barren ridge of volcanic boulders in semi-circle as remains
of a crater. From Mount Williams a splendid view is had
of nearly all lakes of Stuart basin, parts of Babine and
Nation Lakes. North-eastern slopes are covered with
windfall and southern more or less open, with luxuriant
vegetation. Parts are bare and an unproductive soil
comes down to meet dense bush.

Grazing lands are found on the northern Part of Tsitsult
Mountain which, now too remote and of insufficient
quality for present practical use, may some day be used
in conjunction with lower level meadows between Tochcha
and Klaytahnkut Lakes if an easy route for a trail can be
found through the broken foot-hill country. On Mount
Williams a pasture area will Probably be grazed some day
by cattle from the large block of agricultural land reach-
ing between Trembleur Lake and Wright Bay, Babine Lake.

West of Tochcha Lake a range of timbered hills rises
highest near Wright Bay. North of these is a low Pass
with an Indian trail in it connecting Babine Lake with
north end of Tochcha Lake, and at Babine Lake end of
the trail is a certain amount of good land growing spruce.
Close to the lake a recent burn, now tangled windfall, has
a heavy growth of peavine, indicating the value of the
soil,

BABINE LAKE.

Babine Lake, as already stated, is the longest and
largest lake in the Province, trending north-west, draining
through Babine River to the Skeena. The south-east end
is 12 miles from Stuart Lake, connected by wagon-road to
Nancut, 33 miles from Fort St. James. From Burns Lake
a road reaches Donald Landing, 24 miles from Babine
Portage, end of the Stuart Portage Road. A trail from
Fort Fraser via Ormonde and Peto Lakes and Sutherland
Valley reaches Babine Portage. The Hazelton—-Babine—
Manson Trail, 70 miles over mountain passes, is used by
Pack-trains taking supplies to Fort Babine.

This region in the past depended on the fur trade,
which, with placer-mining in Omineca, determined lines of
communication. In early days Fort St. James, supplied
overland, was the depot. Sailing-bateaux took goods to
Nancut, wagons carried over the pass to Babine Portage,
and sailing-scows operated to Fort Kilmars, the ‘Old Fort,”
established in 1822. Later, steamers operating on the
Skeena landed goods at Hazelton, whence pack-trains oper-
ated over the present trail to Fort Babine, established in
1836 at the north end of the lake in place of Fort Kilmars.
In early days of the rush to Omineca travel was up
Babine Lake to Wright Bay and over a wagon-road to
Trembleur Lake, but this was quickly abandoned in favour
of the present trail from Hazelton via Fort Babine and
Takla Lake, and the water route via Stuart and other
lakes and trail northward from Fort St. James.

17