This work is arranged in three sections, each shedding light on life in and around Churchill, Manitoba. The opening section gathers together a series of magazine pieces that first appeared in various North American periodicals. These are firsthand reminiscences of Angus MacIver’s years spent trapping in the Churchill district. The stories were recounted by Angus to his wife, Bernice MacIver, a Toronto schoolteacher, who relocated north a year after their marriage in 1945.
The central and most substantial portion of the book is devoted to Bernice MacIver’s diary entries. Occupying the greater part of the volume, these entries read less as private jottings than as historical sketches, reflecting on the past of the Churchill region and its development. Their tone suggests they may have been written with publication in mind.
The final section, comparatively brief, comprises a set of appendices of practical and historical interest. These include tabulated records of annual grain shipments through the Port of Churchill, lists of local birdlife and common wildflowers, a short bibliography of works relating to the North, and a checklist of articles published by both Angus and Bernice MacIver.
