With a similar approach, Radisson's Port Nelson narratives can be studied for the precious information they provide about the Lowland Cree of the
Hayes River and about the large role they played in the contest among groups of European traders at Port Nelson.
In the preparation of this book, he travelled to Brochet and to Arviat on the Hudson Bay coast; Brochet was the last settlement at which Oberholtzer made his final, unsuccessful attempt to hire a guide for the journey, and Arviat--then known as Eskimo Point--is at the mouth of the Thlewiaza River, where the pair of canoeists miraculously met Inuit who took them south to the
Hayes River, thus saving their lives.
Water lovers will find a paradise in Manitoba, www.manitobaparks.com, where waterways like the
Hayes River offer boaters views of historic campsites, forests, and fur trading outposts.
It was during the grueling portage after they exited Robinson Lake on the
Hayes River system that spirits sank their lowest, Albert said.
After completing some survey work regarding the location of the 49th parallel of latitude, Aemilius proceeded via the Red River, Lake Winnipeg, and the
Hayes River route to York Factory, where he rejoined George.
As the title of this book indicates, in the early 1900s American traveller and author, Ernest Oberholtzer, and Anishinaabe traveller, Billy Magee, undertook a journey of some two thousand miles: from central Manitoba, north to Nueltin Lake, east on the Thlewiaza River to Hudson Bay, south along the coast to Churchill and York Factory, and then southwest along
Hayes River to Gimli on Lake Winnipeg.
And at York, he built a retaining wall along the banks of the
Hayes River, where a multi-disciplinary team is now studying climate change in the northern environment, and trying to preserve what is left of one of Canada's most valuable symbols of our fur trade heritage.
This map shows Kempt's suggested changes to the route at White Fall Portage, situated on the
Hayes River between Robinson and Logan Lakes.
Each of these communities has had a long association with the
Hayes River, especially during its heyday as the major fur trade route inland from Hudson Bay.
Operated continuously between 1684 and 1957, York Factory, near the mouth of the
Hayes River on Hudson Bay, was one of the oldest and most important fur trade establishments of the Hudson's Bay Company.
York Factory NHSC is on the
Hayes River about eight kilometres from Hudson Bay, and 250 kilometres south of Churchill.