1921-22 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS 99 



also some days when we were unable to go out on account of heavy seas, the lake 

 being shallow and squally. 



On the 14th of June, Mr. Kirkup had to return to town to procure two 

 more canoemen, as our Indians had left on short notice. He rejoined the party 

 on the 17th June with two men, and continued down the river. 



The country tributary to the Nagagami River is in a general way low, 

 level, clay country, covered with about two feet of moss and a small dense 

 growth of spruce. Along the bank of the river the timber grows a little heavier 

 but is scattered. As we neared the south boundary of McMillan township, 

 we struck better country. Banksian pine and poplar ridges with sandy loam, 

 and within the township of McMillan we found it to be rather heavily timbered 

 with spruce. We tied into the Hudson Bay Company's Post on the Nagagami 

 Lake, but it was deserted, and from appearances has not been used for several 

 years. 



The party arrived at the Transcontinental Railway on the 6th July and 

 spent three days there repairing our outfit and getting everything ready for the 

 next stretch of river. Mr. Kirkup had to go to Hearst to secure supplies and 

 also one canoe as the other freight canoe had been ruined on the first part of 

 the trip. He was also fortunate in securing the services of two good French- 

 Canadians for freighting, who stayed with him throughout the job. 



On the 9th July, the party started out again and packed supplies, etc., 

 from the track to the north limit of McMillan township. From here they started 

 to traverse once more and continued down the Nagagami and Kenogami Rivers 

 to the south boundary of the Indian Reserve on the last mentioned river, tying 

 in to the Hudson Bay Company's post at Mamawimattawa. 



There is some good spruce timber in the township of McMillan, but north 

 of there, through the townships of Fintry and Auden, it is scattered and scrubby, 

 the soil being clay loam, very rocky. Just north of the last-mentioned township 

 we struck a big brule about twenty years old, which, it is said, extends from 

 the C.P.R. to the Hudson Bay. At any rate, it follows the river as far north as 

 we travelled. It is clay country and, speaking to the Hudson Bay Company's 

 factor, he said it was very productive and will grow almost anything. Mr. 

 Kirkup also personally saw two or three good fields of potatoes at the Hudson 

 Bay Company's post. 



Fur-bearing animals are very scarce north of the Transcontinental Railway, 

 and the Indians had very poor luck last year. Fish are also rather scarce. 



On the 31st July, the party started back up the Kenogami River and 

 made fair progress with the traverse, as the river is wide practically all the way. 

 It is swift, shallow and rapid. There are no falls or heavy rapids and with six 

 inches to a foot more water it could be called fairly navigable. There are high 

 clay banks nearly all the way, covered with red shale. The country on either 

 side has all been burnt and is now covered with second-growth poplar and a 

 dense growth of willows. The moss has been burnt off and dried up, leaving 

 a light clay loam covered in places with one or two feet of black muck and 

 moss. This would make really good farm land. It is swampy in places. 



The Pagwachuan River we found very dry, making our moves difficult. 

 The river appeared to be in shelves or terraces, in some places seven or twelve 

 feet deep, and suddenly so dry that we would have to drag our canoes. We ran 

 rather short of supplies before we reached the Transcontinental on the 26th 

 August. Here more supplies were secured and the party proceeded upstream 

 and travelled to the boundary between the Districts of Algoma and Thunder 



