Sketch of Dr. A. R. C. Sckvyii. — Ami. g 
In the following year, under special instruction from the 
Hon. Joseph Howe, he undertook an exploration in the re- 
mote province of British Columbia "On and in proximity to 
the several lines which will be explained by the engineering" 
parties '(of which Air. Fleming, now Sir Sandford Fleming 
was engineer in chief,)' and on one or the other of which the 
future Pacific railroad will be located." In the "Report of Pro- 
gress" for 1871-72, is given an account of the results achieved 
during these explorations. The route selected by Selwyn took 
him from Hope on the Fraser via Fort Colville, the Kootenay 
river and the Columbia to Howse's pass, and afforded facilities 
for returning later by wagon-road 378 miles, from Cariboo 
to Yale. Xot only the occurrence of coal-fields, gold-fields and 
other minerals of economic value, but the timber, soil, water- 
power, agricultural and numerous other features of special 
value and interest were also recorded, together with a system- 
atic description of the various geological formations met with 
and their relations one to the other in the series from the oldest 
up. 
Then in 1872 we find him journeying from lake Superior 
to Fort Garry, (now Winnipeg) and in the "Report of Prog- 
ress" for 1872-73 we find no less than three special reports, 
on the silver mining localities on Thunder bay, on the geo- 
logical investigations from Lake Superior to Fort Garry and 
on the Acadia iron-ore deposits. In the following "Report of 
Progress" he gives the result of his observations on the geo- 
logical exploration in the North West Territories from Fort 
Garry to Rocky Mountain House, (loc, cit. pp. 17-62.) 
In the following year Dr. Selwyn remained for the most 
part of the year in the office, attending to the numerous and 
onerous duties incumbent upon him and preparing for 
the work imposed upon him in connection with the Canadian 
exhibit at the Philadelphia "Centennial Exhibition" of 1876. 
In the "Report of Progress" for 1875-76 pp. 28-31, he gives 
the summary of personal explorations in British Columbia, 
and on pp. 31-69 presents his "Journal of the expedition 
through the Peace River pass." On pp. 292-93 he adds an 
important note on a boring made in 1875 on Swan river in the 
Territory now within the province of Manitoba. He also 
prepared a map of the region from Ouesnel, British Columbia, 
