During the summer of 1911 the special supervision of the wood buffalo was taken out of the hands of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, and transferred to a government agent who is stationed at Smith Landing.
Other Game and Fish.
Some interesting evidence as to the general fish and game resources of the whole north, and more particularly northern Alberta, was submitted in writing to the Senate committee of 1887 by Mr. H. J. Moberly, a chief trader in the Hudson’s Bay Company’s service. This gentleman, through long residence and frequent travels therein, was quite familiar with this country. According to his statement lake trout is found in almost all the large lakes all over the country, and river trout in Athabaska and Peace rivers and other streams close to Rocky mountains. Speckled trout and mountain trout are found in waters on the east and west slope of Rocky mountains; whitefish, all over the country from the Saskatchewan north, in lakes and most rivers; pickerel, in most lakes; jackfish or pike in most lakes; suckers, in all waters; gold-eye, Athabaska river, Peace river and their tributaries; a peculiar kind of salmon (doubtless the inconnu), in Mackenzie river as far up as Salt river rapids, above Great Slave lake.
Ducks are found all over the country and geese and swans along the Athabaska, the Peace, and the Mackenzie and the shores of Hudson bay; cranes, along the Athabaska, the Peace and the Mackenzie; prairie chickens, Athabaska and Peace river countries; ruffled grouse and spruce partridge all over the Northwest Territories; ptarmigan, Athabaska, Peace river, Hudson bay; plover and snipe, all over the Northwest Territories.
According to Mr. Moberly, moose run all over the wooded country north of the prairies and east of Rocky mountains.
The distribution of other game and fur animals in far northwestern Canada was given by Mr. Moberly as follows:—Reindeer (cariboo), large, all over the wood countries from Saskatchewan, to the barren grounds in the north; reindeer, small, all over the barren grounds in the north, and come south in winter as far as Lac la Brochet, Athabaska lake and Peace river, close to Rocky mountains; red deer, Athabaska and Peace river valleys; black tail deer, jumping deer and chevreux, same country as the red deer; black and brown bears, all over the wooded country and Rocky mountains; grizzly bears, Rocky mountains, valley of the Peace, Athabaska, Liard, and Fraser, but seldom farther than two hundred and fifty miles from the foot of the Rockies; beaver, Athabaska, Peace river, and in fact all over the wooded country,
Back’s Grayling.
Professor John Macoun, before the Senate committee of 1888, said he had caught Back’s grayling in the tributaries of Peace river, in Rocky mountains. It is both an Arctic and a mountain fish, and delights in clear water. It is very gamesome and takes all kinds of bait. When it took the bait it would jump clear out of the water, many times a couple of feet or so, and of course, the beautiful colours (more beautiful than those of the mackerel even), glistening in the sun, made the anglers thrill with excitement. They are a white fleshed fish, and not anything like as hard as the trout.
Writing of the immense quantities of fish caught in Lake Athabaska, Mr. Wm. Ogilvie states in his report:—“At Chipewyan, the Hudson’s Bay Company required, in the fall of 1888, thirty-six thousand fish for the use of the post; the Roman Catholic mission, twelve thousand; and the rest of the population at least thirty thousand more. Most of these were caught in three weeks, while I was there. Sometimes they are numerous in one place and sometimes in another, so that long journeys are often necessary from the place where they are caught to the place where they are to be used. This necessitates a large number of dogs to haul them home, which is a very poor method, though it is the only one in use. To overcome this inconvenience, Mr. McDougall, at Chipewyan, has built an ice-boat, but has so far met with indifferent success, as the ice has been unusually rough during both of the last two falls.”
As to the fish and game in the district explored by him in 1909, Mr. Frank Crean reports that the principal fish to be found in the north is the whitefish. The chief use made at present of this valuable fish is for dog feed, large numbers being caught for this purpose in the annual “fall fisheries,” as they are termed. Beside the whitefish, the jackfish is also found in most of the lakes, and indeed in that country which lies to the west of the height of land and on the watershed of Athabaska river this is the principal fish. Although extremely good food in these cold northern waters they are, of course, not to be compared with the whitefish. The perch, or as the natives sometimes call them, the doré, are found in most of the rivers and lakes. During the summer months they form the staple diet, as the whitefish apparently go into the deep holes in the lakes and are not caught by the natives, who rarely fish in deep water.