112 REPORT OF THE No. 3 



Appendix No. 41. 



Blocks V. and YI. of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Grant, 

 District op Thunder Bay. 



Weston, Ont., February 13th, 1908. 



Sir, — I have the honour to submit my report of the survey of Blocks 

 V. and YI. of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Company's Land Grant 

 ('Chap. 18, 4 Edw. YII.) performed under your instructions of the 30th May, 

 1907, namely) : 



Proceeding to Port Arthur, where I completed all my arrangements 

 for the prosecution of the work, I then moved to Niblock and commenced 

 the work by opening and running the boundary line between townships 

 thirteen and fourteen from the Canadian Pacific Railway to the northwest 

 corner of township twelve. I renewed the wooden stake at said comer and 

 ran the east boundary of said township fourteen, north astronomically six 

 miles. Then I ran east astronomically twenty-one miles to the southeast 

 corner of Block Y., thence north astronomically six miles to the northeast 

 corner, of the said Block Y., thence west astronomically eighteen miles to 

 the northwesterly angle of the said Block Y., thence south astronomically 

 five miles and seventy-nine chains and seventy links to the southwest angle 

 of the said Block Y., completing the survey on the 31st August. 



I then commenced the survey of said Block YI. from the mile post 

 marked LXXYIII M on the boundary line between Thunder Bay and Rainy 

 River Districts, running eighteen miles astronomically east to the southeast 

 angle of the said Block YI., thence north astronomically six miles to the 

 northeast angle of this said Block YI., thence west astronomically eighteen 

 miles and sixty-one and one half links to its intersection with the said bound- 

 ary line between the Thunder Bay and. Rainy River Districts, completing tho 

 survey on the 8th day of November. 



At every corner of each block I planted iron posts marked "G. T. R." 

 and the number of the block, namely. Block Y. or Block YI., as the case 

 might be ; the iron posts were all one and seven-eighths inches, excepting on 

 the easterly corners of Block Y., which are one inch square. 



I placed wooden posts at each mile along the lines marked on the east 

 side of the east and west lines and on the south side of the north and south 

 lines. At the northeast corner of township fourteen I also planted a one 

 and seven-eighths inch iron post. 



The soil throughout Block Y. is generally light sand but varying from 

 light dust to very coarse sand and gravel with stones. I have seen only one 

 place where I think it possible to pursue agriculture with a liklihood of suc- 

 cess, namely, on the south boundary immediately east of the railway location, 

 where there are about two square miles of light sandy loam and almost clear 

 of timber. The rest of the Block is composed of low cold bottom land with 

 sandy ridges from some of which granite rock protrudes. Hills and depres- 

 sions are seldom over twenty or thirty feet. 



There is a block of timber in the southwest corner of this Block which 

 may be considered as suitable for tie timber; but beyond this there are only 

 a few scattered trees here and there, that would be large enough for railway 

 ties. This whole country was burnt over about twenty-five or thirty years 

 ago, and a great part of it burnt again in June, 1907, and much timber was 

 destroyed. 



