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1910 Government Printing Bureau
Abridged

By W. J. Wilson

The region covered by this memoir is situated in Western Quebec and extends ten miles north and south of the National Transcontinental Railway from Makamik lake to the Susie River.  The following work has already been done in the area:

In 1887 Mr. A.C. Cochrane,  Dr. R. Bell's assistant, made a track survey of the Bell river down to the rapids ten miles below Shabogama lake. In 1895-6, Dr. R. Bell examined and reported on the same river. In 1896 Mr. R. W. Brock, Bell's assistant, made a track survey of the Migikan river from the mouth up to and beyond the border of the map. In 1894 Mr. Henry O'Sullivan, Inspector of Surveys for the Province of Quebec made a track survey of a part of the Bell and the canoe route from the latter to Kapitachuan lake. In 1893, Mr. John Bignell, PLS, surveyed the headwaters of the Ottawa River in this area….From 1905, Mr. C.L. Harvey (ed: Norman's boss) made  stadia survey of the Fly river and the canoe route to the Kinojevis cache… From 1905 to 1907, the engineers of the National Transcontinental Railway have run the lines with chains and transit, and sketched the topography adjacent to the lines….

The National Transcontinental Railway runs east and west  through the area for 187 miles. It passes north of the height of land for a short distance east of Robertson lake, where it crosses the watershed and runs along the south side up to near Molesworth lake, where it again follows the Hudson Bay slope up to the headwaters of the Kapitachuan river.

Here it crosses height of land and for a short distance runs along the south slope, but soon crosses and continues on the north side beyond the limits of the sheet.

The country traversed by the line in the eastern part is about 1,000 feet above sea-level and is comparatively flat. It is well watered, rivers and lakes being abundant.  The general flatness is occasionally broken by hills, rising 100 feet to 200 feet above the common level. The soil is largely clay, or a clay loam, and especially in the river valleys, is rich, free from stones, and well-adapted for agricultural purposes. In places it is sandy and dry. The largest areas of wasteland are due to muskeg and swamp. The eastern part of the sheet presents a different appearance. Large tracts are sandplains, on which is growing an open Banksian pine forest. The country is underlain by a quartzose granular gneiss, which weathers deeply and has produced immense quantities of sand. This part of the country is in places hilly, the elevations sometimes reaching above the general level. The principal trees and shrubs in the district are white spruce, black spruce, poplar, Banksian pine, canoe birch, fir, balm of Gilead, black ask, cedar, white pine, red maple, wild red cherry, rowan tree, tamarack, alder, red osier dogwood, mountain maple, high bush cranberry, hazel, moosewood, willows. Black spruce, which is the most abundant and valuable tree, is well-suited for the manufacture of pulpwood. Some of  the larger Banksian pines will make railway ties, and they are much used by railway parties for building storehouses and dwellings.