OF THE POLAR SEA. 239 
six hundred feet, at the distance of a mile from the 
house ; and from their summits a very picturesque 
view is commanded of the lake, and of the sur- 
rounding country. The land above the Great 
Point at the confluence of the main stream of the 
Elk River is six or seven hundred feet high, and 
stretches in a southern direction behind Pierre au 
Calumet. Opposite to that establishment, on 
the west side of the river, at some distance in the 
interior, the Bark Mountain rises and ranges to the 
N.W., until it reaches Clear Lake, about thirty 
miles to the southward of these forts, and then 
goes to the south-westward. The Cree Indians 
generally procure from this range their provi- 
sion, as well as the bark for the making of the 
canoes. There is another range of hills on the 
south shore, which runs towards the Peace River. 
The residents of these establishments depend 
for subsistence almost entirely on the fish which 
this lake affords ; they are usually caught in suf- 
ficient abundance throughout the winter, though 
at the distance of eighteen miles from the houses; 
on the thawing of the ice, the fish remove into 
some smaller lakes, and the rivers on the south 
shore. Though they are nearer to the forts than 
in winter, it frequently happens that high winds 
prevent the canoes from transporting them thither, 
and the residents are kept in consequence with- 
