Our Northern Heritage

Gentlemen, I do not come before you as a representative of the Government, but as a member of the Government Service for 22 years, during which I have taken possession of all the Arctic Islands that belonged to England, some of them having been surveyed by Franklin, Home, Maclure, McClintock and many others. When I spoke here some 17 or 20 years ago I was greatly assisted by firms like Christie, Brown & Co., who gave us biscuits that were cached in the north, and they kept alive other explorers who found them 17 years afterwards, The Maclaren Cheese Company also furnished us with food supplies, and Mason & Risch gave us a piano to help our enjoyment during the long dark nights in the north. To all these people I tender our most sincere thanks.

It would be impossible for me to give anything like a comprehensive view of such an immense subject, but I will endeavor to touch the high spots briefly as the pictures are shown.

When I was two years old I went with my father who had shipped a cargo of naval goods for the Crimean war: We went up the Bosphorus, and they bombarded Sebastopol, when we were ordered to go back to Malta to discharge our cargo. After sailing for five more years I went to school, and after leaving school at 12 years of age I shipped as a boy on my father's vessel, and I did my own work and did not trust to other people, and in three years I was a master, and my father told me I could go. Since then I have commanded a ship almost continuously, and have made in the neighborhood of 260 voyages in all parts of the world. I am now 75 years old, but am still going strong. I pity those who have nothing to do. I am now preparing for another voyage, which will be a private commercial venture. My pictures today will show you the amount of energy I have spent in conquering all those islands in the north, assisted with the certain knowledge that I got from others. No credit is due to me, more than that I followed the eminent explorers whose records I found, which are our titles. What they said was true.

Here you see me in my study; while Governor of Quebec jail for four years I studied in this quiet spot. Here I made charts, and worked constantly at the problems connected with the North. I learned by experience that if you work with Nature you are bound to succeed; otherwise you are sure to fail.

In order to navigate the north, the first requisite is a good ship. The Canadian Government bought this ship, the " Arctic, " and I made 12 trips to the north with her. With a good ship and proper men, and working in accordance with Nature, you can succeed; there is no other way. In regard to the ice in Northern waters, it is the same as in the Atlantic and has to be managed in the same way. This ship came from Germany. She has full sail, and an engine of 87 horse power. This picture shows her going before the wind, with ice on the quarter-bow. We keep clear of ice as well as we can, but when she is going full speed ahead we have to be careful. We are near Baffin Land; this island you see was given to us by Great Britain in 1880, and today I call it Canadian territory. These natives you see are no longer Eskimos; they are Canadians, and we have to look after them.

I first took possession of Baffin Land for Canada in the presence of several Eskimo, and after firing 19 shots I instructed an Eskimo to fire the 20th, telling him that he was now a Canadian. A similar ceremony was observed on July 1st, 1909, when I took possession of the whole Arctic Archipelago between Canada and 90th degree of north latitude. I erected a tablet on a rock Peary, the Explorer, had engraved with his initials, in order to commemorate the acquisition of this northern territory for Canada. The event was celebrated on the 1st of, July, Confederation Day. This slide shows us taking possession of those islands, so, as I say, we hold a vaster land than has been. I have always taken the position that the Arctic up to the Pole belongs to Canada. That north land used to be a kind of air-route for aviators but in future we shall collect $50 for a permit from them. Our northern limit, according to me, is 90 degrees north. We take the whole Arctic Archipelago from Baffin Land as far north as 82 degrees. This is not a place of desolation, as my hearers might regard it, but is a territory of great value to the Dominion of Canada.

The reason we ran our line was to secure our fishing rights. So far America has not claimed anything, or said anything. We have been friendly with our neighbors in Greenland; we go there every year to pay our respects, and we tell them that we have given strict orders for any of our people to give help in Greenland if wanted, and that we desire and expect the same treatment from them. Formerly we allowed the Americans to go through the whole of this land and hunt and fish, but now we ask them to pay $50, and we will give them a permit. In the past Canada has been a fairway for American fishermen and hunters, but in 1922 the Arctic on her trip posted police, who protect the Dominion hunting and fishing rights. It might be asked what was the use of making American fishermen pay toll. Well, when the question of ownership came up in the courts it was said that as the Americans had paid dues to Canada for fishing there, the land evidently belonged to Canada.

This slide shows a house that was built in 1923 for the police. Since 1922 we have been supporting police on these islands in order to maintain our rights, and I must congratulate the Government for that action. The time has come when we have to secure this territory for our children, because it is teaming with wealth, like the northern part of Ontario and Quebec. We have already established our claim to a vast area of land rich in large deposits of coal, iron and copper, and with a possibly large revenue from fishing, whaling and trapping. As we get towards Hudson Bay we find there is a great deal of wealth, and every month of the year we hear of ore being found, gold mines and copper mines.

In the place shown in this picture I found English money. It had been deposited in a cache during the voyage of McClintock. This next pictures shows the piano, and me coming down from the bridge as they are playing "God Save the King," while waiting for others to come to the table. This picture shows the Maclaren cheese and the Christie-Brown biscuits. I am giving natives the biscuits. Now comes the Doctor, and he is waiting to draw teeth of the natives, and I am keeping them in good humour.

I did not know that I would be asked to speak about Hudson Bay, but I will say a few words. Going to Hudson Bay would be the natural thing. The best plan would be for the Government to charter a suitable ship and take engineers and other experts for a trip through the Bay, so that they might see for themselves. With the ships sailing at the proper time, in charge of competent engineers, we could get great wealth from that region. Ships can get out of the Bay during three months, July 15th to October 15th, and they could make two or three trips in the Summer, and could use the coal that is to be had up there, which would be a saving. No ship could stand battling with the ice that comes sown in the Spring from Baffin Bay, unless the ship is specially prepared for that work.

This slide shows a chart I made of my own accord, .he original. If we ran our line due north to 90 degrees parallel we would be able to say to other people, " Keep sway from here; you are fishing in Canada; if you want o fish here you must have a license." Many millions have been taken from the northern islands, and when I was there in 1904 and 1905 we put up notices to prevent fishing by those who had no right to do so.

(Films were then shown illustrating the icebergs, Eskimo children, and various scenes in the northland. The instrument was placed at such a distance from the sheet that the views were not clear, and the Chairman announced that something had gone wrong with the machine and that the operator had sent word that he could not improve matters, therefore the films were called off.)

Capt. Bernier then continued his talk. He told how the natives were invited to the ceremony of taking possession of the islands. They were given luncheon on board the Arctic, and he told them that they had become Canadians, and were now the same as himself, and were his brothers. He suggested that they make up their requisition for anything they wanted, and he would see what could be done for them. He promised to buy from them what he wanted, and give value for what he bought. When they came to luncheon they thought it was a good thing to be a Canadian. During and after the meal the Captain got the Eskimos one by one, especially the old heads, and gave them pencil and paper and asked them to mark down where they came from and what they had seen. The Eskimos would put down a dot and would say, through the interpreter, "There is an island here, and plenty of salmon; then there is a nice little bay here, then another island." Then after an hour's time the Captain would see the Eskimo sweating, and he would say, "Now, we will have a cup of tea or a smoke," and after that the Eskimo would work at the chart till he finished. Thus the Captain got charts made by all the old heads. The Eskimo trackings are not like ours; they always go on a straight line, but on questioning them through the interpreter the direction according to the sun was found, and also how fast they travelled. The way to ascertain the latter point was to find the number of dogs used. In the Summer, with a kayak, they make five miles per dog; when they go on a hunting trip, if they have 10 dogs they make 10 miles; if 5 dogs, 5 miles. In that way the Captain got knowledge of places which he had not visited.

When the Eskimos got through with their charts the Captain would ask the interpreter to find out whether the natives found any copper or other ore, and asked them to bring it in. Sometimes they brought baskets full, and sometimes they found iron, and they would say, " It is nice; it glitters. " Sometimes they would bring in a piece of copper pyrites; sometimes a piece of coal; then they would show on the chart where it was found, and the explorers' men would go and find surface coal, and on trial some of it would burn readily like lignite, and it was used on the boat, and was similar to Sydney coal. The coal was frozen to a depth of 9 or 10 feet, and when it came in big pieces it would crumble when put in the sun. In these ways the explorers got knowledge of every place where they had wandered for 8 years, and thus gathered a great deal of information.

The speaker said that the rivers were teeming with salmon weighing from 10 to 15 pounds, and when this fish is properly prepared it makes delicious eating. He added that he had taken a considerable number of bears and foxes, and there were thousands of seals. During the Winter the seals come out on the islands past Baffin Land and past Labrador, towards Newfoundland, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The value of the seal is about $45. From Newfoundland they have taken 27,000,000 since 1865, and the numbers do not seem to diminish. A seal gains 10 pounds every day when with its mother.

As to whaling, in the old times Americans made lots of money. America has no Northern waters; the waters are all Canadian. The same remark applies to the Alaska side. It is a common thing for a boat to come out with $1,000,000 worth of seals and furs.

Here in Canada we have a rich country, and we should develop every part of it. We want more help, and we will get it when we give the necessary inducements. Look at our mines. Who would have thought 25 years ago that there would be so much wealth on that Transcontinental Railway, which was thought at first to be a white elephant? As you go north it is the same thing; so if the road is opened to Hudson Bay some more territory will be developed, and will bring sufficient revenue to open up that new country. I admit it is very cold up north, but so it is here when you are not properly clothed and fed; but I have been out every day, and have not had a finger frozen.

Gentlemen, I am sorry that I could not have given you more today, but I am at your service tomorrow if you need me, or I will answer any questions you like to put in regard to our northern country.

Hors. MR. MCCREA, Ontario Minister of Mines, voiced the thanks of the Club to Capt. Bernier for his interesting address.