^, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 IfiUl |2.S «■ lii 112.2 u 2.0 1.8 U ill 1.6 0%^ <^ /: 7 M . I , CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 1980 ,jm Technical Notes / Notes techniques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Physical features of this copy which may alter any of the images in the reproduction are checked below. D D n Coloured covers/ Couvertures de couleur Coloured maps/ Cartes gdographiques en couleur Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages d6color6es, tachet6es ou piqudes Tight binding (may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin)/ Reliure serr6 (peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge intdrieure) L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Certains difauts susceptibies de nuire d la quality de la reproduction sont notis ci-dessous. D D D D Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur Coloured plates/ Planches en couleur Show through/ Transparence Pages damaged/ Pages endommagdes Th PC of fil Tfr CO or ap Jt fil ini M in up be fo Q Additional comments/ Commentaires suppldmentaires Fold-out mapL-, charts, etc., may be filmed at a different reduction ratio than the rest of the book. Bibliographic Notes / Notes bibliographiques n D D Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible Bound with other material/ Reli6 avec d'autres documents Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque Plates missing/ Des planches manquent Additional comments/ Commentaires suppl^mentaires D D D Pagination incorrect/ Erreurs de pagination Pages missing/ Des pages manquent Maps missing/ Des cartes gdographiques manquent Blanks leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming. The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettet6 de I'exemplaire film^, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol —^(meaning CONTINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la der- nidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole y signifie "FIN". The original copy was borrowed from, and filmed with, the kind consent of the following institution: Library of the Public Archives of Canada Maps or plates too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: L'exemplaire filmd fut reproduit grfice d la gin^rositd de I'dtablissement prdteur suivant : La bibliothdque des Archives publiques du Canada Les cartes ou les planches trop grandes pour dtre reproduites en un seul clich6 sont film6es d partir de I'angle sup^rieure gauche, de gauche d droite et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nicessaire. Le diagramme suivant illustre la mdthode : 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 '-'W«i«*««»v«.^ TMm LAKE TEMISCAMINGUE DISTRICT, PROVINCE OF ONTARIO, CANADA. '^ ''^^rm tTIo?,°^ 'J^ S°"- climate. PRODUCTS. AREA. AGRI- CULTURAL CAPABILITIES AND OTHER RESOURCES. TOORTHBR WITH INFORMATION PERTAINING TO THE SALE OF PUBLIC LANDS WRITTEN BV C. C. FARR OF HAILBYBCRY, LAKB TBMI80AMIK0VK. TORONTO: PRINTED BY WARWICK & SONS, 68 ano 70 FRONT STREET WEST 1893. H L ■* <* ■^^tX// 1 <^WH,^ i- \ SKETCH OF TOWNSHIPS L/^/<£ rEM/30AM/A/GCy£: .SfnJ^ /? .Wt (<'.. the Noith-west Outfit Reiiuired Water r.MJK. 3 3 4 4 5 6 7 10 11 12 Game and Fish 12 The People 12 Saw Mills, Grist Milk and Stores. How t.j Get There Hotel Acconnaoilation General Information Hhits for Settlers on the Way l']> Townships Opened for Sale How to Purchase Public Lands. . . 12 13 13 18 14 15 IG W^ /OS I RE LA]vE TEMISCAMINGUE. INTRODUCTION. In writing this short pamphlet, I have eiuleavoied to treat tlie subject as dispassionately as is consistent with one whose heart is in the work, and who believes in the jxreat future of Lake Teniiscaniiniifue. I have only stated what I know to be facts, and iu relation to agricultural possibilities 1 write from an experience that extends over a period of about twenty years. I have not quoted the words of others, believing that my own experience .siiouid teach me best what information is most needed by intending settlers, and that one whose manhood has been spent in any particular portion of a country, has more real knowledge of its conditions than could possibly be gained by a hurried visit, or from unreliable hearsay. 1 have .sacrificed the artistic, the literary and the romantic, for tlie practical, everyday questions of common sense. Nor is this a guide book for tourists. I speak to men with wliom the ques- tion of the day is how to live and make money, not how to spend it; for by such men is the bush subdued, and the forests turned into farms. I wish it understood that 1 do not advise men enjoying comfortable homes to exchange them for the bush. Bush farming is not a pastime nor a pleasure, it is hard, unconq)romising work; nor would 1 care to take the responsibility of advising any man to undertake it, but 1 can assure those who wish to try it, that the land in the Lake Temiscamingue district is good, and that all the other conditions are such that the making of a comfortable home, and the gaining of an independence, are merely questions of energy and time. Lake Temlscamingue. Twenty-five years ago, school children were taught that Lake Temiscamingue was the source of the River Ottawa, a fallacy that was disproved on closer exami- nation by competent men, who found that it was merely an expansion of the OUawa, the ..ource of which must be looked for between three and four hundred miles further north and east. In those days, however, little was known of our vast possessions north of the line of settlement, they being generally considered rough and unfit for cultivation, and with a climato so rigorous as to preclude all ideas of agricultural possibilities, fit only as the habitation of fur-bearing animals, or of the Indians who hunted them. The last few years have proved that this was all a grave mistake, and that geographically Temiscamingue is further south than many countries famous for their cereals— south of London, of Paris, of Vienna, and of the best wheat-grow- ing sections of European Russia, whilst on our own continent Manitoba and the (Treat Noith-West are to us in latitude as is the North Pole. Even Rainy River, lately proved suitable for agriculture, is north of Temiscamingue, while Min- nesoto, Dakota, and parts of Michigan are away north, and yet people will talk of almost perpetual snow and ice in these regions, when a glance at the map will w those who know anything of geography, latitudes and isothermal lines that niscaminwue lies in the very centre of the best wheat producing belt in the world. Therefore, having proved geographically and logically that the climate is all that could be desired, practical demonstration of which \\\\\ be found further on, let us now consider the nature and quality of the soil. The Soil. Contrary to all geological theories and expectations there has been deposited at the northern or upper end of Lake Temiscamingue an extensive bed of lime- stone exceedingly fossiliferous, and, geologically speaking, of the Silurian epoch. This limestone has been worn away in most i)laces by the action of th(; ice during the flacial ao-e, ground to powder in fact, and the resulting sediment mixe'l with that of other rocks has been deposited in the basin of that sea where the limestone was ori'Tinally formed, thus making a magnificent sub-soil of calcareous clay, upon which age after age the black mould formed of decayed vegetable matter has gathered and accumulated until it has become perfect for the use of man, nature's heirloom to her children, pre-arranged and pre-ordained, a farm factory started hundreds of tliousands of years ago, silently and wonderfully manufacturing farms for a generation only foreseen by the all-fon^seeing ()nr. Why waste further words in deseribing the so'l ? Tho-^e whu run uui>- read, and reading know that such a soil so made nmst be the very l>est for ugricuUuie. Geologically speaking, therefore, Temiscamingue is undoubtedly suitable for ac'riculture, and it only now remains to prove by practice what lias l)een proved by theory; but this comes uinlcr anntlier heading and will !..■ fouiid i'nrther on. ThI'. Timmhr. This is the least attractive, because the most misleading feature of the country. It has often been said that the (juality of the soil can be juoplar, balsam, spruct', birch, balm of gilead and tamarack. In places cedar is very plentiful and gi-ows to an enormous size on comparatively high ground. The small size of the timber is not the result of the soil, but on account of being compa)'atively a young growth. Over one hundred years ago a mighty Hre must have swept these forests bare, and the present covering is but an overgrown second ii-ntwtli. The advantage of sucli light ti? iber is obvious. Logging be ecomes a possi- oihty CO a man not iiuule of iron, or who does not wi.sh to become prematurely old : while the land can be stumped so much the sooner. Five years after chopping, any ordinary team will tear out most of the stumps, and conseciuently novr farms soon take the appearance of old ones. Thp: Markets. The Ottawa River is famous for its pineries. Lumbering operations on a large scale are carried on every year. The shanties consequently are the pimcipal mai-kets, and prices of produce, as a matter of course, fluctuate according to the supply and demand. Oats have started in the fall at 60 cents per bushel and reached S1.25 by the spring. Hay has been sold as high as 850 one year, loose in the barn, and in the following year offered for $15, pressed. But ot late years the prices have become more steady, which is a better sign and indicative of a general improvement both in the supply and demand. The present prices are about a fair sample of what to expect ; though of course the nearer approach of the railroad will have a modi lying effect on them Jind in most cases, though insuring a more steady market, the effect will be to lower them. The following are the quotations of the fall of 1892 : Hay, per ton, [uussed at farm ii^20 00 Oats, pel' 1 >ushel qq Parley ' • 1 00 ^'eas " (JO Wheat " 1 50 '^eans '• 3 00 Potatoes, pel' bag qq Turnips " 2.5 Butter, per pound 26 Pork, green, per pound 08 Beef, per pound 07 What the Country Will Grow. Anything that can be grown in a temperate climate can be grown on Temiscamingue soil, oven to some of the tenderest vegetables, as the following will show : Vegetables : Vegetables:— Con. Cereals : Fruits : Beans, Parsnips, Barley, Apples, Beets, Pens, Oats, Plums, Cabbage, Pumpkins, Peas, Grapes, Cauliflower, Potatoes, Wheat. Gooseberries, Carrots, Radishes, Currants, Celery, Rhubarb, Raspberries, Cucumbers, Squash, Strawberries. Corn, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Tobacco, Melons, Turnips. Onions, Everything included in the above list has been successfully grown, and it is probable that if anything else yet remains to complete those lists it would prove equally successful. The wild fruits are unusually plentiful and Temiscamingue blueberries are famous. Its wild plums are more famous for their quality than their quantity, though even they are more numerous than in most bush countries, and are wonder- fully large and sweet ; better in fact than many garden sorts. Wild strawberries, raspberries and gooseberries are also plentiful, and in Some spots on the broken limestone of the lak^ shore the wild grape grows and ripens in a manner that wo'ild do credit to the sunniest slopes of Southern Ontario. Summer Frost.s. To say that there are no summer frosts would bo misleading. August is the month in which they are most dreaded, but they certainly do not occur every year, nor indeed once in three years. When they do come, the grain as a rule escapes injury, only the tenderest vegetables suffering, and then in isolated clearances at considerable distance from the lake. Provided that the grain is sown early enough even in the worst years, farmers can allbrd to laugh at the summer frosts, for the grain ripens before they are possible. In a new country farmers have not the conveniences for early seeding that they have in other places ; apart from the fact that they have not, and can not use, machinery, their w id •n he time is taken up in the spring with logging, picking roots, and preparing the land when they should be sowing their grain ; consecpiently the grain is late and if it gets touched with the frost they complain of the climate, whereas if tliey thor- oughly consider the matter they would remember that on the farms where they formerly lived, they would never have thought of sowing anything but buck- wheat as late as they sow oats or any other grain on their new farms, and yet if their crops fail to ripen, they throw the responsibility of their own thoughtless- ness and necessity on the climate which in truth had nothing to do with the matter. Every new settlement in Canada has been abused and condemned in its tin e by the older settlements immediately south of it, on account of its frosts, " Too cold," they have said, " and too far north, nothing will grow there," and when it has been proved to the contrary, history again repeats itself, and the new settle- ment becoming old, prophesies evil of its younger neighbor, still further north. It is another proof that each man thinks that the world was created especially for himself and that the other fellow has no right to the same good things that he enjoys, and so it will be forever, until we reach the arctic regions. But to return to the subject of summer frosts, about which enough has been said to con- vince anyone reading this that there must be grounds for all this talk. As a matter of fact, Temiscamingue is less afflicted in this respect than were many parts of southern Ontario when Hrst opened for settlement. It is possible that the height of land may have a sheltering effect upon this low-lying valley of the Ottawa, or perhaps such frosts are purely local and the result of local causes, such as swampy land and dense green forest growth. Bo what it may the chances of such frosts will be yearly lessened by the clearing of the bush, ami in the future Temiscamingue will enjoy more certain immunity from them than some of the most favored spots of Ontario. The Seasons. Seeding time commences about the tirst week in May and ends, so far as oats are concerned, about the fourth of June, though oats have been sown as lato «,jj the 20th of June and have done fairly well. Botatoes can be jilanted as lato as the 20th of June, and it does not profit much to put them in butbre the 24th of May. Corn, cucumbers and melons can be sown about that ilate. The snow begins to melt about the 12th of April and is all gone by the first week in May, sometimes earlier. Navigation opens not later than the 10th of May. Haying commences about the 14th of July, harvest the l.ith of August, The fall is open, and the large lake is seldom frozen before the second week in December. The steamers run last fall until the 12th of December. In winter the cold is not so intense as would be e.xpected, and the lowest readings of the thermometer give Temiscamingue the advantage over many other places further south. \ Minerals. When Sir William J^ogau first passed through this section many years ago, he recognized the importance of its minerals. He Is reported t<> have said that the day would some when the mines of Temiscaraingue would employ more men than the pine forests, ft seems that Sir William was right, fui' the mineral discoveries of late years have been of consicu rable importance, showing the existence of minerals of nearly every desciiption- -silver-bearing galena, copper, iron, niekel, mica and asbestos — wliik- through it all run traces of gold, giving promise of important discoveries in that respect in the future. So far only a few of these ' finds " have been brought before iu;blic notice, chief of which are the Wright galena mine of Temiscamingue, the Gnay or Girard nickel mine also of Temiscamingue, the Klock galena or copper mine on Montreal river, the Gilligan copper mine on the same river, the Ferguson copper and gold mines on Temiscamingue, the Cock burn Cross Lake Mine tm the same lake, and sundry other " finds" all through the district, all awaiting better means of com- munication for their development, and indicative of the fact that though these first finds may not prove bonanzas, at least minenils .-ire plentiful in the country, and when by fires or otherwise the district shall have been denuded of its forests, the words of Sir William Logan will be verified and mining will be one of the chief industries of Temiscamingue and its neighborhood. A. glance at the geo- logical map will show that Sudbury is on but a narrow arm of the great Huron- ian belt stretching diagonally through the Districts of Alguma and Nipissing. The developments at Sudbury were made possible only by the Canadian Pacific Railway. A new railway will also be the means of developing a greater than Sudbury hsre. The Ideological Survey iJepsrtnumt at Ottawa have paid more attention to this section than to any other. Their reports constantly call attention to the possibility and likelihood of immense mineral deposits being found on Lakes Temiscamingue and Temagamingue and the Montreal River, and th(nr testimony is valuable because they are not privately interested in the country. Tnii I*INK. On the Quebec side of the lake much timber has already been taken otf and still they are busy at it : but on the Ontario side, ten miles west of the lake, the limits are as yet unsold. In spite of serious fires, the result of criminal stupidity on the part of men who should have known better, there is yet a considerable quantity of pine awaiting the axe, the cutting of which will insure a market and employment for this settletiient for many years to come, In the townships to be opened for settlement very little pine is found. It ^ '»' '^- appaiently was destroyed b^' that great tire which swept through it one liundred 3'ears ago, as proved by the lon^ low mounds of rotten wood, tnoss-covered and obscure tombs of the niighty giants of tlie forest, who towered over the rest in by-gone centuries. ScHooi.s AND Churches. There are none. Temiscamingue civilized is a condition of the future. It is essentially a new country. Were it otherwise, this piunj)b]et would not now be sent abroad to proclaim the fact of its existence. If .schools and churches abounded there would be people occupying the land ; otherwise, how could they have been built and supported ? No, there are no schools nor churches, but let the people come and they will quickly follow. Like gaols and drinking .saloons, they are the products of civilization, and, with them, will increase in proportion to the high estate of that civilization At this stage of development, so embry- onic and primitive, the question of must interest to men is whether the land will support them and their families, and if it will, then the question of schools and churches is one that they themselves can solve. For fear lest it should be imagined that the few Protestants forming this community are altogether left to their own devices in the matter of religion, be it said that for the last three summers a student from Wycliffe College in Toronto has looked after the adherents of the Anglican ])ersuasion, while the Presbyterian minister from Mattawa has also paid periodical visits in the inter- est of his denomination. The Roman Catholic church is well represented on the Quebec side, there being a large church, convent and missionary house at Baie des Peres, besides other churches, such as on the Indian Reserve at the head of the lake and at Gordon Creek at the foot. Railroads. At present the nearest railroad is the Canadian PaciHc Railway at Mattawa, a distance of one hundred miles from Haileybury. The C. P. R. intends pushing a branch line from Mattawa which, following the valley of the Ottawa River, will emerge on Temiscamingue at the head of the Long Sault rapids, oc foot of Temiscamingue Lake. It will bring the railroad thirty miles nearer, and by the help of the steamers on the lake enable the traveller to leave Mattawa in the morning and arrive at Haileybury the same evening. It will also considerably lessen the costs of fares and freight. In winter, however, it will not benefit much, for there will still remain about seventy miles of sleighing between the C. P. R. terminus, and the new settlement. It is not therefore to the C. P. R. extensi much valuable time which would be better spent in increasing the size of the clearance. The above hints apply even to men who have considerable substance. Sup- pose, for example, a man is able to buy and support a team immediately on his arrival, he would have no use for it except to draw a few building logs. He would need to chop first, nor could he reasonably expect to log before the follow- ing spring. If, then, he has the money to buy a team, and needs one, as he would do for his logging, every year farmers from the lower settlements send team.s into the sh inties to work during the winter, and they are often anxious to sell just about the very time in the spring that the new settler wishes to buy, when good bargains are often made and teams bought for a figure far less than they would cost to bring up. 12 Cows also can be procured in the countr\- at a lower tiguru than tlioy would cost to brinff up. A good cow giving milk can bo bought for forty dollar-*. Oxen can also be bought, though if the demand were very sudden and larye it might be hard to get them. W^ATER. Speaking of stock reminds one of the great advantage the country affords on account of its abundant suppl}' of excellent water. It is a perfect network of creeks, both large and small. The water in them is unusually clear and cold and as a rule n(jt the result of surface diainage but of perpetual springs. What effect the clearing of the bush will have on them it is hard to say, but the geo- logical formation of the country would imply that there is not much likelihood of their running dry, for springs welling up through a clay soil are as a rule not much iitiected by surface changes. Game and Fish. All kinds of deer, such as moose, cariboo and red deei, are pleiitiful, as are fish of the ordinary kinds, such as bass, pike, pickerel and trout, wherever there are small lakes, but as a rule in the best townships there are very few small lakes, which is a good sign, for many s)iiall lakes mean much rock. Large tracts of good clay soil are generally free of lakes. The People. It may seem strange that a certain locality should have any effect upon tlie tempera ;nent of the people dwelling therein, yet such is the case, and the effect of Temiscamingue is to call forth the very best attributes of humanity, charity, off- handedness, and extraordinary hospitality. This has been universally recognized by all who have paid a visit to this lake, and though this distinctive feature may apply to the whole length of the Ottawa River, Temiscamingue prides herself in it, and the general hope is, that long may she retain that reputation. Saw Mills, Grist, Mills and Stores There is at present one saw mill in the settlement, also a grist mill and a good store. The name of the post office is Haileybury, close to the mill, on the lake shore, in the third concession of the township of Burke. There are two other mills on the Quebec side of the lake, and a number of stores, so that everything i-equired in reason by settlers can be procured at about the same figure that it would cost to bring it up. IH How TO Get There. Mauawa, on the C. I'. R., is the nearest railway station. The journey from there is made at present by means of small steamers plying on the stretches of -itill water between the rapids on the Ottawa River. Tramways have ben built at these rapids across which the passengers walk, and their bagga^^e is carried jver on a truck drawn by a horse. At the Long Sault Rapids, however, a small engine does the work instead of a hor.se, the distance^ being about seven miles. This is the last portage, and at the head of the Long Saults Lake Temiscamiuo-ue commences. Here the little steamers are replaced by good, large vessels, comfortably titled up for passenger traffic. The principal one is owned by Mr. A. Lumsden- and bears the name of the " Meteor," the other is owned by Mr. D. (Hllies, and is called the " Clyde," and is also a good boat, though somewhat smaller than the " Meteor." Besides these steamers there is the " Argo," a large sid(>wheel steamer especially devoted to towing the rafts and booms of saw logs of the lumbermen. The head of the Long Sault is about thirty miles from Mattawa, and it takes a ■lay or so to get there. Haileybury tan be reached the followino- eveninf'. Of the intended extension of the C. P. R. to the head of the Lono- Sault I have spoken under the heading of railroads. Fares and freight rates are as follows ; Fare fi-om ]Mattawa to Haileybury .^4 50 Cost per 100 lbs. for all freight 85 Hotel Acco:\iodation. A wise man leaving home with his family, bound for Temiscamingue, carries nib own food. It is true that meals can be procured on the road, but 25 cents I'oi- every man, woman and child soon mounts up, and the money can be better spent ill other ways. At .Mattawa, a man would b,- obliged to pay for his lU'-aLs, l)ut from there up he '-an have a picnic out of his rnvn l)asket, though if he is so inclined o-ood meals can be hae uownships named, \\v. should makr his apjilit'ation dirt'ct to the Ci'own Land Department at Toronto, an.l support it by the allidavits of at least two creililile and disinterested ])ersons. These aHida,vits should set ont all facts in conni'ction with the land which he seeks to puicliase, ami especially whether it has ever lieen iccupied, whether occupied at the time the application is made, and if so, iiy wluim, and when such o( ewpation eoimiHiiced: whether any inipri)venients have been made on said laiiil, and, if sn, the nature and extiiit of the same, and hy wImhii and when they were made ; and also, whether tlusre is any claim made (hereto adverse to that of the applicant, and based on tlu; ground of oceM[)ation or improvements. If the apjilieant has aci[uired the interest or ehiim of some pfe\ ious occupant, he should show the fact and file an assignment.