The portion of this extensive lake which is near the establishments is
called The Lake of the Hills, not improperly as the northern shore and
the islands are high and rocky. The south side however is quite level,
consisting of alluvial land, subject to be flooded, lying betwixt the
different mouths of the Elk River and much intersected by water. The
rocks of the northern shore are composed of syenite over which the soil
is thinly spread; it is however sufficient to support a variety of firs
and poplars and many shrubs, lichens and mosses. The trees were now in
full foliage, the plants generally in flower, and the whole scene quite
enlivening. There can scarcely be a higher gratification than that which
is enjoyed in this country in witnessing the rapid change which takes
place in the course of a few days in the spring; scarcely does the snow
disappear from the ground before the trees are clothed with thick
foliage, the shrubs open their leaves and put forth their variegated
flowers, and the whole prospect becomes animating. The spaces between the
rocky hills, being for the most part swampy, support willows and a few
poplars. These spots are the favourite resort of the mosquitoes, which
incessantly torment the unfortunate persons who have to pass through
them.
Some of the hills attain an elevation of five or six hundred feet at the
distance of a mile from the house; and from their summits a very
picturesque view is commanded of the lake and of the surrounding country.
The land above the Great Point at the confluence of the main stream of
the Elk River is six or seven hundred feet high and stretches in a
southern direction behind Pierre au Calumet. Opposite to that
establishment, on the west side of the river, at some distance in the
interior, the Bark Mountain rises and ranges to the North-West until it
reaches Clear Lake, about thirty miles to the southward of these forts,
and then goes to the south-westward. The Cree Indians generally procure
from this range their provision as well as the bark for making their
canoes. There is another range of hills on the south shore which runs
towards the Peace River.
The residents of these establishments depend for subsistence almost
entirely on the fish which this lake affords; they are usually caught in
sufficient abundance throughout the winter though at the distance of
eighteen miles from the houses; on the thawing of the ice the fish remove
into some smaller lakes and the rivers to the south shore. Though they
are nearer to the forts than in winter it frequently happens that high
winds prevent the canoes from transporting them thither and the residents
are kept in consequence without a supply of food for two or three days
together.
