North-West Continent of America. 89 



ftmr hundred yards broad, and the fall about twenty feet 

 high : the first carrying place is eight hundred paces in 

 length, and the last, which is about a mile onwards, is 

 something more than two thirds of that distance. Here 

 we found several fires, from which circumstance we con- 

 cluded, that the canoes destined for this quarter, which 

 left the fort some days before us, could not be far a-head. 

 The weather continued to be very cold, and the snow that 

 fell during the night was several inches deep. 



On the morning of the 18th, as soon as we got out of 

 the draught of the fall, the wind being at North-East, and 

 jstrongin our favour, we hoisted sail, which carried us on 

 at a considerable rate against the current, and passed the 

 Loon River before twelve o'clock ; from thence we soon 

 came along the Grande Isle, at the upper end of which we 

 encamped for the night. It now froze very hard : indeed, 

 k had so much the appearance of winter, that I began to 

 entertain some alarm lest we might be stopped by the ice : 

 we therefore set off at three o'clock in the morning of the 

 19th, and about eight we landed at the Old Establish- 

 ment. 



The passage to this place from Athabasca having been 

 surveyed by M. Vandrieul, formerly in the Company's 

 service, I did not think it necessary to give any particular 

 attention to it; I shall, however, just observe, that the 

 course in general from the Lake of the Hills to the falls, 

 h Westerly, and as much to the North as the South of it, 

 from hence it is about West-South- West to this fort. 



The country in general is low from our entrance of the 

 river to the falls, and with the exception of a few open 

 parts covered with grass, it is clothed with wood. Where 

 the banks are very low the soil is good, being composed 

 of the sediment of the river and putrefied leaves and ve« 

 getables. Where they are more elevated, they display a 

 face of yellowish clay, mixed with small stones. On a 

 line with the falls, and on either side of the river, there 

 are said to be very extensive plains, which afford pasture 

 to numerous herds of buffaloes. Our people a-head slept 

 here last night, and, from their carelessness, the fire was 

 communicated to, and burned down, the large house, and 

 was 'proceeding fast to the smaller buildings when we ar- 

 rived to extinguish it. 



We continued our voyage, the course of the river being 

 South- West by West one mile and a quarter, South by? 



M 



