The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-09-06
~ THE BARREN LANDS.
the Latest Explorers 10 Cross Northeast
Canada to the Arctic.


geographical work has been done in any
part Of the world han in the northern part
of Ns'sth America THE sun has often told
OF ;ii> progress Of our Government surveys
in Alaska, where more has been done In
the past seven years to reveal and map
It's geographic features than all earlier
explorers achieved from the first days
OF the Russian occupation,
The Canadians have been almost equally
busy ia the orthern half of their country
They " 20 traversed the Barren Lands
and discovered many lakes and some rivers
that had never before appeared on any
map. Perhaps their greatest discovery
IN that Of the Dubawnt River. about seven
hundred miles long, which empties into
Hudson Ray through Chesterfield Inlet
and is likely some day to he navigated by
steamboats, of considerable dmught.
The latest journey in or'heastern Canada
was made by David 7. Hamburg and two
white compa mons, who in 1901 1902. start
ing from Fort Resolution, near the mouth
of Great Slave River, padded across many
lakes and down their connecting rivers
and finally down the Duhawnt River to
Chest ertield Inlet. where they replenlshed
their supplies: then they struck across the
Barren Lands and reached the Arctic
coast, a little southwest Of King William
Land where Schwatka found so many
relics Of he Franklin expedition.
They left the coast after following it
about five hundred miles to the west. at
the mouth of the Coppermine River which
they assembled for about sixty miles and
then struck southwest to the Dease River
I l,o ,..,l,t ~ ax, a. lAl
, to Fort Norman, where their explorations
ended after thirteen months and seventeen
days in the wilderness. Mr.. Hanbury's
route map and description Of his journey
! have just appeared in the Geographical
! Journal
| All through that vast fiat region the
! divides between the various river sys-
! TENS are hardly perceptible. At the head
, waters of the Ark-i-lnik tributary of the
; Dubawnt River. for example. the divide is
; only a low moss swale about three hundred
! va IDS across On one side the explorers
! saw & little stream trickling west ward TO
, the Mackenzie and the Arctic Ocean, and
| another to the east. moving toward Hudson
; Bay and the Atlantic. In the Barren Lands
i the divides were likely to be merely very
| low rage o. "a sand hilock, the waters on
one side flowing to the north and OH the
other on the south. Some of the portages
from one canoe route to apother were
f, quite long, but others were short
| One of the most interesting features
! of the Journey was the meeting with the
Esouinaux of northern Canada and the
| Arctic coast, who are seldom seen. 1t
was found that the natives living along
st u,tIa Rn laGs
| numerous than formerly and some Of their
abandoned camps were seen. The Esqui-
maux from Hudson Bay to the Arctic were
very helpful, travelled with the explorers
for greater or less distances, helped them
themselves generally useful. Two of the
Hudson Bay natives with their families
travelled north to the Arctic coast with
the explorers As they we're partly de-
pendent upon the game resources Of the
country the Esquimaux we're particularly
useful as hunters.
When within about ten miles Of Ogden
BAY. on the Arctic coast, the two ksqui-
niaux were sent north to prospect, carry
ing presents to the coast natives. The
| next evening they returned. bringing with
! them two coast Esquimaux, tall. strong
men din ering in no way from the Hudson
Bay men except in the cut of their skin
| garments. They we're timld at hrst, but
gained confidence, gave Mr. Hanbury
much information and agreed to accom-
pany him
Travelling westward along the Arctic
coast the party found an Esqumau
| camp of two snow huts, and those huts
containing five families and some visit rs-
| about fortytivc persons in all. A little
| further west about south of Victoria Land.
they saw Esquimaux who were strangers to
| the Arctic natives who were accompanying
the party. Mr.. Hamburg thought these
| new found natives bore a more marked
resemblance to the Monaghan type. They
were friendly. but did not invite the white
| men into their huts. On the east coast
| of Kent Peninsula. where deer live all
winter, Esquimaux We're busy catching
| codlng with copper hooks through holes
| in the ice.
Not far from the Coppermine River the
occupants Of an EsHilmau camp fed on
the approach OF the strangers, leaving
everything behind. The stone kettles with
boiled salmon were still warm. The white
| men took some haf-dried salmon and
| left in payment knives, files, needles and
| other useful articles. As they turned
natives, who belong to the central group
| Of the Esuuimau family and who are more
| isolated from the rest of the world than
any other members of heir race -..-.
The party had spent the winter Of laol-02
near Hudson Bay and did not start on their
] hIfti' 'Ilp TN 'hii'i 'aF' -
| they set out with TWO sledges laden with
stores ard another carrying the canoes,
in which Il large part of the Journey was
made The three -ledges were hauled by
| twenty dogs. On March 10 last year the
| temperat,ire was 81 degrees below zero
| nearly M cold a. any day in the previous
| winter tho coolest day of which recorded
| 81 degrees. while tho mean temperature for
, the whole month Of January was 3O.5
degree-
! Many indications of copper were found
| along he Arctic coast and on The nearby
| islands At the northwest point Of Lewis
| Island copper was found in flakes wedged
vertically in he rocks and also in small
| chunks The party picked up bet ween
two and three pounds III short time.
Wherever native copper was found II was
| vertically instead OF horizontally placed
| 10 basalt which was much disintegrated
and easily broken up. Copper was also
found in Jumps or nuggets, some of them
very large.
At Que place patch Of gray rock was
found which was quite soft and easily cut
with an axe or knife. The explorers called
IL kettle stone because tho natives used n
10 make their stone kettles and oil lamps
The rock occurs in felspathic granite.
bur the presence and origin Of this peculiar
formation are not yet eXplcabP No
sign Of gold was discovered, but iron was
found everyw here in small quantities,
This " hole mort heastern region across the
Barren Lands TO the Arctic coast shows
4. = =, ,rIr Ia,