1923-23 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS 87 



Appendix No. 33 

 Traverse of Moose River, District of Cochrane 



Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., December 7th, 1923. 



Sir, — Under instructions from you, dated April 5th, 1923, to survey the 

 Moose River from the confluence of the Mattagami and Missinabi Rivers 

 down stream to Moose Factory and beyond to the mouth of the river, I com- 

 menced organizing for this work May 5th, 1923, and proceeded to Clute via 

 Cochrane. At Clute I bought supplies, etc., and had it teamed to the landing 

 on Frederick House River and left May 13th, en route for Moose River via 

 Frederick House and Abitibi Rivers. 



The trip to Moose River passed off without mishap of any kind. It took 

 considerable time to make the trip. Being heavily loaded I could not take 

 the full loads on some parts of the river. 



Having barely enough supplies when I landed at Moose River to make 

 the survey, I found it necessary to work from "fly-camps", leaving the cook 

 and one man at the main camp, and about every three or four days, he supplying 

 us with bread, etc. The "fly-camp" was picked up each morning, carried 

 in two canoes while surveying, and pitched again towards evening. I find 

 this to be the most effective method of surveying a large river or lake. 



I finished the survey with quite enough supplies to make the trip out, 

 which took more time than usual, on account of the water in the rivers being 

 very low. 



The Moose River traverses through banks of clay from ten to thirty feet 

 high and is swift and rapid, particularly from its source to the French River. 



During the survey of the upper part of the river, rapids were not noticeable 

 at high water stage, but the current is fast and heavy, so much so, that lining 

 or poling up stream, with even light loads, is the only way good progress can be 

 made. 



The river has a quick "run-off" and with the exception of a few places 

 is shallow for the greater part of the width at low water stages. 



The river bed from its source to within seven miles of Moose Factory, 

 is principally limestone, or limestone covered with clay, gravel and boulders. 

 Great stretches of limestone and gravel bars will be found, reaching as far 

 out as ten chains from either bank of the river throughout its entire length. 



The islands of the river are generally high and made lip principally of 

 clay soil suitable for agricultural purposes, and sparsely timbered with poplar 

 and birch, some balsam and spruce. 



The up stream end of the majority of islands are high with almost sheer 

 cut banks having been annually torn away by spring floods carrying high 

 floats of ice at a great speed, and at the same time depositing high boulders 

 weighing almost a ton, I have seen, when the river got low, long wide gravel 

 shoals show up, the well defined tract of these boulders made during spring 

 floods, which gives the instance of how turbulent these great rivers are during 

 high water period. 



The Moose River forms a basin for three of the largest rivers in this section 

 of the north, viz: the Abitibi, Missinabi and the Mattagami, besides numerous 

 other smaller rivers and creeks, as the French, Cheepasch and Kwaataboahegan 

 rivers. 



