Strait to Asia, and thence to Europe. This
exploration took place in 1867, but it does not appear that Labarge
then, nor for some years after, saw the lake called by his name. The
successful laying of the Atlantic cable in 1866 put a stop to this
project, and the exploring parties sent out were recalled as soon as
word could be got to them. It seems that Labarge had got up as far as
the Pelly before he received his recall; he had heard something of a
large lake some distance further up the river, and afterwards spoke of
it to some traders and miners who called it after him.

"After leaving Lake Labarge the river, for a distance of about five
miles, preserves a generally uniform width and an easy current of about
four miles per hour. It then makes a short turn round a low gravel
point, and flows in exactly the opposite of its general course for a
mile when it again turns sharply to its general direction. The current
around this curve and for some distance below it--in all four or five
miles--is very swift. I timed it in several places and found it from six
to seven miles an hour. It then moderates to four or five, and continues
so until the Teslintoo River is reached, thirty-one and seven tenths
miles from Lake Labarge. The average width of this part of the river is
about 150 yards, and the depth is sufficient to afford passage for boats
drawing at least 5 feet. It is, as a rule, crooked, and consequently a
little difficult to navigate.

"The Teslintoo[6] was so called by Dr. Dawson--this, according to
information obtained by him, being the Indian name. It is called by the
miners 'Hootalinkwa' or Hotalinqua, and was called by Schwatka, who
appears to have bestowed no other attention to it, the Newberry,
although it is apparently much larger than the Lewes. This was so
apparent that in my interim reports I stated it as a fact. Owing to
circumstances already narrated, I had not time while at the mouth to
make any measurement to determine the relative size of the rivers; but
on his way out Dr. Dawson made these measurements, and his report,
before referred to, gives the following values of the cross sections of
each stream: Lewes, 3,015 feet; Teslintoo, 3,809 feet. In the same
connection he states that the Lewes appeared to be about 1 foot above
its lowest summer level, while the Teslintoo appeared to be at its
lowest level. Assuming this to be so, and taking his widths as our data,
it would reduce his cross section of th