Under the date of September 1, the same year, Harmon noted the commencement of the annual migration of wild fowl southward, and on Friday, October 6th, he wrote in his diary:—“As the weather begins to be cold, we have taken our vegetables out of the ground, which we find to have been very productive.”
In his diary for the following year, Harmon records a summer frost on June 23, writing:—“The last night was so cold, that the tops of our potatoes were frozen.” The frost in question does not seem to have damaged the crops, for on Wednesday the 3rd of the following October this observant diarist wrote:—“We have taken our potatoes out of the ground, and find that nine bushels, which we planted May 10 last, have produced a little more than one hundred and fifty bushels. The other vegetables in our garden have yielded an increase, much in the same proportion, which is sufficient proof that the soil of the points of land along the river is good. Indeed, I am of the opinion, that wheat, rye, barley, oats, peas, etc., would grow well in the plains around us.”
It is very evident that all of the officials of the fur trading companies who were on duty in Peace river country did not devote the same intelligent attention to agriculture that Harmon and his colleagues did.
When Charles Horetzky, C.E., was at Dunvegan in 1873 (See p. [17]) there was no bread used, and the only vegetables served at meals were some “very diminutive potatoes.” Mr. Horetzky comments as follows on this subject:—“Owing to the fact that the Company’s agents are liable to be suddenly removed from one post to another, those people are, not unnaturally, averse to the expenditure of time and labour necessary for farming experiments; hence the absence of farm produce at these posts. But the natural advantages of excellent soil of unlimited extent, and the proverbially early disappearance of the snow in spring, would lead one to believe that good crops of barley, potatoes, and fall wheat might be successfully raised in this part of the Northwest.”
One of the strongest arguments advanced by Mr. Horetzky in his advocacy of Peace river pass route for the Canadian Pacific Railway was that a line built via this route would open up
A Vast Fertile Region
situated to the south of Peace river—“a region probably comprising an area equal in extent to Manitoba, well wooded with abundance of fresh water, of excellent soil, and in all probability possessing unlimited quantities of good coal. The climate is most salubrious, and, by all accounts, as mild as, if not milder than, that of Red river. On the extensive plains bordering upon Peace river, both north and south of it, snow rarely exceeds two feet in depth, and never packs.”
The travellers and traders who have been in Peace river country are as enthusiastic about its picturesque appearance as about its apparent fertility.
Mr. Horetzky reached Peace river a few miles above the mouth of the Smoky September 30, 1873, and thus describes the scene:—“We feasted our eyes on the glorious landscape now mapped out before us. A strong westerly gale was blowing, but the air was so warm and balmy, that to recline on the beautiful grassy sward, full face to the blast, was positively delicious. For several miles, to the southwest, the noble river, flowing eight hundred feet below us, on its silent course to Arctic ocean, could be distinctly traced as it meandered through its mighty valley. Several large and wooded islands dotted its surface here and there, causing eddies and whirlpools, which in their turn made long and faint streaks of foam, barely visible in the distance. From our position, and embracing an angle of fully one hundred and thirty degrees, or, in other words, from the northwest round to south, a boundless and nearly level expanse of country could be taken in at a glance, the only breaks being the great valleys of Peace and Smoky rivers, than which nothing we had ever seen could be more beautiful, the former especially, in its magnitude and depth, surpassing all we had anticipated.”
The pioneer missionaries attached to the Church of England and Roman Catholic missions appear to have done more towards demonstrating the agricultural possibilities of Peace river country, and the whole Mackenzie basin, than the fur traders.