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 RED RIVER COUNTRY. 
 
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 ttDSON'S BAY 4;|QKTH-WEST 
 
 TERRITORIES, 
 
 CONSIDERED 
 
 
 
 
 IN RELATION TO CANADA, 
 
 WIT]Br THE LAST REPORT OF 8. J. DAWSON, ESfUIRE, C. E., OX THE LINE OF ROUTE , 
 WBTWBfX LAKE SUPERIOR AND THE RED RIVER SETTLEMENT. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY A MAP. 
 
 BY ALEX. J. RUSSELL, C, E., 
 
 INSPECTOR OF CKOWN TIMBKK AORN£IR8, CANADA EAST AND WaST, 
 
 -X' 
 
 OTTAWA: ^ 
 
 PUBLISHED BY G. E. DE8BARATS. 
 • 18C9. 
 
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 aNADA 
 
 NATIONAL LIBRARY 
 BIBLIOTHEQJJE NATIONALE 
 
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 THE RED RIVER COUNTRY, 
 
 HUDSON'S BAY AND NORTH-WEST 
 
 TERRITORIES, 
 
 CONSIDERED 
 
 IN RELATION TO CANADA. 
 
THE 
 
 RED RIVER COUNTRY, 
 
 HUDSON'S BAY & NORTH-WEST 
 
 TERRITORIES, 
 
 CONSIDERED 
 
 IN RELATION TO CANADA, 
 
 WITH THE LAST REPORT OP 8. J. DAWSON, ESQUIRE, C. E., ON THE UNE OF ROUTE 
 BETWEEN LAKE SUPERIOR AND THE RED RIVER SETTLEMENT. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY A MAP. 
 
 BY ALEX. J. RUSSELL, C. E., 
 
 INSPECTOU OF CROWN TIMBER AGENCIES, CANADA EAST AND WEST. 
 
 OTTAWA: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY G. E. DESBARATS. 
 
 1869. 
 
£Httred, according to Act of Parliamtnt of Canada, in the year One Thousand Eight Hundred 
 
 and Sixty-nine, 
 
 BV GEORGE E. DE8BARATS. 
 
 in the Office of the Minister of Agriculture. 
 
 PRINTED BY THE 
 
 GLOBE PRINTING COMPANY, 
 
 TORONTO. 
 
PREFACE, 
 
 mdrcif 
 
 This Pamphlet is intended to present such a sununary of the 
 information, given by different writers, respecting tlie lied liiver, 
 Hudson's Bay and Nortli-West Territories, arranged under tlieir 
 natural geographical divisions, as . ''ay be sufficient to give a general 
 view of their character and comparative value to Canada. 
 
 It will be seen by the Table of Contents that I have endeavoured 
 to present a practical view of the reasons why we require these 
 Territories, or part of them; also, of our means of maintaining 
 communication with them, and of the comparative superiority of 
 the routes through our own Territory as highways for the future 
 commerce of the interior, and for communication with the Pacific 
 Provinces. 
 
 A. J. RUSSELL. 
 
 Ottawa, 1868. 
 
Auss^a, f\^ 
 
 11 
 
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 •<». >• 
 
 
 t f 
 
 SECOND PREFACE. 
 
 'ii: 
 
 Ite 
 
 
 * The narlior publication of thi pamphlnt was provontod l)y Ihn 
 loss of an edition of it in the fire that destroyed Iho printing 
 establishment of G. E. Desbarats, Esq. 
 
 Since then the Hudson's Bay Company have eonsented to trans- 
 fer all the territories claimcMl by Ihem, to Canada, on terms pro- 
 posed by the Imperial Government, admirably ealculated to bo 
 advantageous alike to the E^minion and \\w Company, giving the 
 latter a permanent interest in th(; sucressfnl settlement and profS- 
 perity of the great prairie j'ountry on the Red River and Saskat- 
 chawan. 
 
 This event, with whieh the names of our Canadian Delegates 
 Sir George E. Cartier and the Honorable William Maedougall will 
 be historieally associated, places at the disposal of the Dominion 
 the half of North America with its varied resources and fertile 
 regions of great extent ; presenting a vast field for settlement and 
 commercial enterprise, with the most favorable route of interior 
 communication from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 The publication of this Pamphlet might seem unecessary now 
 
 that the object which it was the endeavour to advocate in it has 
 
 been attained; were it not, that though hurriedly written, at 
 
 casual intervals, and unrevised, owing to the pressure of ofTicial 
 
 duties, the information drawn tc^jether in it may still prove in 
 
 some degree useful or interesting. • * . ' 
 
 t ♦ 
 
 A. J. RUSSELL. * 
 
 4 
 
 6ttawa, 15th May, 1869. " ^ , 
 
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CONTENTS. 
 
 CUAPTEll I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Subjects to1)e coiiHidenjil, in<l'icuteil. — Total oxtdiit of IhidHon'H liay uiid North- 
 west Territories. — They reHeiuble Russia in Europe. — Canada, with them 
 added to it, will much exceed Euwpean Russia in extent, e<iual it in fertil- 
 ity, and much exceed it in maritime advantjigen — which have been greatly 
 increased by Confederation with the Eastern Provinces. — Great inci-ease of 
 shipping ond seamen thereby. — Importance of adjoining territories to (.'anada. 
 — Evil of undervaluing even interior territories. — lerritories to be con- 
 sidered, classified 1 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 EAST MAIN, on THE PESIN.SULA OF LABRADOR. 
 
 Extent. — Parts appertaining to Canada, Newfoundland, and Hudson's Ray 
 Company. — Early discovery of it. — Physical Character. — Wo(xled and 
 barren parts. — Resembles Lanland. — Vegetables grow in south parts only. — 
 Main Factory. — Hamiltcm Inlet; fann there. — Valuable fisheries on Atlantic 
 coast. — Less so on west coast, excej)t for seals 6 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 SOUTH HUDSON'.S DAY TERRITORY. 
 
 Extent. — Physical character. — Broad Silurian Plain around Hudson's Bay with 
 clay soil. — Rocky Laurentian formation cover- southern and western half 
 after passing through Canada. — Laurenti<le Range descril)ed. — Declines in 
 height northward. — Favorable passage through it for Railway to Re<l 
 River. — Climate at York Factory. — Cultivation at Albany and Moose Forts, 
 barley, potatoes and vegetables; also, at Posts of Henly, Martin's Falls, 
 Osnaburg, on Albany River and Lac Seule, with oats and wheat at 
 New Brunswick House, on Moose River. — Seasons nt Martin's Falls. — 
 Cultivation at Norway House, Lake Winnipeg, and of wheat and Indian 
 com at Fort Alexander and Lake of the woods. — Boundary of Silurian Basin 
 
Vlll, 
 
 of Hudson's Bay. — Fertile belt and good climate lor wheat on Rainy 
 River. — Wheat and Indian corn at IslinLfton. — Climate of south part equal 
 to Lower Canada for cultivation. — South half of this section equal to Finland 
 for cultivation, and twice as large. — Has timber of value and rich 
 fisheries. — Water connuunication to Hudson's Bay. — Ultimate value of this 
 territory. — Errors through prejudice in such matters 9 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 NORTH HUDSON'iJ HAY TERRITORY, OK BARREN GROUND. 
 
 Botindariesand extent. — Valuele.^s. — Extreme barrermess. — Arctic vegetation. — 
 Reindeer and Musk Ox. — Po.ss*ible metallic wealth 21 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 NORTH 31'KENZII: RIVER COUNTRY. 
 
 Extent. — Physical character. — Severe climate. — Fertile soil. — Coal and tim- 
 ber. — Crops and temperature at Fort Simpson. — Barley, &c. — South half 
 equal to Vologda, in Russia, in extent and for cultivation. — River McKen- 
 zie. — Possible value of its navigation to Arctic whale fisheries. — Sir Alex. 
 Mc Kenzie.'s voyage in discovery of it. — Great abundance of lignite coal. — 
 Probable future vahie of this territory. — Products and exports of Vologda 
 and Archangel , 22 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PELLY RIVER AND 3I0UNTAIN COUNTRY. 
 
 Extent and physical character resemble Sweden and Norway, but United 
 States own the coast. — Alpine character. Rocky Mountains and other 
 ranges impregnable as a barrier. — Great elevation of interior and extreme- 
 cold of winter, but summer sufficient for growth of barley throughout. — 
 Temperatures at Fort Youcan, Pelly's Banks, and Sitka compared, and 
 Sitka with Montreal. — Humid and temperate climate of coast. — Better a 
 little inland and in south part. — Explorations there. — Tracts of good 
 land. — Indian cultivation. — Immense coal bed. — Abundance of -salmon. — 
 Rich gold fields, and valuable timber forests 26 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 CENTRAL PRAIRIE COUNTRY, OR RED RIVER, SASKATCHEWAN AND PEACE RIVER 
 
 TERRITORY. 
 
 Position and extent. — Suitableness for cultivation equal to Canada. — Import- 
 ance of it to Canada. — To])ograp^ • ?al character. — Is part oi great central 
 plain of Silurian and more recent formations. — Prevalence of limestone- 
 
IX. 
 
 along east side and in Rocky Mountains. — Sir Rodk. Murchison's opinion. — 
 Vast beds of lignite coal extending along the base of the mountains.- 
 Form and natural divisions by river systems, and their areas. — General 
 features as to elevation.— Gradual ascent of plain to Rocky Mountains. — 
 Character and elevation of them. — Glacier nucleus at .sources of Saskatche- 
 wan, Athabasca and River Columbia. — Height of the interior. — Is an ele- 
 vated basin, bounded on three sides by higher grounds. — Is a thousand feet 
 lower than U.S. territory adjoining. — Pmirie hmds prevail over woods in 
 south parts, and woods over prairie in north 20 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CENTRAL PRAIRIE COUNTRY CONTINUED — LAKE AND RIVER WINNIPEG, LAKE OF 
 THE WOODS, RED RIVER, AND COUNTRY BETWEEN THEM. 
 
 Lake "Winnipeg, position, dimensions and elevation. — Divides Silurian and 
 Laurentian fonuations. — Character of its navigation and navigable extent 
 of tributaries connected with it. — River Winnipeg, extent. — Equal to the 
 Rhine in volume. — Lake of the Woods. — Rough country below^it on River 
 Winnipeg. — Fertile patches. — Fort Alexander in large fertile tract at mouth. — 
 Flat country between Lake of the Woods and Red River. — Extensive shal- 
 low marshes near the lake ; are undrained prairies. — Descent to Red River. — 
 Coiuitry generally marshy. — Wooded till near it. — Red River, — Length. — 
 Navigation. — Rich alluvial prairie — far on each side. — Timber along jits 
 banks 38 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CENTRAL PRAIRIE COUNTRY CONTINUED— RIVER ASSINIBOINE — INFERTILE ^ 
 REGION ON ITS BRANCHES, THE SOURIS AND QU'aPPELLE. 
 
 River Assiniboine. — Description of its course. — Small volume of it and its 
 tributaries, Souris and Qu'Appelle, and the cause. Great Infertile Region 
 on Souris and Qu'Appelle, generally destitute of wood. Has apparently ex- 
 tensive, partly wooded, and fertile tracts in it. — Description of them 42. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
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 CENTRAL PRAIRIE COUNTRY CONTINUED — FERTILE REGION' ON THE ASSINIIJOINK. 
 
 Rich alluvial prairie of Red River, extends 70 miles up the Assiniboine to 
 Sand Hills. — Fertile land above them on right hand, and infertile on left, 
 for 150 miles u^. — Then rich and beautiful country on both sides of vast 
 extent and partially wooded, reaching north to wooded country near Maia 
 Saskatchewan, and from Riding and Duck Mountains westward, to and over 
 the Touchwood Hills, described in detail. — It joins great fertile region on 
 Main and North Branch of Saskatchewan 46 
 
('HAJTKK XK 
 
 CKNTn.M. rUAJUlK roiNTHV CONTINrRn— 1<AKKH MANIToHAII AND WINKrWdOOS, 
 HFU OKKU AND HWAN UIVF.U, UllMNU, DITK, AND roiUlPINIi! MOl'NTAINH. 
 
 Lrtki's Mftin(<»l>iil» Mu\ Wim'|>o^ito». PoBiiinti ami •xtciit.Oulli't little 
 Snskrttcliownn. lV>»iinHMliv lu'twoon tlu'iu (\tul ljt»k'> Winnipt'n. — Wcuwlml. 
 Mtvtshv, littlo known.— Count vv iih>un<l tlio lukcs, oliiolly wooiloil.— lU'd 
 Doov llivor, Kt'VtiliMvooilnl fonntrv. Swnn Hivor, — Hirli nmlvio liuul «m 
 it (loHoriliod. Hiding, Dnckiuwl l'oiru|»in(»M(Mnit(unfl. - Position. Kxtcnt. — 
 Vllovntion tmA Roil. Kxtensivo itilmul niivigution tliro\>^rli liiikcH Mivnitohnh 
 lunl \Vino]»o^>o» 4J> 
 
 IMIAITKR Ml. 
 
 CKNTUAl, rUAlRli; corNVHY CONTtNUKD— RIVKU 
 
 couNrnY. 
 
 HAMKAIVUKWAN AND IT8 
 
 Uivov Saskatchewan. — t'ouvso. — Lonjj[th. Area dminpil. — Volunip, ooini)arp«l 
 with K«inu>mn livors. Hivor, antl «onnlry «»n it, dosorihiMl in «U'tiiil 
 
 npwanlp. Mouth. — (Jmnd HADitls. — (V-dar Ijuko. — liow n\atshy country. — 
 
 Prtsqnia, Pas Mission. -(^unhorhunl Houso. — Exoollonl land to groat oxlrnt. — 
 Fv^rt ;\ la (\u"no. — Kioh, inixo<l nntl woodod and prairie country wonlhwaixl to 
 the Assinihoino of vast extent, — Carml Hivor .' 53 
 
 CHvU'TKH Mil. 
 
 KOUTU imAXOH OF TIIK WASKATl'HKWAN. 
 
 Dinionsiiuis and ournM\t at Forks.— Hich land anil almndont woods conlinuo. — 
 Chaui^^s to light tix'oloss |U>iurio at 1JU> nnlos up fmm Forkn. — At 21<» niilo« 
 tho F.n>ow in GiwU Infortilo Kogion. — Rich tniot at Mooso Wo<h1s, — Thundor 
 Urotnling MountHin. — Kyobrow Mountains and CVpross Ililla. — Infortilo for 
 5i>»> nulos, with somo oxoopt.ioi\s. — l)o.scri]>tion l\v Caplnin Pallisor. — Rod 
 l><vr Fork, oxtont. — Fortilo country on upiH>r half; coal on it. — South 
 {Nvskatohowiut, naviirahlo up to this l>y stoanioi-s. — Fortilo and gonorally 
 xvoi><hvl country t*>waixls Rocky Mountains, doscrihod. — Rich winter pastur- 
 age on grortt extent of 8;vskatcl»ewan, and little snow 57 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 NORTH URAXCH OF THK SASKATCHKWAN. 
 
 Superior fertility of country on North Branch of Sjiskatchewan an«l the Rattle 
 Kiver throughotit, — Rich imvirio, inters]H>rso<l with wood. Thick womi 
 country towaixis Rocky Mountains, and coal. — Detailed description 61 
 
xi 
 
 CIIAITKU XV. 
 
 NAVIUATION oli- TMK HAHKAT( MKWAN. 
 
 Nnvii^nMc Irmii ln'inl •! (Irnml liniiitln, uvnr Irnkt- Wintiiin'i,', (o T(ii)>(>ni'>* 
 iriifls. — Alidvc <li»'iii In CoIc'b I''allH lor stcrtimTf. - N(» iiitt'MUjitiMii llicncj' tn 
 Ktlinnnlnii, iiimI iirnliulily t)n'iico tit lu'iir Uncky Moiiiiliiin«. — r«» 'i|»nn>«l wifli 
 till' Idiniic 1111)1 niiilic iiinl Oliin i'l'A 
 
 CIIAITKU XVI. 
 
 I'ROrollTION Olf FF-IITII.K r,ANI»H ON HOUTII IfAI.K OV CKNTnAT, mAriUK COUNTnY. 
 
 V,ny\. PalliKffV rHtiiimtc! nl" |irniMniiii!i ol' rcrtilc nml aniMr aii<l itif«Ttil»' 
 laiitlM ('XploiTil, uihI <lcK('t'i])ti(iti. In jiiiiittMl to I'lMUitry miuih nf liiii; of 
 f«tidnK woods. — DocH not iiicltidc iiortli half of (•♦•iitral prairie c.oimtry. — 
 FIiuIm fi'i'tilt! latiil <'t|ual In llircj' tiiiu's tlio h\/,v of II|iimt Canada from 
 Kingston In Manila.- (Jrcat Infertile rej/ion. — iJill'erence (d opinion an to it'' 
 value. — Coinjiared with " I'erpetnal Hteppcn" of iluHnia (!.'» 
 
 CllAI'TEIl XVU. 
 
 CENTRAL rnAiniK COl'NTIlY — NonTII lIAf.P, IlKAVKR RIVKR. 
 
 Deaver lliver, length (d" cniirHP. — Part only in thin territory — l)rain^ paitof 
 the Hanie Hiliiriati plain aw the SaHkatehewan — Same formation and noil, hut 
 with little prairie. — Cultivation. — Uich fiHherieH liH 
 
 CIIAPTKR XVIII 
 
 RIVKR ATHAUAHCA AND COUNTRY. 
 
 River Athahasca. — Source in njountaina.— Coui-He, length. — MajeHtic, Htream. — 
 Fluid IJitunu'U. — Mr. Poud'n j^anleii. — Mnu'stono jtrcvalcnt and hituincii, — 
 Li^ite coal. — Prairies interspersed eontinuously. — Extracts of D. Thomp- 
 son's journal descrihing cniuitry and climate. — Oliver Athahasra and Pem- 
 bina. — Uich soil. — llieli coal bed on Pembina. — lieautiful scene and prairie 
 ground at Methy Portage 6!) 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 ttlc 
 
 ooti 
 
 61 
 
 PEACE RIVEU. 
 
 Peace River source beyond the Rocky Mountains.— Course, length. — Is main 
 branch of McKenzie. — Delta and country u]> to falls gonemlly woodcid 
 and low. — Extensive prairies each side. — Higher above the falls, good 
 
xii 
 
 rhurm'ti'v of \'\\v\\ Avv\\. Ami lli^:ll iiliiin ntnntrv. lUmilirnl 
 tncudowM. Kivrlv spring;, AiiiiiinN mul womh tlcwciiltcil liv MrKnu.it in 
 
 soil 
 
 \y TltKtnpHnnV ini"lroriilo^in\l oliHi'iMilionn, iHOiV KuMU'iiltlp v\\ 
 mutt'. r^niiiM !unl virli Hoil tnwdnl'j Hmliy MtMniliiins. Ijiini'Htutit 
 i>i>'\uU'»l in v'wvv lu'<l \\\\\\ n»i>nnliun<. llruvy wdikIm. |)(>F*rii|i(i<<n ni 
 
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 ('IIAITKK \\. 
 
 Ht ,\VV* UtVV^H. n VY HIVKU. ANO UIVI'U <>F TIIK MOUNTAINH. 
 
 Slavo IJivor i" \\\\\\n MiKiMtzic U. 'I'lMiild"! N.K. conit'f ol' cmiiMl I'laiiio 
 oo\M\trv. Kivh lOiitU nionM «i(I\ ht>uv\ wurd^ to«ini|H livrr. Kicli |iftMtnn' 
 ]>lnin;< lH>hi«tl. V'o\n\tvy said to In- !-uili\liN' lor i'artniii}.!;, Iml ntM. liny 
 
 A^ivoaMo inixtwn' ol' |M!»irit' i»t\il woodlantl" IVtMpn'nUMl \\\ vawl lianth ol' 
 HuU'aloo*.- Hivcv of (he Moimtnin-*. 'l'\a\«M««'M Hooky Nlonnl«in« ami 
 N.W, oovnor ol' linn sootioii. l.iiniKtono oontitry. — (.'nl1ival»'«l rio]>H at 
 Vor( l,\i\^l. lilt. «i(*''N.. l>aiU'y, oa'.s, wlioat and jtotoitu'n 77 
 
 chaitku XXI. 
 
 1= 
 
 u 
 
 OMMATK or V.KNTKAI, IMIAUUK COrNTHY FirNKSM TOft CL'LTl VATION— CUOrH 
 
 IIAISKP, 
 
 (.lonoral ol>sorvation;*. Inoivaso »^l' ln>at lowanls racilio. (Jrcat rxlivnioH in 
 iutorior. AUsonoo of oxtrotnoM on l\nMli>\ 'roni|M'r!itniv at variotis iioints 
 ooni]vu\^l. ('ou\j'ai'a(ivo TaMo oi' ntotiililv nu'ans »»f sovoral plaooH in 
 contval Traivio Oiinuivy and Canada and Marilinto provincoH, for sovrn Hum- 
 mor and tivo wintor n»outlis. — riiniato of north and Houth Saskatolu'wan. — 
 IVpth of snow, various ]>arts.— ValnaMo suninior hoat r.tul favoruldo snrfartt 
 and soil for cultivation. — Kxtraonlinary whoat crops of Rod River luul AsHini- 
 Ivino, — Other onips t hoiv 7M 
 
 CHAPTER XXll. 
 
 coAi^ rETnoT-Ei'M, AND nrir.nixa material. 
 
 Fixture supply of Viuilding timber considered. — Wood nbundant in north 
 mrt*. — Le*3 Sk) in south. — Forests on Lake and River Winnipeg, Riding 
 Mountain range and on head waters of Saskatchewan. — Wood sutticient at 
 present in valleys of streams, &c. — Kinds and (piality of it consideretl. — 
 Peat, — Lignite ctxil and bitumen. — Various lociilities where they abound. — 
 Com^wrative table of calorific values of European lignites, peat, woods 
 iwid Nowc;V5tle cc&l 87 
 
xlii 
 
 (IIIAITKU XX III. 
 
 inimm'i;mwnth ofrr.iU'iK nv phaikik i.amih to Hr.mtr.nH. 
 
 Hnviii^r ol' ili)> lime iitnl Jitliiii' limt in ('|i'iiiiti;r IhimI i>\' litiilicr HtiMiiiiq nti'l 
 Stii||i><4. ( 'nnt III' llml. CNlitiintcil. (Iii'iil Hni|i«> for riillivftli))ii, lititl illilitiiilcil 
 liuv lUi'l |tiiBtnro III •'niiiiiM'in'cniciil, In Pflllcrw. Opon for «',xl»'iiHioii of 
 Mf'flh'iiit'iil cvi'i-vwIicH' witliHiil, Ilit> JH-iivy niBl, of ^jnililiiiij; rfnulH lliniiiyh 
 wiMnlfl iincfwmv ill ('iiiiudii 00 
 
 CIIAITKU XXIV. 
 
 wiiv WW nicgi'iiiw tiik Noiuri wlht TKrutmmiKM. 
 
 n(>i'itUF<i> <i;it' own viic.nni liitnh urc iiinili'f|imti> in (|iuitiillv ati«l 'iniilily to 
 rcccivt' t'onliniK'tl iiiiiiii^iatioti on u \ni^>' Mnijc. 'f'o j/jvf iih |tmiiif' liifi'l" 
 Inr lli(»M(' who iiri'li'i' llicin.'ro Rnvc oiir linilii-r loicfllrt I'roni uuucwtfnnry 
 rupiil tit'strnclioii, -To cxfciid our coiiitiicicc imH lnalllll'H<•l)lr^'^, aiiil ^\v»- 
 in('!'<>u^«><l ctiiploynicnl lor R|iip|iiii;^, liit<<i«'Mt ol' lln; MarilitiK; i'lovini^cH in 
 thi-^ »M 
 
 ATioN— uuors 
 
 CIIAITKfl XXV. 
 
 OlTU VA^^\NT TKUIIITOIIIIOH AMI) KKTTMNU IlKMIONH IN r'ANANA, CO^HltiKtlKU. 
 
 I. The Ottawa Coimfry ami OHiiwaaii'l lliiron 'I'tTritorv, 'oiiKidj'nMl in «i<tail. 
 2. Tilt' North Mliorc ol' hal^c Union. 'A. St. Maiiriri' 'I'rrritory. 4, Haj^'in-nay 
 Torrifory. 5. IOa«l<'rn TownHJiiitM. (5. South Hhon? I»»'l»»w '^ii'Ikt. 7. l'»ona- 
 Vf'nlun«, (laH)to and UcHtiKoufln',' inflndint^ jiart, in New HninHwick. — 
 UiiHuitahJt' to attract and n'rcivf rxti'lHivc. iiiuni^ralion. — VuliU! lor native 
 cHtorpriHf, Iroin iiiinnral and othtr rcMourc.cH , W) 
 
 (MIAITKR XXVI. , 
 
 VAIiUK OF TLMDKU FOIIKHTH ANI> 1,1 MHKK TIlAIlK TO THK PHOVINCEH, CON- 
 
 HIDKIIKD. 
 
 Estimated aiimiul outlay in liunber trade in Upper ari<l Lowftr Cana^la. — Great 
 cxpeiidituro for farm produce and labor. — ^Knconra^^es Hettlement by great 
 demuml and hiijli pricen. — (JiveH (imjdoyment an<l tnule in s)iip])in>^ ]>ort.=<, 
 and mnch frei},dit for Hliippiii'^.— KorniH diief remittance t^» Europe. — 
 E.\cced9 in value all other real ]troduct.H of Canada exjtorted 11 1 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 ROUTES TO THE RED RIVER COUNTRY CONSIDERED AND COMPARED. 
 
 Route by Sea and HudHon's Bay. — Doj^ Lake and Hudson's Bay Company, — 
 Canoe Route now being opened and improved, described in detail 117 
 
XIV 
 
 i 
 
 CHAPTKH NX VIM. 
 iM.TiMvn' I'VNAi, ANO « \«»,ni> \n n»MMtNM» «on •^;^T(> hmny i.akk and nrn 
 
 1U\ t U. \\\ HVniuKHN I AKK, ANM HV HIVIKUM I A HI'INM. 
 
 I >«><«<• vi pi Ion in «l»'li«ll. - Mupoviov ilii\im'(«'r i«| wnior ronnunnit'iillon. Ctwt mI 
 I'Uiinixlliny InKoH m\\\ mmi* ron»)>miM| with il»nl nl milwuvn I2:i 
 
 roMTAiUHON OF mvvi'« w KNOWN ANM vhopohkh HnnKurn \\v.\) mvr.H, inci un- 
 
 IMI TIIK F\Mli:U01Nvl. 
 
 Synoptio 1\\Mo ol' lon^jths (\n<l lU'soviptitni. K'<lin>«l<'(| co^t ol' ninvoiupnt nl" 
 fivt jiht ^y \\w\\ I >V'\ 
 
 ^ 
 
 {'WW'YVM XNX. 
 
 DlHKCr INTKMIOU UAILWAY U*>UTK UY THK OTIAW A t'llOM M»»N I'UKAl, TO UKI> HI VKR. 
 
 Ultirnat*^ \itiHty of it to intoviov. -Hi\l»itaM(' (mmuiIvv in rttnnt'xiott with 
 i M tjuvi\ K \wi\\ .' 1 M7 
 
 rUArTKU XXXI. 
 
 UOITK T\> THK rAClfU' UY MKO UIVV.H AND nillTlHll COI.UMIUA. 
 
 r>oscrilH\\ 5«u\ ooin|viro»l \vit h othor iMUtos 1 43 
 
 OUArTKH XXXU. 
 
 MrtUAJ. IMr\>RTAN\ K OF UNION Or CANADA AND lUUTlSH COLUMUIA, AND 'OPKN- 
 INv? OF INTKKIOU UOITK OF COMMUNICATION. 
 
 Conmuiul of tho tml^o of tho itxtoriin* wouUl ho sivunHl to the Pacific ami 
 Atlantic riv>vinocs. — Distauoo fiMn\ Livorpool to Chinoj«o ]>orts shorter than 
 l>y AmcricAn Pacilio Raihx-Hv, and tnvnsjH^rt cheaper, hoing niori', by water. — 
 Imjx^rtAnoe of Ottawi Ojinal in nnlucin^j distance and ci>st of transport to 
 British and AmonciUi St<\tes and Territories and the Pacific 147 
 
rilAI'I'KIl X NX 1 1 1. 
 
 INTHnWBTM ilir CANAttA, rm: lll'liHitN M MAV (HiMI'ANV ANdTim INIM ANH, < Mtf f,t» 
 
 IICl CHMIIINC.I). 
 
 riiiuItT nl llii' llinlHdti'H lliiy ' '"Hipiiiiy tlfU'M nut viilifllv ' "v<'i llic Itriilory 
 wi> ilt'Mirc, tliniiuli (lifif It'iiMc III' ItMliiiii 'ri'irilMiicM tlnfu, wltil*' U \n-\n, - 
 'I'IihI 'r«'irilniv H hIIIMIh' piM|M'i1v of iIm' ('i(»w!i ikmI iIm- hidiiuH. i'nui- 
 piuiyH tM'rii|iiili)in rt')<ilitiil)li' Im tliciii iiidI l)i>iM't)( itil ^I'to'iiilly. I'hiiil iid- 
 
 vittitii^i' III IiIm'I'iiI iii'httiL/t'Mifiil Willi llit'iii iiidI witli tlii> liiilittiH, t'-<|ii'( iaily 
 lor |Im> riil'i> mill |i|'nli'i'liiin nl' llif liiMci' ir/O 
 
 inVKM, INCH't). 
 
 CIIAIillH XXXIV. 
 
 roMI'AUATIVIil VAI.i'r, OK Tmi; HC.VOHAI. MKiTHiNM »i|." CI'-IUU'roM V lo rANAliA; 
 
 ANIt t'ONCMiHlON 10ft 
 
 I. I'UllEDIllVRn. 
 
 ^, AND OPEN- 
 
 INDKX (M< smUKCTS 
 
 IN HKI'tUtT ON TIIK LINK nV IIUl'TK lU'VIWKKN l,AKI', HDI'KltlOd ANI» TIIK 
 
 m:i» mvKii MKnr.KMKNr. 
 
 I'AOK. 
 
 ttwl llivi-r Kx|H'(lllinn (icrctciH'o f<») Ifil 
 
 Liiko Hn|M'iii»r Heel inn H15 
 
 liukfl Uvgiiiii 171 
 
 Luko ul' tin- W.mmIh DivJKiim 178 
 
 FortUurry Hwi'um 17» 
 
 KHlimnto ( '(.Hi, nl' WmkH 1H2 
 
 ProlmMc Tmlllc 184 
 
 McmiH (»r Ti'aii«p(irt 185 
 
 lleHourcoH ; Timber, MiiiemlM, itc IHJ) 
 
 , Other iiu'thnilH of opening c.oniniuniciition UK) 
 
 SyHtcni of work by cuntnict or otlicrwlHo 192 
 
 Iiulmu Elcnicnt 194 
 
 Agriculturnl ReHonrccH 198 
 
 The AVork of Lant Suninu'r 2frO 
 
 Mr. J. W. 1^ (lglaiKl'« Ilepori (rcferencL ; 201 
 
h* 
 
 Mi 
 
THE RED RIVER COUNTRY, 
 HUDSON'S BAY k NORTHWEST TKIUUTORIKS, 
 
 CONSrOKUKI) IN KKLATTON TO CANADA. 
 
 CIIAITEU I. 
 
 INTKODlKrnoN. 
 
 About two y (MI'S n^'o nii oiiiiiiont ('iiniuliuii stutosnmn told uh 
 that 11(31' Miijcisty liiul luuiii «^r(u;loUHly plcasKMl to (fXpnj.sH lioi 
 willin^'iuiHH to coiiHont to i\w. iUMiui.sition, Uy (Jiiiiada, of all tliu 
 great iiortlicrii ami noi'tli-\V(!st t(!rritori('H (»t' ItritiHli North Aiiieri(;a. 
 Shicc then tho " IJritish North Ainuricia A(;t" liaH havn jjasHtMl, 
 erecting tho [•roviiuses of Canada, Nova Scotia and New IhuiiHwick 
 into tho ••Dominion of Canada," and j)roviding for the union of 
 these territories with it, by Her Majesty, on an AddresH from the 
 Parliament of Canada, expressing conditions she may ajqn'ove of; 
 and hoth Houses of Parliament of the Dominion have; addressed 
 Her iMajesty praying her action accordingly. 
 
 As paying any just claim of the Hudson's I»ay Company for 
 any interest or right of property, that may he ac(iuired from them, 
 will he a condition in the transaction, it is desirable that we should 
 endeavour to form a correct estimate of the value of these terri- 
 tories to us. 
 
 In doing so we ha"e to consider their extent and character — and 
 what use we can make of them ; — to inf^uire if we need them or 
 any part of them, and for what purposes ; and of what importance 
 ultimately they may be to us as respects the great objects aimed at 
 by the Confederation we have entered int(j. 
 
 We have also to consider what is the best way of getting in to 
 them ; if we can have such a way on our own ground and at all 
 seasons of the year, and if the ways of communication through 
 our own ground will be the best for the freight and travel of these 
 territories. 
 
 These heads cover a wide range of matter. Without professing 
 to enter fully into them, we may take a brief glance at the subjects 
 of them, and endeavor to put a few facts together as to what is 
 known of this great northern part of the continent of America, of 
 which it seems destined that we are to have the control 
 
 1 
 
li 
 
 t 
 
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t\ 
 
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 lillt'M 
 
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 WhM Www llllll II ll'lll Inlil Im Mill' III ffp mtwlt, fiml M"Mflv l"f'f ''I 
 
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 rriiit'o Kiiwmirft ImIiuhI ill iPnr» 
 
 do 
 
 
 Wzfi'tW i/mn. 
 
:W^St 
 
 \\ 
 
 report to Congress on the British Provinces, from their superior 
 intelligence and bodily vigour, and their experience in the naviga- 
 tion of cold and stormy coasts, are the best of seamen, and well 
 qualified to maintain the honor of their flag on every sea. 
 
 The Dominion, though but in the beginning of her power, owns 
 already about 800,000 of tons of shipping ; — bearing a proportion 
 of about twenty per cent, to her popula- ion, wliile that of Great 
 Britain, the greatest maritime power in the world, without her 
 colonies, is only about eighteen per cent, per head. 
 
 We see, therefore, that we have before us a greater and more 
 advantageous field, as a basis of future national prosperity and 
 power, than that on which has risen that empire whose greatness 
 has not a little intimidated Europe, and has been supposed to 
 threaten her independence. In view of this fact, — with superior 
 civilization and institutions in our favor — we may surely hope to 
 develop at least equally advantageous results from the territories 
 at our command and their resource.^, though less arrogant in our 
 pretensions. 
 
 This comparison is made for the purpose of showing that we 
 have now no longer to look on outlying territories with that indif- 
 ference with which they might have been regarded when our 
 autonomy was limited to that of a single province, to wliich they 
 might stand in little or no closer relation than a foreign land, but 
 as integers, the utmost value of which will ultimately go to swell 
 the balance in favor of our national strength and prosperity. 
 
 In that view, while drawing the distinction broadly between 
 what is immediately of high value to us, for the extension of 
 settlement, by our present standard of the value of lands for that 
 purpose, we must also take into account not only the inferior por- 
 tions capable of any degree of agricultural occupation, in future 
 time, under the influence of increasing demand and improved 
 means of communication, but also regions which have no other 
 value than that which their fisheries, their metals and other mineral 
 resources may be found to present. 
 
 We have already had a little experience of the error of under- 
 valuing territory, under the idea that we had land enough without 
 it. Many were indifferent to the loss, some years ago, of what was 
 called the disputed territory, on the head waters of the Kiver 
 St, John of New Brunswick ; but now we find that our railroad 
 to Halifax, in order to avoid going straight through that territory, 
 has to be made a hundred miles longer than it otherwise would 
 have been; adding about six millions of dollars to the cost of 
 making it, and about a dollar and a half for ever to the freight of 
 every ton of goods passing over it. We are now making coloni- 
 zation roads to let settlers into the scraps left us of that territory. 
 
 m mi^ ' »- tmm" if ^ 
 

 and the loss of it has seriously weakened our frontier. Our ex- 
 perience in this instance should be a warning to us against under- 
 valuing our opportunity of acquiring useful territory now. 
 
 In briefly describing the great Northern Territory of British 
 America, it may be divided into the following sections, partly on 
 account of their distinct natural character or geographical position, 
 and partly for convenience in speaking of them. 
 1st. East Main or the Peninsula of Labrador. 
 2nd. South Hudson's Bay Territory, — ^between that Bay and 
 Lakes Winnipeg and Athabasca, from the northern 
 water-shed of the St. Lawrence to lat. 60** N. 
 3rd. North Hudson's Bay Territory or Barren Ground, extend- 
 ing from the preceding to the Arctic Ocean. 
 4th. The McKenzie River country, from lat. 60*^ N., to the 
 
 Arctic Ocean. 
 5th. The Pelly River or Mountain Territory, embracing all 
 north of British Columbia from the crest of the 
 Rocky Mountains to Russian America. 
 6th. The Red River, Saskatchewan and Peace River Country, 
 or Central Prairie Land, extending from the Lake 
 of the Woods and Lakes Winnipeg and Athabasca 
 to the Rocky Mountains, and from the United States 
 boundary, lat. 49^ N. up to lat. 60« N. 
 The last of these divisions only is of great and immediate im- 
 portance to us, for the extension of settlement and commerce, and 
 for the command of communication to the Pacific Ocean; — objects 
 al'-ke eminently important for the expansion and consolidation of 
 national power. 
 
 Before proceeding to consider its value in relation to Canada, 
 and the means of communicating with it, the other sections men- 
 tioned may be briefly noticed. Though now only of value for their 
 fur trade, and of little or no interest beyond that, at present, except- 
 ing to naturalists and other men of science, — we are unable to say 
 that they may not, in future, become of some importance for their 
 mineral wealth or other natural resources, now unknown or un- 
 available.* 
 
 * Note. — Since the above was written, British Columbia and Newfoundland 
 have decided in favor of union with Canada. And it has been agreetl between the 
 Imperial Government and the Hudson's Bay Company, that Canatla is to have all 
 the territories held or owned by the latter for £300,000, Stg., (which Great Britain 
 guarantees), the Company retaining their trading posts, with an allowance of land 
 around them, and one-twentieth of the land, as sales to settlers take place, for fifty 
 years; which unites their powerful interest to ours in the tranquillity and speedy 
 settlement of the country. 
 
0. 
 
 IHAPTKU n. 
 
 til: 
 
 V 
 
 KA«T MAIN, OH TMI-; PKNINsm.V OF I.AHUAlxm. 
 
 Tliis ^\vi\{. ]H'n\\\M\h\, lyinji Im'Iavooh Hndrton's Hay mul tlu> 
 A(l:intir oconn, o\<«mi(Ih a lInaiMnnd inilos \u)\\\ cnst, to wpsi, 't>e- 
 Iwoou ('rtj>o St. ('harl(»Hi, at. {\\o «M»tvnn«'o of tla> Straits «)f Hi^Ue- 
 Ulo, and .loni<>s' Uav, nnd oiulit Intndiv*! miloH tVonj north to mnitli, 
 <N>«>n\ ra])(» \V«>1sl(>nl<olnu\ its northorn «»\t.n»nntv, to tho la»ight. of 
 laiul»livivlin|j[ tlio \vators« ol' K\qHMt'« liivor tnnu tlioso of the Simue- 
 nay. 
 
 (tooj^rai^hirnMy it )\\\\y]\\ W <h»s('rih«Ml ,ih h<am»l«Ml on the BO»it.h- 
 \vo!*t Uotwoon .liUtu'H' Uay nn<l tho month of tho St. hiAvixM^eo, hy 
 K\i]^ovt's Kivov, n|> to its som-i'o, mhl ihonct* cnHtwun! hy a lino to 
 tlio \hy of Sovon l»hu«ls; which wonht ^iv(» it, i\n jmxmi of ahout, 
 fonr hwnthHMt an»l oiji;hty tltonsatid stnu'Hioial milof*. Wwt tl»o 
 so\itl\oru part of tl»o piMiinsnla <>•' h^hrador, lai'injj: tlu* (Julf, a.s far 
 ort.'<t\Vin\l !\.s Anoo Hhnu* S;>hhui, juul Imv'k to tlir sotntT."^ of tlio 
 rivovs talliniu liito IhiMtull. hoh>n«j« to ('ana«la. (^Hhuw' Sal>hni ia 
 nin«My niih^s witlun tho oastovn ontranoo of tho straits of Holh»-lHh\) 
 lV»hi«tiui> this ]x\rt, tho nMunin^liM" of tho Poninsnhv has an aiva of 
 ahout four ]o\n«liV(l an<t twonty thousan^l .siij^orlioinl niiUif*, or a 
 littlo inoix^ tlian l>«Miiu:\rk, Xovway, S\voih»n an»l h^pland, takon 
 tou'«M]un\ 
 
 Tlio oastorn ])avt o\' if, faiit^u tlu* straits o( IVl]o-lsh% an«l tho 
 Atlau(i<\ as tar novthwaiNl as tho ontranoo of Tn^ava Hay, ortllcd 
 l/xhradov in tho stvictost son.so, is nniUn* tlio j\UM.s»liotion of Novv- 
 fountilaiiil Th«^ ivinain<lov, wln»'l\ is \\\\w\\ tho larger i^art, is hohl 
 hv tlio HndsiMi s r>ay t'«>nij>any, ami is connnonly known l>y the 
 uanio of K^^st Main. 
 
 bihrailor was tii'st ilisoovoix^d in A.l>. 08(), hy tho Northnmn 
 IV'Avno, the son Horinlf, wlio oalUnl it "HoUnlan<l it Mikla" or 
 *'(troat slato hmd," t^'«'>ni the stratitietl iwks (secondary linn^stone) 
 s(vn in\ its coast. It wa.« w-discoveiiMl hy Se1>5vstin Cahot, and 
 five yoai-s aiYorwaixls, in A.l). lot)!, it was visited by (.'orte lieal, 
 wh«>. w itli less accin-acy, vaWod it "Terra lij^lni^dor" "Cultivable or 
 kK^ivrs' land," Ix^ieving it to W so fixnu the gi\)wth of trees he 
 saw upon its 
 
 It is wniarkable of tbis givat !>eninsnla, that tb<nig]\ it lies next 
 to Kuri^]x>, and is the tii'st (liscovetv<l ivjirt of the American conti- 
 nent., very little is known of it-* interior; and that but lately. 
 What is known of its ivS such a.s to inipix>ss the mind [wwerfiilly 
 with a sense of its \'^a«t and stew desolation. . From the coldness 
 of it« climate and it-s geneml sterility, it seems utterly unlit for 
 oocn]ia<ion by civilized men ; excej^t w here a scattereil populfttiou 
 
7 " 
 
 '^^r^'- 
 
 )iiij»lii livn l»y llio llwluMii'j^ nf mmmim jMirlrt ul' lis 'onHt; or wliorn JU 
 minoi'iil ivsfMii'ci'H iiiny j^'ivn pntlilitltli* ««mjil(iyiii('iif. to iinlnHtiy. 
 
 Am niij^'lii l»n px)hm'1«>(1 in rm ^iimiI. nii pxIpiiI, il |»r«wnirt cMiiHiil- 
 ornMo vmii'ty ol' cliiimch'r. Tim ititciinf id" I-Ihm'khIpim |Mirt of it, 
 wluMv trav«M'fl(Ml, is fiMHid io Ito n liljrii (n))lf> Inml n|i\vnn(H ul' 2,(M)(J 
 IWt iiltovn IIh" h'vol «>l' Ihn «imi ; uilli (iccnHioinil iiioimlniMH, rlfiiti^ 
 to :l,(M»0 f(»«'l, iuhI Hoiiin lUMiily l.o 4,0(10 loci. 'I'lm vhIIcvh iirid low(M" 
 rdoiioH twv ('ovi'VJ'd witli Hprucn, Hr, iiiid l»iicli wooiIh, oI n !iMHlc?mlo 
 |rro\vtli, ill lnvcniililo posiliiniH; lli(» Rpnico InH^a in hoiiim places 
 iiv«'ri»)t,Mii^; oin;li(»'(>ii iticlM's in (liiunolcr mnl fH'ty r««'l/ in lM?ij^lit; 
 in mio inslniiit'fl tlioy havo ln»nn lound fMn font in iliftinnlnr, p.vpii 
 as Ihf north ufl llin Moraviiin iniHMionniy stntion of Nuin, on tlio 
 Atlantic. 
 
 iMiu'li of tliiM'oaHton tlin Atlantic ami tlin (lull' ia nticrly l»arnm 
 of tiinlw'r foiinany inilcR inland, anil id'ttMi dosiitiito of soil ; and 
 nuicli of tlio intorior Im Inirncd hare to tlio rnck l»y innniiif^ tirefl 
 more or loss rocont. 
 
 Atlvancin^ niatliward, tlio Uvon iMUMnno nioin HcaitnrcMl, in 
 gr«»np«i, and stuntcil, till towardM IIh nortln'in oxtinniit,y, and llnd- 
 son'rt StraitH, it. aHHUincM tlio cliaractc^r of the Arctic, " llamMi 
 (Jronnds" and the "Tniidrcim" of Mihnria, and \» like tlaMii tlio 
 ahodn u\' the roindcnr, that feed on the lichens and other Arctic 
 veg^etation Ih rocky Hnrfnci* alfordH. 
 
 \h to ' ii'face, the wcHtern part uf the peninsula, Hccniiii^ly con- 
 trastH with tho oaHtern part. It in repnwMitcd hy pliyKical j.(eo- 
 graphers a,s heing chietly a plain c(»nntry, for two hundred niilof* or 
 more hack iVoin lludHon'si lUiy. 
 
 From what >-• known, itn |feoh>trical character Hyein.^ ct(nsi<ler- 
 nhly varied. Th(3 forinati«ni of the great Silurian liaHin of Hnd- 
 Bon's Hay extends in a broad hand far into tho Houthern jiart of the 
 Peninsula, and hm oven been represented, though douhtlcHH on im- 
 jKirfoct data, an connecting with the liineHtono formation of thcj east 
 coast. " 
 
 Thougli lying in the same latitude as tln! liritlfdi Islands, the 
 climate of this immense peninsula, taken as u whole, is no better 
 than that of liUpland; in the northern parts it is even colder. l]ut 
 like that country, in the n».ost southerly iHirts, it is such as to admit 
 of the cultivation of vi^gotables, in favorable situations. 
 
 'My. (Hadman had a good opportunity of observing, during his 
 thirty-one years' seiTico in tho Hudson's Ikyl'ompany. Ho states 
 in his evidence given to a committee of tho Canadian Ixjgislaturo, 
 that at East Main OM Factory he raise<l good pc»tatoea, turnips and 
 other v«»getable8. East Main Factory is sixty miles north of 
 Rupert's River. He says further, that a largo herd of cattle was 
 kept there, at that time, as a resource in cose of tho company's ships 
 
w 
 
 \\\o ^\\M \\\(\)^\\0'i \A\ \\\v '^\h\\V'^ o\' y\w U\\ : \)\M \v\v\\\^9. |.)h\\\ Willi 
 
 tin 1hi^ 1^<>inl <*r ll^r vivov, lint! iO>nntl!\nt't> t)i sI^-hwIumv^i^h n)\A mv- 
 V',mU. 
 
 \\v pays \\\\\\ rtt \\\\x I^V'^v. 'A )\\\\\\\\v\\ !\nti v\o\\\\ )\)S\f>9( \\M\\ !>!' 
 \^\\)ii^11'r kiVvv. J>t>1rtli1oft (\)\\\ otl^oV Vii>yvl!\\^tt^<5 oiv uii>\vn, II10 v\>\\\ 
 
 fo\)\YoYi\i^^^v \\^j:\9^\i')v\))\, \\\\\\ \\(\^ M'' \\oU\\ f^^^^ i\1 V.;\^\ \\'.\\\\. 
 llo say^:; lliiit lit l^tpovl lltMi'-o l1u^ soil H nuit>S lu-ltoV Jint! tlio strt- 
 t<<inintnv fi;1iotioi>M t1i;in tv>;4 Mi\in Vsv^ltivv. t>v Uij) l^ivt^v. sintt n\t>iK> 
 ffl\N^V(\Mo fviv Jr!1t^^Ml o\\ttiVrtti»m. II10 V'iniuli colonist? wlh^ Vi\i<»n«\ 
 ht\vh\ Di Alton. ^1rtt 70^') in l/i^v^^^^^'^- vvonltl nt^ \\i>\\U ho \\\\\\o. mxi- 
 oo<?mN\1 in t^^inji ^o <^n tlio \\j\vni vit^li ^^t^l t>l iho Silnviiin lvi<»in i\^ 
 i"{npoii's KAov 
 
 Vho t'limrtto 0I" 1^ln1111.^n Iv^isvv. in tho sontti onstovn !in«4lot>i' tt\o 
 ivnin?(nln. is j\pi\iivnlly siniibv 'hTotw ilh^<tnnt!in«) \ho 1t\lVy. vnjowii 
 nnd o\ti\Mno\\ bnnvn olinvntix^v of t1>o «*1ioiv"^ 0I tiinnilton inVt^ 
 into whit^li iho nwv tnll-^. Mr l^nis. in tin silliv'lt^ ix^ml hoW^v tl^o 
 l,itTV.ivy rtnt^ tUM"t>viof\l St^fiotV ol iy>no1ioo. sportK"* <^t tho p\oii«»ing 
 n^ixHi ot^iho vnllov ol IVnnnllon In'wov. o1 its l^oinu ^^v\l tini1vni''<\ 
 find ^stx-inu ^onnty soil in p.i^'ts, with son^o rt<hnntiV5>>^ in olinirttt^, 
 nnd Tnontit^ns tho 1Vnt1s<mV l^aV rtnn1>.iny'R frtvni. \\hoi>^ oows. ^lij^j^ 
 nnd «i]n-><^p \\-(nN^ \oyf 
 
 In ivspoci to iho li'VtAvinu <M gnivhMi Vou'<'t;ihl<^<i, nut! hiiving 
 foivsts. snoh ns ihoV mv, tho si^ithi^vn psiils t>t th»^ VM^nins\il;i oV 
 l/»bvatl(~tr ivmoh ivs'omMo t1i<^ nioi<«'' tnN-f^vnn^-" pr^il M \A\y\i\\\y\. 
 
 I^hosi^ faot«^ m\^ noi nh't>5:>tihov nnin\pt">itnnt ■•n ottnnootitin with 
 tlto pvolxiblo nhimntt^ (Atovision oi fj<=hin;i st^lth^monts. ov tho tVH'- 
 mation -tt itiinin;; <^sinMi-lnr,onts. slit^nlo niintnviU <•>!" Vrthn^ ti'h 
 t'mind in tho «Mntinos of tho Silnri.m .inti 1,i\m>Miti;in tonniltion*. 
 
 %^hf\{ pnvt of tho ^vninsnln nnd<n' tho jnvist^irti.ni tM' Xo\v1\nui<A- 
 Innd is oNidonflV NvrV N-nhinhh*' for its fishovio;*. As o.ivlv rt!* \^^% 
 tho valno ol its yoarly o\|">ovts rti>c> stflfot^ hv \^v. M(^tii\>iiNiv to hiU-^^ 
 amonntod to npwnrds of thiv^i^ hnnthvd 1h«nisrtnd i^tinnds stx^'vling. 
 
 Tho "Wost o»\<»st ot' tlio )><niinsnln., within l^ndst^Vs K-\y. I'tM-iniUii 
 part ol tho "findsonV iV^iV iN^mpanNV foiTiftMA', is mnoh h"**?* 
 N-jjlnaMo m that ivs]VH't ^"Ivo ontranoo io tho iVw is I'jwti:'^ A)* 
 strnot-od hv ioo lah^ in spvinu, and oavly in tho fall; tho VNnn- 
 pany's ships. x\-hioh maVo hnt a sinii^o N'oyas?**' it^fo tho lUy o;>oh 
 summov. K^ing soinofimos, though vai\^y, pwvenft>i t^\nn ivtmiiing 
 to 'Enr<'»]v, tin tho folh^^wini; svas<in. 
 
 *to tisliing for foreiirn mavkot*; this wonh^ Iv j^ wvy givflt dis.ii^- 
 AT^nf.a>!o, Tho nhs»onoe of salmon on thfit <N\ast.. atii^ iho st\\\ims 
 falling into it. is anofhoi. \ salmon, ni'vt ol t.h<"> oivlin^vy kinti — 
 proKahh tho '' Salmo "Rossii ■" of tho Alvt io. is «>cyA,sii"4ni!>Uy> 
 though raroh- sicen. in !*onK" ot tho I'iNvrs falling into Hnd.-^'vn'vS lUy, 
 
thu\>^ll reMlUnli »UI» Wf'll Itllttwtt tit lif »'xr'r'f<(||»|rrlv tlltMlldnfd 
 M \h\\\^' HUnHs. (MOO Ift'pitvl ol CnnnillMHlitllfm ttl HiITIbIi MMlitMl»"i 
 jWV tH4lp IIH'V lit'' tint mMlcfltlly MnHci'il in mirli It WMV tH t'l Itlill- 
 ortti" lht»l tl»t'V Mir Mi» in lliii|pnnr« ItMv ; lint iim Idcy tiM-iiflntii'd m 
 f\»t-mltm I'int n| tlm t'oml ol tlM« nnHvo tit- nfln«f vn«i<l»'i(h. 
 
 Hnilifl iMliI jtoVjinlcunj, liDUi'Vi't", lilt' iiliiitiiliilil Mmidm ill«« of uplli- 
 
 i»l1» tlllU tlin tll»RiMliM> til piJlltllttn h (lllP 111 llln «rill« lii'illjr mi ||IH||..f- 
 
 o<\f<. I'tnlVnvllln. Ill ITlHI. miv^ tlinl wlitih"). wlilti' imkI lilfuk. '»»«(i 
 
 hlllUPfl, t»OrtJ-M iniil Hl'lil^. lUC Idllml ill tJM'Mt IIIIIMlltM't liy \\\(< l'>|l(l- 
 
 wmw ; rtmi l.li'UI. rliri|i|ii'l, In IMI7. ji|i»)ii»m»i tlic (()i«'iii(iL' III M flfii 
 i\ittMrtmiw> Willi ('miitifii ii«» lil(»'ly (•» luilniiitt' llm »"?i'Hl«tii« nf llif 
 K«qMilH(Hi^ <ti llu'ir floid tind hIiiiIc flMliitiM. 
 
 The tmtinnl tbrilliii'M tiU' n)lrMliMH (l illhwl. inltMiol ' miiiimmiiI- 
 
 ('rtlion witli lluilsitus t^ivy will Itc |til«'lly tutlJcfMl in H iIImwIii^ 
 
 Art, «HltUt IVonM\llfllll1)iJ. "Hfill l'"iM|llt^r uniild iCflll in It*' tlin 
 
 o\i1y |it*otltivUI»* itidiiRtiy llmt tlii» wi-hI mtmi nl tlif itPHiiiMiilfi 
 mhuitfi of, ii luMMMiira iiiiimni t<t iiH|»iih' wind tlio lfii)tnHMHt'(. nf 
 Sortl Klshltlfi is, Its ft littMudl nf tliido, wIhMc II riMi III! (;(lIIU!d on 
 rtUrcortrtl^tily. rtiul whitt. «>m|iloynH'nt. it wmild fdl'nfd. 
 
 TIh» Sorti KlwIuMy nl Nt'wViniHtlltmtl tmiy h»'|'v«' In ctjtliiin llih 
 Mv. M, \\. iVilpy. in liifl " lN'|ti»H nn Him Pfn iind ilvcf (hlH-ri.'fi 
 of Now Hvnnswii'l<," Mityn ilnd, tlu' onllii I'm llm hi'hI llslii'iifM nf 
 Nowfonndliind, for IM4T, conMlHliMl of :V2\ v^hhvU, miikin^ in nil 
 'iO,.^OH inna. with O.Tnl nit'n. Tln' nv»'tii|i»' yitdd fttr ItMi yt'iiiM wm'^ 
 rtt^out hrttf i\ ndllinn i-f wonl hMih, iiihI IIiu'I' nillH»tn« nf Kiillutm nl 
 oil. If i« itMigldy oMiiniiHcd llmf nlmtil 11 inillinn nliciilM uyi> Mllfd 
 i\lin«i»lly WW ilio jMm^i nf I iltindm- )tvn|ti'f, In lln' l'iHt|niinfix iind 
 nthov HOitI IImIu'Vu. 
 
 NVhivt may lu' flio «'iMn|miiifivi> vuIiim nf llndMnn'H Mtty m n witft 
 of sortl mitl nfhov tlslu'Hi'M nMnniiiM to lie l<nnwn. 1 1 wnnld Mccni 
 i^Ortii'rtMo thni if f^lintdd lt«» naiM'Hnini'tl l»y utm nr mine |iiMtli«nl 
 m«M\ of lmf>ino»«, onp:H|t;»>d in flio tvinlo nf l,iilMiidni\ coniini«Hinn«'d 
 
 foV tl\t\t p\U|MW». 
 
 \\N» \iuiv next turn to tlio tu^jin'onf sc^ctitm of cniuifry, ludd by 
 \\w \\\\yU\m'9. \hx (Nnnprtny, lyinp; liffwrpn lludmnrH May nml 
 \\\i' \Ak\'A \X\\\\\\\^\fi M\\\ Atlmlmson ; oxtoudin^ finm ilm nortliprn 
 x^-ttter-she^l of tUo St. liawn^nce luul ifR Irilmt.firii'H — tJio iGi»ute(l 
 
; t i 
 
 10 
 
 I I. 
 
 if 
 
 Tr)oundary of Canada, to the parallel of lat. 60° N., — including with 
 it the Abittibbi District, between the water-shed and Rupert's 
 River : — containing in all an area of about four hundred and thirty 
 thousand superficial miles. 
 
 For the convenience of description it may be called the South 
 Hudson's Bay Territory. 
 
 Though this territory has a veiy cold climate, exceedingly so 
 in winter, (the greater part of it is too cold to admit of agricultural 
 occupation of any kind,) it is nevertheless far more valuable than 
 East Main, besides being especially so in relation to Canada. 
 
 It is the coldness of the climate alone that prevents this territory 
 from being very valuable as an agricultural country. One-half 
 of it lies in the great northern Silurian basin, in which Hudson's 
 Bay is situated. That formation besides underlying the greater 
 part of the district of Abbitibbi, (which is a little larger than New 
 Brunswick,) is represented by Sir John Richardson as extending 
 from two hundred miles in the north part to four hundred miles in 
 the south, due westward from Hudson's and James' Bay. It is 
 shown as extending also to the distance of two hundred miles 
 southward from the south end of James' Bay, and comes to the 
 boundary of Canada at the sources of the northern tributaries of 
 Lake Temiscaming of the Ottawa*, where it is called the level 
 clay country by the Hudson's Bay Company's people. It is so 
 called in contradistinction to the rugged Laurentian Country 
 forming the height of land, where the waters of the Ottawa and 
 northern tributaries of the Great Lakes, and those of Hudson's 
 Bay interlace, and which extends over the Ottawa Valley and 
 the country nortli of the Lakes Hurcni and Superior, rendering so 
 much of thp unfit for settlement. 
 
 The boundary of this Silurian plain country is probably quite 
 irregular, and may in many parts not be accurately known. Mr. 
 Ballantyne, who resided there, places it about Maitin's Falls, on 
 the Albany Kiver, two hundred and fifty miles due west of James' 
 Bay ; and says the river flows through a limestone and clay country 
 to the Bay. Lieut. Blackiston, in ascending Hayes' River from 
 York Factoiy, describes the country on it as alluvial, without any 
 rock being visible, for a hundred and twenty-four miles, to the first 
 portage, where he says the primitive formation commences, and 
 that is two hundred miles due west from the coast of the Bay. 
 
 It will be seen by the accompanying map, that this broad band 
 of Silurian formation, which sweeps round Hudson's Bay, in a north- 
 westerly direction, attains a width of five hundred miles about 
 
 •Note. — By an extensive survey, just completed by Provincial Surveyor L. 
 Russell, it has been ascertained that though the clay land of Hudson's Bay extends 
 south of Lake Abbitibbi to the northern waters of the Ottawa, the underlying rocks 
 Are there Laurentian. 
 
n 
 
 Lat. 63^ N. 
 
 then turning north-eastward 
 
 Artie 
 
 continues to the 
 Sea, which its western outline intersects about Long. 97" W. 
 
 It will be seen also tliat it, again, is encircled by that l)road 
 band of primary formation, known in Canada as the Laurentian 
 Range, which skirts the lower St. Lawrence, and forms the nor- 
 thern boundary of the gi-eat plain of Lower Canada. Gradually 
 declining in height, and increasing in breadth, to two hundred 
 miles, it crosses the Ottawa above the mouth of the Bonnech^re, 
 and sweepa round the north sliore of Lakes Huron and Superior. 
 Curving north-westward with a breadth of two hundred miles, this 
 Laurentian Belt continues along the rear of the Silurian country 
 of Hudson's Bay, with varying breadth, increasing to four hundred 
 miles where it joins the Artie. Its western boundary, commen- 
 cing at Rainy Dike, passes north-westward, through the Lake of 
 the Woods, and along the east shore of Lake Winnipeg ; then curv- 
 ing more westerly, through Cedar Lake, on the Saskatchewan, to 
 Methy Poi-tage, and thence on a more northerly course, through the 
 west end of Lake Athabasca, and near the middle of Slave I^ake, 
 it passes to the east end of Bear Lake, and thence nortli-eastward 
 to the Aitic Sea, at the west end of Coronation Gulf. 
 
 This broad '-ange of primary formation divides the great Silu- 
 rian basin of Hudson's Bay from the still greater central basin, or 
 sloping plateau, of Silurian and more recent formations, lying 
 between it and the Rocky Mountains, and extending from the 
 Artie Sea to the Gulf of Mexico ; it also divides both of them 
 from Canada. 
 
 Though east and ncn-th of Quebec the summits of this range 
 rise from two to three thousand feet, fronting tlie River St. Law- 
 rence, — and four and five thousand feet in the interior — it declines 
 so in height as it goes westward, that where it traverses the Ottawa, 
 its summits rise only from five to thirteen hundred feet, — and very 
 rarely the latter, over that river. After ascending through the 
 Laurentide Range, by the valley of the Ottawa, the v/ater-shed 
 between its wateis and those of Hudson's Bay, has, in parts 
 scarcely any perceptible elevation, and is passed unnoticed. 
 
 Though presenting a lofty and very rugged banier along the 
 north side of Lake Superior, especially where it goes westward 
 towards the frontier of the United States, — and the same north of 
 Lake Huron — it becomes lower further noi'thward, rising but little 
 over the adjoining country. 
 
 Where it divides the two great Silurian basins, and forms the 
 west half of the territory we have now under consideration. Sir 
 John Richardson says "its altitude nowhere entitles it to the 
 apeUation of mountain chain. Its hypogenous rocks, which are 
 chiefly granite and gneiss, scarcely rise above tl j mean eastern 
 
1 ! 
 
 12 
 
 slope, and in no case present continuous ridges or acute peaks. 
 They exhibit generally rounded or dome-shaped summits, or form 
 oblong eminences, separated by narrow inclined valleys, the larger 
 ones occupied, without exception, by deep lakes ; and the propor- 
 tion of water is very great." 
 
 This declination in height and peculiar character of the range, 
 are mentioned, not only as meriting notice as descriptive of a large 
 part of this section of territory, but especially because they are of 
 importance to us, as admitting of a most direct line of Kailway 
 from Montreal to the lied River settlement, (and the Pacific,) about 
 four hurdred miles shorter than the route through Minnesota, now 
 used ; as favorable as to the character of the ground as much of 
 what is to be made of the Intercolonial Kailway, in the country 
 between the St. Lawrence and New Brunswick, and passing 
 through mucli land as fit for settlement, and with as good a climate; 
 but with less depth of snow in winter. 
 
 The probability of this fact as to a direct route to Red River, 
 was stated in evidence given before the last Canadian Parliamen- 
 tary Committee on the North-west Territory. It has since been 
 to an important extent confirmed by the results of surveys of the 
 Montreal River, a north-western tributary of the Ottawa, and of a 
 line, from it, a hundred and five miles westward, performed last 
 winter by Provincial Surveyors A. G. Forrest and D. Sinclair. 
 The valley of tlie river for a hundred miles was found to present 
 a good site for a railroad, while it was learned that the line of a 
 hundred and live miles was, at its commencement, only al)out four- 
 teen miles south of tlie continuous level clay country, and about 
 twenty miles from it at its termination ; the intervening distance, 
 at the conmiencement, to the clay country, being traversed by an 
 arm of the river. These surveys have on that account a peculiar 
 value. 
 
 CLIMATE OF SOUTH HUDSON'S BAY TERRITORY. 
 
 In order to see what reason there is for speaking so favorably of 
 the climate of this part of the south Hudson's Bay Territory, let us 
 consider a little more closely what is known of it as a whole. 
 
 The north-east part of it is extremely cold. The Barren Ground 
 of the north, where trees of every kind almost entirely cease to exist, 
 sweeps down into the north-eastern part of it, as much as a hun- 
 dred and fifty miles southward of the sixtieth parallel of latitude ; 
 closely approaching Churcldll River, towards its mouth. Even at 
 York Factory, nothing but the hardiest vegetables can be raised. 
 In summer there is a thickness of seven feet of perpetually frozen 
 ground, at ten feet below the surface, and spruce trees, the pre- 
 vailing wood, are almost uselessly small. 
 
18 
 
 But the climate improves equally southward anil westward ; the 
 western side oC it, even to its north-west anj^de, is wooded thickly, 
 and Hanks the j^'cat central region suitable for cultivation. 
 
 I^mfraville, writing in 1790, says that the pine trees (spruce 
 probably) on the coast of Hudson's Bay, near York Fort, are " too 
 small and knotty to be used for good building; but on leaving the 
 marshy country and going inland to the southward, trees are of a 
 more stately growth ; and about Albany and Moose Forts they are 
 found of all diameters ;" and adds further that " potatoes, turnips, 
 and almost all kitchen garden stuff, are raised with facility, and 
 no doubt corn could be raised," but the Company, he says, dis- 
 courage anything like cultivation. 
 
 Mr. Gladman, whose evidence has been already quoted, resided 
 fifteen years at Moose Factory ; he says its climate and soil are good, 
 that he raised potatoes and other vegetables there in great abun- 
 dance, that barley ripened well, and that horned cattle, horses, 
 sheep and pigs were kept there. It is to be observed that Moose 
 Factory is upwards of two hundred and tliirty miles north of the 
 boundary between this territory and Canada. He adds that the 
 soil and climate of Albany, which is a hundred miles further 
 north, does not differ much from Moose, that it is well sheltered, 
 and that the extensive marshes on the coast furnish abundant 
 fodder for domestic cattle. He also says that the soil around tlie 
 posts of Henly, Martin's Falls, Osnaburg and Lac Seul, is of a 
 quality that enables the servants of the comx)any to raise fair crops 
 of potatoes. 
 
 At New Brunswick House, which is a hundred miles further 
 south, he says the soil is very good, that excellent potatoes are 
 raised there, also every description of vegetables. Oats ripened 
 well, an^l made good oatmeal, ground with a hand mill ; wheat 
 was tried afterwards, he was informed, with good success. He 
 says further, *'thM he doe^ not know anything to prevent a good 
 settle rent f I om heing made there, hut its being rather distant from 
 market." 
 
 South of Lake Abbitibbi, near the southern boundary of this 
 territory, the mean summer temperature probably exceeds that of 
 Halifax, Nova Scotia, as it well may, seeing tlie mean temperature 
 on Lake Temiscaming, about one degree further south, so nearly 
 resembles that of Montreal ; the mean of the summer of the 
 former being 65°20, and of the year 39''49, and the corresponding 
 mean temperature of the latter 65^55 and 42^86, by the tables 
 given by Sir John Eichardson in his " Arctic Researches."* Lake 
 Abbitibbi lies nearly in the same latitude as the west coast of 
 
 * His published tablea differ slightly in fractions from the above, owing to ty|H>- 
 graphical errors. 
 
H 
 
 T^ako St. Jolui, on \]w Uppor Simuoimy, wbirh Unn tlio climutn ut* 
 Thivn Uivci'H, iind yicIilH rxcollont wluMvt. 
 
 SpciiKini,' »»r MmtitrH ImiIIh, n ]M>Ht«uitlio AUiiiny Hivnr, npwnnU 
 of two liuudn'd iniloH woHtwanl from .Fiuih'h' liny, mnl two 
 liundrtMl ii)ilt>s iiortli Iroiii \a\Uv Sup<>i'ioi*, Mr. r»iirnston, who 
 rpHidod tluMv, HiiyH that " it him tho winter »»!' KuMsiii ini«l *h.'» >Ju\y 
 (iiul Au^^nst ol' (}(>rnjnny iind Khukm'; thiit in tho UHnal courso 
 of HOdHonM thn hiulu ol' the tro(»s ho«i;in to wwrll nhont tlin 12th 
 of May, imd Ictivo.s t'xpund ahout 2Mth May," (whicli is an early 
 OH they «lid at (>tta^•a this h'„^t Spring'.) lie Hay.s that " ii nij^lit's 
 froHt will Honietinies int(Mven(^ as Iat(5 as the 10th Juno," 
 (which is the case in eenlral Canada, oct ..sionally ahout tiie 
 inth of June,) that " hy the Ist (>et«)her foiia|;e is yellow and 
 fallin;jf. Usually tliere is a little huow hy 20th Oetoher, and it 
 covers the ^numd hy 1st Novendn'r." In .lohnson's I'hysiral Atlas 
 the line of wheat cultivation is represented as pnssin«^ hero. It is 
 quite possihh^ that it may. 
 
 At thi!^ north end of Lake WinnijH% on the western side (»f this 
 section, three hundred antl fifty miles north (»f Ifainy IJiver, its 
 southern houndary, Captain Hlackiston, of the Imperial Kxplorinjjj 
 Kx]>etlition, states that harley, potatoes, oniinis, carr(»ts, peas and 
 pumpkins, flourish in the open nir, and nielons can he forced ; hut 
 ho adds that at Holy [jike, a hundred and sixty miles north-east- 
 wanl, near the centre of thin .section, j)()tatoos do not always attain 
 full size. 
 
 Towanls the south end of I^iko Winnipeg, at Fort Alexander, on 
 the mouth of the l{iv(»r Winnipefjf, at a hnndi'od and fifty miles 
 north of Kainv llivor, spring wheat grows well. Mr. Dawson, iu 
 his report of his Jle»l llivor exploration, states that the Indians 
 have always raised ln<lian corn with success on the islands of the 
 Lake of the Woods. 
 
 The south-western part of this territory is quite fit for cultiva- 
 tion, as reganls cli luitc ; hut unfortunately, instead of being a fertile 
 Silurian plain, like the north-east side bordering on Hudson's 
 IViy, it is chiefly of the Laurentian formation, and is generally 
 very wcky ; more so, as far as known, than the Laurentian, 
 or greater part of the Ottawa country, but presenting, like it, excep- 
 tional tracts of good land. 
 
 BOUNDARY OF THK GREAT SILURIAN BASIN OF HUDSON'S BAY. 
 
 Excepting on the canoe route from Lake Superior to Red River 
 very little information is before the public respecting this section 
 of territory. Its character and value may be found to be in a con- 
 siderable degi'ee affected by the extent to which the Silurian 
 
1ft 
 
 banin of IhulHoirH Way iiiiiv rciuli iiitit it. Auili(»riti(!H (liffiT 
 \vi«I(*ly iiH to ilin ixwiiioii nl' inn lioundiiry nf tliiit I'wniiiition. Mr. 
 Itfilliiiitynn would HiHtniiiigly \)hu'v il ii litthi abovn Martiirn 
 KrtllH, on Urn Albmiy I{iv('r ; Sir .foliii l{i<;liunlH((ti <'iiiTi(!H it two 
 liumlnMl tniloH riirtluir wchI,, on tliiil. riv»r, to i\w Hoiul of liiiko 
 JoHopli, \wnr loiiKitiulu J)!*^ W. ; Imt not. lufyond tlio noutli Hido 
 of tlmt lake, in tliu ^MMdo^^irnl cJiiirt of .IoIiiihohh I'liyHiciil AUrh, 
 it iH hIiow'ii hh (MU'vin^ downwiirdM tlunv, fully ii hundred militn 
 Houtli of liiiko floH(>}))i. AV(> would niiiurully HUjipoHo Wnwr. nniHt 
 luivu bciMi Honu! \niH\H of fact fov hucIi n ropnmaitation, ]i(>rliai>s 
 till! cxiHtcncc (d a couHidiiral '(! onMi«'r "f Silurian forniution, liko 
 thu liini'Htoiiu at tho IkuuI nf Ld((3 T. .idHcaniinj^, vvliicli in that 
 chart iH »'rron«M»uHly nq>ri!.scnti'd nt4 an arm of tlm Silurian liuHin of 
 HudHon'H ]{ay. i'erhapH thu diluvial clay of that haHin which 
 ovorlai>H tho Liurentian fornuition to and over tlio wjdcr-Mlmd of 
 the Ottawa, north of I^ako 'r(>niiHraniin^(, and appcarH to havo l(;d 
 to miHtako in to th(5 boundary of tho Silurian htt.sin thuro, may 
 havo oljHcurtMl itw ])osition I'l.siiwhi'n;. 
 
 As outliiMs of Silurian linuvstono and tractn of lovcl clay soil, 
 within tho limits of posHihlo a^^'icultural (Ktcnpaliou, in tho ^roat 
 region hotwoon u.s and tho Jtod Kivor country, may nltimatoly 
 provo of Homo im|H)rtanco, from thoir soil Ixnnj^ moro Huitahlo lor 
 cultivation than tho rocky fjaurontiau ground provailin;^ noaror, 
 further and moro accurate inlbrmation as to the; ^(xdo^ical and 
 topographical character of tho country upon and immodiatoly 
 beyond the northern water-Hhed (»f Jyako.s Ilurcjn and Superior, i.^j 
 most doHirablo. The highly interesting infonuation respecting 
 Lake Nipigon, furnished last Hunnuer to the Crown fjands JJe])art- 
 ment by the ])rivato enterprise of Mr. W. AnuBtrong, (J. R, is an 
 instance of what may be obtained even by cursory exploration. 
 
 FERTILE TRACT ON RAINY RIVER. 
 
 As an exception to the generally rough, rocky, marshy and 
 poor character of tho country, between tho water-shed of Lake 
 Superior and Lake Winnijieg, forming the south-west angle of the 
 section under consideration, the fertile tract along the north side 
 of Hainy lUver is of much im^wrtance, from its lying on the lino 
 of comnumication with the Ked lliver country. 
 
 This tract is described as extending from Fort Francis, on the 
 outlet of Kainy I^ke, to the I^ke of the Wo<k18, sixty miles in 
 direct distance, or eighty by the course of the river, with u breadth 
 back from it of from half a mile to twelve miles, and is estimated, 
 by Professor Hind, as containing over two hundred and twenty 
 thousand acres of ricli alluvial land, highly suitable for cultivation. 
 On the other hand it is stated that the front of it only is dry 
 
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 \\\\\\h n\um* Mt l.»i»' Hfiil Tlu' •'<(hli«iir«M n\f Itm Itiiitty lllvi't ImkI 
 
 tiMlliMiM II likl'ly lllltl lIlI'M* Mtt< Mllllift /NmkImimvIiI'M* ill lillUI'IMlllllll 
 I'ttMHhiiH, nitlMV lltli'N mI umikI iiimIiIm IiMhI. mI iJMiJIoil t*«(li>lll, III) 
 
 iIiimIiI MtiftI Mil illM llllllttM ni lIlM llll(l<M M||ll livCM, MM IMIIIMl l<l*(| ltlll<l> 
 
 Ity Ml', hiMVMMii mill Ml llliiil, mill In lln' viiIIi-vm Ih'Kvmi'Ii Him Imw 
 ilittii«> xIiiiInmI IiIIIm Hull |iii>viiil nvi'i Hii'i it'Miiiii ; liiil I'l'iiii tif>lii|i| 
 Mi'iillt>ii>i| mill linliiltMl limy \\\\\ I'HiM HMiiiiiii vitltM>|i*NN. iimIcmm h(*m 
 Hii> lilii* i»r ntiillililllii'illlMii, III wItPin lltnv inn In* iM>cii)i|i«<l in miM 
 »l»'rf((Hl Willi lilllllliu M)ii<hilltiii*«. ImiiiIh'iIiih mi- IIfiIm'iImm 
 
 AliHMiu Hii««i» «!• liilwlil liH'linli' Hi»« MMiiill Ihii'Ih mI' iIiII'I, «hm<iM' 
 I'lliM ••!! Ilin iioHii^oM mill MM Htii ImIiiihIm in (tiic (l«< Mllln I/Iiim, fiom 
 Him llMi^lli. III' Imiil, nil llm I'ltintM imiiIm Im Idiinv IiiiI<m, mmIImmI liy 
 Ml' Hlli'l. wIlii mImmwIimI'M miivm Hull I limn Im iim Hcmtllv nl' miililn 
 litllii Itnlwnnil Hin Inn* lilll liili^nr< nl l,iii> ili< Milli* liiiiM miil Mm II 
 lirtko In mm)ini'l-, ii iiiIiiIiim pittniliilinii Mill Hm*JI' lining on Hie 
 miiIiIomI {mmI nl' Hin iniiln mill Miihjnrli Im lYnNi in Miiininnt', Mwlh^ 
 mipmnlllly In Hinll nlnvuliiili, Im iml In Im» nvnilniilft'il 
 
 An IIimH* N nviiiniil Ni>n}tM lui' Hio IiI'iiiiiIimm nl' IihIumIi y liM'liliniM><|, 
 nVMli Him IkhIhImiI IiumIm will. iiI'ImI' Him uiiMiiiiiw nl' ii IIih' nl i-nni 
 iniiiilMhllnn, ItM )ii'it|||itlily (iiM>n|tiMil, Iml Hlowly, in Hmi Immm mI' Him 
 ^milMi' IniliiMMiiiMiil, wmmIwiiI'iI ; wIiIIm Hu* ^nnil ImitiM nn Him iniilM 
 will ItM iiintM N)tM«<(lily liikMii ii|i wliMti* Him iIIiiimIm \n I'livniiiMM, nn 
 nil Mniiiy UIvmv, 
 
 It niiiy HMMlii ilinimill. In imimiiii'IIm wIiiiI Im mIiiImiI wiHi iM^iiid in 
 Him minwHt nl' nvIimhI. mI, Him |iIiii<«>m niMiiliniiMil, wiHi Hm> IhcI. \.\mi ii 
 BMlilnin iljiMIlM wmII III Knil) Wlllimii ; lilli iini wn wIimii wm MiiiiHlilMr 
 Hmt. nwin^ III iirt vuhI mjcImiiI, llin VMiy Inw iMiii|iMmiiirM nl' t,iiltM 
 
 Mll|»MVln|\ (MXMI»|tHll^ IIMIII* IllM «||n|M,) SMMICMly 4(1'' (Mi HiM limt »l(iy 
 
 nl" .Inly, iiMMMsmiiHy indiiMMfl Him «miiiiiiMr liMtii nn IIm iinHJuirn Minmt, 
 wIiIIm iliM iMittjiMmiuh* nl Him liMiuliln nl' liitiil wIHmIi mi-m cniiiiinm- 
 HvMly iiMnrlli l« wIiimmiI liyHiMli'iilMV'tlinii. TIhih, ilMniilMillyf/iMiiiMi' 
 wiutiiHt nf MlitimfiM, iiflMl' miiiamIiim iliii liMi^lii nl' Imiil mnl (t)i|irnii<li. 
 ilijit itnilty Uikn, iq linliMMit iilikn liy Hit' .Inlili lUclmnlMnii mid ntlinf 
 
 At KnH> KmiiMirtnn ItiiiHy IIIvmi', wIimio this irnni i»l' HmIi ftlliivlnl 
 liuiil oninuiMiiMMs, Hli' dniiii IHMlmi*i1«nii mill nHiMr« Buy Hmt wliMni 
 in snwH \\\)\\\ tliM l«(i tn Him 2:liil of Mrty, mid rMiipMd In Him IfiitMi 
 pud nl' AUftUBt. 
 
 To iinuy nltlMMin, ^miiHmiiimii riniii Kiif^lntid, wim ImvM oxplorMd 
 i\\in it»gioit, thn Mtiiimt^ nt Knit. KmiiMiH iniMlit hmmiii liy nn iiieium 
 i\iyutiiUli> ; Mid moil mvmii I'mm fclir WMsIf rii pMiiiiiHiiJH nl' ( -miivln 
 iiii^lit took upon it m iiiiudi inl'oHor tn Hmi> nl' tliMJr nwii (;oiititry ; 
 Init HmsG m*MUBtoiiiMd tn Hio tint'tli-MnntMni HiHtlMiiiMiitfl nl' liower 
 I'auihIiv bom it ill iv dilVMi'Miit li^ht 
 
 a 
 
18 
 
 IH 'I 
 
 j' 
 
 When I was a backwoodsman engaged in farming and assisting 
 to locate settlers, from thirty-seven to forty-five years ago, in the 
 county of Megantic, fifty miles south-westward of Quebec, we 
 sowed our wheat rather later than it is done at Fort Francis, and 
 instead of reaping it in August, we were glad to get it all secured in 
 September — were lucky if early frosts did not damage it, and if we 
 got our other crops secured in October. 
 
 Superior cultivation may have mended matters somewhat now, 
 but many of the north and east parts of Lower Canada are inferior 
 to Megantic in climate. I have seen rather green rye carted home 
 in the beginning of November, with a snow storm coming on, in 
 the parish of Les Eboulements, from rich clay soil, generally well 
 worth cultivation, nevertheless. But as to the soil and cfimate, 
 at least, practical men would prefer the rich alluvial lands of 
 Eainy Eiver and its August harvest, with its broad navigable 
 stream, and exceedingly rich fisheries, to either Megantic or Les 
 Eboulements. 
 
 We see, therefore, that the south side of this territory, for a 
 breadth of upward of a hundred miles in some parts, (as at Fort 
 Alexander and New Brunswick House,) is as suitable in climate 
 for raising wheat as parts of Lower Canada, where settlements have 
 long existed, or are now being formed ; and no doubt much of the 
 remainder which we class as suitable, for the growth of barley 
 only, may, on account of the soil, which its level Silurian character 
 indicates, be quite as profitably cultivated as the tracts on the 
 north-east parts of the Tach^ Road in Rimouski, now being opened 
 for settlement. The Intercolonial Railroad has to pass through 
 such a region as the latter, in soil and climate, on leaving the 
 St. Lawrence. 
 
 From the preceding facts, it will be seen, that if a line be drawn 
 north-westward, from Rupert's River to Oxford House, and con- 
 tinued a little beyond the head of liake Winnipeg, it roughly 
 divides this territory into halves, and, with slight curves, may be 
 taken as representing the limit of the cultivation of barley ; while 
 a similar line from the north side of Lake Abittibbi, passing more 
 westerly, a little north of New Brunswick House, and a hundred 
 and twenty miles north of Rainy Lake, striking Lake Winnipeg 
 north of Fort Alexander, may be taken as the northern line of the 
 cultivation of wheat. 
 
 The southern half, or about 230,000 square miles of this terri- 
 tory, therefore presents an area nearly twice as large, and quite as 
 favorable for cultivation, as Finland, which was formerly called the 
 Granary of Swedefl. European works on Physical Geography, 
 scarcely include any of Finland within the limits of wheat cultiva- 
 tion ; but all of it within the line of barley. But Finland i: all of 
 
19 
 
 primitive rock formation, and is therefore inferior in soil to this 
 territory, which has 50,000 square miles of Silurian formation 
 within the limits of cultivation ; yet Finland maintains upwards of 
 a million and a half of people. 
 
 It is worth mention further that this territory offers a great 
 extent of timber lands on the eastern tributaries of Lake Winnipeg, 
 especially the upper part of the water system, which forms part 
 of the proposed communication with Ked River. This fact is 
 given by S. J. Dawson, Esquire, in his Report of Exploration, who, 
 from great experience in the iumber trade, is an excellent judge. 
 The pine, though much smaller than Ottawa timber, is with other 
 woods, on these streams, the best that can be had for tlie adjoining 
 parts of the great prairie land westward to which the streams will 
 carry it. 
 
 The south-western part of this territory will therefore become 
 the site of an important lumber trade, while its rivers and numer- 
 ous lakes offer more abundant fisheries than those of the great 
 lakes of the St. LaA\Tence, where so many thousand barrels of 
 white-fish are taken annually for use and sale. The white-fish 
 is really much superior, as an article of food, to that much boasted 
 fish the salmon. 
 
 Before leaving this territory we may obseiTe, that the country 
 between Hudson's Bay and Canada is intersected by various 
 large rivers, falling into Hudson's Bay, that interlace the tributary 
 waters of the Ottawa and the Lakes Huron and Superior, on the 
 summit plateau, in long, deep lake-like channels. They present 
 natural highways that with tow-paths and waggon portage roads, 
 and occasional slight dams in their further courses, would form 
 excellent inland routes of transport to Hudson's Bay, should 
 fishing settlements be established there, or for communication in 
 the future with the cultivable part of the Silurian basin. 
 
 To carry provisions by sea from the Great Lakes, where they are 
 so cheap, to fisheries on Hudson's Bay, would take a voyage of four 
 thousand miles, which from the difficulty of its entrance and 
 navigation, could be performed but once in a season. From Lake 
 Superior the direct distance to Hudson's Bay is only three hundred 
 miles, and from Lake Temiscaming, on the Ottawa, only two 
 hundred and forty-nine. 
 
 By the rivers this distance would be of course increased con- 
 siderably. There is a route heretofore used by the Hudson's Bay 
 boats through from Michipicoten, and there are good canoe routes 
 through from Lake Temiscaming. 
 
 These routes would well merit the cost of a cursory exploration 
 of them by a competent practical man, accustomed to road and 
 river works in new countries, with a view to ascertain their capa- 
 
20 
 
 > p 
 
 city and the facilities they offer of improvement on an economical 
 scale. 
 
 i ^In exhibiting these facts I by no means pretend to say that this 
 section of territory is of importance to Canada for immediate settle- 
 ment. It may be long before any but a few enterprising adven- 
 turers, on routes of communication, will occupy it, from the simple 
 reason that the prairie land beyond it is so much preferable. But 
 it seems quite within the boimds of cautious moderation to say, 
 that a country quite equal to Finland, and about double its extent, 
 with forests of considerable importEuice, and rich fisheries, and 
 that commanos a line of communication of great importance to 
 us, may at least ultimately be of much value to Canada 
 
 As the opinions here given may differ widely from the views of 
 gentlemen in the service of the Hudson's B&y Company, it is 
 necessary to explain that there is such a thing as prejudice of 
 occupation and upbringing, of which we have powerful instances. 
 When the question of the division of Canada into two provinces 
 was discussed, in the end of last century, Mr. Lymbumer, a most 
 experienced and intelligent Member of Assembly, argued against 
 the measure, on the ground that it was an indisputable' fact that 
 the country above the Falls of Niagara would never be inhabited 
 by civilized men. 
 
 When the first township of what is now the South Eiding of 
 Kenfrew was surveyed, the earliest lumberers laughed at the idea 
 that settlement would extend there ; not from opposition to it, for 
 they desired settlement to aid them, but from the stereotyped 
 idea then in force, that the country was too remote and rough to 
 be inhabited. 
 
 Even in the year 1839, a gentleman of unquestionable honour 
 and experience, who had been engaged in the fur trade in the 
 Upper Saguenay country, informed an officer of long and high 
 standing in the Crown Land Department, that the Saugenay 
 country was so utterly valueless for occupation that no iiian need 
 ever take a mill stone or a mill saw into it Twelve years after- 
 wards, when sent by Government to project colonization roads there, 
 I traversed, in a short time, unoccupied good land enough to make 
 seven parishes, besides thriving settlements well advanced, where 
 excellent wheat was raised; and many ships were even then 
 employed in exporting its sawn lumber. Now there are twenty 
 thousand people living there on the local produce of the mill-stone 
 and the employment the saw mills afford them. I must apologize 
 for stating these facts so fully ; but they are important as regards 
 the question of settlement 
 
 i i 
 
21 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 NORTH HUDSON'S BAY TERRITORY, OR BARREN GROUND. 
 
 Little need be said of this section of territory ; it is here noticed 
 separately to distinguish its valueless character as a whole. 
 
 It may be described as the country lying north and west of 
 Hudson's Bay, from latitude 60" to the Artie sea, back to Great 
 Bear Lakp and Slave Lakb, assuming for its western boundary 
 the dividing line between the primary formation and the Silurian 
 basin of the Eiver McKcnzie, from the middle of Slave Lake to 
 the east end of Bear Lake and to Coronation Gulf j corresponding 
 roughly with the line of longitude 117'' West, 
 
 Its extreme length from east to west is nine hundred and fifty 
 miles, and its breadth from north to south six hundred. It includes 
 an area of about four hundred and twelve thousand five hundred 
 square miles. 
 
 Only one-sixth part of this section of territory, forming its south- 
 west angle, from Bear Lake to a little east of the east end of 
 Slave lake, and nearly on that course to latitude 60°, is wooded. 
 
 The remaindei, forming five sixths of its area, is the treeless 
 Artie desert of the Barren Ground. 
 
 Its surface is varied with rocky hills of moderate altitude ; some, 
 however, as at Cape Barrow, rising to an elevation of fifteen 
 hundred feet. It is watered by one large river, the Great Fish or 
 Back river, and many sr laller streams, and lakos. 
 
 Its vegetation consists of a close covering of lichens where it is 
 dry, mixed with reindee: moss in moister spots. Other plants 
 flourish where the soil is suitable, with depressed willows, blue 
 berries, bear berries, &c. In favorable sheltered meadows grass 
 and bents flourish, and many flowering plants. Notwithstanding 
 the generally desolate character of the country, it, in parts, affords 
 sustenance for herds of hundreds of reindeer and of the musk-ox, 
 as described by Capt Back, on the river to which his name has 
 been givea 
 
 The Indian cannot live in it in winter on account of the want 
 of fuel. What little is used by the Esquimax, who inhabit the 
 coast, is the oil and blubber their fisheries afford ; their fuel is got 
 in the deep. 
 
 Even the reindeer retire from it to the bordering woods in 
 winter, to shelter them from the season's storms. They go in 
 numerous bands by certain passes among the lakes and hills, 
 where the Esquimax and Northern Indians waylay and slaughter 
 them for winter use, sometimes with the most wasteful recfless- 
 ness. 
 

 22 
 
 If the natives could be taught to tame the reindeer, which is 
 said to be easily done, and use them as domestic herds, as the 
 Laplanders do, they might live in greater comfort and security. 
 
 The chief permanent inhabitant of this vast desolate region is 
 the Musk Ox, the cotemporary of the mammoth and other extinct 
 animals. He feeds in winter on the high spots where the vege- 
 tation, preserved with all its juice by the sudden severity of the 
 winter's frost, is bared of snow by the winds. 
 
 His extinct cotemporaries are gone, and the buffalo and the 
 moose deer are rapidly following ; even the lion of Africa is hunted 
 in his home ; but the inhospitable desolation of this, the only abode 
 of the musk ox, wUl be his security. 
 
 In connectior vith this section, its probable mineral wealth 
 may be noticed. )eaKing of the country north of Lake Winnipeg, 
 Sir John Richard »n says that Government, or the Hudson's Bay 
 Company, should ascertain, without delay, the " mineral treasures 
 it contains," and adds, " I have little doubt of many of the acces- 
 sible districts abounding in metallic wealth of far greater value 
 than all the returns of the Fur trade can ever yield." This obser- 
 vation would seem to apply not only to the western skirts of the 
 band of primary formation immediately north of Lake Winnipeg, 
 but also to this section as far north as Copper^ Mine River. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE NORTH McKENZIE RIVER COUNTRY. 
 
 That part of the great central Silurian plain, west of the fore- 
 going section, extending from latitude 60*^ N. to the Artie Sea, 
 and from tlie west edge of the primary belt to the Rocky Moun- 
 tains, may be designated as the North McKenzie River Country. 
 
 It is about seven hundred and forty miles in length from north 
 to south, with a breadth of four hundred miles at latitude 60**, 
 varying to over six hundred miles, where it meets the Artie Sea ; 
 and contains an area of two hundred and seventy-four thousand 
 square miles. 
 
 Though lying in precisely the same latitude, its climate is not 
 so intensely severe as that of the foregoing section ; from which it 
 differs much in other respects, that render it of more value com- 
 paratively. 
 
 Instead of being a rocky, barren, treeless waste, chiefly of 
 infertile primary formation, like the preceding, it is, as mentioned, 
 a Silurian plain, more or less wooded throughout, almost to the 
 
23 
 
 shore of the Artie. In tlie southern half of it barley and garden 
 vegetables can be raised. It is traversed by the McKenzie, a first 
 class navigable river, and it abounds in rich beds of lignite coal, 
 with, in parts, liquid bitumen, which may ultimately prove of 
 some value commercially. 
 
 The effect of its rich alluvial soil, and some superiority in 
 climate, due perhaps in part to the prevalence of limestone, is 
 such as to admit of the growth of trees, as far as the mouth of the 
 McKenzie. Stunted generally ia the most northerly parts, and of 
 the hardiest kind — white spruce — but in sheltered positions, some- 
 times attaining a useful size. Even at the north-eastern extremity 
 of this section, at the mouth of the Copper Mine liiver, in a shel- 
 tered grove, one is noticed as being thirty-seven inches in girth, 
 and on Kendal Eiver, near the same locality, in a fine grove of 
 white spruce, one was found sixty-three inches in girth, twenty 
 feet without taper, and fifty feet in height; but such trees are 
 exceedingly rare in the north end of this section. 
 
 Being of Silurian and more recent formation, and generally a 
 plain, it would have been a good agricultural country had its 
 climate admitted. Such as it is, though its southern boundary is 
 the limit of profitable wheat cultivation, Col. Lefroy and Sir 
 John Richardson say, that at Fort Simpson, a hundred and fifty 
 miles further north, with a mean summer temperature of 59^*^ 
 Fah., barley gi*ows well, and the latter says that at Fort Norman, 
 three hundred and forty miles north of lat. 60**, (the assumed 
 southern boundary of this section,) potatoes are raised, and in 
 good seasons barley ripens well, and that lat. 65*^ may be con- 
 sidered as the raorthern limit of the growth of barley. He adds, 
 that at Fort Good Hope, a hundred and eighty miles north of Fort 
 Norman, that is fifty north of the Arctic Circle, turnips attain the 
 weight of two or three pounds in favourable seasons, but barley 
 has failed there when tried. Fort Simpson is evidently far within 
 the limit of barley cultivation, for which, on the authority of 
 Eman, quoted b Sir John Kichardson, it is necessary only that 
 the mean temperature of any one of the three summer months 
 shall not fall below 47°75 Fahr. At Fort Simpson, the mean of 
 each of five months is above that, being for May, 48*^16 ; June, 
 <63'^64; July, 60«>97; August, 53^84; September, 49°10. The 
 three winter months, however, are there extremely cold, the 
 mean being 10*^ below zero; that of the spring months, 26°66 
 above zero, and of autumn, 27°34. 
 
 If, therefore, we draw a line across this territory at lat 65° N., 
 we find that we have in the south part of it, an area of a hundred 
 and twenty thousand square miles, which, with the necessary 
 allowance for waste lands and positions unfavourable in elevation 
 
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 M^'K^^^^j-it* ^vrt^ iluM» iwn iljuUflnnil h«I1«<m licynnil Mm f,rtl{fuif tlif 
 WNvi^k. Il< iMh'i'f <M*lrt»' MMinHlt wi'Mwtuil, fiml llin'«> llniiiBfuiil ffi.lr«fl 
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 <^1^m thn iMii\rH< of fln» Hivov Mvltmcn In NnitHi Ainoficn 
 
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 H<vt[M\ ^ H( <\m rtjuHi'iilltnul m'l'ttuniiofi. 
 
 M»*KiiM<?'io ivhunoil l(» KiiH ('lilpoWnVfUi titillin I'^fli Nt'fFl>'rri1»nr, 
 ^«^vi»^U ^M»vOMn<t^«l \\\*n vnyrt|ift> iif lhn>n lliiniwnml tnilna in n liiinfln't? 
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 V* i\\m\ l\\v UrtvlgnHon. In n'turniiig, \hv nir fur wmu* jiart, of ilir> 
 
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 Avny WrtH Indoti nvIiIi n UonxynwwW nl" Hulplnn', wliirli in luuinl to Iw 
 imUBnl l»y llto Innniti^ of rnn\ in Mm ImnkR of ilm river, — it was 
 (1)0 1ignit(M>Miil Mini in ri» iilnntdiuit in Miin tiMTitory. 
 
 liinnito vnrinw imiclj in inuility. Mh iivnmm» ln»ntin^ powtM' may 
 ho trtkiMi :\H oipiiil to tluvt of fivo-PcvcnlliH of iin pipinl wniglit n| 
 
 rfcMxl Np\vniHtl(» I'oal, tlioujili ifci»ftnii oxt'i'ndw tluil prfHtortion. TIm« 
 i^niin «'oul «tf Nntininjo in V'nncoiiVM'i'n IhIhikI in only ten ]»nr rent, 
 lews viihniMe tlnin tlin tnie «'oh1 of ilie ('arl»onifer»)UH epoeli, amird- 
 ing to Dr. Hector. 
 
 Its pii'valenee in innnense quantities iitid in |»OHi(i(»nR wIhmo it 
 ran l»e most easily nunle availahle, in a climate where fnel will be 
 so mnel) needed, the comparative fertility of the soil of this section, 
 and its givat navi^jjahle river an»l the llsheries cinniected with it, 
 will no donl»t \iltimately lend to the ]mr(ial orcnpation <»f the 
 southern half of it, wheii» hainly grains and vejrctaltles can be culti- 
 vated. TheiH'foiv, tho\i}rh owing to its remoteness ami the exceed- 
 ing coldness of its climate, it is utterly useless now, oxc(U»ting fo5 
 its U\Y trade, we should not consi(h'r it, altogetluu* valueless with 
 !>»feiHMH'e to the futtnv. 
 
 Speaking of the ])ossible futuii^ occ»t]Mition of t.ho sojith half of 
 this section of territory, notwithstanding the severity of its climnte, 
 it is worthy of ixunark, that in the province of Vohigda, to which 
 we have c;',mpaivd it, hemp and tla\ nw, cultivated with success. 
 Kven in tlu^ pi-ovinc*' (»f Archi\ngel, north of it, with a climate 
 much nu»n» uufavonible, ccm.siderable quantities of hemp and llax 
 are raised, and coarse linen ciUHlage and nuits are manufactured. 
 Hemp and tlax. with, collage and linseed from these pinivinces, are 
 the in'in(Mple articles of e.vport at Aix'hangcl. ft is i\»asonable to 
 think that in the futun> tlu\y may be cultivateil and manufactinvd 
 in this territory. 
 
 This okservation, however, applies with much moix» force and 
 more immediately to the country south of Hmlson'a Hay, already 
 notice<l, as well as to tlie giiMit Central Vrairie ( 'ountry, the chief 
 subject of this pamphlet As they are ixuuoto fn)m markets, the 
 cost for transport of flax exported, especially if manufactured, 
 will 1h? insignificant compai'cd with that of onlinary agricultural 
 exports ; an important aavanta^, even with impixjved means of 
 communication. 
 
 i^\ 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 THK PKLLY RIVER AND MOUNTAIN COUNTRY. 
 
 Continuing to notice the less important or comparatively 
 valueless sections of territory before directing attention to the great 
 
 • imw 
 
27 
 
 (•'III ml pfiiiiiM Iniid, Mm IjhI of \h(m: iiifVrinr li-nitoiirH rimy 1k> 
 (li'MiuiifttoiMlm ISiIIy Ifivt-r iiimI MMinitjiiii Cotmlry. 
 
 It is II little iiioiM tliiiii n tlmiiaaiMl iiiih'H in l«'ii{,'lli, iiortliwnril 
 i'riDii Hitii|iHMirD Kivnr, tlio iMii-tlinni liontKlury of llriliHli (!oliiiiiliin, 
 t(» tJM' Arctii; Him nt Point Piiiimrciitioii, wlimn it t<'riiiirmt»'H in fin 
 ficuto anf^li? ; iin»l llvn linnilrnil in Itri'iultli, IVoni tliu I'lifttijrn crvAi of 
 tlic l{oi;ky MonntiiinH to Mount Saint Kliiis, on ih»; coriMt of 
 ilic i'lu'ifii; Onmn. It contains an arini of aliout two litiiiilrcil and 
 t'i^hty-tlvi! tlionnanil Hn|)(^rtlrial niili-.M. 
 
 Tliis wntion of territory incritH Hmmratu iliwription, inaHiiiuohas 
 it (lilfers jw \viil«ly in itf» ^M-nnral rliaractiM- from tliosn firevionaly 
 iiotii'f'd iiH tlicy do from rach otlinr. It diltrrs cHpwially from tlio 
 last dt'HcrilKMJ, wliicli in mmcrally a plain country, wliili; this, witli 
 littli' exception, is a viiMt mountain region, cipial in extent to IIkj 
 Kiiif^doniK of Norway and Svvc'den taken to^'etlier. 
 
 In itH mountainouHcIiaracter it cdiiefly rcHemlileH Norway, Had 
 it embraced the coa«t of the Pacilii; and the islandH along it, the 
 rcHemltlance would have lieeen ^'reater, for it then would liave pos- 
 HeasiMJ a Heahoard rendered temperate l»y the warm wind.s of the 
 Pacific; hut frmu Mount Ht. Kiian down to the honndaiy of Hriti»h 
 Columhia, a narrow stripo of American, formerly liUHsian territory, 
 intervone«, along tho Vacifio coast, reaching luck to tire Hummit of 
 the nearcHt niuuntnin range, but nowhere exceeding thiriy-five 
 miles from tho shore. 
 
 Though poHSGBsing a Igbh genial climate than Norway and Swe- 
 den, the resemblance to them may bo traced a littlo further. As 
 little more than ono-sixtcenth part of tho surface of Sweden is 
 classed as arable land in cultivation, includifig meadows, and only 
 about one-hundredth part of Norway, this tiirritory is probably not 
 much inferior to them in extent of land fit for such cultivation m 
 the climate may admit of. 
 
 The Rocky Mountains on tho east side, tho IJluo Ilangc or Peak 
 Mountains and the Cascade Mountains and Coast llange run nearly 
 parallel to each other, north -wostwardly through this territory, with 
 many intermediate ranges and groups. 
 
 The Kocky Mountains, whoso high^t peak rises m sixteen 
 thousand feet, at tho sources of the Athabasca, gradually decline in 
 height northward, to four and live thousand feet above the sea. The 
 Coast Kange, on the contrary, attains its greatest height at Mount 
 St. Elitts, which is stated to bo 17,970 feet in altitude. 
 
 These ranges cover much of this territory ; but there are valleys 
 between and among them, of considerable extent : not much known 
 as yet, as might bo expected of a countiy so remote ; — as Alpine in 
 character as Switzerland and Tyrol and eleven times as large as 
 both together ; presenting incomparably greater obstacles to explo- 
 
^ 
 
 \l 
 
 ration, in the coldness of its climate, and from its being uninhabited 
 except by savages. 
 
 It offers a far more interesting field of study for the geologist 
 and the naturalist than the regions east of it already noticed. 
 
 It is a country that presents the greatest possible obstacles of 
 climate and surface to military o})erations ; a country utterly im- 
 pregnable from its character and extent, should it ever become 
 inhabited, ap it no doubt ultimately will, where it admits of being 
 so, as similar countries in the old world have. It is therefore a 
 great natural bulwark to the plain country east of it. 
 
 The cold climate of much of the soutliern part of this section 
 of terri* try is due in a great degree to its elevation. Col. Lefroy 
 argues tuat the part of it in which the sources of the Peace Hirer 
 lie, must be nearly six thoiwand feet above the sea. At Pelly's 
 Banks, lat. 61^80 , the valley of Pelly liiver is fourteen hundred 
 feet above the sea ; and there the mean temperature of the month 
 of January is nearly 22** below zero, or nine and a half degrees 
 colder than at Fort Simpson, on the McKenzie, nearly in the same 
 latitude (61*51' N.,) three hundred miles eastward, but which is 
 only four hundred feet above the sea. In April the difference is 
 only live and a quarter degrees, and their summers are probably 
 equal ; a temperature which will admit of the cultivation of barley 
 and vegetables at Pelly's Banks. 
 
 Pelly River is a branch of the great River Youcan, that dis- 
 charges at the entrance of Behring's Straits, after a course of 
 eighteen hundred miles, ^-^om the source of the Lewis Branch of 
 the river Pelly, which flows for seven hundred miles through this 
 temtory. 
 
 The temperature of Fort Youci.n, Lat 66* K, at the junction 
 of the Pelly and Youcan, in late Russian America, may be taken as 
 that of the north end of this territory near it in the same latitude. 
 The mear* temperatures of its seasons are, spring 14*04, summer 
 5P*71— autumn 17*33 above, and winter 23*80 below zero ;— 
 showing its summer to be warmer than that of Fort Simpson, 
 which is only 59^48. From which it woidd certainly appear that 
 barley and vegetables might be cultivated there and all along the 
 valley of the Pelly River, within this territory, as well as at Fort 
 Simpson. The temperature of Youcan is more than sufficient for 
 the growing of barley, by Eman's rule before quoted, that the 
 mean of none of the three summer months shall fall below 47^75, 
 — for the mean temperature at Youcan for June is 53*49, July 
 65*75, and August 59^^90, though the mean for the whole year is 
 only 16«85. 
 
 " Pelly's Banks " is in the middle of this territory, with the 
 disadvantage of great elevation ; and Youcan is nearly at the Artie 
 
 11*11 
 
ing uninhabited 
 
 {^[rc\^i^ — towards the soutli-west, near the coast of the PaciHc, and 
 at lower levels, the climate must necessarily ])e widely different. 
 To judge of tlio climate of these more favorable parts we may 
 take, for data, tho temperature of the seasons at Sitka, on the Pa- 
 cific, about a degree further north than the south end of this terri- 
 tory, and aljout a hundred miles westward of it. Here we have a 
 striking contrast to the preceding ; Sitka has a warm winter and a 
 cool summer ; tlie moan of the former being 34*' 70 and the latter 
 only 56°2'*; that of spring 42*^28, and autumn 48''49 — with a mean 
 annual temperature of 45*^44 — much the same as that of Buffalo 
 or Toronto; or 2^** warmer than that of Montreal, and sixteen 
 degrees warmer than that city in winter ; but yet with a summer 
 inferior to that of Youcan or Fort Simpson for ripening grain. 
 
 We have here, therefore, between these points an extreme con- 
 trast of climates, extreme difference between the heat of summer 
 and tlie cold of winter on the one hand, and extreme want of 
 difference between the temperature of tlie seasons on the other, to 
 such a degree as to prevent the ripening of the grain at Sitka, not- 
 withstanding the high mean temperature of the year. 
 
 Consequently, somewhere between these points, a little removed 
 from the too equalizing influence of the Pacific, and its humidity, in 
 the valleys on the south-west side of this territory, we should find, 
 with a gradually diminishing annual temperature, and an increasing 
 diflerence between summer and winter, and less humidity, localities 
 with cliinates resembling those of Montreal and Quebec. 
 
 Consistently with Ihe facta mentioned, physical geographers 
 have drawn the line of New York mean winter temperature from 
 twenty to one hundred and twenty miles within this territory, 
 running north-westwardly through it, for six hundred and fifty 
 miles. But this line must only be taken as applicable to low lands 
 and valleys : — it will generally be exceedingly deflected and often 
 largely interrupted by ridges and highlands. 
 
 When this peculiarity of temperature of the south-west side of 
 this territory is taken into consideration, together with what is 
 known of it from exploration, it would appear that there are some 
 favorable parts of it, of considerable value from their position and 
 mineral reaources, and their fitness for cultivation, owing to the 
 quality of the land. 
 
 By Mr. Downie's report of exploration of Skeena or Simpson 
 river, which forms the boundary betw^een this territory and the 
 Province of British Columbia, it app«ars that after passing the coast 
 range the valleys present extensive tracts of good land well suited 
 for settlement. He took two days to traverse one of them, which 
 he says is as fine a farming country as one could wish to see. On 
 A large tributary on the north side, within this territory, the land is 
 
. ■ r 
 
 MO 
 
 (loHi'iilH**! iiA ^^\\^^\\ iukI w(>11 luliiiitod lor funning ; iiiiil iliuro thu 
 liidiaiiM pjifiw ))li>iity of |iutiitiM«H. Iln ilunrrilNm fino tliitN runiiinK 
 hack to (liM uiountniim, which nuMMh^ I'onr or livi) iiiih'H Iroiii ilio 
 vivor ; HpoukH of tho Skronu rountry luMti^ in )Mirt>4 iho ht>st look< 
 itig iiiiiKM'iil couiilry \\v hiul hvvu in llritiHh Cohinihiii ; kIIiuUis to 
 ^ol«l which ho IIiiiIh th(U'c ; luoiitions that thn river Skciuiu )tiinNUR 
 thnuii^li an oxtounivn coal count ry, \\\\\ Hoanm cut tlirouf<ii hy tho 
 river varying' IVoiu tlircc to thirty-lUc t'c(»t in thicknosH; HUpcriorto 
 any that ho had noon in Vaiicotivcr'M IhIiiikI, (whoro tho niinoH of 
 Niuminio arc ahiMuly of Viiluo conniicrcially,) or in IhitiMh Coliuii- 
 bia ; iintl in othor n*port.^ ho Hayw, sahuon un<l other IIhIi aro in 
 ineoncoivattlo ahniuhnico. 
 
 S\)ol) advanta^oH may not ho coiiiiuoii, and may Ito limited to a 
 nnmll ]tart of thi.s territory ; hut ^ood huidH with a moderate climate, 
 on tine saliuon rivui'A, wit<h valualOo timlipr fonwtjt and tivdH of uoal, 
 Hituatod within a hundred miles of tho coiitiniudly open navigation 
 of th(» Paoilio and its <'ommerce, taken together with tho jr(dd-hear- 
 ing character of tlu^ coiuitry, (for which tlu3 river Stikono U> tho 
 northward o\' tln» Simpson is already famous,) nuidor tho Houthorn 
 l>art of this territory (»f ciuisiderahlo iunuediato, and still greater 
 future value. 
 
 carAVTHU VIT. 
 
 THK «KL) UIVKH, SASIvATCllKWAN AND PKAt'K UIVEU COUNTIIY, OH 
 CKNTUAI. niAIKIK I.AND-POHITION AND EXTENT. 
 
 The ivmaining section of tho givat north-west territory — that 
 which is of hy far the gixMitest intrinsic value, and of the greatest 
 relative import^moe to tlie Dominion of Canada — may, in the ab- 
 sence of any geneml name, l)e designated as the Ked Kivcr, Saskat- 
 chewan ami IVaoe Kivcr country, or Central Prairie Land ; using 
 the latter term nunxjly to signify that prairie land is more or less 
 [U'evalent thi'oughout the gixjater jmrt of it. 
 
 It may be descrilxHl as Iwuiuied on the south by the line of lati- 
 tude 40^* N., the Nortliern Iwundary of tho United States, on tho 
 west by the create of the Kocky Mouuttiins, which divide it from 
 the Pmvinco of British Columbia, as far northward as Peace River; 
 on the north by the parallel of latitude 60*^ N., and on the east by 
 I^ke Winnipeg with its tributaFy waters, the River Winnipeg and 
 the Lake of the Woods ; and from the north end of Lake Winni- 
 peg by a line dmwn north-westward through the west end of Lake 
 Athabasca to the line of lat. CO** N. 
 
ItA lentil, from tlin ontlnt ol' iliu lixh*. of tin; Woo«Ih woMtwurd 
 to tlio Rouruos of iho SiiHkiilcliownn, Ih oi^^lit Iiuii<inHl and nighty 
 iiiilon. ItB Itroiultli northward from hit. 4!)" to (10' N., m mvau 
 imndrod ntid nixty miicH. It (Mtntuinn lui rircn of tihont four hundred 
 (ind uigbty thouHund Niiuiiris mihm ; that \h to nay, an (iron f!([niil to 
 tlint of Friin(3o iind Ounnnny with Hul^^inni iind Swit/nrlund added 
 tugethor, — or alwint ten time's that of the Slate of New York. 
 
 HtriTAniiKNKHH FOll HK/m.KMKNT, AND ITH IMI'OllTANCK. 
 
 It Ih highly important to observe thi.t noarl} tlie whole of thin 
 sectiun of territory, within tlie hoiUHhirieH stated, excepting where 
 cold, arising from great elevation, ren(h'rH it otherwine, in m Huit- 
 ablo in climate for agricultural occupaticiu iin the jiartH of (Janada 
 and the Maritime I'rovinceH (drea«ly nettled or now l»eing nettled, 
 taken together. That Ih to Hay that the bent ]mrtrt of tluH gection 
 of territory are fully an rich in Hoil, and, whore cultivated, yield 
 fully as heavy returns of wheat as the Ijest parts of l),ij)er (Janada; 
 and that with little exception the most northerly ])arts of ib admit 
 of as good crops of wheat or <jther grain lieing raised as the least 
 fovourablo parts of Ixjwer (Jamula already settled or b(?ing now 
 opened for settlement. JJesi'les which, a great portion of it pre- 
 sents the very great advnutago (»f beif»„ ready for the plough, 
 without the trouble of clearing ai.d taking out stumps and stones. 
 
 The acfiuisiiion of this territory, or the eflective (jpening of it as 
 a Crown colony with a view to federation with us, which is much 
 the same, is therefore of the utmost Importance to Canada, alike 
 for immediate use for the extension of native settlement and as 
 a receptacle for many immigrants who go to a foreign country 
 to obtain such prairie land ; and also, and chiefly, as u necessary 
 basis for that degree of strength of population essential for the 
 maintenance of our national security in the future. 
 
 TOPOGRAPHICAL CHARACTER. 
 
 This section of territory forms part of the great plaiji that lies 
 along the eastern base of the Kocky Mountains, already spoken of 
 in describing ilie McKenzie liiver country. 
 
 This great interior plain extends from the Gulf of Mexico to the 
 Artie Ocean, with but little inten'uption from lesser ranges and 
 occasional groups of hills of insignificant elevation compared with 
 the great range that bounds it to the westward. The water-sheds 
 of its greatest river basins are but elevations of tlie same great 
 sloping plain. Even the great parallel Azoic belt, the continua- 
 tion of the Laurentides, that divides it from that other great Silu- 
 
k 
 
 I 
 
 
 82 
 
 rian plain which encircles Hudson's Bay, presents but little inter- 
 ruption to the gradually descending slope of the continent from the 
 Eocky Mountains eastward. 
 
 It is described as presenting a general similarity of geological 
 character, varying as the different formations, from the Silurian 
 upwards, exhibit themselves in greater or lesser breadth. 
 
 Within the section of territory under our consideration, the 
 ■Silurian formation, that prevails along the eastern side of the 
 plain, dips westward under the Devonian, Cretaceous and Tertiar- 
 ios, to rise again in the ridges of the Eocky Mountains. 
 
 The absence of granite or other primitive rock, in the Eocky 
 Mountains, from lat. 49° ns far as 62° K, is noted as remarkabh 
 by Sir John Eichardson. By the exploration of Capt. Palliser and 
 Dr. Hector, they are shown to consist of Silurian and carboniferous 
 rocks. Far beyond the scope of their examination, these moun- 
 tains appear to be the same in geological character. Where 
 traversed by the Peace Eiver about lat. 56° N., Sir Alexander 
 McKenzie describes the bed of that river to be of limestone, and 
 the mountains as solid masses of the same. 
 
 This formation of the Eocky Moimtains is important. The 
 prevalence of limestone has no doubt contributed fertility to the 
 alluvial lands and low prairies of the plain country below ; and 
 the presence of the carboniferous rocks is a favorable feature. 
 Sir Eoderick Murchison, in passing a well-merited encomium on 
 the valuable exploratory operations of Dr. Hector, observes 
 that he shows the " structure of the chain, with its axis of slaty 
 subscrystalline rocks overlaid by limestone of Devonian and car- 
 boniferous age, and flanked on the eastern side by carboniferous 
 sandstone, representing probably our own coal fields, the whole 
 followed by those Cretaceous and Tertiary deposits which con- 
 stitute the subsoil of the vast and rich prairies watered by the north 
 and south Saskatchewan and their affluents." 
 
 This encomium was justly due to the Doctor, but hardly so to 
 the South Branch of the Saskatchewan; the dry prairies that 
 prevail on much of it resemble the steppes of Eusssia in Europe, 
 of which, as Mr. Hauxhausen says, "some consider the larger 
 portion as unfertilizible deserts," while others think they require 
 " nothing but hands and judicious culture to convert them into rich 
 and fertile places," but adds that he thinks the truth lies between 
 these extremes. 
 
 However gratifying the prospect may be of discovering true 
 coal in the carboniferous formation of the Eocky Mountains, it has 
 not yet been realized, either from the explorations yet made being 
 very limited and imperfect, or from there being no true cojd 
 measures there : for it is to be borne in mind that the presence of 
 
as 
 
 the carboniferous formation merely indicates that it is there, and 
 there only, that true coal will be found if it exists at all, or in 
 useful quantities. Thus we have the carboniferous fonnation on 
 the south coast of the district of Gaspd ; its presence led to exten- 
 sive speculation and the formation of a mining company; but 
 though it, the carboniferous formation, exists to a total thickness of 
 three hundred feet, no coal to warrant mining was ever discovered. 
 
 Along the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains there extends a 
 broad belt of geological formation, throughout the entire length, 
 northward of this section of territory, (nearly a thousand miles,) 
 and beyond it to the Arctic Ocean, as already mentioned, containing 
 an inexhaustible amount of lignite cofJ ; it has been seen in many 
 places in beds from two to eight feet thick, and in some parts over 
 a breadth of nearly two hundred miles. 
 
 As this immense region of lignite coal lies on thfe upper courses 
 of great navigable rivers, which flow through vast fertile prairie 
 countries on their lower courses, containing much of the richest 
 wheat-growing ground in this continent, the value of it as a 
 perpetual supply of fuel for them is incalculable ; it e'/idently 
 much more than compensates for the infertile character of a large 
 part of the dry prairie lands adjoining the boundary of the United 
 States. 
 
 FORM AND NATURAL SUBDIVISIONS. 
 
 On the map of the section of territory now before ns, this 
 Central Prairie Land, bounded as mentioned, is an irregular 
 diamond-shaped figure inclining westward. It is eight hundred 
 and eighty miles broad at its base, on lat. 49*^ N., diminishing north- 
 ward to three hundred miles in width on lat. 60? N. The length of 
 its eastern boundary is a thousand and fifty miles, and its \iestem 
 one, by the curve of the Rocky Mountains, is nine hundred and 
 fif^y miles. 
 
 Its south-east angle, in the Lake of the Woods, is two hundred 
 and fifty miles west with a little northing, from Fort "William, on 
 Lake Superior. Its north-east angle is six hundred miles due west 
 from Hudson's Bay, and its north-west angle is at the same distance 
 due east from the Pacific. Its east and west outlines are, at their 
 middle parts, about four hundred miles in direct distance from 
 Hudson's Bay and the Pacific, respectively. It therefor occupies 
 a central position in the co»itinent. 
 
 The south part of it, two hundred and eighty thousand square 
 miles in area, or considerably more than the half of it, lies upon 
 the waters of the River Saskatckewan, and the Red Rivei and 
 Assiniboine, and other tributaries of Lake "Winnipeg. Next north- 
 
 3 
 
34 
 
 ward, the head waters of the Churchill or Beaver River, occupy a 
 trian^ar area of fifty thousand miles on the east side. Of the 
 remaining part, north-westward, a hundred and twenty thousand 
 miles lie on the Athabasca, and on the Peace Eiver north of it; and 
 about thirty thousand square miles of the north-west comer lie on 
 the waters of the River of the Mountains, and Hay River ; the last 
 four rivers are branches of the River McKenzie. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 
 
 Before going into details as to the character of these subdivi- 
 sions, it may be well to make a few o^ ervations of a general nature, 
 on this section of territory. 
 
 Its elevation, though considerable, is not so great as might be 
 supposed from its central position in the continent. 
 
 Its lowest levels are the two great lakes, Winnipeg and Atha- 
 basca, nearly at its south-east and north-east ends, which receive 
 the waters of five-sixths of its area, and the River of the Mountains 
 at Fort liard, which is estimated to be only four or fi\e hundred 
 feet in height. Lake Winnipeg, which receives the waters of the 
 River Winnipeg and others on the east side, besides the Red River 
 and Assiniboine, and the River Saskatchewan, on the west, is six 
 hundred and twenty feet above the level of the sea. Lake Atha- 
 basca, which receives the River Athabasca from the south, and 
 others rivers from the east, and connects at its discharge with Peace 
 River, from the west, is six hundred feet above the sea. 
 
 Having these for the lowest levels, the general fall of the sur- 
 face towards them will be better understood by tracing the elevation 
 of the circuit of this section of territory. The Lake of the Woods 
 is three hundred and sixty-one feet above Lake Winnipeg, or nine 
 hundred and eighty-nine feet above the sea. It is in a country of 
 lake-like marshes of great extent, on the same level as itself, or 
 nearly so. The elevation of Pembina near long. 97° W., where the 
 Red River intersects the boundary of U. S., lat. 49° K, is estimated 
 at nine hundred feet. Half way between Pembina and the Rocky 
 Mountains, the boundary line rises on the "Grand Coteau du Mis- 
 souri," the high arid plateau dividing the valley of the latter from 
 that the Saskatchewan, upwards of fifteen hundred feet in height, 
 and gradually ascending till, at the entrance of the Kootanee pass, 
 the plain terminates with an elevation of four thousand feet, and 
 the further ascent to the summit of the pass is two thousand feet. 
 This elevation of the plain at the foot of the mountains continues 
 northward ; the summits of the passes varying between five and 
 six thousand feet, and the peaks of the mountains rising from seven 
 or eight thousand to fifteen, and the highest to sixteen thousand 
 feet above the sea. Speaking of this elevated country at the foot 
 
86 
 
 lat as might be 
 
 ;e of the Woods 
 
 of the Kocky Mountains, between Saskatchewan and Peace River, 
 CoL Le^y observes that "it is a district remarkable for its gradual 
 and regular ascent, preserving much of the character of a plain 
 
 country." 
 
 Near the boimdary of the United States and south of lat. 51*' 
 N., the base of the Rocky Mountains is not more than forty miles 
 in width. They attain their greatest height about lat. 52® N., and 
 also their greatest width, which is about a hundred miles. 
 
 Only between lat. 51° and 52° N., and a little above the latter 
 parallel, are glaciers to be found. There close together, by Dr. 
 Hector's valuable map, about lat. 51° 40 N., long. 117° W., in 
 a grand nucleus of lofty summit glaciers, where the range 
 is a hundred miles in breadth, the North and South Branches of 
 the Saskatchewan have their sources, but a few miles apart; 
 diverging to meet again, on their way to the Atlantic, after follow- 
 ing their separate courses of eight hundred miles. Close between 
 them rises one of the sources of the Columbia, flowing to the 
 Pacific ; and in glaciers near them, about lat. 52° 17 N., is the 
 source of the Athabasca — the remotest source of the River Mc- 
 Kenzie, which takes its course of two thousand miles to the Arctic 
 sea. 
 
 Elsewhere, Captain Blackiston and others describe the Rocky 
 Mountains as being well-wooded, excepting their summits; the 
 timber on the eastern side inferior to that of the western ; and 
 add, that perpetual snow is only seen on some of the higher 
 peaks. This peculiarity, we may observe, is the natural result 
 of the high level of the plain ; the line of perpetual snow depend- 
 ing more on the height above the mean elevation of the earth's 
 surface, in the region adjoining, than its height over the level of 
 the sea. 
 
 Returning to the elevation of the circuit of outline, on attaining 
 latitude 60° N., the elevation of the mountains and the plain 
 diminishes rapidly. Fort liard, on the River of the Mountains, 
 near that paralLel, though only fifty miles east from the mountains, 
 is only four or five hundred feet above the sea. 
 
 This depression of level in northing is favorable to cultivation. 
 Had the elevation risen with the latitude, or even continued una- 
 bated, the climate would have been less suitable for the growth of 
 grain. Fort Hard is the lowest point in this section of territory ; 
 and the altitude can be but little greater where the parallel of lati- 
 tude 60° N. crosses Hay River, and meets the assumed east outline 
 of this section. 
 
 The country traversed by this east outline, rises but little above 
 the height of Lake "Winnipeg, excepting the northerly part between 
 Beaver River and Lake Athabasca. There this assumed boundary 
 
36 
 
 
 pilBcn over a groat bond of tho Lnuroiitian fornmiion. Even n 
 nttnth'od niiloR wosiwanl, whoro that, formation joins tlio Silurian, 
 Motliy Ijftko is fonrtoon InnulitMl and ninoty foot* above tbe sea. 
 
 Tliis tmct of Tiaurot'tian country will bo valueless unless it Iw 
 for sur.li minerals as it may bo foinid to oflor, near tho junction of 
 these formations. 
 
 Tiu'ning to tho interior, wo find at Fort Dunvegan, on Peace 
 Kivor, a hundred and lifty miles east from the Jtocky Mountains, 
 tho plateau sloping fmm their base has declined to sixteen hundred 
 feet, while the river is only nine hundred and ten feet alwvo the 
 sea, or throe hundred and ten almvo its mouth at Lake Athabasca, 
 fix>m which it is thvea hundred miles distant in a diitict line, 
 though double that by the winding courrso of the river. The ele- 
 vation of h\)Yt Edmonton, on the North Saskatchewan, two hun- 
 dixnl miles east from the mountains, is eighteen hundred feet ; that 
 oi Clarleton House, near the Forks, at three hundred miles in direct 
 distance eastward, is eleven hundi'od feet ; and Cumberland House, 
 two hundred miles fuiiiher east, and a hundred miles in direct dis- 
 t-ance from Lake Winnipeg, is nine hundred feet above tho sea, or 
 two hundred and seventy above tho mouth of the Saskatchewan at 
 the Tiike. 
 
 Those jH)ints Iwing on the Imnks of risers, are the lower levels, 
 and indicates the gonoml inclination of the plain. It is only a com- 
 parative plain, however, varied in surface by scattering groups of 
 hills, rising to six hundred, and occasionally a thousand feet and 
 npwaixls over the plains below them ; or the equally lofty edges of 
 high plateaus, foiiuing long ranges of highlands towards tho lower 
 levels. 
 
 Of tho former, the Hiding Mountains, west of I^ko Manitobah. 
 havo an altitude of a thousand and thirtv foot al)ove that Lake, or 
 sovontoon hundred foot over the sea. Tiie north-east lace of the 
 Missoiu'i Plateau advances ttiwards the South Branch of the Sas- 
 katchewan and River Qu'Appelle, with an elevation of six hundred 
 feet al>ove the plains ; showing a tertiary formation, with brown 
 coal and silicified wood. Its north-west face, under the name of 
 tho OypiHiss Hills, rises to the height of four thousand two hun- 
 dred feet hbove the sea. Its soutnern slope is watered by tribu- 
 taries of the Missouri, that here extend into this territory. The 
 Hand Hills, north, of Keii Deer lliver, long. Ill J** W., rise to the 
 height of three thousand eight hundred feet above the sea ; present- 
 ing the same formation, capped with tertiary shingle beds of the 
 highest plains. 
 
 1,640 feet by Col. Lefroy. 
 
 iri 
 
vr 
 
 It is interesting to observe that while the Hooky Mountains 
 [present everywhere evidence of disntption and upheaval in their 
 'origin, these hilln and high ranges of the plain exhibit with equal 
 [uniformity, in their abraded strata, that they were formed by 
 I denudation by water; by tlio scoping out of the plains around 
 them. 
 
 By the elevations given it will bo seen that the height of the 
 [sloping plateau, forming the chief part of this section of territory, 
 is considerable ; but it is worthy of remark that it neverthelcsa 
 has in some degree the character of a basin. We hoye noticed 
 the great elevation of its western edge. That of its eastern I/iu- 
 rentian boundary is in parts considerable. The Branch of that 
 range which bounds it at its south-oast angle, dividing it from the 
 basm of Lake Su^ierior, is from fifteen to eighteen hundred feet 
 in height over the sea, at the lowest parts. The I^ke of the 
 Woods is five hundred feet lower than Lake Itasca, the source oi 
 the Mississippi, immediately south of it. Fort Garry, on Red River, 
 is twelve hundred feet lower than Fort Clarke, on the Missouri, 
 which lies south-west of it, Carleton House on the Saskatchewan, 
 is about a thousand feet lower than Fort Union on the Mibsouri, 
 which li.^s south by east from it ; and wo have already seen that 
 the ridge of the Coteau de Missouri, dividing its waters from the 
 basin of the Saskatchewan, rises to the height of four thousand 
 two hundred feet above the sea. 
 
 The basin forming the chief part of this section of torritoiy ia 
 therefore about a thousand feet lower, generally, than the northern 
 parts of Minnesota and Lltkota adjoining it. 
 
 The term (Jentral Prairie I^and as applied to it, is, as before 
 mentioned, merely intended to indicate tliat in it prairie land is to 
 be found more or less prevalent ; with this distinction, that in the 
 southern half of it, the extent of prairie land very much exceeds 
 that of wood land ; while in the northeni part of it, say from about 
 lai 5-i° to lat. 60** N., the country is generally wooded, though 
 prairies are interspersed through it, some of great extent. Prairies 
 extend as far north as the east branch of Hay River, on which 
 they terminate near lat. 60^, and as far east as Methy Portage, 
 between the waters of the Churchill and Athabasca Rivers, near 
 the eastern boundary assumed for this section. Prairie land, 
 between these points, occurs so continuously as to admit of herds 
 of horses being sent through, as mentioned by Sir John Richardson, 
 and feeding by the way : a condition evidently favorable to the 
 extension of settlement, as well as indicative of land suitable for 
 agricultural occupation. 
 
 In so great an extent of country there is naturally much variety 
 in chaidcter and quality of soil. To assist in describing it, it 
 
38 
 
 may be suitable to do so by its rivers, commencing with the 
 southern part of it watered by the Saskatchewan and other tribu- 
 taries of Lake Winnipeg. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 ' 
 
 *ifi 
 
 LAKE WINNIPEG AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 
 
 Looking at the map, we have lake Winnipeg in the south-east 
 part of this section, forming there part of its boundary. Lake 
 Winnipeg is two hundred and eighty miles in length, and fifty- 
 seven in greatest breadth. Its southern extremity is three hundred 
 and fifty miles west-north-west from Fort William on Lake Superior. 
 Its elevation above the sea is about six hundred and twenty-eight 
 feet. From the mouth of the River Winnipeg, near its south end, 
 to its northern extremity, it is the boundary between the generally 
 rocky Laurentian Country and the Silurian lime-stone formation of 
 the east side of the great central plain. 
 
 It is very shallow at its southern extremity. Its shores are 
 low and marshy at the entrance of Red River, and subject to inun- 
 dations. By the report of Captain Munn, at low water, the depth 
 on the bar at the entrance of that river, in the shallowest part of 
 the channel is only four feet. The narrows and islands in the 
 south half of the lake afford good protection in the navigation of 
 it from Big Island, as far as the mouth of the Little Saskatchewan ; 
 in the expansion below Big Island the soundings are from three 
 to five fathoms with good anchorage. From opposite the mouth of 
 the Little Saskatchewan, he says, a vessel would have to depend 
 on steam and an anchor, in the event of a storm, as far as the 
 mouth of the Great Saskatchewan, where there is an excellent 
 harbour and good anchorage. 
 
 The navigation of Lake Winnipeg derives an additional impor- 
 tance from that of its tributaries, the Great and the Little Saskat- 
 chewan ; the former being navigable for steamers, with but three 
 intemiptions to Edmonton, on the North Branch, seven himdred 
 and seventy-two nriles, and probably farther, to the base of the 
 Rocky Mountains; while the little Saskatchewan and its lakes 
 present a navigation of upwards of three hundred miles from its 
 mouth, or five hundred from Fort Garry, without interruption. 
 
 THE RIVER WINNIPEG. 
 
 The River Winnipeg enters Lake Winnipeg, in a bay on the east 
 side, at forty-one miles by the shore, from the mouth of Red River, 
 the southern extremity of the lake ; it has a course of about five 
 
39 
 
 hundred miles, measuring from the head of the Savanne River, at 
 the height of land, on the canoe route from Fort William to Red 
 River. 
 
 Having large tributaries, and its sources being in a rainy 
 region, it is a very large river ; — it is considered by Mr. Dawson 
 and ^Lr. Hind, of the Canadian Exploring Expedition, as resem- 
 bling the Upper Ottawa in volume, say equal to the Rhine. 
 
 On its lower course the Ottawa, by the report of the Canal 
 Survey, was found to have a mean dischai-ge of 85,000 cubic feet 
 per second, while the Rhine, as quoted, in the same report, from 
 D'Aubuisson, has a mean discharge of 33,700 cubic feet per 
 second. 
 
 The upper waters of the Winnipeg, Lac des Mille Lacs, the 
 River Seine, Rainy Lake and Rainy River, with the Lake of the 
 Woods, into which they flow, form the chief part of the proposed 
 line of communication from Lake Superior to Red River. 
 
 The Lake of the Woods, seventy miles in length, and the River 
 Winnipeg below it, a hundred and sixty-three miles long, by its 
 crooked, turbulent and obstructed course, to Lake Winnipeg, form 
 together part of the assumed easterly boundary of the great central 
 ^section of territory under consideration. 
 
 The strip of rich alluvial land, eighty miles in length, on 
 Rainy River, and its favorable climate, and the importance of 
 the Pine forest on the upper waters of the Winnipeg, for the 
 supply of the prairie lands adjoining, have already been men- 
 tioned. 
 
 From the Lake of the Woods to its mouth, the River Winnipeg, 
 as described by our Canadian explorers, flows through the disk 
 of the Laurentian formation : both banks are generally rocky and 
 sterile. Between Islington Mission (thirty-fi^'6 miles below the 
 Lake of the Woods, where it begins) and Silver Falls, good soil 
 occurs in the form of drift clay, .'a small patches of from fifty to 
 three hundred acres. From Silver Falls, eighteen miles from 
 Lake Winnipeg, well-wooded, fertile alluvial land prevails, on both 
 banks, down to Lake Winnipeg ; forming on the south side the 
 large fertile tract in which Fort Alexander is situated. 
 
 The Laurentian country, on the River Winnipeg, rises in dome- 
 shaped hills, from a hundred to two hundred feet in height, that 
 sink, irregularly, to the southward, into the plain country, which 
 extends from the Lake of the Woods to Red River, a distance of 
 about nmety miles. 
 
 COUNTRY BETWEEN THE LAKE OF THE WOODS AND RED RIVER. 
 
 This plain country is at first very level, and then falls gradually 
 to the Red River. It is, more or less, thinly wooded, where not 
 
40 
 
 covered with water, for sixty miles westward from the Lake of 
 the Woods. In this distance swamps and " muskeags," vast lake- 
 like marshes, prevail. Some of the latter are many miles in 
 extent; they cover the greater part of the country. They are 
 imdrained prairies, covered with two or three feet of water, 
 thickly charged with vegetable matter, over a firm marly or clay 
 bottom. ' 
 
 (This shallowness with firmness of bottom is singularly uniform ; 
 it was found so by Mr. Dawson's assistants in dragging their canoe 
 through the muskeag, between the Lake of the Woods and Wliito 
 Mouth Kiver ; and it is the same forty miles further south in the 
 muskeag between the Lake of the Woods and the River Roseau.) 
 
 As they are so shallow, and the fall from the Lake of the 
 Woods to Red River is three hundred and ^'xty feet, they could, 
 no doubt, to a great extent be drained, and would form vast fertile 
 fields or valuable meadows ; like the salt marshes on the Bay of 
 Fundy, which have been reclaimed with great labor, in the con- 
 struction of extensive dikes to exclude the tide. As the summer 
 is equal to that of the district or Montreal, the marshes of the 
 Lake of the Woods may yet be fo^nd as well worth reclaiming 
 as the Westmoreland marshes referred to. Where there is much 
 superfluous vegetable matter — or even three feet in depth of it, as 
 it is stated there is in the swamps — it might be compressed for 
 fuel 
 
 The manufacture of Canadian peat is already yielding cheap 
 fuel in Montreal, where it can be delivered at $3.20 per ton. It 
 would be satisfactory if the bogs and swamps near the Red River 
 settlements were found to contain sufficient material to supply the 
 future demand for fuel there when the woods, which have liitlerto 
 met their requirements, fail. With a canal or a railroad passing 
 through this tract, as part of the proposed i-oute to Red River, such 
 a supply would be made easily available, even from the great peaty 
 morass behind the fertile strip on Rainy River. 
 
 A range, of slightly elevated ridges, which traverses this marshy 
 country, commencing near the north-west end of the Lake of the 
 Woods, was found to afford a good site for a road through to Fort 
 Garry. From its being extremely even and free from obstacles, 
 it is a most favorable sice for a railroad. Immediately north of it 
 there seems to be a favorable site for a canal; to both of which 
 we shall have occasion to refer. 
 
 RED RIVEB. ' 
 
 At its south end Lake Winnipeg receives the Red River — 
 exceeding the Winnipeg in length of course, but far inferior to it 
 
41 
 
 in magnitude; yet a fine river, resembling the Richelieu ia 
 volume. By its windings it is nearly six hundred miles in length. 
 For the last three hundred miles of its course its general direc- 
 tion is due north. It crosses the United States boundary about 
 ninety miles west of the Lake of the Woods, a little over a 
 hundred miles from its mouth ; and for that distance flows through 
 this teiTitory in a nearly level prairie plain of the richest alluvial 
 soil. 
 
 Captain Palliser describes the soil as being that of an ancient 
 Lake bottom, consisting of variously proportioned mixtures of 
 clay, loam and marl, with a remarkable deficiency of sand, over- 
 laid with a great depth of vegetable mould, varying from t'-, o to 
 live feet in thickness. Mr. Dawson and Mr. Hind speak of it as 
 being generally from ten to twenty inches of black mould on a 
 thick bed of alluvial clay. 
 
 This description of prairie country is described as extending 
 back, on the east side of lied Eiver, from four to about thirty miles ; 
 and on the west side about forty, to the ridge or hilly ground called 
 the Pembina Mountains, the high disk of the unfertile dry prairie 
 lands south of the Assiniboine. Parts of it are marshy, as might 
 be expected of an alluvial nearly level plain, in a state of nature ; 
 but they are described as admitting ot being drained with little 
 trouble. The big swamp in rear of the Eed liiver settlement is 
 twenty-seven feet above the surface of the river ; and tlie nine 
 mile swamp on Rat River, a small tributary on the east side 
 above the settlement, is described as capable of being drained with 
 comparatively trifling labour, and would form the ridiest of prairie 
 land. Marshes, great and small, and swampy spots requiring im- 
 provement — and capable of it, though of the richest soil — encroach 
 largely on the area immediately available for cultivation ; wliich 
 is naturally less in proportion than in some of the liigher prairie 
 grounds of rich sandy loam. 
 
 From its lowness — (to which it owes its extraordinary fertility,) 
 like many other alluvial valleys — parts of it are sometimes subject 
 to inundations, but very rarely. About forty miles from its mouth 
 he Bed River receives its chief tributary, the Assiniboine. At 
 tieir confluence is situated Upper Fort Garry, the chief commer- 
 cr4 emporium and seat of government of the Red River settle- 
 ment, (which extends from twenty miles above to thirty miles 
 beldv it on the Red River, and about seventy miles up the Assi- 
 niboine.) 
 
 R^ River is 480 feet wide and twelve feet deep at the middle 
 settleiftnt. It is navigable to the United States boundary and 
 far to tlfe south of it by beats of light draft ; but the navigation 
 of it is si^ject to interruption by drought in the dry season of the 
 year. 
 
42 
 
 From tl a settlement np to the Uni«ed States boundary, about 
 fifty-seven m'les, its banl i aro fringe' with wood, from a few yards 
 to half a mile in breadtli, and tlie peninsulas it forms are well 
 wooded. The woods of elm, poplar, oak and ash towards its 
 mouth, have supplied thfi wants of the settlement for upwards of 
 twenty years. 
 
 The alluvial clay of the Red Piver and the Assiniboine is reported 
 to be well fitted for the manufacture of bricks and common pottery, 
 in patches ; which may be of importance for building in parts 
 where Sione cannot be had near. The prevalence of limestone, 
 however, will leave little occasion for the use of biick. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE RIVER ASSINIBOINE. 
 
 PlHi 
 
 u 
 
 By its very winding course the river Assiniboine is over six 
 hundred miles in length. For two hundred and twenty miles, 
 in direct distance upwards froi>^ its mouth, its course is nearly 
 west ; above that, its course, for upwards of two hundred miles in 
 direct diotancr., is north-westerly, lying nearly parallel to Lake 
 Winnipeg, at a mean distance of two hundred and forty miles west 
 of it. 
 
 At two hundred nnd twenty miles west from its mouth, where 
 it turns northward, it receives its tributary, the river Qu'Appelle, 
 which continues directly vvestwnrd two hundred and fifty miles 
 further, having its source near the elbow of the South Branch of 
 the Saskatchewan, four hundred and seventy miles directly west- 
 ward from the mouth of the Assiniboine. 
 
 Though it and its tributaries drain a larger area than Red I 
 River, the Assiniboine, owing to the diyness of the country south- /I 
 west of it, drained by its principal feeders, and the loss of water / I 
 in its lower course, is scarcely equal to the one-third of Red Rivei/ I 
 at their junction. By Professor Hind's measurements the volumJ I 
 of the Assiniboine, at a hundred and forty miles from its mouin, I 
 where it is two hundred and thirty feet wide and eight feet in nvan | 
 clepth, diminishes to half before its junction with the Red BVer. 
 The difference is seemingly lost in the sandy tract, of about fifty 
 miles in breadth, which it enters about a hundred and 1«^enty 
 iniles west of Fort GaiTy, a little abo^'^e the mouth of its tr^utary, 
 the Soivds or Mouse River. / ^ 
 
 The Souris is apparently upwards of three hundre^iles in 
 
 length. 
 
 Its source in a little north of the U. S. boundary, and 
 
 ./ 
 
oine IS over six 
 
 43 
 
 three hundred and fifty miles west of K^d lli\ er. A great bend of 
 it at its middle course crosses that bounuary. 
 
 By Mr. Hind's measurement the volume of wat 3r discharged by 
 the Souris, though much broader at its mouth, secmt to be about 
 half of that of the Qu'Appelle. The latter near its mouth is sixty- 
 six feet w'de, flowing a milo and a half an hour, with a mea*. depth 
 of six and a half feet 
 
 The small discharge of water by these rivers, compared with 
 their length of course and the extent of their tributaries, indcaoes 
 the generally arid nature of the l?ght prairie countiy drained by 
 them ; the greater volume of the Qu'Appelle being apparently due 
 to the generally better description of country on its north bank. 
 The main Assiniboine, above tlie Qu'Appelle, discliarges twice as 
 mucli water as the latter river, the area drained ])y it, though 
 only half as extensive as that of the (Qu'Appelle, being a very fer- 
 tile countiy. 
 
 THE INFERTILE LANDS ON THE SOURIS AND QU'APPELLE. 
 
 Much the greater part of the couLiry (bained by the River 
 Qu'Appelle, and very nearly all that draine.i by the Kiver Souris, 
 is classed as light prairie land on Professor Hind's shaded maps, 
 distinguishing the quality of the land, published with his report in 
 Parliamentary Papers on the Colonies of 1860. In the body of 
 his report, however, he estimates nearly a million of acres as fertile 
 arable land; that is, only one-fortieth part of its area. 
 
 This region lies south of the great belt of fertile country de- 
 scribed by Capt. Palliser as suitable for cultivation. 
 
 Much of its surface, especially south of an imaginary line from 
 the great bend of the Souris across the middle course of the Qu'- 
 Appelle, is described as bare and treeless prairie, covered only with 
 short grass, and very deficient of water ; and in parts the soil is 
 so light and sandy that it drifts with the wind, and in others the 
 ground is strewed with fragments of shale and granite boulders. 
 
 A great obstacle to settlement in these treeless plains is the 
 want of wood for fuel Were they otherwise suitable, that might 
 probably be, in parts, overcome. Dr. Hector's admirable geological 
 section from Lake Winnipeg to Vancouver's Island shows brown 
 coal in the Coteau du Prairie which extends from above the Elbow 
 of the South Branch of the Saskatchewan, along the sources of the 
 Qu'Appelle and the Souris, to the boundary line, with a height of 
 six hundred feet above the plain. Above the Blue Hills up the 
 Souris, a little more than twenty miles from its mouth, Mr. Hind 
 found beds of lignite boulders in its banks ; the water-borne debris 
 of beds of li'mite coal. 
 
44 
 
 As so much has been seen in the course of the limited explora- 
 tions yet made, more may probably be discovered on further exam- 
 ination of the country. 
 
 This region, described as generally infertile, lying on the waters 
 of the Souris r»nd the Qu'Appelle, and southward to the U. S. 
 boundary, is equal to England in area ; and continues westward, to 
 a still greater extent. 
 
 But it is proper to notif.o that there are apparently considerable 
 exceptions to this generally valueless character. Mr. Hind speaks 
 of the bend of the Souris, near the Blue Hills, being " in the midst 
 of a very lovely undulating countiy." A little further on he speaks 
 of a vast prairie of a rich dark green, " n })eautiful level waste," 
 aftex^ards of " an extensive deposit of Ijog iron ore capped with 
 shell marl." Speaking of the Souris, furtlier up, he says that its 
 valley, " along which we travelled to-day, varies from a quarter to 
 a mile broad. Tt flows through a rich open meadow 20 to 25 feet 
 below the general level of the prairie, which on either hand is un- 
 dulating, light, and covered with short stunted grass." He speaks 
 of the valley of the Pipestone creek as being " narrow, but rich 
 and beautiful" 
 
 In the same manner, beyond the region designated as the great 
 fertile belt, ascending the south bank of the Qu'Appelle from its 
 mouth, he says " we left Fort EUice and travelled due weait 
 through a pretty country, and the following day arrived at tlie cross 
 woods. They consist of aspen with a splendid undergrowth. The 
 pasturage is excellent and the road good, passing through a fair 
 rolling country, the soil consisting of a sandy loam with much 
 vegetable matter in the valleys. Aspen groves are numerous, and 
 many little lakes." Again, " The trail continued through good 
 land for nine miles, with aspen groves on the crown of each undu- 
 lation." " Then came a prairie, three miles across." " Ponds were 
 numerous, abounding with ducks and ducklings." Speaking of the 
 Indian Head Hills, near the middle course of the Qu'Appelle, he 
 calls them " a hilly country for some miles : it contains many beau- 
 tiful lakes and is well wooded." Further on he speaks of an 
 " exceedingly beautiful view, embracing an extensive area of level 
 prairie to the north, bounded by the Aspen Woods on the borders 
 of the Qu'Appelle Valley. A portion of the old forest still exists, 
 of a large growth and very thickly set." Continuing, he says, 
 " on the 17th we entered a very beautiful fertile prairie at the foot 
 of the Indian Head range ;" and further, " we reached the Qu'Ap- 
 pelle Lakes after passing through a magnificent prairie the whole 
 day. In fact, the country north of the Indian Head and Cha^k 
 Hill ranges is truly beautiful, and will one day become a very 
 important tract." 
 
become a very 
 
 46 
 
 SiMjaking of the Qu'Appolle MisHion, lie sny.s : " the situation is 
 beautiful Hero the Qu'Appcllo Valley is one niilo and a quarter 
 })road and 250 feet deep. Botli north and south a vast prairie 
 extends, fertile, inviting, but treeless on the south, and dotted 
 with groves of aspen over a light and somewhat gravelly soil on 
 the north. Most beautiful and attractive, however, are the lakes, 
 four in number, and from tlio rich store of fisli they contain, are 
 well-numed Fishing Lakes. A belt of tim])er fringes their sides 
 at the foot of tlie steep hills they wash, for they fill the entire 
 breadth of the valley. Ancient elm trees, with long and drooping 
 branches, bend over the water, the ash-leaved maple acquires 
 dimensions not seen since leaving lied Kiver, and the Mi-sas-ka- 
 to-mi-na is no longer a bush, but a tree eighteen to twenty feet 
 liigh, and loaded with most luscious fruit." 
 
 All this, and no doubt much more like it, is excluded from the 
 belt generally spoken of as suitable for settlement ; but though 
 certainly inferior to the rich alluvial plains on the Ked River, 
 such lands are evidently better suited for cultivation than much of 
 the poor and scarcely aral)le lands wo have been eadeavoring to 
 bring under settlement in the Ottawa and Huron territoiy. In- 
 fertile prairie lands, even of the worst description, are easily 
 travelled over. They present no obstruction to communication, 
 such as our rugged woodlands do. The hunting bands drive 
 their carts all over them on natural roads, as good as our coloni- 
 zation roads, which, imperfect as they are, cost a hundred pounds 
 a mile, and upwards. 
 
 Even the poor prairies, if they be little worth, at least cost 
 nothing for clearing ; and as their surface shows that they afford 
 pasturage for numerous herds of buffaloes, it is evident they may 
 do the same for domestic cattle and sheep. 
 
 When we read such descriptions, and turn to Mr. Hind's 
 large map of exploration that accompanies his report, as published 
 by tlie Canadian Government, and see largo tracts, watered by fine 
 streams, designated as " rolling prairie, good clay soil ;" " level 
 plain, dark rich loam;" "ojien level prairie of light sandy loam, 
 with clumps of willows;" "rolling prairie of light clay loam, 
 marshy in many places," (thirty miles of this in one tract ap- 
 parently) ; " rich black soil ;" " rolling prairie of sandy clay ;" 
 " level open prairie, full of marshy ponds ;" and in the first great 
 bend of the Souris, a tract of twenty miles, by ten apparently, with 
 several streams issuing from it of " slightly undulating prairie of 
 rich sandy loam, with clumps of young poplar;" and when we 
 consider that these tracts, with the exception of marshy spots in 
 them, are generally ready to receive the plough, without the trouble 
 and cost we have in Canada in clearing and in taking out stumps 
 
I 
 
 46 
 
 and stones, we are led to believe, that if these expressions have 
 been used with accuracy, which there is no room to doubt, consi- 
 derable tracts of this region, not included in the fertile belt, com- 
 monly spoken of, are really far from being quite unfit for settle- 
 ment. 
 
 These particulars are noticed here because, from the circum- 
 stances of the large region in which they occur, being naturally in 
 generalizing excluded from the fertile country, the value of much 
 of it might be underrated. 
 
 They tend to show that the estimates referred to do not exag- 
 gerate the extent of fertile lands, and are not the less valuable on 
 that account. 
 
 These remarks will be applicable to the large proportion of the 
 prairie lands on the south branch of the Saskatchewan, adjoining 
 to the westward, which has also been classed as valueless and unfit 
 for settlement. 
 
 With the vast extent of far superior land which this territory 
 offers, even the exceptional good tracts, such as those described, 
 which are to be found in the infertile regions, may well be disre- 
 garded for the present. 
 
 CHAPTEK X. 
 
 FERTILE LAND ON THE ASSINIBOINE. 
 
 Ascending the Assinibohie irom its mouth for upwards of 
 seventy mUes to the Sand Hills, the country through which it 
 flows is described as being of the same rich alluvial character as 
 on the Ked Eiver ; with the advantage of never being subject to 
 inundation. Beyond that is the sandy tract, fifty miles in length 
 westward ; south of the river it connects with the dry prairie lands 
 already mentioned; on the north side it extends twenty miles back 
 from the river, to the great fertile region north of it. Then, for 
 about a hundred miles further west, to where it turns northward at 
 the mouth of the Qu'Appelle, and for nearly fifty miles north of 
 that, the Assiniboine may be considered as the boundary between 
 the great fertile prairie region and the equally great region of light 
 prairie land south and west of it. 
 
 Between the Sand Hills and the Qu'Appelle the Assiniboine 
 receives, on the north side, five considerable tributaries, from fifty 
 to a hundred and fifty miles in length. Their courses are in the 
 fertile region. The land on their head waters is described as good 
 sandy loam. The description of one of them, the Eapid River, in- 
 
^w^:?'^r 
 
 do not exag- 
 ess valuable on 
 
 47 
 
 dicates their general character. Of it Mr. Dickinson of the Cana- 
 [ dian exploring party says : " The valley is about eighty feet below 
 the general level of the country ; the bottom of it is from half & 
 I mile to a mile in width, through which the river winds its way, 
 flowing rapidly and uniformly ; it is about fifty feet wide, and at 
 this time (August) five feet deep. There is no appearance of the 
 valley being flooded. There are large open flats occurring fre- 
 quently, on both sides of the river, where the richness of the grass 
 and the beauty of the various flowers prove the great fertility of 
 the soil, places marked out by nature to be cultivated and inhabited 
 by man. There is abundance of gooJ sized poplar and balsam, 
 spruce sufficiently large for building and farming purposes. I 
 followed the course of the valley down to its junction with the 
 vtdley of the Assiniboine, (a hundred miles,) and for the greater 
 part of the way it is rich and fertile, as is also the land a(^oining. 
 Within a few miles of the Assiniboine the country changes con- 
 siderably, the soil is much lighter, and the trees fewer and smaller." 
 A strip of sandy ground extends for eighty miles above the Eapid 
 Kiver along the north bank of the Assiniboine. 
 
 Eapid Eiver is navigable for a hundred miles for canoes and 
 bateaux. 
 
 Speaking of the northerly part of the Assiniboine above the 
 Qu'Appelle, S. J. Dawson, Esquire, who was in charge of the 
 Exploratory Expedition of 1858, after describing the river as 
 crooked and rapid for eighteen miles below Fort PeUy, says : " it is 
 then joined by the White Mud River from the west, which 
 drains a considerable portion of the great alluvial prairies which 
 travellers pass on their way to Carleton House, and which have 
 excited such general admiration on account of their great fertility.'* 
 He describes the river as winding in a deep valley, from a mile to 
 two miles in width, for a hundred miles, from White Mud Eiver to 
 Fort Ellice ; the banks increasing in height from a moderate eleva- 
 tion at the former to two hundred and fifty feet at the latter place. 
 He says : "With regard to the quality of the soil ; on going inland 
 a little we found it to be of an alluvial character, differing in no 
 respect from the soil in the prairie lands at Red River." He speaks 
 of its tributary brooks as flowing in " glens stretching far inland ; 
 with winding banks, covered in some cases with green herbage and 
 in others with forests that ascend to the level of the plain above." 
 He describes the course of the Assiniboine as being remarkably 
 crooked, occasionally ciossing its valley as much as three times in 
 the direct distance of a mile, — (very unfavorable for navigation 
 were it otherwise suitable.) He says : " The mai^in of the stream 
 is in general wooded; sometimes the woods extend across the 
 whole valley ; in other cases the green banks slope down from the 
 prairie level to the water'-i edge." 
 
,,<>1*»»*— ' / 
 
 48 
 
 Sitch is the character of the northerly part or upper half of the 
 Assiniboine and its valley. North-eastward of it the prairie 
 nlateau extends to the base of the Hiding, Duck and Porcupine 
 Mountains, a distance varying from sixty to thirty miles. It is 
 described as a fertile country, often exceedingly beautiful, inter- 
 spersed with forests and clumps of wood, genenuly oi young trees 
 and of a small growth ; marshy in spots and abounding in lakelets 
 or ponds, with wild fowl exceedingly abundant. Its soil is a rich 
 sandy loam ; limestone boulders and gravelly spots occurring but 
 rarely. 
 
 Westward of the Assiniboine, above the light prairie tract 
 already mentioned, this same description of fertik country, inter- 
 spersed with woods, and abundantly watered by ponds and streams, 
 extends a hundred and thirty miles to and beyond the base of the 
 great and the little Touchwood Hills. 
 
 These ranges of hills extend in a soutli-west direction, about 
 twenty miles from each other. The greater is about eighty miles, 
 and the lesser about sixty miles in length. They lie between the 
 upper courses of the Assiniboine and the Qu'Appelle. The trans- 
 verse breadth of country occupied by them, and their gently 
 ascending bases, measuring north-westward, is about fifty miles. 
 
 Speaking of them. Professor Hind says : " We reached the 
 summit plateau, and then passed through a very beautiful undu- 
 lating country, diversified by many picturesque lakes and aspen 
 groves, possessing land of the best quality, and covered with most 
 luxuriant herbage ;" further he says : " The country between the 
 two ranges is dotted with lakes and groves of aspen. From a 
 small hill near the Fort, I counted forty-seven lakes ;" and further, 
 "So rich and abundant is the vegetation here, that the horses 
 remain in the open glades all the winter, and always find plenty of 
 forage to keep them in good condition. Buffaloes congregate in the 
 beautiful prairie south of the Fort every winter, sometimes in vast 
 numbers." A little further he says : " Not only are lakes very 
 abundant and well supplied with water, but there are several living 
 streams flowing from the range. Indeed, the whole country from 
 Touchwood Hills to Elding Mountain," (upwards of two hundred 
 miles,) " including the country about the head waters of the Assi- 
 niboine, is dotted with innumerable lakes annually replenished by 
 summer rains." 
 
 North of the Touchwood Hills, the fertile prairie plateau, with 
 an increasing proportion of woods in its northern and eastern parts, 
 extends from the Duck Mountains, westward to the South Branch 
 of the Saskatchewan, two hundred and twenty miles, and beyond 
 it, up the valley of the North Branch, four hundred miles further. 
 In a northerly direction it extends to the main Saskatchewan below 
 
49 
 
 the junction of the two branches, upwards of a hundred miles 
 north of Fort Pelly, on tlie Assiniboine, and to the wooded country 
 on Root liiver, which projects from the north-cast into tiie prairie 
 [country. 
 
 Fertile ground continues through the wooded country for some 
 i distance north of Hoot liiver, till it merges in the poor marshy 
 grounds towards the main Saskatchewan. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 LAKES MANITOBAH AND WINNIPEOOOS. 
 
 A little east of the middle of the tract of two hundred and forty 
 miles in width, between Lake Winnipeg and the Assiniboine, and 
 roughly parallel to them, extend Lake Winnipegoos in the north 
 and Lake Manitobah in the south ; the latter receives the waters 
 of the former by an elbow-shaped stream, and discharges its oA^'n 
 into Lake Winnipeg, from a bay on its east side, by a river called 
 the Little Saelcatchewan, which is fifty miles in direct length to 
 its mouth. 
 
 These lakes are each a hundred and twenty miles in length. 
 Tlie greatest breadth of Manitobah is twenty-four miles, and of 
 Winnipegoos twenty-seven. Taken together, they extend two 
 hundred and twenty miles from north to south. 
 
 They enclose between them and Lake Winnipeg a peninsula 
 of two hundred and fifty miles in length by a hundred miles in 
 greatest breadth, which is cut across at the middle by the Little 
 Saskatchewan. 
 
 This peninsula, though as large as the Kingdom of Denmark, 
 counts for little in the Nor'-West. Its interior has not been 
 examined by our explorers. It is reported to be a low flat country, 
 abounding in lakes and marshes. On its coast, on the north-east 
 shore of Lake Manitobah, Mr. Dawson states that from the marsh 
 which lies behind its high shingle beach, a rich alluvial soil rises 
 gradually to a moderate height, not subject to be flooded. The 
 section it shows, where traversed by the Little Saskatchewan, is 
 less favorable, having much very low ground ; which is natural, 
 as the river would seek its way over the lowest part. As it is a 
 limcdtone country and thickly wooded, the soil must necessarily 
 be very fertile, where there is depth enough of it; which should 
 at least frequently be tiie case in a low level country. 
 
 We may oxpect that it will be found so when explored; but it 
 I is of little present importance. 
 
j 
 
 1 
 
 no 
 
 Hound the south oud of Ijiko Manitolxili, for a circuit of about 
 fifty miles, the soil is that of tho richest description of prairiu 
 land. The few settlers consider it even superior to that of lied 
 Kiver. It is an undulating country of mingled woods and open 
 prairie. 
 
 The White Mud liivcr, a stream of about eighty miles in length 
 by its course, which has its sources in the sotithern skirts «»f i\w 
 Hiding Mountains, an<l flows eastward to tho south end of Lakv 
 Manitobah, is described «i8 passing through an exceedingly beauti- 
 ful and fertile country of prairies, thickly interspersed with woodH. 
 the soil of which is a rich saiuly loam. This very rich prairie land 
 extends southwanl to the Sand Hills on the Assiniboine, and east- 
 wartl to Ked Kiver. 
 
 Between the upper end of I^ke JNlanitobah anil the Riding 
 Mountains, and around Ijake Dauphin, there is much rich ground, 
 and much of it very marshy. Mr. Dawson and Mr. Hind agree in 
 thinking that these marshes could generally be drained, and would 
 form rich meadows. Hut Mr. Hind docs not consider the country 
 on tho shores of these lakes, and between them and tho Hiding and 
 Duck Mountains, as genemlly suitable for settlement, excepting 
 the south end of I^ke Manitobah. Mr. Dawson's opinion is more 
 favorable, owing pmbrbly to his greater experience of bugged 
 couiitries like the Ottawa and eastern districts, where tlio standard 
 by which land is estimated is not so high as in the western part.s 
 of Canada. 
 
 Mr. Dawson states that *' the country bordering on the M'estern 
 extremity of Lake Winnipegooa is, in general, of a fair elevation, and 
 the land appears to be remarkably fertile ; between the Hed Deer 
 River and Swan River," (a distance of seventy-live miles), "a level 
 country extends to tho base of the Porcupine Hills. It is well 
 Wooded, and upon the whole, I consider this tract well ada'^ted for 
 sett Aent" 
 
 ^ THE DAUPHIN RIVEK. 
 
 Reporting on the River Dauphin, Mr. A. Wells says, " that is 
 a fine stream, forty yards broad, liaving five feet of water in the 
 shallowest parts. Its banks are of a strong gray clay, covered 
 with black mould and timbered with oak, elm and poplar, and 
 adds, " there are several places on the Dauphin River where the 
 Indians grow potatoes, indian corn and melons." 
 
 THE RED DEER RIVER. 
 
 The Red Deer River, which falls into the north-west end of 
 Lake Winnipegooa, is said to flow through a country that is very 
 
61 
 
 jrtile. Tlio fact that maple is to Ik; found there in considerable 
 luantities (as noticed by Hir Alexander McKenzie) is a favorable 
 indication alike as to soil and climate. It is a stream of about two 
 lundred niileH in length by its course. 
 
 THK SWAN inVER. 
 
 The Swan River, which enters a bay of the north end of T^ko 
 ^innipogoos, after j>a8sing northward througli Swan I^a'a', is about 
 two hundred miles in length liy its c«}urse. Speaking of it Mr. 
 )ttW8on says : " Ascending from Swan I^ike for two miles or so, 
 the banks are rather low, in the succeedin'j ten miles they giadually 
 ittain a height of nearly a hundred feet, land8lii)s occur in many 
 3lace8, where the banks are high, exposing an alluvial soil of 
 mat depth resting on drift clay, or slude of a slightly bituminous 
 jappearunce." 
 
 "About thirty miles above Swan Lake, tlie prairie region fairly 
 icommences. There the river winds about in a fine valley, the banks 
 lOf which rise to the height of eighty or a hundred feet. JJeyond 
 [these an apparently unbroken level extends, on (»ne side, for a 
 [distance of fifteen or twenty miles to tiie Porcupine Hills, and for 
 fan equal distance on the other, to tlie high table-land called the 
 [Duck Mountain. From this south-westward to Thunder Mountain, 
 [the country is the finest I have ever seen in a state of nature. 
 [Tiie prospect is bounded oy the blue outline of tlie hills named, 
 jwliile, in the plain, alternate wood and prairie present an appear- 
 lance mere pleasing than if either entirely prevailed." Leaving 
 Swan Kiver to cross Fort Telly, he says, "the road then follows for 
 some distance a tributary of Swan Kiver, which runs in a beautiful 
 [valley with alternate slopes of woodland and i)rairie. Numbers of 
 [horses were quietly feeding on the rich pasture of the valley as we 
 _)as8ed, and what with the clumps of trees on the rising grounds 
 [and the stream winding among green meadows, it seemed as if it 
 [wanted but the presence of human habitations to give it the ap- 
 [pearancc of a highly cultivated country." 
 
 This description carries us round again into the rich prairie 
 
 [country, already described, on the upper course of the Assiniboine, 
 
 which as before observed is bounded on the east by the I'orcupine, 
 
 I the Duck and the Riding Mountains. It is in a broad valley 
 
 between the two latter that the Swan Kiver finds its way eastward. 
 
 THE PORCUPINE, DUCK AND RIDING MOUNTAINS, 
 
 These mountains are thickly covered with wood of a large 
 |growth ; they rise gently, iii successive plateau«, from the prairia 
 Iplain, which is much higher than the low country on the shores of 
 Ithe lakes east of them. 
 
52 
 
 Taken together, they extend in a curved lino of two hundred 
 miles in length, ntcrly parallel to the Assiniboine, about half way 
 between it and tho Lakes Manitobah and Winnipegoos, 
 
 Mr. Hind gives tho Hiding Mountains an elevation of a thou- 
 sand feet above the land on tlie shore of Lake Manitobah ; and Mr. 
 Dawson estimates tho Porcupine Mountains as rising to about 
 nfteen hundrod feet over tlie plain at their eastern base. 
 
 The Hiding and Duck Mountains are more properly described 
 as portions of the elevated disk of the high plain country on the 
 Upjier Assiniboine, wluch rises gently from the prairie in succes- 
 sive plateaus, tliickly wooded, to the summit, falling eastward in 
 abrupt descents to ttie much lower country along the west shores 
 of Lakes Manitobah and Winnipegoos; presenting towards them 
 a mountainous and lofty aspect. 
 
 llising from the prairie they are covered with a thick growth of 
 wood, chiefly poplar. The table land of the summit of the Riding 
 Mountain is described by Professor Hind as fine land, heavy clay 
 soil supporting a forest of very large white spruce, poplar birch, 
 aspen, &c. ; the white spruce girthing from five feet six inCii.'Gs to 
 seven feet three inches. In Mr. Dawson's report, the table land 
 forming the summit of Duck Mountain is described, from infor- 
 mation obtained, to be of rich soil and heavily wooded. Porcupine 
 Mountain, besides being higher, rises in a ftiore definite form from 
 the plains at its base. 
 
 NAVIGATION OF LAKES MANITOBAH AND WINNIPEGOOS AND 
 IIIVEU LITTLE SASKATCHEWAN. 
 
 As the Little Saskatchewan, the outlet of Lake Manitobah, is a 
 fine navigable stream of seven hundred and fifty feet in breadth, 
 and the VVaterhen lliver or Sangisipi, which connects Lakes Mani- 
 tobah and Winnipegoos, has a broad channel not less than tliree 
 feet deep at low water, they present together with these lakes an 
 unbroken line of water communication from Fort Garry to Mossy 
 Portage, at the head of Lake Winnipegoos, a distance of about five 
 hundred miles. 
 
 Mossy Portage, which is only about four miles and a quarter in 
 length, through low ground, connects the head of Lake Winnipe- 
 goos with Cedar Lake on the lliver Saskatchewan, above its great 
 rapids. A short canal there would unite the navigation by these 
 lakes from Fort Garry with that of the Eiver Saskatchewan, (from 
 Cedar Lake upwards) which for nearly a thousand miles presents no 
 greater obstructions to navigation than are to be found in the River 
 Oliio. This would form a line of water communication of about 
 fifteen hundred miles in length from Fort Garry to the foot of the 
 Rocky Mountains. By ascending the Assiniboine seventy miles to 
 
58 
 
 Prairie Portage, and canalling by the Kat River and Wliite Mud 
 Kiver, about twenty-five miles, to the south end of Lake Manitobah, 
 the distance to the Saskatchewan would be shortened by a hundred 
 Iniiles. A cheaply constructed shallow canal, with a good length 
 I and breadth of lock-pit, would be sufficient there for large business. 
 The character of the Saskatchewan, as a navigable river, will be 
 further noticed. 
 
 towards them 
 
 it six inci.'Gs to 
 
 PEGOOS AND 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE RIVER SASKATCHEWAN AND ITS COUNTRY. 
 
 The term country is more properly applicable than valley to the 
 [region drahied by the Saskatchewan and its tributaries. The 
 'country through which tlie two great arms of the Saskatchewan 
 I have their courses, being a portion of the great interior plateau 
 that slopes down eastward from the Rocky Mountains, it does not 
 present the aspect of a valley. The term valley is more appropri- 
 ately applicable to the deep hollows, in the generally plain country, 
 in which its rivers flow. 
 
 The nortli and south branches of the Saskatchewan, as before 
 mentioned, have their sources in the Rocky Mountains but a few 
 miles apart, about latitude nP 40' N. ; that is, about a hundred and 
 eighty-tive miles north of the United States boundary. 
 
 From tlieir nearly common source the North Branch diverges 
 north-eastward, and the South Branch or Bow River south-eastward, 
 till at two hundred and fifty miles due eastward they attain a 
 ; distance of three hundred miles from each other ; the South Branch 
 being there within forty-five miles of the frontier. Then gradually 
 approaching, they meet at five hundred and fifty miles eastward 
 I from their source. 
 
 The length of ohe North Branch, by the manuscript field notes 
 I of tlie survey of it by the North-West Company's astronomer, 
 i David Thompson, is seven hundred and seventy-two and a half 
 miles, and that of the Son^h. or Main Branch, by the latest maps, 
 [is about eight hundred and ten miles. 
 
 From their junction, the course of the Main Saskatchewan to 
 Lake Winnipeg is, by Thompson's field notes, two hundred and 
 eighty-two mileJs. This makes the whole length of the Saskatche- 
 wan, from the source of the Soutti Branch, (which is the main 
 stream,) to Lake Winnipeg, a thousand and ninety-two miles. 
 Following the North Branch, as measured by Thompson, the total 
 ^length to Lake Winnipeg is a thousand and fifty-four and a half 
 imiles. 
 
54 
 
 This gives occasion to remark that the length of rivers, ftnd dis- 
 tances generally, are much exaggerated in new countries ; and even 
 scientific men are led into error l)y hearing them so spoken of by 
 the people of the country. In tliis manner Capt. Blackiston gives 
 the distance from Lake Wiiuiipeg to Edmonton, on the Nortli 
 Branch, as a thousand miles ; hut by Thompson's field-book the 
 measured distance is only seven hundred and seventy-two miles. 
 Much of the extraordinary length and size attributed to rivers in 
 the United States is due to this ; and eiTors respecting them from 
 this source have found their way into standard works, such as 
 Johnson's Physical Atlas. 
 
 Vassi ' thr' h i le north end of Lake Winnipeg, at four hun- 
 dred and '.CviM-thres miles further, tlie Saskatchewan falls into 
 Hudson's i.sv, rn ing its entire lengtli from its source to the sea, 
 fifteen liunUi u ajaci fifteen miles. In this last distance its waters 
 are more than doubku in volume from the large tributaries that 
 feed Lake Winnipeg ; and as it descends six hundred and twenty- 
 eight feet, its course is exceedingly obstructed by rapids and falls. 
 
 The total area drained by it is five hundred thousand miles, or 
 one-seventh more than the Ganges unw^ters. 
 
 By the careful measurements of Mr. Fleming, of the Canadian 
 Exploring Expedition, the volume of water passing in the Nortli 
 Branch, in the month of August, was 25,264 cubic feet per second, 
 or one-firtli more than the mean volume of the lihone.by D'Aubuis- 
 son; and that of the South Branch was 34,285, or 585 feet more 
 than the mean of the lihine, by the same authority. Measured 
 below the forks, where it is 980 feet wide and 20 feet in average 
 depth, that of the main Saskatchewan was 59,GG7 cubic feet per 
 second, or nearly three-quarters of the mean discharge of the 
 Ottaw^a at Grenville.* 
 
 The area drained by the South Saskatchewan is greater than 
 that of the Rhine, and the water-shed of the Rocky Mountains 
 drained by it is greater than that of the Alps drained by the Rhine, 
 and the excess of its volume would be much greater were it not for 
 the extent of dry prairie land it passes through. The River Mis- 
 souri, which flows through the same description of country, is simi- 
 larly affected. Though draining an equal area to that of the St. 
 Lawrence, and nearly as long in direct distance from its source to 
 its mouth, it throws into the Mississippi only about one-fourth of 
 the water the St. Lawrence discharges into the Gulf; and its general 
 width is only five hundred yards. 
 
 In considering the character of the Saskatchewan and its country, 
 
 * When it is considered that the Ottawa draws its waters from a cold, high and 
 densely-wooded region with innumerable deep lakes, the cause of its great volume 
 will be at once apparent. 
 
 ,/, 
 
05 
 
 and its country, 
 
 as ilescribetl hy the Canadian Exploring I'arty and others, let us 
 ascend it from Lake \Vinni|)eg. 
 
 From its mouth there are over two miles of wtrong current up to 
 the (Jrand Itapids, which are nearly three miles in length, with a 
 descent of forty-three and a half feet. The river has there woni its 
 channel, varying from six hundred and sixty to two hundred and 
 twenty yards in width, down through the lips of the horizontal beds 
 of limestone, which form the basis of the level and generally marshy 
 plateau behind. 
 
 As to the countiy in the vicinity of the Grand Itapids, Professor 
 Hind says it is " very favorable for a road, and even for a settle- 
 ment, as the banks of the river are high, with a considerable deptli 
 of good soil, from the second rapid east of Cross Lake to near Lake 
 Winnipeg," about eight miles, and adds, there is also abundance of 
 timber for fuel and building. 
 
 The second rapid referred to is at four miles above the head of 
 the Grand liapid. It is fully a mile long, with a f8^ ^ seven and a 
 half feet. From this up to Cedar Lake, which is t',v<.nt niles from 
 Lake Winnipej* there is a succession of rapids v I sv currents, 
 which, with the rapids already mentioned, mak' '\ '^iai descent of 
 'ip wards of .sixty feet 
 
 Cedar Lake is thirty mi'es long, and twenty-five miles in great- 
 est width. From the foot of it the river is n. rl-ie for steamers, 
 without interruption, up a hundred and eighty miles to Tobem's 
 Rapids. 
 
 North of Cedar Lake the country is described as low and flat 
 for a long distance back; the main land and islands well -wooded 
 with balsam, f^;pruce, birch, poplar, tamarack, cedar, and B'-'^ksean 
 pine. Ix)w beds of horizontal limestone appear in the k'' j, and 
 " a considerable portion of the land is reported to be swl py and 
 unavailable for agricultural purposes." 
 
 From Cedar Lake up to Marshy Lake, about forty miles, the 
 country on each side of the river is not more than eightoen inches 
 over the water, which is skirted by a belt of willows, alders and 
 long grass ; in the rear an extensive marsh, with occasional islands 
 of small poplar and spruce. The floods cover these flats every 
 spring, depositing a very rich mud, which is raising and extending 
 them. Much land has been so formed within the memory of the 
 natives. No high ground is to be seen on either side, and the 
 Indians report that there is nothing but boggy swamps behind for 
 many miles. Up to near the mouth of the Pasquia River, which 
 is about eighty-five miles in direct distance from Lp^.8 Winnipeg, 
 the banks continue only from two to three feet above the river, with 
 a nearly similar low marshy country behind. 
 
 The Pas Mission is situated at the mouth of the Pasquia, a con- 
 siderable tributary. The river banks are there ten or twelve feet 
 
m 
 
 lunlt, IIm' H"il II iliM'U innnlM >\\vy iliillrliiy. Ilcii' llm pxplttiiiii^ 
 purly I'oMinl I'nvin limim'M wuA UpMh ui jrrniii. Tlio luiiikH, Immvcvpi. 
 cMUtinno low nllnviHl, wjlli w vhIIht low nmnlrv lu'liiml. 
 
 Aiound CnnilxM-liniil IIimiho (uIiduI t HS iiiiti>n riiitlMM), tlii> 
 e^^uutry i« 1»»nv mnl 1l«l; "Mu» Htiil in w»nu> plmcH jm k HlilVrlny, Init 
 in y;»MH'nil it rttnsiHtH of a mnvolly lomn ii (»'\v Ipi'I in Hiickni'sn. 
 oovcrina i« W\\ ol \\]\\U* linu'slono, 8n)t|»oiiin^ ii li^lil ki-owOi oI" poit- 
 l»iv nml l»ivrl»," wilh otrnHionnl m-ovpH olH]tnu'(>: niurli ol" il is HnJi- 
 nt(M)i:«Ml in spring ilooiln; nnniy ol' (li(.> niniMln'M conld liiMlniiniMl luid 
 itiiphnnl \vitho\tt nmi'li (lillli'ully. 
 
 HtMiMvr Itiivo n»in'luMl :i very rrtvoiiil»lo connlty lor n^vicnUnrc 
 SpoiiKitijir of tlu» tAv»>nly-nino inilt>« nl»ovi' iliin, Mr. MiMninw says*; — 
 "Tl\i» uv»MMt\l rhi\rm'l»»r of tln» ronntry wo litivo pasHod ilirou^rh (u- 
 day is i'ViMdU»nt, thoHoil lioin^rirlKund llu» tiinltor of ii fiiir (|uidity." 
 Of i\\{} forly-soviMi milos HntMMM'ding, tipwards, lio says ho "pa8»«»d 
 tlntMj^h an oxndU'nl Iraci of lunnUry all day, tho soil i.n both sidos 
 of thi> rivor »onsisling t>f a vory rioh idlnvial doposil. Ion fooi in 
 thioknor^H ahov«> tho walor, woll woodod with laryo poplir, halsain. 
 spruoo and hiivh ; sonu» <>f tho poplars nuMistnin^ two ami a half 
 foot indiamotor; and, as far as I was onahlod to ascortain. tho 
 land oontiniios m»od for a mvat distanoo on oithor sido, lad nioro 
 ospooially oji tho sotith sid'> of tho rivor." 
 
 Of tho tiOy-tln^oo n\iloM no\( ahovo that ho says that it is " woll 
 adaptod for a.urio»d(\iral purposes and s(»ttlo»nont, tho soil hoini^r a 
 vioh allnvial loani, of oonsidoraht(> dopth, woll wiilorod and ilrainod 
 hy ujany fino oivoks, and olothod witii ahnndanoo of tindtor forfiiol. 
 fonoinji and hiiildin^." 
 
 Tho oo\»ntry »a» tho hanks of llio rivor oonlinno-* (la' sanio for a 
 fow niiloH furthor, till, apiai>aohin}i Fort a la Corno, Iho iniinodiato 
 Hanks Ixvonio ^radnally ni^ihor, and tho hlnlVs thai form tho odgo 
 of tho \\\g\\ platoan hohind on oaoh sido }.»ratlnally a]>proaoh noarov 
 to tho rivor. 
 
 l'V>n\ Fort :\ la forno, w hioh i^ a Lniuhvil and titYv milos ahovo 
 CumWknd Houso, np to tho forks of tho nortlumd south hranohes. 
 a distAtico of sixteen milos, tho rivov ivs do??crihoil as sweepinjf, in 
 magnificent o\uves, in a valloy of ahont a milo in width, and from 
 a l\\mdV>e«l and fifty to two hundi'ed feet lower than the general 
 lewl of the eountry on each side. 
 
 lK>scribintj the country on the south side t>f the Saskatchewan, 
 hercy. TmfevS^or hind sajT^ : "The trail fmm Fort j\ la Come to tho 
 old track leading ftx)m Fort KUicc to Carleton House ascends the 
 hills, forming th^ hanks of the deep en)ded valley of the Saskat- 
 chewan, in rear of the Fort, It passes thK)ugh a thick forest of 
 small as[HM\s, until ne^r the summit, when a sandy soil begins, 
 covered with l^ukseau pine and a few small oak. The sau ly soil 
 
hi 
 
 tniikH, li(»\v('vi'i. 
 liiiil. 
 
 < riirflM'ii, the 
 
 II HliU'rlny, liiil 
 
 't ill llii('l<ii»»ss, 
 
 ^ruwlli i»r |u»j). 
 
 K'll 111 il \H Hllll- 
 
 ))*> tli-iiitii'il iiiid 
 
 lor n^1•i^Mllt^ll•p. 
 Ipiniti^ Hwy^ : — 
 ''I'll llirunf^'li lu- 
 ll fiiir i(n(ilitv." 
 
 IIIVH Im' "|»(18S(mI 
 
 il «>ii ImiMi hUU'h 
 mi, Ion IWH in 
 poplir, Imlsdin, 
 AMI iiimI II Imlr 
 jiHiMMtniii, tlip 
 pjilo, liui iiioix'! 
 
 Illlt It JM " Wt'll 
 
 lu» soil ho\\\^ n 
 Sil iind ilrniiipil 
 tiinlMM' I'nrlMcl, 
 
 tlio siimo i'or M 
 
 till' iiinnetlinte 
 
 loriu tho edgo 
 
 l)l>ro(U'li neiirer 
 
 ty luilos nliovo 
 louth lirnnclie.s. 
 8 Hweej)iug, in 
 i<Uh, and tVoni 
 inn tho general 
 
 Siuskulclunvan, 
 I Corno to the 
 8e ascends the 
 of the JSaskat- 
 thick forest of 
 iy soil begins. 
 the sandy soil 
 
 ion nitlMH a iiaii'iiw Hirip nii the ImiikM of the river varying froin half 
 \h ;iii)e to Iniir niih'H hiuad .*- iMith ol' thn Handy Ktrip tho miil 
 (>hiiiig<*H to a rieh hhu k t.'iMiiJd.dJHtrilMiliwI over a gf'titly iiiidiMatiiig 
 Itntiiitry. The pine given way to aRiifii and wiHnvvH, in groven, the 
 jnnpiMi neeiipying the erent of the nndtihitioiiH, and the wiHowH tho 
 Itiwemt ]»oHion lA' i\w. intervening valleyH. On the Hh»peH the gritM« 
 Ih iuiig and hixiiriant, annrding tine paHtnrnge. The genenil aH|)«M't 
 nl' the ettnntry \» liigldy hivorahle for agrii^iltniH, tlie koII d«-epnrid 
 nnihirtniy rieli, riviiiling tiie low prairioH of Ued Hiver and the 
 APHinilmine." 
 
 Meyoiid thin lie NjieiikH of the wooded country thfit ext^Midfi 
 Rtaitiiwardn to the head of the AsHinilioine, which in gradually being 
 I'onverted inttj open prairie, liy the great lirew that have done ho 
 i already over great exteiitH. He explaiim that hy the term woorjod 
 rountry in to ln" underHtood a regitai in whi<di prairica or grasny 
 areas }.»redoniinato over the aHpen woods. 
 
 This favorable eonntry of mixed woodland and )irairie, ext«nd» 
 nonthward from the forks <d' the Saskatrdiewan, eighty niiios, to the 
 treeless prairie region on the northerly waters of the lliver Qn'Ap- 
 
 1)elle. S<nith-easferly it extends, iiududing tlio wooded regicm on 
 {ootlllver, throngii to the fertile eonntry on tlm AsHiniboinealren<ly 
 described; makitig t^igether in that direction a breadth of three 
 hundred and twenty miles of fertile country, intersiiersed with 
 Avotidlanils, between the forks of tin? Saskatchewan I'lid the Assini- 
 boine o[tposite the month of the Soiiris. 
 
 Ill KIT (lit rAlilioT lilVKli 
 
 UiscM in rich lands on the suiith Hank of the Tiiinipy Hill of the 
 woods, sixty miles scnitli-west fnaii the forks of the Saskatchewan, 
 and thirteen miles from the South Jlranch.and flows chiefly through 
 V hat is deiH'rilied as woo<lod country with many 1 ik<!s, generally 
 from thirty io forty-five miles south f»f the Saskatchewan, into 
 which it falls after a course of about two hundi'^d and fofty miles. 
 Professor Mind estimates that there are three millions of acres of 
 land of the first (|uality between it and the Saskatchewan. 
 
 CIIAPTER XIII. 
 
 THK SOUTH hbanohofthh; hahkatchkwan. 
 
 Immediately above the Forks the South Branch of the Saskat- 
 chewan is only a lnuidre<l and eighty yards in width, but the 
 current is swift, 3^ miles an hour, and the average depth seven and 
 
a liiiir tWt. I'roloHHor Hiiiil HtiilrH it hm Ikmii^ Iohh in Vdluiiio, run) 
 not Imlt' tlio width thai it in two liuiidivd iukI twunty iiiiloM I'lir- 
 tlicr up. 
 
 For alNiut uIiuiuIihmI nnd thirty iiiilrH up itn c.oui'nu, or ii liundroil 
 luiUm in «lir(H*.t iliNtiUU'(\ itH vaUoy pitmorvoH \h{\ Hanu) chamcti^r lu 
 that of tho nuiin rivi*r l)otwcM>ii thu KorkH and Fort a hi Corms hul 
 tlio ItankH, wliich tlio ])niirio phitoauH on each Hidu prtmont t(» the 
 narrow valloy of tht< rivor, nn\ j^rnorally h>W(»r, varying l'n)ni a 
 Imndn^d, to forty fort in h^ught, oxpoMin^Hand-Mtonu clitfH whi^rtM'ut 
 by tho htuidw of tho riviT. Th(^ country on each Hido i« doscrihcd 
 AM luiving a rich Hoil, with ahun«hint woodw, in clunipH and groves, 
 for a groat ])art of t!\c way. It tliun hcconu)H )i^a<hially \v»h wooch^d 
 and nuut^ aaiuly in parts, cHpccially on th«i wowt aich), till, after na.ss- 
 ing tliu dintancu hiHt nientionud, it lusHunuiH tho character of light 
 troolesH pmirio land. 
 
 Tho river in tluM distanco varioH frr)ni 180 to 440 yards in 
 breadth, incroaaing in width in aaoending, generally i'rt'/ia 10 to 14 
 feet in depth, the cuiTent three and thivo and a half miles an hour, 
 with a Hwiftor current and whirpoola in a few ]>lacoH. 
 
 The genomlly tiveleas prairio country, reacihed at a hundred and 
 thirty miles from the K(U'ka, is tho comniencement of the great 
 infertile region which has been already descriliod as covering tlio 
 gi*eaterpart of the Uiver Qu'Aj>]>elle and its tributaries, and whicli, 
 with some considerable exception, is doscrilwd by Dr. Hector autl 
 Capt. Palliser, as extending westward over the South Saskatchewan 
 and its tributaries, nearly to the iiilly country at tho base of tho 
 IJocky Mountains. 
 
 Continuing about seventy miles further in the same so.ith-south- 
 wost direction, or nearly a hundred miles by its coui-se, t\w Elbow 
 of the South Branch is reached at two hundred and ten, or what is 
 usually called two luuulretl and fifty miles from tho Forks. In the 
 commencement of this distance is the " Moose Woods," a rich 
 alluvial expansion of tho low valley of tho river, partly wooded, 
 with rich glades between : it is twenty-five miles in length, and six 
 or eight miles in breadth, and bounded on each side by sandy 
 crested bluffs. From this to tho Elbow the river again assumes its 
 narrow valley, the banks of which gradually ascend to two hundred 
 feet in height. 
 
 About thirty-five miles above the Elbow the South Branch 
 approaches tho Eyebrow and Thunder-breeding Mountains, and 
 there skirts the salient anglo of the Coteau de Missouri, which 
 springs like a vast bastion from the United States boundary ; its 
 east face, which rises six hundred feet above the elevated plain 
 at its foot, is two hundred miles in length, and its western face, 
 called the Cypree Hills, extends a hundred and sixty miles with 
 
69 
 
 Imncli ;,'nMiU)r nUivulioii, 1k)1i»^?, jic('onliii;,' to Dr. Ilictor, lour tlnni- 
 
 •Hlld two ilUlllillMi t*«;«?t lllM»Vt5 tln! SOU, illlll Mixt»!l!ll llMlMln!<l IlljOVO 
 
 Itlie i)liiiiiH, ju!<;onlinj^ to Cupt. I'alliMcr. 
 
 Kor lujurly fivci liuiulrrd iiiiloH ul»ov(! tins KIImav of tlio South 
 Saskatcliowfiii, itH npwunl coniHn puM.s»'s throiij,'li tln^ ^niut intortilo 
 ^%Mon of li^ht pniiriu land, tlio ^^mitrr part of wliicli is ilcHcrilKid 
 BH coiiMiHtin^,' of arid waHtcH ; from wliicli, howovcr, tlioro arc? 
 Bpparcjiitly hoiiui lar^'i; «!Xcn]»tionH, for in.stanco, llu! (!ypnHi \\'\\U, 
 just iiuaitioujid, am Htatcd l»y (.'apt. I'allimir to Im; " I'.ovttriMl in tinu 
 tindn'r, al»oundiii|,' in excxdlcnit ^'ras^, an<l woll wattn-c'il, and fairly, 
 thou^ii not abundantly stockod with ;4aino." 
 
 Tiio foliijwin'^ furtlior oxtracts froiu (>apt. I'alHscr'H r(!i)ort, 
 tojit'thcr with tiic alwjvis ^'ivn a very vAvm- ^juoral vinw of tin- 
 cliara(;t(!r of tho c(»untry on tlu; South Sft.sk ate ho wan and its chief 
 trihutary, tiic Ut'd Doi-r itivi-r. lie sayH, " tho Waclieu or Hand 
 Hills, in Lit. 51" :V2' N. Unv^. 1 11^ 20', aro a ].latuau olevated 
 alicMt 4r>() f(!(,t ahovo the hsvel of the Hurroundin;,' prairicH. Tho 
 crass and land were very good, hut the tindier not of any value, 
 bein;,' ehielly willow and poplar. With the exccjition of very few 
 similar Hj)otH, the wlude ja-airie over whieh w»! pasHe<l, to our eroHH- 
 ing place on the Uod Deer river, (about forty miles above the forkn 
 of lied Deer and Bow rivers,) in a sanjly e<iuiitry, the graHs veiy 
 Hcanty, and no wood." 
 
 He proceeds to say, "wo crossed lied Deer river, and followed 
 along its south hank, until we arrived opposite the site where the 
 old Fort called Chesterfield House once stood ; with the exception 
 of the bed of Ked Deer Kiver, the whole of that region is valueless, 
 the grass being very scanty and timber very scarce." He does not 
 .siiy how wide the bed or valley of lied Deer Kiver is. 
 
 He says further, " there is throughout tho whole of this region 
 a great scarcity of rain ; but in a few places here and there, where 
 the land rises above the plain to the height of three or four hundred 
 feet, good grass and some timber, as rough bark poplar and willow, 
 appear." 
 
 Speaking of the South Branch of the Saskatchewan, he says : 
 " having now examined all that river, we find the whole region from 
 the Elbow, in longitude 107" 37 W., up to the point where the meri- 
 dian 112" W. strikes the "line of the woods," by no means a desir- 
 able disti . t for settlement." 
 
 Red Dc T Kiver enters the South Branch about a hundred and 
 thirty miles above the Elbow. It is nearly five hundred miles in 
 length, and is two hundred and fifty yards wide fifty miles o.bove 
 its mouth. The lower half of its course is in the infertile region. 
 Above that, a hundred and thirty miles of its course lies in the 
 fertile region towards the North Branch of the Saskatchewan ; and 
 
 M 
 
60 
 
 the remainder in the wooded region at the base of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains, and its sources are in their valleys. Coal is noted by Dr. 
 Hector about a hundred and seventy miles up from its mouth, and 
 again a hundred miles further up. 
 
 Capt. Blackiston estimates the average descent of the South 
 Branch of the Saskatchewan, from Chesterfield House at the mouth 
 of Red Deer River, down to the Forks, at two feet a mile, but says 
 that those who are acquainted with the river from boating upon 
 it consider it navigable for steamers. The distance is about 340 
 miles. 
 
 FERTILE GROUNDS NEAR SOURCES ON SKIRT OF ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Beyond the infertile region the upper course of the Soutli Branch 
 to its source, about a hundred and sixty miles, is among the Re ^.ky 
 Mountains and their lower outliers, where the country is generally 
 wooded, and the valleys fertile, but very elevated. 
 
 Capt. Blackiston's journal of exploration of a line, of about 
 ninety miles S. S. E. from Bow Fort, on the Bow River, or South 
 Branch, gives a good description of the country- on the skirts of the 
 lower mountain ranges. 
 
 He speaks of woods of spruce, poplar, aspen, and large rough 
 barked pine; of the track being blocked with fallen timber in 
 parts; of line prairie bottoms, and others partially covered with 
 scrub and willow,' and fine streams ; of passing for three days in 
 valleys within the outlying parallel ridges, "less wooded than 
 previously passed, being for considerable part through fine prairie 
 slopes," the main range visible occasionally at a distance of thirty 
 miles, through gaps in the nearer mountains, of undulating 
 prairie ; of the trail passing between numerous wooded ridges, 
 and says " the soil of the valleys was usually a deep dark mould, 
 supporting a luxuriant vegetation, of the smaller plants. This was 
 the nature of most of these mountain valleys. Where the strata is 
 upheaved the ground is of course rocky ; such, however, is not 
 often the case in the valleys." Continues to say " soon after we 
 gained the height of iand between the Speechee and Belly Rivers, 
 and the wide prairie valley of the latter burst upon our view." He 
 then descended a short distance and camped at an elevation of four 
 thousand feet above the sea. 
 
 This elevation, which is the same as that of Bow Fort, is doubt- 
 less too great to admit of the cultivation of wheat. Coarse grains 
 and vegetables, however, might seemingly be cultivated. Dr. Hector 
 mentions that some of the Indians who have been converted to 
 Christianity cultivate little plots of ground at Bow Fort, and that 
 their principal crops are turnips and potatoes. 
 
61 
 
 !e is about 340 
 
 KY MOUNTAINS. 
 
 This speaks little in favor of the climate of this locality, but on 
 the other hand it is to be remarked that even this cold elevated re- 
 rion presents an advantage for cattle feeding that we do not enjoy 
 Canada, which Dr. Hector especially notices, and describes as 
 {extending to this locality. 
 
 He says "the most valuable feature of this belt of country, which 
 Iso stretches from Touchwood Hills, Carleton, and Fort Pitt south 
 )f Edmonton to the old Bow Fort at the Kocky Mountains" (he 
 lad previously mentioned also the head waters of Red Deer River) 
 is tlie immense extent of what I shall term winter pasturage." 
 
 " This winter pasturage consists of tracts of country partially 
 ,'ooded with poplar and. willow clumps, and bearing a most lux- 
 iriant growth of vetches and nutritious grasses. The clumps of 
 rood afford shelter to animals, while the scrubby bush keeps the 
 mow in such a loose state that they find no difficulty in feeding ; 
 bhe large tracts of swampy country, when frozen, also aiford admir- 
 able feeding grounds ; and it is only towards spring, in very severe 
 winters, that horses and cattle cannot be left to feed in well chosen 
 localities throughout this region of country." 
 
 Any practical man will see that such advantages, for unlimited 
 jattle feeding, without the labor of clearing land and raising hay 
 isrops, combined with the extreme richness of soil in the valleys, 
 ire weighty offsets against the coolness of the summer climate. 
 for the winter Dr. Hecior says, with reference to the whole 
 3gion from Bow Fort, along the skirt of the Rocky Mountains, as 
 far north as the River Athabasca, " having travelled the Rocky 
 ' lountains at the most unfavorable period of an unusually severe 
 dnter, I am enabled to state that whatever may be the amount of 
 Snow on the heights of Isuid and their western flank, the valleys" 
 )f the eastern ranges are actually less encumbered by snow than 
 mch of the prairie country." 
 It is to be observed tliat these remarks apply to the country on 
 [the east flank of the Rocky Mountains for at least three hundred 
 md fifty miles northward trom the United States boundary, includ- 
 ing the head waters of the North Branch of the Saskatchewan, and 
 the Athabasca. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE NORTH BRANCH OF THE SASKATCHEWAN. 
 
 The country drained by the North Branch of the Saskatchewan, 
 md its extensive tributary the Battle River, though incomparably 
 lore valuable than tJie country traversed lyy the South Branch, 
 
02 
 
 does not require to be described so much at length, owing to its 
 more uniform character. 
 
 The North Branch, for the greater part of its course, and the 
 Battle lliver, lie in the great belt of country which the Canadian 
 and the Imperial exploring parties describe as generally fertile land 
 of tlie first quality. 
 
 Tiie North Branch, for five hundred and twenty miles up from 
 the Forks, and the Battle liiver, for its wliole course of four hun- 
 dred and fifty miles, (excepting a short elbow of it,) travei-se a rich 
 prairie country more or less interspersed witli woods 
 
 The remaining two hundred and eighty-two miles of the upper 
 course of the North Branch lie in th.e thick wood country, whicli, 
 to the commencement of the mountfiins, about two hundred miles, 
 is represented as abounding in marshes with patches of fine land in 
 parts. In this distance the banks of the river display beds of 
 lignite coal. Beyond it the remaining course of the river lies in 
 the valleys of the mountains, to tlie glaciers at its source. 
 
 The Battle lliver enters the North Branch about a hundred and 
 seventy miles above the main Forks. It drains a large part of the 
 country between the North and South Branches. It has its source 
 about ten miles from the Nortli Brancii, thirty miles above Edmon- 
 ton, but they are a hundred and thirty miles apart at the middle of 
 its course, and between them the pasturage is described as very 
 rich. Coal presents itself there, in the banks of the stream, two 
 hundred and fifty miles from its mouth. 
 
 The rich prairie countr}- which '3overs the course of the Battle 
 Eiver and the northerly part of Red Deer liiver, and includes the 
 North Branch from the forks, up to thirtv miles abovv^ Edmonton, 
 has a breadth of about a hundred miles, at the forks, seventy mile < 
 at the mouth of Battle River, a hundred and fifty miles at its 
 middle course, and about seventy at its source ; beyond which the 
 belt of fertile prairie country becomes gradually naiTower, and 
 turning to the southward, up the course of the Red Deer River, 
 becomes merged in the fertile region on the skirt of the mountains 
 below Bow Fort on the Soutii Branch. It is bounded on the nortli 
 by the line of the Thick Woods, which sweeps northerly parallel 
 to the course of the North Branch at the distance of forty to twenty 
 miles beyond it, then curving to the southward crosses it about 
 thirty miles above Edmonton, and continuing in tliat direction 
 strikes the mountains near Bow Fort, making a circuit from the 
 forks of about seven hundred miles. 
 
 This circuit of the Thick Woods is the present boundary of the 
 progress of successive fires wliich are gradually encroaching on the 
 foiest, or partly wooded country, and converting it into treeless 
 prairie, unless where clumps of young aapen and poplar, growing 
 up, escape the ravages of succeeding fires. 
 
63 
 
 th, owing to its 
 
 Without entering into particulars here as to* climate, we majr 
 [observe that Capt. Palliser, who with Br. Hector explored a greater 
 [extent of the valley of Saskatchewan than had been previously 
 (visited by any other scientific men, says that the climate of the- 
 [southern and western parts of it is decidedly milder than that of 
 lEed Kiver. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 NAVIGATION OF THE SASKATCHEWAN; 
 
 There is a good harbour at the mouth of the Saskatchewan, from 
 ^hich the current is swift up to the foot of the Giand Eapids,. 
 rhich are three miles in length, Avith a fall of forty-tliree and a 
 lair feet. Above them the current is moderate for four miles to a 
 ipid of one mile in length with a fall of seven feet. The ascent 
 [of this by a powerful steamer is said to be practicable; but the 
 advantage of it might be questionable. 
 
 From it to Cedar Lake, ten miles, the cun'ent is strong with 
 Several rapids. Captain Munn, of the Steamer " International," 
 id Mr. Hutchison, the pilot of that vessel, who examined 'he 
 river up to Carleton House, state tliat a steamer could ascend his 
 listance, with the single improvement of a pier at Cross Lake. 
 
 To connect the foot of this reach -vith Lake Winnepeg, a tram- 
 
 Iroad or railway would be sufficient. There would be no object in 
 
 janalling past the Grand Rapids, for the vessels employed on Lake 
 
 [Winiipeg would have to be much stronger than what would be 
 
 suitable on the Saskatchewan, so transhipment wouid be necessary 
 
 \t any rate. 
 
 From the foot of Cedar Lake to "Tcbern's Falls," Captain Munn; 
 lays, the river is uninterrupted by anything to impede navigation : 
 fehe distance is said to be a hundred and eighty miles, — probably 
 lot over a hundred and sixty. 
 
 Tobern's Rapid, Captain Blackiston says, is certainly not navi- 
 gable at low, and he doubts much if it be so at high water, but 
 iddb I/hat the difference is so great thai^ it is hardly safe to say. 
 
 Damming, witli lockage, to gorge the rapid would seem neces- 
 saiy there, or a tram road past it. 
 
 Above Tobern's Falls, CJaptain Mann says, that for eight or ten 
 liles the river is wide and shoal, with intermediate rapids, not 
 lavigable at low water. Captain Blackiston, R. K, who ascended 
 ^he river to Edmonton, is of opinion that there are no obstructions 
 rom Tobern's Rapids up to Coles' Falls or Rapids aljove the 
 
 
 t 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
64 
 
 forks, (a distance' of about a hundred miles,) which could not be 
 surmounted by a steamer at high water. Captain Munn, of the 
 steamer " International," in his report to the Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany says, in summing up, that the Saskatchewan is a good navi- 
 gable stream from the Grand Eapids up as far as Tobem's Fall?, 
 with the improvement suggested by him at Cross Lake. From 
 Tobem's Falls to Carleton House, he did not find the riv "r navigable, 
 the water being low when he examined it, but he was informed by 
 Mr. Pruden, at the latter place, that the water in the river is three 
 and a-half feet higher from the first of June to the middle of Sep- 
 tember than it then was. He adds, " with this additional water, I 
 am of opinion that light draught steamers coulrl be sent as far as I 
 explored it, without any serious difficulty." le found the river 
 well wooded, affording abundance for steam purposes. In this report 
 his pilot fully concurred. 
 
 Coles' Falls, immediately above the Forks, are a succession of 
 rapids, twenty-six in number, from a hundred and fifty to three 
 hundred feet in length each, with slack water between. Captain 
 ;Munn includes them in the extent passable in the high water 
 period mentioned. 
 
 For twenty-two miles above the Forks the ascent per mile is 
 great, and the rapids continue for eighteen miles of that distance ; 
 the current is six to seven miles an hour when the water is high, 
 by Professor Hind's observation, a rate of current by no means 
 insurmountable by a steamer of fair power, but for safety to vessels 
 the boulders should be removed from a sufficient width of the 
 channel. 
 
 Above this, for the distance of two hundred and eighty miles, 
 the ascent per mile is very much less than in the lower part of the 
 river. It is estimated by Mr. Thompson, who surveyed it, as being 
 from six to nine inches per mile, and for a hundred and eighty 
 miles fui'ther, up to Edmonton, at two I'eet a mile, less than half 
 the rate of descent of the Ehone from Avignon to the sea. From 
 Edmonton to within forty-three miles of Rocky Mountain House, 
 Thompson states the ascent to be four feet to the mile. 
 
 Captain Blackiston gives the average descent of the Saskat- 
 chewan from Edmonton to Lake Winnipeg as one foot four inches 
 to the mile. To the foot of Cedar Lake it would be one foot three 
 inches to the mile, the same as the descent of the Rhine from 
 Strasbourg to the Sea. As the Rhine is navigated throughout that 
 distance by steamers arid vessels of considerable tonnage, the cur- 
 rent of the Saskatchewan, excepting at particular points, cannot be 
 such as to prennt any great obstruction to steamboats. Powerful 
 stea^^ers of tv > feet draught, such as are used on the Rhine, would 
 aavigate it very freely. 
 
65 - ■ 
 
 From the 1st of June to the end of September, and probably for 
 a longer period, such vessels could ply. 
 
 The navigation of the Saskatchewan will probably prove to be 
 nearly as useful as that of the Ohio, but less liable, on account of 
 its greater volume, to interruption from low water, to which the 
 navigation of the Ohio is very subject in the dry months of summer. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 J- 
 
 PROPORTION OF ARABLE LANDS IN SOUTH HALF OF CENTRAL 
 
 PRAIRIE COUNTRY. 
 
 We have now gone over that part oi the great territory under 
 considemtion, drained by the Saskatchewan and other tributaries 
 of Lake Winnipeg, the area of which, as before stated, is about two 
 hundred and eighty thousand square miles. 
 
 Speaking of part of this area. Captain Palliser says : " The ex- 
 tent of surface drained by the Saskatchewan and other tributaries 
 to Lake Winnipeg which we had the opportunity of examining, 
 amounts in round numbers to 150,000 square miles. This region 
 is bounded to the north by what is called the 'strong woods,' 
 or the southern limit of the great circum-arctic zone of forest which 
 occupies these latitudes in the northern hemisphere. This line, 
 which is indicated in the map, sweeps to the north-west from the 
 shore of I^ake Winnipeg, and reaches its most northerly limit about 
 54*^ 30' K and long, 109° W., from whence it again passes to south- 
 west, meeting the Rocky Mountains in lat. 51® N., long. 115° W. 
 Between this line of the ' strong woods' and the northerly limit of 
 the true prairie country, there is a belt of land varying in width, 
 which at one period must have been covered by an extension of the 
 northern forests, but which has been gradually clea^ d by successive 
 fires. 
 
 " It is now a partially wooded country, abour ig in lakes, and 
 rich in natural pasturage, in some parts rivalli : the finest park 
 scenery of our own country. Throughout thi^ .egion of country 
 the clunate seems to preserve the same character, although it passes 
 through very different latitudes — its form b- ug doubtless deter- 
 mined by the curves of the isothermal line, its superficial extent 
 embraces about 65,000 square miles (query — geographical or statute ? 
 If the former, it would be about 85,000 statute, which w^ould agree 
 with the area shown on Professor Hind's map,) of which more than 
 one-third may be considered as at once available for the purposes 
 of the agriculturist. Its elevation increases fron) 700 to 4,000 feet 
 
 5 
 
 ft 
 
 II; 
 
 li- 
 
 M 
 
66 
 
 as we approach the Rocky Mountains, consequently it is not equally 
 adapted throughout to the cultivation of any one crop ; nevertheless, 
 at Fort Edmonton, which has an altitude of 3,000 feet, even wheat 
 is sometimes cultivated with success. 
 
 " The least valuable portion of the prairie country has an extent 
 of above 80,000 square miljs, and is that lyu g tJoag the southern 
 branch of the Saskatchewan, and southward from thence to the 
 boundary line ; while its northern limit is designated in the Indian 
 languages as the ' edge of the woods,' the original line of the woods 
 before invaded by the fire." 
 
 The fertile belt thus described by Captain Palliser contains, as 
 represented on Dr. Hector's and Professor Hind's map, an area of 
 about 85,000 statute miles, the equivalent nearly of 65,000 geo- 
 graphical square miles. We have here, then, in the portion of this 
 territory explored by Captain Palliser and his party, an extent of 
 very fertile, mixed prairie and woodlands, three times the size of 
 that part of Upper Canada from Kingston to Sarnia ; of which more 
 than one-third is at once ready to receive the plough. 
 
 This, however, does not include the very considerable portion 
 of really good prairie land, already described as interspersed in the 
 region classed as infertile country ; nor the Cyj, .ee Mountains south 
 of the South Branch of the Saskatchewan above the Elbow, 
 described as a range elevated 1,600 feet above the plains, covered 
 vath fine timber, abounding in excellent grass and weU watered ; 
 noi does it include the pares d' "bribed as good of the wooded coun- 
 try on the west side of Lakes Manitobah and Winnepegoos. If 
 these were included, to say nothing of ground north of the line of 
 " thick woods," not yet converted by fires into prairie, the total 
 would probably amount to one hundred thousand square miles esti- 
 mated by Mr. Dawson, in his report, as suitable for settlement. 
 
 It would be absurd to expect any country in a state of nature 
 to be all < qually fit to receive the plough at once. The one-third 
 of the fertile region, estimated by Captain Palliser as being so, is a 
 very fai": proportion ; the other two-thirds, no doubt, are parts 
 requiring diraining or partial clearing. It would also be absurd to 
 suppose it to be all equally fertile. There is a considerable differ- 
 ence between the deep beds of black vegetable mould which prevail 
 chiefly in the Ked River valley, and the rich sandy loam spoken of 
 in some other parts ; and there are the occasional bad spots and 
 poor sandy ground, which we expect to find in all countries, though 
 there are, apparently, tracts of great extent unusually free from 
 them. 
 
 As for the 80,000 square miles (about a hundred thousand 
 statute square miles) which Captain Palliser designates '•s the least 
 valuable part of the Prairie Country, it will no douLu, as he says, 
 
67 
 
 " be for ever comparatively useless," with the exception of such tracts 
 as the Cjrpree Mountains, and others where there is good grass with 
 wood and water. These, with the richer parts of the vast green 
 treeless plains, will afford great scope for cattle feeding after the 
 great fertile region has hecome occupied. 
 
 Messrs. Cooper and Sucklay, the Naturalists of the U. S. Pacific 
 Railway Exploration, identify the same kind of dry prairie country 
 of Nebraska (of which this is a continuation) with the " perpetual 
 steppes" of Russia in Europe. There the pasturage or green sward 
 is not even continuous, except in very low valleys, as stated by Mr. 
 Haxhausen, and it is not uncommon for twenty months to pass 
 without rain. Yet these grounds, he says, afford excellent pasture, 
 especially for sheep, and yield, where cultivated, sixfold to one 
 sown of wheat and rye, which he observes is greater than the aver- 
 age yield of Russia in Europe. 
 
 These steppes are stated to be increasing in population by immi- 
 gration from the northern parts of the Empire, now attracted to 
 them. Buckwheat, Indian Com, Oats, Barley and Beets grow there 
 abundantly. 
 
 y/e have now taken a general view of the south part of the 
 section under consideration, or that part of it which is comonly 
 called Rupert's Land. It is not usual to include more than this in 
 speaking of the capacity of the country for settlement. But it is 
 far from being all that is fit for agricultur i <>ocupation. We have 
 still the countries lying on the Athabasca and Peace Rivers, the 
 River of the Mountains, Hay's River and the upper part of Beaver 
 River, suitable for settlement, to go over, to complete the great sec- 
 tion of available country under consideration. 
 
 In beginning to treat of this great section of territory, it was 
 stated, that in applying the term Central Prairie Land to it, that 
 expression was meant merely to indicate this section as one contain- 
 ing prairie land, with the distinction, that prairies prevailed in the 
 southern half, and woods in the northern half, with occasional 
 prairie tracts. It is the latter which we have now to consider, 
 under the divisions indicated by its rivers. It contains an area of 
 about two hundred thousand superficial miles. 
 
 !' Y, M 
 
 !:^^ 
 
 •II 
 
 \p~'. 
 
 
 >uuo, as he says, 
 
 r 
 
 k 
 
68 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE HEAVEtt OR UPPER CHURCHILL RIVER. 
 
 Tlio Heaver lliver has its source about forty miles only from the 
 North Saskatchewim at Edmonton, beyond the lino of the " strong 
 woods." 
 
 Its course to Hudson's Bay is about eleven hundred miles in 
 length, of which five hundred miles lie within the section under 
 consideration. 
 
 For two hundred and fifty miles from its source, its course is in 
 the plain country of Silurian or more recent formations. It then, 
 below Isle j\ la Crosse, enters the great primary or azoic belt, which 
 covers the remainder of its course within this section. It may bo 
 considered as draining part of the same plain as the Saskatchewan, 
 their basins being divided only by rocks a few feet in lieight. At 
 Frog Portage, two hundred and thirty miles lower, crossing to a 
 tributary of the Saskatchewan, the waters of the Beaver or 
 Churchill flow over into it at high flood. 
 
 Sir John Richardson says that the Beaver Kiver drains a com- 
 paratively small extent of prairie land, and Capt. Palliser describes 
 the country between it and the forks of the Saskatchewan as a 
 thick wood country, with many lakes abounding in fish. Lying on 
 Ahe same formations, it no doubt resembles the fertile belt on the 
 North Branch of the Saskatchewan before its prairies were cleared 
 -of timber by devastating fires. 
 
 Sir Alex. McKenzie speaks favorably of the soil on the upper 
 part of the Beaver Kiver, of the buffaloes ranging the partial 
 patchiia of prairie along it, and of a garden at Isle ji la Crosse, 
 that well repaid the labor bestowed on it He speaks of Lake h la 
 •Crosse abounding in " the finest fish in the world," and of the rich- 
 ness of its surrounding banks and forests in moose and fallow deer, 
 with the vast number of the smaller tribes of animals, and the 
 numerous flocks of wild fowl." 
 
 As its Indian name Missinipi, much loater, implies, the Beaver, 
 or Churchhill as it is called in its lower course, is a river of great 
 volume. At Island Portage, above Frog Portage, Sir J. Richardson 
 speaks of its being five or six hundred yards wide, where pent up 
 and narrow, with a strong current. Eastward of Lac k la Crosse, 
 w^here it passes through the primary or azoic formation, the soil of 
 the country is poor, sandy, st^ony and rocky. Describing part of it. 
 Sir John Richardson says the general aspect of it is like the coun- 
 try on the north shores of Lake Superior, though the water basin i3 
 not so deeply excavated. 
 
69 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE lUVER ATHABASCA. 
 
 Wosfiward and northward of the Bcft\er River country lies the 
 greater region drained by the Kiver Athabasca and its tributaries. 
 
 The Rivf^r Athabasca, though not the hirgest, is tlie most south- 
 erly and far extending branch of the liiver McKonzie. It has its 
 source between glaciers, among mountains whose highest i)eak» rise 
 to 15,000 feet, in lat. 52^^ 20^ N., and long. 118« 25' W., near the 
 north bond of the Columbia River. It reaches almost across the 
 Rocky Mountains towards the Boat encampment, on a feeder of the 
 Columbia; the narrow valley of its main stream forming there 
 the Athabasca Pass, while that of a more northerly arm is the site 
 of the Leather Pass known as the T^te Jaune or Yellow-Head 
 Pass. 
 
 At Jasper House, which stands in a m ide valley within the 
 second range, about ninety miles bebow the source of the river, 
 Dr. Hector describes the mountains as rising magnificently to the 
 height of 6,400 feet above its bed, or 7,300 above the sea. Chang- 
 ing from north to north-east, its geneml direction, at a liimdred 
 and eighty miles further, (the greater part of the way among the 
 mountains and their lower ranges,) it receives, on the south, 
 McLeod's River. 
 
 At Fort Assiniboine, about three hundred and sixty miles from 
 its source, Dr. Hector describes it as a stream 300 yards in width, 
 flowing in a valley from one to two miles wide, and 250 feet below 
 the level of the surrounding plain. At about forty miles lower, it 
 receives, on the south, the Pembina, a river about two hundred and 
 fifty miles in length ; at thirty miles lower the Lesser Slave Lake 
 River from the North : — the lake is a hundred miles in length, the 
 river from it about forty. From this it makes an elbow south-east- 
 ward, and then tunis nearly north, which general direction it main- 
 tains, to its mouth at Lake Athabasca, receiving midway, at a 
 hundred and fifty miles from its mouth, Clear Water River, on the 
 south-east, from Methy Portage. The whole length of the Athabasca 
 is nearly nine hundred miles. 
 
 Sir John Richardson describes the Athabasca, at its junction 
 with the Clear Lake River, a'" a majestic stream, between a quarter 
 and a half mile wide, with a considerable current but without 
 rapids. Sir Alex. McKenzie says it is about three quarters of a 
 mile wide, and runs with a steady current, sometimes contracting 
 but never increasing its channel, till, after receiving several small 
 streams, it discharges itself into the Lsdte of the Hills (Lake 
 
 I 
 
 t:- 
 
 1^ 
 
70 
 
 Athabasca.) He mentions that, about twenty-four miles b^low 
 the mouth of Clear Water lliver, there are some bituminous foun- 
 tains, into which a pole may bo inserted without the least re- 
 sistance. 
 
 He mentions that, in 1787, he found Mr. Fond, one of the 
 north-west Traders, residing on the Elk River, (the Athabasca) 
 forty miles from its mouth, where he remained for three years, and 
 had formed as fine a kitchen garden as he (McKenzio) had ever 
 seen in Canada — which is not surprising, as the line of mean 
 summer temperature of Halifax, Nova Scotia, passes through that 
 vicinity. 
 
 The bed of the Athabasca is described as being in many places 
 deeply cut below the level of the prairie plateau, which is not 
 separated, by any marked ridge, from the prairie country of the 
 Saskatchewan. Near Lake Athabasca, the high banks of the river's 
 bed sink into the alluvial lands of the delta at its mouth. From 
 the west end of that lake the combined waters of the Athabasca 
 and the Peace River, under the name of Slave River, flow north- 
 w^ard to Great Slave Lake, in what is described as the fracture be- 
 tween the Silurian and primitive rocks. 
 
 Mr. David Thompson and Sir John Richardson describe lime- 
 stone as prevailing throughout the lower course of the Athabasca, 
 generally under beds of sandy soil saturated with bitumen, some- 
 times of great depth. Thirty miles below Clear Water River the 
 limestone beds are covered with bituminous deposit, upwards of a 
 hundred feet thick. The roots of living trees and herbaceous plants 
 push themselves deep into beds highly impregnated with bitumen, 
 and, Sir John adds, the forest where that mineral is most abundant 
 does not suffer in its growth. 'He states that below Riviere Rouge, 
 a tributary, a copious spring of mineral pitch issues from a crevice 
 in a cliff, composed of sand and bitumen, in the middle of a thick 
 wood. It seems rather to increase than impair the fertility of the 
 soil Below Pierre au Calumet, he says : " the whole country, for 
 many miles, is so full of bitumen, that it flows readily into a pit 
 dug a few feet below the surface. Below Clear Water River, he 
 speaks of pretty thick layers of lignite coal appearing in one of the 
 cliffs. On the upper part of the river, above Fort Assiniboine, Dr. 
 Hector states that lignite coal appears in the banks, though not so 
 much as in the Saskatchewan. 
 
 The Athabasca country, " from Methy Portage, westward," Sir 
 John Richardson says, " though deeply furrowed by river courses 
 and ravines, and more or less thickly wooded, partakes so much of a 
 prairie character that horsemen may travel over it to Lesser Slave 
 Lake and the Saskatchewan," (three hundred and fifty miles,) and 
 adds that in 1849 a fine body of upwards of forty horses came 
 through early in the season, and in good condition. 
 
71 
 
 The following extracts from Mr. Thompson's journal indicate 
 the nature of the soil and climate of the upper Athabasca, en route 
 from Edmonton to the Forks of the Athabasca. He says " he set 
 off with three men and five hoi-ses on 19th April, 1799, rivers open; 
 20th, y> ite frost in the morning, but fine warm day. 
 
 " 21st. Very fine day, through thick woods, nmch wet ground 
 and deep mud, small prairies occasionally — reached the Pembina 
 River in the afternoon in a fine meadow. 
 
 " The soil for these three days has been in general a very fine 
 black vegetable mould, with very little sand. It is also the same 
 from Fort George to Fort Augustus in the interior country, though 
 intermixed with more sand, and in a few places ridges of sand 
 hills." 
 
 This description, it is to be observed, refers to a hundred and 
 fifty miles of country. He then descends the River Pembina 
 for three days ; " banks well wooded, with small meadows ; soil, 
 sandy earth — woods, birch, aspen pine and poplar." 
 
 His Journal continues to say : " Aj)ril 25th. — Sandy earth, in 
 banks ; they are high near the Athabasca. Enter Athabasca Eiver, 
 250 to 350 yards wide ; banks, including inner bank, 80 to 120 feet 
 high. White sandy earth, woods mostly pine ; there is also birch, 
 aspen and poplar. 
 
 26th. " Always fine weather." Ascends Little Slave River. 
 
 27th. " No portaging yet ;" is on west branch of Little Slave 
 River, then on right branch ; higli hills in sight — wet grassy 
 meadows, Buffalo and Moose abundant, by tracks. 
 
 28th. " Cold blustry frosty morning ; came to Slave Lake ; Lake 
 partly open and part sound ice ;" liills round lake 800 feet high. 
 
 29th. " On Main Athabasca, very deep strong current, 220 to 
 250 yards wide ; banks, 240 to 360 feet over river ; mild cloudy 
 day." 
 
 1st May " Clear sharp frosty morning — banks, sinking to low 
 ones, or valleys, then swelling to liills 200 to 240 feet high with 
 small pines, mossy surface, the soil is now mostly a bluish clay 
 mixed with marl." 
 
 2nd. " Canoe birch trees, many of them 2^ to 4 feet round ; 
 found a poplar two fathoms round." 
 
 Here we have evidence of a country of varied chai-acter, but 
 presenting in its sandy earth, blue clay, and a hundred and fifty 
 miles of generally rich black mould, a great deal of fair arable land, 
 much of it of the best quality imaginable j and with a spring quite 
 as early as Lower Canada generally. 
 
 But it is important to notice that it presents something, of much 
 value, that we have not in Canada. Dr. Hector mentions that 
 where he crossed the River Pembina ** a bed of coal is exposed in 
 
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 IMAGE EVALUATION 
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72 
 
 its bai;ks eight feet thick, and at one point has previously been on 
 fire." As the Pembina is a large stream from 90 to 110 yards wide, 
 with a moderately strong current, it may afiford the means of trans- 
 port ; and as there is much good laud in the vicinity, as we have 
 seen, this coal, which extends to the main Athabasca, may be useful 
 fuel for future settlements, even before the wood, which is not of 
 the best quality, becomes exhausted. The country on the upper 
 waters of the Athabasca, like that around Edmonton on the Sas- 
 katchewan, adjoining, is no doubt too elevated to be favorable for 
 the growth of wheat. This is greatly balanced by the extreme fer- 
 tility of much of the land, and the advantages it offers for cattle 
 feeding. The objection of over elevation does not lie against the 
 remainder of the Athabasca country. 
 
 Mr. McLean, a gentleman who had resided twenty-five years 
 in the North-west Territory, speaks of the banks of the Athabasca 
 and Slave River as presenting many localities tit for farming, and 
 Ross Cox says of the Athabasca : " It is here a noble river, flowing 
 through a rich pasture country, thinly wooded." A little further 
 on he adds, " For the last one hundred and twenty miles its navi- 
 gation was uninterrupted by rapids, with a smooth steady current, 
 and the soil on each bank was of the richest description." 
 
 Speaking of the valley of Clear "Water River, one of its tribu- 
 taries, towards the eastern side of the section of territory we have 
 under consideration, looking on it from an eminence. Sir Alexander 
 McKenzie says: 
 
 " From thence the eye looks down on the course of the littk 
 river, by some called the Swan River, and by others the Clear 
 Water and Pelican River, beautifully meandering for thirty miles. 
 The valley, which is at once refreshed an?^ adorned by it, is about 
 three miles in breadth, and is confined by two lofty ridges of equal 
 height, displaying a most delightful intermixture of wood and 
 lawn, and stretching on tiU the blue mists obscure the prospect j 
 some parts of the inclining heights are clothed with stately forests, 
 relieved by promontories of the finest verdure, where the elk and 
 buffalo find pasture." 
 
 Sir John Richardson describes the scenery as unequalled, the 
 soil as sandy, but on a limestone basis, which is favorable to its 
 warmth as well as to its fertility. 
 
73 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE EACE RIVER. 
 
 The Peace Eiver u *lie largest branch of the River McKenzie.. 
 Its head waters lie bej ond the Rocky Mountains, where its north 
 and south branches drain the great valley to the westward, between, 
 the Eocky Mountains and the Peak Bange. Its south branch is 
 about twt^ hundred miles long, and its north branch, the Findlay 
 Eiver, is nearly three hundred. 
 
 The Findlay, or Main Peace River, is represented as having its 
 remotest source in a lake beyond the Peak Range, about lat. 
 56^ 30' K, long. 126° W., about two hundred miles from the 
 Pacific. 
 
 A little eastward from the junction of its branches, the Peace 
 Eiver traverses the Eocky Mountains, and enters the section of 
 territory under consideration, through a gap, which forms one of 
 the passes leading to the coast of the Pacific — it was through it 
 that Sir Alex. McKenzie first penetrated to that ocean. 
 
 From the Forks the course of the Peace Eiver is neady due 
 east for two hundred and forty miles, to Fort Dunvegan; passing 
 Eocky Mountain House nearly at half way. From Dunvegan its 
 course is northward for a hundred and forty miles, then nearly 
 east north-east for about three hundred and thirty-five miles, to its 
 mouth. Fort Vermilion is about two himdred and fifty-five miles 
 from its mouth, and the Falls, of about twenty feet in height, are 
 about forty-five miles below it. 
 
 The whole length of Peace Eiver, rejecting lesser sinuosities 
 inappreciable on a good map, is about a thousand and fifteen 
 miles ; which, when added to the remaining course of the McKen- 
 zie, makes ihe length of that river two thousand four hundred and 
 seventy miles. 
 
 The delta of the mouth of Peace Eiver, and the country between 
 it and the mouth of the Athabasca, is a low alluvial flat, formed 
 by the sediment brought down by the high floods, which at some 
 seasons entirely overflow it. McKenzie says further, "The 
 country in general is low from the entrance of the river to the 
 Falls, and with the exception of a few open parts covered with 
 grass, it is clothed with wood. Where the banks are very low, 
 the soil is good, being composed of the sediment of the river and 
 putrefied leaves and vegetables." Where they are more elevated, 
 they display a face of yellowish clay, mixed with small stones. 
 On a line with the Falls, and on either side of the river, there are 
 said to be very eictensive plains which afford pasture to. numeroua 
 herds of buffaloes." 
 
 If 
 
 ' '1 
 
 
74 
 
 He Bays, "TIjo baukH «f tho rlvor from tlio Falls aro in genoral 
 lofty, oxt5cpt at low woody ()ointB, accidentally formed in tho 
 manner I have mentioned ; thev atno displayed in all their bi'oken 
 Marts a face of clay, int<>rmixea with stones ; iti some places there 
 likewise appoaivd a hlack mould." Hneaking of cultivation, ho 
 says, " TheitJ is not the least doubt but tlio soil would be very pro- 
 ductive, if [jroper attention >vjis given to its preparation." 
 
 At low water the l*eaco Jliver does not exceed a quarter of a 
 mile in breadth below the falls ; at tho falls it is four hundred yards. 
 Its witUli \\\) to the Itocky Mountains continues nmch the same, 
 sometimes attaining eight hundred yards, tt has much less des- 
 cent than the Saskatchewan. From Dunvegan to its mouth, about 
 four hutulred and seventy-five miles apparently, but which Capt. 
 liOftxw, prT>bably ipioting the reputed instances, calls six hundred 
 nnd iifly ntiles, there occur, he says, but the falls mentioned and a 
 few rapids ; the bed of the stwam pivserves a nearly uniform incli- 
 nation, rising only three hundred and ton feet. 
 
 He says the sti'oani is moiv rapid above Fort Vermilion than 
 below it, and that the depth of tho bed of the river, below tho sur- 
 ix)unding country, incixjases with great uniformity upwards. About 
 sixty mues above Fori V\»rmilion, where it has cut through alter- 
 nating sandstotio and limestone clitts to a bed of shale, it Hows at 
 a depth of two hundivd feet below their summits. 
 
 Ho a»lds: "The general elevation of tho country, however, still 
 contii\uos to incivase, and at Dunvegan it is six hun(lix)d feet above 
 the bed <)f tlie stivam ; yet even at this point, except in approach- 
 ing the deep gonros, tluHuigh which the tributjiries of Peace River 
 join its waters, there is little intlication of an elevated country; 
 the Kt)cky Mountains are not visible, and no range of hills meets 
 the eye." 
 
 Captain Lofivy gives 1,000 feet as tho elevation of tho country 
 alKiut Dunvegan alnive the sea; and tho region in which tho river 
 has its souroes is prohibly four times as high, accoi*ding to Sir J. 
 KichaixUmi. 
 
 In latitude ami longtitude cori'osponding with Dunvegan, how- 
 'Gvcr, McKenzie si>eaks of the Deer Mountains being seen, at a 
 distance to tho we^twartl, as " an immenso ridge of highland or 
 mount4iins which take an oblique direction from below tho falls." 
 He adds, under date December, 1702 : " Opposite our present situa- 
 tion are l>eautiful meadows, with various animals grazing on them, 
 and gi\>ves of poplar irregulr .ly scattered over them." 
 
 Describing the country immediately above that, on resuming 
 
 ^ his journey the following spring, on the 10th of May he says : — 
 
 " From the place which we quittec! this morning, the west side of 
 
 the ri^•er displayed a succession of the most beautiful scenery I had 
 
over beheld. Tlio gt'ouiid rises nt intervals to a coiisiderftblo height, 
 and stretches inwards to a conHidemhle diHtance ; at every interval 
 or pause in the rise tliero is a gently ascending space or lawn, 
 which is alternate witli abrupt precipices to the summit of the 
 whole, or at least as far as the eye could distinguish. This magni- 
 ficent theatre of nature has all the decorations whicli tlie trees and 
 animals of the counti-y can afford it ; groves of poplars in every 
 shape enliven the scone ; and tlieir intervals are enlivened with 
 vast hertls of elks and buffaloes ; tlio former choosing the steep 
 uplands, and the latter preferring the ]»lains. At this time the 
 buffaloeti were attended with their young ones, and it appeared that 
 the elks would soon exhibit the sjimo enlivening circumstance. The 
 whole country exhibited an oxul)erant verdure ; the trees that Ijear 
 a blossom wore advancing fast to that delightful appearance." He 
 adds, " the east side of the river coiiiiists of a range of highland 
 covered with spnico and soft birch, while the banks abound with 
 the alder and willow." 
 
 As it was on the lOth of May that McKenzio found things in 
 this condition, it is evident, not only that it is a fine country, but 
 also that the spring is earlier than in the most favorable parts of 
 Lower Canada. 
 
 Wo might suppose that this was an unusually early spring, were 
 it not that the meteorological observations of Mr. David Thomp- 
 son, at the same place, give quite as favorable indications as to the 
 climate. Only twice in the month of May, 1803, on the 2nd and 
 14th, did the thermometer at 5 o'clock A.M. fall to 30^, and only 
 twice was it as low as 36'' at that hour, and that never after the 
 14th of that month. Frost did not occur in the fall till the 27th 
 September. It freezes much later in May in Canada ; and at Mon- 
 treal, for seven years out of the last nine, the first frost occurred 
 between 24th August and 16th September. 
 
 Elevated as Dunvegan on Peace River is, nine hundred and ten 
 feet above the sea by Lefroy, seven hundred and seventy-eight by 
 Richardson, and under the high latitude of 56** 6' N., it may be 
 interesting to compare the mean temperature of the seven months 
 from April to October, inclusively, of the year 1803, with the mean 
 temperature of Halifax, Nova Scotia, lat. 44° 30' N., as given in 
 the table of temperatures a few pages forward. 
 
 It shows the monthly mean temperature at Dunvegan to be 
 fully a degree, and that of the three summer months to be about 
 two degrees, warmer than at Halifax. 
 
 The three coldest months in winter are, on the other hand, 
 intensely cold compared with Halifax — an admirable arrangement 
 for utility. The milder winter of Halifax would be comparatively 
 valueless at Dunvegan, but it is of the utmost importance at Hali'* 
 fax, which owes its open winter navigation to it. 
 
 
 P- t! 
 
 
 
76 
 
 Nothing conclusive can be based on one year's observations; but 
 combined with other indications of climate, they afford favorable 
 evidence. 
 
 From what McKenzie says of the country about a hundred 
 miles above Dunvegan, it would seem very favorable for cattle- 
 feeding, and for the raising of at least the coarser grains. " Some 
 parts," he says, " offer beautiful scenery in some degree similar to 
 that which we passed on the second day of our voyage, and equally 
 enlivened with elk and buffalo, which were feeding in great numbers." 
 
 A little further, twelve miles above Sinew Kiver, he says : " The 
 land above where we camped spreads into an extensive plain, and 
 stretches on to a very high ridge, which in some parts presents a 
 face of rock, but is principally covered with verdure, and varied 
 with the poplar and white birch tree. The country is so crowded 
 with animals as to have the appearance in some places of a stall- 
 yard, from the state of the ground and the quantity of dung that 
 is scattered over it. The soil is black and light." 
 
 Two days* journey, by the river, above this, where the country 
 is wooded heavily, McKenzie speaks, in crossing a portage, of the 
 forest being of spruce and birch, and the largest poplars he had 
 ever seen. Further on he speaks of travelling through heavy woods 
 of spruce, red pine, C3rpress, poplar, white birch and willow, and of 
 travelling through taU pine woods. Soil light, and of a dusty 
 colour over gravelly clay. The river still from 400 to 800 yards 
 wide, diminishing to 200 where confined. It is here passing 
 through the Rocky Mountains, which do not rise apparently more 
 than 1,500 feet above their base — ^bare of wood in the upper parts, 
 wooded at the base. The bed of the river is limestone, and the 
 mountains solid masses of the same. 
 
 On the 27th of May the trees towards the bases of the moun- 
 tains were, he says, putting forth their leaves. It is woi-thy of 
 remark, as indicating earliness of spring in these mountain valleys, 
 notwithstanding their great elevation and consequent coldness, 
 that'the putting forth of the leaves here spoken of is a day or 
 two earlier than it was with us in the neighbourhood of Ottawa 
 this F jason, (1867). Towards the Forks of the Findlaj and South 
 Branch he speaks of the mountains being covered with wood. 
 
 These wooded slopes and valleys of the mountains may be no- 
 ticed as presenting a supply of timber which may, in future times, 
 be valuable for the vse of the prairie regions below. 
 
 Speaking of the Peace River country. Sir John Richardson 
 says, "The oaks, the elms, the ashes, the Weymouth pine and 
 the pitch pine, which reach the Saskatchewan basin, are wanting 
 here ; the balsam fir is rare ; but as these trees form no prominent 
 feature of the landscape in the former quarter, no marked change 
 in the woodland scenery takes place, in any part of the McKenzie 
 
77 
 
 Kiver district, until we approach the shores of the Arctic Sea." 
 The white spruce continues to be the predomin*^ at tree in dry soils, 
 whether rich or poor; the Banksean pine occupies a few sandy 
 spots ; the black spruce skirts the marshes ; and the balsam, poplar 
 and aspen, fringe the streams. The white birch attains a good size, 
 even up to latitude 65^ in sheltered positions, that is, nearly to 
 six hundred and fifty miles north of Dunvegan. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 SLAVE RIVER. 
 
 Slave Eiver, which carries the united waters of the Athabasca 
 and the Peace Eiver, and of Lake Athabasca, from that Lake to 
 Slave Lake, is about two hundred miles in length. It is, properly 
 speaking, a portion of the main Eiver McKenzie. It lies beyond 
 the section of territory we have under consideration, and north- 
 eastward from it. McKenzie describes the country on its west 
 bank as having a soil of rich black mould, covered with a growth 
 of heavy wood towards the river, with extensive plains, immedi- 
 ately behind, frequented by numerous herds of buffalo. 
 
 Though stated by Mr. McLean as suitable for farming purposes, 
 the countiy on Slave Eiver is not included within the limits 
 roughly assumed for the section under consideration, on account 
 of the apparent severity of the climate. Before reaching Slave 
 Lake on the 9th of June, McKenzie found the ground was not 
 thawed beyond the depth of fourteen inches ; yet, the leaves of the 
 trees had attained their full growth, which is but little if anything 
 later than in Lower Canada. 
 
 * THE HAY RIVER. 
 
 Hay Eiver, a tributary of Slave Lake, is nearly four hundred 
 miles in length. Three-quarters of its course lie within the section 
 before us, of which it unwatei-s the north-eastern comer. 
 
 It has two branches; the west one rises in Hay Lake ; the other 
 rises not far from the banks of Peace Eiver, and flows at no great 
 distance from Fort Vermilion. The country on this branch is 
 described by Sir J. Eichardson as an agreeable mixture of prairie 
 and woodland, and frequented by vast bands of buffaloes. 
 
 This he says is the limit of those vast prairies which extend 
 from New Mexico. Below the forks of Hay Eiver the country on 
 it is covered with forests, and intersected with swamps. 
 
 THE RIVER OF THE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 This large tributary of the McKenzie is formed of two great 
 branches beyond the Eocky Mountains, which it traverses about 
 
 
 |5 '. si 
 
 i m 
 
 i 
 
 ■ 
 
78 
 
 seventy mil^s below their junction, or nearly four hundred miles 
 from the source of either. It flows for about a hundred and 
 seventy miles through this section, first due east and then due 
 north, to latitude 60° N., and at a hundred and ninety miles further, 
 on the same cours« enters the McKenzie, at Fort Simpson, after 
 a course of about ren hundred and fifty miles. It is half a mile 
 wide at its mouth. 
 
 Its lower course is through a country of limestone formation ; 
 the mountains are composed of it and it appears in the rapids of 
 the river. 
 
 Fort Liard is situated on it near latitude 60*^ N., below the 
 sharp turn it takes to the north. Speaking of it, Richardson says: 
 " Though tliis post is more elevated than Fort Simpson, by at least 
 - a hundred and fifty feet, and is only two degrees of latitude to the 
 southward, its climate is said to be very superior, and its vegetable 
 productions of better growth and quality. Barley and oats yield 
 good crops, and in favorable seasons wheat ripens well" This place, 
 then he adds, " on the 60th parallel may be considered as the nor- 
 thern limit of the economical culture of wheat." A little further 
 he says, " Mr. McPherson had most kindly set aside for me a cask 
 of excellent corned beef, cured at the fort, and some bags of very 
 fine potatoes raised at Fort Liard, with several other things." 
 
 The great elbow of this river, with its eastern branch, which 
 has a course of about a hundred and seventy miles, together with 
 Smith's branch which enters above it, on the north-west side, drain 
 the north-west angle of the section under consideration. 
 
 As the outlines of this section were assumed to include, in a 
 general way, the extent of country fit for agiicultural occupation, 
 the parallel of latitude 60° was adopted as its northern boundary, 
 from its being apparently the northern limit of the profitable culti- 
 vation of wheat. 
 
 Such being the climate at that latitude on the River of the 
 Mountains, it may reasonably be assumed to be fully as favorable 
 in the country extending two hundred miles further south, on its 
 eastern branch and on Hay River. 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 * CLIMATE AND FITNESS FOR AGRICULTURAL OCCUPATIONS. 
 
 We have already noticed, in some degree, the climate of the 
 northern and less favorably situated parts of this great central 
 section, containing more or less prairie land. 
 
79 
 
 We have noted the indications of it at Mr. Pond's settlement,, 
 near Lake Athabasca, towards its north-eastern angle, McKenzie's 
 description of the earliness of the spring at Dunvegan, and above 
 it towards the Rocky Mountains, on Peace River, with Mr. David 
 Thomppon's highly fa\ orable thermometrical record of that region, 
 though so elevated, and lastly what Richardson has recorded as to 
 the chmate and cultivation at Fort Liard, in the north-west comer 
 of this section. We have next to consider the climate of the 
 middle and southern, or more favorable parts of it. 
 
 As bearing on the climate of this section, and the other north- 
 west territories, it may be well to repeat a few general observations. 
 
 The warm current of the Pacific Ocean, flowing up along the 
 western coast of North America, gives it a comparatively wami 
 and temperate climate, as the Gulf Stream does to the north-western 
 coasts of the old world, accompanied with humidity, in both cases, 
 giving much rain. The temperature of the east coast is, on the 
 contrary, much reduced by tlie cold current from the Arctic Sea, 
 with its icebergs flowing southward along it. 
 
 Thus, Sitka on the Pacific coast, in lat. 57° 03' N., has an 
 annual mean temperature (45° uy Baer) fully higher than that of 
 Halifax, N. S., in lat. 44° 39', (which is about 43°). Nor is the 
 difference from this cause conflned to the immediate seaboard ; 
 Montreal, two hundred miles from the Atlantic, lat. 45° 31' N., has 
 a mean annual temperature of about 43°, w^hile Fort Dallas in 
 Oregon, lat. 45° 36' N., two hundred miles from the Pacific, has an^ 
 annual mean of about 52°. 
 
 Hudson's Bay being an expansion of the same cold ice-bearing 
 Arctic waters, has the same cooling effect, not only on the regions 
 adjoining, but also in some degree on the country lying more 
 remotely between it and the River St. Lawrence and its Lakes. 
 Accordingly, it is not till we pass westward of the parallel to which 
 Hudson's Bay extends — and that is half-way between the Straits of 
 Belle Isle and the Pacific — that we find any great change in the 
 direction of the lines of equal mean annual temperature. 
 
 Yet, though the mean annual temperature remains nearly the 
 same in going due westward so far, the climate for agricultural 
 purposes improves very much after leaving the sea coast. Thus, 
 Montreal has a mean temperature for three summer months of 68°, 
 while that of Halifax is only 61°, and Green Bay, Lake Michigaii, in 
 the same latitude as Halifax, has a summer mean of 69°, though its 
 annual mean is only 44°.* 
 
 ■ f'f 
 
 m 
 
 *It is proper to observe that authorities differ materially as to temperatures, from 
 various causes ; partly through actual variety in the years observed, and partly, pro- 
 bably, owing to errors in instruments and oversight as to the position of them. 
 
 »', 
 
^^ 
 
 80 
 
 West of lake Superior, about long. 94" W., the lines of equal mean 
 ■annual temperature curve to a north-west direction, and maintain it 
 •diagonally, through this section, till deflected again to the south- 
 wanl at the high grounds at the base of the Kocky Mountains, 
 where the rapidly increasing elevation reduces the temperature. 
 
 The result of this rapid increase of heat westward rowards the 
 Pacific, except where interrupted by the elevation and consequent 
 cold temperature of the Rocky Mountain ranges, is, as would appear 
 from the observations of Mr. David Thompson, that Dunvegan, on 
 Peace River, lat. 66^ 17' N., has a mean annual temperature of 35° 
 51', equal to that of Fort William on Lake Superior, lat. 48' 23' N., 
 with a mean temperature for four summer months, May to August, 
 inclusive, of 62" 9', while that of Fort William for the same months 
 is only 57" 13', or 59" 9' for the warmest three of them ; yet Dunve- 
 gan is about five hundred and forty miles further north than Fort 
 William. 
 
 Even Fort Simpson, in lat. 61" 41' N., on the river of the Moun- 
 tains, about a hundred and fifteen miles north of the assumed out- 
 line of the section now before us, has a mean summer temperature 
 for three months, of 59" 48', and for five months, from May to Sep- 
 tember, inclusive, a mean of 55" 15', nearly the same as that of 
 Fort William, which for the same months is 55" 32'. Fort Simpson 
 is about nine hundred and fifty miles further north than Fort 
 William. 
 
 The following table will afford the means of further compari- 
 .^ons : 
 
81 
 Table or Mian Tr ti'RRATURKH in tiik Noiith-Wkht TERitiTonY and Canadian 
 
 PKOVINCEH COMPAllEO. 
 
 Months. 
 
 April '.. 
 
 May 
 
 June 
 
 July 
 
 August 
 
 September., 
 October 
 
 Mean. 
 
 Do. of three Sum- 
 mer months 
 
 November. 
 December . 
 January.... 
 February.., 
 March , 
 
 Mean 
 
 Do. of the year., 
 
 a 
 
 31°.42 
 
 48°.87 
 B8°.73 
 62^.19 
 68^.84 
 48M6 
 41<'.88 
 
 50°.01 
 
 59°.92 
 
 23''.43 
 
 18M6 
 
 6^70 
 
 8''.22 
 
 22*.72 
 
 16''.64 
 
 26° 
 
 60° 
 59° 
 70° 
 60° 
 48° 
 39° 
 
 50°. 14 
 
 63° 
 
 11° 
 6° 
 6° 
 2° 
 6° 
 
 6°.80 
 
 35°.69 
 
 31°.66 
 
 4; 
 
 37°.5 
 
 47°.3 
 
 54°.6 
 
 B9°.7 
 
 6c' 
 
 56° 
 
 45°.7 
 
 111 
 
 38° 
 
 48° 
 
 66°.3 
 
 62°.3 
 
 63°.7 
 
 67° 
 
 47° 
 
 6r.38;53°.18 
 
 68°.06 
 
 60°.76 
 
 37°.5 
 25°.5 
 18°.6 
 21°.6 
 
 28° 
 
 39°.3 
 25°.7 
 26°.0 
 24°.3 
 29°.0 
 
 26°.24 28°.66 
 
 40°.90 
 
 42°.69 
 
 111 
 
 14 
 
 I 
 
 e 
 
 37°.6 
 
 64° 
 
 64°.5 
 
 63° 
 
 60° 
 
 65° 
 
 40° 
 
 64°.87 
 
 62°.60 
 
 14°.6 
 
 -4° 
 *7° 
 2° 
 22°.6 
 
 8°.42 
 
 35°.61 
 
 
 J' 
 
 I—) ci 
 
 37°.9 
 51°.6 
 63°. 1 
 67°.5 
 65°.9 
 67°. 6 
 44°.6 
 
 55°.45 
 
 65».60 
 
 340.1 
 17*'.7 
 110.7 
 140.8 
 250.1 
 
 200.68 
 
 400.99 
 
 i2 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 390.83 
 
 580.46 
 
 690.10 
 
 710.16 
 
 630.3 
 
 590.26 
 
 420.20 
 
 570.68 
 
 670.76 
 
 210.19 
 
 -80.31 
 
 -10'.66 
 
 -10.71 
 
 +«9°.09 
 
 tio.94 
 
 340.39 
 
 IJ 
 
 4) 
 
 410.2 
 
 6I0.8 
 
 6I0 
 
 660.3 
 
 650.7 
 
 570.4 
 
 450 
 
 650.44 
 
 640.33 
 
 360.1 
 
 270 
 
 240.8 
 
 230.7 
 
 30O.2 
 
 280.36 
 
 440.I6 
 
 »? ,1 
 
 *More correctly about 600 feet. 
 I Citadel Cape Diamond. 
 
 a Sir John Richardson. 
 
 6 David Thompson, 1789-90. 
 
 € " " 1803. 
 
 c Tables by Mr. J. Murdock, of St. John's. 
 
 d From a paper read by CoL Byers at the Nova Scotia Institute of Science. 
 
 fh Lieutenant Ashe. 
 
 g Professor Hind. 
 
 6 
 
82 
 
 U nittnt \h} olmorvint ilmt Vn\\i. IUiu;kiHioi) uivun itie tnnnii 
 ttuiuiunr ((Mitnoml)iri* iii Fort Uixny iil iitmrly fotii' (WtiioM li^nn tlmii 
 Mr. llitui, wild luliniln timi iioooHHiiry (Miiwctioim Tiiul not Ikmmi 
 iipplitnl i<) llu^ nhovo olmorvntioim \\w\\ hy liiin, b\ii nnvn ilmt lio 
 thinks tho \vint>f«r olwui'vatioiiH too low through philuiliu^ orror in 
 tho imrtiiuiliir iiiRtruniPiit tmc^d Ity tlui obRi^rvnr who nmth^ timiii ; 
 hut lU) rnpt. IMnokinton nm<h^ \\m> in pnri of olmorviitioiin hy ili«> 
 m\\\e pornon, tho iiiroviority of th(^ iimtninuMitini^lit poMnihtv nliulitly 
 anVvt t 'ii|)t. IMackinton'N coiK;luHionR. tioriii IUo(l^>i, in hin cirinnt- 
 '>h»Ky, ^ivoB Kort(h»rry a luiMin nunnncr totn|H<mtuni of (15^*. whidi 
 i'om»B[»oiul« with tluit, n«Biy:iuMl U) it hy (htv«M*nor HtovoiiB in hin n*- 
 |Htrt of 1 Vilic Railway SurvoyR. HlackiKion and llin«l, hownvrr, 
 agtvo in i\w moan ann\ml ttMnpomtnnv 
 
 (.■Unrntoht^iRtR, acounlin^ to tho Kunmoan laartico, iliviih^ tlic 
 yoav into fonr BcanonR of thivo months imumi, in thoir tahlos. Siicli 
 division is \n)s\titahh^ in our northorn cnuntrios for thn i'«ni8i(h?rii- 
 tio»\ of tho oliniato with a viow to tho pmotioal |an|»osos of agrijMil- 
 tuiv. As it is }\\o\vi natural, owin^ to tho suddonnoss of thn transi- 
 tions \\\)\n o\w to tho othor in t'anatla, to oonsidor tho yoar luidor 
 two groat divisions -tho fn>zon ami tho warm soasons — tho moan 
 of Bovcn morths for tho lattor an»l tivo for tho fornn'r aro shown in 
 tho foix>^»ing table. 
 
 Admitting an orn)r of l\>ur dogivos in Trofossor Hind's sunnnor 
 ton\poratun», which tho oorivotions would chiotly atl'oot, and dcdurl- 
 iug ono-half of it, as its moan, from tho tomporatuiv of tho sovon 
 warm numths at Fort (hirry, tho moan of thorn would lui 55*^58, or 
 fully half a dogivo warmor than tho nu»an of tho corrospondiii},' 
 seven numths at Toi>mto. 
 
 Aa the ivsult i>f caix>lul »»h8orvations hy Capt. Tallisor's assis- 
 tmit>8, Capt lUiu'-kistou assigns tho same tomperaturo as that of 
 Fort Uarry to Foil Carloton, on tho North Hranch of the Saskat- 
 chewan, alwve the forks. This agrees with the isotherm of menu 
 summer of 05**, as wpn>aontod hy Oovornor Stevens. Ho carries 
 it from Green Bay, in Wisconsin, to the Little Falls, between St. 
 raul's and Fort Kipley, in Minnesotti, hy Fort OaiTy, and crossing 
 I^ake Manitobah, by Fort Polly, on tho Assiniboino, to the Forks of 
 the Saskatchewan, and thence imrth-westwaixl to tho sources of tho 
 IWvcr River, He gives the middle course of the North Saskat- 
 chewaii and of the Athabasca, the mean winter temperature of 
 F'ort llipley, or 10^\ Capt. Falliser, who explored the Soekatchewnn 
 country personally, says its climate is somewhat similar to that of 
 Red River, but decidedly milder in tho southern and western parts. 
 
 There is besides conclusive evidence of such a difference. Pro- 
 fessor Hind'obser\'ed the temperature of the waters of the North 
 and South Branches of the Saskatchewan, just above their junction, 
 
m 
 
 (in ilio nth (if Aii^iiNt, nn<l fotinil i\w tniU^r fIvM (Ip^nion wimiier 
 
 ijiin tuny tin tnkiMi tin Dim iii(>nti nmiill. oi' linviii^ Itowml nir tfui or 
 iwolvn (IfiVH tlirnii^li n wnrtiHM' rliiiint^i tlmii ilmt of ilio noitliern 
 lirnmili. Hut ilii^ ilill'Mtoiinn would iiminHHiirily ho (liiiiiiiiH)i(Ml nn Uio 
 riviim appnuuliiMt ihoir junction ill n eotinnon oliniHii*. mid ronnn- 
 (|iU'tiily niUHt havo Umu o <^ilm)ly tiiuoh ^rcnif*i'. The noiitli- 
 woRioni pftHn limy, thonil'oi'i», lw» inkmi to Imi 5" to 7^' wiirimT in 
 niimnit'r thiiii th(MHMiiitry tmvi>rH(Ml hy Ilio North MruiMth, or thnt 
 iirouiid Fort Oiirry. TliiH <;orruH]HMidM witli what Ih rqiorti^d hy tlio 
 niiiri(f(M«t IndiMiin. 
 
 ProfnRPor Hind ftmnd n I'onHidpffthhi dlfTMnnini in fuvor of iha 
 lownr piiHi of tho Mouth Hriiii(di an to thn riponin^ of wihl fruit. A 
 liundrod niid fifty iiiiinn further wi^Ht, nt Chonti'rHtdd IIouhc, though 
 tlio ulovatioM tluM'n In iihout two thouHniid Um{ nhovn tlu; Him, tho 
 mean annual tfunporatut;! in Htatoil a« M!'*', or iioarly 5*' warmer 
 than that of Fort dairy. 
 
 DKPTII (»K HNoW. 
 
 In connidnrin^ tho rliiiiatn it in prop(>r to iioti(;n that tho nnow 
 (loi'H not fall HO (l(H<p in thiH Hnction of territory ai4 it do<;H in (/'ana- 
 da, which in of coiiHidcirahin iinpjjrtancM, an rcj^ards tlui fciodin^ of 
 cattlo in wintor and facnlity of travfdlin^, and will h^^ Htill iiioro «<> 
 in tho U80 of railwayw, for which thin (uninti-y iw, in otlujr n!«p«otH^ 
 HO unuHuallv woll adapted. 
 
 Tho onlinai'V j^roatost depth of hiiow in tho UvA Uiv(!r ftettlo- 
 mmit in ahout oi^rhtm«n iiudicH, and jmoph! rido freely (jvciywhcro 
 through it all winter. EaHtward t(fwardH the thick wofulod » onntry 
 tho depth incroafiOH, hut it decreaseH in the jdaiuH to the westward^ 
 though whore there are wooded tractn it accuniulateH to a ^^loater 
 depth. 
 
 It is an ordinary well-known fact that dealers in Htock, residing 
 in tho Kod liiver settlomont, who pnrchaHe horsoH from the jirairie 
 Indians, fur tho purpose of selling thcni in tho American markets^ 
 winter them at largo, in droves of a hundred and upwards, in 
 charge of herdsmen, in the prairies where there are clumps of wood, 
 from ton to forty miles west oi' Fort (larry. The horses find abun- 
 dant food there, under tho shallow snow, to keep themselves in 
 good condition. Their other cattle the settlers feed at home on hay, 
 which is very abundant. 
 
 This present winter of 1867, from the date of its commence- 
 Iment and the suddenness of transition from mild weather to liard 
 1 frost, resembles a Red River winter. 
 
 At the Touchwood Hills, west of the Upper Assiniboine, Pro- 
 Ifessor Hind says that the onow falls two and a half feet deep in the 
 
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 l\N»d IUvt»v HiHii>»ninni. 
 
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 if, f'> 
 
11 
 
 I 
 
 ;and in favorable seasons wheat ripens well, and gives good returns, 
 but that it does not ripen perfectly every year, owing to summer 
 frosts. This is ten degrees, or nearly seven hundred milep, further 
 north than the Red Eiver Settlement ; failures of wheat crops froii) 
 frost might be expected there, as we have them in some of the 
 settlements of Canada. 
 
 Sir John says further, that wheat grows freely on the banks of 
 the Saskatchewan, excepting ar Hudson's Bay, that is, beyond 
 the limits of this section of tenltory ; and David Thomson, many 
 years ago, the Astronomer of the Hudson's Bay Company, states in 
 his manuscript journal that " wheat comes to perfection" even as 
 far north-eastward as Cumberland House ; but from its position so 
 far to the eastward, and the pi'evalence of marshy ground near it, the 
 <climate is much less favorable than further up the Saskatchewan. 
 
 As might be expected from the richness of the soil, where set- 
 tlement has taken place in this territory, on the Red River and the 
 Assiniboine, the cultivation of wheat has been very successful, and 
 the returns very great. 
 
 Sir John Richardson, Capt. Blackiston, and our Canadian ex- 
 plorers, and others, inform us that wheat, in these settlements, is 
 sown early in May and reaped in the end of August, and the re- 
 turns vary from thirty to forty fold, or bushels to the acre, as it is 
 indifferently expressed. They inform us, that in some parts thirty 
 bushels to the acre is an average crop of wheat, and that in others 
 ^* forty bushels is not only common, but generally expected ;" and 
 Professor Hind mentions a settler who had obtained fifty-six 
 bushels of wheat to the acre, simply by judicious ploughing. 
 
 If the average were thirty-two and a half, it would be double 
 that of Upper Canada by the census of 1851, and Upper Canada is 
 one of the best wheat-growing countries in the world. Even if a 
 lai'ge deduction were made from them for error and exaggeration, 
 as is generally necessary in such cases, the Red River returns would 
 still far exceed those of Upper Canada. 
 
 But this superiority is not without apparent causes in the 
 lichest of soils and the best of summers for the growth of wheat, 
 which affect, also, the quality of it The acknowledged superiority 
 in quality of the wheat of Minnesota, adjoining, is attributed to the 
 powerful midsummer heat common to this region. 
 
 It has been already mentioned that the climate at Carleton 
 House, on the North Branch of the Saskatchewan, though three 
 degrees further north, is stated by the officers of the Imperial ex- 
 ploring party, from careful thermometrical observation, to be at 
 least equal to that of the Red River Settlement, and they and others 
 agree in stating that the warmth of climate of the valley of the 
 Saskatchevi an, southward and westward from Carleton House, is still 
 ^eater, till neutralized by elevation in approaching the Mountains. 
 
87 
 
 It is proper to observe, that in the colder parts of this Central 
 Prairie Country, where from elevation or extreme northerly posi- 
 tion failures of crop from frost may occur, the deficiency may be 
 more than balanced by the extraordinary returns, in aU other years, 
 which the richness of the soil may yield. 
 
 To return to the Red River Settlement, the richness of the soil 
 is equalled by its durability, crops of wheat for upwards of twenty 
 years being obtained, from the same ground, nearly equal to the 
 first. 
 
 Indian corn is sometimes prevented from ripening on rich but 
 moist prairie lands, which is attributed by Mr. Lane, of the Hud- 
 son's Bay Company, to careless cultivation. On dry grounds it is 
 said to be a sure crop. 
 
 Professor Hind and others speak of melons growing luxuriantly 
 and ripening in the open air, in great perfection, and also of the 
 abundance, size and good quality of the potatoes as remarkable ; 
 that beets, turnips, and all other root crops grow well and attain 
 large dimensions ; and that all common garden vegetables cultivated 
 in Canada are equalled, if not surpassed, by those raised in the set- 
 tlements of the Red River and the Assiniboine. 
 
 When we take into consideration the extreme richness of the 
 soil and warmth of the summer, it will be apparent that it could 
 not well be otherwise as to these productions. 
 
 The beet may prove a very important one for the manufacture 
 of sugar, which should be more profitable than the importation of 
 it, so far inland, where the transport in, of it, and out of the pro- 
 duce in payment for it, will be expensive. 
 
 The cultivation of hemp and flax, which grow of an excellent 
 quality, may be of considerable importance, especially the latter, 
 for domestic use, as well as for exportation, on the introduction of 
 machinery for the preparation of it, and the opening of any even 
 moderately advantageous outlet for such products. Woollen, linen, 
 leather, and other light goods, would be the most advantageous to 
 export from a country situated so far inland. 
 
 If * 
 
 
 
 ' 1' 
 
 1f^ »i 
 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 COAL, PETROLEUM, AND BUILDING MATERIALS. 
 
 In describing the great Central Prairie Country, or region gene- 
 rally suitable for cultivation, in which prairie land is more or less 
 prevalent, it has been noticed that wood lands more generally 
 
 J 
 
 id, 
 
88 
 
 prevail in the north half of it, while in the south half of it, on the 
 waters of the Saskatchewan and the Red River and their tribu- 
 taries, the extent of prairie lands is very much greater than that 
 of wood lands. The eastern parts of the latter, on the lakes 
 Winnipeg, Manitobah and Winnipecoos, and on the Saskatchewan 
 below its forks, and the broad parallel belt of highlands lying to the 
 west of the two last named lakes, known as the Riding Mountains, 
 Duck Mountain, Porcupine Hills, and Thunder Mountain, are 
 described as densely and heavily wooded on the highlands, 
 while the valleys present about an equal extent of prairie and 
 wood lands; and it is said that the forests of this region are 
 sufficient to supply the inhabitants who may occupy it and the 
 acyoining coimtry, with wood for all purposes, for generations to 
 come. 
 
 Towards the Rocky Mountains also, and on the skirts of them, 
 on the head waters of the Saskatchewan, there is a broad belt 
 of wooded country, where there is pine and other useful timber of 
 a good growth, from which supplies of building timber may be 
 brought down by tho rivers, for the use of the prairie regions, on 
 their lower courses, when the supply from the limited growth of 
 wood there has become exhausted. 
 
 When the same necessity arises, the prairie lands on the Assi- 
 niboine may be supplied by its eastern tributaries, from the 
 forests of the highlands mentioned, and the pi-airies of the Red 
 River from the wood lands on its upper course, and when these fail, 
 from the woode<l country on the eastern tributaries of Lake Win- 
 nipeg. 
 
 The River Winnipeg, which unwaters a wooded region probably 
 little inferior to the valley of the Ottawa in area, has timber 
 enough of a usefid description to form the staple of an extensive 
 lumber trade, for the supply of the prairie country to the west- 
 ward. 
 
 The timlKjr from it will be much smaller, and inferior in kind 
 as well as quality to that from the Ottawa. Considerable quantities 
 of red and white pine are said by our explorers to be found on some 
 of its waters, though of an inferior size. 
 
 The greater size of wood, though much in its favor in foreign 
 markets, is really of little importance for home use ; and poplar 
 and spruce yield very useful lumber, and are much to be valued in 
 the absence of pine timber. 
 
 In the eastern or nearer part of the prairie region lying on the 
 Assiniboine and its tributaries, and on the head waters of lesser 
 western tributaries of Lake Winnipeg, there seems to be a fair pro- 
 portion of woods, and advancing northward they predominate. 
 Speaking of this region^ Mr. Dawson says : " The streams that flow 
 
'^1 
 
 
 89 
 
 iiierations to 
 
 through the prairie are bordered more or less with forests in which 
 oak and elm of a fair size are to be met with, although not in. 
 great quantities ; in the wooded Hectlon, of which, however, less 
 is known, poplar predominates; but on the borders of the lakes and 
 streams, larch, spruce, hiSii and oak are to be found of a size and 
 quality available for economic purposes." Mr. IJawson is unques- 
 tionably a good judge of the subject, from his extensive previous 
 experience in the lumber trade. 
 
 Professor Hind speaks of forests in the voUey of the Assini- 
 boine, one of which he describes as four miles in width and thirty 
 miles in length, wooded with oak, elm, ash, maple, poplar and 
 aspen, and speaks of the flats and hill-sides of its valley elsewhere 
 bemg clothed with fine forests, which lie describes as extending 
 also from thirty t" seventy miles up its western tributaries ; and at 
 intervals beyond, on the Qu'appelle, he says, good timber is found 
 as far as the Mission. 
 
 In prairie lands, the abundant supply of timber, which entirely 
 wooded countries afford, does not exist ; and in the absence of pine, 
 poplar and spruce liave to be used for building purposes. They 
 are both inferior to pine in value ; but in a great part of Lower 
 Canada spruce only IS to be had, and much of it is exported as 
 sawn lumber to Europe. Poplar is undervalued through pre- 
 judice in a great degree. Of all the deciduous trees it is one of 
 the best suited to take the place of pine in flooring and finishing 
 houses ; and for building the walls of dwellings it is very durable. 
 I have seen a house built of poplar logs,, timt stood upwards of 
 a liundred years, perfectly sound to the foundjition, wh(3ii cut 
 open. It may not accord with present ideas to say so, but before 
 the pine of the Ottawa becomes exhausted our extensive forests 
 of poplar will be valued for lumbering purposes and brought 
 into use. 
 
 In our interior territories spruce timber, on accoui^ of its light- 
 ness, its straightness and its strength, will take the place of pine, 
 for engineering purposes ; and birch, on account of the fineness of 
 its grain and its strength, will be serviceable for furniture and fine 
 wood-work, especially in the northern regions, where oak and 
 maple are not to be found 
 
 The timber of the interior is of a smaller growth than with us, 
 probably owing to the greater dryness of the summer and cold in 
 winter ; it is therefore probably stronger and perhaps more durable. 
 In these respects woods of the same kind differ much with the 
 soil and climate. The oak of the Ottawa averages only half the 
 size of that of the western parts of Upper Canada, but is far 
 superior to it in strength ; and the timber that grows in parts of 
 Canada near the sea is more durable than timber, of the same 
 
 n i \ 
 
 ■'ii 
 
 h'i' 
 
 i;: 
 
90 
 
 kind, of the interior. Iti hri«ige hniliUnji 1 have found it to last 
 nearly twine as long. We have no data on which to determine the 
 comparative dnrahuity and intppml strength of the timber of out 
 interior territory for engineering pinpowes. 
 
 Great aize gives sqtmred timlter an increased value in European 
 markets, but the small dimension into which our large Ottawa 
 timber is invari:\bly cut, in preparitig sawn lumber for home use 
 and exportation, shows that great siee is of no importance gentv 
 rally for home use, excepting for the greater quantity it gives. 
 
 White spruce is harder to saw and work u^ than pine, and with 
 U8 it is less durable when exposed, but it is stninger, and its length 
 and stmightftess make it very suitable for building timbers. 
 
 Acconling to Sir John Itichanlson, oak, ash, white pine and 
 pitch pine, are not to be found north of the valley i»f the Hasknt- 
 chewan, and are not prominent there, and white spruce continups 
 to be the predominant tree alike on rich and poor soil. Tliou^h 
 of a sttmll growth near the Arctic Sea, it was found in some in- 
 stances, in sheltered positions, to attain the siee of fVom three to 
 tiv« feet in girth, even there. Halsam, poplar and aspen, skirt tlie 
 streams, and white bireh is found chiefly, though not exclusively, in 
 rocky districts. It attaii\s a fair siee as far north as latitude 66" N. 
 
 From the foregtnng, atul the descriptions in detail given of tlie 
 diflferetit parts of the aoutli half of the central prairie country, it 
 will be seen, that for pmirie land, the supply of wood, distributed 
 through it, such as it is, seems sufficient for the supply of settle- 
 ments in it for a long time to come, if carefully tised. As for the 
 north half of it, lying beyond the Saskatchewan and the line of 
 the stmng woods, the abundance of the supply of timber iu it is 
 not questioneil. 
 
 But in view of the time when the forests and scattered woods, 
 esi^ecially of the south half of this central prairie country, may 
 b^me inadi^uate ibr the supplying of fuel for an increasing popu- 
 lation, the great deposits of lignite coal in the western and northern 
 j>arts of this territory are of the greatest importance. 
 
 Nor is the s\ipply of peat fViel that may be obtained, by im- 
 proved methods of preparation, frem the bogs in the eastern part« 
 of it, in atid near the Ked River Settlement, unworthy of considera- 
 tion. As it has already become more economical to use it than 
 wood as f\iel, in the vicinity of Montreal, it is natural to think that 
 it might l^fore long become advantageous to use it as fuel in 
 prairie countries. 
 
 In his report upon the Grand Trunk l^ilway, Capt. Tyler, R E., 
 says tlmt j^eat fUel can now be fVirnished on the cars of the com- 
 pany at $3 20 ft ton, which is more serviceable than a cord of wood 
 Jot use in locomotive engines ; that it can be more conveniently 
 
 4» 
 
n 
 
 stored ftiid tisoU tlmti W(mm1, and coniputns ilmt tlio cmnpnnv will 
 gave £40,000 n yofir 1»y using it. ft is Ut lio borne in mind that 
 this is ill Caimdft, posflesHing tlie b(mHto<l ad vantage over prairie 
 cotnitrins of alnindjnHM? of wnixl ; and not by a manufacturing 
 establislinieMt located in a (iity and obliged to pay the high prices 
 current there, but by a company owning a railway traversing nearly 
 the whole f»f Canada proper, enabling it to supply itself whereTer 
 it could do so wiili most advantage, and the cost of wood fuel to 
 them must necessarily Ikj not the price of it in towns and cities, 
 but tlie average cost of it in the country places along the line. 
 Apart from the shallow but extensive muskegs or marshes, the 
 deeper Imga, near the lied lliver Hettlement, would seem to present 
 the vegetable matter necessary for the manufacture of this fuel. 
 
 LorAblTlKS WHKllK UONITR AND BITUMEN HAVE BEEN 
 
 OliHERVEl). 
 
 I'mceeding northward frr»tn the thiited Htates Iwundary, (lat. 
 49*"' N.,J brown coal is shown by Dr. Hector's geologir^ftl section at 
 La Kocne I'ercee, ( Joteau du I'rairie, about long. 103*^ W. lat. 49*^ 
 30' N. on tlie Souris or Mmise Kiver, a tributary of the Assini- 
 boiiie ; and in that direction a bed two feet thick was seen by a 
 Mr. Pratt. Brown coal is also shown by Dr. Hector'o section, in 
 tlie Hand Hills. 
 
 On the Red Deer branch of the South Saskatchewan, which it 
 enters a hundred and thirty inile.'j above the Elbow, an extensive 
 deposit of coal is noted l»y Dr. Hector at a hundred and seventy 
 miles from its month, and 'also at a hundred miles further up. 
 Capt. Blackiston says it is there in beds so close, that of twenty 
 feet of strata exposed, twelve feet were of coal. It is also noted on 
 the Battle River acyaoent, to the northward, at two hundred and 
 fifty miles above its mouth. The Battle River enters the North 
 Saskatchewan a Imndrad and seventy miles above the forkB of 
 the latter and the South Branch. 
 
 On the North Saskatchewan Capt. Blackiston describes coal as 
 prevailing, with little interruption, in beds two and two and a half 
 feet thick, hvm a little below Edmonton, upwards, for two hundred 
 miles. 
 
 Passing northward to the next stream, the Pembina, a fine navi- 
 gable tributary of the Arthabasca, Dr. Hector found, where he 
 crossed it, a bed of lignite coal exposed, eight feet thick. On the 
 Arthabasca, above their junction, he says coal appears in the banks, 
 but not so much as on tlie Saskatchewan. 
 
 The lower course of the Arthabasca is described by Thomson, 
 in his manuscript journal of the year 1799, as abounding in bitu- 
 men, presenting strata in parts six to twelve feet thick. Sir John 
 
 f. 
 
 I > 
 
 
08 
 
 Bichardsou speaks of deposits of sand on it a hundred feet thick, 
 charged with slaggy mineral pitt^h. As ah'eady mentioned, in the 
 description of the Arthabasca, ho snys that at Pierre au Caltunet, 
 and a few miles further down the river, the whole country, for 
 many miles, is so full of bitumen, that if you dig a pit a few feet 
 below the surface it flows readily into it ; and that below Kivii>re 
 Rouge tho'o is a copious spring of mineral pitch (fluid bitumen or 
 petroleum) that issues fi'om a crevice in a cliff composed of sntul 
 and bitumen. 
 
 Sir Alexander McKenzie mentions that twenty-four miles below 
 the forks of the Arthabasca there are some fountains of bitumen in 
 a fluid state, in which a pole of twenty feet may be inserted witli- 
 out resistance. It was used along with gum from the spruce and 
 fir for gumming canoes. 
 
 Such abundant deposits of petroleum, for the supply of coal oil 
 for the use of these interior countries, and for other economic uses, 
 are of much importance, and enhance the value of this territory. 
 
 Below the mouth of Clear Water River, Sir John Richamson 
 noteJ3 lignite coal as appearing, in pretty thick layers, in the bank 
 of the Arthabasca. 
 
 Proceeding to the next stream to the northward, the Peace 
 River, Sir Alexander McKenzie found coal on it at Edge Coal 
 Creek, and Chief Factor Stewart informed Sir John Ricnardsou 
 that there were beds of coal on fire on Smoky River, a Southern 
 affluent, which joins the Peace River opposite Dunvegan, a hun- 
 dred and fifty miles further south, and that there were beds of coal 
 on Lesser Slave Lake, a northern tributary of the Upper Artha- 
 basca. As these points are about two hundred miles west from 
 the lower course of the Arthabasca, that, at least, may be taken as 
 the breadth of country in which coal may be found. 
 
 Sir Alexander McKenzie mentions that there is bitumen on the 
 shore of Great Slave I^ke, near its discharge ; and, as already men- 
 tioned, he found coal beds on fire on the banks of the McKenzie, 
 Sir John Richardson says, that where the Bear Lake River joins it, 
 there is a tertiary coal deposit of considerable extent, and that the 
 Garry Islands, lying off the mouth of the McKenzie, contain beds 
 of a tertiary coal that takes fire spontaneously. 
 
 From the description given by Sir John Richardson and others, 
 there is much variety in the character, quality and condition of 
 lignite. Some is of very recent formation or yet being formed, like 
 that of the vast deposits of drift wood in the conical hills at the 
 mouth of the McKenzia In some of the beds of lignite the forms 
 of the trunks of trees are preserved. In others, composed of glance 
 coal, the wood-like structure is lost, and pieces taken from the beds 
 split into small rhomboidal fragments, no longer presenting the 
 
98 
 
 ir miles below 
 of bitumen in 
 inserted with- 
 le spruce nnd 
 
 )ly of coal oil 
 conomic uses, 
 9 territon'. 
 in liicharuson 
 I, in the banic 
 
 grain or layers of wooil. Specimens of pitch coal are spoken of by 
 Sir John Kichardson as resembling Hpanish liquorice, and also of 
 slaty coal from Edmonton ou the Haskatchewan, like that gathered 
 from tlie shale clill's of the Arthabasca. This coal of Edmonton, 
 Captain Blockiston says, is preferred to charcoal for smith's work, 
 though it is said to require rather a strong draft, an objection that 
 would not seem to lie against the lignites, subject to spontaneous 
 combustion. In some cases the lignites were found heavily charged 
 with bitumen, while others are much silicified. 
 
 The following table, extracted from a good work on metallurgy, 
 shows the difference in calorific value of several kinds of European 
 lignite and of varieties of peat, compared with some descriptions of 
 wood and Newcastle coals. 
 
 It is proper to notice l^ ''♦; the lignite coal of the Nanaimo mines 
 of Vancouver's Iiiland is stated by Dr. Hector to be only ten per 
 cent, inferior to the true coal of the carboniferous epoch. It would 
 seem, therefore, to be much superior to the European lignites given 
 in this table,^ which, therefore, does not show the highest value of 
 Ugnite. By the rates in the table, we might safely estimate the 
 lignites of our interior territories as equal in heating power to five- 
 sevenths of the same weight of good Newcastle coal. 
 
 .44 
 
 tumen on the 
 already men- 
 le McKenzie, 
 Eliver joins it, 
 and that the 
 contain beds 
 
 i' 
 
 IT" 
 
 1:" 
 
 resenting the 
 
 It 
 
 
u 
 
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 MUu^nms IM|». il»» l'A««li». I., 
 
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 I Ni»wi't»«»lo H«Hli»y,.u.»»mii».. 
 
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 ( Mtw^mnmU WitlUiMut ..nutuu. 
 
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 1 tt^lHM t ttitttttittttttttitttiillltttlltki 
 
 Kliii «• 
 
 lit 111 ttttttttitttkttttttttitiiiiiitttii 
 
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 ton nr rtfir,i. 
 
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 (NHI'«t,MKNTN ti¥¥mM,U MV I'IMIMIK I.ANim To wr/rTMCMK. 
 
 Tim nliinr [ifriillfM iidviKiljtuM nf oim iU^u\.rn\ I'mrh (fofinlry n^i 
 It (ImIiI Ciic MitliiMtiiiMil', lii*M ill iliM (toifilijiMitioM il, oIYmm of pTH\r\n 
 him) wood liUiitn; (liM Cull iMlviiiiln^M iii wlijcji cnii liM n|/piH<;iitf^(j 
 tilily li,y MiHNM who liriVM lind iimcflMtl Mxpi*rli'iin(> of tliif y>rm^, nw\ 
 HtiitiiMMMl liiltiMir i'M(|iili-f4(l l«i i'U'iit off hikI Miltivnfo ft ii#)w fiirtri 
 ill It wmimIimI ciMiiidy, Mild I In* (ilmhiMtio'i il, prfffMirl/n Ut Mim ninkitiM 
 df ttiM i-omiIh iKM'MMnHi'V fill' Mm loi-iimf.iof) nf tmw miiWpiimuin. 
 
 IVtiMdi in nniil of ilin lulviuitnKn nt Uim niipnrlor nti\fpif nf wm»/I 
 fur riiwl tthil l'HiM)ii% mII'iiiiUmI l»y wllllll♦^ll i'oii»iiH««; l»ii( iUmn nm 
 JiMlMlliiiU'ly iiv«i'-M«(iiiini«>»l liy iimiiv In vittiitmtUiu tli« fiMiilitiDw 
 rnr HPt/lliuiiMiii on'MfMil liy pmifiH mwU nm wmuUiii rriiirif/rMfn 
 
 IMAjliMfliVMly. Hlll'll II ('(lUt\lM\fHlU I'MI Imi liHHt Hpprox Jlrillt4)fl try 
 
 mliii'itiK iii(* tiin(iii>r In lii^iirfn m (nr mm [iohhIIiIo, 
 
 Kill' llm liiMiidii III' i\mm who mim not fM|iinifiioil with iUti Inhour 
 III' tiinkiii^ M, Imiiii ill iliM Imu'I<woo«)m, I oiiiy ^o inlo pHrUoiilnrM. 
 
 TliH lil'Rt himI iiiohI. olivliiiiH cMiiHM oC iix|;f'imf<, in fnorifiy or 
 liiliiiiii', ifl tliP im'I'I'hhII V ol' cli'Milii^ olf ilin wood hf<for« ilio mud 
 I'ftii lio RVi»n iiiipiU'hMiMy MiliivMli'd, Mim avfim^f^ <:(»«! of which m 
 i\\rm tiiiiiiidH livK HliiilidKn lui mc.H); liiit. mh Mim nUniipn Mtill rMrrmin, 
 till iiiiilny of Iwoniy-livM nhillin^n iiii umim inay l»o n^i down mm Ut 
 lit! itioiiirt^d nfiiM'Wiii'dN in |<H(,iinK rid of Mi(;ni. WliMro iho Himnpit 
 fir« of pliiH 'I' thn Imid Riony, Mm «!o«t will ho niiirJi ^roiil^ir. 
 
 Ill tftiiiemt, |iiiio nIiiiii|in, if t-Mmovi'l ui nil, will v,oh\. ni hmi 
 (ivn Hliillili^n II |iltH)n, iiiid noiiie will cohI twMniy-livo nhilliriKfl. 
 
 Wn linvn Imro m oiin iU)iri, iii IomnI four ponndfl ten nhitfingfl an 
 ncre, of oxpoimo, to hu Inoiirrod, on ftC(50unt of Mi« wood, )mf(fTn 
 i\w 1(111(1 onti b« lirou^lik ihorouuhly und^r iho tiloiigh. This m 
 ilio cont to thosn who ('.(111 fAy for i\m lalxutr ijf Hkilled ImckwrKiflA- 
 men, AoouniiMiiod i>o tlio um of tlio nxo, who can do iwico tm much 
 of that kind of work tm tliu otniKrantg from Kxwfpe, even though 
 nccuNtotnml to uthor kitidn of haril lahoiir. 
 
 To tliG fiirni Iftboiiror from (Ireat Itritain, whfwo t»mo and 
 industry, if aiipliod to tlio cultivation of prairie land, would fm 
 dveti more vanmblo than that of tho backwoodBman, the (i(mitft 
 clearhitt wood laml, in tnotiMy'R worth of Iob lainiur, will Ije twice 
 ad niu(;li. If Im be vurv young lie may h;arn the use of the axe 
 |H)rfcotly; if not, ho will never learn to use it no m to Ije able to 
 do an much work wiMi it aw the native Ija^ikwoodsman. 
 
 As by far the greater part of the emigrants who settle in the 
 woods have to clear their farms by their own unskilled labour^ 
 
!»il 
 
 \ A\\ ivNf t^«Mi» '<)^rnl( \\\ \\\o \\\\\\o which itu'lv lnl>MM»' In •■Ifuvlun 
 w^^yM v\\m\\\\)sA Nn ^ww \\\\\\\\\ ql\o MttMu f*\\v\\ w \\\\n^ |Ui ii 
 \ \»\\ '^^>^^I>K^^\f^ i>r ih»» \:\\\\\' \\{ ll\o tM^Mnt «tniu>»l»liO>lv l>»«l Itv )l»t>tM 
 
 t^Mv \\v i\i\vv. thriv itMHiHnllv »'l»>inlMn liuin t»| n inuttlirii 
 rtvh^i* <« \\^\\ \^\ 1<0»»»M1 Vvrtvt. rt ^^^'^l^^ llvi' hMMiliPtl \\\\\\ \\\^\ )tMMntl< 
 
 1V ^»»Uh*v t^x^M*^^*!'* i\t! thh h^i! U'W ov IH>»»ph ypiMM hi ihr 
 W*\ »M hii* t^lVv <>^ to^t^oiuo «<tvnutt"*'» l>^ rotu»Ml hl« l\ou» ImIm mii'li 
 ^M^^\^^^11\>^^^* «M o\stM1 rt^^«t *>^«M^»M^mn«\ rt>» ihi» «<i>mi»V m Iho |mHl\ 
 
 >M^ov tt\i\« iho <>t!\«M'. Mo \^f)\\ \\\\\ tiA i«ni'!\ \\\\\\\ \Mul»M llu» |OM\iph, 
 rt1^^^ ^vrt^> \)w 1\int «>1' <t. !*«><M> rtlVov ro^^iMiiMU'lMp;. its I ho l\M'Ht«»v nM« 
 
 \s<>^^^n*t^^^{\ \'\s\\'\\\)\s\^<». m\v\\ t^iu»^ \\\\\v\\ hi» \\\\\\h\ ulrtmy »t«»vnh« In 
 \i\iMV ^^ytv\^<uv vy^UiVirtt^tm t\s\\\ \y\\*^\S)i U\}iv\' m^jw, \\v\v il\i> woodx 
 
 ^V^^xWj^ thi* ^>^hH^ 1\>NUi hortvy hs)\ \\\\\\ \\\\\\^ l»wl- \\\ I'loiuing. 
 
 !*t1>NWjJ:K "in r A !<v!»Wv> t\^N^M\ Ww'' \\\\\ \^\\\\^ »^l' \\\\\v\\ VMS m\\ !<»' 
 
 rt:^'v^NNw^(^tn^ Isy rt ^wrtH\ ^v\^^^ hrt« \\\<\\\\^ rt h<\^i\^«<tm <<^ i^^«* u«lm<l<«M( 
 
 tv>>>1^Mi rt\>x\ K^^>o«t tM' tho ^ott^M" rt^M^ hi« Trtn^ity {\\\\\ l«, Hu» In 
 f^w^t>» !^\N^iW\^rt\^tv iNf th<* virU }iA^!«* r\>v !»y^^\^n\ov n<u\ wliitpv food ol 
 
 s^\^t^ly inV ^i* fiswily with \^\^^K rt>vl ^«Uov rtn\\ oh«W. «.«< 11^ )\\a\ 
 
 ^^\< a \>\A\ K^ !»!^«ix< ^\\ this 'ix <^\- (\>\^^\ mttvki^K A\\y\ \\\> tn^mp.y ont\ 
 f^' fitii\<^rw^y\i.. UVv tW Uw'ihsi 8t<^»x^!» tx^mhN^v of NVUmska M\i[ {\\^ 
 
 T^ willii'm xn'AY^i iniV^^vn^i^^hV )HWx\ (ihuwvli^wo^ oil" HmmI rttul oloth- 
 si^ ; *^ *«> <>U«I« %h<'m Hmi^- it muvh t\> i\m\\ ; aU Nvhich> {\\i% t«r- 
 
91 
 
 fllMtV, «'VMM Im tilt' llli'lttlllnf*' nH'j.fM ♦||«.|H, mMIi rtifl'-ll 1'"h toll llifMi 
 ♦ Ih'V •'»»•• '••' lt'"l hi III!' ltM»'l<miM»|N (if ( 'ntifiilM, 
 
 II |m I»i)I '<in)iil'«|»»(r, llificliih', fli((l MO tiittiiy l",ilfn|».fiM «'if»l^»f«nf«» 
 iii)«M lllinmih t'liiitiilft In M«'»'l< Mm iMtiliJM Iftii'h nll|i»» TnUi'd MffifiM. 
 |',M'»i mIiI mill Hiicci'MMrtil mmIIIi'Im iii I 'iiiiiMlri liiivM (nimd If mnrli in 
 
 flli'll lnlVMIlltlf(«' III «Im mi, 
 
 lllil flii'lM Im iHHtllii'l' lii'mv (lirtlK*' iiUfiJJiMl o|.||)|i(,|MKf ill w(tiii\ni\ 
 t'liiMiltli'M. Tliiil Im, l)it< (iltMlnnHiMi 'MM' »|»«fH»> Idfi'MfM (ir('«<«'nl l«» tlin 
 M|iit'tiil mI Mi'HliMiH'iil, fintl IIm" i'»)i<>iiM»' llifd htm In In- inctiiirwl Id 
 
 IIIIIMK^J MIMiIm lllltllljlll lluMll ll ftll<l'M nil ♦»V|W'M«llfMf'f' ((I dlfiN* f llllfl 
 
 t) liMinlii'il |»titiiii|M II iiiHm In Miitl<»' M i»iim1 lliroiij^li llif vfniiiU nn 
 |tiH<<tilt|i< UN llti* iiiiliiitil Miitiiifi* mI IIi« )iiiiirli>, liy the liiiMiniiTMldo 
 tiiiiliM II-, mID'Im ; Mini nhi'ti fi iitiid llifniiiili oiM- hiii'MlM l'( ^|fld♦^ It 
 
 f 
 
 Hivt'M lU'i'i'Krt tUilv Im Hit' liiiid lliiliit'dltilnly rin IIm' nidoM uf It VVImmi 
 Ilii« Mt'flh'N Mhll<t' Mtiiii II III iiMirli till' hmd« Iti IIh* lirn'k roiio'^- 
 ^JMtH fhi« nhntiii'li' h ii^iilii piii'iMmli'H'd. mid the I'xjii'Mm' mI' ojifnlni* 
 I hi' nmtlM I'iMiiHH'iii'i'M mii'^'. 
 
 ll h ll iiindi'iidi' I'idi'iihilliiM In «fiy Hinl fni' i'V»»fy wijiinrc tri 
 
 Ih. nf 
 
 rtti»«Mi I'MiMilty Mi'llh'd. mi «'t|i««liMn in iiiiiMMy nr hdiniii' nf tiMO hfm 
 III III' liH'iuti'd ulHiiinli'ly in iimMiin nitiifM, nr, whnt i« wow, the 
 pptlh'i'M linvi» fii MllduM' ill limdM|il|» mid dillh'iilly of ♦'fHiiiniinlrft- 
 tjiin M niuidi pii'iili'i- liwM I'ftiiii I III' MHiil id'lhi'iii. 
 
 Ili'li' ntfiiiii Ihn jiHii'lli'id iiimi niilyi'mi duly ii(i|mw'jrif«» tho uw^- 
 iiiliiilii nl' l|u« iilwimdo mid Him i>xjM'|im«» it I'fitiiilM; I n\ionk hmu 
 i'X|i«'»i»'Mi'»», liMviiiy «ii|i»'rliil»'iidi'd IIh' iimkiii^ n\' iijiwrndM nf Uirpo 
 hnmliiMl mid IIITy iiilh'n of I'mihIh fhioii^h woodnd H»iifiifir« in 
 CiuindH, wHiiiii llii» IhhI ililHy-R'VMi yfiiiw. 
 
 Tlw» fni'l« tiiiMiilniipil inny fis«i«f In Rliowiti^ morn didliiitrdy tlm 
 hifjq, iiv n»«f. of th«» olwliui'lioii, M-liiidi llin for«»Rlfl, ifi wooded liomi- 
 liii'f*. ♦'idall U|»oh llii» Bi'llliM'. *rhf»y will liMlp to px|>lniii why irmny 
 iif iMiv oNVti )u»oiih» MA widl Ma Kmio)»«'mm Miiii^fmitfl pfplVr Koiii^ to 
 \\w pmiH»> lnM»(« of tin* Wp«t lo Bcttliiiu in mt wooiIimI ronntty, 
 »^f>|H»i'lrtlly «l»H'i» th»» wpstiMti |HMilnsnlrt of V\i]m' rnnndn htm hwen 
 nil tukpti \[\\ rtud wp rtfi' idiHmnl to fnll Iwk on iH^'w^^d ntid iFmlirtlly 
 nmhh» tpvHtovlMs. Infpt'ior in cUnirttM, Mild ^f'ii»»mlly ro in r(»I1 
 
 tMn' \\)\'M hinds Imvn tlii» MdvMiitMf^p in tlio mori' Mlmndmit Rnn- 
 )>ly of tindit*!' \\\Y fonidnw rtiMl I'umI, to n pprtnln ih^^rpo, oyer tho 
 mixpil pmirie mid wood Innds; Imt it is to he hoi'tiH in fidnd tlmt 
 ^m>nt dlRtHi»t« nf imi* ('Mntrnl PrMlHo Conntty lmv«, In thf'lr ini- 
 nu'nsp \m\n nf Hp;tdfc« I'onl, w "upply of fuel, for nvpr, which phuifis 
 Wmw in ft IHt' hpttPi* noFiiHon tlmn mmw of tim ohi RPttlemcnts of 
 I'rtnndii, wherw wood h»r I'urI i« ulrtmdy dtdleiotit, niid is rtipidly be- 
 I'uuiiig inf»n» bik 
 

 98 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 WHY WE REQUIRE THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORIES. 
 
 Apart from the general reasons which make the acquisition of 
 valuable territory desirable, there aro^ some of a special nature 
 which render the acquisition of this North-West Territory, or the 
 great part of it suitable for i^ettlement, of great importance to us. 
 • We are in present need of it as a field for settlement ; because 
 our best and most favorably situated lands in Canada are now all 
 surveyed and disposed of ; and we have no vacant settling regions 
 lefik, fit to attract and receive immigration on a large scale, as we 
 formerley had. We require it because there our young men, and 
 immigrants from Europe, may find the rich prairie lands, ready 
 for cultivation, which they have now to seek in a foreign country. 
 
 The acquisition of it for that purpose is desirable, also, as a 
 means of preserving our chief staple of trade — our timber, by 
 relieving us from the necessity of converting our most valuable 
 timber i;orests into comparatively worthless fields, through want 
 of a sufficiency of better lands to place our settlers upon. 
 
 The acquisition of it is very desirable in order that the settle- 
 ment of it, and the development of its resources, in connexion 
 with the present Provinces of the Dominion, may give a wider 
 market and a greater demand for our manufactures, and extension 
 to our commerce in the manufactures of Great Britain, and in the 
 products of her Colonies and of other countries; and give in- 
 creased employment to our sea-going shipping and internal car- 
 rying trade, and to our canals existing and to be made. We 
 want it that the Maritime Provinces of the East may prosper by 
 the trade of the West. 
 
 We want all the strength its future population and trade can 
 in addition to all that which the extension of settlement in 
 vacant lands, and the development of their 
 
 give 
 our 
 
 remammg 
 
 resources, may afford us, to render it possible for us to maintain 
 that degree of self-sustaining independence or future nationaUty 
 which the Mother Country contemplates. 
 
 To see our way to part of these conclusions it will be necessary 
 for us briefly to consider the character of the chief regions of 
 country that we now have left for the reception of settlers, and 
 their comparative value. It will also be necessary to consider in a 
 general way the value of the lumber trade to the Provinces. 
 
 As regards the commercial and manufacturing advantages, in 
 which the Maritime Provinces may be largely interested, it would 
 seem only to be necessary to look to the United States adjoining 
 
•99 
 
 us, and to consider how much the settlement of their western 
 states and territories has contributed to the development of the 
 manufactures of New England and the commerce of New York* 
 As the people of the Maritime Provinces can build vessels so 
 very much cheaper than the American ship builders can afford to 
 do, and can also undoubtedly compete advantageously in navi- 
 gating them, they are evidently in a position to reap wealth from 
 the development of the agricultural regions of the West, from the 
 large share they will command of the carrying trade and the 
 conmierce of these regions. 
 
 Their interest therefore is concerned in the development of 
 the resources of these territories, and in every improvement |hat 
 will tend to draw the trade of them down the St. Lawrence in- 
 stead of to American ports, where Canadian shipping would 
 compete for the freight of it with less advantage. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. , 
 
 OUR VACANT TERillTORIES AND SETTLING REGIONS IN CANADA 
 
 CONSIDERED. 
 
 About forty years ago, when the population of Upper Canada 
 was but one-tenth of what it now is, the western half of that 
 Province, between the Great Lakes, presented an almost unbroken 
 field for settlement, of wheat-growing land of the best quality, 
 comparatively even, and arable throughout as a garden. 
 
 The stream of immigration flowed strongly to it for many 
 years. Little or no selection was necessary. There was good 
 land in abundance everywhere for all comers. The settlers 
 prospered, and Upper Canada was a favorite colony for the desti- 
 nation of immigrants from Great Britain, including what is called 
 the better class, with considerable capital. Even the high prices 
 at which lands were sold tended to ensure a greater proportion of 
 the latter. 
 
 This lasted till all the vacant public lands of the western penin- 
 sula and other parts of Upper Canada, south of the Laurentian 
 formation, were surveyed and sold, or very nearly so. 
 
 At the same time, after partially successful attemps to attract 
 immigration into the more favorable of the townships of Lower 
 Canada, the French Canadian population, straitened for room in 
 their old seigniories, and having exhausted much of the rich lands 
 
 * I here quote, as most appropriate, the expressions of an Honorable Senatoi 
 of New Brunswick. 
 
 I'll 
 
100 
 
 t»r lln» ^\\o[\\ pluin rnnniry of ll»o Ml., bin rniicn, liy n, Imil HyRioiu 
 t>l' lnnniti,u mid Ity nvtM' oioppin^, intti whluli Hio iiHufiimt Hiihttt^RH 
 i>r llH»it' IiuhIb luul Ih'IiuvimI Oumii, wiftnly iiinind llu»ii' nHt^iiiioii 1m 
 thoRO InwuRhlpF*. Nvliioli llioy liiivn rIiu'o (hmmi inpiHIy o(M'Upyin^. 
 
 llHviUfI WW nlluM' din lM»lliM«pinllly, or iiimo piiilrtlilo tii ctpnii fur 
 tlu» i'xpHURioii ol' BoillniniMil, 11. luMMimn noiM'RRfiry l.o turn to tlm 
 inliMioi' Irtiula t»r Uio Uuinn nml Olln^^a Tninltny, wlilnh n\v. in ii 
 
 tVp:i«Mt of l,lUlhMllilUt rot-timlilttl, ill ittO (lUlllllO nl' w)li(«ll RMUlf'tllPlli 
 
 \m\\ lonu lH»lMtt', ivH il. W'vw iimlJiHMivoly, slnppcMl. 
 
 orilioRo liinds, llio Ih>r1 piitlR will not, \m\v oompmiRoii wiili ili(« 
 piMiiiisulu ol' Cuniuln. NNVal or llio oMor RnllliMiioiilR ol' llini I'ro 
 viuoo, nor villi llin lirli allnvinl Iruuh of Mm Ml. Irftwroncn mnl il« 
 ti'ilt^ilntioR on >vliii'h l.lip oM mMgntMuiiil H«»ilk»inpnlR »»!' l/iwnr 
 i'sniKlii NviMi> ronnotl ; a piitporUoti t>rilnMn, nniMpinlly prnvnlnnl. of 
 ftl>o\il tlniM»-ipiinlov.<4 on n\\ iivoi'ii|n^ of ilio wliolo, or «UK»-Iiiilf in tlm 
 hoi lor tvj^ionw, is h»ol<y iintl nmirnMo, or [toor Riitnly liunl nnfl^ lor 
 ph»Hlnhlo onllivalioji. 
 
 NolwitliRlmnlinfi llio opiMiin^ of Rovoriil oohml/.nlitni rondfl In 
 filvo n ooo.'^R lo llioni, llio powoH'nl olVorl« ol' (lovorninont l«i illroct 
 sol'iltMRlo llioin l>v iJniMUMOR lo Knropo mul ollior nioniiR, nml llio 
 Trtr nioiv iiowiMful iinlnoonuMil proRonlod in Hip vory M^;li prictm 
 uivon, in llinl lorrilory, l»v InniluMvrR, Tor Umw jiroilucn, Hioro IiukIh 
 nrtvo Tfiilotl lo nllraot linnii^rnlion in ivny oonRidcMiiMo ilngroc, 
 CRpooidlly of llio oIhrr of R(»tlloi'R posRORRin^ on]»it,iil 
 
 Ar wo Inivo now nothing boltor to olVor. ( 'ivnnilft Uooh noi< iiitrncl 
 imniigrsint^H U\\\\\ UitMil nriliUn, hr fortnorly, nor i*nlnin lIutBo from 
 olUor K.urt>nonn oonnlrioR nrriving iit. Iior i»ortR. N<»r will rIio ovor 
 a\w 80 till .sno liuH a,u:»iin alunuliinoo of llio oorI ItuuiR to j.fivo ilioni ; 
 not .HvV'vttoitMl tlu>nigh u ii»ngh mid nitlior lorMiMinjit oonnlry, ol 
 Lmivntinn ionni\lioii, ImiI in nnlirokon oonlinnily or vi»i4. iriu'ta, 
 wluoh oi'M onl^v 1h» olitrtiniMl in tlio torritory wo oliiini. 
 
 KNowluMV, in ( 'rtnmlrt, ovoti ittchuling tlio Mnritinio PnivinooR, 
 it i» vain to \wok for any tioM for Rottlomonl. at. all appi'oa(3ln«g in 
 extont and valuo that whioh Caiiaila WoRt proRontod in itw infanov 
 as a p\>>vinoo ; itiooniimmhly Iorr, thowforo, do wo pimrorr anyHnch 
 lioUl for oxiMinsion as i.s iviptiivil to moot «»ur groatly incroaRiMl 
 nativo doniand, or to a«hnit o( that inoiviiRo hy immigration ho 
 o*<sontial to onr p^KHpority and Rocurity in iho im|M)rtant and 
 ros^pousiMo uati«>nal [HKHition in whicli Kcdomtion has placod ns. 
 
 THK OTTAWA WUNTRV AND HUUON AND OTTAWA TKUKlTOttY. 
 
 Tho vftlloy of tho lii>i»r Ottawa, riml the mmiitry lying hotwoen 
 it and the Ut^n^iau l^y or Ijikc Htiron, (\mn together tno hirgost 
 aiul host tiold ftU' sottlomoiit rcnmining in (yanadn. 
 
101 
 
 The Vftlloy of Mm [tiv»'r OUnwrt, Ih rfiputfMl to linve rm ntm n{ 
 e\nHy tlKMirtftiid fltipni'ficial m\\m, Imi it iiiny |irovc! to be Bcimoly 
 flev(uity-H«v«m tliouflmid. 
 
 The area of the noiuitiy lyin^ hctwenii thf Ronrce« of the 
 WBHteni ti'lhntrtt'hw of the ( ittuwa rind the (leorginii lUiy i« nifoiit 
 nine thoiimind nqunie m\Um. 
 
 It 1« of the mime Jifiiit'eiitifin fonrmtion, Jiiid heiii^ filmilnr in 
 ohfimetei' ^enemlly tc» tlie ful,joininj( |>nit of the Ottawa Hniotry, 
 may he ehiHRed with it — irial<inj< tot'ether |uohahly at; area of ahout 
 ei|(lity-«lx thoiiHand wiiperfleial inde« ; of whirli the |»aft lying 
 hetween the «»hl townflhipH, on the Ottawa, and the (leorgian Hay 
 ig (3alled tile Ilnnui and Ottawa Teirifoi-y. 
 
 The uneertalnty as to the extent of tlie valley of the Ottawa 
 in owing to that siver not having hy'n, till now, Hui-veycd heyond 
 font' hundred and thirty niilew from i%n month ; that is, to the head 
 of Tiake TeiulHeaming. When the st Mys of its upper (jonrse, at 
 prewent in ]irogreflH, are eom]»loted, it« entire length may prove to 
 be ahout eight nnndi'ed nnhis. 
 
 Kighty-six thousand wnperlifsial miles is a great extent of country 
 —hut uuforttinately the {greater ]»art of it is ground unfit for cjilti- 
 vntion, whieh, in proportion to itn prevalence in a greater or less 
 degree, ohstruets tlu) settlement of tlie reniaind(!r. 
 
 The IMver Ottawa from its irihutary, the iJonncH'lH'-re, dovni to 
 its nitMith, at the fo»»t of th(5 Island of Montreal, a. distance of u 
 Innuired and eighty miles l»y its course, -flows through the northern 
 mar| ii of a plain country of Silurian fonuaticm, of limestone and 
 culcih I'ous ro(d<H. Thene with Potsdam snndstone extend with an 
 irreguhir outline fr(uu two t(» ten miles west of the lirockvilh; and 
 Ottawa Wailroad. This Silurian ])lain includes ahorit seven thou- 
 sand square miles of the eotmtry watered hy the Ottawa and its 
 tributaries. It is generally gcKsl arable land, much of it ecpial to 
 the best in the l*rovinct»s. It is nil organized into old settled 
 Hoigiuories, (ineltiding those north of Montreal,) and old townships, 
 in which there are no vacant (jrown I^ands of any considerable 
 extent nunaining. 
 
 The rauminder of tlie valley of the Ottawa, with little excei>tion, 
 together with the country between it and liake Huron, is of the 
 Lauroutian formation. If the assumed extent of the Ottawa country 
 be correct, their joint area will bo about seventy-nine thousand 
 square miles, apart from the Silurian tract already numtioned. 
 
 Of this area about one-sixth part has been sui^eyed into town- 
 ships. A furtlier, and considerably larger portion, has been more 
 or less surveyed or ox])lored, and partially occujjied as timber loca- 
 tions. With the oxcei>ti«ui of surveys just comi)leted on the 
 Montreal River and the Upper Ottawa, but little is known of the 
 
 '■•i ■-! 
 
 •*^ 
 
 s?*:J 
 
^ 
 
 102 
 
 interior of the renmhider, or about one-lialf of tlie entire area, even 
 by the ogenta of the Hudson's Bay Company ; and that little is 
 unfavorable. 
 
 From the returns of 8ur>'^eys made of townships and timber 
 berths, and of the courses of rivei-s, and from what is reported of 
 the nnstirveyed parts by the few who have traversed them, it 
 would be tmsafe to estimate, at the utmost, more than an average 
 of one quarter of the whole area of this Laurentiau country as 
 amble land, fit for cultivation. 
 
 It is unequally distributed, in small spots, veins and larger 
 blocks — sometimes in tracts of considerable extent. In some parts 
 the proportifui of amble land of a good quality may be one-half, 
 and in less favorable regions, not one-twentieth part, and that in 
 spots too small to be available. 
 
 The other three-fourths of the entire area consist of ruggnd aiiu 
 tinarable or poor saiuly land, and worthless swamps. 
 
 Of these three-fourths, a considerable proportion may, nnd no 
 doubt will, ultimately be occupied and brought under cultivation, 
 when the pressure of population and scarcity of land cause siicli 
 an increase in its valtie, as to render it prefttable to incur th(3 
 f xpeuse of removing stones fi'')m greund that is now quite unar- 
 able. 
 
 Such lauds are in part occupied now, under what is called 
 hoe and harrew cultivation, where the demand of the lumber 
 tmde ^rives very high j)rice8 for produce, or where poor settlers 
 are led to take them, iiH)m the good first creps to be had from a 
 rich surface soil, to l)e afterwards abandoned frem being tinarable. 
 
 It is scareely necessary to say that it would bo heartless iniquity 
 to induce settlers, in seareh of permanent homesteads, to sink their 
 laKn' on such lands, when better can be had. 
 
 On the other hand, much mav be said in favor of the proportion 
 of good arable land mentioned as occurring in the Laurentian 
 Country of the Ottawa, and Huren and Ottawa Territoiy. 
 
 JCotwithstanding the repulsive character of the gneiss ridges, 
 stony swamps, and coai'se sandy ground, with which it is more or 
 less associated, and the too frequent presence of boulders, a great 
 part of it has a rich warm loamy soil, though frequently light and 
 sandy, or mther stony, and often uneven. Some of it is equal to 
 the best lands in the East^ern Townshii)8, with a better climate, — 
 though inferior in quality and in character of surface to the rich 
 even lands of the western jmrt of the Province. Over a great 
 extent of it durable clay loam or rich alluvial flats are of rare occur- 
 rence. 
 
 The largest and most favorable tract of country to which this 
 description would generally apply, is in the heart of the Huron 
 
"•^JS.*!^* 
 
 nnd Ottawft Territory, on tlio liend wntcrs of the weatem tritnitaries 
 of the Ottawa and rivers falling into I^ke Huron an<l I^ake Nip- 
 pisping. 
 
 it embraces an area of alwut seven thousand square miles, jjy 
 the returns of surveys about one-half of it, irregularly distriUu, {. 
 ig good land fit for settlement. A belt of inferior rocky ccnintry 
 intervenes between it ancl I^ake Huron, abont thirty miles in 
 breadth, and a band of nigged bad land, alwut twenty miles in 
 breadth, lying along the heiglit of land dividing the basi>i of the 
 Ottawa from that of the Ht. Lawrence, separates it from the old 
 townships in front of it. To the eastward of it lie the more 
 thickly pine timbered lumbering regions of the Ottawa. Hard 
 wood is its predominent timber. Like all countries of primitive or 
 azoic formation, it is thickly interspersed with lakes abounding in 
 fish, and presenting many desirable positions of great beauty and 
 fertility. 
 
 The Gatinean, the chief tri])utary of the Ottawa, drains nearly 
 ten thousand miles, with a course of about four hundred. There 
 is a good deal of rich alluvial land, but already occupied, along 
 its Ijanks, and also in the narrow valleys of its lower tributaries. 
 Lofty precipitous hills of gneiss and crystalline limestcme overhang 
 its east banx for nearly a liundred miles up. Crystalline limestone 
 abounds a lumdred miles further ti^», to, and sixty miles up its 
 eastern tributary, the I'iscatong. The romantic character of the 
 lower valley of the (Jatineau is very much against its agricultural 
 capacity ; and thougli there is much land fit for cultivation in so 
 considerable an extent even of rugged hilly country — tis more than 
 the upper half of the valley is in a very unfavorable sterile region — 
 it is probable the arable land tit for cultivation on the Oatineau 
 will, by our present stnndard of fitness, be considerably less than a 
 quarter of the area it unwaters. 
 
 On the other large noiiiliertt tributaries of the Ottawa, it would 
 be unsafe to estimate that a greater proportion of arable land, fit 
 for settlement, will be found, than on the Gatineau. If the propor- 
 tion of such land be less on the northern tributaries of the Ottawa 
 tlian in the Huron and Ottawa territory, rich alluvial ground and 
 deep clay loam may, as on the Gatineau, be more frequently 
 found. 
 
 Commencing gi'adually, about a liundred and forty miles up the 
 Gatineau, a change occurs in the character of the country and it^ 
 forests. Poplar, fir, birch and pitch pine, become the prevalent 
 woods ; white pines become small and scarce, and, at two hundred 
 and nine miles from the mouth of the Gatineau, cease to be found. 
 Hugged hills of gneiss, occasionally bare and precipitous, with a 
 soil of sand or poor sandy loam in the flats and valleys, in parts 
 
 i 
 
 tt 
 
 *. 
 
 % ^ 
 
 1 f' 
 
104 
 
 burned to utter barrenness, are the prevalent cliaracteristici^ of 
 the upper half of the valley of the Gatineau, as far as it has been 
 explored. This description of country, interspersed with innu- 
 merable lakes, extends over the upper courses of the other large 
 northern tributaries of the Ottawa generally. 
 
 Such also, with little exception, as far as yet known, is the 
 character of the country and its forests in the upper vaUey of the 
 main Ottawa, for about three hundred miles of its course 
 above Lake Temiscaming, and extending north-eastwardly from it.* 
 But by far the greater part of it is quite unknown. 
 
 It is varied by- the circumstance that, in part of this upper 
 course of tlie Ottawa, the elevation between its waters and those 
 of Hudson's Bay is very slight, and the clay land of Lake Abbi- 
 tibbi overlaps the northern tributaries of the Ottawa, and ap- 
 proaches it through their valleys ; but the rock formation it over- 
 lies is Laurentian, not Silurian, as shown by the ridges of gneiss 
 prevailing throughout, on the routes traversed. 
 
 This clay, which here presents itself, is white and hard, but very 
 soluble, and destitute of any grit, and seemingly poor and hard to 
 cultivate. But white clay soil admits of much improvement. A 
 gentleman of my acquaintance in Pembroke, on the Upper Ottawa, 
 obtained thirty bushels of wheat to the acre, from a piece of white 
 clay ground, by proper cultivation and manuring. 
 
 This clay occurs on the Kiver Blanche, a northern tributary of 
 Lake Temiscaming. On the lower course of that river there is 
 much Aieiy rich alluvial land, but it seems to be occasionally 
 flooded. 
 
 A blue clay soil extends for fifty miles along the banks of the 
 lontreal Kiver (a large western tributary of that I^ke), occupying 
 its immediate valley, which is from one mile to four miles in width. 
 Some blue clay soils in Lower Canada have been cropped for up- 
 wards of sixty years, without manure, owing to their durable fer- 
 tility. The upper course of the Montreal River is in a poor, rough 
 country, unfit for settlement (as ascertained by recent sur\'eys), 
 which extends, with increasing ruggedness, through to the vicinity 
 of Michipicoten, on Lake Superior. 
 
 At the upi)er end of Lake Temiscaming on both sides, and in the 
 interior between the south end of that lake and Lake Nipissing, 
 and north of the latter, there are considerable tracts of land like 
 the better part of the Huron and Ottawa territory. There is a fine 
 
 * I am of opinion that a larger proportion than is now estimatied of the plain 
 country, on the upper course of the Ottawa, north of the Laurentian highlands, will 
 prove to be arable lands, and much of it of a clay soil ; and that though remote and 
 valueless now, it will ultimately become occupiea ; but I have not yet sufficient data 
 to enable me to speak decidedly. 
 
105 
 
 tract in the . iterior of the north side, extending westward from the 
 River du Moine, in the Province of Quebec. 
 
 There are scattering lands of a middling quality on Black Kiver^ 
 and less on the River Cuulogne. The valley of the Du Li6vre, a 
 northern tributary of three hundred miles in length, below the 
 Gatineau, is less favorable for settlement than that of the latter 
 river. Further down on the north side, the lower pprt of the valley 
 of the River Rouge is more favorable, and the country between it 
 and the River Petite Nation above it is generally fit for settlement, 
 back to the distance of fifty or sixty miles from the Ottawa, having 
 much good, though light loamy soil, well suited for cultivation. 
 This tract is most advantageously situated to meet the wants of the 
 surplus population of Yaudreuil, which has no> vacant lands in rear 
 of it. 
 
 It may be necessary to explain, in using tlie expression " land 
 fit for settlement," I do not mean land of the best or of a superior 
 quality only, but also land of a second or third-rate quality or value, 
 from being more or less stony oi broken — arable, or such as in 
 other parts of Canada is commonly made so, with moderate out- 
 lay or labor, and on which settlers, with industiy and good manage- 
 ment, make a comfortable living. 
 
 I mav also add, that any estimate of what quantity of such land' 
 there is m a country, much of which is but little known, is neces- 
 sarily very vague, and that the proportion of /one-fourth, which I 
 have here given, is merely an approximation I have ventured to 
 make, from having had charge of the puldic forests of the upper 
 sixty tliousand square miles of the valley of the Ottawa for many 
 years past. It is based on personal obseiTation, returns of surveys. 
 made under my direction, and other sources of infoiination. 
 
 One-fourth of eighty thousand square miles of arable land, good 
 enough for cultivation, is a great quantity, but unfortunately all of 
 it is more or less depreciated by intervening bad ground, and a 
 great part of it, from being remotely scattered in small pieces, has 
 to be deducted as valueless for ordinary settlement, because the 
 cost of getting at it would be greater than its worth. 
 
 Forty years ago the inhabitants of Canada complained that the 
 Crown and Clergy Reserves, amounting to two-sevenths of the land 
 granted, obstructed the progress of settlement and maintenance of 
 roads ; but where one-third or a fourth only of a country can be- 
 occupied, and especially where the inteiivening lands are rugged 
 and unfavorable to road making, the case is very much worse ; for 
 there the inhabitants, in addition.' to maintaining the roads through 
 their own lands, will have to maintain and travel over twice or 
 three times as much more extent of roads, which the ruggedness of 
 the ground will render twice or even six times as expensive to- 
 make good, or even passable, as in a more f«vorable countiy. 
 
 i. 
 
 i 
 
 ^'1 
 
 
106 
 
 These roads have eiilier to be made or struggled through un- 
 made ; and where such unoccupied lands prevent the consolidation 
 oi settlement, there is difficulty in maintaining schools and churches, 
 and the necessary intercourse of society. 
 
 Zealous as we Ottawa people are for our locality, we would 
 -deceive ourselves and others were we to deny these facts; and 
 we cannot reasonably expect to attract any great stream of immi- 
 gration to our country, while the vast extents of better soil, un- 
 broken by such objectionable characteristics, are to be found else- 
 where. 
 
 I go into particulars as to this part of public domain, as a set- 
 tling district, because, as it is the largest and the best, if its unfit- 
 ness to attract immigration, in the degree that we require for the 
 increase of our national strength and prosperity, be considered, that 
 of our inferior territories will be evident. In this, it is not the 
 desirableness of settling the Ottawa country, but the fact that it 
 fails to attract immigration, that we have to consider. 
 
 But though it does not attract immigration, — and settlement, 
 owing to the same cause, will advance more slowly in it than on 
 more even ground, we should not undervalue the Ottawa country 
 as a field for the industry and enterprise of our native population, 
 who are more capable of developing its resources. 
 
 It presents many important advantages. Its climate is agree- 
 able, and the, most healthful of any in the interior of Canada. Its 
 winter is more dry and bracing than that of Toronto, and much 
 milder than that of Lower Canada, eastward of it. The summer 
 of the middle parts of the Ottawa country is upwards of one month 
 longer than that of Quebec* Fall wheat can be grown with ad- 
 vantage, and yields heavy returns, and unusually high prices are 
 paid for farm produce by the lumber trade. Its mi 3rals, lead, 
 
 • It is here proper to notice an important and very gross error, in a woi-k on 
 "The Influence of Climate in North and South America, by Mr. J. Disturnell, of 
 New York. In a climatic map showing the limits of the cultivation of griiins and 
 vegetables, he places the entire valley of the Ottawa beyond the limits of wheat cul- 
 tivation, and the north half hej'ond the limits of the cultivation of vegetables. If 
 Mr. Disturnell iiad used the simple precaution of referring to the Censu» of Canada 
 for 1861, he would have fonnd that the counties of Carleton, Lanark and Renfrew, 
 altogether north of his limit of wheat cultivation, yielded an average of 17 7-10 
 bushels of wheat to the aore ; that their total vield of wheat for that year was 
 upwards of a million of bushels, or 11 7-10 bushels to each inhabitant. That is fully 
 fifty per cent more to each person than the State of Ohio yielded per head of its 
 population by the census of 1850, or nearly three times as much as tne rate of wheat 
 raised per head in the United States. He would have seen also, that in the township 
 of Pembroke, on the Ottawa, a hundred miles north of his limit of the growth of 
 wheat, the average yield of wheat was the highest, being twenty-four bushels to the 
 Acre. A little enquiry would have enabled him to know that the temperature re- 
 quired for the growth of wheat prevails, as ascertained, a hundred miles still further 
 north, and beyond that to a distance not yet determined. 
 
107 
 
 plumbago and iron are commoncing to attract attention from their 
 abundance. It has unlimited water power, which in being largely 
 applied to various manufactures ; and above all, its lumber trade, 
 which contributes so much to the wealth and commerce of the Pix)- 
 vince, and under careful management may do so for ever. 
 
 TERUITOllY NORTH OF LAKE HURON. 
 
 What is here stated as to the comparative inferiority of the 
 Ottawa country, as a settling region, is applicable even in a greater 
 degree to nearly all the vacant territories of Canada, east and west. 
 The territory north of Lake Huron possesses some valuable sites for 
 settlement and mining enteqmse in the front parts of it, much en- 
 hanced by their favorable position on the navigation of the great 
 lakes ; but it is generally inferior to tlio Ottawa country for agri- 
 cultural purposes, and in its timber. Tlic surveys on the line from 
 the Montreal Kiver of the Ottawa, towards Michipicoten on Lake 
 Superior, show the interior to be a veiy infertile rough country, in- 
 creasing in ruggedness westward. 
 
 THE ST. MAURICE TERRITORY. 
 
 Passing eastward we have the St. Maurice territory, upwards of 
 twenty-one thousand square miles in area. It is of the same Lau- 
 rentian formation as the Upper Ottawa country, but rather more 
 rugged and inferior to it in fitness for cultivation as well as climate 
 — inferior also in its timber, for which, nevertheless, it is chiefly 
 valuable ; its great river, the St. Maurice and its tributaries, pre- 
 senting everywhere the means of getting that to the market. As 
 very much less of it has been sui-veyed into townships, it is more 
 difficult to estimate the quantity of arable land fit for cultivation it 
 contains. It has been roughly estimated at upwards of five thou- 
 sand square miles, unequally distributed. Its value will be en- 
 hanced and the settlement of it powerfully encouraged by thei 
 manufacture of its timber. The industrious population of seigniories 
 in front of it, will need the best of it with every advantage it may 
 offer for their own expansion. It will never attract any consider- 
 able amount of European immigration. 
 
 THE SAGUENAY TERRITORY. 
 
 Of the twenty-seven thousand square miles drained by the great 
 River Saguenay and ks branches, about four thousand seven hun- 
 dred square miles is tlie utmost that has been estimated as fit for 
 cultivation, chiefly in the basin of I-ake St. John, between the stern 
 barrier of the Laurentide mountains and the still higher range fifty 
 miles to the north of it, and enjoying from its sheltered position a 
 
 a !il 
 
108 
 
 • 
 
 better climate than Quebec. Though much of it is of the richest 
 description of deep clay loam, a great part of the northward of the 
 lake consists of sandy Hats. What is fit for settlement is rotiuired 
 for the surplus French Canadian population of the old setth;nients 
 on the lower St. lAwrence. It offers no important scope for Euro- 
 pean immigration. 
 
 THE EASTERN TOWNSHIPS 
 
 And those opposite Quebec are as already stated, being well 
 iilled up. 
 
 THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE ST. T AWRENCE BELOW QUEBEC. 
 
 Behind the old settlements, the slopes and valleys of the N(jtre 
 Dame Mountains, with much uneven though good land, have a 
 cold climate, from latitude and elevation. (I have seen white 
 frost on the Temiscouata Portage Road in the month of July). 
 They present little or nothing to attract European immigianjts. 
 
 BONAVENTURE, GASPE AND RESTIGOUCHE. 
 
 The County of Bonaventure, on the Baie des Chaleurs, and the 
 Restigoucho country lying chiefly in the Province of New Bruns- 
 wick, from their superior soil and climate, but especially on account 
 of their admirable position for conmiunication with Europe, are as 
 advantageous for settlement as the Eastern Townships, and nearly 
 equal to the better parts of the Ottawa Coimtiy. 
 
 The soil of the County of Bonaventure, and of the north part of 
 New Brunswick on the River Restigouche, is a rich warm loam, 
 free from stones, even on the table lands on the mountains ; and is 
 unarable only where too steep to be ploughed. It yields heavy 
 crops of spring wheat, and of oats and barley, much superior in 
 ijuantity to the acre, and in quality, to those raised in counties 
 on tho St. Lawrence. 
 
 The coast of Gaspe is similar in soil, but the summer is often 
 too cold for the profitable gi'owing of wheat. Its fisheries are very 
 valuable. 
 
 If a direct trade were opened, in coarse grains, with Great 
 Britain, these countries might, to some extent, be occupied by 
 European immigrants. 
 
 I found the interior, through to the St. Lawrence, on the route 
 afterw^ards adopted by Major Robinson, as a line for the Intercolo- 
 nial Railroad, to be generally an arable lertile country ; judging 
 from having had a hundred miles of it dug over in road making. 
 
 This is the most healthful and romantic land within the com- 
 pass of the Dominion. It has a winter temperature ten to fifteen 
 
109 
 
 degrees warmer than that of Quebec ; and in sunnuer its rich val- 
 leys and liigh swelling hills are fanned by the fresh breezes of the 
 sea. — A land of interesting historical associations, where, three 
 hundred and tifty years ago, the flag of Franco was first unfurled 
 on this continent, and the cross first planted, and knelt to, by 
 christian men — grim, armed men, — forefatliers jmssibly of men who 
 fought at " Montcontour " and " Ivry," — l)efore the astonisluMl gaze 
 of the ancient masters of the land, now extinct, who then ruled 
 from Lochine to the Gulf, and to whom the Dominion of Canada 
 owes its name. Further up the Ijouks of the llestigouche, the high 
 trees wave over the graves and ruined hearths of tlie defendera of 
 Li Petite liochelle. It was bombarded and burt\ed by Admiral 
 Byron a year before the capture of Quebec by Wolfe. 
 
 lieturning from romance to practical fact — While the stream of 
 immigration continued to find scope in Western Canada, it was 
 natural that countries like this should be passed by ; but now that 
 it classes with the best that there is left in Canada, it is difticult to 
 see why it should be longer disregarded, especially in view of tlie 
 Intercolonial llailroad, now to be made, being canied through part 
 of it. 
 
 Its rivers are uninterruptedly navigable by large scows drawn 
 by horses, from their mouths nearly to their sources ; and freight 
 from its ports to Europe costs about a dollar a ton less even than 
 from Quebec ; and every enterprise of sea and land is open to the 
 settler on its shores. 
 
 These advantages belong also, more or less, to the north-east part 
 of New Brunswick. In the County of Kestigouche, the proportion 
 of good arable land will be found about equal to that of the Ottawa 
 Country. The southern part of New Brunswick contains much 
 land as valuable as the best parts of Upper Canada, but it is gene- 
 rally already owned and occupied. 
 
 ,/ 
 
 INSUFFICIENCY OF OUR REMAINING LANDS TO SECURE IMMIGRA- 
 TION ON A LARGE SCALE. 
 
 This summary view of our remaining public lands shows us 
 that while we have territories, presenting many excellent sites for 
 the industry and enterprise of our native population, aiid necessary 
 for their use, the best field tha^ we have to offer for the reception 
 of immigration on a large scale, such as flows to the Western 
 States, or even such as formerly flowed to Upper Canada, is the 
 Huron and Ottawa Country, which already, under the most favora- 
 ble trial, signally failed to attmct such immigration ; and that the 
 next best is a small territory on the Baie des Chaleui-s and Eesti- 
 
 4\ 
 
 'ii.'. 
 

 110 
 
 ^nnrlin, w1u»h« initiiiKrtitinti i»ii ti «tim11 «rn1n tiiluht )h} n\\v^u^H^(\\]^ 
 |)n)v{ilo<l III) i>x)NiH tniilo in oiitn nixl limloy (mmiI(I \m fintultlisliiMl 
 with {\\v^\\. niKiiiii, or idiy ml(M|iii)tn iiuukpt, 
 
 Now, il in «'vi«loMl tluil \vi» cnnnot iiltnu't tln» iimiiiKniiioii \u< 
 «li»»«in» to iimkn \\n ii Hthniji l"'<»|»lo, wliiln wo Iiuvm tiolliin^ Itilin 
 timii tliiit to olVor. 
 
 ir, whoti 111! riMiiulii nuntlu'h'it Iohh Mmii n million of hihiIh, 
 tlio ^iviii iind ulnioHt tnil)rok«Mi oxtont ol' rich hiiulm wliicli rpiicr 
 (^inmlii pivHiMitiMJ, WDM no nioro thiin HulhiMfMit lor our oxpuiiHidn 
 of HotthMiuMit i\v niUiv(> iniMPHHo iind iniiniKralion, it; iH huicIv 
 alwur«l to Nup))oso thiit thcso inl'orior hindM, in vxtniit, hoII imil 
 rlinidto, iHohittMl, or ItntKiMi np liy a nun*!) ^roiittM' i*ro|iortioii ni 
 ru)it)j:o«l vniariiitlo hitul. run lu» snttlciimt tor onr (•xpiinmon, now tlmt 
 wo nniuh(>r lour inillionH. luul luv oiilhul upon, hy tlin poHition wc 
 hrtvo (ittninod, to look ohiotly to onr own Htron^th lor tho ilottMici! 
 hy lnn«l of onr oonntry, niul tho inuinloninuM» «»!' tinit conHtitntiimnl 
 indopoiuhMii'o thiit Iuih Ihmmi nwunhul nn. 
 
 VAi.rr. or ukmaininu vArANT i.andh and thkiu iJKMomicix 
 
 In Hp(\(ikinjjt ot' tho ni>f}4«Ml nn«l hilly ii'^imiH of oiir ronntvy, as 
 littlo snitiMl for tho it'ooption of Kui'opoun ininiif(riiti(»n, it is hy ni> 
 nuMins mount to ninlorvulno th(>m. 
 
 What giMMl huuls thoy o«»ntinn, ospooiiiUy in Innihor yioMiiijj 
 countrios. will huvo «vn iiu'riMiHOil viilno fiinn tlu^ w\\{\y miirk(>t iiiitl 
 onhunood priooM which hntihorinji; oponilioiiH, mining nnd otluT 
 local imlnstrics, may ijivo for their protlnco. 
 
 Tho sons t>f tho " hahitnnts," ami tho Hnrplns iinpnlation of llio 
 oUl sotllomontw ai^joininjj;, can H»loct nfc loisnro tho mtod lands in 
 our hilly ivj»ions, Indiind tho soij. "'orios ; and from their \m\\^ near 
 thoir homos, with thoir km>wlodgo of tho lahor and olimnto of tlio 
 country, can sottlo up thoso lands with ndvanliigo to thomsolvos, 
 while to Kuiimoan immigrants, thoy wt)nld bo inaccoasihlo ami 
 unavailahlo. Tho vahio t»f thoir uiinerals, which aro now but Iwgiii- 
 h ig to bo worked, can hanlly be sufllciontly estimated. Tiie 
 pri>si>ority which more fertility of soil gives a new country, snoii 
 attains its maximum, and is ultimately checked by imprutlcnt 
 ovcr-cix^p\>ing. We sec that it has been so, and that mere fertility 
 of soil never made a c^mntry givat in history. But the prosperity 
 that arises f >m mineml iv.sources, nianufactures and niaritiiiio 
 advant<»ges, though slow of Iwing developed, may raise a country to 
 a pn»-eminenco which meixs fertility of soil can never bestow: 
 while the iKcupations they aft'onl cultivate and develope the intel- 
 lect and enterprise of a people to a degree that mere agricultural 
 occupations fail ever to do. 
 
Ill 
 
 NMVertb' .«!HH, it Ih v'lc.U jij<rir,iilturiil roiintiitm only ilmt nro 
 Ruitiihtu lor ilin riHMtpiioii of iintiiigmtion on h largu Mciile, iukI tlittt 
 )h'('oiiic3 popiilouM with ilio iinmUwi i-fi(M(lity. 
 
 It in iiM Hiicli n HH-nptiu lo tor iiiiiiii|<riition, in ordor to obtain 
 iliut itir.rfHiHd of po|>ulution, tliut wu wiint tlio ^rcat pmiric Innd of 
 tiiu Nortli-W«iHt. 
 
 Oui '^oo<l liindH in tlio rrovincitH iiro far from li(Mn),' lillml up, 
 Imt tlio uoiirnHt nnd IwHt Imin^ liold hy privut*; ownrrn, requiring 
 liigli priooH, tluiy r«)ptjl iuHti'iid (»f uttnioting ininiignvntH. 
 
 I i 
 
 ¥(1 
 
 1 
 
 ' rl 
 
 <ii 
 
 woirucKM. 
 
 CIIAI'TKll XXVI. 
 
 THK IMIKHKUVATION OP (H/|i TIMIJKU KUlKHTH AND MJMHKIl TRADK 
 A IIKAHON K«>U A(*<^IIIUINU TIIK NMUTM VVKHT I'UAIUIK LAND. 
 
 Having aHnigiuMl tho ]»niH('rvation of our Tiudnu" ForcHtH, wliich 
 yield our I'hiuf Htaplo of tradti, from uufUMifHHary and luiHty dcHtruc- 
 tinu, UH a ruason for anpiiring tiio Nortli-WcHt I'rairio Lind, it 
 wH'UiH nwdHaary t»» coUHidor tlio vahm of i\w lunilxa' trado io the 
 countiy. In doing ho it nuiy \m Hullioicint t<i take, a general view 
 uf the value of that of Cainwhi hef.)re (*onfe(hjraiion. 
 
 To judge correctly of the importance of the Lund)er Trade, it is 
 iieceHHary to couHider carefully the henefitH ariwing from the expen- 
 diture atteiuling it, and the e)u]doyment it givcH in the country ; 
 bcHides that whicli it prenentH in furniwhing the chief export of the 
 I'roviuco, nnd tlie employment it given in freight to IJritisli and 
 Culouial Hhipping. 
 
 In consiiioring tlio henelits ariHing from the expenditure attend- 
 ing it where the tind)er is nuiuufactured, it will be suitable to 
 conunenca by estinuiting the oost of numufacturing tlio timber pro- 
 duced by the lumber trade of the Ottawa country for one year. 
 
 For this purpose it will be sufficient to take the average of the 
 production of square timber on tlie Ottawa for the five years from 
 1861 to 1805, and the produce of the saw-logs of last year (1866), in 
 sawn timber, which, owing to the rajjid increase of the latter, 
 recently, will go nearer a fair view of the tmde than the five years' 
 average would. 
 
 Taken together these will show a total yield of about two hun- 
 dred and sixty-five millions of feet, board measure, of sawn lumber, 
 ftiid very noady twenty-four millions of cubic feet of square timb<ir ; 
 representing nearly eight hundred and seventy thousand trees. 
 
 In the manufacture of these quantities of sawn and 8([uared 
 timber, there would be employed about 17,000 men for nine montha 
 
 F t 'J 
 
112 
 
 of the year ; the costs attending the manufacture and taking of tlie 
 timber to ports of shijjment would be : 
 
 For men's wages $2,596,747 
 
 Teams 346,760 
 
 Hay and Oats 544,907 
 
 Pork and Flour 990,740 
 
 Duty on Crown Timber and price to owners 
 
 of private timber 325,938 
 
 Slide Dues and Boomage to tlie Crown or 
 owners of private works, and interest on 
 expenditure on lliver Improvements 134,112 
 
 Interest on cost of Saw Mills and their ei^uip- 
 
 ments, insurance, &c , 269,062 
 
 Interest on cost of shanty stock and equip- 
 ments, tear, wear and casualities 149,052 
 
 Total cost incurred by Ottawa Lumberers for 
 one year, apart from further costs before 
 shipment.. $5,357,318 
 
 Nearly all this large amount, it will be seen, represents employ- 
 ment and profit given in the country to labourers, mechanics and 
 others, in current or original expenditure made. 
 
 Of this it will be observed that the second, third and fpurtli 
 items, amounting to the large sum of $1,882,407 are for farm pro- 
 duce. It is true that part of the provisions is not produced in the 
 locality, which shows that tlie trade offers a market for more farm 
 produce than the locality as yet furnishes. About $100,000 is 
 paid or realized to the owners, for private timber, in the locality, 
 and a large part of the expenditure for wages also is local, though 
 much of it is paid to labourers from uther parts of the l*rovince, 
 chiefly Lower Canada. 
 
 These items of cost are given from the application of known 
 rates of necessary expenditure to known quantities of timber, and 
 show the cost with ordinary good management. 
 
 From its operations being remote, Lhe lumber trade gives verj- 
 high prices for farm produce in remote localities, near its works, 
 to save transport of produce into them. The more remote there- 
 fore, the higher are the prices given. It thereby creates a highly 
 favourable market for new settlements, where, from the distance 
 and want of good roads, the value of the produce would be con- 
 sumed in taking it to any other market, if it could be taken out at 
 all. It thus gives encouragement and assistance where they are 
 most wanted; and that on a scale much exceeding what the most 
 -liberal arrangements of Government could ever alford. 
 
113 
 
 It is proper to dwell upon tliese facts, and to look well to the 
 magnitude of the amounts, because through ignorance of this 
 peculiar subject, and prejudice acquired from others, or from limited 
 and unfavorable knowledge, many think that the lumber trade 
 impedes settlement, and is in its nature injurious to the progress 
 and prosperity of the country. Experience throughout British 
 America shows that it is so to the man who divides his attention 
 between lumbering and his farm, to the injury of the latter. It is 
 still more injurious to the man who has l^en tempted to settle on 
 bad land by the duty on the timber given him as a bounty for doing 
 so, by the Settlers' License system recently in force. But we know 
 well that it is absurdly untrue, that the settler on suitable land, 
 who confines his industry to his proper business, fanning, is injured 
 by the trade which gives him higher prices for his produce than he 
 could otherwise obtain. 
 
 These remarks are more or less applicable to all regions of the 
 then Province of Canada, where lumbering is carried on, but 
 especially to the Ottawa country. 
 
 From the remainder of the Province, the yield of sawn and 
 squared timber, with the addition of staves, estimated in the same 
 manner, may be about one-fifth less than that from the Ottawa and 
 all its tributaries. 
 
 When both are added together, they give a total for the whole 
 Province for one year, of upwards of five hundred millions of feet 
 board measure of sawn lumber, and about thirty-nine millions of 
 cubic feet of squared timber, besides staves and other miscellaneous 
 wood goods, in all the produce of upwards of a million and a half 
 of trees, and giving employment for nine months to about 30,600 
 men, costing in manufacture and transport to ports of shipment : — 
 
 For wages of men $4,661,960 
 
 Teams 618,057 
 
 Hay andoats 975,915 
 
 Pork and flour 1,763,660 
 
 Interest on cost of shanty stock, tear and 
 
 wear, and casualities c 274,794 
 
 Interest on cost of saw-miUs and equipments, 
 
 repairs and insurance 538,124 
 
 Duty to Crown, or price to owners of private 
 
 timber 571,824 
 
 Interest on cost of river improvements, ground 
 rente, boomage and slidage to Crown, and 
 owners of private works 186,688 
 
 Total Cost to the Lumberers for one year's 
 operations, for the whole Province, apart 
 
 from further charges before shipment. $9,591,022 
 
 8 -^ 
 
 * 
 If 
 
 V 
 
114 
 
 In this ostimak!, provisions and labour arc calculated below tlio 
 present high rates. 
 
 But this total is far from ^presenting the final amount or value 
 of the timber. Wood goods in tlio form «)f lathwocKl, sleepers, 
 knees, oare, &o., to the value of nearly S1,()0(),()()0, besides, gf)t out 
 by coiuitry people chiefly, have to bo adde<l to the ipiantity uiul 
 value. 
 
 This won' l increase the amount to $10,501,022, which, com- 
 pared with $13,000,207, the total value of exports of the forf^st, 
 shown by the Trade and Navigation Ueturns for 18(55, (less Pot and 
 Tearl ashes) which the al)ove appro xinuition nu)8t nearly represents, 
 leaves a ditterence of $2,418,185 to cover chai-ges at shipping [)orts, 
 almost etitii-ely at Quebec, consisting of costs for culling, boonmyi', 
 putting into shipping order, commissions on sales, &c. 
 
 Having shown an annual ex])entliture by the Lumlier Trade of 
 over nine aiul a half millions of dollars, of which upwards of eiglit 
 millions is for farm produce and men's wages, we come to anotli«r 
 important item to be considered in the worth of the Lumber Trade 
 to the Province, that is, Avliat it contributes to the city of Quebec. 
 
 It is almost unnecessary to say that it forms the chief trade ol 
 that city. The wealth of its merchants is chi(;fly made by it, 
 directly or indirectly, and a large portion of its inhal)itants are 
 maintained by their labour, in receiving and shij)ping tl>e lunibcr 
 in sununer, and in the siiip-building, coiuiected with and dependent 
 on it, in winter. 
 
 Besides tlie gi'eater part of the amount befoi-e mentioned for 
 chai-ges and connuissions on tlie timber, which Quebec recei\es, 
 her merchants benefit largely by the freight of the vessels owned 
 and built by them. The average amount of freight of tindjer, 
 shared by them and the shipowners in Britain, for the four years 
 frem 1860 to 180:5, at 30s. a ton, would amount to £1,258,221 
 sterling, or nearly six and a half millions of dollars. 
 
 In 1865 the value of flfty-one ships bu u and exported, was 
 $1,923,51)4 ; their tonnage 47,262. That this trade is dependent 
 for its prefits, which are derived chiefly from the freight of the ♦ii'st 
 cargo they t^ike on being sent home for sale, will be at once seen, 
 when it is considered that a ship of 1 ,000 tons, worth, say $40,000, 
 >vill make about $7,000 in freight of her cargo, when sent home 
 for sale. 
 
 The greater consumption of articles paying duty by men 
 employed in lumbering, over those remaining in their parishes, 
 is not to be overlooked. 
 
 As the mother country is largely engaged in this trade with us, 
 it would be decorous to consider her interests in the matter. 
 Upwards of a thousand ships come annually to Quebec for car- 
 
115 
 
 goes of timber, oarniiig profit hy tlieir freights iur their owners, 
 who are chiefly in Britain; tlio annual vahio has been already 
 stated. 
 
 The coal of tlio timber when taken home is a little gr«)ater than 
 that from the Baltic, ])ut of that cost, the greater part is freight 
 earned by the British shipping ; and Britain obtains a description 
 of timber hero wliich she re(iuires, and cannot olitain from the 
 Baltic. 
 
 It is next necessary to consider the value of the Lumber Trade 
 to the Province in furnishing our chief means of remittance to 
 EuroTM\ in return for our imports. 
 
 The value of the timber imported from Canada into Great 
 Britain, by the Imperijil Trade and Navigation lleturns, for the six 
 years, from 1858 to 18G3, gives an annual average of £2,750,731, 
 while that of all our other goods is only £1,005,891 sterling, show- 
 ing the value of our timber exported to CJreat Britain to bo upwards 
 of a third greater than that of all our (ither exports there ; showing 
 also that tlio thirty thousand men, then employed in lumbering, 
 funiished more to her, than all tlie five hundred thousand other men 
 in Canada did in tlie same time. 
 
 In the same manner, on comparing the total exports, for the 
 year to 30th June, 1805, by our own Trade and Navigation lleturns, 
 after deducting the ashes, the total value (jf Timber Exports is 
 $13,009,207, all produced in Canada, and l)y the labour of only 
 30,600 men ; while all the other exports, without deducting any- 
 thing for part of them imported, amount in value to $29,471,944, 
 including all the exi)orts produced l)y 000,000 otlicr men engaged 
 in agriculture and a^l other 'pursuits; being only about two and a 
 quarter times tlie value of the timber exported. 
 
 This shows that each man engaged in lumbering contributes 
 about ten times as much to the commerce of the country as other 
 men do, besides contributing twice as much as they do to Internal 
 Trads ; for all that he eats, as well as wears, gives employment to 
 others, besides what he produces. A pauper settlor on bad land 
 contributes nothing to the country compaTetl with him. 
 
 This view is fully sustained by a statement carefully compiled 
 by Allan Gilmour, Esq., from the lleturns of Trade and Navigation, 
 showing, that after deducting from the value of agricultural exports, 
 the equivalents of quantities of the same articles imported, the 
 average annual value of farm produce of Canada, exported from 
 1857 to 1863, was only $7,639,173, while the average annual value 
 of products of the fo/est, after deducting ashes, was S9,558,962 ; 
 from $6,000,000 to $14,000,000 worth of farm produce being 
 annually importe<l for exportation, or to take the place of that 
 exported — the returns in tliat respect making it seem that the 
 
 & i 
 
 If .; 
 
 .-t } 
 
no 
 
 flurnlus aj^ricttlluml pfoduoe of the rroviiico was double wlmt it 
 really was. 
 
 (.)ii our iinporlg wo depend largely for the comforts and nooes- 
 sariea of lifo ; if our exports, the remittance in payment for them 
 Wei-e diminished, our imports also would have Ut he diminished. 
 
 It is vain to say that tliey could he made uj) for in agriculturnl 
 export.*^, for wo see that to make them what they are, we Imvc 
 generally to imjiort much fn>m the United Htates. N»»r could the 
 labour now employed in lumbering produce eipiivalent farm pro- 
 duce ; we have already seen that it would hardly produce oue- 
 tenth of it. 
 
 It is also vain to say, as some do, that a great part of the com- 
 puted vnbio of lumber exported is pwperly duo to agriculture, iw 
 merely pre^frnting in another form the ogricultural pixuluce con- 
 sumed the manufacture of it. On the contrary, it is evident 
 that it the lumber trade which gives a value to the agrictdtuml 
 pitxluce which it consumes ; for we knrnv absolutely that if iliere 
 wei*c no manufactui'es, or other branches of industry, to purcha.?e 
 and consume the fanners' suqdus ])roduce beyond what he cnn 
 use, it wouhl be as valueless as heaps of sand. 
 
 Such being the importance of the lumber trade to the intonml 
 industry and external commerce of the lYivinces, it is to the 
 general interest of the Dominion that the pnolic forests, on lands 
 unsuitable for cultivation, should be preserved for economic use 
 for ever, if possible. 
 
 It is evident also that the destruction of valuable timber yield- 
 ing forests, by extmoixlinary efforts to foree settlement upon them, 
 while we have, or can have lands more suitable for cultivation, is 
 undosimble, as ii\jurious to the real interest alike of the country 
 and the settlei's themselves. 
 
 While every facility should be given for the settlement of the 
 lands really fit for cultivation, to be found in our lumbering regions, 
 no inducement should be held out to settlers to tukc pine timbered 
 lands in preference to others more suitable for successful settle- 
 ment. 
 
 In lumbering territories some lands, most frequently the \mt 
 for settlement, have very little or no timber of commercial value 
 upon them, and others have a great deal ; some have so much of 
 such timber that the value of it is equal to ten times the ordinary 
 value of land. The lotter are generally unfit for settlement. 
 
 The holding out of the pine timber as an inducement to settlers 
 leads to pretended settlement, or temiwrary settlement for the pur- 
 
 re of lumbering on such lands, causing destmction of the forests 
 ^ extensive niuning fires, and also over manufacture. 
 
 l\v withdrawing that inducement, and leaving settlement on 
 the lands fit for it, in our lumbering territories to be encouraged 
 
117 
 
 by the far more wholesome Btimultis of tlie liigh pices for farm 
 piwhico given by lumberers, and especially by opening our Central 
 Prairie Ootintrv for settlement, our timber forests, which yield 
 our chief staple of export trade, may be preserved from the 
 precipitate destruction to which they would otherwise l)e exposed. 
 
 It is impoi-tant to the prosperity of settlements in our lumbering 
 territories that tho lumber trade should steadily continue in them, 
 for were the local marlcet it oilers to fail, the produce of the 
 remote settlements could not be taken to any other market with 
 profit, especially as the intervening rugged grounds would prevent 
 the maintenance of good roads, and greatly increase the cost of 
 transport. 
 
 llie simplest way of withdrawing to a great extent the induce- 
 ments to take up pine timbered lands wouhl be to give the land for 
 nothing to actual settlers, or sell it to them at a nmcli reduced price, 
 under the condition that the timber on it should not lie exempt 
 from the usual Crown duties, on being cut and taken to market, by 
 the settler or others. 
 
 This would also stop the abuse of taking up lands tmder the 
 pretence of settlement m order to evade the payment of duties on 
 the timber, and the duties saved to the revenue by it would soon 
 amount to an important sum annually. 
 
 h 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 • i 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 ROUTES TO ftKD UIVEU COMPARED, 
 
 We have now to consider what way we have of getting into 
 this Central Prairie Country ; the character and comparative 
 value of the different routes known, by land and water, and what 
 can be made of them, as means of travel and heavy transport; 
 especially thos" which the nature of the intervening country affords 
 through our own territory. 
 
 HUDSON'S BAY ROUTE. 
 
 The route by Hudson's Bay to York Factory by sea, and thence 
 by Hill liiver and its many portages, to I^ake Winnipeg and Ited 
 River, may be dismissed without further consideration. As only 
 one voyage can be made in a season into Hudson's Bay, and that 
 with dilBftculty and danger — with a rough portage navigation of 
 nearly four hundred milos from York Factory to Lake Winnipeg, 
 ascending upwards of six hundred feet — this route can never be an 
 
 Id •' 
 
118 
 
 advantageous outlet for the produce of the interior fertile region, 
 ard much less can it ho an inlet for us. The cost of transport l)y 
 it from York Factory to Kod Itiver is four dollars a hundred 
 p' tunds. 
 
 FOUT WILLIAM AND DOO LAKE llOUTE. 
 
 We may now turn to the route from Fort William, on Lake 
 Superior, which is being opened hy Government. 
 
 Commencing near Fort William, the first part of this route is 
 the l)r)g Portage Itoad, leading north-westward twenty-five miles 
 to the foot of Dog Lake. This road was projected in the field by the 
 Canadian Exploring Expedition. It is to be a thoroughly made 
 turnpike road, well crowned and graded ; six miles of it havo been 
 made this last season ; and in further pursuance of Mr. Dawson's 
 original project of improvement, material has been prepared for 
 the building of a dam at the outlet of Dog Lake. This dam, by 
 raising the lake, will gorge Dog lliver, that feeds it, so as to givo a 
 navigable reach of about thirty miles to Jounlain's Ilapids, The 
 elevation of Jourdain's liapids above Lake Superior is seven hun- 
 dred and twenty feet. 
 
 At three and a quarter miles further, is the height of land, 
 Prairie PovUtgu, two and a iialf miles in length, between the waters 
 of Lake Hijperior and those of I^rike Winnipeg. It is eight 
 hundred and eighty-seven feet above the level of Lake Superior. 
 
 A good road is to be made over it, eleven miles in lengtli, from 
 Jourdain's Kapids to Savanne Kiver, which is eight hundred and 
 thirty-two feet above Lake Superior. 
 
 Savanne Iliver is about sixty-six feet wide and flows shiggisbly, 
 with a depth of four feet, for twenty-two miles, to I^,c des Mille 
 Lacs, which is thirty-four miles in length, forming, witli it, a navi- 
 gable reacli of fifty-six miles, which, by constructing a dam below 
 the outlet of the lake, might be increased in depth, and to about 
 sixty miles in length. 
 
 Savanne Iliver is the head of the Iliver Seine, which flows west- 
 ward from Lac des Mille Lacs, by a course of about a hundred 
 miles to the foot of the Twelve Portages, where its waters reach the 
 level of Ilainy Lake ; to this Iliver, as a route of communication, 
 we shall have occasion further to refer. 
 
 After going forty-two miles by Savanne River and Mille Lacs, 
 the route we are describing leaves the latter at twenty miles from 
 the head of it, on the south side, and passes by a portage of less 
 than a quarter of a mile (seventeen chains) to Baril Lake, which is 
 seven and a half miles in length, and nearly two feet higher than 
 Mille Lacs. 
 
\ I 
 
 119 
 
 From Bftril I^ko, Bruli! Portage, aliout a (luarter of n mile 
 (twenty-two cliftins) in longtli, descends forty-seven feet to Like 
 Windogoostogoon, seven and tliree-(iuarter miles long, and lesser 
 lakes connected with it, which, by a dam at the head of French 
 Portage below them, will gi-e a navigable reach of alwnt eleven 
 and a half miles, in whicu there is a fall of seven feet now. 
 
 From it, a portage of a mile and three-([uarter8 descends a hun- 
 dred feet to Lac Fram^ais, which, with Like Kaogasica, or Pickerel 
 Lake, makes a slack water navigation of nearly eleven miles and 
 three-quarters. 
 
 Then there arc two short portages, with a pond of a mile and a 
 half between them, to bo passed, by a road of two miles in length, 
 with a descent of a hundred and twenty -four fnc^t, to a fine, deep 
 creek, sixty-six feet wide, which, at a mile am , lialf further, en- 
 ters Sturgeon Lake, forming with it a deep navigable reach of 
 sixteen miles. This reach Mr. ] )awson proposes to extend down- 
 wards to twenty-eight miles, Ijy dannning the river at Island Por- 
 tage, to flood out the rapids ])elow Sturgeon I^ake. The head of 
 Sturgeon Lake is three hundred and thirty-three feet lower than 
 the height of land at Prairie I'ortage, and only a hundred and 
 twenty-live feet above the level of liainy I^ke, and is about forty- 
 eight miles due east of it. liy the course of the waters forming the 
 route v/e are describing, the distaiu'o from the head of Sturgeon 
 Lake to llainy Lake is sixty-five miles. 
 
 These facts regarding Sturgeon Lake are worthy of attention, 
 for in view of the proposal to construct a railroad frcun Fort Wil- 
 liam, or rather from Point do Meuron to llainy Lake, which would 
 toiicii the head of Sturgeon Lake, it is important to consider 
 whether it would not be better to terminate the railroad al^d adopt 
 the water route there. 
 
 As the forty-eight or fifty miles of direct distance from Sturgeon 
 Lake to llainy Lake would probably, in a rough country full of 
 lakes, require one-fifth more, or sixty miles of railroad, costing, 
 owing to the rocky unevenness of the surface, at least £600,000, 
 the improvement of the river by locks and dams, to overcome a 
 rise Avhicli is ^I'ttle more than one-third of that of tie Welland 
 Canal, would cost much less ; and we know that the line of water 
 80 improved could do more than four times as much business, and 
 caiiy heavy freight at half the cost per ton. It would be more 
 likely to give us command of the traffic, as it would bring the con- 
 tinuous navigation of th(j Lake of the Woods and. llainy Lake 
 about fifty miles in direct distance nearer us. The supply of 
 * water is sufficient, as Sturgeon Kiver is from three to six chains 
 in width, with abundant lake reser\'oirs on its course and con- 
 nected with it. If done on the same scale of dimensions and qua- 
 
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 I 
 
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lib 
 
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 il li\|i ut'Vi' tli»ni\ lid' M'IiimImiIcv •»! Ilii> iitiili» wp hio tli'McilMdn 
 
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 Sl^huMt* \.\\v (|»»'4 Milit' llit"' ilHtl 1V\}{ 1,mI<I', Mil IIM In H«»|||it« llif. 
 ttw> ol b»Ov\iU |t> lhi< UmisI jiiwslMi' I'xIi'Hl 
 
 Al \^\\\m ttuj^lii'i, l»v which MliMijiMth l(lvi<l iIi'McimhIm IrMi litl 
 \\\\\^ t'h\o i t\lu>. \\ jiiMlMui* ihiul nl fijlHiMMi iIiiiImm hi Ich^Hl In Ic 
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 v\s\\\\' [\\\\[ \\\\\, \\\\\\ llnnil iiui llM> Bhum vi«)iIiIm 1)11 ilit< hvptJiy t'li?M 
 
 \''i)w \Ah' Ih mi pxpnnfllim nl fill* UlviM Nimn'MttkiiH III- Miiiiiii.n 
 
 \lt?0\> n^^il ^^ONVOVIMI phiMUn. ihiMIIHllI lillUU'll nl lIlP Kulliy iMvclnt 
 
 \V^\\i^ij^>^ 'Vhi«» lnKi» i^ii'mimiIm n iinvliMililn hmU'Ii of loii iiiilcM fn 
 \\s outii^t, ihi' ^i»<i'i\<» \h\v)\ iiml I'xIiMiiU IiiiIImm WncilwUlll. 
 
 t\\\^\ thoiv iu-t» I Wo ini|p'< iil-ihiiniti'UWPHl IniiiilnnHiijf in Mi!fil(i< 
 
 \'\\\\k \\\\\v\\ \\\\\\ iVMiIlM W |iOllnui' <•*'«' •♦! Htfll ll'lluHl IIIM'^mmiiIv ; 
 
 isv <H ortAO oV nuinttlnii [\ A\\\\\ \\\u\ iliiiililt^ liU'l? iiuiMiiu f^nvciili'i'ti 
 <Vot \\\\, \>r«>)»K»!» \\\v i\il<llllounl lu'lfihl v«'HMln'i| III HiIh niul nil nflii-f 
 
 ^(VkiiiaV* '(\\<n^iio\^«Ml. to nilM'l ll\»» 'llllbhMII'O ll««l\VIM'll lllflll flllll Inw 
 
 Thou i^Oov \\\\vv niilo^A ol s»l!\i'l< \vi\li>v, CiMiw I'hlliiiiP iiM|niri'4 
 !^ \»rt<\ ol \\n\«> ohi\iii< in lonjj^lli. ov ii lorl< ol ton I't'oi IH1 
 
 1'i>on fo\l«\\\«< \> \v\w\\ \\\ oljihl nnil n hull inllrM In llu'llnnl 
 ^'>^\U. wuh shoi^l;^ rtml hvi^ «nmU h^piilH. wlilili wlnniM l»» IIihuIimI 
 iNm \\\ T4«\n\n\n>ii n^^ \\\\^ wwwv w \V\\ \W{ nl llio luvnl nl llin fiill^, in 
 
 OrtSV v>V 0;\n;\lhnsi 
 
 VhiM^wrtt n^lts, «<\toon li'ol in lioiulit* nn' now pnMm'il l;v n 
 V'^^^-trt-siv !»»i\ ohrti«!* in liM^^ili. Iti llic ilHimro ol rmii' ntnl n liitll 
 niiW l\\nn tW t'rtUs to riuns hilu'. Humo is ono inplil wliii-li ilf 
 swm^s tvi\ i\vi. \\\\\\ j\ntnlnM of si»vvn l\u»i l^ill. inn liv imiiimcw. 'riit'sc, 
 wit^N i\w \\\\U. ^\^'\\\\\\ \v*\\\\\v ihivly six \W\ lorlingi', or ii unnil 
 l"hMl;yj!^^ i>v\t\ of 1\n\v \\\\\\ i\ hulf m\vH \\\ followiiifi lli»» f^mith 
 \^lrtm\o^ .^tho \\ S. \\onn<t!uy\ ov tin* tiovln^* of two inllns IVoin llic 
 \Nt»M '»A<\v«^'iiy of Tino \^\ko to tin* h>v««l of t'tuss l,nl<t', tlio iliHi- 
 c>\\tv how NN\M\Ul \v losf*. ov tlu^ \Mntnm'!* !»«» miiuHul ti» oin». 
 
 VWn tx>Uo\v» i\w \\\\\\^\\>\x^ \* i\A\ of t'voHrt biko. eighi nml n 
 Imtf wiK^s \o\vji tx> ^^\\v ^^^H<^\^ \\w\v w y^Mw^^ roinl of nrnily n 
 ti^Mtin of !\ nuW \\\ Unvjith if« wqnitiHt, to Iho ontiit!U'i» of Uainy 
 lAk^ xst 1^ \^x^k of ovjiht rtn\l !\ \\\\\\ \W{ lilV. 
 
 \X> k^w tWn th\\iv-{*\\ Ami tl\nM»-qn«nit»r niilos of «teiM» nnvi- 
 p^tiiMt AKvt\g Krt\ny h^kv t\\\\\ \it\\\\x \l\wv In its Uwwt Mh,\\\^^ 
 
''^tjgl 
 
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 fMjttlflMjl? n tinuhh UicU ftf U'tini. 
 
 ('Nffhftwor iilwi «fiy« Ihfd ffftlfiy IfiUo ftt^pfpn trvf^f wVmt )nt rif 
 \u>i('tuhi\t, nu(\ i'< I'jit'ii n}ihiti fit, Vfny 
 
 '('liti hni\U(\ury Viw> nt ffi/' r'rrff^'fl HinU'*^ pnmon fhrm»j(>r f'/fr^ 
 fjtk*', ('tiit^n t/dUc, HnUiy i,fik(' nrcl fffv^r, rrtrd t.N<» fiikri of t,h^ 
 
 Kfilfry ^^lv<<f, \^l(|ff» ff(^ rrrfi^' now folfrrvvs), f«i n hriff, c1r>r^, nfiVf- 
 j/nlilc «f.fHH/i, nvoffi^^lMj^ «ir Ifirft'frf'l fff'f, Irr wuhh ft,«i ffmtn*' frr/rrt 
 j)i«' n^'fii ^(''mIIm fo flif' f,fik'' of th<' WoorN, ii^ rthoirt, 4ftvr»nty fmrr 
 ftf(«l ft Ijrtlf fnlhfM (f» f.hli fll«tf!fr^^ fhf'f^ nrr^ t,wo ninnl) tn^nth , thf 
 M«»(II«M. nf. Mfiffy ofi<« nfr^f rr, finlf ffiilf«( riown fnllM two «ml » hnlf 
 loff. Ifi tliN^M cfirtifiM of (r»ri^ffi, fifr'l MfO f/»ff^ i(n)n(\, nt M^vp.n nri<] n 
 lifilf i((ll<'« fMt'fliOf-, f((ll« Mitf' fi'f'l in fivo /ffHJrw ft l«« «fti/1 fhfit ftfl 
 IIH'V HtP HO tthoft, fi ^<iofl f^U'fiiui't hy i/HiUi^^ iituU'T stf/m^ h^-mlway 
 ciMiM ftMf'Mful Mir-fff 'Hi/'y hftv^? rt fnlr flfi^rf h of wnU^T, ^mt mny 
 r('()(iir»» lin(rf-ov*»fn"fii, 
 
 \/'nv\Uii> ((rtlny Klvf-r, ffi'' fontr- /rrl^Wifrffy ^rrfnifi^^pfl frfivr-rnPA 
 III*' lifik^ of fh<» Wooflfl fifirl f>n/' f'lfift^', cuuiU'cU'n wifh if, fo if« 
 w«'«iifHi f»xfmfnify, n <ll«fnf(^o of f«ij;hiy four inWt'H, fmrn'm^, with 
 Miiifiy lflvc»f. ftfi M»»lif« kofi ttmch of fifivij^nfioM n, hnmlrf/l nurl r'Sfty- 
 nlf^lii Mti«l ft milf ffrl(<'M in Ifn^'Hr Krorn Dtc wr»sf, frr/l <rf f/i/-. Pl«tt/' 
 ♦ lifi (llHiftfUM' io f.lin U('t\ lfiv^r rif f'orf. Ofirry, Iry t.hf fixf»lorifFj? lin^ 
 tii('(iMili»'«l, Ih fiiiK'fy ofM« fifi*! f( hfilf uuU'H. 
 
 Miti oil l(irt.|irf»»xf»tf(ifif«ll»*fi, if. wim found thnt, Mf^ h"Mt, wit/! f'^ n 
 luud was io lio h(ul liy li'fivin^ Mio l/ikn of f,h<i W/»r»fh fit t)u' r-xtrr?- 
 Iiiify of ll.H lioH,li-w(<Hl.H,tfn, fi lofij,' Ifih4, cxU-wWitu south <rf f/i^, I'lrttt/!, 
 My (Ittllia HO ill*! MMit.H ovnr tli^ l/fikf of fli'- VVofr<l^ is r^<lnr,f!<[ to 
 IHly IIiIm'h. flinl ilio ImikI roiii*^ from it, to Kort. Oftrry i?< nr^nrly rt 
 Imiitlml iiilli'H ill Ipii^Mi, Tlrin IniiH roiitr^ w/h imwcrAf.il oti hor-te- 
 liiU'k, Mild ifl nil «'xrfnMlili^ly fiivomlilo sitr^ for a niilrond. 
 
 W«« iniiy licii' makr« n fow K'''»''rfi' rf^nifirkfl on ttio rout'! from 
 l/ikn Hil|miioi' io H'mI IlivMi, wfilnli w(? Iifiv« ti'OTi (Uwfirihing. ft 
 utiliMiilly )»f(?Hniil,H \{,H\M for fonMi<hirnti<»n irr two ^trmt fliviaions. 
 Tim flrni imit, IV«»m Kort VViHifitn ou f/iko Htipmurr b) kniny f/ikf*, 
 two liumlhul niul hIx iiinl a Imlf miUjH in Icnj^th l»y cornf/iitation, 
 (•(iiiRJRtln^ <»f nh'vnii porin^o roadn, varying from the, nintfi frfirt f/f 
 (I inih» to tw<Mity-flvn iiiilttH in Usn^tli — aTnonritin^ t<igf;thfiT t/» forty- 
 povfMi find a (juartor tniU'H of land road— and t(;n rf?aches of slack 
 wnior, wliioli, with the «^x(!«»fitioii of one short picw of three rniles, 
 vary IVom aeveii and a half to f((rty miles in length, makinj^ t/oge- 
 iluM' a hundred and filty-nine and a (juarter miles (;f water convey- 
 niioe. 
 
 Tile aecohd part, fr(»ni the east end (»f Kainy Tvake to Fort (iatry 
 tin Ited Itiver, two hundred and sixty-one and a ([narter miles in 
 
 'I 
 
 
122 
 
 1p«j|H> l»y rmnpntntioii, n»tis|Rtln}< of n tnniiltfMt mid sixty-oiin nnd 
 a numiov iniloH (»r Mnl»n>k«»n uiivi^iitlMn, i«ixc»>|»iiiiK nl Itaiiiy KiviT 
 Knlln, iiitil ii )nniilr<Ml ini)(>H nt liiml roml, IVtnii Hiu finrili-wuflt iiiin 
 of iln» liiiko t>r \\\y* WhimIs h» Kort, (liuvy. 
 
 Milking n (oini ilisinnro hy tliis nniio of ftiur Immlrotl ntul RJxIy- 
 sevrn Mu\ tlnt»o.«|Urtrti'v milop fi-oni Koii Willitiiii to Fort (IniTy, nl" 
 w'Wu'h Www WW II liinulnMl i\»»(l forty-w»'v«'n iiiiil ii qimiior iiiili»H of 
 Innd iotito, nmi Onvo Intmlt-tHl inul hvciity mt<l a liiilf iniloH nl 
 wrttor roininnincntioii ; llio laltor in twolvo divisioiis, if no faniil- 
 linpt 1m» tlono. 
 
 Hnrh is the lino of boat ami wajjp^on oonuntiniratiiui witli Kcd 
 V vor which this i*outo wonM alVonl, on ihn siinph^ Hcalu «»f iin- 
 |Mt)Vona»nt ahvady coinnnMu-ctl — hy niakinj^ tho hniulriMl ami forly- 
 soven nnh's of mad mpiiitMl, oiio hnndivtl of which is ovim- ini 
 even and inexpensive site, pnrtly pmirie ^Miinnd — and constvncl- 
 it\p[ {\\wo or perhaps fonr woo«l<»n dams, which wonld cost U'ss 
 than wliut some Ottawa lund>eivrs woidd speiid in iinproveniiMils 
 on a sinfjU* riv(>r. 
 
 As to the charncttM' o\' tlie n>ads nn«l naviirahU) reai'lies sn 
 ♦ otained, the i»ads, tl»onp[h costly to make, from their remoteness, 
 and the f>v«inentlv i»cky or swmnpy cluiracter of the f^round, 
 wonld !>(» as fnvorahh* for transport as ^onl roads in ('anrtdii 
 nsunlly niv ; for the ascents nnd descents are not such as to render 
 them otlterwise. 
 
 The na* \u:id>lc n^iches, thon^h siunetimes short, l)eing deep 
 lakes, tlotnled stwiv as ai'.d lai>>e rivers, Avonld, even without cannl- 
 ling, admit of ho;Us drnwinuf upwnnls of thivo feet of water in the 
 shallowest portions of the line. Tlie tonnage t)f snch boats mi»jl»t 
 be consitlei^iUde ; an«l in the i^reater waters, others of a larger size 
 miffht 1h» \\se<l ns pivfei'jible. \Ai\yo. i\>w-boats and bai-ges with 
 sails might 1h» nsed on the sln>rt i'»»aches, and steamboats on the 
 longer ones. At lirst, no donbt boats like those of the Hndson's 
 IViy Company, that conld be drawn t)ver the portages, would ho 
 used, till stutable l>oats wei>e established on each ixjacli. 
 
 It IS to be observed that this navigation would not bo subject to 
 interruption fi>nn droughts, or obstructioi\ fmm sand bars, like that 
 of the shallow and swift tributaries of tin* Missouri, or even the 
 Red Kiver in Minnesotas 
 
 As soon as the portage roads were opeueil, there are plenty of 
 enterprising men wl\o would settle on them at the landings, and 
 keep teams and waggons to do the traus(>ort on them, as on the 
 Ottawa i>ortage«. 
 
 Such is the comnwinication this route would afford if opened in 
 AU economical way for immediate use. 
 
11 
 
 \'2:\ 
 
 III thn f«»rj<i»lr% liy fo||«(w|iiK •''•' Mm-mi Kivtr iN-tWH-n Piii" fjikn «ml 
 CniM \,tikp, for tliH iMirfioNM of nrnwriiil i|cm'ri|ptirin of tlii« nifiiii Ntrcnm, 
 Itiitcn)! of Uio two iiilln |Hirtnf(o fi'twfcn tlicm ndopto t by Mr. I)iiwnnn, 
 two portnf(<'n iin< iitiiici'i'Mnrily ikMoI, tiinkin^ to((ctlifr iifiirly live tiiili-n ovnr- 
 ostimntftl nn Intiil irirrlngo in nil my ciilrnlntiojin if tliin roiitn, wli'Tt-vnr they 
 ofcur, ill tnMf'N or nllicrwini'. 
 
 cifAiTKK xxvrri. 
 
 DESClllPTinN «>K linUTKM CONTINirKU. CAPACITY OK HOUTK IIY 
 HTITIKIKON l,AKK CdMMINKD WITH UAII.UOAI). 
 
 |i<^ror(» piiMMMMliii;^ Cmilicr, it. i« well to ('(mHiilor tlm iiltiiiiato 
 ('iijim'ily of tliirt loiitc, if iiiijufivcd \>y ]ovUiv^('. ]Miat tlu! ])ortji^0B, 
 IVmih tlu^ ]m\A nl' Stniijcoii l,iik«? wcHlwiinl, with ix rnilrojul from 
 tluit ]H»int to Koit, Williiini, ha iilrcn'ly nn'iilioiHHl, ninl Hiintlipr 
 I'l'Miii tli(^ north-went nrm of the I/ike of the Woods to l''ort (hirry. 
 
 Thif^ roiiti', HO iiiodilifMl, ]M(^s(MitH tliri'o nfitnnilly diRtinrt pjirtH : 
 First, — a line of ft rfiih-oiul from Point iU* Moiiron, on the KaininiHti- 
 ([Uniu, eight mih^H west «»f Fort Willijim, to ilie heiul of Stnrj^jou 
 Lake, whielt with onc-flfth added to tlio direct diHtiince for iinn- 
 voinihibUi sinuoRitiew, (hie to the njitnre of th(! connt»^y, wouhl ho 
 one hundred and twenty-two mih^s in length. 
 
 Hccond, — a water communication of two Imndrod and twenty- 
 Ri.\ miles in length from the head of Sturgeon bike to the extre- 
 mity of the north-west arm of the Tiiike of the Woods, to lui 
 rendered eontinously navigalilo t]irouglH)ut, on a scale much 
 cxceeiliiig that of the origiual Erie (Janal, hy the constniction of 
 Bixteen locks, equal to about a hundred and forty feet of lockage. 
 
 Third, — a railroad of a hundred milcw in length from the Ijikj; 
 of the Woods to Fort (larry, including only <me-tenth additional 
 on the direct distance for sinuosities — the ground being highly 
 favorable. 
 
 Making a total distance ,o F'ort C»aiTy, of four hundred and forty- 
 eight miles, of which nearly one-half would bo unbroken naviga- 
 tion. . 
 
 To assist ill judging of the natural advantages and capacity of 
 this water system, it is to be observed tliat Sturgeon I'iver, a 
 strong stream from three to six chains wide, would, ■'.vith its lakes, 
 be converted into a level sheet of water twenty-eight miles in 
 length ; and that the Nameaukan, next, followed through its expan- 
 sions to liainy Lake, is equal to fully twice the lliver liideau in 
 passing volume of water. At and below its great falls, where the 
 
 l'..ii' 
 
 r 
 
 
 I 
 
124 
 
 principal works on it are required, its waters can be turned off l)y 
 the south side of the island and the bed laid nearly bare for the 
 construction of the locks, if the river be followed. 
 
 As Mr. Dawson's and Mr. Napier's separate levelli^gs very 
 nearly agree, though depending on estimation in parts, in making 
 the head of Strugeon Lake a nundred and twentv-tive feet higer 
 than Kainy Lake, if we allow for the descent of the river in parts 
 on the sixty-five miles of distance, a lockage downwards of a 
 hundred and seventeen feet in fourteen locks, as described, wouKl 
 seem sufhcient. The remaining two locks would be required at 
 the Falls of Kainy Ifiver, as already mentioned. 
 
 As Kainy Lake is said to open about the first of May, we may 
 assume that the waters of Sturgeon Kiver, within fifty miles of it, 
 and not much higher, will be open for navigation nearly as soon 
 OS it, though they may not remain open, like it, so late as the first 
 of December. 
 
 Wooden dams would be by far the most economical and most 
 suitable on such a route. The tenacity and strength of wood work 
 is much greater than stone, and under water it never decays. It 
 would do well enough also for the lock walls if well secured, backed 
 solidly with stones, earth and brushwood, in broken layers. The 
 parts that could not be kept generally wet or imder water could ha 
 easily repaired. 
 
 LINE OF RAILROAD FROM FORT WILLIAM TO STURGEON LAKE. 
 
 Of the character of the country between Fort William, on Lake 
 Superior, and Sturgeon Lake, we are not entirely ignorant. An 
 exploration was made through it sixty miles westward, though not 
 ^vith a view to a railway. Though rough and rocky, it was found 
 to be lower and less rugged than the country towards Lake Superior, 
 which is mountainous, very rough and precipitous. 
 
 As the height of the water-shed to be traversed is probably 
 about a thousand feet, its elevation is not such as necessarily to 
 present an unsurmountable obstacle in a distance of a hundred and 
 twenty-two miles. Without an adequate exploration for the purpose, 
 nothing can be said with certainty as to the quality of the railway 
 line it might afford. It is believed that a practicable railway could 
 be made by sufficient expenditure. On such terms it would be well 
 worth making, if we could do no better. But even if a line of 
 favorable general grades be found, yet, owing to the unarable 
 character of the country generally, the frequent out-cropping of beds 
 of primitive rock, and unevenness of surface, the cost will probably 
 be at least thirty per cent, greater than in an even arable country. 
 
 The conditions presented by the country to be traversed are all 
 unfavorable to a railway, which would besides be destitute of the 
 
t 
 
 125 
 
 usual advantftge of being useful in winter, being subrtiiliary to a 
 water comniuuicaiion. 
 
 For water communication, on the other hand, the conditions arc 
 ;.nu3ually favorable — abundant summit supply — rivers and chains 
 of deep lakes nearly in the line desired, offering extensive sheets of 
 slack water, with tlie diffenmce of level, accumulated so as to be 
 most advantageously dealt with by lockage. 
 
 LINE OF RAILROAD FROM THE LAKE OF THE WOODS TO RED 
 
 RIVER. 
 
 For the lino of Ilailroad from the Lake of the Woods to Red 
 River, on tlie other hand, the conditions are in the highest degree 
 favorable — an alluvial plain country, where the bridging and grading 
 required will be very unusually little. Some low embankments, 
 in shallow swainps with hard Dottoma, will, however, be required. 
 
 Tlie road will not be useless in winter ; there will be sawn 
 lumber to be carried to the prairie settlements from the forests on 
 the Lake of the Woods and its tributaries, and fuel from the exten- 
 sive beds of excellent peat that abound; and the line will be 
 in the proper position to form part of a direct interior railroad to 
 Montreal. 
 
 These details arc given so fuUj respecting this route, involving 
 the constniction of a railway to Sturgeon Lake, not for the purpose 
 of setting it forth as the best we have, which is very questionable, 
 but because we are already in possession of sufficient information 
 respecting it to give us reason to believe that, such as it is, if we 
 had no better, its natural capacity and advantages are such, notwith- 
 standing the disadvantage of a very expensive piece of railway, as 
 to give us, through our own territory, a highway for the heavy 
 traffic of our north-west prairie lands, decidedly superior to any 
 other known, not within our territory, as will immediately more 
 clearly appear. 
 
 SUPERIOR CHARACTER OF THE WATER COMMUNICATION. 
 
 Continuing to speak of the water communication, as it would 
 be, if improved by lockage from the head of Sturgeon Lake west- 
 ward, it divides itself into two parts, distinctly different in character 
 and condition. 
 
 First, the waters of the Sturgeon River and the Nameaukan to 
 Rainy Lake, sixty-five miles, where nearly all the lockage is 
 required; secondly, the remaining hundred and sixty-one miles, 
 from the east end of Rainy Lake to the end of the north-west arm 
 of the Lake of the Woods. As the latter is already a magnificent 
 stretch of inland navigation, of great capacity, requiring lockage 
 
 I ^.H. 
 
 ii' • 
 
126 
 
 only at Rainy Falls, it is to the Sturgeon and Nameaukan part only 
 that the term canalling can properly be applied. 
 
 To engineers, the favorable oharncter of the navigation it would 
 seemingly afford, will be sufficiently apparent from what has been 
 already stated respecting it. To enable those ho are not familiar 
 with such subjects, to judge of it, and of the economy in rendering 
 it available, and in tlie after use of it, it may be necessary to 
 explain that the comparative value of such a navigation depends 
 on the length of it, compared with the amount of lockage, ahke 
 as regards the cost of making the locks and works connected with 
 them, and the maintaining and working of them ; and on account 
 of the delay to vessels in passing through them ; and also upon the 
 capacity of the navigation obtained, as the economy of transport by 
 it will be in proportion to the size of the vessels that can use it. 
 
 The least favorable, the Sturgeon and Nameaukan section, 
 compares very advantageously with other river and canal naviga- 
 tions of the best description. 
 
 The Erie Canal, which has been so exceedingly useful and 
 beneficial, has a total lockage of G92 feet in 363 miles of length, or 
 about 1/jj'jj feet of average lockage to the mile. 
 
 The liideau Canal, which was exceedingly useful till superseded 
 by the St. Lawrence Canals, has a total lockage of 446 1 feet, (or 
 by adding the lift of the locks in detail 454 feet 11 inches,) in its 
 length of 126f miles or o-^^^^ feet per mile. 
 
 The Sturgeon and Nameaukan section of this route, with 11 T 
 feet of lockage on its length of 65 miles, would have an average 
 lockage of only Ijqj} feet per mile. 
 
 As to its capacity, it would be, as stated, much greater than that 
 of •the Erie Canal as originally made, the depth of which was four 
 feet, its locks ninety feet in length and fifteen feet in width. 
 
 The Sturgeon and Nameaukan section, according to published 
 and unpublished information, apparently will afford, when unproved 
 by lockage, a depth of at least live feet, which is that of the Rideau 
 Canal ; and were it desirable the locks might be a hundred and 
 eighty feet long and thirty-five feet wide, that is to say, equal to 
 five times the original capacity of the Erie Canal ; or greater if 
 required. 
 
 Besides the greater capacity, this navigation would admit of the 
 use of steamboats, and of their going at full speed, as there would 
 be no artificial banks to be injured by the swell they occasioned. 
 
 Mr. McAlpine, a high authority, in his report of the Erie Canal, 
 states that from 1848 to 1852, the proportion of tonnage transported 
 on the Erie Canal and the New York Central Railroad, was as 32 
 on the Canal to 1 on the Railroad, and still more favorable to tlic 
 Canal as to heavy articles. 
 
»'/*■ 
 
 127 
 
 Now, as a Canal of greater capacity admits of freight being 
 carried at a lower rate, it seems grossly evident, that, even the 
 Sturgeon and Nameaukan section of our route, with less lockage 
 and five times the capacity — and obtained at no cost for canalling, 
 excepting the locks — would have a much greater advantage over 
 railroads for transport than the Erie Canal possessed. 
 
 It is equally evident, that if we apply the comparison to the 
 whole line of 226 miles of water communication on this route, 
 when so improved, with only 140 feet of lockage, or only A^ of a 
 foot to the mile, the superiority over any railroad of equal length 
 will be much greater still. 
 
 These details and comparative views are gone over for the pur- 
 pose of establishing a basis of comparison, in considering what 
 advantage we possess as to routes of access to our interior territory, 
 a question of much importance to us in relation to it, and one on 
 which conclusions against the practicability of our maintaining 
 communication advantageously with that territory have been drawn 
 hastily, and I would venture to say, in error. 
 
 The details given may seem prolix, but no opinion of value on 
 this important question can be formed without some refeyence to 
 them ; and I beg to remark, generally, that these and other details 
 on the subject of communication are quoted from the reports of our 
 explorers, with no pretension in using them beyond that of roughly 
 approaching such an opinion or suggesting investigation. 
 
 As the information we have of the Baril Portage and Sturgeon- 
 Lake route is a great deal more ample than that before the public, re- 
 specting the route by the River Seine, the opportunity is taken of 
 using it to show the character of the navigation that would be 
 afforded by either of these routes. 
 
 It is necessary to explain, tliat in setting forth a line of railroad 
 to Sturgeon Lake, as more advantageous than one to Rain^Lake, it 
 is by no means meant to show that to be the best means of com- 
 munication we can have. On the contrary, the Sturgeon Lake route 
 admits of being canalled throughout, with facility from Lac des 
 Mille Lacs ; its deep lakes being highly favorable, and Lac des MiUe 
 Lacs affording an abundant summit supply of water. It would 
 admit of the water communication being carried through even to 
 Dog Lake, corresponding in that respect with the Seine route, pre- 
 senting, like it, the advantage of greater economy, alike in the con- 
 struction of necessary works and in the cost of transport on j^. 
 
 ROUTE BY THE RIVER SEINE. 
 
 The Seine route corresponds with that now under improvement,^^ 
 as far as Lac des Mille Lacs, which is common to both, together 
 '.vith the slack water reach of Dog Lake, already described. 
 
 
 h • 
 
 i 
 
 i:^ 
 
 # 
 
128 
 
 Tho difltancos here given do not (>xantly ngroo with Mr. Dawaoh's tnblcR. i 
 Havo used tliose atatfid in Mr. Napier's tables, — not as being more correct, hut 
 bocauso they are least favorable, in ontor to avoid seeming to desire to over-estinintr 
 the Qomparativti value of our interior route of water oommunicatiun. 
 
 The difference arises (torn tho length of most of tho slack water reaches hnving 
 been necessarily determined merely by estimation or cursory survey. 
 
 On this route, Savanne River and Lac des MiUe Lacs form to- 
 gatlier fifty-six miles of navigable water, wliich might be increri \\ 
 in length and depth by damming. 
 
 Lac des Mille Lacs is abor eight hundred and thirty-two feet 
 above Lake Superior — fifty-five feet lower than the height of liuid. 
 and four hundred and three feet higher than liainy Lake, tlio level 
 of which is attained by the Seine about a hundred miles, by its 
 course, below Lac des Mille Lacs. 
 
 In that distance the Seine presents thirteen short reaches of 
 navigable water, of from about three to twelve miles in lengtli, 
 separated by rapids or falls ; the last and greatest being at tho 
 Twelve Portages, where it falls seventy-two feet in twelve miles, 
 to the level of Rainy Lake. 
 
 To render this river navigable from Rainy Lake to the head of 
 Savanne River, near the height of land, say a hundred and sixty 
 miles, with a small allowance for the descent of the stream, about 
 three hundred and eighty feet of lockage would be required ; mak- 
 ing an avew^ of about 2yVo feet per mile, or less than two-thirds 
 of the rate of lockage per mile on the Rideau Canal. To state the 
 matter more simply, a navigation thirty-four miles longer than the 
 Rideau Canal would he obtained, with sixty feet less of lockage 
 than it has. 
 
 As the head of this navigation is, by tho route now being opened, 
 only sixl^-six miles from Thunder Bay, near Fort William, it might 
 be connected by a railroad of about that length. 
 
 Or, (though a better way could most probably be found by the 
 water courses,) as the height of land is only fifty-five feet higher 
 than Lac des Mille Lacs, and is described as a sandy fiat, — by a 
 dam of thirty-five feet in height at the outlet of Mille Lacs, and a 
 .ucting of fh)m thirteen to twenty-five feet in deT>th, over a length 
 of five miles, the waters of that lake would be carried over the 
 height of land, with a depth of five feet, by a downward lockage 
 of a Uundred and nineteen feet in that distance, to the head of the 
 slack water of Dog Lake, which a dam of thirty-four feet in height 
 at its outlet would obtAin; using Mr. Napier's levels as least 
 favorable. 
 
 This would extend the navigation thirty-seven miles further, and 
 
•f^-.ppWipWWII"*' 
 
 '■•^^-^'^'»'.'%^*W!H»«^,^^^ ^01^^^ 
 
 yi^j0% ,,,^. 
 
 129 
 
 bring it within twenty-five miles of the landing of Thunder Bay, 
 on l^ke Superior.* " 
 
 On the distance of a hundred and ninety-seven miles, from the 
 foot of Dog Lake to Kainy Lake, the amount of ascent and descent 
 to be overcome by lockage would be five hundred and twenty-nine 
 feet, (that is a hundred ond sixty-three feet less than the Erie 
 Canal,) making an average of 2jVo feet per mile, or about one 
 quarter less per mile than the Rideau Canal. 
 
 As the Seine drains an area of about three thousand superficial 
 miles, or more than double what the Kiver llideau does, and 
 Lac des Mille Lacs, which would be the summit reservoir of this 
 route, receives the waters of upwards of seven hundred superficial 
 miles of a proverbially rainy country, or more than double the area 
 that the Rideau has to furnish its summit supply, there is little 
 reason to doubt the sufficiency of it. The capacity of the route to 
 afford a sufficient depth of channel seems unquestionable, as twenty- 
 four feet additional lockage would apparently flood the river to 
 levels throughout. 
 
 The practicability of this route, therefore, resolves itself into a 
 mere question of cost. The works required on it are not of a nature 
 to render the expense extraordinary, and the commerce of the in- 
 terior may, at no very remote period, be such as to render the open- 
 ing of the route in this manner profitable. 
 
 It would then consist of three hundred and fifty-eight miles of 
 continuous navigation, from the lower end of Dog Lake to the ex- 
 tremity of the north-west arm of the Lake of the Woods, the average 
 lockage on which would be only l/o'^o feet per mile, and a hundred 
 and twenty-five miles of railroad, that is, twenty-five from Thunder 
 Bay, on Lake Superior, to Dog Lake, and a hundred fiom the Lake 
 of the Woods to Fort Garry, on the Red River, — making the total 
 length of the route four hundred and eighty-three miles. * 
 
 The continuous navigation would be nine miles longer than the 
 
 * Since the almve was written, Mr. Dawson, by further survey this summer, 
 (1868), has found a new and more favorable route by whicli the navigable water of 
 Lac des Mille Lacs can be carried through the height of land and brought within 
 about forty miles of Lake Superior, at a cost so small as to admit of the route being 
 made immediately available m connection with the greater part of the Dog Portage 
 Hoad already commenced. 
 
 This impportant improvement dispenses with the interruption of the ten or eleven 
 miles of portage road at the height of land, which is crossed at a thirty feet lower 
 level, through a ravine, by whkh the waters of Lake Shebandowan on the River 
 Matawin, a oranch of the Kaministiquoia, can be flooded through, in an unbroken 
 reach of thirty miles, to Lac des Mille Lacs. It shortens the route to Kainy Lake 
 twenty-five miles — ^reduces the obstructions on it to a few short jwrtages, amounting 
 in all to about six-and-a-half miles ; and in case of future canalling will not require 
 the five miles of deep cutting and about a hundred and fifty feet of lockage neces- 
 sary in crossing the height of land ttom Lac des Mille Lacs to Dog Lake by the old 
 route. 
 
 9 
 
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tin) 
 
 nmln tvunlv of Hu» Mvio I'unnl, l»»l. wouM havw Hviy Um'! Iorh 
 l»n'krt|(t», iliv* ivviMUgi* \s{ \\\\\v\\ \\m\y\ ln» nuly I iVo !»'•' ''••^u «>ii lli» 
 
 As siiMiHUM'w of ji p;ooi1 bIp!0 immjM U^ xmnl on 11, nmt orinti ni full 
 BjunMl, ii \\\)[\\y\ Ih» RU|u»linv In n nitiivi. IN»SH«»WHinw cvcfi iihmh 
 tluin Mh» HRV.nl iulvun(u^« iluU ii nninl linn, hi cinnu'lly itmlctMuininy 
 i\{ lh\n«|»oH,, oviM- n vnilh»i»il, nml huluriiijr (1h> »»x(imiI mI Hk. 
 l«\ll<>v tuM'osHiny l'» n inlnimnin, il wiuiM h'lnloi' (Mh ftmlo Ih'INm' 
 Ihnn miy oMum" known Tor li«»iivy rivifflil, lunl Hhmi'Ioh' lor lluii ol" 
 lln> iniovlov mMnMnlly* 
 
 In ivlniion lo otn- tiuilos ol" whIim- iMnnnnniicnllon lo Hcd Kivpf, 
 llu> loUowin^i tiMninkn i»n (lio ni>i»l«M»l. ol' ciiiimI mnl bIiicK whUm' 
 nnvl«iniion, I'onliilniMl in nn nHiflo in llio "Mi'loiiiilh- Aniorinm" jut 
 ylnnmny. 1H(1M. tnity noi lunml ol' \\h\ve, 
 
 Tlio wriiov Bi\,y« "Ihis no^lorl i« in ii p;h»Ml nnMisnio itno \n[\w 
 lurttun lor ImlUlin^ vnilromls, wliicli liiia lor nuiny ynrirs imBlnliftMiJM'il 
 iho nUi»ntioi» mul t'n|>ilal ol" llio AnuMJcivn pooplo, wlUioHt yii'ldinjt 
 i\ \v{\\\'\\ \\\ nil {nuporlionnlo lo lln» onllny. 
 
 Allor 8|HM\l<ing ol' lln» «lif»nroitt»rlionni<'ly Rnutll onllny, in ri'ii- 
 iU»H\m slivnniR iM>nmlHoly nnvignolo Ihni nro nlriuuly itnrily ro, lio 
 PiiV5«. "It ia noi ni nil oss(>nlinl llinl plroiniiR Rlnnild 1m» Inrj^o nr 
 
 \\\}'0\\ lo oMnin RtilllrionI doplh of chnnncl lor l»nr|4;i'R or hiimiII 
 pti?nn»-l>onlR, nR a I'ow Tool ol" wnlor \\*)\\\\\ ninply Rnlllro lor vosscIm 
 of tUo UMjuiRilo lotn\n^t» lor inlninl Irndo, RU'nni propnlRion l)(M^|^ 
 povUvlly ndniiRRnMo (iluMi» hoinp; tio nrlilloinl ltnnl<R io 1»(» NvnRlicil 
 as Nvilh onnnlR) ; llu» oosl, ol'IrnnRporli \\o\\U\ Ito rm !(»\v nR to \m'\\\\i 
 llu> onrryit\H of all nvnilnl»K> I'lvifflilR, ntnl llio »Mn|»loyni«nl. nl' Inst 
 Mi?a\u-|MU'koUs wonld pi^ovido n nuMUiR of Irnvol nioro plmiRnnl, ami 
 HUii<» aR v\\\n\\, aR ll\o aoooninunlalion IrnitiR (»n nuiny railromlR.' 
 
 ThoRO ivnuvrkR wmild Ronm io \n\ am»licalilo, with nntoli nmro 
 foivo, t» tho ^onomlly lafgv and i\w\} wntorH ol' onr ronie io Him! 
 Kin»v. We navy appn>iuinicdy mid io ilioni ilm t»|»iiiion of Mr. 
 daniR, an Kn^inoor of gtvai oxporliuice in Rnidi inaliarR, pxprosBod 
 in \\i» \v\w\i io ihe i^anadian (loverninent, on ilio pmiuwd 
 ('a\4>j;lumwa^ i'ai\al. Uo RayR that many [nM'RonR BHpnoRP Hint 
 Kaih\>ada will in a givat u»caR\U'o Rnpoiwdo (^annls, luii ilmi it is 
 ovidoni thai this conoUiRion \\m lu«ou n'aoluHl without coiiRidi'rn- 
 iion, «\N7VVff»//v what of^plud to •7hf»»f7.>< »^' yrMf. hade, Hpcnkint^ 
 
 * I h«»xv ol>t(*iiunl muoh vrtlunMo inronuntioit on ihia nnti otlior suliieols tif tliis 
 \>rtWi>l\lot, >-xMN»Uy, Ih'J1»»<I whnt nmMmw i» jiis U«»|»nit, (\v\\\ Mr. DawBiui, wlitw 
 o\vii«\>« on suoh m«ttt»w {s of gm»t vulup, (\v\\\ his Ability •» n» K.nuliH'cr, iiml Im 
 <>xtwri<'iu'* in Uiwr Work In \wxt conntviwi. An snch infonnntion, iliougit pxoofil- 
 iugU- iV|»io«« nntl vi»Uwblp, ounnut W quotoil In ilcUil, bolnu unimbliahed, it is only 
 in ini« ttt«nnov tlwt it oun W H»l»H|n«iply Bokn«wU'»l^»l. Mr. Imwaon, liowovor, i' 
 not v>MnmittPtl h> «ny om>v in fnot or in Jmlgmpni 1 may linvo niiulp in using it. 
 
 A. J. n. 
 
■m^^i,-^ 
 
 
 
 (if Hid UmUi fif iliH VV»'Ht., lio Hfiyfl, "In ii'^nrd io Him fmdff under 
 pdiiflMomildfi, It nmy Itn ii'mniki'il, Mmi f In? ^Mf'»t« iriuHM Is cutn- 
 |,of)fti| of li)ill>y iiimI umvy rirf IrloH, of hiuIi ^Hu>rn\ vnhui im riinte- 
 rirtlly Mn Mm* wj'I^IiI. of fiMnH|poji rlifiiiJOM, omiffifilly if Mio difl- 
 trtticn liioviMJ III* jrij'til, mimI rrmnoi iitiilfr flio i/mimhI 
 
 III 
 
 rof 
 
 Ili«» iiiHikol. nHonl to \ii\y uwuh iMldltloinil, to hum* a fi-w iluyH' ti;nf» 
 ill tmimK." 
 
 Now, fin n. I'l'iiioliMii'Hw wliirli will jiliirn I'vi'ii lli^'liti-r iirtlrli'S of 
 ctrtiifHf'i'i'M lit tlio iH«n<lvfMil(i|,'i' HpokiMi of liy Mr. JniviH Ih un- 
 i(iiefltiniiM.lily tliM mi'nti^Rt ilmwlMirk wliif li tlin pro.qpnnty of our 
 iiit(»lioi' pmllin IiumI will lie Hiiliji'i't to, Mini MM tliiTM will l»p iMftfiy 
 iiHloN, jiriHlHrlH of fi^iirultiiiiil mimI otli<>r iiidimtry, tlir? Inirn pos- 
 pjliillly of I'XportiiiK wlilili will ili'pi'iiil on I'vi-n tlio sll^liti'st dif- 
 
 fpfplH'H In vimi of lii'lj^lil. it Im I'viilMit tlint wn Hlionld iiviiH our 
 w'lviifl to tlii^ iitiiioHt do^i'iM' (»f wiitiM' f.omnmnMntion, wlifrnvfir 
 I'lifftppr triuifljioit nin Im olilniiMvl liy it, nvi'ii If iit ffivnU'v .ni^>nn,l 
 ftifltlii iltlHi^ln^ it; iimrli morn tliornforn hIioiiIcI w«^ do fio wIm-io it 
 mil lin niiidn nvMiliiltl«» nt Ichh ♦'x|M'in»'. 
 
 It cniinot Ito iii'(^immI tlutt wnlor loniimuMnitio): >»f'inj4 Hlmt for 
 II Inli^ wIlitiM' Is n I'l'iiHon lor not doliij^ ho; for im l^u^ m wnivr 
 (ciiiiiiimicntioii Im to form n yn'iit pint of tlin rotiti* to lied llivfr, 
 not only lioyond Kort Willinin, Imt mIho in K'*'*'"^ tliuro, it will 
 iipcpswitily ^oviMii tlio utility of tlio KdilwiiV'^ dopundinj^ upon it; 
 mill tlio ^I'nnt dopi li ot hiiow llmt I'ldh in tlio slopo town rd; f>ftkf> 
 MiqwHor Ir floiiiowlmt ii^ninst llio utility of niiy Kfiiliond tli«!ro in 
 winter. 
 
 ('(IRT {\V IMI'lUiVINn on I'ANAfiMNCI lUVKMH. 
 
 Having liBHUinod f40,0(M> n niili),* or wiry thirty pi-r i unt. ovfir 
 limcoRt of otir rlieiipoRt riiilwnyH in ('Himdn, as tlio limst poRnihle 
 iioBt of II railroiid from Liiko Hn]MM'ior to tlio iTiiiny Ijikv. whU^th, 
 $J<(),00() would lio in [iroportion ii vory amnio rato at which t<i 
 eRtiniate tho railroail I'rmii tlio Lakn of tho vV(»ods to lied iiiver. 
 Together with thoso ratos It Ih norosaary to form himiio idoa of tho 
 cust of improving or canalling rivor«, in ordor to form any opinion 
 of the eotnparativc oci'iiomy of eaoh iih availahio moanH oi' com- 
 munication. I)ittlcult as it may at liiHt Bight app(;ar, wo have tho 
 menus of approximating tho prohahlo limit of (Mi-^t of such improve- 
 ment, in a general way it m true, hut in hucIi a way an may be 
 (iccepted as roliabh\ 
 
 Huch river work is widely difl'orent from ordinary oanalling. 
 Tho length of the navigation throwH no light wliattjver on the eo»t|( 
 
 * Tlip nvnrngp rout of KnilWnyR nlrcady nir«l«) in Upper (iiid liowpr fJaniMla is 
 |68,222/^\, per niilo. 
 
 
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 Tl(»- !/<(( II//(I<'<N ffv/'f wrtf/^f' /ffdy, ^uuiii, <my fitu-t ten ycnr-*, 
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 ^((«M !<»« ihhH'MM HfiMI ''((/f(|«1^f"/| ihtuiiitlt 't\it' ^'nif't ('imuvitti- 
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 fiti (III- wdfb f1«lvf(Hf•^<l. 
 
 im(l('f iMI|«nv('tf(»'((f, flffd ffio f'r)|(rtHty iit ffinf frrrrf, ^rf If ftfrtr^ ^iiit- 
 P'lfi l.nlrh Wl'sfwfit-*!, fi« fi wcfrfitfiff fM«fr», Ifi (•imtit'tUTti with a rni1- 
 ti0\ frtiffi h(ff VVllHnm Im If, ni\i\ nh'« ff»^ P.-Iri^ r^rnf/', Wf. cnn r\ir^ 
 (■'im|t«f'M Mii'ffi Willi ntlihf ktTHvvn '»r \ifii]iim>i[ rtrMtt^ntu f/H /'iv^r 
 
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 W\\\\i \i\\\M\ fh|tjt«flihf wifli fli0 rout^ Iry Mik-n^^o nrifl St. Pp^jT-;, nnrl 
 n |fftrti<iBNl HMlfp IfV flM(i0riHr rify ntfd ^'rrrw Win^, in iVfir»n^«<'''tft^ 
 nm( fthn ft tttrthlh'fililp i\\vN'i fn\\vim(\ lino, l»y Mm vnlU-y "^f ^^^ ^'^'- 
 tnwfinnd lVl«mt!H»nl HlvPt, mid t\mm^. westwnrd thnmgTi the int^rir/r. 
 
 % 
 
134 
 
 Un 
 
Tn I'Mnii a cMiiipftritivii psiimnh! nf llio Vfiliin of tln'sn roiiU's, for 
 tho tniUHporl, of limvy freight. w(! iiiny npfily to tliom ilio following 
 mU'H of imiiHiHUt, pnr ion, jut mile, givpii liv Mr. Mf^Alpino in liin 
 re|Mut on ili(< nninH <»f Um' MtntM of N»*w York, whicli nr^. <;onRi<lnrf?(l 
 of liiuli Jiniliorily Ity Knginof'i'H : 
 
 Uli tlift LnkcH, long voyiigp 2 niill«. 
 
 Do. RlHni «lo .'Uo 4 niillfl. 
 
 Ml LnAvti'ii(!«Miii(l MJHsiHHi)i|ii M " 
 
 Trilmtnrii'R, MisaiHRiii]»i 5 to 10 milk 
 
 Onnalf*, Krin onliugMnH'nt 4 " 
 
 Other cniinls Itui snortor 5 to " 
 
 Erie Cannl, onlinary hW.v. K *' 
 
 Cannlfl Avitli grjMit lockngn fl to H " 
 
 IJnilrondfl trnnB|H»rting conl (5 to 10 " 
 
 Do. not for conl, favorable grn«leH nn«l linew. 12^ " 
 
 Do. Rteop grn<l»'s ir» to 25 " 
 
 These rates incluth' nolliing for tolls on canalM, or to cover c t. 
 of construetion of railrnmls. Mr. .lervis, in his re]>ort oji the i)n»- 
 |)ose<l r'aiighnawaga Ciinnl, says tho aetnnl rost of tranH])orting a 
 ton c»f freight from Ogjh'nshnrg to Housc^'s J'oint, on tlie railroad, 
 liv ti«e reptirt of the Htat*! Kngine<;r, was 11 and 7-10 mills a mile, 
 iillowing no i)rotlt on e,apital expended in ecmstrncti*..!. 
 
 How mneli more Wftuld have to he added, in the form of tolls 
 on the eanalled rivers, or ndditional rntea on railroads, to cover the 
 costs of c«»!istrnction, no practical mini would like to sny, without 
 (leliherate estijuation, liiised «»n spccilic; survey. I5ut we may 
 safely assunus tiiat on tho improved river reach(!s, where there 
 was little hmkage, it v.fuild be small, compared with what it 
 would bo on a railroad, especially if wo»Klen dams and locks 
 were used, and that on tlie great central reach of Kuiny I^ako and 
 River, and the I^ake of the Woods, it would bo next to nothing. 
 
 We have to bear in mind also, in judging of the comparative 
 value of those routes, that where railroads arc proposed to bo 
 used, in connexion with reaches of water communication, their 
 usefulness, in that way, will bo limited to tho period of open navi- 
 'gation, and that therefore their usefulness in winter, which under 
 ordinary circumstances gives them a great advantage over canals, 
 cannot bo reckoned in their favor in this comparison. 
 
 Applying the foregoing rates to the approximate table of lengths, 
 we have the bare cost of moving a ton of goods from Montreal to 
 Red River Settlement, by tho respective routes, as follows : 
 
 By the Ckand Trunk and other railways, vid Chicago and St. 
 Paul's, if railway communication were completed from St. Paul's 
 530 miles to Fort (lany : 
 
 1,7G7 miles of railway transport at 12^ mills 
 a ton, per mile S22.09 
 
 
 !j 
 
 |1| 
 
 I*. 
 
 f 
 II! 
 
136 
 
 By proposed tifrect route up the Ottawa and 
 Montreal E . ^er valleyb and through .the 
 interior to Kort Garry — 
 
 1,110 miles, at 12^ mills a ton, per mile $13.87 
 
 257 " ac 15 " on account of 
 
 probable steeper grades 3.86 
 
 1,367 817.73 
 
 By proposed route of railway from Fort Wil- 
 liam to Sti;rgeon Lake, canalling Sturgeon 
 and Nameaukan Eivers to Rainy Lal:3, 
 and railroad from the Lake of the Woods 
 to Fort Garry — 
 442 miles by rail from Montreal to Colling- 
 
 wood, at 12^ mills a ton, per mile.... $ 6.52 
 534 miles by the Lakes to Fort William, at 2 
 
 mills a ton, per mile 1.07 
 
 122 miles by rail to Sturgeon Lake, at 15 
 
 mills a ton, per mile 1.83 
 
 226 miles River and Lake navigation, at 4 
 
 millii a ten, per mile 0.90 
 
 100 miles railwa3% Li'ke of the Woods to 
 
 Fort Garry, at 12^ mills a ton per mile 1.25 
 
 1,424 S10.o7 
 
 It will be at once seen that as there is so much Lake and other 
 natural navigation on this last route, the additional charges to cover 
 " ccots of construction" on it must be small, compared with either 
 of the preceding. 
 
 By proposed Railway route from Superior City to Crow Wing. 
 through Minnesota, and thence to Fort Gurry if constructed : 
 442 miles by rail to Collingwood, 
 548 miles Superior City to Fort Garry. 
 
 990 miles at 12^ mills....! $12.37 
 
 654 miles by Lakes from Collingwood to 
 
 Superior Bity, at 2 mills 1.31 
 
 1,644 $13.68 
 
 By proposed route by Dog Lake and River 
 Seine, if canalled through from Dog 
 Lake to Rainy Lake — 
 
 442 miles rail to Collingwood $ 5.52 
 
 534 miles Lakes to Fort William 1.07 
 
 25 miles rail to Dog Lake, at 20 mills, on 
 
 account of steeper grades 0.50 
 

 137 
 
 358 miles River and Lakes '^.-om Dor I^ke 
 to end of north-west arm of I^ko of 
 the Woods, at 4 mills 1.43 
 
 100 miles rail to Fort Garry, at 12 J miUs... 1.25 
 
 « 9.77 
 
 1,459 miles. 
 
 If 100 miles of canal were made from tlie T^ke of 
 the Woods to Fort Garry, instead of railway, there 
 would be a reduction of 55 cents a ton, reduciii«? 
 
 the above to. $ 9.22 
 
 And the cost by Sturgeon Lake route to 10.02 
 
 As already mentioned, these rates are ^ery far from showing 
 the total cost of transport on canals and railroads; but being 
 adopted by Engineers as indicating the bare cost of movement of 
 freight, they may be considered as sufficient to enable iis to form 
 a general idea of the comparative advantage that the routes 
 respectively offer, as ultimate highways for the transport of heavy 
 freight to and from our interior territories. 
 
 The difference shown by them in lavor of the rouios through 
 our own territory, is such as to wa rant our believing that they 
 possess that advantage in a greater degree than any other known 
 routes. 
 
 £.__ Ij 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 DIRECT RAILROAD ROUTE TO RED RIVER BY THE VALLEY OF THK 
 
 OTTAWA. 
 
 The probability of a direct railroad route being found by the 
 valley of the Ottawa, to Hed Eiver, has been to a great degree con- 
 finned, as already mentioned, by the recent survey of the Montreal 
 River, a tributary which joins the Ottawa in Lake Temiscaming. 
 
 This route for a railway to the Pacific was, I believe, first pro- 
 posed by CoL Carmichael Smith, probably from information ob- 
 tained from officers of the Hudson's Bay Company. 
 
 From Pembroke, the contemplated termination of the Brockville 
 and Ottawa Eailroad, there is a favorable site for it along the Ot- 
 tawa to the Matawan, though the soil is there generally too poor 
 for settlement. It might, with little loss of distance, be carried 
 more to the West, through the interior, where the land is not so 
 unfavorable for cultivation. 
 
 L end this, the best ground would be found, alike for the road 
 
 I. 
 
^« -rTi-w^,**" 
 
 138 
 
 and settlomont, by passing near the head of the Matawan, and 
 thence directly to the Montreal liiver, about two hundred and 
 eighty-tive miles by this route from the City of Ottawa. 
 
 Thence, north-westward about ninety-nine miles by a very direct 
 and highly favorable course, along the Montreal Hiver, over a flat 
 country, suitable for settlement for two-tliirds of the distance, to 
 the north elbow of tliat river, and the northern extremity, in lat. 
 48** N., of the long lake that receives it, to the water-shed ; imme- 
 diately beyond wTiich commences the level clay country, which 
 extends to Hudson's Bay. 
 
 Thence, in a west-north-west course, in the edge of the clay 
 country, say a hundred and twelve miles, including sinuosities, to 
 the meridian of the termination of Provincial Surveyor D. Sinclair's 
 west line, run from the Montreal Biver. 
 
 So far the country is now known ; the level clay country, which 
 is here twenty miles north of Mr. Sinclair's line, continues nortli- 
 westward ; how far is not definitely known. This nearly direct 
 line proposed would pass fifty or sixty miles north of the termina- 
 tion of Mr. Sinclair's line ; his line is a hundred and five miles in 
 length. It lies altogether in a country which, though presenting 
 no serious obstacle to the passing of a railway line through it, i^ 
 exceedingly poor, sandy and rocky soil, unfit for cultivation. The 
 clay countiy north of it is at least superior in that respect. It is 
 worthy of remark here, that New Brunswick House, where Mr. 
 Gladman resided, and describes the cultivation of grain, including 
 wheat, to have been successful, lies about a hundred and ten miles 
 nortliward, and a little to the west of the termination of Mr. Sin- 
 clair's line, which is from thirty to forty miles north of the water- 
 shed, from which the branches of Moose River descend towards 
 Hudson's Bay. Our proposed line would therefore be about ninety 
 miles north of the water-shed here. 
 
 From the meridian of the termination of Mr. Sinclair's line, to 
 long. 86° W., a hundred and sixty-eight miles, and even to long. 
 88" W., a hundred and eight miles further westward, including one- 
 fifth for sinuo3ities, we have but little knowledge of the country 
 over which our direct route would pass. Strictly speaking, a straight 
 line from Montreal to Fort Garry, would touch the northerly bays 
 of Lake Superior, near Pic Island ; and the country along the shore 
 of the lake is well known to be mountainous and unsuitable for a 
 railway line ; but as it is known that the country behind is more 
 favorable, and as the length of the line would not be increased in 
 any appreciable degree by carrying it forty miles further i3orth, but 
 on the contrary probably be slightly diminished, by having much 
 fewer minor sinuosities, from being in better ground, it is assumed 
 that our route would be carried there. 
 
131) 
 
 What little wo do know is definite and favorable; the lino would 
 be situated nearly altogether, if not (juite so, in the level clay 
 country, north of the height of land, on watei-s flowing to Hudson s 
 Boy, till it approaches Lake Nipigon, near long. 88<* W. 
 
 This character of the country, which has long been well known 
 to tho otticera of the Hudson's Bay Company, and has been con- 
 firmed as far as recent surs'eys of the northerly waters of tho 
 Ottawa have extended, is referred to by Provincial Surveyor Herric, 
 in his report of his exploratory survey, in the country north of 
 Lake Superior. 
 
 He says: " From inquiries made amongst the Indians, as well as 
 from the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company who have travelled 
 much through the country, I am infonned, that after from thirty to 
 fifty miles of hilly country, round Tjike Superior, is passed, a level 
 country is reached, which extends from the height of land, between 
 Lake Superior and the lied liiver Settlement, cast, for several hun- 
 dred miles and along tlie north of the sources of the tributaries of 
 the Ottawa. If, then, at any future period it may be proposed to 
 connect Canada with the Ked iiiver Sett^ment by railroad, it does 
 not appear tliat much difficulty will be experienced on this part of 
 the route." The same description of the intervening country has 
 long been given by officers of the Hudson's Bay Company, stationed 
 on the northern waters of the Ottawa. 
 
 Passing south of Lake Nipigon, and crossing the liiver Nipigon 
 at 18 miles from long. 88" W., difficulty would be encountered on 
 this line from the rugged and hilly nature of the country, but from 
 the character of the valleys no doubt a fair passage could bo 
 obtained. 
 
 Before proceeding further we may notice a few facts ac to the 
 elevation of the country. 
 
 The ridge of maximum elevation, between Lake Huron and 
 Hudson's Bay, is a continuation of the anticlinal axis which tra- 
 verses Lake Temiscaming on the Ottawa, at the mouth of the 
 Montreal River, about lat. 47° 07' N. It continues westward, a 
 little to the north of that parallel, till approaching Lake Superior 
 it turns up towards Michipicoten. Mr. Murray, the Asst. Prov. 
 Geologist, traced the waters of the Sturgeon River of Lake Nipis- 
 sing, and the Wahnapetec, which flows to Lake Huron, up to an 
 elevation of more than 930 feet above the level of the sea, with 
 lofty liills to the northward rising 700 feet higher, or 1,030 feet 
 above the sea. 
 
 From this high range the head waters of Moose River, as ascer- 
 tained by recent survey, flow northward to Hudson's Bay, and 
 even the Montreal River flows from it northward to near lat. 48° 
 N., whence it turns abruptly and flows southward a hundred miles 
 to Lake Temiscaming. 
 
 
 I '.?' 
 
 
140 
 
 So much does the country fall to the northward of this range, 
 that the height of land, between Lac La Quinze on the Ottawa, 
 above Lake Temiscaming, and the tributaries of Hudson's Bay, 
 is scarcely fifty feet higher than the surface of the main Ottawa, 
 or only about 830 above the level of the sea ; ♦ and it is over a 
 similar low level that the proposed line of railway, by the valley 
 of the Ottawa and Montreal River, passes the Laurentides, ana 
 enters the level clay country of the north. 
 
 Traversing the branches of Moose River from forty to ninety 
 miles north of their sources, which are in the high range mentioned, 
 the line would still be in a comparatively low country. In long. 
 87** W., it would cross a branch of the Albany River on Hudson's 
 Bay, which has its source within six miles of Lake Superior ; so 
 near does the trough of Hudson's Bay there approach the lake. 
 
 Passing south of Lake Nipigon it would be again necessary to 
 enter the trough of the St. I^wrence, but at no great elevation, 
 Lake Nipigon being only four hundred feet above Lake Superior. 
 
 Lake Nipigon is the last and the most romantic of the lakes of 
 the St. Tjawrence. By the highly interesting though brief report 
 of Mr. Armstrong, it is ninety-five miles long and sixty -five miles 
 wide, but full of islands. Its south end is about fifty miles north 
 from Nipigon Bay. 
 
 Towards Lak'3 Superior the mountains or high grounds rise to a 
 thousand feet above that lake ; at the sout^ end of Lake Nipigon 
 they are noted as being less elevated, and there is much good land 
 in the valleys. 
 
 From the River Nipigon, a hundred and ninety-three miles 
 westward, to the meridian of the south end of Lac Seul, little is 
 kuown of the country through which a direct route would pass. 
 
 As to the elevation of the water-shed to be traversed, we may 
 safely assume that it is no higher than Prairie Portage on the 
 Savanne River route, which is 887 feet above Lake Superior ; for 
 the western feeder of Lake Nipigon, and the Fire Steel River, a 
 branch of the Seine, head together in the same watci-shed a little 
 north of Prairie Portage. 
 
 As a general characteristic, the country is known to become 
 lower and more even northward from the high ground towards 
 Lake Superior. 
 
 From the meridian of Lac Seul westward, to the outlet of the 
 Lake of the Woods, a hundred and thirty-four miles, the ground 
 over which the direct route would pass is reported, by those who 
 know it, to be of such a nature as to present no important obsta- 
 cles of elevation, though the lakes to be avoided would cause 
 
 * Survey of the Upper Ottawa from Lac La Quinze to Grand Lac, and of Lac 
 Abbitibbi and Canoe Route connecting them, by Prov. Surveyor J«. Bussell. 
 
 1 
 
141 
 
 increased sinuosity, and the roughness of the surface might give 
 increased expense in grading. 
 
 From the outlet of the Lake of the Woods, to the west end of 
 the part of it called Lac Platte, forty miles, the ground is known 
 to be such as to admit of a fair line of railway being found 
 through it. 
 
 Thence to Fort Garry, a hundred miles, including sinuosities, 
 the country, as already described, is unust^ally favorable for the 
 construction of a railway. 
 
 The foregoing detailed distances make a total of thirteen huu- 
 ^dred and sixty-seven miles from Montreal to Fort Garry, by this 
 direct route. 
 
 The total length, by the distances given, of the part of it passing 
 tlu-ough unsurveyed country, between the northerly extremity of 
 the waters of the Montreal River, a tributary of the Ottawa, and 
 the west end of Lac Platte, a part of the Lake of the Woods, is 773 
 miles, while the direct distance, on the line of the route, is by cal- 
 culation by meridians, 650f , the difference being the allowance for 
 sinuosities on the straight line assumed. 
 
 Great extents of this line will be comparatively level, and will 
 afford favorable grades. The least favorable parts in that respect 
 wiU probably be found in the valley of the Ottawa, within the 
 distance to which lumbering operations and surveys extend, and 
 where we have sufficient knowledge to be sure that a fair line of 
 railroad can be carried, notwithstanding. 
 
 In the unsurveyed region before mentioned, the greatest diffi- 
 culty will probably be encountered between the River Nipigon and 
 Lac Seul, in the rise to the water-shed; but that is necessarily less 
 than five hundred feet, or not more than will be met on the Inter- 
 colonial Railway before getting twenty miles from the St. Law- 
 rence. 
 
 These details are gone into so fully because it is not generally 
 known that we have a favorable and most direct route to Red 
 River, shorter than any other possibly can be. It is in a position 
 that is rendered exceedingly unassailable by the rugged moun- 
 tainous country in front of it, and by the lakes, forests and exten- 
 sive marshes, to the westward, between it and the frontier ; so 
 much so that an invading force, of any considerable strength, would 
 take more time to move twenty miles in the intervening country 
 than to advance two hundred in the prairies beyond it. 
 
 Therefore, if we do not have a railway through our own territory 
 to Red River, it certainly will not be because we have not a 
 favorable route for it, but for want of sufficient inducement or 
 necessity for making it. 
 
 This is of some importance ; and it is desirable that the fact 
 should be known, that when the making of it becomes a national 
 
 » I 
 
 1 1 
 
 !?.' »' 
 1>«- ' 
 
 * 
 
142 
 
 requirement, for the purposes of defence or commerce, we com- 
 mand the best and shortest railway route to the interior and to the 
 Pacific. 
 
 The level clay country of the north, through which this route 
 passes, seemingly for four hundred miles, presents, as yet, no in- 
 ducement whatever for opening it up. But whf* the navigation 
 of the Ottawa is improved as far as the Matawan, two hundred 
 miles above the capital, a comparatively small expenditure will 
 carrv it a hundred miles further, to the head of Lake Temisra. 
 ming. This will entirely change the prospect of settlement, not 
 only of the good lands tliere, but also eventually of the clay country 
 beyond it, should the soil of that great extent, of entirely arable 
 land, prove as capable of improvement by cultivation as other clay 
 soils are, 
 
 To be safe, we must reserve our judgment on the subject till 
 more ample information, carefully collected, is before us. But 
 this much we know, that clay soils, though stubborn and hard to 
 cultivate in extremely dry or wet weather, are in the end the 
 most rich and durable ; and that tracts where grain can be raised, 
 if well watered, generally become occupied, when land becomes 
 valuable by the increase of population and the progress of improve- 
 ment. 
 
 The period may be remote when such causes will operate in 
 this particular region, but when we consider that, apart from its 
 own requirements under such advanced circumstances, it offers a 
 railway route to Red River and the Pacific four hundred miles 
 shortei'for winter travel than any other yet known to be prac- 
 ticable, in view of the vast development of improvements during 
 the term of the past generation, it would really not be irrational 
 to suppose that this route may be opened before the lapse of 
 another. 
 
 This will appear the more reasonable when we consider that 
 this route would traverse the most habitable part of this Territory 
 south of Hudson's Bay, which, as before stated, is larger, and appa- 
 rently fully as suitable for cultivation as Finland, that sustains 
 nearly two millions of inhabitants ; and that Lake Superior, and 
 Lake Temiscaming on the Ottawa, are the only possible outlets for 
 the best part of this territory, which would be opened up in the 
 most favorable manner by this proposed route, and placed by it in 
 immediate connection with Lake Temiscaming. 
 
 It is difficult to conceive that a country f^y equal to Finland, 
 with the great water system of the Ottawa leading directly to it,. 
 should remain for ever valueless and uninhabited.. 
 
143 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 i 
 
 ROUTE TO THE PACIFIC THROUGH BRITISH COLUMBIA. 
 
 The subject of communication with the Pacific, through British 
 Columbia, is more immediately and urgently important than the 
 preceding. 
 
 It is the opinion of many, that if it be of any importance that 
 Great Britain, the greatest commercial power in the world, should 
 have a highway to the Pacific, for comL.crcial and other purposes, 
 through her own territory, one that could not be barred against her 
 by any other power ; if it be desirable that the solid freedom of 
 British institutions should be maintained on this continent ; and 
 if the fair programme of national life, in close connexion with the 
 mother country, set forth in the British North America Act, is to be 
 realized, and this edifice of Confederated British Dominion is to be 
 anything more than a temporary expedient, the Confederation 
 should be completed by the addition of Vancouver's Island and 
 British Columbia, and the opening of a line of commmunication 
 with i/hem, without delay. 
 
 Looking to the interest of the Central Prairie Country alone, as, 
 British territory, when inhabited, it is as important for it to have 
 a way to the Pacific without being exposed to all the conceivable^ 
 disadvantages of having its means of communication controlled by 
 a foreign power, and, under very possible circumstances, a hostile 
 one, as it is for us to have communication through our own territory 
 with the Atlantic. 
 
 To render the comparison a fair one, we must conceive what it 
 would be if there were no St. Lawrence, and we were dependent on 
 land transport alone. 
 
 It is unnecessary to follow the line of evidence adopted by 
 philosophical writers, showing that the importance and prosperity 
 of civilized countries is limited by their extent of frontage on seas 
 open to commerce ; it is demonstrated in the history of nations,, 
 and the importance of that advantage is acknowledged in their 
 struggles to obtain it. 
 
 But whatever power may in future hold British Columbia, a 
 free outlet through it is of the greatest importance to the prosperity 
 of our interior teritory adjoining it ; and would have a powerful 
 influence in encouraging settlement there, and in ensuring its 
 success. 
 
 It would be to our advantage, as well as to its own, and also 
 greatly to the advantage of British Columbia, that the interior 
 
 r-'m 
 
144 
 
 ^prairie country should be a prosperous one; and its prosperity 
 would be very much restricted if its commerce were limited to 
 the St. Lawrence and Mississippi. It would be a great drawback 
 for it to have its teas and other products of Eastern Asia and the 
 Pacific imported by routes so circuitous, or to be obstructed in 
 -exporting its own products to that ocean. 
 
 It will assist us in judging of the importance of a route through 
 British Columbia, if we compare the distance by it from the 
 Upper Sasketchewan to the Pacific, with what it would be by the 
 Eed River and Mississippi to St Louis, and thence by the Pacific 
 railroad to San Francisco, now in progress, and which might be 
 supposed to be in some degree useful to our territory. 
 
 By the practically good route, though necessarily tortuous one, 
 through a mountainous country, described by Mr. Waddington, 
 (from personal exploration,) in his valuable pamphlet on the 
 subject, the distance, from Edmonton on the north Saskatchewan, 
 to the head of Bute Inlet, a port on the waters of the Pacific, is 
 841 miles, of which 389 are navigable waters. By substituting 
 Ms shorter railway route for the navigable water, the distance 
 would be 654 miles. 
 
 By St. Loiis and the Pacific Eailroad the distance would be 
 1,060 miles from Edmonton to Fort Garry, 532 to St. Paul's, 817 
 to Omaha, thence to San Francisco 2,032 miles, (by U.S. Sec. 
 at War's Report) ; in all 4,442 miles, or 3,601 miles longer to the 
 Pacific than the route through British Columbia, or possibly 3,788. 
 
 Supposing even that Gov. Stevens' northern route, by the Mis- 
 souri in lat. 47° N., were opened and 600 miles of road were made 
 to join it at the Rocky Mountains, that is at 750 miles from the 
 Pacific; the total distance would be 1,350 miles against 654 through 
 British Columbia by rail 
 
 Even from Fort Garry on Red River, the difPi^rence would be 
 nearly the same on comparison, for we have 1,060 from Fort 
 Garry to Edmonton by water, and 645 further to Bute Inlet by 
 rail, against 532 miles to St. Paul's, and 1,864 thence to the 
 Pacific, by Gov. Stevens' line, making 2,396 miles by it against 
 1,705 by Edmonton to Bute Inlet, the latter being 691 miles 
 shorter. 
 
 Very little reflection will be sufficient to enable us to see wnat 
 a powerful inducement the opening of such a route through 
 British Columbia would be, even if at first imperfectly, for the 
 encouragement of settlement in our central prairie country, with 
 the certainty there would be of its being completed as a line of 
 raiboad. Instead of being in an isolated "Cul de Sac" the set- 
 tlers on the Saskatchewan would have the assurance of being, 
 before long, on one of the great highways of the world's com- 
 jnerce. 
 
145 
 
 The route advocated by Mr. Waddington, through the interior, 
 by the valley of the North Saskatchewan, the River Athabasca 
 and the Yellow Head or Leather Pass to the upper Fraser River, 
 and descending it to its tributary, the Quesnelle River, and from 
 it across to Bute Inlet, is unquestionably by far the best as regards 
 this side of the Rocky Mountains, and the passage through them; 
 and there is no room to doubt its being so also to the westward 
 through British Columbia. 
 
 The Leather Pass was long known and used by the Hudson's 
 Bay Company. It is singular that Capt. Palliser, Dr. Hector and 
 Capt. Blackiston, were never informed of it. The advantageous 
 nature of it, however, M-as made apparent in 18C2 by the passage 
 of a party of a hundred and fifty Canadian emigrants, including a 
 woman and three children. They gathered at Fort Garry in June, 
 and got through to the sc ■ Mements on the Fraser River in good 
 time. They took through with them about seventy horses and a 
 hundred and thirty oxen, excepting such of the latter as they kUled 
 or sold by the way. So gentle was the ascent, that they did not 
 know that they had passed the ridge of the Rocky Mountains, till 
 they found the waters flowing westward. Lord Milton and Dr. 
 Cheadle, also, in their journal say, of this pass, that they had uncon- 
 sciously passed the height of land, and that until they had the evi- 
 dence of the water flow, they had no suspicion that they were even 
 near the dividing ridge. 
 
 The height of the summit of this pass, which is i\\ lat. 52'' 54' N., 
 is given by Mr. Waddington as 3,760 feet over the sea, being nearly 
 the same level as the elevated sloping plain, on the east side, from 
 which the Rocky Mountains rise. 
 
 The elevation of the other generally known passes are as fol- 
 lows: — Howse Pass, 6,347; Kicking Horse Pass, 5,420; Vermi- 
 hon, 4,944; Kanauski Pass, (recommended by Captain Palliser, 
 but requiring a tunnel,) 4^600 ; British Kootanie Pass, near U. S. 
 Boundary, 5,960 feet above the sea. This last is i-ecommeuded by 
 Captain Blackiston, who thought he was the first whit« man that 
 had entered it. Mr. David Thompson, Astronomer of the North- 
 West Company, in his manuscript journal, now before me, gives 
 interesting accounts of his exploratory journeys through this and 
 other passes of the Rocky Mountains, occasionally with horses, 
 about the beginning of this century. 
 
 In the U. S. Secretary at War's Report on the Pacific Railway 
 lines, the elevation of the passes through the Rocky Mountains in 
 the United States aie given as follows : Route near lat. 47^ and 
 49° N., 6,044 feet; at lat. 41<' and 42^ K, 8,373 feet ; at lat. 38«> 
 and 390 K, 10,032 feet; lat. 35<> K, 7,472 feet; at lat. 32° K, 
 5,717 feet above the sea ; and the extent of land generally unfit 
 
 10 
 
 i^ 
 
146 
 
 # 
 
 for cultivation on these routes, is given, in the above succession, as 
 1,490, 1,40C, 1,460 ,1,476 a id 1,210 mnes respectively, or about two 
 thirds of their length. 
 
 On our route by the North Saskatchewan and Yellow Head 
 Pass, we have a continuously and pre-eminently fertile country for 
 1,300, from the commencement of the Hed Eiver prairies to the 
 base of the Rocky Mountains at Jasper House ; and of the remain- 
 ing 761 miles to the head of Bute Iidet, nearly one half apparently 
 is cultivable land. Mr. Waddington's description of the country, 
 between the mouth of Quesnelle River and the coast range, agrees 
 with the favorable account of that plateau quoted from Mr. Barn- 
 ston's report in Commander Mayne's work on British Columbia ; 
 and the unusual favorable character, in that very mountainous 
 country, which he gives of the great region extending northward to 
 the River Skeena, the boundary of British Columbia, corresponds 
 with the description given of parts of it intersected, in reports of 
 extensive explorations referred to in the same work, and published 
 in Imperial Parliamentary papers. 
 
 We see, therefore, that we possess a route to the Pt.?ific, through 
 our central prairie country and British Columbia, that besides 
 traversing the Rocky Mountains far more favorably, at half the 
 elevation of the lines through the United States, is as remarkable 
 for passing through a great extent of well wateied fertile country, 
 as they are for the general aridity and iminhabitable barrenness 
 of a great part of the country they traverse. 
 
 The superiority of our route across to the Pacific, over any other 
 on the conMnent, is still more evident, when we consider that it 
 has, in addition to the foregoing, the further advantage of consisting 
 chiefly of navigable waters. 
 
 This advantage is, in its nature, a double one. First, the much 
 lower rate of cost of transport by the navigable waters, where on 
 a large scale, like the St Lawrence and its lakes, and even much of 
 the interior lake and river navigation ; secondly, what to us is of 
 great importance, especially in the commencement, that in the 
 navigable waters we have the greater part of the route ready, 
 without cost of construction, except on a very small proportion of it 
 
 Taking the route. No. 4, in the foregoing table, in connexion 
 with that advocated by Mr. Waddington, we would have, with the 
 improvements mentioned, between Lake Superior and Red River, 
 226 miles (out of 448^) of continuous navigation, on a Isige scale 
 for inland wat'^rs, and 1,060 from Fort Garry to Edmonton of a 
 similar class, by Lake Winnipeg and the Saskatchewan, requiring 
 lockage, or short portages, only at three places on the latter. Be- 
 tween Edmonton and Port Waddington, on Bute inlet, a harbour of 
 the Pacific, Mr. Waddington counts 309 miles of steamboat navi- 
 
147 
 
 gation ; making in all 1,596 miles of steamboat navigation, and only 
 754J miles of land travel or railroad, in the whole distance of 
 2,349^ miles by this route from Lake Superior to the Pacific. 
 
 If the railway route proposed by Mr. Waddington were adopted, 
 instead of the navigation of Fraser Eiver, in part, reducing the 
 distance from Bute Inlet to Edmonton to 654 miles, and if 825 
 miles of railway were made from Edmonton to Fort. Garry, the total 
 distance from the Pacific to Lake Superior would be reduced to 
 1,927^ miles ; which with 976 miles to Montreal, vid Collingwood, 
 and 843 to Halifax, would give a total distance from that city to 
 the Pacific of 3,746 J miles. 
 
 If a line of railroad throughout were ultimately required, to 
 ensure rapid communication at all seasons, we could have from 
 Bute Inlet to Edmonton, 654 miles, and to Fort Garry, 825 more, 
 and then the direct route, No. 1, of the table, from Fort Garry to 
 Montreal, by the Ottawa, 1,367 miles, making 2,846 from the 
 Pacific to Montreal ; which, with 843 to Halifax, would make a 
 total from the Pacific of 3,689 miles, to which adding the distance 
 to Liverpool, 2,467, would give a total from the Pacific to Liverpool 
 of 6,156 miles. 
 
 By the Eeport of United States Secretary at War, already 
 referred to, the distances from New York to the Pacific are, to 
 Council Bluffs, at the mouth of the River Platte, 1,252 miles; 
 theuce, to the Pacific by the railroad now in progress on both sides 
 of the Eocky Mountains, and nearly made to them, 2,032 miles, 
 making together 3,284 mUes, to which add, from Liverpool to New 
 York, 3,073, gives a total by this line of 6,357 miles, or 201 more 
 than the route through British America. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 IMPORTANCE TO BRITISH COLUMBIA OF UNION AND INTERIOR 
 COMMUNICATION WITH THE DOMINION. 
 
 Were British Cdumbia united to the Dominion, and an adequate 
 line of communication opened through that Province from Lake 
 Superior to the Pacific, all the commerce of the vast interior of 
 British America, with the Pacific and Eastern Asia, and the carry- 
 ing trade of it on the high seas, would be drawn to her ports ; and 
 her route across the continent would be a successful rival of the 
 Pacific Railway from San Francisco, not only for traffic and com- 
 munication between the Pacific and the present Provinces of Canada, 
 and parts of the United States j;djoining, but also for that of Euro- 
 pean countries through this continent. The great proportion of 
 
 r i 
 
148 
 
 water conveyance on our route, would render transport by it so 
 much more economical, as to admit of freight being carried of kinds 
 that could not be sent by the San Francisco route, on account of 
 the greater expense of transport entirely by railroad. 
 
 Our route through British Columbia would have the advantage 
 also of being shorter to China and Japan ; the distance from any 
 port in these countries to Bute Inlet being upwards of 550 miles 
 less than to San Francisco. This is best seen by measurement on 
 a terrestrial globe ; for the ordinary projections of the hemispheres 
 in charts and atlases give rise to a very erroneous idea as to dis- 
 tanc<^8 between the continents. 
 
 ibis 550 miles into account, the distance from any port 
 
 !)iif en' Japan to Liverpool would be 751 miles shorter by our 
 
 British Columbia, than by the American Pacific 
 
 'alriBf 
 
 ijroi^,^. 
 
 in Ch 
 route, 
 Railroad. 
 
 United to the Dominion, British Columbia would enjoy these 
 advantages in relation to the interior, and communication through 
 it, which would be lost to her by annexation to the United States. 
 If the Americans held British Columbia, they would be little dis- 
 posed to use it for the purpose of establishing a line of communi- 
 cation, nearly altogether through British territory, to rival their 
 own Pacific Kailroad, and carry trade to Canadian ports. 
 
 In this respect, British Columbia, including Vancouver's Island 
 with it, and Nova Scotia, are in a great degree similarly situated, 
 in relation to the interior of British America and its development ; 
 and the similarity goes further, for they are nmch alike in some 
 other respects. They are both comparatively rather unfavorable 
 generally for cultivation, but on the other hand possess alike ex- 
 traordinary advantages for commerce and manufactures, in their 
 favorable maritime position and numerous harbours, their metals 
 and their coal beds. 
 
 With these advantages, and situated on the eastern and western 
 outlets of the gi'eat fertile interior of British America, it seems 
 reasonable to say that they are in a position to enjoy, in the greatest 
 degree, every advantage in the extension of their commerce and 
 increased employment for their shipping and manufactures, to be 
 derived from the development of the resources of the interior, and 
 the opening of a line of communication through it from the Atlantic 
 to the Pacific. 
 
 In position with relation to the interior, however, it must be 
 admitted; that British Columbia surpasses Nova Scotia and N()w 
 Brunswick, the coast of the continent, southward from it, not being 
 studded with rival ports and harbours, reaching close in towards 
 the interior like the Atlantic coast. In the command of communi- 
 cation from the Pacific to the interior, British Columbia has ;ao 
 competitor. 
 
149 
 
 O" " 
 
 IMPORT-ANCE OF THE OTTAWA SHIP CANAL TO THESE NOllTH- 
 
 WEST TERRITORIES, &c. 
 
 To judge correctly of the ultimate advantage whicli a route 
 through our own territories presents, alike as a means of communi- 
 cation with them and through them to the Pacific, and in view of 
 the superiority which the greater economy of water transport givoi 
 us in the comparison, we should take into account the reduction f 
 distance and of cost which the improvement of our inland navigr^ 
 tion may aiford. 
 
 As presenting the greatest prospective advantage in that respect, 
 the proposed improvement of the Ottawa and French Rivers, or' 
 • what is called the construction of the Ottawa Ship Canal, may be 
 referred to. 
 
 It may be sufficient to remind the reader, that in the distance 
 by this route of four hundred and thirty miles from Montreal to 
 liike Huron, canalling for 21 J miles only '<^ouired, in addition 
 to the Lachine Canal already constructed, accor- \g to the report of 
 Mr. Thf>s. C. Clarke, who completed the nrv of it for Govern- 
 ment ; and that according to the report t Iv >• \^. Shanly, his pre- 
 decessor in charge, the cost of movement, * freight per ton, from 
 Chicago to "^lontrea), by the Ottawa SVip l^anal, would be ^2 89, 
 while by the St. Lawrence and Wella. C^nal route, and by the 
 Toronto and Georgian Bay Canel, it would be $3 26 and ^3 27 
 respectively; that the distances by the two latter routes would be 
 1,348 and 1,050 miles, but by the Ottawa only 973, that is, 375 
 miles shorter than the St. Lawrence and Welland route now used. 
 
 It is proper to obser\'e that the reduction of d'~*ance by it to 
 Lake Superior, and consequently to the interior i h& Pacific, is 
 40 miles greater than to Lake Michigan, or 415 mu .. 
 
 Apart from the advantages claimed for it of being the most 
 favorable route for the trade of what has hitherto been designated 
 the "Great West," and for attracting it to Canadian ports, and 
 as vastly increasing the strength of the Provinces as a work of 
 defence, the Ottawa Ship Canal, inasmuch as it would diminish 
 the distance and the cost of transport, especially of heavy freight, 
 to and from our interior territories, would tend to remove the 
 greatest drawback to the successful settlement of them. It would 
 benefit Lower Canada, now the Province of Quebec, in a maaner 
 that no other work would do, for it would, in connexion with Lake 
 Temiscaming, and the navigable waters of its tributary, the River 
 Blanche, develope the south-western frontier cf that province for 
 four hundred and fifty miles, and render available the considerable 
 extent of country fit for settlement at the head of that lake, which 
 is now too remote; and it would facilitate communication with 
 Hudson's Bay, and through the country south of it to Red River, 
 as already mentioned, were that ultimately found desirable. 
 
 f 
 f 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 Si-' 
 
 ■jt 
 
 ii-^iA 
 
150 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 THE INTERESTS OF CANADA, THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY AND 
 
 THE INDIANS. 
 
 We are at issue with the Hudson's Bay Company. We deny 
 the justice and validity of their title to the territory most valuable 
 to us — the Central Prairie Country — claimed by them under theii 
 Charter from King Charles the ^Second, in 1670, granting them 
 the exclusive right of trade in Hudson's Bay and its waters, and 
 all the lands and territories on their " Confines,'^ not " possessed by 
 the subjects of any other Christian Prince or State." 
 
 Far from giving the Hudson's Bay Company'" the interior coun- 
 try on the Red River and the Saskatchewa, their Charter, restricted 
 by this exception, did not even give them that part of the coast of 
 Hudson's Bay in front of it. 
 
 These regions were commonly known as French territory, and 
 were virtually recognized as such by the Treaty of St. Germains 
 en Laye, of 1632, which restored to the King of France Canada or 
 " La Noiivelle France," of which they formed part ; — £ind they had 
 already, in 1627, been chartered to " La Compagnie de la Nouvelle 
 France." 
 
 The occupation of Hudson's Bay by the French before the date 
 of the Hudson's Bay Company's Charter is unquestionable, for not 
 only had their trade been established there in 1656 and 1663, by 
 Jean Bourdon and La Couture, and Missions been planted in the 
 interior, but it is also historically notorious that the Hudson's Bay 
 Company originated in two disaffected Canadians, who had been 
 engaged in the trade of the Bay (De Grozelier and Radison), 
 inducing English adventurers to join them in a trading voyage 
 there,* the success of which led to the formation of the Hudson's 
 Bay Company and the granting of its Charter in 1670. 
 
 After a protracted struggle the Hudson's Bay Company's people 
 were, in 1686, expelled as trespassers from the posts they had 
 established in the Bay. The justice of this expulsion and the prior 
 rightful possession of France is acknowledged in the treaty of Rys- 
 wick, of 1697, which provides for the restitution to France of these 
 posts in particular, as well as of all others taken in the war then 
 terminated, that had formerly belonged to France. 
 
 Therefore, without entering into the seemingly well grounded 
 objections made, by able legists, to the fundamentally illegal char- 
 acter of that Charter, we see that in simple equity, (though that 
 
 * See Charlevoix, Vol. 1, p. 476. 
 
151 
 
 .»•'<■ 
 
 may probably be disregarded) King Charles could not give — and 
 by the exception evidently did not intend to give — the Company 
 ^1 the territory they now claim, simply because it was not his to 
 give. 
 
 We see also that the completeness of the title given by the 
 Charter is vitiated by an exception well giwmded on known 
 fact, — a fact affirmed and sustained by the high authority of 
 international treaty ; and that, therefore, the Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany would probably, under it, be unable, in a Court of Law, to 
 prove perfect title, as required, for the ejectnient of adverse pos- 
 sessors. 
 
 Previous to the cession of Canada, Canadian traders had long 
 been in undisputed possession of the interior country now in dis- 
 pute — holding there the forts of Maurepas on Lake Winnipeg, Fort 
 Rouge on Red River, De la Reine on Lake Manitoba, and Forts 
 Bourbon, Pasquiae and Nippeween on the Saskatchewan. Under 
 the Articles of capitulation of Canada their occupation and pro- 
 perty there would be secured to them. After the cession of the 
 country, British and Canadians, following in their track, maintained 
 the right, by trading there, before and after the Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany entered the same grounds ; — and they continued to do so for 
 upwards of forty years before the Hudson's Bay Company asserted 
 — and in 1814 first attempted — to enforce their exclusive claim.* 
 
 Then, after the protracted and sanguinary ptruggle between them 
 and the Canadian North-west Company, during which the exclu- 
 sive pretensions of either were expressly and c.refuUy ignored by 
 the Imperial and Provincial uuthoritiesf — the Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany, finding that they could not enforce their Charter, united 
 with the North-west Company, so that they might jointly secure 
 the exclusion of all other traders. 
 
 As to the Hudson's Bay Company's claim to the right of soil — 
 how can Canada be asked to entertain it ? The soil, with most 
 insignificant exception, is still the unalienated property of the 
 native Indians. 
 
 \m 
 
 * The great explorations of Sir Alexander McKeuzie, up to the Arctic Sea and 
 through to the Pacific Ocean, and the scarcely less important exploratory survevS 
 of David Thompson, after May, 1797, including the discovery and survey of the 
 River Columbia and Thompson's River and the su'-veys of the Arthabasca and 
 Peace Rivers, Beaver River and Upper Saskatchewan, and of several passages through 
 the Rocky Mountains, were operations of the Canadian North-west Company, of 
 whom McKenzie was a leader, and to whom Thompson transferred his services, in 
 1799, as stated in his manuscript Journal, after sei-ving the Hudson's Bay Company 
 from October, 1789. 
 
 t See Earl Bathurst's despatch of 6th February, 1817, enjoining the mainten- 
 ance of "the full and free permission for all persons to pursue their usual and 
 accustomed trade without hindrance or molestation." 
 
152 
 
 III Canada, the Mother Country recognized tlieir right by pur- 
 chasing their lands and paying annuities for them. Before the 
 Union these payments had to be refunded to the Imperial Govern- 
 uient by Upper Canada. These annuities are now paid directly 
 by the Canadian Govennent. 
 
 Seeing, therefore, that we have to pay for nil lands acquired for 
 us, or by us, from Indians, are we to be compelled to recognize 
 the right of the Hudson's Bay Company to lands they never pur- 
 chased or paid for ? And i: it consistent with that justice to the 
 Aborigines, which we heur so much spoken about in England, 
 tliat, in acquiring their lands, instead of paying them the whole 
 price, we are to give part of it to the Hudson's Bay Company,— 
 who never acquired any right to it from the owners ? * 
 
 The grounds of claim to the territory in dispute are too obscure, 
 hypothetical and conflicting, to be conclusive in favor of either 
 Canada or the Company: it is for the Ciown, in whom the 
 absolute right still remains, to deal with it as it sees fit. 
 
 Besides that of the native Indians, the only indefeasible right is 
 tliat of mankind to have the obstruction to its lawful occupation 
 by settlers removed. All that the Company can justly be entitled 
 to is indemnity for any injury to their trade which settlement may 
 occasion, when it takes place. 
 
 That, in the large portion of prairie land nearest to us, which is 
 exhausted as a fur-bearing country, must be comparatively little. 
 
 In considering this question, we have to bear in mind that it is 
 only such part of the territory, sending waters to Hudson's Bay, 
 as their Charter may, under the reytricting exception be found to 
 cover, that the Company can have any permanent right to : — the 
 remainder of the territory they occupy, they held merely tempo- 
 rarily by lease, on the termination of which their rights become 
 extint, without claim to indemnity. 
 
 We claim that the Red River and Saskatchewan country comes 
 under the latter description. We should therefore avoid being 
 led into calling it Rupert's Land, for as that was the name given 
 by King Charles to the land he gave the Company, we in a man- 
 ner admit the Red River and Saskatchewan Country to be the 
 property of the Company if we call it Rupert's Land. 
 
 But though our interests are opposed to theirs as to territorial 
 right, we should be careful to be just to the Company, and con- 
 sider well the particulars in which their interests and ours may 
 agree. 
 
 * I am le.d to make these remarks from its having been my duty, for seven 
 years, to keep the accounts of these transactions, between the Imperial Com- 
 missariat, the Local Government, and the Indian Department. 
 
153 
 
 We must acknowledge that their adniirablo system, good ma- 
 nagement and good faith in dealing with the Indians, are highly 
 creditable to them, and have maintained tran»iuillity in the vast 
 territories under their sway, and peace on our borders, and respect 
 for the British name and power in the minds of the natives ; and 
 that their officers and agents are proverbially honourable men. 
 
 If the Company were broken up and their officers withdrawn 
 from these territories, and the trade of them thrown Dpcn to all, 
 it might, no doubt, give a few enterjmsing men in Canada the 
 opportunity of seeking, probably with some success, to amass 
 wealth like that of the old Noi-th-West Company of Montreal. 
 But when the irregular, and too often unscnipulous trading of 
 the adventurers was substituted for the well regulatfed and reliable 
 system of the Hudson's Bay Company, it would probably have, 
 with the free use of spirits that would no doubt attend it, a most 
 injurious and demoralizing effect upon the Indians ; and coupled 
 with the many causes of provocation accompanying the advance 
 of settlement, would, almost certainly, lead to difficulties and 
 border warfare with them, as in the adjoining States. 
 
 It would therefore probably be better, on the whole, that the fur 
 trade of these territories should remain in the hands of the Hud- 
 son's Bay Company, under lease from tlie Dominion, especially if 
 such an arrangement gave Canada more favourable tenns in 
 settlement with the Company. The importance of economy 
 effected in this way will be seen when it is considered that it 
 might be sufficient to defray the expense of opening a serviceable 
 line of communication for the ingress of settlers. 
 
 Or it might be better for the Goverment of the Dominion to 
 step into the shoes ui the Company, and continue the trade, 
 through the agents and others now employed, retaining their 
 services by giving them the same interest in the trade as they 
 now hold, or equivalent advantage. 
 
 By doing so. Government would have thoroughly competent 
 Indian agents throughout the whole of these territories, and by 
 maintaining the same policy of management as heretofore, would 
 prevent an important influence over the native tribes from being 
 impaired or falling into foreign hands, and could use it for the 
 pR ervation of that tranquillity which would be doubly necessary 
 in the face of advancing settlement. 
 
 If we have to buy the improvements or business stands of the 
 Company, it would be reasonable to turn them to some account; 
 and the abrupt withdrawal of that trade on which the imtives no\\ 
 depend for ammunition and other things, now become necesM^ries 
 to them, would be a calamity to the Indians, which it would be 
 the duty of Canada, in extending her dominion (ver them, to a' ert. 
 
 4 
 
 Mi 
 
 m 
 
 III 
 
 W 
 
 i • 
 
154 
 
 The •exclusive reservation of the fur trade in the hands of 
 Government, for the good of all, would be less obnoxious than its 
 being held by a company. It would enable Government to check 
 the use of spirits in the trade. The agents might be useful in 
 allaying difficulties and watching over the feelings of the natives 
 «nd their movements, as well as their interests and wants; but 
 there are, no doubt, some obvious objections to the trade being carried 
 on by Government. 
 
 But whatever the arrangements as to trade may be, the security 
 of settlement will lie in good faith with the Indians, in all arrange- 
 n;ents with them being honorably and liberally maintained. With 
 ultimate advantage to ourselves we might even exceed that. Were 
 the Government of the Dominion, on acquiring these territories, or 
 any part of them, to establish in the settlements, asylums, at a 
 few points, for the helpless and infirm, and orphans of such tribes 
 AS any arrangement as to territory or otherwise was made with; 
 and wei-e it also provided that any Indian of any such tribe might, 
 .at any time forever thereafter and anjrwhere, obtain a free grant of 
 two hundred acres of land, on his choosing to become a settler, as 
 an inalienable homestead, and be entitled to admission into any 
 hospital, or to medical assistance in case of illness cr injury, to be 
 j>aid for by Government on the certificate of any magistrate, a 
 strong and favorable impression would be made on the feelings of 
 the Indians. The Indian would have it constantly before him that 
 if he became helpless there was a home ever ready for him under 
 the roof of the Dominion. 
 
 The liability to expense which this would entail may be objected 
 to, but when it is considered how little this exceeds what Christian 
 charity would dictate, under such circumstances, and the small 
 number of the Indians, — the benefit to them and the moral influence 
 in our favor, — ^the liability of cost may be found moderate com- 
 pared with the general advantage obtained. 
 
 i. By adopting such a system of attaching the Indians, and either 
 obtaining the cordial co-operation of the Hudson's Bay Company, 
 by duly considering their interest, or otherwise by occupying their 
 place, which would be still more efifective, the security of orderly 
 settlement, on just principles, would be provided for, and the 
 strength of the Indian nations would be knit to ours for common 
 defence if necessary, at less cost in the end than by bad faith and 
 .aggression and bloody wars with them. 
 
•««*Wlt- 
 
 
 155 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 COMPARATIVE VALUE OF THE SEVERAL TERRITORIES TO CANADA, 
 
 AND CONCLUSION. 
 
 Having passed in review the Hudson's Bay and North-West 
 Territories, in naturally distinct sections, we may now consider 
 which, or how many of them we may require ; and in what degree 
 they are respectively of value to us. 
 
 First and chiefly, as generally admitted, and for reasons already 
 shown, we want the central prairie country on the Red River, 
 Saskatchewan, Athabasca and Peace Rivers, as a favorable site for 
 the immediate extension of settlement and reception of Europea. 
 immigration. We see that it much exceeds Canada in extent, that 
 it has on an average as suitable a climate for agricultural occupation ; 
 while it greatly exceeds Canada in the proportion of arable land it 
 contains; much of which is of the richest quality known. 
 
 The next in value to us, though veiy much inferior to the pre- 
 ceding, is that here described as the South Hudson's Bay Territory, 
 or that part of it, at least, up to the line of latitude 52*^ 30' N. from 
 a little above the mouth of the Albany River, on Hudson's Bay, 
 across to Lake Winnipeg. It is a habitable country, with much 
 fertile arable land, admitting of the cultivation of coarse grains in 
 the north, and, as we have seen, is as suitable, in some of the south 
 parts of it, for the growth of wheat, as Lower Canada. We require 
 it in connection with the preceding, because the southern part of it 
 contains the best lines of communication with Red River, and 
 which being chiefly by water, are the most advantageous for the 
 heavy freight of the interior; and also because through it we can 
 have a most direct and favorable line of railroad to Red River and 
 the Pacific. 
 
 Next, but in a lesser degree, the Pelly River or Mountain 
 Country would be valuable to us ; chiefly as a defence. Were it 
 in the hands of a power owning the seaboard, with strongholds in 
 commanding positions, at the eastern outlets of the passes through 
 it, our central prairie countrj'" would be exposed to being, at any 
 time, suddenly overrun. But with that three hundred and fifty 
 miles in breadth of Alpine country occupied by our fur traders, 
 with posts on all the leading passes, and " couriers du bois " and 
 trappers scattered over it, in friendly communication with the 
 natives, an enemy, without foothold, on attempting to pass, in 
 such insignificant force as it would under such circumstances be 
 practicable to lead, would easily be detected and destroyed before 
 having made much way ; or if by extraordinary fortune they did 
 
 H '' d 
 
156 
 
 pass unnoticed, the result to such small force as could so pass, would 
 be as disastrous as Arnolu's attempt on Canada by the valley of 
 the Chaudi^re. 
 
 The valleys of the Pelly River and Mountain Country will seem- 
 ingly admit of the cultivation of coarse grains, and cattle feeding, 
 throughout its whole extent, and it is a valuable fish and fur yield- 
 ing country. 
 
 East Main and the remainder of what is here designated as 
 South Hudson's Bay Territory, might be valuable to us for their 
 seal fisheries and fur trade ; and the McKenzie River country (or 
 its furs and minerals, and for the navigable highway to the most 
 valuable of Arctic whale fisheries, which that river offers ; but 
 these territories are of little value to us compared with the first 
 three mentioned — all of which are habitable countries, the first 
 eminently so. As to the North Hudson's Bay, or Barren Ground 
 Territory, it seems to have no conceivable value. 
 
 South Hudson's Bay Territory and the PieUy River or Mountain 
 Country, though unsuitable for occupation by our present standam 
 of estimation, will undoubtedly become inhabited. European 
 countries, not more suitable, are occupied by civilized and enlight- 
 ened nations, and have acquired considerable political and com- 
 mercial importance. 
 
157 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Some will argue that, in desiring to acquire the Nortli-west 
 Territory, we allow our ambition to override our judgment ; that 
 the organizing of it, and the maintenance of jurisdiction over it, 
 are a task beyond the ability of Canada ; that it is absurd to incur 
 expense in the development of remote territories, while we have 
 already so mu.ch A^aste land, requiring the making of more roads 
 than we are able to accomplish for the opening of it, to say nothing 
 of the canals and railroads nearer home, which all admit to be 
 desirable for the prosperity of the country. 
 
 One might argue interminably in this manner ; but there is a 
 shorter and a surer way to a conclusion in this matter. We have 
 only to look south of us, and see what has been done by the people 
 there. 
 
 We see that they acquired territory after territory, in the face 
 of obstacles that we have not to encounter. 
 
 When they were far weaker than we are, instead of acquiring 
 teiTitories in the easy way that we may do, they had to fight for 
 them. They had to combat fierce and powerful trib .s, backed by 
 the power of France ; but still they extended their frontier. 
 
 Whpn they entered on the career of national existence, they 
 wer3 but three millions ; but we are four. And then, in addition to 
 continual wars with the Indians, they had to fight with the mother 
 countiy, once and again, in wars ruinously expensive to them. But 
 that did not prevent their continuing to extend their jurisdiction 
 over vast territories, which they acquired from European Powers, 
 and had to fight for afterwards. 
 
 They had indeed vast regions nearer home of unsettled lands, 
 requiring roads and other improvements to open them up, while 
 we in fact have comparatively none of great value ; but instead 
 of the extension of their dominion leading them to neglect im- 
 provements in their older states, the very reverse seems to be the 
 case. 
 
 Who will say that the acquisition and development of their 
 western territories, which one after the other have grown into 
 thriving and populous states, has retarded the prosperity of their 
 older eastern states and cities ? On the contrary, we find them re- 
 markable for their works and improvements; and what is more, we 
 find them enriched by their manufactures for the markets of the 
 western territories, which they acquired and developed into power- 
 
 
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158 
 
 fill states, and that their chief seaports are swollen with the com- 
 merce arising from them. 
 
 Now, we are not only greater than they were in population, but 
 also exceed them in a much greater degree in wealth, and in the 
 command of wealth unknown to them, in their beginnings. We 
 have no Indian wars; and instead of their expensive wars with the 
 mother country, we enjoy her powerful protection and pecuniary 
 assistance, and have the immense additional advantage of steam 
 and railroads in our favor. 
 
 With all these advantages, it is evidently preposterous to say, 
 that it is beyond our power to do what they did, unless we ^dopt 
 the plea that we are intrinsically so in. irior to the people of the 
 United States, in capacity, energy and patriotism, that with every 
 advantage in our favor, and obstacles removed which they had to 
 encounter, we have neither the courage nor ability to imitate their 
 successful example. 
 
 But some will say, what is the real good of aspiring to national 
 power and greatness ? The answer is a simple one. Men in 
 general are what the institutions of their country make them. The 
 security of these institutions depends on the power of the people to 
 defend them. Civil liberty depends upon political independence, 
 and. that, it is needless to say, depends on the power to maintain it. 
 Where would have been the civil liberty of England had she suc- 
 cumbed to the Armada, or the stability of her institutions had she 
 been conquered by France under Napoleon? 
 
 The mother country has placed in our hands the national banner, 
 and the institutions of which it is the symbol, under which she has 
 attained her pre-eminent, moral and material greatness; the 
 standard of responsible constitutional government and law-abiding 
 liberty ; and she expects us, with her assistance, and for our own 
 good, to maintain it, and them, honorably, over these broad 
 dominions of which she endows us with the inheritance. May 
 there be no failure on our part through short-sighted impatriotic 
 pusillanimity. 
 
 

 ir : ^ 
 
 REPORT 
 
 ON IHB 
 
 LINE OF ROUTE BETWEEN LAKE SUPERIOR 
 
 AND 
 
 THE RED RIVER SETTLEMENT. 
 
Ottawa, 20th April, 1868. 
 
 Sir, — I have the honor herewith to submit to your consideration 
 a Eeport on the Line of Route between Lake Superior and the Red 
 River Settlement, with an Estimate of the cost of opening the com- 
 munication in the manner therein suggested. 
 
 I have the honor to be, sir. 
 
 Your most obedient servant. 
 
 (Signed,) 
 
 Hoa Wm. McDougall, C.B., 
 
 Minister of Public Works, &c., &c., 
 Ottawa. 
 
 S. J. Dawson, 
 Civil JEngineer. 
 
REPORT 
 
 ON 
 
 THE LINE OF ROUTE 
 
 BETWEEN 
 
 LAKE SUPERIOR AND THE RED RTYER SETTLEMENT. 
 
 ' I 
 
 i^i i 
 
 i 
 
 In reporting as to the best means of opening a line of commu- 
 nication between Lake Superior and the Red River Settlement, I 
 beg to be permitted, in the first place, to refer briefly to the opera- 
 tions of the Red River Expedition, carried on for several years 
 under my direction, as it will, I doubt not, be satisfactory to the 
 Government to know that the suggestions which I have the honor 
 to submit are not the expression of mere theoretical views, biit the 
 result of long-continued investigation, under official instnictions 
 from the Canadian Government. 
 
 The earlier Reports of the Expedition were printed by order of 
 the Legislature, but those sent in during the last year of its opera- 
 tions hcive never been publishc I. The present Report will contain 
 all that is believed to be of immediate importance in these docu- 
 ments ; that is, in regard to the subject under consideration. 
 
 The following Maps are annexed for convenience of reference : — 
 
 1. A Plan, on a scale of two miles to one inch, showing the 
 country between Thunder Bay and Lac des Mille Lacs, Dog Lake 
 line of road, position of dam, &c. 
 
 2. A Plan of the Lake Region, on a scale of four miles to one 
 inch, showing the country between the Height of Land and Fort 
 Frances. 
 
 3. A Plan on a scale of ten miles to one inch, showing the 
 country between Fort Frances and Fort Garry. 
 
 . 4. A Map, in profile, showing the relative altitude of the Routes 
 by Pigeon River and the Kaministaquia. 
 
 Plan No. 3 might be lithographed at small cost, and I think it 
 would be advisable to have it published, as it is the only con-ect one 
 of the section which it exhibits. 
 
 The Red River Expedition consisted at its outset of three dis- 
 tinct parties, receiving their instructions from three different De- 
 partments of Government. One of these was under my direction, 
 one under Mr. Napier's, while Mr. Gladman, a retired officer of the 
 
 11 
 
 <!fij'' 
 
162 
 
 Hudson's Bay Company, who had the guidance of the Expedition 
 on the journey to Eed lliver, had a separate party of his own. 
 
 The parties thus organized set out in July, 1857, and proceedin" 
 by the usual canoe route from Fort William, made numerous ex- 
 plorations, determined the levels as they went, and eventually 
 arrived at the Red River Settlement in the fall of the same year. 
 
 Mr. Gladman, after a short stay, returned by the way he liad 
 uuiut) lu Toruiilo, where his uouiitjutiou with the Expedition suuu 
 afterwards ceased, while Professor Hind, who I should have men- 
 tioned had been attached to the party as geologist, proceeded by 
 way of the Red River over the prairies to St. Paul. 
 
 My assistants at this time were Mr. Lindsay A. Russell, Mr. J. 
 P. Gaudet, Mr. Alex. W. Wells and Col. C. de Salaberry. The 
 three fii'st-named gentlemen were surveyors, all of whom are of 
 high standing in their profession, while Col. de Salaberry acted 
 chiefly as Commissary — an important office in a region where pro- 
 visions were not always very abundant. 
 
 The winter of 1857-58 was chiefly occupied in exploring the 
 country between the Lake of the Woods and Red River, a region 
 at that time but little known, and reported to be impassable in 
 summer, on account of swamps which were said to cover the greater 
 portion of its area. At the same time, an instrumental survey was 
 made, so as to connect Fort Garry with the survey made many 
 years previously by the Boundary Commissioners, under the treaty 
 of Ghent. This enabled us to establish with accuracy the longi- 
 tude of Fort Garry, which, on the maps then in use, was set down 
 as much as twenty-one minutes too far to the west. 
 
 The party were also able, before the opening of navigation, to 
 explore the Rosseau River and make an instrumental survey of the 
 Red River and Lake Winnipeg, between Fort Alexander, at the 
 mouth of the Winnepeg River, and the Boundary Line at Pembina. 
 
 Immediately after the opening of the navigation, having organ- 
 ized a party of half-breed Indians and procured canoes, we pro- 
 ceeded by way of the Manitoba and Winnepegoos Lakes to the 
 great Saskatchewan River, and examined the rapids and impedi- 
 ments to the navigation between Lac Bourbon and Lake Winnipeg. 
 The levels were determined with care, and the " Track Survey" 
 
 had made 
 often 
 
 as 
 
 of the Lake Coasts, as we proceeded, was 
 possible by observations for latitude and 
 
 which we 
 corrected as 
 longitude. 
 
 Separating onr party at the Mossy Portage, tlie name by which 
 the path between Lake Winnepegoos and Lac Bourbon is called, I 
 sent Mr. Wells to explore Lac Dauphin and survey the route by 
 way of the Little Saskatchewan and Lake Winnepeg to the mouth 
 of the Red River, appointing the 1st of July following to meet him 
 at the settlement. 
 
1G3 
 
 Taking with me my assistants, Mr. (Jauilet, and Mr. cle Salaberry, 
 and a few Indians, I ascended Swan Itiver, crossed from tlience to 
 Fort Pelly, and descended by tiie Assiniboine to Fort Garry, having 
 on this excursion obtained much information, as to the soil and 
 climate of a very extensive district, and made such observations as 
 enabled us to delineate its geography with tolerable accuracy. 
 
 Throughout the entire period during which our liead (quarters 
 were at the Ked Itive). Settlement, a Meteorological llcgistcr v/as 
 kept, regularly, under the supei-vision of Mr. Russell, and it has 
 since been of considerable value, as, taken in connection with some 
 reliable observations made by others, it has served not a little to 
 dispel the absurd idea:; which at one time prevailed in regard to 
 the severity of the climate and the duration of the winters. 
 
 On the 4th of July, 1858, our party was once more assembled 
 at the Red River Settlement, and having with some difficulty pro- 
 cured supplies, we set out, with all possible dispatch, for a more 
 thorough exploration of the c mntry between llainy Lake and Lake 
 Superior. Among the instructions received from the Government 
 at this time were the ft)llowing : — 
 
 " Secketary's Office, 
 
 " Toronto, IGth April, 1858. 
 
 " Sir, — Adverting to the last paragraph in my letter to you this 
 day, I have the honor to inform you, that it is not thought necessaiy 
 to make any alterations in the instructions for your future opera- 
 tions, contained in tlie Order in Council of 29th January last. 
 
 " You will therefore consider these instructions, so far as your 
 explorations are concerned, still in force. 
 
 " I am to add, however, that if time allows it, you will endeavor 
 to survey the road between Gun Flint Lake and I'ointe de Meuron, 
 and when returning from the North-west Corner of the Lake of the 
 Woods and passing through Rainy Lake, make occasional traverses 
 when practicable, with a view to ascertain the extent of arable land 
 in that locality. ii^ ^J 
 
 " I am further to state that His Excellency, havmg every con- 
 fidence in your judgment, does not think it right to trammel your 
 movements by detailed instructions, and that you are therefore at 
 liberty to make any other explorations in addition to those particu- 
 larly mentioned in the instructions already conveyed to you, should 
 you, upon the information obtained in the locality, deem it desirable 
 you should do so. 
 
 " I have the honor to be. Sir, 
 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 (Signed,} " T. J. J. Loranger, 
 
 " S. J. Dawson, Esq., " Secretary J' 
 
 "Civil Engineer in command, 
 
 " of the Red River Expedition." , 
 
 ■r'' 
 
 
 
1C4 
 
 From that time forward, for the remainder of the season, and 
 during the winter of 1858-59, our explorations wore confined chiefly, 
 I may say exclusively, to the country between Rainy Lake and 
 Lake Superior. Two well appointed parties were kept constantly 
 ut work, and sometimes three. Instrumental surveys were carried 
 from Lake Superior, westward, through Dog Lake, Dog lliver, Lac 
 des Mille Lacs and the Seine, to within a short distance of Kainy 
 Lake. The levels were taken from Jourdain's Rapid to Dog Lake, 
 and from that Lake across, by the line laid out as a road, to Lake 
 Superior. 
 
 In the spring of 1859, having learned that a party fitted out by 
 the people of Red River, who at that time took a great deal of 
 interest in promoting the development of the country, had been 
 baffled in an attempt to take horses through to the Lake of the 
 Woods, had in fact got bewildered in swamps, from which they had 
 experienced much difficulty in extricating themselves, and as the 
 impression as to that section of the country being impracticable for 
 roads was thus gaining confirmation, I hastened to the Lake of the 
 "Woods, with the most active of my assistants, and proceeding to its 
 •western extremity had the good fortune to secure the services of an 
 Indian Chief, who undertook to show us ground on v/iich the 
 country could be crossed. 
 
 Leaving my assistants to find their way across with the Chief, I 
 proceeded by way of the Winnipeg to the Red River Settlement, 
 where I had not long to wait for their arrival They reported that 
 the Chief had led them to a gravelly ridge which extended, with 
 but few breaks, for a long distance across the most swampy parts 
 of the country, and that the remains of Indian encampments showed 
 that it had been much used as a pathway, in times long past. 
 
 A number of men were immediately engaged in the Settlement 
 and sent to open the line which had been traced, in such a way as 
 to render it passable for horses ; and over this line our party rock 
 clear through to the Lake of the Woods, on horseback. 
 
 The line thus opened was used afterwards as a Post road for the 
 conveyance of Mails on h&rseback, and it requires but slight know- 
 ledge of engineering to understand that ground, over which horses 
 can be ridden, is not so swampy as to be impracticable for roads. 
 
 Returning again to Rainy Lake, we made a more thorough 
 examination of the Lakes, by the old canoe route, than we had 
 previously had an opportunity of doing, and the result led me to 
 the conclusion that, considering the long reaches of navigable water 
 on that route, it could be rendered available, in the first instance, 
 to greater advantage and at less outlay than the line by the Seine, 
 which had been examined and reported on the previous year. 
 
 Arriving at Lake Superior, I was joined by my assistant, Mr. 
 
IG.") 
 
 tm. 
 
 Wells, who had spent the whole summer in cxaniininj:^ the eountry 
 about the Height of Land and Lac (m's Mille Lacs. Tiie fall being 
 now far advanced, the parties were gradually withdrawn, such of 
 them as we had left at the Lake of the Woods returning only in the 
 beginning of November. 
 
 To sum up, the explorations and surveys were thus continued, un- 
 interruptedly, for three sunmiers and two winters. There were gene- 
 rally tliree well-appointed parties simultaneously at work, in (lilfer- 
 eni sections, and, whether at Lake Superior or the Lake of the Woods 
 — the one a swampy and the other a hilly region — they always 
 availed themselves of the aid of the natives, wliose occupation of 
 lumting, pur.'ued from youth to age, within particular areas, rendered 
 their local knowledge of the greatest value. 
 
 A considerable period of time has now elapsed since the oper- 
 ations of the Red River expedition were brought to a close, and 
 since that time there has been no further exploration whatever in 
 the country between Lake Superior and the Red River Settlement, 
 so that such of our preliminary Reports as have been published are 
 the only sources of information generally available.' 
 
 Having thus briefly alluded to the surveys and explorations 
 made by me, or under my direction, I proceed to describe the dif- 
 ferent sections of the country in detail, pointing out, as concisely as 
 possible, the works and improvements required, and the reasons 
 for adopting particular lines of route or starting points. 
 
 For the sake of convenience, in description, the country between 
 Lake Superior and tlie Red River Settlement may properly be 
 regarded as forming four divisions. 
 
 The first, embracing the region to the east of the water-slied, or 
 Height of Land, will be referred to as the " Lake Superior Section." 
 
 The next, extending from the Height of Land to Fort Frances, 
 1 propose to designate as the " Lake Region." 
 
 The navigable reach, extending from Fort Frances to the north- 
 west angle of the Lake of the Woods, will be called the " Lake of 
 the Woods Division.". 
 
 Wliile that between the north-west angle and the Red River 
 Settlement may not inappropriately be known as the " Fort Garry 
 Section." 
 
 'i ' 
 
 LAKE SUPERIOR SECTION. 
 
 The country between the Boundary Line, at Pigeon River, and 
 the head or eastern end of Thunder Bay, was carefully examined 
 with the view of finding a practical route from Lake Superior to 
 

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 some one of the water systems leading from the Height of Land, 
 westward, to Rainy Lake. 
 
 On all the routes, proposed or suggested, I had at various times 
 during the progress of the expedition, reported to the Government, 
 so that, here, I need only state the leading advantages or objections 
 which attach, respectively, to each. 
 
 THE riGEDN RIVEIl ROUTE. 
 
 The nature of this route, and the objections to it, will be found 
 pretty fully stated in my preliminary reports, printed by order of 
 the Legislature. — Pages 7 and 27. 
 
 The starting point is entirely within the United States territory, 
 and, for a distance of one hundred and fifty miles, the canoe route 
 forms the Boundary Line. But tliis is far from being the only ob- 
 jection. The ascent from Lake Superior is very rapid and steep, 
 and at the Height of Land, and far to the westward thereof, the 
 route leads over a very high and broken region. The lak^s at the 
 summit of the water-shed are 1,058 feet above the level of Lake 
 Superior, and, even at that elevation, are embosomed in rocky hills 
 which rise to the height of several hundreds of feet around them. 
 Moreover, the supply of water is so inadequate as to forbid the idea 
 of improving the navigation, and there is no source from whence a 
 supply can be obtained. The route' itself is at the summit of 
 supply, and touches in its course on the head waters of no less than 
 four different rivers. 
 
 Between Pigeon River and the Kaministaquia, there are several 
 good harbours on the coast, but from these access to the interior 
 would be exceedingly difficult, and could only be provided at 
 enormous outlay. 
 
 It was at one time suggested that a practicable line might be 
 found by which to cross the country from Pointe de Meuron, so 
 as to join the Pigeon River Route, to the westward of the Height of 
 Land. This point I was instructed to investigate, and accordingly 
 despatched Mr. L. A. Russell, with a well-appointed party, to 
 explore in the direction which had been indicated He ran a line 
 from Pointe de Meuron to Gun Flint Lake, a distance of some fifty- 
 four miles, and examined the ground on either side thereof, but his 
 report and field notes show that the country which he traversed 
 was too rough and impracticable to admit of an available line of 
 communication. 
 
 In concluding my notice of this route, I may say that, for a 
 distance of one hundred and thirty miles from Lake Superior, west- 
 ward, it cannot be made in any way available as a line of water 
 communication, except for small canoes ; that the country being 
 for a great part of the distance rugged, mountainous and cut up 
 
167 
 
 •with lakes, it is next to impracticable for roads, and, finally, that 
 there being a much better route to the eastward, entirely within 
 British territory, there would be no object in attempting to open 
 thio line, or spending further sums in its exploration. 
 
 KAMINISTAQUIA ItOUTE. 
 
 This is the old canoe route of the North-west and Hudson's Bay 
 Companies. On this line the supply of water is ample, and the 
 elevation of the country at the summit of the water-shed less, by 
 some two hundred feet, than on the Pigeon Eiver Eoute, while it is 
 at the same time, that is, at the turn of the water-shed, compar- 
 atively level and practicable for roads. Dog Lake, a large sheet of 
 water on the Kaministaquia, twenty-four miles inland from Lake 
 Superior, extends for a distance of some twenty miles in a direction 
 nearly parallel to the western coast of Thunder Bay. To the west- 
 ward of this lake, the principal stream which supplies it with water 
 — Dog River — can be made navigable nearly to the Height of Land 
 (and it will be so when a dam now in progress of construction is 
 completed), so that, between river and lake, an available reach of 
 some thirty-five miles could be commanded. It became, therefore, 
 a matter of importance to find access to this navigable reach, and 
 with this end in view, the levels of the Kaministaquia were 
 determined, and the country between Dog Lake and Lake Superior 
 explored. 
 
 Dog Lake was found to be at an elevation of 718 feet above the 
 level of Lake Superior, and the intervening country proved to be 
 extremely mountainous and rough, while the difficulties by water 
 were of a still more formidable character. 
 
 The Kaministaquia, after leaving Dog Lake, runs nearly south 
 to its confluence with Fish River, then eastwardly to Pointe de 
 Meuron, and thence north-east to its discharge, making a sweep of 
 sixty miles before it reaches Lake Superior ; and as it has in that 
 distance to get down a declivity of 718 feet, its character, in regard 
 to its capacity for navigation, may be easily imagined. It affords, 
 however, an available, although a difficult route for canoes ; but, for 
 large craft, it could only be made navigable at an outlay which no 
 circumstances likely to arise would warrant. 
 
 A land road to Dog Lake, therefore, became indispensable, and, 
 after much careful investigation and exploration, an available pass 
 was found and a line laid out, and on this line during the past 
 summer a fair commencement was made, and six miles of road, 
 reckoning from Thunder Bay, completed. 
 
 The starting point is at a place called the Depot, on Thunder 
 Bay, about three miles to the eastward of the mouth of the Kamiu- 
 
 . 'i 
 
 -» ' ' 
 
 M 
 
168 
 
 istaquia, and at this point there is, in my opinion, every facility 
 for constructing wharves and forming a perfectly safe harbour. 
 
 The Kaministaquia, itself, has been strongly recommended as 
 a harbour, but, in its present state, it is inaccessible to vessels draw- 
 ing more than five and a half feet of water, on account of a bar or 
 shoal of great extent at its mouth. Its adoption would involve the 
 dredging of a channel, and the construction of extensive piers or 
 walls of heavy crib work, on either side thereof, to prevent it from 
 being filled up by the action of the ice which, at certain seasons, 
 ploughs over the bar. Another consideration, which should not be 
 lost sight of, is that the causes which produced the shoal are still in 
 operation. Quantities of sediment are brought down with every 
 freshet, more especially in the spring, and the dredging would have 
 to be repeated at intervals to keep the channel, once formed, open. 
 
 Everything considered, therefore, I would not for the present 
 recommend the Government to undertake the dredging of the Kam- 
 inistaquia, and the construction of extensive works to keep the 
 channel so formed from filling up. The first great object is to open 
 the, communication with Fort Garry ; and, when that is accom- 
 plished, there will be no lack of means, from private sources, or of 
 enterprise, to render the Kaministaquia an accessible harbour. In 
 the meantime, it might seriously aft'ect the enterprise if large sums 
 were to be expended at its very outset on mcrdy local ivorks. 
 
 Fort William is, however, even at present, accessible to the 
 smaller class of schooners or fisliing vessels which navigate Lake 
 Superior. It is, besides, a place of importance as being the centre 
 of such trade as is carried on, and it will gradually become of in- 
 creased consequence, as the mines in the vicinity are developed, 
 and the fertile portion of tlie valley of the Kaministaquia fills up 
 with settlement. For these reasons, it is expedient to connect it 
 by a branch line with the Dog Lake Road, as shown on the accom- 
 panying plan, and for this purpose I have included a sum of seven 
 thousand dollars ($7,000) in the estimate, which 1 have now the 
 honor to submit. 
 
 Before concluding this subject, I would call attention to the fact 
 that many persons who take a deep interest in that part of the 
 country are under the impression that by going up the Kaminista- 
 (j^uia to Pointe de Meuron, or as far as the navigable water extends 
 — a distance of some ten or twelve miles — the length of land road, 
 which Avould then be required to reach Dog Lake, would be by so 
 much shortened. But this is & mistake. Pointe de Meuron is, in 
 an air line, somewhat further than either Fort William or the 
 Depot from Dog Lake, and there would, consequently, be no object 
 in taking cargoes up a narrow channel to a point whipli brought 
 them no nearer to their destination. The branch line should, there- 
 
169 
 
 fore, start from Fort William and not from Pointe de Meiiron. 
 From the former place the Dog Lake Road can be reached in six or 
 seven miles, while, from the latter, ten at least would be required, 
 with corresponding increase in the outlay. A glance at the map 
 will show clearly what I have endeavoured to explain. 
 
 It has been objected to the Depot as a starting point, that it is 
 shelterless, and that the ice will tear away any wharves that can be 
 built 
 
 Now, on reference to the map, it will be seen that Thunder Bay 
 is itself a harbour, although of somewhat large dimensions, com- 
 pletely land-locked and sheltered from every wind; any swell 
 therefore, which can be felt must arise within the Bay itself The 
 huge surges of Lake Superior do not roll into it at all, and it may 
 be regarded for all practical purposes, in relation to the subject 
 under consideration, as an inland lake. looking upon it in this 
 light, the starting point at the Depot is in a Bay of moderate depth, 
 completely sheltered from the prevailing winds, which are westerly. 
 A glance at the map will show that it is safe from winds blowing 
 from the west, south-west, north and north-west; and, I may add,, 
 that a wind blowing from a direction fifteen or twenty points to 
 the east of north, would not affect it. East, or south-easterly winds, 
 alone, would blow in upon the harbour, but the extent of their 
 sweep would be limited to the width of Thunder Bay, and the surge 
 which could arise in that distance may easily be guarded against. 
 That the swell has no great effect in Thunder Bay, at any time, is 
 demonstrated by the fact, that the trees grow clear down almost to 
 the level of the water, indeed, in some places, dipphig their branches 
 into it ; whereas, in exposed parts of Lake Superior, the wave-lashed 
 shores are destitute of vegetation. 
 
 It has been said, moreover, that the ice would carry wharves 
 away, and, as convincing proof of this, a boulder was pointed out 
 to me which had been shoved ashore by the ice. I merely notice 
 this to show the sort of arguments which have been advanced to 
 disparage Thunder Bay and promote the Kaministaquia. If 
 wharves cannot stand in the tranquil waters of a land-locked bay 
 they can stand nowhere, and those who object to them in Thunder 
 Bay, on the score of ice, can have had but little experience of such 
 a river as the St. Lawrence, wliere wharves are built to resist ice 
 rushing against them in immense fields, with the full force of the 
 spring floods, as is the case at Three Rivers when Lake St. Peter is 
 breaking up. 
 
 Among the advantages which the Depot at Thunder Bay pos- 
 sesses, may be mentioned the facility of approach or departuie 
 to sailing vessels, as they would have ample sea-room to beat in or 
 out, which they could not have in a narrow river like the Kamin- 
 
 •^ 
 
 
 f^ ' 
 
 ■n I 
 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 i 
 
 
 >H: 
 
 
 ---, ! I 
 
170 
 
 istaquia, with a shoal at its mouth extending a full mile from the 
 coast ; and a very important point to be considered is that Thunder 
 Bay, at; compared to the Kaministaquia, opens earlier in the 
 spring and remains open later in the fall As an instance of this, 
 it may be remarked that, in the fall of 1866, when the steamer 
 Algmim made her last trip, the Kaministaquia is said to have been 
 frozen over, and that so strongly that the people of Fort William 
 were skating on the ice. 
 
 From the Depot, eastward along the shore of Thunder Bay, the 
 ground for a distance of several miles is practicable for a road, and 
 there are facilities for the construction of wharves, in various places, 
 more especially at a point a little to the eastward of Current River, 
 where there is a small natural harbor, which, by means of piers, 
 might be sufficiently extended. 
 
 It was at one time believed that the upper or eastern end of 
 Thunder Bay, affording as it does an excellent natural harbor, would 
 have been a favorable point from which to run a line of road to 
 Dog Lake, but a careful examination showed such a line to be im- 
 practicable, within any reasonable limit of expenditure, on account 
 of the rugged nature of the country over which it would have had 
 to pass. Moreover, to have adopted the head of the bay would 
 have increased the distance to be navigated by some forty miles, 
 that is, including the addition botli in Dog Lake and the bay. 
 
 Eeferring again to the locality which has been chosen as the 
 starting point at Thunder Bay, it is admirably adapted for the 
 construction of wharves. The water deepens uniformly and gra- 
 dually from the shore, until, at a distance of five hundred feet, it has 
 a depth of three fathoms and a half. Timber suitable for the work 
 is very abundant on the Kaministaquia, whence it could be easily 
 floated down, and on various parts of the shores there is abundance 
 of loose stone for filling the piers, and the fixed rock, close at hand, 
 is of a nature to be easily blasted. 
 
 At present, it is proposed merely to sink an isolated pier or 
 -breakwater, at which vessels can discharge their loads, doing in 
 fact no more than is necessary to facilitate the landing of material 
 and supplies for the works, leaving it to a future consideration 
 whether the wharves shall be extended at the public cost, or left to 
 private enterprise. 
 
 I conclude this part of the subject by noticing still another 
 joute which has been advocated, namely : the 
 
 NIPEGON BAY ROUTE. 
 
 Among the many schemes recommended for opening the North- 
 ivest Territories^ the head of this bay has been suggested as a point 
 
171 
 
 of departure, chiefly on the ground tliat itaifords an excellent harhour, 
 and that, by itS adoption, the distance, to be navigated in Lake 
 Superior would be somewhat shortened. 
 
 It is not, however, without its objections, and a conclusive one 
 \yill be found in the fact that it is too far to f'e eastward of the 
 line which it is proposed to open to render its adoption in any way 
 expedient. It would, in fact, involve at the outset a land road ot 
 ninety or a hundred miles to reach the nearest point beyond the 
 water-shed, without any compensating advantage. Moreover, Nipe- 
 go'i Bay, being completely land-locked, is said to be very late of 
 opening in the spring, and the access to it is reported to be so intri- 
 cate as to require light-houses and beacons to render it safe ; whereas, 
 Thunder Bay is remarkably easy of access, and has been for many 
 years approached, night and day, without the occurrence of an 
 accident. 
 
 I may further state that a road from Nipegon Bay, to connect 
 with the proposed line west of the water-shed, would pass over a 
 region as yet unexplored, and only known to be exceedingly moun- 
 tainous and rough, and as it would run in a direction transverse to 
 the valleys, more than one mountain range would have to be crossed 
 and several considerable rivers bridged. 
 
 
 ,1'V: 
 ■'■fliS 
 
 THE LAKE REGION. 
 
 Westward of the Height of Land, on the streams tributary to 
 Rainy Lake, there is a section of country remarkable from the fact 
 that a very considerable portion of its area is occupied by lakes. 
 Those on the various routes which have been followed, are set down 
 on the annexed map, but these give only a faint idea of their num- 
 ber. Every river and rivulet has its lakes. Go in whatever direc- 
 tion he will, the explorer, on passing over a mountain range, is sure 
 to stumble on a lake. The Indians, with their little canoes, seem 
 by means of these lakes to travel in almost any and every direction. 
 So numerous are they, that it would be difficult to say whether the 
 coimtry would be better described as one vast lake with ridges of 
 land running through it, or as land intersected by water. On as- 
 cending any of the bare rocky bluffs frequent in the country, moun- 
 tains are seen stretching away in tumultuous and broken ridges to 
 the horizon, with lakes gleaming from every valley which the eye 
 can reach. 
 
 Such a region is but ill adapted for railways, but nature has 
 made up for the deficiency, by providing such means for canals as 
 exist in but few regions of so mountainous a character. Between 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
172 
 
 the hills and mountain ranges there are long reaches of tranquil 
 water which could be connected together by means of lock and 
 dtam, with but little excavation. The countiy, however, in its pre- 
 sent state, is not in a condition to admit of such projects as either 
 railways or canals, but, even if it were, the very primitive and 
 moderate way in which I propose to open the communication would 
 still be necessary, as a preliminary step, to render the diff(;rent ])oints 
 accessible. 
 
 A veiy marked cliaracteristic of the region is that the streams 
 are not subject to sudden or considerable floods, and this is a fea- 
 ture whicli the engineer, Avho has to provide for water-works of 
 whatever description, will look upon with unmixed satisfaction. 
 
 This very favorable circumstance is due, primarily, to the lakes 
 whicli serve as reservoirs, rising slowly during freshets, and sub- 
 siding gradually when they liave passed. It is in part produced 
 also by the character of the country, which is, in general, densely 
 wooded. 
 
 The rain fall is excessive, and as a consequence tlie streams 
 carry a very h'^ ivy volume, as compared to the area which they 
 drain. 
 
 The lakes are everywhere studded with wooded islands, and 
 so sheltered that the smallest canoes are rarely wind-bound. 
 
 The first considerable sheet of water westward of Height of 
 Land, on the route which it is proposed to follow, is 
 
 LAC DES MILLE LACS. 
 
 To render this Lake accessible from Dog River, all that is re- 
 quired is a road of ten miles across the water-shed, between Jour- 
 dain's Eapid and the navigable water of the Savane River. 
 
 This Ime would pass over veiy easy ground, presenting no en- 
 gineering difficulty whatever, except for about two miles near the 
 Savane River, where the ground is low and swampy, requiring to be 
 well ditched and fascined. 
 
 Two routes have been followed from Lac des Mille Lacs to 
 Ramy Lake ; one by its discharge, the River Seine, and the other 
 by the old canoe route. A description of the former will be found 
 in my printed report, pages 28 and 29. Subsequent to the publi- 
 cation of that report, the old canoe route, marked in yellow on the 
 accompanying plan, was more thoroughly surveyed than it had 
 been before. 
 
 Either route can be made practicable in the way I have recom- 
 mended for tlie Seine, at a moderate outlay, but, after weighing duly 
 their r* pective advantages, I am satisfied that the old canoe route 
 will be, botli as to economy of work in rendering it available, and 
 facility of managing and navigating it afterwards, the best. 
 
173 
 
 THE CA.NOE ROUTE. 
 
 The canoe route, to describe it more particularly, leaves T^c des 
 Mille I^acs at 'navil Bay, 1)y a portage of sixteen chains leading to 
 Baril Lake, vhich is eight miles and a half in length. 
 
 This Lake is again left by the Ikule Portage (of twenty-one 
 cl ains), leading to Windegoostegoon— a series of Likes connected 
 by a small stream, and having an aggregate length of twelve miles. 
 The water is in some places shallow, but it can easily l)e rendered 
 of sufficient depth. 
 
 Then comes the Great French Portage of one mile and sixty 
 chains, the descent in that distance being I'OjVo feet; succeeding 
 which the Kaogassikok Lake presents an unbroken reach of iifteen 
 miles, ending at the Pine Portage. 
 
 Then follow two portages in close succession — the I'ine and the 
 Deux Pdvi^res — in length, respectively, twenty-six and thirty chains; 
 but a road of two miles, to the navigable water leading to Sturgeon 
 Lake, would pass them both, and a small pond between them. 
 
 Sturgeon Lake, with a pond above it, presents sixteen miles of 
 navigable water, but the river below it, for eleven miles downwards 
 to Island Portage, makes a descent of only 32|Yo feet ; a dam of 
 sufficient height at Island Portage would, therefore, add eleven 
 miles of navigable water to its length, making a reach of full 
 twenty-seven miles. 
 
 Island Portage is about thirteen chains in length, with, in its 
 present state, a fall of 10,^5 feet. Immediately below it the Stur- 
 geon River is somewhat shallow, but navigable, nevertheless, and 
 at two miles from the Portage, Ner[uaquon Lake presents a magni- 
 ficent expanse, navigable for fifteen miles, making, with the river 
 at its inlet, a reach of seventeen miles. 
 
 From the Lake just named to the Nameukan Lake, there are 
 three routes ; the northern one, by Snake Falls, always followed at 
 low water, is considered dangerous, as may be inferred from its 
 name, the " Maligne!* 
 
 The southern, or high water route, is easy of navigation for 
 canoes, the total fall being overcome in three short portages. The 
 third, at present only used with light canoes, avoids all the rapids 
 by a portage of two miles into Nameukan, as shown on the plan, 
 overcoming in that distance a descent of about sevenlj -two feet. 
 
 Then follows a traverse of ten miles, through Nameukan Lake, 
 to the Bare Portage, which is but eleven chains in length, with a 
 fall of Sy^ifo feet to Rainy Lake. 
 
 The following table shows the distances, with the fall, at each 
 carrying place, in a more concise form : — 
 
 
 m 
 
174 
 
 Table Hhowing Portayes ami Navigable Reaches between Hc'^'ht of Land 
 
 and Fort Frances. 
 
 PORTAGES. 
 
 Lnmt Carriugc 
 
 B(l)08. 
 
 Baril PortAge 
 
 Bnil^ rurtiiKu 
 
 Descent in WindogouHteguon lakcleta and 
 
 stream 
 
 Frencli Portage 
 
 Pine and Dcnx Riviiros Portages. 
 
 Islaml Portflgn and Pall, Sturgeon River 
 Portage In^twuen Nu(iuaquon liake and 
 
 Naineukan Lake 
 
 Bare Portage 
 
 Land Carriage . 
 Off+... 
 
 DiflT. level between Lac des Mille 
 Lacs and Rainy Lake 
 
 CliainK 
 
 10 
 
 60 
 
 13 
 
 11 
 
 41 
 
 
 + 1.80 
 -47.02 
 
 -».60 
 -00.71 
 
 124.12 
 (lO.OA 
 (82.60 
 
 72.00 
 8.65 
 
 403.40 
 1.80 
 
 401.60 
 
 Navigable Orandies. 
 
 Savane River an<I Lac des 
 Mille Lacs Oaril Portage 
 
 Duril Lake 
 
 Windegoostegoon Lakes . . 
 
 Little French] Lake and 
 
 Kaogassikok I^ake 
 
 Sturgeon Lake and River 
 
 Nequaquon Lake. 
 
 Nameukan Lake 
 
 Rainy Lake and River. .< 
 
 Navigable. 
 Land Carriage 
 
 3 
 
 > 
 
 a 
 'A 
 
 42 
 12 
 
 15 
 27 
 
 17 
 
 10 
 40 
 
 177i 
 4 
 
 184 
 
 Thus, between the head of the Savane Eiver and Fort Frances, 
 the extent of navigable water would be one hundred and seventy- 
 seven and a-half miles, in eight reaches, divided by seven portages, 
 the latter having an aggregate length of six miles and forty-one 
 chains ; in round numbers, six miles and a half At a very little 
 outlay, however, over what I am about to propose, the navigable 
 reaches could be somewhat extended, and the number of carrying- 
 places reduced to five. 
 
 For example, the difference in level between Lac des Mille Lacs 
 and Baril Lake is hardly two feet, the latter being so much the 
 highest. If, therefore, Lac des Mille Lacs were raised by means of 
 a dam to the level of Baril Lake, and a cut made between the two, 
 eight miles and a half would be added to the navigable reach of 
 Mille Lacs, and one portage done away with. 
 
 In like manner, the difference in level between Nameukan and 
 Eainy Lakes is but 8/^'\5 feet, which might be overcome by a wooden 
 lock, thus adding some ten miles to the navigable water of Eainy 
 Lake, and avoiding another trans-shipment. There would then 
 remain only five portages, in a distance of one hundred and eighty- 
 four miles — one hundred and seventy-seven and a half miles being 
 by water and a little over six by land. On three of the portages, 
 averaging about two miles each, horses or oxen would have to be 
 maintained, while, on the remaining two, namely : Brule and Island 
 
175 
 
 Portages, being respectively but twenty-one and thirteen chains in 
 length, wooden-ways might be so constructed as to admit of hand- 
 cars being drawn over them with facility. I point this out, but 
 would not recommend, for the present, either a cut at Bar 1 Lake or 
 a lock to connect Nameukan and Rainy I^ke. 
 
 The following are the works which I consider of the most 
 pressing and immediate importance in this division : 
 
 DAM AT LITTLE FALLS, RIVIERE LA SEINE. 
 
 A dam at this point, if of sufficient height, say forty-two feet, 
 would have the effect of raising the wal r of I^c des Mille Lacs to 
 a level equal with, or a little higher tlian Baril I^ke, the latter 
 being lj%% feet above the level of Mille I^cs; so that, by a mere 
 cut, the two could be connected, and, in the event of more exten- 
 sive works being undertaken at some future period, it would be no 
 small matter to have the water of Mille Lacs at command, for, until 
 after passing French Portage, the supply of water on the canoe 
 route, although ample fo^ the works now proposed, is not h,ufficient 
 for the more extensive improvements which will doubtless be re- 
 quired in the future. 
 
 Among the further advantages of this dam would be the addi- 
 tional depth which itM'ouldgive over an extensive shoal just at the 
 mouth of the Savane Eiver. 
 
 Moreover, in the event of a land road all the way between Lac 
 des Mille Lacs and Rainy Lake becoming necessary, a dam at the 
 Little Falls would extend tlie navigable waters of Mille Lacs to a 
 distance of seventy miles on Rainy Lake. The construction of such 
 a road has been strongly urged by various parties who have mani- 
 fested a deep interest in opening the comnmnication, chiefly under 
 the idea that it would greatly expedite the conveyance of mails. 
 
 It must be borne in mind, however, that taking into account the 
 character of the country, seventy miles of road made in such a way 
 as to be really useful, in a region so remote, would cost not less 
 than one hundred and twenty thousand dollars. It is therefore a 
 matter for consideration whether for the present the less expensive 
 way would not be the best, and whether if such a sum, instead of 
 being applied to making a road, were expended on the construction 
 of locks to extend the navigable reaches, it would not have a better 
 effect, even as regards the transport of mails, inasmuch as steamers 
 might then be placed to advantage on reaches now too short to 
 admit of their being used. 
 
 The situation at the Little Falls is admirably adapted for a dam, 
 the river at that point passing through a cut in the rock with high 
 rocky banks on either side. To have the desired effect of raising 
 
 P 
 
 
 ■4-t 
 
 f i 
 
 I 
 
v 
 
 176 
 
 the water of I^c des Mille Lacs to the extent of almut three feet 
 above its present level, the dam would require to be forty-two feet 
 in height. From a rough estimate by me wheh on the ground, I 
 have set down its cost at twenty thousand dollars. If, however, 
 the mere raising of Lac des Mille LacA were the only object in view, 
 it could bo attained l)y a much less costly structure at its immediate 
 outlet. 
 
 Taking the works proposed in their regular order from the Lac 
 des Mille Lacs to Kainy liike, the improvement next required would 
 "be at 
 
 BARIL PORTAGE. 
 
 This is the portage or carrying place, between Lac des Mille Lacs 
 and Baril Lake, in length sixteen chains. For the present it is 
 merely proposed to improve the portage and place a tramway upon 
 it for hand-cars. Baril Lake is, as stated, ly^o feet above the level 
 of Mille Lacs, and when the latter is raised by means of the dcm 
 proposed, a cut might easily be made to connect the two lakes and 
 do away with the portage, as already said. 
 
 BRULE PORTAGE. 
 
 Here, also, it is proposed to place a tramway. The present 
 length of the portage is twenty-one chains, but the brook forming 
 the discharge of Baril Lake can be so improved as to reduce the 
 distance to ten chains. The difference of level between the water 
 of Baril Lake and the lower end of the portage is 47 tBo ^^et. 
 
 DAM AT HEAD OF FRENCH PORTAGE. 
 
 The effect of this dam would be to raise the water of tne Win- 
 degoostegoon Lakes, which is in some places shallow, and do away 
 with a little rapid where there is a fall of tliree feet. The channel, 
 where the dam is to be built, is of solid rock, eighty feet in width, 
 with rocky banks on each side. The structure would be an ordi- 
 nary flat dam, builtjof unhewn timber, and covered in front with 
 timbers hewn to six inches, raised to the height of twelve feet, with 
 a flood-gate fifteen feet in width, provided with stop logs and the 
 means of raising them, in the same manner as at the head gates of 
 a slide. A work of this extent would cost in ordinary circum- 
 stances about twelve hundred dollars, but considering the remote- 
 ness of the situation and the cost of getting men, supplies, etc., I 
 have set it down at sixteen hundred dollars. 
 
 FRENCH PORTAGE. 
 
 Tliis carrying place is one mile and sixty chains in length, and 
 the fall from its eastern end to the Little Lake at its western extre- 
 
177 
 
 mity 90,Vrt feet, a tUflLTence of luvrul which forbids any uttompt to 
 encounter the river for the present. Tliere is nothing lor it, tliere- 
 fore, but a road, ami for this the grouiv), altliouj^h somewhat hilly, 
 is not unfavorable. French Portage . succeeded by a navi^ablo 
 reacli of fifteen miles, embracing Kaogassikok Uke and eudin" at 
 Pine Portage. ** 
 
 PINK 1'0RTA(IK AND DEUX KIVIEUES POUTAGES. 
 
 These two portages may be considered as one, and have to be 
 passed l)y a land road of two miles, as at French Portage, as tlie 
 river could only l)e rendered available at an outlay wiiich must 
 form a subject for consideration in the future, the fall being 124x^3 
 feet. At present, a land road, of the required distance (two miles) 
 can be made over ground somewhat rough, but on the whole favor- 
 able. This road would end at the navigable water leading to 
 Sturgeon Lake, and the next work required would be the 
 
 DAM AT ISLAND PORTAGE. 
 
 This is one of the most important works on the whole line of 
 route, as its construction would give an unbroken reach of twenty- 
 seven miles of navigable water, through the veiy roughest section 
 of the Lake liegion. Sturgeon Lake, which would form a link in 
 tins stretch, is sixteen miles in length, navigable throughout. From 
 its discharge to Island Portage, the distance is eleven miles, and 
 the aggregate fall 32tYo- The carrying place is on an island just at 
 the brow of a fall of ten feet. Sturgeon River is, at this point, 
 three hundred and thirty feet wide, with a bottom of solid rock, 
 and rocky banks on either side rising with a moderate ascent. 
 Here it is proposed to construct a flat dam of the simplest form, 
 but at the same time the strongest; and, in this instance, I see no 
 object in going to the exi)ense of making flood gates. Tlie height 
 of the dam would be not less than thirty-five feet. The quantity 
 of timber used in its construction will reach eighty thousand lineal 
 feet, and timber of the finest description, both red and white 
 pine, is available; but, considering the remoteness of the locality, 
 its cost, built into the work, cannot be reckoned at less than seven- 
 teen cents per foot, equal to fourteen thousand four hundred 
 dollars, add to which for fiUing, &c., three thousand six hundred 
 dollars, making eighteen thousand dollars, as set down in the 
 estimate. 
 
 It' ) 
 
 DAMS AT NEQUAQUON. 
 
 Immediately below Island Portage, Sturgeon River is shallow, 
 but deepens gradually, till, at a distance of some two miles, it 
 12 
 
178 
 
 opens out in Nequaquon Lake. The main, or northern outlet of 
 this lake, is over a rocky bottom, and across this I propose to run a 
 low flat dam, so as to give a sufficiency of water below Island 
 Portage, at the shoals just mentioned. The southern outlet is 
 smaller, but would also require a dam, and for these works I have 
 included in the estimate a sum of four thousand dollars. 
 
 PORTAGE BETWEEN NEQUAQUON AND NAMEUKAN. 
 
 This Portage leads -from the smooth water, at the western end 
 of Nequaquon Lake, to a bay of the Nameukan Lake — its length is 
 two miles, and the descent from one lake to the other about seventy- 
 two feet. The ground is rough and difficult, but in the estimate I 
 have included it with other portages, and taken a general average 
 for the whole. From this Portage a reach of ten miles of navi- 
 gable water ends at 
 
 BARE PORTAGE. 
 
 This is the last carrying place to Eainy Lake. The descent is 
 8 j\fo feet, and the length of the j)ortage — eleven chains — can be 
 much red\iced by a little excavation. 
 
 LAKE OF THE WOODS DIVISION. 
 
 This comprises the navigable reach extending from Fort Frances 
 to the noith-west angle of the Lake of the Woods, a distance of 
 one hundred and twenty miles. 
 
 At Fort Frances, there is a complete and sudden change in the 
 appearance of the country, and an evident improvement in the 
 climate. The ever-recurring rocks and hills of the lake region 
 disapj>ear, and in contrast to these are commodious buildings, a 
 farm of some extent, and cattle grazing in the fields, v/itli a broad 
 river sweeping westward between banks of deep alluvial soil. 
 
 Eainy River is, here, a stream of great volume, nearly a quarter 
 of a mile in width. The falls (22y®^% feet in height) are just 
 opposite the Fort, and from this point to the north-west angle of the 
 Lake of the Woods (a distance of one hundred and twenty miles, 
 as stated), the navigation is uninterrupted. 
 
 There are, however, two little rapids on Eainy Eiver, the 
 Manitou and the Long Eapids, occurring about half way to the 
 Lake of the Woods, as set down on the accompanying map. The 
 first, with a fall of 2tVo feet, has great depth of water, and could 
 easily be stemmed by a steamer of moderate power. The Long 
 
179 
 
 Rapid may have a fall of 3^ to 4 feet, distributed over a distance 
 of some thirty chains. In this rapid the water glides smoothly,, 
 but is in some places shallow. I think, however, that even at the 
 lowest stage of water, a vessel drawing four feet could pass. In any 
 case, the bottom is of a nature to be easily deepened, if required. 
 The strength of the current presents no serious obstacle, as canoes 
 can be paddled up, requiring the use of the setting poles at only 
 two points. At the Manitou the tow line has generally to be used. 
 
 Any impediment in these rapids, therefore, would be so easily 
 overcome, that it is hardly worth estimating, and to all practical 
 purposes, the navigation in tliis long reach may be regarded as 
 uninterrupted. 
 
 In my preliminary report, as already said, before the later 
 explorations were made, in the country westward of the Lake of 
 the Woods, Lac Plat was suggested as the starting point of a road 
 to Fort Garry, chiefly because it was supposed to be the point 
 which would involve the making of the smallest extent of road. 
 The western extremity of Lac Hat is, however, one hundred and 
 fifty eight miles from Fort Frances, wliile the north-west angle, 
 which is now adopted as the starting point, is but one liundred 
 and twenty miles; a saving of thirty-eight miles is thus efi'ected 
 in navigating the Lake of the Woods. 
 
 Before concluding this part of the subject, I would draw atten- 
 tion to the fact that two locks at Fort Frances, where tlie fall is 
 22yVo feet, would have the effect of adding Kainy Lake to the 
 navigable reach which I have just been describing, giving one 
 hundred and sixty-six miles without a trans-shipment. 
 
 FORT GARRY SECTION. 
 
 As already explained, a good deal of difficulty was experienced 
 in finding a line practicable for a road, by whicli to get through the 
 marshy region intervening between the Lake of the Woods and the 
 prairie eastward of the lied Eiver Settlement. 
 
 This section of country presents to the eye, in its general 
 character, tlie appearance of an undeviating flat. From the Lake 
 of the Woods, for a distance of twenty-five, or thirty miles west- 
 ward, swamps of great extent, covered with moss and stunted ever- 
 greens, are of frequent occurrence. In other sections, considerable 
 areas are occupied by marshes or shallow lakes, Avith bulrushes 
 and other aquatic plants standing out of the water. In tlie latter 
 cases, the bottom, after a certain depth is attained, is generally firm, 
 while, in the swamps, in some instances, the surface covering is 
 
180 
 
 itself afloat, and heaves and undulates beneath the feet, presenting 
 a quagmire or peat bog, on an extensive scale. This description 
 applies more particularly to the section nearest to the Lake of the 
 Woods. On approaching the prairie, the swamps are less extensive 
 and the gromid in general more favorable. In the swampy sections, 
 however, there are some areas of dry ground and good soil, and, 
 where the bogs are deepest, they are intersected by low gravelly 
 ridges wliich rise but a few feet over the general level. These 
 1 Iges are firm, and their direction can be traced by the heavj^ 
 grcv th of wood which thoy carry. Flat and level as the country 
 appears to be, it is susceptible of being drained. The section most 
 swampy, although but slightly higher than the Lake of the Woods, 
 is at an elevation of over three hundred feet above the valley of 
 Ked Eiver, and wherever a run of water is met with, except in the 
 lake-like swamps, it is seen gliding on with a speed which indicates 
 a sufficient fall for drainage. 
 
 The principal streams in the region are the Broken Head River, 
 Ihe White Mouth Eiver, and the Roseau or River of Roses. 
 
 The latter takes its rise in the United States Temtory, and runs 
 Avestward, at a short distance from, and nearly parallel to, the 
 Boundary Line, till it joins the Red River, a little to the north of 
 Pembina. This stream forms a link in the ancient war-path of the 
 Saulteaux Indians to the country of their enemies — the Sioux. 
 The Broken Head runs nortli to Lake Winnipeg, while the White 
 Mouth falls into the Winnipeg River, just above the Seven Portages. 
 The section which I have just been describing, except in the swamps 
 and marshes, is densely wooded. Westward of this is the Prairie, 
 having a depth of thirty miles to the eastward of Red River. This 
 Prairie does not meet the wooded region as might be supposed, 
 gradually merging from prairie to woodland, but abruptly and at 
 once. It seems to be an ancient lake bottom, still nearly as level 
 as a lake, and generally without wood. Bordering on this is the 
 "wooded region, with points stretching into the plain, like the head- 
 lands of a lake. Just where the prairie and woodland meet, there 
 are, in some places, banks of gravel which will eventually become 
 of importance, as material for forming roadways over the soft and 
 yielding soil of the plains. 
 
 From Fort Garry to the north-west angle of the Lake of the 
 Woods, a road line has been laid out, and its practicability proved 
 by the fact that, for several years, it was used as a post road and 
 the mails carried over it on horseback. ^Vheeled vehicles, except 
 in veiy wet weather, can already travel over the Prairie, and, taking 
 the line altogether, its average cost, to form a first class country 
 road, will be rather under than over tlie general average of such 
 \'«'orks 
 
181 
 
 To describe it more particularly, starting from the north-west 
 angle of the Lake of the Woods, the ground, for a distance of fifteen 
 miles, is low and swan py, requiring deep and extensive cuts for 
 draining, added to which the roadway, for several miles, will require 
 to be fascined — no large bridges on this section. 
 
 Proceeding westward, there is a marked improvement in the 
 next ten miles, but the ground is still very swampy. Material for 
 fascining and bridging abounds, and two small bridges have to be 
 made, on tributaries of the White Mouth Eiver. Taking the above 
 as one section of twenty-five miles, reckoning from the Lake of the 
 Woods, I set its average cost at sixteen hundred dollars per mile, 
 equal to forty thousand dollars; still proceeding westward for thirty 
 five miles (which may be regarded as one section) the ground is 
 much improved in character. For some four or five miles, near the 
 White Mouth Eiver, nothing better could be desired. Then follows 
 a series of low gravelly ridges, over many portions of which little 
 more has to be done than to grub out the trees. An occasional 
 intrusion from an adjoining swamp has to be fascined, and bridges 
 will be required over the Broken Head and White Mouth Eivers. 
 For this section, I have set down one thousand dollars per mile; in 
 all thirty-five thousand dollars. 
 
 The next section is over low prairie embracing a distance of 
 about thirty miles, from a place where there are a few Indian huts, 
 called " Oak Point Settlement," to Fort Gariy. For this section I 
 have set down four hundred dollars per mUe, which may appear to 
 be a low estimate for a road, but all that can be done for it, with- 
 out going to a very great outlay, is to drain it thoroughly, and, if 
 this were done, it would be as good as the roads at Eed Eiver 
 generally are. A road on a prairie has this advantage, that when 
 the turf cuts and the wheels begin to sink in one track, another is 
 always available, the width being quite unlimited. 
 
 To render the section under consideration practicable in this 
 way, one deep ditch is necessary, with a little fascining and raising 
 of the roadway in the lower parts. Lateral cuts, of considerable 
 length, will have to be made to drain the water from the main 
 trench ; all which can be accomplished at an average cost of four 
 hundred dollars per mile, making in all, twelve thousand dollars for 
 the Prairie Section. 
 
 '!ii 
 
182 
 
 TOTAL LENGTH OF ROUTE BY LAND AND WATEK. 
 
 Land Miles. Chains. Water Miles. 
 
 Dog Lake Koad 25 
 
 Dog Lake and Kiver 35 
 
 Height of Land Portage 10 
 
 Lac des Mille Lacs and Savane liiv'r 42 
 
 Baril Portage 16 
 
 Baril Lake 8| 
 
 Brule Portage 21 
 
 "Windegoostegoon 12 
 
 French Portage 2 
 
 Kaogassikok 15 
 
 Deux Eiviferes 2 
 
 Sturgeon Lake 27 
 
 Island Portage 13 
 
 Nequaquon 17 
 
 Nequaquon Portage 2 
 
 Nameukan Lake 10 
 
 Bare Portage 11 
 
 llainy Lake 46 
 
 Fort Frances 10 
 
 llainy Piiver and Lake of the Woods 120 
 
 FortGarry 90 
 
 131 n 332i 
 
 131" 
 
 463^ 
 
 ESTIMATE. 
 
 The probable cost of opening the communication, in the way I 
 lave proposed, from Jourdain's liapid, at the head of the navigable 
 water on Dog River, to Fort Garry, would be as follows : — 
 
 LAKE KEGION. 
 
 Roads and improvements at Height of Land, 
 between Dog River and Lac des Mille Lacs $11,000 00 
 
 Dam, with flood-gates, at eastern end Great 
 
 French Portage 1,600 00 
 
 Dam, thirty-five feet high, across Sturgeon 
 
 River, at Island Portage 18,000 00 
 
 Two low flat dams, at Nequaquon Lake . . . 4,000 00 
 
\ I'll 
 
 183 
 
 Dam, at Little Falls (Two Falls Portage on 
 the River Seine) " 20,000 00 
 
 Six and a half miles road and tramway over 
 portages, between Lac des Mille Lacs and 
 EainyLake 10,400 00 
 
 $65,000 00 
 
 LAND ROADS (FORT GARRY SECTION.) 
 
 Ninety miles land road, between 
 
 north-west angle of the Lake 
 
 of the Woods and Fort Garry, 
 
 would cost for twenty-five 
 
 miles, Eastern Section, at 
 
 $1,600 per mile $40,000 00 
 
 Thirty-five miles, Middle Sec- 
 tion, at $1,000 per mile 35,000 00 
 
 Thirty miles. Western Section, 
 
 over low prairie, at $400 
 
 permUe 12,000 00 
 
 87,000 00 
 
 • 
 
 $152,000 00 
 
 OTHER WORKS (LAKE SUPERIOR SECTION.) 
 
 A pier required at the Depot, Thunder 
 
 Bay, Lake Superior 2,500 00 
 
 Seven miles land road, to connect Fort 
 
 William with Dog Lake Line 7,000 00 
 
 9,500 00 
 
 $161,500 00 
 Superintendence and contingencies 5,000 00 
 
 $166,500 00 
 The above does not include such of the works, in the Lake 
 Superior section, as were provided for in the grant of fifty-five 
 thousand nine hundred dollars made last year, except a road at the 
 Height of Land, which is allowed for in the present estimate. This 
 was necessary, inasmuch as the total grant of last year will be re- 
 quired to complete the road to Dog Lake, and finish the dam, which 
 latter was found to involve a little more work than anticipated, on 
 account of the necessity which has arisen of running an additional 
 dam along a rocky ridge of low ground, south of the outlet of 
 Dog Lake. 
 
 (. r 
 
184 
 PROBABLE TRAFFIC. 
 
 Within the last few years, since the North-west Territories have 
 begun to attract so much attention, many schemes have been ad- 
 vanced and many suggestions made, as to the best means of opening 
 the communication. Without going, for the present, i'..-o the merits 
 of these schemes, I would draw attention to the fact that the coun- 
 try between Lake Superior and the Ked lliver Settlement is a 
 wilderness, as yet in a state of nature ; that, except to the canoe of 
 the Indian, or the voyager, it is quite inaccessible in its present 
 state, and that unt'l some way of getting through it is devised, there 
 can be no means of taking even the initiatory steps in the construc- 
 tion of works of great magnitude, such as railways or canals. A 
 line of communication such as I have proposed would render the 
 countiy accessible, and, when it is completed, it will be time enough 
 to entertain greater projects. 
 
 But, while taking this view of its utility, I must also draw at- 
 tention to the fact that the opening of the communication, even in 
 this simple way, would have the immediate effect of drawing the 
 trade of the North-west Territories to Canada. 
 
 The people of Red lliver, at present, purchase their goods in 
 St. Paul, and take them from thence full six hundred miles, over- 
 land, to the settlement ; sometimes, indeed, there is a small steamer 
 which runs on Red Rivei^during higli water, but, as a general rule, 
 the goods which the settlers require are carted all the way through, 
 and the cost of freight is generally reckoned at from four and a half 
 to five dollars per 100 lbs. 
 
 Now, from an estimate wliicli I liave made, I feel confident that 
 if the communication were opened, even in the primitive way sug- 
 gested, the cost of transport from Lake Superior to the Red River 
 Settlement would not exceed SI. 75 per 100 lbs.; but, supposing that 
 it should cost as much as two dollars, it would still be less, by over 
 one-half, than the cost of freight from St. Paul; and when the vastly 
 cheaper rate at which goods can be purchased in Canada, as com- 
 pared to Minnesota, is considered, it is but reasonable to suppose 
 that the trade must come this way. 
 
 I have only alluded, so far, to the trade of the settlement, or 
 rather of the settlers, apaii from tliat of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany, but I think the latter might be looked for also ; for the able 
 officers who manage that ancient and honorable coi'poration, as soon 
 as they saw that they could get their supplies cheaper by Lake 
 Superior than by Hudson's Bay or St. Paul, would at once adopt 
 the route. It is clear, therefore, that by opening the communica- 
 tion in the manner proposed, a trade, amounting to several millions 
 of dollars annually, would be at once transferred to Canada. Even 
 as a matter of speculation, without reference to political consider- 
 
185 
 
 ations or the vast field which would be opened to colonization, it 
 would be a safe enterprise to open the line. 
 
 It is a circumstance of no small importance, in recommending 
 the expenditure of money on a public work, to be able to show that, 
 when completed, 'it will at once begin to yield a return. In the 
 present instance, the return would not, of course, be in the shape of 
 tolls on the works, but in the way of increasing trade, and conse- 
 quently increasing revenue, the laying open of extensive tracts of 
 fertile teiritoiy for settlement, and the development of a district 
 now known to be rich in mineral resources. 
 
 The State of Minnesota has, of late, being doing a good deal to- 
 facilitate intercourse and trade with the Ited liiver Settlement. 
 During the summer now approaching, a tri-weekly line of stages 
 will be established, mails will be delivered eveiy second day,, 
 and the people, cut off' frcjm Canada, will naturally draw closer to. 
 the only neighl)or8 with whom they can hold intercourse, and, if 
 this state of things continues long, they must become a community 
 of the United States, rather than a British Colony. 
 
 Now, it is evident, that if the trade of the North-west Territo- 
 ries is of value to Minnesota, it ouglit to be of some importance to 
 Canada; and, if the people of a new State see advantage in taxing 
 their scanty resources, to make roads and keep up lines of stages to 
 attract that trade, overland, surely the Dominion, with much greater 
 facilities and more ample resources, might do a little to obtain it, 
 when nearly two-thirds of the distance would be by 
 water. 
 
 navigable 
 
 >!■ 
 
 THE MEANS OF TRANSPORT. 
 
 When the traffic of the Red River Settlement and the North- 
 west Territories has once fairly begun to take the route by Lake 
 Superior^ private enterprise will soon fall upon the means by which, 
 transport can be most easily effected. 
 
 LAND CARKIAGE. 
 
 In the meantime, I may suggest the mode, which, in the first 
 instance, must be resorted to. At Lake Superior, of course, when 
 the communication is once completely opened, there wiU, no doubt,, 
 be ample competition for the conveyance of articles over the road 
 to Dog Lake, as there probably will be at the Height of Land Port- 
 age also. 
 
 At three of the portages in the interior, however, namely, the 
 French, Deux Rivikes and Nequaquon Portages, averaging two- 
 miles each, horses and oxen will have to be maintained for a 
 time. At the Baril, BtmU, Island and Bare Portages, tramways^ 
 wiU be arranged for hand cars, the latter being short. 
 
186 
 
 Between the North-west angle of the Lake of the Woods and 
 Fort Garry, no provision would have to be made, as the means of 
 conveyance are abundant at the lied liivor Settlement. 
 
 WATER CARRIAGE. 
 
 On the shorter reaches, boats, such as the Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany use in the transport of goods from York Factory to the Red 
 River Settlement, would be the best. They carry about five tons, 
 and are easily drawn over a portage. Such boats would answer well 
 between Lac des Mille Lacs and Fort Frances. Once the communi- 
 cation was fairly established, a relay of boats might be kept on each 
 reach, and then much larger vessels might be employed. 
 
 In the longer reaches, steamers might be used to advantage, and 
 would probably — most certainly, if the traffic became extensive — be 
 more economical than boats. 
 
 There would be in all five reaches in which I think it would be 
 desirable to have small steamers, namely: — 
 
 On Dog Lake and River 35 miles navigable. 
 
 Savane River and Lac des Mille Lacs. . . 42 " 
 
 Sturgeon Lake and River 27 " 
 
 Rainy Lake 46 
 
 Fort Francis to North-west Angle 120 " 
 
 270 miles. 
 Thus, in five reaches, amounting in the aggregate to two hundred 
 and seventy miles, the shortest of which would be twenty-seven 
 miles in length, small steamers, of a cheap class, might be used to 
 advantage. Gradually, as improvement advanced, the reaches 
 might be connected together by means of locks, and then, of" 
 course, larger vessels would come into play. 
 
 In the five shorter navigable reaches of the "Lake Region," 
 boats such as I have suggested, or indeed'scows or boats of any 
 kind, might be ?used, as for instance, in 
 
 Baril Lake Similes. 
 
 Windegoostegoon 12 " 
 
 Kaogassikok 15 '' 
 
 Nequaquon Lake 17 ** 
 
 Nameukan 10 " 
 
 62| miles. 
 Five reaches, giving sixty-two miles and a half for ordinary row 
 boats and scows. 
 
 COST OF FREIGHT. 
 
 With these arrangements on the carrying places and navigable 
 reaches, the cost of freight would be nearly as follows : — 
 
I 
 
 187 
 
 25 miles land carriage, to Dog Lake 25 ceiit.s. 
 
 35 miles water carriage, through Dog Itiver ami 
 
 Lake 8 " 
 
 10 miles land carriage, Height of Land 12 " 
 
 184 miles, to Fort Frances, land and water 00 " 
 
 120 miles. Fort Frances to Lake bf Woods, in 
 
 steamers or barges cariying say fifty to 
 
 one hundred tons 8 " 
 
 90 miles. North-west Angle to Fort (Jariy, hy 
 
 land 80 " 
 
 81 
 
 oa 
 
 464 miles, 
 or say even two dollars per 100 lbs. 
 
 This would bo less than lialf the cost of freight from St. Paul, 
 which is S^4 50 per 100 lbs. and sometimes five dollars. 
 
 L have set down the cost of transport jmrposely high, although 
 in some places it may appear low ; for example, betweeijthe North- 
 west Angle and Fort GaiTy, I liave put down eighty cents per one 
 hundred pounds, as the cost, in a distance of ninety miles. In es- 
 timating the accuracy of this, it must, in the first place, be consid- 
 ered that horses and carts are abundant at lied River. Horses are 
 very numerous, and there is but little employment for them, and 
 the people make their own carts and harness, which, although very 
 serviceable, are very cheap ; they besides bring articles six hundred 
 miles from St. Paul for $4.50 per 100 pounds, which would be but 
 equal to sixty-seven and a half cents on ninety miles, and I have 
 set down eighty cents, a fair allowance in any country. Even in 
 Lower Canada, on the St. Maurice, where tliere is a good deal of 
 competition in winter, loads can be sent one hundred and twenty 
 miles into the interior for from seventy-five to eighty cents per 100 
 pounds ; and between Three Rivers and Montreal, a distance of just 
 ninety miles, sixty cents per 100 pounds, would be considered, at 
 Three Rivers, a high rate. 
 
 In the long navigable reach of one hundred and twenty miles, 
 betw^een the North-west Angle and Fort Frances, I have put eight 
 cents per 100 pounds, equal to 81.60 per ton of 2000 pounds ; one 
 dollar per ton would be ample, as large vessels can be used. 
 
 In the reach of broken navigation, of one hundred and eighty- 
 four miles, between the Savanc or Height of Land Portage and Fort 
 Frances, I have j)ut sixty cents per 100 pounds, equal to twelve 
 dollars per ton of 2,000 pounds. Now five men with a boat carry- 
 ing five tons, can go in five days from the Savanc to Fort Frances, 
 and return in four days, taking tlie same boat with them all the 
 way. Allowing one dollar per day for each man, their expenses 
 would be, for nine days, forty-live dollars, whereas I have allowed 
 sixty dollars ; but, if there were a relay of boats and scovs capable 
 
 M 
 
 i 
 
 \i 
 
 n 
 
188 
 
 of canying fifty tons, on each reach, with liorses and waggons on 
 the three longer portages, it could be done for six dollars per ton, 
 or say thirty cents per 100 pounds. 
 
 lor the Height of Land carriage of ten miles, I have set down 
 twelve cents per 100 pounds, or say S2.40 per ton of 2,000 pounds. 
 It requires no explanation to show that this is a very ample estimate. 
 
 In the Dog Lake and Iliver reach of thirty-five miles, I have 
 put down eight cents, equal to ^1.60 per ton, and for the land car- 
 riage of twenty-five miles, from Thunder Bay to Dog Lake, I 
 estimate twenty-five cents per 100 lbs., or say five dollars per ton 
 of 2,000 pounds. 
 
 These estimates will all be considered ample ; but, supposing the 
 communication to be well opened, and the appliances for transport 
 in full operation, the following would be a fair estimate : — 
 
 25 miles land road. Thunder Bay to Dog Lake 25 cents.. 
 
 35 miles water carriage. Dog liiver and Lake G " 
 
 1 miles land carriage. Height of Land 10 '* 
 
 184 miles. Fort Frances, G\ being by land 30 " 
 
 120 miles, Fort Frances to north-west angle in Bat- 
 
 teaux, of 100 tons 6 " 
 
 90 miles land carriage, North-west Angle to Fort 
 
 Garry 75 " 
 
 464 miles. $1.52 per 100 lbs. 
 
 That is, $30,t''o'o per ton of 2,000 lbs., fi-om Thunde-Bay to Fort 
 Garry. But, as I said before, making every allowance, and taking 
 tlie cost at $2 per 100 lbs., equal to forty dollars per ton, at the 
 outset. From York Factory to Ked River, the contract price used 
 to be twenty pounds sterling, or one hundred dollars per ton, while 
 the present rate, by the Prairies and Red River, is ninety dollars 
 per ton of 2,000 ll)s. 
 
 Beyond this, it surely requires no argument to show that, if the 
 communication were opened, the whole trade of the Red River set- 
 tlement, both that of the Hudson's Bay Company and the settlers, 
 would pass by Lake Superior. A saving of fifty dollars per ton on 
 freight would certainly decide the matter. But this is not all, the 
 price of such articles as the people of the Red River require, being 
 chiefly dry goods and groceries, is much lower in Canada than in 
 any of the remote western Towns of Minnesota. If Fort William 
 were again made a fret port, as it recently was, and always sup- 
 posing the communication to be opened, the people of the Red 
 River Settlement would be in position to supply tlie northern set- 
 tlements of Minnesota with merchandize, instead of being depend- 
 ent upon them, as at present. 
 • 
 
 Whe| 
 
 •advance 
 wood for 
 has attail 
 port. V 
 towards 
 and whi 
 would cl 
 regions 
 Tlie 
 which, t\ 
 looking 
 to the pi 
 there are 
 trade wl 
 Anol 
 account, 
 the swa 
 swamps 
 this des( 
 little wo 
 will fine 
 for the 1 
 The 
 but litt 
 will be < 
 
 Itij 
 were d 
 general 
 which 
 Lake oi 
 which 
 Lower 
 gold in 
 
 Thi 
 Dogli 
 rentiai 
 Schists 
 quartz 
 very fi 
 
1\ 
 
 189 
 UESOURCES-TIMBER, &c. 
 
 Wlien the comuuuiicfttioii is opened, and settlement \)ei*\m to 
 advance in the prairies of the West, there will he n demand for 
 wood for buildinfi; and other purposes, increasing,' j,Tadually until it 
 has attained proportions commensurate with the means of trans- 
 port. Westward of the Height of Land, on the streams flowing 
 towards Rainy Lake, there is an abundance of timber, such as red 
 and white pine, of a large size and good quality. This section 
 would compare not unfavorably with some of the best lumber 
 regions on the Upper Ottawa. 
 
 The prairies are nearly destitute of timber, and here is a supply 
 which, to all practical purposes, may be said to be illimitable, and, 
 looking to the future of the western territories, and having regard 
 to the probable traffic which is to support a line of communication, 
 there are, in the forests of tlie Winnipeg slope, the elements of a 
 trade which should be kept in view. 
 
 Another article of economic value, which should be taken into 
 account, is the vast quantity of peat which might be obtained in 
 the swampy region near the Lake of the Woods; some of the 
 swamps are very deep, and hold in store great quantities of fuel of 
 this description, for a region further to the west where there is but 
 little wood. In a very short time the people of Red River Settlement 
 will find peat cheaper than wood, although, doubtless, they have 
 for the present a considerable supply of the latter article. 
 
 The country has, however, other valuable resources, of which 
 but little is as yet known, and no doubt, in the future, attention 
 will be directed to its 
 
 MINERAL RESOURCES. 
 
 It is now well known that silver mines of surpassing richness 
 were discovered at Lake Superior last summer, but it is not so 
 generally understood that a formation, of the same age as that in 
 which they occur, extends with more or less intemiption to the 
 Lake of the Woods, and that, for a great part of the way, the line 
 which it is proposed to open will pass over Schists of the 
 Lower Silurian period, such as yield silver at I.<ake Superior, and 
 gold in Nova Scotia. 
 
 That part of line, however, extending from a little eastward of 
 Dog Lake to the Nameukan Lake, will be almost wholly in Lau- 
 rentian gneiss — Silurian rocks then show themselves, and the 
 Schists on rainy Lake are plentifully intersected with lodes of 
 quartz. While at Fort William, last summer, I was shown some 
 Very fine specimens of Gold quartz taken from Rainy Lake. I 
 
 .; it 
 
 
190 
 
 wns also informed, on wlmt I believed to bo good (luthority, that 
 alluvial Ciold had been discovered, but that the fact was being kept 
 as secret as possible. These reports gain confirmation from the 
 fact, that on Vermillion Lake, in Minnesota, wliich is tiibutary to 
 Rainy Lake, and only at a short distance from it, Cloltl (quartz has 
 been already worked and various claims taken up. The commu- 
 nication which it is jtroposed to open might, therefore, bo the 
 means of developing an American as well as a Canadian Gold 
 Field.* 
 
 At the L'lke of the Woods, cldoritic and talcoso schists, of Silu- 
 rian age, similar to those of the (lold districts of the Chaudiere, are 
 fre(j[uent on the Islands, and they are traversed by what appear to 
 be very promising quartz lodes. 
 
 L^pon the whole, the indications and actual discoveries through- 
 out the region are such as to warrant the expectation that there 
 are mineral resources, as yet undeveloped, which will eventually 
 lead to a trade which will greatly aid in sustaining a lino of com- 
 munication. 
 
 OTHER METHODS OF OPENING THE COMMUNICATION. 
 
 RAILWAYS. 
 
 It has been urged that a Railroad from Lake Superior to Red 
 River would afford the best and easiest means of communication, 
 and that it would form a link in the great Railway system which 
 it is believed will, at no distant day, span the continent from the 
 Atlantic to the Pacific, within British Temtory. 
 
 Now, while admitting the great advantages which would result 
 from a work of this kind, it must be borne in mind that the means 
 for its construction cannot at present be obtained. There is no 
 amount of argument, as to prospective advantages, which could 
 procure the investment of twenty millions of dollars, wliich 
 
 * The foUoAnng extract sliows that the mines in the Vermillion district, near 
 Rainy Lake, are beginning to attract attention : — 
 
 "The Lake Supeuiok Countuy. — The Ca^c^c (Superior, Wis.,) says: — 'Col. 
 Henry Tyndall arrived here from the Vermillion distnct late last evening, and 
 started for St. Paul this morning. Tests have been made from several of the reins, 
 all i^ith tho most favorable results. The quantity of rock tested in each case was 
 not less than iive hundred pounds. In i very experiment so far, the yield has been 
 largely^ over $100 per ton ; and some of them have gone up to thousands. A private 
 letter informs us of one instance whei'e one hundred and fifty pounds or rock 
 yielded a pound and one-half of bullion. Colonel Tyndall pronounces the country 
 rich, and in this statement he is borne out by the amount of bullion which he 
 brings with him, amounting to between seven and eight pounds of gold and silver." 
 
101 
 
 would bo about its cost, iu an uiulovelopcd rej^ion, such as tliat 
 tlirough wliich it would pass. Theoretically, tho idea may bo a 
 good one, but practically, it is at least premature. 
 
 Moreover, a railroad iHjtweea the points indicated would be 
 isolated as regards other railways, and being available only during 
 the season of navigation, would be without one of the chief advan- 
 tages of a railroad, which is that it can bo kept iu operation, 
 independently of the navigation. 
 
 It has been suggested that, whatever objections might attach 
 to tho project of a railway all tlie way to Ked Itiver, a cT'.ipara- 
 tivD short line would best o> ercomo tli-^ rough and ditftcult section 
 inter\enii?,c^ between Lake Superior ii.id Jlainy Lake. But the 
 same objections which present themselves in regard to tho fonner, 
 apply to tho latter. 
 
 Its length, that is of a lino from Lake Superior to Eainy Lake,, 
 allowing for deviations, would not be greatly less than two hun- 
 dred miles, and its cost would far exceed any means which there 
 is a probability of obtaining. 
 
 It would absorb an amount of capital more than sufficient to 
 provide for tho lockage required to connect the navigable reaches 
 between Dog Lake and Lake Winnipeg, and form a canal, which, 
 in tho present state of the country, or any stage of development to 
 which it can attain for a considerable period, would be of greater 
 utility than a railroad. 
 
 Finally, before such a work was undertaken, the country would, 
 have to be rendered accessible, as I have already saiti, by some 
 such means of communication as I have suggested. 
 
 It will not be imderstood, however, from what I luive said, that 
 a railway is impracticable. In fact, with exception of tho section 
 between Lake Superior and Kainy Lake, which is rough and broken 
 and has never yet been explored with ;\ view to a work of the 
 kind, the ground is not unfavorable, but, as I have said, the idea 
 of such a work is premature. 
 
 il; 
 
 CANALS. 
 
 On reference to what I have already stated, it will be seen 
 that, from Dog Lake north-westward, to the Lake of the Woods, 
 long navigable reaches occur in continuous succession, separated, 
 by short intervals of rapid water or other impediments. From 
 the Height of Land Portage, where it strikes the Savans Eiver, to 
 the North-west Angle of tho Lake of the Woods, the distance is 
 three hundred and four miles, and the total amount of lockage that 
 ■would be required, four hundred and twenty-five feet, being some- 
 what less than that of the Eideau Canal. By means of lock and. 
 
 ii- 
 
 i 
 
 [ 
 
192 
 
 dam, the whole of this distance might be rendered navigable with- 
 "Out a break, at comparatively small cost, if wooden locks were 
 adopted. The river channels between the navigable sections, are 
 every where of rock, and generally favorable for the construction 
 of such works as would be required. 
 
 With this extent of navigation might be connected the navi- 
 gable water, east of the Height of land, having a length, in Dog 
 Xake and Eiver, of thirty-five miles. 
 
 Wlien the dam now in progress at Dog Lake is completed, the 
 ^difference in level between the waters of Dog Eiver and the 
 ^avaiie will be about a hundred feet, and a Canal ^vith locks, 'by 
 way of Muskaig Lake, might be constructed to connect the two. 
 Lac des Mille ikcs would be the summit level, and it has suffi- 
 •cient water for a Canal both ways. 
 
 This would give three hundred and fifty miles of unbroken 
 navigation, approaching at its eastern extremity to within twenty- 
 five miles of Lake Superior, and at its western to within ninety 
 miles of Fort Garry. 
 
 All the lockage required would cost less than would a railroad 
 •of two hundred miles to Eainy Lake, and it would be of vastly 
 greater utility. 
 
 A short EaUway of twenty-five miles, from Dog Lake to 
 Thunder Bay, would connect the navigation with Lake Superior ; 
 while a similar work of ninety miles, from Fort Garry to the 
 North-west Angle of the Lake of the Woods, would join it to the 
 Eed Eiver Settlement. The latter Eailway would be over very 
 even ground. 
 
 I have offered these suggestions, not with a view of conveying 
 the impression that they should be immediately acted upon, but to 
 .show what is practicable, and what would be the true way of 
 opening a line adapted for heavy traffic, when the country has at- 
 tained a stage of development to warrant the expenditure which 
 it would involve. 
 
 SYSTEM OF WORK BY CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE. 
 
 The work is of that nature, which from long experience in car- 
 :rying on similar operations, in remote sections, I believe could be 
 better performed by engaging good workmen and competent over- 
 seers than by contract. 
 
 Contract work is all well enough in a settled country, where, if 
 one man fails in accomplishing an undertaking, others are always 
 ready to take it up ; but, in such a region as that in which the 
 
 
 works ul 
 
 would b| 
 stance, 
 from anj 
 full veal 
 work in | 
 compare 
 would 
 extras, 
 and if it| 
 for incre 
 altogeth^ 
 be very 
 straints 
 among t 
 Und< 
 to say as 
 charge o 
 smugglet 
 and on I 
 few barr( 
 might, u] 
 More 
 themselv 
 trade, ar 
 employes 
 and obli^ 
 doubt, b( 
 they mee 
 In m 
 understo 
 in the ^ 
 general, '. 
 Lake Sec 
 support ] 
 full amo 
 For \ 
 Eegion, " 
 must be 
 after the 
 Fort 
 Woods n 
 Eed Er 
 hdd thei 
 believe \ 
 
iM*l 
 
 ''^, 
 
 if 
 he 
 
 193 
 
 works under consideration would be carried on, tlie Government 
 would be, in a measure, at the mercy of the contractor; as for in- 
 stance, if he should not make provision for a particular work, or 
 from any cause break off, it would tlirow the enterprise back for a 
 full year. Contractors, as a general rule, would only undertake 
 work in a region so remote in the hope of large profits, which the 
 comparatively small sums set down for each particular section ' 
 would not bear. They would, as usual, have endless bills for 
 extras, where every little contingency could not be foreseen; 
 and if it appeared to be a losing business, would delay and petition 
 for increase in their rates, and might, indeed, abandon the works 
 altogether. Morever, the Indians, in some of the sections, have to 
 be very carefully 'dealt with. At such a distance from the re- 
 straints of law, none but men of good character should be brought 
 among them, and spirituous liquors should be strictly prohibited. 
 
 Under a system of contract, the Government would have little 
 to say as to the class of men to be employed, and the officers in 
 charge of the works might be unable to prevent liquor from being 
 smuggled in. The Indians sometimes assemble at Fort Frances, 
 and on Eainy River, to the number of five or six hundred, and if a 
 few barrels of whiskey were rolled amongst them the consequences 
 might, undoubtedly would, be serious. 
 
 Moreover, contractors, or their eniijloyes, would not consider 
 themselves in any way bound to refrain from interfering in the fur 
 trade, and their doing so would irritate and render hosule the 
 employes of the Hudson's Bay Company, who had been so friendly 
 and obliging in the past, and whose good offices will, I have no 
 doubt, be equally at the disposal of the country in the future, if 
 they meet with the courtesy they are always ready to extend. 
 
 In my allusions to the contract system, I wish it to be clearly 
 understood that I speak from my own experience of such a system 
 in the wilderness, and, meaning no reflection on contractors in 
 general, I would say that if such a system is adopted in the Rainy 
 Lake Section of the country, a military force will be required to 
 support it, and this would soon occasion a gi-eater outlay than the 
 full amount of my estimate for the work. 
 
 For the works on the Lake Superior Section, and the Lake 
 Region, the head-quarters, from whence supplies are to be sent in, 
 must be at Fort William or Thunder Bay ; the latter, of course, 
 after the Dog Lake road is completed. 
 
 For the road between the North-west Angle of the Lake of the 
 Woods and Fort Gany, supplies and men must be obtained at the 
 Red River Settlement. Workmen in sufficient numbers can be 
 hdd there, and, from letters I hav , recently received, I am led to 
 believe that provisions also will be abundant, such as flour, beef, etc. 
 
 13 
 
 
 nf 
 
194 
 
 THE INDIAN ELEMENT. 
 
 Ill opening the communication to Red River, the country will be 
 brought, to some extent, into contact with the Indians, who have 
 their hunting grounds on the line of route. 
 
 Hitherto, Canada lias been fortunate in dealing with the Indian 
 element; and, in the present case, I see no reason for anticipating 
 greater difficulty than has arisen in the past. 
 
 The only localities were the Indians are at all numerous, are at 
 the Lake of the Woods and Rainy River, but the entire population 
 does not greatly exceed three thousand. They can, however, collect 
 in summer in larger numbers than Indians usually do, from the 
 fact that they have abundance of food. This is afforded by the 
 wild rice of the country which they collect, and by the fish which 
 literally swarm in the lakes and rivei*s ; some industry practised 
 on their own part, too, in raising Indian corn, serves to supply 
 them to a small extent. I have seen as many as five or six hun- 
 dred of them collected at one time, at the rapids on Rainy River, 
 engaged in catching sturgeon, the flesh of which they preserve by 
 drying it like Pemican and then pounding it up and putting it, 
 with a due mixture of oil, into bags made of sturgeon's skin. 
 
 They have a rude sort of Government, and the regulations made 
 by their Chiefs are observed, it is said, better than laws usually are 
 where there are no great means of enforcing them. 
 
 They are very intelligent, and are extremely jealo^ s as to their 
 right of soil and authority over the country which they occupy. 
 
 When tlie Red River Expedition first came in contact with 
 them, they manifested some displeasure, and were not slow to 
 express it, at parties being sent through their country, to explore 
 and examine it, without their consent being first asked and obtained. 
 On becoming better acquainted with them, we found it to our 
 advantage to keep up a little friendly intercourse with the Chiefs, 
 calling upon them as we passed, and interchanging a few presents 
 of no great value. AVlieii we had adopted this course, all difficulties 
 vanished, and, ere the explorations were brought to a close, they 
 manifested and expressed an earnest wish to see the communica- 
 tion opened. 
 
 The chief danger which could arise of coming into unfriendly 
 relations with the Indians, would be from having large parties of 
 workmen in the vicinity of their encampments. Now, this is a 
 contingency not likely to arise, from the fact that where the Indians 
 are numerous the navigation is unimpeded and but little work 
 required ; but, as a rule, extreme prudence will always have to be • 
 observed by the officers in charge of men to keep them from coming 
 in contact with the Indians. 
 
mil « 
 
 %iimi>' 
 
 4.4. 
 
 I, 
 
 195 
 
 These Indians are all heathens, and never seem to have been in 
 the slightest degree impressed by the Missionaries who have 
 attempted their conversion. They are, however, very pious in their 
 own way, and much of their time seems to be occupied in 
 religious observ.ances, which have their manifestation in long fasts 
 and nights of watching, when they pretend to hold familiar inter- 
 course with Spirits, whose presence, in the secret recesses of their 
 lodges, is indica^pd by drum-beating, chanting, incantations and 
 many uneaiuhly noises besides. At stated intervals, the greatest 
 and most solenm ceremony of the tribe, the Mystical Feast of the 
 "White Dog, is held at Fort Frances, and, at such times, the gravity 
 and terrible earnestness of their demeanor would do no discredit to 
 more civilized congregations. 
 
 In appearance tliese Indians are tall ai)d well formed, and, in 
 bearing, independent ; sometimes, even a little saucy, but in their 
 intercourse with strangers tliey Jire liospitable and kind. Their 
 morality is said to be of a high order, as comi)ared to that of the 
 Indians of the Plains. 
 
 They are, in general, keen traders, and seem to know the value 
 of what they get and give, as well as any people in tlie world. 
 Some of those who assemble at Eainy Kiver for the sturgeon hshing, 
 in summer, come from Eed Lake, in the neighboring State of Minne- 
 sota, M'here they possess hunting grounds ; and, ai.iong these latter, 
 are some who have been parties to treaties witli the United States 
 for relinquishing certain tracts for settlement, for which they are 
 now in receipt of annual payments. The experience they have 
 thus gained has rendered them expert diplomatists, as compared to 
 Indians who have never had such advantages, and they have not 
 failed to impress on their kindred and tribe, on Rainy Eiver, the 
 value of the lands which they hold on the line of route to Eed 
 River. 
 
 Any one wlio, in negotiating with these Indians, should suppose 
 he had mere children to deal with, would find himself mistaken. 
 In their manner of expressing themselves, indeed, they make use of 
 a great deal of allegory, and their illustrations may at times appear 
 childish enough, but, in their actual dealings, they are shrewd and 
 sufticiently awake to their own interests, and, if the matter should 
 be one of importance, atTecting the general interests of the tribe, 
 they neither reply to a proposition, nor make one themselves, until 
 it is fully discussed and deliberated upon in Council of all the 
 
 Chiefs. , ^. 
 
 The Chiefs are fond of asking any travellers, whom they believe 
 to be of importance, to attend a Grand Council, as it affords them 
 an opportunity of making speeches, which are meant quite as much 
 to swell their importance in the eyes of their own people as to 
 
 1 
 
196 
 
 impress the stranger; and with their people these meetings 
 are popular, as it affords them an excuse for making a holiday, and 
 coming out in all the varieties of colour which paint, unsparingly 
 applied, can produce. 
 
 At these gatherings it is necessary to observe extreme caution 
 in what is said, as, althougli they have no means of writing, there 
 are always those present who are charged to keep every word in 
 mind. As an instance of the manner in which records are in this 
 way kept, without writing, I may mention that, on one occasion, at 
 Fort Frances, the principal Chief of the tribe commenced an oration 
 by repeating, almost verbatim, what I had said to him two years 
 previously. 
 
 All this goes to show a certain stability of character, and a 
 degree of importance attached to what they say, on such occasions, 
 themselves, as well as to what they hear Ironi others. The word of 
 the Chiefs once jiassed, too, seems to be quite reliable, and this 
 augurs well for the observance of any treaty tliat may be made with 
 them. 
 
 For my own part, I would have the fullest reliance as to these 
 Indians observing a treaty and adhering most strictly to all its pro- 
 visions, if, in the firet place, it were concluded after full disciwiioUy 
 and after all its provisions were thoi oughly understood by the Indians, 
 and if, in the next, it were never infringed upon by the whites, who 
 are generally the first to break through Indian treaties. 
 
 THE TREATY. 
 
 From what I have said, I trust it will be seen that some sort of 
 a treaty should be arrived at with the Indians. They are, as I have 
 stated, desirous of seeing the communication opened, believing that 
 it will conduce to their advantage, and I think a treaty with them 
 should, in the first instance, be confined to this one point, namely, 
 RIGHT OF WAY. This they expressed their willingness to accord 
 many years ago, but the question of relinquishing land for settle- 
 ment was always taken by them en d4lil4re. In this latter respect, 
 what they are afraid of is, that settlers would interfere with the 
 fisheries, from which they derive their chief means of subsistence, 
 and I think it would, in the first instance, be imprudent to introduce 
 settlement in the particular section which tliey occupy. The first 
 great point is to get the communication opened, and the first treaty 
 should be confined, as I have said, simply to right of way. By 
 combining it with the land question, sui-veys of townships for 
 settlement, reserves for the Indians, and so forth, complications 
 might arise which would prove embarrassing. 
 
 There is but one point more, in relation to this subject, to which I 
 would invite attention ; it is the necessity of adopting the most 
 
 rig( 
 
 liq^ 
 
 ■wol 
 
 ThJ 
 
 spii 
 
 but 
 
 wol 
 
 tra^ 
 
 be 
 
 ag| 
 the 
 
 se> 
 its 
 
-■."m'-^mfisimmm^tm 
 
 197 
 
 *H,* 
 
 rigorous and strict measures to prevent the conveyance of ardent 
 liquors to the Indian country. This the officer in charge of the 
 works can easily see to, if he is armed witli the proper authority. 
 There is no likelihood of any of the employes of tlie works taking 
 spirits, in any quantity, ,\ •h them, unless contractors are employed ; 
 but there are private traders who would follow in their wake, and 
 would not be slow to bring liquor, if through it they could drive a 
 trade for furs ; and such persons should, if they made the attempt, 
 be at once arrested. 
 
 The Indians at Rainy River and the Lake of the Woods are, as 
 a general rule, in happy ignorance of what ardent liquor is. On 
 the American side, tlie penalties against its introduction are so 
 severe that it rarely makes it appearance, while on the British side 
 its use is prohibited by the Hudson's Bay Company. 
 
 To these fortunate circumstances, I believe, are due the well- 
 being and rly demeanor of the Indians, and the rapid increase 
 in the population which, in this section is, in contrast to the general 
 nile, said to be taking place. 
 
 The precautions which I hi. o rccor.iv.ioiided will nppear not to 
 be unnecessary, when it is considered that these Indians, notwith- 
 standing their many good qualities, are still but savages ; that they, 
 in common with all the untutored tribes of their race, are keen to 
 resent an injury, real or supposed ; that a quarrel with one pro- 
 minent individual would be a quarrel with the trilje, and that the 
 sole arbiters of a dispute with them are the scalping knife and 
 tomahawk, to the use of which tliey arc well practised in their 
 unceasing wars with the Sioux ; and when, along with all this, it is 
 considered that they can muster five hundred fighting men, accus- 
 tomed to the woods, the rivers, and every defile in the countiy, the 
 expediency as well as the justice of keeping from them that first 
 prolific source of Indian quarrels and Indian demoralization, " Fire 
 Water," will be apparent. 
 
 I have only further to say, that, with ordinary prudence, there 
 need be no risk of getting into difficulty with the Indians. They 
 will extend a warm welcome, in the first instance, to the parties 
 sent in by the Government, and it will be for the latter to see that 
 nothing occurs to interrupt a continuance of friendly intercourse. 
 
 (See Notices of Indians, in my printed Report, pages 14 
 and 26.) 
 
198 
 
 AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES. 
 
 LAKE SUPERIOR SECTION. 
 
 In this section the cultivable areas are of limited extent, and 
 confined chiefly to the valleys of the streams. There are, however, 
 occasional plateaux at a considerable elevation, showing a moderate 
 depth of loam. In the viciaity of the line of route, the best loca- 
 tions will be found in the valley of the Kaministaquia, and on the 
 shores of Thunder Bay. The climate of the countiy bordering on 
 the lake shore is favorable to the growth of cereals, and all kinds 
 of vegetables wliich are usually raided in other parts of Canada. 
 When the mines at Thunder Bay, and on the north shore of Lake 
 Superior generally, become developed, they will create a market 
 for all kinds of agricultural produce, and this must render of great 
 value such lands as are susceptible of cultivation. 
 
 Aj:ound the shores of Dog Lake, there are occasional patches of 
 fair land, but the elevation of the country is such as to render the 
 climate rather cold. On Dog Iiiver, and at the plateaux at the 
 Height of Land, there is any amount of pasturage, and oats, potatoes, 
 &c., might easily be raised. 
 
 THE LAKE REGION. 
 
 The eastern section of this region is cold, on account of its great 
 elevation, but on descending to the westward the climate rapidly 
 improves, and by the time Sturgeon Lake is reached, the summers 
 are as long as at Lake Superior, and I think somewhat warmer. 
 
 Eastward of Sturgeon Lake, the rock formation is Laurentian, 
 and, as usual in regions occupied by that series, the cultivable 
 areas are limited in extent, although, where they do occur, the soil 
 is often vevy rich. It is such a country as that now being settled 
 on the Gatineau or Upper Ottawa, with this difference, that 
 whereas on the Gatineau and Ottawa tlie valleys present rivers 
 bordered with alluvial soil, the valleys in this region are occupied 
 by lakes. There are, nevertheless, occasional spots occurring at in- 
 tervals throughout the whole region, where the soil is good, and of 
 sufficient extent for farms ; but, as a rule, speaking generally, the 
 country never can become. an agricultural district. 
 
 There are those, however, who would prefer a mountainous and 
 diversified region of this kind, to the level areas which are spread 
 out like oceans, a little further to the west. Among the L0,urentian 
 hills, and on the borders of lakes studded with wooded islands, there 
 are situations of surpassing beauty and magnificence. The forests 
 abound in game, and the rivers and lakes are teeming with fish, 
 water power is unlimited, and timber, which will yet find a market 
 in the prairies of the West, is abundant. 
 
 A 
 
 places I 
 dence,{ 
 Thefii 
 hope si 
 vantagi 
 Prairie 
 or Dei 
 be plac 
 event 
 prise, 
 cultival 
 freight 
 In 
 would 
 •Boat-b 
 ployme 
 inland 
 with n 
 But 
 agricul 
 but the 
 and Na! 
 that in 
 and th( 
 Indians 
 
 An 
 air line 
 comme 
 of Rail 
 richest 
 rently 
 growin 
 banks, 
 sional 
 
 To 
 gation 
 barren 
 time i] 
 the ^ 
 swam] 
 adapt( 
 
199 
 
 A farmer who should establish liimself on any of the carrying 
 places with horses and waggons, would soon realize an indepen- 
 dence, as many have done in similar situations on the Ottawa. 
 The first to locate themselves would have the advantage, and might 
 hope soon to see villages growing up around them. No more ad- 
 
 be places of land carriage and trans-shipment. Here, then, in the 
 event of the communication being opened, would be a field for enter- 
 prise, to steady and industrious farmers, who could combine the 
 cultivation of the land with the profitable employment of canying 
 freight over the portages. 
 
 In such situations, too, the growing wants of a new settlement 
 would soon create a demand for various branches of industry. 
 Boat-builders, blacksmiths and carpenters, would find ready em- 
 ployment where small craft had to be provided for sucli a leiigth of 
 inland navigation, and saw mills ^^'ould be reciuired to supply them 
 Avith material. 
 
 But, to proceed in regard » the capacity of the country for 
 agriculture, on getting to JSturgeon Lake, the climate is improved, 
 but the ground is rough and broken, as it is also at Nequaquon 
 and Nameukan Lakes. Kainy Lake is so much indented with bays, 
 that in passing through it only headlands and islands can be seen, 
 and these are often rocky ; but I have heard it reported by the 
 Indians that there are areas of very fine land about Kainy Lake. . 
 
 LAKE OF THE WOODS AND FOIIT GARRY SECTIONS. 
 
 Arrived at Fort Frances, one hundred and ninety miles in ^ni 
 air line from Thunder Bay, the mountainous region is passed, and, 
 commencing here, a beautifid tract of land extends along the bank 
 of Rainy Eiver to the Lake of the Woods. This tract is of the very 
 richest alluvial soil, and in the whole distance there is nut appa- - 
 rently an acre unsusceptible of cultivation. 01<I Indian gardens,, 
 growing vetches and wild grass, are met with at intervals on the 
 banks, and the forests present bass wood, oak and elm, with occa- 
 sional white pines of gigantic proportions. 
 
 To this succeeds the Lake of the Woods, with fifty miles of navi-- 
 gation among islands varying in character, some fertile and others 
 barren, but on some of wliich the Indians have grown maize from 
 time immemorial The section whiich comes next, that betv;een 
 the North-west Angle and the Prairie, as already described, is 
 swampy. There are, nevertheless, occasional portions oi it well 
 adapted for settlement. 
 
200 
 
 The wooded region ends with tlie section just referred to, and, 
 from this point westward to the Rocky Mountains and north-west- 
 ward to Peace River, the prevailing characteristic is prairie. These 
 prairies are, for the most part, of ricli alluvial loam, but they are in 
 some places sandy, as on the upper portion of the South Branch of 
 the Saskatchewan. So vast is the region, and the soil throughout 
 the greater part of its extent so good, that it is no exaggeration to 
 say the cultivable areas may he reckoned hy Mmdrcds of millions of 
 acres. 
 
 The country is intersected with rivers, one of which, the Sas- 
 katchewan, drains an area greater than does the St. Lawrence, and 
 is navigable for seven hundred miles of its course. From the South 
 Branch of this great river, north-west to Peace River, the clipiate 
 is adapted to the growth of wheat. Coal, salt, iron, gold and bitu- 
 men, are among the minerals to be found. Over the imtilled fields 
 which nature has spread out, the wild cattle of the plains roaiji in 
 countless herds, and for hundreds of miles together may be seen 
 grazing like domestic cattle in a field of pasture. A region which 
 thus, in a state of nature, supports animal life in profusion, must 
 be naturally rich, as regards its soil and climate. It is, in fact, 
 fitted to sustain as dense an agricultural population as any area of 
 equal extent on the face of the globe. 
 
 Such, in a brief view, is the country with which it is proposed 
 to open communication ; but to describe it further would be beyond 
 the scope of this Report. 
 
 .? 
 
 THE Wr UK OF LAST SUMMER. 
 
 In the month of May, last year, at th^ request of the Hon. 
 Alex. Campbell, the then Commissioner of Crown Lands of Canada, 
 I submitted an estimate of the probable cost of the works I had 
 proposed in the Lake Superior Section, and an appropriation of 
 S55,900 having been made, on the same, from the Upper Canada 
 Colonization Road Fund, as my time was greatly occupied by other 
 engagements, it was eventually arranged that Mr. Bridgland, who had 
 charge of the Upper Canada Colonization Roads, should undertake 
 the road from Thunder Bay to Dog Lake, while, in regard to the 
 dam, as he had no experience in works of the kind, I imdertook to 
 provide for its construction, and was accordingly instructed to lay 
 out the work and place over it a competent superintendent, who 
 should see to its management during my absence. 
 
 Under these arrangements, considering the lateness of the period 
 of the season at which operations were commenced, a fair amount 
 
 ' '^ 
 
 i 
 
201 
 
 of work was accomplished. Six miles of the road were completed,. 
 
 4 under the able management of Mr. Snow, who had immediate 
 charge of the working parties, and, at Dog Lake, under the direction 
 of Mr. Joseph Samson, a considerable quantity of timlujr was got out 
 for the dam. Boats and scows were built for the conveyance of 
 stone and material to the work, and a suitable building erected for 
 the accommodation of the workmen. 
 
 Much of the necessary material aird tools for the road and dam, 
 besides a small quantity of provisions, are now on hand, and it is 
 greatly to be desired that the operations, so auspiciously commenced, 
 should be proceeded with as early as possible in the spring, inas- 
 much as these works, as well as being of paramount and permanent 
 riecessity to the line of communication, will, when completed, be of 
 . great advantage in the first instance, in facilitating the conveyance 
 of materials and supjjlies to works of similar character farther in 
 
 * the interior. 
 
 Hon. 
 /anada, 
 
 I had 
 ;ion of 
 
 anada 
 r other 
 ho had 
 ertake 
 
 the 
 ook to 
 
 o lay 
 
 , who 
 
 '•■■I 
 
 MR. J. W. BRIDGLAND'S REPORT. 
 
 I notice this document to con'ect an eiTor into which Mr. 
 Bridgland seems, inadvertently, to have fallen. He has projected, 
 on a map, a line of Kailway from Lake Superior to Eainy ike, 
 and, from the information gleaned from a mere preliminary report 
 of mine, represents the country through which it would pass as 
 being imperfectly examined, or wholly unexplored. Now, the fact 
 is, that the region to which he refers, although not examined 
 exactly with the view to a railway, has been explored to I'uch an 
 extent as to afford, at least, a fair knowledge of its topo^'^tiphy. . 
 Messrs. Wells, llussell and Gaudet, Provincial Land Sur'/eyors, 
 crossed and recrossed it in various directions, as I, myself, also did, 
 making surveys and determining levels over extensive sections, and 
 should Mr. Bridgland ever visit the country, which he has not as 
 yet done, I feel confident that he will perceive the accuracy of the 
 description contained in my reports, and reproduced in an abridged 
 form in this document, under the heads of " Lake Superior Section" 
 and " Lake Eegion." 
 
 As regards the railroad, I have, in various reports submitted to 
 the Government, explained that when the circumstances of the 
 country would admit of works of such magnitude, and when the 
 North-west Territories had attained a certain degree of development, 
 a short line, of some twenty-five miles, from Thunder Bay to Dog 
 Lake, would be of advantage, as would also a line from the North- 
 west angle of the Lake of the "Woods to Fort Garry, combining 
 with these great works the improvement of the intermediate navi-- 
 
^•"nwywi,**! 
 
 i- 
 
 I 
 
 J" 
 
 202 
 
 * . . ' 
 
 gation, by meahs of lock and dam, from Dog Lake to the Lake a 
 
 the Wooas. ] 
 
 Mr. Bridgland has adopted the same idea, with this difference^ 
 that he proposes a railroad of no less than two hundred miles at tJu 
 outset, with one lock at Fort Frances. In either case, it will be 
 observed that .there must be intennediate navigation. Then, why 
 not bring the navigation as close as possible to Lake Superior, so as 
 to have a shorter railroad? A canal, supposing the lockage tc 
 average as much as that of the liideau has done, woulu not cost half 
 as much as a railroad of 200 miles in length, which latter, suppos-i 
 ing it to involve no greater outlay than similar works in tliii^ 
 country have averaged, would cost at least eight millions of dollars^ 
 Such vast projects are as yet premature. In regard to^Mr. 
 Bridgland's scheme, as he professes no personal knowledge of the 
 country, and merely submits it as a suggestion, I«hall offer noi 
 further comment than to say that it would he useless to expend 
 further sums of money in exploration of the route -^hich he pro- 
 poses, with the view to a railroad. His line, at the summit of the 
 water-shed, would be at an elevation of some 1,500 feet above the 
 level of Lake Superior, and that not in one gradual rise, but ovei 
 successive hills and valleys. Further to the westward i% would be 
 on a sort of dividing ridge, between "long and irregular water- 
 courses." Its course would ly» transverse to the strike of the gneiss 
 which, over a considerable part of the route, is heaved up it 
 moimtain chains, or depressed in sharp valleys filled witl 
 lakes as already described, in this report, under the hea4 of '• Lak( 
 Region." Moreover, a railway of such considerable length shoulc 
 be so placed as to be available, at some future period, as a link in 
 the extension of Canadian Railways to the vast prairies of the 
 West, and, in this regard, Mr. Bridgland's proposed line would be 
 quite out of the way. \ 
 
 I fully concur with him in his views as to the expediency of 
 immediate and energetic action in opening such communication as 
 would attract the trade of the western territories to this country, 
 and I believe the plan which I have proposed would havewthc 
 desired effect. * * 
 
 * Respectfully submitted, 
 
 S. J. Dawsox. 
 
the Lake o 
 
 is differencell 
 
 I miles at the 
 
 ;e, it will be 
 
 Then, why 
 
 luperior, so aa 
 
 ^e lockage td 
 
 , not cost hal^ 
 
 fttter, supposr • 
 
 works in fhiL 
 
 yfi8 of dollars^ 
 
 3gard toi^Mr. 
 
 wledge of ta6 
 
 ehall offer no 
 
 ess lo expend 
 
 yyhich he pro- 
 
 aummit of the 
 
 feet above the 
 
 rise, but ovei 
 
 ,rdi* would be 
 
 Tegular ^yate^ 
 
 ce of the gneiss 
 
 heaved up it^ 
 
 s filled witl 
 
 tea4 of '-Lake 
 
 length should 
 
 |d, as a link in 
 
 prairies of th€ 
 
 line would be 
 
 expediency ol 
 
 miunication aa 
 
 lo this country 
 
 rould have, the 
 
 • 
 
 Ibmitted, 
 J. Dawsox. 
 
 1' 
 
 
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