IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 1^12.8 |50 ■■■ US 1^ 12.0 M 2.2 I;! 1.8 U 11.6 Photographi Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 4^ ,\ ^q\' :\ \ % V <^ C> <> f/j CIHM Microfiche Series (Monographs) ICIMH Collection de microfiches (monographies) Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques »S to the of the groat interiorTakcs a'^ - i ^T" '/"^'""'" ^'^ ^™'" ^^^^ region ft serves Is a nat ' aT n T 1'T '' ""^ ^"'e^'^* ^""'^ '" «"« and the districts of tirMsl i "^ ''TT' '''' ^*'^''^'"«'^^ ^^'«Wct Athabascan frontier le £^^^^^^^^ i^?' ^^ ^-katchewan. The Rod-deer) Lake, and follows tett^i^^^^^ t \V'^'° ^^^ thus cutting the old district of fl,„ T o . ^"'"'"^ Mountains, Assiniboine\nd Jas L e u « a^^tol r ^'^'V" "'^'^^ ^°^*« quarters of the UppL Saskatehewar T n M ." '^ ^""''' '^"^ ^''''^■ gi-eat Cordillera. wLich is tl e i^ r'^l T "f '"'^ northwards the Wier reaches' beyot'^hrMr T^l^f^ '''''-^' *^° totlio Great Slave Lake by a lino passinrU ./ "'"" ''S'''" courses of the Teaco and Hay riZ^ ^ '^° "'"^^'^ P*^^^"*^^ The Athabasca district comnrisos iwn those iiros 3f Franklin them to be or feet coal, ently unfit one of tho tho Lower , though it :anccs, and I hydrogen lc'8 on con- THE CANADIAN NORTII-WEST TEIiniTOnY. 637 tact with oxygen, as is ,.ften found at tho hegiin.ing of winter in some of the lakoH of tho north-woat), tho eai.ability of H,.ontaneou8 iiluminatiun wlueli Ifiehardson attiibntea to the i.lentieal exhalations of Fort Norman has not been found to exist in this gas. It is iM.,,ossiblo to attribute to tho Indians tho extinction of the fi-es of bituminous sehists in tho Athabasea-Mackenzio sy.teni. Their ignition is intermittent, without apparent cause, and unsiablo. It is, moreover, accompanied l,v a stron-.- Hmell of petroleum, whilst hydrogen is inodorous. But tho' carlnueta of hydrogen, of whieh petroleum is composed, do not make it any «norc than they do fire-dan.)), spontaneously inflammable, ovJn oil contact with air,— in spite of received scientific opinion. We must thereh.re, consider them as one of the effects of igneous action, materiallv connects with tho fire of tho volcanoes; for the Woucanos occur under similar conditions to the vents of tlieso subterranean fires, being found on the nvor banks, on intermediary strata incUming schist, bitumen lignitos, thermal sulphurous or saline waters, rock-salt, «fec. I have observed a saline spring near tho confluence of tho Clear- water; a littlo below this point the Athabasca receives a saline feeder which rises in a natural salt spring of considerable size ; and below Lake Athabasca, on tho left bank, is a second saline feeder, risin- in the Caribou Mountains, which contain vast deposits of rock-salt and'i cavern remarkable for its crystalline concretions. Still further, between Forts Simpson and Norman, two other saline streams, unfit for drink, are fed by tho mines of rock-salt contained in Clarke's Hock, a mountain of volcanic aspect. Lastly, there is a fifth saline river not far from tho Arctic Ocean. About 50^ 30' N. hit., tho Athabasca meets Birch or Bark Moun- tain, a continuation of the heights forming Portage-la-Locho or Mothy IVtage (named after the Loch^ ■ fresh- water cod-fish), and leaves its former course in order to open ,. .vay across the ravines of the moun- tain, thus making a right-angled elbow to the east. This wonderful canon is called tho (Jreat Kapid. l-or some 25 to 28 leao-ucs it impedes and much endangers tho navigation of the Athabasca. Besides tho Great llapid, properly so called, the traveller must pass as best he may the Brule, Noye, Pas-dc-bout, Croche (or Sinuous), Stony, Cascade ■ and Mountain rapids. In short, the whole make one continuous rapid' twice as long as that of tho Bear Eiver, for tho current sometimes reaches' a pace of 12 to 15 miles an hour. There is, nevertheless, strictly speaking, no cataract in the Athabasca canon, only a very strong declivity, in the form of a rapid flat sheet of water, obstructed by enormous boulders. At its commencement tho river finds Itself checked by the vast natural dam of Bark Mountain, the base of which is suudstouo or madreporiferous limestone. The ra'-Wng flood dashes against this obstacle, in which it has striven to batter a breach for centuries, washing away and carrying oflF the quarfzose 638 ON THK ATHAISASCA DISTnKT OK Hono or .mnnu.„„s san.I„to„u Ibnuing tl. itno of th « v L d., hH « .lotacLmg u,..l .«.. uting a .uulticu.lo of globular muHHc. of .. • ; ollowHa...lHt.,no contained in tho ,„artzoso Hand. . hid. now o , the bod of ti.o nvor and arc tho cauHo of itn foanung r.uuU Till ooncrotu.nH aro ound at every elevation of tho eliff.. f'.a ho i. " butU.sandtnrni,«tot;::^;itt;:r:!thi.!:r;;::'" ''-''" ^""^ 1 have never Been in anv L'eoloir;,.,,! ♦,.v* 1 i " , n . ■' &^'""8'<-iii text-uook an exi)1aiMitiHt'd of iron hors of bog ^uhir freaks ncl throngh d by these and render 3esidc8 this irfaco at all itening the tone of this .letachment ^xylon (pro- t specimens horizontal wit. This jituininous annas and )f bitumen he Pierrc- . name of quartzose ding from TIIK C.WAIWAX NOUTH.WLSr TEURiTORy. 689 the bluik ehfVs of the Athabasca is Plmxsphultnm ./vn<>Vr.(.<.,charactoriHtic of the tcrtuuu's. It (Iov.h in stimnier iu wide sheets in.iu the schistuBe flanks of tlie elifls down into tho river, mixing witli tho m\uU and solidifying so as to form a eonglomorute somefiines softened by tlie hiui'b rays and at others hard aud brittle, of whieli fragments dutuciad by the waters are carried down and ,hi)08ited on the shores of tho Athabasca- Mackenzie system, where tliey coul.l be mistaken for nodi-.les of basalt. They acipiire an astcnislii.ig d-gree of liardness, and it is ohly by accident that their true origin is eventually .liseuvere.l. Tlie bituminous sehists are replaced at intervals by u bholl-bearing limestone of dolomitie tendency, sometimes milky wlii'te. From this 1 have extracted various fossils, including 2'tTtir<(/K/(t, very small Belem- uites, Atnjpa retieulari», Cyrliiia hamillonenxh, and C. umbmculom. These limestone strata aro undulating, and occur both above and below the water-levol. _ The hhorcs of tho Athabasca i)resent an attractive siglit. Far from injuring plant life, the presence of naphtha and the subterranean fires seem to have imparted now vigour to it, so that the lofty banks liave their steep slopes covered with vigorous and varied vegrtution. Besides white pine, larch, aspen, and birch (wliich gives its name to the Bark Mountain), the forest trees hero include A'irginian pine, cypress, Banks's pine, Weymoutli pine, balsam- noplar, alder, aud many kinds of willow. Along its waters, discoloured by muddy matter and loaded with deposits to such an extent as to 1v prejudicial to lish-lifo, I have collected a large number of medicinal plants : Gem alrlctum an.l rkale, Verbascum,Ehm,jnu8 arjcntea (a very sweet-smelling shrub whose berries are a great delicacy to bears), Lonkcni ^mrvijlora, Cyprqmliim with its large golden lips, saxifrages, Pohjgala, Enjthvonhm dcns-canis, and beautiful scarlet lilies, like tlie Martagou, wliicli would l)o an ornament to any garden. Tho Indians are very fond of tho bulbs of this latter plant, which tho Tinney» call "Tele-nuie" (or Crane bread) and tho Crees " Okitsanak." Tho eatable Uedysarum with blue flowers and tho poisonous one with yellow (known as tho Travelling Vetch) are found there also. The male fern adorns tho woods with its largo fronds, and others, such as Pohjpodhm, Capillary, and Scolopemlria, carpet the mossy rocks with their elegant plumes. But the most abundant plant all along tho river is sarsaparilla. Tho Tinnoy of tho Beaver tribe know this smilaceous plant as a febrifuge and sudorific, and collect its roots ; but they are not aware of tho anti-syphilitic properties of emilacino, a tannic base contained in it, .rid which I have more than once pointed out to them. It is a curious fact that I have never heard a Cicada in the North- west, though on two occasions (iu 1876 and 1870) I satisfiea myself of • Also variously written as Tinneli. 'Titiiie, 'Dtinnb, Diimfc, Dinfc. Dinneb, Denft, &c. (meamng " men" or " peoi)le"J-tlie great northern or Athabascan family of Indians. uo ox THE ATHABASCA DISTRICT OF tho occurrence of those insects at the jnnotion of the Clear-water and tho Athabasca, thon-li I ,nily found tlicin at that spot. 'I'lie wapiti lias Leeome rather uncommon in tho forests of the Atln hasca, hut the moose is frequently met with there. I have never travelk.! along this nohle river (and I have done so six times) without seein- it sometimes as many as tliree individuals toj^^otlier. The fnigivorous Idack bear, lynx, heaver, and otter are common. On Juno 2;3rd 1879 I met two Cree hunters who declared that since the spring (i.e.' in less than three months) they had hetween them killed along the river ^00 heivers 25 moos^e, 20 bears, and five wapiti ; and I may add that from ex,,erience of the Redskins I know they are more given to diminish than to ex- aggerate the results of their hunting. This shows that life could still he maintained on the river if there existed inhahitants able to hunt and provision the trading posts. But from tho drainage of the Lesser Slave Lake to Lake Athabasca, there are but 31 Crees and 22 Chipewvans women and children all told. Tho original moutli of the Athabasca is now distant a -ood day's navigation from the lake. It is shown by the simultaneous recedin- of both the high strands forming the bed of the river, which from this point keep.widening away from each other until they disappear in the interior. A flat uniform plain follows, composed of accumulations of soil with no mixture of rock and covered by dense forest growth. The river has thus actually filled up its own ancient estuary with tho material it has carried along, for no other in the world is more loaded with muddy deposits, vegetable detritus, and floating trees. Almost immediately after this, tho river divides into two arms, of which only the right-hand one retains the name of Athabasca the left taking that of Enibarras, because of the frequent bars made across it by the tiniber borne on its waters. Further on, the Athabasca channel is subdivided into three other branches, of which tho central was tlie principal channel in 1879, whilst tlie left one, known as the Brochets(or i Ike) River, rejoiue.l the Embarras branch. But all these channels are interconnected by a multitude of creeks, not reckoned by the natives as they are only navigable by bark canoes. Some maps make the river Athabasca communicate with Lake Mamawi (or Mamawa), wliich is also represented as an expansion of one of the mouths of the Peace River; but this is a double error. Lake Mamawi (meaning in Cree, Reunion or Assemblage) receives its waters irom Clear Lake, with which it communicates by a very slu)rt arm called the Tlay River (" Klope-djiethe ") ; and Clear Lake itself is fed from Bark Mountain, having no connection with the Peace River. Bu- before cntmng Mamawi, the waters of Clear Lake bifurcate, the left channel discharging under the name of the " Des Enia-.-.tn" or Children River into the most eastern mouth of tho Peace River, called "Aux CEufs"' or Egg River, which flows into Lake Athabasca. tvator and tlio of the Atlm- 2ver tiavelletl 3ut seeing it, ivorous l)lack , 1879, I met in less than •200 beavers, n\ exjierienee I than to ex- fe could still to hunt and Lesser Hlave C'hipewyans, good day's I receding of ih from this ppear in the tions of soil The river material it ^'ith muddy wo arms, of sea, the left across it by I channel is al was tlie 3rocliet8 (or hannels are natives, as with Lake sion of one ror. Lake its waters arm called s fed from Bui before ft channel rcit Ixiver, iix (Eufs " THE CANADIAN NOUTH-WEST TEKIilTOKV. 641 The waters of Mamawi are also drained into the latter basin by four channels, of which the riglit-hand one passes direct into it, the other tlu-ec eventually uniting and emptying into the eastern mouth of the reace K.ver, which before reaching Lake Athabasca sends out an arm towards Lake Mamawi. This luadruplo cluuinel bears the name of the Four Forks, and is the cause of the Crco name for Mamawi. Very curious tidal fluctuations resnl' from this formation. In ordinary weather, with tilings in their normal condition, the above description is correct. But as the level of Lake Athabasca is materially heightened at the period of flood, the waters of its basin, or more correctly the currents of the Athabasca which cross it, flow back in the direction of the Four Forks, reaching Lake Mamawi and even Clear Lake itself so that they connect the first with the eastern or Embarras channel of 'the Athabasca, and inundate all the pra between the different mouths of that great river, forcing the Egg liivor to flo,v back to the main branch of the Peace River which joins the Great Slave River. Such was the condition of the estuary of tho Athabasca and its mouths m Franklin's time (and also in 187G) ; and if there are errors in tho maps of that time, they are either owing to incorrect information or to nnsunderstanding ; for I can scarcely believe that the first explorers were able to visit all these localities, considering tho short time they spent in tho country. Tho vast marshy savanna of this delta^an ocean of tall grass, mare's-tail, Cyperus, reeds, and willows, intersected by numberless miry creeks always covered with water-fowl-is well called in Creo " Tho Herbaceous Network," which is practically the meaning of Athabasca, Ayabasca, Arabasca, and Wabasca, in tho Algonquin dialects,-a name applied to tho entire lake and also to the river by Europeans. There are often not more than two or three feet of water in these creeks of tho Athabasca; but sometimes the whole estuary is submerged and becomes part of the lake, still bearing on its muddy surface a flotilla of huge trees which have got locked together and materially heigiitened its level. I saw such a state of things in 1871 and 187G • but how difi-erent was the estuary three years after ! At that time tho channels of tho Athabasca were almost dry; tho main current had left • the central one and gone wholly to tho east, and the savanna of tho cstimy, elevated many feet above it, was changed into an immense anf the fresh-water seas which stretch like a chain from tho Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Arctic Ocean, east uf tho Mississippi, the Eed Eiver of the Korth, and the Athabasca-Mackenzie system. It is 230 miles long by 20 miles broad, and about 600 feet above the level of the Arctic Ocean, according to the observations of General Sir J. H. Lefroy. The position of Fort Chipewyan, tlie headquarters of tlie district, is 58= 43' N. hit., and 111° 18' 32" W. long.; that of Fort Fond-du-Lac is 59° 20' N. lat. and 107° 25' W. long. Like a number of other lakes in this region, it is a crystal sheet of water lying in a deep bed, granitic at the north end, and with sandy and muddy deposits at the south. Three of its sides are granite, and a great number of granite islands thickly set with pines dot its surface. But there are no mountains there, and Hearne, the first explorer in 1771, would have been more correct in naming it Lake of the Isles than Lake of tho Hills, as tho abundance of islands strikes the traveller at the first glance. I have already explained the Cree meaning of Athabasca. The present inhabitants, the Cliipewyan Tinney, call it " Yetape-t'ue " (Lake Superior), or more habitually " Kkpay-t'elu-Kke," or Willow-bed, alluding doubtless to tho deltas. This was also the name of an old trading fort at the nioutli of the Athabasca river, where willows wevo tlie dominant feature of the vegetation, only conifers and aspens being to bo seea olscwhere, Thd nature^ of the soil of the lake is therefore identical with that of the great latcs tributary to Hudson's Bay, such as Lakes Wollaston, THK CAXADIAX XOnTII-WKST TEUIilTORV, iiral praiiio per Suskat- f tlic Great .'e travelled )wn, that it L'ing ricli in :;n, and coal r, and even bo set the ! rare, from nals Aviiich 3011, wajiiti, lirio bison), ('0 failed as ad smallest ilge of tbis ich stretch !an, east of -Mackenzie ; above the reiieral Sir uarters of at of Fort ^1 sheet of sandy and nd a great face. Bnt r in 1771, than Lake ler at the sea. The itapu-t'ue " 'illow-bed, of an old Hows AVC^O lens being ith that of tVoUaston, GArf Caribou, Beaver, and Bear Lakes, the Lake of the Woods, and Lake W HiTiipog, and of those which drain to the Atlantic, such as the Canadian lakes projier. The fishes of the lake are Corcgnnua htctdus or y/hHc fish, salmon front (which there, as in more northern waters, reaches ;J5 lbs. and over) Canadian trout, Gatmtomua reticulatus, Maskinongo (Egox eator), grey and red Rucking-carps, Sandro (Lnriopnrca americmia, called Dorey by the Canadians), tlio golden-eyed Lakuchc, lamprey, Methy (Lotn maculosa) &c. I only refer here to the larger species, for the very suflicient reason that the smaller ones arc entirely unknown. The north of the lake, which is wholly sterile and rocky, only affords support for caribou, which find a palatable food in various lichens growmg there. The animals and plants of the forests and prairies to the south have already been referred to. _ It is obviously impossible that very exact cartographic represonta- tions should exist of so vast a lake, which has only once or twice been visited by scientific observers, and then only partially, having never been explored as a whole. I have therefore hero also to make some altera- tions in the maps now current. It would, however, be wearisome to enter into a minutely detailed description of all the bays, isles and capes for which the map accompanying the present paper mult be consulted. The lake receives eleven watercourses, of which eight (the Beace Mamawi, Athabasca, Little Fork, William's, Unknown, Beaver and Other-side rivers) are on its south. The Grease and Carp rivers 'enter ■ into It from the Barren Grounds ; and the Great Fond-du-Lac river flows in on the east. The latter drains into the lake the waters of the Great Black Lake and the Luke of the Isles, a basin dotted with granitic blocks and fed by two streams which are practically a chain of small lakes The mu.t soirtherly of these rises at the foot of Beasts Mountain, not far irom Wollaston or Groat Hatchet Lake ; the northern one rises near Lake Caribou, but without having any kind of communication with it. It was doubtless the proximity of these twc great lakes to the most eastern sources of Lake Athabasca that caused Hearne to believe that Lake W ollaston was connected with Hudson's Bay by the Churchill ' river, and with the Arctic Ocean by Lake Athabasca. Nothing, however could bo more incorrect. The most northern source of Lake AVoUaston is the glacial river springing from the elongated granitic water-parting before mentioned. This lake drains into Lake Caribou by the Canoe Eiver, a simple connecting arm, and communicates with the Churchill Elver by the Deer Eiver. But there is absolutely no communication between the lakes occupying the two slopes of the water-parting. I have therefore corrected four geographical mistakes about these Canadian lakes, to which various drainages have hitherto been attri- buted. The first mistake refers to Lake La Eonge, which empties into 646 , ON THE ATHABASCA DISTHICT OV tho Clmicliill, and which was also said to open into the Beaver lliver • hut I showed iu 1873 that tho Beaver receives tho La Plonge River, which rises near Lake La Eonge, though not taking tho actual Avaters'of tho latter lake. Tho second concerns Lak-.n Wollaston and Athabasca as above stated. Tho third refers to tho Great Bear Lake, to which Sir John Richardson attributed three outlets, viz. tho Bear Lako River and tho Harcskin River, entering tho Mackenzie, and tho Bo-hula River, entering tho Arctic Ocean. In ascending these three rivers to their respcctivo sources, I proved in 1809-70 that tho Bear Lako has only ono outlet, viz. tho river of tho same name; that the Harcskin river flows out of tho Wind Lako near Smith Bay in Bear Lake- and that the Anderson (tho "Beghula" of Richardson) rises in a little lake at the foot of Mount " Ti-depay " quite to the north of and some distance from Bear Lake. Lastly, tho fourth error is regarding the famous great lake of the Eskimo, to which various openings into the Arctic Ocean were attributed, besides one outlet in the mouths of the Mackenzie and another in the Anderson River. It is now known that this lake (the size of which has been considerably diminished) has but ono outlet, tho river " Natowdju," a direct tributary of the Arctic Ocean. I have also, in 1879, made a complete survey of tho course of tho Slave River from the great lako of the samo name to that of Athabasca in order to complete my former work on the Mackenzie ; and it is remarkable that, although I had no map to refer to, and no other instru- ment than a compass, tho result agreed almost exactly with Franklin's route-map of 1820, except as regards some islands which either escaped las observation or have been exposed since his journey, some winter portages that ho never crossed, and a few bends in tho river which ho probably passed at night-time. Above the rapids formed by the Caribou range, where that ran-o leaves the left bank and turns off towards tho east, along the course of the great Des Seins River, or " Thou-bau-desse," * tho Slave River crosses a flat plain covered with inextricable forests, apparently reclaimed by deo-recs by tho sedimentary deposits of its muddy waters. This river has no sandy shores. Its muddy banks are constantly being washed off on one side to be deposited on tho other. At times they give way, and the current, precipitated with violence into tho forests, opens fresh channels whilst the old ones, obstructed by tho mire and sand brought down, are filled up and transformed into a marshy savanna. The Duck Portage was formed in this way. Entering it from the north (the direction lacing the current), the idea is suggested that it is a channel of tho river or one of its affluents; but tho traveller soon finds himself in n, *J\1'J}\"' " '°""'^"' "^'"'''^ °^ *•''' ^^'"''^ ^^"^'^ I^"'«. i« apparently represented n M Potitot s map by the " T'artsan-Do..e " or Yello. Knives ifiv... tL namoTe , 'Varr.Se"rit?rr'°r. TVt 'l^^ "'^'^"■^"■dc-eh" of tho map of Buck's .Witue (IbaO), which enters the Slave Lake to the east of the mouth of the Slave avor llivor ; liver, which iters of tho ihabasca, as ) which Sir Lake River 10 Beghula ee rivers to r Lake has le Hareskiu Lake; and I little lake inc distance mouH groat I'ctic Ocean ^kcuzio and ke(tho size t, the river irso of tho Athabasca, and it is her instx'U- Franklin's ler escajied mio winter I" which ho m go leaves f the great )sses a flat by degrees ^cr has no bed off on -3', and tho 1 channels, down, are k Portage ' direction Hcl of tho liiinself in represented c namo used tp of Back's of tho Slave THE CANADFAN NOUTH-WKST TERRITORY. 647 an imuienso dried-up marsh, .piito lovel, and entirely composed of black viscous mud, cracked by desiccation and covered with timber formerly deposited by tho waters. Its Chipewyan name, "Tedh dodh- heh t'ue" (Floating-wood Lake) points to its origin. There is, how- ever, no trace of any lake ; but a chain of wooded and elevated isles shows that this is the aneient bed of tho Slave Eiver, which after fiUincr it witli muddy deposits has been obstructed in its course by imbedded timber and forced to break a passage to tho right by an abrupt eastern elbow. I think tins alteration of course has been effected recently It may perhaps be the (^tlet which I saw in course of formation in 18G2 though I had then no opportunity of accurately fixing its position. During extraordinary floods, tho surplus waters of tho Slave Eiver spread over this great marsh and scour tho Duck Portage, but at an epoch before tho formation of tho present bed, when the Duck Portage was the ordinary channel, tho overflow passed to tho left by .mother natural channel, now dry. This shows a gradual tendency of tho Slave River towards the cast in this district. Tho conditions above referred to as existing at the mouth of tho Athabasca, aro also sho,vn at the mouth of this river, for the current has so clogged its bed and filled up its estuary as to bo compeKcd to divide and make its way across the sedimentary deposits of its delta, which it cuts up into a great number of mud islands. Tho first and oldest of its branches contained large and lofty islands, identical as to soil with tho mainland, and wooded like it with whito pmcs, Populns balsamifcra, aspens, and birches whose vcuorable trunks show an existence of at least six or eight centuries. If a line be drawn on the right from this point to the mouth of the Des Seins Eiver and on tho loft to that of tho Oxen Eiver, a triangle or delta will be described wholly occupied by the ancient and recent mouths of the river. The latter, after dividing into three channels, is subdivided into two great median arms, of which the eastern one is called Jean's Eiver a corruption of tho Chipewyan name « Dzan-des-tche," literally Mud- rivor end or Muddy mouth. Up to this point, standing trees aro found m tho delta, but they are no longer coniferous, thus showing that the islands are of later formation. As the channels subdivide, vegetation decreases with them ; aspens, poplars, and alders have disappeared, and only small willows, six to eight feet high, aro found. Still lower down nothing IS found but reeds, bulrushes, and at last only mare's-tail {Lqmsetum),an exclusively aquatic growth entirely covered during floods. buch aro tho products of tho last sedimentary formations, which are not yet consolidated. Between them and the lake extends a moving bog, fluctuating with the waters, which cover it for a few inches. Any unfoi^tuiuite boat running into this mud will infallibly become as firmly imbedded as tho innumerable tree-trunks whoso roots are horizontally exposed above its surface. Some years hence, these unsolid and ui G48 ox THE ATHABASCA DISTRICT OF fathomable Lanks will become firm, anil, aiaed by tho accumulations and drying cffoets of frosts in winter, will form new islands more and more encroaching on tho Slave liako. During tho 2-10 miles of tho course of tho Slave River, it only receives two affluents, one on each bunk, viz. tho Dogs and tho Salt rivers, tho first of Avhieh is above and tho second below the llapids interrupting its navigation. Tho maps of Lake Athabasca give indeed its southern afiluents, but two of these, the Unknown and Beaver rivers, aro not represented as being of large dimensions, nor aro tho lakes from which they spring shown as being within so comparatively short a distance of the lacus" trine enlargement of tho Churchill known as Lake Lacrosse, that passage from the latter to tho tributaries of Lake Athabasca could bo made by tho head- waters of tho Caribou river. I have tliought it right to rename these two great rivers and tho lakes from which they spring after Messrs. C. P. Gaudet and II. M'Farlano, as a mark of my respect and gratitude. III. The first person entitled to honour as the explorer of Lake Athabasca, was Samuel Ilearne. He discovered it in 1771, and named it " Lake of the Hills." Seven years afterwards, the North-west Company sent thither a Canadian, Joseph Frobish^r, who founded tho first trading- post. The Hudson's Bay Company soon followed the example of its rival, so that here, as in many other places, these two commercial bodies found themselves in competition at an early' date. Nevertheless, the discoveries of Hearne, of Peter Pond in 1779, and even of Sir Alexander Mackenzie in 1780, however authentic and scientific, were apparently anticipated by tho far-reaching tracks of the Courreurs do Bois; for when Pond reached tlie Great Slave Lake, the half-breed Canadian family of Beanlieu had already settled on tho Salt River — ono of them, named Jacques, indeed acted as interpreter for this trading officer, just as at a later date his nephew Francois was Sir John Franklin's hunter and interpreter. In 1820, and again in 1829, Sir John Franklin, accompanied by Lieutenant Back and Dr. Richardson, visited Athabasca on their way to the Arctic Ocean, when commencing their explorations for the famous North-West passage. The portrait drawn by these travellers of the Chipewyan Tinney (whom they also call, though wrongly, Atha- bascans) is anything but a flattering one, and shows the recent change for the better in tho character and disposition of these Indians. I can myself speak of as great an alteration in the Beaver Indians, who are now as gentle and inofiensive as they were thievish, shifty, and faithless twonty.fivo years ago. This is the natural cffeci of tho commercial relations and religious habits acquired since that date by those child-like tribes. THE CANADIAN- NORTII-WKST TERRITOJir. CIO cumulations ilands more or, it only 11(1 tlio .Salt tlio Kapids llluents, Lnt ircsonted as they spriny ' the laciis- Imt jjassagc JO luado by t to rename pring after respect and Athabasca, t " Lake of ipany sent st trading- uple of its rcial bodies ;heles8, the Alexander apparently 3 Bois; for iian family em, named [ust as at a lunter and ipanied by leir way to the famous ors of the ?ly, Atha- mt change ms. I can 8, who are id faithless lommerciai I child-like The Chipewyans, without being as timid as their northern brethren, who deserved the uncomplimentary epithet of " Slaves " bestowed on them by the first explorers, are now a gentle, peaceful, and honest I)eoplo, comparatively chaste and religious, though they may porhaiis be accused of being a little too morose in disposition and fond i)f solitude. The Catholic Missionaries first visited them in 1847, and two years later settled among them. In 18GG or 1868, if I remember rightly, a clergyman of the Church of England was domiciled at Fort Chipe- wyan ; and lastly, in 1875, the Moutroal Sisterr of Charity founded a school with an orphanage and hospital there. This fort has for some years been the seat of an Anglican bishop. From the time of the historian Charlevoix, a vague acquaintance with Lake Athabasca must have existed in Canada, for he speaks of the Dog-rib Indians and the "Savanois" (now called "Mashkegous" [Maskigos] or swamp-dwellers), the former of whom lived at the north and north-east of the lake, while the hunting-grounds of the latter were to llio east and south-east. At this date, the Ayis-iyiniwok or lyiniwok (Men), called by Duponceau " Killistini," by the Ojibboways " Kinistinuwok," and by the French "Cristineaux" (also called " Klistinos" and "Knistineaux"), from which have finally been derived the names Cris, Crees, Kree, and Kri, lived on the banks of the Beaver-Churchill river, which they called Great Water (Missi-Nipi), as well as on the shores of Cross Isle Lake, Moor-hen Lake, Cold Lake, &c. In short, they occupied the country between the Savanois Indians on the east and the Grandes- pagnes (also called Prairie-Crees), on the west. The Chipewyans at that time lived along the course of the Peace Eiver, after crossing the Rocky Mountains, not having yet ventured down into the country now occupied by them between the Great Slave Lake and Frog Portage on the English Eiver. It was in fact their primitive home in the liocky Mountains that originated the Canadian name " Montagnais " or High- landers for these Tinney, who now live in a flat country. Lake Athabasca, the Slave Eiver, and the shores of the Great Slave Lake were the exclusive territory of another tribe of Tinney, to whom the epithet of Slaves was given, from their natural timidity and cowardice. They themselves recognised two divisions, people living among the hares (or northern Tinney), and among the rabbits (mean- ing the Chipewyans). The latter name is applied by the Crees to the entire Tinney nation, and means "Tailed men," i.e. men clothed in tailed skins. This arose from the fact that all the Tinney, like the modem Din..^ ■. p of Alaska, used to wear a fringed robe of moose or reindeer skin, ending in a long point in front and behind. The Indians using the Algonquin tongue, such as the Crees, Savanois, Grands-pagnes, and Ojibbeways, car. " ■■■■ on a pitiless war against the Athabascan Tinney or Slaves, who fix itural timidity f . -3 up their No. XL— Nov. 1883.] 2 u 660 O.N THE ATHABASCA DISTRICT OK territory to tlicircnenucH,un.l foil back on tho (Jroat Slavo Lake, pursued by tho Croos, who made a great slaughter anioug thera. Various islands and arehipolugos retain tho name and the nioniory of tlioso droaded Ennas (strangers, enoniies), including Dead Men's Islo, which keeps ahvc to this day tho recollection of tho defeat of tho KatchA-Ottiiii. Bubsequcntly called Slaves. From that time, this portion of tho Tinnoy family never ventured south, but remained in tho cold lands and swampy forests of tho north, whore they became split up and settled under the names of Dog-ribs, Ilareskins, Highlanders, Slaves, &c. Their different tribal dialects vary but slightly inter se, differing much more widely from the Chipowyan, ^ The luUistino or Crees, established on Lake Athabasca and its tributaries and drainers, found themselves exposed to tho attacks of tho Chipewyan Tinnoy arriving from tho west by tho Peace Eiver ^-alled Amisko-Sipi or Beaver River by tho Crees), thus proving that tho linnoy lumily, or at least its northern tribes, are of later origin on tho American continent than tlio Killini or Ilillini Lleni. But, being as bravo as if not braver than, tho invaders, thoy offered such a resistance that prisoners and slaves were maJe on both sides. Meanwhile the En.-lish appeared in Hudson's Bay at tho mouth of the Missi-Nipi (called English Eivcr from them), and fonnded a factory there named Churchill after the then Prime Minister of England. This became tho medium of commerce between tho coast Eskimo, tlio Savanois, and tho Crees of tho lutenor. _ Before tho Hudson's Bay Company sent Hearno to explore tho interior, a Chipewyan woman named Tha-narelther (Fallino- Sable) was earned off by a Savanois war-party, ai,! taken in captivity to tho' shore-region of Hudson's Bay. She saw w^ , a astonishment in tho tents of her captors domestic utensils and arms entirely now to her, and as she at first behoved them to bo of native manufacture, she admired the intellectual superiority of the Killini, and determined to remain with a people so superior to herself in intelligence and cleverness. But she did not live among them long before detecting from their ways and ceaseless wanderings that they obtained these things from strangers, in exchange tor peltry and provisions. This traffic puzzled tho captive, but as she imagined that the original possessors of tho riches bc.towed tipou tho Savanois must bo their relations or allies, she never thought of taking refuge with them and begging their protection. Only after some years of harsh captivity, did she discover that the " Agayasieu " (tho Cree name ' lor the English), who supplied the Crees and Savanois, belonged to an entirely strange race, good-natured and generous, friendly with all the aborigines, and coming from the far east to trade with them. Her mind was then soon made up. She succeeded in roacl.uif For*- rihurohill alone and as she had learned enough of the Algonquin dialect to make herself understood by the interpreters of the fort, she was enabled to lot the Hudson's Bay Company's officers know that she belonged to tho great /\ ko, imrsuoil Otis islands ;8o (1 loaded hich koops cho-Ottine, tlio Tiinio}' rul swampy [ uudor tho ir different 010 widely ;a and its icks of tho ver ^'Jailed lie 1 mnoy ) Anif rican rave as, if anco tliat 10 Englisli pi (called CLurcbill, nodiiim of Bcs of the :ploro the ig Sablo), ity to tho tho tcntti uid as she nired the lin with a ut she did I ceaseless ei.chango Jut act she npou tho of taking years of roe name ged to an ;h all the Her mind Dhurchill i to make led to let tho great THE CANADIAN NOUTH-WEST TKRRITORV. 651 natio>. of "Men" (Tinuey). living far off i„ tho west, and professing" honesty and fair-Lehavionr like tho English. Siio expressed her do- termmatnjn of returning to her own people, and Legged for assistance on the way homo, promising to ostahlisli friemlly relations between her countrymen and the officers of tho company, who, gla.l of the opportunity of extending tho sphere of their commercial transactions, gave her a sledge and dogs, with various presents, and a safe conduct through tho land of tho Killini. Attracted by these presents, tho Chipowyans at cnco undertook tho long voyage from tho Peace Kiver to tho mouth of the Churchill, calling tho fort "Th.'-ye" (stono house), and its in- habitants "The-ye Ottino " (men of the stono house), a name ^y which tho English are still known among the Tinney. These relations continued to tho time when Joseph Fn.bisher established Fort Chipewyan, on the shores of Lake Athabasca, in 1778, for the North-west Company, at which date there wore as many as 1200 ]{edskins settled on the lake. But tho white man brought with him tho horrible disease of small-pox, till tlien unknown to tho Americans, which made great ravages among the Tinney, and more than decimated tho Crees, driven to tho southern part of tho lake by tho warlike attitude of the Chipowyans. Influenza, an epidemic catarrhal affection attacking tlio tribes at regular intervals of about seven years, completed tho work of the small-pox. Ileduced to a very small number, tho C-ees ceased all hostile action against tho Chipe- wyans, who had become their superiors both in numbers and strength ; so that the possession of the lake, and indeed of tho territory of Atha- basca, remained with the Tinney, who permitted a few Crees and Savanois to remain among them. From Athabasca, tho Chipowyans spread north by degroos towards tho shores of the Great Slave Lake, and east and north-oast towards Iludson'tj Bay, "whore, having met with vast herds of wild reindeer, they L'cttled on the Barren Grounds, living from that time in common under tho names of Yellow-knives (" T'altsan Ottine "), and Caribou- eaters (" Ethen eldeli "). Such of these as remained attached to the Churchill traders, took tho name of the latter and are still known to their western fellow-tribesmen as " The-yo Ottine- " ; finally, many of them even ventured south to Lake La Biche, Cold Lake, Lake La Ronge, Cross Island, Heart Island, &c., where they bear tho name of " Thi-lan Ottine " (Men of the end of the head). When leaving tho fertile plain watered by the Peace Eiver and its afiQuents, the Chipewyan Tinney were hard pressed by a tribe still more warlike than themselves, namely the Secanais or "Tho-kko Ottine" (Men who live on tho mountains), who in their turn had come from the western slope of the Rockies, v-hero they left tribes identical with them- selves as to language and customs. Afl to the Beaver Tinney, they crossed the mountains to the south and reached the plains of the Saskatchewan, where still lives a remnant 2 u 2 682 ON TltE ATlUnASCA DISTRICT OF of tJim people, the Sarcis (in f'-'pc, " Sarafiwi ") whoso niack-f(jot name ij,iMn8 bad (from " tin arsoy," iM •■x)il). Weamo prTruittcil the aHsociation of some Chipewyaua on his oxi pctlition to the ropper-mino Kivcr, a tril)ntary of the Arctic Ocean, with a result tliat is wdl known, as is also tho massacre committod by his followers among the Eskimo. The Hudson's Bay Company was not long in founding a trading post on Lake Atliahasca, establishing one under tho name of Wodder- bume on an islet near Fort Chipowyiin. This rouiaincd till 1821, when the rival companies united their interests and put an end to their regrettable hostilities. Commerce and religion have materially civilised tho manners and character of the Cree, Chiiicwyan, and Beaver Indians inhabiting tlio Athabasca district. They are at present quiet, peaceable, inoffensive, and friendly to tho white man, but very much diminished in numbers, the failure of animal life, and the extraordinary decrease for many years in tho waters of tho rivers and lakes, which has destroyed fish-life to an immense extent and driven away wild-fowl, having caused such a famine that many died of hunger and misery between 1879 and 1S81. There were 900 Chipewyans and 100 Crees at Fort Chipewyan in 18G2, but in 1879 I could only lind 537 Chipewyans and 86 Crees, even including those living on tho river Athabasca. Now there is but ono single family of Crocs at the lake, and tho remnants of the tribo have gone away to join their fellows of tho Peace River. Tho same fate has befallen the Chipewyans. In their total of 500 must be reckoned those of Fort Smith, at tho foot of tho rapids of tlio Slave River, as well as those of tho Salt River, and many families of tho Great Slave Lake and Ok River. In short, tho Athabasca district, comprising tho Peace River and parts of both the Lesser and Great Slave Lakes, now contains no more than 2268 souls, including 150 half-castes and 57 white men of various origin— English, Scotch, Irish, and French-Canadians. Tho following are the exact btatistlcs in 1879, f( ■ ..u. ..r B'Epiiictte (:•. m Itiver) and\ hlrtvc Luk .', together j Grand total of the Athabasca district, 22G8 THE CANADIAN NuliiU-WKST TEItUITOItY'. 663 •im White; 28 15 2 4 57 Tlio following statistics of tho wholo Atli busca and Muokouzio K'wl- skiii populiition (inchuling women and chil.lron), woro collected with gmit caro by myHolf in various localities which I have vi.sitoa or stayed in u1, dilVoront times. I havo before mo synoiitlcil tables by triLoa and families, including oven the names of tho indiviiluuls. Great Stave Lake. Fnrt Resolution, 1803-C4 (CliipcwynTis 215 Yollow Kuivcs ;ii('j FortRuo, 18G4 Dng-rihg Mackenn'c. Bliu'k Liiko Rivor, 1878 Etoha-ottiuu Ili.y Itivor, 1874 F(jri SiiiipHOii, 1873 I'ntU Normnn nnJ Fmnkliu (Hour I,ake>, ItfOy, together Fort Good IIopo, 1 807 Fort Jliioi^hcrson (Peel River), 18C(;, in- cluding Lu I'ierro's House Forta Liard and Nelson, Liard River 577 788 300 ti5 100 80" IRlnvcs or Etchu-ottine . . . . 07 Dog-ril)s 47 IVrountiiin Indiana .. .. C! llureskinij h5 272 .. Harcskins 422 IDiuiljie (ir Loiiclieux, Quiirrellir.s, Kutchiii .. .. 290 Eskinw of tliu Anderson ,. 250 I. » Mnckcuzio .. 300 —-— 550 ( (Not collected by myself) \ Slaves Population of the JIackenzio At/i'ibasca. Forts Chipcwyan and Siuitli, 1S71» / Cliipewyans nn? I Crecs 80 Fond-dii-Lac, 1870 Cariboii-caters Vermilion, Peace River, 1879 / Beavers 234 \ frees (j 500 4214 G23 318 210 / Heavers and Se'canais . . .. 195 I Creos ia7 53 332 195 Fort MaoMurray, Atliabascn River, 1879 / Cliipewyans ju (. Crees 22 Fort Dunvegan, Peace River, 1879 .. ., Fort St. John, Peace River, 1879, Lesser 1 „ , Slave Lake / Secanais Population of the Athabasca . . 17{;i Maximum total ♦ 5975 * These figures n.ay bo ooniparod with similar but loss detailed statistics collected by Captain (now Sir Henry) l.efioy in 1844, and published in tho Proceedings of the Canadian Institute, 1853. Thoy were also based on the Imoks of tlie Hudson's Biy Compiiny's trading posts and tho personal knowledge of its office) The enumeration 01 the rillUlV under Vftrinn.j anU.litTi^;,-*.^-. ,^,^t»pa *,. ir.rv., ,.,, « _ -l 1- „r_. , - , '■■- " 1! r-. ,-> ..„i_ n, 28 Fine 17-60 » 29 )) 5 tf ;)0 10-40 V ;ji »> 14 April 13» Fine 50 » 14 55-40 I) 15 r. 16 Snow 53-60 )» 17 Fine 35-60 M 18 Kiiiny 46-40 »» 19 ») 35-60 )f 20 If 46-40 II 21 Fine 35-60 Noon. Fahr. 14 Observations. 14 21-20 24-80 26-60 53-60 Water running iu gutters. Pools of water on tho lake-ice. Ice dry. Wild duck seen. * ^•^-— No record kept till the 13th. A considerable rise in temperature i Fine Rainy Cloudy Fine Cold Snow Fino Cloudy Fine Cold winds Temperatures. 1 A.M. Noon. ° Fnlir. 39 42-80 32-90 35 -(iO 37-40 37-40 32 32 35-GO 50 46-40 40-40 50 40 -40 )» 50 40-40 Windy 41 Fino 40-40 41 32 33-80 35-60 40-40 42-80 32 59 42 -80 39-20 40-40 no 42-80 ' Falir. 4ti-40 .>5-40 40-40 50 00-80 00-80 37-40 Observations. FroRs cronking. jMosciuitoes. Starlings seen. Thrushes; Hies. Pelican ; birch-syrup making begins ; edges of the lake quite frco from ice. Budding. Biittertlios ; swnns ; beetles ; Ancmmio pulsiitillit liowers; ploughing. Tiisstltiiio jarfara llowera. Breaking-up of the lako-ico ; willows bud. Sowing. White and grey gecao seen. Wnter very low ; Jake dry; ground green. Penny-royal ; yellow- lutmmers [ ? ^ijki- •:ulit ccsticix'] ; goose- berry bushes show- ing leaves. Ico entirely gone. Cranes ; white flsh plentiful, but dy- ing from wnnt of water, and killed with sticks in the dry chauncls. loe,' r I iir H- I N I V E S I B U w. 11 11' BRITISH NOidH AMERICA NimTII WESI TERRITORY ^<'., /,j:^^ ^/ ^ *^l Northwest territory ^ f: li'ciiu ^^^^v^•\ ■. :,ii,l informalion 4* '% loUfct.Ml liy ill.' r,.v EinileF.S.Petitot . K E I N fi'oiu Survi'\s ;ijiil iafornialion ft)UtM't»Ml Ity ill.' i;-v EinileF.S.Petitot Sr.;*U 01 Knplish Miles. i. Wi;' ■^'^<^^.- irp' of ■j lU-TJi^ I. -^ -__ ^ _^ y s -^ t:> ■'ifitthf I \- fn:n '/.«(/<•/)'■""''■ '■ V.', ■,/„.W-' BeassJH- \^^ woLLAsrmf [great nATCBE^ •iK*' ■^-%- #;««l r^-^i^w-- -T' V Fnrian-' '•/ *-«»«'f>^.#'#*^ riear Watiir Portages mmrMiui t.Oismdr ft"' .1 Sni.i^ Vukiiiiwh V-'^^.j . '■'',. .'Wku .('~\ ^ p,' Peter )I"^'' ./■ k ri. •:i iv i r r>iurchiU R 5 Crcrhf 1 ur"""^* ' Bin }- iti^'jiuulr West 10!t' from (rreenwii.li lilH N A ^f C RJ E E S /f ^\ R IOC.' flS6" Kir.- io;v ni;; E.iw< Weller./nA , Z!,'.; /