LURE OF THE NORTH

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 166, 9 April 1921, Page 8

LURE OF THE NORTH

STAMPEDE TO CANADIAN WILDS

HUGE OIL PROSPECTS

IN HEART OF THE WILDERNESS

(By "Ex-Canadiaii.”)

For Anglo-Saxons in whose veins red blood courses, the road to adventure lies northward and to the west. News of the discovery of vast oilfields is beginning to .trickle through to civilisation from the hinterlands of Canada. All North America is agog with excitement at the reported richness of the strike and its romantic setting, 'this new hl Dorado of the West is situated far off the beaten track, far from the haunts of man. The end of the railroad steel stops at Athabasca Landing, which, 1000 miles as the crow flies south of the strike, marks the northernmost post of civilisation. Tho new field is rich, and its discovery has been endorsed by Ihe Government of the big Dominion, which is keenly alive to its wonderful potentialities. Geologists claim that i.n this new field Canada has what is destined to be the greatest oilfield in the world, quite apprt from the other Known resources, among them copper, gold, and asphalt. No prospectus has been issued, no company promoters are engaged in foisting a wild cat scheme on tlv: public. The new Bonanza is' located in “no man s land -a huge unsurveyed and largely unexplored tract of approximately ~000,OTO square miles in arro-slightly under twenty times the size of New Zealand. For the next, few years it will be the mecca of prospectors, the forerunners of the capitalists and organised mining companies. And then will come the flood of prospectuses—good, bad, doubtless, worse. It will bo a repetition of the historic strike in the Yukon. Far From the Haunts of Man. As to its exact location, a study of the map of the North-West Territories of Canada discloses in the north-vest corner one of. the outlying Hudson Bay riosts in the slrnpe of Fort Norman, this historic trading post lies 500 miles ft (her inland from Dawson City, in the Yukon, and rests on the banks of the Mackenzie in a mountainous region-a little to the west of th<? Great Bear T-ahe. It is farther north than the haunts c. the Eskimo in Ungava, and is in the same latitude ,as lower Greenland. bem n on the fringe of the Arctic Circle Prince Albert, tho most northern and about the coldest town in Saskatchewan is about 2000 miles nearer civilisation than Fort Norman, so it will be no holiday excursion to the new oilfields. Meanwhile Fort Norman is beyond the reach of the vast army of would-bo prospectors, for just now King Winter holds the north-west territories in hi? grip, to tho exclusion of all. It would be sheer madness and courting certain death to attempt to make the portage until May by which time the enveloping mantle of snow will have disnppenredfor n few months, at leas.. To attempt to make the. trail all overland in summor or winter would ho equally impossible. for no roads exist in this wilderness. Only the Royal North-Vest Mounted Police and the fur traders essay this task when necessity drives, and too often thev end up by taking Jhe long, long trail which leads to Eternity. ■

The First Mad Flush.

The first rush of prospectors to the new field is due. to set. in about the middle of next month. They will assenible nt k Athabasca Landing in ths Peace River country, north of Edmonton (Alberta), and from there make the portage, on the Athabasca River, past Fort~M‘ Murray and Fort M'Kay till thev strike the southern shores of Lake Athabasca. Crossing that they will come to Fort.' Chipcwvan, on the north shore, where they will strike the Great Slave River which will carry them on still further north to Fort Resolution on the shores of the Great Slave Inks. Leaving ihe Great Slave they will enter upon the last long stage of their journey and entrust themselves and their fortunes to

the tender mercies of the Mackenzie River En rente lies Fort Simpson the hist Hudson Bay post in their path before I hey reach Fort Norman, this last svrctch of their journey is about 400 miles long, devoid of even the comfort nnd security afforded by a log-cabmcd Hudson Bay post. ■ It is a journey which few—very few have undertaken, and when they do reach Fort Norman they will be thrown entirely on their own resources for food and shelter for the average trading post, outside of the traders and trappers m the company’s retinue, will accommodate only “three men and a dog team, as the writer knows to his cost, lei in the inad rush for gold and oil and other hidden treasures which Mother Earth ever hugs close to her bosom, men will make the trip, come what, come will.

The Trail of ’9B

Old-timers, retaining vivid memories of the trail of ’9B to the spec on the map which was destined to expand in o Dawson City aver that breaking tho trail to the'Yukon fields was a picnic alongside of the proposition ahead ol those about to attempt to carry the banner of civilisation to Fort Norman. And the trail of ’9B, which Robert W. Service has so graphically depicted in

his "Songs of the Sourdough," and otherworks, was hard enough, God knows. For every man who succeeded in tho Yukon, scores failed, and many of thennumber riorishcd before, they ey cr reac >- ed their goal. Hundreds of others found n nameless grave through starvation, exhaustion, and by accidents common to the unexplored north-west territories The country to be traversed before Fort Norman is'reached is a trackless maze of muskeg (a treacherous morass peculiar to tho north), brush and timber, and tortuous rivers with dangerous rapids Wolves and other wild animal abound. Three years ago over a million Caribou were encounicred within a f 9 w miles of Dawson City on their annual trek south. Famine will be man’s most relentless enemy on the~oilfield s of fort Henry, for it will 1» possible to pack only limited supplies of food into the Of necessity the prospectors mH have t»j travel light, cud, as in the■case o the duvs of the Dawson strike, each man will have to be his own universal provider. Many fortunes will doubtks, be extracted from the soil, but n th long run, short'of a Jew luck? ind i L uals the men who will make the big-gest’clean-ups will be the traders in stores. Freight will doubtless be many hundreds of dollars per ton. Add to that the trader’s own “rake-off” ami one can foresee that flour at a dollar a pound, and bools that are literally worth their weight in gold, will be qu-te reasonable possibilities. i

Tragedies of the Trail

No one realises the possible tragedy in store for the prospective gold-diggers and Hie oil-seekers more than the Canadian Royal North-West Mounted lohee. To this end tho scarlet-jacketed sentine.s the north are raking steps o ensure that those foredoomed to failure mil not lie allowed to make the trip; oi in the Mackenzie Hirer Countiy onlj the strong survive and the weak ever go to the wall. Accordingly the only way to get into the north during the coming Canadian spring and summer, by any route, will be to qualify for, obla.n, and earn- olenrauce papers liom the Royal North-West Mounted Police, who for many years have preserved what passes for law and order in the NoribWest territories. There will be no .such thing as booking a passage or joining b. party of travellers without them, ami

there will be no open door to the oil country on any other terms. Every man will require to be properly outfitted for the long and dangerous journey, and in addition will have to be certified by a medical officer of the force as physically and mentally, fit' to undertake the trip Knowing the country as he does, the writer is of the opinion that ihe imposition of these conditions is absolutely necessary in order io prevent tho wreckage of many lives. In tlie wake of the prospectors will-

come tho riff-raff and driftwood of society from every province in Canada, and from every State in America. Members’ of the Order of the Damned, ever preying on their fellows, they will quickly scent out the new field in their desire to win easy money by exploiting the weaknesses and vices of the redblooded pioneers, in order to stem the tide of these undesirables, the R.N.W.M.P. are taking steps to considerably increase the strength of their detachments. By ’Plane to the Arctic Circle. Lastly, it is interestng to note that science is coining to the aid of the oil-seekers. A big company has been formed with tho object of inaugurating an aeroplane service to Fort Henry. A .schedule "flying- boat service*' between tho Peace River district in Northern Alberta and the hub of the North-West territories oilfields has already been arranged. lux-Army flying pfficers—including Captain M'Call, who did much flying during the war, and shot down 3'l. Hun ’planes, and who has been engaged constantly in commercial aviation since the armistice—have been retained by the company for the purpose of engaging in the venture. “ ’Planes of a stable type, with lifting capacity of three-quarters of a ton, or six'mon and supplies, are to be purchased from manufacturers in Great Britain. The cruising range of one of these machines is about 600 miles, its air speed between 90 and 100 miles per hour, ami it will climb to an altitude of 11.000 feet. The machines will follow the course of the Athabasca and-Mac-kenzie Rivers, and they will be able to land on those streams in comparative safety—it is claimed—should , the need arise. . , An Expensive Trip. «

The sum of A2OO will bo charged for the. trip, an amount said to be less than that needed to outfit and hire guides for the journey on land and water. Each passenger will be allowed space for 1001 b. of supplies. In order to cope with the stampede to the North the Canadian Government has enacted special regulations governing the issue of prospectors’ licenses. These provide that an applicant may be granted a prospecting permit for four square miles of territory. If oil is discovered, the lessee will be allowed to take out »■ 21 years’ lease for an area of one square mile, or an area not greater than one-quarter of his prospecting permit. The remaining threequarters will remain Government reservation. A prospector cannot take out more than five 'permits with an aggregate area not exceeding 2560 acres, and must carry out development work within a certain” time. Many who make the (rip to the territories will doubtless eventual! v drift into gold prospecting, as tho country is said- to abound .with precious metals which are known only to a few Indians and an odd fur trader or so.