Eskimos in Kyaks on Arctic Red river.
Eskimos in Kyaks on Arctic Red river.
Mr. Alfred H. Harrison, the English traveller and explorer (See p.22), in his volume “In Search of a Polar Continent” relates that just as he was leaving Fort Simpson in 1905 for the descent of the lower Mackenzie “Père Vacher appeared with a sack of potatoes which he had grown in his own garden, and which were as good as any we can get at home.”
When Mr. Harrison reached the post at the mouth of Arctic Red river on October 4, he found that that tributary had been frozen fast for three weeks, and it was reported that a few miles lower down the Mackenzie itself was ice-locked.
In his account of his return trip up the Mackenzie in 1907, Mr. Harrison writes (p. 268):—“On July 25 we arrived at Fort Good Hope, where I was glad once more, to meet Mr. Gaudet, who, it will be remembered, was in charge of this post. I was particularly impressed here by the gardens which I visited. They produced fine crops of nearly every kind of vegetable that we grow at home. I did not, indeed, see either pease or beans, but I noted howvery fine the potatoes and cabbages were, as also the onions, beet root, lettuces, and turnips. We took some of these vegetables on board, and they tasted every whit as good as they looked”.
Mr. Harrison devotes several pages of his book to what he describes as the commercial geography of the country extending from Athabaska to the delta of the Mackenzie. He writes:—
As to Illinois, Iowa and Missouri.
“The natural resources of this country are very great. I remember once hearing my father say that the states of Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri were commonly believed, when he was a young man, to be barren wastes, where agriculture was impossible, and where no white men could live, but that by the few who knew of the capabilities of that region great hopes were entertained of its future. To-day these very states are the most productive in the Union. In like manner one might be tempted to hazard a prophecy as to the importance and prosperity of that country, so vast, but so little known, which lies to the north of the new province of Alberta; and, accordingly, I will venture briefly to submit an estimate of the commercial prospects of what may well be a career of immense industrial expansion which seems to await the great region now known as Mackenzie river basin.
“Canada, be it remembered, has an area greater than that of the United States, and at the last census (that of 1901) the smaller country showed a population of eighty millions, as against the mere five millions at which the larger was registered. If, therefore, the resources of the larger of these two countries are relatively as great, the scantier population will admit of being increased fifteen times. The question of resources thereupon emerges, and before speaking of these in detail, it may be noted (1) that the soil here is as good as in other parts of the Dominion; and (2) that the winters are not more severe than those which are undergone in other portions of Canada. Six months, moreover, of open water may be reckoned upon—from the beginning of May to the beginning of November. The lakes and rivers abound with fish; there are inconnu, or Mackenzie salmon, whitefish, pike, and suckers, doré, trout, and herrings. The large inland sheets of water—such as Great and Lesser Slave lakes, Athabaska and Bear lakes—teem with fish, which forms to-day the staple food of the scanty inmates of these tracts. The fishing, indeed, would of itself be no slight asset were there any means of shipping the produce out of the country.
“This brings me to the subject of transport. Population will not merely increase with, but will itself enable the increase of,
The Means of Communication.
The two will advance, like a couple of boys playing at leap-frog, each by the aid of the other—and will advance, like those youngsters, ‘by leaps and bounds.’ As the settlers become more frequent the great waterways will be rendered navigable, and their banks, like the land abutting the railways that will make a trellis-workof the country, will be dotted with noble cities and with prosperous towns. There are at the present day three huge tracts that would quickly be inhabited were they invaded by the locomotive. A railroad from Edmonton to Athabaska river would give access to two hundred and ten miles of waterway, in one direction, up to Lesser Slave lake, and one hundred and sixty-five miles of stream running down to Grand rapids. A railroad from Edmonton to Peace river would open up six hundred miles of a river yet finer, and running through a finer country, than that approached by the first-named line. The third railway to be looked for would connect Athabaska river at McMurray with Prince Albert, hereby giving easy access to the name-sake lake from this fort.
“It might be objected that there are no markets in this country, but this objection we have already virtually forestalled. Given the spread of railways and the inflow of settlers, the establishment of markets will follow as a matter of course. Let me conclude my statement of the country’s capabilities by mentioning its lime and stone, its oil and gas, its asphaltum, coal, and salt.
“In cherishing these sanguine hopes as to its future, I do not think I am alone. They are shared by a few who have gone off the beaten tracks, and made themselves acquainted with the country. When the immensity of these northern lands is realized, one cannot wonder that few men should be familiar with them. In my travels there I have met with only one man who really knows the country from end to end, and if asked whether he did so, he would doubtless answer that he did not. I refer to Mr. Conroy (of the Indian Department) who has traversed its entire length year after year, has departed from the beaten tracks, and has in many places penetrated far into the interior. How, then, in the absence of railways, can men whose enterprise and qualifications are less eminent than his obtain in a lifetime an adequate knowledge of this outlying region?”
Mounted Police Reports.
We get some interesting information regarding unknown or little known sections of the Mackenzie country from recent reports of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police.
Inspector Jarvis, C.M.G., in the report of one of his patrols in 1907 into the wood buffalo country about Fort Smith and the Little Buffalo, wrote:—“We went westerly from Fort Smith through a level dry country, covered with jackpine and poplar for about nine miles, following nearly the course of Slave river to Gravel point, where we turned southwesterly through a region of swamps and muskegs for nine miles more. This brought us to Salt river where we camped for the night. The next day we went northwesterly along the banks of Salt river, in a region of extensive prairies, some of them wet, some dry, but all covered with a fine growth of grass and capable of supplying unlimited quantities of hay. After three miles we came to the crossing of Salt river, and went up the thickly wooded slope of Salt mountain, which is here, as farther south, a plateau of no great elevation. From there on the country was beautiful, the ground was slightly rolling with occasional lakes, the soil rich, and the timber, spruce, poplar, jackpine and tamarack. The pasture was of the richest description, so that the horses faredwell in spite of the swarms of the mosquitoes and bulldogs (flies). We now left the mountain to cross this open stretch and at noon reached the east side of this prairie, where we camped. Thence forward we travelled through dry poplar woods of scattered large trees, under which the richest grass abounded. The whole of this region seemed ideal for stock. About 3 p.m. we once more reached Salt river, and followed its banks through the same dry poplar country to its junction with Slave river, which we reached at six o’clock. A boat was handy so we put all baggage in this, and swam the horses, camping for the night. On June 28 we broke camp at 8 a.m. and rode southerly for two miles through a dense growth of spruce, varied with a few stumps. This gave place to the open poplar woods with rich pasture which continued for seven miles, bringing us to Gravel point.
“There is a good deal of swamp in this region. There is, however, much land that is dry, rich, and eminently suited for ranching and mixed farming.”
The inspector relates how, northeast of Little Buffalo river, “we came to the top of the mountain and had a clear view of a great extent of country below us. To the north were some muskegs, but northeast were the open plains of Salt river stretching away for many miles.”
Liard in 1909.
Sergeant (at that date Corporal) A. H. L. Mellor, Royal Northwest Mounted Police, made a patrol from Smith Landing to Fort Liard in 1909. In his report he says:—“Fort Liard enjoys a much more temperate climate than this country (Fort Smith) and splendid gardens are raised there. The Roman Catholic mission has been growing wheat and barley there for a considerable time, always with success. I am sending herewith a sample of their last year’s wheat.”
Sergeant Mellor ascended Buffalo river from Great Slave lake in 1910 and made detours inland on foot at several points for the purpose of getting some idea of the nature of the country, and found the whole region to be of a swampy nature, with here and there a sandy stretch. Along the southern shore of Buffalo lake is a “dreary muskeg country, thicketed with dwarf spruce and riddled with innumerable streams of water, both sulphur and clear.”
Hay River and Resolution.
Sergeant R. Field, in charge of the Chipewyan sub-district, under date August, 1909, reported:—“The gardens at Hay river and Resolution look very promising, especially the potato crop. The Reverend Vale at Hay river informed me that he grew one thousand bushels of potatoes last year on three acres of land, and also splendid cabbages and cauliflowers, besides all other kinds of vegetables. The potato crop at Chipewyan is going to be very poor this year owing to the extremely hot weather and very little rain.”
In his annual report for 1910-11, Superintendent G. E. Sanders, D.S.O., commanding at Athabaska, gives this interesting reference:—“As regards weather conditions the winter of 1910-11 was one of the coldest known, the thermometerat different times in January and February registering 60° below zero at Athabaska, Lesser Slave lake and Fort Vermilion. In the far north the same months were cold, but the thermometer did not go as low, 58° being the severest at Fort McPherson and 40° at Herschell island. Forty below on the coast, however, would be much more trying than 60° below inland. It is interesting to note that Athabaska river and Mackenzie river, one thousand eight hundred miles farther north, froze over within four days of each other, the former on November 8 and the latter on November 4. The ice left the Athabaska on April 22, and the Mackenzie on May 13.”
To the East of the Mackenzie.
It will no doubt be remarked that so far very little has been said with reference to arable land and agriculture in that section of the territory to which this chapter is devoted, east of the actual valley of Mackenzie river itself. This is easily explained.
In the first place, except at Fort Rae on the north arm of Great Slave lake, no attempts at practical agriculture have been made in the eastern division of the region being treated of, for there are no posts there. Fort Confidence and Fort Franklin on Great Bear lake, and Fort Enterprise near the head waters of the Coppermine, were never ordinary trading posts, being merely winter headquarters, deserted by their tenants as soon as travelling was practicable.
Staff and pupils, Church of England Mission, Hay river.
Staff and pupils, Church of England Mission, Hay river.
In the second place, the question of the country’s agricultural possibilities have not been considered by the few lightly equipped explorers who have hurried through sections of it intent upon some special mission or other. The only references we find in the journals of such travellers as have ventured throughthis region in summer, are such as we get in Mr. Preble’s account of his trip via the lake, river and portage route from Great Slave lake to Great Bear lake, when he states that on August 24 “Currants (Ribes rubrumandprostratum) were abundant and ripe” along the route.
Doctor Richardson (See p.13), commenting upon the observations made by himself and colleagues of the Franklin expedition at Fort Franklin at the southwest corner of Great Bear lake, gives the following notes regarding the progression of the seasons:—“The relative temperatures of December, January, and February differ considerably; any one of these months may be the coldest in different years. In some years snow exposed to the sun thaws very slightly during these months; in other winters there is no thaw whatever. The snow attains its greatest depth, about three feet, in March. By April 10, the snow begins to thaw decidedly in the sunshine. From May 1 to May 6, the earlier waterfowl arrive. The small streams break up about May 10 or 12. Between the middle and the end of May, most of the small birds arrive. At the end of May or early in June, the earlier shrubs and herbaceous plants flower and sprout their leaves. Frogs are heard at the same time. By the last week of May there is
Bright Light at Midnight.
No snow, excepting the remains of deep drifts, is left. On June 8 (1826), the small lake was clear of ice, having been frozen for two hundred and forty days. By the middle of June the summer is fairly established. Great Bear lake begins to break up about June 20, and drift ice sometimes obstructs navigation until the first or second week in August. By July 25 blueberries (vaccinium uliginosum) are ripe. At the beginning of August or first of September snow falls. Several frosts set in by the last of September. In October, when the soil begins to freeze, the summer thaw has penetrated about twenty-one inches, beneath which the ground is perpetually frozen. The small lakes are frozen over by October 10 or 12, and the last of the waterfowl depart. The bays of Great Bear lake are filled with new ice by the end of October or early in November, but the centre of the lake does not freeze over until December. The ice attains a thickness of about eight feet.”
Bear river opens at its head early in May, the result (according to Richardson) of its being fed by warm water from the depths of the lake. Probably from the same cause the lake remains open at the outlet until very late in the autumn, or throughout the winter. At the rapid of Bear river the ice forms from the bottom and sides and finally completely blocks the stream. The resulting overflow continually adds to the volume of ice, which reaches an enormous thickness. The heat of an ordinary summer is insufficient to melt this mass entirely, and great quantities of it usually exist on the south or sheltered bank throughout the season. This vast accumulation of ice probably prevents the lower part of the river from opening as soon as the early disruption of its upper part would seem to justify. Richardson states that the lower part usually opens in June, while Petitot gives the usual time as the last of May. In 1904 it was already open when the Mackenzie broke up at Fort Norman on May 21.
Great Bear lake, according to the Geological Survey, has an area of approximately eleven thousand four hundred square miles and lies three hundred and ninety-one feet above the level of the sea. Its shores, with the exception of parts of MacTavish bay, are rather low.
The area between Great Bear lake and the Arctic coast is said to be fifty thousand square miles, or about equal to England in size. It is nearly all to the north of the Arctic circle, and it is doubtful if it has any agricultural value, unless Doctor Grenfell’s idea of introducing reindeer ranching as a commercial enterprise develops.
Anderson River Country.
According to Mr. MacFarlane’s description of Anderson river region, north of Great Bear lake, the greater part of the ground is every season covered with short grasses, mosses, and small flowering plants, while patches of sedgy or peaty soil occur at longer or shorter distances. On these, as well as along the smaller rivulets and river and lake banks, Labrador tea, crow-berries, and a few other kinds of berries, dwarf birch, willows, etc., grow. Large flat spaces had the honeycombed appearance usually presented in early spring by land which has been turned over in the autumn. There were few signs of vegetation on these, while some sandy and many other spots were virtually sterile.
The area between Great Bear lake, the Mackenzie and the western part of Great Slave lake, represents some thirty-five thousand square miles. With respect to this region, the indefatigable missionary, Abbé Petitot, made numerous journeys through it, of which he subsequently published an account. They are, however, merely valuable on geographical and geological grounds. References to these reports will be found elsewhere.
Mr. Preble states in his report:—“To the westward of the northern arm, and north of the main body of Great Slave lake, lies a low, broad plateau, dotted with many lakes and muskegs. It contains no rivers of consequence and is mainly rather thinly wooded, though a number of large prairies occur in the western part, north of the outlet of Great Slave lake.”
Russian Provinces in the Same Latitude.
Reference has already been made in this chapter to an interesting comparison made by Wm. Ogilvie, D.L.S., between the Mackenzie country and Finland and Scandinavia.
In his examination before the Senate committee of 1888, Doctor G. M. Dawson instituted a comparison between parts of northwestern Canada and a province of northern European Russia as follows:—“I have a few notes here worth considering while we are dealing with the question of this northern country. I looked up the circumstances of the northern provinces of Russia and I found that the province of Russia which seemed to compare most nearly with that shown on this map, both in its relation in Russia to the Atlantic, corresponding to the relation of this country to the Pacific, and also in its latitude, is the province of Vologda. That province has a total area of one hundred and fifty-fivethousand, two hundred and sixty-five square miles, and it is chiefly drained to the north like the country shown here. It lies between latitudes 58° and 65°. It is about seven hundred and fifty miles in greatest length and three hundred miles greatest width. It is drained by the Dwina river chiefly. Its products are carried by this river to Archangel and exported thence in vessels by White sea in the same way that we hope this northern country of ours may be served by the Mackenzie and Arctic sea. The mouth of the Dwina is in latitude 65°, only a little south of the latitude of the mouth of the Mackenzie. The climate of the two countries is very similar. The winters are severe and the summers warm. There is no very heavy rainfall, such as we find near the western coasts bordering on the Atlantic and on the Pacific. The exports from that province of Vologda are oats, rye, barley, hemp, flax and pulse. The mineral products are salt, copper, iron and marble. Horses and cattle are reared, while the skins of various wild animals, as well as pitch and turpentine, are exported. This province supports a population of one million, one hundred and sixty-one thousand inhabitants.[19]
“That province is not in Siberia but in Russia proper. Now, we have areas to the north which may make several provinces like Vologda, and for the purpose of illustrating this point I have made a very rough calculation here, which as it is founded largely on suppositions, is perhaps scarcely worthy of being presented to the committee, but may serve to give an idea. With reference to the agricultural area of Peace river, I confine myself to a tract roughly marked on the map as to which I have some personal knowledge. Without going over what I have already written in reply to that question and which is largely embodied in a report published some years ago, I may say that the area which is included in the upper portion of Peace river country, is about thirty-one thousand five hundred square miles. The proportion which I estimated as arable land is twenty-three thousand, five hundred square miles. That would give ninety-four thousand quarter-sections if it were subdivided. Reckoning a family of five persons on each, that area would be capable of supporting a population of four hundred and seventy thousand, or in round figures say five hundred thousand. I do not think it would be at all beyond the mark (though I am speaking now from the report of others, because I have not been farther down Peace river myself) to assume that there is another area at least equally great of arable land in Mackenzie valley to the north of this. That will give another population of say five hundred thousand. Now, if we take the headwaters of the Mackenzie and the Yukon west of the mountains, I think we shall be well within the limits of probability if we say that we have there thirty thousand square miles of that region which may be cultivated with advantage. This, on the same basis as before, would support a population of six hundred thousand persons, or a total of say one million, five hundred thousand persons in Mackenzie valley, and adjacent tracts, to the north altogether of the Saskatchewan watershed, and on the west of the mountains, north of British Columbia. I think we might, without exaggeration, by including miners, fur traders, hunters, lumbermen and those engaged in transport or trade, besides those in outlying fertile sections not included in this—double the total just arrivedat. This will give us a population of three million people in that part of the Dominion alone. As I am not personally familiar with lower Mackenzie region east of the mountains, I may have underestimated its value.
A Siberian Province.
Along the same lines the late Robert E. Young, D.L.S., at that time Superintendent of Railway Lands and Chief Geographer, giving evidence before the select standing committee of the Canadian House of Commons on Agriculture and Colonization, March 11, 1908, instituted in a graphic manner a comparison between Mackenzie basin and the Siberian province of Tobolsk.
Mr. Young had prepared a map of the province of Tobolsk drawn to the same scale as a map of Canada hanging in the room, and attached the small map to the larger, overlying part of the valley of the Mackenzie, taking care that the lines of latitude corresponded exactly.
This demonstrated that rather more than half the province of Tobolsk is north of the 60th parallel, which is the southern limit of the country immediately under discussion, although the southern portion of the Russian province extends in a narrow point as far south as 52° 15′′, its general southern boundary is, in latitude, about ten miles north of Athabaska or one hundred miles north of Winnipeg.
Mr. Young proceeded to point out on the map of Tobolsk, the location of the chief cities of the Russian province:—Tobolsk, with a population of twenty thousand, four hundred and twenty-seven, situated at exactly the latitude of Fort Vermilion on Peace river; and Omsk, on the line of the great Siberian Railway, with a population of thirty-seven thousand, four hundred and seventy, situated at a spot corresponding with a point ten miles north of Athabaska, and about a hundred miles north of Edmonton. Mr. Young also pointed out the situation of the city of Tomsk, with fifty-two thousand and five population, a province adjoining Tobolsk, situated at about the same latitude as Chipewyan on Lake Athabaska, or a trifle farther north. Mr. Young went on to explain that in 1900 the population of the province of Tobolsk was one million five hundred thousand.[20]
A Large Town North of Wrigley’s Latitude.
Asked how far north the line of habitation extended, Mr. Young replied:—“I might say that two-thirds of the way up we find a road marked on the map which would indicate settlement, I suppose. I also have figures here of the population of some eight or ten towns in the province of Tobolsk. There is one of one thousand, another of three thousand, another of seven thousand, one ofeight thousand, and so on. The farthest north is the town of Bere-zoff, with a population of one thousand two hundred and in latitude 63·50°” (some ten miles north of Fort Wrigley).
Mr. Young, being asked as to the number of convicts who had been sent into Tobolsk, replied:—“I do not know as to that. Whether they were convicts or not, in 1900 they raised six million, four hundred and eighty thousand bushels of wheat, three million odd bushels of rye, nine hundred and seventy-two thousand bushels of barley, and ten million, six hundred and seventeen thousand bushels of oats. These figures are contained in the Encyclopedia Britannica.” (In 1906 the figures were:—Wheat, eleven million, seven hundred and seventy-nine thousand bushels; rye, four million, three hundred and forty-four thousand bushels; barley, eight hundred and twenty-nine thousand bushels; oats, thirteen million, eight hundred and eighteen thousand bushels).[21]
Asked if it was not the southern portion of the province in which most of these crops were raised, Mr. Young replied:—“It certainly would be. I think there is no question that it would be in the most southerly portion. All the information I have would go to show that settlement would not extend to the most northerly regions. Still the fact that there were towns of one thousand people in the northern portion would go to show that there must be something being done there that would support a town of that size. I have tried to work out some parallel between the climatic conditions there and our own country, but I am not able to give it to you exactly. I think that the figures given by the Russian government would probably be the most favourable that they could furnish. The mean temperature for the period from September 1 to June 1, which would include the winter months—I think that is all it is necessary to discuss—would for the province of Tobolsk be practically the
Same Temperature as at Fort Simpson.
It is a very striking thing that a million and a half of people live in that province, and that they raised six million, four hundred and eighty thousand bushels of wheat in 1900. Surely if our country is as good as we think it is, we ought to people it to as great and even a greater extent, and to complete the parallel between the two, I think I can say without any hesitation that we have something which they have not got, and that is the benefit of British institutions.”
Mr. Young, later on in his evidence, remarked that there are a great many other statistics about Siberia that are interesting. For instance, from a province adjoining Tobolsk they exported forty thousand pounds of honey in 1900.
Samples of Northern Grown Wheat.
Mr. Young, during his examination upon the occasion here referred to, gave a great deal of information regarding agricultural development and possibilitiesin the Mackenzie country. He showed the committee a sample of Ladoga wheat grown at Fort Simpson, and in producing it said:—“I got it from Doctor Saunders, Director of Experimental Farms. Fort Simpson is the farthest north of these red points[22]just short of latitude 62° or just about it. I showed that wheat to a gentleman who is accounted an authority on the subject, and I think you could not get a better authority; I am referring to Senator Finlay Young. I said, ‘Mr. Young, would you please look at that wheat, but do not refer to the label on the bottle, and tell me what you think of it?’ Mr. Young examined the sample in the way that men who are experts on wheat often do. I think he saw nearly every grain of it; he took good care to do so. He said, ‘It is very nice wheat, I would call it good wheat. It has been slightly frosted, but I think that wheat would go about sixty-four pounds to the bushel.’ Well, the label on the sample says ‘Ladoga wheat, grown at Fort Simpson on Mackenzie river, sixty-two pounds to the bushel.’ ”
Producing another sample of grain, Mr. Young remarked:—“Now gentlemen, here is a sample of wheat from Fort Vermilion.” I showed that also to Senator Young and got his opinion on it. In both instances he expressed his opinion before he knew where either of the samples came from. He said, “That is pretty nice wheat. It is not so nice a wheat as the other, but I think it would make first rate flour; it is good wheat.”
Better Results Expected.
Mr. Young, in his evidence, drew attention to the fact that the posts in the far north at which grain had been grown had not been selected for wheat raising, but because they were convenient locations for the fur trade. He proceeded:—“I want to discuss that point a little further. I say there are three reasons why we can expect better results in wheat raising in our northern country than has been accomplished up to the present time.
“(1) I will quote what Professor Macoun has stated in a pamphlet relating to the Yukon:—‘When grain ripens in the country and is again sown there, it will take on the conditions of its environment and mature earlier, and early frosts like those attributed to Manitoba will have no effect, as the crop will mature before they come. I may remark here that the wheat in the northwest ripens earlier now than it did twenty years ago, and many people believe that it is the climate that has changed, whereas it is only that the wheat has adapted itself to its environment.’ I think that any gentleman who has been following the trend of affairs in the northwest will agree with me that the conditions are better with respect to possible injury by summer frosts than they were twenty years ago. I think that cannot be questioned. That is one reason that is given.
“(2) Now, a few days ago, I asked a gentleman who is better able to express an opinion on the point than I am, what he thought of that statement of Professor Macoun’s. He said:—‘I don’t altogether agree with that statement. I do not hesitate at all in saying that the improvement is marked, but I willaccount for it in another way. If you raise wheat on virgin soil on the prairie it will grow to perhaps about the height of a man’s shoulder the first year. The next year it will not be quite so high. The third year it will be perhaps not so high as the second year, but it will mature earlier. Devote that land to some other use for a year or two and then go back to the cultivation of wheat again, and you will get the wheat growing to the height of about the second or third year, but it will mature earlier. The soil is sharpened.’ He explained to me that in Red river valley, where the land is heavier, it would take very many years to bring about that result, and it would not be of so much value to this generation, but in the lighter soil, farther west, it has a marked effect, and, as he argued, there is no question about it.
“(3) The third reason why we can expect better results in that north country is because the staff at the Experimental Farm have been steadily carrying on experiments with a view to obtaining a variety of wheat that will ripen a few days earlier, and if they can shorten the term for the ripening of wheat by four or five days or a week, it will bring into the certain line, as to wheat growing, an enormous area of land. There is no question about it. They have accomplished some good things already, and they expect to accomplish a great deal more.”
Mr. Young stated before the committee on this occasion that “there is no question about it that in the north country there are grasses of the greatest possible value to cattle raising, finer grasses than there are in other parts of the northwest.”
Professor Macoun’s Estimate Still Holds.
Speaking in his evidence generally about the suitability of the far northwestern country for agricultural pursuits, and specially discussing the climatic condition, Mr. Young remarked:—“About three weeks ago I wrote to Professor Macoun and gave him a list of questions about that country to which I asked him to give me answers. I think it is a very remarkable thing that in his reply he says: ‘In my report to Mr. Alexander Mackenzie in 1877, just when I was fresh in the northwest, I gave details about certain districts of the northland which I could not give in a letter, but I would suggest that extracts from this report may be taken and placed upon file with this letter, as my statements and conclusions as printed thirty years ago still remain without impeachment at the present time.’ I think it is a remarkable thing that with respect to the country through which Professor Macoun went in 1872 and 1873, and which excited his enthusiasm—this is the country that I am trying to tell you about—he now says of it: ‘My statements remain without impeachment at the present time.’ Now, he speaks in this letter of two facts that I think are very striking. He says, ‘In conclusion, I may say that the climate of the whole northland is a stable one, and as local conditions change it will improve, and where small spots are now called good land, whole areas will take that term. The low altitude and the long day are fixed conditions and will always be the same. The forest will be cleared and the muskegs drained, and as the land becomes drier the frosty conditions will pass away and a good country will result.’ ”
[18]Franklin (“Narrative of a Journey, etc.”) relates that the thermometer during the month of October, 1820, at Fort Enterprise (headwaters of the Coppermine) never rose above 37° but never fell below 5°. The mean temperature for the month was 23°. The highest temperature at the same place in the following April was 40° above zero, the lowest 32° below. The mean was 4° above zero. May 9, the snow had disappeared from the ground. The first robin appeared May 14. The average temperature for May was nearly 32° above zero; the greatest heat 68° and the lowest 8°. At the end of the month there was constant daylight.When the Franklin expedition was at Fort Franklin (west side of Great Bear lake) in 1826, the first flower was gathered on May 27. (“Narrative of a Second Expedition, etc.”)
[18]
Franklin (“Narrative of a Journey, etc.”) relates that the thermometer during the month of October, 1820, at Fort Enterprise (headwaters of the Coppermine) never rose above 37° but never fell below 5°. The mean temperature for the month was 23°. The highest temperature at the same place in the following April was 40° above zero, the lowest 32° below. The mean was 4° above zero. May 9, the snow had disappeared from the ground. The first robin appeared May 14. The average temperature for May was nearly 32° above zero; the greatest heat 68° and the lowest 8°. At the end of the month there was constant daylight.
When the Franklin expedition was at Fort Franklin (west side of Great Bear lake) in 1826, the first flower was gathered on May 27. (“Narrative of a Second Expedition, etc.”)
[19]The population of Vologda, in 1910, the latest available, was one million, five hundred and ninety-seven thousand, five hundred, or ten per square mile. (E. J. C.)
[19]
The population of Vologda, in 1910, the latest available, was one million, five hundred and ninety-seven thousand, five hundred, or ten per square mile. (E. J. C.)
[20]The figures for 1906 were:—city of Tobolsk, twenty thousand, eight hundred; Omsk, forty-three thousand, four hundred; province of Tobolsk, one million, six hundred and fifty-six thousand, seven hundred. In 1910, the total population of the province of Tobolsk was given as one million, seven hundred and sixty-nine thousand, eight hundred. According to latest statistics available the population of the four million, eight hundred and seventeen thousand, six hundred and eighty-seven square miles comprising Siberia is eight million, two hundred and twenty thousand, one hundred. Siberia in 1910 raised one hundred and seventy million poods of cereals. A pood equals thirty-six pounds. E. J. C.
[20]
The figures for 1906 were:—city of Tobolsk, twenty thousand, eight hundred; Omsk, forty-three thousand, four hundred; province of Tobolsk, one million, six hundred and fifty-six thousand, seven hundred. In 1910, the total population of the province of Tobolsk was given as one million, seven hundred and sixty-nine thousand, eight hundred. According to latest statistics available the population of the four million, eight hundred and seventeen thousand, six hundred and eighty-seven square miles comprising Siberia is eight million, two hundred and twenty thousand, one hundred. Siberia in 1910 raised one hundred and seventy million poods of cereals. A pood equals thirty-six pounds. E. J. C.
[21]According to a blue book issued by the Board of Trade of Great Britain in 1905, the province of Tobolsk in 1901 contained three million, eight hundred and four thousand, eight hundred and forty-seven head of life stock, and from one district alone, viz: Kurgan (about the latitude of Peace river) there was exported in 1902, nineteen million, seven hundred and eleven thousand, four hundred and forty-six pounds of butter, which was largely marketed in Great Britain. E. J. C.
[21]
According to a blue book issued by the Board of Trade of Great Britain in 1905, the province of Tobolsk in 1901 contained three million, eight hundred and four thousand, eight hundred and forty-seven head of life stock, and from one district alone, viz: Kurgan (about the latitude of Peace river) there was exported in 1902, nineteen million, seven hundred and eleven thousand, four hundred and forty-six pounds of butter, which was largely marketed in Great Britain. E. J. C.
[22]Referring to the map produced by Mr. Young before the committee, on which he had shown the position of places where wheat had been grown in northwestern Canada by a scheme of red discs appearing on the map.
[22]
Referring to the map produced by Mr. Young before the committee, on which he had shown the position of places where wheat had been grown in northwestern Canada by a scheme of red discs appearing on the map.
CHAPTER XVI.
Forests About Great Slave lake and Slave river.—Remarkable Extension of Forest Growth Northward Down the Mackenzie.—Wide Distribution of the Economically Important Canoe Birch.—Magnificent Forests of Spruce and Big Cottonwood Trees in Liard valley.—Useful Birch and Large Spruce Grow Within the Arctic Circle.—Trees that are Centuries Old.—Northern Tree Growth May be Hastened by Drainage.
The splendid forests along the banks of Slave and Mackenzie rivers have been remarked by all who have ever travelled along the truly magnificent waterway of the far northwest, and the fact has been abundantly established that the growth of timber extends, along the rivers at least, far beyond the Arctic circle, and well down the delta of the Mackenzie. It is true that there are large muskeg and rocky areas in the basin of the Mackenzie which support no tree growth, but the aggregate forest wealth of the country is immense.
Mr. Elihu Stewart, formerly Superintendent of Forestry, testified before the Senate committee of 1907 that the principal tree between Rocky mountains and the plains is the spruce, mostly the white spruce, and from its position near the prairie there is no doubt that it will be more sought after to meet the increasing demands from that quarter. The country along the upper waters north of Saskatchewan, Athabaska and Peace rivers, is partly prairie and partly wood. The varieties of timber are principally aspen and balsam poplar, the former predominating, and white spruce. The poplars, as we go north, seem to increase in size and height. Below the junction of the Smoky they grow very clean and straight, not over a foot or fourteen inches in diameter, but reaching a height of seventeen or eighteen feet, making excellent building timber, as well as fencing and fuel. In some parts there are stretches of good spruce well adapted for lumbering purposes. There has so far been but little destruction from fire in this quarter. The land is mostly level, soil excellent, and if the summer frosts do not prevent it, the country will begin soon to settle up and there will be an ample supply of timber for local uses, if not for export to the adjoining prairie regions. Mr. Stewart said he never saw as fine poplar as he saw there. A considerable number of poplars were over a foot, but a foot would be a fair average. He had seen poplar in all parts of the prairie country, but never saw anything growing up as straight.
Limit of Tree Growth Far North.
Mr. Stewart explained that spruce suitable for commercial purposes grows to Arctic sea. He was astonished to find that the limit of tree growth extendedas far north as it does. He thought it extended probably ten degrees farther north in this district than in Labrador. The different kinds of trees that grow in Mackenzie basin include white spruce, black spruce, the larch or tamarack, which is found as far north as the spruce, the jackpine and the balsam. Mr. Stewart did not see any balsam in the Arctic circle; aspen, white poplar, balm of Gilead and birch are all found down as far as Fort McPherson. The natives make their canoes out of birch bark at Fort McPherson. The size of the timber becomes less towards the north. There is timber probably fourteen inches in diameter growing near the junctions of Peace and Slave rivers. Below Fort Good Hope the timber is smaller. Some of it has been made into flooring, and lumber is made from the timber there. There is a large supply of spruce suitable for pulp as far north as that.
Mr. Stewart, replying to a question, said he thought it possible to use this poplar wood for commercial purposes. It is very good poplar. It will make pulp, and where it is large enough it can be sawed. It makes excellent flooring. The white poplar in the north is of a better quality than the poplar in Ottawa district. In Saskatchewan district and in the far west it is different. In a colder climate it grows more slowly.
As to the extent of the forests, Mr. Stewart remarked that wherever there was a stream there would be a belt of timber.
Along Athabaska river there is a very big waterpower. There are Grand rapids and various other points eighty miles north. On Slave river there are about sixteen miles of rapids, which constitute the interruption to navigation, and it would make excellent waterpower. There is no waterpower on the Mackenzie below Fort Smith, on the main stream. From Smith Landing to Fort Smith the timber is jackpine, some of which is quite large enough for railway ties. The timber on the heavier soil consists of black and white poplar, spruce, birch and willow of small size and of little value.
Timber Along Slave River.
Mr. McConnell states (Geol. Survey Report, 1887-8) that on both sides of Slave river below Salt river are level plains, which extend without any evident elevation as far as the eye can reach, and support extensive forests of white spruce and Banksian pine mingled with larch and rough and smooth barked poplar. The spruce frequently attains a diameter of eighteen inches and makes excellent timber. In the vicinity of Slave river rapids the country is mostly level, and is covered with white spruce, Banksian pine, the rough and smooth barked poplars and various species of willow and alder. The Mackenzie river steamer “Wrigley” was built here in the winter of 1887, and the timber used in construction was all obtained from the surrounding forest.
Mr. Wm. Ogilvie says in his report:—
“The level country surrounding the lower half of Great Slave river is all well timbered with fine large spruce, equalling in this lower Athabaska and Peace rivers, and I think, when the time comes, that here will be found this district’s principal supply lumber. On the high, light soil round Fort Smith, the treesare small and generally of no value except for fuel. Along the river, between the rapids and Lake Athabaska, there are many small areas of flat, swampy ground which would supply some very fair timber.
“The varieties of trees along the lower part of the river are few, spruce, with a few small tamarack, some small birch, and a few poplar constituting the bulk of the forest. The spruce far outnumber all the rest. On some of the islands there is much shrubbery, willows, and alders growing in profusion in the swampy places; but, in general, the undergrowth is stunted and thin, especially on the uplands.”
Mr. E. A. Preble of the United States Biological Survey, describing Slave river in his report writes:—“Here the willows and poplars which border the stream alternate with stretches of fine white spruce (Picea canadensis), some of which attain a diameter of three feet and rear their summits to a height of one hundred and fifty feet.”
The aspen poplar (Populus tremuloides), according to Mr. Preble, occurs nearly throughout the wooded region. In favourable places along the Athabaska and Slave it attains a large size, and this is the case also about Fort Simpson.