SECTION IIIMINERALS
Referencehas already been made to the tar sands along the Athabaska River which evidence the presence of bitumen in great abundance, to coal along the same river and also on the banks of the Mackenzie near Fort Norman; to salt at different points on the Slave and Mackenzie Rivers, and to copper on the Coppermine River near the Arctic Sea. But these are probably only a few out of many varieties that exist in that vast unknown region.
The gold of the Yukon and of Alaska in America and the various mineral products of Siberia in Northern Europe and Asia prove that neither the precious or baser metals are confined to the lower latitudes, and it is more than probable that sub-Arctic Canada may yet be heard from as the depository of what are now hidden treasures.
I have perhaps already wearied the readerwith reiterating the need of more exploration work in Northern Canada. The work of the geological survey is worthy of all praise, but the annual appropriations for this department are entirely inadequate to compass so vast a field.
The output of gold in the neighbourhood of Dawson City on the Yukon with the more recent discoveries of silver at Cobalt, and of gold at the Porcupine will lure the adventurous explorer into far northern fields, where much of his time will be spent in not only acquiring a knowledge of the geology of the country but also in tracing the courses of unknown rivers and locating great mountain ranges, which information will be for the benefit of Canada as a whole, and which she herself should supply in advance.
The press of the country is just now publishing accounts of the preparation of a vessel to be named thePrincess Patricia, which will sail shortly from Newfoundland in quest of gold and coal in Northern Baffin Land. This expedition is being undertaken by a Canadian named A. W. Scott, usually known as “Lucky Scott,” and is the result of a report of Captain Robert S. Janes whowas second officer in command of the Canadian Government steamerArcticwhich returned from northern waters in the summer of 1911.
Captain Janes will be the guide of the expedition and it is his discoveries which will be examined. The following extracts are from Captain Janes’ report:
“TheArcticwintered in the north and in December 1910, Captain Janes was sent by Captain Bernier the commander to North-East Baffin Land with three Esquimaux, three comatocks, and thirty Esquimaux dogs for the purpose of exploring that section. During the months of January and February little work could be done owing to the Arctic night being on, and the sun only came back in February little by little, but the intense frost and short days prevented anything being done before April of 1911. From that time till August, however, Captain Janes was employed in exploring that section of Northern Baffin Land.”
His report says, “We found in May a coal field extending about thirty miles from the coast and eight miles from navigable waters. Along the strike of this outcropcoal could be easily picked up anywhere and I discovered and staked one coal seam fifteen feet thick without a break. I burned this coal in a cook stove and it gave forth a tremendous heat with very little smoke and very little ash. In June I found another coal field 100 miles north-west. This coal bed extends right to the water’s edge. I pitched coal from it right into my boat which was tied at the beach. I think it would be perfectly feasible to transport the coal by water to a point on the south-east coast of Baffin Land at the entrance to the Hudson Straits, where it could be used to coal the grain-carrying fleet which will pass there when the Hudson Bay Railway is built.”