href="@public@vhost@g@gutenberg@html@files@49245@[email protected]#Page_131" class="pginternal" tag="{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml}a">131

  CHAPTER XI.   northern alberta.—Agriculture and Arable Land in the Western Section or “Peace River Region.”   Where Wheat Has Been Grown with Remarkable Success for Many Years.—Scientific Explorers Early Recognized This as a Wheat Growing Country.—A Head of Cabbage Fifty-three and a Half Inches in Circumference.—Livestock Live Out of Doors in Winter.—According to a Church of England Missionary, Peace River Enjoys the Finest Climate in the World. 143   CHAPTER XII.   northern alberta.—Tree Growth and Timber Resources.   An Abundance of Timber in the Vicinity of Chipewyan.—Much of the Country Has Been Swept By Fires.—Most of the Timber is Along the Rivers.—Millions of Cords of Pulp Wood.—Spruce and Black Bark Poplar the Principal Varieties.—The Water Power Possibilities Described as Tremendous. 175   CHAPTER XIII.   northern alberta.—Economic Minerals.   Travellers, Explorers and Prospectors Describe the Country as a Veritable Store House of Mineral Wealth.—Gold Found in the Bars in Peace River.—Indications of Plentiful Supply of Iron.—Lignite Found in Abundance.—Historic Deposits of Salt.—The Famous Athabaska Tar Sands.—Their Commercial Value.—Indications of Petroleum.—Boring Experiments.—Natural Gas Under a Wide Area.—Travellers Use Natural Gas Jets to Boil their Camp Kettles. 180   CHAPTER XIV.   northern alberta.—Game, Fur-bearing Animals and Fish.   The Land of the Wood Buffalo.—Where the Last Remnants of American Bison Living in a Wild State Roam.—A Splendid Moose Country.—The Home of Numerous Fur-bearing Animals.—The Prolific Fisheries of Lake Athabaska and Other Waters. 195   CHAPTER XV.   mackenzie river region.—Topography, Agriculture and Arable Land.   Mackenzie River a King of Northern Waters.—Over Three Thousand Miles of Water Way.—Domestic Cattle Have Succeeded.—Barley Always Ripens at Fort Simpson.—Potatoes and Other Vegetables have for Many Years Been Grown at Fort Good Hope, a few Miles from the Arctic Circle.—Wheat and Barley Grown at Liard for Many Years.—Interesting Comparison With the Russian Province of Tobolsk.—A Large Town as Far North as Fort Wrigley.—Why Better Results in Grain Growing May Be Expected in the Future. 208   CHAPTER XVI.   mackenzie river region.—Tree Growth and Timber Resources.   Forests About Great Slave Lake and Slave River.—Remarkable Extension of Forest Growth Northward Down the Mackenzie.—Wide Distribution of the Economically Important Canoe Birch.—Magnificent Forests of Spruce and Big Cottonwood Trees in Liard Valley.—Useful Birch and Large Spruce Grow Within the Arctic Circle.—Trees that are Centuries Old.—Northern Tree Growth May Be Hastened by Drainage. 261   CHAPTER XVII.   mackenzie river region.—Economic Minerals.   The Territory Has Never Been Thoroughly Examined for Minerals.—Tar Springs on the North Shore of Great Slave Lake.—The Devonian Rocks Throughout Mackenzie Valley are Nearly Everywhere More or Less Petroliferous.—Lignite Discovered in Many Places, Also Gypsum.—Large Deposits of Excellent Salt.—Indications of Gold and Copper.—Indians Report Finding Mica. 281   CHAPTER XVIII.   mackenzie river region.—Game, Fur-bearing Animals and Fish.   Over Forty Moose Killed in One Season Near Fort