IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V '% {./ /. A=. •^ s 1.0 I.I !.25 ISO 2.8 1^ "^ lie us l£ 1.4 6" |25 22 V] ^^ /. '^ J^\^ ^J!"^ O^/A y ^ Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716)873-4503 d^ \ fv k 6^ ''i) A CiHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical IVIicroreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliograp' iques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. □ n D D □ n Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagee Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurde et/ou pellicutde Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque Coloured maps/ Cartes gdographiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Reli6 avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La reliure serree peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge int^rieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutdes lors dune restauration apparaissent dans le texte, r ais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6t6 filmdes. L'institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la m^thode normale de filmage sont indiqu6s ci-dessous. □ Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur □ Pages damaged/ Pages endommagdes I I Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaur6es et/ou pellicul^es Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages d6color6es, tachetdes ou piqu^es Pages detached/ Pages d^tach^es r~~] Showthrough/ Transparence □ Quality of print varies/ Quality in^gale de I'impression □ Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel supplementaire □ Only edition available/ Seule D Edition disnonible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etr:., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 6td film^es d nouveau de facon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. D Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppl6mentaires: This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmd au taux de reduction indiqu6 ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 7 26X 30X 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X e Stalls s du lodifier r une Image The copy filmed here has been reproduced th&nks to the generosity of: Metropolitan Toronto Library Social Sciences Department The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page v^ith a printed or illustrated impression. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol — ^ (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning ' END"), whichever applies. L'exemplaire filmd fut reproduit grdce d la g6n6rosit6 de: IVIetropolitan Toronto Library Social Sciences Department Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la r:.>ndition et de la nettet6 de l'exemplaire film6, et en conformity avec los conditions du contrat de filmage. Les exempiaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprimis sont filmds en commenpant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dornidre page qL>< comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exempiaires originaux sont filmis en commenpant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de chaque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — ^> signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmis d des taux de reduction diff6rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est filmi & partir de Tangle supirieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nicessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. irrata to pelure, n d n 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ;;:i!'; i!i:/.!t!;:: • •nwsKOfli'j,.*! ■'«■"" _'J|iiii|n»i«p.tii,., :f^m}:f,T vW:-- ^*^*'^^' Route through the North- West Territories of Canada to the Pacific Ocea?i. m v 4 PROPOSED e-ii: HUDSON'S BAY & PACIFIC RAILWAY A N J ■ NEW STEAMSHIP ROUTE, (WITH A MAP.) P 1:1 ■■■.I; ■ ^^1 ■i: :^.. in -vV'- ' s BY JOSEPH NELSON, AUTHOR OF " Handhiiiili of Ihitish Cohimhin and Vancouver hhtnd, 1858 " ; " A Raibray from Halifax to Vancouver throuij/i British Tenitonj, 1858 " ; " The fhidson's Bay Qmipaiiy, ' What fs It .' ' 1863 " ; >fc., ,fc ■ %t : t 'I' ■' 1894 Loudon : Printed by H. Littlf. A- Son, BishopHgate Street Within. / i 1 SS - ■ir;%-;'-i^i ! 4. ^Uy X'.'SgS.TI. N^5 Toronto Public Library, Reference Department, THIS BOOK MUST NOT BE TAKEN OUT Or THE ROOM, ^ May 15 1915 1 " Direct Bo HUDSC Nl " Handbook " A Railw " Tlie Hud Prii Direct Route throvgh the North-West Territories of Canada to the Pacific Ocean. PROPOSED HUDSON'S BAY & PACIFIC RAILWAY AN r> NEW STEAMSHIP ROUTE, (WITH A MAP.) BY JOSEPH NELSON, AUTHOR OF " Handbook of Ihithh Colnmbiii and Vanconrr Idnnd, 1858 ' ; " .-1 Eaihi-ay from Halifax to Vancouvn- throwjh British Tenitonj, 1858 " ; " The Hiuhon's Bay Compani,, ' What Is It T 18fi3 " ; dr., .h: 1894 London : Printed by H. Little & Son, Bishopsgate Street Within. J 3^0-^6 I DEDICATED, BY PERMISSION, TO THE MOST NOBLE THE MARQUIS OF DUFFERIN AND AVA, K.P. BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO FRANCE ; FORMERLY GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA, VICEROY OF INDIA, AND BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO ITALY. •.•.•.••: Hudson's Bay and Pacific Railway and M Steair/iip Route. CONTENTS PAOE ... 5 Comparative Table of Distances 6 Churchill Harbour Evidence as to the Commercial rracticability of the Navigation of the Straits and Hudson's Bay Extent and Resources of the North-West Territories of the Dominion 16 of Canada Address before the Royal Geographical Society by Robert Bell. Esq., ^^ M.D., F.G.S. ... •• Evidence of Mr. George A. Bayne, C.E., before the Select Committee ^^ of the Legislature of Manitoba ... Evidence of Mr. Charles N. Bell in his work, " The Northern Wate.s . „ 34 of British North America Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons of Canada, April, 188i, on the Navigation of Hudson's Bay 35 Report of the Select Committee of the Provincial Legislature of Manitoba on the Navigation of Hudson's Bay and the Opening-«p by Railway of Communication therewith throughout the North- West Territory of the Dominion and North-West States of ... 12 the United States IV. PAfllT AildiosH Ixfoic tlio Royal (Jeo^nipliical Society by Admiral Mnrklmiii, .Juno, 1"8H on Hudson's Buy imd Hiulson'H Strait as a Navii,'abl(! Cliiinnel ... ... ... .•• .•• •• ■•■ 'l-J Iteport of tlie Select Committee of the Semite of the Dominion of Canada, 1H8H, on the llosources of the Great, Mnckinizio Basin O.'i The North-West of Canada: The (Jroat Corn, Cattle, and Mineral Country of the Futn.e. By .Toseph Nelson. Reprinted from the " Westminster Review," March, 1893 73 Map of British "orth Americn, with the Proposed Railway and Steam- Ebip Route, etc., delineated thereon. Hudson's Bay and Pacilic Railway and M Steamship Route Syndicate, Limited. WITH A MAP. COMPARATLVF. TABf.K Ot^ DISTANCKS Livurpool to Port Churchill ^iS^i^^o^^r ..a Ca„u;ilau l.;cii:c K.H.y Saving iu distance via Tort Churchill Liverpool to Mi88ioi) Junction via Port Churchill Mission Junction to Han Francisco Miles. •2, '.fit') 1,1)0(1 t)l-2 l.'illH •i.'.HtO •J.'.iOl) i,a28 ... 4,.V2ll ... 1,073 Liverpool to Mission Junclion via Montreal and Canadian racific llailway Mission Junclion to Saul- raucisco ... r),rm 1,073 (;,-i!(7 Livel-pooUo San Francis.o'ma Port GliuichiU Saving iu distance vU Port Churchill 1,3'28 G,G30 5,59'.) 1,0H1 6 "Which will effect a saving of upwards of two ilays between the United Kingdom and Vancouver, San Francisco, Jt^pan, China. India, and Australia ; and it is estimated there will be a saving of £3 to £4 a head on immigrants, £3 to £4 a head upon cattle, £1 a ton upon wheat and other cereals, and upon all other products — merchandise, etc. — from IJO to 40 per cent. CHUKCHILL HAEBOUE. Sir Henry Lefroy, President of the Geographical Section of the British Association, in his address at Swansea in 1880, spealving of (Churchill Harbour (see Appendix A, Page 2'.)), saiii. : " It will undoubtedly be the future shipping port for the agricultural products of the vast North-West Territory, and the route i)y which emigrants will enter the country." ])r. Bell, Director of the Geological Survey of Canada, in his address to the Eoyal Geographical Society, in October 1881 (see Appendix A), said : "The (Jhurchill Eiver is remarkable for having at its mouth a splendid harbour, witli deep water and every natural convenience for tlie purposes of modern commerce It can be entered with ease and safety by the largest ships at all stages of the tide. On tlie point at the west side of the harbour stands the old Fort Prince of Wales, which is probably the largest ruin in North America." Mr. George A. Bayne, Civil Engineer, in his evidence before the Select Committee of the Legislative Assembly of tlie Province of Manitoba, having been engaged on th(! survey of this pi'oposed railway and harbour (see Appendix B, Page 84), said: "The Harbour of Churcliill is one of tlie finest I have ever seen. Nature has done so much for it in the way of protection from storm and the depth of water, that without further improvements it is fitted to take rank among first-class ocean ports. I took careful soundings, and found at a distance of 400 feet from high-water mark, along the shore, a deptli of 38 feet, deepening suddenly to fiO feet These soundings were taken at extremely low tide. The bay and harbour are open for navigation ivou, the loth of Juno to 20th Octobir for ordinary sailing vessels. Sometimes the ice does not take fast in the harbour until the 1st of December. The ice is never solid in the bay for a greater distance from the shore than half a mile,* and this is liable to be broken up by wind and tide, so that there will be found little difficulty that experience and practice will not overcome to prevent the loading and unloading of steamers all the winter." * This can be removefl by moans (if an ici^ broiikcr as now priicli.-ictl liy the llussian Uoverumunt iu ports Jind rivors within tlie Arctic Circle, :\Ir. William Smith, Deputy Minister of Marine and Fisheries, in an article which appeared in the Nautiral Maija-hir of Au-^nist, 1892 speaking of Churchill Harbour, says : " It is a splendid harbour, wliich can be entered with ease and safety at all stages of the tide, tl\us offering every advantage for "shipping, and its entrance is destined some day to be tlie main commercial point of this inland sea. The basin for ancl^.orage, witli a depth at low water of over four fathoms, is about 1,400 yards north and south, and about 1.000 yards east and west. The harbour is pronounced to be an eminently safe one. The approaches are well marked, and in clear weather the land stands out bold and high, being easily identified at a distance of ten or twelve miles. The harbour is well adapted for a i-ail\vay terminus, as the necessary docks could be easily and cheaply built, and the deep water basin enlarged at small cost. Stone lies at the water's edge ready to be laid into the docks or piers, and Nature seems to have left little to be done to make tliis a capacious port, capable of doing business on a large scale, and, what is of the greatest importance, an inlet by Hudson's Bay is the only thoroughly independent channel which can ever be established between Great Britain and her North American Possessions." EVIDENCE AS TO THE COMMEECIAL PRACTICABILITY OP THE NAVIGATION OF THE STRAITS AND HUDSONS BAY. The evidence on this, the most important of all questions, is complete in every particular so far as can be judged from investigation and practical experience. First we have the marvellous record of the Hudson's Bay Company (see Appen- dix 1), Page 36), who for 223 years have been trading between the United Kingdom and the shores of this great inland sea, with the loss of only tv/o vessels, the "Graham" and the •' Kittv." Upwards of 800 vessels are said to have passed through the Straits, including British troopships, emigrant ships, war vessels of the English and French (some of thewi carrying 74 guns), as well as ships bound on voyages of discovery, trade and whaling. One of the most interesting and early navigation and resources of Hudson's Bay Robert Bell, F.G.S., Director of the Geological Survey of Canada, an epitome of which was read before the Royal Geographical Society in 1881 (see Appendix A, Page 2'?.). Dr. Bell, who had spent six seasons since 1861) in explorations around the bay itself and its vicinity, amongst other things, says : " The total area of the bay is about 500,000 square reports of the is that of Dr. miles, enclosed by land on all sides except the North-East, where it comiuunicates by several cliannels with the outer ocean, the principal or best known of tbtse straits being about 500 miles in length, and an average width of 100 miles. Tiie basin of Hudson's Bay has a width of 2,100 miles from east to west, and a length of 1,500 miles from north to south, and its dimensions approach the enormous number of 8,000,000 square miles. Over a great part of this vast re;^icn there is a temperate climate ; nun.erous large rivers and lakes are embraced within th-ise limits." Both tlie bay and strait are remarkably free from rocks and shoals the depth of water is very uniform, and averages about 70 fathoms. The Nelson River, with its tributaries, may be considered one of the lirst-class rivers of the world. The shores and islands of the biy are rich in minerals, especially in iron ore of a iiigh grade, which lies exposed in inexhaustible quantities. The Canadian North- West Territories, embracing hundreds of millions of acres of fine land, are capable of becoming the greatest wheat field in the world. The centre of this innnense agricultural region probably lies to the north of the Saskatchewan. If we look at a map we shall see at a glance that the shortest route between these territories and England is through Hudson s Bay ; even the City of Winnipeg, which is near the South-lOastern extremity of tliese territories, is at, least 800 miles nearer to Liverpool by Hudson's Bay than by the St. Lawrence route. Now let us consider the relative progress of two persons travelling to Liverpool from tho centre of this vast region, tlie one going to Winnipeg and the Valley of St. Lawrence, and the other by the Nehon Valley and Churchill Harbour. At about the same time the former requires to reach the City of Winnipeg, the latter arrives on the sea coast at Churchill. From Winnipeg our traveller has still to go 1,291 miles by the Lake Superior Route, or l.fiOlS if he prefer the whole rail journey through American territory via Chicago, before he reaches Montreal, where he will still be about as far from Liverpool as our traveller when he reached Churchill. In other words, the route irom the North-West Territories to England viii Hudson 8 Bay saves the whole distance between Winnipeg and Montreal. The great saving in distance represents an important economy in time and money, or in freight and passenger rates. If the grain, cattle, and other productii^ns of the North- West Territories could reach an ]'\n'opean market only through Ontario and Quebec, or by way of New York, a large proportion of their value would necessarily be consumed by the long land carriage ; whereas if they can find an outlet at Churchill, there will be an average saving of 1,291 miles as n 1> compared with Montreal, and upwards of 1,700 as compared with New York, and this without any increase in the length of tlie sea voyage. In elTect this will place a great part of the farming lands of the North-West Territories in as good a position with regard to a seaport as are those of Ontario, West of Toronto, and will consequently increase tlie value of every description of farm produce, and therefore of the farms themselves. Some kinds which could not be sent out of the country at all by the longer land route may be prolitably exported ijy the sl-orter one. For the transportation of both grain and fresh meat, as ('olonel Dennis has pointed out. the northern route, besides the shortening of distance, would have greater advantages over all those to the south, owing to its cooler and more uniform temperature. Heavy or bulky goods of all kinds would, of course, be imported to the North-West by the shortest land route. In i-egard to the export and import of live stock this independent route will possess a great importance to these territories. Hitherto cattle, horses, hogs, and shec-p have tliere enjoyed an immunity from almost all forms of contagious diseases, and owing to the healthy nature of the climate for these animals, it is hoped this state of things will continue. The domestic animals in the United States and tlie oldci' Canadian Provinces being occasionally afllicted witli contagious diseases, it becomes dangerous for European countries on their importation. In the event of an epidemic of this nature existing in some part of these regions, but not in the North-West Territories, there need be no objection to exporting live stock from the lattei' l)y way of Hudson's Bay. As a route for emigrants from Europe that by Hudson's Bay possesses not only the advantage of the short land journey, but the still more important one to us of entirely avoiding the United States and the populous parts of Canada, in botli of which it is well known a very serious percentage of the immigrants destined for our North-West lands are every year enticed away to settle in the great Republic. An inlet by Hudson's Bay is the only thoroughly independent Cliannel which can ever be established between the British Islands and our great and valuable territories in the interior of North America ; and it is very desirable on national grounds that it should be opened up. Troops have hitherto been sent to the lied Kiver Settlement on more than one occasion by way of Hudson's Bay. while tlie intervening country was, as it is yet, in a state of Nature. Wero a short railway built through this tract it would at once become for military purposes an easy connecting link with the Mother Country. An impression has long prevailed that Hudson's Bay and ly^ in Strait cuuM not be navirrated for tlio ordinary purposes of conniierce on account f)f ice, i)Ut tiiis idoia is probahly destined to prove chimerical. Tiie fact tliat these waters liavo been successfully navij^'ated by ordinary sailinjj; vessels for '100 years, in order to secure what little trade the country aflordcd, indicates what may he expected from properly eijuipiied steamships so soo'i as the larj^'er business of tlie future may require their services in this dii-ectioa. The conditions of the sead)orne coiinnei'ce of the North- West in relation to lluvlson's Bay will probai)ly turn out to be similar to those of the rest of Canada with reference to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In both cases everythinj,' nuist be done duriuff the summer. Yet Hudson's Bay is open ail tiie year round. No one would be likely to suppose that a sea of such extent in the latitude of the liritish Islands would ever be frozen across. The lower St. Lawrence is also partly open, even in the nuddle of winter, but the difliculty in both Cii ay is much better than some writers have represented it to be. From all that 1 could leain or observe, it appears that the straits and bay may be navigated, and the land approached by steamei's during an average of foui' and half montiis each year, or from the nuddle of .lune to the end of October. Cliurchill Harbour does not freeze up until Noveniber, and the sea is open close to it the whole winter. In order to obtain full and accurate information on this important question a Select Comnnttee of the Parliament of Canada was appointed in 18sl, which took evidence and reported on the Hudson's Bay route to J'^ngland (see Appendix E), wherein they say: "Let us suppose the possibility of establishing a line of steamships between Liverpool and Hudson's Bay Ports, which would carry freight at the same rates as the steamships between Montreal and Liverpool. Now, the distance between Winnipeg and Montreal is about 1,400 miles, while it is not more than 700 to York Factory (on Hudson's Bay). It costs li cents per ton per mile to I V. f I 11 forward grain from St. Paul to New York, which, applied to the distance to be traversed between Winnipeg and Montreal, would give a charge of 21 dollars per ton, or of 10 dollars SO cents, from Winnipeg to York Factory— say the half. If, nows the ton is re'ikoned as equal to H3 bushels of grain, the difference in freight in favour of the Hudson's Bay route would be a saving of '62 cents per bushel, or, in other wov.ls, an additional proUt of dollars -10 cents per acre, yielding an average of 20 bushels. Other calculations make the saving one-third the present cost of transport lealised by the farmers of tlie West upon tlie opening of a channel of exportation by the Hiulson's IJay. A large proportion of importation from Europe would take this road ; tlie immigrants proceeding westward would see that tliey could shorten tlie annoyances, the delays, and the cost of a journey across the Continent by from 800 to iiOO miles. The export of butclier's meat would alone furnish a consideral)le portion of the lading of Hudson's Bay steamers, and many persons are of opinion that this route would command a considerable portion of the import and export trade of the North- Western States of tlie Dnion. We speak merely incidentally of the Hudson's Bay fisheries and of the woriung of the minerals, almost inexhaustible in their ricliness, which are to be found there. 'I'd funii iiji l/w ivlioli', lludxiDi'K Pxv/ apjicars to m.s to lie (h.itined to perform the mtiiir serrires for the vast territories of the A'or//i-IIV.st thtit the Gulf of St. Lawrence ilnes for the vast anil fertile ralleij liearinij the same name. "From tables given to the Government by the Ilud^on's Bay Company in 18H0, it appears that the breaking up of the Hayes Kiver at York Factory, lor a period of !u\ years, took place on the average on the loth of May ; the mean formation of the ice gives the 20tli of November, which would give an average of live months or thereabouts for navigation. " In concluding this report, your committee believe it to be tlieir duty to remark upon the absolutely impartial character of their lalwurs. Undertaken without reference to pre-con- ccived oninions, the enquiry has been conducted in a manner well calculated to tiirow the greatest possible amount of liglit upon the conditions and character of the navigation of this ])()rti(jn of our maritime Dominion. The information obtained cannot be said to form a complete examination of the (juestion ; but your committee are satisti(:d. if they have been able by their (ill'orts to contribute to the critical examination and solution of a problem which will assure to Canada an immense dcveloiiment of its marine, the monopoly of the traffic of the North- West, and a fresh pledge of i)rosperity and grandeur. "(Signed) J. KOYAL, Chairman." 12 The committee recommended that an expedition should be sent out for the purpose of establisliing stations on botli sides of Hudson's Straits, at which continual daily observations could be taken and recorded on the weather, tide, and teniperature, condition and movements of the ice, etc., for a period of at least twelve consecutive months ; and in accord- ance with tliis resolution a steamer, called the " Neptune, ' under the command of Ijieut Gordon, K.N., was despatched in the summer of 1884, accompanied by a numerous and erticiont staff. After havineatc ca))al)le of [(loduein^' tlie finest wlieat, and the rest admirably adapted for stock raisinjf and dairy farming. The whf)le of this rej^don, includinj,' a ^'reat portion of the States of Minnesota and Nortli Dakota, in the United States, is drained by the lakes and tributary sti'eanis of tlic Nelson liiver, into Jludson's bay, in latitude 5H North. It comprises the richest and most extensive undeveloped wheat-producing lands in tlie woi'ld, and access to which, from the United Kingdom, by ordinary steamers via Hudson JJay can he reached witliin eight days. j)uring 189 1. there was under eidtivation in the Province of Manitolja. and the three territories of Assiniboia, Saskat- chewan, and Alberta, 1,800, 000 acres, whicli produced 25 million bushels of wiieat, and 30 ndllion bushels of barley and oats, whilst the heads of cattle were estimated at about 600,000. ]\lr. Jvuttan. engineer to the City of \Mnnipeg, in a recent publication, estimates tliat : " Witinn the next decade, this Province (Manitoba), and the territories, will be producing 200 ndllion busliels of wheat annually, — I that every cent, per bushel saved in the cost of transportation would mean two million dollars annually to the farmers of the North- West; that 200 million bushels of wlieat aeans six million tons of merchandise ; to get that quantity to a port of export, would require 15,000 trains of 20 cars each, or over 10 trains per day all the year roimd, including Sundays, and would then require 8,000 vessels of 2,000 tons each for further transportation. The present cost of transporting wheat to the seaports at Montreal, Boston, or New York, from the centre of this region is about 85 cents per bushel, whilst the same charge per mile to Port Cliurchill would not exceed 15 cents, and the saving in the carriage of live stock, as stated by Admiral Markham, would be fully equal to £8 per head. One of the most nnportant questions of the day is the importation of live stock into the United Kingdom. Here is a country capable of raising millions of heads of cattle, absolutely free from every kind of disease, owing to the remarkable healthiness of the climate ; but the present export is prohibited, owing to their having to pass for more than 1,000 miles through the Eastern portion of Canada to a port of shipment. The opening of the Hudson's Bay route would Ill V 18 remedy all this, and would eiiahUs the cattle to be wliipped in ))riiiu! condition at half tiio present cost by way of Montreal. TIk! .Mai'i|iiis of |)nU''i-in and Ava, tlic M;ir(iiiis of l.orne, Piofcssor IVeaiii. Sii' William \'aii llorncM i'. lliid\ai il i\i]i| ii;^', and mans oiIum- eminent men have lioine te^tiniony from [)er- Honal kn()wletlj.H! (jf ihe mai'velous richness of the Kuil, and the healthiness of the (tlimate of tins ^Meal re;^ion. In an article, contrihuted to I'ltr linnsow the '.'WviX of Xovemher last, Mr. Kiidyard ivi[)linj^ says: " I'eople have no more tlian just bej,'nn to discover a place called iSanlf Ifot S[)iin^'s, two days west of W'imupe^. in a little time tlu'V will know half a dozen s|)ots not a day's rirhaps the loveli(;st land in the world, except New Zealand, will hav<( lier own line of (i,l)0() ton steamers to Australia, and tiie Ih'itish investor will no Ioniser throw away his money on hellicat South American repuhlics, or i^ive it as a hostage to the Staters. I [e will keep it in the family, as a wise man should. Then the towns that are to-tlay only names in the wilderness, yes, and some of those places marked on the map as Hudson's Hay Posts, will be citi(!S, because —but it is hopel(;ss to make ))eople luideistand that actually ami indeed we do possess an em])ire of wiiich ('anada is only a portion, an empire that has not jet been scratched.' To the North-\Vc!st of the teiritories already described, there is a vast region end)racing the Athabasca and Great Macken;?ie Hasins, on the resources of whicli a select committee of the Senate of the Dominion took evidence, and rn. and other iish, and furs of tiie Hudson's l^ay Company and other fur traders. In addition to this, the line, with its n-reat saving of time and distance, will command the carriage of a portion of the mails and through passengers to and from the Piicific. The carriage of one half of the present pi-oduce of the North-West Territories, via Port (Umrchill, will be sullicient to tax to the fullest capacity tlie proposed railway. ■■ APPENDIX A. P K O C !•: Fi 1) [ N r, S OF THF, ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY. OCTOnFAl, 1881. On the CoiiiMi-rcial Importance nf fln-dson'x llaij, uitli lu'iiiarlcs on llecent Snrvfijs and fnvcstiijatioiis. By KoBRKT Brll, m.t>., f.g.s., Assistant Director of tlio Geological Survey of Canada. I beg leave to oifer to the Royal Geographical Society !i few remarks on the great Mediterranean Sea of North America, in regard to wliich there appears to be a general wiuit of coi-rect information. Before proceeding to do so, it may be proper for me to state that I have a considerable per- sonal knowledge of Hudson's Bay and the surrounding regions. As an officer of the Geological Survey of Canada, I have spent six seasons since 1869 in explorations around the bay itself or in its vicinity, while the remaining summers of this interval have been devoted mostly to surveying and exploring portions of the Hudson's Bay territory at greater or less distances inland. In the course of my geological investigations, I have made surveys of the most principal rivers, together with their larger branches, which How from the west and south into Hudson's Bay, including the Great and Little Churchill, tlie Nelson, Hayes, Hill, Severn, Albany, Kenagami, Moose, Missi- nabe, IMattagami, and Aljittibi. On account of its great geo- logical interest, I made a topographical survey in U-i77 of about 300 miles of the Eastmain Coast, from Cape Jones northward. Some of the maps showing tiiese surveys have been already published with the annual reports of the Geological Department, and those representing tlie remainder will soon be forthcoming. fpp^ 22 During the past autumn, in coming to England in one of the ships from the bay, I liappened to enjoy unusually good opportunities of seeing l)oth sides of Hudson's Straits, and of acquiring much valuable information in reference to its navigation. In the popular mind, Hudson's Bay is apt to be associated witii the polar regions, yet no part of it comes within the Arctic circle, and the southern extremity is south of the latitude of London. Few people have any adequate coiicoptioii of the extent of this great American sea. Including its southern prolongation, James s Bay, it measures about 1,000 miles in length, and it is more than 000 miles in width at its northern part. Its total area is approximately 500,000 S(iuare miles, or upwards of half of that of the Mediterranean Sea of the old world. It is enclosed by the land on all sides except the north-east, where it connnunicates by several channels with the outer ocean. The principal or best known of these is Hudson's Strait, which is about 500 miles in length, and has an average width of about 100 miles. Hudson's Bay, which might hu e been more appropriately called Hudson's Sea, is the central basin of the drainage of North America. Tiie limits of this basin extend to the centre of the Labrador peninsula, or some 500 miles iidand on the east side, and to the Rocky Mountains, or a distance of 1,800 miles on the west. The Winnipeg Basin constitutes a sort of outlier of the region more immediately under notice since the waters drain into it from north, south, east, and west, and discharge themselves by one great trunk, the Nelson llivcr, into Hudson's Bay. The southernmost part of this basin, namely, the source of the Red River, extends down nearly to latitude 45". The head waters of the southern rivers of James's Bay are not far to the north of Lakci Huron ; while one of the branches of the Albany rises within '25 miles of the north shore of Lake Superior. Including the Winnipeg system, the basin of IJudson's 13ay has a width of about 2,100 miles from east to west, and a length of about 1.500 miles from north to south, and its dimensions approach the enormous area of 8,000,000 square miles. Over a great part of this vast region there is a temperate climate, and although mucli of the surface is comparatively barren, yet large tracts possess a very fertile soil. The numerous large rivers and lakes embraced within these limits will prove of great valuo in the settlement of the country. Both the bay and straits are I'emarkably free from rocks and shoals wliich might interfere wi^h their free navigation. The groups of islands near the east side of the bay are surrounded by deep water, and a wide channel leads up the centre of 28 I one of lly good 1, and of to its sociated :hin the of tho ncoption iin^ its lit 1,000 til at its S(iUiire ,11 Sea of s except lels with these is and has opriately linage of \c centre d on tlie of 1,300 a sort of ^ince the rest, and 3n llivcr, lis basin, nearly to rivers of while one iS of the If system, .00 miles 1 north to i area of Lst region le surface 3ry fertile ed within nt of the rocks and ion. The irrounded centre of James's Bay. Fortunately the main body of the bay, which is the portion likefy to be hereafter frequented by shipping, is entirely without shoals, reefs, or islands. The depth is very uniform over most of tlie bay, and nowhere does it present any groat irregularities. It averages about 70 fathoms throughout, deepening to 100 and upwards in approacliing the outlet of Hudson's Strait ; wliile in the strait itself the soundings along the centre vary from about loO to upwards of bOO fathoms. The bottom appears to consist almost every wiiere of bouVier clay and mud. Near the shores a stiff clay, aifording good hol("!ing ground for anchors, is almost invariably met with on both sides. James's Bay begins at Cape Jones o.i the east side, and Cape Henrietta Maria on tlie west, and runs south about 350 miles, with an average breadth of about 150 miles. The east side of Hudson's Hay, including its southern prolongation, is known as the Eastmain Coast. Between Cape -Jones and Cape DulTcrin on the Portland Promontory, and again in approaching Cape Wolstenholme, at the northern termination of tliis coast, the land is high and bold, some parts attaining an elevation of nearly 2,000 feet above the sea. The country on the south- west side of the main bay, as well as that lying to the v/est of James's Bay, is low and generally level, with sliallow water extending a long distance out from shore. Both sides of Hudson's Strait are high and rocky, but the northern is less precipitous than the southern. Of the numerous rivers which run into Hudson's Bay from all sides, about thirty are of considerable magnitude. All those which enter on the Eastmain Coast appear to flow with a uniform course directly west or parallel to one auotlier, and as the height of land in the centre of the Labrador peninsula is furtliest inland towards the south, the rivers which fall into the southern partof this coast are the largest, and the remainder become progressively smaller as we go north. Numerous streams converge to tlie head of James s Bay from all points southward of an east and w'est line passing through its southern extremity. The Moose, about a mile wide, is the principal of these. On the western sid'i the Albany and the Churchill are the longest, but the Nelson, with a course of only about 400 miles, discharges the greatest body of water into the sea. Indeed this great artery of the Winnipeg system may be considered as one of tli(! first class rivers of the world. Few of the rivers of Hudson's Bay afl'ord uninterrupted navigation for large vessels to any great distance from the coast. During the season of high water, shallow-draft steamers miglit ascend the Moose river and two of its branches for upwards of 100 miles Hayes river and two of its branches might apparently be ^4 navi^^at'jd by such craft in tlic spring to points about 140 miles inlaiiil, and" the All)any for nearly '250 niilos ; wliilo lar;;e steamers iiii„-ht ascend the Nelson for 70 or 80 miles from the open sea. The Nelson is the only muddy-water river entering Hudson's 15;>.y. Most of the others have a slightly brownish tinge, but their waters are perfectly wholesome and contain only very small cpiantities of foreign matter. The (Ihurchill. wliich is the second largiist river of Hudson's Jkiy, is a beautiful clear water stream, somewhat larger than the Bhinc. It is remarkal)le for having at its mouth a splendid harbour with deep water and every natural convenience for the purposes of modern conunercc The only harbours on the west side of Hudson's Bay arc those formed by the mouths of rivers, but none of them, with the exception of Churchill Harbour, can be entered by vessels drawing more than ten or eleven feet, and only at high water even by these. The Churchill is unlike all the other rivers in having a deep, rocky, and comparatively narrow mouth, which can be entered with case and safety by the largest ships at all stages of the tide. On the point at the west side of the entrance of the harbour stands the old Fort Prince of Wales, which is probably the largest ruin in North .\meriea. Altiiougli occupying a connnanding position and mounting about forty large guns, it was surrendered, without liring a shot, to the French Admiral La Perouse, who destroxed it in 1782. Along the west coast tlie rise and fall at spiing tides amounts to about 11 or 12 feet, on an average, and is pretty uniform, diminishing somewhat towards the south. It is greatest at the mouth of the Nelson river, where it amounts to about 15 feet. The tides are lower all along the east side of the bay. In Hudson's Strait there is a very good tide, amounting to 38| feet at Fort Chimo, according to the reports we have received of Acting Statt'-Connnander J. G. Boulton's reconnaissance during the past summer, (ieologically the basin of Hudson s Bay, excludimi the western or Winnipeg division, lies within the great Laurentian area of tiie Dominion. Silurian rocks resting almost horizon- tally upon these, form an irregular boi'der along the south- western side of the bay, and in the valh^ys of some of the rivers th(!y extend inland from 100 to iiOO miles. To tlie south and west of .James's Bay, the Silurian are overlaid liy Devonian roeks, which here occupy a considei'able area. The long chains of islands which fringe the east coast for nearly 800 miles to the northward of C-ape .Jones, and also the mainland in tlie vicinity of Kichniond Gnlf, are composed of igneous and almost unaltered sedimentary rooks, resembling the Nipigon ii^ 25 series of the Lake Superior region, which may be of Cambrian age. On the western side of the bay, from (Ihurchill nortli- wards, (jiru-tzites and otlier roclis, whicli may also belong to the Cambrian system, appear to l)e largely developed. Valuable minerals may he looked for on this part of the coast. The extensive level region around tiie south-western side of the hay is overs} read with a great sheet of boulder clay, which is ganerally covered by the modified drift. The rocks of the outlying, or Winnipeg division of the basin, comprise an extensive series, ranging from tlio Laurentian to the tertiary. The resources of Hudson's Uay and the country immediately around it are varied and numerous, althougli as yet few of them are at all developed. Tlie fur trade is tiie principal and best known Inisiness which has hitherto been carried on in tliesc regions, but a largo amount of oil. derived from the larger whales, the i)oi-poises, walruses, white l)ears, and the various species of seals whicli frequent the northern parts of the bay, has been carried to New l^Jngland, and snuiU quantities, princi- pally of porpoise and seal oil, have from time been brought to London by the Hudson's i'.ay Company. The other exports from the bay have been as yet but trilling. They emljrace whalebone, feathers, quills, castorum, lead ore, sawn lumber, ivory, tallow, isinglass, and skins of seals and porpoises. The fisheries proper, speaking of Hudson's Bay, have not yet been investigated. Both the Indians and I'jskimo find a variety of fish for their own use, and liiu; salmon abound in the rivers of Hudson's Strait; and from one oi- two of them a consideraljle nundjer of barrels, in a salted condition, are exported every year. Waterfowl are very numerous on both sides of the bay, and larger game on the "barren grounds" in the northern parts so that the natives, with prudence, may always have a plentiful irupply of food. But perhaps the most important of the undeveloped re- sources of the country around the bay are its soil, timber, and minerals. To the south and west of James's Bay, in the latitude of Devonsliire and Cornwall, there is a large tract, in which much of the land is good and the climate sulhciently favourable for the successful prosecution of stock and dairy farming. .V strip of country along the east side of .lames's Ba,y may also provi; available for th(!se purposes. To the south-west of tiie wide ])ai't of the bay tlie country is well wooded, and although little or no rock comes to the surface over an immense area, still neither the soil nor the climate are suitable for carrying on agriculture as a principal occu- pation until we have passed over more than half the distance to Lake Winnipeg. This region, however, offers no engineering it 26 difliculties to the construction of a railway from the sea- coast to the hotter country beyond, and this, at present, is tiie most important point in reference to it. Some of the timber found in the country wiiich sends its waters into James's Bay, may prove to be of vahie for export. Among the kinds wliich it produces may be mentioned white, red, and pitch pine, blacl^ and white spruce, ijalsam, hirch, white cedar, and white bircli. The numerous rivers converging towards the liead of James's Jiay olfer facilities for " driving " timber to points at which it ma.y be shipped by sea going vessels. Minerals may, however, become in the future the greatest of the resources of Hudson's Jiay. Little direct search has as yet been made for the valuable minerals of these regions. I have, however, found a large deposit of rich ironstone on the Mottagami river, inexhaustible supplies of good man- ganiferous iron ore on the islands near the Eastnuiin coast, and promising quantities of galena around iiichmond Gulf and also near Little Whale liiver, where a small .-imount had previously been known to exist. I have likewise noted traces of gold, silver, molybdenum, and copper. Jjignite is met with on tlie Missinabe, gypsuui on the Moose, and petro- leum-bearing lime-tone on the Abittibi river. Small quanti- ties of anthracite, and various ornamental stones and rare minerals, have been met with in the cour.se of my explora tions. Soapstone is abundant not far from Mosquito Ijay, on the east side, and iron pyrites between Churchill and Marble Island, on the west. Good building stones, clays, and limestones exist on both sides of the bay. A cargo of mica is said to have been taken from Chesterfield Inlet to New York, and valuable deposits of plunjbago are reported to occur on the north side of Hudson's Strait. Some capitalists have applied to the Canadian Government for mining rights in the latter region. Situated in the heart of North America, and possessing a seaport in the very centre of the continent, 1,500 miles nearer than Quebec to the fertile lands of the North- West Territories, Hudson's Bay now begins to possess a new interest, not only to the Canadians, but also to the people of Great Britain, from the fact that the future highway between the great North- West of the Dominion and Europe may pass through it. Th»i possii)ility of this route being adopted for trade is not a new idea, and it has fre(|uently been suggested by far-seeing men in past years, and occasionally referred to in the newspapers, in 1818, the tlien Lieutenant M. H. Synge, in his work on Canada, wrote: "A ship annually arrives at Fort York, for the service of the Hudson's nnni KW 3^m 27 Bay Company ; who can toll how many may eventually do so ?" In 18G9, and subsequently, I frequently discussed the matter with tlie late Kon. John Young, Mr. Keefer, Professor Armstrong, and otliers : and in 187G, Mr. Selwyn brought tlie subject unollicially before members of tlio Canadian Government, and reconnnended that surveys be made of Hudson's Bay and Strait The Right Hon. Sir Jolni A. Macdonald, Minister of the Interior, and his deputy. Colonel J. S. Dennis, have all along taken a deep interest in tliis question, and in 1878, the latter gentleman puljlished o work, accompanied by a valual'le map, in relation to it, The lieport of the Minister of th .iiterior for 1878 contains an appendix by myself on tlie practicabiHty of building a railway from Lake Winnipeg to Hudson's Bay, In the session of 1878-79, and again the following year, the Hon. Thomas Ryan, a gentleman of great enterprise, has brought the matter under the notice of the Dominion State. In 1880 the Parliament of Canada granted charters to two companies for constructing railways, and otherwise opening a route for connnerce, from the North-West Territories to Europe via Hudson's Bay ; and during the past summer one of them, the Nelson Valley Company, caused a survey to be made of part of the distance between Lake Winnipeg and the harl>our of Churchill. The chief engineer has reported the route to be an easy and inexpensive one for a railway. Tliis company had also tlie power of connecting with the Canadian Pacific Kailway, but the main line will form a connecting link between the great system of inland navigation, with centres in Lake Winnipeg, and the sea. When constructed, the Nelson Valley Kailway may carry to the seaboard not only the surplus grain and cattle of our own North- West, but also those of Minnesota and Dakota. Sir J. H. Lefroy, President of the Geographical Section of the British Association, in the able address which he delivered at the Swansea meeting (1880), said : " Hudson's Bay itself cannot fail, at no distant day, to challenge more attention. Dr. Bell reports that the land is rising^at the rate of live to ten feet in a century, that is, possibly, an inch a year. Not, however, on this account will the liydrographer notice it ; but because the natural seaports of that vat.t interior, now throu ii open to settlement. Keewatin. ^lanitoba, and other provinces unborn, must be sought there, York Factory, which is nearer Liverpool than New York, has been happily called by Professor II. Y. Hind, the Archangel of the West. The mouth of the Churchill, however, although somewhat further north, oilers far superior natural advantages, and may :iiore htly challen-^je the title. It will, undoubtedly, be the future sbippmg port for the 28 agricultural products of the vast Nortli-W est Territory, and the route by which eini};;rants will enter tlie country." Hir Henry Lofro,^ knows whereof lie writes, being personally well acquainted witli Hudson's Bay and tlie Noi'th-West Terr i tor ie?. It has been shown that the Canadian North- West Territories, embracing hundreds of millions of acres of line land, are capable of becoming thegreaiest wheatlield in tiio world. The centre of this inmicnse agricultural region lies to the iiorth of the Saskatchewan, If we look at the map of tlio northern hemisphere, we shall see at a glance tliat the shortest route between these territories and l-higland is tin'ougii Hudson's Bay, Mr. Lindsay Kussell, the Surveyor- (leneral of Canada, has recently made a close calculation of relative distances, and found that even the city of Winnipeg, wliich is near the south- eastern extremity of these territories, is at least 8U0 miles nearer to Liverpool by the Hudson's Bay route tlian by the St. Lawrence, while the difference in favour of the former will be increased continually as we advance nortliward into the interior. Now let us consider the relative progress of two persons travelling to Liverpool from the centre of this vast region, the one going by Winnipeg and the valley of the St. Lawrence, and the otiier by the Nelson Valley and the Churchill Harbour. In about the same time which the foi-ner requires to reach the city of Winnipeg, the latter arrives at the sea coast at Churchill. From Winnipeg our hrst traveller has still to go 1,291 miles by the Lake Superior route, or 1,G!)8 miles if he prefers the all-rail journey througli American territory via Cliicago, before he reaches Montreal, where he will be still about as far from Liverpool as our otlier traveller when he has reached Churchill. In other words, the route from the North-West territories to England, via Hudson's Bay, saves the whole distance between Winnipeg and Montreal. The distance to Liverpool by way of New York is still greater. Tne advantages of this short route over all others are so numerous tliatonly a few of them can be referred to in tliis short paper. Tiie great saving in distance represents an important economy in time and money, or in freiglit and passenger rates. If the gra'i, cattle, and otlier procluctions of the North-West Territories could reacli an J'juropean market, only through Ontario and Quebec, or l)y way of New York, a large proportion of their value would necessarily be consumed by tlie long land carriage ; whereas, if they find an outlet at Ciiurchill, there will be an average saving of 1.291 miles as compared with Montreal, and of upwards of 1,700 miles as compared with New York, and this without any increase in the length of the sea voyage. In effect, this will place a great 20 part of the fanning lands of our NorthWest Territories in as good a position in regard to a seaport as are those of Ontario, west of Toronto ; and consequently will greatly increase the value of every description of farm produce, and, therefore, of the farms themselves. Some kinds, which could not bo sent out of the country at all by the longer land route, may bo profitably exported by the shorter one. For the transportation of both grain and fresh meat, as Colonel Dennis has pointed out, the northern route, besides the shortening of the distance, would have great advantages over all those to the south, owing to its cooler and more uniform temperature. Heavy or bulky goods of all kinds would, of course, be imported into the North West by the shortest land route. In regard to the export and import of live stock, this independent route will possess a great importance to these territories. Hitherto cattle, horses, hogs, and sheep have there enjoyed an immunity from almost all forms of contagious diseases, and, owing to the healthy nature of the climate for these animals, it is hoped this state of things will continue. The domestic animals in the United States and the older Canadian provinces being occasionally afflicted with contagious diseases, it becomes necessary for European countries to impose restrictions on their importation. In the event of an epidemic of this nature existing in some part of these regions, but not in the North- West Territories, there need be no objection to exporting live stock from the latter by way of Hudson's Bay. As a route for emigrants from Europe, that by Hudson's Bay possesses not only the advantage of the short land journey, but the still more important one to us, of entirely avoiding the United States and the populous parts of Canada, in both of which, it is well known, a very serious percentage of the inunigrants destined for our North- West lands are every year enticed away to settle in the great republic. An inlet by Hudson's Bay is the only thoroughly independent channel wliich can ever be established between the British Islands and our great and valuable territories in the interior of North America ; and it is very desirable, on national grounds, that it should be opened up. Troops have hitherto been sent to the Red River settlement on more than one occasion, by way of Hudson's Bay, while the intervening country was, as it is yet, in a state of nature. Were a short railway built through this tract, it would at once become, for military purposes, an easy connecting link with the mother country. An impression has long prevailed that Hudson's Bay and Strait could not be navigated for the ordinary purposes of commerce on account of ice, but this idea is probably destined 80 to prove chimerical. The occasion for testing the point has not hitherto arisen, and the fact that those waters have been succossfuUy navigated by ordinary sailing vessels for 200 years, in order to secure what little trade tlic country afforded, indicates what may bo expected from properly equipped steain- ships, so soon as tiie larucr business of tlie future may require their services in tiiis direction. The conditions of the sea- borne commerce of the North-West, in relation to lludson's Bay, will probably turn out to be similar to thos' of tiie rest of Canada with reference to tiie Gulf of St. Lawrence. In both cases, everything nuist be done during tiie summer. Yet Hudson's Hay is, of course, open all the year lound. No one would be liliely to suppose that a sea of sucli extent, in tlie latitude of the Britisli Islands, would ever freeze across. The Lower 8t. Lawrence is also partly open even in the middle of winter. But tlie diHiculty in both cases is the impossibility of jrettii)'' into harbours. A harbour such as that of Cliurchillon Hudson's bay would have the advantage over Quebec or Mont- real of communicating directly with the open sea, andlience in the autumn, vessels would not be liable to be fro/.en in, as occasionally happens in the St. Lawrence, as for example in the autumn just passed; and also in the autumn of 1870. wlien the outward-bound sliipping got frozen in below Quebec, occasioning a loss, it was said, of over a million dollars. Again, in the spring there would probably be less uncertainty about entering from tlie sea than in the Gulf of St. Law rence. wliere vexatious delays are not uncommon after t!ie open season is supposed to have arrived. There has been some discussion as to the length of time during whicli Hudson's Strait and Bay might be navigated each year. l)ut there does not seem to be mucli evidence tliat the strait, any more than the bay, is closed at any season. Its great wadth, depth, and strength of the tides pn bably keep it open all winter. My own experience and that of many others lead me to believe that the climate generally of Hudson s Bay is much Ijetter than some writers have represented it to be. From all that I could learn or observe, it appears that the strait and bay may be navigated and tiie land approaclied by steamers during an average of four and a half montlis each year, or from the middle of June to the end of October. The strait and bay could probably be navigated by steam-vessels earlier than the middle of June, but nothing would bo gained, except perhaps by whalers, in going in before an open harbour can be reached. Much has been recorded in favour of the above opinion from the days of the Danish Captain John Monck, who wintered at Churchill ih 1619-20, to the present time ; and other evidence, which is not to be found in the 81 books, leads me to the same conclusions. Churchill Harbour does not freeze up until November, and the sea is open close to it during the whole winter. I have a record of tlie principal phenomena of the seasons at Martin's Falls, on tlie Albany, extending through a period of fifty years, and from it 1 find that the rivu- is open there on an average for six months of the year. 1 have also a record of dates of the opening and closing of Hayes Hiver at York Factory, extending over more than lifty years, from which it appears to enjoy an average of fully six months of open water. The Nelson River is open for a longer period. I think, with these facts before us, we need not despair of successfully navigating Hudson's IJays, as far as the length of the season is concerned. Even were the time of open navigation shorter than it is known to be, the very great benefits which the North West and Canada generally would derive from possessing an outlet in that direction, are sufiicient to make it well worth an effort to open it. The freedom of Hudson's Strait and Bay from rocks, shoals, and other impediments to navigation will exempt vessels in that quarter of the globe from the heavy expenses for pilots, lighthouses, etc., which burden shipping by the St. Lawrence, and are even more onerous in some other parts of the world. The delays from drifting ice in the strait which have occasionally occurred to sailing vessels would not be 'ex- perienced by steamships. We have seen that in proportion as we decrease the cost of transportation to a foreign market, we increase the home value of all kinds of farm produce, and consequently of the farm itself. Now, considering the vast extent of fine land to be affected by the opening of the route above referred to, if the value of each acre of it were enhanced in this way by only a few shillings, the aggregate increase would amount to more than a hundred million of dollars. Such a gain as this, together with the various other great advantages which, as we have seen, may be derived from the opening of this new ocean route, will, I think, sufficiently illustrate the commercial importance of Hudson's Bay. APPENDIX B. GKOlMiFi A. BAYNE, Civil Knginoor, Winnipeg. Season 1884. I was instructed by the Directors of the Nelson Valley Railway Company to make an exploration survey of tlieir proposed route from Winnipeg to the sliores of the Hudson's Bay at Fort Churchill From Winnipeg northward to the mouth of the Red River, the country is thickly settled, the 8i''.'face is level, and the soil a rich dark loam. From thence through the Icelandic reserve to the Wliite Mud or Icelandic River, the country is undulating, and, as a whole densely timbered with poplar and a small proportion of spruce. The agricultural resources of this country have not been thoroughly tested, but sufficient farming has been done to demonstrate that the land is of the best quality. From the White Mud River northward there is no settlement except at points along Lake Winnipeg, where timber limits are being worked. The land along this part of the route is similar to that on the Icelandic reserve, and quite as suitabl3 for cultiva- tion. There is abundance of timber in this section. The Little Saskatchewan is the first river crossing of any i'nport- tanue, but presents no unusual obstarde. The Big Saskat- chswan crossing is of more importar