86 JOURNAL AND FEOCEEDINaS 



water, for indeed steamers of the Hudson's Bay Company ply be- 

 tween these two points and have done so for perhaps lialf a cen- 

 tury. Until recent 3'ears, when railwa5^s have revolutionized 

 methods of transportation, Grand Rapids was an important tran- 

 shipping point of the Hudson's Bay Company, and this fact is ver}' 

 apparent, for the several large but abandoned warehouses and an 

 old wooden tramway still remaining bear silent testimony of bye- 

 gone days wiien hundreds of tons of goods were here transported 

 annually, for this place was one of the principal stations on the 

 main highway from the sea coast into the great interior country. 



The old Hudson's Ba}^ Compan3^'s post and warehouses are 

 located upon the left bank of the river above the rapids and have a 

 lovel}' outlook to the south and westward, but not a soul now re- 

 mains at the once busy hamlet. 



Below the rapids five miles farther down stream the conditions 

 are different. Here is a quiet but picturesquely situated little vil- 

 lage of a hundred or more whites and halfbreeds w-ho occupy them- 

 selves in trading, trapping and fishing, the latter forming the chief 

 local business until the present year, when the catch becoming 

 small, the local fish company removed its quarters to Eagle 

 Island, some forty miles distant. 



Grand Rapids village, if such it may be called, faces on the 

 river as well as on Lake Winnipeg, and possesses a most beautiful 

 white quartzit gravel beach and should become a very popular sum- 

 mer resort, being easih^ accessible b}^ steamboat from Winnipeg and 

 other points. 



Large game such as moose and black bears are said to be com- 

 mon, one hunter alone having killed nine of the latter last winter. 

 Fish in the river is also abundant, and can be obtained in great 

 quantities at the foot of the rapids by the simple use of a scoop 

 net. One resident of the place, who has a family of eleven chil- 

 dren and sixteen dogs, told me that he had no trouble within a 

 very few minutes to catch enough fish to supply his outfit for the 

 day. It would therefore seem to be a most desirable resort for 

 some of our " short hour " men. 



