interesting, as having been made principally on a coast skirting the
northern termination of the Rocky Mountains. The Expedition
returned to England the following summer; one division of it by.
way of Canada and New York, and the other by Hudson’s Bay. I
passed the early part of the winter at Great Slave Lake, where I
obtained specimens of all the fur-bearing animals of that quarter, and
afterwards travelled on the snow to Carlton-house on the Saskatchewan,
where, with the assistance of Mr. Drummond, who joined me
there, specimens of the greatest part of the birds frequenting that
district were procured in the spring. I met Sir John Franklin at
Cumberland-house in June, 1827, and accompanied him to Canada by
the same route by which we came out, except that we went by the
east side of Lake Winipeg, thus completing the circuit of that lake,
and that instead of crossing Lake Ontario, on our way to New York,
we gained the Uttawas from Lake Huron, by the route of the French
River, and descended it to Montreal, whence we travelled to New
York by way of Lake Champlain.
Having thus given in detail the routes of the other branches of the
Expedition, it remains that I should mention the one pursued by
Mr. Drummond, the Assistant Naturalist, to whose unrivalled skill in
collecting, and indefatigable zeal, we are indebted for most of the
insects, the greater part of the specimens of plants, and a considerable
number of the quadrupeds and birds. This gentleman remained at
Cumberland-house in the year 1825, after the rest of the party had
gone to the north, collecting plants during the month of July, and
then ascended the Saskatchewan for six hundred and sixty miles, to
Edmonton-house, performing much of the journey on foot, and
amassing objects of natural history by the way. Leaving Edmonton-
house on the 22d of September, he crossed a swampy and thickly
wooded country to Red Deer River, one of the branches of the Elk or
Athapescow River, and along whose banks he travelled until he reached
the Rocky Mountains, the ground being then covered with snow.
Having explored the portage-road across the mountains to the
Columbia River, for fifty miles, he hired an Indian hunter, with whom
he returned to the head of the Elk River, on which he passed the
winter making collections, under privations which would have
effectually quenched the zeal of a less hardy naturalist. In the
month of April, 1826, he revisited the Columbia portage-road, and
remained in that neighbourhood until the 10th of August, when he
made a journey to the head waters of the Peace River, during which
he suffered severely from famine. Nothing daunted, however, he
hastened back as soon as he obtained a supply of provisions, to the
Columbia portage, with the view of crossing to that river, and
botanizing for a season on its banks. He had reached the west end
of the portage, when he was overtaken by letters from Sir John
Franklin, acquainting him that it was necessary to be at York Factory
in 1827. This rendered it necessary for him speedily to commence
his return, which he did with great regret, for the view of
the Columbia, whose banks are rich in natural productions, had
stimulated his desire to explore them, and he remarks,-4 “ The snow
covered the ground too deeply to permit me to add much to my
collections in this hasty trip over the mountains; but it was impossible
to avoid noticing the great superiority of the climate on the western
Side of that lofty range. From the instant the descent towards the
Pacific commences, there is a visible improvement in the growth of
timber, and the variety of forest trees greatly increases. The few
mosses that I gleaned in the excursion were so fine, that I could not
hut deeply regret that I was unable to pass a season or two in that
interesting region.” He now bade adieu to the mountains and
returned to Edmonton-house, where he stayed some time, and then
joined me at Carlton-house, as has been already mentioned. His
collections on the mountains and plains of the Saskatchewan amounted
to about “ fifteen hundred species of plants, one hundred and fifty
birds, fifty quadrupeds, and a considerable number of insects.” He
remained for six weeks at Carlton-house after I left that place, and
then descended to Cumberland-house, where he met Captain Back,
whom he accompanied to York Factory; but he had previously the
pleasure of seeing Mr. David Douglas, who, after collecting specimens