114 THROUGH THE MACKENZIE BASIN.

partners, after a voyage by water and land of over 5,596
wiles, Franklin spent part of the winter at Cumberland
post, which had been founded to counteract the sivalry of
Siontreal. “‘ Before thet time,” he says, “the watives took
their furs to Hndson’s Bay, or sold ta the Franch Canadian
traders, whe,” he adds, “visited this part of the eountry as
carly as 1607." Ef-so, the credit for the discovery of the
Saskatchewan has been wrongly -given to the Chevalier, ag
he was called, a son of Varenne, Sieur de la Varendrye.

Franklin left Cumberland in January, 1820, by dog train
for Chipewyan, vie Fort Carlton and ‘Green Lake. Fort
Carlton was the great food sipply post, then and leng afer
wards, of the Hndson’s Bay Company, buffalo and wapiti
being very abundant. The North-West Company's fort,
called La Montee, was three miles beyond Carlton, and
harbored seventy French Canadians and gixty worsen and
chiklren, who consumed seven hundred pounds sf meat
daily, the ration heing eight pounds. This post was at that
tine in charge of Myr. Hallett, a forebear, if I mistake not,
of my old friend, Wilham Hallett, leader of the English
Phon luni, and a distinguished loyaliat in the rebellion of
Lean,

Franklin and Baek left Fort Caslion on the Sth Feb-
ruary, and reached Green Lake on the 17th. The North
West Company’s post at the lake was managed by Dugald
Cameron, aad that of the Hudson’s Bay Company by a
My. MacFarlane, and, having been eqnipped at both poste
with carioles, sledges and provisions, they left “under @
fneillade from the hali-breed women.” ‘From the el of the
lake they followed for a short distance a small river, then
“erossed the woods to Beaver River, and proceeding along
it, passed the months of two rivers, the latter of which,
they were told, was a channel by which the Indians go to
Lesser Slave Lake’ Gm the Lith of March they reached
Methy Lake—so called from an unwholesone disk of the bux
bot specdes fonad there, only the Hyer of whieh is fit to est-—~