84 THROUGH THE MACKENZIE BASIl!^" 



a number of them, with the addition of belts and beautiful 

 islands of timber, the soil being a loamy clay, unmistakably 

 fertile. iN'othing could excel the beauty of this region, not 

 even the fairest portions of Manitoba or Saskatchewan. 



On the 18th we finished our drive over a like beautiful 

 prairie, slightly rolling, dotted with similar clumps of tim- 

 ber like a great park, and carpeted with ripe strawberries 

 and flowers, including the wild mignonette, the lupin, and 

 the phlox. 



Descending a very long and crooked ravine, we reached 

 the river flat at last, upon which is situated Fort Dunvegan, 

 ■called after the stronghold of the McLeods of Skye, but alas I 

 with no McOrimmon to welcome us with his echoing pipes ! 

 Chief -factor McDonald, in his scanty journal of Sir George 

 Simpson's canoe voyage in 1828 from Hudson's Bay to the 

 Pacific, does not give the date at which this post was estab- 

 lished, but mentions its abandonment in 1823, owing to the 

 murder of a Mr. Hughes and four men at Eort St. John by 

 the Beaver Indians. It had been re-established by Chief- 

 trader Campbell. Simpson, Mr. McDonald, and Mr. 

 McGillivray, who had embarked at Fort Chipev^yan, where 

 ■Sir George himself had served his clerkship, spent a 

 day at Dunvegan in August, resting and getting fresh sup- 

 plies. The warring traders had united in 1821, and this 

 voyage was undertaken in order to harmonize the Indians, 

 who, from the bay to the coast, particularly across the moun- 

 tains, had become fierce partisans of one or other of the great 

 ■companies. 



Sir George had his McCrimmon with him in the shape of 

 his piper, Colin Eraser, who played and paraded before the 

 Indians most impressively in full Highland costume. Deer 

 and buffalo were numerous in the region, and, during the 

 day, thirteen sacks of pemmican were made for the party 

 from materials stored at the fort. Simpson was famous in 

 those days for his swift journeys with his celebrated Iroquois 

 canoemen. They were made by Ganot du Maitre, as it was 



