From; thence- theleye: looks down on the courfe of the l i t t l e I bmS ' ?
called the Swan riyer; and hy bther^ A e GftarAVater river,-
beautifully meandering for upwards of thirty-miles;. ^'Tftp valleyy-whichl
js.at once refreftifed and adorn^3iy i%ds.-afemtt three ftltleslin b^eaddi^ and is i
confined by twcpldfty ridgekbf eqnaj»'hei^hti difplaying a moll delightful -!
intermixture of wood and lawn, and
the pFofpeCt.; Some parts of the inchhing heights- are cohered withftat<llm
fbreftsj relieved by promontories of the fineIKwrdure| i^erei thejelklkndi
buffalo find pafture. Thefe ate contrafted iby» j^xots ^J^fe;fi^f'has !de^
ftroyed the woods, and left a dreary void behind it. iNcrtJ/:when)I;:beheM'
this wonderful difplay of uncultivated nature*^vM thejmovln^fee^ety dfi
human occupation wanting to complete thepiCture; From-thisblevated.
fituation, I beheld my people, diminifhed, as it were, to half 'their fizfb^
employed in pitching their tents in a charming meadow, and among the-
canoes, which, being, turned upon their fides, presented their reddened
bottoms in Contrail with the furrounding verdmseO At'the fame time?
the procefs of gumming them produced numerbus fihalbfpires o f fmbke/'
which, as they role, enlivened the fcene, and at length blended with the
larger columns that afeended.from' the fires:where the'iuppersVrere preparing.
It was in the month of September when I enjoyed a fcene, of
•which I do not prefume to give an adequate defcription and as it was
the rutting feafon of the elk, the whiffling of that animal was heard
in all the variety which the echoes could afford-it; • '
This river, which waters and reflefts fuch enchanting fcenery, runs,
including its windings*-upwards o f eighty miles, when it difcharges
itfelf in the Elk River, according to the denbmination of the natives, but
commonly
commonly called by the white people, the Athabafca River, in latitude
5& 42. North.
At a final 1 diftance from Portage la Loche, feveral carrying-places interrupt
the navigation of the river; about the middle of which are fome
mineral fprings, wljofe margins are covered with fulphureous incrufta-
tions. At the junftion or fork, the Elk River is about three quarters of
a mile. In breadth..and runs in a fteady current, fometimes contracting,
but never increafing its channel, till, after receiving feveral fmall ftreams,
it difcharges itfelf into the Lake of the Hills,, in latitude 58.36. North.
At about twenty.-four mil« from the Fork, are fome bitumenous fountains,
into which a pole of twenty feet long may be inferted without the
leaft refiftance; The bitumen is in a fluid ftate, and when mixed with
gum, or the refinous fubftance collected from the fpruce fir, ferves to
gum the canoes.. . In its heated ftate it remits a fmell like that of fea-coal.
The banks of the-river, whichare there very elevated, difeover veins of
the fame bitumenous quality. At a fmall diftance from the Fork, houfes
have been erefted for the convenience of trading with a party of the
Knifteneaux, who vifit the adjacent country for the purpofe of hunting.
K | t the diftance of about forty miles from the lake, is the Old Efta-
blifhment, which has been already mentioned, as formed by Mr. Pond
in the year 1778-9, and which was the only one in this part of the world,
till the year 11785. In the year 1788, it was transferred to the Lake of
the Hills, and formed on a point on its Southern fide, at about eight
- miles from the difeharge o f the river. It was named Fort Chepewyan,
and is in latitude 58. 38. North, longitude 110. 26. Weft, and much
better