18 Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-18 



"The country to the south and west is again low and grassy till near the foot 

 of the next bay. From this bay to Cape Kendall (Imnalugyuat) the foreshore 

 is low and tundra-hke, though a few miles inland it rises to a height of two or 

 three hundred feet, in uneven and somewhat rocky terraces. 



"At Cape Kendall the dolomite country gives way to the more severe and 

 rough diabase country. From Cape Kendall to some twenty miles up the Rae 

 river (Pallik),^ on the north side, there is an almost continuous series of diabase 

 bluffs which average about 180 feet in height. At the mouth of the Rae river 

 there is a low grass flat several miles wide where there are always deer to be 

 found in the spring-time. The Rae river carries only a small volume of water, 

 and from what one can see of it in the winter-time, has a large number of rapids. 

 About 18 miles from the coast there is a cascade of about ten feet, where, in the 

 summer-time, the Eskimo frequently gather to spear fish. From 20 to 50 miles 

 up the Rae river, the country is for the most part open, grassy and rolling, with 

 occasional isolated diabase buttes. About 32 miles up, the river expands into 

 a lake a third to half a mile wide and eighteen miles long, lying in a trough at 

 the southern edge of the grass country, which extends as far as one can see to 

 the north. A couple of miles to the south the country drops off several hundred 

 feet into what appears to be very rough and rugged rocky country. At the west 

 end of the lake the river passes through a series of low rocky diabase hills for 

 several miles. Here a considerable number of stone caches and shooting shelters 

 were noticed. To the west of these hills the river again expands into a long 

 narrow lake through open grassy country, and after about ten miles breaks up 

 into four small branches. This is practically the head of the river, and here 

 the willows are plentiful and large — growing up to fifteen or twenty feet high. 

 Elsewhere on the river willows are scarce and small, with the exception of a 

 couple of small willow-covered islands in the first lake, 



"Striking overland in a northeasterly direction from the head of the Rae river one 

 travels for thirty-five miles through a gently rising grass country with only one low 

 dolomite ridge. Thence to the coast on the south side of Stapylton bay, the country, 

 though still for the most part grassy, is rather more uneven, and one passes 

 three sets of low hills formed of mud and gravel, and holding one or two very 

 small lakes. No large lakes were seen from the head of Rae river to the coast. 

 Eskimo shooting shelters and tent rings were observed amongst the mud hills." 



Mr. Chipman then continues the account for the Coppermine river region: — 

 "The Richardson river ^ comes from the south and southwest and empties 

 into the same inlet as the Rae river. What is apparently a large flat to the 

 south of the Rae is really a triangular flat of which two sides are the Rae and 

 the Richardson. This flat is a feeding ground in the fall and spring for large 

 herds of caribou, and just across the Rae are numerous stones and turfs for 

 drives. The mouths of the rivers are said to be good flshing places, but some 

 distance from the sealing grounds. 



"From the Rae to the Coppermine (Kogluktok) the country is made up of 

 gentle grassy slopes and valleys broken by diabase hills with the characteristic 

 steep slopes to the south and more even slopes to the north. The former afford 

 good hunting grounds for caribou. 



"The Coppermine reaches the coast through two mouths enclosing a large 

 low island, grass covered except for two diabase hills on the northern end. 



'The name Pallik has been extended to embrace the whole of the Rae river region. 



„T.-^''^''',.*^T^P™^'' ^'^^^ *^° names for this river, Niakongiak and Kugnahik; the latter means simply 

 'River." I myself obtained (from description only) the name Walliak, which was extended to apply to 

 the whole region between the Rae and the Coppermine rivers. From this word comes the name Walliar- 

 miut, by which all these western Coronation gulf Eskimos often designate themselves. 



