IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) LO II 1.1 11.25 ijo "^^ raH ■^ 1^ |2.2 ;!: 1^ 12.0 |U 11.6 I ^ '^ ^^>y' Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 \^X<<\ MAIN STRUT WnSTIR.N.Y. MSSO (716) •72-4303 ) CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/iCIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notas tachniquas at bibliographiquas The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. D n V u D Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur r~| Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagie Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurie et/ou pelliculAe I I Cover title missing/ D Le titre de couverture manque Coloured maps/ Cartes gdographiques en couleur □ Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/, Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Reii^ avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La reliure serr^e peut causer de Tombre ou de la distortion !e long de la marge intArieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutias lors dune restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6t6 filmies. Additional comments:/ Commentaires supplimentairas; L'Institut a microfilm* le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a txk possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-Atre uniques du point de vue bibllographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la mAthode normale de filmage sont indiquAs ci-dessous. I I Coloured pages/ D Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommagias Pages restored and/oi Pages restauries et/ou pelliculAes Pages discoloured, stained or foxei Pages d^colories, tachetdes ou piqudes Pages detached/ Pages d6tach6es Showthrough/ Transparence Quality of prir Quality in^gale de I'impression Includes supplementary materii Comprend du materiel supplimentaire Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible I I Pages damaged/ I I Pages restored and/or laminated/ rr^ Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ I I Pages detached/ rVj Showthrough/ I I Quality of print varies/ I I Includes supplementary material/ I I Only edition available/ Th< to Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been ref limed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 6ti filmies k nouveau de fa^on A obtenir la meilleure image possible. Th( poi of film Ori bai thi sic oti fin sio or i Th< ahi Tl^ wh Ma difl ant bai rigi raq ma This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est film* au taux de rMuction indiquA ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X / 12X 16X 20X 26X 30X 24X 28X ] 32X Th« copy filmed h«r« hat b—n r«produc«d thanks to th« ganarotity of: Univtrtity of British Columbia Library L'axampiaira filmA f ut raproduit grica A la gAnAroaitA da: Univtriity of British Columbia Library Tha imagaa appaaring hara ara tha baat quality poaaibia conaldaring tha condition and lagiblllty of tha original copy and in kaaping with tha filming contract spacificationa. Original copiaa in printad papar covars ara filmad beginning with tha front covar and anding on tha last paga with a printad or iilustratad imprat- sicn, or tha back covar whan appropriate. All othar original copiaa ara filmad beginning on tha first paga with a printad or iiiustreted impres- sion, and ending on the lest pege with e printed or iiiustreted impression. The lest recorded treme on eech microfiche shell contein the symbol -^ (meening "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever eppiies. IMeps. pistes, cherts, etc.. n .y be filmed at different reduction retios. Those too lerge to be entirely included in one exposurs ere filmed beginning in the upper left hend corner, left to right end top to bottom, es meny fremes as required. The following diegrems lliustrste the method: Les imeges suivsntes ont At* reproduites svec ie plus grend soin, compte tenu de la condition at de ie nettet* de Texempieire film*, et en conformity evec les conditions du contrst de fiimege. Les exempleires originsux dont ie couverture en pepier est imprimAe sont fiimte en commen^ent per Ie premier piet et en terminent soit per Ie dernlAre pege qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustrstion, soit par la second piet, seion Ie ces. Tous les autres exempleires originsux sont fiimAs en commenpent per Ie premiere paga qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration at en terminent par la darniAra paga qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaftra sur la darniAre image da chaqua microfiche, salon Is cas: la symbola — ► signifie "A SUiVRE", Ie symbols V signifie "FIN". Les csrtes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre fiimte A des taux da rAduction diffArents. Lorsque Ie document est trop grand pour Atre raproduit en un seul cllchA, il est filmA A pertir de I'sngie supArieur gauche, da gauche A drolte, et de heut an bas, en pranant Ie nombre d'images nAcesssire. Les diagrammas suivants iilustrsnt la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 8 6 ^-jW)**'-- -%*-^.;;d^^ .^'^^.-'^^•ir^ft:^*^J J^^ ^i*J!*tmf; ^'giniim < ^jjjSS^I, J^tf Wtu'i^fMty €^^^*r^ttdA UOMntmit I -^m MAP OP Showing the RoutM followad by J. BURR TYRRELL Prepared from Map by J. W, Ty PuhliaheS h\ MAP or NOIMTHKIIII OANAOA awed by J. BURR TYRRELL In 1802 and 1808 whll« In ohipg* o* OMiogloal Survey Expadltlont. 1 from Map by J. W. Tyrrell, C.E., Topogrgphtr to tkt loiter Sxpediticn. the oeoowapmical journal. ia«4 Bart}iolcTinew, F.dia^ at' " ]«. i." -Itv PuhUshed hy the Royal Oe^ 5 I AI [In the s [charge c about 6 t south-ea I Saskatcl and reac Beaver ] river. ^ ■end of tl on the p Aftei of the J current : sandy c( i reached ;^tandinj in July, •down in ■distance St iGreat Pen Wakanda . HMogunda , ^'ilimi Viv iChala . . . . As regi but further c.s.s. ♦ Publi L^anada. 1 AN EXPEDITION THROUGH THE BARREN LANDS OF NORTHERN CANADA.* By J. BURR TYRRELL. M.A., B.Sc, P.G.S. I In the spring of 1M92 tho Geological Survey of (Canada placed rae in [charge of an expedition sent to explore the unknown area, embracing Labout 00,000 square miles, lying north of the Churchill Kiver and [South-east of Lake Athabasca. We started from Prince Albert on the I Saskatchewan Eiver, and, travelling overland, crossed the height of land, and reached Green Lake, where the canoes were put in the water, Tho Beaver River was descended to Isle a la Crosse Lake, on the Churchill river. At the trading-post of the Hudson's Bay Company, at the south and of this lake, a half-breed and two Chippewyan Indians were taken Dn the party as canoemen. After descending Churchill Eiver for 90 miles, we began the ascent jof the Mudjatic Eiver, Wo toiled at our paddles against its rapid [current for ten days, until we reached its source in the middle of a flat [sandy country. Crossing the height of land, here a sandy plain, wo Ireached a small stream, which in a few miles flowed info Cree Lake. Handing on the summit of a rocky hill, on a beautiftil bright evening In July, I enjoyed t; ^ rapture of being tho first civilized man to look lown into the clear depths of this large lake, and to gaze into the listance over ils shining waters. Three days were occupied in crossing station. Jreat Pera.ui . , ftlakanda [ogunda ^'ilimi Vivili , . !^hala Kibo. nift. In miles. 13G 45 HciKlit ia Jctt. 10,220 lft,270 Mawpnzl. I)i>t. in iiiilo.-. lU-iglit in fett. 40 21 10,785 16,798 10,71)0 Taltn va niua. Di8t. Ill miles. 7J) 55 46 S5 42 Hcl);lit in iK-t. 7172 7187 7199 7229 7215 7200 As regards Kilo, the observation from Viliina Vivili is clearly the most reliable, but further observutions are desirable. Of the other results the mean may bo taken. — b.s, * Published with the fermisEion of the Director of the Geological Survey of panada. Map, p. 480. %^\'» I 438 AN KXPKDITION TlIKOliill Tilt: llAliUEN LANDS OF NOUTllKflN CANADA. .«\ flow Indii < tliroi coiirg to th( Fn th of fh too If fur tr < 'rossc lasf, y A thai) nawjifT alreadi and w gi"!ijdii( On of ( 'ariji tho .Sas with a ( it, and then hegan tho descent of tho rapid Htreuni which flown from its northen; end. 'I'ho hiko lies on tlio lino of contact of tho highly altorcil Aichoan and tho unaltorotl Pulieoz >ic nioewonttwun) sandatonos, and the river flows through country underlain liy those latter rocks to tlur mouth at tho south end of IJlmk hako. iJlack Lako was cit>.ssed and lUaek Kiver was descended to Luko AtliabaM-a, near tho east end of which was a small trading-post of tho Hudson's Bay Company. Black Lake and this portion of Lake Athabasca wero also found to lie ahmg llio lino of contact of tho altered and unaltered rocks, their noithern »ihoro8 being gianites and gneisses, while th'jir houtheru shores ara horizontal sandstones. After obtaining KUi)plio8 tho party returned to lUack Lako, and ascended Black Hiver to its source in Wollaslou Lake, that largo body of water from wliich issue two almost equal streams, the one flowing to Lake Athabasca, iind thence by the Slave and. Mackenzie rivers to tho Arctic Ocean, and 'ho other to lloindeor Lake, and thonco by tho Deer and Churchiil rivers to Hudson Bay. A survey Avas made of the west shore of this lake, which was also found to lie at the contact of tlie sandstone and the gneiss, (.ioikie Kiver, calletl after tho eminent director of the (icologii-al Surve-y of (Ireat Britain, waw found to flow into the nouth-west angle of the lake; and hero tho party was divided, the assistant wi(h two canoes and four men being sent south by the regular Indian routu through Reindeer Lake, while with line canoe and three men I ascended Goikio lliver to its source, crossed from Pe some low rocky hills which here constittite the height of land, and day aftc entered a beautiful lake surrounded by wooded rocky hills, which was expius called Foster Lake, after J)r. (icorge Foster, the Finance Jlinister ol was o the Uomiuion of Canada. AVo descended Foster River, portaging out Bay Co stuft' and canoo past its many wild falls and rapids, till wo r< ached insfruot Churchill River, up which we travelled to Isle a la Crosse, and thence' 'pjj^ to Prince Albert. During tho season wo made 1300 miles of new which surveys, i'40 miles of which were on routes that had. never btfoie been I^andin travelled by white men, and 200 miles without guides of any kind tSbd on except our instruments. Ziake A Further to the northward lay the great treeless area of the Barrel, by the Grounds. One of my Indian canocmen had been there many (30?) year- These p before, and would occasionally speak of the life led by him at that time, until Ju and of the nature of the country through which ho had to travel. Witl of this his aid I learned of four canoo routes used by the Chippewyan Indian- tar-beari in their annual deer-hunting excursions to the edge of tho barrel had bef< giounds. Two of these routes wero said to lead from two points oi were joij the northern shore of Lake Athabasca, one fiom the northern shore (the part^ Black Lake, and one from a point on Ice River, north-east of Wollastoi On -J Lake. All led through lakes and streams to the height of land, beyoii Mid, bidi which water was known to flow to the north, but, with the exception i C&ippew the last route, nothing was known of the ocean to which these wateinwigt bo<| 1 CANADA. .^N i;xrKi»iriON THi;oi<;ii Tin; i-.aiikkn lanks ok Nonnir.RN Canada. 4;lo , from itn ly altoretl 1JU08, auA ;ks to tho osseil unci iht oml of y. lilack J lie along r noJtlieJ" hhorua uro eturuoil to stou L<\ko, 111 strtums. Slave and ulcor Lake, , A survey iiul to lio at citUctl after Britain, was re tlie party , being sent . while with flowed. Tlio la*>t route wih saiil in lo.iil thnin<;1i Knsli;ilna or Ptnrtnigau T, nno pounds, had been sent on ahead urce, crossed from Peterborough, Ontario, but they did not reach Winnipeg until tho of land, and day after our arrival there, and from there they had to be taken on by 3 which wai> express with the party to Edmonton. At Winnipeg a circular letter I Minister ot was obtained from Mr. C. C. < 'hipman. Commissioner of the Hudson's ortu""ing unv Bay ( 'ompaiiy, to tho officers in eliarge of all tho northern trading-posts, wo itacheil instructing them to furnish me with any necessary supplies. and thencL- The provisions for the voyage were obtained at Edmonton, from uiles of neNv -which place we drove northwards with horses and carriages to Athabasca btfoie beei' lianding, on the Athabasca River, where we put our canoes in the water, of any kinJ and on the evening of May ol we started down the stream towards Lake Athabasca, leaving most of tho provisions to bo l)ronght after us of the Barrel by the stern-wheel steamer belonging to the Hudson's Bay (.'orapany. y(yO?)year> These provisions did not reach Fort Chippewyan, on L^ke Athabasca, at that time, until June 20, causing the party a delay of about ten days; but some travel. Witl of this time was improved in making a collection of fossils from the wyan Indian^ tat-bearing sandstones on tho Athabasca River, from which no fossils of the barrel had before been obtained. At Fort McMurray, on the Athabasca, we two points 01 were joined by the canoe and two men from Isle a la Oosse, bringing them shore o the party up to a total of eight men and three canoes. t of Wollastui On June 22 we loaded our three canoes with all they would hold, >f land, beyoiia*d, bidding good-bye to the last traces of civilization, started from Fort le exception nGlhippewyan along the north shore of Lake Athabasca. Here the survey I these watein^st begin, for the shore ahead of us for IGO miles was unsurveyed. I 440 A\ KXI'KDITIOX THRf>UOII THr. lUIiPJlX LANhS Of NOi:TIIti:X ('AXAHA. Tho iiisfniiuonts cariicd for the wuik wore one TTiidloy soxtmit with lur of 8-iiifh milium, oiio (lurli'y'H solar coinitfiHs, two M.i^Hcy'H lloiitiiig boat-lo;:;s, one cuuifrii, ono iniMrury iirtifirial horizon, ont* pockot-chrono- nu'ter, throo good Aniericiin watchcK, thrio prismatic' conipaHscs, ono auoroid haroniotor, niiixinnnu and ininiimun thernioinoterH, etc. Tho north whoro of Luke Athuliascii waH Kurveyod with the »ohir compass and floating boat-logs, clieckol liy olmorvations both for latitude and longitude. Tlie v i-k was found to be n^d and grey Laurentian graniU', gneiss, ofti'n 'lighly garnotiferous, dark green llaroniiin schists, and white quar/ites, tho latter o<\^a>*it.nally mixed with heavy beds of hematite and limonite, and reddish unaltered saulsttiios, of Cambrian (Kecwcnawan '■ ) ago. The Hudson's Hay ('omjiany's tradiug-post of Foml du Lac, near the oast end of the lake, was found to bo desoi ted, and we continued eastward over our track of last year until we reached tho north shore of Black liake, where tho Indian can »e rt>uto strikes off to the north. Hero wo were to leavo all beaten path?, and to strike into tho unknown wilder- ness, without any other guide than tho little Indian map obtained tho year bt-fore. To reach IJlaek Lake from tho west, we had been obliged to portage or carry our canoes and all our goods across two stretches of land with a total length of six miles and a half, and now everything had again to bo carried over a portage which proved to bo two miles and a quarter in length, and which brought us to tho shore of a small rock- bound lake on a brook tributary to tho ( 'hipraau Kivcr. This lake has an elevation of 200 feet above black Lake, or 1200 feet above the 6oa. We then crossed ^ix small lakes nd an eqiuil number of portages, the latter of which avcniged neaidy a ^uaitor of a mile in length, until we reached Chipman J.ake, a very irregular body of clear water surrounded by rugged granite hills. More than a day was spent in this lake looking for tho mouth of the upper part of Chipman river. When founJ, the river was ascended through long narrow lake-like expansions of (juiet water, up strong currents, and past five rapids, where wo were obliged to portage our canoes 80, 1100, 30O, 20, and 930 paces respectively. The last portage terminates at the south end of a largo lake locally known as Big Lake, but which is here called Selwyn Lake. It has a length of 5.") miles, and an elevation above the sea of about 1350 feet. The shores are generally wooded, the last portage being through a forest of small black spruce and birch, while some aspens are growing on the sides of the hills, and a few white spruce, up to 10 inches in dia,meter, rise from the stony flats by the streams. The temperature of tho water in this lake wai* oS" Fahr. on July 15. From the noith end of this lake a portage a mile and a half in lengtli loads across the height of land through woods of black spruce, over a morainic ridge, beside a wet valley closely wooded with tamcrac, to a lake lying oO feet lower than the last. This lake I have called Dalv A.\ I CANAHA. ; with iir(! 4 tlmitiiig •t-fhiono- l8sC8, one the Mohir >Y lutltiulo .aurontiaii nil BchistH, ,'y beds of Camhriim ;, near the 1 eastward 3 of Bhick Hero wo (vu wilder- )tiuned the sen obliged itretches of ything had uiles and a small rock- tiko has an e sea. We , the latter we reached ounded by ike looking . found, the ns of ([uiet ere obliged ively. The y known as ength of b'l e shores are small black of the hills, m the stony lis lake was ilf in length :rnce, over ii tamcrac, to called Daly AN KXl'KKiTloN Tlll:ul'(Jll TlIK UAIlP.tN LANHS oK NOIiTIIKUN CANADA, 441 Lake, after the Hon. Thoniiis I'al}', Mininter of tie Interior fur ('uiiaila, under whose direction iho expedition was K-nt out. After having travelled northward on this liiko for LM) miles, a heavy west wind delayed the party a day and a lialf, cauip being [litehed behind a long iisar of !iand and gravel, which extended olf into the distance in a direction south 40 west. Here a lew sinall asiieiis were seen, marking the northern limit of this tree, while an occasional small white birch might be found in the thinly scattered grov( sof tamarac and black spruce, which are every- where draped with fc^toons of long threadlike l)luck li(dien (Alectoria Jubuta). '1 his lichen is one of the prin(i[tul articles of food of the iJarren few j.ieces of ". uod. At the depth of about a foot the moss was frozea together into a solid nmss of icf ' in the upper side of these open green ficMs there is usually a spruce swamp, wh'ro the moss is still gruwin^^ beneath the shadow of vho trees, while at the edge of the h.ke, perhaps half a mile distant, and from 10 to 40 feet lower down, are light yellow vertical or overhanging •cliffs of peat, from which largo masses of peat are cunstantly falling «)n the Fandy beach. ])igging in a short distance with my hammer into the face of the cliff, Avhieh averaged 12 feet in height, wo soon reached the frozen moss; through it were many streaks of clear ice. It would ajjpcar, therefore, that these sloping bogs are growing on their upjior sides, that they then become frozen and ceaso to grow, and move slowly down the gentle slopes, like true glaciers, until they are under- mined by the waves, and break away in cliffs on tho border of the lake. At the north end of J>aly Lake wo entered a stream which is known to the Chippewyan Indians of Athabasca as the Telzoa, or Wide Shallow River, and camped, on July 2;J, on the mossy bog near tho head of a rapid, where the river is spread thinly over a bed of boulders for a width of 250 yards. On its south f-ido it had no other bank than the wall of moss and ice along the face of the bog. While within the forest wo had been tormented both day and night by immense swarms of moequitos, but now, in the more open country, the black flies made it almost i-npossible to move about with any portions of our hands or faces uncovered. The country that wo had been passing tl rough, all the way from Lake Athabasca, had been gently rounded rocky hills of Laurentian gneiss rising here and there through the tandy and stony till ; but here, in north latitude Gl°, west longitude 104", the river enters a flatter .'t I 442 AN KXPEDITION THROUGH THK F.ARREN LANDS OF NORTHERN CANADA. country, now expanding into small irregular lakes, and again contract- ing into swift rapi Is over boulders. The banks are everywhere ill- defined, and there is no sign anywhere of the stream having cut out a channel for itself. The country is generally low and mossy, dotted witli occasional groves of small black spruce. Here and there long iisar of sand and gravel extend across the country in a direction 00'^ S. 70'' \V., parallel to the direction of glaciation, keeping this course entirely regardless of surface contours. On the sides and crests of these ridges are groves of fine largo white spruce rising to the height of 50 or GO feet, and measuring (3 feet in circumference 2 feet above the ground. 1'hese trees were much the finest that we had seen anywhere since leaving Lake Athabasca. Further northward, the country became more stony, and the west shore of Barlow Lake, in lat. G'2\ is composed of low hills of boulders and irregular masses of granite. Trees are confined to a few isolated gloves on the banks of the stream. It was now five wetks and four days since Ave left Fort Chippewyan, and our piovisions were disappearing rapid!}', for we had seen no game that we might add to our stock from time to time ; but on the evening of July 28, my brother shot a small poor doe on an island opposite our camp. The next morning, as we were paddling across Carey Lake, making for a high point with a huge boulder lying on its summit, one of the men drew my attention to an immense herd of caribou on tho eastern shore. They were standing on low flat land, feeding on soft grass, and endeavouring to catch a little of the breeze from the lake, which gave them some relief from their habitual summer tormentors, tho black flies. Swiftly, but quietly, we paddled to the shore, and that afternoon was spent in shooting a number of the best bucks of the herd. The continuance of the exploration depended on our obtaining an abundant supply of meat, and the knowledge of this fact added to our excitement, as we stood in the midst of the tens of thousands of deer, as they ran madly to and fro, endeavouring to escape from a danger which they could not understand. That evening we were tired as we returned to camp, and the men collected sixty-eight tongues from the deer that we had killed. I had determined, if possible, to kill fifty, but we had rather overshot the mark. Our camp was close to a small grove of stunted black spruce and tamarac. The past fen days 1 ad been cold and wet, but tho next three days were bright and warm, with a dry south-west breeze, and in that time we cut up and dried about twenty-five of the best of the deer that wo had shot. Immense herds were still about us, but we did not shoot any. Instead of our rifles we took the camera, and, walking gently, v;e wouKi oftin approach within a few yards of the animals as they were quietly grazing, and thus managed to secure thirty-seven photographs, showing the herds of deer in various positions. The animals were very lean and CANADA. AN KXI-KDITION THROUGH THE BARREN LANDS OF NORTHERN CANADA. 44;J contract- where ill- cnt out a iy, clotted here long ,ion GO'^ S. lis course crests of he height above the anywhere the west f boulders w isolated lippewj'an, n no game no evening pjiosite our irey Lake, iramit, ono bou on tho Qo; on soft 11 the lake, ;or men tors, ?, and that if the herd, taiuing an ded to our of deer, as nger which re returned ) deer that but we had spruce and next three ind in that eor that wo t shoot any. ^', v;e wouM rere quietly IB, showing ry lean and poor, but wo prepared between 250 and 300 lbs. of jerked meat from, the twenty-five that wc were able to dry. On August 1, leaving one man to attend the drying meat, we paddled over to tho high point two miles north-west of camp, towards which we had been travelling when wo first saw the deer. The point is a long sloping ridge 1.50 loot high, trending S. 75' W. Its surface is- composed of boulders, chiefly of red granite, embedded in yellow sandy till, while on the southern side is an outcrop of coarse red granite, con- taining large crystals of pyrite. On its crest is a largo boulder, 9 feet high, of coarse red porph^ ritic granite. On the top of this boulder we erected a cairn of stones, under which we put a Worcestershire sauco bottle, with a short record of our trip to that time, and a sketch-map of the course followed. In the centre of the cairn wo planted a pole, from the top of wliich floated a Union .Jack. (Jiving three hearty cheers, we returned to camp. On August 2 wo packed our dried meat in bales, and were off" by nine o'clock. AVe paddled past Cairn I'oint, and across the lake to a small brook, at whohe mouth is a gra8>y glade wooded with white spruce (Picea alba), some trees of which were 8 feet in circumfei'ence 2 feet above the butt, and 40 feet high. Beyond the brook is a high hill of bare led, whitish wreathing granite, tho first hill of bare unbroken rock that we had seen for many days. During the next few days several bad rapids impeded our progress, and we followed the winding shores^ of several small lakes, in one of the last of which we came to a small island of almost horizontal and undisturbed white limestone of Cambro- Silurian age, very similar to the Trenton limestone in Lake AVinnipog. This small outline is of great interest, as giving some slight clue to the former great extension of the Paleeozoic -limebtones over much of the nortli country. Patches of snow on the sides of the surrounding hills now I'eminded us that wo had reached a sub-arctic region. On August (), from the crest of a low hill near the last grove of small black spruce, we saw before us a great lake apparently covered with a solid sheet of ice. Our journey by water seemed to bo at an end, and the men were anxious to turn back ; but we pushed on, and when wo reached the lake we found a narrow lane of open water close to the shore oa which we could travel with our canoes between the ice and the land. Tho mist rising from the ice generally prevented us from seeing tho lake at all clearly. Shortly after entering the lake wo were delayed for three days by a heavy storm of wind ami cold rain, which afterwards turned to snow ; and on the morning of August 11, as we were leaving camp, there was a thin skin jf ice on the tarpaulins. That day we found the ice tight against the thore around the point of a high peninsula, and were obliged to search for a narrow place where wo could carry our canoes 444 AN EXPEDITION THROUGH THE BARREN LANDS OF NORTHERN CANADA. and loads across to the open water beyond. The same evening wo reached another point against which tlio heavy ice was crowded, and as it was too late to attempt a portage, we camped for tlie night at the mouth of a rapid brook, where he had hoped to liave found a few willows for fuel. No willows could be found, but the men succeeded in boiling water for tea with some green dwarf birch {Detiila glandulosa). The next morning we had the pleasure of seeing a clear channel of open water between the point and the ice, along which we were able to paddle with our canoes. We followed the shore inside of some long rocky islands, between the ice of the lake and the land. The shoi'e ■everywhere descended easily in beautifully green slopes to long sandy beaches between rocky points. The country through which we had been passing all the way from Lake Athabasca had been underlain by red and grey granitoid gneisses of Laurentian age, but here wq entered a country underlain by sandstones, conglomerates, red fiuartz, porphyries, and dark green traps precisely similar to the Keewnawau or Upper Copper-bearing rocks of Lake Superior, and probably of the same age. We followed the shore of the lake closely, searching for the river that flowed out of it, until the evening of August 15, when another cold storm of wind and rain delayed us for two days. On the evening of August 17 we found the outlet of the lake, having fallowed the shore for 117 miles. The water in the lake is clear anl pure, though it has aflat taste like snow-water. Whitefish are very plentiful in it. The lake is probably the Doobaunt lake which Samuel Ilearno walked around in 1770, and it appears to be deep and of large extent, but its southern and part of its eastern and western shores were not seen. The river di>charging it, which flows from the bottom of a bay at its northern end, at first winds gently between sloping grassy banks, often covered with boulders. Here we saw the first unmistakable signs of an old Eskimo encampment — stone circles, dog whip-handles, stone arrowheads, pieces of the ribs of kyacks, etc. A few miles below the lake the river rushes through a narrow gorge caused by the decay of a trap dyke, which has risen through the surrounding Keewenawan conglomerates. Past this goige it Avas necessary to make a portage 2^ miles in length. At its eastern end the portage runs over sandy ridges and terraces which appear to repre- sent old r. ised sea-beaches, with an approximate elevation of about 400 feet above the present sea-level. The next day, after crossing the portage, we paddled across a small lake and down the river till within a few miles of Lady Marjorie Lake, where we saw a solitary deerskin tent on the right bank, 10 feet above the water. Very soon wo saw Eskimo running about, and it was evident that the camp was in consternation, for they had seen our three canoes coming down the river from the land of their hereditary enemies, the Cliippewyan Indians. When we were within hailing distance, my I ; CANADA. vc'uing wo )\vhIo(3, .and iy-ht at thu e\v willows ill boiling channel of were able r some long The shore long fsandy ch we luid nilerlain by we entered porphyries, n or Upper same age. jr the river lien another the evening eu the shore lough it has t. The lake d around in its southern of a bay at rassy banks, ikable signs udles, stone arrow gorge .lirough the 3rge it Avas eastern end ear to repre- of about 400 cross a small irjorie Lake. 1 feet above and it was len our three tary eneiuief, distance, my AX EXPEDITION THROUGH THE RARREN LANDS OF NORTHERN CANADA. 445 brother called cnit, "Chimo, Chimo; Ta'appe tacco Innuit; Kudluna awunga " (" Tcace, i)eace ; wo are glad to see Eskimo; wo are white men "), on which a nimiber of peojjlo rushed from the tent and answered, *' Chimo, Chimo." Wo pulled in to the shore, and were met on top of the bank by a tall, fine-looking Eskimo with a spy-glass in his hand, and wearing a pair of moleskin trousers and a deerskin coat. He was quivering with nervousness, but after we had shaken hands I presented him with a plug of tobacco, Avliich set him more at his ease. My brother talked to the man for a few minutes, and then the women unlaced the front of the tent, which had evidently been tied up as tightly as possible, and invited us to come in. The tent held one dual family consisting of one man, two wives, and five children. The man drew us a rough map of the river down to salt water, but he could give us no idea of the po-sition of the mouth of the river, and he appeared to know nothing of Marble Island or the coast of Hudson Bay. However, thi^ fact that this man had a telescope, two old guns, and a pair of moleskin trousers, assured us that he belonged to the Eskimo of Htidson Bay, rather than to those of the Grcit Fish River and the Arctic Ocean. After remaining a few hours with this friendly family, we proceeded on our v/ay, hoping to meet other camps of Eskimo on the banks of the river from time to time, and to gain additional information from them. On Lady Marjorie Lake, where we sjient two days in a search for our course, being delayed by heavy winds, we shot several fine fat bucks, and replenished our supply of fresh meat. Shortly after leaving this lake wo travelled north-westward, down a well-defined river, and our hearts sank as the liver took us further and further towards the north-west, for we were Kinking straight for the Great Fish River, which flows into the Arctic Ocean, and while we were only about 100 miles from that river, wo were 350 from the nearest point on Hudson Bay. At length we reached a wide sandy plain, on which we were overjoyed to see willows growing, while around were scattered drifted trunks of spruce trees a foot in diameter, and limbs of balsam poplar. We had reached the mouth of the west branch of the Telzoa River, the banks of which must be wooded not far above the forks. • It was August 25, we were in north lat. G4° 30', and the night was cold, so that we enjoyed the luxury of a fire, while the men baked bread and boiled a largo supply of meat. Our safest plan of operations was now to ascend the west branch of the river and roach the wooded country before the winter set in, and find our way to Great Slave Lake, or back to Athabasca Lake. But I could not forego the pleasure of tracing to its mouth the great river that wo had descended so far. Therefore the next day we pushed on to Aberdeen Lake, whose gravel ■ fihores were still deeply scored by the shoving of the spring ice. That evening I called the men together and told them that they had a long "journey yet before them, that the summer flowers had all withered, and I 1 ! 446 AN EXPEDITION' THROUGH THE BAIiREN' LANDS OF NORTHERN CANADA. rt themselves to the utmost. After that I had no reason to complain of their unwillingness to work. Wo continued our journey eastward, losing one day in a search for the outlet of Aberdeen Lake, and two days from a heavy storm, until on September 2 we reached the west end of Baker Lake, where old Captain Christopher had been before us more than a century and a quarter ago. We had now accomplished our journey through the unknown interior country, and had gained the first recognizable point since leaving Black' Lake. ^10 miles behind us. The shore ahead of U3 was still practically a ferra incognita, but we knew that by following it we should eventually reach Fort Churchill. We had surveyc.l a line of the above length through the very middle (tf the area that we had set out to explore. Of the distance r>38 miles were over lakes, where the distances were measured witli a Massey's floating boat-log, and the bearings taken with a solar or prismatic compass; 272 miles were on rivers, where the distances wore estimated and the bearings taken with prismatic com- ]»ass ; buu the distances thus obtained wore constantly checked b^- observations for latitude and longitude. The lengths of the portages were obtained by careful pacing. The stormy weather of autumn had now set in, and often prevented us from launching our canoes for several days at a time. In the past month the small Arctic caribou had been plentiful in the country through which we were travelling, so that we had no difficulty in obtaining an abundant supply of fresh meat, but these animals now became very scarce, and on September 3 we shot the last deer of the season. The survey with solar compass and boat-log was continued along the north shore of Baker Lake, which was found to lie along the lini- of contact of the Laurentian gneisses to the north, and the red Keewe- nawan conglomerates to the south, the former including bands of crystalline limestone. The Keewanawan rocks had been traced from Doobaunt Lake to Baker Lake, a total distance of 225 miles as the crow flies. At the head of the river flowing from Baker Lake wc met the incoming tide, and as the currents in Chesterfield Inlet were therefor^ very irregular, it was no longer possible to use the boat-log with any degree of accuracy, and the remaining distances were estimated, checkcl by observations fur latitude and longitude. Chesterfield Inlet was found to bo a deep narrow tidal fiord, with shore of red and grcv granite and gneiss. On September 12 we reached a rocky point just south of the mouth of Chesterfield Inlet, where the heavy waves, driven in from the open sea by a south-cast wind, obliged us to struggle ashore, and prevented us from starting out again on the same day. Behind our camp was a Wet to and in to adv On inch tl Was cc 20 mill were a She white was la; to colic with tl 8 the w ing hi xeindee longer then 27 of bear' Two mi night a to and miles. On( rigour, •iderabl olothes ; CANADA. AN EXPEDITION TIIROUOH THE I'.AKUEN LANDS OF NORTHERN CANADA. 447 each their t I had no tiinied our F Ahordeeu mher 2 we :;hristopher . We had ar country, ilack' Lake, radically a eventually )Ove length to explore, tances were rings taken 5, where the smatic coin- checked by the portages sn prevented plentiful in wc had no t, but these shot the last tinned along ong the line red Keewe- T bands of traced from miles as the wo met the )ro therefore Off with any ated, checkc 1 Inlet was ed and grey f the mouth om the open nd prevented r camp was a «andy terrace in which the Eskimos had dug the basements of many of their snow houses or tents, while around they had stood up on end many liuge slabs of stone. We now began the heavy task of travelling down the tidal shore of Hudson I»ay in our little open canoes. During the first three days the weather was beautifully fine, and we covered more than 100 miles of the distance, so that there appeared to be every chance o^ our reaching Fort Churchill on open water. To the right lay the bold rocky shore of dark green lEuronian schists, while to the left Marble Island raiteJ its bare white hills out of the dark-green ocean. On the evening of the third day, as we were about to cross Corbett's Inlet, a heavy wind sprang \ip from the south-east, and forced us to camp on a small sandy island, where we wore obliged to remain for a day and a half. On September 17 the wind went down, and we started to cross the 7 miles of open water which lay between us and the south side of the inlet. When about midway of the distance, a heavy north- west wind sprang up and increased to great violence, so that every moment wo were in danger of being engulfed by the waves which broke over «a, until wc ran behind a projecting reef and were safe, but wet to the skin with salt water. Storm after storm now broke over us, and in twenty daj's, from September 15 to October G, wo were unable to advance more than 120 miles. On the morning of September 20 the ice was three-quarters of an inch thick on the small ponds on the rocks ; on the 22ud the ground was covered with a heavy fall of snow ; and on the 2oth we walked 20 miles, often on the crusted snow, in search' of game, but all that we were able to shoot was one ptarmigan, which we divided for dinner. Shortly afterwards one of the men had the good fortune to shoot a white bear, axid for the next live days, during which time a heavy storm was raging, wc subsisted on the meat of this animal. We had been able to collect some lichens and small plants from the tops of the knolls, and with these we occasionally made a small fire ; but on the night of October 3 the wind went down, and the snow fell quietly and peacefully, cover- ing hills and valleys with an even white sheet, and burying all the reindeer ? . , so that there was no chance of obtaining even that anv longer for fuel. This made our condition almost desperate, for we were then 270 miles from Churchill, on a bleak coast, with only a fow pounds of bear's fat for food, without fuel, and 200 miles from the nearest wood. Two more days were spent struggling southward in our canoes, but at night and morning we had to carry canoes and cargoes a long distance to and from dry land, and, though wo worked hard, we made only 12 uules. On October 6 the winter had settled down on us with all its arctic rigour, and even in the sun at midday the thermometer remained con- •iderably below freezing-point. Wo were without food or fuel, and our clothes were worn to rags. Two hundred and sixty miles of shore still 448 AN EXPEDITION THROUGH THE llARUEN LANDS OF NORTHERN CANADA. lay between ns and Churchill, tho nearest point where wo could obtain supplies. Our canoes were loaded witli specimens of rocks and minerals which we had collected, both in the interior and on tho coast. It was clearly impossible to reach Churchill travelling as wo had been travel- ling, and I therefore decided to leave everj'thing behind us which was not absolutely necessary for the safety of the party. The shore was a vast snow-covered plain, but a slight gravelly eminence was chosen, half a mile from high-tide mark, and on it one canoe, all our rook specimens, instruments and whatever else was not necessary for our existence, were carefully piled in a heap and covered with tarpaulins. Our note-books, photogi'aphs, and collection of plants, with guns, ammunition, blankets, and two tents, were put in the remaining two canoes, and thus lightened, and with four men with paddles in each canoo, we started southward a^ain, determined to reach Churchill by water if possible. The shore was very flat, with a tide of from 12 to 14 feet, and at ebb tide tho water was generally several miles from tho lino reached by it at hig-h tide, so that wo were able to land or launch our canoes but once in each twelve hours, namely, at tho time of high tide. Any rocks seen on the shore were Laurontian granites and gneisses. We struggled onward for ten days, living on what few ducks wo could shoot in tho open water. Tho weather was very cold, and tho water that was splashed over us by the wind froze on our clothes and beards. We had constantly to break the ice from our paddles, as they became too heavy for us to swing. When night settled down on us on October 14 it was ebb tide, and wo were out among ico and boulders almost out of sight of land. That night we spent in our canoes, one of our men having both of his feet badly frozen, while another was sinking rapidly with an attack of dysentery. On the afternoon of the 15th we gained some solid ice, and hauled our canoes over it to the shore, where we pitched a tent just as a heavy storm of wind and snow broke over us, There was now driftwood on the shore, and with it we made a fire ami cooked some ducks that we had shot, getting the first food that we had tasted for thirty-six hours. Assured that wo were not very far from Churchill, I sent two men on foot through tho snow to tho fort for assistance, and on tho afternoon of tho third day they returned with four dog-teams, bringing us pork and flour, and on October 19 wo wen carried to Churchill Hero wo obtained shelter with the clerk in charge for the Hudson's Bay Company, and wo received every kindness from the Rev. J. Lofthouse, tho missionary to the Eskimo for the Churcl: Missionary Society ; but fresh meat was not to be had, and the men gained strength very slowly on the limited diet of salt pork, flour, and oatmeal We remained hero un^-ll November 6, when wo crossed the Churchill Eiver on the new ice, and started on snowshoes for York Factqry. AVe had secured one dog-team from tho Hudson's Bay Company to carry on; provisions and the man whose feet had been so badly frozen, while \h .'.■ Sef Weasu ttttiaci «j, ■ «8 mi Seven 1 Jeld ij /|>earii/ 4etcri; Nc CANADA. luld obtain (1 iHinerals it. It was eon travel - wliicli was ilioro was a chosen, lialf specimens, stence, were note-books, u, blankets, isligbtened, I southward i, and at ebb ched by it at ; but once in •ocks seen on iW ducks we cold, and tho r clothes and idles, as they )wn on us on and boulders canoes, one ot r was sinking f the 15th wo ) shore, where broke over us. lade a fire and d that we had very far from o the fort for rned with four r 19 we were clerk in charge kindness from or the Churcl: the men gaintt' r, and oatmeal d the Churclnli ractqry. "NVe ny to carry ou; ozcn, while tin AN EXrEDlT'.ON THROUGH THE IlAIiUEN LANDS OF NORTHERN CANADA. 441t other men were obliged to haul Ihoir bedding on small toboggans. Other dog-teams belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company assihted ns for part of the way, as they wore going to recover some stuff that had been left on the shore between York and Cliurchill by one of their officers in the latter part of September, it being considered impos.siblf to travel further by water so late in the season. When we arrived at Nelson liiver, the scanty supply of provisions that we had been able to obtain at Churchill was exhaunted. The river was found to be full of running ice, so that we were unable to cross it either in the boat which wo found there, or on the ice, and our party, now augmented by three local Indians, was obliged to remain on its •4)ank for ten days, 8ub.sisting on tho few rabbits, foxes, etc., that we were .able to catch. Tho woathor had been very cold, the thermometer often •fallinn- at nijrht to 20^ Fuhr. On November 2t we arrived at York JFactory, where we were able to procure a plentiful supply of provi.sions. The officer in charge here for the Hudson's Bay Company is a medical doctor from Aberdeen, Scotland, and as Michel, the man with frozen •feet, was unable to walk, and we Avere unable to obtain transport for him, we left him under the doctor'.s care, to be sent out with tho winter packet. We obtained another dog-team and provisions for twelve days, and on November 28 started on snowshoes through the deep unbroken snow for Oxford House, 250 miles distant. The country passed through was ■generall}' flat and swampy, and thinly wooded with small black spruce, .jljate on the evening of December 7 we arrived at Oxford House, tired and footsore after our ten days' walk. After a delay of six days, waiting ror fresh teams of dogs, we again started and arrived at Norway House on December 20. Here the men from Isle a la Crosse and Prince Albert were paid off and sent home up the Saskatchewan lliver, while I obtained fresh dog-teams and drove southward across Lake Winnipeg to Lower Fort Garry, on the Red River, where Ave arrived on the evening of January 1, 1894, and the next day we reached Winnipeg. During the course of tho expedition we travelled, beyond our railway Journeys, a total distance of 3200 miles, viz. 2150 miles in canoes, GIG miles on foot on snowshoes, 350 miles in conveyances drawn by dogs, and liOO miles in conveyances drawn by horses. ,., AVhile 60 travelling we made the following surveys : — Seven hundred and seventy miles over lakes, where the distances were measured with a Massoy's floating boat-log, and, in order to avoid local attraction or weakness of the magnetic needle, the bearings were taken as much as possible with Ourley's solar compass. Two hundred and seventy-two miles of river, and 3G0 miles of the tidal shores of Chester- ■Ifeld Inlet and Hudson Bay, where the distances were estimated and the Jjearings taken with a prismatic compass, the vaiiations being constantly determined by the solar compass. Throughout the above distances No. v.— November, 1894.] 2 g 450 THE HISTORICAL GEOGKArilY OF THE HOLY LAND. observations were taken with the sextant and artificial horizon as oficti as possible both for latitude and longitude. The remaining portion of the shore of Hudson Bay, between where the instruments were left and Fort Churchill, about 2.50 miles in length, was geologically examined, and the position of the mouths of the rivers roughly ascertained. A careful track survey was kept of the route travelled over on foot from Churchill to York Factory, a distance of 200 miles, the bearings being taken with a prismatic compass, and a rough track survey was also kept through the 400 miles of wooded country from York Factory to Norway House. A very full collection of plants, including 220 species, was made by my assistant, Mr. J. W. Tyrrell, in the new country passed Ihrough. We also took 200 instantaneous photographs, which illustrate the prin- cipal physical features of that northern country, and the immense herds of reindeer that roam over it. XoTK ON Mr. J. B. Tyriii:i,i.'s Mat. — On this map are shown the results of two surveys, made by ^lessrs. J. Burr Tyrrell and J. W. Tyrrell, in 18U2-1I3. On the first expedition Cree Lake was visited ; a survey was made of the west shore, WoUaston Lake, and the positions of other important points were fixtd. On the second expedition the instruments used were an 8-inch sextant and artificial horizon, a (Jurley solar compass, ^Mnssey's logs, photographic camera, chronometers and watches, prismatic compasses, aneroid barometer, and maximum and minimum thermometers. The north end of Jiuke Athabasca was surveyed and fixed by observations for latitude and longitude. At Black Lake all beaten paths were left, and from this point many important corrections and additions were made to the sketch-maps previously existing. The topographical results of these two expedi- tions have been carefully laid down on the map. ■r ^