“Backs river rises in Sussex lake about fifty miles within the edge of the Barren Lands, in a basin surrounded by sandy hills, at an elevation of about five hundred and fifty feet above the sea, and after a course of six hundred miles empties itself into Arctic ocean a short distance south of the magnetic pole. This stream will always possess a melancholy interest for every man or woman of British stock, for at its mouth the crews of the Erebus and Terror, the two ships taken out by Sir John Franklin on his last ill-fated expedition, dropped in their tracks and died as they attempted to reach a place of safety and plenty.
“Telzoa or Dubawnt river rises in Daly lake a short distance south of the Barren Lands, and flows northeastward, roughly parallel to Backs river, until it strikes the wide valley which extends inland from Chesterfield inlet, where it turns abruptly eastward and flows into the west side of Hudson bay, its total length, including Chesterfield inlet, being eight hundred and seventy-five miles.
“Kazan river rises in Kasba lake, fifty miles east of Daly lake, and flows approximately parallel to Telzoa river for about four hundred and ninety miles to enter the south side of Baker lake though the exact position of its mouth has not yet been determined. Of the smaller streams the Anderson, Ferguson and Coppermine are the only three which have been explored.”
Dubawnt Lake.
In his official report of his trip of exploration in 1893, Mr. Tyrrell gave some particulars about Dubawnt lake, situated a little south of the middle of the Barren Lands. He writes:—“Dubawnt lake is a body of clear cold water of unknown extent, the southern and eastern shores indicated by dotted lines on the map, having been laid down from rude sketches made by the Eskimo. Its western and northern shores were surveyed for one hundred and seventeen miles, but from the summits of the highest hills the opposite shores were nowhere distinctly seen. Its approximate altitude above the sea level is five hundred feet. By the Chipewyan Indians it is called Tobatna or Water-shore lake, possibly from the fact that the main portion of the lake is always covered with ice, and that in summer there is a lane of water between this ice and the shore. Its Eskimo name is Tulemalugua. Judging from subsequent Eskimo reports, it has two principal affluents. One of them flows into its southern side, and has scattered groves of white spruce on its banks. The other is Dubawnt or Telzoa river which we had descended.
Before the Senate committee of 1907, Mr. Tyrrell explained that the outline of the lake as he sketched it still appears on the maps. He added that the most recent government maps of the Barren Lands do not pretend to be complete. They merely show the lakes that are known. There are thousands of others that we know nothing of, because nobody has been through there. Some of the larger ones are sketched in. Mr. Tyrrell sketched in many, from the reports of the Esquimaux, and they still appear as he so sketched them on the map. The whole country is studded with lakes.
Water Routes via Chesterfield Inlet.
From the reports of Messrs. Tyrrell and Hanbury and Inspector Pelletier, we have obtained a pretty good idea of the outstanding features of the great system of inland waterways which find their outlet at tidal water at Chesterfield inlet.
In his report, speaking of Thelon river, which he discovered during his trip in 1890, Mr. J. W. Tyrrell describes it as “one of the finest in Canada, navigable for river steamers and other boats of light draught all the way from Hudson bay to the forks of the Hanbury, a distance of five hundred and fifty miles, excepting perhaps at two rapids on the river above Baker lake, where some improvements to the channel may be made.”
He continues:—“Just what length of time this route may be open for navigation I am unable to say precisely, but would judge that the river portion must be open for at least five months, and the inlet and larger lakes about a month less, that is during the months of July, August, September and October.”