204 The Ottawa Naturalist. 



From the north side of the Churchill river, a short distance be- 

 low He a la Crosse Lake, we struck northward into the unex- 

 plored country, ascending a small rapid stream that had been 

 called by the Indians Mudjatick (bad deer) river. A sandy 

 plain, forming the height of land, was crossed at the head of 

 this river, and Cree Lake, a beautiful sheet of clear water, 45 

 miles long, was entered, lying, like so many of the great Cana- 

 dian lakes, along the line of contact of the Archaean and over- 

 lying Palaeozoic rocks. The surrounding country was now 

 almost sterile sandy plains, thinly wooded with Jack-pine. Be- 

 tween the scattered tree-trunks one could see long distances in 

 any direction. Saying nothing of innumerable swarms of black 

 flies and mosquitoes, porcupines were about the only living 

 things to be seen on these sandy plains, and where these animals 

 are plentiful you may be sure that human beings rarely come, 

 for they are very easily killed, and the Indians are very fond of 

 a nice roasted porcupine. 



Cree river, a wild torrential stream, flowing in a shallow 

 channel, was descended to Stone river, and this river was 

 descended to Fond du Lac on Lake Athabasca, where Mr. 

 Dowling and I arrived within a few hours of each other, more 

 than six weeks after we had separated at Regina on the C.P.R. 

 650 miles further south. 



The united party then turned eastward, and carried an in- 

 strumental survey to the west end of Athabasca Lake, up Stone 

 river to its source in Wollaston Lake, from which lake Mr. 

 Dowling continued the survey to Reindeer Lake, down Reindeer 

 river and up Churchill river to the Frog Portage where it was con- 

 nected with the instrumental survey made by Mr. Fawcett down 

 Churchill river. An instrumental survey had thus been carried 

 entirely round this extensive area, forming an excellent basis 

 tor further explorations either in the interior or further north. 



At Wollaston Lake I left Mr. Dowling, and, accompanied by 

 three Indians who, however, knew nothing of the country, 

 ascended Geikie river to the height of land, and descended 

 Foster river to Churchill river, thus carrying a second line of 

 exploration, almost parallel to Mudjatick and Cree rivers, 



