NAVIGATION 285 



might be carried .on with the natives frequenting the shores of 

 the bay. This trade from its nature never required a large fleet 

 of ships in its carrying trade, but since 1668 the company have 

 sent annually one or more ships to supply its posts, and to bring- 

 back the valuable furs obtained from the inhabitants ; and it is 

 remarkable that with the imperfect charts of its waters so few 

 ships have been lost in the last two hundred and fifty years; 

 of these only a small number have met with disaster from 

 contact with the ice in the bay or strait. From the time of the 

 Treaty of Utrecht to the transfer of the lands of the Hudson's 

 Bay Company to the Dominion, the bay and strait were a closed 

 sea belonging exclusively to the Company, and other ships 

 entered these waters unlawfully, and navigation by outsiders 

 was practically prohibited there. The American whalers visited 

 the northern portions of the bay as early as 1860, and within 

 a few years their number had increased to fourteen ships win- 

 tering in its northern waters. As these vessels did not directly 

 interfere with the fur trade they were left undisturbed, and are 

 only mentioned here to sjiow that other ships besides those of 

 the Hudson's Bay Company have for a considerable period been 

 navigating the bay, but being intent upon a paying enterprise 

 did not herald their achievements to the public. 



The Dominion Government, in 1885-86, sent out steamers 

 under Commander Gordon to test the period of navigation of 

 Hudson strait, and at the same time established observation 

 stations along the length of the strait, where the action of the 

 ice was studied during these two years. Commander Gordon 

 reported that the strait was open for three or four months for 

 navigation by specially constructed ships. In 1897 a second 

 expedition was sent out under the charge of Commander 

 Wakeham, who was accompanied by Mr. Fisher, a representa- 

 tive of the Manitoba government. Both reported on the naviga- 

 tion of the strait and bay, and practically upheld all the 

 statements of Commander Gordon. 



