It must not be inferred that the whole of the vast area is timbered in the same sense that Ontario and Quebec were in their primeval state. The timber is not as large, and by no means as evenly distributed. Very frequently after proceeding a mile or less from one of the large rivers we will enter a muskeg with only a few small scattered spruce and tamarac here and there dotting the landscape.
This will probably continue till we approach a small stream draining the muskeg, and as we pass down such a stream we will frequently find very good spruce, poplar and birch along the banks and extending for varying distances to the right and left.
From the information at hand I think it is quite safe to assert that the largest extent of timber in the Mackenzie basin as well as the largest in size, is to be found along the tributaries of the Mackenzie which flow from the west, such as the Athabaska, Peace, Laird, Nahanni and others. It must be remembered that these are themselves great rivers with many tributary streams and the aggregate quantity of spruce suitable for lumber which is the principal timber tree in that region, must be very large; while trees of the same variety large enough for pulpwood are found in great quantities throughout the whole of the Mackenzie waters extending all the way down to the delta of that river.
This spruce is of two varieties, namely, the white and black spruce; the former is the larger and more valuable. Both varieties when accessible are now becoming very valuable, as they furnish the best material for the manufacture of pulp, and this district contains a world’s supply of such timber of sufficient size for that purpose. At present there is no outlet for this supply, but if a railway were built between Athabaska Lake and Fort Churchill it would open a pulp district extending from tide water to the Rocky Mountains.
SECTION VI
ANIMALS
One of the resources to which I have not yet referred is the native wild animals that find a home in the wilderness. Among them are, the moose, the caribou, the bear, the wood buffalo, and the musk ox, and the experiments recently made in Alaska and on the Labrador Coast by the introduction of the Lapland reindeer indicate that the semi-barren lands may yet furnish meat for export.
To these must be added the fur-bearing animals for which the country is already famous. The beaker, martin, fox and mink are only a few of the varieties with which the country abounds. It is unnecessary to say that but for the fur that these produce it is probable that the country would never have been visited except by a few adventurous explorers and missionaries. Attracted, however, by the value of these furs, the North-West Company and “The Honourable The Hudson’s Bay Company,” were early in the field, and to-day in addition to the latter there are a large number of independent traders whose agents traverse practically the whole of the country, and if records of their journeyings were collected, very interesting information of great value would be obtained. I might remark that at certain of the Hudson’s Bay posts diaries written by the agents may be seen which record the most interesting events that have come under their notice almost from the establishment of these stations. Some of them convey graphic descriptions of every day life in those regions. Here is a virgin field for any adventurous author who wishes to gather details at first hand.
A MOOSE AND INDIAN TEPEE
As one observes on a winter’s day in our cities and towns the great quantity of furs that are worn practically by all classes of our population, most of which come from this north country, he cannot but be impressed by the fact that we owe a debt of gratitude to that country and to those who endure its rigours for our comfort. Whether this supply will diminish in the future is a question of very great importance to us. Though I have already stated that certain parts of this region will probably in time be settled, there is yet a vast proportion of it that will remain probably for all time uninhabited, and there seems no reason why in those parts the productiveness of the valuable furs may not only be maintained but greatly increased if judicious supervision is established and proper methods adopted. The forest reserves should be utilised as game preserves and it can be scarcely doubted, considering the rapidly increasing value of the fur product, that they could be made to yield a splendid profit.