10 
FOREST AND STREAM 
Pioneering Quebec’s New Game Country 
A Description of “Canuck’s” Recent Exploratory Trip into Northwestern Quebec for Forest and Stream 
By S. E. Sangster (“Canuck.”) 
/' > 
RIMARILY my visit to the new 
game country of northwestern 
Quebec was with the idea of 
pioneering its possibilities for 
the outer, so that I might 
later be able to introduce it 
accurately to them—for it 
is not at any time a wise 
thing to attempt advising sportsmen regarding 
territory of which one has no actual “been 
there” knowledge. Always, since early boy¬ 
hood, it has been my object to get into really un¬ 
known stretches—to put my canoe into waters 
not mapped or known—to fed the real elation of 
being where none have passed before. 
This new Game Hinterland remains still as 
virgin as it ever was; outside of scattered In¬ 
dian parties I doubt if any have explored it, 
save a very few Hudson Bay employes. A 
few government timber cruisers and surveyors 
have cruised portions in the work of sizing up 
to the Indians; bear practically unknown.” The 
Indian bands further this impression as much as 
possible, as they presumably desire nobody to 
hunt on what they have considered their own 
country. Even when I reached the Nottaway 
Station I was given the same tale. 
It was because I knew from long contact with 
the Woods Indian of this peculiar trait of his— 
his desire to impress visitors with the fact that 
the country where he traps is not worth getting 
into for big game—-“is ‘no good’ ”—that I took 
along my own guide and complete outfit, de¬ 
termining to go it “on our own” as it were—to 
rely on no local Indian probably to lose me some¬ 
where in the muskeg and convince me of the “no 
game” policy of these self-interested fellows. 
As was stated in the preliminary description in 
Forest and Stream of December 5th, the terri¬ 
tory selected by me was that contiguous to the 
Bell River and Shabagama lake waters, on the 
Nottaway—James Bay route. With the opera- 
w ■ 
The Click of the Shutter Brought Only Mild Surprise. 
timber and mapping the areas close to the new 
steel, but in limited sections only have even 
these pioneers yet blazed their trails. 
As indicative of how little is actually known 
of the country five miles away from the grade, 
I might state that all along the route none of the 
construction engineers or employes had any 
knowledge whatever of game conditions. I was 
told repeatedly that there was no game: “Moose 
very few and far between, or spots known only 
tion of the new National Transcontinental line, 
this virgin Height of Land wilderness will be 
pretty easy of access. From Toronto to 
Cochrane (479 miles) is some 20 hours direct 
run in the most modern sleepers and chair cars; 
from Cochrane to the Bell river (Nottaway Sta¬ 
tion) it is some 180 miles east; probably a train 
run of 4 1-2 hours. This will be the logical 
route, for central and eastern states sportsmen. 
For the big game sportsmen Quebec has long 
remained a terra incognita. Its eastern and 
northeastern districts have been cut up by large 
areas leased to clubs, that the ordinary sports¬ 
man is practically prevented from getting results 
there. The northwestern portion, many hun¬ 
dred miles in extent, is now for the first time 
opened to outers with the advent of the new 
steel, and still remains not only government land, 
but absolutely unknown and virgin. The game 
laws of Quebec give one a pretty wide range as to 
both open season and game allowance, while the 
non-resident license is the lowest in the eastern 
Provinces. The season opens here September 
1st and remains open for moose and deer until 
December 31st; for caribou it is open until Jan¬ 
uary 31st following. The license is only $25 
and permits one here to take one bull moose, two 
deer and two caribou. Bear are open to license 
holders. During September the speckled trout 
season also remains open, which is an added at¬ 
traction for the earlier bunting sportsmen. 
The Trip. 
From Ottawa I went east via Montreal to Her- 
vey Junction, where the National Transcontinental 
grade crosses. I later discovered that it would 
have been better even then to have gone to 
Cochrane and from there travelled east; 'but in 
August 1 could get no satisfactory details re¬ 
garding transport to the Nottaway save from 
the eastern end. As I did not wish to rely on 
local Indians as guides (knowing their penchant 
for misleading one and keeping them off the 
game haunts) I took along Charles Lewis, my 
regular guide who accompanies me on all my 
lengthy trips; my point of view was that I could 
better cruise the new country thus and find out 
the game areas myself. Also my complete out¬ 
fit accompanied me, including a new “CS” grade 
“Old Town” canoe, 17 foot (I never saw a bet¬ 
ter built canoe for such work as was here en¬ 
countered), my fishing tackle and the rifle I have 
used for three years on all big game, i. e. the 
Savage .22 H. P. An Indiana man was given the 
opportunity at the last moment to accompany me. 
It was a hard luck start; our whole outfit of 
canoe, clothing, food supplies and even my rifle 
was sent to Quebec City through error of the 
baggage master and consequently missed us at 
Hervey Junction. The construction train leav¬ 
ing on our arrival (the “Muskeg”) was the only 
train going up the new steel for five days and 
we were in a deuce of a fix. By good luck an 
inspection “Special” happened to be running right 
through the following day and, after consider¬ 
able telephoning, arrangements were made to 
bring along the baggage. We were tied up over 
the night of October sixth just past LaTuque, 
losing almost twelve hours—everything was sure 
looking blue. 
However, we finally got to Mileage 360, (the 
Fast. Megiskan), where in the early dawn of a 
cold October morning we transferred to another 
construction tram that ran us twenty-four miles 
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