Commercial Importance of Hudson's Bay. 497 



both cases is the impossibility of getting into harbours. A harbour 

 such as that of Churchill on Hudson's Bay would have the advant- 

 age over that of Quebec or Montreal of communicating directly with 

 the open sea, and hence, in the autumn, vessels would not be liable 

 to be frozen in, as occasionally happens in the St. Lawrence, as for 

 example in the autumn just passed; and also in the autumn of 1870, 

 when the outward-bound shipping got frozen in below Quebec, 

 occasioning a loss, it was said of over a million of dollars. Again, 

 in the spring there would probably be less uncertainty about enter- 

 ing from sea than in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where vexatious 

 delays are not uncommon after the open season is supposed to have 

 arrived. 



" There has been some discussion as to the length of time durino- 

 which Hudson's Strait and Bay might be navigated each year, but 

 there does not seem to be much evidence that the Strait, any more 

 than the Bay, is closed at any season. Its great width, depth, and 

 the strength of the tides probably keep it open all winter. My own 

 experience and that of many others lead me to believe that the 

 climate generally of Hudson's Bay is much better than some writers 

 have represented it to be. From all that I could learn or observe, 

 it appears that the Strait and Bay may be navigated and the land 

 approached by steamers during an average of four and a-half months 

 each year, or from the middle of June to the end of October. The 

 Strait and Bay could probably be navigated by steam- vessels earlier 

 than the middle of June. Much has been recorded in favour of the 

 above opinion from the days of the Danish Captain John Monck, 

 who wintered at Churchill in 1619-20, to the present time; and 

 other evidence, which is not to be found in the books, leads me to 

 the same conclusion. Churchill Harbour does not freeze up until 

 the end of November, and the sea is open close to it during the 

 whole winter. 



" I have a record of the principal phenomena of the seasons at 

 Martin Falls, on the Albany, extending through a period of fifty 

 years, and from it I find that the river is open there on an average 

 of six months of the year. I have also a record of the dates of the 

 opening and closing of Hayes River at York Factory, extending 



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