CHAPTER VI.

Moose crossing Limestone river.

Near the forks of the Muhigan large game was very plentiful, and Mr. Tyrrell saw eleven moose in one day.

As to his survey of the Ekwan district in 1901, Mr. D. B. Dowling reports:—“The principal fur-bearing animals of this region are foxes, otters and beavers. Of the larger mammals few appear to be taken by the Indians. In the interior the game birds are all very scarce, the fall hunt for ducks and geese being confined to the shores of the bay. The rivers afford a small supply of whitefish. The streams running to the north into Hudson bay in this region are, at certain seasons, well stocked with speckled trout. Sutton Mill lake is well supplied with a slender variety of lake trout, and at the narrows, speckled trout were also caught.”

Mr. Dowling mentions that at the foot of the first fall met with ascending Trout lake river from Little Shallow lake, the Indians form large camps in the autumn to catch whitefish as they are ascending the river to the spawning grounds.

The Best Food Fishes.

Mr. McInnes, in the report of his explorations about Winisk and Attawapiskat rivers (See p.23), says:—“Whitefish and sturgeon are the best food fishes, and occur in most of the lakes. Both are taken in nets, and the latter also by spearing from scaffolds built out over rapids in the river. Doré and pike are also generally distributed over the whole area, and form an important source of food supply, though the sucker among the fishes, like the rabbit among the mammals, holds the most important place, as it can be caught everywhere, not only in the larger lakes but also in the smaller ponds and streams. Brook trout were actually caught only in Winisk river near its mouth, and in the streams running into Albany river, but were seen in the rapids below Weibikwei; the Indians assert that they occur also in the lake itself. Lake trout were caught in large numbers in Trout lake at the head of Severn river, but are not found in either the Winisk or Attawapiskat waters.

“The moose (Alces americanus) has been found as far north as the southern shore of Weibikwei lake, in north latitude 52° 50′, though tracks were actually seen during our exploration only as far north as Attawapiskat river. Even here it is not nearly so plentiful as farther south in the belt of country lying near the Canadian Pacific Railway and extending for about one hundred and fifty miles north of it. Caribou (Rangifer caribou) range all over the district. No red deer are found anywhere throughout the region. The fur-bearing animals, though not so plentiful as they once were, are still fairly abundant throughout the district; the otter and the beaver from long-continued trapping are less numerous, perhaps, than any other species.”

Bears, Mr. McInnes says, are taken in good numbers, and foxes, including the red, silver, black and cross varieties are numerous. Otters and pine martens are taken in good numbers and beavers occur more sparingly. Minks and muskrats are plentiful. That the raccoon occasionally strays as far north as north latitude 52° is shown by the fact of one being taken by an Indian woman on upper Attawapiskat river in 1903.

Mr. McInnes describes Atikameg (locally known as Clearwater), Cormorant and Reed lakes as “very beautiful sheets of clear water, well stocked with fish, including lake trout and whitefish.”

Mr. McInnes, in his evidence before the Senate committee of 1907, expressed the opinion that if the region lying west of Hudson bay were opened up by railways there would be a considerable business in exploiting the fisheries, because the sturgeon is valuable. They would get the sturgeon on the lower Nelson and part of the Churchill. Big lease-holding companies put steamers on the various lake expansions on the Nelson, so that they reached down to within a few miles of Split lake, and marketed sturgeon in that way. They put tramways on all the portages. They ran that way for a couple of summers, but the distance was toogreat and it did not pay. The larger lakes have good whitefish and sturgeon. The head of the Adawadskit was particularly full of sturgeon. Going out Mr. McInnes’s party was short of pork and stopped one day to get supplies. In one night’s fishing the Indians caught so many sturgeon that they had enough to carry them for one hundred and fifty miles to the Hudson’s Bay Company’s post. One of the sturgeon

Was Three Feet Long.

At the mouth of the Winisk the Indians were catching speckled trout and whitefish in very large numbers. In fact the Indians of all that interior country live on fish. They smoke and dry them to a limited extent, and late in the autumn catch them before the larger lakes are frozen over, when the temperature is low enough to freeze the fish. They catch enough to put by for the winter. Some are sent to Chicago frozen.

In his report (See p.60) of the survey made by his party in 1910 of the area south of Cross lake, Mr. J. R. Dickson states:—“The deeper lakes all abound in whitefish of the finest size and quality. In Paint lake during the mayfly season (July up there) their dorsal fins could be seen cutting the water everywhere. Pickerel, and of course jackfish and suckers are likewise very abundant. We had no sturgeon net, but we saw quite a number jumping in Sipiwesk lake. Altogether the fishing industry should be a decidedly profitable one after the railway goes through. Much of that region is suited only, and admirably, to producing a permanent revenue from this source. The beaver have been almost exterminated, but mink, fisher, muskrat and other fur-bearers are still fairly numerous. As to large game, moose and caribou are plentiful, but we saw no elk or bear. More stringent game laws will shortly be necessary with the opening of the country to white hunters. Nearly all those northern lakes are thickly studded with beautiful islands—quite a similar Laurentian country to Muskoka, but on a more extensive scale. Some future day these large island-studded lakes will become popular summer playgrounds for the people of the prairies, for the July and August weather is delightful. As yet of course, they are almost inaccessible.”

Mr. McLaggan, who explored the country in 1907, describes the waters between The Pas and Clearwater lake as abounding in trout, whitefish, jackfish and pike. Reed lake is studded with many islands and replete with large trout, whitefish, pike and pickerel. Grass river, where it broadens into the long stretch known as Setting lake, is described by Mr. McLaggan as one of the most beautiful sheets of water he has ever seen and quite comparable to the St. Lawrence where it passes through the Thousand islands. He looks forward to it becoming a great summer resort. Goose river is very shallow and so teems with whitefish that they seem to cover the bottom and can be killed with sticks. Generally, along his route, Mr. McLaggan “found game in great plenty and immense waters teeming with fish.” W. Thibaudeau, C.E., states in his report (See p.23):—“In September, October and part of November large shoals of white whales (I counted thirty-five in one shoal) could be seen going up river at Churchill at every tide. Salmon, trout and whitefish are taken in the river and harbor all the year, but are more abundant in the spring.

Within a Few Miles of Churchill,

in the fall and winter, large herds of barren lands caribou were encountered. These herds supply fresh meat of an excellent quality for the residents of Churchill. Polar bears are occasionally shot in the vicinity of Churchill. Along the western peninsula Eskimo congregate in the spring for the purpose of seal hunting, these animals frequenting these shores in the spring in large numbers. Among the fur bearing animals are found black fox, silver fox, red and white fox, marten, and wolves both black and gray. Swans, geese, ptarmigan and many species of duck in large numbers, and some spruce grouse are found along the shores of Churchill harbour and river.

Referring specially to his exploration of that part of the country between Churchill and Owl river in December, 1906, Mr. Thibaudeau states:—“For one whole day we passed through an immense herd of barren lands caribou. There must have been thousands of them.”

Reporting on the fish and game along the route of his exploration trip from Churchill to The Pas, Mr. Thibaudeau says:—“From timber line on Hudson bay to The Pas are found moose and caribou in fair quantities. Rabbits are scarce throughout the country explored. Saw a few spruce grouse; ptarmigan are found plentifully, but not further south than Grass river. Whitefish abound in all the lakes from Churchill to The Pas; also in some lakes are found trout, pike and suckers. Indians and travellers rely upon this source of supply for dog feed.”

Mr. William Beech, of Churchill, in his communication to the press already quoted, writes:—“Fur-bearing animals exist in large quantities, and in many varieties, throughout the woods and along the shores and rivers. I have seen enormous white polar bears three hundred yards from my house as early as August 9, and at times they are very aggressive. Wolves are numerous, and very bold at times, so bold in fact that I have frequently heard them running round upon the roof above my head. White, red and black foxes, and a few of the rare silver variety are to be found at all seasons, and are

Valuable for the Fur They Bear.

Caribou roam in herds, and are very good eating, while seals, ducks, ptarmigan, geese and swans abound throughout the districts round about. Curlew, snipe, and loons also provide good shooting. Of fur-bearing animals besides foxes there are beaver, otter, mink, ermine, and wolverine, innumerable.

“Great sport is afforded to those who are so inclined in harpooning whales. I have counted as many as twenty in one school, going up the river at almost every tide, and an impressive sight it is. In summer at Churchill the Hudson’s Bay Company capture many white whales, from ten to fifteen feet in length and weighing from one thousand to two thousand pounds, by the use of extra strong nets. The flesh is cut up and kept to feed the dogs in winter, while the blubber is boiled down at the factory and the hides are sent to England.

“It will surprise you, perhaps, when I tell you that we fish on dry land at Churchill. That is a fact, nevertheless. The natives of Churchill, both Indiansand Eskimos, and also the white men, set their nets on dry land. They set their nets, which are about fifteen feet long, with three upright posts placed vertically on the shore. When they have set them they simply wait for the tide to come in, and when it has come in they simply wait until it has gone out, and there are their fish all ready to be taken out without any trouble. The catch consists chiefly of whitefish, salmon trout, and pickerel, all of good quality.

“When the Hudson bay route is completed, one of the best fishing trades in the world will be opened up. There are five lakes, in all, in the district, all full of fish, and the farthest teaming which is necessary would be about forty miles. On lake Winnipeg at the present time, fish are hauled a distance of one hundred and forty miles, and they are teamed into Edmonton from Lesser Slave lake, a distance of one hundred and seventy-five miles and made to pay. The salmon of the north averages from four to ten pounds in weight, and is of good quality; the whitefish is not so large as that of Lake Winnipeg, but it is of fine flavor, and very firm. The caplin, a small fish resembling the sardine, is found in such quantities at some seasons of the year that they are left in thousands upon the shore when the tide goes out. Fishing usually commences at the latter part of June and finishes at the end of August.”

NORTHERN SASKATCHEWAN

CHAPTER VI.

An Early Scientific Explorer’s Enthusiastic Description of Part of the Country.—“Capable of Any Extent of Cultivation.”—An Old Hudson’s Bay Company’s Official Who Considered it “A Splendid Country to Settle in.”—Mr. Crean Reports That “It is no Experiment” to Raise Wheat in North Saskatchewan.—Missionary Farmers and Their Accomplishments.—Capable of Supporting “A Dense, Thriving Population.”—“A Splendid Ranching Country.”—Heaviest Rains Just When they are Needed.

To obtain a correct idea of the resources of that part of the province of Saskatchewan north of North Saskatchewan river, one has to consider that great extent of territory as consisting of two very distinct areas, one to the south, the other to the north of Churchill river. While the area to the south of the Churchill is a well-wooded, park-like country, with great agricultural possibilities, the soil of the region north of that river, so far as explorations up to this time have shown, is mainly sandy and sterile.

Thanks to its being crossed by the old fur traders’ portage routes from Cumberland House, Fort à la Corne and Fort Carlton, on the Saskatchewan, to Frog portage on the upper Churchill and Methye portage on the Clearwater, the southern part of the region immediately under review has been known and written about for many years, but there is very little indeed in the ancient writings worthy of notice in this chapter. The first white travellers over the long and toilsome water routes of this beautiful country of swift-running rivers and isle-studded lakes were the enterprising fur traders from Montreal, who in course of time combined to form the Northwest Company. Their interests were all centred in the fur trade, and while travelling through the country, business, time and the exigencies of the commissariat combined to

Prevent Them from Exploring

the country with a view to investigating its natural resources, even if they had any inclination to do so, which is doubtful. At any rate such of these pioneer travellers through this country as ventured to write about their travels devoted their literary efforts to describing their adventures en route, their camps, the methods and habits of the voyageurs and Indians, the Indian camping places, and the rivers, lakes and overland trails traversed. Generally very minute details were given in these old books of travel as to the geographical features of the country, distances, bearings, the direction and currents of the rivers, the size, shapes and relative situation of the lakes, etc., but one reads over page after page, and book after book, without finding a single reference to the soil, or to the possibilitiesof the country from an agricultural point of view. In the course of time the opening up to the fur trade of the farther northwest on the banks of Athabaska and Mackenzie rivers resulted in a greatly increased amount of travel over the old canoe routes, but it did not attract attention to the natural wealth of this region, and until recent years the attractions this country offers to the agricultural settler have remained unrecognized.

Sir Alexander Mackenzie, in his book (1801), states that “no part of this country has ever been cultivated by natives or Europeans, except a small garden at Ile à la Crosse, which well repaid the labour bestowed upon it.”

Examined before the British parliamentary committee of 1857, Richard King, M.D., surgeon and naturalist to the expedition in 1833 in search of Sir J. Ross, was asked:—“Are you under the impression that there is any portion of the territory which you then saw that would be available for the purpose of settlement?” He replied:—“Yes, I found a very large country, as it appeared to me at that date. I hold in my hand one of Arrowsmith’s very best and recent maps, he being the great authority upon that country, and the square piece of country which I always looked upon as a very fertile valley is there distinctly shown. It is bounded on the south by Cumberland House, on the Saskatchewan. It is an enormous tract of country. Cumberland territory is, according to Sir J. Richardson, I find, several thousand square miles. Then it is bounded by Athabaska lake on the north. I am not now exactly giving it north and south. I may state that I passed through a great portion of that country, but of course what I am saying as to the larger portion that I am now speaking of, is not only from my own personal observation upon it, but from an inquiry upon the spot, seeing the nature and extent of that country. This large portion which I have described as within this area I looked upon as the

Most Fertile Portion Which I Saw.

“On this map it is very clear. You will see the country entirely surrounded by water.”

Asked if he meant to express an opinion that the whole of that territory was suitable, as regards soil and climate, for the purpose of cultivation, Doctor King replied that he was told by the traders there generally that it was precisely the same land as that which he passed through, namely, a rich soil, interspersed with well-wooded country, there being growth of every kind, and the whole vegetable kingdom alive.

Doctor King impressed upon the committee the fact that in going through that country his position was that of a naturalist; he “came away certainly with the impression that it was a very magnificent country in many parts of it; of course there were barren portions, but upon the whole, up to Athabaska lake, it appeared to me to be capable of any extent of cultivation.”

Doctor King said that some time previous to his visit to that locality there had been some agricultural activity at the Hudson’s Bay Company’s post at Cumberland House due to the enterprise of Governor Williams. Doctor King found capacious barns, and implements in fields which had evidently been placedunder culture. On approaching Cumberland House, he had found a little new colony of thirty persons established, a Canadian, an Englishman, and half-breeds. They had their fields divided out into farms, and other things. It was described to him that they had formed a little colony at Cumberland House but had been

Ordered from the Immediate Vicinity

by the Hudson’s Bay Company. The settlers told Doctor King that “at the time they were ordered off, the Company would not allow them to go on cultivating; that it was against the Company, and that therefore the thing was to be broken up, etc., etc.”

As to the little new settlement, Doctor King stated that it appeared to him, in going over the colonists’ farms, that they were very highly cultivated. There was corn, wheat, and barley growing. He bought a calf from them; he gave seven shillings for it. A fat bullock sold for twelve shillings.

Haying near Green lake.

Doctor King testified that when he went on to Cumberland House, he found that the settlers were really borne out in what they had stated, for he found that the barns and implements were in the fields, and that the cows, oxen, and horses had all gone wild. He enquired the reason of it and was told that Governor Williams had a penchant for farming and that the Company had ordered him off somewhere else.

Hon. William Christie, formerly Inspecting Chief Factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, before the Senate committee of 1888, explained that there was a vast extent of splendid country from Prince Albert on the whole north side of the Saskatchewan, going away up until the traveller came near Fort Pitt, keeping a littleto the north. Then, when he would come to the route of Green lake, there was two days’ journey through a magnificent country, beautifully timbered, well watered and supplied with abundance of fish. As he once travelled through it, he remarked to one of his men,—

“What a Splendid Country To Settle In.”

Green lake, witness explained, is north of Carlton, about eighty miles. One crosses at Carlton and for two days can travel through a prairie country with bluffs here and there, and lakes; it is a splendid country. Then he would travel for two days through a forest to Green lake.

Professor John Macoun, in the Dominion Government Canadian Pacific Railway Report of 1877-8, says:—“I was at Ile à la Crosse (almost due north of Battleford) on September 22, 1875, and saw potatoes still green as they were in July. I was told by Mr. Cummins that these potatoes hardly ever were killed by frost in September. Here there was a flour mill driven by horse-power and I am told that all kinds of grain ripen successfully.”

Professor Macoun in his book “Manitoba and the Great Northwest,” published in 1882, made the following reference to the northern portion of Saskatchewan as an agricultural country:—“About fifty miles north of Carlton the ‘Star Mission,’ in connection with the Church of England, is situated. This Mission was established in 1874, and placed in charge of the Rev. Mr. Hinds, who, besides being a minister, was a practical farmer. He at once commenced to teach the old men farming and the children English, and in less than one year had a number of small farms commenced, and the children well advanced in the knowledge of English. Since then he has been very successful, and in 1879 Mr. O’Keeffe, D.L.S., writes of the Mission: ‘At Sandy lake the Indians under the supervision of the Rev. Mr. Hinds, Church of England Missionary, were cultivating successfully fine fields of grain and raising vegetables.’ Of the country in this vicinity the same writer says: ‘No finer country could be desired than the section above described. The water is pure and abundant, and the land extremely rich. Pea vine, vetches, grasses, and, in fact, all herbaceous plants were luxuriant.’ ”

In the report of his explorations during the years 1893 and 1894, Mr. J. Burr Tyrrell gives the following general description of this area:—“The country between Saskatchewan and Churchill rivers is very different from that north of the latter stream. From Prince Albert, situated on the banks of the North Saskatchewan, at an elevation of one thousand four hundred feet above the sea, the surface rises with a gentle slope northward to a heavy stony moraine ridge, the highest point of which, on Green lake trail, was found to have an elevation of about two thousand two hundred and twenty feet. From this high ridge the country slopes gradually northward, at first with a gentle rolling, and afterwards with a more even surface, to the chain of lakes and extensive swamps that lie along the edge of the district directly underlain by Archaean rocks. This country has very much the general appearance of that portion of northwestern Manitoba to the west of lakes Manitoba and Winnipegosis, including Duck and Riding mountains, previously described by the writer.”

Between Churchill and Saskatchewan rivers two lines were examined by Mr. Tyrrell, one from Prince Albert northwestward by Green lake to Ile à la Crosse, and the other from Stanley Mission southwestward by Montreal lake to Prince Albert.

Writing of some of the more noticeable geographical features of this area Mr. Tyrrell says:—“Churchill river from its northern source at Methye portage, following its windings, has a length of four hundred and eighty miles to the mouth of Reindeer river. It is a long series of very irregular lakes filled with clear blue water, connected by short and usually rapid reaches. Some of the rapids are produced by rocky barriers, while others are over boulders and between banks of till, such as is underlying much of the surrounding country.

“The largest tributaries flowing into the Churchill from the south are Beaver, Sandy and Rapid rivers.

Flowers at Ile à La Crosse.

“Beaver river rises on the Cretaceous plateau, not far from Lac la Biche, and, flowing, first eastward for two hundred and fifty miles, and then northward for a hundred miles, empties into the south end of Ile à la Crosse lake. Its course northward was alone surveyed. Here it is a rapid stream from one hundred to two hundred feet wide, flowing between low clay banks, beautifully wooded with spruce and poplar. Much of the land along the course appeared to be well adapted for agricultural purposes, and the rank vegetation gave

Promise of Abundant Harvests.”

The Venerable Archdeacon J. McKay, one of the best known Church of England Missionaries of the Canadian west, was examined before the Senate committeeof 1907. He stated that he was born on the eastern shore of James bay, near Rupert’s House. His father was a Hudson’s Bay Company’s officer. Witness had his education in Manitoba in the early days. He had been more in the old country than in eastern Canada. He lived at Moose Factory until he was eighteen.

Archdeacon McKay explained that he had been forty-five years in the west, in charge of missions of the Church of England, and was ten years at a place on Churchill river, a little north of Lac la Ronge. The nearest point to Lac la Ronge on the map is where the Anglican mission is situated, about ten miles north of Lac la Ronge, on Churchill river. This is about due north from Prince Albert, and in a straight line it would be considerably over two hundred miles from Prince Albert. He had been for some time superintendent of the Anglican missions. For the two years preceding his examination he had been at Lac la Ronge. He had been as far north in this country as Lake Cariboo. In fact he had been away to the north end of Reindeer lake. It is very poor country up there, and the trees are not very large. From the Churchill he had been down to Hudson bay, and he had been as far west as Ile à la Crosse lake and on to Methye lake, which is not many miles south of Clearwater river and in an east-southeasterly direction from McMurray.

The land between Lac la Ronge and Prince Albert in some places is very good. It is all forest practically until to about thirty miles from Prince Albert, or perhaps twenty or thirty. Then the open country begins where it is not heavily timbered. To the west of Lac la Ronge the country is very much the same. It is not rocky, some muskeg and some pretty good land, but all timbered—in some places heavy timber. There is spruce and poplar. The spruce is good enough for lumber, and of course it would do for pulpwood. The witness had travelled the country about Lac la Ronge pretty thoroughly, and if it were cleared of timber it would, in his opinion, be generally

Fair Agricultural Land.

The rocky country is north of that.

So far as agriculture at Lac la Ronge is concerned, Archdeacon McKay said he had raised good wheat at his former mission on Churchill river for seven years in succession without having it frosted. The climate is good. It is a rocky country, and there is not a great deal of good land; but so far as the climate is concerned it is all right for raising anything that can be raised in Saskatchewan generally. Potatoes grow splendidly.

Potatoes at Anglican Mission, Lac la Ronge.

He could not describe what the grasses are, but they are grasses that grow mostly in moist land, something like slough hay, grasses that grow on the margins of lakes, and along the rivers. There was not much stock there, but he had stock when he lived on the mission on Churchill river, fifteen head of cattle and two horses. That is a little north of Lac la Ronge, and is practically the same country. As to the Lake Ile à la Crosse country, he considered it fairly good. It is not rocky and there is plenty of timber and plenty of hay as a rule—some prairie hay and some swamp hay, and the soil is fairly good—better than Lac la Ronge. It gets better as you go west. It is certainly better about Ile à la Crosse than at Lac la Ronge,and there is no rock country about Ile à la Crosse. The hay is long. It is very much the same as the natural hay in Manitoba. The only whites in the country he had described north of the Saskatchewan were the Hudson’s Bay Company’s officials and traders. There is no agricultural settlement at Lac la Ronge. There are only Indians there, and they have not gone into anything in the direction of agriculture more than raising a few potatoes.

Archdeacon McKay stated that it is a peculiarity of that part of the country around Lac la Ronge that the frosts are very late. On a small island in the lake Archdeacon McKay has seen potatoes in the beginning of October with the

Vines Untouched by Frosts

at that late season. That was of course on account of the large body of water that equalized the temperature. On the mainland that would probably not be the case, but two years ago he was at Lac la Ronge when Mr. Chisholm, the Indian Inspector, came out to make treaty payments towards the end of August, probably August 20, and the potato vines were not touched at all either on the mainland or on the islands. The snowfall is not very heavy. It is generally a little heavier than in Prince Albert section of the country, but not always so. Three feet on the level would be considered deep snow. As a rule the firstfrosts come some time in September. In 1906 the potatoes were touched with frost about September 15, but not seriously. In the spring one can put in grain from May 5 as a rule. He used to sow wheat May 5 generally, and plant potatoes from May 20 on. The lowest temperature in winter, judging from his own sensations, was about the same as Prince Albert. In the summer time it is quite as hot at Lac la Ronge as at Prince Albert. It is farther north and the days are longer.

The weather at Lac la Ronge is moderately dry. Generally there is sufficient rainfall for the crops. In the summer of 1906 there was quite a long spell of dry weather, which affected the wild fruits. It was an exceptional spell of dry weather, but generally there is a good rainfall. The rainy season would be quite equal to Manitoba.

Richard S. Cook, Esq., Mayor of the city of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, was examined before the Senate committee of 1907. He stated that he had at the date of his examination by the committee been engaged in farming at Prince Albert for fifteen years. He had a large stock and dairy farm, operated it successfully, and had made it pay every year. Mr. Cook stated that he had travelled considerably over the country about Prince Albert, particularly to the north and northwest of that city. He had gone north from Battleford and down Beaver river. Little is known of that country. It has always been travelledby canoe. Stanley Mission was the farthest north he had been, two hundred and fifty miles north of Prince Albert, and about the same distance north of Battleford. The country in that northern district is fit to be an empire in itself, and a wealthy one. People knew little of it yet, but it was going to prove an excellent country for agriculture. It was such an immense country it was hard to grasp the possibilities of it. One might travel over it for years and know very little about it. There is very little open country there, except where the fire has gone, but about seventy-five per cent. of the soil in that country is good, capable of being cleared up and becoming good agricultural land. The area must be at the least about two hundred and fifty miles by two hundred and fifty miles. In travelling about the country, he had examined the region about Fort Pitt, Beaver lake, Moose lake and Cold lake. For a considerable distance immediately back from Saskatchewan river the soil is light; not a very good country. The country immediately behind Fort Pitt, however,

Is Fit for Raising Grain.

Oat field at Anglican Mission, Lac la Ronge.

The further north one goes in that country the better it is. The altitude is gradually getting less, and on Chipewyan reserve, south of Cold lake, there is as fine land as he had ever seen in his life. The grass is four and one half feet long, and people had been known to grow one hundred tons of hay the first season. Mr. Cook doubted whether wheat would grow the first year.

Around Cold lake the fires had been very destructive. There had been timber there, and where it had been burnt over the grass was good. The soil was all right and the pea vine growing, and good rich grass, so that he thought the country down the Beaver would be a fairly good agricultural country. This district is one hundred and fifty miles north of the Saskatchewan. It would be northwest of Battleford about one hundred and fifty miles. At Stanley and Churchill, two hundred and fifty miles north of Prince Albert, they were raising all kinds of stuff. There was a sheaf of wheat in the Board of Trade in Prince Albert which was brought from there, and it was certainly a very fine specimen. Mr. Cook thought that in the area he had visited in the north there was a country that would be settled up and sustain a large population. The fires had been very destructive in parts of the Stanley country. The soil throughout at one time was a good soil, but where the fires were very heavy and hot it burnt the top of the soil. He would judge that seventy-three per cent. of that country would have good agricultural soil as soon as it was cleaned out.

Settlements had been started twenty miles north of Prince Albert, and some years ago an American went in there and he now has a beautiful farm. The witness brought in a collection of vegetables from that country, and he never saw a better lot of farmers’ produce in his life. This original American pioneer was growing Turner raspberries, and anyone will tell you that where you can grow Turner raspberries, fall wheat will grow, and where fall wheat will grow the climate is fit for anything. The settler in question got the Turner raspberries from Mr. Cook in Prince Albert. It takes a certain climate to grow that raspberry, and they claim the same climate will grow fall wheat. It is not the wild raspberryof the country, but a variety sent out from the experimental farm in Ottawa. Wild raspberries grow all through that country. That one man starting out demonstrated that the climate was all right, and others followed suit, and there are now one hundred and fifty or two hundred settlers in that country, which was considered a few years ago as no good. The same remarks apply to the country clean out to Candle lake. That country is fairly clear and open, and there is some hazel brush, and where hazel brush will grow the land is considered good, and where poplar will grow it is also considered good soil.

Mayor Cook expressed the opinion that

Lack of Means of Communication

was all that kept the tide of settlement from flowing into that northern country. He went on to explain that the people out on the Saskatchewan and north of it anticipate being able to ship by the Hudson bay route. They are all expecting it. They consider that there is not a question of doubt but that it will be successful. They expect an open route via Hudson bay for half of July, all of August, September, October, November and part of December. Witness was speaking from the information received from people who spent their lives on Hudson bay. Many of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s officials came in to Prince Albert district to settle, after they had been superannuated. From information obtained from these old Hudson’s Bay Company’s men, his honest opinion was that it was a perfectly feasible route for the months he had given:—half of July, all of August, September, October, November and a part of December.

Mr. Cook, concluding, remarked: “When you are shipping out your cattle, you are sending them by the short route, and the shrinkage will be light. One feed, and probably none at all, would last to Churchill. The short route would also make it possible to ship out at least one-third of the crop before the frost sets in, which would be a great relief to the settlers.”

W. F. Bredin, Esq., member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, for the Division of Athabaska, and residing at Lesser Slave lake, was examined before the Senate committee of 1907and stated that at the date of his examination he had resided ten years in the country north of Edmonton. He had been from Edmonton north to Fort Wrigley, and he had been on Peace river from Fort St. John, thirty miles inside the British Columbia line, to about five hundred miles down the Peace—from that point. Ten years previous to his examination he went down the Athabaska to the Mackenzie in boats.

Mr. Bredin referred briefly to a trip he made east from Athabaska district during the summer of 1906, when he travelled from McMurray up Clearwater river and thence across to Prince Albert. The land on Clearwater river for one hundred miles, in the bottoms, is very good. It appeared to him, from the river, however, to be very sandy back on the high rocks. He should think there would be a good deal of rock and muskeg. From where he left Clearwater river in to Prince Albert, on the North Saskatchewan, the country was more or less of a sandy nature. There were beautiful lakes all the way, filled with good whitefish and trout. The whole northern country is that way.

In his evidence before the Senate committee of 1907, Mr. H. A. Conroy remarked:—“There is some good country along the Clearwater—very nice country from an agricultural point of view.”

The Crean Reports.

A great amount of invaluable information as to the natural resources of the region south of Churchill and Clearwater rivers is contained in the report by Frank J. P. Crean, C.E., of his explorations (See p.25) in 1908 and 1909. It is interesting to note that this work of exploration was the first ever undertaken in a systematic way to ascertain the agricultural possibilities of Canada’s northland.

The late Mr. R. E. Young, Superintendent of the Railway Lands Branch of the Department of the Interior, under whose direction, and at whose instance, these explorations were conducted, in forwarding Mr. Crean’s first report, wrote:—“Mr. Crean’s report gives a great deal of useful information about the district, and the results of his observations appear to shew that mixed farming may confidently be expected to prove successful over a large area. When the country is made accessible by roads a considerable settlement of agriculturists may, I think, be looked for. The country is also shewn by his report to be rich in natural resources.”

In forwarding Mr. Crean’s second report to the minister, Mr. Young wrote:—“The exploration in the year 1909 shows results even more satisfactory as to the possibilities of the country for settlement than the exploration of the previous year. A very considerable proportion of the area explored is shewn by Mr. Crean’s observations to be well adapted for mixed farming and to have natural resources of timber, hay, fish and game which will be of much value to incoming settlers. Results of actual operations in cattle raising are of a most encouraging nature. At and in the vicinity of Meadow lake over one hundred miles north of Battleford, there are herds of cattle aggregating over three hundred, and over fifty horses, all of which are described as in a thriving condition. At Cowpar and Winefred lakes towards the western part of the track explored and in Clearwater valley to the north, conditions seem also most promising for stock-raising. It may be of interest to note here that recent reports of investigations in Siberia, Mongolia and northern Manchuria by the Bureau of Plant Industry of the Department of Agriculture of the United States, give accounts of the discovery of three varieties of yellow-flowered alfalfa which are found growing and thriving in a wild state under conditions of climate much more severe, both as to cold in winter and snowfall, than are to be found in any part of northwestern Canada as far north as there are any claims made as to possibilities of settlement. It may therefore be considered reasonably probable that whatever advantages alfalfa has over our native grasses as fodder are assured for all habitable parts of our north country.”

As to the district about Lac la Ronge, Mr. Crean says in his report of 1908:—“Besides the mineral wealth supposed to be available there is also considerable land to be found capable of being tilled.

It is No Experiment

to endeavor to raise wheat in this section. It has already been done. Stanley, or as it is sometimes called Stanley Mission, is worthy of special description. It appears that Stanley is one of the best known spots in the north. The village or settlement is situated on a most picturesque point jutting into Churchill river. The country surrounding it is rolling, and this adds considerably to the beauty of the locality. From an agricultural standpoint the land is good. The soil is a rich loam and the subsoil is sandy clay. The loam, however, attains a great depth. I put one hole down almost four feet and had not then struck a subsoil. This, however, was exceptional. Stanley’s fame rests altogether on the energy and initiative of Reverend Mr. Hunt, a Church of England clergyman, and the founder of a Church of England Mission there about 1851. Mr. Hunt, as far as I could ascertain, not only built the celebrated and beautiful church, but also planted some wheat and barley. This he found would grow successfully, and he established a small mill to grind the wheat. At first he used a hand mill, which is still standing at the Mission House. Later on, however, he built a small water power mill and for a number of years this was in operation, used not only by the Mission but also by the Hudson’s Bay Company.”

What a Missionary is Doing.

On the north shore of the bay at the southwest end of the lake, the Church of England Mission have a large school not yet completed, and also an open air saw mill. The Reverend Mr. Brown is in charge of the Mission and is endeavouring to establish a farm in order to teach the natives to work. He has some cattle, pigs, and poultry. Reverend Mr. Brown has a good garden, nothing in it suffering from frost. At Little Hills, just at the mouth of Montreal river, wheat has been grown successfully and Mr. Brown intends putting in a crop this year. I might here be permitted to say that the Reverend Mr. Brown, who is materially assisted by his wife in his Mission work, is deserving of the most unstinted praise for his zeal and industry in the building up of the Mission. Under somewhat disadvantageous circumstances he fills the several positions of minister of the gospel, farm instructor and mechanic to his flock, cheerfully and with good effect. The Hudson’s Bay Company had a good garden last year, but most of the ground here is stony. Revillon Frères have a post here and they, too, raise all the vegetables they require.

Mr. Crean reports that on Deer lake (Montreal lake section) “just east of the narrows a white man lives and he has a first class garden. Around Deer lake the land is good and I see no difficulty in its development. The soil at Deer lake is a good light loam inclined to be sandy, with a blue clay subsoil. Muskegs occur, but they are generally small. There is ample hay everywhere. I fancy this country might profitably be surveyed and opened for settlement. I did not travel to the east of Montreal lake, but from information obtained there is not any great difference in the country from the west side.”

Mr. Crean goes on to say that there has been no attempt at agriculture in Snake lake and Sandy river section. “The height of land dividing the water shedsof Ile à la Crosse and Sandy river is not very high but is clearly marked by a clay ridge. This ridge has been burnt off in recent years and is covered with fallen timber and brulé. A poplar growth is springing up now. This part of the section should make good agricultural country. There is, however, a vast area of swamp in this section; I cannot say if it could be drained. Sandy river flows through vast hay meadows. These are not too wet and are by no means swamps. Of course most of the meadows would be improved by clearing of scrub bush.”

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