The Unexploited West / A Compilation of all of the authentic information available at the present time as to the Natural Resources of the Unexploited Regions of Northern Canada

by Ernest J. Chambers

Artillery Lake Region.

In the report of his 1908 patrol, Inspector Pelletier thus describes Artillery lake,[^[25]] northeast of Great Slave lake, and the portages thereabout:—“The south end of Artillery lake is rocky, the ridges are of solid rock, and hills do not rise above three hundred to four hundred feet above the lake. Farther up the general character of the country changes into rolling plains of sand, with more or less vegetation. In places bare sand ridges are seen of fine yellow colour. This again changes at the upper end of the lake. There the formation is more broken, solid rock ridges are few, but large boulders are numerous, and sand gets coarser, I might say gravelly, a mixture of clay and gravel, with boulders more or less numerous. All the country is comparatively flat; there are no high hills anywhere more than two hundred to three hundred feet above water. At the northern end of Artillery lake are some sand ridges, also at the northern end of Kasba lake. At the portages the ground is clay, with gravel and boulders, and in places, if one walks over the same spot a while to and fro, he will find that the ground will move under his feet and become dangerous. In poking a stick through the crust, water, air and mud immediately rush out. The whole country is covered with these places; they are usually bare of vegetation, and level and free from stones, affording good camping ground, but one has to be careful not to bustle too much or he will find himself sinking into a mud hole.”

Mr. Pelletier, in his report, speaking of his route from Artillery lake to Hanbury river, says:—“The stretch from Height of Land to below Lac du Bois is not considered as a stream. It is only a succession of lakes separated by short, shallow and turbulent streams of no size. Hanbury river proper begins from below Lac du Bois, where it takes the appearance of a river. Above it can only be called the headwaters of Hanbury river. The general conformation of the country is low, and only ridges of gravel, or stones, not exceeding eighty feet in height, are seen. There are no cutbanks of any account. The slopes are gradual in most cases.

A few notes, as to the progression of the seasons in various parts of the Barren Lands, taken from the journals and reports of a number of explorers, will prove interesting.

A Smart Thaw Early in May.

Back records “a smart thaw” at Fort Reliance at the extreme eastern end of Great Slave lake, on May 6, 1834, and mentions that patches of green were daily becoming visible. He farther on states:—“On May 13, a single goose, the harbinger of summer, flew past the house, and during the day it was followed by five more, all of which took a northerly direction. This was six days later than they had been seen in 1836 at Fort Franklin, though a higher northern latitude. A fly and a flock of small birds appeared in the evening, and during the three succeeding days we had gulls, orioles, grosbeaks, yellow legs, robins and butterflies.

“On May 18, the catkins of the willows were half an inch long, and the snow was fast disappearing from the ground.

Sultry Towards the End of May.

“Towards the end of the month (May) the weather became sultry, the temperature in the sun being 106°—an extraordinary contrast to that of January 17, when it was 70° below zero. The snow was all gone, except that which had been drifted to a great depth in the narrow valleys, and under steep precipices, and the Al-hel-dessy, to the westward, had burst its icy fetters, and opened a clear channel to the portage opposite the house; loons, gulls, and ducks took possession of the water, and seemed to contend which should make the most noise; some small birds also, very prettily marked, hovered about a short time, and then both they and the ducks suddenly deserted us.”

Mr. Hanbury, writing specially of the region northeast of Chesterfield inlet, states:—“There is never much snow on the ‘Barren Grounds’, and a few warm days suffice to lay the country bare. If spring overtook us far inland on rough ground, we should have an almost impossible march over bare ground to the Arctic coast. I therefore decided to begin that long journey not later than February.”