Between Churchill and Saskatchewan rivers two lines were examined by Mr. Tyrrell, one from Prince Albert northwestward by Green lake to Ile à la Crosse, and the other from Stanley Mission southwestward by Montreal lake to Prince Albert.
Writing of some of the more noticeable geographical features of this area Mr. Tyrrell says:—“Churchill river from its northern source at Methye portage, following its windings, has a length of four hundred and eighty miles to the mouth of Reindeer river. It is a long series of very irregular lakes filled with clear blue water, connected by short and usually rapid reaches. Some of the rapids are produced by rocky barriers, while others are over boulders and between banks of till, such as is underlying much of the surrounding country.
“The largest tributaries flowing into the Churchill from the south are Beaver, Sandy and Rapid rivers.
[Illustration: Flowers at Ile à La Crosse.]
“Beaver river rises on the Cretaceous plateau, not far from Lac la Biche, and, flowing, first eastward for two hundred and fifty miles, and then northward for a hundred miles, empties into the south end of Ile à la Crosse lake. Its course northward was alone surveyed. Here it is a rapid stream from one hundred to two hundred feet wide, flowing between low clay banks, beautifully wooded with spruce and poplar. Much of the land along the course appeared to be well adapted for agricultural purposes, and the rank vegetation gave
The Venerable Archdeacon J. McKay, one of the best known Church of England Missionaries of the Canadian west, was examined before the Senate committee of 1907. He stated that he was born on the eastern shore of James bay, near Rupert’s House. His father was a Hudson’s Bay Company’s officer. Witness had his education in Manitoba in the early days. He had been more in the old country than in eastern Canada. He lived at Moose Factory until he was eighteen.
Archdeacon McKay explained that he had been forty-five years in the west, in charge of missions of the Church of England, and was ten years at a place on Churchill river, a little north of Lac la Ronge. The nearest point to Lac la Ronge on the map is where the Anglican mission is situated, about ten miles north of Lac la Ronge, on Churchill river. This is about due north from Prince Albert, and in a straight line it would be considerably over two hundred miles from Prince Albert. He had been for some time superintendent of the Anglican missions. For the two years preceding his examination he had been at Lac la Ronge. He had been as far north in this country as Lake Cariboo. In fact he had been away to the north end of Reindeer lake. It is very poor country up there, and the trees are not very large. From the Churchill he had been down to Hudson bay, and he had been as far west as Ile à la Crosse lake and on to Methye lake, which is not many miles south of Clearwater river and in an east-southeasterly direction from McMurray.