174 



Capt. H. P. Dawson. 



[Dec. 20, 



very 'kindly afforded quarters in the citadel by Lieutenant-Colonel 

 Cotton, commanding the Canadian Artillery at that place. 



Having obtained a free pass for our baggage on the Grand Trunk 

 Railway, I started at once for Winnipeg, proceeding by the lakes, 

 that being the cheaper route, and the one which on the whole exposed 

 the instruments to the least knocking about. 



We reached Winnipeg on the 9th June, and left on the following 

 day by the Saskatchewan steamer. On the 26th June we reached 

 Carlton, where it was necessary to engage carts to take our baggage 

 to Green Lake, a distance of 140 miles. 



On the 29th the carts were taken across the river, and on the 30th 

 we started for Green Lake, which we reached on the 9th July, 

 having been delayed by the extreme badness of the road. The 

 heat of the weather rendered a long halt necessary in the middle of 

 the day, and the flies also prevented our animals from feeding pro- 

 perly, incapacitating them for long marches or fast work, and on 

 one occasion forcing us to halt for a whole day, the oxen being so 

 worried by them as to be unable to march. 



At Green Lake we entered upon the system of water communica- 

 tion that forms the only roadway in the north, and by way of Portage 

 la Loche and the Clearwater and Athabasca rivers we reached Fort 

 Chipewyan on the 30th July. Here we had to await the Mackenzie 

 River boats, there being no other means of reaching Fort Rae, and 

 it was not until the 17th August that we were able to start on this 

 last stage of our journey. We reached Great Slave Lake on the 

 22nd, on the evening of which day a gale arose which stove in and 

 sunk our boat, damaging most of our provisions. Fortunately we 

 were able to repair the boat, but it was not until the 25th that the 

 weather allowed us to proceed, and on the 27th we were again detained 

 by a fresh storm, so that it was not until 10 p.m. on the 30th August, 

 that we arrived at Fort Rae. 



Fort Rae. 



Fort Rae is situated in lat. 62° 38' 52" K, and long. 115° 43' 50" W., 

 at the south-west extremity of a peninsula that juts out from the 

 north-east shore of a long gulf extending in a north-westerly direc- 

 tion more than 100 miles from the northern shore of the Great Slave 

 Lake. It is almost entirely surrounded by water, as shown in the 

 annexed plan.* The formation is limestone. The land rises to a height 

 of some 200 feet, and is covered in part with moss, in part with pines 

 and scanty brushwood. A few vegetables are grown in the summer in 



* [It has not been thought necessary to publish the plans accompanying this 

 Report, as they would seem to find a more fitting place in the detailed account of 

 the observations. — Gr. GL S., Sec. R.S.J 



