xii INTRODUCTION. 
those animals mentioned by preceding writers, which did not come 
under the notice of the Expedition ; ; always carefully eee 
the source of my quotations. 
Sir John Franklin’s narratives of his two journeys contain’ full 
information respecting the districts through which the Expedition 
travelled ; but, to save reference, and to enable the reader of this work 
the more readily to discover the particular habitats, and to trace the 
geographical distribution of the species described in it, I have thought 
it proper to give a summary account of our route, followed om some 
compendious epee notices. | 
The First of the two Nortuern Lanp Expepitions disembarked in 
the month of August, 1819, at York Factory, in Hudson’s Bay, which 
is 90° of longitude east of the meridian of Greenwich. F rom 
thence, travelling between the 57th and 53d parallels of latitude, by 
Hayes’ River, Lake Winipeg, and the Saskatchewan, it proceeded 
to Cumberland-house, situated beyond the 102d meridian, where’ it 
arrived towards the end of October. Early in January, 1820, the 
Commanding Officer, accompanied by Mr. (now Captain) Back, set out, 
to travel on snow-shoes up the Saskatchewan, nearly west-south-west 
to Carlton-house, in the 106th degree of longitude; and from thence, 
on a northerly and somewhat westerly course, by Green Lake, the 
Beaver River, Isle & la Crosse, and Buffalo lakes, across the Methy 
portage, and Hee, the Elk River, to Fort Chepewyan, on the Atha- 
pescow or Athabascow Lake, or Lake of the Hills, as it is named by Sir 
Alexander Mackenzie. The other two officers of the Expedition 
(Lieutenant Hood and myself) stayed, during the remainder of the 
winter, at Cumberland-house; and after I had paid a visit in May to 
the plains of Carlton, and collected all the specimens of plants and 
animals I could procure at that season, set out in the month of June, 
to travel in canoe to Fort Chepewyan by the route of Beaver Lake, 
Missinippi or English River, Black-bear Island Lake, Isle’a la Crosse, 
Buffalo Lake and Elk River. Having rejoined our companions, ‘the 
whole party left Fort Chepewyan on the 18th of July, 18203 and, 
