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PAGE FOUR 33 ONTARIO TODAY Old smithy has become a museum. IWOOSONEE is many things to many men. To the explorer Henry Hudson, who found- ed the settlement nearly 300 years ago, it was the beginning of a new era and the start of the Hudson's Bay Company. To Ontario Premier Leslie Frost and Col. C. R. Reynolds, chairman of the Ontario North- land Transportation Commission, Moosonee is a vision of a great sea port which will open the doors to the mineral wealth of Northern Ontario and Quebec. And to Southern Ontario, Moosonee con- jures up thoughts of the far, barren north, muskeg, Indians, Eskimos, and above all -- isolation. To its own residents, Moosonee is some- thing else again. Moosonee is the rail head of the Ontario Northland Railway and there is a large sum- mer and winter air base with regular scheduled flights. Moosonee is the supply base for all the other Indian and Eskimo settlements dotted along the east and west coast of the James and Hudson's Bay. Apart from the Indian settlement there is very little in Moosonee other than the ONR yards. One and a half miles across the Moose River lies the island of Moose Factory, .the oldest settlement in Ontario. The two settlements are thoroughly in- tegrated, and a regular ferry service operates across the river. While the railway is at Moocs- onee, the hospital and school, run by the de- partment of citizenship and immigration, are at Moose Factory. The hospital is large, fresh and modern as any in Southern Ontario. The new school for the Indian children even has a "keep off the grass" sign. The population of both settlements runs into several hundreds, but is still a long way off from the 1,000 figure mark. While the hos- pital and the railway employ a number of In- dians, the majority of them still make a living from the traditional trapping of beaver, mink and otter. Te arrival of the three-time-a-week train fro m points south is still considered quite an event and crowds of Indians make a point of being there when the train pulls in. Cars are few and far between. The few :vehicles are either small trucks or snowmobiles to transport tourists to and from the railway station and the aircraft. The oceanographic survey of the river mouth and the bay is continuing, and there is little doubt there will have to be a tremendous amount of dredging done before any ocean going ships could enter Moosonee. When the tide goes out sand bars appear in the river at frightening frequency. Sand bars also abound at the mouth of the river, and the larger boats always head out for the bay when the tide is in. The Indians live in houses, but at Moose Factory many still prefer living in teepees. Some live in them summer and winter, while the less hardy head for their houses when the first snow comes. For the vacationer seeking an off-beat vacation Moosonee presents a strong lure. Every fall sees the ONR's "goose special" bringing up crowds of goose hunters for the thousands of geese that swoop over. But to see the oldest wooden building in SATURDAY, JUNE 3, 1961 Forge in "oldest wooden building". Ontario one must cross the river to Moose Factory, where the Hudson's Bay company built its first fort. From the outside the only indication that the blacksmith's shop dates back nearly 300 years is the old weather beaten brick-work of the wide chimney. The building has a coat of fresh white paint with a red roof. But a step across the threshold is enough to convince anyone of its age. Dominating the room is the old blacksmith's forge. On each side two gigantic bellows now lie silent and dusty. Coals, now cold, still lie in the forge and all the blacksmith's tools are at hand. The Hudson's Bay Company has made the building into a museum and as one pauses over the historical items ranging from a ship's binnacle to a copper hammer for opening powder keg, history comes to life and it isn't hard to visu- alize Moose Factory as it was nearly 300 years ago. And on a wind-swept plot of ground a few yards away lies the old cemetery. Time has taken its toll on many of the grave stones, which lie twisted and fallen. N the museum a brief history is given of Moose Factory. It tells of how in 1713, after getting the fort back from the French after 27 years of bitter conflict a new fort was erected. But it was destroyed shortly after comp- letion by the cook "who foolishly set fire to the fort by overflowing coals from the bake oven." No mention is made of what happened to the luckless cook. Was he court martialled, hounded out of the settlement, or sent back to England in disgrace? On a small stretch of open ground over- looking the bay, two ancient cannons still keep a watchful eye on the ships that sail beneath them. Between them stands a huge press. The story goes thé press was used to compact the furs brought in by the Indian trap- pers. If the compressed furs reached the height of a musket, the Indian could keep the musket. For firewood Tom McCloud, a retired shipwright of the Hudson's Bay Company, uses an old 50-foot boat. He sawed it in half and dragged it up to his back yard. Mr. McCloud's grandfather came out from Scotland with the Hudson's Bay Company, and he and his father have spent all their lives in and around Moose Factory.