252 



EED RIVER EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 



The Saskatchewan together with the Bed Eiver of the 

 North drain an area exceeding 350,000 square miles, and 

 the part of the valley they drain included within British 

 territory, lies between the 49 th and 55th parallels of lati- 

 tude, and the 93rd and the 118th degrees of longitude west 

 of Greenwich.* A European area, similarly situated east 

 of the 10th degree of longitude, would comprehend very 

 nearly the whole of England and Ireland, part of the German 

 Ocean, the English Channel, the north-eastern corner of 

 France, the whole of Belgium and Holland, and the 

 greater part of the valley of the Ehine, together with 

 the kingdom of Hanover. 



The routes by which access is obtained to this great 

 valley lie in the courses of three different watersheds. 

 First, the present Hudson's Bay Company's route from 

 York Factory, Hudson's Bay, via Hayes Eiver, &c. to Lake 

 Winnipeg ; second, the Lake Superior route, via Dog 

 Lake and Eainy Lake ; third, the Mississippi Valley route 

 from St. Paul to Eed Eiver. 



THE NORTHERN ROUTE VlA YORK FACTORY. 



As it is not in the least degree probable that the 

 Northern or Hudson's Bay route will ever be selected as 

 a permanent line of communication between Canada and 

 the country drained by the Saskatchewan, a very brief 

 notice of its most prominent features will be sufficient. 



This route begins at York Factory, Hudson's Bay, and 

 goods are forwarded in boats of the same size and build 

 as those employed by the Eed Eiver freighters, of which 

 a description is given in the second volume. York 

 Factory is situated on the left bank of Hayes Eiver, up 

 which the boats are tracked, poled, or sail as far as Eock 



* A description of the boundaries of the valley of Lake Winnipeg is given 

 in the Second Volume. 



