“Those eighty miles, between the North-West Angle and Oak Point* were through a country monotonous and utterly uninteresting in appearance, but with resources that are sure to be developed as the country farther west is opened up. The first twenty miles are across a flat country, much of it marshy, with a dense forest of scrub pine, spruce, tamarack, and here and there, aspens and white birch. On both sides of the road, and in the more open parts of the country, all kinds of wild fruit grow luxuriantly; strawberries, raspberries, black and red currants, etc., and, as a consequence flocks of wild pigeons and prairie hens are numerous. The pigeons rest calmly on the branches of dead trees by the roadside, as if no shot had ever been fired in their hearing.
"Great difficulties must have been overcome in making this part of the road, and advantage has skillfully been taken of dry spots and ridges of gravel or sand that occur here and there running in the same general direction as the road. All this part of the road has been corduroyed and then covered over with clay and sand, or gravel, where they could be got. The land here is heavy black loam with clay underneath, just like prairie land; with the prairie so near it is not likely to be soon cultivated; but the wood on it will be in immediate demand both for railway purposes and scantling.”
From “Ocean to Ocean,” Sir Sanford Fleming’s Expedition Through Canada in 1872”
*Oak Point is Sainte Anne (“Pointe des chênes”)
Source: Grant, G. M., 1835-1902. (1873). Ocean to ocean: Sandford Fleming’s expedition through Canada in 1872. Being a diary kept during a journey from the Atlantic to the Pacific with the expedition of the engineer-in-chief of the Canadian Pacific and Intercolonial railways (P.61). BC Historical Books. Diaries. Retrieved June 3, 2020, from https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcbooks/items/1.0221770
Prairie chicken (hen) now extirpated** from Manitoba, abundant when Sir Sanford Fleming visited Manitoba in 1872. Source: US Fish and Wildlife Service. James-Abra, E. (2019, Sept 6). Greater Prairie Chicken. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved June 29, 2020 from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/greater-prairie-chicken#
** "Extinction is the complete disappearance of a species. Extirpation, also called local extinction, is the disappearance of a species only from a given area. Extirpation tends to make the extinction of a given species more likely by reducing that species' population, genetic diversity, and geographic range." Defined from https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/energy-government-and-defense-magazines/extinction-and-extirpation
Saskatoon, Amelanchier alnifolia, is early to bloom and deer resistant. Image (left) saskatoon berry bush in bloom. Image (right) ripe saskatoon berry. Courtesy: Doug Collicutt, www.NatureNorth.com. Source: Nature North. (n.d.). Summer fruits, Some of Our Favorite Fruits [webpage]. Retrieved June 29, 2020 from http://www.naturenorth.com/summer/fruits/Ffruits3.html#saskatoon
Yellow Lady Slipper, Cypripedium parviflower, a delicate beauty common throughout the region. Lady Slippers have a less than 5% transplant success rate, so they are considered “off-limits” to pickers and diggers. Please respect the environment. Photo credit: Pierrette Sherwood
Prairie Sage, Artemisia frigida, features silver lance shaped leaves. Please do not pull these out of the ground and respect the environment in which they are found. Photo credit: Pierrette Sherwood
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