April 12, 1870, the Senate of Canada appointed a select committee on the subject of Rupert’s land, Red river and the Northwest territory, with a view to collecting information respecting the condition, climate, soil, population, resources and natural products of the country, its trade, institutions, and capabilities and the means of access thereto, with power to send for persons and papers. The committee reported on April 25, 1870. This report with the report of the evidence was printed, in extenso, as an appendix to the Journals of the Senate (33 Victoria). None of the witnesses examined before the committee had ever been in the district north of the North Saskatchewan. One, Joseph Monkman, explained that he had been up the South Saskatchewan as far as Moose lake, and up the north branch of the same river as far as Carlton. He testified that although the country along the Saskatchewan looked promising from an agricultural standpoint, there were “no farms along the river.” Most of the witnesses were asked if they had any information as to the “far northwest,” and all who had heard anything definite regarding that region testified that their information was favourable. Since the transfer of the northwest from the Hudson’s Bay Company to the Dominion Government, a vast amount of reliable information regarding the great northland has been obtained by Canadian Government explorers, generally engineers reconnoitring in advance of railway construction, members of the staff of the Geological Survey of Canada, or expeditions despatched to various defined areas by the Department of the Interior for the express purpose of investigating their natural resources and determining their suitability for agricultural or industrial developments. More or less extensive trips through sections of the great northland by adventurous sportsmen and naturalists have also contributed considerably to our knowledge of the country. A very brief account of some of the more productive of these expeditions, with special reference to the routes followed, is necessary to enable the reader to appreciate intelligently the references to the information obtained to be made in the succeeding chapters. SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION OF THE COUNTRY. In 1872, Professor John Macoun was sent from Edmonton by Mr. (now Sir) Sandford Fleming, who was then exploring for the Canadian Pacific Railway, to explore Peace river and see if there were a pass there. Professor Macoun’s report attracted much attention to this district.