25 
Forest and Stream 
Vol. LXXXII. 
June 20, 1914 
No. 
In the Hudson Bay Country 
Sport Along Canada’s Newest Transcontinental Railway. An informational Little St^rj£* 
Notes From a Sportsman’s Log. 
By James A. Cmikshank. 
Photographs By the Author. 
Ins 
“It’s the great, big broad land ’way up yonder; 
It’s the silence that fills me with peace.” 
It’s the beauty that thrills me with wonder; 
It’s the silence that fills me with peace.” 
R. W. SERVICE. 
For several months last summer, armed with 
letters of all kinds, “and a canoe load of nerve” 
as one contractor said, I made my way over the 
five hundred interesting miles from Cochrane 
to Graham, the last and finishing stretch of 
the great new railway which Canada has been 
building from ocean to ocean. Part of the 
time I was speeding ninety miles an hour in 
little, open, gasolene cars over rails ninety 
pounds to the yard, straining my eyes to see 
the black column of smoke from some construc¬ 
tion train up ahead coming our way—“smoke 
orders” the railroad builders call that sort of 
running. Part of the time I was “camping out” 
in a freight car on a siding waiting for some 
chance train to carry me farther on my way. 
Part of the time I was guest in hospitable camps 
of engineers and government employes hearing 
the thrilling stories of the early days when sur¬ 
veys were being made. But most of the time 
I was seeking to learn at first hand what sort 
of attractions that new region held out for the 
vast army of sportsmen whose eyes have already 
turned toward Canada’s great frontier; that last 
great frontier left on this continent; a frontier 
which runs east and west, not north and south. 
A word, first, about distances and routes. 
Cochrane is 253 miles north of North Bay, On¬ 
tario, and is reached by the excellent Temis- 
kaming and Northern Ontario Railway, which 
runs sleeping, parlor and dining cars from North 
Bay to Cochrane. The trip can be made in about 
ten hours. En route, one passes through the 
famous Lake Temiskaming and Lake Temagami 
sporting country, now well known as one of 
the most attractive outdoor sport regions of the 
Dominion. Cobalt, the greatest silver mine in 
the world, is also passed through, the most 
valuable and important mines in that wonderful 
region being right along the tracks. Then Hailey- 
bury is reached, one of the most up-to-date small 
cities in the northern part of Ontario; here, 
excellent stores and shops containing sports¬ 
men’s supplies not likely to be found farther 
north, render a stop for final outfitting, pur¬ 
chase or hire of canoes, etc., advisable. 
Cochrane is the terminus at present of the 
Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway. It 
is a bustling, thriving, little, new town, with 
board walks, stores, supreme confidence in its 
future and some features which really are amaz¬ 
ing evidence of its faith in itself. One of them 
is the King George Hotel, which would do credit 
to Broadway; th^re are several other good hotels. 
Supplies can be purchased in Cochrane but spe¬ 
cialties cannot be had here. The standard of 
foods for sale by the stores is very high, as 
is generally the case in pioneering towns, but 
canoes, camping outfits of the kind preferred 
by experienced amateur woodsmen, unusual 
calibers of ammunition, fancy fishing tackle, etc., 
are not to be found here. Such things should 
be ordered from the larger cities or may be 
picked up en route. 
It is =,28 miles from Cochrane to Graham and 
every mile of it is sporting territory of the best 
character. East of Cochrane, toward Lake 
Abitibi, is famous for moose and the entire region 
as far west as Winnipeg has long been known 
among the Indians as one of the choicest fish 
and game regions of the north. The first town 
of any size west from Cochrane is Hearst, 130 
miles; then comes Grant, 125 miles farther west, 
Armstrong, another 120 west and Graham, 130 
west of Armstrong. These are all small settle¬ 
ments of a few hundred people each; there are 
stores where the necessities of life may be had, 
including guns and the heavier sort of fishing 
tackle; each of these towns contains little hotels, 
which although small and humble, are clean and 
comfortable. 
The general altitude of this region is lower 
than the average sportsmen familiar with north¬ 
ern Canada would expect. The highest altitude 
reached by the tracks anywhere between Cochrane 
and Graham is less than 1,500 feet above the 
sea. In some places the country traversed is 
but 400 feet above the sea. And this in spite 
of the fact that the Height of Land, where the 
waters divide to flow north into James Bay and 
south in Lake Superior, is crossed several times 
by the right of way. There are no high moun¬ 
tains, hills of a few hundred feet above the 
tracks being all that one sees. The easterly 
part of the region is comparatively level and 
consists of a considerable amount of muskeg or 
mossy ground, which, as the experienced hunter 
knows, is ideal moose territory. This extent of 
Map Showing Territory Described in this Article. 
