Mr. C. C. Fairchild, who was attached to Mr. Tyrrell’s expedition and surveyed the waters between Baker lake and Chesterfield inlet, writes in his report:—“I am unable, owing to the short time at my disposal, to make anything but a cursory examination of the general depths of the water traversed, but I took soundings enough to satisfy myself that vessels
Drawing Ten Feet of Water
would have no difficulty in travelling from Hudson bay to the west end of Baker lake. Here boat navigation must end as far as the river between Schultz and Baker lakes is concerned, owing to rapids at either end of the river that would in low water not permit of the passage of any craft larger than a York boat.”
“Chesterfield inlet in the main channel exceeded five fathoms in depth at all points tried, and soundings were only taken when I could see bottom, which was plainly visible at thirty feet and even more.”
Inspector Pelletier of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, who went down that river on his way from Great Slave lake in 1908, describes the lower reach of Thelon river just above Beverly lake as flowing through “low lying country with willows and grass. A high ridge of bare hills is seen in the distant north, running east and west. The river follows along the range, winding through what I would call foothills, until it opens on Beverly lake. The country there is low lying.”
Beverly lake to Hudson bay is a stretch of barrens. No wood grows on that stretch but a few small willows in some very scattered spots and far between. Beverly lake is surrounded by comparatively low lying sandy country. At the lower end the land is higher. Just entering into Aberdeen lake the shores are rocky and immediately give place to low sandy soil. This extends for about thirty miles, when the country again takes a rocky appearance and the ridges get higher and higher to the lower end where hills of from four hundred to five hundred feet in height are seen, with solid rock formation. The north shore of Schultz lake is of high rocky ridges, in places four hundred feet high. When getting to the lower end it alters to sand and gravel and becomes low lying. At the outlet of Schultz river it again becomes rocky. Below the last rapid, near Baker lake, the country immediately becomes low lying and sandy and gravelly. The north shore of Baker lake is high and rocky; in places the bare rocky ridges advance and run into the lake, forming rough, bare points. The lower end of Baker lake is high, the ridges being about four hundred feet. Baker river flows between high banks of solid rock. The formation of the country along Chesterfield inlet is mostly rocky, and is quite low lying, with here and there a prominent rocky point, but none above two hundred feet, except at the lower end, near Deer island, where there is a collection of fairly high ridges.
Upper Reaches of the Thelon.
As to the higher reaches of the Thelon, Mr. J. W. Tyrrell says in his report:—“About two miles below the junction of Hanbury river, where we made camp, some measurements of the Thelon were made, from which the volume of the flow at the time was found to be over fifty thousand cubic feet per second. The width of the stream measured one thousand two hundred and twenty-seven feet, depth of channel five feet, and velocity three and a third miles an hour. These measurements being taken near the forks, show a less depth but greater width than exists at most parts.
“Eight miles farther down the stream soundings were taken, showing a depth of fourteen feet in mid-channel. At this point well grown spruce trees were plentiful on both banks.
“About thirty or thirty-two miles below the forks, two slight rapids occur where ridges of rock project into the stream, but they are so slight as not to seriously interfere with the navigation of the river either by canoes or large river boats.”