Willow Bottom’, or ,‘Willow Prairie with Burnt Poplar’.
in some places the bush must have been very heavy and
filled with windfalls, through which the surveyors would
have had to chop their way. In the district north of
Beausejour itself we see several areas marked ‘Popiar,
Willows and Windfalls‘, ‘Poplars and Windfalls’, or
‘Heavy Woods of Spruce and Poplar with Great Wind-
falls’. Several varieties of pine are noted as making up the
forests of the part, Norway Pine, Red Pine, and Jack
Pine, and even Pitch Pine, and in addition to the spruce,
tamaracks and junipers, there were stands of ash, birch,
elm and oak (along the river) and even alder.

Hacking their way through miles of such bush and
windfalls, and slugging across swamp after swamp, all
the time fighting off clouds of mosquitoes, these men
must have envied those who had been assigned to Survey
the flat open prairies. They certainly earned whatever
they were paid. Upon the completion of his survey of 14-
8, Mr. Johnson concluded the last pages of his field book

,_ :f‘f; with the following summary:

“Report, Township 14, Range 8 East, 3 July, 1873, Col. Dennis,

V Surveyor General, Dominion Land Survey.

Sn,

1 have the honour of reporting that in the survey of this township we
experienced many difficulties in consequence of the swamps and
marshes and also in crossing the Broken Head River so many times with
our lines. This river running nearly through the center of this township,
discharges a large volume of water into Lake Winnipeg; the stream is
very crooked and its banks for some distance back are timbers-cl with a
heavy growth of large oak and spruce. The land along the river is well
suited to settlement. The remainder of the township is composed of
large marshes and tamarack swamp which might be drained at a great
expense, and render it fit for hayland and stock raising, but at the
present time they are too wet and boggy to be of any service to the

i settler ...”

The general description of the [and given by these
surveyors was the basis for the notations found in
Henderson’s Directory and Gazezeer of Manitoba and
the Northwest Territories for 1878-1879. Townships 12
and 13 in Ranges 7 and 8 are not mentioned, possibly
because they were totally within the Half-Breed Reserve,

but ill-6, south of Libau, is described in these words:

“This township is traversed by numerous roads which are used for
lumbering purposes. The best of the timber has been cut off, though
there is still considerable fit for building and fencing purposes. Were a
channel cut through the swamps to the Devil’s Creek it would, by
draining them, make good farmland. the soil being dark loam and very
deep. It is a fractional township in the Half-Breed and Railway
Reserves. Unsettled. " .

The next township to the west, l4—7 is described thus:
“The westerly part is covered with small pitch pine and burnt woods.
The soil is sand and gravel and unfit for any agricultural purpose. The
remainder of the township is burnt woods, with asecond growth of
spruce and poplar. The soil is good with some good hay marshes and
swamps. The west half of the township is in the Half-Breed reserve and
the whole in the Railway reserve. Unsettled.”

Township 14—8 is spoken of in these terms: “The land is
chiefly of an inferior quality, except on the banks of the Broken Head
River, where it is rich and loamy. The remainder of the township is
composed principally of spruce swamp and hay land, With a large extent
of heavy poplar. It is in the Railway reserve. Unsettled .”

The description of 15-6, in which Libau is located is:
“This is one of the most favourable townships in this section of the
country for the purpose of settlement, the land throughout is rolling
and covered for the mosr part with poplar, Spruce, and tamaraek of the
best quality. There is also good oak and ash. it is dotted with numerous
small good hay marshes. The soil is black loam with a substratum of
white clay. A fractional township in the Railway reserve. Unsealed. “

Township 15-7, in which Greenwald is located, is.
described: “The soil is generally of an inferior quality, being sandy
or swampy, with burnt woods except on the Broken Head River, which
flows through the north-easterly part of the township where the land is
of an excellent quality, thickly wooded with line oak, pine, poplar and
ash. The north-westerly portion is in an lndian reserve and the whole of
the township is in the Railway reserve. Unsettled."

Township 15-8 “Is one large muskeg with small tamaracks and
willows, except a narrow strip along the Broken Head River, from two
to five chains in depth where the soil is good and contains some good
sized spruce, elm, and poplar. ls in the Railway Reserve. Unsettled.”

The next townships to the north, 16-7, “For the greater
part consists of an elevated sandy ridge running from north to south,
wooded with timber of small size and dense brush. The south-west
quarter of the township forms part of the Broken Head Indian Reserve,
and the south-eastern part is in the Railway reserve. Unsettled. ”

Finally 16-8 in which Thaibe‘rg is located, is described:
“The easterly part is all muskeg. The remainder is tamarack and spruce
swamp. The trees average from six to seven inches in diameter. The
south-western portion is in the Railway reserve. Unsettled.”

Cdmpsitefor the survey crew in the early 1900's. V