Page:The journal of the Royal Geographic Society of London. Volume 34, 1864. (IA s572id13663720).pdf/291

Rh conjunction with the Moisie, between the ancient rendezvous of the Montagnais, Seven Islands, and Hamilton Inlet. I have every reason to believe that this route is one of great antiquity, judging from the condition of the portage-paths, the numerous remains of lodge-poles, stones for the vapour-bath, and old camping-grounds, which were seen as far north as 51° 40', or close to the edge of the table-land, and within sight of the dividing ridge and the sources of the Ashwanipi River.

The distinguishing features of the scenery on the Moisie are its rapids, falls, and impetuous currents; the deep gorges through which it occasionally flows, the precipitous rocks limiting the lower part of its valley, and the frozen streams descending from their summits, which, when the accumulated ice gives way in the summer months, brings with it masses of rock, and sweeps every yielding thing in its downward course, like an avalanche, to the valley below.

Forty-five miles from the mouth of the river the current becomes too strong for canoes, being, in fact, a continuous rapid, and the canoe-route diverges to a small tributary between the west and the north-east branches. There is no apparent difference in the volume of water carried by either branch of the Moisie just above their point of junction and where they meet. The river is about 150 yards broad in June.

Coldwater River is the name of the small tributary which forms the canoe-route for the next 25 miles, before the north-east branch of the Moisie is struck. Some conception of the character of the country through which the river flows in the short space of 25 miles may be gleaned from the fact that Trout Lake, the source of Coldwater River, which also sends water to the north-east branch, 6 miles off, in a northerly direction, has a fall of nearly 1500 feet.

After reaching the north-east branch, 70 miles from the sea, and 1300 feet above it, the Moisie flows through a comparatively level lake country for a distance of 30 miles. Innumerable boulders lie scattered over the hill-sides and in the valley of the river throughout the whole of this level portion of the Moisie valley. The rocks are covered with the richest profusion of mosses and lichens. Nothing of its kind can exceed the marvellous beauty of these humble vegetable forms in the “boulder” country. Where the lichens have been burned by the spread of fire, owing to the carelessness of Indians, the boulders are seen to lie in tiers, three, and even four deep, their dimensions varying from 5 to 20 feet in diameter. About 95 miles from the gulf, in a straight line, another rise takes place in the general surface of the country, which continues, with a gentle slope, to the table-land. The height of the portage forming the southern limit of