The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1895-11-16
ROCK-RIBBED AND 10Y.
Northern Canada as Sub-Arctic
Desert.

sources of the sub arctic regions of Canada,
which may be said to embrace all the terri
tory living between the present northern
limit of settlement and the polar seas.
Beginning on the west there is the Mae
kenzie River basin and the Barren Grounds,
next the district of keewatin, then the
country east Of keewatin and south and
east of Hudson's Bay, of an aggregate
area Of 1.750, 900 square miles. an eX-
panse equal to 30 states of the size Of New
York.
Canadian geologists do not pretend that
they have made anything like thorough
examination of this tremendous wilderness,
but sufficient is known to warrant certain
rough conclusions.
The promoters of the Hudson Bay
Railway, which is to be run in connection
with Il steamship line from Churchill to
Liverpool. and be northern ocean route
for Manitoba and the Northwestern States
that is if the scheme ever gets down from
the clouds have made much of the alleged
existence of anthracite deposits around
James Bay and Hudson Bay. So far as
known. there is neither anthracite nor
bituminous coal there There seems to be
an abundance of Ignite, but no true coal.
At Coal Brook. near the Moose River,
where bituminous beds were said to occur,
there is nothing but Ignite Of rather
poor kind, trees imperfectly carbonized and
good deal mixed with sand. The
Mackenzie River region also contains
Ignite which has been found too i'll the
Yukon country.
1t is possible that bituminous coal exists
along Hudson's Strait, but samples col
lected by the observers who remained a
year to note the opening and closing of
navigation turned out to be Ignite.
OTHER MINERALS IN PLENTY.
There is no doubt, however, of the ex-
istence Of an immense field Of petroleum
in the Mackeagle watershed, together
with springs of bituminous pitch and salt,
phlmbago, mica, kaolin, &c. Iron ore is
scattered all over There is large body
of it on the Moose River, principally brown
hematite All through the Hudson Bay
region the everything drift is of extraordinary
depth. James Bay may be reached before
long by railway from Toronto. but un-
fortunately there are no good harbors, so
that even if the Hudson Bay route
proved feasible it would be difficult to es-
tablsh a sea going trade at that point.
Travellers stories about the existence Of
gold fields on the Mackenzie and its tribu-
taries are not confirmed by the scientific
explorer There is gold, 10 be sure, but
only here and there in meagre quantities
in the river beds.
The area Of land lit for human habita-
ton is not great. In fine seasons cereals
and vegetables ripen in extremely high
latitude. but that, Of course. does not i'm
ply that farming could be carried on as a
regular occupation 1t seems probable
that the limit of profitable wheat growing
has already been reached in Manitoba.
There is the promise Of an abundant
crop this year, but three harvests in every
five, if not more, are injured to Il greater
or less extent by late frosts in May or June
and early frosts in August
North of the prairie country is belt Of
forest which may be valuable some day,
white spruce, larch. poplar and Banksian
pine.
Cattle raising will probably be the chief
industry of the upper portion Of the great
prairie in time to come, though the long
and severe winter will be drawback. A
few years ago, before they became extinct.
the buffalo used to penetrate $50 miles
north of the international boundary to feed
on the sweet grasses.
ONLY A DESERT.
The region east Of Hudson Bay and
north of the Province of Quebec is alto
gether unfit for settlement, is nothing, in
fact. but a howling desert of lakes and
rocks After 300 years Of civilization
farming is not prosecuted much beyond
Lake st. John, only 90 miles north Of the
City of Quebec,
Fish and furs are the most valuable COM
modities found on Hudson's Bay The
whale known as the right whale is
worth for the whalebOne as much as SO,
900 per carcass, but the New England and
Dundee vessels have hunted it 50 assidu-
ously that it is Incoming scarce The
white whale is good only for its oil.
There are seals without number OF diff
ferent varieties. but the fur seal Of the
Pacific is not among them, and apparently
cannot be got to live there. 1t IS said
that several fur seals brought from Bering
Sea died in few days, Attempts to in
troduce them on the Labrador Coasts
have been equally unsuccessful, for what
reason nobody seems to know. For the
matter Of that, the cod is not found on
the Hudson Bay littOral further west than
the east shore of Cngava Bay.
Whitefsh are exceedingly plentiful in
| Great Slave Lake. and salmon are found in
vast numbers in all the rivers flowing into
Hudson's Bay, together with the oolachan
or candle fish, common in the Northern
Pacific The oil Of the oolachan is now
used as a substitute for cod liver oil in
pulmonary complaints.
IMITATION FURS.
The fur trade, many think has seen its
best days, owing to furs going out OF
fashion They are going out of fashion
apparently because of the ease with which
imitation furs are now prepared Last
year. for example, the Hudson 5 Bay Com
panv and the Lampsons did not offer more
than 1000 silver fox skins in the London
market, but it is safe to say ten times as
many imitation ones were palmed off by
middlemen and furiers. The average
catch of foxes is 5000, of ermine 5. 900,
of sable 4, 900, but there is no limit to the
counterfeits.
ARCTIC WEATHER REIGNS.
The Hudsons Bay Company has kept
weather and other records for 200 years.
There appears to have been no change in
that interval in the seasons; the summer
is as short and the winter as long as ever.
In traversing the country a random
visitor is apt to be misled by the excep-
tional fertility of the soil and size OF the