12 



Gordon and Mr. J. W. Tyrrell, P. L. S., and the following 

 notes have been kindly furnished me by Mr. C. N. Bell, who 

 has consulted the best authorities on the subject. 



Fort Prince of Wales stands at the west side of the entrance 

 to the harbor at the mouth of the Churchill River, Hudson's 

 Bay. Its ruins may yet be seen occupying a most connnand- 

 ing position on a rocky proaiontoiy commanding Churchill 

 harbor. The fort was built of stone, and at one time mounted 

 forty cannon of various sizes, some of them being quite large 

 for the date. Several years were consumed in the erection of 

 the fort, which was begun in the year 1733. Joseph Robson, 

 who was the surveyor in charge of construction for some 

 years, published a book on the operations of the Hudson's Bay 

 Company, in 1752, in which he gives man}^ details regarding 

 the size and form of the fort. A cut published in Robson's 

 book shows the form of the structure to be a square of three 

 hundred feet, with a massive bastion at each corner. Robson 

 states that the original intention was to have the walls forty- 

 two feet thick at the foundation, but through the interference 

 of the Trading Governor of the post, they were reduced to 

 twenty-live feet, though as the cannon on being fired from the 

 walls rolled off, one side was pulled down and rebuilt accord- 

 to the original plan. Three of the bastions had arches for 

 storehouses, forty feet three inches by ten feet, and in the 

 fourth M^as built a stone magazine twenty-four feet long and 

 ten feet wide in the clear with a passage to it through the 

 gorge of the bastion twenty-four feet long and four feet wide. 

 The parapet was originally constructed of wood supplied by 

 demolishing the old fort situated five miles up the Churchill 

 River, the site of which was first occupied in 1688, but in 

 1746 Robson began erecting the stone parapet. Robson's 

 plan shows that two houses, a dwelling and office building, 

 were erected inside the fort, and incidently he describes one 

 of the two as being 101 feet 6 inches by 33 feet with side 

 walls of 17 feet height, and the roof covered Avith lead. 



Fort Prince of Wales was captured by the French 

 Admiral on the 9th August, 1782, and in his own book 



