route, we first meet with the
Sauteux tribes, who extend from the Lake of the Two Mountains to Lake
Winnipeg; then the Crees to Isle a la Crosse; after them, Crees and
Chippewayans to Athabasca; and along the banks of Peace River, the
Beaver Indians occupy the lower, and the Tsekanies the upper part. The
Chippewayan is evidently the root of the Beaver, Tsekany and Carrier
dialects; it is also spoken by a numerous tribe in the McKenzie's
River district--the Hare Indians.

On the west side of the Rocky Mountains the Carrier language is
succeeded by the Atna, which extends along the Columbia as far down,
as the Chinooks, who inhabit the coast. The Atna language, in its
variety of dialects, seems to have as wide a scope as either the
Sauteux or Chippewayan.

New Caledonia is one of the richest districts in the Company's
vast domain; its returns average about 8,000 beavers, with a fair
proportion of other valuable furs. When the district was first
settled, the goods required for trade were brought in by the winterers
from Lac la Pluie, which was their depot. The people left the district
as early in spring as the navigation permitted, and returned so
late that they were frequently overtaken by winter ere they reached
their destination. Cold, hunger, and fatigue, were the unavoidable
consequences; but the enterprising spirit of the men of those
days--the intrepid, indefatigable adventurers of the North-West
Company--overcame every difficulty. It was that spirit that opened a
communication across the broad continent of America; that penetrated
to the frostbound regions of the Arctic circle; and that established
a trade with the natives in this remote land, when the merchandise
required for it was in one season transported from Montreal to within
a short distance of the Pacific. Such enterprise has never been
exceeded, seldom or never equalled. The outfit is now sent out from
England by Cape Horn, to Fort Vancouver, thence it is conveyed in
boats to Okanagan, then transported on horses' backs to Alexandria,
the lower post of the district, whence it is conveyed in boats to Fort
St. James.

There are generally two commissioned gentlemen in this district,--a
chief-factor and chief-trader, with six or seven clerks in charge of
posts; and about forty men, principally Iroquois and half-breeds. The
fare at the different posts depends entirely on local circumstances.
In some places it is tolerable, in others, scarcely fit for dogs.