Portage on Moose river.
Portage on Moose river.
Mr. McInnes reports that the country lying to the south of Reed and Wekusko lakes, and stretching to Saskatchewan valley, contains very few tracts of land suitable for settlement. Practically only the river valleys, a few tracts adjoining some of the lakes, and parts of some of the slopes flanking the limestone ridges, can be considered as affording land suitable for cultivation. The upland is generally almost bare of soil, flat-lying limestones forming its actual surfaces, and the slopes, though covered to a good depth by clay, are for the most part too bouldery for tillage. Limited tracts occur here and there, suitable for individual holdings notably near some of the principal lakes. Of the agricultural possibilities of the country south of Reed and Wuskwatim lakes, Mr. McInnes writes:—“Experimentally but little is known of its capabilities, though we have instances here and there throughout the area, to beyond its northerly limit, of the cultivation of all sorts of garden vegetables, including, at The Pas,
Tomatoes and Indian Corn.
On September 6 of this year (1906), Indian corn well headed out was seen in Mr. Halcrow’s garden at the Hudson’s Bay Company’s post, the ears large and full and quite fit for table use. The Indian, never a very enthusiastic agriculturist, succeeds everywhere in getting good crops of potatoes, and at the homestead of an old settler named George Cowan, on Cormorant lake, an exceptionally good yield of very large potatoes was being dug in September.”
Mr. McInnes, during his explorations in 1906, gave particular attention to the question of climate, which he rightly considered of vital importance in connection with this region. He kept a careful record of temperatures, and from the time it was begun, on June 19, until the night of September 29, when the thermometer fell to 26, there was no frost that affected even tender vegetation. On the night of August 10 the temperature fell to the freezing point, but did not get low enough to do damage, at least not in the valley of Grassy river, though some of the potato vines on the summit of the high ridge north of The Pas were slightly touched. Mr. McInnes said he was convinced that the district is not at all too cold for general agricultural operations. The longer daily duration of summer sunlight in these high latitudes, he points out in his report, must be taken into consideration, and, for purposes of comparison with more southerly localities, yearly averages of temperature are of no value. A region lying in a higher latitude, though showing a lower yearly average temperature, may, during the growing months, owing to its longer hours of sunshine, have quite as good an average as one farther south. Mr. McInnes’s record showed that during July the temperature at 6 o’clock p.m. was equal to or higher than the noon temperature on fifteen days; during August on nine days; during September on eight days. The 6 p.m. averages for these months were lower than the noon averages by only 1°, 1½° and 2° respectively. For the purpose of comparison, Mr. McInnes procured from the Director of the Meteorological Service at Toronto an abstract of the same summer’s temperatures at Minnedosa, Stony Mountain, Hillview and Brandon, and, comparing them with his record, he concluded that the country along the route of the proposed railway to the bay
Is Conspicuously Warmer
than the same latitude four hundred miles further east.
Mr. McInnes, examined before the select committee of the Senate in 1907, declared that the whole region from Split lake to a line about forty miles north of the Saskatchewan is a clay-covered country. After leaving Split lake, ascending the river, this clay-covered country shows absolutely no boulders and no gravel. Even the shores of the lakes, until you reach a height of about eight hundred feet, show no gravel bars at all. There is absolutely nothing to interfere with the cultivation of the soil there. It is a country that has been burnt over. The witness assumed that Burntwood river got its name that way. It has been subject to repeated burns. At the present time it is covered by a very open forest. Grasses grow fairly luxuriantly. There are two species of this, blue joint grass and a wild rye, that are the prevailing grasses. He understood from Professor Macoun, though he was not very familiar with the grasses himself, that these are very excellent meadow grasses, and make excellent fodder. Mr. McInnes left Norway House in the second week of June, and made the circuit and came out at The Pas on September 6, so it was in June, July and August he was there. He saw grass growing from eighteen inches to two feet high.
The witness computed the area of this country at about ten thousand square miles. He did not mean to say, he explained, that all of that ten thousand squaremiles is good land, but the basin characterized by this deposit of clay has an area of about ten thousand square miles. It is bounded on the north by Churchill river. The witness was at about the centre of the basin. The Indians told him it extended north to the basin of Churchill river. Beyond that, northwards, mud and gravel took the place of clay. Starting at The Pas and proceeding towards Churchill, the witness first passed through about one hundred and forty miles of country underlaid by the flat limestone of northern Manitoba. He walked for miles over
Hills of Almost Bare Limestone
with hardly any soil. Beyond that—that is, about the contour he had spoken of where this clay was deposited, there is about one hundred and seventy miles to Split lake (Split lake is about two hundred and fifty miles from The Pas), possibly in a straight line about as the railway is projected, that is characterized by these clay deposits.
As to the flat country in Keewatin, beyond this clay area, it is a country of a different character. The witness proceeded from the Albany one hundred miles across country by the portage route to a large lake on Agnooski river and then another one hundred miles across to Winisk lake, and down Winisk river to the sea, and he crossed through the country between Agnooski and Winisk by three different routes, perhaps forty or fifty miles east and west from one route to the next, and the country is very much the same character. It is a country that is very much denuded. The country generally is characterized by hills of boulder and gravel and intermediate valleys very largely muskeg. Except in the immediate valleys of the larger rivers there is very little land that would be suitable for agriculture. From one hundred and fifty miles inland down to the sea, the country is of an entirely different character again; that is to say, it is country that is originally overlain by from a very few feet at its edge to one hundred feet or more, a very tough impervious boulder clay, which holds up the water, and on which the drainage, up to the present time, is of a very imperfect character. The present drainage of that area is comparatively recent, and imperfect. An instance of its imperfection is seen in Winisk river. There is a lake near the head of the Winisk from which the main river flows, and from which the west branch flows north. They come together at a point (following the main stream) two hundred and fifty miles below, inclosing an island two hundred and fifty miles long. There are two other islands of this character
Along Winisk River,
one eighty miles in length and the other about fifty.
The Winisk is a good large river. Mr. McInnes estimated the flow at some twenty-five thousand cubic feet per second. It runs in size somewhere between the Gatineau and the Ottawa, not quite so large as the Ottawa, but larger than the Gatineau. Over the whole of the country in the last one hundred and fifty miles down to Hudson bay, granting the proper climate and proper drainage, this green clay would make an excellent soil. In fact it is quite the same as the clayin the vicinity of Ottawa, practically clay of the same soil, and is very impervious. There are little streams running into the sides of the river, but they cut very sharp-walled trenches, as steep as boulder clay will stand, and that means an angle of say sixty degrees, eighty to ninety feet high. You get on top of these banks and you have a mossy place, sometimes six feet of moss. It is never peat, never having turned into peat. It is simply a green moss which is pressed into layers of a couple of feet in thickness at the bottom of the six or ten feet, but never apparently oxydized or never carbonized at all, practically unchanged. The growth is going on still. It is merely the successive layers which are pressed down by subsequent layers on top of them, so that in places the thickness is quite ten feet. There are no grasses in that mossy district in the valley of the Winisk. A river of that size in places has some shores, perhaps a quarter of a mile, here and there, beyond the actual shore of the river, and it is grassy there. That is, there are occasional bottom lands, but there is no extent of them. Mr. McInnes did not think there is an agricultural country in that eastern district. It is entirely different from the country of which he had been previously speaking.
Upon Nelson river wheat has been grown successfully at Norway House, and also at Cross lake. The Hudson’s Bay Company grow no grain at any of their Keewatin posts nowadays. In the old days they grew it and ground it in hand mills. Mr. McInnes saw potatoes that were grown about fifty miles north of The Pas. “They were quite showy potatoes, great large fellows like those you see exhibited in fairs—tremendously large, grown on practically new land, and they had a very large crop of them.” There are no settlers in Nelson district. The Indians, however, grow potatoes at several points, even in the northern part of it, as far north as Nelson House, about latitude 55° 50′. On July 11, when Mr. McInnes arrived at Nelson House, the Indian potatoes had vines about eleven inches high, and were almost ready to flower. When he got out on September 6 to the Saskatchewan, at the Hudson’s Bay post there, at The Pas, Indian corn was very well headed out, with very large fine ears quite ready for table use, and there was no frost until September 29. He knew that because he stayed there until then.
With eighteen hours of the daylight, and no frost in the summer, vegetation is rapid. In a country where you can ripen Indian corn you can grow practically anything.
Mr. McInnes explained that he could not closely indicate the isothermal line on the part of the country he had explored the previous year, but he could say that the country averaged in the summer months from four to five degrees higher temperature than the same latitude farther west. He thought that
The Isothermal Line
which would go past the north end of the country he had been speaking of, would come down as far as the north shore of Lake Superior, which would be a very long distance south. He had records kept during all summer of the temperatures through that western country, and he had a summary of the record kept in the preceding summers. He was rather surprised at the warmth of that westerncountry in summer, and at the way heat kept up in the evenings. He kept the thermometer readings morning, noon and six o’clock in the evening, and found the six o’clock temperatures were almost as warm as the noon temperatures. That country has a very long day in summer. The day in those high latitudes is very much longer, and the growing time proportionately longer. In June they have about eighteen hours of daylight.
As to the district where he found the one hundred and seventy miles of agricultural land he had described, he reached there only about the middle of June. There was no frost in the balance of June or in July, and no frost in August, excepting once, on, he thought, the 29th, when the thermometer dropped just to freezing point. There was not enough frost to touch vegetation at all in the valley of the river where he was. He noticed when he got out to the Saskatchewan there was rather a high ridge on which there were a lot of half-breed settlers. He got there on September 6, and noticed on top of the hills where they had potatoes that they had been touched just on the tops, but down in the villages the potatoes in the garden of the Hudson’s Bay post had not been touched at all. He presumed that was the frost on August 29.
Owen O’Sullivan, C.E., of the Geological Survey of Canada, was one of the witnesses before the Senate committee of 1907. He explained that in 1904 he was engaged as assistant to Mr. Wilson in examining the west coast of James bay. They went up the river Kapiskau for one hundred and fifty miles and surveyed it, and found mostly swampy ground, right to about the headwaters of the Kapiskau, longitude 86°. His impression was that the whole coast from the southern extremity of James bay, at the mouth of the Hurricane, up to Cape Henrietta Maria, for an average of one hundred miles in depth, is mostly swampy ground. It is partly peat and wet spagnol (wet moss). There is a bluff of small spruce isolated here and there.
In 1905 he was sent to survey the coast between York Factory and Cape Henrietta Maria. The shore between these points was swampy as far inland as he could walk in two or three days.
Mr. O’Sullivan testified that during the summer of 1906 he started from Split lake, on the Nelson, and made for the headwaters of Little Churchill river, going down the Little Churchill to the Big Churchill. The country between Split lake and Big lake is mostly swampy. The country about Big lake is a good loamy soil, with easy slopes surrounding the lakes. From Big lake to the Big Churchill the country is rocky and swampy, with a good deal of good loamy soil in places—a rich clay loam. The rock is mostly granite and gneiss. It is very hard to find out whether the land is suitable for agriculture on such an expedition. It is hard to know the extent of the soil, but Mr. O’Sullivan thought
The Climate was Suitable for Agriculture.
There are lots of boulders all through the country, but it is possible to cultivate what there is of the land. There are places where the land extends to the size of a dozen townships, and then there would be three or four times that much without having in it enough arable land to make a good-sized township. In the vicinityof Churchill there is grass in the valleys of very good quality. It occurs about half-way down the Little Churchill.
Good potatoes are raised at Split lake. Mr. O’Sullivan had obtained a bag of potatoes grown there. They were rather small, but very palatable. That was in June, and they were grown the previous year. Split lake from the coast, by the Nelson, would be about one hundred and seventy-five miles. He went down Nelson river and north to Churchill. The general character of the country from James bay farther north is good, agriculturally. The country from Split lake rises to Wabishkok about two hundred feet. That is about thirty miles in a straight line. Besides potatoes, he had seen turnips, cabbage and lettuce growing, and all appeared to be very good. The potato vines in September were touched with frost rather severely. The potatoes were taken up on August 23 and 25, 1906.
Mr. O’Sullivan stated that he had been up near the head of Lake Winnipeg, where the river leaves the lake. There is good agricultural land around there. He never had such good potatoes as at Cross lake. He did not see them growing, but had them in June and also in September. The June potatoes would be the previous crop, and the September ones possibly the new crop. They do not grow any grain there; they have no cattle, and there are no settlers in there. The Hudson’s Bay factor raised the potatoes. He had just enough to keep his own family. He had them in three or four different quarters. Mr. O’Sullivan saw lettuce and turnips growing at Churchill.
Mr.J. W. McLaggan, of Strathcona, Alberta, in 1907, made an exploratory trip over a portion of the same country as Mr. McInnes, but going farther west. He left Prince Albert on August 2 and reached The Pas on August 15. On August 25he crossed Clearwater lake. He describes the country he passed through as low and swampy, and
Wild Berries of All Kinds
as plentiful. The land north of Cormorant lake he found to be of good clay loam, and capable of being farmed successfully on a small scale after being cleared. A garden of potatoes, turnips, carrots and cabbages looked well, and on August 27
Showed No Evidence of Frost.
On upper Cowan river there are small hay meadows; the rest of the land is poor and hard to clear. Approaching Reed lake the soil is a clay loam which could be farmed if drained. The country about Herb lake and river is rocky, with patches of fair land, suitable for raising vegetable and garden produce. When the rapids of Grass river are passed the country becomes low, but in places there is good soil of clay loam with sand, and towards Setting lake there are good hay meadows. Although the country between Setting and Paint lakes is very rough and rocky, there is some good land. To the north of Paint lake there is a limited quantity of good land; about Methy lake Mr. McLaggan considers the land of little value for farming. Between Reed lake and Elbow lake there are some small spotsof good land, but as a general thing the country is rough, rocky and swampy. The country between Elbow and Cranberry lakes is mainly muskeg. There are some patches of good land towards the lower end of Cranberry lake. There are some small hay meadows between Cranberry and Athapapuskow lakes, but the ground is generally rocky with some muskeg. There are some stretches of fairly good land along the lower part of Goose river but the country generally is rough and rocky. The country about the upper end of Goose lake was found to be boggy and of very little use.
Along Goose river, Below The Lake,
there is quite a tract of fairly good land, and there is another on the Sturgeon, between the mouth of Goose river and Cumberland lake. The soil is a clay loam mixed with a little sand. It is covered with brush and small poplar and would be easy to clear.
Mr. McLaggan, after his trip, stated that the growing season seemed to be satisfactory, “and where good land is found there should be no trouble to raise good crops of all hardy grains and vegetables, but the greatest drawback to farming would be the difficulty of making waggon roads from place to place, as the country between the spots of good land is rough and rocky.”
The climate seemed good to Mr. McLaggan. In the first week of September the foliage was green; there was no sign of severe frost, and butterflies, hornets and other insects were numerous and active. The first frost noted was on August 31, “but not enough to damage wheat.” The weather was fine in the morning and it rained in the afternoon. On September 13 he noted that the weather was fine but cold, with a heavy frost in the morning; that the leaves were falling, and that it began to look like autumn. Considerable rain followed, which, on October 4, gave place to snow, to be followed again by rain. The night of October 7 is noted as the first really cold one of the season, but the morning brought rain. There was snow again on October 8 with high wind and ice on the water along the shore of Goose lake. It was “fine and warm” on October 11, and “clear and cold” on October 13 when he reached The Pas on his return.
W. Thibaudeau, C.E., states in his report (See p.23):—“At Churchill, potatoes, turnips and other vegetables have been successfully raised at the Hudson’s Bay Company’s fort. For many years cattle and horses have been successfully kept and bred at the Hudson’s Bay post; excellent butter was also made. Splendid pasture and hay meadows are found on both sides of the river above the harbour for a known distance of thirty-five miles. At the head of Button bay there is an area of two thousand acres upon which
Good Hay Can Be Cut,
which has been pronounced by Professor Macoun as affording excellent forage. Wild black and red currants and gooseberries are found in great quantities, and are equal, if not superior in flavour, to garden produce. Barrels of black currants can be picked around Fort Prince of Wales. Cranberries exist in great abundance everywhere. Other berries which are indigenous to the climate abound.”
As to the region examined in his exploration trip from Churchill to The Pas, Mr. Thibaudeau states:—
“About thirty-five per cent. of the country travelled through is marshy and swampy; more or less hay is grown. Under marsh or swamps the soil is generally clay. I have no doubt that when the swamps and marshes are drained, and the moss is stripped, they will be susceptible to farming operations between Churchill and The Pas, and at a later period, after the northwest is settled, this land will become valuable.”
Mr. John Armstrong, in his report of the preliminary survey conducted under his direction in 1908 and 1909 for the proposed railway to Hudson bay, mentions that as the greater portion of the survey work was completed during the winter months when the ground was frozen and covered with snow, it was impossible to obtain much information on the subject of agricultural land and minerals. He continues:—“It may be remarked here, however, that although these lands may require more or less improvement in the way of clearing and drainage, the fact that they are situated within a few hours’ run of an ocean port may give to these lands a value not hitherto thought of, and may cause a more rapid settlement than expected. At the inland Hudson’s Bay Company’s posts all kinds of grain and vegetables have been grown successfully for years. A study of the records of the Meteorological Office indicates that the climate is quite as favourable for farming operations as that of Prince Albert.”
Typical country on Hudson Bay Railway Survey.
Typical country on Hudson Bay Railway Survey.
During the summer of 1910,an inspection of the timber along the line of the proposed Hudson Bay Railway from The Pas to Split lake was made byJ. R. Dickson, B.S.A., M.S.F., Assistant Inspector of Dominion Forest Reserves, and his report was printed by the Forestry Branch of the Department of the Interior, as a Special Bulletin (No. 17) in 1911. Mr. Dickson’s exploration covered a distance of some two hundred and thirty-five miles along the line of railway. The line of inspection followed was along thewaterways on the northwest side of
The Proposed Line of Railway,
from which men were sent in at intervals of a few miles in each direction so as to locate the timber. On the return journey the waterway route to the south of the line was taken and similar inspections made from it. The special object was to locate and estimate the areas of commercially valuable timber that could be made use of in the work of constructing the railways, and as a result a good idea of the character and location of the timber along the line has been obtained.
The route followed by the party was from The Pas to Moose lake, thence by portage to Mitishto river, down that stream and via Setting, Paint, Wintering, Landing and Sipiwesk lakes to Cross lake. From the last mentioned lake the party crossed to Minago river, and via that stream, Moose lake and the Saskatchewan returned to The Pas. The area covered was estimated by Mr. Dickson at eight thousand square miles. In addition to the information about the timber of this district given in this report there are many facts as to the topography of the country and its natural resources.
Mr. Dickson’s party found that except for a varying percentage of rock outcrop usually in the form of low ridges covered by stunted jackpines, there is a great muskeg extending northeast along the whole course of Mitishto river, and appearing in fact to blanket the entire watershed in the region between Saskatchewan and Grass river systems.
Mr. Dickson’s exploring party, in passing from Setting lake to Cross lake, by way of Paint, Wintering, Landing and Sipiwesk lakes, traversed part of the so-called “clay-belt” which, according to Mr. Dickson’s report “contains upon the whole from fifty per cent. to seventy-five per cent. of arable land and probably has
A Good Agricultural Future.”
The report as to the rocks and soils of the area explored says:—“The bedrock for one hundred miles northeast of The Pas is limestone—probably largely dolomite—and it frequently obtrudes through the muskegs or shallow soils which blanket it. These outcrops form low, narrow, flattened ridges, rising just above the general level of the muskeg, and nearly always running northeast and southwest. The line of contact between this limestone area and the Laurentian granite (upon which it rests conformably) runs northwest and southeast from a point ten miles east of Limestone bay on Lake Winnipeg across the southwest end of Hill lake on Minago river to Cameron falls on the Mitishto, thence passing in a westerly direction along the south shores of Reed, Wekusko and Cranberry lakes. Along this line, especially in the vicinity of Hill lake, there is a zone of deep clays of very promising agricultural value. In the area of granite farther north, the whole future, so far as agriculture or forestry is concerned, depends upon the general depth of the boulder clay. From the mere fact that it is a drift deposit, this depth constantly varies, but only a detailed soil survey of each township could show where and how much. There are large areas of almost pure rock outcrop and muskeg of little or no value even for timber production. But in general, over the great clay belt, the soil, which is almost uniformly
A Very Tenacious Boulder Clay
(nearly free of boulders, however), averages between four and twelve feet in depth, quite deep enough, therefore, for cultivation. It must be understood that no hard and fast boundary line can be laid down as showing the confines of this clay belt. The change is often so gradual, and so many as yet unknown factors enter—as, for instance, soil depth and possibilities of drainage—that any estimate of the bounds, area and average arable content of this belt can, with our present very limited knowledge, be given only in general terms. I estimate the area of that portion included from north to south between Wintering and Cross lakes, and from east to west between Setting and Sipiwesk lakes at two thousand square miles.
“With regard to soil conditions, drainage is the great necessity everywhere. To render the soil fertile for cropping, the heavy stiff boulder clay must be opened up to the action of the air. Probably the use of a subsoil plough might obviate the necessity for underdrainage over large areas. But however secured, aëration is necessary to change the present cold, dead, impervious soil to a warm, porous, friable one, full of bacterial life, available plant food, and resulting fertility. The soil is exactly similar to that around Cochrane in New Ontario, which yields such large returns under right treatment.”
Mr. Dickson says in his report:—“The climate and the soil conditions are the two basic factors which determine farming value. Where frequent or recent fires have not resulted in the formation of purely ‘temporary’ or ‘fire types’—as e.g., young jackpine on heavy clay—a study of the existing flora answers many questions as to the climate and the soil. On well-drained spots as far north as Split lake the flora is almost identical with that of similar sites in Riding mountains of Manitoba, proving that during the growing season these localities lie under one and the same isotherm, or nearly so, And yet Riding mountains are nearly four hundred miles southwest of Split lake. Two other factors which help vegetation in this northern clay belt are the low absolute elevation—only five hundred to seven hundred feet—and the large proportion of sunlight during the growing season, because of the long day. No doubt also the large proportion of the country covered by water has a tendency to prevent late spring and early fall frosts. In the absence of weather records, it is impossible to say whether the summer of 1910 was an average season or not, but certainly it was favourable for farming operations. There were showers every week and the growth of the native vegetation
Was Amazingly Rapid.
The total annual precipitation, including two or three feet of snow, would appear to be about the same as for western Ontario, to wit, thirty to forty inches. At Cross lake no damaging frosts occurred between June 8 and September 11, an interval of ninety-three days. But as a ‘sixty-day’ oat or barley in Ontario will mature in that region in forty-five or fifty days—a general rule which applies as well to fruits, roots and vegetables—there would appear to be no difficulty from a climatic standpoint in growing all the hardier products of the temperate zone. The size and the quality of the wild fruits between Setting and Split lakes were first-class. During the last week of July we enjoyed ripe raspberries, gooseberries, black andred currants, blueberries, saskatoons and strawberries (late ones). The first three mentioned were especially fine—the bushes loaded down with fruit as large and juicy as many tame varieties in Ontario. The average temperature of the growing season is about 60° Fahrenheit. Certainly vegetables will grow to perfection anywhere between Cross lake and Nelson House. At the former we ate potatoes weighing a pound and a half each, dug on the last day of August, and when we left on September 10 the corn and tomatoes were still untouched by frost. I would respectfully point out the advisability of the Dominion Government placing several small experimental stations at suitable points within the limits of this clay belt to make careful test of its seasonal variations and cropping possibilities. When the railway is completed such information will be of the utmost value to intending settlers. The winters are quite as enjoyable as in Manitoba—probably more so. Mr. Clifford, one of the railway location engineers, who has spent two years between The Pas and Split lake, assured me that he
Liked The Winter Season There
much better than the summer. Whereas in many parts of the continent the summer of 1910 was a peculiarly dry one, in Keewatin it was just the opposite. Rain fell frequently, and high winds, especially nor’easters from Hudson bay, were almost constant and occasioned us some loss of time on the larger lakes.”
Mr. William Beech,for many years back, and still, a resident of Churchill, in a communication to the press in 1911, wrote:—“The opinion generally entertained concerning the country around the bay and at Churchill is that it is a barren waste, covered with ice and snow for the greater part of the year, and devoid of any vegetation whatever. The opinion is an erroneous one. At the head of the bay there is an area of from two thousand to three thousand acres where in the summer months good hay can be cut, and which Professor Macoun has pronounced as affording excellent forage. There are many other places also where the same condition exists, and where the country is covered with a rich thick growth of grass. It would surprise you, wouldn’t it, if I should tell you that there are at least half a dozen different species of wild fruit which flourish in great abundance in the rocks and among the mosses throughout the country round the bay. Wild black and red currants, gooseberries, cranberries, crowfoot berries, and baked apple berries may be gathered by the bushel in season, and make the very best of preserves, so that we don’t really have to depend on dried apples up there as many of you imagine. As for vegetables, I have seen radishes, lettuce, and turnips raised right at Churchill.
“Of course it is generally understood that the winter climate of the country round the bay is usually very severe. The lowest temperature I have experienced there, however, was 39° below zero on Nov. 29, 1906, with a strong wind blowing from the bay, which intensified the cold. It is exceedingly rare to have winds off the bay in the winter months. In winter the wind is generally from the west and northwest, while in summer it is generally from the east and northeast. I have always found the thermometer lower one hundred and fifty miles inland. It can never be called dark in the north, even in the depth of winter.”
[14]It will be observed that part of this evidence treats of other districts than the one immediately under consideration; but it cannot conveniently be eliminated here without awkwardly dislocating Mr. Tyrrell’s evidence.—(E. J. C.).
[14]
It will be observed that part of this evidence treats of other districts than the one immediately under consideration; but it cannot conveniently be eliminated here without awkwardly dislocating Mr. Tyrrell’s evidence.—(E. J. C.).
CHAPTER III.
Considerable Areas of Good Timber.—The Range of the More Important Trees.—The Banskian Pine.—Forests of Trees in Many Places that Would Make Good Logs, and Much Pulp Wood.—Occasional Beautiful Forests of Aspen Poplar.—Magnificent Coniferous Forest Northwest of Lake Winnipeg.—Water Power on the Nelson.—Destruction Wrought by Forest Fires.—Ample Supply of Timber For Fuel.
There is considerable evidence showing that there are, in different sections of the territory immediately west and south of Hudson bay, considerable areas of useful timber.
Mr. Richard White, one of the witnesses examined before the Hudson Bay Investigation Committee in 1749 (See p.8), stated that he saw fir-trees on the banks of Albany river thirty-five or forty feet long, and fourteen or sixteen inches square at the bottom, and ten at the top, and here and there a small stick of birch; that there were a great many other small pines; but he did not know whether pitch or tar could be made from them, never having seen a trial.
Rev. John Semmens (See p.36) writes:—“There is a good deal of timber in the valleys and on the islands and lakes of Burntwood river course, though it is sprucy and inclined to be small. I have cut timber as large as two feet in diameter at the butt and fifty feet in height, but this is exceptional. From ten to fifteen inches near the ground is a better estimate of the average size of the trees. The very name of this river suggests the historic fact that the natives of the country deliberately and habitually set the woods on fire, their object being to attract the deer which are known to be fond of the sweet grass which springs from the ashes of a fire swept surface. The result is that large tracts of country are denuded of their rich first growth of trees, and young forests are just coming into the middle stages of growth, while many of the hills stand bald and bare, giving silent evidence of the severity of successive visitations of the devouring flame. Yet the charred stumps and tangled roots here and there speak of a deep and fertile soil, as well as of possibilities of growth which few have associated with a so-called ‘frozen north.’ However, all the timber necessary for railroad purposes and for the use of settlers in building or for commercial cordwood can be found almost anywhere, the latter in illimitable quantities.”
Doctor Robert Bell of the Geological Survey, in his report of his explorations in the
Valleys of Nelson and Churchill rivers
in 1879, states:—“Spruce and tamarac timber are found growing near the sea coast, in favorable situations as far as Seal river, beyond which their northeastern limit curves inland. The spruce, although not growing as a continuous forest quite as far north as Churchill, is still found of sufficient size in the neighborhood of this post to be used for building houses, boats, etc. The balsam poplar is rare and of small size at Churchill. White birch which was found on the main river, eighteen miles above the forks, is said to occur at about sixty or seventy miles west of the mouth of the river.”
Doctor Bell proceeds in his report to describe the range of the most important trees over the area covered by his exploits as follows:—
“White Spruce—(the ‘Pine’ of Rupert’s Land),—This is the most northern coniferous tree. On the east side of Hudson bay the last of it is seen on the coast a short distance north of Richmond gulf. On the west side it terminates about Seal river. Thence its limit runs northwesterly, and is reported to cross Mackenzie river about two hundred miles below Peel river.
“Tamarack,—(also called ‘Juniper’ and ‘Red Spruce’)—On the east side of the bay it accompanies the spruce almost to the extreme limit. It is abundant at York Factory. Along the lower part of Nelson river it is of fair size, but on the Churchill it becomes small towards the sea. Its northern limit runs northwestward to Mackenzie river which it is said to cross below Peel river.
“Balsam Fir:—(also called ‘Single Spruce’ and ‘Silver Pine’)—Abundant around the southern part of James bay and on good dry soil along Albany river. Mr. Cochrane reports it as common around Island lake, but scarcer on God’s lake. It is rare and of small size on Knee lake. In going down Nelson river, it is scarce below Sea River falls, and the last tree which I observed was at the outlet of Sipiwesk lake. On Grass river some good-sized trees were seen as far north as Standing Rock rapid.
“Balsam Poplar:—(‘Rough-barked Poplar’, ‘Cotton Tree’, ‘Balm of Gilead’, etc.)—On the west side of Hudson bay, this is the most northern species of poplar. It is abundant around York Factory, and attains a fair size along the lower part of Nelson river. In descending the Great Churchill it becomes smaller and scarcer until the mouth of the river is reached, when it is rare.
“Aspen:—(‘Trembling-leaved Poplar’)—This tree, which is so abundant and of such a thrifty growth around the southern part of James bay and on the border of the prairie regions of the Northwest territories, does not extend as far north as York Factory. In ascending Nelson river it was not met until within a few miles of lowest Limestone rapid. It extends northward nearly to the junction of Little Churchill with Great Churchill river.
“White Birch:—(‘Canoe Birch’)—This species terminates on Hayes river, a few miles below Steel river. On the Nelson, the first tree was met with at seven miles before coming to lowest Limestone rapid, or at seventy from Point of Marsh. In descending the Little Churchill it disappeared about midway between Recluse lakes and the mouth, and in ascending the Great Churchill, it disappeared at eighteen miles above the forks. Along Burntwood riverand the upper part of the Nelson it is large enough for building canoes, but becomes better for this purpose to the northwestward, and it is said to be of very good quality around Lake Athabaska.”
Doctor Bell states in his 1886 report (See p.18):—“The timber all
Around Lake St. Joseph
has suffered greatly from forest fires at many different times, from about a century ago to the present year. Parts of the main shores and many of the islands, especially in the neighborhood of the Grand Traverse, have escaped the fires, and here full-sized timber may be seen. The second growth woods are of all ages, from seedlings of a year ago, up to trees nearly as large as those of the original forests. As elsewhere in these latitudes, where the old forests of spruce, tamarack, balsam, white birch, etc., have been burnt, they are succeeded by a growth of mixed aspens and white birch, with a sprinkling of spruce, or else by one consisting entirely of Banksian pine. In regard to relative abundance, the trees found around the lake may be mentioned in the following order:—white and black spruce, tamarack, aspen, white birch, Banksian pine, rough-barked poplar, balsam, white cedar, pigeon cherry, rowan and black ash. The ground or mountain maple (Acer spicatum), which is interesting as an indicator of climate, is common, and it was traced for a long distance down the Albany. Of the above kinds of timber, the white spruce and the tamarack are the most important commercially. The cedar is confined chiefly to the immediate shores of the lake, where it often forms a continuous but narrow border. About twenty spruce logs, for sawing into boards, were lying at Osnaburgh House at the time of our visit. They would average eighteen or twenty inches in diameter at the butts, the largest being about two feet. The six largest showed the following number of rings of growth:—one hundred and thirteen, ninety-seven, one hundred and twenty-one, one hundred and sixteen, one hundred and seven, and one hundred and twenty, or an average of one hundred and twelve, these rings indicating, it is supposed, a corresponding number of years. A new tamarack flag-staff, which was about to be erected, measured about eighteen inches in diameter at the butt and showed two hundred and forty-four rings of growth.”
Doctor Bell reports that on the dry ground along Boulder river the timber consists of black spruce, tamarack, balsam, aspen and white birch, but on the wet, level tracts, it was principally black spruce. All the rapids in Boulder river were overhung by thick groves of good-sized white cedar, and the same tree was met with in groups in some of the swamps at a distance from the river.
Doctor Bell, reporting on the country around Lake Lansdowne, says:—“Except where forest fires have run, large spruce and tamarack trees and some cedars were observed on the islands and on the mainland near the lake, and also along the river between it and Nolin island.”
Doctor Bell writes in his report that
Along The Attawapiskat,
“except where the timber has been destroyed by fire, there is a good growth of spruce, tamarack, balsam, poplar and white birch, but it does not extend far back,the country generally being open sphagnum swamps with small scattered tamarack and black spruce trees.”
Doctor Bell, at one of his examinations before the Senate committee of 1887, produced as an exhibit a branch of the Banksian pine (Pinus Banksiana), often called the jackpine and scrub pine. This is about the only tree in North America which we can call strictly Canadian. Both its northern and southern limits are practically in Canada. It extends thousands of miles from the southeast in New Brunswick to the northwest, in a belt, throughout the Dominion.
In height this tree grows one hundred feet and upwards. Doctor Bell had seen them six feet in circumference. The largest trees that he had seen of this species were on the upper waters of the southern branches of Albany river. In general, trees attain their greatest perfection in the centre of their geographical distribution. Sometimes they degenerate into brush, at the outside edge of the territory in which they grow. As you go north, south, east or west, they may become smaller and smaller until they die out, but this is not the case with all kinds of trees.
The Banksian pine is not particularly valuable for lumber. It resembles the red pine; it has a coarse, distinct grain and can be used for many purposes. In England it would be used for the manufacture of fashionable bedroom furniture.
It is something like the pine of Florida and Georgia, which has been used for some years past in England in the manufacture of furniture. It would
Become An Article of Commerce
if means of communication with the northern forests were provided. The Banksian pine would make good ties, telegraph poles, and timber for general purposes, besides fuel. In groves it grows very straight, but it is more likely to be branchy than red pine. Doctor Bell had seen hundreds of them in groves, affording logs of from twenty to twenty-two inches in diameter—two or three logs to a tree. It grows very rapidly. He had seen it, in his own experience, within fifteen years, growing to be useful trees; whole tracts had been covered with good timber.
Asked while giving evidence before the Senate committee of 1887 whether the shores of James bay and Hudson bay are wooded, Doctor Bell explained that on the west side to Seal river, a little beyond Churchill, commercial timber could be obtained from all the rivers flowing in from the south, and jackpine from some, and spruce and tamarack from all the rivers of James bay. This would be all of merchantable size, not extraordinarily large, but plenty of it. The spruce might be described as generally of a small size, but making up in quantity in the number of logs that might be obtained. The tamarack, though, is large.
In the course of his 1886 report (See p.18) Mr. A. P. Low of the Geological Survey states:—“The trees around Favourable lake consist of white and black spruce, aspen and balsam poplar, white birch, balsam and tamarack, many of which exceed eighteen inches in diameter.” On the shores of Sandy lake Mr. Low saw many trees of white spruce, poplar, birch and balsam exceeding eighteen inches in diameter. Between this lake and Severn lake there is a considerable area supporting a growth of black and white spruce, tamarack, poplar and birch, slightly smaller than those seen around the lakes.
As Severn river descends towards Favourable lake “the surrounding country gradually becomes smoother and the timber larger until within three miles of the lake, when the stream passes through low, swampy land, covered with thick, wet moss and a small growth of black spruce and tamarack.”
Mr. Low reports the soil about Deer lake as being “very thin and the timber correspondingly poor, except on a few low points where some white spruce, balsam and poplar exceed fifteen inches in diameter.”
Mr. Low (at the time Director of the Geological Survey), in his evidence before the Senate committee of 1907, as to the resources of the more southern sections of Keewatin which he had explored, namely, between Norway House and Hudson bay, stated that the forest, as in a great many other parts of Canada, had been largely destroyed by fire, but around some of the large lakes and on the islands and other places,
A Fair Growth of Timber
is found in that region, with white and black spruce, pine, aspen, poplar and white birch of eighteen inches diameter. The trees are fairly clean, and a great many of them would probably make two or three logs, so that what remains of the timber there is fairly decent and good, except on the low swampy land where the growth is confined to black spruce and tamarack of no great size. Throughout the more southern region described by Mr. Low, there is a good deal of wood that could be used in the manufacture of pulp.
All of the rivers in the region have waterpowers.
Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, in the report of his explorations in the southern part of this region in 1896 (See p.20), wrote:—“The surface is generally forested, though most of the valuable timber has been destroyed by fire. On Grass, Muhigan and Minago rivers, as well as on the shores and islands of some of the lakes, there are still some forests of excellent white spruce, but on the northern part of Burntwood river white spruce is rather scarce, and at Nelson House timber for house logs has to be collected from scattered groves and brought several miles up or down the brooks or across the lake. Black spruce and canoe birch grow on the more level and imperfectly drained tracts, and Banskian pine may be seen here and there on the drier hillsides. Canoe birch grows to a good size beside the lakes and streams, but aspen (Populus tremuloides) is the commonest deciduous tree, as it grows on the drier uplands everywhere,
Occasionally Forming Beautiful Forests,
but more often, and especially towards the north, partly covering the surface with scattered groves of small trees. Among the smaller trees or shrubs, the rowan tree (Pyrus Americana) may be mentioned as growing freely and having an abundant crop of berries along the face of the limestone escarpment, especially around Wekusko and Reed lakes, and the wild cherry (Prunus Virginiana) grows beside most of the lakes.
“The forests surrounding Reed lake are mostly of poplar, but there are some good groves of fine large spruce up to twenty-five inches in diameter.”
Mr. Tyrrell states that on the southeastern shore of Athapapuskow lake “considerable areas are covered with large white spruce.” Almost all the country surrounding Cranberry lakes has been swept by fire, but many of the islands are still wooded with white spruce of fair size. At Wintering lake, “the surrounding shores rise gently from the water, and are densely wooded with a close forest of white spruce, growing on the rich clay soil.”
Mr. Tyrrell describes finding the site of an old fur station near Setting lake “completely overgrown with large spruce trees, quite indistinguishable from those of the surrounding forest.” He adds:—“In many other instances the sites of the ancient fur-trading posts could be recognized as small, usually rectangular, poplar-covered areas, in the midst of or on the border of the adjoining forest.”
Mr. Tyrrell reports the banks of the south branch of Gunisao river, which flows into the northeast side of Lake Winnipeg, as being “wooded with beautiful tall white spruce, apparently forming
A Magnificent Coniferous Forest
but how far back from the river this forest extends was not determined. There is certainly here a large quantity of valuable timber, much more than was seen anywhere else in the country immediately east of Lake Winnipeg.” Spruce up to twenty-four inches in diameter was noted.
In the report of his explorations in 1899 Mr. D. B. Dowling of the Geological Survey states:—“In the southern part of the district, north of Lake Winnipeg, spruce of both the white and black species is found of fair diameter, but in going north the size materially decreases. Over the major portion of the rocky country Banksian pine is the principal tree, which, though not large enough in general for timber, might in the future be of use for pulp wood.
“The hilly country to the south of Sisipuk lake and northwest of Loon lake is not well timbered but the lower land between the two and on the islands is fairly well covered by groves of small spruce.”
Mr. Dowling, in his report of 1901 on Ekwan district (See p.21), states:— “The timber along the coast gradually becomes smaller as we go northward and the tree-line recedes from the shore, leaving it finally at the Opinnagow so that the country behind that cape is more or less an open plain. The shore, where the trees are at a distance from the beach, is generally an even mud slope, covered above high tide with grass, followed by a wide belt of stunted willows (gray) which look somewhat like the sagebush of the western plains. Behind this, a few isolated spruces of small stature appear before the tree line is reached. In sailing along this coast, it is impossible to know which way to steer so as to run parallel with the land, as nothing can be seen ahead by which to shape one’s course.”
As to the timber in the interior of Ekwan river district, Mr. Dowling reports:—“Along the streams there is a narrow fringe of timber, but in approaching the tree-limit this becomes very small. Back from the immediate slopes of the rivers the surface is nearly level, and moss-covered, with scattered groups of small spruce and tamarack. The greater part of the interior is reported to be muskeg(open bog). A small collection of about forty species of shore plants was made at the mouths of Ekwan and Albany rivers.
“Mr. Dowling found the surface of the terrace of Ekwan river to be covered with a thick coating of moss, and the timber on it is mostly small spruce and tamarack. Some of the trees might be from six to eight inches in diameter, but the average is much less. At the edges of the bank a fringe of larger trees occasionally appears, but it does not extend far from the stream.”
Red Lake river and Red Lake.
In his report of his 1893 explorations Mr. Dowling says the timber on the banks of Red lake river “is mostly poplar of a fair size with a sprinkling of birch and black spruce. The birch average twelve inches in diameter, but only a few of the spruce trees were found over eighteen inches.”
Mr. Dowling says the forest about Red lake “is somewhat varied, spruce and Banksian pine alternating as the dominant trees. On all the dry and sandy ground a thick growth of slender Banksian pine is found, and no trees of large size are apparently to be seen in such areas, but in the valleys and near the lakes black spruce is occasionally met with, forming small groves scattered through the forests of deciduous trees. Individual trees of larger size are common on the islands and points over which forest fires have not run, and such trees may attain in some instances a diameter of twenty inches, but the average is under eighteen inches. Birch and poplar are almost always present wherever the soil admits. On the richer and lower ground, between Red lake and Gull Rock lake, and farther down the river, the poplar trees are well grown and appear in groves in which nearly all trees average eighteen inches in diameter near the base. Farther to the westward on the higher ground, the soil being sandy, the Banksian pine is more abundant, and near the western end of Pipestone bay, some trees of red pine form a small grove, which appears to be the northern limit of the species in this basin.”
Mr. Dowling says the trees near Trout lake river are mostly poplar, with slender spruce on the lower land just behind. Occasionally Banksian pine is seen on the drier parts. Mr. Dowling mentions a tall forest of poplar and birch as bordering the western branch of White-mud river.
Speaking of the country explored by him about Lac Seul, Mr. Dowling says:—“The country is well covered by timber but of small average growth. The sandy tracts are generally wooded by Banksian pine, but in the river-valleys and on the heavier land, poplar, birch and spruce are abundant. White and red pine are found in small groves south of Lac Seul and are of good average size for timber. On the lake are scattered trees of both varieties. The northern limit of red pine extends to Red lake, where a few trees were observed. Cedar of inferior growth occurs in isolated localities and extends northwest to the height-of-land, but none seem within Berens river basin.”
Basins of the Winisk and the Attawapiskat.
According to Mr. McInnes’s report of his survey of the region drained by the Winisk and the Attawapiskat in 1903, 1904 and 1905 (See p.23):—“The averagesize of the trees growing within the country explored is not great. On exceptionally favourable tracts the spruces attain sizes quite large enough for commercial use as sawn lumber, and large areas would afford good pulpwood. Evidences of the constant recurrence of forest fires over the area are everywhere plainly seen. The brulé areas, varying from quite small patches to large tracts, are of every age; some are so old the forest has attained the full height of the old growth and the newer age of the trees can only be ascertained by a reference to their rings of growth, and others so recent that no vegetation covers the blackened surface. These fires are generally the result of the carelessness of Indian travellers, but may sometimes be traced to the igniting of a dry, standing tree-trunk by lightning. The oldest trees found in the whole area were growing on a till-covered island, about fifty miles from the mouth of Winisk river. The complete isolation from the mainland by broad channels ensured its protection from fires having their origin outside its own borders. The spruces growing here were found by their rings of growth to be between two hundred and seventy and two hundred and eighty years old. The diameters and ages of trees, growing in a number of different localities throughout the region, were noted, and are given in the list below:—
As to the region explored by him in 1906 (See p.23), Mr. McInnes reports:—“Though a wooded country throughout, there are but limited areas where the forest growth is of a size to be commercially of much value. There are no hard woods, the only deciduous trees that attain merchantable measurements being the canoebirch, the aspen and balsam poplars and the tamarack. Black spruce is the most abundant coniferous tree and grows to a size sufficient at least for pulpwood. Associated with tamarack, it covers all the more marshy tracts, giving way where the land becomes drier to white spruce, which is the timber tree of the region, and on the driest ridges to Banksian pine. Forest fires have been widespread and most destructive throughout the whole region sparing only the very wet muskeg areas and a few tracts isolated by surrounding water or marsh.
“White and black spruce, tamarack, aspen, balsam and canoe birch form the forest surrounding Cross lake, the deciduous trees for the most part growing only in a fringe along the immediate shores.
Trees of Suitable Size for Sawing
into eight and ten inch boards are found on the islands, along the stream valleys and in places near the lake shores, but the general average size of the trees inland is smaller than this.”
Mr. McInnes has the following to say of the timber he noticed in his ascent of Burntwood river:—“Above Odei river the forest is mainly spruce and tamarack of about sixty years growth, the larger trunks reaching diameters of from eight to ten inches, but the general average not more than six inches. In the valleys occasional white spruces and tamaracks attain diameters as great as eighteen inches. These are trees that have escaped when the surrounding forest was burned and are sufficient evidence that, but for the repeated fires, there would be large areas covered with good timber. In the fifteen mile stretch of the Burntwood below Waskwatim lake, the low flat along the river is covered by sixty years’ timber growth, mainly of Banksian pine and spruce. The higher plateau is wooded principally with spruce from six to eight inches in diameter, with scattered Banksian pine, poplar and white birch succeeding an earlier burned forest. A mixed second growth forest, mainly aspen poplar, covers all the uplands round Waskwatim lake, while on the islands and on low flats bordering bays of the lake are found white spruce and poplar of diameters up to one foot. The country north of Footprint lake is described by Mr. McInnes as being covered for the most part with a mixed second growth from ten to thirty years old, but with here and there clumps of white spruce, with tall and straight trunks a foot or more in diameter. As to the region just north of the Saskatchewan, Mr. McInnes says the areas of forest, where the trunks are large enough to be of commercial value, are limited. The principal tracts of large standing timber are situated to the north of Moose lake, to the west of Atikameg, in lower Grass river valley and on the ridge separating Cormorant and Yawningstone lakes. The last named tract contains white spruce of exceptionally large size with tall clear trunks. Smaller areas are found on islands and points in the various lakes, along the upper valley of Cowan river, and in clumps along all the stream valleys in the district. Smaller timber, mainly black spruce, that would be of value for pulpwood, is much more widely distributed over large areas.”
Mr. McInnes made a computation of the age of the trees in the area he explored and found that the
Annual Growth is Slow.
They run from four to fourteen inches in diameter. They would furnish, he thinks, very strong and firm lumber, and the smaller trees, owing to their closely packed fibres and the comparative absence of open cellular matter, would be especially well adapted for the manufacture of pulpwood for paper making.
Mr. McInnes, in his evidence before the Senate committee of 1907, stated that the western part of Keewatin has evidently been a country of good timber generally, but unfortunately it has been almost all burned over, so that the only areas of good timber that he knew of were the area north of Moose lake, the area west of Clearwater lake, and the area between Cormorant and Yawningstone lakes. He made cross-sections in that country several times, and he found white spruce, and the largest tree he found was thirty inches in diameter. He would say most of these trees make about three fourteen-foot logs because they were growing thickly, and it was a regular white spruce timber limit. There were a great many from ten inches up to twenty-three inches. That is an area about six miles long by two or three wide, and going through that there are areas of swamp. He cross-sectioned through it, and would come to a quarter of a mile of good trees, and then perhaps a mile of swamp land with black spruce, and half a mile of good trees right across. North of that point there are only a few isolated areas of timber that had escaped the fire. On the islands and lakes there were pretty good timbers, and on some little peninsulas that are nearly cut off; otherwise it had all been burnt.
About Waterpowers.
Specially referring to waterpowers, Mr. McInnes, in the report of his explorations in 1906 (See p.23), says: —“Between Lake Winnipeg and Split lake, a distance of about two hundred and twenty-five miles, the Nelson river has a descent of approximately two hundred and seventy-five feet. The current between the numerous lake expansions is generally swift, and upwards of a dozen falls and rapids occur, some of the former offering magnificent sites for water powers. The aggregate power that could be generated along the river is enormous, as the amount of water passing over the various falls is very great. The volume of the river can be appreciated by a consideration of the extent of its drainage area, which embraces all the country westward to the mountains between the watershed of the Churchill and Athabaska on the north, and the Missouri on the south, and eastward to the head waters of Albany river, and within fifty miles of Lake Superior.”