338 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. [VoL. II. 



felt the solid rock shake under our feet, as we stood two hundred feet 

 above the gulf A dense cloud of vapour, which can be seen at a great 

 distance in clear weather, hangs over the spot. From the fall to the foot 

 of the rapid — a distance of thirty miles — the zigzag course of the river 

 presents such sharp angles, that you see nothing of it until within a 

 few yards of its banks. Might not this circumstance lead the geologist 

 to the conclusion that the fall had receded this distance? The mind 

 shrinks from the contemplation of a subject that carries it back to a 

 period of time so very remote ; for if the rock, syenite, always possessed 

 its present solidity and hardness, the action of the water alone might 

 require millions of years to produce such a result." 



This is the passage that unmistakeably stamps John McLean as the 

 discoverer of the Great Falls, to which but for his modesty he would have 

 given a name, and regarding which, but for the same reason, he would never 

 afterwards have permitted the world to forget his claim as discoverer. 

 Unlike the first white man who looked upon the Falls of Niagara, he did 

 not even attempt to exaggerate the height — he simply states that they 

 " exceed in height " the world-renowned Canadian fall, and recent observa- 

 tions have shown they are nearly twice as high as the great Niagara leap. 



Brief too, as is his reference to this notable discovery, his language 

 bears proof of the fact that he was a man of more than ordinary observa- 

 tion and intelligence, considering the state of science upwards of half a 

 century ago, for not only does he note the syenitic quality of the rock, 

 but muses on the vast period of time that must have elapsed for the 

 water to wear its way slowly thirty miles back from the foot of the rapids, 

 cutting through material of such solidity and hardness. In the few 

 sentences that follow, I shall briefly sketch the remainder of his life. 



Although Mr. McLean recommended the abandonment of the Ungava 

 settlement, he was left in charge of it until 1842, having meanwhile, made 

 three more journeys to Esquimaux Bay, hoping against hope to find a 

 practicable land and river route. When he arrived there on his last 

 voyage, he was gratified to receive intelligence that the directors, in 

 accordance with his recommendation had determined to abandon Un- 

 gava, a " ship being ordered round this season to convey the people and 

 property to Esquimaux Bay." 



Not the least remarkable among the many events of McLean's 

 quarter of a century in the Company's service, is the passage he made to 

 Britain after being relieved of duty at Fort Chimo. 



I have heard the story more than once from his own lips. " On the 

 i8th August, 1842," he "embarked on board a small schooner of sixty 



