"THE LONELY LAND"

In the 18th and 19th centuries the Churchill River was a major part of the  fur trade route from Montreal to the Athabasca country and beyond. Stanley Mission is located on the river northeast of La Ronge, SK.

This is a photo taken in 1955 during an historic canoe trip from Ile a la crosse to Cumberland House, using maps, charts, and journal entries by explorers and traders such as Alexander MacKenzie, Philip Turnor, Peter Pond, George Simpson, David Thompson as well as a host of others whose voices speak from the old Moose Fort Journals of the Hudson's Bay Company.

This picture of eight local boys was taken in front of the Holy Trinity Anglican Church at Stanley Mission on a stopover during that trip. These "boys" are now in their early to mid 50's. They are: left to right, Unidentified, Unidentified, Unidentified, Unidentified, Unidentified, Moses McKenzie, Unidentified, Benjamin McKenzie.

The man in the photo is Sigurd F. Olson, conservationist and author.
This was the trip that he described in his 1961 book The Lonely Land.

 

Click on the thumbnail image below to see a map of this historic voyage.
It takes a while to load but it's worth the wait!

 

 

Click on the Church image
to return to Stanley Mission Website