676 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. xxviii. 



dispatchos d(^livorod to tho Eskimo h\ Capt. Ro])ert McClure of Her 

 Majesty's arctic search expedition ship Investi(jatoi\ wlieii ott' C-ape 

 Bathurst in the month of Auo-ust, 1850, foi- transmission to Knyland 

 by way of Fort (lood Hope and other Hudson's Bay posts, the British 

 Admiralty (tlirouoh the good oflices of Lord Strathcona and Mount 

 Royal, G. C M, G.) were recently pleased to award me the Queen's 

 arctic medal. When Sir Leopold McClintock returned to Enuland 

 from his expedition of 1857-1859, Avhich ascertained the fate of Sir 

 John Franklin and his companions, an octagonal form of the medal 

 was struck for presentation to several of his officers and crew who 

 had not received the round service medal of 1818-1855 previous to the 

 latter date. 



Although these notes chieflv relate to the collections made by the 

 writer within the aljove-defTned region, and at two oi' three other 

 points, yet man}- incidental references were deemed necessar}^ in 

 respect to northern mammals obtained and observed b}' officers of the 

 Hudson's Bay Compan}' and others in the Mackenzie River District 

 and elsewhere. It was also considered advisa))le to refer to similar 

 work performed 1)y officers of some of the British Government's arctic 

 exploring and search expeditions which wintered in Dominion Polar 

 Sea lands. Brief extracts have also been made from Gen. A. W. 

 Greely's Three Years of Arctic Service, and from other land and 

 water exploring publications, while the explanator}^ remarks, called 

 for under each species of animal entered in the companj^'s catalogues 

 of their annual London fur sales, practicalh" include every noticeable 

 vantage point of observation throughout the vast domain in which 

 their trade and commercial business has been conducted, particularly 

 during the last eighty-two 3^ears. 



With such a magnificent field for investigation as the "Anderson," 

 as well as other interesting points throughout the vast regions in 

 whicli he was stationed as a post and district manager for a period 

 exceeding forty years (1852-1891), the writer of these notes has since 

 deeply felt and regretted that, despite the many advantages pertaining 

 to his position as a company's officer, he has not (except at Fort 

 Anderson) done a quarter as much as a collector and observer as he 

 might and ought to have accomplished in ascertaining and making 

 known to naturalists the copious wealth of the animal kingdom in the 

 northern lands of his adopted country. 



It may be; here premised that this paper was largely prepared for 

 publication at Cum])erland House, the headijuarters of Cumberland 

 District, early in the winter of 1890-91, but for various reasons it 

 was not completed at that time, while, unfortunately, several sheets 

 thereof, together with some relative memoranda, have since disap- 

 peared, and this will explain the paucity of the i-emarks appearing 

 under certain species headings, (^uite a large number of the speci- 



