Hudson's Bay and Hudson's Strait as a navigable channel [microform]

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iJBm

MAP OF

udSON sax \

SURROUNDING COUNTHy
to iUustratfl the paper
Lodore Marli

MAP OF

HUDSON BAY

!TD SURROUNDING COUNTR

AND ^^^^^.^^j.,^ v.v,^x,x.

I ^^I. \ to iUustratfl the paper

by Commodore Markhaza.RJ^.

\

6

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THE

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Excerpt from the Journal and Proceedings of
THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, 1, Savile Row
FRANCIS EDWARDS, 83, High Street, Makylebonk, V\ .

-V

X.

KOYi

AN

Hud

|l !

The ques
safety du
interest oi
At the sar
interest, i
The know
careful sti
recent rej
gained du:
York Fact
1886.

I have
former V03
own obsei
reference,
monograpl
printing, t
Meetings,
version of
narrative c
Hudsor
Sea of Nor
of 51° and
between tl
in length i
something
Hudson
shoals, and
No. IX

y^9

PROCEEDINGS

OF TOB

llOYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY

AND MONTHLY RECOBD OF GEOGRAPHY.

Hudson's Bay and Hudson's Strait as a Navigahle Channel.

By Commodore A. H. ]\[ARKHAiki, n.N.

(Read at the Evening Meeting, Juno 11th, IS8S.)

Map, p. G12.

The question of the practicability of navigating Hudson's Strait in
safety during a certain period of the year has lately excited much
interest on both sides of the Atlantic, for reasons apart from geography.
At the same time it is a question which is of considerable geographical
interest, in connection with the movements of the ice in that region.
The knowledge I have acquired of that part of the world is due to a
careful study of tho writings of our old navigators, and also of more
recent reports, and this has been supplemented by the experience I
gained during a voyage on board tho Alert, through Hudson's Strait to
York Factory, on the western shore of Hudson's Bay, in the summer of
1886.

I have thought that a paper containing a condensed narrative of
former voyages from the time of Sebastian Cabot, and an account of my
own observations, would be useful to the Fellows of this Society for
reference, if published in our 'Proceedings.' I therefore prepared a
monograph of this kind, which has been accepted by the Council for
printing, but which would be too long for reading at one of our Evening
Meetings. What I now propose to submit to the meeting is a condensed
version of parts of the historical section of my paper, followed by a fuller
narrative of my own exiieriences.

Hudson's Bay, or, as it has not been inaptly termed, tho Mediterranean
Sea of North America, is a large inland sea, situated between the parallels
of 51° and G4° N. lat., and, therefore, well outside tho Arctic zone, and
between the meridians of 78° and 95^ W. long. It is about 900 miles
in length from north to south, and some GOO wide, covering an area of
something like 500,000 square miles.

Hudson's Bay is reported to be remarkably free from rocks and
shoals, and it has an average depth of about 70 fathoms. So uniform

No. IX.— Sept. 1888.] 2 p

650

HUDSOiN'S BAY AND HUDSON'S STRAIT

are tho souiulings, that our accompliBliod associato, Dr. Boll, of the Oo •
logical Survey of Canada, in a paper which ho communicated to oin
Society in October 1881, on tho conuuercial iniportanco of IIudson'H Biij,
had no hoHitatiuu in Baying that if, through any convulsion of natu'c,
this vast basin was to be drained of its water, wo should find an iminciiBo
plateau similar to tlio prairies of tho West.

I would observe that there are few authorities on this subject whcJBO
opinions should be received with greater respect than those of Dr. Bell,
who has devoted many years of his life to tho exploration of Hudson's
Bay, and whose knowledge and experience regarding tho physical
geography and geology of that part of the world are so well known.

The same authority statt^a that storms in tho bay are very raro
and by no means formidable, that icebergs aro never seen, and that fogs,
the most dreaded enemy with which a sailor has to contend, are of raro
occurrence and of but short duration. The climate of tho shores of
Hudson's Bay, during tho summer months, is mild and gonial, and
many European vegetables, such as potatoes, lettuce, beet-root, and
onions are grown in the open air. Tho winters are, however, very
severe.

It is asserted that the temperature of the water in Hudson's Bay is
no less than 14 degrees higher than the water of Lake Superior, and in
support of this assertion Lieutenant Gordon (who was sent by tho
Canadian Government in command of the recent expeditions despatched
to Hudson's Bay for tho purpose of reporting on its feasibility as a com-
mercial route) writes, in his first official despatch, that " Hudson's Bay
may, therefore, bo regarded as a vast basin of comparatively warm
water, the effect of which must bo to ameliorate tho winter climate to
the south and east of it."

The principal and, so far as we know at present, the only practicable
approach to Hudson's Bay in a ship is through Hudson's Strait, a deep
channel about 500 miles in length, which separates Labrador from the
islands of Arctic America. Tho strait has an average breadth of about
100 miles, but tho width in tho narrowest part of tho channel is not
more than 45 miles. Tho soundings in the strait vary from 150 to 300
fathoms, and it is wonderfully free from shoals and rocks, or any other
obstacles that would tend to make the navigation of a narrow channel
more than ordinarily dangerous.

Tho accounts of early voyages to Hudson's Strait aro important to
us, because they form cumulative evidence respecting its navigability in
the months when such voyages were undertaken. John Davis, when ho
was returning from tho extreme northern point ho reached in 1587,
passed across the mouth of tho strait on tho 1st August, and thus
remarked upon it: "This inlet or gulfe we passed over: where, to our
great admiration, we saw tho sea falling down into the gulfo with a
mighty ovcrfal and roring, and with divers circular motions like whirl©-

AS A NAVIQABLE CHANNEL.

661

i.f the Ge -
atoil to onv
kIhoii'h Bu} ,
I of natu'o,
nn iniinenBt.)

ibject wh(«o
of Dr. Bell,
of Hudson's
ho physical

known.
0 very rare
ad that fogs,
I, are of rare
Lo shores of

gonial, and
set-root, and
iwevor, very

Ison's Bay is
lerior, and in
sent by the
s despatched
ity as a com-
ludson's Bay
tively warm
er climate to

practicable

;rait, a deep

dor from the

th of about

annel is not

in 150 to 300

or any other

row channel

Important to
.vigability in
vis, when ho
led in 1587,
8t, and thus
rhcro, to our
gulfe with a
like whirle-

pooles, in such sort as forcible streames passe thorow the arches of
bridges." On the Molynenx GIoIk) of 1503 (now the property of the
Benchers of the Middle Temple, and which waH lout to this Society for
tho Exhibition of Educational Appliances) the very words of Davis are
written at the entrance of Hudson's Strait, namely " Furious Overfall."
This is one out of several proofs that Davis had a hand in the con-
struction of that famous globe. In 1(302 Captain Waymouth, during a
voyage organised by tho East India Company, reported that he entered
an inlet in the same latitude.

Hence it was that Captain Luke Fox, who subsequently made a
voyage into Hudson's Bay, recorded the very true and apposite remark
that "these 'two— Davis and Waymouth — did, I conceive, light Hudson
into his straights."

In 1610 Henry Hudson was despatched in tho little Discovery, of
55 tons, with a crew of 21 men, to find the North-west Passage by way
of the oi>ening discovered by Davis, ami marked on the Molyneux GIoIkj
as the " Furious Overfall." The labours of Hudson bore rich fruit, and
he deserves a high place among our early geographers. His name is
never likely to be forgotten : it is borne by tho strait and by the great
bay to which it leads. It is inscribed on tho vast territory between
that bay and the Pacific Ocean. It is affectionately remembered by the
thousands of happy families now living on the banks of that beautiful
river, which he found scantily inhabited by savage tribes. It was
Hudson who opened to liis own counti'ymen the fisheries of Spitzbergen
and the fur trade of the Hudson's Bay Territory. Tho Dutch owed to
him their North American colony, which afterwards became the English
colony of New York. He thus built up to himself a far more enduring
monument than his fondest dreams could have anticipated. His
successes may well be held out as an encouragement to those who, like
him, labour earnestly and steadfastly in some great cause which may
seem almost hopeless.

Henry Hudson entered the strait which beais his name in the end of
June 1610, and was at first much troubled by the amount of ice lie
oncoiintered. For some time he experienced difiiculty in making his
way to the westward ; and on the 11th of July, fearing the approach of
a storm, he anchored under the shelter of three rocky islands to which ho
gave the name of " the Isiles of God's Mercy." They are marked on our
present charts as the " Middle Savage Islands." Thence he pushed his
way westward to the Digges Islands and Cape Wolstenholme, at tho
entrance of Hudson's Bay, but, unfortunately, this is the last recorded
incident in his journal. For an account of tho remainder of the voj'ago
we have to trust to the narrative written by one of the survivors, which,
although of thrilling interest, contains little geograjihical information.
The story of his wintering, of the mutinous conduct of the crew, and of
the abandonment of Hudson and his son in an open boat, is told by this

2 p 2

652

HUDSON'S BAY AND HUDSON'S STKAIT

I

survivor, named Habakuk Prickett. Tho Discovery returned through
Hudson's Strait early in the August of 1611 without any diflSculty, and
the reports of the survivors led to the despatch of another expedition in
the ensuing year.

Sir Thomas Button, who commanded the expedition of 1612, in tho
BcBolution, proceeded through the strait in Juno, and reached Digges
Island without much hindrance from tho ice. He wintered on the west
coast of Hudson's Bay, and returned through the strait in the summer
of 1613 without any difficulty whatever. But, instead of emerging from
tho main entrance of the strait, Sir Thomas Button took his ship be-
tween the island on which Capo Chidley is situated, and the mainland of
Labrador. This channel has recently been named M'Lelan Strait, after the
Canadian Minister of Marine and Fisheries, under the impression that it
is a new discovery. BesoJution Island is the name of the island on tho
north side of the entrance to Hudson's Strait. If the island on the south
side, on which Cape Chidley is situated, was called Discovery Island, we
should then have the two portals of the strait named after the two first
ships that ever passed, a winter in Hudson's Bay.

The enterprising company of merchant adventurers was not dis-
couraged by the failures of Hudson and Button. In 1615 they again
despt.tched the little Discovery, under the command of Robert Bylot,
with that accomplished navigator, William Baffin, as pilot. During this
voyage, Hudson's Strait was entered towards the end of May, and on tho
8th of June tho Suvage Islands were reached and named. Proceeding
westward along the northern shore, the Discovery stopped at a place
called Broken Point. The spot is memorable because here tho first
lunar observation ever observed by an Englishman, for finding tlie
longitude, was taken by William Baifin. This admirable pilot drew a
most interesting chart, on which the coast-line and prominent headlands
and islands are delineated, Avitli a fair approach to accuracy. There
were some delays in passing through tho strait, owing to loose ice, but
tliey were clear of it by the 1st of July. On her return in August tho
Discovery passed through the strait without encountering any obstacle
whatever. But tho great mistake made by Baffin, and indeed by all tho
old Arctic navigators, was that they relinquished exploration too early
in the season.

In 1611) Captain llawkridge sailed through the strait ; and in tho
same year a Danish expedition under Muuk also entered the bay, neitlier
commander encountering any serious obstacle. Twelve years afterwards
two vessels were fitted out, one at London, the other at Bristol, under
the commands of Captain Luke Fux and James respectively, wliich
entered Hudson's Bay.

Captain Fox vvas a quaint and witty writer, as well as a bold seaman.
His description of the ice he met with in IIudson'c< Strait is so good, and
so exactly coincides with my own experience of the ice in that locality,

AS A NAVIGABLE CHANNEL.

553

d through
iculty, and
podition in

612, in tho
led Diggos
in the west
be Bumraer
rging from
is ship be-
aainland of
it, after tho
lion that it
and on tho
1 the south
Island, we
e two first

s not di.s-

they again

Dert Bylot,

)iiring this

[and on tho

Proceeding

at a place

the first

nding tho

ot drew a

headlands

There

ise ice, Lnt

ngust tlio

y obstacle

by all the

. too early

and in the
xy, neither
ifterwards
itol, under
ly, wiiich

fd seaman.

goi»d, and

(t locality,

^y'

that it will be well to quote it. He says : " The ice in the strait consists
of two kinds, one of which is mountainous (a huge piece, compact, of
great quantity, some more some less), but in this freet" (as ho calls tho
strait) "you seldom have any bigger than a great church, and moat
thereof lesse." This description of course has reference to the icebergs
met with at the entrance and in the eastern part of Hudson's Strait.
He then describes the floe or pack ice as follows : — " The other kind is
smaller, and is what we call masht or fleacht ice. Of this you shall
there have numbers infinite, some of the quantity of a roode, some a
perch, some an acre or two acres. But the most is small and about
a foot or two above water, and eight or ten under water, and these are
they which do enclose you ; so as in much wind, from the topmast head,
you shall hardly see any water for them. But while you lie amongst
them it is so smooth as you shall not feel the ship stirre." It would
not be possible to give a more accurate account of the conditions of the
ice in Hudson's Strait at the presGiit day, than is furnished by this
description written by Captain Luke jTox more than 250 years ago. It
exactly describes the peculiar nature of the ice that is usually met with
during the navigable season in this channel, and which I have not
observed in any other part of the northern regions. Fox found little
difficulty in passing through the strait, and was in Hudson's Bay by the
2lBt of July. His return voyage, during October, was still more easy,
for he encountered no obstacle whatever, and was off Resolution Island
on the 31st of Octob'^r. Captain James, whose voyage was undertaken
in the name year, 1631, reached the entrance of Hudson's Strait on the
24th of June, but was delayed in consequence of striking on a rock, and
did not complete the passage of the strait until tho middle of July.
James wintered in the southern extremity of Hudson's Bay, and in 1632
he again passed through the strait, on his way home, without any
difficulty whatever.

No further attempt was made to visit these seas, until a charter was
granted to Prince Rupert and some enterprising merchants in 1GG9, and
the Hudson's Bay Company was founded. Captain Gillam, in the Non-
such, was then sent out. He passed through Hudson's Strait without
difficulty, and established a settlement near James's winter quarters,
which he called Fort Charles. He returned the following year.

From this date, for a period of iifty years, no interest appears to have
been taken in geographical research in the Hudson's Bay region ;
although tho Company's ships were frequently engaged in making the
voyage from and to England. But at last two ships were fitted out by
the Hudson's Bay Company for purposes of discoverj-, commanded by
Captains Barlow and A'aughan ; they were accompanied by Mr. Knight,
an official of the Hudson's Bay Company who had suggested the voyage,
and who was nearly 80 years of age. They sailed from Gravesend in
1719, but three years elai)sed without any tidings of them being received.

554

HUDSON'S BAY AND HUDSON'S STRAIT

A ship called the Whalebone was sent from Churchill in search of them,
nnder the command of Captain John Scroggs, in June 1722, but without
result. It was not until the year 1767 that the melancholy fate of the
missing ships was ascertained by some of the Company's boats engaged
in the whale fishery. The ships had been wrecked on Marble Island,
and the crews had perished after reaching the shore.

The next important expedition was that commanded by Captain
Middleton, which left England in 1741 ; and this was followed by
another, under Captain Moor, in 1740. Middleton passed through
Hudson's Strait without difficulty, and although Moor was baffled by
pack ice for several days, ho succeeded in making the passage early in
the season. Mr. Wales, who was sent out by the Eoyal Society in 1768,
also passed the strait with ease. In fact he was only nine days in going
through, during which time ho met with no ico to interfere with the
progress of his ship, although he was delayed by contrary winds and
calms.

During the whole of the eighteenth century vessels belonging to tho
Hudson's Bay Company made annual voyages to, and from, England to
York and Moose Factories. They ▼ery rarely failed to make the voyage,
and few of the ships Avere lost. One of the masters in the Company's
service. Captain Coats, who had been many years employed in navigating
those seas, wrote a practical and very interesting treatise in 1750, which
he named ' The Geography of Hudson's Bay.' It has been printed for
the Hakluyt Society, and was edited by our associate, Mr. John
Barrow.

An expedition of discovery, sent out at the instance of tho Hudson's
Bay Company in 17!* 1, under Captain Duncan, forms an exception as
regards the easy navigation of the strait. The vessel encountered much
ice, which so delayed her that it was not until the oth of September that
Captain Duncan reached Fort Churchill.

We now come to the expeditions of Sir Edward Parry in 1821-2;}, of
Captain Lyon in 1824, and of Sir G>. "cje Back in 1830. The events of
these memorable voyages are well kn^ 'i, and are indeed matters
of history. Parry encountered much ico at the entrance of Hudson's
Strait on the outN\ ard voyage, and nearly the whole month of July was
occupied in getting through it. But the delay was occasioned as much
by adverse winds and calms, as by the ice. On July 21st Parry wrote :
"Bodies of ico became less and less numerous as we advanced up tho
strait from Kesolution I^land,and no ice was seen after we had i)roceeded
a few leagues beyond the U]>per Savage Inlands." On the 25th ho
reported "the sea almost froo from ice"; and on tho 27th and 28th "ice
in great quantities, but the pieces so loose as easily to allow the passage
of a shii* with a free wind. This ice was so honeycombed, and rotten,
that it appeared in a fair way of being entirely dissolved in the course
of a few weeks." This was, in all probability, ico that had drifted down

P

h of them,
ut without
fato of tho
ts engaged
ble Islaml,

)y Captain
)llowecl by
d through
baffled by
ge early in
ty in 1768,
ya in going
e with the
winds and

ging to tho
England to
the voyage.
Company's
navigating
1750, which
printed for
Mr. John

Hudson's
sception as
terod much
ember that

821-2;}, of

10 events of

d matters

Hudson's

July was
ed as much
irry wrote :
ced uj) tho
I proceeded
10 25th ho

28th " ico
he passage
and rotten,

the courso
ifted down

AS A NAVIGABLE CHANNEL.

555

through Fox's Channel. The weather was on the whole fine and clear,
only four foggy daj'S being recorded during the month of July.

During the return voyage, in September 1823, Parry was only five
days passing through the strait, during which time no ice whatever was
to be seen.

Regarding the best time for navigating the strait, Sir Edward Parry
says : " Long experience has brought those who frequent this navigation
to the conclusion that, in most seasons, no advantage is to be gained by
attempting to enter Hudson's Strait earlier than the first week in July.
The annual disruption of the ice, which occupies the upper and middle
parts of the strait, is supposed not to take place till about this time. In
the course of one single year's experience in these parts, we have seen
nothing to recommend a practice different from that at present pursued
by the ships of the Hudson's Bay Company."

I heartily concur with every word in +his quotation, for it exactly
corresponds with my own experience. Bat the fact must not be over-
looked, that this advice is addressed to those who attempt the navigation
of the strait in sailing ships. Steam has made a great revolution in ice
navigation. A well-found steamer is able to make her way with
ease through the ice in Hudson's Strait in June and July, when
a sailing ship would be hopelessly beset, and incapable of pushing on.
With regard to the practice pursued by the ships of the Hudson's Bay
Company, alluded to by Sir Edward Parry, it stands to reason that the
captains of those ships would naturally delay their passage across the
Atlantic, so as not to reach the strait before July or August; for
they were well aware that every extra day spent on the passage was
a day nearer tho disruption of the ico. Their experience told them
that a policy of waiting was the wisest, when the chances would bo
more in their favour of getting through without hindrance from the
ice.

In 182-i Captain Lyon, in the Griper, passed through the strait in
fourteen days, namely from the Gth to the 20 th of August. He sighted
some loose heavy ice off Eesolution Island, but otherwise experienced no
difficulty in getting through. On his homeward voyage no ico whatever
was seen in the strait, and ho aver.iged, in his dull old bluff-bowed
sailing ship, 150 knots a day, as ho passed through, from Cape Wolsten-
holme to Eesolution Island.

During Sir George Back's meraorablo and eventful voyage in tho
Terror in 18;$(3, he encountered much ice in tho strait. But this appears
to have been an exceptionally bad ico year. Still he was not more than
a fortnight in getting through, namely from tho Ist of August, when ho
was off Eesolution Island, to the 11th, when ho passed Nottingham
Island. His course was then directed up Fox Channel, where his ship
was closely beset by heavy ico, in wliieh, heli)le.ssly drifting at the mercy
of tho winds and currents, he was compelled to pass tho winter. During

566

HUDSON'S BAY AND HUDSON'S STRAIT

4

a period of six mouths the ship drifted 234 miles iu a generally south-
east direction. . . , .

It is almost impossible for us to conceive, much less to describe, the
anxiety that must have been experienced on board the Terror during
those long dark months, when officers and crew were, it may truly be
said, momentarily expecting the destruction of their floating home.
She was most miraculously preserved, in spite of the terrible injuries
inflicted on her by the ice, and she succeeded in making one of the
most marvellous voyages on record across the Atlantic. The objects of
Sir George Back's voyage were unfortunately frustrated by the ice in
Frozen Strait. But although the amount of geographical information
obtained was not very great, yet the voyage was exceedingly instructive,
as showing the general drift of the ice down Fox Channel and Hudson's
Strait.

The account of the Terror^t voyage home embraces one of the most
thrilling stories of sea adventure that has ever delighted the readers
of this country. "When all hope of saving the ship and the lives of
the crew had almost died out in the breast of the captain, the coast
of Ireland was sighted ; Captain Back then succeeded in running
the Terror on shore ofif Buncrana, in Lough S willy. The men Avere
harassed and nearly worn out by their exertions in keeping the ship
afloat ; and the vessel herself, leaking like a sieve from the injuries she
had received in the ice, was only held together by the stream cable
being passed round the after part, and so binding her timbers and
planking.

This was the last Government expedition, having geographical
research solely for its object, that entered Hudson's Bay. But its
waters have been navigated by the ships of the Hudson's Bay Company
year after year. These vessels were annually despatched from England
for York and Moose Factories, sometimes two, and even three being sent
in a year. They rarely failed to reach their destinations, for, arranging
as they usually did to reach Hudson's Strait, on their outward voyage,
in about the first week of August, they experienced but little difficulty
from the ice. On their leturn voyages in September and October, they
always found the strait comparatively clear.

I have in my possession an official record of the voyages, out and
home, of the Hudson's Bay Company's ship Prince Rupert for a period of
eleven consecutive years, namely, from 1835 to 1846 inclusive. I find
that the average time of getting through the strait, on the outward
voyages during this period (and it must not be forgotten that the strait
is 500 miles in length), was IG days. The longest time was 31 days,
when there was probably an exceptionally bad ice year. Tlie shortest
time was eight days. But the delays in getting through the strait were
invariably caused by calms and adverse winds, and not by the ice. On
the homeward passages no difficulties were met with from ice in the

AS A NAVIGABLE CHANNEL.

557

rally south-

.eacribe, the
rror during
lay truly be
ting home,
ble injuries
one of the
le objects of
Y the ice in
information
instructive,
id Hudson's

of the most
the readers
the lives of
n, the coast
in running
e men were
Dg the ship
injuries she
tream cable
imbers and

eographical
But its
y Company
)m England
being sent
arranging
ard voyage,
le difBculty
:tober, they

;es, out and
a period of
ive. I find
^le outward
It the strait
fas 31 days,
lie shortest
Istrait were
lie ice. On
ice in the

strait, and the vessel usually reached London in about five weeks after
leaving York factory. The earliest date for sailing from York factory
was the 6th of September, and the latest the 8rd of October. In the
latter case the Prince Bupert was 38 days on the passage to London ; so
that it is impossible she could have had any serious detention from ice
in the strait.

It must be remembered that this vessel, and all others then employed
by the Hudson Bay Company, were sailing ships, dependent entirely on
sails for their motive power. Without wind they were helpless ; with a
foul wind their progress was of course proportionately slow. Wind,
therefore, was a matter of the first importance in those days, when a
vessel was endeavouring to make way through floes of loose ice ; for
when the wind falls, the ice invariably loosens, or, as the technical
expression is, " goes aboard." But, under such circumstances, the un-
fortunate sailing vessel, being deprived of its only propelling force, is
unable to take advantage of the ice being loose to push on. On the
other hand, when a breeze springs up, which on ordinary occasions
would possibly enable her to make good way, the wind has the effect of
packing the ice, thus rendering progress nearly impossible.

Steam has now, however, effected a complete revolution in ice naviga-
tion, and the most advantageous time for pushing on is, of course, in
calm weather, when the ice is loose. Under similar conditions a sailing
vessel would be utterly hopeless. It is, therefore, only reasonable to
infer that what has been performed regularly, and year after year, by
sailing ships, can bo accomplished with greater regularity and certainty
by well-found steamers, specially constructed for ice navigation, and
provided with powerful machinery, A channel which has been navi-
gated for 270 years, first by the frail little fly-boats of the seventeenth
century, then by the blu£f-bowed, slow-sailing, exploring vessels of
Parry's days, and for a long period by the Hudson's Bay Company's
ships, cannot be very formidable, and if sailing ships can annually pass
through it, a fortiori steamers will find less difficulty in doing so. But
it would, of course, be necessary that such steamers should be specially
built and equipped for the service, and it is desirable that despatch
should be used in making the voyage.

The nature and consistency of the ico in Hudson's Strait arc such
that, with an efficient steamer, the passage could bo accomplished with
very little delay or difficulty. This being the case, it is not surprising
to hear that the people of the North-West are anxious to have a sea-port
on the shores of Hudson's Bay, and to secure the construction of a railroad
to connect such a port with Winnipeg, or some other equally convenient
depot on the newly established line of the Canada and racific rail-
road.

The achievement of such an undertaking would result in shortening
the distance that the produce of the country, destined for exportation,

558

HUDSON'S BAY AND HUDSON'S STRAIT

would have to be transported by one-half. As the cost of transport by-
rail is governed by the distance to be conveyed per mile, it will at once
bo understood that if the mileage is reduced by one-half, the cost of
conveyance will be diminished in the same proportion. It has been
estimated that the result of the construction of a railroad from "Winnipeg
to Hudson's Bay, would be a clear gain to the fanners and producers of
the North-West, of about 31, per head on all cattle exported, and 5*.
upon every quarter of grain sent for shipment.

The only obstacle fo the establishment of the desired port, and to the
opening of this route, is the belief in the formidable character of tho
ice that, we are told, would have to be encountered in Hudson's Strait,
and tho consequent limited duration of the navigable season.

There has been great controversy on this question. The advocates of
the route maintain that the ice offers no obstacle which may not bo
overcome. Monopolists, and persons interested in other routes, represent
the difficulties offered by the ice in Hudson's Strait as fatal to the success
of the project. Tho question is a purely geographical one, its solution
depends on physical considerations, and the controversy is therefore a
clear gain to the science of geography.

In order to obtain full and accurate information on the questions
involved in the discussion, the Government of Canada, with commend-
able energy and a praiseworthy determination to solve the long-disputed
problem as to the practicability of navigating the jstrait annually, camo
to the resolution of despatching a vessel for the purpose of establishing
stations on both sides of Hudson's Strait, at which continuous daily
observations could be taken and recorded on the weather, tide, tempera-
ture, condition and movements of the ice, and other facts connected with
the meteorology of that region, for a period of at least twelve consecutive
months. A steamer called the Neptune, which had been built for and
employed in the sealing trade, was chartered and despatched in the year
1884 to perform this service.

The Neptune was in every way admirably adapted for tho work she was
required to perform, having been specially constructed for ice navigation.
Her voyage was eminently successful. She experienced little diflSculty
in passing through Hudson's Strait, and succeeded in establishing
stations at the following places. One, named Port Burwell, near Ungava
Bay on the soiith side of the Strait, close to the entrance. Another in
the viuinity of the Upper Savage Islands, at Ashe Inlet. Another was
immediately opposite, on the south side of tho strait (Stupart Bay).
Tho fourth statijn was on Nottingham Island, and the fifth was
established on Digges Island, at the opening into Hudson's Bay. An
observer, with a couple of attendants, was placed in charge of each of
these stations, with a supply of provisions to last over twelve months.

In the official report of the voyage of the Neptune whilst engaged on
this service, her commander states that had he been making tho passage

direct
places
for mo
tho St
The JV^^
the firt

On
taken
followi
establii

In
endeavi

AS A NAVIGABLE CHANNEL.

659

transport by-
will at once

, the cost of
It has been

)m Winnipeg
producers of

rted, and 5«.

rt, and to the
racter of the
dson's Strait,
1.

3 advocates of
may not be
ites, represent
to the success
e, its solution
is therefore a

the questions

ith commend-

long-disputod

anually, came

F establishing

tinuous daily

;ide, tempera-

innected with

e consecutive

built for and

d in the year

work she was
pe navigation,
[ttle difficulty
establishing
I near TJngava
Another in
Another was
Jtupart Bay).
Ihe fifth was
I's Bay. An
Ige of each of
Ive months.
|t engaged on
the passage

direct to Churchill, instead of coasting and visiting specially selected
places on both sides of the strait, he would not have been delayed by ice
for more than about forty-eight hours. On the homeward voyage down
the Strait there was no check whatever, no ice having been encountered.
The Neptune can, I believe, fairly lay claim to the honour of having been
the first steam vessel that has ever crossed the waters of Hudson's Bay.
On the return of the Neptune to Halifax, steps were immediately
taken to secure the despatch of a vessel to Hudson's Strait in the
following year, for the purpose of visiting and relieving the stations
established there.

In order to assist the Canadian Government in their praiseworthy
endeavours to obtain reliable and accurate information regarding the
navigation of the Strait, the English Government placed H.M.S. Alert,
(a vessel which had already gained for herself a reputation in Arctic
research) at their disposal. She was officered and manned by the
Canadian Government, sailed from Halifax, and reached the entrance to
Hudson's Strait on the 16th of June, 1885. But through some mis-
management, or want of experience in ice navigation on the part of
those who were occasionally entrusted with the charge of the ship, she
was allowed to be beset by the ice. No advantage appears to have been
taken of her steam power to extricate her. In fact, the reverse seems
to have been the case, for in the official report of this voyage we read
that, instead of utilising the power that was at their disposal to release
her from her imprisonment, they " banked the fires and left the ship to
pull under a fore-topsail and fore-topmast staysail."

The " pull," however, does not appear to have been in the desired
direction, or, if so, it was misapplied, for we learn that shortly afterwards
the stem of the ship was so seriously injured by coming into contact with
the ice, that it was considered not only desirable but necessary to return
to the southward, and they put into St. John's (Newfoundland) in order
to effect the necessary rei)air8. The repairs were, however, easily and
speedily executed, and by the first week in August the Alert was again
in Hudson's Strait. The next few daj'S were employed in visiting the
stations established during the previous year, which was done without
much difficulty, and on the 31st of the same month the Alert reached
Port Churchill, having spent a few days at each station. AVhen her
duties were completed she sailed for Halifax, meeting no ice whatever
during the return journey, although it was the 7th of October before she
was clear of the Strait.

The reports obtained from different stations regarding the presence
and conditions of the ice in the Strait, supplemented as they were by
those received from the Neptune and Alert, were on the whole decidedly
satisfactory, in so far as they boie on the question of the safe navigation
of Hudson's Strait during a certain period of the year.

In the following year, namely 188G, it was again resolved to despatch

560

HUDSON'S BAY AND HUDSON'S STRAIT

I
I?

r 1

|i
I

the Alert to Hudson's Bay. But this time it was with the object of
ilismantling the stations in the Strait, and taking the observers back to
Halifax. It was considered that the duty on which they were employed
had been accomplished.

By a fortunate accident I was able to avail myself of an invitation
I had received, to take a passage in the Alert during this cruise.

I considered myself very fortunate in having the opportunity afforded
me of doing so, for it had long been my wish to visit Hudson's Bay, and
I had almost decided upon accomplishing this object by travelling from
Winnipeg by canoe. The offer, therefore, of going in the Alert, which
would enable me to make the passage of the strait, as well as of the bay,
was too good to be refused, and I eagerly availed myself of it. I was
thus enabled to form my own judgment of the state and conditions of
the ice in Hudson's Strait during at least one season of the year ; while
my observations, combined with a comprehensive study of all that has
been written on the subject, would enable me to form my own views
regarding the practicability of the route as a commercial highway. I
was also able to form a better estimate relative to the duration of the
navigable season.

I might observe that I was quite ignorant of the controversy that
had been carried on for some time between those who were in favour
of Hudson's Strait as a commercial route and those who were opposed
to it. I was, therefore, in a better position to form a perfectly impartial
and unbiassed opinion.

Under these circumstances I joined the Alert at Halifax, and sailed
in her from that port on the 23rd of June.

On the oth of July we reached the entrance of Hudson's Strait, where
we were detained for some days, partly by thick weather and partly by
loose streams of ice ; but the latter were never packed sufficiently close
to prevent even a slow steamer like the Alert from making fairly good
progress. The ice that we encountered was of a soft brashy consistency,
the greater part of it being honeycombed from the action of the water,
and in an advanced stage of disintegration. Whilst thus delayed at the
entrance of the strait, we observed the same remarkable commotion of
the water that had been commented on by Davis, Parry, Back, and other
navigators. Davis called it, on the globe of 1 593, the " Furious Overfall."
It is not easy to account for these turbulent eddyings and overfalls. Wo
frequently observed comparatively largo pieces of ice being swept, with
great veloeity, in opposite directions, although they were close to each
other. The ice, on these occasions, was evidently very much influenced
by local forces, such as tides. So far as we were able to discover, the flood
— or west-going tide — caused the ice to slacken, whilst a contrary effect
appeared to be exercised on it by the ebb. From the Oth to the 11th
of July scarcely any ice was seen, and a distance of over 200 miles was
accomplishedj in about thirty-six hours. This fact alone, without further

evidence

strait w(

steam al

Earh

on the n

Ashe Inl

had spen

meat by

the strai

navigati(

be plenti

reindeer

abundant

frequentl

After

strait, bu

to accom

caused bj

her way 1

advantag(

navigatioi

experienci

thing at

who desin

The i(

was some

eastern ei

appearing

This pecu

observed i

the quest i

examinatii

measure, d

of any vesi

being com

the larger

The g]

Channel, \

ice in the

which I e

size was q

9 feet, but

A circu

larger floei

their surfi

tho object of
crvers back to
(vero employed

' an invitation
jruise.

;unity afforded
son's Bay, and
ravelling from
.0 Alert, which
as of the bay,
' of it. I was
1 conditions of
le year ; while
)f all that has
ny own views
I highway. I
Luration of the

ntroversy that
vere in favour
» were opposed
jctly impartial

'ax, and sailed

Strait, where

and partly by

fficiently close

r fairly good

y consistency,

of the water,

elayed at tho

commotion of

ack, and other

ous Overfall."

verfalls. We

g swept, with

close to each

■ch influenced

aver, the flood

jntrary effect

to the 11th

00 miles was

tbout further

AS A NAVIGABLE CHANNEL

6G1

evidence, is in itself sufficient to show how free the eastern part of the
strait was from ice ; for tho Alert, if driven at her full speed, could only
steam about six knots an hour.

Early on the morning of the 11th of July we arrived off the station
on the north side of the strait, and anchored in a snug little bay called
Ashe Inlet. The observers were found to be in perfect health, and they
had spent a pleasant winter, having boon well supplied with reindeer
meat by the Eskimos. They informed us that the ice did not form in
the strait before December, and that the channel was perfectly free for
navigation during the entire month of November. Game appeared to
be plentiful in the neighbourhood of the station. Numerous herds of
reindeer were met with during the winter, and hares were reported as
abundant on an adjacent itdand ; whilst bears, seals, and walrus wore
frequently seen.

After leaving Ashe Inlet the Alert continued her passage through the
strait, but her progress was so retarded by ice, that it took her nine days
to accomplish a distance of 300 miles. This slow progress was mainly
caused by the absence of sufficient steam power to enable her to thread
her way through the lose ice, and also by a want of vigilance in taking
advantage of the various movements of the ice. A knowledge of ice
navigation, like every tling else, cannot be acquired at once. Practical
experience, unceasing vigilance, and a happy knack of doing the right
thing at the right moment, are essential qualifications for those seamen
who desire to becomf successful ice navigators.

The ice that we encountered in the western part of the strait
was somewhat different, and heavier than the ice we passed at the
eastern entrance. It was composed of small pieces, packed loosely,
appearing as if the floes had been broken up and then drifted together.
This peculiar feature of tho ice in Hudson's Strait is one that I never
observed in other northern seas, and it is worthy of consideration when
the question of the practicability of navigating the strait is under
examination. For it is these innumerable small pieces that, in a great
measure, deprive tho pack of the force necessary for the serious injury
of any vessel that is beset in it. When there is a nip, the small pieces,
being composed of soft brashy ico, act as a cushion between the ship and
the larger floes, thus protecting her from violent pressure.

The greater part of the ice was, in my opinion, formed in Fox
Channel, whence it drifts down to the strait after the disruption of the
ice in tho summer. Occasionally a few largo floes were seen, some of
which I estimated to be about half a mile in length, but a floe of this
size was quite exceptional. The average thickness of the floe ico was
9 feet, but it was all more or less rotten, and rapidly dissolving.

A circumstance worthy of note in connection with tho heavier and
larger floes that wo met with, was tho irregularity and unevenuess of
their surfaces. A lerfect'y level floo of any extent, having a flat

562

HUDSON'S BAY AND HUDSOiN'S STRAIT

surface, was rarely seen. They were UHually crowned with a succession
of oxcrosconces resembling small hillocks. This gave me the impression
that tho floes were composed of many small pieces of ice which, having
survived tho preceding summer's thaw, had been cemented together into
one large mass by the snow and frost of tho succeeding winter. Many
of these floes were discoloured by dirt and debris, and on a few of them
I noticed thick mud adhering, showing that thoy were formed in tho
immediate vicinity of land. The heavier ice wo encountered, had
probably drifted down from Fox Channel, whore large thick floes aro
known to exist.

No icebergs were seen to the westward of tho Savage Islands, which
seems to show that all those we passed to the eastward and at the
entrance of tlie strait, had floated down from Davis Strait, or at any
rate were the produce of glaciers north of Kesolution Island. During
the time that we were in the strait tho weather was generally fine, the
average temperature being about 35' Fahr., although on some days the
thermometer would rise to 50^ The prevailing wind was from the
westward, but from whatever direction it blew, it appeared to have but
little eflfect on tho movements of tho ice. When we have more accurate
information regarding the tides in Hudson's Strait, further light will
in all probability bo thrown on the movements of the ice.

After being in the ice for upwards of eight days, the Alert arrived at
Digges Island (where one of the observatories had been established) on
tho 2(ith July. This island, which forms a leading feature in the story
of Hudson's voyage, consists of bare hills of gneiss, rising to a height
of about 500 feet. The hills aro intersected by broad valleys, carpeted
with moss and coarse grass. The vegetation compares very unfavourably
with that of some of the small islands on which I have landed oflf Novaya
Zemlya, and which are in a much higher latitude. On the coasts of the
latter tho southern current warms the air and produces a comparatively
luxuriant flora, while the former is exposed to cold Arctic streams.

After leaving Digges Island the open water of Hudson's Bay was
reached, and from that time, with the exception of passing through
a few loose streams of broken-up stuff, no ice was seen. The Alert
dropped anchor in Churchill Harbour on tho 29th of July, without
encountering any further difficulties from tho enemy with which she
had been contending for ten days. From Churchill wo proceeded to
York Factory, where I left the ship, proceeding on to Winnipeg by
canoo.

On her return passage through Hudson Strait, the Alert revisited tho
different stations without experiencing any difficulties from the ice, and
having embarked tho observers and their attendants, she returned to
Halifax.

Tho result of all the experience, gathered from voyages during two
centuries, and from more recent observations at tho stations, is that

AS A NAVWAiiLE CHANNEL.

668

h a 8uccesBion
tho impressiou
which, having
i together into
winter. Many
a few of thorn
formed in tho
ountereil, had
;hick floes aro

[slands, which
rd and at the
ait, or at any
land. During
orally fine, the
lomo days tho
was from the
d to have but
more accurate
ther light will

ilert arrived at

Bstahlished) on

re in the story

ig to a height

Ueys, carpeted

unfavourably

ed oflf Novaya

coasts of the

comparatively

streams.

on's Bay was

sing throTigh

The Alert

uly, without

th which sho

proceeded to

Winnipeg by

revisited tho
n the ice, and
returned to

3S during two
tions, is that

Hudson's Strait is perfectly navigable and free from ice in August, and
later in tho season. It must be romeniben>d that this paNsage has been suc-
cessfully accomplished nearly every year for the lust two centuries, while
the vessels that have been emidoyed on the service have been ordinary
sailing ships, dependent entirely on wind and weather. It is very rare
indeed that they have failed to get through, and still mure rare that any
of them have been destroyed by the ice. It appears from the official
records of the Hudson's Bay Company that Moose Ftictory, on tho
southern shore of the bay, has been visited annually by a ship since
1735, with but one exception, namely in 1779, when tho vessel for onco
failed to achieve tho passage of the strait. The percentage of losses by
shipwreck among these vessels employed in Hudson's Bay is far less than
would have to bo recorded in a like number of ships engaged in general
ocean traffic. Since the keel of Hudson's good ship the Discovery
ploughed the waters of tho strait, the passage has been made over oOO
times, whilst the losses due to the ice might be summed up on the
fingers of one hand ; and some of these losses v/ere due to causes with
which the ice had nothing to do. For instance, tho recent loss of tho
Cam Oteen was in no way connected with the ice.

In conclusion, after reviewing the physical aspects of the region, and
the record of voyages, we must again call to mind the fact that the vessels
employed on Hudson's Bay service have hitherto been sailing ships.
Steam has now robbed ice navigation of many of its difficulties and
dangers, and it is only fair for us to assume that, with the appliances
that science has since revealed to us, wo can, in these days, achieve with
greater ease and celerity, and with more assured certainty, as much as
was accomplished by Hudson and Baffin, by Button and Luke Fox, in
their rude and poorly equipped fly-boats.

The vessel, however, to be employed on such a service, should bo
specially constructed to resist ordinary ice pressure, and should be
provided with power to be able to steam from 10 to 12 knots at least.
Wo in tho Alert were frequently detained for many consecutive hours at
a time, for want of power to propel the ship through loose streams of ice,
which an ordinary steamer would have had no difficulty in penetrating.
It is necessary that all vessels employed in ice navigation should be
strengthened, especially in the bows, not so much for the purpose of
resisting the pressure of the ice, if beset, as to repel tho severe blows
which must occasionally be inflicted by unavoidably striking unusually
heavy pieces, whilst threading their way through a stream of ice.

The case then can bo very briefly stated. If sailing ships have
annually taken tho furs, and other merchandise, of tho Hudson's Bay
Company through tho Strait for the last two centuries, a fortiori it may
be looked upon as certain tliat powerful steamers avIU be able to do the
same for the produce brought to the west coast of Hudson's Bay by a
railway from Winnipeg.

664

HUDSON'S BAY AND HUDSON'S STRAIT

Tbo establishment of now routes for conimorco is always .1^ gain to
the scionco of geography. In some cases new regions have to bo dis-
covered and explored. In others the physical aspects of an already
known region must bo more carefully studied, and many points of
interest relating to the action uf climate, or of winds and currents, may
be ascertained. The proposed Winnipeg and Hudson's Bay railroad is
a striking instance. The objections of opponents to tho route have had
to bo carefully examined. All former experience had to Ih) collected,
maturely considered, and passed in review. Observatories had to bo
established at several points, to mako certain whether the historical
records actually coincided with physical facts as they now exist. Tho
route itself had to bo sailed over and explored. All these various re-
searches have been as great a gain to geography as to commerce. Thoj'
have enriched our soienco with a fresh stock of information, have revised
previous conceptions, and confirmed or rejected, as tho case may be, the
theories and views which may have been put forward. From this point
of view, and from this point of view alone, can commercial or political
questions receive consideration here. The study of the Hudson's Bay
route involves a problem for which physical geography alono can
furnish a solution ; and on those legitimate grounds I have ventured
to submit it for tho consideration of tho meeting. My labours M-ill bo
mure than rewarded if I have succeeded in my endeavour to give a
now point of interest to a region which, though already well known, is
exceedingly interesting, and is on tho direct road to unknown parts of
the earth.

The follitwiiig discussiuii ensueil : —

Sir Charges TrppEii said he had listfiied to the paper with unqualified pleasure.
It was impossible to look at the map of North America without seeing liow vitally
important every question became that had a bearing upon the increase of facilities
for intercourse between Canada and the IJritish Islands. The American Consul,
Mr. Taylor, who has lived for more than twenty years at Winui[)eg, whose knowledge
of the country is not exceeded by tliat uf any other person in it, and who might be
assumed to speak in an entirely disinterested manner, had stated that of the re-
maining undeveloped wheat-fields in North America, three-fourths were to the north
of the boundary-line. During the last season Ifi.OOO.OOO bushels of grain were
produced in Manitoba and the North-west Territory. It was therefore manifest that
it was of the utmost importance to obtain the nearest and best route for disposing
of the produce. The chief outlet from that great granary was at present by means
of the Canadian I'aLific Railway, which ran from Vancouver dowu to Montreal and
Quebec, from whence the grain was taken by ocean steamers to England; but
another outlet was by the great inland navigation from the head of Lake Superior
to the Straits of Belle Isle. A line of communication vi.l Hudson Bay would bring
Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba, HOG miles nearer to this country than by tlie
route via New York. That fact gave immense importance to the investigations
which had been made in connection with the navigability of Hudson Bay. It was
jierfectly apparent that if the territory were only lialf developed it would tax
beyond their capacity all the resources of the Canadian Pacific Company, and also
the resources of an additional line of railway to Churchill. The Canadian Pacific

AS A NAVIGABLE CHANNEL- DISC USSION.

665

ire to bo dis-
■ an already
y points of
irrents, may
y railroad is
ito have had
1)0 collected,
eg had to bo
he historical
' exist. The
e various ro-
aorco. They
have revised
) may be, the
om this point
il or political
lud son's Bay
y alone can
ave ventured
bbours will be
)ur to give a
ell known, is
own parts of

|alificd pleasure.
ng liow vitally
iase of facilities
nerican Consul,
Ihose knowledge
who might be
Ithat of the re-
irc to the north
of grain were
le manifost that
|te for disposing
isent by means
Montreal and
England; but
Lake Superior
ly would bring
•y than by the
investigations
Bay. It was
it would tax
Ipany, and also
ladian Pacific

Company, which owned 14,000,000 acres of this groat wheat-field, would be only
too glad to SCO additional facilities afforded between that region and Europe. Under
these circumBtances, it was very gratifying to learn that Commodore Markhara was
able to add his personal testimony to the experience of those who had endeavoured
to open up that country, and to give so many reasons for entertaining the belief that
it might be found practicable to establish a comparatively safe route for the trade for
several months of the year. It was true that the ofHcers sent there by the Canadian
Government had not taken so sanguine a view, but Commodore Markham was a
higher authority than any one who had been employed there by the Oovernracnt.
If it could be demonstrated that for four or five months in the year a fairly safe
communication could be established by that line, he had no hesitation in saying
that the day was not far distant when a railway would bo made from Winnii)eg to
Fort Churchill. The Govorumcut of Canada had not only sent various ext^editions
to HudEon Bay for the purpose of testing its navigability, but they had obtained
from the Canadian Parliament 7,000,000 acres of land for subsidising and con-
structing a line of railway 700 miles long from Winnipeg to Fort Churchill.

Dr. Kae said he had made three voyages through Hudson's Strait in sailing
vessels. On the outward voyage, in the month of July, the ship was closely beset in
very heavy ice at the east end of the strait, near the Lower Savage Islands, for three
weeks, there being little or no open water to be seen from the masthead for nearly the
whole of that time. Tlie pack was of such large and level floes that two English
ladies, not accustomed to such work, frequently walked without difUculty from one
ship to the other — li miles apart — took lunch, and returned the same day. It was
similar ice to this that blocked up the Alert for about twenty days near the same
locality in 1885, and it was near the same place in May and June 1886 that the
whaling steamer Arctic, of Dundee, the finest vessel in the world for ice navigation,
was helplessly drifted about for eight or nine days in the ice-pack until released in
the strait near the Savage Islands, from which place it took this powerful vessel
thirty-eight ihiys to reach the western end of the strait at King's Cape, a distance of
about 500 miles, on the 10th July, having steamed along the north shore, which is
often the freest from ice. The floes met with were from 15 to 20 feet thick. lie
(Dr. Rae) brought forward the voyage of the Arctic, commanded by an able and
experienced whaling captain, because Commodore Markham had stated that the diffi-
culties met with by Lieutenant Gordon in passing through the strait were to be
accounted for by mismanagement or want of experience in ice navigation, and to the
defective steam power of i\\Q Alert, "which could steam only six knots an Iiour."
Lieutenant Gordon several times records in his log or journal that the Alert could
and did steam at the rate of eight knots. It is very evident that this, according to
Markham, slow little vessel and incompetent commander made quite as good progress
through the ice in the strait as the larger and far more powerful steamer Arctic, and
her well-known experienced commander in icy seas. The writer of the paper quotes
Dr. Bell as a distinguished and reliable authority in all matters relating to Hudson's
Bay and Strait. He (Dr. Rae) knew no one on whom ho could place less reliance on
these subjects, but he would only give two reasons, of many, why he entertained this
opinion. Dr. Bell, wishing to make it appear that the shores of Hudson's Bay are
well fitted for settlement, caused some tomatoes to be planted in a well-sheltered
corner, on the south exposure of the wooden walls of Moose Fort, and had the plants
carefully nursed and attended to, so that one or two sickly-looking tomatoes about
the size of walnuts were raised, which gave Dr. Bell an opportunity to write that
tomatoes grow and ripened in the open air at Moose ! He also stated that barley
grew and ripened well, whereas it ripened on an average one year in about five. With
the same object he took the temperature of the waters of the bay whilst in a boat
No. IX.— Sept. 1388.] 2 q

I

.«t.

'r. I

566 HUDSON.'S^^AY AND HUDSON'S STRAIT, ETC.— DISCUSSION.

close along the sbo^ where the sea was warmed by water from numerous rivere^
'•'licb; being fresh and at a higher temperature than the sea, floated on the surface,
and gave a temperatur& of about 53°, wliereas the real sea water at a few miles from
land is from 16° to 20° colder, as has been often proved, But Dr. Bell gave 53° as
the temperature of the »hple bay. Although Moose is about 15 miles south of
Greenwich, ice may be seen as late as August or September about 20 or 30 miles-
from that place iu the bay, which acts as a refrigerator to an immense extent of land,
which otherwise would be comparatively fertile. There is not the sligiitest'diffieulty
in navigating Hudson's Bay for five months in the year, nor in constructing a railway
from Winnipeg to its shores. The total obstruction lies in the strait.«, and in the
50,000 square miles of heavy ice that forms yearly in Fox's Channel, the whole or
greater part of which drifts down annually iinder various conditions and at uncertain
times from the middle of July to September or perhaps October, into thu we&t end
of the strait, blocking it up, and also the entrance to Hudson's Bay.* How could
Commodore Markhan, tell from his own small experience of eighteen or twenty days
in July, nine of which were occupied by the Ahrt steaming 250 miles, during which
one of the blades of the screw was broken by the ice, that the strait was navigable
i'or five months or more? It would be satisfactory to know on whose information
he relied, for he is repeating exactly what the promoters of the Hudson Bay route
said two or three years ago. Are promoters' statements always to be relied upon ?

Mr. W. Shelford said he had visited the salient points of the proi^sed
"Winnipeg and Hudson's Bay railway, and he had also sent out a surveying
expedition to Hudson's Bay, which, during the winter, travelled over 12C0 miles,
and made a complete survey of the line, showing its practicability. The ex-
pedition retuni,ed in the spring of 188*), and brought back the remains of its
baggage upon a sledge, which was exhibited with the dogs in the Colonial Ex-
hibition. The dogs, after doing their faithful work, were killed and stuffed.
The distance from Liverpool to Port Nelson was practically the same as to
Montreal and New York. All the eastern part of Canada was well provided with
railways and a magnificent inland navigation. Manitoba and the North-west
Territory were not in the same favourable position. It was a most fertile prairie
land, 900 miles in width, between Winnipeg and the Bocky Mountains. But that
district was cut off from the rest of Canada by a sterile region between Winnipeg
and Lake Superior, until the (/'anadian Pacific railway was made. 1'lie people in
Manitoba and the Xorth-west Territory had to look for a market for Ihtircorn, and
they naturally looked to Great Britain. At the present low price of wheat it was-
impossible for them to sell it in England unless it could bo transported cheaply, and
it was a matter of notoriety that tiie cheapest way of transporting corn was by water.
The Hudson's Hay railway would be but 300 miles in length. That \vould not
reach to Winnipeg, but it would run over the region between Lake Winnipeg audi
Hudson's Bay, and then the inland navigation, wliich had been used iur two
centuries by the Hudson's Bay Company, would be available fur the export of corn
from Manitoba. All the investigations which had been made by the Canadian

* The following arc compiled from the ice records kept at two stalioiis on the shore
of the strait: — Sei)tcniber and October 18S-1: ice heavy and close packed in btrait,
27 days; ici heavy and a little water in strait, 23 days; foggy, .5 days; strong gnlis and
snow, .) days. Four months, June, July, August, and Octobir ISS.'), three .-tations: ice
heavy and elosc packe<l, !I8 days; ice lieavy iin<l a little water seen, iVt diiys; foggy
G days; dense fog, 1 day. Two months, June and July 18SG, at three stations: ice
heavy and close, 4:' days ; ice lieavy and some wiiter, 42 days; foggy, 5 days; btrong
gule or hmricanes, 2 days; strong gale with thick suuw, 1 day.

/.-'

/

/

)N.

■ I.V

[nerous riversy.
in the surface,
:•*■ miles fVom
ill gave 53° as
nilcs south of

0 or 30 mile*
extent of land,
litest'diffieuUy
;ting a railway
its, and in the
I, the whole or
id at uncertain
3 thu we&t end
,* How could
or twenty days
1, during which
: was navigable
Dse information
json Bay route
relied upon ?

f the proiX)scd
at a surveying
i-er 12C0 miles,
ility. The cx-
reniains of its
e Colonial Ex-
d and stuffed.
10 same as to

1 provided with
he North-west
t fertile prairie
lins. Hut that

ecn Winnipeg
The people in
tluir corn, and

of \vh<at it was.
A cheaply, and

n was by water.
lilt \vould not
Winnipeg andi
used fur two.
.'xport of corn
tlic Canadian

L'(

THE EXPLOR.^TION AND SURVEV OF THE LITTLE ANDAMANS. 567

Government in the last three years, and all that Commodore Markhara ha.i said in
tlie ^per went to confirm what was written by a Committee of th» C'hritan
Parliament in 1884:- -"For more than 250 years sailors have counted ijpo» having
ifhinternipted navigation of from two and a half, to three months, and this without
modern charts^ without an accurate knowledge of these watfirs, without lighthouses,'
without a system of telegraphic communication, anvl without the aid of steapi."
Mr. C. S. i)EiTMMOND said that both Sir Charles Tupper and Mr. Shel(ord had
'tted one poiat wl>ich \vould probably dispose of the objection raised by Dr. Rae.
t %TSS not TiecesaaTy at ^'vesent to build a line 700 miles long. Some 275 miles
would britig the inland waters in connection with Hudson's Bay. The capital for
that would nccfc^'srily be small, and the ohc-t period that the navigation was open
would be suflicient to enable the railway to earn interest ^n its bonds and dividends
on its stock. He Vas disposed to think that the average of that period would bo
three months. Be had carefully estimated the cost of a railway, and he was con-
vinced that even two and a half months of open navigation would permit of its
becoming a paying investment. He had had a great deal to do with Hudson's Bay
officers, and he knew that their statements might always be taken without question.
Still they were not infallible. They wsre liable to make mistakes like other persons.
In 1880, at Winnipeg, the Chief Commissioner of the Company said to him, ** You
will never succeed, commercial!}', in growing wheat in Manitoba." Up to that time
vast areas were covered with water until late in the summer, the result of the early
June rains and the melting of the ice from the previous winter. However, the
Government constructed drains, the water is carried off, and there is now no diffi-
culty in growing the finest wheat in the world. On Lake Winnipeg this year a
steamer was crushed, but in a few hours another steamer took its place, and the
trade navigation was not interfered with.

s on the shore
ackcil in btinit,
strong giik'snnd
ree .-tiUicms: ice
fii iliiys; foggy
ree stntitJiiB: ice
5 (lays; srtrong