ogtobee,i902.] account op begion traveesed. 17 



the vallej^ of Hill River is narrow and the view of the traveler is con- 

 fined to the immediate banks; in others it is broad, and its gradual, 

 well-wooded slopes afford more extended prospects. 



The stream resulting from the junction of Hill and Fox rivers is 

 called Steel River. After a course of 30 miles this in turn unites with 

 the Shamattawa to form what is known as Ha^^es River, a broad, shal- 

 low stream on whose shores gravelly beaches, absent on the deep and 

 narrow Steel River, alternate with high clay banks. In the next 50 

 miles the character of the country varies but little. Back from the 

 river are mossy swamps, which support a growth of black crowberry 

 {Empet7'U'm nlgmm), Labrador tea {Ledum), dwarf birch {Betula 

 glandulosa), and associated species. Spruces and tamaracks are 

 rather stunted. This characteristic Hudsonian countrj'^ first makes 

 its appearance in large areas on the east side of vSwampy Lake, about 

 100 miles from Hudson Bay in a direct line, and is probably continu- 

 ous from that point to the Baj-, although for some distance the imme- 

 diate banks of the river continue to show a more southern element. 



In the lower part of Hayes River are a number of low, sandy islands 

 nearly devoid of vegetation from being overflowed and ice swept dur- 

 ing a large part of the year. Arctic terns and semipalmated plovers, 

 which breed abundantly on some of the islands, were here met with 

 for the first time. 



Six miles from the point where Hayes River empties into the Bay 

 is Yoi'k Factory, a post of the Hudson's Bay Company. It is on a 

 strip of land, here 3 or 4 miles wide, lying between the Hayes and the 

 Nelson. In the old days it was an important and well-peopled post, 

 and was formerly the base from which all the supplies for the great 

 interior region, brought from England by fleets of sailing vessels, 

 were distributed by boats. 



The ground is low and swampy and is covered by the usual rather 

 stunted growth of spruces, tamaracks, and thickets of willow. The 

 soil is of a spongy character and remains frozen a few feet below 

 the surface throughout the j-ear." The woods extend about 5 miles 

 beyond the post and ai'e succeeded hj a mile of very wet marsh inter- 

 sected by many sloughs and channels. This marsh, which is called 

 Point of Marsh or Beacon Point, supports a rank growth of grass 

 and water plants, among which bog-bean {Menyanthes tr/foliata) and 

 various species of pondweed {Potamogeton) are especially conspicuous. 



« Concerning this subject Eichardson says: 



"At York Factory, on Hudson's Bay, in lat. 57°, in October, 1835 recent frosta 

 had penetrated eight inches into the soil; the thaw due to the summer . .it extended 

 twenty-eight inches beyond this, beneath which a frozen bed seventeen and a, half 

 feet thick reposed on thawed raud which had a temperature of 33° F. The mean 

 annual heat of this place is 25 J F., being equal to that of Fort Simpson, which lies 

 five degrees further north." Arctic Searching Expedition, p. 217, 1851. (See also 

 Eichardson, Edin. New Phil. Journ., XXX, p. 117, Jan., 1841.) 

 7165— No. 22 2 



