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•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 <es is the impossibility of ^ettinjf
into harbours. A harbour such as that of Chuicliill on
Hudson's Jiay v/ould have the advantage over Quebec or
Montreal of connecting directly with the open sea, and here in
the autumn vessels would not be liable to be frozen in, as
occar.ionally happens in the St. Lawrence. There lias been
some discussion as to the length of time during which
Hudson's Strait and Bay might be navif ted each year.
There does not appear to be much evidence that the straits
any more than the bay is closed at any season. Its great
width, depth, and strength of the tides probably keep it open
all winter. My own experience, and that of many others,
leads me to believe that the climate generally of Hudson's
J>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 havin<T stationed the staff on several
of the important points on the straits and bay. tlie " Neptune "
returned to St. John s Newfoundland, al)out the end of
October. Lieut. Gordon, in liis report, says: "The ice has
been supposed hitherto to be the most formidable barrier to
the navif,'ation of tlie straits, but its terrors disappear to a
great e.stMit under investi^'ation. We met no icebergs in
Hudson's liay, nor did we hear of any being seen there ; in
the straits a good many were seen. The icel)ergs iseen in
Hudson's Straits in August and September would form no
greater barrier to navigaiion, nor do those met with off the
Straits of Belle Isle, nor were they more numerous in Hudson's
Straits than they frequently are off Belle Isle. Hudson's Bay
may be regarded as a vast imsin of comparatively warm
water, the effect of which must be to considerably moderate
the winter climate to the south and east of it Tiie bay never
freezes over so far from the shore at Port Churchill but tliat
clear water can be seen. The bay has been proved to be
navigable early in June.'' The e.xpedition visited Hudson's
Bay again in 1885 and again in 18H0, when Lieut. Gordon
made his final report, in which he says : " I think it well to
state that I am not required to report on the cdunnercial
aspect of the case, or whether Hudson's Straits navigation can
be made to pay, nor do J in the seasonable limits given mean
to state that it is impossible for a ship occasionally to get in
earlier or leave later; but having carefully considered the
subject, I give the following as the season during which
navigation may in ordinary years be regarded as practicable
for the purposes of commerce, not indeed to the cheaply-built
freight steamer, commonly known as the ' Ocean Tramp,' but
to vessels of about 2.003 tons gross, fortilied for meeting the
ice, and of such consH-uction as to enable them to be fair
freiglit carriers. I consider the season for the opening of
navigation to such vessels as the above, on the average, will
fall between 1st and 10th of July; the closing would be about
the first week in October."
Admiral Markham. K.N., accompanied the third expedition
in 18^6, and in an address read before the Royal Geographical
7
13
Society on the lltli of June, 1888, amongst other thing's said :
(see Apjiendix G, Pa^e 45), " By a fortunate accident I was
enabled to avail myself of an invitation I had received to take
passaj^'e on the ' Alert ' during tliis cruise. I considered
myself very fortunate in having the opportunity afforded me
to do so, for it had long been my wisli to visit Hudson's Bay.
The offer, therefoi'e, of g"ing in the 'Alert,' which would
enable me to make the passage of the straits as well as of the
bay was too good to be refused, and I eagerly availed myself
of it. I was thus enabled to form my own judgment of the
; state and condition of the ice in Hudson's Straits dnring, at
least, one season of tlie year, while my observations, combined
I with a comprehensive study of all that had been written on
! the subject, would enaljle me to form my own views regarding
I the practicaljility of the route as a counnercial liighway. I
I was also able to form a bette'- estimate relative to the duration
I of the na^'igable season.
I " I might observe that I was (juite ignorant of the
controversy that had been carried on for some time between
! those wlio were in favour of the Hudson's Sti'aits as a
counnercial route, and tliose wlio were opposed to it. I was,
\ therefore, in a better position to form a perfectly impartial
1 and unbiassed opinion.
I " Under these circumstances I joined the ' Alert ' at Halifax,
and sailed in her from that port on the 23rd of June.
" On the 5tli of July, we reached the entrance of Hudson's
Straits, where we were detained for some days, partly b}- thick
weather, and partly by loose streams of ice ; but the latter
was never packed sulliciently close to prevent even a slow
steamer like the ' Alert,' making fairly good progress. From
tlie 9th to tlie 11th of July scarcely any ice was seen, and a
distance of 200 miles was accomplished in about 8f) hours.
This fact alone, witliout further evidence, is in itself sul'licient
to show how free the eastern part of the straits was from ice ;
for the ' Alert,' if driven at her full speed could only steam
about 6 knots an hour.
" Steam has now effected a complete revolution in ice
navigation, and the most advantageous time for p ashing on is
when tlie ice is loose. Under similar circumstances, a sailing
ship would be utterly ho])eless. It is, therefore, only reasonable
to infer that what has been perforined regularly, and. year
after year, by sailing ships, can be accomplished with greater
regularity, and certainty by well built steamers, specially
constructed for ice navigation, and provided with powerful
machinery.
14
" The nature and consistency of tlie ice in Hudson's Straits
are such that, with an elliciont steamer, the passage coukl
be accomplished with very httle dehiy or diOiculty. This
bein;:^ the case it is not surprising to hear that the people of
the North-West are anxious to iiave a seaport on tlie shores
of Hudson's Bay, and to secure tlie construction of a railroad
to connect such port with Winnipeg, or some ecpially con-
venient depot on the newly established line of the Canadian
Pacihc Eailway.
♦' The achievement of such an undertaking would result in
shortening t'le distance tliat the produce of tlie country
destined for exjjortation would have to ho transported by one
half. As the cost of transport by rail is governed by the
distance to be conveyed per mile, it will at once be understood
tliat if tiie mileage is reduced by one half the cost of
conveyance ^nll be diminished in the same proportion. Tf
has been estimated that tlie result of the construction of a
railroad from Winnipeg to Hudson's Bay would be a clear
gain to the farmers and producers of the ^orth-West of aijout
£3 ])er head of all cattle ex])orted, and 5s. upon every quarter
of grain sent for sliipment.
" In conclusion, we must again call to mind tlie fact tluit
the vessels employed on the Hudson's ]5ay service have
hitherto been sailing ships. Steam has now robbed ico
navigation of many of its dilliculties and dangers, and it is
only fair for us to assume that, with the appHances that
science has since revealed to us, we can in these days achieve
with greater ease and celerity, and with more assured
certainty, as much as was accomplished by Hudson and
Baffin, by l^utton and lAike Fox, in their rude and poorly
equipped llyboats.
"The case, then, can be briefly stated. If sailing ships
have annually jaken the furs and other merchandise of the
Hudson's Bay Company through the sti-aits for the last two
centuries, a fortiori, it may be looked upon as certain that
powerful steamers will be able to do the same for the produce
brought to the West coast of Hudson's Bay by a railway from
Winnipeg.
The Legislature of the Province of Manitoba appointed a
Select Committee, in 1881, to procure evidence and report
upon the practicability of establishing a system of com-
munication, via Hudson's Bay. After taking the evidence of
a number of men, with a thorough practical knowledge of the
subject, they say in their report (see Appendix Hi, " Many of
the gentlemen examined have had personal and extended
experience as officers and servants of the Hudson's Bay
i;
Comi)any at their ports on Hudson's and Ungava's Bays,
and tlio rivers entering into those })ays. No evidence has
been given that goes to prove that Hudson's Straits and Pay
proj)i'r ever IVeo/e over, or tliat tlie iee met uith in tlinse
Avateis is sullicient to prevent navigation at any time of tlie
year. That, consecpiently, tlie peiiod of navigation is defined
i)y tlie time during whicii the ports, harbours, or roadsteads
oil the shores of the l)ay, can be entered by vessels of a
suitable description for such naviiration. From the evidence
adduced it appears that such ports or harbours are open, on
an average, from four and a half to live months in each year,
to ordinary vessels."
The following is a brief statement of some of the evidence
talcen as to the period during which navigation can bo carried
on with ease and safety : — -
Dr. Bell, Director of the Canadian Geological Survey, who
made five voyages through the straits : Navigable from the
middle of June to the middle of November,
Captain Jacob Tabor, New J5edford whaler : From the first
of July to the first of November.
Captain St. Clair, New Bedford whaler : From the first; of
July to the middle of November.
Captain Clisby, of New Tjondon, Connecticut, who has had
fourteen years' experience in those waters: Four months, and
often five.
Captain William Kennedy, who accompanied an expedition
in search of the remains of Sir John Franklin, and who has
had eight years' experience of the straits : From .Tune to
November.
Mr. Wn\. A. Archibald, for many years in the service of the
Hudson's Bay Company at Moore Factory : From June to
December.
Captain William Hacldand. in the Hudson's Bay Company's
service for 39 years : Straits never freeze ; no reason why
steamships should not navigate at an_^ time.
The Canadian Government sent three expeditions to the
straits and bay, l88i-85-80, under command of Lieut. Gordon,
in all of whose reports the period of free navigation is placed
at four months.
Captain J. J. Barry, the first officer in each of the expedi-
tions, thinks ocean steamsiiips can enter as early as June, and
can certainly come out as late as December.
Mr. W. A. Ashe, Superintendent of the Quebec Observatory,
the oflicer in charge of the North coast of the straits from
^^
10
!i
Au^'ust, 1H81, to Septuiiibor, IHBD. says the straits are
navij,'iiljlo from -U to 05 iiiontlia, viiryiuf,' accordinfj; to the class
of slii)).
i\[r. (). 11. Tattle, secretary to the first year's expedition,
places the pei'iorl of navi,ij;ation at eight months.
Mr. William .i. Uynner, an ollicer who accompanied the
three expeditions: Fiom .lune to J^eoendjer.
Mr. I) J. ]>eat<in, who made the round voyage with the
expeditions of LSSy. repoi'ted the straits navigable from May
to December.
Admiral Markhani, U.N'., an experienced .Vrctic navigator,
acc()mpani(!d the expedition of iHHli. He reports: " 1 l)elieve
th(! straits will be found navigable for at least four months of
every year, and often live, or more. Tliere will, I have, no
doubt, be many years when navigation can be carried out
safely and sunsly, from the first of .fune until the end of
Novendjer."
(Japlain .lohn Macpherson. of Stepney, London, who as first
ollicer and captain in the service of the Hudson's Bay
Company, made voyages from London and Stromnoss, to
Hudson's -Bay, and returned annually for twenty years, says :
" There is no reason why steamships could not make the
passage of the straits as early as tlie first of .Tune, and come
out as late as the middle of November."
The Kussian Government are cari'ying out an extensive
system of railways in Siberia (the terminus of winch is at
Vladivostoek, on tlie .Tapan Sea), of about o.OOO miles, at an
estimated cost of fifteen millions sterling. The port of entry
by which the material is to be conveyed for the construction
of this undertaking, and the outlet for the future produce of
the country, is tiie mouth of the Yenisei River, which is about
70 degrees of north latitude (in the Arctic Circle), and they
propose to keep open the navigation by steam ice breakers,
two of which have recently been constructed for the liussian
Government in this country.
EXTENT AND KESOUliCES OF THE NOETH-WEST
Ti'JHirTORIl<:S OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA.
The country at present under local government conipriscs
tlie Piovince of Manitoba, covering an area of (JijOOO square
miles, with Winnipeg as its capital, and the three territories
of Asjiiniboia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, covering an area of
BOS), 000 square miles, with Regina as their capital. The
whole of this vast region, extending from about 25 miles West
'
17
fi'oin Lake Superior to tlie Ilocky ^fountains, a distance of
1.850 miles, and from the forty-nintli parallel of latitude
North, to tlu! watershed of tlit; Saskatchewan Iliver, an
avcu'aue distance of 'iSO niih's cudiraces an area of 4(')2 ijOO
square miles, or 2(Jil,0(J0,UU() acies, two-thirds of winch has
been proved to \>c 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 ri<le from Montrcial, and it is alony
that line that money will he made. in those days, too,
wheat will he ;^'rown for tin; l'hiij,'lisli market fonr hundred
miles north of the present Holds on the west side, and IJritish
Coliimhia, p(>rhaps 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
r<!poi'te(l, in 1H87 (see Appendix I), in which, amongst other
things, the conuniltee say : ' Tiiat within the scope of the
committee's inquiry, there is a possible area of (loO.OOO square
miles htted for the growth ol ])otatoes, 107,000 square miles
suitable for barley, and i-51(5 UOO suitable fo^ svlieat, that
throughout this arable and pastoral area latitude bears no
direct relation to suunner isotherms, the spring flowers and
buds of deciduous trees appearing as early north of the Great
Slave [jake (Lat. (Jo) as at Winnipeg, St. Paul, Minneapolis,
Kingston, or Ottaw^a, and earlier along the Peace, Liard, and
some minor affluents of the (Jreat Mackenzie lliver, where the
climate resembles that of Western Ontario. That on the
head routes of the I'eace, fiiard and Peel Rivers, there aro
from 150,000 to :200,U00 square miles, which nuiy be
considered auriferous.
" Tkat the evidence submitted to the committee points to
the existence, on the Athabasca and Mackenzie Valleys, of
1
10
tho most itxtunsivo potroleuin ficM in Amorica, if not tbe
world. 'L'iu! uses of ])OtrolcMiiii, ;uiil, consiMjuoiitly, tho
(li'iiiaiul for it by all natiom, arc incrtMsin'^' at sm!ii a rapid
iat<; tliat it is [ti()l)alilu that, this j^iciit pfU'olcuiii ticlil will
assuuu' ail riioiiiiouH value in the near future, and will recikoii
aiiioii;^ tlic chief assets eoiuijiised in the (!rown domain of
the iJoiniiiion. and l)e shipped from Cliurciiill, or sumo othei'
northern port of Hudson's IJay, to i'jn^'land."
Till': COXSTIUICTION Ol' 'I'll!': ilAlLWAV.
1 1 is pro|)osed to divide tiie I'lC nito tlirce sections, Tlio
lust from Port C'hurcliiil to Se,i, I'alls, :t50 miles, where it
would lie joined by the line at ))i('S('nt undei' ooiistruclion,
from Wiiniipeif, thus giving' a connection on the south with
the city of Winnipeg, and with the N'ortli Western States of
the I'nioii. 'IMiis section will be first constructed It has
been surveyed by a competimt en.'^iiieer, Mr. JJayne (see
Appendix !!, Page JJ.J), the Usvels taken, and presents no
dirHciilty to tlie constiniction of a good line of railway at a
moderate price. Timber and stone are in abundnnce, tor all
reqiiireinents, the climate is said to l)e more favourable, and
the rain less tliaii at Winnipeg, and that work can be carried
on during the wliok- of the winter.
Tiie completion of this section will place Port Churchill in
direct railway communication with tiu; navigation of fjake
Winnipeg and the lied lliver, passing the City of Wiiniipeg,
and extending fai' into Minnesota and Dakota, and the Clreat
Saskatchewan lliver, Corming together a south and westward
'lavigation for steamers, for a distance of about l.HOO miles.
Section two, from Sea Falls to Prince Albiirt. about liOO
miles, runs througli soiiu; of the richest wlieat land in tlu^
North-Wesi, and will form a (lonnectiou at i'rince Albr;i'l with
tlu! Regina branch of tho (!aiiadiaii Piicilic. I'he country is
exceedingly favoural)le for the cheap ccjiistruction of the
railway.
Tiie ti "(1 section from Prince Albert via Battleford to
('algary, ■ )0ut HoO miles, runs through a line prairie country,
une(]_ualLd in North America for the raising of cattle and
dairy produce, and will be a surface lino easy and cheap in
the cost of construction.
At Calgary, the railway will form a junction with the
Canadian Pacific Railway, and by passing over that line to
Vanc'-iuver, effect the enormous saving from ocean to ocean,
as compared with the route via Montreal, of 1,;-52H miles.
▼''
20
It will also connect with the present branch line to
Edmonton, and form the shortest route between the United
Kingdom and the Atliabasca River and Great INtackerizie
Bas?n, which conipris-D the greatest petroleum deposit in
America, and the rich agricultural and auriferous valleys of
the Peace, Liard. and other rivers.
ESTIMATED TRAFFIC.
The steamers from the United Kingdom will carry at least
two-thirds of the immigrants, which may be estimated at
20,000 annually, and all the railway material and the bulk of
the manufactured goods imported into tlie Nortli-West
Territory, including through trallic to the Pacilic.
The exports will consist of grain, live stock, dairy produce,
hay, salm>n. 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<ct', "out nature has done
much to favour the construction of a bridge at the Grand
Rapids, as the banks are high an<1 ^^jep, and composed of
solid limestone, furnishing good matorial for the necessary
piers and abutments, while the stream is narrowed by the
presence of two islands in the channel. The crossing of this
river will be an important point, as the intersection of the
water transport of the Saskatchewan with the line of railway.
It may eventually be considered advisable to run a short
branch line from a point a few miles north of the crossing to
the head of Cedar Lake, where boats are frequently wind-
bound. From the Sas'satchewan Rapids to Was-ka-owa-ka
Lake, is the only rocky portion of the route. This section
will require much more minute exploration than I was able
to give it before final location can be decided upon. The
number of rivers to be crossed is greater than on the southern
portion of the route, averaging one crossing to about
every ten miles. The streams are, however, very small, the
largest being the Burntwood River. This river forms the
outlet for a chain of lakes lying parallel to the Nelson River,
and a few miles to the westward of that stream. After
crossing this river we strike across the height of land between
d8
the Ncli-f n and Churchill Rivers, which can be surinounto
by a grade of one foot in ii hundred. The soil over this
section is lighter than the soutliein. The water powers
along the Nelson lliver and its tributaries are very numerous
and unliniited in extent. From Was-ka-owa-ka Lake to
Hudson's Bay, the cost of construction will probably be not
more than on the southern end of the route. Tlie soil for the
first imndred miles is clay over gravel, and the surface is pretty
level ; the balance is a level mossy plain. The rivers to be
cro.cied average about one to every twelve miles, most, of
them smal' The lengths of the dit!erent divisions I estinmte
as follows :
Winnipeg to Saskatchewan Kapids
Haskatcliewun Kapids to Was-ka-owa-ka Lake
Was-ka-owa-ka Lake to Hudson's Bay
3.50 miles.
'213 ,
l.Vi ..
Total length ... TL? miles.
I consider myself in saying that the length of the road will
bo lower rather than above this figure.
The harbour at (Jhurchill is one of the finest I have ever
seen. Nature has done so much for it in the way of protec-
tion from storm and in depth of water, that without farther
improvements, it is fitted to take rank among first-class ocean
ports. I took careful soundings, and find a distance of
400 feet from high water mark along the shore, a depth of
88 feet, deepening suddenly to 50 ieet. These soundings
were taken at extreme low tide. At spring tides the river
rises at least 16 feet, so that it will be seen that the river
affords from 58 to 65 feet of water. The entrance to the
harbour I judge to be about half a mile in width, the point
on the west side extending into the bay, and overlapping that
on the east.
From reliable information I learned the following facts,
vi7i. : 1st. The Bay and Harbour of Churchill are open for
navigation from the 16th of June to 20th October for ordinary
sailing vessels, such as now trade to this port. 2nd. That
sometimes the ice does not take fast in the harbour until the
Ist December 8rd, That 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. 4th. That this
harbour is considered by the coasters to be the best on
Hudson's Bay.
From the above facts it will be seen that, so far as the
harbour at Churchill is concerned, there will be found little
difficulty that experience and practice will not overcome to
to prevent the loading and unloading of steamers all the
winter.
iii
APPENDIX D.
Mr. Charles N. Bell, in his " Nortlicrn Waters," 1884, says:
"It is found on investigation that fully 760 vessels have
passed through Hudson's Strait, and this does not cover, it
is known, the whole number. The list includes, British troop-
ships, emigrant ships, war vessels of the English and French
(some of them carrying 74 guns), as well as ships bound on
voyages of discovery, trade and whaling. As early as 1619,
Capt. John Munck was sent by the King of Denmark, and he
wintered at Churchill, a brass gun of his being taken out of
the river some time about the date of the appearance of Fox
in that harbour."
Dr. Bell obtained from the company's ofhces, in London,
a record, wliich printed in his report, shows the date of
arriving and sailing of their '\;ssels at York Factory for 93
years, and at Moose Fort for 147 years. These lists show that
in some years several vesselr^ were sent in charge of British
men-of-war, and there have boen almost every year during the
past two centuries, ships of various classes and sizes, navi-
gating the strait without loss, and it seems almost incredible
th^it such a number of voyages could be made, extending over
374 years, without the loss of over one, or, as is claimed by
some writers, two small sailing vessels.
It is said that the two vessels lost were chartered ships of
the Hudson's Bay Company, and they met with mishaps in
the ice. They were the barque " Grahanie," in 185"", and the
barque " Kitty," about 1852. The latter founded in the
middle of the strait off Saddle Back Island.
APPENDIX E.
REPORT
Of the Select Committee of the House of Commons to inquire
into the Navigation of Hudson s Bay.
House of Commons, Committee Room, 8th April, 1884.
The committee appointed to inquire into the question of
the Navigation of Hudson's Bay heg to submit the following
report : —
Hudson's Bay, situated between 51" and 63** of north
latitade, iii a vast sheet of salt water, measuring 1,300 miles
in length, with an average width of about GOO miles. It
occupies the centre of British North America, and drains a
territory over three millions of square miles in superficial
extent. Frorn Labrador, in the east, and from the Rocky
Mountains, in the west, numei'ous large rivers flow through
Provinces, district? great as provinces, and vast solitudes
iiito this inland sea ; towarifs jhe south the extremity of its
basin reaches to the sources ot the Mississippi. The average
depth of this Mediterranean of Canada is 70 fatlioms, as
stated by Lieut. Chappelle, R.N., and such is the uniformity
of tlie bottom that Dr. Bell, of the Geological Sui-vey, does
not liesitate to assert that, if through any convulsion of nature
the water weie to retire, we should see an immense plateau
similar to the prairies of the West There are no rocks or
dangerous places to impede navigation ; the western shore
is low, and aflbrds but one well-sheltered, spacious, an J per-
fectly safe harbour, Churchill, situated 200 miles from York
Factory.
The temperat':.^e of the waters of Hudson s .IJay in summer
is some II lUgher than that of the waters of Lake Superior.
Stornv^ are very rare, and by no means formidable, and no
icebergs are ever to be met with ; fogs are of rare occurrence
and sliort duvation. The tide is fii'st felt on the west shore;
it runs down towards the south, and then up by the south,
and then up by the east shore Certain winds are, it is
asserted by many persons, periodical.
Towards the south a deep opening of the land forms
James's Hay, a kind of prolor.gation of Hudson's Bay, situated
281 miles from Lake Superior
to south measures 360 miles ; its
150 miles. The east coast is woody, and the west low and
swauipy.
Its greatest extent from north
average breadth is about
36
The country east of Hudson's Bay is extremely rich in
iron ore, according to Dr. Bell. Anthracite is also found
there, and lignite in abundance on James's Bay.
The waters of Hudson's Bay reach tlie Atlantic by way
of Hudson's Strait, an arm of the sea 500 miles in length,
and with an average breadth of 100 miles. The chief outlet
of the strait is only 45 miles wide, between Resolution Island
and Button Island on the north coast of Labrador. The
depth of tho water is over 340 fathoms in the strait. The
current is very rapid, and runs as high as six miles an hour.
The tide rises from 3C to 40 feet. The coast is very high
and bold, espocially towards the north ; the land in many
places, as seen by navigators, attaining from 1,000 to 9,000
feet in height. Were it not for the presence of the Polar
ice, which comes down fro.;, the Arctic seas by way of Fox's
Strait, during the months of April, May, June, and July,
Hudson s Strait would, it is admitted by all, be exceptionally
safe, owm":^ to the uniform great depth of water and the
entire absence of reefs or dangerous islands. These masses
of ice, when emerging from the strait, meet the icebergs
from Davis's Strait and Baffin's Bay, and are thus retarded
on their way to the ocean, and are the chief if, not the only
obstacle, which impedes the navigation of the bay, and greatly
curtails its duration. The Circumpolar charts, published
by the Hydrographical Office of the United States Navy
Department, show the existence of a current which passes
round Greeland, and shows itself to tlie east of Davis's Strait,
running towards Baffin's Bay, and then down the direction
of Labrador, coming in contact, in its course, with the rush
of waters of Hudson's Strait.
The Bay of Ungava, a sharp indentation of the Labrador
coast, lies at the eastern side of Hudson's Strait. Salmon
abound in all the estuaries, and it is linown that the Hudson's
Bay Company yearly export large quantities of frozen salmon
to the English markets. The same company have a fort. Fort
Chimo, where they carry on a porpoise fishery on a small
scale.
The seas we have just described have never ceased to be
frequented since they were discovered in 1610 by Henry
Hudson. When in search of a passage to China, Champlain,
the illustrious founder of the City of Quebec, set out that
same year (1610) and ascended the St. Maurice, in pursuit
of the same end, but he was forced to turn back. He had
no better success in a fresh attempt in 1G13. Hudson vj.s
more highly favoured, and was tlie first to reach the bay,
and gave his name to this Great Nortli Sea of thu old.
charts. In 1612 Button visited these same latitudes, and
87
gave his name to the group of islands otf the entrance of
Hudson's Strait. In 1C31 Fox made his way further towards
the North-West, and entered one of the numerous arms of
the sea wliich form the outlet of the Arctic waters. It is
now known as Fox's Strait. Tlie following year -Tames
ventured as far as the head of Ifudson's r)ay. and discovered
the bay which bears his name All these renowned navigators
were searching for a North-West passage leading towards the
Pacific Ocean and the Vv cot,: . r. lands, about which so many
marvellous tales are told.
After the period of discoveries comes the history of the
attempts made at various times by tlie merchants of England
and of France to explore and take possession of the riches
wliich were believed to be hidden in these new lands. In
lGtJ5i Desgroseillers is said to have sailed into these waters ;
(!ountare and Dequet took possession the following year in
the name of the King of Fiance ; in 1008 Radisson, a French-
man, and Gillam, an Englishman, from New England, built
a trading fort ; and lastly, in 1670, came the first establish-
ment of the Hudson's Bay Company. Frciii this date until
the Treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, the bay became the theatre
of sanguinary conflicts. ^lany a hero there won fame for
deeds renowned in story ; the navies of England and France
met in the field of many a figat, and the forts on the shore
were time and again taken and retaken, so that Iberville,
wi-iting to the Ri;i;% said to him, " Sire, je suis las dc con-
quorir la Paie."
This obstinate struggle between two great nations for the
possession of Hudson's Bay, uad the adjoining countries, of
which the future value was more than problematical, seems
strange to us now. However, the Treaty of Utrecht con-
firmed England in possession of Hudson's Bay and the
adjoining c Mtiies, and a gloomj silence fell once more upon
those lands i ■ ' ?d beneath the mows and ice of their land
winters. The Hudson's Bay Conpany, armed with exclusive
privileges, did not remain '"npctive, for we find that in 1749
the jealousy of the English merchants caused an inquiry by the
House of Commons into the condition of the territories watered
by Hudson's Bay and into the trade there carried on. A
special committee was appointed, which sat, examined several
witnesses, and made a report which has continued to be a
matter of lively interest oven up to our day. With the
ostensible object of inquiring as to the means of civilising
those countries, the end, even then, sought was the abolition
of the monopoly held by the powerful company. The latter
was compelled to lay beforo the committee a statement of its
affairs, which showed it to be in a most flourishing condition.
■BHi
B8
Thp most f^tiikinr; result which Roems to have followed this
in(|niiy was tlie assistanco f;ivon l>y the company to all the
lianly" oxplorcrs who strove tlien and since to discover the
mysterious iuid undiscoverahlc Nortli-West passage. As re-
gards the object to which we arc now interested, that inquiry
Furnislies us'valuahle information regarding the navigation of
Hudson's J3av. Thus >iio company state -hat in 1711) and 1748
tliey had sent out iw ' r" . and even 'our vessels a year;
iind yet there is no men' lade of a single disaster or the
slightest accid. nt.
It would be curious to compare the incuiry. made nearly a
eo;:'U!v !itid a half ai;o. wi'h so'mc of thu evidence collected
.„• l.c ^ .cLii'i. l.ii.f I) youi coh.ii iiiLe It would be observed,
among other things, that the navigation of these unknown
si'as was then characterised as safe and comparatively easy.
Now tliis facility of approach and this safety are confirmed in
oui' time. And if the number of vessels sent by the com-
pany is less in our time, it is because since the establishment
o) k railway, in the south of ^kfanitoba, it costs them less to
export by rhe route a portion of the goods they formerly
de-patched l)y way of 'Moose and York Factory.
Besides, it is shown by the evidence annexed to this report
that Hudson's Bay has for several years not been frequented
onlv by vessels belonging to the coi.;pany.
The hardy sailors of New England periodically betake
themselves to the noitli part of the bay to carry on the whale
lishery, usually wintering on Marbl(> Island, and sailing back
th(' i'ollowing season witii theii' vessels laden with rich booty.
Mention is, in fact, made of an Americar. who has established
a port on Hudson's Strait. Fishermen from Dundee, Scot-
land, also visit Hudson's Bay.
It is well known that the (luestion of navigating Hudson's
Bay has suddenly accjuii'ed a new importance. It is ever the
problem of finding a North-West passage, not this time in order
to reach the China Sea, but to gain access to the immense har-
vests of wheat .vhich await in the prairies of the West the
European buyers.
fjot us suppose, says one witness, the possibility of estah-
lishinga lineof steamships between Tjiverpool and Hudson sBay
port, which would carry freight at the same rate as the
steamships l)etween Montreal and Liverpool. Now the dis-
tance between Winnipeg and Monti-eal is about l.-lOO miles
while it is )nore than 700 miles to York Factory. It costs
H cents per ton per mile to forward grain from St. Paul's to
New York, which applies to the distance to be traversed be-
tween 'Winnipeg and ^Montreal to York Factory, say the
dd
half. If, now, the ton is reckoned equal to 33 bushels, the
difference in freight in favour of the Hudson's Bay route,
would be a saving of 32 cents per bushel, or, in other words,
an additional proiit of G.-19 dols per acre, yielding an average
of 20 bushels. Other calculations made a saving one-third
the present cost of transport realised i)y the fanner of the
West upon the opening of a eha)uiel of exportation l>y the
Hudson's Bay. A large porportion of importation from Europe
would take this road ; the innnigrants proceeding west-
ward would see that they could shorten the annoyances, the
delays, and the cost of a journey across the Continent by
some 800 to 900 miles. The export of butcliers' meat
would alone furnish a considerable portion of the lading of
Hudson's Bay steamers ; and many persons are of opinion that
this route v;ould conmiand a considerable portion of the
import and export trade of the North. Western Statcis of the Union
We speak merely incidentally of tlie Hudson's J^ay fisheries,
and of the workings of the minerals, almost inexhaustible in
their riclme -s, wliich are to be found there. To sum up the
whole, Hudson's Bay appears to us to be destined to perform
the same service for the vast territories of tlie North- West
which the Gulf of St. Lawrence does for the vast and fertile
valley bearing the same name. Cb'rcliill is 2,926 miles from
Liverpool, Montreal 2,990, via Cape liace and New York
8,040. There is, therefore, a did'erence of 64 miles over the
route of Montreal, and 111 miles over that by New York, iu
favour of Churchill.
If we sum up tlie evidence gath«red Ijy tlie committee,
as to the present condition of the iiavi^'ation of Hiulson's Bay
and Strait, we hnd that the great majority ot tliose who have
been here, and consequently who know, reckon the duration
of the navigation in these waters at three and four months.
For more than 250 }-ears sailors have counted upon lia\ing
an uninterrupted navigation of two months and one-half to
three months, and this without marine charts, without an
accurate knowledge of these waters, without lighthouses, with-
out a system of telegraphic communication, and without aid
of steam. It is not then, an unwarranted belief that, with
all the appliances now at the disposal of nautical science, this
navigation will be prolonged some weeks.
In 1716 Captain Vaunton wrote that of all known countries
the navigation of the Crulf of St. Lawrence was the most
difficult and the most treacherous. From 1(58 4 to 1730 the
wrecking of seven large vessels, belonging to the King, in the
gulf was recorded. The loss of these vessels, loaded with
merchandise of the most valuable description, several tim. :
caused the iiiost extreme embarrassment to the colony Of
46
three expedition!:! fitted out by England, and sailing through
the flulf of St. Lawrence, onfy two were able to cast anchor in
the harbour of Quebec. Everybody liiis lieard of the disaster
which overtoolv Walker's fleet in 1711.
Only one voyage each year was then made, and it was
alleged that the St. Lawrence was frozen solid in winter.
What a contrast between the navigation of tlie St. Lawrence
then and now ! Owing to tlie intelligent and persevering
efforts of tlic Government of C!anada, magnificent harbours
have been created ; a powerful and numerous fleet takes its
way every year in almost complete safety as far as Montreal,
spreading ever\ where energy and wealth ; and the expoi't
alone of grain by the noble route reached the figures of
10,500,000 bushels in 18S3.
To declare tliat it will be time enough to pay attention to
the question of navigating Hudson's Bay when the railway3
become suilicient to move the traflic of the North-Wesf,
appears to us to be an erroneous view to take of the matter.
What we have to do is to promote production by offering to
it more favourable conditior ■.
There are also results, gathered from tlie evidence gathered
by your connnittee, a necessity for the Government to examine
a great number of questions intimately connected with the
navigation of Hudson's Bay and Strait.
Without the intervention of the State this navigation will
remain what it is at the present moment, uncertain, of short
duration, without any attraction for capitalists. In tliis
direction several have set forth their opinions as to the nature
of the oxaininatii)n which the Government might have made,
and as to the organisation and character of a proposed
surveying and exploring expedition.
They almost all agree in stating tliat these observations
should cover a period of at least three years, and should be
conducted by means of observatories, erected on the shores
of the strait as well as on certain places on tlie coast of
Hudson s l^iy.
Gape Wolstauholme, Nottingiiam Island, the neiglibourhood
of North ]')ay. Cape Hope, Resolution Island, and one of the
Button Islands have be3n pointed out as localities which might
be selected.
The meteorological and astronomical phenomena, the
currents, the temperature of the waters, the tides, the move-
ment and nature of the ice masses, some hydrographical
bearings, &c., sucli would be or nearly so, the work entrusted
to the head men of the stations. The Government would
i
41
succeed in this way in establishing a knowledge upon a
number of essential points relating to the navigation of those
unknown waters, and would prepare th" way for capitaHsts
desirous of essaying the opening of this grand road to the
North- West.
The breaking up of these waters which fall into Hudson's Bay,
as well as the date of the formation of the ice upon these rivers
upon the beach of the bay, are, of course, the important facts
which it is necessary to take into account, in order to determine
the duration of navigation. From the tables given to the
Government by the Pludson's Bay Company in 1880, it
appears that the breaking up of Hayes River at York Factory
for a period of 58 years took place on the average Llth of May.
The mean of the formation of ice gives the 20th of November,
which would give an average of al)Out five months or there-
abouts of navigation. We know that the 1st of May is the
usual date of the opening of Montreal Harbour, and the 25th
November of its closing. The point would be to ascertain for
certain this fact, not only as to York Factory, but Churchill
Harbour, and various other places on the shores of Hudson's
Bay. The information hitherto collected only applies to a
very small number of ports.
Your committee beg to submit with this report all the
evidence taken in the course of investigation, some of which
will be found of a most interesting charac ter.
In concluding this report, your committee believe it to be
their duty to remark upon the absolutely impartial character
of their labours. Undertaken without reference to precon-
ceived opinions, the inquiry has been conducted in a manner
well calculated to throw the greatest possible amount of
light upon the conditions and character of the navigation of
this portion of our Marine Dominion. The information
obtained cannot be said to complete the examination of the
question ; but your committee are satisfied if they have been
able, by their efforts, to contribute to the critical examiup.Lion
and solution of a problem which will assure to Canada an
immense development of its marine — the monopoly of the
trathc of the North-West. and a fresh pledge of prosperity
and grandeur. The whole of which is respectfully sub-
mitted.
(Signed) J. ROYAL, Chairman.
APPENDIX H.
Legislature Province of Manitoba, Session 1884.
The Hon. Mr. ]5ro\vn, from the (loniniittee on the Hudson's
Hay Inquiry, in 188-1, presented their Sixth Report, which was
road as follows : —
Your coniniittee beg leave to report that they have met
eleven times, and have taken the evidence of the following
witnesses, viz. : —
Mr. John Moyes, Winnipeg.
Mr. C. N. Bell, Winnipeg.
Mr. H. .Johnston, Winnipeg.
Capt. W. Kennedy, Winnipeg.
Capt. J. Hackland, Headingly.
Mr. W. Stephenson, Headingly.
Capt. Colin Sinclair, St. \ndrews.
Mr. D. MacArthur, Winnipeg.
Capt. H. Robinson, Winnipeg.
Mr. W. Archibald, Winnipeg.
Mr. W. Dickson, Lake Francis.
Mr. Jno. Hargraves, High Bluff.
Mr. C. S. Drummond, Winnipeg.
Ven Archdeacon Cowley, Dynevor.
James Ward, St. Anne's.
Geo. A. Bayne, C E., Winnipeg.
And have received written testimony from many others.
Many of the gentlemen examined have had personal and
extended experience as officers and servants of the Hudson's
Bay Company at their posts on Hudson's and Ungava Bays
and the rivers emptying into those bays.
No evidence has been given that goes to prove that Hudson's
Strait and Bay proper ever freeze over, or that the ice met with
in those waters is sufficient to prevent navigation at any time
of the year.
That, consequently, the period of navigation is defined by
the time during which the ports, harbours, or roadsteads on
the siiores of the bay can be entered by vessels of a suitable
description for such navigation.
That, from the evidence adduced, it appears that such ports
or harbours are open on an average, fro;n four and a half to fiv*;
months in each year to ordinary vessels.
48
That Hudson's Bay ancl fitvait appear, from all eviclci.eo
taken, to bo singularly free from obstruction to navigation in
the shape of shoals or reefs ; and, during the period of open
water, from storms or fogs.
That, while in the opinion of your committee, suiVicient
evidence exists to prove the practicabi'ity of a route of com-
munication with this Province via Hudson's Bay. your com
mittee is glad to perceive that it is the intention of the
Dominion Government to send an expedition to examine into
the general question of the navigation of Budson's Bay and
Strait, and to obtain such information as will enable correct
charts of the coasts and harbours to be constructed
That, considering the paramount importance to this Province
of such an investigation, your committee advise that steps be
taken by your Honourable House to secure a proper repre-
sentation of this Province upon such expedition.
Your committee has also examined many persons familiar
with the country between this Province and Pludson s Bay.
and has examined the reports of engineers and others, charged
with the duty of making technical explorations of such country,
and are of the opinion that no engineering difliculties exist
which will prevent the construction of a line or lines from this
Province to the shores of Hudson's Bay.
Your committee begs to draw the attention of your Honour-
able House to the immense commercial importance to this
Province of the proposed route of communication, whetlier by
rail and water, or by rail alone. They find tliat the area
under cultivation in the states of Minnesota and Dakota, and
in this Province, in 1882-8, aggregated nearly 9,000,COO of
acres, which produced a crop of all Kinds of grain amounting
to upwards of 80,000,000 bushels. One railway alone (tlie
St. Paul, Minn., Manitoba R.R.) carried southward
18,087,120 bushels of wheat, 870,010 barrels of flour during
the year ending the 8Cth June, 1883. and it is safe to assume
that had the outlet via Hudson's Pay existed, at least
one-half of this produce would have followed that channel to
the seaboard.
Your committee feels justified in assuming that this route
would be extensively availed of by the shippers of this country
and the neighbouring States of America in consequence of the
fact tliat tile distance from Winnipeg to liiverpool via Hudson's
Bay is 570 miles less than from Winnipeg to Liverpool via
Montreal and the Straits of Belle Isle, and 770 miles nearer than
via Montreal and Cape Race, while it is 1,051 miles nearer
than by way of New York. By sea, Churchill Harbour is 64
i
44
miles nearer to Liverpool tl\an is Montreal, and 114 miles
nearer than Now York.
Not only is all the rail route much shorter than by any
other line, but Nature has provided water ways from the
head of navigation of the Red River to the foot of Lalte
Wiimipeg, which can be utilised for over six month in each
year, thus reducing the length of railway line to be traversed
to within 400 miles, or a less distance than from Winnipeg to
Port Arthur.
Your committee has, tlierefore, no reason to doubt that
a railway from thence to Hudson's Bay will prove a successful
and remunerative undertaking ; and are satisfied that such
an outlet will do more to stimulate production in this Pro-
vince and the North- West generally than any other enter-
prise.
Your committee has embodied in ti)e appendix to this
report, such economic and commercial statistics as are avail-
able, as proofs of the practicability and advisabiUty of estab-
lishing communications with this Province via Hudson's
Bay.
Ordered.— That the report bo now received.
APPENDIX G.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL
SOCIETY.
Ilwlson's Bay and lluilson's Sfrait as a Nacujable Channel.
By Commodoue A. II. ISIaukham, E.N.
Read at tin; I'jveiiing Meeting, June 11th, 1888.
The question of the pfaoticabiiity of navigating Hudson's
Strait in safety during a certain period of tlie year has hitely
excited much, interest on botli sides of tlie Atlantic, for reasons
apart from geography. At the same time it is a question
wiiicii is of considerable geographical interest in connection
with the movement of ice in that region. The knowledge I
have acquired of tliat part of the world is due to a careful
study of tlie writings of our old navigators, and also of more
recent reports, and this has been supplemented by the ex-
perience I gained during a voyage on board the '• Alert,"
through Hudson s Strait to York Factory, on the western
shore of Hudson's Bay, in the sununer of 1880.
I have thought that a paper containing a condensed narra-
tive of former voyages from the time of Sebastian Cabot, and
an account of my own observations, would be useful to the
Fellows of this Society for reference, if published in our
" Proceedings. ' I therefore prepared a monograph of this
kind, which has been accepted by the Council for printing,
but which would be too long for reading at one n; ^, n- even-
ing meetings. What I now propose to submit (c t'i3 meet-
ing is a condensed version of parts of the historical section
of my paper, followed by a fuller narrative of my own ex-
periences.
Hudson's Bay, or as it has not been inaptly termed, the
Mediterranean Sea of North America, is a large inland sea,
situated between the parallels of 51" and 04^^^ N. lat., and,
therefore, well outside tlie Arctic zone, and between the
meridians of 78^' and 95° W. long. It is about 900 miles in
length from north to south, and some 600 wide, covering an
area of something like 600,000 square miles.
Hudson's Bay is reported to be remarkably free from rocks
and shoals, and it has an average depth of about 70 fathoms
So uniform are the soundings, that our accomplished associate,
Dr. Bell, of the Geographical Survey of Canada, in a paper
46
which he communicated to our Society in October, 1881, on
the commercial importance of Hudson's Bay, iiad no hesita
tion in sayin;^ that if, throu};;h any convulsion of nature; this
vast basin was to bo drained of its water, wo sliould find an
iimnense plateau similar to the prairies of the West.
I would observe that there are few authorities on this sub-
ject whose opinions should be received with greater respect
than those of Dr. liell, who has devoted iiumy years of his
life to the exploration of Hudson's Bay, and whose knowiedj^'e
and exporience rej^'ardinj; the physical <,'eography and i^eolof^y
of that part of the world are so well known.
The same authority states that stoi'ms in the bay are very
rare and by no means formidable, that iceberj^s are never
seen, and that fogs, the most dreaded enemy with which a
sailor has to contend, are of rare occurrence and of but short
duration. The climate of the shores of Hudson's 15ay, dui'ing
the summer montlis, is mild and genial, and numy Eui'opcan
vegetables, such as potatoes, lettuce, beetroot, and onions are
grown in the open air. The winters are, however, very
severe.
It is asserted that the temperature of the water in Hudson's
Bay is no loss than 14*^ higher than the water of Lake
Superior, and in support of this assertion Lieutenant (ioi'don
(who was sent by tiie Canadian Government in comnumd of
the recent expeditions despatched to Hudson's Bay for the
purpose of reporting on its feasibility as a commercial route)
writes, in his first oflicial despatch, that " Hudson's f^ay may
therefore be regarded as a vast basin of comparatively warm
water, the effect of which must be to ameliorate the winter
climate to the south and east of it."
The principal, and, so far as we know at present, the only
practicable approach to Hudson's Bay in a ship is through
Hudson's iStrait, a deep channel about 500 miles in length,
which separates Labrador from the islands of Arctic America.
The strait has an average breadth of about 100 miles, but
the wid:h in the narrowest part of the channel is not more
than 45 miles. The soundings in the strait vary from 150
to 300 ft'<thoms, and it is wonderfully free from shoals and
rocks, or any other obstacles that would tend to make the
navigation of ?. narrow channel more than ordinarily dan-
gerous.
The accounts of early voyages to Hudson's Strait are im-
portant to us, because they form cumulative evidence re-
specting its navigability in the montlis when such voyages
were undertaken John Davis, when he was returning from
the extreme northern point he reached in 1587, passed across
il
tho moutli of the strait on the 1st Aut^UHt. and thus romarkod
upon it ; " This inlot or j^nlfe was passed over : where, to our
^I'oat admiration, we saw the sea failing' down into the Rulfe
witii a mi^'hty ovcrfal and loarin^'. and with divers circuhir
motions like whirl))0oles. in such sort as forcible streames
passe thorow the arches of brid,L,'es.'' 6n the Molyneux
Ciloho of If)!)!-] (now tho property of the I'enchera of tho
Middle Temple, and wliich was lent to this Society for tho
I'jxiiihition of I'jducational Appliances) the very words of Davis
are written at tiie entrance of Hudson's Strait, namely,
'• Furious Overfall."
This is one out of several proofs that Davis had a hand
in the construction of that famou )^dohe. In 1G02 CJaptain
Waymouth, durinj^ a voyaj^e oi'^^^anised by tho East India
(!oMi])any. reported that he entered an iidet in the sanio
latitude
Ilcnce it is that Captain Luke Fox, who subsequently made
a voyage into Hudson's I3ay, recorded the very true and
apposite remark that " these two— Davis and Waymouth — did.
I conceive, light Hudson into his straits."
In IGIO Henry Hudson was despatclied in the littlo
" l^iscovery," of 55 tons, witii a crew of- 21 men, to find tho
Nortii-West Passage by way of the opening discovered by
Davis, and niiirked on the Molyneux Globe; as the " Furious
Overfall," The labours of Hudson bore rich fruit, and he
deserves a high place among our early geographers. His
name is never likely to be forgotten : it is borne by the strait
and by the great bay to which it leads. It is inscribed on the
vast territory between that bay and the Pacilic Ocean. It is
affectionately remembered by the thousands oT iiappy families
now living on the l)anks of that beautiful river, v/hich he
found scantily inhabited by savage tribes. It was Hudson
who opened to his own countrymen the fisheries of Spit'-^bergen
and the fur trade of the Hudson's Day Territory. The Dutch
owed to him their North American colony, whicli afterwards
became the English colony of New York. He thus built up
to himself a far more enduring monument than his fondest
dreams could have anticipated. His successes may well be
held out as an encouragement to those who, like him, labour
earnestly and steadfastly in some great cause which may seem
almost hopeless.
Henry Hudson entered tlie strait which l)ears his name in
the end of .Tune, IGIO, and was at first much troubled by the
amount of ice he encountered. For some time ho experienced
difiiculty in making his way to the westward, and on the 11th
of July, fearing the approach of a storm, he anchored under
4^
tiic shelter of three rocky islands to which he gave the name
of " the Isles of God's ^rercy." They are marked on our
present charts as tlie ' Middle Savaj^e Islands." Thence he
pushed his way westward to the Digges Islands and Cape
Wolstunholiiu', at tlie entrance of Hudson's Jiay, but, un-
fortunately, tnis is the last recorded incident in his journal.
For an account of the remainder of tlie voyage we have to
trust to the narrative written by one of the survivors, which,
although of thrilling interest, contains little geographical ia-
fonnation. 'llie story of his wintering, of the mutinous con-
duct of the crew, and of the abandonment of Hudson and his
son in an open boat, is told by this survivor, named Ilabakuk
Prickett. The "Discovery" returned through Hudson's
Strait early in the August of 1611 without any difficulty,
and tiic reports of the survivors led to the dispatch of another
expedition in tlie ensuing year.
Sir Thomas Lutton, wlio commanded the expc^^-ition of
1612. in the " Resolution," proceeded through the strait in
June, and reached Digges Island w'thout much hindrance
from tlie ice. He wintered on the west coast of Hudson's Hay,
and returned through the strait in the summer of IdVd without
any dilliculty whatever. lUit, instead of emerging fi'oni the
main entrance of the strait, Sir Thomas Button took his ship
between tlie island on which Cape Chidley is situated and the
main land of Labrador. This channel has recently been
naii'.ed M'LeLm Strait, after the Canadian INIinister of Marine
and Fisheries. under the impression that it is a new discovery.
" Resolution ' Island is tlie name of the island on the north
side of the entrance to Hudson's Strait. If the island on the
south side, on which Cape (.'liidley is situated, was called
" Discovery " Island, we should then have the two portals of
the strait named after the two first ships that ever passed a
winter in Hudson's Bay.
The enterprising company of merchant adventurers was
not discouraged by the failures of Hudson and Uutton. In
1016 they again dispatched the little " Discovery," under the
coniinand of Kobert ]5ylot, with that accomplished navigator,
William Baflin, as pilot. During this voyage, Hudson's Strait
was entered towards the end of May, and on the 8th of June
the t:^avage Islands were reached and namud. Proceeding
westward along the northern shore, the " Discovery " stopped
at a place called Jhoken Point. The spot is memorable, be-
cause here the first lunar oliservation ever observed by an
J'inglishinan, for finding the longitude, was taken by William
liailin. This admirable pilot drew a most interesting chart,
on which the coast-line and prominent headlands and islands
arc dehneated, with a fair approach to accuracy. There
4d
Were some delays in passint^ through the strait owing to loose
ice, but tliey were clear of it by the 1st July. On her return
in August the " Discovery" passed through the strait without
encountei'ing any obstacle whatever. But tlie great mistake
made iiy JiaHlii, and, indeed, l)y all the old Arctic navigators,
was tliat they relinquished exploration too early in the seac">n.
In IGiy (Captain Hawkridgc sailed through the strait,
and in the same year a Danii=h expedition, under Munk. also
entered thebay, neither comnumder encountering any serious
obstacle. Twelve years afterwards two vessels were litted
out, one ao London, the other at Bristol, under the commands
of (Captains Luke Fox and James respectively, which entered
Hudson's i3ay.
(!aptain Fo\ was a quaint and witty writer, as well as a
bold seaman. His description of the ice he met with in
Hudson's Strait is so good, and so exactly coincides with my
own experience of the ice in Viat locality, that it will be well
to quote it. He says : •' The ue in the strait consists of two
kinds, one of which is mountainous (a huge piece, compact,
of great quantity, som3 n^ore, some less), but in this freet "
(as lie calls the strait) '• you seldom have any bigger than a
great church, and most thereof lesse '" This description, of
course, has reference to the icebergs met with at the entiance
and in the eastern part of Hudson's Strait. He then describes
the Hoc or (/ack ice as follows : '• The other kind is smaller,
and is what we call masht or iieacht ice. Of this you shall
there have numbers iniinite, some of tlie quantity of a roode,
some a perch, some an acre or two acres. But the most is
small and about a foot or two above water, and eight or ten
under water, and these are they which do enclose you ; so as
in much wind, from the topmast head, you shall hardly see
any water for them. But while you lay amongst them it is
BO smootli as you shall not feel the nip stirre." It would
not be po!ssii)le to give a more accu ■ cte account of the con-
ditions of the ice in Hudson's Straii at the present day than
is furnished by tliis description written by Captain Luke Fox
more than 'ZiJO years ago. It exactly descrilies the peculiar
nature of the ice that is usually met with during the navigable
season in this cliannel, and which I have not observed in any
other })art of the northern regions. Fox found little difK-
culty in passing througli tlie strait, and was i.i Hudson's liay
by tlie '21st of July. His return voyage, during October, was
still more easy, for lie encountered no obstacle whatever, and
was otl" Resolution island on the Slst October. Captain
James, wiiose voyage was undertaken in the same year, 1G81,
reached the entrance of Hudson's Strait on the 24th of June,
but was delayed in consequence of striking on a rock, and did
«r
ho
iridic of
[son's
hot complete! the passage of the strait until the niiddl
July. James wintered in the southern extremity of Hud?
Hay, and in 16H2 ho again passed throu.u'h t!ie strait, on his
way home, without any difliculty wliatever.
No further attempt was made to visit tliese seas, until a
charter was granted to Prince Kupert and some enterprising
mercliants in 1009, and the Hudson's Bay Company was
founded, (^ajjtain (xillani, in tlie '■ Nonsucli,'' was then sent
out He passed tiirough Hudson's Strait witliont difTiculty,
and estal)lished a settlement near James's winter quarters,
whicli he called Fort Charles. He returned the following
year.
From tins date, for a period of fifty years, no interest
a])p(;ars to have heen taken in geographical research in tlie
Hudson's Bay region; altliongh the Company's ships were
fre(iuently engaged in making the voyage from and to England.
But at last two ships were litted out hy the Hudson's Bay
Coni))any for purposes of discovery, coimnanded hy ("aptains
Iiarlow and Vaughan ; they were accompanied hy Mr. Knight,
an ollicial of the Hudson's ]3ay Company, who had suggested
tlie voyage, and who was nearly 80 years of age. They sailed
from (Iravesond in 1719, hut three years elapsed without any
tidings of them iteing received. A ship called the " Wliale-
bono " was sent from Churchill in search of them, under tlie
command of (Captain John Scroggs. in June, 1722, hut without
result It was not until the year 1707 that the melancholy
fate of the missing ships was ascertained by some of the
Company's boats engagcul in the whale fishery. Tlie ships had
been wrecked on Marble Island, and the crews had perished
after reaching the shore.
The next important expedition was that commanded by
Captain Middleton, which left FiUgland in 1711 ; and this
was followed i)y another, under Cii.ptain Moor, in 1710.
Middleton passed througli Hudson's Stiait without dilliculty ;
and although Moor was bailled by pack ice for several days,
he succeeded in making tiie passage early in the season. ^Ir.
WalcL, who was sent out by the Koyal Society in 1768, also
passed the strait with ease. In fact, he was only nine days
in going through, during which time he met with no ice to
interfere with the progress of his ship, although he was delayed
by contrary winds and calms.
Inuring the whole of the eighteenth century vessels belonging
to the Hudson's Bay Comjiany made annual voyages to and
from Fngland to York and Moose Factories. They very
rarely failed to make the voyage, and few of the ships were
lost. One of the masters in the Company's service, Captain
51
Coats, who had been many years einployed in navigating
those seas, wrote a practical and very interesting treatise in
1750, which he named " The Geography of Hudson's Bay."
It has been printed for the Hakluyt Society, and was edited
by our associate, Mr. .John Barrow.
An expedition of discovery, sent out at the instance of the
Hudson's Bay Company in 1791, under Captain Duncan, forms
an exception as regards tlic easy navigation of the strait. The
vessel encountered mucii ice, which so delayed her tliat it was
not until the 5th of September that Captain Duncan reached
Fort Churchill.
We now come to the expeditions of Sir Edward Parry in
1821-23, of Captain Lyon in 1824, and of Sir George Back
in 1836. The events of tliese memorable voyages are well
known, and are, indeed, matters of history. Parry encoun-
tered mucli ice at the entrance of Hudson's Strait on tlio out-
ward voyage, and nearly the wholeinouth of July was occupied
in getting through it. But the delay was occasioned as much
by adverse winds and calms, as by the ice. On .July 21st
Parry wrote : " Bodies of ice became less and less numerous
as we advanced up the strait from Kesolution Island, and no
ice was seen after we had proceeded' few leagues beyond the
Upper Savage Islands." On the '_ he reported " the sea
almost free from ice " ; and on the 27th and 2Hth " ice in
great quantities, but the pieces so loose as casil to allow the
passage of a ship with a free wind. This icu was so lionc} -
combed and rotten that it appeared in a fair w.iy of being
entirely dissolved in the course of a few weeks." This was,
in all probalnlity, ice that luid diifted down tiirough Fox's
Channel. The weather was on tlie whole fine and clear,
only four foggy days being recorded during the month of
July.
During the return voyage, in September 1823, Parry was
only live days passing througli the strait, during wliicli time
no ice whatever was to be seen.
Regarding the best time for navigating the strait. Sir
Edward Parry says: •' Long experience has brouglit those
who frequent this navigation to the conclusion that, in most
seasons, no advantage is to be gained l)y attempting to enter
Hudson's Strait earlier than the lirst week in .luly. Tlie
annual disruption of the ice, which occupies the upper and
middle parts of the strait, is supposed not to take place till
aljout this time In the course of one single year's experience
in tliese parts, we have seen nothing to reconnnend a practice
ditl'erent from that at present pursued by the ships of tho
Hudson's Bay Company.'
52
I lieartily concur with every word in thi quotation, for
it exactly corresponds with my own experience. But the fact
must not be overlooked, that this advice is addressed to those
who attempt the navigation of tlie strait in sailing ships.
Steam has made a great revolution in ice navigation. A v.-ell-
found steamer is able to make her way with ease through the
ice in Hudson's Strait in June and July, when a sailing ship
would be hopelessly beset, and incapable of pushing on.
With regard to the practice pursued by the ships of the
Hudson's Hay Company, alluded to by Sir Edward Parry, it
stands to reason that the captains of those ships would
naturally delay their passage across the Atlantic, so as not to
r3ach the strait before July or August ; for they were well
aware that every extra day spent on the passage was a day
nearer the disruption of the ice. Their experience told them
that a policy of waitinof was the wisest, when the chances
would be more in their favour of getting through without
hindrance from the ice.
In 1824 Captain Lyon, in the " Griper," passed through
the strait in fourteen days, namely from the Gth to the 20th
of August. He sighted some loose heavy ice off Resolution
Island, but otherwise experienced no difficulty in getting
through. On his homeward voyage no ice whatever was seen
in the strait, and he averaged, in his dull old bluff- bowed
sailing ship, 150 knots a day, as he passed through, from Cape
Wolstenholme to Resolution Island.
During Sir George Back s memorable and eventful voyage
in the '' Terror," in 1880, he encouiitcu-ed much ice in the
strait. But this appears to have been an "xcoptionally bad ice
year. Still he was not more than a fortnight in getting
through, namely from the 1st of August, when he was oil"
liesolution Island to the l-lth, when he passed Nottingham
Island. His course was then directed up Fox's Channel, where
his ship was closely beset by heavy ice, in wliicli, helplessly
drifting at the mercy of the winds and currents, he was
compelled to pass the winter. During a period of six months
the ship drifted 234 miles in a genei'ally south-east direc-
tion.
It is almost impossible for us to conceive, mucl less to
describe, the anxiety that must have been experienced on
board the "Terror" during those long dark moniiis when
otlicers and crew were, it may truly be .said, momentarily
expecting the destruction of their floating home. SI if was most
miraculously preserved, in spite of the terrilile injuries in-
flicted on her by the ice, and she succeeded in making one
of the most marvellous voyages on record across the Atlantic.
The objects of Sir George Back's voyage were unfortunately
58
frustrated by the ice in Frozen Strait. But although the
amount of geographical information obtained was not very
great, yet the voyage was exceedingly instrucil/e, as showing
the general drift of the ice down Fox's Channel and Hudson's
Strait.
The account of tlie " Terror's " voyage home embraces one
of the most thrilling stories of sea adventure that has ever
delighted the readers of this country. When all hope of
saving the ship and the lives of the crew liad almost died out
in the breast of the captain, the coast of Ireland was sighted ;
Captain Back then succeeded in running the "Terrov'' on
shore off Buncra»^a, in Lough Swilly. The men were harassed
and nearly worn out by their exertions in keeping the ship
afloat; and the vessel herself, leaking like a sieve from the
injuries she had received in tlie ice, was oily held together
by the stream cable being passed round the after part, and so
binding her timbers and planking.
This was the last Government expedition, having geo-
graphical research solely for its object, that entered Hudson's
Bay. But its waters have been navigated by the ships of the
Hudson's Bay Company year after year. These vessels were
annually despatched from England for York and Moose
Factories,, sometimes two. and even three being sent in a
year. They rarely failed to reach their destinations, for,
arranging, as they usually did, to reach Hudson's Strait, on
their outward voyage, in about the first week of August, they
experienced but little dilhculty from the ice. On their return
voyages in September and October, they always found the
strait comparatively clear.
I have in my possession an oiHrial record of the voyages
out and home of the Hudson's Ba^ Company's ship, " Prince
Rupert," for a period of eleven consecutive years, namely
from 1835 to ISK! inclusive. I find tliat the average time of
gettirg tlirough the strait on the outward voyages during this
period (and it must not bo forgotten that the strait is 600 miles
in length), was IG days The longest time was 81 days, when
there was probably an exceptionally bad ice year. The shortest
time was eiglit days. But the delays in getting through the
strait were invariably caused by calms and adverse winds,
and not by the ice. On the hojneward passages no difficulties
were met with from ice in the strait, and the vessel usually
reached London in al it five weeks after leaving York Factory.
The earliest date <"or sailing from York Factory was the Cth of
September, and thu latest the 8rd of October. In tlie latter
case the " Prince Bupert" was 38 days on tlie passage to London,
so that it is impossible she could have had «..;/ «f riout; deten-
tion from ice in the strait.
51
It must be renienibci' f! that this vessel, and all others
then employed by the Hi ison's Bay Company, were sailing
ships, dependent entirely on sails for their motive power.
Without wind they were helpless ; with a foul wind their pro-
gress was of course proportionately slow. Wind, therefore,
was a matter of the first importance in those days, when a
vessel was endeavouring to make her way through flioes of loose
ice ; fo»' wlieu the wind falls, the ice invariably loosens, or,
as tlie technical expi-ession is, "goes aboard.' But. under
such circumstances, the unfortunate sailing veesel, being de-
prived of its only propelling force, is unable to take advan-
tage of tlie ice being loose to push on. On the other hand,
when a breeze springs up, which on ordinary occasions would
possibly enable lier to make good way, the wind has the
effect of packing the ice, thus rendering progress nearly im-
possible.
Steam has now, however, effected a complete revolution in
ice navigation, and the most advantageous time for pushing
on is, of course, in calm weather, when the ice is loose. Under
similar conditions a sailing vessel would be utterly hopeless.
It is, tlierefore, only reasonable to infer that what has been
performed regularly, and year after year, by sailing ships,
can be accomplished with greater regularity and certainty
by well found steamers specially constructed for ice naviga-
tion and provided with powerful machinery. A channel
wliicli has been navigated for 270 years, first by the frail
little Hy-boats of the seventeenth century, then by the bluff,
bowed, slow-sailing exploring vessels of Parry's days, and
For a long period by the Hudson's Bay Company's ships, can-
not be very formidable ; and if sailing ships can annually
pass through it, ii fortiori steamers will find less difficulty in
doing so. I?ut it would, of course, be necessary that such
steamers should be specially built and equipped for the
service, and it is desirable that dispatch should be used in
making the voyage.
The nature and consistency of the ice in Hudson's Strait
are such that, with an efficient steamer, the passage could be
accomplished with very little delay or ditijculty. This being
the case, it is not surprising to hear that the people of the
North- West are anxious to have a seaport on the shores of
Hudson's Bay, and to secure the construction of a railroad to
connect such a p(trt with Winnipeg, or some other equally con-
venient depot on the new-established line of the Canadian
Pacific railroad.
The achievement of such an undertaking would result in
shortening the distance that the produce of the country.
56
clebtined for exportation would have to be transported, hy
one-half. As the cost of transport by rail in governrd by the
distance to be covenyed per mile, it will at once be nndevstood
that if the mileage is reduced by one-half, the cost of th»f con-
veyance will be diminished in the same proportion. It has
been estimated that the result of the construction of a rail-
road from Winnipeg to Hudson's Bay, would be a clear gain
to the farmers and producers of the North- West, of about .fe.S
per head on all cattle exported, and 5s. upon every quarter of
gain sent for shipment.
The only obstacle to the establishment ot the desired port
and to the opening of this route, is the belief in the formidable
character of the ice that, we are told, would have to be en
countered in Hudson's Strait, and th's consequent limited
duration of the navigable season.
There has been great controveisy oi' this question. The
advocates of the route maintain that the ice offers no obstacle
which may not be overcome. Monopolists, and person in-
terested in other routes, represent the difiiculties offered by
the ice in Hudson's Strait as fatal to the success of the
project. The question is a purely geographical one, its solu-
tion depends on physical considerations, and the controvers\
is therefore a clear gain to the science of geography.
In order to obtain full and accurate information on fiic
questions involved in the discussion, the Government of
Canada, with commendable energy aud a praiseworthy deter-
mination to solve the long disputed problem as to the practica-
bility of navigating the strait annually, came to the resolution
of despatching a vcose! for the purpose of establishing stations
on both sides oi Hudson's Strait, at which continuous daily
observations could be taken and recorded on tiie weather.
tide, temperature, condition and movements of the ice, and
other facts connected with the meteorology of tl ..'. region, for
a period of at least twelve consecutive months. .\ steamer
called the " Neptune," which had been built for and employed
in the sealing trade, was chartered and despatciied in the year
1884 to perform this service.
The "Neptune" was in every way admiraljly adapted for
the work she was required to perform, having been s[>ecially
constructed for ice navigation. Her voyage was eminenti)-
successful. She experienced Httle difficulty in passing througii
Hudson's Strait, and succeeded in ostaMishing stations at Llic
following places. One, named Port liirwell, near Ungava
Bay, on the south side of the strait, ckse to the entrance.
.\nother in the vicinity of the Upper Savag •■ Islands, at \^\\r
Inlet. Another was inunedlately opposite, on the south side
56
of the strait (Stupart Bay), The fourth station was on
Nottingham Island and the fifth was established on Digges
Island, at tlie opuning into Hudson's Bay. An observer, with
a co'iple of attendants, was placed in charge of each of these
stations, with a supply of provisions to last over twelve
months.
In the official report of the voyage of the " Neptune " whilst
engaged on tliis service, her commander states that had he
been making tlie passage direct to Churchill, instead of coast-
ing and visiting specially selected places on both sides of the
strait, he would not have been delayed by ice for more than
about 48 hours. On the homeward voyage down the strait
there was no check whatever, no ice having been encountered.
The " Neptune" can, I believe, fairly lay claim to the honour
of having i)een the iirst steam vessel that has ever crossed
the waters of Hudson's Bay.
On the return of the "Neptune" to Halifax, steps were
imm^idiately taken to secure the despatch of a vessel to
Hudson's Strait in the following year, for the purpose of
visiting and relieving the stations established tiiere.
In order to assist the Canadian Goverment in their praise-
worthy endeavours to obtain reliable and accurate information
regarding the navigation of tlie strait, the English Government
placed H. M.S. "Alert" (a vessel which had already gained
for herself a reputation in Arctic research) at their disposal.
She was officered and manned by the Canadian Government,
sailed from Halifax, and reached the entrance to Hudson's
Strait on tlie IGth of June, 1885. But through some mis-
management, or w mt of experience in ice navigation on the
part of those who were occasionally entrusted vvith the charge
of the ship, she was allowed to be beset by the ice No
advantage appears to have been taken of her steam power to
extricate her. In fact, the reverse seems to have been the
case, for in the official report of this voyage we read that,
instead of utilising the power that was at their disposal to
release her from her imprisonment, they " banked the fires
and left the ship to pull under a fore-topsail and fore-topmast
stay-sail.''
The "pull," however, does not appear to have been in
the desired direction, or, if so, it was misapplied; for v/e
learn that shortly afterwards the stem of the ship was so
seriously injured by coining into contact with the ice, that
it was considered not only desirable but necessary to return
to the southward, and they put into St. John's (Newfound-
land) in order to eli'ect the necessary repairs. The repairs
were, however, easily and speedily executed, and by the
m
57
first week in Auf^ust the "Alert" was again in Hudson's
Strait. The next few clays were employed in visiting the
stations estaljlished during the previous year, which was done
without nuicli dilliculty, and on the 81st of the same month
the •' Alert " reached Port Clhurchill, having spent a few days
at each station. When her duties were completed she sailed
for Halifax, meeting no ice whatever during the return journey,
altliough it was the 7th of October before she was clear of the
strait.
The reports obtained from different stations regarding the
presence and conditions of the ice in the strait. sup))lcmented
as they were by those received from the '• Neptune " and
" Alert," were on the whole decidedly satisfactory, in so far
as they bore on the question of the safe navigation of Hudson's
Strait during a certain period of the year.
In the following year, namely, 1B86, it was again resolved
to despatch the " Alert "' to Hudson's Jiay. But this time
it was with the object of dismantling the stations in the
strait, and taking the observers back to Halifax. It was
considercc tliat the duty on which they were employed had
been accomplished
By a fortunate accident I was able to avail myself of an
invitation I had received, to take a passage in the " Alert "
during this cruise.
I considered myself very fortunate in having tlie opportunity
afforded me of doing so. for it had long been my wish to visit
Hudson's Bay, and I liad almost decided upon accomplisliing
this object by travelling from Winnipeg by canoe. The offer,
therefore, of going in the " Alert," whicli would enable me to
make the passage of the strait, as well as of the bay, was too
good to be refused, and I eagerly availed myself of it. I was
thus enabled to form my own judgment of the scate and
conditions of tlie ice in Hudson's Strait durir g at least one
season of tlie year ; while my observations, coribined with a
comprehensive study of all that has been written on the
subject, would enable me to form my own views regarding the
practicability of the route as a commercial highway. I was
also able to form a better estimate relative to the duration of
the navigable season.
I might observe that I was quite ignorant of the con-
troversy that had been carried on for some time between those
who were in favour of Hudson's Strait as a commercial route
and those who were opposed to it. I was, therefore, in a
better position to form a perfectly impartial and unbiassed
opinion.
II:
5
A
58
Under tliese circumstances I joined the " Alert" at Halifax,
and sailed in lier from that port on the 28rd of June.
On the 5th of July we reached the entrance of Hudson's
Strait, where wo were detained for some days, partly by thick
weatlior and partly by loose streams of ice ; but tlie latter
wore never packed sufticicntly close to prevent even a slow
steamer liko the »• Alert " frcmi makinj^ fairly good progress.
The ice that w(! encountered was of a soft brashy consistency,
the f,'reater part )f it bein-^ honeycombed from tho action of
the water, and in an advanced stage of disintegration. Whilst
thus delayed at the entrance of the strait, we observed the
same remarkable commotion of the water that had been
commented on by Davis. Parry, Back, and other navigators.
Davis called it, on the globe of 1593 the •' Furious Overfall."
It is not easy to account for these turbulent eddyings and
overfalls. We frequently observed comparatively large pieces
of ice being swept, with great velocity, in opposite directions,
altiiou'^h they were close to each other. The ice, on these
occasions, was evidently very much influenced by local forces,
such as tides. So far as we were able to discover, the flood —
or west-going tide — caused the ice to slacken, whilst a con-
trary eflect appeared to be exercised on it by the ebb. From
tlie 9th to tlie lltli of July scarcely any ice was seen, and a
distance of over 200 miles was accomplished in about 36
hours. This fact alone, without further evidence, is in itself
sulHcient to show how free the eastern part of the strait was
from ice ; for the " Alert," if driven at her full speed, could
only steam about six knots an hour.
Early on tlie morning of the 11th of July we arrived off the
station on the north side of the strait, and anchored in a
snug little l)ay called .Vshe Inlet. The observers were found to
be in perfect health, and they had spent a pleasant wintei,
having been well supplied with reindeer meat by the Eskimos.
They informed us that the ice did not form in the strait
before December, and that the channel was perfectly free for
navigation during the entire month of November. Game
appeared to be plentiful in the neighbourhood of the station.
Numerous herds of reindeer were met with during the winter,
and hares were reported as abundant on an adjacent island;
whilst bears, seals, and walrus were frequently seen.
After leaving Ashe Inlet the " Alert " continued her passage
through the strait, but her progress was so retarded by ice,
that it took her nine days to accomplish a distance of 800
miles. This slow progress was mainly caused by the absence
of suflicient steam power to enable her to thread her way
through the loose ice, and also by a want of vigilance in
6U
taking advantage of the various movements of the ice. A
knowledge of ice navigation, like everything else, cannot be
acquired at once. Practical experience, unceasing vigihmce,
and a happy knack of doing the right thing at the right
moment, are essential qualifications for tiiose seamen who
desire to become successful ice navigators.
The ice that we encountered in the western part of the
strait was somewhat difl'erent, and heavier than the ice we
passed at the eastern entrance. It was composed of small
pieces, packed loosely, appearing as if tlio tloes had been
broken up and then drifted together. This peculiar feature
of the ice in Hudson s Strait is one tliat 1 never observed in
other northern seas, and it is worthy of consideration when
the question of the practicability of navigating tlie strait
is under examination. For it is these innumerable small pieces
that, in a great measure, deprive tlie pack of the force neces-
sary for the serious injury of any vessel that is beset in it.
When there is a nip, the small pieces, being composed of soft
brashy ice, act as a cushion between the ship and the larger
floes, thus protecting her from violent pressure.
The greater part of the ice was, in my opinion, formed in
Fox's Channel, whence it drifts down to the strait after the
disruption of the ice in the summer. Occasionally a few large
floes were seen, some of which I estimated to be about half a
mile in length, but a floe of this size was quite exceptional.
The average thickness of the floe ice was 9 feet, but it was all
more or less rotten, and rapidly dissolving.
A circumstance worthy of note in connection with the
heavier and larger floes that we met with, was the irregularity
and unevenness of their surfaces. A perfectly level floe of any
extent, having a flat surface, was rarely seen. They weid
usually crowned with a succession of excresences I'esembling
small hillocks. This gave me the impression that tlie floes
were composed of many small pieces of ic(! which, having
survived the preceding summers thaw, had been cemented
together into one largo mass by the spow and irost of the
succeeding winter. Many of these floes were discoloured
by dix't and debris and on a few of them I noticed thick mud
adhering, showing that they were formed in the immediate
vicinity of land. The heavier ice we encountered had probably
drifted down from Fox's Channel, where large thick floes are
known to exist.
No icebei'gs were seen to the westward of the Savage
Islands, which seem to show that all those we passed to tlie
eastward and at the entrance of the strait, had floated down
from Davis's Strait, or at any rate, were the produce of glaciers
60
north of Resolution Island. During the time that we were
i.i the strait the weather was generally fine, the average
temperature l)eiiig about 35' Fahr., although on some days
tlu! thermometer would rise to 50^. The prevailing wind was
from the westward, hut from whatever direction it blew, it
appeared to have but little effect on the movements of the
ice. When we have more accurate information regarding the
tides in Hudson's Strait, furtiier light will in all probability
be thrown on the movements of the ice.
After being in the ice for upwards of eight days, the "Alert "
arrived at Uigges Island (where one of the observatories had
been establislied) on the 2()th -luly. This island, which forms
a leading feature in the story of Hudson's voyage, consists of
bare hills of gneiss, rising to a height of about 500 feet. The
hills are intersected by broad valleys carpeted with moss and
coarse grass. The vegetation compares very unfavourably
with that of some of the small islands ou which I have landed
off Novaya Zembla, and which are in a much higher latitude.
On the coasts of the latter the southern current warms the
air and produces a comparatively luxuriant flora, while the
former is exposed to cold Arctic strean^s.
After leaving Digges Island the open water of Hudson's
Bay was reached, and from that time, with the exception of
passing through a few loose streams of broken up stuff, no
ice was seen. The " .\lert '' dropped anchor in Churchill
Harbour on the 29th of July, without encountering any further
dilliculties from the enemy witli which she had been contending
for ten days. From Churchill we proceeded to York Factory,
where I left the ship, proceeding on to Winnipeg by canoe.
On her return passage through Hudson' Strait, the "Alert"
revisited the ditTerent stations without experiencing any
ditiiculties from the ice, and having embarked the observers
and their attendants, she returned to Halifax.
The result of all the experience, gathered from voyages
during two centuries, and from more recent observations at
the stations, is that Hudson's Strait is perfectly navigable and
free from ice in August, and later in the season. It nmst
be remembered that tliis passage has been success-
fully accomplished nearly every year for the last two centuries,
while the vessels that have been employed on the service
have been ordinary sailing ships, dependent entirely on wind
and weather. It is very rare indeed that they have failed to
get through, and still more rare that any of them have been
destroyed by the ice. It appears from the oflicial records of
the Hudson's Bay Company that Moose Factory, on the
61
sonthorn shoro of tho buy. has been viaitoil annually by -r ship
siiico 1785, with but ono exception, namely in i77l>, when
the vessel for once failed to achieve the passa;^'e of tlie strait.
Tho percentage of losses by shipwreck anion^ these vessels
OMipIoyed in Hudson's Hay is far less than would iiavc to bo
recorded in a like number of ships en;;agi.'<l in ^'cneral ocean
trallic. Since the keel of Hudson's f,'ood ship the '' Dircovery
plouj,'htd the waters of the strait, the passa^^e has lietn made
over 600 times, whilst llie losses due to tlie ice nii;^'ht be
flunnned up on the lingers of one haml, and some of these
losses were due to causes with wliich the ice had notliiuL; to
do. For instance, the recent loss ol the '■ Cam OwiMi ' was in
no way connected with tlie ice.
In ccnclusion, after reviewing' the physical aspects of tho
re^'ion, and the rec rd of voyaj^es. we must a.ijain call to
mind tho fact that the vessels employed on Hudson's Uay
service have iiitherto been sailing' ships. Steatu has now
roiibed ice navij^ation of many of its dilliculties and dangers
and it is only fair for us to assume that, with the ajipliances
that science has since I'cvealod to us, we can, in tliese days,
achieve with greater ease and celerity, and witii more assured
certainty, as much as wasaccomplislied by Hudson and Bailin,
by Button and Luke Fox, in their rude and poorly-eipiipped
lly-boats.
The vessel, however, to bo employed on such a service,
should be specially constructed to resist ordinary ice pressiu-e,
and should be provided with power to be able to steam fiom
10 to 12 knots at least We, in the '• Alert " were freijuuiitly
detained for many consecutive hours at a time, fur want of
power to propel the ship through loose streams of ice, which
an ordinary steamer would have had no ditlieulty in pene-
trating. It is necessary that all vessels employed in ice navi-
gation should be strengthened, especially in the bows, not so
iimch for tho purpose of resisting tlie pressure of the ice. if
beset, as to repel the sevei'e Idows wliicli must occasionally be
inllicted by unavoidably striking unusually heavy pieces wliilst
til reading their way through a stream of ice.
Tho case, then, can be very briefly stated. If sailing ships
have annually taken the furs, md other merchandise, of the
Jludson's Bay Company through the strait for the last two
centuries, a furtiori ii may be looked upon as certain that
powerful steamers will i)e able to do tiie saiiiij; for thi; prodii«e
biouglit to tho west coast of Hudson s Bay i)y a railway from
Winnipeg.
Tho establishment of new routes for commerce is always
a gi^in to tho science of geography. In some cases new
62
regions have to be discovered and explored. In others, the
phxsical aspects of an ah-eady known region must be more
earefiilly studied, and many points of interest relating to the
action of climate, or of winds and currents, may be ascer-
tained. The proposed Winnipeg and Hudson's Bay railroad
is a striking instance. The objections of opponents to the
route have had to be carefully examined. AH former expe-
rience had been collected, maturely considered, and passed
in review. Observatories had to be established at several
points, to make certain whether the historical rf;Cords actually
coincided with physical facts as they now exist. The route
itself had to be sailed over and explored. All these various
researches have been as great a gain to geogiaphy as to com-
merce. They have enriched our science with a fresh stock
of information, liave revised previous conceptions, and con-
firmed or rejected, as tiio case may be, the theories and views
whicli may have been put forward. From this point of view,
ind from this point of view alone, can commercial or political
questions i-eceive consideration here The study of tlie
Hudson's Bay route involves a problem for which physical
geography alone can furnish a solution ; and on those legitimate
grounds I have ventured to submit it for the consideration of
the meeting. My labours will be more than rewarded if I
have succeeded in iny endeavour to give a new poit\t of
interest to a re<.;ion whicli, though already well known, is
exceedingly interesting, and is on tlie direct road to unknown
parts of the earth.
Al^PENDIX I.
REl'ORT ON THE RKSOUUCBS OF THE GREAT MACKENKIE UASIN.
Season 1888
The Select Committee appointed by your Honourable House
to inquire into the resources of the Great Mackenzie Basin,
and the country eastward to Hudson's J3ay, have the honour
to make their third report as follows : —
Your Committee desire that this report be considered an
interim one and the estimates given to be approximate,
inasnmch as they are based upon evidence received up to this
date, and the final report can only be made when answers
shall have been received to questions sent to ofhcers of tlio
Hudson's Bay Company, missionaries, Arctic explorers, and
others, now resident in, or who have visited parts of the
country within the scope of your Connnifctee's inquiry. A
list of these names and of the inquiries made is herewith sub-
mitted.
Your Committee desire to acknowledge the courtesy of the
Department of Marine and Fislieries, Agriculture, Customs,
Railways, and Canals, and of the Interior, with its Geological
Survey, and Indian IJranch ; also the value of information
received from Professors Selwyn, Bell, Dawson, Macoun, and
Saunders, as well as from gentlemen a list of whose names is
submitted herewith, from wliom evidence was received of very
great value.
Your Connnittee also desire to stn^e that they have incurred
no expense, other than that authorised by your Honouralile
House, except the sum of $11.25 for outside printing
necessitated by tlio desire of the Committee to immediately
forward their list of questions to far distant posts; tiie litho-
graphing of the maps which accompany this report being paid
for by members of the Committee themselves.
The evidence your Connnittee have been al)le to obtain up
to this date has betMi of an unusuallv valnaljle chanujter, bi;ing
principally oral, and from tliose who liad exe(q)ti()iial o^jpor-
tunities of acquiring information, and after carefully comparing
this evidence your (Jonmiittee Inive arrived at the following
conclusions, in whicii they have endeavoured, whore (estimates
arc given, to be within the limit authorised by the information
in question.
1 i
ii
/i
Gi
KEGARDING NAVIGATION.
scoji(> of the enquiry covers one
sixty thousar.i S'jiiare statutory
none of the islands of tlio Arctic
the Arctic Ocean and Hudson's
Irtt. 'J"he extent of tlio
million two hundred and
mile--, wliich area includes
Arcliipel.i^'o.
2nd. Its coast line on
I'.ay nmasiu-es about r),000 miles, which estimate does not
ineiiKie the coast lines of inlets or deeply indented bays.
ard.
silile to
4th.
That over one half of this coast line is easily acccs.
whaHn'' and sealing crafts.
The navigatinix coast lines of the larger lakes of the
rc.^'ion ii! question amount to about -i.GOO miles, while its total
lacustrine a)-ea i)rohal)ly exceeds that of the eastern Canadiau
American chain of great lakes.
5th. That there is a river navigation of about 2,750 miles,
ot w!iii'h 1,;(Ul) miles are suitai)le for stern-wheel steamers,
which with their barges may carry tlirec hundred tons; the
remaining 1,::JG0 miles being deep enough for light draught sea-
going steamers
f'tth. That there is a total of about 6,500 miles of con-
tinuous lake coast and river navigation, broken only in two
pi ices.
7Lh. That the two breaks in question are upon tlie Great
Slave and Athabasca Rivers, the first being now overcome
by a 20-mile wagon road from Fort Smith southwards on the
Gnsat Slave River, and the latter being a stretch of 70 miles
on the Athabasca, of questionable navigation above Fort
I\lc Murray, down which flat boats or scows descend, but
cannot ascend, and which about 50 miles of wagon road would
overcome, while some improvement of the rapids might render
the whole river navigable.
Hh. That with suitable steam crafts this river and lake
navigation may be connected with Victoria and Vancouver by
way of the mou',h of tlie Mackenzie, the Arctic Ocean, and
Jiciiring Straits ami Sea and it is now connected on the
soiih by !)0 miles of wagon road, l)etween ,\thabasca Landing
and I'jdmonton, with navigable water in the Saskatchewan
River.
65
ARABLE AND TASTCRAL LANDS.
0th. That withhi the scope of the Coiiunittee's inquiry there
is a i^ossible area of (loG.OOO square miles littetl for the growth
of potatoes, iOT.OOJ square miles suitable for barley, and
blG.UOO square miles suitable for wheat.
10th. That there is a pastoral area of 860,000 square
miles, 'it^OOO miles of v/hich is open prairie with occasional
groves, the remainder being more or less wooded ; 274,000
square miles, including the prairie, may be considered as
arable land.
nth. That about 400,000 square miles of the total
area are useless for the pasturage of domestic animals or
for cultivation. Tiiis area comprises the Barren Grounds anil
a portion of thu lightly wooded region to their south and
west.
12th. That throughout tliis arable and pastora!)le area
latitude bears no direct relation to summer isotherms, tiie
spring llowers and the buds of deciduous trees appearing as
eaily north of (Ireat Slave Lake as at Winnipeg, St. Paul and
Minneapolis, Kingston or Ottawa, and earlier along the Peace,
Jjiard, and some minor western aflluents of the Great Mac-
kenzie River, where the cUmate resembles that of western
Ontario.
18th. That the native grasses and vetches are equal and in
some districts superior to those of eastern (!aiiada,
lltn. That the prevailing south west summer winds of the
country in (puistion bring the warmth and moisture wliich
render possible tlie far northern cereal growth, and sensibly
atl'ect the clinuite of the region under consideration as far
North as the .Arctic circle, and as far cast as the eastern rim
of the Macken/,ie Basin.
nSIIERIES, FORESTS, AND MINES.
15th. The immense lacustrine area of the eastern and
northern portions of tiie area under consideration implies,
from the evidence given regarding the quanti'.y and quality of
fresh water food lishus, the future sui)i)ly of a greiit portion
of the North American continent, while, thougii there has
l>een ol)taiMed less evidence regarding sea lish, yet the following
have been found on the northern and eastern coast within the
scope of the present intiuiry, vi/. : salmon, on four of olio
rivers emptying into Hudson's Bay on its western shore, and
in all the rivers flowing into the Arctic Ocean, except the
^A
66
Mackenzie, where an entirely different but also valuable
species, the Salmo Mackenziei, having the local name of the
Inconnu, exists in great numbers. The capeling is found on
the cost of the Arctic Ocean and Hudson's Bay, thus implying
the presence of cod upon the banks near by, and the rock
cod has been frequently taken. The Greenland, or harp seal,
and the grey square flipper seal are common to the eastern
coast, while the present favourite whaling grounds of the
New England whalers are Hudson's Bay, Fox Channel and
i^oothia Bay. These animals are all found with the walrus
a id porpoise off the mouths, and in the estuary of the
Mackenzie, as well.
16th. The forest area has upon it a growth of trees well
suited for all purposes of house and shid ship-building, for
mining, railway and bridging purposes, far in excess of its own
needs, and of great prospective value to the treeless regions of
Canada and the United States to the south, the growth on the
Lanrentian formation being scant, but the alluvial portion has
upon it (on tlio river of its name and elsewhere) the " Liard,"
a balsam poplar, sometimes called Balm of Gilead, or rough
bark poplar, 120 feet high, with a stump diameter of 5 to feet.
The white spruce, 160 feet high, with a stump diameter of
4 to 5 feet ; the larch of about the same size, and the Banksian
pine, whose strait stem is often 100 feet long, with only two
feet of diameter at the stump.
17th. Of the mines of this vast region little is known of
that part oast of the Mackenzie river and nortii of Great
Slave Lake. Of the western affluents of the Mackenzie enough
is known to show that on the lieadwaters of the Pearce, Liard
and Peel Kivers there are from 150,000 to 200,000 square miles
which may be considered auriferous, while Canada possesses
west of the rocky mountains a metalliferous area, principally
of gold-yielding rocks, thirteen hundred miles in length, with
an average breadth of four to five hundred miles, giving an
area far greater than that of the similars mining districts of the
neighbouring Republic.
18th. In addition to these auriferous deposits, gold has been
found on the west shore of Hudson's Bay, and has been
said to exist in certain portions of the Barren Ground, silver
on the Upper Liard and Peace Rivers, copper upon the
Coppermine River, which may be connected with an eastern
arm of Groat Bear Lake by a tramway of 40 miles, iron,
graphite, ochre, brick, and pottery clay, mica, gypsuni, lime,
and sandstone, sand for glass and moulding, and asphaltum,
are all known to exist, while the petroleum area is so
extensive as to justify the belief that, eventually, it will
supply the larger part of this continent, and be shipped from
IJ
67
Churchill, or some more northern Hudson's Bay port, to
England.
19th. Salt and sulphur deposits are less extensive, but
the former is found in crystals equal in purity to the best
rock salt, and in lii^hly saline sprinf,'s, while the latter is
found in the form of pyrites, and the fact that these petroleum
and salt deposits occur mainly near the line of division,
between deep water navigation and that fitted for lighter
craft, gives them a possible great commercial value. The
extensive coal and lignite deposits of the lower Mackenzie and
elsewhere, will be found to be of great value when the question
of reducing its iron ores and the transportation of the products
of this vast region have to be solved by steam sea-going, or
lighter, river craft.
20th. The chief present commercial product of the country
is its furs, which, as the region in question is the last great
fur preserve of the world, are of very great present and pro-
spective value, all the liner furs of commerce being there
found, and the sales in London yearly amounting to several
millions of dollars.
21st. Tlie Indian population is sparse, and the Indians,
never having lived in large communities, are peaceable, and
their general character and habits, as given by witnesses,
justify a hope that the development of the country, as in the
case of the Indians of British Columbia, may be aided by them
without great danger of their demoralization, and with a
reasonable hope that, as in the case of the Indians mentioned,
their condition may be improved.
Your Committee desiring to refer briefly to the evidence
upon which they have based these conclusions, may explain
that, very early in their investigations, thej became con-
vinced that very little more was known of the northern
and eastern portion of the area committed to them for in-
vestigation, than was known of the interior of Africa or
Australia. Arctic explorers had indeed traversed its coast
line, and descended two of the rivers which, east of the
Mackenzie, flow into the Arctic Sea, but the object sought
by them was one which had no relation to tliat of the
pies(!nt in(juiry, and it is only incidontally tliat their records
are now valuable. Tlie kiiowKulge of missionaries and
otlicers of the; Hudson's Hay Company is chiefly confined
to tile watercourses and the great lakes, while scientific
exploration has not as yet extended north of Great Slave
Lake.
In referring again to the navigation of this region, all
the evidence has agreed as to the great extent of unbroken
tsS**^ J
68
navif^'ation, and this fact has Ijueii of ;reat use to the
Hudson's Hay (Company, who have alw.cys userl the water
ways, even when circuitous and ilillicult, rather than resort
to laud carria^'e, and their inhxud i)Osts to as far nortii as
the Arctic circle an; now su|)plied from their ceutnil depot at
l'\)rt ilarry, with otdy 11 l 'uiles of land carriage, four of this
heinj,' by tramway at the dieat Kapids of the Saskatchewan,
ninety miles of wagon transport from Edmonton to Atliabasca
liandlng, thence hy steamer and llathoat, to Fort Smitli on
the (ireat Slave Jtiver, where twenty miles of waf,'on road
connects the shallow with deep water navi<^ation, and the
steamer " Wri>,dey " distributes them to the various posts,
down to the mouth of the Mackenzie just above its estuary,
where the river is said to be six miles wide, and up Peel River
whicli joins tlie Mackenzie near that point to Fort Macplierson,
on that },'oldl)earin',' str.-am. The j,'reat lakes, which receive
tlu! drainage of this vast region, and give an ecjual flow
to the Mackenzie, all have deep water navigation, ami like
most lakes of the Laurentian fornuition are studded with
islands.
The most southern source of the Great Mackenzie liiver
is a stream fed by the glaciers of Mounts Hooker andlUown,
two of the highest of the Rocky Mountain chain, in latitude
52" 80', aiul tills soon becomes a navigable stream. ])reseiving
that character except at the breaks mentioned, (luring the
nearly 2,~A)0 miles of its course, to the Polar Sea As already
mentioned these western at!huMits will form valuable links,
as a means of taking in machinery and mining supplies, to
the upper waters of the Peace and Liard Rivers which are
now inaccessible for heavy machinery fro:M tiie west coast, and
the cost of taking in provisions, makes in mining and piospect-
ing eti'orts a serious desideiatum. The navigation upon the
I.'iaid River also will be an imi)oitant factoi- in the future food
supply to the great mining region of the ui)per Yukon and
Peel Rivers.
A reference to the valuable evidence; obtained by your
Connnittee will show that navigation from Reining Straits
to the mouth of the Mackenzie, and proliably as far east as
Wollaston Land, may be iiad for three months in each year,
the soundings given on the Admiralty (Jhart of that portion
of the Arctic Sea revealing an average dcptli of about 20
fatlu)ms, which is a considtralde depth in what is known to be
generally a shallow sea. The western branch of the estuary
of the Mackenzie is said to be thf3 outlet which has the
deepest waters, and it is respectfully submitted that nuich
good nnght accrue were the I'ominion (iov(;rvment paity
now working its way from the Yukon towards Peel River,
60
and the Mackenzie, to descend either of these streams, and
examine the western and other branches of the estuary of the
Mackenzie.
To convoy to your Honourable Ifouse the distances wiiich
separate the navigable waters of the I^Iackenzie Basin from
the eastern and western sea coasts, and from navigable rivers
and railways to the south and south-east, the following table
of distances has been taken up from the evidence. The lengths
are in straight lines as follows; —
From the head of Groat Slave Lake to head of (Miesterfield
Inlet, 820 miles ; from the head of Athabasca Lake to the
harbour of Churchill, 440 miles; from Fort MacMurray, at
the junction of the Clearwater with the .Vthabasca below the
70 miles of questionable navigation, to the following places
on the Saskatchewan : Prince Albert. 800 miles ; Fort Pitt,
220 miles ; Victoria, 179 miles ; Iklmonton, 225 miles ; from
Calgary, on the Canadian Pacific Railway to Athabasca
Landing, on the Athabasca River, 250 miles ; from head of
Little Slave Lake, to Peace Hivor lianding, in the Peace
River, G5 miles : from Hazleton, on the Skeena River, to
Peace River in the Pass, 150 miles; from Fort Mumford,
on the Stikeen River, to Fort Liard on the Liard River, 370
miles.
A good deal of dilliculty has been experienced by the
Committee in endeavouring to obtain the exact catch of furs
in the region under consideration, and no definite or direct
information has boon obtained ; they liave, however, obtained
lists of furs otlered for sale in 18H7, in London, by the
Hudson's Bay Company, and C M. Lampson it Co.. the
consignees of many of the furs of Britisii North America, and
from these lists they find the following to be a summary of one
year's catch : -
Otter U.»-<'->
FiHl.or '7.11'-i
F.ix (silver) ... ... ... ••■ l-!»<''7
Fox (cross) ... ... ... ••• ^J^''
l'\ix (red) H-'.O.i'-i
Kox (wliito) ... ... ... ••• Ut,'.'.)7
Kox (l)liie) .. ... ... •■• l.H'>
Fox (kitl) ... •• ••• ■•• ■-"•"'
Lvnx H.WO
Skunk <1«-',7'.)1
Marten .. - '•W.SJ'.i
Mink .H7<;,'2-.i3
15uiiver 104,270
Mnsiiuiisli ... ... ••■ •• '2,l«.'),;t().S
Extra bluck MusquuHh ... •• ••• 13,'.I14
Wolf . 7.ir»0
Wolverinii ... ... •.• ••• 1,")S1
Hear (nil kinds) 1'>,'J1'2
J.
70
Musk Ox ... ... ... ... IStH
Bii.lKur ... ... ... ... 3,7a'.)
Hiniiiio ... ... ... •• 4,160
Swim ... .. ... ... .57
Uiitjl.it lll,H2t
Hair Seal (dry) i:J,47H
Siil.lo... ... ... ... ... 3,'j17
Fiix (grey) ... ... ... ... 31, 597
It will he seen by those who have a knowledge of the great
value of these ricli northern furs, a large proportion of which
may he presuiiiod to have come from the Mackenzie Basin
iiow large and important that trade has been, and it is ex-
pedient tliat, witliout unduly interfering witli the rights of
settlers or the usualprivileges of Indians, this groat fur trade
siiould be fostered and even made a source of direct revenue
to the Dominion.
The Right Ueverend Hishop ('lut, in his evidence, called
attention to tlie damage to this interest caused by the use
of • poison,' whicli is sti-yclmia of the most powerful kind, in
the capture of such animals as the fo,\ or wolf. Ho depre-
cates its use, first on account of the danger to tlioso using
it, and from the fact that it causes useless destruction, inas-
much as the foxes and wolves that swallow the frozen bait
have time to run and die far beyond where they may be
found, and in the case of other animals, for which it is not
intended, it destroys directly by eating the bait, and in-
directly by the eating of the animals which have ijoen poisoned
by it.
Again, there is groat danger of some species of fur-bearing
animals becoming extinct by the greater ease in their caj)ture,
such as the beaver, wiiicli many years ago became almost
extinct in the United States when fashion necessitatcul the
(!xclusive use of its fur in felt and otliei- liats, and more I'e-
cently the same prospect of extii'])ation threatened the miid;
wiiicii now tin'oatens th(! south sea or fur seal ; these considera-
tions pointing to the eX|)edienGy of the (!ov(!rnment making
a measure of protection a source of revenue by the leasing of
certain fur districts with a limitation as to the catch of certain
kinds of its furs.
Of the fresii water food fislies of tiie region, liaek's "gray-
ling," an exeellent species not prevalent elsewliere, seems to
bo found everywhere in its rivers, and even west of the
Rocky Mountains, but the sta|)le product of its lakes and
large rivers seems tol)e whitefish of great weiglit and excellent
llavour, and trout, often reaching forty pounds in weight; and
evidence goes to sliow thiit tlie fartlier nortli the greater the
yield of fish, till tlie quantity l)econ\es enormous. As an
illustration, the following is given from the evidence of Prof.
71
Macoun, who quotes Sir John Ricluirdson to tlic clToct that
one of the early overland Franldin expeditions took lilty
thousand white lish on a north-eastern arm of Great J5ear
Lake, and Sir Jolin Kichardson also states that the ^I'^-'at lake
trout swarm in all the northern f,'reat lakes.
In ref^ard to the salmon fisheries, it would appear from the
evidence that salmon are ahundant in the rivers and alon^
the coast of the north-west side of Hueson's Bay, as well as
in tlie rivers of the northern shores of the Continent. Your
Conunittee consider it advisahle that means should he adopted
to ascertain more accurately the extent and value of the
salmon fisheries of these regions, with a view to utiHsin;^' them
for the purposes of commerce, and for the revenue which they
may atVord.
The seas adjoininj,' the great territory which your Com-
mittee has had under investigation, are frequented by whales
of dirt'erent species, walruses, narwhals, and a variety of seals.
All these animals are valuable for their oil, but the largo
species of whales have heretofore been most sought for. Only
a few years ago tliese animals had a much more extensive
range than at the present time. Owing to improvements
in navigation and methods of capture, they liave, of late years,
fallen an easier prey to their pursuers, and taken shelter
in the less frequented seas of the northern coasts of ('anada
Now they are being pursued to their last retreat by foreign
winders, and some species are threatened with complete ex-
tinction in a few years if this condition continues. It is to
bo borne in mind that whales are long lived and slow brei-d -
ing animals. The American whalers attack them witli har-
poons, explosive bombs and lances, tired from large swivel -
guns carried on steam launches, instead of the old-fasluoned
weapons thrown by hand from rowboats. These metliods nut
only destroy the whales with greater facility, Imt inspire the
survivors with such terror tiiat they seek the most distant
and inaccessible parts of the northern seas, and luive entirely
disappeared from the waters in wliich they lived only a few-
years ago.
Your Conunittee are informed that the Ilusi^ian (lovernment
claim jurisdiction over the whale fisheries of tlie White Sea,
and exact a heavy licence from each vessel engaged in the
fishing, and that the Alaska Fur Company assert a shnililar
autlioiity over the seal fisheries of liehring Sea. both of which
are open to the ocean, while Hudson's Hay, Boothia Jiay, and
other bays and channels in the northern part of the Dominion,
wdiieh are resorted to by foreign svhalers, nuiy be considered
as closed seas, Ix'ing almost completely surrounded by our
y.
n
Own territory. Your Committee would, tliercfore, recommond
that some measures may be adopted witli a view to protecting
tli(! whale lisheries of our northern waters, and at the Hanjo
time of deriving a revenue therefrom. Should this not he
done, then, as soon as the larger wliales shall have bceome
extinct, the slaughter of our smaller oil producing nuinunals
will commence, and ai these creatures live in shallow water
or near(!r shore, further encroachments on our rights will
probably result.
The evidenco sidmiitted to your (yommittco points to the
existence in the .\thabasca and Mackenzie Valleys of the most
extensive petroleum lield in America, if not in the world.
The uses of petroleum, and consecjuently the dcMuand for it
by all nations are increasing at such a rapid ratio that it is
probai)l(' this great petroleum lield will assume an enormous
value in the near future, and will rank among the chief assets
comprised in tlie Clrown domain of the J)oniinion. i'or this
reason your Committ(!e would suggest that a tract of about
•10,000 sijuare miles he, for the present, rescrveil from sale,
and that as soon as possible its value may bo more accurately
ascertained by exploration and practical tests ; the said reserve
to be bounded as follows : liasterly by a line drawn due north
from the foot of the Cascade liapids on Clearwater River to
the south shore of Athabasca Lake ; northerly, by the said
lakesiiore and the Qiiatro Fourche and Peace Kivers ; westerly,
by Peace Jiiver. and a
straight
line from Peace Hiver
Landing to the western extremity of Lesser Slave Jjake, and
southerly, by said lake and the river discharging it to
Athabasca liiver and Clearwater liiver as far up as the place
of begin I ing.
Your (/ommittee regret that they have made so long a
report, but trust that an excuse will i)e found in the fact that
upon a map of similar projection and scale the region in
(juestion occupies an area greater than the Australin Continent
or two-thirds of Europe, covering parts of the Mritish Islands,
Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Cermany, Austria, and a part of
France and Uussia.
Your Committee have reason to believe that a comparison
of the capabilities of this extent of country in our own Con.
tinent, exceeds in extent of navigation, area of arable and
pastoral lands, valuable fresii water lishcries, forests and
mines, and in capacity to su[)port population, the continental
part of Europe to which we have referred.
Many important points have, therefore, been omitted from
this repoi't, for information upon which your Committee beg
to refer your Honourable J louse to the evidence itself ; they
7H
havo, however, accompanied this report, as bein>^ a necessary
adjunct, with foui' maps of a siz(\ siiitalthi to form two pa^^es
of this report, carefully [jri-pared l)y Hol)ert Uell, Msq., Al.D.,
LFj.!)., Assistant l)irertor of the Ueoloi^ical t^urvoy ; the first
showing upon it in cohjnrs. the northern and eastern extent
of possible potato, liarhsy, and wiieat ^^rowtli, the pastoral,
prairie and wood re;,'ion, and the barren grounds; the second
showing in colours the mineral deposits in tiie Mackenzie
Basin ; the tliiid shows th(; souliieni limit of the feedinj*
'grounds of the musk ox, and of the reindeer, the northern
range of the wolverine, otter, heaver, i)lack hear, and Virginia
deoi', tiie former range of bison and wood butlalo, and the
present range of the moose, the (heeidand .seal, and of the
larger wiuiles ; and the fourth shows in colours the extent of
the river, hike, and sea coast navigation, and the coal and
lignite deposits.
Your Committee lu'lieve that these ;\ •■' necessary for the
proper information of your ilonourable House, and the full
explamition of tlie evidence submitted herewith, and siiould
this suggestion he lulopttid they will feel that with this report,
and the evidence herewith, they will have done all that it was
possible ti) do since the date of their appointment, and the
receipt of thciir instructions, to inform your Ilonourable JIouso,
and the people of this country, upon the resources of Canada's
Great liescrve.
All of whicli is respectfully submitted.
JOHN SCllULTZ,
Chairman.
TlIK NOUTII-WEST OF CANADA.
THE GKEAT CORN, C.VTTLE, k MINEllAL COUNTiiY
OF THE FUTURE.
Westminster Rcoicir, Maich. 1893.
When Lord Palmerston introduced the Bill to the House
of Commons in February, 1858, for the transfer of the Govern-
ment of India from tiie I'iast India Comi)any to the Crown,
referring to the Hudson's Bay Teiritory, on which a Select
Committee of the House iiad taken evidence and reported
in the previous Session, he said : " One could easily imagine
that a wilderness in tiie iiortiiern part of .\meiica, where
notliing lives except fur bearing animals and a few wild
Indians but little removed from the lower creation, might
be conlined to a company whose chief function should be to
strip the running animals of their furs and to keep the bipeds
sober."
/,
74
Mr. Gladstone, liowover, took a more favourablo view ot
the future of tlie (hunt North- \V(!st, for diirin;,' tho sumo
Session of I'urliiiiiicnt, on the iiiolion of Mr. John Artiiur
Kochuel<, •' Tliat tile privilc^^es of tlie iliidsoii's Pay Coiiipaiiy,
aijout to expire, oiif,'lit not to l)u renewed," said: " Tliere is a
hw'^o. portion of tlu! surface of tlie earth witli re;,Mrd to tho
cliaracter of wliicli we liave l)een systematically kept in dark-
ness, for those who had information to f^ive have also liad an
intor(!st directly opposed to impartin;^ it. Now, the truth is
beyond question that a j^reat part of this oountry is hij^hly
valuable for colonisatio;? purposes, and it is impossible to state
in too strong lant,'uaj,'e the proposition that the Hudson's Hay
Company is, by its very eNistence and its character, the enemy
of colonisation. '
The opinions so forcibly expressed by Mr. (iladstone have
been contirmed in a manner far surpassinj^ what was ever
supposed at that period.
In 18(i7 tho Dominion .\ct of Canada was passed, and in
1870 the (lovernnient came into possession of tho immense
rej,'ion formerly <,'overned by the Hudson's I5ay Company.
Since that period a railway has been constructed from Halifax
on the Atlantic Ocean to Vancouver on the I'acitic, a distance
of H,711 miles, entiridy throu,i,'h British territory, iind a line of
British mail steamers established, second to none in the world,
running,' between Vancouver, Yokohama, Shan^diai, and lloii^
Kon^, conveying' a portion of the British mails and troops to
and from the United Kin^'dom and India, whilst an uninter-
rupted lake and river navij^'ation, suitable for ocean-^oing
vessels, has been almost perfected from the Ciulf of St.
Lawrence to tlie head of iiake Superior.
Fort Garry, which in 1870 contained 250 inhabitants, has
now become the handsome city of Winnipej^, with a population
of over aO,000. and adorned with many building's which would
do credit to London. It is the centre of a nia^nilicent railway
system, extending from the Atlantic to the I'acilic, with many
hundreds of miles of branch lines running' north and south.
There is not probably in the history of the world such a rapid
physical and permanent development. The capability to pro-
duce all the food tliat tho United Kingdom requires in the form
of corn and cattle by the North Westof the Dominion of (4ina(;a
is limited oidy by the supply of labour and improved transit to
the seaboard.
To fully appreciate the maj.;nitude and importance of the
Dominion of Canada is to compare it with Russia in Kurope.
The Dominion comprises an area of 8, 400, 000 s(piare miles,
whilst I'juropoan Russia is oidy 2,0!)5.000. They lie mainly
within the same decrees of latitude. Tlie great inland sea of
Hudson's Bay is in the same latitude and is twice the si/e ot
7.->
the Hiiltic. The j^rcat hikiis and the St. liawrenco navi^'ation
are not i'(|iialle(l in Kussia, and the Nelson Kiver, with its
lak(!8 and tributary streams, drains a larj,'er fertile area than
the Vol<,'a, or the Don ami Dneiper conil)ined ; and tlie Mac-
kenzie Kiver, witii its lakes and tril)Utray streams, is equal to
th« Dwina and the mouth of the White Sea. In fact, accord-
ing to the most authentic Government reports, the fertile
area of the Uominicn is fully equal in climate and capability
of producinj^ cereals and cattle to the whole of Russia in
Kuro|)e. Port Nelson, on Hudson's liay, the very centre of
th(i North West, is much nearer to London than the Russian
ports of the Black Sea There are 14,000 miles of railway in
tiie Dominion as compared with 1H,'>00 in Russia. IT), 000 miles
of internal navij,'ation, and tlie whole country under tiie do-
minii)ii of the Hritish Crown, where life and property and
liberty are absolutely secure, and y(!t Russia in Kuiope has a
population of ninety-live millions, whilst the Dominion of
Canada has only about live millions.
The j^reat fertile Relt of tlie North-West extends from tbo
city of Wimiipej,', ths capital of the Province of Manitoba, on
the east to the foot of the hills of the Rocky Mountains, a dis-
tance of about !>'2() miles, and from the 41)th parallel of latitude
north to tlus watershed of the North Saskatchewan, an aveaa<^e
distance of 850 miles, embracing an area of ;}'22,000 scjuare
miles, or 200,080,000 acves, two-thirds of wliich has been
proved to bo capable of producing the finest wheat in the
world, and the rest is admirably adapted fen' stock raising and
dairy farming The whole coinitry is well watered with long
and numerous rivers and snuillcr streams, a moderate growth
of wood, and extensive coal deposits. The soil is generally
of a deep rich loam, reciuirin^^ no manure, and the climate
is described by long residents in the country as one of the
most invigorating and healthy in the world. Land can be
accjuired in various ways, from frw grants of lOO acres to
any nuile adidt s(!ttler over eighteen years of age, up to 10s.
to IDs. an acre, with easy means of payment and near a good
market,
Tiiere was under cultivation in 1H!H about 900,000 acres,
wliicii produced a surplus of wheat available for export of
25,000,000 bushels, on an average of 25 bushels to the acre,
and 850,000 acres in oats and barley, producing 20,000.000
bushels. In addition to this, the cattle ranches number a herd
of al)out 000,000. Dairy farming is also carried on with good
profit.
The harvest last year was again very good, and more
especially as to (juality ; and, althouijh the price of wheat
76
rules low, tilt; i'aniieis are liifJilily pmsjierous and c hUmiIiuI.
A larf^o tmiiiber of fanners arc leaving' tlio jN<>rth-Wt'«t States
of the Union and purc!iasi)i^' lands and scttlinj^ in the fertile
b(.'lt of tho i>oniinion.
The country at present undei- local ''ovin niufnit coiujiriscs
the Province of Manitoba, covering,' an area ot (M.OOO square
miles, with Winnipeg,' as its capital, and tiie thiee territories
of Assinihoia, Saslcatchewaii, and Albei'ta, coveiin^ :ui area
of 80H, ()()() K(|uare inil(;s, with Ke^jina as their capital.
To tlie Noi'tli-West of the feitile belt lies 1 he territoi / of
Atlial)asca and the (jreat Mackenzie Hasin. on the i(!3our;;es
of which a (Jonnnittee of theen Sate of the Doiuinion was
appoi/ited in IHH7 to take evidence and repent, ami in which
anion^jst otlici' liiiii;^'S. tliey say. "That within the scope of
the Committee's inijuiry there is a possible area of (i.'xt.OOi)
Mcpiaie miles fitted (oi- tlu; Kiowlii of jiotaloes, 107, OOO s(piaro
miles suitiible lor barley, and JIKl.OOO sijuare ndles suitable
for wheat; that throu;4hout this arable and pastoral area
latitude! Iiears no direct rehaion to summer isotherms, the
sprin;; llovvers aiul Imds of di'ciduous trees ap[)earin^f as early
north of the (Jreat Slave. I,ak.! (lat, (i!)") as at Winnip.';^'.
St. Paul, Minneapolis. Kiui^'ston, or Ottawa, and earlier aljuj,'
the Peace, Liard, and some minor alllluents of tlir; (ii-eat
Mackenzie Jtiver, where theclihuite resenddes that of \V(!storn
(hitario.
" That on the headwaters of liuj I'ea<!e, Liard, and I'eel
Rivers tli(u-e are froi.i MO.UOO to -iOO.UUO s^juare nules which
may be eousidm-ei! riuriferous.
" Tliat the evidence sulmutted to I'nv •','omnuttee points to
tlu' (existence in the Athabasca and Mackenzie Valb-ys of the
most extensive pejtrobium licbl in A -rica. if not in the world.
The uses of petroleum, and eonseipu-ntly the elemund for it
by all nations, are iru;reasinj< at Kueh a'raiiid r,itf that it is
i>ri>bable that this j.,n'eat petroleum lii Id v,ill assume an
enormous value in tlw! near fiitur.', aiul will reckon amoii^^
tli(! ehief assets comprised in tlie Cniwn d.-main of tlit!
I 'ominion.
" That thfu-e is .i coal foi-mation eoverin^^f an area of lOO. ()<)()
s.piare miles, arui that the lakes and rivers abound mi lish and
lar^'(! and small ^'am-; in enormous luindjers.
'•That the climate is remarkably healthy, nuiny of tlie
witnesses describing,' it as one of the linest in the world.
'I That u[)on ii, ma)) of sinular projection and scaltt, the
re^'ion in (piestion oc^uipies an area -^rea'cr than tins Austialian
Continent, or two thirds of Murope coveriu;,' part of the
77
iiriliHli Islands, Norway, Swudeii, Demiiark, (icriiiaiiy, and
Austria, and part of Fraiici; and Jlussia ; and that the Com-
niittco l\ave reason to believe that a comparison of the
(;apal)ilitiesof this extent of country on our ContiruMit exceeds
in extcntof navi^^ation, area of aral)Ie huid and pastoral lands,
valuahhi fresh water '..:!\eries, forests and mines, and in
capacity to suppoit popuiation, the continental part of I'jurope
to which we have referred."
UAILWAYS AND NAVKJATION.
The (Canadian I'acilic Railway, staitin;,' from the head of
Atlantic navi;4ation at Monti'i'al, rrachc-; \Vinni[)e^,' hy a
distance of 1,121 miles, l^'iom Winnipeg', runnin;,' throu^di
tlu! fiulile belt foi- il'iO mile-,, it is fed by tiiirteen branches,
extending,' north and s(nitli, and a^'','re^'atin>; about l,.")()(j miles,
all centring,' in \Vimiii)ej,'. From Winnipeg,', comiiij,' east, the
JKsad of lake navij^atioii is reached by a sin^^dc line of railway
of I2H miles. Two other outlets ai'e afforded throu^,'h Nortii
Dakota and Miimesota. in lii^ l!uit(;d States, to Duluth and
St. I'aul. i",e., (!tc. Fort William and Duluih are aljout ('(pii-
disi.mt by lake, rivtT and canal navij,'ation to .Monti'eal and
Now York, ili<! distanc<,' by w.iter to Montreal bcin;,' about
1,H0() miles, and to New Wnk 2.000 mihis. The all. rail route
from Wiimipe,!,' to New York is l,77l> miles and lo .Montreal
1,121 miles. The avera;;r cost of the carria^^c of whiuit from
Winnipeg' to the seaboaiil, whetlHir to .Montreal, Portland or
.\ew York, is about 20 cents, per bushel, or 20s. per t(jn ; in
addition lo this heavy chart,'e, the present outlets are inade-
(piate to move tln^ (trops the elevatois aie all fidl, and a ^'reat
yrain block has (jccuiicd.
The necessity of [)rovidin^' shorter and cheapei' outlets for
the produ(!e of tin; ;,'reat North- West t(J tlie seaboard has for
.some time (!n;^a;,'ed thi! .ittention of the Provincial (Jovern-
ment of .Mamt(jba .md the D(jnnnion ( iove-inment The
Dominion ( lover;im<;nt appointe.l ii.n r\pedition lo test the
l)raelieal)ilily of tiie navi^Mtion of lludsons Hay. That
cxpiidition was carrie<l out in l«Hl, lHHr>, and lHHG,'and the
result has been hij^hly satisfactory
It apptsars impossible to ovcn'-rate the importancie of this
route, for it would not only ellect the nycia savin^^ on distance
in the passa;.;e bctwisen the ,\tbuitic and the I'aciliu Oceans,
Ijut open up the vast rej^ion to (ioloni^ation, and pnnide an
alternative route throu^^di l)omimon territory, frtie from all
Irontier c(;mplications ami interruptions,
lioitl Durham, m his ctihibraied Keport on Hritish North
America, m IHll, said, in uonclusion " No portion of the
■^PHi|"W»W«I| )!)«»»■ »•
U|l^«.l
i.
78
American coiif iiiciit jxjssesscs ^ji-cNilcr natural ri-sourcos for
the iiiaiiiteiiaiici' of lar-^e and lioiiri-iliin^ coinniunitics. An
almost Ijoundlcss ran;,'o ol the richest soil still niuuiins un-
scillcil, ami ni;iy li" imdi'icd availuiilc for the imiposfs of
a;^riculturt'. The wi-altli ot incxhaustihlc; forests of the best
tiinher in America and ot extensive regions of the most
vahialde minerals have as yet heen scarcely touched. Alon^'
tile whole line of seacoast, around each island, and in every
river are to he found the greatest and richest fisheries in the
world. The hest fuel and the most, ahundaiit waier-j)owor
are availahle for tlie cioarser manufactui'es, for which an easy
and certain market will he found. Trade with the Continent
is favoured hy the possession of ,i lai'^'e nund)er of safe and
spacious harhours ; lon^', dee|). and numerous harhours rivers
and vast inland seas, supply the means of easy intorcouse, and
the structure of the country ;,'eiierally atlords the utmost
facility for every species of conununication hy land; un-
bounded materials of a^,'riculture. connnorcial.and manufactur-
iti;,' industry ar(! there. If depends upon the prc'sent decision
of the Inperial Le^islaturo to determine for whose; lienelit they
are to bo rendered availr-hle. The country which has founded
and maintained tiu'se colonies at a vast (ixpense of blood and
tn.'asure may justly expect its compei\sation in tiniuii;^ tludr
unappropriated resources to the account of its own reduiulant
populations. They aic the rii^htful patrimony of the Kn;,'lish
people, the anipli' appana;,'e which (lod and Naturt; have set
aside in the ru'w world for those whose lot has assigned to
them luit iiisutlicient portions in the old '
JOSEPH NELSON.
mmt
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