The Wild Northland : Being the Story of a Winter Journey, With Dogs, Across Northern North America

First published in the early 1870s, Sir William Francis Butler’s two accounts of winter journeys in the North-West became classic Canadian travel narratives. While his first trek was commissioned by Manitoba’s Lieutenant Governor, Butler’s second journey (the subject of this volume) was motivated by a desire for challenge and adventure. Departing Fort Garry, Manitoba in autumn 1872 and reaching Quesnelle, British Columbia in June 1873, Butler’s solo trek took him north to Lake Athabasca, then west with the Peace River through the Rocky Mountains. His account of the trip includes temperamental sled dogs, raging rivers, and snowbound camps. Throughout, Butler reflects on the nature and status of First Nations groups that he encounters, presenting ethnographic descriptions to support or condemn perspectives ranging from early Canadian politics to phrenology. Includes fold-out route map. See Peel(3) 657 for editions.