the expeditions and journeyiiigs of voyageurs from the Lake 

 Superior district to the interior of the Northwest. The usual 

 course was to cross from the mouth of the Rainy river to the 

 head of the Winnipeg river, and, descending it, to reach the 

 interior. In the winter- of the year 1817, Lord Selkirk's band 

 of De Meurons, in order to outHank the Noi--Westers, left 

 Lake of the Woods, probablyabout Buffalo Bay, on the south- 

 west side of the lake, crossing somewhere ahjng the boundary 

 line of 49 N. and reached Pembina, from which place they 

 c-ame down the Red River and surprised and captured Fort 

 Douglas. 



The Hudson's Bay Company, in course of time, found it 

 advantageous to have a post at the exit of the Lake of the 

 Woods. They accordingly built a post on the narrow neck 

 <tf land, probably not far from the present town of Keewatin, 

 at a spot where was the original and true Rat Portage, but 

 the company is still represented in the town of Rat Portage 

 by its place of business. 



The circuitous and difficult route by which the prairies 

 were reached down River "Winnipeg and by the stormy sheet 

 of Lake Winnipeg led to the use of the natural entrance on 

 the west side of the lake known as the northwest angle some 

 tliirty or forty years ago. The expedition conducted by 

 Dawson and Hind, in 1857 and succeeding years, led to the 

 <lesire to open this more direct connection between Lake 

 Superior and Red River. In 1867 the Canadian government 

 built six miles of a wagon road from Thunder Bay to Dog 

 Lake. In 1868 the Red River end was begun with the pur- 

 pose not only of opening up communication, but also of giving 

 relief to the people of Red River, who were suffering from the 

 ravages of gr-asslioppers. Mr. John A. Snow was the con- 

 tractor in char-ge. He undertook to build the portion from 

 Red River to Pointe de Chene — the prairie section — over a 

 distance of about 30 miles. The continuation of this road 

 was made to the northwest angle of the Lake of the Woods, 

 and the road, some 110 miles in length, was known as the 

 " Dawson Road." This road was afterwards a part of the 



