302 Our North Land. 



light, sandy, or gravelly, and is at present covered for the most part 

 by burnt woods. A considerable area would doubtless be available 

 for pasture land if the forest were completely removed by fire, and 

 there are numerous' swamps and meadows along streams producing 

 natural hay. It formerly yielded large numbers of skins of marten, 

 mink and other forest-inhabiting animals, but since 'the extensive 

 spread of fires — some of the most important of which occurred about 

 fifteen years ago — fur-bearing animals, with the exception of the 

 bear, are scarce. 



We may travel from the Hudson's Bay post — Fort McLeod — at 

 the northern end of McLeod Lake, to the summit of the Pine River 

 Pass, by way of the Misinchinca River. The Pack River, issuing 

 from McLeod Lake, is about two hundred feet wide, and has an 

 average depth of about two feet in July. It flows northward about 

 fifteen miles to its junction with the Parsnip River, which joins it 

 from the south-east. The tongue of land lying between the two 

 rivers is mountainous opposite the end of McLeod's Lake, rising to 

 a height of from 1,500 to 2,000 feet above the water. At about 

 seven miles north of Fort McLeod these mountains end, and a 

 plateau or terrace-flat, with an average elevation of about one 

 hundred and thirty feet, stretches from the expansion of the Pack 

 River, known as Lac la Truite, or Tutia Lake, across to the Parsnip, 

 near the mouth of the Misinchinca. 



At the mouth of the Misinchinca the Parsnip, according to com- 

 parative barometer readings, is 2,170 feet above the sea. It has a 

 width of five hundred feet, and is generally quite deep. The current 

 is rapid, averaging probably three or four miles an hour, the waters 

 being brownish and muddy, and evidently in great part derived from 

 melting snow. Above this place the Parsnip has not been explored 

 since the date of Sir Alexander Mackenzie's visit in June, 1703. He 

 ascended the stream to its sources, and portaged his canoe across to 

 a small river running toward the Fraser. From his account it would 

 appear that there are very high mountains about its head, and 

 probably true glaciers. This seems to be confirmed by the small 

 possible drainage area of the river compared to the volume of water 

 it carries. 



