File primarily consists of supplementary documentation for the Lake of the Woods Report and a letter addressed to Capt. Anderson regarding the British North American Boundary Commission.
File includes George Mercer Dawson's memoranda on a report on the British North American Boundary Commission, a well as newspaper clippings from the Daily Telegraph,.
File includes a sketch and description by Mr. Moffatt of a copper cermonial object, manufactured by the "Fort Rupert Band" (referring to the Kwakiutl people of the Northwest coast), and notes on Indigenous groups, two fragments containing additional notes on Indigenous groups, and a document entitled, "Customs of the N.C. Indians." This last document contains in particular outsider observations of purported coming of age ceremonies and childbirth traditions.
File includes a collection of 12 short essays written by George Mercer Dawson as a child. On the verso of many is a title, date, and a sketch. The titles of the essays are: "The Indian Antiquities (of Montreal)"; "Fishes"; "Winter"; "Rivers"; "Mountains"; "The Ocean"; "Paper"; "Flowers"; "Vegetation"; "The Wolf"; "Europe"; and "The Lion." The first essay ("Indian Antiquities") discusses the discovery of objects belonging to previous Indigenous inhabitants of the region, including pottery, knives, etc.
File includes notes on ration returns for the Natural History Department of the British North American Boundary Commission; a note on the character of soil and subsoil observed in digging 6' holes for iron boundary pillars; and a list of fresh water specimens.
File includes printed articles and clippings on the subject of locust and grasshopper invasions in the West. Also includes maps of Nebraska and Minnesota.
File includes a memorandum addressed to Mr. Selwyn and a list of articles forwarded by William Fisher for the Canadian Commission regarding the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876. Also includes a list of descriptions of objects for the exhibition catalogue, which includes many descriptions of Indigenous artifacts.
File includes reports on coal and iron ore mines in Port Hood (N.S.), Brookfield (N.S.) and Blanchard's Settlement (N.B.). File also includes detailed mining plans, sketches, and maps.
File includes a newspaper article published in The Montreal Daily Witness; collection of sketches of various species; notes on Dawson's geological surveys of British Columbia and Nova Scotia; and plans.