Note 200 — Chapter XXVI

From Fort Bas de la Rivière to Fort William, Franchère passed over the most famous canoe-route in the Northwest—one which had been known and traversed since early in the eighteenth century. Franchère mentions the important links in this chain of waterways, over six hundred miles in length. The French, under the leadership of Vérendrye, were the first to explore and penetrate this region to Lake Winnipeg and beyond (see notes 187 and 190, ante). After the English occupation, Alexander Henry’s journey by this route made it known to the early Scotch traders (see Alexander Henry’s Travels, Bain ed., Boston, 1901, for excellent notes on the route). The classic description is that of Mackenzie, Travels, pp. xlvi-lxi. The annotations of Coues in the Henry-Thompson Journals omit little in the way of details. For other references see Bigsby, Shoe and Canoe (London, 1850); Hind, Canada Exploring Expedition (Toronto, 1859; London, 1860); Dawson, Report on Exploration of Country between Lake Superior and Red River Settlement (Toronto, 1859); Butler, Great Lone Land (London, 1875).

Winnipeg River flows from the Lake of the Woods into Lake Winnipeg, a course of about one hundred and sixty miles. It is swift, and much obstructed by rapids and cascades. The name is from a Cree term signifying “turbid water.” The variants of this name are many; for different forms, see Bell, “Some Historical Names and Places of the Canadian North-West,” Manitoba Historical and Scientific Society Transactions, 1884-85. Vérendrye named the stream Rivière Maurepas, for the French minister of the marine. The name White River is applied only to a portion by Mackenzie, who says it is “so called from its being, for a considerable length, a succession of falls and cataracts.” The Canadian Pacific Railway crosses this stream at Rat Portage, where it flows from the Lake of the Woods.—Ed.