Forest and Stream 
Vol. LXXXIII. 
August 8, 1914 
No. 6 
The Barren Grounds of Northern Canada 
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Wherein is Outlined a Genuine Big Game Trip for the Man of Endurance 
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Editor Forest and Stream: 
I was intensely interested in the editorial, “The 
Pathfinder,” published in your issue of July 25th, 
particularly in its reference to explorations over 
the great so-called “Barren Grounds” of northern 
Canada. You are correct in assuming that this 
vast stretch of territory, of perhaps 300,000 miles, 
has long been known to white men, but how few 
have penetrated its mysteries, and how few real¬ 
ize what a glorious hunting and fishing territory 
it must form for the coming generation, and even 
for the more adventurous hunter of to-day! 
Not to weary’your readers with a citation of 
the different expeditions which have crossed the 
Barren Grounds and mapped them out, except to 
say that beginning with Samuel Plearne, in 1769, 
and the men who followed him, notably Sir 
George Back in 1883 to 1835, Dr. John Rae, in 
1853, Stewart and Anderson, in 1856, Warburton 
Pike, in 1890, and the two wonderful men con¬ 
nected with the Canadian Geological Survey, 
J. Tyrrell and J. W. Tyrrell, in 1893 to 1900, and 
David T. Hanbury, in 1896 to 1900—the Barren 
Lands have been pretty well covered. 
The record of these trips is scattered through a 
dozen volumes and official reports, but to the gen¬ 
eral public what these men have done remains a 
closed book. The Tyrrels reduced from a 
terra incogniti to a mapped and measured region, 
a stretch of territory almost 300,000 miles in 
extent, or at least penetrated this territory by 
means of canoe and other form of transporta¬ 
tion, and the other men mentioned in the pre¬ 
ceding paragraphs also have done much in the 
same general direction. 
Now, while the great Barren Grounds and sub¬ 
arctic lake region of Canada is not a journey to 
be attempted except by men of endurance, fully 
prepared as to time and means to break loose 
from civilization, the distance from steel is not 
unsurmountable, and in these days, with the mod¬ 
ern rail and other road extensions, it is not even 
difficult. 
From Edmonton, Alberta, the trail north is 
good. It consists of road and steamboat naviga¬ 
tion in some portions, and the day is near at hand 
when the whole trip, even to the Barren Grounds, 
will be possible by rail. From Edmonton to Fort 
Resolution on Great Siave Lake, the distance is 
876 miles, a journey of less than a month. 
From Great Slave Lake northeast to the chain 
of lakes that lead into a system of waterways and 
finally reaching Hudson Bay, the distance is not 
nearly so great, and as a matter of fact, steam¬ 
boat navigation is available from some Hudson 
Bay forts, which have been established in this 
country. 
A Northern Fairyland. 
When we speak of the Barren Grounds, the 
usual impression is a country of ice, cold and 
desolation. Nothing could be farther from the 
truth. In his volume, “The Barren Grounds,” 
Warburton Pike says of the country contiguous 
to Great Slave Lake: 
“This is by far the prettiest part of the country 
that I saw in the north, and it was looking its 
best under the bright sunshine that continued 
until we reached the fort. Scattered timber, 
spruce and birch clothed the sloping banks down 
to the sandy shores of the lakes; berries of many 
kinds grew in profusion; the portages were short 
and down hill; and caribou were walking the 
ridges and swimming the lakes in every direction. 
A perfect northern fairyland it was, and it seemed 
hard to believe that winter and want could ever 
penetrate here.” 
Hanbury is equally enthusiastic. He says of the 
same country: 
“Artillery Lake looked very picturesque in the 
bright sunlight; the water, which was of a beau¬ 
tiful blue, was fanned into ripples by the gentle 
summer breeze. The ‘Barren Ground’ lay on 
either side beautifully green, and decked gay with 
a variety of wild flowers. Its charm, and the 
sense of freedom which it gives, are very im¬ 
pressive, but cannot be described. 
“There were no human beings within 200 miles 
of us, and, in fishing and shooting over the lakes 
and the surrounding country, there was no fear 
of intrusion on the part of outsiders. 
“I have always maintained that ‘Barren Ground’ 
is a misnomer for the northland of Canada. No 
land can be called ‘barren’ which bears wild flow¬ 
ers in profusion, numerous heaths, luxuriant 
grass in places up to the knee, and a variety of 
A Fifteen Minute Catch, Artillery Lake. 
