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C H A P T E R II.
LESSER SLAVE RIVER AND LESSER SLAVE
LAKE.
I T is unnecessary to inform the average reader that the
Lesser Slave R i v e r connects the Lesser Slave Lake with the
Athabasca; any atlas w i l l satisfy h im upon that point. But
its peculiar colouring he w i l l not find there, and it is this
which gives the river its most distinctive character. Once
seen, i t is easy to account for the hue of the Athabasca below
the Lesser Slave R i v e r ; for the water of the latter, though of
a pale yellow colour i n a glass, is of a r i c h burnt umber in
the stream, and when blown upon by the wind turns its sparkl
i n g facets to the sun like the smile upon the cheek of a
brunette. Its upward course is like a continuous letter S
with occasional S's side by side, so that a point can be crossed
on foot i n a few minutes which would cost much time to go
around. Its proper name, too. is not to be found i n the
atlases, either E n g l i s h or French. There it is called the Lesser
Slave River, but i n the classic Cree its name is Iyaghchi
Eennu Sepe, or the River of the Blaekfeet, literally the
" R i v e r of the Strange People." The lake itself bears the
same name, and even now is never called Slave Lake by the
Indians i n their own tongue. This fact, to my mind, casts
additional light upon an obscure prehistoric question, namely,
the migration of the great Algic, or Algonquin, race. Its
early home was, perhaps, in the far south, or south- west,
whence i t migrated around the G u l f of F l o r i d a , and eastward
along the A t l a n t i c coast, spreading up its bays and inlets, and
along its great tributary rivers, finally penetrating by the
Upper Ottawa to James's, and ultimately to the shores of
43
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| Title | Page 50 |
| OCR | C H A P T E R II. LESSER SLAVE RIVER AND LESSER SLAVE LAKE. I T is unnecessary to inform the average reader that the Lesser Slave R i v e r connects the Lesser Slave Lake with the Athabasca; any atlas w i l l satisfy h im upon that point. But its peculiar colouring he w i l l not find there, and it is this which gives the river its most distinctive character. Once seen, i t is easy to account for the hue of the Athabasca below the Lesser Slave R i v e r ; for the water of the latter, though of a pale yellow colour i n a glass, is of a r i c h burnt umber in the stream, and when blown upon by the wind turns its sparkl i n g facets to the sun like the smile upon the cheek of a brunette. Its upward course is like a continuous letter S with occasional S's side by side, so that a point can be crossed on foot i n a few minutes which would cost much time to go around. Its proper name, too. is not to be found i n the atlases, either E n g l i s h or French. There it is called the Lesser Slave River, but i n the classic Cree its name is Iyaghchi Eennu Sepe, or the River of the Blaekfeet, literally the " R i v e r of the Strange People." The lake itself bears the same name, and even now is never called Slave Lake by the Indians i n their own tongue. This fact, to my mind, casts additional light upon an obscure prehistoric question, namely, the migration of the great Algic, or Algonquin, race. Its early home was, perhaps, in the far south, or south- west, whence i t migrated around the G u l f of F l o r i d a , and eastward along the A t l a n t i c coast, spreading up its bays and inlets, and along its great tributary rivers, finally penetrating by the Upper Ottawa to James's, and ultimately to the shores of 43 |
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