present an appearance not very dissimilar to some of the cliffs seen
from the Mackenzie.

Having thus mentioned as briefly as I could the extent of the
information I was able to collect, respecting the Rocky Mountain range,
I may remark, that a formation of primitive rocks, but little elevated
above the general level of the country, appears to run from near the
west end of Lake Superior, gradually and slightly converging towards the
Rocky Mountains, until it attains the east side of Great Bear Lake. In
lat. 50 degrees, the two ranges are nearly seven hundred miles apart,
and there, and as far as lat. 60 degrees, the space between them is
principally occupied by horizontal strata of limestone. There is also
much limestone in the narrower interval north of 60 degrees, but the
strata are more inclined, and form abrupt hills and ridges, particularly
about lat. 66 degrees, where the primitive rocks on the east of Bear
Lake are within two hundred miles of the Rocky Mountains. Sir Alexander
Mackenzie has noticed that a chain of great lakes skirts this eastern
range of primitive rocks, where they are approached by the flat
limestone strata which lie to west of them. Thus the primitive rocks
bound Great Slave Lake to the eastward of Slave River, and the flat
limestone strata occupy the country westward of that lake, as has been
already mentioned.

After this digression, which seemed necessary for the purpose of giving
a general idea of the structure of the country, I return to the
description of the banks of the Mackenzie.

MACKENZIE RIVER FROM THE FIRST SIGHT OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS TO BEAR LAKE
RIVER.

At the sharp turn of the river round the Rocky Mountains, its east bank
swells gently into a hill several feet high. Below this the banks are
broken into conical masses by ravines, and present a finely variegated
outline. A pretty high ridge, looking like a continuation of the Horn
Mountains, is visible on the east side some distance inland. Opposite to
the Big Island there is a green hill three or four hundred feet high,
which, as we descended the river, showed itself to be part of a range
that had a direction apparently to the N.N.W., and towards its northern
end became more rugged and craggy, exhibiting cliffs and rude
embrasures, at the same time increasing in height to eight hundred or
one thousand feet. The boulders on the beach change their character
considerably about this place. Farther up, the yellowish-white li