13 



to fifteen hours per day, he does not. From experience of Indian travel, 

 I find that he loses considerable time taking down, and putting up his- 

 bark house morning and evening, and, while travelling, stops to look at 

 every bird or animal that may come within range of his far-seeing eye ; 

 and not only this, but he stops at about every point which may happen 

 to jut out in his way, where, it the kettle is not boiled, at least a slight 

 lunch is made off a smoked fish or some similar luxury, and everybody 

 gets out of the canoe, except the old squaw in the stern, who remains 

 guard over the canoe and provisions, and keeps the accompanying dogs 

 from a too free use of the latter. 



To sum up, an Indian on his annual summer excursion, such as a 

 trip around Mistassini would be, does not average more than ten miles 

 a day, so that the estimate given by Pere Albanel proves correct when 

 taken in the proper way. 



The French botanist, Michaux, visited the lake in 1792. He fol- 

 lowed the route taken by Albanel, and quotes him in his description. 

 Michaux found several new species of plants along the route, one of 

 which he named after the lake, Primula Mistassinica. 



In 1820, Mr. Jas. Clouston made an exploration of the country 

 east of James Bay for the Hudson Bay Company. On his map, the 

 south end of the lake, below the Rupert River, is well laid down ; but 

 he does not appear to have gone round the north end. 



For nearly one hundred years the Hudson Bay Company have had 

 a trading post on the lake, and early in the present century their great 

 rival, the North-West Company, had a similar establishment at the 

 south-west end. 



In 1870, Mr. James Richardson was sent by the Geological Survey 

 to explore the country north from Lake St. John to Mistassini. He 

 visited the southern bay, and reached the Hudson Bay Post, but was 

 obliged to return from there on account of his provisions running short. 



The year following, Mr. Walter MacOnatt was sent to continue the 

 work, and made a survey of the two southern bays and the west shore 

 to beyond the outlet of the Rupert River, when he was obliged to stop 

 for the same reason as Mr. Richardson. 



In 1882, some members of the Quebec Geographical Society having 

 read Pere Albanel's account of the lake, which, added to the extrava- 



