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Zi^ ^OtOUtO : >R.IMTED BY HUJNTER. ROSE & CO.. 25 WELLINGTON STREET WEST 1879. ^HB^iHBHPSHWHWIg? TABLE OF CONTENTS. FAQ£. North-Western Ontario 1 Boundaries 1-2 Area 2-3 Population 3 KliHATA. On page 2, lin-i 18, for " south " of the said river read " source " of the said river On page 3, fourth line from foot, for Rainy " River" read Rainy " Lake." On page 7, under liead " Inducements to Settlement," second line, for " southern " read western. On page 27, tirst line, for " York" reac^ " Nelson," and on sixth line, for " western " read eastern. On page 40, fourteenth line from top, for " most " read " more." On page 63, sixteenth line from foot, for " north-east " read " north-west." Subsidies and Presents 17-J» Progress in Civilization 18 Numbers included in Treaty No. 3 18 Geological Features 18-21 Lac ies Mille Lacs to Winnipeg River 21-23 Line of the Canadian Pacific 23 Climate 23-26 Eastern Division : Lake Superior to James Bay 26-7 Routes to Hudson's Bay 27-8 Lake Huron to Moose Factory . 28-9 Moose Factory to Michipicoton 29-30 Black River to the Albany 31-4 Lake Nepigon to Albany 34-7 Lake Abbitibbe Route 37-8 Lake Nepigon to Lake St. Joseph 38-9 n -fas' TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAQB. North-Western Ontario 1 Boundaries 1-2 Area 2-3 Population 3 Lakes and Rivera 3-4 Agricultural Capacity 4 Westbrn Divif.ioN : Lake Superior to Lake of the Woods , 4 The Dawson Route 5-6 Canadian Pacific Railway 6 Improvements of the Lake Route 6-7 Inducements to Settlement 7 Kaministiquia Valley ... 7-8 Valley of the Matawin 8-9 Height of Land 9 A Pine Region 9 Rainy River 10-11 Supply of Pine Timber 11-12 Alberton .- 12-13 Adjacent Territory in Minnesota 13-14 Fort Frances Lock 14 The Inaians 14 Number Three Treaty 14-16 Terms of the Treaty 16-17 Subsidies and Presents 17-18 Progress in Civilization 18 Numbers included in Treaty No. 3 18 Geological Features 18-21 Lac des Mille Lacs to Winnipeg River 21-23 Line of the Canadian Pacific , 23 Climate 23-26 Eastern Division : Lake Superior to James Bay 26-7 Routes to Hudson's Bay 27-8 Lake Huron to Moose Factory 28-9 Moose Factory to Michipicoton 29-30 Black Ri"9r to the Albany 31-4 Lake Nepigon to Albany 34-7 Lake Abbitibbe Route 37-8 Lake Nepigon to Lake St. Joseph 38-9 iv CONTENTS. PAaB. Physical Peculiarities and Aspect 39-41 James Bay 41-2 Moose Fact, t 42-4 Climate at M "se and Albany .. 44-5 Mincal Resoi rcfs of J anios Bay and Neighbourhood 45-8 Wild Animala of North-Wcstern Ontario 48-50 Indians nf Jauies Bay . 50-1 Hudson's Bay 51-2 Nelson River Valley Route 52-4 Climate 54-7 Soil and Climate at York and Churchhill 57-9 Navigation of Hudson's Bay 60"1 Hudson's Straits — 61-3 Fisheries, Minerals, and Commerce 63 4 rnKm mm NORTH WESTERN ONTARIO, ITS mmWm, foo«ri(f s nd immmmiim. _ By the award of the Arbitrators, to whom was referred the duty of determin- ing the Northern and Western Boundaries of the Provinee of Ontario,- a vast and magn.ficent territory ha.s been deelare,Uo be within the jurisdiction of the Ontario Government an,l Legislature. Tids tine region eonUins within its limits, timber lands of great value, rieh and varied mineral dep«,it,, rivers and lakes of noble proport,ons,-abounding in fish, and opening ,p remote distriet*. to travel and eommerce,-a„d touches at onee the head waters of the St. Lawrenee naviga- tion and the shores of a great northern sea, the treasures of whieh, when sou.*t with the ardour and appliances of „>odern entcprise, may yield a return not e^en dreamed of by those old explorers and navigators who were most sanguine of it, resources. The possession of such a country necessarily entails upon its rulers some burdens and niany responsibilities. To preserve peace and order, to administer justice, to maintain civil rights, to encourage settlement, to improve existinir means of communication, to promote education, are duties coming, under the law within the functions of Provincial authority. It is therefore important to ascer- tain the advantages likely to accrue to the people of Ontario from the assumption t^IiH^" "' ''"'°"''' ""'S^"™--' '""J«ntal to the possession of this extensive The Boundaries. The question of boundary set at rest by the award, had been the ,ubiect of much laborious investigation.t The Dominion Government contended that the northern boundary o Ontario was the height of land forming the watershed of he St. Lawrence and great lakes, and skirting, at distances varying from fifteen to fifty miles, the northern shores of Lakes Superior andNepigon. The we r^ bounda^t wa. contended, was t^b^^rt^d by a line drawn due norli; 2 NORTH WKSTKllN ONTARIO, from th»> conriuence of the Ohio and Mississij)pi Rivers, and whicli was found to Im; in lon^'itudc. 8!) doj;. Oni. 27 sec. wost. Sucli a lino would liavo intersected Tliunder Hay, divide settlers along a line of country, over 300 miles in extent, may secure com- • Report Public Works. Sess. papers (Canada), 1875. m fi NORTH WESTERN ONTARIO, niuriication by the cheap and ready means afforded by a series of splendid water stretches, varying fromonetoonehundredandtwentymilesinlength.andinterrupted by only eleven portages, eight of which are less than a mile,and two under two miles while only one exceeds three miles in length. The facilities for communication are not however, actually confined to the waters on the line of the Dawson Route South of the Thunder Bay and Shebandowan Road, are the Kaministiquia and Matawin Rivers, both fine and navigable streams,and,along the International Boun- dary line, are Pigeon River, Lake Sageniga and Basswood Lake, connected with Wequaquon Lake, already mentioned as a link in the chain of the Dawson Route i rom the north-east, navigable by boats for 30 miles from its mouth, and for over 1)0 miles for the passage of timber, the Seine empties itself into Rainy Lake at Sturgeon falls, while the Manitou-also a fine river-approaches the .same lake irom a more northerly source. »«4 ' I The Canadian Pacjfic Railway. _ The Canadian Pacific Railway has, meantime, become a most important factor m connection w,th the colonization of the region under consideration. It waa ongmally ...tended that the line, after leaving Fort Willian,, .should deflect ,o the southward, .n o.-der to touch the ,vater route at Sturgeon Falls at the head of a mv.g„ble arm „i Rainy Lake. By the construction of the Lock at Fo.t France, so,ne 200 mes regular co.n.„u..ieation would have been est,tblished between SturgeonFa,sandthec.ossingoft.,eLakooftI,eWoods,ata„y.,potdeter.„i„cdron whence another scct.on of the railway would have been constructed to Red Zer Bu , for eng.„eer.ng .easons. the railway has been carried fa.ther north and now first touches the ..avigable watcs at Port Savanno, situated at the' n rtl^rl extrem.ty of Lao des Millc Lacs, 71 .niles f.-o.„ Thun,ler Bay. IMPIIOVEMENTS OF TUK LakE RoOTE. The best .node by which t.affi. may be n.ab.tained between Lac des Mille m r: tlte H 7T- "" 'r "'^ '"'^''' "' "--"«■'«"" ^'o'- ^ Co!! mutee of the House of Connnons.* At Lae des Mille Lacs, the height of lan.l is reached sepa..at.ng the waters that flow i..to Lake of the Woods f.™., t . , e. fi,.tl.c.r outlet .„ Lake Supe.-io... Fro.n Port Savanne to the head f Rai y Lake, he d.s a..ec .s about 112 ...iies, with (ij ...iles of p„.,a,,i„„. Adopting the sugge., .0.. 0, Mr H.,gh Suthc,.la.,d, Superintendent of Public Wo^ks in h No. th vWtt, T ' ''" ' "■■" ^°'' •'^•■'™""" ™'' '""''^ F"1H to be worked wth hght .. a ...w-guage ca. . d.awn by h„..,ses, the ca.. being .■„„ „„ the ba,.get . Report Se>.o. SU„Ji„, O'-'^^'^^^TZZ^ZZ^Z:'^ ,,„" ~ ITS BOUNDARIES, RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS. and thus transferred with their freight, without breaking bulk or requiring trans- shipment. Mr. Sutherland was of opinion that these works could be executed for a sum of $150,000 in one season, and " that they would lead to the colonization of cultivable tracts along Rainy River, and other ports of the Dawson Route, and also furnish the Province of Manitoba with increased facilities for obtaining lumber at a much cheaper rate than at present." What this would do for the lumberers of Ontario will be noticed further on. To complete the information respecting the accessibility of this portion of the territory it is only needful to add, that the Canadian Pacific Railway is being rapidly completed to English River, US miles west from Thunder Bav, and tha'. the link between Rat Portage and Selkirk on Red River, 23 miles north of Winnipeg, with which it is connected by lailway, is also under construction. The country lying directly west of the North-west Angle of the Lake of the Woods was long since rendered accessible by a good road from the Angle to Fort Garry. Inducements to Settlement. Having noticed the means of access to, and internal communications of the southern portions of the territory it becomes necessary to consider what at- ti ictions it may possess in itself to the settler or speculator. The exhaustive expl(jrations of Canadian Pacific surveyors and their associates have done most towards affording information on this head. Kaministtqttia Valley. Professor Macoun,* in his report to the Dominion Government, after repelling the current opinion that the western shores of Lake Superior are unfit for settle- ment on account of the severity of the climate, and remarking that " the vegeta- tion around Lake Superior is noted for its luxuriance," thus describes the aspect of the country in the vicinity of the Kaministitpiia: — "As the traveller proceeds up the river, roses (Rosa blanda) begin to ai)pear. By the time two miles are passed, black-ash {Fraxinus samhacifolia) shows on the banks, and the undergrowth be- comes almost identical with tliat of the rear of Hastings and Frontenac, on the shore of Lake Ontario. A few miles further, and forms peculiar to a dry soil begin to take the place of those seen further down, while the alluvial flats along the river support a most luxuriant growth of just such pL.ats as Avould be seen on any river bottom in Eastern or Central Canada. Thickets of wild plums (Prunus Americana), three or four different cherries, gooseberries, currants, raspberries and strawberries grow in profusion, interspersed with various species of Viburnum and other caprifolaceous plants. The herbaceous ones were very numerous and luxuriant, and these, itu'luding the wild pea {Latkyrus venofias et ockrocolevcua), and the vetch (Vicia Americana), awamd such tangled thickets that it was almost an impossibility to force our way through them. Wild hops (Hamulus SapuUis), Appendix C to Report Canadian Pacific Railway, 1874. NORTH WESTERN ONTARIO, wlT™.!^"!,""^ ■"• ^"*«''»°'»''«'—P^oKakaboka Falls there ' Tabeka Trr 7!r "": ''^ "'" ''"'"S ^ "^**-'"-'' *«"*"»y- Between Ka- ' nat tt o r; ""^ "' "" '"" ' ''^'^^"=^ «'» -^P-'-- «" °f these being P r M ■"'" """^ ^''=''"'™ °f "'« '"''»'' reservations." Nor is tiSlTalk "™" '' ■™°"""' "' '" '■'"■"""^ °' "'^ ""'■"'^"''"^ "' ""^ K-i"- The Rev. George (now Professor) Grant, in his popular work* says of cl.^ a.rly tert.le and eapable of being easily cleared. The vegetation is varied , wild iru,ts be,ng especially abundant, raspberries, currants, gocseberries and ■ ^matoes ; flowers like the convolvulus, roses, a great profusion of asters, wild ka la.s, water bhes on the ponds, wild chives on the rocks in the strea,ns, and gene- ra ]y a r.ch vegetat.on. It is a good country for emigrants of the farmer class. 1 lie road, too, is ; rst-rate and the market is near. " The Valley of the Kaminis- t,q„,a he goes on to say, " is acknowledged to be a splendid farming country Tunothy grass was growing to the height of four feet on every vacant spot from chance seeds. A bu.shel and a half of bark, , which was all a squatter hL sown was looking as if it could take the prize at an Ontario Exhibition." Thirty years before Proles.,or Grants visit, Sir George Simpson had been equally struck with I the evidences of fertility of this region. He says :_t"The rivor (Kanunistiquia) Tma ft' ? , """"' "'""'«'' '■"'""^ °' «'"'■ »"''' pi™. bi-l>, &c., being ^udded with isles not less fertile and lovely than it« banks; and many spots ret minded us of the rich and quiet scenery of England. The paths of the portages were .spangled with violets, rose.-, and many other wild flowers, while the currant the gooseberry, raspberry, plum, cherry, and even the vine, were abundant. All this bounty of nature was, as it were, imbued with lite by the cheerful notes of a variety of birds. Remembering that the country so enthusiastically described is contiguous to a mineral region of extraordinary richness, that the produce raised m the Valley of the Kaininistiquia can be readily conveyed by water to the whole of the nor h or west shores of Lake Superior, and that the teminus of a trans- continental railway is close at hand with all the local demand that implies, little more need be said as to its attractiveness to the agricultural settler. Valley of the Matawin. Proceeding westward with Professor Macoun, we find him referring in the fyiowing terms to rti^feyrfUieM^^^^^^^^ of the Kaminlstrqujl • Ocean to Ocean, p. 28. t Overland Journey Kouud the World,. 1841-2, Vol. 1, p. 36. ITS BOUNDARIES, RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS. 9 ^ii J >>. At the Matawin. vegetables of every description were growing luxuriantly, but more especially Timothy hay which seems to be peculiarly suited to the recrion round Thunder Bay. Many of the stalks wore four feet in length with heads fully eight inches long. After passing the Matawin the soil changes to a reddish clay, but there is no change in the vegetation. The flora of the region indicates a moist climate, with a sufficiency of warmth to bring seeds in all cases to perfec- tion. When the country becomes cleared up— which will be in a few years— either by accidental fires or by those of the settler, a marked change will take place in the climate. It will become drier and all kinds of grain will ripen much earlier. Coniferous trees, with a thick coating of moss, cover the greater part of the country , when these are gone a new crop of trees will spring up, but they will be deciduous ones, and the country will probably be less moist and warmer." The Height of Land. In the immediate vicinity of Lake Shebandowan there is little land fit for cultivation, but there is some fine land in the valleys and on the slopes in many places at no great distance, especially west of the Kashabowie Portage. There are scattered groups of red and white pine, but the principal forest growth is birch, oak, as[)en, and scrub pine. The height of land is passed, and Lac des Mille Lacs' is reached, surrounded with a continuous forest of spruce, balsam, aspen, and birch, with a sprinkling of red and white pine, and occa»sionally groups of Banksian pine! Baril Lake presents, according to Mr. Macoun, much the same characteristics as Lac de Mille Lacs. A Pine Region. But now the aspect of the country changes. On the shores of Lake Winde- goostegon are large groves of red, white, and Banksian pine, the forest " takin^r the appearance of the pine lands of Ontario."t This continues till Pine Portage is reached, where " red and white pine attain to a great size, many of them being over three feet in diameter." As there are considerable areas of good land in the neigh- bourhood of Pine Portage, it may yet be the scene of a profitable conjunction of the lumbenng and agricultural industries. From Pine Poitage to Rainy Lake, and until the western end of the lake is reached, the country wears a cheerless aspect. Pine ot good quality nea.-ly disappears, but although little of it is fit for the saw- mill vast quantities of railway ties might be produced, and easily shipped to Rat rortage. It will be borne in mind, however, that the foregoing applies only to one strip in a vast area of country, and that on the banks of the Seine and other rivers flowing into Rainy Lake, there is a very large growth of both red and white pine. The whole region, in fact, bounded by Lac «eul and English River on the north and Lake of the Woods on the west, ipay be said to be a pine-growing territory ' j*y * Report Canadian Pacific Railway, Appendix C, 1874. f Professor Macoun's Report. 10 NORTH WESTERN ONTARIO, * Rainy River. We have now reached what, in an economical sense, is the most profitable and important section of the whole region lyin;i; between the height of land west of liake Superior and the Lake of the Woods. Professor Macoun, speaking of his visit to the district, says :f — " The approach to Fort Frances is very beautiful. As we aj)proach the outlet to the lake and enter Rainy River, the right bank appears very much like a gentleman's park, the trees standing far apart and having the rounded tops of those seen in open grouni's. Blue oak (Quercus Prinos var. dis- color), and Balsam Poplar (Populas balmmifera), with a few aspen, are the principal forest trees. These line the bank, and, for two miles after leav- ing the lake, we glide down between walls of living green, until we reach the Fort, which is beautifully situated on the right bank of Rainy River, immediately below the falls. All sorts of grain can be raised here, as well as all kinds of garden vegetables ; little attention is given to agriculture, but enough was seen to show that nature would do hei- part if properly assisted. Barley, throe feet high, and oats over that, sliowed there was nothing in the climate or soil to prevent a luxuriant growth. * * * The length of the river is about eiglity miles. The right, or Canadian, bank, for the whole distance, is covered with a heavy growth of forest trees, shrubs, climbing vines, and beautiful flowers. The Indians say the timber gets larger as you pro- ceed inland. The forest ti-ees consist of oak, elm, ash, birch, basswood! balsam, spruce, aspen, balsam poplar, and white and red pine near the Lake of the Woods. The whole tiora of this region indicates a climate very like that of cen- tral Canada, and the luxuriance of the vegetation shows that the soil is of the very best quality. Wild peas and vetches were in the greatest profusion ; the average height was about six feet, but many specimens were obtained of eight feet and upwards. While the boat was wooding, I took a stroll inland, and found progress -dmost impossible, owing to the astonishing growth of herbaceous plants. The following i)lants were observed on Rainy River, and are only an index to the vast profusion of nature's bounties in that region :—LiIium Canadense, Lilium Philadelphicum, Vicia Americana, Calystegia spitharaea, Calystegia sepium, Aralia hispida. Lobelia Kalmii, Smilaeina stellata, Lathyrus venosus, Lathyrus ochi'olencus, Monarda fistulosa, Viburmnu pubescens. Astragalus Canadensis, Ery.simum chieranthoides, Asarum Canadensis, and Lopaulthus ani.status." Writing of the Rainy Lake region, Sir George Simpson was fully as eulogistic of its merits and beauties as he had been of those of the Kaministiquia valley. His description agrees remarkably with that of Mr. Ma- coun just quoted : Sir George Simpson say.s : ^^ " From Fort Francis downwards, a * More properly Rend River it.s original name. t Report, 187 f. + Overland Journey Round the World. 1841—2, j). 45. ITS BOUNDARIES, RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS. 11 stretch of nearly 100 miles, the river is not interrupted by asingle impediment, while yet the current is not strong enough to retard an ascending traveller. Nor are the banks less favourable to agriculture than the waters themselves to navigation, re- sembling in some measure those of the Thames.near Richmond. From the very brink of the river there rises a gentle slope of green sward, crowned in many places with a plentiful growth of birch, poplar, beech, elm and oak. Is it too much for the eye of philanthropy to discern through the vista of futurity this noble stream, connect- ing as it does, the fertile shores of two spacious lakes, with crowded steamboats on its bosom and populous towns on its borders ?" A few years later, befoi-e a Select Committee of the House of Commons in London, Sir Geoi-ge endeavoured to qua- lify to some extent, his former glowing {panegyric. But he was at that time look- ing on this and some other matters in question, not with " the eye of philanthropy," but through a pair of Hudson's Bay monopoly spectacles, and, under a vigorous cross-examination by Mr. Roebuck, had virtually to admit the correctness'^of his first description, founded as it was on an experience of twenty-seven years.* Tlie rei)ort of Mr. S. J. Dawson— now M. P. for Algoma— in 1871, and then engineer in charge of the district, fully corroborates the views of the two eminent authorities already quoted. He says .— " fAlluvial land of the best description extends along the banks of Rainy River, in an unl.roken stretch of seventy-five or eighty miles from Rainy Lake to the Lake of the Woods. In this tract, where it borders on the river, there is not an acre unsusceptible to cultivation. At intervals there are old park-like, Indian clearings, partly overspread with oak and elm, which, al- though they have naturally sprung up, have the appearance of ornamental plan- tations. * * * The whole disti'ict is covered with forests, and Canadian set- tlers would find themselves in a country siniilar in many respects to the land of their nativity; nor does the climate differ essentially from that of the most fa- voured parts of Ontario or Quebec. Wheat was successfullv grown for many years at Fort Frances, both by the old North- West Company and their successors, the Hudson s Bay Company. The Indians still cultivate maize on little farms on Rainy River and Lake of the Woods. In many places the wild grape grows in extraordinary profusion, yielding fruit whicli comes to perfection in the fall Wild rice, which requires a high suunner temperature, is abundant, and, indeed the flora, taken generally, indicates a climate in every way well adapted to the of cereals." growth Supply of Pjne Timber. ^ A legards the pme-growing capacities of this region, Mr. Dawson saysj .- The Lake of the Woods receives the drainage of an area which may be aHnv.xi- inately estiu.ated at thirty-three thousand six hundred square mile or 21504- t Pubhc Works Report, 1874. Sessional pape,. (Canada), appendix 23. . Pubhc Works (Canada) Report. Appendix 23. Sessional Papers, 1875 12 NORTH WESTERN ONTARIO. 000 acres. In this vast district there are, of course, considerable varieties of cli- mate, soil, and natural productions, but I desire expressly to draw attention to the fact, that it reaches nearly to the northern and north-western limits of the growth of pine wood of the class known, in Ontario and Quebec, as red and white pine ; tliat is, in the region eastward of the great prairies. Within this district, on the streams tributary to Rainy Lake, there are, in many places, extensive groves both of red and white pine, of a size and quality well adapted to all the purposes for which such timber is usually applied. On the alluvial belt of Rainy River white pine of a large size is to be seen interspersed with other de- scriptions of forest trees, and, on the Islands of the Lake of tiie Woods and main land to the north and east, there are occasionally pine groves of moderate extent ; but, on proceeding to the north, by way of the Winnipeg, it gradually becomes more rare, until, on reaching Lake Winnipeg it finally disappears." In the region west of the Lake of the Woods, and thence to the Rocky Mountains, except at one or two isolated spots near the Lake, pine, properly so called, is unknown, and has to be imported by the ever-increasing population of Manitoba and the North- West. Lt.-Col. Dennis, lately Surveyor-General of the Dominion, and now Deputy Minister of the Interior, estimates the quantity of pine to be found be- tween Lake Superior and the Lako of the Woods, — including that on the Islands in the Lake and within the region which may be supposed to be embraced between the International Boundary and the new boundary awarded to Ontario on the north — at twenty-six thousand millions of feet, board measure. All this is destined to be consumed in the Province of Manitoba and the North-West Territories. That it will form no unprofitable trade to the capitalist who embarks in it, may be judged from the fact that timber sells at the present time for from 25 to 45 dollars per thousand at Winnipeg. A cargo lately shipped from CoUingwood, where it cost 10 dollars per thousand, was sold for 30 dollars in the Capital of Manitoba, and realized a good j)rofit after paying all the charges for freight via Duluth and the Red River. From Fort Frances the cost of shipment to Winnipeg would be tri- fling, and, as the Lake of the Woods is too stormy for the transit of logs, the lum- ber must be manufactured in the district where it is found, thus giving a grand impetus to local industry and lake transportation. The foundations of such a trade have been already laid by the allotment, under Dominion authority, of ex- tensive timber limits, and the establishment of a saw mill on a large scale at Fort Frances. A population of some 400 souls has been already attracted to the spot, and it is stated that some persons who had passed via- Rainy River to Manitoba, had returned and taken up land on Rainy River, owing to a preference for a well timbered country over one in which timber was scarce and dear. Alberton. The name of " Alberton " has been given to the settlement, which also re- joices in the possession! of a local newspaper, the Alberton Star, in which appeared, ITS BOUNDARIEa, RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS. 13 during the present year, the following' : — " The lots immediately fronting on the rivei are ten chains in width and have a depth of two miles ; each settlor is al- lowed to homestead one of these lots, and pre-empt the adjoining one, if vacant, also. Ahout fifty entries have been taken here during the past summer, and considerable improvements have and are now being made on these lots. Some very fine crops were harvested by those who took the trouble to sow and plant in this section last season, samples of which may be seen at tbe land office here. To the industrious man, be he farmer, mechanic, or labourer, with a small capital, Rainy River presents an opening second to no other district in the Dominion of Canada — and where in a few years any such man may V)ecome independent. ♦ * * * From Fort Frances to Rat Portage (about 120 miles) we have an excellent water route via Rainy River and the Lake of the Woods. There are upon these waters now one large side-wheel steamer, ' Lady of the Lakes,' and two tugs, with an addition probably of another large tug next season. Those vessels will pass down the whole length of Rainy River on their way out, and must consequently touch upon every man's homestead on the river, thus enabling him to take his produce to any market he pleases. In the meantime he may obtain a good price for anything he wishes to dispose of at Fort Frances or Rat Portage. At the former place there are now'about sixty houses and 400 inhabi- tants—all necessary conveniences, four stores, post-office, school, blacksmith shop and church— and these have all arisen within three years. We have also Mr. Fowler's large saw mill, where you may get your lumber plain or dressed, doors, sashes, laths, shingles, etc. Mr. Fowler is further making arrangements for the importation of a grist mill, to run in connection with his saw mill, on the opening of naviy the following, clipped from the Star of Octobei- 29tli :— " One of the settlers from the Minnesota side of Rainy River sliipped a cargo of .SOO bushels of potatoes to Rat Portage a short time ago, which he got sale for, as soon as landed, at ])rices ranging from seventy- five cents to one dollar per bushel. The same party has started v^ritli the second lot, which he has already dispensed of, on his arrival at the Portage, to the rail- road people." Fort Frances Lock. The works at Fort Frances consist of a canal 800 feet in length, cut through the solid rock, about forty feet wide, with one lift of 24 feet 8 inches. The chamber of the lock is 200 feet long and 38 feet wide in the clear. The lowest depth of water on the sills will be 5 feet G inches, but it is rarely if ever known to be so low as that, and Is ordinaril}^ from 8 to 10 feet. The cost of the works to the Dominion Government has been §>250,000. The Indians. The relations of the Government and white population of the territory to the Indian tribes must, necessarily, be an object of considerable interest and importance. The Indians of the countiy lying between Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods are Saulteux of the Ojil)way nation. They derive their name from Sault Ste. Marie, from the neighbourhood of which they originally immigrated. In the southern division of the new territory they probably do not number over from 3,o00 to 4,000 souls, nearly one-half of whom are settled in the vicinity of the Lake of the Woods and Rainy River. Number Three Lreaty. These Indians, as well as some of the same tribe, settled on Lac Seul, are those embraced in what is known as Treaty Number 3, negotiated at tho North- West Angle of the Lake of the Woods, in 1873, by Lieut.-Governor Morris, with ITS noUNDARIEH, lUSOUHCES AND COMMUNK'ATIONS. U MessFH. S. J. Dawson and J. A. N. Provoncher an joint Commissioners. This treaty settled any troubles or difticulties that had arisen out of the encroachments of Canadian settlers or surveyors on what the Saulteux had regarded as their lands. The n'.'f];otiatioTis aHorded, too, a very excellent opportunity for testing the intelligence and genjaal character of the tribe as there represented. Archbishop Tiiclid, in his work,* deplores the persistency with which the Sa\ilteux cling to their pagan faith, and the habits and customs incidental to their unconverted condition. But although so hostile to christianizing intiuences, the Sault^'ux of this region are not deficient in many of the (pialities that com' Mid respect. They are brave, high-spirited, and among themselves, very capable of self-govern- ment. The bands at Rainy River and Lake of the Woods meet frecpiently in Council, discuss theii- attairs very intelligently, and enforce sternly the rules and regulations considered necessary for the common welfare. While mostly retaining the primitive wigwam, and piactising pagan rites, they are far more thrifty, prudent, and industrious, than many of their race. In addition to the products of the shore, the lakes yield them an unlimit(Hl supply of fish, principally white fish and sturgeon— the extensive marshes produce immense quantities of wild rice, which the Indians collect on a systematic plan en- joined by their self-imposed laws, and the same plant attracts vast numbers of wild ducks of every description which divide with the Indians the collection and consumption of the rice, with, however, this advantage on the side of the Indian, that, while the ducks can only eat the rice, the Indian, in addition to the ri-e, can also eat the ducks. When first visited by missionaries, these In- dians were already cultivating maize, which they still raise on their clearings, a proof, at once, of their partial civilization, and the favourable nature of the soil and climate of the district. The main body of the Saulteux refuse to hold com- munication with the small band at Pigeon River, whom they regard as an inferior class, and look with supreme contempt on the little settlement at Islington, where, under missionary guidance, a christianized population, fifty or more in number, have made good progress in the arts of civilized life, especially agricul- ture. The Saulteux are keen at bargains, and managed to make a very good one under the Treaty of 1873. Lieut.-Governor Morris gives an amusing account of the negotiations.f For four days they held aloof from meeting the commissioners altoo-ether. On the fifth, they attended in response to a peremptory summons. It then appeared that jealousies among themselves were the chief cause of delay, and that, so fearful were they lest one chief or band should obtain an undue ad- vantage over others by privately communicating with the (yommissioners, that they had set a guard over the Lieut.-Governor's house and Mr. Dawson's tent. Several days were consumed in listening to and refusing exorbitant demands, until mat- * Sketch of the North-West of America, p. 120. t Sessional Papers (C!anada) 1875. No. 8, p. l.'i. nTTLK^CXi-i^ vr.Uiff 16 NORTH WESTERN ONTARIO. tcrH at last came to a dead lock, anct tlio Coiiiinissioners declared tl.ey would leave unless the Indinns came to terms. " This," says the narrator, " brought matters tf) a crisis. The chief of the Lac Seul band came forward to speak. Tiu; others tried to prevent him, but he was secured a hearint,'. He stated tluit he represen- ted four hundred peo|)le in the nnrth ; that tliey wished a treaty ; that they wanted a schoolmaster to be sent them to teach their chihh-en the krjowledge of th>f North-western Ontario have not made exceedingly good progress in the manners and customs of their white exemplars. Terms of the Treaty. The Treaty provides for the cession of all the lands within the following boundaries:* — " Commencing at a point on the Pigeon River route where the International Boundary Line between the territories of Great Britain and the United States intersects the height of land Sbj)aratlng the waters running to Lake Superior from those flowing to Lake Winnipeg ; tlumce northerly, westerly, and easterly, along the height of land aforesaid, following its 'sinuosities whatever their course may be, to the point at which the said height of land meets the sum- mit of the watershed from whence the streams flow to Lake Nepigon, thence northerly and westerly, or whatever may be its course, along the ridge se^.ijiraung the waters of the Nepigon and the Winnipeg to the height of land dividing the waters of the Albany and the Winni[)eg ; thence westerly and north-westerly, along the height of land dividing the waters flowing to Hudson's Bay by the Albany or other rivers, from those running to English^River and the Winnipeg, to a point on the said height of Imd bearing north forty-five degrees east from Fort Alexander at the mouth of the Wnnipeg; thence south forty-five degrees west to Fort Alexander at the moijth of the Winnipeg; thence southerly alono- the eastern bank of the Winnipeg to the mouth of the Wliite Mouth River ; thence .southerly by the line described as in that part forming the eastern boundary of * Sessional Papers (Canada), 187r), No. 8, p. 19. ti ITS BOUNDAllIKS, RESOURCKS AND COMMUNICATIONS. 17 »> the tract Hurrenclerod by the Chippawa and Swampy Creo Tribes of Indians, to Her Majesty, on the 3r Woods, and from thence by the International Bour.,kry line to the place of beginning." A reference to the maj)* will show that this Treaty, conseciuently, covers throe fourths of thnt portion of Ontario we have been describing as the western division of the territory emoraced by tlio late arbitration. It extends, liowover, consideralHy beyond the boundarii^s of Ontario as assigned by the award, probably a little over one-third of the whole being north of the wateis of Lac Seul and English River or west of the Lake of the Woods. The area, by the cession of which Ontario is directly benefited, is bounded by Lac Seul an.'),0()0 s(iuarc mile3,f and of this we may rightly estimate 35,000 as coming within Ontario jurisdiction. From this have to be taken the Indian Reserves, the allotments of lands for that purpose not to exceed one square mile for each family of five persons. The right of hunting is to be continued to the Indians, subject to such regulations as may be prescribed by law, or to the limitations imposed by settlement. Subsidies and Presents. The payments, in money or kind, made by way of purchase or presents, once for all, in return for the cession, were as follows : — jTwelve dollars per head for every man, woman, or child belonging to the lands there represented ; for every band who were then cultivating, or should hereafter cultivate, the soil, two hoes for every family actually cultivating; also one spade per family as aforesaid ; one plough for every family as aforesaid ; one scythe for every family as aforesaid ; and also one axe and one cross-cut saw, and .handsaw, one pit saw, the necessary files, one crrindstone, one augur for each band ; and also for each chief, for the use of his band, one chest of carpenters' tools ; also for each band, enough of wheat, barley, potatoes, and oats, to plant the land actually broken up for cultivation by each band ; also for each band, one yoke of oxen, one bull, and four cows. In ad- dition to these gratuities, the sum of fifteen hundred dollars is to be spent annu- * Map of North-west Territory, (4c. , exhibiting tracts ceded by Indian Treaties, accompanying Keport of Minister of Interior, 1876. t Lieutenant-Governor Morris's Report, Sessional Papers (Canada), 1875, No. 8, p. 18. t Seas. Papers (Canada), 1875, No. 8, p. 20-21. 2 I 18 NORTH WESTERN ONTARIO. ally in the purchase of ammunition and nets for the Indians ; a sum of five dollars per head is to be paid to each Indian also annually ; each duly recognized chief is to receive a salary of twenty-five dollars per annum, and each subordinate officer — not exceeding three for each band— fifteen dollars per annum. Each chief and subordinate officer is also to be provided with a suit of clothing once in every three years. Finally, in recognition of the closing of the treaty, each chief received a flag and medal. Schools for instruction were also to be established wherever the Indians desired it, and all intoxicating liquors were to be excluded from the re- serves * In connection with the granting of the medals, an incident occurred during the conference, certainly creditable to the astuteness of the Saulteux, if not to their knowledge of the precious metals. Mnwedopinias, the chief who acted as principal spokesman, who had obtained a medal given to one of the Red River chiefs, declared it was not silver, as it turned black, and, contemptuously striking it with his knife, protested he and his friends would he ashamed to wear it. • » Progress in Civilization. In the report of the Minister of the Interior for 1877 the following passage occurs : f— " The Indians who reside about eighty miles west of Rat Portage, within the limits of Treaty No. 3, are represented to be making satisftxctory ad- vancement in the arts of civilization, and stock-raising to some extent is ven- tured on; and altogether a commendable spirit of enterprise has developed itself among them. At Lac Seul, also, the progress of the Indians is said to be quite marked." The Indians west of Rat Portage are, of course, beyond the Ontario western boundary. Numbers Included in Treaty No. 3. The accounts of the Indian Department for 1877 show that the Indians receiving annuities under Treaty No. 3 numbered 2,890, classified as follows :— 9 Chiefs, 26 Headmen, 2,855 Indians. The annuities paid in 1877 amounted to $14,890 ; the total sum placed to the credit of the bands being ^17,440. The tribe in this region counted not many years since 20,000 souls. Small-pox has reduced them to their present numbers. Geological Features. The reports of the Crown Lands Department of Ontraio refer to the numer- ous mining locations granted within the area bounded on the west and north of Lake Superior by the height of land, and the whole of the interior region west of Lake Superior has been the subject of geological surveys, very full accounts of which have appeared in the reports of the Geological Branch of the Depart- ♦ Lt.-Gov. Morris' report, Sess. Papers (Canada), 1875, No. 8. p. 17. 4. Sessional Papers (Canada) 1875. No. 10. Report Deputy-Superintendent General, p. 16. 1 ITS BOUNDARIES, RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS. 19 • » ment of the Interior * That the geological conditions are indicative of valuable mineral deposits, there can be no doubt. A band of rocks running south- west from Lake Shebandowan — in the neighbourhood of which gold has been found in considerable quantities — to the Intemaional Boundary, and then^T to Lake Vermillion in Minnesota, is rich in auriferous deposits. Around Jac^.tish Lake they are probably most marked, but specimens of gold and gold ore are found along the whole line of country above indicated. The entire region, also, of the Rainy River invites further explorations. Mr. Dawson in his report (1874)f says : — " The Indians, both of Rainy Lake and Lake of the Woods have among them specimens of native gold and silver ore, which they affirm is to be found in places known to them in abundance, and the rock formation is such as to corroborate their statement. Iron ore is plentiful in many sections, and charcoal for smelting easily obtainable. Granite, which report says is equal in texture and fitness to the best imported specimens, is to be found at the Lake of the Woods, and the steatite, of which the Indians make pipes, a very valuable article for the construction of furnaces, is quite abundant at Rainy Lake and Sabaskin." It was stated in evidence before the Committee on Immi- gration and Colonization, at Ottawa, last year,j that coal had been discovered in the vicinity of Rainy River. There does not appear to be any reason, on scientific grounds, for doubting the existence of coal in that region, but its quality or the extent of the deposits, if they exist, are subjects for further inquiry before much reliance can be placed on the value of the alleged discovery. The mineral resources of the district intervening between the height of land and Lake of the Woods must be mainly predicated upon the investigations of the geolo- gist, and the information he supplies. Professor Robert Bell in a series of notes on the o-eoloirical formation of the country on the line of the Dawson route, writes as fol- too *^ lows:§— " Laurentian gneiss.running in awest south- westerly direction, extends from a point on the south shore of Lac des Mille Lacs, about four miles east of Baril Port- age, all flong the chain of lakes which this route follows as far as Sturgeon Lake. Mica Schist bigins near the inlet of Sturgeon Lake, and continues along the route as far as Cross Lake. The Maligne and Island Portages occur in this interval. The Mica Schist apppars to be all of the same character. It is moderately coarse- grained, and has a white shining appearance with black specks on fresh fracture, and often holds small hard patches of pebbles of a granular quartzose character like sandstone. At Cross Lake the Mica Schist becomes much mixed with reddish granite in the form of veins and intruded masses, the proportion of granite increas- ing in approaching Nequaquon Portage, at the western extremity of the Lake. In the western part of Cross Lake nearly all the points and islands are formed of I ♦ Reports Geological Surveys (Canada), 1872-3, 1873-4, by Professor Bell, t Public Works Report, 1875, "Appendix 23. t Report of Committee, page 139. § Geological Survey, 1873-4. p. 87. 10 NORTH WESTERN ONTARIO. granite At Nequaquon Portage the rock consists of a dark grey mica schist, in- terstratified with gneiss, the latter prevailing towards the west end of the Por- tage where it has entirely replaced the former. * * * The rocks along the route from Nequaquon Portage towards Kettle Falls consist partly of gneiss and partly of a dark coarse splintery shining mica schist, to a point on Nemakon Lake, about six miles west of the narrows by which we entered it. Along the east side of Nequaquon Lake, and approaching the main body of gneiss in the western part of Nemakon Lake, the gneiss and mica schist are interstratified with each other, while between the two latter the rock consists of mica schist alone, with some veins and masses of granite. Proceeding westward fv .m Kettle Falls through Rainy Lake, gneiss continues to prevail for about t onty miles. The <.nei8s at that locality holds micaceous bands and intruded waves of coarse red^ dish.grev granite. A broad band of schist covers the central part of lUiny Lake. This appears to be the same band which follows tne Seme River, and is probably identical with the one which covers Bunh Creek. The Indians at Fort Frances manufacture pipes from a grey .slate, which occur., on the long point between the mouths of the Manitou and Seine Rivers. Mr. Robert Pither, the Indian Agent at Fort Frances; showed me specimens of light coloured granular iron pyrites, which, he informed me, were taken from a thick band in the same locality as the pipe-stone. I was shown a specimen of coarse silvery quartzose mica schist, which is said to occur, in siU. in the above neighhonrhood. Mr. Pither likewise exhibited me a sample of copper pyrites in quart, from a vein on Rainy Lake, but he was not certain of the exact locality at which it occurs. He conftnns the accounts of Mr. Dawson and others as to the occunence of Huroman schists along the Seine River. The rock at the Falls of the Rainy River is a massive grey granitoid gneiss. Gneiss is also seen on the nver about a mile be- l„w Fort Frances, and again at about ten miles. An expanse of massive-looking rocks, apparently Huronian schists, occurs at the mouth of Rapid K-er, which joins Rainy River from the southward, about fifteen >"''- f "f f""*;' 'J^ Woods. The banks of Rainy River, except on approaching the Lake of the Woods are generally from fifteen to twenty feet high, and are composed of clay and drifr materials, in which pebbles and boulders of a yellowish-grey limes one are pbntifnl. There is reason to believe, however, that, under "'- -F'*-' ^O" po.,it«. a broad band of Huronian rocks covers the lower section of the rive. Th information thus afforded, while not absolutely conclusive, is so far >" -a -« „f mineral deposits of greater or less richness in the region we have been desc, ibing, : s Sthe pvopriety of a careful exploration, with the special object o as- Tertainii: more thoroughly the value of the district '- ™S JP^ ^ ^[^^ an abundance of splendid fanning land, extensive pine f^-' ' ™<»^^^; ^^ ™^ open to a market of which the demand will be unlimited, ^e-™ '^ '— '^ by the Dawson route should develop the mineral resources indicated by il«geolo J. A 4 ITS BOUNDARIES, RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS. 21 ), A gical formation, it will prove a rich acquisition both to the commerce of Ontario and the revenue of the Government. Lac des Mille Lacs (via Lac Seul) to Winnipeg River. While the exigencies of travel, and the need felt for a highway through Cana- dian territory to the North -West, have done much to further a knowledge of the fea- tures of the southern portion of the country we are describing, scientific explora- tions have been made along its northern limits by the officers of the Geological Sur- vey. Starting from Lac des Mille Lacs. Messrs. Selwyn and Bell, in 1872, travelled by canoe the whole distance of 4G1 miles, to the Winnipeg River, encountering no more serious obstacles than portages, which were easily crossed, or the danger of beina lost in the labyrinthine system of lakes, streams, and rivers, with which the whole route is more or less intersected.* A very brief sketch of the journey condensed from the published reports, will give a fair idea of the nature of the country visited. Leaving Lac des Mille Lacs on the 29th of August, the party, on the 10th September, were camped on Sturgeon Lake, having passed over twenty- five portages, altogether 9,836 yards in length, in a distance of 100 miles. Being deserted by their Indians, the travellers fortunately recruited their force by the voluntary services of half a dozen Pacific Railway surveyors' men, who were met with on the way, and who desired to return to their homes on Red River. On the IGth of September the camp was on the line of the Railway Survey , from which point the Sturgeon Lake River was descended about ten miles, to the heaa of the second rapids in the portage, 210 yards in length. A journey of four miles further, brought them to the falls by which Sturgeon Lake River discharges into Lake Minnietaki, there being in that distance three portages, respectively 1,500, 250 and 1,280 vards in length. The water, however, was then at its lowest stage ; when the river is full the rapids may be descended in a canoe. It is between Minnietaki Lake and Lac Seul that the route becomes most intricate, and, but for the fortunate appearance of a wandering Indian, who acted as pilot, the jour- ney might have had a premature ending. One portage, 1,758 yards in length, being crossed the cn-oes entered a small river flowing directly into Lac Seul, and on the 20th September, the Hudson's Bay Company's Post on that lake was reached, 81 miles from the camp on Sturgeon Lake, the trip in that distance involving portages, thirteen in number, and aggregating 7,848 yards in length. The Hud- son's Bay Post, on Lac Seul, appears from the maps to be situated about midway between the eastern and western extremities of the lake. Some idea of the extent of this sheet of water may be formed from the fact that, from the post to the head of the English River, at the western end of the lake, the distance is 52 miles. The passage down the English River to its junction with the Winnipeg, was accom- * Geological Survey, 1872-3, p. 87. 22 NORTH WESTERN ONTARIO. plished by the 2nd of October, the portages to be crossed being twelve in number^ and measuring altogether 5,535 yards. As to the general aspect of the country, Professor Selwyn, after urging the importance of a mineralogical survey| of "the great parallel bands of schistose and slaty strata traversing this region," and pointing out that gold' copper, and iron, are associated witli similarj strata, says :— * " Except such as arises from causes connected with the presence of Huronian rocks, as above described, or with the occurrence of superficial deposits of sand clay, Sua., but little variation is perceived in the general aspect of the country, on the route which we traversed, between Lac des Mille Lacs and Lake Winnipeg. On the main- land, and on the innumerable islands, the shores of the lakes and rivers, generally present bare rock surfaces. Bold cliffs and precipices are rare ; the rocks either rise abruptly from the water for fifteen or twenty feet, or else slope gently up- ward, till, above the line of highest flood, they are concealed beneath a thin coat- ing of moss-covered soil, supporting a thick undergrowth of brushwood, and a forest of poplar, aspen, birch, spruce, and small tamarack, with, occasionally, a few red pine trees, standing singly or > small clumps, and which, though considerably taller than the rest of the forest, and hence conspicuous at a distance, are rarely of large size. The generally small size of the timber, however, is evi- dently not altogether due to the eff'ects of unfavourable soil and climate, but in a gi-eat measure to the fact that nearly all the older trees have been destroyed by the successive fires that at one time or other have devastaed every part of the country, and the efl'ects of which are often conspicuously marked by the tall dead branches and charred trunks which still tower above the younger forest. There are no prominent hills or even ridges ; the highest elevations do not probably exceed four or five hundred feet above the intervening waters, and I think it is no exaggera- tion to say that the latter occupy fully one half of the whole surface area of the region. The surface is generally undulating and broken, and often rocky, but occa- sionally both lakes and rivers are bordered either by extensive swampy flats, or by banks of stratified sand, silt, and clay, which ofter rise terrace-like at a short dis- tance from the water's edge. The point on which the Hudson Bay Company's Post stands is formed of these deposits, and to the westward of the Post, along the north shore, they are exposed in cliff sections for several miles. At the junction of the Mattawa and English Rivers, where a small Indian village and trading post is situated, presided over by Chief Pierre, there are similar banks of sand and sandy clay resting on the ordinary gi-ey Laurentian gneiss, which is exposed along the water's edge. The ])anks here rise steeply to about thirty feet above the water, and for some distance inland the country seems to be tolerably level, and the soil on this part of the river appea/s to be generally of fair quality. Small patches of it are cultivated by the Indians, who succeed in raising excellent r',1 * Geological Survey, 1872-3, p. 16. ITS BOUNDARIES, RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS. 23 potatos, carrots, and onions, and there is no doubt that many crops would flourish equaUy well, and would be cultivated by them if they were supplied with seed. Throughout the region, especially from Sturgeon Lake westward to Lake Winni- peg, there are considerable areas of soil suitable for cultivation. The Line of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Following the course of the Canadian Pacific Railway, as located and partially constructed between Fort William and Rat Portage, on the Lake of the Woods, we gather a fair idea of the character of the country from the reports of the engineers.* From Fort William to Lacs des Mille Lacs the route has already been described. From thence to the arm of English River, crossed by the railway 113 miles from Thunder Bay the ground is slightly undulating, and although there are several rock cuttings they are generally in short lengths. Still their frequent presence denotes a rugged and uninviting surface. From the 113th to the 160th mile, where little Wabigoon River is reached, the country is rolling, containing nume- rous lakes and swamps with very inegular rocky ridges. From Little Wabigoon to Thunder Lake, the latter 206 miles west from Thunder Bay, the country is very slightly undulating, but where excavations occur they will be in rock. For the next 58 miles the line traverses a heavy rolling country with numerous lakes, swamps and rocky hills and some good land interspersed. Lastly, from the 264th mile to the 298th at Rat Portage, the section is over a very rough rocky country, in- dented with numerous lakes and hollows and containing very little soil. It is evident that the route for the railway has thus far been chosen with an eye mainly to engineering purposes and objects, and, probably, to secure as the primary deside- ratum the most direct line to the Red River, but uninviting as the section it covers may appear from these descriptions, it must not be forgotten that the very fact of a railway passing through it gives value to what would otherwise be a waste, and justifies an expenditure of labour and capital in places, that without it, would never entice either to attempt their reclamation. Should mineral wealth be developed on the line of the railway route, as there is good reason to anti- cipate, it will not be long before whatever portions of the country can be made cultivable will be discovered and appropriated. The Climate. The ability, not only to live, but to enjoy life, in an atmosphere that, to the inhabitants of warm or very temperate regions appears to be almost incredibly severe, is tested every day for several months in the year by the hardy popula- tion of Canada. A very low temperature has few terrors, and is often attendea with less actual suff-ering, or inconvenience, than the raw, damp, chilliness of a I • Canadian Pacific Railway Report, 1877. Appendix Z, p. 357 et aeq. 24 NORTH WESTERN ONTARIO, milder climate. By no one need the western portion of North -Western On- tario be really dreaded. Mr. Sandford Fleming, in his Report of Progress, laid before Parliament in 1874, referring to the climatic peculiarities of the regions traversed by the Canadian Pacific Railway, says :— * " Throughout the whole of the woodland region (Nipissing to Red River), the depth of snow is generally less on an average than it is at the City of Ottawa. Only in one locality on the routes favourable for the railway, between Manitoba and l.ake N ipissing, is the snow found generally so deep as at this city (Ottawa). The locality referred to is in the immediate neighbourhood of Lake Superior, where the route approaches the coast ; here the lake appears to have a local influence on the humidity of the atmosphere, and, in consequence, on the amount of snow-fall. * * * From Lake Nepigon to Manitoba the snow ranges from 70 to less than 50 per cent, of the depth at Ottawa." A witness examined by the Committee on Colonization and Immigration, at Ottawa, in reply to a question respecting the climate of the Rainy River region, replied that it was " similar to Manitoba." f This statement would probably apply to the larger portion of the country the character of which we are now considering. The intensity of cold will, of course, vary ac- cording to the elevation or sheltered position of different localities. The Hon. Senator Sutherland, of Manitoba, before the above-named committee, in 1876 said, with regard to the winters in that Province :—i " The frost penetrates on exposed places to the depth of from three to four feet, that is where the land is not covered at all with snow. Where it is covered with snow it is seldom frozen deeper than eighteen inches. Vegetation begins and progresses before the frost is all out of the ground, and we generally begin sowing when it is thawed to the depth of six inches, at which time the surface is perfectly dry. We believe this frost helps the growth of crops, owing to the heat of the sun by day, causing a continual evaporation from the underlying strata of frost. * * * We have occasional (summer) frosts ; generally one frost about the first of June, but seldom severe enough to do any material injury to the growing crops, and showers are frequent during spring and summer. The average depth of snow throughout Manitoba is about 20 inches, and is quite light and loose." That the winter does not, in the region between Lake Superior and Lake of the Woods, encroach to an incon- venient extent upon the open season, is incidentally shown by a circumstance alluded to by Mr. Dawson, in his report to the Government of the Dominion, in 1874.§ At the close of the season of 1873, orders were suddenly received to pre- pare for the transportation of a body of the Mounted Police over the Dawson route. By the time the force had reached the north-west angle, winter had set in with o-reat severity, and the result was, that a large force of workmen, em- * Report Canadian Pacific Railway, 1874, p. 34 et seq. t.Report, p. 169. Journals House of Oommona (Canada), 1878. X Report of Committee, p. 39, Journals House of Commons (Canada), 1876. § Public Works Report, 1874. Appendix 23. Sess. Papers (Canada), 1875. ITS BOUNDARIES, RESOUECES AND COMMUNICATIONS. 25 ,.^j ployed in the transportation service, were winter bound. It is m making this statement Mr.Dawson incidentally mentions that the smaller lakes near the height of land we-e frozen over on the night of the 28th October, and that, although every effort was made to keep the navigation [open, the thermometer fell on the nicht of the 2nd November, to 6" (Fahrenheit), completely stopping the tugs " But," he adds, " winter had set in earlier than ever before known in the short experience of the white man, or even in the knowledge of the Indians." In the report of the same gentleman to the Legislative Assembly of Canada, in 1858, he says :* Blodget, in his isothermic chart, shewing the mean distribution of heat for the summer, places the line of 60° to the north of the Lake of the Woods, and that of 65° at Fort Garry. * * * That a great precipitation of rain takes place at and near the highlands which separate the waters flowing to Lake Winnipeg, from those that run towards Lake Superior, is evinced by the magnitude of the rivers, as compared with the area they drain. The climate, however, seems to be milder on the western slope of the highlands than on the eastern." The follow- ing record, by Sir John Richardson, of the progress of the seasons at Fort William, will give some idea of the climatic conditions on the more favourably situated western slope of the height of land above referred to if— -Thermometer at noon, 39° F. -Temperature, 61° in the middle of the day. -The sap of the sugar maple began to run. -First wild ducks seen. -Butterflies, blueflies, and gulls noticed. -General thaw commences. Ground frozen to a depth of 3 ft. 9 in. -River Kaministiquia partially open. • -River free of ice. -The birch tree and maple budding. -Swallows building. -Barley just coming into ear. Potatoes in flower. -Raspberries ripening. -Red currants and blueberries perfectly ripe. -Barley rii)ening. -Peas quite ripe. -Swallows have disappeared. -Leaves of birch and aspen change colour. -Potatoes, cabbage, turnips and cauliflowers nipped by frost. -Leaves of the birch and aspen falling. -Small lakes frozen over. Feb. 9.- March 1.- April 2.- (1 9.- « 10.- (1 20.- K 30.- May 2.- « 10.- June 15. July 15. (( 31. Aug. 8. (( 19. i( 29. <( 31. Septr 7. « 13. October 7. Nov. 3 * Journals Leg. Assembly, Canada, 1858. Appendix 36. t Arctic Exploring Expedition, Vol. II., p. 227-8. 26 NORTH WESTERN ONTARIO, jJqv. 9. — River covered with a sheet of ice, which broke up again. Dec'ber 1. — Ice driving about by wind. " 17. — Thunder Bay frozen across to the Welcome Islands.* Another authority states that the average period of the Kaministiquia freez- ing over is from the 3rd to the 15th of November, and that it becomes free from ice between the 20th and 23id of April. Bearing in mind the tendency to an ameli- oration of the climate in pursuing a westerly course, and the comparison instituted between the Rainy River region and Manitoba, there certainly are no climatic difficulties in the way of the colonization of the country lying between Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods. EA.STERN DIVISION. Lake Superior to James Bay. The possession of the territory lying north of the height of land and ex- tending to the shores of Hudson's Bay opens up an entirely new field to energy and enterprise. The southern shore of the Bay, which forms under the late award the northern limits of Ontario jurisdiction, is but little further from Toronto than the City of Quebec ; a railway from the present termination of our northern lines to Moose Factory need be accounted a no more chimerical scheme than would the proposition have been considered to connect Toronto with the ancient capital of the Lower Province by a similar means fifty years ago ; and the terrors of frost and snow that, somehow or other, are associated in men's minda with the Hudson's Bay region, are certainly not more appalling than were the stories of hardship and suffering supposed, as but yesterday, to attach to a settlement in what is now the populous and busy capital of Manitoba. The broad rivers that flow northward and eastward into James or Hudson's Bay, seem to invite the voyager by the facilities they offer for his journey to the great northern sea or inland lake whose coasts he may desire to explore, and the head waters of our St. Lawrence or lake navigation, approach near enough to make the journey one of comparative ease to men inured to the experiences of Canadian pioneer life. These rivers could all tell a tale of strange doings in past times to which their waters have been witness ; when Hudson's Bay Company's retainers contended for the rights secured to them under their monopoly ; when their traders were intercepted by rivals by whom, and towards whom, rough measures were by no means repudiated ; when the " French from Canada," outbid the Company's factors for the Indians' hunting spoils, and bore them away hundreds of leagues overland instead of leaving them to find their way by the annual ship from York Factory to Europe. To-day, when all strifes and hostile competition are at an end, the In- ^^ Jouraals Leg. Assembly (Canada), 1858, Appendix 3. ITS BOUNDARIES, RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS. 27 ^■ di^ns and trappers still bear their skins by the York, the Albany, or the Moose, to the respective Forts, and it is but some thirty years since a force of British troops, with ordnance, and accompanied by women and children, made a safe pas- sage, by the Hayes river, from York Facory to Norway House, and thence bj Lake Winnipeg and the Red River to Fort Garry, reaching their destination in thirty days. The country constituting what we shall call the western half of North Western Ontario, will be bounded by an imaginary line drawn north-west from the point at which the height of land, north of Lake Nepigon dips to the southward, to the head of Lake St. Joseph, the source of the Albany river. Thence easterly along that river to its mouth, thence east along the south shore of James Baj, nearly to its south east angle, then south along the boundary line between Ontario and Quebec, and finally westward along the height of land on the north of Lake Superior and Lake Nepigon, until the starting point is reached. But in order to estimate properly the value of the posses- sion of this region, it will be necessary to take into consideration the trade and resources of the country lying north of the Albany, its connections with the trade of the North-west and also the promise of advantages accruing from a traffic in the products of Hudson's Bay itself. We shall first notice, however, the means and routes by which the Bay is accessible from the settled portions of Ontario or other parts of the Dominion. Routes to Hudson's Bay. Several large rivers ilow into James Bay, which is simply a contraction of Hudson's Bay at its southern extremity. From the south come the South Branch of the Moose, or the Mattagami, as it is called in the country, the Missinibi or North Branch of the Moose,— both streams uniting before dis- charging themselves into the Bay,— the Abbitibbe River coming from the south-east, which also joins the Moose and seeks its outlet at the same point ; the Albany from the south-west, which enters the Bay about one hundred miles west of the Moose ; the Harricanaw, which crosses the provincial boundary line some distance south of the Bay from the east ; the Notaway and Rupert's River which are wholly to the eastward of that boundary, and enter the Bay at points on its south-eastern shore corresponding very nearly to the position of the mouths of the Moose and Attinibee on its south-western coast ; and, further north still, the East Main or Slude River entering the Bay at a point nearly opposite the mouth of the Albany. Following the western shore of Hudson's Bay to the north- ward we first come to the Severn River, and then still further north to the Nelson and its southern Branch the Hayes River, at the mouth of which York Factory is situated. The Nelson river forms the channel b> which the drainage of the whole region of the Lake of the Woods, fed by innumerable rivers and streams, of Lake Winnipeg which receives the>aters of the^Lake jof thejWoods, of the 28 NORTH WESTEW ONTARIO, Winnipeg, Red, and Assiniboine rivers, and of the mighty Saskatchewan with it« confluents, find their way to the ocean. North of the Nelson is tlie Churchill, a large river, and still further to the north the Seal River. It is in the rivers of the south and west we are primarily interested in connection with our present inqui- ries. Recent explorations made under the direction of the Dominion Government have afforded very ample information as to the routes to James Bay through what is now, under the award, Ontario territory, from the south and south-west. A brief description of each survey will present a tolei'ably clear view of the general character of the country and the routes traversed. Lake Hliuon to Muose Factory. Setting out from the north shore of Lake Huron by way of the White-fish River, the Wanapiti River and Lake. Professor Bell, in 180.5,* passed, by way of the Sturgeon River — which flows into Lake Nipissing and must not be confounded with a river of the same name west of Lake Superior, — through a succession of lakes to the head of the east branch of the Montreal River, a tributary of the Ottawa ; thence via Pigeon Lake to Grassy River, the waters of which flow north- wards to Lake Shatagami. From this lake, by a six mile portage. Lake Matta- gami was reached, and a passage down the Mattagami to the south Branch of the Moose or Mattagami River effected. The river was surveyed to its junc- tion with the north branch of the Moose or Missinibi. The party then passed down the main stream to Moose Factory a short distance south of the mouth of the river and open bay. Mattagami Lake, which gives the river its name, and which, if not the source, may be regarded as one of its sources, is about 26 miles in length. For five or six miles the river, after leaving the lake, flows smoothly but then takes a plunge, first by a fall, and then a rapid, thus accomplishing a descent of forty-five feet. This impediment to navigation is overcome by a portage known as Fishing Portage, a mile in length, on the west side of the river. At a distance of a mile and a half from Fishing Portage the river enters Kenogamissee Lake, twenty-two miles in length. The united length of the two lakes and intervening river supplies a navigation of some fifty-four miles with one portage a mile long as the sole interruption. From the foot of Kenogamisse Lake to Moose Factory is a distance of 21G| miles, divided as follows : — From Kenogamissee Lake to a (first) brook at a S. E. bend aboutN. E 12 miles. To second brook at a N. E. bend about N 8 To a third brook to a S.W. bend about W 5 To Muckwa Powitik (Bear Rapid), about N 60 » Geological Survey, 1875-6, p. 294. ITS BOUNDARIES, RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS. 29 To foot of Long Portage to junction of Minninibi Branch, about N. 42(leg. E ^^ i»'lo8. From junction of Missinibi to Moose Factory, about N. 52deg. E 46 " Total 21GJ miles. Long Portage is tlie last of eighteen portages in the above distance. It is four mile* in length, and avoiout on, and a half m.les rom Pine Lake we reach the eighth portage, and immediately below ,t. Arm lIo leh is about three n,iles long and lies at right angles to the general course of the river. The ninth poruge is pas.,ed at about two m.les below Arm iTk and half a mile further on. the river enters Ka-pees-a-watan Lake ; two ^'e • long in which there are several low islands. Mnni-gwa-ga-m,.sh or Lrtt PiTe Elver, flowing from a lake of the same name, enters the south s,de of th, fake and the Wa-big-a-no or Mouse River, comes in from the same side, about wo'mTs in a straight line below the lake. A ^rd stretch of .the nver wh.eh Ls a nearly east cour.se below Pine Lake, term, , „u. :,.. . ,th a rap.d a mde and a hainong. ThU is avoided by a portage (the e. ■ -n t"" ^nth o„e be.ng a mile higher «p. The fourth reach of the Kenogam, river bears N. +.. E and is thirteen and a half miles long in a direct line. It embraces portages twelve to seventeen, and terminates on the eighteenth, which is the last to the J^-tion of the river with the Albany, on which canoe navigation is unmterrupted to the Bar The Atick or Deer River enters from the north, between the sixteenth and seventeenth portages. The fifth reach bears N. 80° E., and was followed for twenty-one miles, when we reached Pembina Island, which althongh not largo is easily recognised by a conspicuous light-coloured bank about thirty-nve feet hi<,h running for about a mile along the north side of the river, immediately above it Throughout this last stretch the river is shallow, swift, and sometimes rapid In tV last twelve miles explored, it spreads in several places among low islands, and flat lying limestone is exposed in the bed of the river. In the same interval it receives the Mun-did-i-no and Wa-tis-ti-gum Rivers from the north, and the Pc-wo-na or Flint River from the south. The following register is given of the portages on Kenogami River :— Trail level and dry. Carry canoes. Trail level and dry. Wade li^'ht canoes. Banks of gravelly earth. Carry canoes. Burnt land. Sandy trail. Wade light cam. Rnn light canoes. Run light canoes. Steep bank at lower end. Carry canoes. Run light canoes. Over rocks. Carry canoes. Chains. Fall in Rivev 1. 14 20 feet. 2. 5 K 3. 12 22 (( 4. 9 25 <( 5. 6 12 (( 6. 3 4 (( 7. 34 24 11 8. 4 3 (< 9. 2 10 <( <« ITS BOUNDARIES, RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS. 33 V Chains. Fall in River 10. 6 12 " 11. 120 75 12. 1 7 13. 6 10 14. 12 15 15. 5 6 16. 25 20 " 17. 4 6 18. 1 4 Lower end steep and rocky. Carry canoes. Trail level but intersected with a few small ravines. Steep bank near lower end. Soil yellow clay, overlaid by gravelly Iosljq.. Carry canoes. Over rock. Carry canoes. Over rock. Carry canoes. Lovel trail. Run light canoes. i Level trail. Carry canoes. Level trail. Wade, full canoes. Level trail. Wade, light canoes. Numerous small islands of gneiss in river. Run full canoes down. Wade up. With the exception of a few rocky ridges and knolls in the upper part of the river, the country through which the Kenogami Hows to join the Albany River, is uniformly level. Terraces or banks of brown loam and gravelly earth from ten to forty feet in height are to be seen all along the Kenogami and around Pine Lake, sometimes close to, and at others a short distance from the banks. The soil in the neighbourhood of the river is good. The timber is principally spruce, balsam-fir, white-cedar, tamarack, white-birch and aspen. Some of the larger spruces and tamaracks have been found to measure as much as from four to five feet in girth, at five feet from the ground, but the average diameter of the trees is about eighteen inches. As the last twenty or thirty miles is reached, the ground becomes swampy, the trees diminishing in size, and value in proportion. The distances from Lake Superior to James Bay by this route would be made up as follows : Lake Superior to Long Lake 22 miles. Long Lake free navigation, about 54 J " Kenogami River and Lakes on its course 90| " Pembina Island to junction of Kenogami with Albany.. 99 " Albany to James Bay 150 " «j« 41Gi " The route from Pembina Island to the junction with the Albany and thence to James' Bay, is without portages, and admits of canoe navigation. It would, however, be more correct to say that the Albany to the point of junction is fitted for navigation by larger craft, a fact that has been well-known ever since the earliest opening of the Hudson's Bay Company's taade. Itwas at this point thatHenly House> or Fort, was erected, to protect the trade of the Company against the attempts of the French Canadians to intercept the Indians coming from the west to trade their furs and peltries at Albany, and not a few sharp encounters took place between the rivals, who in a limited scale, thus maintained a warfui'e, too often raging on a far more extensive one between the refiresentatives of their respective a 34 NORTH WESTERN ONTARIO, nations nearer home. To the capahilities of the Albany for navigation as described by those who have tested them more recently, older authorities also bear testimony. Before a committee of the British House of Commons in 1740* one John Hayter, a servant of the Hudson's Bay Company, gave the following evidence : He said, " that he had been twelve days' journey up the Albany River to a Fort or Factory called Henlv House, which is 150 or 200 miles up that River, that he saw large trees there but no corn." Being asked the occasion of building Henly House, he said " that the old leading Indian had been used ill by the Governor (at Albany) and broucrht four French Indians (Indians fVivourable to the French) from the Southerly to the Westerly River ; upon which the Governor erected that Fort to prevent the French trade, who never traded there before that season." The Indians referred to had probably taken a route similar to the one we have just been discussing on the authority of Mr. Bell. The witness Hayter goes on to say : " that the climate is much warmer at Henly House than at Albany ; but they broke no ground there and consequently he can give no account of the frost ; that they carried up nothing but utensils and met with but few falls of waters (rapids) which they towed their boats up. That they were forced to row almost all day long, the stream being too -pid for boats to sail up even in a fresh gule; that it is inipossible to tow the boats with horses on account of the badness of the ground, but one man tows a canoe of 24 or 25 feet long and 4 feet wide, which draws about eight inches of water and will carry a great weight ; **** that the country about Henly House is very high but warmer than the coast ; *** that he has seen large tracts of land that would, in his opinion, bear corn, (grain) if cultivated, the climate being much warmer within land." Long Lake being at a level of 46G feet above, and Pembina Island 120 feet below, the level of Lake Superior, a dif- ference of only 586 feet in a distance of 140 miles, a road from the outlet of Long Lake to the point on the Kenogami which would be uninterrupted by portages would hardly be a work involving much labour or cost, if, indeed, it were not economical to construct it to the waters of the Albany itself. Lake Nepigon to Albany. We have, however, one more alternative route for reaching James Bay via Albany, and one that has also been very carefully explored. This would make the north-east shore of Lake Nepigon its starting point.f Lake Nepigon, as will be observed by the map, lies nearly due north of Thunder Bay, communication between the two lakes being maintained by the Nepigon River. The level of Nepigon is, however, some 250 feet above Superior, and, therefore, a lift of that extent would be required to improve the inter-navigation of the two lakes. That once provided, a clear stretch of one hundred miles would be secured and, if the • Report Select Committee House of Commons 1749, p. 221. •)■ Geological Survey 1871-2, p. 101. I *i< ITS BOUNDARIES, RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS. 35 <4r prospects of a large miner ! production on the shores of Lake Nepigon be realised, as there seems good reason to believe they will, such a work would probably, in time, be demanded, by the exigencies of that and its dependent industries. From Lake Nepigon the Ombabika River is the first stream to be passed on the route to the Albany. The distance to the summit level of the height of land, where Shoal Lake discharges its wa ers, both north and south, is 25 miles. So easy is the passage of the height of land here that Mr. Bell in his report says : " No portage occurs on th(i Ombabika for about nine miles before reaching Shoal Lake nor for nearly five miles beyond its northern outlet, so that we passed the height of land with the greatest possible ease, having had about seventeen miles of uninterrupted canoe navigation from the time we made the last portage in going up on the southern side till we came to the first in going down on the northern." Shoal Lake has an elevation of scarcely 300 feet over Lake Nejigon. The distance given, 25 miles, is, by measurement, on direct line. The distance following the course of the stream would be 42 miles. If, however, a road were cut to the point at which the open navigation, mentioned by Mi". Bell, nine miles south of Shoal Lakr, commences, it is probable it need not exceed some 18 to 20 miles in length the several portages on the Ombabika would be avoided and the rise of 300 feet easily overcome. The Powitik River, which is the northern discharge of Shoal Lake, after a course of six miles joins the Ka-pi-ko-ton-gwa, which v as descended by Mr. Bell and his party for twenty-one miles, where the Mokok^ River was entered and the canoe route north-westward pursued to the Zhob-schquay, and by that stream the Ogok^, a branch of the Albany, was reached, a large river 500 feet in breadth and fifty to sixty feet deep with lagoons and marshes on either side. These features it is reported to maintain for a long distance both above and below the junction of the Zhob-schquay, although, still lower down, it spreads itself out to a great width and becomes very shallow. But, leaving the Ogok^, the party en- tered the French channel, and at the end of a couple of miles, striking across a heightof land that separates the Ogoke from the Ka-ge-i-na-gami, another tributary of the Albany, finally arrived at its junction with the Albany at a lake known as Lake Abazotikitchewan, a distance in a straight line of S3 miles from the mouth of the Ombabika River, or 142 miles according to the measurement of the distances actually travelled. In the course of the journey there are thirty-three portages, or twenty -nine, if a bend of the Ombabika be avoided by making one portage of sixty-six chains in length, by which means a distance of eight miles of river navigation may also be saved. From Abazotikitchewan Lake to Mako- kebatan Lake the distance is eight miles, but although there are several rapids there are no portages, the width of the river extending from ten or twelve chains at the rapids, to a 'mile in the intervening spaces. Makokebatan Lake is a fine sheet of water, sixteen miles in length, by a mile and a half in width. The Albany leaves the last-named lake by two channels, which reunite at Moosewak^ Lake, 36 NORTH WESTERN ONTARIO, twenty miles below Makokebatan. The northern channel has, meantime, flowed through a lake called Washi-saigan, or Lake of the Narrows, formerly known as Gloucester Lake, from a Hudson's Bay post so called that once stood in the vicinity. From Moosewak^ Lake to Martin's Falls, in a distance of twenty miles, the river is full of islands and rapids. Martin's Falls, so called, is really only a rapid of some 12 or L5 feet easy descent, and readily passed by canoes. Between Makoketaban Lake and Martin's Falls, there are fifteen portages. But, at the Falls, the character of the river changes. The Falls are full 120 miles above the junction of the Kenogami Kiver with the Albany, which, as already stated, is probably 150 miles from James Bay. For the whole course of 250 to 270 miles to the sea, the Albany is from twenty to thirty chains in width, from five to twenty feet (averaging about eleven feet) deep, and has a mean velocity of three miles an hour. In the opinion of Mr. Bell, the river would, except in very low water, be navigable by powerful steamers of light draught all the way from its mouth to the Falls. At Martin's Falls is a Hudson's Bay Post, " where hay, tur- nips, and potatoes have, for a long time, been successfully cultivated, and cattle thrive well." The river is open, as shown by the journal kept at the post for six months in the year. So free is it from obstructions below the Falls, that the Hudson's Bay boats, in descending, are allowed to drift all night with the stream, the submerged top of a pine tree being sufficient to keep them in the channel. The total distances traversed by the surveying party are given in the report as follows: — ,,., Miles. From Lake Nepigon to the Albany 142 Albany to the mouth of the Kenogami River. . 184 Kenogami mouth to James Bay 150 Total Miles 476 or, from Thunder Bay one hundred miles more, making the entire distance 576 miles. The question of actual distance, however, is of even less importance than the facilities of this route as compared with others. It must be recollected that, at Thunder Bay, there is already a considerable population, and one of a very enterprising character ; that it is the head of the great lake navigation, and also likely to be the resort of a very large tonnage of vessels from the United States as well as from Canada. In view of a trade being opened up either with any section of the region intervening, or with Hudson's Bay, the considerations sug- gested must have great weight. Again, the Hudson's Bay Company were, afore- time, accustomed to bring in their goods from Europe via Moose for distribution at Fort William and other stations, the payment of customs rates, in the absence of governmental supervision, being thus avoided. And if it should turn out that a trade with Europe can be opened from Hudson's Bay to any extent, the 1 .*' ITS BOUNDARIES, RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS. 37 busy and growing communities on the shores of Lake Superior and beyond, would naturally expect to benefit by their comparative contiguity to an Atlantic port. We may find, too, in the course of our inquiries, that the mineral region around Nepigon, as well as Superior, will need supplies that a more fei-tile region to the northward will afibrd, and for which a route corresponding with some of those already traced out will have to be found. Dividing the course followed by Mr. Bell intoopen, and obstructed orinterrupted sections we have the following result:— From Nepigon by the Ombabika with the portages, to the Shoal Lake and Powitik River seventeen mile reach, 33 miles, reduced by 68 chains portage at bend to 25 miles. From seventeen mile reach (open) a/ To Albany at Lake Abazotikitchewan (with portages) 92 " Lake Abazotikitchewan to Martin's Falls (with portages) 64 " Martin's Falls to James' Bay (open) 270 468 miles. With one sweep of 270 miles, the distance in which any interruptions to an un- impeded traffic occur, is thus reduced to less than 200 miles between the great inland lakes and the ocean, and there does not appear to be anything in the nature of the country to make such local improvements as may be needed to facilitate travel or the carriage of freight unreasonably expensive. Tlie explorations of Mr. Bell and his assistants, have been, it is evident, conducted with great intelligence and perse- verance. Still they have been, of necessity, more or less hurried, and consequently partial. A very careful examination of the whole country would be needed be- fore pronouncing authoritatively on the advantages of the respective routes, the prospects of settlement, the tokens of latent wealth, or the means of reducing the labour of a journey from point to point to a minimum. Lake Abbitibbe Route. The reports ol the Geological Survey do not contain any account of explora- tions over the River Abbitibbe to Moose Factory, although that route has, doubt- less, been, in past times, well travelled by voyageurs coming by way of the Ottawa River, from the head waters of which it is separated by only a short distance. Lake Abbitibbe lies nearly east and west, a little north of the height of land and on the Ontario and Quebec Boundary line, about one-fourth of its area, according to the Government maps, being in the latter Province. The River Abbitibbe may be said to rise in the height of land and to How through the Lake, for the same name is given to its most important feeder from the southward as that of the stream that issues from its western extremity and, after a dip to the south, flows north- west to James Bay. From Lac des Quinze — an expansion of the Ottawa described 38 NORTH WESTERN ONTARIO, by Mr. McOuat of the Geological Survey* as in most parts about a mile wide ami some twenty-three miles in length — with the exception of one short portage at a fall of four or five feet on Lonely River, the navigation for canoes is uninter- rupted to within half a mile of the height of land which separates the waters of the Ottawa from the livers flowing into Hudson's Bay, and there is scarcely a perceptible current to overcome. The distance is thirty-one miles. The height of land is l)ut some thi-ee-quarters of a mile to a mile in length. That passed, the waters of the Abbitibbe are touchedat asmall lake lying at the foot of the height of land, Lake Abbitibbe itself being reached by wayof LakeMatawagogig, eight miles and Lake Agotawekaim, six miles long, connected by a sv'a'i stream with four shoit portages in a distance of eleven miles. Here the n.j'Jiern AbbitibVje is struck and traversed for nine miles until it joins the Lake. Adding together the several stretches of water and portage the distance to Lake Abbitil)l)e from Lac des Quinze will lie about 07 miles, and from the height of land 35 miles. The total lentrth of Lake Abbitibl)e, or rather of the two lakes into which it is divided, is forty-seven miles. From the south-west corner flows the northern Abbitibbe, first south-west, then west, to its flrst fall, a distance of seven miles. From this point in a straight line to its mouth, where it enters James Bay by the .same outlet as the Moose, the length is about ^00 miles, making an approximate distance by this route, allowing for the sinuosities of the river, of probably 3-') miles from the height of land or 380 from Lac des Quinze, to James Bay. Traces of iron are found in the neighbourhood of Lake Abbitibbe but not in large quantities, and one curious feature is a magnetic island situated about the middle of the west side of the lower lake, so [)owerfully attractive that the surveyors' compasses were useless in its vicinity. On the northern slope of the height of land " groves of white pine were observed in all directions" " several pine trees were measured and found t(j be eigiit or nine feet in circumference." White spruce, yellow birch and cedar, are also tolerably abundant and of good size, some good specimens of the latter being noticed in the hollows among the hills on the south shore of Lake Abbitibbe. Around the lake itself pine is scarce, although a few well-grown trees were noticed. " Lake Abbitibbe," says Mr. McOuat, " is suriounded on all sides by level clay land ; * * * several acres a>-e cultivated at the Hudson's Bay Post, and a French Canadian, who has been more than thirty years at Abbitibbe, although the only crop now raised there is potatoes, insisted that all the ordinary cereals could be cultivated as successfully at Abbitibbe as on the St. Lawrence. From Lake Nepigon to Lake St. Joseph. In following up the explorations of Mr. Bell, we have incidentally sui'veyed the larger portion of the tract forming the eastern half of North-Western Ontario. The only section remaining is that lying between Lake Nepigon and Lake St ^«lt '^ "^f ^ * Geological Survey, 1872-3, p. 119 et seq. ITS BOUNDARIES, RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS. 39 -« Joseph or the head waters of the Albany. This region, like all the rest of the new territory is intersecte.l with rivers, lakes, and streams. The construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway will do much towards utilizing these means of access to the more remote districts. The information at command leads to the opmion that it is neither a desert nor altogether inhospitable. At Lake Wabigon the Indians cultivate maize, and although in a country so prolific of pine as is Canada other woods are in danger of being undervalued as an element of national wealth the spruce and tamarac, which seem to become finer and mce valuab e the fur her. north they extend, are a class of timber that bear a good merchantable reputation, where they can be easily and cheaply conveyed to market. The tamarac for rail- way purposes finds an enormous consumption, which will increase as the construc- tion of lines either by the Government or as the result of private enterprises promoted in the North-west, while for .ship-building, it is an excellent material. Physical Peculiarities and Aspect of Eastern Division. Occasional reference has been already made to the physical peculiarities and aspects of the country traversed by the surveyors of the routes ^o Hudson's Bay from Lakes Nepigon, Superior and Huron. A little closer examination of the information at command on this point, may be interesting. The termination of the portac.es and the comparative smoothness with which the rivers falling into James Bay pursue their course from points at a considerable distance from their ultimate destination is thus accounted for:* "Between the great lakes and James Bay, the country is of a very different character in each of the t^.'^ geo- logical areas which it embraces, namely, the Laurentian and Huronian plateau, and the ,)aUeozoic and (probably) tertiary basin of James Bay. The former is somewhat elevated, undulating, and dotted with great numbers of lakes, while the latter is low, level, and swampy, and as far as known, generally free from lakes, constituting a well-marked geographical as well as geological basm, bounded by a distinct vein of hard, ancient rocks for five-sixths of its . Ircumference, since it contracts to a width of only about 200 miles, where it opens into Hudson ,. Bay on a line between Capes Jones (on the east), ami Henrietta Maria (on the west). This rim is high, and has a steep slope towards the centre all round. Owing to the unyielding nature of the rocks, all 'Ve rivers running into James Bay meet with a great and generally very rapid descent on reaching the edge of this basin. As a consequence, the " long portages " on all of them occur where they pour down this slope." While the term rocky is very generally applied to the whole of the area lying between the lakes and James Bay, it is asserted, on very good authority, that the proportion that is "rocky " in the popular signification of the term, is less than is commonly supposed. Mr. Bell, who, from his continuous and I * Geological Survey, 1875-6, p. 338. 40 NORTH WESTERN ONTARIO, very able devotion to the study of the subject, we are again tempted to cite, points out that the fact of th(; high and rocky points being more conspicuous than the levels, and the further fact that the portages usually occur at rocky places, is very likely to produce a generally exaggerated and erroneous impression.* He goes on to remark : " Loose materials of some kind actually cover the greater pro- portion of the area, and in a very considerable per centage of it, the soil is more or less suited for agriculture. Its precise nature, in various sections, has been described in my reports from 1869 to the pi-es^nt one. As a matter of experience in this sort of country, in the district of Algoma and elsewhere, the quantity of cultivable land, on the establishment of settlements, always prcves to be much greater than it appeared while in a state of nature. In a genei-al way there is perhaps a greater proportion of good soil in tlie plateau region northward than southward of the height of land." This will apply, probably, with great fairness, not only to the area referred to as a whole, but to the most limited portions that may be traced along the courses and on either branch of the rivers. The general aspect of the country traversed by the Mattagami or south branch of the Moose, is undulating, but the inequalities do " not often exceed one or two hundred feet." Rock crops up here and there, the land otherwise consisting of a a sandy and gravelly subsoil, underlaid by bouldery earth or clay, and having more or less vegetable loam upon the surface. From the foot of the Long Portage to the sea, the basin already described is entered. The banks of the river are not often high, and are usually composed of gravelly and bouldery earth and clay. The banks sustain a second growth of poplar, and white birch, with some coniferous trees, but at a short distance back, the ground is swampy and covered with black spruce and tamaracs growing on a deep layer of sphagnum moss. The islands and mainland about the mouth of the river, consist of alluvial earth well suited for cultivation. Farming and gardening have been very successfully carried on at the Hudson's Bay posts at Lakes Mattagami and Missinibi. At Missinibi spring wheat has been grown and turned out well. The climate be- comes more modei-ate as the slope towards James Bay is descended, the lower level being a com]iensation for the increasing latitude. The red and white pine are both found in the neighbourhoods of Mattagami and Kenogamissee Lakes, and also at Lake Missinibi, but not further north. Indications of mineral deposits present themselves at various points on the route, and large deposits of gypsum occur on the Moose, near James Bay. A specimen of lignite from the main Moose River gave the following analysis :-|- Slow cokinp. Fast coking. FixedCarbon 45.82 44.03 Voluble combustible matter 39.60 41.39 ^ 4|« * Geological Survey, 1875-6 , p. 339. t Geological Survey, 1875-6. p. 422. ...i ^ ITS BOUNDARIES, RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS. 41 Slow coking. Fast coking. Water 11.74 11.74 Ash 2.84 2.84 100.00 100.00 Ratio of voluble to fixed combustible 1.16 1.06 The lignite is very similar to some found in the Souris Valley, and also to specimens collected for analysis from the neighbourhood of Dirt Hills and Woody Mountain in the North-west TeiTitory. An analysis of ore from a large deposit on the Moose, at the foot of the Grand Rapid and below the Long Portage, has yielded 52.42 per cent, of metallic iron.* James Bay. Having noticed most of the several approaches to James Bay from the south and west, and supplied at all events material on which some calculations may be made as to its accessibility, we .shall direct our attention to the Bay itself and its more immediate neighbourhood. James Bay is a sheet of water SOOmilos in length, measured from its most southerly point, to a line drawn from Cape Jones, on its eastern, to Cape Henrietta Maria, on its western coast, where it sud- denly expands, and Hudson's Bay is entered, of which James Bay is simply an inlet. James Bay, except at its southern end, where it becomes irregular and more narrow, is about 1,50 mih in width, its shores being almost parallel for nearly 250 miles. It received its name from Captain James, one of the North- west passage explorers, who wintered in the Bay at Charlton Island, in the year 1631. It is described as being so shallow that, with the exception of a channel down its centre, the bottom may be touched with an oar by a person rowing in a small boat wlien almost out of sight of shore. The ship channel runs fi'om a point opposite Moose Factoiy, in the south of the Bay the whole distance to Mansfield Island in Hudson's Bay, 7oO miles north in nearly a straight line. In traversing this channel a chain of islands, ,500 miles long, is passed, many of them of large size, and having rivers that discharge into the larger or smaller Bay. The southern and western shores of the Bay, which represent the portion forming the Ontario Boundary, are low and level, and owing to the extreme shallowness of the water at some places, they are difficult of approach from the Bay. " Between high tide water mark and the woods," says Mr. Bell,f " there is gen jrally a broad space or marshy belt interspersed with willow bushes and divided by muddy creeks. In some places this open border is raised above all but the highest spring tides, and con.stitutes a level prairie, supporting a rich growth of grasses and sedges. Tiie marshy outline of the shore of the Bay is often interrupted by points and peninsula- * Geological Survey, 1875-6. p. 431. t Geological Survey, 1875-6, p. 322. 42 NOIITU WKSTlllN ONTARIO, like islandH composed of bouMcrs pilo.l to-ether i.i tl.ouHands, with scarcely any fine material anuaig them." I., the southern part of James" Bay the water, al- thoujrh thlal an.l hrackish, is in some parts so free from saline matter as to be used for drinkin.r. This peculiarity is ascribed to the immense volume of fresh water poured into'tho bay from the great rivers of whicli it is the outlet. Its mu.ldiness. caused by the ebb and flow of the tides over so shallow a bottom, is also tatal to the existence of fish, which, conse.iently have to be sought for in a more northerly situation. Moose Factory. Moose Factory, at the mouth of the river of that name, is situated on a small island, six or seven miles from the Bay. The factories of the Hudson's Bay Com- pany are not located anywhere with a view to the advantages of settlement, con- venience for trade with the Indians and hunters, an.l protection in more troublous times than the present, having been the objects most in view in the selection of their sites. The soil at Moose Factory is of cold wet clay, on a level and quite undrained. Nevertheless, oats, barley, beans, peas, turnips, beets, carrots, cabbages, onions, and tomatoes, are grown with no more care for their protection or produc- tion than is shown in any other part of Canada. A crop of 1,700 bushels of potatoes was harvested in 1874, and wheat, accidentally sown, had ripened although no experiments as to the ordinary capacity of the soil and climate for its production on a larger scale appear to have been recently made. That this is no barren or famine-stricken land may also be seen from the fact that, at Moose Fac- tory there is quite an establishment of horses, sheep, and pigs, in addition to eighty head of cattle. The Right Reverend Dr. Amlerson * in his evidence before the House of Commons Committee, in 1857, suggested that the means of living were more precarious than formerly at Moo.se Factory, but his remark probably applied to wild geese or other resources of the Indians, and not to those of settlers depend- ing on the cultivation of the soil or domestic live stock. Mr. George Gladman, who was literally a child of the Hudson's Bay Company, for he was born at New Brunswick, one of their posts on the Moose River, and resided at Moose Factory fifteen years, gave a very favourable account of the productions of the di.strict.f He stated that the climate and soil were good ; that potatoes and vegetables were raised in great abundance ; that barley ripened well ; that small fruits, such as currants, gooseberries, strawberries and raspberries were plentiful and grew wild ; that wheat, owing to the shortness of the season, had never been tried, but that horned cattle, horses, slieep and pigs, were kept there and did well. They required, of cou to be housed in the winter. At Albany, which lies in latitude 52 degrees 8 minutes, north, the climate and soil, Mr. Gladman stated, were similar to those at Moose Fort, although it is considerably further north. It is well sheltered and the * Report Select Committee on Hudson's Bay Co. to the House of Commons (Eng.), 1857, p. 241. t Report Select Committee on Hudson's Bay Co. to the House of Commons (Eng.), 1837, p. 391. 4- ITS nOUNDARIKS, RKSOURCRS AND COMMUNICATIONS. 43 marshes on the hanks of the river and shores of tlie Bay yield inexhaustible sup- plies of hay, a fact that is worthy of notice in connection with settlement in any pjirt of the James Bay area, as securing an abundant and cheap fodder for cattle. Sir Oeoi|;e Simpson, on the other hand, discouraged the idea that the soil could be successfully or profitably cidtivate.l at Moose Fort * " Barley," he said> " very seldom ripens, the potatoes are exceedingly small, and the crops unproduc- tive." But Sii- (Jeorge Simpson was too clcaily convicted, during his examination of partisan feeling in favour of the Hudson's Bay Company, and too antagonistic, to the opening-up of their clQse preserve, to be accepted as a reliable witness in opposition to the independent testimony of other persons. Nor are we confineil to the assertions of those whose reports have been already (juoted, although no good i-eason exists for ca.sting doubts upon them. The capacity of the James Bay region for supporting any population that the temp- tations of commerce may draw thither, and that is, ]>ractically, all we need to know, were perfectly well understood a Innidred and tifty years since. In a description of the countries adjoining Hudson's Bay, published In l744,t is a statement by a Mr. Fro.st, who had resided ai, Moose Factory since 173(),and whogave a very good account of the climate and country there, and of the river southward. The purport of Mr. Frost's information was, that on the banks of tlie Moo.se wild rice grew in great abundance, the Indians beating it off the plant into their canoes when ripe, and that all sorts of grain could be raised in the vicinity of the river a little to the southward, while, at Moose Factory, l»arley, peas, and beans, thrive well, " although exposed to the chilling winds which come from the ice on the Bay." In the woods at the bottom of the bay, he goes on to say, both at Moose and Albany, as well as at Rupert's River (on the east coast), are large t...es of oak ash, pine, cedar and spruce. " They have," he adds, "exceeding good grass which improves every day as they cut and feed it, and may have oveiywhere within land all sorts of pulse and grain, and all sorts of fruit trees as in the same climate in Europe ; for what sorts they have tried throve well." In another book pub- lished in 1752,+ it is stated that at Moose Factory " .sown wheat has stood the winter frosts and grown very well the summer following, and that black cherries also have grown and borne fruit. Before the Commons' Connnittee in 1749, several witnesses gave evidence confirmatory of the above.§ Mr. Edward Thompson, three years surgeon at Moose Factory, had seen far better barley and oats grow at Moose River than he ever saw in the Orkneys ; but the quantity sown was small. The seed would bear sowing again, but diminished in goodness. " There was ground enough broke for this corn (grain), but never any encouragement given for sowing it. but quite the reverse, the Governor forbidding it for no other I * Report Select Committee on Hudson's Bay Co. to House of Commons (Eng.), 1857, p. 46. f An account of the countiies adjoining Hudson's Bay, by Arthur Hobbs, Esq,, London, 1744, p. 45. t An account of six years' residence in Hudson's Bay, by Joseph llobson, London, 1752. jJ Report of Select Committee on the State of the Hudson's Bay Company, 1749, p. 222. 44 NORTH WESTKRN ONTARIO. reason, than that if corn (jjmin) had been aown, a colony %vould aoun have Uen erected there" The residents of any settlements on the shores of James Bay would not, however, be confined to food raised by a<,'ricultural labour. Tiu'. rivers al)ounegan to How regularly ; the 23rd they sowed their turni|ts ; the ueese then went to the southward to breed ; law, cold weather until the 2()th ; 30th variable weather with some hail and snow; from that time till the I2th of July fine warm weather ; then to the 7th September warm or very hot weatln'r ; to the 18th warm and tempei-ate ; then to the 2r>th variable and temperate with some rain ; then frost in the night ; fine weather un " the 29th ; October 2iid and 3rd some frost and snow in the night; to the 12th ' weather; stopped tishing, havinu' no frost to freeze the fish ; to the 24th fine wa m weather with small frost ; the 28th ice in the river and the geese going away ; November 13th the river full of heav ' ice ; the 18th it was moderate weather ; the winter was not so severe a«? the former; the geese returned the 14th of April, 1731 ; the freshets came down May 5th, the 12th the ice was gone to sea ; the l3th the Indians came down to trade in their canoes ; they had fine warm weather that year from the 11th of May to the middle of September. The Albany was frozen over on the 10th of November. This perfectly reliable nariative certainly does not show the climate of James Bay to be more severe than in many of the settled poitions of Canada. That 1729 was not exceptionally mild, is evident from the remark, that, in 1730, it was not so severe as in the former year. There is nothing in the description here given to show that the inhabitants of the south shore of James Bay need want for any of the ordinary pleasures or comforts of life, or be more unfavour- ably circumstanced in reg^ird to the length of the inclement season, than many of their fellow countrymen even in some other portions of the Province of Ontario. The ' attractions to settlement will be only ascertained after more thorough and systematic explorations than were possible in the brief period of time allotted to the surveyors of the Geological Department, and, although the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company have now thrown ott' the reserve once enjoined upon them, and show much praiseworthy anxiety to afibrd information as to the re- sources of the country, there has never been, under their auspices, any such thorouLdi and exhaustiV'^ examination of its hidden treasures as the indications of their existence would justify. Mineral Resources of James Bay and Neighbourhood. While at Moose Factory in 1875, Mr. Bell was presented with specimens of massive iron pyrites, dark, smoky chert, like that of Thunder Bay, epirey, the red deer. Red deer once abounded in the reo-ion west of Lake Superior, but the destruction of the forests by a great fire about 200 years ago, or near the time of the advent of the first white settlers — and the si the mile. While, therefore, the voyager proceeding eastward with his produce has the beueflt of a "down grade," his return trip is not so laborious as Jr ITS BOUNDARIUS, RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS. o3 in the case of many of the river highways of commerce. Tlie Nelson River proper is less frequented than the Hayes and the chain of rivers with wliich it is connected. The reason assigned by the Hudson's Bay Company for preferring the Hayes for their batteaux is, that ere exists danger in "tracking" in tbe Nelson, from the large blocks of ice hanging from its precipitous banks. The Indians, too, choose the Hayes, because of the accessibility of the Factory at its mouth, wliich, in their light canoes, it would at times be difficult to reach from the Nelson. The following is the route, with distances marked, as furnished by the surveyor of the Hudson's Bay Company and referred to by Professor Hind, in his evidence triven before the Tmmic;ration and Colonisation Committee at Ottawa last session:* Miles. York Factoi y Hayes River 52 Steel River 27 Hill River to first fall 32 Fall to upper part of riv^'r 30 Lac de la Savanne 7 Jack River (Riviere aux Brockets) 10 Knee Lake '*' Front River 13 Holy Lake 30 Small brooks and lakes on a great plateau 50 Brook with Beaver Dam (Eaeh-away Man's Brook) 28 Hare Lake ^ Sea River (part of the Nelson) 35 Play Green Lake (Norway House) 14^ Total Geographical miles 382 In the year 184G a body of troops, under the command of Lieut.-Col. Crofton, were sent by the York Factory and Lake Winnipeg route, to Fort Garry, a dis- tance of 700 miles. The troops consisted of a wing of the Gth Foot, a detachment of artillery and a detachment of Royal Engineers. The force numbered 383 per- sons, including 18 officers, 329 men, 17 women, and 19 children. With its equip- ment and four gun -a, it occupied thirty days in the trip, but the commander reached his destination in twenty-three da3^s from York Factory. The journey was accomplished without accident, or, appart My, any difficulty, except those in- cidental to portaging. Lieut.-Col. Crofton, in his evidence before the Commons * Rsport of Committee, p. 155. 64 NORTH WESTERN ONTARIO, Committee in 1857, produced a list of the portages made by him on the line of route. They are thirty-four in number, as below : '" Name op Poktaub. Rock Portage Borrowicka White Mud Point of Rocks Brassa Lower Bnrntwood Morgans Upper Jiurntwood Rocky Lsdge Mossy Sniodthroek First Portage Second Portage Devils' Portage Ground Water Creek... Lower Creek Long Water Creek . . . . , Second Water Creek.... Upper Water Creek. . . Front Fall Creek Fall Knife Portage Upper Portage Lower Portage Moore's Crooked Spout Upper Spout Hill Portage Upper Portage Whitefall, Robinson's. Painted Stone First Dam Second Dam Sea River Lenoth IN Paces. Naturb of Grodnd. 48 Hard, dry, even. 39 Rocky, swampy. 43 Swampy. 61 Hard, rugged. 482 Hard and uneven. 476 Dry and even. 266 Rocky, broken. 59 Dry, rather uneven. 63 Hard, rugged. 503 Swampy and slippery. 347 Hard, even. 42 Swiimpy. 58 Swampy. 173 Hard. Difficult landing 51 Swampy. 62 Swampy. 521 Swampy. 68 Swampy. 53 Swampy. 49 Rocky, even. 31 Rocky, swampy. 59 Swampy. 40 Swampy. 38 Swampy. 56 Swampy. 36 Rocky, swampy. 42 Swampy. 243 Rocky, rugged. 57 Rocky, rugged. ,760 Level, but slippery. 16 Rocky, even. 28 Hard, stony. 2P Hard, stony. 63 Rocky, even. i The journey from Norway House to Fort Garry would, of course, be accom- plished without obstruction by way of Lake Winnipeg and the Red River. Climate. In the Valley of the Nelson there is considerable cultivable land, nor is the climate one of extraordinary severity. That the seasons become milder and the winters shorter as the westerly course is taken is proved by many incidents on record. In Ellis' Voyagef it is mentioned that the ice in Hayes River, where his ships had wintered, gave way on the 16th of May, and, on the 5th of June, nineteen canoes, laden with furs, passed the vessels on their way to York Factory, a cleai- proof that the rivers westward had been open at least a fortnight or three * Report of Committee, p. 181. t Voyage to Hudson's Bay, 1746-7. ITS BOUNDARIES, IlESCURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS. 65 weeks previously. Hearne relates that in 1775,* he and his comi)anions killed teal in the rivers they passed through from Cumberland House to York Fort, as late as the 20th October. This shows, not only that the birds in (question defer their emigration until the end of October, but that navigation is also open up to, or past that date. In his evidence before the Immigration and Colonization Committee, Professor Hind .stated as follows: f'The warm and moisture- laden winds from the Pacific moving north-easterly, deposit much of their moisture on the western flanks of the Rocky Mountains. Rising over the sum- mit of the ranges, they are deflected to the south by the combined influence of the earth's rotation and the pressure of the compensating cold winds from the north. The cold winds acquire their maxinuim influence on the 9.5th meridian, which passes through the Lake of the Woods. Farther to the eastward, the isothermals are pressed back by the warm winds from the Gulf of Mexico, which push them to the north-eastward. In both cases the rotation of the earth is a leading cause in determining the course of the fertile zones. These, be it ob- served, are broad generalizations, subject to numerous local modifications, which affect local climates. The Valley of the Nelson appears to exhibit one of these local modifications, arising from its low level above the sea. Until within thirty miles of Port Nelson the canoe route down Hayes River shows little difference in point of climate from the canoe route of Lake Superior, where it crosses the height of land. The cause, however, in this case is, in part, assignable to the difference in elevation above the sea level, which is upwards of eleven hundred feet ; this would theoretically produce a diff'erence in temperature equal to more than three degrees of Fahrenheit. All accounts agree in stating that the climate of the valley of the Nelson River changes greatly as soon as a distance of some five and twenty or thirty miles from the sea is reached. The cold winds from Hudson's Bay lower the temperature in the vicinity of the sea-board to a great extent, but, thirty miles inland, their influence is greatly modified." Joseph La France, in his narrative,^ states that " within four or five leagues of the sea at York Fort the cold continued, and there was ice in the river in June, when, above that, they had a fine spring, all the trees in bloom, and very warm weather up to the Great Fork, in the beginnin,cr of June." According to Ballantyne,§ vegeta- tion in the valley of Hayes River, thirty miles from its mouth, on the 23rd of June was found to be in an advanced state, the trees being covered with foliage and, on the 25th of June, he describes the spring to have long begun on Hill River, and "along its gently sloping banks the country was teeming with vegetable and animal life." This is on the canoe route from York Factory to Norway House and a little to the south of the valley * Journey to the Northern Ocean. + Report of Committee, 1878, p. 153. t Appendix to House of Commons (Eng;.) Committee, 1749. § Ballantyne'g Hudson Bay, 50 NORTH WKSTKim ONTARIO, of Nelson River nroper. Oxford House is situated on Holy Lake, and Lieut. Chappel remarks,* that owin<^ to the riclinoss of the soil, and the f^'eniality of the climate, this place produces a number of excellent vegetables. Dr. Kinjjf who was attached to Captain Back's journey to the Arctic ()cean,+ states that at the commencement of Hill River, half way between York Factory and Norway House, the argillaceous cliffs are seen rising in some places 100 feet above the water level, capped with hills of at least twice that height ; and at some parts of the stream, where it is expanded to a breadth of several miles, innumerable islands appear' stretching in long vistas, and well-wooded, producing scenery of extreme beauty. The occurrence of such deep deposits oi' drift clay in this valley is of great im- portance. The same traveller states, that Steel River — the name which Hill River takes after flowing fifty-seven miles — serpentines through a well-wooded valley, ])resenting at every turn much beautiful scenery, but notldng to equal what is seen along the shores of the former stream. The mouth of Steel River is forty-eight miles from the sea by the winding cour.se of Hayes River into which it falls. Professor Hind, in the course of his evidence, remarked : ^ " The brigade of the Hudson's Bay Company's boats for the interior, usually leaves York Factory about the end of May, which shows tliat the rivers are open even in the cold border land within twenty miles of Hudson's Bay. We must bear in mind that ice is often found in the Lakes near tlje water-shed, west of Lake Superior, about the middle of May, and Lake Winnipeg is sometimes impassable at its northern extremity during the first week of June. From these comparisons, it will be seen that the climate of the Nelson River valley is of an exceptionally favourable character away from the coast line. It can scarcely excite surprise that there should be a large tract with a good climate, and great depth of drift clays in the vicinity of the valley of the Nelson River, for it is the lowest portion of the whole basin of Lake Winnipeg, and is constantly under the influence of the drainage waters from three hundred thousand square miles of land, lying altogether to the south of the narrow depression, not, perhaps, more than forty miles broad, through which the Nelson River finds its way. The great thickness of drift clays upon several of the rivers, noticed by different observers, on the canoe route from York Factory to Norway House, nmst necessarily produce a good soil, and the two con- ditions of a good soil and a humid climate concur to sustain an exceptionally fine forest growth for this region, and an abundance of animal life." With the in- formation we have at connnand respecting the Nelson River valley, we may safely come to the conclusion, that, if not a region to which large numbers of persons are likely to resort exclusively by reason of special attractions for the agricul- turist, it is one that would furnish abundant supplies for communities settled on * Narrative of a voyage to Hudson's Bay, 1817. f Narrative of a journey to the shores of the Arctic Ocean 18.'^3-4-5, by Richard King, M. E,. C. S. X Report of I. & C. Committee, Appendix to Journals, Canada, 1878, p. 154. 1 I u ITS BOUNDARIES, RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS. 67 u the shores of Hiulson's Bay, or for any .shippin^^ that ini<:>'t resort to its western ports, Soil and Climate at York and Churchill. With the fact just referred to in view, the precise conditions of soil and climate at York Factory, or the mouth of the Churchill, are of secondary importance. On this {)oint the statements arc a little contradictory. Dr. Rae, in his evidence before the Commons Committee in 1857, was asked* " how the climate at York Factory compared with tliat of the Orkneys." His answer was to the effect, that the character of the summers was ahout the samo in both cases, but that the winters were longer, extending over seven or eight months, beginning in November and not actually ending before June. Sir George Simpson also spoke f unfavourably of th(! productiveness of the soil around York, owing to the presence of ice in the ground for most of the year. Mr. A. Isbister, + on the other hand, pointed out that frost in the subsoil does not necessarily prevent the growth of vegetation » if the thaw extends to a reasonable depth. In Siberia, he remarked, which is in the same latitude as the northern part of the Hudson's Bay territories, there are large crops of wheat every year. With the process of clearing the country the sun's rays would penetrate deeper and the thaw be more complete. The testimony of Sir John Richardson § and Mr. George Gladman was rather un- favourable than otherwise to the cultivable capacity of the soil at York Factory. Mr. Joseph Robson, six years resident in Hudson's Bay, already referred to, while admitting the presence of frost at from three to four feet depth in the ground' alleged that the surface of the ground was free from ice from the latter end of May to the end of August ; that he had suffered more from cold in England than at York Factory, the clothing at the latter place being adapted to the climate ; and that the soil bore roots such as carrots, radishes and turnips, as well as many other kinds of vegetables. In his opinion, if the land was properly cultivated it would support numbers of people. The want of proper cultivation, including drainage, has, no doubt, a good deal to do with the rather, on the whole, unfavour- able picture given of the agricultural or horticultural capabilities of the neighbour- hood around York Factory. Robson, who appears to have been a very intelligent persons, says 5 " The soil about York Fort is nmch better than at Churchill. Most kinds of gar- den stuff grow here to perfection, particularly peas and beans. I have seen a small pea growing without any culture ; and am of opinion that barley would flourish here. Gooseberries and black currants are found in the woods, grow- ing upon such bushes as in England. Up the river, are patches of very good * Report Hudson's Bay Committee, 1857, p. 31. + Report of Committee of Hudson's Bay Company, 1857, p. 46. t Hudson's Bay Committee, 18.57, p. 136. § Hudson's Bay Committee, 1857. 1[ Six years' residence, p. 43. 58 NOHTU WESTERN ONTARIO, ground ; an«l battonos undor banks so defended from the north and north-west winds, that there is a fine thaw below when the top is freezinj,' ; here, whole families might procure a comfortable subsistence, if they wore as in(histriouH as they are in their own country. Upon Hayes river, fifteen miles from the fort, is such a bank as T have just mentioned, near which T pitched my tent. After paling in some ground for a coney-warren, and for oxen, sheep, goats, &c., I .should expect by no more labour than would i)o proper for my health, to procure a desir- able livelihood ; not at all doubting of my being able to raise peas and Ijeans, barley and,probably, other kinds of grain. The island on which York Factory stands is more capable of improvement than can be imagined in such a latitude, and so near the Bay. It is narrow, twenty miles up from the Bay, .so that drains might be cut to very useful purpose. I cut a drain near the Fort, to dry a piece of ground for a battery of four cannon which afterwards wore (piite a new face ; the snow did not lie upon it .so long as before and grain flourished with new vigour. I ob- served also, that, l)efore the snow was thoroughly thawed, several vegetables were springing up beneath it; and by the time it had left only a very thin shell of ice, these vegetables were grown up three or four inches." Some other experiments by Mr. Robson confirmed his opinion that, with draining, a good soil for garden '-''t^-.it;un could be obtained and a considerable quantity of produce raised. As professor Hind reminded the Committee at Ottawa last session,* in all these northern latitudes the duration of light as well as the intensity of the sun's rays must be taken into account as a compensating influence in relation to vegetable growth. He submitted to the Committee the following table giving the relative intensity of the sun and the length of d?^y in latitudes 40^50"and 60° respectively, and therefore embracing the whole area of territory referred to in this paper.f Table Showing the Sun's Relative Intensity, and the Length of the Day in Latitudes 40°, 50° and 00°. May 1 do 16 do 31 June 1,5 July 1 do 16 do 31 AuR. 1.5 do 30 Sept. 14 do 29 Latitude 40*. Latitude 50°. Latitude 60*. Sun's Intensity. 80 85 88 90 90 87 84 79 72 65 57 Leii 4th of Day. H. M. 1.3.46 14.16 14. .38 14.50 14.46 14.34 14.08 13. .36 13.02 12.22 1L44 Sun'.s Intensity. 77 83 87 89 89 86 81 74 65 58 47 Length of Day. Sun's Intensity. H. M. 14. .30 1,5.16 15., 50 16.08 10.04 1,5.42 15.04 14.18 13.28 12.32 11.36 70 79 85 88 88 84 77 68 57 46 36 Jjongth of Day. H. H. 1.5.44 16.56 17. ,56 18.28 18.18 17.42 16. .38 15.24 14.08 12.46 11.26 • Report of I. & C. Committee, p. 152. t Report of I. & C. Committee, p. 15.^. ITS BOUNDARIES, RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS. 59 Commenting on tliis table the Professor says : "It will he seen that in latitude 40° the sun's intensity is represented by 88 on May 8lst, the day beinjr 14 hours 38 minutes long. In latitude 50° the sun's ndative intensity of light and heat on the same day is 87, but the day is 15 hours and 50 ininntes long. In latitude 60° which is some degrees north of Peace River, (and nearly thnje degrees north of York Factory) the sun's intensity on the .'U.st of May is represented bv 85, but the day is 17 hours 5(5 minutes long. During the fortni^dit from Jui : 'th to July 1st the sun's intensity' closely approximates in latitudes 40^, 50" anu (10" ; but the day is widely different in length, and the heat and light have a greater time to act on vegetation under the more northern meridians. Thus from Juno 15th to July 1st the sun's intensity diminishes from 90 to 88 between latitude 40'' and latitude 00 " ; the day, however, on July 1st is 14 hours 4(i minutes long in lat. 40' ; 10 hours 4 minutes long in latitude 50° ; and 18 hours 18 minutes long in latitude 00'." The Hudson's Bay Post at the mouth of the Churchill River, 59° is sub- ject substantially to the conditions of light, heat and length of day, described in the last column of the foregoing table. It is .spoken of by old travellers as being more favourably situated than the other factories for trade, in conse- quence of its greater distance from the Fiench (in Canada), who interfei'ed greatly with the operations of Uie incorporated monopolists of the fur trade. The Churchill is described by Hobbs as " a noble river, navigable for 150 leagues, and, after passing the Falls navigable to far distant countries." Its sources are near the height of land in long. 110" \V., whence by a very devious route it winds its waj east and north-east to Hudson's Bay, at one point approaching very near to the confluents of the Nelson, and the waters of Lake Winnipeg. The climate at the Fort is not by any means intolerable. Captain Middleton wintered there with his .ship in 1741. His diary,* .shows that snow fell first on the 1st of September, after which the weather was unsettled, the river being frozen over so as to admit of crossing upon the i..o, on the 9th of October. On the 1st of June the ice gave way in the channe' j,.ri rove down to sea, but was still fast on the flats. Partridges in large nundiers w^tii. killed during the whole winter, wolvea» foxes and other animals also being seen near the Fort. At Churchill, as well as at York and the more southern posts, the wild goose is one of the most regular sources of subsistence, thousands of these birds being killed and preserved for winter food. All kinds of wild fowl abound in these latitudes to quite as great an extent as at Moose or Albany. There is a good supply of wood in the vicinity of Churchill ,and, as at other points, any quantity of hay growing in the marshes, and furnishing food for cattle. Seal River lies still further to the northward than Churchill, and, according to Hobbs, the musk-ox is or was in his time met with between the two rivers. * Hobbs, p. 14. r;iepa3t:;jari:j:m..'ssaa8gr f 60 NORTH WESTERN ONTARIO. Navigation of Hudson's Ba\. In regard to the navigation of Hudson's Bay, Mi-. Walter Dickson, the cor- respondent of the Toronto Globe, previously mentioned, expresses himself in the following terms: — "This inland sea of Hudson's Bay — which might well he termed the Mediteri'anean of Canada — is upward of twelve hinidred miles in length (in- cluding, of course, James Bay) with a width varying from ninety to three (five) hundred miles and upwards, with several hundreds of islands studded over its surface, si^mu of them oi such extent as to have large lakes and rivers on them, giving altogether a sea-board of upwards of two thousi*.nd miles (more than that of the United Kingdom of Great Britain), and so easy of access that an ordinary screw steamer miglit start from Quebec and reach any point on its coast in con- siderably less than two weeks. That so little information concerning this great inland sea of the Dominion lias been ^dven to the world, is simply owing to the fact, that, foi- upwards of two centuries, this sea and the land surrounding were virtually the property of the great monopoly the Hudson's Bay Company, who made it their study, as it was to their interest to keep Hudson's Bay, like all the rest of theterritoiy over which theyheld sway, as completely unknown to theouter world as possible * * * * '■['lie sea of Hudscm's Bay itself is so little known that there are no charts of it in existence exce|)ting those made by the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, and they are only useful as guides to the depots at certain points on the east and west coasts of the Bay." Professor Hind states * tliat " the most recent Admiralty map of Hud- son's Straits exhibits a want of full infoi-mation regarding the coast lines on both sides of the Straits." A chart published in 1853 and coi'rected up to 1872 retains errors perceivable in those constructed in Queen Elizabeth's reign- The practical tests of the navigation of the Bay have been confined to slow sailing merchant sliips sometimes convoyed by men-of-wav, not less worthy the appellation of tubs, as compared w^iili the vessels of the present time, sent out on any service supposed to require special qualifications in the direction of speed, strength and security. Yet, it is alleged, that, since their original occu- pation of the coasts of the Bay two centuries ago only two of the Hudson's Bay Companys own ships have been lost, and that through culpable recklessness. It is quite probable, however, that the navigation of Hudson's Bay will soon be robbed of some of its terrors, and that what has been regarded as hazardous or impossible will be found, by the aid of the new and powerful agencies modern disco\'ery has provided, both safe and practicable. The contrast in other respects between the experience of twenty years since and that of to-day is rather amus- ingly exemplified by a perusal of the evidence of Captain Herd one of the wit- nesses before the committee of ISoT.f "I do not think," said the worthy captain. ' Report I. and C. Com.nittee, 187S, p. 136. t Report Hudson's Bay Committee, 1857, p. 256, ITS BOUNDARIES, RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS. Gl " that a steamer would do at all among ice, to force a passage. * * ♦ jf j were asked my experience I Avould prefer a sailing sliij) among ice to a steamer." He would have been loth to believe that, in a very few years, the whole condi- tions of the great sealing industry would be changed by the adoption of steamers in place of sailing vessels, and that the hardy seal hunters, so far from avoiding, would actually seek the very ice that he was wont to encounter in his sailing ship, and enter it as fearlessly as he steered his craft in open water. With stout screw steameis, protected as are these used in the Newfoundland seal fisheries, and furnished with the magneto-electric light, there is very little loose ice that need preclude a passage where an end is to be gained by attempting it. Hudson's Straits. Hudson's Straits, the onlj outlet of the Bay, are at its north-eastern extremity. They are about 500 miles in length and \ary in width from 45 miles at the entrance between Resolution Island on the north and Britton Islands on the so'-th shore to three times that extent in other places. The Strait, like the Bay, con- tains numerous islands affording excelleu shelter and harbourage. The Hudson's Bay ships, according to a table compiled by Lieut. Chappell, R. N. in 1814* had usually arrived abreast of Charles Island on the south side and neai- the western entrance of the Strai*^ at periods varying from the last week in July to the beginning of September. Captain Herd, before the Committee in 1857, stated that he usually arrived at York Factory about the 10th or 15th of August, and left again from the loth to the 25th of September.f The time occupied in going through the Straits on the westward trip in July and returning in August or September in sailing vessels, differs greatly, varying from three weeks to a month in the former case and from three to five days in the latter, the Straits in August or September being free of ice. Professcn- Hind's theory | is that Hudson's Straits are never frozen over and that the ice brought down in July is not even from Hudson's Bay but from a more northerly region, whence it reaches Hudson's Straits through Fox Channel. The heavy tides in the Straits are strongly against the notion of solid ice being formed there. There is very good authority for believing that the ice formed in Hudson's Bay, does not leave the Bay at all, but that its dissolution takes place in the Bay itself. In the southern parts of Hudson's Bay and in James Bay nearly the whole surface may be frozen over. But the water there is shallow, and, in James Bay, from causes already stated, contains very little salt. On the contrary, in the upper portions of Hud- son's Bay the main body of the water, it is believed, does not freeze at all. Hearne, referring to a fact in ornithology, mentioned by Pennant,^^ alludes quite * Narrative of a voy.ige to Hudson's Bay, 1817. + Report Hiulson'» Bay Committee, 18.57, p. 255. t Report of I. and 0. Committee, 1878, § Journey to the Northern Ocean, p. 429. I 62 NORTH WESTERN ONTARIO, incidentally to the ice being frozen " several miles from the shore," the implication being that the ice was limited in its extent to a distance from the shore which the term " several miles " would be popularly supposed to represent. Another fact, too, confirmatory of the belief that Hudson's Bay is not the source of the ice-pack that crushes through Hudson's Straits, is, that, after passing Charles Island, near the western entrance of the Straits, ice is seldom seen, except it is met with floating in the centre of the Bay. The proposition, however, that the passage of the Straits cannot be safely made before the middle of July has been very gener- ally endorsed by navigators of great expei'ience, including Sir Edward Parry. But the view held to-day by Professor Hind and other more recent authorities, namely, that an entrance could be effected and the Bay reached in June, is not a new one. Robson, in his book already frequently referred to,* and which was published in 1752, advocated the passage being attempted in June. He says : "At York Fort and Churchill River I have observed that the ice did not break off close at the shore, but gradually ; the first field leaving the shore-ice two or three miles broad, the second less, and so on until it was cleared away. These several fields of ice drive through the Straits ; but as they go off a^ "itervals, one field may be driven through before the next enters from the Bay ; consequently the Strait is sometimes pretty clear of ice. As the Straits, then, are never frozen over, nor always unnavigable, even when there is much ice in the Bay, I imagine that a safe passage may often be made about the beginning of June ; for, as the ice enters the Straits at intervals, according as it breaks off", and as the wind and currents drive it out of the Bay, so the wind may keep the ice back at this season, as at any other. Besides, the ice at the bottom (southern end) of the Bay, and the north and west ice, will not have had time to reach the Straits, but after June all the Bay ice commonly reaches it, The beginning of June, therefore, seems to be the likeliest time in which to expect a free passage." Robson's idea as to the ice being from the Bay was probably incorrect, but his information as to the ice-movements in the Straits may nevertheless have been perfectly sound. Lieutenant Chappell, R. N.,f was also of opmion that the Straits might be entered in June. The danger, if any exists, would be rather in the entrance of the Straits than in their subsequent navigation. The ice at the mouth of the Straits is exposed to r^' +he force of the Atlantic, but, once in the Straits, a vessel, if warned by signals of danger, could easily take refuge in one of the numerous places of shelter on the coast or one of the Islands in the Straits. Professor Hind^: suggests the establish- ment of signal stations, from which mariners could be advised as to the drift of the ice as affected by the winds, and thus usually secure a more or less open channel. In fact, if the iron-protected screw steamer, thus aided and guided, did not al- * Six Years' Residence in Hudson's Bay, p. ^8. + Narrative of a Voyage to Hudson's Bay. J Report of Immigration and Colonization Committee, 1878. ITS BOUNDARIES, RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS. 68 ways succeed in overcoming the obstructions arising from this flow-ice in the Straits, the difficulties it present', would be reduced to their smallest proportions. It is understood that Professor Hind's theory has the full endorsation of Professor Bell, whose next issued report of his most recent explorations will be looked for with great interest. Hudson's Bay Fisheries, Minerals, and Commerce. Calculations as to permanent trade and intercourse cannot, of course, be based on exceptional experiences. It is, however, a fact attested by recent visitors to the coasts of Hudson's Bay and James Bay, that for the past two seasons there has been little or no ice in either, while Hudson's Straits have also been very clear, and navigation quite unimpeded. To what this state of things may be attribut- able it is difficult to say, and how long it may continue, is of course quite un- certain. But it is interesting as affording one more proof that Hudson's Bay is not the ice-bound sea it was once endeavoured to make the world believe The accessibility or otherwise of Hudson's Bay and Straits for several months in the year, will have an important influence on the development of its fisheries which have yet received but little attention. Ungarva Bay, just within the eastern entrance of Hudson's Straits, has already an excellent reputation as the field of an extensive seal and whale fishery. In an interesting little brochure recently issued by Lieut.-Colonel Dennis, Deputy-Minister of the Interior,* a table is given from American official sources, showing the returns of American whaling vessels fishing in Hudson's Bay from the year 1861 to 1876. The favourite resort of these vessels is Marble Island, in the north-east part of Hudson's Bay. Their numbers varied from one to fifteen in a season, the total number in the fifteen years being forty-nine. Another return of the value of the catch for the eleven years— 1861 to 1874, omitting 1869 and 1871 was $l,o7l,023. Seals and porpoises, among the larger denizens of the ocean, are also to be found in the waters of the Bay or Straits. On the north-western shore of the bay is a very prolific salmon fishery, capable, ap- r^arently, of forming a most important local industry. Although there is no evi- dence published of cod being captured alive, their remains have been frequently found on the shore, and the resort to the Bay of enormous shoals of caplin — the chief food of the cod — is regarded as one of the best proofs that the cod are not far beliind them. . With the fur-trade, which still finds, at the mouths of the great rivers that fall into Hudson's Bay, its principal depots ; with the mineral wealth that will inevitably, at no distant day, be extracted from the coasts of these hitherto almost unexplored waters; from the fisheries that may be .stimulated as the facili- * Navigation of Hudson'H Bay. Ottawa, 1878. 64 NORTH WESTERN ONTARIO. ties for navigation become better understood, and from the fertile soil on the bank.s of the great wester' rivers, may accrue results most important to the people of Canada, and in these it is desirable that the Province of Ontario, looking, as it does, to this vast northern sea as one of its boundaries, should as early as possible par- ticipate. The question of establishing improved communications between the more populous sections of Ontario and its north-western territory, especially with the settlements on Lake Superior, will undoubtedly ere long engage fuller attention. The practicability of constructing a railway to Sault Ste. Marie from the most advanced point of existing railway communications, iias long since been demon- strated. The late Mr. Herrick, and other surveyors, have furnished information pointing to the comparative ease by which connections in winter, by means of a stage road, might be maintained with Thunder Bay, the inhabitants of which region are now practically isolated for six months in the year. Lake Superior, on the other hand, never freezes over, nor is it a stormy water, and even Thunder Bay is open till so late a period that, with vessels properly protected in the bows it would be possible to maintain traffic, via the Sault, for nine months out of the twelve. The Sault certainly appears to be the point to which railway enterprise will have to be directed as providing a way to intercourse with North-western Ontario and the vast territories lying both Lo the north and west of the boundaries of this Province. r: K-vi N(r: rf I .• . Jsr (^j) '«' OiV "I .,--^^ ^ ^^. * O JV' s J? A^ J? A^ I '^'"•iiju-nm.. T- I) I V MAP o/' Sm:\MN(. 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