HAMILTON SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION. 9L 



ducted by the guide, and the pour tiitd red men roll up in their 

 blankets beneath the vault of heaven, or perchance in the leafy 

 shadows of a friendly wood, to find rest in slumber and dream of 

 the happy hunting grounds where toiling is no more. 



En route from Cross Lake to Split Lake several long and diffi- 

 cult portages on the Nelson River were met with, and it was on 

 these that our Indian friends showed themselves to greatest advan- 

 tage. Without any urging other than rivalry amongst themselves 

 the}^ worked like slaves or demons, and by simple brute force man- 

 aged in very short space of time to transport not only their nine 

 tons of supplies, but also their heavy boats over portages often 

 steep and precipitous. One of these portages, that at the Grand' 

 Rapids on the Nelson, though not long, was about loo feet in 

 height and quite steep on either side. Others though not so high 

 were equally steep and much longer, but were all crossed in the 

 same way — by the strenuous use of the tow line and rollers. 



At several of these portages the natural scenery of the river 

 was very beautiful, and this was notably the case at the White 

 Mud Falls, one of the wildest and most beautiful I have ever seen. 

 The falls come in from three directions between islands in the 

 river, and unite to form one great, seething, boiling cauldron of 

 marvellous beauty and grandeur. My photos of these falls convey 

 no true representation of their appearance, for I could find no 

 point from which more than a part could be photographed at one 

 time. 



Split Lake Post, on a lake of the same name, 225 miles below 

 Norway House, was reached on July 15th, and here we were to part 

 with our friends of the York boat brigade, who had reached home 

 and the end of their present journey. Our arrival taking place on 

 Saturday,' we had the opportunity of spending the next day (Sun- 

 day) at the post and mission, and our brief visit proved to be an 

 exceedingly pleasant one, both because of the very kind reception 

 given us by Messrs. Fox and Lofthouse, and on account of the very 

 interesting and exemplary character of the local Indians, who bore 

 abundant evidence of the good teaching and example of the mis- 

 sionaries. 



