56 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



tude 93° 1' 37" W. It is forty-eight miles 

 and a half from York Factory, including 

 the windings of the river. Steel River, 

 through which our course lay, is about 

 three hundred yards wide at its mouth; 

 its banks have more elevation than those of 

 Hayes' River, but they shelve more gradu- 

 ally down to the stream, and afford a toler- 

 ably good towing path, which compensates, 

 in some degree, for the rapids and frequent 

 shoals that impede its navigation. We suc- 

 ceeded in getting about ten miles above the 

 mouth of the river, before the close of day 

 compelled us to disembark. 



We made an effort, on the morning of the 

 13th, to stem the current under sail, but as 

 the course of the river was very serpentine, 

 we found that greater progress could be 

 made by tracking. Steel River presents 

 much beautiful scenery ; it winds through a 

 narrow, but well wooded, valley, which at 

 every turn disclosed to us an agreeable va- 

 riety of prospect, rendered more picturesque 

 by the effect of the season on the foliage, 

 now ready to drop from the trees. The 



