The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1921-04-28

routes into the new field. The oil
strike is in latitude 65 n. and longi-
tude 126 west. In this vicinity be-
gins the oil field. The most direct
summer route is covered by rail-
steamer and land portage. The new
railroad into the nOrthland runs some
300 miles. to near Fort McMurray
over this, much of which is still
skeleton track, a light auto runs on
rails. II can travel faster than train
could with safety. Fort McMurray
traffic into the great north goes down
the Athabasca river, across Lake Ath-
abasca and down Slave river to Fitz-
gerald. where is a 16-mile land port
age to Fort Smith, on the Mackenzie
which portage is now traversed by
modern caterpillar tractors and big
lories.
From Fort Smith, the Slave river
Slave lake and Mackenzie river offer
easy transportation to the Arctic sea.
An alternate route can be taken from
Peace river crossing. travelling via
the Peace river to Fitzgerald Upon
both these routes steamers of very
light draft, gas boats and flat scow
boats carry all supplies and machin-
cry that goes into the north. The
Athabasca river opens about May !,
the Mackenzie about May p, but
Slave lake can not be depended upon
until July ]. For nearly three CEN
turtles these great waterways have
been travelled by white men, first the
voyageurs in their canoes and YOrke
boats, then the later rivermen in their
flat bottomed scOws.
Not since the Klondyke rush in '9S
and '99. when Edmonton, Alberta,
was one point of entrance to the gold
fields. has an excitement reigned so
high All berths on steamers have
been booked for the first trip in the
spring. From all parts of the world
queries are pouring into the northern
metropolis. The Hudson's Bay COM
pany. the historic trading company of
the land, received so many queries it
had TO set aside a special staff to at
tend to the work Many firms are
working on largers to go in in the
spring.
Airplane Route Short
The feature of greatest interest to
the average man and particularly to
the historian is the part the aeroplane
will play this summer in conquering
this last frontier, this fastness Of ma
ture which, but for this strike, might
have remained forever the haunt of
the Indian and the fur trading white
man. The Imperial Oil company so
far has led all others in preparation
1t has two all steel monoplanes ready
to go north. These machines were
flown from New York to Edmonton
a distance of over 1000 miles. in the
dead of winter, but though this was
"a very important event in the way of
a cross continent flight almost moth
ing was made known of it, The Do
minion government is preparing to
put on a seaplane service to carry
mail and members of the geological
and registry staffs which will go
north this spring.
The value of the air route is its
shortness. as from Peace river town
TO the scene of the strike is only four
hundred miles in an air line. cutting
the distance by river more than in
half. The Imperial Oil company has
hangers at Peace River Crossing.
Lieut. j. Gaynor and Capt. Fred Nc
Call. two famous Canadian avitators
with notable records, have ordered
from England two specially designed
passenger seaplanes. The quoted fare
to the oil fields is $1,000.
That the new oil field is rich in
possibilities may be gathered by the
quick action of the Dominion govern
ment's changing the regulations eX-
listing in 1920 to new ones by which
three quarters of any mans discov- |
cry remains the property of the /
crown. which was done Immediately ii
became apparent there would be q /
rush to the new field That the field /
is worth while is apparent from the |
fact that the Imperial Oil company /
has had a dozen oil rigs working in
the northland for some time. testing
an the way from the Arctic circle to
he American boundary.
The geological department at OF
ava estimate the field may easily be
800 miles long by so broad, while
,ther experts place the oil bearing re-
zion to cover an area of 100000 square
niles. Sir Boverton Redwood, the
world famous authority on OIL in vol
me / of his two-volume treatise of
Ill fields of the world long ago point
d out that all the geological indica-
ions pointed to rich oil fields exist
ne in this region.
However, even should the field
rove rich in oil yield as TO make it
# worldwide Importance, the obsta-
les in the way of getting the oil out {
re very great Oil tankers could only q
~ these northern rivers four months
n the year and then the portages on
he Athabasca- Mackenzie route would {
ave to be piped. But oil experts !
ave already pointed out a pipe line :
rom the field to Edmonton a matter :
f some 600 miles in direct line would