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This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmA au taux de rMuction indiquA ci-dessous. 10X UX 18X 22X 26X 30X J 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X The copy filmed here hat been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: Library Agriculture Canada The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol -^-(meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. 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Tous ies autres exemplaires originaux sont filmte en commenpant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernlAre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaltra sur la dernlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols -^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmte d des tauh de rMuction diff4rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clich«, 11 est film* A partir de I'angle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 [♦Wl"* [(Wt^ifiSij^^ O]^ AJ^ EXPEDITION DOWN THE BEGHULA OR ANDERSON RIVER. [Reprinted from the Canadian Kecord op Science, January, 1890.] On an Expedition down the Begh-ula or Anderson River. By Mr. R. MacFarlane, Chief Factor, Hudson Bay Company. Introductory. In 185*7, Mr. MacFarlane carried out an exploratory expedition from Fort Good Hope on the Mackenzie River, to the AnderBon River, and down that river, returning by a different route to Fort Good Hope. A report on this ex- pedition was made by him to the hite Mr. James Anderson, then in charge of Mackenzie River district, for the Hudson Bay Company. This report was not written for publication, but a copy of it was handed to me about a year ago by Mr. J. Anderson, son of the late Chief Factor. As the report contained much information respecting a region of which scarcely anything is known, I applied to Mr. MacFarlane for his permission to have it printed. This permission Mr. MacFarlane kindly accorded, and the narrative is here given as written by him in the year of the exploiation, with the omission merely of some portions of the original, bearing upon the fur trade and business of the Company. Mr. MacFarlane's services to science in the extreme northern portions of the continent are well known, and his report of his journey to the Anderson River, gives further evidences of close and accurate observation, which would be creditable as the result of an expedition undertaken for scientific purposes, instead of primarily in the interests of the fur trade. The region traversed lies to the east of the Mackenzie and to the north of Great Bear Lake, within the Arctic circle. A short notice of the Anderson or Begh-ula river is to be found in Sir J. Richardson's Journal of a Boat Voyage (Vol. I., p. 205), and a brief description of the country in its An Expedition down the Begh-ula. 29 vicinity is given by Abbd Petitot, in the Bulletin de la Societe de Geoyraphie, (Vol. X., p. 173). The map accom- panying the article of Abbd Potitot, is the best available of the region in question and may be consulted in following Mr. MacFarlane's route. His course was northward and eastward from Fort Good Hope to the Lockliart River, thence down that river and the Anderson (of which it is a tributary), nearly to the Arctic coast, where he was turned back by the Eskimo. Ho then returned (southward by land, and after examining an additional portion of the Anderson, above the mouth of the Lockhart, together with another tributary named the Ross, he struck across in a westward direction to the Peau de Litivre or Hare-skin River by which lie retui-ned to Fort Good Hope. Mr. MacFarlane has also furnished me with an additional short general description of the Barren Grounds, to the east of the Anderson River, between that river and Franklin Bay, crossed by him four times in 1862 to 1865 for the purpose of collecting birds, eggs, etc., for the Smithsonian Institution. Some fossils collected by Mr. MacFarlane in the course of these expeditions arc described by Meek in his paper, pub- lished in the Transactions of the Chicago Academy of Science, (Vol. I., p. 75). These are referred to in my Notes to Accompany a Geological Map of the Northern Portion of the Dominion of Canada, (Annual Report Geol. Surv. Can,, 1886., p. 30r,) but Mr. MacFarlane's valuable observations were not then available for reference in connection with the compilation of the map. It would now appear from them, that between the Mackenzie River and Franklin Bay, the Devonian and probably also the Cretaceous rocks, came further south than was supposed, covering a portion of the region coloured as Archaean on the map. George M. Dawson. On the afternoon of June 4th, 1857, accompanied by Jerome St. George, cfiYLaporte, and four Indians, I started from Fort Good Hope for Canoe Lake, cari'ying with us such further V\ \ 1 ' : 1:1 m 80 Canadian Record of Science. nocessaries aa were required, and we reached tliat place about noon of the 8th. In proceeding thither we pursued a northerly course, and on the 5th came to a lake called " Loon Lake," along which we continued, camping that night at its northern end. It is about twelve miles in length, with a breadth of from two to five miles. On theOlh we oncami)edon the west side of a larger lake, and next day crossed a smaller and halted at the southern end of another, in size equal to " Loon Lake," to which I gave the name of Chief Ti-ader Murray. These hdies, together with a chain (f from for.y to fifty small ponds or sheets of water, vai-ying in extent from one-eighth to vwo miles, lie in a flat or valley formed by two ridges of rising ground running pui-allel with each other, and extend- ing on the southward from within a short distance of the Mackenzie (the country thence being undulating) to Mur- ray Lake, where they subside into a scries of gentle hills or eminences, to Canoe Lake. The country appeared to be well timbeied in every direction with pines, juniper, several species of willow, and a few small groves of poplar and birch. Marshy plains and swamps occurred at intervals, and the soil, where not composed of moss or vegetable mould, consisted of a thin layer of dark loam, with a whitish clay or reddish sand underneath. Ice was still as firm as ever on the larger lakes, and wild fowl were exceed- ingly numerous wherever water appeared. On the west side of " Lac Rory " (where we camped June G) several fossils similar to those found in the limestone forming the Ram- parts on the Mackenzie [Devonian] were picked up. The beach was shingly and no rock in sitn could be discovered in that quarter. Canoe Lake is larger than any of the above and is of a triangular form, with high banks and hilly ground toler- ably wooded in its vicinity. At its northeast end wo found the Iroquois, who had the canoes and everything in excel- lent order. Finding that the river issuing from the lake was too insignificant to admit of being navigated by canoes even of the smallest size, I determined on making a portage -Wi"' An Expedition dovm the Begh-ida. 31 to a part of it lower down, whora the IndiunH informed us it was Hufliciently deep. Till noon of the 9th was accord- ingly spent in doing ho, and duiing the remainder of that day and till the afternoon of the next: we toiled in a river from one to ten yards wide, extremely tortuous in its course, with the navigation impeded by immense quantities of drift- wood. We had considerable difficulty in getting on. The wood had to be cut and afterwards removed before we could proceed. On the afternoon of the 10th it was found utterly impracticable to make any further progress. The drift-wood was in such large piles as would occupy more time for its removal than we could spare. Another portage was therefore decided on. Several Indians who had joined us on our route hither wore sent on ahead, with all the * pieces,' to the junction of this river (called the Iroquois after my steersman) with that coming from a lake known as the "La Porte," and lying three days' march to the north-east of Good Hope, and we made a portage of six miles with the canoes to a part of the Iroquois, on which we launched them. Finding it deeper and clearer of drift- wood wo reached its mouth early next day. The Iroquois flows through a flat plain, bounded on both sides by two ridges of ground composed of sand and fragmentary rock, and well covered with pine and willow. The driftwood on this river is doubtless the accumulation of many j^ears. Its course is so very tortuous that any floating wood easily gets jammed between the growing trees on both banks, and thus forms into large piles, so that very little of it ever reaches its mouth. Halting for an hour, we then embarked tlie 'pieces' and commenced the descent of Lackhui-t Eivor (I have named it after a fi'iend and brother officer), finding it much broader and deeper than the Iroquois and the adjacent countiy better timbered. The river varies in breadth from 50 to 300 yards, the greater breadth occurring near its mouth, whore it receives the waters of three small rivers, two of them cominjr from the westwai'd and the third from the east. A strong head wind greatly retarded us in m : m nl 82 Canadian Record of Science. '■ •¥, descending it. Thin was, howovor, ort'ected by noon of the 13th, when the Bo^h-ula River was reached. The formation of the hanks of the Ijockhart for some distance after wo fell upon it, consinted of a bituminous coal, resting (m a bed of limestone, with an upper layer of veget- able mould covering a bed of fiom two to ten feet of clay, underneath which the carboniferous stratum appeared. Lower down, the formation was perceived to bo stratified shale and the beach sandy, and near its debouchement the banks were composed of a dark blue and gravel-mixed clay. The banks were high and 8lo]nng and in jtarts steep ; a few small islands and sandy battures occurred, and the current was smooth and swift, broken only by a few shallows which form rapids at a lower stage of the water. Eabbits were in great numbers, as well as geese, ducks and swans. Two out of seven black bears were shot, six reindeer fired at and missed, and an otter, a beaver, a mink and two .7o1ves were seen. The surrounding country is doubtless a tine tract for fur-bearing animals, and I be" lieve but little hunted owing to its distance from Good Hope, the Hare Inrlian country being situated more to the southward. The Lockhart is said to be navigable from its source and only broken by a few not very formidable rapids in its upper portion. The Begh-ula, or Anderson River, was found to bo drifting thick and the beach lined with ice. Perceiving a fire on the opposite side of the river, we crossed over with much difficulty and there found an assemblage of some fifteen or eighteen Indians, mostlv Batard Loucheux belonging to Fort Good Hope. From these we ascertained that the river had only broken up the pi-evious day. I therefore got up my tent, the pickets of which could not be driven home, and employed the remainder of the 13th in engaging some Indians required to make up our complement, as well as in making other necessary arrangements. It was a party of these Indians who paid a visit to the Esquimaux of this river in April last. They informed us, that on that occasion they had a rather narrow escape with , \ An Expedition down the Begh-uh. 88 thoir livoH from u largo ])urty of westorn Esquimaux who had como thoro for tho puiposo of trudo, and it was only through tho intorposition <•♦' iho former, whom thoy found very fi'iondly, that thoy woio pormitted to return. On coming to a halt shortly after parting with the Esquimaux the Indians discovered that one of their number was miss- ing, who, strange to say, had not sineo been heard of. But more of him anon. On the 14th Juno we ombarkod on Anderson Eivor in two canoes, our party numbei'ing ton in all. Tho general appear- ance of the country, to the lodges of tho Upper Esquimaux which were reached about noon of the 15th, differed materi ally from that previously passed. The banks of tho river were higher and of a more hilly character, and had a considerable sloping tendency upward, the summits of these hills occa- sionally presenting a smooth rounded surface covered with moss and dwarf willow, and tho slopes with timber of a medium size. In some parts also, on the oast side, the sum- mits were perfectly flat, with a few clumps of tall willow. Tho banks on the left generally consisted of a succession of small hills, intersected by several valleys, through which smrll streams made thoir way. The course of the river was pretty direct, chiefly in a northerly direction. Its breadth varied from 500 to 1500 yards, with abundance of water for loaded craft. Very few sandy battures or islands occurred. Some time before reaching the Esquimaux lodges, we were joined at intervals by fifteen of these people, who had been employed hunting reindeer on the slopes and summits of the river banks. They rarely hunt at any distance be- yond, probably from fear of being attacked by hostile Indians. When an Esquimaux succeeds in killing a deer, ho d'*ags the animal as it falls to the water's edge, into which it is plunged. The hunter then inserts an arrow into the carcass, so that on its floating past the lodges it may be t ikon possession of for the benefit of the party by whom it has been killed. On landing at the chief's encampment I immediately marked out a line on the beach, and directed my interpreter 1 84 Canadian Record of Science. IF' to inform liim that if tho i'^nquinmux, in acconijinco witli mc88ngo8 proviouHly 8on( through IndiunH, wished to opon up ami maintain a tViondly intorcourHO with uh, it would bo expec'tod of thoni to rowpect such arrangements as we should doom nocossary for tliat j)urposo, one of which consisted in not attempting to cross tho said lino. To this they at onco agreed and accordingly ranged themselves beyond it. A small ])resent of tobacco, a commodity of which they seomed inordinately fond, having been made to each person assembled, tho objects of the expedition were then or 3rod into and discussed at great length, evidently to the satisfuc-' tion of the Esquimaux, who expressed much pleasure at our visit to their lands. They regretted not having been apprized of our visit at an early period of last season so as to have had a large collection of furs against our arrival, . but promi.-ed faithfully to exert themsclv* s during the ensuing winter. They also informed us that they have two sources of timle — tho first with their brethren to the west- ward, ind the other with some Indians whom thev wore occasionally in the habit of meeting on their hunting excur- sions up the river, and that tho remuneration received for their furs was too trifling to stimulate exertion among them, although foxes were in great numbers on their lands. The J'jStiuimaux of Anderson lliver ai'o ceitainly fine specimens of ihe race — tall and well formed, active in their movements, lively in their conversation, good-humored, with smiling open countenances, and all'able, though, it must be confessed, i-ather troublesome in their deportment. Their clothing consisted of trowsers of deerskin, with tho hair side next tho body, shirts of the same material, and an outer shirt or coat, with tho hair outside, having a hood fj-inged with the fur of the wolf or wolverine attached ; boots or shoes of sealskin, watci'-tight arid neatly made. The crowns of their heads were closely cropped, and the front hair in a lino with the forehead. A few of them also sported tolei-able mustaches and imperials. The dress of the women differed only in being ornamented with beads, and in their having a short tail appending to the hind part An Expedition down tlie Begh-uki. 35 of thoir shirt or ooat, which wuh tied in front. Tho lofty top and Mido hair itriots, ho fawhionahio among the Esqui- maux of tho Mac'i' . cached about 1 p.m. "We halted for dinner, and here, as wherever we landed, we were treated to several dances performed to a low mono- tonous song chanted bv the women. The utmost harmony existed among this intei-esting people, who appeared to feel much atteetion for their children. We saw very few old people and they seemed to be well taken care of. The married women are all very slightly tatooed, and the men wore the usual mouth ornaments. The oomiaks are taken up the river by means of a line made of walrus hide, hauled by three or four women and as many dogs. We met several boats thus hauled en route for above. A largo Inconnue (Salmo Maclcens'd) and w.hile-tish, both of excellent (juality, were here traded. The tirst-named tish, together with carp, loche, herring. Jnck, blue and white-tish abound in this river. The E-quiniaux use nets made of deer sinews tor taking them. Small herus of reindeer were seen browsing on both banks and venison was everywhere in great abund- ance, in fact, doer wore to be had when re(|uired. Aficr leaving last night's encrampment, we founa the country barer as \e advanced and but thiniy wooded, willow being more abundant than pine. Two great bends occurred, across vhich the Esquimaux make a portage when ascending the river. In one spot we observed a bed of shale similar to, but more friable, than that on Lockhart River. From that time until 1> p.m., when it was found nocessMry to abandon ihe canoes, the rivei- gradually in- creased in bieadth with lono wind being fair, we were very short I3' overtaken hy 15 kayaks, to the occupants of which the usual presents were made, but without eliciting any tlianks. The dress of those men was observed to differ Ironi the others in buing ornamented with beads, and in most of their coats being made of t le skin of the wild goat or sheep, animals onl}' to be had in the vicinity of the Rocky Mountains. I supposed that they had received them from the western Esqu inaux, and although I noticed that their manner and the expression of their ccmntenances (which was tierce) were anything but pi'epoBsessing, it never occurred to me that tliey were from the vicinity of Macken/iie Eiver, as I had no idea of encountering any of that tribe at this period of the season. Continuing on wo passed another group of lodges, from which upwards of 20 men put otf to us, but no women. Finding them very troublesome and in our way, the wind having changed I'ight ahead, 1 peremptorily ordered them back, and as they would not return I stoj)ped the canoes and caused the crews to present their guns ut them (this was the first occasion we had to show our arms), which had the ell'ect of making them kop a little behind ; but they persisted in following, and wnile we wore occupied in deal- ing with another party who met us, those behind came up and joining the last they surrounded both canoes, laying hold of Liporte's, evidently with the Intention of dragging it on shore, a proceeding which, after much trouble, aided by the clnefs, we succeeded in preventing. Wo woi-e con- stantly Joined by new arrivals, who were shouting at a great i-ate and making much noise, and I now saw that owing io the interpreters not having thoroughlj^ understood what Dowlas told them regarding these lOsquimaux, whom we had no '!oul>t were fi-om the westward, wo had got into a dilemma from which reti-oat with the canoes was 40 Canadian Record of Science. impossible and tliat there was at least as much risk i/i attempting to retui-n as in proceeding agreeably to nny instructions. I fully expected to encamp that night on the shores of the Arctic Sea, and should certainly have done so but for the reasons which will after appear. Determined to go forwaid at all hazards, especially as from 4ho banks of the river here being muddy and nearly level with the water, covered with ice and no drift-wood — in short, utterly untit for any defensive purposes, 1 could not land, and well knowing that the Esquimaux would never resort to extreme measures while we kept on the water, so long as we did not allow them to lay hold of our canoes. "With my own canoe we always made our way ; not so, however, with Lnporte's, despite order after order given him to keep them oflf he would or could not, and it was therefore neces- sary for us to protect him in addition to opening up a road through the kayaks before us. Guns were again presented, which had now the ett'ect of making the Esquimaux, if any- thing, more troublesome than before. Seven guns were held up to intimate to us that they were as well armed as ourselves, and such of thorn as had none dipped their bows in the water and arranged their arrows before them. These appearances, though certainly indicating hostile intentions, were, I suspected, made at present with the view of adding to the fears of the Indians, and they had the desired effect. The latter now became anxious to be put ashoi'e so as to return overland, of course leaving everything. This I could not agree to, and therefore continued on. About 9 p.m. we arrived opposite to a lar^e encamp- ment, from which some thirty or forty canoes were seen putting off, which caused the others to close around us, and thereby almost drove us on shore. Extricating our- selves with much difficulty we m'Mjaged to go on a little farther and were about twenty yards from the loft bank when the new anivals approached; seeing whom, six of the Indians suddenly got out of the canoes and made for land on a batture which extended for some distance from the shore. The Iroquois and I immediately jumped out, An ExpedilioH down the Begh-ula. 41 dragged tlio canoo to land, and with some trouble I suc- ceeded in making the Indinjis turn back. They were ordered to re-em bai'k, but refused. Seeing that they would not, 1 ranged thoni in a line along the beach with theii- guns pre- sented, so as to pievent the Esquimaux from landing. The beach at this place was low and flat, the mud knee deep, ice in large sheets, with snow and water immediately in the back ground, not a stick of drift-wood and the position perfectly untenable. The Indians were clamouring to be off, some of them who had been at Peel River recogiized many of the Esquimaux as recent frequentei-s of that post, and " Bruloz " also informed me that he had seen the gun and horn of the missing Indian with one of the b'squimaux. Finding that with these crews I should never be able to get back with the canoes, even if they had agreed to •eniain, 1 at length very reluctantly consented to accomp- any them, and we accordingly set out with all the property, leaving behind only what was too cumbrous to be carried, viz., our stock oi' dried meat and pemican (5 pieces), track- ing lino, kettle, tent, oil-cloth, a tin pan, &c. It is but Just to state that throughout, the Iroquois and " Crashey " the Esquimaux interpreter, were the only two who duly supported me. Had the conduct of the others, /rom the first, boon equally satisfactory, it is my firm belief that we could have passed )n and returned despite of the I'lsquimaux, not- withstanding thoii' notoriously bad character and that they were well armed with guns an I other weapons. Their chief object was to get possession of our guns and stock of ammunition which, added to their own, would have made them rather formidable in the event of an encounter with the Peel River brigade. While occupied in giving out the tobacco, ammunition and other trading goods, a number of Esquimaux had landed above and below where we were; tl.ose in f)-ont of us were prevented from landing by the Iroquois and interpreter. The whole proceedings, after x decided on saving the ammunition, Aic, occupied but a few minutes, and it was only on consenting to abandon the canoes that I could at all prevail on the Indians to remain. 42 Canadian Record of Science. I The chiefs were, if possible, in greater fear than the Indiann. The Ksquimaux paid not the slightest attention to what they said. I had ascertained when too late that they wore not of their tribe, but frdfe the westward, being some of the same Esquimaux who wished to pillage the rndiu'-"' last spring. The chiefs wished to accompany us, but I left them with the canoes, telling them that these would j^et be demanded at their hands. Their reply was a strong regret at what had occurred and that they had done all in their power to pre- vent it. Tt was ])lain enough to be seen that the party of western Esquimaux whom the *' Good Hope " Indians saw last spring, apprized of our intended visi'u, had returned to their camps and afterwards, with their families and some others, came across land from the westward via Esquimaux Lake, and had accordingly prepared to intercept us. The chiefs informed me that this lake only existed as an inlet of the sea. We were also told that a number of the above people usually pass the winter with the Anderson River Esquimaux. In emergencies of this kind, Indians, or at least those of the Hare tribe, who are the most peaceable in the country, are not to be depended upon. One shot fired while we were on the water would have been followed by the sacrifice of the whole party, and on land, excepting the position was really good, they would all have deserted after the first round even if they could have been brought to fire. The crews were good enough while we had to deal with the Esquimaux of Anderson Eiver, who were merely troublesome and somewhat addicted to pilfering; and, as to those lower down, I was loath to resort to extreme measures, as in any event it was impossible to bring back the canoes, and such a proceeding would certainly have been attended with very bad results. It would have put an end to all future prospects of trade, and they are good with the Esquimaux, not only of this river, but with those along the coast, east and west of Liverpool Bay. I therefore conceived it best to act as I did, especially as I could not persuade the Indians to re- main with me. An Expedition down the Begh-uta. 43 After being compelled to abandon the canoes, we pursued u course to the westwai'd of tlio rivoi* and at a distance of several miles, so as to avoid the bends in its course as well as any Esquimaux, against whom the Indians now threatened the direst revenge ! The country extended in a flat plain or morass covered with slush and water, to the foot of a chain of undulating liills, along which a small deep river flowed. On ascending the summit of tlio highest hill we had a view to seaward. The outline of the coast was distinctly seen and beyond it what appeared to us to be the sea, of course, entirely covei'ed with ice. The country before us consisted of a series of undulations interspersed with plains of some extent and several small sheets of watc •. Continuing on until (5 a.m. of the Hth June, we encamped, finding the country as befoi'e described and destitute of timber, a few small clumps of dwarf willow occurring at long intervals. With much difficulty, a few small half dry pine sticks about an inch in diameter were collected, a tire was made and part of a deer, which one of the Indians killed, cooked. Next day, or rather that afternoon, we resumed our course through a country similar in appearance, having a low chain of hills or ridges running in a parallel direction to the right of us. Towards midnight stunted trees became frequent along the banks of several small streams which were passed, in the valleys foi-mod between the hills ob- served in our descent of the river. The snow was very deep in the valleys, and altogether the walking was dread- fully bad. From this until the 24th of June, when we reached the Indian encampment at the mouth of Lockhart Eiver, the country was more hilly and better wooded, intersected by numerous small and two middling sized streams having their rise in the south-west. The Andei'son also receives the waters of a large lake lying in the Barren Grounds on the left. Eeindeer were pretty numerous and as many were shot as we required. Traces of moose were seen for three days below the said encampment. There are no musk oxen to be found on the west side of the Ander- 2 I'd P i 44 Canadian Record of Science. son. Those animals aie howovor pretty numorouM in the country to the oastwaid Avhieli is naid to be hilly and destitute of wood. A lew small lakes wore passed on our route. The composition of the hil's, when exposed, was of a reddish clay mixed with sand and small stones. Our course latterly lay along the beach where the walking was rather bettei", and on the 22nd wo mot six Esquimaux who had been hunting higher up. They expressed much regret on learning what had occurr* d below, but trusted that it would not be attributed to their ti'ibe which, they stated, had nothing in common with the others. On reaching the encampment T procured a small Indian canoe, an old i-icketty aflaii*, but the only one to be had, with which I determined on examining the upper part of the river (Ander-jon). With this view, as I could not take them with me, I paid off most of the pai'ty, who proceeded overland to Good IIopo, and by whom 1 forwarded the trading goods and furs. On the 2,5th I set out accompanied by the Iroquois, Laporte and two Indians. One of the party steered the canoe, the others tracking in their turn, but always walked along the shore as the canoe was too small to carry them. Oa the 2l)th, Laporte and one of the Indians were sent home as I found that I could as well get on with- out them, and the remainder of the voyage was performed by the Iroquois and Brule/. After leaving, we found that the river trended to the east- ward, the banks were well wooded, low, and composed of clay and alluvial mud, the current smooth, and the river deep but not so broad as below. The country also differed in appearance. On the 27th we encamped above a shallow part of the river which the Indians dam up with willow, &c., in the fall of the year when the water is low, and by this means take immense numbers of inconnues, white, jack and other fish. The banks on the left (E.) at this place are com- posed of a blue slaty marl and stone piobably resting on a bed of limestone. About noon of the 28th we encountered the first rapids, three in number and small. "We had however to make a portage. Several more rapids were thus met and An Expedition doion the Begh-ula. 45 pasHcd tho same day. On the 28th another succession of more formidal)lo rapidn flowing over a rocky bottom were met, and next day wo oncoiintored several more, and at one part also, where tho banks were high and perpendicular, a portage was rendered necessary. The breadth of the river in the intervals between each succession of rapids varied from a fifth to half a mile, but contracted considerably where these rapids occurred, in some instances being less than 100 yards. The banks were now high an ' tolerably wooded, and the country had a fiat aj)pearance, occasionally diversified by low ridges of rising ground. The rapids generally occurred where the course of the river assumed a south-westerly tendency. Ice was still in large quantities along the beach, rendering the tracking anything but good. Our canoe also delayed us very much, it being so frail and leaky as to require repairs several times a day. In general, the banks of tho river, where no rapids occurred, were composed of clay mixed with sand and frag- mentary rock ; but along and in the vicinity of rapids the formation was limestone containing fossils, frequently rest- ing on a bed of harder rock, and often overlaid by a stratum of blue slaty-marl or clay-slate and a species of pudding-stone or soft sandstone. A few boulders were also passed as well as a small sul|)hur spring. On the 1st July we encamped at the foot of a long succession of rapids, being the first seen since the afternoon of the preceding day, where we shot a moose-deer. A portage of two miles was made next morning and the mouth of a small river coming from the south-east passed. Late in the evening we encamped at the foot of a defile of high per- pendicular rocks through whic h the water flows with great velocity, forming numerous rapids, some of them rather formidable. The river here is about 30 yards wide. A portage of six miles had therefore to be made tho following morning (the 3rd). 1 have called this defile tho Lower Eamparts on account of its resemblance to the Kamparts near Good Hope on the Mackenzie. Shortly afterwards we 46 Canadian Record of Science. W ascended ii Hmull rapid and made anoihor portage, above wln« a wo bogan to jHU'ceivo indicatioiis of coal along the beach. The banlcM were here of a dark blue clay in which thin seams of coal wore observed. A number of boulders nimilar in size to mill stones, but rounded on one side were also met with. They had evidently tumbled from the left bank, higher up, where the formation was clay and gravel mixed with like stones. Continuing on, our course being more southerly than before, we passed another sul- phur spring (lowing at the base of a I'ock, and encamped a short distance above the moulh of a river having its rise in the south-west, which will be describeil hereafter, and to which I gave the name of Chief Tra