CHAPTER III 



THE CANADIAN NORTH WEST 



LEAVING Newfoundland, the St. Lawrence and the region 

 of the Great Lakes on our north-westward travels, we now 

 enter the drainage area of the mighty Mackenzie River which 

 conducts its muddy waters to the Arctic Ocean. We 

 know from Mr. A. H. Harrison's * recent exploit that it 

 is possible to journey down the one thousand eight hun- 

 dred miles from the Athabaska landing and reach the Arctic 

 Ocean entirely by boat. But we obtain a better idea of the 

 fauna and flora of this vast Athabaska-Mackenzie region by 

 crossing the country on foot, or by a perusal of the excellent 

 report lately published by the biological survey of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture. The task of furnishing 

 this report was entrusted to Mr. Edward A. Preble,f a natura- 

 list who already had the advantage of accomplishing the diffi- 

 cult survey of the Hudson Bay region, and who had shown 

 himself possessed of the necessary qualifications for such an 

 undertaking. 



The Mackenzie basin comprises a vast region of nearly 

 700,000 square miles, or about six times the size of the 

 British Islands. As is usually the case in regions covered 

 by glacial drift, the country is studded with innumerable 

 fresh-water lakes extending in a more or less connected system 

 from Lake Superior to the Arctic Ocean. With the exception 

 of a large area in the north, which is mainly outside the actual 

 drainage basin of the Mackenzie, much of this region is 

 entirely covered with forests. The principal trees are white 

 and black spruce, the canoe birch, tamarack, aspen and balsam 



* Harrison, A. H., "In Search of a Polar Continent." 

 t Preble, E. A., " Athabaska-Mackenzie Kegion." Compare also 

 Macfarlane, K., " Mammals of North- West Territory." 



