190P I 



ROUTES TRAVERSED— MACKENZIE. 



105 



are eaten extensively by the natives in spring, abounds ;ill along the 

 Mackenzie, and here early in June its violet-purple flowers were 

 beginning to appear. Below here the ' boucanes' — beds of lignite 

 which have been on fire at least since the river was lirst descended 

 in 1789 — are passed. A short distance below, Fort Norman stands 

 on the right bank a few hundred yards above where Bear River 

 mingles its clear waters with the discolored flood of the Mackenzie. 



Fort Norman occupies a commanding position on the high hank. 

 It has been built successively at several points, but the present site 

 has been occupied for a number of years. Back of the post extend 

 the inevitable muskegs with their shrubby growth of Chamcedaphne, 

 Andromeda polifolia, the two species of Ledum, Vaccinium uligi- 



l junction or Bear River with the Mackenzii 



nosum, etc., while a strip along the crest of the hank is comparatively 

 dry and is wooded with poplars and willows. To the north, across 

 Bear River, rise the rugged peaks of Bear hock (see fig. 7). Along 

 its southern base, at the time of my visit in June. L904, a mass of 

 ice at least half a mile in length and of unknown thickness was \ isible 

 from the post. To the west across the broad Mackenzie the ranges 

 of the Rocky Mountains, snow clad during most of the year, stretch 

 away into the distance. 



Below the mouth of Bear River, whose clear blue water flows dis 

 tinct for several miles before losing its individuality, the Mackenzie 

 follows a general west-northwest course for about L25 miles to the 

 Sans Sault Rapid. The face of Bear Rock is nearly devoid of tree-. 

 and from the river presents an aspect similar to that of Roche 

 Trempe-l'eau. Below here a low lime-tone cliff borders the river on 

 the right for some miles. The hank- are generally low and shelving 



