RECENT EXPLORATIONS TO THE SOUTH OF HUDSON BAY. By Dr. Robert Bell, F.R.S., of the Geological Survey of Canada. From ' The Geographical Journal ' for July, 1897. J 3 M 'i RECENT EXPLORATIONS TO THE SOUTH OF HUDSON BAY. By Dr. Kobert Bell, F.B.S., of the Geological Survey of Canada. {From ' The Geographicol Journal ' for July.) The existing maps of Canada show a large unexplored region south-east of James bay. My surveys and explorations of 1895 and 1896, in con- nection with the Geological Survey of Canada, have enabled us to construct a map showing the leading geographical features of the greater part of this large district. Its topography turns out to be very simple, the greater part of the region being comprised within the hydro- graphic basin of the Noddawai river, which falls into the head of Rupert bay. Previous to 1895, it was known that a river had its source near the height-of-land in the vicinity of Grand lake, on the upper Ottawa, and that it flowed to Hannah bay, the central bight of James bay. While exploring in the upper Ottawa region in 1887, I sent my assistant, Mr. A. S. Cochrane, across the height-of-land to collect information. He made an approximate survey of about 70 miles of a stream, which the natives believed to be the Hannah bay river. His report on this work is contained in the Summary Report of the Geological Survey for 1887. During 1894, Mr. H. O'Sullivan, of the Crown Lands Department of Quebec, descended the same stream for about 30 miles beyond the point reached by Mr. Cochrane, but did not determine the destination of the river. In 1895 I crossed the height-of-land, which passes close to the northern extremity of Grand lake, and commenced an instrumental survey of the river from the point reached by Mr. Cochrane in 1887. At about 170 miles from the heigh t-of-land, it was found to discharge into a lake, which the natives call Mattagami. My local Indian guide Paper read at the Royal Geographical Society, March 8, 1897. Map, p. 20. A 2 liKCENT KXI'LOUATIONS TO THE SOUTH OF HUr)S(tN BAY. knew nothing:; of the river that flowed from this lake, but he assured me frum hearsay that it did not fall into the sea at Kupert bay, but some- where further west. The existing sketch-maps represent the upper part of Hannah bay river as flowing across the route which I traversed, in such a way, that, if correct, a traveller following the water-courses could not help being carried to that bay. Waswaoipi river, which is reached by the Hudson's Bay Company's people through a chain of lakes from a point on Rupert river, about 70 miles up, falls into the east end of Lake Mattagami. Both it and the river I descended are fully as large as the Ottawa, at the capital. The large river which discharges Lake Mattagami was ascertained by my actual survey to be identical with the Noddawai ( = Iroquois), of which the mouth only had been previously located. From the mouth of the Noddawai I carried the instrumental survey to Rupert's House, the position of which had been already fixed a^tronomically by Mr. William Ogilvie, of the Dominion Lands Depart- ment. The Noddawai appears to be the largest river flowing into Hudson bay, with the exception of the Nelson, which is one of the great rivers of the world. The Big or Fort George river has a longer course, but its catch-basin is much narrower, and the rainfall is apparently less in the region which it drains. It will thus be seen that the river flowing from the height-of-land at Grand lake to Lake Mattagami, was confounded with the Hannah bay river, and that my survey proved the existence of a second large stream, which ultimately reached the sea at Eupert bay, in addition to the latter, and hence this stream, which was first partly explored by my assistant, and afterwards surveyed by myself, is really new to geography, and for the present I will call it the " new river." It was never indicated upon any map, and there appeared to be no name for it, which is not to be wondered at, as but few of the geographical features in this region possess names, and even these are only temporary. The few Indians who live in this part of the Canadian wilderness are quite indiSerent to geographical terms. Kivers and lakes may be called by different names after various Indians who hunt upon them from time to time. Each ])and or family circle makes use of such designations as may suit its own coivenience at the time, and these may not correspond with another limited set of names used by other families. Even these names are changed from tc time, so that an explorer may get from a party of natives a totally difterent set from those which had been given by other Indian ti to some 2)reviou8 traveller. They have no idea of a permanent geography and exact maps. The numerous large lakes and rivers of their country are commonplace to them. " Why should they not be large ' " they say. " The Great Spirit has made both the laud and the waters large.' Small features near their favourite camping-places are more apt to receive names than the large ones, the latter being known RECENT EXPLOIIATIONS T< » THE .SOUTH oE HI'DSoN I'.AY". 3 as " the bi^ lake," " tlie long lake," " the round lake,' '• the big river," " the ra])i«l river,"' etc. The fact that thi8 large territory has so few inhabitants is one of the various reasons why geographical names are bo scarce. Another reason is that, in accordance with one of their prejudices, these people ignore almost everything which has been in use by other Indians. This ap]dies to camping-grounds, pot-sticks, fire, implements, utensils, canoes, and geographical names, the idea being that it is derogatory to their pride to use anything second-hand as far as their own people are concerned, but not so in regard to white men. There is also the DRYING iHT AFTEi: IJAIK. element of jealousy, which forbids them from adopting anything originating with others. In this and all other wooded regions of Canada, our means of transport is the birch-bark canoe of the natives. This craft is still constructed just as it was before the advent of the white man in America. Nothing but the prehistoric materials enters into its con- struction. The rind of a mature canoe- birch tree is tough and durable, a roll of it having some resemblance to leather. The inner side is turned out to forra the bottom, and the different sheets are sewn together by long split roots of the spruce, which are also used to sew the bark to a narrow frame or gunwale. It is lined inside by long strips of cedar, split as thin as cardboard, placed 1 jugthwise, and held in position by light semicircular ribs of the same wood set closely together, their ends being caught between the inner side of the bark and the gunwale. The seams are made tight by the gum of any coniferous tree, neatly laid on. < 'anoes of this kind, from 12 to 'M) feet 4 UECfLNT KXPLOIIATIOXS TO THE SOL'TII OF HUDSON BAV. in leiif^tb, are tiHed on our surveys, and, as they carry a oonsiderahle load, we are onablod to take alonj^ with us all the provisions, tents, blankets, clothin*;^, surveying instruments, huntiuir, fishinj^, and cookinj^ apparatus, and other things required for several months' operations. Paddles or sails are used in smooth water, but in rapids setting-poles or tracking-lines are required. The falls on the rivers, and the intervals between the nearest bays of two neighbouring lakes, are overcome by carrying the light canoes and their cargoes on the backs of the voyageurs along the " portages," or trails, which have existed at such places from time immemorial. A small canoe can be readily carried by one man, and the larger ones by two to four men. Everything being in the form of handy y)ackages, the cargo is quickly transferred from one end of the " portage " to the other. The ordinary portage load for a man is 2<)() lbs., and it is held upon his back by a pack-strap, or "sling," the lojp of which is placed upon the forehead. The white man has invented nothing to equal the Indian canoe for the purposes for which it is used. It is light and durable ; it runs well, and is easily repaired ; materials like those out of which it is built may be procured to repair damages at almost any place where an accident may happen, and the voyageurs understand how to make these repairs expeditiously. This is the canoe of history and poetry, the canoe of Longfellow's " Hiawatha," the same that was used by Cham plain and the other adventurous missionaries who, in Canada's early days, explored the St. Lawrence, the Great lakes, and the Mississippi river. It is still used by moht surveyors and explorers for all their trans- portation, and also by the Hudson's Bay Company to take in their goods and biing out their furs. Except for the black flies, mosquitoes, and midges or sand-flies, there is much that is enjoyable and even fascinating in exploring the northern wilds of Canada by following the canoe-routes. In toiling up a rapid river, we may at any turn come face to face with a picturesque fall, never before seen by white man. After portaging across a divide, we may on the same day have the enjoyment of descending a swift-flowing stream, varied by the occasional excitement of running a dangerous rapid ; or, in following a winding river, we may be surpri&ed by its suddenly opening into a lake, so long that one cannot see the opposite end. ]VIuch of one's success in carrying out these explorations depends upon having good voyageurs. The Indians, if well selected, are the best, although half-breeds are often very good. The party should be as small as possible, since it is easier to take along provisions and other necessaries for a small number than for a larger one. Good voyageurs understand the work so well that few orders require to be given. In tho evening, as soon as the head of the party has selected camping- gmund, the canoes arc quickly unloaded, and turned upside down to KtCENT KXI'LoUATloNS To THE SOUTH OF HLlKSON liAV. 5 dry. Kvery man has liis appointed work to tlo, anil lie sets about it at once. In about one hour from the time of lanclin<>;, all the tents are up, the blankotK spread, and snpj)er is ready. Our l)edN are niada ^pon the ground with the tips of bouj^hs of the balsam fir, or, in its absence, of the spruce. They are laid in regular order like slates on a roof, the lower surfaces uppermost and the stem ends sloping downward. They form a springy bed with a delightful perfume, which would soothe one to sleep if any help were needed. It will be seen by the accompanying map that the general course of the new river is in continuation of that of the main boiy of (irand lake. The latter, in reality, lies in the same physical depression, and its waters flowed to the sea by way of this river at a compaiativejy recent geological TYPICAL MEW DOWN BELL RIVER, period. The outflow of Grand lake through this depression has been arrested by the silting up of the channel at the spot where the waters now divide, owing to a slow differential elevation of the land to the north-eastward, wliich is still going on. The northward discharge of (J rand lake might be restored by raising its new outlet a few feet, or by a slight excavation through the sand forming the present divide. Having carefully surveyed the new river and the Noddawai in 18!t5 as a base for further operations, I spent the first part of the summer of iSOti in making approximate surveys of eleven branches of the former, while the second part of the season was devoted to the region between Guil lake and IJupert river, to be described further on. During the latter year, my assistant, Mr. Iv. W. Brock, made a track-survey of the Megiskun (Fish-hook) branch of the new river, and of a chain of lakes and streams from thence northward to Lake Wuswanii)i (Torch lake). Fie ;ils(> iimde a similar survey of the Wjiswjiiiipi river, from tlie lake of the same name nearly to its source, from wliich he crossed to L;ike Mis- tassini ( l')ii;-stone lake i and returned home by Lake St. .John and (,)nebec. The country explored in the two yearn measures about 'Jr<»ken only by this chain of lakes. 0|.ata\varoadback river is flowing at a level of oO feet below that of the Rupert, G miles due north of it, and throughout its course of 60 or 70 miles from this locality to the sea, it runs within a few miles of the latter stream, and descends about .tOO feet. The country between Lake Waswanipi and Rupert river may lie described as tolerably level, with some iscdated hills and ridges rising to heights of a few hun^ sheet of water and Lake yhabogania, RECENT EXPLORATIONS TO THE SOUTH OF HUDSON BAY. 9 the new river expands into Simon and Obaska (Grassy narrows) lakes, the connecting links being interrupted by several rapids. Lake Shabogania is nearly 30 miles in length, and discharges frotn its north-western side, its name meaning " side outlet." The Megiskun branch falls in on its eastern shore, 3 or 4 miles from its upper extremity, among large marshes, formed from the hilt brought down by this rapid river. Mid- way between lakes Shabogama and ]Mattagami, the river gives off a "lost channel " on the west side, which forms Ka-ni-qua-ni-ka, or the Long Island, 16 miles in length. Five falls or rapids occur in the last 18 miles of the river before it enters Lake Mattagami ; but above these rapids, about 60 miles of the stream, following its course, would be navigable without interruption for steamers. Most of the rapids of the new river consist of short chiites, having a descent of from 5 to 40 feet, with intervals of smooth water between them. On sounding the latter, the water was found to be unexpectedly deep, varying trom 25 to 40 and even 80 feet. The width was generally from one-fourth to one-third of a mile. The shores have generally a flooded appearance. The woods usually come to the water s edge, a distinct beach being rare even at low water. Sudden expansions occur at the terminations of narrow rocky parts, and here the water was always found to be very deep, as if each of these expansions had been a pool at the foot of a rapid when the channel was at a lower level, and the descent in the river-bed more rapid. Some of the branches from the south-west have very irregular and non- parallel shores, much divided into points, peninsulas, bays, lagoons, and culs-de-sac, showing a permanently flooded condition, while, on the other hand, old water-marks are found on the rocks at the east end of Lake Mattagami, 13 feet above the highest levels of modern times. On the east side of the northern extremity of the Long Narrows of Grand lake, 6 or 7 miles south of the height-uf-land, there is a well- developed sand-spit, pointing north, which must have been formed when Grand lake discharged in that direction. These and other facts appear to be evidences of a difi'erential uplifting of the land towards the north-east, with a corresponding lowering of the grade of the river, which has produced the existing flooded condition and turned aside the connection with Grand lake. Such a change in the destination of the drainage of a large area could be made only on a nearly level i)lateau such as this. The height- uf-land betwen the streams falling into Hudson bay and those which flow southward into the St. Lawrence, is not a ridge dividing the one set of waters "rom the other, but a nearly level strip of land, on which the upper branches interlock and sometimes curve about a good deal, as if undecided which way they should ultimately run. On the various watersheds of the Laurent ian area, lakes of double outlet are not uncommon. Among such lakes connected with the Ottawa drainage A 2 10 RECENT EXPLORATIONS TO THE SOUTH OF HUDSON BAY. may be mentioned Temagami, Keepawa, Whitefish, Lac des Iiapides, and one at the source of the Dumoine river. A short range of greenstone hills, from which the timber has been biirnt off, runs along the south side of Lake Mattagami, and forms a conspicuous feature of the landscape. The highest of these, which I have called ]\[ount Laurier, after the present premier of Canada, rises to the height of 070 feet above the lake at its base, and is the highest " mountain " of the district, unless some of the hills south of Gull lake should be found to exceed it. Lake Mattagami has a length of 25 miles from west to east, while its northern arm measures 16 miles at right angles to this course. Leaving this arm, the voyageur descends a short link of the Noddawai river, with two slight rapids, to Lake Soskumika (Slippery shores), an ex- pansion of the river 33 miles long. In the next 4U miles there are occasional rapids, and a total fall of probably 150 feet. The remaining 50 miles, following the general caurse of the river, to the head of tide, is almost a continuous rapid, with a total descent of some 450 feet. The effects of the "shoving" of the ice in spring are well exemplified along the Xoddawai river and in the larger lakes of this region. On the river the ice forms to a thickness of 3 feet or more, and when this breaks up by the spring rise, heavy ma.'^ses of it are shoved out of the water and up the shore by the pressure of the current. These ice-shoves take place at different points in different years accord- ing as the conditions are changed by local chance or circumstance. The heavy masses of ice often push before them great (juantities of stones and occasionally large boulders, the courses of the latter being marked by deep grooves ploughed in the beach. "Where the current is stiong, curved points are apt to be formed of ice-shoved stones and b(»ulders at places where the shore above trends in such a way as to favour the ice in shoving the boulders outward into the stream. The up-stream side of such a point shelves gradually up from the water, and is formed of closely packed stones and small boulders, while the down-sti'cam side '8 steep, owing to the fact that the larger boulders are pushed to its edge and there dumped, so that they become piled upon one another at as high an angle as possible. Tlius the point grows higher and higher above the level of the water on the lower side, the longer it increases in length and breadth. The accompanying illustration shows the dump or lower side of one of these points. Where shoals or small islands occur in the larger lakes at such })laces as to catch the fields of drifting ice in the spring, boulders are shoved upon them from the surrounding shallows, and become piled as a wall all around above high-water mark. In some cases where a small islet is subject to ice-shoves from all directions, the boulders became pushed up so as to form a conspicuous pile or even a steep RECENT EXPLORATIONS THE SOUTH OF HUDSON BAY. 11 cone. A remarkable instance of the latter occurs on the west side of Lake Evans. At the Ice portage, the Noddawai river, during the spring flood, spreads to a great breadth, witli numerous wooded islands, but at low water it is confined to a few swift narrow channels, \, hile all the rest of the bed of the stream, several s(] lare miles in extent, becomes a dry field of boulders. Some of the latter a/e of great si/e. One of tlie largest of them, about 20 feet in height, is shown in the illustration on p. 13. Middleton island, 15 miles northward from the head of tide, and 11 miles southward from the mouth of liiipert river, may be considered to be at the mouth of Xuddawai river. Broadback river falls in just POINT FORMED BY ICE-SHUVED BOULDERS. above this island, and it might therefore be considered as a branch of the Xoddawai. On account of its depth and strong current, the latter discharges a greater volume of water than might bo supposed fr^m its width. From the mouth at Middleton island up to the junction of the Kitchigami river, a distance of 25 miles, it has an average breadth of 2', miles. Thence, up to the main body of Lake Mattagami, a further distavice of about 130 miles, the general width is from one-third to half a mile. The average breadth of Lake Soskumika and the north arm of Lake Maltagami, included in this distance, is 2 miles. As to the total length of the Noddawai river, although its catch- basin measures only about 230 miles in a straight line, if we allow for the curves in the main stream and those of its branches up to the head of the longest affluent, it has probably a course of about 400 miles or more. 12 RECENT EXPLORATIONS TO THE SOUTH OF HL'LSON BAY. The precipitation over the area which it drains is evidently greater than the average of Canada. One reason fur this appears to be that the prevailing warm south-westerly winds of summer carry large nuantities of moisture across the height-of-land, which, being chilled as they pass over the continuous and cool evergreen forests of the region, cause the copious rains of which we had unpleasant experience during the past two summers. In winter the snow is said to accumulate to an average depth of about 4 feet. The moss, which grows everywhere in the deep shade of the coniferous trees, retains the water like a sponge after a heavy rain, and allows it to drain away gradually. The brush- wood and fallen timber, which obstruct the flow of water in the in- numerable small streams all over the country, tend to equalize the water-supply. The generally level nature of the region is also favour- able to slow drainage, and the numerous lakes connected with all parts of the river-system form reservoirs to maintain a steady flow. From such reasons as these, the volume of water in the main river does not fluctuate greatly at difi"erent seasons like that of the Ottawa. The region under description promises to be rich in some kinds of economic minerals. The Huronian rocks, which constitute our most productive ore-bearing system, are largely developed within its borders. * The great belt of these rocks, mingled with eruptive greenstones and granites, which runs from Lake Superior to Lake Mistassini, attains its maximum width in this region, and measures 150 miles on a line drawn straight north from the head of Grand lake to Lake Mattagami. A considerable proportion of the Huronian sj stem of the district consists of various kinds of crystalline schists and pyroclastic rocks. These and the greenstones are intersected by numerous veins of quartz, many of which have a promising appearance for gold. Iron pyrites in economic quantities, and containing copper, was found in several localities on the Broadback river. The soil of the greater part of the district appears to be suitable for agriculture. On the lower levels it consists of a thinly laminated brown clay resting on till. This clay is exposed in the banks of nearly all the rivers we explored, while on the higher grounds, sandy, gravelly, and loamy soils prevail. The waters of the "Waswanipi are clear, but those of the new river and its branches, as well as of the Noddawai and the lakes of the Broadback, are turbid, from which it may be inferred that the clay prevails over a very wide area. The solid rock is to be seen principally in the hills, at the rapids in the streams, and on the shores and islands of the lakes. The whole region is well wooded with a variety of our northern species of trees. The white and red pines i^Pinus strubas and P. resinosa) extend to Obaska lake, the black ash (Fraxinus samhaclfoVui) to Gull lake, and the white cedar {Thuja uccidintalis) to the outlet of Lake Evans. It is a curious fact that only a few clumps of the balsam poplar {Po}/ulus RECENT EXPLORATIONS TO THE SOUTH OF HUDSON BAY. 13 halsamifera) are found along the upper part of the new river or in the region around Grand lake, although this tree is abundant for hundreds of miles further north. The area in which it is lacking is a south-westward extension of a very large one in central Labrador, where this tree is not known to occur, although it grows in a wide belt all around it. The staple timbers of our region are the black and white spruces (JPicea nigra and P. alba), which are everywhere the most common. The other conifers, in the order of their abundance, are the Banksian inne {Pinus Bank»iana), the tamarac or larch (^Larlx Americana), the balsam fir (Abies balsamea), and the white cedar [Thuja occidentalis). The deciduous tnes are the canoe birch (Betula papyracea), the aspen (Poyulus tremuloides), tlie HUGE BOILDEK AT ICE POBTAGE. black ash already mentioned, the rowan (Pyrus Americana), the bird cherry (Pranus Pennsylcanica), and, in the northern part, the balsam poplar. Near the streams and lakes many of the white spruce trees attain a diameter of 2 to 2^ feet, and these, like the pines, may be manufactured into sawn lumber, while the smaller spruces will be valuable for making paper piilp. The spruces, Banksian pine, tamarac, and white cedar may be utilized in construction, fencing, etc., for fuel, railway ties, spars, telegraph poles, mine timber, charcoal-making, and a variety of other purposes, while the timber of the deciduous species may be employed for many purposes. The tamarac trees have been mostly killed by an imported saw-fly, but this pest has disappeared, and a new growth will spring up. Both the canoe birch and the balsam fir attain a large size, which is evidence of a good soil. Unlike most of our coniferous forest regions, the timber of this district has suflbrod comparatively little from bush fires. There is a 14 liECENT KXFLURATIONS TO THE SOUTH UF HUDSON BAY. burnt tract to the south of Lake Waswanipi, but throughout the rest of the district we saw only a few small spots which had been damaged by fire, so that the region, as a whole, may ^e considered as clothed with green timber. On passing to the south o^ the height-of-land, several kinds of trees make their appearance which are not seen to the north of it. The climate of the region in question is much better than is commonly supposed. Our district extends from latitude 47° 45' to latitude 51'', the latter being south of that of London. Although it does not enjoy any exceptional advantage for these latitudes, neither does it suffer from the cold current of the western Atlantic, from whloh it is more than 1000 miles distant. The low altitude of the plateau is greatly in favour of its climate, which may be considered as normal for the above latitudes. Wheat is successfully cultivated around Lake St. John, at the head of the Saguenay river to the east, and it has been found to ripen on the Abitibi and Missinaibi rivers to the west, where it has been tried on a small scale. If we draw a line connecting these localities, it will pass through the centre of our region, and it may be presumed that wheat will thrive throughout the tract from this line southward, if not to the north of it. Early in the spring of 1896 I sent small quantities of wheat and oats to the gentleman in charge of the Hudson's Bay Company's post on Lake Waswanipi, who is the only white person in the whole district. These samples were sown, and the wheat was nearly ripe when I visited the place in the middle of last August. Barley had been successfully raised at this post for many years. In the garden, peas and beans and all kinds of root crops were thriving well. Potatoes had always been a great success, and timothy grass and two kinds of clover were growing in a field. Indian corn was under trial for the first time, and it had put forth its silk at the above date. Barley and all kinds of root crops have long been grown at Rupert's House and Moose Factory, which lie beyond the northern limits of the whole district. In untried regions we may be guided, to a great extent, as to the prospects for successful agriculture by the natural flora. It is generally conceded that wheat will ripen wherever the mountain maple {Acer spicotum) and the saskatoon {Amelanchier) are to be found, and these bushes or small trees extend into the northern parts of the district. There appears to be little doubt, therefore, that wheat and the coarser grains will ripen over a large portion of this region, and it may be assumed that hay, potatoes, and all the ordinary root crops will grow throughout the whole area. Independently of grain-growing, we have, therefore, in this new region a very large amount of good land that will some day prove valuable for stock and dairy farming, which are now the most profitable bram hes of agriculture in Canada. At the posts of the Huds' u's V'iiy Cuuipauy on -lames bay, splendid cattle have been KECENT KXPLnKATIUNS TO THK SuUTli Ut HUDSON UAY. 15 raised for more than ;i hundred years from improved stock imported fntm England and Scotland. If two-thirds of the land in the district ahove described should prove to be good, it would amount to 2o,U00,000 acres. The region is prac- tically inaccessible without a railway, which, however, might be easily built from (,)uebec, Munt^e^l, or Ottawa. The territory I have described is far south of the country of the Eskimos, whose most southern visits only extend to Cape Jones, 1500 miles north of the mouth of the Xoddawai. The few aborigines who live in the district exph^red belong to the Northern Cree branch of the widespread Otchipwe, or Cree stock. This tribe, divided into more than CHI ]! XE«T PAKTLY EXTOSEl). twenty branches under as many different names, extends from New- foundland to the Rocky mountains. In the Labrador peninsula they come into direct contact with the Eskimos, but on the west side of Hudson bay, the Chipewyan tribe intervenes. In the rei;ion described in this paper they are verj' few in number, only some thirty or forty families living in the whole district, or one family to every 1500 or 20<>0 square miles. They are an honest and inoffensive people, with many j)olite instincts, ami they are very fi icndly to any white man they may chance to meet, but only one resides in the whole region. They devote most of their time, both summer and winter, to fishing and the pursuit of game for food; but during the winter they also trap furs to trade with the Hudson's Bay Company for such European goods as they require. As to the fciuiia of the region, mammals are not abundant, but in 16 UECENT KXPLORATIONS TO THE SOUTH OF HUDSON' BAY. the southern part of the disfrici there are a few moone and Virginia deer, and the corribou, or woodland reindeer, is found in small numbers throughout the whole region ; also the black bear, the beaver, musk-rat, Canada porcupine, lynx, wolverine, otter, "^Vunk, fisher, marten, mink, foxes, and wolves. The American aare is the n'ost common and useful mammal. The Indians, as well as some of the wild animals, depend largely upon it for their I'ving in winter. Water-fowl are not plentiful, as they prefer to go to districts where wild rice is to be found. The ruffed, Canada, and pin-tailed grouse occur rather sparingly at all seasons, and the willow ptarmigan migrates southward to this region in winter. Salmon and trout are entirely wanting, but other fishes abound in the waters, the commonest species being sturgeon, pike, pickerel, gold eyes, fresh-water ling, suckers, and chubs. The last-named fishes are called aioadosi (" stone-carriers ") by the Indians, from their habit of collecting gravel and stones, weighing from less than one ounce up to about one pound, and depositing them in a heap in the bottom of a river at a suitable spot for hatching their eggs, which are placed in this singular nest. This is done in the spring. A larger or smaller number of the fishes, whose bodies would weigh from a pound to three or four pounds, work together to build the nest, the size of which will depend upon the number of workers. They pick up the stones with their mouths, and bring them to the heap, one at a time, from far and near. These nests are made in tolerably shallow water where there is a moderate current, which favours the hatching of the ova. Their form is generally conical, and they contain on an average a cart-load of gravel and stones, but they vary from a wheelbarrowful up to four and five tons. The fact that the stones weigh fully one-third less under water than in the air lielps to account for their ability to carry the larger ones, which may be seen in hundreds on these heaps. It may appear strange that the greater part of this region should have remained unexplored until now. But the reasons are not far to seek. Although its southern border is only 180 miles in a straight lino, north of the city of Ottawa, the region is not easy to reach by present means of travel. It had no attraction for any one but government explorers, who were few in numbers, and they had always been fully occupied, elsewhere. Fur-bearing animals were not plentiful, and very few aborigines lived in the region ; its rivers formed no part of the routes travelled by the Hudson's Bay Company's people. It formed only a small part of the unexplored regions of Canada, which are more exten- sive than any others in the world at the present time. Owing to this combination of circumstances, it remained unknown to geography, not- withstanding that it was the most southern of our unexplored districts, but it now proves to be a very valuable part of the Dominion. If a railway were built ironi Quebec, Montreal. ~ .^^ Lake — «-rj -^^ ■■••■4'-".?, 'Z * I----., ^ .Ji:iulf purttuje SupenSoiLse i ^7/ Bull Sapid SoiirJi It-hsi ^5>^ >Z::y'' iff ■''tyf long /] ih ^Jhtnit^ Moitiiltiiii Laie ,.-rO V.^<. ,„, !.mi//,„^^^ Hulifllttif l.iail •■i'^ ;'ltrl/i,/,' i^.-' ^,. Raiikin .;;-; ' - r L-r-^ Of I.I. t ■-:sh Bi.^ 1 ^— -,„-' •^^...z iJar •VC (AW .?pn f Orppti- nviu^ c:ri^' '-"o '/"' Hly islxmii pvrttiun ssf ''ho r / i.-f/. ( 'r% ■9^y r^/ ' ,7^^^ A^^, uJl?^ fiuFfiit Mf- H' Sron iL.tieikie ••-.^v. -t'^.^v. ^>> •, V ^-^w til ivnga Heiiiht ai /..mil X \ JjU^ L-K II' II K^''"'; - rAin rj^\f H>'' flush L. ^ \ ;*•' /'/ Av/ ^y mult' f..iho ^ i^> trhi firi shi . Lak,' /Vv'^.^- ^.;(A'' «;'/ii v^t.^:>-v: '■"/^ y.?*-; ! m\ ■K9 4H THE NODDAWAI RIVER and its (rihiuanes. SOUTH-EAST OF JAMES BAY. From Oie siiiveys of Hoboit Bell, M.D..LJ..U. 1895 - 1HJ)H. -P" (J, _4 ^ ■I'Jtiiiiiisi \,t'/ .Virtenma f U^ ^ ^*/ Hirvh J,/. ? v^ .10' ;)() Published by ihe Koyai GeojJ'raphiral Soci« W.I S H'AA'IPI/ \i..l KJi ""•'"■Oft /7:7 H'/ / h-im ifu timkn PubUsht-d by the {^ayskl Gcographu •! Soriety