THE BARREN LANDS OR “ARCTIC PRAIRIE”.
Topography, Soil, Climate and Flora.
Explorers Declare The Term “Barren Lands” a Misnomer.—Some Notes
About the Chief Rivers and Known Lakes—An Inland Waterway for
Steamers via Chesterfield Inlet a distance of Five Hundred and
Fifty Miles Into the Interior.—The Progression of the Seasons.
—The Country Similar to the Tundra of Siberia.—A Limited
Amount of Agriculture may be Possible in Places.—Natural
Prairies in the Valley of the Thelon.
Most of the recent explorers and travellers who have visited the vast
sub-arctic region extending from the present boundaries of the provinces
of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta to Arctic sea, and lying between
Hudson bay and the heights of land defining the eastern limits of the
watersheds of Mackenzie river and of the rivers flowing into the Arctic
sea, north of Great Bear lake, have protested against the application to
the country of the term “Barren Lands.” For instance we find Mr. David
T. Hanbury (See p. 21) in his well known volume “Sport and Travel in the
Northland of Canada” writing:—“I have always maintained that ‘Barren
Ground’ is a misnomer for the northland of Canada. No land can be called
‘barren’ which bears wild flowers in profusion, numerous heaths,
luxuriant grass, in places up to the knee, and a variety of moss and
lichens. It is barren only in the sense that it is destitute of trees,
hence the name ‘Dechin-u-le’ (no trees), which is the Indian name for
it.”
In 1907, Mr. Ernest Thompson Seton, the author and artist, made a trip
into the barren lands via Athabaska river, Lake Athabaska, and Great
Slave and Great Bear lakes. Describing his trip in a course of lectures,
Mr. Seton declared that the barrens were not in reality barren in any
sense of the word. Nature had seized every available cleft in the rock,
and had massed it with anemones, Athabaska roses, and beautiful flowers
of all hues. Between the vast flower stretches the bare rock was covered
with rich mosses of varying colours. “In fact,” he said, “it seems that
nature began at the barrens with a full palette, and when she got down
to the tropical regions there was nothing left in her tubes but green.
The scenery surpasses that of the central west in the beauty of the
hills and the manifold variety of wild flowers.”
TERM “BARREN LANDS” A MISNOMER.
Mr. E. A. Preble gives us this sketch of the scenery of the Barren Lands
eastward of the Coppermine:—“Thousands of lakes dot its surface, and
they are often bordered by grassy plains and gentle slopes, on which,
during the short summer, the bright flowers of a profusion of shrubby
and herbaceous plants lend their beauty to the landscape, and prove the
appellation “Barren Grounds” to be a misnomer, though in many parts,
from the nature of the soil, there is little plant life. Alders (_Aldus
alnobetula_) occur in a more or less dwarfed condition in favourable
places well into the treeless area, and several species of willows, some
of which here attain a height of five or six feet, border some of the
streams as far north as Wollaston Land. These are the only trees which
occur even in a dwarfed state on the barren grounds proper.”
Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, in one of his reports, describes the Barren Lands as
consisting “very largely of rolling plains, underlain by stony till and
covered with short grass or sedge.” He adds:—“Doubtless the ground is
permanently frozen a great distance below the surface, and the surface
in summer is almost constantly wet, like the plains of Assiniboia and
Saskatchewan in early spring. Rounded rocky hills rise here and there
through the clay, and on these, as well as often on the more stony parts
of the till, the surface is dotted with a thick growth of lichens, such
as _Alectoria ochroleuca_, _A. divergens_, and _Centraria Islandica_.
Many flowers brighten these plains during the short summer months.”
As the country has been so long known as the Barren Lands, it would at
present scarcely be recognized by any other designation, although when
the exploitation of its mineral wealth once attracts population, it will
some day be known by some other and more suitable name—“Hearne,” for
instance, after the cognomen of the first white man who undertook to
explore its natural resources.
Authorities differ in their definitions of the limits of the Barren
Lands. Some consider the territory coming under that designation as
extending much farther south in the vicinity of Hudson bay; others
include in the Barren Lands most of the area immediately north of Great
Bear lake. Mr. Preble, the most recent scientific explorer to report
officially upon the country, under the heading “The Barren Grounds”,
includes the area lying to the northward and northwestward of Great Bear
and Great Slave lakes. J. B. Tyrrell, M.A., B.Sc., F.G.S., in a paper
read before the British Association at its Toronto meeting in 1897
entitled “Natural Resources of the Barren Lands,” confined himself to a
roughly triangular area bounded on the north by the Arctic ocean, on the
east by the west coast of Hudson bay and Fox channel, and on the
southwest by a line extending from the vicinity of Churchill on Hudson
bay, northwestward, roughly at right angles to the magnetic meridian,
crossing Kazan river at Ennadai lake, Telzoa river at Boyd lake, passing
south of Clinton-Colden and Aylmer lakes, across Point lake and down the
east side of Coppermine river to within fifty miles of its mouth, and
thence striking westward across Anderson river till it reaches the
Arctic coast near the mouth of Mackenzie river.
MR. TYRRELL’S DEFINITION.
According to Mr. Tyrrell, this line follows very closely the line of the
mean summer temperature of 50° Fahr. south of which some of the most
hardy trees can grow and ripen their fruit, while north of it the summer
is not sufficiently long or warm, to allow even the most hardy trees to
bring their fruit to perfection.
This portion of the Barren Lands, according to Mr. Tyrrell, has a
greatest length from the southeast to northwest of twelve hundred miles;
a greatest breadth from southwest to northeast of seven hundred and
fifty miles, and an area of four hundred thousand square miles, a region
twice as large as the province of Ontario, or more than three times as
large as the whole United Kingdom.
It will be observed that Mr. Tyrrell leaves out of consideration in this
paper a couple of areas included in the term “Barren Lands” as used in
this chapter, namely the country south and southeast of the eastern arm
of Great Slave lake, and a triangular piece of country in the angle
between the same sheet of water and Yellowknife river. Mr. Tyrrell also
considers the Arctic strip of country north of Great Bear lake to the
mouth of the Mackenzie as forming part of the Barren Lands.
In this paper, Mr. Tyrrell makes the following comprehensive reference
to the physical geography of this extensive region:—He says:—“In
general character the country is a vast undulating plain, underlain by a
stony clay, and covered with a short grass or deciduous Arctic plants.
In certain sections no rising ground can be seen for miles around, and
in other sections rocky hills rise through the general covering of clay.
The whole land reminds one forcibly of the great plains of Western
Canada, the chief points of difference being caused by the differences
in the underlying rocky-floor. The boulder-clay underlying the plains is
deposited on a floor of soft Cretaceous shales and sandstones, and even
where the soft rocks crop out at the surface they rarely form
conspicuous hills; the boulder-clay underlying the Barren Lands is
deposited largely on a floor of igneous, or hard, highly altered rocks,
which, wherever they appear at the surface, form rocky knolls that stand
up distinctly above the surrounding clay, while the boulder-clay itself,
being formed out of material derived from the hard granitoid rocks, is
much more stony than the clay of the more southern plains.
NO HIGH ALTITUDES.
“No part of the country rises to any great altitude above the sea, the
highest point being probably the ridge of rocky hills called Stony
mountains, which run along the east side of Coppermine river, and are
said to rise about fifteen hundred feet above the sea. Ennadai lake lies
eleven hundred feet above the sea, Dubawnt[24] lies five hundred feet,
and the Yathkyed lake three hundred feet.
“The country may conveniently be divided into two distinct portions,
namely, the Interior Upland and the Coastal Plain.
“The Interior Upland includes all those parts of the country lying above
the highest ancient shore-line, either of Hudson bay or of Arctic ocean,
and has a mean elevation of from nine hundred to one thousand feet above
the sea. Its surface is composed largely of sandy boulder-clay, and
rounded boulders or broken fragments of the underlying rock. Low ridges
and rugged, irregular hills are common over the surface, while eskers,
or long straight ridges of sand or gravel, extend in uninterrupted
courses over hills and valleys alike. Here and there some ancient
beaches mark the positions of small lakes which have long since
disappeared.
THE COASTAL PLAIN.
“The Coastal Plain lies between the highest ancient post-glacial
seabeach and the present seashore, sloping gradually from a height of
five hundred to six hundred feet down to the sea-level. Much of this
plain has a stony surface, like that of the Interior Upland, but it is
diversified with sandy plains, and on all the steeper slopes gravel
terraces or coast cliffs mark the lines of the old seashore. Many of the
terraces fill narrow gaps between adjoining hills, and the lower ones
are often strewn with shells such as are found in Hudson bay at the
present time. The waves have reduced the surface irregularities of this
portion of the country to some extent, but the more rocky districts,
such as those in the vicinity of Chesterfield inlet are still, except
for the presence of the little terraces, as rough and rugged as before
they were covered by the sea, and the highest parts are probably barer,
for any loose material that had been left on them by the ice-sheet of
the glacial period has been washed by the waves into the depressions.
The breadth of the plain in the vicinity of Churchill is about fifty
miles. Farther north it becomes broader, until, in the latitude of
Yathkyed lake, it has a breadth of one hundred and twenty-five miles,
and at the north end of Dubawnt lake extends westward for three hundred
miles. North of Dubawnt river its extent is not yet known, but many of
the old sand plains and terraces reported from the banks of Backs river
probably mark old shore-lines on this Coastal Plain, there sloping
northward toward Arctic ocean.
“In a few places the coast-line is fairly high but as a rule it is low,
and slopes gently down into a shallow sea. The whole country has a
fairly general slope northeastward, and the three principal streams
which drain it have a more or less parallel course in that direction,
while other smaller streams flow more directly towards the coast,
northward to Arctic ocean and eastward to Hudson bay.
THE THREE PRINCIPAL RIVERS.
“These three streams are Thlew-e-cho, Great Fish or Backs river, Telzoa
or Dubawnt river and Kazan river.
“Backs river rises in Sussex lake about fifty miles within the edge of
the Barren Lands, in a basin surrounded by sandy hills, at an elevation
of about five hundred and fifty feet above the sea, and after a course
of six hundred miles empties itself into Arctic ocean a short distance
south of the magnetic pole. This stream will always possess a melancholy
interest for every man or woman of British stock, for at its mouth the
crews of the Erebus and Terror, the two ships taken out by Sir John
Franklin on his last ill-fated expedition, dropped in their tracks and
died as they attempted to reach a place of safety and plenty.
“Telzoa or Dubawnt river rises in Daly lake a short distance south of
the Barren Lands, and flows northeastward, roughly parallel to Backs
river, until it strikes the wide valley which extends inland from
Chesterfield inlet, where it turns abruptly eastward and flows into the
west side of Hudson bay, its total length, including Chesterfield inlet,
being eight hundred and seventy-five miles.
“Kazan river rises in Kasba lake, fifty miles east of Daly lake, and
flows approximately parallel to Telzoa river for about four hundred and
ninety miles to enter the south side of Baker lake though the exact
position of its mouth has not yet been determined. Of the smaller
streams the Anderson, Ferguson and Coppermine are the only three which
have been explored.”
DUBAWNT LAKE.
In his official report of his trip of exploration in 1893, Mr. Tyrrell
gave some particulars about Dubawnt lake, situated a little south of the
middle of the Barren Lands. He writes:—“Dubawnt lake is a body of clear
cold water of unknown extent, the southern and eastern shores indicated
by dotted lines on the map, having been laid down from rude sketches
made by the Eskimo. Its western and northern shores were surveyed for
one hundred and seventeen miles, but from the summits of the highest
hills the opposite shores were nowhere distinctly seen. Its approximate
altitude above the sea level is five hundred feet. By the Chipewyan
Indians it is called Tobatna or Water-shore lake, possibly from the fact
that the main portion of the lake is always covered with ice, and that
in summer there is a lane of water between this ice and the shore. Its
Eskimo name is Tulemalugua. Judging from subsequent Eskimo reports, it
has two principal affluents. One of them flows into its southern side,
and has scattered groves of white spruce on its banks. The other is
Dubawnt or Telzoa river which we had descended.
Before the Senate committee of 1907, Mr. Tyrrell explained that the
outline of the lake as he sketched it still appears on the maps. He
added that the most recent government maps of the Barren Lands do not
pretend to be complete. They merely show the lakes that are known. There
are thousands of others that we know nothing of, because nobody has been
through there. Some of the larger ones are sketched in. Mr. Tyrrell
sketched in many, from the reports of the Esquimaux, and they still
appear as he so sketched them on the map. The whole country is studded
with lakes.
WATER ROUTES VIA CHESTERFIELD INLET.
From the reports of Messrs. Tyrrell and Hanbury and Inspector Pelletier,
we have obtained a pretty good idea of the outstanding features of the
great system of inland waterways which find their outlet at tidal water
at Chesterfield inlet.
In his report, speaking of Thelon river, which he discovered during his
trip in 1890, Mr. J. W. Tyrrell describes it as “one of the finest in
Canada, navigable for river steamers and other boats of light draught
all the way from Hudson bay to the forks of the Hanbury, a distance of
five hundred and fifty miles, excepting perhaps at two rapids on the
river above Baker lake, where some improvements to the channel may be
made.”
He continues:—“Just what length of time this route may be open for
navigation I am unable to say precisely, but would judge that the river
portion must be open for at least five months, and the inlet and larger
lakes about a month less, that is during the months of July, August,
September and October.”
Mr. C. C. Fairchild, who was attached to Mr. Tyrrell’s expedition and
surveyed the waters between Baker lake and Chesterfield inlet, writes in
his report:—“I am unable, owing to the short time at my disposal, to
make anything but a cursory examination of the general depths of the
water traversed, but I took soundings enough to satisfy myself that
vessels
DRAWING TEN FEET OF WATER
would have no difficulty in travelling from Hudson bay to the west end
of Baker lake. Here boat navigation must end as far as the river between
Schultz and Baker lakes is concerned, owing to rapids at either end of
the river that would in low water not permit of the passage of any craft
larger than a York boat.”
“Chesterfield inlet in the main channel exceeded five fathoms in depth
at all points tried, and soundings were only taken when I could see
bottom, which was plainly visible at thirty feet and even more.”
Inspector Pelletier of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, who went down
that river on his way from Great Slave lake in 1908, describes the lower
reach of Thelon river just above Beverly lake as flowing through “low
lying country with willows and grass. A high ridge of bare hills is seen
in the distant north, running east and west. The river follows along the
range, winding through what I would call foothills, until it opens on
Beverly lake. The country there is low lying.”
Beverly lake to Hudson bay is a stretch of barrens. No wood grows on
that stretch but a few small willows in some very scattered spots and
far between. Beverly lake is surrounded by comparatively low lying sandy
country. At the lower end the land is higher. Just entering into
Aberdeen lake the shores are rocky and immediately give place to low
sandy soil. This extends for about thirty miles, when the country again
takes a rocky appearance and the ridges get higher and higher to the
lower end where hills of from four hundred to five hundred feet in
height are seen, with solid rock formation. The north shore of Schultz
lake is of high rocky ridges, in places four hundred feet high. When
getting to the lower end it alters to sand and gravel and becomes low
lying. At the outlet of Schultz river it again becomes rocky. Below the
last rapid, near Baker lake, the country immediately becomes low lying
and sandy and gravelly. The north shore of Baker lake is high and rocky;
in places the bare rocky ridges advance and run into the lake, forming
rough, bare points. The lower end of Baker lake is high, the ridges
being about four hundred feet. Baker river flows between high banks of
solid rock. The formation of the country along Chesterfield inlet is
mostly rocky, and is quite low lying, with here and there a prominent
rocky point, but none above two hundred feet, except at the lower end,
near Deer island, where there is a collection of fairly high ridges.
UPPER REACHES OF THE THELON.
As to the higher reaches of the Thelon, Mr. J. W. Tyrrell says in his
report:—“About two miles below the junction of Hanbury river, where we
made camp, some measurements of the Thelon were made, from which the
volume of the flow at the time was found to be over fifty thousand cubic
feet per second. The width of the stream measured one thousand two
hundred and twenty-seven feet, depth of channel five feet, and velocity
three and a third miles an hour. These measurements being taken near the
forks, show a less depth but greater width than exists at most parts.
“Eight miles farther down the stream soundings were taken, showing a
depth of fourteen feet in mid-channel. At this point well grown spruce
trees were plentiful on both banks.
“About thirty or thirty-two miles below the forks, two slight rapids
occur where ridges of rock project into the stream, but they are so
slight as not to seriously interfere with the navigation of the river
either by canoes or large river boats.”
ARTILLERY LAKE REGION.
In the report of his 1908 patrol, Inspector Pelletier thus describes
Artillery lake,[25] northeast of Great Slave lake, and the portages
thereabout:—“The south end of Artillery lake is rocky, the ridges are
of solid rock, and hills do not rise above three hundred to four hundred
feet above the lake. Farther up the general character of the country
changes into rolling plains of sand, with more or less vegetation. In
places bare sand ridges are seen of fine yellow colour. This again
changes at the upper end of the lake. There the formation is more
broken, solid rock ridges are few, but large boulders are numerous, and
sand gets coarser, I might say gravelly, a mixture of clay and gravel,
with boulders more or less numerous. All the country is comparatively
flat; there are no high hills anywhere more than two hundred to three
hundred feet above water. At the northern end of Artillery lake are some
sand ridges, also at the northern end of Kasba lake. At the portages the
ground is clay, with gravel and boulders, and in places, if one walks
over the same spot a while to and fro, he will find that the ground will
move under his feet and become dangerous. In poking a stick through the
crust, water, air and mud immediately rush out. The whole country is
covered with these places; they are usually bare of vegetation, and
level and free from stones, affording good camping ground, but one has
to be careful not to bustle too much or he will find himself sinking
into a mud hole.”
Mr. Pelletier, in his report, speaking of his route from Artillery lake
to Hanbury river, says:—“The stretch from Height of Land to below Lac
du Bois is not considered as a stream. It is only a succession of lakes
separated by short, shallow and turbulent streams of no size. Hanbury
river proper begins from below Lac du Bois, where it takes the
appearance of a river. Above it can only be called the headwaters of
Hanbury river. The general conformation of the country is low, and only
ridges of gravel, or stones, not exceeding eighty feet in height, are
seen. There are no cutbanks of any account. The slopes are gradual in
most cases.
A few notes, as to the progression of the seasons in various parts of
the Barren Lands, taken from the journals and reports of a number of
explorers, will prove interesting.
A SMART THAW EARLY IN MAY.
Back records “a smart thaw” at Fort Reliance at the extreme eastern end
of Great Slave lake, on May 6, 1834, and mentions that patches of green
were daily becoming visible. He farther on states:—“On May 13, a single
goose, the harbinger of summer, flew past the house, and during the day
it was followed by five more, all of which took a northerly direction.
This was six days later than they had been seen in 1836 at Fort
Franklin, though a higher northern latitude. A fly and a flock of small
birds appeared in the evening, and during the three succeeding days we
had gulls, orioles, grosbeaks, yellow legs, robins and butterflies.
“On May 18, the catkins of the willows were half an inch long, and the
snow was fast disappearing from the ground.
SULTRY TOWARDS THE END OF MAY.
“Towards the end of the month (May) the weather became sultry, the
temperature in the sun being 106°—an extraordinary contrast to that of
January 17, when it was 70° below zero. The snow was all gone, except
that which had been drifted to a great depth in the narrow valleys, and
under steep precipices, and the Al-hel-dessy, to the westward, had burst
its icy fetters, and opened a clear channel to the portage opposite the
house; loons, gulls, and ducks took possession of the water, and seemed
to contend which should make the most noise; some small birds also, very
prettily marked, hovered about a short time, and then both they and the
ducks suddenly deserted us.”
Mr. Hanbury, writing specially of the region northeast of Chesterfield
inlet, states:—“There is never much snow on the ‘Barren Grounds’, and a
few warm days suffice to lay the country bare. If spring overtook us far
inland on rough ground, we should have an almost impossible march over
bare ground to the Arctic coast. I therefore decided to begin that long
journey not later than February.”
SPRING AT CHESTERFIELD INLET.
Mr. Warburton Pike, writing of May 1, 1887, at a whaler’s camp on Hudson
bay in the vicinity of Chesterfield inlet, states:—“Water was standing
in pools over the ice in the bay; the snow had disappeared except in the
drifts; a light rain was falling, and the first goose was killed from
the door of the master’s house; small bands of wild-fowl were passing
frequently, and cranes were calling in the swamps to the southward;
daylight lingered in the sky all night, but there was always a sharp
frost while the sun was down.”
Mr. Hanbury, after crossing from Chesterfield inlet to the Arctic coast,
writes:—“June is the one perfect month in the northland. The
temperature is just right; there is not a fly or mosquito to trouble
one. The land is clear of snow, with the exception of a few deep drifts
and banks, and the walking is good, for the land dries with wonderful
rapidity. The ice is still good to travel over. Plenty of salmon are now
running.”
Mr. Warburton Pike, on his canoe and overland trip in 1890, when north
of the east end of Great Slave lake on June 16, wrote:—“A few warm days
made a great difference in the appearance of the country. Leaves began
to sprout on the little willows, and the grass showed green on the
hillsides; sober hued flowers, growing close to the ground, came out in
bloom, and a few butterflies flapped in the hot sunshine, while we were
still walking on eight feet of solid ice. Mosquitoes appeared in
myriads; in the daytime there was usually a breeze to blow them away,
and the nights were too cold for them, but in the calm mornings and
evenings they made the most of their chance to annoy us.”
On June 25, Mr. Pike’s party planted their lodges on a high ridge
overlooking Lake Mackay.
ICE ON AYLMER LAKE JUNE 25.
At that same date the ice on Aylmer lake was still solid.
In 1821, when Franklin’s party started to descend the Coppermine on July
1, the lakes on its upper course were still covered with ice. Apparently
the river had opened only a short time before. In 1849, Doctor Rae noted
the breaking up of the same river near its mouth on June 28. At this
time the leaves of the dwarf birches were out, and the leaf buds of the
willows had begun to develop. The lower part of the river remained
blocked with ice until July 13.
Mr. Pike relates that about July 10 the weather in the neighbourhood of
the headwaters of Backs river “was variable in the extreme; two or three
hot days would be followed by a snowstorm and once we were visited by a
hurricane that did much damage to lodge-poles, and caused us to shift
camp hurriedly to the lee-side of a steep cliff hanging over the river.
July 10 was exceptionally hot in the morning, with the mosquitoes at
their worst; in the middle of the day there was a thunderstorm, and at
five o’clock the ground was covered with snow. The ice now began to show
signs of rotting, and the channel of open water round the weather edge
of the lake grew rapidly broader.”
SUNSET AT HALF PAST ELEVEN.
On July 19, according to Franklin, the sun set at the mouth of
Coppermine river at half past eleven.
From the official report of Inspector Pelletier we find that at
Artillery lake on July 23 “the atmosphere was quite smoky and warm.” On
the morning of August 12 on Thelon river the ground was white with
frost, and the ice on a kettle of water was a quarter of an inch in
thickness. The sun got up warm, and the weather during the day was
perfect. August 13 (Beverly lake) was “a warm still day”. August 31
(Chesterfield inlet) was “a nice still day, very warm.”
While on their way from York to Lake Athabaska, and descending Cree
river, Sir George Simpson’s party, in 1823, picked “a good many ripe
raspberries, currants and gooseberries on the portages” on July 30.
Mr. Tyrrell reports snow banks on the hillsides and great piles of
rafted ice on the shore at Markham lake on Dubawnt river, south of
Dubawnt lake, on August 3, 1893.
As to the close of the Barren Lands summer, Back mentions that while
ascending the river which has since been given his name, on September 4,
1834, “a hard gale from the northwest indicated the commencement of the
fall weather, and, while we were travelling, many hundreds of geese flew
high past us to the south.”
Mr. Hanbury mentions that one year during his travels two inches of snow
fell during the night of September 18 and ice formed on the smaller
lakes north of Baker lake. He remarks:—“On my journey in 1899 we
travelled on the ice with dogs the last days of June, and were beset by
ice on Schultz lake on July 31. Now in the middle of September we had
ice again, and it looked as if it had come to stay. We had not gone far
when we were obliged, by the state of the weather, to put ashore and
camp. The rest of the day was spent in repairing our tent, which had
suffered considerably during the recent storm.”
Warburton Pike states (“The Barren Ground of Northern Canada”) that the
ice on Great Slave lake is usually not safe for travel till the middle
of December.
ULTIMATE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY.
In his paper read before the British Association at Toronto, Mr. J. B.
Tyrrell, referring to the temperature of the Barren Lands and its
bearing upon the question of the ultimate development of the country,
had this to say:—
“In this connection it may be stated that while the mean summer
temperature (which is below 50¼° on the Barren Lands) determines the
limit of the forest and the possibility of the growth of trees, the mean
winter temperature would probably determine the habitability of the
country by human beings.
“Now Churchill is the coldest inhabited place on this continent, with a
mean winter temperature of -20.5° Fahr., and it is not likely that any
part of the Barren Lands has a mean winter temperature of -30° Fahr.,
while Yakutsk, a town of about five thousand inhabitants in Siberia, has
a mean winter temperature of -40.4° Fahr., and many other places in
Northern Asia have a still lower mean, one place having a mean winter
temperature of -50.2° Fahr. Most of these places have, however, a higher
summer temperature than is found in the Canadian Barren Lands, and are
therefore within the limit of woods.
“It can thus be seen that Europeans and Asiatics live and thrive in a
much more rigorous climate than is found even in the most inhospitable
parts of northern Canada, and that therefore the climate does not offer
any insuperable objection to settlement in that country.”
PRESENT INHABITANTS TWO THOUSAND ESKIMOS.
According to Mr. J. B. Tyrrell (paper before the British Association):
“The permanent inhabitants of the Barren Lands are about two thousand
Eskimos, who live either along the coast or on the banks of Kazan and
Dubawnt rivers. They subsist entirely by hunting and fishing, and the
animals on which they live are chiefly the Barren Land caribou and
several species of seals. Besides these, about five hundred Chipewyan
Indians usually penetrate a short distance into the Barren Lands from
the south during the summer in their annual deer-hunt, but they retire
southward into the forest to spend the winter.”
LIKE THE TUNDRA OF SIBERIA.
Doctor (later Sir John) Richardson was one of the first explorers to
draw attention to the resemblance of the Barren Lands to the tundra of
Siberia. In one place the learned scientist writes:—“The general
character of the tundra of the east of Siberia is like that of the
American barren grounds.”
Again he writes:—“In character the Siberian tundra is very similar to
the American ones. Thus Wrangell says,—‘When one coming from the naked,
frozen moss-tundra reaches the valleys of the Aninuik, which are
sheltered by mountains from the prevailing cold winds, and where
birches, poplars, willows, and low creeping junipers (_Juniperus
prostratus_) grow, he thinks himself transported to Italy.’”
All who have visited the Barren Grounds agree that the prospect of
agriculture ever being successfully followed there on a large scale is
very slight, unless it is proved possible to develop the breeding of the
Lapland reindeer and make of it a profitable meat raising industry, or
is found practicable to domesticate the native reindeer or caribou. Some
of the scientific explorers, however, think there is a prospect of a
certain amount of barley agricultural produce, even grain of hardy
varieties being raised in one part—the valley of the Thelon.
LIMITED AGRICULTURE POSSIBLE.
Mr. J. W. Tyrrell says in his report:—“The Thelon valley, though
affording good grazing ground for musk-oxen and caribou, can scarcely be
looked upon as a desirable agricultural district, although I judge from
the growth and great variety of plants observed there, that some of our
cereals and most of our hardy vegetables could be grown in the Thelon
valley.”
Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, brother of Mr. J. W. Tyrrell, in his evidence before
the Senate committee of 1907, stated that to the west of Hudson bay and
north of the line of the forest which runs from Churchill northwestward
through Ennadai lake, and a short distance south of Dubawnt lake, there
is practically no agricultural land. Mr. Tyrrell would not consider that
any of the land north of the limit of forest growth was of any value for
agriculture. The tree line starts practically at Churchill and runs
northwesterly. South of that there are trees, and north there are none.
The country north of the tree line is partly rock, but the greater part
broken rock and boulders, a rough stony country without any great
elevation, and very little vegetation of any kind, except a great many
Arctic plants and sedges. Mr. Tyrrell believes the country is
permanently frozen. It did not appear to him that there would be any
possibility whatever of growing anything on it. That, in Mr. Tyrrell’s
opinion, eliminates from an agricultural standpoint that portion
northeast of that line.
To the west of Hudson bay and south of the line of the treeless land
which runs from Churchill northwestward through Ennadai lake, and a
short distance south of Dubawnt lake, there is a belt from one to two
hundred miles in width of country that is sparsely wooded. It is not a
forest country, but it is wooded along the streams, and in the more
protected places, but there is comparatively little wood of any value
upon it.
In that country there are, Mr. Tyrrell said, some low lying areas along
the streams and in odd places that would support a northern vegetation,
but it is not eminently suited for agriculture. The ordinary plants that
are grown in many northern countries could doubtless be cultivated in
many places. There is very little humus, very little decomposed soil
there, except just in the valleys.
Inspector Pelletier, speaking in the report of his 1908 patrol of his
route from Artillery lake to Hanbury river, says:—“There are large
stretches of arid country covered with boulders. Nevertheless all over
is good feeding ground for deer.”
The country surrounding Hanbury river, Inspector Pelletier states,
alternates from rocky ridges to sandy stretches and rocks broken up,
with country scattered with boulders. Moss and grass grow very poorly
down to Dickson canyon. From there on vegetation improves gradually
until when, below the last fall, it becomes most luxuriant. The contrast
is very noticeable.
GOOD PASTURAGE ALONG THE THELON.
August 9, while descending Thelon river, Inspector Pelletier’s party
camped for the night on a big grassy flat with a clump of trees at the
back of it on a little mound. The inspector says in his report:—“I got
to the top of the mound, and with my glasses I could see an immense
tract of prairie country growing good grass with a few little low trees
in the far distance. This tract of land, if situated in a more
accessible spot, would certainly make the very best ranching country,
and there are many more stretches like this on Thelon river.” The day
previous they had passed places where the banks of the river had washed
away “showing very good and fertile soil.” Towards evening of August 10,
the country, which had got quite barren about noon-time, resumed again a
green and fertile appearance and became well-wooded.” The following day
another section “barren in places” was passed, while later again quoting
the inspector’s report:—“the country assumed a better appearance, and
timber became larger and thicker, until it became a continuous forest
alike on both banks, and as thick as on any river in the timbered belt.
This kept on for about ten miles, and we camped near a bluff about
eighty feet high, at the edge of the timber. The country then alters to
low lying ground, and timber again grew, but very stunted, and only in
bunches, which gradually became more scattered, and after fifteen miles
disappeared totally to give place to long willows along the banks with
large grassy flats farther in.”
HARDY VEGETABLES MIGHT GROW THERE.
In his summary of observations on this section of his trip Inspector
Pelletier states in his report:—“There are large stretches of prairie
country (along the Thelon) growing grass profusely. The soil seems to be
most fertile. I am told the river opens in May. If such is the case I
would judge that some of the hardy vegetables would grow there. The days
are very long in summer.” Accounting for the absence of native
settlements from this valley, Inspector Pelletier says the Eskimos do
not like timber on account of the flies in the summer and soft snow in
the winter. They like the open barren coast, where the wind has full
sweep, where the snow packs hard in winter and where game is permanent.
The Indians, on the other hand do not inhabit this tract because it is
far from trading posts, and because there is no birch for them to make
their canoes.
Mr. J. W. Tyrrell, in his book “Through the Sub-Arctics of Canada,” says
“Agricultural development is not to be expected anywhere in the northern
parts of the district, but throughout the more southerly wooded portions
there are great possibilities in this direction.”
[Illustration: The Midnight Sun.]
THE NATURAL FLORA.
As to the natural flora of the country, Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, in his
expedition of 1893 across the Barren Lands, collected one hundred and
twenty-four species of plants exclusively of algae and fungi. Reference
has already been made to some observations made by explorers as to the
flowers and other natural vegetable growths.
Inspector Pelletier, Royal Northwest Mounted Police, reports that
between Beverly lake and Hudson bay “grass grows in favoured spots, but
the balance of the country is bare.”
Describing the country at Bloody fall on the Coppermine, Franklin writes
in his narrative:—“The ground is well clothed with grass and nourishes
most of the shrubs and berry-bearing plants that we have seen north of
Fort Enterprise, and the country altogether has a richer appearance than
the barren lands of the Copper Indians.”
Mr. A. P. Low, of the Geological Survey, passed a winter in the far
north near Cape Fullerton in the “Neptune”. He expressed the opinion
before the Senate committee of 1907 that the whole northern region about
Chesterfield inlet and Fullerton is unfit for agriculture. The tree line
ceases on the coast close to Churchill and crosses off to the northwest
towards the Mackenzie. The country on the mainland about Chesterfield
inlet is quite low. The hills never extend more than three hundred or
four hundred feet. There are no forests up there, and the only natural
resources would be probably the minerals, the furs, and the sea and lake
fisheries.
THE LURE OF THE BARREN LANDS.
Mr. Hanbury, describing a view in the Barren Lands on July 23, writes in
his book:—“Artillery lake looked very picturesque in the bright
sunlight; the water, which was of a beautiful blue, was fanned into
ripples by the gentle summer breeze. The ‘Barren Ground’ lay on either
side beautifully green, and decked gay with a variety of wild flowers.
Its charm, and the sense of freedom which it gives, are very impressive,
but cannot be described.”
The following is a pretty descriptive bit from Mr. Warburton Pike’s book
“The Barren Grounds of Northern Canada”:—“To the man who is not a lover
of nature in all her moods the Barren Grounds must always be a howling,
desolate wilderness, but for my part, I can understand the feeling that
prompted Salatha’s answer to the worthy priest, who was explaining to
him the beauties of Heaven. ‘My father, you have spoken well; you have
told me that heaven is very beautiful; tell me now one thing more. Is it
more beautiful than the country of the musk-ox in summer, when sometimes
the mist blows over the lakes, and sometimes the water is blue, and the
loons cry very often? That is beautiful, and if Heaven is still more
beautiful, my heart will be glad, and I shall be content to rest there
till I am very old.”
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[24] The Geographic Board of Canada has adopted “Dubawnt” as the
standard spelling of this lake and the river of the same name. The name
is a corruption of the Indian name “Tobatna”, meaning “water shore”. (E.
J. C.)
[25] So named by Captain George Back in 1833, out of respect to the
Royal Artillery, to which distinguished corps some of his crew who
joined him in Montreal belonged, “and from a grateful remembrance of the
deep interest manifested by its officers for the success of the
expedition, and of their friendly courtesies” to himself.