- p. I Me " ,* at. U F. I :: I, I’ uJu -a--- A TRIP TO MOOSE FACTORY. ft - A BACKGROUND INFORMATION UNIT ON THE FUR TRADE OF NORTH EASTERN ONTARIO. 1 I. D. E. PUGH. - -- inabie River Page 18 Northern Times Wednesday,-Septembcr 1, 1971 tilE -e to canoeists OF ASERIES BY D1LfP - the low-lying The Migginabie River pnivenitfi’’ reaches north. marsh and muskeg belt of the udied the Dnlnage j0ttreat in canoe Hudson Bay Lowlands. Flora and fauna this region Is still unorganized. BY thai he is writing a D.E. PUGH strawberries and blueberries of. his education- Lakes are myriad but are only few feet deep. Tributaries spread 0,2. PdW is a unfveni& stud fer delightful wilderness treats River, draining like ant who has shad/ed the amidst the lush growihof Ili:iie;is Is the prin- from the Missinaibi River north. cracks In shattered glass;but the with particular interest ha canoe ferns and wild grasses. The Ca- tjihultary of the muskeg. The routes, fore thesis he is writing noet±t will delight, too,lntbeco To-day it Is the creeks drain nearby river Itself Is wide and shallow, In furthering his education. lourful bright flowers of rnnryh the Moose River martgold, blue iris, -and jose tdsms eaxide- often flowing merely a few Ira- Blotic growth along the Missi- pa- ches deep over wide gravel beds nalbl River reflects the fertile honey suckle and asters. toe pulp and checkerboard-like Amidst this atuzc;-;rt vc-ta The River Is no- which sprout a aiy alluvial banks which are formation of numerous glacier well drained and sheltered. Ye lion, arn-al lue tt,rlvcs lire ‘topography; The canoeist and fox abound, Mink, bear,s sneer rocky gor deposited boulders. getatior. IS aa,nnst Cl a w* IUUSI be constantly alert for variety of plant life Is found. set and ohier occasionally iN heavily wooded here pear cautiously along the river grassy rocks in the numerous swifts and Tall plar, aspen and cedar sy cliffs, prepared to wade and cast shede upon the River’s banks, whilethe shallowand mud bars, bed rock should be streams of the Lu-lands are Paleo- track the canoe over shoals. MU sttlleenkile hefl dy ,aleld and of the bfrch contrasts sharply filled with the mu: .u stick hou ‘lmstones - - - ses beaver. The ijiim-lsc the new MIsslnaO,i River with the dark green of black of ta maw reacts the As s;ruce. Thick bushes of wild tam Goose nests along thu n- ear from ChIPlean to Irflched Its route northward, It began its to seaward over raspberries, currants and goose dy banks of the Lower Missinal u Lake Provincial Park, drop berries as well as woodland hi and waddles the shores wIIh HIghway 11 to Mattice, aesierc,s elongated rapids and Its brood. Most exciting is the access to the River Is S occasional waterfall. North frequent appearance of the ma- c@S canadian Pacific I Mattice an escarpment was lestic moose, either the bull with to Iøssirmb1,c tip nched. fore, lndeepgeologlcal Its Immense antlers, or a cow %atlonal Baliway to Po kalts, the River plunged ra glaardlng her calves. nd cii the Canadian Na ‘Idly down in a cascade of foam Nearly 60 bIrd tyiws imtc,l,lt sntnl route to e and thundering falls. For the the Miss!nibl area. llilrty-osrn return trip Is by aeist this section to-day pro var.ciivs of song birds provide Narthiani Hallway idea the most Interesting and a mpe.or.y of music while the Cressing or bellenging canoeing. River Mlsslnaibi spine-tinlLg, weird yodels and me only supply base t Long Portage the Wemulo cries of the loon echoes French Canadian vii- s through the evening dusk iii silent Withtwohotels. RAT shores. Ducks abound. lIlSiijiS grocery store, and nest along the shore, gnldeiscye village Is an excel dive for aquatic plants and cr point. gansers or fish ducks bob * * for their food. On arecky wlandl,400 The Missinaibi Itiver is, In ea lIve?, btls,iaaftit many locations, virgin os:iiig rtoundeO by a won, ground. Inaccessible and too shoreline of ma; rocky for seaplanes, waileyr have xnown to accumulated unhindered in grc:,t ui-ian ileld. Cm numbers below rapids and falls pccasionswithlnthe and at the entrances olcoi water ears, these rocks tributaries. Northernpike ii iniie aauJded, sculptured size lurk amidst weedy bays and by iAasslverasp-iIke on river shoals. Ich bandosed south- the last glacier re .lt watersturned the of the Mlssinalbl immense lake. This iter slowly drained but left behind 30 tt of fertile clay soil, tbkk soft fertIle man ciag that the canoeist seat the River Igob. LAST OF ASERIES , -. ,snnItS The Missinabie River The Missinaibi . pulp industry i * 11w trade artery BY G.E. PUGH are U, able is BY fair. Pugh is a university stud- Ca 1. PUGH ee,t who has sf’ariicd the north, DI. i’uh is a university shad- k 1825 with the growing with perticutor interest in canoe eat who boa studied the north, parctty of beaver, the North routes, for o thesis he is wntirsg w2/a portkeatar interest hi canoe Wtst Company coalesced with - - in fon/eedng his education, mutes, j’r,r a thesis he is waling tS Hudson flay Company. Bran- - The decline of fur trading was - ii, jut tire ri/of his education. nick Post oil Brunswick lake inralleled with the rise of lcd- *111’ only 02,1 miles Sa-paratig - activity along the upper - tafl maintained, however. In the I - ustrial It &sperior fropa - - Moose early 1810’s the Hudson Bay Ce Missinaibi River, A gold rush F.etai’ along the Miasmaibi and ny befit a new Brtnswfck at Wa’ea in 1897 stImulated tclaipicoeru Rivers, these Post located on Misainaibi take. interest in the region, partic testes early became prime *3 Brunswick Pont was closed ularly in the concept of a rail 3 fltei son of the tIer trade. French 1279 although thepostnsused way along the River to Moose traders em the late Icon’s pad as a farm until the mid 1380’s Factory. dkd spaIn-sealed ala often leaky By 1900 little rernaie,edolthe post In 110-5 Treaty Number 9 placed tdr’rh bark canoes op rue Macb- hit squared logs and a wild the Cree and Ojibasy of the - Wcoten Ill-vet to Masiasnibi Lake otden Missiejaibi art a reservation at I-c iratrrrt-;t I c silent Creche-tog- With the completion of the Missiesaibi Lake. A scarcity of - -e W their heaver skins down diaa Padilic HaiI-nyinl885, beaver by 1925 led to the dec S atream to Moose Fort, This Hod *lthalbi Post prospered and an ision to create a game preserve pa tIny Catoçeuny Cur trading Allcan church was constructed at Missinaibi Lake. Thereserva was established ire 1673, tbere in 1900. Rowever, the cr55- tion was purchased and the band b tell to the French in 1036 Irwetion of the CanadianNorthern was eventually re-established on sad was burned in Illit Never- - trdvay In 1912-Il led to the Mount Batten township in 1946, tte’ess ii was rebuilt in the tttabtislslflcret of a new tiost at I’ In 1920 gold traces were din- 1730’s nor! by the 1?70’s vigorous covered along the south western competition was Oceuring 1*1w- Peterbell in place of Missinaibi corner of Missirtaibi Lake and eta ‘ Poldiars’’, as the fur trad- Post. A second post was also ligoite and silica sands were n from Montreal were called, - constructed at Mattice on the being examined along the lower and the rica! Eeircpoaeas of the Canadian National Railway bat Missisaibi River at Creenlsill 114’ree It’ Company. V’ post was closed Lit the early River and Coal Creek, The gold A dwindling supply of "Made 1920’& But for lIe gravestones was mined at Remabie from the Beaver" reaching Moose Fort of early voyageurs, deeply em 1940’s to the 1960’s andthesilica 4 - - fitted tic ihnlse,n Easy Company bedded portages, rotting timbers sands are still being explored Ia 05,/late the irbexi rivers. In of the cli lasts, and occasional and tested by the Algoma Ckstral 17% an English surveyor, John relics exenaplilied rusted by flint -- Railway. Hydro- Electric devel Darner, tr.evetled aridmapped out locks, copger kettles and clay optnents are now being contem tS Missiurretei River. Ills survey pipes, little remains oX the early plated at Thunder House Falls ted to rh ea,-traLtterneot of Wap-’ trading period. and Long Rapids. ssr*qaresy House, The house was r At present, the chief industry - ser,T-i -lcd in InS arid was later Missinaibi Riverispuip alarnr’d arid fortified. along the 1:1: and paper cutting. Sincethel92o’s hi the Peddlars united to Missinseibi lake and the river balm ll,e-l,orth Worst Companyand to Peterbell have been cut over. became a elaeigr-rcus competitive * A sawmill was originally erected rival So the Ileadson hay Company, - at Peeerbcll in 1925. In 1951 adam Ctaequeutly in 1738 the R,B.C. * was coiestructcd at the north end ceded a post at Brunswick lake. of Missinaibl lAke and a number WapLserrameay House was subse - of lumber camps were estab qietatly cisc-rd ii 579!, along tie river to Peter-. The Ii lyo/eta hi River let these lished - bell. Peterbel Itself was the" years tx-crime the centre of a nucleus of the pulp cutting with - flerre, I-naSty Ncmrfla West Co 1 40 buildings, a sawmill, school- - *-s... rasny x.sIs were established house and Hudson Bay Co.