May 23, 1859.] PALLISER EXPEDITION. 319 



Prevented by his instructions from descending into the valleys 

 of the Columbia, and there to ascertain practicable routes to the 

 far West, which he will look out for during the present summer, 

 Dr. Hector, though so severely injured by the kick of a horse as to 

 be incapacitated from moving for some days, contrived so to travel 

 northwards as to round the base of the loftiest mountains of the 

 chain before he returned to his winter- quarters in October, after 

 an absence of eighteen weeks from his chief, but laden with 

 valuable geographical and geological knowledge. 



In this survey he had the merit of showing that the Vermilion Pass 

 — which is less than 5000 feet high, and therefore 1000 feet lower 

 than any other known pass of the Eocky Mountains — had another 

 decided advantage over them, inasmuch as its western slope, from the 

 summit level of the horse-path, is so little steep that its explorer 

 has no doubt that even a road for carts may be there established. 

 The descents westward, or into the drainage of the Columbia, in 

 the other passes are exceedingly steep ; and according to Captain 

 Blakiston, the Kutanie Pass can only have a railroad made along 

 it by the formation of tunnels of several miles in length, and by 

 encountering the difficulty of the steep western gradient of 194 feet 

 per mile. 



Another singular natural feature of comparison is, that whilst 

 the Vermilion Pass is less than 5000 feet above the sea, the 

 adjacent mountains on the north rise to near 16,000 feet, showing 

 the great depth of the gorge. On the other hand, in the range beyond 

 the British boundary, to the south, and where no peak (not even 

 that of Fremont) exceeds 13,000 feet, the passes range from 6000 

 to 7000 feet high.* 



* In anticipation of what may hereafter be puWished in the * Journal of the Royal 

 Geographical tJociety,' the reader is referred to the papers presented to Parliament in 

 April, relative to the " Exploration by Captain Palliser of that portion of British North 

 America which lies between the northern branch of the River Saskatchewan and the 

 frontier of the United States, and between the Red River and Rocky Mountains." These 

 printed documents are accompanied by a map, executed by Arrowsmith, from the surveys 

 of the Palliser expedition, together with despatches of the leader and officers under his 

 command, and tables giving the calculations of latitude and longitude by which the posi- 

 tions of places were tixed. An additional paper and map on the southern part of the 

 Rocky Mountains near the American boundary, as prepared by Captain Blakiston, who 

 had quitted the expedition, has very recently been sent to the Society, with the 

 notice from the Secretary of the Colonies that it was not to be looked upon as an official 

 communication until sanctioned by Captain Palliser. These last-mentioned documents, 

 which seem to me to be also ably prepared, have not yet been laid before the Society. 

 The public will soon possess an excellent map by Arrowsmith, in which all the new 

 discoveries are inserted. This map is entitled ' The Provinces of British Columbia, Van- 

 couver Island, with portions of the United States and Hudson Bay Tenitories.* 



I was i-ecently inforaied by my fijend the Right Hon. Edward EUice that the geographical 



