84 REPORT OF THE No. 3 



above McDougall's Chute and began the voyage down stream. We followed 

 the Black River to its confluence with the Abitibi and thence down the latter 

 stream to a point about five miles below the mouth of the Frederick House 

 B-iver, where a small stream known as the Driftwood enters on the west side. 

 As this last mentioned stream flows directly through the township in ques- 

 tion, we proceeded up stream in a southerly direction to the place where work 

 was commenced. The canoe route from McDougall's Chute to the mouth of 

 the Driftwood presents few difiiculties, the notable exception being the stretch 

 of rapids and falls, covering a distance of about five miles on the Abitibi, 

 known as the Long Sault. The passage of this stretch occupied a day and a 

 half, it being considered better to make double trips over the more dangerous 

 parts than to invite almost certain disaster by allowing any but expert canoe- 

 men to make the passage. Only two portages occur on this rapid, both on 

 the left side, and short, the first being about three chains in length and the 

 second or lower one about ten chains. The Abitibi itself is a magnificent 

 water stretch, in places a quarter of a mile across, sweeping northward in 

 long easy curves with fairly strong current but very muddy water. The water 

 in this and the Mattagami Biver is said to have reached an unprecedented 

 height last spring owing to the great depth of snow in the winter. The sea- 

 son had been dry up to the middle of June, when the rains set in and through 

 the whole duration of our trip there was scarcely a twenty-four hour interval 

 in which rain did not fall, and it was a rare thing during the progress of the 

 work for us to leave camp and return without a drenching. The weather 

 conditions were in sharp contrast to those prevailing during the previous 

 summer, which was exceptionally dry, and it rendered bush work in a coun- 

 try so thickly forested with evergreens and dense undergrowth unpleasant to 

 a degree. Actual survey work was commenced on the 5th day of July, and 

 we were again at McDougall's Chute on the return journey on the 7th of 

 September following, having experienced no mishaps worthy of mention. 



The township of Colquhoun is laid out in double front alternate con- 

 cession, each concession thus having a road allowance in front and a blind 

 line separatiiLg- the concessions in the rear. The concessions are numbered 

 from one fronting on the south boundary to twelve fronting on the north 

 boundary, and have a depth approximating to fifty-nine chains and fifty 

 links. The lots are numbered from one at the east boundary to twenty-eight 

 at tlie west boundary, and have a frontage approximating to twenty-five 

 chains and twenty-five links and an area approaching one hundred and fifty 

 acres. Lots nine and ten are the furthest variants from tliese conditions. 

 Side roads were laid out between lots six and seven, twelve and thirteen, 

 eighteen and nineteen, and twenty-four and twenty-five, and allowances for 

 road one chain in width were left around all lakes crossed by the lines run, 

 and also along both banks of the Frederick House and Abitibi Rivers. 



The survey was commenced from the southerly boundary, being the 

 northerly boundary of the township of Calder, run by us last year; the side 

 lines being run due north astronomically and being continuations of the 

 several side lines in the township of Calder with the exception of that between 

 lots twenty-four and twenty-five, which was commenced at a point thirty- 

 three links west of the corresponding side line in Calder, giving lot twenty- 

 five a width of twenty-five chains and twenty-five links. This northerly 

 boundary of Calder had been run with special care, hubs being driven and 

 pickets firmly planted in such a manner that it could be safely used as a base 

 line to turn the several side lines from, and the value of this became evident 

 as it was not until the beginning of August that we were able to obtain a 

 satisfactory observation to check bearings, and when it was obtained showed 



