Henry Youle Hind (1 June 1823 – 8 August 1908) was a Canadian

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, alth ...

and

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

. He was born in

Nottingham, England Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robin ...

, and immigrated to Canada, settling in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, in 1846. Hind led expeditions to explore the Canadian prairies in 1857 and 1858. In 1857, he explored the

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...

and

Assiniboine River The Assiniboine River (''; french: Rivière Assiniboine'') is a river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River. The Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a sing ...

valleys, and in 1858, the Assiniboine, Souris, Qu'Appelle, and

South Saskatchewan River The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada that flows through the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. For the first half of the 20th century, the South Saskatchewan would completely freeze over during winter, creating spectacular ...

valleys. The expeditions are described in his reports ''Narrative of the Canadian Red River Exploring Expedition of 1857'' and ''Reports of Progress on the Assiniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition''. Hind's activities changed perceptions of the North West and helped open up the

Canadian Prairies The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie Provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...

for agriculture settlement.

Early life

Henry Youle Hind was born in

.Morton, p. 11 He was the third son of Thomas Hind and Sarah Youle Hind. His older brothers were Thomas and James Fisher, the younger William. He also had a younger sister Sarah. On 7 February he married Katherine Cameron at York Mills. She was the second daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Duncan Cameron. Their first child Thomas Francis Neil Hind was born in 1851. They settled in

where they had four more sons and two daughters by 1863. Hind was responsible for much of his own education growing up, but did receive some formal schooling. He was taught the classics, mathematics, and penmanship at Nottingham Grammar School. In 1837 he went to study in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as we ...

. In 1839 he returned to England and continued his studies in Nottingham for another four years. On 26 May 1843 Hind was accepted into

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

but only stayed for one year. In 1846, he immigrated to Canada where he settled in Toronto. In March 1847 he began his scientific career writing on a meteorological 'halo'. In October of that year he was employed by

Egerton Ryerson Adolphus Egerton Ryerson (24 March 1803 – 19 February 1882) was a Canadian educator, author, editor, and Methodist minister who was a prominent contributor to the design of the Canadian public school system. A renowned advocate against Christ ...

. He was given a position at the Provincial Normal School in

as a second master of science and mathematics. In 1850 he published ''Lectures on Agricultural Chemistry'' and the following year ''A Comparative View of the Climate of Western Canada.'' In December 1851 he became an early member of the

Canadian Institute The Royal Canadian Institute for Science (RCIScience), known also as the Royal Canadian Institute, is a Canadian nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting the public with Canadian science. History The organization was formed in Toronto as t ...

. From 1852 until 1855 he was the editor of the Institute's periodical the ''Canadian Journal.'' He was also employed as a professor of chemistry at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

Trinity College, a position he held until 1864. Between 1856 and 1858 he published articles in the Canadian Almanac. These included ''The Future of Western Canada, Our Railway Policy,'' and ''The Great North-West''.

1857 Red River Expedition

By the 1850s

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...

had reached a critical stage in its development. Since the 1837 Rebellions in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of th ...

and

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec and ...

there had been an increase in immigration and construction of canals and rail lines. In the Canadas agricultural land was becoming scarcer and higher in price. In the North-West, fur trade networks were becoming unstable with the future of the west remaining in the control of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trade, fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake b ...

unlikely. New agricultural land was needed by people in

and

. Out of this need for land a movement of expansionism was created in Upper Canada. In Toronto and the

Ottawa Valley The Ottawa Valley is the valley of the Ottawa River, along the boundary between Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais, Quebec, Canada. The valley is the transition between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield. Because of the surround ...

prominent members of society including George Brown and Alexander Mcdonnell sought to annex the North-West. To prove that the land in the North-West as suitable, the British and Canadian governments funded expeditions west in 1857. The British expedition was formed by the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

and was led by

John Palliser John Palliser (29 January 1817 – 18 August 1887) was an Irish-born geographer and explorer. Following his service in the Waterford Militia and hunting excursions to the North American prairies, he led the British North American Explorin ...

. The Canadian expedition was led officially by George Gladman. Hind was recommended by the head of the

Canadian Geological Survey The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC; french: Commission géologique du Canada (CGC)) is a Canadian federal government agency responsible for performing geological surveys of the country, developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the en ...

, William Logan, to lead the scientific portion of the expedition. Throughout the expedition Hind was to collect information on topography, vegetation, soil and meteorological observations. The Canadian expedition departed on 23 July 1857 from

on the Northern Railway. The group included George Gladman, his son Henry, Simon Dawson, W. H. E. Napier, S. L. Russell, G. F. Gaudet, A. M. Wells, J. A. Dickenson and Robert Wynne. The expedition included a dozen

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

, representatives of the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mo ...

, a dozen

Ojibwa The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

, several

French Canadians French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fre ...

, a Scottish man and a

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derive ...

man. The group arrived at Fort William by the end of the month. The Palliser and Hind expeditions sought to prove that the previously uninhabitable fur trade lands of the North-West would be useful for agricultural development and immigrants from Upper and Lower Canada. These scientific expeditions were the most immediate consequences of the expansionist campaign. Ultimately the work of Palliser and Hind redefined public opinion and the perceived geography of the North-West. They created the idea of two vast sub-districts.

Palliser's Triangle Palliser's Triangle, or the Palliser Triangle, is a semi-arid steppe occupying a substantial portion of the Western Canadian Prairie Provinces, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba, within the Great Plains region. While initially determined to be uns ...

consisted of poor soil and was arid and uninhabitable. Hind's discovery, called the Fertile Belt, stretched from the Red River Settlement to the Saskatchewan River Valley and the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

. They reinforced the myth of good land in the north of

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

and the myth of bad land in the interior. The Fertile Belt supported expansionist claims of an agricultural oasis. Hind was aware of this and noted it in his work on the expedition, ''Narrative of the Canadian Red River Exploring Expedition of 1857 and of the Assiniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition of 1858'' stating that "it is a physical reality of the highest importance to the interests of

that this continuous belt can be settled and cultivated from a few miles west of the ''Lake of Woods'' to the Passes of the

, and any line of communication, whether by waggon road or railroad, passing through it, will eventually enjoy the great advantage of being fed by an agricultural population from one extremity to another." The route that the Canadian expedition used was well known by fur traders and was also used by the Palliser Expedition. They reached

Fort Frances Fort Frances is a town in, and the seat of, Rainy River District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The population as of the 2016 census was 7,739. Fort Frances is a popular fishing destination. It hosts the annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass C ...

by 19 August 1857. From there Hind and Simon Dawson split from George Gladman. They met six men and two canoes to cross the southern portion of the

Lake of the Woods Lake of the Woods (french: Lac des Bois, oj, Pikwedina Sagainan) is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. Lake of the Woods is over long and wide, containing more than 14,55 ...

to portage the western shore of the Roseau River. Using the Roseau River, Hind and Dawson were to reach the Red River. This was not a usual route for fur traders. On 22 August 1857 they reached Garden Island. This was a traditional Ojibwa settlement where they grew corn, potatoes, pumpkin and squash. On the Island Hind collected samples of corn which caused the group to be questioned by an Ojibwa raiding party. An unnamed Ojibwa man was quoted in Hind's ''Narrative'' as saying "to deny your request; but we see how the Indians are treated far away. The white man comes, looks at their flowers, their trees, and their rivers; others soon follow; the lands of the Indians pass from their hands, and they have nowhere a home. You must go by the way white man had hitherto gone. I have told you all." Following this encounter, Hind and Dawson were forced to take the traditional fur trade route down the Winnipeg River to the Red River. Through the government commission of the 1857 expedition Hind was to complete three tasks. The first was to explore the Red River Settlement, the second to examine the

westward as far as

Portage la Prairie Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. As of 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area of the city was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Hi ...

and make inquiries in the Souris Valley about lignite coal. Third, Hind had to explore the

Red River Valley The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North; it is part of both Canada and the United States. Forming the border between Minnesota and North Dakota when these territories were admitted ...

southward to the Roseau River and examine the river well enough to understand the route from the

. He only had one month from 9 September until 8 October to complete these tasks. The expedition ended quickly; Hind was back in Toronto by 4 November 1857. Although he had left the North-West, the work of the expedition was not over. Hind printed a report on the expedition in 1858 that ran over four hundred pages in total length. His report was received well especially by the ''Globe'', a newspaper run by expansionist George Brown. The reception of the Canadian expedition ensured another for the following year although this time it would be led by Hind and Simon Dawson.

1858 Assiniboine and Saskatchewan Expedition

The success of the 1857 expedition led to the creation of two Canadian expeditions led by Simon Dawson and Hind in 1858. Dawson was to evaluate the country from the Red River to Fort William for an immigration route. Hind's expedition was to look westward from the Red River to the south branch of the

Saskatchewan River The Saskatchewan River (Cree: ''kisiskāciwani-sīpiy'', "swift flowing river") is a major river in Canada. It stretches about from where it is formed by the joining together of the North Saskatchewan and South Saskatchewan Rivers to Lake Winn ...

to examine territory for the possibility of settlement, coal mining in the Souris Valley and the salt springs of

Lake Winnipegosis Lake Winnipegosis is a large (5,370 km2) lake in central North America, in Manitoba, Canada, some 300 km northwest of Winnipeg. It is Canada's eleventh-largest lake. An alternate spelling, once common but now rare, is Lake Winipigoos or ...

. The members of Hind's expedition included photographer and surveyor Humphrey Lloyd Hime, J.A. Dickenson, John Fleming, thirteen

, an

man, and two French Canadians. The group arrived at

Grand Portage Grand Portage National Monument is a United States National Monument located on the north shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota that preserves a vital center of fur trade activity and Anishinaabeg Ojibwe heritage. The area became ...

on 5 May 1858 and had arrived at the mouth of the Winnipeg River by the 29 May. It took some time to prepare the supplies and men for the expedition but they were in the field by 19 June. In addition to scientific information, Hind also collected information on the lifestyle of the Plains Cree. In 1857 the Plains Cree in council had decided that no white man should be allowed to hunt in or travel through their country due to multiple broken promises and the destruction of the buffalo. Hind was witness to the collapse of the hunting economy of the old North-West. By 18 September 1858 Hind's expedition was beginning its last phase. By 28 December he was back in Toronto.

Later career

Following Hind's return to Toronto he resumed his teaching position at University of Toronto, Trinity College and membership to the

Royal Canadian Institute The Royal Canadian Institute for Science (RCIScience), known also as the Royal Canadian Institute, is a Canadian nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting the public with Canadian science. History The organization was formed in Toronto as t ...

. He prepared a report on the 1858 expedition and attempted to organize a third expedition to the Bow River and the

. An economic depression in 1857 left the Canadian government wary of further expenditures on scientific expeditions so Hind's proposal was declined. In 1859 he published ''Of Some of the Superstitions and Customs Common Among the Indians in the Valley of the Assiniboine and Saskatchewan'' in the ''Canadian Journal''. After 1859, Hind attempted to resume exploring and publishing. During the winter of 1859-1860 Hind returned to England to see his ''Narrative'' published. In 1861 he planned an expedition to the North-East. He sought to survey the land around the

Labrador Peninsula The Labrador Peninsula, or Quebec-Labrador Peninsula, is a large peninsula in eastern Canada. It is bounded by the Hudson Bay to the west, the Hudson Strait to the north, the Labrador Sea to the east, and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the south ...

. This was not a government funded expedition. In 1863 he published a report on this expedition entitled ''Explorations in the Interior of the Labrador Peninsula'' in two volumes. In 1864 Hind left his job at Trinity College after being invited to speak at the

. Once back in Toronto he was invited by

Peter Mitchell Peter or Pete Mitchell may refer to: Media *Pete Mitchell (broadcaster) (1958–2020), British broadcaster * Peter Mitchell (newsreader) (born 1960), Australian journalist * Peter Mitchell (photographer) (born 1943), British documentary photographe ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

to have their geological resources surveyed. Hind left

in May for New Brunswick. At the same time as Hind's geological survey, another was being led by L. W. Bailey and G. F. Matthew. Only one of these surveys was to be paid a sum of five hundred dollars by the Canadian government. While the government was deciding which report would be used, an anonymous editorial was published in The Headquarters, a local daily in

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

which scrutinized the work of Bailey and Matthew. It was believed that Hind was the author of the editorial and it had serious consequences for him. He lost his reputation among workers in the same field and was not employed as the provincial geologist of New Brunswick. In September 1864 Hind settled his family in Fredericton. In July 1865 his eldest son drowned while bathing in the Saint John River. The family remained in Fredericton until the following year. In the fall of 1866 the Hind family moved to

Windsor, Nova Scotia Windsor is a community located in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a service centre for the western part of the county and is situated on Highway 101. The community has a history dating back to its use by the Mi'kmaq Nation for se ...

where the boys attended

King's College King's College or The King's College refers to two higher education institutions in the United Kingdom: *King's College, Cambridge, a constituent of the University of Cambridge *King's College London, a constituent of the University of London It ca ...

and the girls Edgehill. Two of Hind's other sons died; James Archibald of unknown causes after the move to Windsor and John Youle of typhoid in 1880. In Windsor Hind was employed by the Mineral Exploration and Mining Association of Nova Scotia. In 1876 he was invited by Francis von Ellerhausen to make a geological survey of

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

. Two years later he displayed a map of the oceanic currents in the region. From 1884 until his death in 1908 Hind wrote no more on any scientific or public subject. He became focused on the local history of Windsor. In 1889 he published a history of the Old Burying Ground and in 1890 the ''Centennial History of King's College.'' In February 1906 he became ill and died on 8 August 1908. He was buried in Maplewood, Nova Scotia. Hind was named a National Historic Person in 2018.Government of Canada Announces 12 New National Historic Designations
Parks Canada news release, 27 March 2018

Works

* ''The Canoe Route Between Fort William...Fort Garry...1857'', (1858) * ''Lake Superior And The Red River Settlement'', (1859) * ''North-West Territory...'', (1859) * ''Reports Of...Assiniboine & Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition'', (1859) * ''Narrative Of The Red River Exploring Expedition Of 1857'', (1860) * ''A Sketch Of An Overland Route To British Columbia'', (1862) * ''Explorations In The Interior Of The Labrador Peninsula'', (1863) * ''Eighty Years' Progress Of British North America'', (1863) * ''The Dominion Of Canada'', (1869) Source:

References

Sources

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External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hind, Henry Youle 1823 births 1908 deaths English explorers of North America Explorers of Canada People from Nottingham Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Canadian geologists Canadian geographers English emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario