drift clays in the vicinity of the valley of the Nelson River, for it is the lowest portion of the whole basin of Lake Winnipeg, and is constantly under the influence of the drainage waters from three hundred thousand square miles of land, lying altogether to the south of the narrow depression, not, perhaps, more than forty miles broad, through which the Nelson River finds its way. The great thickness of drift clays upon several of the rivers, noticed by different observers, on the canoe route, from York Factory to Norway House, must necessarily produce a good soil, and the two conditions of a good soil and a humid climate concur to sustain an exceptionally fine forest growth for this region, and an abundance of animal life." With the information we have at command respecting the Nelson River valley, we may safely come to the conclusion that if not a region to which large numbers of persons are likely to resort exclusively by reason of special attractions for the agriculturist, it is one that would furnish abundant supplies for communities settled on the shores of Hudson Bay, or for any shipping that might resort to its western ports.

SOIL AND CLIMATE AT YORK AND CHURCHILL.

With the fact just referred to in view, the precise conditions of soil and climate at York Factory, or the mouth of the Churchill, are of secondary importance. On this point the statements are a little contradictory. Dr. Rae, in his evidence before the Commons Committee in 1857, was asked* "how the climate at York Factory compared with that of the Orkneys." His answer was to the effect, that the character of the summers was about the same in both cases, but that the winters were longer, extending over seven or eight months, beginning in November and not actually ending before June. Sir George Simpson also spoke † unfavorably of the productivness of the soil around York, owing to the presence of ice in the ground for most of the year. Mr. A. Isbister, on the other hand, pointed out that frost in the subsoil does not necessarily prevent the growth of vegetation, if the thaw extends to a reasonable depth. In Siberia, he remarked, which is in the same latitude as the northern part of the Hudson Bay territories, there are large crops of wheat every year. With the process of clearing the country the sun's rays would penetrate deeper and the thaw be more complete. The testimony, of Sir John Richardson § and Mr. George Gladman was rather unfavorable than otherwise to the cultivable capacity of the soil at York Factory. Mr. Joseph Robson, six years resident in Hudson Bay, already referred to, while admitting the presence of frost at from three to four feet depth in the ground, alleged that the surface of the ground was free from ice from the latter end of May to the end of august; that he had suffered more from cold in England than at York Factory, the clothing at the latter place being adapted to the climate; and that the soil bore roots such as carrots, radishes and turnips, as well as many other kinds of vegetables. In his opinion, if the land was properly cultivated it would support numbers of people. The want of proper cultivation, including drainage, has, no doubt, a good deal to do with the rather, on the whole, unfavorable picture given of the agricultural or horticultural capablities of the neighborhood around York Factory

Robson, who appears to have been a very intelligent person, says: "The soil about York Fort is much better than at Churchill. Most kinds of garden stuff grow here to perfection, particularly peas and beans. I have seen a small pea growing without any culture; and am of opinion that barley would flourish here. Gooseberries and black currants are found in the woods, growing upon such bushes as in England. Up the river are patches of very good ground; and battones under banks so defended from the north-west winds that there is a fine thaw below when the top is freezing; here, whole families might procure a comfortable subsistence, if they were as indus

Report of Hudson Bay Committee, 1857, p. 31.

tReport of Committee of Hudson Bay Company, 1857, p. 46.

Hudson Bay Committee, 1857, p. 136.

Hudson Bay Committee, 1857.

Six years' residence, p. 43.

trious as they are in their own country. Upon Hayes River, fifteen miles from the fort, is such a bank as I have just mentioned, near which I pitched my tent. After paling in some ground for a coney-warren, and for oxen, sheep, goats, &c., I should expect by no more labor than would be proper for my health, to procure a desirable livelihood; not at all doubting of my being able to raise peas and beans, barley and, probably, other kinds of grain. The island on which York Factory stands is more capable of improvement than can be imagined in such a latitude, and so near the Bay. It is narrow, twenty miles up from the Bay, so that drains might be cut to very useful purpose. I cut a drain near the fort, to dry a piece of ground for a battery of four cannon, which afterwards wore quite a new face; the snow did not lie upon it so long as before, and grain flourished with new vigor. I observed also, that before the snow was thoroughly thawed, several vegetables were springing up beneath it; and by the time it had left only a very thin shell of ice, these vegetables were grown up three or four inches." Some other experiments by Mr. Robson confirmed his opinion that, with draining, a good soil for garden cultivation could be obtained and a considerable quantity of produce raised. As Professor Hind reminded the Committee at Ottawa last Session,* in all these northern latitudes the duration of light as well as the intensity of the sun's rays must be taken into account as a compensating influence in relation to vegetable growth. He submitted to the Committee the following table giving the relative intensity of the sun and the length of day in latitudes 40°, 50° and 60° respectively, and, therefore, embracing the whole area of territory referred to in this paper.†

TABLE Showing the Sun's Relative Intensity, and the Length of the Day in Latitude 40°, 50° and 60°.

Commenting on this table the Professor says; "It will be seen that in latitude 40 the sun's intensity is represented by 88 on May 31st, the day being 14 hours 38 minutes long. In latitude 50° the sun's relative intensity of light and heat on the same day is 87, but the day is 15 hours and 50 minutes long. In latitude 60°, which is some degrees north of the Peace River, (and nearly three degrees north of York Factory) the sun's intensity on the 31st May is represented by 85, but the day is 17 hours 56 minutes long. During the fortnight from June 15th to July 1st the sun's intensity closely approximates in latitudes 40°, 50° and 60°; but the day is wide ly

Report of I. & C. Committee, p. 152.
Report of I. & U. Committee, p. 153.

451

different in length, and the heat and light have a greater time to act on vegetation under the more northern meridians. Thus, from June 15th to July 1st the sun's intensity diminishes from 90 to 88 between latitude 40° and latitude 60°; the day, however, on July 1st, is, 14 hours hours 46 minutes long in lat. 40°; 16 hours 4 mirutes long in latitude 50°; and 18 hours 18 minutes long in latitude 60°."

The Hudson Bay Post at the mouth of the Churchill River, 59° is subject substantially to the conditions of light, heat and longth of day, described in the last column of the foregoing table. It is spoken of by old travellers as being more favorably situated than the other factories for trade, in consequence of its greater distance from the French (in Canada), who interfered greatly with the operations of the incorporated monopolists of the fur trade. The Churchill is described by Hobbs as "a noble river, navigable for 150 leagues, and, after passing the falls navigable to far distant countries." Its sources are near the height of land in long, 110° W., whence by a very devious route it winds its way east and north-east to Hudson Bay, at one point approaching very near to the confluents of the Nelson, and the waters of Lake Winnipeg. The climate at the fort is not by any means intolerable. Captain Middleton wintered there with his ship in 1741. His diary* shows that snow fell first on the 1st of September, after which the weather was unsettled, the river being frozen over so as to admit of crossing upon the ice on the 9th of October. On the 1st of June the ice gave way in the channel and drove down to sea, but, was still fast on the flats. Partridges in large numbers were killed during the whole winter, wolves, foxes and other animals also being seen near the fort. At Churchill, as well as at York and the more southern posts, the wild goose is one of the most regular sources of subsistence, thousands of these birds being killed and preserved for winter food. All kinds of wild fowl abound in these latitudes to quite as great an extent as at Moose or Albany. There is a good supply of wood in the vicinity of Churchill, and, as at other points, any quantity of hay growing in the marshes, and furnishing foed for cattle. Seal River lies still further to the northward than Churchill, and, according to Hobbs, the musk-ox is or was, in his time, met with between the two rivers.

NAVIGATION OF HUDSON BAY.

In regard to the navigation of Hudson Bay, Mr. Walter Dickson, the correspondent of the Toronto Globe, previously mentioned, expresses himself in the following terms:-"This inland sea of Hudson Bay-which might well be termed the Mediterranean of Canada-is upwards of twelve hundred miles in length (including, of course, James' Bay) with a width varying from ninety to three (five) hundred miles and upwards, with several hundreds of islands studded over its surface, some of them of such extent as to have large lakes and rivers on them, giving altogether a sea-board of upwards of two thousand miles (more than that of the United Kingdom of Great Britain), and so easy of access that an ordinary screw steamer might start from Quebec and reach any point on its coast in considerably less than two weeks. That so little information concerning this great inland sea of the Dominion has been given to the world, is simply owing to the fact that, for upwards of two centuries, this sea and the land surrounding were virtually the property of the great monopoly, the Hudson Bay Company, who made it their study, as it was to their interest to keep Hudson Bay, like all the rest of the territory over which they held sway, as completely unknown to the outer world as possible * * * The sea

*

of Hudson Bay itself is so little known that there are no charts of it in existence excepting those made by the Hudson Bay Company, and they are only useful as guides to the depots at certain points on the east and west coasts of the Bay."

Professor Hind states that "the most recent admiralty map of Hudson Straits exhibits a want a full information regarding the coast lines on both sides of the Straits." A chart published in 1853, and corrected up to 1872, retains errors per

Hobbs, p. 14.

Report I. and C. Committee, 1878, p. 136.

ceivable in those constructed in Queen Elizabeth's reign. The practical tests of the navigation of the Bay have been confined to slow sailing merchant ships sometimes convoyed by men-of-war, not less worthy the appellation of tubs, as compared with the vessels of the present time, sent out on any service supposed to require special qualifications in the direction of speed, strength and security. Yet, it is alleged, that, since their original occupation of the coasts of the Bay two centuries ago only two of the Hudson Bay Company's own ships have been lost, and that through culpable recklessness. It is quite probable, however, that the navigation of Hudson Bay will soon be robbed of some of its terrors, and that what has been regarded as hazardous or impossible will be found, by the aid of the new and powerful agencies modern discovery has provided, both safe and practicable. The contrast in other respects between the experience of twenty years since and that of to-day is rather amusingly exemplified by a perusal of the evidence of Captain Herd, one of the witnesses before the committee of 1857.* "I do not think," said the worthy captain, "that a steamer would do at all among ice, to force a passage. * * *If I were asked my experience I would prefer a sailing ship among ice to a steamer." He would have been loth to believe that, in a very few years, the whole conditions of the great sealing industry would be changed by the adoption of steamers in place of sailing vessels, and that the hardy seal hunters, so far from avoiding, would actually seek the very ice that ho was wont to encounter in his sailing ship, and enter it as fearlessly as he steered his craft in open water. With stout screw steamers, protected as are these used in the Newfoundland seal fisheries, and furnished with the magneto-electric light, there is very little loose ice that need preclude a passage where an end is to be gained by attempting it.

HUDSON STRAITS.

Hudson Straits, the only outlet of the Bay, are at its north-eastern extremity. They are about 500 miles in length, and vary in width from 45 miles at the entrance between Resolution Island, on the north, and Britton Islands. on the south shore, to three times that extent in other places. The Strait, like the Bay, contains numerous islands affording excellent shelter and har. orage. The Hudson Bay ships, according to a table compiled by Lieut. Chappell, R.N., in 1814,† had usually arrived abreast of Charles Island, on the south side and near the western entrance of the Strait-, at periods varying from the last week in July to the beginning of September. Captain Herd, before the committee in 1857, stated that he usually arrived at York Factory about the 10th or 15th of August, and left again from the 15th to the 25th of September. The time occupied in going through the Straits on the westward trip, in July, and returning in August or September, in sailing vessels, differs greatly, varying from three weeks to a month in the former case, and from three to five days in the latter, the Straits in August or September being free of ice. Professor Hind's theory is that Hudson Straits are never frozen over, and that the ice brought down in July is not even from Hudson Bay, but from a more northerly region, whence it reaches Hudson Straits through Fox Channel. The heavy tides in the Straits are strongly against the notion of solid ice being formed there. There is very good authority for believing that the ice formed in Hu-on Bay does not leave the Bay at all, but that its dissolution takes place in the Bay itself. In the southern parts of Hudson Bay, and in James' Bay, nearly the whole surface may be frozen over; but the water there is shallow, and, in James' Bay, from causes already stated, contains very little salt. On the contrary, in the upper portions of Hudson Bay, the main body of the water, it is believed, does not freeze at all. Hearne, referring to a fact in ornithology, mentioned by Pennant,|| alludes quite incidentally to the ice being

* Report Hudson Bay Committee. 1857, p. 256.
+ Narrative of a voyage to Hudson Bav, 1817.
Report Hudson Bay Committee, 1857, p. 255.

§ Report of I. and C Committee, 1878.
Journey to the Northern Ocean, p. 429.

frozen "several miles from the shore, the implication being that the ice was limited in its extent to a distance from the shore which the term "several miles" would be popularly supposed to represent. Another fact, too, confirmatory of the belief that Hudson Bay is not the source of the ice-pack that crushes through Hudson Straits, is that, after passing Charles Island, near the western entrance of the Straits, ice is seldom seen, except it is met with floating in the centre of the Bay. The proposition, however, that the passage of the Straits cannot be safely made before the middle of July has been very generally endorsed by navigators of great experience, including Sir Edward Parry. But the view held to-day by Professor Hind and other more recent authorities, namely, that an entrance could be effected and the Bay reached in June, is not a new one.

Robson, in his book already frequently referred to, and which was published in 1752, advocated the passage being attempted in June. He says: "At York Fort and Churchill River I have observed that the ice did not break off close at the shore, but gradually; the first field leaving the shore-ice two or three miles broad, the second less, and so on until it was cleared away. These several fields of ice drive through the Straits; but as they go off at intervals, one field may be driven through before the next enters from the Bay; consequently the Strait is sometimes pretty clear of ice. As the Straits, then, are never frozen over, nor always unnavigable, even when there is much ice in the Bay, I imagine that a safe passage may often he made about the beginning of June; for, as the ice enters the Straits at intervals, according as it breaks off, and as the wind and currents drive it out of the Bay, so the wind may keep the ice back at this season, as at any other. Besides, the ice at the bottom (southern end) of the Bay, and the north and west ice, will not have had time to reach the Straits, but after June all the Bay ice commonly reaches it. The beginning of June, therefore, seems to be the likeliest time in which to expect a free pas sage." Robson's idea as to the ice being from the Bay was probably incorrect, but his information as to the ice-movements in the Straits may nevertheless have been perfectly sound. Lieut. Chappell, R.N.,† was also of opinion that the Straits might be entered in June. The danger, if any exists, would be rather in the entrance of the Straits than in their subsequent navigation. The ice at the mouth of the Straits is exposed to all the force of the Atlantic; but, once in the Straits, a vessel, if warned by signals of danger, could easily take refuge in one of the numerous places of shelter on the coast or one of the islands in the Straits. Professor Hind‡ suggests the establishment of signal stations, from which mariners could be advised as to the drift of the ice as affected by the winds, and thus usually secure a more or less open channel. In fact, if the iron-protected screw steamer, thus aided and guiled, did not always succeed in overcoming the obstructions arising from this flow-ice in the Straits, the difficulties it presents would be reduced to their smallest proportions. It is understood that Professor Hind's theory has the full endorsation of Professor Bell, whose next issued report of his most recent explorations will be looked for with great interest.

HUDSON BAY FISHERIES, MINERALS AND COMMERCE.

Calculations as to permanent trade and intercourse cannot, of course, be based on exceptional experiences. It is, however, a fact attested to by recent visitors to the coasts of Hudson Bay and James' Bay, that for the past two seasons there has been little or no ice in either, while Hudson Straits have also been very clear, and navigation quite unimpeded. To what this state of things may be attributable it is difficult to say, and how long it may continue, is, of course, quite uncertain. But it is interesting as affording one more proof that Hudson Bay is not the icebound sea it was once endeavored to make the world believe.

Six Years' Residence in Hudson Bay, p. 58.
Narrative of a voyage to Hudson Bay.

+ Report of Immigration and Colonization Committee, 1878.