Paddling the Boreal Forest. Stone James Madison

hazards. Low anchored the Alle in 42 feet of water and a few hours later was grounded by the receding tide.²⁴ On another occasion, the Alle was grounded deliberately at high tide at the head of a wide shallow bay in order to avoid the pounding of the waves in an anticipated storm. When the tide was out, the Alle was three miles inland, rocky ridges with mud flats and boulders of all sizes strewn about between the ship and the shore.

      Farther south, very strong currents which ripped between the islands “like a mill-race,” prevented the Alle from entering Hope's Advance Bay. They spent the night in an exposed position during which time it snowed six inches (August 22).²⁵ Continuing south, they passed the mouth of Leaf River without entering it. The water was so shallow that even the Alle with its three-and-a-half foot draft had to stay four miles from shore. Many small islands in the area around Leaf River made navigation confusing. Two days later they finally sailed into the Koksoak River to reach the HBC post at Fort Chimo. Low had visited the post in 1893 and 1896. There they took a week to repair the yacht, and then continued east along the coast to the Hudson's Bay Company posts at Whale River and George River.

      Returning to Fort Chimo, Low had the Alle demasted, and loaded on board the HBC steamer Erik for transport to the HBC post at Nachvak on the Labrador coast, where the Alle was stored for the winter. Nachvak was the only nearby post where the HBC steamer would call early in the next sailing season, allowing access to the Alle for another voyage just after the ice was out. This would not be possible had the yacht been stored at Fort Chimo, as the steamer did not arrive there until late August. Low and his crew caught the Diana when it returned to Fort Chimo, returned to St. John's, then to Halifax and reached Ottawa on October 2.

      Low spent the winter of 1897–98 writing his report of the trip and, as always, making preparations for the coming season. He wrote about the iron ore deposits he had found on the west coast of Ungava Bay and linked them to the deposits he had seen on the upper Hamilton and Caniapiscau rivers during his trip of 1893–94, and expanded his theories about the continental ice sheet which had once covered the Quebec-Labrador peninsula. He now believed this mass had flowed radially towards all the coasts to the sea from a central area.

      Winter was marred by Low's increasing preoccupation with Isabella's continuing decline due to consumption and, ultimately, her death on April 18,1898. Low makes no mention of this in his official publications, and no personal letters have been found. Certainly, he and his two children, Estelle, now 12, and Reginald, nearly three, received much support from his wife's family. Isabella's unmarried sister Jessie and her father both shared the household. Whatever his personal feelings were, Low prepared to leave for the coming field season as usual, scarcely five months after his wife's passing. He planned to be absent from Ottawa for over a year, during which time he could expect to receive letters only twice. His newly motherless children would be fatherless as well for the first 18 months after losing their mother.

      EAST COAST OF HUDSON BAY 1898–99

      Low's task was to map and geologically reconnoitre the east coast of Hudson Bay from its northeastern tip to the southern end of James Bay, and to finish his 1887 survey of the islands of lower James Bay. This work could not be completed in one season and he planned to spend the winter at the HBC post at Great Whale River, where he would make use of his time there by taking a winter trip to map the interior. The following summer he then would finish his survey to the south end of James Bay. There were no reliable accounts of the interior terrain or geology north of the Big River (now La Grande Rivière) except for his 1896 description of the route from Richmond Gulf to Fort Chimo. His plan was to take the Alle from storage at the HBC post at Nachvak with sufficient supplies for the summer season, and sail to the post at Great Whale River. Since the HBC post would not have enough food to feed him and his crew or to supply them for the following summer's cruise, he would be resupplied with foods and materials that he had pre-arranged to be sent from Ottawa. These supplies left the city by train, then transported by canoe down the Missinaibi River and by HBC schooner from Moose Factory to Great Whale.

      In preparation, Low looked for existing maps of the coast he was to survey. While the general outline of Hudson Bay had been mapped by the British Admiralty in 1853, the details were few. One of the most complete maps of the east coast of the northern part of Hudson Bay was that prepared by Robert Bell of the Geological Survey (scale of one inch equals four miles) based on his exploration, in 1877–78, from Portland Promontory to Great Whale River. Low had his own survey of the islands and the east coastline of James Bay developed from his expeditions in 1887 and 1888. This is not to mean that this area was unknown land and waters — far from it. The Hudson's Bay Company had been sailing in these waters, delivering cargo and moving people for almost two centuries. Its sailors and pilots had good personal knowledge of the region, particularly south of Richmond Gulf. Inuit and Cree travellers were also well-acquainted with the areas of the coast and the interior where they lived. However, this information was almost all held personally and had not found its way into detailed maps. Low would bring consistent, careful measurements and a geological eye and, more importantly, once published the information and maps would become widely available.

      The HBC supply vessel Erik in 1898 in Nachvak Harbour, Labrador, picking up A.P. Law's yacht, the Alle. Courtesy of Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, photo GSC 199570, A.P. Low.