64 REPORT OF THE No. 3 



7 Axemen, 



7 Packers on line, 



6 Packers with Canoes. 



This distribution varied considerably as the work progressed. Three of 

 these men were Indians from Pine Ridge Post, and left me at Goose Lake. 

 In going out they took two canoes and some provisions to cache for me at 

 Pekangekum, I took on two new men at this point. From Goose Lake on- 

 wards I kept only three men with the canoes. In fact, after the first twenty 

 miles of my work, I managed to keep at least seven men chopping on the line. 



I feel that I should mention the splendid quality of the provisions which 

 I obtained from the Wholesale Department of the Hudson Bay Company at 

 Winnipeg, and the excellent way in which they were packed for survey work. 

 We did not lose an ounce of provisions from any cause during the whole course 

 of the survey. 



The Indians in the Pekangekum Indian Reserve were very much disturbed 

 by the fact that the line was heading for their lands and protested vehemently. 

 Their Chief, in company with all the older men of the tribe, met us ten miles 

 east of the Reserve and stayed with the party until we reached their property. 

 We struck the southern end of it so I agreed to offset the line to avoid it. The 

 Chief of the Tribe then acted as guide for our freighting canoes to the end of the 

 work and sent two Indians to guide us out to Lac Seul, a trip of nine days. 

 This was a very great help as the line was not near any main waterway and the 

 country totally unmapped. This band of Indians is about four hundred in 

 number and they are very primitive in their mode of living. They trade at a 

 Hudson Bay Outpost managed by an Indian who does not speak a word of 

 English, nor have any of the tribe any knowledge of English. They do not 

 use money at all and gauge time by the height of the sun above the horizon; 

 distance by the progress of the sun during a journey. This made it very difficult 

 to obtain any information sufficiently definite to work on. In all other parts 

 of Ontario known to myself, the Indians refer to the King as "Kitchi Ogemah," 

 The Big Chief. At Pekangekum he is called "Wemitickiji," The Frenchman. 

 Although they have undoubtedly been visited by missionaries, Christianity 

 has not the slightest foothold among them, and they still hold to their native 

 superstitions and ceremonies, such as "Wabinca," (Day Light Dance), etc. 

 There was no evidence of tuberculosis or other disease among them. In many 

 cases four generations were living in the same camp. 



It was my intention to go out by the Berens River to Lake Winnipeg and 

 there to take the Hudson Bay steamer to Selkirk. There is a good waterway 

 from the end of our line to Little Grand Rapids, Hudson Bay Post on the Berens 

 River. My ignorance of the schedule of the steamer and the danger from 

 fifty-five unknown rapids below us on the Berens River influenced me to double 

 back to Pekangekum and strike for Lac Seul from there. The Indian Chief 

 supplied me with two guides to Red Lake where there is an outpost of the Hudson 

 Bay Company, and from there we were able to follow the Dominion Government 

 Geological map to our first destination at Hudson. I was five days in getting 

 to my work and twelve days in getting back to Sault Ste. Marie after its com- 

 pletion. The expense in wages, railway farfes and board in taking a large party 

 such a distance was great. The Indians of that locality, however, work in the 

 summer only as a pastime and could not be depended on for more than three 

 weeks' steady work, so that this expense was inevitable. 



