Mr. Owen O’Sullivan, in his 1906 report (See p.23), states that the shores of Assean lake, which is about twelve miles long and a mile wide, are “well wooded with black spruce, tamarack, and white birch.” The forest growth at Waskaiowaka lake is chiefly black spruce and white birch of from four to fourteen inches in diameter. Mr. O’Sullivan describes a hill of drift “covered mostly with black spruce averaging eight inches in diameter” as rising for two hundred feet above the level of the water on the east side of the expansion of the Little Churchill below Waskaiowaka lake. As far down as the junction of Switching river thecountry on both sides of the Little Churchill produces black spruce, white birch and tamarack of small size. From a point eighty miles down the Little Churchill northward, the country, which was overrun by a fire that occurred some forty years ago, is now partly covered with bunches of second-growth black spruce, tamarack and white birch. Bunches of spruce and tamarack that escaped the fires were frequently met close to the water’s edge.
In his evidence before the Senate committee of 1907, Mr. O’Sullivan stated that in his trip in 1906, the only timber he saw was at Split lake—spruce, poplar and white birch, from four to eighteen inches in diameter. The country between there and Big lake is swampy and bears black spruce with small spruce averaging four to six inches in diameter, which would make good pulpwood. Then around Wabishkok there are birch and white spruce, and so on. They are a little larger, as large as six to eighteen inches in some places, occurring in isolated groves. The black spruce would average in the nice terraces and level clay slopes from the lake about eighteen inches. They grow that size and more. North of that, between there and the tree limit or the open barren ground, the country was
Run Over by Fire
about forty years ago, and probably there was another fire which occurred about five years ago, so there are no trees. Going down the Little Churchill there are no trees to be seen on the heights, except in the valleys of the river, where groves of spruce and poplar which escaped the fire are standing. These spruce and poplars which are in the valleys are sometimes twenty inches in diameter. The cottonwood grows to about fourteen inches. It is tall and very healthy looking. The spruce trees grow pretty long, and quite a number of sawlogs could be taken out of each tree. The soil is pretty good, but the area is small. After leaving Big lake, all the way down there is no timber at all. In the valleys of all the streams there is timber, consisting of bunches of spruce and tamarack. At the Big Churchill the clay hills are mostly covered with moss. It has been burned over, and there are good large spruce in the valleys of Little Churchill river away up to about eighteen or twenty inches in diameter, but they are very few. They are all very healthy looking trees.
In 1902,Mr. Alfred W. G. Wilson, of the Geological Survey, made a reconnaissance traverse across the southern part of the unexplored area lying to the north of Lac Seul and east of Trout lake, visiting Slate, Marsh, Gull, Smoothbrook, Cat and St. Joseph lakes. He states in his report:—“The forest growth is found chiefly around the lakes and streams. The sands, sandy gravels, or clays, usually of glacial origin, are generally forested, the trees varying with the character of the soil. There are large areas of nearly bare rock, where only a few stunted conifers or poplars grow in the crevices. Where the soil is sparse, and the country low-lying but yet fairly well drained, there is an open forest, chiefly black spruce, and the ground is covered with a dense mat of moss interlaced with fibrous roots. The soil covered, and the swampy areas, are usually thickly overgrown with small shrubs, mostly alder. In general the timber is rather small, in most parts of the district at present too small even for pulpwood or ties. Occasionallyalong streams the trees are larger, especially north of the east end of Lac Seul. Another area of good timber, chiefly black spruce and tamarack, occurs along Root river between Lac Seul and Lake St. Joseph.”
Mr. J. W. McLaggan, in the account of his trip in 1907 (See p.58), describes the country between The Pas and Clearwater lake as covered with small, mixed timber. On the north side of Cormorant lake, and along the creek which connects it with Lake Yawningstone, and on the south side of the latter lake, he saw from three to five million feet of good milling spruce timber. Along Cowan river the country is described as low and flat, with small quantities of good spruce timber in spots until within a few miles of Black Duck lake when bunches of good spruce, estimated at ten million feet, come into view. After crossing Black Duck lake the country continues low and marshy, with scattered bunches of spruce and tamarack of a size suitable for ties or pulpwood. As Mr. McLaggan approached Reed lake he passed through low and swampy country covered with scrubby timber. To the south of Reed lake about a million feet of medium sized spruce were sighted. The country back was found to have been burned over and now growing poplar, which, in a few years, will make good pulpwood. On the north side of Herb lake there are spruce and poplar fit for railway ties and pulpwood, and along the river to the rapids there are small bunches of jackpine and tamarack and of merchantable spruce, but back from the lake and river the country appeared all burned. Mr. McLaggan expresses the opinion that there must have been a good timber area bordering these waters, and that, if fire can be kept out,
Reforestation Will Soon Be Effected.
Along the shores of and on the islands in Setting lake there is, Mr. McLaggan estimates, about ten million feet of young, sound, clear spruce timber, averaging from twelve to fourteen inches in diameter. Between Setting and Paint lakes are two falls of thirty feet, where splendid power can be developed; the banks of the river become higher and there are small bunches of spruce and poplar, but back from the river has been burned over. On the south side of Paint lake there is a fairly good bunch of spruce, suitable for railway ties or pulpwood. Back from the lake the country has been burned over but is growing up again with poplar and other trees. On Methye lake Mr. McLaggan found the timber to be mainly jackpine and tamarack of small size, a limited portion of which would be fit for railway ties. Traversing File river, with the exception of a bunch of spruce of about half a million feet, averaging twelve to fourteen inches in diameter, there was seen nothing but small, scrubby mixed timber of but little value. The country back from the river has been burned over. Between Reed lake and Elbow lake he saw about two million feet of good spruce and poplar, averaging from twelve to fourteen inches in diameter. Towards the lower end of Cranberry lake there are bunches of good spruce. It is estimated that there are a million feet in all. The country continues rough and rocky, with patches of good land and some muskeg. In the country between Cranberry and Athapapuskow lakes there is a poor growth of scrubby timber. Some small bunches of spruce were seen along Athapapuskow lake near the portage, and by Goose river, but the country hasall burned over, leaving only small clumps of spruce. Speaking generally of the timber in the area explored, Mr. McLaggan reported:—“The fires seem to have burned over nearly all the country and I was not able to walk far enough into the interior to find any land not burned, and from information gathered from Indians and trappers, would conclude that this burned land reached from Grass to Burntwood river, with the exception of small pieces along the lakes and rivers. There is a growth of young timber coming up, since the fire, which may be of value in time.”
W. Thibaudeau, C.E. (See p.23), states in his report that although there is no merchantable timber in the vicinity of Churchill, there is abundance of fine building stone and limestone to be found everywhere, and there is also an ample supply of timber for fuel purposes for many years along both banks of Churchill river and around Button bay. He continues:—“Between October 24, 1906, and November 9, 1906, I made an exploration of the country between North river and Churchill river for a distance south of Button bay, of about twenty miles. On the
East Side of Button Bay
I found a strip of good timber, consisting of spruce and tamarack six to ten inches in diameter, about half a mile wide and extending three to four miles in length on the east side, between the southern ridge of Churchill peninsula and the bay, and about three miles south of Churchill. At the head of Button bay (and parallel with it), there are a number of parallel ridges extending to North river. These ridges are timbered with spruce and tamarack four to ten inches in diameter. Close to North river there is a good spruce timber ten to thirty inches in diameter in small scattered bunches, covering a distance of about four miles. At the southern end of the south ridge of the western peninsula at Churchill, there is a strip of good spruce timber, six to twelve inches in diameter, extending about two miles by four miles; also on the east side of the same ridge about one and one-third miles south of Mosquito point, there is a strip of good timber for a distance of about four miles.
“Between December 7, 1906, and December 17, 1906, I made an exploration of the country between Churchill and Owl rivers. Four miles from Churchill river in a southerly direction I crossed a ridge, running in a northeast and southwest direction at about one and one-half miles from Hudson bay, extending opposite to Mosquito point. From the point of crossing to the bay, on the sunny side, the ridge is well timbered with spruce six to twelve inches in diameter. Twenty-five miles from the starting point, I crossed another sandy ridge with scrubby timber. Two miles west of this point there is a barren hill known as White mountain, three hundred feet in height by one mile in length. At the eastern woods there are a few square miles of spruce and tamarack averaging six to eight inches in diameter. Close to White Whale lake I crossed another gravel ridge having no timber. On each side of Salmon creek there are scrubs, willows and small spruce, with grassy meadows. At Broad river to the left of the place of crossing, for about four miles there is a strip of timber one-third of a mile in width, eight to fourteen inches in diameter, consisting of stunted black spruce.”
The section about Waskaiowaka lake is fairly level and dry, with some scrub timber. The banks are steep and covered with very thick mossy peat, probably ten feet thick. The timber consists of black spruce and white birch from five to sixteen inches in diameter. From the Hudson’s Bay Company’s post on Split lake to the mouth of Grass river, the country on the east side of the lake is undulating, and part of the banks and islands is fairly timbered with spruce. Part of the shore of Landing lake and the islands are well timbered with spruce six to ten inches in diameter. Travelling from Landing lake to the head of Sipiwesk lake, the country was found dry and well timbered with spruce from eight to fourteen inches in diameter. The islands of Sipiwesk lake are well timbered with spruce, some being thirty inches in diameter. On Reed lake, the islands are well timbered with spruce six to fourteen inches in diameter. From Reed lake to Station 616 the country is level, forty per cent. being swampy. There is some spruce and tamarack timber four to eight inches in diameter. On the north side of Cormorant lake, there is a strip of timber, four miles wide by ten miles long.
Log jam on Limestone river.
Log jam on Limestone river.
This Timber Was The Best Seen
while exploring around that country.
Mr. Thibaudeau describes the country from Split lake and extending to The Pas, ten miles in width on each side of the proposed route of the Hudson bay railway, as “a pulpwood belt”. He says in his report:—“On this area, assuming one-sixth to be covered by pulp wood, the balance being river, lakes, ponds, swamps, etc., and assuming ten cords per acre of an average of six inches in diameter, there would be five million seven hundred and fifty-six thousand six hundred and sixty cords. This is a very low, but safe estimate.”
Mr. Thibaudeau makes the following reference to the water powers in the region explored by him:—“Deer river at its mouth has a minimum flow of seven thousand cubic feet per minute. A dam, eighteen feet high, can be built at reasonable cost and would generate one thousand six hundred horse-power. Two dams of the same height could be built within ten miles of the river mouth, which is twenty-five miles from Churchill. North river, which is three hundred and fifty feet wide during December, had a flow of not less than two hundred and fifty thousand cubic feet per minute. With a fifteen-foot dam, it would generate about five thousand horse-power. On Churchill river, within sixty to eighty miles from Churchill, large waterpower could be developed and transmitted to Churchill. Nelson river, Burntwood river and Grass river have a number of falls which could be utilized for the development of power for use in pulp mills or other industries.”
That portion of Mr. J. R. Dickson’s report (See p.60) referring to the timber of the district between
The Pas and Cross Lake
explored by him in 1910 is especially valuable. He states:—“In the region we traversed, only five species, namely,—spruce, poplar, tamarack, birch and jackpine have any possible commercial value, and of these, speaking generally, only one, spruce, is large enough for sawmill purposes or railway tie material. The poplar, birch and pine are invariably too short, spindly, limby and crooked for any use save fuel or pulpwood, and what mature tamarack there was is now standing dead from insect attack. We did not find over two hundred green tamarack above ten inches in diameter all summer. This remnant is on the northeast end of Bear island in Sipiwesk lake. Black spruce is easily the predominant species in all that region, and, except on very occasional well-drained tracts of spruce-flat type, where it reaches ten to fourteen inches in diameter at breast height, it is a small spindly tree, only four to eight inches diameter breast height at maturity, useless even for second class ties. This is the condition in which the jackpine also occurs. The white spruce, therefore, is the only species large enough to furnish construction timber, sawlogs, or even railway ties, and the supply is very limited. In the first place, this species occurs only on the best drained spots, such as river and lake margins or on the small islands; in the second, the fires of the past one hundred years have destroyed nearly all the old stand. To sum up then, only a mere fraction of one per cent. of the area we surveyed now carries merchantable timber—a fringe along lower Mitishto and upper Minago rivers, and on a few of the islands and peninsulas in the larger lakes—as shown on the map. There is probably enough timber available to build the rough construction work of the Hudson Bay Railway.
“From the mere size of the country and the density of the oncoming second growth stands, the possible supply of firewood is enormous. Because of its remoteness from settlement, however, it has no present commercial value. Owing to the killing by bark beetles of practically all the larger tamarack (or possibly killed by larch sawfly previous to beetle attack, though we found no trace of the sawfly),there is almost no green pile timber of any value in the whole region. Hence, unless by importation, the only choice left is between dead tamarack and the largest of the close-grained black spruce. The latter would remain sound in soil contact for about ten or twelve years, which would satisfactorily cover the first initial experimental stage in the operation of the new road.
“Just at the present time, within the area we inspected, the timber is too young and small upon the whole to be cut at a profit even for pulpwood. But in the absence of fires for twenty years the now eighty-year-old stands of four to eight-inch timber can be profitably cut for this purpose, and it is probable that within the next quarter of a century part of the
Enormous Energy Now Running Free
in the falls and rapids of Nelson and Grass rivers will be harnessed to drive pulp and paper mills. The age of the reproduction is in nearly every case a measure of the time which has elapsed since the last destructive fire occurred. As a general rule, to which, however, there are endless local exceptions and variations—the young growth is approximately either forty or eighty years of age, the former being now one to four inches in diameter, and the latter four to eight inches, but none yet large enough for making railway ties. It will, however, soon be suitable for pulpwood. Scattered trees from older stands occur in this second growth, but not in sufficient number to repay the cost of lumbering. The rate of growth in the very dense stands that are usual in that latitude is decidedly slow except where the soil and drainage conditions happen to be just right. Black spruce on semi-muskeg, a site of average quality for that species, is only four to five inches in diameter breast height at one hundred years. White spruce is rather fastidious regarding moisture conditions and only appears on fairly well-drained spots, attaining there a size of eight to twelve inches diameter within a century. Poplar in that time reaches eight to ten inches. As for jackpine, occasional trees reach twelve to sixteen inches, but only after long immunity from fires, and such trees are too limby for use. I saw no jackpine stand where the trees would average even six inches in diameter. If the general drainage conditions could in some way be improved so as to partially replace the unprofitable black spruce with the white species,
The Wealth Producing Power of the Region
would be immeasurably greater.”
Mr. William Beech of Churchill, in his communication to the press referred to in the preceding chapter (See p.63), writes of the timber resources of Hudson bay region:—“Another valuable asset of the district is the timber which everywhere dots the regions around the bay. The most northerly species is the spruce, which extends north of Churchill about forty miles, as far as Seal river, and which attains the height of about thirty feet and an average diameter of from twelve to fifteen inches. The balance of the timber is pulpwood and this exists in unlimited quantities. When you consider that the best of water power isavailable all along the rivers for the manufacture of this product, it will be seen that this is but another of the valuable resources of the district.”
As to the water powers available, Mr. Beech writes:—“There are a great number of magnificent water power sites, within very easy access of the surveyed route of the railway, all of which can be easily developed to furnish almost unlimited electrical energy. Hydro-electric energy could be developed at any one of these sites within a distance of thirty miles from the road, which would make transmission to points along it, or possibly operation of it actually, by electricity. It certainly assures cheap power for any manufacturing or milling centre which may develop. All these power locations must inevitably become very valuable. A few years ago, no one, with the exception of one or two far-seeing and experienced individuals, believed in the power propositions on Winnipeg river where so much development is now taking place. To-day what are they worth? They cannot be bought at any price. I believe the same will be true of the sites contiguous to the Hudson Bay Railway.”
CHAPTER IV.
The Rocks in Many Cases Highly Magnetic.—Norite Rock Similar to That at Sudbury About Trout Lake.—Peat in the District North of Lake Winnipeg.—A Large District Underlain By Keewatin and Huronian Rocks Which “Has Large Possibilities.”—Gypsum.—Building Granites.—Quartz Veins on Grassy River Below Reed Lake.—A Possibility of Nickel Occurring.
The evidence contained in the report of the British parliamentary investigation of 1749 shows that from the establishment of the first trading posts along the shores of Hudson bay, the attention of the officials and servants of the Hudson’s Bay Company was attracted by the statements of the natives as to the existence in the country of deposits of economic minerals. The earliest authorities of the trading company appear, however, not only to have abstained from investigating the mineral resources of the region, but to have discouraged their employees from prospecting, desiring them to concentrate all their efforts upon the fur trade. Many of the witnesses before the committee repeated in their evidence statements obtained from the Indians as to the existence of deposits of lead, and particularly of copper, in the north, doubtless referring to the then unknown Coppermine district.
The only evidence heard before the committee, unquestionably bearing upon the mineral resources of the territory immediately under review in this chapter, was given by Alexander Browne, who had been six years in the company’s service as surgeon at the bay, and who stated that he had seen large quantities of red earth, which was obtained about thirty-six miles to the southward of Churchill river; that he had tried some of it in a crucible, and found it to contain a heavy metallic substance like cinnabar, and a fluid like quicksilver. This trial was only to satisfy his curiosity, having received no orders to make it; but the
Governor was Present at the Experiment,
and upon the witness presenting his surprise to him that the company did not endeavour to improve these discoveries, the Governor answered that he was likewise surprised that they did not.
Rev. John Semmens (See p.36), writing of his observations while on service as a missionary in the Burntwood district, says:—“It was not my business to seek for minerals, but having been a miner in earlier years, I had my eyes open, and found many indications of deposits which, in my opinion, at no distant day will contribute largely to the commercial development of the north. I shallbe surprised if one of these lodes is not found at or near the southern outlet of Beaver Dam lake. And there will be many others.”
Doctor Robert Bell, of the Geological Survey, describes the rocks of the eastern part of Lake St. Joseph as “corresponding with some of those of the Huronian series. On the northern side, three miles from Osnaburgh House, there is a grey mica schist.” On the Albany, two and a half miles below Shabushquaia river, “Huronian rocks make their appearance. They consist of light-greenish, rather finely crystalline hornblende schist; black, with some light-coloured schist, together with fifteen or twenty feet of fine-grained banded magnetic iron ore, with slaty partings. A specimen of this ore was analysed by Mr. Kenrick of the Geological Survey, and found to contain 42·09 per cent. of metallic iron, and to be free from titanic acid. Along with the magnetite is a band of iron pyrites, a few inches thick, with traces of copper.” A dark green hornblende schist occurs at two miles before coming to Shabushquaia river. It holds patches of calc-spar and quartz running with the cleavage. Specks of copper pyrites were found in small quartz veins in the schist at the foot of the falls at the eighth portage below Lake St. Joseph on the Albany. At the eleventh portage Doctor Bell examined a number of veins of quartz holding epidote and hornblende, but no ores could be detected.
Doctor Bell, before the Senate committee of 1887, referring to his first voyage to Hudson bay, explained that lignite had been found inland in the country south and west of James bay. It belongs to a more recent geological formation than the lignite in the vicinity of Edmonton.
Mr. A. P. Low, in his report of his examination of the country between Lake Winnipeg and Hudson bay, says “The rocks in several places
Are Highly Magnetic,
and probably contain large quantities of iron ore, both disseminated in small crystals through the rock, and in large masses.” When being examined before the Senate committee in 1907, Mr. Low, then Director of the Geological Survey of Canada, drew attention to the fact that the map of Keewatin showed a large number of lakes, like Gas lake, Island lake, Favourable lake, Severn lake, Trout lake, etc., and remarked that wherever these patches of water are seen it indicates softer rocks than the other parts. These rocks are usually Huronian, and in many places they carry good indications of minerals, copper pyrites and different sulphides of that kind. At Trout lake there is a large area of what is called norite rock. These are the rocks in which the nickel deposits of Sudbury occur, and there is great probability of a small deposit being found up there.
There have been no indications of coal discovered in Keewatin, but Mr. Low explained that on hurried trips such as he had made it was impossible to examine mineral deposits very much, and one is liable to lose many of them. The general character of the southern part of Keewatin as regards mineral resources is good.
In the bank of Nelson river, opposite the mouth of Pine creek, Mr. J. B. Tyrrell reports a dark grey, rather fine-grained diorite or uralitic diabase, probably forming part of a large dyke cutting the gneiss. “Near the north end ofLittle Playgreen lake is a light reddish-grey massive biotite-granite cut by veins, a foot or more in width, of red pegmatite containing crystalline masses of molybdenite, with occasional crystals of pyrite and magnetite.”
Mr. Tyrrell reports copper and arsenical pyrites in a diabase dyke exposed in an island in Pipestone lake two miles and a quarter from the mouth of the river.
He reports the cliffs on the lower part of Burntwood river as being “occasionally overlain by a small thickness of peat.” He reports other deposits of peat in the district north of Lake Winnipeg.
Before the Senate committee of 1907, Mr. Tyrrell explained that the primary object in all his explorations was the mineral development of the country, and any other information that he collected was incidental. He stated that there is a district from Cumberland House northeastward towards Nelson river which is underlain by what are known as
Keewatin and Huronian Rocks,
the same kind as those in which minerals are found in northern Ontario at the present time. The very existence of those rocks was barely known. There had been practically no exploration of them, no prospecting, so that no one could say as to whether they were to be a barren portion of those rocks which are rich elsewhere, or whether they were to be like the Huronian and Keewatin rocks elsewhere, rich in mineral of some of the kinds so much desired. Comparing them with the rocks in other places, they have large possibilities. From that point there is an area of sandstone in the vicinity of Cree lake which may contain copper, but nothing much was known of it. It is about the age and character of the rocks that are rich in copper around Lake Superior, but no mineral wealth has yet been found in it.
Mr. D. B. Dowling, in his report on the survey of Burntwood-Nelson-Lake Winnipeg district in 1899, predicts that the several large areas of Huronian rocks which he outlines will at some future time be thoroughly prospected, and, as has been the case in nearly all such areas, ores of the useful and precious metals are likely to be found. “As it is at present, a very hasty visit has shown that many quartz veins and intrusive dykes cut these rocks, and indications of the precious metals are not wanting. In the Pipestone area on Nelson river, mispickel and copper pyrites are recorded by Mr. Tyrrell, as well as a promising showing of mica on the south side of Indian Reserve island, on Cross lake.”
In Severn district, in the southern part of the old district of Keewatin (now part of Ontario), there is a large region lying to the southwest of Cape Henrietta Maria, that had never been geographically explored before 1901. In the year named, Mr. Dowling was entrusted to do this work, and was instructed to make an instrumental survey of Ekwan river, the largest stream in this region. A micrometer survey of the river was made to the mouth of the Washagami branch, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles. The general valley was found to be a narrow cut through clay, with cut banks on either side for most of the distance to the first branch. As directed by his instructions, Mr. Dowling
Looked for Gypsum
between Moose Factory and Albany, and found some loose pieces of it in the vicinity of Nomansland.
“It is quite likely that this mineral occurs in situ in the vicinity,” Mr. Dowling states in his report.
In another part of his report Mr. Dowling states:—“Silurian limestone is found on Trout river, draining Mill lake, as well as in the bed of this lake just north of the trap rocks. The rocks at the narrows of the lake, described in the maps, as ‘high and romantic’ are cliffs one hundred and fifty feet in height of trap, capping horizontal beds of probably Animikie age. The trap overflow covers the uneven surface of these rocks, in much the same manner as Nipigon bay in Lake Superior. The underlying rocks are dark slates impregnated with iron ore, and interbanded with beds of jasper. Some of the beds seem to contain a high percentage of magnetite and hematite. On the east shore a section of about ninety feet of these jasper and iron-bearing slates is exposed above the lake, but on the west side they have been brought down to below the water level by a series of north and south faults and the exposures there are of trap alone. These rocks form an east and west ridge reaching to the lakes on the Washagami and eastward to a large lake on a branch of Trout river, which, as before stated, drains Sutton Mill lake and runs to the north.”
Mr. Dowling reported iron ore in the vicinity of Sutton Mill lake, west of James bay, and south of Hudson bay. On the east coast of James bay and Hudson bay abundant evidence of iron ore had been discovered; in fact, two large islands, Taylor and Gillis islands, are said to be almost pure iron ore.
Mr. D. B. Dowling, in his report of 1902 (Part F.F. Geol. Sur. Report) says:—“Small deposits of peat are to be found in various places, but the most important, from an economic point of view, is the area north of Lake Winnipeg described by Mr. Tyrrell. Along the valley of Burntwood river, where it is cut through the thick clay deposit, the general surface of the terrace is quite level. The drainage near the river is general, but back from the edge of the valley, on the more level parts, there is very often a wide expanse of swamp covered by a stunted growth of spruce and carpeted by heavy layers of moss. These swamps may at some future time supply peat for fuel.”
According to the report of Mr. Wm. McInnes, who explored in 1906 (See p.23) the basins of Reed and Wekusko lakes and Grass river, there are areas of intrusive granite, some of which, below Reed lake, are of even texture and bright red colour and would furnish very beautiful stones for monumental work and ornamental building. Palæozoic limestones cover all the country between the Saskatchewan and an east and west line cutting the southern ends of Reed and Wekusko lakes. The rocks are, as far as examined, magnesian and are probably all dolomites. They occur in flat-lying or gently undulating beds, varying in thickness from six feet or more to quite thin and shaly, the latter occurring near the base and the heavy beds forming the mass of the formation. Many of the heavy beds are even-grained and uniformly bedded so that they can be readily taken out in blocks of even thickness and of any required size. Many of the low cliffs near the lakesare so situated as to be admirably adapted for quarrying. Quartz veins are plentiful throughout the Keewatin belts, but, with the exception of arsenical and iron pyrites and traces of copper (near File lake), no valuable minerals were found in them, though their character, particularly where exposed on Grassy river below Reed lake, was
Considered Promising Enough
for the occurrence of the minerals that are so often associated with these rocks. The prevailing rocks exposed along Nelson river are biotite gneisses. Only at two places on the shores are other rocks seen, at Pipestone lake and on the southern shores of Cross lake, where a belt of Keewatin rocks crosses, and for some miles follows the river valley. The exposures at Cross lake are promising looking for the occurrence of gold, resembling closely, as they do, the gold bearing strata of the district east of Lake of the Woods. They are cut by intruded masses of the same crushed granite with blue opalescent quartz, known locally in the eastern region asProtogene.
Mr. William McInnes, in his evidence before the Senate committee of 1907, stated that in the region just west of Hudson bay there are only two or three belts of what is known as the Keewatin rocks. These are the rocks which in western Ontario hold gold. The witness found no minerals in commercial quantities. He found traces of copper on File lake. At Cross lake there is an area of these Keewatin rocks cut by intrusive granite of the same character as the protogene of western Ontario, which are almost always gold-bearing, but nothing has been found there. The limestones would make excellent building material. There are some intrusive granites on Grassy river which are of fine texture and beautiful red colour, which would make very fine monumental stone trimmings for buildings, etc., and would quarry very well. That would be along the projected line of the railway.
Nickel may be Found.
An occurrence, which seemed to Mr. McInnes to be of particular interest, was his discovery on upper Winisk river of a large area of so-called norite rock. That is the rock in which the nickel of Sudbury occurs. It is quite a characteristic rock. Mr. McInnes examined samples under the microscope, and they are not to be distinguished from the Sudbury rock. That led him to hope that there was a possibility of nickel occurring there too, but he did not find any, although he examined as well as he could. But he had not much time, and was too far away. There are two or three areas of these Keewatin rocks occurring unfolded in the Laurentian, but Mr. McInnes found no minerals in economic quantities in them at all. Near Eabamet river, a tributary of the Albany, he saw crystals of mica in the granite, two and a half inches in diameter. Of course that is not large enough to amount to much, but it shows a possibility that there might be something better there.
Mr. A. W. G. Wilson says of the district north of Lac Seul explored by him (See p.74):—“There seems to be little prospect of finding valuable economicminerals in the region in paying quantities. In almost all the bands of basic schists small, less often large, veins of quartz occur. At the surface these veins and the associated schists present the usual rusty appearance due to the decomposition of the pyrite. The granites are occasionally cut by pegmatitic dikes. Near the head of Cross lake, a rock, apparently of this character, carries a small amount of molybdenite in crystals varying in size up to an inch and a half across; it is uncertain whether the mineral is of economic importance, but the small size and the poor character of the specimen seen, and the difficulties of transportation point to the deposit being economically unworkable. The extent of the vein is not known. Near the inlet into Slate lake, about three-quarters of a mile from its northeast end, on the eastern shore, is the only place where magnetic minerals were found sufficiently segregated to produce a noticeable local variation of the compass. Here, stringers of a metallic mineral, probably magnetite, were found. Though this metal is sometimes a constituent of the basic rocks, the more common occurrence of iron ore is in the form of ilmenite. No hematite was noted in the district.”
In his report (See p.60) Mr. J. R. Dickson speaks of the mineral deposits of the area explored by his party south of Cross lake as follows:—“Judging by such necessarily superficial observations as the members of the party were able to make, the region we covered is not well supplied with economic minerals.
Traces of Copper
were found at Wekusko lake, and samples of iron ore at Sipiwesk lake, and careful prospecting might perhaps disclose deposits of commercial value, but everywhere else so far as observed, the obtruding bedrock was either pure granite or limestone. The latter, however, is mostly dolomite, the variety used as a flux in the reducing of iron ores, and future ore discoveries may give rise to such demand. This dolomite also will prove a valuable building stone for prairie towns, when made available by the Hudson Bay Railway.”
According to Mr. McLaggan (See p.58) the section of country about Reed lake is very rocky. Dark coloured granite, streaked with white quartz, extends along the lower end of the lake and for six miles along the river. Four miles farther Mr. McLaggan found indications of iron and saw a good water power. Above Herb lake he saw another splendid water power, very easy to develop, and along the river below rapids in five places from which fair power could be generated. At the lower end of Herb lake and along the river, granite mixed with white quartz was seen, and at the falls in the river, about twenty miles below the lake, good slate was found. On this lake Mr. McLaggan noted indications of iron. In places along and back from Grass river, on either side, quartz was seen. The country has been burned over, leaving only a few bunches of spruce, and the surface of the rock has been well exposed, so that prospecting would be easy. Mr. McLaggan thinks that this part of the country may prove rich in mineral.
On September 10, Mr. McLaggan reached Paint lake. Quartz was still in sight, but not so frequent in occurrence. There are a number of islands in the lake with rocky shores and small, mixed timber. Below Elbow lake the riverbanks are high, the country becomes rougher, and fire has bared the rocks of soil. White quartz crops out in considerable quantities. Along the banks of Cumberland lake there are considerable quantities of limestone, which may “become very valuable in time.”
Speaking of the region explored, as a whole, Mr. McLaggan considered that as a mineral country it offers a wide field for prospectors. “In the country travelled over there are indications of gold, silver, iron and limestone, and Indians and white men from the north tell wonderful stories of a place called Indian lake, north of Nelson House, and of an island on Burntwood river where various minerals and oil are said to exist.”
In his report on the preliminary surveys for the Hudson Bay Railway, John Armstrong, C.E., states:—“Our definite knowledge of minerals is limited to limestone and marble. The limestone occurs in the southern portion of the line a short distance from The Pas, in unlimited quantities favourable for quarrying, and will probably prove the future source of supply for the greater part of the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Marble of a very high grade occurs on Marble island in Hudson bay, and is also found of a fair quality at Churchill. Iron ores, gold, silver, galena, mica and other minerals have been discovered by the Geological Survey at various localities on the bay, all of which are fully described in the reports of that department. Various specimens of the precious metals have been shown to our engineers, but their origin was preserved in so much mystery that they could not be treated as evidence of the existence of the metal in that territory, and might have been used with equal effect to demonstrate the richness of a deposit in Colorado or Johannesburg.”
CHAPTER V.
Flocks of Wild Fowl that Obscure the Sky.—Six Species of Seal in Hudson Bay.—Stocked with Animals of Various Kinds.—White Fish Abound in Most of the Lakes and Streams.—Saw Eleven Moose in One Day.—The Commercial Value of the Sturgeon Fisheries.—Future Summer Playgrounds.—Barren Lands Caribou at Churchill.
The immense resources of this territory in the matter of fur, fin and feather, are traditional, but the testimony of residents and explorers as to distribution, present conditions, etc., are interesting and important.
Doctor Robert Bell, in his 1886 report (See p.17), says the Indians around Lake St. Joseph “live principally upon fish in summer and rabbits in winter, but these resources are supplemented by geese and ducks in the spring and autumn, and occasionally by larger game, such as caribou and bears at any season. The fishes of the lake comprise whitefish, grey trout, sturgeon, pike, pickerel, yellow-barred perch, grey and red suckers, besides some smaller species.
“At seven miles before joining the Attawapiskat, Boulder river falls into a lake three miles long, which the Indians call Sturgeon lake, from the abundance of this fish to be found in it. While in the act of setting our gill net, the evening we camped on its shores, a sturgeon, measuring upwards of five feet in length, was caught in it.”
Doctor Bell reports that several lakes abounding in fish are said to occur on the course of Henley river, which flows into the Albany ten miles below the Forks.
Doctor Bell, in his evidence before the Senate committee of 1887, said he had seen wild fowl in the region about Hudson bay in large numbers, and if one were close enough up to them, and surprised them in a marsh, they would rise in such clouds that
They Obscured the Sky
for a few moments until they got away. They would not darken the land in their flight, but they would prevent one seeing the sky or the sun for a few seconds. On the shores of Hudson bay and straits are found nearly all the sea birds that live in the northern part of this continent, and some of those of Europe. Some species are abundant; surf ducks, scoters, eider ducks, etc. The eider duck is valuable on account of its down. Of geese, the grey goose and the blue and the white wavies are very abundant in the spring and autumn on the shore of Hudson bay—and especially towards the southern parts of James bay. Swans are common.They breed on the islands, and some on the shores of Hudson bay, and their skins are an article of trade. In former years swans’ down was used for trimming ladies’ garments, and swans’ skins formed an item of export for the Hudson’s Bay Company. White bears are found in the northern part of Hudson bay, and there are plenty of black bears around the southern part.
There are valuable fisheries, too. There are codfish in Hudson bay. The variety the witness had seen is called the ‘rock cod,’ which is not of so good a quality as the common variety of the Atlantic, but he understood that it is the same species.
The variety of fish known as sea trout is found in the mouths of the rivers running into Hudson bay and James bay. They do not go far up the stream; they are never found beyond the first fall in a river. There are sea trout in both Hudson bay and James bay, at the mouths of the rivers. They are the same variety as that found on the Atlantic coast. They have the same habits. There is also the speckled trout. The marine animals—fishes and mammals of Hudson bay—have precisely the same habits as similar species have on the Atlantic coast.
The fur seal is not found here, but the seals of Hudson bay are valuable for their oil. They are tolerably abundant. There are
Six Species of Seal in the Bay.
There is the bearded seal, for instance, which grows to the length of thirteen feet, the ringed seal, the Greenland seal in Hudson strait, the grey seal, and the harbour seal, which is quite common in those waters, also the spotted or fresh-water seal. The latter run up the rivers after salmon and whitefish. It is a large spotted species with an almost white or light grey coat, with distinct black spots thickly scattered over its body. This seal ascends the rivers for long distances inland, sometimes as much as two hundred miles. They live on fish, and they sometimes remain in the lakes in the interior. The skins of these seals are valuable, making very good coats.
As to James bay, the best fish there is a variety of whitefish, apparently identical with the large whitefish of Lake Superior, only the fish grow larger in the cold waters in the north. The whitefish live equally well, if not better, in salt water. They run up the rivers also. They belong to the salmon family. Then there are trout of different kinds, and at the northern part of James bay there is Hearne’s salmon. They are small salmon, but of very fine quality. The flesh is equal to that of the common salmon, perhaps better. It is firm and red and well flavoured. Hearne’s salmon seldom exceeds ten pounds in weight. It is also found all around Hudson bay, and on both sides of Hudson strait.
The porpoise, or more properly speaking, the small white whale, is abundant in James bay.
Doctor Bell expressed the opinion that the fisheries of Hudson bay will, no doubt, be very valuable.
Mr. A. P. Low, before the Senate committee of 1907, stated that the fish in the inland waters of Keewatin are like those in the other northern parts of Canada, and fairly abundant especially in the larger lakes. The chief fish are the whitefish and the lake trout. In Hudson bay the whitefish and the ordinary river trouthave sea-going habits, and the Indians take quite a number along the shores in nets, more especially in James bay.
Mr. Low reported sturgeon as being plentiful in Favourable lake.
Mr. J. B. Tyrrell in his report speaks as follows of the game and fish in that area in the southwest of this region (See p.19) explored by him in 1896:—“The country is stocked with animals of various kinds. Moose are abundant in some of the more thickly wooded tracts. Black bears are somewhat numerous, and beaver, otters, martens, mink, muskrats and red foxes are killed by the Indians in considerable numbers in the aggregate every year.
Whitefish Abound
in most of the lakes and streams, while the lake trout seemed to be moderately plentiful in the clear lakes near the head of Grass river. Of the other fish, the sturgeon and pickerel (Stizostethium vitreum) are the most important. The region was known among the early fur traders as the Muskrat country. Trout and whitefish are said to abound in Reed lake.”