The Hudson's Bay Route Opposed. 



521 



Almost every word, so to speak, of the above is false. Turn to 

 page 247 and read from the table entitled " Meteorological Obser- 

 vations, Hudson Strait, Outgoing Voyage." This table is accurately 

 compiled from the official observation book. The record for the 

 days mentioned is as follows : — 



In the first place, it will be seen that there was not a gale during 

 the whole of the five days mentioned. There were three brief snow- 

 storms, and several showers of rain. As to the " sea being filled with 

 ice," that is incorrect also. There was ice on the north side and also 

 on the south shore, but in either case it did not extend more than 

 fifteen miles seaward, while in the centre of the Strait a channel 

 more than forty miles wide was entirely free and open. 



But I can only stop to refer to a few of the bold misrepre- 

 sentations of this editorial. It is stated that : — 



The experiences of the home journey did not apparently increase 

 Lieutenant Gordon's knowledge of the Strait, though he learned to his cost 

 that there are hundreds of sunken rocks and small islands unnoted in the 

 charts. 



This is a downright untruth. There is not a stretch of inter- 

 continental navigation in the world of one thousand miles in length 



