CHAPTER XXI. 

 HUDSON BAY A NATIONAL A8SET> 



FoET Chuechill may be regarded as the gateway through 

 which, we have every reason to believe, in the no very distant 

 future, a large share of the products of our western provinces 

 is destined to pass on its way to the great markets of the 

 world. This statement is not, made thoughtlessly, nor without 

 some knowledge of the subject, for since the years 1885 and 

 1886, when, as hydrographer and meteorological observer on 

 the Gordon expedition to Hudson Bay, I spent a year and a 

 half on its desolate shores, I have made the study of Hudson 

 Bay and the question of its navigation and development a 

 part of my life's work; and it is because of this fact, and the 

 consequent acquisition of a considerable amount of first-hand 

 knowledge of the subject, that I have been prompted to in- 

 scribe this chapter. 



Although discovered nearly three hundred years ago, Hud- 

 son Bay has remained, up to the present time, a compara- 

 tively unknown sea, and an entirely undeveloped source of 

 wealth to our country. Although possessing an area five 

 times as large as our Great Lakes combined, and a tidal coast- 

 line of about six thousand miles, at no place is this as yet 

 accessible by any form of improved highway; and it can 

 still be reached, from the settled parts of Canada, only by 

 means of canoes or other small boats following the routes of 

 some of our God-given streams. 



Into the bay are discharged a score of mighty rivers, some 

 of which rank among the largest on the Continent, although 

 an unfortunate feature of many of them is that they are 

 extremely shallow at their mouths. 



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