40 BRITISH NORTH AMERICAN EXPEDITION. £Nov. 23, 1857. 
tain agreed for the sum of 300 dots, to take up my two canoes on 
deck, 16 vo 3 7 ageurs, and ourselves across the Lake, and leave ns 
near Isle Royale, about eight hours paddling distance from Fort 
William. 
Although this might have appeared a large sum { i.e . 61/. 5 s-.), yet 
subsequently I had reason to congratulate myself on adopting that 
course, for shortly after the men and canoes were taken up, we ' 
came on fields of ice, and the captain, after pushing his way for 
several miles, fell in with a schooner that warned him to return 
and try a course along the north shore of the Lake. At length, 
after deviating 70 miles from his course, he succeeded, and came in 
sight of the island at daybreak of the 12 th of June, four miles to 
the N.E. 
We then launched, loaded, and started in our canoes, having 
avoided not only seven or eight days’ journey, but also the risk of 
being stopped altogether by the ice. 
We reached the mouth of the Kaministoquoiah at nightfall, and 
arrived at Fort William at 10 p.m. on the 12th of June, where we 
learned that Sir George Simpson had only preceded us eleven days, 
having been eight days on the north shore of Lake Superior, where 
his canoe had been broken on the ice. 
On Saturday, 13th of June, we started, and encamped some miles 
from the Fort, and on Sunday the 14th arrived at the mouth of the 
W 7 hite Fish River. I halted here, and, according to m 3 7 instructions, 
organised a party, consisting of myself and Dr. Hector, three 
voyageurs, and three Indians, and ascended the White Fish River. 
I chose these small birch canoes on account of their drawing but very 
little water ; they could merely carry two paddlers and one pas- 
senger each, while the third, with two paddlers, took the provisions 
for the party, consisting of eight people in all. 
I can readily understand why the existence of this river has been 
denied, as its mouth could be easily passed unobserved by those 
only travelling in canoes on the Kaministoquoiah, owing to its 
taking a sudden bend before* flowing into that river, and therefore 
appearing much like a recess of the Kaministoquoiah. 
The White Fish River varies in breadth from 40 to 60 3 7 ards, and 
is 5 feet deep at its mouth, but useless for purposes of naviga- 
tion owing to the frequency of the rapids. W 7 e punted up a con- 
siderable portion of the stream at intervals when the rapidity of 
the river prevented us from paddling. In the first day of our 
journey up the river the barometer indicated a proximate ascent of 
75 feet in 12 miles, and on the second day a farther rise of 100 feet 
in 6 miles. Here a very large tree fell on one of the canoes and 
