Narrative of the Canadian Red River Exploring Expedition of 1857 : and of the Assinniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition of 1858 . s seethed and foamedin their fury. During the descent the voyageurs exertedthemselves to the utmost of their strength, and evincedan admirable degree of coolness and dexterity. The Grand Eapid is acknowledged by those who havewitnessed it, and who have had opportunities of traversing * The part here designated as the lower portion, although the GrandRapid is one continuous torrent from beginning to end, is that below theeast end of the portage, and is more
Narrative of the Canadian Red River Exploring Expedition of 1857 : and of the Assinniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition of 1858 . s seethed and foamedin their fury. During the descent the voyageurs exertedthemselves to the utmost of their strength, and evincedan admirable degree of coolness and dexterity. The Grand Eapid is acknowledged by those who havewitnessed it, and who have had opportunities of traversing * The part here designated as the lower portion, although the GrandRapid is one continuous torrent from beginning to end, is that below theeast end of the portage, and is more than one mile and a half in length, H H 2 468 ASSINNIBOINE AND SASKATCHEWAN EXPEDITION. the great river systems of -the continent, to be unsurpassed(as a rapid) in magnificence and extent, as well as involume of water. It is certainly a formidable barrier tothe navigation of the Saskatchewan. The following are the dimensions of the leading fea-tures of the Grand Eapid :— 1. Its Length.—The portage path is nearly straight,with a magnetic course from the upper to the lower end,of S. 60° E.; it is 87 chains 40 links in length; the. The Grand Eapid of Saskatchewan. distance between its extremes by the river is a littlemore than this, as the river describes an arc of which theportage is the chord, but as the head of the rapid is alittle below the west end of the portage, this distancemay be adopted as the length of the upper or most pre-cipitous portion of the rapid. The distance from the eastend of the portage to the foot of the rapid by our trackis 129 chains. This would make the whole length of therapid 216 chains 40 links, or nearly 2J miles. 2. Its Descent—By leveling carefully along the por- DIMENSIONS OF THE GRAND RAPID. 469 tage path, I ascertained the fall between the smoothwater at the head of the rapid to the general level of thewater at the east end of the portage to be 28*58 feet;and after observing instrumentally the descent in thelower portion of the rapid as f
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