On page sixty-three, Mr. Robson expresses the opinion “that the lands are capable of tillage, affording a good pasture for horses and cattle in the summer, and good hay for their subsistence in the winter. At Churchill, the most northerly factory, horses and cows have been kept in winter, though greatly exposed to the frost and cold. All sorts of garden stuff flourish at the factory, and where barley and oats have been sown, they come to perfection. At Moose Factory at the bottom of the bay, sown wheat has stood the winter frosts, and grown very well the following summer, though the cold is greater and continues longer than within land; black cherries planted here have also grown and borne fruit, as would other trees if propagated.”
Reverting to the subject of climate, Mr. Robson states:—“I perceived that the garden ground at York Factory and Churchill river thawed much sooner and deeper in the space of one month than the waste that lies contiguous to it, and the same is to be observed in England. By the heat therefore which the earth here would acquire from a general and careful cultivation, the frost might be so soon overcome that the people might expect regular returns of seed-time and harvest.”
An Excellent Farming Country.
Ed. Umfreville, in his volume “Eleven Years in the Service of the Hudson’s Bay Company and Four Years in the Canada Fur Trade”, published in 1790, speaking of latitude 55°, says:—“The Hudson’s Bay Company servants have tried Indian corn and barley by way of experiment which came to perfection. Potatoes, carrots, radishes, onions, etc., have been reared and found as good as those in Canada (Quebec). The natives collect vast quantities of wild cherries and bring them to the fort. Raspberries, strawberries, currants, cranberries, and an infinity of other kinds of which I do not know the names, are to be found everywhere. The grass grows to a great height which fattens our horses in a short time.
“The late Chief Factor Archibald, in his journal of Sir George Simpson’s trip from York Factory to the Pacific in 1828, speaks of having had, on July 12, two days after leaving York, “a peep at the Rock, an old establishment with its gardens.”
The Rev. John Semmens, who spent many years as a missionary in the north country, went to live on the banks of Burntwood river, at Nelson House, in the year 1874. He remained there two years, and for a number of years thereafter paid occasional visits to the locality and made journeys through the adjacent country. He writes:—“The most of my tripping was between Norway House and Nelson House, though I have been as far north as Indian lake, as far west as Nelson lake, and as far east as Split lake. The information I have to offer, therefore, concerns the lower reaches of the Burntwood after its junction with Rat river at Nelson House. Much of the country specified is hilly, with frequent outcropping of granite rock, and some large tracts of muskeg or swamp land, but there are found large areas of open country, and valleys of tributary rivers, where the soil is rich and deep and where grazing and stock raising could be very successfully carried on. The sheltering forests, and the abundant water courses, the numerous beaver dams, and the rich native grasses would indeed make this locality ideal to sheep raisers and general ranchmen. The absence of anything like a market has hitherto kept this country from being reported of, but if a railway becomes an actual fact, Manitoba will add very much to her available resources, when extension comes, and settlers will find that in soil, in wood, in grasses, and in waters, this unknown land will afford comfortable homes for thousands. It will be seen by the map that about one hundred miles down the Nelson all the branches of that noble river unite in one. From that point we are accustomed to strike across country to Landing lake, Wintering lake, Pipestone lake and thence into Burntwood river. This short cut has along its course many thousands of acres, such as I have described, and for fishermen as well as ranchers must some day be a paradise.
“The cold at Nelson House is no more intense than that of a winter in northern Manitoba as at present constituted, but the frost sets in rather sooner, and tarries rather longer than it does at the north end of Lake Winnipeg. Roots and vegetables planted about May 24 do well and are gathered about September 15. The presence of so much water so regulates the temperature that there are few frosts either early or late to make growth uncertain, yet, in my experience, wheat is not a sure crop. All depends on the season. Oats and barley will do well any time.”—(J. A. J. McKenna’s report on the Hudson Bay Route).
Split lake region.
The Reverend Doctor John McDougall, one of the pioneer missionaries of the west, has thus expressed himself regarding the region to the south of Split lake:—“The summer begins early, and the growth and vegetation are almost of a tropical character. This is attributable to the longer hours of sunshine that prevail, and to the proximity of streams of living waters everywhere in the district, each of which is conducive to plant nourishment. There is considerable rock throughout the section which indicates in the near future a season of development for the mineral prospector but there are also countless acres of good land which can be easily made to yield fruitful returns to the farmer, as has been the case southward in Manitoba and westward in Saskatchewan and Alberta. The soil is of clay sub-strata with sandy loam on the surface, and, although wooded to a considerable extent, is a far more enticing agricultural proposition than that which faced the early settlers on the bush farms of Ontario and other eastern provinces fifty years ago, and, with the advent of railways, a better market than the eastern settler had would be always available. The district in which are situated Norway House, Cross lake, Oxford House, Island lake, Nelson House and Split lake, covers a wide area, and at each of these places garden vegetables and grain for personal requirements have been successfully grown for a term of years. Summer frosts are practically unknown and the germination of vegetation, owing to the long hours of sunshine, is exceedingly rapid.” (McKenna Report.)
Doctor Robert Bell, in the report of his exploratory trip from Lake Winnipeg to Hudson bay in 1878 (See p. [17]), states:—“Along the direct overland route from Churchill to York Factory the timber is reported to be generally small, and large prairie-like openings are said to occur, in which the ground is dry and covered with grass or other herbage. I saw very good potatoes and turnips growing in the gardens at Churchill. Previous to the advent of Mr. and Mrs. Spencer, the cultivation of potatoes had not been attempted, and the possibility of raising them at Churchill when suggested by Mrs. Spencer was ridiculed by the oldest inhabitants. However, in spite of predictions of certain failure, the ground was prepared, seed planted, and a good crop was harvested. The experiment has been repeated successfully for seven consecutive years, so that the question of the practicability of cultivating potatoes on the shores of Hudson bay in this latitude has been pretty well solved.