THE KEEWATIN AREA.
(Newest Ontario and Northern Manitoba.)
Game, Fur-bearing Animals and Fish.
Flocks of Wild Fowl that Obscure the Sky.—Six Species of Seal in Hudson Bay.—Stocked with Animals of Various Kinds.—White Fish Abound in Most of the Lakes and Streams.—Saw Eleven Moose in One Day.—The Commercial Value of the Sturgeon Fisheries.—Future Summer Playgrounds.—Barren Lands Caribou at Churchill.
The immense resources of this territory in the matter of fur, fin and feather, are traditional, but the testimony of residents and explorers as to distribution, present conditions, etc., are interesting and important.
Doctor Robert Bell, in his 1886 report (See p. [17]), says the Indians around Lake St. Joseph “live principally upon fish in summer and rabbits in winter, but these resources are supplemented by geese and ducks in the spring and autumn, and occasionally by larger game, such as caribou and bears at any season. The fishes of the lake comprise whitefish, grey trout, sturgeon, pike, pickerel, yellow-barred perch, grey and red suckers, besides some smaller species.
“At seven miles before joining the Attawapiskat, Boulder river falls into a lake three miles long, which the Indians call Sturgeon lake, from the abundance of this fish to be found in it. While in the act of setting our gill net, the evening we camped on its shores, a sturgeon, measuring upwards of five feet in length, was caught in it.”
Doctor Bell reports that several lakes abounding in fish are said to occur on the course of Henley river, which flows into the Albany ten miles below the Forks.
Doctor Bell, in his evidence before the Senate committee of 1887, said he had seen wild fowl in the region about Hudson bay in large numbers, and if one were close enough up to them, and surprised them in a marsh, they would rise in such clouds that
They Obscured the Sky
for a few moments until they got away. They would not darken the land in their flight, but they would prevent one seeing the sky or the sun for a few seconds. On the shores of Hudson bay and straits are found nearly all the sea birds that live in the northern part of this continent, and some of those of Europe. Some species are abundant; surf ducks, scoters, eider ducks, etc. The eider duck is valuable on account of its down. Of geese, the grey goose and the blue and the white wavies are very abundant in the spring and autumn on the shore of Hudson bay—and especially towards the southern parts of James bay. Swans are common. They breed on the islands, and some on the shores of Hudson bay, and their skins are an article of trade. In former years swans’ down was used for trimming ladies’ garments, and swans’ skins formed an item of export for the Hudson’s Bay Company. White bears are found in the northern part of Hudson bay, and there are plenty of black bears around the southern part.
There are valuable fisheries, too. There are codfish in Hudson bay. The variety the witness had seen is called the ‘rock cod,’ which is not of so good a quality as the common variety of the Atlantic, but he understood that it is the same species.
The variety of fish known as sea trout is found in the mouths of the rivers running into Hudson bay and James bay. They do not go far up the stream; they are never found beyond the first fall in a river. There are sea trout in both Hudson bay and James bay, at the mouths of the rivers. They are the same variety as that found on the Atlantic coast. They have the same habits. There is also the speckled trout. The marine animals—fishes and mammals of Hudson bay—have precisely the same habits as similar species have on the Atlantic coast.
The fur seal is not found here, but the seals of Hudson bay are valuable for their oil. They are tolerably abundant. There are
Six Species of Seal in the Bay.
There is the bearded seal, for instance, which grows to the length of thirteen feet, the ringed seal, the Greenland seal in Hudson strait, the grey seal, and the harbour seal, which is quite common in those waters, also the spotted or fresh-water seal. The latter run up the rivers after salmon and whitefish. It is a large spotted species with an almost white or light grey coat, with distinct black spots thickly scattered over its body. This seal ascends the rivers for long distances inland, sometimes as much as two hundred miles. They live on fish, and they sometimes remain in the lakes in the interior. The skins of these seals are valuable, making very good coats.
As to James bay, the best fish there is a variety of whitefish, apparently identical with the large whitefish of Lake Superior, only the fish grow larger in the cold waters in the north. The whitefish live equally well, if not better, in salt water. They run up the rivers also. They belong to the salmon family. Then there are trout of different kinds, and at the northern part of James bay there is Hearne’s salmon. They are small salmon, but of very fine quality. The flesh is equal to that of the common salmon, perhaps better. It is firm and red and well flavoured. Hearne’s salmon seldom exceeds ten pounds in weight. It is also found all around Hudson bay, and on both sides of Hudson strait.
The porpoise, or more properly speaking, the small white whale, is abundant in James bay.
Doctor Bell expressed the opinion that the fisheries of Hudson bay will, no doubt, be very valuable.
Mr. A. P. Low, before the Senate committee of 1907, stated that the fish in the inland waters of Keewatin are like those in the other northern parts of Canada, and fairly abundant especially in the larger lakes. The chief fish are the whitefish and the lake trout. In Hudson bay the whitefish and the ordinary river trout have sea-going habits, and the Indians take quite a number along the shores in nets, more especially in James bay.
Mr. Low reported sturgeon as being plentiful in Favourable lake.
Mr. J. B. Tyrrell in his report speaks as follows of the game and fish in that area in the southwest of this region (See p. [19]) explored by him in 1896:—“The country is stocked with animals of various kinds. Moose are abundant in some of the more thickly wooded tracts. Black bears are somewhat numerous, and beaver, otters, martens, mink, muskrats and red foxes are killed by the Indians in considerable numbers in the aggregate every year.
Whitefish Abound
in most of the lakes and streams, while the lake trout seemed to be moderately plentiful in the clear lakes near the head of Grass river. Of the other fish, the sturgeon and pickerel (Stizostethium vitreum) are the most important. The region was known among the early fur traders as the Muskrat country. Trout and whitefish are said to abound in Reed lake.”
Moose crossing Limestone river.
Near the forks of the Muhigan large game was very plentiful, and Mr. Tyrrell saw eleven moose in one day.
As to his survey of the Ekwan district in 1901, Mr. D. B. Dowling reports:—“The principal fur-bearing animals of this region are foxes, otters and beavers. Of the larger mammals few appear to be taken by the Indians. In the interior the game birds are all very scarce, the fall hunt for ducks and geese being confined to the shores of the bay. The rivers afford a small supply of whitefish. The streams running to the north into Hudson bay in this region are, at certain seasons, well stocked with speckled trout. Sutton Mill lake is well supplied with a slender variety of lake trout, and at the narrows, speckled trout were also caught.”
Mr. Dowling mentions that at the foot of the first fall met with ascending Trout lake river from Little Shallow lake, the Indians form large camps in the autumn to catch whitefish as they are ascending the river to the spawning grounds.
The Best Food Fishes.
Mr. McInnes, in the report of his explorations about Winisk and Attawapiskat rivers (See p. [23]), says:—“Whitefish and sturgeon are the best food fishes, and occur in most of the lakes. Both are taken in nets, and the latter also by spearing from scaffolds built out over rapids in the river. Doré and pike are also generally distributed over the whole area, and form an important source of food supply, though the sucker among the fishes, like the rabbit among the mammals, holds the most important place, as it can be caught everywhere, not only in the larger lakes but also in the smaller ponds and streams. Brook trout were actually caught only in Winisk river near its mouth, and in the streams running into Albany river, but were seen in the rapids below Weibikwei; the Indians assert that they occur also in the lake itself. Lake trout were caught in large numbers in Trout lake at the head of Severn river, but are not found in either the Winisk or Attawapiskat waters.
“The moose (Alces americanus) has been found as far north as the southern shore of Weibikwei lake, in north latitude 52° 50′, though tracks were actually seen during our exploration only as far north as Attawapiskat river. Even here it is not nearly so plentiful as farther south in the belt of country lying near the Canadian Pacific Railway and extending for about one hundred and fifty miles north of it. Caribou (Rangifer caribou) range all over the district. No red deer are found anywhere throughout the region. The fur-bearing animals, though not so plentiful as they once were, are still fairly abundant throughout the district; the otter and the beaver from long-continued trapping are less numerous, perhaps, than any other species.”
Bears, Mr. McInnes says, are taken in good numbers, and foxes, including the red, silver, black and cross varieties are numerous. Otters and pine martens are taken in good numbers and beavers occur more sparingly. Minks and muskrats are plentiful. That the raccoon occasionally strays as far north as north latitude 52° is shown by the fact of one being taken by an Indian woman on upper Attawapiskat river in 1903.
Mr. McInnes describes Atikameg (locally known as Clearwater), Cormorant and Reed lakes as “very beautiful sheets of clear water, well stocked with fish, including lake trout and whitefish.”
Mr. McInnes, in his evidence before the Senate committee of 1907, expressed the opinion that if the region lying west of Hudson bay were opened up by railways there would be a considerable business in exploiting the fisheries, because the sturgeon is valuable. They would get the sturgeon on the lower Nelson and part of the Churchill. Big lease-holding companies put steamers on the various lake expansions on the Nelson, so that they reached down to within a few miles of Split lake, and marketed sturgeon in that way. They put tramways on all the portages. They ran that way for a couple of summers, but the distance was too great and it did not pay. The larger lakes have good whitefish and sturgeon. The head of the Adawadskit was particularly full of sturgeon. Going out Mr. McInnes’s party was short of pork and stopped one day to get supplies. In one night’s fishing the Indians caught so many sturgeon that they had enough to carry them for one hundred and fifty miles to the Hudson’s Bay Company’s post. One of the sturgeon
Was Three Feet Long.
At the mouth of the Winisk the Indians were catching speckled trout and whitefish in very large numbers. In fact the Indians of all that interior country live on fish. They smoke and dry them to a limited extent, and late in the autumn catch them before the larger lakes are frozen over, when the temperature is low enough to freeze the fish. They catch enough to put by for the winter. Some are sent to Chicago frozen.
In his report (See p. [60]) of the survey made by his party in 1910 of the area south of Cross lake, Mr. J. R. Dickson states:—“The deeper lakes all abound in whitefish of the finest size and quality. In Paint lake during the mayfly season (July up there) their dorsal fins could be seen cutting the water everywhere. Pickerel, and of course jackfish and suckers are likewise very abundant. We had no sturgeon net, but we saw quite a number jumping in Sipiwesk lake. Altogether the fishing industry should be a decidedly profitable one after the railway goes through. Much of that region is suited only, and admirably, to producing a permanent revenue from this source. The beaver have been almost exterminated, but mink, fisher, muskrat and other fur-bearers are still fairly numerous. As to large game, moose and caribou are plentiful, but we saw no elk or bear. More stringent game laws will shortly be necessary with the opening of the country to white hunters. Nearly all those northern lakes are thickly studded with beautiful islands—quite a similar Laurentian country to Muskoka, but on a more extensive scale. Some future day these large island-studded lakes will become popular summer playgrounds for the people of the prairies, for the July and August weather is delightful. As yet of course, they are almost inaccessible.”
Mr. McLaggan, who explored the country in 1907, describes the waters between The Pas and Clearwater lake as abounding in trout, whitefish, jackfish and pike. Reed lake is studded with many islands and replete with large trout, whitefish, pike and pickerel. Grass river, where it broadens into the long stretch known as Setting lake, is described by Mr. McLaggan as one of the most beautiful sheets of water he has ever seen and quite comparable to the St. Lawrence where it passes through the Thousand islands. He looks forward to it becoming a great summer resort. Goose river is very shallow and so teems with whitefish that they seem to cover the bottom and can be killed with sticks. Generally, along his route, Mr. McLaggan “found game in great plenty and immense waters teeming with fish.” W. Thibaudeau, C.E., states in his report (See p. [23]):—“In September, October and part of November large shoals of white whales (I counted thirty-five in one shoal) could be seen going up river at Churchill at every tide. Salmon, trout and whitefish are taken in the river and harbor all the year, but are more abundant in the spring.
Within a Few Miles of Churchill,
in the fall and winter, large herds of barren lands caribou were encountered. These herds supply fresh meat of an excellent quality for the residents of Churchill. Polar bears are occasionally shot in the vicinity of Churchill. Along the western peninsula Eskimo congregate in the spring for the purpose of seal hunting, these animals frequenting these shores in the spring in large numbers. Among the fur bearing animals are found black fox, silver fox, red and white fox, marten, and wolves both black and gray. Swans, geese, ptarmigan and many species of duck in large numbers, and some spruce grouse are found along the shores of Churchill harbour and river.
Referring specially to his exploration of that part of the country between Churchill and Owl river in December, 1906, Mr. Thibaudeau states:—“For one whole day we passed through an immense herd of barren lands caribou. There must have been thousands of them.”
Reporting on the fish and game along the route of his exploration trip from Churchill to The Pas, Mr. Thibaudeau says:—“From timber line on Hudson bay to The Pas are found moose and caribou in fair quantities. Rabbits are scarce throughout the country explored. Saw a few spruce grouse; ptarmigan are found plentifully, but not further south than Grass river. Whitefish abound in all the lakes from Churchill to The Pas; also in some lakes are found trout, pike and suckers. Indians and travellers rely upon this source of supply for dog feed.”
Mr. William Beech, of Churchill, in his communication to the press already quoted, writes:—“Fur-bearing animals exist in large quantities, and in many varieties, throughout the woods and along the shores and rivers. I have seen enormous white polar bears three hundred yards from my house as early as August 9, and at times they are very aggressive. Wolves are numerous, and very bold at times, so bold in fact that I have frequently heard them running round upon the roof above my head. White, red and black foxes, and a few of the rare silver variety are to be found at all seasons, and are
Valuable for the Fur They Bear.
Caribou roam in herds, and are very good eating, while seals, ducks, ptarmigan, geese and swans abound throughout the districts round about. Curlew, snipe, and loons also provide good shooting. Of fur-bearing animals besides foxes there are beaver, otter, mink, ermine, and wolverine, innumerable.
“Great sport is afforded to those who are so inclined in harpooning whales. I have counted as many as twenty in one school, going up the river at almost every tide, and an impressive sight it is. In summer at Churchill the Hudson’s Bay Company capture many white whales, from ten to fifteen feet in length and weighing from one thousand to two thousand pounds, by the use of extra strong nets. The flesh is cut up and kept to feed the dogs in winter, while the blubber is boiled down at the factory and the hides are sent to England.
“It will surprise you, perhaps, when I tell you that we fish on dry land at Churchill. That is a fact, nevertheless. The natives of Churchill, both Indians and Eskimos, and also the white men, set their nets on dry land. They set their nets, which are about fifteen feet long, with three upright posts placed vertically on the shore. When they have set them they simply wait for the tide to come in, and when it has come in they simply wait until it has gone out, and there are their fish all ready to be taken out without any trouble. The catch consists chiefly of whitefish, salmon trout, and pickerel, all of good quality.
“When the Hudson bay route is completed, one of the best fishing trades in the world will be opened up. There are five lakes, in all, in the district, all full of fish, and the farthest teaming which is necessary would be about forty miles. On lake Winnipeg at the present time, fish are hauled a distance of one hundred and forty miles, and they are teamed into Edmonton from Lesser Slave lake, a distance of one hundred and seventy-five miles and made to pay. The salmon of the north averages from four to ten pounds in weight, and is of good quality; the whitefish is not so large as that of Lake Winnipeg, but it is of fine flavor, and very firm. The caplin, a small fish resembling the sardine, is found in such quantities at some seasons of the year that they are left in thousands upon the shore when the tide goes out. Fishing usually commences at the latter part of June and finishes at the end of August.”
NORTHERN SASKATCHEWAN