CHAP. i. THE GRAND OR HAMILTON RIVER. 13 



remarkable bay, he says : 'Of these the Grand or 

 Hamilton Eiver, flowing in at the head of the bay, is by 

 far the most considerable, both as regards the length of 

 its course, and the volume of water it discharges. It is 

 nearly half a league in breadth at its entrance, gradually 

 decreasing in width for about twenty-five miles from its 

 mouth ; it then becomes from one eighth to one quarter 

 of a mi IP. wide ; from this size it never varies very much 

 as far up as it has been followed. Two hundred miles 

 from its mouth it forces itself through a range of moun- 

 tains, that seem to border the table land of the interior, 

 in a succession of tremendous falls and rapids for nearly 

 twenty miles. These falls were accidentally discovered in 

 1839 by a gentleman engaged in exploring a route from 

 Esquimaux Bay to the interior. Above these falls the 

 river flows with a very smooth and even current ; it 

 has been followed for one hundred miles farther, where 

 a post has lately been established. Between the falls and 

 the post it passes through a succession of very large lakes, 

 communicating with one another by very short straits. 

 These lakes appear to cover a very considerable part of 

 the table land ; they have not yet been explored, and 

 their dimensions are consequently not known ; but from 

 Indian report, many present a water horizon in different 

 directions, as portions of them are crossed. Above the 

 post called Fort Nascapee the river has not yet been 

 explored, but the Indians report that it comes from a long 

 distance to the westward, and runs with a deep and 

 gentle current, unobstructed by falls or rapids. It is 

 supposed to come from lakes in the rear of Seven Islands. 

 If this is the case, it developes a curious fact in the 



