one of Canada's explorers. 13 



scription. Mr. George Johnson, the official Dominion statis- 

 tician, who has paid great attention to this matter, calls him 

 the principal place-name father of Canada. 



More of the above work was done by canoes with Indian 

 and half-breed voyageurs than by any other method, but the 

 coasts of Hudson Bay, Lakes Superior, Winnipeg and Mani- 

 toba were explored by means of boats. His work on the 

 prairies and plains was all done before treaties had been made 

 with the Indians, before there were any mounted police, and 

 before the international boundary line was run — when horse- 

 stealing was considered a virtue and buffalo were abundant. 

 Under these circumstances he had many very exciting experi- 

 ences and adventures. 



Before closing this brief outline of Dr. Bell's career I might 

 add that any part of his time which was not required for actual 

 official work he utilized to study and graduate as a bachelor 

 of science, a doctor of medicine and master in surgery, to 

 study practical chemisty under Lord Playfair and others in 

 the old country, to travel in Europe in different years, and to be- 

 come a professor for five sessions in Queen's University, which 

 conferred upon him the degree of LL. D. He is a fellow of 

 many learned societies, among them the Royal Society of 

 London, which is the highest distinction for scientists in the 

 British Empire. 



While making his extraordinary record of geological and 

 topographical survey and exploration, Dr. Bell has had more 

 adventures and thrilling experiences and more hardships from 

 fatigue, wet and other discomforts, lack of provisions, etc., and 

 has seen more of the game and fish, the real wild Indians and 

 Eskimos and the Hudson's Bay Company's people of all ranks 

 than any other white man, or any Indian that ever lived. He 

 has improved his unequalled opportunities to map out the geo- 

 graphical distribution of the forest trees of Canada, has col- 

 lected the fork-lore of the various Indian tribes and of the Es- 

 quimos, has taken great numbers of photographs in the far- 



