STRANGE STORY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1259, 16 October 1911, Page 4

STRANGE STORY.

AN OASIS IN SUB-ARCTICA. Superintendent A. E- Snyder, commanding the Royal North-west Mounted Police nt Whilehorse, Yukon Territory, reported to the Commissioner in 1909 that from north of the Porcupine district of Northern Ontario there had como repeated rumours of the existence of a wonderful "tropical" region which was still inhabited by mastodons, rays tho "Success" magazine. "Tho Indians," concludes Superintendent Snyder, "report liavinji seen the gigantic tracks, of tlie.se animals." But little attention was paid to these stories, until in November of last year Mr. C. J. M'lntyre and two companions reported a most amazing discovert- north of Porcupine. They were travelling by do* sledge, ii'ith the thermomcter at ifldeg. below, when to their astonishment the temporaturo began to rise so -fast that witlun a space of two hours they had thrown off their warm garments, "and the 6now was soft underfoot. "It seemed," said Mr. Jl'lntyre, "as though wo were suddenly passing from winter into spring." Soon after Ihey came upon tho first of numberless hot springs, tho snow disappeared entirely, and dense vegetation took -the place of tho stunted bush and (inibor of the plains. Bccausc of necessarily slowtravel on foot the explorers Were not able to determine the extent of this wemderful oasis in the far northern wilderness. Tliev found several good-sized rivers ilowinj with warm water and teeming with fish, and the eonntry lr.is alive with bear, caribou, ducks, pheasants, wild geese, and other game, and gold was found in a number of creeks.