Simpson.—Caribou of Both Woodland and Barren Lands Varieties Plentiful.—Pass Great Slave lake in Countless Numbers.—Mountain Sheep Plentiful in the Mountainous Districts.—Incredible Numbers of Geese, Swan and Ducks in Season.—Inexhaustible Supplies of Fish.—The Speckled Trout, Lake Trout, Grayling, Herring, Inconnu, etc.

288   CHAPTER XIX.   barren lands or “arctic prairie.”—Topography, Soil, Climate and Flora.   Explorers Declare The Term Barren Lands a Misnomer.—Some Notes about the Chief Rivers and Known Lakes.—An Inland Waterway for Steamers Via Chesterfield Inlet a Distance of Five Hundred and Fifty Miles Into the Interior.—The Progression of The Seasons.—The Country Similar to the Tundra of Siberia.—A Limited Amount of Agriculture May Be Possible in Places.—Natural Prairies in the Valley of the Thelon. 303   CHAPTER XX.   barren lands or “arctic prairie.”—Tree Growth and Timber Resources.   Phenomenal Extensions of Tree Growth Within Barren Lands Along the Valley of Thelon River.—Black Spruce, Larch, White Spruce, Banksian Pine and Birch.—Valuable Timber Along the Thelon, About the East End of Great Slave Lake and Between Great Bear Lake and Coppermine River. 317   CHAPTER XXI.   barren lands or “arctic prairie.”—Economic Minerals.   Deposits of Native Copper in the Far North.—Several Areas West of Hudson Bay Contain Rocks Similar to Those at Sudbury.—Belts of Huronian Rocks that are Expected by Geologists to be Eventually of Great Economic Importance.—Vast Probable Mineral Bearing Country in the Interior Which Can Now be Reached Via Chesterfield Inlet.—Iron, Gold and Silver in Small Quantities North of Lake Athabaska.—Free Gold in Melville Peninsula.—Lignite and Soft Coal Along the Arctic Coast. 324   CHAPTER XXII.   barren lands or “arctic prairie.”—Game, Fur-bearing Animals and Fish.   Where Millions of Caribou Roam at Large.—Actual Value of These Immense Herds Very Great.—Can They Become Domesticated or Replaced by the Lapland Reindeer?—The Home of the Musk-Ox and Many Fur-bearing Animals.—The Polar Bear.—Where the Wild Geese Nest.—Lakes, Rivers and Sea Coasts Teeming With Fish.—The Arctic Salmon, Trout, White Fish and Grayling. 342   BIBLIOGRAPHY 362   INDEX 370

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