30 



the country generally examined are upon a very small scale, and that upon 

 such maps no vast areas yet remain upon which rivers, lakes, mountains 

 or other features are not depicted. If, however, we take the trouble to 

 enquire more closely into this, and consult perhaps one of the geogra- 

 phers whose name may appear on the face of the map which we have 

 examined, asking such awkward questions as may occur to us on the 

 sources of information for this region or that, we may probably by him 

 be referred to another and older map, and so on till we find in the end 

 that the whole topographical fabric of large parts of all these maps 

 rests upon information of the vaguest kind. 



Of most of the large areas marked upon the map here shown, this 

 is absolutely true, and the interests of knowledge with respect to 

 these would be better subserved if such areas were left entirely blank,. 

 or, at least, if all the geographical features drawn upon them appeared 

 in broken lines, in such a way as to show that none of them are certain. 

 In other regions, the main geographical outlines, such as the courses of 

 the larger rivers, are indicated approximately, with such accuracy as 

 may be possible from accounts or itineraries derived from travellers or 

 from officers of the Hudson Bay Company ; or from the descriptions or 

 rough sketches of Indians or other persons by whom the region has 

 been traversed, but who have been unprovided with instruments of any 

 kind and whose knowledge of the country has been incidentally 

 obtained. 



There is, in the case of such partially explored regions, more 

 excuse for the delineation of the main features on our maps, as these 

 may be useful in imparting general information of a more or less 

 inexact kind. We can scarcely, however, admit that such regions have 

 been explored in any true sense of that term, while they are certainly 

 unsurveyed, and very little confidence can be placed in maps of this 

 kind as guides in travel. When, ten years ago, I struck across from 

 Fort McLeod, on the west side of the Rock7 Mountains, with the pur- 

 pose of reaching Fort Dunvegan on the Peace, through a country 

 densely forested and without trails or tracks of any kind, I had so. 

 much conhdence in the existing maps of that region as to assume that 

 Dunvegan was at least approximately correct in position on them. As 

 often as possible I took observations for latitude, and each night 



