To Demonstrate if a Reservoir Exists 



The company recognizes, however, that all that can be 

 accomplished as a result of this heavy expenditure is 

 simply to demonstrate whether or not there exists in that 

 country a reservoir of oil which may become available 

 many years hence, when oil is much scarcer and its price 

 much higher than to-day; for it is obvious that to 

 make oil from this field accessible to the world's market 

 would necessitate the outlay of many millions of dollars 

 to cover the cost of constructing a pipe line to tide water. 

 Incidentally, the establishment of such transportation 

 facilities would lead to the opening up of a country two 

 thousand miles long, with resources in timber possibilities 

 and in minerals, and with a wealth of fishing ground and 

 agricultural areas which, together with the oil industry, 

 would sustain a large population and extend the map of 

 organized Canada far to the north as well as east and west. 



In addition to drilling and camp equipment, com- 

 missariat, river craft, and all the necessities for the main- 

 tenance of life in the Arctic latitudes, the administrators 

 of these northern expeditions acquired two all-steel 

 monoplanes of the most modern design, of powerful lifting 

 capacity and of great speed. The purpose of these mono- 

 planes was the mapping of geological structures, the rapid 

 conveyance of operators, and the locating of any areas 

 which might be proven by the drilling operations. As in 

 many other aspects of our venture in the northern latitudes, 

 the operation of these monoplanes necessitated the estab- 

 lishment of many precedents. It was impossible, for 

 instance, to send men ahead of the 'planes to prepare 

 landing places, and so the wheels were removed from the 

 machines and pontoons prepared for landing on the broad 

 waters of the northern rivers, and skis for landing when 

 these waters were frozen over. 



Operations on Prairie and Foothills 



I will not attempt to describe our activities at each 

 individual location, but will illustrate the operations on 

 the prairie and foothills areas by relating the experience 

 at one location, the Czar well. Our several locations are 

 proving a very large area, being situated at widely diver- 

 gent points, extending from the Montana boundary to 

 the Arctic Circle. In addition to the Fort Norman oper- 

 ations, there are three locations in western and southern 

 Saskatchewan, four in eastern and central Alberta, four 

 in the foothills of the Rockies south of Calgary, one in the 

 foothills west of Edmonton and one at Pouce Coupe south 

 of the Peace river, on the boundary between Alberta and 

 British Columbia. 



By October 1st of last year our drilling department had 

 accounted for approximately five miles of test hole. Of 

 I his total, 13,584 feet were drilled during the nine months 

 of the 1921 season. 



The nature of the formations in the prairies and the 

 foothills is such as to render drilling in that territory as 

 difficult as any in the world. This necessitates starting 

 with a sufficiently large hole to permit the use of 20 in. 

 heavy casing. When this is carried as far as possible a 

 smaller size is inserted, which in turn is followed by still 

 smaller casing, and so on until the hole is usually finished 

 up at a depth of from three to four thousand feet with 6 in. 

 casing. Owing to the fact that the country rock is largely 

 soft shale, it is necessary to carry the pipe with the drill, 

 as in very rare instances only is it possible to drill with an 

 open hole without the caving shales sticking to the tools. 

 In one instance we had a fishing job at 2,860 feet, which 

 lasted for eight months and was finally abandoned. 



Despite the amount of capital which has been invested 

 and the successful solution of the many engineering and 

 drilling problems which have been encountered the com- 

 pany has not been so fortunate, up to the present time, as 

 to develop a commercial production of crude oil. In the 

 Fort Norman No. 1 well we obtained a small production, 

 which only demonstrates the fact that oil exists in that 

 region. Under more favorable conditions, at some other 

 location in that territory, we hope to obtain a larger 

 production, but time only can justify this prophecy. 



In summing up our experience, I can only say that we 

 are disappointedbut not discouraged; and we are going on 

 in the hope that we may some day feel that we have con- 

 tributed to making Canada independent in its resources 

 of a commodity of vital importance. 



Inland Fisheries of the North-West 



The inland fisheries of the Canadian Prairie Provinces 

 and the Yukon accounted in 1921 for a catch valued at 

 $1,713,827. Of this total the province of Manitoba was 

 responsible for $1,032,963; Alberta for $408,868; Saskatche- 

 wan $243,018; and the Yukon $28,978. Almost the entire 

 catch was made up of whitefish, which alone had a market 

 value of $1,011,829. The value of the inland fisheries of 

 the Western Provinces shows a decrease of $394,430, or 

 eighteen per cent when compared with that of the previous 

 year, which is, however, explained in the sharp decline in 

 prices which the year witnessed. Uniformly the inland 

 fisheries experienced a very prosperous year and substantial 

 progress was made in many phases of what is largely a 

 new Canadian commercial enterprise. 



In Manitoba there are 19,894 square miles of inland 

 lakes; in Saskatchewan 8,329 square miles; in Alberta 

 2,360 square miles; and in the Yukon and North-West 

 Territories 629 square miles. The total of 31,232 square 

 miles of water has, from the beginning of time, been a 

 resource of tremendous potential value in its content of 

 whitefish, pickerel, pike, salmon, trout, and other fish, 

 which, though they have only of recent years come under 

 commercial exploitation, have had a long and important 

 local value. Whitefish has always figured in the records 

 of the Canadian North-West as a reliable food supply in 

 summer and winter and it has played its part in the fur 

 trade. Whitefish was the food of the hunter, trader, and 

 trapper in the Northern wilds, as well as that of their dog 

 teams. When supplies have been wrecked in the hazard- 

 ous methods of transport in those regions, existence would 

 have been precarious save for the sustenence provided 

 by the prolific waters. 



Systematic Commercialization 



In recent years, however, a systematic commercial- 

 ization of the great lakes has been undertaken with the 

 most gratifying results. In a surprisingly short space of 

 time fishing enterprises, on well organized bases, have been 

 established on many of the northern lakes to take their 

 toll of the waters. Collecting stations and chilling rooms 

 are located at points on the expansive bodies and motor 

 launches utilized to connect them and gather the daily 

 catch in central points for further transport. Fishing is 

 carried on slimmer and winter, though the great part of the 

 annual catch is taken before the ice covers the waters. 

 Transport to the nearest railway point is effected by wagons, 

 and in the winter by means of sleighs over the ice. 



Operations on many of these lakes are on no mean 

 scale and considerable capital, amounting to nearly three- 

 quarters of a million dollars, is invested in boats, gear, 

 ice-houses, fish-sheds, and wharves. At the last return of 

 the fishing fleet of the Prairie Provinces, there were 11 

 steam tugs, 81 gasoline boats and 1,905 sail boats and skiffs 

 engaged on the inland waters of the three provinces. The 

 catch on Buffalo Lake alone, in Northern Alberta, for one 

 winter, by about a hundred men, exceeds half a million 

 pounds. That on Lake La Biche is about the same, 

 whilst that of Lesser Slave Lake totals three times this 

 amount. The catch of Lakes Manitona, Winnipeg, and 

 Winnipegosis in Manitoba aggregates about two million 

 pounds for the season. 



Now Vieinft with Sea Catch 



The great favor with which the product of the western 

 lakes has been received and the rapidity with which 

 markets have been developed over an extensive area has 

 been truly remarkable. This is now vicing with the sea 

 fish catch of both coasts not only in the Canadian interior 

 and eastern areas but in the American markets. A 



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