During the summer of 1910 Mr. W. Hayes, a capitalist and manufacturer of Duluth, Minnesota, made an exploratory trip through the Athabaska country with A. Violette. Mr. Hayes stated in an interview on his return to Edmonton that there was timber enough in Athabaska district to supply western Canada for the next half century. Agricultural prospects, he declared, could not be better, while copper, iron and gold had been found, and also petroleum, asphalt, limestone and oil. Fishing could be developed into quite an industry. Interviewed in Edmonton after his long trip in 1910 (See p. 27) the Hon. Frank Oliver, Minister of the Interior, stated:—“All the way from Edmonton to Fort Macpherson the country, along the rivers at least, is level and forested. There is no prairie. On the upper part of Athabaska river the banks are from one hundred to two hundred feet in length, and the country is well wooded. There is a considerable amount of spruce of good size, but the timber is chiefly poplar. The country has at one time been altogether under spruce, but fires have wrought havoc in it. The explanation of these fires is that all freight for the north country goes down Athabaska river and the men who steer the scows down walk back along the banks. They are careless with their camp fires and the result is a continual danger of further destruction by fire.” VALUABLE WATER POWERS. With such knowledge as we now possess it is safe to say that within a few years the water powers of the section of country under review will constitute one of its most important natural assets. Mr. William Ogilvie, in a letter published in the Ottawa Journal, February 19, 1910, writing of the water power susceptible of development on Slave river, stated:—“When making my survey in 1888, I deduced the total fall in the river in this stretch by observing the angles of depression or elevation of each survey station from the preceding one, and with the distance from each station to station deducing the rise and fall; in this way I found the total fall to be two hundred and forty-seven feet. The instrument I had to use was not of a high order of precision for this purpose; nevertheless, I feel safe in saying the fall is between two hundred and thirty and two hundred and sixty feet. All the drainage basins of Peace and Athabaska rivers, and Lake Athabaska, are in one here, and with this fall in so short a distance the power possibilities, when required, will be tremendous.” Mr. Ogilvie, upon another occasion, speaking of Athabaska river, said:—“The current averages well over four miles an hour, but the rate varies much with the height of water. At Grand rapids falls, the fall is about sixty feet in one quarter of a mile. They are a fine sight and will, when required, develop a lot of power; I would say in the average season fully as much as Chaudiere falls at Ottawa (say eighty thousand horse-power).” PEACE RIVER SECTION.