain stands in the background beside the Kaministiquia River. Along the shore of Thunder Bay between the Current ^ Canada : The Land of Waterways. 4U ^ing pass- which the Sound on ince from the trip t traveller along the the way r through Dver 1,300 ind rising mountain uia River. Current and Kaministiquia rivers will grow up one of the great cities of Canada, including within its boundaries the rival towns of Port Arthur and P"ort William. Already there are fine docks and the largest elevators in the world. Port Arthur, which is distant from Montreal 993 miles by rail, and 1,270 by water, is located in the centre of one of the richest silver fields in America, and in the vicinity are also found gold, lead, copper, and thick beds of iron ore associated with limestone, suitable for flux, while it will always be the chief distributing point for the vast mineral district of western Algoma, the riches of which have scarcely yet been touched ; but its importance will be chiefly due to the fact, that being the nearest lake port to Manitoba and the Canadian North-west, it will be the outlet of what is destined to be the greatest wheat producing region in the world. To get into this wheat re- gion, one must travel to Winnipeg, 430 miles by the Cana- dian Pacific Railway through a rough country, which looks almost worthless from the car windows, but con- tains some areas of good land and minerals of considerable value, while the water powers at Rat Portage, Kee- watin and other places are scarcely surpassed anywhere, and are already being utilized to run immense flour mills, one of which has a capacity of 800 barrels per day. Port Arthur is not likely to be always entirely de- pendent upon the railway for transportation to Winni- peg, for an almost continuous waterway extends between the two cities and can easily be improved. The Kam- inistiquia River, which flows out of Dog Lake into Thunder Bay, and its tributary, the Mattawin, which comes from Lake Shebandowan, are both navigable, but on the Kaministiquia, about fifteen miles above f^ 4 1 2 Canada : The Land of Waterways. Fort William, occurs the wonderful Kakabeka waterfall, where an American syndicate have laid out a town plot and propose to establish flour mills rivalling those of Minneapolis. This waterfall can be avoided by a short canal or a boat railway, and then there will be continuous navigation between Port Arthur and Lake Shebandowan, which is 45 miles distant by the Dawson road. Lake Shebandowan is i8 miles long, and a porta*^e of three- quarters of a mile connects it with Lake Kashebowie, 9 miles long. Another portage of one mile takes a boat over the Height of Land to Lac des Milles Lacs, which is i8i miles long. From this lake to Rainy Lake there is a continuous chain of lakes and rivers, but navigation is interrupted at certain points, necessitating portages ag- gregating 6i miles in length, the total distance between the two lakes being about 1 19 miles, including portages. From the head of Rainy Lake to the north-west angle of the Lake of the Woods, a distance of 164 miles, there is uninterrupted navigation for large vessels, except at Fort Francis, near the outlet of Rainy Lake, where a canal 800 feet long, to overcome the Kettle Falls, was cut through the solid rock some years ago, but the con- struction of the lock gates was deferred, and the work has never been completed. The Winnipeg River con- nects the Lake of the Woods with Lake Winnipeg. A system of canals, giving continuous navigation between Winnipeg City and Port Arthur to barges of the Erie Canal scale, could easily be constructed along this ro ite and it would probably be possible to make a wa .y for vessels drawing nine feet of water. An altei tive route might be secured by connecting the lake reservoirs of the Kaministiquia River with Lac des Milles Lacs, ^ waterfall, )wn plot those of \f a short ntinuous ndowan, I. Lake af three- Hebowie, is a boat which is J there is gation is tages ag- between portages. ;st angle les, there :xcept at where a alls, was the con- the work iver con- ipeg. A between the Erie lis ro ite tei •y tive eservoirs les Lacs, Canada : The Land of Waterways. 4 1 3 Lac Seul and the Winnipeg River. No doubt, a ship canal between Lake Winnipeg and Lake Superior by either of these routes would be a very costly undertak- ing, but in connection with the Ottawa and Georgian Bay ship canal it would contribute in such an extraor- dinary way to the prosperity of the whole country, that a very large expenditure would be justified, for if ves- sels drawing nine feet of water could pass from Winni- peg to Montreal without breaking bulk, every bushel of grain produced in the North-west would have an in- creased value. Even a waterway for barges between Lake Superior and Lake Winnipeg would be of incal- culable advantage to the North-west, for with such a system barges could be loaded all along the Sas- katchewan, Red, and tributary rivers, transferring their cargoes to lake vessels at Port Arthur. The country now known as the Canadian North-west extends from the western boundary of Ontario to the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, and from the United States boundary to the Arctic Ocean. It has three great river systems, the Nelson and Churchill draining into Hudson Bay, and the Mackenzie draining into the Arctic Ocean. Besides the rivers included in these three systems, there are several important rivers flowing into Hudson Bay and the Arctic Ocean. The great reservoirs of the Nelson system are Lakes Winni- peg, Winnipegosis and Manitoba, which receive the outflow from the Lake of the Woods through Winnipeg f'iver, as well as the waters flowing from the prairies mrough the channels of the Saskatchewan, Red and Assiniboine rivers and their affluents. The length of Lake Winnipeg is 300 miles, and that of Lakes Manitoba \ N 414 Canada : The Land of Waterways. 'V^'- and Winnipegosis 230 miles, while the rivers that flow into theni from the Western prairies are navigable in the aggregate for 3,000 miles. There are a few boulders in these rivers, which can easily be reiiioved, and at the mouth of the Saskatchewan a waterfall occurs, around which a short canal must be constructed. The Nelson River, whi'jh is the outlet of the system, is a large river, but at present is only navigable for fifty miles from its mouth, on account of rapids. The Hayes River, rising in a small lake south of Lake Winnipeg, has been much used by the Hudson Bay Company in transporting goods from Hudson Bay to Lake Winnipeg, connections being made by portages. The Nelson and Hayes rivers form estuaries at Port Nelson, and York Factory is located on tongue of land between them. The estuary of the Nelson River is described by Commander Gordon as one of the most dangerous places in the world. There is no harbor, and he says it could not be made a desirable place for shipping by the expenditure of any amount of money. The Churchill River has for its reservoirs a host of small lakes between Lake Winni- peg and Lake Athabasca, including among others Isle la Crosse, Beaver, Reindeer, Wollaston and Indian. Port Churchill, at the mouth of the river, has the finest harbor in Hudson Bay, and the river is navigable for large vessels for many miles. The Mackenzie is almost as grand a system of lakes and rivers as the St. Law- rence. Its first reservoir is the Lesser Slave Lake, out of which flows the Lesser Slave River, emptying into Athabasca River, which discharges into Lake Athabasca. The Great Slave River connects Lake Athabasca with Great Slave Lake, out of which flows the Mackenzie that flow >le in the ulders in d at the i, around Nelson ■ge river, from its er, rising :en much isporting mections i Hayes : Factory m. The [Timander :es in the Id not be Denditure tr has for :e Wlnni- [hers Isle I Indian, the finest rable for is almost St. Law- Lake, out ying into thabasca. asca with lackenzie Canada: The Land of Waterways. 415 proper to the Arctic Ocean, being joined at Fort Simpson by the Liard River from British Columbia, and receiving still farther north the outflow from Great Bear Lake Ihe Mackenzie proper is 1,037 miles long, with an aver-^ age width of one mile and a quarter, and there appear to be no obstructions to navigation throughout its course. Extending the name to the system of rivers of which It IS the outlet, the Mackenzie is navigable for 1,360 niiles for light-draught sea-going vessels, and with- out including the lakes there are 2,750 miles of naviga- tion, suitable for stern wheel steamers which, with their barges, can carry 300 tons. If the lakes be included, the Mackenzie system gives a total of about 6,500 miles of continuous lake coast and river navigation, broken only in two places by rapids which can easily be overcome by canals or tramways. One of these breaks is on the Great Slave River above t^ort Smith, where navigation is obstructed by rapids for about thirteen miles, while the other is on the Atha^ basca River, where there is one grand rapid extending or two miles, and several smaller ones, making naviga- tion difficult but not impossible for over sixty miles • but the removal of a few boulders would probably make Navigation safe except at the Grand Rapids, where a canal or boat railway would have to be constructed The chief tributary of the Mackenzie is the Peace River which rising m the mountains of British Columbia, makes connection with the lower end of Lake Athabasca bv means of the Quatre Fourches River, but empties into Great Slave River by another mouth, twenty-five miles below. In the spring, when the Peace River is hiVh the water runs out of the Quatre Fourches River into' the \ 4i6 Canada : The Land of Waterways. lake ; in the summer, the water runs out of the lake into the river. From its mouth to the Rocky Mountains, a distance of 740 miles, steamboat navigation on the Peace River is only interrupted by rapids or waterfalls in two places, having an aggregate length of 5% miles, which can easily be avoided by canals. A wagon road 90 miles in length, from Athabasca Landing to Edmonton, connects the Mackenzie system with navigable water on the Saskatchewan, 813 miles from Lake Winnipeg, and it would not be a very costly undertaking to connect the Mackenzie and Nelson sys- tems of navigation by a boat railway, capable of carrying small vessels across the portage in a few hours. The west end of Lesser Slave Lake is connected with Peace River, at its confluence with Smoky River, by a cart road 55 miles in length, and a canal or a boat railway along this route would save hundreds of miles of voyaging in going from Athabasca Landing to the Peace River dis- trict. Lake Athabasca could probably be connected with the Churchill system by canals, although the cost of such an undertaking would, no doubt, be great, and it is likely that a larger class of vessels could reach the Mackenzie from Hudson Bay by the Churchill route than by the Saskatchewan. However, it is difficult to obtain reliable information regarding the Lake country between the Churchill proper and Lake Athabasca. When Champlain first reached the upper end of Mon- treal Island and saw the Ottawa River he exclaimed : " La Chine ! This is the way to China ! " That is why we call our Montreal Canal Lachine. The name will be justified when the St. Lawrence, Nelson and Macken- zie systems of navigation are connected, for then a small lake into antains, a 1 on the waterfalls ;^ miles, Uhabasca ie system ?i3 miles ery costly elson sys- f carrying irs. The ith Peace cart road vay along pging in ^iver dis- :onnected 1 the cost ^at, and it reach the hill route lifficult to e country >asca. dof Mon- xclaimed : at is why name will I Macken- 2n a small Canada: The Land of Waterways. 417 steamer leaving Montreal harbor will pass through the Lachine Canal, up the Ottawa to Georgian Bay and by way of Port Arthur, Lake Winnipeg and the Saskatch- ewan to the Mackenzie, which it will navigate to the Arctic Ocean, where a larger steamer will be waiting to take the passengers through Bering Strait and across the Pacific to China. However that voyage will only be made occasionally by adventurers. The real utility of the Mackenzie connection with the Arctic will be to enable whalers, sealers and other fishermen to prosecute their business in the Arctic Ocean without taking the long and dangerous voyages which are now necessary. Vessels will be built and fitted out for Arctic fishing at some point on the Mackenzie River where timber is plentiful. They will winter in the Mackenzie River, and during the season of navigation will transfer their cargoes to small steamboats or barges at the head of ocean navigation on the Mackenzie, whence they will be sent down to Edmonton, Winnipeg, Port Arthur, Toronto and Montreal for distribution. And now as to the navigation of Hudson Bay. The navigation of the bay itself is an easy matter. The question is how to get out of the bay. Hudson Strait to the far north is blocked with ice for eight or nine months of the year, and even during the short season of navigation vessels are liable to be delayed by fields of floating ice. Rapid tidal currents often entangle vessels in running ice, and the difficulties of navigation are increased by the proxi- mity of the magnetic pole, which makes the compass al- most useless. The distance from Port Churchill to Liverpool, by this route is only 2,900 miles, that is, about 100 miles shorter than from New York to Liverpool, 4i8 Canada : The Land of Waterways. but the delays practically make the distance much greater. It is true the Hudson Bay Company have brought their supplies from Europe to the North-west through Hudson Strait for over a century, but it is not likely that this far northern route will ever become a commercial highway. But looking to the South instead of the North for an outlet, a vessel can pass down the ship channel of James Bay to Moose Factory, and from this point the great Abittibe River leads up to the Height of Land. No definite information is obtainable regarding the navigation of the river Abittibe, but probably some improvements would be necessary to en- able vessels to reach Lake Abittibe, and a system of canals making connection with the Lower Ottawa would no doubt be very costly, but if navigation for vessels drawing nine feet of water could be secured between Port Churchill and Montreal for six months of the year, it would be of greater value to the North-west than difficult navigation of Hudson Strait for three months of the year. Of course this route to Europe would be longer than the northern one, but it would have the ad- vantage of being on the way to the great manufacturing cities of Eastern Canada and the United States. Even if Hudson Bay had no outlet, this great inland sea would be of value to the North-west on account of its whale, seal and other fisheries. The fishing vessels coming down to Moose Factory from the North could transfer their cargoes to railways for shipment to Montreal. The Canadian North-west embraces a prairie, a wood- land and a barren region. The prairie region, which is drained by the Nelson system of rivers, lies between the international boundary and the 54th parallel of latitude, e much [y have rth-west t is not ecome a I instead own the nd from > to the (tainable ibe, but •y to en- stem of va. would • vessels between ;he year, est than months ^ould be e the ad- acturing ;s. Even ea would s whale, coming transfer real. , awood- which is ween the latitude, Canada: The Land of Waterways. 419 being divided into three steppes, which slope gradually from the Rocky Mountains eastward toward the Red River and Lake Winnipeg. The lowest of these steppes is the Red River Valley with an average height of 800 feet, a width of 52 miles at the international boundary, and a total area of 55,000 square miles, of which nearly 14,000 square miles are covered with lakes. The second steppe has an average elevation of 1,600 feet above sea level, is about 250 miles wide at the 49th parallel, and has a total area of about 100,000 square miles. The third steppe has an average elevation of 3,000 feet, being 4,000 feet high at the foot-hills and 2,000 feet at its eastern edge, with a width of 465 miles at the interna- tional boundary, and a total area of 134,000 square miles. Throughout the greater part of the prairie region there are clumps of trees here and there, and these are most numerous along the northern border of the plains. The woodland region lies within the basin of the Churchill and Mackenzie river systems, while the barren lands are north of the Churchill and east of the Mac- kenzie. While the slope of the plains is from the mountains eastward, the whole country slopes north- ward toward the Arctic Ocean, and this northward slope is so proportioned to the increasing latitude as to almost completely counteract the influence of the latter upon the climate, for hundreds of miles north of the international boundary. Besides the Province of Manitoba the Canadian North-west includes the district of Keewatin, extending along the western shore of Hudson Bay, the territories of Assiniboia and Saskat- chewan, lying west and north-west of Manitoba, Alberta Territory west of Assiniboia and Saskatchewan, Atha- 420 Canada : The Land of Waterways. 1 I :■ .1'' basca Territory north of Alberta, and an unorganized territory without name, part of which lies west of the Mackenzie River and north of Athabasca, while the re- mainder lies between Keewatin and the Mackenzie River, and extends from the Churchill River to the Arctic Ocean. A great portion of this unorganized territory and the part of Keewatin north of the Churchill River seem to be unfit for human habitation, but this district is not utterly worthless, for its climate is most favorable to fur-bearing animals, the waters teem with fish, and the land is said to be underlaid with valu- able minerals, so that in the distant future it may prove a source of considerable revenue to the Dominion. The southern part of Keewatin is not a wheat growing district, but oats, peas, barley and all kinds of vegetables are raised, and grasses grow with great luxuriance. But the real farming region of the Canadian North-west is in Manitoba and the organized territories west of it, the soil and climate being specially adapted to the produc- tion of enormous crops of grain and vegetables. Pro- fessor Macoun, the eminent botanist, who has made a most careful study of the climate and soil of the whole Canadian North-west, estimates that, after deducting lakes, rivers, swamps and bad lands, there are at least 150,000,000 acres of land suitable for growing the very finest grades of wheat. From forty to fifty bushels of wheat to the acre is a common yield, but the average is reduced by occasional losses from summer frosts and other causes. Extraordinary crops of vegetables are grown, and chicory is now being cultivated on an exten- sive scale by a Franco-Dutch company. It is said to be superior to any produced in Europe, and the yield last / Canada : The Land of Waterways, 421 year was 250 bushels per acre. The climate does not appear to be suitable for fruit growing, but the Govern- ment farms are experimenting with hardy varieties of apples from Northern Europe, and may succeed in intro- ducing them. The climate of Manitoba is somewhat milder than that of Northern Dakota, the higher lati- tude of the former being more than offset by its lower elevation and its large lakes. Manitoba is less subject to blizzards, and in common with all Canada is entirely free from destructive cyclones. At Winnipeg the mini- mum temperatures for the seven years from 1882 to 1 88S, averaged in January and February — 42. 5°; March —30.6° ; April— 5.6° ; May 24.6° ; June 35.9" ; July and August 37.8°; September 25.7°; October 12.4°; November — 16.2°; December — Zl-f- The average of all temperatures for seven years was in January and February— 7.7° ; March 10.3=" ; April 35.9° ; May 51° ; June 62.7° ; July and August 63.6° ; September 38.7° ; October 19.9° ; December 1.8°. The maximum tem- peratures during seven years averaged for April 65.9° ; May 79°; June 86.6°; July and August 89.8° ; Sep- tember 78.3° ; October 70.9°. The atmosphi re in winter is dry, clear and full of ozone, while there is sel- dom any wind, so that the cold does not penetrate the body as does that of moist climates where the ther- mometer never registers below zero ; but the ears must be kept covered and the nose frequently rubbed, for ex- posed parts of the person freeze very quickly. As we move west from Manitoba the climate g-rows milder, and the area of habitable territory widens and extends nearer to the North Pole. In Alberta the ther- mometer sometimes registers nearly as low as in Mani- M 422 Caitacia : 7 he Land of Waterways. toba, but the average winter temperature is much higher, for the cold never lasts long, being dispelled by Chinook breezes. At Calgary, Alberta, the minimum tempera- tures for the seven years from 1882 to 1888, averaged in January and February — 36.8° ; March — 12.3° ; April 10.6°; May 21.8°; June 30.7° ; July and August 32.2° ; September 25.8°; October 5.8°; November — 13.3°; December — 20.5°. The average of all temperatures for seven years was in January and February 10.3° ; March 27.7° ; April 39.9° ; May 49° ; June 56°; July and August 58.8°; September 49.2°; October 39.2°; November 27.9°; December 15.3°. The maximum temperatures averaged in April 70.7°; May 80.2°; June 87.5°; July and August 88.7° ; September 81.5° ; October 76°. In the Mackenzie River district wheat is grown success- fully on the 60th parallel of latitude ; barley, rye and oats can be grown farther North, and potatoes are raised within the Arctic Circle. In 1888 a committee of the Dominion Senate, after examining many witnesses, in- cluding farmers, hunters, traders, missionaries and scientists, reported that north of the Nelson River sys- tem, and within the basin of the Mackenzie system of rivers, the climate is suitable to the growth of potatoes over an area of 656,000 square miles, to the growth of barley over an area of 407,000 square miles, and to the growth of wheat, over an area of 316,000 square miles. There is estimated to be a pastoral area of 860,000 square miles, 26,000 square miles of which are open prai- rie with occasional groves, the remainder being more or less wooded, and 274,000 square miles may be consid- ered arable land, while about 400,000 square miles of the total area between the Nelson system and the Arctic h higher, Chinook tempera- averaged 1° ; April ist 32.2° ; r— 13-3°; itures for ; March J August ovember peratures e 87.5°; obcr 76°. I success- rye and ire raised :e of the esses, in- ries and Liver sys- ystem of potatoes rowth of id to the ire miles. 860,000 •pen prai- ; more or e consid- les of the le Arctic Canada: The Land of Waterways. 423 Ocean are useless for the pasturage of domestic ani- mals and for cultivation. Throughout the arable and pastoral area, latitude bears no direct relation to summer isotherms, the spring flowers and the buds of deciduous trees appearing as early north of Great Slave Lake as at Winnipeg or St. Paul, and earlier along the Peace and Liard rivers and some of the minor afiluents of the great Mackenzie River. Pro- fessor Macoun says that spring advances from north- west to south-west at the rate of about 250 miles per day, and that winter begins in Manitoba and goes westward at the same rate. Many reasons are assigned for the warm summers in the far North-west. The ele- vation of the country is thousands of feet lower than at the American boundary, the Rocky Mountains are also lower, and there are many passes in them through which come warm Chinook breezes from the Pacific, while the numerous lakes in the district favorably affect the tem- perature, and in the summer there is almost no night there. An American writer has called all Canada " Day- \ light Land " because of our long summer days. The title is not at all appropriate as regards South-eastern Can- ada ; it seems apt when we reach the prairies of Mani- toba, but one must live in the valley of the Peace River from the middle of April until the middle of September to realize that Canada is indeed the land of daylight. Of course long summer days are offset by long nights at mid- winter, and during the season of darkness some very cold weather is experienced. At Fort Dunvegan, in latitude 56° North, the minimum temperatures for the seven years averaged in January and February— 56.9°; March— 31.4° ; April— 0.3° ; May 22.3° ; June 27.8° ; July and August 424 Canada : The Land of JVaierways. v'- ^1 < i Hi 31.7°; September 22.7°; October 12.9°; November — 14.6° ; December — 41.5°. Theaverage of all temperatures- for seven years was in January and February 4 8° ; March 15.2°; April 34.2° ;May 50.1° ; June 56° ; July and August 58.9° ; September 45. 7° ;October 31.6° ; November 16.5° ; December — 9. i °. The maximum temperatures for seven years averaged for April 67.2° ; May 80° ; June 82.3° ; July and August 87.5" ; September 74.5° ; October 61°, At Fort Liard, in latitude 60° North, the climate is said to be better than at Fort Dunvegan. In addition to the agricultural resources of the Mackenzie Basin, the Senate Committee report the existence of extensive deposits of coal as well as iron, gold and many other valuable min- erals, and it is believed to contain the most extensive petroleum field in the world, while the numerous lakes- and rivers all swarm with edible fish. The southern part of this district now forms the Territory of Athabasca, and it is likely to become in course of time one of the most populous provinces of Canada. In former days the buf- faloes made the Bow River district of Alberta Territory thtiir headquarters, finding there warm Chinook breezes, luxuriant grasses and many streams of crystal water.. From this point they ranged in countless millions as far north as the Peace and Liard rivers in Canada, and southward over the plains of the Western States. Now the buffaloes have gone, but in the ranches of the Bow River Valley hundreds of thousands of cattle, horses and sheep stay out all winter without shelter and find food for themselves. The climate of Manitoba and the ter- ritories adjoining it is not suitable to ranching, but there are some fine stock farms in those provinces. In West- ern Manitoba and Assiniboia are found beds of hVnite liM- 11 Canada : The Land of Waterivays. 425 ember — •eratures. ; March I August eri6.5°; or seven le 82.3° r )bcr 6i°» :e is said 3n to the e Senate ;posits of ible min- ixtensive )us lakes- lern part asca, and the most ; the buf- ferritory breezes^ il water. >ns as far ada, and is. Now the Bow Drses and ind food 1 the ter- but there In West- Df h'gnite which improves as we go westward, becoming semi-bitu- minous coal at Lethbridge in Alberta, where the Gait mines are located, bituminous coal of good (luality at Mitford and Canmore, twenty-five miles west of Calgary, and anthracite equal to the best produced in Pennsylva- nia at Anthracite, five miles east of Banff, on the bor- ders of British Columbia. Iron and many other miner- als are found in the mountains close at hand, so that a great iron-making town will no doubt grow up some- where in this district. The coal of Alberta is estimated to cover an area of 40,000 square miles, and this is be- lieved to be only the southern rim of a great coal field, of which Edmonton in Saskatchewan Territory is sup- posed to be the centre. Where the chief city of the Canadian North-west will be is as yet a matter of conjecture. Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba, is at present the metropolis, and it may keep the lead, although many people predict that the great city will be farther west.' It is already a rail- way centre of some importance, and is almost certain to eventually become a large city. Other towns of prom- ise along the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway are Brandon and Portage la Prairie in Manitoba, Regina and Medicine Hat in Assiniboia, Calgary and Canmore in Alberta, while Edmonton and Battleford in Saskat- chewan are waiting for another transcontinental railway. A prosperous town may grow up at Banff, close to the Canadian National Park with its grand mountain scen- ery, pretty lakes, beautiful walks and drives, and famous medicinal hot springs. The Province of British Columbia is the wonderland of Canada. Within its boundaries are reproduced all 426 Canada : The Land of Waterways. ^^:\ '}■ i lii'i i t!' i ■^ If: » ft", i'<-<:!!ii f .« the varied climates of the Dominion and ahnost every natural feature, while there are some local varieties of climate and landscape that cannot be found elsewhere. Its lofty snow-capped mountains, lovely valleys, pretty lakes, and much indented coast, combine to make it the most beautiful section of Canada, and there is rea- son to believe that its natural resources are greater than those of any other province. Extending from the Canadian North-west territories to the Pacific Ocean and from the United States boundary to the sixtieth parallel of latitude, with Alaska at the North-west and the unorganized North-west territory of Canada at the north-east, it has an area of over 390,000 square miles. The Olympian mountains rise out of the ocean in Van- couver and Queen Charlotte Islands, while on the main- land there are the Rockies, the Gold and the Coast Ranges with long plateaus between them. The Gold Range is a broken mass of mountains, known in differ- ent parts of its length as the Purcell, Selkirk, Colum- bia, Cariboo, Omenica and Cassiar mountains, but the name Gold Range is sometimes especially applied to the Columbia mountains. The mountains of the interior gradually slope northward and trend to the west, finally becoming merged in the Coast Range. The highest peaks are near the head waters of the Bow, North Saskatchewan and Athabasca rivers, culminating in Mount Brown with a reputed elevation of 16,000 feet. British Columbia has often been called a "sea of mountains," sometimes in patriotic admiration, some- times in contempt. Speaking of a "sea of mountains" in "The Land of Waterways," the thought naturally arises, can this sea be navigated ? The valleys between Canada: The Land of Watcvivays. 427 lost every arieties of ilsewhere. ys, pretty ake it the re is rea- e greater ^ from the » ific Ocean e sixtieth i-west and ada at the lare miles, in in Van- the main- the Coast The Gold I in differ- k, Colum- s, but the lied to the le interior est, finally le highest ow, North inating in ,000 feet. a "sea of :ion, some- lountains" L naturally /s between the mountains have been called the troughs of the sea, and through these valleys flow many large rivers with numerous lake reservoirs, fed by streams from the mountains. There are many stretches of navigation, some of them hundreds of miles in length, but at cer- tain points continuous navigation is interrupted by rapid descents and narrow cartons, through which the rivers rush. The lakes are all long, narrow and deep, while the principal rivers are noted for their peculiar bends. The best illustration of this peculiarity is found in the Kootenay and Columbia rivers which run around the part of the Gold Range known as the Selkirks. The Upper Kootenay River, coming down from the Rocky Mountains, reaches the valley and becomes navigable just one mile away from the Upper Columbia Lake, 'i'he level of the Columbia Lake is ten feet lower than that of the Kootenay River, and the watershed between them is a level, gravel flat, having a gradual slope to the lake. Under such circumstances the river might be expected to flow into the lake, but instead of doing so it turns south, runs down through the valley between the Rock- ies and the Selkirks, crosses the international boundary, bends around the mountains, turns north again and, re- entering Canada, flows up the lower Kootenay Valley between two arms of the Selkirks, and terminates in a beautiful lake, ninety miles in length. The elevation of the Lower Kootenay Valley is only 1,750 feet above the sea, being about 600 feet lower than the Upper Val- ley, and directly opposite the point, where the Kootenay River should have joined the Columbia in the first place, it flows out of Kootenay Lake through a narrow 428 Canada : The Land of Waterways. gorge twenty-five miles in length, and enters a third val- ley 800 feet lower down, there joining the Columbia, which has reached the same place after making a long northward bend around the Selkirk Mountains. The united rivers then cross the international boundary, and flow to the Pacific through American territory. In summer the Kootenay River is navigable for small steamers throughout its course in the valleys, except at its south-eastern bend in the United States, where there is a one-mile portage to overcome rapids. From Bon- ner's Ferry, about ten or twelve miles south of the in- ternational boundary, to Kootenay Lake, a distance of eighty miles, the river is from six hundred to seven hundred feet wide, with an average depth of forty-five feet, and there is not a place in it where the largest ocean vessels would not float with ease. The great bend of the Columbia is made unnavigable by cafions, but steamers run from Golden City on the Canadian Pacific Railway to the lower Columbia Lake, and the Dominion Government is about to make im- provements in the channel between the two lakes which will enable steamers to reach the head of Upper Colum- bia Lake. From this point to the Kootenay River a canal is now being constructed across the low watershed already described, which will ensure continuous naviga- tion for 250 miles, and if the American Government would construct a canal one mile in length at the south- ern bend of the Kootenay, there would be continuous navigation for steamers from Golden City to the Koo- tenay Lakes, a distance of over 400 miles. In the Lower Columbia Valley, the Columbia with its Arrow Lake expansions is navigable for many miles. Canada : The Land of Waterways. 429 third val- 'olumbia, ig a long ns. The dary, and ory. In :or small except at ere there rom Bon- of the in- istance of to seven forty-five le largest navigable ity on the bia Lake, make Im- ces which 2r Colum- y River a ivatershed IS naviga- vernment the south- ontiiiuous the Koo- In the its Arrow The Fraser River, rising farther north in the same plateau as the Columbia, bends around the Cariboo Mountains and flows down to the Pacific between the Gold and Coast ranges. It is now navigable as far as New Westminster, fifteen miles from its mouth, by large ocean vessels, and river steamers ascend as far as Yale, 1 10 miles from the mouth. Above Yale there are several stretches of navigation, separated from each other by narrow caflons, enclosed between precipitous mountains, through which the river rushes in foaming torrents. At God's Lock Gate the river contracts to a width of ten feet, and of course the current is of extra- ordinary force. There does not appear to be room be- tween the mountains to construct canals around these torrents, and it is altogether improbable that continuous navigation can ever be secured. However, Mr. D. W. Pearse and Mr. G. B. Wright, engineers employed by the Dominion Department of Public Works, after a careful survey estimate that in many of these cafions obstructions can be removed which will widen the channel, and that by an expenditure of $200,000 naviga- tion for steamers can be secured from a point 1 10 mites above Yale to Cottonwood Canon, ^ distance of 210 miles. The principal t^'butary of the Fraser River is the Thompson, w hi,:h, with its lake reservoirs Kamloops and Shuswap, is navigable for many miles. The Parsnip River, the upper branch of the Peace River, rises near the bend of the Fraser, and there is only a short portage between them. Boats carrying five or six tons have been taken all the way up the Fraser, carried across the portage, and floated down to the Peace River and up its tributary River Omenica. The Parsnip hi 1 1 430 Canada : The Land of Waterways. if and Peace rivers, although rapid streams in the moun- tains, are said to be navigable for stern wheel steamers, for several hundred miles bef.:»re the descent to the plains is made in a series of rapids extending for about eighty miles, the total fall being about one thousand feet, after which the river flows slowly for 740 miles to the Mac- kenzie, as already described. There are many navigable rivers in the north, includ- ing the Skeena and Stickeen rivers, which empty into the Pacific, and a number of long ones which are tribu- tary to the Yukon River. As \S\i mountains extend along the coast, the various inlets may be included in the mountain navigation. The coast navigation may best be described in the words of Lord Dufferin, who said : " Such a spectacle as its coast line presents is not to be paralleled by any country in the world. Day after day for a whole week in a vessel of nearly 2,000 tons, we threaded an interminable laby- rinth of watery lanes and reaches, that wound end- lessly in and out of a network of islands, promontories, and peninsulas for thousands of miles, unruffled by the slightest swell from the adj^oining ocean, and presenting at every turn an ever shifting combination of rock, ver- dure, forest, glacier and snow-capped mountain, of un- rivalled grandeur and beauty. When it is remembered that this wonderful system of navigation, equally well adapted to the largest line-of-battle ship and the frailest canoe, fringes the entire sea-board of the Province, and communicates, at points sometimes more than a hundred miles from the coast, with a multitude of valleys stretch- ing eastward into the interior, while at the same time it is furnished with innumerable harbors on either hand. Canada: The Land of Waterways. 431 moun- tamers, t plains eighty it, after le Mac- includ- Dty into e tribu- various n. The vords of its coast untry in a vessel Die laby- nd end- Dntories^ d by the esenting ock, ver- 1, of un- embered ally well e frailest ince, and hundred s stretch- le time it ler hand. one is lost in admiration at the facilities for inter- communication, which are thus provided for the future inhabitants of this wonderful region." So we may truthfully say that Canada's " sea of moun- tains " is navigable, but nevertheless navigation is of such a local character that the Province was entirely isolated from the rest of the Dominion until the Cana- dian Pacific Railway went through. For many years the Canadian Rockies were considered impassable, but eleven passes have now been discovered and explored, the highest being the South Kootenay, with an elevation of 7, 100 feetat the international boundary, and the lowest the Peace River Pass, with an altitude of 2,000 ft., in lati- tude 56 degrees North. The pass first selected by the Government for the Canadian Pacific Railway was the "^.VJIowhead, where the altitude is i.-jii feet, and the maximum grades would be only one per cent, but in order to reach this pass the line of the railway would have to be deflected very far north from Medicine Hat, and it was finally decided to adopt the Bow River, or Kicking Horse Pass, where the altitude is 5,300 feet, and the maximum grades 116 feet per mile. There are two stretches of the road at present where the grade is four and one-half per cent., but these sections are only tem- porary, the permanent line along the face of Mount Stephen, with maximum grades of two and a half per cent., being very difficult of construction. The length of the railway from the eastern slope of the Rockies to the Pacific coast is 522 miles, and all the gradients exceeding one per cent, are upon the 134 miles between the head waters of the Bow River in the Rockies, and a point near Albert cation of the Illecillewaet River in the Selkirks. r 432 Canada : The Land of Waterways. Climbing the mountains of British Columbia it is 'easy to understand how the low elevation of the Cana- dian North-west gives it a milder climate than the adjoin- ing States and Territories, for above an elevation of '6,000 feet in this latitude snow falls during every month »of the year, so that the higher peaks are always capped ^vith snow, and magnificent glaciers can be seen at vari- ous points along the line of the Canadian Pacific Rail- way, those of Mount Stephen and Mount Sir Donald being particularly grand. In this elevated section of the Canadian Pacific RaiKvay there are six miles of snow-sheds, not continuous of course, but situated where required for protection, and another mile of them will have to be constructed. This is the only part of the railway where much trouble is experienced with snow, and having such a short distance to protect, as compared with the highly elevated American lines, the Canadian Pacific Company can afford to expend a great deal of money on strong snow-sheds and other contrivances for preventing blockades, so that the line is kept open and the trains run on good time, when the American trans- continental railways are blocked with snow for hundreds of miles. However, to guard against possible block- ades, nine provision magazines have been located about ten miles apart along the elevated section, so that in case of delay there will always be ample supplies of food for passengers and train hands. There are also store- houses for coal, oil, etc., and the various materials re- quired for repairing tracks and bridges. After the Canadian Pacific line was constructed, it was discovered that the Crow's Nest pass of the Rockies, almost di- rectly in line with both Medicine Hat and Vancouver Canada : The Land of Waterways. 433 City, is only 4,830 feet high ; the grades are said to be easier all along the route, and as it is much more direct than the line adopted, there is very little doubt that the Canadian Pacific Company will eventually send a branch through the Crow's Nest, passing down the fertile val- leys of the Kootenayand Columbia rivers to Vancouver j City, and shortening the distance between the two oceans 1 by about 200 miles. Every square mile of British Columbia may be said to have its own climate, and it would be impossible to give a general description that would apply to the whole province. The climate is very mild along the coast, the most northern districts having a temperature similar to that of Scotland, while the southern coast climate proba- bly more nearly resembles that of the south-western counties of England than any other part of America. At New Westminster, at the mouth of the Eraser, ac- cording to the meteorological records for the seven years from 1882 to 1888 inclusive, the lowest temperature in January of an average winter is i 7.4° ; in March 27.6° ; April 31.3°; June 44.9°; July and August 45.7°; Sep- tember 41.2°; October 29.8°; November 25.2°; De- cember 18.6". The average of all temperatures in Janu- ary and February is 35.3°; March 40°; April 48.2°; May 54.3°; June 58.3°; July and August 62°; Sep- tember 56°; October 48.1°; November 40.5°; De- cember 34.5°. The maximum temperature was 70° in April; 78.3° in May; 8[.2° in June ; 85.7° in July and August; 78.1° in September; 67.2° in October and 54.4° in November. Observations for seven consecu- tive years show that the rainfall in January, including snow reduced to water, averages 8.16 inches ; February 434 Canada : The Land of Waterways. 7.1 inches; March 6.27 inches; April 2.92 inches; May 3.49 inches; June 2.32 inches; July 1.78 inches; August 1.96 inches; September 3.44 inches; October 5.7 inches; November 6.95 inches; December 9.48 inches, making a total annual precipitation of nearly 60 inches, including snow, which seldom falls. This may be taken as a fair sample of the climate of the part of the mainland coast in the vicinity of Vancouver Island. The south-eastern portion of Vancouver Island has about the same temperatures, but the rainfall is considerably less, while along the western coast of Vancouver Island and all alon*^ the northern mainland coast the rainfall is much greater. The plateau between the Gold and Coast Ranges has about the same mean annual temperature as the coast in the same latitude, but the extremes of heat and cold are greater, while the climate is very dry. In the higher plateau between the Gold Range and the Rockies the climate is colder, approximating to that on the eastern slope of the Rockies. In some parts of this plateau rain falls almost continually in summer, and the snow fall in winter is very heavy, while in other sections of the same plateau it is comparatively dry. For example, the upper valley of the Columbia near the bend has a very great rainfall, but in the vicinity of the Columbia lakes the rainfall decreases, and the upper Kootenay Valley in the same plateau has a dry climate. Owing to the mountainous character of the country the area of agricultural land is small in proportion to the size of the province, but there are estimated to be at least seven million acres of arable land, while the area suita- ble for pasturage is immense. Where the land can be w » Canada: The Land of Waterways. 435 cultivated it is very rich, and the climate is so varied that every fruit, vegetable, plant and flower known to the temperate zone can be produced to perfection. The greatest obstacle to the cultivation of the soil and development of the agricultural wealth of the province is the immense size of the trees, which makes the clear- ing of wild land too costly an undertaking for the ordi- nary farmer. Except on the mountain peaks, the whole province is covered with timber. There are 30 species of trees, and some of them grow to an extraordinary size. The Douglas fir frequently grows to a height of 300 feet, having a diameter of from eight to nine feet, while some of the cedars have a diameter of i 7 feet. Almost every known mineral has been discovered in British Columbia and the colors of gold have been found in all the rivers and streams from the interna- tional boundary to Alaska. As yet there has been almost no quartz mining, but the placer miners have taken out of the rivers and streams over fifty million dollars worth of gold. When quartz mining is begun on an extensive scale, the yield of gold will probably be enormous. Silver, copper and lead are found in large quantities in various sections, while iron and coal are very widely distributed both on the mainland and the islands. The anthracite of Queen Charlotte Islands compares favorably with that of Pennsylvania, and according to tests made by the United States War Department, the bituminous coal of Vancouver Island is far superior to any coal on or near the Pacific coast, south of the international boundary. The most impor- tant deposits of iron yet known in British Columbia are those of Texada Island, between Vancouver Island and ? 436 Canada : The Land of Waterways. the mainland. It is magnetite of superior quality, asso- ciated with limestone suitable for flux, contiguous to good harbors and close to the great coal beds of Van- couver Island. Texada Island is one of a group lying between Vancouver Island and the mainland. The channels between the islands and the mainland are not too wide to be bridged, and a railway will no doubt pass over to Vancouver Island this way in the course of time. The wealth of British Columbia's fisheries cannot be estimated. Salmon swarm along the coast and ascend the rivers in myriads, climbing over rapids and water- falls, and swimming through the torrents of the cafions, to be caught 600 miles in the interior. Black cod, her- rings, halibut, sardines, smelts and oolachan abound along the coast, oysters thrive, and the seal fisheries of Bering Sea are accessible, while in the interior of the province sturgeon, trout, pike, perch and white fish, as well as salmon, are numerous in the rivers and lakes. The farms, the forests, the mines and the fisheries of British Columbia will give employment to millions, but the chief industry of the province must eventually be manufacturing. With numerous water-powers, unlim- ited supplies of iron and coal of the best quality, and inexhaustible forests of the finest timber, no country is better suited for iron-making and wood-working indus- tries, while the climate is especially adapted to the manufacture of textiles. It is well known that a moist climate is essential to the successful manufacture of the finest grades of cotton and woollen goods, and every variety of climate, from dry to wet, can be found within a few square miles in the southern part of British 1,1 Canada: The Land of Waterivays. 437 Columbia, so that the manufacturer can select exactly the climate to suit his purpose. Raw cotton can be im- ported from Australia or India, and wool from New Zealand can be mixed with the wool produced in British Columbia. All kinds of manufactured goods will be sent to Japan, China, Australasia, India and South America, and a large Russian trade may possibly be developed. In fact, the geographical situation of British Columbia is most favorable for trade with all the countries of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. A British manufacturing establishment, with a large trade in the East, by moving the works and workmen from England to the southern coast of British Columbia, would save nearly one thousand miles of carriage in shipping goods to Singapore, between three and four thousand miles in shipments to Hong Kong, over seven thousand miles in shipments to Yokohama, about six thousand miles in shipments to Auckland, New Zealand, and about five thousand miles in shipments to Sydney, Australia, while the distance to Calcutta would be very little greater than from England. While there are first-class harbors all along the Pacific coast of Canada, and the climate is so mild that none of them are ever blocked with ice at any season of the year, it is generally conceded that those of Burrard Inlet, on the mainland, and Esquimalt, on Vancouver Island, are the best. Burrard Inlet, being most accessible for rail- way purposes, has been chosen as the Pacific terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and on a peninsula at the mouth of this inlet, with water almost all around it deep enough to float the largest ocean vessels, the terminal city, Vancouver, is being built. The name of the town has 7^ 438 Canada : The Land of Waterways. g f d- been stolen from the adjoining island, much to the in- dignation of its inhabitants. In 1884 the land on which Vancouver City stands was a wilderness covered by gigan- tic forest trees; in 1885 the Canadian Pacific Company selected it as the terminus, but the railway did not reach it until 1887. In 1886, when the town had a population of 2,000, it was completely destroyed by fire, only two or three houses being saved. Now it is a solidly built city, with an estimated population of over 1 5,000. The founders of the city took precautions to prevent land booming, building conditions being imposed in almost every land transaction, so that its growth has been steady and solid. There is very little doubt that Van- K couver will eventually become the greatest city on the Pacific coast of America. Ocean vessels in the harbor of Vancouver are 2,906 miles from ocean vessels in the harbor of Montreal, and the distance from Liverpool to Hong Kong is nearly 1,200 miles shorter by way of Montreal and Vancouver than by way of New York and San Francisco. The distance from Liverpool to Vancouver City via St. John, N. B., and the Canadian Pacific Railway, is 6,470 statute miles, and via Quebec 6,120 miles, while the distance to San Francisco by the shortest American route is over 6,700 miles. The dis- tance from New York to Vancouver via Brockville is 3,162 miles, while the shortest American route from New York to San Francisco is 3,271 miles, and Boston, which is 3,397 miles from San Francisco by the shortest Ameri- can route, is only 3,222 miles from Vancouver via the Canadian Pacific Railway. The sailing distance from Vancouver to Yokohama and Hong Kong varies some- what according to different estimates, but all of them Canada : The Land of Waterways. 439 concede that the Canadian city has the advantage of San Francisco by several hundred miles. According to a report of the Canadian Minister of Public Works, the ■distance from Vancouver to Yokohama is 4,362 geo- graphical miles. But it is on the return trip that Van- couver is peculiarly favored. The Japan Current flows iswiftly toward the Pacific coast of Canada, practically shortening the distance by hundreds of miles, and even vessels bound for San Francisco save time by going with it toward British Columbia. It might be supposed that ships from Vancouver bound for Japan or China •would have this current against them, but in fact it ibends northward somewhat after the manner of a British Columbia river, so that the direct sailing course between Vancouver and Japan does not lie in its way. Van- couver is distant from Sydney, Australia, 6,829 miles, from Auckland, New Zealand, 6,934 miles, and from .'Singapore 7,376 miles. Victoria, at the south-east of Vancouver Island, is the •capital of British Columbia. Its situation is beautiful, and the climate almost perfect, but the harbor is not particularly good. However, Esquimalt harbor, which Is equal to those of Burrard Inlet, is only three miles away, and the city will eventually extend to it. Esquimalt is the headquarters of the British fleet in the Pacific, and the Dominion Government has built a fine dry dock there. This harbor will some day be the terminus of another Canadian Pacific Railway, which may be called for convenience the Canadian Interocean Railway. This line will cross to the mainland at Bute Inlet by bridging the channels between the islands, and run through the Rockies via the Yellow Head pass. It >fc *> v^ ^^v< .\s IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 11.25 |25 kI Kii 12.2 us lU Hi I nMI i£ 12.0 ■HUU U 11.6 6" T ^2 a" '/ ^ PhotDgra{iiic Sciences Corporation 23 WeST MAIN STRtCT WIBSTM.N.Y. I4S80 (716/ •73 4903 rti u.. ^ ^ o ^ .^ ^ ^ ^ 440 Canada : The Land of Waterivays. will probably make connections with Vancouver City as- well as Esquimalt, and taking the shortest route to Quebec City, St. John, N. B., and Louisburg, C. B., with a branch line down the Ottawa Valley to Montreal, it will 'be the air line between the two oceans, will have easier grades than the Canadian Pacific Railway and run through a fertile country nearly all the way. For the present the Canadian Pacific Railway serves the country very well : not only is it the shortest line across the continent, but its elevation is so much lower than that, of the American lines and its grades as a rule so moderate that, even if the distance were the same, better time- could be made and freight hauled at less expense,, especially in winter when the highly elevated American' lines are often blocked with snow. Already a mail bag has gone around the world in sixty-nine days by the Canadian route, and it is believed that when fast lines of steamships are running on both oceans in connection with this railway, the journey around the world can be made in sixty days. If the Atlantic and Pacific formed one great ocean in- stead of being divided by the American Continent, the route of ships would undoubtedly be directly across the part of the globe now occupied by the Dominion of Canada, in order to take advantage of the shorter parallels of latitude. Before the completion of the Canadian Pacific Rail- way, this great body of land was an impassable obstacle in the way of direct commerce between Europe and Asia, but now it merely serves to hasten the passage and break the monotony of a long sea voyage. The ship, transferring its cargo and passengeis to the railway. ■? \A Canada: The Land of Waterways. 441 ver City as- St route to , C. B.,with VIontreal, it s, will have ailway and ; way. For serves the t line across- er than that: so moderate better time :ss expense,. :d American' \l a mail bag days by the en fast lines 1 connection ATorld can be 12X ocean in- )ntinent, the [y across the Dominion of the shorter makes shorter voyages, requires less coal, and is there- fore able to carry larger cargoes, or utilize the cOal in increasing its rate of speed. In winter the ship from Europe seeking a port of trans-shipment will find in the maritime provinces of Canada some of the finest har- bors in the world, hundreds of miles nearer home than any port of the United States, and close to inexhausti- ble supplies of first-class coal. In summer it can pass up the St. Lawrence to Montreal, nearly one thousand miles inland, yet about three hundred miles nearer to Liverpool than New York. The ship from Asia, almost irresistibly carried toward Canada by the Japan Current, finds in British Columbia the finest harbors of the Pacific coast with the best and cheapest coal. Thus favored by Nature, the Dominion seems designed to be the commercial highway of the world, and having a most extensive system of internal navigation, great, mineral resources, fine forests, prolific fisheries and hundreds of millions of acres of agricultural lands, while the climate throughout its vast extent is every- where invigorating, the. Canadian people must eventu- ally become a great and powerful nation. \ Pacific Rail- able obstacle Europe and the passage oyage. The o the railway.