42

The gardens at Hudson’s Hope, Fort St. John and Dunvegan are in the valley of
Peace River, many hundred feet below that level, and they have also the advantage of
a great deal of heat, reflected from the adjacent hills. In this connection it is right to
mention that all the seed used by the people in the Peace River District has been grown
year after year in the same ground, and generally without manure, and also that they
have not the most improved and earliest varieties of either grain or vegetables.

“Kastward of Hudson’s Hope it is said that snow seldom lies to a greater depth
than two feet, and horses wintered in the open air ; when it attains that thickness, how-
ever, they resort to the slopes of the valley facing the south, where the snow drifts off,
leaving the grass bare.

“We hal been in the valley of Peace River, from the mountains to Dunvegan, in
the latter part of July, and the weather was then warm and mild. The month of
August was spent between Dunvegan and Lesser Slave Lake, and 23 days of it on the
plateau. During that time there was frost on the morning of the Gth, though the ther-
mometer at 5 a.m. had risen to 46 degrees. Again on the 26th, when it was still 5
degrees below the freezing point at 5 a.m., and on the 27th, when it had risen 33 degrees
at 4:30 a.m. On the other 20 days the lowest reading, between 4:30 and 5 a.m., was 39
degrees and the highest 65 degrees. The weather was clear and fine, and in the after-
noon it was often warm enough to send the thermometer up to 80 degrees in the shade.
From the time of leaving Dunvegan, September 5th, till we passed Moberly Lake on
the 16th, we were on the level of the plateau, and might still be considered east of the
mountains. There was frost on eight nights out of the twelve. While breakfasting at
5 a.m. on the 9th, the thermometer still stood at 20 degrees, and on three other morn-
ings it had not risen above the freezing point at that hour. During that time the
weather was generally clear and bright. We had fine but cold weather from the 17th
till the summit of Pine River Pass was crossed, on the 28th, and from that time until
we reached Quesnel, on October 17th, it was decidedly wintry, with hard frosts.” -

Speaking of the agricultural capabilities of the Peace River District, Mr. Cambie,
remarks as follows :

“Without taking into consideration the ground gone over by the other members of
our expedition when we separated, I can state that there is a tract of great fertility
extending eastward from the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains at Hudson’s Hope to
Lesser Slave Lake. Messrs. McLeod and Dawson have examined it south-westwards to
the base of the Rocky Mountains, and will inform you of its precise extent in that
direction. How far it reaches to the north is still undetermined, but I saw, and can
speak from personal observation of the strip just referred to, 200 miles long by 50 wide.
we if the climate proves suitable, can hardly be surpassed as an agricultural
clistrict. =

Report by Mr. McLeod.

Mr. H. A. I. McLeod, who was engaged on the exploration of the northern interior

in the same year as Mr. Cambie, in the report of 1880, page 67, states as follows :—

“The land most suitable for agriculture is found in the plated
Peace River and its tributaries. These plateaux extend from 4 to
of the banks of the river, decreasing in width tow
from each other by ranges of hilly, broken country forming the watersheds between the
tributaries. The best part of the country may be comprised in the space between
latitude 54°30! and 56° 30’, and between longitude 117° and 121°, in the shape of an A
with its apex near Hudson’s Hope. A very considerable portion of this area is taken
up with the ranges of hills above spoken of. The plateau stands from 800 to 1,000 feet
above Peace River, and at lesser heights above the tributary streams, according to their
distance from the main river. The soil is very rich, resting on a subsoil of silt, but the
surface appears wet and cold, caused probably by recent heavy rains. On the ridges
the soil is generally light, and in some parts sandy. The surface of the plateau is
undulating zine oce sionally hilly, with Openings or prairies varying from a mile to 5
miles in width, covered with grass, pea-vine, etc. The rest of the country is covered
with woods, generally second growth of poplar, cottonwood, spruce, pitch pine, birch
and tamarac. There are large areas of brulé and windfalls, making it a ver difficult
country to explore. The spruce and cottonwood in the river bottoms, and paeeionall
on the high lands, is large and of good quality. a < a

vu of the valley of
20 miles on each side
ards the sources, and are separated