28

and all kinds of common vegetables have been grown successfully at Fort Fraser, and
further north and in a higher altitude. At Fort St. James cultivation is also very suc-
cessfully carried on. The Indians grow potatoes, turnips and _cabbages, and although
their mode of culture is most primitive, they always have a good yield. A great portion
of the provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick were subject to summer frosts when
they were first settled, so much so that no crops could be raised for many years until
the clearing had reached a very large area. Should some parts of the Nechaco Valley
be so exposed, no doubt the clearing or burning would have the same beneficial effect. ¥

“T have seen in many places heads of wheat, probably brought amongst other grain
by pack trains, thoroughly ripe; and timothy and clover are also found in many places
along the trails. I have no doubt that an early wheat, like Ladoga, or Red Fife, could
be successfully grown, at least over the largest part of the valley. :

“* According to Professor Macoun, the flora resembles very much that of Belleville,
Ont. I would compare the climate to that in the vicinity of Quebec, without the heavy
snowfall. According to all information and signs, the snow does not appear to attain
a greater depth than fifteen inches in the lower part of the valley; it may be somewhat
more near Lac des Francais.

“The rain is not abundant in summer, but quite sufficient to enable farming to be
done without irrigation. The cold is said to be very severe in winter, but the atmosphere
is always clear and calm. The summer is very hot, and with the long days in that
latitude there is all the chance possible for vegetation. In certain portions of the sur-
veyed ground the timber is too small for construction, but a good supply of fair timber
can always be had cheaply from along the river or from the shores of the lakes.”

“Wish AND GAME.

“During the latter part of August and the month of September the Nechaco
abounds with salmon, which make their way from the sea to their spawning grounds,
and are at this time taken in thousands by the Indians, who dry them for their winter
supply of food. Trout and sturgeon are also numerous, and a small fish that the Indians
call whitefish, though it has no resemblance to the whitefish of the North-West
Territories. Deer are not numerous in the summer season, although numbers of tracks
were seen. Bear are very plentiful, and are caught by the Indians with snares set in
the same manner as a rabbit snare. Coyotes are plentiful and, as a rule, make the night
hideous by their howling until one gets used to them. Rabbits are there in abundance,
and, with fish, make up the chief articles of food the Indians have to depend upon.

“The fur-bearing animals, though not go plentiful now as in the past, are still
numerous, and are composed of beaver, otter, fisher, lynx, marten, wolverine, fox and
muskrat. During the fall and until late in the season, the lakes and rivers team with
cule eee of all kinds, and are easily got at, as one finds plenty of cover all along
the shore line.

“Roots anp CrErnats.

“The Indians in the Nechaco District raise potatoes of a very good quality, turnips,

D 0 | 5 S Be >
cabbage and onions, whilst at Fort Fraser the Hudson’s Bay Company raise very fine
samples of cach of the above mentioned. When on a visit to Fort Fraser I saw a stack

of oats, all of which were in splendid condition and had not the least appearance of
having been touched by frost.

** CLIMATE,

““The climate is all that could be wished for, no extremes; the days during the
summer months, though hot, are never uncomfortably so, whilst the nights are generally
so cool that a blanket is acceptable. During the winter, I ascertained from the Indians
the snowfall is light, and although sometimes the glass drops very low, as a rule the
thought of feeding
e, as a general rule,

weather is not very severe. They informed me that they never
their cattle until about Christmas, and that in March they could b
turned out again.

“Now and then during the season light summer fr
warm nature of the soil, they seem to do little dama
the country becomes opened up and the
disappear.”

osts occur, but, owing to the
: ge; and I have no doubt that as
soil turned over, these frosts will entirely