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Y errete id to It le pelure, ifon h n 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 HI THE RED RIVER COUNTRY, HUDSON'S BAY & NORTH-WEST TERRITORIES, CONSIDERED * IN RELATION TO CANADA. «« .v.^--'-**f; '^-'^"••^{ c';^' ,t %»'-»W^ FtflM' <;Ai;i;v ■V i^y; •^T-^ ::,Jr^''^ /■.; ^:'^- c. *-->^- u ■■* -JrH -■^ « •■•^ Fulil <;\i:i:v / il ^\ ^l ii 11 9 1 V ^^^ -Mv;. ••r- |^7i^?^^.a»>i^^ I- — - ■ I 4' M /^ir^ THE ■/ \> RED RIVER COUNTRY, nilDSOrS BiY i niORTH-WEST TERRITORIES, CONSIDERED ^1 11 i^ IN RELATION TO CANADA, WITH TRB LAST TWO REPORTS OP 8. J. OAWSOX, BSQUIRK, 0. E., QH THH LINE OF ROUTE BETWEEN LAKE SUPERIOR AND THE RED RIYER SETTLEMENT. ACCOMPANIED BY A MAP. Third Edition, Illustrated. BY AI.EX. J. BVSSELIi, €. E., ISfSPECTOB OF OBOWH THIBRK AORNOIKS, CANADA EAST AKD WEST. MONTREAL- PUBLISHED BY a. E. DESBARATS. 1870. i^aS.'-::,^\l / o / S ) V . ^./ cr Parliament of Canada, in the year Or,r Thousand Entered, aeeord.:s t^ ^^^.f^^^^^^^^^ BY GEORGE E. DESBARATS, in the Office ofthe Minister of Jgricultun: I.RIVTKD AT THR OFFICE OP THK CAWDIAX IUX8TRATKU N.HWtf, MONTREAL. ) I' R E F A C K . This PamphK't is iuiciuU^d to pivsoiil such a siiiumary ol'the inl'ormation, kIvoii l)y dirt'eront \vritor.s, respecting the lied Kiver, Hudson's IJay and North-\» est Ten-itories, arranged under their natural geographical divisions, as may be sufficient to give a gener:«' view ol' theiv character and comparative value to Canada. It will be seen ])y the Table oV Contents that I have endea- voured to present a practical view of the reasons why we require these Territories, or part of them ; also, of our means of maintaining commiuiication with them, and of the comparative suiKjriority of the routes through our own Territory as high- ways for the future commerce of the interior, and for commu- nication with the Pacilic Provinces. A. J. RUSSELL. Ottawa. IHUH. 1^ CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION Subjects to be considered, indicated, — Total extent of Hudson's Bay and North- West Territories. — They resemble Russia in Europe. — Canada, with them added to it, will much exceed European Russia in extent, equal it in fertil- ity, and much exceed it in maritime advantages — which have been greatly increased by Confederation, with the Eastern Provinces. — Great increase of - shipping and seamen thereby. — Importance of adjoining territories to Canada. —Evil of undervaluing even inferior territories. — Territories tc be con- sidered, classified , CHAPTER II. EAST MAIN, OR THE PENINSULA OF LABRADOR. Extent. — Parts appertaining to Canada, Newfoundland, and Hudson's Bay Company. — Early discovery of it. — Physical Character. — Wooded and b>')rren parts. — Resembles Lapland. — Vegetables grow in south parts only. — jyiain Factory. — Hamilton Inlet ; farm there. — Valuable fisheries on Atlantic coast. — Less so on west coast, except for seals = » 5 CHAPTER III. SOUTH HUDSON'S BAY TERRITORY. Extent. — Physical character. — Broad Silurian Plain around Hudson's Bay with clay soil. — Rocky Laurentian formation covers southern and western half after passing through Canada. — Laurentide Range described. — Declines in height northward. — Favorable passage through it for Railway to Red River. — Climate at York Factory. — Cultivation at Albany and Moose Forts, baiiey, potatoes and vegetables ; also, at Ports of Henly, Martin's Falls, Osnaburg, on Albany River and Lac Seule, with oats an*' wheat at New Brunswick House, on Moose River. — Seasons ?,t Martin s Falls. — Cultivation at Norway House, Lake Winnipeg, and of wheat and Indian corn at Fort Alexander and Lake of the Woods.— Boundajy of Silurian Basin of Hudson's Bay. — 11 VUI. Fertile Belt and good climate for wheat on Rainy River.— Wheat and In- dian com at Islington. — Climate of south part equal to Lower Canada for cultivation.— Booth half of this section equal to Finland for cultivation, and twice as large. — Has timber of value and rich fisheries. — Water com- munication to Hudson's Bay.— Ultimate value of this territory. — Errors through prejudice in such matters 9 CHAPTER IV. NOltTH HUDHOM'S bay TKRRITORY, OR BARREN OROUNO. Bo.mdaries and extent.— Valueless,— Extreme barenness.— Arctic vegetation.— lleiudeer and Musk Ox— Possible metallic wealth 20 CHAPTER V. NOSTH m'eRNZII RIVER CODNTRT. 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* nie! — Possible value of its navigation to Arctic whale fisheries. — Sir Alex. McKcnzie's voyage in discovery of it. — Great abundance of lignite coal. — Probable future value of this territory. — Products and exports of Vologda and Archangel 22 CHAPTER VI. PBDM 3IVBR AND MOtNTAIN COCNTRT. Kxtont and physical character resemble Sweden and Norway, but United States own the coast. — Alpine character, Rocl'.y Mountains and other ranges impregnable as a barrier .— -Great elevation of interior and extreme cold of winter, but summer sufiicient for growth of barley throughout. — Temperatures at Fori; Youcan, Felly's banks, and Sitka compared, and Sitka with Mon- trcal. — Humid and temperate climate of coast. — Better a little inland and in Routh part. — Explorations there — Tra,ct8 of good land. — Indian cultiva- tion. — Immense coal bed. — Abundance of salmon. — Rich gold fields, and valuable timber forestR 26 CHAPTER VII. ORNTUAL. VRAIKIM COONIRV, OH KKD RIVER, SASKATCHEWAN AND PKACE RIVER TERRITORY. Position and extent. — Suitableness for cultivation equal to Canada. — Import- ance of it to Canada. — Topographical character. — Is part of great central ■' plain of Silurian and more recent formations. — Prevalence of limestone along u. Wheat and In. rer Canada for or cultivation, . — Water com- ritory. — ErrorH 9 east Bide and iu Rocky Mountains. — Sir Rodk. Murchison's opinion.— Vast beds of lignite coal extending along the bane 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 Saskatchewan, Athabasca and River Columbia. — Height of the interior. — Is m elevated basin, bounded on three sides by higher grounds. — Is a thousand feet lower than U. S. ter- ritory adjoining. — Prairie lands prevail over woods in south parts, and woods over ]>rairia in north 30 5 vegetation. — 20 3oal and tim- 3.— South half -River McKen* ies. — Sir Alex, lignite coal. — rts of Vologda 22 CHAPTER VIII. CBNTRAIi PRAIRIH COfNTRY CONTINUED — LAKE AND RIVER WINNIPEO, LAKS OF TDB WOODS, RED RIVER, AND COUNTRT BETWEEN THEM. Lake Winnipeg, position, dimensions and elevation. — Divides Silurian Cind Laurentian formations. — 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 nndraincd prairies. — Descent to Red River.— Country generally marshy. — Wooded till near it. — Red River. — Length. — Navigation. — Rich alluvial prairie — far on each side. — Timber along its banks 37 CHAPTER IX. P', but United d other ranges xtreme cold of -Temperatures ;ka with Mon- tle inland and ndian cultiva- >ld fields, and 26 CENTRAL PRAIRIE CODNTRT CONTINTJED — RIVER AS3INIR0INR — INVERTILE RBOION ON ITS BRANCHES, THE SOCRIS AND QU'APPELLE. River Assiniboine — Description of its course. — Small volume of it and it« 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. ... 41 CHAPTER X. CENTRAL PRAIRIE COUNTRY CONTINUED— FKRTILE REGION jN THE ASSINIBOINE. 'EACB RIVER lada. — Import- f great central imcstone along Rich alluvial prairie of Red River, extends 70 miles np the Assiniboine to Sand Hills. — Fertile land above them on right hand, and infertile on left, for 150 miles up. — Then rich and beautiful country on both sides of vast extent and partially wooded, reaching north to wooded country near Main Saskatchewan, and from Riding and Duck Mountains westward, to and over the Tor ;hwood Hills, described in detail. — It joins great fertile region on Main and North Branch of Saskatchewan 46 X. CHAPTER XI. CENTRAL PRAIKIK COINTRV rONTlNfKD — LAKK8 MANITOBAH AND WINEPEOOOS, BED DEEH AND SWAN RIVKR, RIDINO, l)(CK, AND I'ORCrPINB MOUNTAIMS. Lakes Manitobah and Winopegoos. — I'osition and extent. — Outlet of little Sas- katchewan. — Peuinsula between them and Lake Winnipeg. — Wooded, Marshy, little known. — Country around the lakes, chiefly wooN— CROPS tt extremes in various points places in cen- seven summer lewan. — Depth le surface and QT and Assini- 78 CHAPTER XXIV. WHY WK hEQUIUK THK KORTH-WEHT TERTIT0IUE3. liecause our own vacant lands are inadequate in quantity and quality to receive continued immigration on a large scale — To give us prairie lands lur those who prefer them. — To save our timber forests from unnecessary rapid destruction. — To extend our commerce and manufactures, and give increased employment for shipping. — Intei-est of the Maritime Provinces in this 1)8 ( HAl'TER XXV. Ol-R VACANT TERRITORIES AND SETTLIXU REGIONS IN CANADA, CONSIDERED. , The Ottawa Country and Ottawa and Huron Territory, considered in detail. 2. The North Shore of Lake Huron. 3. St. Maurice Territory. 4. Saguenoy Territory, 'i. Eastern Townships, fi. South Shore below Quebec. 7. Bona- venture, Gcope and Restigoucho, including port in New Brunswick — Unsuit- able to attract and receive extensive immigration. — Value for native enter- prise, from mineral and otlier resources 99 (MLVPTEPt XXVI. VALl K OF TlMUEll FOUESTS AND H'MBER TRADE TO THE I'UOVINCES, CON- SIDERED. Estimated annual outlay in lumber trade in Upper and Lower Canada. — Great expenditure for farm produce and labor. — Eucourages »ettlement by great demand and high prices. — Gives employment and trade in shipping ports, and much freight for shipi»ing. — Forms chief remittance to Europe. — Exceeds in value all other real jiroducts of Canada exported Ill lant in north inipeg. Riding )d sufficient at t considered. — hey abound. — !at, woods and 87 CHAPTER XXVII. liOlTKS TO THE RED RIVER COUNTRY CONSIDERED AND COMPARED. Route by Sea and Hudson's P>ay. — Dog Lake and Hudson's Bay Company. — Canoe Route now being opened and improved described in detail 117 :m^ xir. CHAPTER XXVI II. CLTIMATE CANAL AND RAILROAD COMBINED ROfTRS TO RAINY LAKK AND RKD RIVBB BY STURGKON LAKK AND IIY KIMKRK LA SKIXE. Description in detail.— Superior character of water oommuuication.— Cost of canalling lakes and rivers compared with that of railways 123 CHAPTER XXIX. COMPARISON OF 8EVBRAL KNOWN AND PROPOSED ROl'TBS TO BED RIVER, INCLUDING THE FOBKOOING. Synoptic Table of lengths and description. — Estimated cost of movement of freight by each 133 CHAPTER XXX. DIRECT INTBRIOR RAILWAT ROUTR BT THK OTTAWA FROM MONTREAL TO RED RIVKR. Ultimate utility of it to interior. — Habitable country in connection with Ottawa Canal 137 CHAPTER XXXI. ROUTE TO THK PACIFIC BY RED RIvrR AND BRITISH COLUMBIA. Described and compared with other routes 143 CHAPTER XXXII. MCTCAL IMPORTANCE OF UNION OF CANADA AND BRITISH COLUMBIA, AND OPENING OF INTERIOR ROUTE OF COMMUNICATION. Command of the traffic of the interior would be secured to the Pacific and Atlantic Provinces. — Distance from Liverpool to Chinese ports shorter than by American Pacific Railway, and transport cheaper, being more by water.— Importance of Ottawa Canal in reducing distance and cost of transport to British and American States and Territories and the Pacific 147 XV. AM) RKD RIVEB ation. — Cost of 123 en A ITER XXXIP. IXTKUKSTS OK (!\Vvn\, TIIK HUDSON'S BAY COMPANV A\U TIIK INDIANS, COUI-D. UK COMniNKU. Charter of tlic Hmlsou's Hay Company dooK not validly cover tho territory we desire, though their leaxe of Indian Territories does, while it lasts. — That Territory is still the property of the Crown and the Indians. — Company's occupation creditable to them and beneficial generally. — Final advantage of liberal arrangement with them and with the Indians, especially for the care and protection of th(( latter 1 50 VER, INCLUDING CirAPTEIl XXXIV. OOMl'ARATIVK \ AI.ITK OK TIIK .SKVKRAL SKCTIONS OK TKRUITOUY TO CANADA ; AND CONCLUSION 155 f movement of 133 [. TO RED RIVBR. mnection with 137 INDEX OF SUBJECTS IX REP(3RT UN THE LINE OF ROUTE BETWEEN LAKE SUPERIOR AND THE RED RIVER SETTLEMENT. Report of 1868. rAOB. Red River E.^pedition (reference to) 161 Lake Superior Section 164 Indian Element I94 4i BIA. 143 IND OPENING or he Pacific and ,s shorter than )re by water.^ of transport to 147 Report of 18G9. Report on Exploration of 1868 The Country between Lake Superior and the Red River Settlement The Plan of opening the Communication A continuous Railroad from Lake Superior to the Red River Settlement. Route to the Pacific By Railroad By Rail and Water Communication combined Estimate Cost of Opening the Preliminary Communication proposed. . . . Probable Ultimate Cost of Carrying out the Project Reserves of Land for Public Purposes The Indians on the Line of Route The Manner of Progressing with the Work Scheme of a Railroad to Rainy Lake Further Surveys and Explorations Mr. Russell's Works on the X. W, Territories The Great North-West 171 174 175 176 177 177 179 180 186 190 191 193 193 194 195 195 a i V \' THE RED RIVER COUNTRY, HUDSON'S BAY & NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, CONSIDERED IN RELATION TO CANADA. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. AmrT two years aj^o an eminent Canadian statesman told us that Her ^lajesty had been graciously pleased to express her \villinoundary ot Lalna- dor to that of Russian America, lyini? north ot' Canada, th.' United StjTt.^s and British Columbia. It is three thousand miles in h'liirth Ironi East to West, and fourteen hundred miles in breadth from North to S(mlh : and has an area of about two mil- lions, two hundred and ten thousand superticial niil<'s. If its value eould he measured by its ma«rnitud»' it would be enormous ;— but such as it is, it is not much inlerior in natural value to Kussia in Kiu-ope. which it more than eciuals in extent and in many resp«^cts re.^eml)les in character. Kussia m Europe sustains a population of sixty-nine millions of souls. If this territory of ours be oidy hidf as . Th:it is mor»' than threeHpiarl»n-s of the area of the EuropeMU coulineiii. -or one-hall' irretiier than Russia in Europe in extent. Besiih's much execediiitr Russia in l!]ur<»pe in exttMit of ter- ritory. Canada, when so auicmented. will i)os.>ess iiiimensfly jrreater maritinn^ advanta'j:es. Instead of brin.:' alniosl cxclud- ti from the ocean, like that ii:reat country, she will have, on the Pacific, twelve hundred and lifty miles of the coast line of British Columbia and Vancouver's Island. o])en to naviiration at all seasons; besides tliree thousand seven hundred and lifty miles of coast, south of Latitude «i(i -. on the Atlantic and Gulf of St. Lawrence, (airreat part of it open to naviii'ation in win- ter,) exclusive of bays and inlets. an iiood. it may lillions Lord 'dcrntion. t"- 1. Princ»' Ed- he Dominion ol' three mil- 'e-( quarters of «j:re;its'r than i'Xtent of tei- s inimen.xiely most exy the ()lheial returns made ahout the time he w rote, the avi'ra'jje yield was four and a half fold to t)ne of rye ^o\Ml. and nearly four to one of wheat. No douht an e(|ual j)ro|)ortion, at least, of tlu' total area of our Trovinees and J'errUoru's taken toi^ether is lit for cultiva- tion, if returns like these he taken as the lowest standard; hut ileven on«'-t\velfth part, instead of one-.sixth of it. he capahleof yieldin'j^ the t^eneral averai?e returns of Lower and Ul)per C'anada. which ))y the last census are from two and a half to three and a half times as irreat as these rates, the ultimate pro- ductive cai)acity oi'our Dominion and territories will prol)ahly he onediall ijreater than that of Kussia in Europe, even d" fifty percent, were added to her rates ol produce meiuioninl. "NVe nave 'jfood irrounC> ; Dominion of Canada, by Canadian Parliamentary retumon let July, 18G7, — 776,343 tons. Add for Guysboro, &c., not in return 36,000 '• 812,343 " Newfoundland in 1866, by Canadian Year Book 83,204 " I'rince Edward's Island in 1865 do 30,540 " 92"6,0&6 tons. Hii ■. ) u !■ I i:! owns already about 800,000 of tons of shippmg ;— bearnig a pro- portion of about twenty per cent, to her population, while that of G-reat Britain, the greatest maritime power m the worlds 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 pros- perity and power, than that on which has risen that empire whose greatness has not a Httle intimidated Europe, and has. been supposed to threaten her independence. In "vdew 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 resources, though less arrogant in our pretensions. This comparison is made for the imrpose of showing that we have now no longer to look on outlying territories with that indifference with Avhich they might have been regarded when our autonomy was limited to that of a single pro\ince, to which 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 I'avor of our national sti-ength and prosperity. In that yiew, 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 portions capable of any degree of agricultural occupation, in future tiiii , under the iiiAuence 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 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 liiver St. John of NeAV Brunswick; but now we ffnd 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 iton of goods passing over it. We are now making coloni- zation roads to let settlers into the scraps left us of that territory, and the loss of it has seriously weakened our frontier. Our experience 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. 5 ariiig a pro- , while that 1 the world, it. per head, greater and ational pros- that empire )pe, and has \'iew of this 1 onr favor — idvantageous- eir resources, showing that •ritories with gen regarded gle pro\4nce, relation than of which will our national )adly between e extension of e oflandfe for ily the inferior occupation, in demand and egions which ;s, their metals ?nt. terror of under- Ligh without it. o, of what was )f the liiver St. our railroad to . that territory, herwise would to the cost of ;o the freight of makmg coloni- )f that territory, frontier. Our ig to us against l1 territory now. ■itory of British sections, partly or geographical r 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 lot. 60 '^ N. 3rd. North Hudson's Bay Territory or Barren Ground, ex- tending from the preceding to the Arctic Ocean. 4th. The ^IcKenzie 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 Coun- try, or Central Prairie Land, extenduig from the Lake of the "^Voods and Lakes "Winnipeg and Atha- basca to the Rockv 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 importance to us, for the extension of settlement and commerce, and for the command of communication to the Pacific Ocean ; — objects alike eminently important for the expansion and con solidation of national power. Before proceeding to consider its value in relation lO Canada, -and the means of communicating w .;h it, the other sections mentioned may be briefly noticed. Though now only of value for their fur trade, and of little or no interest beyond that, at present, excepting 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 re- ;sources, no\r unknown or unavailable. "^ CHAPTER IL EAST MAIN, OR THE PENINSULA OF LABRADOR. This great peninsula, lying between Hudson's Bay and the Atlantic ocean, extends a thousand miles from east to west, between Cape St. Charles, at the entrance of the Straits ot' Belle-Isle, and James' Bay, and eight hundred miles from north to south, from Cape Wolstenholme, its northern extremity, to * Note. — Since the alcove w?,s written, British Colnmbia has decided in favor of union with Canada ; and ix. has been agreed between the Imperial Government and the Hudson's Bay Company, that Canada 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 allow- ance 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 trari- •quillity and speedy settlement of the country. ' I ti the height of land dividiii? the waters of Rupert's River from thosp of the Saguenay. , , , , , ., Geographically it might be described as bounded on the south-west between James' Bay and the mouth of the St. Law- rence, by Ruperf s River, up to its source, and thence eastward by a line to the Bay of Seven Islands ; which would give it an area of about four hundred and eighty thousand superficial miles. But the southern part of the peninsula of Labrador, facing the Grulf, as far eastward s^.s Ance Blanc Sablon, and back to the sources of the rivers falHu'^: into the G-ulf, belongs to Canada. (Blanc Sablon is ninety miles within the eastern entrance of the straits of Belle-Isle.) Deducting this part, the remainder of the Peninsula has an area of about four hundred and tvv^enty thousand superficial miles, or a little more than Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Lapland, taken together. The eastern part of it, facing the scraits of Belle-Isle, and the Atlantic, as far northward as the entrance ofUngava Bay, called Labrador in the strictest sense, is under the jurisdiction of New- foundland. The remainder, which is much the larger part, is held by the Hudson's Bay Comi^any, and is commonly known by the name of East Main. Labrador was first discovered in A.D. 986, by the Northman Bearne, the son of Heriulf, who called it" Helluland it Mikla" or " Great slate land," from the stratified rocks (secondary liine- stone) seen on its coast. It was re-discovered by Sebastian Cabot, and five years afterwards, in A.D. 1501, it was visited by Corte Real, who, with less accuracy, called it " Terra Labrador"" •'Cultivable or laborers' land." believing it to be so from the growth of trees he saw upon it. It is remarkable of this great peninsula, that though it lies next to Europe, and is the first discovered part of the American conti- nent, very little is known of its interior ; and that but lately. What is known of it, is such as to impress the mind powerfully with a sense of its vast and stern desolation. From the coldness of its climate imd its general sterility, it seems utterly unfit for occupation by civilized men ; except ^^'here a scattered population might live })ythe fisheries of some part^ofits coast; or where its mineral resources may give profitable employment to industry. As might be expected in so great an extent, it presents con- siderable A'ariety of character. The interior of the eastern part of it, where traversed, is found to be a high table land upwards of 2.000 feet above the level of the sea ; with occasional moun- tains, rising to 3,000 feet, and some nearly to 4,000 feet. The valleys and lower slopes are covered with spruce, fir, and birch woods, of a moderate groAvth, in favorable positions ; the spruce trees in some places averaging eighteen inches in diameter and fifty feet in h"idit; in rare instances thev have been found two ■m^' s River from nded on the ftheSt. La\v> lice eastward lid give it an id superficial of Labrador^ I Sabloii, and Gulf, belongs ri the eastern this part, the four hundred :le more than together. !-Isle, and the va Bay, called iction of Ne^y- larger part, is monly known the Northman id it Mikla" or ^condary lime- by Sebastian was visited by rra Labrador"^ e so from the igh it lies next merican conti- hat but lately, nd powerfully n the coldness tterly unlit for red population ;t ; or where its nt to industry. ; presents con- le eastern part land upwards ^asional moun- 000 feet. The , lir, and birch ns ; the spruce L diameter and pen found two leet in diameter, even as far north as the Moravian missionary station of Nain, on the Atlantic. Much of the coast on the Atlantic and the Gulf is utterly barren of timber for many miles inland, and often destitute of soil ; and much of the interior is burned bare to the rock by running hres more or less recent. Advancing northward, the trees become more scattered, in groups, and stunted, till towards its northern extremity, and Hudson's Straits, it assumes the character of the Arctic "Barren Groimds" and the " Tundrens ' of Siberia, and is like them the abode of the reindeer, that feed on the Hcheiis and other Arctic vegetation its rocky surface affords. As to surface, the western part of the peninsula seemingly con- trasts with the eastern part. It is represented by physical geographers as being cmefly a plain country, for two hundred miles or more back from Hudson's Bay. From what is known, its geological character seems consider- ably varied. The formation of the great Silurian basin of Hud- son's Bay extends in a broad band far into the southern part of the Peninsula, and has even been represented, though doubtless on imperfect data, as connecting with the limestone formation of the east coast. Though lying in the same latitude as the British Islands, the climate of this immense peninsula, taken as a whole, is no better than that of Lapland ; in the northern parts it is even colder. But like that country, in the most southerly parts, it is such as to admit of the cultivation of vegetables, in favorable situations. ]\Ir. Gladman had a good opportunity of observing, during his thirty-one years' service in the Hud.?on's Bay Company. He states in his evidence gii^en to a committee of the Canadian Legislature, that at East Main Old Factory he raised good potato(>s, turnips and other vegetables. East Main Factory is sixty miles north of Rupert's River. He says further, that a large herd of cattle was kept there, at that time, as a resource m case of the company's ships wintering in the bay, an abundant supply of hay being made in the salt marshes on the shores of the bay : that vetches grow wild on the point of the river, and abundance of strawberries and currants. He says that at Big River, a hundred and eighty miles north of Rupert's Riv(M\ potatoes and other vegetables are grown. The cold in winter is evidently intense. He states the lowest degree of temperature reiristered by him was 50 ^ below zero at East Main. He says that at Rupert House the soil is much better and the station more sheltered than East Main Factory, or Big River, and more favorable ibr garden cultivation. The Finish colonists who raised barley at Alten, 'lat 70^) in Lapland, Avould no doubt be quite successful in doing so on the warm rich soil of the Silurian basin at Rupert's River. 1 '-'i 8 The climate of Hamilton itiver, in the south-eastern angle of the peninsula, is apparently similar. Notwithstanding the lolty, rug**-ed and extremely barren character of the shores ol Hamilton inlet, into which the river falls, Mr. Davis, in an article read before the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, speaks of the pleasing aspect of the valley of Hamilton Kiver, of its being well timbered and having a loamy soil in parts, with some advantage in climate, and mentions the Hudson's Bay Com- pany's farm, where cows, pigs and sheep were kept. In respect to the gro^^'ing of garden vegetables, and having forests, such as they are, the southern parts of the peninsula of Labrador much resemble the more favorable part of Lapland. These facts are not altogether unimportant in connection with the probable ultimate extension of hshing settlements, or the formation of mining establishments, should minerals of value be found in the confines of the Silurian and Laurentian formations. That part of the peninsula under the jurisdiction of Newfound- land is evidently very valuable for its fisheries. As early as 1832, the value of its yearly exports are stated by Mr. McGregor to have amounted to upwards of three hundred thousand pounds sterling. The west coast of the peninsula, within Hudson's Bay, forming part of the Hudson's Bay Company's territory, is much less valuable in that respect. The entrance to the Bay is much obstructed by ice late in spring, and early in the fall ; the Com- pany' s ships, which make but a single voyage into the Bay each summer, being sometimes, though rarely, prevented from re- turning to Europe, till the following season. To fishing for foreign markets this would be a very great disad- vantage. The absence of salmon on that coast, and the streams falling into it, is anoth<^r. A salmon, not of the ordinary kind, — probably the "Salmo Kossii"' of the Arctic, is occasionally, though rarely seen , in some of the rivers falling into Hudson' s Bay . Thou??h Codfish are well known to be exceedingly abundant at Dans' Straits, (see Report of Commissioners of British Fisheries for 1840,) they are not generally noticed in such a way as to indicate that they are so in Hudson's Bay; nor are they mentioned as forming part of the food of the nati^'e or other residents. Seals and porpoises, however, are abundant. Some are of opinion that the absence of salmon is due to the seals being so numerous. Umfraville, in 1790, says that whales, white and black, sea horses, ]>ears and seals, are killed in great numbers by the Esquimaux; and Lieut. Chappel, in 1817, proposes the opening of a free intercourse with Canada as likely to animate the exertions of the Esciuimaux in their seal and whale fishins:. The natnral facilities for opening a direct interior communi- ^^5}^/' f -stern angle of ding the lofty, es of Hamilton 11 article read 3bec, speaks of er, of its being •ts, with some )n's Bay Com- :ept. es, and having le peninsula of rt of Lapland, onnection with ements, or the fals of value be ian formations. I of Newfound- . As early as Mr. IMoGregor Ired thousand l's Bay, forming , is much less } Bay is much fall; the Com- :o the Bay each ented from re- ery great disad- nd the streams t'dhiary kind, — s occasionally, 'Hudson's Bay. ngly abundant lers of British iced in such a s Bay ; nor are ■ the nati^'e or Some are of seals being so lies, white and great numbers 7, proposes the [ely to animate . whale fishing, 'rior communi- a, j r.»..r- -F-jatc-'^-^rr^-i-.y ■^■'.^r-ju^ ■3fA ■■'^^7' •^ii-4^; -.-.'0^/- n--?::--- , : -•?'.>»-■ T ^^■-.' ■a .— ,»-. ':^''"^^^: *'."*w.'^^-»» -i If 'J M THE TOWN UF Wl ';*W«S-, ^:%^'Wi>. THE TOWN OF WINNU'EG Wff |;ii ii ''i I ifffl 9 cation with Hudson's Bay will be briefly noticed in the follow- ing section. As, apart from whalhig, " Seal Fishing " would seem to be the only profitable industry that the west coast of the peninsula admits of, it becomes natural to inquire what the importance of Seal Fishing is, as a branoh of trade, where it can be carried on successfully, and what ciiiployment it would afford. The Seal Fishery of Newfoundland may serve to explain this. Mr. M. H. Perley, hi his " Report on the sea and river fisheries of New Brunswick," says that the outfit for the seal fisheries of Newfoundland, for 1847, consisted of 3-21 vessels, making in all 29,800 tons, witn 9,751 men. The average yield for ten years was about half a million of seal skins, and three millions of gallons of oil. It is roughly estimated that about a million of seals are killed annually on the coast of Labrador proper, by the Esquimaux and other seal lishers. What may be the comparative value of Hudson's Bay as a site of seal and other fisheries remains to be known. It would seem desirable that it should be ascertained by one or more practical men of business, engaged in the trade of Labrador, commis- sioned for that purpose. CHArTER III. SOUTH HUD.SOX S BAY TERRITORY. "We may next turn to the adjacent section of country, held by the Hudson's Bay Company, lying between Hudson's Bay and the Lakes Winnipeg and Athabasca ; exceeding from the northern water-shed of the St. Lawrence and tributaries — the reputed boundary of Canada, to the parallel of lat. 60 ® N., — including with it the Abbitibbi District, between the water- shed and Rupert's River : — containmg in all an area of about four hundred and thirty thousand superficial miles. For the convenience of doscrii^tion it may be called the South Hudson's Bay Territory. Thouay. It is shown as extending? also to the distance oi" two hundred miles southward from the south pnd of James' Bay, and comes to the boundary of Canada at the sources of the northern tributaries of Lake Temiscaming of th»» Ottawa *, where it is called the level clay country by the Hudson's Bay Company's people. It is so called in contra- disthiction to the rutri^ed Laurentian Comitry formins^ the height of land, where the waters of the Ottawa and northern tributaries of the G-reat Lakes, and those of Hudson's Bay interlace, and which extends over the ( )ttaw"a Valley and the country north of the L^kes Huron and Superior, rendering so much of them unfit for settlement. The boundary of this Silurian plain coiTutry is probably quite irregular, and may in many parts not be accurately known. "Mr. Ballantyne, who resided there, places it aboift Martin'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, hi ascending Hayes' I\iver irom York Factory, describ('d the country on it as alluvial, without any rock being visible, for a hundred and twenty-four miles, to the lirst 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 }:)road band of Silurian formation, which SAveeps round Hudson's Bay. in a north-w^esterly direction, attains a w' idth of five hun- dred miles about Lat. G3 ^ N. ; then turning north-eastward continues to the Arctic Sea, which its western outline inter- sects about Long. 97 '^ W. It will be seen also that it, .gain, is encircled by that broad band of primary formation, known in Canada as the Lauren- tian Itange, which skirts the lower St. Lawrence, and forms the northern boundary of the great plahi of Lower Canada. Grradually declining in height, and increasing in breadth, to two hundred miles, it crosses the (Jttawa above the mouth of the Bonnechere, and sweeps round the north shore of Lakes Huron and Superior. Curving north-westw^ard wath a breadth of two hundred rniles, this Laurentian Belt conthiues along the rear of the Silurian country of Hudson's Bay, with varying breadth, increasing to lour hundred miles where it joins the Arctic. Its western boundary, commencing at Rainy Lake, * XoTE. — By an extensive survey, just completed by Provincial Surveyor L. Russell, it has been ascertained that thoufrh the clay land of Hudson's Bay extends south of Lake Abbitibbi to the northern waters of the Ottawa, ihe under- lying rocks are there Laurentian. 11 by Sir John s in tlie north estward from aulinj? also to om the south of Canada at Teniiscaming Y country by [led in contra- forminp: the and northern ludson's Bay alley and the rendering so ^ is probably )e accurately laces it aboin; red and fifty ? river flows Bay. Lieut, ork Factory, ly rock being 3 first portage, ces, and that the Bay. at this broad id Hudson's 1 of five hun- >rth-eastward outline inter- >y that broad the Lauren- ', and forms ver Canada. 1 breadth, to le mouth of >re of Lakes th a breadth les along the ith varying it joins the Rahiy Lake, ial Surveyor L. Hudson'fs Bay awa, ihe nncler- passt^s north-westward, throughthe l^ake of the "Woods, and aloiiir the east shore of Lake Winnip<'«j: ; then curving more \v»'sterly, throuirh Cedar Lake, on the ^^askatchewan, to Methy Portage, and tht'nc«^ on a more northerly course, throuirh tlie west t'lid of Lak(? Atha})ascn, aiul n«»ar the middle of Slave Lake, it passes to the east end of l»ear Lake, and thence north- ^'astward to the Arcti<.^ Sea, at the west end of Coronation CrllW. This })road range of primary formation divides the great Silu- rian basin of Hudson's Bay from the still greater central basin, or slopinir plateau, of Sihirian and mort' recent formations ; lying between it and the l\ocky Mountains, and extending from the Arctic Sea to the (lulf of Mexico ; it also divides both of them from Canada. Tliouer- T. Forrest and fed miles was it was learned its commence- ntinuous level it its termina- cement, to the I river. These IITORV. le: so favorably ns JJay lerri- s known of it I The Barren dmost entirely 11 part of it, as Df the sixtieth irchill Kiver, thiiiji: but the lere is a thick- ten feet below od, are almost nd westward ; le, is wooded tiible for cul- trees (spruce Tork Fort, are din<^ ; but on le southward, ; Albany and d add further garden stuff. Id be raised," ie cultivation. 13 ^Ir. (rladman, whose evidence has been already quoted* resided iifteen years at Moos(^ Factory ; he says its climate and s(»il are jrood, that he raised potatoes and other ve«?etables there in ^creat abundance, that barley ripened well, and that horned cattle, horses, sheep and pi*;s were kept there. It is to })e observed that Moose Factory is upwards of two hundred and thirty miles north of the boundary between the territory and Canada. He adds that the soil and climate of Albany, which is a hundred miles further north, does not ditfer much from Moose, that it is well sheltered, and that the extensive rr.arshes on the coast furnish abundant Ibdder for domestic cattle. He also says that the soil around the posts of Heiily, Martin's Falls, Osnabur*; and Lac 8eul, is of a quality that enable the servants of the company to raise fair crops of pota- toes. 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 vescetaliles. Oats ripened well, and made good oatmeal, ground with a hand mill ; wheat was tried afterwards, he was informed, with good success. He says further, " that he does 7wt know anything; to prevent a pood settlement from being made there, but it being rather distant from market.'^ JSouth 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, seemg the mean tem- perature 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 cor- responding mean temperature of the latter 65 "^55 and 42*^86, by the tables given by Sir John Ivichardson in his "Arctic Kesearches." ^ Lake Abbitibbi lies nearly in the same latitude as the west coast of Lake St. John, on the Upper Saguenay, which has the climate of Three Kivers, and yields excellent wheat. Speaking of ^lartin's Falls, a post on the Albany River, upwards of two hundred miles north from Lake Superior, Mr. Barnston, who resided there, says that " it has the winter of Russia and the July and August of Germany and France ; that in the usual course of seasons the buds of the trees begin to swell about the 12th of May, and leaves expand about 28th !May,"' (which is as early as they did in Ottawa this last Spring.) He says that " a night's frost will sometimes intervene as late as the 10th June," (which is the case in central Canada, occa- sionally about the 15th June,) that '' by the 1st October foliage is yellow and falling. Usually there is a little snow by 20th * His published tables differ slightly in fractions from the above, owing to typographical errors. u October, and ii covers the orround by 1st November. In Johnson's rhysical Atlas the line ol' ^^■heat cultivation is repre- sented as passuig here .^ It is quite possible that it may. At the nc^r ' this section, its southern - - , , ^ x • Explormg Expedition, states that barley, potatoes, onions, car- rots peas^and pumpkins, flourish in the open air, and melons can 'be forced ; but he adds that at Holy Lake, a hundred and sixty miles north-eastward, near the centre of this section, po- tatoes do not always attain full size .-,.,.■, Towards the south end of Lake U innipe*^^, at 1^ ort Alexander, on the mouth of the Kiver Winnipeg?, at a hundred and lifty miles north of liainy liiver, spriniluriaii plain, like the north-east side bordering on kudson's Bay, it is chielly of the Laurentian formation, and is generally very rocky ; more so, as far as kno\\'n, than the Lau- rentian, or greater part of the Ottawa country, but presenting, like it, exceptional tracts of good land. BOUNDARY OF THE GREAT SILURIAN BASIN (JF HUDSON'S BAY. Excepthig on the canoe route from Lake Superior to Ked Eiver very little information is l)efore the public respecting this sectior. of territory. Its character and value may be found to be in a consideral^le degree allected by the extent to which the Silurian basin of Hudson's Bay may reach into it. Authorities differ widely as to the position of the boundary of that forma- tion. Mr. Ballant^iie would seemingly i)lace it at little above Martin's Falls, on the Albany liiver ; Sir John liichardson carries it two hundred miles further west, on that river, to the Head of Lake Joseph, near longitude 01 "^ AV. ; but not beyond the south side of that lake. In the geological chart of Johnson's Physical Atlas, it is shown as curving downwards there, fully a hundred miles south of Lake Joseph. We would naturally suppose there must have been some basis of fact for such a representation, perhaps the existence of a considerable outlier of Silurian formation, like the limestone at the head of Lake Temiscaming, which in that chart is erroneously represented as an arm of the Silurian basin of Hudson's Bay. Perhaps the diluvial clay of that basm which overlaps the Laurentian for- mation to and over the water-shed of the Ottawa, north of Lake Temiscaming, and appears to have led to mistake as to the 15 s'^ovember. In ration is repre- t may. restern side ot )f Raiiiy Kiver, the Imperial is, onions, car- ,ir, and melons a hundred and his section, po- ^ort Alexander, dred and iii'ty 'Ws well. Mr. 1, states that the success on the e lit for cultiva- tead of beinj^ a borderins: on I'mation. and is , than the Lau- biu presentini;-. [iUDSOXS liXY. iperior to Red respecting this y be found to lit to which the It. Authorities of that forma- at little above n liichardson t ri^'er, to the ut not beyond t of Johnson's s there, fully uld naturally ct for such a erable outlier head of Lake represented Perhaps the .urentian for- north of Lake tike as to the boundary of the Silurian basin there, may have obscured its position elsewhere. As outliers of Silurian limestone and tracts of level clay soil, within the limits of possible agricultural occupation, in the great region between us and the Eed Kiver country, may ultimately prove of some importance, from their soil being more suitable for cultivation than the rock Laurentian ground prevailing nearer, further and more accurate information as to the geological and topographical character of the country upon and immediately beyond the northern water-shed of Lakes Huron and Superior, is most desirable. The highly interesting inl'onnation respecting Lake Nipigon, furnished last summer to the Crown Lands Department by the private entreprise of Isl. AV. Armstrong, C. E., is an instance of what may be ob- tained even by cursory exploration. FERTILE TRiVCT ON RAINY RIVER. As nn exception to the generally rough, rocky, marshy and poor character of the country, between the water-shed of Lake Superior and J^ake "Winnipeg, forming the south-A\'est angle oi' the section under consideration, the fertile tract along the north side of liainy ]*iv(^r is of much importance, from its lyin2- on the line of communication Avith the lied River country. This tract is described as extending from Fort Francis, on the outlet of Rainy J^al^e, to the Lake of the Woods, sixty miles ui direct distance, or eighty by the course of the river, with a breadth back from it oi' from half a mile to twelve miles, and is estimated, by Professor Hind, as contauiing over two hundred and twenty thousand acres of rich alluvial land, highly suitable for cultivation. On the other hand it is stated that the front of it only is dry enouj^h for cultivation, and that the erround behind would need draining, to render it available. In either case, ho\yever, it would admit of continuous settle- ment for eighty miles along a central part of the route to Red River, which is important. Rainy River is here the boundary between the State of Min- nesota and Ikitish territory. It is a noble stream, described by our Canadian explorers as from two to three hundred yards ui width and six feet ui depth, with a current of about two miles an hour. The great P'ails at Fort Francis, of about twenty- tliree feet, and wo small rapids, the Manitou at thirty-four miles lower, with a fall of three feet, and the Long Rapid below it, with a fall of two and a half feet, are the only obstructions to navigation, from the east end of Rainy Lake to the west end of the Lake of the AVoods, a distance of about one hundred and seventy m.iles. This navigable reach forms an important part 16 I iii •V& of the proposed line of commi-inication between Lake Superior and the Red River Settlement. . ^,.. p . . The banks of Rainy River are from fifteen to fifty feet m height, wooded with a lar^e growth of elm, balm of G-ilead, ash, oak and basswood. The soil is a rich dark sandy loam, mixed with much vegetable matter, and resting on clay. From the masses of limestone occasionally seen, there is reason to think that it underlies the bed of the river, and extends west- w^ard to Red River. ^ ^ _ . , , , Mr. Pether, who was in charge of Fort Francis, described the climate as much the same as that of Montreal, only colder in winter. Wheat, root crops and kitchen vegetables, are successfully cultivated at Fort Francis. Behind the fertile plateau Mr. Pether states that there is a peaty marsh of immense extent, with a depth in parts of thirty feet. It is bare of timber ; nothing but low bushes grow on it. As we already begin to use peat fuel wuth advantage in Ca- nada, we can see in this bog an unlimited supply of fuel for the fertile tract when cultivation has removed its woods. On the shores and islands of the Lake of the Woods, there are patches of good land, where the Indians have gardens, and have raised Indian corn without failure for many years. At the Mission of Islington, about thirty-five miles dow^n the River Winnipeg, from the Lake of the Woods, and a hundred and twenty miles further north than Fort Francis, Mr. Hind states in his report that wheat is sown about the 20th May, and reaped about the 26th of August, that Indian corn ripens w^ell, and potatoes had never, during five years' cultivation, been injured by frost. A hundred miles east of Islington, and as much north of Rainy Lake, there is reported to be a good grain-growing tract on the north shore of Lac Seul. The existence of the Rainy River tract renders it likely that there are others. As elsewhere in Laurentian countries, many tracts of good arable land, of limited extent, no doubt exist on the banks of the lakes and rivers, as remarked alike by Mr. Dawson and Mr. Hind, and in the valleys between the low dome-shaped hills that prevail over this region ; but from being scattered and isolated they will long remain valueless, unless near the line of communica- tion or where they can be occupied in connection with mining operations, lumbering or fisheries. Among these we might include the small tracts of drift occur- ring on the portages and on the islands in Lac de Mille Lacs, near the height of land, on the canoe route to Rauiy Lake, notified by Mr. Hind, who elsewhere says that there is no scar- city of arable land between the low hill ranges of Lac des ISIille Lacs and Earil Lake to support a mining population. But their being on the coldest part of the route and subject to frost 17 1 Lake Superior to fifty feet in )alm of Grilead, rk sandy loam, ; on clay. From !re is reason to I extends west- ^ncis, described eal, only colder vegetables, are 5 that there is a 3th in parts of >w bushes grow [vantage in Ca- ply of fuel for its woods, e "Woods, there ve gardens, and ly years. At the [own the River .a hundred and Mr. Hind states lay, and reaped pens well, and , been injured much north of -growing tract of the Kainy As elsewhere arable land, of the lakes and Hind, and in that prevail isolated they f communica- n with mining of drift occur- le Mille Lacs, Rainy Lake, Here is no scar- es of Lac des Dpulation. But subject to frost Is in summer, owing apparently to their elevation, is not to be overlooked. As there is evident scope for the branches of industry men- tioned, even the isolated tracts will, after the opening of a line of communication, be profitably occupied, but slowly, in the face of the greater inducement westward ; while the good lands on th( route A^ill be more speedily taken up where the climate is favorable, as on Rainy River. It may seem difiicult to reconcile what is stated \yith regard to the growth of wheat at the places mentioned, with tlie fact that it seldom ripens well at Fort William ; but not so when we consider that, owing to its vast extent, the very low tempe- rature of Lake Superior, (excepting near the shore,) scarcely 40*^ on the last day of July, necessarily reduces the summer heat on its northern coast, while the temperature of the heights of land which are comparatively near it is reduced by their elevation. Thus, decidedly greater warmth of climate, after crossing the height of land and approaching Rainy Lake, is noticed alike by Sir John Richardson and other explorers. At Fort Francis on Rainy River, where this tract of rich allu- vial land commences, Sir John Richardson and others say that wheat is sown from the 1st to the 23rd of May, and reaped in the latter end of August. To army officers, gentlemen from England, who have ex- plored this region, the climate at Fort Francis might seem by no means favorable ; and men even from the western peninsula of Canada might look upon it as much inferior to that of their own country; but those accustomed to the north-eastern settle- ments of Lower Canada see it in a different light. When I was a backwoodsman engaged in farming and as- eistinjj to locate settlers, from thirty-seven to forty-five years ago, in the county of Megantic, fifty miles south-west- Ward of Quel)ec, we sowed our wheat rather later than it is done at Fort Francis, and instead of reaping it in August, we were glad to <^Qt 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 climate, at least, practical men would prefer the rich alluvial lands of Rainy River and its August harvest, with its broad navi<^able stream, and exceedingly rich fisheries, to either Megantic or Les Eboulements. AVe see, therefore, that the south side of this territory, for a o 18 breadth oi" iiDwards 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 culti- vated as the tracts on the north-east parts of the Taehe Koad hi Kimouski, 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 it a hne be drawn north-westward, from Eupert's Iviver to Oxibrd House, and continued a little beyond the head of Lake AVinnipe^, 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 Abbittibbi, passing more westerly^ a httle north of New Brunswick House, and a hundred and twenty miles north of Rainy Lake, striking Lake AVinnipeg north of Fort Alex- ander, may be taken as the northern line of the cultivation of wheat. The southern half, or about 230,000 square miles of this ter- ritory, therefore presents an area nearly twice as large, and quite as favorable for cultivation, as Finland, which was for- merly called the Granary of Sweden. European works on Physical G^eography, scarcely include any of Finland withui the limits of wheat cultivation ; but all of it within the line of barley. But F'inland is all of 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 cul- tivation ; yet Finland maintains upwards of a million and a half of people. It is worth mention further that this territory olfers a great extent of timber lands on the eastern tributaries of Lake AVin- nipeg, especially the upper part of the water system, which forms part of the proposed communication with Red River. This fact is given by S. J. Dawson, Esquire, in his Report of Exploration, who, from great experience in the lumber 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 the 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 nu- merous lakes offer more abundant fisheries than those of the great lakes of the St. Lawrence, where so many thousand bar- rels of white-fish are taken annually for use and sale. The ■?!"5Kl)ri« 10 parts, (.as at is as suitable ^anada, where ;• ibrmecl ; and 1 as suitable lor > soil, which its rofitably culti- Fache Ivoad in e Intercolonial e latter, in soil lat if a Inie be Oxford House, I AV^innipe^, it lI, with slight the cultivation side of Lake orth of New jr miles north I of Fort Alex- ; cultivation of lies of this ter- as large, and "hich was for- ean works on inland within lin the line of ormation, and ich has 50,000 limits of cul- million and a olfers a great of Lake AVin- stem, which Ked Kiver. his Iveport of umber trade, smaller than ams, the best prairie land it 'efore become ivers and nu- those of the housand bar- d sale. The 19 white-iish is really much superior, as an article of food, to tliat much boasted lish the salmon. l>elore leaving this territory we may observe, that the coun- try between Hudson's Bay and Canada is intersected by va- rious large rivers, falling into Hudson's Bay, that interlace the tributary waters of the Ottawa and the Lakes Hiiron and {Superior, on the summit plateau, in long, deep lake-like chan- nels. They x^resent 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 tSilurian basin. To carry provisions by sea from the G-reat Lakes, where they are so cheap, to lisheries on Hudson's Bay, would take a voy- age oi four thousand miles, which from the difficulty of its entrance and navigation, could be performed but once in a season. From Lake Superior th o 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 considerably. 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 explora- tion of them by a competent practical man, accustomed to road and river works in new countries, with a view to ascertain their capacity and the facilities they oli'er of improvement on an economical scale. In exhibiting these facts I by no means pretend to say that this section of territory is of importance to Canada for imme- diate settlement. It may be lon^ before any but a few enter- prising adventurers, on routes ot communication, will occupy it, from the simple reason that the prairie land beyond it is so much preferable. But it seems quite within the bounds of cautious moderation to say, that a country quite equal to Fin- land, and about double its extent, with forests of considerable importance, and rich fisheries, and that commands a line of com- munication 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 Bay 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. Lymburner, a most experienced and intelligent Member of Assembly, argued against the measure, on the ground that it *MI need ever take a mini '"'""less for oecun««nn tu ^^SUeiiay roads there I traveS ^7 ^r«™ment to pro.> J^^?'"'? ^^^s enough to inat7\!. °' '" * *ort time un^V^''^ f^'^u^at on well ^vl^c^ed^X'fex^r ¥• ^.^^des""hS^1|?,''d ^ ships were erou rt,^,, f^"?'®"* wheai was roiii^ settlements Now there are twpnH '^f^^^^'^ >" MportS-Ttf^' *"'? Many local produce of tK,fr^^"d Poorfrfiri f/Z" '"'"'"'f fORTH HUDSON'S JJiy TFPpt^ l^ittle need be said nf .f ""''''' ^^^ ^^^^^liEv aporvn ^Itmay be described . .i, ^^^^^^^iess character as a «ie diridiii^ line bpfV'^'^' ^«f ^niin^ ibr^ts w !5 ^^^f' *^ ^^'eat Saurian baslii of' the T-^'' *^ Pni^Sv foTw^^^^ gWe Lake to iL fi^^'^^' McKeiizfi f,. ^?^o^i and thl ^^^If ; coiresnnn^- ""^'^ ^^^^ of ]j7ar T^',/'^^, ^^e middle of , eoirespondm^ roughly ^A^^t^ if.J^o CoroZion Its extreme leno-fi. 4- longitude 1170 -n te-«* P of this section of t ' ""'' ove the Falls of men. South Riding ol" 3 laughed at the )m opposition to Toia the stereo- too remote and ionable honour iir trade hi the |ong and high the Saguenay 1 that no man i-Welve years ct colonization >ied good land ig settlements -d ; and many sawn lumber there on the meiit the saw these facts so icstion of set- CfliOUxVD. is is here aracter as a and west of ack to Grreat u boundary >ii and the middle ol" Coronation itude 1170 d and Ifty red. It iu. usand five 21 TBie remainder, forming five-sixths of its area, is the treeless Arctic 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 Targe river, the Great Fish or Back river, and many smaller streams, and lakes. Its vegetation consists of a close covering of lichens where it is dry, mixed with reindeer moss in moister spots. Other plants flourish where the soil is suitable, with depressed willows, blue berries, bear berries, &c. In favorables 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 hundred of reindeer and of the musk-ox, as described by Capt. Back, on the river to which his name has been given. The Indian cannot live in it in winter on account of the want of fuel. "What little is used by the Esquimaux, who inhabit the coast, is the oil and blubber their fisheries afford ; their fuel is got in the deep. p]ven the reindeer retire from it to the bordering woods in winter, to shelter them from the season's storms. They go in numorous bands by certain passes among the lakes and hills, where the Esquimaux and Northern Indians waylay and slaughter them for whiter use. sometimes with the most waste- ful recklessness. 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, tht^y might Ha'c in greater comfort and security. The chief permanent inhabitant of this vast desolate region is the Musk Ox, the coiemporary of the mammoth and other extinct animals. He feeds in winter on the high spots where the vegetation, preserA'ed 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, will be his seci.rity. In connection with this section, its probable mineral wealth may be noticed. Speaking of the country north of Lake Win- nipeg, Sir John Itichardson says that Government, or the Hi.dson's Bay Company, should ascertain, without delay, the " mineral treasures it contains," and adds, " I have little doubt of many of the accessible districts abounding in metallic wealth of far g-renier value than aU the returns of the Fur trade can ever yield'' This observation would s^e m to apply not only to the western skirts of the band of primary formation imme- «>-2 diatcly north of Lako Winnipoi?, but also to this section as far north as Copper Mine River. designated as the "North McKenzio River CHAPTER V. THE NORTH MCRENZIE RIVEIl COUXTliY forej Sea, Mountains, may Country. It is about seven hundred and forty miles ni length irom north to south, with a breadth of four hundred miles at InHtude 60 ® , varying to over six hundred miles, where it nn^ is the Arctic 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 comparatively. Instead of behis^ a rocky, barren, treeless waste, chiefly of infertile primary formation, like the preceding, it is, as men- tioned, a Silurian plain, more or less wooded throue^hout, almost to the shore of the Arctic. In the southern half of it barley and garden vegetables can be raised. It is traversed by the Mc- Kenzie, a first class naviejable 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 oi the McKenzie ; stunted generally in the most northerly parts, and of the hardiest kind — white spruce — but in sheltered posi- tions, sometimes attaining a useful size. Even at the north- eastern extremity of this section, at the mouth of the Copper Mine River, in a sheltered grove, one is noticed as being thirty-seven inches in girth, and on Kendal River, near the same locality in a fine grove of white spruce, one w^as 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 j^ilurian and more recent formation, and generally a plain, H would have been a good agricultural country had its climate admitted. Such as it is, thouirh its southern boundary is th.» limit o'rrofitable wheat cultivation. Col. Lefroy and Sir his sectiv-)ii as uv. , west of tlio . to the Arctic to the Rocky Keiizie lliver leiiii^th from lesatbUtude itm< ts the and seventy- its climate is Lection ; from 3r it of more ;e, chiefly of is, as men- :hout, almost t })arley and by the Me- nds in rich which may periority in mestone, is mouth ol lerly parts, tered posi- the north- >]>per Mine lirty-seven ne locality sixty-three ■"ty ieet iji north end generally antry had boundary >y and Sir ■ ' i v,^i .;/r- 'Mr ' iV ~. ■ 1 f '. m !%.;■/ '^ r * -*' ! ■• ■ ■ .5- •■; -■■.*ti. .-. "Mm I THE RIVI!R Mlp fiM;T RlJirsOJI ^4 . . •■ ■■ ' ■.. . •' - ■■■tA - - .S'^i-,^ .■,■•■ ■>i- v'.r^W' X ■■ !;"•:". ' ■. ■,■- . ■-■■-a.. • ■ .■'.--■■ " '• '- - • .,.'•■ -.it"' I"' ■*■ " i ■ ■ ■' .■■'?•'' ■ - - ■ -: ^#*VK^ ^ : ' ; . - - - ,!, ■ ■• . , ;; ■;:5t.,: • '- : ■>■••■ i.vi jf .:;■ ■■...; i , - THF-: RIVER MAfKENZFr:— PASSING A SITR OF THE - . 11 . < — .;■• 'is-'ei'/-'; ■■• .• •■• |v....» ... .^><^'' ■ v ■•■ ■ •■ ■■■ ■'H*»?^-fl A SITR OF THE ROfKY :MO^^"T.^[^"S BEVONP P'll'T STMrSON. ii WW? Jl 23 John Kichjirdsou say, that at Fort Simpson, a h,un(Jrod and fiity miles i'urther north, with a moan summer tcmpcraturo of 59^ ® Fah., barley '^rows well, and the latter says that at Fori Norman, three hundred and forty miles north of lat. CO®, (the assumed southern boundary of this section,) potatoes are raised, and in irood st'asons ])arley ripens well, and that lat. 05 *^ may be con- sidered as th(^ northern limit of the •z:rowth of barley. lie adds, I hat at l^'ort Good Hope, a hundred and eighty miles north of h'ort Norman, that is lilty north of the Arctic Circle, turnips jittain the weight ()f two or three pounds in favoura})lo seasons, but barley has failed thiM-e when tried. P'ort Simpson is evi- dently far within the Hmit of barley cultivation, fcr which, on the authority of lilrnan, quoted by Sir John llichardson, 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, beinjx for May, 48® 10' ; June ()3®(J4' ; July, (JO® 97' ; August, 53® 84' ; September, 49® 10'. The three winter months, how- ever, are there extremely cold, the mean beuig 10® below zero , that of the spring months, 20 ®00' above zero, and of au- tumn, -27® 34'. If, therefore, we draw a Ihie across this territory at lat. 65 ® N., we iind that we have in the south part of it, an area of a hundred md twenty thousand square miles, which, with the necessary allowance for waste lands and positions unfavourable hi elevation or aspect, nearly all admits of the growth of barley as well as vegetables, and that must admit of the growth of rye in th<» part of it adjoining the limit of profitable wheat culti- vation. That is to say, we have there a country resembling in extent, and in partial fitness for cultivation, the Ihissian Province of Vologda, which lies in a similar Silurian formation, and is em-^ braced hi the same manner between the northern limits of wheat and barley cultivation. Of Vologda a great part is unoccupied, but for th(^ chase or fur trade ; yet such as it is, with much marshy, and sandy land, it sustains about eight hundred thousand inhabitaiiis. But it is to be observed, that Vologda lies on the northern Dwina, which, though insignificant compared with the Mc- Keiizie, leads to a seaport open during a short season, an advantage greatly in its favour, in giving value to its pro- ducts. • ' The Kiver McKenzie, though not giving that adva!itag(\ pre- sents some others that may hi some degree makeup for the want of it. It traverses this section of territory diagonally, present- ing a course of a thousand miles of deep, uninterrupted navi- gation, (besides Slave Lake, three hundred miles hi length, which connects with the Arctic Sea.) Sir Alexander McKenzie 24 there. %S m^g^SI?;!.'^ jf, «^'.-n th" ji'd ';^'ilt"L™''V' millions of peopjj. §[(.?-\w 'f ' ^'i'""« country is "eur.Wlf'* importance.'''"' " "''" "° do"bt (heiiX khi.fc *¥ P^"" Sir 41exiiii(ler Af TT • "'»m^ ay ol some ve^^'li^lffP''^ '>"t'^ry 1S:S' %,^\^>-^Ploration of this its breadth lour at the I the usual s a passing ter per mi- kvell mi":ht The Mis- cation for ie vast in- i the rich fs kStraits, American les to ^et nipied by ? distance I the pro- ' oi' some >n of this of disco- ts heroes. Id Pacific till then on the the diffi. in^ un- Even e them, felt by pended They like the hntains Id mist, ler day [eation, 3e, and irming ,£?rey 'here iel na- s. 25 tions— the Island of the Evil Manitx)u, who swallowed every man that came his way — and beyond that tne land of gigantic men who could kill other men with their eyes. Then the arrival at the Esquimaux country, and the astonish- ment of his men at the sun that d.id not set, and the tide. Still singularly vigorous vegetation for the high latitude, 63'^ to (j8® N. — and abundance of berries — innumerable islands in the river approaching its mouth, covered with trees of a small growth, and in places spruce and fir of a larger size. The banks, where high, wooded partly with birch and fir ; and the ground in places covered with short grass and flowers, though the frost was only four inches out of the earth on the 12th of July. McKenzie was then two thousand miles beyond the Lake of the Woods, in direct distance north-westward, and three thou- sand miles in direct distance from Montreal — or as far from that city as it is from the mouth of the River Orinoco in South America. Tliis comparison is given to assist in realizing the extent of country that we may now acquire, — and of that extent three- quarters of the distance is through territory which, by way of lied River, is fit for agricultural occupation. McKenzie returned to Fort Chipeweyan on the 12th Sep- tember, having performed his voyage of three thousand miles in a hundred days, showing that so long, at least, annually this great Arctic River is open for na\'igation. In returning, the air for some part of the way was laden with a heavy smell of sulphur, which is found to be caused by the burning of coal in the banks of the river, — it was the lignite coal that is so abun- dant in this territory. Lignite varies much in qurJity, Its average heating power may be taken as equal to that of five-sevenths of an equal weight of good Newcastle coal, though it olten exceeds that propor- tion. The lignite coal of Nanaimo in Vancouver's Island is only ten per cent, less valuable thtai the true coal of the Carbo- nii'erous epoch, according to Dr. Hector. Its prevalence in immense quantities and in positions where it can be most easily made available, in a climate where fuel will be so much needed, the comparative ivrtility of the soil of this section, and its great navigable river and the fisheries con- nected with it, will no doubt uidniatelv lead to the partial oc- cupation of the southern half of it, wkere hardly grains and A'egetables can be cultivated. Therefore, though, owing to its remoteness and the exceeding coldness of its climate, it is utterly useless now, excepting for its fur trade, we should not consider it altogether valueless with reference to the future. Speaking of the possible future occupation ^^the south half of this section of territory, notwithstanding the severity of its 2(> ■climate, it is worthy oi* remark, that in the province of Vologda, to which we have compared it, hemp and flax are cultivated with success. Even in the province of Archangel, north of it, with a climate much more unfavorable, considerable quantities of hemp and flax are raised, and coarse linen cordage and mats are manufactured. Hemp and flax, with cordage and linseed from these provinces, are the principle articles of export at Archangel. It is reasonable to think that in the future they mav be cultivated and manufactured in this territory. this observation, however, applies with much more force and more immediately to the country south of Hudson's Bay, already noticed, as well as to the great Central Prairie Country, the chief subject of this pamphlet. As they are remote from markets, the cost lor transport of flax exported, especially il' manufactured, will be insignificant compared with that of ordi- nary agricultural exports ; an importnnt advantage, even with improved means of communiccition. . CHAPTER VI. THE PELLY rJVER AND MOrXT.^.I.N COUNTRY. Continuing to notice the less important or comparatively valueless sections of t(*rritory before directing attention to the great central prairie land, the last of these inferior territories may be designated the Felly Iviver and Mountain Country. It is a little more than a thousand miles in length, northward from Simpson's Kiver, the northern boundary of British Co- lumbia, to the Arctic sea at Point Demarcation, where it termi- nates in an acute aiigii? ; and live hundred in breadth, frointhe eastern crest of the Pocky IMountains to Mount Saint Elias. on the coast of the Paciiic Ocean. It contains an area of about two hundred and eighty-five thousand superiicinl miles. Tliis f-ection of territory merits separate d«*scription, inasmuch as it diiters as widely in its general character from those pre- viously noticed as thoy do from each other. It diflcrs especially from the last described, which is generally a i)lain country, while this, with little exception, is a vast mountain region, equal in extent to the Kingdoms of Norway and Sweden taken togeth«»r. In its mountainous character it chiefly resembles Norway. Had it embraced the coast of the Pacific and the islands along it. the resemblance would have been greater, for it then would have possessed a seaboard rendered temperate by the warm winds of the Pacific : but from ]\Iount St. Elias down to the boundary of "British Columbia, a narrow strip of American, formerly Ilus- -«.-*«" sian territory, intervenes, along the Pacific coast, reaching back to the summit of the nearest mountain range, but nowhere ex- ceeding thirty-live miles from the shore. Though possessing? a less genial climate than Norway and Sweden, the resemblance to them may be traced a little further. As little more than one-sixteenth part of the surface of Sweden is classed as arable land in cultivation, including meadows, and only about one-hundredth part of Norway, this territory is pro- bably not much inferioi i-) them in extent of land lit for such cultivation as the climate may admit of. The Ilocky Mountains on "the east side, the Blue Eange or Peak Mountai'ir. d.id the Cascade Mountains and Coast Range run nearly parallel to each other, north-westwardly through this territory, with many intermediate ranges and groups. The Kocky Mountains, whose highest peak rises to sixteen thousand feet, at the sources of the Athabasca, gradually de- cline in height northward, to four and live thousand feet above the sea. The Coast Range, on the contrary, attains its greatest height at Mount St. Elias, which is stated to be 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 3'et, as might be expected of a country so re- mote ; — as Alpine in character as Switzerland and Tyrol and eleven times as large as both together ; presenting incomparably greater obstacles to exploration, in the coldness of its climate, and from its being uninhabited except by savages. It oilers a far more interesting lield of study for the geo- logist and ihe naturalist than the regions east of it already noticed. It is a country that presents the greatest possible obstacles of climate and surface to mihtary operations ; a country utterly impregnable from its character and extent, should it ever become hihabited, as it no doubt ultimately wall, where it admits of l:)eing 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 southern part of this section of territory is due in a great degree to its elevation. Col. Lefroy argues that tiie part of it in which the sources of the Peace River lie, must i)e nearly six thousand feet above the sea. At Telly's Banks, lat. Gl ^30', the valley of Pelly River is fourteen hundred feet above the sea ; and there ihe 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, l)ut which is only four hundred feet above the sea. In April the difference is only five and a quarter degrees, and 28 "TcUv's H I "■ "' ^^"o'f year IS only disadvaa^taseof ^veat d*l'"'<^'l'«"f ""« territorv ,vith t., Arctic (Wrolo 4-'^ ,^^^^'^tion ; and Vmi^o.V- ^' )^"" the the other to siioh M^''''^'^ *« temperatiw o f 1 ""'* '^^''''''ne 20 lich will t Felly's that dis- course of Jranch of through junction may be it iu the e, spring I winter ner than w^hich it tbeculti- ithiaithis ature of rley, by e of the le mean 75', and ' is only vith the V at the t of the irily be re favo- seasons lan the stward former 12^28', farmer m that ihat of treme |eat of treme IS on )f the lire of I little removed from the too equalizing iniluence of the Pacilic, and its humidity, in the valleys on the south-west side of this tenitory, we should find, with a gradually diminishing annual tempera- ture, and an mcreasing diti'erence between summer and wmter, and less humidity, localities with cUmates resembling those of Montreal and Quebec. Consistently with the facts mentioned, physical geographers have drawn the line of New York mean winter temperature from twenty to one hundred and twenty miles within this ter- ritory, running north-westwardly through it, for six hundred and fifty miles. But this fine must only be taken as appli- cable to low lands and valleys :— it will generally be ex- ceedingly 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 iheir posi- tion and mineral resources, 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 ibrms the boundary between this territory and the Province of British Columbia, it appears 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 described as good and well adapted for farm ing ; and there the Indians grow plenty of potatoes. He describes fine Hats running back to the mountains, which recede four or five miles from the river ; speaks of the Skeena country being in parts the best looking mineral country he had seen in British Columbia ; alludes to gold wliich he finds there ; mentions that the river Skeena passes through pji exten- sive coal country, the seams cut through by the river varying IVoni three to thirty-five feet in thickness ; superior to any that he had seen in Vancouver's Island, (where the mines of Na- naino are already of value commercially,) or in British Colum- bia ; and in other reports he says, salmon and other fish are in inconceivable abundance. Such advantages may not be common, and may be limited to a small part of this territory ; but good lands with a mode- rate climate, on fine salmon rivers, with valuable timber forests and beds of coal, situated within a hundred miles of the continually open navigation of the Pacific and its com- merce, taken together with the gold-bearing character of the country, (for which the river Stikene to the northward of the Simpson is already famous,) render the southern part 30 oi' ihiB territory oi' confjiderable immodialo, and still g:reater luture valtie. CHAPTEK VII. THE llED lUVEK, SASKATCHEWAN AND PEA(^E IIIYFAI COrXTIlY. OR CENTRAL PRAIRIE LAND— POSITION AND EXTENT. The remaining section of the great north-west territory — that which is of by far the greatest intrinsic A'alue, and of the greatest relative importance to the Dominion of Canada — may, in the absence of any general name, be designated as the Ked lliver, ^Saskatchewan and Peace lliver country, or Central Prairie Land ; using the latter term merely to signify that prairie land is more or less prevalent throughout the greater part of it. It may be described as bounded on the south by the line of latitude 49 '^ N., the Northern boundary of the United States, on the west by the crest of the iiocky Mountains, which divide it from the Province of British Columbia, as far northward as Peace Kiver ; on the north by the parallel of latitude 60 '^ N., and on the east l)y Lake Winnipeg with its tributary waters, the River Winnipeg and the Lake of the Woods ; and from the north end of Lake AVinnipeg by a line drawn north- w^estward through the west end of Lake Athabasca to the line oflat. 60^N. Its length, from the outlet of the Lake of the Woods westward. to the sources of the ^Saskatchewan, is eight hundred and eighty miles. Its breadth northward from lat. 49"^ to 00 "^N., is seven hundred and sixty miles. It contains an area of about four hundred and eighty thousand square miles ; that is to say, an area equal to that of France and Grermany with Belgium and Switzerland added together,— or about ten times that of the State of New York. SUITABLENESS FOR SETTLEMENT, AND ITS IMPORTANCE. It is highlv important to observe that nearly the whole of this section of territory, within the boundaries stated, excepting where cold, arising from great elevation, renders it otherwise, is as suitable in climate for agricultural occupation as the parts of Canada and the Maritime Provinces already settled or now being settled, taken together. That is to say that the best parts of this section of territory are fully as rich in soil, and where cultivated, yield fully as heavy returns of wheat as the best parts of Upper Canada ; and that with little exception the most :reater XTIIY, I. itory — of the —may, le lied Antral ty that greater line of States, divide hward leCO^ bntary and north- e line ' prairies that prevail on much of it resemble the steppes of Russia in Europe, of which, as Mr. Hauxhausen says, " some consider the larger portion as unfertilizible deserts;" while others think they re- quire "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 Rocky Mountains, it has not yet been realized, either from the explorations yet made being very limited and imperfect, or from there being no true coal measures there : for it is to be })orne in mind that the pre- sence of 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 formation on the south coast of the district of Graspe ; its pre- sence led to extensive 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 ))ase of the Rocky Mountains there extends a broad belt of geological formation, throughout the entire length, northwaid of this section of territory, (nearly a thou- sand miles,) and beyond it to the Arctic Ocean, as already mentioned, containing an inexhaustible amount of lignite coal; it has been seen in many places in beds from two to eight feet thick, and hi some parts over a breadth of nearly two hun- dred miles. As this immense region of lignite coal lies on the upper courses of great navigable rivers, which How through vast fertile prairie countries on their lower courses, containing much of 33 the richest wheat-lowing ground in this continent, the value of it as a perpetual supply of fuel for them is incalculable ; it eA-idently much more than compensates for the infertile cha- viicter of a large part of the dry prairie lands adjc ining the boundary of the United States. FORM AND NATURAL SUBDIVISIONS. On the map of the section of territory now before us, this Central Prairie Land, bounded as mentioned, is an irregular diamond-shaped figure inchning westward. It is eight hun- dred and eighty nules broad at its base, on lat. 49 ° N., dimi- nishing nortnward to three hundred miles in width on lat. 60 ® N. The len^h of its eastern boundary is a thousand and fifty miles, and its western one, by the curve of the Rocky Mountains, is nine hundred and fifty miles. Its south-east angle, in the Lake of the "Woods, is two hun- dr(^d and fifty miles west with a little northing, from Fort William, on Lake Superior. Its north-east angle is six hun- dred miles due west from Hudson's Bay, and its orth-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 therefore occupies a central position in the continent. 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 Saskatchewan, and the Red River and Assiniboine, and other tributaries of Lake Winnipeg. Next northward, the head waters of the Churchill or Beaver River, occupy a triangular area of fifty thousand miles on the east side. Of the remaining part, north-westward, a hundred and twenty thousand miles ]ie on the Athabasca, and on the Peace River north of it ; and about thirty thousand square miles of the north-west corner 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 subdi\'i- sions, it may be well to make a few observations of a general nature, on this section of territory. Its elevation, though consideraole, 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 re- ceive the waters of five-sixths of its area, and the River of tlie Mountains at Fort Liard, which is estimated to be only four or 3 31 live hundred loet in hoi'j^ht. Lake Winnip'^g, which receives the waters of the Kiver Winnipeg? and others on the east side, besides the Red Jiiver and Assiniboine, and tlio River Saskat- chewan, on the west, is six hundred and twenty lei»t above the level oi' the sea. Lake Atha))asca, which receives the River Athabasca from the south, and other rivers from th(3 east, and connects at its discharge with I'eace 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 AVoods is three hundred and sixty-one feet above Lake Winnipeg, or nine hundred and eighty-nhie feet above the sea. It is in a country of lake-like marshes of gi'eat extent, on the same level as itself, or nearly so. The elevation of Pembina near lonj^. 97 "^ W., where the Red River intersects the boundary of U. S., lat. 49 ® N., is estimated at nine hundred feet. Halfway between Pembina and the Rocky Mountains, the boundary line rises on the "Grand Coteau Missouri," the high arid plateau dividing the valley of the latter from that of the Saskatchewan, T«nwards of fifteen hundred feet in height, and gradually as- cending till, at the entrance of Kootanee pass, the plain termi- nates with an ele\uiioii of four thousand feet, and the further ascent to the summit of the puss is two thousand feet. This elevation of the plain at ■ lie foot of the mountains continues northward ; the summits of the passes varying between live and six thousand feet, and the peaks of the mountains rising from seven or ei<^ht thousand to fifteen, and the highest to sixteen thousand feet above the sea. Speaking of this elevated country at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, between Saskat- chewan and Peace River, Col. Lefroy obserA'es that " it is a dis- trict remarkable for its gradual and regular ascent, preserving much of the character of a plain country." Near the boundary of tjie United States and south of lat. 51 '^ N., the base of the Rocky Mountains is not more than forty miles in vddth. 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 ® "VV., 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 following their separate courses of eight hundred miles. Close between them rises one of the sources of the Columbia, fiowing to the Pacific ; and in glaciers near them. 35 about lat, 52® 17' N., is the source of the Athahiisca— the remo- test source of the River McKenzie, which takes it course of two thousand mik's to the Arctic sea. Elsewhere, Captain Blackiston and others describe th(^ Kocky Mountains as bein^ well-wooded, excepting their summits'; the timber on the eastern sidt; inferior to that of thes western and add, that perpetual snow is only seen on some of the hij^her peaks. This peculiarity, we may observe, is the natural result of ithe high level of the plain ; the line of perpi^tual snow de- pending more on the }iei<^ht 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 outlhie, on attain- ing latitude (iO '^ N., the elevation of the mountains and the plain dimhiishes rapidly. P'ort Liard, o:\ the River of the Mountains, near that parallel, though only fifty miles east from the mountains, is only four or live hundred feet above the sea. This depression of level in northing is favorable to cultivation Had the elevation risen with the latitude, or even contuiucd unabated, the climate would have been less suitable for the growth of grain. Fort Liard is the lowest point in this section of territory ; and the altitude can be but little greater where the parallel of latitude 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 i3eaver River and Lake Athabasca. There this 'assumed boundary passes over a great bend of the Laurentian foiTnation. Even a hundred miles westward, w^here that for- mation joins the Silurian, Methy Lake is fourteen hundred and and ninety feet ^ above the sea. This tract of Laurentian country wall be valueless unless it be for such minerals as it may be found to offer, near the junction of these formations. Turning to the interior, we fnid at Fort Dunvegan, on Peace River, a hundred and fifty miles east from the Rocky Moun- tains, the plateau sloping from their base has declined to sixteen hundred feet, while the river is only nine hundred and ten feet above the sea, or three hundred and ten above its mouth at Lake Athabasca, from which it is three hundred miles dis- tant in a direct line, though double that by the winding course of the river. The elevation of Fort Edmonton, on the North Saskatchewan, two hundred miles east from the mountains, is eighteen hundred feet ; that of Carleton House, near the Forks, at three hundred miles in direct distance eastward, is eleven ♦ 1,540 feet by Col. Lofroy. /-^^ hundred feot ; and Cumborland llouso, two hundred miles further east, and a hundred miles in direct distance from Lake Winninejj:, is nine hundred feet above the sea, or two hundred and seventy above the mouth of the Saskatchewan at the Lake. These points ))eins on the })anks of rivers, are the lower levels, and hidicate the <^eneral inclination of the plain. It is only a comparative plain, however, varii^l in surface by scattering groups of hills, rising to six hundred, and occasionally a thou- sand feet and upwards over the plains below them ; or the^ equally lofty edges of high plateaus, forming long ranges of highlands towards the lower levels. Of the former, the Hiding Mountains, Av<'st of Lake Mani- tobah, have an altitude of a thousand and thirty leet al)ovt* that Lak", or seventeen hundred feet over the sea. The north-tnist face of the Missouri Plateau advances towards the south Branch of the Sasketchewan and liiver Qu'Appellc;, with an elevation of six hundred feet above the plains ; showing a tertiary forma- tion, with brown coal and siliciiied wood. Its north-west face, under the name of the Cypress Hills,Irises to the height of four thousand two hundre(l feet al)ove the sea. Its southern slope is watered by tributaries of the Missouri, that here extend into this territory. The Hand Hills, north of lied Deer Kiver, long. 111^ "^ AV.. rise to the height of three thousand eight hundred feet above the sea ; presenting the same formation, capped with tertiary shingle beds of the highest plains. It is interesting to observe that while the llocky Moujitains present everywhere evidence of disruption and upheaval in their origin, these hills and high ranges of the plain exhibit with equal imiformity, in their abraded strata, that they were ibrmed by denudation by water ; by the scooping out of the plains around them. By the elevations given it will be seen that the height of the sloping plateau, forming the chief part of this section of terri- tory, is considerable ; but it is worthy of remark that it never- theless has in some degree the character of a basin. AYe have noticed the great elevation of its western edge. That of its eastern Laurentian boundary is in parts considerable. The Branch of that range which bounds it at its south-east angle, dividing it from the basin of Lake Superior, is from fifteen to eighteen hundred ieet in hight over the sea. at the lowest parts. The Lake of the "VYoods is five hundred feet lower than Lake Itasca, the source of the Mississippi, immediately south of it. Fort G-arry, on Red River, is twelve hundred feet lower than Fort Clarke, on the Missouri, which lies south-west of it. Car- leton House, on the Saskatchewan, is about a thousand feet lower than Fort Union on the Missouri, which lies south by east I'rom it ; and we have already seen that the ridge of the 37 Coti'aw du Missouri, dividiiijjf its waters I'rom tho hiisin of tho Saskatchewan, rises to the heij^ht ol'lbur thousand t^vo hiuidred I'eet above the sea. The bacin forming the chief part of this section of territory is therefore about a thousand ieet lower, j^enerally, than the northern parts of Minnesota and Dakota ad^ioinin^ it. The term Central Prairie Land as applied to it, is, as l)eibre mentioned, merely intended to indicate that 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 northern part of it, sav from about lat. 5-1 ® to lat. 60 '^ , the country is generally wooded, thou«ifh prairies are interspersed through it, some of great extent. Prairies extend as far north as the oast branch of Hay River, on which they terminate near ktt* 60®, and as lar east as Methy Portage, between the waters of the Churchill and Athabasca Kivers, near the eastern boundary assumed for this section. Prairie land >)etween these points, occurs so continuously as to admit of herds of horses being sent through, as mentioned by Sir John Eichardson, and feeding by the way; a condition evidently favorable to the extension of set- tlement, as w^ell as indicative of land suitable for agricultural occupation. In so great an extent of country there is naturally much variety in character an Assiniboine. Parts of it are marshy, a.s might be expected of an alluvial nearly level lirec- ibout cieiit los oi* >ver- hvo of it id oil Mm *-^f?r??i^fv^:';-;?B:::4.i^ " •.' .K;:-Vi.i ^Svyi'pi'iiS;;--' t^'-,V^J%.v".v:;.,-'.;^ ;.;;.■ [^jiJs-Ji^0'-:^!0- FORT GARRY AND THE STEAMEI r^u »;■ ."-.- "'7??^'ff7ri?R''^??^'-"vi^"^ ^ .,■/■•;■■. ^'■ft:-'. ■ ",.,' . : • '■■,.l'--l AND THE STEAMER "INTERNATIONAL. th( lac am cri lal gr< an thi ra] of f lit: su its nil ch Hi th: iij se' fa] of th fif w its : of re cc bi le • U5 h^ ID w 41 or plain^ ill a state of nature ; but they are described as admitting of beiii^ drained with Httle trouble. The big swamp in rear oi' the lied River settlement is twenty-seven feet above the sur- face of the river ; and the nine mile swamp on Kat Kiver, a small tributary on the east side above the settlement, is des- cribed as capable of being drained with comparative tiifling labour, and would form the richest of prairie land. Marshes, great and small, and swanipy spots requiring improvement — and capable of it, thou<>h of the richest soil — encroach largely on the area immediately available for cvdtivation ; which is natu- rally less in proportion than in some of the higher prairie gromids of rich sandy loam. From its lo-wness — (to which it owc^s its extraordinary ferti- lity,) like many other allmdal valleys— parts of it are sometimes subject to inundations, but very rarely. About forty miles from its mouth the Red River receives its chief tributary, the Assi- niboine. At their confluence is situated Upper Fort Grarry, the chief commercial emporium and seat of government of the Red River settlement, (which extends from twenty miles above to thirty miles below it on the Red River, and about seventy miles up the Assinilioine.) Red River is 480 feet wide and twelve feet deep at the middle settlement. It is navigable to the United States boundary and far to the south of it l)y boats of liglit draft ; l^ut the navigation of it is subject to interruption by drought in the dry season of the year. From the settlement up to the United States boundary, about fifty-seven miles, its banks are fringed with wood, from a few yards to half a mile in breadth, and the peninsulas it forms are well wooded. The woods of elm, poplar, oak and ash towards its mouth, have supplied the wants of the settlement for upwards of twenty years. The alluvial clay of the Red Rivc^r and the Assiniboine is reported to be well fitted for the manufacture of bricks and cominon pottory, hi patches ; which may ))e of importance for building in parts where stone cannot be had near. The preva- lence of limestone, however, will leave little occasion for the use of brick. CHAPTER IX. THE mVEU ASSINIBOINE. 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 from its mouth, its course is nearly west ; above that, its course, for upwards of two hundred miles 42 ill direct distanco, is north-westerly, lying nearly parallel to Lake Winnipe<^, at a mean distance of two hundred and forty miles west of it. At two hundred and twenty miles west from its mouth, where it returns northward, it receives its tributary, the river Qu'Ap- pelle, which continues directly westward two hundred and fifty miles furth(jr, having its source near the elbow of the South Branch of the Saskatchewan, four hundred and seventy miles directly westward from the mouth of the Assiniboine. Though it and its tributaries drain a larger area than Red River, the Assiniboine, owing to the dryness of the country^ southwest of it, drai'ied by its principal feeders, and the loss of water in its rnver ourffe, is scarcely equal to the one-third of lied River a! ihi ? nnction. By Professor Hhid's measurements the volume o' '5 ■ 'ssiiiiboine, at a hundred and forty miles from its mouth, .v^^hei 't is two hundred and thirty feet wide and eight feet in mean depth, diminishes to half before its junc- tion Avith the Red Rivev The difference is seemingly lost in the sandy tract, of about lifty miles in breadth, which it enters about a hundred and twenty miles west of Fort Garry, a little above the mouth of its tributary, the Souris or Mouse River. The Souris is apparently upwards of three hundred miles in length. Its source is a httle north of the U. S. boundary, and three hundred and fifty miles west of Red River. A great ])end of it at its middle course crosses that boundary. By Mr. Hind's measurement the volume of water discharged by the Souris, though much broader at its mouth, seems to be about half of that of the Qu'Appelle. The latter near its mouth is sixty-six feet wide, flowing a mile and a half an hour, with a mean 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, indi- cates the generally arid nature of the light prairie country 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 Assinibohie, above the Qu'Appelle, discharges twice as much w^ater as the latter river, the area drained by it, though only half as extensive as that of the Qu'Ap- pelle, being a very fertile country. li o THE INFERTILE LANDS OF THE SOURIS AND QU'APPELLE. ^luch the greater part of the country drained by the River Qu'Appelle, and very nearly all that drained by the River Souris, is classed as light prairie land on Professor Hind's shaded niaps, distinguishing the quality of the land, published with his report in Parliamentary Papers on the Colonies of 1860. 43 scr 111 the body of his report, however, he estimates nearly a mil- lion of acres as fei-tile arable land ; that is, only one-fortieth pari 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 fvoh} the great bend of the Souris across the middle course of Imc^ Qu'Appelle, is described as bare and treeless prairie, coven only with short grass, and very deficient of water ; and in parts, the soil is so hght 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 browni coal in the Coteau du Prair ^hich extends from above the Elbow of the South Branch of le Saskatchewan^ along the sources of the Qu'Appelle (id ; 3 Souris, to the boundary line, with a height of six ' 'ii: lied feet above the plain. Above the Blue Hills up the >S(^^' .s, a little more than twenty miles from its mouth, Mr. Bhid found beds of lignite- boulders in its banks ; the water-bor >\ bris of beds of lignite coal. As so much has been seen in the course of the limited explora- tion yet made, more may probably be discovered on further ex- amination of the country. This region, described as generally infertile, lying on the waters of the Souris and 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 notice that there are apparently consi- derable 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 undulatin*? country." A little further on he speaks of a A'ast prairie of a rich dark green^ " a beautiful level waste," afterwards of " an extensive deposit of bog iron ore capped with shell marl." Speaking of the Souris, further up, he says that its valley, " along which we travelled to day, varies from a quarter to a nule broad. It flows through a rich open meadow 20 to 25 feet below the general level of the prairie, which on either hand is undulating, light, and covered with short stunted ^rass." He speaks of the valley of the Pipestone creek as bemg " 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 p]lice and travelled due 44 wosi, throu<^h !i nn'tty country, and tln» Ibllowinjj; day arrived at ilu' cross woods. They consist of asi)cn withasplonaid under- growth. T\w i)asturai.?c is j'xcelhuit and th(; road u:ood, passing through a I'air rollinic country, the soil consistinj^ of a sundy loam witli laucli vc^:ctal)lc matter in the valleys. Aspen proves are numerous, and many Httle lakes," A'jjain, " trail continued throu«j:;h fjjood land ibr nine miles, with aspen proves on the crown ol" each undulation." " Then came a prairie, three miles across." " Ponds wen^ numerous, ahoundinyj with ducks and duckhn«2;s." Si)eakini;- of the Indian Head Hills, near the middle? cours(? of the Qu'Appelle, he calls them " a hilly countrv for some miles : it contains many beautiful lakes and is well wooded." iMirther on he speaks of an " exceedingly beautiful view, embracin.i^ an exttmsive area of level prairie to the north, bounch'd by the Asi)en "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." Continuhig, he says, "on the 17th vye entercMl a V(n-y beautiful fertile prairie at the foot of Ihe Indian Head rang<' ; " and furiher, "we reached the Qu'Ap- pelle Ijakes after passing through a magnilicent prairie the whoh^ day. In fact, the country north of ithe Indian Head and Chalk Hill ranges is truly beautiful, and will one day become a very important trttct." Speaking of the (Qu'Appelle Mission, he says : "the situation is l)eautiful. Here the Qu'Appt'lle Valley is one mile and a 'quarti»r broad and '2'^) feet deej). l>otli north and south a vast prairie ext^'uds, 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 tiie lakes, four in num))er, and from the rich store of Hsh they contain, an* well-nnmed Fishing Lakes. A belt of timber fringivs their sides at the foot oi the steep hills they wash, for they nil the entire l)readth oi the valley. Ancient elm trees, with long and drooping branches, bend over the water, the ash- leaved mapl(» actjuiros dimensions not seen since leading Eed Iviver, and tlu^ Mi-sas-ka-to-mi-na is no longer a bush, but a tree eiuhteen to twenty feet liiuh,and loaded with most luscious fruit." All tliis, and no doubt nuieh 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 liiver, such kinds are evidtnitly better suited for cultivation than much o\! tht» poor -id scarcely arabh^ lands' we have been endea- voring to brinu- under si^ttlement in the Ot awa and Huron ter- ritory. Ini\>rtili» prairie lands, even of the worst description, are easily travi'lled over. They present no obstruction to com- numication, such as our rng^red woodlands do. The hunting bands drive their carts over them on natural roads, as good as 45 our colonization voads, which, imperfect as thoy are, cost a hun- dr(?d 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 allord pasturage for numerous herds of huHaloes, it is evident they may do the same for domestic caxtle and slieep. When we read such descriptions, uud turn to Mr. Hind's lar^e map of exploration that accompanies his report, as publish- ed oy the Canadian Grovernment, and see large tracts, watered loam, marshy in many places," (thirty miles of this in one tr 'ct apparently) ; " rich black soil ; " " rolUng prairie of sandy clay !'^ '' level open prairie, full of marshy i)onds ; " and in the first great bend of the Souris, a tract of twenty miles, l)y ten apparently,, with several streams issuing from it, of " slightly undulatini.. 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, withoiit the trouble and cost we have in Canada in clearing and in taking out stumps and s tones, Ave are led to believe, that if these expressions have been used with accuracy, which there is; no room to doubt, considerable tracts of this region, not included in the fertile belt, commonly spoken of, are really far from being quite unlit for settlement. These particulars are noticed here because, from the circum- stances of the large region in which they occur, being naturally in generalizing excluded from tht^ fertile comitry, 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, ad- joining to the w^estward, which has also been classed as valueless and unfit for settlement. AVith 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 rc^gions, may well de disre- garded for the present. 4f) CIIArTEK X l-ERTILK LAND ON TllK ASSIMliOlMv Ab'coiuliiiy: tlic Assiiiil)oin(' IVoiu its mouth lor upwards of seventy miles to the Sand Hill, the country throuv^h which it Hows is described as bein«2; of the same rich alluvial charact<»r as on the Red Uiver ; with the advantaj^e of never b«>ing sub- ject to inundation. Beyond that is the sandy tract, lifty miles in lenp^th westward ; south of the river it connects with the dry prairie lanrls already mentioncnl ; on the north side it extends twenty miles back I'rom th(» river, to the ^reat fertile re*;ion north of it. Then, for about a hundrtxl miles further west, to where it turns northvA^ard at the mouth of the Ou'Appelle, and for nearly fifty miles north of that, the Asshiiboine may be con- sidered as the boundary between the <];reat fertile prairie reg:ion and the c'lually great region of lignt 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 hnndreil and lifty 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 Kapid River, indicates their general character. Of it Mr. Dickinson of the Canadian exploring party says : " The valley is about eighty leet below the general level of the country ; the bottom of it is from half a mile to a mile in width, through which the river winds its way, llowing rapidly and uniformly ; it is about fifty feet wdde, and at this timi^ (August) five feet deep. There is no appearance of the valley l)eing flooded. There are large open llats occurring frequently, on both sides of the river, w^here the richness of the grass and thi^ bi^auty of the A'arious llowers prove the great fertility of the soil, places marked out by nature to be cultivatetl and inhabited by man. There is abundance of good sized poplar and balsam, spruce suiTiciently large for build- ing and farming purposes. I followed the course of the valley down to its junction with the valley of the Assiiiiboine, (a hundred luiles,) and for the greater part of the w^ay it is rich and fertile, as is also the land ad.ioining "Within a lew miles of the Assini])oine the country changes considerably, the soil is much lighter, and the trees fewer and smaller." A strip of sandy ground o^xtends for eighty miles above the Eapid Kiver along the north ]->ank of tht^ Assiniboine. Rapid River is navigable for a hiuidred 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 47 alon*;* Kxploi'iilory Kxpcditioii ol' 1858, alLor di'.scril)iiie a low flat country, abounding in lakes and marshes. On its coast, on the north"{^ast shore of Lake Maniiobah, Mr. Dawson states thri I'rom the marsh Avhich li<^s l)ehind its high shingle T)i»ach, a rich alluvial soil rises gTadually to a moderate height, not su})ject to be Hooded. The s(^ction it shows, \vhere traversc^d by the Little Saskatchewan, is less faYora1)l(?, having much very \o\v ground , which is natural, as the river would seek its way over the lowest part. As it is a limestone country and thickly wooded, the soil must necessary be very fertile, where there is depth enough of it ; which should at least frequently be tlie case in a low level country. AVe may expect that it will be i'ouud so when explor(^d : but it is of little present importance. Kound the south end of Lake Manitobah, for a circuit of about tifty miles, the soil is that of the richest description of prairie land. Hie few si'ttlers consider it even superior to that of ixed Riv(^r. It is an undulating country of mingled woods and oj^en imiirie. The White Mud Kiver, a stream of about eighty miles in length by its course, which has itssouri es in the southern skirts of tlie Riding Mountains, and Hows eastward' to the south end of I^ake Manitobah, is described as passing xh?ough an exceed- ingly beautiful and fertile country of prairies,, thickly inters- l)ersed with ^voods, the soil of which is a rich i: andy loam. This \'ery rich prairie land extc^nds south^^^ard to the Sand Hills on the Assiniboine, and eastAvard to Ked Kiver. Between the ui;)per end of Lake Manitobah and the Kiding Mountahis, and around Lake Dauphin, ther(» is much rich ground, and much of it vcn-y marshy. Mr. Dawson and Mr. Hind agree in thinking these marshes could geiu^rally hn drain- ed, and w^ould ibrm rich meadows. But Mr. Hind does not con- sider the country on the shores of these lakes, and between them and the Riding and Duck Momitains, as generally suitable for settlement, excepting the south end of Lake Manitobah. Mr. Dawson's opinion is more iavorabl<\ owing probably to his greater experience of rugged countries like th(^ Ottawa and »'astern districts, where the standard by which land is estimated is not so high as in the western parts of Canada. Mr. Dawson statx^s that "the country bordernig on th<» western 4 50 •'xtroniit y ol" ljuk(! Winnipogoos i.s, in ^euoral, of a fair elevatiou. ane remarkably fertile ; between the Red J)(M!r Kiv<'r and Swan JUver," (a distance of seventy-five miles;, " a 1(^V(^1 (country extends to the base of the Porcupine HilLs. It is \v<'ll wooded, and upon the whole, I consider thi> tract Wi'll ada]>l('d lor st^ttlement." THE DAUPHIN lilVEll, l^'jjorliHij: on iIk- liiver iJauphin, Mr. A. AVells says, " that JK a line stn;:inj, forty yards bro.-id, having five feet of water in ilie shallowest j)arts. Its b.Miks are of a strong gray clay, covered with black mould aijd timbered with oak, elm and po]ilar,"' iiiid ;i(lds, '• Ihcre an; several plaei.'s on the iJauphin kiv<'r where Ihe Indians grow potatoes, Indian corn and nK'loiis." THE iLEI) DEEJi KIVEll. The Mod Deer Iviver, which falls into the north-west end of ]jak(^ W'innipegoos, is said to How through a country that is very I'ertile. The fact that maple is to be found there in consi- desrable quantities (as noticf^d by Sir Ah^xander McKenzie) is a favoiable indicaiion alike as to soil and climate. It is a stream of about two hundnnl miles in length by its course. THE 8WAN 111 VEIL The Swan. K*iver, which enters abay of the north end of Jjake WinniiM'goos, after passing northward through Swan l^ake, is al)oul two hundred miles in lenj^th by its course. Speaking of it Mr. Dawson says: "Ascending from Swan Lake for two miles or so, Ihe ])anks are raiher low, in the succeeding ten miles ihey gradually attain a height ol' lU'arly a hundred feet, landslips oci'ur in many places, where the banks are high, ex- posing an alluvial soil of great depth resting on drift clay, or shale of a slightly l)ituminous ai)pearance." " .About thirty miles above Swan Lake, the prairie region fairly 'ommences. There the river winds about in a line valley, the iKudvs of which rise to the height of eighty or a hundred feet. Ueyond these an apparently un})roken level extends, on one sidf, for a distance of liltiH>n or twenty miles to the Porcu- ])ine Hills, and for an e(pial distanct; on the other, to the high tabl(»-land called the Duck Mountain. Prom this south-west- ward to Thunder ^fountain, the country is the finest I have ever seen in a state of natiu'e. This prospect is boimded by the blue outline of the hills named, while, in the plain, alter- nate wood and prairie present an appearance more pleasing m than ii' either entirely prevailed." Leaving Swan Kiver to cross P'ort I'elly, he says, " the road then Ibllows for some distance a tributary of Swam liiver, whieh runs in a beautii'ul valley with alternate slopes of woodlaiul and prairi(\ Numbers of horses were quietly feedin<^ on the rich pasture of the valley as we passed, and what with the clumps of trees on the rising: i>Tounds and the stream windin*; amon^ green meadows, it seemed as if it wanted but the presence of human habitations to jjjive it llie appeanince of a highly culti- vat(^d country." This description carries us round again into the rich prairie country, already described, on the up])er course of the Assini- boine, which, as before observed, is bounded on the east by the I'orcupine, the ]Juck and the Hiding Mountains. It is in a broad valley betwee]i the two latter that the Swan River linds its way eastward. THE roUCUPINE, DUCK AND KIDINH> 310UXTAL\S. These m.ountains are thickly covered with wood of a large growth; they rise gently, is successive plateaus, iron the prairie plain, which is much higher than the low country on the shores of the lakes east of them. Taken together, they extend in a curved hne of two hun- dred miles in length, nearly parallel to the Assiniboine, about half way between it ana the Lakes Manitobah and Wumi- pegoos. Mr, Hind gives the Ividing Mountains an elevation of a thou- sand feet above the land on the shore of Lake Manitobah ; and Mr. Dawson estimates tlu? l*orcupine Mountains as rising to about fifteen hundred hn^t over the plain at their eastern base. The Hiding and Duck Mountains art^ more ])roperly described as portions of the elevated disk of the high plain country on the Upper Assiniboine, wliicli rises gently from the prairie in suc- cessive plateaus, thickly wooded, to the summit, falling east- ward in abrupt descents to the much lower country along the west shores of Lakes Manitobah and Winnipegoos ; presenting towards them a mountainous and lofty aspect. Rising 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 l^ro lessor Ilmd as line land, heavy clay soil supporting a ibrc^st of very large white spruce, poplar, birch, aspen, ike. ; the white spruce girthing from five feet six inches to seven i'oQt threes inches. In Mr. Dawson's report, the table land forming this summit of Duck Mountain is described, from information obtahied, to be of rich soil and heavily wooded. Porcupine Mountain, besides being higher, rises in a more definite form from the plains at its base. 52 NAVIOATION OF LAKES MANITOBAH AND WINNIPP:G00S AND RIVEll lilTTLE .SASKATCHEWAN. As the Little Saskatrhewan, th(? outlet of l/uke Manitobah, is a line iiavis»;ahle stream of Sinc^i hundred and tilty leet in breadth, and the AVaterhen lliver or 8an;ether with th(!se lakes an un])rok(Mi line oi" water communication from Fort Garry to Mossy lV)rta«i:(\ :it th(> head of Lake AVinnipegoos, a distance of about live hundn^d mili^s. Mossy rorta,u;e, which is only about four miles and a quarter in k>n<2:th, throuti:h low trround, connects the head of IaiIu) AV'in- nipe^oos w^ith Ctvlar i^r-kc on the River Saskatclicwan, above its irrtnit rapids. A short ctuuil there Avonld unitt' tln^ naviga- tion by these lakes from Fort (.varry with that of tln^ lti\'er Saskatchewan, (from Cedar Lake U])\vards) which for ii'^arly a thousand miles in-esents no grcniter obstructions to navigation than are to ))«> found in the Uiver Ohio. This would ibrm u line of wat(»r comnumi cation of about lifteen hundresd miles in length from Fort(rarry to the foot ofthellocky Mountains. By ascending the Assiniboint> seventy miles to Prairie ] ortage, and canalling ])y the l\at Kiver and White Mud Kivt'i about twenty-live miles, to the south end of Lake ALimtolah, the distance to the Saskatchewan woidd be shortened by a huiidred miles. A cheaidy construchxl shallow canal, wi<)i a good length and breadth of lock-pit, would he suflicie'i^ tln^re for large business. The character of the Saskatclcnvai.. . s a navi- u-able river, will be further noticed. ciiAPTEii :vn. THE I'tlVEll SASKATCHEWAN A\D ITS COUNTRY. The term country is more properly applicable than valley to the. region di-ained by the Saskatchewan and its tributaries. The country through which the two great arms of the Saskat- chewan have their courses, being a portion of th<^ great interior plateau that slopt^s down eastward from the liocky Motmtains, it does not present th(^ aspect of a valley. The term Aalley is more approi)riately api)licable to the deep hollows, in the gene- i.dly pliiin (xnintry, in which its rivers ilow. The north and south branches of the Saskatchewan, ns before iner.'ioned. have th 'ir sourci^s in the i^)cky Mountains but a le\s- milt"; npart ai'out latitude 51 '^40' N. : that is alxMit a hun- tind aiidei:_dity-live miles north of the United Stntry boundary. N 5;j to ICS. vllt- •ior ins, is nie- 1^'rom their m»arly common source the North Branch (liver<>esi north-eastward, and the South liranch or Vnnv iviver soiith- eastward, till at two hundred and lil'ty nules due eastward they attain a distance oi' three hundred mil(>s Irom each otln^- ; the iSouth r>ran(;h bein«^ there within ibrty-l'ive mih'sol" the I'rontier. Then <2:radually a])proachiRo-, they meet at live liundred and iirty miles eastward I'rom their source. The len:th of th«; kSaskatchewan, from the souree of the South Branch, ( wdiich is the main stream.) to Lake AVinnip(>ranch, as measured by Thomj)son, the total Ieny rapids and Tails. The total area drained by it is fiv' liundred thousand miles, or one-seventh more thnn the (lan»i:es 'inwaters. By the careful mei surt^ments ol" Mr. Tleming, of the ('ana- diaii LxploriuiT l^]xpedition. th(^ volunx^ of water passing in the North Branch, in the mouth of August, w as 25,2«)4 cubic leet per second, or one-Hrth more than thi' mean volume of the ]{hon(% bv D'Aubuisson ; and that of the South Branch was 84,285, or 585 feet more than the mef of the Khine, by the same authoritv. Measured below the lorks. where it is 980 feet 54 wid« and 20 feot in average d<^pth, that of tlie main Saskat- chewan was 59,067 cubic feet p(;r second, or nearly three- quarters of the mean discharehind. As to the country in thi^ viciniy of the Grand Rapids, I*ro- fessor Hind .ays it is " very favoi'able lor a road, and even for a settlement, as th(! l)anks of the river are high, with a consi- derable depth of good soil, I'rom the second rapid east of Cross Lake to n(»ar ]^ak(i AVinnipeg," a]>oui eight miles, and adds, there is also abundance of timber for f u 4 and building. The S(;cond rriid referred to is at four miles above thi^ bead of the Grand Rapid. 1'. is fully a mile long, with a fall of seven and a half feet. From this up to Cedar Lake, which is twenty mih^s iVom Lak«» AVinnipeg, there is a succession of rapids and swift currents, which, with the rajjids jtlready mentioned, make a total descent of upwards of sixty ieet. Cedar Lake is thirty mil(>s long, and twenty-five miles in greatest width. 1^'rom the foot of it the riv(>r is navigable for steamers, without inti^rruption, up a hundred and eighty miles to Tobern's ]va])ids. North of C^edar Lake the country is described as low and flat for a long distance back ; the niain land and islands well wooded with })alsam, spruce, birch, poplar, tamarack, cedar, • when it is considered that the Ottawa draws it8 waters from a cold, high and densely-wooded region with innumerable deep lakes, the cause of its great vo- lume will be at once apparent. 55 aiid Banksean pine. Low beds oi' horizontal limestoiu* ai)i)ear in the islands, and " a considerable portion of the land is rei)orte(l to be swampy and unavailable lor )iij:riculturalpuri)oses." From Cedar Lake up to Marshy Lake, about forty miles, the country on each side of the rivcvr is not more than ciiiihteen 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 Hoods cover these flats every spring, depositing a very rich miul, which is raising and extending them. Much land has })een so i'ormed within the memory of the natives. No high ground is to be seen on either side, and the Indians report that th(M-e is nothing but boggy swamps behind for many miles. Up to near the niouth of the Pasquia Kiver, which is about eighty-live miles in direct distance from Lak(^ 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 considerable tributary. The river banks are there ten or twelve feet high, the soil a dark mould over drift clay. Here the exploring party found farm houses and lields of grain. The banks, however, continue low alluvial, with a rather low country behind. Around Cumberland House (about 11 (i miles further), the country is low and flat ; '' the soil in some places is a stiff clay, but in general it consist of a gravelly loam a few feet in thick- ness, covering a l)ed of white limestone, supporting a light growth of poplar and birch," with occasional groves of spruce : much of it is submerged in spring floods ; many of tht^ marshes could be drained and improved without much dilliculty. Here we have reacluHl a very favorable country for agricul- ture. Speaking of the twenty-nine miles abov«! this, Mr. Fleming says : — " The general character of the couiitry we have passed through to-day is excellent, the soil beting rich, and the timber of a fair quality." Of the forty-seven miles succeed- ing, upwards, he says he " passed througiv an excellent tract of country all day, the soil on both sides of the riv<'r consisting of a very rich alluvial deposit, ten feet in thickness above the water, well wooded with large poplar, balsam, spruce and birch; some of the poplars measuring two and a half feet in diameter; and, as far as I was enabled to ascertain, the land continut^s good i'or a great distance on either side, ])iit more esi>ecially on the south side of the river." Of the fifty-three miles next a})ove that he says that it is " well adapted for agricultural purposes and settlement, the soil being a rich alluvial loam, of considerable di»pth, well watered and drained by many fine creeks, and cloths lurUior, lill, approachim:: Fort a la C'orno, tho iirini(Hliat(> ])anks Ikh-ouki gradually hi'^hcr, a!i(l iho blufl's thai iorin Ihc cdiijo of the }ii nnl(\s south ol' the Saskatchewan, into which it lalls al'ter a courso of ahout two hundred and forty i.iiles. Professor Hind estimate's that there are three millio'.i.s of acr(>s of land of the iirst quality hetweiui it and the Saskatchewan. ClIArTEU :\iii. TIIK SOUTH BKA\(MI OF THE SASKATCHEWAN. 1 mraediately above the Forks the South ]>ranch of the Saskat chewan is only a hundred and ei; the distance last mentioned, it assum(\s th(> character of light trTeater part of the liiver (^u'Ajipelle and its tribu- taries, and which, with some considerable exception, is de- scribed by Dr. Hector and ('apt. Falliser. as extendinjj? westward 58 over the South Suskatcliewim and its tributaries, nearly to the hilly country at the ham^. of the Rocky Mountains. Continuhiic about sevt^nty mil«\s further in the same south- southwest direction, or nearly a hundred miles by its course, the Elbow of th(^ South Braiu^h is r(Mc;hed at two hundred and ten, or what is usually callcul two hundred and fifty miles from the Forks. In the commencemtnit of this distance is the " Moose Woods." a rich alluvial expansion of the low valley 9! the river, partly wooded, with rich glades betv\^een : it is twenty-lh e miles in len;lit prairie land, the r Kiver, down to the Vorks, at two feet a mile, ])ut says that those who are acquainted with the river From boating upon it consider it navigable for steamers. The distance is about 340 miles. IS a FEUTILE GROUNDS NE.VR SOUROES ON SKIRT OF ROCKY MOUNTAINS. Beyond the inlertile region the upper course of the South Branch to its source, about a hundred and sixty miles, is among the Uocky Mountains and their lower outliers, where the country is generally ^vooded, 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 Kivi^r, 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 ^ ^ ^w^ .0^, \^^^^ % IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // // ^ >- I n ia|2A 12.5 ^^ lit |ii2 ^ m 111.1 l.-^KS 1^ War "^-^ ^1 li — A" .^ ^ ^1 ^j>'' •^ '/ /A Hiotographic Sciences Corporation ^S ^ <> 4^ 6^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MSM (716) •72-4503 w ^ GO parts ; oi" line pruivic bottoms, tuixl othois partially covorcd with scrub jvnd willow, mid iin<' streams ; ot passiiifij ibr throo days in valK ys within tlio outlying parallel ridges, " loss wooded than previously passed, beinj? for considerables part through line imiirii^ slopes," the main ran occasioiudly at a distance^ oi' thirty miles, throu«j;h iiups in the nean^r moun- tains, of undulatinp: prairie ; oi" the trail passinj2: between nu- merous wooded ridire^, and says " the soil of the valleys was usually a dvop dark mould, supi)oriin«;- a luxuriant ve<>:elation, of the smaller plants. This was the nature of most of these mountain valleys. Where the strata is \ipheavi'd the i»:round is of course rocky ; such, however, is not oit<'n the case m the valleys." Continues to say " soon after we 'A'ain^'tl the heio-ht of land between the Speeehee and IJt'lly Ivivers, and the wide prairie valley of the latter hurst upon our view." He then descended a short distance and camped at an elevation of four thousand I'eet abo^ve* the s(^a. This elevation, which is the same as that of Bow Fort, is doubtless too p:reat to admit of the cultivation of AVheat. Coarse j::rains and vep;otables, however, mi<;lit seemin«:^ly be cultivated. ])r. Hector mentions that some of the Indians who have been converted to Christianity cvdtivate little plots of ground i:t Bow Fort, and that their princii)al c^*ops arc turnips and potatoes. This speaks little in favor of the climate of this locality, but on the otlier hand it is to be remarked that even this cold ele- vated re<::ion presents an advanta<;:e ibr cattle feedinj? that we do not enjoy in Canada, w hich Dr. Hector especially notices, and describes as extendinie{t in canallin*^ past the Grand Kapids, for the vessels employed on Lake A\ innipe^ would have to be much stronj^er than what would be suita])le on the t!?askatchewan, so transhipment would be necessary at anv rate. From the foot oi" Cedar Lake to " Tobern's Falls," Captain Munn says, the rivtn* is uninterrupted by anythin«? to impede navij^ation : the distance is said to be a hundred and eighty miles, — i)robal)ly not over a hxuidred and sixty. To])ern's Rapid, Captain Blackiston says, is certainly not navigable at low, and h(^ doubts much if it be so at high water, but adds that the dillerence is so great that it is Iiardly safe to say. Damming, with lockage, to gorge the rapid would seem ne- cessary there, or a tram-road past it. Above Tobern's Falls, (-aptain Munn .says, that for eight or ten mih'S the river is wid<; and shoal, with intermediate rapids, not navigable at low water. Captain IJiackiston, K. E., who ascend(^d the river to Edmonton, is of opinion that there are no obstructions from Tol)ern's Uapids up to Coles' Falls or liapids above the forks, (a distance of about a hundred miles,) which could not be surmounte asct»nt por mile is j^eut, and the. rapids coniinuo lor ri'2:ht(MMi miles of that dis- tance; the current is six to seven miles an hour when the water is hit^h, })y Troiessoi* Mind's observatioii, a rate ofcuiTent by no means insurmountsd)lel)y aslc^amer oliair power, but lor safety to v<^ssels the boulders should be removed Irom a sulhcient width oi'lhe chunnt^l. Almve this, lor the dislanet^ of two hundred and eighty miles, the ascent p(^r mile is very niuih loss than in the lower part of tli(^ river. It is estimated })y Mr. Thomi)son, who surveyed it, as bein«? from six to nine inches per mile, and for a hundred and ei<;hty miles further, up to Edmonton, at two feet a mile, less than half the rate of descent of the Khojie from Aufjjnon to the sea. F^rom Edmonton to within forty-three miles of Rocky Mountain House, Thonipson states Hii^ ascent to be four feet to the mile. Captain Uluckiston «^ivt's tlie a \eriiROl^)RTION OK ARABLE LANDS IN SOUTH HALF OF CENTRAL PRAIRIE COUNTRY. We have now gone over that part of the great territory under •^.onsideration, drained by the Saskatchewan and other tribu- taries 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 extent of surface drained by the Saskatchewan and other tri- butaries to Lake Winnip<*g which we had the opportunity of 65 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 oi the great circum-arctic zone or lor jst which occujiies these latitudes in the northern hemisphere. This line, which is indicated in the map, sweeps to the north-west from the shore ot Lake Winnipeg, and reaches its most northerly limit about 54^30' N. and long. 109® W., irom whence it again passes to south-west, meeting the Rocky Mountains in lat 51® N., long. 115® AV. Ikcween this line o{* the ' strong woods ' and the northerly limit of the true prairie country, there is a belt of land varying hi width, which at one period must have been covered by an extension of the northern forests, but w^hich has been gradually cleared by suc- cessive iires. " It is now a partially wooded country, abounding in lakes, and rich m natural pasturage, in some parts rivalling the finest park scenery of our own country. Throughout this region of country the climate seems to preserve the same character, although it passes through very different latitudes— its form being doubtless determined by the curs^es 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 would 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 agri- culturist. Its elevation increases from 700 to 4,000 feet as we approach the Rocky Mountains, consequently it is not equally adapted throughout to the cultivation of any one crop ; never- theless, 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 ex- tent of above 80,000 square miles, and is that lying along the southern branch of the Saskatchewan, and southward from thence to the boundary line ; while its northern limit is design- ated in the Indian languages as the ' edge of the woods,' the original fine of the woods before invaded by the tire." The fertile belt thus described by Captam 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 geographical square miles. We have here, then, in the portion of this territory explored by Captain Palhser 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. Tms, 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 Cypree Mountains 5 66 south ol" tho Soutli liranch oi' the Saskatchewan above th" Elbow, described as a raiii^e elevated 1,000 i'eet above the plahi, covered with liiu^ timber, aboundin«; ill excellent grass and well wat(;red ; nor does it in(;lnde the parts described as ij;ood of the wooded country on the west side oi' J^akcs Manitobah and Win- nipeL!;()()s. ii' tiies*^ were included, to say nothiui? ol' -ground nortii ol' thi' line ol' " thick woods," not yet converted by iires into prairie, the tolid w(nd(l probidjly amount to one hujulred thousand square miles estimated by Mr. Dawson, in his eporl, as suitable Ibr settlement. It wcmld ])e absurd to expect any country in a slate oi" nature to bo all equally lit to receive the plou«>;h at once. The one-thir foot Wlo the level of the Kurroundiii'': i)lain. At alxmt forty miloH lower, it receivos, on the south, the Peiuhiiia, a river about two hundred and iifty miles in leu'^th ; at thirty miles lower the Lesser Slave Lake Iliver from the North :— th«* lake is a hundred miles in len«>:th. the river from it about forty. From this it makes an t'llmw south-eastward, and then turns nearly north, which 'general direction it miintains, to its UKUith at Lake Athabasca, receivin-j: midway, at a hundred and iifty miles from its mouth, Clear \Vater Jviv«'r, on th(» south-east, from Methy Portaijje. The whole h'nf::lh of tlie Athabasca is nearly nine hundred miles. Sir John Richardson de.scrilx^s the Atha})asca, at its junction with the Clear Lake lliver, as a majestic stream, between a quarter and a hall' mile wide, with a considerable current but without rapids. Sir /lex. McKen/ie says it is a])out three c^uarters of a mile wid(\ and runs with a steady current, some- times contractin«5 bur never increasin*; its channel, till, after receivin*^ sevrral small streams, it discharj^es itself into the Lake of the Hills (Lake Athabasca.) He mentions that, about twn>nty- four miles below the mouth of Clear Water Kiver, there are some bituminous fo'^ntains, into which a pole may be inserted without the least resistance. He mentions that, iii 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 (McKenzie) 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 iiOl 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 com])ined waters of the Athabasca and the Peace River, under the name of Slave River, flow northward to Great Slave Luke, in what is de- scribed as the fracture between the Silurian and primitive rocks. Mr. David Thompson and Sir John Richardson describe limestone as prevailing throughout the lower course of the Athabasca, generally under beds of sandy soil saturated with bitumen, sometimes of great depth. Thirty miles below Clear "Water River the limestone beds are covered with bituminous deposit, upwards of a hundred le(»t thick. The roots of living trees and herbaceous plants push themselves deep into beds highly impregnated with bitumen, and. Sir John adds, the - T" ./ 71) IbrcKt whcro that minoral is most ahundimt (1op8 not siifFer in its growth. Ho statos that below IJivion* liouy:<', a trilmtarv^ a copious snrinp: of mineral pitch issues iVom a crevice in a clitr, comiwsed of sand and bitumen, in the middle of a thick wood. It seems rather to increase than impair the fertility of the soil. iUdow Piern an Calumet, he says: "the whole country, for many mih's, is so full of bitumen, that it Hows readily into a nit dap: ii l*'^^■ !*'*'♦ below the surlace. IJelow Clear AVater ]{iver, he speaks of pretty thick layers ol' li«j:nite coal ai)pearin}^ in one of the clills. On the upper part of the river, above Fort Assini- i)oine, l)r. Ib'ctor states that lii2:nite coal ajjpears in the banks, thou<;h not so much as in the JSaskalchewan. The Athabasca country, *' from M«'thy Tortaije, westward," Sir John liinhardson says, " though deeply lurrowed })y river courses and ravines, and more* or less thickly wooded, i)artake8 80 much of a prairie charact«'r that horsemen may travel over it to Lesser Slave Lak«' and the Saskatchewan," (three hundred and lifty miles,) and adds Ihat in 1H40 a line body of upwards of forty horses came throui^h early in the season, and in j^ood condition. The followiii'j: extracls from Mr. Thompson's journal indi- cate the nature of the soil and climate of the upper AthaV)asca, en route from li)dmoiitou to the Forks of the Athal)asca. He says " he set olf with three men and live horses on 19th Aprils 1790, rivers open ; 20th, ^vhite frost in the morning, l)Ut line warm dav. " 21st. V^ery fine day, throui»;h thick woods, much wet pround and deep mud, small prairies occasionally — reached the Pem- bina Kiver in the ai'ternoon in a fim* meadow. " The soil for these three days has been in j^eneral a very fine black veranks. sinkinp: to low ones, or valleys, then swelling? to hills 200 to 240 loot hi^h with small pines, mossy surface, the soil is now mostly a bluish clay mixt'd with marl. ' 2nd. " C'ano(» birch trees, many of them 2^^ to 4 feet round ; found a i)opliir two fathoms round." Here we have evidence of a country of varied character, but presentinjjj in its sandy earth, blue clay, and a hundred and lifty miles of jjjenerally rich black mould, a p:r»nit deal of lair arable land, much of it of the }>est quality ima«:^inable ; and with a sprinj? quite as early as Lowt»r C'anada jrenerally. lint it is important to notice that it im'sents somethin<^ of much value, that we have not in Canada. Dr. Hector nn'iitions that where he crossed the l{iver Pembina " a bed of coal is ex- l)osed in its banks ei'or the last one hundred and twenty miles its naA-i«j:ation 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 AVater l^iver, one of its tribu- butari(»s, towards the eastern side of the section of territory we have under consideration, lookiiitr on it from an eminence. Sir Alexander McKenzie says : '* From thence the eye' looks down on the course of the little river, by some called the Swan liiver, and by olliers the Clear TO Water and Pelican River, beautifully meandering lor thirty miles. The valley, which is at once refreshed and adorned by it, is about three miles in breadth, and is confined by two lofty ridges of equal height, displaying a most delightful in- termixture of wood and lawn, and stretching on till the blue mists obscure the prospect ; 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 waraith as well as to its fertility. CHAPTIilR XIX. THE PEACE RIVER. The Peace River is the largest branch of the River McKenzie. Its head waters lie bevond the Rocky Mountains, where its north and south branches drain the great valley to the west- ward, between the Rocky Mountains and the I*eak Range. Its south branch is about two hundred miles long, and its north branch, the Fmdlay River, 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' N., long. 126® W., about two hundred miles from the Pacific. A little eastward from the .lunction of its branches, the Peace River traverses the Rocky 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 River is nearly due east for two hundred and forty mile.-^, to Fort Dunvegan ; pas- sing Rocky Mountain House nearly at half way. F'ron Dun- vegan its course is northward lor a hundred and forty miles, then nearly east-north-east for about three hundred and thirty- five m;'les, to its mouth. Fort Vermilion is about two hundred and fifty-five miles from its mouth, and the Falls, of about twenty le(^t in height, are about forty-five miles below it. The whole length of Peace River, rejecting lesser sinuosities inappreciable on a good map, is about a thousand and fifteen miles ; which when added to the remahiing course of the Mc- Kenzie, makes the length of that river two thousand four hun- dred and seventy miles. The delta of the mouth of Peace River, and the country bet- 78 ween 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 Earts covered with grass, it is clothed with wood. Where the anks are very low, the soil is good, being composed of the sediment of the river and putrilied leaves and vegetables." Where they are more elevated, they display a face of yellovvish clay, mixed with small stones, (hi a line with the Falls, and on either side of the river, there are said to be very exten- sive plains which afford pasture to numerous herds of buffa- loes." He says, " The banks of the river from the Falls are in general lofty, except at low woody pohits, accidently formed in the manner I nave mentioned ; they also displayed in all their broken parts a face of clay, intermixed with stones ; in some places there likevdse appeared a black mould." Speaking of cultivation, he says, " There is not the least doubt but the soil would be very productive, if proper attention was given to its preparation. At low water the Peace River does not exceed a quarter of a mile in breadth below the falls ; at the falls it is four hundred yards. Its width up to the Rocky Mountains continues much the same, sometimes attaining eight hundred yards. It has much less descent than the Saskatchewan. From Dunvegan to its mouth, about four hundred and seventy-five miles appa- rently, but which Capt. Lefroy, probably quoting the reputed distance, called six hundred and fifty miles, there occur, he says, but the falls mentioned and a few rapids : the bed of the stream preserves a nearly uniform inclination, rising only three hundred and ten feet. He says the stream is more rapid above Fort Vermifion than below it, and that the depth of the bed of the river, below the surroimdhig country, increases with great uniformity upwards. About sixty miles above Fort Vermilion, where it nas cut through alternating sandstone and limestone cliff's to a bed of shale, it ffows at a depth of two hundred feet below their summits. He adds : " Th(? general elevation of the country, however, still continut^s to increase, and at Dunvegan it is six Iiundred feet above the bed of the stream ; yet even at this point, except in approaching the deep gorges, through which the tributaries of Peace River join its waters, there is little indication of an elevated country; the Rocky Mountains are not visible, and no range of hills meets the eye." Captain Lefroy gives 1,000 feet as the elevation -J the country al:)out Dunvegan above the sea ; and the region in wliich the 74 ># river has its sources is probably four times as high, according to Sir J. Richardson. In latitude and longitude corresponding with Dunvegan. ho"\\ever, McKenzie speaks of the Deer Mountains i)eing seen, at a distance to the westward, as " an immense ridge ol high- land or mountain s which take an oblique direction from below the falls." He adds, under date December, 1792 :" Opposite our present situation are beautiful meadows, with various animals grazing on them, and groves of poplar irregularly scat- tered 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 quitted this morning, the west side of the river displayed a succession of the most beautiful scenery I had cA'er beheld. The ground rises at intervals to a consi- derable height, and stretches inwards to a considerable distance ; at every interval or pause in the rise there is a gentle ascending space or lawn, which is alternate with abrupt precipices to the summit of the whole, or at least as far as the eye could distin- guish. This magnilicent theatre of nature has all the decora- tions which the trees and animals of the country can aftbrd it ; groves of poplars in every shape enliven the scene ; and their intervals are enlivened with vast herds of elks and buffaloes ; the former clioosing the steep ui)lands, and the latter preferring the plains. At this time the butiiiloes wcn-e attended with their young ones, and it appeared that the elks would soon exhibit the same enlivening circumstances. The whole country exhi- bited an exuberant verdure ; the tree s that bear a blossom were advancing last to that delightful appearance." lie adds, " the east side of the river consists of a range of highland covered with spruce and soft birch, while the banks abound with the alder and willow." As it was on the 10th of May that ]\IcKenzie found things in this condition, it is c ndent, not onl^^ that it is a fine country, but also that the spring is earlier than ni the most favorable parts of Lower Canada. We might suppose that this was an un .usually early spring, Avere it not that the meteorological observations of Mr. Da^id Thompson, at the same place, give quite as favorable indications as to the climate. Only twice in tho month of Mav, 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 30 ® 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 Montreal, for seven years out of the last nine, the first frost occurred between 24th August and 16th Sep- tember. Elevated as Dunvegan on Peace Kiver is, nine hundred and 75 ten feet above +He sea by Lefroy, so von 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, Novn Scotia, lat. 44® 30' N., as given in the table of temperatures a few pagss 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 arrange- ment for utility. The milder winter of Halifax would oe comparatively valueless at Dunvegan, but it is of the utmost importance at Halifax, which owes its open winter navigation to it. Nothin*^ conclusive con be based on one year's observations ; but combined with other indications of climate, they afford fa- vorable evidence. From what McKenzie says of the country about a hundred miles above Dunvegan, it would seem very lin'orable 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 fr ^ther, twelve miles above Sinew River, he says : " The land a;jove 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 stallyard, from the state of the ground and the quantity of dimg that is scattered over it. The soil is black and light." Two days' journey, by tlie 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, cypress, poplar, white birch and willow, and of travelling through tall pine woods. Soil light, and of a dusty colour over gravelly clay. The .iver still from 400 to 800 yards wide, diminishing to 200 where confined. It is here passing through the Rocky ISIountaiiis, which do not lise 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. I 7(i On the 27th ot* May the troes towards the bases of the moun- tains were, he says, putting Ibrth their leaves. It is worthy of remark, as indicating earhness of spring in these mountain val- leys, notv\'ithstanding their great elevation and consequent cold- ness, that the putting forth of the leaves here six)ken of is a day or two earlier than it was with us in the neighbourhood of Ottawa this season, (1807.) Towards the Forks of the Findlay and South Branch he speaks of the mountains behig covered \Aath wood. These wooded slopes and valleys of the mountains may bo noticed as presenting a supply of timber which may, in future times, be valuable for the use of the prairie re^«*^«^*< '.^.:m- ■> ■■•:«#"■■ '■■■ S- 1 4* :'i^ .-te^^a?^ .;•*»- -:.:■;'■( ■^'.:it- ,.vf '•^ f-**^ V" ^^'^^^ ■^■ ■■■■■■■• .>^« .^...••iV,-^:*fTv- ■» ■■-. K^.fl .■■ r - ^^!S .'•VC? •:.,.v;v*^s»i4Si^^- .:-f .■■. .^.;>«>';•-::;;iV!^^A^i ^■•'■X'' *; ' -■■■-''- ■•.■-■'.■■--■ -kj^*- v-t. ■-!7-2v: ¥£flt^' .'Sr-7 ■'fi' j^N^.^**-; ■*-ii>?p5w<* 8s^i%>:^ ^M'SJ Ci'i >7t '^^H.At-'i^Jliil ^SSmMS<^: 0®*! IjKti P«?K* s ^i'j THE SALT SPRINGS AND Bl'FFAI.O rHAlHIE, I v^ y^ ^:, •••^..' - '.. •^': • ;" -*"■'•' " „■ 'v-.' .«»••; • ' •■ ' ■ ., ■\ '* ■ ■ i?^*^ „'■■ • •!' %j- ■; 1"^ V7V ■'.':•: V '. ''4 ■ -.. •',. ,,r ,v_ : • y ,;^, s » ' ■* ;'• ,l'f .>,' ., ..-. "x. l<.' ,*■"." ' ' "' * '. ■>23. ►«•■* --.J i", r" ■'.■#>■. i*.-.-. BUFFALO PHAIRIE, NEAR SLAVE RIVER, N. W. T. i I s T7 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 RIVEK. Hay River, a tiibutary of Slave Lake, is nearly lour hundred miles in length. Three-quarters of its course lie within the section before us, of which it unwaters the north-eastern corner. It has two branches ; the west one rises in Hay Lake ; the other rises not far from the banks of Peace River, and flows at no great distance from Fort Vermihon. The country on this branch is described jy Sir J. Richardson as an agreeable mix- ture of prairie and woodland, and frequented by vast bauds of buffaloes. This, he says, is the limit of those vast prairies which extend I'rom New Mexico. Below the forks of Hay River the country on it is covered with forests, and intersected with swamps. THE KIVER OF THE MOUNTAINS. This large tributary of the McKenzie is formed of two ^eat branches beyond the Kocky Mouiitains, which it traverses about seventy miles 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 course, enters the McKenzie, at Fort Simpson, after a course of about seven hundred and fifty miles. It is half a mile wide at its mouth. Its low^er 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 noi-th. Speaking of it, Richardson says : ''^ Though this 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 ^owth and quahty. Barley and oats yield good crops, and m favorable seasons wheat ripens w^ell." This place, then he adds, " en the 60th parallel may be considered as the northern limit of the econo- mical culture of wheat." A little further he says, " Mr. Mc- Pherson had most kindly set aside for me a cask of excellent corned beef, cured at the fort, and some bags of very fine pota- toes raised at Fort Liard, with several other things." '^ The great elbow of this river, with its eastern branch, which I 78 has a conrsi> ol' a])()ut a hundred and seventy miles, together with Smith's branch which enters above it, on the north- west side, drahi the north-west angle of the section under con- sideration. As tb >; outlines of this section were assumed to include, in a •general way, the extent of country lit for a<^ricultural occupation, the parallel of latitude GD ® was adopted as its northern boun- dary, from its bein^ apparently the northern lii.iit of the pro- htable cultivation of wheat. Such bein<:: the climate at that latitude on the River of the Mountains, it may reasonably be assumed to be fully as favo- rable hi the country extcndinf., two hundred miles Irom the Paciiic, has an annual mean of about 5*2 ® . Hudson's Bay being an expansion of th(» same cold i(('-l)ear- ini^ Arctic \yatcrs, has the sanui eo()linay extends— ;nid that is half-way between the Straits of IJelle Isle and the Paciiic— that we lind any ij^reat chan«»:e in the direction of the lines of ecpial mean annual temperature. Yet, thouiL^h the mean annual temperati.p remains nearly the same in <^oin|jj due westward so far, the climate for a<^ricurtural purixDses improves very much after leavin«; the sea coast. Thus, 3lontreal has a mean temp»'rature for three summer months of 08^, while that of Halifax is only 01 ®, aiul Green Bay, Lake INIichii^an, in the same latitude as Halifax, has a summer mean of 09 *^ , though its annual mean is only 4f '^ . =* "West of Lake Superior, about long. 94 *^ W., the lines of equal mean annual temperature curve to a north-wi'st direction, and mahitain it diagonally, through this section, till dellected again to the southward at the high grounds at the base of the Kocky Mountains, where the rapidly increasing ehn'ation reduces the temperature. The result of this rapid increase of heat westward towards the Paciiic, except where interrupted by the elevation and con- sequent cold temperature of the Ivocky Mountaiii ranges, is, as w^ould appear from the observations of Mr. Havid Thompson, that Dun vegan, on Peace Uiver, lat. 50 ^ 17' N., has a mean an- nual temperature of 35 ^51', equal to that of Fort William on Lake Superior, lat. 48 "^23' N., with a mean t(»mperature for four summer months. May to August inclusive, of 0-2 "^ 9', while that of Fort William for the same mojiths is only 57^13', or 59 ^ 9' for the warmest three of them ; yet Dunvegan is about five hundred and forty miles further north than Fort William. Even Fort Simpson, in lat. 01^41' N., on the river of the Mountains, about a hundred and fifteen miles north of the assumed outline of the section now before us, has a mean • 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, probably, owing to errors iu instruments and oversight as to the posi- tion of them. 80 Munmor tomiioratiiiv for three months, of 59® 48', and for live months, from May to >5eptomher, inclusive, a mean of 55 ® 15', lUMirly the same as that of Fort William, which for the same months is 55 ® 32'. Fort Simpson is about nine hundred aind lifty miles further north than Fort William. The followijif^ table will allbrd the means of further com- parisons : HI Tablk of Mkan Tkmi'kkatuukh in the NoutiiWmt TKUKiTDitv amjCanaoian i*uovixi:i;.H ( 'omi-aukd. Mo.NTIIS. c 9 tl 2 ■«■ . ' ^W O ^^A • 2 -To . "^ rS C ^ ■*^ "^^ C C 1' c i i ■w r w .J 9 - J ili 2 " c^ , CS — < 1 1 -:^>'' f^t ••-, w o ^*3 > 0) Jl S 4,.'5 •/. c — s 4?:i 1 O C /. O/Tt r f U e- y* i/ /t April 31".42 2")' 37". 5 3.S" 37".G 37".9 ;;9'..^3 41».2 May 4s".s7 50 ' 47". 3 4^0 G4» 5I".G 5s".4G 51 ".5 .Juno r)S».73 59' 54". 5 50 '.3 G4".5 GT'. 1 I>9\10 Gl" July G2M9 r)-;''.s4 70' (>0' 59".7 r)2'.3 r,3".7 G3'J GO" G7".5 G5''.9 7l".IG G3".3 GG".3 August G5".7 September 4M«.lf) 4s" 55> 57" 55" 57".C> 59 ',26 57".4 October 41".SH 39" 45».7 47" 40' 44'.G 42". 20 45" \fojin TiOM)! 50'. 14 5R3S 53". is ! 54".s7 55".45 57".5S 55" 44 Do. of tliree sum- mer months. . . . SO''. 92 G3' 1 aso.oo 1 G()'.7G 02". 50 G5".50 07".7G 64".33 November 23".43 U" 37". 5 39».3 14".G .34". 1 21". 19 3G".l December lK«.l(i 5' 25".5 25". 7 -4' 17". 7 -s".3I 27" .January ry.To 5' ISU.f) 25".0 •7" 11".7 10 '.55 24".8 Fobrutuy b''.22 2' 21 ".0 24".3 2" 14"..s -1".71 23".7 March ooo -J 2 fi' 28".(J 29".0 22".5 25". 1 f9'.0':) 30". 2 Mean 15'».G4 5".H0 20"'.24 28".66 M".42 20'.Gs tl".94 28"-3G Do. of tlie year. . . 35'\69 31«.6() 40'. VK) 42".G9 35".51 40\99 34".39 44MG • More correctly about 600 feet. t Citadel Capo i) iainoad. a Sir John Richardson. 6 David Thompson, 17H9-90. e " " 1H03. c Tables by Mr. J. Murdock, of St. John's. d From a paper read by Col. Byors at the Nova Scotia Institute of Science. fh. Lieutenant Ashe. g Professor Hind. G 8-2 I' It must bo observed that Capt. Blackistoii gives the mean summer temperature at Fort Grarry at nearly four degrees less than Mr. Hind, who admits that necessary corrections had not been applied to the above observations used by him, but says that he thinks the winter observations too low through probable error in the particular instrument used by the observer who made them ; but as Capt. Blackiston made use in part of obser- vations by the same i)ersoii, the inieriority of the instrument might possibly slightly affect Capt. Blackiston 's conclusions. Lorin Blodget, in his climatology, gives Fort Garry a mean summer temperature of 65 '-' , whi(,'h corresponds with that as- signed to it by Cirovernor iStevens in his rei>ort of Pacific Kail- way ki^urveys. Blackiston and Hind, however, agree in the mean annual temperature. Climatologists, according to the European practice, divide the year into four seasons of three months each, in their tables. Such division is unsuitable in our iiorthern countries for the consideration of the climate with a A'iew to the practical pur- poses of agriculture. As it is more natural, owing to the sudden- ness of the transitions from one to the other in Canada, to con- sider the year under two gi-eat divisions — the frozen and the w^ann seasons — the mean of seven months for the latter and five for the former, are shown in the foregoing table. Admitting an error of four degrees in Professor Hind's sum- mer temperature, w^hich the corrections would chiefly affect, and deducting one-half of it, as its mean, from the temperature of the seven warm months at Fort Garry, the mean of them would be 55 "^58', or fully ha"" a degree warmer than the mean of the corresjionding seven months at Toronto, As the result of careful observations by Capt. Palliser's assis- tants, Capt. Blackiston assigns the same temperature as that of Fort Garry to Fort Carleton, on the North Branch of the Sas^- katchewan, above the forks. This agrees with the isotherm of riean summer of 05 *^ , as represented by Governor Stevens. He carries it from Green Bay, in Wisconsin, to the Little Falls, between 8t. Paul's and Fort Ripley, in Minnesota, by Fort Garry, and crossing Lake Manitobah, by Fort Pelly, on the Assiniboine, to the Forks of the Saskatchewan, and thence north-westward to the sources of the Beaver River. He gives the middle course of the North Saskatchewan and of the Atha- basca, the mean whiter temperature of Fort Ripley, or 10 ® . Capt. Palliser, who explored the Saskatchewan country person- ally, says its climate is somewhat similar to that of Red River, but decidedly milder in the southern and w^estern parts. There is besides conclusive evidence of such a difference. Professor Hind observed the temperature of the waters of the North and South Branches of the Saskatchewan, just above their junction, on the 5th of August, and found the latter five 8,i degrees warmer than the former. As lar^e rivers clianj^e tem- perature very slowly, this may be taken as tlu^ mean result of havinjj: flowed for ten or twelve days throujj^h a warmer climate than that of the northern branch. But the dift'erenci^ would necessarily be diminished as the rivers approach their junction in a common climate, and consequently must have l)een ori!:2:in- ally much j^reater. The south-western i)arts may, therelore^ be five dians Professor Hind found a considerable diilerence in favor of the lower part of the l?outh Branch as to the ripeninp: of wild fruit. A hundred and fifty miles further west, at Chesttn-held llousej though the elevation there is about two thousand feet above the sea, the mean annual temperature is stated as 39 '^ , or nearly 5 "^ warmer than that of Fort Garry. DEPTH OF SXOW. In considering the climate it is proper to notice that the snow does not fall so deep in this section of territory as ^ does in Ca- nada, which is of considerable importance, 'is regards the j'eed- in^ of cattle in winter and facility of travelling, and will be still more so in the use of railways, for which this country is, in other respects, so unusually well adapted. The ordinary greatest depth of snow in the IJed River settle- ment is about eighteen inches, and people ride freely every- where through it all winti'*. l^^astward towards the thick wooded comitry the depth increases, but it decreases in the plains to the westward, though where there are wooded tracts it accumulates to a greater depth. It IS an ordinary well-known fact that deah^rs in stock, resid- ing in the Ked Eiver settlement, who purchase horses irom the prairie Indians, for the purpose of selling them in the American markets,winter them at large, in droves of a hundred and upwards, in charge of herdsmen, in the prairies where there are clumps of wood, from ten to forty miles west of Fort Clarry. The horses find abundant food there, under the shallow snow, to keep themselves in good condition. Their other cattle the settlers feed at home on hay, which is very abundant. The winter of 1867, from the dr^te of its commencement and the suddenness of transition from mild weather to hard frost, resembles a lied River winter. At the Touchwood Hills, west of the Tipper Assiniboine, Pro- fessor Hind says that the snow falls two and a half feet deep i the woods, and not unfrequently eighteen inches in the plains where aspen groves are numerous. He says, so rich and 84 abundant is the Acgotation here that horses remain in the open glades all winter, and always find plenty of Ici-asre to keep themselves in good condition. Speaking of the country from two hundred and fifty to four hundred and fifty miles westward, Dr. Hector says, the \vinter of 1858-9 had been unusually severe, as far as the quantity of snow is concerned, and yet the average depth of snow, wnen undisturbed, as in the woods, was only about eight to twelve inches, throughout a large district between Battle Kiver and North Saskatcnewan at Edmonton. Towards the Mountains, in a south-west direction, the quantity is still less ; but during the early part of April, after the snow had nearly disappeared from Edmonton, a series of storms from the North visited the neighborhood of Fort Pitt, so that in the middle of April there were from three to lour feet of siiow on the ground. The great quantity of sno\v at that time, and at that parti- cular point, was no doul)t as unusual as the severity of the season. Speaking of the whole region to the Kocky Moun- tains, and of what he calls the immense extent of winter pastu- ruge that it alibrds, as ])eing a most valuable feature, he states, as before quoted, that "iit is only towards spring, in very severe winters, that cattle and horses connot be left to feed in well chostMi localities throughout this region of country." From these facts as to climate, it evidently appears that we have, in a very great part of this central prairie country, an open or summer season of seven months, the mean temperature of which is fully as warm as that of Toronto for the same period, with a winter season of five very cold months, but clear and dry — as cold as the northern parts of Minnesota — a winter fully colder than that of Quebec, but without its obstructively deep snow, or the drawback it presents in the difficulty of feeding cattle through it. Now, in a cold country like ours (where the frost of winter interrupts agricultural labor at any rate), if the seven open summer months be warm enough, it matters little to the profit of agriculture whether the cold of winter be a few degrees more or less, provided it does not increase the cost a:id diffi- culty of feeding cattle. But we see that in a great part of this section, that condition at least is highly favorable, and even in the remainder, owing to the great abundance of natural hay ground not requiring the labor of clearing usual with us, it is more favorable than in Canada generally, but especially so to the poor settler, who has, with us, to clear otf heavy woods, at much cost or labor, before he can raise hay for his cattle. It is true that with increasing settlement and density of po- pulation, these most valuable wmter pastures may cease to oe used as such, but that will be only when thsy have become still more valuable for cultivation, and that condition cannot arise withoutthe settlement of the country beinj? accomplished, which above all things is the object desired. But even then it does not appear that the advantage of winter feeding, which the very shallow snow admits of, need be lost in the country towards the mountains, fov there the cattle could feed on clover and turnips on the ground, as they now do on the natural her- bage • or the wild vetch, to which it owes its richness, might even be improved by careful cultivation. "While considering the climate of this si^ction of territory, we have to bear in mind that it is not on climate alone that the fitness of a country for the profitable prosecution of agriculture depends. Within certain limits, quality of soil and character of surface have even more to do with it. Abundant crops of coarse grains and hay are more profitable than scanty crops of wheat. But in the rich lands of this central prairie country, the farmer can get wheat crops lar heavier than in these pro- vinces. It is no exaggeration to say that there are vast tracts there, now vacant, where he could have wheat crops more than double the average returns of Lower Canada, and keep a far larger stock of cattle, with far less labor. The character of the surface is also to be taken into account. When we consider how much the use of machinery is in future to reduce the labor and increase the profit of agriculture, and the favorable nature of the soil and surface of this prairie country for its application, together with its great lacility of internal communication, without ihe heaAy expense of opening roads that we have in Canada, and its inexhaustible supply of coal on navigable rivers, with its valuable metals and other minerals we have every reason to believe that settlement, and the profitable prosecution of agriculture, will be carried north- ward, to an extent it would never attain in a rugged and less favorable country. CULTIVATED CROrS AND GREAT RETURNS OF WHEAT. Little can be said of cultivated crops in the section of terri- tory we have designated as the Central Prairie Country, except in the Red River settlement. As already stated, Sir John Richardson has given the line of latitude 6i)^ N., (the assumed northern boundary of this sec- tion,) as the limit of the economic culture of wheat, and says that at Fort Liard, on the River of the Mountains in that lati- tude, barley and oats yield good crops, and potatoes are of an excellent quality, and in favorable seasons wheat ripens well, and gives good returns, but that it does not ripen periectly every year, owing to summer frosts. This is ten degrees, or nearly seven hundred miles, further north than the Red River 86 Settlement ; failures of wheat crops from frost might be ex- pected 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 near Hudson's Bay, that is, beyond the limits of this section of territory ; and David Thom- son, many years ago, the Astronomer of the Hudson's Bay Company, states in Tiis 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 prevalence of marshy ground near it, the climate is much less favorable than furtner up the Saskatchewan. As might be expected from the richness of the soil, where settlement has taken place in this territory, on the Ked 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 returns A'ary from thirty to forty fold, or bushels to the acre, as it :s 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 ex- pected ; and Professor Hind mentions a settler who had ob- tained fifty -six bushels of wheat to lh(» acre, simply by judicious ploughing. H' 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 large deduction were made from them for error and exag- geration, as is generally necessary in suoh cases, the Red River returns would still far exceed those of Uppe^ Canada. But this sui)eriority is not witliout apparent causes in the richest 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 Mi?inesota, 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 d (Agrees further north, is stated by the officers of the Imperial exploring party, from careful thermometrical observation, to b3 at least equal to that of the R('d River Settlement, and they and others agree in stating that the warmth of climate* of the valley of the Saskatchewan, southward and westward from Carleton House, is still greater, till neutralized by elevation in approaching the Mountaiub. It is proper to observe, that in the colder parts of this Central 87 Prairie Country, where from elevation or extreme northerly position failures of crop from frost may occur, the deficiency may be more than balanced by the extraordinary returns, in all other years, which the richness of the soil may yield. To return to the Eed Kiver 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 moht prairie lLi,nds, which is attributed by Mr. Lane, of the Hudson'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 luxu- riantly 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 settlements of the Red River and the Assiniboine. When we take into considoration the extreme richness of tiie 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 manufac- ture of sugar, A\'liich should be more profi talkie than the impor- tation of it, so far inland, where the transport in, ol' it, and out of the produce in payment ibr it, will l)e expensive. The cultiA^ation of hemp and flax, which grow of an excellent quality, may be of considera))le importance, especially the latter, for domestic use, ns well as for exportation, on the intro- duction of machinery ibr th(» preparation of it, and the opening of any even moderately avantageous outlet for such products. Woollen, linen, leather, and other light goods, would be the most advantageous to export from fi country situated so far inland. Central CHAPTER XXII. COAL, PETROLEUM, AND BUILDING MATERIALS. In describing the great Central Prairie Country, or region generally suitable ibr cultivation, in which prairie land is more or less prevalent, it has been noticed that wood lands more generally prcA'ail in the north half of it, whih^ m the south half of it, on the waters of the Saskatchewan and the Red River and their tributaries, the extent of prairie lands is very much '^Rt 88 greater than that of wood lands. The eastern parts of the latter, on me lakes Winnipeg, Manitobah and Winnipegoos, and on the Sas- katchewan below its forks, and the broad parallel belt of high- lands lying to the west of th^ 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 adjoining country, with wood for all purposes, for generations to come. Towards the Kocky 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 the 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 Assiniboine may be supplied by its eastern tributaries, from the forests of the highlands mentioned, and the prairies of the Red River from the w^ood lands on its upper course, and when these fail, from the wooded country on the eastern tributaries of Lake Winnipeg. The River Winnipeg, which unwaters a wooded region pro- bably little inferior to the valley of the Ottawa in area, has timber enough of a useful description to form the staple of an extensive lumber trade, for the supply of the prairie country to the westward. The timber 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 proportion of woods, and advancing northward they predomi- nate. Speaking of this region, Mr. Dawson says: " The streams that flow 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 section, of which, however, less is known, poplar predominates ; but on the borders of the lakes and streams, larch, spruce, birch and 89 oak are to be found of a size and quality available for economic purix)S'^«5." Mr. Dawson is unquestionably a good judge of the subject, from his extensive previous experience in the lumber trade. Professor Hind speaks of forests in the valley of the Assini- boine, one of which he describes as lour 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 being clothed with fine forests, which he describes as extending also from thirty to seventy miles up its western tributaries ; and at intervals beyond, on the Qu'Ap- pelle, he says, good timber is found as far as the Mission. In prairie lands, the abundant supply of timb(;r, which enti- rely wooded countries afford, does not exist ; and in the absence of pine, poplar and spruce have to be used for building pur- poses. 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 under- valued through prejudice in a great degree. Of all the deci- duous 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, that stood upwards of a hmidred years, perfectly sound to the foundation, when cut open. It may not accord with present ideas to say so, but before the pine of the Ottawa becomes ex- hausted our extensive forests of poplar will be valued for lum- bering purjwses and brought into use. In our interior territories spruce timber, on account of its lightness, its straightness and its strength, will take the place of pme, for engineering purposes ; and birch, on account of the fineness of its grain and its strength will be ser^iable for fur- niture 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 ave- rages 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 kind, of the interior. In bridge building I have found it to last nearly twice as long. "VVe have no data on which to determine the comparative durability and integi-al strength of the timber of our interior territory for engineering purposes. . Great size gives squared timber an increased value in Euro- pean markets, but the small dimension into which our large 90 Ottawa timber in invariably cut, in preparing sawn lumber for home use and exiwrtation, shows that great size is of no impor- tance generally lor home use, excepting for the greater quantity it gives. White spruce is harder to saw and work up than pine, and with us it is less durable when exposed, but it is stronger, and its length and straightness make it very suitable for building timbers. According to Sir John Richardson, oak, ash, white pine and pitch phie, are not to be found north of the valley of the Sas- katchewan, and are not prominent there, and white spruce con- tinues to be the predominant tree alike on rich and pjoor soil. Though of a small growth near the Arctic Sea, it wa- " and in some instances, in sheltered positions, to attain the si' e of from three to five feet in girth, even there. Balsam, poplai and aspen skirt the streams, and white birch is found chielly, though not exclusively, in rocky districts. It attains a fair size as lar north as latitude 65 ® N. From the foregoing, and the descTiptions in detail given of the ditfereiit parts of the south half of the central prairie country, it will be seen, that for prairie land, the supply of wood, distributed through it, such as it is, seems sufficient for the supply of settlements in it for a long time to come, if carefully used. As for the north half of it, lying beyond the Saskatchewan, and the line of the strong woods, the abundance of the supply of timber in it is not questioned. But ill view of the time when the forests and scattered woods, especially of the south half of this central prairie country, may become inadequate for the supplying of fuel for an increasing population, the great deposits of lignite coal in the western and northern parts of tliis territory are of the greatest imjior- tance. Nor is the supply of peat fuel that may be obtained, by im- proved methods of prei:>aration, from the bo'^s in the eastern parts of it, in and near the Ked River Settlement, unworthy of consideration. As it has already become more economical to use it tlian wood as fuel, in the vicinity of Montreal, it is natural to think that it might before long become advantageous to use it as fuel in prairie country. In his report upon the drand Trunk Railway, Capt, Tyler, R. E., says that peat fuel can now be furnished" on the cars of the conipany at $3 20 a ton, which is more serviceable than a cord of wood for use in locomotive engines ; that it can be more conveniently stored and used than wood, and computes that the company will save c£40,()00 a year by using it. It is to be borne in mind that this is in Canada, iwssessing the boasted advantage over prairie countries of alnuidance of wood ; and not by a manufacturing establishment located in a city and obliged to pay 91 the high prices current there, but by a company owning a rail- way traversing nearly the whole of Canada proper, enabling it to supply itself wherever it could do so with most advantage, and the cost of wood fuel to them must necessarily be not the price of it in towns and cities, but the average cost of it in the country places along the line. Apart from the shallow but ex- tensive muskegs or marshes, the deeper bogs, near the Red River Settlement, would seem to present the vegetable matter necessary for the manufacture of this fuel. LOCALITIES WHERE LIGNITE AND BITUMEN HAVE BEEN OBSERVED. Proceeding northward from the United States boundary, (lat. 49® N.,) brown coal is shown by Dr. Hector's geological sec- tion at La Roche I'erce, Coteau du Prairie, about long. 103 ® W., lat. 49 ® 30' N. on the Souris or Mouse River, a tributary of the Assiniboine ; and in that direction a bed two feet thick was seen by a Mr. Pratt. Brown coal is also shown by Dr. Hector's section, in the Hand Hills. On the Red Deer branch of the South Saskatchewan, which it enters a hundred and thirty miles above the Elbow, an ex- tensive deposit of coal is noted by Dr. Hector at a hundred and seventy miles from its mouth, and also at a hundred m'es further up. Capt. Blackiston says it is there in bed so close, that of twenty feet of strata exposed, twelve feet were of coal. It is also noted on the Battle River adjacent, to the northward, at two hundred and fifty miles above its mouth. The Battle River enters the North Saskatchewan a hundred and seventy miles above the forks of the latter and the South Branch. On the North Saskatchewan Capt. Blackiston described coal as prevailing, with little interruption, in beds two and two and a half feet thick, from a little below Edmonton, upwards, for two hundred miles. Passing northward to the next stream, the Pembina, a fine navigable tributary of the Athabasca, Dr. Hector iound, \^'here he crossed it, a bed of lignite coal exposed, eight feet thick. On the Athabasca, above their junction, he says coal appears in the banks, but not so much as on the Saskatchewan. The lower course of the Athabasca is described by Thom- son, in his manuscript journal of the year 1799, as abounding in bitumen, presenting strata hi parts six to twelve feet thick. Sir John Richardson speaks of deposits of sand on it a hundred feet thick, charged with slaggy mineral pitch. As already men- tioned, in the description of the Athabasca, he says that at Pierre au Calumet, 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 9S into it ; and that bolow Riviore Rouge there is a copious spring of mineral pitch (lluid bitumen or petroleum) that issues from a crevice in a cliff' composed of sand and bitumen. Sir Alexander McKenzie mentions that twenty-four miles below the forks of the Athabasca there are some fountains of bitumen in a lluid state, in which a pole of twenty feet may be inserted without resistance. It was used along with gum from the spruce and fir for gumming canoes. Such abundant deposits of petroleum, for the siipply of coal oil for the use of these interior countries, and for other eco- nomic uses, are of much imiwrtance, and enhance the value of this territory. Below the mouth of Clear \Vat<»r River, Sir John Richardson notes lignite coal as appearing, in pretty thick layers, in the bank of the Athabasca. 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 Stew^art informed Sir John Richardson that there were beds of coal on fire on Smoky River, a Southern affluent, which iohis the Peace River opposite Dunvegan, a hundred and fifty miles further south, and that there were beds of coal on Lesser Slave Lake, a northern tributary of the Upper Athabasca. As these points are about tw^o hundred miles west from the lower course of the Athabasca, 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 Lake, near its discharge ; and, as al- ready mentioned, 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 conside- rable extent, and that the Garry Islands, b^hig off the mouth vi 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 con- dition of lignite. Some is of very recent formation or yet being formed, lilie that of the vast deposits of drift wood m the co- nical hills at the mouth of the McKenzie. 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 grain or layers of wood. Specimens of pitch coal are spoken of by Sir John Richardson as resembling Spanish liquorice, and also of slaty coal from Edmonton on the Saskatchewan, like that gathered from the shale cliffs of the Athabasca. This coal of Edmonton, Captain Blackiston says, is preferred to charcoal for smith's work, pring from miles ins of lay be a from jf coal er eco- ilue of ardson in the ! Peace re Coal lardson nithern egan, a re were f of the mndred that, at ich coal though it is said to require rather a strong draught, an objection that would not seem to lie against the lignites, subject to spon- taneous combustion. In some cases the lignites were found heavily charged with bitumen, whilv) others are much sili- cilied. The following talkie, extracted from a good work on metal- lurgy, shows the dill'erence in calorilie value of several kinds of European lignite and of varieties of peat, c()mi)ared with some descriptions of wood and Newcusllo coals. It is proper to notice that the lignite coal of the Namaino mines of \ ancouver's Island is stated l)y IJr. Hector to be only ten per cent, inferior to the true coal of the carboniferous epoch. It would seem, therefore, to bo much superior to the European lignites given in this table, which, therefore, does not show the highest value of lignite. 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. .men on id, asal- banks of the Bear conside-^ nouth VI akes fire [son and land con- ret being [n the co- the beds rved. In •e is lost, jmboidal lof wood. Ichardson 2oal from [from the I, Captain 's work, lU tabij: ok tifk calouific values of various kinds of fuel. NAME AND LCX^ALITY. Coo 3 " O --" nvoriigos, Vari(>ti»'s of IVat. Poat I'rom 'IViiy*'-* *' I Iain, JV'p. <1(» la Soi>iiii(> *♦ IJassy, Jh'p. do la .Monic ** Koni^shniiin Win h'liilMM'tr, . . « Framoiit, J)o|). < \'<)s<;(\s. .. From Alliui in Ireland, rpitcr " *' '• Lower Brown Coal. Li,ijnit<\ avorijic-i. S;iint Martin (l«* \'au 2".». 2 32. 4 34. «.) 02. 7 no. () 47.10 .')1.20 ftl.OO 47.00 46.*)0 43.00 41.70 0'<.HS 72.(K) 0'.>.s3 0^.01 05.08 30.57 2S.30 32.07 29.70 31.00 32.H4 29.54 Borthier i" riffiths. Borthier. 1 J- Philips. Berthier. Winkler. Berthier. ii Winkler. n 05 ?UEL. ClIArTKU XXIII. ?ortlu<^r. liriffithB. Berthier. ^Philips. erthier. inkier. Jerthier. u Vinkler. INDUCEMENTS OFKKHED HV IMI.MUIi: L.WDS T«) SETTLKKS. The chi(;f pocuHar lulviuitii^v ol" our Central rrniric Country as II Hold lor scttlomiMit, lies in tho (;oml)iuatiou it, oUcrs ot' prairio and wood lands ; the lull advnnhijj;!^ ol* -which can be appreciated only by those' who hav»' had pra< ticid experience ol'tht'- ^-reat and continut'd labour retiuired to clear off and cul- tivah^ a new I'arni in a wooded country, and i\\i\ obstruction it presents to the inakinjjj olthc^ roads necessary lor the lorniation of new settlements. Much is said ol'thi^ advanta«^e ol'the superior supply of wood for fuel and fencin«^, allbrded by wooded countries ; but these arc indelinitely over-estimated by many in comparin«i: the facilities for settlement ollennl by prairie lands and wooded countries respectively. Such a comparison can Ix^ best ap- proximated by reduciuji? the matter to lij^ures as far as pos- sible. For th(^ benefit of those who an; not acquaintiul with the labour of makin*? a farm in the backwoods, I may «^o into par- ticulars. The lirst and most obvious cause of expense*, in money or labour, is the necessity of cleariniL!: oil' the wood ])efore the hind can be even imperfectly cultivated, the average cost of which is three pounds live shillin<>;s an acre ; but as th(» stumps still remain, an outlay of twenty-five shillings an acre may be set down as to be nicurred afterwards in getting rid of them. Where the stumps are of pine or the land stony, the cost will be much greater. In general, pine stumps, if removed at all, v/ill cost at least five shillings a piece, and some will cost twenty-live shil- lings. We have here as one item, at least four pounds ten shillings an acre, of expense, to be incurred, on account of the wood, before the land can be brought thoroughly under the plough. This is the cost to those who can pay for the labour of skilled backwoodsmen, accustomed to the use of the axe, who can do twice as much of that kind of work as the emigrants from Europe, even though accustomed to other kinds of hard labour. To the farm labourer from Great Britain, whoso time and industry, if applied to the cultivation of i)rairie land, would be even more valuable than that of the backwoodsman, the cost of clearing wood land, in money's worth of his labour, will be twice as much. If he be very young he may learn the use of the axe perfectly ; if not, he will never learn to use it so as 1>« U) \nt al>iii U) do as much work with it as the native backwoods- Jiiaii. As l>y far the 'greater jjart of the emigrants who settle in the woods have to clear their I'arnis f>y their own unskilled labour, adinittin'^ <;v<*n that they becom(; v^radually more i)roficient, the coHt to tlicm iji tlieir own labour, of clearing their farms and removing!; the Htumi>s, may, on a low estimate, be set down at liv't* pounds ten shiliiiiiis sui acre. ! (l'> not here speak oltlie vahie which their labour in clear- in*^ wouM coniniaiid. No on*' would ^ive th<'m such a price lor it. I am speaking': of the yii\m\ of the labour unavoidably lost by them on account of tln^ woods. Here we have, then, to a family cleariui; a farm of a hundred acr<'s in t«'n or lilli^'ii years, a loss of fi\'(^ hundred and fifty poiuids oil account of tlu^ woods, 'fhe settler ex])ends all this, and tenor lift(*en years of the best of his life, in toilsome^ stru'j^'j^les to c(mvert his farm into su«;h proportions of open and wooded land as the settler on the. partly woodetl prairii; lands iinds his when iirst he goes to it. Tln^ latter can adopt a re;j:ular system of cultivation ten years sooner than the other, lie can put as much land under the plou'^h, and reap the fruit of it, soon after commencing, as the former can do after ti»n or lifteen y(»ars of crushing toil in clear- ing land, which necu'ssarily consumes much time which he would gladly devotee to uioro extensive cultivation and rai- sing largi'r crops, w^ere the woods not an obstruction to his doing so. Besides this relief from heavy toil and time lost in clearing, theri^ is another advantage of prairie land that would operate strongly in the settler's favor, the full value of which can only be appreciated by a man who has made a beginning in the uni>roken forest,— an advantage that would tell immediately to the px'rsonal comfort antl benelit of the settler and his family — that is, the inlinite abiuulance of the rich grass for summer and winter food of cattle, with wdiich lie w^ould be sur- rounded, The new si'ttler on prairie land can keep as many cow^s, for y of his familj may sun his means to jnirchase, from the iirst day of his settle- the supply of his family with milk and butter and cheese, as it ment ; lor his i^isture and meadows are already m abundance before him, anil in favourable places the cattle can even find the chief part o( their wintiM* food for themselves. But it may be saiil all this is far from market, and no money ctui be made there. That is true of all remote territories, newly oiHMied for settlement, like the United States territory of Ne- brikska and tlie remote parts ot Minnesota, to which we assu- redly know that settlement will How nevertheless, and create its own outlets. We have also to remember that of the mvriads in oi' the iiidutJtrious ])oor juul iinompJoyctl it i.s evidently fUc^ destiny ol'lew only to make inonoy. The million want 'inde- pendences and abmidunce ol' food and elothini;- ; and to obtain them easily is much to them ; all whieli, this ienilory, even in the meantime, oilers them, with much less toil than lliey ean he had in the backwoods of Canada. It is not surprising-, thereiore, that so many European Cmi- i::rants pass through Canada to seek the i)rairi»' lands ot the Uuited States. Even old and successful settlers in Canada have Ibund it much to their advantage to do so. But there is another heaA^y charge against settlenuvnt in wooded countries. That is, the obstruction our dtaise forests present to the spread of settlement, and the expense; that has to be incurred in making roads through them. It takes an expen- diture of more then a hundred pounds a mile to make a, road tlirough the woods as passable as the natural suri'ace of the; prairie, by the innumerable routes it oilers ; and when a load through our forests is made, it gives access only to thes land immediately on the sides of it. \Vhen the settlers strike from it to reach the lands in the back concessions the obstacle is ttgain encountered, and the expense of opening the roads com- mences anew. It is a moderate calculation to -iuy that for every s(iiiare mile of forest country'" settled, an expense in money or labour of .€100 has to be incurred ultimately in making roads, or, what is worse, the settlers have to endure in hardshij) and diffi- culty of commvTnication a much greater loss from the w ant of them. Here again the i^racticai man only can duly appreciate the magnitude of the obstacle and the expense it entails ; I s])eak from experience, having superintended the making of ui}wards of three hundred and lifty miles of roads through wood«'d coun- tries in Canada, within the last thirty-seven years. The facts mentioned may assist in showing more delinitely the loss, or cost of the obstruction, which the forests, in wooded (•ountries, entail upon the settler. They will help to exi^lain why many of our own people as well as European ^'migrants prefer going to the prairie lands of the West to settling in oui- wooded country, especially since the western peninsula of Upper Canada has been all taken up, and we are obliged to fall back on rugged and partially arable territories, inl'erior in chmate, and generally so in soil. Our forest lands have the advantage in the more abundant supply of timber for fencing and fuel, to a certain degree, over the mixed prairie and wood lands ; but it is to be borne in mind that great districts of our Central Prairie Country have, in their immense beds of lignite coal, a supply of fuel, lor ever, which places them in a fair better position than some of the old 7 98 settlements of Cauada, where wuod for fuel is already deficient, and ■ • rapidly becoming more so. CHArTEIi XXIV. WHY WE IlEQUIRE THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORIES. Apart from the general reasons which make the acquisition of valuable territory desirable, there are some of a special na- ture which render the acquisition of this North- West Territory, or the great part of it suitable for settlement, of great impor- tance 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 left, fit to attract and receive immigration on a large scale, as we formerly had. We require it because there our young men, and immigrants from Euroj^e, may find the rich prairie lands, ready for cultivation, which they have now to seek in a foreign coiintry. The acquisition of it ibr that purpose is desirable, also, as a means of preserving our chief staphs of trade— our timber, by relieving us from the necessity of converting our most valuable timber forests into comparatively worthless fields, through waiit 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 de\'elopmont of its resources, in connection with the present Provinces of the Dominion, may give a wider market and a greater demand for our manulactures, and exten- sion to our commerce in the manufacturi^s of Great Britain, an:ian I>ay or Lake Huron, i'orm to lviv(^r Ottawa is reputtd to have an area oi' eij^hty thousand superiieial miles, ])ut it may prove to be scar- cely seventy-seven thousand. The area of the country lyin<;- between the sources of the western tributaries of th<^ (Jttawa and the (.xeor^ian Bay is about nine thousand square miles. It is of the same Laurentian i'ormation, and Ijein?^ similiar in character g-enerally to the adjoinini? part of the Ottawa country, may be classed with it — making too-ether probably an area of about eirtainty as to the extent of the valley of the Ottawa is owing to that river not having be(ni, till now, surveyed beyond four hundred and thirty miles from its mouth ; that is, to the head of Lake Temiscaming. When the surveys of its upper course, at presc^nt in proi^ress, are completed, its entire length may prove to be about eight hundred miles. Eighty-six thousand superficial miles is a great extent of country — but unfortunately the greater part of it is ground unfit for cultivation, which, in proportion to its prevalence in a greater or less degree, obstructs the settlement of the remainder. The liiver Ottawa from its tributary, the BoimechcTe, down to its mouth, at the foot of the Island of Montreal, a distance of a hundred and eighty miles by its course' — Hows throujjh the northern margin of a plain country of Siluiian formation, of limestone and calciferous rocks. These with Postdam sand- stone extend with an irregular outline from t\yo to ten miles west of the Brockville and Ottawa liailroad. This Silurian plain includes about seven thousand square miles of the country watered by the Ottawa and its tributaries. It is generally good arable land, much of it equal to the best in the Provinces. It is all organized into old settled singniories, (including those north of Montreal,) and old townshi] s, hi which there are no vacant CrowTi Lands of any considerable extent remaining. The remainder of the valley of the Ottawa, with little ex- ception, together with the country between it and Lake Huron, is of the Laurentian formation If the assumed extent of the (Ottawa country be correct, their joint area will be about se- venty-nine thousand squari* miles, apart from the Silurian tract iilready mentioned. Of this area nbout one-sixth part lias been surveyed into town- 102 Rhips. A further, and considerably larger portion, has been more or less surveyed or ezvplored, and partially occupied a» timber locations. With the exception of surveys just completed on the Montreal River and the Upper Ottawa, but little is known of the interior of the remainder, or about one-half of the entire area, even by the agents of the Hudson's Bay Com- pany ; and that little is unfavorable. From the returns of surveys mjide of townships and timber l)erihs, and of the courses of rivers, and from what is reported of the unsurveyed parts by the f nv who have traversed them it would be unsafe to estimate, at the "tmost, more than an average of one quarter of the whole area of this Laurentiau country as arable land, lit for cultivation. It is unequally distributed, in small spots, veins and larger blocks — somc^times in tracts of considerable extent. In some parts the proportion of arable 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 rugged and unarable or poor sandy land, and worthless swamps. Of these three-fourths, a considerable proportion may, and no doubt will, ultimately be occupied and brought under cultiva- tion, when the pressure of population and scarcity of land cause such an increase in its value, as to render it profitable to incur the expense of removing stones from ground that is now quite unarable. Such lands are in part occupied now , under what is' called hoe and harrow cultivation, w^here the demand of the lumber trade gives very high prices for produce, or where poor settlers are led to take them, Irom the good iirst crops to be had from a rich surface soil, to be alterwards abandoned from being unarable. It is scarcely necessary to say that it would be heartless ini- quity to induce settlers, in search of permanent homesteads, to sink their labor on such lands, when better can be had. On the other hand, much may be said in iavor of the i)ro- portion of good arable land mentioned as occurring in the Laurentian Country of the Ottawa, and Huron and Ottaw^a Territory. Notwithstanding the repulsive character of the gneiss ridges, stony swamps, and coarse 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 rather stony, and often uneven. Some otitis ; ciual to th^^ best lands in the Eastern Townships, with a better cii'mate, — though inferior in quality and in character of surface to the rich even lands of the western part of the Province. Over 103 a great extent of it durable clay loam or rich alluvial ilats are of rare occurrence. The largest and most favorable tract of comitiy to which this description would generally apply, is in the heart of the Huron and Ottawa Territory, on the head waters of the western tribu- taries of the Ottawa and rivers falhng into Lake Huron and Lake Nipissing. It embraces an area of about seven thousand square miles. By the returns of surveys about one-half of it, irregularly distri- buted, is good land fit for settlement. A belt of inferior rocky country intervenes between it and Lake Huron, about thirty miles in breadth, and a band of rugged bad land, about twenty miles in breadth, lying along the height of land dividing the basin of the Ottawa from that of the St. Law^rence, 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 Ot- tawa. Hard wood is its predominant tunber. Like all coun- tries 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 Gatineau, the chief tributary 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 banks, and also in the narrow valleys of its lower tributaries. Lofty precipitous hills of gneiss and crystalline limestone over- hang its east bank for nearly a himdred miles up. Crystalline limestone abounds a hundred miles further up, to, and sixty miles up its eastern tributary, the Piscatong. The romantic character of the lower valley of the Gatineau is very much against its agricultural capacity ; and though there is much land fit lor cultivation in so considerable an extent even of rugged hilly country— as more than the upper half of the valley is m a very unfavorable sterile region — it is probable the arable land fit for cultivation on the Gatineau will, by our present standard of fitness, be considerably less than a quarter of the area it unwaters. On the other large northern tributaries of the Ottawa, it would be imsafe to estimate that a greater portion of arable land, tit ibr settlement, will be found, than on the Gatineau. If the pro- portion of suc^ land be less on the northern tribi taries of the Ottawa than in the Huron and Ottawa territory, rich allmial ground and deep clay loam may, as on the Gatiaieau, be more frequently found. Commencing gradually, about a hundred and Ibrty miles up the Gatineau, a chaiige occurs in the character of the country and its 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 ol" the Gatineau, 104 cease to be iouiid. Ivu^god hills ol' gneiss, occasionally bare and precipitous, with a soil ol" sand or poor sandy loam in the flats and valleys, in parts burned to utter barrenness, are the preva- lent characteristics of the upper halt' of the valley of the Gati- neau, as iar as it has been explored. This description of coiuitry , interspersed with innumerabh* 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 valley of the main Ottawa, for about three hundred mih^s of its course above Lake Temiscaming, and extending north-eastwardly from it. ^' But by Iar the greater part of it is quitch unknown. It- is varied by Ihe circumstance that, in part of this upper course of the Ottawa, the ekn'ation bet\veen its waters and those of Hudson's IJay is very slight, and the clay land of Lake Abbitibbi ovcjlaps the northern tributaries of the Ottawa, and approaches it through their valleys ; but the rock formation it overlies is Laurentian, not vSilurian, 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 impro- vement. 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 River Blanche, a northern tributary of Lake Temiscaming. On the lower course of that river there is much very rich alluvial land, but it seems to be occasionally flooded. A blue clay soil extends for fifty miles along the banks of the Montreal liiver (a large western tributary of that Lake), occu- pying its immediate valley, which is from one mile to four miles in width. Some blue clay soils in Lower Canada have been cropped for upwards of sixty years, without manure, o\\dng to their durable fertility. The upper course of the Montreal River is in a poor, rough country, unlit for settlement (as as- certained by reci'nt surveys), which extends, with increasing ruggcdness, through to the vicinity of Michipicoten, on Lake Superior. At the uppc^r end of Lake Temiscaming on both sides, and in the interior between the south end oi that lake and Lake Nipis- • T am of opinion ib-^.t a largcer proportion than is now estimated 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 occupied ; but I have not yet sufficient data to enable me to speak decidedly. re and ! ilats preva- aati- imtry, upper Jttiiwa is the of the above M it. ^ upper rs and if Lake r an* coiisiiU'rnhlo tracts of land like tho bettor pari ol" tlic Huron ami Ollavva torritory. Thf ro is a lino tract ni tlio interior ot the north side, oxtondin-j,- westward i'rom tho Kivcr du^Ioino, in th(^ rrovincc ol Quobeo Thoro am seattorin*; lands ol" a middling: (luality on Blade Rivor, and loss on tlio Uivor C'onlo«> : *li n wi>i i i ^ mtmmMft^tM ->y" ■'-'■"■'--■1%' '*i'^''^'''- ■"-* '' . t '■-■'■"■■•'' ■■ ■ ' ■_ ■.■■ -.-rr." .,'f:tS^zl.^t'--' , » ■-ff ':X;-- *■ .1.' » '-- ■ '• •^'** ■"* '^ :>yi' FOUT MKTABKTCHOIAN r^X LAKE ST. .1 tgmmmmmmmmm0m\Mmtt\\ \ -e7. ,.-fe!-^.- ».iJf^;:;%-*f!:fi5-4':'.ti.:;W^rA- :. -■■■ . .c «. , ,.;..> .^ rv; .,»-f -.r A«: .... )UAX f'N LAKE ST. JOHN. UIM'KU SAGIKNAV u \ a \ 1 8 107 pown \yith advantage, and yields heavy returns, and unusually high prices are paid for I'arm produce by the lumber trade. Its minerals, lead, plumbage and iron are commencing to att-ract attention Irom their abundance. It has unlimited water power, which is being largely applied to various manufactures ; and above all, its lumber trade, which contributes so much to the wealth and commerce of the I'rovince, and under careful ma- nagement may do so for ever. TERRITORY NORTH OF J.AKK HURON. What is here stated as to the comparatiA'e inferiority of the Ottav/a 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 enterprise in the front parts of it, much enhanced by their lavorable position on the na\igation of the great lakes ; but it is generally inferior to the Ottawa country for agricultural purposes, and in its timber. The surveys on the line from the Montreal Kiver of the Ottawa, towards Michipicot(Mi on Lake Superior, show the in- terior to be a very infertile rough country, increasing in rugged- ness westward. THE fiT. MAURICE TERRITORY. Passing eastward we have the St. Maurice territory, upwards of twenty-one thousand square miles in area. It is of the same Laurentian formation as tho Upper Ottawa country, but rather more rugged and inferior to it in fitness lor 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, i^resenting everywhere the means of getting that to the market. As very much less of it has been surveyed into townships, it is more difficult to estimate the quantity of arable land fit for cultivation it contains. It has been roughly esti- mated at upwards of five thousand square miles, unequally^ distributed. Its value will be enhanced and the settlement of it powerfully encouraged by the manufacture of its timber. The industrious population of seigniories in front of it, will need the best of it with every advantage it may olfer lor their own i'xpansion. It will never attract any (considerable amount of European immigration. THE SAGUE.NAY TERRITORY. Of the twenty-seven thousand square miles drained by the irreat liiver is. about four thousand IDS seven hundred square miles is the utmost that has been esti- mated as fit for cuhivation, chiefly in the basin ol* Lake St. John, between the stern barrier of the Laurentide mountains and the still higher range lilly mili^s to the north of it, and enjoying from its sheltered position a better climate than Quebec. Though much of it is of the richest d<»scription of dei^p clay loam, a great part of the northward of the lake consists of sandy flats. What is lit for settlement is required for the surplus French Canadian population of the old s«»ttlements on the lower St. Lawrence, it oders no important scope for European immigration. TIIK KASTEUN TOWNSHIPS. And those opposit*^ Quebec are, as nlready stated, being well tilled up. THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE ST. TiAWUENCE BELOW QUEBEC. Behind the old settlements, the slopes and valleys of the Notre Dame Mountains, with much uneven though good land, have a cold climate, from latitude and elevation. (I have seen white frost on the Temiscouata I'ortage Eoad in the month of July). They present little or nothing to attract European immigration. BONAVENTURE, GASPE AND RESTIOOUCHE. The County of Bonaventure, on the Baie des Chaleurs, and the Kestigouche country lying chiefly in ihe Province of New Brunswick, from their superior soil and climate, but especially on account of their admirable position lor communication with Europe, are as advantageous for settlc^ment as the Eastern Townships, and nearly ecpial to the better parts of the Ottawa Country. The soil of the County of Bonaventure, and of the north part of New Brunswick on the lliver Ilestigouche, is a rich warm loam, free from stones, even on the table lands on the moun- tains ; and is unarable only where too steep to be ploughed. It yields heiivy crops of sproig wheat, and of oats and barley, much superior in quantity to the acre, and in quality, to those raised in counties on the St. Lawrence. The coast of Gasj^e is similar in soil, but the summer is often too cold for till} profitable growing of wheat. Its lisheri-ss are very valualile. If a direct trade w n'c opened, in coarse grains, with G real Britain, these countri(^s might, to some extent, be occupied by European immigrants. en csti- t. John, and the n.ioying: .Quebec, cp clay f sandy surphiw le lower Liro]iean ii<>: well le Notre id, have ve seen month uropean urs, and of New specially ion witii Eastern ! Ottawn Dith part jh warm e moun- loughed. d barley. , to those r is often eriv^s are th G real apied by 0\ THE J!i:^TI*)(>rillK l.noKlNfi Ti»\VAi;|); *»#^1 ? — f ■ ■ ■>■■ ■ t ./ ■"W''M'i?'*- ' ■ ■•■ - < .i. • I, ' ■ . ■ ,-■ -• t. if. •Vt-.'-J' ■ -t fV ■ ■,' *■ IK I.(M)KINf! ToWAI-'DS TFTK I'-AY ( II A I.l.ir.S. 100 * I roiuid the iiittM-ior, thnnit-h to the ?iu'.<', on the route aitenvards adoi)ted hy Major Kfihiiison, as a line for the Intercolonial llailroad, to be iicnerally iui aral)K' leriiU' country ; .iudi>:ing: from havin;^ hnd a hmidred miles of it du;^ over in' road makinjj?. This is the most health I ill and roniantie haul within the com- pass of the Dominion, It hasawinter d-mperature ten to lifteen defj^rees warmer than that of Quebec : and iu siunmer its rich valleys and high sweliino; hills ar(^ fanned by the fresh breezes of the sea. — A land of interesting historical associations, whert', three hundred and lifty years ago, the Hag of in-ance was iirst unfurled on this continent, and the cross Iirst planted, and knelt to, by christian men— grim, nrmed men,— forefathers pos- sibly of men who ibught at " Montcontour " and " Ivry," — before the astonished gaze of the ancient masters of the land, now extinct, who then ruled from Lachine to th(^ Gulf, and to whom the Dominion of Canada owes its name. Further up the banks of the Kestigouche, the high trees wave over the graves and ruined hearths of the defenders oi" La Petite Ro- (ihelle. It was bombarded and burned by Admiral Byron a year before the capture of Quebec by Wolfe. Returning from romance to practical fact — "While the stream of immigration continued to lind scope in Western Canada, it was natural that countries like this should be passed by ; but now that it classes with the best that tliere is left in Canada, it is difficult to see why it should be longer disregarded, especially in view of the Intercolonial Railroad, noAV to be made, being itarried through part of it. Its rivers are uninterruptedly navigable by large scows drawn l)y horses, from their mouths nearly to their sources ; and I'reight from its ports to Europe costs about a dollars a ton less <^ven than from Quebec ; and every enterpri£:e of sea and land is open to the settler on its shores. These advantages belong also, more or less, to the north-east l)art of New Brunswick. In the County of Restigouche, the proportion of good arable land will be found about equal to that of the Ottaw^a Country. The southern part of New Brunswick c;ontains much land as valuable as the best parts of Upper Ca- nada, but it is generally already owned imd occupied. INSUFFICIENCY OF OUR REMAINING LANDS TO SECURE IMMI- GRATION ON A LARGE SCAI.E. 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, and necessary for their use, the best field that we have to offer for the reception of immigration, on a large jcale, such as flows to no the WesttTii SttitoN, or cvon such as formerly ilowed to Upper Canada, is tho Huron and Ottawa Country, which ahvadv, under the most lavorahle trial, signally failed to attract such immifj; ration ; and that the next best is a small territory on the Baie des Chaleurs and liesti-j^ouche, where immigration on a small scale mi^ht be succ(\ssful, provided an exi)ort trade in oats and barley Could be; eslablished with (ireat Britain, or any adequate^ market. Now, it is evident that we cannot attract the immifiTation we desire to make us a stronj^ people, while we have nothiii'^ better than that to oti'er. If, when all Canada numl)ered less than a million of souls, the jjjri^it and almost unbroken extent of rich lands which Upper Canada i>resented, was no more than sutHcieiit for our expansion of settlement by native increase* and immij^ration, it is surely absurd to suppose that these inferior lands, in extent, soil and climate, isolated, or ))roken up by a much greater pro- portion of rugged unarabk^ land, can be sulhcient for our ex- pansion, now that we number four millions, and are called upon, by the position we have attained, to look chi(dly to our own striMigth for the defence by land of our country, and the maintenance of that constitutional independence that has been awarded us. VALUE OF UEMAIMNG VACANT LANDS A.\l) THEIll KESOUUCES. In speaking of the rugged and hilly regions of our country, as little suited for the reception of liluropean immigration, it is by no means meant to undervalue them. What good lands they contain, especially in lumber yielding countries, wull have an increased value from the ready market and enhanced prices which lumberin*^ oijerations, miiiuig and other local industries, may give for their produce. The sons of the " habitants," and the surplus population of the old settlements adioinin<2;, can seh^ct at leisure the good lands in our hilly regions, behind the seigniories ; and from their bemg near their homes, with their knowledge of the labor and cli- mate of the country, can settle up these lands with advantage to themselves, while to European immigrants they would be inaccessible and unavailable. The value of their minerals, which are now bu^ ])eginning to be worked, can hardly be suffi- ciently estimated. The prosperity which mere fertility of soil gives a new country, soon attains its maximum, and is ultima- tely checked hy imprudent over-croping. We see that it has been sr, and that mere fertility of soil never made a country great in history. But the prosperity that arises from mineral resources, manufactures and maritime advantages, though slow of being developed, may raise a country to a pre-eminence alioii wo 111 which mere lortility of soil can )u»vor ht-Mow ; whilo thi' .ui«u- pations they atlord eultivato hiuI d^vt'lop,. (ht* inlrlliMt aiul cii- terpnse d'a poopl*^ to a (Ii>.j:iv(» that iiumv a'^-riciiltuvai ofi-upa- tions tail ever to do. Our «;o()d lands in the riovinces are Far IVoni hein-x Idled up. but the nearest and best heini;- lu'ld by private owners, retpiirin*!: hii;li priees, they repel insu-ad ol" altraelin^- iniini- iicrants. SOURCES. ^miiience (MIAPTKK XXVI. THK IMIKSnUVATlOX OK OUR T1M15ER I-'OIJKSTS AM) I.rM15Kl{ TRADE A RHASO.V FOR ArtiUIRI.\ssary to consider the vahu^ ot the lumber trade to the country. In uoinp; so it may b(5 sullicient to take a general view of the valuii of that of Canada l);'roi'«« (,'oni'ederation. To judge correctly oi" the importance oi'th(» Lumlx-r Trade, it is necessary to consider carefully the Ixnielits arisin-iven in the country to labourers, me- chanics and others, in current or original expenditure made. Of this it will be observed that the second, third and fourth items, amounting to the large sum of $1,882,407 are for farm produce. It is true that pari: of the provisions is not produced in the locality, which shows that tin; trade ofl'ers a market for more farm produce than tlie lo(^ality as yet furnishes. About $100,000 is paid or realizinl to the owners, for private timber, in the locality, and a large part of the expenditxire for wages also is local, though much of it is paid to labourers from other parts of the Province, chi(^lly Lowt-r 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, the lumber trade gives very high prices for farm produce in remote localities, near its works, to save transport of produce into them. The more remote therefore, 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 i)roduce would be consumed in taking it to any other market, if it could 113 be taken out at all. It thus gives eneouragement and assistance where they are most wanted ; and that on a scale much ex- ceeding what the most liberal arrangements of ijovernment could ever afford. It is proper to dwell upon these fiicts, 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 thatthe 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 hunbering and his farm, to the injury of the latter. It is still more injurious to the man who has been 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 lint we know well that it is absurdly untrue, that the settler on suitable laud, who confines his industry to his proper business, farming, is injured by the trade whicn gives him higher prices for his x)roduce than he could other- wise obtain. These I'emarks 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-lifth 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 saw^n lumber, and about thirty -nhie mil- lions of cubic feet of squared timber, besides sttwes 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 trans- port to ports of shipment : — For wages of men. $4,6G1,9G0 Teams. 618,057 Hay and oats 975,915 Pork and Hour..... 1,763,660 Interest on cost of shanty stock, tear and wear, and c asualties. 274,794 Interest on cost of saw-mills and equipments, repairs and insurance 538,124 Duty to Crown, or price to owners of pri- vate tun ber 571,824 Interest on cost of river improvements, ground rents, booma*?e and shdage to Crown, and owners of private works 186,688 8 114 Total Cost to the Lumberers for one year's operations, lor the whole Province, apart from further charges before shipment..... $9,591,022 In this estimate, provisions and labour are calculated below the present high rates. But this total is far from representing the final amoimt or value of the timber. Wood goods in the form of lathv^ood, sleepers, knees, oars, &c., to the value of nearly of $1,000,000, besides, got out by coantry people chiefly, have to be added to the quantity and A'alue, This would increas*^ the amount to $10,501,022, which, com- pared Vv'ith 113,009,207, the total valu(i of exports of the forest, shown l^y the Trade and Navigation Keturns for 18G5, (less Pot and Pearl Ashes) Avhich the above approximation most nearly represents, leaves a difference of $2,418,185 to cover charges at shipphig ports, almost entirely at Quebc^c, consisting of costs for culling,^ boomage, putting into shipping order, com- missions on sales, &c. Having shown an annual expenditure by the Lumber Trade of over nine and a half millions of dollars, of which ujiwards of eight millions is for farm produce and men's wages, we come to another important item to be considered in the worth of the Lumber Trade to the Province, that is, what it contributes to the city of Quebec. It is almost unnecessary to say that it forms the chief trade of that city. The wealth of its merchants is chielly made by it, directly or indirectly, and a large jjortion of its hihabitants are maintained by their labour, in receivinj^ and shipping the lumber in summer, and in the ship building, connected with and dependent on it, in winter. Besides the greater part of the amount before mentioned for charges and commissions on the timber, which Quebec receives, her merchants benefit largely by the freight of the vessels owned and built by them. The average amount of freight of timber, shared by them and the shipowners in Britain, for the four years from 18G0 to 18G3, at 30s. a ton, would amount to i)l. 258,221 sterling, or nearly six and a halt' millions of dollars. In 1865 the value of fifty-one ships built aud exported, was $1,923,594 ; their tonnage 47,262. That this trade is dependent for its profits, which are derived chiefly from the freight of the first cargo they take 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, will make about $7,000 in freight of her cargo, when sent home for sale. The greater consumption of articles paying duty by men em- ployed in lumbering, over those remaining in their parishes, is not to be overlooked. 115 22 below lint or iv^ood, IOU,000, Lded to 1, com- ibrest, 5, (less 11 most D cover iisisting )r, com- r Trade vards of ^'^e come h of the biites to As the mother country is largely engarising men vvho would settle on thmi at the landings, and keep teams and waggons to do the transport on them, as on the Ottawa portages. Such is the communication this route would aflbrd if opened in an economical wav for immediate use. 123 In the foregoing, by following the Mp.iin Uiver between Pine Lake and Cross Lake, for the purpose of connected description of the main stream, instead of the two mile portage between thtm . doptod by Mr. Dawson, two portages are unnecessarily added, making togeth r nearly five miles over- estimated as land carriage in all my calculations of this ro'ite, wherever they occur, in table-* or otherwise. CHAPTEU XXVIII. DESCRIPTION OF IIOUTES CONTINUED.— CAPACITY OF ROUTE BY STURCJEON LAKE C(.)MBINED WITH RAILROAD. Before proceeding further, it is well to consider the ultimate capacity of this route, if improved by lockajje past the portages, from the Head of Sturgeon Lake westward, with a railroad from that point to Fort AVilliam, as already mentioned, and another from the north-west arm of the Lake of the Woods to Fort Garry. This route, so modified, presents three naturally distinct parts : First, — a line of a railroad from Point de Meuron, on the Kammistiquoia, eight miles west of l^rt William, to the head of Sturgeon Lake, which with one-fifth added to the direct distance for unavoidable sinuosities, due to the, nature of the country, would be one hundred and twenty-two miles in lrh-;vth. Second— a water communication of two hundrcKl and twenty- six miles in length from the head of Sturgeon Lake to the ex- tremity of the north-west arm of the Luke of the Woods, to be rendered continuously navigalde throughout, on a scale much exceeding that of the original Erie C^aiud, l)y the construction of sixteen locks, equal to about a hundred and forty feet of lockage. Third, — a railroad of a hundred miles in length from the Lake of the AVoods to Fort Garry, including only one-tenth additional on the direct distance for shiuosities— the ground being highly favorable. Making a total distance to Fort Garry, of ibur hundred and forty-eight miles, of which nearly one-half would be unbroken navigation. To assist in judging of the natural advantages and capacity of this water system, it is to be observed that Sturgeon Iviver, a' strong stream from three to six chains wide, would, with its lakes, be converted into a level sheet of water twenty-eight miles in length ; and that the Nameaukan, next, followed through its expansions to Rainy Lake, is equal to fully twice 12-1 the River Rideau in passiiioj volume of water. At and below its great lUUs, where the principal works on it are required, its waters can be turned oil" by the south side of the island and the bed laid nearly bare lor the construction of the locks, if the river be followed. As Mr. Dawson's and Mr. Napic^r's sejmrate levellings very nearly a«z:ree, thouu;h depending? on estimation in parts, in making the Head of Sturgeon LaKe a hundred and twenty-five feet higher than Rainy Lake, if we allow for the descent of the river in parts on the sixty-five miles of distance, a lockage downwards of a hundri^d and seventeen feet in fourteen locks, as described, would s(»em sufficient. The remaining two locks vyould be required at the Falls of Rainy River, as already men- tioned. As Rainy Lake is said to open about the first of May, we may assume that the wat<^rs of Sturgeon River, within fifty miles of it, and not much higher, will be open for navigation nearly as soon as 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 soHdly with stones, earth and brush- wood, in broken layers. The parts that could not be kept generally w^i or under water could be 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 wuth 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 thoiisand feet, its elevation is not such as necessarily to present an insurmountable 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 qua- lity of the railway line it might afibrd. 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 grade be found, yet, owing to the unarable character of the country gene- rally, the frequent out-cropping of beds of primitive rock, and )N LAKE 125 uuevenness of surfuoe, tho cost will proba})ly 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 usual advantage of beinj? useful in winter, behi«^ subsi- diary to a water comiruuiication. For water communication, on tlie other liand, the conditions arc unusually favorable— abundant suniniit supply— rivers and chains of deep lakes nearly in the line desired, oli*erin<>; ex- tensive sheets of slack waters, with the dillerenee 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 line of Railroad from the Lake of the Woods to Ked River, on the other hand, th(^ conditions are in the highest degree favorable — an alluvial plain country, where the bridging and grading required will be unusually little. Some 1 >vv em- bankments, in shallow swamps with hard bottoms, will, how- ever, be required. The 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 extensive beds of excellent peat that abound; and the line w^ll be in the proper position to form part of a direct interior rail- road to Montreal. These details are given so fully respecting this route, invol- ving the construction 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 suihcient 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, notwithstanding 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 '.ito two parts, distinctly different ir^ character and condition. First, the waters of the Sturgeon River and the Nameauka'i 126 to Rainy Lake, sixty-five miles, where nearly all the lockage is reqiiired ; secondly, the remaining hundred and sixty-one miles, from die east end of liainy 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 only at Rainy Falls, it is to the Sturgeon and Nameaukan part only that the term canalling can proi^erly hv, applied. To engineers, the layorahle character of the navigation it would seemingly afl'ord, will be sullici miles of watm- communication on this route, when so improved, with only 140 feet of lockage, or only G2-100 of a foot to tlie mile, the superiority over any railroad of equal length will be much greater still. These details and comparative views luo. gone over ibr the purpose of establishing a basis of comparison, in considering what advantage we possess as to routes of access to our in- terior territory, a question of much importance to us in rela- tion to it, and one on which conclusions against the practica- bility 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 ibrmed without some refe- rence to them ; and I beg to remark, generally, that these and other details on the subject of communicatiou are quoted from the reports of our explorers, wath no pr(^tention ii) using them beyond that of roughly approaching such an opinion or suggest- ing investigation As the information we have of the Baril Portage and Sturgeon Lake route is a great deal more ample than that before the pubhc respecting the route by the Iviver Sehie, the opportunity is taken of using it ;0 show the character of the navigation that would be aflbrded by either of these routes. It is necessary to explain, that in setting forth a line of rail- road to Sturgeon Lake, as more advantageous than one to Rainy Lake, it is by no means meant to show that to be the best means of communication w^e can have. On the contrary, the Sturg(^on Lake route admits of biing canalled throughout, with facility from Lac des Mille Lacs ; its deep lakes being highly '.ivorable, and Lac des Mille Lacs atlbrdhig an abundant sunmiit supply of wattn*. It woald admit of the water commu- nication being carried through even to Dog Lake, correspondmg 128 in that respect with the Seine route, presenting, like it, the ad- vantage of greater economy, alike in the construction of neces- sary works and in the cost of transport on it. ROUTE BY THE RIVER SEINE. The Seine route corresponds with that now under improve- ment, as far as Lac des Mille Lacs, which is common to both, together with the slack water reach oi' Dog Lake, already described. The distances here given do not exactly ag'ee witli Mr. Dawson's tables. I have used those stated in Mr. Napier's tables, — not as being more correct, but because tliey ar; least favorable, in order to avoid seeming to desire to over" estimat ! the comparative value of our interior route of water communication. The diirerenoe arises from the length of most of the slack water reaches having been necessarily determined merely by estimation or cursory survey. On this route, Savanno lliver and Lac des Mille Lacs form together lifty-six mil(\s of navigable water, which might be in- creased in length and (lej:)tri by damming. Lac des Mille l^acs is a})0ut eight hundred and thirty-two feet above ]jake Superior — iifty-live feet lower than the height of land, and four hundred and three feet higher than Eainy Lake, the level of which is attained by the Seine abou.t a huii- dred miles, by its course, below Lac des Mille Lacs. Li that distance the Seine presents thirteen short reaches of navigable water, of from about three to twelve miles in length, separated by rapids or falls ; the last and greatest being at the Twelve Portages, where it falls seventy-two feet in twelve miles, to the level of Itainy Lake. To render this river navigable from Rainy Lake to the head of Savanne Kiver, near the height of land, say a hundred and sixty miles, with a small allowance for tlie descent of the stream, about three hundred and eighty feet of lockage would be re- quired ; making an average of about 2 37-100 feet per mile, or less than two-thirds of the rate of lockage per mile on the llideau Canal. To state the matter more simply, a navigation thirty-four miles longtn- than the llideau Canal would be ob- tained, with sixty feet less of lockage than it has. As the head of this navigation is, by the route now being opened, only sixty-six miles from Thunder Bay, near Fort Wil- liam, 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 l^acs, and is described as a sandy flat, — by a dam of thirty-live feet in height at the outlet of Mille 1'29 Lacs, and \x cutting oifrom thirteen to tvvc^jity-livi'i'ootiii depth over a length ol* iive mih's, the waters of tliat lake ^vould ]je carried ov<'r the height of land, Avith a dejHh oi'iive feet, by a downward lockage of a Imndred and nineteen feet in that distance, to the head of the shick water (jf Don: Lake, which a dam of thivty-ibur J'eet in height at its outk't Avould obtiun ; using Mr, >;api(M-'s levels as least favorable. This would ext«»nd the navigation thirty-seven miles further, and brhig it within twenty-live miles ol" tln^ landino; of Tlmnder Bay, on Lake kSuperior. ^ On the distance of a hundred and ninety-scnen nules, from the foot of Dog J^ake to Kainy J^ake, tln^ amoiuit of ascent and descent to be overcome by lockage Avould ])e iive htnidred and twenty-nine feet, (that is a, hundred and sixty-three feel less than the Jllrie C'anal,) making an average of 2 69-100 feet per mile, oi- abotit one quarter less i)er mile than the Ivideau Canal. As the Seine drahis an area of abotit three thousand superfi- cial miles, or niore than double what the Iviver llideau does, and Lac des Mille Lacs, Avhich would be the summit reservoir of this route, receives the waters of upwards of seven limiured super! icial miles of a proverbially rainy country, or more than double the area that the llideau has to furnish its summit supply, there is little reason to doubt the sufficiency of it. The capacity of the route to alford a sufficient depth of channel seems unquestionable, as twenty-four feet additional lockage would apparently Hood the river to levels throughout. The practicability of this routt\ therefore, I'csolves itself into a mere question of cost. The Avorks required on it art* not of a nature to rendt^r the expenses extraordinary, and the com- merce of the interior may, at no very remote period, ])e such as to render the opening of the route in this manner pro- iita])le. * Since tlie abov(^ was written, Mr. Dawson, by luithor mitvey tliiK summer. (1HG8), has found a new and more favoralde route by which the navigable wattM- of Lac des Mille Laes can he carried through the heiglit of bind and brought within about forty miles of Lake Superior, at a cost so small as to admit of the mut(! being made immediately available in connection with tiie greater part of the Dog Portage Koad already commenced. This important improvement dispenses with the interruj)tion of the ten or eleven miles of portage road at the height of land, which is crossed at a thirtj feet lower level, through a ravine, by which the waters of Lake Shobandowan. «in the River Matawin, a branch of the Kaministiquoia, lan be flooded through, in an unbroken reach of thirty miles, to Lac des Mille Lacs. It shortens the route to llainy Lake twenty-live miles — reduces the obstructions on it to a few t-hort portages, amounting in all to about six and a-half miles ; and in case of tuture canalling will not require the five miles of deep cutting and about a huu- tL-ed and fifty feet of lockage necessary in crossing the height of land from Lat- *;eg Mille I/acs to Dog Lakti by the obi route. i) 130 It would then consist of three hundred and filty-eight miles of continuous navigation, from the lower end of Dog Lake to the extremity of the north-west arm of the Lake of the "Woods, the avernge lockage on which would be only 1 57-100 feet pen- mile, and a hundred and twenty-live miles of railroad, that is, twenty-liv(* from Thunder Bay, on Lake Superior, to Dog Lake, and a hundred from the Lake of the Woods to Fort Oarry, on the Ived liiver, — making the total length of the route four hun- dred and eighty-three miles. The continuous navigation would be nine miles longer than Ihe main trunk of the Erie Canal, but would have forty feet less lockage, the aA'erage of which ^vould be only 1 57-100 per mile on the whole. As steamers of a good size could be used on it, and often at lull speed, it would be superior to a canal. Possessinj^ even more than the usual advantage that a canal has, in capacity and economy of transport, over a railroad, and reducing the extent of the latter necessary to a minimum, it would render this roine better than any other known for heavy freight, and therefore for that of the interior generally. ^ In relation to our routes of water communication to Eed Iviver, the following reinarks on the neglect of canal and slack water navigation, contained in an article in tho " Scientific Anivrici-.i " for January, 1808, may not be out of i)lace. The writer says " this neglect is in a great measure ut that it is evident that this conclusion has been reaclunl without consideratic^n. fsprcia/li/ irlun a/i/i/icd lo chaN/ir/s of ii-iraf hade. Speaking of the trade of tin' AVest, he says. "' In ri'gard to the trade under consichMation, it may be renuirked, that the great mass is composed of indky and lu'avy articles, orsuch general value as materially feels the weight of transport chargtvs, es]X'- cially if the distance moved be grt>at, and cannot luider the general condition of the market allbrd to pay much additional, to save a few days' time in transit."' Now, as a remoteness which will placi' even lighter articles of commerce at the disadvantage spoken of by Mr. .larvis is unquestionably the greatest drawback wh^'.eh the inosi)erity ot our interior prairie land will be subject to, and as llnn-e will be many articles, products of agricultural and other industry, the bare possibility of exporting \yhich will depend on even the shghtest ditference in cost of freight, it is evident that we should avail ourselves to the utmost degree of Avater commu- nication, wherever cheaper transport can be obtained by it, even, if at greater original cost in utilizing it ; nuicli ia(>re therefore should ^ve do so where it can be made available at less expense. It cannot be argued that water conmiunication])eing shut for a long winter is a reason for not doing so ; for as long as water communication is to form a great part of the route to h'ed b*iver. not only beyond Fort AVilliam, but also in getting there, it will necessarily govern the utility of the liailways depenF KNOWN' ROUTES TO RED KIVEK. Having considered the character of the Dog Lake Route, novr under improvement, and the capacity of tliat part of it from Stur«;'eon Lake w^estward, as a separate route, in connexion Avith a railroad from Fort William to it, and also the Seint» route, we can now^ compare them with other known or pro- posed routes to Red River Settlement. For that purpose, the routes described are exhibited in the ibllowing table, together with the route by Chicago and St. Paul's, and a proposed route by Superior City and Crow Wing, in Minnesota, and also a practicable direct railroad line, by the valley of the Ottawa and Montreal River, and thence westw^ard through the interior. 134 «p v ^ « © o I « ? B-rtr P-.x: c , 9 QQ 0>M 0) t- hct> S SzS'^^'^-iS SS>.«^ QrtgB _^2 3 [, u «^5 b M ^•H S^S-e*!? i> V W 3 Srt Si:5? 533P5 » I p ■s « a oi; "xi-o-a 2 .^h3 S eis 2 •^ >i pQ^ CO e c>'^h5>. ' B « r ee « S 4) i Q as PCS cs; ^i^sH _« oj '- 2: 5 i Sf iS « s 5 e S^. c c t c 32 5SS «• s »:»■•";•- d d P r ""^.5 B^I^^S-^glSs J| » 93 -sa ::ic; C GS i: ® t -. . . i; P o c K, 00^ a V JC gj I /T '*'r ■T W * C •- T o'<- o SJ-W-O M ai^«-b :fs( " » c, S o A fH ffi K eo c: tK ^^g-J.S-£»3 «3 S jr_(? « ^ b " - D ^ ►.?« p 4)C;t:P^W C ; 4? C ^ > > ) ■ ^.^. i^ rt E 02 = T3 .-S.a-a c c^ p C t, S~ JS B » P **• C >2 -oci oij- ■- X' bJ',"* c s- h ►" 5 -w r= s B.fc'S^ 4> P C8 ■2?? ^ £'Sl'>t B.S^ B I "C O I-* O 1. « -w is * <-5 ^ I, S ^ CO OS C «*- ^ in ^ +3 be C 4, .^ V '•'S 2 .S ;= 1 ^• be M-Z r '"' "rt P* — ■ -S «S o « ,«? j< c X t-3K ?? J^ ci 11 P 5 -SL.gf^^O(5p: W oj H EC'S -3 rt C S &-.■« B 6C ce eS bcP " 5 k-'^ a s ■^ p-o ;^ ,^ S-^ e »- '-' 3 . C I. P43,C V ^ 01 »- & p ■^•"*'0S ,S ^^g.gg'i c— ieT3-o EtE C^' C t»CB E C C^c iE^ c c oc< OK « ^' 6 c CO 2 «fi A^ »=■ - 1 -^ .2 5 -5 -^ & C O c . C r- ,— O I OS •7 ^ a ^ f^ T^-^ u- -2 «=> Q?: ^^ &.TJ. *T ©;:: O e8 o i^n te.c pi? aj be bti oTS « 9 c 5 J^ S^ fc: S -s o s o o t: POOO>>X9J4jt2 g* S .i ^ S X SP S> J 9 d S5 «^ c *' fl g c -" f f ^ 3 CM S cj S S o -So 5 ©7 ^ '-> ^ '*-' s ^ ^ ^ © c c c c t ©►i;;^&^-«; e -o ». 'c ;:j o 135 To form a comparative estimate oi' the value oi' tliivs.- routes, lor the transport of heavy freight, we may apply to them the tollowmg rates of transport, per ton, per mile, given by Mr McAlpme m his report on the canals of the State of New York which are considered of high authority by lllngineers : On the Lakes, long voyage 2 mills. IJo. short do 3 to 4 mills. bt. Lawrence and Mississippi 3 Tributaries, Mississippi 5 to 10 mills. Canals, Erie enlari^ement 4 " Other canals but shorter 5toC Erie Canal, ordinary size 5 Canals with great lockage (> to 8 " Itailroads transporting coal G to 10 " Do. not for coal^ favorable grades and lines 12^ " Do. steep grades 15 to 25 " These rates include nothing for tolls on canals, or to cover cost of construction of railroads. Mr, Jervis, in his report on the proposed Caughnawaga Canal, says the actual cost of trans- porting a ton of freight from Ogdensburg to Eouse's Point, on the railroad, by the report of the State Engineer, was 11 and 7-10 mills a mile, allowing no profit on capital expended in construction. How much more would have to be added, in the form of tolls on the canalled rivers, or additional rates on railroads, to cover the costs of construction, no practical man would iilte to say, without deliberate estimation, based on speciKc survey. But we may safely assume, that on the imj^roved river reaches, where there was little lockage, it would be small, compared with what it would be on a railroad, especially if wooden dams and locks were used, and that on the great central reach of Rainy Lake and River, and the Lake of the Woods, it would be next to nothing. "We have to bear in mind also, in judging of the comparative value of these routes, that where railroads are proposed to be used, in connexion with reaches of water communication, their usefulness, in that way, will be limited to the period of open navigation, and that therefore their usefulness in winter, which under ordinary circumstances gives them a great advantage over canals, cannot be reckoned in their favor in this com- parison. Applying the foregohig rates to the approximate taljJe of lengths, we have the bar(^ cost of movhig a ton of goods from Montreal to Red River Settlement, by the respectivos routes. as follows : ^., • i , By the Grand Trunk and other railways, via ( hicago and bt. Paul's, if railway communication were completed irom St. Papl's 530 miles to Fort Oarry : 1,767 miles of railway trausiTort at 1-2A mills a ton, per mile S'^-iOO By proposed direct route up the Ottawa and Montr^^al Iviver Valleys and through the interior to Fort Garry : 1.110 miles, at 1 2t mills a ton, per mile $13.87 257 " at 15 " on account of probable steeper grades 3 . 8<) 1,3G7 . ^ , . $17.73 By proposed route of railway from 1^'ort Wil- liam to Sturgeon l^ake, canallinp: Sturgeon and Nameaukan llivers to JIainy Lake, and railroad from iho Lake of i\\o Woods to Fort Garry : 442 miles by rail from Montreal to Colling- wood, at 12^ mills a ton, per mile..... $ 5.52 534 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 .83 220 miles River and Lake navigation, at 4 mills a ton, per mile 0.90 100 miles railway, Lake of the Woods to Fort Garry, at 12^ mills a ton per mile 1 .25 1,424 $10.57 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 " costs of construction " on it must be small, compared with either of the preceding. By proposed llailway route from Superior City to Crow Wing, through Minnesota, and thence to Fort Garry if con- structed : 442 miles by rail to Collingwood, 548 miles Superior City to Fort Garry. 990 miles at 121 mills.. - $12.37 654 miles by Lakes from ('oiling wood to Superior City, at 2 mills 1.31 1,644 . $13.68 By proposed route liy Dog Lake and Kiver Seine, if eanalled through I'roin Dog- Lake to Kainy Lake. — 442 miles rail to C;ollingwood $ 5.52 534 miles Lakes to Fort William 1 . 07 25 miles rail to Dog Lake, at 20 mills, on account of steeper grades . 50 137 358 miles River and Lakes from l')oi? Lakt» to end of north-we.st arm of Lake of the AVoods, at 4 mills i.4;{ 100 miles rail to Fort Ctnrry, M \-2}. mills.... 1 .^25 1450mile8. ^'^■''^ If 100 milesof eanal wert' mudefroni the Lake of the Woods to I-'ort Ciarry, instead of railway, ther<» would b(^ a ri'duction of 55 cents a ton, redncinjj: tiie above to. ^ O.'i-i And the cost by Stur: the bart^ cost of movement of freight, they may be considered as snilicient to enable us to iorm a general idea of the comparative advantage that the routes respectiv' -^ ,r, as ultimate highways for the transport of heavy fn .^^nt to and from our interior territories. The dilierence shown by them in favor of the routes through our own territory, is such as to warrant our beli.'ving that they possess that advantage in a greater degree than any other knowni routes. CHAPTER XXX. DIRECT RAIIiUOAl) KOUTE TO RED RIVER BY THE V.\LTiEY OF THE OTTAW.\. The probability of a, direct railroad route being found by the valley of the Ottawa, to Red River, has been to a great degree confirmed, 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 propost^d by Col. Carmichael Smith, jn'obably from information obtained from officers of the Hudson's Bay Company. From Pembroke, the contemplated terminatic/ii of the Brock- ville and Ottawa Ixailroad, there is a favorable site for it along the Ottawa to the Mata^vin, though the soil is there gejierally too poor for settlement. It might, w4th little loss of distraice, be carried more to the "West, throu^^h the interior, where the land is not so unfavorable for cultivation. Beyond this, the best ground would 1)e found, alike for the road and settlement, by passing near the head of the Ma- tawin, and thence directly to the Montreal River, about two IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TAPGET (MT-3) /. ^ '■ ,^ 4^ A^> 1.0 I.I 1.25 lU ^1^ ^1^ / /: /A vV^ 7 Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WIST MAIN STRiiT WIBSTER.N.Y. MSM (716) •73-4S03 1^ «.*, A ^.^ ^A 4^ ow of that river, and the northern extremity, in lat. 48 ® N., of the long lake that receives it, to the water-shed ; immediately beyond^ which commences th«» 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 ol" the termination of Provincial Surveyor D. Sinclair's west Ime, run from the Montreal River. So far the country is now known ; the level clay country, which is here twenty miles north of Mr. Sinclair's line, con- tinues north-westward ; how far is not definitely kno^yn. This nearly direct line proposed would pass lifty or sixty miles north of the termination of Mr. Sinclair's line ; his line is a hundred and five miles in length. It lies altoj^ether in a country which, though presentin«r no serious obstacle to the passing of a rail- way line through it, is exceedingly poor, sandy and rocky soil, unfit for cultivation. Th » clay country north of it is at least superior in that respect. It is worthy of remark here, that New Brunswick lIous«\ where Mr. (iladmjui resided, and describes the cultivation of grain, including wheat, to have seen suc- cessful, lies about a hundred and ten mil«\s northward, and a little to th(» west of the tennination of Mr. Sinclair's line, which is from thirty to forty miles nortli of the water-shed, from which the branches of Moose River descend towards Hudson's 1 Jay. ( )ur proix)sed line would therefore be about ninety miles north of the water-shed here. l^>om 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 niiles further westward, in- cluding one-iifth for sinuosities, we have but little knowledge of the country over which our direct route would pass. Strictly speaking, a straight line from Montreal to Fort (jrarry would touch the northerly bays of Lake Superior, near Pic Island ; and the comitry along the shore oi' 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 bv carrving it forty miles further north, but on the con- trary ynobably be slightly diminished, by having much fewer minor sinuosities, I'rom l>eing in better ground, it is assumed that our route would be carried there. What little we do know is definite and favorable ; the line would be situated nearly altogether, if not quite so, in the Ihe City of Iby a very leal Kivo,\ |irds of the northern ^ives it, to lences the >f the clay Jiinuosities, (irTeyor 1). country, line, 0011- wn. This liKs north I hundred Ty which, ?of a rail- ^ocky soii, i« at le.-wt that New describes soen suc- ^'ard, and air's ]ine, ater-shed, towards be about ail's line, 1 even to ward, in- owledge Strictiv y would Island ; iiown to t as it is 1 as the reciable the con- i fewer ssumed he line in the 139 level clay country, north of the height of land, on water? flow- "*% AF " ^^" ^ ^^' ^* approaches Lake Nipi^on, near long- This character of the country, which has lon«? been well known to the othcers of the Hudson's JJay Company, and has been conhrmed as lar as recent surA'eys of the northerly waters ot the Ottawa have extended, is referred to }>y Provincial iSur- veyor Jlerric, m his report of his exploratory survey, in the country north of l^ake Superior. lie says: " From inquiries made amonjrst the Indians, as well as irom the officers ol the Hudson's liay Company who have travelled much through the country, I am informed, that after Irom thirty to lifty miles of hilly country, round Lake Superior, IS passed, a level country is reached, which extends from the height of land, between Lake Superior and the Red lliver Set- tlement, east for several hundred miles and along the north of the sources of the tri})utaries of the Ottawa. If, then, at any future ijeriod it may be proposed to connect Canada with the Red Itiver Settlement ])y railroad, it does not appear that much di Ificulty 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 iJay Company, stationed on the northern waters of the ( )ttawa. Passing south of Lake Nipigon, and crossing tlie River Ni- pigon at 18 miles from long. 88® W., difficulty would be en- (?ountered on this line from the ru^ed and hilly nature of the country, but irom the character of the valleys no doubt a fair passage could be obtained. Before proceeding further we may notice a few facts as 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 traverses l^ake Temiscaminsc on ihe Ottawa, at the mouth of the Montreal River, about lat. 47 ® 07' N. It continues west- ward, 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 w^aters of the Sturgeon lliver ot Lake Nipissing, and the Wahnapetec, which Hows to Lake Huron, up to an elevation of more than 930 feet above the level of the sea, with lofty hills to the northward, rising 700 feet higher, or 1,630 ieet above the sea. From this high range the head waters of Moose River, as ascertained by recent survey, flow northward to Hudson's Bay, and even the Alontreal River flows from it northward to near lat. 48 ® N., whence it turns abruptly and flows southward a hundred miles to I^ake Temiscaming. So much does the country fall to the northward of this range, that the height of laud, between Lac La Quinze on the Ottawa, 140 aboTC Lake Temisoaiuiiip;, uud the tributaries of Hudsou'H Bay. is scarcely Hlly ieet 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 railw^ay, by the valley of the Ottawa and Montreal River, passes the Lauren- tides, and enters the level clay country of the north. Traversinu: the branches of Moose Kiver from forty to ninety miles north of their sources, which are in the hi^h range men- tioned, the Hue would still i)e in a comparatively low country. In long. 87 ® W., it would cross a branch of the Albany lliver on Hudson's Bay, which has its sourcei within six miles of Lako Superior ; so near does the trough of Hudson's Bay there ap- proach the lake. Passing south of Lake Nipigon it would be again necessary to enter the trough of the St. Lawrence, but at no great ele- vation, Lakii Nipigon l>eing only four hundred feet above Lake Superior. Lake Nipigon is the last and the most romantic of the lakes oi" the St. Lawrence. By the highly interesting though brief report of Mr. Armstrong, it is ninety-live miles lonj? and sixty- five miles wide, but full of islands. Its south end is about fifty miles north from Nipigon Bay. Towards Lake Superior the mountains or high ground rise to a thousand feet above that lake ; at the south 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 mUes westward, to the meridian of the south end of Lac Seul, little is known 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 hiy the distaiu-es irivt'ii, of th«' part of it pas- sing through unsurvcyed <<>U7itry, iM'tween the northerly «'X- ircmity of the waters of tho Montreal Kiver, a tributary of the ( )tta\va, and the w<*st <'nd of l^ake Platte, a part of the Lake of the Woods, is 773 mile.s, while the direct distan«M', on the line of the route, is l)y calculation by meridian, <)5(ij', the differ- ence being the allowance for sinuosities 0}i the straight line iissumed. ( I reat extents of this line will 1h^ comparatively lev<'l, and will atibrd i'avorable grades. The least favorable parts in that i(^spect will probably ])e loiind in the valley of the Ottawa^ within the distance to which lumbering operations and sur- vi'ys extend, and where we have sulHcient knowledge to l>e sure that a fair line of railroad can ])e carried, notwith- sianding. In the unsurveyed regioji before mentioned, the «^eatest (lilhculty will probal)ly Ix^ encountered betw een the Kiver Ni- pigon and Lac »Seul, in the rise to the water-shed ; but that is necessarily less than iivehiuidred feet, or not inore than will be met on the Intercolonial Railway before getting twenty miles from the St. Lawrence. These details are gon(» into so fully because it is not generally known that we have a favorable and most direct route to Ked liiver, shorter than any other iK)ssibly can be. It is in a posi- tion that is riMidered exceedhigly unassailable by the rugged mountainous country in front of it, and by the lakes, forests and extensive 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 Ihnn to advance two hundred in +he prairies beyond it. Therefore, if we do not have a railway through our own ter- ritory to lied River, it certainly will not be because we have not a favorable route for it, but for want ol' sufficient induce- ment or iu»cessity lor making it. This is of some importance ; and it is desirable that the i'act 14i hhould be known, thai wlu'ii the makiii*^ oi" it become.s a national requiroment, lor tlic purixjses of defence or commerce, we com- mand the ]>e.st and shortest railway route to the interior and to the Pacilic. The level chiy country of the north, throu^cii which this route passes, seemingly for four hundred miles, presents, as yet, no inducement whatever for opening it ui). But w^hen the navi- gation of the Ottawa is improved as lar as the Matawin, two hundred miU's al)ove the capital, a comparative small expen- :h\vay to the raciiic, lor eoininereial and other )urposes, throujjjh her own territory, one that could not be )arred a«j^aiiist her by any othcn- ])ovv«'r ; if it l)e desirable that the solid Ireedoin of IJritish institutions should be maintained on this conthient ; and if the fair programme of national life, in close connexion with the mother country, set forth in the Uritish North America Act, is to be nndi/ed, and this edilice of Confederated IJritish Dominion is to be anythin<^ more than a temporary expedient, the Confederation should be completed by the addition of Vancouver's Island and British Columbia, and the openinj^ of a line of communication with them, without delay. Looking to the interest of the Central Prairie Country alone, as British territory, when inha])ited, it is as imponant lor it to have a way to the Paciiic w ithoiit being (^xposi^d to all the con- ceivable disadvantaj^es of havuig its means of communication controlled by a foreign i)ower, and, under very possil>le circum- stances, 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 il' there were no St. Lawrence, and we were depen- dent on land transport alone. It is unnecessary to follow the line of evidence adopted by philosophical writers, show^ing that the importance and pros- perity of civilized countries is limited by their extent of front- age on seas open to commerce ; it is demonstrated in the history 9f nations, and the importance of that advantage is acknow^ledgei in their struggles to attain it. But whatever power may in future hold British (^olumbia, a free outlet through it is of the greatest importance to the prosperity .of our interior territory adjoining it ; and w^ouid have a powerful iniluence 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 prairie country shoidd be a prosperous one ; and its prosperity would be very much restricted if its commerce w^ere limited to the St. Lawrence and Mississippi. It would be a great draw- U4 Imck lor it to Iiuv«m1s t«»nK iind oth«»r pvoducls ol' ICastoni Asiu iiiul the racilii.' iiiii)ort«*(l l)y routes so rinruilous, or lo ho ob- striictod in oxiH)rliii}jr its own i>rodiuts to thai (m oan. It will assist us in jiidirinfi: ol' the iniiKjrlanco ol* a routo thronjjjh IJritisli C'olunihia. ii* Wf i'onii)ar(* tlu' distant'*' by it iVom the Upper Saskatchewan to the I'acilic, Nvilh Avhat it would h(^ hy llu* 1{«m1 jjivrr and Mississipjn to Si. Louis, any the ])racli(:illy iroo«l nnih', thou uro. navii^ahlc waters. }»y substitutinvc his shorter railway r<)ule for the navii?ahle water, the distuiu;e would he G.')4 mih?s. By St. Louis and the ]*acilic Jiailroad the distance woidd ))e 1,060 miles from ]«]dmonton to Vort (rarry, 5.*W to St. Paul's, 817 to Omaha, thence to St. Francisco '^,03-2 miles, (by U.S. Sec. at AVar's JJeiwrl ) : in all 4.44-2 miles, or >i,()()\ miles *lon«i:er to ♦ho Paciiic than the route throui?h liritish Uolumbia. or pos- 3,788. »SupiK)sing: event hat (iov. Stevens' northern route, by the Mis- souri in lat. 47® N., Avere opened luid (iOO miles of roads were made tojc'.n '♦ at the Kocky Mountains, that is at 750 miles from the Paciiic, tl.,» total distance woidd be 1.35(> miles airainst 654 throuf?:h British Columl)ia by rail. Even from Fort (larry on Ived Kiver, the dilierence would be nearly the same on comi)arison, for we have 1,(»60 from Fort (Jarry to Edmonton by water, and 645 further to Bute Inlet by rail, ai^ainst .532 miles to SI. I'aiil's, and 1,864 thence to the Paciiic, by Gov. Stevens' line, nnikiiur 2,396 miles by it, ajrirnst 1 '705 l)y I'Mmonton to Bute Inlet, the latter beinj»- 691 miles .shorter. Very little rcllection will Ix* sullicient to eiudde us to see what a iwwerful inducement the openiuii* of such u route ihrough British Coliunbia would be, even if atlirst imperfectly, for the encouragemiMit of settlement in our central prairie country, Avith the certainty there would be of its beinj^ com- ]>leted as a line of railroad. Instead of bein*^ in an isolated " Cul de Sac " the settlers on the Saskatchewan w^ould have the assurance of being before lon«r, on one of the s of the Rocky Moimtams, occa- sionally wdth horses, a})out the beghniing of this century. In the IT. 8. Secretary at War's Report on the Pacific Railway lines, the elevation of the passes through the Rocky Mountains in the United States are given as follow : Route near lat. 47® and 49 <=> N., 6,044 feet ; at lat. 41 ® and 42 <= N., 8,373 feet ; at lat. 38 o and 39 © N., 10.032 feet ; lat. 35 ® N., 7,472 feet ; at lat. 32® N., 5,717 feet above the sea ; and the extent of land ge- nerally ' unlit for cidtivation on those routes, is given, in the above succession, as 1.490, 1,400, 1,460, 1,476 and 1,210 miles res- pectively, or about two thirds of their length. On our route by the North Saskatchewan and Yellow Head Pas^j we have a continnouslv mid pre-eminently fertile country 10 5! U(j for 1,300, IVoin tht^ commonci'ment ol'tho Kod River prairies to the base of the Rocky Mountains at Jasper I louse ; and of the remaining: 701 miles to the head oi' Bute Inlet, nearly one-hall" apparently is cultivable land. Mr. AVaddinj^ton's description ol" the country, between the mouth of the Quesnelle River and coast rau'j^e, a«;'rees with the laA'orable account of that plateau quoted from Mr. IJarnston's report in Commander Mayne's work on British Columbia ; and the unusual favorable character, in that very mountainous country, which he gjives of the great region extcndinii: northward to the River Skeena, the boundary of liritish Columbia, corresponds with the description given of parts of it intersected, in reports of extensive explorations re- ferred to in the same work, and published in Imperial Tarlia- mentary papers. We see, therefore, that we possess a route to the Pacific, 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 watered fertile country, as they are for the general aridity and uninha- bitable barrenness of a great part of the country they tra- verse The superiority of our route across to the Pacific, over any other on the continent, is still more e^-ident, when we consider that it has, in additioii to the foregoing, the further advantage of consisting chiellj^ of na^^gable waters. This advantage is, in its nature, a double one. First, the much lower rate of cost of transport by the navigable waters, w^here on a large scale, like the St. Law'rence 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 large scale for inland waters, and 1,060 from Fort Clarry to Edmonton of a similar class, by Lake Winnipeg and the Sas- katchewan, requiring lockage, or short portages, only at thret; places on the latter. Between Edmonton and Port Waddington, on Bute inlet, a harbour of the Pacific, Mr. Waddington counts 309 miles of steamboat navigation ; making in all 1,595 miles of steamboat navigation, and only 754i miles of land travel or rail- road, in the whole distance of 2,349^ miles by this route from Lake Superior to the Pacific. If the railway route projwsed by Mr. Waddington were 117 jidopn»fl iiistoad (,[' the navivrjition ol" Vvusoy Uim'w in pmt iv- ducinjj: the dislnn and il 8'r) miles ol radway w.'jv mv(U' lioia IaIijk.iiIoh to l\v.i Crarry, Jho total distaiire Iroiii iii«> Pacijic; Ut Lake SuiH'iior would ln'ivduc.'d to l.l»-i7^. miles: whuU uith \m miles to Montreal, r/an to Liv«'rpool would be 751 miles shorter by our route, throujjjh Itritish Columbia, than by the American Tacilic Kailroad. United to the Dominion, British Columbia would enjoy these jidvantages in relation to the interior, and commuiucation through it, which would be lost to her by ann(>xation to th»^ United Stales. If the Americans held British Columbiaj they would be httle disjwsed to use it for the purix)seof estabhshin^; aUne of communication, nenrly altojrether throuj^h British ter- ritory, 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 much alike in some other respects. They are both comparati- vely rather unfavorable generally for cultivation, but on the other hand possess alike extraordinary adyantt^es for commerce and manufactures, in their favorable maritime position and nu- merous harbours, their metals and their coal beds. "With these advantages, and situated on the eastern and western outlets of the great fertile interior of British America, it seems reasonable to say that they are in a position to eiyoy, 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 ot the resources of the interior, and the opening of a line of commu- nication through it from the Atlantic to the Paciiic. In position with relation to the interior, however, it must be admitted, that British Columbia surpasses Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the coast of the continent, southward from it, not being studded with rival i)orts and harbours, reaching close in towards the interior like the Atlantic coast. In the command of communication from the Pacific to the interior, British Co- lumbia has no competitor. IMPORTANCE OF THE OTTAWA HIIIP CANAL TO THESE NORTH- WEST TERRITORIES, &C. To judge correctly of the ultimate advantage which a route through our own territories presents, alike as a means of com- ;SE NORTII- 11!) municHtimi with t' » u„(l ihroxurh tluMii lo tlu' Pacilic. ,uul in yiowo! thoHui)orh,...v which the irn-atcr ccononiy of water transport j?iveH un ni tn.- cuniparison, wo shouia lake into ac- count the rcHluction ol'distamcc and of cost which the improve- ment ol our inhind naviiration may atlord. As pn'Nentinjr the irrcatest pros"i)ec(ivc advantau-e in that re- spoct, the proposed impr«.vement ol* the Ottawa and French Kivers, or what is called the construction ollhe Ottawa Ship 1 anal, may he rei;«rr«'d to. ft may he NullitJor (Jovornint'iit ; and that accordinir lo the reix)rt of Mr. W. ^hanly, his predecessor in charire, the cost of movement of treijrht per ton, from Chicairo to Montreal, by the Ottawa Ship C^anal, would })e !$'>.89, while by the St. Lawrence and Wtdlaml ('anal rout«\ and by the Toronto and (Jeorjriaii liay ('anal, it would be $3.2<) and §8. 27 respectivtdy ; that the distances by the two latter routes would be 1.348 aild 1,050 miles, but by the Ottawa only 973, that is. 375 miles shorter th i the St. Lawrence and Welland route now used. It is proper to ol)serve that the reduction of distance by it to Lake Superior, and consequently to the interior and the Pacific, is 40 miles greater than to Lake Michigan, or 415 miles. Apart from the advantages claimed for it of bein«? the most i'avorable route for the trade of what has hitherto being design- ated the " (rreat West." and lor 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 tlici successful settlement of them. It would l)enelit Lower Canada, now the Province of Quebec, in a manner that no other work would do, for it A^ould, in connexion with Lake Temiscaming. and the navi- gable waters of its tributary, the Kiver Blanche, develope the south-western frontier of that province for four hundred and fifty miles, and render available the considerable extent of country lit i'or s«»ttlement at the head of that lake, wdiich is now too remote ; and it would facilitate communication with Hud- son's Bay, and through the country south of it to Red Itiver as already mentioned, were that ultimately found desirable. 150 CHAPTER XXXIII. THE INTEUKSTS OF (^VNADA, THE HUDSON S \ND THE INDIANS. BAY C'OMPANT fit We are at issue with the Hudson's Bay Company. We deny the justice and validity of their title to the territory most va- luable to us — the Central Prairie Country — claimed by them lender their Charter i'rom King Charles the Second, in 1670, j^ranting them the exclusive rii^ht 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 '►_>tate." Far from giving the Hudson's Bay Company the interior country oi\ the Red Kiver and the Saskatchewan, their Charter, restricted by this exception, did not even give thein tliat part of the coast of Hudson's Bay in front of it. These regions were commonly known as l^^rench tcnritory, and were virtually recognized as such by the Treaty of St. Ger- mains en Laye, of 1G;V2, which restored to the King of France C'an«da or " La Nouvelle France,'' of which they formed part; — and they had already, in 1027, been chartered to " La Com- pag^iiie de la Nouvelle France." The occujiation of Hudson's Bay by the French before the date of the Hudson's Bay Company's Charter is unquestionable, ior not only had their trade been established there in 1650 and 1663, by Jean Bourbon 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 Ca- nadians, 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 o!" the Hudson's Bay Comx^any and the granting ofits Charter in 1670. After a protracted struggle the Hudson's liay Company's oeople were, in 1686, expelled as trespassers from the posts they nad established in the Bay. The justice of this expulsion anil i;he prior rightful possession of France is acknowledged in the treaty of Ryswick, of 16^7 which provides for the restitution to France of these posts in particular, as well as of all others taken in the w^ar then terminated, that had formerly belonged to France. Therefore, without entering into the seemhigly well grounded objections made, by able legists, to the fundamentally illegal character of that Charter, we see that in simple (equity, (though • See Ch,. -K'voix, Vol. 1, p. 4T6. 151 I'OMPAN'T that may probably be disregarded) King Charles could not l^^*?r^^^^ "^ ^^^ exception evidently did not intend to <4ve— the Company all the territory they now claim, simplv because it was not his to give. We see also that the completer.ess ol" th(? title given by the Charter is vitiated by an exception w*'ll grounded on known fact,— a Fact affirmed and sustained l)y the high authority of international treaty ; and that, tlierelbre, the" Hudson's Bay Company would prol)ably, under it, be unable, in a Court of Law, to prove perfect title, as required, for the ejectment of adverse possessors. Previous to the cession of Canada, Canadian traders had long been in undisputed possession of the ulterior country now in dispute— holding there iho. Ibrts of ^Maurepas u\ Lake "Winni- peg, Fort Rouge on Ked River, l)e la Reine on l^ake Manitoba, and Forts Bour])on, Pasquiai and Nippeween on the Saskat- chewan. Under the articles of capitulation of Canada their occupation and property there would be secured to them. After the cession of the country, British and Canadians, following hi their track, maintained the right, by trading there, b»-fore and after the Hudson's Buy Company 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 at- tempted to enforce their exclusive claim. ^ Then, after the protracted and sanguinary struggle between them and the Canadian North-West Company, during which the exclusive pretentions of either were expressly and carefully ignored by the Imperial and Provincial authorities f— the Hud- son's Bay Company, hnding 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 i The soil, with most iiisigniticant exceptions, is still the unalienated property of the native Indians. In Canada, the Mother Country recognized their right by purchasing their lands and paying annuities lor them. Before * The jrroat explorations of Sir Alexander MrKou/.ic, up to the Arctic Sea ainl through to the Pacific Ocean, and the Rcarcdy less important exploratory sur- veys of David Thompson, after May, 1797. including the discovery and survey of the River Columbia and Thompson's River and the surveys of the Athabasca and Peace Rivers, Beaver River and Ui)per Saskatchewan, and of several pas- fiages through the Rocky Mountains, were operations of the Canadian North- West Company, of whom McKenzie was a leader, and to whom Thompsor. transferred his services, in 1799, as stated in his manuscript Journal, after ser- ving the Hudson's Bay Company from October, 1789. t See Earl Bathurst's despatch of 6th February, 1817, enjoinintr the m.^inten- ance of " the full and free permission for all persons to pureut' their usual and accustomed trade without hindrance or molestation." 15-2 the Union thoso paymonts had to be rolunded to the Imi)erial G-overnment by Upper Canada. These annuities are now paid directly by the Canadian Grovernment. Seeing, tlierefore, that we have to pay for all lands acquired for us, ov by us, from Indians, are we to be compelled to re- cognize the rijA'ht of the Hudson's Bay Company to lands they never purchased or paid for i And is it consistent with that justice to the A]>origines, which we hear so much six)ken about in England, that, in actiuiring their lands, instead of payuig them the whole pri'M\ we 5\re to give part of it to the Hudson's Bay Company, — who never aixjuired any right to it from the owners ^ * The grounds of claim to the territory in dispute are too ob- scure, hypoth'^ticai and conilicting, to be conclusive in favor of either Canada or the Company : it is for the Crown, 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 that of mankind to have the obstruction to its lawful occupa- tion by s<»ttlers remoAcd. All that the Company can justly be entitled to is indemnity lor any injury to their trade which set- tlement may ocjcasion, 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, imder the restricting exceptio?i, be found to cover, that the Company can have any permanent right to : — the remainder of the territory their occupy, they hold merely temporarily by lease, on the termination of which their rights become extinct, without claim to indemnity. We claim that the Red River and Saskatchewan country comes under the latter description Wf» should therefore avoid being led into callhig it Rupert's Land, for as that was the name given by King Charles to the land he gave the Company, we in a maniif'r admit the Red River and Saskatchewan Country to be the property of the Company if we call it Rupert's l^and. But thou'^h 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. We must acknowledge that their admirable system, good management and good faith in dealing with the Indians, are • I i«n led tit luiike tlu'se remarks from its having been my duty, for seven years, to keeji the jiccdiints tif these tmnsai tions, between the Imperial Com- missariat, tilt Loral Government, and the Indian Department. 153 highly creditable to them, and have mamtained tranquillity in the vast territories under their swav, 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 Cor ;pany were broken up and their officers withdravni irom these territories, and the trade of them thrown open to aU, it might, no doubt, giv(» a few enterprising men in Canada the opportunity of sec^kiiig, probably \^ ith some success, to amass wealth like that of the old North-West Company of Montreal. But when the irregular, and too often unscrupulous trading of the adventurers was substituted Ibr the well regu- lated and reliabl(» system of the Hudson s Bay Company, it would probably bave, with the free use of spirits that w^ould no doubt attiuid it, a most injurious and demoralizing effect upon the Indians ; and coupled with the many causes of pro- vocation accompanying the advance of settlement, would, almost certainly, lead to difficulties and ))order warfare with them, as in the adjoining States. It would therelbre probably be better, on the whole, that the fur trade of these territories should remain in the hands of the Hudson's Bay Company, under lease from the Dominion, espe- cially if such an arrangement gave Canada more favourable terms in settlement with the Company. The importance of economy effected in this w^ay w ill be seen when it is con- sidered that it might be suf iient to defray the expense of opening a serviceable line of communication for the ingress of settlers. Or it might be better for the (lovernment of the Dominion to step into the shoes of the Company, and continue the trade, through the agents and others now employed, retaining their services by giving them the same interist in the trade as they now hold, or equivalent advantage. By doing so. Government w^ould 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 preservation of that tranquillity ^\ hich 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 natives now d<»pend for ammunition and other thin^^s, now become necessaries to them, would be a calamity to the Indians, w^hich it would be the duty of Canada, in extending her do- minion ov(^r them, to avert. The exclusive reservation of the fur trade in the hands of 154 Govemmont, for the t?ood ol" 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 mi^ht be useful in ullaying difficulties and watching over the feelmgs of the natives and meir movements, as well as their interests and wants ; but there are, no doubt, some obvious objections to the trade being carried on by Crovernment. But whateA er the arrangements as to trade may be, the se- curity of settlement will lie in ^ood faith wuth the Indians, in all arrangements with them being honorably and liberally maintained. AVith 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 were it also pro- vided that any Indian of any such tribe might, at any time for- ever thereaiter and anywhere, obtain a free grant of two hun- dred acres of land, on his choosini? to become a settler, as an inalienable homestead, and be entitled i) admission into any hospital, or to medical assistance in case of illness or injury, to be paid for by Government on the certificate of any magistrate, a strong and favorable impression would be made on the feel- ings 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 ob- jected to, but when it is considered how little this exceeds what Christian charity wovdd 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 compared with the general advantage obtained. 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 eflective, 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. 155 CHAPTER XXXIV. COMPARATIVE VALUE OF THE SEVERAL TERKITORIES TO CANADA, AND CONCLUSION. IIa\'ing 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 decree they are respectively of value to us. t irst and chiefly, as generally admitted, and for reasons al- ready shown, we want the central prairie country on the Red River, Saskatchewan, Athabasca and Peace Rivers, as a favo- rable site for the immediate extension of settlement and recep- tion of European immi^ation. We see that it much exceeds Canada in extent, that it has on an average as suitable a chmate 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 very much inferior to the preceding, 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 couiitry, with much fertile arable land, admitting of the culti- vation of coarse grains m the north, and, as we have seen, is a» suitable, in some of the south parts of it, for the growth of wheat, as Low^er 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 bein_ 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 Ime of railroad to Red River and the Pacific. Next, but in a lesser degree, the Pelly River or Mountain Country w^ould be valuable to us ; chiefly as a defence. Were it in the hands of a power owning the seaboard, with strong- holds in commandmg positions, at the eastern outlets of the passes through it, our central prairie country would be exposed to being, at any time, suddenly overrun. But with that three hiuidred and fifty miles in breadth of Alpine country occupied by our fur traders, with posts on aU the leading passes, and " cou- riers du bois " and trappers scattered over it, m friendly com- munication with the natives, an enemy, withoiit 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 ha-s-ing made much way ; or if by extraordinary fortune they did pass lumoticed, the result to or 156 siich small force as could so pass, would be as disastrous as Arnold's attempt on (^anada by the valley of the Chaudiere. The valleys of the Pelly Kiver and Mountain Country will seemingly admit of the cultivation of coarse j^rains, and cattle- feeding, throughout its whole extent, and it is a valuable fish and fur yielduig 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 for its furs and minerals, and lor the navigable highway to the most valuable of Arctic whale fisheries, whicn that river offers ; but these territories are of little value to us com- pared with the first three mentioned — all of which are habit- able countries, the first eminently so. As to the North Hudson's Bay, or Barren Ground Territory, it seems to have no con- ceivable value. South Hudson's Bay Territory and the Pelly River or Moun- tain Country, though unsuitable for occupation by our present standard of estimation, will undoubtedly become inhabited. Eu- rojiean countries, not more suitable, are occupied by ci\ihzed and enhghtened nations, and have acquired considerable po- litical and commercial importance. 157 CONCLUSION. Somo will arj^uo that, in dosiriiiji: to acquire the North- West I emtory, v» e allow our ambition to override our iudj;?meiit ; that the organizing? of it, and tht; maintenance of jurisdiction over it, are a task beyond the ability of Canada; that it is ab- surd to nicur expense in the development of remote territories, while ^ve Inive already so much waste land, requiring? the makins? of niove roads than we are able to accomplish for the openinj? of it, to say nothing of the canals and railroads nearer home, Avhich all admit to be desirable for the prosperity of the country. One might argue interminably in this mannei-, but there is a shorter and a surer way to a conclusion in this matter. We have (mly to look south of us, and see what has been done by th^. jieople there. We see that they acquired territory after tiMritory, in the face of obstacles that w^e have not to encounter. When they were far weaker than we are, instead of acquir- ing territories in the easy way that >ve may do, they had to tight for them. They had to combat fierce aiid powerful tribes,, backed by the ix)wer of France ; but still they extended their frontier. When they entered on the career of national existence, they were but three millions ; but we are four. And then, in addi- tion to continual wars with Ihe Indians, they had to light with the mother country, once and again, in wars ruinously expensive to them, l^ut that did not prevent their continuing to extend their jurisdiction over vast territories, \yhich they acquired from European Powers, and had to light for aiterwards. 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 theii- dominion leading them to neglect improvements in tln'ir older states, the very reverse seems to be the case. Who will say that the accpiisition aiid development of their western territories, which one after the other have grown into thrivhig and populous states, has retarded the prosperity to their older eastern states and cities V On the contrary, we nnd them remarkable for their w^orks and improvements; and what is more, we find them enriched by their manufactures for the markets of the w«»stem territories, which they acquired and 158 •developt'd into pow.'ri'ul states, and that their chief seaports are swollen with thc^ commerce arisin<': from them. Now, we are not only greater than tney 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 begin- nings. We have no Indian wars ; and instead of their expen- sive 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 adopt the plea that we are intrinsically so inferior 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 na- tional power and greatness ? The answer is a simple one. Men in general are vsTiat the institutions of their country made them. The security of these institutions depends on the power of the people to defend them. Ci^il liberty depends upon poli- tical independence, and that, it is needless to say, depends on the power to mahitain it. Where would have been the civil liberty of England had she succumbed 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 govern- ment 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 unpatriotic pusillanimity. ' seaports pulation, alth, and ir begin- ir expen- powerl'ul immense onsto say, cuiless we ^he people )tism, that removed mrage nor ing to na- one. Men fitry made the power upon poli- .epends on n tlie civil ida, or the by France _e national [bol, under d material al ^overn- 5, with her and them, endows us 11 our part IV o X ii: H . NoTB No. 1. — Oil the " l'(j/u<' (>/ i)ur TiiuUr Furral-^" page 112. Since this pamphlet wjis written tho manufacturo of sawed Lumber in Ca- nada has very ninth inereaHcd. On the Ottawa it lias nearly doubled, havinR amounted in ISGU to upwards of four hundred millions of feet board measure. NoTB No. 2. — On winter pasture on prairie lands, pa^'c 90. Some are at a loss to reconeile tho eoldnes )f lied River wintc rs with the fact of horses finding food for themselves out of doors all winter. Tiieir being able to do so arises from there being a heavy crop of rich grass and highly nutritious wild vetches on the ground. The shallow covering of snow that falls there admits of the animals getting easily at it and feeding abundantly in favorable localities, the snow they eat with it serving as water. Note. No. 3. — On Direct Railroad route to Red River, page I'M. I was informed by that experienced explorer, Provincial Surveyor Salter, that on making an examination northward beyond the end of his line of survey near lat. 48® N., he entered the level clay country of the north, at about twenty- four miles north of his line of survey, and found the surface very gently un- dulating and covered with a fair growth of tall maple, birch and spruce trees — tho \ipturned roots shewing a soil entirely free from stones. From an eminence, before entering it, there were no hills visible northward, as far as he could scan the horizon with his telescope ; and the change from the rugged sterile country, and poor growth of wood traversed by the exploring lines run by him and Mr. Sinclair nearly on the parallel of lat. 48® N., to the luxuriant woods of level country was very striking. This actual verification of the position and character of the level clay country of the north midway between the Montreal R, or west branch of the Ottawa, and Lake Superior is, so far, very important, confirming by connexion with definite survey, the fact that we have there a good country for a railway lino and also for settlement. Note. To. 4. — Lake Nipigon, page 140. The geological survey of Lake Nipigon confirms and corrects the report of its great extent, given by Mr. Armstrong. The area of its surface is equal to two thirds of Lake Ontario. As far as known by the survey of its shore, about five hundred miles in circuit, nearly half of the land on it seems arable ; and the presence of trap rock indicates rich soil — adding much to the extent of land known to be lit for settlement on the proposed direct lino of Railroad to Red River. A. J. R. m IIEPUKT ON THE LINE OF ROUTE UKTWUEN LAKE SUPKUIOR AND THE IfKl) KIVEUSKTTLICMrNT li:sLti*uetw or Hepoi-t of liaKIH. In rcpoitiug hu tu tLt; best meau8 of opening i line ul' rumiuunicHtion bet' ween Lake Superior and the lied liiver Settlemtnt, I beg to be permitted, to the first place, to refer briefly to the operations of the lied River Expedition, carried on for several years under my direction, as it will, I doubt not, be satis- factory to the Government to know that the suggestions whicli I have the honor to submit are not the expression of mere theoretical views, but the result of long-continued investigation, under official instructions from the Ca- nadian Government. The earlier Reports of the Expedition were printed by order of the Legisla- ture, but those sent in during the lust year of its operations have never been published. The present Report will contain all that is believed te be of imme- diate importance in those documents ; that is, in regard to the subject under consideration. The following Maps are annexed for convenience of rofereuco : — 1. A plan, on a scale of two miles to one inch, showing the couubry bet. ween Thunder Bay and Lac des Mille Lacs, Dog Lake, line of luad, position of dam, kc. 2. A Plan of the Lake Region, on a scale of four miles to one inch, showing the country between the Heiglit of Land and Fort FranccK, 3. A plan on a scale of ten miles tu one inch, showing the country between Fort Frances and Fort Garry. 4. A Map, in profile, showiug the relative altitude of the Routes by Pigeon River and the Kaministiquia. 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 correct one of the section which it exhibits. The Red River Expedition consisted at its outset of three distinct parties, receiving their instructions from three dilTerent Departments of Government. One of these was under my direction, one under Mr. Napier's, while Mr. Gladman, a retired officer of the Hudson's Bay Company, who had the guidance of the Ftxpedition on the journey te Red River, had a separate party of his own. The parties thus organised set out in July, 1857, and proceeding by the usual canoe route from Fort William, made numerous explorations, determined the n 162 lerels m they wont, and eventually arrired at the Red Ri?er Sottlemeni in the fall of the name year. Mr. Oladiuan, aftir a nhort ntay, rotnrnod by the way ho had come to Toronto, where his ronn<>ction with tho Expedition suoa afterwards ccaacd, while Pro- foMor Hind, who, I Hhouid have mcntionud, had boon attached to the party an geologittt, prociu'di'd by way of tho Uod River over the prairiug to St. Paul. My uBHiHtuntK at this time were Mr. Lindnny A. UuhhuII, Mr. J. F. Gaudet, Mr. Alex. W. Willrt and Col, C. d« Balaberry. The throe llrst-namod gentlemen were surveyorn, all of whom are of high standing in their profession, while Col. do Salaborry artcd chictly hh CommiMHary — an important otiice in a region where provinionH were not always vtry altundant. Tiie Wintt-r of l(^r)7-r).S wus chictly occupied in exploring tho country between the Lake of the Woods and lied Hivcr, ii region at that time but little known, and reported to bo impassable in summer, on account of HwampH which were said to cover the greater portion of its urea. At the same time, an instrumental survey wan made, bo a8 to connect Kort (Jarry with the Burvey made many years previously by the Boundary Commissioners, under tin; treaty of Ghent. This enabled ua to establish with aioiracy tlie longitude of l-'ort (Jarry, which, on the maps then in use, was set down as much as twenty-le observations made by others, it has served not a little to dispel the absurd ideas which at one time prevailed in regard to the severity of the climate and the duration of tho winters. On the 4th of July, 1858, our party was once more assembled at the Red River Settlement, and having with some difficulty procured supplies, we set out, with all possible dispatch, for a more thorough exploration of the country between Rainy Lake and Lake Superior. Among the instructions received from the Government at this time were the following : — « Skcrktart's Officb, <« Toronto, I6th April, 1858. '* Sib, — Adverting to the last paragraph in my letter to you this day, I hare the honor to inform you, that it is not thought necessary to make any alterations 168 nent in thn ivrr, an«l the in the inutructionu for your future operations, coiuaincd in tlie Order in Council ot 20th Jnnunry loNt. »« You will thtroforo consider tbcsu instruitiouH, bo far as your exploratioua are conccrnud, still in force. "I am to add, ht)w«v(T, that if tiuu- allows it, your will ond.uvor to suryey the road bitweun Oun Flint Lak.- and I'oioto do M ■tancu, tu {(rcHter mlvanta^^t; and at less outlay than the line by the tkine, which bad been examined and reported on the previouH year. Arriving at Lake Superior, I whk joined by my aHgistant, Mr. Wells, who had opeut the whole Hummer iu examining the country about the Height of Laud and Lac dea Mille Lacs. The fall being now fur advanced, the parties were gradually withdrawn, 8uch of them as we had left at the Lake of th«t Woods returning only in the beginning of Noyember. Tu sum up, the explorations and surreys were thus continued, uninterrupt. edly, for three summers and two winters. There were generally three well- appointed parties simultaneouHly at work, iu ditlereut Bections, and, whether at I^ke Superior or the Lake of the WoodK — the one a swampy and the other a hilly regioii- ^they always availed themselves of the aid of the natives, whose occuprAion of hunting, pursued fro.iu youth to age, within particular areas, rendered their local knowledge of the greatcKt value. A ( onsiderable period of time has now elapsed since the operations of the Bed Kiver expedition were brought tu 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 beeu published are the only sources of information generally available. Having thus briedy alluded to the surveys and explorations made by me, or under my direction, I proceed to describe the different sections of the country in detail, pointing out, as concisely as possible, the works and improvementa required, and the reasons for adopting particular lines of route or starting points. For the sake of convenience, in description, the country between Lake Su- perior and the Red River Settlement m»*y properly be regarded as forming four divisions. The first, embracing the region to the east of the water-shed, or Height of Land, will be refor-ed to as the " Lake Superior Section." The next, extending from the Height of Land to Fort Frances, I propose to designate as the « Lake Region." The navigable reach, extending from Fort Frances tc t''^ north-west angle of the Lake of the Woods, will be called the <* Lake oi the Woods Divi- sion. While that between the north-west angle and the Red River Settlement may not inappropriately be known as the « Fort Garry Section." 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 some one of the water systems leading from the Height of Land, westward, to Rainy Lake. On »11 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. * THB PIOBON BlVSn HOUTB. The natnre of this route, and the objections to it, will be found pretty fblly stated in my preliminary reports, printed by order of the Lcgislature~-PagM 7 and 27. « , 165 res, whose ular areas, The starting point ia entirely within the United States territory, and, for a ^distance of one hundred and fifty miles, the canoe route forms the Boundary Line. But this is far from being the only objection. 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 lakes at tho flummit of tho water-shed are 1,058 feet above the levcil of Liike Superior, and, even at that elevation, are embosoraed 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 IcilS than four 'different rivers. Between Pigeon Uiver and the Karainistiquia, 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 practical 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 Fointe de Meuron to Gun Flint Lake, a distance of some lifty-four miles, and exa- mined the ground on either side thereof, but his report and field notes show that the country which he traversed was too rotigh 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, westward, it cannot be made in any way available as a line of water communication, except for small canoes ; 'that the country jeing for a great part of the distance rugged, mountainous and cut up 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 m attempting to open this line, or spending further sums in its exploration. KAMINISTIQI'IA BODTK. 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 teet, than on the Pigeon River Route, while it is at the same time, that is, at the turn of th. water-shed, comparative!} level and practicable for roa.ls. Dog Lake, a large sheet of water on the Kaministiquia, twenty-four miles inland from Lake Superior, extends for a distance of some twenty miles in a direction nearly parallel to the western co«ist of Thunder Bay. To the westward of this lake, the principal stream -which supplies it with water— Dog River — can be made navigable nearly to tho Height of Land (and it will be so when a dam now in progret-s of construction is completed), so that, bi^tween river and lake, an Hvailable reach of some thirty- five miles could ' :* commanded. It became, thert fore, a matter of importanco to find access to this navigable reach, and with this end in view, the levels ot tho Kaministiquia were determined, and the country between Dog Ltile8ide8, a place ot importance as being the centre of such trade as is carried on, and it will gradually become of increased consequence, as the mines in the vicinity are developed, and the fertile portion of the valley of the Kaministiquia filla 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 accompanying plan, and for this purpose I have included a sum of seven thousand dollars (|i7,000) in the esti- mate, which I have now the honor to siibmit. 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 im- pression that by going up th<; Kaministiquia to Pointe de Mcuron, or as far as the navigable water extends — a distance of some ten or twelve miles — the length cf land road, which would then be required to reach Dog Lake, would be by so much shortenei. But this is a 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 which brought them no nearer to their destination. The branch line should, therefore, start from Fort William and not from Pointe de Meuron. From the former place the Dog Lake Road can be reached in six or ueven miles, while, from the latter, ten at lecst would be required, with corre»- ponding increase in the outlay. A glance at the map will show clearly what I have endeavored to explain. It has been objected to the Depdtas a starting point, that it is shelterless, and that the ice will tear away any wharves that can be built. 167 I, in an air Now, on reference to the map, it will be seen that Thumder Bay is itself -, Lar- bour, although of somewhat large dimensions, completely land-locked and sheh tered from every wind ; any swell there foro, 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 aflfect 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 tim«, is d monstrated by the fact, that the trees grow clear down almost to the level of the water, indeed, in some places, dipping their branches in*o it ; whereas, in exposed parts of Lake Superior, the wave-lashed shores are de- stitute of vegetation. It has been said, moreover, that the ice would carry wharves away, and, as eonvincing 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 Eami- nistiquia. 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. Law. rence, where 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 Deput at Thunder Bay possess, may be men- tioned the facility of approach or departure 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 Kaministiquia, 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, as compared to the Kaministiquia, 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 Algoma made her last trip, the Kaministiquia is said to have been frozen over, and that so strongly that the people of Fort Wil. Ham were skating on the ice. From the Dep6t, 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 harbour, which, by means of piers, might be sufficiently extended. It was at one time believed that the uppor 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 impracticable, within any reasonable limit of expen- diture, 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 both in Dog Lake and the bay. Referring again to the locality which has been chosen as the starting point at Thunder Bay, it is admirably adopted for the construction of wharves. The water deepens uniformly and gradually from the shore, until, at a distance of five hundred feet, it has a depth of three fathoms and a half. Timber suit- able for the work is very abundant on the Kaministiquia, whence it could be easily floaded down, and on various parts of the shores there is abundance of 168 looBO 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 foi the works, leaving it to a future consideration whether the wharves shall be extended at the public cost, or left to private enterprise {See Mr. Dawaon's Report of 1st of Map, 1869, pafi^e 171, de- scribing the route as finally adopted and opened by Lake Sheband- owan.) THE INDIAN ELEMENT. In 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 has i>cen fortunate in dealing with the Indian element ; and, in the present case, I sec no reason for anticipating greater difficulty than has arisen in the past. The only localities whore 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 rite of the country which they collect, and by the fish which literally swarm in the lakes and rivers ; some industry practised on their own part, too, in raising Indian corn, serves to supply them to a small extent. I have seen ns many as five or six hundred 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 hav^arude sort of Government, and the regulations made by their Chiefs are observed, it is csiid, better than laws usually are where there are no great means of enforcing them. They are very intelligent, and are extremely jealous as to their right of soil and authority over the country which they occupy. When the Red River Expedition first came in contact with them, they mani- fested some displeasure, and were not slow to express it, at parties being sent through thf ir 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, cal- ling upon them as we passed, and interchanging a few presents of no great value. When we had adopted this course, all difficulties vanished, and, ere ♦he explorations were brought to a close, they manifested and expressed an earnest wish to see the communication opened. The chief danger which could arise of coming into unfriendly relations wich the Indians, would bo 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 Indiant; -^re numerous the navigation is unimpeded and but little work required ; but, as a rule, extreme prudence will always have to be observed by the oflicers in charge of men to keep them from coming in contac'. with the Indians. These Indians are all heathens, and never ^oem to have been in the slightest degnio impressed by the Missionaries who have attempted their conversion. They are, however, very pious in their own way, and much .f their time seems 169 is of a nature ke Sheband- ht of soil and em, we found ed an earnest to be occupied m religious obscTTanccs, which haro thiir manifestations in long lasts and nights of watching, when they pretrnd to hold familiar intercourse with Hpints, whose presence, in the secret recesses of their lodges, is indicated by drum-beatmg, chanting, incantations and many unearthly noises besides. At stated intervals, the greatest and most solemn ceremony of the tribe, the Mys- tical Ii east of the White Dog, is hold 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 these Indians are tall and well formed, and in bearing Independent; sometimes, even a little saucy, but in their intercourse with ■trangers they are hospitable and kind. Their morality is said to be of a high order, as compared 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 the world. Some of those who assemble at Rainy River for the sturgeon fishing, in summer, come from Red Lake, in the neighboring Shite of Minnesota, where they posRCRs htinting grounds ; and, among these latter, arc some who have being parties to treaties with 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 River, the value of the lands which they hold on the line of route to Red River. Any one who, in negociating with these Indians, shonld suppose he had mere children to deal with, would find himself mistaken. In their manner of expres- sing themselves, indeed, they make use of a great deal of allegory, and their illustrations may at time appear childish enough, biit, in their actual dealings, they are shrewd and sufficiently awake to their own interests, and, if the matter should be one of importance, affecting the general interests of the tribe, they neither reply to a proposition, nor make one themtielves, 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 im" portance, to attend a Grand Council, as it aftords th^ra an opportunity of making speeches, whith are meant quite as mm h to swell their importance in the eyes of their own people as to impi'ess 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, tmsparingly applied, can produce. At these gatherings it is necessary to observe extreme caution in what is said, as, although 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, on one occasion, at Fort Frances, the principal Chief of the tribe commenced an oration by re- peating, almost verbatim, what T had said to hira two years previously. All this goes to show a certain stability of character, and a degree of impor- tance attached to what they say, on such occasions, tliemsclves, as well as to what they hear from others. The word of the Chiefs once passed, too, seems to be qu'te reliable, and thfs augurs well for theobscrvanee of any treaty that may be made with them. For my own part, I should have the fullest reliance as to these Indians ob- serving a treaty and adhering most strictly to all its provisions, if, in the first place, it where concluded a/ler full dUcnitxion, and o/ter all its proviaiotix wfire. thoroughly understood by the Indians, and if, in the next, it were never infringed upon by the whites, who are generally the ftrht to break through Indian treaties. 170 THI TBIATT. From what I hare said, I trust it will be suen that some sort of a treaty should be arrived at with the Indians. Thej are, as I have stated, desirous of seeing the communication opened, bclievinp: that it will conduce to their advan- tage, and I think a treaty with them should, in the first inctance, be confined to this one point, namely, right op wat. This they expressed their willingness to accord many years ago, but the question of relinquishing land for settlement was always taken by them en dHibfH. In this latter respect, what they are afraid of is, that settlers would interfere with the fisheries, from which they de- rive their chief means of subsistence, and I think it would, in the first instance, be imprudent to introduce settlement in the particular section which they oc- cupy. The first great point is to get 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, surveys of townships for settlement, reserves for the Indians, and so forth, complications might arise which would prove embar- rassing. There is but one point more, in relation to this subject, to which I would in. vite attention ; it is the necessity of adopting the most rigorous and strict mea- sures to prevent the conveyance of ardent liquors to the Indian country. This the ofiicer in charge of the works can easily see to, if he is armed with the proper authority. There is no likelihood of any of the employes of the works taking spirits, in any quantity, with 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 Amerr-an side, the pe- nalties against its introduction are so severe that it rarely makes its appear- ance, while on the British side its use is prohibited by the Hudson's Bay Com- pany. To these fortunate circumstances, I believe, are due the well-being and orderly demeanor of the Indians, and the rapid increase in the population which, in this section, is, in contrast to the general rule, said to be taking place. The precautions which I have recommended will appear not to be unneces- sary, when it is considered that these Indians, notwithstanding 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 prominent individual would be a quarrel with the tribe, and that the sole arbiters of a dispute with them are the scalping knife and tomahawk, to the use ol which they ar« well practised in their unceasing wars with the Sioux ; and when, along with all this, it is considered that they can muster five hun- dred fighting men, accustomed to the woods, the rivers, and ever7 defile in the country, 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 wel- come, in the first instance, to the parties sent in by the Government, and it will be for tlie iattjr to see that nothing occurs to interrupt a continuance of friendly intercourse. (See Notices of Indians, in my printed Report, pages 14 et 26.) Respectfully submitted, S. J. Dawson. REPORT Of 1st May, ISeo. ON THB LINE OF ROUTE BETWEEN LAKE SUPERIOR AND THE RED RIVER SETTLEMENT. EXPLORATION OF 1869. My report of last year contained a brief description of the country between Lake Superior and the Red River Settlement, with an estimate of the cost of opening the communication in such a manner as I believed would involve the least possible outlay, while it would, at the same time, have the effect of attracting the trade of the North- West Territories to Canada, and serve as a preliminary ■tep to works of a more comprehensive character in the future. 1 have now the honor to report on the operations of last summer, undertaken and carried on under the direction of the Department of Public Works, with the view of ascertaining whether an improvement might not be made in the Eastern section of the route, by deviating from the projected Dog Lake road and adopt- ing the Wes* instead of the North branch of the Kaministiquia, as the basis of a line which should embrace all the navigable water which could be rendered available. It was known, from the reports of the Red River Expedition, that a series of large lakes existed at the source of this branch and it appeared probable that the navigable water w'r ich they afforded might admit of being utilised as a link in the line of communication ; and as their value in this respect depended, in the first place, on their level relative to each other and 'm the lakes on the opposite side of the water-shed, and, in the next, on the practicability of rendering them accessible from Lake Superior, the first step taken was to determine the levels and the next to look for ground practicable for a road through the broken and mountainous region which lies between them and Thunder Bay. In describing the result of these operations, I would invite notice to the maps which are hereunto annexed for convenience of reference. These are : 1 . A plan on a scale of two miles to one inch, exhibiting the position of the lakes at the summit of the water-shed and the devidtion from the Dog Lake road, 2. A map on a scale of ten miles to one inch, shewing the entire route be- tween Thunder Bay and the Red River Settlement. 3. A map on a scale of twelve miles to one inch, shewing the relative position 172 riknd length of the Canadian and United States routes to the Red Rircr Settlc- ment. 4. A plan, in profile, ihcwing the relative altitude of the lakes between Lake Superior and Fort Frances on the line of route. P.. A plan, in profile, shewing the routes by Pigeon River and Rividre la Seine. On reference to plan No. 1, it will be seen that at the head of the Matawin, or West branch of the Eatninistiquia, there are two large lakes named, respect- ively, Shcbandowan and Kashaboiwe. These are on the Eastern slope, and im- mediately opposite to them, on the West side, is the large basin of Lac des Mille Lacs, which sends its waters to Rainy Lake. The distance between Kashaboiwe Lac and Lake dos Mille Lacs is one mile and sixty chains, including an intervening lakelet or pond. This pond is distant 'from Lac des Mille Lacs 50 chains and on a higher level by 14 13-100 feet. Be- tween the two runs a gully, the highest point in which is 25 feet over the level of Lac des Mille Lacs and 10 87-100 feet higher than the pond. This is the lowest pass existing between the waters flowing Westward to Rainy Lake and those running Eastward to Lake Superior. That is, between the boundary line and Nipigon Bay. The pond just referred to is the source of the Matawin, and it sends its waters by a small rivulet, making a descent of 4 99-100 feet in a distance of 9 chains to Kasiiaboiwe Lake, which latter is 9 14-100 feet above the level of Lac des Mille Lacs. The stream by which Kashaboiwe Lake discharges its waters is of considerable volume, and descends 29 33-100 feet in its course of 70 chains to Shebandowan Lake, making the latter 20 19-100 feet below the level of Lac des Mille Lacs. Forty miles Westward of the pass above referred to, that is, by way of the Baril and Windegoostegon Lakes, the water level at the head of the French Por- tage is 55 feet below that of Lac des Mille Lacs. Such differences of level are not very formidable, and might in this case be easily overcome, as will be explained further on. In the meantime, I may remark, that these Lakes differ so little in level as to afford the means of ob- taining, at a moderate outlay, seventy miles of imbroken navigation, through the high region which separates the two great river systems of the Winnipeg and St. Lawrence, and that not by narrow and tortuous channels, but through Lakes affording ample room for navigation. This navigable section might be extended and rendered continuous to the Westward, by means of lock and dam. Its Eastern extremity would be within forty miles of the Depot at Thunder Bay, with which point it can be connected by a land road for the present and a Rail Road in the future. The pass, as stated, is the lowest which can exist on th« British side, as determined by the explora- tions, and yet these waters are at an elevation of 839 feet over the level of Lake Superior, or 1,479 feet higher than the surface of the sea. It is a matter of no small importance to have such an extent of navigation in the highest part of the route to Red River, and in a region very difliculi. for roads. In regard to the country intervening between these waters ond Thxmder Bay, it is rough and mountainous ; but, with the aid of the Indians, who have their hunting grounds in that region, after a good deal of exploration, a line prac- ticable for a road was discovered. The diiferent routes examined may be briefly noticed as follows : — On the recommendation of the Indians, a line was first run from the 18th mile of the Dog Lake Road quite through to the Shebandowan Lake. This line crosses the North branch of the Eaministiquia, about two miles and a half above the mouth of the Matawin, and from thence winds to the West- ward among the high table lands and mountains to the North of the latter .stream. The Indians professed to have followed the best ground, and no doubt 173 did BO, but the route, althuugii uut absolutely impmcticRble, wan found to be very rough. Another line was then laid out, from the eighth mile of the Dog Lake Road to the mouth of the Matawin, and the valley of thut river itself adopted from thence to the Shebandowan Lake. It was found to be a great improvement on the first, but the route by tlie Kaministiquia had bet-n recommended, and before coming to any concluHiou it also was examined. Taking as a starting point, lot. 18, in the fiiHt concession of Nee-bing, a lin«» was run to Island Portage on the Kaministiquia, with the view of continuing it on a North-West course to the valley of the Matawin. It came, however, upon very rugged and mountainous ground on the borders of the Kaministiquia, and' had to be abandoned, notwithstanding that no serious difficulty was encount«red in the first ten miles of its course. In view, therefore, of all the circumstances, the line which has been adopted as the best is that already referred to as leaving the Dog Lake line at the eighth mile, striking from thence to the mouth of the Matawin and following the valley of that river to the Shebandowan Lake, or rathtr to the first chute below it, where it is proposed to construct a dam. In further reference to the waters of the summit region, Hhebandowan Lake on the Eastern side of the water-shed and Lao des Mille Lacs on the West, are both fed by the drainage of areas sufficiently extensive to afford a supply of water for a canal, but Kashaboiwc Lake, which intervenes between then, is on a higher level, being 9 14-100 feet over Lac des MillesLacs and 29 33-100, above Shebandowan Lake, and it is doubtful if it could afford a supply for a canal both ways. It is quite practicable, however, to bring cither Lac dcH Mille Lacs or She- bandowan Lake, or both of them, to the level of Kashaboiwe Lake, but there would be an evident advantage in niising Shebandowan Lake and making it the summit level and source of supply, as a considerable amount of lockage would thereby be saved and the road from Lake Superior would at once strike the highest water level on the whole route. If, on the other hand, Lac des Mille Lacs were raised to the level of Kashaboiwe Lake and made the source of supply, there would be an ascent of 30 feet from Shebandowan Lake, which would have to be overcome by locks. It is possible, as stated, to raise both Shebandowan Lake and Lac des Mille Lacs to the level of Kashaboiwe Lake, and if this were done and a cut made through the dividing ridge, there would be a canal without locks extending across the summit of the water-shed. The raising of Lac des Mille Lacs, however, would not eventually save lock- age, and although the level is in its favor, as compared to Shebandowan Lake, it is doubtful if it could be more economically brought to the necessary height. On some parts of its Western coast the country is low and the height and na- ture of the dividing ground between its waters and the streams running off from its borders, on that side, would require to be ascertained before attempting to raise it beyond the extent of three or four feet, which, in any case, will be ne- cessary, in order to give a sufficiency of water in the direction of Baril Lake and the French Portage, and so small a difference would be unattended with any risk of sending the water in other directions. As regards Shebandowan Lake, the country around it is moderately high, and it receives the drainage of a considerable area on either side, so that, in all pro- bability, its surface could be raised to the necessary level by damming its pre- sent outlet only. It will occur, however, that Kashaboiwe Lake, which is already on the high- est level, might be so arranged as to afford a supply of water for a canal both ways. It has a surfatie area of about i eight square miles and it receives the drainage of a considerable tract on both sides, besides which there are lakes on its tributary streams, which could be converted into reservoirs to afford a supply Lb periods of exireme drought. But, even if the supply were so ample as to- 174 preelnde all doubt as to itn HUtticiencj, thero would be nothing gained by adopt- ing KaRbalK)iwu Lake, for both Lacs dcs Mille LncH and Shebandowan cati b« raifled to itH levul ut 1ch» outlay than would be involved iu connecting the latter with it by means of locks. A dam which Hhould raiKC the Rurfaco level of Shebandowan I^akc to the extent of 30 feet over what it Ih at presont, would be equivalent to 30 feet of lockage and would be far Iokh coHtly. In rcKpect to the Summit Pond, it may be regarded, to all practical purpoHCH, as a part of Kashaboiwe Lake, for it can, ut Hmall outlay, be reduced to the same level and still have u sutticient depth of water. The dividing ridge is, as stated, 50 chains in width and 25 feet over Lac det> Mille Lacs at its highest pare ; through the ridge runs a gully which, apparently, is fiUed with boulders and fragments of rock, and it could be easily excavated to a suflicient depth. Such, in a brief view, is the route by the Mutawin or West branch of the Kaministiquia. As compared to the Dog Lake route its principal advantages are, first, that the navigable waters of the summit plateau can be reached in an unbroken line of road from Lake Superior ; whereiis, by the Dog Jjakc line, the land carriage would ])e in two sections, one of twenty-live miles from Lake Superior to Dog Lake, and another of ten or twelve miles across the Height of Land. In the next place, the navigation of the upper waters of Dog River and the Savanne would be tedious, on account of the narrowness and tortuosity of tne channels, whereas, by the Western route, once the Lakes were attained, there would be ample room for navigation ; and, lastly, by adopting the Shebandowan line, a saving in distance of about twenty miles will be effected, as will at once appear on reference to the plan. Both routes arc practicable, and the Dog Lake line would be attended with the least outlay in the first instance, but would bo more expensive to keep in operation, on account of the difficulties of the navigation, the additional trans- shipment, and the long land carriage, in such an isolated situation as the height of land on that route. By adopting the West, ins^ -^ad of the North branch of the Kaministiquia, there will be no change in the starting point, and as the divergence occurs beyond t^e point to which the work on the Dog Lake road has, as yet, reached, the outlay so far made, on that line, will not be lost, and some timber prepared for a dam at Dog Lake can be floated down and used in the construction of a bridge over the Kaministiquia. Apart from the deviation proposed, in the Eastern section, as above set fort'' , I believe the scheme suggested in my report of last year embodies the principle which should be adopted in opening the communication, as a first step towards works of a more extensive character, in the future. I would remark, however, that the information which has been obtained since that report was written, as to the Traffic likely to arise, would seem to warrant additional expenditure over what was then proposed, so as to diminish the number of transhipments, and this can be done without greatly increasing the outlay. Before proceeding to details, however, I would invite attention, for a moment, to the more striking features of the country which has to be traversed. THE COUNTRY BETWEEN LAKE SUPERIOR AND THE RED RIVER SETTLEMENT. Between Lake Superior and Rainy Lake, the face of the country, as a gen- eral rule, is rugged and cut up with Lakes. The summit of the water-shed or ark, however, 175 dividing ridge, is quite ueur Lake Superior, being forty-tivo mileH distant at Pigeon River, and, nieaHuring in a direct North-Kast courHe to tlie source of th« Kaministiquia, about seventy at tlie iH>tt()m of Thunder Bay. The pasaes in the dividing region vary in height from 840 feet to 1,100 feet above tue level of Lake Superior— that iH bv followiuj? the water courseH, but the general elevation of the country 18 couHJdcrably higher. As muy be supposed, the streams running down Ironi such u height, in so short a distance, have a very rapid course, and, us a consoqucnc o, could only l)c rcnd»!red navigable at an ex- penditure which, whatever the future may require, is quite out of the question for the present. Proceeding from the head of the watcr.shcd to the Westward, the descent is much more gradual, the dirtureuce of level between Lac des Mille Lacs, which is close to th« summit, and the Western extremity of the Lake of the Woods, being only 450 feet in a distance of 300 miles. Between the height of land and Rainy Lake, the lake, are so numerous and so large, that it would be dithcul^j to say whether land or water predominates. The lakes, h<»wever, atl'ord the means of making a very good water communication, at a moderate outlay. From Fort Frances, at the foot of liainy Lake, to the North-West angle of the Lake of the Woods, the navigation is uninterrupted save by two little rapids, easily overcome. From the Lake of tlie Woods Westwards to Fort Garry, the country is low and level, but although swampy, quite practicable for a road by a line which has been explored and on which u good deal of work has been already done in the Western section. There is thus, between Lake Superior and the Red River Settlement, a coun- try presenting very different characteriutics in different sections. First, a rugged and broken region, extending from Lake Superior to the summit of tho watershed, in which tho rivers are not navigable and the ground is difUcult for roads. Next, a country extending Westward from the water-shed, still very rough and broken, but intersected in every direction by deep lakes, which occupy a very considerable portion of its area, and which, on one of the lines ex- plored, can easily be connected so as to render the navigation through it uninterrupted. This section ends at Fort Frances, where there is a complete and sudden change in the character of the country, and from this point the navigation be- comes continuous to the North-West angle of the Lake of the Woods. From the latter point to Fort Garry the distance is 90 miles over ground which the explorations have proved to be practicable for a road. The entire distance between Fort William and Fort Garry, by the route which it is proposed to open, is 441 miles, as follows : From Lake Superior to the navigable waters of the Summit region . . 40 miles. From the terminus of the Lake Superior Road to the North-West angle of the Lake of the Woods 311 miles. North-West angle to Fort Garry 90 miles. 441 miles. LED RIVER OPENING OF THE COMMUNICATION. The scheme proposed has for its ultimate object, a railroad from Lake Su- perior to the navigable waters of the Summit region, navigation rendered con- tinuous by means of lock and dam, from the terminus of the same to the North- West angle of the Lake of the Woods, and a railroad from the latter point to the Red River Settlement. 17« The rMilroad at L^ke Supt rior would be fortjr milns in length, ■ucceeding which would b<.- iiHviKAtiun of throw hundred and eleven inileii, which lattvr would bu lountM-ted by a railruiul uf ninety luilen with Fort (iarry. Theae are worku whirh, to carry them out completely, would occupy lome years, and in the meautirat!, an a preliminary step, it Im propoHcd to make a good waggon road from Lake Kuperior to the waters of the dividinK plateau, improve the navigation from tlien^-e WeHtwurd in as far m it can be rupidly done, in the tirst iuHtauce, and make a Kood waggon road from the Lake ef the Woods to Fort Uarry. ThiH I conceive tt) be an absolutely necessary and essential step towards making the country accessible, whatever scale of improvement may bi* adopted in the future, and it would have the immediate effect of opening a channel by which immigration could reach the country, while it would, at the same time, draw the trade of the North-WeKt Territories to Canada. Hcfore specifying in detail the various works necessary to give effect to this plan, I may notice the scheme of— A CUNTINTUUS KAlLUUAl) FUOM LAKE SL'l'hUlUil TU TUE RED UlVKll SETTLEMENT. buch A work will, doubtles**, Kecome necessary as the regions of the North- VVest fill up with settlement, und it should be placeii in such position as to be available as a link in the railway Kystvm which will, no doubt, at some fu- ture day spnu the continent from the Atlantic to Paciiic, within British ter- ritory. On reference to the map it will be Heeu that a riiilroad, to be continuous, must pass to the Morth of the Lake of the Woods, and it will also be observed that a line from Canada, after passing over the high plateau which is said to oxist to the North of Lukes Huron and Superior, would first come upon Lake Superior at Nipigou Bay, and that its direct course from thence to Fort Garry would be by Lac 8eul and the North end of the Lake of the Woods. These are facts which should always be kept in view in considering the project of a con- tinuous railroad from Lake Buporior to the Bed Biver Settlement. A railroad made on the line indicated v/ould be the most direct possible, and it would, at some future period, serve as a link in the extension of ' Acadian Uailways to the prairies of the Saskatchewan. Now, a railway starting from any point West of Nipigon Bay would not meet these conditions ; and all that is claimed for the comparatively short line of 40 miles which I have recommended, at Fort William, is that it will serve as a connecting link between Lake Superior and the navigable waters of the interior. In regard to the practicability of a line of railroad between Nipigon Bay and the North end of the Lake of the Woods, no decided opinion can be offered until the country is explored. It is probable that, by keeping up the Valley of the Nipigon for some distance, so as to get clear of the rugged country on the immediate borders of Lake Superior, and then striking North-West to the vicinity of Lac Seul, a practicable line might be found. From Lac Seul to the North end of the Lake of the Woods, I apprehend there would be little diffi- culty if, as is reported, the flat silurian strata of Hudson's Bay send a spur in that direction. It might, however, be better to keep down the valley of thft English Biver to its junction with the Winnipeg and strike direct from thencs to the Red Biver. In view of the importance which must soon attach to the project of a con- iinuouB railroad from Lake Superior to the Bed River iiettlement, I would sug- 177 , succeeding which Iftttvr K'cupy iome make a gcM>d eau, improT« done, in the lio Woods to ttsential step munt may hn )f opening a ould, at the jffctt to tbi* nest the expediency of Hiudiug un exploring party to e.xamiiu- the route above indicated, during' the euHuing Hiimmer. It would, also, be advisable to have a thorouuli examination miul«! of tha country to the Nortli of Lalius Huron and Superior. A line wu« at one time run conforming to the line of toaat, about twenty mileB back, troni Liikv Huperior, but the country over which it passed, a« Hhewn l»y tht; very iiitcrcHting report written by Mr. IKrrick, who conducted the Hurvey, in rough and lirokcn. The line wag entirely too near tlie coast, and I am of opinion tliat the best ground will be found in the Mgii region whe'c the waters running to Hudson's Uay and the tributaries of the St L'lwrence have their common source. Mr. A. J. Uussell, of Ottawa, in a \fork whicli will soon make its appearance, gives an epitome of all the inforntation whiih Iuih been obtained of the high plateau at the sources of the streams flowing to Lake Huron, but the country North of Lake Sui)erior and East of Lake Nipigon is unknown, except from the reports of rui/ayetuf, beyond the extent of Mr. llerrick's survey, which, an stated, was confined to a limit of about twenty miles from the coast. THE IlED llOUTE 'JO THE PACIFIC. if the North- tion as to be at some fu- i British ter- continuons, be observed ch is said to upon Lake ,o Fort Garry These are ject of a cen- tos, tble, and of ' wTiftdian ^y vt-ould not itively short that it will >Ie waters of lipigoQ Bay in be offered ^he Valley of intry on the IWest to the Saul to the little diffi. knd a spur in [alley of the I from thenc* hct of a con- would sug- It must, in course of time, become a matter of great importance to open a line of communication completely across the continent witliiu ISritish ter. ritory, but whether this should be etlected solely by railroads, or partly by rail and partly by taking advantage of the navigable water which is so ph^ntifully distributed, at least to the East of the iCocky Mountain.s, is a (juestiou for the future. U>/ Kuilioads. The country is well adapted for railroads between the lied Kivcr Settlement and the sources of the SasKatchewan and Athabasca llivers. I'racticable passes have been found, too, in the Ilocky Mountains, and in thcstt the ascent is ge- nerally easy from the East. It is only when the summit has been crossed that serious difficulties present themselves. Uetween the Fraser Iliver and the forty- ninth parallel, British Columbia is one sea of mountains, but through these the persevering efforts of explorers have led to the discovery of lines said to be practicable for railroads. In regard to the passes in the Kocky Mountains, Captain Palliser, who was sent out by the Imperial Government, speaks favorably of the British Kootanie Pass, near tlie boundary line, whore explorers from Montana are now said to be mining for silver and gold. Dr. Hector, a gentle- man whose researches are of great practical value, was favorably impressed with the Kicking Horse Pass, somewhat further to the Nortii, but probably the best of all would be the Athabasca Pass, which has been the longest used and is the best known. Mr. Waddington gives the latitude of this Pass as 52 * 54' North and its height at 3,7GO feet above the sea level, and describes several routes by which it may be reached from the Pacific. * He says, also, the upper Fraser is navigable for 280 miles of its course. The same authority maintains that by adopting the Athabasca and Tete Jaune, or, as it is sometimes called, the Leather Head Pass, a railroad from Ed- monton House, on the Saskatchewan, to Bute Inlet on the Pacific, would only be 654 miles in length. • The elevation of the best known passes at the sources of the Saskatchewan is as follows:— British Kootanie Pass, 5,900 foet : Kananski Pass, 4,600 feet ; Vermillion Pass, 4,944 feet : Kiokintr Horse Pass 5 420 feet * •»"'' TT«.Mrci> Pnca t\ W7 i'ff.t nhove the levftl of the sea. 12 and Ilowse Pass, 6,347 feet above the level of the sea. 178 ...■*,-j> H! ■ I ■ I ; Until the country becomes better known, a!l that can be done is to indicate the probable position of an inter-oceanic railroad, and, if one should even be built, as it doubtless will, in British territory, the followirj; will likely bo its general course. The valley of the Ottawa, and its tributary the Montreal lliver, might bo followed to the meridian of 82° West longitude, from thence the direction would be North-West to the outlet of Lake Nipigon, where it would join the line above suggested, for a railroad from Lake Superior to the Rod River Settle- ment, passing by Lao Seul and tlie North end of the Lake of the Woods. From the Red River Settlement the ground would be very favourable to Edmonton House, on the Saskatchewan, and from thence the route indicated by Mr. Wad. dirgton might be followed to the Pacific. By this route the distance from Montreal to the Pacific, as computed by Mr. Russell, would be as follows : Montreal to Foi L Garry 1,367 Fort Garry to Edmonton House, over the prairies 825 Edmonton House to Bute Inlet 654 Total 2,846 If this lino — the practicability of which lias yet to be ascertained — were car- ried out, it might be tapped by an extension of the projected Toronto and Nipis- sing railroad, and it would thus be in connection with the Railway system of the Dominion at its most important points. There is no doubt a great deal that is grand and imposing in the idea of a .; Iroad which should span the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and -.rasp in its embrace the united Colonies of British America — wliich should become an avenue for the trade of the Indies, China and Japan, and a highway lor the nations of the Avorld. But, in considering schemes so vast, it is well, at the same time, to calculate their cost, and in drawing attention to this unavoidable phase of such pro- jects, I cannot do better than avail myself of a calculation made by Mr. Fleming, the eminent engineer, under whose able direction the Intercolonial Railroad is now being built. In a very interesting pamphlet, written by hi.u some years ago on the North-West Territories and the best means of their development, speaking of a railway of 2,000 miles in length and its accompanying telegraph line, he remarks : " That a just conception may be formed of the real magnitude of the project " under discussion and the means necessary to its attainment, attention may for « a moment be drawn to a few leading details. Tlie construction of 2,000 mil.-s "of railway, measured by the average standard of similar works existing in tais " country, implies the performance of laborers' work sufficient to give empjoy- «« men!; to 10,000 men for five or six years. It involves the delivery of 5,000,000 "cross ties or sleepers and over 200,000 tons of iron rails for the permanent way. « It comprises the erection of 60,000 poles hung with 1,000 tons of wire fur the " telegraph. It necessitates the creation of motive power equivalent to over " 50,000 horses, which power would be concentrated in 400 locomotives. It in- " volves the production of from 5,000 to 6,000 cars of all kinds, which, coupled « with the locom./vives, would make a single train over 30 miles in length. And " lastly, it imjjlies ^^ross expenditure on construction and equipment of not less " than $100,000,000. " It will likewise serve as a salutarj'- check on hasty conclusions to weigh, be- '■ lorehand, the cost of operating a truly gigantic establishment of the kind after «' its perfect completion ; a few figures derived from actual results will shew that « the first construction of a railway through British North America is even a " less formidable undertaking than that of keeping it afterwards open in the pre- « sent condition of the country. For operating the line successfully, the fuel nputod by Mr. 179 ^' alone rtquirtd i?i tath year and ehtimated as wood, would considirably cxctjod " 200,000 tord«. For keeping the road in n pair, a regiiULiit of 2,000 trackmen " would conhtuntly be empioytd in itn^ail gangs throughout its entire length ; " for the same purpoho there would, on an average, be annually required 600,000 •<« new cross ties, as well as nearly 30,000 tons of new or re-rolled iron rails. The "annual repairs of rolling stock would not cost less than one million of dollars. " Over 5,000 employees of all kinds would ccnslantiy be under pay, and as these » men would usually represt nt each a family, there would not be far short of " 20,000 souls subsisting by the operation of the road. The aggn gate amount " of wages in each ytar, after the road was in operation, would swell out to <* nearly $2,000,000, while the gro.;s expenditure for ()i)erating and maintaining " works would annually exceed §8,000,000. "Again, if to the last sum he added the interest on first cost, it becomes evi- " dent that until the gross earnings of the railway in each year come up to " the enormous sum of $14,000,000, it could not pay interest on the capital in- <'veBted." liaiUvay and Water Communication Combined. Thunder Bay, Lake Superior, is already accessible to any class of vessels which can navigate the great lakes. From thence westward to ll'^d Itiver, the route is, as already described, forty miles of land road, succeeded by three hun- dred and eleven miles of navigation now broken, but susceptible of being rendered continuous, and which, again, is followed by ninety miles of land road, ending at Fort Garry. Commencing at Fort Garry, the navigation might be rendered oontinuous, at Hmall outlay, by way of Lake Winnipeg and the Saskatchewan to ^jldmonton House, a distance of 1,000 miles. Edmonton House is within 500 miles of the Pacific Ocean, and the distance might be surrounded, according to the best information which can be obtained, by a railroad of 654 miles, or by taking advantage of the navigable waters of the upper Fraser and following a more tortuous route, the distance would be 841 miles, of which 309 would be by water and 532 by rail. So small an amount of navigation would not compen- sate for such an increase in distance, and in this instance the continuous railway would be the best. By this route the total distance from Thunder Bay to the Pacific would be as foUowi^ : MILES. Lanu. VVatek. Thunder Bay to the inland water at Shebandowan Lake .... 40 From terminus Lake Superior road to North-West angle Lake of the Woods 311 North-West angle to Fort Garry 90 Fort Garry to Edmonton House 1060 Edmonton House to Gulf of Georgia 654 784 2155 It is quite practicable to make the navigation continuous from a point within 40 miles of Lake Superior to Lake Winnipeg ; and, if this were done and the few impediments in the Saskatchewan removed, there would be continuous navigation from the base of the Rocky Mountains to the ocean, with one break of only 40 miles at Lake Superior, and this break tiiight in time be overcome by lock.&Br6 So great an extent of navigable water, or water susceptible of being made 180 J) I ! I navigable, running througii British America, traversing the vast prairies of the Went and ending at the saports of the Atlantic, is a feature in connection ■with the Western lerritories the importance of which it would be difficult to overrate. It 18 well known that railroads cannot compete with water in the transport of bulky and heavy freight, and if ever a line of communication should be estab- lished across the continent in British territory, and, providing it combined with the necessary amount of railway, all the navigable water which could be rend, ered available, I believe that no other trans-continental line which can be put in operation, north of the (J ulf of Mexico, would be in a position to compete with it. Everything in this regard, however, must be the merest conjecture until the country is opened up and becomes better known. The first grand step is to open the communication between Lake Superior and the Red River Settlement in the manner in which it can be most rapidly done, to be at the same time effective ; and if the barrier is thus broken through, even in a moderate way at first, many additional influences will be brought into play and improvement urged on until a first class line of communication has been obtained. Before concluding this subject, I may state what is known of the Saskatchewan in regard to its capa- city for navigation The Saskatcheivan. is not a river of such great volume as might be supposed from the immense area which it drains. It gathers its waters from a country larger than Canada, and yet it is not equal in size to the St. Lawrence. The precipitation is less in the prairies of the West than in Canada — less snow in winter and less rain in summer, but yet enough of both to make the Saskatchewan a very large river. There is a fine harbour on Lake Winnipeg, just at the mouth of the Saskatch- ewan. Ascending from thence for a mile or so, the first and greatest impedi- ment presents itself. This is called the « Grand Rapids," and here the river makes a descent of about 43 feet, rushing with great impetuosity over flat ledges of limestone rock. Between the Grand Rapid and Lac Bourbon there are several little rapids, having an aggregate fall of about 20 feet. Lac Bourbon is distant from Lake Winnipeg about twenty miles, and from thence Westward to the Rocky Mountains, or at least to a distance of eighty miles beyond Edmonton House, tlie navigation is reported to be uninter- rupted except at two points, whore there are impediments, it is said, easily overcome. The first is at a rapid called Tobern's Falls, about 140 miles above Lac Bour- bon, where, from all that can be learned, a lock of moderate lift might be required The next is at Coles' Rapids, on the North Branch, just above its junction with the South Branch. Here a series of swift runs and little rapidjs, extending over a distance of eighteen miles, would require in some places to be cleared of boulders, and probably a few glance dams might be necessary. These impediments cannot be considered serious in a navigation of eight hun- dred miles, otherwise uninterrupted. ESTIMATE OF THE COST OF PRELIMINARY LINE OF COMMUNICATION. In estimating the cost of work in a distant region, where labour is not to be obtained, regard must be had to the expense of taking men to and from the ground, and the time lost on the way, for which there is no retiun in labour. 181 st prairies of in connection 36 difficult to le transport of luld be estab- :ombined with ;ould be rend- ich can be put m to compete cture until the step is to open ttlement in tho time effective •, y at first, many t urged on until concluding this ard to its capa- tie immense area lan Canada, and ion is less in the ind less rain in an a very large of the Saskatch- greatest impedi- d here the river y over flat ledges there are several miles, and from > a distance of ,ed to be uninter- it is said, easily above Lac Bour- te lift might be just above its id little rapidjj, some places to je necessary, tion of eight hun- LINE OF Lbour is not to be to and from the L'tiun in labour. In the Lake Superior Section, it would be a safe estiinato to allow about twenty days for the journeys to and from the localities in Canada where labour is cheapest and workmen of the class requimd can be engaged. For passage, going and coming and time on thci way, each man would co«t, at an average, $40, which, allowing that 250 men were employed during summer, would reach the serious item of Ten Thousand Dollars. In the Lake Region, west of the height of land, a still larger allowance would have to be made. I draw attention to these circumstances, inasmuch as my estimates for roads, more especially, may appear to bo high ; whereas, when tlie expenses above referred to, as well as the cost of transport for supplies are taken into account, they will be found to be as low it would be safe to make them. Moreover, the experience of the section of road already partially made, although it passes over comparatively easy ground, affords a criterion as to what the cost will be in more difficult sections, and with this in view the estimate has been framed. Roads Lake, Superior Section. The main road which it is proposed to open through this section, as shewn on the accompanying plan. No. 1, has its starting point at the depot on Thunder Bay, from whence it strikes in a tolerably direct course to the mouth of the Matawin, following from thence the valley of that river to the first chute below Shobandowan Lake, where it is proposed to construct a dam. The extent of road remaining to be opened is 36 miles, and a specification marked No. 1, shewing the manner in which it is to be constructed, is hereunto annexed. Its probable average cost is set down in the accompanying estimate at $1,800 per mile. iSome further expenditure will be required, too, on the section of road already partially made, more especially at a hill near Thunder Bay, where a detour has to be made, and for this purpose I have set down $2,000. In my report of last year, for reasons therein stated, it was proposed to run a brancii line of road from Fort William, to connect that very important poi with the main road, and for this purpose a sum of $7,000 was included in the estimate then submitted. During the past summer this branch line was very carefully surveyed. The country through which it runs is somewhat low and swampy, and two small rivers have to be bridged, but a very good line, made in conformity with Specification No. 2, can be obtained at an outlay, as above stated, of $7,000. The length of this line would be 7 miles. Pier at Thunder Bay. In last year's report, it was proposed to sink an isolated pier in front of the depot at Thunder Bay, at which vessels could discharge their loads. It would be placed in a depth of 16 feet of water. Its dimensions would be 150 feet in length by 20 feet in breadth at top, and its cost $2,500.00. This work may be said to be indispensable, for at present there is great difficulty, not to speak of expense, in getting articles landed at that place. Bridge over the Kaministaqvia. This would be a rough but substantial structure, supported by piers of crib work, filled solidly with stone, of which there is great abundance in close proximity. The stream is 300 feet in width, shallow, and running on a bottom paved with boulders. Wood is scarce in the vicinity, the country having been «wept by fire, but the timber got out for a dam at Dog Lake, can be taken down and used in the work. Its cost would be about $4,500.00 >■ ■■•: 182 In the Lake Superior Section the total pioposfd outlay •would thus rtaud as follows : 36 miles main road $1,800 00 $64,800 CO 7 miles Fort William Branch Road 1,000 00 7,0«0 00 Grading Hills, Lake Superior, and compk'ting road partially made 2,000 00 Tier at Thunder Ray 2,500 00 Bridge over Kaministaquia 4,500 00 $80,000 00 A specification for the road and estimate of material are hereunto annexed^ Lake Region. In former reports the designation " Lake Region " was applied to the section between the summit of the water-shed and Fort Frances, but Sliebandowan and Kashaboiwe Lakes, immediately to the east of the water-shed, as they are on the line now proposed to he followed, may properly come under the same head. In the estimate submitted last year will be found a statement of the sums required for each work then proposed as follows : — Dam at French Portage $1,600 00 Dam across Sturgeon River at Island Portage 1 8,000 00 Dam at Nequaquon 4,000 00 Dam at Two Falls Portage on River Seine 20,000 00 B.^ miles road and Tramway, on portages between Lac des ' Mille Lacs and Rainy Lake 1 0,400 00 $54,000 00 Since the estimate on which the above is foinided was made, the circumstan- ces have so far altered, that companies are already being organised for the pur- pose of providing the means of transport, and have it in contemplation to place steamers on such of the navigable reaches as may be of sufficient extent to render their employment profitable. It will, therefore, be a matter of im- portance, even at the outsot of opening the communication, to lengthen the navigable roaches where practicable, and lessen the number of transshipments, and with this end in view it will be advisable to extend the works in certain sections. Shehandowan Lake. At the fir.«t chute on tne Matawin, two miles and a lialf from Shebandowan Lake, and 16 feet under its level, there is a favourable situation for a dam, and one of small dimensions would extend the navigation of the Lake to that point, and save the cost of three miles of roadway, which would otherwise have to be made over very rough and broken ground. It is, however, proposed to raise the level of Shebandowan Lake to the extent of 30 feet, so as to give uninter- rupted navigation to the height of land, and it would be hotter, at once, to put up a dam of dimensions sufficient to ])roduce this result. Before a precise es- timate of the cost can be given it will be necessary to examine the ground about the Lake in order to ascertain whether on raising its surface level the water might not find outlets besides the present one. The country is so high that I believe it would not, and if this should prove to be the case $12,000 would pro- vide for the dam. Material for the work is in unlimited abundance. Timber can be cut on the sliore of the Like, and floated off without any expense in hauling, and stone can be easily obtained either in tlie bed of the river, or by blasting from the high rock on the banks. 183 thus w-taud as; 64,800 00 Linto annexed^ ; once, to put y expense in e river, or hy The Summit Pond. This little lake has to be reduced in level to the extent of five feet, and the channel between it and Kashaboiwe Lake deepened so as to admit of vessels passing from one to the other. The rivulet which connects the two is 600 feet in length, and the fall in that distance 4.99 feet. The bed of the stream is of loose stone, cnrth and decaying timber, without any apparent solid rock. To form a channel for such vessels as would be used, in the first instance, say 30 feet in width, the excavation would amount to 5,000 cubic yards, and the cost, always supposing no solid rock to be met with, about $3,000 00. The Dividing Ridge. This ridge is 50 chains in width, and the gully, already referred to as running through it, affords an easy means of making a cut so as to connect the waters of the western with those of the eastern side. Eventually, when the communi- cation comes to be opened on a large scale, a lock of 7 feet will be required. At present it is proposed to place in the -^ully a wooden tramway at a cost of about $2,500. Lac des Mille Lacs to French Portage. In this section last year it was proposed to raise the water of Lac des Mille Lacs, by means of a dam at the Two Falls Portage, and.to deepen the water in the Windegoostegon Lakes by means of a dam at French Portage. It is, how- ever, a matter of such paramount importance to avoid transshipments, in the conveyance of freight, that I believe it will ba better to incur a little additional expenditure, and do away at once with the Baril and Brule Portages. This can be effected by a dam at the outlet of Lac des Mille Lacs, which will raise the level of that lake to the extent of say 4 feet, a cut between Lac des Mille Lacs and Baril Lake and a dam, of 55 feet in height, at Frencli Portage. It was proposed (see report of last year) to raise the level of Lac des Mille i^acs by a dam at the Two Falls — sometimes called tlie Little Falls — Portage, a point on the Seine, about ten miles below its outlet, where there is an excellent natural position for a work of tlie kind. The situation at the immediate outlet is not verj' favorable ; nevertheless, as explained in my report of last year, I believe a dam could be constructed tliere to raise the Avater to the extent con- templated (only four feet over its present level), at less cost than at the Two Falls ; and this would leave a portion of the estimate for that work to be applied to making the navigation continuous to French Portage, where it is now pro- posed to construct a dam, of height sufficient, to raise the water to the level of Baril Lake. In regard to the excavation necessary between Lac des Mille Lacs and Baril Lake, only an approximative estimate can be made, as the ground has not been measured with sufficient minuteness to admit of a statement in detail ; but for this section, and having in view the doing away with no less than two transshipments, I would propose increasing the estimate of last year, which wat $21,600, by $9,400, making the total $30,000. Other TJ'orA-s, Lake Region. For the otlier works required in the Lake Pvegion, I would respectfully r°fer to my report of last year. They may be briefly stated as follows ; At the French and Deux llivieres Portages, it is proposed to make good wag. gon roads or place tramways. They are each about two miles in length, and, in- tervening between them is Kaogassikok Lake, 15 miles in length. Succeeding Deux Rivieres is the Sturgeon Lake Section, which can be ren- dered navigable, in one unbroken reach of 27 miles, by means of a dam nt Island 184 Pcrtjigc. This dam, measured by the immediate effect it would produce, is the most important work in the whole region of the lakes. Following Island Portage is a navigable reach of 17 miles, through Nequa- quon Lake, ending at Nequaquon Portage, which leads to Nameukan Lake. This Portage is two miles in length, and until locks can be constructed to connect the navigation of the two lakes, it must be used and a tramway placed upon it. Besides the Portage, there are two other Avays of reaching Nameuknn Lake. One by the higli watt bUU«'riority of tlie Cauadiau line in poLut of natural advantages. UESEUVES OF LAND. Wherever Public Works are likely to be recjuired it will be necessary to re- serve tt certain quantity of laud, not very extensive, but enough to cover the works aud the approaclu^s thereto, as, for example, at all localities where locks or dams have to be constructed. It would be well, also, to reserve an ample area at every point where villages or cities were likely to arise, so as prevent the land from falling into the hands of individuals, who are alwayd ready to purchase in such situations for purposes of speculation. Between Lake Sui)erior and Red River Settlement, the localities which strike me as being the most likely to become the sites of villages are Fort Frances, on Rainy River, the North-west angle of the Lake of the Woods, and Oak Point Settlement. I'ort Franceii. This point is at the outlet of a spacious lake, into which several rivers of great volume discharge themselves, after draining an area in which timber fi t for commercial purposes is very abundant. The Falls just in front of the Fort present unlimited water power, which is all the more valuable from the fact that there is none to compete with it within a distance of 150 miles, ces 18, moreover on the course of the river to the westward. Fort Fran- , at the commencement of a tine tract of land, which extends Lake of the Woods, rapidly till up with along the winding course of the Rainy River to the and which, being on the high road to the West, will settlement. ♦ It is likely also to become the centre of a mining district. Schists of Silu- rian age, traversed by lodes of quartz, are plentifully distributed at Rainy Lake and gold has been already reported. Already, too, Cxold mines are being worked at Vermillion Lake, which is on the United States side, but sends its waters to Rainy Lake. With a vast district covered with groves of pine timber to the east, a large tract of the finest conceivable land to the west, and a region likely to prove rich in minerals in close proximity. Fort Fiances must soon become a place of im- portance. Land should in consequence be reserved, not only for the public works necessary to surmount the Falls, but also for the site of a town. * This is the country of which Sir George Simpson wrote as follows ;— " nor are the banks "leas favourable to agriculture than the waters them-selves to navigation, resembling in " some measure those of the Thames near Richmond, &o., and proceeds. " Is it too much "for the eye of philanthropy to discern through the vista of futurity, this noble stream oon- ^'nectingas it does the fertile shores of two spacious lakes with crowded steamboats on '"its bosom and populous towns on its borders. vy<- .', which is on Xorth-n'ful .[iijl- i\t the Ijuk' o/ iff' \Voo'l.<. This point Iwih nothiii}? vrry iittnictivo about it, fiiitlit>r than that, b.iuj; at tho tormiuuH of tht! nuvi^^ution, ami tliu ( oiuirn urouunt of tho himl roads, it mubt boionu! a phicu of conHidimlili- nsoituud, thiTttoic, a town pl«it nhould bo laid olY, and tho iota Hold or gruutcd fico, imdtr condition of building and permanent residence. (ink I'oint Settlcineiit. It would seem ua if p«ople soiuftinies gathered by inntinct, to points which wore destined to become of important e from cau.ie8 of which tlu'y could have had no conception, and (Jak I'oint settlement is one of these. Tiie first settlers could have had no idt-a that a line from the dreary swamps which lay betwoon them and the Lake of tho Woods, and of wliicli thity knew nothing, would emerge at that point. A few explorers attached to the Ued Kiver E.xpe- ditiou, following the best ground from the Nt)rth-west Angle, came upon tho settlement, and, as the track th«'y laid out is to be a highway, there is every indication that it will beconie a place of importance. Forty families have already established themselves and a church has sprung up in their midst. Tho land is of unsurpasHed fertility, and being •vhere the prairies and forest meet, it has the advantages of a wooded and cleared country combined. Wood for fuel, building and fencing, on one side, and liclds, for hay and pasture, bounded only by the dim horizon, on tho other. A 'J'owu I'lot should be laid oil', ami not a lot granted except to an actual settler. Fort (Jarnj, Situated, as it is, on navigable waters, which have their sweep across half a continent, and with land of unequalled fertility surrounding it in every direction, must become a very important place. It is a point at wliich water lines, rail- roads, and telegraphs will converge. Hundreds of miles away to the South, the valley in which it stands blends imperceptibly with that of tho Mississippi, atl'ordiug easy means of communication. In tho opposite direction are vast tracts of navigable water, wliich alford ready access to the McKenzie Iliver and the fur-producing regions of the North. To the West, the broad Saskatchewan gives a route to the llocky Mouutiiius, with the gold fields of British Co- lumbia just beyond, and to tho East lies tho proj 'ctod road to Canada, which will yet bring its stream of traffic and immigration to tho Prairies of the West. Nearly sixty years have passed since Lord Selkirk planted his little colony of Scotch Highlanders at Fort Garry, and even then he must have seen tho advantages of the situation in which he placed his countrymen, and tho future which awaited their descendants, who are now among the lords of the soil, and must continue to grow in wealth as the country increases in prosperity. The lands at Fort Garry are in private hands, so that no reserves can be made ; but, as a general rule. Town Plots should be laid olf and reserves wherever there is any likelihood of villages arising, and in such situations lots should bo sold^ or granted Jree^ only to actual settlers. THE INDIANS ON THE LINE iiOUTE. In my report of last year, printed by order of the House of Commons, I re- ferred to the Indians iulabitiug the Country about Rainy Kiver and tho Lake of 19-Z the Woods, as being the ouly tribe with which the country would come "a con- tract, in opening the communication between Lake Superior and the Itcd River Settlement. These Indians occupy a peculiar and somewluit exceptional position. They are a community by themselves, and are essentially wood Indians, although going on huutiug or lighting expeditions to the prairies. They are of the same tribe as the Indians at lied lliver, speak the same language, and regard them as their kindred ; but the}' seldom see them, and have but little intercourse with them. Although the principal line of traffic at one time passed through their terri- tory, they have for hall a century had but little intercourse with the white man, Missionorics have made no impressions upon them and, in many respects, they l>ave shewn themselves to be less amenable to the influences of civilization, than Indians usually are. They, in fact, take pride in maintaining their distinctive Indian character, are deeply imbued with traditions of what they believe to be an honorable past history, and would look with disdain on any of the community becoming christian. They have a sort of government, consider themselves great braves, and occa- sionally send war parties to fight the Sioux on the plains. The International boundary line passes through tlieir territory and some of them live on the United States side and some on the British. The permanent residents, how- ever, are almost entirely on the British side, those from the United States making their appearance in considerable numbers only in summer, during the fishing season. The country on cither side is in a state of nature, wild and unsettled. They are sufficiently organized, numerous and warlike, to be dangerous if disposed to hostility ; and, standing as they do in the gateway to the territories of the North- West, it is of the highest importance to cultivate amicable relations with them. One of the first necessary steps to be taken, will be to arrive at a distinct understanding as to right of way, and have the same embodied in a formal treaty. This treaty, if confined solely to that one point — right of way — as it should be, without reference to lands for settlement, anc' other questions, which could be arranged after the communication was opened, would occasion no further outlay than would be involved in a few presents of blankets and such articles as they require, which an officer sent for the purpose might judiciously distribute, with the aid of the Agents of the Hudson's Bay Company. On the opening of the communication, last year, the chiefs of the tribe sent o. ic of their number, attended bv a party of his followers, to Fort William, to ascertain what was being done, and to learn the intentions of the Government in regard to opening the communication. No information, on the subject of his enquiries, could at that time be given to him, but the fact of the tribe having sent such a messenger, and for such a jturpose, shews the deep interest which they take in the present movement. They would be keenly alive to any imagined slight in opening a highway, without regard to them, through a territory of which they believe themselves to be sole lords and masters, and to which, if a lengtViened period of occupation can give a claim, they have un- questionably some title. As stated in my report of last yenr, working parties must be kept as much as possible aloof from the Indians, and the officers in charge should always see that they are treated with proper respect. They are very different from the timid and cringing creatures who are now the sole representatives of the Indian Race in the back settlements of Canada, and the bearing I have sometimes seen adopted towards the latter would not be relished. Never having come in contact with what they believe to be a superior race, they are conscious of no inieriority ; but, while this is manifest in their bearing, they are, at the same time, inofi'ensive and obliging. 193 The maintonauoe of order and amicublo nlalions will be much facilitated by the utter and complete exclusion of intoxicating liquors. The penalty for the introduction of such on the American side is the States Prison. Pity that we have not so salutary a law on the British side. For further notice of the Indians, see last year's report, page 2G. :h their terri- MANNEU OF PKOGRESSING WITH THE WORK. As explained in my rei)ort of last year, the preliminary works oroposed are of that nature which can be better performed by engaging good workmen and competent overseers, than by contract. As many men as could be advantageously employed, should be at once placed on the land roads at either end of the route, so as to render the navigable waters of the interior sections accessible as speedily as possible. The Lake Superior road can easily be supplied with workmen and material from Canada. For the road between the north-west angle of the Lake of the Woods and Fort Garry, workmen can readily be engaged in the Red River Settlement, but the dearth now prevailing at that place, and which must continue to prevail until harvest, would render it necessary, in the early part of the season, to pro- •^ure supplies in the northern settlements of Minnesota. In regard to the Lake Region, timber can be prepared for the dams and floated, during summer, to the respective positions where it is required, and the work of excavation and construction could, in several instances, go on imme- diately and be continued during winter, when supplies can bo sent in more cheaply by sleighs, than with canoes in summer. When the road between Thunder Bay and Shebandowan Lake is completed, there will be no difficulty in conveying supplies to the works in the interior, and this is one of the reasons why it should be pushed through as rapidly as possible. Operations in such distant localities as Nameukan and Nequaquon, would be expensive and cannot well be undertaken until this road is completed. SCHEME OF A RAILROAD TO RAINY LAKE. In one of my prelimJuTy reports, printed soon after the explorations had commenced in the North- West Territories, occurs the following passage : — " When the circumstances of the country would admit of the outlay, a con- *' tinuous railroad — 195 miles in length — might be made between Lake Superior " and Rainy Lake, and another of 91 J miles i)etween Lac Plat and Fort Garry. " If this were done, and two locks constructed at Fort Frances, the Red River « Settlement would be within less than two days' journey of Lake Superior, &c." (Journal Reports of I860, N. W. Territories, page 29.) Since the report containing the above was written, there has been much ad- ditional exploration, and the result has been to show that a railroad of 40 miles, between Thunder Bay and the navigable waters of the interior section, combined with the lockage suggested, would be of greater advantage and vastly more eco- nomical, both in construction, in the tirst instance, and in working it after- wards, than a continuous line to Rainy Lake. The latter, although the distance, in an air line, is only one hundred and seventy miles, allowing for neces- sary curvature, in such a region, would run up to about two hundred miles, and there are certain very important conditions which it would not meet. 18 194 It could not be extended at a future period to the Ecd River Settlement, except through United States Territory, on account of the Lake of the Woods, which spreads its waters for a hundred miles directly across its course ; and it could form no part of a line from Canada to Fort Garry, as it would be over sixty miles distant from such a line at its starting point, on Lake Superior, and about a hundred at its terminus on Rainy Lake. It would only be a " Portage Railroad," available during the season of navi- gation, for connecting one tract ofnavigable waters with another. In this respect it would, no doubt, be highly useful, but the same object can be eflected, in this case, by the shorter line of 40 miles now suggested, combined, as it would be, with the lockage necessary to render the navigation continuous, between its terminus and the North-west angle of the Lake of the Woods. The idea of a continuous line to Rainy Lake, was merely thrown out as a sug- gestion in a preliminary report, in which were discussed the various ways of reaching the Red River Settlement and their advantages, as compared to the longer route througL the United States. It has, however, had a great deal of importance attached to it, and been adopted by many warm advocates of open- ing communication with the North-West Territories, and I trust they will per- ceive that I am not now arguing so much against their views as explaining why a suggestion 'jaade by myself, before the explorations had proceeded far, might now be improved upon, by extending the navigable section and adopting a greatly shorter and less expensive railroad. The principle in both cases is the same, — a railroad from Thunder Bay to the navigable waters of the interior — only that, as now proposed, the navigation would be extended to within a shorter distance of Lake Superior. FURTHER SURVEYS AND EXPLORATIONS. Between Nipigon Bay and Fort Garry. As already explained, in projecting a line of railroad from Lake Superior to the Red River Settlement, Nipigon Bay should be adopted as the starting point. Running from thence in the most direct course possible, the line would come upon Luc Seul — a large sheet of water tributary to the Winnipeg. From thence it is likely that practicable ground would be found by keeping in a course nearly direct to the north end of the Lake of the Woods. From the latter point to Fort Garry, the country is better known, and no great difficulty need be appre- hended, except in the vicinity of Rat Portage, where a considerable area is oc- cupied by low rocky hills. Should the ground prove to be of a very difficult character between Lac Seul and the North end of the Lake of the Woods, it is probable that a better line might be found by following the valley of the English River — the discharge of Lac Seul — to the Winnipeg, crossing the latter above the confluence of the two, and continuing along its valley to the Seven Portages, from which point a line could be carried to the Red River Settlement, in a distance of about forty miles, over a level but somewhat swampy "country. By adopting the valley of the English River the distance would not be greatly lengtnened, and according to the most reliable accounts a fair country would be thrown open for settlement. Fine crops are raised at the Hudson's Bay Company farm at Lac Seul, and, as limestone underlies a portion of the country, it is reasonable to suppose that where it prevails, the soil, as is generally the case, must be good, and the ground at the same time favourable for railways. The principal difficulties will doubtless be found in this case, as elsewhere Settlement, the Woods, rse ; and it lid be over iperior, and ion of navi- this respect cted, in this t would be, between its Hit as a sug- ous ways of >ared to the reat deal of tes of open- ey will per- ilaining why 1 far, might [ adopting a cases is the e interior — to within a Superior to arting point. would come Trom thence ourse nearly er point to d be appre- area is oc- ery difficult Woods, it is alley of the ag the latter ) the Seven Settlement, py ^country. 3uld not be fair country he Hudson's k portion of le soil, as is 3 favourable iS elsewhere 195 with lines starting from Lake Superior, in getting to the waters of the western slope. A survey should be made of the entire route and, in carrying it out, the levels along the water courses should be determined by actual measurement, with the spirit level, and the elevation of the adjoining country ascertained, approxima- tely, by the barometer. The region is intersected by rivers and lakes, navigable to birch canoes, so that no great time need be occupied in making a cursory survey, such as would be necessary to ascertain the general character of the country. This survey might be combined with operations at Fort William, so that no separate organisation would bo required. Between Thunder Bay and Rainy Lake. Measurements require to be taken, on which to base estimates for the work required to render the navigation continuous between Shebandowan Lake and Fort Frances, and in view of the importance which murt now attach to the country on the line of route, cursory surveys should be made of all the lakes and tributary streams for a considerable distance on either side thereof. These sur- veys might, without greatly increasing the outlay, be carried on in connection with the work on the projected roads and dams already reported on. Mr. RUSSELL'S WORK ON THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORIES. In concluding this report I feel it incumbent upon me, in the interest of public information, on the subject of the North-West Territories, to draw atten- tion to a work by A. J. Russell, Esq., of this city, about to issue from the press of Geo. E. Desbarats, Esq., an advance copy of which I have had the privilege of perusing. A lack of proper knowledge of these immense regions, so widely diiferent in their climatic influences — though heretofore so generally referred to imder the somewhat chilly name of Hudson's Bay, to which vast territories, thus classed, bear not the slightest affinity — and the utter want of any available means of acquiring such knowledge, has heretofore precluded the possibility of any general practical discussion of the results to be attained by the development of the country. The information about to be laid before the public in Mr. Russell's work, will, therefore, be of the very greatest importance, drawing, as it does, from every source that patient investigation could render available such stores of knowledge as have yet accumulated, and presenting the whole, illustrated by maps shewing the fertile and the barren, the genial clime which invites millions of settlers to till the virgin soil, and the hyperborean regions where the hunter and the fur trader will still have unmolested sway, in a manner that will enable every one to judge for himself of the future that awaits the Dominion that now presents so vast a field for enterprise and pro- gress. Mr. Russell's work is deserving of a more extended notice than comes within the scope of this report. THE GREAT NORTH-WEST. Although it may seem to be stepping aside a little from the direct matter of this report — properly confined to the subject of opening the communication — yet, inasmuch as I have, heretofore, under the orders of the Government, visited 196 the great region farther to the west, to which the opening of the first link is but the unbarring of the gateway, I cannot close without congratulating the country and the honorable gentlemen themselves, on the success achieved by the depu- tation in settling a question that lays open to the enterprise of the Dominion a region which forms no inconsiderable poition of the American Continent, and which is probably unsurpassed, in the variety and extent of its natural resources, by any other area of equal dimensions on the earth's surface. To those who believe that the North- West country, including the Red River and Saskatchewan valleys, were properly a part of Canada, when they consider the formidable array which stood in the way of establishing our rights, and the vastness of the stake, the sum to be paid will appear insignificant ; and when, in addition to all that could have been fairly claimed, we acquire an immense territory, rich in the products of the chase, in fisheries and probably in mines, to which the right of the Hudson's Bay Company was not even in dispute, and extinguish thereby the last vestige of a sway which, however mildly exercised, is not conformable to constitutional usage, over any part of British North America, a result has been accomplished of which the country at large and the delegates themselves may justly feel proud. There is but one point in the transaction to which some seem disposed to take exception, and that is the appropriation to the Company of a small propor- tion of the land within the district known as the Fertile Belt, and which is not the only fertile belt in the wide regions of the North- West. I would scarcely feel justified in touching o' this subject did I not believe, from long personal intercourse with the resident members of the Company, that the arrangement will work well and conduce to the general advantage. No one wiU disj u+o tlie wisdom and ability with which the Hudson's Bay Company have conducted their affairs, and if in the past they have sought to ex- clude settlement, as opposed to their interests, is it not reasonable to believe that the same ability will now be directed to its promotion, both because they will have other dealings with Canada, which will make it their interest to act in concert with her, and because their lands in the fertile belt will thereby in- crease in value ? Assuming this as the natural result, I can speak of the resident partners and officers of the Company as having it in their power to render the most important services, both in aid of settlement and in the control of the Indian element. They are wedded to the soil ; they know every part of the country, and under the new regime they will feel that their interests are identical with its progress. Moreover, the influence of the partners in England — many of whom are in posi- tions which will render their aid of the greatest importance — in directing emigration to the Prairies of the West, will probably be of more avail than any other effort likely to be made in the same direction. To conclude, there is a beautiful and fertile land of vast proportions, inviting the husbandman to its virgin soil. If we, in turn, invite and interest all influ- ences in the Dominion, the Hudson's Bay Company included, to unite in its development and in directing emigration and settlement to it, the dt./ is not distant when a teeming population of millions will find there the means of prosperity and plenty ; and it would be a fitting sequel to the work now being accomplished if, within a few short years from this date — which is quite pos- sible — the delegates of last winter. Sir George E. Cartier, Bart., and Hon. Wm. McDougall, C. B., with the best appliances of modern travel, could visit the fer. tile belt, and see its broad navigable rivers, cutting through great coal fields near their sources, to wind for many hundreds of miles through grassy prairies of unsurpassed fertility or, passing from this fertile belt, to view still another belt .^3 vast, — farther to the north, but farther also to the West, and under the cli- matic influence of a lower level — where another navigable river, the great Unjiga, taking its rise in the plains of British Columbia, cuts through the Rocky Mountains, in its course of a thousand miles, and winds eastward ; link is but the country y the depu- Dominion a itincnt, and al resources, c lied River ley consider hts, and the ; and when, m immense in mines, to dispute, and y exercised, ■itish North ,ry at large L disposed to mall propor- which is not )uld scarcely )ng personal arrangement ludson's Bay sought to ex- ile to believe because they titerest to act [thereby in- 197 through woodland and prairie, across ton degrees of longitude. This is the Region whicli so impressed Sir Alexander McKenzie, the lirst civilized man who liad ever beheld it. Early in May he saw the coimtry green with exuberant verdure, its gently undulating hills and valleys covered, far as the eye could r(!acli, witli vast herds of Buffalo and Elk, with tlieir young fiisking about tliem. He si>eaks of its soft and beautiful scenery, its trees in full blossom, and indeed, to judge from his account, as well as from tlio narratives of other travellers, it Avould seem as if this remote country of the llnjiga, with its winding streams, its clumi)S of trees, and beautiful green sward, and its herds of untamed cattle, rivals, if it does not surpass, in many places, all the groves, lawns and plantations witli whidi genius and art i95* bv^«^. / 5.1 ■1^ i ' nXilf:., Jlj/iU .' I At' t V... .e'V5 M; \ i^ ^^at i> :■• -^-i *" oj"*' .^'ifd t^j 5k^ »5 / ' i life -JSlJ..^^ si /i ^t ^^ Sp^^iii?^ M J^ %^^ / 120 iXO 105 100 Xonj^itado Westof G.wcK95 ^ -M / r O N Cy E N L A N O ^ -^NcT ^^:^% >?^# /Mi^'W^ / / / 100 Xonj^itudo WestQfG.w icK95 00 as «» 75 Ji;:- ^< Cy K N L A N O m w B O M S H S EOBTEt-WSST &> I wo rn mPT"'''" ■ ' T1\A tetfv.tO'irvaX'n.aOT.o.* oi-TvoTluovy IVj !PHB ® o m: I H 1 :m ow o a ?f a b a 1 /iiy//.o STH-WSST ^ mVi^30E'^ BAY '5i'iii{iiiX/i'C?llX]S&.