28 ACROSS THE SUB-ARCTICS OF CANADA. 



rocky. From the foot of the island in the Grand Rapid 

 the scows are then floated down the river, with more 

 or less difficulty, according to the height of water, 

 through the long succession of rapids to Fort McMur- 

 ray, where they are met by the second steamer, the 

 Grakame, which receives their freight and carries it 

 down the river to Fort Chippewyan on Lake Athabasca, 

 and thence onward to Fort Smith, on Great Slave River, 

 where a second transhipment has to be made over 

 about sixteen miles of rapids. From the lower end of 

 these rapids the steamer Wrigley, under the command 

 of Captain Mills, takes charge of the cargo and delivers 

 it at the various trading-posts along the banks of the 

 Mackenzie River, for a distance of about twelve hundred 

 miles, to the Arctic Ocean. 



But to return to our camp at the head of the Grand 

 Rapid. Inspector Howard and his men proved to be in- 

 teresting companions. I soon discovered, to my surprise, 

 that the Inspector was a cousin of my wife's, and that I 

 had met him in former years in Toronto. Meeting witli 

 even so slight an acquaintance in such a place was in- 

 deed a pleasure; and in justice to the occasion a banquet, 

 shall I call it, was given us, at which moose-steak and 

 bear-chops cut a conspicuous figure. In conversation 

 with the Inspector some information was obtained re- 

 garding the character of the rapids now before us, and 

 all such was carefully noted, since none of our party 

 had ever run the Athabasca. We had with us the re- 

 ports of William Ogilvie, D.L.S., and Mr. McConnell, who 

 had descended the river and published much valuable 

 information regarding it, but even they could not alto- 

 gether supply the place of a guide. We were putting 



