The region discussed in the present and immediately succeeding chapters as “The Mackenzie River Region” includes the country north of the Alberta and British Columbia boundary line (the 60th parallel of north latitude) extending as far north as Beaufort sea. To the westward it is bounded by the Yukon territory boundary line, and to the eastward by the height of land east of Slave river, the height of land between the valley of Coppermine river and the lake and river system extending from the north arm of Great Slave lake to Great Bear lake, and a line in prolongation thereof northward to the sea. There might be some question as to the advisability of considering the country north, south and east of Great Bear lake as part of the country lying more immediately adjacent to the great river of the north. It is true that the slight knowledge of the country north, south and immediately east of Great Bear lake tends to show that it is a region far less inviting than the immediate valley of the Mackenzie, and that it practically forms part of the so-called “Barren Lands” which extend as far eastward as Hudson bay. But this unfavourable evidence is not quite conclusive, and after all, the whole of the country within the limits decided upon is in the Mackenzie watershed, and has been considered in a broad sense as part of the Mackenzie region by the explorers, missionaries, traders, and travellers who have written of the country. So the adoption of the limits decided upon should simplify the geographical situation for the reader, and that is an important thing in considering a territory so vast as that immediately under review. A KING OF NORTHERN WATERS.