THE 



National Geographic Magazine 



Vol. X APRIL, 181)9 No. 4 



SOURCES OF THE SASKATCHEWAN 

 By Walter D. Wilcox 



The Saskatchewan, one of the larger rivers of North America, 

 takes its source in the rugged fastnesses of the Rocky mountains, 

 and flows eastward over the sparsely inhabited plains of southern 

 Canada till it reaches Lake Winnipeg. Save for a rapid at its 

 mouth, the river is navigable for steamboats for about 1,000 

 miles. Strangely enough its two chief branches come from the 

 same ice-fields in the high Rockies, and after diverging several 

 hundred miles unite far out on the rolling plains about 900 miles 

 from their source. 



From the Canadian Pacific railway the easiest way to reach 

 the headwater tributaries of the Saskatchewan is by ascending 

 the Bow river to its source. My friend, Mr R. L. Barrett, and I 

 left the station of Laggan on July 12, 1896, bound northward, in 

 the hope of reaching the Athabasca pass and measuring the 

 height of Mt Brown and Mt Hooker. For such an extensive 

 journey, which would require two months to accomplish, we had 

 five saddle-horses and ten pack-horses to cany our provisions 

 and camp necessaries. To manage the horses and arrange our 

 camps we engaged two skilled packers, Tom Tusk and Fred 

 Stephens (the latter an expert axman) and also a cook. 



On the third march from civilization we came to the upper 

 Bow lake, which is about 20 miles from the railroad. This 

 lake, though only four miles long, has fine surroundings, being 

 closely pressed by grand precipices hung with ice and frequently 

 echoing to the thunder of avalanches, while its indented shores 

 and green forests make it one of the most attractive spots in the 



