THE CANADIAN WEST MCINTYRE V THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES /?0y Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from Microsoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/canadianwestgeogOOmciniala MORAN&S PROVINCIAL GEOGRAPHIES THE CANADIAN WEST A GEOGRAPHY OF MANITOBA AND THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORIES BY ALEXANDER McINTYRE, B.A. VICE-PRINCIPAL NORMAL SCHOOL, WINNIPEG Authorised by the Advisory Boardfor use in Manitoba TORONTO MORANG & CO., LIMITED 1904 Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year Nineteen Hundred and Four, hy Morang & Co., Limited, at the Department of Agriculture. F l Ob?* PREFACE As far as it has been found possible, the geography of Western Canada as outlined in this little work has been treated from an inductive standpoint, based on the as- sumption that those who study the " home region " have a fair knowledge of the " earth as a whole " and the "continents." While this is in no way a picture-book, an effort has been made to assist the child to grasp a broad and strong picture of the country by presenting a series of related topics rather than a great number of uninteresting and unrelated facts. The illustrations have been chosen and the maps prepared with the purpose of assisting in the understanding of the text. Each chapter, or lesson, is followed by a number of questions carefully selected. These make a desirable review of the topic. They also invite the student to inquire into geographical facts outside the text, and thus prepare for the more practical geography when the school days shall have ended. Considerable space has been given climate and life, topics our pupils are usually very ignorant of. It is not enough to-day, when our woods and our wild animals are v 66000S ; yi PREFACE disappearing, to say merely that the wild animals of Mani- toba and the North-West Territories are the deer, the bear, and the wolf. These are the days when nature study should be in evidence in such natural history as geography finds necessary to use for its own purposes. Special attention has also been paid to the industries of the country, as it is felt that the boys and girls of to-day should be thoroughly familiar with the conditions as they now exist, and should be able to give a reason for their faith in the future of the home land. It is to be hoped that this book may be found to pos- sess a value of its own apart from any use that may be made of it as a school text-book and as a volume supple- mentary to " Our Earth as a Whole." The author has to acknowledge very valuable assist- ance received from Dr. James Bain, Chief Librarian of the city of Toronto; from Mr. C. C. Chipman, Chief Commissioner of the Hudson's Bay Company, Winnipeg from Mr. James A. Smart, Deputy Minister of the In- terior, Ottawa; from Mr. Frank Pedley, Deputy Super- intendent-General of Indian Affairs, Ottawa; from Mr. J. D. Scott, Superintendent of Immigration, Ottawa; from Mr. E. Deville, Surveyor General of Dominion Lands, Ottawa; from Mr. James White, Geographer of the Interior Department, Ottawa ; from Dr. Robert Bell, Director of the Geological Survey, Ottawa; from Mr. Percy H. Selwyn, Secretary of the Geological Survey, Ottawa; from Mr. W. F. McCreary, M.P., Winnipeg; ; PREFACE Vil from Mr. J. R. C. Honeyman, Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture, Regina ; from Mr. James Hartney, Agent of the Manitoba Government, Toronto; from Mr. George Atkinson, Naturalist, Winnipeg ; and from the officials of the various towns and villages throughout the West who have kindly furnished him with information asked for. Both author and publishers are indebted for permission to use illustrations to Mr. C. W. Mathers, Photographer, Edmonton, whose beautiful booklet, "The Far North," has been of the greatest assistance in the preparation of this book; to William Notman & Sons, Photographers, Montreal ; to Steele & Co., Photographers, Winnipeg ; to Mr. R. H. McDuffie, Raymond; to Mr. W. J. James, Photographer, Prince Albert ; to Mr. W. M. Van Val- kenberg, Regina ; to the Nor' West Farmer, Winnipeg to the Farmer's Advocate, London ; and to the officials of the Hudson's Bay Company, Winnipeg. CONTENTS PAGE I. The Home Land 1 II. The Hunter of the Plains 4 IH. The Mound-builders 12 IV. The People of the Northland .... 16 V. The Fur Trader 25 VI. Surface and Drainage 31 VII. Climate .71 VIII. How the Prairie Soil was made .... 88 IX. The Surveyor 101 X. Making the Settlement 108 XI. Plant Life 115 XII. Wild Animal Life 123 XIII. Bird Life 134 XIV. Industries 144 XV. How our Products are carried .... 176 XVI. Cities and Towns in Manitoba .... 187 XVII. Cities and Towns in the North-West Terri- tories 197 XVIII. The People 209 XIX. Government 217 ix X CONTENTS Appendix : PAG « A. Comparative Land Areas 223 B. The Indians 224 C. The Fur Trade 224 D. Area of Lakes, Hudson Bay, and Spruce Woods . 225 E. Temperature, Rainfall, and Snowfall .... 226 F. Land Regulations 227 G. The Grain Crop in the Canadian West and Other Countries 228 H. Farm Stock 230 1. Dairy Products 230 J. Production of Coal in Manitoba and the North-West Territories 231 K. Yield of Gold in Saskatchewan Sands .... 231 L. The Fisheries 231 M. Value of Goods imported and exported . 232 N. Railways in the Canadian West 233 O. Statistics of People, Cities, Towns, Villages, etc. 234 P. Key to Bird-cut on page 139 (Fig. 93) . 238 Q. Names and their Histories 239 Index 247 ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS FIG. PAGE 1. Ploughing Scrub-land on the Western Prairie . Frontispiece 2. Map of the Dominion of Canada. (Double page) . preceding 1 3. The Indian of To-day 4 4. Indians landing on the Shore of Great Slave Lake ... 5 5. Hunting the Buffalo 6 6. Indians on Horseback 7 7. Making a Portage 9 8. Map showing Location of Indian Reserves .... 10 9. An Indian Industrial School 10 10. Mounds 12 11. Soapstone Pipe found in a Mound 13 12. Arrow-heads, Pipes, and Ornaments found in a Mound . 14 13. Eskimo Family 16 14. The Walrus or Whale-horse 17 15. Eskimos in their Kayaks 19 16. Hunting the Hooded Seal 20 17. The Eskimo Dog or Husky 22 18. Hudson's Bay Company Posts in the Far North ... 24 19. Trappers in the Woods of the Far North 26 20. Fur Traders on their Way to the Northern Posts ... 27 21. Sir Alexander Mackenzie 28 22. Missionary visiting the Indians 29 23. Map of North America, showing Location of the Central Plain . 31 24. Map showing Prairie Levels 33 25. Macgregor, a Typical Village on the First Prairie Level . 35 26. Birtle, a Typical Village on the Second Prairie Level . 35 27. Relief Map of Manitoba, Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. (Double page) following 36 28. A Rapid on the Winnipeg River 37 29. (1) Summer Residence on Big Island, Lake Winnipeg. (2) One of the Many Beautiful Wooded Islands in Lake Winnipeg . 39 . Xll ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS FIG. PACK 30. Scenes along the Shores of Lake Winnipeg . .41 31. Map of the Manitoba Lakes 42 32. Weathered Rocks in the Cypress Hills 44 33. Profile Map of the Three Prairie Levels 47 34. Scenes along the Banks of the Saskatchewan River ... 49 35. The Banks of the Saskatchewan River at Edmonton . 51 36. The Tramway at the Grand Rapids of the Saskatchewan . 52 37. Rapids on the North Fork of the High River in Southern Alberta 53 38. An Irrigation Canal in Southern Alberta 54 39. The Plateau Country of the Cypress Hills and Wood Mountain 56 40. The Peace River Country 58 41. Map of the Mackenzie River Basin 59 42. The Basin of the Mackenzie River 60 43. (1) Towing Scows on the Athabaska. (2) Grand Rapids on the Athabaska 61 44. Scenes on the Hanbury River, North-east of Great Slave Lake . 64 45. (1) A Rapid on the Slave River. (2) The Ramparts of the Mackenzie River 66 46. A Scene on the Churchill River 68 47. A Snow-capped Mountain . 71 48. Cut showing Distribution of Heat ...... 73 49. Cut showing Distribution of Heat 73 50. Climate Map 74 51 Cut showing Rarety of Air 76 52. Cut showing Action of Hot and Cold Air 78 53. A Pleasant Summer Scene in Northern Alberta ... 82 54. The Midnight Sun 85 55. A Section of the Earth's Surface . .89 56. The Stony Bed of a Summer Stream in Northern Alberta . 91 57. Action of Stream on Stones 92 58. A Scratched Boulder 93 59. (1) A Boulder on the Shore of Lake Winnipeg. (2) A Boulder on the Plain in Southern Alberta 94 60. Section of a Glacier entering the Sea and .breaking into Icebergs 95 61. The Great Glacier of the Selkirk Mountains .... 96 62. Section of a Glacier on Mountainside 97 63. Map showing Area covered by the Great Ice-sheet ... 98 64. Township Plans 102 65. A Section Post 104 ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS Xlll no. 66. Correction Lines 67. The First Summer on the Prairie 68. Breaking the Prairie . 69. The Log-honse on the Homestead 70. A Modern Prairie Home . 71. Vegetables grown near Edmonton 72. Fruit grown near Nelson, Manitoba 73. Spruce Forest near Prince Albert 74. Planting the Seed of the Ash-leaved Maple at the Brandon Experimental Farm 75. (1) The Residence of the Director of the Indian Head Experi mental Fann. (2) The Same House Five Years Later 76.