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The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmds A des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est film6 d partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illusttent la m^thode. rrata to pelure. n 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 I ^^IP r f -^- i". ' n^^it. i»w»ai^ >•**»— l^.,t:... iv*.u i4 D//'ecf /?0(/fe f/7rof/^/7 f/7e North- West Territories of Canada to the Pacific Ocean. PROPOSED HUDSON'S BAY AND PACIFIC RAILWAY AND -, JEW STEAMSHIP ROUTE. (WITH A MAI'.) HY JOSEPH NELSON, ATTHOK OF •^Handbook of JJrltish Columhta and Vouronrcr Island, 1858"; "J. Itailwaij from Halifax to Va'irourcr through British Trrritori/, iSoH"; " The Hudson H Bay (kmpany, ' What Is Iff 18G3"; t£-c., Ac. i 1893 — y /•• LONDON: l»KlNTi:i> IIY I UK IX'ONOMU; PRINTING AND rUUMSHINCJ ( O,, I,T1)., HOlTVKHli: STRKKT. KI.KKT STRKET, K.C. ■'V. ;i1«j'b*t'!,C!i^ H y 1 c^- -'■^^^^^ -Ay tr^ PROPOSED HUDSONS >NS BAY & PACIFIC R R A I LWAY & STEAM T «»' \ <^ \ ■\ t < V / y HO*** tf»- ^ •»«'. '♦« T Hirewefl AMSHIP ROUTE b itt / /( -N I If V u/ '"=' ^^y •' o./ / .— ^ _ ^ ^— — — .' I meWFOUNDLAMD ^- ''T/ >aruM \ — -. B3 — ^ y^i- ^: ^ \ *. iStaiBBn* NOTE. RailHtty^s in constructio/i . (JirjfMisedliaihtt^ /ronvPort ChurchM on. Hudson Be^ to Cafgary, — -. .i. i. .i. Steams?ujp JHoiUes. ^I^'otioseeL New Route /frwi Vhited ""^ \MnffdoyM to ^idsofi:s Bay. MoftTLAtre . \ \ LOMDON. Sf-pt /tKOy. \ MACXUREatC'UTH DKAFTSMEN QiEF.li '7"T VIA :'T !..1N' ON ^^. -,#" i -n^;pms^m^ f ^ •^"■ii"*"«» mm if^^PTOfHP"- Direct Route through the North- West Territories of Canada to the Pacific Ocean. PROPOSED HUDSON'S BAY AND PACIFIC MUl AND NEW STEAMSHIP ROUTE. (WITH A MAP.) BY JOSEPH NELSON, AITHOR OF ''Tfiiuflhnnl- of J] lit; sh Cohnnhla and Vaucoucer Ightud. I808"; "A Itallwmj from Il„i;/a.,: to Vanconver thioiujh liiitiith Tn-iitonj, Is^lH"; " The Hmhon'a Jiaij Cumjnuu/, ' What hltf 1,SG3"; dr., rf-c. 1 893 DEDICATED, BY PERMISSION, TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE MARQUIS OF DUFFERIN AND AYA, K.G., BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO FRANCE; FORMERLY GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA, VICEROY OV Il^IA, AND BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO ITALY. I i •I Hudson's Bay and Pacific Railway and New Steamship Route. CONTENTS. TACK •Comparative Tabic of Distances 5 Churchill Harbour 6 Evidence as to the Commercial Practicability of the Navi- gation of the Straits and Hudson's Bay ^ Extent and Eesources of the Xorth-West Territories of tVe Dominion of Canatla ... 18 Address before the lloyal Geographical Society by Hubert Bull., Esq., M.D., F.G.S 21'. Evidence of Mr. George A. Bayne, C.E., before the Select Committee of the Legislature of Manitoba 34 :Evideuce of Mr. Charles N. Bell ui his work, "The Xoi-them Waters of British North America" 3f ■Repoft of the Select Coniiuittee of the House of Commons of Canada, April, 1884, on the Navigation of Hudson's Bay 37 Heport of the Select Committee of the Piovincial Legislature of Manitoba on the Navigation of Hudson's Bay and the Opening-up by Railway of Communication therewith throughout the Noith-West Territory- of the Dominion and North-West States or the United States 45 IV. Address before the Royal Geographical Society by Admiral Markham, June, 1888, ou Hudson's Bay and Hudson's Strait as a Navigable Channel lleport of the Select Committee of Wie Senate of the. Domuiion of Canada, 1888, on the Resources of the Great Mackenzie Basin The Xorth-West of Canada: The Great Com, Cattle, and Mineral Country of the Future. By Joseph Xelson. Reprinted from tlie "Westminster Rev-iew," Mnrch, 1893 Map of Britisli North America, with the Proposed Railway and Steamship Route, etc., delineated thereon. I'AOE 47 67 78: Hadson's fiay and Pacific Railway and New Steamsliip Route. WITH A MAP. It is proposed to apply to the Dominion Parliament of ■Canada for the necessary powers to construe ^ and •work a railway from Port Churchill on Hudson's Bay via Prince Albert and Battleford, to a junction with the Canadian Pacific Railway at Calgary, in the territory of Alberta, a distance of about 1,000 miles, and for a Government Money and Land Grant in aid thereof, and also a bounty for steamers running between the railway terminus at Port Churchill and the United Kingdom. COMPARATIVE TABLE OF DISTANCES. Liverpool to Port Churchill Port Churchill to Calgary Calgary to Vancouver ria Canadian Pacifle Kailway Liverpool to Montreal -Montreal to Vancouver via Canadian Pacific Railway. Saving in distance I ia Port Churchill Liverpool to Mission Junction via Port Churchill Mission Junction to San Francisco Liverpool to Mission Junction via Montreal and Canadian Pacific Railway Mission Junction to San Francisco Saving in distance rfVt Port Churchill Liverpool to San Francisco via Sew York and Union Pacific Railway Liverpool to San Francisco via Port Churchill Saving in distance i*ja Port Churchill 2,92(( 1,000 CA2 4,.5«J8 2,990 2,906 .5,896 1,32S 4,526 1,073 5,5!)9 5,854 1,073 6,927 ^a^.-* 6,630 5,i5!)9 1,031 6 which will effect a saving of upwards of two days betweea the United Kingdom and Vancouver, San Francisco, Japan, China, India, and Australia; and it is estimated there will be a saving of £3 to £4 a head on immigrants, £3 to £4 a head upon cattle, £1 a ton upon wheat and other cereals, and ujjon all other products — merchandise, etc. — from 30 lo 40 per cent. CHURCHILL HARBOUR. Sir Henry Lefroy, President of the Geographical Section of the British Association, in his address at Swansea in 1880, speaking of Churchill Harbour (seo Apjiendix A, Page 2'.)), said : "It will undoubtedly be the future shipping port for the agricultural products of the vast North-West Territory, and the route by which emigrants will enter the country." Dr. Bell, Director of the Geological Survey of Canada, in his address to the Royal Geographical Society, in October, 1881 (see Appendix A), said : " The Churchill River is remarkable for having at its mouth a splendid harbour, with deep water and every natu- ral convenience for the purposes of modern commerce. It can be entered with ease and safety by the largest ships at all stages of the tide. On the point at the west side of the harbour stands the old Fort Prince of Wales, which is pro- bably the largest ruin in North America. Mr. George A. Bayne, civil engineer, in his evidence before the Select Committee of the Legislative Assembly of the Pro- vince of Manitoba, having been engaged on the survey of this proposed railway and harbour (see Appendix B, Page 34), said : "The Harbour of Churchill is one of the finest I have efver seen. Nature has done so much for it in the way of protection from storm and the depth of water, that without further improvements it is fitted to take rank among first- class ocean ports. I took careful soundings, and found at a distance of 400 feet from high-water mark, along the shore, a depth of 38 feet, deepening suddenly to 50 feet. These soundings were taken at extremely low tide. The bay and harbour are open for navigation from the 15th of June to 20th October for ordinary sailing vessels. Sometimes the ice does not take fast in the harbour until the 1st cf Decem- ber. The ice is never solid in the bay for a greater dis- tance from the shore than half a mile,* and this is liable to • This can bo removed by means of an Ice breaker as now praotleed by the Russian Govornmeni. In jiorts and rivers wUhlii the Arctic Circle. bo broken up by wind and tide, so that there will be found little difficulty that experience and practice will not over- come to prevent the loading and unloading of steamers all the winter." Mr. William Smith, Deputy Minister of Marine and Fisheries, in an article which appeared in the "Nautical Magazine" of August 1892, speaking of Churchill Harbour, says: "It is a splendid harbour, which can be entered with ease and safety at all stai^'es of the tide, thus offering every advantage for shipping, and its entrance is destined some day to be the main commercial point of this inland sea. The basin for anchorage, with a depth at low water of over four fathoms, is about 1,400 yards north and south, and about 1,000 yards east and west. The harbour is pronounced to be an eminently safe one. The approached are well marked, and in clear weather the land stands out bold and high, being easily identihed at a distance of ten or twelve miles. The harbour is well adapted for a railway terminus, as the necessary docks could be easily and cheaply built, and the deep water basin enlarged at small cost. Stone lies at the water's edge ready to be laid into the docks or piers, and Nature seems to have left little to be done to make this a capacious port, capable of doing business on a large scale, and, what is of the greatest importance, an inlet by Hudson's Bay is the only thoroughly independent channel which can ever be established between Great Britain and her North American Possessions." EYIDEXCE AS To THE COMMEKCIAL PKACTICAHILITY OF THE NAVIGATION OF THE STRAITS AND ITUDSONS BAY. The evidence on this, the most important of all questions, is complete in every particular so far as can be judged from investigation and practical experience. First we have the marvellous record of the Hudson's Bay Company (see Appen- dix D, Page 3G), who for 223 years have been trtuling between the United Kingdom and the shores of this great inland sea, with the loss of only two vessels, the "Graham" and the "Kitty." Upwards of 800 vessels are said to have passed through the Straits, including British troopships, emigrant ships, war vessels of the English and French (some of them 8 carrying 74 guns), as well as ships bound on voyages of dis- covery, trade and whaling. One of the most interesting and early reports of the navigation and resources of Hudson's Bay is that of Dr. Robert Bell, F.G.S., Director of the Geological Survey of Canada, an epitome of which was read before the Royal Geo- graphical Society in 18S1 (see Appendix A, Page 22). Dr. Bell, who had spent six seasons since 1869 in explorations around the bay itself and its vicinity, amongst other things, says: "The total area of the bay is about 500,000 square miles, enclosed by land on all sides except the north-east, where it communicates by several channels with tlie outer ocean, the principal or best known of these sti-aits being about 600 miles in length, and an average width of 100 miles. The basin of Hudson's Bay has a width of 2,100 miles from east to west, and a length of 1,500 miles from north to south, and its dimensions approach the enormous mmaber of 3,000,000 stpjare miles. Over a great part of this vast region there is a temperate climate ; numerous large rivers and lakes are em- braced within these limits." Both tlie Itay and strait are remarkably free from rocks and shoals, the depth of water is very uniform, and averages about 70 fathoms. The Nelson River, with its tributaries, may be considered one of the first-class rivers of the world. The shores and islands of the bay are rich in minerals, especially in iron ore of a high grade, which lies exposed in inexhaustil>le quantities. The Canadian North-West Terri- tories, embracing hundreds of millions of acres of fine land, are capable of becoming the greatest wheat field in the world. The centre of this immense agricultural region probably lies to tho north of the Saskatchewan. If we look at a map we shall see at a glance that the shortest route between these territories and England is throujrh Hudson's Bay ; even the City of Winnipeg, which is near the south-eastern extremity of these territories, is at least 800 miles nearer to Liverpool by Hudson's Bay than by the St. Lawrence route. Now let us consider the relative progress of two persons travelling to Liverpool from the centre of this vast region, the one going to Winnipeg and the Valley of St. La\\Tence, and the other by the Nelson Valley and Churchill Harbour. At about the same time the former requires to reach the City of Winnipeg, the latter arrives on the sea coast at Churchill. From 9 ■Winnipeg our traveller has still to go 1,291 miles by the Lake Superior Route, or 1,698 if he prefer the whole rail journey through American territory via Chicago, before he reaches Montreal, where he will still be about as far from Liverpool as our traveller when he reached Churchill. In other words, the route from the North-West Territories to England vii Hudson's Bay saves the whole distance between Winnipeg and Montreal. The great saving in distance represents an important economy in time and money, or in freight and passenger rates. If the grain, cattle, and other productions of the North-West Territories could reach a European market only through Ontario and Quebec, or by way of New York, a large proportion of their value would necessarily be con- sumed by the long land carriage ; whereas if they can find an outlet at Churchill, there will be an verage saving of 1,291 miles as compared with Montrea., and upwards of 1,700 as compared with New York, and this without any increase in the length of the sea voyage. In effect this will place a great part of the farming lands of the North-West Territories in as good a position with regard to a seaport as are those of Ontario, West of Toronto, and will conse- quently increase the value of eveiy description of farm pro- duce, and therefore of the farms themselves. Some kinds which could not be sent out of the country at all by the longer land route may be profitably exported by the shorter one. For the transportation of both grain and fresli meat, as Colonel Dennis has pointed out, the northern route, besides the shortening of distance, would have greater advantages over all those to the south, owing to its cooler and more uniform temperature. Heavy or bulky goods of all kinds would, of course, be imported to the north-west by the shortest land route. In regard to the export and import of live stock this independent route will possess a great im- portance to these territories. Hithei'to cattle, horses, hotrs, and sheep have there enjoyed an immunity from almost all forms of contagious diseases, and owing to the healthy nature of the climate for these animals, it is hoped this state of thinn-s will continue. The domestic animals in the United States and the older Canadian Provinces being occasionally afHicted with contagious diseases, it becomes dangerous for European countries on their importation. In the event of an epidemic of this nature existing in some part of these ft 10 regions, but not in the North-West Territories, there need be no objection to exporting live stock from the latter by way of Hudson's Bay. As a route for emigrants from Europe that by Hudson's Bay possesses not only the advantage of the short land journey, but the still more important one to us of entirely avoiding the United States and the populous parts of Canada, in both of which it is well known a very serious percentage of the immigrants destined for our North-West lands are every year enticed away to settle in the great Republic. An inlet by Hudson's Bay is the only thoroughly independent Channel which can ever l)e estal)lished between the British Islands, and our great and valuable territories in the interior of North America ; and it is very desirable on national grounds that it sliould be opened up. Troops have hitherto been sent to the Ked River Settlement on more than one occasion by way of Hudson's Bay, while the intervening country was, as it ia yet, in a state of Nature. Were a short railway built through this tract it would at once become for military pur- poses an easy connecting link with the Mother Country. An impression has long prevailed that Hudson's Bay and Strait could not be navigated for the ordinary purposes of conjmerce on account of ice, but this idea is probably destined to prove chimerical. The fact that these waters have been successfully navigated by ordinary sailing vessels for 200 years, in order to secure what little trade the country afforded, indicates what may be expected from properly-equipped steam- ships so soon as the larger business of the future may requiic their services in this direction. The conditions of the sea- borne commerce of the North-West in relation to Hudson's Bay will probably turn out to be similar to those of the rest of Canada with reference to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In both cases everything must be done during the summer. Yet Hudson's Bay is o^ en all the year round. No one w^ould be likely to suppose that a sea of such extent in the latitude of the British Islands would ever be frozen across. The lower St. Lawrence is also partly open, even in the middle of winter, buc the difficulty in both cases is the impossibility of getting into harbours. A harbour such as that of Churchill on Hud- son's Bay would have the advantage over Quebec or Montreal of connecting directly with the «. j^en sea, and here in the autumn vessels would not be liable to be frozen in as occa- liii 11 sionally happens in the St. Lawrence. There has been some discussion as to the length of time clurinnstruction ol' a railroad to connect such port with Winnipeg, or some eiiually con- venient depot on the newly-established line of the Canada and Tucitic Railway, "The achievement of such an undertaking would result in shortening the distance that the produce of the country de- stined for exportation would have to bo transported by one half. As the cost of transport by rail is governed by the disti.ncc to be conveyed per mile, it will at once l)e ujuler- stood that if the mi.eage is reduced by one half the cost of conveyance will be diminished in the same proportion, it has been estimated that the result of the construction of a railroad from Winnipeg to Hudson's Bay woultl be a clear gain to the farmers and producers of the North-West of about £3 per head of all cattle exported, and Ds. upon every (quarter of grain sent for shipment. "In conclusion, we must again call to mind the fact that the vessels employed on the Hudson's Bay service have hitherto been sailing ships. Steam has now robbed ice navigation of many of its difficulties and dai.gers, and it is only fair for us to assume that, with the ai)pliance that science has since revealed to us, we can in these days achieve with greater ease and celerity, and with more assured cer- tainty, as much as was accomplished by Hudson and Baffin, by Button and Luke Fox, in their rude and poorly equipped flyboatSi "The case, then, can be briefly stated. If sailing ships have annually taken the furs and other merchandise of the Hudson's Bay Company through the straits for the last two centuries, a fortiori, it may be looked upon as certain that powerful steamers will be able to do the same for the produce brought to the west coast of Hudson's Buy by a railway from Winnipeg. The Legislature of the Province of Manitoba appointed a Select Committee, in 1884, to procure evidence and report upon the practicability of establishing a system of communica- tion, via Hudson's Bay. After taking the evidence of a number of men, with a thorough practical knowledge of the subject, say in their report (see Appendix H), "Many of the «', 16 b^utlemea examined hav» i i g elthl"; ""« '■""> "»-« C Nf™^^''^'- "-I the g'ventimt goes to prove that H„ I , evidence iias toei, ever freeze ,.,ver, ^r tha l""'™" = «'■■'"'» ""d Ba^ pro!; IS f-ufticient tn ,. ® *^® met with in +i i'^'Per V t e time during' -S't tp'TrC'r''^"""" '^ ^^«- ;^^^"-itT;r".:t::ei::f-:- --::::,!: aa average, from four anda hS. 7 '""'""'" =« °i'ea, o,! '0 ord,„„,. ,3,,^,^ „ half ,0 iive me^a, ^^ ^__^1^ "^^on «e„':/*::- l-d ^Slr* r - -- of t. evide.^ ->» ;;»h ea«, and safet"!? "'"='* ""8"«on ean be carrtd yr. Bell, Director of the Por. ^- ■nade «,, 'he Canad.an Geological Survev. ,vho . "^"P'ain William Kennedv ,,1, m search of the remain. ^ a ° "'T"""''*'' '^" «P««tion Ml W ^" *^^e H„,.i taXl^^^^^^^^^ ro^ -a. i„ the .n.ee or to December. ^ "^ ^^ *^«ore Factory: From June Captain William WartJ Pany service for 39 years "f" •" *^' ^"^««"'« ^av Com -^-team,hip3 sHo^^:^;-^^ --e; „o' reaZ The Canadian Govern ..T^ * ^"-^ *'"^e. ftraits and bay. 1884-85-8G ^nV' '^^'■'' «^Peditions to the - an of .hose report'^he peToLTr^^' '''''^'- ^-'^ - at four months. ^'^^^^ °^ ^''^e navigation is placed Capt. J. J. Barry thp fi. ♦ ^^ ^. the first omcer i. each of the expedi- i 17 tions, thinks ocean steumships can enter as early as June^ nnd can certainly come out as late as December. Mr. W. A. Ashe, Superintendent of the Quebec Observa- tory, the officer in charge of the North coast of the straits, from August, 1884, to September, 1885, says the straits are navig- able from 4^ to 6h months, varying according to the class of ship. Mr. C. R. Tuttle, secretary to the first year's expedition, places the period of navigation at eight months. Mr. William J. Kynner, an officer who accompanied the three expeditions: From June to December. Mr. D. J. Beaton, who made the round voyage with the expeditions of 1885, reported the straits navigable from May to December. Admiral Markham, R.N., an experienced Artie navigator, accompanied the expedition of 1886: He reports, "I believe the straits will be found navigable for at least four months of every year, and oft3n five, or more. There will, I have no doubt, be many years when navigation can be carried out safely and surely, from the first of June until tlie end of November." Captain John Macpherson, of Stepney, London, as first officer and captain in the sei dee of the Hudson's Bay Company, made voyages from Londo.i aud Stromiiess, to Hudson's Bay, and returned annually for twenty years, says : "There is no reason why steamships couldnot make the jiassage of the straits as early as the first of June, and come out as late as the middle of November." The Russian Government are carrying out an extensive systen> of railways in Siberia (the teraiinus of which is at Vhidivostock, on the Jaiuin Sea), of al)out 5,000 miles, at an estimated cost of fifteen millions sterling. The port of entry by which the material is to 1)e conveyed for the con- stnictian of this undertaking, .aid the outlet for the future prndufo of the country. :« the mouth of the Yenisei River, whicli is about 70 -^.-grees of nortli latitude (in the Arctic Circle), they propose to keep open tlie navigation 1)y steam ice breakei-s, two of which have recently been constructed for the Russian Government in this countrv. B 18 EXTENT AND RESOURCES OF THE NORTHWhSi' TERRITORIES OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA. Tlie country at present under local government com- prises the Province of Manitoba, covering an area of 64,000 square miles, with Winnipeg as its capital, and the three territories of Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, cover- ing an area of 303,000 square miles, with Regina as their capital. The whoJe of this vast region, extending from about 25 miles west from Lake Superior to the Rocky Mountains, a distance of 1,350 miles, and from the forty-ninth paral- lel of latitude North, to tJie water -shed of the Saskat- chewan River, an average distance of 350 miles, embraces an area of 462,500 Hquare miles, or 269,000,000 acres, two- thirds of which has been proved to be capable of producing the finest wheat, and the rest admirably adapted for stock raising and dairy farm/ng. The whole of this region, in- cluding a great portion of the States of Minnesota and North Dakota, in the United States, is drained by the l.-ikey snd tributary streams of the Nelson River, into Hudson's Bay, in latitude 53 North. It comprises the richest and most extensive undeveloped wheat-producing lands in the world, and access to which, from the United Kinf « .vest of Winnipeg. In a little time they will know nai*^^ f> dozen spot? not a day's ride from Montreal, and it i- '.'ong that line that money will be made. In those days, too. v''K;at will hi gro^^^l for the English market four hundred miles north of the present fields on the we ;t side, and British Columbia, perhaf tlio loveliest land i:i the world, except New Zealand, Avill have he'- own line (f G,000 ton steamers to Australia, and Cno British inAC^tor will no longer throw away his money on hellicat South American republics, or give it as a hostage to the States. He will koej) it in the family, as a wise man should. Then the towns that are ': >d.'y only names in the wilderness, yes, and some of those places marked on the map as Hudson's Bay Posts, will be cities, because — but it is hopeless to make people understand 20 that actually and indeed, we do possess an empire of whicL Canada is only a portion, an empire that has not yet been, scratched." To the North-West of the territories already described, there is a vast region, embracing the Athabasca and Great Mackenzie basins, on the resources of which a select com- mittee of the Senate of the Dominion took evidence, and reported, iu 1887 (see Appendix I), in which, amongst other things, the committee say: "That within the scope of the committee's inquiry, there is a possible area of 650,000 square miles fitted for the growth of potatoes. 407,000 square miles suitable for barley, and 316 000 suitable for wheat, that throu- ; ^ his arable and pastural area latitude bears no direct rel.. to summer isotherma, the spring flowers and buds of dtc;duou8 trees aj.pearing as early north c* the Great Slave Lake (Lat. 63) as at Winnipeg, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Kingston, or Ottawa, and earlier along the Peace, Liard, and some minor affluents of the Great Mackenzie River, where the climate resembles that of Western Ontario. That on the head routes of the Peace, Liard and Poel Rivers, there are from 150,000 to. 200,000 square miles, which may be considered auriferous "That the evidence submitted to the committee points to the existence, on the Athabasca and Mackenzie Valleys of the most extensive petroleum field in America, if not the world. The uses of petroleum, and, c^nsequentlv, the demand for it by all nations, are increasing at such a rapid rate that it is probable that this great petroleum held will assume an enormous value in the near future and will reckon among the chief assets comprised in tl^ Crown domain of the Dominion, and be shipped from Churchill, or some other northern port of Hudson's Bay to England." •" THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE RAILWAY. It is proposed to divide the line into three sections The first from Port CI archill to Sea Falls, 350 miles where ,t would be joined by the line, at pre,sent under construction, from Winnipeg, thus giving a connection on ho south with the City of Winnipeg, and with the North- Western States of the Union. This section will be first con- 21 structed. It has been surveyed by a competent engineer, Mr. Bayne (see Ai)pendix B, Page 34), the levels taken, and presents no difficulty to the construction of a good line of railway at a moderate price. Timber and stone are in abund- ance for all requirements, the climate is said to be more favourable, and the rain less than at Winnipeg, and that work •can be carried on during the whole of the Avinter. The completion of this section will place P rt Churchill in direct railway communication with the navigation of Lake Winnipeg and the Red Rver, passing the City of Winnipeg, and extending far into Minnesota and Dakota, and the Great Saskatchewan River, forming together a south and westward navigation for steamers, for a distance of about 1,800 miles. Section two, from Sea Falls to Prince Albert, about 300 miles, runs through some of the richest wheat land in the North-W^est, and will form a connection at Prince Albert with the Regina branch of the Canadian Pacific. The country is exceedingly favoiu-able for the cheap construction of the railway. The third section, from Prince Albert via Battleford to Calgary, about 350 miles, runs through a fine prairie country, unequalled in Norilt ^'^merica for the raising of cattle and dairy prod ace, and Avill he a surface line easy and cheap in the cost of construction. At Calgary, the railway will form a junction with the Canadian Pacific Railway, and l)y passing ovc that line to Vancouver, effect the enormous saving from ocean to ocean, as compared with the route via Montreal, of 1,328 miles. It will also connect with the jjresent branch line to Edmonton, and form the shortest route between the United Kingdom and the Athabasca River and Great Mackenzie Basin, which comprises the greatest petroleum deposit in America, and the rich agricultural and auriferous valleys of the Peace, Liard, and other rivers. ESTIMATED TRAFFIC. The steamers from the United Kingdom will carry at least two-thirds of the immigrants, which may be estimated at 20,000 annually, and all the railway material and the bulk of the manufactured goods imported into the North- West Territory, including through traffic to the Pacific. ■ rlnoJ"^t ^"^""i*^' '"''- '^°'^'^ °^ S''*^'"' ^"•^ «tock, dairy pro- duce hay, suI„,on. and other fish, and furs of the Hudson^ Bay Company and other fur traders dist!n '/^'*;r *^ '^'"''^^ ^^°'' ^y ''' ^'''^' ''^'-^S in time and d s ance, wjll command the carriage of a portion of the mail aua tJirough passengers to and from the Pacific. to tax to the fullest capacity the proposed railway. APPENDIX A. PUOCEE DINGS OP THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OCTOBER issi. On the Commercial Importance of Hudson's Bay, with Remarks on Recent Surveys and Investiijaiions. By Robert Bei.1. m.d.. f.o.s.. Assistant Director of the treological Survey of Canada, I beg leave to offer to the Royal Geographical Society a lew remarks on the gi^t Mediterranean Sea of North America, in regard to which there appears to be a general want of correcc information. Before proceeding to do so, It may be proper for me to state that I have a considerable personal knowledge of Hudson's Bay and the surrounding regions. As an officer of the Geological Survev ot Canada, I have spent six seasons since 1869 in explora""- tions around the bay itself or in its vicinity, while the remaimng summers of this interval have been devoted mostly to surveying and exploring portions of the Hudson's iiay territory at greater or less distances inland. In the course of my geological investigations, I have made survevs of the most principal rivers, together with their larger branches which flow from the west and south into Hudson's Bay, including the Great and Little Churchill, the Nelson, Hayes, Hill, Severn, Albany, Kenogami, Moose, Missinabe. Mattagami, and Abittibi. On account of its great geological ^^^T \ "" topographical sun-ey in 1877 of about 300 miles of the Eastmain Coast, from Cape Jones 23 northward. Some of the maps showing these surveys have been already published with the annual reports of tlie Geological Department, and those representing the remainder will soon be forthcoming. During the past autumn, in coming to England in one of the ships from the bay, I happened to enjoy un suall) good opportunities of seeing both sides of Hudson's Strait^ and of acquiring much valuable information in reference to its navigation. In tlie popular mind, Hudson's Bay is apt to be asso- ciated with the polar regions, yet no part of it comes s.niiu. the Arctic circle, and the southern extremity is south of the latitude of London. Few people have any adequate conception of the extent of this great American sea. Includ- ing its southern prolongation, James's Bay, it measures ahout 1,000 miles in length, and it is more than GOO miles in width at its northern part. Its total area is approxi- mately 500,000 square miles, or upwards of half that of the Mediterranean Sea of the old world. It is inclosed by the land on all sides except the north-east, where it communicates by several channels with the outer ocean. The principal or best known of these is Hudson's Strait, which is about 500 miles in length, and has an average width of about 100 miles. Hudson's Bay, which might have been more appro- priately called Hudson's Sea, is the central basin of the drainage of North America. The limits of this basin extend to the centre of the Labrador peninsula, or some 500 miles ; ;.and on the east side, and to the Rocky Mountains, or a distance of 1,300 miles on the west. The Winnipeg Basin constitutes a sort of outlier of the region more immediately under notice, since the waters drain into it from north, south, east, and west, and discharge themselves by one great trunk, the Nelson River, into Hudson's Bay. The southern- most part of this basin, namely, the source of the Red River, extends down nearly to latitude 45^. The head waters of the southern rivers of James's Bay are not tar to the north of Lake Huron; while one of the branches of the Albany rises within 25 miles of the north shore of Lake Superior. Including the Winnipeg system, the basin of Hudson's Bay has a width of about 2,100 miles from east tc west, and a length of about 1,500 mile.^ from north to 24 south, and its dimensions approach the enormous area of 3,000,000 square miles. Over a great part of this vast region there is a temperate climate, and although much of tlie surface is comparatively barren, yet large tracts possess a very fertile soil. The numerous large rivers and lakes embraced within these limits will prove of great value in the settlement of the country. Both the bay and straits are remarkably free from rocks and shoals which might interfere with their free navigation. The groups of islands near the east side of the bay are surrounded by deep water, and a wide channel leads up the centre of James's Bay. Fortunately the main body of the bay, which is the jjortion likely to be here- after frequented by shipping, is entirely without shoals, reefs, or islands. The depth is very uniform over most of the bay, and nowhere does it present any great irre gularities. It averages about 70 fathoms throughout, deep- ening to 100 and upwards in approaching the outlet of Hudson's Strait; while in the strait itself the soundings along the centre vary from about 150 to upwards of 300 fathoms. The bottom appears to consist almost every- where of boulder clay and mud. Near the shores a stiff clay, affording good holding ground for anchors, is almost invariably met with on both sides. James's Bay begins at Cape Jones on the east side, and Cape Henrietta Maria on the west, and runs south about 350 miles, with an average breadth of about 150 miles. The east side of Hudson's Bay, including its southern pro- longation, is known as the Eastmain Coast. Between Cape Jones and Cape Duiferin on the Portland Promontory, and again in approaching Cape Wolstenholme, at the northern termination of this coast, the land is high and bold, some parts attaining an elevation of nearly ?,000 feet above the sea. The country on the south-west aide of the main bay, US well as that lying to the west of James's Bay, is low and generally level, with shallow water extending a long distance out from shore. Both sides of Hudson's Strait are high and ■♦ocky, but the northern is less precipitous than the southern. Of the numerous rivers which nni into Hudson's Bay from all sides, about thirty are of considerable magnitude. All those which enter on the Eastmain Coast appear to flow vith a uniform course directly west or parallel to one .„j^ 25 .another, and as the height of land in the centre of the Labrador peninsula is furthest inland towards the south, the rivers which fall into the southern part of this coast are the largest, and the remainder become i>rogressively smaller as we go north. Numerous streams converge to the head of James's Bay from all points southward of an east and west line passing through its southern extremity. The Moose, about a mile wide, is the principal of these. On the western side the Albany and the Churchill are the longest, but the Nelson, with a course of only about 400 miles, discharges the greatest body of water into the sea. Indeed, this great artery of the Winnipeg system may be consideied as one of the first class rivers of the world. Few of the rivers of Hudson's Bay alford uninterruf>ted navigation for large vessels to any great distance from the coast. During the season of high water, shallow-draft steamers might ascend the Muose river and two of its branches for upwards of 100 miles. Hayes river and two of its branches might apparently be navigated l)y such craft in the spring to points about 140 miles inland, and the Albany for nearly 250 miles ; while large steamers might ascend the Nelson for 70 or 80 miles from the open sea. The Nelson is the oidy muddy-water river entering Hudson's Bay. Most of the others have a slightly brownish tinge, l)ut their waters are perfectly wholesome p.nd contain only very small quanti- ties of foreign matter. The Churchill, which is the second largest river of Hudson's Bay, is a beautiful clear-water fctream, somewhat larger than the Rhine. It is remarkable for having at its mouth a splendid harbour with deep water and every natural convenience for the purposes of modern commerce. The only harbours on the west side of Hudson's Bay are those formed by the mouths of rivers, but none of them, with the exception of Chnrchill Harbour, can be entered bv ^essels drawing more than ten or eleven feet, and only at high water even by these. The Churchill is unlike all the other rivers in having a deep, rocky, and comparatively narrow mouth, which can be entered with ease and safety by the largest ships at all stages of the tide. On the point at the west side of the entrance of the harbour stands the old Fort Prince of "Wales, which is probably the largest ruin in TTorth America. Although occupying a commanding ])osi- 26 tion and mounting about forty large guns, it waa surrendered, without filing a shot, to the French Admiral La I'erouse, who de8tro}'ed it in 1782. Along the west coast the rise and fall at spring tid-as amounts to about 11 or 12 feet, on an average, and is pretty utiit'orm, diminishing somewhat towards the south. It in greatest at the mouth of the Nelson river, where it amounts to about li) feet. The tides are lower all along the east side of the bay. In Hudson's Strait there is a very good tide, amounting to 38 i^ feet at Fort Chimo, according to the reports we have received of Acting iStatf-Coumiander J. G. Boultou's roconiiaissance during tho past summer. Geologically the basin of Hudson's Bay, excluding the western or Winnipeg division, lies within tlie great Lauren- tian area of the Dominion, Silurian rocks resting almost horizontally upon these, form an irregular border along the south-western side of the bay, and in the valleys jf some of tho fivers they extend inland from 100 to 200 miles. To the south and west of James's Bay, the Silurian are overlaid by Devonian rocks, which here occupy a consider- able area. The long chains of islands which fringe the east coast for nearly 300 miles to the northward of Cape Jones, and also the mainland in the vicinity of llichmoud Gulf, are composed of igneous and almost unaltered sedi- mentary rocks, resembling the Nipigon series of the Lake Superior region, which may be of Cambrian age. On the western side of the bay, from Churchill northward.?, quartz- ites and other rocks, which may also belong to the Cambrian system, appear to be largely developed. Valuable minerals may be looked for on this part of the coast. The extensive level region around the south-western side of the bay is overspread with a great sheet of boulder clay, which i» generally covered by the modified drift. The rocks of the outlying, or Winnipeg division of the basin, comprise an extensive series, ranging from the Laurentian to the tertiary. The resources of Hudson's Bay and the country imme- diately around it are varied and numerous, although as yet few of them are at all developed. The fur trade is the principal and best known business w-hich has hitherto been carried on in these regions, but a large amount of oil, derived from the larger w'hales, the porpoises, walruses, white bears, and the various species of seals which frequent the i 27 northoru parts of the bay, has been carried to New Eughiml, und small quantities, princiitally of porpoise and seal oil, have from time to time been brought to Lonilon by the Hudson's Bay Company, The other exports from the bay have been as yet but tridiii^. They embrace whalebone, feathers, quills, castorum, lead ore, sawn lumber, ivory, tallow, isinglass, and skins of seals and porpoises. The fisheries jiroper, speakiiiising (plant it ies of galena around Richmond Gulf and also near Little Whale lliver, where a small amount had previously been known to exist. I have likewise noted .traces of gold, silver, molybdenum, and copper. Lignite is Tnet with on the Missinabo, gypsum on the Moo.se, and petro- leum-hearing limestone on the Abittibi river. Small quanti- ties of anthracito, and various ornamental stones and rare minerals, have been met with in the course of my explora- tions. Soapstone is abundant not far from Moscpiito Bay, on the east side, and iron pyrites between Churchill and Marble Island, on the west. Good building stones, clays, and limestones exist on both sides of the bay. A cargo of mica is said to have been taken from Chesterfield Inlet to "New York, and valuable deposits of plumI)ago are reported to (M'l'ur on the north side of Hudson's Strait. Some ■capitalists have applied to the Canadian Government for mining rights ii. the latter region. Situated in the heart of North America, and possessing a seaport in the very centre of the continent, 1,500 miles nearer than Quebec to the fertile lands of the North-West Territories, Hudson's Bay now begins to possess a new interest, not only to the Canadians, but also to the people of Great Britain, from the fact that the future highway betv.-een the great North-West of the Dominion and Europe may pass through it. The possibility of this route being adopted for trade is not a new idea, as it has frequently been suggested by far-seeing men in jiast years, and occasionally referred to in the newspapers. In 1848, the then Lieutenant M. 11. Synge, in his work on Canada, wrote : "A ship annually arrives at Fort York, for the service of the Hudson's Bay Company ; who can tell how many may eventually do ■BoV In 18G9, and subsequently, I frequently uiscussed the matter with the late Hon. John Young, Mr. Keefer, Professor Armstrong, and others; and in 1876, Mr. SelwA'n brought tht su:bject unofficially before members of the Canadian Government, and recommended that surveys be made of Hudson's Bay and Strait. The Right Hon. Sir 2\) John A. Mttcdonald, Minister of the Interior, and his dt'iiuty, Colonel J. S. Dennis, huvo nil along taken a deep interest in this question, and in 1878, the latter gentleman published a work, accompanied hy a valuable map, in relation to it. The Report of the Minister of tlio Interior for 1878 con- tuine an appendix by myself on the practicability of building a rail'.vay from Lake Winnipeg to Hudson's Bay. In the session of 1878-79, and again the following year, the Hon. Thoiaas Hyan, a gentleman of great enterprise, has brought the matter under the notice of *he Dominion State. In 1880 the Parliament of L'anada grunted charters to two companies for constructing railways, and otherwise ojjcn- ing a route for commerce, from the North-West Territories to Europe via Hudson's Bay ; and during the past .summer one of them, the Nelson Valley Company, eausetl a survey to be made of part of the distance between Lake Winnipeg and the harbour of Churchill. Their chief engineer has reported the route to be an easy and inexpensive one for a railway. This company had also the , ower of connecting with the Canadian Pacific Railway, but the main line will form a connecting linli between the great sy.stem of iidand navigation, with centres in Lake Winnipeg, and the sea. When constructed, the Nelson Valley Railway may carry to the keaboard not only the surplus giain and cattle of our own North-West, but also those of Minnesota and Dakota. Sir J. H. Lefroy, President of the Geograj)hical Section of the British Association, in the able address which he de- livered at the Swansea meeting (1880), said :—" Hudson's Bay itself cannot fail, at no distant day, to challenge more attention. Dr. Bell reports that the land is rising at the rate of five to ten feet in a century, that is, possibly, an inch a year. Not, however, on this account will the hydro- gra})her notice it ; but because the natin*al seaports of that vast interior, now thrown open to settlement, Koewatin, Munitoba, and other provinces uno^rn, must be .soujrht there. York Factory, which is nearer Liverpool than New York, has been happily called by Professor TT. Y. Hind, the Archangel of the West. The mouth of the Churcliill. however, although- somewhat further north, offers far sujicrior natural advan- taffea, and may more fitly challenge the title. It will, un- doubtedly, be the future shipping port for the agricultural products of the vast North-West Territorv, and the route n 30 lii -by which emigrants will enter the country." Sir Ileniy Lefroy Jinoivs whereof he writes, being iiersonully well acciuuiuted with Hudson's Bay and the North-West Territories. It lias been shawrx that the Canadian North-West Terri- tories, embracing hundreds of millions of acres ol tine land, are capable of becoming the greatest whea>fteld in tlie world. The centre of this immeui^e agricultural ;'egion lies to the north of the Saskatchewan. If we look at the map of the northern hemisphere, we shall see at a glance that the shortest route between these territories and England is through Hudson's Bay. Mr. Lindsay Russell, the Surveyor-iieneral of Canada, has recently made a close calculation of relative distances, and found that even the city of AVinnipeg, which is near the south-eastern extremity of these territories, is at least 800 n>iles nearer to Liverijool bv the Hudson's Bav route than by the St. Lawrence, while the difference in favour of the former will be increased continually as we advance northward irAo the interior. Now let us consider the relative progress of two persons travelling to Liverpool from the centre of this vast region, the one going by Winnipeg and the valley of the St. Lawrence, and the other by the Nelson Valley and the Churchill Harbour. In about the same time which the former requires to :each the city of Winnipeg, the latter arrives at the sea-coast at Churchill. From Winnipeg our first traveller has still to go 1,291 miles by the Lake Superior route, or 1,008 miles if he prefers the all-rail journey through American territory, via Chicago, before he reaches Montreal, where he will be still about as far from Liverpool as our other traveller when he has reached Churchill. In other words, the route from the North-West territories to England, via, Hudson's Bay, saves the whole distance between Winrtipeg and Montreal. The distance to Liverpool by way of New York is still greater. The advantages of this short route over all others are so numerous that only a few of them can be referred to in this short paper. The great saving in distance represents an important economy in time and money, or in freight and passenger rates. If th** ^rain, cattle, and other productions of the North-West Territories could rench a European market, only throuffh Ontario and Quebec, or bv vrnv of New York, a larce proportion of their value would necessarily be con- sumed by the long land carriage : whereas, if they find an 31 out et at Churchill, there vill be an average saving of 1,291 mi'es as compared with Montreal, and of UM.wards of 1,7U0 miles as compared Avith New York, and this without any increase in the length of the sea voyage. In effect, this will place a great pai-t of the farming lands of our North- west Territories in as good a position in regard to a seaport as are tho«e of Ontario west of Toronto ; and consecjuently -yni greatly increase the value of every description of farm produce, and, therefore, of tlic farms them^'elves. Some kinds, which r..ould not be sent out of the country at all by the longer land route, may be profitably exported by the shorter one. For the transportation of both grain and fresh meat, as Colonel Dennis has pointed out, the northern route, besides the shortening of the distance, would have ^reat advantages over all those to the «outh, owing to its cooler and more u:dform temperature. Heavy or bulky good- of all kinds would, of course, be imported into the North-West by the shortest land route. In regard to the export and import of Hve stock, this independent route will possess a great importance to these territories. Hitherto cattle, horses, hogs, and sheep have there enjoyed an im- mjnitv from almost all forms of conta -ious diseases, and, owin.^" to the healthy nature of the climate for these aninmla, it is hoped this state of things will continue. The domestic animals in the United Sxates and the older Canadian provinces being occasionally afflicted with contagious diseases, it bi^oomes necessarv for European countries to impose re- strictions on their im,)ortation. In the event of an epidemic of this nature existing in some part of these regions, but not in the North-West Territories, there nep-^ be no ol)jection to exporting live stock from the latter by way of H.idson's Bav. , TT J ' As a route for emigrants from Europe, that by Hudson s Bay possesses not only the advantage of the short land journey, tut the still more important one to us, of entirely avoiding the United States and the populous pvwts of Canada, in both of which, it is well known, a ver>' serious percentage of the immigrants destined for our North-W^est lands are everv vcar enticed away to settle in the great republic. An inlet bv Hudson's Bay is the only thoroughly independent channel which can ever be established between the British ^ 3Z Islands and our great and valuable territories in the interior of North America; and it is very desirable, on national grounds, that it should be opened up. Troops have hitherto- been sent to the Red River settlement on more than one occasion, by way of Hudson's Bay, while the intervening country was, us it is yet, in a state of nature. Were a short railway built through this tract, it vould at once become, for military purposes, an easy connecting link with the mother country. An impression has long prevailed that Hudson's Bay and Strait could not be navigated for the ordinary pur- poses of commerce on account of ice, but this idea is pro- bably destined to prove chimerical. The occasion for testing, the point had not hitherto arisen, and the fact that these waters have been successfully navigated by ordinary sailing vessels for 200 vears, in order to secure what little trade the country afforded, indicates what may be expected from pro- perly equipped steamships, so soon as the larger business of the *uture may require their services in this direction. The conditions of the sea-borne commerce of the North-West, in relation to Hudson's Bay, will probably turn out to be similar to those of the rest of Canada with reference to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In both cases, everything must be done during the summer. Yet Hudson's Bay is, of course, open all the year round. No one would be likely to suppose that a sea of such extent, in the latitude of the British Islands, would ever freeze across. The Lower St. Lawrence is also partly open even in the middle of winter. But the difficulty in both cases is the impossibility of petting into harbours. A h.nrbnur such as that of Churchill on Hudson's Bay would have the advantage over Quebec or Montreal of communicating directly wnth the open sea, and hence in tlw autumn, vessels would not be liable to be frozen in, as occasionally liajipejis in the St. Lawrence, as for example in the autumn just passed; and also in the autumn of 1870, when the outward-bound shipping got frozen in below Quebec, occasioning a loss, it was said, of over a million of dollars. Apain, in the spring there would probably be less uncer- tainty about entering from tlie sea than in the Gulf of St, Lawrence, where vexatious delays are not unconmion after the open season is supposed to have arrived. 3:3 There has been some discussion as to the length of time during wliich Hudson's Strait and Bay might be navigated each year, but tliere does not seem to be mucli evidence that the strait' any more tlian the bay, is closed at any season. Its great width, depth, and the strength of the tides probably keep it open all winter. My own experience and that of manv others lead me to believe that the climate generally of iludsons Bav is much better than some writers have re- presented it to be. From all that I could learn or observe, it appears that the strait and bay may be navigated and the land approached by steamers during an average of four and a half months each year, or from the middle of June to the end of October. The strait and bay could pro- bably be navigated by steam-vessels earlier than the middle of June, but nothing would be gained, except perhaps by whalers, in going in before an open harbour can be reached, Much has been' recorded in favour of the above opinion from the days of the Danish Captain John Monck, who wintered at Cluirchill in 1619-20, to the present time; and other evidence, which is not to be found in the books, load me to the same conclusions. Churchill Harbour does not freeze up until November, and the sea is open close to it during the whole winter. I liave a record of the principal phenomena of the seasons at Martin's Falls, on the \lbany, extending tl ugh a period of tifty years, and from it I tind that the rivci is opca there en an average for six months-, of the year. 1 liave also ii record of dates of the openin- and closing of Hayes Uiv at York Factory, extending over more than fifty years, from which it appears to enjoy an averace of fully six months of open water. The Nelson River is open for a longer period. I think, with these facts before us, we need not despair of successfully navigating Hudson's Bay, as far as the length of the season is concerned. Even were the time of open navigation shorter tlian it is known to be, the very great })enefits which the North-West and Canada generally would derive from possessing an outlet in that direction, are sufficient to make it well worth an effort to o])en it. Thb freedom of Hudsoti's Strait and Bay from rocks, shoals, and other impedimonts to navigation will exempt vessels in that quarter of the globe from the heavy expenses for pilots, lif^hthouses, etc., which burden shipping by the St. Law- '^ C f I i 34 rence, and are even more onerous in some other parts of the world. The delays from drifting ice in the strait which have occasionally occrn'red to sailing vessels would not be experienced by ste«.mships. We have seen that in proportion as we decrease the cost of transportation to a foreign market, we increase the home value of all kinds of farm [)roduce, and consequently of the farm itself. Now, considering the vast extent of fine land to be aifected ])y the ojiening of the route above referred to, if the value of each acre of it were enhanced in this way by only a few shillings, the aggregate increase would amoimt to more than a hundred millions of dollars. Such a gain as this, together with the various other great advantages which, as we have seen, may be derived from the opening of this new ocean route, will, T think, sufficiently illustrate the commercial importance of Hudson's Bay. APPENDIX B. GEORGE A. BAYNE, Civil Engineer, Winnipeg. Season 1884. I was instructed by the directors of the Nelson Valley Railway Company to make an exploration survey of their pro- posed route from Winnipeg to the shores of the Hudson's Bay, at Fort Churchill. From Winnipeg northward to the mouth of the Red River, the country is thickly settled, the f.nvface is level, and the soil a rich dark loam. From thence through the Icelandic reserve to the White Mud or Icelandic River, the country is undulating, and, as a whole, densely timbered with poplar and a small proportion of spruce. The agricultural I'esources of this country liaAo not been tho- roughly tested, but sufficient farming has ])een diuio to de- monstrate that the land is of the best quality. From the AYliite Mud River northward there is no settlement except at points along Lake Winnipeg, where timber limits are being worked. The land along this part of the route is similar to that on the Icelandic reserve, and quite as suitable for culti- vation. There is abimdance of timber in this section. The Little Saskatchewan is the first river crossing of any im- poitance, but presents no unusual obstacle. The Big Sas- katchewan crossing is of more importance, but nature has •done much to favour the construction of a bridge at the Grand 35 Rapids, iis the banks are high and steep, and composed of solid limestone, furnishing good material for the necessary piers and abutments, while the stream is narrowed by the presence of tAvo islands in the channel. The crossing of this river will be an important point, as the intersection of the water transport ..f the Saskatchewan with the line of railway. It may eventually ])e considerevl advisable to run a short branch line from a point a few miles north of the crossing to i\hi head of Cetlar Lake, where boats are frequently wind- bound. From the Sebatchewan Rapids to Was-ka-owa-ka Lake, is the only rocky portion of the route. This sectioir will require nuich more minute exploT-ation than I was able to give it, before final location can be decided upon. The number of river;-, to be crossed is greater than on the south- ern portion of the route, averaging one crossing to about ■e^ery ten miles. The streams are, however, very small, the largest being the liurntwood River. This river forms the cutlet for a chain of lakes lying parallel to the Nelson River, and a few miles to the westwai'd of tliat stream. After •crossing this river we strike across the height of land be- tween the Nelson and Churchill Rivers, which can be sur- mounted by a grade of one foot in a hundi'ed. The soil over thi.^ section is lighter than the southern. The water powers alontr the Nelson River and its tributaries are very numerous and unlimited in extent. From Was-ka-owa-ka T^ake to Hud- son's Rav. the cost of construction will jirobably be not more than on the southern end of the rotite. The soil for the first hundred miles is clay over gravel, and the surface is pretty level ; the balance is a level mossy plain. The rivers to be crossed averaGfe about one to everv twelve miles, most of them smr 11. The lengths of the different divisions I estimate •as follows : Wlnn'TiP" tn SnskitPhPw.iTl R,iplil« Saskatohowan Rat'lfK to ■Wa--V-a-nwa- a Lakn Wa -ka-owa-ka l,akn to IludsoiiV Bay Tnfa] iPn-'th 350 mllos. 213 „ 1 SS „ 7]!> iililps. I consider myself in saying that the length of the road will bo lower riither than above this figure. The bnvbour at Churchill is one of the finest I have ever se-on. Nature has done so much for it in the way of protec- tion from storm and in depth of water, that without farther Improvements, it is fitted to t; ' e rank among first-class ocean 36 ports. I took careful sounuings, and find at a distance of 400 feet from high water mark along the shore, a deptli of .']8 feet deepening suddenly to 50 feet. These soundings were taken at extreme low tide. At spring tides the river rises at least 15 feet, so that it will be seen that the river iilfords from 5.'J to G5 feet of water. The entrance to the harbour I judge to be about l.r^lf a mile in width, the point on the west side extending ivii* the bay, and overlapping that on the east. From reliable information I learned the following facts, \\/. : 1st. The Bay and Harbour of Churchill are open for navigation from the 15th .June to 20th October for ordinary sailing vessels, such as now trade to this port. 2nd. That sometimes the ice