﻿H0RTH-WE3T PAS8A0B. 



NORTHWESTERN PROVINCEa 



nalliwatd along Ui« aart aid* of North SomatMi till thay naehed 

 Bnotford Buy, which U>«y awarUioed to be a ohaiuMl eonnaotiiig 

 Banot't Inlet with Victoria Strait, the northoro part of whioh itrait, 

 ealbd Peel Sound, enters Barrow Strait They thu* diaoovered a thinl 

 Novth-Waat Paaiaga, and proved that North Somerset is a large 

 island, asperated from Boothia Felix by the Itrentford channel, which 

 they named llollot Strait, and found to be 16 miles long and 2 miles 

 wide. Thoy next trarelled over the ioe of Viotoria Strait, then over 

 Prince of Wales' Land due west as Ctr as 100° W. long., then northward 

 to the south-east angle of Ommannay Bay, then eastward to Browne's 

 Ba^ in Feci Sound, wbenoe, following the coast-line northward they 

 amved at Cape Walker. They reache<l the Prince Albert in Batty 

 Bay, Hay 30th, after an abeeoce of 90 days, and having travelled on 

 foot and with sledges 1100 miles. 



Captain IngleBeld, in the small icrew-steamer Isabel, sailed from 

 the Thames July Gtb, 1852. He |>rooeeded along the east side of 

 Baffin's Bay, and entering Whale Sound found that it contained two 

 laige openings to the northeastward. He entered Smith's Sound at 

 the bead of Baffin's Bay, and on the 27th of Augu8t attained 78° 85' 

 N. Imt, when he found himself in a great sea, only partially encumbered 

 with ice. He wis driven back by a violent gale, and afterwards 

 •atered Jones's Sound, which he penetrated to 84° W. long., the 

 north oosst there suddenly trending to the north-west, whilst the 

 south shore continued its direction wegtwanl as far as the eye could 

 reach. The Iiabel returned to EoKlsnil in November, 1852. 



A searohing expedition under Sir Edward Belcher was sent out in 

 1853. He proceeded up the Wellington Channel, and wintered in 

 70* 52' N. lat., 97° W. long. While here explorations with boats 

 and sledges led to the discovery of various coasts and lands. The 

 eastern side of Wellington Channel was named North Devon; the 

 western side is Comwallis Land, which is separated by a strait 

 from Bathurst Land still farther west. A group of islandu in 78" 10 

 N. lat. was named Victoria Arohipelago. On the 20th of May' 

 1853, Sir K Belcher found the sea open in the latitude of Jones's, 

 Strait. His words sre, " Polar Sea as far as the eye can reach." 

 The gallant young Frenchman, Lieutenant Bellot, in attempting to 

 convey the government deepatches from Captain Ingle6eld to Bit 

 E. Belcher, was blown from the top of a hummock of ice, and was 

 drowned. Sir E. Belcher's ships were liberated from the ice July 14, 

 1863, and he returned to England the same year. 



In October, 1864, Dr. Bae returned suddenly to England from the 

 vicinity of Boothia Felix, for the purpose of announcing to the British 

 government that he bad obtained some relics which had belonged to Sir 

 John Franklin's companions. He stated that he had met with some 

 Esquimaux in Pelly Bay, who were in poeseasion of watches, silver- 

 •pooDS, telescopes, and other things, which had belonged to the offivera 

 •od leamen of the Erebus and Terror. These he purchased, and 

 brought with him to England ; and he stated that €he Esquimaux 

 had informed him, that in the spring of 1850 about forty of the ships' 

 crews were seen (but not by Dr. Rae's informants) near the north 

 shore of King William's Land : that they were dragging a boat over 

 the ioe, looked worn and emaciated, and had purehaaed a seal of the 

 natives. Later in the year, but before the ice had broken up, the 

 Esquimaux had, it seems, fallen in with the spot where Franklin's 

 party had been anoamped, none of whom were living. Thirty bodies 

 were found ; some partly buried, some in a tent where they had died, 

 and othen under the boat, which they had overturned to form a 

 shelter. They seemed to have perished from starvation. In conse- 

 quence of this infonnstion, the Admiralty, in November 1854, resolved 

 to send out two expeditions, one of which is to descend the Fish Kiver 

 (Dack River), in order to search and make enquiries in the regions 

 •bout Point Ogle and Montreal Island ; the other to descend the Mac- 

 ken^ Biter, and proceed eastward along the American cout. 



Tha reaalt of all theae searching expeditions— of which we have 

 oaty ootioed the most important— has bean the discovery of three or 

 ftmr r * — g"* by which the PaoiBo Ooaan may be entered from the 

 Atlantic, or the Atlantic Ocean flwn the Pacific, namely, by the west 

 ooast of Baring Inland, by the east ooast of the same island, through 

 Ptinoa of Wales Strait, by Regtnit Inlet through Bellot Strait into 

 JTetoria Strait, aad probably alio by Peel Strait info Viotoria Strait 

 Tnaaa psMagM^ being all more or leas encumbered with ice, may be 

 af little or no oommereial importance ; but the long-sought North- 

 WaatPaasage h«a been discovered, many extensive lines of coast have 

 •lao been traoad, and hurge islands and countries have been found and 

 paHl y examined. Besfides the geogtaphical duooveries which have 

 haan in cidentally noticed in the ooune of this narrative, it has been 

 aaasHaluad, by the explorations of Dease and .Simpnon, Dr. Raa, aad 

 OaptaiB M-Oure, that Wollaston Land and Victoria Land an oon- 

 mMm,timiUBg the soath coast of the laigest of all the islands of 

 Iha Arotio Baas, tha weatem boirodary being Prince of Wales' Strait, 

 the caatam boundary Victoria Strait with iU continuation Peel Strait, 

 and the northcni boundary Barrow Strait The northern coast of 

 Uiis lane lalaod is deeply indented near the eastern end by Ommanney 

 Bagr ind Oabonia Bay, ao name 1 from the explorm. North Somerset 



r_ ='.,'" •" •** ■'"*^ ■ '•'»" "''"^' ■«P«u»ted from Boothia Felix 

 tar BeUot Strait, prsviooaly called Brentford Bay ; whilst Boothia 

 raliz aaama to ba united to tha American continent by an isthmus. 

 In many parta of theaa oold rsgiona then is an aztraoidinary 



abundance of animal life, eoaaiating of mooaedeer, haras, ptarmigan, 

 and other game. In 1851, CapUin U'aure says. " On the 1st of April 

 we had 1 000 lbs. of venison hanging at the yanl-arms;" and, in ls53, 

 he says, " A supply of game baa been kept up during the winter which 

 has enabled us to issue a meal twioe weekly." It seems alao to haru 

 been ascertained that north of Smith's Sound and the Wellington 

 Channel there is an extensive Polar Sea, comparatively unencumbered 

 with ice. 



(Barrow, Chronological Ilittory qf Yoyagts into the Arctic lUgions ; 

 Voj/agtt of Boss and Parry ; Franklin, liJTxdilion* to the Polar 

 SegioHs; London Geographical Journal, vols, v., viii., ix., xxil, and 

 xxiil ; notices in the Athenamn and other joumala) 



NORTH-WEST TERRITORY, was an unorganised territory of the 

 United States of North America, lying between 43° and 49" N. lat, 

 99° and 112° W. long. In the statement of the area of the several 

 states and territories, drawn up by the United States Land Office, for 

 the Seventh Census of the Uuited States, the area is given as 52;>,725 

 square inilef, but it does not certainly exceed 225,000 t- 

 No estimate has been made of the population. Tht t. 



Territory formed a portion of the vast tract iucludtU iiiu 



Louisiana purchase. [Louisuna.] Up to the prciieut time its only 

 occupants have been the native Indiana, who do not probably exceed 

 60,000, with a few trappers. No regular settlement has been mode 

 in any part of the territory. 



This extensive tract is the country extending from that described 

 under Nkbbaska territory, northward up to the }>riti«h Hudson Bay 

 territories; iU western boundary being the llocky Mountains, ite 

 eastern the Missouri liiver. When the territories of Kansas and 

 Nebraska were about to be constituted, their limite were such as are 

 given under those titles : but in the Act for their organisation, as it 

 was actually passed by Cougiees, the territory of Nebraaka was made 

 to include the entire area between the Rocky Mountains and the 

 Miesouri Uiver from 40° up to 49" N. lat, and consciiuonUy to embrace 

 witliiu its boundaries the whole of this North- West Territory, power 

 being reserved to the United States Oovernment to divide the new 

 territory into two or more territories. The territory of Nebraska 

 therefore, instead of being limited as described under Nebraska, 

 must be understood to embrace also the country described in 

 the present article. Tliis extensive coimtry has as yet been 

 very imperfectly explored, and ite surface and capabilities remain 

 therefore comparatively unknown. It is described generally tmder 

 AuERiCA. A large portion of the surface is mountainous and hilly. 

 The Rocky Mountains, which form an almost impassable barrier 

 between it and Oregon, are of great altitude, many of the summite 

 rising for above the line of perpetual snow. The Great South Pass, 

 the only really practicable pass over this part of the Rocky Mountain 

 range, is near ite south-west comer; Fremont's Pass, 13,570 feet 

 high, is soma distance farther nortli. That part of the range on the 

 south-west, known as the Wind-River Mountains, extends for some 

 distance eastward, while the Black Hills stretch from them north- 

 ward. Spurs extend everywhere from the Rocky Mountains into this 

 territory. Between the several hill-ranges are numerous principal 

 and lateral valleys. On the north-west is another divergent range of 

 low mountains, dividing the watera of the Missouri from those of the 

 Saakatchawan. From the Rocky range the country has a general slope 

 towards the east, but the surface west of the Yellowstone River is 

 considerably broken. The valley of the Missouri is generally level 

 from the junction of the White Earth River. .Along the lower port 

 of ite course there are extensive plains; in some parte are sandy 

 deserts. 



The territory lies almost wholly within the basin of the Mittouri, 

 the sources of which are within its boundaries. To the confluence of 

 the White Eartli liiver, a distance of 1260 miles, tha Missouri belongs 

 entirely, and ite tributaries almost entirely, to this territory; from 

 this point, for 700 miles more (in each ease of course following the 

 vriudings of the river) it belongs equally to this territory and to 

 Minnosota, The Missouri is navigable for steam-boate for about 750 

 miles in this territory, or up to the Yellowstone, the principal 

 tributary of ite upper course. The Yellowstone rises in several 

 branches in the south-western part of this territory, to which it wholly 

 belongs : it is said to be navigable by steam for 300 miles. Both the 

 Missouri and the Yellowstone, with the other more importont foeden 

 of the former river, are noticed under )Iiii8tssirn liiver. 



The capabilities of the country seem to be very great The moun- 

 tain distncte appear to belong chiefly to the primary formations, and 

 it is believed that there existo considerable mineral wealth. Over a 

 great part of the lower country cretaceous and tertiary rocks prevaiL 

 The soil of the valleys, j udging from the heavy timber in many of 

 them, is generally rich ; and the broad plains, where not sandy, appear 

 to be very fertile. The hilly slopes and adjoining plains are said to 

 constitute a fine pasture country. Every part too, as above indicated, 

 is well watered, and the huger riven offer a remarkable extent of 

 inland navigation. The climate is cold but healthy, and is said to 

 be well adapted to the usual farming operations. Altogether it is a 

 country of great promise ; and it is scarcely probable that many years 

 will elapse before some hardy settlers will pioneer the way for its 

 permanent occupation by the white man, 



NORTH-WESTERN PROVINCES. [Hisddotaw.] 



