294 Our North Land. 



well wooded, and containing a good soil. These intervals are, in 

 season, mostly covered with wild peas, vetches, and other plants, 

 growing luxuriantly, especially where the timber has been burned 

 away. Speaking of the scenery in this part of the river, Professor 

 Dawson says : " From various points a few miles above Kitsalas 

 Canon fine glimpses of the higher peaks are obtained, but a better 

 view, including the whole snow-clad sierra, some tent-like peaks of 

 which surpass a height of 8,000 feet, is gained on looking back on 

 this region from the hills above the Forks. In several places small 

 valleys in the upper parts of the range are filled with blue glacier 

 ice, and one glacier, which appears to be of some size, is situated a 

 few miles below Kwatsalix on the right bank. The semi-circular 

 valley containing this, surrounded by peaks estimated at 7,000 feet 

 in height and abundantly covered with snow, is probably the finest 

 piece of mountain scenery on the river. The glacier occupies the 

 bottom of a narrow V-shaped valley, and is probably about a quarter 

 of a mile in width, rising up between the slopes like a broad waggon- 

 road. The ice appears from a distance to be completely covered 

 with fallen stones and debris, and though the slope of the valley is 

 considerable, the motion of the glacier must be slow, as the stream 

 flowing from it was, at the date of our visit, nearly without 

 earthy impurity. The end of this glacier is about four miles back 

 from the river, and was estimated to be about 600 feet above it." 



Kwatsalix Canon is a part of the river less than half a mile in 

 length where steep rocks and low cliffs come down to the water's 

 edge ; but, although the water runs swiftly, there is scarcely a true 

 rapid, and canoes may be worked up without great difficulty. There 

 are a few Indian huts at Kwatsalix, but the larger Indian village, 

 Kitwanga, is situated on the right bank of the river some twenty- 

 four miles above it. It consists of about fifteen or twenty huts, 

 located on a flat of considerable extent, and at a height of about 

 twenty feet above the river. A trail leads from this place across to 

 the Nasse River, which is three days' journey to the north. The 

 huts are of the usual style, and the village is marked by several 

 posts curiously carved. 



About seven miles above Kitwanga the mouth of the Kitsegu- 



