2IO The Ottawa Naturalist. 



as had been believed, and that the climatic and other conditions 

 about James Bay and for a hundred miles inland are such as to 

 allow of settlement, and the growth of the more hardy cereals. 



In 1893, accompanied by Mr. D. I. V. Eaton, we again 

 started from Lake St. John, but instead of following the 

 Ashouapmouchouan River in a northwest direction to its head, 

 we passed directly northward up the Chef branch of that river^ 

 and thus lessened the distance to Lake Mistassini by about 

 fifty miles. The route explored in 1892 was followed to 

 the East Main River, and the work of the season started from 

 the end of the last season's survey, this time ascending the 

 river. The main stream was ascended, with numerous portages 

 past falls and rapids, about one hundred miles, when the river 

 was left and the route passed up a small northern tributary, 

 called Long Portage Creek, which is on the route followed by 

 the Hudson's Bay Company to their post at Nichicun. This 

 stream was ascended thirty-five miles and then the route led 

 eastward through a number of lakes for thirty miles to the 

 watershed between the East Main and the Big river which is 

 the next large stream to the north flowing into James' Bay. 

 From there six miles of lakes were passed through to the Big 

 River, which flows from the southward, and is a large stream 

 where we joined it. Eight miles below, the river enters Nichicun 

 LaKC, which is a large irregular body of water about thirty miles 

 Ion J, and 1760 foet abov j sea level. 



From Nichicun the route explored continued eastward 

 through a bewildering system of irregular lakes drained by 

 tributaries of the Big River, for forty miles to the height of-land 

 dividing the Big River from the waters flowing north into 

 Ungava Bay ; and from there twenty miles farther to Lake 

 Kaniapiskau, another of the large lakes found throughout the 

 Labrador Peninsula. The Kaniapiskau River flows out of its 

 north end, and was followed downward to its mouth on the 

 southwest side of Ungava Bay. For sixty miles below the lake, 

 the river, like all the streams of the central area, flows nearly on 



