«jw.] JAMES' BAY. 25 J 



notice given of these shoals is the bumping of the boat upon them. On 

 the west side, between the island and the main land, the water is 

 -shallower than on the east side, so that at low tide the distance 

 between shore and shore is reduced in some places towards the 

 north end to not more than one mile. This is taken advantage of by 

 the Indians, several families of whom hunt on the island, crossing 

 from the main land to the island in their small canoes. They start 

 from shore at high tide and follow the retreating water out to its 

 lowest point, cross the narrow channel and reach the high water line 

 •on the opposite shore with the rising water. From its close 

 resemblance physically to the western mainland, it is probable that 

 Agoomski is underlaid by the nearly horizontal beds of Devonian 

 limestone found on the rivers near the coast. If this is the case, 

 the rocks are covered with drift material on the lower half of its 

 •east side, which is the only part of the island that has yet been 

 •examined geologically. 



The fresh and brackish lakes and ponds on the island are favorite Animals, 

 breeding places for ducks and geese, which congregate here in count- 

 less numbers in the autumn to feed on the grasses growing along the 

 •low shores. The snow goose is,reported to breed here when delayed on 

 its passage north in the spring. Rabbits and cariboo are reported to 

 be numerous, white bears frequent its shore, and the fur of the otters 

 lulled here is remarkably good and dark. Owing to the shoal char- 

 acter and muddy state of the water around the island, few fish are 

 •caught along it- shore. 



The principal islands composing the second group arc Charleton, 

 Danby, Cary, Woods, Little Charleton, Struttons, Weston, Solomon's 

 Temples, Twins, Spencer, Walter and Grey Goose islands, along with 

 the Bear Islands, lying more to the westward. These have a close 

 resemblance to one another, both in formation and physical appear- 

 ance, being composed wholly of sand, clay and boulders, with no boulders* 7 *" 

 bedded rocks in place. They all rise to considerable elevations above 

 the sea level, present sharp escarpments, composed of clay and sand, 

 along their margins, and the formation of all was probably clue to the 

 same causes, as shown later on in this report. 



Charletou, the second largest island in James Bay, lies about twenty charleton 

 miles north of Point Comfort, the end of the peninsula separating Island - 

 Rupert from Hannah Bay, and about one-third of the distance across 

 the bay from the east coast, its north-east point being in lat. 52' 2' 13". 

 In shape it is an oblique parallelogram, having diagonals eighteen 

 miles long from north-east to south-west, and twelve miles long from 

 north-west to south-east. As before stated, this island, like the others 

 of the group, is composed of unst ratified sand, clay and boulders, with- 

 out any rock in place. 



