The Midnight Sun.
The Natural Flora.
As to the natural flora of the country, Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, in his expedition of 1893 across the Barren Lands, collected one hundred and twenty-four species of plants exclusively of algae and fungi. Reference has already been made to some observations made by explorers as to the flowers and other natural vegetable growths.
Inspector Pelletier, Royal Northwest Mounted Police, reports that between Beverly lake and Hudson bay “grass grows in favoured spots, but the balance of the country is bare.”
Describing the country at Bloody fall on the Coppermine, Franklin writes in his narrative:—“The ground is well clothed with grass and nourishes most of the shrubs and berry-bearing plants that we have seen north of Fort Enterprise, and the country altogether has a richer appearance than the barren lands of the Copper Indians.”
Mr. A. P. Low, of the Geological Survey, passed a winter in the far north near Cape Fullerton in the “Neptune”. He expressed the opinion before the Senate committee of 1907 that the whole northern region about Chesterfield inlet and Fullerton is unfit for agriculture. The tree line ceases on the coast close to Churchill and crosses off to the northwest towards the Mackenzie. The country on the mainland about Chesterfield inlet is quite low. The hills never extend more than three hundred or four hundred feet. There are no forests up there, and the only natural resources would be probably the minerals, the furs, and the sea and lake fisheries.
The Lure of the Barren Lands.
Mr. Hanbury, describing a view in the Barren Lands on July 23, writes in his book:—“Artillery lake looked very picturesque in the bright sunlight; the water, which was of a beautiful blue, was fanned into ripples by the gentle summer breeze. The ‘Barren Ground’ lay on either side beautifully green, and decked gay with a variety of wild flowers. Its charm, and the sense of freedom which it gives, are very impressive, but cannot be described.”
The following is a pretty descriptive bit from Mr. Warburton Pike’s book “The Barren Grounds of Northern Canada”:—“To the man who is not a lover of nature in all her moods the Barren Grounds must always be a howling, desolate wilderness, but for my part, I can understand the feeling that prompted Salatha’s answer to the worthy priest, who was explaining to him the beauties of Heaven. ‘My father, you have spoken well; you have told me that heaven is very beautiful; tell me now one thing more. Is it more beautiful than the country of the musk-ox in summer, when sometimes the mist blows over the lakes, and sometimes the water is blue, and the loons cry very often? That is beautiful, and if Heaven is still more beautiful, my heart will be glad, and I shall be content to rest there till I am very old.”