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‘Where the Blackwater resumes its westward course it breaks through a range of
high hills, which cross it with a nearly north and south direction. Its valley here
becomes narrow and rocky, though seldom precipitous, and has been called the Upper
Blackwater Canyon. On approaching the hills from the west the surface becomes more
broken and much angular rock débris derived from them is mingled with the drift.
From the eastern slope of the hill, where the Bella Coola trail commences its descent,
after having reached an elevation of nearly 1,000 feet above the river, an extensive and
apparently nearly level plain is seen to stretch eastward. It includes the country
lying north of the Blackwater, about the southern sources of the Chilaco, and is bounded
only by the mountains beyond the Fraser River, at a distance of twenty miles. Where
crossed by the location line its average elevation is 2,660 feet, and it has all the appear-
ance of a region either underlaid by a soft or little disturbed formation or levelled up
with a great thickness of drift. On descending to the plain the growth of the timber
is found to improve much, and groves of large Douglas fir frequently occur. The surface
is generally undulating, with a sandy or clayey soil, with moist hollows supporting large
alders, and might be valuable agriculturally in some places, if not too high. The valley
of the Blackwater is now of great size, and depressed at least 300 feet below the general
level of the country. It is usually flat-bottomed, terraced along the sides in some places,
and densely wooded, few good meadows appearing. It retains this character to the
erossing place of the old Telegraph Trail, a distance of six miles. Below the bridge at
th> crossing is the Lower Blackwater Canyon, where the river again breaks through
older disturbed rocks and flows for some distance between perpendicular rocky cliffs
more than 100 feet in height. I succeeded in getting from the bridge, eastward, to
within about six miles from the junction of the Blackwater with the Fraser. The valley
does not again open out, and hard rocks frequently occur near the margin cf the river.
As seen from the Fraser River, it has the same gorge-like character at its mouth. West
of the bridge there is a very fine display of terraces at many different levels, which, near
the canyon, successively approach the river and contract the valley.

“From Blackwater Bridge to Fort George the direct trail, which crosses the plateau
and ridges lying between the Fraser and Chilaco Valley, in a nearly parallel direction,
at a few miles’ distance. Twelve miles north of the Blackwater is Pun-chaw Lake, a
pretty sheet of water nearly two miles in length, which, according to the Indians, dis-
charges south-eastward into the Blackwater. The intervening country is gently undu-
lating, but becomes hilly toward the lake, and is thickly covered with scrub pine and
Dougles fir of medium size. Passing for fourteen miles further northward over a
succession of mounds and ridges, probably for the most part composed of drift, a small
running stream is reached, which, the Indians say, rises in two large lakes to the
north-east, called Chus-wuz, and, after joining two other streams west of the trail, flows
westward into the Chilaco. Four miles beyond the brook is a very prominent rocky
hill, called Tsa-whuz, of which the probable height, by a single aneroid observation, is
3,240 feet, and which rises about 800 feet above the surrounding country. From its
summit a very extensive view was obtained. Stretching eastward to the Fraser River
is a triangular area of low and nearly flat land, but in all other directions the surface is
broken by hillocks and ridges. The whole country is forest-clad, mostly with coniferous
trees of small or medium growth, but many limited patches of aspen poplar were very
apparent from their bright autumnal tint. Tsa-whuz, though when viewed from the
south appearing conical, slopes gently away northward, its longest axis being N. 60° W.
(Mag.) in direction. Besides the more prominent ridges, the general surface of the
country is lumpy, the longer axes of all the elevations and depressions lying approxi-
mately north and south. This is especially apparent in the region immediately south of
the mountain, where small ridges run 8. 1° E., and are very closely packed, the valleys
between them being steep and narrow. These minor elevations also very generally show
a ‘crag and tail’ form, the longer slopes being, like that of the mountain itself, north-
ere In some cases small surfaces of rock appear, but in general only drift material

seen. .

“Tins Country around Forr Grorce.

“Six miles northward of Tsa-whuz the trail passes about a mile west of a larce
lake, known to the Indians as Nads-il-nich. Five miles farther on the brook flowing
from this lake to the Chilaco is crossed, and in eleven miles Fort George, at the Cou
fluence of the Fraser and Nechaco Rivers, is reached. After crossing inereecond of two
prominent ridges, which lie one on either side of Lake Nads-il-nich, and run nearly