REPORT OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION 



III. Suitable Area for the Experiment 



I am assuming that the Government of Canada is about to experiment 

 on a large scale in the breeding and development of reindeer somewhere in the 

 northern latitudes of this Dominion. I, of course, am not an authority on the 

 conditions existing in Baffin Land, the west coasts of Hudson bay or the Mac- 

 Kenzie river district, but I do know the territory in which, and the people 

 among w^hom, I have lived for nearly three decades. In the first place the great 

 inland reaches of barren lands that stretch from off the coast of Hudson's bay 

 clear across the Ungava peninsula to the Labrador have in time past been the 

 feeding grounds for hundreds of thousands of wild caribou, an animal closely 

 allied to the Siberian reindeer. Indians and Esquimaux with whom I am familiar, 

 and who are perfectly reliable, have told me that some forty years ago that 

 country was literally alive with caribou. They speak of the hoof beats of these 

 vast migrating herds as the rumble of distant thunder. Trails leading to water- 

 ing places are still plainly visible, and written documents of traders and hunters, 

 two of which were copied by the reporter at our meeting on the 8th instant, 

 corroborate the testimony of the natives and the evidences of the senses. These 

 animals suddenly disappeared and the cause is still more or less of a conjecture. 

 Some think it was an epidemic of disease. Others think it was a forest fire to 

 the south whither the deer came to feed upon the foliage in summer. Whatever 

 the cause, for many years they have never returned. The food remains. The 

 climate has not changed. Where the caribou once thrived in numberless abund- 

 ance, the reindeer may reasonably be expected to flourish. 



In the next place, the native Esquimaux could soon be taught to herd and 

 develop the reindeer. These people are particularly intelligent, quick to learn, 

 ambitious to better their position. I refer to those who have come under the 

 influence of Christian civilization. The Esquimaux in my district can be depended 

 upon absolutely to do what is expected of them under my authority. 



Further, the feeding grounds are removed from the vicinity of native dogs, 

 poachers or sportsmen, a menace which I understand was the cause of great loss 

 to the Grenfell experiment. There are now but very few wolves in that area 

 although, I suppose, they are liable to come when the reindeer appear. In that 

 respect it might share this nuisance with other places. 



Finally, while the territory I speak of is isolated up to a certain point, it is 

 fairly accessible to the railway at Cochrane in the south, and by water through 

 the straits to the north. 



There are many aspects of this subject that form interesting points of dis- 

 cussion, but they cannot be dealt with here. May I just say in conclusion that 

 the development of important mineral resources in that territory may come at 

 no distant date, and the adequate and successful development of the reindeer 

 may hasten the development of many valuable commercial enterprises. 



Yours faithfully, 



(Sgd.) REV. W. G. WALTON, 



Care The Missionary Society of the Church of 

 England in Canada. 

 131 Confederation Life Bldg., 

 Toronto, Ont. 



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