9^ 



RECREA TIOX. 



A mid-winter visit to these springs proved 

 it to be a favorite feeding ground for moose, 

 the whole country being tramped by them. 



From Cranberry Rapid. 4 miles above 

 Blaek river to Hell's Gate the river is not 

 navigable except on the ice. True, the Hud- 

 son Bay Company has carried York boats 

 through, but it was done by Indian crews 

 who risked their lives as white men will not 

 do, and even the Indians will do so no more. 



The gorge by which the Liard pierces the 

 mountain- 1- So miles long: then for 100 

 miles the river leaves the mountains, return- 

 ing once more to their Southern base just 

 below Fort Liard and thence to Xahanna 

 Rock, where the river leaves the mountains 

 finally and sweeps straight away for the Mc- 

 Kenzie. through muskegs for 100 miles. 



From the top of Xahanna Rock we had a 

 splendid view of this country, and. though 

 the air was smoky, we could trace the course 

 of the Liard for about 60 miles. 



Throughout this lower reach we found 

 raspberries, cranberries, blueberries, and 

 gooseberries in great abundance. 



From source to mouth, with the excep- 

 tion of about 20 miles of the " Long Reach." 

 the Liard is rapid, and even in the least dan- 

 gerous places requires constant caution and 

 a cool head to navigate it. Statements to 

 the contrary by explorers are misleading, 

 and inexperienced adventurers about to try 

 their fortunes on its bosom should be 

 warned in advance. Along the lower river, 

 to the Mackenzie, the timber is about the 

 same as before indicated, but the trees are 

 larger. 



Rock and willow ptarmigan are found 

 in the mountains, and spruce partridges, 

 Canada grouse and ruffed grouse in the foot- 

 hills. Caribou exist in the principal moun- 

 tain ranges, and goats high up. 



The sheep, known to the Indians as black 

 sheep (ovis Stoni). follow the mountains 

 here across the Liard as far North as Beaver 

 river, and are there replaced by the white 

 sheep (ovis Dalli). All evidence leads to 

 the conclusion that the 2 species do not 

 intermingle, but are entirely distinct. 



Moose are the food of the country, and are 

 everywhere abundant to within 50 miles of 

 the Mackenzie, where they almost disappear. 

 Black and gray wolves and wolverines are 

 found throughout the r gion. but foxes are 

 scarce, not more than 12 black fox-skins 

 are produced annually. Cross and red foxes 

 are also rare. Otters and minks are caught 

 in limited numbers, martens and beavers are 

 the leading fur catch. Lynxes come and go 

 with the rabbit crop. Sometimes they over- 

 run the country, at other times they are 

 scarce. Grizzlies are fairly plentiful in the 

 mountains, and black bear skins are taken in 

 goodly numbers. The last are the profits 

 from snaring. Porcupines and marmots 

 are abundant along the upper river, but rare 

 along the lower reaches. 



I have discovered in the Nahanna moun- 

 tains, the Southern range of, what promises 

 to prove a very interesting small mammal, 

 entirely new to the savants of North Amer- 

 ica. I hope to give a description in a future 

 letter. 



The Nelson. Black river No. 2. Nahan- 

 na and Beaver rivers are the principal tribu- 

 taries of the Liard below Hell's Gate; the 

 Beaver and Nahanna from the North, the 

 others from the South. 



Very few fishes are taken from the Liard 

 below the junction of the Dease, and those 

 are of inferior quality as food fishes. This is 

 probably because their food supply is short 

 in this portion of the stream. Besides, 

 anchor ice covers much of the bottom, 

 which must still further restrict the food 

 supply. 



I was fortunate in having an opportunity 

 to study this peculiar phenomenon. It be- 

 gan to form in November, directly after the 

 river was closed by surface ice. but lifted 

 during the last days of February and first 

 days of March. 60 days before the surface 

 ice went, and in many places where, for 

 some reason, surface ice did not form anchor 

 ice was present as elsewhere. 



The volume of water in the river remained 

 constant all winter, but there were many 

 overflows caused by the accumulation of 

 anchor ice, which forced the water above it 

 to seek an outlet through its surface shac- 

 kles, covering the former surface, sometimes, 

 a foot. In this way masses of wonderful 

 depth are sometimes formed. 



When the break up occurred I stood on 

 the bank and watched it. Immense slabs 

 of it would detach themselves from the bot- 

 tom and rise swiftly to the top. often leap- 

 ing above the surface, then float away. 

 These slabs were usually about 15 inches 

 thick and entirely different in appearance 

 from the surface ice. It seemed less solid 

 than its neighbor. 



During February and March the snow 

 seemed literally covered with myriads of 

 small, black insects, which, washed into the 

 little pocls by the dissolving snow, formed 

 compact masses which shone like quicksil- 

 ver. 



Mosquitoes appeared about the first of 

 March. Alder, birch and aspen, were the 

 first trees to put on their spring garments. 



A snow storm at Hell's Gate, April 21st, 

 22d and 23d. covered the earth to the depth 

 of 18 inches, while another on the first of 

 May spread a mantle 6 inches deep over 

 everything. 



The first robin of the season sang his song 

 on Sunday morning April 24th, though 

 many other small birds had preceded him. 

 Saturday. April 30th. I saw ducks for the 

 first time this season, and the next morning 

 geese made their appearance. The Liard 

 river is not the route of geese and ducks 

 to any great extent. 



