Power, G.

English

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174 REVIEWS to the whole expedition as “Uncle Bill” and gained the everlasting gratitude and love of all of them. To fully understand the  part  that  Dr. Wilson played in the expedition, one should really have read Captain Scott’s last journal, Cherry- Garrard’s wonderful book “The Worst Journey in the World”, or the biographical studies of Wilson  by George Seaver. There is a sense of disappointment at the lack of personal refer- ences to his companions in  the diary. There is no indication of  Wilson’s  influence in assisting and consulting with Captain Scott - that must be learned from other sources and the difficulties are  all played down. For example, in the great storm that overtook the heavily over- laden Terra Nova on the voyage out,  he described the struggles and discomforts but concluded “I must say I enjoyed it all from beginning to end - and as one break after another became untenable, I thought things were becoming interesting”! Again, when he and his companions arrived at the  South Pole to find that  the Norwegians had already been there, there is no hint of the bitter disappoint- ment they all felt. Surely there was  never a man who could more completely “meet with Triumph or Disaster, and  treat those two imposters just  the same”. The explanation lay in what his religion meant to him. Dr. Wilson’s account of the last sad journey to the Pole is written with the same restraint, characteristic of the whole diary. It is interesting to compare his narrative with that of Captain Scott. Scott’s diary was continued to the  end, while that of Wilson stopped about a month before. In the introduction the reason for this is given as“Wi1son’s adherence to his own maxim to become entirely careless of your own soul and body in looking after the welfare  of others. All his dwindling energies  were  needed to keep the  others going”. He was,  of course, the only doctor of the five who reached the pole. Captain Scott wrote to Mrs. Wilson while they were waiting blizzard-bound in the tent “his eyes have a comfortable blue look of hope and his mind is peaceful with the satisfaction of his faith  in regarding himself as  part of the great scheme  of the Almighty. I can do no more to comfort you than to tell you that he died as  he lived, a brave true  man, the best of comrades and staunchest of friends” - a great tribute from one fine man to another. The illustrations are a representative selec- tion of Dr. Wilson’s delightful pencil and water-colour sketches. This book is a must on the shelves  of all Polar enthusiasts. Half of the royalties received by the Scott Polar Research Institute from the sale of this book will  be  used to provide Wilson Memorial grants to help young men and women to undertake field-work in Polar regions. The remainder will  be  used to assist the work of the Institute. Carol Maass JAMES BAY: THE PLOT TO DROWN THE NORTH WOODS. BY BOYCE RICHARDSON. A Sierra Club Battlebook. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin and Company Limited, 1972. S% x 7% inches,  190 pages, illustrated. $2.75. The Sierra Club in sponsoring this book has done us all a great service. The author by his skilful and imaginative writing has produced a narrative which has tremendous impact. After reading only a few pages, it is difficult to put the book down until the theme has been  fully expounded and the book finished. This is a book that should be read by all Quebecois, indeed by all Canadians and informed Amer- icans, as its implications extend far beyond provincial boundaries. It should be  of particular interest to those concerned with northern development. If widely read it could influence the course of events in James Bay, with political repercussions provincially and perhaps federally. It is a book with a motive. The protection of the  natural environment in all its diversity, including: scenery, plants, animals and the right of indigenous people to live a traditional way  of  life, in harmony with nature. In espous- ing this cause it is biased, but considerably less biased than: “Development of the James Bay Territory, Initial Phase -James Bay Develop- ment Corporation, information (undated).” This  appears to  be  the only official document available to the interested public to sup- plement press releases, often designed to maximize political benefits, and magazine articles, which unashamedly support either the development ethic, or side with the native peoples, who are helplessly manipulated in the process. At least the author’s bias is not mis- leading in a potentially dangerous way, which may not be true  about everything else that has been written about  he James Bay scheme. Essentially this is an engineering proposal to harness the hydro electric potential of a group of rivers discharging into James Bay, and latest proposals apparently include diversion of the headwaters of a major river which  flows north into Ungava Bay. In the aggrandizement of the scheme its promoters mention side  benefits such as better roads and communications, forestry development, mineral extraction and a tourist influx for hunting and fishing. These help justify the incredible spiralling costs which, in the space of several months, have risen from 2 to 6 and now may exceed 10 REVIEWS 175 billion dollars. Indigenous people are either ignored or, it is claimed, will benefit greatly. They will be given the opportunity for cash employment on the project itself, in other industrial activities which  will  follow in its wake, or in tourism. If they do not wish to become involved, they will be better able to maintain their traditional way of life, in the managed and improved environment that will result from the development. In so far as the indigenous people are concerned, Boyce Richardson effectively demolishes these myths. Unfortunately, his sympathy for  the Cree Indian viewpoint leads to a rather unrealistic and romantic portrayal of their life,  which becomes almost incredible. It is, however, effective for his purpose and  that is to describe how, over thousands of years, the James Bay Cree have developed a culture which enables them to live harmoniously within the matrix of their environment. They understand an eco- logical ethic that  appears entirely lacking in the growth-oriented,  economically-dominated, western culture that is moving in  and modifying their environment with complete disregard for their interests and wishes. A weakness in his argument lies in the fact that the Cree life style has already been greatly changed in the interests of the fur trade, western culture and by the welfare state. One could callously go so far  as to state, it has been almost completely dis- rupted and  further dislocation does not matter. But however indifferent one becomes to native interests, it must be admitted that the aboriginal peoples have a valid claim to the territory. As the author so ably points  out, the Quebec Government was incredibly remiss and perhaps foolishly arrogant in assuming clear title to the land. They were impetuous in the way they announced the project and, for this day and age, amazingly out of key with the temper of society, by proceeding without any idea of the ecological ramifications of the scheme. The document that  has been  claimed an ecological impact statement (“A preliminary study of the environmental impacts of the James Bay development project, Quebec. - Report of the joint Federal-Provincial task force 20 December 1971”) was prepared in haste by Federal and Provincial civil servants, from almost non- existent information about the area, on file, and without field studies. While those charged with preparing this report are to be congratulated and it must be hoped that their recommenda- tions are followed, the time constraints and conditions under which they were forced to work were nothing short of a national dis- grace. It is small wonder that some of them wished to be disassociated from the views expressed in the final document. It is more a list of information lacking and work that must be done than a prediction of consequences. If we are  to accept the authors’ commentary, even this flimsy cover up for serious errors  of omission has been largely circumvented in the interests of the Quebec Government and the James Bay Development Corporation. Concluding chapters of the book almost amount to  an indictment of the political- economic system that allows manipulation of information and resources for self-fulfilment of political prophecies. We are asked to consider some of the wisdom of the Cree philosophy and develop an ecological conscience more com- patible with their views  of nature. It ends with the suggestion that perhaps it is too late, decisions have been preempted, preparatory work for drowning of the north woods is already underway and the momentum of pro- gress  is building up. Overstatements in the book, of the kind that plague ecological crisis writing can be excused as necessary counterbalances to the equally exaggerated claims of promoters of the scheme. Boyce Richardson should be applauded for his courage in presenting his material to the public in such a forceful and forthright way. G. Power AN  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  SURVEY BE- TWEEN  CAPE  PARRY  AND CAM- BRIDGE BAY, N.W.T., CANADA  IN 1963. BY WILLIAM E. TAYLOR,  JR. Ottawa:  Mercury Series,  Archaeological  Survey of Canada  Pa- per No.  l ,  National Museum of Man, 1972. 8% x I 1  inches, 106 pages, 24 figures, 15 plates, $2.00. The information explosion in archaeology has now attained rather astonishing propor- tions, and  the editors of learned  journals and their printers are generally swamped with manuscripts. Unfortunately, not all of these are fit to see the light of day, but editorial ad- visory committees do their best to screen out what is egregiously bad, and professional audiences can be counted on to annihilate other unsatisfactory efforts. In  the end, how- ever, it is of utmost  importance that we have an open market place for  the rapid  exposure of fresh  data  and new ideas. In these  circumstances, prompt publication is vital, and the Archaeological Survey of Canada,  National Museum of Man, is to  be highly commended for instituting  its new Mercury Series. This is specifically intended to circumvent the time-lag between editorial acceptance and  the mechanics of publication and distribution, and so far it appears to be operating most effectively. Six separate vol- umes  have been produced in  the first six 

James Bay: The Plot to Drown the North Woods, by Boyce Richardson

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James Bay: The Plot to Drown the North Woods, by Boyce Richardson

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