Browse Items (28 total)

A sailboat on the river near Fort Chipewyan. It moved too quickly for the photographic plate's exposure, creating a contrast between the crisp background and motion blur of the boat.

A barge, stripped of its hide hull, sits on the river bank at Fort Simpson in the Northwest Territories. Hides for trade were often used as boat hulls, acting as both cargo and transportation.

A skin boat on the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories. The skins would be removed for sale at its destination.

Skin boats at Fort Norman (now Norman Wells), Northwest Territories. The hull is covered in hides, which would be removed for sale at its destination. This magic lantern slide has been hand-coloured, and is also available as a photo print in Miriam…

The steam wheeler "Distributor", owned by the Alberta & Arctic Co.

The steam wheeler 'Slave River', taking on cords of wood for fuel. The vessel is open to show the fuel storage hold.

"Doc" Griffin, a steam wheeler cook, posing with fresh fish (though not trout as the caption suggests). According to Miriam Green Ellis, he had started a medical degree and left it for the river life. This magic lantern slide has been hand-coloured,…

"Doc" Griffin, a steam wheeler cook, holds two fish caught near the Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories. The fish are incorrectly identified as trout in the caption. This image is also represented among Miriam Green Ellis' hand-coloured…

A steam wheeler travelling the Clearwater River, as seen from the bank.

Two steam wheelers that travelled the rivers of Northern Alberta, the A & A Company's 'Slave River' and the H. B. Company's 'Athabasca River'. Both vessels are named for actual rivers.