sirRDOcB.l T(H'()(iliArHV OF THE ColMi;'!. 2i^l 



large bowlders arc absent, wliilc pchhlcs lar.i;cr Ihaii llic lisl arc rare 

 The surface of the Jin in 11(1 is cdvcicl with a tiiin sdil. sii|.iioiliii.'; a lalhcr 

 sparse vegetation of ji-rass, tiowcrint;- plants, crccpin}; willows, ami 

 mosses, which is thicker on the lii^licr hillsides and turiiis a layer id' 

 turf about afoot thick. Large tracts of cdiniiai ali\ rl\ le\el uronnd 



are almost bare of gi'ass, and consist ol' iii-c^nlar hiini cks ot hhudi, 



muddy soil, Scautil.V covi'led with li^lil -colored lichens and I'lill of small 

 l)ools. The lowlands, especially those hack of I hi' lieach lagoons, arc 

 marshes, thickly covered with grass and sphagnum. The whole sin 

 face of the land is exceedingly wet in snmnier. c\cepi the liiuhcr knolls 

 and hillsides, and for about 100 yards back from the edge ot ihe dills. 

 The thawing, however, extends down only about a tool oi eighteen 

 inches. Beyond this deiitli the ground is iieiiieiually lio/.en tor au 

 unknown distance, 'riicre are nostreanis of any importance in the iin 

 mediate ueighborhood of I'oint Uarniw. On the other hand, three of 

 the rivers emptying into the Arctic Ocean between I'oint I'.anow ami 

 the Colville, which Dr. Simpson speaks of as ••small and liaidly known 

 except to persons who have \isited them." ' lia\c been found to be con- 

 siderable streams. Two of these were visited by Lieut. K'a.s in his ex- 

 ploring trips in 18.S2 and ISS.-!. The first. Kua'ru. is reached alter trav- 

 eling about 50 miles from Point Harrow in a southerly diiection. It 

 has been traced only for a small part of its course, and there is i-eason 

 to believe, from what the natives say, that it is a tributary of the sec- 

 ond named river. Lieut. Hay visited the uiiiici- part of the second 

 river, Kulugrua {named by him •■.Meade River"), in March, Iss:.', when 

 he went out to join the native deer huiiters encamped on its banks. Just 

 on the edge of the hilly conntrv. On his return he visited what the 

 natives assured him was the month of this river, and obtained observa- 

 tiims for its geographical iiosition. Early in Aiiril. ISS.;. he again vis 

 ited the upper i.ortion of the stream, and tiaced it back some distance 

 into the hilly country. The intermediate portion has never been sur 



veyed. .\t the ti feach of his visits the river was, of course, frozen 



and the ground covered with snow, Imt he was aide to see that the 

 river was of considerable size, upwards of L'OO yards wide where he tirst 

 reached it, about <J0 mil.'s from its mouth, and showing evidences of a 

 large volume of water in the spring. It receives several tributaries. (See 

 maps, Fls. i and ii.) 



The third river is known only by hearsay from the natives. It is 

 called I'kpikpiul (dreat Clitf ). and is about 10 miles (cstimat..d from 

 day's journevs) east of Ivulu'griia. It is dcscribcil as being a larger and 

 morerapul stream than the other two. and so deep that it docs not 

 fi-eeze down to the bottom on the shallow bars, as they say Kulu'grua 

 does. Not far from its mouth it is said to receive a tributar.\- from 

 the east flowing out of a great lake of fresh water, .'ailed Ta'syukpun 

 (Great Lake.) This lake is separated from the^ea by a^'om paratively 



■Oil. cit., !>. 233. 



