DOWN THE ATHABASCA 



is very rough and rocky. From the foot of the island in the 

 Grand Rapid the scows are then floated down the river, with 

 more or less difficulty, according to the height of water, 

 through the long succession of rapids to Fort McMurray, 

 where they are met by the second steamer, the Grahame, 

 Avhich receives their freight and carries it dovsm the river to 

 Fort Chipewyan, on Lake Athabasca, and thence onward to 

 Fort Smith, on Great Slave River, where a second tranship- 

 ment has to be made over about sixteen miles of rapids. From 

 the lower end of these rapids the steamer Wrigley, under the 

 command of Captain Mills, takes charge of the cargo and 

 delivers it at the various trading-posts along the banks of the 

 Mackenzie River, for a distance of about twelve hundred 

 miles, to the Arctic Ocean. 



But to return to our camp at the head of the Grand Rapid. 

 Inspector Howard and his men proved to be interesting com- 

 panions. I soon discovered, to my surprise, that the Inspector 

 was a cousin of my wife's, and that I had met him in former 

 years in Toronto. Meeting with even so slight an acquaint- 

 ance in such a place was indeed a pleasure ; and in justice to 

 the occasion a banquet, shall I call it, was given us, at which 

 moose-steak and bear-chops cut a conspicuous figure. In con- 

 versation with the Inspector some information was obtained 

 regarding the character of the rapids now before us, and all 

 such was carefully noted, since none of our party had ever 

 run the Athabasca. We had with us the reports of William 

 Ogilvie, D.L.S., and Mr. McConnell, who had descended the 

 river and published much valuable information regarding it, 

 but even they could not altogether supply the place of a guide. 

 We were putting great confidence in the skill of our Iroquois 

 canoemen at navigating rapids, and now in the succeeding 

 eighty miles of the trip there would be ample opportunity of 

 testing it. 



On the morning following our arrival at the Grand Rapid, 

 being the 4th of June, a number of mission scows, loaded with 



29 



