282 ACCOUNT OF THE INDIANS. 



tablishnient there, which was in 1806, gone by 

 the name of New Caledonia; and may extend 

 from north to south, about five hundred miles, and 

 from east to west, three hundred and Mty or four 

 hundred. The post at Stuart's Lake, is nearly in 

 the centre of it, and lies, as already mentioned in 

 my Journal, in 54° 30' North Latitude, and in 125° 

 West Longitude from Greenwich. In this large 

 extent of country, there are not more than five 

 thousand Indians, including men, women and chil- 

 dren. 



New Caledonia is considerably mountainous. 

 Between its elevated parts, however, there are 

 pretty extensive valleys, along which pass innume- 

 rable small rivers and brooks. It contains a great 

 number of small lakes, two of which are conside- 

 rably large. These are Stuart's Lake, which is 

 about four hundred miles in circumference, and 

 Nate-ote-tain Lake, which is nearly twice as large. 

 I am of the opinion that about one sixth part of 

 New Caledonia, is covered with water. There 

 are but two large rivers. One of these I denom- 

 inate Fraser's River, which may be sixty or 

 seventy rods wide. It rises in the Rocky Moun- 

 tain, within a short distance of the source of 

 Peace River ; and is the river which Sir Alex- 

 ander M c Kenzie followed a considerable distance, 

 -when he went to the Pacific Ocean, in 1793, and 



