GSC Annual Reports (1885-1904)

Geological Survey of Canada · 1885 · International

14 volumes of GSC Annual Reports documenting Canadian mineral resources and geology — atlases accompany most volumes. Covers Yukon gold, Ontario nickel, BC…

Public-domain full text preserved in the Mountain Man Mining Library. Original source: archive.org.

Harvard University Department Of Geology And Geography

From che Library of JAY BACKUS WOODWORTH (Class of 1894 ‘TEACHER OF GEOLOGY AT HARVARD FROM 1894 TO 1925

The Gift of R. W. SAYLES A. F. PENROSE B. WIGGLESWORTH

Harvard University Library Of Mining & Metallurgy Feb Y 1941

— en a AR —

Geological Survey Of Canada

Reports And Maps

Of

Investigations And Surveys 5

am ns — — ae — ee —— pe — —

The Publications of the Geolugical Survey of Canada may be ordered through :

WM. FOSTER BROWN & CO., Montreal, Que.

DURIE & SON, Ottawa, Ont.

WILLIAMSON & CO., Toronto, Ont.

J. A. KNIGHT, Halifax, N.S.

J. A. McMILLAN, St. John, N.B.

ALEX. TAYLOR, Winnipeg, Man.

THOMSON BROS., Calgary, Alta.

THOMSON STATIONERY CO. Vancouver, B.C.

T. N. HIBBEN & CO. Victoria, B.C.

EDWARD STANFORD, Cockspur St., Charing Cross, London

SAMPSON, LOW & CO. 188 Fleet Street, London.

°F. A. BROCKHAUS, Leipsic.

LEMCKE & BUECIINER, 812 Broadway, New York.

THE SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHING CO. 27 Park Place, New York.

Also directly from the Librarian, Geological Survey Offices, Ottawa.

Price of Volume VIII. and of the Separate Reports comprised in tt: Volume VIII. (with maps), $1. Part A, 10 cents. Part D (with map), 15 cents. Part J (with map), 15 cents. Part L (with maps), 30 cents. Part R,10 cents. Part S, 10 cents.

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA G. M. DAWSON, ©.M.G., LLD. F.R.S., Director

a ee - eee eee

Annual Report

(New Series)

Volume Viii

Reports A, D, J, L, Rs

OTTAWA PRINTED BY S. E. DAWSON, PRINTER TO THE QUEEN’S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY

No. 617.

To the Honourable CLIFFORD SIFTON, M.P., Minister of the Interior.

S1r,—I have the honour to submit herewith Volume VIII. (New Series) of the Reports of the Geological Survey of Canada.

The volume comprises 998 pages. It is accompanied by six maps and illustrated by seventeen plates, besides a number of figures in the text.

The several parts composing the volume have been issued pre- viously, as completed, and may be purchased separately at the prices noted on page ii.

I have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, © GEORGE M. DAWSON,

Director.

Orrawa, April, 1897.

Table Of Contents.

Report A.

SUMMARY REPORT OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT FOR THE YEAR 1896, BY THE DIRECTOR.

° PAGE. Publications issued and in preparation eee eencaeeees 3 Synopsis of field work cence eee eee ceca eee eeees y Boring at Athabasca Landing .. ... lose 13 Explorations and Surveys eee eee nee corse. eae 18 British Columbia , , 18 North-west Territories and Keewatin ... , 31 Ontario ,.., 44.4444 sus vosssese 34 Quebec eee cee eek cence ences eussesersseeee 64 Labrador Peninsula. .. ...,. . 83 Nova Scotia 89 Museums and Office Work .. , ... ... 104 Chemistry and Mineralogy Loue nues beeen eeees 104 Lithology beeen ee teeter een: 115 Mining and Mineral Statistics. .. .. ... ... 119 Palæontology and Zoology , 123 Natural History ... ... dus eue veueres + + wees 192 Maps .. Ln cee cece ee vues ae . 139 Library ..., . Lecce veus been e eens 143 Visitors, Staff, Appropriation, etc . . Léus oo 143 REPORT D.

REPORT ON THE COUNTRY BETWEEN ATHABASCA LAKE AND CHURCHILL RIVER, BY J. BURR TYRRELL AND D. B. DOWLING.

Pace. Introduction ..., . ,.4 5 Physical eorraphy .. , 2. 7 General Geology... 6 ... , 2, 2. 2... 15 Laurentian .. . ... de eo eee verre 15 Huronian De dene cence en ve deu cece ence eee peeeeeeenes 17 Cambrian ce cee eee ..., 17 Cretaceous . .. beeen ace se. Deus cece cence eens 19 Pleistacene .. ,.. ce es eee ees 20 Recent. .. Les cece eee eee ree use voue versus caenuens 25 Description of Routcs ... weeees 25 Green Lake Trail , beeen cee cesser 25 Green Lake and Beaver River . 27 Tle à la Crosse Lake eens eenecees 29

vill GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. Pack. Description of Routes—Continued. Cree River and Lake cbc ewe eee ee à de veces eeeneeees 38 Black Lake ... .. . , , , , 50 Athabasca Lake eek e ence ee bee e ence ne eeeee oussuse aes . 54 Fire-bag River .. te 66 South Shore of Lake Athabasca. .. levres … 68 William River Leen eee ee eee ee dose voue beeen een e ees 69 Stone River .. , ,., .. , 71 Wollaston Lake ne ne ee + + esse 88 Wollaston Lake to Reindeer Lake 93 Reindeer Lake, west shore. .. . 95 Reindeer River , ,... 97 Churchill River .. . ... .. Les es. 100 Geikie River Lors weer cece cee wee e eee e eta nessa sesesree sous 102 Foster Lake and River 110 Churchill River . . . cee cece eee cee eee sees 117 REPORT J.

REPORT ON THE GEOLOGY OF A PORTION OF THE LAURENTIAN AREA LYING TO THE NORTH OF THE ISLAND OF MONTREAL BY FRANK D. ADAMS.

Page.

Physical Features... Meee cece eee voccereuueceececcue 7 Archean (eology Loue ee weep ee eee 19 The Laurentian (neisses and their Associated ‘Rocks dus heen ee osseuses 11 Stratigraphical Relations... ... 11 Grenville Series .. 1... 11 Fundamental Gneiss. ecb eee ene de eee ee tet ee cane vues 28 Acid Intrusions ,.. .. ,. 29 Petrography .., ceeeeees 31 Gneisses of Igneous Origin ... . 38 Gneisses, Limestone, Quartzites, etc., of Aqueous Origin 49 Gneisses, etc., of Doubtful Origin 67 The Anoxthosutes .. ue... us 85 The Morin Anorthosite 85 Stratigraphical Relations. . . . . 85 Petrography .. cee . 91 Other Anorthosite Masses 116 Lakefield Area. . , 117 St. Jérôme Aren pese cect ee cece ever 118 Kildare Areas Les eee eee cece eee tev ee te eenenars . 122 Cathcart Aren , 123 Pont des Dalles Area. . ... 124 St. Jean de Matha Aren 125 Brandon Areas ,. .. 126

Notes on the Anorthosites occurring in other parts of Canada and in Foreign Countries... 4. eee. 131 Post-Archœan Dukes., ,... dress savons ce voreece 134

Economic Geology eee eee eee eee e eee rete ee cent e eens verse 139

CONTENTS. ix

PAGE. Summary of Archæœan Geology ,.., ,.. 155 APPENDIX I. LITERATURE RELATING TO THE ANORTHOSITES OF CANADA .. 157 APPENDIX II. THE SMELTING OF TITANIFEROUS IRON ORES seen 161

Report L.

REPORT ON EXPLORATIONS IN THE LABRADOR PENINSULA, ALONG THE EAST MAIN, KOKSOAK, HAMILTON, MANICUAGAN, AND PORTIONS OF OTHER RIVERS, IN 1892-93-94-95, BY A. P.

LOW. PAGE. Intruductory .. a denne eet e eect ateeeeeeeeen osseuses 5 Previous Discoveries and Explorations . 7 Physical Geography ,... nee 4... 19 Climate... .. ,.. és sise vois russes ous 27 Soil 4 ee esse secs sue vor covosseseusee 30 Trees and Other Plants 30 Population .. ., 40 Fisheries ,..., , us 55 Detailed Description of Routes explored , 56 Chamouchouan River , 56 Height-of-land to Lake Mistassini ... messes 62 Lake Mistassini ,... ... Les sors. 66 Lake Mistassini to East Main River . 72 East Main River , 8. 77 Upper East Main River eee e eee ee nec e see se 86 Nichicun to Lake Kaniapiskau .. ... . aes. 102 Lake Kaniapiskau.. ce cee ee Lee eeeeeee 106 Koksoak River Lovers cece eee w eee ns wu etee eee ssenceueeeserece 107 Hamilton Inlet Lensssssscsneseeueess seeseeaceeeess 123 Hamilton River , sere 129 Upper Hamilton River , , 145 Ashuanipi Branch eee e ence ee teen seems 148 Route to Lake Michikamau ,... 158 Lake Michikamau 160 Attikonak Branch Lane e eee ne seen eeen vence 163 Romaine River cor. 167 Romaine River to St. John River ... cena cence cc eeceenens 170 St. John River 173 Manicuagan River , Lésssossssssserssse 174 Attikopi Branch , , 189 Lake Attikopis to Nichicun 191 Route up the Mouchalagan River 192 Geology Loue sous wees cece eet sors ee © eeeecvenceereess 195 Geological Formations . , 195 Laurentian ess secs sosesecunsseees 197 Chamouchouan River , 2... 203

x GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA.

Pace. Laurentran—Continued. Lower East Main River, ,.. sors. 207 Upper East Main River , , 211 Upper Big River , 4... 216 Koksoak River , 4 ses ses 217 Lower Hamilton River Lace eccccesecccensee coe eeeneeee vues " 222 Upper Hamilton River .….. 225 Ashuanipi Branch .. . ,, 227 Route to Lake Michikamau , , 228 Lake Michikamau ,. ce 229 Attikonak Branch 4.4... 231 Romaine River , Lenssssessosssssse Lassssssss 234 Romaine River to St. John River , 236 St. John River e cnet ene e cet eee setae tence 237 Manicuagan River , oe teeeeees 238 Portage route of the Mouchalagan River 244 Huronian etc c ccc cence cece tect ee ceccesecscares Leen eee ves ences 246 Lower East Main River eee cence 5 wee ee eee ee teeee 249 South-west of Lake Mistassini 257 Cambrian .. ss roue susese nues sossoosscuseesssses 261 Lake Mistassini ... ccc ecw cece cece teen ttecen ence 266 Koksoak River area , 60 css ss. 268 Hamilton River area . ... , 273 Lake Michikamau... ccc cece cece cece cece ee sus sssessss 280 Economic Minerals .. à cesse soso... 282 Glacial Geology ue ue ee 289 Mi... ses use cece nec e teens eeeeeeteersenseesaes 299 Lake Terraces ..., ses see 303 River Terraces ccc ccc ccc cee osseuses 306 Marine Deposits . 308 APPENDIX I. LIST OF MAMMALIA OF THE LABRADOR PENINSULA, WITH SHORT NOTES ON THEIR DISTRIBUTION, ETC., BY A. P. LOW oe 313 APPENDIX II. LIST OF BIRDS OF THE INTERIOR OF THE LABRADOR PENINSULA. 323

APPENDIX III. LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL FOOD FISHES OF THE LARRADOR PENINSULA, WITH SHORT NOTES ON THEIR DISTRIBUTION 329

APPENDIX IV.. LIST OF INSECTS COLLECTED IN THE INTERIOR OF THE LABRADOR PENIN- SULA, 1894. DETERMINED BY DR. JAS. FLETCHER 333

APPENDIX V. NOTES ON THE MICROSCOPIC STRUCTURE OF SOME ROOKS FROM THE LABRADOR PENINSULA. BY W. F. FERRIER 335 APPENDIX VI. LIST OF THE PLANTS KNOWN TO OCCUR IN THE LABRADOR PENINSULA. COMPILED BY JAMES M. MACOUN. APPENDIX VII. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN THE LABRADOR PENINSULA, 1893- 1894 AND 1895, BY D. I. V. EATON.

CONTENTS. x1

Report R.

Report Of The Section Of Chemistry And Mineralogy. By G. C. Hoffman.

PAGE. I. Miscellaneous Minerals , ... 9 If. Mineralogical Notes Lee ence eee seen ence cence 14 ITI. Limestones and Dolomites , 15 LV. Coals , ween ence cece see er eee 18 F. Iron Ores. , issues sou 19 VI. Nickel and Cobait , ., , ,, 27 VII. Gold and Silver, Assays of Specimens from the -.. 29 Province of Nova Scotia. Lecce tee e cee ence ceeeaee Le. 29 Province of New Brunswick , 29 Province uf Quebec 30 North-east Territory ... Lee cece teens 32 Province of Ontario ... . 32 North-west Territory .. 40 Province of British Columbia, from 42 (1). East Kootenay District ... .. su. 42 (2). West Kootenay District 43 (3). Interior Plateau Region. .. . 50 (4). Coast Ranges and Coast Region ... ose 53 (6). Cariboo District ... 53 VIII. Natural Waters Lerssressereusee 55 IX. Misccllancous Exrauminations .. ,... 59

Report 8.

SECTION OF MINERAL STATISTICS AND MINES. ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1895. BY E. D. INGALL.

Page.

Letter of Transmittal .. . 3

D0 7. Sa 5 Summary of Production , . 7

of Exports. , cee tanec wees 8

Of Imports soso 9

Abrasire Materials ... cent eee e eens 10 Asbestus 44 us esse crosses - 13 Col. .. grrsrssnpesessseesesenessces cesse eve 15 oS 444 osseuses seeseeseueuuse 29 Copper ses eee ose eee tee etna tenet reuee 30 Graphite cece eee cette es Fete teen neen cesse 33 tL rr 34 Iron a 4 esse sus essences 37 ys, esse usines ue 50 AManganese , 4. ss essence rene 52 Mica ... bee ue dessous cesser 53 Mineral Pigments us sise secoue 54 Mineral Water 4 44444 sauces 56 Miscellaneoug beets ee 7

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X11 Geological Survey Of Canada.

Pace. Mickel 8... Lhe eee rece een cere teens 65 Petroleum. occ ccc ccc cn cece cece et ee ence e ee eee cece tee eeeneetenneees 66 Phosphate deen cece ence eee ee testes ae 7 Precious Metals ee erreurs eee ee teen ee eee ee neeee 74 Ol ) Co 4e esse 75 Silver... 0... ccc ce sise seu seneeteecnes 84 Pyrites ie Leek eee e tee von neta eet eee sors 85 SL 4e dues. 86 Structural Materials , ,.21, 88 MAPS. VOLUME VIII. PaGr. 597. Map of the Country between Lake Athabasca and Churchill River. (Scale, 25 miles to‘l inch.) 120 D Plan, vicinity of St. Jérôme, Terrebonne County, Que 119 J 590. Province of Quebec—Geological map of parts of Joliette, Argenteuil Terrebonne and Montcalm Counties . ..!,... 184 J & 585. Labrador Peninsula, south-west sheet ewe e ee sounesserees L & 586. " south-east sheet 0 ... . L At 587. " north-west sheet. ,. L 588. " north-east sheet L PLATES White Spruce Falls, Geikie River ... ... . Part D (Frontispiece) Manitou Falls, Stone River , 18 D Beaded Gnviss, south-western shore of Lac la Ronge.. ne on eee 102 D Contact of the Anorthosite and Grenville Series, as seen n from Piedmont, aug- mentation of Mille Isles Part J (Frontispiece)

f

Laurentian Hills, near southern corner of the Township of Brandon. Fig.1.. 8 J Trembling Mountain, as seen from south-west side of Trembling Lake. Fig.2. 8 J Cliff of white garnetiferous quartzite, 2 miles north-west of St. Jean de Matha 18 J

Microscopic structures of rocks , 42 J st es moon ss : ss se. cee oe Lissos. 74 J Anorthosite, showing segregation of the dark coloured constituents in certain portions of the rock eeneeee. 104 J Microphotographs showing the progressive granulation of* the Morin anortho- gite. , secs eue coneseue osseuse 108 J Granulated anorthosite, Rivière aux Sables, Que 110 J Anorthosite, showing parallel arrangement of hypersthene masses between Lac Noir and Lac Corbeau, Township of Brandon 127 J Granophyric intergrowth of quartz and plagioclase about a phenocryst of plagioclase, Township of Rawdon 138 J Grand or McLean Falls, Hamilton River. . . (Frontispiece) Part L View of south end of Lake Michikamau 160 L Bedded sandstones and shales, Cambrian Lake, Koksoak River , 268 L Esker Ridges, along Ashuanipi Branch, Hamilton River.. .. 302 L

In Portfolio.

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GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT G. M. DAWSON, C.M.G., LLD. F.R.S., Direcror

Summary Report

On The

Operations Of The Geological Survey

For The Year 1895

By

The Director

OTTAWA PRINTED BY S. E. DAWSON, PRINTER TO THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY

No. 582.

Summary Report

On The

Operations Of The Geological Survey ,

For The Year 1895.

Orrawa, lst January, 1896.

The Honourable T. Mayne Daty, M.P., Minister of the Interior.

Sir,—In accordance with the provisions of the Act of Parliament relating to the Geological Survey, I have the honour to submit this Summary Report of the Department for the calendar year 1895. The reduced appropriation made by Parliament for the work of the Geolo- gical Survey during the fiscal year 1895-96, has rendered a strict econ- omy necessary. This has particularly affected the nature and amount of the field-work undertaken, for the existence of a number of unpub- lished ‘reports and maps resulting from the work of previous years, appeared to render it desirable that a considerable proportion of the money actually available should be devoted to printing. The members of the staff, without exception, have, however, exerted themselves to make the best possible use of the means placed at their disposal, and the progress made in 1895 has been satisfactory and important, as the succeeding pages of this report will, I believe, show.

During the year, volume VI. of the new series of Annual Reports of Annua Re- the Survey, has been completed and issued. The volume is a small one, of but 534 pages, but as the funds available for the fiscal year 1894-95 did not admit of further printing, it was deemed advisable to give to the public the matter already in type. The printing of volume VII. is now in progress, and it is hoped that this volume also may shortly be ready for publication.

Twenty-six maps have been issued during the past year, including Maps publish- fourteen sheets of the geological map of Nova Scotia on the scale of one ae the mile to an inch, and one sheet on the scale of four miles to an inch ; nine plans and one section relating to the auriferous creeks of the Cariboo

4 À Geological Survey Department.

district in British Columbia; the north-east quarter-sheet of the ‘ Eastern Townships” map, Quebec; the Rainy River and Seine River sheets in western Ontario. A number of the maps above mentioned had been engraved and printed previous to January Ist, 1895, but had not been distributed. Of the Seine River sheet, a small preliminary edition only has so far been printed, in advance of the forthcoming report on the district, and subject to correction in detail. This course was adopted in order to render the results of surveys immediately useful to prospectors and miners engaged in discovering and developing the gold-bearing veins of the district. This preliminary map has been available since October, although part of the field-work included by it was actually carried out during the past summer.

In addition to the maps above mentioned, two of the Kamloops district, one of the Omenica and Finlay region in British Columbia, and five relating to the surface geology of New Brunswick have been printed and are ready to appear with volume VII.

Other publica- Other publications include part IT. of volume IIT., Paleozoic Fossils, trons. 84 pages, with 9 plates, and part I. of volume II., Contributions to

Canadian Paleontology, 66 pages, with 5 plates. The latter had been printed in separate sheets at different times previous to 1895. A new list of the publications of the Geological Survey of Canada from the be- ginning of the work, in 1843, to date, making a pamphlet of 52 pages, has also been prepared and printed. This list has been very carefully revised throughout, and now includes no less than 479 official publica- tions (including all maps, plans, etc.) besides a large number of scientific papers bearing upon the work of the Survey or the collections in the museum, of which copies are held on sale for the convenience of the public.

General in- In order to facilitate reference to the various reports of the Survey, ex Mr. D. B. Dowling has now been for some months engaged in the pre- paration of a classified index to the reports published subsequent to the Geology of Canada (1863), which it is proposed to print when com- pleted. The volume prepared by Sir William Logan, under the above title, forms a synopsis of the results of the Survey to the time of its publication ; and the collective indexing of subsequent reports may be regarded as a first step towards the production of further synoptical reports.

Mineral speci: In pursuance of the policy of making known to purchasers and Tmaperial tne. consumers, such special products of Canadian mines as find their titute. market at a distance, letters were sent to the various producers

of mica in the autumn of 1894, and at a later date to pro-

cawson. ] ‘ SUMMARY REPORT. DA

ducers of asbestus in Canada, inviting them to send commercial samples and price-lists for transmission by the Geological Survey to the museum of the Imperial Institute in London. This invitation was well responded to in both instances, and the series of representative specimens obtained have during the year been placed on exhibition by the curator of the Canadian Section of the Institute, Mr. Harrison Watson. Brief descriptions of the character and mode of occurrence of the minerals were at the same time furnished for insertion in the technical journals, with special reference to the specimens shown, and many inquiries and requests for further particulars and addresses, have since been received both by the Geological Survey and the several exhibitors.

In response to an invitation to participate in the special Exhibition of Photographic Photography in its application to the Arts, Sciences and Industries, in xhibition. London, a number of large coloured and framed photographs of geologi- cal features and mines, illustrating the use of photography in connec- tion with the work of the Survey, were prepared and transmitted.

These photographs where taken and coloured after nature by Mr. H. Topley.

To represent the work of the Geological Survey at the exhibition of Geographical the International Geographical Congress, also held in London during egress: the past summer, a typical series of the various classes of maps published by the Survey was mounted and sent to that exhibition.

Both the photographs and maps above referred to, were at the close of the respective exhibitions handed over to the Canadian Section of the Imperial Institute, where they are now permanently displayed.

Another subsidiary, though not unimportant feature of the work, Education to which reference may be made, is that of the supply of small typical collections collections of Canadian minerals and rocks to educational institu- tions in Canada. This has grown up in consequence of requests received for such illustrative specimens. It was at first possible to make up a few collections from time to time from duplicate material in stock, but of late years it has become necessary to devote a large part of Mr. Wiliimott’s time to the accumulation of suitable material, and the arrangement of such collections. During the year 1895, no less than fifty-nine collections of this kind, embracing 6665 specimens, have been furnished, without any charge beyond that of carriage, to educational institutions in the several provinces, from Nova Scotia to British Columbia. The increasing demand for such collections has rendered it necessary to restrict the supply pretty closely to institutions and schools in which some instruction in natural

Correspon- dence.

Examination of specimens.

Necessity of a

6 A Geological Survey Department.

science is actually given. In most cases such collections are evidently highly appreciated, as shown by the acknowledgments received, and their value, from an educational point of view is, I believe, very great. It is scarcely possible to overestimate the importance in connection with the development of the resources of the country, of familiarizing the growing generation with even the commoner ores and rocks.

A large and constantly increasing part of the official correspondence of the Survey, consists of answers to applications for special infor- mation on particular mineral products of the Dominion and cognate subjects. Attention is given, in this matter, to placing consumers and producers in connection, in so far as the information at disposal permits. Replies to such inquiries often involve considerable time and trouble, but this their direct importance fully justifies.

Inquiries relating to the geological structure of different parts of the country and the conditions of occurrence of minerals, are also numer- ous, and during the past year alone, have embraced questions respect- ing coal, petroleum, gas, salt, water-süpply, mineral-waters, stone, clays, lime, cement, peat, fertilizers and many metallic ores. Another large class of applications for information must be made to include the most varied subjects connected with-geographical features, heights of summits, or watersheds, elevations of lakes, practicable routes of travel, distribution of forest trees and character of timber, &c., &c. Many of these it is possible to answer to the satisfaction of the inquirers, from the facts included in previous reports, by means of reference to plans or surveys in the office, or from the experience of individual members of the staff.

A very large number of specimens of every kind are also received for identification, determination or description. Many of these are transmitted to the laboratory for examination, and when this appears to be called for, they are there tested, assayed or analysed, the result being communicated to the sender.

It is necessary to mention briefly the work done in the offices under the above heads, as a considerable portion of the time of several mem- bers of the staff is thus occupied without any adequate record in the publications of the Survey, although, undoubtedly, to the great advantage of the public at large.

It is impossible to omit, in this report, a renewed allusion to the

new building. entirely insufficient accommodation afforded by the present build-

ing for the work of the Geological Survey. Not only are the offices inadequate and inconvenient, but the space available in the museum has become much too restricted, while both offices and museum with all

exweon. SUMMARY REPORT. 7 A

their valuable accumulations, are subject to danger of loss by fire. The advantage to Canada of having an adequate display of the mineral wealth of the country can scarcely be exaggerated, and that the museum, even in its present state, possesses much interest to the general public, is evidenced by the fact that more than 26,000 visitors have been registered during the year.

Scarcely a year passes, in which the Geological Survey is not in- Acknowledg-

debted to specialists for important assistance, rendered gratuitously and ponts of sssis- in the interests of science. At the present time it is appropriate to acknowledge particularly our indebtedness to Professor Charles Lap- worth, F.R.S., of Birmingham, who has devoted much time to a study of Canadian graptolites, a work now approaching completion ; to Mr. S. H. Scudder of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to whose researches the work on fossil insects already mentioned is due, and to Professor A. Hyatt, of Boston, Massachusetts, for his critical notes on various fos- sils submitted to him. The acknowledged preéminence of each of these gentlemen in his particular lines of study, is such as to render their contributions of the utmost value.

My own time, during the year, has of necessity been employed work of the chiefly in connection with the office and in the rearrangement of some Director. parts of the executive work, as well as in supervising the printing and publication. A few days were, however, spent in the country near the Kingston and Pembroke railway, and about three weeks, in August and September, on a visit of inspection to Athabasca Landing in connection with the boring operations there.

Considerable attention has lately been given by the civic authorities Iron ores in and Board of Trade of Kingston, to the possibility of establishing Frontenac, furnaces at that place for the smelting of iron ores found to the Lanark. northward, chiefly in the counties of Frontenac, Leeds and Lanark.

In June last, an influential deputation from Kingston waited upon you, for the purpose of urging that the Geological Survey should undertake at once such an investigation of the quantity and quality of the de- posits of ore likely to become tributary to Kingston smelters, as might justify the necessary investment of capital there. It was pointed out, in replying to this request, that a good deal of work had been accomplished by the Geological Survey in the district in question some twenty years ago and at various times since, and I ventured to express the opinion that, taking the iron ore deposits in the aggregate, there could not be any reasonable doubt as to their great available quantity and excellent average quality. Many changes in connection with iron smelting have, however, occurred in late years, and it was

Experimental boring for petroleum.

Intention of the work.

8 À Geological Survey Department.

thus considered advisable that such further investigation of the dis- trict as might be immediately possible should be undertaken. Mr. E. D. Ingall was consequently entrusted with this work, and with him I visited Kingston early in August, and subsequently looked over a number of the more important iron mines. Mr. Ingall continued and extended the examinations thus begun, with care and in considerable detail. A preliminary report upon his work is given on a later page, and it will be gratifying to those interested, to observe that the favour- able conclusions flowing from the results of previous work by the Survey are fully borne out by this report.

Boring at Athabasca Landing.

At the time of my visit to Athabasca Landing, the boring there had attained a depth of 1500 feet, which has since been increased to 1731 feet. The work of sinking this experimental well has been attended with unlooked-for difficulties and delay, in consequence of the unconsoli- dated character and the great thickness of Cretaceous shales which has had to be passed through, and the time consumed in communicating with, and meeting the requirements of the work, in a locality situated nearly one hundred miles beyond communication by railway or tele- graph. Mr. W. A. Fraser has spared no effort in advancing the pro- gress of the boring, and is entitled to much credit for the manner in which he has been able to overcome the various obstacles met with. A synopsis of his report on the work is given below.

It will be remembered, that the object of the experimental boring has been to reach and penetrate the basal sandstone of the Cretaceous for- mation, which, where it comes to the surface, about 130 miles further north on the Athabasca River, is known as the ‘‘tar sands” and is charged with bituminous matter.* In the last Summary, Mr. McCon- nell’s Report on a Portion of the District of Athabasca, is quoted, to the effect that the top of the “tar sands” should be found at Atha- basca Landing at a depth of from 1200 to 1500 feet. This statement was based upon the observed dip of the Cretaceous rocks and the re- lative heights of places along the natural section afforded by the banks of the Athabasca River, and depended upon an estimate, as close as the circumstances admitted, of these factors. It had necessarily to be assumed that the thickness and lithological character of the mem- bers of the Cretaceous series remain the same throughout. To a depth of 1090 feet, a continuous mass of shaly beds was penetrated in the

*Annual Report, Geol. Sury. Can., vol. V. (N.S.), Part D.

enweon. SUMMARY REPORT. 9 À

boring, and it began to appear possible, in consequence, that the Peli- Information

bor-

can and Grand Rapids sandstones of the observed exposures to the north, had given out where the boring was in progress. When, however, at the above-mentioned depth, a sandstone was encountered, it became probable that this represented one or other of the previously recogni- sed sandstone formations ; and before a depth of 1500 feet had been reached, it was clear that this represented the Pelican sandstone, that it was followed beneath by the Pelican shales, and that these in turn were underlain by the Grand Rapids sanastone, the two first-men- tioned formations having very nearly the thickness and character pre- sented by them at their natural outcrops.

gained as

Ing progres- sed.

It became apparent that the La Biche shales had a thickness some- Regularity of

what exceeding that estimated for them at this place, but that notwith- standing this fact, the Cretaceous series as a whole remained perfectly regular, and that the volume of its underlying members was practically constant. There is thus much reason to believe that the thickness of the Clearwater shales, in which the well is for the present stopped, and that of the underlying “tar sands,” will also prove here to vary little from that found at the natural outcrops ; in which case the top of the “tar sands” should be reached at about 1800 feet,or less than 100 feet

beyond the actual point now attained. Should it prove possible to do Depth to be So, it is proposed to continue this boring to a depth of 2000 feet, a attained in

depth which it is anticipated will pass through the “tar sands” and penetrate, for soine distance, the underlying rocks, presumed to be lime- stones of Devonian age. The bituminous matter with which the “tar

present bor- Ing.

sands” are saturated further down the river, has undoubtedly welled .

into them from the underlying limestones of that vicinity, and it is therefore advisable at this place, to seek for the existence of petroleum in both, if possible.

It must be remembered, that the enormous accumulation of bitumen in the sands, where they are seen, has become possible only from the fact that these porous beds lie directly upon the limestones and are themselves covered by impervious shales. It is of course quite possible that impervious shaly layers may occur in the beds representing the “tar sands ” beneath Athabasca Landing, and if so, any one of these might prevent the upward flow of petroleum if it exists there. For this reason, the possibly oil-bearing character of the lower beds of the Cretaceous, can not be considered to have been fully tested at the Landing until their whole thickness has been bored through.

It is also necessary to bear in mind that, even in the most pro- ductive oil-fields, the occurrence of valuable accumulations of petroleum

A single ex- periment in- sufficient.

the measures.

Plans propos: ed for fyrther boring.

Gas and salt water.

10a — GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

is confined to certain limited areas or “pools,” and that although:

there can scarcely be any reasonable doubt of the existence of

an important oil-field in northern Alberta and Athabasca, the first experimental sinking in an entirely new region, may not prove to be

successful as a source of vil. Whatever may be the ultimate result.

of the first experiment still in progress, it must be admitted that it has already demonstrated a most important fact in respect to the regularity, over a great area, of the members of the Cretaceous forma-

tion, and has rendered it possible to estimate within close limits of

error, the depth at which the “tar sands” may be looked for along the Athabasca Valley for a distance of about 150 miles.

The great importance of the development of deposits of petroleum in this region, to which allusion is particularly made in my last Sum- mary Report, should, I believe, not only encourage the completion of the present boring, but lead to an even more energetic system of prospect- ing, under which several experimental wells might be simultaneously progressing, in different parts of the great area which the geological conditions show to be favourable to the occurrence of petroleum in quantities of commercial value.

The depth attained, with the small diameter to which the present bor- ing has now been of necessity reduced, cause its further prosecution to be attended with considerable difficulty, but should no further success be achieved in it, it is proposed in the spring to move the plant down the Athabasca River to the vicinity of the mouth of the Pelican. There, al- though still more remote from any base of supplies, it should be possible to reach the “tar sands,” at the comparatively moderate depth of about 700 feet. If, on the other hand, any petroleum should yet be encountered in the present well, the importance of tracing its existence as far south- ward as possible, points to the advisability of making a second test somewhere in the North Saskatchewan valley. Should it, however, prove possible to do so, I would strongly advocate the simultaneous sinking of experimental borings at both these places, thereby effecting a Saving of x year in the process of testing the great northern field.

The natural gas, met with in quantity and under considerable pressure in the course of the boring at depths less than 1000 feet, and mentioned in the Report for last year, was, at a later stage, almost entirely shut off by the casing. When the Pelican sandstone was penetrated, the hole became filled with salt water, which over- flowed at the top, but not in any great volume. When the casing passed this sandstone the flow was reduced, but the water still con- tinued to flow around it into the hole, with, probably, at a later stage,

vuweon. SUMMARY REPORT. 11 a

some additions from the Grand Rapids sandstone. A five-gallon specimen of this water, collected by myself, has been subjected to analysis in the laboratory of the Survey, with results of some interest. They are reported as follows by Dr. Hoffmann :—

“The water contained a small quantity of suspended matter. This Analysis of . . . salt water. was removed by filtration. The filtered water, which was at first perfectly clear and colourless, became, after standing a short time, turbid, and deposited ferric hydrate, with ultimate complete separation of the iron previously contained in the water.

“ Agreeably with the results of an analysis, by Mr. F. G. Wait, : an imperial gallon of the water would contain :—

Grains.

Chloride of potassium eae c ee eee cee corses 4°32 ec BOGIUM. ... 0... ee es. coco. 2305 °77

se calcium 13191

“ MAGNESIUM 79-98 Bicarbonate of lime 1°65 “ ÎTON. use css curseurs ss. 7 84

5: seen osomossese secs 57 Organic matter traces 2532: 04

Carbonic acid, free 65 2532: 69

“The carbonates are calculated as anhydrous bicarbonates and the salts without their water of crystallization.

“The water further contained a very distinct trace of lithium, faint traces of barium and strontium ; also very distinct traces of bromine and a strong trace of iodine.”

The geological section, as developed in the bore-hole up to the Geological present time, with the addition of that shown in a natural expo- aed sure examined by me last summer, near the site of the bore, may I believe be summarized as follows, the zero datum being the top of the bore-hole, ten feet above low-water level of the Athabasca River, or about 1660 feet above sea-level :—

Thickness

Height. of formation. Top or BANK.

180 feet. Yellowish sandstones, thin beds, with some ironstone: Fox Hill or Laramie 15 feet. 165 ‘‘ Probably all gray shales, with some thin sandstone layers ; not well exposed.

12 a

Depth.

0 feet.

1090 ‘‘

1130 Ss 1233 ‘‘

1461 ‘‘

Geological Survey Department.

Top OF BORE-HOLE.

Gray and blackish shales, often very soft, with occasional thin, hard, layersof sandstone or ironstone. Much gas at different levels between 245 feet and 780 feet: La Biche shales 8.

Gray sandstone, with a flow of salt water : Pelican sandstone

Dark shales, often soft ; a little sandstone : Pelican shales...,

Gray sandstones and gray reddish and bluck- ish shales; the sandstone sometimes very hard and probably nodular, as in outcrop at Grand Rapids: Grand Rapids sandstones,

Dark and light-gray shales, generally hard, with some sandstone layers, particularly toward the base: Clearwater shales

Thickness

of formation.

1255 feet.

270 ‘‘ or more.

1911 feet.

Reportonbor- As recorded in the last Summary Report, the boring was suspended on the 26th of October, 1894, at a depth of 1011 feet, it being found impossible to go further without more casing. On the work done in 1895, Mr. Fraser has made a detailed report, from which the following account is extracted or summarized :—

ing opera- tions.

I left Toronto for Athabasca Landing on the 10th April and work was re-

sumed on the boring on the 27th of that month.

The 300 feet of 58-inch casing

which had been sent up the previous fall, had not arrived in time to be driven

however, so, as the first part of the work, we proceeded to try driving it.

It

was found that the 58-inch casing had parted about 200 feet from the surface, so I deemed it unadvisable to try driving it—in fact it would have led only to disaster. It could not be determined at what exact depth it had parted, for it would not have been safe to atteint to draw it ; the walls would have caved in and perhaps covered up the bottom lengths, so that the top lengths could not

have been got into them again.

I then had the 48-inch casing put down. former depth, 825 feet, to the full depth of the bore, 1011 feet.

We used the under-reaner from the

At the depth of about 1000 feet, the 48-inch casing would go no further, the

bottom length became bent, and we could not work through it with safety.

did not consider it advisable to try to straighten it out,for fear it might become so badly damaged that no other smaller casing could be put through it.

Under the circumstances I proceeded to Ottawa for consultation on the 17th May. My suggestion that an additional string of 38-inch casing be procured, and the boring proceeded with, was approved of, and 1500 feet of this sized cas- ing was ordered. A full set of new tools of smaller size had also to be provided and the making of these caused considerable delay. Both casing and tools were,

ceweon. SUMMARY REPORT. 13 A

however, shipped on the 11th June from Petrolia, and arrived in Edmonton on Report on bor- the 24th of the same month. I got back to Edmonton by the same train, and im- ing opera- mediately procured teams and had the casing and tools sent to the Landing, ions — Cont. where I arrived on the 29th.

One of the skilled men I had taken up from Petrolia, refused to work any longer, owing tu a disagreement with the driller while [ was away. This occasioned me some inconvenience, but I turned ip myself and took his place, and the work proceeded from this time on very rapidly.

The first work was to put in the small casing (always spoken of as four inch) down through the 43-inch. At 985 feet it struck hard cavings which had been driven up in the 43-inch by the gas, and would not go any further. We drilled this cut, and put it down to the bottom of the bore, 1012 feet.

Drilling was then recommenced, the shale being so soft that the casing fol- lowed the bit without any reaming for the next three or four feet. The materials passed through, with notes upon the work, are as follows, in descending order :—

1012-1015 feet, dark soft shale.

At 1015 feet this changed to a hard light-coloured shale.

At 1017 we struck a mud-vein which ran in as fast as we could take it out with the sand-pump. The shale, though hard, still caved badly.

1017-37, still caving. In reaming found it quite hard at 1020 feet.

1037-69, formation dark shale and zaving badly. Struck gas at 1055 feet.

1069-84, formation dark shale, caving badly.

1084-90, formation dark shale.

1090, struck sandstone (afterwards proved to be Pelican sandstone) which carried water that flowed over the top of the casing and was strongly saline.

1090-94, sandstone. Put down the casing, but it did not shut off the water, which continued to flow over the top.

1094-1130, still sandstone, water present but in less volume. When the tools were left out of the hole at night, and the water was allowed to find its own hydrostatic level, it stood at about 60 feet below the surface.

1130, reached shale, pretty clearly the Pelican shale of Mr. McConnell.

1130-60, shale, dark in colour and caving badly. The sandstone and shale here mixed in the hole to the consistency of cement, which made the drilling difficult.

1160-70, dark shale—soft.

1170-1207, dark shale with layers of sandstone.

1217-33, dull reddish shale and sandstone.

1233-37, dark gray shale-—soft.

1237 -42, light gray shale—very hard.

1242-47, light gray shale—soft.

1247-55, dark shale—soft.

1255-60, sandstone—-very hard.

1260-67, dark shale—-soft.

Up to this time we had been able to pull the casing up and down in the hole, and it worked rather freely. We had moved it up and down almost every day to prevent it becoming fast. At 1267 feet, the bore was caving very badly and the casting became fast. In trying to move it we pulled the derrick down and nar- rowly escaped a serious accident, particularly to the driller, who was buried under- neath the ruins, but unhurt.

14 A Geologioal Survey Department.

Report on bor- Lumber had to be sawn out by hand to rebuild the derrick, and about a week

he RP Cond, was lost by this mishap. When the repairs had been completed, we were obliged to have recourse to driving. . We screwed an iron cap, which had been provided for such a contingency, into the top length and drove on it. From this depth to the bottom the casing required more or less driving.

1267-85, dark shale—soft.

1285-95, sandstone—very hard.

1295-1300, sandstone—hard.

1300-10, sandstone—very hard.

1210-1323, dull reddish shale and sandstone—soft.

1323-38, reddish shale.

- 1338-50, sandstone and dark shale.

1350-63, dull reddish shale with a little sandstone.

1363-79, dull reddish shale and sandstone.

1379-91, dull reddish shale and a little sandstone.

1391-1425, sandstone, with some layers of dark gray shale.

1425-35, sandstone, medium hardress, shale dark.

1435-48, sandstone, hard with soft streaks.

1448-61, sandstone and dark shale interstratified.

1461-73, dark shale. (Thin streaks of lignite about here.

1473-91, dark shale.

1491-1531, hard shale, light gray colour.

1531-40, shale: not quite so hard.

1566-70, hard sandstone.

1570-76, very hard sandstone.

1576-89, hard shale, drilling very like limestone.

1589-1601, hard shale, light gray in colour.

1601-13, similar, with streaks of soft shale.

1613-26, hard shale.

1626-33, very hard. Iron-stone boulder.

1633-43, hard shale.

1643-55, hard shale, a little gas.

1655-82, hard shale.

1682-89, hard and soft shale alternating.

1689-95, shale and sandstone alternating.

1695-1722, shale and sandstone alternating. Shale very soft and caving in badly.

1722-31, shale with a little sandstone.

At this depth (on October 10th) further drilling became impossible, because of caving-in of the sides of the hole, until the casing should be put down to the full depth. The casing stood at the time at 1473 feet. The under-reamer, which had been gotten new in June, was completely worn out ; so I proceeded to Calgary and had a new one made there. I returned on the 25th October, when work was resumed again, and the hole was subsequently enlarged and the casing carried dowa to a depth of 1668 feet. When this had been accomplished,

, it became necessary to close operations for the season, owing to the onset of very cold weather.

When it became fully established that the formations were in regular order, as observed by Mr. McConnell on the lower reaches of the Athabasca, it was evident

.LawsOn. ] SUMMARY REPORT. 15 a

‘that the ‘‘tar sands” would be encountered at a greater depth than anticipatep, Report on bor- consequently the 1500 feet of 4-inch casing would be insufficient. An additional 300 ing ee Cor ’ feet was ordered, and forwarded by the department. No delay was met with, tone One for this casing arrived before it was actually needed, thanks to the prompt man-

ner in which it was forwarded. The quantity of casing on the ground should

be sufficient to carry the bore down to 2000 feet.

The sinking of the bore during the season of 1895, has been a difficult under- ‘taking. The formation is the very worst that can be encountered, on account of the constant caving, requiring to be cased all the way, and to this the sandstone ‘strata proved a serious obstacle, as they required to be reamed off before the casing could be put down. The under-reamer got for this purpose was quite inadequate to the work, as made in the shops; but, as the result of much ex- perience on this bore, it is now a first-class tool and does its work very satisfac- torily.

The price of success has been eternal vigilance. An instance of this may be given which occurred during the reaming, at 1285 feet. We were six days ream- ing three feet, and when the casing was put down it had only one-quarter inch clearance. This was through a very hard sandstone, which wore off the steel as though it were being held on a grindstone driven by steam power. We could not pull up the casing had we let it down, and if it did not go through all work on the bore would have ended there. We made sure of our measurements, and then put the casing down successfully.

Although operations were commenced over a year and a half ago, the drill be- ing first started on August 15th, 1894, only eight months of actual work has been done on the bore, divided as follows :—1894, two months ; 1895, six months. The balance of the time had been lost for actual work, owing to the great dis- tance by which the locality is removed from the base of supplies.

The work is of such a nature that machinery and tools cannot be made so that breaks will not occur. Neither would the duplicating of parts overcome this evil, for one particular part may break two, three, or five times, whilst the parts are so numerous, bulky and expensive that one would he forced to spend a small fortune on freight in moving the plant about in such an out-of-the-way place, to say nothing of the first expense of purchase. All that can be done has been done in the past to provide against such delays, having a due consideration for the fact that economy has been carefully and at all times impressed upon me by the depart- ment.

The boring at the Landing has been put down as cheaply as possible, and if it bad been done by day labour, it is safe to say that it would have cost double the sum it has.

At present the amount of casing in the bore-hole is as follows :—

37 feet of 6§-inch diameter ; 625 feet of 5§-inch diameter ; 1000 feet of 48-inch diameter ; 1070 feet of 3§-inch diameter (probable estimate). Much of this can be recovered for use next year in another bore.

There is above ground :—30 feet of 6§-inch diameter ; 400 feet of 58-inch diam. eter; 500 feet of 4§-inch diameter.

During the summer, two large boats capable of carrying ten or twelve tons of plant, have been constructed to take the boring outfit down to the Pelican River,

16 À Geological Survey Department.

Report on bor- if this should he decided upon. These boats were built by the men while work

ing opera- tions-—Cont.

Gold-washing on the Saskat-

chewan.

Distribution of gold.

was interrupted on the boring, as above described.

In conclusion, I beg to call your attention strongly to the value of the informa- tion obtained, with . gard to the continuance of the rock-formations observed near the outcrop of the ‘‘ tar sands,” at this great distance from the said outcrop. It means that the forecast that they did so extend is now an absolute certainty, and is one of the strongest arguinents against the popular fallacy that geological knowl- edge is of no practical value in determining the extent of a petroleum deposit. We now know that the formations overlying the petroleum-saturated sandstone, extend with almost unvarying regularity at least one hundred and fifty miles to the south and west. That they have been found at a greater depth than antici- pated matters very little—in fact, in my opinion, this is rather favourable to the existence of a greater natural reservoir for oil, should it still be there.

The total expenditure in connection with the above operations, dur- ing the calendar year 1895, has been $7838.66, of which $6125.50 was paid to the contractor as the work progressed, $1504.31 was paid for casing and transporting the same, and $208.85 represents travelling and minor expenses.

While at Edmonton, in connection with my visit to Athabasca Landing, some facts of interest in connection with gold-washing on the North Saskatchewan were learned. This industry has been pro- secuted in an irregular manner, at low-water stages of the river, for many years. The principal paying bars are found along the river within a distance of about sixty miles above and a similar distance below Edmonton, but of late, ground has been worked even as far down as Battleford, some 250 miles below Ednionton. A larger number of men than usual were in 1895 engaged in this work on the Saskatche- wan, probably about 300 in all, while it was estimated that gold to the value of $30,000 had already been purchased at Edmonton, before the end of August. Simple mechanical appliances of various kinds, worked by hand, are now employed successfully in raising gravel from the submerged bars, a sand-pump has been tried without much success, but this year a large dredge has been constructed for the work. This was about ready for operation at the time of my visit, but no particulars are available respecting its work since.

The occurrence of gold is not, however, limited to the North Sas- katchewan. As may be gathered from previous Reports of the Survey, it is found in greater or less abundance, in a similar manner, on portions of the courses of all the rivers east of the Rocky Mountains from the 49th parallel northward. Good returns obtained by individual miners on the corresponding part of the Athabasca River, led last summer to the outfitting of many parties for that river. The results were on the whole disappointing, but it must be added that most of the advent-

nuseon. SUMMARY REPORT. 17 a

urers were not even skilled in the work, or likely to be able to save the gold, which is always very fine.

To the south of the Peace River, at least, the gold thus found in the beds of the rivers of the Great Plains, does not appear to be derived directly from the Rocky Mountain region. The question of its origin has been discussed in several previous Reports, but further investiga- tions appear to be required to settle this definitely.

On my return journey, a couple of days were spent on the Lake of Gold mines on

the Woods, with the purpose of seeing something of the progress of Lake of of the the gold mines there in course of development. Acknowledgments are due to Mr. R. H. Ahn, for his kindness in assisting me in this endeavour ; and I had also the pleasure of meeting, at Rat Portage, Mr. A. Blue, Director of the Ontario Bureau of Mines. In company with Mr. Blue, visits were made to several of the locations. The Sultana is the only one of these which can be said to have, at the time, passed the experimental stage. The shaft is there down about 200 feet, with levels run out on the vein to the north and south, while a considerable amount of ore has also been taken taken out from the outcrops of the veins. A ten-stamp mill with Frue vanners is in con- stant operation, the free gold only being obtained at present Pyri- tous “‘concentrates” which amount to about one-hundredth of the whole weight of quartz, and are said to carry $50 to $60 worth of gold to the ton, are put aside for future treatment. Through the kindness of Mr. J. F. Caldwell, the owner of the Sultana, I am able to state that the total yield of gold from this mine to date, has been of the value of about $90,000.

At the Gold Hull mine, a ten-stamp mill had been put in place and was nearly ready for operation at the time of my visit, while work was actively in progress on the lodes. The Aegina mine was not visited, but another ten-stamp mill is now at work there, and very excellent specimens of auriferous quartz from the mine were shown to me by General Wilkinson. Projects are on foot for the installation of milling machinery on other properties around the lake, and, generally speaking, an encouraging amount of well-directed activity is being shown, such as to lead to the belief that the gold mining industry is likely to be pursued in future in a business-like manner and with good results.

Taken in connection with the later developments about Rainy Lake, Auriferous the Seine River and in the Manitou district, of which some particulars will be found in Mr. McInnes’s report on a later page, the circumstances are such as to show, more clearly than ever, the auriferous character of the Huronian rocks. Already the prospectors and miners have become

Metalliferous character of Huronian rocks*gener- ally.

Distribution of field- parties.

Special ex- aminations in the field.

18 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

accustomed to recognize this fact, over the whole region, and the geolog- ical maps prepared by this department are valued by them as most important guides, while urgent demands are made for the further extension of the work of the Survey.

From a still wider point of view, embracing the nickel, copper and gold deposits of the vicinity of Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie, as well as those above particularly referred to, the economic importance and metalliferous character of the rocks of the Huronian system become even more apparent. This fact was recognized and the importance of the geological conditions insisted upon by Sir William Logan, in reports of the Survey made nearly forty years ago, and it is gratifying to observe that the practical miner is now beginning to appreciate the value of a large amount of geological work carried out in the country to the north of the Great Lakes, which, a few years ago, it might have appeared difficult to justify in the light of any economic results up to that time achieved. There can now be very little doubt, that every square mile of the Huronian formation of Canada will sooner or later become an object of interest to the prospector, and that industries of considerable importance may yet be planted upon this formation in districts far to the north, or for other reasons at present regarded as barren and useless.

Turning to the operations of the regular field parties of the Geolog- ical Survey, the following synopsis of their distribution, by provinces, may in the first place be given :—

British Columbia... 2 North-west Territories (boring operations)} 1 Manitoba and Keewatin 1 Ontario ,..,... cee ence eee nent eeeeees 4 Quebec , 4... ses twee etereeese 4 Nova Scotia. 2

Total. , 14

In addition to the above parties, which were engaged in continuous field-work during a great part of the season, several members of the staff were occupied for shorter periods with special investigations in the field. Mr. J. F. Whiteaves, spent a few days in paleontological researches on the Island of Montreal and in its vicinity,and Dr. H. M. Ami was occupied for nearly a month in similar work in Nova Scotia ; both in connection with the definition for mapping of the geological formations. Mr. W. F. Ferrier was authorized to visit and examine several localities where ores and minerals of interest had been reported. Mr. J. White spent two weeks in running a line of survey, found to be

aureon. SUMMARY REPORT. 19 À

necessary for the laying out of one of the Ontario map-sheets. Mr. Willimott also, as noted in the sequel, made a number of short journeys for the purpose of collecting duplicate material to be employed in making up collections for educational institutions. Of the gentlemen not regularly attached to the staff of the Survey, who have in former years carried out geological work, Professor L. W. Bailey of Fredericton, alone was entrusted with any such work during the year, and the funds available restricted his operations to a short period.

Before entering with such details as are appropriate repeating the Synopsis of field-work of the season, the following additional general observations £!¢-work. may be given, which, in conjunction with the foregoing notes, will serve as a brief outline of the scope and results of the explorations and surveys of the year : —

The work done in British Columbia bas been confined to two dis- tricts in that extentive province. Its results, given at greater length below, are therefore insufficient to indicate the great general develop- ment of mining there is in progress. The facts detailed by Mr. McCon- nell, however, show the wonderful expansion of mining enterprises taking place in the West Kootanie district and the extent and richness of the deposits carrying silver and gold there. One of the most notable points brought out, is the occurrence, lately ascertained, of ores of exceptional . value in parts of the granitic area, which has heretofore been almost disregarded by the miners.

Most of the facts relating to the structural geology and actual survey of the district, are reserved for a detailed report and map, for which much further work is still needed. Ten years ago this district was almost an untrodden wilderness, but it is difficult now, with the means at the disposal of the Geological Survey, to keep pace with the march of discovery. Mr. McEvoy’s work in the Shuswap region, has been given principally to obtaining additional data for the map, now approaching completion. The recent discovery of a large deposit of gypeum in this region is noteworthy, as being the first of the kind found in British Columbia.

Mr. Tyrrell’s exploration of the country to the east of Lake Winnipeg, has afforded the means of representing that region correctly upon the maps. Although found to be underlain almost exclusively by Archean gneisses and granites, an unexpected development of superficial silty deposits was met with, such as to afford a large tract of probable agricultural value.

In the Rainy Lake and Thunder Bay districts of Western Ontario, the surveys carried out by Mr. McInnes, of which an interesting

Synopsis of field-work— Cont.

20 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

summary ‘is given, have been in close connection with the develop- ment and definition of the auriferous quartz-veins and the iron ores. The rocks characterizing this country are divisible, in a general way, into Laurentian and Huronian, the former term being applied to the granitoid gneisses and granites of similar composition inclusively, in the absence of criteria such as to enable any distinct line to be drawn between these two classes of rocks, and without necessarily im- plying the existence of any rocks preserving their originally bedded character, like those of the Grenville series. The Huronian rocks include the Keewatin and Coutchiching of Dr. Lawson, and of these the relations will be more fully explained in Mr. McJnnes’s forth- coming report. It is in this series that minerals of value are found to occur, and it may be added, that some assays lately made in the laboratory, of quartz from the Manitou and Seine River regions, prove the existence of quartz-veins exceptionally rich in gold, of which it only remains to prove the extent and continuance in depth.

Rocks very similar in character to those above referred to, but even more closely akin lithologically to those of the Sudbury region, of which they are in fact the continuation, characterize the area covered by the Nipissing and Temiscaming sheets. These two maps, with a report relating to their united area, are in process of compilation by Mr. Barlow. Frequent inquiries are already being made for maps of this region, by prospectors anxious to pursue their explorations in it, and it will be endeavoured to publish the sheets referred to as soon as possible. Upon Lake Temiscaming is one of the typical Huronian areas first discovered and named by Sir William Logan, and its close examination has produced results of considerable value from a geological standpoint.

The country in the vicinity of the Ottawa River, from the vicinity of Ste. Scholastique to that of Pembroke, now being laid down in detail for the first time by Dr. Ells, comprises extensive areas of the Grenville series of the Laurentian, with its great crystalline limestones and other characteristic rocks. These, it is hoped, it may be possible to trace into some clear connection with the representatives of the Hastings series of Vennor, of which the relations have remained more or less in doubt. The economic minerals of the region covered by this work comprise iron-ores, mica, graphite, apatite, asbestus, as well as marble and other structural materials.

The map-sheet extending to the south-east of Ottawa and including Cornwall,upon which Mr. Giroux has been engaged,is underlain by little- disturbed Cambro-Silurian rocks. The areas occupied by the various formations comprised within this period are being carefully defined.

emo. SUMMARY REPORT. 21 4

No metalliferous deposits are known to occur, but questions relating Synopsis of eld-work—

to building-stones, brick-clays, peat, marl and the existence or other- gon; wise of porous beds capable of yielding potable water, are involved.

The survey of the Noddaway River in Northern Quebec, by Dr. Bell, and the establishment of the fact that the stream previously known to exist to the north of Grand Lake, on the Ottawa, is one of its principal sources, makes a substantial contribution to the geography of the province. The most important geological discovery made, and one which promises to have results of economic value, appears to be the existence of a great area of the Huronian system to the north of the main watershed. The occurrence of a wide expanse of country characterized by good soil and bearing a considerable growth of forest, is also notable.

Mr. Low’s expedition up the Manicuagan River and in the country about the height-of-land between this river and those draining to the northward, had also in part a geographical object. Its geological results are, however, not without importance in connection with the accumulation of material for a more complete map of the rocks of the Dominion. The supposition that the region traversed is in general one of Laurentian rocks has been confirmed, but it has been proved that the Upper Laurentian, or Granville series, is present there, as well az important masses of anorthosite rocks. A remarkable bed of mag- netic iron-ore was also discovered, although this is too far from means of transportation to be of any immediate utility.

In the ‘ Eastern Townships’ of Quebec, Mr. Chalmers has begun a critical reéxamination of the auriferous gravels, bringing to bear upon this problem his long experience of ‘he superficial deposits of the neighbouring parts of New Brunswick, and of the events of the glacial period generally. The wide spread of the auriferous drifts beneath the boulder-clay has been demonstrated, while various facts of scientific value have also been noted ; such as the probable twofold division of the boulder-clay, the height and continuity of old sea-beaches and the various directions in which the ice flowed over the district during dif- ferent stages of the glacial period. The discovery of an auriferous conglomerate among the ancient metamorphic rocks of the region, at Dudswell, is also a matter of interest and possibly of importance.

Mr. Fietcher’s work, in Cape Breton, has been directed to a reinves- tigation of the Sydney coal-field, preparatory to a new issue of the geological map-sheets, of which the previous edition has become exhausted. Since the surveys of Mr. Robb, many years ago, great progress has been made in the working of these coal-fields, rendering

Synopsis of field. work — Cont.

Arrangement of following summaries.

British Columbia.

West Koota-

nie. Work by Mr McConnell.

22 A Geological Survey Department.

necessary such a reconsideration of structural facts as that now in progress. In the counties of Halifax and Hants, Nova Scotia, Mr. Faribault has continued his careful survey of the Cambrian gold-bear- ing rocks, The facts discovered in regard to the relation of the auriferous veins to the various well-marked anticlines, have rendered necessary a close study of these folded strata, together with their associated granitic masses and the various faults and fractures affect- ing them. All these features are being laid down with accuracy upon maps on the scale of a mile to the inch, and the interest of the mining population in the work is freely expressed.

The work done by Professor Bailey, of Fredericton, during a few weeks, in the south-west part of Nova Scotia, had reference to a revision of the general geology of that portion of the province, which has not yet been mapped in detail.

In presenting the subjoined preliminary reports on work done in the field, they are arranged, in’conformity with previous practice, in order by provinces and districts from west to east. In respect to detail, greater prominence is, as a rule, given to the results of explorations and surveys which are as yet incomplete, and of which it will not be possible to present final reports and maps for some time to come, and greater space is given to those aspects of the work of the year which appear to have immediate importance from an economic point of view.

British Columbia.

During the early part of the year, much of Mr. R. G. McConnell’s time was occupied in completing for publication a report and map of his exploration on the Finlay River, made in 1893. Work was also in progress on the surveys made in West Kootanie during 1894, and on the rocks and minerals obtained from this district and from the Finlay.

,

On the 11th of June, Mr. McConnell resumed field-work in West Kootanie, assisted, as before, by Mr. H. Y. Russel. The work was

“brought to a close on October 5th.

The season available for effective geological work on the high mountain ranges of the Kootanie district, judging from the experience of the last two seasons, is practically limited to the two months of July and August, with the first two weeks of September, and even during this short period, operations are often seriously hindered by forest fires and the dense smoke arising from them. The snow seldom

owweos. SUMMARY REPORT. 23 A

disappears from the high summits before the end of June, and usually E British Col- mbia—Cont

re-appears on the mountain tops before the middle of September. The ”

shortness of the season, taken in conjunction with the rough, wooded,

pathless character of most of the region, necessarily cause its geolo-

gical examination to be a lengthy undertaking.

Mr. McConnell reports as follows on the progress made in his work, and the condition of mining in the district.—*

& Field-work was commenced with an examination of Slocan Lake Operations of

he season. and the surrounding country, which occupied about a month. After completing this, work was continued eastward to Kootanie Lake, and southward to Balfour, along the zone of shales and schists bordering the great granite area of the district. A trip from Kootanie Arm to Slocan Lake and back by the Slocan River was contemplated, but had to be abandoned owing to the early appearance of the snow. The work included a rough topographical survey as well as geological survey of the district, the former being conducted by Mr. H. Y. Russel, the latter by myself.

“Slocan Lake is one of those long, narrow bodies of water which Slocan Lake. occur so frequently throughout the mountainous districts of British Columbia. It occupies part of a great valley, hewn out of the moun- tains long before the present drainage-system was inaugurated, extend- ing from Nakusp on the Upper Arrow Lake, to Kootanie River.

“The lake has a length of twenty-three miles, and an average width of about a mile. Its depth increases, going southward, from 750 feet near the mouth of Wilson Creek, to 930 feet off Cape Horn. Mar ginal flats are absent, except at the mouths of the principal feeders ; and the high mountains which surround it on all sides, rise either gradually, or in precipitous cliffs, from the water’s edge. The slopes of the mountains are covered with a dense coniferous forest, except where forest fires have passed, up to a height of 3000 feet above the lake, and with a scattered growth of pine, spruce and fir, up to a further height, dependant on local conditions, of from 1000 to 2000 feet.

“The region between Slocan Lake and River and Kootanie Lake, Region be- partially examined during the season, is covered mainly by granite, tween Slocan fringed on the north and east by a border of slates and schists, and is Lakes. everywhere of a mountainous character. The granite-mass, originally dome-shaped, has been carved by the drainage-system of the region t into bold craggy mountains and mountain ranges, which culminate in

a rugged mass of snow-clad peaks, situated between the south- end of Nore.—The bearin ngs given throughout this and the succeeding reports are re- ferred to the true meridian unless otherwise specially stated.

British Col- umbia— Cont.

Boundaries of the granite.

Rock-series developed.

24 À Geological Survey Department.

Slocan Lake and Ainsworth, the highest summits of which approach 9000 feet in height above the sea. The principal streams of the district, including Lemon Creek, Ten-mile Creek (Slocan Lake), the south fork of Kaslo Creek, Woodberry Creek and Coffee Creek, radiate from this group and descend rapidly through deep, steep-sided valleys to the main waterways. A second range of prominent peaks, scarcely inferior in height to the central group, occurs north of the Kaslo- Slocan wagon-road. The Whitewater, Lyell Creek, and other tribu- taries of Kaslo Creek, head in glaciers which descend from this range.

“The principal geological boundary in the district between Slocan Lake and River and Kootanie Lake, is the sinuous line separating the granite area from the bordering slates. Starting from Four-mile Creek on Slocan Lake, this line follows that stream in an easterly direction for ten miles, then bends to the north across the range separat- ing Four-mile Creek from Cody Creek and following the latter stream in a northerly direction for a couple of miles. From Cody Creek, the granite border runs almost directly east to ‘l'welve-mile Creek. After crossing this creek the line becomes more irregular, as several spurs leave the granite area and penetrate for varying distances the group of mountains lying between Ten-mile Creek and the South Fork of Kaslo Creek. At the latter stream, the granite recedes a couple of miles, then bends around a deep embayment of slates, and continues on in an easterly direction towards Kootanie Lake. Four miles from the lake, the line of junction turns abruptly southward, and continues in’ this direction until near Balfour, where it bends more to the west and crosses the outlet of Kootanie Lake about four miles below its head. Inliers of slate in the granite, occur at the head of Eight-mile Creek (Slocan Lake), on Four-mile Creek and at other places, while bosses of granite, separated from the main area, break through the slates at Paddy’s Peak, Reco Mountain, and north-east of New Denver.

‘The stratified rocks bordering the granite area are everywhere tilted at high angles, broken by numerous faults, and frequently overturned. They may be divided into four main groups, as follows, in descending order :—A series of dark shales and slates associated with limestones and calcareous quartzites, which may be provisionally named the Slocan slates ; a series of greenish, probably mostly diabase-schists, interbedded with some slates (Kaslo schists) ; a series of dark calc- schists holding occasional bands of limestone and green schists (Nis- conlith series) ; and a basement series of mica-schists, calc-schists, crys-

talline limestones and gneisses (Shuswap series).

*Compare Annual Report, Geological Survey of Canada, vol. IV. (N.S.), part B. The Slocan slates are probably the equivalents of the Adams Lake series, but it may be an advantage for the present, at least, to refer to them by a local name.

cawson. SUMMARY REPORT. 25 À

‘ The Slocan slates occur all around the northern end of Slocan Lake British Col- and extend eastward, striking in a north-westerly and south-easterly J)... bution direction, along the Kaslo-Slocan wagon-road to the Forks of Kaslo of rocks. Creek. The slates of this group strike into the granite area, and with the exception of a narrow strip which skirts the eastern edge of the granites south to near Balfour, are cut off by it. The Kaslo schists were traced from Balfour north to Kaslo Creek, and then in a north-westerly direction to the edge of the map. These schists are altered in places into serpentine. The Shuswap series occurs in a band of varying width along the shores of Kootanie Lake, and was also found on the western side of Slocan Lake near Saw-mill Creek, where it is inclosed in granite-

The classification of the rocks of the district as given above, is based entirely on differences in lithological character, as no fossils were found, nor were any unconformities worked out. The three systems appear in places to graduate into each other, and the lines separating them must be drawn, so far as present evidence goes, in a more or less arbitrary manner. The stratified rocks are traversed by two systems of dykes, one apparently contemporaneous with the granites and the other much younger. The former is cut by the fissures holding the mineral lodes of the district, while the latter, in some cases at least, cuts these fissures.

‘ Mineral veins occur to some extent in all the formations represented Metalliferous in the district, irrespective of age or origin, but are more numerous and “°° better defined in the Slocan slates than in the older stratified rocks or in the granites. The famous Slocan Star occurs in this formation, and also the Alamo, Idaho, Mountain Chief, Noble Five, Reco, Alpha, Wellington, Payne, Washington, No. 1, Skyline, and dozens of other promising leads. The Eureka and the great Silver King vein, occur in the Kaslo schists, and the Bluebell and Highland in the Shuswap series. As examples of those occurring in the granite, may be men- tioned the Fisher-maiden, Enterprise and Arlington.

“ A number of mines and prospects in the district were visited during Rich veins in

the progress of the work and brief notes were taken, some of which may granite.

be of interest here. The granite area south of the main Slocan mining

camp, hitherto somewhat neglected, was prospected pretty thoroughly

during the past season, and a large number of claims—some of con-

siderable promise—were staked out. Among those visited in this

section were the Arlington, celebrated for the richness of its ore, the

Nancy Hanks, Tamarac, Dayton and Enterprise.

“The Arlington, on Springer Creek, located in 1894 by C. E. Fielding, follows a zone of shattered rock, which as shown in the single

British Col- umbia— Cont.

Claims on Eight-mile Creek.

26 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

opening so far made, hasa width of from six to eight feet. The ore occurs mostly in siliceous stringers, ranging in width up to four or eight inches, which run in an irregular manner through the fissured and altered granite, but is also found disseminated through, or in small bunches, in the granite itself. It consists principally of native silver, galena, gray copper and argentite. The lead strikes in a north-easterly direction and is reported to be traceable all the way to Ten-mile Creek, a distance of over ten miles. Claims have been staked on it for this distance.

“ À large boulder of altered granite, holding stringers of ore resem- bling that of the Arlington, occurs on the Speculator, the third claim north of the Arlington. The Tamarac is situated on Whittaker Creek, a branch of Springer Creek The workings here have exposed a quartz- seam, from twelve to eighteen inches in width, holding grains and bunches of galena, argentite, and ores of copper. The seam is very regular and has been uncovered for a distance of 250 feet. The Dayton and Nancy Hanks are somewhat similar in character.

“The Enterprise, situated on the northern slope of the ridge separat- ing Springer from Ten-mile Creek, was located in 1894 by R. Kirk- wood. This claim is crossed by a well-defined fault-fissure, running in a north-easterly direction and dipping to the south-east at an angle of 80°. The fissure has a width of tweive to eighteen inches and is filled partly with ore and partly with a quartz gangue. The ore consists mostly of galena with some gray copper, and in common with other ores in the granite belt is high grade in silver. A large number of claims have been staked out in the vicinity of the Enterprise, but little develop- ment work has so far been done on them.

“The claims on Eight-mile Creek, north of Ten-mile Creek, occur mostly in an inlier of hard, rusty slate or schist, several square miles in extent, inclosed in the granite. The L. H., Baby Ruth, Los Vegas, Mountain View, Granite Mountain, Daisy, and a number of others are situated on this strip. The L. H., isa gold claim of a somewhat peculiar character. The slates are fissured along an east-and-west line, and the schistose country-rock adjoining the line of fracture on the south has been altered, silicified, and impregnated in places with ore, along a zone varying in width from 20 to 40 feet. The alteration varies greatly in intensity, in some places being scarcely noticeable, while in others the rock has lost all traces of its original character. The ore appears to consist mostly of native arsenic, mispickel, pyrite, and pyrrhotite, distributed through the vein in an irregular manner. Assays from

- samples taken at intervals across the whole width of the lead (40 feet)

are stated to have averaged $23 in gold to the ton, and others taken

sawoon. SUMMARY REPORT. 27 À

across a selected band seven feet in width, to have averaged $125 to British Col- the ton umbia—Cont.

“The Baby Ruth, situated on a branch of Eight-mile Creek, about half a mile below the L. H., shows a well defined fault-fissure a couple of feet in width, filled with a quartzose gangue and bands of residual clay. The Granite Mountain and Mountain View leads, appear to con- sist of narrow tongues of slate penetrating the granite. The slate is partly altered, and mineralized to some extent with pyrite, blende, and galena. The Los Vegas and Daisy, both reported to be valuable claims, were not examined.

‘Small inliers of slate occur in the granite in what is known as the Galena Farm Galena Farm, a plateau south-east of Silverton, so called on account of the numerous galena boulders scattered over it. The principal claims examined here were the Noonday and Currie. The workings on the Currie consist of a small shaft and a short tunnel, both inaccessible at the time of my visit, on account of water. The lead where un- covered, has a width at the surface of ten to fifteen feet, and con- sists of a brecciated mass of quartz and angular fragments of slate, mingled with galena, blende, and pyrite. It appears capable of yield- ing a large quantity of concentrating ore. The Noonday, situated near the junction of the slate inlier with the granite, is somewhat similar in character.

“The known area of the mineralized granite belt, was greatly en- larged during the latter part of the season, and now includes all the country drained by the various branches of Lemon and Cedar creeks, and probably extends even farther to the south and east. The rough character of the country, and the almost total absence of trails, has prevented much development work being done on the various lodes, beyond that required for assessment work, and it is highly desirable that readier means of access to this promising region should be opened up.

“ À short account of some of the principal mines in the main Slocan Slocan mining mining camp, was given in my summary of last year’s work. A number “™P: of others were visited during the past season, but it will be impossible here to make more than the briefest mention of these.

‘This camp has passed the doubtful stage, and is now in a thoroughly prosperous condition. The workings on the older mines have proved the continuity in depth of the lodes in most cases, and new ore-bodies are constantly being opened up. Several tramways and concentrators are in course of construction, and two lines of railway will this winter compete for the rapidly increasing output of ore.

British Col- umbia— Cont.

The Alpha.

The Alamo.

28 A Geological Survey Department.

‘ The principal mines in the Slocan district, are situated on the slopes of the long irregular ridge separating Four-mile Creek from the South Fork of Carpenter Creek, and on the ridge separating the South Fork of Carpenter Creek from Seaton Creek, or the Middle Fork of Carpenter Creek. The former ridge is known as Silver Mountain, and around it are grouped the Alpha, the Reed and Robertson groups, the Canadian group, the Mountain Chief, the Alamo, Idaho, Cumberland, Yakima, Wonderful, Ruth, Slocan Star, Ivanhoe and many others.

“The Alpha is situated on the Four-mile slope of the mountain, about two miles east, and 2500 feet above Slocan Lake. The steep slope near the mine, is overcome by a gravity tramway 1600 feet in length, from the foot of which a good wagon-road leads to the lake. The Alpha lead has the character of a crushed zone, 20 to 40 feet in width, running through shales and limestones. The strike is N. 24° E., and the dip is south-easterly at an angle, near the surface, of 35°. The ore occurs mostly in large pockets, one of which yielded 800 tons, and two others about 200 tons each. It consists principally of rich galena, with some blende, and gray copper. Considerable tunnelling has been done at this mine, and at the time of my visit an incline, fol- lowing the dip of the lead, was being sunk. Farther to the south-east on the same slope, are the Reed and Robertson claims, situated an a strong lead 20 to 30 feet in width, which is stated to be traceable from Four-mile Creek to the summit of the ridge, a distance of over two miles. Still farther east, on the crest of the ridge, are the Chamblet and Britomarte claims.

“ Among the more important mines on the northern slope of Silver Mountain, are the Mountain Chief, from which 1000 tons of ore has already been shipped, and the Alamo, Idaho, and Cumberland, on the head of Hauser Creek. The Idaho was idle at the time of my visit, but good forces of men were engaged on both the Alamo and the Cumberland.

“The Alamo affords a good type of the leads in this vicinity. It shows a well-defined fissured zone from five to ten feet in width, traversing the slates in an easterly direction and filled with crushed and brecciated slate, calc-spar, spathic iron, quartz, and ore. The dip is southerly, at an angle of 75° in the upper levels, but lower down it becomes nearly vertical. The lead is situated on a steep slope, and, like most of the mines in the Slocan district, offers especial facilities for being mined by tunnels, four of which have been driven into it at levels about 100 feet apart, in all of which important bodies of pure and concentrating ore have been exposed. The ore consists principally of galena, with some blende, gray copper, pyrargyrite and pyrite.

sareon. SUMMARY REPORT. 29 a

‘ A concentrator of 100 tons capacity, was erected by the Slocan Mining Company at the mouth of Hauser Creek during the past sum- mer, to treat the concentrating ores from the Alamo and other mines in the vicinity. À tramway a mile and a quarter in length, has also been built up Hauser Creek, from the end of which wagon-roads lead to the different mines.

“On the north slope of Silver Mountain ridge, are the Slocan Star, Ruth, Ivanhoe, Wonderful, and other claims. A description of the Slocan Star was given in last year’s summary. The fourth tunnel, which was incomplete at the time of my former visit, reached the ledge at a distance of 500 feet. Drifts—mostly in ore-—are now being driven along the lead, and an upraise to connect with No. 3 level, 300 feet above, is being made. A concentrator of 100 tons capacity, con- nected with the workings by a tramway 1900 feet in length, is also in course of construction in connection with this mine.

“The Ruth lead, has a width of from four to ten feet, and strikes S. 70° W., with a dip to the south of 65°. The workings consist of a tunnel 300 feet in length, from near the end of which an upraise has been made to the surface. One hundred and fifty tons of ore, princi- pally galena, stated to carry 120 ounces of silver to the ton, has been shipped from this mine, and considerable bodies of ore are in sight.

“The Ivanhoe, situated high up on the slope of the mountain, shows several nearly parallel veins. Two cross-cut tunnels—the upper 50 feet and the lower 90 feet in length, connected by an upraise of 70 feet— have been driven, and drifts have been extended along the lead from the ends of both tunnels for varying distances. The workings have exposed an ore-chute sixty to seventy feet in length, with a maximum width of five feet of pure and concentrating ore. A contract for a third cross-cut tunnel, 150 feet below No. 2, had been let at the time of my visit.

‘The leads on the ridge separating the South from the Middle Fork of Carpenter Creek, are crowded even closer together than those on Silver Mountain ridge. On the south slope, among others, are the Noble Five group, Last Chance, Goodenough, Reco, Deadman, and Bluebird, and on the north slope the Best, Antelope, Rambler, Sur- prise, Antoine, R. E. Lee and Washington. The Payne, the first mine staked in the district, is situated on the crest of a spur of the same ridge.

“The Noble Five group, consists of a string of five claims, located on the same lead. The strike is N. 60° E., and the dip is to the north-west at an angle of 45°. The lead has in places the character of a true

British Col- umbia— Cont.

Mines on north slope of Silver Mtn.

Mines on Reco Mtn. ridge.

Noble Five xProup.

British Col- umbia-—Cont.

The Dead- man.

The (ood- enough.

The Last Chance.

30 A Geological Survey Department.

fissure, and in others that of a crushed and fissured zone filled with masses of the slaty country-rock, quartz, calc-spar and spathic iron. It varies in width from a few inches to ten feet or more.

‘ The Bonanza King and World’s Fair, two members of this group, have been worked continuously since the spring of 1892. The work- ings consist of five tunnels, following the lead at various depths, with a number of upraises and intermediate drifts. The three upper tunnels, which have lengths respectively of 120, 240 and 400 feet, pierce an important ore-chute from 60 to 100 feet in length, and from a few inches to six feet in width. The ore-body widens from No. 1 to No. 2 tunnel and narrows somewhat at No. 3. A fourth tunnel, at a further depth of 350 feet, is now heading towards the chute, but has not yet reached it. The ore consists mostly of galena and blende, with their decomposition-products, classed locally as carbonates, and some gray copper, native silver and a dark earthy mineral which has not yet been examined, but probably consists largely of argentite. A band of the latter in No. 2 tunnel, three to four inches in width, is stated to have averaged 1500 ounces of silver to the ton. A thousand tons of ore stated to have averaged 135 ounces in silver to the ton, has already been shipped from this mine, and the owners expect to ship a second thousand during the coming winter.

“The Deadman, a parallel lead situated 400 feet east of the Noble Five group, has a somewhat similar character. The ore-body has here a length of 40 to 50 feet and a maximum width of five feet. It has been opened up by two tunnels, each about 200 feet in length, and a third tunnel 135 feet lower down has been started towards it. The ore is very high grade in character. The output of shipping ore up to the present, is stated to have amounted to about 300 tons.

‘ East of the Deadman, on the same slope, are the Reco and the Blue- bird, accounts of which were given in last year’s Summary. The Goodenough, a small but exceedingly rich lead, adjoins the Reco on the south. The ore-chute, varying in width from traces up to six or seven inches, has been followed for a considerable distance on the neighbouring Reco claim. The ore consists mainly of galena and carbonates with some ruby silver and gray copper. A shipment of ten tons of the undecomposed ore from this mine, is stated to have averaged 776 ounces, and another shipment of five tons 817 ounces of silver to the ton.

“The Last Chance, is situated above the Noble Five mine. The sur- face appearance of this lead was somewhat unpromising, but an in- cline run down on it to a distance of 80 feet, resulted in the dis-

vewson. SUMMARY REPORT. 31 A

covery of a chute of ore showing from one to three feet and a half of British Col- pure high-grade galena, bordered by several feet of carbonates and ™>ia—Cont concentrating ore. The chute was followed for 40 feet, when

work was stopped by water, and a tunnel is now being driven to-

ward it at a lower level.

“The claims on the northern slope, occur mostly near the heads of Claims on the various tributaries of McGuigan’s Creek. The R. E. Lee, is situ- north slope of ated above McGuigan’s Lake near the crest of the ridge. This lead ridge. has a width of about three feet and follows a well-defined fissure which cuts sharply through the hardened quartzose slates and granitic dykes which form the country-rock. The vein-filling is principally broken slate with some quartz. A tunnel has been driven along the lead for a distance of 100 feet. The first 20 feet proved barren, but beyond that, a layer of ore from three to six inches in thickness rest- ing on the foot-wall, was followed all the way. At the breast of the tunnel, ore occurs on both walls. The ore is principally a high-grade galena, shipments averaging 133 ounces to the ton in silver and 75 per cent lead.

‘ North-west of the R. E. Lee is the Washington. This mine has The Washing- been idle for some time, but will be worked during the present season. “”- The principal openings consist of a tunnel 300 feet in length, from which an upraise of 180 feet leads to a short tunnel above. An ore-body was struck 140 feet in from the mouth of the tunnel, and followed for 120 feet, from which 1500 tons of shipping ore and about 5000 tons of concentrat- ing ore have already been taken. A third tunnel, 146 feet lower down, has been driven in 300 feet, and will be continued to the ore- chute and connected with No. 2 by an upraise, during the present season. A tramway 1500 feet in length and a concentrator of 50 tons capacity are also projected in connection with this mine.

‘ East of the Washington is the Surprise basin, occupied by the Sur- Best Basin. prise and the Antoine claims, neither of which was examined ; and still further east are the Best and Dardanelles basins. The ridge between the last two basins, is formed by a fine-grained granitic boss about half a mile in diameter, on which are situated the Best, Rambler, Antelope and Caribou claims. The granite is traversed by numerous small faults and seamed with irregular quartz-veins of all sizes, which often carry considerable quantities of tetrahedrite rich in silver. A specimen from the Antelope, assayed in the laboratory of the Survey, ran over 3000 ounces of silver to the ton. Besides the tetrahedrite, some galena, iron- and copper-pyrites and blende are also usually present. A number of the ledges in this group have been

32 À Geological Survey Department.

British Col- opened up by short tunnels and shafts, but no extensive development umbia— Cont. work has yet been undertaken.

Dry-ore belt. “The North Fork of Carpenter Creek runs through what is known as the ‘dry-ore’ belt. The leads in this district are usually siliceous in character and carry bodies of highly argentiferous tetrahedrite, galena and other silver ores. Most of the claims are situated north of the area examined during the past year. At the Miner Boy, a fairly regular quartz-vein, from a few inches to a couple of feet in width, has been followed over 100 feet by a tunnel, and has also been traced west from the face of the tunnel for an equal distance. Some shipments of rich ore have been made from this mine, but I was unable to obtain statistics of these, as the mine was idle at the time of my visit.

‘ At the London group, north of the Miner Boy, the slates and as- sociated quartzites are cut by several ore-bearing quartz-seams, ranging in size from stringers up to a foot or more in thickness. The seams have been opened up by a couple of short tunnels, and a long tunnel is now being driven in to intersect them in depth.

Claims east of “ East of the main Slocan mining camp, numerous claims have

quan Slocan been located, both north and south of Kaslo Creek, all the way to Kootanie Lake, but only a few of these were examined. South-west from Bear Lake, is the Lucky Jim, situated on what appears to be a faulted line of contact between the slates and a brecciated band of limestone. The ore occurs in large pockets and side fissures pene- trating the limestone. About fifty tons'have been shipped.

Claims on ‘North of Kaslo Creek and east of Murray Creek, is the Welling- mouth fork © ton. This lead resembles somewhat that of the Alpha, and may be described as a wide crushed zone, traversing the slates in an east-and- west direction and dipping to the north. The crushed slates hold stringers and pockets of quartz, spathic iron and calc-spar. A shaft was sunk near the lead to a depth of seventy-seven feet, but was abandoned on account of the water, and the mine is now worked by tunnels. The upper tunnel cross-cuts the slates for 170 feet, and a drift then follows the lead for 100 feet. The drift has exposed an ore-chute sixty to seventy feet in length, stated to average two feet in width at the bottom of the tunnel. It was covered at the time of my visit. A second cross-cut tunnel from the surface to the lead, 700 feet in length and 160 feet below No. 1, has just been completed. The Welling- ton ore consists of a fine-grained galena, with blende and gray copper. One hundred and fifty tons, stated to uverage 250 ounces in silver to

the ton, have been shipped.

oawson. SUMMARY REPORT. 33 A

‘“ Farther east, near the head of Lyell Creek, is the Eureka, situated British Col- on a well-defined fissure cutting the green schists of the Kaslo series. umbia— Cont. The workings consist of a cross-cut tunnel 150 feet or so in length, from the end of which a drift follows the lead for 300 feet. An ore- chute twenty feet in length, from which some shipments have been

made, was passed through, eighty feet from the end of the tunnel.

“On the South Fork of Kaslo Creek are the Montezuma, Daisy and Ben Hur, the first on a tributary and the two latter near the main stream. The Montezuma lead strikes about N. 30° E. At the main showing, the lead divides, one branch continuing on in nearly the same direction, while the other bends more to the south. The southern branch has a width of ten feet. The south-western one is somewhat smaller and soon narrows in. A tunnel, following ore all the way, has heen driven in for a distance of about 100 feet. The ore consists principally of argentiferous galena and blende, with their decomposition-products. On the Daisy, two leads are exposed, about 100 feet apart. They strike N. 60° E. with a dip of 80° to the S. E,, and are each from seven to eight feet in width. On the upper lead a shaft, following a short ore-chute adjoining the hanging-wall, has been sunk to a depth of twenty-five feet. The ore consists of argentiferous galena, blende, iron- and copper-pyrite:, and some native copper. Gold assays up to $1.40 a ton have also been obtained.

‘‘The Ben Hur, situated north-east from the Daisy, shows two leads each eight to ten feet in width, which are supposed to be a continua- tion of those on the latter claim.

‘In the Ainsworth district, the principal mines being worked are Ainsworth the Highland, No. 1 and Skyline. A short description of the High- istrict. land mine, which is situated on a well-defined fissure cutting the schists of the Shushap series, was given in last year’s summary. The lower tunnel mentioned there, has since been driven in to a distance of 480 feet. Ore was met with 330 feet from the face of the tunnel, and has been followed continuously for 150 feet. An upraise to the surface, along the lead, was also nearly completed at the time of my visit. A large quantity of shipping and concentrating ore is now in sight in the mine.

“The Skyline, and No. 1, occur in limestone bands associated with Character of the Slocan slates, and are situated, the former about 200 yards and the yo and latter about half a mile east of the granite area. The deposits worked in these mines are of a somewhat puzzling character, and would require extended study before conclusions of value could be arrived

at concerning them. They appear to occupy fractured zones of con-

British Col: umbia—Cont.

Hendryx.

34 A Geological Survey Department.

siderable but unknown width, traversing the limestones and slates in a nearly north-and south direction, and dipping to the west. The zones have been silicified, and impregnated with ore in a selective man- ner, by ascending solutions.

‘ The ore occurs in flattened ore-bodies, occasionally ten to twelve feet in thickness, which, in the case of the Skyline, according to Mr. Scott MacDonald, the manager, often cross’nearly horizontally from the foot- to the hanging-wall. The workings on the Skyline include an incline eighty-seven feet deep sunk on the lead, and a shaft far- ther to the west, 200 feet deep, from the bottom of which a drift 120 feet in length and an upraise of forty feet lead to the incline, and the chambers of ore at present being worked. The Skyline ore consists of a porous siliceous rock, carrying a dark mineral, probably mostly argentite, native silver and galena, along with soine gray copper and iron- and copper-pyrites. It averages from forty-five to fifty ounces in silver per ton. The present output of from ten to fifteen tons per day, is shipped directly to the Pilot Bay smelter, its siliceous character rendering it valuable as a flux for the more basic ores of the district.

“The workings on No. 1, are somewhat irregular, owing to the different managements under which they have been carried out. The ore consists of a siliceous matrix, holding argentiferous iron-pyrites, native silver, galena and several other minerals which have not yet been identified. The pyrite, when separated from the gangue is stated to assay 790 to 800 ounces in silver per ton, and the galena 200 to 300 ounces. A concentrator of seventy-five tons capacity has been built at this mine, and the output, amounting to about fifteen tons daily, is mostly concentrated before shipment.

‘‘ Besides the mines mentioned above, some work is also being done in the district on the Highlander, the Lady of the Lake, the claims of the Canadian Pacific Mining and Milling Company at the mouth of Woodberry Creek and at other places.

‘‘ At Hendryx, the Bluebell is in active operation. This mine is situated on a band of crystalline limestone interbedded with the Shuswap schists, which has been fractured in various directions. The ore, consisting mostly of low-grade galena and pyrrhotite with some blende, iron- and copper-pyrites, and their decomposition-products, occurs either pure or disseminated through a calcareous and occasionally a siliceous matrix. It occupies irregular chambers in the limestone, some of which are of huge dimensions. The ore-body being worked at present, including some large horses of limestone, measures approximately 70 feet in width by 200 feet in length and 150 feet in height. Forty thousand

ouweon. SUMMARY REPORT. 35 A

tons of pure and concentrated ores have been shipped from this mine British Col- during the year, and prodigious quantities remain in sight. umbia— Cont.

“The Toad Mountain district was not visited during the season. Toad Moun- A Halliday wire-rope tramway, four miles and a half in length, lead- tain. ing from the Silver King mine to a fiat near Nelson, has been con- structed here by the Hall Mines Company, and a Fraser & Chalmers 100-ton blast furnace will be completed, so I was informed by Mr. Croasdaille, by the end of the present year. (1895.)

“ Before returning east, a brief visit was made to Trail Creek. Trail Creek. short account of the geology and principal mines in this district was given in last year’s report, but since then great progress has been made. The number of working mines has been largely increased, the known area of the mineral belt extended in all directions, a well-built town of 2000 or more inhabitants has sprung up near the mines and a second town is being built near the mouth of Trail Creek. Cursory ex- aminations of some of the working mines were made, but of too general . a character to add much to previous knowledge, and as part of the coming season will probably be spent in this district, it would be injudicious here to enter into much detail. The greater part of the mines are situated on an eruptive area, which appears to consist largely of diorites and uralite porphyrites cut by numerous dykes. The eruptive area is traversed, in an approximately east-and-west direction, by lines of fracture dipping to the north and holding ore-bodies ranging in size from mere stringers up to great lodes 30 feet or more in width and from 100 to 200 feet in length. The ore consists. mostly of gold- bearing pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite, but mispickel, galena, blende, pyrite and other minerals also occur.

‘Work on the Leroy and War Eagle, the two principal mines of Principal

the camp, has been actively prosecuted during the year with highly 1% satisfactory results. The shaft on the Leroy is now down over 380 feet, and the lode followed appears to be strengthening with depth. At the 350-foot level, the ore-chute has a length of 168 feet and a width, at one point, of over 40 feet. The result of the workings on the Leroy, the pioneer mine of the camp, has inspired confidence in the perman ency of the numerous other less developed lodes in the district.

“ At the War Eagle, which is worked by tunnels, the great yield of the past season, amounting to many thousands of tons of rich ore, has been taken mostly from a stope on the main ore-body between the first level and the surface. A second tunnel over 800 feet in length and about 100 feet below No. 1, is now nearly completed to the chute, and a third one, which when finished will have a length of 1800 feet,

36 A Geological Survey Department.

British Col- has been started. At the Josie, a tunnel following the lead has been

umbia—Cont Given in to a distance of 330 feet, and three ore-bodies have been opened up, the further one of which has a length, to the breast of the tunnel, of 128 feet. Considerable work has also been done in this vici- nity on the Cliff, the Nickle Plate and the Centre Star, and farther to the east important ore-bodies have been developed on the Iron Horse: the Kootanie, the Columbia and numerous other points.

‘ South of Trail Creek, development work is being pushed, among other claims, on the Crown Point, where a wide body of rich ore has been followed to a depth of 65 feet, and on the R. E. Lee. West of these are the Homestake, the Deer Park and a number of other import- ant claims. -

Machinery ‘The large amount of work being done, or in contemplation, in

employed. this district, is illustrated to some extent by the following list of machinery, part of which is in active operation and the remainder ordered. This has been kindly furnished me by Mr. J. D. Sword, agent at Rossland for the Ingersoll Rock Drill Company.

‘“ At the Leroy, one 7-drill compressor and eight Ingersoll drills, two hoisting engines, three boilers (100 h.p., 80 h.p. and 40 h.p.) One diamond drill. .

“ At the War Eagle, one 20-drill compressor, ten Ingersoll drills, two 100-h.p. boilers.

‘ At the Josie, one 7-drill Ingersoll compressor and drills, also diamond drill and hoisting engine.

‘ At the Centre Star, one 7-drill Ingersoll compressor and drills, 80- h.p. boiler.

‘ At the R. E. Lee, one 30-h.p. boiler, Ingersoll hoisting engine and steam drills.

‘ At the Iron Horse, one 5-drill Ingersoll compressor, drill and pump.

At the Columbia and Kootanie, one 30-drill Ingersoll compressor and drills.

‘ At the Nickle Plate, one hoist and Knowles pump.

“Sampling works of 200 tons capacity, and a matting plant of 125 tons capacity, are also being erected by the British Columbia Smelting Company near the mouth of Trail Creek.

Metallic ‘The following is a list of the metallic minerals which have been re- minerals cognized so far in the West Kootanie district :—Native gold, native silver, native copper, native arsenic, galena, cerrusite, anglesite, altaite, argentite, pyrargyrite, proustite, chalcopyrite, chalcocite, bornite,

Dawson. SUMMARY REPORT 37 A

tetrahedrite, malachite, hæmatite, limonite, siderite, blende greeno- British Col. umbia— Con kite, stibnite, jamesonite, mispickel.

‘In conclusion, I must express my thanks to the various mine owners and managers in the district for permission to visit the different mines, for information, and for many other courtesies,”

In the early part of the year, Mr. J. McEvoy was chiefly occupied Work by Mr.

in the compilation of parts of the Shuswap map-sheet, British Columbia, McEvoy. einploying for that purpose data obtained during the previous summer. Before leaving for the field, about one-half of the area of this sheet had thus been laid down. The field-work of the season was devoted to the area of the same map, in which further surveys and examinations were carried out, such as to nearly complete the required data. There remains, however, some rugged mountain country in the north-east corner of the map, and a geologically complicated tract in the south-west corner, both of which it may be desirable to investigate further before the publication of the sheet.

Mr. McEvoy left Ottawa for the field on the 6th of June and re- turned on the 21st of October. The work accomplished is described by him as follows :—

‘‘ Leaving Kamloops with pack-horses and supplies, my first work Examination was the examination of Louis Creek valley and adjacent moun- of Shuswap tains, where the distribution of the Cambrian rocks was investigated.

A squeezed serpentinous agglomerate was noticed capping the moun- tains north of Fadear Creek, which will probably prove to be a local

variation of the Tod Mountain rocks.

‘ Proceeding to Shuswap and thence northward, the region north of Shuswap Lake was visited and the boundaries of the granite area on Scotch Creek were traced out. The examination of this country was carried on as far as Lee Creek, the next creek above Ross Creek, be- yond which the rocks are exposed on the lake shore and were seen by Dr. Dawson last season.

“Salmon River country was next visited, the return being made by way of Shuswap. Some outlying areas of Tertiary volcanic rocks were traced out and the granite boundaries were ascertained.

‘On the hillside north of the middle crossing of Salmon River, there Gypsum de- is a fine deposit of gypsum, associated with gray schists and white crys- °° talline limestone. The principal deposit, in which a tunnel twenty-five feet long has been made, is one hundred feet and over in thickness. The exact thickness could not be ascertained on account of the heavy cover-

British Col. umbia— Cont.

Region north-

east of Ver- non.

Shuswap River.

38 A Geological Survey Department.

ing of drift on the hillside. Above this is another deposit, with a thickness of thirty feet or more, still higher up are two more small de- posits, one of which shows bedding. The large deposit is massive and perfectly white in some places, showing slight traces of anhydrite. The general strike of the deposits is east-and-west, true, with vertical or high northerly dip. .

‘ At Salmon Arm, the boundaries of the granite composing Granite Mountain and its extension eastward were traced out, and at Canoe Creek a considerable extent of Cambrian rocks was found, running eastward as far as the Spallumcheen Valley.

‘Proceeding toward Vernon, a few points were visited to define granite boundaries on the west side of the valley, where the granite is in contact with black argillite. From Vernon, the B. X. Creek was ascended and the mountains crossed over to Trinity Valley. A great thickness of argillites and grauwackes is developed here. The descent to Trinity Valley was through a wind-fall of heavy larch timber neces- sitating much chopping and making progress slow. Trinity Valley lies north-and-south and is situated, roughly speaking, midway between the valley of Mabel Lake and the Spallumcheen Valley, and approxi- mately parallel to these valleys. The valley is quite wide, over three miles in the widest part, and a number of settlers have lately taken up land in it.

‘ A trip was made into the foot-hills of the Gold Range on the east side of Mabel Lake, following the watershed between Mabel Lake and the Upper Shuswap River (above Sugar Lake). These mountains proved to be composed of rocks of the Shuswap series.

“The North Fork of Cherry Creek and vicinity was next visited and further evidence as to the extent of the argillite area in that neighbourhood obtained. Harry’s Creek and some other points in White Valley were also examined.

‘“ Returning to Enderby, the survey of Spallumcheen or Shuswap River from ‘the islands’ up to Mabel Lake was completed, by means of a canoe. The river is quite shallow in places, being divided by bars and islands. At low water an ordinary log canoe touches bottom on some of the ‘ riffles.” Two miles below the lake, a portage-route one and a quarter mile long begins. At the head of this a large stream flows into the river from the north.

‘ Between the northern end of Trinity Valley and Mabel Lake, a new area of Tertiary volcanic rocks, underlain by shales and sand- stones, was found and traced out.

ouwson. SUMMARY REPORT. 39 A

“On the return journey to Kamloops, some work was done near British Col. Round Lake and Monté Lake. At Campbell’s Creek a day was spent in ascertaining tke boundaries of the Tertiary rocks and the granite

and argillites of that vicinity.

“The amount of agricultural land still unclaimed has frequently Agricultural

been mentioned in previous reports. Much still remains, notably, along the north shore of Shuswap Lake at Lee Creek and Ross Creek. This land has mostly been burned over more than once, and could easily be cleared for cultivation. Irrigation would not be necessary on the greater part of it. Between Enderby and Salmon Arm also there is still unclaimed land which is suitable for settlement.

“The Chinese are still engaged on a small scale in placer mining on Placer min- Scotch Creek and Cherry Creek. During the summer hydraulic mining ing. was commenced on a small stream a mile and a half south of the lower crossing of Salmon River.”

Manitoba And Keewatin.

Mr. J. B. Tyrrell reached Ottawa on 16th January, 1895, after work vy Mr. completing a second traverse of the “Barren Grounds,” as brietiy Tyrrell. mentioned in last Summary Report. He was occupied during the remainder of the winter, and until July, in preparing a report on the whole expedition and a map of the route followed.

On the Sth July, Mr. Tyrrell left Ottawa for the purpose of Country cast examining that portion of Manitoba and Keewatin lying east and of Lake Win- north-east of Lake Winnipeg and drained by streams flowing into that lake or into the upper part of the Nelson River. It was considered advisable to ascertain the geographical and geological features of this tract of country, as it is comprised within the area of a map-sheet in course of preparation. This sheet embraces Lake Winnipeg and its vicinity, already geologically surveyed by Mr. Tyrrell and Mr. D. B.

Dowling. Mr. Tyrrell returned to the ottice on the 19th Octoler.

He reports on the work done as follows :—

“On Saturday, 13th July, I arrived in West Selkirk, and shortly 5... ney north afterwards engaged as canoemen Roderick Thomas, and John Harper, from Winni- two of the men who had accompanied me in 1894, down Kazan River, through the Barren Grounds, to the west coast of Hudson Bay. A cedar canoe, ordered from the Peterborough Canoe Company, had not yet arrived, but Sir John Schultz, then Lieutenant-Governor of Mani- toba, kindly placed a large bass-wood canoe at my disposal. The

40 A Geological Survey Department.

Manitoba and remainder of that day and Monday, were spent repairing and painting

Keewatin— Cont.

Great Play- green Lake.

Guninao River.

this canoe, and obtaining necessary supplies for the season. On Mon- day evening, however, word came from Winnipeg that, my cedar canoe had reached there, and would be in Selkirk by the next train on Wednesday morning. Fortunately, the steamer ‘City of Selkirk’ was leaving for the north on the same day. On Wednesday afternoon we left the wharf and started down the Red River, and at five o’clock the next evening, after a quick and pleasant run over Lake Winnipeg, we reached Selkirk Island, twelve miles north-east of the mouth of the Saskatchewan River. On Friday evening, July 19th, we were towed north-west for about twenty miles, after which we paddled our canoe around the north shore of Lake Winnipeg, reaching its outlet into Nelson River, where the exploratory work of the season was to begin, late on Saturday evening.

‘During the first half of the following week, a survey of Great Playgreen Lake was made with a boat-log and compass. The north- eastern shore is entirely underlain by Archean granites and gneisses, while the south-western shore is composed of the stratified post-glacial clays, which form the long, narrow point separating that lake from Lake Winnipeg. Nelson River issues from Great Playgreen Lake in several channels. The most eastern channel we descended and surveyed past the mouth of Gunisao River to Rossville Mission on the latter lake.

‘ Here an Indian was engaged to accompany us up Gunisao River. Near its mouth, it winds without perceptible current through an ex- tensive marsh, with a width of from fifty to one hundred yards. The water is of a dark brown colour and slightly murky. Up to the Forks, a distance of about eighteen miles, the banks are low and but Scantily wooded, with a few rounded bosses of gray gneiss rising here and there. The stream is interrupted by four rapids, past two of which are portages, respectively 100 and 185 yards in length.

‘ Above the Forks, the south branch is the larger. This was in the first place ascended, for six days, through’ Gunisao Lake, to a small lake above. Many rapids obstruct the stream, up some of which the canoe was hauled with a line, while past twenty-two of the most serious it was necessary to carry the canoe. For about fifty miles above the Forks, the river flows through a clay-covered country slop- ing gently towards the north-west, and has cut a channel or valley varying in depth from six to twenty-five feet. In places it has cut down to the underlying granite or gneiss, which then usually forms a barrier over which is a fall or rapid. Between these rocky rapids is slack water, and rock-exposures are infrequent, and where seen are constantly uf gray or reddish-gray granite.

Dawson. SUMMARY REPORT. 41 a

“The banks are wooded with beautiful, tall, white spruce, apparently Manitoba and ‘ . . eewatin— forming a magnificent coniferous forest, but how far back from the Cone. river this forest.extends, was not determined. There is certainly here a large quantity of valuable timber, much more than was seen any- where else in the country immediately east of Lake Winnipeg, for most of the surface further south has been swept by extensive forest

fires within the last decade.

“ Tn the upper half of the river, the banks are low and much less clearly defined. Deep bays, filled with wild rice, extend between the rocky knolls back to swamps, wooded with tamarack and small black spruce, generaily killed by fire.

“ Gunisao Lake was reached on the first of August. This is a lake of Gunisao clear cold water, with irregular contour, about thirty-two miles in Lake. length, and with steep, almost bare rocky shore of gray granite. The rowan bush was seen growing on some of its many rocky islands.

‘ On descending the south branch again to the Forks, the Indian hired at Rossville mission refused to accompany us up the north branch, so he was put ashore among some of his friends who happened to be passing, and the river was ascended without his assistance.

“ The channel is almost as large as that of the south branch and carries about two-thirds as much water, but the banks, in the lower part at least, are rather more rocky and barren, and almost all the timber has been destroyed by fire.

‘The north branch was ascended for three days and a half, to its North Branch

source in a narrow lake ten miles long, from which there is said to be oF Gunisao a good canoe-route across the height-of-land eastward to Island Lake. There are but ten portages on this river, but for Jong distances the current is very swift, and the river has not yet cut for itself a channel of any considerable depth. Throughout its whole course from the long narrow lake to its mouth, the river flows through a level, clay-covered country, the rock merely rising here and there in knolls and ridges above the general level.

‘“ After the survey of this river was completed, we paddled down the stream to its mouth, and then to Norway House, where we were delayed for several days by heavy winds, but the time was spent in refitting the sail-boat ‘ Pterodactyl’ that had been brought out last year to await our arrival from the north, and was now to be used in travelling southward down the east shore of Lake Winnipeg.

‘On the 20th and 21st August, accompanied by Mr. R. Strath, of Little Play- Rossville mission, we made a survey of Little Playgreen Lake. The &ee” Lake.

42 A Geological Survey Department.

Manitoba and rock is generally a very uniform gray granite, although at one place,

Keewatin— Cont.

Black River.

Pigeon River.

near the south end, it is associated with a dark rather coarse-grained massive diorite, and near the north end of the lake, it is cut by veins of red pegmatite containing crystalline aggregates of molybdenite.

“From Norway House, where we had been kindly welcomed by Mr. J. K. Macdonald, we sailed southward to the mouth of Little Black River. Here, leaving the sail-boat at anchor, and taking a week’s provisions in the canoe, we began the ascent and survey of Little Black River. For twelve miles, up to the first portage, the river is from sixty to one hundred yards wide, with clay banks six to fifteen feet high, wooded with white poplar and small black spruce. A low outcrop of gray granite may be seen here and there. The water is dark-coloured and muddy. Above this portage, the river has a width of from thirty to fifty yards.

“We continued our journey up the river for three days, during which time we made twenty-one portages past as many rapids, besides ascending numerous other rapids with line or paddle. The river was found to rise not far from Gunisao Lake, and there is said to be a practicable canoe-route in high water from it to the lake, but the water was now so low that it was impossible to ascend so far with our canoe. The current was often swift, and the channel crooked and overhung with willows. The banks are everywhere composed of stratified clay or silt, and much of the country had been well wooded, but un- fortunately nearly all of the timber has been destroyed by fire in comparatively recent years. Some small trees of Manitoba maple (Yegundo aceroides) were growing by one of the lower rapids. The rock, wherever seen, was a uniform gray granite.

“ From the mouth of Little Black River, we sailed southward to Berens River, but a heavy storm drove us in to Poplar River, and detained us there for several days. At Berens River, we engaged an Indian as steersman, and on Monday, 9th September, we paddled southward to the mouth of Pigeon River, and began the ascent and survey of that river.

Pigeon River flows into the lake in a deep channel, a hundred yards wide, between sandy points, above which it opens into a shallow weedy lake. Around the sides of this lake were beds of wild rice, then almost ripe, on which great flocks of wild ducks were feeding. The channel gradually narrows and becomes well defined at a little rapid, where it is about forty yards wide, above which it again expands to a width of from sixty to a hundred yards, with even clay banks, six to ten feet high, wooded with tall white poplars. Low bosses of gray gneiss out- crop here and there, on which are growing small groves of oak.

Dawson. ] SUMMARY REPORT. 43 À

“The ascent of the stream was continued for six days, and onSaturday Manitoba and

evening we reached the Hudson’s Bay Company’s trading post at Cont.

Grand Rapids. The work of ascendirg the stream had been rather slow and difficult, for the Indians rarely travel on the river, and the twenty-nine portages that we were obliged to make were often through dense burnt forest and over innumerable fallen trees. In its lower part, the banks are chiefly composed of stratified clay or sand, and the channel is even and well defined, but higher up the banks are of gneiss or pebbly till.

Keewatin—

“From Grand Rapids Lake, Pigeon and Berens rivers, two streams Large pot-

of about equal size, flow westward towards Lake Winnipeg, the former discharging from the south, and the latter from the west side of the lake.

“On Monday morning the return journey to Lake Winnipeg was be- gun down the Berens River. Just below a little rapid with a drop of thirty inches, at the west end of Long Lake, is a granite hill, on the south-east side of which, facing up the river, is a group of seven large pot-holes, besides several smaller ones. The most perfect is thirty- three inches in diameter and ten feet deep, with the top of the rim eight feet above the water at its base, or five feet and a half above the water of Long Lake. Some of the others have been partly cut away, and the smooth rock faces are strongly scored by glacial mark

ing, showing that the pot-holes are of pre-glacial or inter-glacial age,

when the water flowed in a direction more or less opposite to the course of the present river.

oles.

A short distance below Pot-hole Portage, a small sluggish brook Etow’-ima’-mi flows into Berens River from the north. This brook was ascended to River.

a little shallow lake, almost choked with luxuriant beds of wild rice. Near the east end of this lakelet, we entered a small crooked brook which winds through marsh and willow swamp for about three miles to a rocky barrier eight feet high, over which the water flows in its higher stages earlier in the season. Crossing this rock by a portage fifty yards long, we begin the descent of what is now the Etow-imai-mi River. At the next portage, the water runs in a rill a few inches in width. The narrow, winding, but constantly increasing stream was then descended for about thirteen miles, between banks of rock and light gray pebbly till, to a series of heavy rapids, just below which is a well-defined sandy terrace, marking the highest shore-line of the glacial Lake Agassiz seen on the east side of Lake Winnipeg, and the eastern limit of the lacustral deposits. This limit had been determined on several of the other streams flowing into the lake, but nowhere was it so distinctly marked as here. Below this sandy terrace, the

Manitoba and Keewatin— Cont.

Blood River.

Return to Selkirk.

‘General char- acter of coun- try.

44a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

river was followed downward for two days, between wooded banks of stratified lacustral sand and clay, to the point where it empties into Berens River seven miles above its mouth. The rocky bosses seen here and there were everywhere of uniform granite and granitoid gneiss.

At the mouth of Berens River, the sail-boat was sold to Mr. William Flett, and we proceeded southward in our canoe to the mouth of Miskowow or Blood River, where an Indian was engaged to accompany us up the river. The ascent of the stream was begun on September 28th. Miskowow River, near its mouth, averages from forty to fifty yards in width, with water of a slight brownish tinge but not dark-brown like most of the other rivers east of Lake Win- nipeg, indicating that it is derived chiefly from lakes of considerable size, in which the water has been c'eared of its dark colouring matter. The banks are not very high, but are usually rocky, and the water often seems to flow in a preëxisting rocky channel. Between the rocky knolls and ridges, the blue, stratified, lacustral clay that is seen everywhere in the lower country east of Lake Winnipeg, forms well- defined level land, thickly wooded with white poplar, while the rocky knolls are thickly wooded with Banksian pine and oak.

‘ At the fourth portage up the river, three pot-holes, similar to those on Berens River, occur on the summit and south-west side of a granite knoll, and further up the river, above the ninth portage, and about half-way between the mouths of Mine’go and Little Miskowow rivers, a large pot-hole has been bored in the steep eastern side of a granite hill, the surface of which is now strongly scored by glacial markings. the river was ascended to Kowtinagan (or perch-dish) Lake, and then descended again for a short distance and the north branch ascended to Sasaginigak Lake, an irregular body of clear water lying in the midst of low hills of gray granite. From this lake there is said to be an easy canoe-route northward to Grand Rapids on Berens River.

“ After the survey of this lake was completed, the river was again descended to Lake Winnipeg, which was reached on the 4th of Octo- ber. On the following day we were taken on board one of the steamers running on the lake and carried to Selkirk, where we arrived on the evening of October 6th, just as a heavy snowstorm set in. The canoe and outfit were stored at the Government fish-hatchery, the men were paid off, and on Tuesday, October 8th, I started for Winnipeg and the east.

“The country explored was found to be almcst entirely underlain by granites and granitoid gneisses of Laurentian type. A very interesting feature is the occurrence over a very large area, of massive granites

cason. SUMMARY REPORT. 45 À

characterized by plagioclase felspars. These granites and gneisses are Manitoba and generally overlain by stratified clays and silts up to a height of about a Cont. atin— hundred and fifty feet above the present level of Lake Winnipeg.

Much of this area will undoubtedly prove to be excellent farming land,

more especially since the nearness of the great body of water in Lake

Winnipeg will largely prevent the occurrence of summer frosts. Much

of the timber that once covered the country has, unfortunately, been

destroyed by forest fires, but there is still some excellent white spruce

on the banks of Gunisao River.”

ONTARIO. (With adjacent parts of Quebec. )

Mr. W. McInnes, after writing a preliminary report on the Lake Work by Mr. Nepigon region, explored the previous season, devoted the winter of McInnes. 1894-95 to getting together the materials for a report on the region covered by the Shebandowan and Seine River sheets, of the series of geological maps now being prepared of Western Algoma. For the geological colouring of a large part of the last-mentioned sheet, the notes and specimens collected by the late W. H. C. Smith, who had the work in hand at the time of his death, had to be carefully gone over, and the report on this section must to a certain extent be based upon these.

On May 24th, or as early in the season as appeared practicable, Mr. McInnes proceeded to the Rainy River and Thunder Bay districts of Ontario, for the purpose of continuing work upon the map-sheets above mentioned, and in other neighbouring areas, to which much attention has lately been attracted in connection with gold mining. He was assisted, as in former years, by Mr. W. Lawson, who attended to a great part of the surveying work. The following preliminary report on the results obtained is given by Mr. McInnes :—

“The early part of the season, until the 10th of July, was spent in Region east of the region lying to the east of Rainy Lake. Calm or Nonwatin Lake, R#y Lake. on the lower part of the Seine River, was first visited, and the country about it geologically examined for the purpose principally of defining more closely the Keewatin (Huronian) areas in that region. With this object in view, the smaller Jakes and streams in the vicinity were sur- veyed, and additional information was gained of the distribution of the gold-bearing Keewatin rocks. This information has been incorporated in the geological map, of which a preliminary edition has since been published.

‘Ontario Cont.

Stamp-nulls,

Manitou re- gion.

46 A Geological Survey Department.

With the same object in view, a track-survey was made of the Little Turtle River to Dovetail Lake and thence to the Seine River. Many gold locations have been taken up in the district, particularly in the region lying immediately to the east of Bad Vermilion Lake, which is included in the Rainy Lake geological sheet, already published. In this neighbourhood two stamp-mills have been erected, but attention was wisely being directed chiefly to sinking on the properties to prove the extent and value of the veins. At Harold Lake, a five-stamp mill was in operation, and the owners report satisfactory results in free gold, with promise of further profits from treatment of the tailings, for the handling of which they are not yet provided with machinery. Development work was being carried on upon a number of veins on this property.

“The Manitou region was then visited, and surveys were made there which occupied the time until early in September. The eastern shores of Manito Lake and a number of small lakes adjoining were first sur- veyed. Rocks of the Keewatin were found to occupy the whole of the immediate shores of the lake, consisting of green chloritic and other schists with areas of massive diorites, etc. A great thickness of conglomerates and agglomerates, with a schistose, felspathic matrix and well-rounded pebbles of quartzite, felsite, banded chert, impure magne- tite, quartz and occasionally of gneiss, occupies the eastern shore of of the main lake from Beaver Narrows to the head. Irregular belts of the same conglomerates are interbedded with the schists on many of the islands in the lake. Near the north end of the lake, the gneisses approach within a mile of the eastern shore, trending away from the shore southwards, being distant about four miles opposite the Narrows and approaching the lake again to within two miles op- posite Sand Point. A route from Manitou Lake southerly to Rainy Lake by way of Crooked and Round lakes was then surveyed. The north-east branch of Kahopskikamak River was ascended to its head- waters, and surveys made of Eagle Rock, Narrow and Small Trout lakes. Hornblende gneisses were found to occur all along this route. This is the gneiss area above referred to, which comes close to the east- ern shore of Manitou Lake near the head.

“A route was next surveyed west of Manitou Lake, from Pipestone Lake northward through Yoke, Route, Arm, Lawrence, Hill and Rowan lakes and back to Pipestone by Bass Lake and a number of smaller lakes. The Keewatin area of Crow and Pipestone lakes was found to extend northwards to the western arms of Lawrence Lake. Rowan and Hill lakes were found to lie entirely within this Keewatin belt. The biotite-gneiss belt which approaches the western shore of

Dawson. SUMMARY REPORT. 47 À

Manitou Lake, occupies almost the whole of the shores of Lawrence Ontario— . ° ont. Lake, the contact trending north-easterly near its western end.

“The remainder of the season was devoted to sheet No. 9 (Lake Surveys on Shebandowan sheet), where surveys were made of short routes north Shebandowan and south-east of Dog Lake, for the purpose of adding to the topo- graphical details of that region and of gaining a closer knowledge of

the structure of the gneisses which occur everywhere about Dog Lake

“Short trips were made by Mr. Lawson from Buda, Kaministiquia, Murillo, and Kakabeka stations, and the line of the Canadian Pacific railway was examined between Carlstad and English River.

“The gold in the region explored seems to be confined, or at least its Gold mining

occurrence in commercial quantities, to the belts of Keewatin(Huronian) 72" rocks, which, with many minor deflections and diverging arms, extend eastward and north-eastward in broad bands inclosed in the Laurentian gneiss, The areas of these rocks open to the prospector, though limited on the United tates side to the southern margin of Rainy Lake, are very extensive on the Canadian side of the boundary, extending from Rainy Lake easterly through the districts of Rainy River and Thunder Bay. The occurrenceof gold throughout this whole areais now established, and during the past season a discovery of promise was made in rocks of the same class at Jack-fish Bay on the north shore of Lake Superior. The greater part of the actual development and mining work, has been so far confined to the region lying about Bad Vermilion Lake, near the mouth of the Seine River, where the first finds were made on the Canadian side. In this neighbourhood, almost all the land lying between Shoal and Bad Vermilion lakes has been taken up in gold locations. Two mills have been erected in this area, at Hillyer’s and at Weigand’s, and testing shafts have been sunk on a number of the properties. Work in this direction is still going on and the prospects for the establishment of permanent mines seem good.

“ At Rainy Lake, two mills of ten stamps have been built on the Mines and United States side, one at the Little American Mine on the outlet of Tay tak 3. Back Bay and the other at the Lyle Mine on Dry weed Island just south of the boundary line. Neither of these mills were being worked at the time of my visit, but the power was being used for operating drills in the shafts. At the Lyle, a shaft was down 75 feet at that time. It was sunk in a belt of quartz-schist, chloritic and sericitic in layers, and with irregular, small veins, stringers and lenses of quartz, the whole pretty thoroughly impregnated with iron-pyrites and stated to carry gold in good quantity. Nearly opposite, on the Canadian side,

& small amount of work had been done on Sand Point Island, on a well

Ontario— Cont.

Prospecting on Seine River.

Huronian mine and vicinity.

48 a GEOLOGICA . SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

mineralized vein about four feet in thickness, in chloritic schist, cut by a dyke or mass of diorite. The vein was not traced on the strike for any distance.

“The Little Canada, on a small island near by, is a contact deposit, where a coarse diabase with blebs of opalescent quartz cuts chloritic schists. Stringers and lenses of quartz occur near the contact and the general mass of the rock for several feet is well impregnated with iron- and copper-pyrites. Assays giving good returns in gold are reported by the owners of these properties.

‘Prospecting work has extended for some distance up the Seine River, though only in a rambling sort of way, indeed the immediate shores of Rainy Lake and the lower Seine River, with the area already referred to about Bad Vermilion Lake, are the only areas which have yet been gone over with any thoroughness. In the vicinity of Sturgeon Falls, on the Seine River, a number of properties have been taken up as well as further on at Nonwatin or Calm Lake and in the region surrounding it. On most of these properties some preliminary strip- ping work has been done. Still further to the eastward, prospecting work of an even more scattered character has been carried on, and gold properties have been taken up as fur in that direction, on the Seine River belt, as Star Island and Partridge Lake. .

“On an arm of this Keewatin belt, stretching north-easterly towards the Canadian Pacific railway and reaching it at Carlstad station, properties have also been taken up at Lynx Falls and Saw-bill Lake, lying to the east of Clearwater Lake. These properties show free gold, and good assays have been obtained from surface specimens. Only preliminary surface stripping has been done on them.

“On another belt of similar Keewatin rocks, further to the east and south, and separated from the Seine River belt by a band of gneiss about ten miles in width, is situated the Huronian mine and neigh- bouring properties on the same vein. This was equipped with the necessary buildings and machinery, but operations have been suspended since 1885. Following the opening up of the Huronian mine, upwards of one hundred gold locations were taken up on the belt extending north-easterly from the mine, along the strike of the schists and along both shores of Upper Lake Shebandowan. With the exception of the Huronian, little work has been done on any of the properties recorded at that time. Recently renewed attention has been given to this area, and gold properties have been located as far east as Gold Brook, a tributary of the Matawin River.

oxweon. SUMMARY REPORT. 49 À

“In the region about the easterly end of Rainy Lake and extending Ontario— up the Seine River, more than five hundred locations had been taken up. Cont.

“ Though extensive deposits of magnetic iron-ore of high percentage Iron ores. have been recorded along the Atikokan River, beyond testing with the diamond drill and some preliminary stripping, no mining work has been done.

“ Further east, south of Finmark station on the Canadian Pacific railway and near the Matawin River, are other deposits of iron, which have been stripped and tested pretty thoroughly by the diamond drill, but although the deposits are promising enough, actual mining has not yet begun. Further deposits of iron have been located at various points along the different Keewatin belts, but nowhere else has any considerable work been accomplished.

‘ The occurrence of gold has now been established over practically General dis- the whole district lying between Lake of the Woods and Lake Superior, ee of confined, however, as far as our present experience goes, to the belts of Keewatin (Huronian) rocks. It occurs throughout these belts in impregnations of bands of the country rock, in parallel sets of bedded or interfoliated segregation veins, and in well-defined fissure-veins which cut the containing rocks without regard to the direction of their foliation. Any of these forms of occurrence might under proper conditions constitute good paying properties.

“The discovery during the past summer of a gold-bearing vein which promises well, at Jack-fish Bay, on the north shore of Lake Superior, is interesting, as it occurs in rocks which we believe to be practically a continuation of those of the district under consideration.”

Mr. E. D. Ingall spent a considerable part of the summer in the work by Mr. investigation in the field of the deposits of iron-ores in the country Ingall. traversed by the Kingston and Pembroke railway. The circumstances under which this work was taken up have already ben explained. In company with Mr. Ingall, I visited Kingston for the purpose of con- ferring with the gentlemen interesting themselves in the initiation of iron-smelting in that vicinity. We then together visit:d some of the best known mines, and‘ subsequently Mr. Ingall (on August 13th) began a more detailed examination of the points already visited, as well as of many other known deposits of ore, which was continued until October 28th. On the work accomplished, Mr. Ingall reports as follows :—

“The main questions upon which it was desired to obtain further Questions to information were as follows :— be answered.

Ontario— Cont.

Ore deposits visited.

Frontenac co inty.

50 A Geological Survey Department.

“The quantity of available ore from immediately accessible locali- ties ?

“ The quality of the same ?

“The first question, for its solution requires a correct understanding of the nature of the deposits of the district, and, therefore, of their reliability as to continuity in length, depth and thickness. This is more particularly the case owing to there being no mines at present working from which to judge of the behaviour of the deposits in depth. At a number of places extensive open'ngs have been made, but work has been discontinued throughout the district for several years, and, the excavations being now filled with water, nothing but the surface features remain available for the study of the question.

“Tt is thus evident that, using the term ‘ore in sight’ in its proper sense, at none of the places visited were the conditions such as to allow of measurements being made of the cubic contents, and therefore of the tonnage of any block of ore, unless one agsumed or imagined, at least one of the three dimensions necessary to be ascertained. At some places there was found to be a stock-: ile of ore selected from the material mined ; but, apart from that, the question of available ore becomes one of judging, ina general way, the possibilities of the supply from deposits already discovered and worked, and of the probability of discovering yet other deposits throughout the district in the future.

‘Tn order to form an opinion on these points, visits were made to as many as possible of the reported deposits of iron-ore, to the number of over forty, where, besides examining all openings, measuring all ore exposures and collecting illustrative specimens, both of area and rocks, surface surveys were in many places made, as well as readings with the dip-needle. The points visited, including many reported hematite occurrences, were as follows :—The Bluff Point and Calabogie mines of the Calabogie Mining Company ; the Coe Mine; the Martel, or Wii- son ; the Culhane; the Williams or Black Bar, and the Lerond mines, all in Bagot township, and within a radius of three miles of Madawaska station on the Kingston and Pembroke railway ; the Radenhurst and Caldwell properties in Lavant township and near Flower station, and in the same township the Wilbur mine ; the Robertson and Mary mines near Mississippi station in Palmerston township, all situated near the line of the Kingston and Pembroke railway north of Sharbot Lake. Be- tween this point and Kingston, the mines of the Zanesville group were visited, namely, the Zanesville or Glendower mine ; the Howe mine and the Black Lake mine. Of the district tributary to Kingston, by way of the Rideau Canal, time only permitted visits to the two chief places, viz., the Chaffey and Yankee mines near Newboro’.

saweon. SUMMARY REPORT. 51 A

“In the south-western corner of Lanark county, the mines visited Ontario— were the old Foley mine openings with those adjacent to it, and several Cont. reported hematite occurrences in Bathurst township. In Dalhousie township visits were made to the old Playfair hematite mine and to a Lanark number of reported indications of the same mineral in that vicinity, Unty

as well as to one on the eastern shore of Dalhousie Lake.

“In the township of South Sherbrooke, the mines visited were the South Sher- Christie’s Lake ; the Bygrove ; the Fournier (with the adjacent Allen brooke. mine in North Crosby); the Silver Lake and others near Christie's Lake, whilst near Maberly on the Canadian Pacific railway, in the northern part of the township, examination was made of the range of properties, taken up for iron, extending from near the station westward to the property of Mr. Rudd in Ose township. Although somewhat distant from the present railway communications, a trip was made to the Yuill mine near the eastern end of White Lake in Darling town- ship. The above, together with reported hematite occurrences in Storrington township on Dog Lake, which connects with the waters of the Rideau canal, on Birch Lake in Bedford township, and some other points of lesser importance, constitute the examples it was found possible to visit in the time at disposal.

“The geology of this part of Ontario has already been reported upon by the Geological Survey. In the Geology of Canada, 1863, and in the Reports of Progress for 1870-71, 1871-72, 1872-73 and 1874- 75 particulars will be found of the results of the investigations made by former officers of the staff.

“In a general way the rocks of the district can be described as & Racks of the

series of schistose and gneissic beds with interspersed belts of crystal- region exam: line limestones, which latter often persist for miles. The schistose rocks may be roughly classed as micaceous and hornblendic, whilst more basic rocks, probably dioritic in nature, are also frequent. A definite opinion as to the relationships of these more basic rucks to the rest of the series could not of course be based upon the present work, 80 that nothing further can be said as to whether they are merely basic members of the series or intrusive masses in it. The series seems to havea very general dip southward over the parts visited, often at quite low angles. To the south it is overlain unconformably by the basal beds of the Cambro-Silurian formation, represented by the basal conglomerates and false-bedded sandstones of the Potsdam with the overlying limestones at Kingston.

“ Although the ores mined in this district so far, have been almost altogether magnetites, in the past the Dalhousie or Playfair mine

Ontario— Cont.

Nature of ore- deposits,

Erroneous ideas concern- ing these.

Aggregate im- portance.

52 A Geological Survey Department.

shipped hematite for several years, and at many points in the district similar ore is reported as occurring, although it has nowhere else been developed to any extent. '

“ Magnetite. It would be premature to pass any final opinion upon the exact nature of the deposits, previous to the thorough examination and working out of the specimens and other data collected, but in speaking of the district in general and its probable future ore-pro- ducing capacity, a correct judgment could not be formed if one ignored the fact that the deposits are irregular in their nature. It would seem as if, so far, this feature had hardly been recognized sufficiently, and thus we find most observers in the past assuming that the ore occurs in beds and therefrom erroneously inferring the continuity of the ore- bodies between widely separated outcrops, and in some cases forming thus most exaggerated estimates of the amount of ore which could be taken as proved to exist.

‘Then also in using the dip-needle, this same error would appear to have been frequent. If, for instance, on a given run of rock or direc- tion across country, a few high dip-readings were obtained in a dis tance of several miles, it would be assumed as proved that a continu ous bed of ore exists, only requiring sinking on it to open it up for ex- traction. In travelling through the country it was pointed out, that by so using the dip-needle comparatively little can be proved when, as in most cases, the observations have not been taken sufficiently close together to justify definite conclusions. Also, that all such conclu- sions must be modified and interpreted in the light of knowledge ac. quired by a study of the worked deposits of the nature and habits of the same. For example, it was found that many of the worked de- posits consisted of masses of magnetite in compact, dark, basic (diori- tic?) rocks, and many of the dips-readings obtained where no outcrops of ore showed were along the strike of similar basic members of the series, leaving one, in the absence of anything to the contrary, to fairly conclude that these isolated dip-readings might be taken as showing the existence of separated masses of magnetite of greater or less extent, rather than of a continuous bed of ore.

‘“ Another feature which has led to misapprehension in many cases, has been the prevalence of outcroppings of rusty rock which have quite generally been taken as indicating the existence of iron-ore be- low. Asa matter of fact, the colour of these rusty parts seems to be almost always due to the decomposition of pyrites plentifully dissemin- ated through the rock.

‘‘ Whilst, however, all these points must be taken into account in judging individual deposits, the wide-spread occurrences of ore-bodies

aweon. SUMMARY REPORT. 53 À

throughout the district as a whole, and the great likelihood of further discovery leading to a large addition to the list of deposits already known, would seem to assure its future as an ore-producer for any smelter of reasonable size that might be erected ; just as in the case of the phosphate min ng district of the Rivière du Lièvre in Quebec, where, whilst the deposits of that mineral show similar irregularity, the output of the district was considerable and steady for over seven- teen years and ceased only because of low prices and in no way be- cause of any failure with regard to its capabilities for yielding the mineral.

“Speaking still of the magnetite deposits, their mode of occurrence may be briefly summarized as follows :—

“The chief worked deposits may be classified under three heads, viz. :—First, ore-bodies occurring at the actual contacts of belts of crystalline limestone with the harder gneissic and schistose memlers of the series. Second, ore-bodies where the magnetite occurs in ribs, or impregnating schistose or gneissic belts, in most of which cases lime-tone is either absent from the vicinity altogether or only occurs at some little distance from the ore-body. Third, ore-bodies occurring entirely in areas of basic rocks, very much after the manner of the apatite depusits of Ottawa county, Quebec, where these are found in the pyroxenites.

“In the first and second clas:es, there is a tendency for the ore- bodies to follow along the strike of the formation, either entirely isolated from each other or separated by intervening stretches of rocks either free from magnetite or too poor to pay for extraction. In the third case, the ore shows in detached, irregular occurrences, the rocks being, a: at some points opened, reticulated by numerous veins, seams, &c., of magnetite, showing at times vuggy or drusy cavities with crystals of calcite, hornblende and other minerals. The mag- netite wiil thus vary in its occurrence from places where there is a cun-iderable admixture of foreign matter to those where the ore is in considerable mass and comparatively free from admixture.

“Where the ore occurs in the schistose rocks, the magnetite fre- quently shows as detached grains plentifully disseminated through the substance of the schist, varying in proportion between the extremes of a magnetit >-bearing schist, and ore with a small intermixture of bisili- cate minerals. In places, in immediate association with the ore, a chloritic schist occurs which probably results from the local alteration of the materials of the inclosing schistose rocks.

“The developments made in the district in the way of proving the deposits, have been comparatively shallow in most instances, being

Ontario— Con

Classes of magnetite deposits.

Mining de- velopments

Ontario— Cont.

C aracte of the ores.

54 A Geological Survey Department.

limited to depths under 100 feet ; although, in a few cases, by pits and

diamond-drill holes the ore has been proved toa depth of 300 feet. Longitudinally, the distance between the extremes of any range of pits would come well within 2000 feet for the most extensive mine in the district, whilst in most instances the known extent in length of any string of ore bodies is covered by a few hundred feet, and fre- quently the whole development consists of one more or less circular pit.

“ As to the width of the ore-deposits, it is extremely variable, even in the more regular belt-like masses. At the same mine it is found to vary from one or two feet to thirty or forty feet ; whi'st, with regard to the more irregular deposits in the basic rocks, it would be impossible to actually say which dimension of the pit to take as width. At Robertsville, the large pit has surface dimensions of 40 x 60 feet, with a reported depth of 250 feet, and at the oid Chaffey mine are three large pits, separated only by narrow walls of rock, which are said to be about fifty feet deep and would measure, in the case of the two larger, fifty feet by one hundred and fifty feet, and for the smaller about thirty feet by one hundred and fifty feet. At the Yuill mine, is a pit about one hundred by thirty feet, reported sixty feet deep, and this, with the two previous examples, will illustrate the dimensions of some of the largest of the irregular o:e-bodies of the district. It is stated that the Robertsville mine shipped over 60,000 tons, which further indicat..s the size attained by such ore-bodies, and as ic is stated that the three diamond-drill holes put down on the hanging- wall side here, went through twenty feet of ore at a depth of 550 feet, the body of ore evidently extends a considerable distance below where work was abandoned.

“The magnetite ore of this district presents the following features. The shipping ore of course represents the best as selected from the general run of the ore mined, and is in general pretty free from sul- phur as far as visible pyrites is concerned. The various piles of ore also, with very few exceptions, showed no visible apatite. Beyond this no further statement can be made as to the percentage of sulphur and phosphorus which might be expected in the ores of the district taken as a whole and in large shipments, short of spending considerable time and money in really sampling large piles. That the percentage of these deleterious ingredients does not prevent the use of these ores in the blast furnace under proper conditions, is evidenced by the fact that as long as the prices permitted their exportation, the United States smelters were quite willing to buy and use them.

“The ore-bodies do carry pyrite and often in considerable quan- tity, but in most cases in such a way that the pyritous parts can be

cuwson. SUMMARY REPORT. 55 A

rejected by hand picking. At some points visited, however, the Ontario— pyrite was so finely and evenly distributed throughout the ore as to Cont. render its elimination by this simple process impossible, and this has

also been found to be the case in portions of some of the larger and

better known deposits which have elsewhere yielded large quantities

of clean shipping ore.

‘ In some cases, nearly the whole of the material taken out has been shipping ore, as evidenced by the smallness of the waste-pile relatively to the size of the excavation, though in most instances the amount of waste has been considerable. In the case especially of some of the isolated occurrences in the basic rocks, apatite occurs associated with the ore.

“ As shown by the ore-piles, the foreign matter which would have to be dealt with in smelting would be mostly of a fusible nature, consist- ing of hornblendic, micaceous, and chloritic material distributed through the mass, as well ‘as in the seams in the ore. Calcite is also a common ingredient, with more rarely quartz. These minerals by proper selection should make a good slagging mixture.

“In grain, the ores at different points show varying characters. Those of the ore-bodies in the basic areas are apt to show a pecu- liarly vitreous fracture, vuggy structure, and interferent crystalline aggregation of the magnetite ; whilst at other points the structure of the ore is schistose, platy or granular, with a coarse or finely crystal- line cross-fract ure.

“ The ore already mined and available, is represented by the stock- Ore in stock. piles at some fifteen places, and amounts to atout 17,000 tons. It ls stated that in the past the total shipments from this district have amounted to some 220,000 tons of magnetite, to which must be added about 30,000 tons from the Dalhousie and McNab hematite deposits.

“The available analyses of these ores are those of hand specimens, Analyses of which cannot be taken as representing the actual composition or ‘res. character of bulk lots, such as can be shipped. The examination made of the ore-piles of the district showed a visible admixture of foreign materials, already mentioned, of from five to fifteen, per cent, estimated by the eye. This would, of course, bring down ‘the theor- etical percentage of iron in magnetite (72°37 per cent) to from 60 to 65 per cent.

“A table has been prepared of the several analyses of the ores of the district, made at various times in the laboratory of the Geological Survey and published in the Reports. This it is proposed to publish in connection with a more detailed account of the mines, together with

Ontario— Cont.

General char- acter of ores.

Improvement in steel-mak- ing methods.

s

56 A Geological Survey Department.

such additional analyses as may be made of specimens recently collected. Meanwhile, the following general statement, based upon the existing information, may be given :—

‘ Of the 31 determinations of metallic iron, 22 were of magnetites and 9 of hæmatites, the average of the former being 59-20 per cent, of the latter 59:58 per cent. Of the 15 determinations of phosphorus in the ore, the proportions in 10 magnetites varied from a trace to 0-110, whilst in one specimen small crystals of apatite were visible to the eye, although the proportion of phosphorus was not actually determined in this case. In 5 hæmatites, the phosphorus ranged from 0-010 to 0-235 per cent.

‘‘In 9 magnetites the sulphur ranged from a trace to 1:75 per cent, while in 5 examples of hematite it ranged from 0:004 to 0-070 per cent.

‘6 Titanic acid was looked for in two of the hematites, but not found.

_Of 21 magnetites examined for this substance, 11 were free from it,

in four other cases it ranged from 1:03 to 5-92 per cent, whilst in the ore from the Yankee and Chaffey mines, it was found in four analyses to range between 5-70 and 16-45 per cent.

‘Thus it may be stated that, in so far as these analyses represent the general character of the ores, the percentage of phosphorus is low, the sulphur is in some cases rather high, while the titanium, with a few exceptions, is inconsiderable in amount. Should it be found advantageous in some cases to do so, the amount of sulphur might no

doubt be reduced by roasting.

“Tt will be observed that the percentage of titanium is high in some cases, but where it is in large proportion, as at the Chaffey and Yankee mines, it is only what one would expect of such irregular bunches of ore in a coarse diabase rock.

‘ In the absence of determinations based on carefully sampled lots representing large quantities of the ore, it is not possible accurately to determine what proportions of phosphorous, sulphur or titanium would have to be dealt with in furnace charges, or to what extent it might be advantageous to mix these with other ores. The ores of the district have been used already by managers of smelters in the United States, presumably in this way, and lately also the Drummondville smelter in Quebec has purchased these ores for admixture with their own bog ores.

“The constant improvement in methods of smelting in late years, has of course rendered it possible to utilize more impure ores than formerly, and even in making the best grades of steel a much lower grade

canton. . SUMMARY REPORT. 57 A

of pig can be used. In this connection it may be useful to quote an article by Mr. H. H. Campbell, on ‘Open Hearth Work at Steelton,’ in The Mineral Industry for 1893, p. 378.*

“Speaking of the large open-hearth furnaces, with tilting hearths in use there, with either basic or acid lining, he says : —

“<The ability to remove the slag in such a furnace renders possible the use of an impure stock [pig], and charges have been successfully handled which contained 0-28 per cent sulphur, whilst others have had 3 per cent of phosphorus. For the most common work it may suffice if the phosphorus and sulphur are beth brought belaw 0-10 per cent ; but this by no means represents the regular practice. The charges in the basic furnaces generally average from 0:25 to 0°50 per cent in phosphorus and from 0:07 to 0:12 in sulphur. This is reduced to a content of from 0-005 to 0-04 phosphorus, according to requirements, and from 0-015 to 0-06 sulphur in the steel.

“¢The large steel castings are made from one of these tilting furn-

Ontario—

aces, and by careful selection acid metal of 0-015 phosphorus has been .

produced. The smaller castingsare made from a five-ton acid furnace and contain from 0-025 to 0:04 per cent phosphorus. This pure metal gives steel which will compare with the products of any of the celebrated foreign. manufactories.’

“ Hematite.—A number of points were examined where deposits of hematite were reported to occur, with a view to ascertaining the pos- sibilities of obtaining supplies of this class of ore. Apart, however, from the old Dalhousie or Playfair mine in Dalhousie township, nothing was seen that could be properly described as a hematite deposit. In some cases the only indications consisted of pieces of hematite, either lean or rich, ploughed up in fields; at others, an ochreous in- pregnation of the rocks or soil had led to the belief that the preval- ence of so much rusty material must indicate the existence of solid hematite in depth. In every case, however, a little investigation of the surroundings would demonstrate the connection of the phenomena with the occurrense of outlying .patches of the Potsdam sandstone. Where this formation showed distinctly, it would appear as if the sup- posed hematite deposits consisted of shattered portions of the sandstone, the spaces between the broken pieces being filled up with loose ochre- ‘ ous oxide of iron, which had also percolated in and filled the interstices between the grains of the sandstone, thus giving the whole a very rusty appearance. In places, specimens could be obtained of the

The Mineral Industry for 1893, by R. P. Rothwell, ‘Scientific Publishing Com- pany, New York.

Hematite Ores.

Ontario— Cont.

Hæmutite re- ported in many places.

58 A Geological Survey Department.

solid hæmatite ; but these, judging from all the appearances, probably owe their condition to a further consolidation of the original loose ochreous form of the oxide. This action, however, at the points studied, has only gone on to a limited extent, nor did it seem likely at any of these points that any large quantity of the richer and more solid material would be obtained. The bulk of the material wherever seen, consisted of sandstone impregnated or stained with ochreous oxide of iron to a greater or less extent, constituting at best a very lean ore.

‘ It was found impossible, in the time at disposal, to visit all the reported occurrences of hæmatite, but in most cases, from the descrip- tion given, it is evident that they are similar to those noted. In the report of the Ontario Mineral Commission, pages 128 to 142, many such places are mentioned, and at one place, viz., Tamworth, a number of shallow pits were put down which proved the superficial nature of the deposit, and that it was underlain by crystalline limestone. The quality of the ore here is stated to have varied also from rich to quite

‘ Jean.

Character of the Dalhousie deposit.

‘The Geological Survey called attention years ago to similar occur- rences in the Potsdam at other places, as will be seen by referring to the Geology of Canada, pages 88 and 89, and the dolomitic nature of this formation in places was also alluded to.

“Taking everything into account, it may be assumed that the phenomena observed are the result of the decomposition of ferruginous dolomitic parts of the Potsdam sandstone, with the formation of ochreous oxides of iron and further consolidation of the same in spots into the hæmatitic form, the lean ores consisting of adjacent portions of the sandstone impregnated with the cchreous decomposition product.

‘ In a few cases, the ore was found apparently passing down into the underlying Archean rocks, but evidently to a limited depth only and in such a way as to lead to the belief that, these cases resulted from percolation downwards from the overlying rocks into joint planes and cavities.

“Of those visited, the Dalhousie mine is the only one having any features of a continuous ore-body, for there the ore was followed down into the crystalline limestone to a depth of 100 feet. Ore was taken out for a length of about 500 feet, with an average width of perhaps 10 feet, although it is stated that the ore-body was very irregular, often thinning down very suddenly to two feet or less. The details of this deposit are well shown in the plan of the mine accompanying Mr.

onweon. SUMMARY REPORT. 59 A

Vennor's description in the Report of Progress of the Geological Survey Ontario—- for 1872-73, pp. 176-77.* Cont.

‘ When visited. this summer, it was found that the limestone walls had caved in so as to fill the excavation nearly to the top with débris. The ground being free from cover, however, the surface characteristics of the ore-body can be clearly made out. The surrounding area shows frequent outcroppings of rock, which is seen to be crystalline limestone all round. A close examination for some distance in both directions on the run of the ore-body, showed that it did not extend much beyond the present workings, as far as outcropping at the surface is concerned. The extension of the strike of the ore-body westward, would be along the northern bank of the Mississippi River, and for a distance of about a quarter of a mile, considerable trenching and stripping has been done with a view to tracing its continuity, but without success. In most cases no signs of ore seem to have been found, although at two places some ore was obtained, varying in quality from lean ochreous sandstone to rich and solid lumps of hematite. From the appearance of the material and the features presented, these would seem to be simply ferruginous outlying patches of the base of the Potsdam, resting as already described, upon the denuded surface of the Archæan rocks.

“The interesting point about the Playfair mine proper, lies in its Hematite being a hody of ore extending downward for a known depth of 100 feet fling cavities into the crystalline limestone. It is suggested, however, that it simply represents ferruginous material leached out from the originally- overlying Potsdam sandstones, deposited in a waterworn cavern in the underlying limestone. This view is borne out by several features observed on the spot, and is shown in the plan and sections of the mine already alluded to, viz., the irregular shape of the ore- body ; the fact of its continuing eastward underground without out- cropping, being in fact entirely over-arched by limestone ; the smooth bounding surface between the ore and the limestone ; the tendency of the body to show a general lens-shape and to thin out gradually in depth. This thinning out in depth is also mentioned as a feature of the Arnprior deposit in McNab township which occurs similarly in crystalline limestone. f

“The yield of the Dalhousie mine from the commencement of work to 1873 was about 15,000 tons of ore.

*In reproducing this illustration in the report of the Ontario Mineral Commission, p. 139, figures 21 and 22, the scale as there reduced, has been erroneously given as 600 feet to the inch instead of 200 feet, as it should be, which makes the length of vein developed appear longer than it really is.

tReport of Progress, Geol. Surv. Can., 1873-74, p. 212.

Ontario— Cont.

McNab mine.

Bog ores.

Means of transport.

Summary of conditions,

60 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

“From the published description of the McNab mine already al- luded to, it would seem to be very similar to the Dalhousie mine. It is said to have been worked to a depth of about 80 feet, when, according to one account it thinned out and according to another it - was cut off by a fault.

‘‘ Bog Ores.—No deposits of bog-iron ores were visited, but the existence of these ores is reported ata number of places in the district.

“ Communications, etc.—In studying the subject of the available supply of ore for a possible smelter at Kingston, it becomes a question as to what district may be fairly taken as tributary to that centre. With its lake communications ores might undoubtedly be brought from afar, but the scope of this inquiry was understood to be confined to the possibilities of the immediately surrounding district. With the present railway and canal communications, this would probably include the counties of Frontenac, Lanark and Leeds with adjacent portions of Carleton and Renfrew counties. The Kingston and Pembroke railway would be the main feeder, connecting as it does with most of the chief mines, but other deposits would be reached by means of its connections with the Canadian Pacific railway at Sharbot Lake and Pembroke and with the Ottawa and Parry Sound railway, as well as by the Ottawa and Kingston canal. In fact, the means of communi- cation of the district are very good to the north and east, and, were it necessary, ore could undoubtedly be also drawn from the deposits in Hastings, Peterborough and Haliburton counties to the west.

“ The question of the local facilities for and of the cost of smelting, as well as the question of the marketing of the product, need not be here dealt with, as it is understood that those interested have thor- oughly satisfied themselves on these points.

“ Summary.—Reviewing the results obtained by the investigation and having in view the answering of the questions propounded, the conclusions arrived as may be stated as follows :—

“ There seems no reason to doubt the possibilities of the district in the matter of supplying ore for a smelter of the size contemplated (viz. 100 tons per day), providing exploratory and development work is kept well ahead of the actual work of extraction of the ore, for although the ore-deposits are irregular in their nature, yet the occurrences already known are numerous, and doubtless many others would be located by explorers were a demand to arise for the ore.

‘ Apart, however, from the general chances, as above set forth, and the 16,000 to 17,000 tons in thestock-piles of the district, the question of ore immediately available must remain in abeyance, as naturally no

oewson. SUMMARY REPORT. 61 A

measurement of ‘ore in sight’ could be made with all the mines Ontario— abandoned and full of water. The ore supply would be almost entirely Cont, magnetite, with possibly some hematite or bog ore. In the magnetite,

careful selection would probably be necessary, in the case of some of the deposits, to keep the proportion of sulphur and phosphorus low.”

The first part of the year, before the commencement of field opera- Work by Mr. tions, was occupied by Mr. A. E. Barlow in plotting the surveys of the Perlow. previous season and procuring such topographical details as were deemed necessary for the completion of the Nipissing sheet (No. 131, of the Ontario series). Much time was likewise consumed in studying the geological results obtained, while considerable progress was made in writing an accompanying report. In connection with Mr. Ferrier, various petrographical studies were undertaken, which proved of ma- terial assistance in the more accurate delineation of the various rock formations exposed in the region under examination. The permanent labelling of the large suite of rock specimens obtained, also occupied some time. The map of the area above named has been completed and is now in the hands of the engravers.

As it was considered advisable to continue the work of previous years on the Temiscaming sheet (No. 138 of the Ontario series), Mr. Barlow was instructed to secure such additional topographical and geological information as seemed essential for a map and report of an approximately final character, covering this district. This sheet adjoins the Nipissing sheet to the north, while its south-western corner abuts on the north-east corner of the Sudbury sheet, already published. The map will include nearly the whole of Lakes Temisca- ming and des Quinzes, with the northern portions of Lakes Keepawa and Temagami. All information necessary for this sheet has been collected, and it is hoped to finish the compilation of both map and report during the present winter. In regard to the summer’s explo- ration, Mr. Barlow reports as follows :—

“I left Ottawa for the field on the 31st of May last, and was Surveysonthe

joined in Mattawa by Mr. A. A. Cole, B.A.Sc., of Montreal, who Temiscaming had been appointed as my assistant for the whole of the season’s work. Mr. Cole’s previous experience in the field-work of the survey, when acting as assistant to be Mr. A. P. Low and Dr. Adams, better fitted him for the work he was called upon to perform, while his zeal did much to advance the objects of the exploration.

“ By the kindness of Mr. Colin Rankin, of the Hudson’s Bay Com- pany, Fort Temiscaming, an abandoned post belonging to this com-

‘Ontario— Cont.

Boundaries of

Huronian rocks.

Ore deposits.

62 A Geological Survey Department.

pany, was again made our headquarters for the season. The month of June was taken up in detailed micrometer surveys and geological examinations of Whitefish, Turner, Nonwakamnig, Wakaimika and Muskananing (Lady Evelyn) lakes, in the north-western corner of the sheet, connection being thus made between my survey of Temagami Lake, of 1887, and the Montreal River, which had been surveyed with chain and transit in 1868 by Mr. A. Forrest, P.LS., of the Crown Lands Department of Ontario. A survey was likewise per. formed of the route via Mud and Sharp lakes to Lake Temiscaming at Haileybury, as well as of a number. of smaller Jakes in this neighbour- hood. During July, similar measurements, accompanied by a geologi- cal examination, were made from Aminipissing Lake via Breeches and Mountain lakes to White-bear Lake, including Thieving Bear and Net lakes. These surveys were continued, and included a chain of lakes which fall into Net Lake, the largest of which is known to the Indians as Waibikaiginaising (rib lake), and which extend to within a short distance of Bay Lake (on the Montreal River). The latter part of July and the first week of August were spent in examinations and surveys

- of Obascong, Friday and other smaller lakes which empty into the

north-eastern bay of White-bear Lake, and of Bear Lake, a narrow sheet of water six miles in length, which flows into the Matabitchouan River below Rabbit Chute. The remainder of August was employed in a geological investigation of the shores and islands of Obabica and Wawiagama lakes, situated to the west of Lake Temagami, and while thus engaged, Mr. Cole was busy making surveys of some lakes to the west of Rabbit Lake.

This examination being completed, a trip was made through Tema- gami, Nonwakaming and Lady Evelyn lakes, and the Montreal River was followed as far as Round Lake, the shores and country in the im- mediate vicinity of this river being closely examined to its mouth, on Lake Temiscaming. During July, Mr. Cole made a survey of all the roads in the townships of Duhamel, Guigues and Lawerlochére, on the east or Quebec side of Lake Temiscaming.

The boundaries between the conglomerates, slates and quartzites, which here constitute the Huronian system, were traced out, as well as the more important line of junction between these Huronian strata and the various granites and gneisses. Great care was taken in the delimitation of the diabases, gabbros and other basic eruptives, which rocks had beeri found to contain the nickeliferous pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite in the Sudbury district, to the south-west. Extensive deposits of these sulphides were noticed in 1887 and 1888 on the east side of Temagami Island and on the south-east shore of Ver-

oawson, ] SUMMARY REPORT. 63 a

milion Lake to the north of the north-east arm of Temagami Lake. Ontario— The deposits of argentiferous galena at the Mattawapika (outlet of Cont. Lady Evelyn Lake) and at Wright’s Mine, Lake Temiscaming,

have already been noticed in previous reports. In view of the inten-

tion to publish the report covering these explorations at an early date,

it is unnecessary to go into further details regarding the geological features.”

The work in connection with the above sheet was completed on Workon Hali- August 27th, when Mr. Barlow returned to Ottawa to obtain certrin burton sheet. maps and other information necessary for the continuation of the geological and topographical survey of the Haliburton sheet (No. 118 Ontario series). Work in this region was commenced by Dr. F. D Adams, in 1892, by the examination of certain mineral deposits which had attracted considerable attention, and which were situated in the townships of Digby, Dalton, Lutterworth, Somerville and Galway.

A preliminary report in connection with these examinations, accom- panied by a brief summary of therock formations encountered in a gen- eral geological reconnaissance of most of the areacovered by this sheet, has already appeared.* The position of sheet 118 is there described as “ situated to the north of Lake Ontario and south of the River Ottawa, in the countiesof Victoria, Peterboroughand Hastings. In order to describe its position more accurately, it may he stated that the four corners of the sheet lie in the townships of Digby, Finlayson, Hagarty and Grimsthorpe.” The work commenced in 1892 was continued by Dr. Adams for only a few weeks in 1893, when, owing to lack of funds, further work in this district was postponed. Two weeks only in the first part of September were occupied by Mr. Barlow in work properly belonging to this sheet. Owing to the difficulty in fixing the exact lati- tude and longitude of the map, it was thought expedient to run a tie- line from Gelert, on the Victoria division of the Grand Trunk railway, in the south-western part of the sheet, to Waubaushene, on Georgian Bay, the position of which has been accurately determined by the Hydro- graphical Survey. This tie-line was run with great care by Mr. James White, chief draughtsman of this department, and it is believed will suffice for the purpose for which it was intended. It is hoped that the work thus begun will be resumed early next year, as it is sure to prove of great interest.

Mr. Barlow returned to Ottawa on October Ist.

*Annual Report, Geol. Surv. Can., vol. VI. (N. S.), part J.

64 À Geological Survey Department.

Ontario--- From the beginning of the year 1895, until exploratory work was Wak by Dr. resumed in the field in the early summer, Dr. R. W. Ells was occupied Ells. with the preparation of map-sheets Nos. 121 and 122, extending along the Ottawa Valley from Rigaud Mountain to the Petewawa, and in compiling the notes of surveys by himself and other observers for an explanatory report upon these sheets. His field-work of the year was principally directed to the completion of the same sheets, but it was considered advisable that some part of the time should be given to the completion and revision of data for the geological mapping of the south-west sheet of the ‘ Eastern Townships” map, shortly to be be published. Dr. Ells makes the following pre- liminary report of the results of his examinations, which extended from May 25th to September 23rd :— “The field-work of 1895, was principally devoted to the mapping of the Laurentian and overlying formations found on both sides of the Ottawa in the counties of Renfrew and Pontiac. In September, a re- vision of the area east of the St. Lawrence, including the Phillips- burg and Stanbridge districts, was made. A careful examination of the islands of Montreal and Jesus and of the country along the Lower Ottawa, was also undertaken, in order to ascertain, if possible, the thickness of the several Paleozoic formations in this vicinity, from the Calciferous upward, which might serve as a guide to any sub- sequent boring operations in the Ottawa and St. Lawrence river

valleys.

Examinations ‘‘ Specimens illustrating the many varieties of the crytalline rocks of

in ignfrew the Laurentian were collected, not only of the stratified gneiss and limestones, but also of the several kinds of intrusions which are found throughout the entire Laurentian area. Collections were also made of the crystalline dolomites and schists of the Hast- ings series, for the purpose of study ; the exact position of this division of crystalline rocks not having yet been definitely settled.

“The occurrence of Paleozoic rocks, ranging from the Potsdam sand- stone to the top of the Utica formation, was noted at a number of points throughout the area. Their distribution was mapped as care- fully as the heavy mantle of drift would permit. In some places, these newer formations were found to be extensive, while in others they are represented by but small patches resting in depressions of the older crystalline rocks.

Post-Archean ‘The Laurentian gneiss and limestone, were found to be penetrated erence in at many points by masses of granite, generally reddish, with syenites, diorites and occasionally trappean rocks. Much of the granite is

Dawson. SUMMARY REPORT. 65 a

of the binary variety, composed chiefly of white felspar and quartz, Ontario—

similar to that found so frequently in the Grenville series. That Cont.

some of the intrusions are comparatively recent, is evident from their action not only on the Laurentian limestones and associated gneiss, which

they have penetrated and altered at many points, but also from their

relations to the beds of the Calciferous, which at several points have

also been broken up by dioritic dykes, apparently projections from

the great crystalline series. This peculiarity of some of these intru-

sives was also noted last year in Nepean township, near Ottawa, where

the granites penetrate the Potsdam sandstone.

“The Potsdam sandstone was not seen west of the township of Cambro- Fitzroy, the Calciferous, westward of this, being the oldest of the !urianareas. Paleozoic formations observed. On Allumette Island, the limestone of this formation is well exposed, on the western end, but is overlain eastward by the sandstones and shales of the Chazy which pass upward through the calcareous part of that formation into the highly fossil- iferous beds of the Black River limestone at Paquette’s Rapid, near the lower end of the island.

“Inland, to the south, the Chazy and lower part of the Trenton formation have a considerable development in the valley of the Bonne- chere, at Eganville, whence they extend eastward to Douglas village. The flat-lying limestones occur for some distance on both sides of that river. Another outlier extends from the east side of Lake Dove east- ward to Mink Lake, and thence spreads over the flat area between Douglas and Cobden ; while. yet another considerable area occurs on the lower west half of Muskrat Lake, which is discharged by the Muskrat River at Pembroke. Along this stream the Chazy beds also show, capped in Stafford township by highly fossiliferous strata of Black River age. A small outcrop of Chazy is again seen in a cutting on the Ottawa and Parry Sound railway, about three miles west of Killaloo station, while on Clear Lake, to the south, the Trenton and Utica beds are exposed at the south-west corner. From these a collec- tion of the characteristic fossils of the Utica formation was made by Mr. W. J. Wilson.

“The western limit of our surveys on the south side of the Ottawa, extended from the vicinity of Golden Lake and the township of Brude- nell, northward to a point about seven miles west of the mouth of the Petawawa. The southern limit of the sheet extends from near Arn- prior westward past Renfrew and Clear Lake in Sebastopol, though our surveys during the past season extended for some distance further south, in order to connect with previous surveys on the Madawaska by

Mr. James White. ÿ

Ontario— Cont.

Surveys north of Ottawa River.

Crystalline limestoner.

Limestone conglomer- ates.

Hastings series.

66 A ' Geological Survey Department.

‘On the north side of the Ottawa, the work extended westward to the sharp bend at the foot of the Deep River in the township of Sheen, which marks the most westerly of the settlements on the Quebec side. Traverses were made of all roads in the townships of Sheen, Chichester and along the Black and Coulonge rivers for nearly twenty miles, the country being exceedingly hilly and rough. The crystalline limestones and associated rusty quartzitic gneiss, were found to have a considerable development along the Black River, a broad band of the limestone extending for a long way up the valley of the stream with a general strike of a few degrees west of north. ‘lhe most westerly observed outcrop of the crystalline limestone and of rusty gneiss on the north side of the Ottawa, was about two miles west of the bridge on the post-road over the Black River, the rocks to the west of this being thostly gneiss and intrusive granite, with syenite and diorite.

“ The relations of the cystalline limestone and its associated quartz- ose, rusty and often garnetiferous gneiss, to the great masses of the lower reddish gneiss or foliated granitic rock are clear, and confirm the conclusions stated in earlier reports, that the oldest known rock of the Archean is a foliated granite-gneiss, upon which the more regularly stratified gneisses rest. Whether there is here a direct conformity between these two series, or whether they are distinct and unconfor- mable, cannot be definitely ascertained till all the surveys of the areas in question are plotted and mapped. When this is done, and the masses of clearly intrusive newer granite and syenite have also béen separated, it is hoped some conclusive: data as to structure will be obtained which will facilitate future work among these crystalline rocks.

‘Tt is interesting to note the occurrence of unmistakable limestone conglomerates in the Laurentian crystalline rocks of the Grenville series in Renfrew county. These were seen at several widely separ- ated points, as in the township of Westmeath, along the Rocher Fendu channel of the Ottawa, in the townships of Bromley and Stafford, in Sebastopol, and along the Opeongo road. In these conglomerates, which rest upon the rusty gneiss are pebbles of garnetiferous, horn- blendic and reddish gneiss, quartzite and rusty gneiss, well rounded and water-worn. The grayish quartzose gneiss, in the lower part of the calcareous series, presents all the aspects of an altered quartzose sand- stone, and the whole series at these places looks like a succession of altered sediments.

The Hastings series, as seen about Calabogie Take and on the line of the Kingston and Pembroke railway, as well as generally through- out the townships of Horton, Bagot and MacNab, consists of a very

suweon. SUMMARY REPORT. 67 A

considerable development of hornblende-schist and diorite, dolomitic Ontario— limestone and mica-schist, portions of which are garnetiferous. They Gon

are cut by masses of granite and syenite, generally reddish in colour.

Around Calabogie Lake and at other places, the hornblende-schist over-

lies directly the rusty gneiss and limestone of the Laurentian or Gren-

ville series. So far as I have yet ascertained, there does not appear to

be any decided break between the rusty gneiss and limestone, and the hornblende-schist and dolomite series, but further work in this direc-

tion is necessary to settle the relations of these rocks.

“Some of the reddish syenite and granite rocks associated with Economic the last, and exposed along the line of the Kingston and Pembroke minerals railway between Renfrew and Calabogie, would furnish beautiful building stones. They would take a fine polish, and can probably be obtained in large blocks.

“Other minerals of economic value were not observed in workable quantity at any point throughout the area included in the season’s work, with the exception of the iron deposits near Calabogie Lake. West of Douglas, dykes of pyroxene occur, which carry small quantities of pyrites and mica, with irregular quartz-veins of small size. Shell marl is found in several lakes in considerable quantity and should be of economic importance. Perhaps the most extensive of these deposits is in Mink Lake, Wilberforce township, Renfrew Co. Other lakes holding marl were found in Westmeath, and Ross, in Ontario, and in Masham and Upper Wakefield, west of the Gatineau River.

“ Very considerable areas of crystalline limestone occur throughout the counties of Renfrew and Pontiac, sume of which constitute useful marbles. Of these, the quarries near Portage du Fort were referred to in last year’s summary. At Renfrew, extensive quarries exist, which furnish an excellent quality of stone, both for building and-for burning, very similar to the stone from the Arnprior quarries. A new deposit of snow-white marble has been opened up on lot 19, conces- sion 6, Ross, on the property of Mr. Chas. Bilson. This is a beautifu] stone, highly crystalline, and yields large blocks for monumental or decorative work.

“A deposit of graphite has recently been exploited to some extent near the Madawaska, in the township of Brougham. The pieces already obtained show the vein to be of considerable size, but the local- ity was not visited by me.

“Observations on the glacial geology were made throughout the Glacial geo- area. The direction of the striæ was taken at many points on both ‘°87-

sides of the Ottawa River, and the course was found to vary from S. 60° 5%

Ontario— Cont.

Work by Mr. Giroux.

Wells bored at

Alexandria.

68 À Geological Survey Department.

E. or 8. 70° E. on the north side, to S. 40° W. in the south-west part of Renfrew county, south of the Ottawa. Along the Ottawa itself, the direction of these ice-markings generally follows the course of the stream, and the movements of the ice seem to have been affected by the local conditions of the surface.

‘ Kames and deposits of morainic matter occur frequently, with old shore-lines of wefl-rounded stones. A prominent feature of the surface geology over much of the area, is the distribution of sand and clay. These deposits have a wide extent, and while marine shells are but rarely found, the character of the clays is undoubtedly marine, the presence of organisms at a few widely scattered points, clearly estab- lishing their mode of deposition. They are overlain by extensive sand deposits, especially in the area to the west and south of Pembroke, and in places these are clearly interstratified with the clay. Deposits of Saxicava sand also occur, containing abundance of marine forms.

‘“ During the last part of June and the first half of July, Mr. W. J. Wilson accompanied me and obtained important facts pertaining to the glacial geology of Renfrew county.”

Quebec.

(With adjacent parts of Ontario.)

In the office, since the date of the last Summary Report, Mr. N. J. Giroux was employed principally upon the completion of the north-west sheet of the ‘ Eastern Townships” map.

During the summer, Mr. Giroux has been occupied with field-work, chiefly in the area of sheet No. 120 of the Ontario series of geological maps. This comprises the counties of Grenville, Dundas, Stormont, Glengarry and portions of the counties of Carleton, Russell and Pres- cott, in the province of Ontario, as well as the counties of Hunting- don, Soulanges and part of Vaudreuil, in the province of Quebec.

The general geological structure of this region had been ascertained very early in the history of the Geological Survey, but questions con- nected with economic problems such as water supply, building materials, &c., now render it desirable that a more detailed and accurate map should be prepared.

Mr. Giroux was in the first instance instructed to visit the town of

Alexandria, for the purpose of ascertaining, as far as possible, the geo- logical conditions there, in connection with a well then being sunk

Dawson. ] SUMMARY REPORT. 69 A

for water. The well was found to be on the northern bank of Quebec— the Garry River, a branch of River Delisle, where ledges of grayish Cont. fossiliferous Trenton limestone occur, holding crystals of clear white

calcite and small partings of black, shiny, very friable shale. These

beds lie apparently flat, and extend but a short distance along the

stream on which they outcrop. From the information obtained on

the spot by Mr. Giroux, combined with that resulting from a careful examination of the samples of drillings received from the well by Dr.

H. M. Ami, the subjoined section is drawn up.

ee me

De rac - Formation represented, pth. Character of rock. ; and thickness.

Ss

LS A qe

0 Dark gray impure limestone, holding fossils, among which can be recognized thefollowing: Rafines-

, quina alternata, Emmons; also fragments of

' what appear to he Plcctambonites sericea, Sow- erby ; Strophomena cf. S. incurreta, Shep.; Zy-

gospira, sp.; Escharopora, sp.; and Helopora or

#0 Arthroclema cee Trenton, 470 feet or more. |Dark gray impure limestone, softer than preced- Black River, 100 feet GT ing. No fossils detected. ' (assumed thickness).

(Dark gray impure limestone, underlain by greenish-| gray calcareo-arenaceous shales—at times fine-' grained, at others coarse and more highly arena-| ceous. Obscure fossil remains detected in the

1% upper caleareous beds Cha:y, 185 feet. 'Hard, compact, dark, chocolate-coloured limestone, . probably magnesian : no fossil remains ob-, D served Lecce eee ee eeeeeenese Catetferous, 31 ft. or more.

At 730 feet, in the Chazy, a porous bed about one foot thick was met with, yielding strongly saline and bitter water. More water of the same character was found in the last twenty-five feet, and the un- dertaking was abandoned at 790 feet.

A specimen of the saline water from the Chazy formation, above noted, was subjected to a qualitative examination in the laboratory of the Survey, and was found to contain a very large quantity of chlorides (solium and calcium); a rather small quantity of sulphates (magnesia) ; and a somewhat large quantity of carbonates (lime).

Mr. Giroux writes: “There was altogether but very little water got Saline water. in this boring, the water standing at about fifteen feet from the sur- face when the drill was in the hole, and when taken out of it the water would drop down to 100 feet below the surface. Another test was made, not very far from the station, to a depth of about 350 feet, with as little success as on Garry River.”

Quebec— Cont. Surveys on area of sheet

Surveyssouth- east of Lake St. Peter.

70 A Geological Survey Department.

Of his general field-work for the season, Mr. Giroux gives the following account :—‘On the 6th of June I began to survey roads in order to locate as accurately as possible all the rock-exposures, since in a dis- trict like this, imperfectly mapped, and so extensively covered with drift, the new roads, and those not much used, generally atlorded more exposures than the main roads.

‘“ In order to obtain a general idea of the geological structure, a few sections were made north and south from the River St. Lawrence to the Ottawa River, as well as several east and west, across part of the area to be examined. Starting from Glen Robertson, the road northwardly was surveyed as far as L’Orignal, thence back to St. Isidore de Prescott in a south-westerly direction, and down to Maxville and across Glengarry county to the River St. Lawrence. very few exposures of Calciferous and Chazy rocks were, however, alone met with. I then surveyed the St. Lawrence shore-road frem River Beaudette to Morrisburg, but without finding a single rock-exposure. From this last mentioned village I went as far as Embrun, crossing the township of Dundas and part of Carleton in a south-westerly direction, and from Embrun I travelled eastwardly to Glen Robertson and back to River Beaudette, having seen rocks of the Chazy, Tren- ton and Utica in this last circuit.

By making these sections, a district was outlined including part of Soulanges county, almost all Glengarry, all Stormont, half of Dundas, and parts of Carleton, Russell and Prescott counties, forming an area of about 675 square miles, in which roads were surveyed until the 25th of June. Five days were then spent in ascending River Beau- dette, in a canoe, as far as Glen Nevis, a distance of about fourteen miles, then descending the River Delisle, and going thence to St. Polycarpe, without seeing any rocks in situ. The low state of the water in these streams, compelled us to drag the canoe over sand, gravel and mud banks about half the distance.

Early in August, the water being then very low in all the streams, an examination was made of the south-east part of the north-west sheet of the ‘Eastern Townships’ map, as included in your instructions. Leav- ing Valleyfield on August the 5th, I drove down toSt. Francois du Lac in order to examine the small area attributed to the Medina, to the north-east of St. Francis River, south of Lake St. Peter. All the roads in this district were traversed, but no rocks were found in situ, even in the small brooks which ran in rather deep, irregular, clayey ravines, A number of wells have been dug in and about the village of St. Elphége, which is situated in the gore of Upton, and although

osweon. : SUMMARY REPORT. 71 A

these are ten to fifteen feet deep, no solid rock was met with in any of Quebec— them. om

“The larger Medina area to the east of the last, extends from the south- Silurian rocks. west branch of Nicolet River to the north-east, haing a width of about three miles on the north-east branch of the Nicolet River, with a maximum width of seven miles, and running about four miles north- east of the Becancour River. The red shales and sandstone forming this area can be seen in many places, and where not visible, the soil has a marked reddish-brown colour, and is, therefore, very different to the soil derived from the Hudson River rocks, which is gray. A paced survey of part of the north-east branch of the Nicolet River was made, in order to locate on that stream, an anticline in the Hudson River formation. These Hudson River rocks are much twisted, altered and faulted on both sides of the above anticline, and more particularly to the south of it. The disturbance has very probably been caused at the same time as the fault between the Hudson River and the © Sillery, which Dr. Ells observed on the Becancour River in 1388.

“Rev. Mr. Proulx, director of the Nicolet college, is sinking a well Boring at just behind that institution in search of gas, the find made in Beausé- icolet jour somé years ago at about seven or eight miles from Nicolet village, being the only indication which prompted the above named gentleman to make this trial. No gas has yet been found, although the hole was 1100 feet deep when I was there last, and the record kept gives, in descending order :—120 feet of clay, 10 feet of sand, 970 feet of Hudson River shales, with possibly Utica shales at the base.

“On the 17th of August I returned to Vaudreuil, and from that Return to date to the 21st of October, with the exception of a few days spent sheet 120. with Dr. Ells near Montreal and St. J ohns, P. Q., continued work in the area of sheet No. 120, chiefly in the eastern half of that sheet.

“The vicinity of Rigaud Mountain was examined, and the Potsdam potsdam sandstones of Como and Hudson, which crop out at about one mile sAndstone. southward of Ste. Anne de Prescott and can be traced for a considera- ble distance in the direction of St. Redemption village. A hill of this rock to the north-west of Ste. Marthe, extends towards Ste. Justine de Newton in the county of Soulanges. The formation also appears on the shore of the St. Lawrence about nine miles east of Côteau du Lac church and extends thence to the Cascades at the lower entrance to the Soulanges canal. In the eastern and southern part of Huntingdon county, the Potsdam was in part outlined.

“East of the Potsdam appears the Calciferous, first at the mouth Calciferous. of River Delisle, on the St. Lawrence River, where a quarry has been

Quebec— Cont.

Chazy.

Trenton.

12 A GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPAkTMENT.

opened to furnish material for the construction of the Soulanges canal. It also occurs a short distance east of the Canada Atlantic railway, in the canal excavation, as well as at the Canada Atlantic railway bridge, where ledges of limestonr were struck at 30 feet below the actual surface. Rocks of this age appear at Glen Nevis on River Beaudette, in Glengarry county, as well as at Glen Sandfield, in the same county. North of Winchester and at a short distance from Ormond are ledges of brownish-weathering, fine, gray limestone with a greenish hue which very probably belong to the Calciferous formation. To the s uth of the St. Lawrence, impure limestone of Calciferous age outcrops in a few places in the county of Huntingdon.

‘The bluish-black, brittle Chazy limestone, has been, and is still quarried, in several places in the district examined, but apart from these openings but few exposures belonging to this formation could be seen. The characteristic green Chazy shales of the vicinity of

Ottawa, have not been met with in situ, and débris of the same were

seen in one place only. Near Glen Robertson station, there are two quarries in very dark, bluish-gray or blackish Chazy limestone. It is very brittle and hard, contains iron-pyrites in places and holds many bril- lant specks consisting of small crystals of calcite. At about one mile and a half from Glen Robertson station, there is another quarry in dark bluish-gray or blackish limestone of the same age, thick-bedded, and some. what more concretionary than that at the abovestation. This limestone is not as good for building purposes as that of the quarries nearer Glen Robertson station ; it has in many places a rough, pitted weathered surface and holds fossils amongst which are fine sections of Pleuroto- maria. At about four miles and a half north of Cornwall station, there is also a small quarry in blackish, brittle, heavy-bedded and jointed limestone ; it has a rough weathering which exhibits in many places a coarse net-work, the meshes being of brownish colour. It holds small inclusions of calcite as well as iron-pyrites finely distri- buted in thin bands.

“ Though my surveys are not yet all plotted, I can safely say that the Trenton formation has a greater extent than any of the others in the eastern part of sheet 120. Limestones belonging to this formation have been seen in many places, among which the following may be particularly noted :—At about one mile and a half south of Vankleek Hill, there is a small quarry in fine, gray, very brittle and bituminous Trenton limestone, with partings filled with bituminous matter and joints coated with white crystallized calcite. The beds here are some- what folded. At one mile south-east of St. Isidore, in Prescott County, hard, gray limestone contains many crinoid stems and other

mr -

cuwson. SUMMARY REPORT. 73 À

Quebec—

well preserved fossils. On the Nation River at Casselman, limestone Cont

occurs, very probably of Trenton age. Not very far from Apple Hill station, on the Canadian Pacific railway, in Glengarry county, are ledges of gray fossiliferous Trenton limestone, and a little over one mile to the north-west of these ledges, is a quarry in bluish-gray Trenton limestone, in beds varying from one to three feet in thickness. This limestone is very fine and compact in some bands and fossiliferous in others ; it is much jointed, one set of joints being perpendicular to the other. The beds are concretionary in places and separated by thin: shaly partings. At about three-quarters of a mile north-east of Lochiel post-oflice, in Glengarry county, are ledges of gray fossiliferous Trenton limestone containing corals. At Crysler, in the northern part of Stormont county, the beds and banks of the Nation River, for about 350 to 400 feet below the bridge, and up to the dam, about one- quarter of a mile from the bridge, consist of gray, thin-bedded Trenton limestone. The limestones of this formation dip at low angles in various directions, and the non-continuity of exposures renders it almost impossible to determine their thickness.

“A small basin of Utica rocks occurs about Maxville on the Canada Utica. Atlantic railway ; débris of black shales belonging to this formation having been seen in half a dozen places in the neighbourhood of this village. On Mr. M. J. Fisher’s property, lot 2, rauge 6, of the town- ship of Roxborough in Stormont county, these black shales holding Trilobites, Orthoceras, Lingula, &c., form the bed of a small brook for some distance, not far from, and to the south of, the Canada Atlantic railway. These shales appear to lie horizontally. I am told that ‘the same shales were met with in many places about Maxville in digging wells, at depths of 20 to 23 feet. Whether this small area is the continuation of the one to the east of the city of Ottawa, has not yet been ascertained.

“As a rule, the rocks in this district show glacial striæ compara- Glacial de-

. ° . . . posits. tively seldom, and these vary considerably in direction from place to

place. Courses were in fact observed ranging between S. 41° E. and

S. 40° W. Marine shells such as Macoma fragilis, Macoma calearea, Saxicava rugrosa, &c., have been found in many places in the counties of Soulanges, Glengarry and Stormont, and near Céteau du

Lac church, in the excavation of the Soulanges canal, at twenty-

two feet below surface, was found a fossil skeleton of the white

whale or white porpoise (Delphinapterus catodon) but unfortunately

only one of the vertebræ could be preserved, as all the rest of the bones

fell to pieces.

Quebec— Cont.

Bog-iron.

Water supply.

Peat.

Work by Dr. Bell.

14 À Geological Survey Department.

‘ Fine boulders of labradorite were seen in a couple of places in the county of Glengarry. On the road from Alexandria to Glen Robert- son, one of these boulders was blasted, and exhibits large crystals of beautiful iridescent labradorite.

“ Bog-iron ore, is found in small quantity in the sand-hills of Vaudreuil county, and the same mineral occurs on lot 2, range 6, of Roxborough township, in Stormont county, on a small hill, a short distance to the south of the exposure of black Utica shale.

“ In regard to water supply, the following notes may be given :—

‘On River Beaudette, at about three-quarters of a mile north of the Grand Trunk railway, is a fine spring of good water. An analysis of this water has been published.* Near the hotel in Maxville, there are two wells very close to one another ; the water from one of them is very good, while the other is highly sulphurous.

“Some years ago, a well was sunk in search of oil at a short distance from Bainsville, in Glengarry county. The depth is given at 760 feet, but no oil was found. Excellent water, however, flows continually from this well, to about three feet above the surface, the flow being much greater in the spring than during the summer. In the village of Maxville there is another flowing well, twenty-two feet deep only, which furnishes good water in small quantity. At about one mile east of River Beaudette, to the north of the main road to Céteau Landing, is another flowing well which is about seventy feet deep and gives excellent water. One mile further east, along the St. Thomas concession-road running northward, and between the St. Lawrence shore-road and the Grand Trunk railway, are two more very good flowing wells fifty-five to sixty feet deep only.

‘There are several peat bogs in this district, which, I think, could be worked profitably. That to the south of the St. Lawrence, in the county of Huntingdon, crossed by the road from Port Lewis to Huntingdon village, has been already worked some years ago and presents many adyantages for exploitation.

“Good building material as well as numerous and thick deposits of clays very suitable for brick making are of frequent occurrence.

‘ During the season I surveyed 1249 miles of roads and rivers, viz., 1242 miles of roads by wheel and seven miles of rivers by pacing.”

During the winter months, Dr. R. Bell was engaged in elaborating the results of his field-work on sheets No. 129 and 128, and preparing

*Annual Report, Geol. Surv. Can., vol. I. (N.S.), p. 12 x.

sun, SUMMARY REPORT. 75 À

local geological maps to be used in laying down the details of the Quebec— geology of the region from the Sudbury sheet to thè eastern “

shore of Lake Superior, for publication on a scale of four miles to one

inch, as soon as these two sheets shall have been compiled upon a proper projection. Some further progress was also made towards the completion of the Manitoulin sheet, No. 126.

In 1887, as recorded in the Summary Report for that year, Dr. ee Vanne Bell was engaged in the geological exploration of the Upper Ottawa Ottawa re- River, and in the course of this work, the late Mr. A.S. Cochrane (one gion of Dr. Bell’s assistants at that time) under his directions crossed the watershed to the north of Grand Lake and followed a chain of lakes and river leading northward to Shabogamog Lake. This lake, which proved to be about thirty miles in length, was also surveyed, and the river discharging from it was followed for a further distance of some ten miles, making in all about seventy miles in a straight line from Grand Lake. The existence of an important belt of Huronian rocks was ascertained by Mr. Cochrane, but its limits, as well as the further course of the river, which at this time was supposed to flow into Hannah Bay, remained indeterminate. The river flowing from Shabagamog Lake, evidently, however, offered a route of some kind which has hitherto remained practically unknown, geographically and geologically, from the head-waters of the Ottawa to James Bay. Dr. Bell, having been requested to make a preliminary examination of the country in question, decided to follow the route indicated. He successfully descended and surveyed the whole length of the river, which proved to be the main branch of the Nottaway or Noddawai, discharging in Rupert Bay. Dr. Bell gives the following account of this interesting exploration :—

“My party consisted of my assistant, Mr. Alexander Barclay, five Party and Indians from the Maniwaki Reserve, and Théophile Michaud, a route: French Canadian voyageur, who had accompanied me during six previous years. J provided myself with two birch-bark canoes, in which we carried our provisions, outfit and everything necessary while making our measurements during the season. By this means, we proceeded very rapidly, otherwise it would have been impossible to make such an extensive topographical survey, together with various explorations, in so short a time.

“In going northward by canoe from Maniwaki, two routes are available, one by the Gatineau River and its tributary the Gens de Terre, and the other by the Désert and its branch the Thomasine. Both are very difficult for loaded canoes. We left Maniwaki village

‘Quebec— Cont.

re Me veys Mr. ‘Cochrane.

Map of the Crown Lands Department.

76 A Geological Survey Department.

on the Ist of July, and followed the Désert route to Lac des Rapides. This lake has two outlets, one southward to the Gatineau and the other northward, discharging part of its water into the Upper Ottawa at a place called The Barrière or Dam. From this locality, we followed the Ottawa down-stream, or westward, to Grand Lake.

‘Leaving the northern extremity of Twenty-mile Bay, of Grand Take, by a small brook, we crossed the height-of-land and descended to Shabogamag Lake, (properly, Shibogama, or lake of channels) referred to in connection with Mr. Cochrane’s survey of 1887. Mr. Cochrane’s map shows every topographical detail, and it was found to be sufficiently accurate for present geological purposes. Mr. Coch- rane supposed: the river he had been surveying below Shibogama Lake to be one of the branches of a river which ultimately fell into Hannah Bay. This was at that time, and it still is, the opinion of the few Indians who are aware of its existence, and we did not hear of any white man who had ever visited the stream up to that time, although many years ago a part of it may have been used by the Indian voyageurs of the Hudson’s Bay Company. In this connection, I may mention that the lower parts of the stream are frequented by only one Indian, and that he came only a few years ago from the Abitibi region. His name is Taibi, and we had the good fortune to meet him at Grand Lake house, when he was on his annual trading trip to that post, and to engage him as guide for the river as far as he might know it. Although this man knew more of this river than any other person, he declared emphatically that it did not dis- charge into Rupert Bay, but ‘somewhere between that bay and Moose River’; but in this he turned out to be quite mistaken. He had obtained his information from other Indians, who were supposed to know the facts.

“ Before leaving Maniwaki, I had requested and obtained from the Honourable the Commissioner of Crown Lands of Quebec, a tracing of a map by Mr. Henry O'Sullivan, P. L. 8., showing the streams to the north-east of Grand Lake and thence northward to Waswanipi Lake. To the north of Grand Lake this map showed the route we were going to follow about thirty miles further than it had been surveyed by Mr. Cochrane in 1887, but without any details, such as were shown with great accuracy on Mr. Cochrane’s map ; nor had it the notes on soil, timber, etc., which are shown on the map, dated 22nd October, 1895, and published in the report of the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Quebec, for 1895. This was the only information I obtained from the Crown Lands Department in reference to the region explored.

ouweon. SUMMARY REPORT. 77 A

“The existing sketch-maps show a river named Noddawai entering Quebec—

the head of Rupert Bay and one named Hannah Bay River flowing into a. the head of the bay of that name. The upward course of both is shown by represented as being south-east, so that the ‘Hannah Bay River, °F? would, if this were correct, intercept the north-flowing river which we were about to descend from the neighbourhood of Grand Lake. Another stream, called West River, is usually represented on the maps as draining Michigami Lake and flowing into Hannah Bay, west of the river of that name. But the stream which drains Michigami Lake is not West River, but one bearing the same name as the lake itself, and it does not flow towards Hannah Bay, but north” eastward into the lower part of the Noddawai, thus crossing, nearly at right-angles, the course assigned to the so-called ‘Hannah Bay River The stream which enters the head of Hannah Bay is called by the natives Wash-a-how-sipi, or Bay River. It rises to the south-east of Abitibi Lake, and its course lies to the west of Michigami Lake and river,

“The river which we descended was found to fall into the western Course of. part of x lake called Mattakami, or Mattagami, lying nearly at right Noddawat ae angles to the general course of the stream. The same lake receives thé tained. Waswanipi, which is also a large river, from the east. The name Mattagami means ‘lake at the meeting of two rivers.’ From the north side of this reservoir the Noddawai, as a very large river, flows out with a northerly course of about 100 miles to Rupert Bay.

“Shibogama Lake, referred to in the report for 1887, is an expansion of the river which we descended to Mattagami Lake. The Migiskun (or fish-hook 1) River flows at right-angles into the east side of this lake, and its source, which is near that of the St. Maurice, is probably further from the sea than that of any of the other branches of the river-system to which it belongs; but the stream which we descended from the height- of-land near Grand Lake, follows the course of what appears to be the central depression, and it also flows through the central part of the area of this river-system. For these and other reasons, the river we followed fron the height-of-land to Mattagami Lake may, I believe, properly be considered the trunk stream and the Migiskun a branch. This line

This word means the Iroquois Indians, or perhaps more exactly, the Mohawk division of these people, in both the Otchipwé and Cree dialects. It is differently spelled by various authorities, but the pronunciation is intended to be nearly the same in all cases. The following are some examples of the spelling :—Noddawai— Admiralty charts of Hudson Bay. Nottaway and Notaway--Most sketch-maps. Nadowé (Otchipwe for an Iroquoi Indian)--Bishop Baraga’s dictionary. Nitowew (Cree for Iroquois} - Pére Lacombe’s dictionary. Nahduwa Chippewa ” for Iroquois, Mohawk)--Revd. E. F. Wilson's dictionary. Natoowâo (Northern Cree for Iroquois), --Revd. E. A. Watkins dictionary. The first of these is adopted in this report.

Quebec— Cont.

Hydrogra- phic basin.

Wide level country.

78 A Geological Sukvey Department.

of depression is continuous with the straight and narrow Twenty-mile bay of Grand Lake. A low sandy tract now separates the waters of the Upper Ottawa from those flowing north, and forms the watershed at the extremity of the bay just mentioned, but at a recent geological period, the waters of the Upper Ottawa probably flowed down the central stream of the drainage area above referred to. The change to the present conditions has probably been due to the relatively greater uplift of the continent to the north than to the south. This former diversion of the waters of the Upper Ottawa to James Bay, was fully described by me in a paper read before the Royal Society of Canada last May, of which abstracts were published in the Journal of Geology and the Scottish Geographical Magazine for July, 1895.

“The hydrographic basin drained mostly by the Noddawai River and its branches, appears to be larger than that of the Moose River or that of the Ottawa. The Wash-a-how, or Bay River, to the west and the Broad-back River to the east of the Noddawai may be properly in- cluded in this drainage area, which would thus embrace some 70,000 square miles. The basin, like that of the Moose River, is about as broad as it is long, and, as in the case of the former, the waters flow from ail sides towards the northern margin. It lies immediately south-east of James Bay, just as the basin of Moose River lies to the south-west of it, and the one basin is a sort of counterpart of the other.

“The elevation of the low divide between Grand Lake and the waters flowing north, is probably not much, if anything, over 1000 feet above the sea, and, as the surface of the basin under consideration is mostly level, as far as I could observe or ascertain, the greater part of it is probably under this level. The conditions were very similar through- out the entire distance and the country presented the same general] appearance all the way from Grand Lake to James Bay. Isolated hills and ridges were to be seen occasionally from the canoe route. I ascended a number of these and in every case obtained a good view of the surrounding country. It always presented an even or slightly undulating aspect, with a hill or ridge here and there. To the west ward of Gull Lake, on the Waswanipi River, the country is more hilly than elsewhere, and a rocky ridge runs along the south side of Matta- gami Lake, with one point rising to the height of 670 feet above its level. I was informed by Mr David Baxter, in charge of the Hud- son’s Bay Company’s post at Waswanipi Lake, that along the canoe route from Gull Lake to the Rupert River the country is almost uni- formly low and level.

oxwson. SUMMARY REPORT. 79 A

“The immediate banks of both the main river and its branches, Quebec— are generally low, averaging only from five to fifteen feet, and it is Sn ce and only in places that they exceed thirty f-et in height, although the soil. ground usually rises at a short distance back from the water, and often attains an elevation of from 50 to 100 feet, especially below Mattagami Lake. For long distances, the land along the river-margins is very level and the trees grow quite to the water’s edge. The higher scarped banks generally expose bouldery till at the bottom, with thinly stratified horizontal brown clay above, but when the banks are lower they show only the brown clay. The solid rock is commonly seen beneath the superficial deposits at the stronger chutes and rapids, and it forms many projecting points in the rivers and lakes. The brown clay appears to be spread over the greater part of the region, as the water of the main river and most of its tributaries is turbid, except that of the Migiskun, Waswanipi and Michigama. It has the same tint as the clay itself, and resembles that of coffee with milk. Marshes of limited extent occur in places along the rivers and around the lakes, but in looking over the country it was only occasionally that swamps could be seen. The slope of the ground and the ramifications of the humerous streams, appear to afford sufficient natural drainage to reach most of the land fit for cultivation.

“ Timber.—The white and red pine extend from the southward for a Trees. short distance beyond the height-of-land. Banksian pine is found, where suitable conditions exist, as far as Mattagami Lake, but its range towards James Bay is not restricted on account of the latitude, but by some other circumstance, for in a slightly more easterly longi- tude this tree ranges northward to Great Whale River, a distance of about 450 miles in a straight line from Mattagami Lake. Tamarack or larch, is abundant and of fine growth, but unfortunately most of the trees, throughout the whole distance from Grand Lake to James Bay, have been attacked by the grub of the recently imported larch saw-fly. A certain proportion of the. trees have been already killed by this pest, and the remainder will probably die also if its attacks are continued for a year or two longer.*

“White spruce is perhaps the most valuable tree of the district White spruce. explored. It grows toa great size everywhere along the rivers and lakes, and although, as a rule, it may be larger near their banks, where it often girths upwards of six feet, a considerable proportion : of the trees itland also attain a good size. In point of numbers

*In 1893 Mr. Low found the tamaracks in the interior of Labrador as far north as the East Main River, all dying from the same cause. Its ravages extend southward to the Gatineau Valley.

Quebec — Cont.

Possible i- cultural value

Flora.

Crops.

80 A Geological Survey Department.

of individual trees, the black spruce takes first rank, and a large proportion of them are of a sufficient size for various useful pur- poses, such as fuel, building, railway-ties and wood for paper-making. Balsam fir grows in perfection, and is abundant throughout the

district. White cedar is confined principally to the margins of lakes

and rivers. Its northern geographical limit is slightly beyond the region explored, and it becomes scarce as we approach James Bay. White or canoe birch is a thrifty and abundant tree everywhere. Aspen or trembling-leaf poplar is the most common deciduous tree. The balsam poplar was not observed in the southern part of the great river basin, but was plentiful in the northern part. The timber is almost everywhere of mature age, or consists of old second- growths, and it will be of great importance to preserve these exten- sive forests, as far as possible, against fires, which have wrought such havoc in so many other districts. A few square miles have been destroyed by fire in recent years on the east side of Siskumika Lake, on the Noddawai, but with this exception we noticed only insignificant patches which had been burnt.

““Climate.—The greater part of the region under consideration lies between latitudes 48° and 51°, or south of London. While it does not, like Western Europe, enjoy the advantages of an atmosphere warmed by ocean currents, neither does it suffer from the disad- vantages of the chilling effect of the Arctic current, like Eastern Labrador. The climate may be considered as normal for the above latitudes. In estimating its probable suitability for agriculture, it may be mentioned that wheat ripens well at Lake St. John, to the eastward, and also, when tried at different times, at New Brunswick House, on the Missinaibi River, and at Newpost, on the Abitibi, to the west, while barley ripens at Rupert’s House and Moose Factory, both of which lie to the north of this region. Newpost lies near the western border and to the north of the greater part of the tract in question, but a straight line drawn from it to Lake St. John would pass through the centre of the area.

‘The flora of the district may naturally be assumed to be identical with that of the adjoining basin of Moose River in the same latitudes. In 1877, I made a tolerably complete collection of the plants of this region, and Professor Macoun, botanist to this department, after care- fully identifying the species, said that, judging from this flora, he saw no reason why wheat might not be successfully grown as a crop.

‘ At Waswanipi post, a little to the north-east of the centre of the region, we saw potatoes and a considerable variety of vegetables all

œuson SUMMARY REPORT. Sl 4

doing well, although the soil at that particular spot is very inferior to (Juebec-- the average of the district. Timothy and red and white clover, which Cont. had been accidently sown at this post, were also thriving. I did not

hear of any experiments in grain-growing having been made at this establishment, but it was said that grain of some kind had been raised

many years ago by the North-west Company’s agents on land close to

the present Hudson’s Bay Company’s post.

“Last summer, we found the rainfall excessive. After the begin- Rainfall. ning of August, more or less rain fell every day, and often it was heavy and continuous for twelve to thirty-six hours. Thunder storms with heavy rain were also frequent. At Moose Factory we were told that the past summer had been the most rainy one in the memory of the present generation. Although the season was probably an exception- ally rainy one in the region we passed through, several circumstances indicate that a copious rainfall is the normal condition in this district. The ground under the dense coniferous forest is everywhere covered by a thick carpet of yellowish-green moss, and in favourable places along the Noddawai River, peat accumulates to a depth of from five to ten feet, and even more. The number of rivers, brooks and stream- lets, full of water in the middle of summer, is unusually large. and the total quantity of wAter discharged into the sea is also great in propor- tion to the area. The difference in the amount of the discharge at the high- and low-water levels in the main river and its principal branches did not appear to be greater than the proportion of two to one, if so great. The average height at which the trees are barked by the run- ning ice in the spring, is about ten feet. The conditions all over the drainage area are very favourable for holding back the water and thus regulating or equalizing its outflow. Among them may be mentioned the general level character and moderate slope of the whole region, the thousands of natural dams formed by logs and sticks lying across the smaller branches, and especially the thick c.ating of moss all over the surface, acting as a sponge saturated with water and draining slowly

“Again, the quantity of snow and the conditions under which it Snowfall.

melts, must be considered in relation to the water supply of these rivers. Snow lying in tne shade of the close evergreen forest, does not melt rapidly in the e:rly spring as it does from among the deciduous trees which are leafless at that season, or, as in a cleared or open country, but is very slowly acted upon, and it lasts for about six weeks longer than it would if exposed to the sun. Mr. Baxter, of Was- wanipi, inforned me that the average depth of snow in the wonds (where it does not drift) was considerably more than four feet.

82 À Geological Survey Department.

Quebec— ‘ Notwithstanding the unusually wet summer at Moose Factory, ne . the central and western branches of Moose River were lower in regularities in September than I had ever before seen them. But the Abitibi, which 165. lies nearest the basin of the Noddawai, appeared to be moderately full when we passed its mouth about the middle of the month. At Moose Factory, we were told that these conditions had prevailed for some time before we started up the river. In connection with this subject, it may be here remarked that Mr. Low this summer experi- enced very wet weather in southern central Labrador; also that voyageurs on the Rupert River were troubled by frequent and heavy rains. From all the foregoing and other facts, it would appear that a dry summer prevailed to the south and west of the basin of the Nod- dawai, while there was an unusually wet one in and eastward of that

region. Storm of ex- “The extraordinary weather which we experienced at the time of ceptional the equinoxes may be worth noting here, as our position was far from

any meteorological station, except that of Moose Factory. We were in the neighbourhood of ‘The Forks’ of Moose River, about fifty miles from Moose Factory. A severe thunder storm, with very dark sky and east wind, occupied most of the forenoon of the 20th of September. In the evening, an extraordinarily warm breeze, for that season, set in from the south-west and continued all night. At 9 p.m. the thermometer stood at 73° Far. The 21st was a fine and warm day, followed by rain at night. At our camp on the Missinaibi River, about twenty miles above ‘The Forks,’ it rained during the whole twenty-four hours of the 22nd, with a dark sky; distinct thunder was heard at times. Lightning and thunder, with heavy rain, con- tinued throughout the night of the 22nd, and at daylight of the 23rd, a great gale sprang up from the south-west. This continued all day, the force increasing and diminishing at intervals. The water of the river drifted like snow, and it was impossible for us to move. We were obliged to place our canoes in the woods to prevent them from being blown away. The living forest trees were blown down in great numbers. Our camp was about 300 feet above sea-level. The bar- ometer stood at 29-07 at 7 a.m. of the 23rd, and had risen to 29:94 at 7 a.m. on the 24th. On our journey south-westward from this place, we found that the trees had been blown over all along our route as far as the Canadian Pacific railway, a distance of more than 200 miles, but the destruction inflicted appeared to diminish gradually in that direction. For long distances, about half of the trees had been blown over, rendering it it almost impossible to force one’s way through the woods. In many places, acres of the forest had been

œron. SUMMARY REPORT. 83 À

prostrated bodily. Previous to this destructive gale, most of the Quebec— trees which had fallen had had time to rot away, which must have ont. required a period of fifty years or more, so that even if at any previous

time they had been thrown down in large numers at once, such an occurrence must have been upwards of fifty years ago.

“ Fauna.—In the region explored, fur-bearing animals and game of Fauna.

all kinds were scarcer than might have been expected, and this circum- stance probably accounts for the small number of Indians in the district. Caribou are found throughout the whole region, but not usually in any great numbers. Moose and Virginia deer are confined to the southern part. Only a few black bears were seen. The com- mon American hare (or ‘rabbit’) was rather plentiful, but the chickaree or red squirrel was rare, notwithstanding the abundance of its favourite food, the cones of the balsam fir, and the two kinds of spruce.

“The scarcity of ducks is owing partly to the absence of rice, although the conditions for it appear favourable, and it should grow well if introduced. Another reason is the great reduction which has taken place during late years in the number of the water-fowls in general which migrate to James Bay, owing to the drying of the salt marshes, and to their wholesale destruction in their winter resorts.

“Fish are abundant in all the waters. They consist of whitefish, sturgeon, pike, pickerel, gold-eyes, chubs, suckers and dog-fish. Neither speckled nor gray (lake) trout were seen, nor could ve hear of their existence in the district, although the former may occur locally in clear cool streams, as in the case of the Upper Ottawa region and the Moose River basin.

“ Geology.—The rocks along our route from Maniwaki to Grand Lake Hironian and all belong to the Laurentian series and consist of gneisses with a little Laurentian crystalline limestone in some places. To the northward of Grand Lake Mr. Cochrane found Huronian rocks, with some gneiss, as far as he went. Gneiss occurs about the outlet of Shibogama Lake, but beyond that, rocks which may, for the most part, be classed as Huronian were found all along our route towards James Bay, till we reached a point about six miles northward of the outlet or the narrows of Mattagami Lake. A considerable proportion of the area, however, consists of granitic rocks, some of which may perhaps, on close investigation, be placed with the Laurentian, while others are probably true intrusives,

Granite was almost the only rock observed on Waswanipi River between Gull and Waswanipi lakes. The boundary between the Huronian and Laurentian rocks runs westward from Noddawai River and crosse

the north-west bay of Mattagami Lake. From the above-mentioned

Quebec -- Cont.

Glaciation an d surface de- posits.

84 A Geological Survey Department.

point (about six miles northward of the narrows or outlet of Matta- gami Lake), gneisses with some granitoid patches and occasional bands of micaceous and hornblende schists were the only rocks met with in situ all the way to Rupert’s House.

“The Huronian rocks, in the region traversed, have a creater de- velopment than we had expected, and this circumstance adds the prospective economic value the country, since these rocks are more likely to produce valuable mine::ls thin the Laurentian. Towards tie southern side of the Huroniin area, the general strike is north and north-north-we:tward ; in the central part it is north-west, and to- wards the north side we-t-north-west to west. The rocks consist prin- cipally of a variety of schists, ~uch as dioritic, chloritic, hornblendic, and micaceous and also slatey arkose, alternating wit'i massive greenstones intersected by re! and gray granites.

“Veins of quartz were frequently seen and some of them cont:ined small quantities of iron- and copper-pyrites. As gold (xenerally in small quantities) frequently occurs in such veins in similar Huro:ian rocks elsewhere, it is very probable that it may rooner or later be found in this region also.

“ Superficial Geology.—The surface of the crystalline rocks is every- where thoroughly glaciated. The general course of the striæ is south-south-westward, with loc:l variations, but towards the northern part of the district there is also a newer set of grooves running south- easterly and close to Kupert Bay there were several local sets having other courses. From Grand to Mattagami Lake, the drift mater- ials consisted princi; ally of the débris of the local Huronian rocks, with a certain proportion from the Manitounuck and Devonian rocks of James Bay, the percentage of these latter increasing as we went northward. Beyond Mattagami Lake this percentage became very ec n- siderable, the remainder of the materials in that region consisting prin- cipally of Liurentian gneiss. The Manitounuck and Devonian drift had probably been first carried to the south-westwar 1 from James Bay and afterwards south-eastward when a change had taken place in the di- rection of the glacial movement. As already mentioned, tie horizon- tilly stratified clay in the higher cut-banks along the rivers was ‘een be underlain by l'oulder-clay or till.

“Tn travelling by water ‘hrough a dens ly wooded country like this, very little could be done in the way of observing any terraces or other evidences of former water-margins that may exist in the region. The first proof of the former submergence of the land afforded by fossils, was found only when we came near the head of tide-water, where the

oaweon. SUMMARY REPORT. 85 A

clayey banks of the Noddawai are about seventy feet high, and in their Quebec— upper parts contain the brackish-water varieties of a number of the ss commoner northern marine mollusca.

“ Before closing this report, I wish to express my obligations Mr. Charles Logue, of Maniwaki, and to Messrs. W. K. Broughton, Don- ald McTavish, David Baxter, Captain Taylor, and other officers of the Hudson's Bay Company whom we met, for assisting me in various ways :0 carry out the objets of the season’s operations.”

Mr. R. Chalmers was, during the winter of 1894-95, engaged in Work by Mr. working up for publication the results of investigations on the Surface Chalmers. Geology of New Brunswick and adjacent’ provinces, including part of South-western Quebec. His report, covering a portion of the work above indicated and accompanied by five maps, has since been printed.

The field-work of the past summer was chiefly directed to the investigation of the auriferous districts of the province of Quebec, but a short visit was also paid to the salt spring at Saline, King’s county, New Brunswick, on which a note is appended (p. 97). Mr. Chalmers reports as follows upon the work carried out :—

On the 25th of May, I left Ottawa for the Eastern Townships of Instructions Quebec to begin field-work there for the season. The object of the #1 Plan. work as stated by you in letter of instructions, was to ascertain more precisely than has yet been done, the relations of the alluvial deposits containing gold, (1) to the places of their origin, and (2) to the glacial drift of the region. In pursuance of this object, you further stated,

‘it would be necessary to investigate the general character and sequence of all the superficial deposits systematically,’ etc.

“In commencing the work thus outlined, it was considered best to examine the deposits in those districts where alluvial gold mining has hitherto been carried on, and where shafts and other excavations have been opened, the facts thus obtained being considered as more likely to elucidate the problems presented for solution. The gold mining operations have been practically confined, (1) to Beauce county, and principally to the valleys of the Chaudiere River and its affluents, (2) to the valley of Little Ditton River, township of Ditton, and (3) to Dudswell Mountain, townships of Dudswell and Westbury. For the sake of brevity these will be called, the Chaudiere area, the Ditton area and the Dudswell area. Outside of these areas no profitable gold mining has been carried on, although gold is known to occur, as shown by Dr. R. W. Ells,* in the alluviums, as well as in quartz, in a great

*Annual Report, Geol. Surv. Can., vol. IL. (N.S.), pp. 51 J-53 J.

Quebec— Cont.

Chaudière

area.

Present activ- ty in mining.

86 A Geological Survey Department.

number of localities between the international boundary and the range of mountains nearest the St. Lawrence River, known as the north- easterly extension of the Green Mountains.

‘“‘In the investigation of the auriferous gravels and other superficial deposits of these three areas, the principal part of the season was spent ; but some weeks were devoted to the study of the glacial phenomena of the region, and to the work of tracing the post-glacial shore-lines along the northern slope of the Notre Dame Range.

“ Alluvial gold mining in the Chaudière area.—Of the three gold-pro- ducing areas mentioned, the largest and most important is that of the Chaudière. This area has been worked for alluvial gold since 1846, and the total production in that time is said to be of the value of about two million dollars. For some years, however, very little gold mining has been carried on except in a desultory manner, at intervals, with pick, shovel, and rocker or sluice-box, and a number of locations which might be profitably worked are idle. This condition of things is said to be due to several causes :—First, to a lack of the knowledge and skill necessary to successful alluvial gold mining, as pointed out by Dr..Selwyn in his Report on Gold Mining in Nova Scotia and Quebec second, to the extravagance with which the mining has been carried on by those who operated on a larger scale than the local miner ; and third, to the fact that large portions of the best mining lands are owned by private individuals and companies, who do not work them themselves, but hold these lands at such high values as to Place them altogether beyond the reach of the ordinary miner. Other causes might be specified, one of which is said to be the difficulty of securing good titles in some localities. Taking everything into con- sideration, the gold mining industry in the Chaudière is heavily handi- capped, and capital has very naturally shrank from investment there. The prospects of some revival are, however, becoming noticeable of late, especially in those portions of the area lying outside the De Lery seigniory, while some work has also been carried on in the latter district, especially in Gilbert River valley, by Mr. F. Wadsworth, of the American Gold Mining Co. of Boston, with Samuel Byrne, an old California miner, in charge. On the Du Loup, Mr. E. B. Haycock of Ottawa, who has a three-stamp quartz mill there, has been doing some good work in prospecting for gold-bearing gravels and testing the quartz found in numerous veins in the lower part of that river. Mr. John Blue, manager of the Eustis Mines, Capelton, and his son, have also been prospecting for gold in the alluviums of the Du Loup, with,

*Report of Progress, Geol. Surv. Can., 1870-71, pp. 275-76.

vawaos. SUMMARY REPORT. 87 A

so far as I have been able to learn, encouraging results. Mr. Louis Quebec— Gendreau, of Jersey Mills, worked at Chaudière falls for several ©” weeks during the past summer, and extracted gold from the gravels there. Sluicing for gold was also carried on at the Devil’s Rapids, Chaudière River, for a short time, but I did not learn the result. Late in the autumn, Mr. J. E. Hardman, the well-known Nova Scotia gold miner, began operations at St. George, Beauce county, and at the time of my leaving the field—October 17th—had started a tunnel from

the bank of Chaudiére up Slate Creek valley, expecting to reach the pre-glacial gold-bearing gravels in the old bed of that stream. Capt.

Geo. Macduff, an experienced alluvial miner, was in charge of the work.

“Allumal gold mining in the Ditton area.—The Ditton area is Ditton area. another from which a large amount of alluvial gold is reported to have been taken, it is said, to the value of seventy-five thousand dollars or more. The richest deposits were met with in that part of the area known as the Pope mine, lots 39 and 40, range 9, Ditton. For some years, however, little or no mining has been done there except prospecting and testing for gold some of the numerous quartz-veins which occur in this area. That the alluvial gold of the Little Ditton valley is exhausted, does not seem reasonable to suppose; but the country along both sides is thickly wooded, and exploration difficult, and so far seems to have been carried on in a desultory and unskilful manner.

“ Alluvial gold mining at Dudswell.—The Dudswell gold area seems pudevyvell, to have been yielding satisfactory returns, at least to some of the parties lately operating there. From Kingsey Brook, lot 3, range 4, Duds- well, several thousand dollars worth of alluvial gold are reported to have been extracted within the last three years, and work is still car- ried on there by Mr. Chas. Rodrigue, and by Messrs. Copal, Mathieu & Co. Messrs. Osgood and Hall have a claim on the upper part of this stream, lot 4, range 4, Dudswell, which has been prospected, and promises well. Operations have also been begun on the first stream to the west of Kingsey Brook, flowing into St. Francis River, called Maynard’s Brook, where gold washing was carried on by Mr. Frederick Harrison, on lot 1, range 6, Westbury, with, I am informed, fair suc- cess, Latterly, gold has been discovered in quartz there.

“ Alluvial gold mining seems capable of being prosecuted at less ex- pense at Dudswell than in the Chaudière, and perhaps, even then in the Ditton area, owing to the thinness of the superficial deposits overlying the gold-bearing gravels, and.the narrowness of the valleys

Quebec — Cont.

Mode of oc- currence of the gold.

Section of sur- face deposits.

9 2)

Sa GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

“ Mode of occurrence of the alluvial gold.—The mode of occurrence of the alluvial gold is uearly the same in all the three areas under re- view. The principal portion of the gold is found in pre-glacial gravels in the old river-beds, as was pointed out by Dr. Selwyn,* or in these gravels eroded and transported along the present river-bottoms by fluviatile action since the ice age. The general succession of the de- posits in the areas which yield alluvial gold in the ‘ Eastern Town- ships’ of Quebec, may be thus stated in descending order:—(1) Surface gravel and sand, stratified, sometimes auriferous in river-terraces, but not containing gold, so far as known, in quantities sufficient to pay for working. (2) Boulder-clay, of greater or less thickness, usually con- taining traces of gold. (3) Sand, or sometimes gravel, stratified (the ‘quicksand’ of the miners), containing traces of gold in some places, but not in paying quantities, often absent. (4) Clay, usually fine-grained, stratified and compact (the ‘pipe-clay’ of the miners), not auriferous, so far as known, often thin or altogether wanting. (5) Gravel, usually yellow or oxidized throughout, stratified, compact, water-worn, con- taining boulders of all sizes up to two feet in diameter, but none gla- ciated ; all the materials of local origin, evidently deposited in old river-beds ; contains most gold. (6) Non-glaciated rock-surfaces, usually ochreous ; if slates, the top layers for one to three feet down, often contain gold between the lamine.

‘The intermediate members of the series (3 and 4) are often wanting, but boulder-clay and yellow gravel (5) are generally present, the latter, however, often thin. It is the ‘ pay-gravel’ of the miners, and in the bottom, close to the bed-rock, gold almost always occurs most abundantly. The compact ‘pipe-clay’ of the miners (4) is re- garded by them as indicating gold in the gravels beneath, if any gravels are present.

“ Pre-glacial rivers and origin of the yellow gravels.—The pre- glacial rivers appear to have followed channels on one side or the other of the existing river-valleys, somewhat different from those which the rivers now occupy, and the Chaudiére and Du Loup, at least, have flowed at lower levels. The present rivers cross the ancient river-beds at various points. In pre-glacial times, however, there would seem to have heen a filling up of the river-channels by sediment, in some parts of the valleys, at least, as at the present day, while in others there would probably be erosion. The materials of which these pre- glacial river sediments are composed, are such as have been carried down off the slopes by the sub-aérial and fluviatile agencies which

*Report of Progress, Geol. Surv. Can., 1870-71, pp. 279-76.

Dawson. ] SUMMARY REPORT. 89 A

were in operation at the time, and brought into the Lalleys by tribu- (Quebec— Cont,

taries. The gold contents would seen also by these means to have

been transported greater or less distances from their parent sources,

and concentrated in the sediments along certain parts of the ancient

river-courses When the ice of the glacial period advanced over the Subsequent

region, it failed to plough up and carry away many of these deposits, e

especially where they were protected by the inequalities of the sur-

face, and hence their preservation to the present day. The rivers, in

excavating their post-glacial channels have, however, cut through the

boulder-clay, and also these pre-glacial river-sediments in certain parts

of their courses, distributing the materials along the valley below, and

again assorting and scattering the gold contents along the river-bot-

toms. In this case, the gold occurs most abundantly in the lee of pro-

tecting reefs and ledges, and as in Kingsey Brook, at Dudswell, of even

the large boulders, as referred tu later on. Where the yellow pre-glacial

gravels have not been altogether denuded, however, and are auriferous,

the gold in them, is regarded by the miners as following ‘leads,’

that is, has originally been concentrated along certain zones or bands

by the action of the pre-glacial rivers.

“ Localities where the. yellow auriferous gravels were observed 1n Occurrences of

the Chaudière area.—In the Chaudière area, sections of the superficial pen ae deposits were examined in a great number of localities, and auri- ferous gravels were noted in the old river-beds in the following places :— In the Chaudiére Valley at the falls and at the Devil’s Rapids ; in the Du Loup Valley at the mouth of Gold Stream ; at Humphrey’s pit, a short distance below that, and at the Star Gold mine near the mouth of the river, where an excellent section is exposed, which will be de- scribed presently. In Slate Creek gold-bearing gravels occur, also along the Famine River below the falls, where the St. Onge Bros. tunnelled, and again near the upper falls. In the Gilbert River valley they seem to extend along the old river-bed almost continuously, though in some places apparently as a very thin sheet lying on the bed-rock. In Riviére des Plantes, these deposits were also observed in several places, and on the north bank of Meule Creek, a branch of Mill River, opposite St. Francis village, there seems to be an ex- tensive deposit.

“The remarkable series of superficial deposits occurring on the north Section of bank of Riviére du Loup, about a quarter of a mile from the mouth, Tou du in hydraulic pit No. 1, Star Gold Mine, already referred to, may be briefly described, as it affords a section exhibiting the general character and sequence of the pre-glacial and glacial deposits in the Chaudière

Quebec--— Cont.

Conditions of deposition li- plied.

90 A Geological Survey Department.

area better than any other known to me. In descending order, the following beds are disclosed :—(1) Surface gravel and sand, 1 to 3 feet. (2) Unstratified boulder-clay, containing glaciated boulders from feet in diameter downwards—some of them foreign to the locality, 37 to 38 feet. (3) Irregularly stratified boulder-clay, apparently in lenti- cular beds, with glaciated boulders and pebbles, 15 feet. (4) Unstratified boulder-clay, more compact than No. 2—boulders not so large, and a greater number from local sources, 20 feet. (5) Tough, dark-gray stratified clay, with sandy layers which are ochreous in places, 1 to 3 feet. (6) Stratified, gray, ochreous sand, containing a few pebbles, 12 to 14 feet. (7) Compact stratified clay, with variegated bands and an occasional layer of sand; the whole deposit full of joints and breaking into rhom- boidal-shaped pieces (‘pipe-clay’), 6 feet. Divisions 5, 6 and 7 maintain a strictly horizontal attitude as seen on the west side of the pit, but the bottom of No. 7 rests on the surface of a gravel-bed which slopes slightly to the north, 1. e., away from the river, the slope being about 2 feet in 40. (8) Gray stratified gravel, containing numerous peb- bles and a few boulders, water-worn. In the bottom lies a sand bed 8 or 9 inches thick, containing scarcely any boulders or pebbles; material local, non-glaciated; strata dipping northward as described above, 5 feet ; these gravels and sands slightly auriferous. (9) Yellow, oxidized, hard gravel, stratified, containing numervus worn boulders from 2 feet in diameter downwards, of local origin, non-glaciated ; strata dipping as in above division of series. The bottom of this member of the series was not seen, being covered by tailings and talus, but it is supposed to rest on ledges which crop out in the river’s bed, and to be probably as low asthese. It is auriferous ; thickness about 281 feet. The transport of the material of these pre-glacial beds seems to have been in the direction of the flow of the present Rivière du Loup ; (10) non-glaciated rock-surfaces near by, jagged and broken, with gold in the crevices.

“ This section exhibits several noteworthy features which can only be referred to here. These are :—(1) the bipartite division of the boulder- clay, (2) the great thickness of the pre-glacial beds, about 45 feet, and (3) the change in the character of these from the bottom to the sum- mit, denoting changes in the conditions of deposition and of drainage. The lower coarse beds have apparently been laid down in rapidly flow- ing and shallow waters; the clay beds in the upper part in deeper and quieter waters, probably in a lake-like expansion of the Du Loup and Chaudière rivers at their confluence. But what caused the supposed deepening of the waters here at that time? The conditions of deposition are probably to be sought for in the changes which seem to have taken place in the attitude of the region just previous to the advent of the ice age.

wson. ] SUMMARY REPORT. 91 a

“ Auriferous gravels of the Ditton gold area.—Passing to the Ditton Quebec— gold area, we find the succession of the superficial deposits at the Pope 4 Supe rficial de- mine, the only place where a section could be seen here, to be about posits of Dit- the same as in certain valleys in the Chaudiere area, viz., (1) stratified ron. water-worn material ; (2) boulder-clay ; (3) yellow oxidized pre-glacial beds, thin and irregular, —auriferous, especially in the bottom ; (4) de- composing slates, highly ferruginous, surface non-glaciated, open and fissile to a depth of 1 to 3 feet, and containing gold between the lamine. It is in the latter that the most gold occurs.

“ durtferous gravels of the Dudswell gold area.—In the Dudswell The section at area, the yellow pre-glacial gravel was seen in Hall’s Stream, where udewell. alluvial gold mining was formerly carried on. Work was stopped owing to the difficulty of keeping the shaft and drifts free from water. The superficial deposits at this mine are about 40 feet thick, but I could obtain no exact information respecting the thickness of the constituent

beds.

“On Kingsey and Maynard’s brooks, to the west, the glacial and pre-glacial deposits which may have formerly occupied their valleys, have been largely denuded and reassorted by fluviatile action since the ice age, and the gold contents scattered about in the bottom of these. In the portions of the valleys thus denuding by the streams, the deposits seldom exceed a thickness of three or four feet. A section of these on Kingsey Brook, in descending order, is as follows :—(1) One to three feet of mould, or alluvial wash, becoming coarser in the bot- tom. (2) Gravel, brown and ochreous, with angular or slightly worn pebbles, and a few boulders, some of which are from five to ten feet in diameter ; there stand up above the surface, and are glaciated; materials - of the gravels, local, or transported only short distances by the stream. They contain gold ; thickness, one to two feet. (3) Compact ochreous gravel, in detached masses ; materials as in No. 2, but so hard that a pick is required to remove them ; this is apparently the equivalent of the yellow gravels of other river-valleys,—the remnants which escaped de- nudation; contains gold ; thickness from three inches to two feet. (4) Gray, slaty, or schistose rock, non-glaciated ; in the crevices of this and below reefs and ledges, or in the lee of the large boulders, most gold is found in the bottom of the gravels.

“Tne succession of the deposits and the mode of occurrence of the gold are very much the same in Maynard’s Brook as in Kingsey Brook. The valley of the former is rather wider, and the beds rather thicker. The great advantage of alluvial mining in Kingsey and Maynard’s brooks, thus far, is that no shafting or tunnelling is required, the

{Juebec— Cont.

Sourcesof gold local.

Circumstances on the Chau- dicre.

92 A Geological Survey Department.

superficial beds not being more than from three to six feet thick, except

in the flat ground, where the streams debouch from the mountain upon the plain.

‘€ Source or sources of the alluvial gold.—The sources of the alluvial gold are supposed, in viéw of all the facts thus far obtained, to be mostly, if not altogether, local. The unworn condition of much of the ‘coarse gold,’ the local character of the materials composing the pre- glacial, auriferous gravels, and the fact that there were no known agencies in the region in pre-glacial times to transport either the gravel or its gold contents, except atmospheric and fluviatile, all tend to sup- port the conclusion that the precious metal cannot have been trans- ported far. While this is true of the gold found in the pre-glacial bot- tom gravels, and embedded in the rotten rock beneath these, the gold met with in the shallow deposits of the present river-bottoms, also in the boulder-clay and in the post-glacial river-terraces, may have been carried further, the fine ‘scale gold,’ indeed, considerable distances. The reason of this seems to be that the latter has been subjected to a second transportation since the ice age, either in the boulder-clay, or in the denudation of the river-valleys and slopes.

‘‘ Though the above view regarding its local origin is generally accepted, the gold has not been traced to its source in the matrix in any part of the ‘Eastern Townships,’ except, perhaps, at Duds- well. Alluvial gold has been mined in the Chaudière area for fifty years, yet no free visible gold has been found in veins there to this day. Nuggets, with quartz attached, have been picked up in several places, notably at the Devil’s Rapids, near St. Francis ; and a number of quartz-veins have, on assay, yielded traces of gold, (one of these, at the falls of the Bras River, having a small quantity of felspathic rock associated therewith and carrying some iron-pyrites, showed, on assay in the laboratory of the Survey, a trace of gold) ; but the true sources of the alluvial gold of the Chaudiére have yet to be discovered. The veins from which it is derived probably traverse parts of the area not yet prospected, and though near the deposits of auriferous gravels, are most likely covered with boulder-clay, and perhaps by the forest. The irregu- ar, broken ridge which crosses the Chaudiére Valley at the Devil’s Rapids, seems to me to be one locality where gold-bearing veins might be looked for, as the rich gold-producing valleys of the Gilbert River and of Meule Creek occur on either side. Both slopes are largely covered with drift. The ridge along the south-eastern side of the Famine River might also be prospected with advantage, as well as a number of other places, more especially where diorites and other intru- sive rocks occur. While the quartz-veins along the river have been

cewaon, SUMMARY REPORT. 93 4

repeatedly examined, those upon the higher grounds have been to Guebeo— some extent overlooked.

“The source of the gold of the Ditton area is as problematical as At Ditton. that of the Chaudière. Quartz-veins are numerous in the slates, but none have hitherto yielded free gold. The difficulty of prospecting here has already been alluded to.

“The Dudswell area has afforded better results in the search for At Dudswell. gold in the matrix than either that of Chaudière or Ditton. The coarse character of much of the gold found there and the comparatively unworn condition of the gravels, show that the source must be in the Dudswell Mountain. The total area of the mountain is limited, and it could easily be examined were it not that it is still forest-clad. The small auriferous‘quartz-vein discovered on lot 1, range 6, Westbury (Harrison gold mine), cannot be the source of the alluvial gold of this area, being lower, and to the south of its place of occurrence, but proves the existence of gold zn situ in the vicinity. This vein is only (old in con- an inch or two wide, but cuts a bed of gray arkose conglomerate, glomerate. of which specimens showing no free gold were subjected to assay in the laboratory of the Survey and found to contain 0°35 ounces to the ton. It is possible that this deposit may prove to be of a workable character.

“ Localities where alluvial gold might be sought for.—The gold- Localities de -

bearing gravels of the several rivers, within the areas where alluvial serving ex- mining has been prosecuted, have only been partially worked, mining having been carried on apparently in those parts of the valleys where the deposits are of least depth. The lower parts of the Gilbert and Famine rivers, also Mil River and the great valley of the Chaudiére itself, below the Du Loup, have not yet been worked for alluvial gold. The pre-glacial valley of the latter, especially between the falls, or mouth of the Du Loup, and the Devil’s Rapids now forms a deep trough occupied with a heavy bed of superficial deposits. Into this trough the Du Loup, Famine, Gilbert, Pozer’s stream, etc., must have carried large quantities of gold. Along the western bank of this part of the valley, there must also be considerable deposits of pre-glacial gravels buried beneath the boulder-clay. This seems to be a promising field of investigation, at least, for the practical alluvial miner.

“In Ditton, the north bank of the river at and above the Pope mine, might be more carefully examined and prospected for gold. It seemed to me that there are yellow gravels along that bank beneath the boulder-clay. The heaviest ice passed over that district from north to south, apparently filling in the pre-glacial valley on that side. Thick deposits of superficial materials occur in that vicinity.

94 A Geological Survey Department.

Quebec— “ At Dudswell, further exploration would seem to be required on the summit of the mountain, near the sources of the streams along which gold has been found. The terraces or flats along the south- eastern base should also have gold beneath, especially where the streams debouch from the mountain upon them. These streams, flowing as they do rapidly in narrow valleys, must have carried down consider- able quantities of gold to places where the currents slackened. Ex- ploration in these terraces had commenced late in the autumn.

‘The foregoing brief statement of the results of investigations dur- ing the past season, merely touch on a number of the questions relating to the gold-bearing deposits of the region, and many of the facts obtained will have to stand over till a detailed report is written.

Glacial phe- “The following is a synopsis of the more important observations momen on the glacial phenomena :—

" “The courses of striæ given by Dr. Ells in his reports on the geology of the ‘ Eastern Townships’ seem, so far as I have examined the region, to be mainly correct.* The ice-movements have been widely divergent, and the facts relating thereto are extremely perplexing, and appear to be explicable only on the theory of two, if not three, systems of glacia- tion by land ice, and probably one by floating ice. The chief difficulty lies in the classification of the different sets of strie. West of the watershed separating the St. Francis waters from those of the Chau- diére, our observations are disconnected and incomplete; but in the area to the east of that watershed and of the head-waters of Becancour River, a considerable body of facts has been collected indicating the First system ice-movements pretty clearly. First there would seem to have been a of striation. northward ice-flow, whether entirely independent of the Laurentide glacier or not, remains to be determined. The direction of movement of this ice varied from N. 45° E. to N. 15° W.,f but was principally between N. 15° E. and N. 10° W. The striæ have been traced from the higher grounds near the international boundary down to the border of the marine plain of the St. Lawrence Valley. In many parts of the region they have been effaced by later ice, but where they dominate, as in Tring and Broughton townships, west of the Chaudiére Valley, and in Cranbourne, Frampton, the Etchemin River valley and eastward, the subsequent glaciation by ice moving south-eastward and Second system eastward has either been light or wanting. Following this system of of atriation, glaciation, there seems to have been an invasion of the region by the Laurentide glacier, which brought in boulders and strewed them pro-

—— ee

Annual Report, Geol. Surv. Can., vol. II., pp. 463-48 J, and vol. III., p. 99x. +The courses of striæ are all referred to the true meridian.

Dawson. SUMMARY REPORT. 95 A

fusely over some parts of the country up to a height of 1500 or 1600 Quebec feet. This ice defaced the earlier striation in most places, and in the © valleys of the Chaudière and St. Francis almost entirely obliterated it. The evidence is wanting to show that it overrode the higher summits of the mountain range nearest the St. Lawrence, especially to the east of where the St. Francis River traverses it. Great tongues of the Laurentide glacier have moved up the valleys of the St. Francis and Chaudière, however, and from the latter it seems to have spread out fan-like, south-eastward, eastward and apparently north-eastward. St. Anselme Mountain, about fifteen miles south-east of Quebec, and 650 feet high, presents an abrupt face to the St. Lawrence with talus at the base, while its summit is glaciated in the direction of N. 30° E. and N. 40° E. The N. 5° W. and N. 10° W. sets of strive are also com- mon in this locality.

“A portion of the Laurentide glacier, or of the ice which distributed Extent of Laurentian boulders, passed over the low divide between the Chaudière sere

and St. John waters, which is only 1200 or 1300 feet high, in the direction of S. 60° E. to S. 75° E.

“The Laurentide glacier seems to have stossed some portions of the north side of the mountain range nearest the St. Lawrence River, especially that between the Chaudière and St. Francis rivers. My examinations have not yet extended further westward.

“Tce flowing southward to south-eastward, occupied a considerable part of the drainage-basin of the St. Francis and its tributaries, and Laurentian boulders occur in many places. Whether this ice overrode the range along the international boundary has not yet been deter- mined. Other ice-movements are shown to have occurred in this area by Dr. Ells, and the facts relating thereto were also observed by me.

“On the withdrawal] of the Laurentide glacier from the ‘ Eastern Local glaciers. Townships’ region, many local glaciers seem to have occupied it, flowing in different directions, and producing a great number of divergent courses of strize.

“The facts observed respecting the action of floating ice in the St. Lawrence Valley are still meagre and scattered.

“ Boulder-clay and boulders.—The boulder-clay as seen at Le Rocher, Boulder-clay. in the Chaudiére Valley, and near Dudswell in the valley of the St. Fran- cis, show, as at Riviére du Loup, in the section described on a previous page, a bipartite division. At Le Rocher, the lower division is of a dark gray, or bluish-gray colour. Then occurs a stratified band, overlying which is a gray boulder-clay. The deposit in the bank of the St. Francis

Quebec— Cont.

Terraces and beaches.

Height of shore-lines on on north side of Notre Dame Mts.

Height on south-east of mountain.

96 A Geological Survey Department.

appears to be of much the same character. The far-travelled and larger boulders appear to be in the upper part. Owing to the sliding down of the beds a good view of the exposures could not be obtained, and it is not yet known to what extent the division may be of classificatory im- portance.

‘Laurentian boulders are abundant in certain areas, while in others they are entirely wanting, their distribution evidently depending up. on the movements of the ice which occupied the region. At St. Odo- lin, which is 1300 feet high, the Roman Catholic church is built of blocks of Laurentian granite, gneiss, etc., hewn out of boulders col- lected within a radius of a few miles.

“Changes of Level in the Region. —The evidences relating to changes of level in the region during the post-Tertiary period, were investigated along the south side of the St. Lawrence in several places from Riviére du Loup, Intercolonial railway, westward as far as Ste. Julie and Artha- baska stations, Grand Trunk railway. Within this distance, a number cf the highest marine terraces and benches that could be found were levelled by aneroid, working from the railway stations. Facing the open St. Lawrence Valley, as these terraces do, there can te no doubt as to their marine origin.

“South-east of St. Charles Junction, Intercolonial railway, on the road from St. Gervais to St. Lazare, a shore-line occurs at the Jieight of 540 to 550 feet.* Above St. Anselme, on the west side of Etchemin River, another was seen at 620 feet. About two miles south of Ste. Henedine, Quebec Central railway, the highest shore-line is 750 feet. A lower terrace lies nearer Ste. Henedine station at 715 feet. In the Chaudière Valley near Ste. Marie, 740 to 750 feet on the east side, and 760 feet on the west ;and near the head of Beaurivage River, 835 feet. From three to four miles south-east of Ste. Julie station, Grand Trunk railway, three terraces, 855, 865 and 895 feet ; and on road leading from the same railway to St. Joseph Lake terraces occur at northern base of mountains at 720, 755 to.765 feet and at 860 feet. Denuded gravel hills and mounds rise above these to 885 or 890 feet. This is as far west as I levelled the shore-lines on the north side of the range.

‘On ‘he south-east side of Dudswell Mountain, an extensive terrace or beach abutting against it, is 840 to 850 feet high, and at the north end of Lake Memphremagog terraces of stratified gravel and sand were noted 860 to 865 feet high. The two last localities are on the south-east side of the range nearest the St. Lawrence and within the drainage basin of the

*The heights are above mean tide-level.

cuwson. SUMMARY REPORT. 97 A

St. Francis River. Other terraces were observed in the region, but Quebee- - whether they are marine is doubtful. Cont.

“ Evidences cf still more local changes of level, and of uplifts and Kvidences of dislocations were seen in some places. At St. Evariste de Forsyth, a differential ridge of slate shows some remarkable displacements since the surface was glaciated, one band having been pushed up five feet and a half above the aparently undisturbed rocks on the north side. Similar occurrences are frequent in this region, the displacements, however, sellom exceeding a foot or so. The most notable example of local up- heavals, is that of the ridge of intrusive rocks which crosses the Chau- dière Valley at the Devil’s Rapids. The surface of these in the river- channel is higher than any part of the rock-bottom of the Chaudière above the rapids, as far up as the mouth of the Du Loup, as shown by shafte sunk in two places. As there does not appear to be any other course by which the river could have passed, this uplift must have taken place since the channel of the river below the Du Loup was eroded. This rock-rimmed portion of the Chaudiére Valley is that to which I have elsewhere alluded as being probably a receptacle for the gold carried into it by the streams on both sides.

“The examination of the gold areas occupied the principal part Time occupied of the season up till the 9th of September, after which I was en- i” the work. gaged in the investigation of the glacial phenomena, surface deposits and elevated marine shore-lines of the region on both sides of the Chaudiére to the north and east of the gold area, including the drain- age basin of the Etchemin and Riviére du Sud, and along the south side of the St. Lawrence Valley to Montmagny and L’Islet. Subse- quently, an examination of the country west of the Chaudiére Valley was made, crossing and re-crossing the range of mountains nearest the St. Lawrence River as far westward as Wolfstown and South Ham. A further investigation of the Dudswell gold area was then made, after which I returned to St. Francis by the lakes—Weedon, Aylmer and St. Francis—and through Winslow, Forsyth and Tring. A trip to the upper part of the Du Loup River was then undertaken, and the mines on lot 1, range 7, Marlow, examined and some mineral speci- mens collected. Returning to St. Francis, a number of points were afterwards examined along the railway lines till the close of field-work.

“The Salt Springs at Salina, Kings Co., N. B.— Salt springs,

. . New Bruns- An examination of the salt springs at this place was made, and wick.

samples of material from the bore-hole and of brine from aspring near

by, were forwarded to the laboratory of the Survey for analysis. The

boring was 330 feet deep at the time of my visit, disclosing : (1) super-

98 A Geological Survey Department.

Quebec— ficial deposits, 64 feet ; (2) gypsum, 21 feet ; (3) sandstone, 15 feet ; (4) gypsum, 220 feet ; (5) sandstone, 10 feet. The pre-Carboniferous rocks were apparently not reached.

“ As the beds here are nearly vertical, the above measurements do not represent the actual thickness of the several deposits.

“ Field-work closed on the 18th of October, and on the 23rd I reached Ottawa.”

Work by Mr. During the early part of the winter, Mr. A. P. Low was engaged in

Low. writing a preliminary report on the explorations of the previous two years, and, with the assistance of Mr. D. I. V. Eaton, in preparing a map of the surveys made. The latter part of the winter was occupied in the compilation of a general report embracing the work of the preceding three years’ explorations in the Labrador Peninsula.

Labrador In June, Mr. Low was instructed to undertake an exploration

Peninsula. by way of the Manicuagan River, which flows into the Gulf of St. Lawrence from the north, some 220 miles below Quebec, the object being to gain further information on the country near the central watershed of the Labrador Peninsula. Mr. Low was assisted in this expedition by Mr. Eaton, who carried out the necessary topogra- phical work. After his return, in the autumn, Mr. Low was engaged for ten days in the vicinity of Three Rivers in further defining the outcrops of the several Paleozoic formations between the St. Lawrence and the Archean region to the northward, for the purposes of the north- west sheet of the “ Eastern Townships ” map.

The subjoined preliminary report on the exploration above alluded to is given by Mr. Low :—

Explorationof ‘At Quebec, provisions and outfit were obtained, and with four Manicuagan canoemen from Lake St. John, we left on the steamship ‘ Otter,’ and arrived at Bersimis on the 24th. Here two Indian guides were secured, and also six extra canoemen, who were engaged to assist in the transport of provisions to Lake Mouchalagan, some two hundred

miles above the mouth of the Manicuagan River.

“On account of head winds, the mouth of that stream was not reached until July Ist. A survey of the river to the head of Lake Mouchalagan had been made by the Crown Lands Department of Quebec, and in consequence no surveys were started until that point was reached ; but the geology and natural resources of the intermediate regions were carefully examined, and located on a tracing of the previous survey.

cnweon. SUMMARY REPORT. 99 a

“Fine weather and long hours, enabled the party to reach the outlet Labrador

of Lake Mouchalagan on the 12th July, or abuut ten days ahead of <oninaula— the time estimated by the guides at starting. From here, the extra Head of Mou- men were sent back to Bersimis, and the whole loads were transported chalagan Lake in four canoes to the head of the lake, where the micrometer survey

work was commenced. Owing to the rapid current in the river, double

loads were made for the first thirty miles, passing over on the way, two

miles and a half of portages, where the route leaves the river-valley

and rises more than five hundred feet to a chain of small lakes, to avoid

a cafion, in which the river, for over six miles, descends between almost

vertical walls in a continuous heavy rapid.

“This portion of the work was accomplished on July 21st. A cache was now built, and in it were stored all extra baggage and provisions not required for the next six weeks, which was the time estimated by the guide as necessary to explore the head-waters of the main branches af the river.

“The Indians do not ascend the main stream beyond the poin where the câche was made, being unable to do so on account of its rapid character and high rocky banks, which preclude portaging. The hunters of this region generally ascend in their canoes to the neigh- bourhood of the câche, and there await the snow and ice before jour- neying further northward, when they haul their canoes and outfits northward on toboggans. In the spring they descend from the heads of the various branches in their light canoes, making only one load over the portages. On this account, the portages of the upper country are exceedingly rough and often hardly marked.

“From the cache, the stream was left, and the best and easiest Mouchelagan portage-route to the height-of-land was followed. It passes out of to Matonipi. the river-valley on the west side, following a small tributary through a chain of little lakes. The first portage is upwards of one mile and a half long, with a rise of over six hundred feet. The route next leads, in a zigzag manner, through small lakes and ponds and along crooked, small streams, with many connecting portages, in a direction almost due west, to Lake Matonipi. The distance in a straight line from the river is only thirteen miles, but is upwards of twenty miles by the crooked route, the portages numbering thirteen, with a total length of seven miles and a rise of more than one thousand feet. Leke Matonipi is some five miles long, and discharges by a small stream into the Outardes River.

“From this lake, the direction of the route changes to nearly due north, and ascends rapidly to the high rolling ground northward of

T4

Labrador Peninsula — Cont.

Portage route thence to the height-of- land.

Lakes Atti- kopi and Atti- kopis.

Lake Naoko- kan and Nic- hicun.

La

100 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

the lake, following the valley of a small tributary to its head, some eight miles away from the lake, and at an elevation of six hundred and eighty feet above it. Of the eight miles of route, only two are water, the remainder being made up by six exceedingly rough portages.

“A portage of a mile next leads across a summit which: divides the waters of the Outardes and Manicuagan rivers. Passing through a small lake, a portage of over seven miles leads to and along a small stream, which is then descended some three miles, where it is left by two portages with small lakes, followed by a portage of three miles and a half to another tributary. Next, nine small lakes connected by portages were passed through to another small branch of the Manicuagan, which was followed about three miles and then left by a ten-mile portage-route, which ends in Lake Kichewapistoakan on the south-west branch of the Manicuagan River. The portages along this part of the route are ten in number, and aggregate eight miles in length. Where the south-west branch was reached, it was found flow- ing with a sluggish current, in a deep channel about fifty yards wide. There is a wide area of swampy land on either side, extending on the north side about ten miles, to the foot of a high range of barren hills, which forms the watershed between streams flowing south into the St. Lawrence and the head-waters of the Big River of Hudson Bay.

‘ The south-west branch of the Manicuagan River, takes its rise near the sources of the Outardes and Peribonka rivers, some fifty miles to the south-west of where the portage-route reaches it. From its head it skirts the southern base of the high, barren hills, and is fed by many small streams from their southern slopes.

“This stream was followed in a winding course for twenty miles, to Lake Attikopi, a body of water about three miles wide and six miles long, full of deep bays and covered with islands. Another large stream flows into this lake from the northward. This last-mentioned stream was then ascended in a general north-easterly course for twenty miles, to Lake Attikopis, where a second câche was made, and everything not required for a week’s flying trip left behind.

“A portage-route through small lakes was now followed almost due west, eight miles, to the water-shed dividing the Manicuagan from the Big River. Crossing this height-of-land, a small stream connecting a number of little lakes was descended westward thirty-five miles, until the stream emptied into a large irregular body of water, deeply indented with narrow bays and almost covered with islands of all sizes. This lake is called Naokokan, and it southern shore was traced some thirty miles, to its western end, passing on the way a large stream flowing in

omeon. SUMMARY REPORT. 101 a

and said by the guide to be the main branch of the Big River, which Labrador rises close to the heads of the Outardes and Peribonka rivers some Feninsula — fifty miles to the southward.

“ A hill of 400 feet, at the west end of the lake, was ascended, from which a fair view of the surrounding country was obtained. The lake was seen stretching to east and north for many miles, but so filled with large islands and broken by long points that it presented the ap pearance of a multitude of small lakes. A high chain of hills bounds the northern and eastern horizon. As five of the seven days allowed for this trip were now past, we were forced to return to Attikopis without reaching Nichicun, which is situated on the dis- charge of Naokokan, and probably only a few miles from where we turned back ; but from our lack of knowledge as to where the dis- charge might be, and of the irregular shore-line of the lake, several days were likely to be required for its discovery, especially as the weather was at this time very unfavourable, with continuous rain and fog.

“ After again reaching Lake Attikopis, a small stream flowing into Attikopis to the lake was ascended in a north-easterly direction, through five smal] Summit Lake. lakes to a portage separating the waters of the Attikopis branch from those of the main stream. Continuing in the same direction through six small lakes, the general bearing of the route changes to east, and in twelve miles reaches Lake Itomamis, after passing through three lakes connected by a considerable stream. A short stretch of rapids connects Itomamis with Summit Lake, which lies almost on the 53rd parallel of north latitude. It is seven miles long and occupies a deep valley between ridges of semi-barren hills that run north-and-south.

The lake has two discharges of about equal volume, both sufficiently

large for canoe navigation. The northern discharge, with a short

rapid, empties int the first of a number of long narrow lakes that fill

the northern extension of the valley, and that finally empty into Lake Kaniapiskau, and 80 reach the Koksoak or Ungava River. The south-

ern discharge forms the chief branch of the Manicuagan River. After Descend main surveying Summit Lake, the main stream was followed southward. Manenegan. On leaving Itomamis Lake it has a breadth of thirty feet with an

average depth of one foot in rapids, and being joined by many considerable streams from valleys on both sides, it soon becomes a large

river. For eight miles below Itomamis Lake, the river is formed of

small lake-expansions connected by short rapids. It then contracts

and descends in a deep narrow valley, in an almost continuous rapid,

for twenty-four miles, to the junction of the Attikopi Branch. A sur-

Labrador Peninsula — Cont.

Canoeman drowned.

Return jour- ney.

Physical feat-

ures of the region.

102 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT

vey was carried some twelve miles up this branch, in order to connect with that of the trip northward.

“Below the forks, the main stream spreads out into a number of shallow channels, separated by long low islands, between which it flows with a swift even current for eight miles. Beyond this, the river again narrows and passes into a deep valley with rocky banks, down which it swiftly flows with almost continuous rapids for forty- five miles, to the place where it was previously left by the portage- route. While descending this portion of the river, owing to the acci- dental upset of a canoe, one of the Indian guides named Paul Bacon was unfortunately drowned in the heavy waters of the rapids, and although search was made for his body along the river-banks for many miles below, nothing was seen of it, nor of the canoe which was lost at the time of this disaster.

“The câche was reached on the 25th August; and from there, the river was descended to its mouth, where we ariived on September Ist and then returned tn Ottawa on the 5th of September.

“The physical character of the region visited is simi'ar to that of the rest of the Labrador Peninsula. Within a few miles of the coast, the country rises into an irregular, rocky plateau, upwards of one thousand feet in e!evation, but having a further gradual rise towards the interior, so that near the central watershed the general level is nearly two thousand feet above the sea.

‘‘From its mouth to the head of Lake Mouchalagan, the Mani cuagan River flows in a deep, ancient valley from a quarter of a mile to two miles wide, with steep, rocky walls rising fromm five hundred to fifteen hundred fest above the water, and usually flanked with high terraces of stratified sands, gravel and clay. The river, espec ally towards its mouth, is broken by a number of falls and chutes, where the channel narrows greatly and the large volume of water pours in a swirling mass downwards between perpendicular rocky banks. None of these cafions are of great depth or length, nor do they compare in grandeur with those of the Koksoak and Hamilton rivers, They may be of more recent origin than these.

‘ Lake Mouchalagan is formed by a widening of the valley; it is: upwards of forty miles long, and varies from one to two miles wide. Its surface is about nine hundred feet above sea-level, and it is re- markable for its great depth of water, the deepest sounding taken being six hundred and fifty feet, or some two hundred feet deeper than any previously known lake in Labrador.

carton SUMMARY REPORT. 103 a

‘ Above this lake, the valley of the river continues northward, but, Labrador as the river now flows down it with a heavy grade, the walls of the Peninsula— valley gradually become lower, so that at Summit Lake, the water-level is not more than three or four hundred feet below the general level of the country, which is here characterized by barren hills, arranged

in roughly parallel ridges, running north-and-south.

“The country beyond the main river-valley, as seen along the portage- routes followed, rises above two thousand feet, and is broken by long, rounded ridges of hills that stand from two hundred to five hundred feet above the general level. The lower lands are covered with swamps and dotted with small lakes. The higher ground is often rocky, and everywhere the surface is covered with a great thickness of boulders and broken rock, arranged in irregular ridges, and often without any finer material filling the spaces between them. These ridges form the portage-paths, through the innumerable swamps, but are dangerous and difficult roads for travelling with heavy loads.

“Tn the river-valley, as far as Lake Mouchalagan, many large trees Trees of white spruce are seen, which would make excellent timber. These trees are most numerous along the first hundred miles from the mouth of the river, and many places were noted, in this distance, where the quantity was suflicient for the establishment of Jumber camps. The falls at the mouth of the river would furnish much more power than would be necessary for all milling purposes, and the only drawback to successful working, is the shallow water at the sea coast, where the mouth of the river is greatly obstructed by sandy shoals, extending several miles from shore and affording a very dangerous anchorage outside.

“ Besides white spruce, in the valley, large quantities of black spruce, fit for superior pulp-wood, grow far inland, together with balsam fir, Banksian pine, larch, aspen, balsam, poplar and white birch; all of which grow to a fair size, for upwards of two hundred miles inland. Below the first forks, or for about fifty miles from the coast, oc- casional trees of white pine are seen on the rocky sides of the valley, while on the bottom-lands yellow birch and black ash are found in small quantities. The growth of these trees shows that the climate Arable land. of the lower river-valley is sufficiently moderate for the cultivation of hardy crops, thus affording a considerable area for future settlement, Ou the uplands of the interior, the country is only partly wooded with small growths of black spruce, larch, and, in places, Banksian pine ; these trees rarely exceed eight inches in diameter, and, branching out close to the ground, are unfit for commercial purposes. All the higher hills rise above the tree-line, and as the central watershed is approached.

Labrador Peninsula — Cont.

Laurentian rocks,

Crystalline

limestones.

104 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

more than half the country is barren. From the above description it will be seen, that much, or all of this high interior region, is unfitted for agriculture.

“Rocks, of Archean age alone, were met with along the various routes followed. On the river below Lake Mouchalagan, they belong to the Laurentian, and are largely mica granite-gneiss, often garnetiferous, together with hornblende granite-gneiss, and anorthosite. In these rocks there are few indications of metalliferous veins or minerals of economic value. About Lake Mouchalagan, the garnetiferous gneisses predominate, and appear to be associated with thin bands of crystalline limestone.

‘“ Above the lake, for some thirty miles, these crystalline limestones are developed in great thickness, and are associated with mica-schists, and garnetiferous gneiss. The limestone is often pure, and at times contains tremolite, or mica, of which latter no large crystals, however, were seen. The mica-schists, close to the limestones, often contain large quantities of graphite, and at other times pyrites, or magnetite,

Great band of There is an extraordinary band of iron-ore, which appears to belong to

1ron-ore.

Schists with quartz-veins.

the beds associated with the limestone. The ore occurs in a gneiss, composed of quartz, felspar and magnetite ; and according to the pro- portion of magnetite present, grades from ferruginous gneiss into an almost pure iron-ore of high grade. This band was seen in places ten miles apart, on the portage-route leading from the river towards Lake Matonipi, on the Outardes River, and in one place had a thickness of over two hundred feet. Numerous scattered blocks in the river valley, below the portage-route, point to an extension of the band to that place; while to the westward, and twenty-five miles beyond where last seen by us, the guide said that the mass of the ‘shining mountain’ is composed of similar ore. This mountain is referred to in the Relations des Jésuites as a burning mountain, and acquires its title from the glistening of the ore-faces in the sun, when they present a most dazzling appearance. From the above it will be seen, that this bed, in great thickness, can be traced along: the strike of the rocks for upwards of thirty miles, forming one of the greatest known deposits of iron-ore.

“To the northward of the portage-route, the rocks along the main stream consist of an apparently bedded series of mica-schists, together with hornblende-schists, and decomposed, massive, basic eruptives ; the whole cut by large masses of garnetiferous, mica-hornblende granite- gneiss. The schists are full of quartz-veins, often holding a good deal of pyrites. They may yet be found to contain gold, as they somewhat

œweon. SUMMARY REPORT. 105 a

resemble the Huronian rocks of localities where gold is now known to Labrador eninsula-—

occur. Cont.

‘ As Summit Lake is approached, the schists give place to a coarse, hornblende-granite, which extends westward to Nichicun, and is apparently a south-eastern extension of the great area of similar rock, previously met with between the East Main and Ungava rivers.”

Nova Scotia.

From the date of the last Summary Report, part of the winter of 1894- Work by Mr.

95 was spent by Mr. Fletcher in plotting his surveys, in revising those °°"

pent by er in p 8 75, 8

made by his assistants in the district described on pages 91-94 of that report, in correcting proofs of Nos. 35 and 36 of the Nova Scotian series of maps, in colouring geologically sheets photographed by Mr. Topley from the manuscript maps, in reducing, tracing and adding supple- mentary surveys to these sheets, in studying Sir Wm. Logan’s notes and plottings of the Pictou coal-field and in compiling plans by the late Mr, Scott Barlow of part of Cumberland county and cataloguing and arrang- ing others. The greater part of his time was, however, occupied in com- piling from these surveys and other sources, maps of Cumberland county from Moose River and Five Islands towards Cape Chignecto and the Joggins and Springhill coal-fields on a scale of one mile to an inch; and of Hants county between the Shubenacadie and Avon Rivers, on a scale of half a mile to an inch. The latter still remains to be reduced to one mile to an inch for publication. Surveys of the Nictaux and Torbrook iron mines in Annapolis county and of the North River and Truro Devonian rocks in Colchester county were also compiled.

He left Ottawa on June 10th, 1895, to resume field-work in Nova Revision of Scotia, with the particular object of obtaining the information necessary ney coal- for new editions of the Glace Bay, Sydney and New Campbellton map- sheets in the Sydney coal-field, the revision of which it is desirable to make as thorough and complete as possible by adding geological and geographical detail to the original maps. The greater part of the season has, consequently, been spent by Mr. Fletcher in Cape Breton ; but before beginning work there he reéxamined (June 14-21) localities in Antigonish and Pictou counties where he hoped to find fossils in the rocks classed as Cambro-Silurian, in the quartz-veins of which at Sutherland River a discovery of gold has recently been reported.

This examination was continued (October 6-18), in company with Dr. H. M. Ami, who was collecting fossils to assist in determining certain doubtful points of structure. Silurian fossils were found in small

Nova Scotia— Cont.

Investigations in Pictou county.

Cape Bretun. Surveys made.

Hub seam

106 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

patches of greatly altered rock previously supposed to be Cambro- Silurian at Dunbar’s, Sunnybrae (Report for 1886, part Pp, p. 32) and Glencoe Brook, while a Streptelasma, like that from the Silurian of Beechhill Cove, was subsequently found, near the post-office on Brown’s Mountain, in a small outcrop of rocks also previously included with the Cambro-Silurian but which do not resemble those of the typi- cal exposures of that series.

From November 15th, Mr. Fletcher was again in Pictou county, where he obtained a copy of Mr. Poole’s geological plan of the coal- field, made a few supplementary surveys in that vicinity and, with the kind coëperation of Mr. F.H. Chambers of Bridegville and Messrs. J. D. Fraser and O. Herting of Ferrona, collected a quantity of specular iron-ore to send to Ottawa for use in collections. Work is being vigorously prosecuted at the iron mines on the East River of Pictou. A new quarry of dark bituminous limestone has been opened at Spring ville. At the old Blackrock quarry, a cave was examined, along the floor of which runs a stream of water, the roof being hung with rough stalactites.

A spring of strongly saline water, not before mentioned, was also visited at Dunmaglass on Knoydart Brook, a quarter of a mile north- west from the road to Eigg Mountain.

Respecting the work done in Cape Breton, Mr. Fletcher reports as follows : —‘ My field assistants were M. H. McLeod and T. 8. McLean who were employed for more than four months and surveyed brooks, lakes and roads, principally in the region underlaid by rocks of the Millstone grit, between Mira Bay and Sydney Harbour, near North Sydney and on Boularderie Island. Their work was greatly facilitated by the use of a large map now being constructed for the Dominion Coal Company by Mr. Hiram Donkin, C. E., and his assistants, kindly lent by the manager, Mr. McKeen, M. P., which shows the new lines of road and railway together with chained surveys of most of the sea-coast, lakes and large streams.

“In this district, in the absence of rock-outcrops and pits, useful geological work can be done by tracing certain bands of coherent rock by means of blocks which lie unweathered on the surface, the loose rocks on the surface being for the most part, as was long ago pointed out by Mr. Robb, derived from beds immediately underlying. In some cases, confirmation of results obtained by this method was obtained in pits subsequently sunk.

“The outcrops and water-levels of the coal-seams in the productive measures, were for the most part well defined before 1874, although

peweon. SUMMARY REPORT. 107 a

the progress of mining admits of their being now delineated with Nova Scotiu— ° - Cont.

greater precision than on the map of that date. On the Hub seam (Report for 1872-73, p. 260), which has lain idle for twenty years, work has been resumed in an attempt to win the coal from the sub- marine area. It was found that while wood submerged for that period

in the pit-water has remained sound and well preserved, the iron of

rails and castings of all kinds has been completely eaten away, a light, porous skeleton, composed of carbon, silica, iron oxides, &c., being left. Wrought iron is also greatly wasted, but steel points have remained unchanged. -

“At the western workings of the Gowrie mine, a north-and-south (owrie mine fault was met, which threw the coal down thirty-six feet on the west side. From its face, at the level of the shaft-bottom, a stone drift was extended 284 feet, and borings were made to the coal from this drift and also from the surface along the shores of Morrison Lake, which prove that the Martin pit is on the McAulay seam, as indicated on Lyman’s map; but which, taken in connection with the under- ground workings, also proves that, west of the fault, the axis of the basin is deflected further to the north, and that this seam, instead of terminating, probably continues for more than a mile past the Martin pit, in a narrow basin, to the outcrop of the seam, eight to twelve feet thick, discovered by Neville (Report for 1874-75, p. 189). The dis crepancy in the size of the two seams is accounted for by the fact that at certain points on the north rise at the Gowrie mine, the coal attains a thickness of eleven feet, though nominally only five. That the Long Beach anticline or fault (Report for 1874-75, pp. 205 and 212) passes the old Louisbourg railway, was proved by a line of pits sunk in 1891 by Mr. E. T. Moseley, in search of the westward extension of the large seam above mentioned, the steep southerly dips of the bottom of the Cow Bay basin, being found also nearly to the fork of the Hines and Cow Bay roads.

“On the investigation of the lower coal-seams cf the Millstone grit, Search for much money has been spent during the last twenty years, in the hope lower coal- of their proving economically available, and the acquisition by the Dominion Coal Company of nearly all the mining areas of known value east of Sydney Harbour has stimulated prospecting, yet the results have not generally been encouraging, the coal-seams found seldom exceeding three feet in thickness, and being usually much less. One of the areas, on the Morrison road, visited in 1894 in company with Dr-

Gilpin, the Inspector of Mines, and the Deputy Inspector, is shown by the former, in the last number of the Transactions of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science, to contain no seams of more than two feet in

108 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

Nova Scotia— thickness, and subsequent close examination has not disproved this

ont

Tracy seam.

statement. It is on the line of the Tracy seam and the little seams that accompany it, as given in Mr. Robb's sections and map (Reports for 1874-75, p. 189 ; 1875-76, p. 414).

‘Mr. Lewis Stephens and others have continued to search for work- able coal on the strike of these seams on the Mira and Morrison roads near Black Brook, but appear to have found none. From one of the seams a few inches of excellent cannel was obtained. Nearer Sydney, prospecting has been carried on intermittently at the Cossitt pits, but with only the disappointing results explained by Mr. Robb (Report for 1874-75, p. 191). The red rocks of Mira Bay extend nearly to these pits before being replaced by the gray strata of Sydney Harbour.

“ Since 1874 the Tracy mine has not been worked to any extent. An attempt made, some years ago, to cut through False Bay beach and make of False Bay Lake a suitable port of shipment, was, like a similar effort more recently made to convert McIsaac Pond at Broad Cove into a ship harbour, frustrated by the closing of the excavation by the sea.

“Explorations made by Mr. Simon E. Landry and his associates on the supposed extension of the Tracy seam west of False Bay Lake, have cut two little seams apparently overlying it (Report for 1874-75, pp. 177 and 188) near the Back-lands road. Their explorations have been greatly impeded, however, by a great quantity of surface deposits.

“In a pit sunk near the North-west Brook of Bridgeport Basin, at the most southerly of those called ‘Muacdougall’s pits’ on the map of 1874, a coal-seam, with a low southerly dip, generally supposed to be the Carroll, has the following section :—

Ft. In. Top coa ,.., , 2 6 Shale or clay 0 6 OL) ,.. , 2 0 Clay ,.,. Le es. 0 3 Coal, not well seen ]

“Tn other pits of the immediate neighbourhood, however, it is not so thick. These pits are probably, as stated by Mr. Robb (Report for 1874-75, p. 194), on the crown of the anticline, on the north side of which are those at the mouth of the North-west Brook, supposed to be on the same seam. In one opened by the Messrs. Routledge, the dip is N. 6°, and the section as follows :—

Dewgon. SUMMARY REPORT. 109 a

Ft. In Nova Scotia Top coul .., 1 83 Cont. Clay 44... css ss esse 0 2 OS 7 82. 1 9 Parting .. Coal cee eee be 2. 0 11 4 ]

“In other adjoining pits, dug by Messrs. Neville and McVey, the coal is said to be four feet four inches thick. The anticline apparently lies a little south of these pits, but its exact position is still uncertain:

“ Although the Carroll seam has not yet been positively tr aced into Carroll seam. the Glace Bay basin—unless it be the small pyritous seam known as the Buchanan seam (Report for 1874-75, p. 190,) on which several new openings were made last season—a thorough and systematic search for it was begun last August by Mr. E. T. Moseley, Q.C., and Mr. D. J. Kennelly, formerly manager of the Reserve mines, by means of a series of diamond-dril] borings and pits along the old Louisbourg railway. These explorations have tested the strata underlying the Lorway seam far to the south of the crossing of the Hines road, and have discovered a seam of coal, eighteen inches thick, at a little brook three-quarters of a mile north of the Hines road, and another of about the same thickness at that road. The first is, perhaps, the equivalent of aseam, twenty-one inches thick, opened on the south side of Cow Bay basin, in a pit about one mile north-east of the post-office at Coch- ran's Lake. The average dip north of the Hines road has been shown by these borings to be about one in twelve. It is hoped that a workable seam may yet be found underlying. Apparently near the same horizon, also near the Cow Bay anticline, good exposures includ- ing a one-inch seam of coal, have been made on the new Louisbourg railway at the crossing of Sand-lake Brook. They consist chiefly of red and green marly rocks and of bluish-gray shales full of impressions of fossil ferns and other plants, the dip being about N. 6° E 5°.

“Little need at present be said of the district west of Sydney Har- District west bour. From the Sydney mines, there is the usual large annual output of Sydney of coal. On the crop of the Indian Cove seam, a small mine has been opened by Mr. Greener, and a quantity of coal shipped over a short railway to a wharf built in the cove. The shipment of coal from the Cape Breton colliery at New Campbelton, has been affucted by the closing of St. Peter’s canal for repairs. An adit, driven to the shore at sea-level, now drains the upper workings. The owners, Messrs. Burchell Brothers, have, during the Jast few months, bored with the diamond drill some twelve or fifteen hundred feet of strata, in various

110 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

Nova Scotia — holes, for the purpose of finding the large seams which lie above and

Dolomites

used as flux.

Analyses.

Other min- erals.

below the equivalent of their main seam in other parts of the field, but which here seem to be scarcely workable. Sections have been made of the borings here as well as on the old Louisbourg railway, which are useful as proving the strata and for comparison with the sections in

_Mr. Robb’s report.

‘‘The bed of white, massive, gray-weathering, broadly-crystalline dolomite discovered in the crystalline limestone series by Mr. Robb and analysed by Dr. Hoffmann (Reports for 1873-74, p. 174 ; 1874-75, p. 253), has been to some extent utilized by the Messrs. Burchell, who are shipping sixteen hundred tons for the use of the steel works at Trenton, and are building a short branch from their coal- mines railway to the foot of the mountain at the North Brook, where it occurs in great cliffs. Analyses of this dolomite and of others from similar rocks at George River and Marble Mountain, obtained from Mr. J. D. Fraser, manager of the iron-works at Ferrona, are appended for comparison with that made by Dr. Hoffmann.

I. II. III. IV. Silica , 1°41 0°73 2°58 2°00 Oxides of iron and alumina 1°92 1°55 0°50 Calcium carbonate 5019 54°83 88°67 77°47 Magnesium carbonate 42°16 42°95 7:89 20°00 Phosphate of lime . . .. None. Sulphate of lime None.

I. and IT. give the average of a number of samples from the North Brook, tested by different analysts, the first at Ferrona laboratory by Mr. Fraser, the second at Pittsburg. ITI. is the average of twelve analyses made by Mr. O. Herting ‘at Fer- rona, from samples collected at Marble Mountain ; IV., the mean of a large number of pieces taken from different beds in George River district, between Crane Brook and the limestone quarries near the mouth of the river.

‘From the crystalline limestone formation at George River, speci mens of chalcocite and chrysotile have been sent to the Geological Survey by Mr. Hugh R. MacKenzie, C.E., of Sydney. Attempts have also been made to work the traces of iron-ore found in this district but without success.

“ No use has yet been made of the fire-clay of Coxheath (Reports for 1873-74, p. 173 ; 1875-76, p. 373 ; 1876-77, p. 456) ‘suitable for the manufacture of fire-bricks and pottery,’ and rendered more accessible by the completion of the Intercolonial railway to Sydney, from the line of which the deposit is distant about three miles.

À diamond drill is at present at work in a search for coal on the eastern shore of Sydney Harbour, three-quarters of a mile north of Beatty Brook, where, of course, it will cut only the Carboniferous

œwson. SUMMARY REPORT. 111 a

limestone rocks of the section given in the Report for 1874-75, page Nova Scotia— 169, and infallibly result in disappointment. In Pictou county, also, Cont.

money has been uselessly spent during the past few weeks in sinking

among the red rocks of the Foxbrook road, which underlie the pro-

ductive measures, and also among the rocks of the East River below

New Glasgow, which overlie them.”

Mr. E. R. Faribault’s office work, since the date of the last Summary wy; py Mr.

Report, has continued to be in connection with the compilation and Faribault. completion for publication of the results of his surveys in the gold- bearing regions of Nova Scotia. The manuscripts for the nine sheets numbered 39, 40, 41, 42, 48, 49, 50, 51 and 52 have been completed. They cover the area extending along the Atlantic coast from Salmon River to Musquodoboit Harbour, and inland to the Pictou and Stewiacke valleys, and are included in the counties of Halifax, Col- chester and Pictou. Structural sections for sheets 39 and 40 have also been made, but similar sections for the remaining seven sheets have still to be prepared.

In addition to the regular map-sheets, on a scale of a mile to the & .cial plans inch, special plans have also been plotted, on a scale of 500 feet to one inch, of the gold-mining districts of Tangier, Mooseland, Moose River, Caribou, Oldham, Montague and Waverley. Some of these plans are not quite completed, and sections still require to be prepared before they will be ready for publication. They are on a sufficiently large scale to show the interesting and important relation of the auriferous quartz-veins to the general structure of the anticlinal folds, with the numerous faults and disturbances affecting them. It is also intended to show upon these plans, the quartz-veins known to occur in the districts, their width and length, the extent to which they have been worked in depth and along their cropping, together with their average richness when this can be ascertained, the direction and dip of pay-streak and that of the anticlinal axes.

Mr. Faribault’s field-work was in continuation of that accomplished 4.044 of opera- in previous years. His progress report upon it is as follows :—“T left tions. Ottawa on May 30th to resume field-work in Nova Scotia, and con- tinue the mapping and study of the structural geology of the gold- bearing rocks of the Atlantic coast, and to complete as far as possible the surveys required for the sheets numbered 53, 54, 55, 56, 66, 67 and 68. Owing to the limited amount of exploration fund at my dis- posal, field operations had to be discontinued by the end of August, and consequently the Waverley sheet numbered 67 and the Halifax City sheet numbered 68 have not been completed.

112 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

Nova Scotia— ‘The five sheets just enumerated, comprise the gold-bearing region

Cont. Positions and names of map- sheets.

Enumeration of anticlines.

of the central part of the province, extending along the Atlantic coast from Musquodoboit Harbour to Halifax Harbour, and inland to the northern boundary cf the gold-bearing rocks, where they are over- laid by Carboniferous strata along the St. Andrews River, the Shu- benacadie River, the Nine-mile River, and on the north side of the Rawdon Mountains. Each sheet covers an area of 12 miles by 18 miles, and the five sheets thus cover 1080 square miles and include portions of the counties of Halifax, Colchester, and Hants. Each sheet is well designated by the name of the most important place it contains, which are the following:

No. 53, Lawrencetown sheet, ‘ 54, Preston sheet, ‘ 55, Middle Musquodoboit sheet, “ 56, Stewiacke sheet, ‘ 66, Rawdon sheet.

“The rocks of the region examined have been forced into a series of folds, almost parallel to each other, bearing a general easterly and west- erly course. As many as fifteen folds were located across the belt of forty miles of gold-bearing rocks, extending from the Atlantic coast to their northern limits on the north side of the Rawdon Mountain. The structure of these plications was carefully studied and the anti- clinal axes were traced and worked out with as much accuracy as pos- sible, on account of the importance of these axes in regard to gold occur-

rence.

‘The names given provisionally to the fifteen anticlines, in the order of their occurrence from the shore to the Rawdon Mountain, with notes on the gold mines worked and quartz-veins prospected along their course, are as follows :—

“1, Three-fathom Harbour Anticline.—Crosses only some outlying points along the Atlantic coast.

9, Lake Catcha Anticline.—Worked extensively on two or three properties at Lake Catcha gold district, and a few auriferous quartz- veins have been prospected along its course east of Oyster Ponds.

“3. De Said Lake Anticline.—A few auriferous quartz-veins have been prospected on this axis in the vicinity of De Said Lake.

“4, Lawrencetown Anticline.—Important operations have been prosecuted on two or three properties at various times at Lawrence- town gold district, and a few auriferous quartz-veins have been opened up at Upper Chezzekook.

pewaon. SUMMARY REPORT. 113 a

“5. Porter's Lake Anticline. —Promising auriferous quartz-veins Nova Scotia have been prospected along this anticline on the east side of Porter’s de Lake, one mile north of the telegraph road.

“6. Montague Anticline.— Half a dozen properties have been exten: sively worked at various times for a number of years in Montague gold district. Very promising quartz-veins have been prospected east of Lake Major, where one of the main faults of the region has shoved the anticlinal axis on the west side of the lake, nearly one mile and a half to the north of its normal position. A few quartz-veins have klso been tested along this line east of Bedford Basin.

“7. Waverley Anticline.—Extensive mining operations have been carried out on one or other of the many properties of the Waverley gold district, almost continuously since its discovery, to depths of over 400 feet. Auriferous quartz-veins were also prospected on this anticline in the vicinity of Karney Lake and south of Goff post-office.

“8. Caribou Anticline.—This only brings up the upper black slate group. Quartz-veins have been prospected along its course on Lively Brook, and north of Goff post-office.

“9. Oldham Anticline.—The extensive gold mining district of Oldham has been considerably worked since its opening, two or more shafts on an incline of 43°, reaching a depth of 574 feet, on the Dunbrack lead, while some of the leads have been worked, or opened up, for over one mile in length along their course.

10. Carroll’s Corner Anticline.—Auriferous quartz-veins have been opened up at Key’s Brook and at the Horn settlement.

“11. South Uniacke Antrcline.—A few quartz-veins are being worked very successfully at the south Uniacke gold mines, to depths of 500 feet, on some very rich and persistent pay-streaks.

“12 Mount Uniacke and Renfrew Anticline.—Mining operations have been prosecuted extensively in both gold districts of Renfrew and Mount Uniacke, for a number of years.

“13. East Rawdon Anticline.—Considerable mining work has been done in the East Rawdon gold district for some years.

“14, Rawdon Mountain Anticline.—A minor anticline in the slate, between the two main synclines of the upper black slate belt of the Rawdon Mountain. Exploratory work has been done recently at the Withrow gold mine, and numerous quartz-veins have been ‘tested on the surface, along this axis, but most of them proved to be barren.

114 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

Nova Scotia— “15, Gore Anticline.—Crops out only in a few places along the

Cont.

Faults.

Detailed sur- veys.

Work by Prof. Bailey.

southern boundary of the Carboniferous rocks of the Kennetcook basin, by which it is mostly covered.

‘ À number of faults, bearing a general north-and-south course, cut the stratification at right angles, and time was taken up in tracing these and working out the magnitude of the displacements. Some of them cut the whole width of the gold-bearing belt from the Atlantic coast to the Carboniferous boundary on the north side of the Rawdon Mountain, a distance of forty miles, with horizontal displacements sometimes as great as one mile and a half.

‘ During the summer, special detailed surveys were also made of the gold-mining districts of Lake Catcha, Lawrencetown, Renfrew, East Rawdon, Withrow and Central Rawdon, and necessary data taken in the field, in order to prepare plans of these districts, like those already made of the eastern part of the province, on a scale of 500 feet to one inch.

‘ À topographical survey of the gold-field of Nova Scotia was under- taken jointly by the Geological Survey and the Nova Scotian govern- rhent in 1881, and W. Bell Dawson, C. E., was entrusted with the work, and made a most accurate map, on a scale of two inches to one mile, representing an area of twelve miles by eighteen miles, includ- ing the city of Halifax and its vicinity. He also made a special plan of each of the gold districts of Lawrencetown, Montague and Waverley on a scale of 500 feet to one inch. These topographical surveys were intended to become the basis of a geological map, but were not prosecuted further, the arrangement under which they were undertaken having fallen through. The area covered by the above plans is partly included in the south-western portion of the region surveyed last summer, they were found most useful in the field in working out readily the structure of the rocks and will bea great heip in compiling the map of that area.

“T was again ably assisted in the field during the season by Messrs. Archibald Cameron and Jas McG. Cruickshank, who have been my assistants for the last twelve and eleven summers respectively. They were also employed another month plotting their summer’s work. Mr. Frank D. Phinney was also one month with me last summer.”

In the Annual Report for 1892-93 (Vol. IV.), a preliminary report, on the Geology of South-western Nova Scotia by Professor L. W. Bailey is printed. The relation of this to a more detailed report by

cweon. SUMMARY REPORT. 115 4

the author is there stated. It was not found possible to arrange for Nova Scotia — any lengthened period of field-work in this connection during the past Cont. summer, but Profeséor Bailey having volunteered his services for a por-

tion of the season, about a month was spent upon the work by him.

Of the observations made, he writes as follows :—

“These ohservations had, as their primary object, the obtaining of Objects in

data required to complete a report upon the geology of Yarmouth and Digby counties, materials for which had already been partially obtained in the summers of 1892 and 1893, by the examination of cer- tain sections not at that time visited, and the reéxamination of others. The results relate, therefore, mostly, to minor details of structure. In particular, a minute examination was made of considerable portion of the micaceous and hornblendic belt which stretches inland, along the line of the Dominion Atlantic railway, from the city of Yarmouth to the border of Digby county ; and secondly of the section of Cambrian rocks lying between the head of St Mary’s Bay and the Grand Joggins on the Annapolis Basin.

“ Both examinations fully confirmed the conclusions previously stated Results. in my preliminary report published last year. As regards the former belt, both the sequence and the characteristics of the rocks composing it and which had at one time been supposed to be of pre-Cambrian (Huronian) age, were, as seen particularly in the vicinity of Brazil Lake, Lake Ausier and Lake George, found to bear the closest re- semblance to the rocks exhibited at Jordan Falls and about Shelburne Harbour, in the county of Shelburne, both being clearly of Cambrian age. The rocks of the second section above referred to, which are in character and sequence typical of a large part of Digby county, are as certainly also a portion of the same Cambrian system. This being the case, it had been hoped that from the black slates which here, as in Queen’s county, form the upper member of the system: organic remains might be obtained which would place the age of the containing beds beyond all question ; but the search for these, though prolonged, proved unavailing.

“Tt was also hoped that some further light might be thrown upon the doubtful relations of the peculiar beds about Cape St. Mary, to those of the fossiliferous Silurian and Devonian belt previously recog- nized at Bear River and Mistake settlement ; but upon this point also, little of a definite character could be ascertained, the frequent inter- position of areas of eruptive rocks, together with accompanying meta- morphism, making it very difficult to follow or to recognize the identity of beds, more particularly when separated, as those of Digby county

116 A Geological Survey Department.

Nova Scotia— so frequently are, by wide intervals of drift. Many features of resem-

Chemistry and

mineralogy.

Analyser,

Mineral speci-

mens exam- m

blance have been noted between the beds of Cape Cove, near Cape St. Mary, in Yarmouth county, and those of the tract bordering Anna- polis Basin between Bear River and the Grand Joggins, but it would still be unsafe, from present data, to assert their identity or to fix their age.

‘ In addition to the observations on the Cambrian system, referred to above, some time was devoted to a further study of the traps and sandstones of Digby Neck, including the iron deposits of Waterford, etc. Native copper in threads and small nodules was observed near the entrance of Digby Neck, but the quantity was small. No other minerals of economic value were noted.”

Chemistry And Mineralogy.

Reporting on the work of this division, Dr. Hoffmann says :—“ The work in the chemical laboratory during the past year has been carried out upon the same lines as those heretofore followed, that is to say, it has been chiefly confined to the examination and analysis of such minerals, etc., etc., as were considered likely to prove of economic value and importance. The ground covered included :—

“1. Analyses of fuels.

“2, Analyses of mineral and other waters and brines.

‘3. Analyses of iron-ores.

“4, Analyses of certain ores in regard to nickel content.

“5. Analyses of maris.

“6. Assays, for gold and silver, of ores from the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.

7, Examination, and in some instances complete analysis, of several minerals not previously identified as occurring in Canada, some of which promise to prove of economic importance.

8. Miscellaneous examinations. These include the examination and testing of brick and pottery clays; of limestones and other materials, supposed to possess hydraulic properties ; of some samples of silt, bog manganese and disseminated graphite, and of other materials not included under the above headings.

‘During the period in question, five hundred and seventy-three mineral specimens were received for the purpose of identification or the obtaining of information in regard to their economic value. The greater number of these were brought by visitors, and the information

seweon. SUMMARY REPORT. 117 A

sought in regard to them was not infrequently communicated to them Chemistry ard at the time of their calling. In other instances—those where a more mineralogy 7 than mere cursory examination was called for, or a partial or even complete analysis was deemed desirable, as also in the case of those specimens which had been sent from a distance—the results were com- municated by mail. The number of letters written, chiefty in this connection, and generally of the nature of reports, amounted to two

hundred and fourteen, and the number of those received to eighty-nine.

“Messrs. R. A. A, Johnston and F.G. Wait, assistants in the Work by as- laboratory, have both applied themselves diligently to the work in sitants, hand, and rendered excellent service. The former has, in addition to the carrying out of a lengthy series of gold and silver assays, also made some important analyses of minerals, and likewise conducted a great variety of miscellaneous examinations ; whilst the latter has, as a principal work, been engaged in the analysis of mineral and other waters, marls and iron-ores.

“In the work connected with the mineralogical section of the museum, I have been ably assisted by Mr. R. L. Broadbent. He has, apart from general museum work, including the maintenance of the collection generally in an orderly condition, been engaged in the permanent labelling of specimens—a work which must of necessity be of a more or less continuous character by reason of frequent additions to the collection ; and also prepared the manuscript of over eight hundred labels for the collections illustrating the distribution of iron, copper, lead, antimony and other ores.

“The additions to the museum amounted to one hundred and thirty Contributions specimens. Some of these consisted of minerals not previously Museum. represented in the collection, the greater number, however, were of minerals already contained in it, but from new localities, and serve to illustrate their distribution.

“Amongst the additions just referred to, are the following, of which—

“(A.) Were collected by officers on the staff of the Survey : — Ami, Dr. H. M.:—

Crystals of pyrite from Willards Mill, Castle Brook, west shore of Lake Memphremagog, Brome county, Q.

Barlow, A. E.:—

Cyanite from Snake Creek, (ten miles north of Mattawa) Pontiac county, Q.

118 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

Contributions Bell, Dr. R.:— to museun:— Cont. Chalcocite from the Borron location, tp. of Gould, district of Algoma, O. Chalmers, KR. :—

a. Pre-Glacial or Pleiocene clay from the mouth of Rivière du Loup, Beauce county, Q. 6. Auriferous quartz from the Harrison gold mine, lot 1, range VI., Westbury, Compton county, Q. . Rock specimens from lot 4, range IV., ,Dudswell, Wolfe county, Q. . Rock specimen from same locality as 6. Quartz showing native gold from same locality as 0. . Rock specimens from Falls of Bras River, Beauce county, Q. . Scheelite, eight specimens from lot 1, range VII., Marlow, Beauce county, Q. h. Twelve specimens illustrating mineral associations of scheel- ite from lot 1, range VII. of Marlow, Beauce county, Q. 1. Auriferous quartz from lot 2, range I., Linière, Beauce county, Q.

Dawson, Dr. G. M.:—

a. Chabazite from road at head of Chasm, north of Clinton, B.C.

6. Shale conglomerate constituting bed rock at the Horsefly mine, ca rying gold, Cariboo district, B.C.

c. Bornite from the Tenderfoot claim, east side of Copper Creek, Kamloops Lake, B.C.

d. Gypsum occurring in concretionary or nodular masses in ‘china-stone’ deposit on west side of Fraser River, opp. Spatsum Station, Canadian Pacific Railway, B.C.

e. Cinnabar from Last Chance No. 2 claim, east side cf Copper Creek, Kamloops Lake, B.C.

J. Molybdenite from same lo-ality as the preceding.

g. Native copper in serpentine from ‘ Painted Bluff,’ near Copper Creek, Kamloops Lake, B.C.

h. Cinnabar from Six-mile Point, Kamloops Lake, B.C.

2. Silver ore, five specimens from the Homestake claim, near Adams Lake, B.C.

j. Magnetite from the Glen iron mine, Cherry Bluff, Kamloops Lake, B.C.

k. Selenite from Fort Kipp, Old Man River, district of Alberta, N.W.T.

1, Limestone showing cone-in-cone structure, from Athabasca Landing, district of Alberta, N.W.T.

is)

ew 8 À

Dawson. SUMMARY REPORT. 119 a

m. Coal from Holloway’s Spring Creek mine, Middle Fork of Contributions Old Man River, district of Alberta, N.W.T. one n. Coal from Highwood River, district of Alberta, N.W.T. o. Auriferous quartz from the Sultana, Winnipeg Consolidated and Gold Hill mines, Lake of the Woods, district of Rainy

River, O. Ells, Dr. KR. W. :—

Magnetite from lot 16, con. IX., Bagot, Renfrew county, O.

Faribault, E. R.:—

Stibnite and kermesite, six specimens from West Gore, Hants

county, N. 8. Ferrier, W. F.:—

a. Quartz showing native gold from the Ledyard Gold Mines, Belmont, Peterborough county, O. :

6. Arsenopyrite from the Gatling mine, Marmora, Hastings county, O.

c. Bismuthinite from lot 34, con. III, Tudor, Hastings county, O.

d. Epidote from lot 8, con. XIX., Tudor, Hastings county, O.

Fletcher, H. :-— a. Hematite from Doctor’s Brook iron mine, Arisaig, Anti- gonish county, N.S. b. Manganite from Morley road, Cape Breton county, N.S. c. Talc from Kennington Cove, Cape Breton county, N.S. Giroux, N. J. :— Allanite from east shore of Lac & Baude (Lake Bouchard), Champlain county, Q. Ingall, E. D. :— Crystals of galena from Gold Hill claim, Illecillewaet mines; West Kootanie district, B. C. Low, A. P. :— Almandite crystals from mica-schist from Manicuagan River, Saguenay county, Q. McConnell, R. G. :—

a. Galena, zinc blende and tetrahedrite from the Antelope claim, Slocan mining district, West Kootanie, B.C.

6. Zine blende with pyrite from the Bluebird mine, Slocan mining district, West Kootanie, B.C.

Contributions to museum— Cont.

Geological Survey Department.

c. Galena coated with earthy carbonate of lead from the Dead- man mine, Slocan mining district, West Kootanie, B. C.

d. Galena from the Reco mine, Slocan mining district, West Kootanie, B.C.

e. Galena with cerussite, from the Reco mine, Slocan mining district, West Kootanie, B.C.

f. A mixture of earthy sulphate and carbonate of lead with quartz, from the Reco mine, Slocan mining district, West Kootanie, B.C.

g. Galena, pyrite, chalcopyrite, and a little mispickel from the Sheep Creek Star claim, Sheep Creek, Trail Creek mining district, West Kootanie, B.C.

h. Quartz with galena, pyrite and chalcopyrite, from the O. K. mine, Sheep Creek, Trail Creek mining district, West Kootanie, B.C.

4, Quartz with pyrite from the Gold Hill claim, Trail Creek mining district, West Kootanie, B.C.

j. Pyrrhotite with chalcopyrite (auriferous and argentiferous) four specimens from the Leroy mine, Trail Creek mining district, West Kootanie, B.C.

k. Pyrrhotite with chalcopyrite from the Great Western claim, Trail Creek mining district, West Kootanie, B.C.

1. Iron pyrites, pyrrhotite and zinc blende, from the Lilly May claim, Trail Creek mining district, West Kootanie, B.C.

m. Iron pyrites, galena and zinc blende from the Lilly May claim, Trail Creek mining district, West Kootanie, B.C.

n. Pyrrhotite with chalcopyrite (auriferous and argentiferous) from the Kootanie claim, Trail Creek mining district, West Kootanie, B.C.

o. Mispickel from the same locality as the preceding.

p. Pyrrhotite with chalcopyrite from the Iron Colt claim, Trail Creek mining district, West Kootanie, B.C.

q. Pyrrhotite with chalcopyrite (auriferous and argentiferous) from the Nickel Plate mine, Trail Creek mining district, West Kootanie, B.C.

r. Pyrrhotite with chalcopyrite (auriferous and argentiferous) from the War Eagle mine, Trail Creek mining district, West Kootanie, B.C.

8. Pyrrhotite with chalcopyrite (auriferous and argentiferous)

from the Monte Christo mine, Trail Creek mining district, West Kootanie, B.C.

cerson. SUMMARY REPORT. 121

t. Pyrrhotite with chalcopyrite (auriferous and argentiferous) Contributions from the Cliff mine, Trail Creek mining district, West Cone Kootanie, B.C.

u. Mispickel with chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite from the Josie claim, Trail Creek mining district, West Kootanie, B. C.

rv. Galena, coated and intermixed with carbonate of lead, ferric hydrate and green carbonate of copper, from the Noble

Five claim, Slocan mining district, West Kootanie, B.C. Tyrrell, J. B. :— Marcasite from the bank of the Assiniboine River, Manitoba

“(B.) Were received as presentations :— Abrahamson Brothers, Revelstoke, B.C. Asbestus (chrysotile) and serpentine from Trout Lake City, West Kootanie, B. . Bell, B. T. A., Ottawa, O. Muscovite from Tête Jaune Cache, Rocky Mountains, B. C.° Brown, C., per C. W. Willimott :— Phlogopite from Kingsmere, Hull, Ottawa county, Q. Brunet, J., Montreal, Q.:— Granite, three specimens polished, from the Laurentian Granite Co.’s quarry, St. Philippe, Argenteuil county, Q. Butchard, R. P., Owen Sound, O.:— Marl from Shallow Lake, township of Keppel, Grey county, O. Campbell, A. M., Perth, O.:—

Calcite from near the east end of Dalhousie Lake, Dalhousie, Lanark county, O.

‘Carter, Alfred, Wairau, Blenheim, New Zealand :—

a. Sample of briquettes or tiles composed of magnetite (separ- ated from Taranaki iron sand by Carter and Purser’s pro- cess) and glue.

6. Sample of ingot-iron smelted, in cupola furnace, from bri- quettes similar to ‘a.’

c. Cog-wheel cast from ingot iron, similar to ‘6.’

d. Borings from cog-wheel ‘c.’

Chambers, F. H. (Bridgeville, N.S.), New Glasgow Iron, Coal and Railway Co., Limited, Ferrona, Pictou county, N.S. a. Limonite from Bridgeville, Pictou county, N.S. b. Manganite “ se ‘6 ce c. Barite 66 ce cc 66 d. Gôtnite “ “ ce

122 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

Contributions Costigan, J. R., Calgary, N.W.T.:—

to museum—

Cont. Zinc blende from South Fork of Red Deer River, district of Alberta, N.W.T. Coursolles, T. G., Ottawa, O.:— Phlogopite from lots 16a and 176, range VIII. Templeton, Ottawa county, Q. Ferrier, W. F., Ottawa, O.:— a. Galena from Tudor, Limerick, Elzevir and Hungerford, Hastings county, O. b. Galena from Nairn and Galbraith, district of Algoma, O. c. Quartz with chalcopyrite from Craig’s gold mine, Tudor, Hastings county, O. d. Chalcopyrite from the Begley mine, Batchehwahnung Bay, Lake Superior, O. e. Chalcopyrite from the township of Snider, district of Al- goma, O. Greenshields, Montreal, Q., per Dr. J. Thorburn :— Asbestus (chrysotile) from the Jeffrey mine, lot 9, range III. Shipton, Richmond county, Q. Guillim, J. C.:— Nine specimens of ores and rocks from the West Kootanie dis- trict, B.C. Hall, G. B., Quebec :— Microcline from the McGie mine, Block ‘G,’ Bergeronnes, Saguenay county, Q.

Harding, H. :— Bituminous shale, so-called ‘cannelite,’ from Baltimore, Albert county, N. B.

Hill, A. J., New Westminster, B.C. :— a. Bog-iron ore from Campbell River, lot 14, range VII., New Westminster district, B.C. b. Slag from burnt seam of coal or lignite, near Village Bay, Mayne Island, Gulf of Georgia, B.C. Hobson, J. B. :— Barite in lignite from the Horsefly mine, Horsefly River, Cari- boo district, B.C. Jacques, Captain, Victoria, Vancouver Island, B.C.:— a. Ilvaite with andradite from Uchucklesit Harbour, near head of Barclay Sound, Vancouver Island, B.C. 6. Ilvaite with pyrite, same locality as above. c. Chalcopyrite with ilvaite, same locality as above.

Dawson. SUMMARY REPORT. 123 a

Laprairie Pressed Brick and Terra Cotta Co., Laprairie, Q., per J. Contributions.

S. Buchan :— e museum— a. Building brick, grade No. 1, colour 7, four specimens. b. “6 Ts 8, & d. “ “ 10, six“

e. ‘ Buff’ brick, four specimens. Jf. ‘Plastic’ brick, six specimens. g. ‘Ornamental’ brick, three specimens. h. ‘Paving’ brick, six specimens. Ledyard Gold Mines Company, Limited :— a. Eleven specimens of auriferous quartz from the east half lot 18, concession I., Belmont, Peterborough county, O. 6. Small bottle of concentrates. C. se tailings. Legge, Joshua, Gananoque, O. :— Steatite from lot 5, concession I., Kaladar, Addington county, O. McKenzir, H. R., Sydney, N. 8S. :— Chalcopyrite from Old French road, Gabarous, Cape Breton county, N. 8. McRae, Hector, Ottawa, O. :— Graphite from lot 12, concession III, Brougham, Renfrew county, O. Moffatt, C. P., North Sydney, N.S., per H. Fletcher :— Chrysotile from George River, Cape Breton county, NS. Morris, M., per C. W. Willimott :-— Phlogopite from lot 17, range II., Wakefield, Ottawa county, Q. O'Connor, M., Delora, O., per Dr. R. Bell :— Mispickel with lepidomelane from lot 11, concession IX., Mar- mora, Hastings county, O. Ontario Peat Fuel Company, Toronto, O., per W. A. Allan :— Peat fuel from peat bed about five miles from Welland, Wel- land county, O. Prest, W. H.:— a. Thirteen specimens representing the mineral associations of the auriferous quartz from Gold River, Lunenburg county, N.S.

b. Crystals of quartz and pyrites from the Lake lead, Cari- bou, N.S.

Geological Survey Department.

Contributions Smith, J. F., Kamloops, B.C.:— Gone Beryl from Tête Jaune Câche mica deposit, Canoe River, B.C.

Sorette, H., Bridgewater, N.S.:—

Granite, polished specimen from Shelburne, Shelburne county, N.S. Spotswood, G. A., Kingston, O.:— a. Petroleum from the Strait of Belle Isle, Newfoundland. b. Piece of contact rock showing impression of overflow of trap _from same locality as the preceding.

c. Sillery sandstone from under the trap, charged with bitumen, from the same locality as the two preceding.

d. Bitumen, anthraxolite (?) from the trap of Port au Port Bay, Newfoundland.

Thain, J. H., Vancouver, B.C. :—

Chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite from Queen’s Reach, Jervis Inlet, B.C.

Thompson, H. B., Victoria, B.C. : — Infusorial earth from south side of Fraser River, opposite Mission City, B.C. Thorburn, Dr. John, Ottawa, Ont.:—

Asbestus (chrysolite) from the Jeffrey mine, lot 9, range III, Shipton, Richmond County, Que.

Trethewey, T. H., per E. D. Ingall :—

Seven specimens of native copper, two specimens of chalcocite and one specimen of bornite, all from the Copper Creek Mining Company’s property (Sand Bay and Pancake Bay locations), Mamainse, Lake Superior O.

Wells and Redpath, Messrs., Kamloops, B.C., per J. McEvoy :—

Asbestus (amphibole) from south side of Tulameen River, nearly opposite Bear Creek, Yale District, B.C.

Weston, T. C., Ottawa, O.:—

a. Nodule of magnetite and hematite from one of the Magdalen Islands, Q.

b. Agate from Scaumenac Bay, near Campbellton, Resti- gouche county, N.B.

Educational “Mr. C. W. Willimott has, for the most part, been engaged in

Sopeliaal making up collections of minerals and rocks for various educational institutions. The following is a list of those to which such collections have been sent :—

oion, ]

to

a1 Ot de

Erresr Bnrrrrpls

Summary Report.

. Huron College, London, Ont . Public School, Bloomfield street, Hali-

fax, N.S

. Digby Academy, Digby, N.S . Richmond School, Halifax, N.S . Normal School, Fredericton, N.B . Lunenburg Academy, Lunenburg,N.S. . Provincial School of Pedagogy, To-

. Collegiate Institute, Winnipeg, Man. . Public School, Medicine Hat, N.W.T.

Brébœuf School, Ottawa, Ont Prince Street School, Charlottetown,

P.E.LI ,.., Public School, Nauwigewauk, N.B... County Academy, Guysborough, N.S. Public School, Chipman, N.S Acadia College, Wolfville, N.S Amherst Academy, Amherst, N.S Couvent de Jésus Marie, Lévis, Que.. High School, Iroquois, Ont

“ 6 Hopewell Hill, N.B

“ ‘4 Keswick Ridge, N.B .

. Collegiate Institute, London, Ont . Grammar School, Alma, N.B . Public School, Breslau, Ont . Acadia Seminary, Wolfville, N.S

. Public School, Carpe, Ont . Holy Cross Convent, Alexandria, Ont. . Superior School, Millford, N.B . Art, Historical and Scientific Associa-

tion, Vancouver, B.C

. Superior School, Dalhousie, N.B

‘6 Hillsborough, N.S..

. Provincial Normal School, Truro, N.S. . Superior School, St. Martin’s, N.B...

‘© Salisbury, N.B

. Public School, Elgin, N.B Columbia Methodist College, New

Westminster, B.C

. Superior School, Harvey Station, N.B. . High School, Douglastown, N.B . Public School, Petitcodiac, N.B . Superior School, Hampton, N.B . Lakeside School, Hampton Station, N.

Fublic School, Maugerville, N.B

Caledonia High School, Seneca, Haldi- mand County, Ont

Public School Inspector, Toronto, Ont.

. High School, Hagersville, Ont

Ce

125 a

consisting of 135 specimens.

Educational collections supplied— Cont.

Educational collections supplied — Cont.

Collecting of mineruls.

126 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

45. Superior School, Butternut Ridge, N. B consisting of 120 specimens.

46. Windsor Academy, Windsor, N.S “ 120 se 47. Sydney Academy, Sydney, N.S 6 120 “ 48. Public School No. 3, Harvey, N.B... “ 120 se 49. Forest Glen School, Forest Glen, N.B. “ 80 “ 50. Grammar School, Chatham, N.B “ 120 “ 51. Public School, Rat Portage, Ont “s 80 “ 52. “6 ‘6 Boiestown, N.B “ 80 “s 53. Harkin’s Academy, Newcastle, N.B.. ss 120 “s 54. High School, Newbury, Ont “ 120 “s 55. Public School, Shenston, N.B “s 80 “s 56. Albert Public School, Hopewell, N. B. “ 80 ‘6 57. Grammar School, Campbellton, N.B. “ 120 “ 58. City Hall, London, Ont “6 160 “ 59. High Commissioner, London, England “ 122 “

“ Making a total of 6,665 specimens, aggregating over two tons in weight of material.

“Tn addition to the foregoing work, Mr. Willimott visited, in the course of the summer—for the purpose of procuring further material for the making up of collections for educational purposes—the town- ships of Hull, Templeton, Wakefield, Buckingham and Orford, in the province of Quebec, and those of Bagot, MacNab and Ross, in the province of Ontario.

“ Whilst so engaged, he collected a large and varied assortment of minerals, comprising :—

Specimens. Weight.

Actinolite 100 Albite .., . so... 75 pounds. Amazon stone 100 Apatite, crystals 100 ‘6 in calcite ... .. Dence 100 ‘© pyroxene incalcite 100 Baryta .. wees 150 “ Calcite, crystals. wee 150 ss see een 100 Chrome garnet 100 Diorite—from Bagot , wees 200 se ‘6 __from Wakefield.. 100 Dolomite, tremolitic ,. eae 100 “s Fluorite , 100 Gneiss wees 100 “ Graphite, disseminated ... wees 100 ‘ Hornblende-schist ... 200 se Idocrase, crystals, loose 150 “6 “ in gangue 20

cureon. SUMMARY REPORT. 127 a

Specimens. Weight.

Collecting of Limestone (marble) es 150 pounds. minerals.

“ hydraulic. vo. 150 “

“s serpentine .…. 150 “s Microcline so. 19 “6 Molybdenite Lors 19 Ochre eee 30 Phlogopite, crystals (amber coloured) ... 150

“s (black) 15 Pyroxene see ou ee. 300

‘6 massive , Lee 100 Quartz eee e ee ee 79 se Rutile , 75 Sandstone . .. ,.. Lo. 100 “ Titanite ,.. cae 100 ‘6 Tourmaline ,., 100 Tremolite su. 200

“The foregoing included some handsome cabinet specimens which have been placed in the Museum.

“Mr. Willimott has also received—

Weight. Clay iron-stone, collected by Dr. G. M. Dawson 150 pounds. Calcareous tufa, collected by Mr. Geo. Stewart, Banff. 150 6 Basalt, collected by Mr. J. McEvoy eee e eee 200 se Tufaceous sandstone, collected by Mr. J. McEvoy. . 200 se Hornblende, presented by Mr. R. Hamilton 100 “ Tremolite “ 6... 50 “se Talc, received through Mr. W. F. Ferrier 100 6 Mispickel “ 66 eee eee 150 “ Selenite, collected by Mr. E. R. Faribault 150 “

Lithology.

Mr. W. F. Ferrier, lithologist, reports on the work of the past year Lithology as follows :—

“Labels have been prepared for the stratigraphical collection of rocks, and those for the flat cases are now all placed in position. As the nomenclature of the majority of the rocks is, as yet, of necessity, based largely on their macroscopic characters, and therefore liable to some alterations, written, instead of printed, labels have in the mean- time been provided. It is intended to arrange typical local sets of rocks in the large drawers under the museum cases, where they will be readily accessible to those wishing to study the geology of any par- ticular district. .

128 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

Lithology— “The microscopical work of the year included the examination of

Cond. fifteen additional thin sections of rocks from the Kamloops district, British Columbia, also of thirty sections of rocks from Labrador. The results of the former examination have been incorporated in the ap- pendix to Dr. Dawson’s report, which is now in the press, whilst those of the latter will form an appendix to Mr. Low’s report on the interior of Labrador.

‘“ Much time has been occupied in the study of Mr. Barlow’s interest- ing and important rocks from the Nipissing and Temiscaming sheets, numbering in all some one hundred and fifty specimens, and the work Ig now nearing completion. One hundred typical rocks of the West Kootanie district, British Columbia, collected by Mr. McConnell, have been sectioned, but, as the field-work is not yet completed, ex- aminations of only a few of the specimens have as yet been made.

‘‘Twenty-four specimens of Archzan rocks were sent to Prof. H. A. Nicholson of the University of Aberdeen, and sixty-one—principally Archean—to Prof. Groth of Munich, in exchange for specimens received.

“The miscellaneous work carried on during the year, included many macroscopical determinations of rocks and various microscopical or blowpipe examinations of building stones, minerals and miscellaneous materials,

“Two papers were, with the permission of the Director, published in the ‘ Ottawa Naturalist,’ in one of which the occurrence of stil- pnomelane var. chalcodite and crystallized monazite, at Canadian localities is recorded for the first time.

Examinations “Having detected erythrite, the hydrous arsenate of cobalt, and in the field. smaltite, the arsenide of that metal (usually containing some nickel) in some samples of ore given tome by Mr. John Stewart, in 1892, from the Dominion Iron Mine, lot 2, concession II., of Madoc town- ship, in the county of Hastings, Ont., it was thought advisable that I should visit the locality in order to ascertain the extent of the deposit of these cobalt minerals. Accordingly, during the summer, I went to Madoc and examined the mine where they occur as carefully as the circumstances would permit. No work has been done at the opening for many years, and consequently it is difficult to make out the precise relations of the cobalt minerals to the main mass of ore, but they appear to occur in bands or seams, one of which was noted dipping at a high angle. The width of these bands, judging from specimens col- lected on the dumps, must in some instances have been two feet or

cawson. SUMMARY REPORT. 129 a

more. Blocks of the iron-ore sometimes show surfaces of over nine Lithology— inches square coated almost completely with thin-bladed crystals and Cont. earthy coatings of the erythrite, which still retains its beautiful peach-

red and pink tints of colour, although exposed so many years to the

action of the weather. Little masses of earthy erythrite also occur

filling cavities, and this mineral appears to have been largely derived from the alteration of smaltite, etc. The smaltite, of a tin-white

colour on a freshly fractured surface, is distributed through the iron-

ore, usually in small but very perfect crystals, mainly cubes and octa-

hedrons, which, when weathered, tarnish, and greatly resemble iron-

pyrites. The massive mineral has also been observed. The minute

crystals are often thickly aggregated together so as to form small

patches in the iron ore.

“Several other localities in Hastings county were visited and numerous specimens of rocks and minerals collected, amongst which the fine glassy crystals of epidote from a new locality on lots 10 and 11, concession XIX., of the township of Tudor, are worthy of mention

a

Mining And Mineral Statistics.

This work has been carried on upon the usual lines under Mr. E. D. Mineral Ingall’s control. The absence of Mr. H. P. Brunnell on leave, for statistic. three months, and his subsequent resignation for the purpose of accep- ting an engagement in the line of his profession, to some extent inter- fered with the progress of the work for the time being.

The early months of the year were taken up with the work of collecting and compiling statistics of the production of the country for 1894. A summarized statement was prepared as usual in advance of the main report. It was completed on 30th March, and was printed and distributed shortly afterwards. This was earlier than in any previous year.

The manuscript of the report on mineral statistics and mines for 1893, was completed last April, but it was subsequently decided to add to this the figures of mineral production in 1894. The report thus enlarged has since been printed and at the time of writing is nearly ready for distribution.

In the latter part of the year, the usual preparations were made for the collecting of statistics and general information regarding mining

operations in the Dominion for 1895.

Mineral statistics—- Cont.

Palæontology and zoology.

Publications

Fossils from British Col- umbia.

130 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

During the year, various memoranda have been prepared in reply to questions upon special subjects, and in connection with mining and the mineral resources of the country.

Much of Mr. Ingall’s time during the summer, was taken. with the special investigation of the iron-ore deposits in the vicinity of the Kingston and Pembroke railway, in which work Mr. A. M. Campbell acted as general assistant. A first report upon the results of the in- vestigation has been given on preceding pages, under the heading Ontario, in which province the entire district examined is comprised.

Palæontology And Zoology.

Mr. Whiteaves submits the following report upon the work done in these branches of the Survey’s operations.—

‘The second part of the third volume of ‘ Paleozoic Fossils’ was published in September, 1895, and has since been distributed. It consists of two papers, the one a ‘ Revision of the Fauna of the Guelph formation of Ontario, with descriptions of a few new species’ and the other a ‘Systematic List, with references, of the Fossils of the Hudson River or Cincinnati formation of Stony Mountain, Manitoba.’ The first of these papers was written in 1894, but the receipt of an impor- tant consignment of additional specimens from Mr. J. Townsend, in January, 1895, necessitated considerable additions to the manuscript and a final revision thereof. The second was written in the early part of 1895.

‘Considerable progress has been made with the MS. of the third part of the third volume of ‘ Palæozoic Fossils.’ This purt is intended to consist of an illustrated report upon the fossils of the Cambro- Silurian rocks of Lake Winnipeg and its vicinity, based upon the large collections made by various officers of the Survey during the last fifteen years or more. A paper description of eight new species of fossils from these rocks has been published in the ‘Canadian Record of Science’ for July last.

Ten boxes of fossils from the Cretaceous rocks of Hornby, Denman and Vancouver islands, have been received from Mr. Walter Harvey, of Comox, B.C., and one box of fossils from the Comox River, B.C., from Mr. J. B. Bennett of Comox. These have heen critically examined and most of the species determined. They throw much new light on the fauna of these rocks, and give some new and important information which it is intended to utilize in the preparation of the fourth and

mason. SUMMARY REPORT. 131 a

concluding part of the first volume of ‘ Mesozoic Fossils.’ In the Paleontology mean time, a paper entitled ‘ Notes on some Fossils from the Creta- and zoology — ceous Rocks of British Columbia, with descriptions of two species that

appear to be new,’ has been published in the April number of the

‘Canadian Record of Science.’ This paper consists of a preliminary

description, which it is intended to reprint, with such modifications as

may be necessary and with illustrations, in the ‘Mesozoic Fossils,’

of some of the most interesting specimens in Mr. Harvey’s collections.

These specimens he has generously presented to the museum. No

short-tailed decapod crustaceans or fossil crabs had previously been

recorded as occurring in the Cretaceous rocks of the Dominion, but in

the collections of fossils made by Mr. Harvey in 1891-93 at Hornby

Island and the Comox River, there are several specimens of three

species. Specimens of each of these, and of an additional species of

fossil crab from the Cretaceous rocks of the Queen Charlotte Islands,

were sent to Dr. Henry Woodward, F. R.S., president of the Geolo-

gical Society of London and an authority on fossil crustacea,—who

exhibited them at the meeting of the British Association at Ipswich

last September, and read a paper upon them, in which all four were

described as new to science.

“In September, also, Dr. C. F. Newcombe, of Victoria, B.C. visited the Queen Charlotte Islands and collected a fine series of the fossils of the Cretaceous rocks at Skidegate and Cumshewa inlets, which he has kindly promised to send to the writer for examination, So far, four consignments of these fossils have been received and most of the species therein have been determined. Dr. Newcombe has also sent, during the year, some additional species of fossils from Hornby and the Sucia islands. The whole of these specimens will be most useful in enabling the writer to complete a revision’ of the fossil faunæ of the Cretaceous rocks of the Queen Charlotte and Vancouver islands. In the early fall a few days were spent, with Dr. Ells and Mr. Giroux, , in the examination of several rock-exposures on the Island of Montreal] and its immediate vicinity, and in determining the exact geological horizon of each, upon purely paleontological evidence. At St. Vincent de Paul, on Isle Jésus, the lower beds of the Trenton limestone, with their characteristic fossils, were seen to lie immediately and conform- ably on the Black River limestone.

“In Zoology, a paper entitled ‘ Additional notes on Recent Cana- Zoology. dian Unionids:’ was published in the April number of the ‘Canadian Record of Science,’ and another, a ‘Note on the occurrence of Primnoa reseda on the coast of British Columbia,’ was read at the

last meeting of the Royal Society of Canada, and has since been

Palæontology and zoology— Cont.

Work of Dr. Ami,

132 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

published in its Transactions. A smal] series of recent marine shells from Alert Bay, B.C., has been named for Mr. Harvey, in return for favours received, and specimens of eighty-five named species of dupli- cate shells, mostly from the Vancouver district, have been sent to Mr. Herbert H. Smith, of Brooklyn, New York, in exchange for specimens received last year.

‘Several interesting additions to the Survey’s collection of native birds, birds’ eggs, mammals, etc., have resulted from Professor Macoun’s explorations in the North-west Territories during the past summer, (and more particularly a pair of the Sage Grouse, Centrocercus uropha- sidnus, and a fine example of the Yellow-haired Porcupine, Hrethzzon dorsatus, var. epiranthus, both from the White-Mud River, Assiniboia) but these will be referred to more in detail in his report. In addition to these, several interesting species of mammals, birds, birds’ eggs, etc., have been acquired by presentation, exchange or purchase. Among them are a specimen of the Red-backed Mouse, Evotomys rutilus, from Metcalfe, Ontario; two specimens of the Whistling Swan, Olor Columbianus, one from St. Clair Flats, Ontario, the other from Manitoba ; a fine male of the brown Pelican, Pelecanus fuscus, shot on Pictou Island, N.S. ; a female Richardson’s Merlin, Falco Richardsonii, with three downy young ones,—and a female American three-toed Woodpecker, Picoides Americanus,—all from the neighbourhood of Calgary, Alberta. The acquisition of these and of other rare specimens for the museum often entails considerable trouble and a more or less lengthy correspondence. Four mammals and 110 specimens of birds have been mounted by Mr. S. Herring during the year, and he has gone over and cleaned, as he does annually, all the mounted vertebrata in the museum. The collection of stuffed birds, mammals, etc., for the museum in connection with the Rocky Mountain Park at Banff, referred to in my last report, was sent there in the spring.”

“Dr. H. M. Ami has during the year completed the local lists of fossils to accompany Dr. Ells’s report on the Geology of the south-west quarter-sheet of the ‘Eastern Townships’ map of Quebec. This appendix contains an extensive series of systematic lists of fossil orga- nic remains, arranged chronologically and zoologically, employed in the definition of the different geological formations represented, in so far as these have yielded fossils.

‘“ A similar appendix has been prepared to accompany a report on the geology of the Great Manitoulin and other islands in Lake Huron by Dr. R. Bell, including fossil remains from the Cambro-Silurian for- mations of that district.

Canson. SUMMARY REPORT. 133 A

“Systematic lists of fossils have also been prepared and filed, for refer- Paleontology ence, from collections made by Dr. R. W. Ells, Mr. J. F. Whiteaves, and zoology.— Dr. W. E. Deeks, the late J. Richardson, Mr. T. C. Weston, Mr. N.

J. Giroux, the late Scott Barlow, Mr. W. F. Ferrier, Dr. Robert Bell, © Mr. A. E. Barlow, Mr. Hugh Fletcher and by himself and others from various places in the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. These lists include collections (1) from twenty- two localities in Nova Scotia ; (2) from thirty-four localities in Quebec ; (3) from eight localities in New Brunswick and from seven localities in Ontario. A considerable addition of material both new to Canada and new to science was made during the year, and among other valu- able additions are several Cambro-Silurian forms which serve to illus- trate species described by R. P. Whitfield and Alpheus Hyatt from the ‘Fort Cassin Rocks’ of Vermont.

“The examinations above referred to, comprise in all more than 60 separate collections. Besides these, he has also recorded for reference lists of fossil organic remains from the Cretaceous coal-bearing rocks at Anthracite, Alberta; from the Silurian of Hamilton, Ont., collected by Col. C. C. Grant; from Highgate Springs, Vermont, collected by himself in 1883 ; from the Shumardia limestone of Point Lévis &e., collected by Mr. T. C. Weston, 1894.

“ Work has béen continued on the fossilsof Lake Temiscaming, where an interesting outlier of the Silurian occurs, and drillings obtained from a couple of borings have been examined and reported upon. In the early part of the year he prepared a provisional catalogue of the species of fossil remains contained in the collection, and began a cata- logue of the species of fossils described by the late E. Billings, with exact references.

“Much miscellaneous work of a routine character has also been at- tended to, such as the reception and cataloguing of specimens, both palæontological and ethnological.

“On the 25th of September, Dr. Ami was instructed to go to Nova Field-work.

Scotia for the purpose of obtaining, if possible, palæontological evidences of the age of certain rocks of Pictou county, in conjunction with work carried on there by Mr. Hugh Fletcher. He spent nearly four weeks there, and obtained a large suite of specimens, which, in many cases, serve to throw considerable light upon the age of the iron-bearing rocks of Pictou county. A few days were also spent in Antigonish county and in Cape Breton with Mr. Fletcher in similar work.

“During the year, Dr. Ami has been absent on leave for a period of nearly four months on account of illness.

134 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

“During the first half of the year, Mr. L. M. Lambe was engaged in a preliminary study of the fossil corals of Canada, with the idea of con- centrating later on each group in turn, the object being a revision of ‘this important class. It was necessary at first to ascertain what material was available for study besides the specimens exhibited in the museum cases. To accomplish this end, about ninety boxes, in the out- buildings, containing fossils from different horizons and from many typical localities in several parts of the Dominion, were examined, and any corals that were thought likely to throw light on the structure, etc., of the peculiar group were selected and placed in the basement work- room in the Survey building so as to be readily accessible. From the duplicate specimens i: the drawers beneath the museum cases, a series of corals was also selected. These in conjunction with those already mentioned constitute the mass of material now arranged for study.

“Having completed a preliminary examination of the Canadian fossil corals as a whole, Mr. Lambe in the latter half of the year con- centrated on a few particular groups, in the hope of adding to the knowledge of their structure and affinities and of their relation to geo- logical horizons in this country. Critical notes relative to certain genera and species have been prepared and it is hoped to have the first of a series of short papers ready for publication shortly.

‘In connection with work being carried on by Mr. Whiteaves, Mr. Lambe has also, during the year, prepared drawings of certain fossils from the Cretaceous rocks of the Pacific coast and the Trenton of Lake Winnipeg, to illustrate the papers or reports already mentioned as pub- lished or in course of preparation. Drawings were also made of a col- lection of Tertiary plants from Burrard Inlet, B.C., to be used in illustration of a paper, by Sir J. William Dawson, for the current volume of the Royal Society of Canada. The specimens described and illus- trated in this paper are chiefly those collected by officers of the Survey or presented to it. These have now been named and returned to the museum.

“ While finishing his studies of the recent marine sponges of the North Pacific, he named for the Smithsonian Institution at Washing- ton, D.C., the remainder of the specimens collected by Dr. Dall some years ago in that region, and received for the museum in return, a first set of duplicates of the collection.

‘“‘ The following is a list of specimens collected by or received from officers of the Survey during the year 1895, in addition to those collected by Professor Macoun, which will be found enumerated in his report :—

œwon SUMMARY REPORT. 135 A

Dr. Robert Bell :— Contributions . . . to museum— Several specimens of Devonian fossils from the lower part of Gr. Moose River. Bird-skins from Manitoba and Cross Lake,

Nelson River.

Dr. R. W. Ells :—

Several specimens of Cambro-Silurian fossils from Montreal and

its vicinity. J. B. Tyrrell :—

About twelve specimens of five species of Cambro-Silurian fossils from Markham Lake, on Telzoa River. About 200 specimens of 20 species of Cambro-Silurian and Silurian fossils from the mouth of Churchill River. Forty specimens of marine shells, from Hudson Bay. About thirty specimens of fresh- water shells from Manitoba and Keewatin.

Dr. H. M. Ami :—

1320 specimens of Palæozoic fossils from various formations in Pictou Co., Nova Scotia.

100 specimens from the productive coal measures of Indian Cove, North Sydney, Cape Breton Co., Nova Scotia.

À. P. Low : —

Fifty specimens of fossils from the Cambro-Silurian rocks at the

Radnor Forges, Champlain Co., Que. L M. Lambe :— Three specimens of Trenton fossils from Cap à l’Aigle, Murray Bay, Que. Wm. McInnes :— One bone skin-scraper, from Otukamamoan Lake, Rainy River " District. N. J. Giroux :—

One hundred and fifty spe imens of fossils from Glengarry, Pres- cott, Russell, Stormont and Dundas. Fifteen marine fossils from the Pleistocene deposits of the counties of Soulanges and Glengarry.

James McEvoy :— One stone pestle from the interior of British Columbia. W. J. Wilson :—

About forty specimens of Utica fossils from Clear Lake, Ren- frew Co., Ont.

136 A ‘Geological Survey Department.

Contributions The additions to the paleontological, zoolog'cal and Ethnological

Con collections during the year, from other sources, are as follows :—

By presentation :— (A. Paleontology.)

Sir J. W. Dawson, Montreai :—

A series of named specimens of four species of Microsauria, and one specimen of the rare Anthrapalemon Hull, all from the Coal Measures of the South Joggins, N.S.

J. B. Hobson, Vancouver, B.C. :—

Eight specimens of fossil fishes from the Tertiary rocks of the Horse-fly River, B.C.; three specimens of two species of fossil wood from the auriferous gravels of the same river ; and three specimens of two species of fossils (Monotts and Aulacoceras) from a Triassic boulder at the Horse-fly Hydraulic Mining Company’s pit, Cariboo, B.C.

C. Hill-Tout, New Westminster, B.C,:—

Twenty-four specimens of fossil plants from Burrard Inlet, B.C.

Colonel C. C. Grant, Hamilton, Ont. :—

Seven specimens of fossils from the Niagara formation at Hamilton, and one from the Hudson River or Trenton drift.

Alex. Graham, Ottawa :—

Humerus, ulna and part of radius of seal (probably Phoca Grenlandica) from the Pleistocene clay at Graham’s brick- yard, near Ottawa.

James Gibbons, Edmonton, Alberta :—

Portion of molar of mammoth found about six miles above Edmonton.

C. A. Magrath, Lethbridge, Alberta :—

Fine large specimen of an Ammonite (Placenticeras placenta) from the Cretaceous shales near Lethbridge.

Walter Harvey, Comox, B.C. :—

Fine specimens of Anisoceras Vancourerense, and three other rare orunique Cretaceous fossils from Hornby Island, the types of two species recently described in the ‘Canadian Record of Science.’

sur. SUMMARY REPORT. 137 a

J. B. Bennett, Comox, B.C. :— : Contributions

Two specimens of a long-tailed decapod (Podocrates Vancou- Con

verensis) from the Cretaceous rocks of the Comox River, B.C. The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. :—

A fine specimen of a fossil coral (Streptelasma robustum ) from the Galena Trenton of the Red River Valley, Manitoba. W. H. Porter, Fort Erie, Ont :— Four specimens of fossils from the Corniferous rocks at Fort Erie. T. C. Weston, Ottawa :— Fifteen specimens of rare fossils from the Lévis limestones and shales at Lévis, P.Q. Dr. H. M. Ami, Ottawa :—

Fifty specimens of fossils from the Montcalm market rocks, Quebec city ; fifty specimens of graptolites from the Interco- lonial railway cutting at Lévis, P. Q.; 100 specimens of grap- tolites from lot 5, range XV., Magog Township, Lake Mem- phremagog, P.Q., and a small collection from the Devonian shales, holding Spirophyton, at Sargent’s Bay, Lake Mem- phremagog.

Walter F. Ferrier, Ottawa :—

Eleven species of fossils from the Pleistocene of Montreal; Murray Bay and Rivière du Loup, and twelve specimens of fo sils from the Trenton limestone at Murray Bay.

e-

(B. Zoology.)

The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. :—

Forty specimens of twenty-two species of recent marine sponges from the North Pacific and Arctic Ocean.

Rev. W. Lowndes, Nassau, N.P.:— Twenty-one species of marine shells from Nassau. John MeMenomy, Metcalfe, Ont. :—

Specimen of the Long-eared or Red-backed mouse (Zvotomys rutilus var. Gapperi), from Metcalfe.

J. H. Fleming, Toronto, Ont. :—

Ege of the king eider (Somateria spectabilis), from the Cary Islands, Baffin’s Bay.

138 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

Contributions R. A. Fowler, Emerald, Lennox, Ont, :— Cot Mottled variety of field mouse fArvicola riparia?), from Emerald.

R. S. Lake, Grenfell, Assa. :—

Two eggs of Swainson’s hawk ( Buteo Swainsoniz), three of the mallard (Anas boschas), and five of the pintail (Dafila acuta), from Assiniboia.

James Fletcher, Ottawa :— .

Seven specimens of Limnæa ampla, from Brome Lake, P.Q.

Walter Harvey, Comox, V.I. :—

Five specimens of Mactra falcata and three of Psammobia rubroradiata, from Denman Island, P.Q.

(C. Ethnology. )

H. B. Munro, Renfrew, Ont. :—

One hundred and forty-two Indian implements from Lytton and Boothroyd’s Flat, B.C., and from the vicinity of Pembroke, Ont.

W. H. Porter, Fort Erie, Ont. :— Three arrow-heads, two sinkers and two fragments of Indian pottery, from Fort Erie. C. Hill-Tout, Vancouver, B. C.:— Forty specimens of chipped arrow- and spear-heads from Burrard Inlet, B.C. James White, jun., Elphin, Ont. :— One copper spear-head or knife found in Dalhousie township, Lanark, near the shore of Dalhousie Lake. Mrs. De Hertel, Perth, Ont. :— Copper spear-head ploughed up about thirty-five years ago near . the head-waters of the Mississippi River, Frontenac Co., Ont. Dr. T. W. Beeman, Perth, Ont. :—

One arrow-head of quartzite and two fragmentary spear-heads from Rideau Lake, Ont. :— Malcolm McMurchy :—

One stone skin scraper, six fragments of pottery, a fragment of a pipe and a chipped flint, from the township of Colling- wood, Ont.

Daunon. SUMMARY REPORT. 139 a

By exchange :— Eggs of fifteen species of North American birds.

Trumpeter swan (Olor Americanus ), from St. Clair Flats, Ont., and females of the following species from western Ontario :— Semipalmated sandpiper, (Hreunetes pusillus); turnstone (Arenaria tinterpres); meadow lark (Sturnella magna); American goldfinch (Spinus tristis); white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis ); chipping sparrow (Spizella socralrs ); red-eyed Vireo ( Vireo olivaceus ); Nashville warbler (Helmin- thophlda ruficapilla); chestnut-sided warbler (Dendroica Pennsylvanica); and Blackburnian warbler (Dendroica Blackburnie ).

By purchase :—

Brown Pelican Pelecanus fuscus), adult male shot on Pictou Island, N.S., in 1892.

Richardson’s merlin (Falco Richardson), adult female, and three downy young, from near Calgary, Alberta.

American three-toed woodpecker (Picoides Americanus), adult female, from near Calgary.

Three eggs of the canvas-back Duck (Aythya vallisneria), from Snake Lake, Alberta.

Twenty-eight bone implements and ten stone implements, of Indian manufacture, from various localities in British Columbia.

One copper implement (gouge or adze) from the township of Canonto, Ont.

NATURAL History.

Under this head, Prof. Macoun reports as follows upon the work accomplished in the office and museum.-—

“ After the date of my last summary report, I prepared a complete tabulated list of the birds known to occur in the Dominion of Canada and Alaska, as well as of all stragglers that have been taken on our northern coasts. The total number of forms known to occur in Canada is 624, of which 443 are represented in the museum collection. Our chief desiderata are sea-birds, and stragglers from Europe which are difficult to obtain. After the completion of this work, I began the arrangement of our Lichens. This, and the routine work of the ofice occupied me until my departure for the field.

Contributions. to museum— Cont.

Natural

History.

Natural History — Cont.

Determina- tion of specimens,

Specimens a etributed.

Additions to herbarium.

A

140 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

“My assistant, Mr. Jas. M. Macoun, has been for the whole year occupied with herbarium work, but has not yet reached the collections of the past season ; and the work of distributing exchanges has pro- gressed but slowly, though enough have been labelled by Miss Barry, to balance accounts with those from whom we have received specimens, when time to distribute them is available.

“The number of collections sent to the herbarium for determina- tion increased materially during the year and was especially large during the collecting season. This branch of the work consumes con- siderable time, but it is a means of adding to our knowledge of distri- bution as well as a help to collectors, The most important of these collections were received from H. H. Gaetz, Red Deer, Alberta; Rev. H. H. Gowen, New Westminster; Dr. Newcombe and <A. J. Pineo, Victoria, B.C.; and R. Cameron, Niagara, Ont. Of the Survey staff Messrs. Bell, Low and Mclivoy brought in small collections from the regions in which they had been working.

“ Since December 31st, 1894, 4318 sheets of specimens have been sent to scientific institutions and individuals, for the most part in exchange for specimens sent us for our herbarium. The herbaria to which the largest number of specimens were sent, are : —

The British Museum , 199 Kew Gardens , , , 7:

The Gray Herbarium, Harvard University 458 Botanical Museum, Copenhagen 125 Botanical Museum, Christiania 329 California Academy of Sciences. ., , 300 United States National Museum ... 295 Columbia College 339 University of Minnesota , .. Lors 150 Botanic Gardens, Natal 125 Missouri Botanic Gardens. .. 426

‘ Specimens have been received during the year from all the institu- tions mentioned above, with the exception of the British Museum, Kew Gardens and the California Academy of Sciences. The most impor- tant collections were from Newfounüland and the state of Washington, both sent from the Gray Herbarium. Of the exchange with collectors, no details need be given here.

“The most valuable contribution to the herbarium during the year, was a set of the plants collected by Dr. G. M. Dawson, when on the Boundary Commission during the summers of 1873-74, in the vicinity of the forty-ninth parallel between the Lake of the Woods and the Rocky Mountains. This comprises about 400 species.

owson. SUMMARY REPORT. 141 a

“During the year 3717 sheets of specimens have been added to our herbarium, as follows :—

Canadian 1371 United States... 895 European 373 Cryptogams eke teen eee 1078

Total .… 3117

“The work of the botanical department is at present in a better condition than it has ever been, and, after all the herbarium material bas been got out, an attempt will be made to effect further exchanges for desiderata and to work up and describe some of the doubtful and new species in our herbarium. Routine office and herbarium duties have in the past left little time for this most important branch of our work.”

The following short report, also by Prof. Macoun, relates to field work carried out by him during the season, in the North-west Territory : —

“Tn accordance with your instructions, I left Ottawa on May 13th, reaching Moose Jaw three days later. On the morning of the 18th, I started south with two men, a wagon and light cart, and provisions for two months. Our first camp was on Old Wives Creek, fifty niles from Moose Jaw.

“ During the summer and autumn of 1894, there had been no fires between Moose Jaw and the crossing between Old Wives Lakes, yet the old grass was extremaly short and the whole surface showed the effects of the long-continued drought, in the seedless grass, the cracked sod, the parched soil and dried-up ponds and grass-marshes. West of the crossing, the prairie had been swept by fire during August of last year, and only the hollows were now green. All the uplands were black, giving little or no response to the warmth of the sun.

“This was the condition of the country when the first rain came on May 24th. It rained, more or less, all day, and the next morning the moisture had penetrated three inches into the soil and by the evening of the 25th was down another inch. The effects of the rain were seen almost immediately, and very soon the black or brown hills had changed to green.

“Formerly Old Wives Creek was well-wooded throughout the lower part of its course, but now the-wood is dead, and in a few years there will not be a stick left. The wood consisted of box-elder, with a little green ash and willow. There are still large thickets of shrubs, chief

Natural History — Cont.

Field work by

Prof. Macoun..

Natural History — Cont.

Rainfall.,.

Birds breed-

ing.

142 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DRPARTHENT.

among which are choke-cherry, cornus, white thorn, willows, saska- toon berry, rose bush and gooseberry.

‘While camped on Old Wives Creek, large collections of birds, birds’ eggs, small mammals and plants were made. On May. 31st, we went south ten miles, to the forks of Old Wives Creek, passing for the whole distance over an undulating plain covered with short grass.

“At ‘the forks’ we found the skeleton of a turtle and a large dark-coloured water-snake, both of which must be very rare, as no more of them were seen during the season. The turtle is, apparently, the Oregon golden-turtle, Chrysemys Oregonensis, which Dr. Coues obtained in the Souris River in 1874. The water-snake was large, dark brown on the back and reddish-yellow beneath, and is probably the red-bellied water-snake, 7'ropidonotus erythrogaster, Shaw.

“ Between May 24th and June 2nd, there were almost daily showers, and by the latter date the moisture had, on the level prairie, got down Into the soil nearly six inches, and the grass and flowers feeling its influence, began to grow with vigour.

‘ A day and a half after leaving the forks of Old Wives Creek, we reached Twelve-mile Lake, near Wood Mountain, and camped on the creek at its head. Wesaw no fresh water between Old Wives Creek and Twelve-mile Lake, and at Thirty-mile Creek, where we camped for a night, the water was so bad that one of the horses became sick from its effects. Owing to the long-continued drought, there was no water in the country except in running streams, and as this was the case all summer, our drinking water was carried in a barrel on the wagon.

‘“‘Twelve-mile Creek was found to be almost dried up, but the marsh at its head received the waters of the creek, and in the upper part of it waders and water-birds were still breeding, though in diminished numbers; as both shelter and water were scanty. Fully sixty species of birds were breeding, or preparing to do so, in and around the lake and on the prairie, but mammals of all kinds were very scarce.

“ During the early days of June, more or less rain fell every day, and on the &th there was a severe storm which left the ground whitened with snow until noon the next day. On the 10th we moved to Wood Mountain post, and by this time the rains had penetrated to such a depth that the drought was overcome and the soil thoroughly moistened. So rapid had been the change from brown to green in the covering of the country that men were heard to say that for eleven years grass had never before been so good at this season.

avon, SUMMARY REPORT. 143 a

“Wood Mountain may have deserved its name many years ag0, but Natural now it is almost treeless and except in the stream-valleys and sides of Bast wT coulées, there is no wood whatever. Protected by the Mounted Police Protection of considerable young wood is growing up around Wood Mountain post, Wood Moun and were fires prevented, the hillsides where snow-drifts form would ‘!- soon be forest-clad ; for the aspen roots are still there, and were groves once started they would increase every year as the drifts would extend and give adequate moisture for tree growth.

“From Wood Mountain post we travelled south until we reached Bad-lands

near Wood

the Boundary mound near Rocky Creek, where we camped. For two Mountain. days we explored the ‘ Bad-lands’ to the north-east of our camp and

found the hills cut by the action of rain and frost into a great

variety of shapes, but the vegetation about them differed in no

respect from that of other alkaline soils. Scarcely a green thing was

found on the hills themselves, owing to the waste that is constantly

going on. À number of rare birds were breeding in crevices on the

hillsides and nests of the arctic blue-bird, rock wren, Parkman’

wren, the bald headed eagle and many species of hawks: were seen

or taken. We hoped here to get specimens of the sage hen, but

on account of our ignorance of its habits we failed to secure any.

Seven fine males were seen but disappeared before we got within

range. We obtained good specimens later, on White Mud River, and

learned that they are found the whole length of that river from the Boundary to, and into, the Cypress Hills. They live among the sage

brush (Artemisia cana) in the river-valley, and lie so close that without

a dog it is almost impossible to flush them. The last trace we saw of

them was at Farewell Creek in the Cypress Hills.

“On June 17th we again left Wood Mountain post, with the intention of making ‘sur way to Cypress Lake near Fort Walsh on the south side of Cypress Hills. We reached the lake on June 29th and camped on Sucker Creek which enters the lake at its eastern end, where its discharge formerly was. For a number of years the waters of the lake have been drying up, and Sucker Creek now flows into the lake instead of into White Mud River.

“The grass was good, in fact very good, from Wood Mountain post Grass to the crossing of the White Mud River, a distance of seventy miles. from WW ood Water was found in all the branches of Old Wives Creek, but all west. ponds and marshes were dry and no water-fowl were seen at any time. Wood was even scarcer than water, for not a bush was seen except at the ‘ Holes,’ where the watershed was crossed. The valley of the

White Mud is wide and covered with sage-brush (Artemisia cana),

Natural History — Cont.

Forage plants.

144 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus) and cactus (Opuntia Missou- riensis). There may be said to constitute the great bulk of the vege- tation in the river-valley from the boundary up into the Cypress Hills.

Only four small trees were observed in the valley, and willow scrub

was far from being continuous. Owing to the character of the river- bottom, safe crossings are few and even wading across is not always safe. We kept south of the river for thirty-one miles and in that time saw neither bush nor water. We then crossed tu the north side and in a day reached East End post, where the old trail crosses the White Mud River. From there we ascended into the Cypress Hills, crossing over to Frenchman’s Creek on which we camped for a day and made extensive collections of plants as well as careful notes on birds and mammals.

“Passing westward twenty-seven miles further, we camped at Sucker Creek for three days, while we communicated with Maple Creek and obtained supplies for our journey to the south. The four days spent here were devoted to collecting specimens of the flora and fauna of the vicinity, and much valuable information was obtained.

“We were now able to compare the fauna and flora of Old Wives Creek and Wood Mountain with that of the Cypress Hills, and found that in their main features there was very little difference. This was particularly true of the vegetation along the water-courses and of the prairies. It may be said here that from Moose Jaw to the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains, by the course we travelled, the forage plants are practi- cally the same. Locally they may vary slightly, but speaking generally there is no change. On rich and rather moist soil, the herbage and grasses are taller but the species are always the same. My decided opinion, after a summer spent on the open prairie, is that were shelter and water assured, there is no part of the southern prairie where cattle and horses will not fatten as well as along the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains. Our horses ate only prairie grass all summer, and pulled a heavy wagon 1200 miles over faint trails or the unbroken prairie, reaching Moose Jaw in better condition than when they left in the middle of May. Day after day I watched them eat, and as they were always picketed they had to clean off the grass pretty well. While we were on the open prairie scarcely a blade was left ; in the creek- or river-valleys, where the grass was good in our estimation, they were fastidious and ate only a few species. In the Cypress Hills and foot. hills of the Rocky Mountains they invariably left the ‘bunch’ grasses and turned to the species that formed a sward and grew on the driest ground. While the bunch grasses are therefore not so suitable for pasture, they are spoken of in Southern Alberta as being

ecweon, SUMMARY REPORT. 145 a

valuable for hay, and are in winter often the only available food when Natural the shorter grasses are covered with snow. The very grass (Festuca Buatory— scabrella ) that is cut for hay on the Belly River ranches, grows all over

the Cypress Hills and could be made into hay there. The fact

that horses and cattle leave the coarser grasses untouched when pasturing, must not be taken as proof that they would not be readily

eaten as hay in winter. Our cultivated grasses in the east are neglected in the same way, when shorter, sweeter grasses are .

to be had. If cut at the proper time, these coarse grasses are just as nutritious as the finer kinds, though perhaps not so pleasant to the

taste. All the grasses of the prairie region are nutritious, but all are

not suited for pasture, and while horses seem to prefer hay composed

of grasses only, cattle will eat with avidity almost any green thing if made into hay.

“With an increase in the number of settlers and a wider knowledge Value of of the capubilities of the country, Southern Assiniboia will become a Sata. valuable district. As regards its soil and climate, much of it is suited for agriculture, but my purpose now is to draw attention to the numer- ous small streams traversing it and the ease with which this water could be used for irrigation purposes and the watering of stock. Itis not intended to assert that at present this region is in a condition to receive a large influx of settlers, but I do wish to say that the time will surely come when cattle, sheep and horses will be as plentiful in Southern Assiniboia as they now are in Southern Alberta. The settlement of this region will necessarily be slow, as it is almost wholly devoid of trees, and water is at present scarce, especially in the winter ; but all these difficulties will in time disappear, as there are no physical disabilities which cannot be overcome by care and patience. As an experiment, a moderate outlay towards the sources of Erection of Swift Current Creek, would soon show whether a series of small dams dams for irri- in the region under consideration would not store enough water to Btn ona: Irrigate eufficient land to produce hay, and a supply of water mended. for a number of ranches or sheep farms, besides what might be needed for root crops and grain. Cattle and horses quite wild were frequently seen during the summer. They had evidently lived out all winter.

“The first three days of July were very hot, and they had a marked effect on the grass south of Cypress Lake. On the 4th and 5th, we traversed the driest section seen during the summer, and camped on Spur Creek, a western branch of Willow Creek. Between Cypress lake and Willow Creek, the grass was short but formed a sward. As we went west, the soi] grew drier, and bare patches with more cactus frequent, especially after we crossed Willow Creek. This section had

Natural History — Cont.

Cactus plain,

Milk River.

Milk River Ridge.

146 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT,

escaped the June rains, and everything had ceased to grow, so that between Battle Creek and Spur Creek scarcely a plant had produced a flower.

“Very heavy rain fell on the 5th and 6th and saturated the whole country, so that from that date we had no difficulty in finding good water in pools. From Willow Creek to Sage Creek we crossed a cactus and alkaline plain, and owing to the recent rains found it almost impassable. This was the only worthless tract we saw during the summer, and where we crossed it, it was less than sixteen miles wide. A few miles south of Sage Creek we crossed a ridge, and could then look over the valley of Many-berries Creek as well as the Milk River country beyond it. Before we reached the ridge the soil had changed, and henceforth the grass was excellent and no bad-lands or poor pasture were seen again.

‘ After crossing Many-berries Creek, we turned south and kept down it until we reached the margin of Milk River, and could see the river meandering from side to side of the valley at least 300 feet below us. We now turned up the Milk River, and for over 100 miles, until we came to Milk River Ridge, always kept it in sight, and occasionally camped near it and descended into its valley and made natural history collections. A trip was made from the ‘Castellated Rocks’ to the West Butte, and collections and observations were made which showed the flora of the Sweet Grass Hills to be the same with that of the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains.

“ After passing these hills, we noticed a slight change in the vegeta- tion, and although we were assured that the rainfall was light, we were convinced that the air contained more moisture, and hence pro- duced heavier dews and retarded evaporation. Gradually the grass became taller, and a few miles east of the Benton Trail, a geranium (G. incisum), that is a real hygrometer, began to appear on the damp slopes of the hillsides and afterwards increased so much that it was a very prominent feature of both thicket and prairie in the foot-hills of the mountains.

“We were unfortunate in our weather while examining the Milk River Ridge, as it rained a great part of the four days we spent on it. Large collections were, however, made, and many notes taken on the fauna and flora. The ‘Ridge’ is a plateau with a system of lakes and creeks which contain excellent water and are the home of many species of water-fowl. A large part of the interior produces hay in great abundance, which is cut every year and taken to Lethbridge, the Police posts, and to various ranches in the neighbourhood.

sanon. SUMMARY REPORT. 147 a

“Late on the evening of July 20th, we descended the north-western face of the Ridge and camped near Pot-hole Creek. This stream is well named as it is nothing but a series of pools of very good water. The next day we reached the St. Mary River and camped in its valley. Extensive collections were made there, as well as in the valley of Lees Creek at Cardston and in the ‘big bend’ of Belly River. On the evening of July 27th we camped on the shore of Waterton Lake, almost under Sheep Mountain, which rises steeply from the water to an altitude of 7500 feet.

“ After reaching the St. Mary River, the whole country was covered with tall grass, which, in most places, was fit for hay and the soil was exceptionnally good. South of the Blood Reserve, between the St. Mary and Belly rivers, most of the land has been homesteaded by the Mormons and some very good farming has been done around Cardston and vicinity. All the settlers there expressed themselves as well pleased with the locality and their prospects.

“Six days were spent collecting around Waterton Lake and on Sheep Mountain, and over 200 species of plants added to the season’s list. On August 2nd, we started north, crossed Waterton River at Stand Off on the 3rd and passing by Fort McLeod reached Lethbridge on the 7th. From there I went by train to Medicine Hat, where I made collections of plants, as well as at Maple Creek, Moose Jaw and Indian Head, leaving the latter place on August 16th and reaching Ottawa on the 19th. The outfit in charge of my assistant and the teamster, I sent across the country from Lethbridge to Moose Jaw where they arrived August 28th.

“ During the season close attention was given to the distribution of the summer birds of the region traversed and many interesting results were obtained. Besides their distribution, their breeding habits and the structure of their nests was carefully noted, and eggs were collected of at least seventy species during the past two seasons. Up to date the number of species of birds recognized in Assiniboia and Alberta is 226. Nearly all of them are represented in the museum collection. Water- fowl and waders breed in the above districts in enormous numbers, and egging expeditions, along the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway and

Natural History— Cont.

Morman set- tlements,

Distribution of birds.

north of it, should be stopped by the necessary legislation ; as from the -

writer's personal knowledge such expeditions, in which thousands of eggs of game birds are destroyed, have been taking place for the past five years, greatly to the injury of the country.

“ Botanical collections were made in all parts of the region traversed, and the distribution and occurrence of the species noted, and since my return the plants collected have been examined and determined.

Natural History — Cont.

Causes of drought.

Mr. J. Fletch= er on Entomo- logical collec- tion.

148 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

‘“ Perhaps the most important result of the past season’s work, as shown by the flora of the region traversed, is that from Western Manitoba to the Milk River Ridge, the plants of Southern Assiniboia are practically identical with those of Southern Alberta. A com- parison of these plants with collections made by me in 1879, at and around the Hand Hills, lead me to believe that Northern Assiniboia and Alberta have a warmer climate than the region south of the Missouri water-shed, probably as a result of lower elevation.

‘Following out your instructions, I made inquiries of every person I met regarding the drought and the alleged drying up of the whole prairie region. Although the reasons given were often diverse, all agreed that lakes, pools and marshes were drying up, and that where water formerly stood, hay was now being cut. At every point visited during the summer, I took notes on the condition of the country,

which have been in part embodied in the preceding summary. The

conclusion I have reached is that such changes are periodic, throughout the region visited, and that the present dry period will pass and the lakes and ponds fill again.

“This agrees with the opinions expressed by most of the old settlers. If the snowfall is light and evaporates without turning into water, and this is followed by a dry spring, the ponds and marshes dry up, but if there is a heavy fall of snow in April or early May, the ponds will be filled and water plentiful.

‘Last August, the drought was broken everywhere, and the ground fairly moist, but no water collected either in ponds or the sites of old lakes. Should this winter be a normal one and the melting snow in spring saturate the ground, I look forward confidently to a quick return of the condition of ten years ago. At any rate, I am satisfied that the permanent drying up of the country is a myth.

“Over 100 skins of birds and about 50 mammals were secured, principally of species collected last season.”

Mr. James Fletcher, F.R.S.C., Entomologist and Botanist to the Central Experimental Farm, to whom the Geological Survey is greatly indebted for his services as honorary curator, ia connection with the entomalogical collections in the museum furnishes the following report upon these collections :—

“I beg to report that the entomological collections are in good order, and that a few additions have been made during the past year.

sureon. SUMMARY REPORT. 149 a

The most important additions were contributed by Prof. John Macoun, Natural who brought back a collection of Lepidoptera from seven different Cni. localities in the west.

“The following rare species are worthy of record :—

Anthocharis Olympia, Walsh’s Ranch, Old Wives Creek, 23rd May. Hypparchia Ridingsii,

Satyrus Œtus, Milk River, near West Butte, 14th July. Chrysophanus Sirius,

“ A small collection was also brought in by Dr. Robert Bell, and another was contributed by Mr. J. C. Gwillim. These consisted of only a few specimens ; but as each insect was labelled with the locality and date of capture, they have a scientific value as bearing on the known distribution of species.

“ A small collection of Coleoptera was made by Mr. A. P. Low in Labrador, and since I last reported to you, collections were made on the Alaska Boundary survey by Messrs. Ogilvy, St. Cyr and Wolston Small, and have been handed in.

“In accordance with your suggestion, I am preparing for the Museum of the Rocky Mountain Park at Banff a collection of butter- flies characteristic of that neighbourhood. This will I think be ready by April next.”

Maps.

Mr. James White reports as follows upon the condition of the map- Maps ping work in the office, and upon a connecting line of survey run by him in Ontario for the purpose of establishing the latitude and longi- tude of points in sheet No. 118 of the Ontario series :—

“The ordinary routine work in connection with the laying down of projections and general supervision of the draughting has been at- tended to. Considerable time was also given to the preparation of the new list of publications.

“ As the position of the townships in sheet 118, Ontario (Haliburton sheet) was somewhat doubtful, you deemed it advisable to connect the south-western part of the sheet with some point whose position had been accurately determined. In accordance with instructions I left Ottawa on the 16th September and proceeded to Gelert Station, where I joinéd Mr. Barlow. From this point we carried a traverse- line with transit and chain to the village of Waubashene on Georgian Bay, as its position had been determined by Commander Boulton in connection with the Georgian Bay survey. This fixes the position of

Maps—Cont.

150 a GEOLOGICAL SUBVEY DEPARTMENT.

the townships in the south-western part of sheet No. 118 and along the traverse-line through the northern part of sheet No. 114. A few of the results are appended herewith, adopting the position of the Episcopal church at Waubashene (the terminal point of the sur- vey) as given on chart No. 2102, viz., Long. 79° 42’ 24” W., Lat. 44° 45’ 29” N.:—

Gelert Station Long. 78° 37' 02”; Lat. 44° 53’ 52” Kinmount Station Long. 77° 35° 07"; Lat. 44° 46’ 47” Norland Post Office Long. 78° 48’ 39”; Lat. 44° 43’ 34” Narrows between Lakes Couchich-

ing and Simcoe Long. 79° 21’ 44”; Lat. 44° 36’ 16”

‘ A similar traverse in 1893 from Kingston to Sharbot Lake gave the following result :—

Sharbot Lake Station Long. 76° 41' 29”; Lat. 44° 46’ 18”

“The maps published during the past year and in the course of preparation, are appended herewith.

Maps PRINTED In 1895.

Ares in square miles. 556. British Columbia— Kamloops Sheet — Geology.—(Dr. Dawson). Scale 4 miles to 1 inch ss 6,400

557. British Columbia— Kamloops Sheet—Topography, economic min- erals and glacial striæ. (Dr. Dawson). Scale 4 miles to

Linch ee ccc cece eee sense 6,400 567. British Columbia—Sketch-map of the Finlay and Omenica rivers. — (Mr. McConnell). Scale 8 miles to 1 inch., , 7,000

560. Western Ontario—Sheet No. 6—Seine River Sheet.—(Messrs. Mc- Innes and Smith). Scale 4 miles to 1 inch (preliminary edition) ce ccc cece cece cece sceeesee eens 3,456

558. New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.—Sketch- map showing area occupied by Pleistocene glaciers at their maximum extension.—(Mr. Chalmers). Scale 40 miles to

559. New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. —Sketch- map showing striation from local glaciers and floating ice during closing stage of the Pleistocene.—(Mr. Chalmers). Scale 40 miles to 1 inch s. 132,800

561. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia—Sheet 4 N. W.—Cumberland Coal-field Sheet—Surface Geology. (Mr. Chalmers). Scale 4 miles to Linch etc c cece c ctw wt ee nceseesse 3,456

562. New Brunswick—Sheet 2 S. E.—Richibucto Sheet.—Surface Geology. (Mr. Chalmers). Scale 4 miles to 1 inch 3,456

even. - SUMMARY REPORT.

563. New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island—Sheet 5 S. W.— Buctouche Sheet.—Surface Geology. (Mr. Chalmers). Scale

4 miles to linch , , , 387. Nova Scotia—Sheet No. 33—Cape George Sheet. —(Mr. Fletcher). Scale 1 mile to 1] inch , , ,. 388. Nova Scotia—Sheet No. 34—Antigonish Town Sheet.—(Mr. Fletcher). Scale 1 mile to 1 inch 389. Nova Scotia—Sheet No. 35—Lochaber Sheet.—(Mr. Fletcher). Scale 1 mile to lLinch 390. Nova Scotia—Sheet No. 36— West River St. Marys Sheet. — (Messrs. Fletcher and Faribault). Scale 1 mile to 1 inch 550. Nova Scotia—Sheet No. 37—Liscomb River Sheet.—(Mr. Faribault). Scale 1 mile to 1 inch 551. Nova Scotia—Sheet No. 38—Mosers River Sheet.—(Mr. Fari- bault). Scale 1 mile tolinch ,

Mars, ENGRAVING OR IN PRESS.

Western Ontario—-Sheet No. 9—.Lake Shebandowan Sheet. —(Mr. McInnes). Scale 4 miles to Linch

Ontario—Sheet No. 125—-French River Sheet.—(Dr. Bell). Scale 4 miles to Linch ,

Ontario—Sheet No. 126—Manitoulin Island Sheet.—(Dr. Bell). Seale 4 miles to linch

Ontario—Sheet No. 131—Lake Nipissing Sheet.—(Mr. Barlow). Scale 4 miles to ] inch ,

Quebec—Lièvre River and Templeton Phosphate Mining District. Sheets I. and II. —(Messrs. Ingall and White). Scale 40

Quebec—South-west quarter-sheet of the ‘‘ Eastern Townships ” map—Montreal Sheet, Scale 4 miles to 1 inch

Nova Scotia—Sheet No. 30-—Tangier Sheet.—(Mr. Faribault). Scale 1 mile to 1 inch. ,

Mars, COMPILATION COMPLETED.

Athabasca Territory and British Columbia-—Sheets I., II. and Til. (to illustrate the work of Mr. McConnell, 1889-90, and extending from long. 110° W. to 120° W. and lat. 54° N. to 60° N. Scale 8 miles to 1 inch ,.,.,

District of Keewatin and Province of Ontario—Vicinity of Red Lake and part of Berens-River—({(Mr. Dowling). Scale 8 miles

Ontario—Kingston and Pembroke Mining District.—(Mr. White). Scale 4 miles to ] inch , , ,

Quebec and North-east Territory, Labrador Peninsula, extending from the Atlantic Ocean to Hudson Bay and from the River St. Lawrence to Hudson Strait, four sheets.—(Mr. Low). Scale 26 miles to linch .. crosses

151 a

3,456

3,456 3,456 3,456

3,456

7,200

150,009

Maps—Cont.

152 a GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

Maps—Cont. Nova Scotia—Sheets Nos. 40 to 42 and 49 to 52.—(Mr. Faribault). - Scale 1 mile to 1 inch 1,512 Nova Scotia—Sheets Nos. 43 to 48.—(Mr. Fletcher). Scale 1 mile to linch 1,296

Maps, COMPILATION INCOMPLETE.

British Columbia—Shuswap Sheet.—(Mr. McEvoy). Scale 4

miles to linch ., ,.. 6,400 British Columbia—West Kootanie Sheet.—(Mr. McConnell).

Scale 4 miles to 1 inch 6,400 North-eastern Manitoba— Lake Winnipeg Sheet. —(Messrs.Tyrrell

and Dowling). Scale 8 miles tol inch 20,000 Ontario—Sheet No. 129—Mississagui River Sheet.—(Dr. Bell).

Scale 4 miles to linch 3,456 Ontario—Sheet No. 138--Lake Temiscaming Sheet.—(Mr. Bar-

low). Scale 4 miles to 1 inch , 3,456

Quebec— North-west quarter-sheet of the ‘ Eastern Townships ” Map.—(Messrs. Adams, Giroux and Low). Scale 4 miles to 1 inch , , DEEREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE 7,200 Quebec—Sketch-map of part of Joliette, Terrebonne, Montcalm, Argenteuil and Ottawa counties.—(Dr. Adams). Scale 4 3,620

miles to Linch New Brunswick—Sheet 1 N. W.—Fredericton Sheet.—Surface

Geology. (Mr. Chalmers). Scale 4 miles to 1 inch 3,456 New Brunswick—Sheet 2 S. W.—Andover Sheet.—Surface Ge-

ology. (Mr. Chalmers). Scale 4 miles to 1 inch 3,456 Nova Scotia—Sheet No. 10a—Cape Dauphin Sheet. —-(Mr. Fletch-

er). Scale 1 mile to l'inch 216 Nova Scotia—Sheet No. 124—Sydney Sheet. —(Mr. Fletcher).

Scale 1 mile to Linch 216 Nova Scotia—Sheet No. 12B—Little Glace Bay Sheet.—(Mr.

Fletcher). Scale 1 mile to 1 inch , 216 Nova Scotia—Sheets Nos. 53, 54, 55 and 66, 67, 68 and 69.—

(Mr. Faribault). Scale 1 mile to ] inch 1,548 Nova Scotia—Sheets Nos. 56 to 65, 76, 82, 100 and 101.—{Mr.

Fletcher). Scale 1 mile to] inch , ,... 3,024

Library.

Dr. Thorburn, Librarian of the Survey, reports that during the past year ended December 31, there were distributed 12,583 copies of the Survey publications, comprising reports, special reports, and maps. Of

Library.

moon. ] SUMMARY REPORT. 153 a

these 9,924 were distributed in Canada, the remainder, 3,375, were Library— sent as exchanges to other countries.

There were sold during the year 1,711 publications, consisting of reports and maps, for which the sum of $388.49 was received.

There were received, as exchanges and donations 2,247 publications.

There were purchased 44 publications and the periodicals sub- scribed for were 31.

The number of volumes bound was 154.

In connection with the library 745 letters were received, in addi- tion to 1,367 acknowledgments.

The number of letters sent out from the library was 553, besides 578 acknowledgments.

It is estimated that there are now in the library about 11,000 volumes besides a Jarge collection of pamphlets. These relate mainly to the various branches of Geology, Mineralogy, Botany and Zoology.

It may be stated that the books in the library are available for con- sultation by any one wishing to obtain information in regard to any scientific subject in which he is interested, and a number of persons from time to time, take advantage of this provision.

Visitors.

The number of visitors to the museum continue to increase, not- Visitors. withstanding the imperfect manner in which a large part of the collections are displayed in the present building. During the year 1895, 26,785 names were registered in the visitors’ book.

Staff, Appropriation, Expenditure And Correspondence.

The strength of the staff at present employed is 47.

During the calendar year the following changes in the staff have taken place :

Dr. A. R. C. Selwyn, superannuated. Mr. H. P. Brumell, resigned.

Dr. G. M. Dawson, appointed director and deputy head, vice Dr. Selwyn.

Mr. D. B. Dowling, appointed to the second class.

Mr. C. O. Sénécal, appointed to the second class.

Mr. James McEvoy, appointed in the technical class. Mr. R. A. A. Johnston, appointed in the technical clasa

Staff.

154 A Geological Survey Department.

pond The funds available for the work, and the expenditure of the De- nd expendi "partment during the fiscal year ending the 30th June, 1895, including appropriations for boring in Alberta, were

Grant. Expenditure

$ ots. $ cts Civil list appropriation Lesceeeccsvecceces s+ 81,925 00 Geo ogical Su urvey appropriation 61,129 61 Artes an boring Whee EEE 16,000 00 Civil list, salaries f 48,763 39 Exploration and survey 1 14,767 93 W of temporary employees 1 , 16,723 88 Boring operations, Deloraine a Joscessssses 88 22 thabasca Landing 7,688 82 Printing and lithograph 1 re ne 18,424 23 Purchase of books and instruments l 1,416 09 " chemicals and chemical apparatus 224 02 " Specimens 175 56 Stationery, mapping materials and Queen's Printer , 1,640 01 Incidental and other expenses. 1,967 41 Unpaid balances, 80th June, 1894 1,142 92 Advances to explorers on account of 1895-96 1 4,773 87 117,796 35 Less— Paid in 1898-94 on account 1894-95 been ee eeeeee 214 . 117,581 72 Unexpended balance Civil list appropriation ) , 8,161 61 " " Artesian boring appropriation .. 8,311 18 129,064 51 129,064 51

The correspondence of the Department shows a total of 7999 letters sent, and 8271 received.

I have the honour to be, sir, Your obedient servant,

GEORGE M. DAWSON, Deputy Head and Director.

FRIDAY [INYPAUYD PU ato UMA PYWLETBA a JO YWOX “AIUNOD pOIIAOD- JC “HAALH AMID 'STIVA HONUAS ALIHM

TORE ‘LS “Buy “ood

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‘wiv “IITA “104 ‘NOM IvaNny “VUVAVO 40 AXAHAS IVOIDUIONE)

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA G. M. DAWSON, CM.G. LL.D. F.R.S., Director

Report

On The Country Between

Athabasca Lake And Churchill River

WITH NOTES ON TWO ROUTES TRAVELLED BETWEEN THE CHURCHILL AND SASKATCHEWAN RIVERS

BY J. BURR TYRRELL, M.A., F.G.S., Erc. ASSISTED BY

D. B. Dowling, B.A.Sc.

OTTAWA PRINTED BY 8. E. DAWSON, PRINTER TO THE QUEEN’S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY

GEORGE M. Dawson, C.M.G., LL.D., F.R.S., &e., Director Geological Survey of Canada.

Sir,—T have the honour to present herewith a Report, accompanied by a map on the scale of twenty-five miles to one inch, on the country extending from Athabasca Lake to Churchill River, with brief des- criptions of the routes followed between the Churchill and Saskatche- wan rivers. The report has been somewhat delayed by my long absence during two seasons in the far north, since the completion of the work to which it relates.

I have the honour to be, sir, Your obedient servant,

J. BURR TYRRELL. Geological Survey Office,

19th May, 1896.

NoTE.—T'he bearings given throughout this report refer to the true meridian.

Report

On The Country Between

Athabasca Lake And Churchill River

By

J. Burr Tyrrell,

Assisted By D. B. Dowling.

Introduction.

The present report is chiefly the result of an exploration carried out in the summer of 1892, to which is added the survey of the north shore of Lake Athabasca, made in the summer of 1893.

During part of the summer of 1892, while we were travelling along Assistance the same routes, Mr. D. B. Dowling acted as my topographical assis- tant. During the remainder of the summer he travelled over and surveyed independent routes, and his reports on these are included between quotation marks.

The geographical survey of the north shore of Lake Athabasca was made by James W. Tyrrell, C.E., in 1893, acting as my assistant. When unaccompanied by either of these gentlemen the surveys were made by the writer.

The map accompanying this report has been compiled by Mr. May, Dowling from the above surveys, with the addition of the survey of Churchill River by Mr. T. Fawcett, D.L.S. The position of Fort Chippewyan, near the west end of Lake Athabasca is taken from Mr. W. Ogilvie’s map of Athabasca River.

The Churchill River was first ascended from Frog Portage by some Early trade of the enterprising fur-traders from Montreal, who afterwards com- routes. bined to form the North-west Company, and since that time it has formed une of the principal canoe-routes into the more distant country

T. Fawcett.

P. Turner.

D. Thompson.

6 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

on the banks of the Athabasca and Mackenzie rivers. Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Sir John Franklin, Sir John Richardson and Sir George Back, all travelled along this stream on their way to and from the north and have given many glowing accounts of the beautiful scenery on its banks, while maps of the river, chiefly based on the surveys made by David Thompson, afterwards astronomer on the International Boundary Commission, are published in their works.

In 1888, T. Fawcett, D.L.S., made a micrometer survey of the river from Methy Portage to Frog Portage, but the geological character of its banks, and of the surrounding country have, up to the present, remained unknown, except for the brief description by Sir John Richardson.*

In 1790, Philip Turner was sent by the British Government to Fort Chippewyan to determine the truth of some reports about the nearness of that place to the Pacific Ocean. In the following year, after determining the latitude and longitude of the fort, he made a survey of the north shore (or perhaps of both shores) of Lake Atha- basca, as far eastward as the mouth of Stone River. His survey was doubtless incorporated in Arrowsmith’s map of British North America, but no account of his journey is known to be in existence.

In 1796, David Thompson left his Trading House on Churchill River, and ascended Reindeer River to Reindeer Lake, followed and surveyed the west side of this lake to Canoe River, ascended Canoe River, crossed Wollaston Lake, and descended Stone River to its mouth in Atha- basca Lake, stopping at a “lobstick,” cut by Phillip Turner at the end of his survey five years before. His map of the route is incorporated in his large manuscript map of the North-west Territories now in the possession of the Crown Lands Department of Ontario.

In 1880 and 1881, the late Mr. A. 8. Cochrane, then a topographical assistant on the Geological Survey, made a track-survey from Cumber- land House on the Saskatchewan, northward by Frog Portage to Rein- deer Lake, thence northward and westward up the Cochrane or Ice River, down Stone River and along the north shore of Athabasca Lake to Fort Chippewyan, thence southward up Athabasca River to Fort McMurray, and thence eastward up Clearwater River and down Churchill River to Frog Portage, thus travelling round the area treated of in this report. No report of this expedition was prepared or pub- lished, but Mr. Cochrane’s note books were of considerable service as

Arctic Searching Expedition by Sir John Richardson, vol. I., pp. 92-102, London,

Trane. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 7 D

a guide during the ascent of Stone River, and the upper portion of Cochrane River is laid down on the map from his survey.

Of the geovraphy of the interior of the country within Mr. Cochrane’s line of travel, embracing an area of about 60,000 square miles, nothing was definitely known before the present exploration was undertaken.

In carrying out the surveys here reported on, the purty travelled Modes of chiefly in Peterborough canoes. The bearings throughout were taken with prismatic or by solar compass, observations being made daily, when possible, for variation, The distances on lakes and quiet water were measure with a Massey’s floating boat-log, those on the Stone and Reindeer rivers with a Rochon micrometer, and the remainder were estimated by the rate of travel. Observations for latitude were taken almost daily with a sextant of 8-inch radius. A short itinerary of the journey of 1892 is given in the Summary Report of the Geological Survey for that year (pp. 124-254.)

The total length of Athabasca Lake, surveyed in 1893, was deter- mined by means of a pocket chronometer (Frodsham, No. 9697), which had been carefully rated both at the Meteorological Observatory in Toronto, and during our stay at Fort Chippewyan.

In regard to the microscopic determination of some of the rocks Determin- mentioned in the sequel, I desire to acknowledge the assistance of Prof, of rocks.

F. D. Adams of McGill University, and Mr. W. F. Ferrier of this Survey.

Physical Geography.

The present report refers chiefly to an area of about 60,000 square Area.

miles, bounded on the south by the Churchill and Clearwater rivers ; on the west by the lower portion of Athabasca River ; on the north by Athabasca Lake, Stone River, with its expansions, Black and Hatchet Lakes, Wollaston Lake and Cochrane or Ice River ; on the east by the lower part of Cochrane River, Reindeer Lake and Rein- deer River. It lies between north latitudes 55° 20’ and 59° 37’, and east longitudes 101° and 111° 30’. .

Between the Churchill and Saskatchewan rivers two lines were examined, one from Prince Albert north-westward by Green Lake to

Tle a la Crosse, and the other from Stanley Mission south-westward by Montreal Lake to Prince Albert.

North of the Saskatchewan basin the country is drained by two Riversystem main streams ; the Churchill River, which flows eastward, and finally,

Churchill

River.

Beaver River.

Rapid River.

8 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

after a course of about 1100 miles, discharges its waters into the west side of Hudson Bay at old Fort Prince of Wales ; and the Atha- basca-Mackenzie River, which carries its waters northward to the Arctic Ocean. These two drainage systems inosculate in Wollaston Lake, which discharges by almost equal streams intc both.

Churchill River, from its northern source at Portage la Loche, follow- ing its windings, has a length of 480 miles to the mouth of Reindeer River. It is a long series of very irregular lakes filled with clear blue water, connected by short and usually rapid reaches. The banks are low and thickly wooded with spruce and poplar. Some of the rapids are produced by rocky barriers, while others are over boulders and between banks of till, such as underlies much of the surrounding country. For a considerable part of its course it appears to flow near the line of contact of the Archæan and overlying unaltered rocks, though the topography is modified by the occurrence of strong glacial features.

The absence of a valley, even where the channel might be easily eroded, and the occurrence of the numerous Jakes and rapids, shows that the river is, geologically speaking, very new.

The largest tributaries flowing into Churchill River from the south are Beaver, Sandy and Rapid rivers.

Beaver River rises on the Cretaceous plateau, not far from Lac la Biche, and flowing first eastward for two hundred and fifty miles, and then northward for a hundred miles, empties into the south end of Tle à la Crosse Lake. Its course northward was alone surveyed. Here it is a rapid stream from 100 to 200 feet wide, flowing between low clay banks beautifully wooded with spruce and poplar. Much of the land along its course appeared to be well adapted for agricultural pur- poses, and the rank vegetation gave promise of abundant harvests.

Of Rapid or Forks River, Mr. Dowling writes as follows :—

‘This river enters the Churchill at Forks Lake, below the lake- expansion ,at Stanley Mission., It is the outlet at Lac La Ronge, a large oval-shaped lake having a length of nearly thirty-five miles, situated at a short distance to the south-west. This short stream has a heavy fall or series of rapids near the confluence with the English River. One of the tributaries entering the southern end of Lac La Ronge is the Big Stone River, from a lake of the same name a short distance above, and having for its chief branch the Montreal River, coming from the northern slope of the plateau crowned by

Tyaneu. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 9 D

Montreal Mountain. It drains Montreal Lake which has an extent of thirty miles in length by about eight broad, as well as Deer Lake and several others of lesser size to the south-west. From Montreal Lake to near Big Stone Lake the stream cuts a valley through sandy de- posits, but below this there is no well-defined valley. The general surface of the upper part is sandy, sustaining a growth of small pine, but in the vicinity of Lac La Ronge the prevailing character is more rocky, with spruce in the low ground.”

The principal tributaries of the Churchill River from the north are the Mudjatick, Haultain, Foster and Reindeer rivers.

Mudjatick River is a swift, winding stream about eighty miles in Mudjatic length, generally flowing in a shallow channel through a sandy plain, River. in the bottom of a wide depression between ridges of granite. It is obstructed by comparatively few rapids, and these are for the most part over ridges of boulders. Its banks are thinly wooded with Bank- sian pine and spruce, and there is no soil of any value for agricultural purposes.

Haultain River was not examined, but at its mouth it seems to be Haultain about as large as Mudjatick River. River.

Foster River is very similar in size to the Mudjatick River, but it Foster Riv

is altogether a wilder and rougher stream. Rising in the Foster Lakes it plunges down a series of heavy rapids over ridges of granite and gneiss until it approaches within a few miles of Churchill River. Here it enters a country more thickly covered with drift, and more densely wooded. Abandoning its direct course ‘south-westward, it sweeps round in a long curve and finally empties into a northern arm of Black Bear Lake, one of the eapansions of Churchill River.

Reindeer River is a wide, quiet stream seventy miles long, flowing Reindeer southward from Reindeer Lake. It is obstructed by but four rapids, River: Its banks are generally low, and the stream rarely impinges a:ainst the rocky hills which compose the surrounding country.

Reindeer Lake, from which Reindeer River flows, has an area of about poi deer

2200 square miles, and an elevation above the sea of 1150 feet. Its Lake. water is very pure and clear. It has a very irregular contour, and is dotted with innumerable rocky islands, these and the rocky shores be- ing generally thinly covered with a sparse growth of small black spruce. Cochrane or Ice River is the largest stream flowing into Reindeer Lake. It takes its rise in Wollaston Lake, and flows at first eastward and then southward through a thinly wooded country, much of which is characterized by irregular sandy and stony hills.

Wollaston Lake.

Geikie River.

Watershed.

Stone River.

Cree River.

Athabasca ke.

10 b ATHABASCA LAKE AND CHURCHILL RIVER.

Wollaston Like, though smaller than Reindeer Lake, is very similar to it in general character. Its irregular shores are chiefly composed of thinly wooded rocky hills, while very many rocky islands rise abruptly out of its clear blue water.

Geikie River is, as far as known, the principal tributary of Wollas- ton Lake. It rises in some small lakes near the source of Foster River, and flows north-eastward through a thickly drift-covered country between low sparsely wooded banks. For long stretches it is straight and without current, giving it the appearance of a wide, quiet river or chain of long narrow lakes.

Wollaston Lake is the dividing line between the waters flowing to Churchill River and those flowing to the Mackenzie, for it is not only drained by the Cochrane River, but Stone River flows from its north- western angle.

This latter stream flows generally westward, at first through several small lakes in a country underlain by granite and gneiss and then,

_in a shallow channel, through a gently sloping country underlain by

horizontal sandstone. In this portion of its course it is a swift stream, obstructed by many rapids, in which the water rushes over ledges or irregular masses of sandstone. The banks are sandy and poor, sup- porting but a short growth of small spruce and Banksian pine. In the lower part of its course it passes through Black Lake, below which it falls in a series of heavy rapids into the east end of Athabasca Lake.

Several tributaries join the Stone River from the south, but only one, the Cree River, was examined. This stream is very similar in character to Stone River itself, flowing from Cree Lake in a shallow channel, through a level sandy country. It is obstructed by many rapids, where the water passes over rough broken masses of sandstone. The surrounding country is sandy and very barren, supporting but a scanty growth of black spruce and Banksian pine, with very little underbrush.

Athabasca Lake is a long and comparatively narrow sheet of water, extending westward from the mouth of Black River to where the Athabasca-Mackenzie River drains the country towards the north. It lies in the bottom of a great valley excivated along the line of contact of the Archæan granites, etc., to the north, and the undis- turbed Paleozoic sandstone to the south. On its south side is a great sandy plain, rising at its east end to a height of 500 feet above the lake, and gradually sloping westward towards the Athabasca- Mackenzie valley. The country to the north is composed of rugged,

Tare. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 11 D

rocky hills, with a general slope in the same direction, but seen from the lake the slope is not so pronounced as in the level country to the south. Towards the eastern end of the lake the water is clear and pure, but at its western end it is rendered tu: bid by the muddy water discharged into it by the Athabasca River.

The district at present under consideration, lying north of the Churchill River, may be divided into two parts having different surface characteristics—that underlain by Archæan gneisses, granites, etc, and that underlain by horizontal Paleozoic rocks. The former consists of low, rocky hills and ridges from fifty to a hundred and fifty Archean feet in height, between which are more or less extensive areas charac- terized by sand or by boulder-clay, thickly wooded with stunted spruce, containing small irregular lakes of beautiful transparent water The pajpogojc- latter is a monotonous sterile plain which, in its better drained area. portions, is thinly wooded with Banksian pine, without underbrush. Lakes are conspicuously absent, while the small streams flow over the surface in shallow channels, In both subdivisions the surface contour pow contour. is low and little pronounced, the lower lands around the margin of the area, for the most part lying at an elevation of more than 1000 feet above the sea, while the lakes and plains in the vicinity of the water- shed, in the centre of the area, are from 1500 to 1600 feet above sea- level, and some of the surrounding hills may be 150 feet higher. No deep valleys that might have been cut by the present streams or their xo valleys. preglacial representatives were seen. If such valleys existed previous to the glacial epoch they have been filled by glacial débris, and the streams now flow in shallow channels. In places, some of the streams seem to flow in the bottom of valleys from 100 to 200 feet deep, but on investigation the steep banks are discovered to be the sides of nar- row ridges of glacial débris, described on a later page as Ispatinows.

The country between the Saskatchewan and the Churchill rivers is Cretaceous very different from that north of the latter stream. From Prince Plateau. Albert, situated on the banks of the North Saskatchewan, at an elevation of 1400 feet above the sea, the surface rises with a gentle slore north- ward to a heavy stony morainic ridge, the highest point of which, on the Green Lake trail, was found to have an elevation of about 2220 feet. From this high ridge the country slopes gradually northward, at first with a gently rolling, and afterwards with a more even surface, to the chain of lakes and extensive swamps that lie along the edge of the district directly underlain by Archean rocks. Most of the streams south of the high morainic ridge flow in deep valleys excavated in the boulder-clay and the underlying soft Cretaceous rocks, while to the north

Elevations.

Forest trees.

Berries.

12 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

of the ridge, Green Lake lies in the bottom of an old valley which is not improbably of preglacial age. This country has very much the general appearance of that portion of north-western Manitoba to the west of lakes Manitoba and Winnipegosis, including the Duck and Riding mountains, previously described by the writer.*

The following is a list of elevations of some of the more important points, determined by aneroids, compared with standard mercurial barometers read at Prince Albert and Chippewyan :—

Feet. Summit, Green Lake Trail .. occas 2220 (sreen Lake , ,.,.. .. 1440 Tle a la Crosse Lake , , ,,,.0 1330 Knee Lake, Churchill River... 1250 Cree Lake 0000. ke en nee 1530 Black Lake , .. ... .. ,, Leurs 1000 Wollaston Lake ..,. . , 1300 Foster Lake , ,... . 1600 Black Bear Lake, Churchill River 1200

The country is generally forested, though most of the timber is small black spruce (Picea nigra) and tamarack (Larix Americana). Banksian pine (Pinus Banksiana) forms thin park-like woods on the sandy plains. White spruce (/’icea alba) forms some groves of fair size in the bottom lands near the Churchill River, but farther north it is rarely seen except in some particularly favourable localities. One small isolated grove of white spruce was found on a high sandy island in Hatchet Lake, standing out conspicuously in the midst of the sur- rounding forest of small black spruce. Poplar (Populus tremuloides) and birch (Betula papyrifera) are the only remaining forest trees ‘of any importance. They are found chiefly in the vicinity of Churchill River, though small scattered trees were seen on the banks of Stone River.

In places some of the more northern berries grow in great profusion, chief among which are the common huckleberry ( Vaccinium Canaden- se) and the small cranberry (Vaccinium Vitis-Idæa). The former grows in the deciduous woods along the Churchill River, while the latter covers the dry slopes from the Saskatchewan northward. The blue huckleberry (Vaccinium uliginosum) grows on the banks of Cree and Stone rivers, but the bushes did not seem anywhere to bear much fruit. The raspberry (Rubus strigosus) grows on the richer ground by some of the streams. The yellow swamp-berry (Rubus chamemorus ) is found abundantly in the moss of the wet spruce and

Annual Report Geol. Surv. Can., vol. V., part E., 1890-91.

ru PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 13 vb

tamarack swamps. The crowberry (Empetrum nigrum ) occurs on the drier land towards the north, and the Pembina berry (Viburnum pauciflorum ) grows in thedeciduous woods beside the streams, especially in the southern portion of the district.

The fauna of the district is represented by a considerable number of species, but in many cases the number of individuals is not large.

The moose (Alces Americanus) roams through the more thickly Mammals. wooded parts of the country as far north as Stone River, which is probably near the northern limit of its range. Seven individuals in all were seen during the course of the summer. The woodland cari- bou (Rangifer caribou) is said to oecur in the more southern portion of the district, near Churchill River, but none were seen. The barren ground caribou (Rangifer Greenlandicus) comes south in winter to the south end of Reindeer Lake and the upper portion of Mudjatick and Foster rivers. It travels north in spring to the Barren Grounds, but a very few animals are occasionally left behind, one having been shot in July near the north end of Cree Lake. The Canada lynx (Lynx Canadensis) is moderately abundant in some seasons in the more southern part of the district. The gray wolf (Canis lupus occidentalis) roams over the country, but is not plentiful. The coyoté (Canis latrans) is found occasionally as far north as the height of land, one having been shot by the writer on one of the small lakes near the source of Foster River. It is, however, certainly not common in the district.

Red, black and cross foxes ( Vulpes vulgaris), wolverene (Gulo luscus), marten (Hustela Americana), weasel {Putorius vulgaris), mink (P. tiaon) and skunk (Mephitis mephitica) are all found in greater or less abundance in the rolling wooded country underlain by Archean rocks. The otter (Lutra Canadensis) was found on all the streams north to Stone River. The black bear (Ursus Americanus) roams over the whole country. A few beavers (Castor fiber) may still be met with in many of the streams. A considerable colony was found in the untravelled country near the source of Geikie River, but our canoemen brought back word of this (to the Indians) important dis- covery, and doubtless the beaver were killed during the following winter. The muskrat (Fiber zibethicus) was seen swimming in all the streams. The rabbit or American hare (Lepus Americanus) is found everywhere in the denser woods, but it did not seem to be any- where abundant. The porcupine (Lrethizon dorsatus) was plentiful

Further west, it finds its northern limit at Athabasca Landing. G. M. D.

Birds.

Fish.

Natives.

14 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

around Cree Lake, and in those portions of the sandy country that had not recently been hunted over by Indians. The red squirrel (Sciurus Hudsonius) and the northern chipmunk (Tamias Asiaticus) were found everywhere in the wooded country. Doubtless many other of the smaller species of mammals occur, but they were not observed.

The time at our disposal did not permit us to make a close examina- tion of the birds seen, but generally speaking, except along the banks of Churchi!] River, where ducks breed in great numbers, birds are not at all numerous in the district explored. With the exception of one or two species of merganser, but few ducks were seen, as there is very little food for them in the clear lakes and rivers. The great northern and red-throated divers were moderately abundant on the lakes. No swans and very ‘ew geese of any species were seen. Coveys of ruffed grouse and spruce partridge were found in the thicker woods every- where. A few snowy owls and bald-headed eagles were observed, and a large golden eagle was shot beside its nest on a rocky cliff overlook- ing Stone River.

Fish seem to be everywhere abundant in the lakes and streams, but the number of species is very limited. The lake trout (Cristivomer namaycush) is, however, the largest of the finny tribes. One was caught near the mouth of Stone River weighing twenty-five pounds. The white fish (Coregonus clupeiformis) is found everywhere through- out the district, but more especially in the shallower lakes. The blue fish or Back's grayling (Thymallus signifer) was caught in Stone River at the foot of the heavy falls below Black Lake. Pike (Esox luctus), pickerel (Stizostethium vitreum), methy (Lota lacustris) and two or more species of suckers (Catastomus teres and Myxostoma macrolepi- dota) were found in almost all the water stretches.

The number of Indians who live in and travel through the country, obtaining a precarious existence by hunting and fishing, is very small. They are centred around four trading posts, namely, Methy Portage, Tle à la Crosse, Rapid River or Stanley, and the south end of Rein- deer Lake. Those that trade at the last two posts are chiefly Crees or Nahathaways, while those at the two former posts are mostly Chippe- wyans. A few Chippewyans also come south-west into the country from Du Brochet Post, at the north end of Reindeer Lake. The total number hunting in the district is probably not more than three or four hundred in all, or about one person to every 150 square miles.

Tree. GENERAL GEOLOGY. 15 D

General Geology.

The rocks examined in the district csvered by the present report, and described in detail in its later portion, may be tabulated as follows :—

Recent.

Present lake beaches, and flood-plains of the present streams.

Pleistocene.

Sand plains near the height of land, along Mudjatick River, &c. Ancient shore-lines around Hyper-Cree Lake, Hyper-Black Lake, &c. Till, drumlins, moraines, kames, eskers, ispatinows.

Cretaceous.

Pierre —Dark gray shales. Viobrara-Benton.—Calcareous shales. Dakota.—Sandstones, mostly incoherent.

Cambrian.

Athabasca Sandstone ( Keewrnawan).—Red sandstones and mottled sandy shales, in more or less horizontal position.

Huronian.

White quartzites, fine red calcareous sandstones, hälleflintas and thinly foliated green schists, seen on the north shore of Lake Athabasca.

Laurentian.

% Hornblende- and mica-granites and granitoid gneisses, norites and gabbros, often showing signs of severe crushing and contortion.

Laurentian,

The name Laurentian is applied in the aggregate to the crystalline, Basement altered, crushed and contorted rocks of the basement complex, consist- complex. lng in this region of hornblende-granites, biotite-granites, muscovite- £ranites, and granitoid gneisses of the same composition, with gabbros

Extent of area underlain by gneiss.

(sabbro.

Norite.

16 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

and norites. These are all welded closely together, and, although some are clearly intrusive in the others, and therefore younger, they are necessarily classed in one great group in default of evidence rendering it possible to arrange them in any definite time-series, in this region.

These rocks are found outcropping on Churchill River, from two miles below the mouth of Mudjatick River eastward to the mouth of Reindeer River, beyond which the river was not examined. Thence northward they occupy the whole, or almost the whole of the eastern part of the district, while further west they extend northward to Cree Lake, where they disappear under the overlying Athabasca sandstones. North of the sandstone area they occupy most of the northern shores of Athabasca and Black lakes. Throughout the greater portion of the area, the rock consists of light reddish-grav hornblende-granite, and biotite-granite or granitoid gneiss, worn into low rounded hills and ridges. The gneiss does not appear to have any very persistent strike. In thin sections under the microscope, much of the gneiss exhibits cataclastic structure, showing it to have been subjected to severe strain and crushing. Some areas were found to be underlain by a white muscovite-granite. This is typically developed east of Hatchet Lake and in some islands in Wollaston Lake, and is doubtless intruded through the surrounding hornblende-granite-gneiss. On Mudjatick River the rock is for the most part a similar whitish granite, which, however, is often found to be more or less distinctly foliated.

On the north shore of Athabasca Lake, west of l'ond du Lac, is an area of medium-grained reddish gabbro, in places crushed and show- ing a distinct foliation, but how it is related to the surrounding gneisses was not determined. On the same shore, twenty miles east of Fond du Lac, a range of dark-gray, rocky hills rises to a height of several hundred feet above the water, and continues eastward for fifty miles, to the north-west shore of Black Lake. The rock, which doubt- less represents an intrusive mass, consists essentially of a pleochroic, orthorhombic pyroxene, probably hypersthene (often altered to brown hornblende), plagioclase, some quartz and ilmenite. It may therefore be classed as a norite. In some places it is heavily jointed and almost massive, while in other places it shows a well marked gneissic structure. Near the shore it is occasionally seen in contact with reddish-gray biotite- gneiss, and near the line of contact garnets have been developed in the norite in great abundance. They are also found, though not quite so abundantly, in the biotite-gneiss.

name GENERAL GEOLOGY. 17 D HuRONIAN. 4

As far as is at present known, the Huronian is represented in this

district solely by three small areas on the north shore of Lake Atha-

basca. The most important of these is just east of the long point east

of Black Bay, and extends for sixteen miles along the shore. It con-

sists of a hard, white, crushed quartzite, in which heavy bedding

can often be detected. It lies on the gneiss in a wide syncline and Area under- . . . . oe lain by

strikes in a more or less northerly direction, apparently covering 4 quartzite.

large A shaped area. On its eastern border, near the line of contact

with the adjoininy gneiss, is an extensive development of hematite,

often associated with a coarse quartzite breccia. From the top of a

hill, this ridge of hematite was seen to extend a long distance inland

along the strike of the quartzite.

Near the north-west angle of Black Bay, on Slate Island, the Hur Ferruginous onian is represented by dark-brown thinly foliated ferruginous chlorite schists at schists, associated with a band of cuarse green conglomerate, with well rounded pebbles and a scanty chloritic matrix ; and two miles further west, on the main shore, is an exposure of thickly foliated light-green halleflinta, interlaminated with bands of granite. Similar green schists were also seen on the shore for several miles to the south-west of the

mouth of Cypress River.

Between twenty-five and thirty miles north-east of Fort Chippe- Calcareuu wyan, the shore is bordered for several miles by green and red Bchists. calcareous quartzose schists, striking parallel to the edge of the lake, with nearly vertical dips. They lie at the foot of a rather high ridge of Laurentian gneiss, and towards the south they seem to pass into a fine-grained, highly altered, red calcareous sandstone.

Cambrian.

Athabasra Sandstone.

This is an extensive series of generally horizontal red sandstones and conglomerates, resting on the uneven surface of the Archtean granites and gneisses. The sandstone was previously seen by Mr. McConnell at two places on the south side of Lake Athabasca, and placed by him

in the Cambrian, with the local designation of “Athabasca Sand- stone.”*

*Report on a portion of the District of Athabasca, by R. G. McConnell. Annua Report Geol. Surv. Can., vol. V. (N.S.), 1890-91, p. 51 pb.

Horizontal red sand- stone.”

Diabase dyke.

Area under- lain by sand- stone.

+

sandstone,

Rocks newer than,Cam- brian.

18 D ‘Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

In 1892, no further information respecting the age of these sandstones was obtained by the writer, but in the following year, while exploring the country northward towards Chesterfield Inlet, similar sandstones were found overlying the Archean, associated with quartz-porphyries, diabases, &c., like those of the Keewenawan rocks of Lake Superior. The likeness is so pronounced throughout, that there would seem to be little doubt that the two sets of rocks belong to the same geological horizon. OF

The formation is everywhere much the same in this district, consist ing chiefly of a reddish, moderately coarse-grained quartzose sandstone. At some places near the base of the series, especially on the north shore of Lake Athabasca, the rock becomes a coarse conglomerate, with well- rounded pebbles of white clastic quartzite like that of the neighbouring Huronian rocks. In other places, as on Wapata Lake, it is a fine. grained, thin-bedded red shaly sandstone, mottled with rounded spots of a greenish-gray colour.

It is almost everywhere nearly horizontal, the exceptions to this rule being slight and local. It was not found to be cut by eruptive rocks except at one point on the west shore of Cree Lake, where a dyke of coarse, light-green uralitic diabase has cut through it, and altered the sandstone on both sides to a hard quartzite.

The total area underlain by this sandstone formation is very large, extending from Cree Lake on the south to Athabasca Lake on the north, and from Wollaston Lake on the east, doubtless to the vicinity of the valley of Athabasca River on the west, and perhaps much fur- ther under the covering of later rocks. Cree Lake lies largely within the area underlain by these rocks, and Athabasca Lake seems to lie entirely within it, for the red sandstones compose many of the islands

and more prominent points of its northern shore.

On account of the generally horizontal position of the beds, and their similarity in character throughout, it was impossible to determine its greatest or total thickness, but near the east end of Lake Athabasca . cliffs of sandstone rise on the south shore to the height of between 400 and 500 feet, giving a vertical section of over 400 feet at this point. ”

East of the basin of Athabasca River, in the region explored, 10 rocks of later age than the Athabasca sandstone were seen north of the Churchill. If any such were deposited they have long since been denuded away. That at some uncertain period previous to the Glacial epoch the country stood at a much higher level, or sloped much more

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TrRRELL GENERAL GEOLOGY. 19

steeply westward, than it does at present, is shown by the existence of

the great valley occupied by Athabasca Lake. Possibly this valley was oj valley. eroded while the Cretaceous sandstones and shales were being depos-

ited in the seas then stretching away to the south, or afterwards in the

Tertiary period, during part of which clays and sands were being deposited on the bottom of a gulf then occupying the position of the

present valley of the lower reaches of Mackenzie River.

On Churchill River, between Ile & la Crosse and the mouth of Country Mudjatick River, the country is thickly covered with drift, so that drift-covered. none of the underlying rocks were seen, but it is highly probable that Paleozoic and probably Cambro-Silurian, Silurian or Devonian limestones, or all three, similar to those of the Winnipeg basin, might be found beneath the drift, overlying the Archean gneisses,

As evidence of the presence of these rocks, boulders of Palæozoic limestone, carried with the drift from the north, were found on Ile Boulders of a la Crosse Lake and southward. At Grand Rapids, on Beaver Paleozoic River, a limestone boulder was seen, holding fossils, one of which ap- peared to be a T'rochonema of the type of 7. umbilicatum. On the

banks of Big River another boulder was found holding Receptaculites

Orveni. Both these boulders were evidently derived from rocks of Cambro-Silurian age, and indicate the presence of such rocks to the

north, along the southern edge of the Archean. Some of the boulders

on Ile a la Crosse Lake are of dolomitic limestone, containing such

fossils as Atrypa reticularis, Fenistella vera (7), a large Stromatopo-

roid, etc., and were, doubtless, derived from Devonian rocks.

In the north-west portion of the district, Devonian limestone was seen outcropping for several miles in the bottom of the valley of Fire-bag River, one of the small tributaries of Athabasca River.

Cretaceous.

South of the Churchill River, the country is almost entirely under- lain by Cretaceous rocks, ranging in age from the Dakota sandstone up to the Pierre shales.

On the south shore of Ile à la Crosse Lake, a few miles west of Sandstone on Ile à la Crosse post, there is a low outcrop of soft, horizontally bedded, He à le Crosse light-yellow sandstone, associated with thin beds and nodules of cal. careous ironstone. It contains many carbonized plant remains.

Though no recognisable fossils were here found, it is confidently believed that these beds belong to a horizon not far from the bottom

of the Dakota sandstone.

20 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

Dakota. On Beaver River, just above the mouth of Doré River, are some banks ninety feet high of soft incoherent white or light-yellow sand- stone, very similar in character to much of the Dakota sandstone of north-western Manitoba, and probably also of Dakota age. In the valley of Fire-bag River, four feet of ‘tar sandstones’ (Dakota?) were seen overlying the Devonian limestone.

On Beaver River, no Cretaceous rocks were recognised above the horizon of the Dakota, but at the Grand Rapids a boulder of Cretace- ous limestone was found holding fragments of a Cypina-like shell, perhaps derived from some of the lower beds of the Niobrara in the vicinity, or a short distance farther north.

Niobrara Near the south end of Green Lake, typical Niobrara shale, containing

shale. large numbers of Foraminifera, fragments of shells of Inoceramus, bones of fishes, &:., was seen near the edge of the water, having slidden out from the foot of the high bank. The recognition of Niobrara rocks on Green Lake carries the knowledge of the occurrence of this horizon 275 miles north-westward from the nearest point at which it had pre- viously been fuund, near the north-west corner of the province of Manitoba, and more than half way from that point to the Athabasca River. From Green Lake southward to the Saskatchewan River, the country appears to be entirely underlain by Pierre shales, though very few exposures were seen.

After the close of the Cretaceous period, a time of continental elevation must have set in, and appears to have continued throughout the Tertiary and down to the present time.

Pleistocene.

Glaciated Wherever the surface of the underlying rock is seen, it has been surfaces. severely glaciated, and any rocky prominences are rounded on the side looking towards the direction from which the glacier flowed, and rough

and brolen on the opposite side. The surfaces are not smooth and

polished as they are in many places further south, for the till that had

been dragged over them by the glacier contained very little clay or

other fine polishing material, but was rather composed of sand or rock-

flour. Coarse grooves and striæ were often seen, though they are not

everywhere present. Their direction is shown by the arrows on the accompanying map. The most of them belong to one period of glaci-

ation, and were made by the south-western extension of the great glacier

Keewatin centring west of the northern part of Hudson Bay, and for which I have proposed the name Keewatin glacier. They indicate that this

J Trane... ] PLEISTOCENE. 21p

last great glacier flowed between S.S.W. and S.W. across the greater portion of the area, being diverted westward in the valley of Lake Athabasca. No general glaciation, "distinct from the above, could be detected.

The fol'owing is a list of the glacial striæ observed in the area of the Glacial

Place. True Bearing. Madjatick River, near mouth , S. 17 W. se lat. 56° 18/ S. 22 W. ‘ below Grand Rapids S. 52 W. “ Forks , Lee eue. S. 22 W. ‘s above Forks S, 17 W. River flowing N. to Cree Lake ,... S. 27-17 W Cree Lake, camp at S. end Le bce e eet ee eees S. 37 W. “ Small Island. S. 27 W “s sandstone cliff at S. W. side dore cue ee ee es S. 37 W “ “s at north end S. 17 W. Black Lake, west shore, south of Stone River S. 72 W. Woodeock Portage N.73 W. west end . S. 71 W. Black River... eee cece eee nee ee ett enaee N. 58 W. M acc cece ce ete erseereersee N. 63 W. “ below lowest portage ... S. 71 W. “s EE EEE N. 83 W. 6 akc c nee ee use eo eo nee teens S. 63 W. Athabasca Lake (from east to west) ccc e cee ee sean eeeee S. 55 W. sous. earlier striæ.. S. 74 W. se EEE S. 87 W. ‘6 6 ec cece eee cee ue N. 70 W. EEE … %S. 20 W. fe aan earlier striæ S. 66 W. “ dessus S. 51 W. # EE EEE S. 53 W. “ $6 aes later striæ.. S. 34 W “s 66 ccc eee ee eee oe S. 61 W “ EEE S. 41 W EEE S. 58 W ‘ 6 issues. S. 71 W Fond du Lac S. 51 W bec ece ee secs sense neues N. 82 W. east of Beaver River S. 60 W. west of Beaver River S. 42 W. near Red ffill S. 45 W. S. E. of Black Bay .. 2... ... S. 75 W. near Cypress River S. 50 W. Lat. 59° 6’ 30” N. 75 W. ‘s Standing Sand Point S. 65 W. Fort Chippewyan N. 75 W, Biack Lake, Sandstone Island N. 76 W.

point of granite . .. S. 48 W. 6... . . ..later strue.. S. 68 W.

Till.

Moraines.

Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

¢

Place. True Bearing. Black Lake, Island S. 56 W. 6 se esse. S. 71 W. “ point on north shore ,. . §. 58 W. ses dues beets mousses S. 70 W. Hatchet River, lowest portage. Less vers veus S. 87 W. ‘e ascending the stream S. 76 W. “ $6 ee ose S. 76 W. “s A6 se. S. 61 W. ‘6 66 ee cee ee S. 78 W. “ Perpendicular Rock S. 51 W. Sc ence cece eee wee erence ee enes S. 44 W. Hatchet Lake S. 23 W. ss eect eee eue nee e teen eee S. 26 W. Wollaston Lake, (from north to south) ... S. 11 W. sé “6 S. 14 W. Se. 8. 29 W. SE eus. S. 31 W. “s 6... S. 33 W. “s SL cece cette ee eee S. 27 W. Geikie River, 1 m. above Poor Fish River S. 30 W. Besse esse tee eee ee eebeaes S. 87 W. se dre eect eee vssvesesreressee S. 18 W. sé north of Big Sandy Lake S. 28 W. $6 a cece cen e ee eee eee eee S. 37 W. ‘ above lake S. 35 W. lake near source S. 23 W. “ se EEE S. 23 W. “ “s 6 , , older strie.. S. 35 W. Lake west of Foster Lake S. 40 W. Little Whitefish Lake, narrows .. S. 31 W. “ ss Clee eect eee eee e ae vec. S. 32 W, Lake below Little Whitefish Lake . cae eeecaes S. 22 W. Jumping-in-the- Water Lake .. . S. 40 W. Mouth of Foster River S. 36 W. Churchill River, near Foster River S. 39 W.

“ west end of Needle Lake , S. 24 W. — “ mouth of Souris River S. 43 W. se “ ‘4 EEE S. 50 W. ‘4 near Hay River... S. 43 W. “ Lowest Deer Rapid S. 20 W.

Over the country directly underlain by Archean rocks, there is but a scanty coating of till, chiefly lying in the bottoms of the depressions, but on the more even surface of the Palæozoic rocks the till is present in much larger amount, often assuming a gently undulating contour.

Large weil defined morainic ridges are seldom seen towards the north, and those which can be made out consist of an accumulation of a great number of boulders ; but further south a great rugged mor- ainic area extends along the crest of the country between the Churchill

rase ] PLEISTOCENE. 23 D

and Saskatchewan rivers, forming a region similar to the summit of the Duck and Riding mountains in Manitoba. ‘

Drumlins occur in a number of places, as in the valley of Mudjatick Drumlins. River, where many of them have cores of the underlying rock.

Kames, or disjointed ridges of sand and gravel, were seen in some of Kames. the morainic areas, especially on the upper part of Stone and Geikie rivers.

Sandy eskers occur, running with the striæ, in a few places, as on Eskers. Hatchet and Wollaston lakes, and on the banks of Geikie River.

The most conspicuous and interesting drift hills in the whole region, J.,atinows. however, occur in the basin of Cree Lake, around Black Lake and on the banks of Stone River. They are steep, narrow ridges, parallel to the direction of glaciation, with the sides joining in a crest that may be less than a yard in width. They average from a quarter of a mile to one mile in length, and round duwn gently to both ends, with a characteristic drumlin-like contour, and vary from 70 to 250 feet in height, the average being about 120 feet. Unlike eskers, or kames, which they resemble in some respects, they are not composed of assorted material, but rather of unassorted rock-flour mixed with boulders. Unlike drumlins, they do not seem to have been ever com- pacted or overridden by the ice, as the material is loose, and the sum- mit is not rounded off from side to side, but rather from the crest downwards, they descend in as steep a slope as the material will stand at. Further, they all lie in the basins of large post-glacial lakes, the prin- cipal ones examined being in Hyper-Cree and Hyper-Black lakes. As they seem to differ from any drift hills that have been definitely described, I would suggest for them the name ispatinow, the Cree word for a conspicuous hill.

Their shape, and the character of their materia!, with their position, Mode of induce one to believe that they were formed in narrow gorges in the formation. ice-sheet, when the front of the glacier was bounded by a deep lake.

Streams flowing on or near the surface plunged into those ice-bound gorges and carried their load of detritus into the quiet water at the bottom of the gorge. In some such way as this these narrow ispati- nows might have been formed of loose unassorted material, and as the icy walls receded or melted away and the lake was drained, ‘the sides would assume a slope as steep as possible.

North of the watershed between Churchill and Stone rivers, most of Glacial lakes. the lakes appear to have stood at a higher level than they do at pre-

24 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

sent, in the time immediately subsequent to the retirement of the

great ice-sheet. ‘The natural inference is that they lay between the

face of the waning ice-sheet and higher land over which the water

flowed to form the great rivers of the glacial period. In order to

avoid a multiplicity of names that are difficult to remember, and none

of which can be located from an ordinary geographic map of the pre-

sent day, it is here proposed to add the prefix hyper - to the name of

the present lake or river to designate the former high-level lake that

occupied its basin or valley. For example, around the southern and

western shores of Cree Lake, well-defined shore-lines were found up to

Hyper-Cree eighty feet above the present water-level. It is proposed to call the

lake that formed these old shore-lines Hyper-Cree Lake. This lake

extended from the height of land northward to about the north end of

Cree Lake, where its waters probably laved the foot of the Keewatin

glacier. Towards the east and the west its extent is unknown, but it

covered what are now wide sandy plains, extending out in these two directions.

The lake did not exist for any great length of time, as its shores are but slightly marked, its gravel beaches being small, and its coast- cliffs but slightly cut, even in soft material. On its south side, form- ing the present height of land, is a wide sandy plain, in which are many deep closed depressions, probably indicating the position of heavy masses of ice. Stretching southward from this plain, down the course of Mudjatick River, is a large amount of sandy material, often stretching out into wide sandy plains. This extent of sand doubtless marks the line of one of the water-courses draining the face of the glacier at about the time that Hyper-Cree Lake came into existence.

Hyper-Black In the same way Hyper-Black Lake stood one hundred and twenty-

Lake, &e. five feet above the present level of Black Lake, and extended for a long distance up Cree and Stone rivers. Hyper-Athabasca Lake rose above the present level of Lake Athabasca, as is shown by the beautiful raised beaches on Beaver-lodge Island, and the wide sandy plains seen by Mr. Dowling on William River ; but whether it at any time was confluent with Hyper-Black Lake was not determined. Hyper-Wollaston Lake occupied the basin of Wollaston Lake, and extended a considerable distance up Geikie River. Hyper-Churchill Lake lay in the present valley of Churchill River, and, when at its greatest height, seems to have extended southward as far as the sand- hills around Clearwater Lake on the Green Lake trail.

It is highly probable that some of the great post-glacial lakes of the region were at times connected, but much further exploration would be

rrMEuL GREEN LAKE TRAIL. 25 D

be needed to define their coast-lines, and to determine their relation- ship to each other.

Recent.

The shores of the present lakes are nowhere strongly marked by Present shore

deeply cut cliffs or heavy beaches. In the northern area the streams lines.

flow in shallow channels, having only in rare and local instances, even

when flowing through clay or incoherent sand, cut down their beds to

a base-level of erosion. On the Cretaceous plateau, the small dimin-

ished streams often wind through the bottom-lands of deep, wide

valleys, never even impinging against their high grassy banks. The

present streams are not deepening these valleys to any appreciable

extent.

DESCRIPTION OF ROUTES. Green Lake Trail.

North of the Saskatchewan, the road from Prince Albert passes for Old shore line.

several miles over a range of barren sandy hills at the same elevation as

the sand-hills between Prince Albert and the Forks (about 1425 feet

above the sea), and doubtless formed as dunes on the same old shore, be-

yond which, to the crossing of Sturgeon River, is a pleasant country with

large prairie openings, and dotted with groves of poplar. Sturgeon

River, where crossed, is a stream fifty feet wide and three feet deep,

flowing swiftly in a channel ten feet deep. West of Sturgeon River

bridge, thinly wooded sandy hills are again crossed for several miles,

and then the road passes for twelve or fifteen miles over rich level

alluvial land wooded with poplar, to the bank of Shell Creek, a branch Shell Creek. of Sturgeon River. This stream winds in a shallow channel, in the

bottom of a wide valley with gently sloping sides from fifty to

a hundred feet high, and from half a mile to a mile and a-half apart.

The level bottom-land is chiefly of sand or fine gravel and bears a close

growth of short grass. The trail follows this bottom-land westward

through three ranges of townships, and then turns northward, still

Keeping to the bottom of the same valley, which is here very wide.

Shortly before reaching Sandy Lake, which lies to the west of Shell River, hills of loose sand and boulders begin to rise above the sur- rounding plain, and boulders begin to be scattered over the bottom of the valley. The hills are doubtless morainic, and the valley of Shell Morainic River, as well as others in the vicinity, were apparently formed by the hills. water flowing from the face of the glaciers at the close of the glacial period.

Big River.

Old valley.

Watershed.

Summit on morainic ridge.

Sand-hills.

26 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

few miles north of Sandy Lake, Shell River is crossed, in the: middle of a wide sandy flat, at an elevation of 1700 feet above the sea. This sandy fiat, apparently the bottom of a deep wide valley, is followed by the trail northward, along the east side of Devil’s Lake, to the crossing of Big River, at a distance of six miles beyond Shell River, and at an elevation of 1715 feet above the sea.

Big River is here fifty feet wide, with a gravel bottom. It is said to flow into Crooked Lake a few miles below this ford, which lake dis- charges by Doré River into Beaver River—a tributary of Churchill River. The watershed between the Saskatchewan and Churchill rivers was therefore crossed on a sandy plain in the bottom of a deep valley running north-west and south-east. Big River enters the west side of this valley not far above the ford, but the valley continues on towards. the north-west for an unknown distance, its bottom being occupied by a series of shallow lakes. Beyond Big River ford, the trail keeps to the bottom of this valley for nine miles, until it rises to an eleva- tion above the sea of 1850 feet. Then the trail leaves the valley and ascends its west bank, which has here a height of two hundred feet, beyond which, for five miles, are high sandy morainic hills, scattered. with boulders. The highest point on the trail is in a heavy spruce forest in these hills, the elevation being about 2220 feet above the sea. Beyond these hills is a gravel plain at an approximate elevation of 2060 feet, through which Big River flows, in a beautifully terraced. valley, half a mile wide and 180 feet deep. Its sides are steep and

grassy, not strewn with boulders, and are apparently underlain by

Pierre shales, but no scarped banks were otserved, for the present stream does not appear to be eroding or deepening the valley to any appre- ciable extent. As the valley is ascended it becomes gradually shallower, not so much through the rise of the bottom as on account of the westerly slope of the country away from the high stony hills lately passed over. Finally it widens out into an extensive spruce and tamarack swamp, at an elevation of about 1900 feet above the sea, and only thirty feet below the surrounding country.

Leaving the valley at a small tributary creek, the trail for eight or ten miles crosses a rolling, bluffy prairie, underlain by a sandy till, with an elevation of about 2000 feet above the sea. The country then begins to have a definite slope northward, and rough, steep, sandy hills, thinly wooded with Banksian pine, make their appearance, and continue along the line of the trail for sixteen miles, in which distance the country has declined about 250 feet. These sand-hills do not seem to be morainic in character, but rather to represent one or more

Tare. GREEN LAKE AND BEAVER RIVER. 27 D

sa

old coast-lines on the shore of a great lake that extended away to the north in post-glacial times.

North of these hiils a gently sloping even plain, wooded with poplar, spruce and balsam, and underlain by a slightly sandy clay, with very few boulders, extends to the edge of the valley of Green Lake.

Green Lake and Beaver River.

Green Lake is a narrow body of water eighteen miles long, lying at Old valley. an elevation of 1440 feet above the sea. It nestles in the bottom of a valley two hundred feet deep at its southern end, and gradually shallow- ing to forty feet deep at its northern end. The sides are sloping and densely wooded with poplar and spruce. From the lake the valley extends southward an undetermined distance. The beach of the lake is largely composed of rounded transported boulders of granite, white quartzite, white limestone, &c. The depth of the water was not de- termined, but fishermen living in the vicinity report depths of from twenty to thirty fathoms, probably towards its northern end. The lake gets its name from the thick coating of floating green alge which collects on the surface in the autumn.

On the west bank, a short distance north of the end of the trail, Niobrara typical calcareous Niobrara shale is scattered along the beach behind a “"#le. line of small boulders, and at the edge of the grass a line of the same shale was found extending for about fifty yards, standing more or less on edge, as if it had slidden from the bank behind, and evidently not far from the parent rock. It contains a large number of foraminifera, Foraminifera. including Globigerina cretacea and other forms found in the Niobrara of Manitoba, together with fragments of fish remains and of the thick prismatic shells of Jnoceramus. On the beach in the vicinity were also a number of freshly broken fragments of lignite and nodules of iron- stone, doubtless also derived from the Cretaceous shale of the bank.

On the east shore, three miles north of the end of the trail, the Stratified bank is one hundred and fifty feet high, and thirty feet from the sum- sand, &c. mit is a scarped face showing thirty feet of soft stratified sand, inter- bedded with fine sandy gravel with well rounded pebbles. Its exact relationships were not determined, but it is probably of glacial or post- glacial age. °

Three miles and a-half further north and ten feet above the lake, is Till. 4 scirp showing four feet of light unstratified till, composed largely of Cretaceous shale, but holding pebbles, some striated, of granite, white quartzite, vein quartz, limestone, ironstone, &c.

Green Lake

iver.

Beaver River.

Hyper-

Churchill

ke,

Grand Rapid.

Boulders,

28 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

Green Lake River, a small sluggish stream five miles long and sixty feet wide, with reedy banks, connects the north end of Green Lake with Beaver River, the current sometimes running out of the lake and sometimes into it. A low grassy meadow extends on both sides of this river, underlain by ten feet, more or less, of stratified sand and clay. Beneath this clay is a bed of peat extending beneath the level of the water, and often containing large numbers of small fresh-water shells. Doubtless the stratified sand and clay is composed of material brought down from the west-by Beaver River in times of high water, and spread out at the mouth of Green Lake.

Beaver River rises more than 200 miles further west, in the vicinity of Lac Ja Biche, and flows eastward to the Green Lake River. Here it turns at right angles, assuming the course of the latter stream, and flows northward to the south end of Ile a la Crosse Lake. At first the banks are low and composed of stratified alluvial clay without boulders. The surrounding country seems to be a level plain, from ten to twenty-five feet above the river, and well wooded with poplar.

Banks of stratified sand soon begin to rise on both sides of the river to heights of forty or fifty feet, and the str.am is broken by rapids over a bed of boulders. The surrounding country appears to be level or gently sloping northward, and the more sandy parts probably represent shore- lines of Hyper-Churchill Lake, the post-glacial lake that covered a great tract of country south of Churchill River. The banks again decline towards the mouth of Water-hen River, a considerable tributary from the west. They continue low and consist of clay for several miles, and then change to stratified sand and rise to a height of eighty feet, probably along another anciert shore. Just below this is the last and heaviest rapid on this portion of the river, known as Grand Rapid, with a fall of about twenty-five feet. The bed is of boulders, and the banks, about thirty feet high, are of dark-gray, slightly jointed, unstrati- fied sandy till holding pebbles and boulders. The boulders are chiefly of a rather fine-grained reddish granite, but very many are of green Huronian (?) rocks, a considerable number are of cumpact white Palæ- ozoic limestone, one of which contained Trochonema, or an allied form ; a few are of hard white quartzitic sandstone, two or three small ones of soft brown Dakota (?) sandstone, and one large slab of porous Creta- ceous limestone containing Cyprina subtrapeziformis, or a somewhat similar species.

Below Grand Rapids, the stream flows with an easy and gradually slackening current, and boulders soon disappear from the banks, which are generally low and wooded with balsam poplar. However,

re ILE À LA CROSSE LAKE. 29

just above the mouth of Lower Doré River, a tributary from the east,

cliffs of white and light yellow, well bedded, soft sandstone, probably

of Dakota age, rise to a height of ninety feet on the west bank. Dakota sand- On the top of the sandstone is a line of pebbles and boulders, over to

which is a foot or two of sandy till. No trace of fossils was found,

and this sandstone is merely provisionally assigned to the age of the

Dakota from its position near the base of the slope underlain by Cretaceous shales, &c., from its being overlain by a capping of till, and

from its close similarity to many of the incoherent beds of Dakota sand-

stone in north-western Manitoba. Below the mouth of Lower Doré

River the banks are generally alluvial, varying in height from twelve Low banks. feet down to a low marsh, all but the latter being wooded with a beau-

tiful growth of poplar. Occasionally we could see that we were winding

through the bottom of a wide valley with banks about seventy feet

high. Towards its mouth the river becomes a series of marshy lake-

like expansions, with many of the points covered with boulders.

Rounded hills of sand and boulders rise here and there, but no rock

in place was seen.

Île à la Crosse Lake.

Four miles from the mouth of Beaver River is Ile à la Crosse or Lacrosse

Lacrosse Island. Its summit is a level sandy plain about forty feet Island. above the lake, while its sides are steep and for the most part covered with coarse sand. At its south end, where the bank is but twenty feet high, the upper ten feet is a fine light-brown evenly stratified sand. At the north end of the island the beach is composed of small rounded boulders, about three-quarters of which are of red and gray granite, while most of the rest are of hard white and red sandstone, Some are of a soft highly ferruginous sandstone, probably of Dakota age, while a few are of Devonian dolomitic limestone holding Atrypa retcularis, &e. This sandy island is very conspicuous, as the sur- rounding shores are composed almost entirely of till. Its geological history was not clearly apparent, but it may represent a sandy delta deposit formed at the mouth of a super-glacial stream.

Two miles and a quarter from this island, on the west shore of the Lacrosse lake, is a large Roman Catholic mission establishment, and near it is ete at the fur-trading store of the Hudson’s Bay Company. These are built on a gentle slope of light-gray sandy till holding pebbles and a few bould- ers. More than half of the boulders are of hard white sandstone, indicating the presence of this sandstone in the immediate vicinity, though it was not seen in any natural outcrops.

Dakota sandstone.

Ile à la

Crosse}Lake.

East shore.

Churchill River.

Shagwenaw Lake.

30 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

Some ash-leaved maples had been planted in the garden of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s post, which are now from ten to fifteen feet high, quite healthy, and bearing abundant seed.

Five miles and a half north-west of the Mission, on the south-west shore of the lake, behind the beach of boulders, is a low outcrop of light-yellow, brown-weathering, friable sandstone, horizontally bedded, but often showing clear false bedding. It contains many small nodules of ironstone, and is overlain by a thin band of ironstone, mixed with a sandy clay shale. It contains many fragmentary remains of plants, now entirely carbonized. Although the geological age of this bed could not be definitely determined, it is probable that it represents some of the lower layers of the Dakota sandstone.

It is overlain by a cliff of soft sandy clay, with boulders, most of which are of gray gneiss, but some are of limestune, while others are of green trap, hard gray sandstone, fine conglomerate, etc. The land behind is moderately level and well wooded with poplar.

At Ile à la Crosse three canoemen were engaged for the summer, and on the 29th of June, 1892, we started northward.

Tle a la Crosse Lake extends northward from the Mission for thirty-nine miles. For the first twenty-nine miles we followed its west shore, which is generally low and indented by deep bays, the beach being of sand or boulders. The east side is much straighter, and rises in a high wooded ridge parallel to the lake. This ridge is said not to be sandy, but to be composed of clay and boulders, and the thick forest covering it would confirm this statement.

At the end of the above distance is a long gravel point, from which we crossed the lake, here only about a mile and a-half wide, to the east shore, which was found to be composed of gravel and boulders, almost all of granite, though some are of sandstone. .None of lime- stone could be found, indicating that we were now further north than the edge of the possibly underlying limestone. The country behind the east shore is here generally low. No rock in place was seen around this part of the lake.

From the north end of Ue à la Crosse Lake, Churchill River flows eastward as a rapid stream from fifty to seventy yards wide, over a bed of boulders, with low banks of sandy till Below this rapid the river opens into Shagwenaw Lake, a beautiful sheet of clear water, dotted with many wooded islands.

Tene. MUDJATICK RIVER. 31 D

For seven miles below this lake, the river is wide and deep, with a gentle current. The banks are low and wooded to the edge of the water, or overgrown with grass and sedge, except at some of the points where there is a bare string of boulders. Below this quiet water are three rapids, with descents respectively of about six, eight and five feet, The banks throughout are low and of till, and the beds of the rapids seem to be entirely of boulders, no rock in place being visible.

Mudjatick River.

Mudjatick or Bad Cariboo River, rises in several small lakes and streams in the low rocky country a short distance north of latitude 51, and flowing almost directly southward for eighty miles, empties into Churchill River, thirteen miles below Ile à la Crosse Lake. For most of the course it flows in a shallow winding channel between level banks of stratified sand. Rocky hills may be seen on both sides, but Rocky hills they seldom close in on the river, and the stream is obstructed by but few rapids, and most of these are caused by accumulations of boulders.

Up to the date of the present exploration nothing was known of it beyond what is indicated on the face of Sir John Franklin’s map of 1819 and 1820, by the following note : ‘Stated to afford a passage to the Athabasca Lake by crossing a height at its source.” .

On the Ist of July, 1892, we entered the mouth of the river, which High water was then at extreme high water, and began the toilsome ascent of its rapid current. The water was up in the willows, which almost every- where overhung the channel, so that it was impossible to track the ‘canoes with a line from the banks. Poling was also out of the question since the bed of the channel is composed of shifting quicksand. It was, therefore, necessary to ascend entirely with paddles, keeping close to the banks, and occasionally clutching the low bushes. Each time that we were obliged to cross the winding channel in order to avoid the rush of the current on the outer sides of the bends, we were swept back further down the stream. In lower water, when many of the sand- bars would be dry, the river would probably be easy to ascend, but then its upper stretches might be too shallow to permit of the passage of a large canoe.

Three miles up the stream, or just above the mouth of a brook flow- Ridges of ing through the hills to the west, the river flows for a mile near the fuot gneiss. of some ridges of rather fine and even-grained red hiotite-granite-gneiss, which rise to a height of from thirty to a hundred feet on the east side

Glacial strix.

Sandy plain.

Bear Rapid.

Probable moraine.

32 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

of the valley, an‘l extend towards Churchill River in a direction S. 15° E. Their surface is generally somewhat rough and weathered, but many of the higher points are beautifully smoothed and polished and show fine, but well marked glacial striæ, trending S.15° W. The direction of glacial motion is shown by the rounding down of the southern sides of many little pits; while at the same time the north-east sides of the hills are rounded and the south-west sides are broken and strewn with fragments of rock.

Two miles above the last and highest of these granite hills, a portage is stated to run eastward to a lake which connects with Churchill River. The Indians often use this route to avoid the laburious ascent of the lower part of the river.

t

A short distance above this portage, on the west bank of the river, is a grove of Banksian pine on an open sandy plain, forming the first pleasant piece of dry land that we had seen since leaving Churchill River. From this grove to Bear Rapid, the river flows with an even current of about four miles an hour, through willow covered flats, with here and there groves of open pine woods. No rock could be seen from the canoe.

Bear Rapid is a swift chate with a fall of about two feet, past which is a portage track, one hundred yards in length, on the west bank. The rapid is probably caused by a ledge of smooth rock crossing the channel, but the water was so high that none could be seen.

Above Bear Rapid, the river continues to wind through a sandy plain to the foot of a series of rapids caused by accumulations of boulders in the bed of the channel. Boulders are also scattered in con- siderable abundance over the flats on both sides of the river, though very few or none were seen below this point. At some places the boulders are piled in long ridges, which probably represent a moraine formed by the last glacier that extended southward in this region. The rapids are four in number and extend for two miles and a-half, but none are so impetuous as to render it impossible to track the canoes up them with a stout line.

East of the lowest of these rapids is a ridge of red biotite-granite, including lenticular masses of well foliated gneiss. One isolated boss was composed of dark gray, fine-grained, highly hornblendic gneiss, associated with a fine-grained diorite charged with sulphides.

West of the uppermost of the four rapids is a more or less rounded boss, thirty feet high, of dark, green, fine-grained, highly altered trap.

TaReLt. MUDJATICK RIVER. 33 D

A mile further north, on the east bank, and at the north end of a ridge

of sand, is a small outcrop of whitish quartzite striking N. 85° E., Quartzite. and with an almost vertical dip. This quartzite is very highly charged

with pyrrhotite, and the compass was strongly deflected towards it.

A mile and a-half further north, a rounded hill fifty feet high rises on the west side of the river, composed of light-gray granite-gneiss, cut by many veins of red pegmatite. From the hill a long sand ridge stretches away in a direction 8S. 20° E. A boss of similar gneiss, a mile further up the stream, shows a fine foliation striking N. 80° E., while on a smooth surface close to the water, glacial groovings are

beautifully shown trending 8. 20° W.

Above this hill the stream for several miles winds through a sandy plain, cliffs of stratified sand from thirty to forty feet in height ap- pearing on the banks.

Old Wives Rapid occurs at a sharp curve in the stream as it passes Old Wives through a narrow gap in a granite ridge. A portage over a scrubby ridge leads past it on the west side, but it was possible to haul our canoes up the rapid with a long line.

Among the boulders scattered over the surface here, are a few of white Athabasca sandstone, which have been transported from the north, and have apparently been derived from the sandstone area lying north of Cree Lake.

The adjoining hills rise to a height of about 130 feet, and are com- Hills of posed of a red, highly felspathic granite-gneiss, foliated in a direction “ee 8S. 80° E The tops of the hills are weathered so that no striæ could be detected, but there were many short grooves trending 8. 20° W., and on the face of the hill, near the edge of the water, are polished glaciated surfaces showing grooves trending in the same direction.

For the next eight miles the river has an average width of about 200 feet, an average depth of six feet, a current of about five miles an hour, and passes between high sand ridges trending in a general north. 54nd ridges. and-south direction. At the north end of each ridge there is usually a boss of whitish mica-diorite-gneiss, but the sand rises above it, and the highest point of each ridge is south of the rock. Small poplar and birch trees are growing by the river, and the hills are wooded with Banksian pine. At the end of this distance is a portage forty yards in length, across a dry sandy ridge, wooded with large pines. This portage is made to avoid a long bend of the river, into which Porter Creek is

Heddery Creek.

Whitish mica- diorite-gneiss.

Grand Rapids

High sand banks.

Three rapids.

34 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

said to empty. This creek was stated to flow from Porter Lake, which lies six or seven miles east of Mudjatick River.

A mile and a half above this portage, Heddery Creek, a stream twenty-five feet wide, with a swift current, flows in from the west, and is said to rise in Heddery Lake.

Above the mouth of this creek is a rourded hill eighty feet high, of whitish mica-diorite-gneiss, very irregularly foliated, but with a general trend east and west.

The river continues in a depression between hills of this gneiss for the next’ four miles, and then the hills fall away on either side, and it traverses a sandy plain in a valley which gradually increases to a depth of 100 feet. The bed of the river is sand, without boulders, but a few boulders may occasiunally be seen on the surround- ing plain, many of thm being white Paleozoic sandstone. Poplar has now almost entirely disappeared, a few trees of black spruce and tamarack are growing by the river, but the banks and uplands are wooded with pine.

In latitude 56° 35, hills of gray biotite gneiss rise above this sandy plain, and in latitude 56° 38’ the river sweeps against the eastern side of a hill of reddish-gray, highly biotitic gneiss, well foliated and strik- ing N. 20° E. The surface shows a number of strong glacial grooves, trending S. 50° W.

A mile and a-half north of this hill, we reached the foot of the Grand Rapids, where the water falls eight feet over a ledge of gneiss, broken into two steps. A portage, ninety yards in length, over a sandy flat, runs past it on the east side. The rock is a gray biotite-granite-gneiss, well fo'iated, striking N. 15° E., and dipping at a high angle to the east. A quarter of a mile above the portage is a long rapid over rock and boulders, with a fall of six feet, past which we tracked the canoe with a line on the west side. Above Grand Rapids the river, now about thirty feet wide, flows from a moderately well defined valley, about a quarter of a mile wide, the banks of which are often a hundred feet in height, very steep, and composed largely of sand, through which are scattered a few boulders and pebbles, all of the latter being water- worn. The surface above is undulating, rising into hills about 200 feet above the river.

In this valley are three rapids, the lowest of which has a fall of five feet, over a ledge of gray gneiss with a general strike N. 25° E. An almost vertical cliff of gneiss rises on the east side. The middle rapid

Tyrrell. ] Mudjatick River 35 D

is very similar in character to the first, past which there is a portage ninety yards in length on the west side. At the third rapid the river falls three feet over a ledge of gray gneiss, while a portage sixty paces long leads past it on the east bank.

At a bend in the valley, a mile and a-half above the last rapid, Girard River. Girard River, a swift, shallow stream fifty feet wide, joins the main stream from the east.

On the west bank, above the mouth of Girard River, and behind a sandy plain, rise rounded hills of medium-grained dark reddish-gray biotite-granite-gneiss, often intricately folded in with a coarse red granite.

The river flows through the pine-covered sandy plain up to the Gwillin Forks of the Gwillim and Mudjatick rivers, where the two streams River. run together from opposite sides of a long sandy point, the former being forty and the latter sixty feet wide. On the west bank at the forks is a bare hill of fine-grained, red biotite-granite-gneiss, striking 8. 15° E. and dipping N. 75° E. at an angle of 60°. The surface, close to the edge of the water, is well glaciated, striæ trending S. 20° W.

The Mudjatick River is said to flow from the north-east, passing through three small lakes in its course.

The country now becomes more level and swampy, and the streams More level are interrupted by lakes and stretches of quiet water. country.

At the Forks, we left the main stream and entered the Gwillim River, which flows for eight miles from a north-westerly direction, passing the mouth of Ithingo River about the middle of the. dis- Ithingo River. tance. For four miles it winds through a level marshy plain, sur- rounded, at a distance, by high rocky hills. The banks are often low and ill-defined. Near the mouth of Ithingo River, sandy hills, or a high sandy plain, approaches on both sides ; but still the bottom of the valley is marshy, with many abandoned river-channels, and the slug- gish stream, fringed with yellow water-lilies, extends up to Little Little Sandy Sandy Lake, which: is surrounded by high wooded sandy hills. On the Lake. evening of July 8th we camped in open pine woods at the north end of this lakelet, a lovely sandy beach extending before our tents.

One small, bare, rocky island rises out of the centre of the clear water Rocky island. of the lake, consisting of a dark-gray, thinly foliated granite-gneiss striking N. 45° W. and dipping at a high angle, S. 45° W., interbedded With a light-gray coarse-grained garnetiferous biotite-granite-gneiss.

Se

Cliff of gneiss.

Gwillim ake.

Variation of the compass.

Crooked stream,

Sand banks.

36 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

In the river, three-quarters of a mile above the lake, is a small island of similar highly garnetiferous gneiss.

A short distance above this island, the river turns almost at right angles towards the north-northeast, and the valley, which has been narrow and deep from the lake, becomes wide and more diffuse. The wide stretch is two miles and a-half long. Near its northern end the west bank of the stream is overhung by a high rugged cliff of gray granite-gneiss, interlaminated with bands of highly ferruginous and quartzitic gneiss. In general the lamination is nearly horizontal, but in detuil it is much contorted.

In north latitude 56° 53’, the valley turns sharply eastward and bare cliffs of sand rise to a height of eighty feet on its northern side. The valley maintains this eastward direction for two miles, gradually decreasing both in width and depth, while both the hillsides and the bottom of the valley become covered with boulders. The stream is thirty-five feet wide, with a current of three miles anhour. From the end of this stretch the river again turns to a north-northeasterly direction through low land, to the south end of Gwillim Lake.

Gwillim Lake is a pleasant open body of clear water lying in a north- and-south direction, with a greatest length of five miles and a-half and a greatest width of a little more than a mile. The eastern shore is generally low and sandy, though behind an abandoned trading post of the Hudson’s Bay Company are some rather high lightly wooded hills that seem to be covered with boulders. Behind the western and north-eastern shores are somewhat prominent hills of gneiss.

The Gwillim River flows into the north-western end of the lake, but the canoe-route leaves the lake at a low sandy beach at its northern end, and our canoes were carried for 300 yards on a sandy plain through open woods of small Banksian pine, to the bank of the narrow winding stream.

At this portage the compass was found to have a variation of 27° east.

Above Gwillim Lake, the diminished stream is very crooked, wind- ing at first between low sandy willow-covered banks, through swamp thinly wooded with spruce and birch. The banks gradually rise to heights of thirty feet, being composed of stratified sands, and at the end of two and a-half miles, measured in a direct line up the valley, the river is broken by a rapid over boulders, in which there is a total drop of about fifteen feet. Past this rapid is a portage on the

rites MUDJATICK RIVER. 37 D

west side 230 yards long. The portage is through thin woods of small Banksian pine, and over a slight sandy knoll strewn with boulders, some of which are of white sandstone, probably of Athabasca sand- stone. From the top of this knoll the river is seen to flow in the bottom of a rich but rather shallow trough, with rocky sides, extending north- wards towards Solitude Lake. South of this knoll is the point of a hill 100 feet high, composed of a coarse, red biotite-gneiss with un- dulating vertical foliation striking 8. 20° E. The sides of this hill are also strewn with boulders.

Solitude Lake, a mile and a-half north of this portage on the same Solitude

stream, is a rounded body of clear water a mile and a-half in length, with low even wooded shores, in front of which are occasional stretches of sandy beach. No boulders, or rock in place, are seen anywhere around it, but in the background are high rounded hills covered with forest. The canoe-route traverses the lake to its northern end, where the canoes and goods are landed. They are then carried by a portage 150 yards long in a north-northeasterly direction, over a sandy plain wooded with small Banksian pine. ‘This portage cuts across a long bend of the river, reaching it at a point where it has a width of about twenty-five feet.

From Solitude Lake the river was followed in our canoes northward for three miles, as it wound in a very tortuous channel ten to

Lake.

fifteen feet deep, across an almost level plain of fine white sand covered Plain

with light green lichen, and thinly wooded with small Banksian pines. At one point some low, rounded, rocky hills rise above the west bank, consisting of rather coarse, rusty, reddish-gray hornblende-gneiss, irregularly foliated. Strike S. 75° E.

white

of fine sand.

At the end of the above distance, Gwillim River, which continues to Leave

flow from the north-northeast, was left, and the canoes and goods were carried for a mile in a north-westerly direction over the level sandy plain by the south bank of a small tributary brook. Near the west end of the portage the country begins to rise a little, and the brook, here from five to eight feet wide, flows swiftly in the bottom of a valley twenty feet deep.

Gwillim River.

At the west end of the portage is a lake, a third of a mile in Small lake.

diameter, with water of a light-brown colour, and low weedy shores, behind which are sand-hills thirty to forty feet in height. This small lake, in north latitude 57° 7’, and west longitude 107° 29’, and with an elevation of 1650 feet above sea-level, lies just south of the watershed between the drainage basin of Churchill River, and that of Lake

Watershed.

Height->f- land portage.

Sand-hills.

Small lake.

Hill of boulders.

Sandy terrace.

38 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

Athabasca. From it a portage 200 yards long leads up a steep sandy slope forty feet high, across a sandy ridge, and into a basin-shaped de- pression fifty feet deep, in the bottom of which is a small lake of clear blue water, without outlet.

This lake, a little more than a quarter of a mile in width, was crossed in canoes to the southern end of another portage, 1100 yards long. The path ascends a slope fifty feet high at one end, and descends a similar slope at the other. In the middle it is over an irregular country, with deep basin-shaped depressions and high hills, composed of moderately fine, white sand, without pebbles or boulders. The north end of the portage is in a small grove of Banksian pine at the south end of a lake of clear water which discharges northward towards Cree Lake and Stone River. Thus the two last portages cross the height of land, but no rock in place was seen in the vicinity or nearer than the granite knolls on the west bank of Gwillim River.

N Cree River and Lake..

- The lake north of the height of land lies among wooded sandy hills a hundred feet in height. On the morning of July 13th the party left camp among the pines at the south end of this lake, and travelled north-eastward for two-thirds of a mile across the lake to a marsh, over which the canoes were dragged for a hundred and fifty yards toa small stream, which was descended a quarter of a mile between banks fringed with yellow water-lilies, to another lake with low marshy shores, wooded with small spruce, larch and Banksian pine. It lies in a north-westerly direction, and is a mile and a third in length. From its north-western end flows a winding stream thirty feet wide, and five feet deep, with a current of two miles and a-half an hour, between low marshy banks, at first well defined, but afterwards very irregular and broken. After flowing eastward for two miles and a-half, the river runs along the north side of a hill composed of large boulders of red granite-gneiss, while on the opposite side of the valley is a ridge of apparently similar gneiss in place. For the next two miles and three-quarters, the river is wide and indefinite, in the midst of an extensive marsh. On a low wooded ridge composed of sand and rounded pebbles, many of which are of white sandstone, the latitude was found to be 57° 10° 51”. The sides of the valley are steep escarp- ments of sand, rising to a sandy terrace eighty feet above the river, at about the same altitude as the summit of the height-of-land portages.

In latitude 57° 11° 30” the valley contracts and the river flows be- tween high cliffs of red biotite-granite-gneiss striking N. 65° W. The

rreseu. CREE LAKE. 39 D

highest points of the surface are polished and faintly striated in a direction S. 70° W.

After passing through this rocky gap, the river enters an open basin, Cree Lake. on the sides of which are sand terraces rising twenty-five feet above the water, and a mile and a-half north of the gap it passes be- tween a number of low boggy islands into Cree Lake. Many large fresh-water sponges (Meyenia fluviatilis, Linn.) could be seen through the clear water growing on submerged twigs and sticks beside these islands,

Cree Lake is a large elongated body of pure transparent water lying Area. in a general north-east and south-west direction,with a greatest length of forty-nine miles and a width as yet undetermined, but sketches obtained from Indians who had travelled round the lake, would indicate that it has a total area of about four hundred square miles. The soundings taken in open water along the line of travel, gave depths varying from fifty-five to a hundred and fifty feet. The altitude of the surface, as determined by numerous aneroid readings, is 1530 feet above sea-level.

The temperature of the water in the open lake on July 14th was 53° F.

The course followed from its southern extremity to its outlet near Course its northern extremity, was generally ‘along its west side, and the fol- followed. lowing description applies exclusively to the country seen on this line of travel.

From the mouth of the river, a bay about a mile and a-half in dia- meter, is crossed in a northerly direction, to a strait a hundred yards in width between steep sandy hills. The surrounding country is com- posed chiefly of low rounded hills of sand, with occasional points of a Sand-hills. rather coarse, reddish-gray gneiss.

Our first camp on the shore of the lake was pitched a mile east of Hill'of gneis this strait, at the foot of a hill of coarse gray gneiss, that rises to a height of 120 feet above the water. On the top of the hill is a large boulder of gneiss seven feet long, the southern side of which is perched on a smaller boulder. Under it glacial grooves are strongly marked, trending 8. 35° W. Many of the other boulders around the hill are of white sandstone. Since the hill is the highest in the vicinity, a mag- Surrounding nificent view may be had from its summit, of the lake and the U2": surrounding country. From east to south, wide sandy plains, wooded with small Banksian pines, stretch away to the limit of vision. In other directions the country is composed of gently rounded

Islands.

Hill of gneiss.

Northern limit of Archæan rocks.

Deepest sounding.

40 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

hills wooded with small pines, with occasional sandy escarpments facing the lake. The lake shore is very irregular, and six :mall wooded islands break the surface of the blue-green water. A few small scattered trees of white birch grow by the shore, but no poplar had been seen since leaving Solitude Lake.

The variation of the compass was here determined at 25° 30’ E.

A mile and three-quarters north of this camp is a group of three small wooded islands, the most southerly of which is composed of a rather coarse, gray, highly felspathic biotite-gneiss, with, in places, a moderately well marked sinuous foliation striking 8. 55° E. Part of the island is covered with till, consisting of sand and boulders, many of which are of sandstone. The surface of the gneiss is smoothed, and shows glacial groovings trending 8S. 25° W.

Three miles and three-quarters in a direction N. 36° E., over open water averaging 110 feet deep, across the mouth of a deep bay, is a point on the west shore, behind which is a hill 120 feet high, the south side of which is composed of gneiss very similar to that seen on the island, while the top and east side are composed of sand and boulders. The lake here contracts to a width of about three-quarters of a mile, and behind the eastern shore is a hill, formed, apparently, of gneiss. These hills of gneiss, on both sides of this strait, appear to form part of a ridge that runs N. 65° W. across the country, and they were the last exposures of Archæan rock seen, on this line of travel, south of the northern shores of Black and Athabasca lakes. Between these two places the country is underlain by Athabasca sandstone. Cree Lake, therefore, adds one more to the list of the large bodies of water which, in Canada, lie along the line of contact of the comparatively unaltered Paleozoic and th: highly altered Archwan rocks.

For the next two miles, the west shore is low and is protected by a wall of rounded boulders, beyond which our course turned north-west- ward to the north shore of a low island, wooded with black spruce and birch, the point of which is piled six feet high with boulders of white sandstone. A meridian altitude of the sun observed here gave the latitude as 57° 19’ 30” north.

A mile and three-quarters across open water brought us to a long low point of land surrounded by boulders of sandstone. South of this line high cliffs of sand were seen to skirt the shore. About the middle of the distance, a depth of 150 feet was found, being the deepest sound- ing obtained in the lake, though perhaps the water may be much deeper farther from land.

Trane. CREE LAKE. 41 D

From this stony point we again crossed the mouth of a bay about five miles deep, in a direction N. 45° W., past several islands apparently of till, to the west shore of the lake, where a cliff of light red Atha- Athabasca basca sandstone rises twenty-one feet above the level of the water. The sandstone is horizontally stratified in beds varying in thickness from two to six inches, and often shows distinct false-bedding. It is not very compact, and quite unaltered, and the individual quartz grains are moderately well rounded. Some soft calcareous spots have possibly been fossils, but they now show no trace of structure. The surface of the rock is polished and marked by distinct glacial strie trending 8. 35° W.

From this cliff the shore was followed northward for a mile and three- quarters, past some low cliffs of sandstone, and points surrounded by boulders, to the bottom of a bay where camp was pitched, in heavy rain, on the evening of the 14th of July, on a level sandy plain thinly wooded with small Banksian pines.

A third of a mile north of camp is a narrow elongated hill or Ispatinow. ispatinow 120 feet high modified by subsequent wave action, with its longest diameter stretching S. 35° W., parallel to the glacial striæ in the vicinity. Its summit, which is rounded and from thirty to sixty feet in width, is composed both of rounded and more or less angular cobbles or fragments of sandstone imbedded in sand or rock-flour. It rises from the level of the plain to the south-west, and then undulating slightly for two hundred yards, drops more suddenly ugain to the plain. The north-west side slopes to a valley, beyond which is another similar ridge, while in the distance are others, probably also of a similar character. The south-west side is rather abrupt.

The two ancient shore-lines, marked by the sandy terraces south of Ancient shore the lake, are also distinctly shown on the side of this ispatinow. On !e* - approaching the hill from camp a gently rising sandy plain is crossed, until a compact pavement of large sanistone boulders is reached, with a scarp six feet high behind it. The foct of this scarp, marking the height of the lowest old shore line, is forty feet above the present level of the lake. Above this scarp the slope is steeper and is rather thickly

strewn with boulders. At a height of seventy feet above the lake, a line of well rounded cobbles marks another distinct shore. It is best shown at the north-east end of the hill, round which it curves as an arched beach-ridge of water-worn pebbles.

No signs of the upper shore-line at approximately the same altitude Hyper-Cree weie seen around any of the many hills farther north. There is no Lake.

Shore of boulders.

Diabase dyke.

Altered Athabasca sandstone.

Prospect Hill.

42 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

land in that direction sufficiently high to form the northern shore of a lake seventy feet above the level of the present lake, and there seems to have been very little warping of the crust since the glacial times. It would therefore seem moderately certain that we have here portions of the ancient shore-line of a lake that lay between the front of the Keewatin glacier not very far to the north and the higher land to the south. At its highest stage it must have discharged over the height of land south of Cree Lake, the ancient river flowing down the wide valley in the bottom of which now winds the Mudjatick River.

From the camp near the foot of this hill, we paddled S. 30° E. for a mile, to a low point, and then for a mile and a quarter eastward across the mouth of a deep bay to another low point, piled around with an ice-shoved wall of sandstone boulders five feet in height.

From this point north-eastward, the north-west shore of the lake is generally thickly strewn with boulders, with uccasional low hilis of boulders a short distance inland. At a place where we stopped for lunch in north latitude 57° 25’ 00" a grove of large Banksian pines covers a sandy plain in front of a hill of boulders, and under the trees were growing many flowers of the beautiful ladies’ slipper (Cypri- pedium acaule, L.), calling to mind the lovely woodland glades then far to the south. Half a mile farther north, a hill 150 feet high rises from the edge of the water. The central portion of the hill consists of a dyke about two hundred feet wide, of a coarse light green uralitic diabase, apparently running S. 65° W. Examined microscopically, this rock is seen to consist of plagioclase, much of which is altered to calcite and sericite ; hornblende, which has probably resulted from the decomposition of augite, and some of which is altering to chlorite ; biotite in small amount ; quartz in granophyre structure ; and ilmenite, altering to leucoxene.

The hill is thickly covered with boulders, but near its summit, about twenty feet of highly altered pinkish Athabasca sandstone is exposed north-west of the diabase dyke. It dips at an angle of four degrees away from the dyke, and becomes less altered as it recedes from it.

The canoes here left the shore and struck out into the lake in a’ north-easterly direction among a number of high thinly wooded islands which, seen from the end, appear as sharply pointed cones rising from the water, and seen from the side as diffuse domes. One of these islands, at a distance of three miles and a-half from the trap dyke, was named Prospect Hill. It is a narrow hill rising to a height of 170 feet above the lake, and as a depth of seventy feet of water was

Tear CREE LAKE. 43 D

found not very far from it, it may be said to have a total height of 240 feet. It trends N. 35° E., parallel to the direction in which the glacier last moved across this region. The summit is nearly level

for a width of a hundred feet, the sides are as steep as the earth will

stand, while the ends round down easily to the shore. As far as can be seen it is composed entirely of sand and boulders, without rounded

aravel. It shows no sign of stratification or of being composed of

well waterworn material, but consists rather of loose, unassorted till,

and like the hill near the last camp, and hundreds of other similar

hills around and farther north, it is a typical example of the elevations

described on page 23 as ispatinows.

From the top of Prospect hill a beautiful view may be had of the lake view of Cree and the surrounding country. Toward the north-west, a wide almost open plain stretches away towards Whitefish Lake. Cree Lake is seen to be studded with thinly wooded islands, all apparently of the same nature, more or less oval in shape, and rounding up from each end to a highest point near the middle. All lie in the same direction parallel to the course of the last glaciation, and none show any outcrops of the underlying rock. These ispatinows are seen to be more numerous on Ispatinows. the lower areas, now covered by the water of the lake, than on the surrounding higher land. In the absence of any sections, and on the Conditions of hasty examination which the writer was able to make, it is very dif- ficult to determine the exact mode of formation of these hills, but the conditions that seem to have prevailed at the time of their formation may be here briefly stated. The glacier, spreading out from a great gathering-ground in the vicinity of Yath-kyed Lake, was here moving south-westward, parallel to the long axis of Cree Lake. Its front had receded from the Archean rocks to the south, and was, therefore, some distance north of the present height of land, and its foot was washed by Hyper-Cree Lake, whose strands are so distinctly marked around the southern end of Cree Lake. Towards its front this gra- dually retiring glacier would be much reduced in thickness. Streams would flow on its surface, but when these streams plunged into the harrow crevasses or moulins the water would at once reach the level of the adjoining lake, the current would cease, and the material carried by the stream would accumulate in one place between the narrow walls. As the walls melted away these accumulations would thus remain as narrow elongated ridges of unassorted material, without any external sign of stratification. The above explanation of the formation of these high ispatinows between narrow walls of ice, in quiet water, would seem to apply throughout the north wherever these hills Were seen, while where the water from the glacier had a free course

Sand-hills.

Low stony ridges.

Athabasca sandstone.

41D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

towards lower ground, ridges of this character do not seem tu have been formed, and where the water flowed freely between icy walls, eskers were produced, some magnificent examples of which may be seen in the country further north.

Four miles north-east of Prospect Hill, camp was pitched on the east side of a thinly wooded sandy island, at the foot of a similar hill, sixty-five feet high, the summit of which was thickly strewn with boulders of sandstone. The variation of the compass at this place was determined as 26° 30’ east. °

The next morning the journey was continued in the same north- easterly direction, across the lake, between the numerous islands, on many of which rose similar narrow hills, At about nine miles (in N. latitude 57° 25’ 9”) we stopped for lunch at a rather high point of a large island, behind which is a hill of loose sand sixty feet high, with a few boulders scattered over its sides and summit. Beyond it are other similar hills, with basin-like depressions among them. Similar hills again stretch away to the north-eastward and form islands in the lake. They have very much the appearance of being wind-formed dunes.

From this point we paddled in a direction N. 10° E. for two miles and a-half across open water, to the west shore, at a point piled with boulders of sandstone. The greatest depth of water found when cross- ing the lake here was 120 feet. The character of the country had now changed, the ispatinows and numerous islands having been left behind: but low stony ridges were still to be seen, the land rising in a mod- erately regular slope to a height of about eighty feet above the water. This gradually declines to the north-eastward to a height of forty feet. The shore in front of this slope is irregular, with low stony points. The lake here contracts to a width of about half a mile, but whether the east side of the narrows is a large island or the main east shore was not determined.

On the west shore, at the north end of the strait, there is an ex- posure above the edge of the water of three feet of thick-bedded soft white Athabasca sandstone. The principal lines of stratification are horizontal, but in places a false-bedding can be detected. The surface is smoothed and shows glacial grooves trending S. 15° W. This is the third and last exposure of sandstone seen on Cree Lake, but the gen- eral appearance of the adjoining country would indicate that it is all underlain by similar rock.

Four miles N. 25° E. from this sandstone outcrop, and a mile south- west of the outlet of the lake into Cree River, we camped on a sandy

Traci CREE RIVER. 45 D

plain among thin woods of Banksian pine, though behind the camp

was a low rise thickly strewn with boulders. Among these are many Boulders.

of reddish garnetiferous and gray gneiss, and of compact green Huron- ; inn (f) schist. No boulders of limestone had been seen since leaving

Churchill River. The sand on the beach here is composed of well-

rounded grains of quartz of very regular size. When walked on it Musical sand. emits a sharp ringing note. A meridian altitude of the sun observed

here gave the latitude at 57° 42’ 30”.

Where the Cree River flows from the north end of Cree Lake it is Cree River. about 200 yards wide, with sandy bottom, and low banks wooded with small Banksian pine and spruce. The stream soon becomes very rapid, with a current of from six to eight miles an hour over a bed of broken fragments of sandstone. Six miles below the lake we reached the head of a long rapid, known as Hawk Rapid, in which the river has a total Hawk Rapid. descent of from thirty to forty feet in a distance of about two miles. Near the head of the rapid a small exposure of white horizontal sand- stone is seen on the east bank, while the low plain to the north-east is composed almost entirely of rough masses of this sandstone. Half a wile farther down, on the same bank, is an escarpment showing ten feet of horizontally bedded, hard, coarse-grained sandstone, of a light salmon colour. Its surface is well polished but without glacial strie. Just below it, is a cliff thirty feet high of unstratified till, holding a large number of boulders of sandstone imbedded in a matrix of sand. Very few boulders of gneiss and none of Huronian rocks were present. Half a mile further down, the river rushes in a wild torrent between abrupt walls of sandstone ten feet in height, and around the vertical or Athabasca overhanging sides of Hawk Island, which stands up in the midst of the S2ndstone. foam. The sandstone is coarse-grained and well stratified, white on fresh fracture, but weathering to a light brown colour. Above the sandstone isa cliff of till twenty feet in height, rising to the level of the surroanding country. The flood-plains of the river near the rapids are composed of rough broken masses of sandstone, up to a foot in diameter.

The rapid is a long and bad one, without any channel. It cannot be tracked with a line and wading in the water is very difficult on account of the swiftness of the current, the sharpness of the stones, and the irregularity of the stony bars. Paddling is generally impossible, and it is difficult to obtain a proper set for the poles, as they slip down and catch between the large stones. On this account the Indians rarely ascend this river, our Chippewyans telling us that but one man had ascended it in the past seven years.

One of the canoes had been badly broken in the rapid, and the men’s Canoe,broken. feet and legs were cut with wading over the sharp stones in the water.

Morainic hills.

Character of rapids.

Absence of valley.

46 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

We therefore camped a mile below the rapid, among scattered Banksian pines on a sandy plain on the west bank of the river. Some low hills in the vicinity are covered with boulders. Into the bottom of a little bay near the camp a small stream, twenty-five feet wide and three feet deep, with a current of a mile an hour, flows from the south- west.

For several miles below the mouth of this brook, the river at times expands into wide quiet stretches, and then rushes down heavy stony rapids, flowing through an undulating sandy country. At a distance of eight miles below the brook and about a mile below a sharp bend to the west, six feet of similar pink horizontal sandstone is exposed on the west bank. A short distance below this sandstone, the lightly rolling sandy country is left behind, and the now uneven surface rises in irregular morainic hills of boulders a hundred feet in height. On the sides of these hills some small aspen poplars grow, the first that had been seen north of the height of land. These morainic hills con- tinue for a short distance, and then the more sandy country is again entered.

For twenty miles the heavy rapids succeed each other in quick succession. They are all very similar in character. The stream first becomes very narrow and swift, often with a current of ten or twelve miles an hour, and then gradually expands, until it is spread thinly over a wide bed of gravel and boulders, over which it is almost in- variably necessary to wade, and grasping the canoe by the gunwales, lift it slowly along. The river nowhere flows in a deep valley, though the banks are mostly composed of easily ercsible sand and sandy till, which would be quickly carried down by the impetuous current. The reason that at once suggests itself for the absence of valleys in this, as

Reason of such well as in most of the other rivers in the far north, is that the ice

absence.

sheet has but comparatively recently retired, leaving the surface free to be remodelled by the streams that now flow over it; but it must be borne in mind that the streams are frozen over for most of the year, and when the ice breaks up in early summer it shoves the boulders and loose masses of rock into compact boulder walls and pavements in the bank and bed of the stream. forming surfaces that resist stream erosion almost as effectually as the solid rock itself.

In north latitude 58° 00’ 00” a low exposure of similar stratified sandstone may be seen on the west bank near the foot of a rapid, and in latitude 58° 5’ 30”, cliffs six feet high, of precisely similar cuarse sandstone form the east bank. Midway between these two outcrops, rounded hills of sand, from fifty to eighty feet high, rise on each side

TraRet. CREE RIVER. 47 D

of the river, probably representing dunes on an ancient shore of Ancient Hyper-Black Lake. Just below the lower cliff, Little Cree River, a dunes. . stream of brownish water, with a strong current, joins the main Little Cree stream from the south-east, its mouth being hidden by many low w.oded islands, which here break the Cree River into numerous swift shallow channels. After a long and hazardous day of incessant toil, camp was pitched on the evening of July 19th on the east bank, two miles below the mouth of Little Cree River, at the foot of a low sandy terrace. À meridian observation on Altair gave the latitude here as 58° 8’ 00”. The next morning, we had been in our canoes but a few minutes when we were in the middle of a deep heavy rapid three-quarters of a mile in length, at the bottom of which sandy terraces rise on both banks to heights of forty feet above the river. Nine miles below camp, at the foot of a similar rapid, the terrace is still forty feet high, and meagrely wooded with small Banksian pines. A scarped face shows Sand escarp- it to be composed of stratified sand. The surrounding country consists ments. of rolling stony hills, the angular masses of rock, so prevalent higher up the stream, being no longer seen.

From the sand escarpments, the river takes a very straight general course in a north-northeasterly direction, between low marshy banks in the bottom of a valley a third of a mile wide and forty feet deep. At the foot of this straight course, and a quarter of a mile above the mouth of Rapid River, a meridian observation of the sun gave the latitude as 58° 18’ 22”. Rapid River is a swift shallow stream, seventy Rapid R River. feet wide, flowing from the east.

Two miles and a-half below the mouth of Rapid River, low cliffs of Cliffs of peat. peat rise on the west bank of the river, below which the banks are flat for a couple of miles. Then begins a series of heavy, though moderately deep, rapids, separated by stretches of quiet water. Much of the surrounding country is a sterile sandy plain, varied with equally sterile hills of boulders.

In approximate latitude 58° 28’, the canoes entered a heavy rapid three miles in length, in which the river has a fall of about forty feet. Hills of boulders from a hundred to a hundred and fifty feet high rise Hills of on each side, and the bed of the stream is formed of boulders that have boulders. fallen from both sides. The upper part of the rapid is deep and nar- row, while the lower stretches are wide and shallow. Just at the foot of this rapid, as the river expands to quiet water, on the west side, a scarped bank twenty-five feet high shows, at the bottom, fifteen feet of

Red and white sand- stone.

Bad-water River.

Trout River.

Surrounding country.

48 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

horizontally stratified, rather fine-grained sandstone, both white and bright red in colour. The red sandstone does not form regular beds, but runs down irregularly into the white. It is, however, usually thin-bedded and shaly, while the white is often moderately thick- bedded. The weathered surface of the red beds is blotched with rounded lighter spots. No fossils of any kind could be found in these sandstones. It is doubtless of Keewenawan age, the same as the coarse sandstone seen higher up the river.

For three miles below the heavy rapid, the river is wide, with low banks. Our camp was pitched on the east bank in a grove of small pines by this quiet portion of the stream. For a mile and a half below camp the river flows with an even current, and then a series of rapids begins andextends for fourmiles, to the mouth of Bad-water River.

Bad-water River is a hundred feet wide at its mouth, shallow, with a muddy bottom. Its water is clear and it is said to flow from a lake about eight miles long, lying to the east, in the midst of an extensive swamp. From the mouth of Bad-water River, Cree River continues to flow northward for three miles, through low undulating sandy country, and then it turns sharply westward to the mouth of Trout River, descending the last rapid in its impetuous course. A short distance above the bend, a number of cut-banks, on the sides of wooded hills, show sections of sand and gravel, consisting of rounded waterworn pebbles and cobbles of sandstone. The banks are wooded with Bank- sian pine or willow scrub to the edge of the water.

Trout River is a stream of light brown water about two-fifths the size of Cree River, though it is sluggish at its mouth, so that it is dif- ficult to estimate its exact size. The Indians travelling southward formerly used to ascend it and portage across from its head into Cree Lake, rather than ascend Cree River.

Six hundred yards to the west a lightly wooded hill rises, close to the river, to a height of 120 feet. It is composed almost entirely of sand, though a few boulders are scattered over its summit. From its crest a very extensive view can be had of the surrounding country. To the west, a great level sandy or boggy plain, thickly wooded with pine, stretches away towards some low distant hills. To the northa similar country extends to the hills south of Black Lake. A small lake lies a couple of miles to the south-west, beyond which are some low hills. To the east, the view is not so extensive, and the country not so level.

From the mouth of Trout River, which was found to be in latitude 58° 37’ 40”, Cree River flows N. 30° E. for sixteen miles, measured in

rraaeu ] CREE RIVER. 49 D

a straight line, to the mouth of Sandy River. It has a moderate cur. rent, a general width of from 150 to 200 yards, and a sandy bottom. In one place, a cliff thirty feet high of unstratified till with boulders, forms the east bank, but otherwise the banks are low. Elongated, narrow sandy hills or ispatinows, similar to those on Cree Lake, make Ispatinows. their appearance at the mouth of Trout River, and become very numerous as the river is descended. Oneclothed with Banksian pines, opposite the mouth of Sandy River, rises to a height of a hundred and eighty feet. It slopes lightly towards both ends, and is very steep on both sides, standing up like a knife-edge trending S. 65° W. It is composed almost entirely of sand. but a few boulders are scattered over its top and sides. From it many other similar hills may be seen, one, probably 300 feet high, lying in a direction N. 85° E.

From the mouth of Sandy River, Cree River turns sharply west- ward, around the north end of the hill just described, and after a course of five miles, past several other high sandy ispatinows, empties into the south-west side of Wapata Lake, in the midst of a Wapata Lake. wide willow-covered marsh. We here crossed the lake for three quarters of a mile to the east end of Wapüs Island, where camp was pitched on the evening of July 21st, and where an observation of the sun determined the variations of the compass as 29° E.

The mouth of Cree River had now been reached, four days having General been occupied in its descent. Its length is 108 miles, and its total character of fall is between 500 and 600 feet. Its upper part, to north latitude 58" 8’ is a roaring, foaming torrent, rushing along in many places at the rate of from ten to twelve miles an hour. The lower part is not quite so bad, though much of it is very swift and shallow. The current gradually slackens to the lake.

Wapüs Island is a low narrow ridge nearly two miles inslength, Wapts Island. lying S. 60° W. It is thickly wooded with spruce, birch, white poplar and a little larch. The north-west shore of the lake is also low and thinly strewn with boulders.

Two miles north-west from Wapüs Island is a strait in which is a gtrait in rapid with a fall of a foot. Many fragments of mottled and thin. Wapata bedded, often shaly, sandstone are lying in the water, and the bottom of the strait seems to be composed of this rock, which is undoubtedly of the same age as that previously seen on the river. Below the strait,

Wapata Lake again opens out to a body of water about six miles long and a mile and a-half wide. A high hill on an island and another on the north shore are apparently similar to those on the lower part of the

Old beaches.

Area.

Name.

Deep narrow channel.

50 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

river. The shore is generally sandy or strewn with small boulders. Pine River empties into the south end of this lake. It is said to be a large rapid stream, which cannot be ascended far in canoes on account of rapids and fallen timber.

The river, flowing from the west side of the lake, is at first wide, with a scarcely appreciable current. A mile and a-half down stream a hill rises on the north bank to a height of 110 feet. It is composed of sand and some boulders. A cliff, standing forty-five feet above the lake, shows a section of sand, cobbles and boulders, all fairly well rounded. On the sides of the hill, at heights of seventy, eighty and ninety-five feet above the lake, respectively, are three well marked beach-ridges of rounded gravel, and the summit is composed of rounded cobbles, all showing distinct shore-lines of Hyper-BJack Lake, which must have covered a large area of the surrounding country.

At the point of this hill the river turns sharply northward, and flows for a mile as a rapid deep stream a hundred and fifty feet wide, between low clifts of light-pink sandstone. It then expands, and in 4 mile and a-quarter opens into the south end of Black Lake. At this point the west shore is low, and gently sloping to a beach of boulders, while hills rise on the east shore. The country is thickly wooded with small spruce.

Black Lake.

Black Lake is a long narrow body of clear water lying in a general north-east and south-west direction, with a greatest length of forty-one miles, a greatest width of nine miles, a shore-line of about 110 miles, and a total area, including islands, of two hundred square miles. On July 6th, 1893, its water had a temperature of 58° F. Its present name seems to have been given to it by David Thompson, perhaps from the dark hills of norite which overlook its north-west shore. By the Chippewyan Indians of Fond du Lac it is called Dess-da-tara-tua, or Mouths of Three Rivers Lake, alluding to the mouths of Cree, Stone and Chipman rivers which empty into it.

From the funnel-shaped mouth of Cree River, our course lay for two miles and a-quarter in a north-northeasterly direction across the most southern bay of the lake to a narrows with low bouldery shores, and thence onward in nearly the same direction for two miles and s-half, past a low sandy shore to the east end of a narrow channel running between a large island and the main shore. This channel is a hundred and fifty yards wide, with steep sand escarpments from eighty to a hun-

Tyarew. BLACK LAKE. 51 D

dred feet high on both sides, and runs quite straight in a direction S. 80° W. The water in it is deep and without current. It was follow- ed for three-quarters of a mile, beyond which it appeared to continue on across the island, but the time at our disposal did not permit us to examine it further. On the sand-hills some white spruce grows, being the first seen north of the Churchill River. This sand ridge may, for a short time, have formed the north shore of that part of the lake to the south, and have held its waters higher than their present level, in which case this valley would mark the channel of the ancient river which has rapidly cut through the easily eroded sandy ridge.

For six miles north of this deep narrow channel the shores are very irregular, usually low, and more or less thickly wooded with small black spruce and pine. High sand-dunes form conspicuous hills at High sand- some of the points on the east shore. At the end of the above distance dunes. the lake expands to a width of nearly three miles, and its outline be- comes much more regular. Its south-east shore is sandy, with high rounded hills of sand or boulders towards its north end. Its north- west shore runs for several miles along the foot of a sandstone escarp- Sandstone ment 230 feet in height, which extends away towards the south-west, @ "pment. beyond the end of the lake, and north-east to within a short distance of Stone River. Where the west shore leaves the foot of the escarp- ment, it is bounded by sand-plains or terraces of greater or less height. The escarpment is composed of horizontally bedded white or light-pink, Athabasca rather coarse quartzose, ripple-marked sandstone, often changing to a fine conglomerate. Other finer beds may occur in the upper seventy feet, but the sandstone throughout the lower 160 feet is all exposed on the face of the cliff. The smooth rock on the summit of the cliff is distinctly striated in a direction S. 70° W. At a height of 125 feet, an Old shore line. ancient, but post-glacial, shore-line is distinctly marked by a cliff twenty feet high, the foot of which is carved into caves, pillars and other fan- tastic shapes by the action of the water. It would appear probable that this beach was formed at the same water-level as the gravel bar on the summit of the hill between Wapata and Black lakes.

After following the foot of the rocky escarpment for several miles, the shore swings more to the east. It is at first strewn with boulders, and then for two miles is bounded by a cliff of sand rising to a sandy terrace. North-east of this again, is a low shore strewn with boulders, to a prominent point on which is an exposure ten feet in height of thick-bedded, coarse white sandstone or fine conglomerate. North of contact of this point Stone River flows out of the lake along the line of contact Archean and

of the Archean and the Paleozoic rocks. Half a mile N. 30° E. from rocks.

South shore

North-west shore.

52 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

the last point, and on the upposite side of the river, is a rounded boss, fifty feet high, of reddish-gray, well foliated, slightly biotitic granite- gneiss, striking N. 35° E. and dipping N. 55° W. at an angle of 75°. Its surface is rounded and covered with black lichen. In thin sections this rock is seen to be composed of quartz, considerably crushed ; plagioclase, altered to some extent into sericite ; orthoclase (?) ; and biotite slightly altered to chlorite.

From here Black Lake opens out into its largest expansion, the south-east shore turning sharply to the east, and the north-west shore continuing in a north-easterly direction. No sandstone is seen on the latter shore, it being composed of a high ridge of Laurentian gneiss.

The south shore was foliowed by Mr. Dowling, who gives-the follow- ing description of it :—

‘From the narrows, to which the long portage from Middle Lake leads, the shore eastwards is comparatively straight, broken only by a few salient points. Stratified sands, deposited in an ancient lake- basin, are exposed in a bay near the mouth of Stone River, showing in all a thickness of forty feet. A prominent feature on the shore to the south is the presence of a series of oval hilis about 150 feet high, all lying in a broken chain, parallel to the shore or about east-and- west. ,

“The shores are mostly boulder-strewn, with sand behind, and the underlying rock is exposed in only one place, just west of the upper Stone River. There sandstone slabs are piled up on the point, and about two feet of sandstone in place is exposed at the water’s edge. The beds are uneven and ill-defined, but are about a foot thick, of coarse grain and stained with red.

‘The Stone River discharges into Black Lake by two mouths, in- closing an island of dark gneiss. Thus the boundary between the Archean and the Keewenawan sandstone here is at the western mouth of this river.”

From Stone River, the north-west shore of the lake has a general trend N. 40° E., for fifteen miles, keeping close to the foot of a ridge from 200 to 400 feet in height, of a dark amphibolite, sometimes almost massive, and sometimes varying to highly hornblendic gneiss or hornblende-schist, striking with the trend of the ridge and dipping at a high angle away from the lake. Old shore-lines were not so dis- tinctly marked here as on the face of the sandstone escarpment further south, but thirteen miles from Stone River, one ancient beach was

Trane. BLACK LAKE. 53 D

seen fifty-five feet above the present water-level, marked by a hori- zontal line of rounded pebbles.

Fir Island lies off this shore. It is a large rudely triangular island Fir Island. with an area of about twelve square miles, doubtless underlain throughout by horizontal sandstone. At its south-west point, cliffs of this white horizontally bedded sandstone rise to a height of fifteen feet above the water, and along its north-west shore are cliffs of sand forty feet high. Its northern extremity is a long point of boulders.

Its other sides are low, but were not closely examined. The surface of the sandstone at its south end is strongly glaciated un a bearing N. 75° W.

About fifteen miles from Stone River, Chipman River, a rapid torrent fifty feet wide, tumbles over masses and points of gneiss and schist to join the lake. From the mouth of Chipman River, the shore leaves the foot of the high rocky ridge and swings more to the east, though it is still composed of very similar Archæan gneiss and horn- blende-schist. Two miles along the shore, in observed north latitude Portage route 59° 17° 34”, one of our Indian canoemen pointed out a place among Riven the overhanging willows, where he stated that a portage left the lake on the canoe-route by which the Chippewyan Indians annually travel to their hunting grounds at the head of the Telzoa River ; adding that the Telzoa River flows an unknown distance towards the north, into the country of the Eskimos and the musk oxen. On the information here gained the expedition of the following year was largely planned, when, without guides, the Telzoa River was descended for 800 miles to its mouth at the head of Chesterfield Inlet.

Just back from the shore and parallel to it, is a ridge seventy feet Ridge of high, composed almost entirely of boulders, some of which are very boulders. large. These consist chiefly of a fine and even-grained red granite- gneiss,—none being seen like the dark hornblende-rock in the ridge to the west.

The shore to the eastward is composed of granite, at first massive, Granite and and then with distinct gneissic foliation, and the bay north-east from the on entrance to the portage seems to run along the line of contact between this rock and the hornblende-schist to the west. A point on the west side of the bay is composed of a very coarse, massive white muscovite. 7 granite. Behind this point is a hill sixty-five feet high, of irregular masses of similar rock.

A mile and a-half to the south, past some low granite islands, is a long low point of even-grained red granite. The general surface is

Glacial grooves.

Islands of red gneiss.

East shore.

Area.

Tributaries.

54 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

well smoothed and marked by glacial grooves trending S. 72° W., while some lee surfaces show distinct grooves trending S. 52° W., pro- bably made by the same glacier at an earlier date than the others.

Three-quarters of a mile east of this point, is another low point com- posed of similar granite, with a strike N. 75° E., and a dip N. 15° W. 25°. For the next mile and a-quarter we travelled by a low shore strewn with boulders, to a small low island of very irregularly foliated gray gneiss, cut by veins of red pegmatite. Its surface is well smoothed, and marked by glacial grooves trending S. 60° W.

For the next six miles numerous rounded islands, thinly wooded with black spruce and birch, lie off the moderately straight shore, which rises in places to a height of a hundred feet. The rock is all a reddish gneiss, mixed with similar granite, or cut by granite veins. It is oc- casionally jointed, breaking down into little clifis, but the islands gen- erally descend more or less gently on all sides to the water. Glacial striæ all run between S. 60° W. and 8. 75° W.

From this point, where we left the north shore, the lake continues eastward for a couple of miles, to the foot of a high ridge of rocky hills. We turned southward, passing the point of an island of foliated hornblende-granite, to the east shore in north latitude 59° 13’ 28” at a sand beach in front of high rocky hills of very similar gneiss, strik- ing east and dipping south at an angle of 40°. A mile and a-quarter further south is the mouth of Stone River, which is here 300 feet wide. On each side rise little rounded hills of sand, wooded with spruce, pine and birch.

Athabasca Lake.

This lake lies in a general east-northeasterly and west-southwesterly diçection, along the line of contact of the comparatively undisturbed and unaltered Palæozoic sandstones to the south, and the much dis- turbed and highly altered Archean gneiss, schist, &c., to the north. It has a greatest length of 195 miles, a greatest width of 35 miles, a shore-line of 425 miles, and a total area of 2850 square miles. According to Mr. McConnell it has an elevation of 690 feet above the sea. Its depth has not yet been determined.

Its principal tributaries are the Athabasca River from the south, and the Stone River from the east, while several other smaller streams,

*Report on a Portion of the District of Athabasca, by R. G. McConnell, Ottawa, 1893. Annual Report, Geol. Surv., Can., vol. V. (N.S.), 1890-91, p. 27 D.

rame. ] ATHABASCA LAKE, 55 D

mentioned or described later on, drain into it from the surrounding country.

The south shore of the lake, with the lower courses of some of Surveys.

the tributary streams, was examined and surveyed by Mr. Dowling in the summer of 1892; the north shore, east of Fond du Lac, was examined and surveyed by the writer in the same year ; the remaining portion of the north shore was examined by the writer, and surveyed by his assistant, James W. Tyrrell, C.E., D.L.S., in the summer of 1893, and the results then obtained are included here in order to represent and state in more concise form the information at present available with reference to the geology of the lake.

On the north shore of the lake, near its west end, the fur trading Fort post of Fort Chippewyan has stood since the early part of the present Chippewyan. century. To the west of it, facing the lake, a row of smal! houses has grown up, occupied by natives who are more or less dependent on the fur-traders for support, and at the end of this row is an Episcopal church and mission house. About a mile to the west, across a small bay, the Roman Catholics have a church and large mission establish- ment, around which is a small but well tilled farm, on low gently sloping land a few feet above the level of the lake. The surrounding country consists of evenly rounded rocky hills thinly wooded with small black spruce. The rock is generally a red and dark regularly banded hornblendic gneiss, and its surface is strongly marked by glacial striæ running N. 75° W.

From Chippewyan, the north shore of the lake runs north-eastward North shore. for twelve miles to Poplar Point, along the foot of a rather high ridge of hills, composed of similar banded gneiss striking parallel to the general direction of the shore, and more or less nearly vertical. At Poplar Point, the gneiss contains many green epidotic bands. In front of the cliffs of gneiss are exposures of sand, containing pebbles and rounded boulders, most of which are of sandstone or conglomerate.

At Fishing Point, two miles further along the shore, the rock is a Fishing Point. light and dark-gray gneiss, very irregularly foliated, and cut by many veins of opaque white quartz, with some veins or narrow dykes of dark- green chloritic and epidotic schist, which would seem to be a crushed and highly altered eruptive.

For the next mile, the shore is very rocky, and at the long point is composed of a light-green chloritic gneiss, consisting of quartz, plagio- clase, chlorite, biotite and epidote. The quartz, which is present in large

Cliffs of sand.

Huronian ? sandstone.

Sandy terrace.

' Reddish-gray gneias.

Fishing Creek.

56 Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

amount, is very much crushed and broken. The felspar is present, often in large grains, which project on the weathered surface. This gneiss forms the shore some distance northward, and then recedes from the lake, after which the beach is sandy. A deep rounded bay is next passed, in the bottom of which are some rather high cliffs of sand, while towards the north it is terminated by a long, low sandy spit.

Some large islands lying off this portion of the shore are low and thickly wooded. They are probably underlain by Athabasca sa:.dstone.

Camp was pitched on the 21st of June on the north side of the sandy spit, near its base. Close to this place is a low boss of highly altered calcareous sandstone, possibly of Huronian age. It is banded in reddish and greenish bands, strikes west, and dips north at an angle of 30° In thin sections it is seen to be composed of quartz, ortho- clase, plagioclase, calcite, muscovite, (?) chlorite, pyrite and magnetite. In places it is cut by thin irregular veins of quartz, and often shows an imperfect slaty cleavage. Its surface is strongly marked by glacial grooves, trending S. 65° W.

Half a mile further north-east, is a rock of very similar composition, but finer grained and highly schistose, the strike of the schist being along the shore, and the dip almost vertical. Behind the rocky beach a sandy terrace rises to the height of twenty-five feet above the lake, and half a mile back is a ridge of granite hills from 150 to 200 feet in height. For the next seven miles, the shore is formed of vertical or overhanging cliffs of schist, rising in places to a height of forty feet, but a stiff onshore wind, with a dense fog, prevented a closer examination,

In observed latitude 59° 6’ 32”, a little sandy beach offered a safe landing place, and we went ashore near the mouth of a brook four feet wide, around the mouth of which a good deal of ice was still clinging. The beach is in front of a low terrace, and close to it is a boss of light reddish-gray gneiss, striking N. 15° E., for the schist has now given out. The surface of the gneiss is beautifully smoothed and striated in a direction N. 75° W. The variation of the compass was here found to be 31° 30° EB.

From here the shore turns more to the eastward and becomes lower and more irregular. It consists of points of reddish-gray biotite granite or gneiss, without any persistent strike, between which are sandy bays, where the sand is often piled into high dunes.

Camp was pitched at night on the bank of Fishing Creek, ona pleasant flat covered with short grass and wooded with small Banksian

TrRRELL ATHABASCA LAKE. 57 D

pines. A heavy storm detained us in this camp throughout the follow-

ing day. Fishing Creek is 200 feet wide, but without current, and a

mile from the lake it contracts to a small brook ten feet wide, flowing

from a swamp. The hills behind are composed of reddish-gray biotite- granite, similar to that on the shore. From the mouth of Fishing Creek the shore was followed for sixteen miles, past Cypress Point to Gray-willow Point. The granite hills recede from the lake, forming Gray-willow ahigh ridge some distance inland, and the shore is low and sandy, Point. with a sandy plain, fifteen or twenty feet above the water, stretching

back towards the hills. A mile and three-quarters beyond Gray- willow Point, Scorched-dog Island lies a short distance off the shore,

and is composed of sand and boulders, most of the latter being of red Athabasca sandstone and conglomerate.

From Scorched-dog Island we travelled in a direction N. 65° E., for Sandy shore. nearly seven miles across the mouth of a shallow bay to Maurice Point. The shore of the bay is sandy, except at one point, where there seemed to be a low boss of rock. The ridge of granite hills continues to recede until it is out of sight, and a sandy plain stretches back from the lake. On this plain rise some rounded wooded hills, but their character was not determined.

Maurice Point is piled to a height of twenty feet with irregular Mauice angular blocks of reddish Athabasca sandstone, some ten feet in Point. diameter, that have doubtless been derived from rock in place near at hand. This irregular mass of sandstone blocks extends back to a dis- tance of 200 yards from the lake, and from it a gravel bar stretches westward into the woods, with a height of fifteen feet above the water, formed when the lake stood at a somewhat higher level than at present.

From Maurice Point, we travelled N. 30° E., across the mouth of a Spring Point. deep bay, for seven miles to Spring Point, just north of which camp was pitched on the evening of June 24th. Behind camp, within the woods of small Banksian pine, are two well rounded old gravel beaches, respectively twenty and thirty-five feet above the present water-level, indicating higher stages of the lake. The point is composed largely of slabs of reddish Athabasca sandstone and conglomerate, which, on the south side, cover all the upper portion of the slope. All are angular and must have been broken from rock close at hand and piled up by the ice. Scattered along the shore, with the masses of sandstone, are & large number of rounded boulders of gneiss, green schist, massive green amphibolite, and red or green Huronian conglomerate, with moderately well rounded pebbles of granite and gneiss up to eight inches in diameter.

Chlorite schist.

Half-way Point.

/

Clastic achist.

Granite.

58 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

The next day was stormy, but with considerable difficulty a distance of eleven miles was made. Several low wooded islands were passed, and the beach was for the most part low and sandy. At camp the shore was composed of a hard, evenly foliated schist, varying from green to reddish-brown in colour, and probably of Huronian age. In this section it is seen to be a confused mass of decomposition products such as serpentine, chlorite, etc.

At a point a mile and a-quarter down the shore, similar schist out- crops, much reddened with iron. It is cut by many irregular veins of quartz, holding hematite. Its surface is smoothed and striated, S. 50° W.

At the next point, two miles distant, similar dark green schist is exposed striking north, and dipping west at an angle of 70°. It lies

against a boss of red highly felspathic granite, and is very much con-

torted.

From here onward to the mouth of Cypress River, the shore seems to be composed of similar schist. Beyond Cypress River is a ridge of rounded wooded hills between 300 and 400 feet in height, possibly of gneiss, but we were not able to visit them, and their exact nature is uncertain. :

South 75° east, two miles and a-half, across the mouth of the bay into which the Cypress River flows, Half-way Point consists of a hard and compact, fine-grained, thinly foliated green Huronian schist, interlam- inated with bands of fine-grained crushed granite or gneiss, all with a very irregular strike, but generally dipping more or less towards the shore.

In this section the schist is seen to be a clastic rock composed of more or less rounded grains of orthoclase, plagioclase, quartz, and a fine- grained sericitic groundmass. The fine foliation is due to the parallel disposition of numerous minute scales of light-coloured biotite, under- going alteration to sericite. With these are associated small particles of spheen, and small black dust-like inclusions, probably of iron oxide. That the rock has been submitted to great pressure is shown by the uneven extinction of the larger crystals and the alteration of the groundmass.

The granite is composed of quartz, orthoclase largely replaced by microcline, plagioclase, augite, muscovite, biotite largely altered to chlorite, titanite, epidote and calcite. Generally speaking the granite is very poor in ferro-magnesian constituents, and the quartz and fel- spar have been granulated by pressure.

rm. ATHABASCA LAKE. , 59 pb

At the southern point of Slate Island, two miles eastward of Half- Slate Island. way Point, fifty feet of thickly foliated dark-brown Huronian schists outcrop, striking westward, and dipping southward at an angle of 60°. To the north of these schists is a band of coarse green Huronian con- glomerate, with well rounded pebbles and a matrix of green chloritic material.

The variation of the compass was here determined to be 27° 10’ E.

At the south-east point of the same island, is a cliff of thinly foliated red schist, very similar to the last, but not so finely jointed. It is very evenly banded, and not much contorted, with a strike north, and vertical dip.

Five miles south-eastward from Slate Island, 59° 34’ 18” was the latitude obtained from a meridian observation of the sun, on the east point of a small island lying off the south-west side of a large low wooded island. Near by was a low exposure showing three feet of typical gray or reddish coarse-grained horizontal Athabasca sand- Athabasca stone, occasionally containing a few rounded quartzite pebbles. The

large island also seems to be composed of the same sandstone.

North-east of this island Charlôt River flows into the north side of Charlét River. the lake. Up this river the Chippewyan Indians have a canoe-route to a series of lakes, from which they descend another stream to the south side of Great Slave Lake. While crossing Athabasca Lake some Indians were met who had just descended Charlôt River from Charlôt

Inke, near the watershed, where they had been hunting during the winter.

From Charlôt River the shore for several miles southward is very rocky, high hills sloping steeply to the water. One point, in latitude 59° 32’, consists of a red and green gneiss, rather thinly foliated, strik- Red and green ing N. 60° E. and dipping S. 30° E., at an angle of 30°. It is cut by °°" many irregular veins of white, opaque quirtz. In thin section the rock is seen to have been crushed and recrystallized, having been subject to great pressure. The quartz and orthoclase are arranged in elongated much broken augen masses, though a few of the felspar crystals have survived the crushing. The original bisilicates have disappeared, and are replaced by hornblerde, which is now largely altered to biotite and chlorite. It also contains some muscovite, a few large zircons, and a good deal of secondary iron ore.

The next point, four miles further south, is also composed of similar gneiss, here striking east and dipping south at an angle of 65°.

Cracking- stone Point.

Huronian quartzite.

Dip and strike.

Beaver-lodge Island.

60 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

The variation of the compass was here found to be 32° 30’ east.

We next crossed a deep bay, in a direction 8. 31° E., for seven miles and a-half to Cracking-stone Point, east of which a steep rocky wall extends along the south side of the bay. This point is composed of massive, light-red and green coarse altered hornblende-granite, which rises in rounded glaciated knobs, on the summits of which are strong glacial striæ trending S. 75° W.

From Cracking-stone Point, we turned sharply eastward, and kept

. in narrow channels between islands of granite similar to the last. At

about three miles distant, camp was pitched on the evening of June 26th, in a little sandy cove overshadowed by aspens. The rock on the adjoining hills is a well foliated reddish-gray hornblende-gneiss, the heavy bands striking N. 70° E., and dipping S. 20° E. at an angle of 35°.

For the next four miles, we wound among islands wooded with spruce, poplar and birch, in a direction a little south of east, to a point composed of a hard white recrystallized Huronian quartzite, which in thin section shows clear evidence of pressure and crushing. No stratification could be seen in the rock at this point. It is overlain, probably unconformably, by a nearly horizontal, coarse, red conglom- erate composed of rounded pebbles of white quartzite in a coarse sandy matrix. It was impossible to make a thorough examination of this rock, but though it is much more highly altered than most of the Athabasca sandstone and conglomerate around the lake, it is probably of the same age.

a“

For a considerable distance eastward from this point the shore is composed of the white Huronian quartzite.

At a point two miles and a quarter east, in latitude 59° 21’ 50”, the quartzite is reddish in colour, highly altered and very compact, but it is clearly seen to strike N. 40° E. and to dip 8S. 50° E. at an angle of 50°. The quartzite continues to form the moderately straight shore to a point six miles and a-half distant, where it is beautifully white and so much jointed and fissured that it is impossible to be sure of the true stratification, though it appears to strike N. 20 E. and to dip S. 70° E. at an angle of 70°.

A mile and a-half out in the lake, Beaver-lodge Island rises as a high rounded dome of white quartzite. The west side of the island is beauti- fully terraced, the plains of quartzite gravel extending step above step to the summit.

Trane. ATHABASCA LAKE, 61

On the north shore of the lake, the Beaver Hills rise to a height of from 500 to 600 feet.

Four miles and a-half further east, we landed on a small island of quartzite, greatly crushed and recrystallized, and containing, besides grains of quartz, a small amount of chlorite and sericite. It is inter- laminated with thin bands of light-green coarsely crystalline pyroxene rock. The rock has thus a well foliated appearance, the strike being N. 25° W., and the dip S. 65° W., at an angle of 10°.

At a distance of a mile and a-half from this island, in a direction Hill of N. 66° E., a conspicuous red hill rises 125 feet above the water, its quartzite and abrupt red cliff standing out boldly towards the south-west. On its north-eastern side, at its base, it is composed of thinly fissile quartzose schist, very much reddened, striking N. 30° W., and dipping 8. 60° W., at an angle of 10°. Farther up the side of the hill the rock is a quartzite, interbedded with layers of hematite, which in some places forms the larger part of the mass. The summit of the hill, several hundred yards in length, is composed of a highly hæmatitic quartzite, mingled with a large quantity of limonite, especially on the higher points. In places the rock is a conglomerate, with quartz pebbles, and a matrix of limonite. Other similar red hills can be seen in the distance on the strike of the rocks, and the total amount of iron here and in the vicinity is doubtless very large.

Camp was pitched two miles and a-half farther east, on a little clay flat on the bank of a small brook, amung a few poplars and willows. Near at hand is a boss of thinly foliated dark-gray biotite-schist strik- Biotite-schist, ing N. 40° E. and dipping S. 50° E., at an angle of 50°. In thin probably a sections this is seen to be a very much squeezed rock, with the quartz gabbro. grains all granulated, a large amount of secondary biotite, and cores of serpentine, which probably represent porphyritic crystals of augite. It is, therefore, probably a crushed gabbro. Just to the north is a hill of reddish fine-grained gneiss, with the same strike and dip.

For the next seven miles, to Old Man Point, the journey was con- tinued in a dense fog through narrow channels between small islands. A stop was made at one island about half way, which was found to be a rounded boss of red granite. The surface is well smoothed and strongly marked with glacial grooves trending S. 45° W.

Old Man Point is composed of a dark, regularly foliated hornblende- ojq Man schist, striking N. 15° E., and, at the old house, with vertical dip ; but Point. on the west side of the point the dip is S. 75° E., at an angle of 30°.

East of Old Man Point the islands are composed of reddish-gray

62 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

heavily laminated gneiss, but a point, four and a-half miles distant, was found to consist of a laminated gabbro striking N. 45° E. and dip-

Gabbro. ping 8. 45° E., at an angle of 70°. The gabbro consists essentially of plagioclase, augite and biotite, the augite being much altered to ser- pentine and chlorite. Pyrite, apatite and zircon are present as accessory constituents. It is cut- by several veins of white quartz, carrying a considerable quantity of hematite ana pyrite.

For the next ten miles the shore is very rocky, with a few sand or gravel beaches. At a point three miles east of the mouth of Beaver River, the rock is a fine and even-grained holocrystalline, reddish foliated gabbro striking N. 25° W. with vertical dip. The gabbro consists of bytownite, diallage and a considerable amount of brown biotite. The diallage shows incipient alteration to hornblende and is stained with hydrated oxide of iron, which is chiefly deposited along the planes of parting. The surface is marked by strong glacial grooves, trending 8. 60° W.

Garnetiferous Eight miles farther, camp was pitched on a rocky island behind a

gneiss. beach of coarse gravel. The rock is a coarse garnetiferous gneiss, striking east, and with almost vertical dip. The timber in the vicinity is chiefly Banksian pine, but there is also some small white and black spruce, small balsam poplar, and aspen up to six inches in diameter. The next morning we travelled eleven and a half miles through heavy seas to the now deserted trading post known as Fond du Lac.

This was the most westerly point reached on the lake in 1892, and the description of this point and of the remaining portion of the north shore of Lake Athabasca is drawn from the writer’s survey and examination made in that year.

The lake is here but two miles wide, and the trading post is situated on a low point of sand and rock on its north shore. It consists of a number of well-built log houses, with a yard surrounded by a pallisade of stout posts. In 1892 it was in charge of José Mercredi, a venerable History of old French half-breed seventy-five years of age, who had lived there the post. . . . .

continuously for the past forty-seven years. In the immediate vicinity is a Roman Catholic mission church, where a priest lives during the winter. Mr. Mercredi informed me that in the early part of the cen- tury the Hudson’s Bay Company had a trading post on a point on the south side of the lake, lying in a direction S. 20° W., and that the three inhabitants were killed by Chippewyan Indians. At the same time the North-west Company had a post on a point on the north shore a short distance farther east, but after the murder of the Hudson's

Fond du Lac.

rvareu. ATHABASCA LAKE. 63 D

Bay Company’s men they moved across to the poiut on the south shore. The place was afterwards abandoned until 1845, when Mer- credi arrived and built the present post. It is on one of the principal lines of travel of the Barren Ground cariboo, in their regular migra- tions north and south.

The variation of the compass was here found to be 31° E., and the mean of two observations taken in the yard of the post determined the latitude at 59° 18’ 59”.

The rock is a gray quartzose garnetiferous gneiss with rather irregular strike, but generally about S. 70° E., and a dip about S. 20° W. at an angle of 45°. It is cut by a number of veins of red pegmatite. The surface is well scored by glacial striæ, trending 8. 51° W.

Here on the 28th of July, 1892, the writer was joined by Mr. D. B. Joined by Mr. Dowling, bringing provisions for the remainder of the journey. He Dowling. had descended the Athabasca River, and had surveyed the south shore of the lake to this place. His report will be found on a later page. The collections made up to this time were sent to Fort Chippewyan, to be forwarded up the Athabasca River and thence to Ottawa.

On July 30th we again started eastward, Mr. Dowling taking the south shore as before, while the writer made a survey with compass and boat-log of the north shore.

From Fond du Lac eastward to the mouth of Grease Mountain River, Grease Moun-

a distance of nine miles and a-quarter, the shore, and the many low ‘10 River. islands lying off it, are composed of gneiss of very uniform character,

varying in strike from N. 45° to N. 70° E. Off the mouth of the river

is an island of compact green gneiss, showing strong glacial groovings,

trending S. 75° W. The point off the mouth of Grease River is com-

posed of dark-green well foliated schist, striking N. 30° E. and dipping

S. 60° E. at an angle of 80°.

A Chippewyan Indian was here met and entertained to dinner, and Canoe route to from him we learned that his people had a canoe-route up this river to Rabbit Mountain Lake, on the edge of the Barren Grounds, and from this lake a large river flows northward into unknown country.

A short distance east of Grease River Point, is a rounded rocky (arnetiferous point, composed on its outer side of a dark-green garnetiferous biotite- Piotite-gneiss. gneiss containing a large quantity of plagioclase felspar, while on its inner side it consists of a red, much sheared gneiss, containing but

Two sets of

glacial striæ,

Moraine.

Ice-dam.

64 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

‘a small amount of biotite. The two are separated by a fairly sharp

vertical line of contact, striking N. 65° E. parallel to the foliation of the gneiss on each side.

Half a mile further east, on a small island off a point, the rock is a dark-green thinly foliated garnetiferous biotite-gneiss, containing many phenocrysts of red orthoclase. The biotite is largely altered to chlorite. It is irregularly and sinuously foliated, and cut by many Winding veins of fine-grained compact red granite. The surface is smooth and strongly grooved in a direction 8. 58° W.

Five miles and a-quarter east of Grease River Point, the surface of a small island of similar green thinly foliated gneiss shows clearly two distinct sets of glacial striæ, an earlier one trending S. 65° W., par- allel to the other striæ seen almost everywhere along the shore, and doubtless made by the ice sheet from the north-east, and a later one trending S. 35° W., probably made by a local glacier descending from the high land to the north, after the greater ice-sheet had withdrawn. Half a mile further east, a portion of the moraine of this later local glacier may be seen as a great stretch of huge broken masses of rock, forming a prominent point, and covering the shore for a considerable distance beyond it. Half a mile still further east, on the surface of porphyritic biotite-gneiss, the same two sets of striæ are even better shown, the older one, seen on lee surfaces, running S. 65° W. as before, while the later one, which is strongly marked over the surface generally, trends S. 20° W. across the lake towards a valley on its south shore. Athabasca Lake is here five miles wide, and lies in a long narrow valley with a steep sandstone escarpment be- tween 400 and 500 feet high on its south side. The later glacier from the north flowed into the valley at this point, and probably reached across to the south side, completely filling it and damming up the water from the east to the height of the sandstone plain on the south, which is at about the level of the high beaches previously described on the banks of Cree River and along the west shore of Black Lake. The occurrence of an ice-dam across the valley accounts fully for the former existence of a large lake in the present basin of Black Lake. Without the ice-dam, or some other dam of which no evidence can be found, the water of Black Lake could not have stood much above its present level in glacial or post-glacial times, for the great valley of Athabasca Lake, which extends eastward to Black Lake, dates back to a period long before the glacial epoch.

The rock on which the glacial striæ are shown, is a dark fine-grained biotite-gneiss, with small porphyritic crystals of orthoclase, striking

Trane. LAKE ATHABASCA. 65 p

S. 60° E. and dipping S. 30° W. at an angle of 37°. At another point, half a mile farther east, a similar porphyritic gneiss has a wavy strike N. 70° E., and a dip S. 20° E. at an angle of 55°.

Two miles farther south-east, across a deep bay, is a high rocky point of very similar gneiss, striking N. 60° E., and dipping 8. 30° E. at an angle of 75°. At the point of the cliff it becomes very coarse and heavily jointed.

From this point, a deep bay was again crossed, in a direction S. 35° Norite. E., to a small low bare island of highly garnetiferous orthorhombic- pyroxene-gneiss or foliated norite, weathering with a rough pitted surface, striking N. 70° E. and dipping S. 20° E. at an angle of 50°. Interbedded with the gneiss are some quartzite bands holding a large quantity of pyrite. A mile and a-half to the south-east is a low sandy island, on which camp was pitched for the night, behind a beach of rounded boulders, in open woods of birch, spruce and Bank- sian pine. Observations on the sun taken here determined the latitude as 59° 15’ 35”, and the variation of the compass as 37° E. To the south, a steep unbroken escarpment of horizontal Athabasca sand- Athabasca stone rises to a height of between four and five hundred feet; while “*ndstone. the north shore is irregular and broken, composed chiefly of foliated norite, which rises into hills several hundred feet in height. Some good white spruce, up to fourteen inches in diameter, is growing on the points.

For twenty-three miles, the lake continues eastward with a general width of one mile, though towards the end it expands to two miles, The north shore is indented with small bays and is chiefly composed of norite, often highly plagioclastic, folded in an easy anticline, the strike at the different places being shown on the accompanying map. In places it is garnetiferous, and it is generally well foliated, the foli- ation being distinctly brought out on the weathered surfaces. In longitude 106° 20’, there is a high hill behind the shore, composed of a dark greenish gray, compact, fine-grained, heavily jointed granite. Granite hill In thin section it is seen to be composed of quartz, orthoclase and biotite, the latter being fairly evenly disseminated, and all oriented in one direction. The quartz shows wavy extinction. It is therefore a typical biotite-granite-gneiss. On adjoining parts of the shore this gneiss cuts, or is interlaminated with, the greenish norite.

The rocks are almost everywhere glaciated, the glacial striæ gener- ally trending westward, down the valley of the lake.

Morainic hill.

South shore of

° Lake Atha- basca.

Muskeg Hills.

General character.

66 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

At the east end of the lake, is a gently rounded hill or ridge twenty- five feet high, consisting of sand and a great number of well-rounded boulders, chiefly of sandstone, though a few are of gneiss. The hill, which now forms the east end of the lake, appears to be morainic, and probably is a small recession moraine of the glacier that flowed west- ward down the valley.

The south side of the lake, from the mouth of Athabasca River to here, and the lower courses of the streams that flow in‘o it, were ex- amined and surveyed by Mr. Dowling, and his report is as follows :—

“The streams entering Athabasca River from the east are small, with the exception of the Clearwater, which drains a considerable por- tion of the country lying to the north-east of Fort McMurray. The hills that form the watershed between the streams flowing northward to Lake Athabasca, westward to Athabasca River or southward to Clearwater River, are irregularly scattered over the surface of the plateau, but are spoken of generally by the Indians as the Muskeg Mountains or Hills. The source of the Clearwater River is near that of Old Fort River, which empties into Athabasca Lake, near its west end or just east of Athabasca River. In the spring of the year the Indians, with small canoes, have passed from une of these streams to the other, by a portage which takes them two days to cross. By a longer portage they can cross from the head-waters of Clearwater River to Fire-bag River, the largest stream entering Athabasca River between Fort McMurray and its mouth.”

Fire-bag River.

“This stream, though not of any considerable size, has in the lower part of its course cut a deep valley through the modified drift and sands of the plateau, and in its bed are exposed rocks of Cretaceous and Devonian age. The surface of these rocks rise but slightly above the flood plain of the Athabasca River, so that low expoeures only are seen, while the main exposures of the escarpments in the valley are of the overlying drift and stratified deposits extending southward from Lake Athabasca basin.

“For twelve miles above its mouth, the stream occupies a wide valley, winding from side to side, cutting into the banks, but exposing only sands and clays, apparently either redeposited river silts and sands or material slidden from the sides of the valley. Higher up the stream small exposures of Devonian limestone are found in its bed, causing rapids or small falls. The first one shows horizontal beds of hard

reseu. FIREBAG RIVER. 67 D

thin-bedded limestone containing traces of stromatopora, but no other Devonian signs of fossils. In this vicinity, the top bed only is of coralline lime- tmestone. stone, resembling somewhat the lower part of the Devonian of Lake Winnipegosis, and below this are thin beds in a shattered condition. Sulphurous springs were noticed issuing from these. The top beds are yellowish to orange in colour and the lower are bright yellowish to

ashy gray.

“ At a distance of eighteen miles in a south-easterly direction from its mouth, the stream divides, the smaller branch coming from the north-east and apparently draining nearly all the country as far as the head-waters of Jackfish River, which enters the delta of the Atha- basca. The main stream continues in the same south-easterly direction, coming from the hilly country near the source of Clearwater River.

“ At the Forks, the sections in the banks of the valley are perhaps the most clearly defined of any in the district. The stream, impinging against the east bank, has cut it away and formed a steep escarpment in the clays and sands, exposing over 140 feet of the stratified deposits forming the plateau. The Devonian limestone, which has formed the floor of the valley for five or six miles, is here overlain by four feet of Tar sana. ‘tar sand.’ Further down the river this sand seems to have been carried away by glacial action, leaving occasionally small patches on the surface of the limestone.

“ The section at the forks of the Fire-bag River, is in descending order, Section of

; lacustrine as follows :— deposits. 1. Stratified sand 90 feet. 2. Stratified clay 40 ‘ 3. Tar sand (Dakota) 4 ‘‘

“(1) The bedding in this is accentuated by dark streaks of sand saturated with tar. In the upper part, nodules and small pieces of irregular shape are arranged on the lines of bedding, while the lower half is false-bedded, but the tar streaks appear as saturated portions of the beds and serve to strongly mark the nature of the bedding.

“(2) At the top a fine red clay, in streaks three inches deep, alter- nates with thin partings of gray clay. Gradually the red bands decrease in thickness and in three or four feet the whole mass is gray. The middle of the exposure is a hard clay slightly darker in colour and approaches shale in compactness. A few small pebbles were seen near the lower part and the clay smelt of petroleum, and probably rests on the ‘tar sand.’

5%

Glacial striæ.

Big Point.

Old Fort Point.

Old Fort River.

Stratified sands and clays.

68 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River

‘ At a short distance from this exposure, the limestone (Devonian) was again seen, showing the ‘tar sand’ (Dakota) resting on its surface, so that in the preceding section the limestone was probably at no great depth.

“ The surface of the limestone was striated in a direction about west- south-west and in the lower part of the valley boulder.clay was seen at the base of the sections or beneath the stratified clays and sands.

“The surface of the country is covered with a small growth of Banksian pine, while in the valley spruce and occasional black poplar and birch were seen.”

The South Shore of Lake Athabasca.

‘ Just to the east of the delta of Athabasca River, a high ridge comes out to the lake on the point near the mouth of Old Fort River. The ridge is probably of morainic material, but is flanked by terraces of gravel and sand. Its trend is S. E. and N. W., and it forms a divide between the waters discharging by the Old Fort River and those of the Jackfish River, running on the west.

“The outlying islands are composed mainly of loose material. Goose Island is low, and is made up of sand and gravel with sandstone boulders on the shore. The islands in the bay east of Big Point are similarly composed of loose material.

“Old Fort Point is formed by an oval hill of sand and gravel similar to the islands, but connected with the main land by a low strip of ground flanked on both sides by marshy and swampy tracts, forming bays on either side. In the eastern bay, which is much the deeper, a small stream enters. This is found to come from the south, and is reported as being much longer than any of the streams entering the south side of the lake. It is known locally as the Old Fort River, and seems to have a larger flow of water than the Fire-bag or William rivers. In its lower part it cuts through the later deposits and reaches the Athabasca sandstone, which here appears in beds lying about horizontal. The higher land south of Old Fort Bay, lies about four miles from the mouth of the stream, and the sections made in it by the river show seventy-five feet of stratified sand lying above ten feet of fine blue clay—a part of the similar section seen on the Fire-bag River, except that here, the red colour at the top of the clay is wanting, and no tar was noticed in the sand.

‘“ At a distance of eight miles from the lake, solid rock is met for the first time, in the bed of the stream. It is in the form of a fine-grained

Tyrrell. Athabasca Lake, 69 D

and very hard sandstone, similar in texture to the Potsdam sandstone Athabasca of Eastern Canada. Itis light coloured, weathering rusty, and in thick sandstone. beds, lying about horizontal. The river has cut down to the surface

of this rock, and for a considerable distance above this the stream falls

over a number of steps, forming small cascades at each bed with a short

strip of smooth water between.

“The hills, at the distance of eight miles and a-half from the lake, appear in ridges running W.S.W. and E.N.E., and where cut into by the river, show till and boulders with a colouring of red, doubtless due to a mixture of red sand and sandstone fragments, probably derived Red boulder- from the disintegration of a red sandstone in the vicinity. The ‘laÿ- stratified deposits seen in the lower part of the valley were laid down — on the uneven surface of the till and the hills in some cases protrude above the stratified beds.

“The sandstone is exposed again on the shore of Lake Atha- Stone Point.

basca at Stone Point, and loose blocks of large size are found on the next point five miles farther east. The shore between Old Fort Point and Stone Point, or Pointe de Roche, east of Old Fort Bay, is generally low and marshy, but a long spit or point extending to the south-west from Stone Point, incloses a part of the bay to the east of it. This spit is covered by sand-hills and on the lake side the waves have encroached so that there is a continuous low cliff of sand.

“The shore eastward to the narrows is very monotonous, generally a Character of sand beach with sand cliffs just behind. William River, which shore east of empties about half way along the south shore, has formed a delta William which is the most prominent feature on this side. The point thus formed is called Point William, and the mouth of the stream is found near its extreme north-western end. A small channel also comes out on the eastern side of the point.”

William River.

“The Athabasca sandstone is met in this stream twelve miles above its mouth, and thence upwards for seventeen miles, which is as far as the river was explored. The river in this distance falls about forty-eight feet, in short cascades over the beds of sandstone. The delta is mostly a low flat sand-plain, covered with Banksian pine and occasional black sprace. The higher ground is found to commence on a line in con- tinuation with the main shore, and consists of a great thickness of gandstone. sand, forming a plateau extending to the south, past the limits of our exploration. The section in the river-valley shows horizontally

Boulder ridges.

Athabasca sandstone.

i)

Fish Moun-

tains.

70 bv ATHABASCA LAKE AND CHURCHILL RIVER.

stratified sand up to about one hundred feet, but on the surface of the plateau, which is mostly bare, sand-hills rise in some cases nearly a hundred feet above the general level. Occasionally on the summits of these hills large boulders or angular fragments of a dark-gray gneiss are found.

‘ A boulder ridge, which seems to be beneath and protruding through the sands, crosses the river about nineteen miles from its mouth. This ridge is made up of more rounded material, and seems to be a continuation of a high ridge or series of long hills which lie to the east, called the Fish Mountains. These hills are probably of the same character as the ispatinows around Cree and Black lakes. Above the ridge the surface is more even and covered with a small growth of Banksian pine.

‘ At the first rapids the barrier is found to be a light coloured sand- stone, in thick beds lying about horizontal. No trace of fossils could be found in any of the beds) Two and three-quarter miles above the first rapid about fifteen feet of sandstone beds are exposed. The lower beds are stained red and pinkish, while the upper ones are of coarser grain and lighter in colour, and six to eight feet thick. Above the boulder ridge, at a fall of five feet, the sandstone seems slightly dis- turbed and is dipping 8. at an angle of 5° the beds show some local false-bedding, but the texture and general appearance is similar to the last. Glacial striæ run 8. 75° W.

‘“ Between the mouth of William River and Beav:r River the shore is very .regular, broken in only one place by a prominent point. This is a small hill of gravel and sand which almost forms an island, but is connected to the mainland by two bars of sand inclosing a small pond. The country behind rises more abruptly. The Fish Mountains or Hills are seen as a wooded ridge 200 feet high about five miles inland, and are the edge of a higher plateau which gradually approaches the lake shore. At Beaver River this high country reaches to within a short distance of its mouth, and the lower part of the stream cuts a short gorge through it, in which are many falls and rapids. The Indians call this stream the Grand Rapids River, and it is probable the river here falls over a considerable series of sandstone steps, as the surface of the sandstone terrace seems to rise rapidly toward the east.

‘“ A small section was seen on the lake, seventeen miles west of Beaver River, at the mouth of a small creek.

rase ATHABASCA LAKE. 71 D

“ The section is 12 ft. 10 in. in thickness, and is composed of :— Section of sandstone near Beaver

Light grayish-yellow to white sandstone, not very hard, in beds River.

of 5 in. and 6 in., splitting thinner. Cleavage cracks have broken the beds into blocks 1 to 2 ft. squ&re, so that the whole falls easily. A few green nodules are found scattered through

the bed 7 ft. Thin shaly sandstone, green and red mottled, split readily into thin plates ,..., 5 ft.

At the base a bed of light-coloured fine-grained sandstone i is found to contain many small dise-like nodules of irregular shape, of a light green cherty material , , Cesseseesssse 10 in.

“From Poplar Point to its east end, the lake lies in a narrow chan- nel, the south shore of which, for fifteen miles east of Fond du Lac, is low, mostly boulder-covered, with a high escarpment of sandstone behind. Occasionally small low exposures of sandstone are found. Poplar Point is underlain by sandstone and the shore is made up of a Poplar Point, ridge of fragments of this rock. Coarse-grained sandstone beds are

seen on a small island near the point.

“The high escarpment rising to the south of the lake comes out on the Escarpment shore east of Fond du Lac, and seems there to be nearly all of sand- °f *"dstone. stone beds with possibly a cap of till. On the shore the sandstone is exposed in a series of steps, rising gradually back to a height of eighty feet. Near the top of the hill the beds are seen again and at this point (15 miles east of the post) the thickness exposed is 120 feet.

The beds range from eight inches to two feet in thickness, and are of

a hard pinkish sandstone with a few oval impressions which may be

organic. This escarpment seems gradually to rise to the east as it approaches the east end of the lake, and with the high land to the

north forms a narrow gorge in which the lake is confined to a narrow

river-like stretch of water. Angles of elevation were taken on trees

on the summit of the ridge in two places, giving heights of 431 feet m;ckness of and 300 feet. It would thus appear that the sandstone here attains Athabasca a thickness of over 400 feet, and that the surface has a slight dip

to the west so that at the mouth of the Athabasca River it has de-

clined to about the lake level.”

Stone River.

Stone River flows quietly into the east end of Lake Athabasca around the north side of the morainic ridge that forms the eastern boundary of the lake. It comes from the eastward in the bottom of (;reat valley. the great valley between the highly altered Archean rocks to the

Hill of norite.

Low banks.

First portage.

72 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

north, and the comparatively unaltered Athabasca sandstones to the south, a valley which, farther west, has been shown to be occupied by Athabasca Lake itself.

Opposite the morainic ridge, the north bank of the river consists of a mass of boulders, behind which is a hill 270 feet high, of dark-gray foliated norite, the lamination of which comes out strongly in weather- ing, and is generally more or less horizontal. In thin section, this norite is seen to be composed largely of orthorhombic pyroxene. In places the surface is quite smooth, and shows strong glacial grooves trending N. 80° W. The sides of the hill are wooded with small birch and poplar, while its summit is bare of everything but a little black lichen.

Proceeding eastward, the river is found to have an average width of from 200 to 300 yards ; the banks are low and overhung with willows, and generally consist of alluvial clay, but a point on the south side, four miles above the mouth, is composed of similar foliated norite or pyroxene-gneiss, striking S. 80° E. and dipping N. 10° E. at an angle of 25°.

Above this point the current becomes gradually stronger, to the foot of a rapid with a descent of about eight feet. The canoes were landed at a sandy beach on the north bank just below the rapid, and from this beach a portage 660 yards in length was made through pine woods, over stiff clay and rock, to a bay behind a rounded boss of rock at the head of the rapids. The rock is a dark-gray fine-grained norite, weathering to a very light-gray colour, and in places slightly foliated S. 35° E. The summits of the knolls show distinct glacial grooves trending N. 60° W. Just west of the head of the portage, a rounded hill of similar gneiss rises boldly to a height of 150 feet out of the middle of the valley, its sides green with small poplar, birch, and pine through and over which the smooth rock, blackened with lichen, projects in rounded bosses. On both sides of the hill a wide bottom- land, wooded with pine and poplar, stretches away to sloping hills, the sky-line to the south being even, that to the north rugged and broken. The low banks of the river are overhung with willows.

Above the rapid the river opens into a wide lake-like expansion, into the north side of which Carp River empties. This stream is a hundred feet wide, and its water is white with suspended clay.

Above the mouth of Carp River, a prominent point projects into the north side of the lake. The rock composing the point is a dark fine-

Tvament. STONE RIVER. 13 D

grained massive much-jointed garnetiferous amphibolite, consisting of Amphibolite. hornblende and plagioclase, with a large number of garnets and some titaniferous iron ore. As the hornblende would seem to have been al-

tered from pyroxene, this rock is probably a modified form of the

norite composing most of this shore. It is cut by wide bands of quartzitic granite running S. 60° E. The surface of the rock, at the

end of the long point, and close to the water, is well polished and

grooved in the direction N. 55° W., the smooth rounded surface facing

tne south-east, and the jagged broken one the north-west.

Above this point the river gradually narrows, and the current in- Steep rocky creases, until it changes toa swift narrow stream with steep rocky walls. banks. At a point on the north bank, three miles further up stream, a red foliated gneiss, striking N. 65° E., and with vertical dip, is in irregular contact with the dark-green massive amphibolite. A mile farther up, just where the river turns sharply to the south, the stream is narrow ard flows between bosses of Archean rock. The rock on the north side consists of narrow dyke-like bands of dark-gray amphibolite, striking straight along the river. These bands are almost vertical, and run through a reddish gneiss, which is well banded in the same direction.

They also cut the gneiss irregularly, and send irregular arms into it. A hundred yards back, across a little swamp, is a rugged vertical cliff 150 feet high, of the same dark greenish-gray amphibolite.

Three-quarters of a mile above the bend, having passed through rapid Heavy rapids.

broken water, we came to the foot of a series of very heavy rapids, in

which the water has a total fall of about 160 feet. The lowest rapid

3s a beautiful cascade where the water tumbles over a ledge of irregularly

jointed amphibolite, and then rushes in two narrow gorges on both

sides of a rugged rocky island. A small island a short distance below consists of green and red foliated gneisses striking S. 75° E. and dipping

N. 15° E, at an angle of 75°.

A quarter of a mile below the foot of the rapid, on the south bank, Woodcock the canoes were pushed in among the willows over a soft muddy, Portage. swampy flat to the beginning of Woodcock Portage, so called because we roused a woodcock (Philohela minor), in one of the swamps as we crossed it, this bird being exceedingly rare so far north.

Opposite the end of the portage is a rocky knoll consisting of dark, rather coarse-grained amphibolite, generally foliated in an easterly direction, and spotted with conspicuous clusters of crystals of hornblende. It is cut by veins of red gneissic granite, near which the amphibolite contains many large crystals of garnet.

Sandstone cliff.

Marsh and swamp.

Middle Lake.

Elizabeth Portage.

74 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

Woodcock Portage has a total length of 1‘91 statute miles. Itison — the whole very bad, having long stretches of swamp, and steep hills, — the sides of which are covered with broken masses of rough sandstone — derived from the underlying rock. In the first quarter of a mile the almost imperceptible track leads up the face of a steep cliff of coarse — Athabasca sandstone, strewn with sharp angular masse: broken from rocky ledges, up which it was necessary to carry the supplies in half loads. A hundred feet up the face of the cliff is a moderately regular — terrace, apparently representing an old shore line of Lake Athabasca, when it stood at one of its higher stages. From the top of the sand- stone escarpment a magnificent view may be had down the wide valley which we had just ascended from Lake Athabasca. Towards the north rise the rounded Archean hills, while to the south is the sinuous edge of the high escarpment of stratified sandstone. Between is the gently sloping wooded valley, in the bottom of which Black River winds as a long glittering line of water.

From the summit of the cliff of sandstone the portage-track descends into a deep marsh and then passes through a tamarack swamp. It then passes for two-thirds of a mile over a sandy plain in places lightly undulating, wooded with small Banksian pines, to some hills of white sandstone. On the summit of one of these the rock is beautifully smoothed, and shows glacial grooves, trending N. 70° W. From the foot of this hill, a sloping plain extends eastward for 350 yards, declin- ing in this distance thirty feet. The plain is thickly scattered with boulders, chiefly of sandstone, and conglomerate, but some of gneiss. The edge of the plain drops suddenly in a little cliff of clay twelve feet high, to a narrow willow-covered fiat on the margin of Middle Lake. About a quarter of a mile to the north, the river flows out of the north end of the lake to the heavy rapids below.

Middle Lake was crossed in a southerly direction for two miles and a-quarter, to a sandy beach, where the canoes were again unloaded preparatory to carrying everything over Elizabeth Portage. The micrometer survey showed the length of this portage to be 3:52 miles, and the aneroids showed its southern end at Black Lake to be 120 feet above its northern end at Middle Lake. Generally speaking the track is sandy, dry and hard, so that, although it is nearly twice as long as Woodcock Portage, it may be crossed with less difficulty and fatigue, though in bright weather one is tormented by myriads of black flies. No rock of any kind is to be seen on the portage. The following paced survey will give a good idea of the character of the portage, 2000 paces being counted to each statute mile.

Tyrrell.

Stone River. 75 D

From the sandy beach of Middle Lake—

265 paces over a sandy plain wooded with Banksian pine.

g £e

aps

S&S

moderately level plain of sand and broken masses of sandstones, wooded with small pine.

across swamp underlain by broken angular masses of sandstone.

gently rising sandy plain, wooded with stunted pines two feet high, to a low sandy cliff, the bottom of which is about fifty feet above Middle Lake.

similar sandy plain about ten feet higher.

Elizabeth Portage.

to a swift brook twelve feet wide and two feet deep with sandy

bottom.

across swan.p to sandy bank ten feet high.

almost level or gently rising sandy plain, open or covered with stunted pines two feet high.

up a slight rise, and over a sandy plain through woods of Banksian pine.

up a similar rise, and over a similar wooded sandy plain.

in a small valley between sandy ridges.

over a thinly wooded sandy plain, the last 400 paces being along the north side, and at the foot of, a steep wooded slope, at an eleva- tion of about 150 feet above Middle Lake.

along a gravelly slope, with a hill to the south 100 feet high.

through woods of small Banksian pine over sand and pebbles, at the foot of the hill seventy feet high.

over wooded country thickly strewn with boulders. Has all the appearance of a morainic ridge.

down the side of a hill thickly covered with boulders, with a drop of about forty feet, to the bank of Stone River, just where it flows from Black Lake.

The above description shows the existence of extensive post-glacial Post-glacia? beaches and sand-plains, from twenty to a hundred feet above Middle Lake, marking higher stages of the whole or part of Lake Athabasca, and they would appear to b2 closely connected with the morainic ridge at the south-east end of the portage. But whether the glacier from the east stood at this ridge when they were formed, or whether it had then receded further towards the east or north-east, and what connection there is between these beaches and terraces, and the glacier which blocked the valley a short distance east of Fond du Lac, were questions that it was impossible to settle in the time at our

disposal.

ches.

Elizabeth Portage is made to avoid a long chain of impassable rapids, Elizabeth the lowest of which, near the foot of the gorge, I have called Elizabeth Falls. Falls, from having visited the spot on the birthday of a beloved sister of that name. The river here forms a wild rapid about a mile in length, broken by heavy cascades and falls, eight to ten feet in height. The north bank, thickly wooded with black spruce and birch, rises gently to some distant green hills, the slope being underlain by

‘Chloritic : gneiss.

‘River above Black Lake.

Portage.

76 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

fine-grained dark, reddish, garnetiferous hornblende-gneiss. The south side of the valley is composed of red, horizontally stratified sand- stone, which rises in abrupt bare cliffs, often vertical, to a height of 100 feet above the water. Rounded bosses of gneiss also rise in the bends of the south bank, and Wooded islands and jagged granite rocks constantly impede and break up the foaming torrent. The total drop here is about eighty feet.

A small island lies out in the river at the head of the rapids, and opposite it is a little cliff of greenish fine-grained gneiss, the biotite being much altered to chlorite. It strikes 8S. 30° W., and dips N. 60° W. at an angle of 75°. A hundred yards further down, the bank consists of masses of coarse amphibolite, for two-thirds of a mile, Beyond this the rock consists of vertical red gneiss, striking 8S. 30° W., interlaminated with lenticular bands of green amphibolite. Elizabeth Portage ends on the bank of the river close to Black Lake, which has already been described on pp. 50-54. We may therefore pass on to that part of Stone River above the lake.

‘Where Stone River flows into the south-east side of Black Lake it is about 300 feet wide, and on each side are little rounded hills of sand and boulders wooded with spruce, pine and birch.

After ascending the river for three-quarters of a mile, the foot of a heavy fall was reached, and the canoes were landed at a low wooded bank at the bottom of an adjoining bay on the north side, from which point everything was carried over a portage 1017 yards in length, to the bank of the river above, passing three falls in the distance and rising forty-seven feet. The track ascends a steep slope from thirty to forty feet high at each end, and in the middle rises to a height of 120 feet above Black Lake It passes for the most part over sandy or slightly clayey land, wooded with Banksian pine. Its west end is on low land wooded with spruce and birch, while its east end is in a grove of willows. Opposite the head of the portage the river is about 150 yards wide, with low grassy banks chiefly wooded with black spruce: Just to the west of this willowy spot the banks are composed entirely of red and gray biotite-gneiss, sloping to the water on the north side and broken and craggy on the south.

Between two rocky points, the water first rushes in a smooth sheet over a ledge of reddish-gray gneiss, and then in a foaming cataract for 300 yards between high, bare walls forty feet apart, to a :mall island where it divides and the greater part of the water flows to the right in a narrow straight gorge with a drop of twenty-five feet. Below

ra STONE RIVER. 71D

this again the rapids end in a lovely divided fall opposite the lower end of the portage. Seen on a clear bright day towards the end of

summer, the falls were perhaps the most beautiful that I had ever beheld.

For four miles above this rapid the banks are low and composed of Light-gray- light-gray gneiss, often irregularly foliated and containing many darker #"°"" irregular inclusions. On both sides of the stream the rock juts out as smooth rounded points, connected with low sandy ridges covered by grass and willows, behind which are small Jakes. To the south is a moderately even ridge, probably of sandstone, about a hundred feet bigh, while to the north are hills of gneiss 150 feet high, which grad. ually recede as the river is ascended.

At a distance of eight miles above the rapid, Stone River is joined Porcupine from the north by Porcupine River, a large stream of dark brown Per water, 300 feet wide at its mouth, apparently deep, and flowing with a current of two miles an hour. It is said to take its rise in Selwyn Lake, from which Chipman River also flows, and to pass through a very rough rocky country in deep gorges, in the bottom of which are many swift impassable rapids. On this account, and because Chipman River offers an easier road to the same place, the river is rarely, if ever, used as a canoe-route by the Indians.

At the mouth of the Porcupine River the Archean gneisses were left Lave the behind, and turning sharply toward the south-west we entered a com- Archean. paratively level sandy country underlain by the red Athabasca sand- stone, similar to the country through which we travelled on our way down Cree River, and like it wooded with Banksian pine and small birch.

Two miles above Porcupine River is a rapid, at the foot of which is an outcrop of three feet of heavily and horizontally bedded red sandstone or fine conglomerate. The rapid consists in all of four fairly distinct dips, between which is more or less swift water, with a bed either of flat-lying sandstone or small rounded boulders.

Above rapid is a mile of fairly quiet water, beyond which is pv, rapid. another heavy continuous rapid, wide and shallow near the bottom, where it flows over a bed of small boulders, and very swift and white at the top, where its bed consists of large boulders. The flats on each side are underlain by rounded boulders, chiefly of sandstone, but some of gneiss, &c. A sloping grassy or stony beach extends from the edge of the woods down to the water, on which the men.

Chippewyan Indians.

Wide river.

Cliffs of sand- stone.

78 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

walked as they tracked the canoes with a line against the heavy current.

About two miles above Perch River, a small tributary from the east, we met several canoes full of Chippewyan Indians descending the river, having come down from Wollaston Lake in three days. They were on their way from Reindeer Lake to Black Lake, where they in- tended to join other Indians aud travel northward to n:eet the deer near the southern edge of the Barren Lands. As but one of our Indians had ever been on this river before, and that was so long ago that he hai now almost entirely forgotten it, we camped beside our new friends from Reindeer Lake, to learn the present condition of the stream, the character of the portages, &c. They also told us something of a canoe-route northward from Reindeer Lake to Kasba or White Partridge Lake, and thence northward down the Kazan River.

The following morning, August 9th, we continued the ascent of the river. For eleven miles it is wide and lake-like, with a perceptible current only at the narrowest parts. The banks are everywhere low and sandy, with a very few boulders here and there. In the protected bays willows are growing to the water’s edge. Back from the river a few lenticular hills, or ispatinows, from 100 to 200 feet high, follow the general direction of its banks. In the upper part of the distance these ispatinows close in on the river, and their burnt sides were seen to be thickly strewn with moderately well rounded boulders, chiefly of sandstone, but also of gray gneiss, dark and light green trap, green chloritic schist, &c.

Thirteen miles above Perch River is a rapid a mile in length, with a total fall of about fifteen feet. Like the others it is fairly deep at the top, but wide and shallow at the bottom. The bed of the rapid is filled with boulders. The flats above the rapid are composed of broken fragments of sandstone, mixed with rounded boulders of gneiss. The banks by the lower part of the rapid are vertical or overhanging cliffs from ten to fifteen feet high, of light red coarse sandstone or fine conglomerate, with well rounded pebbles. It shows strong flow- bedding, but the general stratification is horizontal. Here, as else- where, fossils were carefully searched for, but none could befound. The surface is for the most part rough, but in one place strong glacial grooves were found running 8. 80° W. Above this rapid the river comes from the south for a mile, when it turns sharply and flows from the east between two high steep ridges, the more northern one having its side thickly strewn with boulders, and both being apparently long ispatinows. Looking eastward the cone-shaped ends of other ispatinows were seen in the distance.

re. STONE RIVER. 79

Five miles above the bend, Hawk-rock River, a swift clear stream Hawk- rock

fifty feet wide and two feet deep at its mouth, flows into the south River.

side of Stone River, down a rapid with a descent of two feet, discharg-

ing from a small lake a quarter of a mile across, into the opposite side

of which it falls in a wide shallow rapid. [Lt seemed to come from

about S. 10° W. Ithingo, one of our Chippewyans, said that it has high

banks of sandstone, and that there is a practicable canve-roite up: it,

across into the east branch of Mudjatick River, and down Mudjatick

River to the Churchill. Many rounded boulders are lying on the

beach at its mouth, most of which are of gray gneiss.

Hawk-rock Rapid, just above the mouth of Hawk-rock River, has a Hawk-rock fall of from eight to ten feet. In its upper part the banks are com- ®#P*4. posed of ten feet of reddish sandstone similar to that already seen.

Its surface is well marked by glacial grooves, trending S. 65° W.

From the head of this rapid, for a mile and a-quarter, is a stretch of quiet water, with banks of sandstone up to thirty feet or more in height. The next rapid is in two chôûtes, both short. The canoes were tracked up the lower, and poled up the upper chûte. On its south side a narrow ridge of boulders from fifteen to twenty feet high runs parallel to the bank, and is scarped by the swift current. All the boulders are rather small and well rounded, and they are bedded in a very scanty matrix of sand. Probably the ridge is a small esker.

Moose Lake, is a quiet expansion of the river just above this rapid, Moose Lake. with a length of six miles and a-half, and a width of from a-quarter to athird of a mile, having the appearance of a large river. The immediate banks are generally low and sandy, but above’ them the steep wooded side of the ispatinows rise to heights of 100 to 200 feet, forming a regular even valley. These hillsides are usually sandy, scattered with rounded boulders of gneiss and sandstone.

The river flows into the east end of Moose Lake in a heavy rapid, Brassey Lake.

nearly a mile in length, and divided into two channels by a large island. It is called by David Thompson “Brassey Falls.” At its foot is a wide bottom-land composed entirely of boulders, chiefly of reddish-gray gneiss, though some are of sandstone, and a few are of Huronian rock, probably transported from the area of Huronian rock in the vicinity of Kasba Lake, discovered in 1894. These Huronian boulders consist largely of coarse conglomerate, and white quartzite.

A point on the bank is covered with small balsam poplars, the first pi seen above Black Lake. Berries were very plentiful, the most abundant being the northern huckleberry (Vacciniwm uliginosum) and the cran-

Hill of sand- stone.

Brink Rapid.

Annoyance from black flies and mos- quitoes.

80 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

berry (Vaccinium Vitis-Idæa), while the common huckleberry ( Pac- cinium Canadensis), red and black currants (Ribes rubrum and H. Hudsonianum), gooseberries (Ribes oxycanthoides), crowberries (Em- petrum nigrum), Pembina berries (Viburnum pauciflorum), etc., are also found.

To the south of Brassey Falls is a hill fifty feet high, consisting of white Athabasca sandstone, dipping N. 20° W. at an angle of 10°. Its summit is well smoothed and grooved, the grooves running S. 80° W. This ridge of sandstone strikes the river at the head of the rapid, and the banks and the bed of the stream below are composed of large rounded boulders, over which the men struggled with great difficulty, — as they walked beside the canoes and hauled them up the current.

A mile above Brassey Falls, a cliff of sandstone fifteen feet high rises on the north bank to the edge of a wide sandy plain. Opposite to it, on the south side of the river, is a very steep bank 100 feet high of sand and boulders. On ascending this bank it is found to be the side of a knife-edged ispatinow about a mile long, composed of sand and large and small boulders, chiefly of gneiss The summit is very narrow, and the sides are as steep as the material will stand.

A short distance farther up the stream we ascended Brink Rapids, a mile long, with a total descent of about twenty-five feet, tracking and poling up the lower part, and making a portage on the north side past the upper part, where the water rushes over several ledges of sandstone. The banks are low cliffs of sandstone, and a ridge of sandstone stretches along the north side of the river.

On the evening of August 10th, camp was pitched near the east end of the portage. The black flies, which breed in the clear running water, had for some time past been swarming around us in countless numbers, and had turned every moment of warm sunshine into a moment of agony. At night, rolled in our blankets, under a tent of cheesecloth to keep off the mosquitoes, we secured a few hours’ rest. Most of the rapids had been ascended by walking in the water and hauling the canoes, and in order to get a foothold on the smooth stones and to stem the swift current, the men were often naked up to their waists, and consequently suffered very severely from the black flies.

Above this camp the north bank of the river is formed by a high ispatinow, and others rise at a short distance back on the south side. The immediate banks are composed of flat-lying sandstone. At a distance of a mile and a-half up the river, on the south bank, is 4

rat STONE RIVER. 81

hill of similar sandstone forty feet high, striking N. 30° E. and dipping N. 50° W. at angles from 20° to 40°. Two hundred yards farther up stream the sandstone is again horizontal. The river continues in a straight course from east-southeast for three miles, with a moderate current, between sandstone banks, and then turns sharply from the south, around a sandstone hill, on the east side of which is a beautiful cliff seventy feet high, where a pair of golden eagles (Aquila chryscæ- tos) have had a nest for a number of years.

The river flows from the south for a mile, between banks of sand- Sandstone stone from ten to twenty feet high, when it again turns and comes Parks from the east for five miles, in the bottom of a wide swampy valley between long lenticular hills of boulders 200 feet high. No rock shows on its banks. At the end of the five-mile stretch of quiet water, the river again turns sharply and flows from the south down a swift rapid with a fall of fifteen feet, up which we tracked the canoes on the north side. The bed of the rapid is composed entirely of boulders, which are probably resting on a bed of sandstone. On the south side is a cliff showing forty feet of horizontal sandstone, while on the north side is a wide flat of large rounded boulders. From here, swift wa'er or rapids extend for three miles up to the foot of Manitou Falls, high scarped banks of sandstone overlooking the stream here and there.

Manitou Falls was so called by the Indians because the water in Manitou one of its channels disappears under the rock for a short distance, Falls. The water tumbles over the face of a rocky sandstone ledge in two streams, into a narrow channel about twenty-five feet wide, from which part of the water rushes to the left in an open channel, while a part runs for about twenty yards under the rock, both streams falling into a wide, shallow, rocky basin below. The fall is fifteen feet in height, and past it is a portage 120 yards long on the south side. Here our camp was pitched, on the evening of August 11th. Towards the north-east an elongated oval hill of glacial débris rises above the sandstone to a height of 150 feet, wooded to the top. The estimated fall in the river showed the foot of Manitou Falls to be about 150 feet above Black Lake.

From the head of the falls we ascended the river with paddles, against a very swift current between perpendicular sandstone walls fifteen to thirty feet in height, to a portage on the south side 730 yards long.

The portage first ascends a rough sandstone hill thirty-five feet high, Portage. and then passes through pine woods over fairly level country. North 6

Thompsun Rapid.

Change in character of river.

Small lake,

82 Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

of it the river has a fall of about fifteen feet in a heavy rapid between sandstone banks.

Immediately above. the portage the channel is very crooked, and there is a stiff rapid with a fall of about twelve feet, which we ascended with a line, above which is a stretch of moderately easy water, up which we paddled, with the assistance of a stiff breeze, to the foot of Thompson Rapid, one of the heaviest rapids on the river. The lower part, in which the banks are low, was readily ascended with a line to a short portage, thirty-five yards long, across a point on the north side, where we camped on the night of August 12th. Above this short portage, almost to the top of the rapid, the banks are from ten to fifteen feet high, and cousist of flat-lying sandstone, generally under cut by the water. Past part of this cascade we portaged all our stuff for 300 yards on the north bank, merely tracking up our empty canoes. The total fall in the rapids is about thirty feet.

It was here, on the 9th of July, 1796, that David Thompson, the famous geographer and explorer of north-western America, and after- wards the British astronomer on the International Boundary Survey, was upset from his canoe, and lost all his guns, ammunition, food, clothing, and the records of his trip, and on the sandy beach in the little bay at the foot of the rapid he doubtless hauled out his broken canoe.

On the north side of the rapid is a thickly wooded high hill, probably

an ispatinow.

Thompson Rapid is sixty miles above Black Lake, or almost midway on Stone River between that lake and its source in Wollaston Lake. To here the river has flowed with an almost constant current, in a well defined channel. From this point upwards there is less detrital material overlying the rock, the river widens out in places into small lakes, between which are shorter or longer stretches of narrow stream.

Above Thompson Rapid, the river opens into a small lake two miles long, with high hills to the north, wooded down to the water’s edge, while pleasant sandy beaches extend along the south side, with hills of boulders from fifty to seventy feet high in the background. The only rock seen was in two little cliffs of sandstone near where the river flows from the lake.

From this lake we ascended the stream, at the mouth of which is a stiff rapid with a fall of six feet. We tracked up this rapid, and

trans STONE RIVER. 83 D

paddled up another light rapid with a drop of two feet, to the western

arm of Otter Lake, and then for three miles and a half through this Utter Lake. beautiful little lake, whose shores are low points or wooded hills, to the

mouth of the river, where it flows into the south end of the lake over

a bed of small boulders in a wide shallow stream. The boulders are

almost all gray gneiss. Just within the mouth of the river, in a

deep bay, empties a small stream eight feet wide, falling four feet in

a little stony rapid. It flows from a lake half a mile long running N.

70° E.

For a mile and three-quarters up the river, to Perpendicular Rock, the current is swift all the way, and most of the distance was ascended with the line. The banks are for the most part low, and composed of. boulders, though at two places sandstone was seen.

At Perpendicular Rock, the stream is moderately narrow and swift, Perpendicula with overhanging cliffs of sandstone fifteen feet high on each side. Rock. The cliff on the north side, is the face of a small isolated hill of sandstone, an old channel of the river extending behind it. The cliff on the south side is much longer, and back from its summit were found some smooth well glaciated surfaces, the glacial grooves on which run 8.55° W,

From Perpendicular Rock ‘the rapid stream was ascended for three- quarters of a mile to a point where it breaks into several channels, In the channel followed, are two rapids with drops of ten and five feet respec- tively. At the first are overhanging banks of sandstone fifteen feet high, while at the second the banks are low. Above the latter is a fine stretch of good water for three miles and a-half, with a little rapid about the middle, to the Elbow. Here the main channel continues eastward into a deep bay, but the river falls directly into the south side of this channel in a heavy, though not very long rapid called Red Red Bank Bank Falls. On the east side of this is a low scarped bank, showing Falls. six feet of more or less thin-bedded red sandstone and conglomerate with white quartzite pebbles. Above this heavy rapid are two short stiff rapids, at narrows in the stream, before Kosdaw Lake (so named after one of David Thompson’s Indians) was reached, on the west shore of which we camped among pines on a little knoll of sand and boulders, on the evening of Saturday, August 13th.

Kosdaw Lake is about five miles long, and a mile and a-half wide, Kosdaw Lake broken by several large islands, and with the river flowing into its south-eastern and out of its north-western side. It is surrounded by low wooded hills, the woods almost everywhere descending to the edge of the water. A few sand-beaches run along the shore near the mouth of the river, but none of the underlying rock is to be seen.

Swift stream.

Morainic hills.

Old shore- lines.

84 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

Stone River falls into the lake in a rapid a mile in length, with a total descent of twenty feet. Its lower part is rather shallow, and was ascended with poles; the upper part is deeper, and was tracked on the north-east side. The banks are for the most part low and com- posed of boulders, but near the top the left bank shows thick-bedded sandstone, with a very much broken surface. Just below this outcrop of sandstone a brook ten feet wide flows in from the east, over a bed of boulders.

For the next two miles and a-half, to a lake, the current is very swift, and the stream was ascended by tracking or poling. The banks are generally low, with willows to the edge of the water, and no rock was seen, though broken sandstone is common near the bank.

The lake is narrow and three miles and a-half long. The most of the shores are low, with very low hills in the background, but at the south end is a high well-rounded elongated oval hill.

For a mile above the lake, to a portage, the river is rapid, and we ascended it with poles. At the portage the current is very swift, with heavy waves, and the Indians usually carry their canoes on the south side for 480 yards. However, we walked in the water, and hauled our canoes up along the south bank, inside the heavy waves. At the foot of the rapid, on the north side, is a little rounded roches moutonnées hill of white sandstone, while on the south side is a hill twenty feet high, composed chiefly of boulders of red and gray gneiss. The ad- joining country consists of rounded hills thickly wooded with spruce. Just above the rapid the traveller ascending the river enters a desolate country, of low, almost bare hills from fifty to seventy feet high, com- posed of boulders imbedded in a matrix of barren red sand. Low hills of sand are also scattered among those of boulders, and beside them the banks of the river are sandy. These stony hills indicate a mor- ainic area in which are scattered sandy kames. The river traverses this morainic area for eight miles, spreading out in the middle of the dis- tance into a long narrow lake, on the banks of which are some hori zontal outcrops of coarse white sandstone.

A hill on the south-west shore, which was more particularly ex- amined, is seventy feet high, with a summit of barren sand scattered with boulders. On its side, twelve feet above the lake, is a terrace of boulders, and fifteen feet higher is a steep bank of boulders, both denoting old shore-lines. From this hill a deep bay extends in a south-westerly direction towards the mouth of Waterfound River. At the bottom of the bay are several well rounded, lightly wooded, drumlin-like hills.

rare STONE RIVER. 85 D

Two miles above this hill, and a mile and a quarter below the next rapid, we camped on the south bank, on a low boss of flat-lying sand- stone, which extends from the bend in the river back to a narrow lake or old river-channel. Its surface, though generally rough, is scratched and grooved by glacial markings running S. 45° W., the stoss and lee sides of the rock being clearly shown. The lake, back of camp, is . about a mile long, and lies in a narrow valley running S. 45° W., the north-west side of which is composed of a ridge of boulders thirty feet Ridga of high, and between 200 and 300 yards wide. On this ridge the bould- boulders. ers are chiefly of red and gray gneiss, but some are of Huronian con- glomerate, white and gray quartzite, crystalline dolomite, etc. West waterfound of this boulder ridge, are two other small lakes through which Water- River. found River flows. Between the lakes it is fifty feet wide and eighteen inches deep, flowing swiftly over a gravel bed. Up this river there is said to be a canoe-route to Churchill River, crossing the height of land, and passing down Haultain River. A short distance above the mouth of Waterfound River, a stream joins the Stone River from the north, forty feet wide at its mouth, where it flows in a shallow rapid over a bed of boulders.

The next rapid is very swift, with a drop of about ten feet, and up it the canoes were taken by hand. Stone River is now much reduced in size, being only between eighty and one hundred feet wide.

Three-quarters of a mile farther up the stream is another swift rapid, up which the canoes were also taken by hand, although the Indians commonly carry their canoes on the south bank for 1000 yards. The bed of the stream is of boulders, but the horizontal sand- Last outcrop stone has formed the banks more or less continuously from the mouth of Athabasca of Waterfound River to here. This was the last outcrop of Atha- basca sandstone seen in the ascent of this river. Since leaving Black Lake all the outcrops have been very similar In character, gen- erally horizontal and undisturbed, and none showing any great thick- ness. Beyond Crooked Lake, which lies just above, the Archæan granites and gneisses again come to the surface. Crooked Lake is 4 G,,,,64 narrow, winding body of water, through which we travelled for seven Lake. miles. The water is clear but dark, and seems to be rather shallow. The shores of the lake are low and stony, and are covered with a thick growth of willows that overhang the water. A few sparsely wooded hills about sixty feet high rise in the background.

Stone River empties into the east end of the lake in a heavy cascade, with a fall of about twelve feet, over a rounded ridge of rather coarse, red biotite-granite, heavily jointed and massive, except for an occasional

Laurentian granite.

Red gneiss.

Hatchet Lake. .

‘South shore.

North and

east shores.

86 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

slight horizontal foliation. Crooked Lake, therefore, lies along the line of junction of the Archean granites and gneisses and the overlying Athabasca sandstone. A portage 360 yards long leads past this fall across a bend on the south side, at first through swamp, then over boulders, and finally over a granite knoll wooded with small spruce.

- In the next mile are two rapids with drops of six and eight feet respec-

tively, over large boulders. At the upper one the banks are composed of red granite similar to the last, but finer grained and generally foliated. The canoes were carried past it on a rough portage 370 yards long on the south side over a rounded hill of gneiss, the surface of which is broken and irregular. Above the portage is a small: lake with high bold shores of red gneiss. On the evening of 16th August, camp was pitched in a little sandy bay on the south side of this lake, at the foot of some rounded hills of boulders. The latitude as deter- mined was 58° 40’ 47”

From this lake we ascended a heavy rapid over boulders to Hatchet Lake. The rapid has a total fall of about eighteen feet. At its foot the descent is very steep ; near its head it is divided into two channels by an island, and the men hauled the canoes by hand up the north channel. At the head of the rapid the south bank is formed of red granite, while the north bank consists of boulders on the edge of a very wet spruce swamp.

Hatchet Lake is a small rectangular body of clear water, with a greatest length of twelve miles, a greatest width of seven miles, and a shore line of thirty-nine miles.

Mr. Dowling surveyed the south shore, and found it to be composed chiefly of boulders, with occasional outcrops of reddish gneiss at the points.

The writer surveyed the north and east shores, which were found to be generally low, with beaches covered with boulders, alternating with occasional stretches of sand in the bottoms of the bays. Behind the beach is a low wooded country, with some rounded hills in the distance. The points on the north shore are underlain by massive red granite, or reddish-gray gneiss. The east shore is composed of a massive medium- grained white biotite-granite rich in plagioclase.

Glacial striæ were observed both on the east and west shores, in both cases running S. 25° W.

The islands in the lake are generally low and underlain by red granite. But near the north-west angle some stand out higher than

ra. STONE RIVER. 87 D

the others. One of these was more particularly examined, and was

found to be an esker or narrow lenticular hill 70 feet high running 8. uker. 25° W. parallel to the glacial striation. It is composed almost en-

tirely of loose sand, mingled with a few well-rounded pebbles and

small boulders, up to ten inches in diameter. Its west face is scarped

where it overlooks the lake. East of the main ridge of the esker is a

little valley, beyond which, on the same island, is another lower parallel

sand ridge. On top of the esker are some fine tall white spruces, as

much as six feet in circumference, forming very conspicuous objects in

this country which is generally wooded with small black spruce.

On our arrival at Stone River, which empties into the south-east Stone River. corner of the lake, Mr. Dowling had not yet arrived, so we determined to continue the ascent of the stream and wait for him at Wollaston Lake.

Wooded hills, probably of boulders, rise on each side of the mouth of the river.

A mile above its mouth the river turns sharply, coming from the south, and winds for three-quarters of a mile through a marsh, toa rapid over boulders, with a fall of three feet, up which we poled with- out difficulty. From here the river has an even width of from sixty to River sixty to eighty feet, and flows with a current of about two miles an hour “ently feet through a marsh or grassy meadow. Back from the river are some low wooded hills of sand or boulders. The next, rapid has a drop of about six feet, and was easily ascended with poles. Above this rapid the river gradually widens, and the banks are mostly low, with low hills of boulders back from the river. A small island a mile below the rapid was found tu consist of red biotite-granite, with a slight foliation in some places, and farther north a hill about a hundred feet high seemed to be composed of white granite.

For four miles above this island the country is low and without rock exposures, and the river is wide except at one point, where there is a swift current. At the end of this distance & rounded hill, sixty feet high, stands out conspicuously from the north bank into the middle of the stream. It consists of a reddish-gray biotite-gneiss, foliated N. 65° E. and with a dip varying from vertical to a high angle S. 25° E. It is heavily jointed approximately at right angles to the foliation, so that its south face forms a very precipitous cliff. Two small islands, and a point on the south shore a mile and a quarter above this ciiff, are also composed of similar gneiss, while the north bank opposite is a steep cliff of sand and boulders. A short distance above the latter

Hill of gneiss.

Rock’dis- appears.

Drained by two rivers flowing in opposite directions,

Cochrane River.

North-west bay.

88 pb ATHABASCA LAKE AND CHURCHILL RIVER.

point the rock disappears, and from there upwards to Wollaston Lake the banks are lined with boulders. At the point where the river flows out of a bay at the north-west corner of the lake, it is rather narrow, and has a moderate current. The bed of the stream could not be seen, but the banks were composed entirely of sand and boulders.

Wollaston Lake.

Wollaston Lake is a large body of beautifully clear transparent water lying in a general north-and-south direction, with a greatest length of about fifty-five miles, and an approximate area of 800 square miles

Its contour is exceedingly irregular, its shore-line being indented by

deep bays, and its surface dotted with numerous rocky islands. Two tributaries were discovered flowing from the south-west into its west- ern side, while it holds the unique position, for so large a lake, of being drained by two almost equal streams which flow in opposite directions. Stone River, one of these, has just been described from where it flows out of the north-west angle of the lake to its mouth in Lake Athabasca, where its waters join those of the Mackenzie River and are carried northward to the Arctic Ocean. Cochrane, or Ice River, which was first ascended by the late Mr. A.S. Cochrane in 1881; flows from the north-eastern angle of the lake, and after a course of 200 miles empties into Reindeer Lake, from which the water flows by Reindeer and Churchill rivers into Hudson Bay. The name Cochrane River is proposed for thig stream instead of Ico River, to avoid con- fusion with Icy River, which flows into Great Fish River, and as a fitting tribute to the memory of my friend, Mr. Cochrane, who was the first white man ‘to ascend and survey the stream, and to set at rest the question whether Wollaston Lake is drained by two streams, as marked on David Thompson’s map, or by only one, as positively asserted by Abbé Petitot.

The bay of Wollaston Lake, from which Stone River flows, is a mile and a-half long and three-quarters of a mile wide, and on the east side of it we pitched our camp on the evening of the 18th of August, to wait for Mr. Dowling. The latitude was determined as 58° 26’ 44", and the variation of the compass to be 27° east. The shore is generally lined with boulders, but there are a few little stretches of sand, at one of which we hauled up our canoes. Behind camp a low ridge composed of sand and boulders of granite, well wooded with spruce and Banksian pine, runs southward to a low prominent point that appeared to be a favourite Indian camping ground.

ras WOLLASTON LAKE. 89 D

Mr. Dowling arrived on the following morning and shortly afterwards West shore of we started southward down the west side of the lake. The beach is a lek line of boulders, behind which the country is low and wooded with small black spruce. Three miles south of the head of Stone River, is an esker-like ridge of sand and boulders between 200 and 300 feet high, Exer. lightly wooded with Banksian pine. Behind a little sandy bay near its south end, a deep mossy bog stretches up a gentle slope to the edge of a terrace of rounded gravel sixty feet above the lake, marking an

ancient lake shore.

A mile south-east of this sloping bog a long and narrow island lies in the mouth of a rounding bay. It is made up of very steep esker- like hills and ridges seventy feet high, of sand and well rounded boulders, between which are deep kettle-holes, occasionally containing small ponds. The sides of the hills are as steep as the sand will stand, and their bases are fringed by rings of boulders.

Following the shore onwards for four miles, the first rock in place met with was on a small island of red granite. The granite is composed Red granite. chiefly of orthoclase and quartz, with a little plagivclase and biotite and contains some inclusions of foliated gneiss. The surface is smooth, Absence of bat, like most of the rock-surfaces in this region, it is not striated.

For ten miles southward, to the mouth of Collins Creek, no rock was seen in place, but the shore is mostly strewn with boulders, many of which are of Athabasca sandstone and conglomerate. Behind the beach is a rather steep slope, rising from ten to twenty feet, to a sandy plain wooded with Banksian pine, similar to the plain on the west shore of Cree Lake. Many of the sandstone masses are quite angular, and their presence here, and not farther north, taken together with the general sandy character of the surrounding country, 1s con- clusive evidence of the occurrence of Athabasca sandstone in the im- Athabasca inediate vicinity. The occurrence of the sandstone here shows that this "stone. lake, as well as all the other large lakes through which we have passed, lies along the line of contact of the Archean and Paleozoic rocks.

Collins Creek is, at its mouth, a small stream forty-five feet wide, Collins Creek. running over a bed of boulders. Its water is of a light-brown colour, and its banks are grown with spruce and willows. It flows into the bottom of a long narrow bay with beaches of sand and boulders.

We followed the low east shore of Collins Bay outwards for six point of miles, to a point behind which is a high rounded hill of dark-gray well foliated biotite-gneiss, striking N. 20° E. and dipping S. 70° E. at an angle of 50°. In some places it is very coarse, and full of biotite, and

White granite.

Hornblende- biotite-gneiss.

Depth of water.

Low shore.

90 p ATHABASCA LAKE AND CHURCHILL RIVER.

is much broken by irregular veins of coarse red pegmatite. Its surface is smooth, and shows strong glacial grooves, trending 8S. 10° W.

Two miles and a-half farther around the shore, is a long point of Massive, coarse white granite, containing inclusions of dark biotite- gneiss, while just behind is a high rounded hill of dark-gray biotite gneiss striking N. 45° E. and with a vertical dip.

From the top of this hill a magnificent view may be had of the lake. Towards the north and east it is dotted with many islands, while towards the south is an extensive stretch of clear blue water. Its shore-line is very irregular, and behind it rise low, gently sloping hills thinly wooded with spruce and pine, often separated by extensive swamps wooded with small spruce and larch.

From this place we struck southward, at first past some points of white granite, and then for five miles straight across the open lake to the east point of a large wooded island, composed of greenish-black thinly foliated, fine-grained hornblende-biotite-gneiss, striking N. 45° E. and dipping 8S. 45° E. at an angle of 75°. Interlaminated with the gneiss are some bands of white quartz. The surface is smoothed, and on the summit are glacial grooves trending S. 15° W. In the last stretch, the water in the lake was found to have an average depth of twenty-eight fathoms, with a greatest depth of thirty-two and a-half fathoms. From this island we crossed for three miles, to a small bare island of massive very coarse white granite, consisting chiefly of quartz and orthoclase, with a small quantity of biotite, and black tourmaline in large crystals. A mile and a-half farther on, is a large island of similar white, but finer grained, granite. Two miles farther is a long bar of boulders, forming the north point of a very large rocky island or peninsula. A miie and a-half farther south, we camped on a boggy spot at the foot of a hill on the south side of a point, in north latitude 58° 7' 40”. The hill is 250 feet high, and is composed of a coarsely granular red biotite-gneiss foliated N. 65° E.

For nine miles farther south, the shore is very irregular and com- posed of similar reddish gneiss rising in hills from 100 to 300 feet in height, with a fairly persistent strike, N. 40° to 65° E. The summits and south-west sides of many of these hills are covered with sand and boulders. Wherever glacial striæ were observed they trend 8. 30° W.

From here we turned south-westward for eight miles, along the strike of the gneiss, in a channel from a mile to two miles wide, between a large island to the east and the low shore to the west, but whether of a large island or of the mainland was not determined. This shore is

Tree. WOLLASTON LAKE. 91 D

thickly strewn with boulders, and low exposures of reddish-gray gneiss were seen at but a few places. Some wooded islands lying off the shore are low and chiefly composed of boulders.

From the end of this channel we struck westward, past some red granite islands piled around with boulders, to a sandy beach where Indians had lately been camped. High sand-hills rise here and there, Sand-hills. and banks of sand, being sections of these sand hills, occur at various places along the shore, but their faces are so covered with talus that nothing could be determined from them as to the structure of the

hills. Among the pebbles found on the beach was one of white crystal- line hmestone.

From this sand-beach we turned eastward for two miles and a-half, to a point, and then southward down the west shore of Nekweaza Nekweaza: Bay, which is fourteen miles in depth. The shore is composed of Be similar red granite and gneiss, and some of the islands lying off it are narrow esker-like ridges of sand. On the evening of August 23rd, camp was pitched on the shore in north latitude 57° 48’ 48” on a gravel beach ten feet above the lake. Just behind the camp was an old gravel shore-line five feet higher. Towards the south-west was a swamp lying on 8 bed of boulders, beyond which was a high rounded hill, wooded with spruce and pine. Its centre consists of a reddish gneiss, while almost all the surface is covered with a fine reddish sand or silt, hold- ing a large number of rounded boulders.

The next morning we travelled down to the southern extremity of Nekweaza Bay, where it ends in a wide marsh. We retraced our course for a short distance, and then turned westward for four miles, into an irregular arm of the bay, near the bottom of which we found a small band of Chippewyan Indians in camp, living on the fish they Indian camp. could catch in their nets, and what partridges and ducks they were able to shoot. We inquired from these Indians about any available canoe-route from this lake through the unexplored country southward Route to to Churchill River. They informed us that a river flowed into this Churchill bay a short distance south of their camp, and that many years ago Indians used to travel up this river and cross to a tributary of Churchill River, but that it had not been used for a long time, that many forest fires had doubtless killed much of the timber, that the portages would be blocked up by windfalls, but that they could not give any certain information as they had never travelled over the route. This infor- mation was rather dispiriting, but at least it told us of the existence of a river flowing from the south, that had been followed to the source of one of its branches from which a passable tributary of Churchill River was not far distant.

92 p ATHABASCA LAKE AND CHURCHILL RIVER.

an of the Tt was decided to divide the party. The provisions, about ten days’

selves, agreed to accompany him, and began the ascent of the river, here called Geikie River, in honour of Professor James Geikie, of Ed- inburgh, who has done so much to foster the study of glacial geology. Mr. Dowling took two canoes and four men, with instructions to follow the south shore of Wollaston Lake, and David Thompson's Canoe River to Reindeer Lake, where supplies could be obtained at the Hudson’s Bay Company’s post. Thence he would continue the survey southward to the south end of Reindeer Lake, down Reindeer River to its junction with the Churchill, and up that river to Stanley Mission, connecting with the survey of the river previously made by Mr. Fawcett, of the Dominion Lands Branch of the Depart- ment of Interior. From Stanley he was to continue southward by Lac la Ronge, and the Montrea! River to Prince Albert.

Mr. Dowling’s The following is Mr. Dowling’s account of the work done by him on report. this journey :—

Islands at ‘ Nekweaza Bay, running south-westward to the mouth of Geikie mouth of River, is oroken on its western side by many smaller bays, but its eastern Bay. side seems to be more regular, and part of the shore near the main lake

is nearly straight, terminating at the north in a low point, off which is a series of long low narrow islands. Down the centre of this bay, a string of islands stretches from near the mouth to the eastern shore at the bottom of the bay. Those which were visited seemed to be made up entirely of drift, and, judging from their shape, many of the others are of like material. They lie S. 25° W., with their longest

Glacial strie. diameters nearly paraliel and approximating to the general direction of the glacial striæ. The striæ observed on the eastern shore run S. 30° W., or more nearly parallel to the side of the valley.

“ Several of the low narrow islands off the point and in the bay to the east, are also of drift and have the same general orientation. The larger ones and the main shore are of Archean gneiss and granite, and have bold shores.

Deer “The hills bordering the south shore of the lake are high, but slope shore of Wok gradually from the beach, with the exception of those at the entrance laston Lake to Compulsion Bay, where they are much steeper, rising to nearly 200 feet. East of the bay higher hills are seen, some probably reaching

400 feet above the lake.

rations per man, were apportioned to each. The writer took one canoe, with the three men employed at Ile 4 la Crosse, who, after consider- able hesitation and an evening’s talk over the matter among them-

Tennent WOLLASTON LAKE TO REINDEER LAKE. 93 D

“The rock exposures near Geikie River are of dark-gray gneiss, Gneiss and foliation running S. W. to S. 55° W., but near the mouth Nekweaza granite. Bay this is broken into by a red unfoliated granite and thence east- ward the granite seems to have replaced the darker rock, though in places a slight foliation was noticed.”

Wollaston Lake to Reindeer Lake.

“The country between these two lakes was traversed on the canoe- route which leaves the south-eastern end of Wollaston Lake, crossing a series of small lakes to the head-waters of a small stream, Canoe River, flowing to Reindeer Lake. The general character of the country is rough and rocky with little soil, and in the valley of the Canoe River showing a considerable deposit of sand. Between the head-waters Character of of this stream and Wollaston Lake, the lakes crossed appear to occupy a ske mary ont low strip of land, bordered on the south by a continuation of the high pulsion Bay. rocky ridges of the south shore of Wollaston Lake, and on the north by several high hills, forming thus a wide valley opening to the east. The general level of this lake country is but slightly above that of the western lake but forms a plateau sixty feet above Canoe River at the point reached on the route.

“The portages on the lake portion of the route are nine in number, Portages on

and, enumerated in order from the westward, are as follows :— canoe route from Wollas- .

(I.) Portage 300 yards, from east side of Compulsion Bay to a con Lake to small lake thirty feet above Wollaston Lake.

(2.) Portage 1200 yards, mostly through swamp, but crossing a ridge of slightly foliated granite. The lakes at either end appear to be at about the same elevation.

(3.) Portage 1550 yards. This crosses a ridge of dark gneiss similar to that on the west side of Wollaston Lake. The country here is well covered with boulders, many appearing on the trail and through the burnt country.

(4.) Portage, in low water made over a narrow strip of swamp, separating a small narrow lake from a larger one to the east, called Middle Lake. This lake lies in a north-and-south direction, divided middle Lake. into two parts by a large island. The extreme length is about five miles and it varies in width from a mile or more at the north end to half a mile to the south. There seems to be lower country to the east, and it is possible that this lake drains to the Canoe River, though its outlet was not seen. The succeeding lakes are all on a lower level,

Valley of Canoe River.

Sand terrace.

Gneiss of lower part of Canoe River.

Fall in river.

94 p ATHABASCA LAKE AND CHURCHILL RIVER.

and the intervening barriers in a great measure appear to be of boulders and sand.

(5.) Portage, 900 yards. A ridge twenty feet high separates Middle Lake from the next lake to the east, which is nearly twenty feet lower. The barrier is composed of boulders and small stones, and may allow the passage through it of the surplus water from Middle Lake.

(6.) Portage, 200 yards, to the western side of a shallow pond, dotted with large boulders.

(7) and (8.) Portages cross narrow strips of low country sepurating three lakes, draining to one another and to the Canve River.

(9.) Portage, 530 yards, from the last lake of the chain to the Canoe River. The lake is situated on the edge of the valley and is sixty feet above the bed of the stream. A small rivulet trickles down the slope, oozing out through the boulder and gravel-strewn margin of the lake, and joins the stream just above the portage camping place.

‘ The valley of the upper part of Canoe River is cut through a sandy plain which appears to be the surface of a deposit of considerable depth, hiding nearly all the underlying rock except the tops of what appear to be granite ridges. A distance of five or six miles down the stream to the south-east brings us out of this sandy country, and then the river traverses a low swampy flat by many crooked windings till it joins a small lake variously named Swan Lake or Martin Lake. From the hills at the eastern side, the country to the west has the appearance of a rough ridge, smoothed in outline by the sand deposit which seems to be in the form of a belt or terrace running north and south flanking the eastern edge of the high country.

“To the east, between Swan Lake and Reindeer Lake, is again 4 rough rocky country, but at a general level much below that of the head- waters of Canoe River. Through this the stream follows an irregular depression or valley, falling over many ledges of rock or barriers of boulders. Fine reddish gneiss is seen along the eastern side of Swan Lake, terraces of gravel and sand are cut through by the river below the outlet and at the second rapid dark hornblende-gneiss is exposed in small ledges. The lower part of the valley is covered by a thick coating of glacial débris and no exposures of rock were noted.

“The fall in the river, from the highest point reached, is estimated as about forty feet to Swan Lake with an additional eighty feet to Reindeer Lake.

res. REINDEER LAKE. 95 D

‘ Middle Lake is estimated as standing at about 200 feet above Reindeer Lake.”

Reindeer Lake, west shore.

‘ By reference to the map it will be seen that this lake, which is very extensive and of large area in its northern part, becomes narrow towards the south, ending in a long arm filled with islands. The total length, from the outlet to the Hudson’s Bay Company’s post General at the north end, is more than 135 miles, while the width of the northern description. part averages 30 miles. The shores generally are flanked by a very numerous array of islands of all sizes, and a string of islands reaching from Vermilion Point on the west to Porcupine Point on the east, divides the northern part into two large portions in which other islands are seen dotting the more open spaces. The whole of the western shore is of a rough, rocky character. The uneven surface of the Archean rocks though glaciated and the hills partly rounded, is clearly shown by the number of islands scattered all along the shores. The surface of the country at the north is very poorly wooded’ and islands and several hills appear as bare rocks. A slender growth of black spruce and small birch is, however, found to the extreme northern limit of the lake. The western shore, southward from near Canoe River, is fairly well wooded, though the soil is thin and is found mainly in the lower parts.

“The rock near the north-eastern part is chiefly a red granite. On Granite-gneiss the western shore a reddish granite-gneiss with large porphyritic part of lake. crystals of felspar is the prevailing rock. The foliation runs about south-west, though local variations from this are found. Bands of a whitish granite, which may be intrusive, are seen on some of the small islands, as well as dark dioritic patches which also appear to be intru- sions. On the east side, the same granitic-gneiss was seen, and near Porcupine Point the foliation is more distinct, the large crystals of felspar being arranged more in the form of interrupted bands. In- trusive veins of a light flesh-colourd pegmatite cut the gneiss. The I ;

ntrusive same intrusive granite is seen again on a point at the west side sixteen granite. miles north of Priest’s Point. It is in the form of a large boss, and is coarse in texture, with the peculiar arrangement of the quartz which gives the appearance of graphic granite.

“The western shore from Vermilion Point was followed southward, West shore 80 that the eastern shore is still indefinite. The numerous islands are south oF nearly all bosses of rock more or less rounded by glacial action and Point.

covered with a slight growth of small spruce, the immediate surface

96 D Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

back from the water-mark being generally carpeted with a thick growth of the light yellow reindeer moss. Though these islands are usually high, the main land is generally still higher, and often the main shore is easily traced because bare from forest fires, while all the islands, with a few exceptions, are still green. To the south, and especially in the narrow portion, both the hills forming the mainland on both sides and the islands, appear to rise higher than at the north, giving that part of the lake a very picturesque appearance. The timber also, in the south, is of a more varied nature. There, spruce, poplar and birch are found, but north of the middle of the lake, poplar is rarely seen and the small spruce is the principal tree.

Timber.

“The rocks at Vermilion Point are of spotted red granite-gneiss, which extend northward to the limit of the lake and appear in about the same position, the beds standing at a high angle running 8. W. Hornblende- and N. E. At Thompson Island, the largest and highest south of Thompson at Vermilion Point, they give place to a series of hornblende-mica- Island. gneisses, followed on the point to the south by finer, laminated beds ap- proaching schists. These to the east are found to alternate with granite, and for a considerable distance south, to near Priest’s Point, the rock is a banded series of granites and thin beds of mica-schist broken into by the graphic granite mentioned previously. Near Thompson Island the beds run W.S. W. and E. N. E., but again in a short distance are found slightly twisted or wavy, although preserving a general parallel strike to that first noted.

‘ From Priest’s Point, the lake gradually narrows from a minimum

width of four miles, to a narrow inlet less than a mile wide at the

outlet, and the course of this part lies very nearly 8. W. and N. E,

following in a general way the strike of the rocks. A band of dark

Band of dark mica-schists is crossed, reaching from near Priest’s Point to twenty mica-schist. Tiles S. W., and along the course followed through the islands many small dykes of a quartzose fine-grained granite were found, in which iron

pyrites is freely developed. The beds of fine-grained gneiss on Camping

Island ten miles south from Priest’s Point, are also found with many

Pyritesin Veins of pyrites and on the hill in the centre of the island many of the neiss on beds are very much rusted and decomposed. The pyrites is found to Island. J contain a small percentage of nickel and traces of cobalt. At the north side of a small creek on the west shore, south-west from Camping

Island, the Indians report a soft soapstone or serpentinous rock from

which they make pipes, but a visit to the locality did not result in

finding this rock, which was then said to be obtained in small pieces

from the shore and generally under the water. The rock there, was

re REINDEER RIVER. 97

however, a light green sericite-schist, and it is possible that unfoliated Sericite- or less cleavable portions of this might be soft enough for the purpose schist. named. The stratigraphical relations of this band with the surround-

ing gneisses, could not in the time at the disposal of the party be made

out, so that it is problematical whether this may be a small area of

highly altered Huronian beds or not. The next rock occurring to the

south is a dark garnetiferous gneiss, followe 1 by reddish granitic gneiss

to the outlet of the lake.”

. Reindeer River.

‘Reindeer River drains Reindeer LakeintoChurchill River, and forms one of the largest branches of that river. The lakes to the nofth are all of clear water, and Reindeer River is remarkable in being beautifully clear and cold, forming thus a contrast to the dark water of the Valley of - Churchill above the junction of the two streams. The valley through Reindeer which it runs is an irregular depression following roughly the trend of the gneiss. From the south end of Reindeer Lake, two outlets exist by which the waters flow with slight current to a round lake- expansion to the south. Thence, falling out by the east side around a rocky island, it passes in succession through two lake-expansions with rapids and falls separating them, before it assumes the dimensions of a river and turns to the south. The first fall on leaving the lake is ten feet in height, over ledges of gneiss. The portage past this is across a narrow rocky islet fifty yards wide, and is known locally as the Rock Portage. The second, which is between the next two lakes, is called the White- Rock and sand Portage, so named from the cliffs of sand on the north side, Nero opposite the portage. The rock exposed on the portage is a dark gneiss running 8. 15° W. or N. 15° E., and standing vertical. The river in this course runs to the eastwards about five miles, and from there to the Churchill bears due south, though the main part lies to the eastward of this line. The dark hornblende-gneiss found at the White- sand Portage, and on the lake to the east, is cut in a few places by a whitish intrusive granite.

“The river narrows after turning to the south and flows through a low swampy flat confined between high ridges. Before entering the swampy stretch, there is a sharp bend at which the river falls slightly over ledges of dark gneiss, and the many eddies along the face of the steep banks make it dangerous for small boats. The place bears the name of the Devil’s Rapids, and expresses the Indian’s fear of this as a Revide treacherous place.

Red Hill Lake and Stump River.

Red Hill.

Ochre.

Intrusive granites.

White River route to Churchill River.

Steep Hill Portage.

98 Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

“ In this swampy tract, the banks are mostly a mossy swamp and the current is not strong, but very regular. Turning slightly to the east, x wide lake-expansion is crossed. High hills surround this, and a narrow passage of a quarter of a mile connects with another called Red-hill Lake. branch of the river is said to leave the lake above Devil’s Rapid, and by a detour to the east to again join the main stream at Red-hill Lake. On Mr. Cochrane’s survey, this branch is called the Stump River. To the east of the mouth of this river, a prominent hill with red colouring along the ridge, forms a very marked feature. On a nearer view, this red colouring is found to be due to the débris of a decomposed band occupying the crest of the ridge. The rock has been very highly charged with iron oxides and pyrites. The strike of the beds is S. 10° E., with dip eastward at angles varying from 60° to 80°. Several large seams of red granite cut into the hill and break up the beds somewhat.

“A section of the hill shows a light, coarse gneiss near the bottom, ‘ with a dark mica-schist, followed by a bed of light rusty coloured gneiss having a thickness of about five feet. This in some places seems to have been very rich in pyrites and is weathered out toa reddish ochre. The outcrop is just below the crest of the ridge, and from it the ochre falling down, stains the whole face of the hill. Above, on the summit the rock is mostly a dark-red gneiss.

“The river between Red-hill Lake and Steep Hill Portage, runs directly south, passing through several small lake-like expansions, on which the rocks are found to be generally gneiss, dipping to the north-east, but cut into by large dykes of red granite. Large bosses of this same intrusive material are seen at the middle distance or just north of the mouth of White River. Above the Steep Hill Portage, the river broadens out to a lake about two miles in diameter. Into the north-western corner a branch of the Reindeer River enters from the west. This stream, the White River, drains White Lake, into which two branches fall—one from Whitefish Lake and the other said by the Indians to be a small channel draining from the Churchill River above Stanley Mission. The usual route from Stanley to Reindeer Lake is by this stream and the White River. Another route, said to be feasible for large York boats, is from Reindeer Lake up the Ver- milion River, which enters on the western shore, to Vermilion Lake, thence up still farther to a second lake and southward to the Churchill by a stream said to be large and of easy fall to the English River near Stanley.

‘ At the Steep Hill Portage, light clay is seen in greater quantities than farther north. A ridge of clay thirty-five feet high is crossed

rene REINDEER RIVER. 99 p

in making the portage. The lake above drains to the east and falls over a steep ledge, between three islands, at the south-east corner, making about twenty feet fall. The boats have to be portaged here as well as the goods. The sides of the valley are more thickly timbered with poplar, and a few small trees of white spruce were noticed a few miles below the Steep Hill Portage. The river makes a long bend to the east and then south, passing through a wide lake-like expansion with many islands, narrowing at places, in which the current is found quite strong, but generally, from the Steep Hill Rapids to near the mouth of the river at the Deer Rapids, the river is wide with little current. From its eastward bend it turns to S.S.W. and maintains a very uniform course to its mouth, following a valley which is parallel to the strike of the gneiss. The side: of the valley are clothed with small poplar, showing patches of the darker foliage of the spruce. Veins of a reddish pegmatite are occasionally seen cutting the gneiss, and larger masses occur on the east shore above Deer Rapid. The last interruption to the navigation of the stream is at Deer Deer Rapids. Rapid, about two miles north from Churchill River, where there is a fall of about five feet over a ledge of gneiss. Below this is a wide deep channel, in which the current is almost imperceptible. The junction of these two streams may be said to occur in a narrow moon- shaped lake, occupying a depression in the valley common to both streams. The Reindeer River enters at the north end and the Churchill at the south-west ; while the outlet is from the east side by a narrow gap, through which the river pours in a wild rapid. Below this the Indians report the remains of a trading post, which is probably the site of old Fairford House.

“The water of the Churchill is found to be very much darker in Character of colour than that from the north, and evidently contains much more jeer Riverarnd organic matter, as the shores show a greater profusion of aquatic plants Churehill

iver. and the submerged surfaces of rocks bear an abundant growth of sponges and the smaller forms of algee. On the Reindeer River and the

lakes above, all the submerged rocks appear bare and clear.

A chemical examination of the waters from Reindeer Lake and Churchill River was made by Dr. F. D. Adams in the Laboratory of the Survey in 1882.* In summing up the general results, Dr. Adams says :— Of the foregoing waters that from Reindeer Lake is remark- able for the small amount of dissolved solid matter which it con- tains; in this regard it would take rank with the waters of Bala

*Report of Progress, Geol. Surv. Can., 1880-82, p. 6 x.

100 bp ATHABASCA LAKE AND CHURCHILL RIVER.

Lake, Merionethshire, Wales, and Loch Katrine, Perthshire, Scot-

Churchill “The first fall on the Churchill River above the mouth of Reindeer

River. River, is a steep descent of fifteen fees over dark greenish schists, forming what is called the Kettle Fall. A portage of 130 yards is made on the north side over a ledge of these schists.

“Up to Conjuring Creek, the course is obliquely across the strike of the gneisses, and those crossed are of the following varieties.—A dark gneiss, forming a wide band, follows the valley of the Reindeer River and is exposed on the Churchill up to near the Kettle Fall, where we cross dark green hornblende-schists, forming a band nearly a mile wide

running to the south. granitic gneiss occupies most of the lake Band of dark above Kettle Fall, but at the western extremity a dark band of fine- schist in grained hornblendic gneiss, in many places a black schist, is found to valley near occupy the bottom of a valley, which here reaches the lake coming tee For- from the south and south-west, and in which the upper extension of the Churchill River runs. This dark band appears to have been more easily denuded than the granitic rocks apparently flanking it on both sides, so that to near the Trade Portage it occupies the islands in the channel and strips and points along the shores. The Trade Portage Trade rocks are of the lighter granites and gneisses which lie along the east- rates, ern border of the dark band. The strike of these gneisses above the Trade Portage, bends more to the west and the dark band is seen at intervals to Key Rapid, the second above, where a long island divides the channel intotwo parts. The rocksdip here N. N. E. 80°. They

are mica and garnet schists and cleave into thin laminæ.

Gneisses of ‘© Above, is a long lake-expansion in which are many large islands

Churchill forming a continuous string with small openings between, to the end of

Trade Por- thelake. The north side and parts of the islands are of the dark schists

tage. running about west. The upper part of the river now leaves the dark rocks, which are deflected to the north, and on the next lake above are found a series of gneisses and greenish schists running more in a northerly direction, giving place on the west to lighter gneisses, broken by many granite veins and dykes. Forks Lake, into which the outlet of Lac la Ronge empties, is of larger dimensions than those immediately below, and on it the rocks are found. trending to the north and north-east. A light-coloured gneiss is found to contain

Crystalline à wide band of crystalline limestone, the first seen in the Laurentian

limestone on in this district. At the end of the lake several of the small islands are of red granite, in which patches of the gneiss occur as inclusions, and large bosses and veins of the same granite are seen at several places along the south shore to near Stanley Mission.

Traneu.. CHURCHILL RIVER. 101

“ The rocks are everywhere glaciated and more or less polished. On Glacial striæ the granitic rocks the striae are very obscure, but on the finer grained 0” Churchill gneisses and schists are better marked. At the Trade Lake, above Trade Portage, the direction is S. 40° W., and half way to Stanley they are about S. 32° W.

Ls

“The gneisses of the lower part of Churchill River are seen to Change in follow roughly the course of the valley, without any great local dis- “Ke oF turbance, merely a general bending to follow the long curve. But Stanley

. . . . . Mission. nearing Stanley Mission the change in strike is seen to carry the prominent dark band by a rather sharper curve to the north, and the succeeding beds on the west become broken into by a light granite, past which the gneisses are found to be running to the east of north.

“From Stanley Mission to Lac la Ronge the course is to the west of south, and the gneissic bands exposed on the bay into which the canoe-route leads are apparently the same as at the Mission, while the same band is followed through the chain of islands which extend to the Band of mouth of the Big Stone River. The general direction in which this is spotted gneiss, found to run is about W.S.W.

“These gneisses are porphyritic in several places, being spotted with large phenocrysts of plagioclase, surrounded by a darker—almost black—matrix. Under the microscope a decided cataclastic structure is apparent. Farther south, the squeezing has developed a ropy or Beaded beaded structure—the coarser crystalline granitic material being 8° arranged in a series of lenticular and oval patches between the layers of finer gneissic and schistose rock that is much darker in colour. The contrast in colour brings out the structure very plainly as will be seen by the accompanying plate. The photograph was taken at the south end of a long point or island on the west shore of Lac la Ronge, about five miles north of the mouth of Big Stone River.

“The succeeding beds to the westward were seen only on the canoe- route near Stanley. They appear to be of a fine-grained greenish gneiss, approaching a schist, forming with the spotted gneiss of the lake, a natrow band of less than a mile wide, followed to the west by reddish coaise-grained gneiss.

“A covering of drift conceals the underlying rock of the vicinity of the south-west corner of Lac la Ronge and extends southward, being Spparently covered in turn by a thick deposit of stratified sand, forming a plateau extending north from Montreal Mountain to within Drift deposits eight or ten miles of the above lake. In this area the only indication te ae. ° of the nature of the rocks below is to be derived from the boulders,

Montreal Lake.

Terrace of stratified sand.

Timber of country near Montreal Lake.

Narrows.

102 bp ATHABASCA LAKE AND CHURCHILL RIVER.

and is of course very uncertain. At the trading post between Egg Lake and Big Stone Lake, several fragments of a light-yellow dolomite or limestone were noticed, and would seem to indicate the presence of rocks of this kind in the vicinity or to the northward. Tne Indians re- ported exposures of a similar rock on the south shore of Lac la Ronge, so that the extension of the limestones of Lake Winnipegosis or of Pine Island Lake may be expected as far north as Lac la Ronge.

Montreal Lake is a shallow basin about thirty miles long and from five to ten miles wide, lying to the north of Montreal Mountain and on the sandy plateau above mentioned. The outlet is by a small stream flowing northwards. This cuts gradually through the terrace, and near the northern edge shows a section of sixty feet of stratified sand. To the north of the sandy terrace, the stream turns to the east and pass- ing through several small lakes in the drift-covered region, reaches the south-west corner of Lac la Ronge.

‘The timber in the rocky country bordered by the southern shore of Lac la Ronge is not large or abundant. Southward there is some im- provement, and large individual spruce trees occur occasionally. The ‘lob sticks’ at Big Stone, Hudson Bay Company’s post, are fine ex- amples of these. On the Montreal River, small Banksian pine cover the eastern slope of the sandy plateau. No large timber, spruce or pine, is seen till near the lake, where at the southern end some groves of large spruce occur. On the watershed south of Montreal and Deer Lakes the largest timber is seen. Here the formation of the country is evidently morainic, but southward the country slopes gently toward the Saskatchewan River.”

Geikie River.

Geikie River opens with a bell-shaped mouth into the bottom of Nekweaza Bay of Wollaston Lake. The water is clear, but of a slightly .brownish tinge. At the first narrows, in which there is no percept- ible current, are high hills of dark-gray well-foliated biotite-gneiss, striking N. 60° E., and with vertical dip. Above this is another stretch of quiet water studded with high elongated or dome-shaped rocky islands, while similar hills also rise on the shore. One arm of this lakelet runs off 8. 60° W. on the strike of the gneiss, but the smoke that filled the air, caused by forest fire started by the Indians, prevenied us from seeing how far. On the eastern shore one high point was found to consist nf coarse red granite. The eastern arm of the lakelet was followed through a strait into another lake-like expansion, the shores

GKOLOGICAL. SURVEY or CANADA. Axxuaz Report, Vor. VIII, Part D.

D. B. Dowiwa.—Photo., Sept. 27, 1892. BEADED GNEISS South-western shore of Lac Ia Ronge.

renew. GEIKIE RIVER 103

of which are at first high rocky ridges of gneiss, and then become lower and thickly strewn with boulders. The underlying rock here does not come to the edge of the water, though it may occasionally be seen in the

distance, and is then apparently micaceous gneiss, the same as that recorded above.

On the evening of August 25th camp was pitched on the west bank Plain of white in latitude 57° 38’ 30”, on lightly rolling white sand, wooded with small Banksian pines.

Three-quarters of a mile above this camp, the dark-gray gneiss crops out at a rounded point on the east bank, striking N. 70° E. and dipping S. 20° E., at an angle of 55°. It is cut by, and interlaminated with bands of red pegmatite. For three miles and a-half further, to River deep the foot of a rapid, the river is deep and a hundred yards wide at its and without narrowest parts, with a scarcely perceptible current. In some places high sand-hills rise on the west bank, and occasionally low outcrops of gneiss were also seen. The rapid here reached has a fall of about three feet over a ledge of gneiss. An island lies in the middle of the current, on the east side of which the canoe was tracked up with a line. The river here carries about as much water as Stone River, below the mouth of Waterfound River.

Two miles further up stream, there is a heavy long rapid, in which Long Rapid.

the channel is wide and full of boulders. The cargo was landed on a

sandy slope on the west bank at the foot of this rapid, in latitude

7° 35° 45”, and two of the men continued up the stream with the empty

canoe. The cargo was carried for 1800 yards across a portage, first up Portage.

a gently rising sandy plain, sprinkled with boulders, then into a valley

and across a deep bog, 115 yards wide, then over low sandy hills and

down forty feet into a valley, to the reedy shore of an arm of the river.

There is no sign of the underlying rock on the portage. The total rise

as shown by the aneroid, was forty-five feet.

This closed arm of the river was followed south-westward in a 4, .; ght straight valley, between steep sandy banks fifty feet high, for a mile valley. and'a-half, until the river was again reached, flowing in a continuation of the same valley, out of the side of which it cuts between two rounded sand-hills, to rush down the rapids below. Above this arm it flows between sand and gravel banks to the mouth of Poor-fish Poor-fish River, a stream, navigable for canoes, flowing from the southwest. River.

Above Poor-fish River, Geikie River widens to a small lake, the shores of which are generally wooded with spruce, through which rise some high hills of sand and boulders. Near the south end of the lake

104 pb ATHABASCA LAKE AND CHURCHILL RIVER.

is a small island of coarse, red massive biotite-granite, cut by quartz veins, and scored by glacial markings, trending S. 30° W.

Rapid. Two miles and a-half further up the currentless river, between wooded hills, there is a heavy rapid over a bed of boulders, with a total fall of about thirty-five feet. The men hauled the canoe up this rapid, but an easy portage 600 yards long can be made over a sandy plain on the east bank.

Three-quarters of a mile above the rapid, up the river, now wide and with swampy banks, camp was pitched beside a little knoll of gray, slightly reddish, very compact biotite-gneiss striking N. 60° E., and dipping S. 30°, E. 35°.

Rapid. For the next two miles the river is generally rapid, running over a bed of boulders, and has a total fall of about thirty-five feet. Low outcrops of gneiss were occasioually seen. Above these rapids, for fourteen miles, the river is straight and wide, like a long narrow lake, with current at a couple of places near the middle of the distance. The shore is composed of sand-hills and wooded sandy banks, with occasional

Hill of ‘gneiss. banks of peat. A few hills of gneiss also approach the river. One of these, six miles from the north end of this straight reach, is a high rounded hill of an indistinctly foliated dark-gray biotite-gneiss. The summit is well smoothed and shows many distinct parallel glacial grooves trending west. As they differ so greatly in direction from all the other glacial markings found on the river, they are supposed to have been formed by a local glacier, after the retreat of the Keewatin glacier.

Above the quiet water of the lake the canoe was hauled up two rapids, a quarter of a mile apart, between hills of boulders, then paddled for half a mile along a wide shallow piece of river to the foot

White’ Spruce Of White Spruce Rapid, a swift narrow rapid with a fall of about

Rapid. eighteen feet. The canoe was landed on the east bank and carried on a portage 1100 yards long beside the river, over a stony hill, and along a stony hillside through small black spruce woods. . The rapid is a very picturesque one, the water tumbling over a series of rocky barriers of gneiss, and then over and between large rounded boulders. In places the west bank is low and sandy, and wooded with some fine large white spruce, the first observed on the river. Under the trees pembina berries, raspberries, &c , were growing in profusion. Camp was pitched at the head of the portage on a slope covered with reindeer moss, and a short distance back from the marshy border of the river.

THRRELL] GEIKIE RIVER. 105 pb

The next morning we continued for three miles up the straight quiet river, between sand ridges, to a fall over a ledge of massive Sand ridges. rather fine-grained red granite, past which the canoes were carried on the west bank for 180 yards over a stony hill, through small Banksian pines.

For the next three miles, the river is for the most part shallow and rapid, flowing between hills and ridges composed of fine reddish sand or silt, mixed with rounded waterworn cobbles and boulders. The sandy material here, as well as that along the banks all the way to the mouth of the river, is much finer and more silty than that seen on Stone and Cree rivers, and supports a much stronger growth of vegetation.

At this point the country changes. The hills are no longer com- Change in posed of sand, but consist of gneiss or boulders imbedded in silt and Sri of white sand. These boulders are almost entirely of granite or gneiss, and but one small one of Athabasca sandstone was found. Glacial striæ run S. 20° W.

A moose was here shot and the following night was spent drying the Moose. meat, so that we might be able to carry it more readily with us. In the morning the dried meat was put in one flour sack.

Above camp we tracked and poled up two heavy rapids over Heavy rapids boulders, in which the river falls respectively thirty and twelve feet. The river flows in a sloping valley 30 to 40 feet deep cut in a some- what irregular plain of sand and travelled cobbles and boulders, above which rise occasional rounded hills, probably of gneiss Above the second rapid a narrow lake four miles, long was entered. A gray w, ow lake. biotite-gneiss outcrops at points here and there on its shores, striking generally parallel to the course of the river, and cut by many granite véins At one point on the west side, there is a low exposure of massive red and green granite, composed chiefly of orthoclase and fibrous hornblende, but containing a large quantity of titaniferous iron ore. Above the narrow lake is a fall, with a descent of eight pal. feet, where the river flows between vertical walls of rock, that on the west side a well-foliated biotite gneiss with vertical dip, and striking along the stream, that on the east side a fine-grained red granite. The canoe was carried for 350 yards on the east side, over

the smooth surface of the granite, toa little grassy bay above the fall.

Above the fall are two rapids, with descents respectively of about five and two feet, to the north end of what is known as Big Sandy

River straight.

Rocks unpolished.

Big Sandy Lake. ,

River above the lake.

Moraine.

Deep valley.

a 106 pb ATHABASCA LAKE AND CHURCHILL RIVER.

Lake. Thus far the river trends remarkably straight in a southerly direction, its course being determined by the strike of the gneiss. The surrounding country is much more heavily covered with drift than most of the Archean areas further north and east. When exposed the rocks are not polished, and glacial markings are not common.

Big Sandy Lake is fifteen miles long, from a quarter to half a mile wide, and like the river, lies in a north-easterly and south-westerly direction. Generally speaking, it lies along the line of contact of the massive red granite, holding a large quantity of titaniferous iron ore, to the east, and the gray biotite-gneiss to the west. For three days we were detained in camp on its western shore by a heavy cold storm of wind and rain. Camp was pitched in open pine woods on a sandy terrace ten feet above the lake. Behind us rose a gentle sandy slope, scattered with a few boulders, to a rounded hill, a hundred feet high, of granite and gneiss in very irregular contact and in about equal amount. On the fourth day, September 2nd, the remainder of the lake was surveyed in the drizzling rain. On both sides were ridges of rock, or sand and boulders. The country gradually became more barren, until the small, thinly scattered pines appeared to form but an open stubble over the surface.

The river that was found flowing into the south-west end of the lake, does not bring in more than a third of the water that leaves the lake. It is about fifty feet wide and is spread out thinly over coarse rounded gravel. It comes from the east across the strike of the gneiss for a short distance, and then turns again from the south-west. On both sides are high barren hills covered with boulders. Many of the hills have a core of gneiss. One, which was ascended, was found to be 180 feet high. Its summit is of gray biotite-gneiss striking N. 55° E., and with vertical dip, cut by bands of red granite. Its sides are scattered with boulders. Other hills are composed entirely, as far as could be seen, of water-worn sand and gravel, with a few scat- tered boulders. No definite regular arrangement of this detrital material could be detected, but it was probably deposited at or near the face of the Keewatin glacier as it gradually retreated towards the north.

Camp was pitched a mile and three-quarters above the lake in north latitude 57° 1’ 15”, in the bottom of a valley fifty feet deep. In front of the tents flowed the shallow rapid stream, now only thirty feet wide.

For half a mile above this camp the river flows in a sloping valley a hundred feet deep, when it turns from the south-west and flows

Trane. GEIKIE RIVER. 107 p

through a plain of sand and gravel, above which rise occasional rounded knobs of gray gneiss. Again it turns from the south-west in a very

narrow valley, to the north-west of which is a narrow kame composed Kame.

of sand and gravel. Beyond the south-west end of the kame, on the west bank, is a high cliff of well-foliated compact reddish-gray biotite- gneiss striking N. 60° E., and dipping N. 30° W., at an angle of 70°. A quarter of a mile above this hill a small lake was entered. This lake lies five miles in a direct line from the Big Sandy Lake, and, as has been seen, the whole of the intermediate country is buried under stones, gravel and coarse sand borne from the face of the Keewatin glacier.

Into the western angle of the lakelet the river issues, and above it, for three miles and a half, it passes through a moderately level sandy country, the boulders and coarser material becoming less frequent up the stream. At the end of the above distance we entered another lake, passing to the east of a narrow sandy esker-like ridge that pro- jects as a long point into the water. This lake, like the others, lies in a south-westerly direction, but its shores are broken and irregular. The course followed through it, from one end to the other, was eleven miles, as measured by a boat-log, and its greatest width is about three- quarters of a mile. Its shores are high, with thickly wooded slopes extending down to the water. The islands are for the most part ridges of sand and gravel, but both they and the surrounding hills, some of which rise to heights of 300 feet or more, are underlain by gneiss. In one place glacial grooves were observed, trending S. 35° W. Camp was pitched on the east shore, on the edge of a swamp, behind & sandy beach, in north latitude 56° 52' 45”. Behind us was a low hill composed at the top of a well-foliated gray gneiss, striking S. 25° W. and-dipping S. 65 E. at an angle of 45°. Its surface is generally strewn with boulders.

The river, where it flows into the south-west angle of the lake, is 35 feet wide and a foot deep, with low sandy hills flanking it on each side. The little stream then winds in a very crooked channel, with strong current, through an extensive marsh. At a point a mile from the lake, a hill rises on the east bank tu a height of a hundred feet above the marsh. Near the base it is sandy, while at the top it con- sists of a well foliated biotite-gneiss, striking south and dipping east at an angle of 60°. Its rounded surface is rather roughly weathered, but shows distinct glacial grooves, running S. 35° W. To the west is a wide sandy valley, wooded with Banksian pines, stretching out north- westward into low land as far as the eye can see. In other directions he whole surrounding country is sandy, with a few isolated hills.

Esker or kame.

Lake.

High shores,

Low sandy hills.

Beaver-dam.

Forks.

West branch.

Gray biotite- gneiss.

Sand plain.

Source of Geikie River.

108 bp ~THABASCA LAKE AND GHURCHILL RIVER.

South-west of the marsh the stream spreads out into little elongated ponds, often not more than a hundred yards in width. At one place it was blocked by a beaver-dam, over which we were obliged to carry the canoe.

Camp was again pitched in latitude 56° 46’, on a sandy plain wooded with Banksian pine at the junction of two forks of the little river, both of which were blocked by beaver-dams. The surrounding country is undulating and sandy, but to the west is a high hill, the north side of the summit of which is composed of gneiss, while the south side extends into a long ridge of rounded boulders.

We struggled up the west branch of the little river, which here varies from six to twenty feet in width and flows through wooded sandy country, to another small oval lake three miles long and three-quarters of amile in greatest width. Both its east and west shores are formed of ridges, apparently of gneiss, from 100 to 300 feet high, and its islands are also rounded bosses of the same rock. Many of the higher points are smoothed and polished, showing glacial stris trending S. 55° W. At one point the rock is a light-gray almost massive biotite-gneiss, the surface of which is beautifully polished and shows two sets of glacial striæ, often separated by sharp angles, the older one trending S. 33° W., and the later S. 20° W. In some places the shore is composed of a wall of boulders. ‘The water in the lake is beautifully clear.

The stream flowing into the south end of the lake is from six to twelve feet wide, and winds in the bottom of a shallow valley through a plain of sand and gravel. After a course of a mile it comes from another small lake three-quarters of a mile long with wooded rocky shores. Half a mile farther up the creek from this lake, is another small shallow lake surrounded by high spruce-covered hills, and almost divided by a narrow wooded island, apparently composed of sand and boulders. A little rapid streamlet was ascended for ha'f a mile from this lake to another shallow straggling lake, on the south shore of which camp was pitched on the evening of September 5th, on a sandy plain with a thick growth of small Banksian pine, in north latitude 56° 37’ 35”. Around us the country was low, but to the south rose a high unbroken ridge of spruce-covered hills, barring further progress in that direction.

We had now reached the source of Geikie River, or at least of the branch of it that we had lately been ascending, and it was necessary to find some practicable route by which the canoe could be taken across the height of land to the head of some stream flowing south-

rem HEIGHT OF LAND. 109

ward towards Churchill River. The first thing to be done was to examine the shore foot by foot, in order to discover whether Indians hunting in this vicinity had ever entered or left this lake by any other route than the one by which we had entered it. At the east end of the lake we crossed a narrow wooded sandy neck of land beside a brook, and entered another little lake a quarter of a mile in diameter, on the east side of which, after long and careful search, we were de- lighted to find traces of an old portage route, though it was now blocked and barred by underbrush and much fallen timber. The path was 650 yards long, and when chopped out was a very good one, over hard sandy ground through a thick growth of small spruce and Bank- sian pine. The east end of this portage opens on a narrow, irregular lake, from the opposite side of which a little brook flows across a stretch of low land into another small lake, beside which are high rocky hills. There was no sign of Indians having ever travelled down this brook, so we turned southward to the south end of the lake. The rocky points on its shore are rounded, and consist of red biotite-gneiss, striking

Old portage-

route.

Red biotite-

S. 30° W., and dipping S. 60° E. at an angle of 50°, but blackened 8°

by a thin coating of tripe de roches. Finding no signs of a portage, we again turned northward and searched the shores for two miles, to the north end of the lake ; where a brook three feet wide was found flowing into it. On each side were high narrow elongated hills or eskers of sand and boulders, trending 8S. 45° W. Carrying our canoe past this brook for eighty yards, we entered another small lake lying in the same direction as the last.

Passing up this lake, to the west of which rise high wooded hills, for half a mile, we found a portage on the east bank at the foot of a steep slope of sand and cobbles. The portage is 325 yards long, the first 225 yards being up a slope of sand and rounded cobbles, over a ridge of gneiss forty-five feet above the lake, and the last 100 yards across a sand-plain to the end of a lake lying transversely to the last. This lake is narrow and three-quarters of a mile long, with low wooded shores. From its east end a brook flows eastward, on whose north bank we carried the canoe for eighty yards to another and rather larger lake, across which we travelled for a mile and a-half to its outlet in a brook six feet wide, near which we camped for the night in north latitude 56° 38’ 18”. The variation of the compass was found to be 25° east.

The work of the next few days showed us that the low sandy country

Height-of- land Portage.

Low sandy

which we had just crossed lies on the height of land between the country.

waters flowing to Wollaston Lake and those flowing to Churchill

110 bp ATHABASCA LAKE AND CHURCHILL RIVER.

River. As we have seen, the country to the north of this watershed is thickly covered with detrital material, brought by the great Keewatin glacier and its glacial streams and lodged near its front as it retired to the north.

Foster Lake and River.

Brook flowing From camp we descended a little brook, that tumbled over boulders

southward. in a wooded valley, for a quarter of a mile, to a fall over a ridge of green and red hornblende-gneiss containing a considerable quantity of titaniferous iron ore in small grains. The canoe was carried for 190 yards on the south-east bank to the foot of the rapid.

Small lake. The brook enters the south-Western extremity of a larger lake of very yellow muddy water, with rather low shores fringed with boulders, but with occasional points composed of gneiss striking in the direction of the long axis of the lake. One smoothly polished surface showed glacial striæ, trending S. 48° W. The lake is five miles ând a-half long, and its south-east shore was followed to its north-eastern end, where a short rapid stream was found flowing eastward into another lake, which was not recognised at the time, but which we afterwards learned to be an arm of Foster Lake, so called in honour of Hon. G. E. Foster, Finance Minister of Canada.

Foster Lake, Three-quarters of a mile south-east of the mouth of the brook, is a high island of gray hornblende-gneiss, striking 8. 20° W., and with a high dip to E.S. E. From the top of this island the lake is seen to extend a long distance north-eastward with a high esker-like ridge on its north-west shore, and on the south-east shore some cliffs of sand. Generally speaking, however, the surrounding country is rather low, undulating and thickly wooded.

At the time it seemed to us that this might be a lake lying on the Vermilion River which flows into the south-west side of Reindeer Lake.

Again turning southward, for we were anxious to find a passable

canoe-route in that direction, we paddled for two miles to the mouth of

a little brook two feet wide flowing into the bottom of the lake. Here

Recent tracks we had the good fortune to find a portage newly cut out by Indians

of Indians. apparently travelling southward to Ile à la Crosse, and we at once decided, if possible, to follow them.

The portage was 250 yards long, over a flat composed of broken fragments of gneiss. It leads to the north shore of another lake four

Tyas. FOSTER LAKE AND RIVER. 111 pb

miles long with thickly wooded rocky hills on both sides, though the beach is often composed of boulders.

Behind a small island at the south end of this lake, the fresh Indian trail was again found on a portage 225 yards long. The first half of this portage was up a sandy slope wooded with small Banksian pine to the top of a hill of gray, not very evenly foliated gneiss, striking S. 30° W., while the second half was down a very gentle slope to the swampy shore of a small lake thirty-five feet above the last. Camp was pitched on this portage, in :atitude 56° 36° 30”.

The next lake was only a quarter of a mile wide, beyond which was gmali Jakes

a portage eighty yards long, over a flat composed of broken fragments #4 portages. of gneiss, to another lake three-quarters of a mile long, discharged

by a little brook eighteen inches wide ; but the Indians had not passed

here, so we searched back around the eastern shore till we came to the

portage. It was 950 yards long, and led south of a high rocky hill

over rolling country of sand and boulders to a small lake from which

is a portage 200 yards long, over a sandy ridge, to a sloping sandy

beach at the bottom of a bay of what was afterwards found to be the

lake known to the Indians as Little Whitefish Lake.

The wind had now risen very high and it began to rain, so that our Little White-

progress was much impeded. The lake is a very pretty body of clear, heh Lake. cold water. Its contour is very irregular, and it is divided into two roughly equal parts by a strait 725 feet wide. Its shores are rugged and rocky, rising into high thinly wooded hills and ridges, separated by deep valleys. The rock is an evenly foliated reddish-gray granular biotite- gneiss, with a general strike S. 25° W., and a high dip, cut by many large and small veins of red pegmatite. There is but little sand or till, and the rock is almost everywhere well glaciated, showing glacial mark- ings trending S. 30° W.. The lake is discharged by a stream fifty feet wide, with stiff current, flowing between low rugged points of gneiss. A third of a mile lower this stream flows over two little rapids into another irregular lake similar to, but smaller than, Little Whitefish Lake. On a low rocky point on its shore we camped, jn pouring rain, on the evening of the eighth of September.

Circling to the right round the rocky shores of this lake, we travelled seven miles in search of its outlet, which we at length found less than à mile from where we entered it. The rapid at the head of the river was run with the half-loadéd canoe, and a short distance below it another winding lake was entered. Atits entrance is a point of coarse dark-gray hornblende-granite-gneiss, cut by many joints and breaking down in vertical cliffs.

Foster Lake.

Heavy rapid.

High rock hill, y

Foster Lakes.

112 p ATHABASCA LAKE AND CHURCHILL RIVER.

We passed for three miles and a quarter under the rocky banks and islands of this crooked lake, and down the river for a mile and three. quarters over two little rapids, to its mouth in a lake which was sub- sequently found to be Foster Lake, and which the Indians at Ile a la Crosse afterwards told us, was the same lake we had left two days before. We paddled for three-quarters of a mile, to a high point of heavily laminated gneiss striking S. 45° W., and with almost ver- tical dip. From this point we passed out into the large lake, studded with islands, when Heddery, one of our Chippewyan Indians, sud- denly recognized a point where he had taken dinner in the previous spring. He at once recalled to mind the geography of the surrounding country, and as he had many times descended the river flowing from this lake to Churchill River, all uncertainty as to our course was at an end. We were on the regular hunting grounds of the Ile à la Crosse Indians, and the remainder of our course to that trading post was known to both our Chippewyans.

We immediately turned into a bay, rather more than half a mile deep and reached a river of considerable size at a heavy rapid. This rapid has a descent of ten feet, the upper part in a gorge between rocks only ten feet apart, and the lower part wide and over a bed of large boulders. The canoe was carried for 270 yards on the north bank to a grassy flat at the bottom of the rapid. A hundred yards below, the river opens into the side of a long narrow lake, stretching north-east and south-west, belonging to the group of lakes here called Foster Lakes. We turned southward for a mile and a-quarter and camped on its west shore, behind a little sandy beach at the foot of a steep cliff of gneiss, striking south-west and dipping north-west, at an angle of 60°. The country passed through during the day rises in high rocky hills, sand-plains and hills of boulders being conspicuously absent.

The country now slopes southward, and the detrital material derived from the drainage of the Keewatin glacier appears, for the most part, to have been carried away by the rapid streams, instead of lodging near the foot of the glacier, as it had done north of the watershed.

Foster Lakes are said to consist of three long irregular bodies of water, connected by short stretches of rapid river, and like Wollaston Lake, to discharge by two outlets in opposite directions, the Vermilion River flowing north-eastward to Reindeer Lake, and Foster River flowing southward to Churchill River. But the lateness of the season, and the almost exhausted state of our provisions, prevented us from ex- ploring the lake in any other direction than towards the head of Foster

TYRRELL FOSTER LAKE AND RIVER. 113 bp

River. This arm of the lake, from the mouth of the river just de- scended to the head of Foster River, is fifteen miles long and about half a mile wide, but narrowing at one place to 150 feet wide. The shores are composed of high ridges of rather dark fine-grained biotite-gneiss, striking south-westward, their sides descending in wooded slopes to a beach of boulders. At the Sandy Narrows, four miles north-east from the head of the river, there is a stiff current between high thickly wooded hills. Just at the foot of the current, on the west shore, is a Jong narrow esker-like ridge of sand and boulders, running S. 30° W., Esker. wooded with a pleasant grove of aspens, giving promise of more fertile country further south, where, as the Indians said with glee, we would burn only poplar. To the south-west of the sandy ridge is a hill 175 feet high, composed of dark highly garnetiferous biotite-gneiss, interlaminated with many bands of very coarse white pegmatite. For the rest of the way to the head of the river the shores consist of similar garnetiferous gneiss.

From the lake, Foster River continues to flow in a deep valley along foster River. the strike of the gneiss, and for eighteen miles, measured in a straight line, it is one almost continuous series of heavy rapids over a bed of well-rounded boulders. Most of these rapids were descended with poles. The river seldom impinges against the rocky banks, but where seen the rock is a dark gray biotite-gneiss or schist. Towards the end of the distance mentioned, the rapids are separated by wide shallow stretches of quieter water, and hills of sanl and boulders begin to make their appearance. At the end of the eighteen miles is a heavy crooked rapid with a descent of ten feet, past which the canoe was carried on the west bank for 280 yards, on a sandy slope at the foot of a hill of sand and boulders, and then over a flat of large boulders.

Half a mile further south, the river touches the foot of a hill of Hillofreddish rather coarse-grained reddish biotite-granite-gneiss, striking S. 60° W. and dipping N. 30° W. at an angle of 40°. It is interlaminated here and there with occasional distinct dark bands of gneiss or mica-schist, . with a large proportion of biotite.

On entering this country of red gneiss, the valley spreads out into Vajley sloping basin-shaped depressions. At first, for five miles and a half, the expands. river takes a very straight course between wooded hills, having a moderate current, except at three heavy rapids where rocky barriers cross the stream. At these rapids portages were made on the east bank, respectively 275, 200 and 210 yards in length. Afterwards the river

‘ winds for three miles and a-half, measured as the crow flies, in a very

Little White. fish River.

Change in course of stream.

Sand plain.

Bold rocky shorea,

114 D A Tha Pasca Lake And Churchiil River.

crooked channel with reedy banks, through a low marsh, occupying the bottom of a basin surrounded by rocky hills.

Below this marsh it drops in a very beautiful fall, where a barrier of reddish gneiss crosses its course. The canoe was carried for 160 yards on the east bank, over rock and through swamp, to the foot of the fall. About 300 yards below the foot of this portage the canoe was again put ashore on the west bank and carried for 750 yards over gently undulating sandy ground and over a bench of sand and rounded cobbles, to the foot of a long rapid in which are two abrupt falls over bands of similar gneiss.

For half a mile farther, the river continues to flow in the same southerly direction, until it is joined by Little Whitefish River, a stream of considerable size flowing from the west.

Thus far Foster River had been a rapid torrential stream, flowing in a very direct course southward in a well-defined channel and not expanding into lakes. Here it turns sharply eastward and at a distance of a third of a mile, reaches the head of another rapid, past which the canoe was carried for 275 yards, on the south bank, over a little hill, the centre of which is of reddish gneiss, while the sides are of sand and rounded cobbles. A short distance below this hill a rounded boss of dark-gray gneiss shows distinct glacial grooves, trend- ing S. 32° W. Three-quarters of a mile lower down the stream the water rushes over ledges of reddish gneiss, with a descent of eight feet, down which the empty canoe was run. The load was carried for 250 yards on the south bank along a sloping rounded hillside over broken fragments of slippery rock.

The country now changes considerably, the rocky hills almost entirely disappear, and the river flows in a narrow crooked valley through a sand and gravel plain or terrace that rises forty feet above it. This plain gradually descends until, in latitude 55° 58’ 45” it was found to be but three feet above the water. The river, 150 feet wide, here runs with an easy current in a channel overhung with willows.

One of the mien was observed writing in syllabic characters on one of the trees, and on being asked what he had written he answered, ‘Namukakwé mechim” (no food at all). For the remainder of our journey to Ile a la Crosse we depended on ducks shot by the way.

Below this place, the sandy plain descends to the level of the river, which flows through a low marshy tract, until passing through a bed of reeds, it enters a lake with bold rocky shores. Three-quarter

a

rraneus. FOSTER RIVER. 115 p

of a mile above the lake, the river impinges against the foot of a high ridge, running S. 15° W., of a medium-grained red granite, in places slightly foliated, and interlaminated with occasional bands of medium- grained dark-gray mica-diorite-gneiss. In the lee of the rocky hill boulders are scattered, imbedded in a fine white sandy clay or rock- flour. The lake is three miles and a-half long, the shore to the south- east being almost bare red granite, while the rocky hills to the north- west are generally covered with forest. Below the lake the river rushes down two rapids hardly a quarter of a mile apart, both over reddish gneiss. Past the first, the canoe was carried for 300 yards on the north bank, over stony land covered with scrub; and past the second it was carried for 500 yards on the south side over a ridge of gneiss, with low country on both sides.

A mile and a quarter below the latter portage, past a narrow Sandy Creek.

winding Jake, Sandy Creek, a stream between twenty and thirty feet wide, flows in from the north ; and three-quarters of a mile farther, below three short rocky rapids, is a portage eighty yards long on the south bank. On this portage, among woods of small white birch and stinking willow (Viburnum lentago) camp was pitched on the evening of the 12th of September in latitude 56° 3° 35”.

Below this camp the river continues to flow between rocky banks River turns

north-eastward for a mile and a-half, and then turns sharply south- ward to a heavy rapid where the water flows over red and dark-gray gneiss, striking S. 40° W. Here the canoe was carried for 380 yards on the west bank, along the foot of a hill of gneiss, over a soil of fine light-gray silt, made up chiefly of small angular grains of clear quartz. This fine sand lies in all the little depressions in the rock surface. Three-quarters of a mile lower is another short swift rapid, with a descent of five feet over reddish gneiss, past which the canoes were carried for 140 yards on the east bank, over gneiss and the soft gray silt.

The river continues to flow southward with a decreasing current for three miles, until it empties into a narrow lake, three miles long, on each side of which are high gneissic hills, thickly wooded with small poplar and spruce.

Below the last lake, the river is again well-defined for two miles. In the middle of the distance it passes through a deep narrow valley, with thickly wooded slopes on each side, to a rapid over boulders with a descent of about fifteen feet. This rapid is passed by a portage on the west side 600 yards long, through thick woods over a narrow morainic

southward.

High gneinsie hills.

J umping-into- the-water Lake.

High wall of gneiss.

Last rapid on the river.

charged with pyrite.

116 bp ATHABASCA LAKE AND CHURCHILL RIVER.

hill, composed of boulders imbedded in the light gray silt. On the bank, at the foot of the portage, is a little gravel terrace. No ruck in place is exposed in the vicinity.

The river then opens into the northern arm of Jumping-into-the- water Lake. This lake is nine miles in length, gradually narrowing towards both ends, and bellying out towards the east, in the middle. Its northern end has rather low easily sloping shores, with some sandy beaches, while its southern shores are very rugged, steep barren rocky hills rising from the edge of the water. A point on a wooded island near its centre was found to be composed of highly garnetiferous biotite-gneiss striking S. 45° W., and dipping S. 45° E., at an angle of 73°. The rounded surface of this gneiss is much decomposed, but shows strong glacial grooves trending S. 40° W. Camp was pitched on the evening of September 13th near the south end of the lake, among small poplars, at the foot of a rocky hill of reddish-gray gneiss rather unevenly foliated S 35° W.

The river flows from the south end of the lake on the west side of a high abrupt wall of gneiss, and shortly afterwards tumbles down a heavy rapid over broken masses of gneiss to quiet water again. The canoe was carried for 300 yards on the east bank, through woods of small poplar and pine, over a soil composed of gray clay or sit, over- lying a dark-gray rather irregularly foliated biotite-gneiss.

The next and last obstruction on this river is three miles lower down, where, the water flows in a heavy double rapid with a descent of about twenty-five feet, chiefly over a bed of boulders. The canoe was carried past it for 300 yards on the west bank on a good track over a low hill of soft gray clay or silt. The surrounding country consists chiefly of high barren rocky hills.

Two miles lower, the river flows through a narrow rocky gap into the bottom of a deep bay of one of the lake-like expansions of Churchill River. On the west side of this gap is a steep rocky slope, underlain by a rather coarse plagioclase-granite often highly charged with pyrite. The pyrite has commonly been dissolved from the face of the rock, leaving a red or yellow porous mass and giving the whole face of the cliff a very rough spongy appearance. At a low point just outside the gap, a dark-green hornblende-schist lies in very irregular contact with the gneiss, and at an adjoining exposure the schist 1s irregularly cut by many veins of light red pegmatite. The surface of the rock here is scored by glacial grooves trending S. 35° W.

rraReu CHURCHILL RIVER. 117 D

Foster River had now been descended throughout its whole course from Foster Lakes, a distance of ninety miles, and with a total descent of 400 feet. The journey through the unknown country south of Wollaston Lake had been accomplished, and it remained to return up Churchill River to Ile & la Crosse as quickly as consistent with the necessity of shooting ducks enough to furnish us with food by the way.

Nn

Churchill River.

The Churchill River had already been surveyed by Mr. T. Fawcett, D.LS., and our survey was continued from the mouth of Foster River Endof survey. to a recognisable point on an island in Churchill River, after which our attention was devoted to sketching in additional topography along the line of Mr. Fawcett’s survey, and examining the country at the portages, camps, and at any other points where we were obliged to land.

After leaving Foster River, the high hills disappear, and the shores become lower and more gently undulating, rising in thickly wooded slopes from the rocky banks.

At the Lower Needle Falls, the water drops about four feet over à Lower Needle band of thinly and evenly foliated greenish-gray fine-grained biotite- Falls. gneiss striking S. 25° W. and dipping N. 65° W. at an angle of 80, interlaminated with some swelling and contracting bands of red granite. The surface of this rock has been weathered into sharp rough points and edges, and on their account, the voyageurs, who were obliged to carry their heavy loads over it with feet bare, or at best protected by soft moccasins, gave it the name of Needle Portage.

The Middle Needle Falls are over the same thinly foliated gneiss Migale containing a large number of quartz inclusions and associated with a Needle rather fine-grained light reddish-gray quartzite. It is everywhere very much jointed and broken. At the Upper Needle Falls, the rock Upper Needle isa thinly foliated gneiss, irregularly interlaminated with bands of Falls. granite. Needle Lake is a considerable body of water extending a long distance south of the line of travel, while deep bays indent its northern shore. A few hills rise here and there, one extending east and another south of the lake, the latter having the appearance of a ridge of sand. The country is more or less generally wooded with small poplar and spruce. The shores towards the east are composed of dark biotite-gneiss, generally dipping at a low angle toward the west, and further westward this rock is replaced by a coarse red granite rising in barren rounded hills. At the west end of the lake

Souris River.

Souris Lake.

Snake Rapid.

Snake Lake.

118 bp ATHABASCA- LAKE AND CHURCHILL RIVER.

the rock is a whitish, red-weathering, granular granite composed of quartz and microcline, in places showing a slight gneissic foliation. The surface is well rounded and smoothed, showing glacial markings trending S. 25° W.

Souris or Mouse River, flows into Churchill River in a wide marsh, circling round the north-east end of a high range of hills of red gneiss, striking S. 30° W. Glacial grooves were observed in two places trending respectively 8. 43° W. and S. 50° W.

A mile and a-half above the mouth of the river is an old fur-trading outpost, occupied only in winter.

Opposite the mouth of Trout Creek are three small parallel drumlin-like islands composed entirely of sand and boulders.

Souris Lake is a long stretch of open water, the shores of which are for the most part well wooded with poplar. Occasionally low points of red gneiss may be seen here and there, but the beach is generally of sand and boulders, and most of the Jow hills that lie back from the shore seem to be of the same composition. Where we turned again into the river the lake continued southward beyond the limit of vision.

Snake Rapid, a mile and a-half long, over a bed of boulders, con- nects Souris and Snake lakes. On its north side is a sandy terrace fifteen feet high, which gradually rises until it seems to merge in a low hill of sand and boulders. On its south side is a low hill, the summit of which is a moderately level plain, covered with Archæan boulders chiefly of local origin. On the portage-track beside this rapid, an In- dian living a short distance higher up the river had two large steel bear traps concealed and set, and some one of the party would have almost certainly been seriously injured but for a letter written in Chippewyan syllabic characters and hung on a pole warning everyone to “look out for the bear traps on the portage.” Unless our men had been able to read Chippewyan, this letter would have been of little service in warning us of the danger.

Snake Lake was crossed against a heavy west wind. No rock was seen, the surrounding country being composed of wooded hills of boulders, the highest being the ridge to the south-east of the lake.

A short distance above Snake Lake, the rock again makes its ap- pearance, as a coarse red garnetiferous hornblende-gneiss, striking 5. 30° to 35° W., and more or less nearly vertical. Below the mouth of Haultain River, it flows with a strong current through a wide marsh

res. CHURCHILL RIVER. 119

between long ridges of gneiss. Haultain River, where it flows into the Houltain north side of Churchill River, over a shallow bar of sand, is about 300 feet wide.

Lac de Geneau or Knee Lake is a large stretch of fairly open water, Knee Lake. bent around a long narrow point extending towards the south-west. This point, and, in fact, most of the shore, consists of low hills covered with a forest of poplar, through which bare rounded points and knobs of gneiss project here and there. Between these points the beach is commonly strewn with boulders.

The Lower Knee Rapid is a long shallow stretch of water flowing at Knee Rapids. tirst over a ledge of moderately coarse red gneiss, and then over a bed of boulders. The north bank is a cliff thirty feet or more in height, of light-gray sandy till, holding a large number of boulders and rising to an even sandy plain or terrace. The Middle and Upper Knee Rapids are around a long point of red gneiss, which becomes grayer and contains more plagioclase on its west side.

The shores of Lake Primeau are generally low and composed of Primeau reddish gneiss, rising to some rather high hills towards the north. Lake.

On the east side of Pelican Lake is a low point of reddish-grey Pelican Lake.

gneiss wooded with poplar and willow. The surface is somewhat weathered, but it shows clear glacial grooves running S. 20° W., in which are many typicel cross fractures opening southward. Here we heard shooting at the mouth of the river, about four miles distant, and crossing the lake, we came to a large band of Chippewyans on their way from Ile à la Crosse to their hunting grounds in the north on Haultain and Foster rivers. From them provisions were obtained sufficient for the remainder of our journey.

Pelican Rapids is a cascade with a descent of about eight feet over Pelican a red medium-grained biotite-gneiss, generally almost massive, but in Rapids. places slightly foliated N. 50° W. The north bank below the fall is a terrace of sand and boulders twenty feet high.

For several miles above Pelican Rapid, the river flows from the north-west with a moderate current, between low sandy banks over- hung with willows, beyond which the country is wooded with poplar.

At the lowest Deer Rapid, on the south bank, is a rounded hill of Deer Rapid. coarse red gneiss striking S. 15° W., and dipping S. 75° E. at an angle of 60°. The surface is smooth, and in many places quite brightly polished, and up the stoss side and on the summit, fine and coarse

120 pb ATHABASCA LAKE AND CHURCHILL RIVER.

striæ can be clearly seen running S. 22° W. On a polished surface in a slight hollow on the summit, older strie run south, but it is not probable that there is much difference in the ages of the two sets. Above this rapid, for half a mile, to the next rapid, the river flow: from the south in a trough of this coarse red granitoid gneiss, the sloping rock on each side being beautifully smoothed and grooved ail down its side, by the action of the ice-sheet, which moved direct!s along the axis of the trough.

Last exposure A short distance above this rapid, a hill of red granite rises on the of “Archean south bank, being the last outcrop of Archæan rocks seen in the Churchill ascent of the Churchill River. A little higher up stream, the mouth River. of Mudjatic River was passed, and we were again in country that we

had passed through nearly three months before.

Our circle of explorations through the country to the north had

been completed, and we hurried on and reached Ile à la Crosse on the

. evening of the 20th September, just as a heavy equinoxial storm set in. ;

120 pb ATHABASCA LAKE AND CHURCHILL RIVER.

striæ can be clearly seen running 8. 22° W. On a polished surface in a slight hollow on the summit, older striæ run south, but it is not probable that there is much difference in the ages of the two sets. Above this rapid, for half a -mile, to the next rapid, the river flow: from the south in a trough of this coarse red granitoid gneiss, the sloping rock on each side being beautifully smoothed and grooved all down its side, by the action of the ice-sheet, which moved directly along the axis of the trough.

Last exposure A short distance above this rapid, a hill of red granite rises on the of Archean gouth bank, being the last outcrop of Archæan rocks seen in the rocks on . . . .

Churchill ascent of the Churchill River. A little higher up stream, the mouth — River. of Mudjatic River was passed, and we were again in country that we

had passed through nearly three months before.

Our circle of explorations through the country to the north had been completed, and we hurried on and reached Ile à la Crosse on the

evening of the 20th September, just as a heavy equinoxial storm

set in. ; ;

120 p ATHABASCA LAKE AND CHURCHILL RIVER.

striæ can be clearly seen running 8. 22° W. On a polished surface in a slight hollow on the summit, older striæ run south, but it is not probable that there is much difference in the ages of the two sets. Above this rapid, for half a mile, to the next rapid, the river flow: from the south in a trough of this coarse red granitoid gneiss, the sloping rock on each side being beautifully smoothed and grooved all down its side, by the action of the ice-sheet, which moved directly along the axis of the trough.

Last exposure A short distance above this rapid, a hill of red granite rises on the

of Archeean south bank, being the last outcrop of Archean rocks seen in the

Churchill ascent of the Churchill River. A little higher up stream, the mouth "wer. of Mudjatic River was passed, and we were again in country that we

had paased through nearly three months before.

Our circle of explorations through the country to the north had

been completed, and we hurried on and reached Ile à la Crosse on the

. evening of the 20th September, just as a heavy equinoxial storm set in.

Last exposure of Archæan rocks on Churchill

River.

120 bp ATHABASCA LAKE AND CHURCHILL RIVER.

striæ can be clearly seen running 8. 22° W. On a polished surface in a slight hollow on the summit, older striæ run south, but it is not probable that there is much difference in the ages of the two sets. Above this rapid, for half a -mile, to the next rapid, the river flows from the south in a trough of this coarse red granitoid gneiss, the sloping rock on each side being beautifully smoothed and grooved all down its side, by the action of the ice-sheet, which moved directly along the axis of the trough.

A short distance above this rapid, a hill of red granite rises on the south bank, being the last outcrop of Archean rocks seen in the ascent of the Churchill River. A little higher up stream, the mouth of Mudjatic River was passed, and we were again in country that we had passed through nearly three months before.

Our circle of explorations through the country to the north had been completed, and we hurried on and reached Ile à la Crosse on the

evening of the 20th September, just as a heavy equinoxial storm

set in.

120 Athabasca Lake And Churchill River.

striæ can be clearly seen running S. 22° W. On a polished surface in a slight hollow on the summit, older striæ run south, but it is not probable that there is much difference in the ages of the two sets. Above this rapid, for half a mile, to the next rapid, the river flows from the south in a trough of this coarse red granitoid gneiss, the sloping rock on each side being beautifully smoothed and grooved all down its side, by the action of the ice-sheet, which moved directly along the axis of the trough.

Last exposure A short distance above this rapid, a hill of red granite rises on the of Archean south bank, being the last outcrop of Archean rocks seen in the Churchill ascent of the Churchill River. A little higher up stream, the mouth River. of Mudjatic River was passed, and we were again in country that we

had passed through nearly three months before.

Our circle of explorations through the country to the north had been completed, and we hurried on and reached Ile à la Crosse on the evening of the 20th September, just as a heavy equinoxial storm set in. ;

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‘Geological Survey Of Canada

Report

Geology Of A Portion Of The Laurentian Area

North Of The Island Of Montreal

By

FRANK D. ADAMS, Ph.D. F.G.S8., F.R.S.C.

OTTAWA PRINTED BY 8S. E. DAWSON, PRINTER TO THE QUEEN’S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY

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To GEORGE M. Dawson, C.M.G., LL.D. F.BS., Director of the Geological Survey of Canada.

Sir,—I beg herewith to submit to you a Report upon the Geology and Economie Resources of that portion of the Laurentian region lying to the north of the Island of Montreal, together with a geologi- cal map of the same.

In the spring of 1885 I was instructed by Dr. A. R. C. Selwyn, then Director of the Survey, to undertake a detailed geological examination of this district, with a view to ascertaining the true character and relations of the great masses of anorthosite which occur in it and which had been supposed by Sir William Logan to constitute an upper member of the Laurentian system. These rocks, which are also very extensively developed in several other parts of the Lauren- tian, had attracted much attention on account of the large deposits of iron ore which they contain, but their true relation it was believed could best be ascertained in this district, which is for the most part comparatively easy of access, while forming as it does an eastward continuation of the Grenville district, previously mapped by Sir William Logan, it also promised to afford important additions to our knowledge of the Laurentian system as a whole. These expectations have, it is hoped, been in a measure realized.

The field work was carried out during portions of the summers of 1885, 1887, 1888 and 1889, and was completed in 1891 after the severance of my connection with the Geological Survey, to accept the Logan Professorship of Geology in McGill University.

The south-western corner of the area I have not studied, as no anorthosites occur there, and that portion of the sheet was carefully examined by Logan, being embraced in his map of the Grenville district, which appears in the Atlas accompanying the “Geology of Canada,” and published in 1865. It has also quite recently been re- examined by Dr. Ells, to whom I am indebted for information con- cerning the distribution of the crystalline limestones in this portion of the area. '

The north-west and south-west sheets of the “Eastern Townships ” map, issued by the Geological Survey, and the Sectional Map of the Province of Quebec, published in 1894 by the Crown Lands Depart- ment of the province, have been taken as a basis for the topography

of the accompanying map. It has, however, been corrected and 14

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supplemented by the more recent government surveys, as well as by extensive surveys of my own. The issue of a separate map to accom- pany the present report, is necessitated by the fact that the area described is unfortunately situated at the meeting of four sheets uf the geological map of the Province of Quebec, now in course of pre- paration, two of which sheets cannot be completed for publication for some years yet.

The petrographical work in connection with the Report has been carried out in part at the University of Heidelberg and in part in the petrographical laboratory of McGill University.

Previous to the commencement of my survey, a certain amount of work had been done in this district, by various members of the Geological Survey, at different times. Short visits to certain parts of it had been made by Sir William Logan, Dr. Sterry Hunt and Mr. John Lowe, a number of localities being referred to by them in the early reports of the Survey. In the summer of 1880, Mr. R. G. McConnell mapped an area of considerable size lying to the southern portion of the counties of Berthier, Maskinongé and St. Maurice, a small portion of which is included in the present map. Mr. H. G. Vennor and Mr. Lewis R. Ord also examined portions of the district in 1879-80. A short statement concerning the work of these three gentlemen is contained in the Summary Report of the Operations of the Geological Corps, by Dr. A. R. C. Selwyn, 1879-80, pp. 3-5.

My warmest thanks are due to Prof. Rosenbusch of Heidelberg for aid and advice on many points connected with the petrography of this district ; also to Prof. Carlyle, formerly of McGill University, now Provincial Mineralogist for British Columbia, who ably assisted me during the seasons of 1885 and 1887, as well as to Mr. Walter C. Adams, B.ASc., Mr. Nevil Norton Evans, M.A.Sc., and Dr. B. J. Harrington, for chemical analyses of rocks, and to Mr. G. H. Garden, C.E., and several other gentlemen who have assisted me in various ways.

I have the honour to be, sir, Your obedient servant,

FRANK D. ADAMS. MonTREAL, 25th June, 1896.

Table Of Contents.

PAGE Physical Features cece ene nent ence nee fees 7 Archœnn Geology—General Statement . dus cee cee eee e tue neat eee eeneenees 10 The Laurentian Gneisses and their Associated Rocks . wee 11 Stratigraphical Relations. ... 11 Grenville Series. bee cee ence cece noces 11 Fundamental Gneiss Lu ue see 28 Acid Intrusions Do eee vessreesessese oe 29 Petrography ., , os Lessersese 31 Gneisses of Igneous Origin ... 38 Gneisses, Limestones, Quartzites, &c., of Aqueour Origin 49 Gneisaes, &c., of Doubtful Origin , 67 The Anorthosites , .. esse. 85 The Morin Anorthosite ... , ace e ec eeeeeee see 85 Stratigraphical Relations Lee 85 Petrography and Structure .. 91 Other Anorthosite Masses .. 116 Lakefield Area cece ence cosseusre 117 St. Jerome Area 118 Kildare Areas... ... 122 Cathcart Areag ,.,., 4.. 123 Pont des Dalles Area , . 324 St. Jean de Matha Area. 125 Brandon Areas 126

Notes on the Anorthosites occurring in other parts of Canada and in Foreign Countries ... 4. tees Desesse.s 131 Post-Archœan Dykes . , wee eee . 134 Economie eologyn ... . , 139 Summary of Archean Geology . . ee ee ween eee 155 Appendiz I.—Literaturc relating to the Anorthosites of Canada 157

Appendix II.— The Smeltingy of Titaniferous Iron Ores ..., . 161

NoTE.—The bearings given in this report are all referred to the true

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Report

On The

Géulogy Of A Portion Of The Laurentian Area

Lying To The

North Of The Island Of Montreal.

PyHysicAL FEATURES.

The continent of North America, as is well known, has been gradu- ally builé up by the accumulation of sediments, about certain very ancient land areas which now form the skeleton of the continent and are termed its Protaxes. Of these by far the largest and most im- portant is the great Northern Protaxis, which forms the hilly and mountainous country bounding the plains of central Canada on the north, its southerly limit extending from Lake Superior in a north- easterly direction to the coast of Labrador, while in a north-westerly direction from that lake it runs nearly to the shores of the Arctic Sea.

This great core or nucleus of the American continent, lying almost entirely within the Dominion of Canada and embracing as exposed an area of some 2,001,250 square miles,* constitutes what the dis. tinguished Austrian geologist Suess, has termed ‘‘The Canadian Shield” or “ Boss,” of the earth’s crust, as well as the more mountain- ous stretch of country along the Labrador coast, and is composed ex- clusively of very ancient crystalline rocks.

The district covered by the present Report forms a portion of this Protaxis, being situated at its southern edge, which here runs nearly parallel to the course of the River St. Lawrence and is about twenty miles north of the Island of Montreal, as shown in the accompanying map, which comprises an area of 3258 square miles, situated in the counties of Argenteuil, Terrebonne, Montcalm, Joliette, L’Assomption, Berthier and Maskinongé, in the province of Quebec.

*This dues not include the outlying and separated Archean areas, occurring in Newfoundland, and in the States of New York and Michigan, and is based on the supposition that the limits assigned to the nucleus in the imperfectly explored regions of the far north by Dr. G. M. Dawson are correct. See G. M. Dawson, Notes to accompany a Geological Map of the Northern Portion of the Dominion of Canada, Annual Report, Geol. Surv. Can., vol. II. (N.S.), 1886.

Northern Protaxis.

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Aspect of its In the aspect of its relief, the district embraced by the accompanying relief. eo . . map presents a well marked division into a great plain which stretches across its southern portion, occupying the valley of the St. Lawrence, and which is underlain by Paleozoic strata of Cambro-Silurian age, and a hilly or mountainous district composed of Archæan rocks to the north.

From the St. Lawrence the plain gradually rises to the north-west, attaining in the present area at its northern limit, a height of about 300 feet above the St. Lawrence at Montreal. It is usually covered with a heavy mantle of drift, so that over large areas no exposures can be found, and is well watered, fertile and thickly settled by an industrious and thriving agricultural population.

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Rising abruptly from this plain, the Archean appears as a line of hills, stretching across the country and forming a very well marked topographic feature. These hills are distinctly visible from “ Mount Royal,” on the slopes of which lies the city of Montreal in the extreme south-east corner of the sheet, as one looks to the north on a clear day.

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The appearance which they present when seen from the plain at a distance of a few miles is shown in the accompanying sketch, taken from near the southern corner of the township of Brandon (Plate IT).

ARR A tres.

These hills really constitute the edge or southerly Jimit of a great uneven plateau, which, however, like the plain, rises gradually to the north-west.

Roughly speaking it may be said that, if a line be drawn across the plateau, parallel to the northern edge of the plains, and about half way between the plain and the north-west corner of the sheet,

Elevation’of the district to the south of this line would have an average elevation

plateau. of about 1000 feet, while to the north of it the country frequently attains an elevation of 1500 feet, or to the extreme north-west, of 1900 feet. Isolated hills rise still higher, as, for instance, Trembling Moun- tain (Plate II.), which is probably the highest point in the district, and which attains a height of 2380 feet above sea level. Logan in 1858 measured trigonometrically the height of Trembling Mountain above Trembling Lake and found it to be 1713 feet. A barometic determi-

Trembling nation by Dr. Ells and myself gave the height as 1720 feet. Logan's

Mountain. estimate of the total height of this mountain as “about 2061 feet above Lake St. Peter,” is, however, too low, as the railway at Chute aux Iroquois is 726 feet above Montreal and Trembling Lake is 90 feet below Chute aux Iroquois.

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The hills about Ste. Agricole also, on a moderate computation, must attain a height of 2100 feet, the central portion of the township of

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. Vou. VIII., Parr J.

Fic. 1.—LAURENTIAN HILLS, FORMING THE EDGE OF THE NORTHERN PROTAXIS, NEAR SOUTHERN CORNER OF THE TOWNSHIP OF BRANDON. .

Fic. 2.— TREMBLING MOUNTAIN, AS SEEN FROM SOUTH-WEST SIDE OF TREMBLING LAKE.

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ana. PHYSICAL FEATURES. 95

Archambault, in which this place is situated, being occupied by the “ Montagne Noire,” which is so rugged that in laying out the town- ship, it was left entirely unsurveyed.

This Archæan plateau has a remarkable mammillated or undulating surface, the depressions being generally filled in with drift, forming extensive flats which are studded with numerous lakes, great and small, filled with clear water and forming one of the most character- istic features of the country. Rounded, ice-worn bosses or hills, protrude through the drift in every direction. These seldom rise to a height of more than three or four hundred feet above the average level of the country, and present, especially where the district has been traversed by forest fires, great faces or whole summits of bare rock. ‘The lakes are drained by several rivers tributary to the St. Lawrence, that run through drifted valleys of which the sides are usually beautifully terraced.

The landscape in this Laurentian country is of a very pronounced Character of type, which, while lacking on one hand the grandeur and sublimity of °""""”: the great mountain regions of the world, and on the other, the tranquil beauty of well cultivated lowlands, has a certain rugged beauty of its own, and when clothed with the autumn foliage, a remarkable bril- liance. Although the slopes of the hills are often cultivated, it is principally the depressions and river-valleys that afford land capable of settlement and suitable for agricultural purposes. The settlements therefore are, and must of necessity always be, more scattered than those on the plain, and the land although producing excellent crops in many places, is generally sandy and less fertile than that of the plains.

The country, however, now supports a hardy and contented population of farmers, which, except in the south-west corner of the district is almost exclusively of French extraction, and settlements are, year by

year, extending further back into the hitherto unreclaimed forests of the north.

The following is a list of the heights of some of the more important Heights of points in the area. These, with the exception of that of Trembling meen Mountain, before referred to, have been determined by instrumental levelling, carried out in connection with the construction of the Canadian Pacific, the Montreal and Western, and the Great Northern railways. The datum line adopted is that of the Canadian Pacific Railway, which is 19 feet above the old lock-sill at the entrance of the Lachine Canal in Montreal Harbour. This datum line is 30-61 feet above Steckel’s mean level of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In the following table this correction has been applied, 31 feet being added in each case to the height of the point as given by the railways.

10 3 Quebec.

Altitude of various Points on the lines of the Canadian Pacific, the Montreal and Western, and the Great Northern Railways above Steckel's mean level of the Ocean in the Gulf of St. Lawrence :—

Grenville Lee ees 221 feet. Lachute . 241 Ste. Thérèse 126 ‘: St. Jérôme 314 ‘ Shawbridge 605 Montfort Junction 531 ‘ Un Piedmont . 55 ‘ a Ste. Adéle .. 641 L Ste. Marguerite. beeen beeen ee eee 911 noe L Deep Rock Cut (M. & W. R. R.) 1031 di Lac la Fourche cee. 1014 Lo Ste. Agathe. 1243 Summit near St. Faustin 1406 “ fs St. Faustin wee. 1261 ‘ j St. Jovite a... 111 Lake Sam (surface). 150 4 Chute aux Iroquois (rail level) 157 ESS Three Sisters’ Rapids (low water) 728 ‘ RES Trembling Mountain. 2380 : it 7 Ste. Sophie 274 an: New Glasgow 367 ‘ ie pis. Bank of River Ousreau, 300 feet above the ‘ ni Le bridge— McLaren’s Mills, Grande Ligne. 266 “ D it Di ARCHÆAN GEOLOGY. he ne GENERAL STATEMENT. General That portion of the area occupied by the Archæan, is underlain for

tatement. . . . ous . . the most part by a series of gneisses, presenting great variations in both

structure and composition, and with which are associated crystalline limestones, quartzites, kc. These belong to the Grenville Series of Sir William Logan,* and are of Laurentian age. In certain parts of the area, however, there are great stretches of orthoclase-gnciss much more uniform in character and without limestones and quartzites. These are referable, in some cases at least, to the Fundamental ('neiss of Logan, which was by him believed to underlie the Grenville series and to form the basal member of the Laurentian system.

Geology of Canada, 1863, p. 839.

aoaus. ARCHÆAN GEOLOGY—GENEKAL STATEMENT. 11 5

Breaking through these gneisses and in some cases interbanded or interstratified with them, are several anorthosite masses, by far the largest of these being that which for purposes of convenience may be termed the Morin anorthosite, and which comprises an area of 990 square miles. Two important intrusions of acid rocks, one of granite and the other of syenite also occur in the district.

In the pres-nt report the anorthosites are shown to be intrusions, and are separated from the Laurentian proper. The name Laurentian is therefore made to embrace the Fundamental Gneiss, which, although, so far as can be ascertained at present, essentially igneous in origin, may possibly contain some sedimentary material, and the Grenville Series, which is composed of altered sediments associated with much injected igneous matter.

Tae LAURENTIAN GNEISSES AND THEIR ASSOCIATED ROCKS.

STRATIGRAPHICAL RELATIONS. Grenville Series.

The rocks composing the Laurentian in this portion of the Protaxis, usually possess a more or less distinct arrangement in the forin of bands, layers or beds which alternate with one another. That a purely objective attitude may be preserved the term band rather than bed will be employed, the latter term being usually associated with the

idea of a sedimentary origin which in the present case should not thus be taken for granted.

This banding is frequently replaced by a foliation caused by the Banding of the parallel arrangement of the individual grains of the several constituents of the rock, without any distinct arrangement of these latter in bands. In any district where banding and foliation occur together they usually coincide in direction, and are often found in the same rock.

In the eastern portion of the area, in the townships of Joliette, Brandon, Peterborough and Chapleau, as well as in the country to the north of these townships, these Laurentian rocks lie flat or nearly so. Further west, as shown in the sections accompanying the map, a series of low undulations appear, while in the western portion of the area they are thrown into a series of sharp folds with nearly vertical dips, the strike varying in different places from north-east to north-west. The eastern area of flat-lying gneisses, with occasional intercalated Flat-lying bands of crystalline limestone and quartzite, extends far beyond the gneisses. limits of the map to the north-east, occupying in this direction a very large district traversed by the River Mattawin, the Riviére du Loup

12 3. Quebec.

and other smaller streams, which cut their way down these nearly horizontal rocks, and along whose banks, from time to time, as well as in the cliffs bordering many of the little lakes drained by these streams, good sections, often representing a vertical thickness of from two to three hundred feet, are obtained. On the more level surface of the country on the other hand, the rocks exposed are of course compara- tively uniform in character. Over this tract of country, embracing an area of at least 750 square miles, the gneisses often lie quite flat, while low dips seldom exceeding 30° everywhere prevail. In several localities the direction of dip varies rapidly from place to place, low undulations in the flat gneisses being observed, running now in one direction and now in another. The whole area gives the impression of a comparatively thin crust, which has rested upon or has been sus- tained by an underlying molten or fluid mass.

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Figure 1.—Horizontal Gneiss, near Cedar Rapids, River Mattawin, Que.

Granite That this in all probability was really the case, is shown by the

batholite. . . eqs appearance from under the gneisses, in the southern part of this dis- trict, of a great area of granite, a portion of which is seen in the north-east corner of the map. This would seem to represent a very extensive batholitic mass of granite underlying the district in question at no very great depth beneath the surface, and here partially exposed by erosion.

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sous, ] STRATIGRAPHICAL RELATIONS. 13 J

Figure I. represents a sketch, showing a cliff of these nearly horizontal gneisses just below the Cedar Rapids, on the River Mattawin, about 20 miles beyond the northern limit of the accompanying map.

Plate III. isa photograph of a: other cliff, consisting in this case of white garnetiferous quartzite, interbanded with garnetiferous silli manite gnei-ses, within the limits of the map, about 2 miles north- west of St. Jean de Matha.

In the area embraced by the map, limestones have not been found in the Laurentian to the east of Ste. Emilie or Ste. Beatrix, but in the extension of this district to the north beyond the limits of the map, bands of crystalline limestone have been found at a number of widely separated points in the flat-lying gneisses along the River Mattawin au l about the head-waters of the Rivière du Loup. At one locality t'ree miles north-west of the Lacroix Rapids, on the Mattawin River, reddish and grayish gneisses with interstratified quartzites occur in horizontal layers, with bands of white crystalline limestone, in some places quite pure and elsewhere holding grains of serpentine and scales of mica. At one place, in a cliff by the side of a lake, several limestone bands were observed, one above the other in the same exposure. Three Crystalline of these had thicknesses of three, four and eight feet, respectively. At limestones. another point half a mile distant, two bands of limestone were seen in a similar exposure, the upper being six feet thick, while the lower was exposed for a thickness of twenty feet, the lower limit not being seen. These bands could be traced horizontally in the face of the cliff for a distance of half a mile.

Between Ste. Emilie, Ste. Beatrix and Radstock on the east and the Morin anorthosite on the west, the Laurentian is thrown into a series of folds, which toward the south are overturned, and in this district crystalline limestone is exposed at a number of points. Most of the exposures, however, seem to be parts of a single band repeatedly brought up by the folding, and coinciding in strike with the surrounding gneiss. (See the sections accompanying the map). Sore large bands of anorthosite also occur in this district. Toward its southern limit along the edge of the Paleozoic, in the townships of Rawdon and Kildare, Strike of the gneiss strikes nearly north-and-south, but going north along the Be nforms to eastern limit of the Morin anorthosite, the strike gradually turns more tno iy and more to the west ; the gneiss wrapping itself around the anortho- site mass, until at Lac des Iles it strikes N. 75° W.

In the great block of gneiss which extends into the anorthosite from the north, and in which lie the valleys of Lake Archambault, Lake Cuareau and a number of smaller sheets of water, a similar coincidence

14 9 Quebec.

between the strike of the gneiss and the direction of the anorthosite boundery is observed. North-east of Lake Croche and on the north- east arm of Lake Ouareau the strike averages about N. 20° E., while on the west side of Lake Ouareau north of St. Donat and about Lake Lafronay, which is situated about the middle of the township of Lussier, it averages about N. 55° W. This strike to the east of north is confined to the immediate westerly margin of the anorthosite, as on the north-west of Lake Croche it has already veered around to the west again.

Determines The influence of the strike of the gneiss on the shape and position

streams, f of the lakes and on the course of the streams is also very marked in this district, being especially well seen as determining the course of the River L’Assomption and the shape of Lac des Iles, Lake Croche, Lake Lafronay and Lake Pembina. Also in the forking of Lake Ouareau, corresponding to a change of strike, in the course of the River Ouareau between Lake Archambault and Lake Ouareau and in the position of Lake Archambault itself.

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In the north-west corner of the map the strike of the gneiss continues to follow the outline of the Morin anorthosite mass, being N. 20° E. on the Devil’s River, just north of the anorthosite contact, and N. 5 W. in exposures about two miles from the forks of the river, further south in the township of Grandison.

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Further south in the township of Wolfe, the gneiss is more masive, so that it is difficult to ascertain the strike, but at Lac Gauthier, on the line between Grandison and Wolfe, it is N. 20° E., still following the line of contact. Over the greater portion of the Augmentation of Mille Isles, further south, there is a general north-easterly strike, which, however, in the vicinity of the Lakefield anorthosite mass, veers around to the north-west, following the course of the mass in question.

Between St. Jér6me and New Glasgow the strike, which is at first north-easterly, swings around to the north as the latter place is approached, while to the east of New Glasgow, a wedge of gneiss strik- ing to the north runs up into the Morin anorthosite for a distance of fifteen miles, splitting it in two just before it disappears beneath the Palieozoic strata of the plains.

te hy In certain parts of the Morin anorthosite mass, as will be ex- pressure. plained, a foliation has also been induced by pressure in the anorthosite itself, which can be shown to have been originally a coarse-grained massive rock. This foliation also runs parallel to the limits of the mass, except along its southern boundary about St. Sauveur, where the anorthosite cuts across the gneisses and limestones of the Grenville

aps STRATIGRAPHICAL RELATIONS. 15 J

series, the strike of the foliation being continuous across the boundary from the gneiss into the anorthosite.

It thus becomes evident that, with the one exception just mentioned, the foliation of the gneiss runs around the anorthosite mass, following the windings of the boundary, and that it is not entirely an original structure, in consequence of which the anorthosite mass took its present outline, but it is in part at least secondary, having been caused by the great pressure to which both rocks have been subjected subsequent to the intrusion of the anorthosite mass, which pressure has induced a certain amount of motion in both rocks. This motion has been accom- panied by a certain stretching, dragging, or flowing of the gneissic series along the edge of the anorthosite, as seen especiully well in the abrupt change in strike of the gneisses along the immediate margin of the anorthosite mass about Lake Croche and to the north-east of Lake Quareau.

That a stretching of the gneissic series has taken place, is also clearly Stretching of proved in many places where the ordinary quartzose orthoclase-gneiss the gnelssic alternates with bands of dark pyroxene-granulite or amphibolite. In such cases the dark bands are often seen to have been pulled apart, the disconnected pieces being arranged in lines following the strike of the rock, and can be plainly seen by the fact that the ends of adjacent pieces match one another, to have originally formed parts of the same band. The accompanying sketch tuken from an exposure on the Cypress River, a short distance beyond the northerly limit of the map, shows thisexcellently. Here there are large exposures of fine-grained reddish quartz-orthoclase-gneiss, with bands of a dark pyroxene-amphibolite, the whole series being much stretched owing to a great curve or sweep in the strike of the gneisses of this district, whereby they are bent back upon themselves. By this stretching the amphibolite bands have been torn apart as seen in Figure 2, while the quartz-orthoclase-gneiss possessing a certain degree of plasticity, not only stretches, but fills up the spaces between the disconnectt.d fragments of the amphibolite bands.

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Figure 2.—Bands of Pyroxene-Amphibolite in Quartz-Orthoclase-Gneiss, torn apart by the stretching of the series. Cypress River. Scale, 1 inch to two feet.

The same phenomenon has been observed in hundreds of cases, not only in the area at present under consideration, but elsewhere in widely separated parts of the Laurentian. If the pressure is so intense that any member of the series is torn apart, it is always the basic rock which

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Faults.

16 3 Quebec.

shows itself to be the less plastic, while the highly quartzose rocks accommodate themselves to the strain by plastic movements. Some-

times, however, these basic rocks themselves suffer a very consider- — able amount of stretching before they break. This stretching can be ©

observed occasionally in the nearly flat gneisses of the eastern part of the district embraced by the map, the fragments here moving apart in a horizontal direction as from a horizontal disrupting force, such as might be exercised if the gneisses had been stretched over the underlying granite batholite, either by a downward pressure due to a great weight of overlying rock, since removed, or by an upward force exerted by the rise of the granite magma.

In the folded portion of the district further to the south-west, this tearing apart of the basic bands becomes more marked and very strik- ing and seems to be the invariable rule whenever rocks of this char- acter are associated with quartzose gneisses and the whole series 1s bent or twisted.

The same phenomenon is very well seen in the case of the thin bands of gneiss, so frequently found interstratified with the lime- stone bands. Here the limestone under the influence of pressure 1s the more plastic of the two rocks, and the gneiss, also plastic toa lesser extent, is bent into curiously complicated forms, but when the movements become too great is torn apart into curved and crumpled fragments, which, standing out from the weathered surface, give the rock a very remarkable and characteristic appearance.

It may appear somewhat remarkable, in view of the folding to which these rocks have been subjected, that faults are not more numerous. They seem, however, to be rare, although in such areus of contorted crystalline rocks, their existence is not easily determined. Only two were noted, although the existence of others was conjectured. The first of these is at the dam on the River Ouareau, where it flows out of Lake Ouareau. Here, two masses of red orthoclase-gneiss, with interstratified quartzite bands, come together, one set striking N. 10 W. and the other N. 40° E., both having a high south dip. This it will be noted is a portion of the area where the compression of the gneiss must have been especially severe, the ordinary north-westerly strike of the country-rock being changed to a north-easterly strike along the margin of the anorthosite mass. The second fault which was noted is on the road between New Glasgow and St. Calixte de Kilkenny, about six miles in a straight line from the former place, and at the contact between the gneiss and the anorthosite, where a fault probably occupies the bed of the River Achigan, one conspicuous band of gabbro running up to the river and there disappearing.

sans. STRATIGRAPHICAL RELATIONS. 17 3

The fact that these rocks have been folded rather than faulted, does Conditions of not seem so remarkable when it is remembered that the movements to ‘48: which they were subjected were brought about when the rocks were deeply buried and hence hea.ily loaded. Heim has shown folding rather than faulting to be the result of such conditiors in the Alps.

The fact that the rocks, when subjected to these movements, were in a highly heated condition, as will be shown in treating of the anortho- sites, probably contributed to the same result.

The alternation of the various varieties of orthoclase-gneiss with one another is especially well displayed in the township of Brandon where also there are very numerous and heavy bands of pyroxene-granulite, as well as several bands of anorthosite (p. 1263) conforming to the general strike. The township, therefore, merits a short, special

description.

The first ten ranges are for the most part cleared and settled, while the last two ranges are still largely under forest, the country rising to the north and being there more rugged. Un- fortunately much of the south-eastern part is heavily drifted so that over considerable areas no exposures can be seen. A striking feature of the eastern part of the township is the beauti- ful stretch of water known as Lake Maskinongé, with its extensive valley of flat drift extending northward through the 8th and 9th ranges and indicating a much greater extension of the lake in this direction in post-glacial times. Lac Corbeau and Lac Noir have also, as seen in the presence of similar drifted valleys, been much larger sheets of water in former times. The township is traversed by numer- ous roads which afford means of access to almost every part of it, and owing to the way in which it is laid out, the ranges running north-east and south-west, while the rocks strike north-west, the roads running between the ranges afford a series of lines of section directly across the strike.

In geological structure the township may be divided into two parts, Township of one consisting of the north-west two-thirds and the other of the south- randon. east portion comprising the remaining one-third. The north-west portion is occupied by a flat syncline, the rocks striking north-west, those of the eastern half of the township dipping at low angles, averaging about 25°, to the south-west, while thosein the western half dip to the north-east at angles of about 15° (see accompanying section,

Fig. 3.) In the two upper ranges, the strata over considerable areas

are quite flat, and no dip exceeding 15° was anywhere observed. In

addition to the regular north-east apd south-west dips above mentioned,

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apaus. STRATIGRAPHICAL RELATIONS. 19 5

slight undulations of the strata in the direction of the strike are often seen, so that in isolated exposures dips to the north west or south-east can occasionally be observed.

The rocks occupying this syncline consist of gneisses in great Rocks occupy- variety, fine grained granulites and leaf-gneisses, augen-gneisses, '"® syncline. .arnetiferous gneisses of various kinds, with occasional silliminate- sneisses. Also heavy bands of pyroxene-granulite and pyroxene. amphibolite, with bands of quartzite and three bands of anorthosite. A section across the township along the line between ranges VIII and TX. a distance of eight miles, is seen in Figure 3, and detailed petro- zraphical descriptions of the several rocks are given on pages 38 J, 76 J. These various rocks have the form of distinct bands which are usually sharply defined. No limestone occurs in this township. The rocks, as for instance granulite and pyroxene-granulite, often alternate in bands much too thin to be separately mapped, and the individual masses, even if of large size, frequently pinch out or alter their character in the direction of the strike, and the drifted character of the basin of Lake Maskinongé renders it impossible to ascert in whether the several groups of rocks recognized in the western half of the section reappear in regular order to the east of the synclinal axis. The anorthosites, however, were nowhere observed on this side, which indicates that they are not interstratified lavers but rather squeezed out intrusive masses and the exposures which are seen on the eastern half of the section indicate that the rocks here present fewer varieties. It is probable, however, that the fact that certain well-defined bands which appear in the western half of the section do not reappear to the east of the synclinal axis is due to the series being essentially a rolled out complex of igneous masses.

The exact thickness of the “strata” represented in this north-west portion of the township is not known, but, as has been mentioned, the country gradually rises to the north, and it was ascertained by direct measurement (aneroid), that starting from the edge of the drift-filled basin of Lake Maskinongé, at lot 6 on the concession line between ranges IX. and X., and going north to a point about the middle of lot lof range XII., the ascent is made over 540 feet of nearly horizontal strata ; if the average dip of these be taken at 15° this alone would — represent a thickness of 522 feet.

The evidence here, as in other parts of the area where the gneisses are approximately horizontal, goes to show that although the bands are not flexed and contorted they have been subject to great vertical compression. The various rocks are quite as highly crystalline as in

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Granite mass

20 5 Quebec.

the more contorted districts, the anorthosites show evidence of very great crushing since they were injected, and the gneisses themselves under the microscope show very marked cataclastic structure.

The south-east portion of the township is quite different in structure At the extreme south-east corner is a small area occupied by a portion of the great granite mass which occurs along the eastern side of the sheet. It is coarse in grain and sometimes possesses an indistinct folia- tion.

Limiting this granite on the west is a band of fine-grained granite about a mile and a half wide. It is quartzose and reddish in colour, almost free from mica or other iron-magnesia silicates, and nearly uniform in grain and composition.

In many places one can observe little local irregularities in grain such as are often seen in granite apophyses, and it frequently holds large orthoclase phenocrysts like the coarse granite to the east. In many places an indistinct foliation can be seen, and it often holds little strings and sometimes apparent fragments of white quartzite and of a dark basic rock, usually coinciding in direction with the indistinct foliation above mentioned, which is about N. 5° W. and parallel to the limit of the coarse-grained granite. This fine-grained granite is apparently a contact phase of the coarse granite, the transition, however, being very rapid, since on lot 1 of range III. the two can be seen within a few yards of one another. An actual contact or passage between them was nowhere observed. The western limit of this fine- grained granite, on the line between ranges I. and IT., is about the east half of lot 8. To the west of this the fine-grained granite is succeeded in the following lot by a well-banded grayish gneiss, striking N. 10° W. and dipping to the east at an ange of 65°. In this area are many dykes, veins or bands of granite, often very coarsely grained as is so generally the case in pegmatite apophyses, sometimes running parallel to the banding of the gneiss and elsewhere across it and anastomosing with one another. This gneiss is exposed at frequent intervals along the road for a distance of rather over three miles from the fine-grained granite, but is usually reddish in colour and holds bands of quartzose and hornblendic gneiss, frequently broken up into fragments, which, although in many cases evidently having formed parts of the same band, now lie in the reddish gneiss separated from one another. This reddish gneiss in many places resembles the fine-grained granite and is almost free from iron-magnesia minerals. The strike of the gneiss varies very much in different places, and even in the same exposure. It, however, always dips in an easterly direction or towards

anus. STRATIGRAPHICAL RELATIONS. 21 5

the granite, and always at very high angles of from 65° to vertical. From the last exposure of the gneiss on lot 17 to the western limit of

the township, there are no other exposures, the country being heavily drifted.

In the south-east corner of the township, therefore, we have the edge of a great mass of granite flanked by a band of much finer grained granite, and beyond this a series of highly tilted gneisses, which have been much disturhed, and penetrated by granite veins or dykes

apparently apophyses from the main mass, the series being entirely

different both in character and attitude from the well-banded gneisses of the flat syncline occupying the north-western portion of the town- ship. Between these two areas the township is under heavy drift, so that the actual relation of the two sets of gneisses to one another is obscured. It would seem, however, that they must be separated by some stratigraphical break, either a fault or an unconformity. It may be noted that if a line be drawn from the most westrly exposure of these south-eastern gneisses, on lot 17, to the northern point of Lake Maskinongé, it will divide the two series from one another, and such a line would also run nearly parallel to the limits of the granite mass.

The north-western gneisses belong to the Grenville series ; whether the south-eastern gneisses should be referred to the “fundamental gneiss” or not is uncertain.

Among the most important constituents of the Grenville series, not so much on account of their volume as owing to their economic value and the genetic considerations attached to them, as well as to the aid which they afford in working out the stratigraphical relations of the series, are the crystalline limestones. The existence of bands of crystalline limestone in the flat-lying gneisses, beyond the north-east- ern limit of the map, has already been referred to, but within the area emb:aced by the map, although not observed in the nearly horizontal gneisses of the north-eastern district, crystalline limestone is repeat- edly exposed elsewhere, as will be seen by consulting the map, being brought up by the folding of the gneisses in the more contorted parts of the area.

The south-western portion of the area embraced by the map, as has already been mentioned, was included in a “ Map Showing

Crystalline limestones.

In south-we portion of area.

the Distribution of the Laurentian Rocks in Parts of the Coun- .

ties of Ottawa, Terrebonne, Argenteuil and Two Mountains,” by Sir William Logan, published in the Atlas accompanying the ‘ Geology of Canada,” which appeared in 1865. In the map accompanying the present Report, the distribution of the limestones in Montcalm,

22 5 Queblc.

Morin, the Augmentation of Mille Isles,.and in the district to the suuth-west has been taken from this map. In the area worked out by Logan, which, however, lay principally beyond the western limits of the present map, he believed that the existence of either three or four distinct limestone bands of considerable size, at widely separated horizons, could be established with tolerable certainty. Dr. Ells, how- ever, who has recently re-examined this district, and whose report will appear shortly, doubts the correctness of these views, and believes that the limestones are concentrated towards the summit of the series. The character and distribution of the limestones in this portion of the

Ù area being described in the reports of Logan and Ells, need not here be further referred to.

Tt

In the north-west corner of the area, the Laurentian is represented by reddish and gray gneisses, often rich in quartz and well foliated, which on the Devils River are occasionally garnetiferous and associ- ated with quartzites. This district is a good deal drift-covered, an: no crystalline limestone was observed in place, but a large angular block of this rock found by the side of the Devil’s River, about the northern limit of the map, indicates that bands of this rock do occur here associated with the gneiss.

a

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Crystalline A heavy band of limestone runs through Trembling Lake, which

Treathng lies immediately west of Trembling Mountain, being exposed on the

Lake. islands in the lake as well as at its outlet. Crystalline limestone is also exposed at several points in the vicinity of St. Jovite, in the township of De Salaberry, but the heavy drift which mantles this portion of the country renders it impossible to ascertain the extent and distribution of the rock.

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In that portion of the district to the east of the Morin anorthosite, it was also believed at first that some five or six different bands of limestone existed, but the result of a detailed study goes to show that the three principal bands at least are probably repetitions of one and the same horizon, being related to one another as shown in the sections accompanying’ the map.

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The course of the several lines of outcrop of these eastern limestones may be briefly indicated.

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Crystalline There is first a small and comparatively unimportant ovcurrence on umestone near the west side of the North River, near St. Jérôme. Exposures of the limestone are seen crossing the road, and blocks of it may be found at intervals in the fields to the south of the road. Logan states that it can be traced for about a mile and a half, running in a direction

as. STRATIGRAPHICAL RELATIONS. 23 J

N.12E Although the surrounding country was carefully examined, no actual exposures of this limestone could be found, except those above-mentioned. In the direction of its strike to the south, it would cross the North River and be covered up by the Cambro-Silurian rocks within the next half mile.’ It does not appear on the banks of the river, however, neither could any continuation of it be found to the north.

A more important occurrence of limestone, although still compara- tively thin and impure, is found a short distance to the west of the village of New Glasgow, being exposed in the bed of the River Jordan and near the Cambro-Silurian contact. From this point it can be traced in a direction a little east of north, skirting along the edge of the great anorthosite arm, as far as range III. of Kilkenny, a distance of about six miles, where it is lost sight of.

An isolated exposure of a pure white crystalline limestone occurs on lot 10, range VIT. of Kilkenny, where it forms a low ridge about a hundred yards wide. This, however, is probably distinct from the New Glasgow band, which, if it holds its course as above described, would be cut off by the anorthosite a short distance to the north of the point where it is last exposed. It certainly is cut off by the anorthusite eventually, for the latter on the north passes across the strike of the gneissic series. What may be a continuation of this same limestone band, however, appears on the other side of the anortho- site mass, at Lake Ouareau. The most northerly point at which the limestone is here exposed, is a slight elevation rising above the drift on the Couture Road, on lot 20, range II., of Lussier. Following the prevailing strike, it appears again to the south-east, in Lake Ouareau, forming a series of little islands, which lie along the west shore of the lake. On one of these, which is composed exclusively of white crystal-

Near New Glasgow.

line limestone, with many little inclusions of gneiss produced by the At Lake

tearing apart of narrow bands in the manner already described, the strike is about N. 75° W., and the limestone is exposed for a width of 275 yards across the strike. This is not the whole width of the band as the exposure is bounded by the waters of the lake on either side. The band then appears on the east shore of the lake, near its southern extremity, where it has a width of about 200 yards. The southern portion of the lake is, in fact, excavated in a band of limestone, inter- stratified with white quartzite and certain gneisses which are almost invariably found associated with the limestones, which band, being very near the border of the anorthosite mass is, at many places all about the lake, invaded by and mixed up with ‘anorthosite, which is

Ouareau.

24 3 Quebec.

often intruded parallel to the foliation of the gneiss, and often has a more or less distinct foliation accompanied by excellent cataclastic structure (section 370). The‘fact that it was possible to point out the existence of limestone in this remote district was of considerable importance to the settlers there, who had been obliged previously to haul all their lime from St. Jérôme, a distance of forty miles over rough roads.

The strike, wherever this can be observed, indicates a sharp bending of the strata back upon themselves at the southern portion of the lake, corresponding to the outline of the lake. The foliation is prob- ably largely a secondary one, induced by pressure, as shown by the fact that it is shared by the intruded anorthosite. The limestone with its associated gneisses is limited on three sides by the anortho- site, and here again is evidently cut off by it.

Crystalline A second limestone band occurring to the east of the Morin anor-

limestone in thosite, is seen in the bed of the Black River, on the line between

ranges’ VIII. and IX. of the township of Rawdon ; then in large

exposures on ranges IX. X. and XI. of the same township, crossing

into ranges III. and IV. of the Augmentation of Kildare, on the

western corner of that township. Going still further north, it is seen

on lot 11 of range IV. of Cathcart, crossing range VII. of Cathcart

and running under a little lake on range VIII., appears again near

e St. Come, and is then exposed on lots 27 and 28 of the last range

of the township of Cathcart. To the north of this point the country

is unsettled, and covered with a dense growth of forest, so that the

continuous tracing out of a small band of limestone is impossible.

Continuing on the same strike, however, limestone was observed on

the front of lot 28 of range II. of Cartier, on the line between IT. and

III. of Cartier, also about lot 28, and then at two points on two little

lakes lying a short distance to the east of Lac des [lets on the stream

issuing from that lake. Limestone was also observed protruding through

the drift by the shore of the River L’Assomption, about four miles from

Lake L’Assomption. It is here exposed for a width of fifteen feet across

the strike, but the limit of the band is seen only on one side, the

water concealing its contact with the gneisses on the other. The

petrographical character of this limestone is described on page 66 J.

This occurrence, however, is not on the same strike and may not belong to the band above described.

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It was impossible to follow this band with certainty in its southerly extension. This is owing to the fact that the southern part of the town- ship of Rawdon is heavily drift-covered, comparatively little rock being

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avan. STRATIGRAPHICAL RELATIONS. 25 5

exposed. Mr. Carlyle carefully examined the River Ouareau, from Rawdon to the Cambro-Silurian contact, and was unable to find any limestone. Above the village, the river runs through drift, until the exposure of anorthosite at the upper bridge is reached. Small ex- posures of the limestone were, however, found protruding through the drift, on range IV. of Rawdon, about lot 13, which may possibly mark a continuation of the band in this direction, but if so, the limestone band is greatly diminished in size to the south.

This band, which may be called the Rawdon band, is most exten- Rawdon sively exposed on range IX. of Rawdon, and in the vicinity of St. Pand. Come. At the former locality, several years ago, it was extensively burned for lime, and at the latter place it is now being burned at two different points.

A noteworthy fact in connection with this limestone band, is that it occupies the summit of an anticline, the dip being from it on either side.

A third band is seen in considerable exposures about a mile and a half west of St. Alphonse, on range I. of Cathcart, where it is burned for lime, and to the south on the adjoining range of the Augmentation of Kildare. It is then seen near the road, about lot 38 of range VI. of Cathcart, and then at a number of places lying in a direction west of north from the last exposure and running through ranges VII, VIIT. and IX. of the same township, it passes into the forest covered township of Tracy.

The fourth band is thin and impure. A few exposures about a mile to the south-west of St. Ambroise de Kildare may probably be referred to it, but it is well exposed first, on range VII. of Kildar-, near the cheese factory, then about the rear of this township, then in the village of Ste. Beatrix, and again about a mile further north, at the bend of the River L’Assomption. Then in the Seigniory of the D’Aillebout, about three miles south of Ste. Emilie, and again on the Mattawin road, about the line between ranges III. and IV. of Joliette.

A fifth band, still further to the east, is exposed on lot 2, of range Crystalline VII. of Kildare, and is then covered with drift until it reappears limestone in Kildare. about three miles further north, in D’Argenteuil, at a point one mile east of the town-line of Kildare.

These several bands, together with those described in the south- Other eastern portion of the area by Sir William Logan, embrace all the occurrences. limestones which occur in it, with the exception of four small isolated occurrences. The first of these has been already mentioned, and is

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Continuity of the linestone

26 3 Quebec.

situated on lot 10 of range VII. of Kilkenny. The second was found on lot 22 of range IX. of Rawdon. It is about twenty feet wide, and is associated with a band of nearly pure, coarsely-granular, pyroxene rock, which is described on page 853. Its mode of occurrence is that of a lenticular mass. The third is on lot 20 of range V. of Rawdon. Tue fourth occurrence is found near the line between lots 8 and 9 of range VI. of Cathcart. This has been opened as a marble quarry, and partakes rather of the nature of a vein deposit. It is described on page 152 3, in the section treating of the Economic Geology of the district.

The question as to whether the Laurentian limestones form con- tinuous bands or are merely a series of disconnected lenticular masses has been frequently discussed. Their softness and the ease with which they are eroded makes these limestones appear less continuous than they really are, for glacial and pre-glacial decuy and erosion acted far more vigorously on the limestone bands and the strata immediately associated with them than on the harder gneiss of the series, and as a result the former almost invariably occupy depressions, and very frequently river-valleys or lake beds. In such places, of course, the drift is thickest and most persistent. When, therefore, the strata underlying such a drifted area are contorted and only protrude at intervals through the gneiss, or even when they are not contorted but exposed only at considerable intervals, it becomes a matter of great difficulty decide whether the occurrences of limestone form a continuous band of limestone or a series of disconnected patches. It becomes, however, necessary in this connection to define what is meant by the term “limestone band.” Pure crystalline limestone or marble. ten, twenty to sometimes 100 or more feet in thickness, is often found, but in the majority of cases the bands consist of the limestone inter- stratified with many thin bands of gneiss. This was true of all the limestone bands described by Sir William Logan in the ‘Geology of Canada,” the gneiss often constituting half or more than half of the whole thickness. When by squeezing or stretching these gneiss bands have been torn apart or pulled out into fragments, the gneiss and limestone become irregularly mingled together ; subordinate masses of limestone may disappear along the strike and gneiss may come in, to be succeeded again by limestones. The limestone also being very plastic under pressure, the relative amounts of the two rocks may vary in different parts of the band.

The band us a whole may thus be continuous for a long distance, while its individual component masses may and do thin out, disappear,

anaes. STRATIGRAPHICAL RELATIONS. 27 5

and become succeeded by others. It is thus by no means uncommon to find a limestone band which, at one part of its course, is represented by a thick development of nearly pure limestone, further on represented by a number of thin layers of limestone interstratified with bands of gneiss A limestone band thus becomes a certain horizon more or less thick in which limestone is abundant, while it is absent from the rocks on either side.

Accepting the term “ limestone band” in this sense, investigations in this area go to show that when the country is favourable for study, limestone bands are found to be continuous for long distances following the strike of the associated rocks, and that they are at least as conti- nuous as the bands of any other kind of rock making up the series. But, as before mentioned, their very nature causes them to be more easily hidden or drift-covered, than the bands of the harder associated rocks, and they are thus sometimes apparently less continuous than these.

There is reason to believe that the limestone bands sometimes act as Movements lines of least resistance along which motion is especially pronounced wong ne under the differential strains incident to folding. An excellent ex- bands. ample of this, on a small scale, was seen in an exposure about one mile south-east of a point two miles below the Ox-bow Rapids, on the River Mattawin, in the region of flat-lying gneisses beyond the north- ern limit of the map. Here the gneiss is usually medium in grain and is to all appearance as well bedded as any sedimentary series. Several little bands of crystalline limestone, from a few inches to two feet in thickness, together with a few small bands of quartzite, are interstrati- fied with the gneiss. An excellent section is presented in the cliff by the side of a little brook, and the effects of a thrust in a direction parallel to the bedding, consequent on the stretching to which the rocks in this district have been subjected, is well displayed. The upper beds can be plainly seen to have moved for a few feet over the lower beds, along the plane of a thin limestone band, which, with its interstratified gneiss layers, is quite undisturbed in the northern end of the section, while further south it has been broken off, folded on itself, and puckered up in a most complicated manner by the hori- zontal motion. —

The thickest body of limestone exposed in the area is probably that Thickest body on the islands of Lake Ouareau, which, as above mentioned, has a width 275 yards across the strike, with neither wall seen. The largest occurrence of pure limestene, unmixed with gneiss, uncontorted and dipping regularly, so that its true thickness can be ascertained, is a portion of the Rawdon band, on lots 27 and 28 of range X. of Raw-

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Fundamental gneiss.

28 J Quebec.

don, in the valley of a branch of the River Rouge. Hills of gneiss rise on either side of the river at this point, those to the west also holding some limestone, and between them is a nearly level interval through which the river runs. This strip or interval is 225 yards wide, and is in all probability entirely occupied by the limestone band, which, in that case, would here be about double its ordinary thickness, as it is bent back on itself, occupying, as it does, the summit of an anticline (see Section No. 1, on the map). Over the greater part of the flat valley-bottom, however, the underlying rock is concealed by drift, but on the east of the river coarsely crystalline limestone, for the most part nearly pure but in some places rich in serpentine, lying in regular beds or bands striking N. 20° W and dipping to the east at an angle of about 60°, is exposed for a width of 155 feet across the strike. This would give as a minimum an actual thickness of limestone unmixed with gneiss of 134 feet, while the thickness is probably much greater.

The petrographical character of this limestone is described on page 651.

Fundamental Gneiss.

Trembling Mountain (Plate II.), which was taken by Sir William Logan as the typical development of the Fundamental Gneiss, is composed of a fine-grained, pale red, orthoclase-gneiss, with a foliation which is generally distinct and with occasional bands differing slightly in character or coarseness of grain. It contains a very few thin bands of a nearly black pyroxene-amphiboli'e. The petrosraphical character of these rocks will be considered in detail on pages 42 5, 77 3, where it will be shown that the gneiss is really a crushed or granulated granite. The mountain is flanked on the south-west by the limestones and their associated sedimentary gneisses, of the Grenville series, occupying the greater part of the bed of Trembling Lake, and described on page 493.

In the south-western portion of the map, to the west of the great Morin anorthosite, considerable masses of more or less indistinctly foliated gneiss, without banding and often passing into augen-gneiss, are seen. These are also in great part crushed igneous rocks, and may be intrusive, but on account of the folding and squeezing to which the district has been subjected, it is difficult to separate them from the limestone-bearing series.

Along the southern portion of the township of Brandon also, as has been mentioned, there occurs a somewhat similar set of gneisses quite distinct in character and attitude from those in the northern portion of the same township (p. 20 J.)

nous. STRATIGRAPHICAL RELATIONS. 29 y

Whether all these gneisses really form a portion of a floor on which the Grenville series was deposited, since brought up by folding and erosion, and thus entitled to the appellation “fundamental gneiss,” or whether they are intrusive masses, foliated by the pressure to which the whole region has been submitted, cannot be determined.

Acid Intrusions.

Two large and important intrusions of acid plutonic rock break Intrusive

through the gneisses, one in the south-western and the other in the perte: north-eastern corner of the area. The former, which was examined many years ago by Sir William Logan, is referred to by him as fol- iows:—This mass of intrusive syenite occupies an area of about thirty-six square miles in the townships of Grenville, Chatham and Wentworth. In its lithological character the rock is very uniform, being composed for the most part of orthoclase, either of some tinge of flesh-red or a dull white with black hornblende and a rather sparing quantity of grayish vitreous quartz. The red tinge prevails more on the west side, the white on the east. In tle spur which runs into Wentworth, mica is occasionally found accompanying the hornblende. The rock is rather coarse-grained in the main ody, but dykes of it are vometimes observed cutting the limestone and gneiss, in which the grain is finer. These have not been traced as yet to any great dis- tance from the nucleus.”*

The granite occurring in the north-east corner of the map occupies a much larger area, but the mass lies for the most part outside the limite of the sheet. It is very coarse in grain, red in colour, and usually con- tains but little quartz and iron-magnesia constituents. The orthoclase usually occurs in very large individuals giving a porphyritic appearance to the rock, while in certain parts of the area, and especially towards the outer limits of the mass, the rock takes the form of a well defined augen-gneiss. This variety is well seen about St. Didace, where a microscopical examination shows that some of the augen are plagioclase and that the iron-magnesia constituent is biotite (section 357). The felspar augen, both in the massiVe and gneissic varieties, usually have an approximation to a good crystalline form.

The relation of this granite to the gneissic series in the township of (Granite of Brandon, has already been described (p. 20 5). Mr. R. G. McConnell, St. Didace. who mapped a portion of it in 1880, refers to it as cutting off the gneisgic series at one point where the direct contact could be seen.f

Geology of Canada, 1863, p. 39. {Report of Progress, Geol. Surv. Can., 1879-80, p. 5.

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30 J Quebec.

In the district south-east of St. Didace, the granite also appears to break through the gneiss. An examination of that district shows that at the junction there is a zone of rocks which have been much crushed and twisted and which show no distinct strike, while the strike of the gneiss beyond this zone follows the line of contact, the gneiss, however: having been apparently submitted to great pressure, as if shoved against the granite and forced or dragged along its edge. The granite beyond the eastern limit of the sheet is cut by a small area of anorthosite, so that if the anorthosite intrusions within the map are of the same age, the granite was intruded before them.

D EF .aremmtnmnibe- teemtater at area et mnt ees em

On the upturned edges of these deeply eroded Archean rocks, with their anorthosite. and granite intrusions, the Potsdam sandstone and succeeding Cambro-Silurian rocks repose in flat undisturbed beds. At some points along the edge of the Protaxis, as a‘ St. Canute, to the west of St. Jérôme, and on the River L’Assomption, the Potsdam sand- stone is observed resting on the gneiss, while elsewhere the strata in closest proximity to the gneiss consists of a magnesian limestone, probably Calciferous in age, as to the south of St. Jérôme, or of a highly fossiliferous limestone of Trenton age, as between New Glasgow and Ste. Julienne.

Paleozoic An outlier of those Palwozoic rocks, almost circular in form and

outlier. about two miles in diameter, occurs about nine miles north of the edge of the Protaxis, on ranges IIT. and IV. of the township of Abercrombie, showing that the Palæozoic covering once extended at least as far north as this.

These strata cover up the gneisses, anorthosites and granites alike, and are evidently of much more recent age, being separated from the Laurentian and its associates by a long interval occupied in the up- heaval and erosion of the Laurentian area.

How long before Upper Cambrian time this folding and erosion took place cannot be determined from a study of this area, but further west along the edge of the Protaxis in the Lake Superior district, we find that the Keweenawan and Animikie series also repose in flat undisturbed beds on the eroded remnants of a series of crystalline rocks which have the petrographical character of the fundamental gneiss. This makes it at least very probable that in this eastern area also, the erosion took place in pre-Cambrian times.

Pre-Canibrian It is a very remarkable fact that the roche moutonnée character erosion. possessed by the eroded Laurentian rocks and which is usually attributed to the glaciation undergone by them in the Pleistocene, was really

anus. PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 31 J

impressed upon them in the first instance'in these pre-Cambrian times, for all along the edge of the nucleus from Lake Superior to the Saguenay, the Palæozoic strata, often in little patches, can be seen to overlie and cover up a mammillated and roche moutonnéesurface showing no traces of decay and similar to that exposed over the uncovered part of the area. The conclusion therefore seems inevitable that not only were these Laurentian rocks sharply folded and subjected to enormous erosion, but that they had given to them in pre-Cambrian times their peculiar himmocky contours so suggestive of ice action.* The pre-Palæozoic surface of the fundamental gneiss of Scotland, as Sir Archibald Geikie has shown, also presents the same hummocky character. f

Petrography.

The Laurentian of this area consists of orthoclase-gneiss in almost endless variety, alternating or interstratified with pyroxene-gneisses, amphibolites, crystalline limestones, quartzites, garnet rocks, etc., which also present a great variety of forms and are connected by many transitional members. Thus bands of quartzite, while usually forming well defined stratigraphical units, frequently hold more or less ortho- clase, and thus pass into quartzose gneisses, or crystalline limestones in certain places become very.impure owing to the presence of various silicates, and might thus be classed as calcareous gneisses, and so on.

The orthoclase-gneisses preponderate largely and might, if the crystalline schists were classified in the same detail as intrusive masses, be separated into a number of petrographical species, each with its distinctive name, representing the mineralogical equivalents, not only of the granites and syenites, but also of all the various transitional forms standing between these and the gabbros and diorites, which latter find their equivalents in the true plagioclase-gncisses and am- phibolites. The one essential character of the gneisses is the possession of a certain banding or foliation, which on one hand may and often is as well pronounced as the lamination in any sedimentary rock or, on the other hand, may be so indistinct that its existence can only be detected by the examination of large weathered surfaces.

It is not, however, advisable in all cases to attempt to separate, classify and map these numerous varieties of gneiss, owing to the fact that they occur in smaller masses and are much more intimately asso- ciated with one another than is the case with their intrusive equivalents.

Canada—Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., vol. +A Fragment of Primeval Europe—Nature, Aug. 26, 1888.

A. C. Lawson, —-Notes on the pre-Palteozolc surface of the Archæan Terranes of

Orthoclase gneiss.

Mineralogical varieties.

32 J Quebec.

The classification of these gneisses is further complicated by the fact that each mineralogical variety may present great and important diversities of structure in different places.

Rocks of the From a mineralogical standpoint, the rocks of the Laurentian in Urentian. ° . . . . this region might be arranged in the following classes : — Gneisses— Quartz-Orthoclase-Gneiss (Grranulite in mn Granite-Gneias, or when poor

Quartz-Orthoclase- Biotite-Gneiss. in quartz or free from that Quartz-Orthoclase-Hornblende-(rneiss. constituent Syenite-Gneiss.

Orthoclase-Plagioclase- Hornblende-Gneiss. — Syenitic- Diorite-Gneiss.

Plagioclase-Pyroxene- Hornblende-Gneiss. --Gabbro-Diorite-Gneiss granulite

Orthoclase-Plagioclase- Pyroxene-(ineiss.-—Syenitic-Gabbro- Gnei Pyroxene Plagioclase- Pyroxene-Gneias.—Gabbro (ineiss. In part.

Plagioclase- Hornblende-Gneiss. -- Diorite-Gneiss (Amphibolite in part).

Garnet-Sillimanite-Gneiss. 1 No mineralogical equivalent Orthoclase-Scapolite-Pyroxene-(ineiss, Ke. J in the igneous series. Quartzite. (Grarnet Rock. Pyroxene Rock.

Crystalline Limestone.

The gneisses, especially in the basic varieties, are often rich in garnets, pink or red in colour, and frequently of large size. Such garnetiferous gneisses are an important element in many parts of the series, and especially in the vicinity of the limestone bands. Many of the plagioclase-pyroxene-gneisses are of course closely related to the foliated anorthosites. Muscovite is seldom or never found, while in the pyroxene-gneisses, rhombic as well as monoclinic pyroxenes frequently occur. In addition to the certain constituents of the gneisses, as given in the above table, accessary constituents are frequently present, although these are neither abundant nor numerous. Of these acccessary constituents the most important are, magnetite, ilmenite, pyrite, apatite, zircon, rutile, graphite, tourmaline, orthite, monazite and spinel. In some parts of the district the gneiss over large areas is very uniform and regular in structure and composition. This is especially true in those areas which may be referred to the lower or fundamental gneiss. Elsewhere, there is a great variation in composition and character in different bands within comparatively limited areas. This is particularly marked in the vicinity of the limestone bands, where the gneisses are usually garnetiferous and more frequently contain sillimanite, graphite, rutile, pyrite and other accessary minerals.

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sons. PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 33 J

À peculiar, very rusty-weathering gneiss usually, rather fine-grained and often nearly white on the fresh fracture, seldom occurs except in association with the limestone bands, and it is the exception to find crystalline limestone unaccompanied by this gneiss. It occurs not only in many parts of the area at present under discussion, but in every other part of Canada and the United States where the Grenville series with its characteristic limestones is found. It is especially well devel-

oped in central Ontario* and about Port Henry in the State of New York.

The quartzite, often garnetiferous, also occurs, chiefly in association with the limestones.

A noticeable feature in those Laurentian gneisses which have quartz and orthoclase as the chief constituents, is the small proportion of iron- magnesia minerals which they contain. It is rare to find such a gneiss rich in these constituents, and very frequently they are entirely absent. On the whole, hornblende is more common than biotite.

The colour of the ordinary gneiss on a fresh fracture is reddish or grayish. The more basic varieties are dark-gray or even brown in colour, while in the acid gneisses, reddish and light-gray tints prevail. The gneisses weather white, gray, reddish, or brown, according to their composition. They are occasionally very coarse-grained, especially in the case of the augen gneisses, which sometimes hold masses of fel- spir, an inch or more in diameter. They are generally however medium in grain, often fine-grained, but seldom so fine that the chief constitu- ents cannot be distinguished by the unaided eye, especially when the weathered surface is examined.

As has been stated above, the distinctive characteristic of all these gneisses is the possession of a more or less decided foliation or banded structure. By foliation is understood a laminated structure, produced in a rock by the parallel arrangement of certain or all of its constitu- ent ininerals. Thus a granite would become foliated if all the little biotite individuals were caused to assume a parallel position, and the foliation would become still more pronounced if the other constituents were also arranged in parallel strings. By banding is understood the alternation in the form of bands, of gneisses differing more or less in composition or structure, which ,neisses may or may not be foliated as well. The origin of this foliated or banded structure in the case of the Archean is one of the most difficult problems presented in the study of these ancient rocks. It was formerly supposed to represent the

*F. D. Adams,—Report on the Geology of a portion of Central Ontario, Annual Report Geol. Surv. Can., Vol. VI. (N.S.), 1892-93.

weathering gneiss.

Foliation and banding.

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34 J Quebec.

remains of an original bedding, due to sedimentation, but now almost obliterated, the gneiss thus being comparable to certain indistinctly foliated rocks found in contact zones about great eruptive masses of

granite. In recent years, however, the study by many able investiga-

tors* of the effects produced in rocks when deeply buried in the earth's crust and subjected to great pressure during the process of mountain making, have clearly shown that perfectly foliated rocks may be and are produced from massive igneous rocks, by such processes, so that the existence of a foliated structure in a rock can no longer be regarded as evidence of sedimentary origin. Any rock when subjected to defor- mation under the influence of pressure, will tend to assume a foliated character. If thesemovements have been very pronounced, the foliation will be correspondingly distinct ; while, if the pressure has acted on a complicated series of rocks of diverse character, as for instance igneous and sedimentary rocks penetrated by later intrusions,’ or on a great body of igneous rock which has undergone magmatic differentiation, a petro- graphical series composed of alternating bands of very different varieties of gneissic rocks may result.

The great irregularities in composition which of recent years have heen shown to exist in many large eruptive masses, make the intimate association of different varieties of gneiss, and their passage into one another, much more intelligible than formerly, since such associations and gradual transitions would certainly be presented in any gnei-sic series formed by the squeezing or stretching of differentiated masses of this kind. Thus, in several districts of ancient crystalline rocks which in recent years have been made the subject of very careful study, as for instance the granulite region of Saxony and the southern portion of the Grand Duchy of Baden, a great weight of evidence has been accumulated which goes to show that certain rocks which have been classed as Archean gneisses or schists are altered sedimentary rocks, while other gneisses in the same districts can be shown to be squeezed or crushed rocks of igneous origin.

The separation and recognition of these two classes of rocks will probably become more easy and certain as investigation advances, but it remains to be ascertained whether it will be possible eventually to bring all gneisses under one or other of these two heads.

A, Heim.—Geologie der Hochalpen zwischen Reuss und Rhein.-Beitrage zur Geol. Karte der Schweiz. vol. XXV. Bern, 1891.

C. Schmidt. —Beitrage zur Kenntniss der auftretenden Gesteine. Jb.

B. Milch.—Beitrige zur Kenntniss des Verrucano. Erster Theil. Leipzig, 18%. and many others.

aus. PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 35 J

The criteria for the determination of gneisses which consist of Criteria for metamorphosed sediments are not as yet thoroughly worked out, but tion the following are three lines of evidence by which it would seem that

such rocks may be recognized :— -

1. Their Chemical Composition.—Modern investigation goes to show By chemical more and more clearly that in their composition igneous rocks do not composition. present and exhaust all possible combinations of silica with the common bases present in them. Certain combinations of silica and bases are found in igneous rocks; others are not. Igneous rocks, turthermore, do not commonly occur indiscriminately associated with one another, but are found in certain family groups, constituting what are known as “petrographical provinces.” If, therefore, certain gneisses forming thick, well defined bands in any district of crystalline rocks, have à composition which is not that of any igneous rock but which is identical with that of the ordinary sediment laid down in the present seas, this is a strong argument in favour of the sedimentary origin of the gneiss in question. In the case of granitic rocks under- going atmospheric disintegration, the chemical processes at work consist chiefly of the partial removal of the alkalies with a certain amount of the silica and a portion of the lime, the rock at the same time taking up a certain amount of water. If the rock becomes thoroughly decomposed, as in the case of the decomposed granites trom which china-clay, a material almost free from alkali, is obtained (uut in the great majority of cases the decomposition is not so com- plete), the partial decomposition serves to disintegrate the rock, which, falling Lo a loose, earthy mass, may then be washed away, and eventually deposited as sediment. If the chemical action has been but slight, an arkose may in this way be produced which will differ but little from the original granite. If, on the other hand, the decomposition, although not complete, is well advanced, a fine mixture of sand and clay will result, which will be distinctly different in com- position from the original granite.

This mixture, speaking generally, will be richer in alumina and poorer in alkalis than the granite, and will contain proportionately more magnesia and less lime than the original rock ; and, although granites differing in composition necessarily yield products having corresponding differences, yet when these chemical changes have gone beyond a certain point, a decomposition product results which possesses a composition distinctly different from that of any igneous rock, and the most intense baking or re-crystallization cannot again produce a granite from it. If, therefore, gneisses were produced by the meta-

By resem- blance to con- tact rocks.

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36 J Quebec.

morphism of such granitic decomposition ‘products, it might not he possible, from their composition, to recognize them as altered sediments in all or perhaps even in the majority of cases, but in certain instances it would be possible.

Then again, the composition of certain other rocks, such as quartzites and crystalline limestones, mark them as of aqueous origin. Such rocks, if their mode of occurrence precludes the possibility of their being of the nature of vein deposits or residual products, must be altered sediments, as sedimentation is the only other process with which we are acquainted by which such rocks are produced.

Again, the presence of free carbon in the form of graphite or any graphitic mineral, disseminated through a gneiss or schist, points toa sedimentary origin, as such substances do not occur in igneous rocks.

If several of these indications of a sedimentary origin are combined in the same series of rocks, as, for instance, if bands of limestone are found interstratified with bands of quartzite and with a gneiss having the composition of a shale, some or all of the bands holding graphite, the evidence of a sedimentary origin becomes proportionately stronger.

2. The Resemblance of such Gneisses to the Metamorphosed Rocks of Contact Zones.— Undoubted sedimentary rocks, such as shales or slates. are in many cases invaded by great bodies of molten granite, which bring about certain alterations in these sedimentary rocks, which alterations consist essentially of a re-crystallization of the sediment. This re-crystallization becomes progressively more complete as the con- tact with the granite is approached, until immediately along the contact a so-called hornstone is produced. This hornstone, as the name implies, is usually fine in grain, but in other cases, as in the Granulite region of Saxony, the most altered portion of the shale is represented by a coarsely crystalline rock resembling a gneiss, through which there runs an immense number of little strings and streaks of the granite. These products of intense metamorphism, although con- sisting essentially of quartz, biotite, muscovite, felspar and other minerals found in granite rocks, have these minerals arranged in quite a different manner, giving rise, especially in the case of the finer grained varieties, to what is known as a hornstone structure: while certain other minerals not found in granitic rocks but character- istic of these contact zones also occur in them. If, therefore, in any gneissic series, certain rocks ate found which present the spotted and other structures of the less altered portions of contact zones, or the hornstone structure of the more altered portions, with or without 4 swarm of little strings or streaks of granitic material passing through

ass. PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN 37 J

them, the evidence again points to their being altered sediments. Such rocks have been found extensively developed in certain Archæan districts, where these have been carefully examined, as, for instance, in the Black Forest.*

3. The Survival in such Gneisses of Structures peculiar to Sedi- By suvival nentary Rocks.— Undoubtedly sedimentary products, as, for instance, of original rounded, water-worn pebbles, or angular clastic quartz grains, when recognized in any crystalline rock, also determine it to have been of sedimentary origin. In this way, certain rocks in Norway and Saxony formerly classed as Archzan crystalline schists have been recognized as altered conglomerates. Clastic quartz grains are in some cases rendered possible of recognition by the fact that in the processes of alteration secondary silica is deposited about them, and in this way the form of the original grain marked by its coating of iron oxide or other adhering impurity, is preserved and can be recognized, notwithstand- ing the complete alteration and crystallization of the rock. This process is especially well seen in the case of sandstones changing into quartzites, but can also be recognized in the metamorphism of certain arkoses into felspathic quartzites, which in composition would be identical with the more acid gneisses of the Archean.

Applying these tests in the district at present under consideration, it has been found possible to place in one class certain :ocks which all lines of evidence indicate as of sedimentary origin. To these belong the crystalline limestones, the quartzites, and certain associated gneisses asually containing sillimanite, garnet, and graphite.

Another class can be recognized as consisting of rocks of igneous Rocks of origin which have been squeezed or crushed. To this class, in addition rte to the anorthosites which are treated by themselves under another heading, are a whole series of quartzose orthoclase-gneisses, usually

poor in iron-magnesia constituents, and possessing a variety of struc- tures,

A third class consists of rocks whose origin is as yet doubtful. This is due in part to the fact that, it has been impossible to subject them ( an exhaustive examination, including chemical analysis. Possibly, however, their origin could not in many cases be ascertained even if such an examination were made. This class includes a considerable Proportion of the ordinary orthoclase-gneisses of the district, as well as Most of the pyroxene-gneisses and amphibolites.

Geologische Specialkarte des Grossherzogthums Baden—Erlaiiterungen zu Blatt Gengenbach von A. Saner— Heidelberg, 1894, page 8.

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Augen-gneiss,

38 J Quebec.

In the following pages these three classes of rocks will be considered separately, beginning with the gneisses of igneous origin.

Instead of endeavouring to describe every member of the lurge suite of specimens which has been studied microscopically in the course of this investigation, which would entail the presentation and repetition of an immense mass of petrographical detail, a number of typical occur- rences from each class will be selected for description, as it is believed in this way a knowledge of the petrography of the district may be more clearly conveyed.

Class 1.—G'nevsses of Igneous Origin.

In these gneisses, orthoclase felspar preponderates largely, which is itself evidence against a sedimentary origin. Quartz is almost always present, though frequently in small amount. Its presence and propor- tion can be best ascertained in the field, by an examination of the weathered surface of the rock, on which the contrast of the quartz and orthoclase is much more marked than on a fresh fracture. These two minerals frequently make up almost the entire rock (quartz-orthoclase- gneisses), but they are usually associated with small quantities of biotite and hornblende, occurring either separately or together. Graphite, which is abundant in rocks of class 2, is never found in these gneissex. Three structural varieties are especially worthy of mention: (a) Augen-gneiss ; (b) Ordinary granulated gneiss ; (c) Leaf-gneiss.

These are connected by transitional forms.

Augen-(ineiss (Quartz-Orthoclase-Hornblende-Gneiss )}—Township of Brandon, Lots 16 and 17, Range IX. (Section 556 ).

The rock is of a reddish colour and quite uniform in character over large exposures. In hand specimens, it shows a distinct foliation caused by the presence of slightly undulating but nearly parallel nar- row black lines of hornblende, alternating with thicker streaks and layers of reddish orthoclase.

These minerals occur for the most part in the form of fine grains, but in this finely granular mass cores or remnants of large individuals of hornblende and orthoclase respectively are abundant, from the granulation of which the finer grained portion of the rock has been produced. These cores have not a good crystalline form, but are rounded, lenticular, or tear-shaped, with trails of the granulated material running off from them in the direction of the foliation on either side, the foliation curving around them. ‘The orthoclase cores

sous. PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 39 J

are often large, sometimes over an inch in diameter, frequently pre- senting curved or twisted faces, and can be seen to be in the very act of breaking up into smaller fragments. The hornblende remnants are identical in shape with those of the orthoclase, but are smaller in size.

Under the microscope the rock is seen to be composed essentially of orthoclase, quartz and hornblende. As accessary minerals, biotite, diallage, apatite, zircon and iron ore are present in very small amount. Orthoclase preponderates largely, partly as large augen and partly as granulated material. The augen show an uneven extinction although this is not always very pronounced, and between crossed nicols show a finely mottled or spotted structure due to a fine micro- perthitic intergrowth. They have an irregular oblong, often more or less rounded shape, and lie with their longer axis in the direction of the foliation of the rock, or more or less inclined to it. When con- siderably magnified they can be seen to possess a finely serrated edge as if jagged from the breaking away of little fragments. The augen can, in fact, be observed in the very act of breaking down into the finely granular material which surrounds them by a process of peripheral granulation, as described in the case of the anorthosites. The groundmass, so to speak, in which these orthoclase augen are embedded, èonsists principally of small grains of the same mineral. These generally show the same mottled appearance as the augen, and differ but little from one another in size. The larger ones often exhibit an uneven extinction and can frequently be seen to be in the act of breaking up into smaller grains. All these smaller orthoclase grains are very irregular in shape. In one of the sections a very few small grains of plagioclase were present. The quartz occurs chiefly in more: or less elongated grains. These are often greatly elongated, forming the “leaves” of quartz so abundant in the “ leaf-gneiss.” These are distributed through the granulated orthoclase lying in the direction of, and in fact in part causing, the foliation of the rock. These grains have an almost uniform extinction, and are not broken or granulated, even if they are many times as long as they are wide, On very careful examination, however, they can usually be seen to exhibit a slightly uneven extinction suggestive, as will be shown in describing the ‘‘leaf gneisses” of a smearing of the mineral out in one plane. They sometimes fork at the extremities or at the sides. These quartz individuals can often be observed sweeping around the partially granulated augen of orthoclase in long curved grains or lines of grains.

The hornblende, which is green in colour and is present in com- paratively small amount, occurs as strings of very irregular-shaped

Granulated structure.

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Mode of occurrence.

Origin.

40 3 Quebec.

grains, resulting from the granulation of large individuals the cores or remnants of which remain as small augen. A grain ortwo of biotite is occasionally associated with the hornblende. In one slide a single grain of diallage was present, but in all the slides there are a few grains of a yellowish aggregate, which is apparently a decomposition product of diallage. Even if this be the true explanation of their origin, the diallage would be very subordinate to the hornblende in amount. There is no evidence that the latter has been derived from the former. A few small irregular-shaped individuals of apatite, and small zircon prisms, as well as a small amount of magnetite occurring in elongated grains or long narrow strings like the quartz, complete the list of constituents.

This augen-gneiss occurs as a very irregular-shaped mass, in the township of Brandon, intercalated in the gneissic series, with the strike of which its foliation coincides. (Fig. 3.) It forms large roche moutonnée exposures, very uniform in character, and is suc- ceeded to the east by a large development of nearly black pyroxene- granulite. Augen-gneiss, identical in character, was found in about a dozen different localities in the same township, in long narrow masses running parallel to the strike of the series. Augen-gneiss, closely related in character, occurs abundantly in many other parts of the area. It is found, for instance, in large exposures at a number of places along the southern edge of the area, between New Glasgow and St. Jérôme, and between the latter place and St. Canute, also to the north of this district towards Shawbridge and St. Sauveur, as well as in the extreme north-west corner of the area, on the Devil’s River, the River Macaza, and about the lakes lying to the north of Trembling Lake.

With regard to the origin of this augen-gneiss, there can be no doubt but that it is produced by the squeezing of a coarse-grained, in some places perhaps porphyritic, granite. In the case of the Brandon rock, this granite was a basic hornblende variety, probably with large porphyritically developed orthoclase crystals, similar in structure to the great granite mass on the east side of the township of Brandon, well seen about St. Didace, a mass which at many parts of its periphery is developed as an augen-gneiss, closely resembling the one in question. Jn other cases the original granite has been more acid in character and of the nature of a pegmatite, as in the township of Wolfe, where the line between ranges VIII. and IX. is crossed by the line between lots 34 and 35. Here, the extremely contorted gneiss is cut by a number of pegmatite veins, having a distinct augen-

ous, ] PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 41 y

gneiss structure. (Section 567.) In many other parts of the Lauren- tian, both in this district and in Central Ontario, pegmatite dykes

have been observed cutting across the gneissic strata, in which dykes

an augen-gneiss structure has been developed, which are in fact augen-gneisses in certain places, or throughout their whole mass. The foliation of this augen-gneiss, moreover, coincides with that of the

surrounding gneisses, but is quite independent of the direction of the dyke.

À good example selected from many similar ones is seen on lot 17

of range VI. of Brandon, and is shown in the accompanying figure : —

Figure 4.—Pegmatite dykes converted by pressure into Augen-Gneiss, the foliation of which coincides with the foliation and banding of the gneisses through which they cut. This exposure is 8 feet in width. (Range VI., Lot 17, Township of Brandon.)

At this locality there is a series of large roche moutonnée exposures made up of an alternation of fine-grained, reddish, orthoclase-gneiss, coarse augen-gneiss, dark pyroxene-granulite, and vitreous quartzite, the whole dipping to the east at a low angle. Although the several rocks seem at the first glance to succeed one another in pretty regular bands, careful examination shows that in certain places the augen- gneiss cuts across the other bands, as shown in the figure, the foliation in the transverse arm running parallel to the regular foliation and banding of the whole exposure, but not coinciding with the direction of the arm itself. In the thinner apophyses the granulation is more advanced and the augen less abundant than in the heavier bands from which it proceeds.

Figure 5.—Dyke of Pegmatite crushed to Augen-Gneiss, the foliation of which coin- cides with that of the Anorthosite through which it cuts. (Range VIIT., Lot 19, Township of Brandon.) Figure 5 shows a similar case where a pegmatite dyke crushed to an augen-gneiss cuts obliquely across the foliation of the anorthosite in the township of Brandon.

Pegmatite crushed to augen-gneiss.

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Structure.

42 J Quebec.

It is thus evident that in these cases, and probably in the cases of all the augen-gneisses, we have to do with granitic intrusions into earlier rocks, which intrusions certainly date from a time before the development of the foliation of the gneisses, or at least before the foliating forces had ceased to act.

Granulated Gneiss (Quartz-Orthoclase-Hornblende-Gneiss )—Trembl ing Mountain, Township of Joly (Sections 528, 580, 538, 534).

This mountain, which, as is well known, is the highest point in the whole Laurentian range of this part of Canada, rises 2380 feet above sea-level and 1720 feet above the waters of Trembling Lake, which lie along its foot. (Plate II.) It is sculptured out of a great mass of gneiss, uniform in character from base to summit, and has an especial interest in that it was cited by Sir William Logan as the typical occurrence of the Fundamental Gneiss, which he believed to lie at the base of the whole Laurentian system.

This gneiss is rather fine in grain, and has a distinct though not very striking foliation, marked by the presence of a series of thin, interrupted black lines, seen on surfaces broken at right angles to the foliation. On large weathered surfaces a slight variation in size of grain can occasionally be seen in thin bands parallel to the foliation, and at long intervals, thin bands of a black pyroxenic amphibolite are met with. The gneiss has a pale reddish colour when fresh, and weathers brownish-gray.

Under the microscope it is seen to be composed essentially of ortho- clase, quartz and hornblende, the first-mentioned mineral preponder- ating largely. As accessary constituents, magnetite, probably con- taining a certain amount of titanium as in one case it was observed associated with a substance resembling leucoxene, and in some slides a few grains of plagioclase and biotite, are found. few little zircons and a few irregular grains of a mineral probably apatite are always present, and in one of the specimens a not inconsiderable quantity of a rhombic pyroxene was associated with the hornblende in little irregular grains, without however affording any evidence of having been derived from this latter mineral.

The structure of the rock is remarkable. (Plate IV., Fig. 1.) No more typical example of a cataclastic or ‘ mértel” structure could be found. Large, very irregular-shaped, often more or less rounded indivi- duals of orthoclase, presenting a fibrous appearance, due to a very fine, microperthitic intergrowth and showing excellent strain-shadows, lie

Vou. VIIL, Parr J.

Fis. 2

Fie. 4.

PLATE IV. MBLING Mountarn—Hornblende, Orthoclase and Quartz. X 10. -East oF Sr. JÉRÔME—Orthoclase and Quartz. X 10.

ONEISS, 1 MILE WEST OF St. JEAN DE MaTHa—Garnet, Silli-

'EISS FROM WEST SHORE OF TREMBLING Lakx.

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apamt. PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 43 3

imbedded in a very finely granulated mass, making up the greater part of the rock, composed also of orthoclase, and which can be plainly seen to have been derived from the breaking down of the larger ortho- clases, the process being actually oLserved in all its stages in the sections. The process consists partly in peripheral granulation and partly in the subdivision of the larger individuals into smaller ones, by the develop- ment of lines of this broken material across them in the direction of greatest stress.

The quartz, the larger individuals of which frequently contain little rows of the minute dark inclusions often seen in the quartz of granite, though present in smaller amount, presents the same phenomena. This 1s also true of the hornblende, the large individuals of which are for the most part broken into fragments which are arranged in rudely parallel lines, forming the interrupted black lines above mentioned as marking the foliation of the rock. The origin of the gneissic structure in the case of this rock admits of no question. It is not an original structure, nor a survival of bedding indicating a sedi- mentary origin, but it has been produced by movements in the rock brought about by crushing, the original rock having been a hornblende- granite.

In order to ascertain whether the chemical composition of this rock would bear out the conclusions derived from its study in the field and under the microscope, an analysis of it was made for me by Mr. Walter C. Adams, B.A.Sc. The results of this analysis are given below under I., while under II. the results of the analysis of a granite from the Carlingford District, in Ireland, by Haughton, are presented for purposes of comparison :—

I. IT. (7NEISS. (GRANITE. Trembling Mt. Carlingford. Silica Lee cee eee aee 69°24 70°48 Alumina ... . .. 14°85 14°24 Ferric oxide. ... Loue 2°62 3°72 Manganous oxide... ... "45 Lime ... 2°10 1°48 Magnesia... ... i 40 Soda. ... 4°30 3°66 Potassa 4°33 4°26 Loss on ignition 7 1°59 99°56 99°83 Total alkalies .. 8°63 7°92

The composition is that of a typical granite, and is entirely different from that of the gneisses of Class IL., of which the analyses are discussed

Chemical

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Leaf-gneiss.

Structure.

44 J Quebec.

on pages 59 5 to 61 5. The points of distinction, and those which mark it as of igneous origin, are high silica combined with low alumina, and high percentage of alkalies. The lime also, as is usually the case in granites, is in excess of the magnesia.

For a description of the bands or stratiform masses of pyroxene- amphibolite which are intercalated in this gneiss, see page 77 J.

Leaf-Gneiss—( Quartz-Orthociase-Gneiss )—3}' miles North-east of St. Jérôme (Sections 334, 666 ).

As a typical locality for this important and interesting variety of gneiss, certain large exposures protruding through the drift near the southern edge of the protaxis, and about 34 miles from St. Jérôme, by the side of the Great Northern Railway between this place and New Glasgow, may be taken.

The rock is pink in colour, fine in grain, excellently foliated, and practically free from all iron-magnesia constituents. In the hand specimen it appears to consist of very thin alternate layers of quartz and orthoclase. The quartz, however, can scarcely be said to occur in layers, but rather in long narrow leaves, presenting the appearance of layers, when the specimen is broken at right angles to the foliation in one direction, but appearing as much shorter layers or dashes when the rock is broken in the other direction, at right angles to the foliation. When, on the other hand, the rock is broken in a direction parallel to the foliation, the quartz presents the appearance of having been sineared over the felspar surface, in long, narrow streaks, very much as butter might be thinly spread on bread.

Under the microscope, in a section cut at right angles to the foliation the rock (Plate IV., Fig. 2) is seen to be composed of a uniform mosaic of felspar grains, through which the quartz runs in nar- row, sharply defined bands. These quartz bands in polarized light resolve themselves into a series of individuals, each having a long rectangular section, and placed end to end, the bands being remarkably uniform in width and sharply defined against the felspar mosaic on either side. The quartz individuals are sometimes as much as ten times as long as they are wide, and yet have an almost absolutely even extinction. The orthoclase which constitutes the greater part of the rock, forms, as has been mentioned, a mosaic of much smaller grains, showing, as a general rule, between crossed nicols the wavy lines, due to fine microperthitic intergrowths, so often seen in gneisses. These grains fit into one another along very serrated boundaries ; they do

am. PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 45 J

not show any very pronounced strain-shadows, neither are there any augen or remnants of larger grains to be seen. Smaller and larger grains are present, but there is no distinct evidence of the larger breaking up into the smaller. A grain or two of plagioclase is seen in each slide, as well as one or two very small decomposed remnants of what may have originally been minute mica scales.

The structure suggests a completely granulated rock, in which the Complete ; ranulation. granulation has, perhaps, been effected in part, at least, by re-crystal- 5 lization.

Gneisses presenting this leaf structure with its accompanying micro- Distribution scopic characters are abundant and occur in many widely separated of the gneiss. parts of the area embraced in this report. They are for instance, very extensively developed in the last range of the township of Cartier, being excellently exposured on the shores and islands of the typical little Laurentian lakes which lie between the two branches of the River L'Assomption, one of which runs out of Lac des Ilets, and the other out of Lake L’Assomption. Several of these lakes are rock-basins which have been excavated out of this gneiss. The gneiss from this locality (section 348), closely resembles that above described, although the quartz leaves are not so sharp and regular, and plagioclase, in clear, brightly polarizing grains, is more abundant. There are also a number of little scales of biotite scattered through the rock as well as a few very small isotropic red garnets. As before, the appearance under the microscope is suggestive of granulation with at least partial re-crystallization, although no absolute proof of this can be obtained. At many places in the township of Brandon also leaf-gneiss occurs interbanded with pyroxene-granulite, quartzite, &c., consisting as before of quartz and orthoclase, iron-magnesia constituents being absent or represented by a few grains of iron ore. One of these localities is lot 13 of range VI. (section 685), by the side of the road which crosses this lot, where the gneiss is interbanded with pyroxene- granulite and often cut by irregular-shaped masses of augen-gneiss, running now with and now across the direction of foliation as above

described.

On lots 18 of range V. and 15 of range IX. (section 576), of the same township, this same variety of. gneiss is also well exposed, the latter locality being at the westerly contact of the most eastwardly of the anorthosite masses which occur in thistownship. In the very fine- grained felspar groundmass of these rocks, however, occasional larger grains of orthoclase can be seen which are much twisted, show a very uneven extinction, and can in some cases be seen to be undergoing a

46 3 Quebec,

process of peripheral granulation, giving rise to smaller grains like those of the groundmass. In the rock from the latter locality also, sections show distinctly that a movement in the direction of the foliation has tuken place in the felspar mosaic, during or subsequent to its formation.

Transitional Forme.

Between augen-gneiss and leaf-gneiss all possible intermediate varieties are found in various parts of the area. Such intermediate forms present leaves or thin layers of quartz alternating with layers of finely granular orthoclase, in which the augen or remnants of large orthoclase individuals are more or less abundant. When these augen are large and abundant the rock approaches an augen-gneiss on one hand ; when the granulating process has so far advanced that they have become greatly reduced in number and size, or have almost disappeared, the rock passes gradually over into a leaf-gneiss on the other. Gneisses are often found which would be classed as leaf- gneiss but which on careful examination show a few minute twisted remnants of orthoclase augen, here and there, indicating the true character of the rock.

Transitional The great granite mass occupying the eastern side of the township of Brandon, along'its northern limits assumes first the form of an augen- gneiss, and then passes over into such a leaf-gneiss (section 660), which, however, is poor in quartz, the transition being excellently seen on the. shores of Lake Sacacomie, which lies just beyond the eastern limits of the map. Many similar cases of pegmatites passing into augen- gneiss and then into leaf-gneiss have been observed, and even when the transition cannot be seen, transitional forms are so common as to render the conclusion inevitable that many at least if not all the typical leaf-gneisses have been derived from the crushing or foliation of coarse granite rocks, having passed through the intermediate stage of augen- gneiss. In a similar manner those forms of leaf-gneiss in which the quartz individuals are smaller, occurring in the form of little dashes or scales rather than leaves, have probably been formed from finer grained rocks of similar character, passing through an intermediate stage such as that described in the Trembling Mountain gneiss, which, after all,

Thé structure ; : . : . . of mechanical 15 # Species of microscopic augen-gneiss. In the movements which

origin. have taken place in these rocks, resulting in the development of 4 foliated structure, the processes at work are, it is believed, chiefly mechanical.

In certain districts which have been made the subjects of careful study elsewhere, structures resembling closely those above described

sous. PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 479

have been thought to have been produced by the breaking down and re-crystallization of the original constituents. This does not seem to be true in these Laurentian gneisses—for in the case of the felspar and hornblende the granulated material is exactly the same to all appearances as the larger augen. Even when the latter consist of microperthite the granulated material has also the same character, which would hardly be expected if a re-crystallization had taken place. Sericite and the various other minerals so often produced during the

re-crystallization of rocks under the influence of pressure are also absent.

The effect of the pressure on the quartz is especially remarkable, for, as has been stated, the individuals of this mineral are not granulated or broken up into smaller grains, but take upon themselves the form of thin leaves or laths, often eight or ten times as long as they are wide, and in the case of the augen-gneiss often following curved courses.

These leaves do not show, as a general rule, the intense strain- shadows often observed in the felspar augen, but almost always show evidences of strain at intervals along the length of the leaf, dividing the latter in this way into certain ill-defined areas with slightly different orientation. The leaves also, as has been stated, can be 4 observed to bend around large orthoclase remnants and sometimes to fork at their extremities. A very long lath of quartz will also in some instances break across, giving several elongated fragments arranged in a line.

That these phenomena are the result of a purely mechanical rolling Like that of

out of quartz individuals cannot be positively asserted, but they are Wan? - phyry at

to all appearance so produced. There is no evidence of any breaking hel. with a restoration of continuity by the deposition of secondary quartz. The process therefore appears to be quite different from that described by Lehmann in the Saxon granulites* but is identical with that seen in the squeezed dykes of quartz-porphyry at Thal, near Eisenach, in Thuringia,t and elsewhere. These dykes, which cut through a series of mica-schists, have had a well marked foliation induced in them parallel to that of the country-rock but often transverse to their own length. The phenocrysts consist of orthoclase, plagioclase and quartz, which are arranged in the groundmass with their longer axes in the direction of the foliation. The felspars and especially the plagioclases have broken into fragments under the pressure to

Entstehung der altkrystallinen Schiefer Gesteine, 8. 250. + Futterer.— Die Ganggranite von Grossachsen u. d. Quartzphorphyre von Thal in Thuringen. (Inaug Diss. Heidelberg, 1890.)

Plastic deformation of quartz.

48 J Quebec.

which the rock has been subjected, which fragments are arranged in lines in the direction of the foliation resembling in that respect the Belemnite fragments in the Bündner Schiefer of the Alps. The spaces between the broken fragments are filled not with the groundmass squeezed into the cavity but with grains of quartz and sometimes felspar, coarser in grain than the groundmass, and which although probably secondary is not derived from the broken phenocrysts, since it can be seen that the several portions of these if brought together would fit closely into one another.

The quartz phenocrysts, on the other hand, are drawn out into cigar- like forms, often eight times as long as they are wide. These are not broken or granulated but are sharply defined against the groundmass and sometimes have a curved form. Occasionally little elongated strings resembling the groundmass are seen within the quartz pheno- crysts, which were in all probability inclusions uf the groundmass in the original phenocrysts that became rolled out with the phenocrysts themselves. All these elongated quartz phenocrysts present remarkable extinction phenomena. Each individual extinguishes nearly simul- taneously over its whole surface, but when carefully examined is seen to divide up into a number of little fields extinguishing in succession, not however sharply separated but merging into one another so that the shadow sweeps over the field with a peculiar twinkling effect.

This appearance is identical with that seen in the quartz of many gneisses, There is no evidence of breaking and re-cementing, as there is no interruption in optical continuity in the individual as there must be if this had taken place. The phenomenon is probably the same as that exhibited in the plastic deformation of ice crystals recently studied by Miigge.* It is thus evident that under certain conditions when felspar is crushed or granulated, quartz undergoes a rolling out or elongation without breaking, molecular movements taking place in some peculiar way, which result in an entire change in form while the individual still retains an approximately uniform extinction. In this way, in the Laurentian system, granitic rocks became gneisses. It is extremely rare in these rocks to find quartz grains which have been broken or granulated, and although as investigation proceeds it may be found that the granulation of the felspar and bisilicates is in part a chemical process, the evidence at present available tends to the belief that, as in the case of the anorthosites, to be referred to later on, the process is chiefly mechanical. In other rocks of this system, bow-

Ueber die Plasticitiit der Eiskrystalle. Neues Jahrbuch fiir Mineralogie &c. 5, IL. 3, p. 212. .

aus, PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 49 3

ever, as well as in other districts of crystalline schists, re-crystallization and chemical re-arrangement have undoubtedly played a chief part.

Class IT.— G'neisses, Limestones, Quartzites, &c., of Sedimentary Origin.

Another class of gneisses, quite different in composition and structure Rocks of from those above described, occurs abundantly in many widely separated eae parts of the area at present under discussion, as well as in all other parts of Canada where the Grenville series is found. Intimately asso- ciated with these gneisses are other rocks whose composition also makes it impossible to class them with rocks of igneous origin: these are the crystalline limestones and quartzites which form such a prominent petrographical feature of the Grenville series.

The criteria by which gneisses having a sedimentary origin may in many cases be recognized have already been indicated, and the very fact that the rocks just mentioned and included in the present class are almost invariably closely associated with one another, is in itself additional evidence of their common sedimentary origin.

The gneisses of this class, while under the microscope still seen to Gneisses. contain a certain amount of quartz and orthoclase, are made up very largely of garnet and sillimanite, which are their most important con- stituents. These and other differences in their composition are accom- panied by differences in structure as well. One set of these rocks is characterized by a rapid disintegration when exposed to the weather, giving rise to a sand-like product very rusty in colour and which is very characteristic. A second set are very similar in composition, but do not weather in the same rusty manner.

As typical of these rusty-weathering gneisses, the following occur- rence may be taken :—

Garnetiferous Sillimanite-Gneiss — A bout one mile west of the Church of St. Jean de Matha, Seigniory of De Ramsay. (Sections 648, 649 ).

This gneiss occurs in thick bands, interstratified with and overlain by St. Jean de the white garnetiferous quartzite described on page 625, the whole M#the. lying very nearly horizontal. The gneiss weathers exceedingly rusty, but on the fresh surface is seen to be fine in grain and dark-gray in colour, small garnets and graphite scales being readily recognized in it.

It is more uniform in character than is usual in gneisses, the strike

Sillimanite.

Pyrite and graphite.

50 J Quebec.

being marked by bands somewhat richer or poorer in garnet, or by other slight differences in composition.

Under the microscope the rock is seen to consist of garnet, sillimanite and quartz in large amount, with some orthoclase and iron pyrite, and a little biotite, rutile and graphite. (Plate IV., Fig. 3.)

The garnet individuals, which are usually large, are more or less rounded in form, but frequently elongated in the direction of the foliation, and, as is usually the case in these Laurentian gneisses, are perfectly isotropic. They frequently hold inclusions of quartz, silli- manite and rutile, and present the appearance of having grown in . the rock and inclosed these other older constituents.

The sillimanite occurs in colourless elongated prisms from ‘05 to 25 millimetres in diameter, the longest individuals being somewhat over 1-1 millimetres in length, and often slightly curved, apparently by pressure. It has a rather high index of refraction, as well as a rather high double refraction. The longitudinal sections show the cleavage parallel to the macropinacoid as a series of fine lines parallel to the longer axis, except when cut parallel to this face. They also show the transverse cracks usually seen in long and slender prisms. When tested by means of the quartz wedge it is found that c—=€. Terminal faces cannot be recognized. In transverse sections the prisms are seen to have the nearly square cross section of the prism cooP3. The cleav- age crosses these sections diagonally, and in the direction of this cleavage lies the plane of the optic axes, the axial angle being small. These properties serve to identify the mineral and to distinguish it from wollastonite or andalusite, which in certain respects it resembles. (Plate IV., Fig. 4.)

The quartz, which is uniaxial and positive, contains, as is very frequently the case in these gneisses, many minute straight hair-like inclusions, which are dark in colour. In the great majority of cases, it shows a more or less pronounced uneven extinction, and the grains are often long and narrow, the longer axes lying in the direction of

the foliation. ‘

The orthoclase possesses the usual characters, and between crossed nicols sometimes has the faintly fibrous appearance often seen in the orthoclase of gneisses, the larger grains showing strain-shadows as in the case of the quartz. The biotite occurs in very small amount, and in small individuals of a deep brown colour, here and there slightly twisted. The rutile appears as a few irregular-shaped, nearly opaque, little grains. The pyrite, the presence of which gives rise to

nous. PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 5l J

the rusty weathering of the rock, and which occurs in considerable amount, is in the form of little irregular-shaped strings and masses scattered through the rock. It frequently occupies little cracks rinning through the various other minerals or surrounding them. It sometimes occurs well crystallized, but is often very fine-grained and in little masses having a concentric banded structure like tht seen in agate, the mineral having evidently been deposited in little cavities sub- sequent to the crystallization of the rock and heing frequently related to the graphite in such a way as to suggest that the pyrite had been deposited owing to a reducing action on the part of the carbon. The graphite, which in the hand specimens seems to somewhat abun- dant, is seen in the thin sections to occur in the form of small elongated. individuals, black and quite opaque.

A study of the thin sections also shows the rock to be quite differ- ent from the quartz-orthoclase-gneisses already described, not only in mineralogical composition but also in structure. The elongated individuals of sillimanite, quartz, etc., lying in one direction, mark the foliation of the rock, though this is not very pronounced.

No evidence of granulation, however, is to be seen, the pressure No evidence which granulated the gneisses of the last class, having, to all appear- of granula- ances, crystallized these in situ, the constituents being, in the nomen- clature of Milch, ‘“‘eleutheromorphic.”* The uneven extinction of the sillimanite, quartz, and orthoclase would, however, seem to indicate that the rock had been subjected to some pressure since their development: but on the other hand, the garnet, which was developed later being quite isotropic, would seem to have been produced during the final compression of the rock.

Another locality at which a gneiss almost identical in character occurs Garnet. is in the front of lot 4 of range X. of the township of Brandon. (Section 680). Where the road crosses this lot there are large exposures of gneiss consisting of an alternation of small bands of augen-gneiss and leaf-gneiss holding little augen, with other rocks of the nature of amphibolite or pyroxene-granulites often holding quartz ; as well as with a few bands of this rusty garnetiferous sillimanite-gneiss and some calcareous gneiss or very impure limestone. Both the augen- gneiss and the amphibolite-gneiss occasionally hold garnets. The tusty-weathering gneiss is seen under the microscope to be composed essentially of garnet, sillimanite, orthoclase and quartz, with pyrite, rutile and biotite in very subordinate amount. The garnet, as before,

Beitrage zur Lehre von der Regionalmetamorphose--Neues Jahrbuch fiir Mineralogie, IX Beilage Band. S. 107.

Kildare,

52 3 Quebec.

is in the form of irregular-shaped masses, having a sponge-like char- acter owing to the numerous inclusions of biotite, felspar, sillimanite and rutile which it contains, it is as in the rock last described quite isotropic. The pyrite occurs filling little cracks and was apparently infiltrated after the crystallization of the rock. No graphite is to be seen in the specimen or slide. This rock, like that from near St. Jean de Matha, shows no evidence of cataclastic structure, but has apparently resulted from an entire re-crystallization in situ under pressure. The same is true of the quartzose garnetiferous gneiss inter. vanded with this rusty gneiss. °

Thére can be no doubt in the case of these exposures, that the augen- gneiss and the leaf-gneiss produced from it, are of igneous origin.

Two other occurrences of this peculiar rusty-weathering gneiss may also be referred to; in these, however, the orthoclase has a granulated

appearance, although no absolute proof of its cataclastic origin can be obtained.

Garnet iferous Sillimanite-G'neiss— Road between the Townshipof Kildare and Lake Rocher—Seigniory of D’Argenteuil. (Section 302.)

At this locality there are a series of exposures representing a very considerable thickness of strata made up of an alternation of grayish quartzose gneiss, with thick bands of white garnetiferous quartzite and of this rusty-weathering gneiss. There is also in one place a band of white crystalline limestone, holding grains of dark-green serpentine. This is exposed for a width of twenty feet, and occurs interstratified be- tween a band of white quartzite and one of the rusty gneiss. All these rocks frequently hold a little graphite. The rusty-weathering gneiss as before consists of garnet, orthoclase, quartz and sillimanite with pyrite and a little rutile and graphite. The contrast between the very rusty weathered surface of this gneiss and the pale-gray almost white colour of its surface on a fresh fracture is very striking.

Garnetiferous Sillimanite-Gneiss—Township of Kildare, near the line

between Ranges XI. and XII. (Section 436.)

This locality is just to the west of Lake Francais, and on a con- tinuation of the same section as that in which the last-mentioned rock occurs, but about three miles further west. It is the first exposure on

aa, PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 53 J

the road, to the west of the anorthosite band which passes under the lake. The rock consists essentially of garnet, sillimanite, quartz and orthoclase, the garnet often inclosing the sillimanite. It is almost identical in character with the rusty-weathering gneiss of the other localities described above. (

As examples of the second set of these rocks before mentioned, which, while very similar to those just described, do not contain pyrite, and consequently are not distinguished in the field by the rusty sand-like disintegration product, the following may be selected :—

Garnetiferous Sillimanite-Gneiss—3 miles north-west of St. Jean de Matha—Seigniory of De Ramsay. (Section 568. )

This rock occurs three miles in a straight line north-west of St. North-west of Jean de Matha, at the bridge where the road from this place to Ste. et ean de Emilie crosses the Black River. The gneisses here lie practically horizontal. The rock is red in colour, and highly garnetiferous.

Under the microscope the rock is seen to be composed of garnet, sillimanite, quartz and orthoclase, with smaller amounts of rutile, serpentine, pyrite, graphite and biotite. The general characters of these minerals are the same as those which they present in the rocks of the last set just described.

The garnet is perfectly isotropic. The sillimanite is present in considerable amount, in prisms whose long axes lie parallel to the foliation of the rock. The quartz contains a great abundance of minute, black, hair-like inclusions, quite straight and arranged in several intersecting” series. The orthoclase has a distinctly fibrous appearance, Owing, in part at least, to the presence of little, rod-like inclusions, some black and nearly opaque, others transparent and nearly colourless. The rutile is present in deep brown, nearly opaque grains, sometimes having a tolerably good prismatic form, but gener- ally more or less rounded. The serpentine occurs in a few large grains derived from the alteration of some mineral, which has now entirely disappeared. Graphite is scattered through the rock in . numerous little flakes. The biotite occurs in very small amount, often inclosed in the garnet. Only a very few small grains of pyrite are present.

The rock, as has been stated, is very highly garnetiferous, the garnet occurring in lumps of a pink colour, making up a large

Trembling Lake gneiss

54 J Quebec.

part of the rock, the other constituents of the rock being much more fine in grain and flowing round the large garnet lumps, thus giving rise to an indistinct foliation in the direction of the motion. The structure, however, is quite different from that of augen- or leaf- gneiss, for the study of the thin sections affords no indication of granulation. The large garnet lumps crystallized in situ and are uncrushed. They are not remnants of larger masses which have escaped complete granulation. The sillimanite appears to be some- what broken in places, but this is not certain, and a study of the thin sections proves that at least some, if not all, the constituents of the rock have been produced by a process of re-crystallization.

Sillimanite-Gneiss.— West shore of Trembling Lake. (Section 591.)

The geology of Trembling Lake, which large sheet of water lies near

the north-west corner of the accompanying map, is of especial interest.

Along the eastern shore of the lake rises Trembling Mountain, the highest point in this part of the Dominion, and which, as already stated, is cited by Logan as the typical occurrence of his fundamental gneiss. The gneiss composing Trembling Mountain is very uniform in character and, as has been shown on page 43 J, consists of a great mass of squeezed igneous rock. Running up through the lake, and exposed at its southern extremity, as well as on the islands in the lake, is a heavy band of white crystalline limestone. Associated with this, and well exposed on the shores of the southern portion of the lake, especially on the western side, are garnetiferous and sillimanite gneisses in considerable variety. On the eastern side these form a narrow border, in some places graphitic and holding interstratified bands of quartzite, which is succeeded by the Trembling Mountain gneiss a short distance inland. At the north-western end of the lake coarse granite-gneiss, with scarcely perceptible foliation: and no banding, comes in.

One variety of the gneiss, occurring on the west shore of the lake and about a quarter of the way up the lake from the southern extremity, was selected for examination.

The rock, which weathers somewhat rusty, is fine-grained and dark purplish-gray in colour on fresh fracture, looking somewhat like a fine mixture of pepper and salt. It consists essentially of orthoclase and quartz with a large amount of biotite in little flakes. Running through the rock are little interrupted wavy streaks, white in colour, and apparently parts of what were once continuous little bands. These

sous] PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 55 3

consist essentially of sillimanite in minute acicular crystals (Plate IV., Fig. 4) and, having a rudely parallel direction, give to the rock, which is otherwise massive, an indistinctly foliated appearance.

Figure 6.—Sillimanite-Gneiss, west shore of Trembling Lake. Sillimanite, Quartz, Orthoclase, Biotite and Pyrite. x 38.

The accompanying figure (No. 6) shows the appearance of the rock under the microscope, portions of two bands rich in sillimanite with an intervening band rich in biotite being shown. As accessary constitu- ente present in small amount, the rock contains garnet, titaniferous iron ore, a few grains of pyrite and of a mineral which has the characters of alianite, pleochioic in pale brownish and green tints and deeper in colour in the interior of the grain. These constituents are bounded by well defined, sharp lines; there is no granulation, and no twisting of the grains. The rock has the appearance of having been entirely re- crystallized, and resembles certain altered rocks found in the contact zones about great granite masses.

It bears as strong a resemblance to a metamorphosed sediment on Resemblance one hand as the rock of Trembling Mountain does to an igneous mass sedimentary on the other—resemblances which in each case are emphasized by the "ke. chemical composition of the rock.

Garnetiferous Sillimanite-Gneiss.— Darwin's Falls on River Ouareau, near Village of Rawdon, Township of Rawdon. (Sections 687, 638.)

At Darwin's Falls, which are about a quarter of a mile below the lower bridge at Rawdon, the river cuts its way through a gorge of Laurentian rocks which are well banded and dip to the west at a high

56 3 Quebec.

angle, the attitude being nearly vertical. The gneiss is in most places highly garnetiferous, the pink garnets occurring in lumps sometimes as- much as an inch in diameter, and is interstratified with bands of white quartzite (described on page 62 5), some of which are highly garnetifer- ous, while others are nearly free from garnet. There are also bands of felspathic quartzite. The bands of these various rocks, which have all

the appearance of beds, are from a few inches tu several feet in

thickness.

Darwin’sFalls Tn one place a little string of crystalline limestone about an inch wide was found, but no larger band could be discovered : to the north, however, nearly on the strike of these exposures, a heavy band of crystal- line limestone appears, which may possibly cross the river just above the village, where the banks are heavily drift-covered. This locality has already been referred to in describing the distribution of the lime- stone bands on page 253. The microscopic character of the quartzite interbanded with the gneiss, is described on page 62 J.

The gneiss contains much garnet and sillimanite, but differs from the gneisses of the class before described, in that it is much more highly quartzose.

The garnet occurs in numerous irregular-shaped grains with the peculiar arm-like extensions running out into the web of the rock in all directions and inclosing individuals of the other constituents. Ortho- clase, quartz, sillimanite, biotite, rutile and iron ore have been observed thus inclosed in the garnet, so that the latter mineral would appear to

Ii gure 7.—Garnet holding inclusions of other constituents of the rock—Garnetiferous Sillimanite-Gneiss—Darwin’s Falls, near Rawdon.

Garnet with have been developed later than any of the other constituents of the inclusions. — rock. This peculiar mode of growth on the part of the garnet is seen almost invariably in the garnetiferous gneiss of the Laurentian, as well as in the highly altered sedimentary strata folded into the Alps

anus. PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 57 3 (Bundner Schiefer) and elsewhere, and has already been noted as occurring in some of the rocks described above. The mineral appears to add to its substance in all directions in which material which will yield garnet’ can be reached, and even seems to be assimilating or in some way getting rid of grains of the most diverse minerals which it has inclosed, minute irregularly rounded remnants of many of these alone remaining in the interior of the garnet individuals, while the peripheral portions are often still full of inclusions. How this is accomplished it must be left for future investigation to decide, for, in the manner in which these garnets and other minerals developed by metamorphic processes grow in solid rocks, there is much which is as yet mysterious and not by any means thoroughly understood. The garnet filled with inclusions, in its want of continuity often resembles a sponge, or a great Amceba whose substance is barely sufficient to inclose the miscellaneous collections of objects on which it is feeding. In addition to the garnets and quartz, orthoclase and sillimanite are abundant, while biotite, rutile, iron ore, pyrite, and zircon(?) are present in small amount, all these minerals presenting the normal characters of the several species.

The rock has an indistinct foliation, due in part to the arrangement of the various minerals with their longer axes in one plane, and in part toacertain variation in relative abundance of the different minerals in different planes. The quartz and orthoclase show eflects of pressure, but no undoubted granulation or distant cataclastic structure is seen in the slides, neither are there any augen. The garnet and sillimanite are certainly due to re-crystallization, and the evidence goes to show that the rock as a whole has resulted from this process. It has, however, since re-crystallization, been subjected to a certain amount of pressure, for although in some cases the quartz and orthoclase

show slight evidences of pressure this has not affected the garnet at all,

Chemical Composition of the Gneisses of Class II.

In order to ascertain whether the gneisses of Class IT., which differ Chemical so distinctly in mineralogical composition and structure from those Composition of of Class I., present differences in the chemical composition of the rock Claes IT. as a whole, three of the most typical gneisses of the class were selected from those described and were analyzed. The results of these analyses are given below. No. III. was made for me by Mr. Nevil

Norton Evans, of McGill University, and Nos. IV. and VII. by Mrs.

O8 J Quebec.

Walter C. Adams, B.A.Sc. To both gentlemen I desire to acknow- ledge my great indebtedness.

Wl. IV. v. VI. Vi, VII. GNEISS.| GNEISS. SLATE. SLATE. GNEISs.| SLATE. St Jen n/Trembt ng Wales. Mel Rawdon.|Tinzen.

Silica.. ... . [ 61°96 57°66 60°50 64°20; 74°70! 79°97 Titanic oxide 1:66 1 1 1 1 Alumina 19°73 22°83 19°70 16°80 8°88 8°62 Ferric oxide 1 1 , 9°64 6°63 Ferrous oxide 4°60 1 74 7°83 4°23 Ferric sulphide 4:38 1 0 ... Manganous oxide. trace. trace. trace. ‘50 IME 1°16 1°12 ‘73 1°07 76 Magnesia .. .. 1°81 3°56 2°20 3°94 1:87 1°52 co: “79 "60: 2°20 3°07 "42 ‘OA Potassa : 2°50 5'72 3°18 3°26 95 2-30 Loss on ignition 1°82* 1°50 3°30 3°42 1°05 99°55 100°77 100°03 99°65 99°08 ' 100 41 Total alkalies 3°29 — 6°32 5.38 6°: 1°37 2° Water.

III. Gneiss from about one mile west of St. Jean de Matha. A fine-grained garnetiferous sillimanite-gneiss, containing much quartz and orthoclase. Graphite and pyrite are also present, the latter causing the gneiss to weather to a very rusty colour. It occurs in thick bands interstratified with white garnetiferous quartzite, the whole lying nearly flat. (See page 49 J).

IV. Gneiss from the west shore of Trembling Lake. A fine-grained dark gray gneiss, composed of quartz and orthoclase, with much biotite and silli- manite. It occurs near a band of crystalline limestone which occupies the bed of Trembling Lake. (See page 54 J).

V. An ordinary rooting slate from Wales. Analysed by T. Sterry Hunt. (Phil. Mag., 1854, p. 237.)

VI. A similar roofing slate of Cambrian age from the large quarries in the Town- ship of Melbourne, in the southern portion of the province of Quebec. Analysed by T. Sterry Hunt. (Geology of Canada, 1863, p. 600.)

VII. Gneiss from Darwin's Falls, near the village of Rawdon, province of Que- bec. It is a highly quartzose garnetiferous gneiss, and occurs in well defined bands interstratified with quartzite, which is often highly garnetiferous, the

. bands being from a few inches to several feet in thickness. (See page 5t J).

VIII. Red slate from near Tinzen, in the district north of the Engadine, Switzer- land. Highly siliceous, containing 9°12 per cent of silica as quartz. (Vom Rath, Z. D. G. G., 1857, p. 242.)

It will be seen, on comparing the analyses of these three gneisses (III.,IV.and VII.) with the analysis of the Trembling Mountain gneiss,

igneous rock. given on page 43 J, that they are quite different in composition,

They are, in fact, quite different in composition from any igneous rock. On the other hand, the high content in alumina (in III. and

ses. PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 59 3 IV.), the low percentage of alkalies, and the great preponderance of magnesia over lime, characteristic of shales and slates, will be noted. The rocks thus present chemical evidence of -having undergone a leaching process. (See page 35 J.)

The high percentage of alumina with low alkalies is due to the presence of sillimanite, a mineral very common in the crystalline

schists, but seldom or never found in large amount in unaltered igneous rocks.

The marked difference in composition between granites and shales or slates is distinctly seen on comparing the analyses of a series of granites with those of a series of slates, us, for instance, those given in Roth’s ‘“‘Gesteins Analyzen.” The latter are seen to be on an average considerably higher in alumina and much lower in alkalies, while at the same time they are lower in silica, which has been separated both as sand and in combination with the alkalies which have gone into solution, and in most cases contain more magnesia than lime instead of more lime than magnesia, as is usual in granites.

The average percentage of alkalies in the thirty-seven analyses of granites from various parts of the world given by Roth in his work above mentioned is 7°35 per cent, while twenty-three primitive clay- slates (Urthonschiefer). contain on an average only 4:70 per cent and twenty-five slates of Silurian age 4:82 per cent of alkalies. The slates thus contain on an average about two-thirds of the amount of alkali present in the average granite.

Comm position of granites and shales.

The changes which a granite undergoes when it is decomposed by the Effects of action of the weather have been well brought out by an excellent study eon

of the chemical composition of the fresh and the decomposed granite of the district of Columbia, by Prof. Merrill, in which the decomposed rock was found to have lost 25-21 per cent of lime, 28-62 per cent of soda, 31-98 per cent of potassa and 14-89 per cent of silica, but only 323 per cent of alumina, and 1:49 per cent of magnesia.* A result which, so far as the alkalies are concerned, agrees very closely with

the average loss indicated in the case of the forty-eight slates referred to above.

A typical slate is thus distinctly different in chemical composition from an ordinary granite, although sediments having an intermediate composition are frequently produced by the disintegration of granite

"Referred to in a paper entitled Disintegration and Decomposition of Diabase at Medford, Mass., Bull. Geol. Soc. of America, 1896, p. 357.

f granites.

Analyses of slates.

Amount of carbon present.

60 3 Quebec.

without complete decay, giving rise to such rocks as arkose, grauwacke felspathic sandstones and so on.

The strongly marked resemblance in composition to slates on the part of the gneisses from St. Jean de Matha and Trembling Lake is seen when their analyses are compared with those of the two slates Nos. V- and VI. They have, in fact, the composition of ordinary roofing slate.

No. VIL., which is a gneiss so highly quartzose that it might almost be termed an impure quartzite, also has a composition differing from that of any igneous rock, but one which is identical with many siliceous slates. No. VIII. is the analysis of such a slate from the Engadine district in Switzerland, and is, as will be seen, almost identical with No. VII. Siliceous bands from some of the Canadian slate quarries, also have a similar composition. The alumina in this case is low on account of the preponderance of quartz, which also lowers the alkalies. The magnesia, as before, preponderates over the lime. No. VIII. lost 1:92 per cent on ignition before analysis, and these figures do not, therefore, appear in the analysis as given above.

That there is nothing remarkable in the interstratification of bands

‘of gneiss differing greatly in composition in the same series of

exposures as at Darwin’s Falls, supposing them to be highly altered sediments, is well shown by the following analyses of two varieties of slate taken from different bands in the same quarry, in rocks of Cam- brian age, at the Danville Slate Quarry, in the province of Quebec, south of the St. Lawrence. They were made by Dr. J. B. Harrington, and have not hitherto been published.

Slate. Slate.

Danviile. Danville. Silica... ec eee eee eee eee ae 55°75 67°85 Alumina , 17°87 9°10 Ferrous oxide.. ... cece teens eee eeeeeees 07 11°14 Manganous oxide . ... "70 ‘79 Lime , l'14 ‘98 Magnesin 5°81 3°23 Soda , 1°12 1°80 Potassa sos ee + 2°97 ‘44 Loss on ignition 5°26 4°55 99:69 99°88

Total alkalies 4°09 2°24

The amount of carbon present was determined in No. IX. and found to be ‘26 per cent; all the iron was found to be present in the ferrous state. These two slates, as will be seen, contain the proper relative

sous. PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 61 3

proportion of constituents for the formation of gneisses like those just described. No. IX. might, if submitted to the proper conditions for its metamorphosis, produce a gneiss similar, in a general way, to that from Trembling Lake, but poorer in sillimanite, while No. X. would crystallize into a gneiss like that from Darwin’s Falls (No. VII.), but less quartzose.

In these gneisses which have been classed as of sedimentary origin, we have therefore rocks which have tho chemical composition of shales or slates, a mineralogical composition quite different from that of the gneisses of Class I., and a structure which shows that they have been produced essentially by a process of re-crystallization. These facts, it is believed, taken together, establish the right of these rocks to be considered as altered sediments. The effects produced by the dynamic metamorphism are along the same lines as those observed by Heim in the Alps, the same force which crushes the highly crystalline rocks into finely granular schists, re-crystallizes the sedimentary rocks, often developing large individuals of various new minerals in them. It is not, however, claimed that all granulated rocks in the Lauren- tian are of igneous origin or that all re-crystallized gneisses are altered sediments.* If any arkoses or coarse felspathic sandstones were deposited with the shales, those being very similar to granite in character would probably be altered by crushing and granulation to gneisses almost identical in appearance, and under the microscope with those produced from granites ; futher study may indeed show this to be the origin of some of the quartzose orthoclase-gneisses associated with the garnetiferous sillimanite-gneisses above described. It is also pos- sible that certain igneous rocks have undergone a complete re-crys- tallization during metamorphism. It is desired in the present con- tribution to our knowledge of these rocks merely to show that certain of these gneisses have had a sedimentary origin, and that certain others can be recognized as altered igneous rocks, while very many stil: remain whose origin is, as yet, undetermined.

All granu- lated rocks not igneous.

Distinct, from the little strings and veins of quartz which are often Quartzites.

found cutting the rocks of this as of all other great districts of crys- talline strata, are the well defined and often very thick bands of quartz- ite which occur regularly interbanded or interstratified with the gneiss and crystalline limestones of the district. Of these the following three occurrences may be selected as typical :—

*See C. J. Smyth, Jr., Metamorphism of a Gabbro occurring in St. Lawrence County, N.Y. Am. Jour. Sci., April, 1896, p. 280.

Garnetiferous quartzite.

St. Jean de Matha.

Darwin’s Falls.

62 3 Quebec.

Garnetiferous Quartzite—About one mile west of the Church of St. Jean de Matha, Seigniory of De Ramsay. (Sections 578, 661).

This rock occurs interstratified with and overlying the garnetiferous sillimanite-gneiss described on page 49 5, forming great exposures extending off to the north-west. One great cliff of these rocks, inter- stratified with garnetiferous quartzose gneiss, is represented in the photograph reproduced in Plate III. The beds, as will be seen in the photograph, are practically horizontal.

The quartzite is of medium grain and brownish-gray colour, and holds numerous garnets, often as much as an inch in diameter. Bands richer or poorer in garnet or showing other slight differences in char- acter alternate with one another. Under the microscope the rock is seen to consist essentially of quartz and garnet. Sillimanite is present in considerable amount with accessary orthoclase, plagioclase, biotite, and rutile. The indistinct foliation of the rock is caused by the arrangement of the various constituents with their long axes in one direction.

The quartz consists of larger grains with streams of little ones run- ning between them, almost every large grain showing well marked strain shadows. It presents the appearance of having been crushed or granulated, the broken material often sweeping in curves around the large garnets. The garnets are isotropic and hold many inclusions of quartz, sillimanite, and rutile. The sillimanite oecurs in the long and slender individuals, with parallel extinction and small axial angle already described from the associated gneisses. The rutile is brown in colour, a single elongated individual often penetrating several grains of quartz. The felspars and biotite do not occur in all sections.

Although no augen of quartz are seen, for this mineral, as has been shown, does not usually develop augen on crushing—the rock presents the appearance of having been greatly crushed.

Quartzite—Darwin’s Falls, near the Village of Rawdon, Township of Rawdon. (Sections 633, 638.)

The rock occurs in beds or bands, from a few inches to several feet in thickness, regularly interstratified with the garnetiferous sillimanite- gneiss described on page 563. Some of the bands are highly garnetif- erous, others are free from garnet, while others again contain a con- siderable amount of felspar. Under the microscope the rock closely resembles that just described from west of St. Jean de Matha. It

sous. PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 63 J consists of quartz, with small quantities of orthoclase and garnet and accessary biotite, rutile, zircon, ilmenite, leucoxene and pyrite. The rock is seen to be foliated owing to the presence of a few little lines of felspar grains running through it in one direction, and it may be con-

sidered as a very quartzose variety of the associated gneiss above referred to.

The quartz consists of larger grains, surrounding which and running into them in irregular bays and arms, are areas consisting of much smaller quartz grains. The large grains show strongly marked pressure phenomena when examined between crossed nicols, being divided into areas differing slightly in orientation, although the continuity of the grains is preserved. It contains great numbers of minute black hair- iike and dust-like bodies, the former quite straight, which traverse the rock in somewhat wavy lines and in a direction nearly at right angles to the foliation, passing from one grain into another without deviating from their course, and were evidently developed after the rock had its present texture. The orthoclase is present in small amount, and frequently shows strain shadows. Its appearance suggests granulation, although there are no augen remaining to prove this. The garnet is present in the form of more or less rounded grains, often somewhat elongated in the direction of the foliation. It is isotropic, and as usual holds a few inclusions consisting of the other minerals of the rock. The other constituents possess the usual characters. On the whole the evidence, while not conclusive, goes to show that the rock has undergone & granulation previous to the crystallization of the garnet, or in which the garnet was not broken. Professor Rosenbusch believes that in some of these Rawdon quartzites original clastic quartz grains with enlargements due to the deposition of secondary silica can be detected.

Quartzite— Pont de Dalles, River L'Assomption (Section 667 ).

This locality is rather over a mile to the east of Ste. Béatrix. The Pont de rock occurs interstratified with several varieties of gneiss, some of Palles- them holding raspberry-red garnets as much as two inches in diameter.

It is composed almost exclusively of quartz in elongated grains, giving a foliation to the rock. A few grains of garnet and a few scales of graphite can be detected by the unaided eye. While under the micro- Scope, orthoclase, sillimanite, rutile and zircon are seen to be present insmall amount as accessary constituents. The weathered surface exhibits numerous scolithus-like holes, which, however, are not con- tinuous for any considerable distance, and are found on examination tobe due to the weathering out of garnets. The flattened quartz

Crystalline limestone.

Effect of weathering

Associated sedimentary gneisses.

64 J Quebec.

grains have as a general rule an extinction making an angle of 40 to 45° with their long axes, and contain the same dark inclusions described in the quartzite from Darwin’s Falls, similarly arranged. The grains come together along irregular serrated lines and show a marked uneven extinction, although little or nothing in the way of actual granulation can be detected.

The petrography of the Laurentian limestones, so far as these can be studied macroscopically, has been exhaustively treated by Sterry Hunt in his Report on the Laurentian Limestones of North America.* The limestones of the district at present under consideration differ in no way from those of other Laurentian districts described in the report in question. They are usually comparatively pure and only a few of the fifty-four minerals described by Hunt as occurring in the Laurentian limestones have been recognized in them. Of these graphite, mica, pyroxene, serpentine and quartz are most frequently seen. They are usually rather coarse in grain, never very fine-grained or compact and where exposed to the weather disintegrate into masses of calcite grains resembling coarse white salt in appearance, or else are dissolved away by the rain leaving smooth undulating surfaces. Con- siderable quantities of the disintegrated limestone occurs on some of the islands in Trembling Lake. Although white or nearly white on a fresh fracture, these limestones. like those of other parts of the Laurentian, often weather black, apparently owing to the growth upon exposed surfaces of a very minute black lichen.

The limestone usually possess a more or less distinct banding due to the presence in varying quantities of one or more of the accessary minerals present, and are, as has been before mentioned, usually asso- ciated or interstratified with bands of rusty-weathering garnetiferous or sillimanite-gneiss having the composition of ordinary argillaceous sediments, or with bands of quartzite.

Serpentine is not usually abundant in the limestones of this area, and no trace of Eozoon has been found.

The limestone from two localities was submitted to microscopical examination.

Report of Progress, Geol. Surv. Can., 1863-66, reprinted in the Report of the Regents of the University on the New York State Cabinet of Natural History for 1867, Appendix E.

) aus, PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 65 J

Crystalline Limestone—Township of Rawdon, Range X., Lots 27 and 28 (near lime-kiln )—(Sections 632, 636).

These exposures are among the largest in the whole area and have Rawdon.

already been referred to on page 27 3. The rock is well banded, some

bands consisting of a white and almost pure limestone containing only

a few scales of mica, while other bands are filled with grains of dark-

green serpentine. In some of these serpentinous bands the serpentine

is present in the form of large lumps, and on breaking open a number

of these some were found to contain rounded cores of white pyroxene.

These cores are readily detached from the inclosing serpentine by the

tap of a hammer and fall out leaving hemispherical depressions. They Serpentine are precisely like those described by Merrill* in the serpentine of pyroxene. Montville, New Jersey, and clearly show that the serpentine in the limestone has originated from the alteration of grains and lumps of pyroxene originally present in it. The vexed question of the origin of

the Laurentian serpentines is, therefore, so far as this occurrence is concerned, clearly answered.

Under the microscope (Plate V., Fig. 4) the rock is seen to consist of calcite, with serpentine in rounded grains, varying in amount in the different sections, and a few scales of mica. The calcite forms a mosaic of grains of uniform size, having sharp well defined boundaries, with no intervening lines of smaller grains or other evidences of granu- lation. It presents the usual optical characters of the species, with the rhombohedral cleavage and often the twinning according to —4 R. The grains possess a uniform extinction. The serpentine is very pale green, almost colourless, in the sections, and occurs in rounded forms showing aggregate polarization. It contains, however, no cores of pyroxene, the alteration being complete in the case of these small grains. The serpentine is sharply bounded against the calcite, but the serpentine grains do not possess crystulline outlines, their borders being always curved and their outline sometimes nearly circular. A serpen- Microscopic tine grain is often completely inclosed in a single calcite individual. Paracter- In No. 632, the serpentine grains are for the most part small and are arranged in the form of little rings embedded in the calcite and filled with grains of the same mineral. These evidently result from the alteration of groups of pyroxene grains similar to those described below in the limestone from the River L’Assomption. The mica, which does not appear in all the sections and is never abundant, occurs in rather large leaves, which are almost colourless, the light passing

*Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 1888, p. 105. 6)

66 J Quebec.

through parallel to the cleavage having a faint brown tint. It is uniaxial and negative and polarizes in brilliant colours, resembling closely the bleached biotites often seen in altered rocks. The extinc- tion is occasionally slightly uneven. One striking fact in connection with the sections is that some of the calcite grains are clear and quite transparent while others are somewhat turbid owing to the presence of very minute dust-like inclusions. The same calcite individual is even in some cases clear in some parts and more or less turbid in others. This turbidity, when studied in connection with that exhibited by the calcite of comparatively unaltered limestones, such as certain beds of the Trenton, in which it is clearly seen to be derived from fragments of crinoids and other fossils about which clear calcite has been deposited in optical continuity, the outlines of the fossil fragments being frequently by no means sharp, is very suggestive of the derivation of this limestone from fossil fragments also. Against this supposition is the fact that the clearness or turbidity is usually confined to the special grain which exhibits it, instead of the grain possessing a turbid core with a clear margin, but it is nevertheless a phenomenon which merits a much more extended study than it has been possible to give it at this time.

Crystalline Limestone, River L'Assomption, about 4 miles from Lake L'Assomption. (Section 655.)

River This occurrence which is exposed by the side of the River L’ Assomp-

L'Assomption tion near the northern limit of the map has already been referred to on page 24 J. Under the microscope it closely resembles the limestone just described and consists of calcite in large grains showing no evidence of breaking, twisting or granulation, with a little pyroxene, serpentine and mica. While in places somewhat turbid, the calcite shows but little of that suggestive arrangement of the turbidity referred to in the case of the Rawdon rock. The pyroxene, which is colourless in the thin sections and pale green in the specimens, is arranged in little irregular groups or strings of small grains, much smaller than the calcite grains and which occasionally show crystalline outlines but are usually rounded in form. These groups are often completely inclosed in a single calcite individual. The pyroxene is biaxial, and shows the usual cleavages, and inclined extinction and is frequently partially altered to serpentine.

spans. PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 67 3

Class III.—Gneisses, &c., of doubtful origin.

In addition to the gneisses, etc., of classes I. and II., whose origin Gneisses of

doubtful

can be determined with a high degree of probability, there i is a third origin.

class, comprising a large proportion of all the gneisses of the area whose origin is doubtful. Some of these resemble more or less closely the rocks of class I., while others bear a marked resemblance to those of clas IT. Chemical analysis would in the case of many of these gneisses, &c., throw much light on the question of the origin of the rock.

A few of these rocks, representative of extended and widespread occurrences in various parts of the area, have been selected for description.

Quartz-Orthoclase- Biotite-Gneiss.— Township of Kildare, front of Range VII. (Section No. 352.)

This is a gneiss, gray in colour weathering white, which possesses a distinct foliation and occurs interstratified or interbanded with reddish orthoclase-gneiss, often in thin layers, forming large exposures where the road, running south-west from St. Ambroise de Kildare, crosses range VII. It is a very common variety of gneiss, occurring extensively in many parts of the area embraced by the present report.

Under the microscope, the rock is seen to consist chiefly of quartz Kildare.

and orthoclase. Biotite in small amount and a few grains of pla- gioclase are also present in each section. The orthoclase, which is present in large amount, is in the form of large grains separated by little strings or streams of smaller grains of orthoclase, all of which, instead of coming together along straight lines, have a crenulated outline. The large grains almost invariably show strain shadows, and the parallel position of the lines of smaller grains, is one of the elements which gives rise to the foliation of the rock. The quartz, in its mode of occurrence strongly resembles that described in the leaf-gneiss and in some augen-gneisses of class I., having for the most part the form of long and narrow leaves or laths much larger than the felspar grains, and whose position being parallel to that of the strings of small orthoclase grains above mentioned also serves to mark the foliation of the rock. These quartz lath:, although running through the granulated orthoclase, show no signs of granulation, but consist of single individuals, occasionally broken across but showing no signs of pressure other than a slightly uneven extinction. Some of

Miniature augen-gneiss.

’ Brandon.

Microscopical character.

68 J Quebec.

them are as much as sixteen times as long as they are wide, and sweep in curves around the larger felspars, while others consisting of single individuals have curiously irregular and even forked outlines. The leaves or laths are not elongated parallel to the vertical axis, their extinction generally making an angle of about 30° or 40° with the direction of their greatest length. The biotite occurs in the forms of small leaves, usually associated with the felspar, but sometimes embedded in the clear quartz laths, and arranged parallel to the foliation. It is the only iron-magnesia constituent present, with the exception of a little chlorite which in places results from its decom-

position.

The rock is thus a species of miniature augen-gneiss, and has evi- dently resulted from movements in a rock having the mineralogical composition of a granite or arkose.

Garnetiferous Quartz-Orthoclase-Brotite-Gnerss— Township of Brandon, Range X., Lot 4. (Section 662. )

The rock is rather fine grained and gray in colour, containing num- erous rounded pink garnets up to a pea in size, pretty uniformly scattered through it. Under the microscope, it is seen to be composed essentially of quartz, orthoclase, biotite and garnet, the biotite being subordinate in amount, with plagioclase, sphene, iron ore and pyrite as accessary constituents. The foliation is due to the parallel arranyge- ment of the little biotite leaves and to the existence of little strings of quartz running through the rock in a direction parallel to these.

The quartz has the form of irregular-shaped individuals, often in leaves, more or less curved and running with the foliation. These leayes sometimes consist of a single individual, sometimes of several individuals, but never of granulated material. Some small grains of quartz are also seen embedded in the felspar. The orthoclase, which is abundant, never exhibits more pronounced evidence of pressure than a slightly uneven extinction, even this is often absent, and the extinc- tion is quite uniform. No evidence of granulation is seen, the several individuals coming together as in a mosaic, suggestive of re-crystalliza- tion. The biotite is in little leaves or rather large bunches. It does not sweep around the garnets, as is so often the case in similar rocks, but is often inclosed in grains of this mineral, which is evidently younger. It is deep brown in colour and pretty uniformly distributed throughout the rock.

The garnet, which is rather abundant, occurs in grains which are usually rounded, but sometimes sub-angular, and is quite isotropic.

ans. PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 69 J

It holds inclusions not only of the biotite, but also of orthoclase, quartz, sphene and other constituents, and presents the appearance of having grown around and inclosed them. The plagioclase is present in small amount, the twin lines not being bent or twisted. The rock shows no cataclastic structure or other marked evidence of pressure, either in the hand specimen or in the section, with the exception of a small eye of felspar associated with some apparently granulated material, indistinctly seen in the hand specimen, and which seems to be connected with a little pegmatite vein running parallel to the foliation.

Associated with this gneiss in the same series of exposures, which Associated occur along the road between ranges IX. and X., are a variety of °°" other gneisses and allied rocks, interbanded with one another and lving nearly flat. Some of these gneisses are highly quartzose, others are more hasic, having the composition of a garnetiferous hornblende- gneiss. Some are the typical garnetiferous sillimanite-gneisses (Section 680) describedon page 513. Others again resemble amphibolites, while a few thin bands of a calcareous gneiss or very impure limestone, as well as a few of quartzite, are also present.

These rocks, like that of section 662, while free from cataclastic structure and presenting an appearance suggestive of a highly altered sedimentary series, have nevertheless been submitted to great pressure, and have been rolled out like a plastic mass, for associated and intercalated with them are many small bands of augen-gneiss, and leaf- gneiss occasionally holding little augen, which belong to the first class of gneisses already described and which are undoubtedly squeezed and crushed, possibly intrusive, granites.

Garnetiferous Hornblende-Gneiss— Township of Rawdon, Range VI. Lot 24. (Section 439.)

This gneiss, which is dark in colour and contains an abundance of Garnetiferous rounded pink garnets scattered through it, occurs in large exposures interstratified or interbanded with a series of pyritiferous gneisses rich in garnet and often holding graphite, which, having been supposed to contain gold, are referred to in the section treating of Economic Geology, on page 148 3.

Under the microscope, the rock is seen to consist essentially of Rawdon. hornblende, garnet, orthoclase and plagioclase, with accessary pyroxene, hiotite, pyrite, iron ore and apatite.

4x int Sat tn n 6e Pen nt

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70 5 Quebec.

The hornblende, which with the garnet makes up most of the rock, is brown in colour and pleochroic in brown and yellow tints. The garnet is quite isotropic and holds inclusions of the hornblende, plagio- clase, pyroxene, pyrite, iron ore and apatite. The orthoclase and plagioclase are present in about equal amount, and taken together are present in about the same proportion as the hornblende. The pale- green pyroxene occurs in small quantities associated with the horn- blende, and is in part monoclinic and apparently in part rhombic. The rhombic pyroxene is partially altered to serpentine.

The felspar individuals are smaller than those of most of the other constituents, and often form a mosaic showing no very pronounced pressure effects, but elsewhere occur as lines of smaller grains about and between larger ones, in a way suggestive of granulation, actual ‘augen,” however, are not seen. It is difficult to determine whether the hornblende and pyroxene have been produced by re-crystallization or not: they certainly have not undergone much granulation, while the garnet which makes up a large part of the rock is certainly a product of re-crystallization. The comparative absence of pressure effects, in the case of the iron magnesia constituents, as compared with the felspars, may indicate that the former in their present form originated during the pressure, or that during the movements induced by the pressure, the felspars gave way more readily, allowing the movements to be effected chiefly through their disruption. Gneisses containing such a large proportion of hornblende are not common in the Lauren- tian of this area.

Quartz-Orthoclase-Gneiss (Granulite)— Township of Brandon, Range VIII., Lot 22. (Section 574. )

Another variety of gneiss which is very common in this region, and which is seen in many parts of the township of Brandon and else- where, resembles in many respects certain of the Saxon granulites, being reddish, fine-grained and nearly free from iron-magnesia constituents. It is, however, as a general rule, free from garnet, which is so char- acteristic as an accessary constituent to the Saxon granulites. The minute structure is different from, but perhaps related to, that of the gneiss of Trembling Mountain described on page 42 3. As a typical locality, lot 22 of range VIII. of Brandon, may be selected.

The rock here occurs in bed-like masses interstratified with thin bands of quartzite and with some thick bands of the pyroxene amphibolite described on page 735. The exposures are large and the beds or bands lie nearly flat. The rock is fine in grain and of a pale

apaas. PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 715

reddish or pinkish colour. It has a somewhat indistinct foliation and is uniform in character over large exposures.

Under the microscope it is found to consist, for the most part, of microperthite, the individuals of which are sometimes seen to be twisted, but not in a very marked manner. Quartz, sometimes in leaf-like forms, is present in smaller amount and shows similar though less marked evidences of pressure. A few grains of black iron ore, probably magnetite, a small amount of a chloritic decomposition-product derived from some bisilicate which has entirely disappeared, with a few little colourless rounded grains of zircon or possibly monazite, are the only other constituents of the rock. The minute structure differs from that of the Trembling Mountain rock in being fine in grain throughout, the larger individuals described in that rock being absent. It Probably a

. . . crushed

resembles, in fact, the fine groundmass of the Trembling Mountain granite. rock, consisting of minute angular and more or less rounded fragments indiscriminately mixed together.

From a study of the sections, no decided proof can be obtained that this is cataclastic structure, but it is just the structure which would be produced if the process of granulation, described in the case of the Trembling Mountain gneiss as in progress, were completed, the original structure Leing entirely destroyed. If the banded character of the rocks of the district has been produced by a process of stretching or rolling out, the movements and concomitant granulation must have been very much more intense than was necessary to produce merely an indistinct foliation as in the Trembling Mountain rock ; or the original rock may have been finer in grain. The evidence of pressure in the case of the orthoclase would, as has been shown in the case of the Trembling Mountain rock, be less marked in the finely granulated material than in the larger remnants, if any remained.

Therefore, although the rock may have been produced in some other manner, its minute structure is just such as would be caused by the intense crushing of a granite rock, and Professor Rosenbusch believes it to be merely a crushed granite.

Another class of rocks found associated with the orthoclase-gneisses Pyroxene-* in all parts of the area, but very abundantly in the township of pyroxene. Brandon and the adjacent parts of the eastern portion of the area, 8ranulites,

are pyroxene-gneisses and pyroxene-granulites.

These rocks differ from the orthoclase-gneiss in colour, being usually yellowish, brownish or black on the fresh fracture. Although usually indistinctly foliated, they are frequently nearly massive and uniform

Rhombic and monoclinic

pyroxenes.

Character of the rocks.

Quite distinct from normal granulites.

72 J Quebec.

in character over large exposures, in this way differing from the usual run of the associated acid gneisses. Their constituent minerals cannot as a general rule be determined from the study of a hand specimen, but under the microscope the rocks are found to have a composition which varies but little.

Pyroxene is always present as an essential constituent, both rhombic and monoclinic varieties usually. occurring together. Hornblende, usually green but sometimes brown in colour, is sometimes but by no means always present. Biotite when present at all is very subordinate in amount. Plagioclase is usually the predominating felspar, but orthoclase is very often present as well, and is sometimes as abundant as the plagioclase. Magnetite, apatite and a few other accessary con- stituents occur in small amount.

These rocks are very seldom coarse in grain, being generally rather fine-grained to nearly compact. They may be separated into two classes which, however, have no sharp dividing line and pass into one another by imperceptible gradations. One class would embrace the coarser grained varieties, which are usually somewhat poorer in the iron magnesia constituents and occur in large bodies, and which may be called pyroxene-sneisses. The other class comprises the fine-grained and nearly black varieties, which occur very frequently interbanded with granulite and other forms of orthoclase gneiss, in all parts of the area, and which from their resemblance in character and mode of occur- rence to the “ trap-granulites ” or “‘ pyroxene-granulites ” of the Saxon granulite gebirge inay be called pyroxene-granulites.

This latter name has certain disadvantages,* among others the fact that the rock bears no resemblance to true granulite, but as the name already has a status in petrographical nomenclature from the thorough description which has been given of the petrographical character and mode of occurrence of the rock in the Saxon granulite gebirge, as well as owing to the circumstance that every other name already in use and which might be applied is attended with equally great objections, it will here be employed to designate the rocks in question. These pyroxene-granulites when they become rich in hornblende and poor in orthoclase might be termed pyroxene-amphibolites.

As typical examples of these pyroxene granulites and pyroxene amphibolites the following rocks may be taken.

See Zirkel, Lehrbuch der Petrographie, vol. III.. p. 251.

apne. PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 13 J

Pyroxene-Amphibolite— Range VIII. Lot 22, Township of Brandon. (Section 571.)

In the hand specimen, the rock is seen to be rather fine in grain, nearly black in colour, and to possess an indistinct foliation, with occa- sional narrow bands in which one or other constituent predominates.

It occurs in thick bands interbanded or interstratified with the granulite described. on page 70 J.

Under the microscope, the rock is found to consist essentially of horn- blende, pyroxene and plagioclase felspar, with a small amount of orthoclase felspar and a little magnetite, apatite, and probably a few grains of quartz. The hornblende is deep brown in colour and strongly pleochroic, and is present in large amount. There is no evidence that it has been derived from the pyroxene and it often occurs in compar- atively large individuals. The pyroxene, which is also present in large amount, is in part hypersthene, showing the usual pleochroism in yellow, red and green tints and a parallel extinction. Some monoclinic pyrox- ene is also present. None of the constituents have even an approxi- mately idiomorphic development. All are in irregular-shaped grains.

The foliation, which is parallel to the banding, is indistinctly seen in the thin sections, but there is a development all through the sections of granulated material in little strings or streaks running in one direc- tion. This is composed largely of plagioclase, but hornblende and pyroxene are also seen in a granulated condition, mixed with the pla- gioclase. Almost every one of the larger grains of plagioclase shows the effects of intense pressure, in well marked strain-shadows, twisting of twin lamellæ and breaking into smaller grains. It is a fact of interest that, in this as in many similar cases, the hornblende and Pyroxene, although in places granulated, do not when in large grains show uneven extinction, while what in ordinary light appear to be grains of plagioclase of similar size, invariably, when examined between crossed nicols, are seen to be crushed aggregate of small plagioclase grains.

The examination of this rock under the microscope makes it certain that whatever the origin of the banding may be, the foliated structure is not original, but has been produced by movements in the rock which Were accompanied by a granulation of its constituents. The hornblende may possibly be a secondary product.

Pyroxene- amphibolite. —-Brandon.

Microscopical character.

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749 Quebec.

Chemical À specimen of the rock analysed for me by Mr. Walter C. Adams, composition. BA Se., was found to have the following composition :—

2. we us paladin aA Rss. es

Pyroxene-Amphibolite— Tounship of Brandon.

Lee

SCA 444 44e dessus 49:76

It is thus identical in composition with many gabbros and diabases.

This reek passes over on lot 19 of range VIT. into a pyroxene-granulite (section 561) free from hornblende, and consisting of pyroxene, plagio- clase and orthoclase, with a considerable amount of iron ore scattered through the rock, and usually associated with the pyroxene. It is nearly massive, a foliation being merely indicated by the presence of a few parallel strings somewhat coarser in grain than the rest of the rock. In this rock also the constituents show evidence of much twist- ing and present an uneven extinction. The felspar has undergone a

° certain amount of granulation. The sections show that the rock has been subjected to a certain amount of motion as a result of pressure : but whether this motion has been very great, cannot be decided from their study alone.

Pyroxene-Granulite—Range VI., Lot 13, Township of Brandon. (Section 684.)

Pyroxene- Occurs interstratified with granulite, the whole being cut transversely granulite by pegmatite masses which have been crushed to an augen-gneiss, the Brandon. ue . - ‘ . . . foliation of which coincides with the banding of the series (see Figs. 4 ‘ and D).

The rock has an indistinct foliation when seen in large exposures, but no foliation can be noticed in hand specimens. It is dark in colour and rather fine-grained.

All the iron is calculated as ferric oxide.

Growsrca SURVEY OF CANADA. Vo. VIIL, Part J.

Fig. 2.

Fis. 3. Fie. 4

Plate V.

Fic. L—PYBOXENE-GRANULITE, RANOE VI, LOT 13, TOWNSHIP OF BRANDON—Plagioclase, Pyroxene tnd Iron Ore. X 29.

Fic, 2—PYRoxENg-AMPHIBOLITE, ‘TREMBLING MoUNTAIN—Hormblende, Pyroxene, Plagioclase and Tron Ore, x 29,

Fi. 3.—Praoxene-oneiss, Sr. Jean DE MATHA—Pyroxene, Felspar and Iron Ore. X 30.

. Fi. 4—SeRPENTINE-LIMESTONE, RANGE X., LoT 27, TOWNSHIP or RawDon—Calcite (in places ‘winned) and Serpentine. X 11.

aus, ] PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 75 3

It is composed of pyroxene, which is for the most part augite, pale- green in colour and with barely perceptible pleochroism, together with plagioclase and a good deal of iron ore. There are also a very few grains of pyrite. The rock contains no hornblende, biotite or ortho- clase. The structure is allotriomorphic, and although the felspar shows faint indications of strain the pyroxene is never granulated, and the rock looks as if it had been crystallized in situ (Plate V., Fig. 1).

The granulite (Section 685), which is interstratified with it does not form continuous bands, but thins away when followed along the strike. It is composed of quartz and orthoclase, and has an appearance which is highly suggestive of extensive granulation, for although all the grains are small, there are often smaller ones which appear to have been formed by the breaking down of the larger, and in a few places the peripheral granulation of the orthoclase could be observed. That both rocks must have undergone a decided rolling out under pressure, in the direction of the bands, is proved by the conversion of the inclosed pegmatite veins into an augen-gneiss with a foliation in this direction.

Pyroxene-Granulite— Range VIII. Lot 12, Township of Brandon, (Section 683),

Forms a large mass which is the northerly continuation of the occurrence last described. It shows, however, distinct differences in mineralogical character, proving that the rocks of this class vary some- what in their nature from place to place, even in the same masses. The augen-gneiss and granulite are here absent.

The pyroxene is pale-green in colour as before, but most of it is rhombic in character, with strong pleochroism in reddish and greenish tints and parallel extinction. An untwinned felspar which is prob- ably orthoclase is also present, and is more abundant than the plagio- clase. Very small amounts of hornblende, biotite, pyrite and zircon are also found, as well as a considerable amount of apatite in rather large individuals. Iron ore occurs in rather Jarge amount, often partly inclosing the pyroxene, as is frequent in these rocks. The appearance of the rock under the microscope, is suggestive of granulation.

Pyroxene-Granulite— Range VILL, Lots 9 and 10, Township of Bran- don (Section 356 ).

This rock forms large exposures about one mile to the east of the Other

occurrence last described. The rock is here fine grained, very uniform ay nulites and nearly massive. It is never banded, and in places no foliation fromBrandon.

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pyroxene- ranulites rom Brandon.

76 3 Quebec.

can be detected. Between these exposures and those last described the pyroxene-granulite is associated with granulite plainly derived from a granite by crushing, as it frequently contains remnants or augen of as yet uncrushed orthoclase. The rock is composed of rhombic pyroxene and plagioclase with some orthoclase (untwinned), but also contains much hornblende and biotite. A small amount of augite may also be present. Iron ore, pyrite and apatite are accessary consti- tuents. The hornblende, which is green in colour, is about equal to the pyroxene in amount, and the biotite to about one-half the amount of either. All three minerals are intimately associated. There is no evidence that the hornblende or mica are secondary, although the mode of occurrence of the latter suggests that seen in certain contact rocks such as hornstones. The plagioclase is broken and twisted in places and the rock looks like a granulated one, but if so there are no large remnants left.

Pyroxene-Granulite—Kange IX, Lot 16, Township of Brandon, (Section 682).

This rock, which in the field closely resembles the last two, occurs rather over a mile to the west of No. 683, which it closely resembles also in composition and microscopical character, and from which it is separated by bands of granulite and other varieties of gneiss. It contains large intercalated masses of ugen-gneiss, whose foliation coincides in direction with the banding of the whole series.

The pyroxene is chiefly rhombic, but monoclinic pyroxene is also pre- sent. Both minerals are pile-green in colour, and can be distinguished only by their optical properties. The rhombic pyroxene (probably hypersthene) shows the regular pyroxene cleavages with parallel extrac- tion in sections parallel to the vertical axis. Prismatic sections ex- hibiting the cleavage parallel to o P&, when examined in convergent light show this to be the plane of the optic axes. The mineral is dis- tinctly trichroic. a red, b yellow, ¢ green. The monoclinic pyroxene is not pleochroic, has a higher double refraction and shows an inclined extinction.

The plagioclase and an untwinned felspar, probably orthoclase, are present in about equal amount. Biotite and green hornblende occur in very sinall quantity, associated with the pyroxenes. few grains of pyrite and apatite are present in each section, as well as some iron ore, which usually incloses grains of pyroxene—a peculiar mode of occurrence often found, however, in these rocks. (See page 79 J.)

onus, PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 77 3

None of the constituents have good crystalline form. The foliation Origin of ° . . . Structure. is produced by the arrangement of the pyroxene grains with their longer axes in one direction. Almost every grain of felspar shows strain-shadows or fractures. It is difficult to say whether the peculiar granular character of the rock has been produced by movements or not. The pyroxene does not show any evidence of granulation although it occasionally shows strain-shadows. Under a low power, however, the sections exhibit an appearance of extensive granulation and suggestive of the possibility of the rock having been deformed by the granulation of the felspar with a certain movement of the pyroxene individuals through the granulated mass.

Separated from the pyroxene-granulite on the east by a mass of very rusty-weathering gneiss, and associated with granulite proper, is an- other rock resembling the one here described in appearance, but which is, in places, rich in garnet. A section (No. 686) of the garnetiferous variety, however, showed the rock to be composed essentially of red garnet and dark green hornblende with some pyroxene. The garnet is quite isotropic and felspar is absent.

Pyroxene-Amphibolite—Trembling Mountain. (Section 536.)

In describing the geology of Trembling Mountain (see page 42 3) it Pyroxene- was mentioned that the existence of thin bands or stratiform masses of Ta bn a black pyroxene-amphibolite at long intervals interrupted the uni- Mountain.

formity of this great mountain-mass of granulated gneiss.

This pyroxene-amphibolite is identical in character with some of the pyroxene-granulites just described. It consists essentially of hornblende, pyroxene and plagioclase, with very small amounts of iron ore, apatite and biotite as accessary constituents. The horn- blende is green or sometimes brownish-green in colour and strongly pleschroic, as in the associated gneiss. The pyroxene, which is chiefly rhombic in crystallization, is not quite so abundant as the hornblende. The plagioclase is present in large amount and in well twinned grains. There is no evidence that the hornblende has been derived from the pyroxene.

Althougb in the hand specimens the rock looks more massive than ygicroscopical the associated gneies, when examined in thin sections under the micro- character. scope it is seen to possess a distinctly foliated structure (Plate V.,

Fig. 2). None of the constituents have any approximation to an idio- morphic form, the rocks consisting of a mosaic of irregular-shaped grains. The felspar grain-, while irregular in shape are about equal

Pyroxene- neiss. —

St. Jean de

Matha.

Two felspars.

78 3 Quebec.

in all dimensions, and form a sort of groundmass, in which the horn- blende and pyroxene, which have a tendency to assume elongated forms, are distributed as irregular, discontinuous, anastomosing strings.

This rock, although, from its existence in the foliated gneiss shown to have been submitted to enormous pressure and probably squeezed out by this into its present band-like form, affords no absolute proof of the granulation so well seen in the gneiss which incloses it. The felspar grains, nevertheless, may have been produced by granulation. The bisilicates often occur in little granules like those seen in the granulated anorthosites, although they usually assume thc rather elongated forms, above referred to. It is in fact in all probability a granulated rock, although the absence of large remnants makes proof of this impossible.

It is probable that these occasional interrupted bands or elongated masses of pyroxene-amphibolite in the crushed granite represent basic secretions in the original rock, such as are found in granites in all parts of the world.

Pyroxene-Gneiss—St. Jean de Matha, near the church. (Section 358.)

The rock is dark-gray in colour and while distinctly foliated has a pretty uniform character over large exposures. In the thin sections it is seen to consist essentially of pyroxene, felspar and iron ore. Biotite and hornblende are present, but in very subordinate amount, together with a few grains of pyrite and apatite.

The pyroxene is in part hypersthene and in part augite, the relative proportion of the two varying in different sections, but the hypersthene on the whole preponderating. The hypersthene shows the usual tri- chroism in reddish, greenish and yellowish tints and is free from all schillerization inclusions. The augite closely resembles the hypersthene in appearance, but has an inclined extinction and is not pleochroic. The two pyroxenes are intimately associated.

Two felspars are present in about equal amount. One is a weil twinned plagioclase, presenting the usual characters ; the other is an untwinned felspar, which is frequently observed in these rocks and which is in all probability orthoclase, its most noticeable characteristic being the appearance of pale bluish and brownish tints respectively, when between crossed nicols the section is turned slightly on either side from the direction of maximum extinction. The phenomenon appears to result from a slight dispersion of the bisectrices.

sous, PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 79 3

The iron ore, which is, after the pyroxenes and felspars, the most: Intergrowth abundant constituent, is black and opaque, and when examined by ° iron ores. reflected light often presents certain bands and spots differing slightly in lustre from the rest of the grain, which indicates the intergrowth of two sorts of iron ore probably differing in content of titanium, as described in the case of the Morin anorthosite. Its mode of occur- rence, however, is very peculiar, being found in between the bisilicates generally in long, narrow grains, and often nearly or completely sur- rounding the latter (see Plate V., Fig. 3). It was in one case observed to have the form of a narrow band cutting across a pyroxene grain and continuous with a mass of iron ore on either side. It was evidently formed after the bisilicates had crystallized. The same phenomenon was observed in the case of certain anorthosites very rich in iron ore (see page 100 5). Distinct evidence of crushing, in the existence of Iron ore

. ; . crystallized augen or marked twisting of constituents, is absent, but the rock later than nevertheless looks as if it might have undergone a thorough granula- “icates. tion. Traces of this are, as usual, much more marked in the felspars than in the pyroxenes.

A pyroxene-gneiss (Section 305), almost identical with that just described, forms large exposures in lot 16 of range XI. of the town-

ship of Brandon, between the Lac Corbeau and the second anorthosite band.

Pyroxene-Gneiss—Seigniory of D’Arllebout, about one mile N.E. o Range ITI. of the Township of Cathcart. (Section 299.)

This rock was chosen as a typical representative, not only of large Pyroxene- exposures in the immediate district, but of the basic gneiss, intimately Freee out. associated and interbanded with the red quartzose orthoclase gneiss, in very many widely separated parts of the area covered by this report.

The rock is bluish on the fresh fracture, but weathers gray, and has an indistinct foliation coinciding with that of the associated quartz- ose orthoclase-gneiss.

Under the microscope it is found to consist essentially of pyroxene and plagioclase. A considerable amount of untwinned felspar, some of it probably orthoclase, is also present, as well as a little hornblende, biotite, iron ore, pyrite, apatite and calcite. The pyroxene is for the most part hypersthene, identical with that in the rock last described. The hornblende, which is green in colour, is apparently derived, in part at least, from the alteration of this pyroxene. The iron ore, as before, is often found partially inclosing the pyroxene. The occa- sional presence of leucoxene as an alteration product indicates that it

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Evidence of granulation.

Pyroxene- gneiss in

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Common in Lower

Archean.

Origin of pyroxene.

80 J Quebec.

is a titaniferous variety. The calcite is secondary. In addition to the plagioclase, presenting the ordinary characters as seen in those gneisses, there are a number of individuals which are very clear and polarize brightly, resembling the secondary plagioclase often devel- oped in crushed rocks.

As in the case of the pyroxene-gneiss just described from St. Jean de Matha, although there is no absolute proof of granulation, it is almost certain that the rock has been subjected to this process ; strings of fine grains are everywhere seen in and about the larger grains, and the appearance is that of a granulated rock, Here again the evidence is principally seen in the felspars.

Pyroxene-gneisses identical in character with those just described, as has been mentioned, are very abundant in the area embraced by the accompanying map, but especially in that part of it lying to the east of the Morin anorthosite. They are also found widely distributed in the Laurentian elsewhere, as, for instance, in the Saguenay district. They differ froin the associated acid gneisses not only in composition but in having a darker colour (never red like the orthoclase gneisses), a more uniform character, and more massive appearance. They never contain quartz. .

These pyroxene-gneisses and pyroxene-granulites, formerly thought to be very uncommon rocks, have in recent years been described from a great number of localities in all parts of the world, and will probably be found to be one of the constant elements of the lower Archwan wherever that is extensively developed. brief review of these various occurrences, with full references to their literature, is given in a recent paper by Professor Judd.*

The origin of these rocks is a question concerning which, even in the localities where they have been most thoroughly investigated. there have been great diversities of. opinion. In the district in which pyroxene granulites were originally described, for instance, the granu- lite region of Saxony, Nauman believed them to be eruptive, Stelzner and others consider them to be metamorphic products, while Lehmann, who has made a more recent and very thorough study of them, con- siders the question of their origin as still an open one. The mode of occurrence of the pyroxene-granulite in Saxony and the intimate rela-

i Sr

*The Rubies of Burma and Associated Minerals, their mode of occurrence, origin and metamorphoses. Phil. Tra: s., 1896, p. 192.

Also A. Lacroix—Contributions & etude des Gneiss à Pyroxene—Bull. Soc. Min.. France, April, 1889.

saw. PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 81 5

tion which it bears to the normal granulite, the two rocks being con- Gneisses and nected by a compiete series of intermediate varieties, points very granulites. strongly, in the case of the Saxon occurrences, to the origination of

both rocks in thedifferentiation of an original igneous magma. The chief

difficulty in considering the pyroxene-granulites of Saxony as dif- ferentiation products from the same magma that gave rise to the

normal granulite, is the fact that they are practically massive and

have been considered to show no evidence of crushing, while the accompanying granulite is seen to have been crushed and granulated

in a very marked manner.

The pyroxene-granulites of the district embraced in the present Saxon Report, differ from those of Saxony chiefly in being a little coarser in nos grain and in possessing, as a general rule, a more or less indistinct schistose structure. Garnet also is a less frequent constituent.

That these Canadian rocks, whatever be their origin, have been Crushed peg- greatly compressed and rolled out like plastic masses (although "#t1te masses. no conclusive evidence of the fact can be seen in the minute struc- ture of the rock) is placed beyond a doubt by the presence in them of sharply folded, crushed and foliated masses of pegmatite converted into augen-gneiss and leaf-gneiss by the pressure, the foliation running in one plane through the whole body of the rock and being quite independent of the position of the pegmatite masses. That the present attitude of the rocks was not their original one, is also plainly shown in Figure 8, where a dark-coloured pyroxene-gneiss, containing a good deal of quartz, is seen to lie as a series of sharp folds in a mass of leaf-gneiss. The axis of these folds is now the strike of the rock, but it is evident that the pyroxene-gneiss originally formed a band, dyke or arm in the lighter coloured quartzose orthoclase rock, running

Figure 8.—Dark Pyroxene-Gneiss folded in a mass of Leaf-Gneiss, Range VIII., Lot 18, Township ot Brandon. Scale 8 feet to 1 inch.

in a direction highly inclined or possibly at right angles to the pre-

sent strike. This is by no means an isolated case or confined to this

locality ; the same phenomenon can be observed in very many places

in this as well as in other Laurentian areas in various parts of the

Dominion, and when the folds are longer and more compressed their

82 3 Quebec.

resemblance to interstratified bands, especially in small exposures, is much more marked. Microscopical The microscopic structure of the pyroxene-granulites, as a class, is unlike that of quite distinct from that of the undoubted igneous rocks having the gabbro. same mineralogical composition (the gabbros), but after the study of a large number of sections of these rocks from various parts of Canada, as well as from the Saxon granulite region, I am unable to see that their structure precludes them from being considered as granulated ° rocks, although no direct evidence of crushing may be afforded by them. The indications of granulation in the case of the Canadian rocks have already been referred to in the description of the sections.

Much light might be thrown on the origin of these peculiar rocks by a thorough study of their chemical composition, with a view to ascertaining whether they all, like the pyroxene-amphibolite from Brandon (No. 571), have the composition of gabbros and diabases, or whether some of them have a composition different from that of igneous rocks.

At present the origin of these Canadian occurrences must remain a matter of doubt, although the argument in.favour of a metamorphic origin in the case of the Saxon rocks, from alleged absence of granu- lation and other pressure phenomena, does not, as has been shown, apply with equal force to the pyroxene-granulites of Canada.

Orthoclase-Scapolite-Pyroxene-Gneiss—Township of Rawdon, Range VII., Lot 20. (Sections 597, 630.)

Scapolite- This gneiss, which weathers to an exceedingly rusty colour, occurs gneles. in bands interstratified with a grayish-weathering, garnetiferous gneiss, traversed by many little veins of quartz. Across the road on the same lot is the band of garnet rock described on page 845. It is fine- grained, greenish-white in colour, and on a fresh fracture presents a _finely-speckled appearance. As has been mentioned, it weathers very rusty and disintegrates so readily that it is difficult to obtain speci-

mens which are really fresh. It has a very indistinct foliation.

Rawdon. Under the microscope, it is seen to be composed essentially of ortho- clase, pyroxene and scapolite, with accessary pyrite, pyrrhotite, graph- ite and sphene. The pyroxene, which is very pale green in colour, has the characters of malacolite. The scapolite is colourless, uniaxis! and negative, with cleavages crossing at right angles on basal section, and parallel extinction in sections in the plane of the vertical axis. The sulphur, if calculated as pyrite, would show the presence of nearly

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aus, PETROGRAPHY OF THE LAURENTIAN. 83 3

four and a half per cent of that mineral, but, although much pyrite is present, there is a good deal of pyrrhotite present as well, the two minerals being intimately associated. These two minerals almost certainly represent a later impregnation, occurring, as they do, in little irregular-shaped masses, with minutely banded structure parallel to their sides, as if filling cavities. They are sometimes decomposed to hematite, the pseudomorphs being often remarkable in that they consist of a single individual. The ferric hydrate which stains the weathered surface of the rock is also derived from their decomposition.

The graphite occurs as little flakes, and is often intimately asso- Microscopical ciated with the pyrite, suggesting some genetic connection in the case “haracter. of the two minerals ; as, for instance, the formation of the sulphides from the reduction of iron-bearing solutions through the agency of organic matter, a portion of which still remains as graphite. The sphene, which is seen in every slide, is pale brownish in colour, and occurs in more or less elongated grains lying in the direction of the foliation. It has the usual high index of refraction and high double refraction, with an extinction generally inclined at a small angle to the longer axis of the grain, and is often twinned. The rock pre- sents the appearance of having been produced by a complete crystalli- zation or re-crystallization of the various constituents in situ, the grains of felspar having sharp polygonal outlines, and the individuals of the several minerals fitting together like the pieces of a mosaic, no signs of granulation being visible.

A specimen of this gneiss was analysed by Mr. Walter C. Adams, Chemical B.A.8c., and was found to have the following composition :— composition.

AIT _—Orthoclase-Scapolite-Pyroaene-Gneiss— Township of Rawdon, Range VII., Lot 20.

Per cent.

Silica ..., ,, ceeeenes 54°89 Titanic oxide Woe ce eeeee 1°66 Alumina . ee 13°67 Ferric oxide. . .. , .. 1°35 Ferric sulphide . 4°43 Manganous oxide ... 62 Lime ... .., ,,,.,.. 5°63 Magnesia , eee 4°70 Soda ,.,., 1 95 Potassa. , 8°34 Water and graphite (by difference) ... ... 2°76 100°00

Total alkalies 10°29

Garnet rock

84 5 Quebec.

This gneiss, as will be seen, differs entirely in composition from any of those of which the analyses have already been given. The low content of alumina, combined with low silica, the high alkalies and the preponderance of lime over magnesia, mark it off as quite distinct from the slates and sedimentary gneisses before considered. If it be an altered sediment, it is one which has suffered very little leaching during deposition, and must have been of the nature of a tuffaceous deposit, or one formed from the rapid disintegration of an igneous rock having the composition of a basic trachyte or syenite. It is, therefore, a rock which, so far as its composition is concerned, might be either an altered sediment or an altered igneous rock ; and it is impossible, consequently, to draw from its chemical composition any definite conclusions as to its origin. The graphite, however, points to a sedimentary origin.

Specimens of another band of gneiss (Section 385) similar in general appearance to that just described, and occurring near it, were found upon microscopic examination to differ from it in holding a consider- able amount of garnet and plagioclase, as well as some quartz, but no scapolite. The pyroxene is very pale brown in colour, and the garnet, which as usual in the Laurentian gneisses is quite isotropic, holds as inclusions grains of the various other constituents of the rock.

Intimately associated with the garnetiferous gneisses, and probably representing an extremely garnetiferous variety of them, are the bands of garnet rock described from two localities under the heading of Economic Geology (p. 150 5.)

At the first of these localities—the rear of lot 20 of Range VII. of the township of Rawdon—several bands of the garnet rock are found, the widest being about two feet thick. They occur interstratified with fine-grained garnetiferous gneiss and white quartzite. In some parts of the bed the garnet rock is almost pure, while in others it is seen to contain a little quartz, biotite or felspar. The purer portions (Sections 440, 654) when examined under the microscope are seen tw consist almost exclusively of pink garnet. Some iron ore, with a little biotite, and in one section a grain of green spinel, are the only other constituents. The garnet occurs in very large individuals, which are isotropic and almost free from inclusions, with the exception of a few grains of biotite. The iron ore is black and opaque and occurs chietly in the form of large angular grains. The surfaces of the garnet grains are often stained with a little ferric hydrate. The biotite and iron ore are inclosed in the garnet and have the appearance of having origin- ated contemporaneously with it. In some sections (No. 654) a little plagioclase is present.

Pl +

sus. ] THE MORIN ANORTHOSITE. 85 J

On lot 22, of range IX., of the township of Rawdon, a heavy band of granular brown pyroxene rock occurs, associated with garnetiferous graphitic gneiss and crystalline limestone. Owing to the fact that the exposures are not continuous, it is impossible to ascertain the precise width of the band, but it is probably about twenty feet wide.

Under the microscope (Section 366) the rock is seen to be made up almost exclusively of a pyroxene, very pale pinkish brown in thin sections. The cleavage is imperfect and the mineral shows a very faint pleochroism, and in sections at right angles to an optic axis is seen to be biaxial, the axial angle being large. With this pyroxene is associated a colourless uniaxial and negative mineral, probably a scapolite, and a very few grains of pyrrhotite.

An analysis of the pyroxene gave the following results : —

XIII. —Pyroxene— Rawdon, Range IX., Lot 22.

Per cent. SUiCa. . see... 49° 239 Alumina. , ee eas 8° 388 Ferrous oxide .. .. 4°611 Manganous oxide undet Lime ,.,., 25° 376 Magnesia . ... Sessuneeuees 12°723

100: 387

THE ANORTHOSITES. THE MORIN ANORTHOSITE. Stratigraphical Relations.

As shown in the accompanying map, there is, in the region under con- sideration, one large area of anorthosite, constituting its chief geologi- cal feature, and several smaller occurrences of the same rock quite subordinate in extent. This large area will be referred to as the Morin anorthosite mass, from the township of Morin, which for the most part lies within it, while the smaller areas will be distinguished by similar local names, as the Lakefield area, the St. Jérôme area and $0 On.

Pyroxene rock.

Morin anorthosite.

The Morin area consists of an almost circular mass of anorthosite, Size.

from the south-western: side of which there proceeds a long arm-like extension. The mass has a diameter of about 37 miles, and, with the arm-like extension just mentioned, an area of 990 square miles. It is surrounded on all sides by the gneisses and associated rocks of

Boundaries.

Character of auorthosite country.

A rin-like extension of anorthosite.

86 J Quebec.

Laurentian age, with the exception of the extremity of the arm, which extending much farther to the south than the rest of the area, runs underneath and becomes covered up by much more recent strata of Cambro-Silurian age (Potsdam and Calciferous) bounding the protaxis in this direction. The limits of the mass have been carefully traced out by myself, except where it crosses the townships of Howard and Mont- calm, where the boundary had already been determined by Sir William Logan (See Atlas accompanying Geology of Canada, 1865), and in the southern part of Wolfe, where it had been traced out by Mr. Vennor. Along this portion of its course the boundary is a well marked topo- graphic feature, the anorthosite rising as a cliff or abrupt line of hills from the rolling country underlain by the Grenville series. (See Plate I.) The exact course of the boundary across the very wild, unsurveyed and unsettled township lying to the north-west of the township of Lussier is uncertain. Its direction as laid down on the map, however, must be a near approximation to the correct one, as the country immediately to the north of it has been examined and found to be underlain entirely by gneiss.

The country underlain by this anorthosite, leaving out of con- sideration the arm-like extension above mentioned, is very hilly, the hills seldom rising to such height as to be properly designated as moun- tains, and while often: rugged and precipitous still preserving the smooth flowing contours seen everywhere in the Laurentian in this part of Canada. Between these hills are valleys or plains, generally of no great size, occupied by drift, which valleys as well as the hill sides are year by year being cleared of their forest growth and con- verted into farms supporting a hardy population.

Scattered through these valleys are a great number of lakes, some of considerable size, where the North River and other streams take their rise, the waters of which eventually find their way int the Ottawa or St. Lawrence.

The highest hills in the area are those about Duck Lake in the township of Cartier, and those in the district about the Montagne Noire in the township of Archambault. On the whole, this anorthosite area is rather more rugged than that underlain by the surrounding gneiss.

As has been shown on page 13 J, and as will be seen by consulting the map, the gneissic series through which this anorthosite has been intruded, is, so to speak, closely wrapped around the anorthosite mass, its strike for the most part following the sinuosities and curves of the contact ; the most notable exception to this being along a portion of the southern ‘oundary. Its foliation is thus evidently, in part at

sous. THE MORIN ANORTHOSITE. 87 3

least, a secondary structure, induced subsequent to the intrusion of the anorthosite by great pressure, which pressure has affected the anorthosite as well—for the anorthosite, especially near the contact on the eastern side, possesses a distinct foliation coinciding in direction with that of the gneiss. The arm-like extension of the anorthosite through the gneiss to the south-east becomes somewhat wider as the plains underlain by the Paleozoic are approached, being divided longi- tudinally by a wedge of gneiss which runs into it from the south, and which with the anorthosite becomes covered up by the overlying Paleozoic rocks. The anorthosite of this arm, like the gneiss itself, dips to the west, being therefore on the western side overlain by gneiss. The angle of dip, however, varies much in different places.

Although in many parts of the circumference of the area, the Contact anorthosite comes against the gneiss without producing any perceptible phase. alteration, yet in some places, and especially between Shawbridge and Chertsey, a dark heavy rather massive rock, rich in bisilicates and often holding a little quartz and some untwinned felspar, borders the area and may possibly be a contact product of some kind. The boundary of the typical anorthosite against this intervening rock is usually pretty sharp, while the latter passes over gradually into the gneiss of the district. It is, however, difficult to decide whether this rock is to be considered as a peculiar and abnormal (possibly altered) variety of gneiss, or as a contact phase of the anorthosite. What is apparently the same rock, or a very similar one, occurs largely developed at the north-west corner of the area, between the typical anorthosite and the gneiss. Stratigraphical as well as microscopical evidence indicates that here it is a peculiar variety of gabbro, nearly or quite massive, but sometimes showing a schlieren structure. This breaks through the gneiss, but is apparently continuous with the rest of the anor- thosite mass. Continuous exposures from one rock into the other, enabling the relations to be determined, have, however, nowhere been found, but the evidence goes to show that this gabbro forms part of the anorthosite area and is not a separate intrusion, although the transition is rather abrupt.

At a number of places near the limits of the area, especially about Gneias the dividing line between the rear ranges of Wexford and Chertsey, "Clusions. near the road to St. Donat, very large masses of orthoclase gneiss occur inclosed in the anorthosite, and afford additional proof, if any be required, of the intrusive character of the latter. Those occurring about the line between Wexford and Chertsey, lie approximately in the direction of the prolongation of the strike of the great tongue of gneiss which runs

88 J Quebec.

up between the main mass of the anorthosite and the arm-like pro- trusion from it, and probably represent a former extension of the gneiss in this direction, shattered and invaded by the anorthosite.

Similar inclusions of gneiss are also seen near the margin of the Morin area in the rear of the township of Doncaster, being exposed on the road running south from Lake Archambault to Ste. Lucie, and along the River Ouareau where it crosses range VIII. of Chilton.

Pegmatite A very large mass of gneiss, some five miles long and two miles vers. wide, is also inclosed by the anorthosite near the east side-line of the township of Chertsey.

The anorthosite is in many places penetrated by coarse pegmatite veins. These are especially abundant near the edge of the area, cut- ting both gneiss and anorthosite, so much so, that an approach to the boundary may often be surmised from their appearance in large numbers. These pegmatite veins, however, are by no nfeans restricted to the margins of the area but are abundant in places near its centre. They are composed of quartz and orthoclase, often with a little iron ore, and are thus quite different from and apparently uninfiuenced by, the composition of the anorthosite through which they cut. A nuinber of other occurrences in the township of Wexford, which are probably of the sfme nature, were found to hold the same bisilicates as the anorthosite. None of the rarer minerals frequently found in such veins were observed, except one which occurs in the thin sections of a single specimen, and which resembles allanite

In the township of Wexford, along the road which runs south-west from Lac des Iles between ranges VIII. and IX., there is a great body of highly quartzose rock, much of it an almost pure quartzite, inclosed in the anorthosite. It extends along the road for about two miles, varying considerably in width, but near the lake being over a quarter of a mile wide. This mass may’ be an inclusion of gneiss, such as those referred to above, but much of the quartzite has an appearance suggestive rather of vein origin (Section 437).

Both the anorthosite and the gneiss are cut by numerous dykes of diabase and augite porphyrite.

In order to understand why Logan, and other good observers follow- ing him, regarded these anorthosites as constituting a distinct overlying series, a brief review of the grounds on which he based this view may here be presented.

Sir William On working out the geological structure of the Grenville district,

an's

views, which district lies immediately to the west of that embraced in the pre-

eo pe CN eee s aus

Anus. THE MORIN ANORTHOSITE. 89 3

sent report, the two overlapping somewhat, Logan recognized three principal bands of crystalline limestone which he called the Trembling Lake band, the Green Lake band, and the Grenville band respectively: The limestone above mentioned as abutting against the anorthosite at St. Sauveur, was believed to be a portion of the Green Lake band, Sir William referring to the band as having been “interrupted” by the Morin anorthosite. Further to the north, in the township of DeSala- berry, he found that two of the limestone bands again came in con- tact with this anorthosite mass, one of them being this same Green . Lake band and the other the Trembling Lake band. Sir William refers to this occurrence as follows (Geology of Canada, 1863, p. 338) : “The higher of the two bands is interrupted by a mass of anorthosite or labradorite rock which apparently covers it up. A similar phenomenon appears to occur in Morin (St. Sauveur), where the limit of the labradorite rock immediately flanks the limestone band on the north,” and goes on to say: “ If, on exploration to the eastward of the Trembling Mountain, it should be farther ascertained that the two inferior limestone bands of the Grenville series disappear on reaching the margin of the anorthosite, it may be consi- dered as conclusive evidence of the existence in the Laurentian system of two immense sedimentary formations, the one superimposed uncon- formably on the other, with probably a great difference in time between them.”

/

A careful examination of this district in company with Dr. Ells, of Limestones the Geological Survey, has since shown, however, that one of the sup- #7 cut off by posed interruptions really is not seen, the anorthosite mass mapped on gite at Bt. the first range of the township of Grandison, and which was probably reported to Sir William by one of his assistants, having no existence, and that the drift is so heavy in this region that even if the other limestone bands did come against the anorthosite the contact could not be observed. A careful examination of the contact on the south-west corner of the area in the neighbourhood of the village of St. Sauveur, leaves little doubt that the limestone is really cut off by the anor- thosite at this point. The limestone underlies a plain, protruding here and there in large exposures through the drift, whilst the anor- thosite rises from this plain as a steep wall or cliff. The limestone is exposed 200 yards from the foot of the anorthosite wall, but the drift covering then becomes so thick that the character of the contact itself cannot be determined. Both to the east and to the west the associated gneiss is cut off in a similar manner.

On the north-east side of the anorthosite area there was found, more- At Lake over, another limestone band which runs through Lake Ouareau, and Ouareau.

90 5 Quebec.

forms in it a number of small islands. It is also well exposed on the south shore of this sheet of water. This bed disappears at the edge of the anorthosite a short distance from the south end of the lake, and no further traces of it are seen until what is probably its continuation appears again interstratified with the gneiss at the south-east corner of the anorthosite area.

In order to understand why Logan regarded the anorthosites as belonging to a sedimentary series, a fact must be borne in mind

which will be referred to at greater length in considering the structure

Sections from St. Jérôme to New Glasgow.

of these rocks, namely, that in places the anorthosite shows a more or less distinctly foliated structure, which structure was believed in accordance with the views generally accepted at that time to represent a partially obliterated bedding.

This is especially true of the anorthosite near its contact with the gneiss and is especially well marked in the long arm-like protrusion from the south-east corner of the area, which, as above mentioned, runs into the gneiss in the direction of its foliation, and finally, with it, becomes covered up by. the overlying Paleozoic to the south. There is, moreover, at St. Jérôme a smaller isolated area of a more or less foliated anorthosite intercalated in the gneiss, and this was supposed by Logan, who from lack of time was unable to examine the whole area carefully, to form part of the great Morin area, which really terminates many miles to the north. Starting from a point to the west of St. Jérôme and going in an easterly direction across the strike of the rocks to New Glasgow, he passed from gneiss over the St. Jérôme anorthosite and then over a series of gneisses interstratified with quartzites and a band of crystalline limestone to the arm-like pro- trusion of the Morin anorthosite referred to above, which has a folia- tion parallel to the strike of the gneiss, and over it to gneiss once more. Misled by this section, which is here a most deceptive one, he concluded that the whole consisted of a great sedimentary series of anorthosites with interstratified quartzites limestones and gneisses, which series formed the southerly development of the anorthosites that he had observed interrupting the Grenville series in DeSalaberry and the other townships to the north. Accordingly, in Section No. 6 of the Atlas accompanying the Geology of Canada, this “Upper Laurentian” is made to include the limestone at St. Jérôme and to underlie the whole stretch of country from the supposed contact with the Grenville series at the River Gagnon to the west of St. Jérôme, south-eastward to the state of Vermont, although for the most part covered by newer strata. Instead of this we really have the

vue. THE MORIN ANORTHOSITE. 91 y

Grenville series with certain areas of,the fundamental gneiss, con- Logan

. oa Upper tinuous throughout the whole district embraced by the map accom- Laurentian ” panying the present Report, except where it is interrupted by intrusive has no exist- masses of anorthosite. The foliation of the anorthosite, therefore, being now recognized as a distinctly dynamic phenomenon, and there being no evidence of any series of gneisses except the Grenville series and the fundamental gneiss in the district, this ‘“ Upper Laurentian ” series of Logan passes out of existence.

Petrography of the Morin Anorthosite.

The earlier geologists who first explored the great stretches of Petrography Laurentian rocks underlying various parts of the Dominion, in many of Morin. widely separated districts met with enormous masses of a rock differing entirely from the common orthoclase rocks which make up the greater part of the Laurentian system. This rock was composed principally and sometimes exclusively of plagioclase felspar, but often varied con- siderably in structure from place to place, being sometimes massive, ‘ sometimes schistose, sometimes coarse and sometimes fine in grain. °

These rocks they called änorthosite. In the Geology of Canada, The name (p. 22) Sterry Hunt refers to the rock in the following words: ‘“ Since anorthosite. all these varying triclinic felspars are anorthic in crystallization, and approach more or less to anorthite in their composition, Delesse thus proposed to designate them by the common name of anorthose, as distinguished from orthose or orthoclase, and the rocks characterized by their presence as anorthosite. In,accordance with this we have adopted the generic name of anorthosite for these rocks.”

This term anorthosite has often been misunderstood, having been confused with anorthite and supposed to designate a rock consisting of anorthite, a felspar which rarely occurs in these rocks. The word “anorthose ” suggested by Delesse, is synonymous with the word pla- gioclase, which has now supplanted it in common usage, and con- sequently the term anorthosite simply means “plagioclase rock,” a designation which serves both to define its composition and to emphasize the difference between these anorthosites and the predominating ortho- clase rocks of the rest of the Laurentian region.

The place of this anorthosite is in the family of the gabbros, where Composition it occupies a position at one extremity of the series corresponding to of anortho- that of the pyroxenites at the other extremity. An ordinary gabbro when it becomes very rich in felspar passes into an anorthosite ; when, on the other hand, the felspar decreases in amount, so that the

Almost pure plagioclase.

Minerals occurring in Morin anorthosite.

Plagioclase,

92 5 Quebec.

pyroxene predominates largely, a pyroxenite results, while if in the case of an olivine gabbro the pyroxene decreases in amount, leaving plagioclase and olivine as the essential constituents, a troctolite results.

Hunt has estimated that three-quarters of the anorthosites of Canada do not contain over five per cent of minerals other than plagioclase.

This anorthosite, which occurs not only in Canada, but in Norway, Russia and other countries, constitutes a well defined rock type, and one which, not only on account of its peculiar composition, but also owing to the enormous size of the masses in which it occurs and the con- stancy of its character, occupies an important position in the petro- graphical series.

The anorthosite of this Morin area exhibits a. great variation in structure and colour and in certain places even a considerable variation in composition, but is in mineralogical composition a gabbro or norite free from olivine and very rich in plagioclase. Hand specimens from about fifty different places in the area have been sliced and microscopically examined, and the following description of these rocks is based on the results thus obtained. The number of minerals which the rock contains js not large, the variations in composition resulting principally from their irregular distribution. The following minerals have been observed in the rock :—

Plagioclase Muscovite and Paragonite Epidote Augite Bastite Zoisite Hypersthene Chlorite Garnet Ilmenite Quartz Zircon Orthoclase Magnetite Spinel Hornblende Apatite

Biotite Calcite

Of these plagioclase, augite, hypersthene and ilmenite are by far the most important.

As above mentioned, Hunt adopted the name anorthosite for these rocks on account of the great preponderance in them of plagioclase or anorthose. He considered the type which contains only felspar as the true anorthosite and estimated that three-fourths of the anor- thosites in the Dominion did not contain over five per cent of other ininerals.*

Like the other constituents of the rock, the plagioclase is quite fresh, showing but very rarely any traces of decomposition, and when it 1s not granulated (that is protoclastic or cataclastic in structure) presents

we - — — — ee — eee — — ——— — — — —

*T. Sterry Hunt—On Norite or Labradorite Rock, Am. Journ. Sc., Nov., 1869.

anni. THE MORIN ANORTHOSITE. 93 J.

in band specimens, almost without exception, a dark violet, but more rarely a reddish colour. This colour is still plainly visible in thin sections, although naturally much fainter, and is seen to be caused by the presence of an immense quantity of minute opaque black rods and extremely small opaque dark points, which give the mineral in thin sections a peculiar turbid appearance. The latter probably represent in part cross-sections of the rods, but are more usually round or slightly elongated individuals of the same substance as the rods and occurring with them. Vogelsang* estimated, in connection with his studies of the anorthosite of Labrador, that these inclusions amount to from one to three per cent of the volume of the mineral, and goes so far as to say: ‘Le nombre des microlites contenus dans un volume déterminé est susceptible d’étre apprécié avec plus de précision ; les résultats toutefois s’écarteront beaucoup entre eux, suivant l'échantillon qu’on aura choisi et le point dans lequel on l'aura examiné. Dans le labradorite violet figuré le nombre de micro- lites s'élève au minimum à 10,000 par millimètre cube; mais pour autres variétés jaunes et gris foncées le calcul m'a donné un nombre au moins dix fois plus considérable de sorte qu'il y avait ici, dans

Minute inclusions.

l'espace borné d’un centimètre cube plus de cent millions de petits .

cristaux étrangers.” The larger rods are surrounded by a zone of clear felspar. Some inclusions are tranaparent, and have a reddish- brown colour resembling hematite ; these appear in small scales which often show a somewhat distorted hexagonal outline. Objects which closely resemble the above mentioned rods are often seen, when very highly magnified, to be cavities, partly filled up by the dark material of the rods. These inclusions are pretty uniformly scattered through the felspar individuals, and not confined to certain places, nor pre- sent more abundantly in some places than in others, as is the case with the gabbros described by Williamst or by Judd.f Minute fluid inclusions may often be observed arranged in rows; in these there appears now and then a moving bubble. In one or two cases small cubes were perceived in them, and in one case it was thought that a double bubble could be recognized. In two or three localities the otherwise normal felspar contained but few of these inclusions, and consequently was almost white in colour. The nature and origin of these dark inclusions, which occur so frequently in the felspar and

ee ee ——S

Vogelsang—Archives Néerlandaise, T. IIT., 1868.

+G. H. Williams—Gabbro and associated Hornblende Rocks in the neighbourhood of Baltimore, Md.—-Bull. U. S. Geol. Surv. 28, p. 21.

+J. Judd—Gabbros, Dolorites and Basalts of Tertiary age in Scotland and Ireland—Q. J. G. S., 1886, p. 82.

Their character.

Prof. Judd's

examination.

Probably titaniferous. iron ore.

94 J Quebec.

other constituents of the gabbro, in the most widely separated locali- ties of the globe, have been frequently discussed.

The inclusions are so minute that they cannot be isolated and chemically examined. Their form is not defined with sufficient sharp- ness and constancy to enable their crystallographic character to be determined. Some investigators have endeavoured to gain some information as to the nature of these minute bodies by observing their deportment when treated with concentrated acids, but the results ob. tained are contradictory. Judd (1. c.) found that they resist concentrated hydrochloric acid. Vogelsang (1. c.) treated a small piece of felspar from Paul’s Island, Labrador, which contained them, with hot hydro- chloric acid for four days. He found that the acid had strongly attacked the felspar, but could perceive no alteration in the needles, except that they had become slightly paler. Hagge,* however, found that in the same rock from Labrador all the brown scales were dis- solved when treated with the acid for a time too short to effect a decomposition of the felspar. He considered that they were pro- bably gothite.

They are evidently some iron compound, and the peculiar colour of the transparent individuals, taken in connection with the fact that, as will be shown under certain conditions, they unite to form small masses of titanic iron, leads to the belief that the view of Professor Rosenbusch is correct, namely, that they consist principally of titanic iron ore or ilmenite. The transparent ones have the form of the mineral known as micaceous titanic iron ore, which Lattermannt found intergrown with magnetite in the nephelinite of the Katzen- buckel. The peculiar colour of this mineral, moreover, resembles perfectly that of these inclusions. The diverse results which the several investigators have obtained in the matter of the solubility of these inclusions may perhaps be explained by the titaniferous iron ore in some hand specimens being richer in titanic acid than in that of others.

In this connection it must be mentioned that titanic iron ore 1s a mineral which is constantly found in these anorthosites in Canada, often in enormous quantities, so that it is considered as particularly characteristic of them, while in the Laurentian proper the iron ores, in the greater number of cases, contain no titanic acid. Lacroix,}

—

Hagge, Microskopiche Untersuchung über Gabbro and verwandte Gesteine, Kiel, 1871, S. 46.

+ Lattermann in Rosenbusch Mass. Gest, p. 786.

+ Lacroix—Contributions à l'étude des gneiss à Pyroxene, p. 141—Bull. Soc. Min. France, April, 1839.

sms. THE MORIN ANORTHOSITE. 95 3 who has investigated somewhat similar inclusions in certain Nor- wegian gabbros, which, however, are double refracting, thinks that they are pyroxene, especially as they frequently appear to be grouped together, forming larger grains which may be determined as belonging to this species: ‘Les grains en question semblent avoir attiré à eux les particules pyroxéniques en suspension dans le feldspath et les avoir incorporées à leur masse.” It is quite possible that these inclu- sions 80 often found in gabbros and allied rocks, consist of the heavier minerals of the rock, in some cases pyroxene and in others iron ore, which were finely disseminated through the magma while the rock was crystallizing, or which, perhaps, separated, but as the several constitu- ents crystallized. My best thanks are due to Professor Judd for a small collection of thin sections of typical gabbros and peridotites from the north of Scotland, which he has described and on which he has princi- pally established his theory of “schillerisation.” An examination of Schillerisa these revealed the fact that nowhere in them are the inclusions in the "°™ plagioclase so numerous and well defined as in the Canadian anortho- sites. The peculiar arrangement of these inclusions in the Scottish rocks along cracks, fissures, &c., which Professor Judd has described, and which especially supports his theory of their secondary origin, is not observed in these Canadian rocks. Their inclusions are on the contrary distributed thickly and pretty uniformly through the whole felspar individual, generally indeed throughout the felspar of- the whole rock. They disappear, as above mentioned, only when it has been granulated. This remarkable fact will be referred to again.

The uniform distribution of these inclusions does not prove that they are not schillerization products, for if the rock were com- pletely schillerized these products might be quite evenly distributed in it. Only in a few places in this Morin area does the plagioclase exhibit that play of colours which is produced by these inclusions in the felspar from Labrador and elsewhere.

The plagioclase is almost invariably excellently twinned, according to both the albite and pericline laws, the two sets of twin lamelle crossing one another at right angles in the thin sections. This twinning is apparently sometimes secondary and produced by pressure, as for instance when the lamelle appear along a certain line or crack, or when they appear in places where the plagioclase individual is twisted.

In most cases, however, they are of primary origin. Frequently in twinning the sections there are a few untwinned individuals of plagioclase which plagioclase. are probably cut parallel to o P& (010). But in certain hand- specimens there is a considerable percentage of untwinned felspar,

t

Composition of the plagioclase.

96 J Quebec.

resembling in all other respects the plagioclase which shows a well de- fined twin structure, In order to determine whether in these cases two felspars were really present, separations by means of heavy solutions were made, on material from three hand specimens from different local- ities, in the thin sections of which these untwinned felspars occurred in considerable quantity. Since, however, in a solution having a specific gravity of 2°67 all the constituents safik, these untwinned individuals cannot be more acid than labradorite, to which variety the remaining felspar likewise belongs. Similar occurrences of untwinned plagio- clase have been often observed. Hawes*, who investigated some of them, gives an analysisf of an ordinary specimen of typical labradorite of St. Paul’s Island and adds: ‘“‘Some of the anorthosites described by T. Sterry Hunt in the Geology of Canada, 1863, were proved by his analyses to be composed of pure labradorite, and some sections of the same which he submitted me for examination were found to be com- posed of a multitude of small grains, none of which were twinned.”

An examination was made of the well twinned plagioclase from two other localities. The first was a hand specimen of a typical anorthosite which is found five miles north-west of Ste. Adèle in the Morin dis- trict. Its specific gravity was between 2°65 and 2°67, and it had, therefore, also the composition of an acid labradorite, a fact confirmed by the values of the extinction-angle measured on a small fragment separated by means of Thoulet’s solution. The second was from the village of Ste. Adéle itself, which lies at the corner of the Morin area. Here the anorthosite is porphyritically developed with large plagioclase crystals which are sometimes as much as four inches long. These had the following extinction angles: on op P & (010) 243° to 26°, on O P (001)=6°. An analysis of the bluish opalescent plagioclase from the Morin district will be found in the table of analyses given on page 1305 ; here again the felspar is a labradorite.

The plagioclase of the anorthosite from these six different localities is, therefore, in all cases labradorite, and there is every reason to believe that the felspar throughout the whole area belongs to this variety. Although it is generally quite fresh, yet a partial decomposi- tion was observed in one or two cases, where it is altered to a mixture of calcite, epidote and zoisite, as mentioned in the description of these minerals. A peculiar variety of the rock, having a saussuritic habitus, was observed at New Glasgow. This is an entirely local

Hawes—On the determination of Felspar,in thin Sections of Rocks. Proc. Nat Mus., Washington, 1881, p. 134. t See table of analyses, p. 130 J.

ans. THE MORIN ANORTHOSITE. ‘97 5

occurrence connected with the small zones of disturbance which here

run through the anorthosite. In thin sections of this rock, which is

almost entirely composed of plagioclase, mixed only with a few small Alteration grains of iron ore, the plagioclase is seen to have undergone a peculiar P uct. alteration. The alteration product is a mineral usually having a

fibrous structure, and occurs in the plagioclase in little spots. It has

the optical character of a bastite or pseudophite, and the decomposed

felspar resembles, therefore, to a certain extent that of Waldheim

in Saxony, described as pyknotrope by Breithaupt. In another hand specimen of the same rock from New Glasgow, the felspar is changed

into a colourless mineral which forms small feather-like clusters. It

shows magnificent polarization-colours and has a distinct cleavage to

which the extinction is parallel. The mineral possesses the optical! properties of muscovite but may be paragonite, which cannot be dis- tinguished from muscovite under the microscope, and is a more probable alteration product of plagioclase.

The augite is, with a few exceptions, generally present in much Augite. smaller quantity than the plagioclase, but is next to it the most abundant constituent. Rhombic pyroxene is present, however, in nearly, if not quite equal amount. The augite occurs in irregularly shaped grains of a light-green colour, which are either non-pleochroic or exhibit a scarcely perceptible pleochroism in greenish tints. In sections which are nearly parallel to the base, the typical cleavages characteristic of pyroxene are seen cutting each other almost at right angles. They are often intersected by a third more perfect cleavage which is parallel to oo P © (100) as shown by its position relative to the plane of the optical axes. In the prismatic zone the mineral shows an extinction-angle from 0° to 45°.

In many sections of the pyroxene, there are brownish-black tables or small black rods which resemble very much the inclusions in the plagioclase, above described. Where these occur they are frequently parallel to co P © (100); in other cases instead of being scattered throughout the whole individual they are confined to certain spots. The augite can often be observed to have grown around grains of iron ore. It is generally quite fresh, but in many hand specimens is decomposed. The products of decomposition consist sometimes of a finely granular mixture of chlorite, and a rhombohedral carbonate with occasional quartz grains, the whole constituting a gray almost opaque mass. In other specimens, the augite is changed into a yel- lowish bastite, which then fills up not only the space originally occu- pied by the augite, but also penetrates into the small fissures of the

Rhombic xene. ypersthene.

98 7 Quebec.

rock and forms thread-like veins and scales even in the felspar grains. In some specimens again it is converted into a mineral resembling serpentine. When both pyroxenes occur together in the rock, the augite is generally intimately associated with the rhombic pyroxene.

The rhombic pyroxene, which occurs so often in association with the augite, does not essentially differ from the latter as far as can be ascer- tained from its thin sections, either in index of refraction, in double refraction or in colour. It is however strongly pleochroic with the fotlowing colours:

a —red, D yellowish green, ¢ — green.

The absorption is a b ¢, the difference between a and D being very small.

Its rhombic character, was established by the following observations in the case of a hand specimen from the township of Chilton, in which the mineral occurred in fresh condition and in larger quantity than usual. Sections parallel to the base showed the two cleavages of the prism which intersected almost at right angles, as well as a third mor perfect set of cleavages, to which small black rods were often parallel. Since the direction of the extinction was also parallel to this latter cleavage, it must be in the direction of a pinacoid. In convergent light. there was seen on the basal section a bisectrix, but not an optic axis as n the case of a monoclinic pyroxene. When a section in which an optic axis appears was examined, the above-mentioned pinacoidal cleavage was found to be parallel to the plane of the optia axes. The pinacoid in question was therefore co P &, that is to say it cuts off the acute prismatic angle as © P & does in the case of diallage. In sections which showed an optic axis and only one set of cleavages to which the small rods lay parallel, the cleavage was seen to be parallel to the plane of the optic axes.

In all sections which contain the mineral, many grains are found which show only one good cleavage to which the extinction is parallel.

In general it is like the augite quite fresh, in a few sections it appears, however, changed into bastite, and in a few others into & serpentine-like mineral. It sometimes contains the dark scales and rods so often found in hypersthene, but very often these are entirely absent. It is indeed a remarkable fact that in these Canadian rocks, the iron-magnesia minerals contain but a few of these inclusions, while the associated felspar is filled with them, the exact opposite being true in the case of the gabbros and associated rocks of the Scottish Highlands, which have been described by Prof. Judd.

sous, THE MORIN ANORTHOSITE. 99 3

Hornblende does not occur in the anorthosite of Morin except in a Hornblende

few places near the contact with the gneiss. In these cases it is always found in intimate association with the pyroxenes, in the form of irregu- iarly' defined grains generally about the border of the granulated masses of the pyroxene. It occurs as a general rule only in very small quantity. It is usually green in colour, but is often brown. Jt shows the cleav- ages, the small extinction angle, and the characteristic pleochroism of the species. In a hand specimen from the neighbourhood of the con- tact on Lake l’Acbigan, the maximum extinction-angle was found to be 15° and the following pleochroism was observed :

a greenish yellow, b yellowish green, ¢ greeh. The absorption was © 0 a.

In another hand specimen, quite close to the contact, about six miles north of New Glasgow, a brown hornblende was likewise found in small amount. The extinction-angle was 18°, with the following pleochroism :

a=light brownish yellow, deep brown, ¢ deep brown, with the absorption as before, € b a.

$ It also occurs in the peculiar rock which has been referred to above as a gabbro, which was found in a number‘of places between the true anorthosite and the gneiss.

Biotite never occurs in large amount, but is present rather Biotite. frequently in very small amount as an accessary constituent. It is usually found with the iron ore or with the hypersthene, and shows characteristic brown colour, strong pleochroism and parallel extinction.

The occurrence of muscovite or paragonite has been referred to in Muscovite or describing the plagioclase. paragonite

Chlorite occurs occasionally in small quantity as a decomposition chlorite. product of pyroxene or biotite. -

It is doubtful whether quartz ever occurs in the anorthosite as Quartz. à primary constituent. It occurs, however, in small amount in the form of little grains scattered through the anorthosite on lot 36 of range VI. of the township of Wolfe, near the contact of the anorthosite with the surrounding gneiss. Again on the west side of the Achigan River, near New Glasgow, it is occasionally found in the anorthosite, and has the appearance of a primary constituent. Here again, how- ever, the occurrence is near the contact with the gneiss, and it is certain that some secondary quartz is present as a decomposition pro-

Ilmenite and magnetite.

100 3 Quebec.

duct of the pyroxene, so that the quartz which has the appearance of a primary constituent may also be of secondary origin.

In the gabbro which occurs as above stated in many places between the typical anorthosite and the gneiss, quartz is quite frequent. But in this rock many facts point to the secondary origin of the quartz. It often occurs, for instance, in more or less sharply defined veins, made up of large individuals. When it occurs in the form of separate irregular grains, those extinguish uniformly, although they are often more or less fissured, but they are by no means so much broken as might be expected if they were primary ingredients in view of the extremely broken condition of the felspar and the other constituents of the rock.

In nearly every section of anorthosite, some irregularly shaped grains of an opaque black iron ore areseen. These are usually few in number. The quantity of iron ore is considerable only in a few places, and as in these the percentage of pyroxene increases in the same proportion, the rock here assumes a very dark colour, so that it is often taken for an iron ore. These portions of the anorthosite rich in iron ores are only few and local, and they pass over into the normal gabbro of the area. which, as above mentioned, is very poor in iron ore.

If these iron ore grains are examined by reflected light, they are found to be black, and in a few cases they can be seen to be partly changed into a gray decomposition product, evidently a variety of leucoxene. This circumstance proves that the mineral contains titanic acid in con- siderable amount.

In three hand specimens from widely separated parts of the area, an intermingling of two iron ores was distinctly seen. In that from the township of Wexford, lot 7, range I., one of the above-mentioned locali- ties where the anorthosite is rich in iron ore (Section No. 398), careful observation in reflected lisht showed the iron ore to occur partly as a bluish-black coarse-grained variety, and partly as a brownish black finely granular variety, both being irregularly intermingled and dis- tinguishable only by reflected light.

When the section was treated for about half an hour on a water-bath with warm concentrated hydrochloric acid, the coarsely granular variety was entirely dissolved and the acid became strongly coloured with iron, while the finely granular variety was apparently not at all affected. There is here evidently an intergrowth of magnetite with ilmenite or at least with a titaniferous iron ore.

arms. THE MORIN ANORTHOSITE. 101 5

In another hand specimen (from the neighbourhood of Lake Ouareau) a similar intergrowth was observed ; the grains had a banded appearance in reflected light, one variety crossing the other in a single or double set of interrupted bands. When the section was treatéd with cold concentrated hydrochloric acid for 48 hours, no effect was produced . but when treated with warm concentrated acid in a water-bath, one variety of iron ore was dissolved as before, while the other again remained undissolved. In this case the intergrowth is probably parallel to the face of an octahedron or rhombohedron. A similar Intergrowth intergrowth has been described in the iron ore of the Carrock Fell iron ores. gabbro, and in the nephelinite of the Katzenbuckel,* except that in the latter case, the titanic iron ore occurs in the form of micaceous titanic iron ore, not as the coarse and opaque variety found in the above-mentioned rocks.

It has been the invariable experience in Canada, that the large iron ore deposits common in these anorthosite rocks, contain so much titanic acid, that it has been impossible hitherto to work them profitably. Recent experiments, however, lead to the hope that in the future some of them at least may be smelted with profit. (Appendix II.) In order to determine whether the iron ore which is disseminated in small yrains throughout the whole rock was also rich in titanic acid, the iron ore of three hand specimens of the anorthosite from different parts of the area was separated and tested. In every case the mineral was but faintly magnetic and gave a strong titanic acid reaction.

Two specimens of iron ore from the pegmatite veins, which cut Titanium in

through the anorthosite and the gneiss at the contact of the two form- iron ores of . ations, west of St. Faustin, and therefore do not belong to the anortho- site, showed strong magnetism and gave only a faint reaction for titanic acid. The iron ore bed, a short distance west of St. Jérôme, in the orthoclase gneiss, also consists of magnetite and contains no titanic acid. We therefore find that these investigations confirm the conclusion that the iron ore of the anorthosite is very rich in titanic acid, while the iron ore of the Laurentian gneiss generally contains no notable quantity of this substance.

In the variety of anorthosite very rich in iron ore from lot 7, range Iron ores of I, of Wexford, the evidence obtained from the thin sections, shows an a that the iron ore crystallized later than the pyroxene, as it can be from observed frequently completely inclosing individuals of this mineral. titanium. The same fact was noted in the case of the pyroxene granulites. (See

page 79 J).

Latterman, in Rosenbusch, Physiographie der Massigen Cresteine, p. 786.

Pyrite.

Apatite.

Calcite.

Epidote.

Garnet.

Zircon.

102 3 Quebec.

A few small grains of pyrite often occur in the thin sections of the anorthosite. ‘They are generally found associated with the iron ore.

Apatite is seldom observed in the anorthosite. When it does occur it is in the form of more or less rounded grains. It is more frequently found in the varieties rich in iron ore in the township of Wexford and other localities, than in the normal anorthosite,

Calcite was found in but two hand specimens. One of these was fresh, and contained a small amount of calcite which might pos- sibly be a primary constituent. The other was from New Glasgow, and in this the calcite appears together with zoisite, epidote, etc., as a decomposition product of the plagioclase.

The only locality where epidote occurs is also near the village of New Glasgow. It is found in several sections of the anorthosite from this place, along with chlorite and quartz, as a product of the alteration of the pyroxene, and as above mentioned with calcite and zoisite as a product of alteration of the plagioclase. In one or two places it also occurs in small bands, cutting diagonally across the anorthosite, following the line of small faults. The epidote is everywhere secon- dary.

Garnet does not occur as a constituent of the normal anorthosite, but is often found near its contact with the surrounding gneiss. It hasa pinkish colour, and is seen under the microscope in small irregular masses, which are often mixed with or completely surround the grains of iron ore. In the sections of the variety of anorthosite rich in iron ore from the township of Wexford, lot 7, range I. (and from other places above mentioned), a pale-pink garnet occura forming a small zone of uniform breadth around every grain of iron ore or pyroxene where these would otherwise come in contact with the plagio- clase. Between the pyroxene and the iron ore there is however no garnet. It is quite isotropic and has grown out from the iron ore or pyroxene into the felspar, against which it is bounded by sharp crys- talline outlines. These zones of garnet are analogous to the zones of actinolite and hypersthene around the olivine of the anorthosite from the Saguenay River, and those which have also been described in olivine gabbros of many other localities.

Zircon is not found in the normal anorthosite, but it occasionally occurs in this rock near its contact with the gneiss. It is seen only in small quantity, and especially in the peculiar contact variety which occurs, as above mentioned, in some places between the anortho- site and the gneiss. It was observed in this in many localities. It

scams. THE MORIN ANORTHOSITE. 103 3 has the form of small stout prisms, always with more or less rounded

edges, which are characterized by a parallel extinction, high refractive index and strong double refraction.

Spinel was observed in a single hand specimen, in the form of small Spinel. rounded isotropic grains, deep green in colour, occurring as inclusions in plagioclase and pyroxene.

The Structure of the Morin Anorthosite.

The macroscopic structure of these anorthosites, as well as that of most structure of of the crystalline rocks forming the Laurentian system, is best studied Morin te. on the great glaciated surfaces of the roches moutonnées, which protrude through the drift in all directions. On a freshly fractured surface, or even on a smoothly glaciated surface which has been pro- tected from the weather, comparatively little of the structure may be seen; but when the glaciated surface has been exposed, during the interval which has elapsed since the disappearance of the ice, to the etching action of the weather and the dilute solution of carbonic acid known as rain water, the structure of the rock is brought out ina wonderfully clear and striking manner, just as the structure of wrought iron or of various alloys is brought out by the treatment of their pol- ished surfaces with the stronger acids. Such weathered surfaces, moreover, being many square yards in extent, enable the structure of considerable masses of the rock to be determined and the relations of different structures to one another to be clearly seen.

If any large weathered surface of the anorthosite, such as is found Glaciated in the roches moutonnées anywhere within the Morin area, be ‘faces. examined (leaving out of consideration for the present the arm-like extension and that part of the main area adjoining it), it will be noticed that the rock, which is coarse-grained and of a deep violet colour, has not that regularity of structure which we see in a typical granite, but presents a more or less irregular structure. This irregu- larity is sometimes scarcely noticeable, but is at other times striking, and is due to the presence of the bisilicates and iron ore in larger amount in some parts of the rock than in other parts. The portions richer in bisilicates may take the form of large irregular-shaped patches occurring at intervals through the rock, or of many small patches occurring abundantly in certain parts of the rock which else- where is nearly free from them. In some cases these are arranged 80 as to form irregular wavy streaks instead of patches, which sometimes take a rudely parallel direction, giving a sort of strike to the rock, but which in other places are quite irregular in

Irregular structure

Variation in relative amount of constituents

104 3 Quebec.

arrangement. Between these patches or streaks rich in bisilicates, and rather badly defined against them, are portions of the rock which are very poor in or often quite free from bisilicates. The structure is well represented in. Plate VI, which is a photograph of a large anorthosite boulder on lot 5 of the ninth range of Chertsey. Here the iron ore and bisilicates are aggregated together in irregular-shaped more or less rounded portions of the rock, while the remainder of the rock is almost absolutely free from iron-magnesia constituents. Of these portions containing the bisilicates and iron ore, these constituents form about one-third of the rock, the rest being plagioclase. Large individuals of plagioclase, irregular in shape and which will be referred to again, occur quite abundantly in the parts of the rock free from bisilicates, but are very rarely found in the patches containing the bisilicates. With the exception of the larger individuals of plagio- clase, the rock is uniform in grain throughout. The portions contain- ing the bisilicates weather more readily than the rest of the rock, and thus leave hollows on the weathered surfaces, while when the patches are elongated, as is usually the case, irregular sausage-shaped cavities result. In the occurrence represented on Plate VI. it will be noticed that one of the masses rich in bisilicates and much larger than the others, forms a rude band across the lower portion of the boulder. In such cases, the bisilicate individuals are arranged with their larger axes in a direction rudely parallel to the band.

Often in connection with this irregularity in the relative proportion of the several constituents present in the rock, but often quite inde- pendent of it, there is a rapid and frequently abrupt variation in size of grain from place to place, certain spots or streaks being, as before, finer or coarser than the mass of the rock. More or less well pronounced irregularities, dug to one or both of the causes above mentioned, are met with in all the anorthosite areas of Canada which have been examined, but are not peculiar to them, being found in gabbros and allied basic plutonic rocks in various other parts of the world. Thus Dr. George H. Williams in his paper entitled The Gabbros and Asso ciated Hornblende Rocks occurring in the neighbourhood of Baltimore, Md., says on page 25: ‘The most striking feature in the texture of the unaltered gabbro is the repeated and abrupt change in the coarse- ness of the grain which is seen at some localities. It was undoubtedly caused by some irregularity in the cooling of the original magma from a molten state, for which it is now difficult to find a satisfactory explanation. The coarsest grained varieties of the Baltimore gabbro occur in the neighbourhood of Wetheredville and there these sudden changes in texture are most apparent. Irregular patches of the coarsest

“HOOU AHL AO SNOILHO4 NIVLHHO NI SINHNLLISNOO GHHNOTOO WAV AHL JO NOLLVOHUOHS ONIMOHS ‘ALISOMLUONV—IA ALVIX

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ans. THE MORIN ANORTHOSITE. 105 3

kinds lie embedded in those of the finest grain without any regard to order. In other cases a more or less pronounced banded structure is produced by an alteration of layers of different grain or by such as have one constituent developed more abundantly than the others. Such bands, are not, however, parallel, but vary considerably in direc- tion and show a tendency to merge into one another as though they had been produced by a motion in a liquid or plastic mass.’”*

Similar coarse-grained patches are sometimes seen in the gabbro Similar re, diorite quarried at Kühlengrund, near Eberstadt, in Hessen, in a rock which is otherwise perfectly massive and pretty regular in grain. Other similar cases might be cited.

One of the most remarkable occurrences, and one especially note- worthy as showing how a transition takes place from a perfectly normal and massive rock, through one in which these irregular coarse-grained patches are developed, into one showing an imperfect banding such as is sometimes seen in anorthosite, was observed in the great Saguenay anorthosite area, along the course of the River Shipshaw, which runs River into the Saguenay from the north about seven miles above the Shipshaw. town of Chicoutimi. Along the stream there are at frequent intervals immense smooth roche moutonnée exposures of anorthosite, etched by the weather and burnt clear of all vegetation by forest fires, thus presenting excellent surfaces for the study of the rock. The series of exposures in question is bounded on the north by a great dyke of gabbro, about a half a mile wide, which cuts across the anorthosite, and extends down the Shipshaw a distance of eight miles in a straight line to a point three miles from its union with the River Saguenay.

At the first-mentioned point the rock is coarse-grained, absolutely massive over large exposures and regular in grain. This continues for about half a mile, when ill defined patches which are very coarse in grain appear in the rock. In the coarse-grained portions the indivi- duals composing the rock measure an inch or even more across, while in the mass of the rock they are much smaller. Both show a well marked ophitic or diabase structure, in which the plagioclase occurs in lath-shaped individuals, the augite filling in the intervening spaces, a Change in structure which is occasionally seen, but is very unusual, in the anor- “ture. thosite. This continues for rather over four miles, with in places a further irregularity due toa great variation in the amount of the several constituents present in different parts of the rock, the rock over considerable oxposures being all plagioclase, while elsewhere it is

——

Ss ——

*G. H. Williams, Bulletin No. 28, U. S. Geol. Survey.

106 3 Quebec.

rich in diallage, which sometimes occurs in masses as much as a foot and a half in diameter. Large masses of almost pure plagioclase or diallage are thus found in the rock. After an interval of a mile, where the rock is concealed, there is Streaked oF another series of exposures, extending over a mile along the river, in which, as before, the ophitic structure is well developed, but in which the rock is irregularly streaked or banded owing to the fact that the want of uniformity in grain and composition, described above, is no longer displayed in the shape of irregular patches, these having been pulled out into long wavy streaks, similar to those described above by Dr. Williams. Further down the river these streaks begin to assume a. rudely parallel direction, giving the rock a determinable strike: while the ophitic structure gradually disappears. A case is thus pre- sented, where an undoubtedly eruptive rock, quite massive and with well pronounced ophitic structure, gradually passes over into one which is banded, the bands being marked by great variations in size of grain and in relative proportions of constituents; and it thus becomes evident, that the rude banding which is a common structure in certain anorthosite areas, and which was formerly supposed to represent a more or less obliterated stratification, is really a structure developed by movements ih a truly igneous and massive rock. Granulationof But another structure is also presented by the anorthosites. When conanituents. any of the anorthosites in the area embraced by the present report are carefully examined, this streaked or irregularly banded structure is seen to be accompanied in most, if not in all cases, by a peculiar break- ing or granulation of the constituent minerals of the rock. This is often beautifully displaced by the large weathered surfaces. The accompanying sketch (Figure 9), taken from an exposure in the Morin area near Ste. Marguerite, shows the appearance presented in one of these cases. Here the banding is distinct, but in many parts of the area, even where no banding is seen, the rock presents this peculiar brecciated structure, fragments of plagioclase and of other constituents of the rock being imbedded in a species of groundmass made up of smaller grains. As plagioclase in most cases preponderates almost to the exclusion of the other constituents, the fragments are usually of this mineral, and, although occasionally showing an approximation to good crystalline form, they are almost invariably quite irregular in shape, often possessing absolutely tattered outlines. The groundmass of smaller grains also consists of plagioclase. In some places these fragments constitute the greater part of the rock; elsewhere they are present very sparingly and the groundmass preponderates. The

ù jerger individuals can, moreover, be frequently seen in the very act of

sons. THE MORIN ANORTHOSITE. 107 3

breaking up, the several fragments having shifted their position but very slightly ; and in such cases it is often evident that the breaking is not of the nature of a simple crushing, for from the same individual

pieces will be found breaking off in various directions quite at haphazard.

Figure 9.—Anorthosite showing a brecciated structure, near Ste. Marguerite, Town- : ship of Wexford. Fragments of Plagioclase and Hypersthene in a groundmass of the same minerals in a granulated condition. The sketch represents a width of 9 feet.

When examined under the microscope in thin sections, hardly a Microscopical

specimen of any coarse-grained variety can be obtained from any part Paracter. of the area which does not show at least traces of this clastic or granulated structure ; and if a series of specimens is studied, every step can be traced in the passage from the massive rock, showing the merest traces of this structure through intermediate breccia-like stages, to anorthosite consisting entirely of broken grains, perhaps with mere remnants of the original large individuals. The three accompanying micro-photographs illustrate successive stages in this granulation. (Plate VII.) They are taken from three thin sections of anorthosite from different parts of the Morin area, photographed in polarized light between crossed nicols ,and equally magnified, the enlargement in each case being 22 diameters.

(4.) This section, from the large exposures about five miles north- Photographs

oO In

west of the village of Ste. Adèle, in the township of Morin, before sections of

anorthosite.

Show stages of granula- tion.

108 3 Quebec.

referred to (p. 96 5), represents the massive anorthosite, showing only the merest traces of granulation on the left of the field. The size and shape of the constituent individuals of plagioclase and their polysynthetic twinning are well seen. The rock is composed alinost exclusively of this mineral, the individuals of which are neither bent nor twisted, and no strain shadows are to be observed.

(B.) In this section, which was prepared from a specimen collected about three and a half miles north-east of White Lake, in the front of the township of Chilton, a distinct breaking or granulation of the plagioclase can be observed, especially in the lower portion of the slide, while the same process can be elsewhere seen, though less well marked. The large plagioclase individuals no longer meet along clear well defined boundary lines, but are irregular in shape, cracked, and separated from one another by a mosaic of broken grains. Strain- shadows, twisted twin lamellæ and other evidences of pressure are well shown. The rock shows no distinct foliation or banding.

(C.) The third section shows the appearance presented by a highly granulated variety of the anorthosite under the microscope. This specimen was obtained from the arm-like extension of the anorthosite mass before mentioned, near its western contact with the gneiss, on range XI. of the township of Rawdon. In this section, about one half of the field is occupied by broken grains of plagioclase, while in the middle is a large plagioclase individual in process of destruction. A line of granulated material is being developed in a longitudinal direction through the large crystal, making, as is usual, an angle of about 20° with the lines of twinning, and which would, if continued, cut it in two; while about its edge little fragments of the plagioclase can be seen in the very act of breaking off—first a strain-shadow (excellently seen on the upper edge of the large individual) appearing, then a curved crack extending in from the edge of the crystal, and finally the breaking away of a small piece of the mineral, leaving an irregular indentation. The appearance is precisely that which the mineral would present if by means of a pair of small pincers little pieces were being broken off the edge. The strain having been re lieved by fracture, all evidence of pressure disappears in the broken grain. And if a thin section were composed of broken grains alone, it would in most cases be impossible to determine that these had resulted from the breaking down of larger individuals. This rock is ex- cellently foliated, owing to the finely granulated material, resulting from the breaking up of each large individual, arranging itself in the shape of a very flat lens about the crystal remnant from which it

Growsiean SURVEY ov CANADA. Vou. VIII, Paur J.

Fiaure A.

Fiouse B

Ficure C.

Pung VIL—MICROPHOTOGRAPHS, SHOWING THE PROGRESSIVE GRANULATION OF THE MORIN ANORTHOSITE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF PRESSURE. X 22.

—

aoane. THE MORIN ANORTHOSITE. 109 3

was derived, which lens, of course, lies in a plane at right angles to the pressure, and in section appears as a long slender tail of broken grains extending from the remnant in either direction. (Fig. 10.)

The pyroxenes, rhombic or monoclinic, when present in the rock, undergo a precisely similar process of granulation with the formation of similar tails of broken grains.

Figure 10.

Sometimes large individuals can be observed which have broken into two or more pieces during the process of granulation, the lens of broken grains thus inclosing several fragments more or less separated from one another, which from their respective outlines can be seen to have been originally one. (Fig. 10.)

À very remarkable fact in this connection, which has already been prapioclase briefly referred to in describing the mineralogical composition of the changes colour anorthosite, is that the large crystal fragments of plagioclase have a granulated. deep violet colour, while the granulated plagioclase is white. This contrast is excellently seen either on the weathered surface (Plate VITT.) or when a thin section is placed on a sheet of white paper, and is due to the fact that the minute dark-coloured or black inclusions, which abound in the large individuals, are absent in the broken material. They seem to have aggregated themselves together into little grains of titanic iron ore, which occur in the granulated plagio- clase, but which on the other hand are absent in the large individuals.

So distinctive is this contrast of colour, that when a thin section con- taining plagioclase in both forms is placed under the microscope, it is possible at once to predict from the colour alone, just what portions will show granulation and what portions will not, before the actual structure has been revealed by the agency of polarized light. This might seem at first sight to indicate a recrystallization in the case of the granulated portions of the plagioclase, but the facts do not seem to support this supposition. The felspar, during the process of granu- lation, does not at any rate alter in composition, but merely breaks, and through the loss of the dark inclusions becomes lighter in colour.

No investigations bearing on this particular point have been made on the anorthosite of the Morin area, but the fact has been established

No change in composition

granulated.

White anorthosite.

Granulated varieties on sides of intrusion.

110 3 Quebec.

by the study of precisely similar anorthosites from several other areas. Thus it was found in the case of the anorthosite of Mount Williams, on the River Shipshaw, in the Saguenay area, that the large dark- coloured individuals and the white granulated plagioclase, were both labradorite, differing in specific gravity by only ‘015, the dark felspar being naturally a trifle heavier on account of the inclusions. Again, in analyses XIV., XV., XVI. (see p. 130 3) are given the results of an examination by Dr. Sterry Hunt, of the large plagioclase individuals and the finely granulated base of an anorthosite from the Chateau Richer area. Both are in this case more acid, approaching andesine in composition; but here again in composition they are identical. The same circumstance has been confirmed by Leeds in the case of the anorthosite of Essex County, New York, and by Sachsse in a flasergabbro from Rosswein in Saxony*, although in these two latter cases the material analyzed was not quite pure.

Frequently, as has been stated, the production of the granulated material from the large. individuals can be actually observed ; and in such cases it can be seen that so soon as the fragment is separated from

_the large individual its colour disappears. The granulation, it would

appear, in some way gives freer play to the forces which bring about the concentration of the material of the dark inclusions. When the anorthosite is composed entirely of the finely granular material, if it be almost entirely plagioclase as is usually the case, the rock can hardly be distinguished, especially on the weathered surface, from’ a white crystalline limestone.

This peculiar variety of white granular anorthosite, with comparatively few of the large individuals remaining, is also largely developed in the Saguenay and other of the anorthosite areas in the province of Quebec, and is described from the area in Essex County, New York, by Leeds, and from Labrador, by Vogelsang, as well as by other observers, it being found apparently to some extent, in most of the localities where anorthosite is largely developed.

In the Morin anorthosite, and the same is true of the Saguenay area, the most granulated varieties are found near the sides of the intrusion, especially on the east side, as if the pressure had been exerted from that direction, but more or less distinct evidences of granulation can be seen throughout the entire area. The white granulated anorthosite forms the greater part of the arm-like extension of the Morin mass,

Ueber den Feldspathgemengtheil des Flasergabbros von Rosswein 1. 8.—Ber. d. naturf. Ges. i. Leipzig, 1883.

GmLocicaL SURVEY or CANADA. Vou. VIIL, Part J.

Pure VIIL-GRANULATED ANORTHOSITE, WITH INCLUDED REMNANTS OF THE ORIGINAL ROCK, RIVIERE AUX SABLES, TOWNSHIP OF JONQUIERE, QUE. (uepvcen ONE-HALY.)

avaus. THE MORIN ANORTHOSITE. 111 9

protruding through the drift in all directions in the form of hundred of smooth white hummocks giving a striking appearance to the lands- cape, as for instance, about the village of New Glasgow ; and this district being easily accessible by roads and railways, the structure and character of the rock can here be studied with comparative ease. Further, it can be observed that everywhere in this arm-like extension and in almost all its occurrences elsewhere, this white granulated anorthosite is more or less distinctly foliated, owing to the arrange- ment of the bisilicates and iron ores in more or less distinctly parallel lines or streaks. It is often quite evident that these are nothing more than the rounded patches, rich in bisilicates, described on p. 104 3,as occurring in the massive anorthosite and represented in Plate VI., which, owing to a movement in the rock, have been drawn out in one direction. The irregular-shaped patches, differing greatly in size of grain, described as occurring in the massive rock, are also here represented by elongated streaks of similar character. This foliation is best seen where bisilicates and iron ore are comparatively abundant. When, as is sometimes the case, the rock is almost free from these constituents and all the plagioclase fragments have been destroyed, it assumes a nearly uniform granular character, and no trace of foliation can be observed. The foliation, however, is usually distinctly seen, and in the arm-like extension runs parallel to the direction of the arm itself, that is to the strike of the gneiss, which it penetrates. Along the western border of the arm, the strike is exceedingly regular and remarkably well developed, as at New Glas- gow, but is especially well seen along the same contact further north Foliated on range XI. of the township of Rawdon, on the road between the anorthosite. villages of Chertsey and Rawdon. Here the rock is seen to have a remarkably regular schistose structure, due to the alternation of thin layers of pure plagioclase with still thinner ones of pyroxene. The pyroxene bands might more properly be called leaves, as they are very thin, being frequently represented by mere parallel lines in transverse sections. When examined under the microscope, in thin sections or weathered surfaces, both they and the plagioclase layers are found to contain small cores or remnants of large individuals with trails of grains extending from them in either direction as before described. These give rise to the perfect foliation and the progress of the granulation is seen in a most astonishingly perfect manner, the cores being in the very act of breaking up (Plate VII). These cores can occasionally be seen to be the remnants of very large individuals, which have sheared almost in the direction of the foliation. They are thus often long and narrow, some having been observed as much as twelve times as long as they are wide.

Origin of several structures.

Movements subse uent to solidification.

112 3 Quebec.

The question of the origin of the several structures described next presents itself. There is every reason to believe that those structures which have been described as occurring in the massive anorthosite, namely the irregularity in size of grain and the more or less irregular distribution of the several constituents through the rock, are original structures produced before or during its solidification. These irregu- larities, frequently seen in intrusive rocks, are certainly not the results of pressure ; and the circumstance that the streaks or irregular bands, when present in the otherwise massive rock, assume no definite direc- tion, but twist about as if owing to the movements in the rock while in a pasty condition, indicates that they have been produced by move- ments before the rock became solid. The unequal distribution of the constituent minerals in the rock, must have resulted either from irreg- ularities in the composition of the original magma, or from processes of segregation at work in the magma during cooling and crystallization. The irregularities in the size of grain may be due to differences in the rate of cooling, differences in amount of mineralizer present, or to other causes with which we are at present unacquainted. The angular character of certain of the coarse-grained portions of the rock which are found embedded in the anorthosite of normal grain, would seem to indicate that these had crystallized where circumstances were favour- able to the development of coarseness of grain, and had been subse- quently broken up. and imbedded in a portion of the magma which crystallized in more fine-grained form.

On the other hand, the granulation of the coarsely crystalline mas- sive anorthosite, usually with the concomitant development of a more or less distinctly foliated or schistose structure in the way described, is undoubtedly due to movements in the rock, resulting from pressure which acted subsequent to its solidification, for, as has been shown, the granulation begins to make its appearance in the massive crystalline rock itself. Under the influeuce of pressure, the massive rock gradu- ally gave way, and, in the movements which resulted, attrition gave rise to granulation. Moreover, wherever these movements continued longest this granulation became most complete, until finally the last remnants of the larger individuals disappeared, and in the case of a pure anorthosite, a more or less evenly granular rock resulted. In the anorthosite, however, the remnants of larger individuals are seldom or never entirely absent, and in the great majority of cases the amount of interstitial material is quite small. Even when the granulation was most complete, the rock did not crumble into an incoherent powder, but remained as hard and tough as ever, the grains, being unable to separate from one another on account of the great pressure to which

ame. THE MORIN ANORTHOSITE. 113 5

they were subjected, rolled over one another, remaining always within the sphere of cohesion. .

In this way, any portions of the originally massive rock differing in grain or composition from the rest, would be represented by bands, streaks or even lines in the resulting granulated anorthosite; very coarse-grained portions being represented by bands or streaks contain- ing large plagioclase remnants, fine-grained portions being represented by bands or streaks where these are very small or even absent, while corresponding differences would appear in the case of areas differing in mineralogical composition.

These foliated or schistose anorthosites then, were produced by move- schistose ment in a massive igneous rock, and are not altered sediments, the 2n0rthosites

not altered structure which they present being, as has been shown, a cataclastic sediments.

structure.

But although this granulation and its accompanying phenomena are certainly the results of pressure to which the rock has been subjected, the effects of this pressure are in certain respects quite different from those usually observed. As a general rule, in the case of schistose structures produced by shearing, of which so many excellent examples have been described by Lehmann and others, the breaking up of the constituents takes place principally along certain definite lines. Along ; these lines or bands, which are sometimes quite wide but which at other times sink to almost microscopic dimensions, the rock is reduced to a comminuted state, forming, if not subsequently compacted, the so-called ‘‘rutschmehl” of Heim. Between these shearing planes the rock presents comparatively little evidence of pressure. Where, moreover, great movements accompany dynamic action, and especially along lines of motion, or if these be not present, then throughout the whole rock, certain peculiar alterations in the minerals constitut- ing the rock are found. Of these may be especially mentioned the alteration of pyroxene to hornblende, and of plagioclase into a mixture of zisite, albite and other minerals known by the name of saussurite.

So far as can be ascertained, no undoubted occurrence of a sheared gabbro or allied rock has been recorded, where hornblende either com- pact or in the form of uralite and saussurite have not been formed. In a paper on the sheared gabbros of the Lizard in Cornwall,* in which a perfect foliation has been induced by pressure, giving rise to rocks closely resembling the foliated anorthosites of the Morin area, except that the mineralogical changes above mentioned have taken

*Geological Magazine, November, 1886.

114 9 Quebec.

place, Teall says “there is no reason to believe that foliation of the kind referred toin this communication can take place without mole- cular re-arrangement.”

Peculiarities On the other hand, the anorthosites possessing this cataclastic struc- in structure of

granulated ture present the following peculiarities :— anorthosites.

1. The cataclastic structure is not developed along certain lines, but may be observed more or less distinctly throughout the rock, being, however, most marked towards the sides of the area, and especiaily toward the eastern side.

2. Where it occurs there is neither saussurite nor uralite. How- ever granular the plagioclase may be, no trace of saussurite can be seen. In like manner, no uralite is detected, even though the granv- lation of the pyroxene is so far advanced that only the smallest remnants of the original individuals remain. Now and then some small grains of compact hornblende occur with the pyroxene in the neighbourhood of the contact with the gneiss, exactly as in many normal gabbros. But even these are by no means invariably present ; the finely foliated rock, consisting of alternate layers of unaltered pyroxene and plagioclase, while remnants of the large individuals of both constituents, from which the granulated portion has originated, are still seen. The only place in which saussurite occurs is, as before mentioned, near New Glasgow. It forms here, like epidote, strings and veins which have no relation with the foliation of the rocks, but represent small crushed zones, which have originated at another much later period. These very occurrences show most distinctly how differ- ent the products of the normal dynamic agencies are from the struc- ture now under consideration.

3. In the main portion of the area, the granulation is not accompanied by foliation, and in the large weathered surfaces plagioclase individuals can be observed which are in the act of breaking in every possible direction. In the arm-like extension from the south-east part of the area, where the rock, as already mentioned, is often distinctly foliated, this foliated structure originated, as shown by a careful study, from the movement in one direction, of a mass whose iron- magnesia constituents were irregularly distributed, being especially concentrated in some places. (Plate VI.) The more or less rounded spots where the iron-magnesia constituents are abundant, became pulled out into irregular, ill-defined streaks, and parallel to these rup portions of the rock, which still contain in large numbers fragments of plagioclase individuals.

muse. THE MORIN ANORTHOSITE. 115 3 These phenomena have been caused by movements in tlie rock. Conditions These movements probably took place under the following conditions :— provements

took place. 1. When the rock was still so far beneath the surface of the earth

and so weighted down by the overlying rocks that breaking and shear- ing with the movement of the resulting masses was impossible. The M hile deeply alterations in the character of the mass were probably induced very slowly, the constituents became granulated and the small broken parts moved one over another. The granulation progressed with the duration and intensity of this movement up to a certain point. Such a motion would present certain resemblances to that of a very tough pasty mass.

2. While the rock was still very hot and perhaps even near its

melting point. This would explain why the pyroxene, which, accord-

ing to the experiments of Fouqué and Michel-Lévy, represents the

stable form of the molecule at a high temperature, is not changed into amphibole, which represents the more stable form at a low temperature, whi}. very as is usually the case in crushed and pulverized rocks. It is perhaps hot. owing to the same cause that no saussurite is formed ; still, the condi-

tions necessary to the formation of these minerals are so little under-

stood that opinions on this point cannot be ventured upon as yet.

A clastic structure in many respects similar to that above described, in which plagivclase grains are twisted and broken or even suffer peripheral granulation, occurs in certain specimens of the theralite of the Montreal Mountain, which also present a streaked appearance marked by variations in size of grain. Here it must also be regarded as evidence of motion, but of motion which in all probability took place before the complete solidification of the rock, being an instance of what Brôgger has termed “ protoclastic structure,” for the field relations of this old volcanic plug show that it has not been submitted to any great pressure since the mass solidified. This structure, how- ever, is only developed very locally in the rock, and in many sections no trace of it can be found ; nevertheless its occurrence here is of interest showing as it does that the mere detection of such a structure Protuclastic here and there in an igneous rock is not indubitable proof that the Structure. rock has been submitted to great pressure and has been crushed.

It would thus seem that the clastic structure described as occur- ring in these anorthosites occupies, in a way, a position intermediate between the protoclastic structure of Brégger and the cataclastic structure commonly observed in sheared rocks.

In the Morin area, then, we have a great intrusive mass of anortho- Résumé. site, or gabbro very rich in plagioclase, breaking through the Laur-

Anorthosite

Ad its present characters in Cainbrian times.

Other ; anorthosite masses.

116 3 Quebec.

entian, cutting off successive horizons, including portions of the gneis<, sending an apophysis into it, and in some places bounded by a zone rock which exhibits many characteristics of a contact product. This mass in most places shows irregularities in size of grain and in some places a streaked or irregularly banded structure, while in one part of the above-mentioned apophysis it is well foliated, which foliated structurr there is reason to believe is a secondary one. It certainly does nit represent a partially obliterated bedding as the earlier observers seeu. to have believed, while the other supposed evidences of the existence of a great overlying sedimentary series, nf which it was supposed w: form part, are also wanting; the gneiss and limestone with which it was thought to be interstratified, really belonging to the Grenville series, while the apparent interstratification of the anorthosite is due

to intrusion.

The whole is furthermore unconformably overlain by flat unaltere! strata of Potsdam and Calciferous age, and thus possessed in Cam bria:. times the characters which it now presents, while the nature of the anorthosite and its relation to the Laurentian, lead us to suppose that it is much nearer in age to the latter than to the overlying Cambro-Silu- rian probably not much more recent than the Grenville series itself.

Other Anorthosite Masses.

Stratigraphical Relations and Petrography.

. In addition to the Morin anorthosite, there ére in the distric: embraced by the present report twelve other occurrences of anorthosite lying to the south and east of the Morin area and much smaller in size.

These are—commencing the enumeration from the west : —

(1.) The Lakefield area—an area lying to the east of the village of Lakefield, situated partly in the Gore of the township of Chatham and partly in the parish of St. Columban.

(2.) The St. Jérôme area, on which is situated the town of tha: name,

(3.) Three elongated and approximately parallel areas in the town- ship of Kildare and its Augmentation.

(4) Two rather larger areas on the east side of the township of Cathcart.

(5.) Two occurrences, much smaller than the rest—one by the side of the River L’Assomption near the Pont des Dalles and to the east of

purs. OTHER ANORTHOSITE MASSES. 117 3

be village of Ste. Beatrix, the other a short distance to the west of he village of St. Jean de Matha.

(6.) Three bands of anorthosite intercalated in the nearly horizontal neisses of the township of Brandon.

These anorthosite masses are from one hundred to several hundred ards in width, the greatest length of any one area being about seven niles. They run parallel to the strike of the gneiss, in which they re intercalated, and are usually well defined against it, the most iotable exception being the St. Jérôme occurrence. The gneiss, how- ver, sometimes appears to be more basic near the contact.

The anorthosite varies somewhat in character in the different areas. [t is usually coarsely crystalline, frequently showing a great variation nsize of grain and resembling that of the Morin area, but it is per- haps on the whole richer in iron-magnesia constituents, and often con- tains minerals such as hornblende, biotite and in one case scapolite, which occur very sparingly, or are entirely wanting, in the Morin anorthosite. The anorthosite of these several areas also frequently contains garnet near its contact with the gneiss. It frequently exhibits in an eminent degree the granulated structure described in the Morin anorthosite, and has a more or less well marked arrange-

ment of the constituent minerals parallel to the longer axis of the areas.

As the several areas present certain differences, they will be con- sidered separately.

The Lakefield Area.

This is four and a half miles long and about a mile wide. The anor- The Lakefeld thosite of the peripheral portions is fine grained, foliated, very poor in anorthosite. bisilicates and weathers white. In the inner part of the area it is more massive and appears on the whole to be rather richer in iron- nagnesia minerals, which vary in amount from place to place, often “iving to the rock an irregularly banded structure. It is crossed, as shown on the map, by two roads, while a third passes immediately to the north of it.

In this area a rapid change in strike is observable, the anorthosite and its accompanying gneiss in the southern part striking, on an average, N. 45° W., while all about the northern extremity both rocks strike N. 20°-50° E.

The St. Jérôme anorthosite.

118 5 Quebec,

A thin section from a specimen collected near the eastern side of the area, on the most southerly of the roads above mentioned, show. the rock at this point to be a typical anorthosite, the plagioclase pre ponderating very largely, while the iron-magnesia constituents are represented chiefly by augite, ia addition to which there are very small quantities of green hornblende and brown biotite. Less than a mile south of the southern edge of this area, at the very edge of the Laurentian escarpment, a diabase dyke cuts through the gneiss which is here the country rock. The diabase, however, contains a grea: number of angular fragments of white anorthosite, which in many places are so abundant that they make up the greater part of the dyke. Under the microscope this anorthosite is seen to be a rather fine grained variety composed almost exclusively of plagioclase, with a few grains of iron ore. The plagioclase, is however, largely altered into mica, the little mica scales being arranged principally in two directions parallel to the cleavage of the felspar (Section 415). These fragments, which were brought up by the molten diabase, probably mark an interground extension of the Lakefield area to the south.

The St. Jérôme Area.

Only a portion of this area, situated, as it is, immediately at the edge of the Laurentian region, is exposed to view. The southern part of it is covered up by the flat-lying Paleozoic strata, which come in 4

short distance to the south of the town. What proportion of the

whole mass is represented by that portion exposed to view, it is impossible to say. It differs considerably from the other areas, no! only in the fact that the anorthosite composing it is not so typical in character, but also in that there intervenes between it and the gneis a zone of rocks of intermediate character.

The anorthosite, or gabbro, as it should more properly be called, is best seen in the large exposures on either side of the Canadian Pacitic railway track a few hundred yards south of the railway station at St. Jérôme. These are situated about the middle of the area a exposed, and towards its southern limit, and probably present the anorthosite in its most typical development, freest from contact effects, and nearest to the actual centre of the mass.

Here the rock is fine-grained, usually foliated in structure, and weathers brownish-gray. In some places it possesses a more or less distinctly banded structure, due to the alternation of portions rather rich in bisilicates with others consisting almost entirely of plagioclase. Individuals of dark-coloured plagioclase, usually small in size, but

ans. OTHER ANORTHOSITE MASSES. 119 5

a

Legend

Cambro- Silurian

pene sent

Laurentian

nes Oystalline Limestone HT] Gneiss

HE Mined sone about Anorthesile

v Ww

v v Anorthosite

I” Strike and Dip

se

PLAN Vicinity of St Jérôme Terrebonne County, Que Seale

Chains nr — Mile

Figure Li.

Anorthosite in Brandun.

Three bands.

126 J Quebec.

ties, with a little titaniferous iron ore and pyrite complete the list of constituents. The rock has undergone a certain amount of granulation.

Anorthosite Bands in the Township of Brandon.

In the western half of this township there are three important areas of anorthosite, which occur interbanded with the nearly horizontal gneisses of this district. The most easterly of these, which is also the smallest, forms a hill on lot 14, range 1X., by the side of the road which crosses near the front of the lot. It disappears beneath the drift to the south of the road, and is not met with on the concession roads further south, nor is it again seen to the north, the township along its strike in that direction being so heavily mantled with drift that very few exposures are met with. The associated gneisses strike N. 25° W. and dip at low angles to the east, the gneiss immediately to the east of the anorthosite being a basic variety poor in quartz, while that to the west is rather fine in grain and highly quartzose. The anorthosite has the appearance of an interbanded or interstratified mass, an appearance probably due to the rolling out of the whole com- plex under the great pressure to which it has been subjected. The rock is in some places massive, but elsewhere shows great irregularities in size of grain, or is distinctly foliated, with strings of bisilicates arranged in a direction rudely parallel to the longer axis of the band and to the strike of the adjacent gneiss. On weathered surfaces large crystals of plagioclase, much cracked and broken, can occasionally be seen, but the rock usually presents the appearance of having been sub- jected to such prolonged movements that the large plagioclase indi- viduals have been entirely destroyed.

Like most of the small anorthosite bands described in this Report, these from the township of Brandon are usually richer in bisilicates than a true anorthosite shonld be, and resemble in this respect certain varieties of anorthosite rich in bisilicates which occur in the eastern portion of the Morin area.

The central of these three anorthosite bands in Brandon, seldom attaining and never exceeding a width of half a mile, runs through the township in a north-westerly direction, conforming to the strike of the gneiss, from lot 19 of range V. to lot 17 on the front of range XITI., a distance of six and a half miles. It pinches out on range V., being bounded by almost continuous exposures of gneiss to the south, while on range XIT., where but small exposures are seen, it disappears under the drift about Lake Mattabon. It closely re sembles, both in stratigraphical relations and petrographical charac-

+ —

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Oates Mom. A Vaimod Ove Any Won 2) O Lna Wadnvuuy Alivhva Onimons

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aava “IITA “0A “VAYNVO 40 AAANAG 1V919010"D

sons. OTHER ANORTHOSITE MASSES. 127 5

ter, the more easterly band above described, like it being apparently interbanded with the gneiss, the whole series as before dipping to the east at a low angle. At/the contact near Lake Mattabon, elongated fragments of the anorthosite or gabbro were observed in the gneiss, having been apparently detached from the main mass by the move- ments which induced the foliation. The rock is coarse-grained, and as before the proportion of bisilicates, chiefly bypersthene, is rather large, and the rock should be termed a norite rather than an anortho- site. ‘Toward the middle of the hand the tendency of the constituents to arrange themselves in strings or bands is very obscure, and the rock is almost massive. It is frequently very irregular in grain, displaying coarser or finer grained patches, the former often contain- ing masses of hypersthene, sometimes measuring from five to six inches across. The usual irregular-shaped remnants of large plagio- clase individuals indicate that the rock has suffered an intense granu- lation. ‘Toward the side of the band, a parallel arrangement of the hypersthene masses usually makes its appearance, coinciding in direc- tion with that of the adjacent gneiss. (Plate IX.)

The most westerly of the three bands, is first seen about the middle Westerly

of low 22 of range III., in the line of hills which forms the northern band.

boundary of the drift plain occupying the southern corner of the

township. It then runs in a north-westerly direction to the side-line

of the township, which it meets on lot 22 of range V., where it

attains a width of about a third of a mile, appearing in large expo-

sures, and is flanked on either side by gneiss. It was not observed,

however, beyond the limits of the township, the country in the line of

its strike in that direction being again drift-covered. In character and

composition it is identical with the other two bands just referred

to, under the microscope thin sections of the anorthosite composing

the several bands resembling one another so closely that they cannot

be distinguished apart. The iron-magnesia constituent is pyroxene,

occurring in the foliated specimens as long strings of grains marking

the foliation of the rock. It is for the most part a rhombic pyroxene

(hypersthene), with strong trichroism in reddish, greenish and yellow- Microscopical character.

ish tints, but in most cases a certain amount of monoclinic pyroxene,

intimately associated with the hypersthene and resembling it in

appearance, but having an inclined extinction and no pleochroism, is

also present. In every slide, a small amount of biotite and a few

grains of iron ore are found. The felspathic constituent of the rock

is essentially plagioclase, well twinned, and presenting the usual

characteristics. An untwinned felspar is also present, usually in

comparatively small amount, with rather strong dispersion of the

a”

No evidence of cataclastic structure when granulation is complete.

128 3 Quebec.

bisectrices, giving rise to pale bluish and brownish tints respectively on either side of the line of maximum extinction. This may be orthoclase. A few grains of pyrite and a few more or less rounded individuals of apatite are the only other constituents found in these rocks.

The thin sections also afford indubitable evidence that these rocks have suffered great internal movements. The large grains ot felspar can be seen to have been twisted and fractured, and are often clearly seen to be in the very act of breaking up into smaller grains. The same is true, though less noticeably so, in the case of the pyroxene, giving rise to a mosaic of grains of various sizes and shapes, which grains are seen to have moved over and around one another, but in one plane, that, namely, of the foliation of the rock, which foliation in fact results from this movement. All the evidence goes to show that this granulation of the rock is a purely mechanical process. The pyroxenes are quite unaltered, and there is no evidence of any re-crystallization or alteration in the case of the felspar. The resulting foliated rock differs from the original massive one only in being fine in grain and in the possession of a foliated structure, due to the granulation as above described.

Another fact before referred to in connection with the Morin anorthosite, and exemplified by all these granulated rocks—ordinary gneiss as well as anorthosites—is that in those portions of the sections where the granulation is complete, but little in the way of conclusive evidence of any granulation could be obtained were these to be studied alone. In such cases mosaics of little angular grains are seen, each individual of which has an even or almost even extinction. That this must be so, is realized when a large grain in process of breaking up is studied under the microscope ; for the strain to which such a grain is subjected, is seen to cause it to become resolved into a number of optical areas hounded by strain-shadows, but within such areas little or no strain is developed, so that when the next step is reached and the large grain actually breaks along the lines of maximum strain the result- ing grains, representing the areas in question, never show more than very faint strain-shadows while most of them, the strain being relieved, have a uniform extinction. A mosaic thus results, which while pro- duced by intense granulation bears, when studied apart from its sur- roundings, little or no evidence of its origin, and might be considered to have originated in other ways. It thus becomes evident that if the whole rock had reached the final stage of granulation, which stage would he reached much sooner in the case of rocks fine in grain than

sous. OTHER ANORTHOSITE MASSES. 129 5

in those composed of large individuals, but little conclusive evidence as toits true origin might be obtained from a study of thin sections. The very thoroughness of the granulation would mask its existence, and it might be concluded that the rock had crystallized in its present form: This fact is an important one to bear in mind when studying rocks such as those at present under consideration. In this process of granulation, the pyroxenes while presenting all the phenomena above referred to, usually retain their form much better than the felspars.

The examination of the sections shows, furthermore, that the move- Rock crys- ments in question must have taken place when the rock, if not com- talline when pletely crystalline, was almost so. All the minerals are granulated occurred, and must, therefore, have been crystallized out before the movement took place, and if any residual magma whatever was present when the

movement took place, no sign of it can now be detected.

Occasionally in a section a little line of faulting or shearing can be observed traversing the foliation obliquely and apparently developed ata later date. Along such lines the granulation is exceedingly fine, differing in a marked manner from that of the rest of the rock and being in Many cases accompanied by the development of calcite in large amount, thus showing that the conditions under which the original granulation took place were quite different from those under which the faulting originated.

A table of analyses of anorthosites and of certain of their constituent minerals is subjoined :—

FJ-001 HE-001 911.001 00-001 $0-001 LR. 66 ING-001 9.001 \4S. 001 mors 0.001 EAP CD 66-0 63-0 . — — aovly - — — — LI per O‘H £9.0 8+.0 9F-0 8.0 £F-0 96-0 89. L — 8€.0 t-0 - Hh tg By 18 18.4 6F-g 68.0 9L-F Q8-F OL-F LG 68-F 0-9 — © "UN 39849 09817 — 21.0 G0.0 69.0 39813 801) — 1.0 16.8 OIG jo OK OL II 9% 11 61-01 GZ-81 08: LL 62-11 10-21 ¥-6 OF- LT. T.OL 82.81 Wwe fp 0%9 9981) 09641] 99817 99619 80819 — — — — — — IL.0 se tees O up — — 22-0 86. T 0G-T — — — — — 08-PI 0B.60 fC OS 96,62 6z.6z / — — — 91.0 CLT giz [822 L0 18.8 £0-1 ‘O ‘94 , ° L (98.62 96-98 (88. LG 10.88 82.13 "OL ÎTr. GR G.1Z 8£-L 98 jr "9 “IV — — — — — — — — — — 66-0 20.0 O WL 96.FG 98- #9 PS. FG 82-29 ‘00. #G CF. 90.89 1.8 69.0 0.9G 8Z-9F $60¢ fc" Sols ILAXXX| ‘IAXXX] ‘AXXX ‘AIXXX IITXXX l'IIXXX ‘IXXxX ‘XXX ‘XIXX l'IIIAXX l'IIAXX ‘IAXX

© OLS AA 89.8 69 & 89.8 6OF-£ GOF-§ 19.3 99. 99.8 “ry dg 02-66 08-001 60-007 6.001 192.66 99.66 8-201 88.66 99.66 29-001 88-66 GT.00! [6-0 $9.0 OF-0 Qg.0 03-0 99.0 — OT-0 02-0 loro GF.0 tg ty ~€6- 1 26-0 — 90-T 61-0 8-0 — — — OT.I 00.1 96.0 ft ee: - 09-4 18.F [\os.¢] GS-9 8£.g €8-¢ — — — org LG 60.G fou O ‘EN $1.0 69-0 QT.0 — — — bP-1 69.28 16-12 0.0 IL-0 30843 ‘O SA 88-6 08-01 GZ II 89-6 E18 16-8 — gy. T 09.T 190.8 81.1 LL O %9 “© 0 ad 6 hd 8 + DU e "à vb Oo uy 90.0 19,0 — — — — $9.99 9G.06 08-08 — — — O4 92-0 08-T OL-1 Gp.0 OL.ZZ OF-0 — — — 00.7 09.0 Go, “0 84 09-98 GF.98 OL-68 C0.86 0F-9Z ses OL€ 06-8 08.68 6.0G 59-00 QU x Le 6: he he 98. °& "& vue as 6 9-49 Lf 02-9 Ch. FG ‘99.10 08-19 — Gg. IG C8. IG 0G-8¢ 08-66 GG.6G mr BG Ig ‘AXX ‘AIXX ‘IIIXX ‘IIXX IXX "XX ‘XIX l'IIIAX ‘IIAX TAX "AX "AIX

8 — — ooo — — “OLA ‘SALISOHLHONV AO SUSAIVNV AO HIAVL D 4

2È a ©

Xiv. & Xv.

Xvil & Xviii.

Xxtii.

Notes On The

Other Anorthosite Masses. 131 3

Large fragments of reddish plagioclase from the anorthosite of Notes to Château Richer. (T. 8. Hunt, Geology of Canada, 1868). table. Fine-grained plagioclase groundmass, in which the former are imbedded. (Ibidem.)

Hypersthene from the same rock. (Zbidem.)

Ilmenite from the same rock, with 4°9 p.c. of insoluble matter, quartz, etc. (Ibidem.)

Bluish plagioclase in large fragments from another hand specimen of the Château Richer anorthosite occurring imbedded in a fine granular groundmass of plagioclase. (Jbidem.)

Similar plagioclase from an anorthosite boulder from the neigh- bouring parish of St. Joachim. (Zbidem.)

Very fine-grained, almost white anorthosite, from Rawdon (Morin area). (Zbidem.)

Blue opalescent plagioclase from the Morin anorthosite. (Ibiden:. )

Bluish opalescent plagioclase from the summit of Mount Marcy in the State of New York, U.S.A. (A. R. Leeds, 13th Ann. Rep. New York State Museum of Natural History, 1876.)

Very fine-grained yellowish anorthosite from the State of New York, U.S.A. (Ibidem.)

Hypersthene from the anorthosite of Mount Marcy in the State of New York, U.S.A. (Jbidem.)

Diallage from anorthosite, New York State, U.S.A. (Zbidem.) Labrador felspar, Paul’s Island, Labrador. (G. Tschermak, in Rammelsberg’s Mineralchemie).

Labrador felspar, Paul’s Island, Labrador. (Zbidem.) Plagioclase from a fine-grained, whitish anorthosite from Labrador (granular groundmass). (H. Vogelsang, Archives Néerlandaises, T. ITI., 1868).

Bluish-gray untwinned labradorite, Paul’s Island, Labrador. (G. Hawes, Proc. Nat. Mus., Washington, 1881).

Labrador-rock. The chief rock of the vicinity of Nain, Labrador, (A. Wichmann, Z. d. D. G. G., 1884).

Labradorite, Paul’s Island. With traces of Li,O and SrO ; v. 19 lost on ignition. (Jannasch, Neues Jahrb. fiir Min., 1884, II., 43).

Labradorite, Paul’s Island. The part soluble in HCL With traces of Li,O and SrO. (Ibidem, p. 43.)

Labradorite, Paul’s Island. The part insoluble in HCl. (Ibidem, p. 43.)

Labradorite, Paul’s Island. With traces of Li,O. (Ber. Deutsch. Chem. Ges., 1891, XXIV., 277.)

Labradorite, Paul’s Island. With traces of Li,O. (Jbidem.)

ANORTHOSITES OCCURRING IN OTHER PARTS OF CANADA AND IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

In addition to the anorthosites described in the present Report, & 4 northosites number of other similar occurrences, some of them of much greater elsewhere in extent, occur in other parts of Canada. A noteworthy fact in con- nection with these anorthosites is that they are distributed along the

Relation to Archean Pro- taxis.

Anorthosites in Norway

132 5 Quebec.

southerly and easterly limits of the main Archean protaxis bordering the great ocean basin in which the Cambrian rocks were deposited later on, showing that in these ancient times the eruptive rocks apparently followed the same law that now obtains in the distribution of volcanoes; namely, that they occur along the borders of the con- tinents as belts around great oceanic depressions. By fur the largest of these is the great anorthosite area about the upper waters of the River Saguenay, which is known to occupy not less than 5800 square miles, and which may stretch across the headwaters of the River Betsiamites and connect with the area lying about the headwaters of the Moisie, in which case the area of the mass will be probably double that just given. Over this great area, the rock consists almost entirely of plagioclase.

The other areas which lie chiefly along the north shore of the River and Gulf of St. Lawrence are described in my paper entitled ‘“ Ueber das Norian oder Ober Laurentian von Canada,” and in other papers to which references are given in Appendix I.

The largest developments of anorthosite with which we ar acquainted outside of Canada, excepting those of Minnesota and the State of New York, described by Emmons, Kemp, Lawson and others, are probably found in Norway.

The rock called by the Norwegian geologists Labrador rock, as well as some of Esmark’s norites and many of the so-called gabbros of that country, are anorthosites.

These rocks have been described by Kjerulf,* Reusch,f and others. They form enormous mountain-masses, and are, as in Canada, some times violet or brown in colour, and sometimes as white as marble. They are sometimes massive and sometimes banded or foliated. Many of them in hand specimens can not be distinguished from the corre: ponding varieties of Canadian anorthosite.

They are intrusive rocks, and generally break through the gneiss. But in Laerdal and Vos-Kirchspeil, according to Kjerulf, they cut through beds of Primordial age, and are therefore probably somewhat more recent than the Canadian anorthosites. An accurate comparison of the rocks cannot yet be made since the Norwegian occurrences have not as yet been investigated in detail. But so far as we know at present, the rocks of the two countries are identical.

*Kjerulf, Die Geologie des siid]. und mittleren Norwegen, p. 261. +Reusch, Die fossilien fihrenden krystal]. Schiefer von Bergen, p. 84.

anne. NOTES ON FOREIGN ANORTHOSITES. 133 3

In southern Russia near Kamenoi-Brod, in the Government of Anorthosites hiew, and in many other places in the governments of Volhynia in Russia. Podolien and Cherson, large areas of anorthosite also occur. In these the labradorite predominates almost to the entire exclusion of other constituents. The rock occurs in some places in a coarsely granular form, which is dark violet or almost black in colour, and elsewhere as a porphyritic variety with large dark-coloured individuals of plagioclase in a light-gray groundmass. These varieties are said to pass into one another. Where the coarsely granular variety contains pyroxene, it shows ophitical structure like that observed in some parts of the Saguenay area. According to the description of these rocks by several authors, they must resemble in a remarkable manner the anorthosites described in this paper, and also exhibit the same varieties. They are found in the great district of granitic rocks which occupy this portion of the Russian Empire, which rocks, where they occur in the Government of Volhynia are classified by Ossowski as . Laurentian. The magnificent pillars of labradorite in the Church of Our Saviour in Moscow, are from quarries in these rocks.

Another occurrence of anorthosite of particular interest is found in A northosites Egypt. Sir William Dawson, while on a visit to that country in the '" Egypt. vear 1883, observed a rock that resembles exactly the banded variety of the Morin anorthosite, and which had been used for a magnificent statue of Kephren, the builder of the second pyramid. This statue now stands in the Gizeh Museum, with a few other fragments of statues of the same material. Through the kindness of the curator of the Museum, Sir William obtained a few small pieces of the rock for ex- amination. In the hand-specimen the rock cannot be distinguished from the granular anorthosite which is found in the neighbourhood of New Glasgow in the Morin area. It is fresh,t bright gray in colour and almost entirely composed of plagioclase, with a little hornblende, which mineral is occasionally intergrown with pyroxene. It is the foliated variety of the anorthosite, and the dark lines which are caused by the presence of hornblende can plainly be distinguished in the statue, especially on the right side. Sir William did not find the rock in place, but Newbold appears to have found it among the very

0 — ee ee

“Schrauf, Studien an der Mineralspecies Labradorit. Sitzungsber Wiener Akad. 1869, p. 996.—W. Tarrasenko, Uber den Labradorfels von Kamenoi-Brod. Abhandl. d, Naturw. Ges. in Kiew. 1886, p. 1-28.—M. K. De Chroustchoff, Notes pour servir a l'étude lithologique de la Volhynia. Bull. Soc. Min. France, IX., p. 251 (containing further references).

+ Dawson, Notes on Useful and Ornamental Stones of Ancient Egypt.—Trans. Victoria Institute, London, 1891.

Post-Archtean dykes.

Se TEE

134 3 Quebec.

ancient rocks which form the mountainous country to the east of the Nile, where it appears to have the same geognostical relations as in Canada. It was probably prized by the Egyptian sculptors for the reason that it possesses a pleasing colour, similar to marble, while at the same time taking a better polish and being considerably harder.

These anorthosites, therefore, are found in five of the countries where the Archean has an extensive development: in Canada, in the United States, in Norway, in Russia and in Egypt. They are found in enormous masses in the first four countries, and their extent is not yet known in the last mentioned. To these occurrences others will probably be added as the Archean of other parts of the world is care- fully studied.

PosT-ARCHÆAN DyKES.

Here and there throughout the area, but especially in its southern por- tion, dykes of fine-grained black rock, allied to diabase in composition, occur cutting across both the gneisses and anorthosites. As these have not been observed traversing the Palæozic strata of the-plains they are probably pre-Potsdam in age.

In mode of occurrence they present the characters commonly seen in trap dykes. The walls are well defined and approximately parallel to one another, their attitude being nearly vertical. They frequently hold fragments of the country-rock, caught up by the dyke-rock while yet in a molten condition, and can occasionally be observed to send off lateral apophyses into the surrounding rock. The dykes can frequently be seen to be much finer in grain toward the margins of the dykes, indicating that the country-rock was comparatively cold at the time of their intrusion. There is no evidence whatever to show that these dykes have been subjected to the folding and deforming forces which have so profoundly affected the Archæan rocks of the region. They have been practically undisturbed since the time of their solidification.

The prevailing course of the dykes is approximately east-and-west, but many of them run in directions almost at right angles to this.

They differ greatly in width, ranging from five or six feet to over 300 feet—several over 100 feet wide having been observed—and are usually traversed by several sets of well marked joint plains.

The rock is black on fresh fracture and usually weathers brownish.

In the south-west corner of the district, Sir William Logan noted the occurrence of black dykes in a number of localities, and corsidered

sonst. POST-ARCHÆAN DYKES. 135 3

them to be portions of three large dykes running across the country in an approximately east-and-west direction, all of which were interrupted by the syenite intrusion mentioned on page 29 J.

The most northerly of these dykes was traced by Sir William Logan Dykes” noted as far east as lot 6 of range VI. of Chatham Gore, and what is in all Logan probability its continuation was found on the line separating St. Colum- ban from the Augmentation of Mille Isles, near the north-west corner of the former. It crosses the road at this point, and has a width of 300 feet. On the same course further east, what is probably the same dyke is exposed at the foot of the falls on the North River, at the pulp mill, about three miles above St. Jérôme. It is exposed for a width of 105 feet, but only one wall is seen. The course of this wall is east-and- St: ‘Jerome. west. Further east still, a short distance north of Ste. Sophie, a whole series of parallel dykes, thirteen in number, and aggregating 69 feet in thickness, is seen within a distance of 200 yards. These also strike east-and-west. They possess a flow structure in some cases, and hold fragments of gneiss and quartzite as well as some of white anorthosite, indicating an extension of the arm of the Morin anorthosite under this locality, as might be expected.

Although it is quite possible that these several occurrences do not represent one continuous crack or fissure, they evidently mark the same line of weakness, which may be represented by a series of shorter parallel fissures approximately in the same line, as is often seen in the case in such dykes. The line of weakness has been now traced in a direction almost parallel to the edge of the protaxis, from the eastern side of the seigniory of Petite Nation, a distance of fifty-five miles, and in all probability continues still further to the west. The other dykes represented on the map in the district between St. Jérôme and Ste. Sophie are much smaller in size.

One of the two more southerly dykes traced out by Sir William Logan, may find its eastward continuation in a dyke exposed at the immediate edge of the protaxis to the south of the Lakefield anorthosite and running N. 50° E. This dyke is filled with angular fragments of white anorthosite (although that rock does not occur in the immediate vicinity) which fragments must have been derived from an underground extension of the Lakefield anorthosite in this direction.

Two other important dykes occur further north, cutting the Morin })vkes cutting anorthosite. The first of these is exposed on lot 16 of range VII. anorthosite. of the township of Rawdon. It is seventy-five feet wide, and runs N. 47° W., having been followed for a distance of a mile and a half.

St. Lin dyke.

Diabase.

136 3 Quebec.

The other occurs on the third, fourth and fifth ranges of the township of Chilton, and runs parallel to the River Ouareau, near its eastern bank, for a distance of about two and a half miles, having a width of 120 feet.

Another smaller dyke, ten feet wide and running N. 87° W., is exposed on the first range of the Augmentation of Kildare, near the line between lots 4 and 5 on the road.

A number of other smaller dykes which were observed do not here merit especial mention, with the exception of one which is quite different from those already.referred to both in composition and mode of occurrence. This is found on the plains about one mile from St. Lin, being exposed in the bed of the Little River. The exposures, however. are not very good, so that the precise relations of the rock cannot be determined. It cuts the Chazy limestone apparently in the form of an intercalated sheet, converting it into a highly crystalline red marble, which has here been quarried. The river is paved with this trap for a distance of about fifty yards, a thickness of about ten feet of the trap appearing in a cascade which occurs at this point. The marble is referred to on page 153 9, in the section treating of economic geology.

The great dykes traced out by Sir William Logan in the south-east corner of the area are referred to by him as dolerites,* and would be classed as diabases in the modern petrographical system. The St. Columban dyke when examined microscopically (Section 361) is seen to possess a typical diabase or ophitic structure consisting essentially of plagioclase and augite, the former running in lath-shaped individuals through the latter. A small amount of green hornblende, which may be either primary or secondary, and a small quantity of iron ore are present as accessary constituents. The rock also contains another mineral which is not commonly found in fresh diabases, namely, quartz, which occurs in considerable amount in micropegmatitic inter- growths with felspar, in the little corners between the other con- stituents. The supposed continuation of the dyke crossing the North River above St. Jéréme (Sections 273, 342) is almost identical in character and composition, the hornblende, however, being replaced br a small amount of biotite. The augite, which is of the common variety usually found in rocks of this class, often occurs in long narrow forms of irregular shape, and is twinned according to both the base and the orthopinacoid, and with it a lighter coloured malacolite is frequently associated in parallel intergrowths, as in the Konga diabase of Sweden

sous. POST-ARCHÆAN DYKES. 137 J

Quartz in small amount, in clear grains or micropegmatite intergrowths, is present as before.

The dyke (Section 338) occurring at the edge of the Laurentian protaxis to the south of the Lakefield anorthosite, and which may represent an easterly continuation of another of Sir William Logan’s dskes, is also a diabase of the same type, consisting of plagioclase, augite and iron ore, with a very little biotite, and the same micro- pegmatite intergrowth of quartz and felspar in the corners between the other constituents. It is, however, much decomposed.

This quartz diabase with typical ophitic structure, occasionally hold- Quartz- ing malacolite, is apparently the normal rock of the great east and Tabane. west dykes of the district. The quartz occurs in micropegmatitic intergrowths with the plagioclase and is in all probability primary, as it 13 found in the rock even where it is perfectly fresh. It belongs to the Konga type of this rock described by Térnebohm in Sweden.

Some of the smaller dykes in the district about Ste. Sophie and New Augite- Glasgow, which closely resemble these diabases in appearance, and porphyrite. probably have essentially the same chemical composition, possess a minutely porphyritic character, phenocrysts of plagioclase and augite being imbedded in a fine groundmass composed of the same minerals with iron ore and a little biotite. This groundmass probably cooled as glass, and has since taken on a crystalline character through a process of devitrification. They belong to the spilite type of the augite por- phyrites, and in one or two instances show an amygdaloidal structure.

One of these dykes, twenty-five feet wide, was observed on the road

about one mile north-west of Ste. Sophie, and another forty feet wide

in the bed of the River Achigan on lot 16 of range IV. of Kilkenny.

The two dykes above mentioned as cutting the Morin anorthosite,

one on lot 16 of range VII. of the township of Rawdon (Sections 626,

427), and the other on the third, fourth and fifth ranges of Chilton (Section 364), are identical with one another in all respects, and

as they have almost the same course were probably intruded at the

same time. Although having the same general composition, they

are distinctly different in structure from both the quartz diabase and

augite porphyrite above described. The rock is of medium grain, becoming fine-grained at the margins, and is black in colour but weathers brown. Under the microscope, the Rawdon rock is seen Dyke in to consist of large phenocrysts of well twinned plagioclase, having holding perfect crystalline forms and filled with minute dark dust-like inclu- micropeg- sions, giving it a dark colour, with large phenocrysts of pyroxene, ™ also having a good crystalline form, embedded in a species of ground-

No evidence of cataclastic structure when granulation is complete.

128 3 Quebec.

bisectrices, giving rise to pale bluish and brownish tints respectively on either side of the line of maximum extinction. This may be orthoclase. A few grains of pyrite and a few more or less rounded individuals of apatite are the only other constituents found in these rocks.

The thin sections also afford indubitable evidence that these rocks have suffered great internal movements. The large grains ot felspar can be seen to have been twisted and fractured, and are often clearly seen to be in the very act of breaking up into smaller grains. The same is true, though less noticeably so, in the case of the pyroxene, giving rise to a mosaic of grains of various sizes and shapes, which grains are seen to have moved over and around one another, but in one plane, that, namely, of the foliation of the rock, which foliation in fact results from this movement. All the evidence goes to show that this granulation of the rock is a purely mechanical process. The pyroxenes ure quite unaltered, and there is no evidence of any re-crystallization or alteration in the case of the felspar. The resulting foliated rock differs from the original massive one only in being fine in grain and in the possession of a foliated structure, due to the granulation as above described.

Another fact before referred to in connection with the Morin anorthosite, and exemplified by all these granulated rocks—ordinary gneiss as well as anorthosites—is that in those portions of the sections where the granulation is complete, but little in the way of conclusive evidence of any granulation could be obtained were these to be studied alone. In such cases mosaics of little angular grains are seen, each individual of which has an even or almost even extinction. That this must be so, is realized when a large grain in process of breaking up is studied under the microscope ; for the strain to which such a grain is subjected, is seen to cause it to become resolved into a number of optical areas bounded by strain-shadows, but within such areas little or no strain is developed, so that when the next step is reached and the large grain actually breaks along the lines of maximum strain the result- ing grains, representing the areas in question, never show more than very faint strain-shadows while most of them, the strain being relieved, have a uniform extinction. A mosaic thus results, which while pro- duced by intense granulation bears, when studied apart from its sur- roundings, little or no evidence of its origin, and might be considered to have originated in other ways. It thus becomes evident that if the whole rock had reached the final stage of granulation, which stage would be reached much sooner in the case of rocks fine in grain than

aus. OTHER ANORTHOSITE MASSES. 129 3

in those composed of large individuals, but little conclusive evidence as to its true origin might be obtained from a study of thin sections. The very thoroughness of the granulation would mask its existence, and it might be concluded that the rock had crystallized in its present forms This fact is an important one to bear in mind when studying rocks such as those at present under consideration. In this process of granulation, the pyroxenes while presenting all the phenomena above referred to, usually retain their form much better than the felspars.

The examination of the sections shows, furthermore, that the move- Rock crys- ments in question must have taken place when the rock, if not com- talline when pletely crystalline, was almost so. All the minerals are granulated occurred. and must, therefore, have been crystallized out before the movement took place, and if any residual magma whatever was present when the

movement took place, no sign of it can now be detected.

Occasionally in a section a little line of faulting or shearing can be observed traversing the foliation obliquely and apparently developed ata later date. Along such lines the granulation is exceedingly fine, differing in a marked manner from that of the rest of the rock and being in many cases accompanied by the development of calcite in large amount, thus showing that the conditions under which the original granulation took place were quite different from those under which the faulting originated.

A table of analyses of anorthosites and of certain of their constituent minerals is subjoined : —

on pe Le

aoame, ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 139 3 the province of Quebec, while Dr. Lawson describes it as occurring

abundantly in the dykes of the Rainy Lake district to the west of Lake Superior.*

The dyke near St. Lin which, unlike the others, is found cutting Dyke near rocks of Cambro-Silurian age, is also entirely different in composition. Lin. Its original character cannot be determined, as the rock is exceedingly decomposed, but it probably belongs to the class of nepheline or melilite dyke-rocks like those found associated with the nepheline syenites about Montreal and elsewhere. Hydrochloric acid dissolves about twenty-five per cent of the pulverized rock, which effervesces freely. Under the microscope (Section 389), nearly colourless augite, with rhombic pyroxene for the most part altered to a mixture of bastite - and iron oxide, and biotite in large crystals bleached nearly white, can be recognized. Also in the groundmass is a colourless mineral, uniaxial and negative and readily attached by acids, which is probably nepheline. A mineral which is probably perowskite is also present, as well as a large quantity of light yellow garnet, often having good crystalline form, together with much calcite or other rhombohedral carbonates, the products of decomposition.

While therefore the dykes occurring in the area are not very numer- ous, their study brings out a number of points of considerable interest.

Economic GEOLoOGY.

Minerals and rocks of considerable economic value occur at a num- ber of points in the area embraced by this report.

The following occurrences are referred to, either on account of their actual economic importance, or because they have been supposed to be of value and have attracted, or are likely to attract, more or less attention. Those deposits situated in the county of Argenteuil, to the south- west of the Morin anorthosite area, are not here referred to, as they

have been examined by Dr. R. W. Ellis, and will be described by him in a forthcoming report.

Iron Ore near St. Jérôme, County of Terrebonne.

Two and a half miles south-west of St. Jérôme, on the road which Iron Ore— follows the northern bank of the North River, there is a deposit of St. Jérôme. magnetic iron ore. This occurs as several thin bands interstratified

*Report on the Geology of the Rainy Lake Region, Annual Report, Geol. Surv. Can., Vol, III. (N.S.), p. 156 F.

Analysis.

140 5 Quebec.

with a dark hornblende rock and with the red orthoclase-gneiss of this part of the area, the whole dipping toward the river at a very high angle. At the time of my visit, in 1886, the ore had been exposed by the removal of the drift at a number of points along its strike, and a small opening had been made at one place. Subsequently, from October, 1891, until March, 1892, it was worked by the Canada Iron Furnace Co., during which time about 365 tons of ore was taken out and shipped to the company’s furnace at Radnor, and there smelted. The following information has been kindly supplied to me by Mr. Arthur Cole, B.A. Sc., who was engaged in carrying out the work :—

‘ Most of the ore was taken out of a pit which, when abandoned. was about 35 feet deep, 10 feet broad and 12 feet long. The ore-bed varied from two and a half to three feet in width, and- was for the most part free from gangue. At a depth of 35 feet the bed narrowed down to a few inches, and was then entirely lost. A drift was driven from the west end of the pit along the bed for about 40 feet, the floor of the drift being about 15 feet from the surface.

“Work was then discontinued, but was resumed in August, 1°92, but this time at a point about 100 yards further west along the outcrop of the bed. The ore here was in beds varying from a foot to a foot and a half in width. These beds often widened, but then they would separate into two beds with an intervening bed of rock.

‘In some places the walls of the beds were very clearly defined. while in others the ore gradually faded away into the surrounding rock. About 50 tons was taken out of this opening, about ten feet deep and thirty feet long.

“ Work was finally discontinued early in September, as it was found that too much rock was being handled.”

A sample of the ore was analysed by me and was found to have the following composition :—

Per cent. Ferric oxide .. ,... 59° 059 Ferrous oxide . .. 26 807 Titanic acid douces Lure none. Phosphoric acid drones de pores vue core “015 Sulphur... Leek vue voue ces ses ce “001 Insoluble matter. , cee ... 9°897 Metallic iron 62°191 Phosphorus... . "007

Sulphur... neces se cee ee teen een ve "001

some. ECONOMIC GEOLUGY. 141

This analysis brings out in a striking manner the distinction be- tween the iron ores of the orthoclase-gneiss and those of the anortho- site, the former being usually free from titanium, while the latter is rich in this deleterious constituent. This ore, although so near the anorthosite, is quite free from titanium, while the similar ores in the neighbouring anorthosite areas contain a large percentage of this element.

Most of the other iron ores of this area, with the exception of the bog ores, which belong to the superficial deposits, unfortunately occur in or associated with the Morin anorthosite mass, and are, therefore, highly titaniferous. To these belong the following deposits :—

Township of Rawdon—Range II, Lot 2.

This deposit is near the village of Ste. Julienne, and although it has never been worked has attracted a good deal of attention. It occurs in the Morin anorthosite, near the eastern edge of the arm-like exten- sion before referred to. The ore is found in a foliated white-weather- ing variety of the anorthosite rather rich in bisilicates, with a strike varying from N. 8° W. to N. 25° W. and a nearly vertical dip. Several black dykes, apparently of diabase, occur in the vicinity. The ore varies a great deal in character, being much purer in some places than others, and often occurs in the form of bands, from a few inches to several feet in width, generally conformable, or nearly so, to the foliation of the anorthosite, but in a few cases cutting across it. Both the anorthosite and iron ore are much twisted and faulted, and it is difficult to determine whether the ore has been erupted through the anorthosite or whether the cases where it cuts across the anortho- site are to be attributed to faulting. It, however, has a general trend in the direction of the strike of the anorthosite, the principal mass being exposed for about 200 feet at right angles to this direction. The “ore” appears to be in reality a variety of the anorthosite, and in most places too poor in iron to constitute an ore in the proper sense of the term.

It is also highly titaniferous and contains iron-pyrites as a frequent constituent. A specimen collected by me and assayed by Dr. Hoffmann was found to contain :—

Metallic iron . . .. Cen tence ee dorer 42°29 per cent. Titanic acid . .. ... . Large amount.

Rawdon

Wexford.

142 7 Quebec.

Two samples examined by Dr. B. J. Harrington*, formerly Chemist to the Geological Survey, gave the following results :—

Metallic iron 38°27 per cent. 40°71 per cent. Titanic acid 33°67 " 33°64 ow

while a third specimen, in which the iron was not determined, was found to contain :

Titanic acid ,. 35°09 per cent. Township of Wexford— Range I., Lot 7.

On this lot a small opening has been made in a dark-coloured, heavy massive rock containing a certain amount ofironore. The field relations indicate that this is merely a local variety of the Morin anorthosite, exceptionally rich in the darker coloured constituents of the rock, and a microscopic examination proves this to be the case.

When thin sections are examined, the rock is seen to be composed essentially of a dark-coloured pyroxene, with plagioclase and iron ore. A not inconsiderable amount of apatite, with a few grains of pyrite, garnet and biotite, are also present. The proportion of iron ore is com- paratively small, this mineral being entirely absent from some thin sections.

A specimen collected to represent the richest portion of the mass was examined by Dr. Hoffmann, with the following result :—

Metallic iron .. 20°27 per cent. Insoluble residue . Lee eee eee eee teas 58°58 " Titanicacid .. . Lace cece ee eeeeeees Decided reaction.

Not very far from this locality, a remarkable case of local magnetic variation was observed in surveying the road between Ste. Adèle and St. Sauveur, where it runs on the side-line between the townsbip of Abercrombie and the Augmentation of Mille Isles, on range X. of the former township, and thus near the margin of the Morin anorthosite. At one point on the road the needle suffers a deflection of 44° in a distance of 200 yards, returning again, further on, to its normal position. The road runs up a drifted valley and there are no rock exposures on it, the nearest exposures to the position of maximum deflection being 430 yards to the south-west ‘and 70 yards to the north-east respectively, the rocks in both cases being the ordinary

Report of Progress, aeol. Surv. Can., 1876-77, p. 475.

sam. ] ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 143 5

anorthosite of the district. Whether the variation is caused by a body of iron ore, and if so the position of the latter, can only be deter. mined by a magnetic survey of the locality.

Township of Chertsey—-Range VIII., Lots 5 and 6.

This deposit is also situated in the Morin anorthosite area, near its Chertsey.

edge. It is, as in the case of the occurrence above mentioned, a variety of the anorthosite rich in iron. The anorthosite at this locality is rudely banded, some of the bands being poor in iron ore while others consist of a nearly pure ore. Large exposures which are very rich in ore occur all over the southern part of lot 6. The ore, although it has not been examined chemically, is in all probability, like the other iron ores occurring in the anorthosite, rich in titanic acid.

Township of Chertsey— Range I., Lot 9.

This deposit occurs in anorthosite which is associated with quartzose ‘gneiss at the edge of the Morin area. Although containing a good deal of disseminated iron ore and locally considered to be of value, in no part of the deposit was the ore found to be sufficiently concentrated to be of economic importance. ,

Township of Kukenny—Range VII. Lot 7.

This deposit is an impure ochre or limonite, occurring near the edge Kilkenny.

of the Morin anorthosite and apparently derived from the alteration

of iron-pyrites, which occur as an impregnation in a band of anorthosite intercolated in the gneiss near the limits of the main area. The band

of rock through which this limonite is distributed has a considerable

width, but could not be examined everywhere at the time of my visit,

owing to the fact that the forest covering the hill was on fire. No 4 mass of the iron ore over one foot in thickness could be found, and the

deposit, I should judge, is valueless as a source of iron.

A specimen of the limonite collected by me was examined by Dr. Hoffmann, and was found to contain :—

Metallic iron eae ee vee e ee eeee ce. .25°75 per cent. Insoluble matter ... ence eee eeeeteane: Large amount.

It also contained a considerable amount of manganese, but no titanium.

Kildare.

Bog ore in Joliette.

144 3 Quebec.

Township of Kildare— Range X., Lot 11.

On this lot a deposit of bog iron ore was exposed in digging a drain.

A trench three feet deep was cut through the iron ore without reaching the bottom of the deposit, and it was exposed in the drain for a distance of about thirty feet. The deposit is probably of con-

siderable size and the ore is similar in character to that so extensively

worked and smelted further east in the district of Three Rivers.

A large deposit of bog ore also occurs on the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway between Joliette and St. Gabriel de Brandon, in the County of Joliette. This has been examined by Mr. Giroux.* The Canadian Iron Furnace Co. has worked this deposit and expected to take out about 200 car loads in 1891.

This company has also worked a deposit on ranges III.:and IV. of the township of Joliette. That on range III. is considered to be one of the best hitherto opened up by the company. It varies from twelve to eighteen inches in thickness and is about three chains wide bv five long.

All through the Joliette district, at intervals from the Laurentians to the St. Lawrence, deposits of bog ore have been discovered, and more or less has been taken out at a great many different points. The quality and richness of the ore is found to vary greatly from place to place. The Canada Iron Furnace Co. received from this district during the years 1893, 1894 and 1895 about 6000 tons of this ore.

The occurrence of bog iron ore at other points in the drift of the south-eastern portion of the area is referred to in the Geology of Canada (1863), p. 685, as follows :—

“Within four or five miles of the village of Industry (Joliette), there are several places in which bog iron ore is met with. One of these is partly in the township of Kildare, and partly in the Augmentation of the seigniories of Lanoraie and Dautraye, comprising a superficies of about nine square miles ; and it exhibits patches of ore in so many of the parts which have been cleared of forest, as to lead to the hope that it may become profitable. Among other localities in this region, the ore is found on the line between the first and second ranges of Kildare,

*Summary Report of the Operations of the (xeolagical Survey for the year 1991. p. 43 A.

Summary Report of the Operations vf the Geological Survey for the year 182, p. 44 A.

anaes. , ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 145 J

on the seventh and eighth lots; and on the seventh lot, on the road between the fourth and fifth ranges. Other localities where the ore wasobserved were in Céte Ste. Emelie and Céte Ste. Rose ; but these portions being still in part covered with wood, it is difficult to determine the extent of the ore, although it appears to be consider- able. Further to the east, this ore was also met with between the rivers Ste. Marie and Achigan and at the Seigniory of Lachenaye.”

Ochre.—

A deposit of iron ochre, of a dark-yellow coiour, was observed on Ochre. the road between ranges IT. and III. of the township of Kildare, about 600 yards north-east of the point where the road from the village of St. Ambroise de Kildare crosses this range-line. It occurs in the sandy drift which covers this district, and was exposed in an excavation about three feet deep. Fora foot from the surface the ochre is impure, being mixed with a good deal of sand, but below this, as far as exposed, it was of a purer character.

frold.—

At intervals during the past thirty years or more, locations Gold. have been taken up at various points in this district and worked for gold. These, which are situated principally in the townships of Chertsey and Kildare, were visited and examined. None of them were promising in appearance, but with a view of determining cons clusively the presence or absence of gold, a number of carefully selected specimens from several of them were collected and handed to Dr. Hoffmann to assay. They were found to be uniformly barren. As these deposits, however, have attracted much attention in the ‘ locality, and are still referred to as “gold mines,” a few short notes concerning them may be of value.

The first group of these locations is in the township of Kildare, at or near the contact of the Morin anorthosite with the Laurentian gneiss, which latter here runs up as a tongue into the anorthosite, and is surrounded on three sides by the latter. The following four occurrences belong to it :—

Township of Chertsey— Range IV., Lot 11.

The county-rock is anorthosite, which here protrudes through the Cherteey. drift asa knoll. This anorthosite is traversed by small quartz veins, and both the anorthosite and the quartz veins in places contain a considerable amount of pyrite, giving to the weathered surface of the rock a very rusty appearance. A good deal of work was done here about forty years ago by a local company, and the location was then abandoned. Two sets of specimens selected, one to represent the

Kildare.

146 x QUEBEC.

more pyriliferous and the other the more quartzose portions of the deposit, were, when assayed, found to contain neither gold nor silver.

Township of Chertsey—Range V., Lot 15.

The country-rock is fine-grained ‘anorthosite, in which there are a great number of bands and strings of a coarse-grained anorthosite. varying from an inch to two feet in width, and containing in many places disseminated iron pyrites. This latter constitutes the “ore.” The location was worked for three years, about thirty years ago, and some eleven thousand dollars are stated to have been expended. The principal working consists of a shaft 35 feet deep. A certain amount of surface work was al<o done on the face of a clitf of the anorthosite.

The rock, having been raised, was carted a distance of about a mile to the bank of the River Ouareau, where it was treated in a mili erected at that point. This, at the time of my visit, was fast going to decay. It contained a battery of five stamps as well as ten amalga- mating pans. Some gold is stated to have been obtained, although the quantity was insufficient to pay expenses. A series of specimen- were collected from the various parts of the exposure worked, witha view to representing an average of the “ore” which could with care be obtained. These were assayed by Dr. Hoffmann, and were found te contain neither gold nor silver.

Township of Chertsey— Range V., Lot 7.

On the south-western portion of this lot there is a cliff of bluish gray quartzite with interstratified bands of white quartzite, both rock: containing in places a little pyrite. This rock has not been assayed. but is very lean in appearance. -

Township of Chertsey— Range VII., Lot 9.

Near the northern end of the lot the anorthosite is traversed by many veins of white and bluish quartz, the largest seen being three feet in width. One of these veins has been opened up bux there are no indications of the presence of gold to warrant further expenditure.

Township of Kudare— Range IX., Lot 9.

On this lot a pit 25 feet deep was sunk about thirty years ago.

The rock worked for gold consists of white and grayish quartz, ccur: ring as veins in the red and gray gneiss of the district, and conform

adams. ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 147 J

ing in à general way to the direction of their foliation. These some- times attain a width of two feet but present no indication of the pre- sence of any precious metal.

Augmentation of Kildare—Range IV., Lot 5.

The rock here consists of a more or less impure crystalline limestone Augmenta- associated with a gray quartzose gneiss. Both contain in places little on of specks of pyrite or pyrrhotite. A good deal of work has been carried on at different times. This was commenced by Mr. Dupuis, of Joliette, who many years ago formed a company and put up a battery of five stamps, with amalgamators and other appliances. He worked the pyritiferous gneiss and states that he obtained gold from it but

not in paying quantities.

At the time of my visit in 1888, operations had been resumed and were being carried on by a small lo:al company. The workings consisted of a shaft about 25 feet deep and two short tunnels, the second of these, in a band of crystalline limestone flanked on either side by gneiss. Three sets of specimens were collected for assay ; the first being some of the gneiss originally worked by Mr. Dupuis; the second from the roof near the entrance to the second tunnel above mentioned, from a spot from which samples assayed in Chicago were stated to have yielded 8160 of gold to the ton; the third from the east wall of the same tunnel at its end.

These three sets of specimens we:e separately assayed by Dr. Hoff- mann, and were found to contain neither gold nor silver.

The rocks worked at this locality are not such as either from their character or mode of occurrence might be supposed to contain gold in paying quantities, and the result of the assays as given above shows the correctness of these negative indications.

Township of Rawdon—Range VIL, Lot 27.

A small excavation has here been made in rusty-weathering garneti- Rawdon. ferous gneiss, which in some cases is micaceous and holds small strings of pyrite. The rock was stated to have been assayed and to have , yielded gold in varying proportions.

Specimens collected, however, were assayed by Dr. Hoffmann, and found to contain neither gold nor silver.

Cathcart.

La Barriére,

Graphite.

148 3 QUEBEC. Township of Rawdon— Range VI., Lot 24.

A similar rusty-weathering garnetiferous gneiss often holding a little graphite and some pyrite. The latter mineral is sometimes present in considerable amount. A series of specimens representing the average of a band of this rock about six feet in width were col- lected, but were found by Dr. Hoffmann, as before, to contain neither gold nor silver.

Township of Cathcart— Range V., Lot. 8.

A gneiss, white on the fresh fracture, but for the most part so decomposed that excavations for foundations and other purposes several feet in depth have been chopped in it by means of an axe. The decomposed rock looks like a hard ochre and contains in place< disseminated graphite. It was found by Dr. Hoffmann to contain neither gold nor silver.

“La Barriere”—Township of Courcelles.

Near the south corner of the township of Courcelles, on the Mat- tawin road, a few hundred yards north of the line between Tracy and Courcelles, there is another “gold mine” at a place called ‘‘ La Bar- riére.” A good deal of work has been done here by the ‘ Compagnie des mines d’or de Mattawin.” A small quartz vein from six to eight inches wide and holding a little pyrrhotite was first worked, but sub- sequently a trench was excavated down the face of the gneiss cliff, ir which the above-mentioned vein occurred, but without following any well defined vein. The gneiss is gray or sometimes white, often garnetiferous, and sometimes holds a little pyrrhotite and pyrite. It is stated that some specimens from this locality, assayed in the United States, have been returned as containing gold to t!e value of $434 to the ton. Others holding less gold are stated to have contained several ounces of silver to the ton. Samples collected by Mr. Giroux at the mine, and others of the quartz assayed in the United States and returned as containing considerable quantities of both gold and silver. were assayed by Dr. Hoffmann in the laboratory of the Survey and were found to contain only a trace of gold and no silver.*

Graphite.—

This mineral often occurs in considerable amount, in the rusty- weathering gneiss of certain parts of the area, especially in the eastern

*Summary Report of the Operations of the Geological Survey for 1891, p. 43 AL

apame. ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 149 5

portion of the township of Rawdon, N.N.E. of the village of Rawdon, and on the continuation of the strike of these rocks to the north in the township of Cathcart, as well as still further north on the River Assomption. At none of the localities in this part of the area, how- ever, was the graphite found in sufficient abundance to make the deposit of economic importance, though the geological conditions are such as to render the discovery of valuable deposits of graphite in this district highly probable.

On the western side of the area, graphitic gneiss was observed on the Devil’s River, in the western corner of the township of Archam- bault, while extensive deposits of graphite are known in the extreme south-west portion of the area embraced by the accompanying map, in Grenville and the adjacent townships. These latter are referred to in previous reports of the Geological Survey (See Geology of Canada, 1863, p- 794), but were not visited by me since, as has been mentioned, the survey of this corner of the area was carried out by Dr. Ells. Further reference to them will be found in his report.

Apatite. —

Deposits of this mineral are also known to exist in the south-western Apatite. corner of the area, and will be referred to in Dr. Ells’s report. The only occurrence of apatite known in the remaining portion of the area is that on range I., lot 33, of the township of Cartier. Here. two openings, each about eight feet deep, have been made, on a coarse- grained granite vein six feet wide, cutting grayish garnetiferous gneiss. This vein consists essentially of quartz, white to dark-brown in colour, with white orthoclase, biotite and muscovite, the largest crystals of the latter being four inches in diameter. Apatite, tourmaline and garnet occur in smaller amount. One small crystal of pale-green beryl was also observed. The apatite is found in small crystals, but not in suff- ciemt abundance to enable the vein to be profitably worked, and the hopes entertained that the quantity of the mineral would increase on going down on the vein were not realized. The black tourmaline has all through the district been mistaken for coal, and the deposit is commonly referred to as a “coal mine.”

Mica.— Lac Ouareau.

Mica in large sheets is found at a number of places in the parish of Mica. St. D nat about Lake Ouareau. At the time of my visit, in 1887, it had

Infusorial earth.

(iarnet rock.

150 3 Quebec.

not been found in place, but was turned up in considerable quantities

by the farmers when ploughing in certain fields. Specimens obtained from one of these localities, where the road running down the west shore of Lac Ouareau crosses the 11th range of the township of Chilton, when examined proved to be phlogopi e.

Kildare, Range VII., Lot 12.

Phlogopite occurs on this lot, scattered through a pyroxene rock con- taining quartz, felspar, and a little tourmaline. Sheets six by eight inches in size have been obtained. An opening has been made in the deposit and a small amount of mica shipped.

Infusorial Earth.—

A small deposit is mentioned by Mr. Giroux as occurring near a small Jake a few miles north of Chertsey, where the farmers use it for whitewashing their buildings.

Garnet Rock.—

Bands of highly garnetiferous gneiss are found at many localities within this area, associated with rusty-weathering gneiss, quartzite, and crystalline limestone. At two localities these are associated with bands of granular garnet rock, sufficiently thick to be of economic value.

The first of these localities is on the rear of lot 20 of range VIT. of the township of Rawdon, where several beds of a rock composed very largely of a red garnet, occur interstratified with a fine-grained garuetiferous gneiss and white quartzite, the largest of the garnet beds being about two feet thick. Some portions of these beds consist of almost pure garnet, while in others this mineral is mixed with a little quartz, felspar and dark mica. A few blasts have Leen put in at this locality, but the deposit has not been worked as yet, although an abundance of garnet is to be obtained. The microscopic characters of the rock are described on page 844. A still purer variety of the garnet rock in beds of considerable thickness occurs on the adjacent lot, No. 21 of range VII. of Rawdon, but these have not been opened up as yet. The other locality is one mentioned many years agu by Sir William Logan (Report of Progress, 1853-56, p. 43), and referred to by him as follows :—

“On the west side of the crystalline limestone at St. Jérôme, beds of garnet-rock are interstratified among the quartzite of the locality.

Adam 2, ] Economic Geology. 191 J

They vary in their composition, and sometimes consist of a number of a hyacinth-red garnets weathering pink, with yellowish-white prisms af diopside, among which are present small grains of greenish felspar weathering opaque white, a few minute scales of graphite and still fewer and more brilliant black grains supposed to be schorl. In some layers the garnets almost exclude the other minerals, but many varia- tions occur in the proportions in which they are disseminated, in parallel undulating bands, in the thi-kness of the four or five feet composing the escarpment in which they are exposed, the bands being separated by thin divisions of quartzite and felspar. On the whole the garnets greatly prevail, and would appear to be in sufficient quan- tity for economic application.”

Crystalline Limestone.

The heavy bands of crystalline limestone which occur in many parts Crystalline of the area and whose distribution has already been referred to, have a "™estene. very considerable economic value as well as a high scientific interest. Although too coarse in grain to afford a good quality of marble, and the local demand for building stone be ng very limited, the limestone is in many places burned for lime, the local requirements being largely supplied in this way, especially in the remote districts in the rear of the area, which lie far from the Paleozoic limestones bordering the St. Lawrence.

Near St. Sauveur, in the Augmentation of Mille Isles, the coarsely St. Sauveur. crystalline bluish-white limestone, which here appears in very large exposures, has been burnt at intervals for many years, the suitability of the rock for the production of lime having been pointed out to the farmers in that settlement by Sir William Logan in the early years of the Canadian Survey.

At Lake Ouareau, about the rear-line of the township of Chilton, as has been mentioned (p. 23 3), a heavy band of similar limestone was Ouareau. discovered forming the greater part of two islands situated about half way up the lake and near its west shore, and also exposed elsewhere in the vicinity. The settlement here was, before this discovery, very remote from all known sources of lime, the necessary supplie: of this material being drawn from St. Jérôme, a distance of forty miles, over roads not always of the best. The inhabitants of the district will now build kilns and burn their own lime. To the west at St. Jovite, in St. Jérôme. the township of De Salaberry, crystalline limestone is also burned, and in course of time’the band which has been mentioned as passing down Trembling Lake will probably be similarly utilized.

Rawdon.

Burned for ime.

Marble.

152 3 Quebec.

The limestones to the east of the Morin anorthosite area are also burned at a number of places. There are kilns on lot 28 of range X. of Rawdon, and also on lot 28 of range XI. of the same township, for which the very ,extensive limestone deposits of that locality are utilized. The lime produced is said to be rather dark in colour, but clean and very strong, hardening into a sors of cement. On the northern continuation of the same band in the township of Cathcart, the lime stone is burned at several points in the vicinity of St. Come. One of the principal kilns is situated on lot 23 of range IX., and has a capacity of 100 bushels. To burn this charge, about six cords of wood is required, which is to be obtained for fifty cents a cord ; firing being continued for three days and nights. The lime, which is pure, clean and strong, sells for $1.00 per barac (six bushels). Another kiln is situated on lot 27 of range XI. of the same township.

The limestones at many other points above referred to in describing their distribution, would also afford abundant supplies of excellent lime. It may be mentioned, however, that the lime yielded by these Laurentian limestones is not as a general rule so suitable for the finer plasters used in interior work as it is for mortar for brick and masonry, being usually darker in colour than that obtained from the Paleozoic limestones of the plains, and often somewhat “sandy,” on account of impurities contained in the rock.

Marble.—

In addition to the limestones above mentioned, which have been burnt for lime, two occurrences of limestone have been worked as marble.

The first of these is situated in the township of Cathcart, near the line between lots 8 and 9 of range VJ., and was opened for marble in 1881 by Messrs. Guibault and Dupuis of Joliette and Mr. William Burns of Rawdon. An excavation about 30 feet by 40 feet was made, and work was then suspended. Some specimens of marble of a good quality and taking a good polish are said to have been obtained. An examination of the location, however, shows that the marble, which is medium to rather coarse in grain, is mixed up with bands and strings of a green serpentine and of a gray pyroxene rock, the latter seriously impairing its value as a marble. The quantity also appears to be limited. The pyroxene, which occurs in the form of a granular aggregate somewhat resembling marble in appearance, is a malacolite having a specific gravity of 3-228 and containing 52-48 per cent of

sons. ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 153 3

silica, with a little alumina and traces of iron and manganese. The serpentine is derived from the alteration of this pyroxene, and can be seen to gradually pass into it in many places. It is sometimes light- green and sometimes deep-green in colour, and frequently runs through the pyroxene, dividing it up into rectangular areas separated by nar- row serpentine seams, giving the ruck a somewhat striking appear- ance. À little brown mica, tourmaline and iron-pyrites are seen in some specimens.

Another marble, quite different in character and age, occurs about a mile from St. Lin, on the road to New Glasgow. The rock belongs to the Chazy formation and is exposed where a small stream tributary to L’Achigan River cuts through the drift and lays bare the under- lving rock. The marble is produced by the alteration of the Chazy limestone by an intercolated sheet of trap which occupies the bed of the stream. It is red in colour and forms a thin layer over the traps. The marble has been quarried to a limited extent, but work had been suspended at the time of my visit. The trap, which has a somewhat unusual composition, has already been referred to in describing the dykes of the area (p. 139 3).

Anorthosite. —

This rock, although it has been but little used for building purposes, might in many cases be employed with advantage for decorative con- struction. It may be obtained in unlimited amount in the Morin area, of any culour from deep violet to white. The opalescent varieties occur but sparingly in this district. To judge of its appearance when cut and polished, two large blocks, one of the violet and one of the white variety were collected, and six-inch cubes were prepared from them. These were exhibited in the Colonial and Indian Exhibition held in London in 1886. The violet variety was collected on the east- ern side of range II. of the township of Morin, and when polished presented a handsome appearance, but was rather dark in colour. The white variety, which was taken from the large exposures at New Glasgow, took a high polish, and in this state was found to bear a striking resemblance to marble. It is more difficult to work than marble, but would be more durable and would retain its polish better, especially in exposed situations, and might well be employed for many purposes in construction.

Anorthosite.

On account of its toughness and durability, this white anorthosite Paving stone

from New Glasgow has been extensively used for paving stones in the

154 3 Quebec.

city of Montreal, especially on streets where there is a heavy trathc. A number of small quarries have been opened in the vicinity of New Glasgow, while a larger one is operated about two miles to the north of the village. The stone is blasted out in large blocks and is then dressed to the required size vy means of large hammers. The industry which has thus sprung up is somewhat extensive; up to the time of my last visit in August, 1881, 541,000 anorthosite paving blocks having been shipped to Montreal by rail.

in

qt

Summary Of Archæan Geology. 155 3

Summary Of Archæan Geology.

. The Archean rocks in this area are of Laurentian age, and are in

part referable to the Grenville Series and in part to the Funda- mental Gneiss.

The Grenville Series contains gneisses, as well as limestones and

quartzites, which are of aqueous origin, having the chemical com- position and the stratigraphical attitude of sedimentary rocks. With these are intimately associated, however, other gneisses. which are of igneous origin.

The Fundamental Gneiss consists largely, if not exclusively, of

igneous rocks in which a banding or foliation has been induced by movements caused by pressure.

- Both series are penetrated by various igneous masses, of which the

most important are great intrusions of anorthosite, a rock of the gabbro family, characte ized by a great preponderance of plagioclase. This rock is in places perfectly massive, but gener- ally exhibits the irregular structure which is so often observed in gabbros and which is brought about by a variation in the size of the grain or the relative proportion of the constituents from place to place. In addition to this original structure, the rock almost always shows a peculiar protoclastic, cataclastic or granu- lated structure which is especially well seen in the foliated varie- ties. This differs from the structure, characteristic of dynamic metamorphism in the great mountainous districts of the world, having been produced by movements in the rock-mass while this was still deeply buried in the crust of the earth and probably very hot—perhaps near the melting point.

. The same granulated structure is also seen in all those gneisses

which have been formed from massive igneous rocks by dynamic movements.

. The fine-grained aqueous rocks of the Laurentian, on the other

hand, have been alte-ed chiefly by a process of recry-tallization.

1. The “Upper Laurentian” or ‘ Anorthosite Group” of Sir William

Logan does not exist as an independent geological series—the anorthosite, which was considered to be its principal constituent,

156 J Quebec.

being an intrusive rock, and its remaining members belonging to the Grenville Series.

8. In all cases of supposed unconformable superposition of the anor- thosite upon the Laurentian gneisses, which have been carefully investigated, the unconformability is found to be due to intru- sion.

9. The anorthosites are probably of pre-Cambrian age, and seen to have been intruded about the close of the Laurentian.

10. The Canadian anorthosites are identical in character with the anorthosites associated with the Archean rocks of the United States, Norway, Russia and Egypt. The Norwegian occurrences, however, are probably more recent in age than those of Canada.

… ms el es eS ne

ADAMS. ANORTHOSITES OF CANADA. 157 s:

Appendix I.

Literature Relating To The Anorthosites Of Canada.

Adams, Frank D.: The Anorthosite Rocks of Canada. Proc. Brit. Ass, Adv. Sc., 1886.

— On the Presence of Zones of Certain Silicates about the Olivine occurring in the Anorthosite Rocks from the River Saguenay.. Am. Naturalist, Nov., 1885.

— Preliminary Reports to Director of the Geological Survey of Canada on Anorthosite of Saguenay and Morin areas. Rep. of the Geol. Surv. of Canada, 1884, 1885, 1887.

— Ueber das Norian oder Ober-Laurentian von Canada. Neues Jahrbuch fiir Mineralogie, &c., Beilage Band VIII. 1893. Translated in Canadian Record of Science, Oct., 1894, Jan... 1895, July, 1895.

Baddeley: Geology of a portion of the Labrador Coast. Trans. Lit. and Hist. Soc. of Quebec, 1829. — Geology of a portion of the Saguenay District. Zbidem, 1829.

Bailey and Matthew: (Geology of New Brunswick. Rep. of the- Geol. Surv. of Canada, 1870-71.

Bayfield: Notes on the Geology of the North Coast of the St. Lawrence. Trans. Geol. Soc. London, Vol. V., 1833.

Bell, Robert : Report on the Geology of Lake Huron. Rep. of the: Geol. Surv. of Canada, 1876-77, p. 198.

— Observations on the Geology, Mineralogy, Zoology and Botany of the Labrador Coast, Hudson Bay and Strait. Rep. of the. Geol. Surv. of Canada, 1882-84.

Bigsby, John: A List of Minerals and Organic Remains occurring in the Canadas. Am. Journ. Sci. (I), Vol. VIII., 1824.

Cayley, Ed.: Up the River Moisie. Trans. Lit. and Hist. Soc. of Quebec, Vol. V., 1862.

Cohen, E.: Das Labradorit-führende Gestein der Kiiste von Labrador. Neues Jahrb. fiir Mineralogie, 1885, I., p. 183.

Davies, W. H. A.: Notes on Esquimaux Bay and the surrounding Country. Trans. Lit. and Hist. Soc. of Quebec, Vol. IV., 1843.

Emmons, Eb.: Report on the Geology of the Second District of the- State of New York. Albany, 1842.

158 9 Quebec.

Ferrier, W. F.: Notes on the Microscopic Character of some Rocks from the Counties of Quebec and Montmorency, collected by Mr. A. P. Low, 1889-91. Rep. of the Geol. Survey of Canada, 1890-91, L.

Hall, James: Notes on the Geological Position of the Serpentine

Limestone of Northern New York, etc. Am. Journ. Sci. (IID) Vol. XII., 1876.

Hawes, G. W.: On the Determination of Feldspar in thin sections of Rocks. Proc. National Museum, Washington, 1881.

Hind, H. Y.: Observations on Supposed Glacial Drift in the Labrador Peninsula, etc. Q. J. G. S. Jan. 1864.

— Explorations in the Interior of the Labrador Peninsula. London, 1863.

Hunt, T. Sterry: Examinations of some Felspathic Rocks. London, Edinb. and Dublin Phil. Mag., May, 1855.

-— On Norite or Labradorite Rock. Am. Journ. Sci., 1870.

— The Geology of Port Henry, New York. Canadian Naturalist; March, 1883.

— Comparison of Canadian Anorthosites with Gabbros from Skye. Dublin Quart. Journ., July, 1863.

— Azoic Rocks. Part 1. Report of Geol. Survey of Pennsyl- vania. 1878.

Jannasch, P.: Uber die Léslichkeit des Labradors von der Paulsinsel in Salzsäure. Neues Jahrb. für Min. 1884, IT. 42.

— Uber eine neue Methode zur Aufschilessung der Silicate. Ber Deutsch. Chem. Ges. Berlin, 1891, X XIV. 273.

Jukes, J. B.: A General Report on the Geological Survey of New- foundland, 1839--40. London, 1843.

Kemp, J. F.: Crystalline Limestones, Ophicalcites and associated Schists of the Eastern Adirondacks. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., Vol. VI. 1895. — Gabbros of the Western Shore of Lake Champlain. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., Vol. V. 1894. — Illustrations of the Dynamic Metamorphism of Anorthosites and related Rocks in the Adirondacks. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am, Vol. VIT. p. 488, 1896.

aus. ANORTHOSITES OF CANADA. 159 3

Laflamme : Anorthosite at Château Richer. Report of the Director of the Geol. Surv. of Canada, 1885.

— Report on Geological Observations in the Saguenay Region. Rep. of the Geol. Surv. of Canada, 1884.

Lawson, A. C.: The Anorthosytes of the Minnesota Coast of Lake Superior. Geol. and Nat. Hist. Surv. of Minnesota. Bull. No. 8, 1893.

— The Norian Rocks of Canada. Science, May 26th, 1893.

Leeds, Albert R.: Notes upon the Lithology of the Adirondacks. 13th Ann. Rep. of the New York State Museum of Nat. Hist., 1876; also American Chemist, March, 1877.

Lieber, O. M.: Die amerikanische astronomische Expedition nach Labrador im Juli, 1860. Peterm. Mitth., 1861.

Logan, W. E., and Hunt, T. S.: Reports of the Geol. Surv. of Canada 1852-58, 1863, 1869.

— On the Occurrence of Organic Remains in the Laurentian Rocks of Canada. Q.J.G.S., Nov., 1864.

Low, A. P.: On the Mistassini Expedition. Rep. of the Geol. Surv. of Canada, 1885, D. .

— Notes on Anorthosite of St. Urbain, Rat River, &c. Summary Rep. of the Geol. Surv. of Canada, 1890.

— The Recent Exploration of the Labrador Peninsula. Cana- dian Record of Science, Vol. VI., No. 3.

— Report on the Geology and Economic Minerals of the Southern Part of Portneuf, Quebec and Montmorency Counties, P.Q. Rep. of the Geol. Surv. of Canada, 1890-91, L.

McConnell, R. G.: Notes on the Anorthosite of the Township of

Brandon. Summary Rep. of the Geo!. Surv. of Canada,

Obalski, J.: Notes on the Occurrence of Anorthosite on the River Saguenay. Report of the Commissioner of Crown Lands for the Province of Quebec, 1883.

Packard, A. S.: The Labrador Coast. London, 1861.

— Observations on the Glacial Phenomenon of Labrador and Maine, &c. Mem. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. I., 1865.

— Observations on the Drift Phenomenon of Labrador. Cana- dian Naturalist, New Series, Vol. II.

160 7 Quebec.

Puyjalon, H. de: Notes on Occurrence of Anorthosite on Gulf of St Lawrence. Report of the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Province of Quebec, 1883-84.

Reichel, L. J.: Labrador, Bemerkungen über Iand und Leute. Pe term. Mitth., 1863.

Richardson, J.: The Geology of the vicinity of Lake St. John. Rep. of the Geol. Surv. of Canada, 1857.

— The Geology of the Lower St. Lawrence. Rep. of the Geol. Surv. of Canada, 1866-69.

Rosenbusch, H.: Mikroskopische Physiographe der massigen Gesteine, 1886, p. 151.

Roth, J.: Allgemeine und chemische Geolegie, Bd. II., p. 195.

— Uber das Vorkommen von Labrador. Sitz. Berlin. Akad. XXVIII. p. 697, 1883.

Selwyn, A. R. C.: Report on the Quebec Group and the Older Crys- stalline Rocks of Canada. Rep. of the Geol. Surv. of Canada,

— Summary reports of the Geol. Surv. of Canada, 1879-80. 1889.

Selwyn, A. R. C., and Dawson, G. M.: Descriptive Sketch of the Dominion of Canada, Published by Geol. Surv. of Canada,

Smyth, C. H., Jr.: On Gabbros in the South-western Adirondack Region. Am. Journ. Sci., July, 1894.

— Crystalline Limestones and Associated Rocks of North-western Adirondack Region. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., Vol. VI. 1895.

Steinhauer, M.: Note relative to the Geology of the Coast of Labra- dor. Trans. Geol. Soc. London, Vol. IT. 1814.

Van Hise, C. R.: Correlation Papers, Archean and Algonkian. Bull. U.S. Geol. Survey, No. 86, 398.

Vennor, H. G.: Notes on the Occurrence of Anorthosite. Summary Rep. of the Geol. Surv. of Canada, 1879-80 ; also Rep. of the Geol. Surv. of Canada, 1876-77, pp. 256-268.

Vogelsang, H.: Sur le Labradorite Coloré de la Côte du Labrador. Archives Néerlandaises, T. III. 1868.

Van Werveke, L.: Eigenthümliche Zwillingsbildungen am Feldspath und Diallag. Neues Jahrb. für Min. 1883, IT. p. 97.

Wichmann, A.: Uber Gesteine von Labrador. Zeits. d. d. Geol. Ges.

Wilkins, D. J.: Notes on the Geology of the Labrador Coast. Cana- dian Naturalist, 1878.

anass. THE SMELTING OF TITANIFEROUS IRON ORES. 161 y

APPENDIX II. THe SMELTING OF TITANIFEROUS IRON OREs.

As the anorthosites in different parts of the Laurentian frequently contain great bodies of iron ore which are invariably rich in titanium, the question of the possibility of smelting such ores is one of great practical importance in the Dominion.

Several attempts to smelt these ores having proved unsuccessful the deposits in question have been looked upon as of but little value. Some recent investigations into the conditions under which titaniferous iron ores may be profitably smelted, by Mr. A. J. Rossi, have how- ever an important bearing on the subject, and Mr. Rossi’s paper pre- senting the results of his investigation, which appeared in ‘The Iron Age” for February 6th and 20th, 1896, is accordingly here presented in a slightly abridged form. It is possible that some of the less highly titaniferous of these Canadian anorthosite iron ores might be worked if the practice recommended by Mr. Rossi were followed.

THE SMELTING OF TITANIFEROUS IRON ORES. BY A. J. ROSSI, NEW YORK. General Considerations.

In a paper read at the Montreal meeting of the American Institute of Mining Engineers in February, 1893,* we have had occasion to treat a subject which has been the cause of much controversy—viz., the smelt- ing of titaniferous ores. In this paper, to which we will refer in what follows, we have placed ourselves as the champion of these much abused ores, and it was our good fortune in the discussion, short as it was, to see our efforts to rehabilitate these ores sustained by persons who occupy a prominent place in the metallurgical and scientific world. At that time we called attention to the fact that these ores had been smelted successfully in England in 1868, for a few years, at Norton-on-Tyne, by Dr. Forbes, quoting the able paper of Wm. M. Rowron,f then the chemist in charge of the works. In it he explains in detail the metallurgical treatment, giving the composition of all the materials charged in the furnace (16 feet diameter at boshes and 50 feet high),

*Vol. XXL, p. 832. Oo +A.LM.E., Vol. XL, p. 159.

162 3 Quebec.

and that of the resulting slag. He says: ‘The uncertainty of the importation of the ores”—which came from Norway—“ their lean- ness ” (35 to 36 per cent of iron), “and the enormous quantity of titanic acid they contained ” (38 to 40 per cent), “ having militated seriou:ly against the commercial economy of the process after a few years’ working ; ” but, as he adds, “ the process, regarded as a process, was a perfect success.”

It was brought out in the discussion of our paper that: ‘Titan. iferous ores from Taberg (Sweden) had been readily smelted for years ;” “that these ores are of special value, being usually entirely free from phosphorus ;” “that ores containing 5 to 6 per cent of titanium (8°33 to 10 per cent TiO.) have been regularly used for a long time in a large establishment in Pennsylvania with very great advantage ;” “that there were furnaces using titaniferous ores, with. out being aware of it, with beneficial results.’* These ores occur in large deposits in this country, ‘some of these deposits having been placed providentially where they would prove the most inviting.” Dr. Forbes has stated emphatically that whenever the amount of titanium did not exceed about 8 per cent (13 to 14 per cent TiO,) “no diff- culty was found in working the ores cleanly and profitably.”

In the same discussion Dr. W. B. Phillips of Birmingham, Ala., summarized very clearly and teisely our own views on the subject when he said: ‘ How long will American metallurgists cling to their opinion that these ores cannot be profitably treated?’ ‘ That the verdict recorded against them was unjust, based entirely on insufficient grounds and far fro n creditable to the progressive spirit of American metallurgy ;” “that he, for one, believes that in the smelting of titaniferous ores there is abundant promise of success.”

As to the special qualities of the metal obtained from them, tv whatever cause it might be attributed, the absence of phosphorus or some specific action, there seems to be a sort of consensus omniui, and the results of our own experiments on a large scale on the resistance, properties of chill, &c., of mixtures in which entered the pig metal, afford another contribution to the truth of this assertion. ‘These ores yielded in England a forge iron which has brought double the market price of common iron. For use as a mixture to impart the properties of cold toughness to other irons, for making an iron to be mixed with other irons that are not quite up to the mark for boiler plates, sheets of cold stamping and the like, and for extra good iron generally these ores are most valuable.”

ATLM.E.—H. B. Netze, paper, Baltimore Meeting, Feb. 9. + W. M. Bowron, paper.

sass. THE SMELTING OF TITANIFEROUS IRON ORES. 163 3

We have had occasion to mention the continuous smelting for years in this country, some 40 or 50 years ago, of similar ores that occur in large deposits in the Adirondacks.* We have given even the plans of a furnace of some 15 tons capacity which is standing there yet, and was erected after the successful running of two smaller stacks. Lack of railroad communications, the death of the principal interested parties and the civil war caused alone the abandonment of the enterprise at the time, but in this case also the extra qualities of the product were attested by many official government tests. The fact that specimens of iron and steel made from the pig metal obtained from these ores received the “reward of a prize medal” at the World’s Fair in London, in 1851, affords another evidence of this superiority, Refer- ences could be multiplied.

Briefly, we find :—

1. That these ores have been certainly smelted in Sweden fôr years without any difficulty.

2. That their metallurgical treatment for a certain number of years in England by Dr. Forbes, in a large furnace, has proved a perfect success,

3. That furnaces were run for years in the Adirondacks with these ores with excellent results.

4. That the metal they yield, either as pig metal, iron or steel, possesses special valuable qualities.

5. That these ores, which occur in large masses in many States of the Union, are almost invariably “ Bessemer ores,” and as such it is asserted have been used in Pennsylvania furnaces with great advantage.

6. That when containing very large percentages of titanic avid (as much as 38 to 40 per cent and even 48°60 per cent, like the ilmenite of Canada), and consequently a very small amount of iron (32 to 35 per cent, or less), their treatment though perfectly successful, metallur- gically speaking, has not proved economical as to fuel.

Obvious as this last observation may appear and applicable as it may be to any kind of non-titaniferous ores, it has been put forward for a long time as a serious objection against the smelting of these ores on the score of economy! But, as was ably brought out in the discussion of our paper by Prof. B. J. Harrington of Montreal, ‘“ there are titan.

A.I.M. E.— Montreal Meeting, ‘93. t Ibidem.

164 y QUEBEC.

iferous ores and titaniferous ores, and when speaking of smelting them we should keep the distinction in mind. There is a great deal of dif- ference between an ore containing 40 per cent of titanic acid and one containing 10 or even 20 per cent.” It would be more proper indeed to call an ore like the St. Urbain ore (Canada), which was smelted in Canada and which contains 48°60 per cent of titanic acid, correspond- ing to 29-10 per cent titanium and only 28-49 per cent iron, a titanium ore than to call it an iron ore.

Such was the state of the question when we took it up in 1893. Confident, from the work of others, that titaniferous iron ores had been and could be worked successfully, what we have done in the mat- ter is to propose a new process of smelting them, suggested to us by a protracted study of the compounds of titanium, which we believe to be more economical than those followed previously. We experimented with it in 1892 in a very small blast furnace, an apparatus hardly worth the name, but at least reproducing the conditions of working and of reduction of a blast furnace as to the charging of materials, ore, stone and fuel, in lumps and in layers and blowing hot air under pressure through the mass, with the ordinary and distinct outlets for slags and pig metal. Successful as this experiment was, as we ob- tained several hundred pounds of very good metal, there could not be any attempt to secure or demonstrate economy under these circum- stances. Since then we have operated on a much larger scale, in a furnace of a practical capacity, with results which will be described in this article. But before proceeding further, and in order to enable one to judge of the possible economy, it may be necessary to recall briefly certain properties of the titanium compounds and to explain what the different methods of treatment to be compared consist of.

Different Methods of Treatment of Titaniferous Ores.

Dr. Forbes’s treatment, to all appearances, anticipated by those who smelted these ores before him, in Sweden or in this country, consists in adding to the titaniferous ores, as fluxes, limestone and quartz or silica bearing materials in such quantities as to form, with the titanic ‘acid, compounds reproducing approximately a natural mineral of titanium, known to be fusible at a moderate temperature (3 of the scale of Dana), the sphene or titanite, a silicotitanate of lime contain- ing about 35 per cent of TiO,, 25 to 33 per cent of lime and 28 to 35 per cent of silica. The silica being generally deficient in titanifer- ous ores, often not exceeding 1 to 2 per cent and rarely going above ‘ or 6 per cent, a large amount of quartz or silica bearing material has

anus. THE SMELTING OF TITANIFEROUS IRON ORES. 165 9

to be added besides the limestone in order to supply the desired and supposedly indispensable percentage of silica in the slag. This taxed the furnace as to productive capacity, actual amount and cost of fluxes required and consequently greater consumption of fuel for melting the excess of slag.

Our experiments have shown us that entirely satisfactory results can be secured without this addition of silica, and that titano-silicates, so to speak—that is, compounds in which in a general manner the titanic acid is predominant or constitutes an essential acid element for the slag, sometimes to the extent of making the substance practically a titanite—are fusible and quite fluid, at the temperature obtainable in a blast furnace in which even the blast is but very moderately heated, when the basic elements of the compound are alumina, lime and magnesia. Those slags are the more fusible in which the ratio of the oxygen of the acid to the oxygen of the bases does not reach over 4:3 approximately (1:0-75). The fusibility increases ceteris pari- bus, as the acid element predominates until certain limits are attained. It diminishes (if not the fluidity) as the basic element increases above this ratio, although the compound may prove perfectly admissible still as a slag in a blast furnace. In this respect titano-silicates, or even titanites, behave like silicates, but the difference lies in the fact that titanites decidedly more basic than those corresponding to the oxygen ratio 4:3 are apparently less fusible than the corresponding silicates ; or, more strictly speaking, the diminution in the fusibility seems to increase more rapidly for the titanates than for the silicates with the same increase in the basic element. This is directly in favour of titanic acid as far as blast furnace practice is concerned, since its presence in a certain quantity in an ore will require the addition of less fluxes than the same quantity of silica would demand in order to obtain an equally fusible compound, if not one of the same oxygen ratio. On these experiments we have based our proposed method of treatment of titaniferous ores, which consists in introducing magnesia to a good amount into the slag by using a magnesian lime- stone, a dolomite. The alumina from the stone and ash of fuel and that very generally present as principal basic constituent of these ores furnished all the amount which is required to form the tribasic com- pound with the magnesia and lime of the stone and the titanic acid of the ore. In the same manner as magnesia introduced in certain pro- portions into an alumina lime silicate renders the latter more fluid and fusible, the addition of magnesia to a titano-silicate of lime and alumina considerably increases its fusibility and especially its fluidity. This observation is of importance inasmuch as it has been claimed

166 5 Quebec.

sometimes that when minerals contain both magnesia and titanic acid they are rendered more refractory. True as this may be in a general manner as regards the compounds of titanic acid and magnesia, the presence of magnesia in a titaniferous ore would prove an advantage when properly fluxed with alumina and lime. Silica, which is a factor not necessary or depended upon to insure the fusibility in a titano-silicate, is to be found in the latter in such variable quantities as the silica of the ores, stone and ash of fuel will make it in each case, without extra addition of quartz or the like to bring it to a definite percentage considered indispensable.

In the very sinall furnace referred to above, with a blast at a tem- perature not over 250 or 300 degrees F. at the most, we ran without any difficulty slags of the following composition: SiO., 14-63 : TiO., 34°66 ; CaO, 26:03; Al,O ,, 7°36; MgO, 10:27; FeO, 7:12. Oxygen ratio, 4 : 3 practically ; actually, 4 : 3:1.

The ore smelted in this small furnace contained only 1-50 to 2 per cent silica and 20 per cent titanic acid, and still the amount of silica derived only from fuel, fluxes and ores reached about 15 per cent of the total.

Let us apply now the two methods just described to ores, fuel and fluxes of the same composition as those used by Dr. Forbes in Eng- land in his large furnace, the only difference being that in our case the stone will be a dolomite, in his a calcite with an extra flux of quartz or silica-bearing materials. Mr. Bowron in his paper gives the following analysis of all the materials actually used in the furnace :—

Ore. Coke, 5 per cent ash. Calcite. Old bricks. SiO, 5°70 SiO, 2°50 SiO, 0°90 Sid, Stab TiO, 39°20 ALO, 2°25 CaO 54:60 Al,O, 13 Al,O;,; 2°89 Al,O, 0°40 CaO 23 MgO 0°80 MgO 0°43 MnO 0°60

As will be observed, the amount of silica present could not in this case, In any manner, form with the bases, omitting the titanic acid, a slag of a composition admissible in a blast furnace. It would corres- pond to a percentage of SiO,, 21:14; CaO, 4274: A1,0., 16-00, and MgO, 20-00, with an oxygen ratio of 4: 9-80. The most extreme slags we have seen recorded exceptionally reached an oxygen ratio of 4: 6 (or 2: 3) of oxygen of acid to oxygen of bases. The use of a dolomite containing 7 or 8 per cent silica would alone raise the SiO. in the slag to about 13 per cent, diminishing the titanic acid propor- tionally. We give the above merely as an illustration of the possi-

ms. TRE SMELTING OF TITANIFEROUS IRON ORES. 167 5

bilities, as we would not certainly smelt such poor ores when an abundance of titaniferous ores can be found containing at least 55 per cent of iron and up to 64 per cent and more, with only 14 to 10 per cent or less of titanic acid.

Such as it is, we have found the preceding compound perfectly fusible. It melted in a crucible, pla:ed in charcoal, through which we blew cold air at a pressure of 3 or 4 ounces. It was distinctly crystallized in bluish black needles. We may remark here in passing that such a small amount of silica could hardly be expected in a blast furnace. With ores containing 20 per cent of titanic acid and 50 to 53 per cent of iron, such as were smelted in our larger furnaces last summer, the slag still contained about 15 per cent of silica and only 35 per cent of titanic acid. With richer ores, of an average of 60 per cent of iron and 10 per cent of titanic acid, not less than 18 per cent silica could be expected in the slag, with about 32 to 34 per cent of titanic acid. If the presence of silica were to be considered as an important element for the fusibility, these two latter slags ought to be still more fusible.

Properties of Titanic Compounds.

The results of the experiments which we have published in 1893, made either in crucibles or in our very small furnace, have becn con- firmed by the subsequent ones and by the protracted test we have made this summer in a blast furnace of a practical capacity.

Titano-silicates of lime, magnesia and alumina of an oxygen ratio of acid to basic element of 4: 3, or still more acid, or slightly more basic, melt readily and prove more fluid at the temperature reached in a blast furnace working under unfavourable conditions as to heat. We will quote the following examples :—

0 ... 11°94 14°82 16°00 15°60 18°00 Ti0, 38°20 32°99 28°48 40°50 34°50 0 0 .., 28°40 21°02 26°00 24 00 27:60 MgO ee 6°50 9°50 10 90 8°00 10.00 ALO, Seek ee ee .. 15°00 10°45 10°00 16°00 12°70 FeO 3°00 4°50 6°50 200 Oxygen ratio ... 4: 3°10 4:3 4: 23 4: 25 4:3

That the fusibility of a titanic compound does not necessarily depend upon the smaller amount of silica and the high percentage of titanic acid, but bears a more direct relation to the oxygen ratio, was proved by the following experiments :—

168 4 Quebec.

. 1. By proper mixture of titanic acid (rutile) and bases we formed the following compound: SiO,, 0°61; TiO,, 44°05; CaO, 25-21: Al,O,, 14°40; MgO, 10-50, and FeO, 5:30, with an oxygen ratio 4: 4-78. It melted in the crucible. The fusibility, however, was — decidedly affected ; the appearance was stony and luunpy. We repeated the experiment with practically the same results, the only difference being that there was increased fluidity and the fusibility was better when the temperature in the crucible could reach a good white heat.

2. We mixed together in a graphite crucible impure titanic acid, common rutile containing about 10 per cent of ferric oxide and 0-90 of silica, with lime, alumina and magnesia in such proportions as to form a decidedly acid titanate. Heated in charcoal, under a blast of 3 or 4 ounces of cold air, the mass (500 grams) melted completely. The compound was beautifully crystallized throughout in fine bluish black needles. We repeated this experiment several times, and have obtained several pounds of this curious substance, of which we Have given specimens to the School of Mines of Paris and New York (Columbia College). Its composition, on an average, was: Si0., 0:72; TiO,, 65:53; Al,O,, 10-92; CaO, 14°60; MgO, 7:30, and FeO, 0-90. What is characteristic and of great importance is that practic- ally all the iron of the oxide of iron of the rutile separated cleanly at the bottom in the shape of a metallic button, a very small percentage of the iron only finding its way into the slag. The button was decidedly gray iron, No. 3, if not higher yet, in grade. There were no signs of the formation of cyano-nitride of titanium where the button touched at the bottom the graphite of the crucible. The oxygen ratio in this case was practically 4: 2 (exactly 4: 1-86).

In another experiment we tried to reproduce the mineral orthoclase, ona titanic base, by mixing together proper proportions of rutile, freed from iron as much as possible, and alumina and potash. Ortho- clase has a composition of SiO,, 64:6; Al,O,, 18-5; K,0O, 169. It

melts at 6 (Dana) and has been found occasionally in crystals in some furnace scoriæ in Germany. Its oxygen ratio is 4: 1:33 (3: 1). By replacing the 64:6 of silica by such an amount of titanic acid as would contain as much oxygen (85-4 TiO.) we have obtairred a compound of the following composition: TiO., 67 to 70; Al,O,, 14:30, and K,0, 17:00. It melted and crystallized, but not as perfectly as the preceding compound. Its fusibility was certainly less. Magnesia, alumina and lime appear to form with titanic acid compounds more fusible than others containing, with alumina, even such a percentage of potash as 17 per cent.

aus. THE SMELTING OF TITANIFEROUS IRON ORES. 169 3

Briefly, the presence of titanic acid, even in large excess and with- out silica, in a substance, is far from being a cause of infusibility a priori if it is judiciously combined with the proper bases in suitable proportions.

Within the limit which we have briefly indicated there are, of course, many intermediary mixtures which, according to circumstances and the materials available, could form the basis of very fusible and fluid slags.

In our blast furnace experiments of last summer the temperature of the blast was not over 400 degrees F., and its pressure not more than 1 to 11 pounds, and still we had no trouble whatever to run from — @dinary ores non-titaniferous slags of a ratio of oxygen of silica to oxygen of bases of 4: 6 (2: 3)—that is, of such a type as corresponds to the hottest working with blast at 1400 degrees F. under a pressure of 8 to 10 pounds, and to the darkest grades of iron most charged with silicon and graphitic carbon. The iron was white, and contained but a few tenths of 1 per cent of silicon, Though high enough to melt the more refractory silicates admissible in a blast furnace, the temper- ature was not sufficient to reduce the silica. This has adirect bearing on the smelting of titaniferous ores as corroborating the observations of Dr. Forbes in his practice and showing that such conditions can be made to prevail in a furnace as will melt the most refractory slags admissible and reduce the oxides of iron, and still they will not be such as to reduce the silica, and still less the titanic acid. Under these circumstances the furnace cannot be troubled with “titanium deposits,” as it has been claimed.

These deposits consist of cyano-nitride of titanium, which supposes for its formation not only the reduction in the furnace of titanic acid to titanium, but the highest temperatures and other conditions. We have experimented considerably on this particular point, and inasmuch as under certain conditions, of which we may have to speak at some future time, and which were intended to secure the formation of this cyano-nitride which we wanted to produce, we failed to obtain it, we have reasons which justify us in taking exception to the too sweep- ing assertion in regard to the formation of these deposits. Some of the slags run in our furnace last summer contained as much as 32 to 35 per cent of TiO, and 16 to 14 per cent of silica, with alumina, lime and roagnesia as bases ; their oxygen ratio was 4: 3. We made a number of analyses of such slags and in all cases we found them to dissolve compietely, without any residue, in hydrochloric acid in the cold if very finely pylverized or untler a gentle heat. The silica and

170 3 Quebec.

titanic acid separated in a gelatinous state as the substance was heated. Had the titanic acid been merely carried mechanically, even partially, by the slag as so much infusible sand, it would have separ- ated as an insoluble residue. This was never observed, and certainly furnishes the best proof that we had to deal with a definite compound, a titano-silicate. It explains why compounds containing a large amount of a substance infusible per se, the titanic acid, may prove quite fusible when this titanic acid can be carried into a definite com- bination with the proper bases, and also explains the tendency of these compounds to crystallize.

It may be argued that circumstances may so occur in the running of a blast furnace smelting any kind of non-titaniferous ores that they would lead to an obstruction whose removal would require forcing the heat and the pressure of the blast, and that these circumstances in the special case of titaniferous ores would be favourable to the formation of titanium deposits by the reduction of the titanic acid. The ten- dency of our days is to have in charge of the furnace competent per- sons capable of judiciously proportioning their charges from analyses made from day to day of the materials used, and such accidents have become certainly much more rare.

At all events this objection has been anticipated by Dr. Forbes, and, in the paper of Mr. Bowron referred to, a ready mode of relief is indicated. He says: ‘Throw off the titanic ore, and using non- titaniferous ore for a while, raise the heat and pressure of the blast and run the furnace on easily fusible slags until obstruction is removed ; then resume the use of titaniferous ores.”

The charges of the furnace were as follows: Coke, 2240 Ibs. ; ore, 2240 lbs.; calcite, 1200 lbs.; old bricks, 500. Making the proper calculations, he finds that from ores, coke and fluxes there could be expected a total amount of cinder-making materials of 2347-66 lbs. for every ton ore used in the charges, 2°75 tons of ore being required per ton of pig metal with an ore carrying 36 per cent of iron. As. suming for convenience sake, and which is practically sufficient, that all the iron goes into the pig metal, this gives per ton of pig 6456 lbs. of slag, and a consumption of 4675 lbs. of fluxes. The resulting slag, as run from the furnace, had a composition from analysis by Mr. Bowron of: SiO,, 27°83; TiO., 36:18; CaO, 24:36; Al.O,,. 9:18; MgO, 0°60. As will be seen, the amount of silica present. 27-83, is still high enough to form with the 9°18 alumina and 24:36 of lime (independently of any titanic acid as an acid element) a perfectly fusible slag. It would correspond; reduced to a percentage and omit.

acaus. THE SMELTING OF TITANIFEROUS IRON ORES. 1715

ting the titanic acid, to a composition of: SiO,, 44°88; CaO, 39-29; Al,O;,, 14-80; MgO, 1-00, with an oxygen ratio of 4: 3°10, nearly. This is a very fusible blast furnace slag, not very basic, not even corresponding to the darkest grades of iron.

Let us apply exactly the same mode of calculation in our case, assuming the same ore and fuel and the same quantities of each in the charges, but using a magnesian limestone not any more siliceous than Forbes’s calcite, for fairness of comparison. The dolomite chosen has a composition similar to that of the ore we have used this summer in our larger furnace (except for amount of silica). It contained SiO:, 0-90; CaO, 39:00; MgO, 12-00, and Al,O,, 2 to 3. Itis easy to calculate that for every ton of ore and fuel in the charges 1000 Ibs. of such dolomite stone would be sufficient to obtain a slag of the composition SiO,, 10°78; TiO., 49:08; Al,O,, 8:10; CaO, 21-80, and MgO, 10-21. The total amount of slag from the materials of the charges per ton of ore would be found to be 1788-78 lbs. Per ton of pig metal we would have 4919-34 lbs. slag, as against 6456 Ibs. as before, a saving of 23°80 per cent on the amount of cinder to melt, and consequent saving of fuel, and 2750 lbs. of magnesian stone, as against 4675 lbs. of fluxes, calcite and bricks, a saving of 41:30 per cent on the amount of fluxes added, although we have assumed the same quantity of coke to be required in both cases.

Of course it is not in our province, within the limits of this article, to discuss all that could be done in such cases. It would certainly depend on the circumstances which would have been likely to cause the obstruction, and others which could be only judged on the spot, and which might occur with any kind of ores. The cause may be the use of an excess of limestone. It is a recorded fact that furnaces smelting non-titaniferous ores have been thus choked up by such an excess of lime in the slag, so that it was too pasty to tap, and infusible blocks weighing thirty tons were formed, the removal of which required blasting. But the throwing off of the titaniferous ores for a while and the use of ordinary ores in their stead would at once create the ordinary conditions of practice. Furthermore, in the special case considered we could suggest several means which could prove etficacious.

Blast Furnace Tests.

When we had to make a practical test of these titaniferous ores last summer, conditions of economy imposed upon us the necessity of adopt- ing a smaller scale than we would have desired. We decided on build-

172 5 Quebec.

ing a furnace of about three tons daily capacity, a size sufficiently large already to judge practically of the advantages of a certain treatment and to furnish valuable information, convinced that, if we were suc- cessful in these conditions as to running of slags, reduction of the ores, &c., we would be certain to obtain much more satisfactory and especially more economical results in a larger furnace provided with modern improvements.

For the same reasons we did not judge it necessary to complicate the construction by using a cup and cone, and for simplicity and economy sake we built our furnace open top. We could not in such circum. stances expect to obtain a very high temperature of blast ; in $hort, we placed ourselves in conditions of running rather unfavourable. But as it was important also to determine as much as possible the relative economy, if any, of the melting of titaniferous and non-titaniferous ores, we decided to run the furnace for a certain time first on ordinary ores, such as Lake Superior hæmatites, in order to study its working ard ascertain what we could expect from it as to production, quality of pis- metal and amount of fuel required per ton of pig-metal before we should begin to use the titaniferous ores. By sodoing we secured, we believe, a reasonable basis for a useful comparison of the economy of smelting the two classes of ores, or of the different treatment of the same ores. whatever might be the size of the furnace, since in both cases we were placing ourselves in exactly the same conditions as to apparatus used. temperature, pressure and volume of blast.

We give below the composition of the materials which entered the furnace from actual analyses made by the chemist in charge, sup- plementing them by such others as we have had made by different analysts in New York, or which have been furnished to us by outside parties.

Non-titaniferous Ores.— Lake Superior Hæwmatites.

From parties

Chemist in charge. furnishing the ore

a) OP 4°58 5°24 5°60 4°66 ALLO... ..,, 9°16 7°19 uses ee... CaO eee weet ce eens a Lee MgO Os... ci... cae O42 1°82 use eee. SSP 0°03 0°04 0°02 0-O4 P., , ... 0°08 0°10 0 07 O-11¢

Fe.. 64°20 64°76 67°50 G2'(m

anase.

Chemist Chemist in charge. in charge. NO. cer ceecree 2°89 et. EE O78 i ... 52°00 NO g eee eee 3°99 A1LO, 0°59 AL, IUT 1-82 Ag IT Little. Fe,0, 1°50 CaO... 0:07 MgO bees Hackettstown, V.J., Dolomite , ia ai — —— I Il. III. IV. Philadel- . Average analysis TT ES. . phia Iron Lafayette by the writer at Works. “Be. Boonton, N. J. SiO), . 8-06 9°44 9°97 8°75 CaO... 20°09 23°18 29°29 28:60 41.0, 4. qr an 3°00 F0 f TU RES 3°37) 0°76 Os ii 18-57 15-35 17-30 16°90 0°18 S. 0-15 P,O,. Titaniferous Ores of the Adirondacks (Essex County). ‘MILL Poxn.” SANFORD.” CHENEY.” charge. E Middling good ore. 2 , 2 ey bp I x +. TE. re dc & a So 1 ee # . 7 27> Ë FS 5 Fi ge: BR] ES . "ÈS 5 2 se) 2:22) is lt ¢ 2 s À Se 5 #5 SO... 109 , 367 1583 0°87 , 2°46 1:39 134 9-74 ALÔ, [I 0°44 1:60 3°50 0:58] 3°50 4:00 …. TD Cat) traces little. little. ... .! J l.., 4... 8°89 Mg@) ] traces.' 0°50 1:60 fo... ... .. 3°00 Mn,O,--| 013 1, mere pees pense eee e notte EC P none 0°017 0°087 none. ; 0°022 0° ‘ 1:00 S Loue none. 0°068 , 0°08 none. .L| 0°028 j 0: Î

The Smelting Of Titaniferous

Calcite (fossiliferous ).

Iron Ores. 173 3:

Connellsville Coke.

(7°38 per cent ash.)

174 J Quebec.

The Cheney ore was also used, but sparingly, one-fifth to one-sixth only being added to the charge, and none but the poorer ore, this last ore, which occurs in the gneissoid gabbro in decidedly stratified rocks. differing in this respect from the preceding. It has almost identica'lr the same composition as certain ores from Split Rock and Lake Chan- plain, distant some 50 miles from each other and analysed by Professor Maynard some years ago. They occur if the same formation, if we quote rightly Professor Kemp, Professor of Geology at Columb: College, who, we understand, intends to publish at an early date the results of his investigations on the genesis of the titaniferots ores of this district.

The furnace as built stands 20 feet from the bottom of the hearth to the charging platform, the diameter of crucible is 2 feet 6 inches its height 2 feet 3 inches, boshes 3 feet high, diameter 4 feet 6 inche: at top. The stack is 14 feet 9 inches high, with a diameter of 4 feet 6 inches at its junction with the boshes, and 2 feet 10 inches to 3 feet at top, the inside capacity of the furnace being then very nearly 2) cubic feet. The lining proper was made of B. furnace fire-bricks ‘ inches long, with a back lining of bricks 44 inches, making the ttal thickness nearly 14 inches. The stack rests on six cast iron pillars bearing at the bottom on a cast iron ring resting on the masonry ‘i the foundations, and which bears the upper ring supporting the stack. The circle pipe is 6 inches in diameter, taking the blast from à system of two parallel rows of 6-inch diameter iron siphon-pipss arranged in an oven heated by a coke fire on a grate atone end. With this arrangement we have not been able to obtain practically more than 400° F. as temperature of blast measured at the tuyere’s nozzle. The tuyeres, three in number, take the blast from the circle pipe through 3-inch diameter drop pipes having a diameter of 2 inches at the nozzle, which could be reduced by means of proper bushings. it found advisable, to all dimensions from 2 inches to 1 inch.

The tuyeres are provided with iron coils fitting them loosely, and where this coil passes through the back lining the latter was replaced by a special cast iron hollow box taking the circular shape of the fur- nace, and allowing the coil bearing the tuyeres to pass freely through a circular opening in the box, this opening and the space between the coil and tuyere being rammed in with fire-clay during the run. An independent circulation of water through the coils and boxes insured the cooling. In order to protect the boshes we resorted to a simple special device which proved very satisfactory. I used thick sheet irun plates made to fit snugly the curve and slant of the boshes between

sous, THE SMELTING OF TITANIFKROUS IRON ORES. 179 3

the pillars) These plates were upset at the bottom so as to form a shallow collector for water, closed at both ends. The water, supplied by a circular pipe around the furnace, sprayed through pin-hole open- ings provided for the purpose on the inside of this feed pipe and trickled down in fine streams on the inclined surface of the plates to the collector at the bottom, to be there wasted

The blast was supplied by a positive rotary blower capable of deliv- ering at a normal speed at least 1000 feet per minute ; more or less could be obtained according to the speed of the small steam engine driving it. The delivery pipe was 6 inches in diameter. Where it entered the hot blast oven it was provided with a release gate valve to control the volume and pressure of air admitted in the furnace. In no case was the volume above 500 cubic feet per minute; generally from 350. to 400 cubic feet under a pressure of 16 to 20 ounces (1 to 14 pounds). In order to meet possible contingencies a by-pass with special arrangement of valves connected the admission pipe and deliv- ery pipe of cold and hot air, so that in case of accidents happening to the oven we would have been able to blow in with cold air during the repairs ; but we did not have occasion to use it.

It was soon found that by driving the furnace fast the best results were obtained. The slags, to our surprise, considering the small height of the furnace, did not contain much iron, no matter whether the ores used were Lake Superior hæmatites or titaniferous ores. By driving slowly the percentage of iron in the slag could be kept below 2 per cent (2°66 per cent FeO at most), a very small amount indeed. The slags of the large Dowlais furnaces, as stated by Percy, carried, in his time, 2°50 FeO, and not unfrequentfy 4:50, 5-50 per cent FeO, and even 7 and 8 per cent in running as white iron. At the Ebbw Vale and Blaena Iron Works, says the same writer, the regular amount of iron carried by the slay reaches 5 per cent or more, or 6°50 to 7 per cent FeO; it was exceptionally that we had more than this, and we may say that prac- tically, in our condition of running, the reduction of the oxides of iron was quite satisfactory.

As could be expected, the furnace was extremely sensitive to any sudden changes in the burden, as well as to disturbances or irregu- larities in the amount or pressure of blast. On the other hand, it answered quickly to any such changes, and some 15 hours after the charges had been modified, sometimes less, the expected slag was tapped. Numerous analyses proved this to be the case. This feature of the apparatus was very advantageous for our purpose, as it allowed us to experiment on almost any composition of slag desired and ascertain rapidly the effect on the running of the furnace.

176 3 Quebec.

It could be easily observed also that, though the heat in the furnace were sufficient for a satisfactory reduction of the oxides of iron and the melting of almost any slag, it was not high enough to reduce the silica and cause the metal to charge itself with silica and graphite carbon. The iron obtained from both kinds of ores, titaniferous or not, was invariably white, and still during our run with Lake Superior hæmatites, not containing any titanic acid, we so proportioned our charges purposely to obtain slags so basic and so aluminous that some of them would have appeared, a priori, to be only admissible in fur- naces in which the greatest heat prevails. Their composition corres- ponded to that of slags accompanying the darkest grades of iron, most charged with silicon and graphite, obtained in furnaces in which the temperature of the blast reaches as high as 1400 degrees F. and its pressure 8 to 10 pounds. Under these conditions of working, no titanic acid could be reduced. We made a great many analyses of slags during this run, No. 1, with non-titaniferous hæmatites, their average oxygen ratio being over 4:4 (1:1), and we ran slags extra basic of a ratio of 4:6 (1:14), and still the iron was white. We quote as types the following :

0 .., . 30°10 33°40 36 to 37 ABO4 a 22°98 22°70 22°50 CaO ee ee eeeee 36°87 30°80 28 to 27 MgO ceeeeeeet 4°38 4°70 4 5to5 0 FeO .. + 3°80 6°60 2°80 to 5 Oxygen ratio , 4:6 4:5 4:4°40 to 4 H

In this run we used as limestone the calcite of which the analysis has been given above, adding generally a little dolomite, of which we had a large stock.

The greatest run made in 24 hours with these ores, which contained an average of 62 per cent of iron, was 4600 pounds. These hæmatites were not reduced as fast in the furrace as we expected they would be : driving fast increased the production but not to the extent looked for. The blast was kept at a pressure of an average of 16 to 18 ounces, its volume fluctuated between 350 and 450 cubic feet.

When we had ascertained what we could expect from our furnace with ordinary ores, we began to add the titaniferous ores mentioned above in the proportion of four-fifths to five-sixths of Mill Pond or San- ford, and one-fifth to one-sixth of Cheney. It had not been the in- tention to use this Cheney ore at all at first, but owing to some mistake at the mines we had to dispose of some 40 or 45 tons of it. We pro- ceeded by gradual increases of one-eighth titaniferous ores in the

spams. THE SMELTING OF TITANIFEROUS IRON ORES. 177 y

charges, keeping the furnace a certain time on each new mixture, until the burden of ore was all in titaniferous ores.

During this run, No 2, the mixture averaged 55 to 56 per cent of iron. Our best run in 24 hours was 5035 pounds. As will be noticed, as soon as we began to charge the titaniferous ores the yield of the furnace increased to a decided extent. It appeared as if these ores were more readily reduced than the hæmatites, made iron faster, at least under the conditions under which we were working. Large lumps not being admissible with a tunnel head 2 feet 10 inches to 3 feet in diameter, we broke all our stock, ores and flukes, from beginning to the end of the tests, to pieces of the size of the fist or a very large egg. The pressure of this blast during this run—No. 2—was about the same, 17 ounces on an average, and its volume varied, as before, between 350 and 400 cubic feet.

During this run we changed our stone from a calcite to a dolomite, or rather a dolomite to which we added enough calcite to bring the percentage of magnesia in the mixture of stones to about 12 to 14 per cent. We give below the principal analyses of the slags run as types :

Atbegin- Middle of Toward end —

ning. run. of run. SS 0 34°10 29°50 27°29 TIO g ,,.. cee cece ee ee beeee eens 4°90 9°96 17:48 ADO, 4... 22°00 18°26 14°43 0 0 23°63 24°12 22°71 MgO... 9.0 ne dente neeeaaee 10°00 9°72 11°55 FeO Le eee eee nent ence nee ce 3°82 6°40 4°30 Oxygen ratio vceececeuccucteceuvennes 4:4°40 4:4°10 4:3°50

When the furnace was fully on titaniferous ores, the ore mixture averaged about 52 per cent of iron. It was soon noticed that the furnace could be driven fast with great advantage. A charge would reach the bottom in less than 15 hours; 12 to 15 hours was the rule. The yield increased considerably. -We had runs of 4800, 4900 and 5600 pounds in 24 hours, and our best run in any single day reached as high as 6735 pounds, fully 3 gross tons. The blast was kept at very nearly 18 ounces throughout ; it did not vary to any extent, and the only changes observed were independent of our control. They were due to the irregularities in the blowing apparatus, which, owing to the exigencies of the works where these experiments were made, had to be located at a considerable distance from the hot blast oven. The economy of running the furnace fast was clearly apparent and confirmed our views in this respect, views corroborated by A. Pourcel, late technical director of the steel works at Bilbao, Terre Noire,

178 5 Quebec.

France, and Port Clarence, England, in a letter, from which ve extract the following :

‘ Mr. Rossi’s ideas concerning the treatment of titaniferous ores in the blast furnaces have struck me from the start, as you are aware, as eminently logical. Furthermore, they seem to me to be sufficiently justified by the trial, on a small scale (in 1893), which Mr. Rossi has described in detail. The easy reduction of the titaniferous ores justifies the expectation that with a blast furnace of 300 ccm. (10,500 cubic feet) capacity, for instance, it will be possible to reach easily a production of 100 tons of pig iron in 24 hours with ores con- taining 52 to 56 per cent metallic iron In conclusion] will say that the formula of slag and of moderate temperature of blast (300 to 400 degrees C.) recommended—with proof to sustain his opinion—by Mr. Rossi, ought to ensure the success of the treatment of titaniferous ores from the start, but there is nothing to exclude, a priori, the hypothesis that, with a rapid driving, by forcing somewhat the production, it may be possible to produce the same forge iron or pig iron for open hearth steel (Siemens-Martin furnace) with a temperature of blast higher—that is, in the conditions of running economical as to fuel.

In order to judge of the relative economy of these three runs, under as nearly as possible similar conditions, we will compare the amounts of fuel and stone required per unit of pig metal when the furnace gave the greatest production in each case. This supposes indeed, for the kind of ores or mixtures of ores considered, the most favourable conditions of running for each. By making precisely the same ample allowance of time in each case for stone and coke before each maximum cast of 24 hours as chargeable to that cast, we found the figures given below.

We feel justified in doing so by the fact that with titaniferous ores we had two successive casts of 12 hours each of 3325 and 341U pounds (in all 6735 pounds in 24 hours) followed by a cast of 3200 pounds, and in other runs a cast of 2400 pounds in 12 hours followed by one of 2635 pounds (in all 5035 pounds in 24 hours), for the mixture of titaniferous ores and hematites, and a cast of 2200 pounds followed by one of 2400 pounds (in 12 hours), in all 4600 pounds in 24 hours, for the non-titaniferous hæmatites smelted alone.

Run No. 1.—Non-titaniferous hæmatites from Lake Superior : Pig iron . .. 1°00

Coke coco scvevcccccccccce: 2°15 Ores 62 per cent iron.

anus. THE SMELTING OF TITANIFEROUS IRON ORES. 179 5

Run No. 2.—Mixture of hæmatites and titaniferous ores :

Pig iron . . eae ... 1°00

Stone , 1°19

Coke .. Lecce ec ee et eneeeeaees 2°20 Ores 56 per cent iron. Run No. 3.—Titaniferous ores from the Adirondacks :

Pig iron.. 1°00

Stone .. 0°95

Coke 1:99 Ores 52 per cent iron, 20 per cent titanic acid.

Hence, to say the least, the titaniferous ores, under the same con- ditions of furnace running, did not require any more fuel per unit of pig metal than excellent non-titaniferous ores; really, they require decidedly less, and the production of the furnace was increased con- siderably. We should remark here that run No. 1 was made with ores containing 62 per cent of iron, while in run No. 3 the amount of iron was not over 52 per cent.

We purposely chose the titaniferous ores not too rich and high in titanic acid. Had we used ores such as are found in very large quantities in that same district, averaging 60 to 62 per cent of iron and reaching even 64 per cent, with only 13 to 10 per cent of titanic acid, the saving on both fuel and stone, especially the latter, would have been much more in favour of titaniferous ores. If we make the calculation for such richer titaniferous ores containing 60 to 64 per cent of iron, of which we have given the analysis above, it is easy to see that, even in assuming 100 coke to 100 ore, in this case some 0°50 to 0-60 ton only of dolomitic stone would have been required per ton of pig metal to obtain a slag containing some 22 per cent of silica and 30 per cent of titanic acid with lime 24 per cent, alumina 14 per cent and magnesia 10 per cent as bases. With such a reduction in the amount of resulting slag to melt and of fluxes to add the economy as to fuel by rapid driving would have appeared of considerable im- portance,

We should remark also that if 2 tons of coke for l'ton of pig metal would certainly be considered excessive in a modern furnace, we must not lose sight of the fact that the furnace was small and had an open top ; that the temperature of the blast was not over 400 degrees F., and that we were wasting the gases which if utilized could have raised the temperature of the air easily to 800 or 900 degrees F. We would have desired to obtain the latter figure, and even 1400 degrees F. We have seen open top furnaces 65 to 70 feet high, of a capacity of 35 to 40 tons per day, not making a better showing as to amount of fuel per ton of iron, with ores richer yet than our titaniferous ores were. At any rate, we required even more than 2 tons of coke for 1

180 5 Quebec.

ton of pig metal with non-titaniferous ores, under the same conditions of furnace work.

We kept the furnace running until we exhausted our supply of ore, and we were able to empty it to within 1 foot of the tuyeres. When we opened it we found, as usual, in the crucible a small salamander, but no traces of cyano-nitride of titanium were visible either in the crucible, the boshes or any part of the furnace. This could be expected. The conditions of running of our furnace were not such as to reduce the silica, and still less the titanic acid. Though much inferior as to heat to those which could be adopted (a temperature of 800 degrees F. being perfectly admissible with these ores), they were reproducing in a general manner those which, with these ores, have given very satisfactory results. The iron contained but 0:1 to 0:2 per cent of silicon and only traces, practically, of titanium. Far from building, the ores had cut the lining several inches, and the latter was covered with a good protecting glazing material. We made a great number of analyses of the slags during this Jast run ; others have been made sincein New York. We give below the most characteristic ones

as types :

On se... ue veeeee verre 20°59 15°32 14°82 15-90 4 0 26°81 31°26 31°97 34°38 0 se ee eee vuruee core 10-17 14°50 12°48 11°33 ON 0 resserre 2360 20°56 24°00 22°10 1 50 si. eee 10°24 9-09 9°97 9°70 FeO... ... Lereeseee Lénercrecueeeee 6-90 6:02 4°50 6-40

An examination of these figures shows that the only varying ele- ments of the analyses are the proportions of SiO, to TiO,. In the last slags run the general composition was, in round numbers, 15 fer cent SiO,, 35 per cent of TiO., 10 to 12 per cent of alumina, 20 to 25 per cent of lime, and some 10 per cent of magnesia. In all the titanic acid is predominant.

These furnace tests, on a practical scale, have demonstrated, we believe, that under the conditions in which they were conducted :—

1. In a furnace only 20 feet high, with blast at only 400 degrees F., under average pressure of 16 to 18 ounces, titaniferous ores containing 20 per cent of titanic acid and 52 to 53 per cent iron can be perfectly reduced, making iron faster and with a consumption of fuel (coke) not any greater, or even less, per ton of pig metal than other ores free from titanium, with an economy as to quantity of fluxes used.

2. The titaniferous ores did not build. The lines of the furnace were found cut just as much as is the case with any other ores, non-titan- iferous, after a limited run. No titaniferous deposits were observed.

sass. THE SMELTING OF TITANIFEROUS IRON ORES. 181 3

3. Slags very high in titanic acid, containing 30 to 35 per cent of TiO, and but 15 per cent of silica, with alumina, lime and magnesia as bases, were found perfectly fusible under these conditions of low heat. They were fluid, running liquid 40 feet from the furnace on a snake-like course. Chemically, they were soluble without residue in hydrochloric acid ; physically, they crystallized in a distinct manner.

4 With richer ores containing less titanic acid, with a greater temperature of the blast, at least 800 degrees F., as it has been done, much more economical results might be legitimately expected.

9. It is possible to form fluid and fusible compounds with titanic acid by the addition of the proper quantities and nature of fluxes, such as a dolomitic stone introducing magnesia. The latter, combined with alumina and lime, will contribute to render the titano-silicate or titanate much more fluid and fusible: contrarily to what has been asserted as to the difficulty or impossibility of tapping slags containing a few per cent of titanic acid (1 to 2 per cent).

6. There is nothing in the premises which could lead to suppose that a furnace could not be kept running under these conditions for an indefinite period.

Properties of the Iron Obtained from Titaniferous Ores.

Whatever may have been the opinion of many metallurgists as to the advantages, or even the possibility, of smelting these ores, the refractory character of slags containing titanic acid, there is one point on which they seem all to agree, the excellent qualities of the iron and steel obtained from titanic pig metal and the special value of the latter. We refer the reader for more details on this subject to the authority quoted in our Montreal paper and a preceding one read be- fore the American Chemical Society in 1890.*

“peaking of the iron made at Norton-on-Tyne, J. Deby, late foreign secretary of the J. I. and S. Inst., says:t “It went to the armour plates of Sheffield on account of the toughness which this iron not only possesses but imparts to others in admixture.” Mr. Bowron, al- luding to the same iron, states that “it commanded double the price of ordinary iron.” + Such expressions as “wonderfully good ” are found in the scientific press in England, relating to this titanic iron. It is

n

Titanium in B. Furnace, Vol. xii. No. 4. + Joyrnal I. & S. Inst., 2, p. 19, 1877. + Bowron paper.

182 3 Quebec.

not our intention in this article to examine the causes of this super- iority. In a general manner we may say that if it is due to the presence of titanium in the pig metal, very small quantities of this substance are then sufficient to secure such results. In our blast- furnace tests we have not been able to obtain more than a few hun- dredths to one tenth of one per cent of titanium. It is met in quantities varying from 0-2 to 1 per cent in many pigs here and in England, to which it seems to impart a “greater tenacity.”* The higher the grade of the iron the more titanium it is likely to contain. On the other hand, titanic pig made from ores from St. Urbain, Canada, containing as much as 41 to 48 per cent of titanic acid, smelted by the Forbes treatment under low temperature and pressure of blast, contained only traces—0-03 to 0:05, exceptionally 0-26 titanium—and still the qualities of the pig metal and iron were “exceptionally good ” (analyses made at the Paris School of Mines).

But, if but comparatively very small amounts of titanium and silicon are found in the pig metal from a cold furnace, the percentage of carbon, mostly in the combined state, is often very high. Analysis of the metal from our small coke furnace of 1893 gave :—

Silicon new cursus 0°36 traces to 0°16 Titanium None 0°07 Comb. carbon 2°835 2°99 Graphitic carbon ..., 0° 253 0°24

Even the salamander contained only Si, 1:05; Ti, 0-054. The metal, though ‘ white,” has not the ordinary characters of white iron. Its grain is generally very close and fine, its fracture more steel-like in colour and appearance and it is remarkably tough and hard. Under special conditions we have obtained pig metal containing :—

Silicon. 0°29 0°62 and even 0'84 Titanium .. 0°85 0°78 1°94 Manganese 0°34 co. Carbon 4°56 4°12

sledge hammer. It blunted the hardest drills and we had difficulty in obtaining samples for analysis.

Having been called upon by a large manufacturing firm to make tests on the chill, strength and resistance of mixtures of cast iron into which entered small percentages of different metallic elements, we had occasion to test, on the machine, our white cast iron obtained from titaniferous ores. Square bars of 1 inch section and 12 inches long between supports, broke under a load at the centre of 2700 to 2900

Rivat Decimasié, p. 156.

anus. THE SMELTING OF TITANIFEROUS IRON ORES. 183 J

pounds, which corresponds to a modulus of rupture, in cross breaking, of 48,600 to 52,200 pounds per square inch.

Cast in chilled molds, this iron offered a remarkable depth of chill on the test blocks. It had become so hard that drills or chisels of the hardest steel would not touch it. Its resistance to attrition was exceptional. For many obvious applications these properties would open a very extensive use for this iron as pig metal. Pieces of machinery requiring special hardness were cast from this material and were sub- jected to particularly hard and trying conditions of wear. They have been found, after a year’s service, in good order yet.

By mixing with irons showing a breaking load of 3350 pounds per square inch and a chill on the test pieces of 1°125 inches small per- centages of this titanic pig metal, we increased the resistance to break- ing to 3900 pounds and more, corresponding to a modulus of 70,000 pounds per square inch. The depth of the chill was increased to 1-375 inches. It compared favourably for resistance with other mix- tures into which entered certain metallic elements, mixtures much more costly, and with which the chill dropped to 0-81 inch, and in some cases to 0-062 inch, making them unfit for the purposes for which they were intended, strong though they were. Hence the simple addition of this titanic pig metal, not more expensive, practically, than any other cast iron, to ordinary mixtures used for specific purposes, though increasing the hardness ani the chill of the product in a remarkable manner, considerably increased also its resistance to cross breaking, bringing it to equal the strength obtained by much more expensive mixtures of which the cost would industrially exclude the use, and which, to all purposes, destroys the chill, an essential factor in the case considered. Industrial products were manufactured from these titanic metal mixtures to be submitted to the regular tests for strength, which they stood with very satisfactory results. The experi- ments were repeated many times and under different conditions. They dealt with a number of different mixtures, but they are of a more private character, and what we have quoted from them is sufticent, we believe, for the purpose of this present article.

Referring again to the two papers mentioned above for qualities of the iron and steel obtained from this pig metal, we see that either as such, or as a transformed product, the metal obtained from titanifer- ous ores could command numerous and important applications owing to its special qualities.

184 3 Quebec.

Conclusion.

In conclusion we may repeat what Wm. B. Phillips said in the dj cussion of our Montreal paper: “ The verdict against titaniferous o# has been based on insufficient ground.”

1. As anybody who may desire to make the experiment can veril titanic acid can form definite compounds, perfectly fusible, if propes fluxed, containing as much as 35 to 40 to 50 per cent of titanic ac with alumina, lime and magnesia as bases, and admissible as slags blast furnace work. Larger percentages still, such as 65 per cent enter into a compound, and it remains fusible. The objections to smelting of titaniferous ores on account of the refractory charactey the slags are not sustained by our practice, or that of others, or direct experiments on the properties of these compounds.

2. In running a furnace under special conditions cf temperature pressure of blast, no trouble has been experienced from titanium: posits. We never observed any in our blast furnace tests, and are mentioned by Dr. Forbes in his practice in England and Nor

3. If these special conditions of the lower heat, considered favourable in smelting these ores, are held to imply against the waste of fuel, it is a question whether this is not offset by the sm amount of cinder to melt, the lesser quantity of fluxes necessary their indirect effect on the productive capacity of the furnace, as as the greater value of the pig metal obtained for specific and nu ous applications. This is without taking into account the possi of not submitting to it by a rapid driving and forcing the produc conditions which, to judge from our tests, could be easily realized these ores.

The most economical results are obtained by the introducti magnesia to an important extent into the composition of the slag, alumina and lime. Many objections raised against the use of ores have proved, when practically examined, of as little value as brought forward against the use of magnesia in a blast furnace.

We have tried in the above to present the facts as we have o them, and to state, as near as possible, the conditions in whic have conducted our experiments. We hope that enough has accomplished to induce others to help us in our efforts to rehabi a class of ore, Bessemer in character, which could furnish to the lurgists materials of excellent quality, and available in many dis where others prove costly.

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T aivig "J tavd “IIIA OA . “VUYNYQ 40 AHAHAG T¥OINOTORL)

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA G. M. DAWSON, C.M.G., LLD. F.R.S., Drrecror

ee oe

Report

On Explorations In The

Labrador Peninsula

Along The

East Main, Koksoak, Hamilton, Manicuagan

And

Portions Of Other Rivers

1892-93-94-95

By

A. P. LOW, B. Ap. Sc.

OTTAWA PRINTED BY S. E. DAWSON, PRINTER TO THE QUEEN’S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY

To GeorGx M. Dawson, C.M.G., LL.D., F.R.S., Director Geological Survey of Canada.

S1z,—I have the honour to submit herewith a report of my work in the Labrador Peninsula during the seasons 1892, 1893, 1894 and 1895.

I have the hongur to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, A. P. LOW.

NoTe.—All bearings mentioned in this Report refer to the true North. The magnetic variation at the mouth of the East Main River is 17° west and increases as the river is ascended till at Lake Nichicun it is nearly 30° west. From Nichicun to Fort Chimo the variation increases gradually to 45° west at the latter place. At the mouth of the Hamilton River the variation is 38° west, and along the river it ranges between 30° and 38° west, while along the Romaine River it is

about 30° west, and at Lake Mistassini about 20° west.

Report

On

Explorations In The Labrador Peninsula

Along The

EAST MAIN, KOKSOAK, HAMILTON,.MANICUAGAN AND PORTIONS OF OTHER RIVERS.

Introductory.

The present report is based mainly upon the observations made along Sources of

the routes of exploration followed during the seasons of 1892, 1893, information. 1894 and 1895. The knowledge so gained has been supplemented by information obtained from officers and servants of the Hudson’s Bay Company, Indians, and other persons acquainted with the Labrador Peninsula. Free use has also been made, in regard to certain subjects, of the information to be found in the writings of Mr. Lucius M. Turner,* Dr. A. S. Packard,f and Mr. W. A. Stearns,f who have all spent some time on the southern and eastern coasts and there collected much valuable information relating to the history, physical geography and natural history of those regions. Observations on the natural resources of the peninsula made by officers of the Geological Survey in former explorations, have also, when necessary, been incorpor- ated in the text ; a list of these explorations is given at the end of the historical notes.

Acknowledgments are due to Mr. C. C. Chipman, Commissioner of Acknowledg-

the Hudson’s Bay Company, and to Mr. Peter McKenzie, for circular ? ment of assist-

letters to the various officers in charge of posts along the routes tras velled, and to the following gentlemen in charge of these pos‘s: Messrs. J. Broughton, D. Mathewson, Wm. Scott, C. Sinclair, J. A. Wilson, A. Nicholson, H. M. 8S. Cotter, John Ford, J. Fraser, J. Gordon, W. Miller, J. Iserhoff and J. Corson, for their generous hospitality, valuable information and efficient aid, to which the success of the explorations has been Jargely due.

List of birds of Ungava, Proc. U. S. Nat. Museum, VIII., Ethnology of Ungava, Annual Report U.S. Bureau of Ethnelegy, 1889-90, + The Labrador Coast, New York, 1891. + Labrador, Boston, 188

Work of assistants.

Previous reports.

Route fol- lowed in 1892,

Route fol- lowed in 1893 and 1894.

6 L Labrador Peninsula.

During the season of 1892, Mr. A. H. D. Ross, M.A., acted as my assistant and besides carrying out other varied duties, made a large

collection of plants, which added greatly to the botanical knowledge

of the eastern watershed. The names of these plants have been in- cluded in the list given in an appendix. In 1893, 1894, and 1895, Mr. D. I. V. Eaton, C.E., acted as assistant and topographer, and it is entirely to his careful work that the exact surveys of these years are due. Mr. Eaton, since his return to Ottawa, has also compiled the map which accompanies this report.

Itineraries of the various journeys made in the course of these explorations have been printed in the Summary Reports of the Geo logical Survey Department for 1892, 1894, and 1895, and only a brief outline of the routes followed need in consequence be given here.

In 1892, the routes traversed were from Lake St. John, up the Chamouchouan River to its head, thence north-east through three large lakes to Lake Mistassini. From that lake the east channel of the Rupert River was descended some fifty miles, toa portage-route cross- ing through small lakes to the East Main River fifty miles northward. This stream was carefully surveyed downward for three hundred miles to its mouth on the east side of James Bay. James Bay was crossed to Moose River, and that stream ascended to its head, where the Cana- dian Pacific Railway was reached, making in all a canoe trip of over thirteen hundred miles. In 1893 and 1894, the party remained in the field during the winter. A start was again made from Lake St. John, and the chief branch of the Chamouchouan River was ascended to its head near Lake Mistas:ini. The same route as that followed the previous year, was taken to the East Main River, where the survey was commenced at the end of that year’s work, and carried upward to the head of the river, where a crossing was made to the upper waters of the Big River, and that stream was descended to Lake Nichicun. A portage-route was then followed to Lake Kaniapiskau, and the Koksoak River, which flows out of it, was descended to its mouth at Ungava Bay. In this manner a canoe trip through the centre of the Labrador Peninsula from south to north was accom- plished. From Fort Chimo, the Hudson’s Bay Company’s steamship “Eric” was taken to Rigolet on Hamilton Inlet. From Rigolet, canoes were taken to Northwest River, at the head of the inlet, where the early winter was passed. From the 19th January to the middle of May, the whole time was employed in hauling the outfit, canoes and provisions on sleds up the Hamilton River as far as the Grand Falls, some two hundred and fifty miles above the mouth of the river. The months of June and July were occupied in the

ice. PREVIOUS DISCOYERIES AND EXPLORATIONS. 7L exploration of the Ashuanipi branch of the Hamilton River to within a hundred miles of Lake Kaniapiskau, and with the exploration of Lake Michikamau. In August a start was made for the coast by as- cending the Attikonak branch of the Hamilton River to its head, and thence crossing to the Romaine River. This stream was descended to within one hundred miles of the coast, whence a portage-route was fol- lowed to the St. John River, and by way of this river the Gulf of St. Lawrence was reached. The total mileage of travel for 1893-94 was 5460 miles, made up as follows :—In canoe, 2960 miles ; on vessel, 1000 miles ; with dog-teams, 500 miles ; and on foot, 1000 miles.

The summer of 1895 was spent in exploring the Manicuagan River, Route fol- flowing southward into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which it enters about !owed in 1896. 240 miles below Quebec. This stream was geologically explored to the head of Mouchalagan Lake, where the surveys pre- viously made by the Crown Lands Department of Quebec ended. above this lake the main stream was surveyed, by micrometer, to its head in Summit Lake in latitude 53° N., and track-surveys were carried over portage-routes on various branches of this river and the head-waters of the Outardes River and of the Big River of Hudson Bay. In so doing a good idea was obtained of the country about the central watershed of the peninsula, as well as considerable additional. information in regard to the geology and natural history of-the region.

The subject matter of this report is separated into two parts.—The Arrangement first contains a general summary of the observations made, and the con- matter. clusions reached from these. It is consequently more concise and read- able than the other part, which consists of detailed descriptions of the routes, the rocks noted, and other observations for the use of future explorers in the regions traversed. In the part relating to the geology,

a summary of the chief observations and deductions is given in con-

nection with each formation, before the detailed observations are entered upon.

In the Appendices will be found lists and short notes on the mam- mals, birds, fishes and insects known to exist in the interior of the peninsula ; also a complete list of plants of Labrador, compiled by Mr. J. M. Macoun, from the various collections made by members of the staff of the Geological Survey and others. A meteorological record for 1893-94 is also given in Appendix VII.

Appendices.

Previous Discoveries and Explorations.

The first European authentically known to have visited the eastern p:. no shores of America was Biarne, the Norseman, who, in 990, sailed

Leif.

Latest Norse voyages.

Szkolney.

Basque fisher- men.

John Cabot.

8 L Labrador Peninsula.

south-east from Greenland, and skirting the shores of Labrador and Newfoundland, proceeded southward probably as far as Nova Scotia

In 1000, Leif, the son of Eric the Red, the first settler in Green- land, followed Biarne’s track and landed on the coast of Labrador, which, from its desolate rocky coast, he called Helluland, “‘ Strong Land.”

Following Lief came several expeditions of these hardy Norge navi- gators, who-passed southward to “ Vineland the good.” The latest Norse voyage was in 1347, after which date knowledge of the Ameïi- can continent was lost for nearly one hundred and fifty years.

According to Humboldt, Szkolney, a Pole, is said to have made a voyage to Greenland and Labrador in 1476.

About this time, or shortly afterwards, the Basque fishermen, in search of whales, crossed the Atlantic to the shores of Labrador and Newfoundland, and appear to have been met there by the Cabots and Cortereal.

In 1497, John Cabot from Bristol, in search of a western passage to Cathay, sighted the coast of Labrador or Newfoundland. In the

following year, his son, Sebastien Cabot, sailed from England and

Cortereal.

Brest.

St. Lawrence.

Labrador.

Jacques Cartier.

skirted the whole Labrador coast to beyond Cape Chidley, where he turned southward past Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and New England in hope of finding a passage to the eastward.

Cortereal, who sailed from Lisbon in 1500, reached Newfoundland, proceeded thence northward, and probably re-discovered Greenland.

In 1504, the town of Brest was founded by the Frenchon Bradore Bay, near the Strait of Belle Isle. In 1517, fifty vessels called here, and in the height of its prosperity, about 1600, Brest contained two hundred houses and a population of about 1000 persons.

Denis, of Honfleur, and Aubert, of Dieppe, are said to have explored the St. Lawrence as far as the Saguenay in 1505 and 1508.

A Portuguese map of 1520, has the name “ Lavrador ” applied to Greenland, while the unseparated coasts of Labrador and Newfound- land are called ‘ Bacalhaos” or codfish in the Basque tongue. The name Labrador is derived from the Portuguese word for labourer, and was given to the coast because Cortereal brought home a cargo of natives as slaves.

In 1535, Jacques Cartier explored the Gulf and River St. Lawrence as far as Hochelaga, and wintered at Quebec. The Saguenay River was examined by Roberval in 1543.

a

Lom. PREVIOUS DISCOVERIES AND EXPLORATIONS. 9 L

Mercator’s map of 1569, shows the coast of Labrador and Ungava Mercator's Bay, or Hudson Bay; and as his information was obtained from” Portuguese sources, it is evident that the fishermen of that country had previously pénetrated Hudson Strait.

In 1577, Martin Frobisher sighted the northern coast of Labrador, Martin in about latitude 58°, and thence sailed northward a short distance Frobisher. into Hudson Strait.

The cod fishery of Labrador and Newfoundland had grown so rapidly Fisheries. that in 1578, 150 French, besides 200 vessels of other nations, were engaged in this industry, together with thirty Biscayan whalers.

In 1586, John Davis passed along the Labrador coast and dis- John Davis. covered two openings, Davis Inlet, in latitude 56° N. and Ivutoke (Hamilton) Inlet in latitude 54° 30° N.

Hudson Strait was penetrated to Ungava Bay, or Hope’s Advance, Weymouth. by Weymouth in 1602.

In 1603, Champlain established the first permanent settlement on Champlain. the St. Lawrence, at Quebec, a small trading post having been built in 1600 at Tadoussac.

Henry Hudson, in 1610, passed through the straits and wintered Henry in the southern part of the bay which bears his name. The following "7 spring he was cast adrift, off the east coast, by his mutinous crew.

In the following year, a ship was sent to his rescue under command Sir Thomas of Sir Thomas Button, who entered Hudson Strait by a narrow chan- Button. nel south of Cape Chidley, crossed the bay, and wintered at the mouth af the Nelson River.

About the year 1630, the town of Brest and four leagues of coast Eskimo ex- on each side was granted to a noble named Courtemanche, who had pelled from married a daughter of Henry IV.; and the Eskimo, who had given St. Lawrence. the French much trouble, were expelled from the Gulf shores about

the same time.

The quest of the north-west passage brought out James and Fox, in James and 1631, to Hudson Bay, where James wintered on Charleton Island. Fox.

In 1641, the missionary, Jean de Quen, ascended the Saguenay and discovered Lake St. John.

The Sovereign Council of Quebec, in 1656, authorized Jean Bourdon Jean Bour- to make discoveries in Hudson Bay. He proceeded there, took pos- 4 session in the name of the French King, and made treaties of alliance with the Indians.

In 1658, a lease of exclusive trading, hunting and fishing privileges Le Traité de was given by the King of France to Sieur Demaure. This lease Tadoussac.

Père Dablon.

Sieur de la Couture.

A

Radisson and Chouart.

Hudson’s Bay Company.

10 L Labrador Peninsula.

was called ‘‘Le Traité de Tadoussac,” and the territory to which it applied was called the King’s Domain. It extended along the St, Lawrence from Isle aux Coudres to a point two leagues below Seren Islands, and included the country northward to the heads of the rivers draining into the St. Lawrence. The trading stations established in this territory were called “ Postes du Roi,” or King’s Posts. The lease passed to the ‘ Compagnie des Postes du Roi,” and was renewed every twenty-one years. After the cession of Canada, the lease was con- tinued in the same manner by the English government. When it was renewed by the Hudson’s Bay Company, in June, 1842, for another term of twenty-one years, the Crown reserved the right to subdivide the country into townships for purposes of settlement. The Hudson's Bay Company’s lease was ended by limitation in 1859.

In 1661, Pére Dablon, a Jesuit, and Sieur de Valli¢re were ordered by d’Argenson, at that time Governor of Canada, to proceed to the country about Hudson Bay. They went there apparently by way of the Saguenay and Rupert rivers. Subsequently, the French company, in their dispute with the Hudson’s Bay Company, claimed that they had at that time erected a small post at the mouth of the Rupert River for trade with the Indians, who had asked at Quebec that a missionary and traders be sent among them.

In 1663, the Indians from about Hudson Bay again returned to Quebec to renew their former request for traders, and Sieur de la Couture, with five men, proceeded overland to the bay, took posses- sion in the King’s name, noted the latitude, planted a cross and deposited His Majesty’s arms, engraved on copper, at the foot of a large tree. In the same year, Sieur Duquet and Jean L’Anglois also visited the bay, and set up the King’s arms by orders of d’Argenson.

In 1667, Radisson and Chouart dit Groseilliers ascended to Lake Superior, and thence crossed to Hudson Bay. They returned to Quebec. and proposed to the merchants to conduct ships to Hudson Bay, but, their proposal being rejected, they went to Paris, where they met with no better success. From Paris they were sent by the British ambassa- dor to London, where their proposal was well received by certain mer- chants. In 1668, a small vessel was fitted out under command of Zachray Gilham, who, accompanied by the two Frenchmen, sailed to the southern part of the bay, and wintered in a small building called Fort Charles, at the mouth of the Nemiskaw, or Rupert River.

In 1669, on the return of Gilham to London, Prince Rupert and others applied to King Charles II. for a charter, which was granted them under the title of the ‘Governor and Company of Adventurers Trading from England to Hudson’s Bay.”

Low. PREVIOUS DISCOVERIES AND EXPLORATIONS. 11 L

In the following year, the company sent out Chas. Bayly to estab- First settle- lish a post at Rupert River. He was accompanied by Chouart and Foden Bay. Radisson, and remained in the country, thus inaugarating the first

permanent English settlement on Hudson Bay.

In 1674, Charles Albanel, a Jesuit missionary, arrived at the Eng- Pére Albanel.

lish settlement with letters from the Governor of Quebec, who had despatched him in 1672, overland from Quebec, to see what the Eng- lish were doing on the bay. The route followed by Albanel was up the Saguenay River to Lake St. John, thence by the Chamouchouan River to the height-of-land and Lake Mistassini, and down the Rupert River to its mouth. An account of his trip is given in the Relations of the Jesuits, and is the first description of this portion of the country.

In 1675, outposts were established at Moose and Albany, and a Establish- depot on Charleton Island, where the ship from England discharged mean her cargo and took on board the furs from the various posts, brought

there in sloops.

By 1685, the company had forts at Albany, Moose, Rupert, Nelson and Severn ; also a small post on the East Main, or ‘ Isdn-glass River,”

where a mica mine was worked, but was soon abandoned as unpro- fitable.

In March, 1686, the directors of the French Company, on represen- Warfare be-

tation of the harm done to their trade by the English on the bay, ina Eugich obtained from M. de Denonville a body of Canadian and regular troops, at Hudson under the command of M. de Troye. They were sent overland, "7. reaching Hudson Bay in June, and captured Forts Rupert, Moose and Albany. This was the beginning of a desultory warfare, carried on with varying success, between the French and English for a number of years, until the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697. The seventh'clause of the treaty restored to each belligerent the possessions held previous to this war. The eighth clause appointed commissioners to examine and determine the rights of either of the kings to places in Hudson Bay ; ‘but the possession of those places which were taken by the French during the peace that preceded the present one, shall be left to the French by virtue of the foregoing article.” In consequence, the only post left to the Hudson’s Bay Company was the fort at Albany.

In 1700, the Hudson’s Bay Company addressed a communication to Boundary the Lords of Trade in reference to their boundaries. They proposed Hudson Bay the Albany River, or the 53rd parallel of north latitude, as the Company. boundary on the west coast of the bay, and the Rupert River as the

boundary on the east coast. The French were ready to accept the

Treaty of Utrecht.

Boundary claimed by Hudson’s Bay Company.

Delisle’s map.

12 L - Labrador Peninsula.

55th parallel of north latitude, but this the company refused to agree to. In answer to the Lords of Trade, in 1701, the company made the further offer as to the limits between themselves and the French :— ‘©2. That the French be limited not to trade by wood-runners or otherwise, nor build any house, factory or fort, to the northward of Hudson’s River, on the east main or coast.”

Matters remained unsettled until the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, when the French ceded all their rights to Hudson Bay to the English.

In 1712, the company in a memorial to the Lords of Trade, and later in 1714, proposed for a settlement of the boundary between their territory and the French, ‘“ That the said limits begin from the island called Grimmington’s Island or Cape Perdrix (Cape Mugford) in the latitude of 584 degrees north, which they desire may be the boundary between the English and the French on the coast of Labrador, towards Rupert’s Land on the east main, and Nova Britan- nia on the French side.”—‘ That a line supposed to pass to the south- westward of the said island of Grimmington or Cape Perdrix to the great Lake Miskosinke at Mistoveny, dividing the same into two parts as in the map now delivered ”—‘“ and from the said lake to run south- ward unto 49 degrees north latitude.”

The map made by Delisle in 1703, shows the knowledge possessed by the French at the time of the Treaty of Utrecht of the interior of the Labrador Peninsula. On it is marked Lake Mistassini, dis- charging into James Bay, and also into Lake St. John. Piletipi,

" Manicuagan and Nichicun lakes are in their respective places, but the

last is made to drain through Lake Pletipi into the Outardes River. At the head of the Peribonka River, there is a large lake named Ov- takouami, which discharges also into the East Main River, anda large stream flowing northward with the following note :—“R. que les sauvages disent tomber dans la mer du nord après 60 lieues de cours ;” and the bay is shown in part near latitude 55°, with a break between it and “ Bay du Sud” (Ungava), which extends southward between latitudes 61° and 57°. Hamilton Inlet is marked by a long narrow bay, without any large rivers at its head. The country north- ward of the East Main River and the eastern part of the southern watershed appear to have been unknown. Indefinite and rough as the topography of this map is, still it is greatly in advance of the Eng- lish maps published about this time, which show only Lake Mistassini and the Rupert and East Main rivers in the interior of the Labrador Peninsula.

ww PREVIOUS DISCOVERIES AND EXPLORATIONS. 13 L

From the Treaty of Utrecht until after the cession of Canada, Hudson's Bay the Hudson’s Bay Company appears to have confined its trade and ombany: investigations on the east side of the bay wholly to the coast. In 1732, a small post was re-established at the mouth of the East Main River, which was shortly afterwards made the headquarters of the east coast, and continued as such until after 1820, when two districts were established on this side of the bay, with headquarters at Rupert and Great Whale rivers. About the time of the re-establishment of East Main, a post was opened on Richmond Gulf for trade with

the Eskimo, but was soon abandoned, after two massacres by the natives,

An ordinance respecting the limits of the King’s Domain, issued Trading posts at Quebec in 1733, makes mention of the posts of Tadoussac, Chekou- in the King's timy, Lac St. Jean, Nikaubau, Mistassinoe, Papinachois, Naskapis,

River Moisie and Seven Islands, showing that the lessees were well established throughout that territory. No records are obtainable of the other districts, seigniories, and fur leases granted at Quebec, but the above may be taken as an example of the manner in which the French traders had penetrated and established posts throughout the interior of the Indian country, many years previous to the English occu- pation of Canada. The traders and ‘coureurs des bois” must have travelled far into the interior of the Labrador Peninsula, where they lived the greater part of the time with and like the Indians, only re- turning to Quebec for a short time every two ,or three years. Much of the information obtained by these men was never recorded and is

consequently lost, while the little that was written is very difficult of access.

In 1732, Joseph Normandin was sent by the governor to explore Joseph Nor- and survey the region about Lake St. John. He ascended the mandin. Chamouchouan River to Lake Nikaubau, and mentions Peltier post

as well as one on Ashouapmouchouan Lake, which was first established in 1690.

Shortly after the conquest of Canada, the North-west Company was North-west formed, and appears to have acquired, among others, the lease of the Company. ‘King’s Domain.” Under its vigorous management, the fur trade in the North-west and Canada rapidly increased, and this company soon became antagonistic to the Hudson’s Bay Company, which now began the establishment.of inland posts. The first of these, inland on the east side of Hudson Bay, probably dates from this period ; it was situated on the East Main River, about three hundred miles above its Post inland on

mouth, at Birch Point, where a portage-route leads southward to Lake the East Main

14 L Labrador Peninsula.

Mietassini. Subsequently, and before the amalgamation of the Hud son’s Bay and North-west companies, this post was removed to the outlet of Lake Mistassini, and again to its present position on the south- west bay, where the North-west Company also had a post on a long narrow point, a few miles to the southward. This appears to have been the only inland post of the Hudson’s Bay Company established in Labrador prior to the amalgamation of the companies in 1821.

Labrador Shortly after the conquest of Canada, the town of Brest, and one

Company. hundred and fifty miles of the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the westward of that place, was granted to the Labrador Company

/ of Quebec, with exclusive rights to the fisheries and fur trade. In

this manner the entire north shore of the gulf was closed to private enterprise, and long remained so, as the coast to the westward of the Labrador Company’s concessions was held by the seigniors of Mingan, whose grant extended to the eastern limit of the King’s Domain.

Labrador, on In 1763, the southern and eastern coasts of Labrador were placed

‘urisdiction of Under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Newfoundland ; and the

Newfound: eastern and northern boundaries of the province of Canada were defined by the St. John River to its head, and from there by a line drawn through Lake St. John to Lake Nipissing.

Moravian In 1770, the Moravian missionaries first settled among the Eskimo

Missionaries. 4) the Atlantic coast.

Major Cart- About the same time Major Cartwright made settlements at Cape

wright. Charles and Sandwich Bay, bringing with him a number of people from Dartmouth, for the salmon fisheries and trade with the Eskimo and Indians.

Labrador In 1773, the coast of Labrador was restored to the jurisdiction of

cae the Governor of Canada, on account of disputes between Newfound- land and the Labrador Company.

Hamilton In 1777, the first English entered Hamilton Inlet for purposes of

trade with the natives, and found there the remains of posts erected by the French prior to the secession. The first posts were established on the inlet, by a Quebec Company, in 1785.

André Mich. André Michaud the celebrated French botanist, in 1782 passed

aud. through Lake St, John and reached Lake Mistassini. He had intended to descend the Rupert River to James Bay, but was obliged to return from Lake Mistassini, on account of the lateness of the season.

Labrador In 1809, the eastern coast of Labrador was again attached to the

again attached Government of Newfoundland, but the area of coast was reduced, and

land. extended only from Anse Sablon northward to Hudson Strait.

we. PREVIOUS DISCOVERIES AND EXPLORATIONS. 15 L

In 1811, the Moravian missionaries Kollmeister and Kmoch, ex- Kollmeister plored the northern Atlantic Coast and Ungava Bay, and reported and Kmoch favourably on the climate and soil of the Jatter place.

The Labrador Company was dissolved in 1820, and that part of the Labrador Gulf shore previously under its control was thrown open to settlement Company. and private fisheries.

After the amalgamation of the Hudson’s Bay and North-west com- Explorations panies in 1821, the policy of the former appears to have changed ; and ang eal the country to the east of Hudson Bay was shortly after explored, posts being established throughout the interior of the peninsula.

In 1814, the Rev. Mr. Steinhaur published in the Transactions of the Rev. Mr. Geological Society a short description of the Atlantic coast, together S¢i™baur.

with notes on ‘the various rocks found about the Moravian mission stations.

Between 1821 and 1824, James Clouston was employed in exploring James Clous- the country east of Hudson Bay. There are no available notes or tons explor- records of his travels, and all that remains is a map on a small scale, showing the routes that he followed. These embrace the East Main River to the Tichagami Branch, a few miles beyond the old post of Birch Point, two portage-routes between the East Main and Rupert rivers, the Rupert River and Lake Mistassini, and the routes to Waswa- nipion the Nottaway River. The original map is at Great Whale

River post, where a tracing of it was made in 1888, which is now in the Geological Survey office.

In 1824, a party was fitted out at Moose Factory to proceed over- Establish- land to Ungava Bay and there establish a post; but it was not until ment of Fort three years later that this was accomplished by Dr. Mendry, who coasted along the east shore to Richmond Gulf, and then passed inland to Clearwater and Seal lakes, thus reaching the head-waters of the Larch Branch of the Koksoak River, which was descended to near its mouth, and Fort Chimo there first established. This trip is the basis of Ballantyne’s “ Ungava” a popular story for boys. A map made of the route by Dr. Mendry, is at present at Moose Factory, and a tracing of it is in the Geological Survey office ; the part between Clear- water Lake and the forks of the Larch River has been used, in the compilation of the map accompanying this report.

In 1824, the Governor of Newfoundland was empowered to institute a court of civil jurisdiction along the coast of Labrador.

Between 1827 and 1829, Admiral Bayfield made charts of the Admiral Bay- Atlantic and St. Lawrence coasts for the British Admiralty.

John McLean.

Discovery of the Grand Falls, Hamil- ton River.

Fort Nas- caupee.

Map of the interior of Labrador Peninsula.

List of trading

posts.

16 L , Labrador Peninsula.

In 1827, the first survey of Lake St. John was made for the Quebec Government by Larue.

In January and February of 1838, John McLean, then in charge at Fort Chimo, crossed overland to. Hamilton Inlet, where the Hud-ons Bay Company had established posts in 1837, passing on the way through Lake Michikamau. He retraced the route and reached Fort Chimo again on the 20th April. Thesame year a post was established at Erlandson’s Lake, which appears to have been situated on the headwaters of the Whale River. Another outpost was also established on the George River.

In 1839, McLean again started across to Hamilton Inlet with canoes, but reached only the Grand Falls of the Hamilton River, and thus had the honour of being the first white man to view this mighty cataract. Not having a knowledge of the portage-route past the falls, he was obliged to return without reaching his destination. In the following summer he was more successful, and reached Hamilton Inlet with canoes, as he also did in the two following years. An interesting account of McLean’s trips and also much information concerning the country, is given by him in his book entitled ‘“‘ Twenty-five years in the Hudson’s Bay Territory.”

In 1840, Fort Nascaupee was established on Lake Petitsikapau, drawing its supplies from Hamilton Inlet, and the post of Erlandson’s Lake was then abandoned. This was followed in 1853 by the tem- porary withdrawal of the Hudson’s Bay Company from Fort Chimo and other posts belonging to it.

Tn 1842, John Beads and John Spenser, at Nichicun and Lake Kaniapiskau, compiled a map of the region surrounding these place giving the .various branches and lakes of the rivers draining south- ward, westward and northward, from the central portion of the peninsula. This map was found at Nichicun in 1893, and is now in the Geological Survey office. It has been used largely in the compila- tion of the unsurveyed parts of the map accompanying this report.

In his evidence before the select committee of the House of Coin- mons on the Hudson Bay’s Company, 1857, Sir George Simpson made a return of the various posts and number of Indians attached to each, throughout the territories of the company. The following list shows the posts then situated in the Labrador Peninsula:—Chicoutimi, Tadoussac, Isle Jeremie, Godbout, Seven Islands, Mingan, Musquarro,. Natasquan, Northwest River, Rigolet, Kibokok, Great Whale River, Little Whale River, F:rt George and Rupert House; all lacated on the coast, and Mistassini, Temiskami, Waswanipi, Mechiskan, Pike

we. ] PREVIOUS DISCOVERIES AND EXPLORATIONS. 17 L

Lake, Lake St. John, Nichicun, Kaniapiskau and Fort Nascaupee in the interior.

In 1860, A. F. Blaiklock surveyed the Mistassini and Chamou- A. F. Blaik- chouan rivers flowing into Lake St. John. Since that date, under the 1°° direction of the Quebec Department of Crown Lands, all the principal AA A rivers of the southern watershed have been carefully surveyed to near partment. their sources ; and but little work remains to be done to complete the map of the rivers of this slope. The same year an expedition was sent by the United States Govern- United States ment, and a station was established on the Atlantic coast in latitude clipes ‘Stay 59° 54’, to observe a solar eclipse. In the report of the United States tion. Coast Survey, 1860, a short account of the voyage, with notes on the climate, together with a chart of Eclipse Harbour is given by Com- mander Alexander Murray ; and notes on the geology of the northern

coast of Labrador by Oscar M. Leiber.

In 1862, Henry Yule Hind ascended the Moisie River about 150 Henry Yule miles ; and wrote two volumes on his experiences and information Hind. gathered from Indians and other sources relating to the interior of Labrador. This book is still quoted as the standard authority on the Labrador Peninsula.

In 1860 and 1864, Dr. A. S. Packard visited the Atlantic coast, and 4 g. Packard. besides various earlier papers on the fauna and flora, published in 1891, a work entitled “On the Labrador Coast,” which deals very fully with the history and natural resources of the Atlantic coast, and is a valuable addition to the bibliography of Labrador.

In 1866, the Hudson’s Bay Company again established Fort Chimo, Fort Chimo and shortly afterwards opened posts at George and Whale rivers, ‘established. where extensive salmon and porpoise fisheries are still carried on, besides trade with the natives.

Between 1866 and 1870, Père Babel, O.M.I., travelled inland from Père Babel. Mingan, and lived with the Indians, exploring with them both branches of the Hamilton River, and the headwaters of many of the streams of the southern slope. A map made during his wanderings, is kept at the mission station of Betsiamites, and when consideration is taken of his imperfect instruments and other disadvantages, its accuracy is wonderful.

About 1875, the Roman Catholic missionaries visited and estab- Roman lished a mission for the Indians at Northwest River ; and during the Catholic es. two following summers, Père Lacasse crossed overland from that place to Fort Chimo, returning in the Hudson’s Bay Company’s vessel.

at

18 1 Labrador Peninsula.

Moravian In 1873, the Moravian missionaries published two maps of the

masionane®- Atlantic coast ; the northern sheet extending northward from latitude 57°, the southern sheet embracing the coast from Hopedale to Sand- wich Bay.

Abandonment With the establishment of posts on Ungava Bay, the Hudson’s Bay

eroding ‘posts, Company abandoned their interior posts on the Hamilton River, and at Lake Michikamau. Fort Nascaupee and Michikamau were closed in 1873, and the post at the head of Lake Winokapau in 1874. The closing of these posts now leaves only Nichicun, Mistassini and Waswanipi in the interior of the peninsula.

Jurisdiction In 1876, the extent of the jurisdiction of the Government of New-

of Newfound: foundland in Labrador, was defined in Letters Patent constituting the office of Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Island of New- foundland. ‘All the coast of Labrador, from the entrance of Hudson Straits to a line to be drawn due north and south from Anse Sablon on the said coast to the fifty-second degree of north latitude, and all the islands adjacent to that part of the said coast of Labrador.”

Hudson Strait In 1884 and 1885, the Dominion Government sent a vessel to Hud-

exploration. son Strait, to establish observation stations on both sides, in order to obtain reliable information concerning the amount and movements of the ice.

Rev. Mr. In 1885, the Rev. Mr. Peck, of the Church Mission Society, crossed Peck. from Richmond Gulf to Ungava Bay, following the route previously taken by Dr. Mendry.

Lucien M. During 1885 and 1886 Mr. L. M. Turner was engaged collecting Turner. birds and mammals, and doing other scientific work in the vicinity of Fort Chimo for the Smithsonian Institution at Washington.

R. F. Holmes. In 1887, Mr. R. F. Holmes attempted to reach the Grand Falls of the Hamilton River from its mouth, but, being handicapped with a heavy boat and a poor crew, reached only Lake Winokapau. He made an excellent map of the river to that point, and wrote an account of his trip, which appeared in the Transactions of the Royal Geographical Society.

Expeditions In 1891, two separate expeditions from the United States ascended

up ie familton the Hamilton River, and visited the Grand Falls within a few days of

each other. Messrs. Austin Cary and D. M.Cole* who were the first to reach the falls, had the misfortune to burn their boat and outfit, and were obliged to tramp to the mouth of the river, two hundred and

Bulletin American Geog. Soc., vol. xxiv., p. 1.

tow. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 19 z

fifty miles distant from where the mishap took place. This they very pluckily accomplished, passing unseen Messrs. Henry G. Bryant and C. A. Kenaston, who were on their way up the river at the time.

The following is a list of the reports relating to the Labrador Pen- insula published by the Geological Survey of Canada, from explorations made by members of the staff :—

Report, 1853-56. —On the Island of Anticosti, and the Mingan Islands.—J. Richard-

son Report, 1 857.—On of the Gaspé Peninsula from Magdalen River to Gaspé: Bay, and on Lake St. John.—J. Richardson.

the Fauna of portions of the Lower St. Lawrence, the Saguenay, Lake St. John, etc.—R. Bell.

Report, 1866-69.—On the north shore of the Lower St. Lawrence. —J. Richardson.

Report, 1870-71.—On the geology of the country north of Lake St. John.—J. Richardson.

Report, 1871-72. Ont exploration of Country between Lake St. John and Lake Mistassini—W. McOua

Re 1877-78. Report on an Exploration of the East Coast of Hudson Bay.— R Bel.

to the. west of it.—R. SP 1 -84. —Observations on the Coast of Labrador and on Hudson Strait an y-— Report, 1885.—Report of the Mistassini Expedition.—A. P. Low — Observations on the Geology, Zoology and Botany of Hudson Strait and Bay.—R. Bell. Report, 1887-88.—Report on Explorations in James Bay and the Country east of Hudson Bay, drained by the Big, Great Whale and Clearwater Rivers.—A Low.

Report, 1879-80. Report on Hudson Bay and some of the Lakes and Rivers lying

Physical Geography.

xpiorations the staff of the Geological

Survey.

The eastern coast of the Labrador Peninsula extends north-north- Boundaries of

the Labrador

west, from the Strait of Belle Isle to Cape Chidley, a distance of Peninsula.

about seven hundred miles, or from latitude 52° to latitude 60° 30’, fronting the North Atlantic. The northern boundary from Cape Chidley to Cape Wolstenholme, at the entrance of Hudson Bay, in a straight line, is nearly five hundred miles long, and runs about west-north-west in direction, forming the southern shore of Hudson Strait including Ungava Bay. A line drawn from Cape Wolsten- holme to the bottom of James Bay, runs nearly north-and-south for eight hundred miles, and corresponds closely to the eastern shore-line of the peninsula. The southern boundary is arbitrary but has been taken as a straight line extending in a direction nearly east from the south end of James Bay near latitude 51°, to the Gulf of St. Lawrence near Seven Islands in latitude 50°. This line is nearly six hundred miles long, and passes close to the south end of Lake Mistassini. From where the line reaches the Gulf coast, in the neighbourhood of Seven Islands, the shore-line forms the southern boundary to the Strait of Belle Isle, with a length of somewhat over five hundred miles.

A Journey to the Grand Falls of Labrador, Geog. Club, Philadelphia.

Extent.

Atlantic Coast.

Formation of ords.

Northern coasts.

20 L Labrador Peninsula.

The total area embraced within these boundaries is approximately 511,000 square miles, of which, previous to the present explorations, 289,000 square miles were practically unknown. There still remains about 120,000 square miles of the northern portion of the peninsula, between Hudson and Ungava bays, totally unknown to anyone except the wandering bands of Eskimo who occasionally penetrate inland from the coast.

The Atlantic coast is exceedingly irregular, being deeply cut by many long narrow bays, or fiords, so that the coast-line exceeds many times the direct distance from Belle Isle to Cape Chidley. Hamilton Inlet is the largest and longest of these inlets, extending inland over one hundred and fifty miles from its mouth. Among others, Sandwich, Kaipokok, Saglek and Nachvak bays are from thirty to fifty miles deep. These narrow fiords are surrounded by rocky hills that rise abruptly from the water to heights ranging from 1000 feet to 4000 feet. The water of the inlets is generally deep and varies from ten to one hun- dred fathoms. A fringe of small rocky islands extends almost contin- uously along the coast, with a breadth of from five to twenty-five miles. Outside the islands, the inner banks extend seaward for an average distance of about fifteen miles, and on them the water is rarely over forty fathoms deep. From this it will be seen that the fiords, as a rule, have greater depths than the banks outside the island fringe.

To account for such an apparent anomaly, it is necessary to consider the formation of both the fiords and banks. The fiords appear to be valleys of denudation of very ancient origin, eroded, at least in part, when the elevation of the peninsula was considerably greater (at least 600 feet) than at present. Their remote antiquity is established by the deposition in their lower levels of undisturbed sandstones of Cam- brian age. The banks are likely of comparatively recent formation, and appear to be made from material carried off the higher lands by glaciers and deposited by them as a terminal moraine among and outside the fringe of islands, to be subsequently flattened out by floating ice and currents, thus filling up the deep channels at the mouths of the fiords.

The coast adjacent to Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay has not been examined closely, but enough is known for us to state that it is generally bold, with highlands rising immediately from it. Small rocky islands form a narrow fringe in many places, especially about Ungava Bay, and the coast is indented with small bays, but not to such an extent as the Atlantic coast.

we. ] PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 21 L

Hope’s Advance is a western extension of Ungava Bay, as yet un- Dangerous explored. The navigation of Ungava Bay and Hudson Strait is currents. rendered dangerous to sailing craft by the strong currents and exceed- ingly high tides, the latter having a mean rise in Ungava Bay of nearly forty feet, and at exceptional spring-tides they have been known to rise sixty feet.

From Cape Wolstenholme to near Cape Jones, at the entrance to Coast of James Bay, the eastern coast-line of Hudson Bay is high and rocky, Hudson Bay. The coast between the entrance to Hudson Strait and Cape Dufferin,

a distance of nearly three hundred miles, has not yet been continuously explored. Mosquito Bay is situated along this part of the coast, and was formerly supposed to connect with Hope’s Advance. Such has since proved not to be the case, and Mosquito Bay has been found to extend inland not more than seventy-five miles. Between this bay and Cape Dufferin, there is a fringe of islands stretching out from ten to twenty miles from the mainland. To the southward of Cape Dufferin, the coast-line remains high, and an almost continuous line of high islands of Cambrian rocks forms a safe channel for small boats, as far south as Great Whale River. This channel varies from two to eight miles in width. South of Great Whale River, to within a short distance of Cape Jones, the coast is unprotected and bold.

The eastern shore-line of James Bay is generally low, and the waters of the bay are very shallow and dotted far out with rocky islands and bouldery reefs, between which there is a perfect labyrinth of channels, navigable with smallcraft, but dangerous to approach with large vessels.

The north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in many places, has a Gulf of St. more or less wide interval of low land, between the shore and the rocky Lawrence plateau behind. From Seven Islands to Natashquan Point, the shore is comparatively regular and the islands few in number. To the east- ward of Natashquan, as far as the Strait of Belle Isle, the coast is greatly indented by small bays and coves, and islands are numerous, especially between Cape Whittle and Blanc Sablon.

The peninsula of Labrador is a high, rolling plateau, which rises General eleva- somewhat abruptly, within a few miles of the coast-line, to heights tion and con: between 1500 and 2500 feet, the latter elevation being somewhat greater than the watershed of the interior. The interior country is undulating, and is traversed by ridges of low rounded hills, that sel- dom rise more than 500 feet above the general surrounding level.

From the barometer readings, taken during the season of 1894, in con- junction with stationary barometers at Hamilton Inlet and Anticosti, the general level of the interior plateau, about the Upper Hamilton

Gradual slope towards James Bay.

Highlands of the St. Lawrence.

Atlantic high- lands.

22 L Labrador Peninsula.

River and Lake Michikamau, near the central watershed, varies from 1600 feet to 1800 feet, and this may be taken as the general height of much of the interior of the peninsula. The highest part of the main interior mass is near the high granite area between the head-waters of the Peribonka, Manicuagan and Outardes rivers, flowing into the St. Lawrence, the East Main and Big rivers, flowing into Hudson Bay, and the Koksoak River flowing into Ungava Bay. The general elevation of this area exceeds 2000 feet.

The only portion in which the general level is attained by a gradual slope, is the part facing James Bay, where the land along the coast is low, and the rise eastward towards the interior is so light that one hundred miles inland it is only about 700 feet above sea-level.

Beyond this the land continues to rise gradually, so that Lake Mistassini is only 1300 feet above sea-level. As before stated, the rise from the coast in other places is quite rapid; and along the St. Law- rence coast there is a range of high ground extending from the neigh- bourhood of Quebec to below the St. John River. The larger streams have cut deep valleys through this range. Along the Saguenay, at Cape Eternity, the hills rise almost shear 1500 feet above the river ; while behind, in the Lake St. John region, few elevations exceed 1000 feet. On the Bersimis River, the high range begins about forty-five miles inland an:l continues to about the one hundredth wile, beyond which the country is comparatively level, and somewhat lower. On the Romaine and St. John rivers, the high lands formed from a great mass of irruptive rocks, begin about twenty-five miles from the coast, and are about fifty miles broad. The general level of this belt is nearly 2000 feet and many of the summits are more than 2500 feet above sea-level, while the general level of the country immediately behind them is not much over 1600 feet. H. Y. Hind* mentions similar high lands on the Moisie River, where the general level is above 1500 feet, and some of the mountain ranges are 3000 feet above sea-level.

Along the Atlantic coast, the land rises abruptly inland, almost everywhere, to altitudes varying from 1000 feet to 1500 feet, from the Strait of Belle Isle to the vicinity of Nain. To the northward of Nain the coast range is much higher, and, in the neighbourhood of Nachvak Bay, ranges of sharp, unglaciated mountains rise abruptly from the sea to heights varying from 2500 feet to 4000 feet ; while farther north they are reported to culminate in peaks of 6000 feet, a few miles inland. With a slight decrease in height, this range con-

*Explorations in Labrador, vol. 1, chap. ix.

tow. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 23 L

tinues northward to the barren islands at Cape Chidley. This mountain range appears to be confined to the coast region and pro- bably is under fifty miles in width, the country on the western side sloping rapidly down to the level of the interior plateau. About Ungava Bay, the general level of the plateau is probably somewhat under 1000 feet, and the land rises gradually towards the interior. Little or nothing is known definitely of the great northern area between Ungava and Hudson bays, but, from observations by Dr. R. Bell, made along the coasts, the land appears to rise rapidly for 1000 feet, and then more gradually to elevations between 1500 and 2000 feet. From information obtained from the Eskimo at Ungava, there would seem to be a low tract of country extending westward from Hope’s Advance towards Mosquito Bay on the Hudson Bay coast, and also another area of comparatively low country west- ward of the Leaf Lakes and of the Koksoak River valley.

The land fronting the Hudson Bay coast, as far south as Cape Jones, Elevation of reaches the 1000 feet level within a short distance from the sea, Had Base and then rises quickly to a general level between 1500 and 2000 feet, the latter being the maximum of elevation in this region, as de- termined by the few explorations in this portion of the peninsula.

The gradual rise from the seaboard of the country to the east and south-east of James Bay, has already been mentioned.

To sum up the foregoing statements of levels,—the interior of the Summary of

peninsula is almost flat, so that in an area of 200,000 square miles, “!evstion. there is not a difference of general level of more than 300 or 400 feet, and the highest general level of the interior is under 2500 feet. A belt of land somewhat higher than the general interior follows the St. Lawrence coast, a short distance inland. The northern half of the Atlantic coast rises in a chain of mountains, considerably higher than any other portion of the peninsula. Along the northern and western coasts there is no evidence yet obtained to show the existence of a coastal ridge, but rather a probability that the general elevation increases towards the interior.

Like the other portions of northern Canada underlain by glaciated Lakes. Archean rocks, the interior of the Labrador Peninsula is covered with myriads of lakes, that occupy, at a moderate estimate, at least one- fourth of the total area. In size, these vary from small narrow ponds, to lakes with surfaces hundreds of square miles in extent. Great Mistassini and Michikamau lakes have areas considerably exceeding 500 square miles. Among those of which the area is between 200 and 500 square miles, may be mentioned Manouan Lake, on a tribu-

Western watershed

Lakeless area.

Formation of lakea.

24 L Labrador Peninsula.

tary of the Peribonka River, Pletipi Lake, at the head of the Outardes River, the Manicuagan lakes, on the headwaters of the river of the same name; all sending their waters into the St. Lawrence. Discharging into the Atlantic are Winokapuu, Petitsikapau, Ashuanipi and Attikonak lakes on the Hamilton River, and Grand Lake on the Northwest River, which also drains Lake Michikamau. On the rivers discharging northward, Lake Kaniapiskau is the only one yet partly explored, but reference to the map will show a number of large lakes on the various tributaries of the Koksoak and George rivers, which have been located from information derived from Hudson’s Bay Company employees and Indians.

On the western watershed, Clearwater Lake is one of several large lakes lying in an area between the sources of the Stillwater branch of the Koksoak River, and the Nastapoka, Clearwater, Little and Great Whale rivers flowing into Hudson Bay ; all of which rise and flow through a number of large unexplored lakes.

Lake Nichicun is near the headwaters of the Big River and is drained by that stream. The Mistassini lakes discharge into the Rupert River, while the Nottoway River, which discharges into the southern part of James Bay, drains, among others, lakes Waswanipi and Chibougamoo.

Besides the lakes mentioned, there are hundreds having a surface area between 20 square miles and 100 square miles, while smaller lakes are numberless. The only portion of Labrador not thickly covered with lakes, is the low country extending inland for about 100 miles from the east coast of James Bay. This area has been covered with a deep mantle of marine sands and clays, which has filled up the inequalities of the surface, and prevented the formation of lakes ; it is covered instead by a net-work of small streams, with deep channels cut out of the stratified drift.

The lakes, except the largest, are usually confined in the shallow valleys between low rocky ridges, by barriers of drift, and in conse- quence their depth is not great, seldom exceeding fifty feet, while many of them are under twenty feet deep. Mistassini and Michikamau lakes, occupying ancient basins, in which Cambrian rocks were deposited, are among the exceptions, the former having a depth of over 400 feet, while that of the latter is said, by the Indians to exceed 250 feet. Lake Winokapau, in the valley of the Hamilton River, and Lake Mouchalagan on the Manicuagan River, are other exceptions, the former being over 400 feet deep, and the latter 650 feet deep, but, as will be explained further on, these and Grand Lake, on the Northwest River, differ from the ordinary lakes in their manner of formation.

tow, PHYSICAL GROGRAPHY. 25 L

It follows, from the great number of lakes, that the country Great depths ; in lakes. must be covered with a perfect network of streams discharging them. The discharges and lakes interlock so closely that, with a knowledge of the country, it is possible to travel with canoes in any direction, the longest portages never exceeding two or three miles.

There are four principal watersheds to the peninsula: of these the Rivers. southern is the smallest, its rivers rarely exceeding 300 miles in length ; the most important are the Saguenay and its branches, Bersimis, Outardes, Manicuagan, Moisie, Romaine, Natashquan and St. Augustine. The eastern watershed drains chiefly into Hamilton Inlet, three large rivers flowing into its head. Of these the Hamilton River is much the largest, taking its rise near the middle of the penin- sula and draining an area extending from latitude 52° to latitude 54° covering seven degrees of longitude. Its longest branch rises nearly 600 miles from its mouth. The other rivers of Hamilton Inlet are the Northwest and Kenamou, the former draining a large area to the north of the Hamilton River, the latter flowing in from the south-west. Apart from these three large streams, no other rivers of importance are fund along the Atlantic coast, on account of the high lands of the coast cutting off the drainage of the interior and forcing it to flow northward into Ungava Bay.

The Koksoak River is the largest stream flowing northward, and is Koksoak probably the largest river of Labrador. Besides the main stream, there River. are a half dozen tributaries, each of which drains an important basin.

The longest branch flows out of the northern end of Summit Lake, on the 53rd parallel of latitude, while a branch of the Mani- cuagan River flows out of the southern end of the same lake, thus connecting by water the Gulf of St. Lawrence with Ungava Bay. The total area drained by this river and its tributaries is about 60,000 square miles. The George River, is another great stream which rises in large lakes close to Lake Petitsikapau on the Hamilton River, and drains a wide area westward of the Atlantic coast range. The Whale River is a smaller stream lying between the George and Koksoak rivers.

The western drainage basin is the greatest in Labrador and is emptied Western by large rivers, that rise far inland, close to the head-waters of the "rs. Koksoak and Saguenay rivers. Proceeding from the northward, the larger rivers flowing into Hudson Bay are:—The Nastapoka which flows out of several large lakes to the eastward of Clearwater Lake and near the head of the Stillwater branch of the Koksoak River ; the Little and Great Whale rivers, that rise close to the western branches of the Koksoak ; the Big River which rises in the mountainous area south

Ancient river channels.

26 L Labrador Peninsula.

and east of the head of the East Main River, in about latitude 52°, and close to the sources of the Peribonka, Manicuagan and Outardes rivers tributaries of the St. Lawrence. From its source the Big River flows northward nearly one hundred and fifty miles, passing through Lake Nichicun, and then turns westward four hundred miles, emptying into James Bay, near latitude 54°

The East Main River takes its rise in a number of lakes close to Lake Nichicun and flows nearly west, discharging into James Bay a short distance north of latitude 52°. The Rupert River forms the discharge of the Mistassini lakes, and, having such Jarge reservoirs at its head, is not subject to the same fluctuations of volume, as the other rivers, It empties into Rupert Bay close to the mouth of the Nottoway River, which drains a wide area to the south-east of Hudson Bay, and rises in a number of large lakes close to the height-of-land dividing it from the St. Maurice River, which joins the St. Lawrence at Three Rivers.

The channels of most of the rivers of Labrador are of very ancient origin, apparently dating back to a period before the deposition of the Cambrian rocks. These valleys are cut deep into the general level of the plateau, their depth and length apparently depending on the volume of water carried, and thus showing that they have been mainly formed by normal denudation.

The larger rivers flowing southward, have deep valleys cut through the highlands of the coast region, and the streams are often from 500 feet to 1000 feet below the general level of the surrounding country. The heads of these valleys are from one hundred to three hundred miles from their mouths ; and at their upper ends the rivers descend from the level of the interior in a succession of heavy falls, through narrow gorges where processes of erosion are at present extending and deepen- ing the valleys. This erosion is, however, so exceedingly slow, that the change in the heads of the valleys, since glacial times, has been practically nothing, owing no doubt to the hardness and resistance to weathering of the Archean rocks in which they are cut. The gorge of the Saguenay, with its almost vertical walls rising 1500 feet above the surface of the water, and its great depth of more than 800 feet in places, is an excellent example of one of these ancient river-valleys. That of the Hamilton River, which is cut back from the head of Hamilton Inlet for nearly three hundred miles, and of which the depth is from 700 feet to 1200 feet below the general level of the surrounding country, is another fine example of river erosion. The rivers occupy- ing smaller valleys, are all of the same type. The East Main and Rupert rivers, flowing as they do on the gradual slope towards James

ww. CLIMATE. 27.1

Bay, where the marine deposits of sand and clay are found inland about one hundred miles, have not the marked valleys found elsewhere, but descend in a number of steps, where they have either cut narrow gorges out of soft Huronian schists, or fall directly over granitic ledges. The ancient valleys of these streams appear to have been filled up during the deposition of these marine beds, and the present river-courses are of post-glacial origin.

Before entering the ancient valleys above described, all the rivers Newchannels. in central Labrador flow almost on the surface of the country, and are broken into chains of lakes often formed by dams of glacial drift, which in other places form low ridges that divide the streams into different channels. These channels wander about on the lower levels of the interior country in a most bewildering manner, and ren- der travel without a guide excessively difficult.

Climate.

The climate of Labrador ranges from cold temperate, on the southern Chimate al along coasts, to arctic on Hudson Strait and the high lands of the northern interior, and is generally so rigorous that it is very doubtful if the country will ever be fit for agriculture north of latitude 51°, except on the low grounds near the coast. Along the east coast of James Bay, good crops of potatoes and other roots are grown as far north as Fort George—about latitude 54°—while on the Atlantic coast of the pen- insula, about the head of Hamilton Inlet, similar crops are easily cul- tivated. On the outer coast the climate is more rigorous, and ap- pears to be much affected by the northern current, with its numerous floating icebergs, which lowers the mean temperature and renders the growth of root crops slow and uncertain at Rigolet in latitude 54°. Garden vegetables are, however, grown at Nain in latitude 56° 30’; but extra precautions are taken with them, such as the building of walls to protect them from the east wind, and covers put over them when in danger from summer frost. At Fort Chimo, near the mouth of the Koksoak River in latitude 58°, with care small patches of tur- nips, lettuce and radishes are grown.

In the interior, at the Hudson Bay’s post of Mistassini, in latitude Climate of the 50° 30’, a crop of potatoes is raised annually, but, owing to the shortness interior. of the season and the prevalence of summer frosts, they rarely mature without the tops being frozen. No other vegetables are cultivated here at present. At Nichicun attempts are made to grow potatoes, but they have always proved more or less failures, owing to frosts in July and August. It will thus be seen that the prospects of the

Absence of

Summer season.

Winte season.

Temperatures

at Lake Mis- tassini.

Great thick- ness of ice.

/ 28 L Labrador Peninsula.

settlement of the central portion of Labrador, for purposes of agricul- ture, are by no means bright ; and, if settlements are made for other purposes, the inhabitants will have to depend largely on more southern localities for their vegetable food. Owing to the absence of grass plains, and to the mantle of moss and lichens that covers the surface of the ground almost everywhere, there is little likelihood that it will ever bea grazing district. The high lands of the interior have only two seasons, winter and summer. The summer season begins almost simultaneous- ly throughout the interior, and the jump from winter into summer occurs as a rule during the first two weeks of June, when the snow disappears, and the ice leaves the rivers and lakes, except the largest, where it often remains until July. With the disappearance of the snow and ice, the temperature during the day rapidly increases, and the leaves are almost immediately put forth by trees and bushes. Dur- ing 1894, frosts were of almost nightly occurrence until June 28th, when a thin sheet of ice was formed in the vessels about camp, and slight flurries of snow feil in the morning. After this date no frost was noted, but, thermometers having unfortunately been broken, the exact temperature could not be taken. To the north of latitude 52’, snow falls and ice begins to form in the small lakes about the middle of September. From early in October the snow remains permanently, and all the smaller lakes are solidly frozen, so that, for the greater part of the interior plateau, there is at most only three months of summer. The temperature during the winter season is often very low on the interior high lands, away from the influence of the sea. The coldest months are December, January and February, and the following read- ings of thermometers taken at Mistassini* in 1885, will give an idea of the temperature of that region, which appears to be somewhat higher than about Nichicun and the upper Hamilton River.

— Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. June. ! July. Aug. Highest temperature 16 39 35 54 85 79 76 81

According to reports of the Indians, the ice in Lake Michikamau is 7 feet 6 inches thick on an average, and the amount of continuous frost to form such a thickness must be very great. The ice in Lake Winokapau, in the deep valley of the Hamilton River, was from actual

*Annual Report, Geological Survey of Canada, vol. I. (N.S.), 1885, p. 16 p.

we. CLIMATE. 29 L

measurement found to be 4 feet 9 inches. From the journal kept at the Lake Wino- post on this lake, between 1866 and 1874, the first snow generally fell Kapau. about September 20th and continued until June, the latest record being

June 10th. The lowest temperature recorded was 55° below zero. Geese

and summer birds arrived on or about May 10th. From the journals

at Northwest River post, the lowest temperature recorded from 1867

to 1893, was 53° below zero. There are several observations of 45° Hamilton below zero, which appears to be the minimum winter temperature of Inlet.

most years. At Rigolet, where the temperature is moderated by the

open sea, the thermometer rarely registers 40° below zero. At Fort

Chimo, where the open sea is not far distant, 45° below zero is said to Fort Chimo. be the lowest temperature registered. The summer temperature of the

Atlantic coast region is considerably lower than inland or along the

western coast. As a rule the thermometer in the interior—north of Mistassini—rarely rises above 80° during the middle of the day on

more than a few days during the summer season.

The temperature depends greatly on the direction of the winds. Winds.

During the summer, south and south-west winds prevail in the interior, and are accompanied by higher temperature and often overcast sky, with drizzling rain. ‘The west and north-west winds bring clear weather with lowering temperature, especially during the winter season. North and north-east winds are usually accompanied by heavy storms of rain and snow, with cold moist atmosphere. East and south-east winds, as a rule, blow with clear pleasant weather.

The precipitation of moisture over the interior area is not great. Rain. During the winter the snowfall varies from three to six feet, and the greater part of it descends during the periods of north or north-east wind, which are not common; the north-west wind, blowing at least three-quarters of the time during the winter season, is accompanied by a bright clear atmosphere. During the summer season the precipita- tion, if not great, is constant, ax a day rarely passes without drizzle, or thunder showers, which lower the temperature.

At Northwest River, the head of Hamilton Inlet freezes completely Bays on over between the Ist and 15th of December, and opens again between fagentie co ast May 15th and June 15th. Snow falls early in October, and from that date to about the first week in May, the latest record being July 2nd. At Rigolet, the outer part of Hamilton Inlet rarely or never freezes solid before the middle of January, and in some winters does not close at all. This is due to the strong currents in this part of the inlet. Sandwich Bay, nearly one hundred miles farther south, generally freezes over in the end of December, and the same time may be taken as that of the closing of most of the larger fiords of the

Snow.

Character of soil on the Archean area.

Marine deposits.

Cambrian débris.

Various trees.

30 L Labrador Peninsula.

Atlantic coast. About Fort Chimo, the lower grounds are permanently covered with snow by the lst of December, this covering remaining until the 10th of June. The higher hills retain snow until the last of August, and by the middle of September snow again covers the tops of the distant high hills.*

Soil.

The soil of the greater part of the peninsula is derived from the underlying Archæan rocks, and is mostly in the form of glacial till mixed with boulders of various sizes. The till is a mixture of sand and clay in which the former greatly predominates. In many large areas which have been traversed by fire, much of the vegetable matter of the surface has been destroyed, and the remaining soil supports only a scant growth of small trees. Along the sides of the river- valleys the drift has been re-arranged and mixed with sediments. Here the soil, though generally light and sandy, is richer than the unmodified till; and the size and variety of trees growing on it are consequently greater. Within the limits of the marine deposits, about the margins of the peninsula, the stratified sands are underlain by bedded clays, and as the coast is approached, the overlying sands thin out, leaving the clays near the surface, thus producing a light soil with a heavy subsoil, on which the vegetation is much better than anywhere else, except on the lower banks and islands in the rivers near the coast, where the sands and clays are topped with deposits of alluvium. The soil covering the areas of Oambrian rocks, being made up of the débris of limestone, shale, and other rocks of this formation, is of a heavier nature than that formed from the Archean rocks ; and the change from one to the other i is marked by the better growth of trees on the former.

TREES AND OTHER PLanrs.

The southern half of the Labrador Peninsula is included in the sub-arctic forest belt, as described by Prof. Macount Nine species of trees may be said to constitute the whole arborescent flora of this region. These species are :— Betula papyrifera, Michx., Populus tremuloides, Michx., Populus balsamifera, Linn., Thuya occidentalis,

Annual Report U. S. Bureau of Ethnology, 1889 90.—Ethnology of the Ungava District. L. M. Turner, p. 172.

+ The Forest Trees of Canada. John Macoun.—Trans. Royal Soc. Canada, Sec. iv., 1894, pp. 5-7.

vos. TREES AND OTHER PLANTS. 31 L

Linn., Pinus Banksiana, Lam., Picea alba, Link., Picea nigra, Link. Abies balsamea, Marsh, and Larix Americana, Michx.

The distribution of the forest areas and the range of the various Distribution. trees depend on several factors, among which may be mentioned, posi- tion as regards latitude, height above sea-level, distance from sea-coast, and character of the soil, all of which are important.

The forest is continuous over the southern part of the peninsula to Forest areas. between latitudes 52° and 54°, the only exceptions being the summits of rocky hills and the outer islands of the Atlantic coast. To the northward of latitude 53°, the higher hills are treeless and the size and number of the barren areas rapidly increase. In latitude 55°, more Barren than half the surface of the country is treeless, woods being only found 8r0unds- about the margins of small lakes and in the valleys of the rivers. Trees also decrease in size until, on the southern shores of Ungava Bay, they disappear altogether. The Leaf River, which empties into the bay a few miles north of the mouth of the Koksoak River, is the northern limit of forest trees on the west side of Ungava Bay.

Along the east coast of Hudson Bay, Dr. Bell found trees growing a few miles beyond the north end of Richmond Gulf.*

In the neighbourhood of Clearwater Lake, the writer found many clumps of black spruce and larch, and, according to Indian reports, small patches extend to the Nastapoka River in latitude 57°. So that a line drawn a little south of west, from the mouth of the Leaf River Northern tree to the mouth of the Nastapoka River on Hudson Bay, would give a lirait. close approximation to the northern tree limit of western Labrador.

The tree-line skirts the southern shore of Ungava Bay and comes Atlantic close to the mouth of the George River, from which it turns south-south- °%*t east, skirting the western foot-hills of the Atlantic coast range, which is quite treeless, southward to the neighbourhood of Hebron, in lati- tude 58°, where trees are again found in protected valleys at the heads of the inner bays of the coast. At Davis Inlet, in latitude 56°, trees grow on the coast and high up on the hills, the barren grounds being confined to the islands and headlands, which remain treeless to the southward of the mouth of Hamilton Inlet. These barren islands and bare headlands of the outer coast, along with the small size of the trees on the lowlands, have caused a false impression to be held regarding much of the Atlantic coast, which from Hamilton Inlet southward is well timbered about the heads of the larger bays and on the lowlands of the small river-valleys.

eee

*Report of Progress, Geol. Surv. Can., 1877-78, p. 256.

Distribution of v birch.

North ern limits.

Distribution of aspen.

32 L Labrador Peninsula.

The distribution of each of the several species of trees depends on conditions similar to those affecting the forest areas in general.

Betula papyrifera, Michx. (White, Paper, or Canoe Birch) is found every where throughout the southern portion of the peninsula. Except in the district to the south-west of Lake Mistassini, drained by the Nottoway River, and on the southern watershed, the trees du not grow sufficiently large or straight to afford bark for canoe building, and the Indians of the more northern portions have to depend upon bark imported by the Hudson’s Bay Company for theircanoes. About Lake Nichicun and on the upper waters of the Hamilton River, the largest trees rarely exceed eight inches in diameter. The trees are found in thickets of second-growth, on the hillsides which have been traversed by fire; they also grow sparingly in unburnt portions. Northward of Nichicun, the white birch becomes rapidly smaller and along the upper Koksoak River does not average three inches in diameter. At Cambrian Lake, where the limestones are encountered and the river-valley is deep and protracted, the size of the trees improves, and birches six inches in diameter are not uncommon. Below the junction of the Swampy-bay River, the trees again become small, and finally die out on the Koksoak River a few miles above Fort Chimo. On the Hudson Bay side, the northern limit of white birch is near the mouth of the Great Whale River, while inland it is found, in small straggling clumps, at the head-waters of the south branch of that river. About Hamilton Inlet, birch is common, and, at the head of the inlet, trees up to ten inches in diameter are not

uncommon.

Populus tremuloides, Mich. (Aspen). The range of this tree depends. toa great extent, on the nature of the soil. In the southern portion of the peninsula, it is found as a second growth along with the white birch, and also in clumps in the original forest. It appears to be most plentiful on the western half of the peninsula, where it grows most abundantly on the unmodified glacial till of the drift ridges. At Lake Mistassini, this tree is abundant and is often ten or twelve inches in diameter about the southern portion of the lake. Along the upper East Main River, only small clumps of bent and twisted trees are seen, while about Nichicun it is exceedingly rare. To the northward of Nichicun, this tree was not seen along the route followed to Ungava Bay. On the Hudson Bay coast, the neighbourhood of Cape Jones is the northern limit of the aspen; while inland it is found on the portage-route, between the lower and upper parts of the Big River, in latitude 54°. About the head of Hamilton Inlet, and along the river below the Grand Falls, clumps of aspen are frequently

tow. TREES AND OTHER PLANTS. 33 L

met with. But above the Grand Falls this tree was not seen any- where on the waters of the Hamilton River, its first occurrence on the route southward being near the portage-route leading to the Romaine River from Lake Attikonak. Along the Romaine River, it soon becomes common as the stream is descended. On the Manicuagan River aspen is found in the deep river-valley to beyond latitude 52°, but does not grow on the surrounding table-land.

Populus balsamifera, Linn. (Balsam Poplar) ismet with farther north pistribution

than the aspen ; but it appears to confine itself to the heavy clay soil © balsam poplar.

of the river-valleys, or to the modified drift of the Cambrian areas. Itis met with along the Bigand East Main rivers, flowing into Hudson Bay, and its northern limit on this side of the peninsula is the Bishop Roggan River, the next stream north of the Big River. Along the rivers of this coast, balsam poplar was only met with for about one hundred miles inland from the coast, where its limit was that of the stratified marine clays of the river-valleys. On the upper East Main River, it was nowhere seen, and it does not appear to grow northward of Lake Mistassini in the western interior. After passing through an area of several hundred miles from Mistassini to Eaton Cañon, on the Koksoak River, balsam poplar is again found growing in the valley of that river and continues to be found at intervals, to within twenty-five miles of Fort Chimo. At the head of Cambrian Lake, large clumps of Northern trees of this species, ten inches in diameter, were observed growing on the low terraces, but elsewhere they were small and straggling. On the lower Hamilton River, balsam poplar is common. Above the Grand Falls it is not found along the river, for upwards of a hundred miles, until the Cambrian area about Birch Lake is reached, when small trees of this species become common, and continue along the Ashuanipi Branch to the end of survey. On the Attikonak Branch, a few small trees were noted between Sandy Lake and the height-of-land to the southward.

Thuya occidentalis, Linn. (Cedar) hardly enters the southern limits Distribution of the peninsula. It occurs just south of the mouth of the Rupert of cedar. River, at the foot of James Bay, and does not cross that stream in the eastern course of its northern limit. It is only found about the south- western bays of Mistassini Lake, from which it extends south-east, crossing the St. Lawrence to the westward of Seven Islands. No

cedar trees were seen along the Manicuagan River from its mouth up- ward.

Pinus Banksvana, Lam. (Banksian Pine, Jack Pine, Cypress) is Distribution limited in its extension by an eastern as well as a northern boundary. oenksian

Northern limit.

Eastern limit.

Distribution of white spruce,

Northern limit.

34 L Labrador Peninsula.

It grows freely over the western half of the peninsula, and appears to prefer the dry, sandy drift ridges and rocky hills, where it is often found along with black spruce, as a second growth, covering areas devastated by fire. Its northern limit is the south branch of the Great Whale River, south of which it occurs abundantly to the shores of the St. Lawrence, but does not come quite to the coast on Hudson or James Bay, probably on account of the shore being generally low and swampy. Inland, it is met with abundantly, along the East Main River, to the Long Portage Creek, near its head, in about longitude 71° W. Here a line running nearly north and south terminates the eastern extension of the Banksian pine. About Nichicun only a few small clumps are found to the westward of the lake, and it is unknown to the Indians to the eastward. In the southern extension of its eastern limit, the line runs somewhat east of south and reaches the St. Lawrence in the neighbourhood of the mouth of the Moisie River, being everywhere common along the main branch of the Manicuagan River.

Picea alba, Link. (White Spruce) is found throughout the wood. ed area of the peninsula, but it is not everywhere common, and there are several areas where it is rarely found. Its distribution is but little affected by climate or by height above sea level; it appears to depend altogether on the soil. North of the southern watershed, it is confined to the areas of re-arranged drift of the river-valleys and marine deposits along the coast, or to the heavier drift of the Cambrian areas of the interior. Along the western coast, the interior limit of this tree, on the East Main and other rivers flowing into Hud. sun Bay, coincides closely with the margin of the marine deposits, and consequently does not extend one hundred and fifty miles eastward from that coast. From Lake Mistassini, along the route to Nichicun, no trees of this species were met with, but it is said to grow sparingly about the latter place. A few small treee were observed on terraces between Nichicun and Lake Kaniapiskau. Along the upper Koksoak River, small trees were seen occasionally on its terraced banks to Eaton Caiion. Below this place, the number of trees and their size increased rapidly in the river-valley, and from here to the forks of the Still- water many of them exceeded eighteen inches in diameter three feet from the ground and were over fifty feet in height. Below the Still- water, their size rapidly decreased, and the trees died out near the mouth of the Koksoak River, along with the black spruce and Jarch, of which the northern limit is about co-terminous with that of the white spruce. About Hamilton Inlet, white spruce is abundant on the lowlands, and at the mouths of the Kenamou and Hamilton

ww.] TREES AND OTHER PLANTS. 35 L

rivers many large sticks have been taken out for spars and masts for Good timber. schooners. Here, and along the Hamilton River valley, where unburnt, this tree often exceeds eighteen inches in diameter, and grows sufficient- ly tall to allow of three good twelve-foot logs being cut out of a single tree. Above the Grand Falls, white spruce is found along the river banks, but is generally small and scattered until the Cambrian area of the upper waters is reached, when it becomes more abundant and grows well up the hillsides. Many of the trees of this region are very stout at their bases, but being short and branching would make poor lumber. To the southward of the Cambrian area, on the Attikonak Branch and the upper Romaine River, very few trees of this species are seen until the latter stream enters its ancient valley, when they become more abundant. They are found everywhere in the valley to the St. Lawrence. In the valley of the Manicuagan River, trees of this species attain a large size and are very abundant to Lake Mouchalagan, above which they gradually become fewer and smaller, and die out near the mouth of the Attikopi River.

Picea nigra, Link. (Black Spruce) is the most abundant tree of Distribution Labrador and probably constitutes over ninety per cent of the forest. core It grows freely on the sandy soil which covers the great Archæan areas, and thrives as well on the dry hills as in the wet swampy country between the ridges. On the southern watershed the growth is very thick everywhere, so much so that the trees rarely reach a large size. To the northward, about the edge of the semi-barrens, the growth on the uplands is less rank, the trees there being in open glades, where they spread out with large branches resembling the white spruce. The northern limit of the black spruce is that of the forest belt ; it and larch being the last trees met with before entering the barrens.

Abies balsamea, Miller. (Balsam Fir, or Spruce,) is another species Distribution that grows only on suitable soil. It is found nearly to the edge of ° balsam fir. the barren grounds. Throughout the wooded regions it grows more or less plentifully about the margins of the larger streams and lakes, apparently preferring soil containing considerable moisture and alluvium. Northward of the southern watershed, it is rarely found away from the edges of rivers and large lakes, and is wanting along the portage-routes connecting the larger streams. On the Hudson Bay coast, its northern limit is near the Great Whale River. On the Northern Koksoak River a few trees were seen below the junction of the Still- limit. water. Along the Hamilton River it grows everywhere and was also found growing about the shores of Lake Michikamau.

Distribution of larch.

Destruction by saw-fly.

Forest areas of commercial value.

Forest fires.

Causesof fires.

36 L Labrador Peninsula.

Larix Americana, Michx. (Larch, Tamarack, ‘Juniper’), is probably the hardiest tree of the sub-arctic forest belt ; it grows everywhere throughout the Labrador Peninsula, and is probably next in abundance to the black spruce. Throughout the interior it is found growing in all the cold swamps, and is always the largest tree in the vicinity. Along the northern margin of the forest, the larch continues as a tree tu the very edge, where the black spruce is dwarfed to a mere shrub. The larch of the southern region has been almost totally destroyed by the ravages of the imported, European larch saw-fly (Nematus Erichsonti,. The present range of this pest extends northward from Lake St. John to beyond Lake Mistassini, and appears to be yearly spreading north- ward and eastward, but has not yet reached the St. John or Romaine rivers flowing into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Areas of forest of sufficient size, with trees large enough for con- mercial purposes, are confined to the southern watershed and to the lower courses of the streams flowing into the Atlantic or Hudson Bar. It is very doubtful if such areas occur along these coasts to the north of latitude 54°. Much of the timber of the more southern regions is not of the best and would afford only spruce deals, while the greater part could hardly be profitably worked in competition with the west- ern pine; but the time will probably come when the trees of the more favourable portions of Labrador will be profitably worked into lumber, especially if the smaller growths are cut at the same time for the manufacture of paper pulp.

At least one half of the forest area of the interior has been totally destroyed by fire within the past twenty-five or thirty years. These fires are of annual occurrence and often burn throughout the entire summer, destroying thousands of square miles of valuable timber, to the south of the central watershed. The regions thus devastated re- main barren for many years, especially towards the northern limits. and the second growth of black spruce, Banksian pine, aspen and white birch is never as good or as large as the original forest. These fires are due to various causes, but the majority of them can be traced to the Indians, who start them either through carelessness or in tentionally. The Nascaupee Indians of the semi-barrens signal one another by smoke made by burning the white lichens that cover most of the ground in the interior, and these signals cause many of the fires. The southern Indians signal in a similar manner, but do not practice it to such an extent as their northern brethern, having found that they are rapidly destroying their hunting grounds. Careless camp fires in dry seasons are another common cause of these forest fires, and many of those ascribed to lightning, if closely traced

0e. TREES AND OTHER PLANTS. 37 L

would be found to have been set by wandering Indians, who are only careful on their own hunting grounds. From what is seen on the ex- plored routes of the southern watershed, it would appear that at least one half of the forest has been removed by this cause.

The greatest fire of modern times occurred in 1870 or 1871, and Great fire of swept the country south of the height-of-land, from the St. Maurice 18/071. to beyond the Romaine River. The second growth is just beginning to cover up the traces of this great conflagration, which ruined the pioneers of Lake St. John, and it will be years before the country is generally again well wooded. The upper Romaine river-valley has Romaine been totally burnt over within the last ten years, and the margin of River. this great burnt area has been extended southward during the summers of 1893 and 1894, so that now practically no green woods exist along the course of this river from the St. Lawrence to its source. The country surrounding the Hamilton River is in a similar state ; except Hamilton patches of original forest, along the lower part of the river-valley River. and about Hamilton Inlet, only blackened stumps or a small second growth are seen along its course, with an occasional oasis of large green wood to break the monotony. In this region great fires occur annually ; that of 1893 covered hundreds of square miles of the table- land between the Hamilton and Northwest rivers. Similar remarks apply to the forests of the western watershed, more than half of which have been burnt.

Throughout the forest belt, the lowlands fringing the streams and Willows. lakes are covered with thickets of willows ahd alders. As the semi-barrens are approached, the areas covered by these shrubs become more extensive, and they not only form wide margins along the rivers and shores of the Jakes, but with dwarf birches occupy much of the open glades. The willows and birches grow on the sides of the hills, above the tree line, where they form low thickets exceedingly difficult to pass through. Beyond the limits of the true forest, similar thickets of Arctic willows and birches are found on the low grounds, but on the more elevated lands they only grow a few inches above the surface. In the southern region, the undergrowth in the wooded areas is chiefly Labrador tea (Ledum latifolium ) and “laurel” (Kalmia glauca), which grow in tangled masses, from two to four feet high, and are very diff- cult to travel through. In the semi-barrens this undergrowth dies out, and travel across country is much ensier in consequence. In the south- ernregions the ground is usually covered to a considerable depth with sphagnum, which northward of 51° is gradually replaced by the white lichens or reindeer mosses (Cladonia), which grow frecly everywhere throughout the semi-barren and barren regions.

Small fruits.

Cherry A Bake-apple.

Arctic rasp- berry.

Dewberry.

Raspberry.

Strawberry.

Indian pear.

Blueberries.

38 L Labrador Peninsula.

The distribution of small fruits and berries is of some importance and may be recorded here, although they are included in the plant list of Appendix VI.

Prunus Pennsylvanica, Linn. (Wild cherry) is found in burnt areas northward throughout the interior to about latitude 55°, where it grows in small bushes, rarely more than four feet high.

Rubus chamemorus, Linn. (Cloudberry, Bake-apple, Yellow-berry) is found in the swamps everywhere throughout Labrador to beyond the tree limit, and forms an important article of food for the Indians.

Rubus arcticus, Linn. (Arctic raspberry, Dewberry, Eye-berry) grows in the opens, along the banks of northern streams, and is espe- cially abundant on the islands along the east coast of Hudson Bay. It is a much larger fruit, and has a more delicate wine-flavour than the next species.

Rubus triflorus, Richards (Dewberry, Eye-berry) is found along the banks of streams and on the edge of woods northward from the St. Lawrence to about latitude 54°, where it occurs rarely on the banks of the upper Hamilton River and about Lake Nichicun..

Rubus strigosus, Michx. (Red raspberry) is limited to about the same range as the last species, being found in burnt woods as far north as latitude 54°.

Fragaria Virginiana, Duchesne (Wild strawberry) is not abundant in the interior, owing to the absence of grassy glades, or opens; it 1s only found on grassy banks, at the ends of well-used portages, or in the clearings about the Hudson’s Bay Company’s forts, as at Mistas- sini, Nichicun and the abandoned Fort Nascaupee, on the Hamilton River. Along the coast of Hudson Bay, it is found abundantly on the islands, to beyond Fort George, in latitude 54”.

Amelanchier Canudensis, Torr. and Gray (June-berry, Indian pear). Of this species both the oblongifolia and oligocarpa varieties are found, northward, to the Big and Hamilton rivers. The latter variety is most common, and is much inferior in fruit to the rarer variety. It grows in glades, generally in swampy ground. The first variety is con- fined to the burnt areas and hillsides.

Several species of Vaccinium are found abundantly throughout the peninsula, growing on the burnt districts of the south, and in the open country of the semi-barren and barren lands.

Vaccinium Penneylranicum, Gray (Blueberry), is very abundant throughout the southern region, where it grows profusely on the

Low. TREES AND OTHER PLANTS. 39 L

extensive burnt lands, as far north as the East Main and Hamilton rivers, and is abundant at Nichicun, where the fruit is often destroyed by summer frosts. It was found abundantly along the Koksoak River, nearly to the Stillwater Branch. On the Atlantic coast, it has been found northward to the vicinity of Nain, while on the Hudson Bay coast, it reaches nearly to the Great Whale River. Its fruit is used largely by the Indians, who during the later summer months subsist largely upon it. It is eaten both raw and in the form of jam, and, mixed with a swall proportion of flour, it is made into bread or cake. -

Vaccinium uliginosum, Linn. (Duck-berry) is a more northern form, Duck-berry. which, on the edge of the semi-barrens, largely replaces the last mentioned species. In the southern portions of the peninsula, it is only occasion- ally found on the banks and islands of the rivers. In the vicinity of the Hamilton and Big rivers, and northward, it is found growing profusely in the open spaces, along with V. Pennsylvanicum, and continues northward into the barren grounds, where it occurs as a small spreading shrub, growing only two or three inches high. The fruit of this species is more acid and firmer than the southern blue- berry, and is not as pleasant to the taste, especially when cooked, having then a disagreeable flavour. It is also an important article of food to the Indians and Eskimo.

Vaccinium cespitosum, Michx., is a more northern variety than the last, being found on the summits of the higher hills about the head- waters of the Hamilton River. It continues abundant to beyond the mouth of the Koksoak River.

Vaccinium Vitis-Idæa, Linn. (Cranberry, Pomme de terre) is the Cranberry. most important berry of the northern half of Labrador. South of latitude 51°, it is found only on the summits of barren rocky hills, or on barren islands in the larger lakes; but to the northward, as the open barren spaces increase, it soon becomes abundant, and about the Hamilton and Big rivers is very plentiful everywhere, growing on the low ridges of drift as well as on the rocky hills. It continues to be abundant to the northward of the Koksoak River. Owing to the lasting qualities of the fruit and its improvement by frost, large quan- tities are gathered annually by the inhabitants, before the ground is covered with snow, for use during the long winter, throughout which the berries keep perfectly, and counteract the ill effects of the constant meat diet of the Indians and other inhabitants. The fruit is found in perfection, immediately after the disappearance of the snow in the spring, and continues good for several weeks, until the juices are dried up by the sun.

Crow-berry.

List of plants. D

Inhabitants.

Difficulty in making a census.

Number of Indians.

40 1 Labrador Peninsula.

Empetrum nigrum, Linn. (Crowberry) is abundant throughout the semi-barren and barren regions of the peninsula, growing freely on the coast and inland. Where the various species of Vaccinium are absent, its fruit is eaten by the natives; but, as it is watery and not well flavoured, it is not esteemed as highly as the other berries. It is a favourite food of the curlew, and is eaten by geese in the early spring.

The lists of plants contained in Appendix VI. show the distribution of the flora of the Labrador Peninsula, including different areas of the interior where collections have been made, and also the Atlantic and Hudson Bay coasts.

POoPULATION.

With the exception of the white settlements along the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and on the Atlantic coast, and the few whites employed by the Hudson’s Bay Company in the interior and on Hudson Bay, the inhabitants of the Labrador Peninsula are either Indians or Eskimo.

It is very difficult to arrive at more than a rough approximation of the numbers of Indians inhabiting the interior, owing to their habits of roving from one Company’s post to another; and the consequent liability to counting the same family several times, if the returns are computed from the books of the various posts, which is the only available data for any exact enumeration.

From the returns given in the reports of the Department of Indian Affairs, the Indians of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, including those of Lake St. John, numbered 1919 in 1888, and 1725 in 1893. These figures exclude 2860, under the heading of the “Nascopies of the Lower St. Lawrence,” which number is the same in both returns. According to the same source, the number of Indians of Eastern Rupert Land is 4016; that of the Labrador (Canadian Interior) 1000, and that of the Atlantic coast 4000. The last probably refers to the Eskimo, but is not so stated. These returns would give a total native population of more than 13,000 persons, if the Indians of East- ern Rupert Land are those of the east coast of Hudson Bay.

In Appendix II., page 336, of the report of the Committee on the Hudson’s Bay Company (1857), a return of the native population 1s given, compiled by the Hudson’s Bay Company and others. The total number of natives trading at, and belonging to, the various posts in the Labrador Peninsula is given as 3885 persons; and this estimate, although probably somewhat high, is still much nearer to the natave

we. ] POPULATION. 41 L

Indian population than that given above. The population of the St. Lawrence coast is given as 1800 persons, which agrees closely with the Department of Indian Affairs returns for the years 1888 and 1893.* Of the remainder, 400 belonged to posts on the Atlantic coast, where probably a number of Eskimo are inclyded, 950 belonged to the posts of the east coast of Hudson Bay, and the balance, 735, were attached to the posts of the interior. Since this return was made, the food resources and other conditions have changed consider- ably, and with them the distribution of the Indians.

In 1857, there were seven trading posts in the interior of the pen- Changes in insula, and at present there are but three, Waswanipi, Mistassini and population. Nichicun. Fort Chimo, near the mouth of the Koksoak River was not then opened. The policy of the Hudson’s Bay Company was then to keep the Indians away from the coast and contact with opposition traders ; this has now been changed, and the great body of the natives travel annually to and from their hunting grounds in the interior, to the various coast posts. In consequence, instead of 735 persons be- longing to inland posts, at present there are not above 300 attached to these posts. The number of Indians trading at Northwest River and Davis Inlet, on the Atlantic coast, is about 200 persons. At Fort Chimo the famine of 1892-93 reduced the number of Indians in that district from 350 to less than 200 persons. Connected with the posts at Great Whale River, Fort George and Rupert House, on Hudson Bay, the total number of Indians does not exceed 1000 persons, and probably falls considerably short of that number, so that at the highest estimate the Indian population of the Labrador Peninsula does not exceed 3500, and is more likely nearer 3000.

the Eskimo inhabit the coast of the peninsula from Hamilton Jnlet Number of northward along the Atlantic coast to Hudson Strait, the east shore of Hudson Bay as far south as Great Whale River, while a few families live on the islands of James Bay. From the meagre returns available, only an approximate statement of their numbers can be compiled. In the census of Newfoundland (1891), the Eskimo are not separated from the white population of the Labrador coast ; but, as the number of resident whites is not above 100 persons north of Hamilton Inlet, and as the Eskimo form about one-half the population of that place, from a total of 1191 persons there, and along the coast north of Hamilton Inlet, between 900 and 1000 may be taken as Eskimo. The following estimate of the Eskimo population living on Hudson

—

“The census return for 1891 gives a total of 1387 Indians belonging to the posts

along the north shore of the St. Lawrence, to the eastward, and exclusive of, the enay.

Whites on Labrador coast.

Total popula- tion.

Planters.”

42 L Labrador Peninsula.

Strait and the east coast of Hudson Bay was supplied by Mr. R. Gray, who was for upwards of ten years clerk at Fort Chimo, and is well acquainted with the Eskimo of Ungava Bay :—From Cape Chidley to Hope’s Advance, 51 families ; about Hope’s Advance, 30 families ; from Stupart Bay to Cape Wolstenholme, 80 families ; from Cape Wolstenholme to Great Whale River, 80 families. The average Eskimo family is small and rarely exceeds five persons. Taking this as the average, the total population to the west of Cape Chidley would be 1200 persons. This estimate is probably excessive, and 1000 persons would be nearer the number, if not still above it. According to the Newfoundland census of 1891, the total population of the Labrador coast between Blanc Sablon and Cape Chidley is 4106, including the Eskimo already referred to. Subtracting the 1000 Eskimo would leave a resident white population of 3106 greatly increased during the summer months by fishermen from Newfound- land. In 1890, 10,430 men, 2076 women and 828 children from Newfoundland were so engaged, in 854 vessels.

According to the Canadian census (1891), there is a white popula- tion of 5728, scattered along the north shore of the Gulf of St. Law- rence, to the eastward, and exclusive of those living about the mouth of the Saguenay River, who number 2440.

To sum up, taking 3500 Indians, 2000 Eskimo and 8800 whites, the total population of the Labrador Peninsula is 14,300, or, roughly, one person to every thirty-five square miles.

The white population along the gulf coast consists largely of French Canadians who obtain a livelihood chiefly from the fisheries, with slight help from fur hunting during the winter. On the Atlantic coast the whites, northward from the Strait of Belle Isle to Sandwich Bay, are largely English speaking, and are either immigrants from Newfoundland, or the descendants of English fishermen formerly en- gaged in the salmon fishery. Northward of Sandwich Bay, the white inhabitants are, for the most part, descended from Hudson’s Bay Com- pany servants, who married Eskimo women and remained on the coast after their services had expired. They are known along the coast as “planters,” and gain a fairly comfortable living from the cod and salmon fishery in the summer, and by fur hunting during the winter. They are all deeply in debt to the Hudson’s Bay Company and Newfoundland fishing firms for supplies advanced. Having no capital of their own, they are compelled every spring, in order to carry on their fishing, to obtain supplies and nets from the merchants. If the season is favourable, they may be able to pay off their

Low. POPULATION. 43 L

debts at its close; but, as a rule, of late years they have been going deeper and deeper into debt, owing to the scarcity of fish along the coast where they are accustomed to make their fisheries. The natives ascribe the failure of the fishery to the ‘numerous trap-nets now used along the coast by fishermen employed by the New- foundiand merchants. The use of these nets is said to be contrary to the law of Newfoundland, but, as there is no strict government patrol of the Labrador coast, the law is practically inoperative.

At the close of the fishery, the greater number of the “planters” Winter

leave their small houses on the coast, and proceeding to the heads of quarters. the various bays, go into winter quarters in their small houses there. During the winter they are engaged hunting fur-bearing animals. These also are not so plentiful as formerly, owing probably, to the large areas burnt over, either from fires accidentally made, or set on purpose by the owners of schooners, who often fire the country along shore, so as to easily make dry firewood for future seasons.

Each “ planter ” has a “ path,” or line of traps, often extending fifty Fur hunting. miles or more inland, and as these paths cannot be covered in one day, he has emall “shacks,” or log houses, at convenient intervals along them, where he can pass the night with some degree of comfort. Some of the paths are so long that they require a week to go over and attend to the traps on the way.

During the months of April and May the planters and Eskimo are Seal hunting. engaged at the seal hunt. They kill these animals on the ice of the upper part of the inlets, by watching at their holes or cracks, and Spearing them when they come to breathe or sun themselves. Form- erly the takes were large, but of late years they have been so small that many are abandoning the hunt. As soon as the ice leaves the bays, seals are taken in nets set along shore. The seals are used principally for local consumption, although some skins and a small quantity of oil are exported. The skins are used for outer winter clothing and other domestic purposes, while the fat and meat are preserved for dog food ; for, as each “ planter ” has a team of dogs, varying in number from two to six, and as the Hudson’s Bay Company keep a large number of dogs, a great quantity of seal meat is required.

Notwithstanding the decrease in the fishery, furs and seals, the planters make a much better living than many of the poorer people in cities ; and, if they were to exert themselves more, and were more thrifty, they might make a comfortable and independent living. As it is, with a reasonable amount of care, thought and labour, they can procure sufficient provisions to keep their families well fed, as in the Food supply.

44 L Labrador Peninsula.

fall, after the close of the commercial fishery, they can obtain an abund- ance of brook trout, that swarm at the mouths of all the streams flowing into the sea. At this time, spruce partridges are very plenti-

. ful on their migration from the coast inland, while, later, ptarmigan

Missionaries.

Education.

Tribes of Indiana.

and rabbits are generally abundant. The proceeds of their fishery would easily provide them with flour and provisions, while all living inland might raise a small crop of potatoes ; then, the proceeds of their winter’s hunt would, in most cases, be ample to supply clothes for a year, and leave a surplus. This is, unfortunately, not the case, and a number of families are often without sufficient food and clothing every year.

For the spiritual benefit of the whites, the Methodist church of Newfoundland has a mission station opposite Rigolet, in charge of the Rev. Mr. Pollock, who resides there a part of the time; the rest of his time being taken up with house to house visitations to the planters. As his district extends to and includes Sandwich Bay, one hundred miles to the south, where there is a large settlement, the,time devoted to each family is small. The Episcopal church has a mission school at Sandwich Bay, in charge of Mr. L. Dicks, who also travels from house to house, instructing the children.

In spite of lack of educational advantages, nearly everybody can read and write, and all are very religious. As alcoholic liquors are not openly sold on the Labrador coast, cases of intoxication are exceedingly rare, and many of the younger people do not know the taste of alcohol. On the whole, these people compare favourably with those of more civilized regions, being frugal, moral, willing, good tempered, and naturally intelligent ; their only fault, want of thrift and provr dence, is largely due to their mode of living, absence from any market of competitive labour, and the system of credit and debt under which they live.

The Indians of the Labrador Peninsula belong to tribes of the Algon- kin family. The principal tribes of Labrador are the Montagnais, the eastern and western Nascaupees, and the coastal Indians of Hudson Bay. The Montagnais inhabit the country extending south of a line drawn westward from Hamilton Inlet, to the headwaters of the St- Maurice River. The Nascaupees inhabit the interior country north of this line, or from the bottom of James Bay eastward to Hamilton Inlet. The northern limit of their territory is marked by the Koksoak River, from its mouth to the Stillwater Branch, and by this stream westward to its head on the neighbourhood of Clearwater Lake, and thence west- ward to Richmond Gulf on Hudson Bay. This line divides the Indian territory from that of the Eskimo, and the boundary is well observed,

Low. POPULATION. 45 L

the latter keeping far to the north of it, when hunting deer inland, and the Indians rarely crossing it from the southward.

The coastal Indians of Hudson Bay are confined to a narrow margin extending from the bottom of James Bay to Little Whale River, along the east coast.

The various tribes are closely related by intermarriage, and, although Close relation . . . . of different

using different dialects, have many manners and customs in common. jibes.

The northern Indians have apparently migrated to their present terri-

tory, from a south-west direction, as their language contains many

words of the Sauteaux or Ojibway tongue; whereas the southern

Indians speak purer Cree. The Nascaupees have traditions that their

people originally dwelt far to the south, on the north side of a great river,

with the sea to the eastward. They were driven northward by the

Iroquois during the wars of the early French régime in Canada. Such

was the terror inspired by the Iroquois, who followed them beyond the Fear of the

southern watershed to the shores of Hudson Bay, and eastward along "1°"

the St. Lawrence to the Natashquan River, that at present they use

their name to frighten the children. The writer had two Iroquois as

canoemen on the Big and Great Whale rivers, and could only with

great difficulty, induce the native Indians to accompany him inland

along with their traditional foes and conquerors. There are several

places between Hudson Bay and the Lower St. Lawrence, where great

massacres of the natives were perpetrated by the Iroquois.

The Montagnais are more or less of mixed blood, having intermarried Montagnais. with the old coureurs des bois and the French and English traders. This admixture of white blood is seen in the better physique of the tribe, the men being more muscular and broader than the pure Indian of the interior. Asa rule, the men are of medium height, but a few are tall. The women are inclined to obesity as they advance in years, like their sisters of the northern tribes. The western Nascaupees are, Nascaupees. as a rule, the tallest men in Labrador, many of them being six feet and over in height, straight and of light physique. The eastern Nascaupees are usually not above five feet six inches tall, slightly built and not at all muscular, being incapable of carrying half the loads of the Montagnais. They are also the dirtiest and most degraded Indians of Labrador. The coastal Indians have apparently a large Coastal admixture of white blood, as many of them have blue eyes and the men !™dians as a rule have strong beards. They bear in figure and face a certain resemblance to their northern neighbours the Eskimo, being heavily built and unlike the typical Indian. The admixture of white blood would account for this difference of physique, and it may also have

Language.

Religion.

Conjurors.

Education.

46 L Labrador Peninsula.

been induced by their living along the sea coast. Their resemblance to the Eskimo is not likely due to a blood relationship, as the Indians and Eskimo never take wives from one another, nor have sexual inter. course together.

Very little is known definitely about the philology and ethnology of the Indians, and the present account is only from desultory infor- mation picked up among them by the writer.

The language, as before stated, is various dialects of Cree, or a mixture of Cree and Ojibway. The dialects are more numerous than those of the four tribes given above. The Montagnais of Lake St. John speak a somewhat different dialect from that of Bersimis, and it again differs from the dialects of Mingan or Northwest River. These differences of dialect in the same tribe are slight, and are mostly in the slang and intersections. The same differences apply to the dialects of the Nascaupee, Mistassini and Nichicun, differing from that of Fort Chimo, and all from that of Whale River and Rupert House. But these differences are all so small that the Montagnais canoemen con- versed readily with the natives at Mistassini, Nichicun, Fort Chimo and Northwest River, and were only slightly puzzled on the coast of Hudson Bay, where the number of Ojibway words is greater. large majority of the Indians of Labrador are Christians, the Monta- gnais of the St. Lawrence and Hamilton Inlet being Roman Catholics, while the Indians of the,.western watershed have been converted by the missionaries of the Church of England. Only the eastern Nas- caupees are pagans, and most of them have a faint tinge of Christianity, imparted on hurried visits by the Roman Catholic missionaries, between Hamilton Inlet and Ungava Bay. The christianized Indians are devoutly religious, attending strictly to the offices of the church during the long periods of absence from the eye of the missionary. While in the woods, they keep track of the weeks, ticking the days off ona rough calendar. They do not work on Sunday, and observe the fast days. Notwithstanding their careful observance of the offices, their religion is to a considerable extent leavened with old pagan supersti- tions, and a sneaking regard is still held for the windago and other evil spirits of their forefathers. It is almost laughable to see the respect with which the most religious of them treat the well-known conjurors or medicine men of the pagan Nascaupees ; and they all secretly believe that these persons can, if they wish, work barm by the aid of evil spirits. All the Christian Indians can read and write. those instructed by the English missionaries using a kind of syllabic shorthand, while those under the French missionaries make use of books printed in the ordinary way.

cow. POPULATION. 47 L

Dishonesty and theft are unknown to the interior Indians ; pro- Honesty. visions and outfit can be left anywhere inland with perfect safety for any length of time. Only in a case of absolute starvation will provi- sions be taken, and then only a small part, for which payment will be left by the person taking them. It is to be regretted that along the coasts, where the Indians are in close communication with the whites, their

honesty suffers, and a good lookout must be kept, or property will be stolen.

As a rule, the Indians have not a strict regard for the truth, and Moral. speak it only when convenient. The missionaries have improved the

moral and sexual relations of the Indians, but there is still room for improvement in the latter respect. Marriages are made early, the Marriage. men taking wives as soon as they can support them, and the women

being given in marriage when they are fourteen or fifteen years old. Among the Christian Indians monogamy is practised, and the marriage ceremony is performed by the missionaries, or, in their absence, by the

oticers of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Among the pagan Indians

many of the men have two wives, and some three or four, according to

the number they can support by their hunt. Continence is not usual. Widows are in great demand in marriage, and often a young boy is

mated to a woman old enough to be his mother. As a widow inherits

her dead husband’s hunting grounds, a marriage with her provides the

second husband with hunting grounds as wet as a wife, and in conse-

quence widows are taken by young men without lands. The respect

shown by children to parents is great, and the will of the aged father Childreu. is law, even with middle-aged sons, who will not enter into any serious undertaking without first consulting the head of the family. Children

are never beaten, but soon learn to obey without punishment. As a

tule, the number of children borne by the women is small, rarely exceeding five. The women become wrinkled and old before they are

forty years of age; after which they often live for many years. The

men show the effects of age much less than the women, and it is exceedingly difficult to tell their exact age between 50 and 70 years, as

the hair rarely turns grey. The greatest mortality is due to pulmonary diseases, which are induced by exposure to cold and wet, with no pisse covering on the feet but deerskin moccasins, which soak like blotting-

paper. ‘ Lame back” incapacitates a number of the men, and is probably due to disease of the kidneys. Complaints of the stomach

are also the cause of many deaths, owing to the weakening of that

organ by alternate periods of starvation and gormandizing. Scro-

fulous sores and ulcers are not uncommon, and appear to be inherited.

Burial.

Mode of

living.

Annual visit to the coast.

48 L Labrador Peninsula.

The dead throughout Labrador are buried in the ground, and, only when death takes place during the winter, is the body placed in a tree until the frost is out of the ground. The clothing, gun and other articles belonging to the deceaséd are often buried with him, or placed on the grave, when the burial takes place in the woods, and no Indian would touch anything so left, or camp near one of these lonely graves. The dead are mourned for according to the position they occupied, and the grief displayed is deep and sincere. A curious custom was noted in the interior, on the arrival of the various families at the posts in the spring— instead of joyous greetings the women clasp one another and indulge in a period of silent weeping, after which they cheer up and exchange gossip.

The annual routine of an Indian life is made up of two periods, the short period, from one to three months, spent during the summer at the coast, and the long period passed inland. Those who trade at the inland posts, are engaged throughout the summer transporting to Hudson Bay the fur hunt of the past winter and bringing back the supplies to form the next season’s outfit. The amount of supplies is so great and the number of men at these posts is so small, that every one capable of working is enlisted, including half-grown boys and old men. As most of the women and children accompany the brigades of large canoes, in their small canoes, the journey practically amounts to a co-operative scheme of bringing in supplies, and differs only in this respect from the annual visit to the coast of the independent families. The only Indians who do not come in contact with the white traders during the summer, are some eighteen families who reside on the shores of a large lake about two hundred miles above the mouth of the George River. These Indians never visit the coast during the summer, and their only communication with the white traders is during the early spring, when the younger men tramp to Davis Inlet on the Atlantic coast, and there trade their furs for tea, tobacco and ammu- nition. They do not buy clothing or provisions, and haul their pur- chases home on long narrow toboggans over the crusted snow. This little tribe of Indians carries on a small trade in the above mentioned articles with the other neighbouring Indians of the interior. As they reside in a district plentifully supplied with caribou, they depend upon these animals both for food and clothing, and are thus practically independent of the traders.

The majority of the Indians who go to the coast, congregate at con- venient centres in bands of six or more families, and in company descend the rivers in their small bark canoes. The time of the spring gathering is shortly after the ice leaves the rivers, when the fur of the

Low. POPULATION. 49 L

otter becomes ‘‘common.” Each family carries with it the packs of furs obtained during the winter, together with most of their movable property. Those living farthest inland are often more than two weeks in descending to the post, owing to the long and difficult “roads” they have to follow. On arrival at the coast, the fur-packs are handed over to the trader with whom the Indian deals, and a valuation being set upon them, the Indian is allowed credit for the value computed in “skins 7 or “ beavers,” which are the units of value in the trade—the Fur trade. price of the different furs being reckoned in comparison with a medi- um sized beaver skin, and the traders’ supplies are valued in the same manner. On the St. Lawrence coast this system of barter is falling into disuse, and cash is taking the place of the old beaver as a medium of exchange. The summer season at the posts is passed in visiting friends and in a round of gaiety. Very few of the Indians have been Summer life. induced to cultivate land on their own account, although they some- times work in the gardens of the traders and missionaries. The only work that they willingly undertake is in canoes, either attending fish- ing parties or transporting provisions inland. During the summer season à majority live in small cotton tents, but some of the most successful hunters own small log houses, in which they pass the sum- mer. During the month of August, preparations are made for the journey to winter quarters, and by the end of that month most of the Indians leave the various posts.

Owing to the extermination of the caribou in many parts of the country and to an insufficiency of other game, the greater number of the Indians are now obliged to purchase a considerable quantity of flour, and carry it inland to their hunting grounds.

So much provisions, along with other outfit, are now taken by the Transport of southern Indians that they have to make two or three trips with their “UPPlies. canoes at starting, and often they are more than two months in reach- ing their winter quarters. In former years, the Hudson’s Bay Com- pany and other traders annually advanced the Indians sufficient pro- visions and outfit to carry on their winter’s hunt, and recouped them- selves in the following spring At present, to a great extent, this Change in system of advances has been abandoned, and the Indian only gets such system of outfit and provisions as he can pay for in cash or fur. The change is due largely to the losses entailed by close competition, and to the dishon- est practices of many of the Indians, who instead of delivering their fyr to the persons who advanced to them, take it to rival traders and exchange it for cash or other articles—leaving their debts unpaid.

The change is consequently justifiable where there is competition in the J4s relation to

fur trade, but bears heavily on the Indian, who is naturally improvident the Indian.

Hunting grounds.

Extermina- tion of fur- bearing animals.

Winter tent.

50 L Labrador Peninsula.

and spends the proceed of his annual hunt as soon as he gets it, with- out thought or care. In consequence, when the hunt is a failure, which is often the case through no fault of the hunter, the poor Indian has little or nothing to buy his outfit with, and departs to the woods im- properly supplied. To this cause is due much of the hardship, starvation and death reported among the Indians of the Labrador Peninsula during the past few years. With the exception of the eastern Nascaupees, all the Indians now dress in clothing procured from the trading shops, and many of the southern Indians, having ac- quired a taste for luxuries of civilization unknown to their fathers, must make large hunts in order to gratify these tastes.

Each family is supposed to own a portion of territory with the ex- clusive hunting rights to it The territory is generally divided into three parts, each part being hunted over in successive years, and in this manner the fur-bearing animals are allowed to recuperate. In the southern country extensive fires, too close hunting, and other causes are rapidly extermipating the animals, and the families owning these grounds, in order to obtain a living, are obliged to encroach upon their northern neighbours. As the intruders care little or nothing about keeping up the stock on these lands, the result is most disastrous, and in a few years, if strict laws are not enacted, the fur-bearing animals of the province of Quebec will be practically exterminated, and the In- dians, thus left without their only means of subsistence, will be reduced to beggary, or will die off from famine.

As soon as the hunting grounds are reached and the cold weather begins, the cotton tent is exchanged for the wigwam or “ metswap,” which is constructed by removing the snow from a circle ten or twelve feet in diameter, about the circumference of which poles six or eight inches apart are planted sloping inwards so as to form a skeleton cone. This cone is covered with cotton cloths, sheets of birch bark, or dressed deer skin, often in part by all three, and a space is left at the top about two feet in diameter for the escape of the smoke. The removal of a pole leaves the space for a door, which is generally closed with an old flour-sack split open, and bound to sticks at the ends to keep it spread out. The bottom of the tent is banked up with snow on the outside, while a thick bed of green houghs is laid over the floor. The fire is built on a few stones in the centre, raised slightly above the ground. Many of the southern Indians have small stoves made out of sheet-iron instead of open fires, and thus avoid the con. stant smoke which fills the interior, especially when the door is fre- quently opened.

L

Low. POPULATION. 51 L

Before the lakes and streams freeze up, hunting is largely carried on Autumn hun with the gun, the Indians shooting from their canoes beaver, otter, mink and muskrats, and in the burnt areas, where blueberries are plentiful, bears. The northern Indians at this time are engaged in their principal caribou hunt, killing great numbers by spearing them in the rivers, as they pass on their annual migrations. After the rivers are frozen, most of the fur hunt is made with traps; these are either steel traps or dead-falls of wood. The principal animals taken during Winter hunt. the early winter are marten, fox and lynx. During the intense cold of December, January and February, the wild animals move about very little and hunting is unprofitable. During this period the Indians do not hunt unless compelled to do so by hunger. In the month of March, the martens are once more travelling, and continue to constitute Spring hunt. the principal hunt until the small streams begin to break up, when at- tention is given to the beaver and otter and, later on, to the bear. In this manner the winter routine is carried out, with the intervals mostly filled in looking for food. Ptarmigan and Canada grouse are killed during the winter, along with rabbits, which are periodically plentiful, while fish, ducks and geese aid in stocking the larder in the spring and fall.

When the St. Lawrence was first discovered, the Eskimo inhabited Eskimo along the north shore of the gulf as far west as Mingan. They maintained the St. Law- their position here until 1600, when the Indians, having procured fire- arms from the French, waged unequal war on their old enemies and drove them eastward to the Strait of Belle Isle, where the Eskimo main- tained a fortified camp on an island near the western end of the strait until 1630. Since then, a gradual retreat has been made northward, and their present southern limit is Hamilton Inlet, which appears to have long been the head quarters of the southern Eskimo, and is named Eskimo Bay on all the older maps. From here these people are scattered along the northern coast to Hudson Strait. Several large settlements are found at the Moravian Mission stations of Hopedale, Zoar, Nain, Moravian Okak and Ramah on the Atlantic coast. There are very few families Mission between Nachvak and George River in Ungava Bay, the coast being high, desolate and unfit to sustain a large population. The Eskimo are more numerous along the west coast of Ungava Bay and Hudson Strait, and are found along the east coast of Hudson Bay, and among the outer islands of that coast, as far south as Great Whale River. Of late years, some three or four families have hunted on the islands in James Bay.

Turner* divides the Eskimo inhabiting the coasts of the Labrador Tribes of Peninsula into three or four sub-divisions, on account of sub-tribal dis. Eskimo.

Annual Report U.S. Bureau of Ethnology, 1889-90.--Ethnology of the Ungava District, Hudson Bay Territory, Lucien M. Turner.

Hunting grounds.

Extermina- tion of fur- bearin

animals.

Winter tent.

50 L Labrador Peninsula.

and spends the proceed of his annual hunt as soon as he gets it, with- out thought or care. In consequence, when the hunt is a failure, which is often the case through no fault of the hunter, the poor Indian has little or nothing to buy his outfit with, and departs to the woods im- properly supplied. To this cause is due much of the hardship, starvation and death reported among the Indians of the Labrador Peninsula during the past few years. With the exception of the eastern Nascaupees, all the Indians now dress in clothing procured from the trading shops, and many of the southern Indians, having ac- quired a taste for luxuries of civilization unknown to their fathers, must make large hunts in order to gratify these tastes.

Each family is supposed to own a portion of territory with the ex- clusive hunting rights to it. The territory is generally divided into three parts, each part being hunted over in successive years, and in this manner the fur-bearing animals are allowed to recuperate. In the southern country extensive fires, too close hunting, and other causes are rapidly extermipating the animals, and the families owning these grounds, in order to obtain a living, are obliged to encroach upon their northern neighbours. As the intruders care little or nothing about keeping up the stock on these lands, the result is most disastrous, and in a few years, if strict laws are not enacted, the fur-bearing animals of the province of Quebec will be practically exterminated, and the In- dians, thus left without their only means of subsistence, will be reduced to beggary, or will die off from famine.

As soon as the hunting grounds are reached and the cold weather begins, the cotton tent is exchanged for the wigwam or “ metswap,” which is constructed by removing the snow from a circle ten or twelve feet in diameter, about the circumference of which poles six or eight inches apart are planted sloping inwards so as to form a skeleton cone. This cone is covered with cotton cloths, sheets of birch bark, or dressed deer skin, often in part by all three, and a space is left at the top about two feet in diameter for the escape of the smoke. The removal of a pole leaves the space for a door, which is generally closed with an old flour-sack split open, and bound to sticks at the ends to keep it spread out. The bottom of the tent is banked up with snow on the outside, while a thick bed of green houghs is laid over the floor. The fire is built on a few stones in the centre, raised slightly above the ground. Many of the southern Indians have small stoves made out of sheet-iron instead of open fires, and thus avoid the con. stant smoke which fills the interior, especially when the door is fre- quently opened.

tow. POPULATION. 51 L

Before the lakes and streams freeze up, hunting is largely carried on Autamn hun with the gun, the Indians shooting from their canoes beaver, otter, mink and muskrats, and in the burnt areas, where blueberries are plentiful, bears. The northern Indians at this time are engaged in their principal caribou hunt, killing great numbers by spearing them in the rivers, as they pass on their annual migrations. After the rivers are frozen, most of the fur hunt is made with traps; these are either steel traps or dead-falls of wood. The principal animals taken during Winter hunt. the early winter are marten, fox and lynx. During the intense cold of December, January and February, the wild animals move about very little and hunting is unprofitable. During this period the Indians do not hunt unless compelled to do so by hunger. In the month of March, the martens are once more travelling, and continue to constitute Spring hunt. the principal hunt until the small streams begin to break up, when at- tention is given to the beaver and otter and, later on, to the bear. In this manner the winter routine is carried out, with the intervals mostly filled in looking for food. Ptarmigan and Canada grouse are killed during the winter, along with rabbits, which are periodically plentiful, while fish, ducks and geese aid in stocking the larder in the spring and fall.

When the St. Lawrence was first discovered, the Eskimo inhabited Eskimo along the north shore of the gulf as far west as Mingan. They maintained the St. Law- their position here until 1600, when the Indians, having procured fire- arms from the French, waged unequal war on their old enemies and drove them eastward to the Strait of Belle Isle, where the Eskimo main- tained a fortified camp on an island near the western end of the strait until 1630. Since then, a gradual retreat has been made northward, and their present southern limit is Hamilton Inlet, which appears to have long been the head quarters of the southern Eskimo, and is named Eskimo Bay on all the older maps. From here these people are scattered along the northern coast to Hudson Strait. Several large settlements are found at the Moravian Mission stations of Hopedale, Zoar, Nain, Moravian Okak and Ramah on the Atlantic coast. There are very few families Mission between Nachvak and George River in Ungava Bay, the coast being high, desolate and unfit to sustain a large population. The Eskimo are more numerous along the west coast of Ungava Bay and Hudson Strait, and are found along the east coast of Hudson Bay, and among the outer islands of that coast, as far south as Great Whale River. Of late years, some three or four families have hunted on the islands in James Bay.

Turner* divides the Eskimo inhabiting the coasts of the Labrador Tribes of Peninsula into three or four sub-divisions, on account of sub-tribal dis- Ékim0.

Annual Report U. S. Bureau of Ethnol y, 1889-90.--Ethnology of the Ungava District, Hudson Bay Territory, Lucien M. Turner.

Hunting grounds.

Extermina- tion of fur- bearin animals.

Winter tent.

50 L Labrador Peninsula.

and spends the proceed of his annual hunt as soon as he gets it, with- out thought or care. In consequence, when the hunt is a failure, which is often the case through no fault of the hunter, the poor Indian has little or nothing to buy his outfit with, and departs to the woods im- properly supplied. To this cause is due much of the hardship, starvation and death reported among the Indians of the Labrador Peninsula during the past few years. With the exception of the eastern Nascaupees, all the Indians now dress in clothing procured from the trading shops, and many of the southern Indians, having ac- quired a taste for luxuries of civilization unknown to their fathers, must make large hunts in order to gratify these tastes.

Each family is supposed to own a portion of territory with the ex- clusive hunting rights to it. The territory is generally divided into three parts, each part being hunted over in successive years, and in this manner the fur-bearing animals are allowed to recuperate. In the southern country extensive fires, too close hunting, and other causes are rapidly exterminating the animals, and the families owning these grounds, in order to obtain a living, are obliged to encroach upon their northern neighbours. As the intruders care little or nothing about keeping up the stock on these lands, the result is most disastrous, and in a few years, if strict laws are not enacted, the fur-bearing animals of the province of Quebec will be practically exterminated, and the In- dians, thus left without their only means of subsistence, will be reduced to beggary, or will die off from famine.

As soon as the hunting grounds are reached and the cold weather begins, the cotton tent is exchanged for the wigwam or “ metswap,” which is constructed by removing the snow from a circle ten or twelve feet in diameter, about the circumference of which poles six or eight inches apart are planted sloping inwards so as to form a skeleton cone. This cone is covered with cotton cloths, sheets of birch bark, or dressed deer skin, often in part by all three, and a space is left at the top about two feet in diameter for the escape of the smoke. The removal of a pole leaves the space for a door, which is generally closed with an old flour-sack split open, and bound to sticks at the ends to keep it spread out. The bottom of the tent is banked up with snow on the outside, while a thick bed of green boughs is laid over the floor. The fire is built on a few stones in the centre, raised slightly above the ground. Many of the southern Indians have small stoves made out of sheet-iron instead of open fires, and thus avoid the con. stant smoke which fills the interior, especially when the door is fre- quently opened.

Low. POPULATION. 51 L

Before the lakes and streams freeze up, hunting is largely carried on Autumn hun with the gun, the Indians shooting from their canoes beaver, otter, mink and muskrats, and in the burnt areas, where blueberries are plentiful, bears. The northern Indians at this time are engaged in their principal caribou hunt, killing great numbers by spearing them in the rivers, as they pass on their annual migrations. After the rivers are frozen, most of the fur hunt is made with traps; these are either steel traps or dead-falls of wood. The principal animals taken during Winter hunt. the early winter are marten, fox and lynx. During the intense cold of December, January and February, the wild animals move about very little and hunting is unprofitable. During this period the Indians do not hunt unless compelled to do so by hunger. In the month of March, the martens are once more travelling, and continue to constitute Spring hunt. the principal hunt until the small streams begin to break up, when at- tention is given to the beaver and otter and, later on, to the bear. In this manner the winter routine is carried out, with the intervals mostly filled in looking for food. Ptarmigan and Canada grouse are killed during the winter, along with rabbits, which are periodically plentiful, while fish, ducks and geese aid in stocking the larder in the spring and fall.

When the St. Lawrence was first discovered, the Eskimo inhabited Eskimo along the north shore of the gulf as far west as Mingan. They maintained the St. Law- their position here until 1600, when the Indians, having procured fire- arms from the French, waged unequal war on their old enemies and drove them eastward to the Strait of Belle Isle, where the Eskimo main- tained a fortified camp on an island near the western end of the strait until 1630. Since then, a gradual retreat has been made northward, and their present southern limit is Hamilton Inlet, which appears to have long been the head quarters of the southern Eskimo, and is named Eskimo Bay on all the older maps. From here these people are scattered along the northern coast to Hudson Strait. Several large settlements are found at the Moravian Mission stations of Hopedale, Zoar, Nain, Moravian Okak and Ramah on the Atlantic coast. There are very few families Mission between Nachvak and George River in Ungava Bay, the coast being high, desolate and unfit to sustain a large population. The Eskimo are more numerous along the west coast of Ungava Bay and Hudson Strait, and are found along the east coast of Hudson Bay, and among the outer islands of that coast, as far south as Great Whale River. Of late years, some three or four families have hunted on the islands in James Bay.

Turner* divides the Eskimo inhabiting the coasts of the Labrador Tribes of Peninsula into three or four sub-divisions, on account of sub-tribal dis- Eskimo.

Annual Report U. S. Bureau of Ethnology, 1889-90.--Ethnology of the Ungava District, Hudson Bay Territory, Lucien M. Turner.

Hunting grounds,

Extermina- tion of fur- n

animals.

Winter tent.

50 L Labrador Peninsula.

and spends the proceed of his annual hunt as soon as he gets it, with- out thought or care. In consequence, when the hunt is a failure, which is often the case through no fault of the hunter, the poor Indian has little or nothing to buy his outfit with, and departs to the woods im- properly supplied. To this cause is due much of the hardship, starvation and death reported among the Indians of the Labrador Peninsula during the past few years. With the exception of the eastern Nascaupees, all the Indians now dress in clothing procured from the trading shops, and many of the southern Indians, having ac- quired a taste for luxuries of civilization unknown to their fathers, must make large hunts in order to gratify these tastes.

Each family is supposed to own a portion of territory with the ex- clusive hunting rights to it. The territory is generally divided into three parts, each part being hunted over in successive years, and in this manner the fur-bearing animals are allowed to recuperate. In the southern country extensive fires, too close hunting, and other causes are rapidly exterminating the animals, and the families owning these grounds, in order to obtain a living, are obliged to encroach upon their northern neighbours. As the intruders care little or nothing about keeping up the stock on these lands, the result is most disastrous, and in a few years, if strict laws are not enacted, the fur-bearing animals of the province of Quebec will be practically exterminated, and the In- dians, thus left without their only means of subsistence, will be reduced to beggary, or will die off from famine.

As soon as the hunting grounds are reached and the cold weather begins, the cotton tent is exchanged for the wigwam or “ metswap,” which is constructed by removing the snow from a circle ten or twelve feet in diameter, about the circumference of which poles six or eight inches apart are planted sloping inwards so as to form a skeleton cone. This cone is covered with cotton cloths, sheets of birch bark, or dressed deer skin, often in part by all three, and a space is left at the top about two feet in diameter for the escape of the smoke. The removal of a pole leaves the space for a door, which is generally closed with an old flour-sack split open, and bound to sticks at the ends to keep it spread out. The bottom of the tent is banked up with snow on the outside, while a thick bed of green boughs is laid over the floor. The fire is built on a few stones in the centre, raised slightly above the ground. Many of the southern Indians have small stoves made out of sheet-iron instead of open fires, and thus avoid the con- stant smoke which fills the interior, especially when the door is fre- quently opened.

cow. POPULATION. 51 L

Before the lakes and streams freeze up, hunting is largely carried on Autumn hun with the gun, the Indians shooting from their canoes beaver, otter, mink and muskrats, and in the burnt areas, where blueberries are plentiful, bears. The northern Indians at this time are engaged in their principal caribou hunt, killing great numbers by spearing them in the rivers, as they pass on their annual migrations. After the rivers are frozen, most of the fur hunt is made with traps; these are either steel traps or dead-falls of wood. The principal animals taken during Winter hunt. the early winter are marten, fox and lynx. During the intense cold of December, January and February, the wild animals move about very little and hunting is unprofitable. During this period the Indians do not hunt unless compelled to do so by hunger. In the month of March, the martens are once more travelling, and continue to constitute Spring hunt. the principal hunt until the small streams begin to break up, when at- tention is given to the beaver and otter and, later on, to the bear. In this manner the winter routine is carried out, with the intervals mostly filled in looking for food. Ptarmigan and Canada grouse are killed during the winter, along with rabbits, which are periodically plentiful, while fish, ducks and geese aid in stocking the larder in the spring and fall.

When the St. Lawrence was first discovered, the Eskimo inhabited Eskimo along the north shore of the gulf as far west as Mingan. They maintained the St. Law- their position here until 1600, when the Indians, having procured fire- arms from the French, waged unequal war on their old enemies and drove them eastward to the Strait of Belle Isle, where the Eskimo main- tained a fortified camp on an island near the western end of the strait until 1630. Since then, a gradual retreat has been made northward, and their present southern limit is Hamilton Inlet, which appears to have long been the head quarters of the southern Eskimo, and is named Eskimo Bay on all the older maps. From here these people are scattered along the northern coast to Hudson Strait. Several large settlements are found at the Moravian Mission stations of Hopedale, Zoar, Nain, Moravian Okak and Ramah on the Atlantic coast. There are very few families Mission between Nachvak and George River in Ungava Bay, the coast being high, desolate and unfit to sustain a large population. The Eskimo are more numerous along the west coast of Ungava Bay and Hudson Strait, and are found along the east coast of Hudson Bay, and among the outer islands of that coast, as far south as Great Whale River. Of late years, some three or four families have hunted on the islands in James Bay.

Turner* divides the Eskimo inhabiting the coasts of the Labrador Tribes of Peninsula into three or four sub-divisions, on account of sub-tribal dis- Eskimo.

Annual Report U.S. Bureau of Ethnology, 1889-90.--Ethnology of the Ungava District, Hudson Bay Territory, Lucien M. Turner.

Hunting grounds.

Extermina- tion of fur- bearing animals.

Winter tent.

50 4 Labrador Peninsula.

and spends the proceed of his annual hunt as soon as he gets it, with- out thought or care. In consequence, when the hunt is a failure, which is often the case through no fault of the hunter, the poor Indian has little or nothing to buy his outfit with, and departs to the woods im- properly supplied. To this cause is due much of the hardship, starvation and death reported among the Indians of the Labrador Peninsula during the past few years. With the exception of the eastern Nascaupees, all the Indians now dress in clothing procured from the trading shops, and many of the southern Indians, having ac- quired a taste for luxuries of civilization unknown to their fathers, must make large hunts in order to gratify these tastes.

Each family is supposed to own a portion of territory with the ex- clusive hunting rights to it. The territory is generally divided into three parts, each part being hunted over in successive years, and in this manner the fur-bearing animals are allowed to recuperate. In the southern country extensive fires, too close hunting, and other causes are rapidly exterminating the animals, and the families owning these grounds, in order to obtain a living, are obliged to encroach upon their northern neighbours. As the intruders care little or nothing about keeping up the stock on these lands, the result is most disastrous, and in a few years, if strict laws are not enacted, the fur-bearing animals of the province of Quebec will be practically exterminated, and the In- dians, thus left without their only means of subsistence, will be reduced to beggary, or will die off from famine.

As soon as the hunting grounds are reached and the cold weather begins, the cotton tent is exchanged for the wigwam or “ metswap, which is constructed by removing the snow from a circle ten or twelve feet in diameter, about the circumference of which poles six or eight inches apart are planted sloping inwards so as to form a skeleton cone. This cone is covered with cotton cloths, sheets of birch bark, or dressed deer skin, often in part by all three, and a space is left at the top about two feet in diameter for the escape of the smoke. The removal of a pole leaves the space for a door, which is generally closed with an old flour-sack split open, and bound to sticks at the ends to keep it spread out. The bottom of the tent is banked up with snow on the outside, while a thick bed of green boughs is laid over the floor. The fire is built on a few stones in the centre, raised slightly above the ground. Many of the southern Indians have small stoves made out of sheet-iron instead of open fires, and thus avoid the con. stant smoke which fills the interior, especially when the door is fre quently opened. °

tow. POPULATION. 51 L

Before the lakes and streams freeze up, hunting is largely carried on Autumn hun with the gun, the Indians shooting from their canoes beaver, otter, mink and muskrats, and in the burnt areas, where blueberries are plentiful, bears. The northern Indians at this time are engaged in their principal caribou hunt, killing great numbers by spearing them in the rivers, as they pass on their annual migrations. After the rivers are frozen, most of the fur hunt is made with traps; these are either steel traps or dead-falls of wood. The principal animals taken during Winter hunt. the early winter are marten, fox and lynx. During the intense cold of December, January and February, the wild animals move about very little and hunting is unprofitable. During this period the Indians do not hunt unless compelled to do so by hunger. In the month of March, the martens are once more travelling, and continue to constitute Spring hunt. the principal hunt until the small streams begin to break up, when at- tention is given to the beaver and otter and, later on, to the bear. In this manner the winter routine is carried out, with the intervals mostly filled in looking for food. Ptarmigan and Canada grouse are killed during the winter, along with rabbits, which are periodically plentiful, while fish, ducks and geese aid in stocking the larder in the spring and fall.

When the St. Lawrence was first discovered, the Eskimo inhabited Eskimo along the north shore of the gulf as far west as Mingan. They maintained the St. Law- their position here until 1600, when the Indians, having procured fire- from the French, waged unequal war on their old enemies and drove them eastward to the Strait of Belle Isle, where the Eskimo main- tained a fortified camp on an island near the western end of the strait until 1630. Since then, a gradual retreat has been made northward, and their present southern limit is Hamilton Inlet, which appears to have long been the head quarters of the southern Eskimo, and is named Eskimo Bay on all the older maps. From here these people are scattered along the northern coast to Hudson Strait. Several large settlements are found at the Moravian Mission stations of Hopedale, Zoar, Nain, Moravian — Okak and Ramah on the Atlantic coast. There are very few families Mission between Nachvak and George River in Ungava Bay, the coast being high, desolate and unfit to sustain a large population. The Eskimo are more numerous along the west coast of Ungava Bay and Hudson Strait, and are found along the east coast of Hudson Bay, and among the outer islands of that coast, as far south as Great Whale River. Of late years, some three or four families have hunted on the islands in James Bay.

Turner* divides the Eskimo inhabiting the coasts of the Labrador Tribes of Peninsula into three or four sub-divisions, on account of sub-tribal dis- E*Kimc.

Annual Report U. S. Bureau of Ethnology, 1889-90.—-Ethnology of the Ungava District, Hudson Bay Territory, Lucien M. Turner.

Improvement by mission- aries.

Physique.

92 L Labrador Peninsula.

tinctions maintained amongthemselves. The names given to these trike. by Turner, are those used by the Eskimo of Ungava Bay. The first sub division includes.al] those dwelling along the Atlantic coast and alonz the south shore of Hudson Strait to the mouth of the Leaf River, a few miles northward of the mouth of the Koksoak River. These pec ple call themselves Suhinimyut, “‘those who dwell at or in the sun, ‘or the dwellers in the east. The second sub-division embraces the Eskims dwelling along the south shore of Hudson Strait, between Leaf River and Cape Wolstenholme, at the entrance to Hudson Bay. These peo- ple are called the Tahagmyut, ‘‘ dwellers in the shade,” or the western people. By the Hudson’s Bay Company they are known as “ North. erners.” The third sub-division includes those living along the east coast of Hudson Bay, and they are designated the Itivimyut, or “ the dwellers on the other side.” A fourth division may be made of the Eskimo of the outer islands of Hudson Bay, who, according to the traders and missionaries, differ from their neighbours along the coas’. both in language and customs. They are known as the Kigiktagmyut. or “Island people.” Along the Atlantic coast, as far north as Hope- dale, few or none of the Eskimo are pure blooded. To the north. ward the Moravian missionaries keep the natives from contact with the whites, and in consequence there are very few of mixed blood. In Ungava Bay and on Hudson Bay there are, around the Hudson's Bar posts, many half-breeds, the result of marriage between the employees and Eskimo women.

The natives along the Atlantic coast, from Hopedale to Nachvak, have long been under the direct influence of the Moravian missionaries, and, in consequence, have abandoned many of their ancient customs. Polygamy is no longer tolerated among them; in many cases they conform with a fair standard of civilization, and are quite religious although very superstitious.

On the coast of Hudson Bay, mainly through the endeavours of the Rev. Mr. Peck, of the Church Mission Society, most of the Eskimo have been converted to Christianity. On this coast the missionaries do not reside constantly among the natives, and in consequence these people are very liable to relapse, during their absence, into some of their former pagan habits. The Eskimo of Hudson Strait have not yet been brought under the influences of Christianity, and afford a better chance for the study of their native customs and traits.

It is customary to think of the Eskimo as considerably below the stature of the average European. This is not the case with those inhabiting the coasts of Labrador. The males, as a rule, are quite as tall as the average white man, but owing to their broad, heavy build,

Low. POPULATION. 53 L

they appear shorter than they really are ; and this appearance is en- hanced by their wide garments of hairy deer or seal skins. Where seen by the writer on Hudson Bay, and at Fort Chimo, George River, Nachvak, Davis Inlet and Hamilton Inlet, several of the men at each place were six feet and upwards in height, the average height being about five feet six inches. The women, as a rule, are short and stout, and look in their native dress of deer-skin coat, trousers and long seal boots, much shorter than they actually are.

The temperament of the Eskimo differs much from that of the Tempera- Indian, the former being jovial, good-natured and very industrious. "ent. They are good workers with tools, and on the Hudson Bay coast the blacksmiths confess that the natives, without the use of a forge, can work and temper iron better than they can. These people, living as they do on the coast, depend largely upon marine animals for food Food. and clothing. Their principal food is seal meat, together with por- poise, whale meat and fish. They also kill many caribou, to the north of the Koksoak River. For this purpose, they travel inland from the coast, but the pursuit of this animal is chiefly for its skin, used in clothing. The hunters quickly tire of the flesh, it being not fat enough to suit their taste. During the winter, they hunt fur, to purchase what supplies they may need from the traders. The princi- pal furs taken by them are red, cross, black, white and blue foxes, white bears, wolves and wolverines, besides deer and seals. The Eskimo have uot as many civilized wants as the Indians, the prin- m,,4e. cipal articles of trade taken in exchange for their furs being am- munition, tobacco, knives and iron, tea, sugar and needles. They do not buy much flour or biscuit, and very little European clothing.

With the exception of the Atlantic coast Eskimo, who live about Habitations. the mission stations in small log houses, the summer camp is made much like an Indian wigwam, save that it has a ridge-pole, and is covered with seal-skins. During the winter, small circular snow houses are used. For travel during the summer, two kinds of boats are used, the kaiak or men’s boat is long and narrow, and formed of a wooden frame covered with seal-skins, leaving only-a small circular opening large enough to admit the body of a man. The bow is long and pointed and projects above the water forward, the stern is fuller, and much lower and rounder. This craft is for one man, who pro- Boats. pels it with a double-bladed paddle, and it is used for hunting. In these small boats the islanders of Hudson Bay frequently cross some fifty miles of open water to the mainland.

The umiak or women’s boat is much larger, and like the former is made from seal-skins stretched on a wooden frame. In shape and size

Sleds.

Cooking utensils.

Disense.

Marriage.

54 L Labrador Peninsula.

it resembles a deep, flat-bottomed punt, and is capable of carrying the heavy seal-skin tent and all the other belongings of a family, when moving from one place to another. In winter, dogs and sleds are used to travel with, the Eskimo not being nearly as good a walker a: the Indian. The sleds are made of two runners of wood, from nine to eighteen feet long, held in position, from eighteen to twenty-four inches apart, by numerous cross pieces. The sled is shod during the cold winter months with walrus ivory or whalebone attached to the runners with wooden pegs, or else the bottom of the runner is coated with vegetable mould, which is frozen on and then shaped with a knife or plane so as to resemble the head of a large T rail, both in shape and size. This is coated with a thin skin of ice and answers admirably during the cold unbroken winter. In the spring time, runners of hoop-iron are preferred. During the winter, cooking is carried on in the snow houses over soapstone lamps in the form of a shallow triangular dish, about fifteen inches long and eight inches wide. These dishes are nearly filled with seal oil, and the wick is formed of dry moss placed round the sides. Formerly soapstone kettles were used for cooking, but these are almost entirely super. seded by tin or copper kettles purchased from the Hudson's Bar Company.

The habits of the uncivilized Eskimo are far from cleanly, and they appear to have a decided objection to the use of water except for drinking purposes. In consequence, the principal diseases from which they suffer arise from their filthy habits and the close vitiated atme- phere in their tightly closed houses, laden with the odours of decom- posing animal food and other filth. Over half the Eskimo die pulmonary troubles due to these causes and to exposure. Many suffer and die from scurvy, caused by devitalized blood and their excessively fatty food while remaining sedentary during the winter. Asa rule. — monogamy is practised, although many of the better hunters among the unchristianized natives have two and some three or four wives. The women are married early, generally at about fourteen or fifteen years and often before that age, and these early marriages result in few and weakly children. The marriage ceremony is very simple. The consent of the parents or other relatives of the girl is obtained by presents or favour, and, if the girl is favourable to the union, she goes with her husband. When the girl refuses, she is soon coerced by ber relatives. The marriage tie is easily broken, and it is seldom that a man lives with a woman for a number of years. Jealousy, resulting from a laxity of morals or incompatibility of temper, dissolves the marriage without ceremony, the woman returning to her relation

tow. FISHERIES. 55 L

until taken by another man. The family is usually of two or three Children. children, although there are sometimes eight or ten, but many die in childhood. Like the Indians, the Eskimo never inflict corpora] punish-

ment on their children, who without it early learn, however, to obey ©

and respect their elders.

The dead are placed in a sitting position, with the knees drawn tightly up, and the whole body covered with seal-skin or deer-skin. The body is placed in this manner on the bare rock, and is covered with stones to prevent the birds and animals getting at it.

Like the Indians, they believe in a future state, where the spiritual Beliefs, conditions closely resemble those of the material world. As every object is endowed with a spirit, clothing, spears, gun, kaiak and other articles, are deposited near the grave, so that the departed may use the spirits of these articles, in his new existence separated from the body. The spirits of material objects are supposed to be released as soon as they decay and if they are found removed, it is said, that the spirit of the dead has taken them for use in the spiritual world. All objects animate or inanimate, have both a material and a spiritual existence ;

and there are other spirits, mostly of a malignant character, which can be appeased by gifts.

It is easy to understand that, holding such beliefs, they highly Conjurors. esteem, fear and respect the conjurers, whom they suppose to have power over thegvarious spirits, including those that cause disease and death. The conjurers also claim to influence the movements of the deer and other animals, and are supposed to control the weather. Unlike the Indian conjurer, who performs his incantations concealed in a small tent, his Eskimo confrére invokes and exorcises the malign- ant spirits openly, or with only his head covered up. Some of the Eskimo while away the time during winter, by making rude carvings Art. out of walrus tusk or bear teeth. The carvings represent various birds and animals, or models of their boats, sleds, or implements. Some of the carvings show considerable skill and artistic taste, especi- ally those made under the direction of the Moravian missionaries.

The Eskimo are very fond of singing, instrumental music and danc- Music. ing, and readily learn to play the violin. At Hopedale and Nain the natives have orchestral music to accompany part singing in the church services, and many of the Eskimo of the Atlantic coast play second parts on the violin, showing that they have a fair idea of harmony.

FIsHERIES.

In the appendices at the end of the present report will be found lists and short notes on the mammals, birds and fishes of the interior of the

Food fishes of inland lakes.

Hudson Bay.

Chamou chou- an River.

56 L Labrador Peninsula.

Labrador Peninsula, and it remains only to remark here on the value of the inland fisheries. The numerous-large lakes of the several water. sheds, and most of the rivers, especially those flowing north and east, are stocked with an inexhaustible supply of food fishes of large size

and superior quality, including among other species the lake and brook trout, land-locked and sea-run salmon, whitefish, pike, pickerel, suckers and ling or freshwater cod. Along the southern, eastern and northern coasts, the cod is taken in large quantities as far as Ungava Bay, which is the present limit where trial has been made for taking this fish. Salmon are found plentifully along the coasts as far as the west side of

Ungava Bay, which appears to be thé western limit of the Atlantic —

salmon. Very little is known officially or otherwise concerning the fisheries of that great inland sea, Hudson Bay, and a great amount of wealth may be lying dormant in its waters from lack of knowledge concerning its fisheries. As regards the inland fisheries, owing to the distance from available routes toa market, they will probably never be used to their full extent, and even the best situated lakes will not be fished for many years to come, or until railways are built through the interior. Three large lakes of the interior are known to contain con- siderable numbers of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina), which are com- pletely land-locked, and never visit the ocean.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF Routes EXPLORED. Chamouchouan River.

The Chamouchouan River enters Lake St. John at its northeast corner. It is about three-quarters of a mile wide at its mouth, and is very shallow when the water of the lake is at its lowest stage, there being a difference of twenty-seven feet between the high and low water level of Lake St. John,* owing to its contracted discharges being unable to carry off the great volume of water brought down in the spring by the numerous large rivers emptying into it. The river, in its lower part, is obstructed by three large and several small islands, that extend upwards to St. Felicien, some eight miles from its mouth. Its current for this distance is sluggish, the river flowing between low banks of clay and alluvium. During high water the lake backs up to this point, flooding much of the low lands on either side.

At St. Félicien, there is a small rapid full of large boulders, and for five miles above, the current continues swift, to the first heavy rapid,

*Levels of Q. & L. St. J. Ry.—High water, 353 ft; low water, 326 ft. above 58 level at Quebec.

tow. CHAMOUCHOUAN RIVER, 57 L

where a portage is necessary. This portage is 150 yards long, and passes over the bare rocks. Twelve hundred yards above, is the Salmon Portage, where the river falls over two cascades, the upper being a direct fall of fifteen feet.

One mile above the portage, the Salmon River enters from the west. Salmon River. This stream is about fifty miles long, and takes its rise in a number of small lakes, near the sources of the Créche and Windigo branches of the St. Maurice River.

The third portage is about seven miles above the second. Between them the river is about 500 yards. wide and flows with a swift current, the banks, which have been gradually rising from St. Félicien, are now in places above 100 feet high, and are composed of clay overlain by stratified sand.

It is three miles and a half from the third portage to the Bear BesrPortages. Portage, where there is a fall of fifty feet. This portage is on the east side, and isa mile and a quarter long. From its upper end to the Little Bear Portage, the distance is a mile and a half. Here, a rocky point jutting out from the east side, causes the river to make a sharp turn, with a fall of about twenty-five feet. The portage is 300 yards long and crosses the point.

Within the next two miles, there are two other portages on the east side, past heavy rapids, the whole bringing the river up nearly to a level with the surrounding country. -

Beyond the last portages there are small rapids at intervals for a mile, then the river widens out to about a third of a mile, and flows with a strong, even current, in ashallow sandy channel, for seven miles, to the thirty-fourth mile from its mouth. Five large islands lie in this portion of the river. They are all low and sandy and are well wooded with swamp ash, elm, balsam poplar and willow. Along the lower parts of this course the banks are low, and the surrounding country flat, with a soil of sandy loam. As the other end is approached: Sandy soil toe banks rise gradually, until at the sharp bend to the westward, one Bar Portage. mile from the end, those on the east side rise abruptly over one hun- dred feet above the water, and are composed wholly of stratified sand- At this bend a portage-route passes up the steep bank to the flat sandy plain above, which it follows northward through several small lakes on the head-waters of Picouabi River. From there the route passes into Lake Jim, a long narrow body of water that extends north- ward in what appears to be an old river-valley, until it joins the Washi- meska River, which, above the junction, flows in a continuation of this valley, while below it turns eastward, and with numerous rapids and falls empties into the Mistassini River.

58 L Labrador Peninsula.

After the westward course of one mile, before mentioned, the Chamouchouan River again turns north, and a series of long, heavy rapids begin, the lowest of which is called the Pimonka (last pine) Rapid.

The land on both sides of the river, as for as Pimonka, has been laid out into townships, and sub-divided by the Quebec government. The townships of Parent and Normandin are on the east side, while those of Ashouapmouchouan, Demeules and Dufferin are on the west side.

(Good land The soil along the lower parts of the river is very rich and strong, being along the formed of a clay sub-soil, with sandy loam on top. Above the Salmon River, the deposits of sand are thicker and the soil is lighter, but still

sufficiently good to produce excellent crops of wheat and other cereals.

The Archæan highlands come within a mile of Lake St. John, on its west side. These continue northward, but do not cross the river until the foot of Pimonka Rapid is reached, thus leaving a wide margin of flat land on the west side. On the east side there is a flat clay and sand plain between the Chamouchouan and Mistassini rivers. This plain rises in a succession of terraces from Lake St. John northward.

,

, + ‘

t ‘ ‘

Settlements. Settlements extend up the west side of the river about five miles beyond Salmon River. On the east side, they approach close to the Bear Portage, while the road to Normandin, a large settlement along the Picouabi River, passes close to the Little Bear Portage. Advan-

tage is taken of this road to transport canoes and outfit past the rapids and portages below.

From the above, it will be seen that, although considerable settle- if ments exist along the river, there is much good land still unoccupied, Ww especially between the Little Bear Portage and Pimonka Rapid.

! Above this rapid, the character of the country and river change completely: the former, instead of spreading out into a flat, sandy iE plain, is high and rough, with rocky hills that rise from 150 to 300 feet above the river. These are covered with sand and boulder- clay, and are not nearly so fit for purposes of agriculture. The river becomes contracted and very rapid, rising 341 feet in twenty-two miles, including the Chaudière Fall and rapids, where the rise is : 120 feet in less than a mile. The Pimonka Rapid is three-quarters of a mile long, and is followed in the next mile by two short ones. Extending from the thirty-ninth to the fortieth mile, is the Deep-bot tom Rapid, which cannot be ascended with canoes during high water, owing to the depth inshore being greater than the length of the poles and also to the steep rocky banks, which render tracking impossible. : With the exception of one short rapid, there is quiet water from the head of that rapid to the forty-fourth mile.

eme

ee Shs aera gee caper

tow. CHAMOUCHOUAN RIVER. 59 L

At the forty-second mile, the Great Mouchipon River comes in from the west. It is a small stream, flowing in a valley about a mile wide, and draining a number of small lakes to the north-west. A portage route, for light canoes in the spring, passes up this river, and comes out above the Chaudière Fall, thus avoiding the heavy rapid between. From the forty-fourth mile to the Chaudière Fall, twelve miles above, Chaudière the river is a continuous succession of rapids connected by short Fall stretches of swift current, rendering it necessary to make the whole ascent with poles. At the White-spruce Rapid, near the forty-ninth mile, there is a short portage on the west side past a heavy pitch.

The country becomes more rugged as the river is ascended. The Timber. hills rise abruptly from 200 to 400 feet above the water, and, as they were burnt over some years ago, their rocky sides are now only partly wooded with small second-growth aspen, white birch, Banksian pine and spruce, while the standing blackened trunks of the older forest give the whole region an uninviting, barren appearance.

The portage past the Chaudière Fall is nearly a mile long. From its lower end it rises sharply 200 feet to the summit of a sandy hill, and then runs along its edge, to within a short distance of its upper end, where it passes along the rocks near the river. There are here three distinct falls connected by heavy rapids, the lower fall having a sheer descent of sixty feet.

Within half a mile of the upper end of the portage, is another, about 400 yards long, called the Little Chaudiére Portage. It passes a deep heavy rapid, impassable with canoes.

A short distance from the head of this portage, the river leaves the narrow rocky gorge in which it has been confined, and its valley broadens, leaving a wide margin of low land on either side. The course of the river can be seen up the valley for over ten miles. The (ood land river has a moderate current in a wide valley, bounded by low, apove the rounded, rocky hills, covered with small second-growth timber. Much Fall.

of the land in this valley appears fit for agriculture.

About one mile above the Little Chaudière Portage, the Chegobich Chegobich River comes in from the westward. This river is much used as a route River. by the Indians who travel to or beyond Lake Ashouapmouchouan. By it the distance to that lake is greatly shortened, as this route is the hypothenuse of a right-angled triangle, of which the main river forms the other two sides.

The Chegobich River varies from fifty to one hundred yards in width near its mouth, and is quite shallow. As far as the first portage,

Chegobich

ake.

60 L Labrador Peninsula.

a mile and a half up, the banks are low, and are composed of coarse boulder-clay. The first portage is one hundred and twenty yards long, and passes a heavy rapid ; it is followed, a quarter of a mile above, by a second portage, over one mile long, past another heavy rapid, ending in a chute of forty feet. Then follows a mile and a quarter of swift water, with two short portages, to the Penché Portage, 700 yards long, with the Savanne Portage, of 200 yards, a half mile above. Beyond this there are stretches of sluggish water, broken by small rapids for four miles, when a portage of 300 yards passes a chute of twenty-five feet.

From the first portage to beyond Savanne Portage, the country sur- rounding the river is rolling and°somewhat 'rocky, with small second- growth forest covering it. Beyond the Savanne Portage, the banks are low and sandy, with swampy land extending to the low hills that bound the valley on either side, from half a mile to a mile away from the river. Patches of old forest remain on the swampy land, but by far the greater part is small second-growth trees.

Above the chute, the river for nine miles winds through a wide, swampy valley, its sluggish current being broken only in a few places by short rapids. In this distance a number of small tributaries enter, chiefly from the south-west, where they take their rise in numerous lakes on the eastern slope of the Partridge Mountains. These form a ridge of rounded hills, that appears to run nearly north-and-south and to cross the river near Chegobich Lake.

The river, having now become very small, is inclosed in a narrow valley between rocky hills that rise from one hundred to three hundred feet above it, and in the next two miles to the lake it is much broken by rapids, filled with large boulders, entailing several short portages.

Chegobich Lake runs northward for nine miles from its discharge ; it then turns sharply to the eastward, and extends in that direction some fifteen or twenty miles. The general width of the southern arm is about one mile. It is said to be very deep and the water is clear and brownish. Only three small rocky islands are found in the south- ern arm. The lake is surrounded by low rounded hills, highest on the east side, where they culminate in Chegobich Mountain, a bold rounded hill rising 420 feet above the water near the outlet, and forming a conspicuous landmark. The other hills on this side never exceed an elevation of 350 feet, while on the west side they are less than 200 feet. There was more unburnt timber about this lake than had been seen anywhere along the route from Lake St. John; but it is not large, and is chiefly black spruce. From the angle between the

tow. ] CHAMOUCHOUAN RIVER. 61 L

two arms of the lake, a portage a mile and a half long, passes westward over a flat, dry, sandy plain, and ends at a small sluggish stream. This stream has a very tortuous course through a wide swamp. After passing two small lakes, it finally flows into the south-east end of Lake Ashouapmouchouan, two miles and a half from the portage in a straight line, but over seven miles by the crooked course of the river. A few low, rounded hills of gneiss rise out of the swamp, but, apart from these, there is very little solid land, where small black spruce, larch and Banksian pine are found growing.

Lake Ashouapmouchouan is about six miles long with an average Lake Ashou- breadth of one mile. Its shoreline is broken by a number of rocky ®Pmouchouan. points and shallow bays, while the surrounding country, as a rule, is low and flat, with a few ridges, never more than a hundred feet above the level of the lake, which, according to Richardson, is 1184 feet above the sea. The water is not nearly so deep or clear as that of Chego- bich Lake. The surrounding country seems to be highly fertile, and in the clearings about the old Hudson’s Bay post timothy grass grows in abundance, while small fruits appear to ripen early.

The Chamouchouan River, above here called the Nikaubau River, Nikaubau flows in at the north-west angle of the lake, and about a mile beyond River: leaves it again at the north-east corner. The northern part of the lake is silted up with material brought down and deposited by the river, and is a favourite place for nets, great quantities of fine white- fish being caught there. '

Above the lake, the Nikaubau River for several miles, to the Pole Rapid, flows with a sluggish current through a low country broken by a few rocky hills. Above the rapid, the land becomes higher and the soil, composed of boulder-clay, rises from twenty to eighty feet above the river, and is broken by an occasional rocky ridge sometimes 200 or 300 feet high. Little Nikaubau Lake is about twelve miles above Pole Rapid portage, and between are a number of short heavy rapids, with a short portage past one of them. This lake is one mile across, and is connected by a couple of lake-expansions of the river with the larger Jake three miles above. Lake Nikaubau is four miles long, and from a half to one and a half miles broad. It is surrounded by low and apparently swampy country covered with a medium growth of spruce, larch, balsam fir, Banksian pine, aspen, balsam poplar, and white birch, with a few small cedars. It may here be noted that the ravages of the imported larch saw-fly (Nematus Erichsonti, Hartig. ) extend to the height-of-land; the greater part of the larch trees Timber. have been attacked, and large numbers are already dead. It is learned from the Indians that these trees first showed signs of death

62 L Labrador Peninsula.

north of Lake St. John, some three or four years ago. The trees north of Lake Mistassini still remain unattacked, but it appears to be only a matter of time before all the larch of Labrador will be destroyed, as the pest is spreading rapidly northward.

The Foam-fall River is the largest stream entering Lake Nikaubau ; it flows from the south-west, and enters the lake near its outlet at the south end. There is a route by this river to the. head-waters of the St. Maurice River, which was surveyed by Richardson.

Countryabout A small stream, flowing into the north end of the lake, leads by a

height-of- Chain of six little lakes to the watershed between the St. Lawrence and Hudson Bay. From Lake Nikaubau it is twenty-four miles to the head of the stream and the surrounding country is flat, low and swampy. One hill about 500 feet above the general level, lies close to the watershed and forms a conspicuous landmark.

Short stiff rapids are met with along the stream between the lakes. At the fourth or Branch Lake, the river divides, the larger branch flowing in from the north-east, where it is said to drain a number of small lakes immediately south of Lake Wahwanichi. Owing to numerous rapids and other obstructions it is unused as a canoe route.

Height-of-Land to Lake Mistassint.

The general course of the route from Lake St. John to the height-of- land is about north-west, while the distance is nearly one hundred and sixty miles. From the watershed to Lake Mistassini the general direction is nearly N. 30° E., or almost at right-angles to the former course, the distance being about one hundred and ten miles. On crossing the height-of-land the route passes through three large lakes before reaching Mistassini. These lakes are named Obatogaman, Chibougamoo and Wahwanichi, and they are connected with one another by portage-routes passing through small lakes and the streams flowing from them.

Elevationat The height-of-land, according to Richardson, is here 1360 feet above watershed. sealevel. It is crossed by a portage of half a mile, ending at a small stream that flows into Lake Obatogaman, five miles distant. The fall to the lake is one hundred and fifty feet. The surrounding country is uneven and sandy, and supports only a small growth of black spruce

and birch. Lake Obato- Lake Obatogaman is very irregular in outline, being broken up into agman. a number of deep bays by long narrow points; its surface is also

crowded with innumerable small rocky islands to such a degree that

tow. HEIGHT-OF-LAND TO MISTASSINI. 63 L

navigation without a guide is almost impossible. The lake is estimated to be about twelve miles long from north-east to south-west, and about ten miles broad. Its shore-line must considerably exceed one hundred miles in length, owing to the great irregularity in its shape. The water is not very clear, and as a rule appears to be shallow. The out. let is in the south-western part of the lake, and forms a branch of the Nottoway River, which empties into Rupert Bay, the south-western extension of James Bay. Whitefish, pike, pickerel and suckers are Fish. caught in abundance here, and sturgeon are also said to ascend to the lake, and are taken at certain seasons in large numbers near the outlet.

The surrounding country, except toward the south, is generally flat Character of and low, with ridges of low granite hills rising above the general untry. swampy lands. The soil is thin and sandy and the timber small along the shore and on the islands. It consists chiefly of black spruce, along with balsam fir, white birch, Banksian pine and larch. The canoe route crosses the lake in a north-west direction for ten miles, between islands and past long points, to a narrow bay, which is followed north- east four miles to the first portage on the route to Lake Chibougamoo.

The portage-route is nine miles long, and first passes up a small stream falling into the head of the bay. Along this stream three portages are made past rapids, and then a portage leads from the small swampy lake at its head, to another small Jake which discharges into Lake Chibougamoo. Following this sluggish stream four miles, through a swampy country with low hills of rock rising at intervals, the south-west bay is reached. Along the portage-route most of the m1. timber has been burnt off, leaving only clumps of black spruce and larch growing on the lower swampy ground. The level of Lake Chibougamoo is forty feet above that of Obatogaman. Its greatest pare Chibou- length is about twenty-five miles, from N. 30° E. to 8. 30° W., and it 8amoo. is over six miles wide in the broadest part. The southern end is divided into two bays by a narrow point, three miles and a half long. A high rocky ridge projects twelve miles from the northern end, dividing that portion of the lake also into two bays, of which the eastern is the larger, being about twelve miles deep and four miles broad. The western bay is seven miles long, and is very irregular in width, being a succession of small lakes connected by narrows. The lake has on its western side two outlets, about three miles apart. The northern one is near the mouth of the north-eastern bay. They are both only about 200 yards long, and the water falls twenty-five feet into another lake lying parallel to Chibougamoo, and separated from

Character of

country about Lake Chibou- gamoo.

Hills.

Timber.

64 L Labrador Peninsula.

it only by a narrow rocky ridge. This smaller lake is twelve miles long, and from one to two miles wide. The lake is well stocked with large lake trout and whitefish, and its water is very clear and deep. From it flows another branch of the Nottoway River, which unites with one from Obatogaman some considerable distance to the south- west.

Lake Chibougamoo is studded with numerous low rocky isiands, especially along its eastern side and in the north-east bay; a few are also scattered up the western half, as an apparent extension of the ridge forming the southern point. The shores of the lake are low, and are either formed of solid rock or of large rounded boulders, often found piled up in low walls by the action of the lake ice. The land rises gently from the eastern side to the height-of-land some eight or ten miles distant.

The ridge between the two lakes, on the west side, is low in its southern part, but between the two discharges rises to a height of 250 feet, in a bare rocky hill, called Paint Mountain, from the rusty colour of the rocks, due to the decomposition of iron-pyrites in them. The north-west bay is surrounded by high rocky hills, arranged in sharp ridges parallel to the direction of the lake. These culminate in the Sorcerer and Juggler mountains. The former is situated near the end of the point between the two northern bays, and is estimated to rise 425 feet above the water ; the latter lies a short distance to the north of the head of the north-west bay ; it appears to be somewhat higher than the other, and ends in a sharp cone, having perpendicular sides fifty feet high, and is probably composed of massive diorite. From its resemblance to the tents used by the Indian conjurors, it has been called the ‘‘ juggler’s house,” and is supposed to be the dwelling place of evil spirits. The outline of the hills in this locality is sharply serrated, in marked contrast to the rounded outline usually seen in the Laurentian hills. This difference is probably due to the nature of the rocks forming the hills, which are chiefly a soft, green chlorite or altered hornblende schist easily affected by the weather. The timber about the lake is larger and better than at Lake Obatogaman. Black spruce predominate ; white spruce, balsam fir, larch and Banksian pine also occur, together with medium-sized birch, aspen, and a few cedars. The higher country at the north end has been mostly burnt over, and is covered with small second-growth aspen, birch and Banksian pine.

From Lake Chibougamoo to Lake Wahwanichi, the distance is four miles, the portage-route passing from the head of the north-west bay up, over a burnt hill about 300 feet, to a small lake, and thence through three other small lakes, by intervening portages, to Lake Wah-

wow. HEIGHT-OF-LAND TO LAKE MISTASSINI. 65 L

wanichi, which is about 200 feet higher than Lake Chibougamoo. The

country passed through by the portage-route is rough and rocky, and,

as all the green wood has been hurnt off, it presents a very barren ap-

pearance. Lake Wahwanichi lies parallel to Lake Chibougamoo. It Lake Wah- is twenty-four miles long, while its breadth varies from half a mile to wanichi. four miles, with an average of one mile. The south-west end is

divided into a number of long parallel bays by narrow rocky ridges,

which rise from fifty to 200 feet above the surface of the lake.

There are three of these bays on the western side, and one on the

east side. The former are all about four miles deep, and vary from

a quarter to half a mile in width ; the eastern one is nearly six miles

lung. From the mouths of these bays, the main body of the lake'to

the northward is less than a mile wide, for five miles, when it gradu-

ally expands and is divided into two bays by a low narrow neck of

land connecting a rocky peninsula with the mainland. The north-

west bay is some three miles deep, and its head is only a few miles

from one of the southern bays of Lake Mistassini. In winter the

route between these lakes passes up this bay, and thence a short dis-

tance over low hills to the valley of a small stream falling into the Mistassini. The north-east bay is deep, and narrows to less than a

quarter of a mile at its head, where the discharge flows out towards

Lake Mistassini. Towards its southern end, the lake appears tu be

shallow, but in the narrows and northern part it is quite deep. There

are only four or five small islands on the lake. Its water is clear

and cool, and it abounds with fine whitefish and lake trout. In its pih northern part the inhabitants of the Hudson’s Bay Company post

at Mistassini make their fall fishery, and take in nets an immense

quantity of lake trout averaging six pounds in weight. On the north-

east side of the lake, the country rises gradually some 300 feet to the height-of-land, which skirts that side of the lake at a distance of from

three to six miles. In only a few places along this shore is the bare

rock seen, the soil being made up of thick layers of fine glacial drift,

composed largely of débris of the limestone found to the northward

about Lake Mistassini. This forms an excellent soil, as can be judged Excellent soil. from the number of large trees upon it. The south-west side of the ; lake is more rocky. At its southern end and along the narrows, the

rocky shores rise abruptly from fifty to 200 feet above the surface of

the lake. The shores of the north-west bay are low, but the western . side of the north-east bay is high and rocky, rising near the outlet 350

feet above the water.

Much of the country surrounding the lake has been burnt. What Timber. remains of the old forest, as already stated, is of good size, and trees

Early narra- tives.

Survey.

Position.

Size.

66 L Labrador Peninsula.

eighteen inches in diameter three feet from the ground, are not uncom- mon, while the general average is larger than that of any district seen northward of Lake Ashouapmouchouan. Black spruce, white spruce, © balsam fir, larch, Banksian pine, white birch and aspen grow abund- antly on the unburnt tracts along the eastern shore, and cedar of medium size is found close to the edge of the water.

Lake Wahwanichi discharges into the south-west bay of Lake Mis. tassini by a small stream four miles long. In this distance there ar — a number of small lake-expansions connected by rapids and falls, to pass which three short portages are necessary, the total fall being sixty feet. The height-of-land pässes close to the river on the south side, while the country is slightly broken to the north.

Lake Mistassini.

Lake Mistassini is the largest and by far the best known lake of the Labrador Peninsula. Tales regarding its great size were told by the Indians of the lower St. Lawrence to the earlier pioneers, and the first explorers of the region brought back exaggerated accounts of the extent of the lake, derived from like sources of information and not from actual observation. Quite recently similar stories excited the imaginations of various writers in the public press, and numerous speculations were indulged in regarding the magnitude of this myster- ious body of water, which, by some, was held to be even greater than Lake Superior. When at last a survey of the lake was completed in 1885, there remained some persans who refused to give up their belief in its supposed great size, asserting that only a bay had been surveyed and that the lake stretched out indefinitely beyond, far to the north- ward, notwithstanding the fact that branches of the East Main River rise a short distance northward, and that other branches extend to the eastward, over two hundred miles beyond the northern end of the lake.

Although Lake Mistassini does not reach the size ascribed to it by many, it is still a very large body of water, situated between latitude 50° and 51° 24° N., and longitude 72° 45’ and 74° 20' W. A straight line drawn from the south to the north end of the lake would run about N. 30° E. The lake itself has a perceptible curve between its ends, with the concavity of the curve towards the south-east ; the shore-line nearly coincides with an arc of a circle, so that the general trend of the lake changes gradually from north in the southern portion until at the northern end its direction is north-east. The greatest length in a straight line, between the heads of the north-east and

Low. ] LAKE MISTASSINI. 67 L

south-west bays, is roughly one hundred miles; the average breadth of the main body is twelve miles, and it varies but little from that measurement. A low, narrow, rocky point extends out from both the north and south ends of the lake, dividing each end into two deep bays. Between the points, and formed by the same rocky ridge, there is a continuous chain of low islands ; these overlap one another, so that only ina few places along the shore is a view of the opposite side obtained. A slight lowering of the present level of the ‘lake would connect these islands and points, so as to form two lakes, as the water between the islands is quite shallow, in marked contrast to the Islands. depth between the islands and the mainland on either side. There the depth averages over 300 feet, but in some places exceeds 400 feet. The water is very clear, and the temperature of the main body rarely if ever rises above 50° Fahr. ; ;

The south-east bay is called Abatagush. It is three miles wide at Bays. its mouth, and from there gradually lessens for six miles to the Big Narrows (Chabatok), where, for about a quarter of a mile, it is not over two hundred yards wide. Again expanding to an average breadth of nearly two miles, it extends to the south for eleven miles, where it is subdivided into two arms by a long narrow point.

The eastern arm, called Cabistachuan Bay, averages a mile and a half in breadth, and runs south nine miles, and then east four miles to its head, where a portage leads to the Little Perch River. This stream drains a number of small lakes to the south-east, and is used as a route to the head-waters of the Chief River, the main branch of the Chamouchouan.

The western arm is larger and more irregular than Cabistachuan Bay. From the end of the dividing point, where it is two miles wide, it gradually narrows for four miles, so that along the last half- mile it is only about fifty yards across ; this part is called the Little Narrows. Passing the narrows, the bay expands to one mile in width and runs a few degrees east of south for five miles ; then it widens out to four miles, and continues on the same course eight miles further, to the discharge of LakeWahwanichi that comes in at its head. Where the bay widens, there is on the western side, an arm called Sassikan Bay, that runs due north four miles, and is nearly parallel to the main body. Four miles from the head of the bay, a narrow point stretches out three miles from the eastern shore, and almost meets a shorter point from the western side, leaving only a narrow channel between. This point is called Eliquabit, and on it was situated the old King’s Post of the North-west Company. The Hudson’s Bay Company’s post is Trading posta. established on the east side, just inside the Little Narrows.

68 L Labrador Peninsula.

The south-west or Poonichuan Bay, for a distance of twenty miles from its entrance, has an average breadth of five miles, and its shore-line is broken by a number of sinaller bays, from one of which a portage of two miles leads to Abatagush Bay, reaching it near the Hudson’s Bay post. This portage is much used, as it obviates a canoe trip of nearly fifty miles, around the point to the spawning grounds in Pooni-

Fisheries. chuan Bay, where immense quantities of whitefish are taken in nets during the spawning season in October. After the first twenty miles the bay narrows to less than half a mile, and extends in a south- west course for over fourteen miles, a small river coming in at its

head.

The bays at the north end of the lake are not so deep as the suuthern ones. The distance from the end of the point to the head of the north-west bay is fifteen miles, and its average breadth is rather more than four miles. The north-east bay extends nineteen miles from the same point to its head, and has an average breadth of four miles.

Besides the great bays already described, many smaller ones indent the shores of the lake, especially on its west side, where the coast-line is very irregular. and many islands occur.

Character of As a rule, the shore is rocky, with only a steep, narrow bouldery

shore-line. beach, and moderately deep water close in. On the east side, the shores and islands are formed of limestone, that dips at a low angle towards the south-east ; consequently, beaches facing in that direction shelve gradually into deep water, while those with a western aspect are generally cut off perpendicularly with deep water close up to them. On the west side of the lake, the limestone is only found on the outer islands and points, where similar conditions exist, but the greater part of the shore-line here, being formed of gneiss, perpendicular faces are wanting and the slope is more even in all directions. In some places no rock is seen, and then the beaches of the islands and mainland are formed of boulders, often piled up by ice in low ridges close to high- water mark.

Surrounding As before stated, the escarpment forming the height-of-land passes country. close to the southern end of the lake, and continues on in a north-easterly direction at an angle to the trend of the lake, so that it is soon a consider-

able distance to the eastward as it is followed towards the north. The

general height of the escarpment appears to be about 300 fret above the lake, but some points may rise to 500 feet. The only other elevation

of any consequence, is a range of hills that lies about five miles beyond

the north end of the lake, and from there appears to trend away to the

westward. Its highest point is not over 500 feet. There is also a

ww . LAKE MISTASSINI. 69 L

limestone ridge running along the eastern side of the lake which seldom or never rises 100 feet above the water, but often presents a perpen- dicular face. This ridge separates Lake Mistassini from Lake Mis- tassinis On the west side, the country is generally low and swampy, being broken by rounded gneiss hills, never over 100 feet high, and generally less than 50 feet.

The principal rivers flowing into Lake Mistassini, are named the Rivers.

Temiscamie, Papaskwasati, Tokwaoioand Wabassinon. TheTemiscamie River is the discharge of Lake Mistassinis, and is the largest stream entering the lake, coming in on the east side, about twenty miles from the north end. It is only two miles long, and as the difference of level between the two lakes is 55 feet, the river descends in a continuous heavy rapid, through a shallow limestone gorge. The Papaskwasati and Tokwaoio rivers are large streams flowing into the heads of the north-west and north-east bays respectively. Both come from the northward, and rise near the head-waters of the Tichagami Branch of the East Main River. A canoe route to Nichicun is said to pass up the Tokwaoio River, and to cross from its head to the East Main River. The Wabissinon River is a smaller stream flowing into the lake on the west side, nearly opposite the mouth of the Temiscamie River, and drain- ing an area of country to thenorth-west of the lake. Besides these larger rivers, there are numerous smaller streams that rise in lakes and swamps in the surrounding region ; notably the discharge of Lake Wahwanichi and the Little Perch River, both flowing into the southern part of Abatagush Bay.

The soil of the region about Lake Mistassini is made up of boulder- clay, derived from the disintegration of the neighbouring rocks. Large Laurentian and Huronian boulders, with blocks of limestone, are scattered about in profusion. The finer material of the soil is sandy clay, with a large percentage of finely divided and intimately mixed limestone, especially about the southern and eastern shores of the lake.

The climate of the country surrounding Mistassini is such as to pre- clude the possibility of its ever becoming an important agricultural region, chiefly owing to the prevalence of summer frosts. At the Hudson’s Bay post, a most favourable locality, the average temperature of the three warmest months is about 60° Fahr., but, unfortunately, no summer passes without severe frosts in June and August, which cause great damage to the potato crop grown there.

Snow covers the ground from the middle of October, and remains until the middle of May, all the smaller Jakes being frozen over during that period. Owing to its great depth and consequent slow change of

Good Soil

Climate.

Timber.

Fish.

Animals.

Indians.

70 L Labrador Peninsula.

temperature, the main body of the lake rarely freezes over before the 20th of December, and it breaks up a couple of weeks later than the smaller lakes and bays in the spring. From the same cause, the gen- eral summer temperature of the region surrounding the main lake is lower than that about the post, and even in the month of July, in the swampy lands adjacent, the soil is frozen solid within a few inches of the surface.

Covering the higher ground towards the southern end, white and black spruce, balsam fir, Banksian pine, aspen and white birch are found, some trees having a diameter of eighteen inches three feet from the ground. Similar trees of smaller size are found along the limestone ridge on the eastern side. On the western side, where the Archean rocks occur, the soil is scant and sandy, and, in conse quence, the trees are much smaller. They are chiefly black spruce and larch, along with small Banksian pine, balsam fir, aspen and white birch. Black spruce and larch alone grow in the swamps, and also form a fringe along the shores and islands of the main body of the lake, where the sweep of cold winds probably interferes with the growth of other species. Cedar reaches its northern limit at the south- ern end of the lake, where only a few stunted trees are seen.

Fish of various kinds and of large size are caught in abundance throughout Lake Mistassini. Lake trout are taken weighing from four to forty pounds, brook trout up to six pounds, whitefish to four- teen pounds, and pike, pickerel, red and white suckers and chub of correspondingly large size. These fisheries would prove of great value if access to them could be had by railway, as the supply is practically unlimited here and in the adjoining large lakes.

Caribou and moose, once plentiful in the region, are almost extinct, and can no longer be relied on as a source of food by the Indians, who now live wholly on fish, rabbits and the fur-bearing animals. Of these beaver and bear are the most plentiful, the former being still found in considerable numbers in the small Jakes and streams tributary to the lake. Black bears are common on the extensive areas of burnt land on.all sides of the lake, but most especially to the south-west. Besides

_these, marten, mink, fisher, otter, lynx and foxes are taken in large

numbers, the fur of the marten being particularly dark and valuable.

There are about twenty-five families of Indians belonging to this post. Very few are now pure-blooded, being mixed with the whites, who have traded in the region for the past one hundred and fifty years. In the spring all the able-bodied men are employed in the large bark canoes that descend the Rupert River to James Bay with the hunt

Low. LAKE MISTASSINI. 71 2

of the previous winter, returning with the outfit of goods and provi- sions for the coming year. The canoes depart about June 20th, and return about August 20th. As nearly all the women and children accompany the large canoes in their own small craft, very few persons remain about the post during the summer, and as a consequence parties from the outside find it impossible to obtain guides or other assistance there during that period. Those who remain live altogether on the fish caught from day to day, as only sufficient provisions are brought in to supply the post during the winter and to provide for the men engaged transporting the furs to Rupert House. From these causes, the exploration of central Labrador is attended with many difficulties, especially as the country cannot be depended on to supply any food during the summer months, and consequently provisions to last the entire season must be brought in from the coast, up very rough and rapid rivers at great cost and loss of time.

Lake Mistassinis, as before stated, lies to the eastward of Lake Mis- Lake Mistas- tassini, from which it is separated by a ridge of limestone varying © from two to six miles in width.

The difference in level between the two lakes is fifty-five feet. The smaller lake is about sixty miles long, extending from opposite the north end of Mistassini to a place east of the Big Narrows. In its northern part, the lake is about six miles wide and is free from islands or bays, but south of the discharge it narrows con- siderably and splits up into a number of deep bays, while its surface is covered by numerous low islands. These are formed from limestone reefs running parallel to the direction of the lake, and are most numer- ous about the outlet and between there and the Temiscamie River which flows in on the east side some three miles south of the outlet.

The water of the lake between the rivers is brownish and not clear, Fish. in consequence of the impurities brought down by the river. In other parts the water is clear, deep and cool. Large fish, of the same species as those taken in the great lake, are also abundant here.

The land on the west side of the lake is low, with rocky shores of flat limestone. The country to the eastward is higher, and consists of a plateau formed of limestone, which separates the lake from the Temiscamie River. The face of the plateau fronting the lake is steep, and has in places a perpendicular cliff of limestone rising from 50 to 200 feet above the water.

The hills mentioned as bounding the north end of Lake Mistassini, also extend part way across the north end of this lake, with an interval of low ground to the north-east, where a portage of less than two miles

722 Labrador Peninsula.

crosses to the Temiscamie River. This river is the only important falling intothe lake. It takes its rise to the north-eastward along northern side of the watershed separating it from the head-water: the Mistassini and Peribonka rivers flowing into Lake St. John. passes through Lake Temiscawie, a large body of water near the heig of-land, and then flows south-west twenty miles, to within a short tance of the head of Lake Mistassinis, when, instead of entering lake, it keeps to the eastward of the limestone ridge already mentio and flows within a short distance of and parallel to the lake for nea twenty-five miles, where it falls into a small bay on the east side. The climate, soil and timber of the country surrounding Lake tassinis are similar to those of the eastern side of Lake Mistassini

Lake Mistassini to the East Main River.

Rupert River. From Lake Mistassini, the route to the East Main River f descends a branch of the Rupert River for fifty miles almost ( north, and then leaving that stream passes north-westward, thro a number of small lakes, to and down a small tributary into the E Main River. The distance between the two rivers is fifty-eight mi

The Rupert River forms the discharge of Lake Mistassini. leaves the lake on its west side, thirty-five miles from the head of North-west bay. The outlet is at the bottom of a small bay, wh the river flows out, over a ledge of gneiss, forming a small raj Here the stream is not over one hundred yards wide, and is hemn

Contracted in by rocky banks. This contracted discharge is insufficient to ca

Gischarge ot off the waters poured into the lake by the numerous large riv

sini. previously mentioned, and as a consequence the level of the lake ri during the spring, and reaches its highest level about July 15th, af which the water slowly subsides. The period of lowest level is ab the middle of May, or just before the spring freshets, so that the rises much more rapidly than it falls, making the volume of water in Rupert very constant in comparison with that of other rivers flow into Hudson Bay. On leaving the lake, the river flows almost or level with the surface of the surrounding country, widening out it deep bays and separated into numerous channels by low rocky islan For the first eight miles of its course, it flows south-west, or rougl parallel to the shore of the lake, and so clcse to it that at the end the distance a portage of less than 200 yards leads from a bay in ! lake to the river. Below this portage for two miles, the river contin between rocky banks, with a swift current, and then flows out it a lake-expansion extending westward more than ten miles, and va ing from one to three miles in breadth.

we. . LAKE MISTASSINI TO EAST MAIN RIVER. 73 L

The river flows out of this lake by two main and several smaller channels separated by large rocky islands. The two main channels are soon joined by the smaller ones, and then form large rivers, sepa- rated from each other by a very large island, and not uniting again for over 100 miles.

The western channel is followed by the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Two channels. brigade in going down to Rupert House. This channel is descended in a north-west direction about fifty miles, where the route passes from the western end of an expansion called Lake Miskittenau into a chain of lakes on the Marten River, a small branch which joins the Rupert over 100 miles below.

The eastern channel forms part of the route to the East Main River. It runs comparatively straight for fifty miles, having a general course a few degrees east of north, and leaving the above-mentioned lake- expansion at its eastern end, by a number of channels on its northern side. For five miles it is obstructed by innumerable small rocky islands, Islands in and is so deeply indented with bays, that were it not for the strong upert River. current the stream could not be easily followed. Near the end of this distance the river narrows to a general width of less than a quarter of a mile and passes over two small rapids between islands. For the next five miles the average breadth of the river is 300 yards, and it flows with a steady, swift current to a small rapid, below which the breadth increases to nearly half a mile, and continues so for two miles toa heavy rapid, that falls twenty feet in 200 yards.

The portage past this rapid is a quarter of a mile long, and runs on the summit of a ridge of boulder-clay. The crest of the hill is about 150 feet above the water, and is so narrow and sharp that there is only room for the portage-road on it.

Below the portage the river is about 300 yards wide for five miles and a half, with a strong current and numerous islands. It then ex- pands to an average width of half a mile, and is quite deep, with a sluggish current. These conditions continue for seven miles, when, turning sharply westward, the channel contracts and the stream falls twenty-five feet, over a chute, into the head of Kachika kakuaiats or Pinched-neck Lake. This lake extends north-westward Pinched-neck ten miles, and in its widest part is about two miles and a across, Lake. The river flows out on the west side five miles from the inlet, and thence runs in a westerly direction to join the other main branch, some fifty miles farther down.

From Lake Mistassini to the first portage, the country surrounding the river-is very flat, with no hills over 150 feet high. The river ap- Pears to have no channel proper, merely filling the depressions and fol-

Character La country al Rupert Rives,

Timber.

Burnt country.

Portage-route between Rupert and East Main rivers,

Ta Labrador Peninsula.

lowing the general slope of the country. The islands, shores, a greater part of the high land are rocky. The depressions where are not occupied by swamps, appear to be filled with broken rock boulders, while the finer material of the drift has to a great ex been carried away, not enough remaining in many places to fill interstices, between the heaped-up boulders. The boulders and bn rock are also profusely scattered over the rocky hills and in river-bed. What soil remains is poor, thin and sandy, suppor only a scant stunted forest growth of black spruce, larch, aspen, white birch. These trees never exceed forty feet in height, o1 inches in diameter. The underbrush in the low-lying portio “laurel” (Kalmia glauca) and Labrador tea (Ledum latifolium ) v the higher ground is covered with white reindeer moss. The gr of trees in this region is exceedingly slow, as may be seen from length of time required to cover areas burnt over years ago, and w now only a scattered growth of black spruce and Banksian pi springing up.

Below the first portage, the river flows in a valley cut transve1 through several ridges that appear to run east-north-east and south-west. These hills, as the river is descended, rise gradually ! 100 feet to 400 feet in the neighbourhood of Pinched-neck L where they occupy both sides of the lake. Along this lower pa the river more than half the country has been burnt over, thus ret ing all the trees and vegetable soil,and leaving only the bare rock scattered boulders, giving to the region a very barren, desolate ap} ance.

The portage-route between the Rupert and East Main rivers le Pinched-neck Lake at its western end, and there passes, two miles t small stream through four small lakes (1, 2, 3, 4) connected by s portages. Then a portage of 200 yards leads to lake No. 5. Th one mile long, and is connected by a portage of 500 yards wi larger lake No. 6, which drains into another small branch of the pert. This lake is full of small islands and has numerous little b It is followed three miles and a half northward to its discharge, w a great mass of boulders, 200 feet wide, separates it from lake N The outlet of this last lake is close to the inlet, and is said to westward through a chain of small lakes to the Rupert River.

Passing northward for a mile and a half, the route then turns v ward for one mile, into & bay, and then northward again three-qual of a mile, to a portage of 800 yards which leads to lake No. 9, w is about a mile long and three-quarters of a mile wide. It crosses lake to another portage of 800 yards through a swamp, ending

Low. LAKE MISTASSINI TO EAST MAIN RIVER. 75 L

slightly larger lake, No. 10, which is followed N. N.E. one mile and a quarter to its head, where a portage of 400 yards passes over a boulder- ridge 200 feet high, and ends in a broad shallow stream. Another branch of the Rupert River, which is one mile and a half to the east- ward, flows out of a large lake, No. 11. The western end of this lake is crossed, and a short portage made along a small stream flowing into it. This stream is followed northward about two miles and then turns directly west for another two miles, where two short portages, with a pond between, lead to lake No. 12. This lake is followed north-west for two miles, when a portage of 200 yards is made to lake No. 13, at the head of the Kawachagami or Clearwater River, a small branch of the East Main River. Following this lake two miles to its outlet, a portage of half a mile ends at the head of the eastern bay of Clearwater Lake.

This lake is roughly triangular in shape, having east, west, and north Clearwate bays, with minor ones. Its water is brownish, clear, and moderately 14 deep. Islands are numerous especially at the end of the north bay, where the shore-line is rocky and irregular. From east to west the lake measures about seven miles, and about three miles and a half from north to south. Two small lakes with narrows between, lead from the north-east corner of the north bay, to a long lake lying to the westward, about four miles from Clearwater Lake. The outlet is on the east side of the north bay. It is very small and narrow, and as it turns off at right-angles to the direction of the bay, cannot be seen until entered. -

Leaving the lake by the outlet, the river flows directly east for two miles and a half; then it bends sharply to the north-west, around along narrow point and enters a small lake. Following this lake northward for two miles, a short portage is made past a small rapid at its discharge, after which the course is west, for two miles and a half, through a small lake-expansion to another short portage past a fall of eight feet.

The river thence flows northward in a shallow, sandy channel for four miles to another small lake, a mile and a half long, with a rapid at its outlet. The river, now about twenty yards wide, flows with a sluggish current in a very crooked channel through an extensive swamp, until it empties into Tide Lake on the East Main River. The distance between the last two lakes in a straight line is five miles, while by the

river it is considerably more than double that; the general course is W.N. W.

From Pinched-neck Lake to Clearwater Lake, the country passed Character of

through by the portage route is broken by roughly parallel ridges of DO ÉMES along

Character of country alonj Rupert River

Timber.

Burnt country.

Portage-route between Rupert and East Main rivers.

4a LABRADOR PENINSULA,

lowing the general slope of the country. The islands, shores, an greater part of the high land are rocky. The depressions where t are not occupied by swamps, appear to be filled with broken rock : boulders, while the finer material of the drift has to a great ext been carried away, not enough remaining in many places to fill interstices, between the heaped-up boulders. The boulders and brol rock are also profusely scattered over the rocky hills and in river-bed. What soil remains is poor, thin and sandy, support only a scant stunted forest growth of black spruce, larch, aspen, : white birch. These trees never exceed forty feet in height, or inches in diameter. The underbrush in the low-lying portion “laurel” (Kalmia glauca) and Labrador tea (Ledum latifolium) w the higher ground is covered with white reindeer moss. The grov of trees in this region is exceedingly slow, as may be seen from length of time required to cover areas burnt over years ago, and wh now only a scattered growth of black spruce and Banksian pin springing up.

Below the first portage, the river flows in a valley cut transvers through several ridges that appear to run east-north-east and w south-west. These hills, as the river is descended, rise gradually fr 100 feet to 400 feet in the neighbourhood of Pinched-neck La where they occupy both sides of the lake. Along this lower part the river more than half the country has been burnt over, thus rem ing all the trees and vegetable soil,and leaving only the bare rock : scattered boulders, giving to the region a very barren, desolate apps ance. :

The portage-route between the Rupert and East Main rivers lea Pinched-neck Lake at its western end, and there passes, two miles u] small stream through four small lakes (1, 2, 3, 4) connected by sh portages. Then a portage of 200 yards leads to lake No. 5. Thi one mile long, and is connected by a portage of 500 yards wit! larger lake No. 6, which drains into another small branch of the pert. This lake is full of small islands and has numerous little ba It is followed three miles and a half northward to its discharge, wh a great mass of boulders, 200 feet wide, separates it from lake No The outlet of this last lake is close to the inlet, and is said to fi westward through a chain of small lakes to the Rupert River.

Passing northward for a mile and a half, the route then turns w ward for one mile, into a bay, and then northward again three-quart of a mile, to a portage of 800 yards which leads to lake No. 9, wh is about a mile long and three-quarters of a mile wide. It crosses t lake to another portage of 800 yards through a swamp, ending it

+

os, LAKE MISTASSINI TO EAST MAIN RIVER. 75 L

slightly larger lake, No. 10, which is followed N. N.E. one mile and a quarter to its head, where a portage of 400 yards passes over a boulder- ridge 200 feet high, and ends in a broad shallow stream. Another branch of the Rupert River, which is one mile and a half to the east- ward, flows out of a large lake, No. 11. The western end of this lake is crossed, and a short portage made along a small stream flowing into it. This stream is followed northward about two miles and then turns directly west for another two miles, where two short portages, with a pond between, lead to lake No. 12. This lake is followed north-west for two miles, when a portage of 200 yards is made to lake No. 13, at the head of the Kawachagami or Clearwater River, a small branch of the East Main River. Following this lake two miles to its outlet, a portage of half a mile ends at the head of the eastern bay of Clearwater Lake.

This lake is roughly triangular in shape, having east, west, and north Clearwate bays, with minor ones. Its water is brownish, clear, and moderately Ike. deep. Islands are numerous especially at the end of the north bay, where the shore-line is rocky and irregular. From east to west the lake measures about seven miles, and about three miles and a half from north to south. Two small lakes with narrows between, lead from the north-east corner of the north bay, to a long lake lying to the westward, about four miles from Clearwater Lake. The outlet is on the east side of the north bay. It is very small and narrow, and as it turns off at right-angles to the direction of the bay, cannot be seen until entered. -

Leaving the lake by the outlet, the river flows directly east for two miles and a half; then it bends sharply to the north-west, around along narrow point and enters a small lake. Following this lake northward for two miles, a short portage is made past a small rapid at its discharge, after which the course is west, for two miles and a half, through a small lake-expansion to another short portage past a fall of eight feet.

The river thence flows northward in a shallow, sandy channel for four miles to another small lake, a mile and a half long, with a rapid at its outlet. The river, now about twenty yards wide, flows with a sluggish current in a very crooked channel through an extensive swamp, until it empties into Tide Lake on the East Main River. The distance between the last two lakes in a straight line is five miles, while by the river it is considerably more than double that; the general course is

W. N. W.

From Pinched-neck Lake to Clearwater Lake, the country passed Character of

through by the portage-route is broken by roughly parallel ridges of ROULE

Forest fires.

‘Small trees.

High ridges.

764 Labrador Peninsula.

rocky hills. These hills rise from 200 to 500 feet above the surro ing water level, and appear to run nearly north-east and south The hills of each chain are usually connected with one anothe sharp ridges of coarse boulder-clay. These ridges are highest thickest on the south-west side of the hills, where their material s to have been accumulated in the lea of the rocky obstructions te ice during the glacial period. Like the sharp ridge described at first portage on the Rupert River, these ridges are largely comp of boulders and semi-angular blocks of gneiss with very little

material, and have the same characteristic narrow crests, slopin either side.

Between the ridges the lower ground is often swampy and cov with a network of small lakes. From a rocky hill, 250 feet high, a portage between lakes No. 10 and No. 11, over thirty of these s lakes were counted, filling the valleys on all sides.

The greater part of the region is destitute of forest trees, these ha been removed by frequent extensive fires. The bare rocks of the are thickly strewn with boulders, often of great size, while the va are filled with the same, often to a depth of many feet, and wit sufficient sand or clay to conceal the space between them. Usual thin covering of vegetable mould is found on the heaps of boul In a few places on the lakes, sandy shores are seen, but the gr part of the shores and islands are formed of solid rock or of heape boulders.

The unburnt forest is made up of small trees never more than tl feet high nor exceeding ten inches in diameter. Black spruce i most common, and on the lower ground grows thickly together, : on the hillsides it is only found in open glades. Larch occurs it swamps, and there grows to a larger size than any of the other t In abundance, Banksian pine ranks next to the black spruce, b generally small. A few small trees of white birch are seen in cli on the higher ground surrounding the lakes, and are accompanie an occasional clump of struggling aspen never over four inche diameter.

From the top of a hill rising 350 feet on the north-west sic Clearwater Lake, an uninterrupted view of the surrounding cou was obtained. To the southward, the high hills of the ridges alr passed are seen extending north-east and south-west. To the easts they appear to have about the same altitude as those seen alon; route, but to the westward they are considerably higher, and som them, ten or fifteen miles to the south-west of the lake, must rise 500 to 800 feet above the general level. Their tops are bare, and

tom. EAST MAIN RIVER. 77 L

patches of snow were observed on their northern sides on July 14th. Northward, the country is not so broken, and none of the ridges rise above 300 feet, while the valleys are broader, with more swampy land and fewer lakes. Farther away in this direction, there is another range of higher hills extending east-and-west beyond the East Main River.

The country surrounding the discharge of Clearwater Lake is at first Flat country.

rolling, but after passing the small lakes it becomes flat, and the river winds through an extensive swamp, with only a few isolated rocky hills rising from it. The swampy lands are thickly covered with sinall black spruce, larch and Banksian pine, the trees increasing in size as the East Main River is approached. Boulders are less numerous, and there is a considerable amount of fine yellow sand arranged by the river in small terraces along its banks and about the small lakes.

On an island in Clearwater Lake the soil was found to be frozen solid, at a depth varying from six to nine inches below the surface.

East Main River.

The Hudson’s Bay post at the mouth of the East Main River, on Position of the east shore of James Bay, has been determined by W. Ogilvie, the mouth. D.LS., in 1890, to be in latitude 52° 14’ 45” N. and longitude 78° 29° 15" W.

The river, at its mouth, is a mile and a half wide, but is obstructed by a number of sand and shingle shoals, bare at low water, with shal- low channels between them. The river-banks are low and sandy. As the river is ascended, the sand gives place to clay, cut in places by the river into steep faces. The Hudson’s Bay Company’s post is situated Hudson’s Bay on the south side, three miles from the mouth, where the banks are Company. about fifteen feet high. The river opposite the post is a little under a mile wide. Three large islands of clay occupy the southern side of the river for two miles and a half above the post, with a narrow, shallow channel between them and the mainland on that side. Opposite the head of the upper island a small river, called Fishing River, falls into the main stream from the north-east. : Tide-water extends seventeen Head of tide. miles up the river, and for this distance the course is about due east.

The banks are low, formed of stiff blue clay, and much of the land on either side is low and swampy. The river gradually narrows from a width of three-quarters of a mile, above the islands, to about a quarter of a mile at the head of tide, where a small stream, called Coldwater River, comes in from the south. The current, from the mouth to the

782 Labrador Peninsula.

head of tide, varies from two to four miles per hour. Along the bottom there is an abundant growth of medium-sized white and spruce, balsam fir, aspen and balsam poplar.

Immediately above the head of tide, the character of the changes to a succession of rapids, and for the next six miles the become increasingly higher, with steep cut faces, showing clay lain by sand, or sometimes coarse boulder-clay, with an occa:

exposure of rock coming up from beneath. The banks here rise fifty to one hundred feet. The valley becomes gradually narrowe the rapids heavier, until in the upper mile and a half the river is about 100 yards wide and falls seventy-five feet through a sb:

Basil Gorge. rocky gorge, called Basil Gorge. The general course of this stre N. 75° E. Immediately above these rapids the river again chang a quiet-flowing stream about 600 yards wide, with low banks: flat country on either side.

Two miles above the head of the gorge and twenty-five miles its mouth, the river divides into two branches, which appear nearly equal in size, one coming from the north-east, the other the east, the latter being the one surveyed. From the India East Main post, it was learned that the north-east branch is calle

Straight River Opinaca or Straight River, and that its volume is about twot that of the other branch. It is much the easier river to ascend, free from long rap'ds and portages, and takes its rise in a num large lakes between the head-waters of the East Branch and th the Big River.

Above the forks the course of the east branch is due east for : miles, while its width varies from 600 to 800 yards; the curre sluggish and the banks low, but they rise gradually as the stre ascended, so that in the last mile and a half of this course, the from fifty to seventy-five feet above it, and present cut faces of st fied sands and clays, or of boulder-clay. The river here narrows width of 300 yards and becomes rapid.

Talking Falls. At the end of this course there is a sharp bend to the south, anda ter of a mile above the bend is a chute of twenty feet called Tal Falls, with strong rapids below and above it. From this chute river, with several minor bends, has a general south-east course fo next six miles, being almost a continuous rapid, with about 120 fall, including a chute of sixty-five feet, called the Island Falls, at upper end. At this chute the river is divided into a number of row channels by several small rocky islands. The banks along portion of the river are not high, and the country appears to rise

Low. ] EAST MAIN RIVER. 79 z

the river. There is a portage of 400 yards on the south side past the chute, and two miles above it a small river, called the Miskimatao, comes in from the south.

Above the chute, the river again expands to an average width of 600 vards, and flows from N. 60° E., almost on a level with the surrounding country, for ten miles between low banks of clay capped with sand.

The timber continues the same as before, but is somewhat smaller.

The river now narrows to 250 yards, and continues with small rapids northward for a mile, between rocky hills, then turning east, it

widens slightly and is less rapid for another mile, to the foot of a

narrow rocky channel called Clouston Gorge. This gorge for a mile Clouston and a half from its mouth is perfectly straight, and is never more than ‘*°'8*- 200 feet wide, narrowing in one place to thirty feet, with rocky sides

that rise almost perpendicularly 100 or 200 feet above the river, which

rushes through it in one great rapid, falling in the interval 105 feet.

Above this the course changes to S. 70° W., and the river becoming slightly wider, mounts in the next three-quarters of a mile twenty feet to the foot of a rocky island 1200 yards long with a narrow chan- nel on either side. Through these channels the river falls over 100 feet in a succession of chutes. For three-quarters of a mile above the head of the island, there are a number of small islands with rapids between them.

To pass these obstructions it is necessary to portage canoes and Bag portage. outfit three-quarters of a mile through a deep swamp, with only one spot sufficiently dry to allow the loads to be laid down. The portage begins immediately below the gorge on the south side, and ends in a small bay near the head of the islands.

The river is now found flowing nearly at the level of the surround- ing country, with a sluggish current between low banks that become more and more sandy. The general course of the next stretch is N. 60° E., and the distance twenty-two miles, the breadth of the river varying from a quarter to three-quarters of a mile, with an average of about half a mile. The limit of balsam poplar is reached near the upper end Limit of of this course, a fact due probably to the absence of low clay banks, baleam along the river above. The other trees are smaller, and white spruce beyond this becomes scarce. White birch is now a common tree, and Banksian pine is found wherever second-growth timber occurs on sandy soil. . Continuing on the same course for three miles and a half, the river again becomes rapid, and flows in a valley which at first is about 200 yards wide, with scarped sandy banks which rise about 150 feet above

80 L Labrador Peninsula.

it Soon the channel narrows to less than 100 yards, and the sa

Gonglomerate banks give place to rock as it enters Conglomerate Gorge. In

Character of the lower river.

Marine ter- races.

Country sur- rounding the lower river.

Timber.

upper half of the distance the fall is very steep, the river passing v a succession of chutes, in small channels between a number of sn narrow, rocky islands. The total fall here is over 100 feet, incluc three chutes of twenty, ten and thirty feet respectively.

From the head of this rapid, the river bends to the south for a n then S. 30° W. one mile, and again south another mile to a chut ten feet. At this last fall, the character of the river and surrounc country changes. From its mouth to this point the river has flo in a shallow valley, nearly on the surface of a number of broad terrace stratified sand and clay, arranged one above the other. Wher descends from one level to the next, the river has cut a valley b into the sands and clays of the upper terrace until the underlying r has been reached, over which it falls in a succession of rapids chutes, often hemmed in by steep rocky walls.

The terraces are composed of marine deposits laid down during depression of the land at the close of the glacial period, when level of the western side of the Labrador Peninsula was over 600 ! lower than at present. Farther up the river, marine deposits are wi ing, and the surface material is formed of unstratified, coarse boul clay. Owing to the absence of terraces, there are no marked di from level to level, but rather a more or less gradual slope of the wt country, while the river, without even a shallow valley as in its lo part, flows almost at the level of the country and follows the gen slope, except where diverted by rocky ridges that cross its cot obliquely in several places. In the lower part the river is obstruc only by islands at the various falls, and there are few rock-exfost elsewhere; while in the upper part rocky islands are everywh numerous, and long stretches of the shores are also formed of rock.

The surrounding country, in the lower part, is generally flat often swampy, but there is a marked absence of small lakes tho about the upper part of the rive? some are found in every va between the low, rounded, rocky hills that characterize this reg The soil in the hilly country is scant and poor, being compo wholly of boulder-clay, often with very little finer material. ‘ climate also appears to be more rigorous than it is nearer the sea-co and the timber is much smaller, consisting of the following spe arranged in order of abundance :—Bluck spruce, Banksian pine, la balsam fir, white birch and a few stunted aspens. The larch grows to largest size, a few trees being upwards of twelve inches in diame near the base ; the other species seldom or never have a diame

tow. ] EAST MAIN RIVER. 81 L

exceeding nine inches, and in the upper part of the river are only found growing thickly on the lower ground, about streams or lakes, with the hills only partly covered by small trees of black spruce and Banksian pine. The white spruce does not grow beyond the limits of the deposits of marine sands along the East Main River.

Above the last-mentioned chute, the next course is about due east, Character of including two short sharp bends to the south, in a distance of eight Ne to miles. Along this course, the river flows in a shallow, rocky channel, Gorge. about a quarter of a mile wide, through an almost flat region, broken only by a few low, rounded hills The descent is sharp, there being five rapids and two chutes of six and eight feet, separated by short intervals of swift current. At the upper rapid and chute, the river bends to the south-east, for another eight miles. In this interval it is broken into several channels by a number of large low islands, strung out along the entire distance. The current in these channels is moderate, with only one small rapid near the upper end. The Kausahiskau River is a small stream, that falls in on the south side near the foot of this rapid.

Further up, the river for twenty-five miles, forms a long gentle curve, bending first slightly north and then south of east, so that a line join- ing the ends of the curve would run east-and-west Here, stretches of quiet water connect five short heavy rapids. Rocky islands are numerous and the shores are low and in places rocky, but more com- monly swampy. To the south, there are hills running in ridges roughly parallel to the course of the river. These culminate four miles up this course, in Flat-topped Mountain, that rises nearly 500 feet above the water-level. The rest of the range rarely exceeds 300 feet, and 250 feet may be taken as its mean height above the general level. Similar ridges of rounded hills are seen to the northward, but they do not appear to be as high as those on the other side and they are more dis- tant, leaving a wide margin of low swampy land between their bases and the river. The trees on these hills have almost all been burnt recently, Swamps. leaving only a few patches of green wood. Where the rapids occur in the river, the hills close in on either side.

Medium sized rivers fall into the main stream at the second, sixth wapistan and and tenth mile of this course. The first and third are called respec- Akuatago tively, Wabistan and Akuatago, both coming from the southward ; the second is called the Wabamisk, and comes from the northward. It is much larger than the others, being about 200 feet wide, at its mouth, with a slow current.

The main river above bends to the south-east for eight miles, and then to the east again for eight miles. The country and river have much

The Great Bend.

Broken country.

Whirlpool.

Country above the Great Bend.

82 L Labrador Peninsula.

the same character as the part last described ; the current being what stronger, with three small rapids. At the: upper end of th course, there is a small stream, called the Clearwater River, that in on the north side, and flows in a wide straight valley from E, a continuation of the valley in which the main river flows b The Indians who hunt in this region, say that it is only a half journey from the mouth of this stream to large lake on a bran the Straight River.

Turning now sharply to the south-west, the’ main river, whic! had an average breadth of over a quarter of a mile, enter reat Bend, and contracts to about 100 yards, and for the next 6 miles is nothing but a succession of heavy rapids and chutes. banks are high and rocky in most places as it breaks the ran; hills before mentioned on the south side. The surrounding cot is much rougher than any before seen, with rounded hills, from to 300 feet high, arranged in close parallel ridges. The lowe miles of the river are particularly rough, and as the perpendi cliffs on both sides render portaging impossible in many places, with difficulty that this part of the river is passed with canoes. one place about three miles from the foot of the rapids, there sharp bend to the northward, and the water rushing down is d ted by a sharp point running out from the east side at the which causes the greater volume of the water to enter a small where a great whirlpool is formed. It is stated that many years two large canoes belonging to the Hudson’s Bay Company were d into this whirlpool and all on board drowned.

At the upper end of this south-west course, à small stream, c Misiatawagamisistic River, comes in from the south-west, and believed that there is portage-route by it, past the rapids b

Turning now to S. 40° E. for three miles, the river gradually wi and passing two small rapids, again becomes easily navigable flows, with a sluggish current, in a channel 500 yards wide, and slightly below the level of the surrounding low, flat, swampy cou This continues for fifteen miles, the general course being N. 6 Two small rivers come in along this course from the north. A upper end there is a fall of ten feet, above which the river, contin along the same course for fourteen miles, has a similar sluggish rent, with the exception of one small rapid at the head of two islands. The surrounding country remains low and swampy, e3 in the vicinity of the rapid, where a low range of hills passes close t river on the south side.

os. EAST MAIN RIVER. 83 L

Abuve the two islands, the river again turns to the east, and flows with a remarkably straight course for nineteen miles. The hills on either side here close in and narrow the valley, through which the river runs at a uniform rate of about four miles per hour, in a shallow channel averaging 400 yards in width. The hills, as a rule, do not rise much above 200 feet from the water, and only an exceptional one reaches 300 feet. They are arranged in ridges nearly parallel to the course of the river.

Along the upper three miles of this course, the channel narrows to Narrow chan- about 150 yards, and the current increases where a descent is made nel. : through a narrow cut in the hills. There is now a sharp bend to the south and then to the south-west fora mile and a half, as the river cuts through a range of hills, with a fall of twenty-five feet, including a chute of fifteen feet. At the bend, a small river comes in from the north-east.

The surface material covering the hills along the last two courses is Soil. generally thin, and is in places composed largely of boulders, often of large size, with the spaces between them only partly filled with finer material.

The forest, for the most part, is made up of small second-growth put. black spruce, Banksian pine, larch, balsam fir and white birch, with a few aspen poplar.

Above the bend, the river again enters another valley between par- allel ridges. Its courses are: first, east five miles, then N. 60° E. four miles, and again east eight miles. The average width is again about 400 yards, with a swift uniform current and only one small rapid. As this portion is ascended, the country becomes rougher, and the hills rise Rougher with steep slopes, from 200 to 400 feet above the water. The greater ©U"''Y- part of this region has been recently burnt, only patches of blackened soil being left to partly cover the rocky hills, while innumerable boulders are seen scattered everywhere over the surface. A river about three chains wide at its mouth comes in from the south at the end of the first course.

Another sharp bend of three and a half miles to the west of south pyogper now follows, and in the lower mile and a half the river passes through orge. a narrow rocky channel with perpendicular sides, called Prosper Gorge and falls in a succession of chutes and rapids over one hundred feet,

To avoid this obstruction, the river was left four miles and a half below

the bend, by a portage of three-quarters of a mile, which passes over a

ridge and ends about the middle of the west side of a lake three miles

long and three-quarters of a mile wide. This lake discharges from its

Ross Gorge.

Lake Nasas- kunso,

Hudson’s Bay Company's canoe route.

84 1 Labrador Peninsula.

north-east end by a small stream, nearly a mile long, into a second one mile long by half a mile wide. Crossing this lake, the small cro stream by which it discharges, is followed some two miles to whe falls into the main river, two miles above the bend, and thus abov: chutes and rapids. There is only a slight fall from the upper lak the river, and as a consequence, when there is a freshet in the 1 stream, the water from it backs up into the lakes instead of disc! ing from them.

Above this portage the river becomes very crooked. It first ! from the east for a mile and a half, then from south-east one mil 80° E. three miles, S. 30° E. three-quarters of a mile, S. 45° W. a and a half, and finally S. 45° E. six miles, where it leaves an expat over one mile wide, and full of large islands, at the foot of the Gorge, running south.

Throvgh this gorge the river falls sixty feet in two miles. portage past it starts from a small bay on the west side, and is div into two parts by a small pond. The first part is 300 yards long rises about 150 feet ; the second is three-quarters of a mile in len passing over a steep ridge of boulders and ending in a small str which enters the river a short distance above the head of the cht

About half a mile below the upper end of the portage, a river in on the north side. It flows in a deep, rocky valley running north-east for several miles, and has a long heavy rapid abov mouth. Its size has been estimated at about one half that of main branch, and it has been called Ross River. Above the gorge main river is split into a number of small channels by several islands. These islands form a delta in the eastern end of Lake Ni kuaso, which extends to the westward six miles, and is a mile ar half across in its widest part. The river passes ouly through the end of the lake, which formerly must have extended to the hes the portage, the portion now occupied by the delta having been f up with alluvium brought down by the river. Surrounding the are rocky hills that rise from 200 to 400 feet above its surface. greater part of the adjacent country has been burnt over recer From its west end, the cance route of the Hudson’s Bay Comp leaves the East Main River to cross to the Rupert River on the

. from Nichicun to Rupert House. This lake is considered by the

ployees of the company to be situated half way between these places. The Indians who hunt in this region are in the habit of gregating here and on the lakes at the foot of the large island abov meet the canoes going to and returning from Rupert House.

Low. EAST MAIN RIVER. 85 L

Above Lake Nasaskuaso the character of the river and country again Character of changes, the latter becomes flatter and less rugged, the hills seldom fount ADO ° rise over 150 feet above the river, and the ridges are farther apart, kuaso. with swamps and small lakes filling the broad shallow valleys between them. The river flows almost on the surface, and is often divided into several channels by large islands. Small lakes and bays also branch off on either side, so that it is difficult to tell when a tributary river

fails in.

In this manner the river continues for nine miles, when it becomes Grand Island. divided into two main channels by Grand Island, fourteen miles long and tive broad. The north channel is more than twice the size of the south one, and it is further sub-divided, especially in its lower part, by large islands. The south branch, from the foot of the island, passes southward about five miles and widens out into two lake-expansions with numerous bays, all having an east-and-west direction. Into the south-west bay of the upper lake, five miles from its outlet the Clearwater River enters. This is a small stream flowing out of a large lake of the same name on the portage-route from Lake Mistassini.

The upper lake referred to has been called Tide Lake, on account of the deposits of mud that cover the shores and islands up to freshet mark of the river, giving the lake the appearance of a tidal bay at low water.

For seven and a half miles above the head of Grand Island, the river averages 500 yards in width, but is shallow and much obstructed by sandy shoals. Its direction is again east, and at the head of this course is the junction of the Tichegami River. This stream takes its Tichegami rise, according to the Indians, to the south-east, near the head-waters River. of the rivers flowing into the north end of Lake Mistassini. In volume, it appears to be about two-thirds that of the main branch, and it bas a heavy rapid at its mouth.

There are only a few families of Indians who hunt along the lower 1, 4:.,5 of the part of the East Main River, there being a long interval from Lake East Main Nasaskuaso to below the Great Bend, that is totally uninhabited. a Owing to the numerous rapids and chutes, this river above the mouth of the Straight River, is not used as a highway to the interior, and only one family ascends it above that stream. Previous to 1889, there were three families who hunted in the neighbourhood of the Wabamisk River, but during that winter, with the exception of one woman and a small boy, these all perished by starvation orcannibalism. In 1892, Famine. the scene of this tragedy was found at the mouth of that river, but, nothing being known of such an occurrence, it was only remarked as

86 L Labrador Peninsula.

unusual that Indians should leave their tents standing, and household effects scattered about.

Above Lake Nasaskuaso, from the many old camps seen along river, there must be a number of families who hunt in this vici and who in the summer descend to Rupert House, by the portage-r to the Rupert River. Owing to the absence of hunters along

Tncretse of greater part of the river, the fur-bearing animals are rapidly increa

‘animals, and beaver signs are quite common; bear tracks are also numerot the burnt regions. Not a sign of caribou was observed from Lak John to James Bay, and these animals seem to have been totall, terminated in the region about Lake Mistassini and from there v ward to James Bay, being now only met with to the north north-east of the East Main River.

Fish. Fish are found in abundance in every lake and river, throughout region. The following kinds were taken in the net along the Main River :—Whitefish, pike, pickerel and suckers. In the parts, where the banks and bottom are formed of clay, sturgeon taken in abundance by the Indians; and from the mouth to the fall, and in the tributary streams, small whitefish and sea-trout as from the sea in large numbers, from about September Ist, until river is closed by ice. Trout are also caught in the rapids of the uj part of the river.

Upper East Main River.

Three miles above the Tichegami, a rocky ledge crosses the r diagonally, causing a low fall, where the survey of the lower par the river in 1892 began. Above this fall the river bends sharply nc ward for a half mile, and then about south-east for three miles, to head of a long, but not strong rapid, which occupies the upper ha that distance. The direction now changes to north-north-east for

Kowatstakau miles and a half to the mouth of the Kowatstakau River, a large bra ver: coming in from the northward and entering the river from a consi ably higher level by a heavy rapid or low chute. According to Inc estimation this stream carries about one-sixth of the water of the n

river. Immediately above the forks, what appears to be ano!

branch, also broken by rapids, is seen on the south side ; but it is

a channel passing on the south side of a large island or islands, separating from the main channel above the rapids and portage,

miles farther up. The north or main channel contracts from a wi

of nearly half a mile, below the island, to less than a quarter of a m

and the current is quite strong, with two rapids, the lower of wh

Low. UPPER EAST MAIN RIVER. 87 L

two miles above the foot of the island, is a half mile long; but the upper one is short and steep, with a tremendous rush of water, the river falling eight feet in one hundred yards. The portage is on the north side, and is called the Sunday Portage.

Up to this portage the country surrounding the river is low and almost Character of flat, with only a few isolated hills that seldom or never exceed one por hundred feet in elevation above the general level, while the river flows only slightly below it, in a shallow valley from 300 to 1000 yards wide, having in most cases low sandy banks never more than seventy feet high. The sand and gravel of the banks are made up of modified boulder-clay arranged by the action of the river. On either side of the river, the soil appears to be light and sandy, and, as small fires only have traversed this region, the timber has not been destroyed, but thickly covers the country, the trees occurring in the following order of abundance :—black spruce, Banksian pine, larch, balsam tir, white birch and aspen, the last being exceedingly rare and only found along the river in low straggling clumps.

Above Sunday Portage the river flows directly from east for the next four and a half miles. The average width is nearly 400 yards and the current is strong, with two rapids one and two miles above the portage, the upper one being so heavy that canoes must be lightened to ascend it. The portage past it is about 200 yards long, on the north side. At the foot of the lower rapid a small branch from the south joins the river.

The river now turns sharply to the northward, and, flowing from that direction, in the next mile breaks through a low ridge in a shallow, narrow, rocky channel, and falls fifty-five feet from the level above, the descent taking the form of a heavy rapid. To pass this the Pond Pond Portage. Portage is made on the east side. To reach it a small stream is ascend- ed about 200 yards, and from there 200 yards portage up a low hill leads to a small pond ; crossing this, a rough road over boulders and through swamps for half a mile ends at a small channel of the river, behind an island. From here the course is N. 45° E. for a mile, and then in a general direction N. 45° W. for five miles, with many minor bends and crooks. About one mile up this course, what appears to be a large branch comes in on the east side, but it is probably only a channel leaving the main stream several miles above, and so forming a large island. The river continues about a quarter of a mile wide, is shallow, and flows with a strong steady current, breaking into small rapids at points and narrows. Another small stream comes in from the northward at the upper end of the course. Now again bending

Character of country above Sunday Port- age.

Height above sea-level.

Hills.

‘Trees,

Lower coun- try about Sharp-rock Portage.

88 L Labrador Peninsula.

eastward a mile above, the river widens out into a small lake, crowded with low islands that its limits cannot be seen.

From Sunday Portage to this lake, the character of the river ba and surrounding country is similar to that before described, the bai being low and the country nearly flat, with isolated hills and ro ridges generally under 100 feet, and never exceeding 250 feet elevation. .

Owing to an unfortunate accident on the Koksoak River, thro the upsetting of one of the canoes, the barometer readings were 1 and only a few booked in the survey note-book remain. From mean of these data the height of the river in this vicinity is roug found to be 1400 feet above sea-level, which agrees closely with : supposed difference of level between here and Lake Mistassini, t place being fixed from the mean of readings taken from two aner barometers and extending over several months.

From the lake-expaneion, the river bends southward for a mile, s then directly east, flowing from that direction four miles, from base of a high rocky hill on the north side, which forms a part o range extending from beyond the north side of the lake to the er ward. These hills are very steep and rocky, being formed of hornblende-granite that now takes the place of the softer schists a gneisses of the flat country below. They rise from 400 to 500 f above the river.

Before reaching the foot of the hills, the river becomes somew! wider and flows between low banks of sand and gravel with a moder current in a shallow channel, much obstructed with low sandy shos Much of the surrounding country has been burnt over, and in part covered with small second-growth trees, Banksian pine then predo nating. Where unburnt, the forest is somewhat larger and thicl than that seen lower down; this is owing most likely to a better s

At the foot of the hill the river again abruptly bends to the sot for a mile and then gradually turns and resumes its easterly course five miles to Sharp-rock Portage. Up to here the character of ! river is similar to that lower down, being flat and shoal, with moderate current broken by two short rapids, the lower on the be and the upper two miles ahove it. The range of hills on t north side continues along the river and crosses it at the porta but so much lower that at the crossing it is little over a hundred f high. To the southward the country is almost flat and both sic have been almost totally burnt over, the fire on the north side bei most recent.

wow UPPER EAST MAIN RIVER. 89 L

Sharp-rock Portage is on the north side and is about 400 yards long, the lower half passing over sharp vertical bands of hornblende-schist. The river falls ten feet over the same ledges.

Above the portage, the course is N. 60° E. for three miles to another portage, 200 yards long, where a chute of eight feet occurs. Between the portages the banks are low, with traces of a terrace twenty feet high on the south side.

Farther up, the river flows from the north for a mile, and then from Wide valley the east four miles to where it passes out from between rocky hills, from Ae Porta. 200 to 250 feet high. From the last portage to this point, the flat valley is somewhat wider, and the shallow channel of the river is obstructed by a number of islands and gravel shoals, the current here being very strong.

After the hills are entered, the course is south-east for two miles, and then north for two miles. Along the south-east course the river is less than 300 yards wide, but on the northern course the width is irregu- lar, varying from 300 to 800 yards. The current everywhere is strong.

At the bend, a medium-sized stream comes in from the south, Mink Chute. and perhaps another on the north side a mile below. Another bend to the eastward, and a mile of river, leads to Mink Chute, thirteen feet high, passed by a short portage over the rock on the east side.

The country surrounding the river from Sharp-rock Portage to Character of here, is rougher than that seen below. The ridges of rocky hills are Shanty apeve closer together and slightly higher, and there are also ridges of till Portage. apparently arranged roughly parallel to the direction of the glacial striæ, or S. 70° W. On both sides of the river there have been exten- sive fires and little of the original forest remains. The trees continue similar in size and numbers to those described below, aspen being the only one now absent. Terraces of sand and gravel are seen on both sides up to thirty feet above the water, and occasional cut-banks of boulder-clay are noticed, where the river has eaten away parts of the low hills of drift mentioned above. The rocky hills are moderately strewn with boulders.

Mink Portage is followed closely by another short one, on the south side, past a chute of nine feet ; and then for five miles the river flows rapidly between low and rocky banks to Channel Portage. This port- Channe age is on the north side, and is about 800 yards long, terminating in Portage a small channel above a fall and behind several rocky islands. Up to the head of the islands there is but one small rapid in the next mile, whereas the main or south channel is a succession of chutes and heavy rapids for nearly two miles.

Character of country above Channel Portage.

Timber.

Abundance of till in this region,

90 L Labrador Peninsula,

From the head of the islands, the river widens to over half a and flows evenly from the north-east between low sandy banks, which can be seen high hills in the distance to the north-east, and south-east.

Four miles of quiet water is followed by a shallow, flat rapid, ft small rocky islands and large boulders. After a sharp bend the is to the north for a mile, and then north-east for two miles to anc small lake-expansion. Along the two last stretches, the river, tracted to less than 300 yards, flows between rocky banks, ar greatly obstructed by rocky islands and ledges, which cause : heavy rapids with very swift water between them.

On the south side, at the head of the rapids, a conical hill rises feet above the river. From its top a good, unobstructed view of surrounding country may be obtained, as it is totally burnt over bare. To the north-east, the river is seen flowing with but one t through & wide, straight valley, surrounded by low hills. Thos the north side are about 200 feet high, and are arranged in close, pact ridges, everywhere well wooded. On the south side, there wide valley filled with small lakes, that separates the conical hill a higher range parallel to, and forming the north wall of the river-va The highest of these hills reach and may exceed 5U0 feet. They bare and rocky, and have a very barren, desolate appearance, du the absence of green woods ; fire rather than unfavourable climatic ditions being the cause, as some of the hills have small patches oi burnt trees upon their summits. The sides and tops of these hills are strewn with innumerable boulders of all sizes, from m several tons in weight to small gravel, but there is not much of finer material on the upper parts.

In the river-valley, larch is seen eighteen inches in diameter, black spruce and balsam fir of twelve inches, are common. The evidence of an approach to barren ground, is afforded by the thin out of Ledum and Kalmia and the substitution of white reindeer as undergrowth, while the trees begin to grow wider apart frequent open glades.

Above here the character of the river changes somewhat, long isl of till are numerous, and there is a marked absence of terrace stratified deposits, these being replaced by banks of irregular h and outline, formed by the river cutting through the low lenti hills of moderately fine boulder-clay. The islands formed of sir materials, appear to be hills of the same description, and have been separated from those on either shore by shallow channels cu tween them. For three miles and a half the river is over half a

we. UPPER EAST MAIN RIVER. 91 L

wide, but is very shallow, and its bottom is thickly strewn with boulders and subangular blocks of gneiss and granite, very similar to the rock- masses seen in place in the vicinity. The descent, both here and in the expansions further up stream, is constant and quite steep, causing the water to flow with a very swift smooth current, which is more difficult to ascend in canoes than broken water, where the eddies and quiet places behind boulders and other obstructions are available to rest before the canoemen attempt other short ascents; whereas in the steady, strong, smooth current no such chances to rest occur, and every foot gained must be held.

Bending from east to north-east, the river contracts to about 300 yards for two miles, and again expands at the head of a large island, at the end of the course. Two small streams enter from the north, at the upper and lower ends of the stretch. ,

Turning eastward again, the banks become more rocky and irregular, with numerous small bays, so that the breadth of the stream varies from 300 to 1200 feet. There is a small rapid one mile and a half up, and at its head a large stream named the Misask River enters on the Misask River. north side. From this place the general course is N. 50° E. for six miles, to the Cascade Portage.

Immediately above the Misask River, the main stream is divided into two equal channels by a large island. The north channel is followed east for two miles and then south for three-quarters of a mile to the head of theisland. The whole distance is a continuous rapid, culminat- ing on the south bend in a chute of fifteen feet, which is passed by a portage of 800 yards on the east side. There is a steep rise of one Heavy rapid hundred feet at the lower end of this portage, from the river up Portas a cut-bank of till, to the level of the ridge above. From the head of the island, half a mile of quiet water leads to another portage, on the west side, 1000 yards long, past heavy rapids, followed by small rapids for half a mile, to the foot of another large island. Following the smaller and southern channel, another half mile of stiff current leads to the Meat Portage, 300 yards long, on the west side. Another short rapid is then passed, to the head of the island. The rise in the river has now brought it to a level with that of the surrounding country, which is broken only by low ridges of til and an occasional rocky hill, seldom exceeding one hundred feet, so that the surface presents the appearance of a very rolling prairie, especially to the southward, where most of the trees have been burnt. Everywhere the surface is covered with innumerable boulders and subangular blocks of granite and gneiss. °

Character of

theriverbelow

Long Portage Gree

River above Long Portage

Creek,

Character of

country above

Le

ong

reek,

Portage

922 Labrador Peninsula.

Having now reached the general level, the character of the changes, and for the next nine miles, to Long Portage Creek, it succession of lake-expansions, connected by short rapids. expansions are broken by deep bays, running between the low r and often pass by small narrows into other lakes, the country now covered by a perfect network of small lakes and waterco lying between the low hills, The general course is slightly sou east. The first lake is about one mile and a half wide, and it i miles from the head of the island to the next narrows and 1 The water is shallow and there are several large islands. The above is half a mile long and is followed by a smaller lake, one long, to a very heavy rapid, passed by a portage of 900 yards or south side. Above, there is quiet water for half a mile, and rapids, half a mile long, are followed by swift current for two mi the next lake-expansion. This lake is also full of large islands, narrow channel on the north side leads into a chain of lakes exter over ten miles to the north-east and branching off into num other small lakes on either side of the main chain. A mile and a of steady current leads to another sinall lake, into which the Portage Creek flows.

Here the main river takes an abrupt bend to the south-west, after a short sharp rapid is ascended is found to widen out in string of lakes with numerous deep bays, for about fifteen mile then breaks into a heavy rapid two miles long, above which it tinues south-west for a considerable distance, when it again t eastward, passing behind a high hill some fifteen miles south of forks,

The country about the forks is very similar to that already deser consisting of a series of low ridges of boulder-clay, arranged in br

- roughly parallel lines, coinciding with the direction of the gl

strie, or S. 70° W. The general Leight of the ridges is about feet, while the highest rarely exceed one hundred feet. Between parallel with them are innumerable small shallow lakes, irregul shape and full of high islands formed of mounds of till. These are joined together by small watercourses, following each valley. the different chains often have lateral connections where an int occurs between overlapping ridges. The only conspicuous landi in this vicinity is the rocky hill situated about fifteen miles sou the forks ; it rises about 500 feet above the general level, an unconnected with any other high land. To the south, south- east and north-east the horizon is bounded by chains of high hill a distance ranging from twenty to fifty miles from the forks.

Low. UPPER EAST MAIN RIVER. 93 L

The East Main River was explored only as far as the head of the Upper East two-mile rapid mentioned above. The route to Nichicun leaves the © main stream at Long Portage Creek, where the river is still a large stream, being nearly 200 yards wide at the rapid there, with an average depth of three feet. According to information received from the people at Nichicun, the main stream, although large where the route leaves it, soon splits up into numerous branches, none of which are of any considerable volume or length. The river bends to the south-west for some twenty miles, and then turns eastward again along the northern foot of the mountains that here form the water- shed between the Rupert, East Main and Big rivers, flowing into Hudson Bay, and the Peribonka and Outardes rivers, emptying into the St. Lawrence.

Misawau or Long Portage Creek, from its mouth to the portage, Long Portaze

following the stream, is thirty-three miles long ; but in a straight line Creek.

the distance is twenty-four miles, and the general course is slightly

north of east ; the difference in length being due to its crooks and

turns. From the East Main River, for the first six miles the

course is north-east, the stream here consisting of a number of small

irregular lakes, joined by short stretches of river. At these narrows

the river is generally about one hundred feet wide, with a moderate

current and deep water. This course terminates with a rapid of six

feet fall, passed by a portage of 400 yards on the north side.

For the next four miles the river flows from the east, with a uniform breadth of one hundred feet. The current here is strong, with three short rapids, the upper passed by a demi-churge. Next follow small lake expansions and swamps for four miles, in the same direction, with one short rapid near the upper end. Still further up, the river is crooked, and forms a reversed curve, ending at the forks, four miles beyond, where it splits into two equal branches, the route following the eastern one.

Above the forks, the average breadth continues to be about one Rocky hundred feet, and where small rapids or swift current occur the Portage. water is so shallow that wading is resorted to in order to pass loaded canoes. For nine miles from the forks, to the Rocky Portage, the character of the river is constant ; it has in most places a sluggish current, with small shallow rapids at long intervals. The banks are low. and the immediate surrounding country swampy. The portage is 500 yards long, and follows the side of a hill on the south shore.

The river here passes through a narrow valley, between high rocky hills, and in so doing falls thirty feet. The valley widens above the portage, and the river again flows from the east, in a low valley,

Character of ‘country about

Long Portage Creel

Long Portage

94 L Labrador Peninsula

filled with numerous small lakes on both sides, connected with river. As the Long Portage is approached, the river becomes 1 rapid and shallow, and it is only with great difficulty that loa canoes can be taken up it. It is left at the Long Portage, wher turns to the northward, rising in the small lakes in that direction no great distance above this place.

The country surrounding the lower part of this stream is aln flat, and is traversed by ridges of till never more than fifty feet h These gradually rise until the forks are reached, where they aver 100 feet. From the forks to the Rocky Portage the hills rec leaving a low swampy valley through which the river flows sluggis in a channel but little below the general level. At this portage first rock seen in place along the river occurs. The stream here over ledges of red granite as it passes down a narrow valley betw two steep rocky hills that rise abruptly to 300 feet.

From here to the Long Portage the valley is again wide and str with numerous small lakes and swamps, connected by short chant with the main stream. The hills on either side now have an aver elevation of 300 feet, and often show rocky faces.

Over one half of the country surrounding the river has been bu and is now covered only with low shrub and reindeer moss. Ow to the want of forest growth, the innumerable boulders and angi blocks of all sizes stand out in remarkable distinctness, giving to hills the appearance of gigantic plum puddings. These blocks ! boulders with the amount of drift are a feature of the country, thed along the lower parts of the stream being so thick that it covers the underlying rocks which can be determined only from the profus of angular, untravelled blocks scattered about. On the very sum of the high granite hill on the north side of the river, at the Ro: Portage, there is à perched boulder over ten feet cube. Its corr are only partly rounded. Numerous other large boulders are s tered over the highest parts of this hill, and so thickly are they eve where strewn that one might walk for miles over the country almost any direction without touching the soil with the foot. The ti along the river are small and somewhat scattered, with little unc brush, the ground being covered with white moss and arctic berr Black spruce predominates, with larch in the swamps and Banks pine on the higher lands. There are also a few small white birc and balsam firs. One very small clump of aspen was noted.

The Long Portage is two miles in length, and from the creek pa S. 30° E. over a ridge 200 feet high, terminating at a small lake

Los. UPPER EAST MAIN RIVER. 95 L

feet above its lower end. The lower half is burnt bare, but there is at its upper end a thick growth of small black spruce, with a few Bank- sian pines and larches. This portage is over the watershed which

divides the creek from the waters of the Pemiska Branch of the East Main River.

From the portage at its upper end, a small shallow lake is fol- lowed by a portage of one mile to a slightly larger shallow lake full of great blocks of granite, which in turn is followed by another portage of a half mile, ending in another small lake, triangular in shape. The route to here has been due east ; it now turns south, and in a half mile leaves the lake by the stream flowing out, with a short portage past a small rapid at the outlet, and so into Opemiska Lake. The country surrounding the small lakes consists of low ridges of till from fifty to one hundred feet high, well covered with small black spruce and larch to the exclusion of all other trees.

Opemiska Lake is six miles long, with an average breadth of three. Opemiska quarters of a mile. Its longest axis lies nearly east-and-west. The water is clear and shallow. There is one deep bay at the north-west end, full of small low islands. The shores are generally low and sandy, and the surrounding country is also low, with small ridges of till. Ten miles to the south-east of the lake, a high isolated hill rises about 900 feet above the general level, forming a conspicuous landmark ; is regarded by the natives as the dwelling place of spirits, and on that account given a wide berth. The country about here is unburnt, and is well wooded with black spruce and larch, the former constituting over ninety per cent of the trees. The only other tree met with is balsam fir, found sparingly about the shores of the lake.

The Pemiska branch of the East Main River, flows out on the south Pemiska

side, about the middle of the lake, and leaves it with a heavy rapid. Branch. Its volume here does not exceed one-quarter of that of the river at the mouth of Long Portage Creek. The route follows the lake to its eastern end, where it ascends for two miles a small river about fifty feet wide and full of rapids, with a total fall of twenty-five feet. Three short portages are necessary to pass the strongest parts of the rapids. The country surrounding the river is low, rough and rocky, with a superabundance of loose blocks and boulders, many of great size. Two were seen resting on a rocky knoll at the head of the rapids; the larger is more than twenty feet cube, and the smaller more than fifteen feet cube.

The river ends in Wahemen Lake, another large body of water Wahemen stretching to the eastward, divided by long, low ridges of till into

Patamisk Lake.

Watershed between East Main and Big rivers.

Character of country at the watershed.

96 L Labrador Peninsula.

a bewildering number of deep bays. The route closely follov southern shore, and, passing a small narrows, ends at a portage miles from the outlet. The portage is 1400 yards long, and joi river above a heavy rapid. From there to Patamisk Lake, at its the distance is eight miles, in a general east course. The river through five small lakes, each full of deep, narrow bays, and conr with the next lake by short, rapid stretches. The numerous ba; the small size of the stream makes it very difficult to follo route without a guide.

Lake Patamisk is reached by & portage of 1000 yards past a in the river, which is here not above twenty-five feet wide and shallow. This lake is the largest passed through between the Main River and Nichicun. The route traverses the lake to the the north-east bay, seven miles from the outlet. Large deep indent both sides, and the main body is filled with large is which obstruct the view and hide the real size of the lake. A bay extends westward from 2 point half a mile above the outlet south side. The limits of the shore on the north side could n determined, nor those of a wide deep bay on the south-east side, b lake evidently extends to the foot of some hills about ten miles fri entrance. The water is very clear and in places deep, but as à shallow.

A portage of 500 yards leads from Patamisk Lake to a small sh lake one mile long, with a portage 200 yards from its east end another smaller lake half a mile long. The portage from this crosses a low bouldery ridge and ends in Kawachamack or Cr Lake, about twenty feet below the level of the last, draining int Big River ; so that the last portage is over the height-of-land bet the Big and the East Main rivers.

The country surrounding the route from Lake Opemiska t height-of-land is everywhere the same, consisting of ranges of hi boulder-clay seldom more than’100 feet above the general level. ' are separated by wide irregular valleys filled with small lakes, so fully one-third of this area is covered with water. An occasional hill may be seen rising from beneath the masses of till, some attaining a height of 300 to 400 feet. Immense numbers of bot and loose angular blocks continue to be scattered in wild prof everywhere. As the height-of-land is approached, the forest gr becomes smaller and less thick, and is made up almost wholly of spruce, the largest of which are about six inches in diameter ; the other tree is the birch, which forms less than ten per cent 0 whole. Where fire has passed, a number of years elapse befor

tow UPPER EAST MAIN RIVER. 97 L

second growth of black spruce springs up, which it does then only in a thin straggling manner.

Crooked Lake, stretching N. 60° E., is nearly five miles long and Crooked

averages one mile in width, with numerous small lateral bays, which Lake. give it an irregular outline. The western part is filled with islands. The north shore is almost wholly burnt and bare, while small black spruce and larch cover the hills on the south side. The country becomes higher and rougher, with more rock showing up from beneath the drift. A short portage at the east end leads directly into the south-west branch of the Big River. This river rises about sixty miles to the south and south-west, where it drains a number of lakes lying along the northern slope of the mountains, close to others emptying into the head-waters of the East Main River to the west and those of the Outardes River on the south side of the mountains. The watershed in consequence runs east-and-west here, on or near the fifty-second parallel of latitude.

The route enters the river at a bend, where its course changes from Big River. north to east. In size it is nearly as large as the East Main River at the mouth of Long Portage Creek, being in the rapids about 200 feet wide, with deep water flowing four or five miles an hour.

From the portage, the river flows N. 60° E. for eight miles, to the foot of a sharp rocky hill 280 feet high. It flows almost level with the general surface, and, like all the streams of the region, is made up of a series of small irregular lake-expansions, connected by short nar- row stretches of swift water. Even in the widest parts a moderate current is appreciable. At the foot of the hill, the river enters a large lake that stretches several miles to the eastward, and has several deep narrow bays separated by low parallel ridges of till. This body of water is called Big Back Lake. The river flows only through its pck lakes. north-west part, leaving it half a mile below its entrance, and then bending sharply to the west, passes close to the foot of the hill, and enters Back Lake. From the top of the hill, looking north-west, the country as far as could be seen in that direction appears as if covered by a great number of small lakes that lie parallel to, and are separated from each other by low ridges running east-and-west. These are not separate lakes but deep bays of either Back or Nichicun lakes, these two bodies of water being separated only by a small short rapid.

This rapid is five miles from the foot of the hill, through Back Lake, but the irregular shore-line of the lake must be at least fifty miles long. From the hill, the irregular outline of Nichicun Lake is seen Lake Nichi- stretching away toward the north for a great distance, bounded by “™

Forest fires.

Climate.

Trees.

98 L Labrador Peninsula.

bold rocky hills often rising from 400 to 500 feet above its le Through breaks among these are seen the valleys of the outlets of lake. Toward the east, the country beyond the Back Lakes is rising in ranges of hills from 300 to 800 feet high, of sharper line than the ordinary Laurentian hills. These bound the hori to the south-east and south, and are said to form the north flanks of the central mountain range of Labrador which extends al the watershed in a north-east and south-west direction from the b of the East Main River to about thirty miles east of Nichic Thence it gradually sinks and is lost in the general level of country, which must there be over 2000 feet above sea-level.

the south-west and west the country is lower, with isolated rocky 1 rising above the level of the low ridges of till.

The only signs of an approach to the barren lands is the lack of tr on the tops of the highest hills, hyt the rest of the country is well woo where unburnt, Fires have destroyed great areas of forest in t region. They are sometimes caused by lightning, and when o started, burn with surprising rapidity, travelling as quickly through dry, white reindeer moss as over the grass of the western prair The Indians too are often accountable for these fires, most of whi it is likely, have been started by them, as they use smoke signalling from great distances. Islands in small lakes are usu ly fired for this purpose, but brands are often carried by the wind the mainland, and thousands of acres burnt over in a short time, fire continuing until the first heavy rain and often breaking out afr when dry weather again sets in. At times the Indians purpos burn large areas in order to prepare the ground for bear-hunting ; within a few years after a fire, in this region, the surface becon thickly covered with blueberries and other small fruits, forming fe ing grounds for bears during the autumn raonths.

The climate at Nichicun does not permit the growth of grain, a in the small patch of land under cultivation at the Hudson’s B post, only potatoes are grown, and these rarely if ever ripen proper the tops being frozen early in September, or even in August. Suma frosts are also common and often severe.

The following information concerning the trees and shrubs abc Nichicun was obtained from Mr. Jos. Iserhoff, who is in charge of t Hudson's Bay post there. Black spruce is found on the shores a islands of the lake in abundance, and trees that will square six or sev inches for twelve feet, are not uncommon. White spruce is not plentif and is seen only in certain places along the sides of the lower hil Balsam fir is common, and is found everywhere near the water, some

tow. UPPER EAST MAIN RIVER. 99 L

the trees growing as large as the black spruce. . Banksian pine is very rarely seen, its eastern limit being defined by a line drawn nearly north- and-south through the Long Portage, beyond which line to the east- ward, only a few straggling trees are found, while on the west side it is very abundant. White birch is common about the sides of the small hills, especially where fires have passed long ago ; but no trees of a size sufficient to afford bark for canoe-building are found in the vicinity, and all the bark is supplied by way of Hudson Bay. Although com- mon. about Lake Nichicun, a short distance to the north and north-east, it is very rarely met with. Small straggling aspen and mountain ash, found in little clumps at wide intervals, complete the list of trees of this interior portion of Labrador. Small fruits are very abundant, buf the prevalence of early summer frosts seldom allows the fruit to ripen.

Lake Nichicun is 1760 feet above sea-level, and is a very irregularly give and out- shaped body of water, with numerous deep bays. It is so plentifully tine of 1 Lake strewn with islands, that it is difficult to form an idea of its size ; many of the islands are large, and one, Big Island, is six or seven miles long and about two miles wide. The greatest length of the lake is from east to west, about thirty miles, and at the western end a narrows continues on into Little Nichicun Lake, which extends several miles farther. At its widest part the lake does not exceed ten miles across, and it is so obstructed with islands there, that it appears much less. The average width is about five miles. The numerous long points stretching out from both sides, together with the islands, make it almost impossible to pass through the lake without great loss of time unless with a guide. One of its deep bays, to the south-west, heads within a short distance of the river, near the portage from Crooked Lake, and advantage is taken of this to pass the rapids in the river when travelling from Nichicun to the East Main River. The shores are low and covered with rows of boulders shoved up by the ice. The country surrounding the lake is rough, and covered with numerous ridges of boulder-clay. To the north-west, north and east, there are high rocky hills rising from 300 to 600 feet above the lake. The islands are mostly portions of boulder ridges, but some of the larger are high and rocky, especially Big Island. The water is very clear and moderately cold. Asa rule, the lake is not deep and in many places it is quite shallow, with large boulders rising above the surface. It discharges on its east side, the river flowing out by three channels. The two southern ones soon join, but the northern channel does not unite with the others for nearly fifty miles, or until the river changes its course from north-east to westward.

The Hudson’s Bay post is situated on an island a short distance ju

from the inlet of the lake. This post has been long established, pro- Hudson’s Bay

bably before the beginning of the present century. No record of Company

Canoe route to

Hudson Bay.

Sustenance of the inhabi- tants.

100 £ Labrador Peninsula.

the date is known, but in 1840, a Mr. John Spencer was in char and made a sketch map of the surrounding country. At that ti an outpost was situated at Lake Kaniapiskau. The mapis now in 1 office of the Geological Survey, and is very interesting, as it shows t watershed between the St. Lawrence, Hudson Bay and Ungava B. At present the post consists of five small log buildings : the maste house, two servants’ houses, a small store, work-shop and pow magazine.

The supplies for the post are brought in from Rupert House by thi large canoes, each manned by six Indians. In order to reach Nichic in time to prepare for winter, the canoes leave the lake at the fi open water, or about June 15th. The trip to Rupert House is ms by the route to the East Main River, down it to a small lake cal Nasaskauso, thirty miles below where the route to Mistassini tu off. From this lake a portage-route through a long chain of lakes followed, and the Rupert River reached a few miles above Lake miskæu, about 100 miles above Rupert House, the river being descend to that place. The total distance from Nichicun to Rupert House, the route followed, is somewhat over 500 miles. It takes two wee to go down with the canoes partly loaded with the furs taken duri the previous winter, Rupert House being reached about July 1 Three or four days are spent there, and then the return trip up stre’ is commenced, and by working throughout the long summer da from daylight to dark, Nichicun is again reached between the 15 and 30th of August. On leaving the coast, the canoes are loaded dur to the gunwales, but before their destination is reached over a quar of their loads are consumed. This gives some idea of the difficul experienced in supplying an inland post like Nichicun.

Sufficient provisions cannot be brought in to support the people the post, who have thus to depend largely on the country for fo During the summer they subsist almost wholly on fish, caught in n in the lake, and are often for months without small luxuries su as iea, sugar and tobacco. During the winter the living is better, then, besides the small rations of flour and other provisions, they able to obtain abundance of fresh meat. About a dozen caribou a killed by the people of the post during the year, besides beave musk-rats and bears. Usually rabbits and ptarmigan are abunda during the winter season, and are shot and snared as required. some years, however, both rabbits and ptarmigan are not plentif and caribou are scarce. During such seasons the food supply is ve limited, and great care must be taken to prevent starvation, especial as the Indians are affected by the same circumstances and flock

wo. UPPER EAST MAIN RIVER. 101 L

the post for relief. A supply of salt fish is laid in, every autumn, Fish. in case of need. The fish are principally whitefish and lake trout, caught with nets late in the autumn on the spawning grounds in various parts of the lake. The articles of trade in the store embrace small quantities of cloth, clothing, tea, sugar, tobacco, powder and shot.

There are about thirteen families of Indians who trade at this post, Indians. but this does not represent all the people inhabiting this portion of the interior, as a number of families prefer to descend to Rupert House and trade there, bringing in their year’s supply themselves. Others living to the southward, who formerly traded at Nichicun, now descend the rivers flowing into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and do their trading at Bersimis, Seven Islands, or elsewhere along the north shore.

These Indians belong to the western Nascaupee tribe. They speak a dialect closely resembling that of the Montagnais. The men are of medium height and fairly good physique. Some are tall and well developed, but the average height does not exceed five feet seven inches. Like other Indians they are sinewy rather than muscular. As a rule, they are less cleanly than the Montagnais, taking little care of their clothes or persons; and they generally swarm with vermin. Owing to the small numbers of caribou killed in this region, the natives are forced to clothe themselves in garments bought from the Hudson’s Bay Company. They live in wigwams covered with cotton, as they cannot get either the deer-skin used in the north or the birch bark covering of the south.

The hunting grounds of the Indians of Nichicun extend from the Hunting heisht-of-land on the southward, to the head-waters of the Great grounds of Whale River on the north. To the eastward they hunt as far as Lake Indians. Kaniapiskau and down its discharge about fifty miles. There appears to be quite an extensive area between their eastern boundary and the western limit of the hunting grounds of the Hamilton River Indians, who trade at Northwest River post. There is also a large area with- out hunters on both sides of the Koksoak River, from where the Nichicun Indians leave off, to where those from Ungava begin, as no signs of Indians were seen along that stream for nearly 200 miles.

The greatest number hunt to the westward of Nichicun, or about the head-waters and tributaries of the Big and East Main rivers.

The presence of a trading post in the interior of Labrador, such as Necessity of a that at Nichicun, is at present absolutely necessary to the Indians trading postin , on ; e Interior. inhabiting that region, and it is doubtful if the country would support half the present population without it. In seasons of plenty it is not necessary, the Indians transporting their furs to some point on the

Educationand religion of the Indians.

Nichicun.

102 L Labrador Peninsula.

coast, and returning inland with their next season’s supply, t seasons of starvation, without the aid furnished by the post, a ma of the people would die. The greatest number of deaths from s tion occur about the Rupert and East Main rivers, in the co midway between Nichicun, Mistassini, and Rupert House, wher distance is too great from any of these posts to obtain assis during the winter. So great has been the mortality in this r during the last few years, since the extermination of the cs there, that the country is nearly depopulated, and a supply of sions is kept by the Hudson's Bay Company at Lake Nemiskau ( Rupert River, to relieve the Indians in extreme cases of nec From the above, it will be seen, that although at present the popu of the interior is small, it appears to be in excess of what unas nature would sustain with the present habits of the Indians.

The Indians of Nichicun all read and write the syllabic char invented and taught by the missionaries of the Church M Society, and letters written on birch bark with charcoal are com! seen on the portages along the various routes. The missionaries also # number of books printed in these characters, including a tion of hymns and almost the whole of the Bible. These bool greatly prized by the natives. Although nominally Christians, religion is greatly mixed with pagan ideas, and as their opportu of acquiring a knowledge of Christianity is limited to the stay every summer at Rupert House, it is no wonder that they many of their old beliefs. The visit to the coast is the occasi the celebration of marriages and baptism.

Route from Nichicun to Lake Kaniapiskau.

We left Lake Nichicun by the middle discharge, on Augus 1893. The general direction of the'stream is north-east. Fo miles, to the first portage, its breadth varies from 50 to 300 yards, swift water in the narrows. The shores are very irregular at made up of low ridges composed almost wholly of large boulders, little fine material. Along the river and in the small bays, are di traces of a terrace twenty feet above the present water-level. the lake stood at that height, it must have covered an area r twice as great as it does at present, extending over a great d land now dry, more especially to the south and south-west.

The first portage is on the north side, following along the su of a low ridge for 300 yards. The river here falls eight feet 0 rocky ledge. Two other short portages in the next two mile

Low. NICHICUN TO KANIAPISKAU. 103 L

similar small falls over ledges of rock. The third portage terminates

in à bay of a small lake-expansion, the river taking a short turn to-

ward the north and falling into the lake about half a mile beyond the

portage. The next portage is three miles below, the river in the interval

varying from 50 to 800 yards in width, with numerous small deep

bays running off on either side. Into one of these small bays the

south discharge falls. The portage crosses a narrow point, around

which the river, greatly enlarged, rushes in a heavy rapid, obstructed

by many huge boulders. On both sides of the river here are sharp Character of rocky hills rising from 400 to 500 feet above the water. Below the Soon ding hills the valley widens out, and the surrounding ridges are low, country. with isolated rocky hills rising at intervals above them. For the

next eight miles the course is north, and the river alternates from

rapid narrows to small lake-expansions covered with little islands

and broken by narrow deep bays. In the narrows, the river breaks

into small rapids full of boulders, and has a strong current even in

the widest expansions. A small lake is then entered with the river

passing out to the north-west. The route crosses the lake and goes

up à narrow bay for one mile and a half to its head. From here a

portage of 400 yards leads to a small lake two miles long, surrounded

by steep rocky hills 300 feet high. This lake is left at its east end

by a half-mile portage, to another small shallow lake one mile long, surrounded with lower boulder-strewn hills, followed by another

portage, a quarter of a mile long, that ends in Square Rock Lake, Square Rock seven miles long, but very narrow, the average breadth being 400 Lake. yards, with small expansions at both ends and in the middle, where

a small branch of the Big River flows out on the north side.

The lake is surrounded with hills from 200 to 400 feet high. These, à like most of the country from Lake Nichicun, are burnt, and their exposed sides often appear from a distance to be solid rock, but on close examination they are found to be made up of angular masses and boulders, closely packed together. Where the forest remains, it con- sists almost wholly of small black spruce, with a few larches on the lower ground, and very small white birch on the hillsides. A few Trees. white spruce trees are seen growing on the low sandy terraces about the lake, The route leaves Square Rock Lake by a small stream flowing in on the south side nearly one mile from its east end. This stream comes from the eastward, in a wide valley, now filled with modified drift arranged in beds of sand and gravel, which appears to have once been the bed of a much larger stream than the present. The stream is ascended for four miles, passing on the way two short portages, where the river falls in shallow rapids from one expansion to another.

Fagle Lake.

Snipe Lake.

Long Lake.

104 L Labrador Peninsula.

The last portage ends in a lake four miles long and about half a w wide, strewn with sinall islands of till, or stratified sand. There evidence of a terrace twenty feet above the present water-level, a there is a good deal of stratified sand and gravel seen along the shor High rocky hills rise from either side of the broad valley partly fill by the lake. These hills have been more than three-quarters bur over recently, and have a very desolate appearance. The trees a somewhat smaller than those seen about Nichicun, but they still gr up to the summits of the highest hills. A short portage leads to anoth lake, to the eastward, a half mile up which another portage is ma past a shallow narrows ; then the lake widensout and continues eastwa for two miles. The hills on both sides are high and are burnt bar the boulders, having been whitened by the action of the heat, sta out in marked contrast to the blackened vegetation. A porta of 400 yards leads to Eagle Lake, on another small branch th flows into the Big River, some distance below. This river is n° divided into numerous channels by large rocky islands, which th form a net-work of lake-expansions over a wide area. Beyo: this place the route is very difficult to follow, passing as it de through chains of lakes filled with islands, with deep ba branching off on both sides. The route in some places leaves the ma lakes, passing by shallow narrows into large bays. The dividing of the river into various channels, that often do not join for sever miles, also leads to great confusion. Even with the aid of map the route, much time will be lost in following it here, owing to t sameness in appearance of the lakes and bays.

Crossing Eagle Lake, to its east side, one mile, the north channel the branch is ascended one mile to Snipe Lake. Betweeen the lak the river is rapid and varies from ten to fifty yards in width. The latt lake is two miles and a half long by three-quarters of a mile wide, a runs northward, with a narrow bay stretching to the east for a mile frc its north end. A south channel leaves the lake in a bay about o mile above the other outlet. The river again divides, giving two ink to Snipe Lake with a large hilly island between. The lake covered with small islands. Many of the surrounding hills are roc and precipitous, well wooded on the south side, with many blocks a boulders scattered over them. The route follows the narrow bay the north-east. A portage of three-quarters of a mile leads from to another lake-expansion of this branch, eleven miles in lengt which is called Long Lake, and lies about N. 60° E. Itis very shall and full of small islands, while great areas are obstructed with boulde and angular blocks of rock resting on the flat, shallow bottom. Mai

tow. NICHICUN AND KANIAPISKAU. 105 L

irregular bays indent the shore, especially on the north side where the land is low. The river flows out at the south-west end, and must be broken by a considerable fall, as the sound of it is heard well up the lake. Several small streams feed the lake, the largest flowing in on the south side. The surrounding hills are rocky and burnt over, and are lower than those about the last lake. They gradually sink towards the east end, where the country is appreciably flatter and : lower, with many lakes separated by low ridges.

Two short portages and a narrow lake one mile long, lead to a lake surrounded by low, rocky, boulder-strewn hills, and stretching towards the north-east. The route passes only two miles through the west end of this lake, and up a small irregular bay to the northward. Here a portag: of 500 yards ends in a small lake twenty feet above the level of the last. Half a mile beyond, another short portage 1s Watershed made to the last lake on the head-waters of the Big River. The route Bip eed ne merely crosses this lake, which is large, and stretches away to the north- svak rivers. east, and then passes for 500 yards over a low ridge of boulders, forming the height-of-land between the rivers of Hudson Bay and Ungava Bay.

The portage ends in a very large, irregular lake thirty feet below the last.

From the watershed, the route runs northward for six miles, in an irregular course, through Ice-bound Lake. This is another large body of water with wide, deep bays stretching off to the north-east and south-west. The water is very clear and shallow. The east side is bounded by rocky hills about 200 feet high, while to the west- ward the land is low, and is probably made up of points and islands in this, or in similar lakes, in that direction.

À small stream flows eastward, from the north side of the lake, Male-otter and the route follows it for six miles to Enchukamao or Male-otter ke. Lake. The character of this stream is similar to that of others in the region, consisting of small, irregular lake-expansions, connected by short rapids, with portages past three of them. The surrounding country is comparatively low ; rocky hills are seen to the eastward 200 or 300 feet high ; the rest are much lower, and are composed of till. Where unburnt, the country is covered with small, scattered, black spruce, with white moss coating the ground. Maleotter Lake stretches eastward eight miles, and varies fron two to five miles in width. At its east end it is split into two deep bays by a broad rocky point, that rises about 500 feet above the lake. The summit of this hill is destitute of trees and is covered with white moss. Islands are numerous, and are generally well wooded with small black spruce:

Character of surrounding country.

106 L Labrador Peninsula.

On the south side bare hills of granite rise often perpendicularl 300 to 400 feet, while similar hills bound the north side, but : to be somewhat lower. Both sides have been burnt bare, causi scattered boulders and blocks that cover the hills to stand out inently. Along the base of the hills, on the south side, the: sandy terrace fifteen feet high, marking a former level of the

. The water is remarkably clear; this is the case with all the

Lake Kani- apiskau.

Height above sea level.

north of the East Main River, and is probably due to the la vegetable decomposition in the swamps and small shallow which to the southward gives the water a dark-brown colour the northward decomposition does not take place, at least it : appreciable, on account of the short summer season during whi: heat is insufficient to warm the cold waters fed by streams fror swamps that thaw out only on the surface, to a depth of twe eighteen inches,

Male-otter Lake discharges by a short stream from the head north-east bay into Lake Kaniapiskau. The route passes u south-east bay, to its head, whence a portage of one hundred yard: a low ridge, leads to the great lake. The difference of level : feet.

Lake Kaniapiskau.

Lake Kaniapiskau is probably the largest in this part of Lab Its greatest length is from north to south, and is said to be siderably greater than that of Lake Nichicun, or above fifty

The lake is divided into two parts by a narrows, where the ct is said to be strong. The southern part is much the larger the route passed only through the northern portion, nothing is k of the lake above the narrows, except from information derived the guide. A high rocky point stretches out from the east si the northern part, and along with some islands in continuation practically divides that portion of the lake into two great bays.

From the hill on this point, 300 feet high, a good view is obt: but unfortunately the smoky state of the atmosphere obscured it we were there. From the hill, the south bay is seen extending ten miles to the base of a conical hill of granite over 500 feet L than the level of the lake, which is estimated to be 1850 feet abo sea. This hill éuts off the view of the southern portion of the To the westward a deep wide bay stretches towards the south-w the foot of high hills in that direction. Northward from that t lesser one runs close to Male-otter Lake, where the portage is.

Low. KOKSOAK RIVER. 107 L

lake-shore then sweeps eastward along the point, which extends about five miles in that direction. The bay on the north side of the point extends to the north-westward about five miles, where the river from Male-otter Lake comes in. Near here the Hudson’s Bay Company formerly had an outpost from Nichicun, but it has been abandoned for over twenty-five years. Another deep bay extends to the northward, with a channel flowing out of it, between low rounded hills

The east side of the lake is less irregular in outline, but a wide fringe East shore of of low islands extends from its north end to the narrows, with the apiskau. river passing out by two channels, one opposite the point, and the other a few miles to‘the south. The country to the east of the lake is much lower than that on the other side, and consists of low rocky ridges, with wide valleys between, filled with lower ridges of till. The north end of the lake appears to be shallow, and is filled with islands, as is the case with the eastern half of the south bay. The western part of the latter is almost free from islands, and is said to be very deep. The islands about the southern discharges are arranged in parallel lines running north-east, and are chiefly composed of till, with many large boulders. Some are’ made up of stratified sand, which is also often seen resting on the till. The surrounding country is more than half burnt. The lower unburnt portions and islands are well wooded with small black spruce and a few larch trees. The summits of the high hills along the west side rise above the tree-line.

Koksoak River.

The largest stream falling into Lake Kaniapiskau flows in at its south Headwatersof end. Its main branch rises in Summit Lake, a body of water situated the Koksoak on the watershed about 100 miles south of the latter. A curious feature is that it has a discharge at each end, the northern one flowing Double dis- into Ungava Bay, while the southern one, is a tributary of the Mani- charge 0 Lake. cuagan River, that empties into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This is not an uncommon case with lakes situated along the watershed in the northern region underlain by Laurentian rocks. The river flowing north from Summit Lake is joined by many other streams, draining the lake-covered region to the south and south-east of Lake Kaniapiskau, so that the river where it flows into that lake, is of large size.

As before stated, Lake Kaniapiskau has three discharges, and the Three outlets route follows the middle and least rapid one. Where it leaves Wann iakau. the lake, the channel varies from 50 to 200 yards in width; it flows

“Character of the river below Lake Kaniapiskan,

Character of surrounding country.

108 L Labrador Peninsula.

swiftly, and is soon broken by a succession of heavy, shallow r full of great boulders, the channel being cut in boulder-clay. rapids are almost continuous for five miles, and no rock is seen in The south channel joins the middle one a mile and a half bele lake, and, just above the junction, makes a very heavy rapid. the junction, the river is 200 yards wide, and carries about tv much water as above.

Below the rapid, the river, flowing north, widens out into a sl lake four miles long and about one mile wide, with two deep b: the west side, into one of which the north channel is supposed to e Northward of the lake there is a range of hills, partly wooded, in other directions the hills are isolated and the country with low ridges of till, Boulders are still common, but not nea obtrusive as in the region west of Kaniapiskau. Leaving this lal river narrows to a quarter of a mile, and is broken for a mile small shallow rapid ; then, narrowing to 100 yards, it flows swif another mile toa second lake-expansion. Here, widening to

quarters of a mile, the river continues northward for two mile shallow channel full of sandy shoals and small islands. These i have a thick growth of stunted trees, not over ten feet hi, black spruce, larch, balsam fir and white birch. A stra; growth of spruce covers the low hills on both sides. Next, tu north-west, the river continues in the same manner two inile then passes into a large lake, full of islands, that ext: nds east Where the river turns east, there are two distinct terraces of stra sand twenty and thirty feet high, with sharf conical hills of bo clay protruding from the highest. Along the west shore of the three miles, a narrows 500 yards wide is passed, leading into an lake-expansion three miles long and over a mile wide, with a dee toward the east. The country here is almost flat, with low hills the eastern horizon. The river now turns northward again, ar the next three miles flows rapidly in a shallow channel about 400. wide, with swampy shores backed with bare hills, less than 20 high. Another lake-expansion, one mile across, is followed by ast of three miles of river ending in a lake that extends away to the ward. Passing along its east shore, the river flows out one mile be its entrance. Now narrowing to 200 yards, it flows rapidly nort! for two miles, then widens to 500 yards for two miles, and, bendi the eastward, flows in that direction for three miles; at two narrows it is broken into heavy rapids where it passes over rocky ledges. With the exception of one small hummock, this i first rock seen below Lake Kaniapiskau, but judging from the scat

vow. KOKSOAK RIVER. 109 1

boulders, the rocks underlying the thick deposits of drift are likely to be Absence of soft mica-schists and mica-gneisses, and this accounts for the change in rock.

the character of the country. These soft rocks having been unable to

stand the abrading action of glacier ice, have been planed down, and

only the harder parts rise in the low isolated ridges seen here. The

granites of the region west of Kaniapiskau, being much harder and

tougher, resisted the glacial action, and now stand up in the rugged

hills previously mentioned.

The river below is split into two main, and a number of smaller channels, with the stream in a shallow channel almost on a level with the surrounding flat country. Our route followed the east channel which flows north-east four miles, and then north four miles, to the head of a heavy rapid. Two large channels join it at the fourth and eighth miles, and there is a heavy rapid between the second and third miles, with a large rocky island dividing it. When again united, the river runs north-north-east for five miles, and flowing on the surface over low, flat ledges, is almost a continuous rapid for the whole dis- tance. Throughout, the breadth is 400 yards. Three short portages are necessary to pass low chutes.

Turning due east along the southern flank of a low range of hills, the river next narrows to less than 300 yards, and flows swiftly between rising banks of till, with outcrops of rock along the shore. Now bending east-south-east for three miles and then south for two miles, the stream narrows to less than one hundred yards, and descends in a narrow valley, cut out of till, with a rocky bottom. On the north First gorge of side, the hills increase in height as the river descends below the general the Koksoak. level, and at the lower end rise abruptly 500 feet atove the stream.

Those on the south side are somewhat lower. In the five miles, the river falls over 150 feet, and is very difficult to pass with canoes. The Indians of Nichicun hunt only to the head of these rapids, and below there is an interval of over one hundred miles of the river untravelled, as it is utterly impossible to ascend the stream with loaded canoes. Along this portion no portages are cut out past the falls and rapids, and in consequence portage-roads had to be made by us. At the rapid above, the sides of the valley are composed of almost perpendicular walls of till one hundred feet or more in height, resting upon jagged rocks covered with great rounded boulders for thirty feet above the Walla of water-line. These boulders are piled up by the ice passing through packed the gorge in the spring. The till banks at frequent intervals are deeply cut by small tributary brooks. On account of the broken character of the bank above, a portage had to be made along the water's edge over the loosely piled boulders and jagged rock. The

110 12 Labrador Peninsula.

river is here so rough, that the outfit had to be carried the entir miles, and then the empty canoes were let down along the shore frequent short portages past heavy pitches. A day and a half of work was necessary to accomplish this.

Character of. From Lake Kaniapiskau to the head of the gorge, the river wa

the gorge?" about almost on the surface of the country, spreading out into where the surface is flat, and contracting into narrow rapids wh passes between low ridges. It follows the main slope of the cou and falls with the general surface. Where it is obstructed rapids, these are frequently over boulders without any rock in especially along the upper parts. The absence of a distinct and the presence of rapids over boulder-clay, show that the riv here flowing in a modern course, and does not follow its pre-g valley, which is still filled with glacial débris. At the gorge changes, and the river passes down from the general level into a distinct river-valley, probably of very ancient origin. This valley ing the glacial period was at least partly filled with till, whi scarped banks and terraces is seen along it, resting on its rocky : The river follows this old valley from the gorge to its mouth. valley is, of course, not of constant depth, but descends in a seri steps, with the gradual slope of the surrounding country.

River below From the foot of the heavy rapid, the river, now in a distinct vs

the gorge. takes an easy bend to the east and flows in that direction for eight r Here the current runs from four to seven miles an hour, with con small rapids, The river averages 200 yards in width, and descend: valley from a quarter to a half mile wide, walled in by steep rocky that rise 500 to 800 feet aboveit. These hills are almost wholly b but where unburnt are covered with a straggling growth of spruce to within 200 feet of their highest summits. The tops treeless, and are covered with white moss and low arctic sh Boulders are now nearly absent from the sides and tops of the in strong contrast to the hills about Nichicun and Kaniapis Some boulders are seen, but they are so few as not to form a nv able feature.

The lower parts of the valley are filled with drift, often ext ing high up the rocky hills in the cuts between them. In the. the river has cut its narrow channel down to the solid rock below. rock, where not covered with packed boulders, is seen along the wa edge. In many places the river-banks are formed of tightly-pac large, round boulders, that line the side to a height of fifty feet a its summer level. These have been transported and packed in t present position by the ice passing down during the spring fresi

Low. KOKSOAK RIVER. lll x

and their height gives an idea of the volume and power of the stream during flood time.

Turning south-east, the river continues in that direction under similar conditions for three miles; then it turns east-north-east, and the valley and river both broaden. The river, now a quarter of a mile wide, flows in a perfectly straight course for nine miles. Owing to its greater Continuous width, the water is very shallow, and the continuous rapid is full of rapids. bouldery shoals ; the deepest channel being very crooked, requires constant crossing of the stream to follow it. No part of the rapid is rough enough to be dangerous, and the only source of danger is the frequent shoals, on to which the swift current quickly carries a canoe, if a sharp outlook is not kept. The packed boulders still rise from thirty to sixty feet above the water, with stratified sand and fine gravel, up to seventy feet, where a distinct terrace is seen, marking an older level of the river. Along the margin of the water there is an almost continuous exposure of solid rock. The hills are less precipitous, especially on the west side. The valley is filled with drift, of which sections are seen along the banks. The river now turns north- east for four miles, and broadens slightly, the rapids giving place to a strong, steady current of nearly six miles an hour. A mass of ice, twenty-five feet long and six feet thick, was seen at the bend on the north side, piled up on a great quantity of packed boulders, sixty feet above the water, the remains of a great wass shoved there by {ce on banks. the freshet in the spring, and left by the receding water. But a short time before, it had covered an area of over 100 yards square, but at the time (August 16th), it was melting quickly. Similar masses were seen along that shore for a mile below ; they were all about thirty feet above the level of the water, and the largest was 200 feet long by thirty feet wide.

Both shores remain rocky, the rock coming out from beneath the packed boulders. On the west side, near the lower end of the course, there is a well marked terrace, seventy-five feet above the water, that is seen extending downwards for two miles. In places it is flanked by a lower one forty feet high, with the boulders often packed to the top of it. The hills forming the sides of the valley are now about 500 Valtey much feet high, and this nearly represents the height of the surrounding lower than country, as all the little streams entering the river do so with falls country. 5 from small cuts slightly lower than the summits of the hills. From the head of the rapids at the gorge, to this place, the river has fallen 420 feet without any direct drop exceeding four feet. The grade is nearly constant, and exceeds ten feet per mile.

Trees.

Parallel valleys.

Riverterraces.

121 Labrador Peninsula.

The river next once more bends to the southward, and flows sou for six miles, with a strong current, in a slightly wider and valley. A large brook comes in from the eastward at the fourt!

For the last twenty miles the country on both sides is unburnt, covered with scattered black spruce and a few larches, never mor twenty feet high or exceeding nine inches in diameter. The! the hills rise from 100 to 200 feet above the tree-line. Turning directly east, the river flows in that direction for six miles. The nel along here is wide and shallow, being filled up with sand a gravel, borne down by the strong current above and deposite the flats of this part. Sandy shoals rise slightly above the w places. The hills on both sides are slightly burnt and are lowe gentler slopes towards the river than those further up stream. exposures are less numerous, and the ice does not bank the bo on the shores to more than fifteen or twenty feet high.

After a bend to the east-south-east, a small rapid is passed, and miles below a little river falls in on the south side. This is th tributary of any considerable size that joins the main stream bel commencement of the river-valley proper, and there must be narrow strip on either side draining into the river, the rest country probably being cut up into parallel valleys, with waterc in each, which only join the main stream.at long intervals. emall branch comes in with heavy falls, along the side of a rocky 800 feet. Below, the river again flows eastward for three miles astrong current, and has a terrace of thirty feet on the south sid bend of a mile and a half to the north-east is followed by anothe stretch to the eastward. A heavy rapid, four miles long, beg the upper part of the north-east course. Then the cl broadens somewhat, and the current is considerably slacker f next eight miles. The valley : here slopes gently upward, on sides, and is partly filled with drift. The hills are high, those south side rising from 600 to 800 feet, with well marked terra sixty and thirty feet, cut out of the drift along their flanks. north side is unburnt, and the trees are all small, stunted spruce, that grow to within 200 feet of the summits.

The general course for the next ten miles is east-north-east, an valley narrowing, the river for the first six miles is a success heavy shallow rapids, full of boulders, Along the flanks of th on the south side, several distinct high-level terraces are seen 60, 75, 100 and 150 feet above the present river-level. The uppe are broken, and only the lowest two are continuous. Below the the river widens to more than half a mile, and is correspond

wow. ] KOKSOAK RIVER. 113 L

shallow, with a sandy bottom. The hills on both sides now gradually lower, and those on the south side retreat, leaving a wide, low, drift- covered valley between their base and the river. A bend of two miles to the south is followed by a stretch towards the east tive miles long. At the foot of the first bend there is a rapid of three-quarters of a mile where the river is over half a mile wide, and is in consequence very shallow. Below this rapid the river is nearly a mile wide, and flows with a strong current until it reiches the base of a low range on the north side, where it narrows to 400 yards and is broken into heavy rapids. The river now appears to break through this low range 200 to 400 feet high, and in doing so bends sharply to the south-east for two miles, then north-east two miles, again south-east two miles, and finally south for three miles, passing out into a broad valley, where it is joined by the Katakawamastuk or Sandy River, a large Sandy River. branch from the eastward. While passing through the hills, the river forms a continuous strong rapid, culminating in a twenty-foot chute a short distance above the forks. Although the river descends rapidly, it does not fall as quickly as the general level of the country here, and, in consequence, below the forks it flows nearly on the general

level, with only low rounded hills seldom more than 100 feet above its shallow valley.

In this manner it flows eastward for five miles, with only one small rapid, to the head of a rocky gorge. From the head of Second gorge. this gorge a very distinct drop is seen in the country to the eastward, with high hills that appear to be on the level with the land about the gorge bounding the horizon. At the head of the gorge the river is split up by little rocky islands into a great number of small channels, and it passes through them in a succession of small chutes or heavy rapids, gradually collecting into one channel; after half a mile, the stream, a mass of foam, rushes down a narrow gorge from thirty to one hundred feet wide, with perpendicular rocky walls from 50 to 100 feet high. In one mile the river falls 110 feet without any direct drop of more than five feet. The portage passes over the bare rock on the south side. Below the gorge, the channel widens to half a mile, and continues eastward, with strong current and flat rapids for three miles. Here again narrowing to 100 feet, it falls thirty feet into a narrow rocky gorge, which was named Eaton Cañon, and turn- Eaton Cañon. ing directly south, rushes down between jagged perpendicular walls with a width varying from fifty to one hundred and fifty feet. As the stream descends, the banks rise and become 200 feet high a quarter of a mile below the first fall. Here the river turns sharply to the north-

east and continues as a rushing torrent, through a deeper and still

‘Goodwood River.

Portage past Eaton Cañon.

1141 Labrador Peninsula. T

narrower gorge, with ‘overhanging walls of red granite on the side. The overhang is so great, that a stone dropped from the to this side would almost reach the foot of the opposite cliff when it st the water 350 feet below. After falling in this manner for a t of a mile, the river widens to a hundred yards, and changing its d tion to east, descends less abruptly for a quarter of a mile, v the walls of the cafion are a hundred feet lower, and much

abrupt. Next, turning north, it makes a direct fall of a hundred into a circular basin about fifty yards in diameter. Nothing

seething water and foam is seen in this rocky basin, which resem @ gigantic boiling cauldron. A small brook, on the north side, falls into the basin, descending the perpendicular wall in a cascade feet in height. The river leaves the basin by a narrow rocky char rushing out with a fall uf thirty feet in immense waves that gradu subside in a second and larger circular basin at its foot, where it wi to 150 yards. On each side of the central current there are str eddies rushing up to join the down stream, where it passes out from basin above ; and, where the conflicting currents meet, great whirlp are periodically formed. A small rocky island divides the river

two narrow channels where it leaves the larger basin, whence it # north-east for two miles, and then gradually bending south in the 1 mile and a half, still a hundred yards wide, it rushes along in heavy rapids, between vertical walls of granite capped with drift that

from 100 to 300 feet above its surface, until it suddenly bursts out to a wider valley running north-north-east, with a large branch ca Goodwood River flowing down it from the southward.

The portage past the cafon was made along the east side, less the river above the first fall, coming out on the top of the bank at sharp hend to the north-eastward, and thence striking due east fo mile over lowrocky hummocks, with swamp between, and descending steep rucky course of a small stream to a narrow valley 200 feet bel It then follows this valley for half a mile to a small lake, after cross which a portage of 150 yards leads out through a narrow gorge, ¥ perpendicular walls 160 feet high. Large masses of rock have fal from above and have filled the valley completely to a depth of sever five feet. The small river passes under this mass of broken rock, : in so doing falls twenty-five feet, to where it enters the main stream the south side of the larger basin at the foot of the cañon. Over t mass of broken rock canoes and outfit were carried, as there was other place where the main valley could be entered, and the difficu of the undertaking may be imagined when it is stated that over b a day’s labour was requised to pass these 150 yards of broken rock.

tow KOKSOAK RIVER. 115 L

In the small valley, the trees are much larger than any seen since leaving Lake Mistassini. Growing on a rich alluvial soil along the banks of the brook, is white spruce eighteen inches in diameter at the ground and sufficiently long to make two twelve-foot logs. The trees are, however, very knotty. Larch of similar size is also seen here, along with white birch eight inches in diameter. The first white spruce on the banks of the river was found on a low bank of sand and gravel at the mouth of the Sandy River. Below that point, small trees of this species are commonly found growing on the lower terraces of stratified drift. The higher lands support only a small growth of black spruce and a few larches.

Below the junction of the Goodwood River, the main stream runs north-north-east for six miles, with a rapid current, in a channel 300 yards wide. On the west side there are scarped banks of stratified drift one hundred feet high; and rocky shores on the east side are capped with drift and have two well-defined terraces at 60 and 100 feet above the river, the lower terrace being cut in fine sand and grown over with fair-sized white and black spruce. Four or five miles beyond the lower end of this course there is on the east sidea range of bare rocky hills over 1000 feet high. "Widening out to nearly half a mile, the river then turns north, and for fifteen miles flows with a moder- ate current in a shallow channel filled with sandy shoals. The eastern bank is very rocky, and from 200 to 300 feet high, with patches of sand along the gulleys where the brooks tumble in. These rocky banks form the foot-hills of the barren range before mentioned. The west side has also high and in many places rocky banks, Lut the country behind is much lower than on the other side, with a few isolated hills more than 500 feet high. On this side the surface is mostly unburnt, with fair-sized black and white spruce and larch growing on the stratified sands of the terraces, but with only a scant, straggling growth of black spruce on the rocky and drift-covered hills above.

Remains of terraces are seen along both sides at 10, 60 and 75 feet, that at 60 feet being the most constant. Contracting now to less than one hundred yards in width, the river falls eighty feet over a ledge of rock at the Granite Fall. Two small rocky islands divide the stream into three channels, the largest being on the north side. There is a first chute of twenty feet followed by a perpendicular fall of sixty feet in the smaller channels. In the main channel, a large mass of rock broken away, is apparently lodged at the foot of the fall, as the water dashes up from below in a great wave forty feet high. The river falls into a beautiful, circular basin, nearly half a mile in diameter, formed by a deep semi-circular bay on either side. These

Large trees.

River below (Good wood River.

Granite Fall.

Deep channel eut im drift.

Balsam poplar.

Death River.

116 L Labrador Peninsula.

bays are surrounded by well wooded, perpendicular cliffs 200 fe A wide beach of small, well rounded boulders, rises sharply fr water and stretches for sixty feet to the foot of the perpendicula

Below the falls the river again passes into a deep valley less mile wide, with rocky walls that often rise sheer from 800 to 10 This valley during the glacial period has been partly fille drift and the river has since cut into it a narrow channe high scarped banks of from 100 to 300 feet, with terraces fi to 150 feet above the present level. The direction of the v nearly north-west, and the river, about 300 yards wide, down it in a zigzag. At every bend the stream strikes agai rocky walls, while a low bar of large, round water-worn b extends out from the opposite shore, throwing the water force against the rocky banks, and forming deep wild ray these points. In this manner the river continues falling rapi ten miles ; then the valley gradually widens and there is a co able interval of drift-covered land between the river and the hills on the east side, where terraces at 20, 50 and 100 feet are se in the drift. The west side is still bounded by rocky hills, the about 400 feet. In the valleys of small streams cut into the drif on the terraces, white spruce trees forty feet high and eighteen in diameter are not uncommon.

This valley continues from three to five miles wide for twen miles and is remarkably straight, the course being about north The river skirts its west side, where it flows close to the base rocky walls, that rise from 200 to 400 feet above it. For miles it does not average over 400 yards in width, is very shallo greatly obstructed by sand and shing'e bars, over which it break rapids, At the end of this stretch, a small river comes in fror west, through a deep narrow cut in the mountains. Terrac: continuous along the east side at heights varying from 20 to 15 above the river. Balsam poplar trees forty feet high and ten i in diameter were seen on the lower terraces, along with white s trees sixty feet high and over eighteen inches in diameter.

Below this branch, the river soon widens out to more than a and is broken by sand bars into a number of wide shallow cha The bottom is formed of shifting sands. The banks are lower are composed of stratified sand cut into terraces. The curre slacker, and at the end of fourteen miles another and larger br called the Tipa or Death River, comes in from the west, jo the main stream by three channels, as it falls over a low led gneiss. Below this tributary the river narrows somewhat, but

a

tow. KOKSOAK RIVER. 117 L

remains shallow, with lower banks, for four miles; then, narrowing to less than 400 yards, it bends to the northward into the head of Cambrian Lake, whieh is about two miles wide and surrounded by high rugged hills of Cambrian rock.

In fourteen miles, the lake gradually sweeps round from north to Cambrian north-west, and at the end of the curve, another small branch from the we:t flows in from a wide valley between high barren hills that rise from 800 to 1200 feet above the water.

The physical aspect of the country changes as soon as the Cambrian Character of area is entered. Where the underlying rock is Laurentian gneiss or the Country. granite, the hills, though often high and with perpendicular sides towards the river-valley, always have rounded tops, with long gently curved outlines, while the hills formed from the stratified Cambrian rocks, are much sharper and more rugged.

The general dip of the rocks is towards the north-east, and, in conse- quence, the mountains which they form show steep cliff-faces towards the west, with long gentle slopes on the opposite side These hills run in ridges roughly parallel to one another and to the general strike of the rocks, that is, from south-east to north-west. They rise from 800 to 1500 feet above the surface of the lake, which is about 400 feet above sea-level, and on the western side often have perpendicular cliffs over 500 feet high, with a great talus of broken rock at the bottom. The cliff-faces have generally a reddish colour, due to the oxide of iron present in all the rocks of this series. All except the lower slopes of these hills are barren, or covered only with arctic shrubs and mosses, with patches of snow in gullies near their summit; this adds greatly to the grand and desolate scenery, while the beauty of the pleasant, wooded valley of the river is enhanced by the contrast.

From the entrance of the small branch, the valley again turns northward, and continues in that direction for eleven miles, to where the lake gradually changes into the river again, with high hills on the east side, in which the Cambrian rocks are seen resting on rounded masses of gneiss. The hills on the west side retreat, leav- ing a wide sandy plain, through which a large branch called the Piachikiastook or Ice-dam River flows, entering the main stream Ice-dam with a heavy rapid two miles above the end of the course. The River: main stream gradually narrows, and becomes shallow along the lower part of this stretch, where it runs between low banks of sand. Turning next to the north-east for seven miles in a wide sandy valley, it flows along with increased current in a shallow channel three-quarters of a mile wide, until it reaches a barrier of black shale and limestone,

Shale Falls.

Swampy-bay River.

Character of river below Swampy-bay River.

118 4 Labrador Peninsula.

where it falls sixty feet in about 200 yards, at the Shale Falls. B the falls, there is a circular basin with steep sandy banks sixty high, and from it the river passes out to the north, and flow that direction for two miles between terraced banks sixty feet covered with large spruce, with outcrops of iron ore showing ben the sand along the water’s edge.

Gradually bending around to the north-west, the river flows in direction for twenty miles, until it is joined by a large branch from eastward called the Swampy-bay River. By this stream, the Ind formerly travelled to Fort Nascaupee, which was situated on I Petitsikapau on the upper waters of the west branch of the Hami River, and only a few miles from the watershed separating it from Swampy-bay River. Along the first five miles of this course, river is about half a mile wide, and flows between sharp rocky t which rise 600 to 800 feet above it. Here an almost continuous posure of bedded iron ores is seen, consisting of red and specular he tite, magnetite and sidertie, interbedded with siliceous limestones jasper. After five miles, the hills retreat on both sides, leaving a ¥ valley of drift, through which the river runs with a steady curren @ shallow channel half a mile wide. The drift is cut into terrace 30, 50, 100, 150 and 300 feet. A small branch from the east fl in here. ‘

After four miles the hills again approach the river on the west s where they are sharp and rugged and rise from 600 to 800 fee precipices often terminated in sharp peaks. Two miles above the f there is a strong rapid half a mile long, where the river narrows to than 200 yards. The sands in the valley are greatly drifted by winds, and in one place the drifts are covering up trees twenty high. The country is nearly all burnt from the falls to the mouth the Swampy-bay River. :

For eight miles below the Swampy-bay, the main stream flows no west in a narrow valley, between sharp rocky hills, from 400 to 600 high. The river-channel is from 200 to 600 yards wide, and current is strong. The lower parts of the rocky hills on the easts are covered with sandy drift and are terraced at several levels uy 200 feet above the present height of the river. The hills on the ¥ side rise directly from the water and have very little drift on tl flanks.

The river next turns north-north-west for seven miles, and t north for seven miles more. Along the upper of these courses valley widens to over two miles, and is filled with drift, terraced to 200 feet level, behind which it slopes gently upwards with a few sh

tow. KOKSOAK RIVER. 119 L

rocky hills projecting above it: Along the second course the land on the east side is only about fifty feet high, for three or four miles to the base of the hills. The country on the west side is higher and the hills come out at intervals along the river, with a large brook flowing in from the west, about two miles from the upper end of the course. The river here widens out to nearly a mile, and its current is not strong.

Along the last mile, the river narrows to 400 yards and flows swiftly between hills of limestone from 200 to 600 feet high, very sharp and irregular in outline. The rock has the appearance of being greatly faulted. Turning now sharply to the north-east, the river continues to flow swiftly in a narrow, rock-bound channel for three miles, where it again turns northward, and continues in that direction ten miles to the Pyrites Chute where it falls thirty feet ina half PyritesChute mile over black shales on edge. Along the upper half of this course, the limestones are almost continuously exposed along the river-banks, rising in sharp ridges on both sides from 100 to 800 feet high. Along the lower half, the hills retreat and leave a wide sandy valley, covered with black and white spruce with a few larch and white birch. The largest trees rarely exceed twelve inches in diameter and are much shorter than those seen about the Cambrian Lake.

Below the chute, the course is north-west for fifteen miles. For four miles the channel averages three-quarters of a mile in width, and the surrounding country is low and flat, with sharp hills of rusty rock and a few exposures of limestone on the east side. A number of low islands of limestone occur in the next mile, at the end of which the river, at the Limestone Falls, descends sixty feet over ledges of thut Limestone rock, which cross the river-valley obliquely, and forma dam over which the water pours in three main channels. The middle channel follows the strike of the rock and forms a chute, while the other two fall vertically, directly across the strike. Below the falls, for four miles, the river, about a half mile wide, flows hetween scarped banks of sand and gravel seventy-five feet high; and then, narrowing to less than 200 yards, for five miles it rushes through a narrow valley called Manitou Gorge, cut out of limestone and shales, with walls from 50 to Manitou 300 feet high. Heavy rapids are met with throughout the gorge, and @°8*- considerable danger was encountered running these with half loaded canoes, especially at the lower end, where outcrops of limestone cross the valley, hemming the water into narrow channels and causing small chutes. Below the gorge, the river for six miles gradually bends towards the east until it is joined by the Natwakami, Larch or Still- water River, a large branch from the west. Along this portion the current is strong, and a number of large islands of sand and shingle

Stillwater River.

Route to Hudson Bay.

Character of river and country below the Stillwater.

‘Trees.

120 2 Labrador Peninsula.

divide the river into several channels. -The banks are cut out of 4 overlain by sand, and often over one hundred feet high. As the f are approached, the banks on the west side become lower, and for broad sandy plain between the two rivers. ‘The Stillwater River about half the volume of the main stream, and flows in from the v ward, through a wide valley. There must be a considerable quan of clay along its banks, as its water is quite muddy, in marked trast to the clear water of the main stream.

Ry this branch the Indians journey to Hudson Bay. They fo it to its head, and cross from there to Clearwater Lake, and by discharge of this lake reach Richmond Gulf. The Rev. Mr. P a missionary of the Church Mission Society, crossed by this rout 1885, and the first expedition of the Hudson’s Bay Company to Ung traversed the same route from Hudson Bay in 1824.

Immediately below the Stillwater, the river turns to the north-e and for five miles is less than a half mile wide, flowing with a swift rent between low, terraced banks in a valley two or three miles w bounded by sharp hills from 500 to 600 feet high. These hills, : composed of Cambrian rocks, run in sharp ridges from a quarter mile to two miles apart. The direction of the ridges is roughl; right-angles to that of the river. They resemble one another closely, and sixteen of them were noted in as many miles. They h a cliff face towards the south-west, and a gentle slope towards north-east, apparently coinciding with the dip of the rocks. the cliffs show a thick capping of hard rock, probably t with rusty weathering shales beneath. On the steep side, the h capping rock often projects beyond the softer shales, and 50 fo overhanging cliffs. The lower valley, where unburnt, is wooded + small black and white spruce and larch, growing in open glades u the terrace. These trees also grow on the hillsides, up to about feet above the river. Above this, only mosses and arctic shrubs seen about the watercourses, the remainder being naked rock, wl forms over one half of the area under consideration. Ten miles be the Stillwater, a small river comes in from the westward. The val five miles below the forks, widens to five or six miles, and the ri spreads out to over a mile, becomes very shallow, and is gre obstructed by sand and shingle shoals, as it flows along with a str current, in the same direction for twenty-one miles.

Toward the lower end of this reach, the sharp Cambrian hills ; place to others of Laurentian rock, whose outline is less rugged more rounded. The interval between the river and’the rocky bill

cow. KOKSOAK RIVER. 121.

occupied by a terraced sandy plain from twenty to fifty feet above the river and is partly covered with small trees.

Low ledges of gneiss now cross the stream and form a number of small rocky islands, causing a heavy rapid for nearly a mile, followed, two miles below, by another a quarter of a mile long. At both rapids, the water is shallow, and the channel is obstructed by reefs and large

boulders. The foot of the second rapid marks the head of tide-water. Head of tide-

‘ . rater. From here the course changes to east-north-east for eighteen miles. “oer

The hills on both sides retreat still farther, and appear to be consider- ably lower. The river is now from two to five miles wide, and is broken into numerous channels by long low islands of sand, and shoals bare at low water. The river banks are from ten to twenty feet high, with a wide drift plain extending to the foot of the bare, rocky hills, on which the remnants of terraces are seen up to 300 feet above the present water-level. This plain isonly partly wooded with small black and white spruce, and but two clumps of small balsam poplar were seen on the north bank. Turning again to the north-east, the river becomes still wider, with a deep bay on the north side, around which the rocky hills sweep; these then cross the river seven miles down the course, where they form a number of high rocky islands, that hem the water into deep channels, through which it rushes rapidly in and out accord- ing to the state of the tide. At and below the islands, the river varies from a mile to a mile and a half in width, and its valley is bounded by rounded rocky hills, rising from 100 to 300 feet directly from the water, with only in a few places a narrow border of drift between, which is sometimes terraced one hundred feet above the present sea- level. The course continues nearly north-east to the mouth of the river, some twenty miles below.

Fort Chimo, the Hudson’s Bay Company’s establishment, is situated Fort Chimo. facing a small cove on a low terrace on the south shore, about two miles below the ‘islands. The terrace is about 200 yards wide, and is backed by low rounded hills of gneiss. Small black spruce trees grow only in protected hollows about the post, and the general aspect is very uninviting, with barren, rocky hills bounding the horizon on every side. The post consists of about a dozen buildings, including a dwell- ing house for the officer in charge, four or five for the servants, a trading shop, office, two provision stores, oil shed, salt shed, carpenter, cooper and blacksmith shops and a dwelling house for the Indians. These buildings are all, or nearly all, made of imported lumber. There are a number of small boats attached to the post, along with a small sloop and a steam launch, used in connection with the salmon fishery. At present a vessel of about twenty tons is being built there,

Fur trade.

Salmon fishery.

122 L Labrador Peninsula

from wood obtained about Ungava Bay ; most of it coming from distance up the Whale River, which is the next large stream fi into the bay to the eastward. Firewood for the post is cut d the winter in the vicinity of the first rapid, and is rafted dow: river in summer.

The post is supplied by the company’s steamer “ Eric,” which a: at Fort Chimo about the first week in September, and remains t loading and unloading, for about two weeks. This is the only munication with the outside world, and when the ship leaves, all 1 with civilization is lost until the following year.

The fur trade is, of course, the most important, and is carrie both with the Indians and Eekimo. Foxes are the most num of the fur-bearing animals, and are found throughout the barrer wooded country ; they occur as to numbers in the following or white, red, cross, black and blue. Martens come next, and are cl taken by the Indians along the edge of the wooded country, abou head-waters of the rivers. Their furis very thick, dark and long, the skins are generally larger than those caught farther s Wolverines are common along the edge of the barrens and north White bears are killed frequently along the coast. Black bears very rare, and specimens of the barren-ground brown bear are obta only at infrequent intervals. Mink and otter are not common, the beaver is not found north of the thickly wooded area. Forn a great number of dressed caribou skins were traded at Ungava ; during the last two years very few were brought in, owing change in the routes of migration of that animal.

The salmon fishery is carried on a number of places along river, below the post, during the month of August, and the an catch averages one hundred tierces for export. Salmon are also ti in the mouths of the Whale and George rivers, the average cate the former place being fifty tierces, and at the latter one hundred twenty tierces. Formerly the company employed a small refriger steamer in this trade at Ungava, and the frozen salmon were take London for sale. This has been abandoned for several years, and salmon are now split and salted. The white porpoise is also take: Ungava, on the Leaf River, a stream a short distance north the mouth of the Koksoak, and at George River. The total amoun oil so obtained is about eighty tierces of forty gallons each. O! articles purchased are feathers, ivory and eider down.

Seven years ago there were ninety families of Indians tradin, Fort Chimo. But in the famine, due to the failure of the cari

Low. HAMILTON INLET. 123 L

hunt, during the winter of 1892-93, nineteen families starved to Indians. death in a body, and at another place six families were totally lost ; besides these, all the other Indians were throughout the winter in a state of chronic starvation, and many died, so that out of a population

of two hundred and fifty persons, less than one hundred and fifty survive.

s

Hamilton Inlet.

Hami-ton Inlet, Invuktoke, or Esquimaux Bay is the largest and Hamilton most important of the many long, narrow fiords or inlets that indent ™e the Atlantic coast of Labrador and Newfoundland. Its greatest length, from Indian Harbour to the mouth of the Hamilton River at its head, is slightly over one hundred and fifty miles, while its average breadth is about fourteen miles. The longest axis lies north- east and south-west. At its mouth, from the mainland near Purple Island, on the north shore, to Grinder Point, on the south side, the distance is twenty-three miles. Thence the inlet gradually narrows for forty-three miles to the mouth of the Double Mer, where the width is less than two miles. Here the inlet is divided by a long rocky ridge, the northern portion, or the Double Mer, extending p ube Mer. westward some forty miles. ‘A narrow, less thun one mile wide, extends from the point five miles into the main, or Groswater Bay.

Again widening, the channel is divided by a large rocky island five

miles long called Henrietta Island. At its head, on the south side,

4 long narrow bay, called Back Bay or Backway, runs off to the Backway. eastward for about twenty-five miles, with an average breadth of four

miles. At the east end of this bay a ridge one hundred and fifty feet

high separates it from a small lake, with a sluggish brook that empties

into a bay on the coast. The total distance between the head of the

bay and the sea coast is not over ten miles; the country between

appears to be wholly formed of drift material, and it is quite probable

that in pre-glacial time there was an opening of the coast here.

The main bay above Henrietta Island quickly expands to four wiles, and then more gradually to twelve miles, at the mouth of Valley Bight, eighteen miles above the narrows. Valley Bight is a Valley Bight. small bay on the north side, about three miles wide at its mouth, and gradually narrowing for five miles to its head. From the mouth of this bay the main body has an average breadth of eight miles as far as Charley Point, some eight miles up. This portion is greatly obstructed by islands, of which Neveisik, St. John and Haines islands are of large size, and are also high and rocky. From Charley Point

Mulligan Bay.

Northwest ver,

Kenamou iver.

1241 Labrador Peninsula.

to Mulligan Point the distance is thirty miles, and the av breadth of this portion is fifteen miles, with two large bays, o1 each side, That on the north side is called Nebavick or Mul Bay, and extends behind the long, low point of the same name is about four miles wide at its mouth, and of about the same d with a small river coming in at its head. The bay on the south is called Etagaulett or Big Bay; it is ten miles wide and nearl, miles deep.

From Mulligan Point to the mouth of the Northwest River, twenty-three miles, the breadth gradually decreases to eight miles considerable intervals of low sandy land intervene between the and highlands behind, while the waters on both sides are sha and are greatly obstructed by sandy shoals and low islands, espe on the north side, where a fringo of islands extends several mile from Mulligan Point to within four miles of the mouth of the 1 The Northwest River flows in at the foot of a small shallow bay, at its mouth is about 100 yards wide, with an average depth of fi feet. The narrows are only half a mile long, and then the rive pands into a shallow lake, one mile wide and three miles long, a head of which is another contraction of about 400 yards, with a st current where the river flows out of Grand Lake. This is a body of fresh-water extending westward some forty miles, and is two to five miles wide, and very deep. As only a comparat narrow strip of low sandy land separates this lake from the bay the sand has probably been deposited there by aqueous or y agencies, it is probable thut at no very remote time the lake fu an extension of the present inlet.

On the south side, immediately opposite the mouth of the N west River, is Carter Basin. This is about three miles long a mile and a half wide, and is connected with the main body by a ch: little over one mile long. Into this basin two rivers empty, the k or western one is called the Kenamou River. It is a large sti that rises on the highlands to the south-west, where its sources i lock with those of the St. Augustine and Natashquan rivers, ¥ empty southward into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The Indians r that it flows through a deep valley in the Mealy Mountains and is navigable with canoes, owing to the almost continuous, steep, sha rapids. No high falls are reported on this stream. The sm stream is called the Kenemich River, and takes its rise on the t the Mealy Mountains only a short distance inland, to the south south-east of its mouth. It descends the steep sides of the hills to its mouth in a succession of high and beautiful waterfalls.

Low. HAMILTON INLET. 125 From the mouth of the Northwest River, the shore trends south- ward nine miles to the end of Sandy Point, a low, broad expanse of Sandy Point. sand stretching this distance out from the north side, evidently the remains of drift brought down by the Hamilton River. Opposite Sandy Point the bay is only three miles and a half wide, and shoal water, caused by an extension of the point, continues to the south

side, with only eighteen feet of water at the deepest part, where the channel is less than a half-mile wide.

Beyond the point, the shore again trends northward, forming Goose Goose Bay.

Bay, which averages nine miles in width and is nearly twenty miles long, to the head of Terrington Basin, where Goose Bay River flows in. This is a shallow stream, draining a considerable area of country between the Grand and Northwest rivers. Goose Bay is in most places quite shallow, being filled up with sand brought down by the Grand or Hamilton River, which flows in on the south side, nine miles above Sandy Point. A low sandy point, about five miles wide, separ- ates the river from the upper part of Goose Bay.

The country surrounding Hamilton Inlet is generally high and rocky. Character of On the north side, commencing at the entrance to the bay, the hills eaten TE - range from 100 to 400 feet, and are only partly wooded with small black spruce, in the valleys and on the protected sides. As the nar- rows are approached, the land rises from 200 to 500 feet, and con- tinues between these heights, until Valleys Bight is passed. Beyond, itis still higher, seldom under 500 and often over 800 feet, forming a high rocky ridge separating Double Mer from the main bay. Fif- teen miles above Charley Point, the hills pass inland around the head of

Mulligan Bay, leaving a wide interval of low land between their bases and the shore.

Still continuing inland, the hills cross from the head of Mulligan Bay to the shores of Grand Lake, and are more irregular in height and out- line than below. One hill called Mokami, or Kokkak, rises in an Mokami Hill. imposing cone of over 1000 feet, with bare rocky sides and top, form- ing a conspicuous landmark, said to be visible from any high hill, within a radius of seventy-five miles. The hills above Northwest River skirt the north side of Goose Bay, and gradually close in beyond

it, to form, with those of the south shore, the wide valley of the Hamilton River.

The country along the south side of Hamilton Inlet at its entrance, ig comparatively low and swampy. The hills first reach the shore about fifteen miles below the narrows, and then follow it closely to the mouth of Backway. Along the narrows they rise abruptly from 500

126 L Labrador Peninsula.

to 1000 feet, and'in places are flanked with sandy terraces up t feet above the sea. Along Backway they average 600 feet, Monat. culminate in a rounded conical peak called Monat, over 1000 feet

On the other side of Backway there is generally an interval © land, rising in terraces to the foothills of a high, barren range the Mealy Mountains, that occupies a large area of country bet the south side of Hamilton Inlet and the head of Sandwich These mountains rise precipitously from 800 to 1200 feet alon side of the inlet, without any low land, from the mouth of Bac to within ten miles of the mouth of Carter Basin, where they inland, and ultimately form the south wall of the Hamilton Rive ley. Along the inlet the sides and tops of these hills are almost t devoid of trees, owing to the blasts of the prevailing cold north wind that sweep across the bay, especially during the winter se Inland, it is reported that small trees grow abundantly in prot valleys. As the head of the inlet is approached, the trees are se cover the lower slopes and to rise higher and higher, until nea mouth of the Hamilton River, they are found extending to the tops of the hills, here from 600 to 800 feet high.

Mealy ‘Mountains,

Georgelsland. Below the narrows, the inlet is obstructed by a number of large t islands ; of these the most conspicuous is George Island, which lies a six miles off the south shore, at the entrance. It is nearly four! long and in its highest point 750 feet above sea-level, A numb smaller islands are clustered along the shore, on the north side at entrance, and Indian Harbour, an important cod fishing static situated among these. From the entrance the inlet is practically of islands to within half way to the narrows, where it bec

. obstructed by several large ones scattered up its middle. The isl above the narrows have been referred to previously as extendi far as Charley Point.

Depth of Below the narrows, the greatest depth laid down on the chart is Water. fathoms, and the average depth is about thirty fathoms. The ch: at the narrows and on the north side of Henrietta Island, ranges ten to twenty fathoms in depth. Above, the water rapidly dee and soon shows ninety-two fathoms ; it continues very deep to be Mulligan Bay, where it begin to shoal, especially along the shore, a probably due to the filling up of the bottom with material bro down by the large rivers emptying into the head of the bay. Ty fathoms appear to be the average depth of the deeper parts to n opposite Northwest River, then it rapidly shoals to fifteen and to fathoms, until the bar at Sandy Point is crossed, after which slig

wow. HAMILTON INLET. 127

deeper water is found, which again shoals gradually to three fathoms at the mouth of the Hamilton River.

At Indian Harbour the tide rises seven feet at springs; at the Rise of tide. lower end of the narrows the rise is four feet, while above the nar- rows the rise is only about two feet and continues the same to the head of the inlet, where the rise and fall of the tide is much modi- fied by the direction and strength of the wind. Below the narrows, there is a strong current formed by the ebb and flow of the tide ; while through the narrows the rising and falling water rushes with a velocity varying from four to seven miles an hour, and in a number of places heavy rapids occur, which, with whirlpools and eddies, render the passage of small boats dangerous when the current is at its strongest. Above the narrows, there is no perceptible current, except that caused by winds. The shores of the outer part of the inlet are partly wooded with small black spruce and larch, while the hills and islands support only a growth of low arctic shrubs and willows. As the narrows are approached, the trees become larger and on the protected north side cover the hills to their tops. White spruce, balsam fir and small Trees. white birch are seen. Continuing up the bay, the trees become larger and better until on the low lands about its head, plenty of trees of the above species grow to sizes that fit them for commercial purposes, and aspen and balsam poplar are abundant. At Northwest River, and also at the mouths of the Kenamou and Hamilton rivers, good crops of potatoes and other garden vegetables are grown annually, Crops. and it is said that oats will readily ripen also. At and below the narrows, the cold arctic current, which passes down the coast, so lowers the general summer temperature, that potatoes cannot be profitably grown, and garden crops are confined to turnips, radishes and lettuce.

Hamilton Inlet is the present southern limit of the Eskimo on the pgkimo, Atlantic coast. There is now a little tribe of some half dozen families living in log houses on the shore of a cove called Carawalla at the head of Henrietta Islard. A few more families are scattered along the shores of the lower half of the inlet. They are in a state of semi- civilization, having adopted European dress, and all talk more or less English, They are poor and dependent on the fishery and seal hunt fora livelihood. The Hudson’s Bay Company have two establish- Hudson's Bay ments on Hamilton Inlet; the larger, called Rigolet, is situated on the er . horth-shore at the narrows, about three miles above the entrance to Double Mer. This is the head-quarters of the Labrador Coast, or Esquimaux Bay district, the officer in charge having under his care the posts of Cartwright on Sandwich Bay, of Northwest River at the mouth of that stream, as well as those of Davis Inlet, and of Nachvak, both situated on the coast to the northward.

Trade.

Missionaries.

Indians.

128 L Labrador Peninsula.

The post at Rigolet consists of about a dozen houses and stor trade for fur and fish is carried on with the Eskimo and “pla The trade of the post at Northwest River is made with the “pla living about the upper part of the inlet, and with the Indian hunt in the country drained by the Hamilton and Northwest as well as with those hunting to the southward in the Mealy Mour A Roman Catholic chapel was erected some years ago near this and a missionary priest from the St. Lawrence used annually t: the Indians there, during the summer. These visits, it is under are no longer to be made, the Indians being advised to go inst Mingan, or other posts on the St. Lawrence, to meet the missior All the Indians of the region profess Christianity, and are very c to keep all the observances of the church, even when far inlan their beliefs seem to be inextricably mixed up with their older ideas, and often their views on subjects of religion are very curic

The Indians frequenting Northwest River post are probabl most miserable and ill-conditioned in Labrador. Being deer hu and consequently depending largely on the caribou, both for foo clothing, they have little inclination to trap fur-bearing animals thus improve their condition by trade. As their wants are main fined to tea, tobacco, powder and shot, and some few articles of ing, a small amount of hunting only is necessary to provide their and beyond this, except for the labour of following the deer, or fis they do nothing, spending much of their time lounging about tents. They will not work, even when offered very high pay, and: asked so to do, simply laugh and say they are not hungry. They: improvident that they never lay in a stock of fish in the aut as the Indians to the westward do, and when during the winter, some cause or other, they fail to find the caribou, they are soon rec to starvation, and many die.

These Indians belong in part to both the Montagnais and Nasca tribes. The former tribe hunts between Hamilton Inlet and the of St. Lawrence, the latter to the west and north-west of Ham Inlet. No great physical difference can be observed between t tribes ; if there is any, the Nascaupees appear to be slightly taller less robustly built than the Montagnais. They talk different dia of the Cree language, but the difference is so slight, that they com freely together, and understand one another quite readily. The 1 Nascaupee in the Montagnais dialect signifies “the ignorant o and is given on account of their lack of knowledge in regard to works and ways of civilization, owing to their want of communica with the outside world.

tow. HAMILTON RIVER. 129 x Hamilton River.

The Hamilton River is the most important stream of the eastern p,.:a,0. watershed of the Labrador Peninsula. Its drainage-basin embraces basin of a wide area of the country extending from the head of Hamilton Rami ton Inlet westward to longitude 68°, or nearly half way across the peninsula. To the northward its tributaries interlock with those of the Northwest River which also flows into Hamilton Inlet, and with the headwaters of the George River and branches of the Koks- oak River that empty into Ungava Bay. The southern limit of its large tributaries is very irregular, and may be roughly taken to be near the fifty-second parallel of latitude, where the watershed separating them from streams flowing southward into the St. Lawrence, is extremely sinuous and almost impossible to trace or define.

Westward of the Hamilton basin, the general slope of the country is northward, and the drainage is in that direction from about latitude 52°, the water reaching the ocean by the Koksoak River, which drains a considerable area of the central interior between the head of the Hamilton River and the Big River flowing into Hudson Bay.

Owing to the great difference in physical character between its pivision of upper and lower portions, the Hamilton River is naturally divided tetas into two parts at the Grand Falls some 250 miles above its lower. mouth. The lower part occupies a distinct valley, cut out of Archean rocks, with the present river-level from 500 to 800 feet below the general level of the surrounding country. The valley varies in width from 100 yards to more than two miles, and the river flows down it, between banks of drift, with a strong current broken by rapids in several places, especially along the upper stretches, but only in one place does it fall over an obstruction of rock.

This valley is well wooded where unburnt, and the timber is all of rh river. fair size and of commercial value, in marked contrast to the small valley. stunted trees found partly covering the rolling country of the table- land, on either side of the valley. The river flows into the head of Hamilton Inlet, on the south side, and a long point of drift material, principally sand, projects out into the bay, separating the river from the head of Goose Bay, which extends several miles west of the mouth of the river on its north side. This point is evidently formed from material transported from the valley above and deposited in the quiet waters at the head of the inlet.

From the mouth of the river to the first fall, the distance is twenty- seven miles, and the direction is S. 80° W. At its mouth, the river is

‘Traverspine River.

Muskrat. Island.

Muskrat Fall.

130 L Labrador Peninsula.

three-quarters of a mile wide, and shortly above widens out to nearly a mile and a half, for ten miles; then a number of flat, sandy shoals bare at low stages of the water, divide it into numerous chan nels. Man-of-war Island lies on the north side five iniles up stream it is low and about a mile long, and has a few trees growing on it.

On the south side, a mile and a half above the mouth, a channe enters from Mud Lake, a shallow body of water two miles long, extend ing to the foot of the mountains and separated from the river by tw low, wooded islands. About two miles above Man-of-war Island, ot the south side, a small stream, called Traverspine River flows in; it rises in the mountains to the southward. Where this stream dis charges into the river, there is a small Indian trading establishment and the proprietor, Jos. Michelin, has made a little clearing about th place, where he grows an abundant crop ef potatoes.

Three miles and a half above Traverspine, another small stream, called Caroline Brook, comes in from the south. Opposite it entrance, the river narrows to a mile, and its channel continues with this width twelve miles to Muskrat Island, which is low and well: wooded, and a mile and a half long. On the south shore, opposite this island, there is a Jittle clearing with the winter habitation of Thomas Hope, the last permanent residence on the river. For three mile above Muskrat Island, the river, narrows to less than a third of a mile, with a narrow island obstructing the channel in the upper mile Above this narrow, the channel widens out into a nearly circular basin about two miles across, into the west side of which the river pours with a chute of twenty feet called Muskrat Fall. Above this chute is a heavy rapid 400 yards long, with a chute of twenty-five feet at its head, the total fall being seventy feet. At the chutes, where it rushes over ledges of gneiss, the river is only about 100 yards wide Immediately on the north side of the falls, there is a rounded, rocky hill rising 250 feet above the level of the valley. On the north side of this hiil is a wide plain of fine till Where the edge of the plain has been cut away to form the basin below the chute, a wide section of over 100 feet of fine till is exposed, without any sign of rock in place. The present channel at the falls is of recent origin, and it is probable that previous to the glacial period, the river-channel was filled up with drift material, so that when the river again resumed its course, it was diverted from its old channel by the obstruction, and passed to the south of the hill where the drift deposit was less thick. Having once cut to the rock surface, well below the upper level of the drift on the opposite side, it has continued in its present channel ever since.

cow. HAMILTON RIVER. 131 L

At its mouth, the banks of the river are low and sandy, and have Character of . . . . . . river-valley scarped faces from ten to thirty feet high, increasing slowly in height below Musk- as the river is ascended. Terraces are seen to the south, flanking the r#t Fell. inountains up to 300 feet above sea-level. Above Traverspine the banks rise from sixty to one hundred feet and are cut out of coarse,

yellowish, stratified sands.

The western extension of the Mealy Mountains forms the southern wall of the valley, and, above the head of the low point separating the river from Goose Bay, rocky hills are seen also on the north side. The valley, as far as the first fall, varies in width from two to five miles, and the river passes close to the foot of the rocky hills on the south side fifteen miles above its outlet. As the valley has been partly filled with drift, out of which the present channel is cut, it is only when the river accidentally passes close to the rocky walls of the valley, that any rock-exposures areseen. The hills on both sides rise from 400 to 600 feet above the river-level, and partly represent the general height of the surrounding plateau, which rises somewhat higher back from the valley on both sides. These hills are wooded to their summits, but as the upper level is approached, the trees become small and stunted, and only a very few species grow on the table-land above. Black spruce forms over ninety per cent of the wood, the remainder being made up of larch, white birch and balsam fir.

In the valley, on the contrary, the growth of timber is very good, Timber.

considering the position. White spruce trees two feet in diameter and more than seventy feet high are not uncommon, and a large number of ship spars have been taken out about Traverspine The black spruce does not grow quite as large as the white, but is still large enough to afford good commercial timber, and the same may be said of the larch growing in the valley. Balsam fir, white birch and both aspen and balsam poplar are here met with and grow to fifteen inches in diameter.

Above the chutes the river soon widens out, and for thirty-five miles flows from the south-west. Its average width for this distance is slightly less than a mile. Fourteen miles above the chutes it nar- rows to less than a quarter of a mile, and is broken by rapids for two miles above. Below these rapids there is a great sandy shoal, which extends acrosg the course of the river and has forced it to cut a deep bay on the south side out of white sand, that rises in almost perpendicular banks over one hundred feet above the water. This place is called Sandy Banks, and the Hudson's Bay Company formerly maintained a Sandy Banks. small trading-post on the north side, where the site of their clearing is marked by a new growth of birch.

9%

132 L Labrador Peninsula.

Above Sandy Banks, the stream is again over a mile wide, wit large island dividing it into two channels, and a deep bay runs off the north-west from the main channel. Above this island the a age breadth is half a mile for five miles, when it again widens t mile for three miles, to the foot of the Porcupine Rapids TI rapids are nearly three miles long, with a deep channel, the ri being about 300 yards wide. There is good tracking along the bar and no portage is necessary to pass this obstruction.

Gull-island Above the Porcupine Rapids, the river expands again into Gull-isl

Lake. Lake, which is six miles long, and not over a mile wide. The nam a misnomer, as there is & very perceptible current throughout. ( Island is a small rocky islet on the south side, about two miles from head of the lake. From the Muskrat Falls to Gull Island the chars of the river and valley is very similar to the portion below. The ri channel is wide and shallow, at ordinary stages of the water, and current is strong, so that tracking is resorted to in ascending : boats. The hills, as far as Gull Island, remain about four 1 apart, and there begin to approach, so that the valley is less than a mile wide at the head of Gull-island Lake. The height of the varies from 500 to 800 feet above the level of the river, and muc their surface is burnt over, with less than half of the north sid the valley wooded, with trees similar to those described along lower stretch.

‘Terraces. There are considerable accumulations of drift in the valley, which the river has cut its present channel. Terraces are com and well marked, especially about the mouths of small streams flo down from the table-land, on both sides. As many as seven seen on the south side, below the Porcupine Rapids, the highest b 200 feet up the flank of the mountains. The river-banks are sa and steep, and vary from twenty to seventy feet, with a margi nearly level shore at the water's edge, which affords good ground tracking. Only two exposures of rock were seen along this cot Several small streams fall into the main river on both sides, but 1 of them is of any size or importance.

Valley above From the head of Gull-island Lake, the course of the valley cha Gullisland more to the northward and the river flows from N. 70° E. for e ‘ miles ; the next course is from 8. 60° W. for two miles, and is followe a stretch of nine miles directly from the south. Along all these t courses, the valley is from a quarter to half a mile wide, with al perpendicular rocky walls that rise abruptly from the water more

800 feet, with narrow intervals of drift only in a few places. river varies from 100 to 400 yards in width, and throughout the

tow. HAMILTON RIVER. 133 L

tance is an almost continuous rapid. Up the stream the Gull Rapid is the first, and extends from the lake upwards for five miles. The water is shallow, and the channel is full of rocky reefs and large boulders, over which it tumbles in foaming masses. Owing to the shallow water, this portion of the river blocks in winter with ice, which is piled up in all directions in great disorder and is quite im- passable with loaded sleighs, until after sufficient snow has fallen to cover up and smooth out the smaller inequalities. Thesecond rapid is at the bend and is called the Horse-shoe Rapid ; it is also shallow and pore -shoe full of huge boulders. Along the upper stretch, the river only in one place exceeds 100 yards in width, where it passes a small island. The channel is rocky and the water is deep, so that, although the current is very strong, the water is not broken, except by a dead swell, until within a mile of the head of the stretch where a heavy rapid makes it necessary to portage,

At the head of this rapid, a large branch called Minipi River, enters Minipi River the main stream from the south, through a deep, narrow valley: down which it rushes with heavy rapids. This stream discharges a large volume of water from its gathering ground on the table-land to the south and south-west of its mouth. It is said to rise in chains of lakes close to the head-waters of the Natashquan and St. Augustine rivers which flow into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Between Gull-island Lake and the Minipi River three-fourths of the timber in the valleys and on the hills of both sides has been burned, much of it by a great fire that raged throughout the summer of 1893. In the green woods remaining, many large spruce trees were seen, from twenty to twenty-four inches in diameter, and sufi- ciently long to furnish three logs each. A few narrow terraces were seen on the hillsides, but owing to the scanty drift deposits there is not much chance for the development of terraces.

Above the Minipi, the main stream bends sharply, and for twenty- River. valley five miles flows from N. 80° W. The valley gradually widens out and Minion” to the upper end of the course varies from one to two miles across.

Its walls continue to rise from 700 to 900 feet above the water, and are nearly everywhere burnt bare. Terraces again become well marked and numerous, and range from 20 to 250 feet in height. The river channel is cut out of the drift, and the banks rise from ten to one hundred feet above the stream. The river, for five miles above the forks, is never more than 300 yards wide, and then widens to about a quarter of a mile, and is broken by a small shallow rapid where it passes four well-wooded islands, three miles up. Beyond the islands, it narrows again for four miles, and from there to the end of the course

Great area of burnt land.

Câche River.

134 L Labrador Peninsula.

it passes what is known as the “slack water,” where the width : from 400 to 600 yards in a deep channel with gentle current. are three large islands along the upper three miles, with another Cockatoo Island four miles below. Two large brooks come in fro! north near the middle of the course; the lower one issues fr deep cut in the hills. On the south side a small river flows in a upper end above the islands. Both sides of the valley is almost w burnt to within a few miles of the upper end, where the north si well wooded with somewhat smaller trees than those previousl) with.

The valley now bends to the north-west for five miles, and then r ward for ten miles to where a small river flows in from the north Along these courses it does not anywhere exceed one mile from si side, and the hills are particularly high and rugged on the west where they rise from 800 to 1000 feet almost perpendicularly the water. They are well wooded on both sides to within a distance of the small river, where the eastern limit of an imt area of burnt country crosses the valley. This area, which exten both sides of the valley almost to Grand Falls, has been travers numerous fires during different years, so that, with the except isolated patches here and there, all the original forest has been de ed, and the sides of the valley and adjoining table-land are destitute of trees, or partly covered with small second-growth tim no commercial value.

Along the first or north-west course, the channel is only 300 yards wide, and is obstructed by a number of small islan drift. The current is strong, and there is a small river that into the valley with a beautiful fall on the west side near the he the course. Above, the channel widens to a quarter of a mile, ai river is shallow, with small rapids to the upper end of the north The stream that here flows in from the north-east, called Cache is the largest yet seen on this side, and it has a distinct valley cut between the rocky hills to a level with that of the main st Terraces are not prominently marked along the portion of the just described.

For the next twelve miles the valley is narrow and very crooked sharp bends and a general course north-westward. The rocky rise sharply on both sides almost directly from the water, leavi most places only a narrow margin of steep shore. The hills are all bare and rocky. ‘Terraces are not common, and are best dev at the junction of a small branch from the west about eight up, where the terraces are seen rising one above another for 25

Low. HAMILTON RIVER. 135 L

The river varies from 100 to 300 yards across, and is deep and so Mouni rapid that in winter ice is formed only along the shores, The Mouni pide. Rapids are two miles long and have three heavy pitches at the upper

end.

The valley above straightens, and the river flows 8. 80° E. from Lake Winokapau six miles above. Thé stream continues narrow and rapid to the outlet of the lake, and is joined by a small stream five miles below it. Towards the lake the sides of the valley continue to increase in height, until at its outlet bare rocky precipices tower above it 1000 feet or more, with great masses of broken rock piled up at their base. Only a few small trees grow in cracks on the sides and tops, and the general aspect is wild and grand.

Beyond the valley on both sides, the country is covered with broken chains of rounded hills of gneiss that rise from 200 to 500 feet above the general level of the table-land, which is itself over 700 feet above the surface of the lake. The lower lands are either swampy or covered by small irregular lakes that discharge by streams into the valley, where they often fall perpendicularly 500 feet down the rocky walls. During the winter these streams freeze up, and their positions are marked by masses of ice often attached in fantastic forms to the bare surface of the rocks. In other places where the slope is less, the water wells out from below the already formed ice and congeals on its surface, in this manner forming large ice cones.

The table-land is almost denuded by fire, only small patches of trees being left about the lakes and swamps. These consist of a thick growth of stunted black spruce and larch of no commercial value.

Lake Winokapau fills an expansion of the river-valley, and is thirty- Lape Wino- four miles long, its general course being N. 80° W., with two slight kapau. bends near its middle. For fifteen miles from its outlet it does not exceed a mile in width. Beyond, to its head, the breadth varies from one and a half to two miles.

From its outlet, the north shore, for six miles, has a narrow margin of drift between the water and the rocky hills. Beyond this, and all along the south side, the rocky walls of the valley rise abruptly from the lake, and there is a marked absence of drift both on the hillsides and in the valley.

The water is remarkably deep; an isolated sounding taken fifteen Great depth of

miles up the lake, and about midway across, gave 427 feet, while an- the lake. other taken by Mr. Bryant* gave 407 feet. A third squnding was

journey to the Grand Falls of Labrador, p. 26.

Elizabeth River.

Ancient Hudson's Bay post.

Character of surrounding country.

136 L Labrador Peninsula.

made fifty feet from shore on the south side, opposite the first men- tioned, and gave a depth of 80 feet. No other soundings were made, owing to the difficulty experiencd in cutting through the ice, which at the time we passed was four feet nine inches thick, and two hours were required to make a hole through it with the implements at hand. In- formation obtained from Indians shows that the lower three-quarters of the lake are exceedingly deep ; the upper quarter has been filled in with drift brought down by the river.

The present bottom of the luke probably nearly represents the level of the river previous to the glacial period, the valley below having been in places filled with drift during that time to levels indicated by the terraces seen along the sides of the valley, rising in places from 200 to 250 feet above the present river-bed. The absence of any rocky ledges in the river-bottom, except at the first falls, where the ancient channel is on the north side of the rocky hill, points to this conclusion. Why the valley should be filled with drift below and above Lake Winokapau, and the portion occupied by the lake should be almost free of it, is a problem in glacial geology to be worked out in the future, but for which there are at present no data.

A small island of drift, covered with willows and a few large white spruce trees, six miles from the head of the lake, marks the beginning of the shallow portion. Above the island there are numerous wide, sandy shoals, bare at low stages of the water, and separated from one another by narrow channels. The main channel passes close to the south bank, and two large, low, wooded islands of drift separates it from a smaller shallow channel on the north side. At the head of the lake, a small branch called the Elizabeth River flows in from the west, down a narrow valley, while the main valley bends to the north-west.

On the south side, at the mouth of the Elizabeth River, there is a wide, sandy plain about twenty-five feet above the river, and on it the Hudson’s Bay Company formerly had a post, which was abandoned in 1873, and subsequently destroyed by fire. A small river flows into the lake from the south opposite the lowest island, and the drift on the hillsides is terraced up to 200 feet about its mouth. On the north side, there are three large brooks with deeply cut valleys, and one on the south side ; besides these, there are many small streams that fall directly over the precipices, from the table-land above, breaking the monotony of the rocky walls, and adding greatly to the beauty of the scenery.

The hills that bound the valley on its south side are remarkably regular in outline and have been rounded and scratched by glacier ice.

tow. HAMILTON RIVER. 137 L

Those on the north side often rise in perpendicular cliffs from the lake ; their faces and tops are angular and rugged, and do not appear to have been glaciated. The walls on both sides are from 700 to 1000 feet high, gradually lowering towards the head of the lake, where the slopes are less abrupt and the hills more rounded. At the head of the lake, the general level of the table-land on the south side is 950 feet above it. The country on top is nearly level, and covered with small lakes. Ten or fifteen miles to the south, a conical hill rises about 500 feet above the table-land. On the north side after an abrupt rise of 400 or 500 feet, the land slopes gradually, and does not attain the elevation of the south side for several miles back from the valley. Only a few small scattered clumps of trees remain of the original forest in the lake-valley ; these show that at one time the shores and sloping hillsides were thickly covered with large trees of white and black spruce, up to thirty inches in diameter. At present most of the hills are bare, or covered only with small second-growth spruce and birch. The table-land to the southward is quite bare of trees, only ‘the blackened stumps of the former forest remaining. On the north side, bare patches alternate with scattered second-growth black spruce of small size.

Lake Winokapau is well stocked with fish, the employees of the Fish.

Hudson’s Bay Company when stationed there, depended to a large extent on fish for food. In the old journals* of the post, the catches of the nets are recorded, and show that fish were taken abundantly, especially in the spring. The catch included carp, whitefish, lake and river trout in the order named. Potatoes and turnips were grown at the post, but not very successfully, as after planting in the spring, everybody left the place, and did not return until September, leaving the crops to grow without cultivation.

From the mouth of the Elizabeth River, the main valley turns Metchin N. 40° W., and continues in that direction five miles to the mouth of Fiver.

the Metchin River, a small stream having a deep valley, and used as a canoe route to the north-west interior by the Indians. Along this course the valley is about a mile wide, with the hills more rounded and sloping than below, owing to the great quantities of drift deposited here, through which only the rocky summits protrude. The river is less than half a mile wide, and flows close to the north side to within half a mile of the Metchin, where the deposits brought down by that stream have formed a low plain, and have forced the main stream into a narrow channel close to the south wall. Terraces are common and rise to more than 200 feet above the river.

*Winokapau journals seen at Rigolet.

Lus

Character of the valley.

Portage River.

138 L Labrador Peninsula.

The course of the valley now changes to N. 70° W., and w minor bends, continues in that direction for forty-five miles to of the Bodwoin Cañon below the Grand Falls.

The narrow channel continues for a half mile above the 1 the Metchin River, where it widens out to an average widtl yards, with high rocky walls on the south side, and drift-cover on the north side. Six miles further up, there is a sharp be northward for one mile, when the river again resumes its previo At this bend, the walls on both sides exceed 800 feet, and the west side rise in perpendicular cliffs directly from the riv is here 400 yards wide. Above the bend, the character of t is unchanged for twelve miles, the valley being from half a a mile wide, with high rugged hills, mostly burnt, on both sic channel is cut out of the drift, and is more irregular in wi below, being frequently narrowed by projecting points. The. swift and the water appears to be deep. Seven miles up, asm flows in from the northward, in a gorge cut down to the le main valley.

After two well-wouded sandy islands are passed, another st of a mile to the northward, opens out into a wider valley enti by the river, where there is little drift on the hillsides or alo The river is very shallow and the current swift. This stretct miles long, and at its head the channel narrows to less than ? owing to the amount of material brought down by the Porta which cuts through a cliff and descends into the valley by nearly 200 feet, that is almost hidden by the huge blocks heaped up at its bottom. Shortly above the Portage River, stream again widens out, filling the valley from wall to wall, ing from half a mile to one mile in width for eight miles. The route of the Grand Falls, leaves the valley on the north side above the mouth of the Portage River.

Opposite this place and above it, the river is silted up brought down by rapids and deposited in the wider, quiete This sand forms wide flats, covered at high stages of the rive by numerous, deep, winding channels. Four miles above the two large, low, densely wooded islands mark the foot of thera extend almost continuously beyond for twelve miles, to the the cafion. The channel above the islands soon narrows, and deposits thin out, finally almost wholly disappearing from th the valley, which contracts to less than 300 yards in width anc crooked. Three miles above the upper island, the first rocky le

Low. HAMILTON RIVER. 139 4

leaving the Muskrat Fall, is seen in the river bottom. Here, there is Disaster a heavy rapid which continues half a mile to a short bend to the west- Rapid. ward. At the foot of the rapid, Messrs. Cole and Cary, of the Bodwoin College Expedition, had the misfortune to burn their boat and supplies,

and on this account it has been called Disaster Rapid. The charred

remains of the boat was found close to the shore in a small patch of burnt woods.

Two miles above this' rapid, at the angle of a small sharp bend, a Unknown large branch flows in from the west in a well defined valley. Inquiries ° annels. made among the Indians who had hunted about here, failed to yield any information concerning this stream, and they were surprised to hear of its existence, as they all were without knowledge of any large stream between the main river and the Elizabeth River, which enters Lake Winokapau. The only explanation given about this unknown stream, was that it must be a deep channel of the Valley River, and must leave that stream some distance abuve the main forks; but the origin and existence of two deep, well defined valleys such as these, forming an island, is anomalous, and could only be accounted for by the river splitting into two branches before it leaves the table-land.

Above the junction of this stream, two sharp bends of the narrow main valley lead, after three miles, to a long straight stretch, where the valley widens somewhat, and patches of terraced drift are seen high up its rocky walls. At the upper end of the last bend, a small stream comes in from the n. rth, descending in a succession of beautiful cascades from the table-land 700 feet above. This stream drains a number of lakes, and when the river is swollen by the spring freshets, a small portion of it passes up a narrow bay above the Grand Falls, and from there by a rocky channel into the small lakes, of which the discharge is thus much increased during the early spring.

For tive miles above the junction of this stream, the valley continues straight and narrow, with sandy terraces flanking the rocky walls at intervals along both sides. The river varies from fifty to one hundred yards in width, and rushes along in a continuous heavy rapid, from where the main body of water enters the valley by Bodwoin Cañon.

Above the mouth of this cañon the main valley continues in the same Main valley direction upwards of ten miles, and then bends slightly northward, its above Bod further extension being cuncealed by the high walls on the north side.

As far as seen from the cafion, the valley appears to be from a quarter to half a mile wide, and is partly filled with terraced drift, with a branch flowing with a moderate current down it. This branch has less than a quarter of the volume of the other river, and rises in Lake

Descent of the river near the Grand Falls.

Volume of water at Grand Falls.

140 1 Labrador Peninsula.

Ossokmanuan on the table-land, thirty miles to the westward. This lake also discharges by another outlet into the main Hamilton River, described later. Eight miles in a straight line north-north-west of the mouth of the cañon, the main branch of the Hamilton River issues from a small lake-expansion, almost on a level with the surrounding surface of the table-land, and begins one of the greatest and wildest descents of any river in eastern America. A large number of barom- etric readings taken in the vicinity, in conjunction with regular read- ings at the Hudson’s Bay Company’s post, at Northwest River, give the height of the river as it issues from the lake as 1660 feet above sea-level. The height of the valley at the mouth of the gorge, determined in the same manner, is very close to 900 feet above sea-level. Consequently, in twelve miles, the total fall is 760 feet. Such a fall would be nothing extraordinary for a small stream, in a mountainous country, but is phenomenal in a great river like the Hamilton, which has been estimated to discharge at this point about 50,000 cubic feet per second, or nearly the mean volume of the Ottawa River, at Ottawa, that stream having a mean volume of 85,000 cubic feet per second at Grenville,* where it includes the waters of the Rideau, Gatineau and Liévre rivers. The descent includes a sheer fall of 302 feet, the rest being in the form of heavy rapids.

The outlet of the lake is dotted over with small rocky islands, capped with dense thickets of small evergreens. These islands extend down- ward for a mile and divide the river intoa number of narrow channels with a swift current. The stream, flowing southward, then narrows to less than 400 yards, and in the next mile passes over a number of rocky ledges between low wooded banks, falling fifty feet.in a con- tinuous heavy rapid. Again it widens out to nearly a mile, and for two miles is obstructed by many small islands, flowing swiftly between them, with short broken rapids. Next, turning south-east, it con- tracts to less than half its previous width, and rushes along with heavy rapids, in a shallow channel full of huge boulders, with low rocky shores, capped with thin deposit of coarse gravel and sand, and wooded above with small spruce and larch. In this manner the river continues for three miles, gradually narrowing as it descends, with a fall of forty-five feet along the last two courses. The banks and bottom of the river are wholly formed of rock, and as the stream in the next mile has cut a narrow and gradually deepening trough out of the solid rock. at the lower end of the course it flows in a narrow gorge, with sloping rocky walls 110 feet below the level of its upper end. As it descends

—

*General Report Public Works, Canada, 1867-1882, p. 840.

tow. HAMILTON RIVER. 141 L

its width decreases from 150 to 50 yards, and it hurries along with tremendous rapids.

The last 300 yards are down a very steep grade, where the confined Grand Falls. waters rush in a swirling mass, thrown into enormous, long surging waves, at least twenty feet from crest to hollow, the deafening noise of which completely drowns the heavy boom of the great falls imme- lately below. After a final great wave, the pent up mass of water is shot down a very steep incline of rock for 100 feet, where it breaks into a mass of foam, and plunges into a circular basin below, the momentum acquired during the first part of the fall being sufficient to carry it well out from the perpendicular wall of rock at the bottom, leaving almost a free passage between the foot of the cliff and the falling water. The total fall from the crest of the incline to the basin below is 302 feet. The Indians believe that the space between the falling water and the rocky wall is occupied by the spirits of two maidens who were accidentally carried over the falls, and who now pass their time in dressing and preparing deer skins. On this account, or more probably because of the feelings of awe inspired by the grandeur of the surroundings and the enormous power displayed in this rush of waters, those who hunt in the vicinity cannot be induced to visit the falls or the cafion below.

The shape and character of this fall resembles closely, though on a Character of gigantic scale that of a small stream flowing down a V-shaped trough, falls. inclined at a high angle, and issuing freely from its lower end. The basin into which the river precipitates itself, is nearly circular and about 200 yards in diameter. It is surrounded on all sides by nearly perpendicular rocky walls 500 feet high, except at the narrow cut at the head of the falls, and where the river issues from the basin. The sur. face of the basin is violently agitated by the rush of water from above, and its huge lumpy waves break high up the rocky walls. The falls are best seen from the top of the south wall, directly opposite, but the dense columns of vapour that rise out of the basin often interfere with the view, and give a blurred, fogged appearance to photographs taken from that side. The noise of the fall has a stunning effect, and, although deadened because of its inclosed situation, can be heard for more than ten miles away, as a deep, booming sound. The cloud of mist is also visible from any eminence within a radius of twenty miles.

The river leaves the basin by a narrow cafion at right-angles to the pogwoin falls. It flows eastward about a third of a mile, and then bends Cañon. sharply to the south-west for a half mile, next to the east fora like distance, followed by another south-west bend of similar length.

Ors0kmanua lake algo disc}, On se 2a — descri a D nes se — of river em rom 1 Gran À Sma]] surface of esCents of ings at the he}. sea-le, , dete, Su: i): 1° Volume of . ter Grand ¥alls-

7 “hal T . - —

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ES . La ™,. wt zx ÈS . . . . “a . La — se

“he a

tor. HAMILTON RIVER. 143 L

. Bay to Hamilton Inlet, he descended the Hamilton

e fall in passing, and he has given a short description

The falls are known to the Indians and inhabitants

r coast as the Grand Falls, but as a recognition of the

“ell as the indefinite character of the above name, it is to call them the Grand or McLean Falls.

below the falls was first discovered and partly traced by

and Cole in the summer of 1891, and was named by them

üon. Messrs. Bryant and Kenason also visited the fall

iving there a few days later than the first party. Among

ae Hudson’s Bay Company officers who have seen the fall,

ntioned a Mr. McPherson, who visited them shortly after

overy by McLean, Père Babel, O.M.I., a missionary who

or three seasons living with the Indians about the head-

the Hamilton River about 1870, has also given the writer svaphic account of his visit to the fall at that time.

portage-route past the fall and rapids, leaves the main valley on Portage-route rth side at the foot of the rapids fifteen miles below the mouth raat the Grand

cafion. The road rises 700 feet in a quarter of a mile as it

ds the steep wall of the valley by a narrow cut beside a small

‘m. It then passes over undulating wooded country, rising slowly two miles, to a small lake that lies north-west of the lower end of:

- portage. Crossing the eastern end of the lake, the route turns

rthward and passes over four portages of 1000, 200, 200, 300 yards ng respectively, that connect as many small lakes or ponds. The last ortage ends near the middle of Island Lake, which is about three miles ‘ong and a mile wide, with its longest axis running almost east-and- west. This lake discharges from its east end into another large lake that empties into the Portage River. Crossing to the north side of Island Lake, two short portages, with a small swampy lake between, lead into another lake about two miles and a half long, which also dis- charges into the Portage River. The route now changes to west-north- west, and continues in that direction until it reaches the lake-expansion of the river above the falls. From the western end of the last lake a mile portage through a swamp leads to a narrow lake one mile long, with another mile portage from its west end into a similar narrow lake. The next portage is slightly shorter, and crosses a small watershed, passing close to the foot of a high hill on the south side called Lookout Mountain ; it ends in a long narrow bay at the east end of Lookout Lookout . Lake, the largest body of water along the route. This lake is followed Mountain.

seven miles, to its western end, where a small river enters. The

Twenty-five years in the Hudson's Bay Territory. Vol. II., p. 75.

142 L Labrador Peninsula.

In this manner it zigzags until it finally ends in the main valley of the river.

From the falls to the mouth of the cafion the distance in a straight line is not above four miles, but by the river it is over twice as far. This cañon is cut down into solid gneiss, granite and gabbro. Its zigzag course conforms with the direction of two sets of fracture, or cleavage-planes in the rocks, which appear to have caused lines of weakness and aided the eroding action of the water. Except on the inner sides of the bend, where there is a sloping wall of boulders, the walls are nearly perpendicular. At the top, the width rarely exceeds one hundred yards ; while at the bottom the river is seldom over one hundred feet wide, and often measures less than half that width. The fall of the river from the basin to the mouth of the cafion is 260 feet, and, as this is accomplished without any heavy drops, the magnitude and grandeur of the rush of water at the bottom of the gorge may be imagined.

The caiion is cut sharply into the surface.of the table-land without any appreciable dip of the ground towards it, and there is so little indication of its presence from above, that the gorge is seen only within a few yards of its edge; and its walls are so steep, and the bushes along the top so thick, that in most places it is necessary to hold on to an overhanging tree and lean far out in order to see the narrow white line of broken foaming water that rushes along 500 feet below. As the country slopes gently towards the main valley, the caiion does not deepen with the descent of the river init, and the walls are everywhere from 500 to 600 feet high, varying with the undulating surface of the table-land.

Origin of There is little doubt that the caïñon is a valley of erosion in an , Bodwoin unfinished state of formation, and probably previous to the glacial

period was the valley of a much smaller stream than the one at present flowing through it. At that time the main stream in all likelihood fol. lowed the main valley. There is no evidence that the valley has been cut back, or otherwise eroded since the close of the glacial period, beyond the removal of the drift, which then filled it nearly to the top, as patches of drift still remain on the inner sides of the sharp bends. From the above facts some idea can be had of the great length of time required for the erosion of the main valley of the river, from the falls to the mouth of Hamilton Inlet, which is really a submerged portion of this river-valley.

ao

McLean, John McLean, of the Hudson’s Bay Company, as before stated, was the first white man to see the fall. In 1839, while on a journey over-

tow. ] HAMILTON RIVER. 143 L

land from Ungava Bay to Hamilton Inlet, he descended the Hamilton River, visiting the fall in passing, and he has given a short description of it in his book.* The falls are known to the Indians and inhabitants of the Labrador coast as the Grand Falls, but as a recognition of the discoverer, as well as the indefinite character of the above name, it is now proposed to call them the Grand or McLean Falls.

The cafion below the falls was first discovered and partly traced by Messrs. Cary and Cole in the summer of 1891, and was named by them Bodwoin Cafion. Messrs. Bryant and Kenason also visited the fall in 1891, arriving there a few days later than the first party. Among others of the Hudson’s Bay Company officers who have seen the fall, may be mentioned a Mr. McPherson, who visited them shortly after their discovery by McLean, Père Babel, O.M.I., a missionary who spent two or three seasons living with the Indians about the head- waters of the Hamilton River about 1870, has also given the writer a most graphic account of his visit to the fall at that time.

The portage-route past the fall and rapids, leaves the main valley on Portage-route the north side at the foot of the rapids fifteen miles below the mouth pant the rand of the cafion. The road rises 700 feet in a quarter of a mile as it ascends the steep wall of the valley by a narrow cut beside a small stream. It then passes over undulating wooded country, rising slowly for two miles, to a small lake that lies north-west of the lower end of: the portage. Crossing the eastern end of the lake, the route turns northward and passes over four portages of 1000, 200, 200, 300 yards long respectively, that connect as many small lakes or ponds. The last portage ends near the middle of Island Lake, which is about three miles long and a mile wide, with its longest axis running almost east-and- west. This lake discharges from its east end into another large lake that empties into the Portage River. Crossing to the north side of Island Lake, two short portages, with a small swampy lake between, lead into another lake about two miles and a half Jong, which also dis- charges into the Portage River. The route now changes to west-north- west, and continues in that direction until it reaches the lake-expansion of the river above the falls. From the western end of the last lake a mile portage through a swamp leads to a narrow lake one mile long, with another mile portage from its west end into a similar narrow lake.

The next portage is slightly shorter, and crosses a small watershed,

passing close to the foot of a high hill on the south side called Lookout Mountain ; it ends in a long narrow bay at the east end of Lookout Lookout Lake, the largest body of water along the route. This lake is followed Mountain. seven miles, to its western end, where a small river enters. The

Twenty-five years in the Hudson's Bay Territory. Vol. II., p. 75.

142 L Labrador Peninsula.

In this manner it zigzags until it finally ends in the main valley of the river.

From the falls to the mouth of the cafion the distance in a straight line is not above four miles, but by the river it is over twice as far. This cañon is cut down into solid gneiss, granite and gabbro. Its zigzag course conforms with the direction of two sets of fracture, or cleavage-planes in the rocks, which appear to have caused lines of weakness and aided the eroding action of the water. Except on the inner sides of the bend, where there is a sloping wall of boulders, the walls are nearly perpendicular. At the top, the width rarely exceeds one hundred yards ; while at the bottom the river is seldom over one hundred feet wide, and often measures less than half that width. The fall of the river from the basin to the mouth of the cañon is 260 feet, and, as this is accomplished without any heavy drops, the magnitude and grandeur of the rush of water at the bottom of the gorge may be imagined.

The cafion is cut sharply into the surface.of the table-land without any appreciable dip of the ground towards it, and there is so little indication of its presence from above, that the gorge is seen only within a few yards of its edge; and its walls are so steep, and the bushes along the top so thick, that in most places it is necessary to hold on to an overhanging tree and lean far out in order to see the narrow white line of broken foaming water that rushes along 500 feet below. As the country slopes gently towards the main valley, the cañon does not deepen with the descent of the river in it, and the walls are everywhere from 500 to 600 feet high, varying with the undulating surface of the table-land.

sl Origin of There is little doubt that the cafion is a valley of erosion in an ; Bod woin unfinished state of formation, and probably previous to the glacial period was the valley of a much smaller stream than the one at present flowing through it. At that time the main stream in all likelihood fol lowed the main valley. There is no evidence that the valley has been cut back, or otherwise eroded since the close of the glacial period, beyond the removal of the drift, which then filled it nearly to the top, as patches of drift still remain on the inner sides of the sharp bends. From the above facts some idea can be had of the great length of time required for the erosion of the main valley of the river, from the falls to the mouth of Hamilton Inlet, which is really a submerged portion of this river-valley.

+

JohnMcLean, John McLean, of the Hudson’s Bay Company, as before stated, was the first white man to see the fall. In 1839, while on a journey over-

i] 10w. ] HAMILTON RIVER. 143 L

land from Ungava Bay to Hamilton Inlet, he descended the Hamilton River, visiting the fall in passing, and he has given a short description of it in his book.* The falls are known to the Indians and inhabitants of the Labrador coast as the Grand Falls, but as a recognition of the discoverer, as well as the indefinite character of the above name, it is now proposed to call them the Grand or McLean Falls.

The cafion below the falls was first discovered and partly traced by Messrs. Cary and Cole in the surnmer of 1891, and was named by them Bodwoin Cañon. Messrs. Bryant and Kenason also visited the fall in 1891, arriving there a few days later than the first party. Among others of the Hudson’s Bay Company officers who have seen the fall, may be mentioned a Mr. McPherson, who visited them shortly after their discovery by McLean, Père Babel, O.M.I., a missionary who spent two or three seasons living with the Indians about the head- waters of the Hamilton River about 1870, has also given the writer a most graphic account of his visit to the fall at that time.

The portage-route past the fall and rapids, leaves the main valley on Portage-route the north side at the foot of the rapids fifteen miles below the mouth pect the Grand of the cañon. The road rises 700 feet in a quarter of a mile as it ascends the steep wall of the valley by a narrow cut beside a small stream. It then passes over undulating wooded country, rising slowly for two miles, to a small lake that lies north-west of the lower end of: the portage. Crossing the eastern end of the lake, the route turns northward and passes over four portages of 1000, 200, 200, 300 yards long respectively, that connect as many small lakes or ponds. The last portage ends near the middle of Island Lake, which is about three miles long and a mile wide, with its longest axis running almost east-and- west. This lake discharges from its east end into another large lake that empties into the Portage River. Crossing to the north side of Island Lake, two short portages, with a small swampy lake between, lead into another lake about two miles and a half long, which also dis- charges into the Portage River. The route now changes to west-north- west, and continues in that direction until it reaches the lake-expansion of the river above the falls. From the western end of the last lake a mile portage through a swamp leads to a narrow lake one mile long, with another mile portage from its west end into a similar narrow lake.

The next portage is slightly shorter, and crosses a small watershed,

passing close to the foot of a high hill on the south side called Lookout Mountain ; it ends in a long narrow bay at the east end of Lookout Lookout Lake, the largest body of water along the route. This lake is followed Mountain. seven miles, to its western end, where a small river enters. The

Twenty-five years in the Hudson's Bay Territory. Vol. II., p. 75.

ted

em

"A

wo

Origin of woin Cañon.

John McLean.

142 L Labrador Peninsula.

In this manner it zigzags until it finally ends in the main valley of the river.

From the falls to the mouth of the cañon the distance in a straight line is not above four miles, but by the river it is over twice as far. This caiion is cut down into solid gneiss, granite and gabbro. Its zigzag course conforms with the direction of two sets of fracture, or cleavage-planes in the rocks, which appear to have caused lines of weakness and aided the eroding action of the water. Except on the inner sides of the bend, where there is a sloping wall of boulders, the walls are nearly perpendicular. At the top, the width rarely exceeds one hundred yards ; while at the bottom the river is seldom over one hundred feet wide, and often measures less than half that width. The fall of the river from the basin to the mouth of the cañon is 260 feet, and, as this is accomplished without any heavy drops, the magnitude and grandeur of the rush of water at the bottom of the gorge may be imagined.

The cafion is cut sharply into the surface.of the table-land without any appreciable dip of the ground towards it, and there is so little indication of its presence from above, that the gorge is seen only within a few yards of its edge; and its walls are so steep, and the bushes along the top so thick, that in most places it is necessary to hold on to an overhanging tree and lean far out in order to see the narrow white line of broken foaming water that rushes along 500 feet below. As the country slopes gently towards the main valley, the cañon does not deepen with the descent of the river init, and the walls are everywhere from 500 to 600 feet high, varying with the undulating surface of the table-land.

There is little doubt that the cafion is a valley of erosion in an unfinished state of formation, and probably previous to the glacial period was the valley of a much smaller stream than the one at present flowing through it. At that time the main stream in all likelihood fol lowed the main valley. There is no evidence that the valley has been cut back, or otherwise eroded since the close of the glacial period, beyond the removal of the drift, which then filled it nearly to the top, as patches of drift still remain on the inner sides of the sharp bends. From the above facts some idea can be had of the great length of time required for the erosion of the main valley of the river, from the falls to the mouth of Hamilton Inlet, which is really a submerged portion of this river-valley.

John McLean, of the Hudson’s Bay Company, as before stated, was the first white man to see the fall. In 1839, while on a journey over-

tow. ] HAMILTON RIVER. 143 L

land from Ungava Bay to Hamilton Inlet, he descended the Hamilton River, visiting the fall in passing, and he has given a short description of it in his book.* The falls are known to the Indians and inhabitants of the Labrador coast as the Grand Falls, but as a recognition of the discoverer, as well as the indefinite character of the above name, it is now proposed to call them the Grand or McLean Falls.

The cafion below the falls was first discovered and partly traced by Messrs. Cary and Cole in the summer of 1891, and was named by them Bodwoin Cañon. Messrs. Bryant and Kenason also visited the fall in 1891, arriving there a few days later than the first party. Among others of the Hudson’s Bay Company officers who have seen the fall, may be mentioned a Mr. McPherson, who visited them shortly after their discovery by McLean, Père Babel, O.M.I., a missionary who spent two or three seasons living with the Indians about the head- waters of the Hamilton River about 1870, has also given the writer a most graphic account of his visit to the fall at that time.

The portage-route past the fall and rapids, leaves the main valley on Portage-route the north side at the foot of the rapids fifteen miles below the mouth pastthe Grand of the caïñon. The road rises 700 feet in a quarter of a mile as it ascends the steep wall of the valley by a narrow cut beside a small stream. It then passes over undulating wooded country, rising slowly for two miles, to a small lake that lies north-west of the lower end of: the portage. Crossing the eastern end of the lake, the route turns northward and passes over four portages of 1000, 200, 200, 300 yards — long respectively, that connect as many small lakes or ponds. The last portage ends near the middle of Island Lake, which is about three miles long and a mile wide, with its longest axis running almost east-and- west. This lake discharges from its east end into another large lake that empties into the Portage River. Crossing to the north side of Island Lake, two short portages, with a small swampy lake between, lead into another lake about two miles and a half Jong, which also dis- charges into the Portage River. The route now changes to west-north- west, and continues in that direction until it reaches the lake-expansion of the river above the falls. From the western end of the last lake a mile portage through a swamp leads to a narrow lake one mile long, with another mile portage from its west end into a similar narrow lake.

The next portage is slightly shorter, and crosses a small watershed,

passing close to the foot of a high hill on the south side called Lookout Mountain ; it ends in a long narrow bay at the east end of Lookout Lookout Lake, the largest body of water along the route. This lake is followed Mountain. seven miles, to its western end, where a small river enters. The

Twenty-five years in the Hudson’s Bay Territory. Vol. II., p. 75.

144 1. Labrador Peninsula.

greatest breadth near the east end is less than two miles. The lake i. Shallow and dotted with small rocky islands. It discharges by the little river that falls into the main valley five miles below the cañon and which, as already mentioned, forms a discharge of the main river during periods of high water.

The inlet is followed through a number of lake-expansions for five miles, with three short portages past rapids and a final one of a half mile that leads to the head of a deep bay of the main river.

Lookout Mountain is a long round hill of gabbro, that rises 460 feet

Country about above Lookout Lake. Its summit and sides have been burnt over. ou

Mountain.

Trees.

and from its top a good view of the surrounding country may be ob tained. The surface of the table-land is broken by long rocky hills, connected by low ridges of drift, that run west-north-west, or paralle: to the direction of the glacial striæ. Between the ridges there are wide valleys filled by long irregular lakes or swamps. Southwar from the top of Lookout Mountain, the country is seen sloping toward. the river-valley, and it is much more broken and rugged than in other directions. One sharp rugged hill rises well above the rest, and is probably the Mount Hyde of the Bodwoin Expedition.

The position of the river-valley here is well marked, the country sloping towards it on both sides. Beyond the valley, the country appears to be somewhat higher than on the north side. Ranges of burnt hill are seen stretching away to the south-west, and bounding the horizon in that direction. Westward, the position of the Grand Falls is

marked by the column of mist that rises high over it. No other

feature marks the presence of the cafion, and gently undulating bi: extend as far as can be seen. To the north-west, the country is ver similar, and in the distance lake-expansions of the river appear. North and north-eastward, the ridges of hills are seen running is

regular lines with a higher range bounding the sky-line abou — twenty miles away. Where any depression occurs in the ridges a

shining patch of water marks the position of a lake, in the valley: beyond. Looking south-east, or parallel to the ridges, a perfect net work of small island-dotted lakes are seen, filling each valley, asd separated from one another only by low ridges of drift. In the

distance are a number of high rounded hills near the discharge of the

Portage River.

Over half of the surrounding country has been stripped bare by frequent fires. In the swamps and around the shores of the lake where the trees are unburnt, black spruce and larch of small sv grow thickly together. On the sides of the hills these trees are mor

Low. UPPER HAMILTON RIVER. 145 L

stunted, and are separated by open glades. Where the hillsides have been burnt years ago, they are covered with a tangled mass of willows and alders, while the tops are coated with white moss and semi-arctic shrubs and berries. Only on the banks of the river about the falls were trees large enough for commercial purposes seen. Surrounding the basin, white spruce seventy feet high and two feet in diameter at the base, are common, along with large-sized black spruce, balsam fir’ and white birch. The moisture from the constant column of spray, as well as the warmth from the open water, may account for the better growth of the trees in the neighbourhood. Along the river banks and on the islands above the falls, the trees are larger, and more varied than about the lakes of the portage-route, fair-sized white and black spruce, balsam fir, larch and white birch growing freely.

Upper Hamilton River.

Above the Grand Falls, the character of the river changes com- Character of pletely ; it no longer flows in a distinct valley cut deep into the sur the upper rounding country, but nearly on a level with the surface of the table- River. land, spreading out so as to fill the valleys between the long, low ridges of hills that are arranged in echelon all over the country. The river in passing around the ridges is often broken into several channels by large islands formed by separate ridges, and in other places, where there are wide valleys between the hills, it fills long, shallow lakes, with deep bays, and often studded with islands. The river is now so divided into channels and so diversified with island- covered lakes, that without a guide it is almost impossible to follow its main channel, and much time is lost tracing its course through the lakes, which often have several channels discharging into, as well as out of them. The current instead of flowing regularly, now alternat es between short rapids and long lake stretches.

The banks are often low, and covered with a dense growth of small willows and alders, that form a wide fringe between the water and the conifers of the higher ground behind. In other places, generally at rapids, the stream has cut a channel into the sandy drift that forms the low ridges on one or both sides. The shores of the lakes are very often low, with an interval of flat land between the water and the hills behind. These low shores and those of the islands are generally thickly strewn with boulders, piled up in ridges by the expansion and drift of the ice in the spring. The general direction of the river from the Grand Falls to Lake Petitsikapau, more than 100 miles above, is.

10 ’

?

144 L. Labrador Peninsula.

greatest breadth near the east end is less than two miles. The lake i. Shallow and dotted with small rocky islands. It discharges by the little river that falls into the main valley five miles below the cañen and which, as already mentioned, forms a discharge of the main river during periods of high water.

The inlet is followed through a number of lake-expansions for fire miles, with three short portages past rapids and a final one of a half mile that leads to the head of a deep bay of the main river.

Lookout Mountain is a long round hill of gabbro, that rises 460 teet

Country about above Lookout Lake. Its summit and sides have been burnt over. ou

Mountain.

Trees.

and from its top a good view of the surrounding country may be ol tained. The surface of the table-land is broken by long rocky hills connected by low ridges of drift, that run west-north-west, or paralk to the direction of the glacial striæ. Between the ridges there ars wide valleys filled by long irregular lakes or swamps. Southwari

from the top of Lookout Mountain, the country is seen sloping towards

the river-valley, and it is much more broken and rugged than in other directions. One sharp rugged hill rises well above the rest, and i: probably the Mount Hyde of the Bodwoin Expedition.

The position of the river-valley here is well marked, the countr sloping towards it on both sides. Beyond the valley, the country appears to be somewhat higher than on the north side. Ranges of burnt hills are seen stretching away to the south-west, and bounding the horizon in that direction. Westward, the position of the Grand Falls is marked by the column of mist that rises high over it. No other feature marks the presence of the caïñon, and gently undulating biils extend as far as can be seen. To the north-west, the country is tert similar, and in the distance lake-expansions of the river appear. North and north-eastward, the ridges of hills are seen running ir regular lines with a higher range bounding the sky-line about twenty miles away. Where any depression occurs in the ridges 3 shining patch of water marks the position of a lake, in the vallers beyond. Looking south-east, or parallel to the ridges, a perfect net- work of small island-dotted lakes are seen, filling each valley, and separated from one another only by low ridges of drift. In the distance are a number of high rounded hills near the discharge of the

Portage River.

Over half of the surrounding country has been stripped bare br frequent fires. In the swamps and around the shores of the lakes. where the trees are unburnt, black spruce and larch of small size grow thickly together. On the sides of the hills these trees are more

tow. UPPER HAMILTON RIVER. . 145 L

stunted, and are separated by open glades. Where the hillsides have been burnt years ago, they are covered with a tangled mass of willows and alders, while the tops are coated with white moss and semi-arctic shrubs and berries. Only on the banks of the river about the falls were trees large enough for commercial purposes seen. Surrounding the basin, white spruce seventy feet high and two feet in diameter at the base, are common, along with large-sized black spruce, balsam fir’ and white birch. The moisture from the constant column of spray, as well as the warmth from the open water, may account for the better growth of the trees in the neighbourhood. Along the river banks and on the islands above the falls, the trees are larger, and more varied than about the lakes of the portage-route, fair-sized white and black spruce, balsam fir, larch and white birch growing freely.

Upper Hamilton River.

Above the Grand Falls, the character of the river changes com- Character of

pletely ; it no longer flows in a distinct valley cut deep into the sur the upper rounding country, but nearly on a level with the surface of the table- River. land, spreading out so a3 to fill the valleys between the long, low ridges of hills that are arranged in echelon all over the country. The river in passing around the ridges is often broken into several channels by large islands formed by separate ridges, and in other places, where there are wide valleys between the hills, it fills long, Shallow lakes, with deep bays, and often studded with islands. The river is now so divided into channels and so diversified with island- covered lakes, that without a guide it is almost impossible to follow its main channel, and much time is lost tracing its course through the lakes, which often have several channels discharging into, as well as out of them. The current instead of flowing regularly, now alternates between short rapids and long lake stretches.

The banks are often low, and covered with a dense growth of small willows and alders, that form a wide fringe between the water and the conifers of the higher ground behind. In other places, generally at rapids, the stream has cut a channel into the sandy drift that forms the low ridges on one or both sides. The shores of the lakes are very often low, with an interval of flat land between the water and the hills behind. These low shores and those of the islands are generally thickly strewn with boulders, piled up in ridges by the expansion and drift of the ice in the spring. The general direction of the river from the Grand Falls to Lake Petitsikapau, more than 100 miles above, is.

10 ’

Post-glacial channels.

Jacopie Lake.

Fluur Lake.

Channel from Lobstick Lake.

146 L Labrador Peninsula.

nearly west-north-west, or parallel to the direction of the glacial striæ, and that of the ridges of drift. All these features give to the upper portion of the river an aspect of newness, and indicate that its present course and conditions have been determined by the post-glacial con- figuration of the table-land, in marked contrast to the ancient appear- ance of the deep, rock-walled valley of erosion below the cafion in which the river must have flowed for ages, slowly abrading the hard gneisses and granites and carrying away the results of atmospheric decay brought down from its sides by the rains and small tributary streams.

The first expansion of the river above the portage is called Jacopie Lake. It is seven miles long and about two wide, with two deep bays on the east side, and is surrounded by low, rounded, rocky hills, totally burnt over on the east side, and partly so on the west. A chain of low islands of drift extends along the east side, and almost closes off the bays from the main body of the lake. In a few places, bosses of rock are seen rising from beneath the drift of the islands. At the head of the lake, the current is quite strong in the main channel, with a heavy rapid at the inlet, in order to avoid which, when the water is high, a small channel behind a long narrow island is fol- lowed by canoes. There are two short portages here past small chutes.

Above the lake, is a stretch of eight miles where the river flows swiftly and is broken by two heavy shallow rapids filled with

large boulders. The banks are generally low, and are cut out of drift,

the channel averaging half a mile across. Numerous islands divide the stream into different channels, especially towards the upper end, where the river broadens out into the next lake-expansion. This is called Flour Lake, and it is ten miles long and apparently about two miles wide. with deep bays running off on both sides. Its surface is so broken by islands, many of them small and rocky, that it is impossible to de termine the shore-line of the lake by passing up its middle. There is distinct evidence of current everywhere, and this grows stronger ss the head of the expansion is approached. At the upper end the river splits into two nearly equal channels, that do not again join until Sandgirt Lake is reached, fifteen miles above. The north channel is very rapid, and soon leads into Lobstick Lake, a large and long body of water on the route to Lake Michikamau, described in the part of the report referring to that lake. From Lobstick Lake, a stretch of five miles of river leads into Sandgirt Lake, where the streams again unite.

The south channel, leading out of Flour Lake, is the ordinary cance route. The distance by this channel between Flour and Sandgirt lakes is fifteen miles. The stream varies from 100 yards to over a

wow. UPPER HAMILTON RIVER. 147 L

mile in width, and is obstructed by numerous islands. The surround- ing country is low and rolling, with long ridges of drift and little rock. The trees are small and are principally black spruce and larch, with white spruce and balsam fir along shore, and white birch on the hill- sides. The current is always strong, and it is broken by seven short heavy rapids, where the stream narrows and is obstructed by islands. The river-bed at these rapids is composed of large, rounded boulders.

Five miles above Flour Lake, the south channel again divides, and the canoe route continues to follow the southern branch, which flows out of a deep bay in the south-east corner of Sandgirt Lake, the other channel flowing out of the next bay a few miles to the northward.

Lake Kanikauwinikau or Sandgirt Lake, is an irregular-shaped, Sandgirt shallow body of water, with many islands of drift and with sandy or boulder-strewn shores. It is twelve miles long from the southern outlet to the mouth of the Ashuanipi Branch, on its north- west side, where two deep bays continue on several miles farther to the westward, one on each side of the river, and divided from it by wide low points of drift. From the mouth of the Attikonak Branch, ou the south-west side, to the northern outlet, the distance is eight miles. Besides the two bays on the west side already mentioned, there are two others, one to the south and the other to the north ; these are only a few miles deep, with small streams flowing iin at their heads from wide-spreading series of lakes. The country surrounding the lake is somewhat higher than that along the river below, especially on its south side, where a ridge of rocky hills extends from the east to the shores of the Attikonak Branch. Some twenty miles westward, a wide range of hills is seen rising with barren sides over 800 feet above the general level, and it continues in a north-western direction. The outlines of these hills are sharp and rugged, quite unlike those of the hills of the Archean area already passed through. Only their lower slopes are wooded, and in the month of August large masses of ice and snow remained in protected gullies on their north- ern slopes.. The name of Ice Mountains was given to these hills. To the north-west, rounded hiils from 200 to 500 feet high are seen, separated by wide valleys containing the bays on that side of the lake. To the north and north-east, the country is undulating and lower, with higher, rounded ridges bounding the horizon. To the east, only low ridges of drift break the general level.

Sandgirt Lake is an important gathering place for the Indians of Gathering the interior, on account of the number of routes that centre here. place of The Hamilton River divisles into two branches, the larger or Ashua- — “ms nipi Branch flowing in from the north-west and the Attikonak Branch

Ashuanipi River.

Ice Moun- tains.

Increase in

size of trees.

148 L Labrador Peninsula.

from the south. The main route from the Hamilton River to Lake Michikamau also ends here. The Indians who trade on the lower St. Lawrence and hunt anywhere in this vicinity, always congregate here in the spring, and descend to the coast in company, either by the Romaine or Moisie River.

Returning in the autumn, they travel together to this lake, where they separate into small parties for their winter hunts. The standing poles of their wigwams, scattered everywhere along the shores and on the islands of the lake, show that several families camp here.

On account of its favourable situation, a cache was made on an island in the lake, to store the surplus provisions and outfit, and from here, with lightened canoes, the Ashuanipi Branch was first explored, after which a trip was made to and around Lake Michikamau, before Sandgirt Lake was finally left by the Attikonak Branch.

Ashuanipt Branch.

The Ashuanipi Branch, as before stated, flows into the lake on its west side. Its course for thirty miles above, to Birch Lake, is nearly north-west. For five miles above Sandgirt Lake, the river flows through a flat, well-wooded country, and then passes close along the southern base of a sharp, rocky hill 300 feet high. This has been burnt over, giving an unobstructed view from its summit. The bay of the lake to the northward comes close. to the base of the hill, and extends some miles westward of it, where the continuation of the valley is filled with a large treeless swamp. South-west of the river, a network of large lakes occupies over half of the area between the river and the Ice Mountains, some ten miles distant. From this hill to a small lake-expansion four miles above, the river varies from 100 to 500 yards in width, with sandy banks from ten to sixty feet high, cut out of the roughly parallel ridges of indistinctly stratified drift, between which it flows with a swift current. The lake-expansion is about two miles wide and over three miles long; it is quite shallow, with low, willow-clad banks.

A stretch of five miles of swift water, terminating above in a short rapid, separates the last from the next luke-expansion. A number of high islands of drift obstruct the channel, and the banks are again high and irregular. Occasional white spruce trees are met with along the river bottom, up to fifteen inches in diameter, along with small black spruce, larch, balsam fir, white birch, and a few clumps of smal] ba!sam poplar.

Low. ASHUANIPI BRANCH. 149 1

The next lake-expansion is eight miles long; its lower half is crowded with low islands, covered with willows ; the shores are also low, with a wide fringe of willows and alders between the water and the trees behind. There is a long ridge on the north side, culminating in a rocky hill 300 feet high at its west end.

The increase in the size of the trees about this lake is very marked, and is probably due to the change in quality of the soil, caused by the disintegration of the Cambrian rocks, which here underlie the sur- face deposits and form a very large percentage of the drift. White spruce thirty inches in diameter at the base and forty feet high is not uncommon along the shores, black spruce is often twenty- four inches in diameter at the base, but rapidly lessens above, so that few exceed eighteen inches six feet from the ground. Balsam fir is abundant, but not very large. White birch is also common, and grows up to ten or twelve inches in diameter, but is generally crooked and does not afford good bark for canoe-building. Small clumps of balsam poplar are met with frequently with trees six inches in diam- eter, but crooked and straggling like the birch. At the head of the lake-expansion, an island seven miles Jong divides the river into two channels, with the greater part of river flowing in the northern one. The island is formed by a high ridge of drift into which the river has cut deeply in many places, giving sections of from twenty to sixty feet, and showing that the material is almost wholly sand, with evidence of bedding. In places the banks are cut into small terraces up to a height of sixty feet, in one place to the number of eight. The north channel varies from 200 to 300 yards in width, is dotted with small islands of drift, and has a swift current with strong eddies behind sharp boulder-strewn points. All these eddies swarm with large brook trout from three to six pounds in weight. Five miles up, the Birch Lake. channel widens out and is split by a number of large low islands as Birch Lake is entered. The shape and size of this lake are well seen from the summit of a sharp rocky ridge that extends for two miles along its south side near its western end. This ridge is very similar to others that now run south-east and north-west, parallel to one another, with wide valleys between them. The hill consists of stratified Cambrian rocks, highly Character of tilted, and has cliff-faces on both sides with intervals covered with country about drift resting on the steep slopes. The summit of the ridge is irregu- lar and narrow, s0 that almost anywhere the foot of the hill can be seen on both sides from the top. The sides, where unburnt, are cov- ered with large white spruce in open glades to within a hundred feet

Cambrian ridges.

150 L Labrador Peninsula.

of the top, where they give place to a thick tangle of willows and alders. On the top the willows are smaller, less matted, and do not interfere greatly with travel. The higher points are only covered with small shrubs, including the cranberry (Vaccinium Vitis-Idea) that grows in great profäsion. The highest point of the ridge is about 350 feet above the water.

Birch Lake is ten miles long from the northern outlet to the mouth of its southern inlet, and is less than five miles across in its widest part. Long ridges of drift form deep bays at both ends. The large island already referred to divides the eastern end into two bays, while a long string of islands separates off another portion of the lake on the north. The western end is also deeply indented by three narrow bays that develope into channels of the river at their heads, and thus form two large islands that extend to the next lake to the north-west.

The north side of Birch Lake is bounded by a sharp ridge extending the whole length of that side. Its height varies from 300 to 400 feet ; its top and the greater part of its south side are treeless, the lower parts having been burnt over many years ago, and the conifers have since given place to willows and alders. Fires have devastated much of the country surrounding the lake, and, as the trees once destroyed appear to grow again very slowly, large areas have a barren, desolate appearance ; they are covered with small bushes and shrubs, and in many places only with white reindeer moss. This moss, or rather lichen, covers the ground everywhere, even in the thickest woods, and, except in wet weather, is much more agreeable under foot than the tangled masses of Kalmia and Labrador tea met with through out the country to the southward. On the islands and shores where the forest is unburnt the trees are very similar in size to those last described. To the south of the ridge there is a wide valley stretching far away to the south and south-west, broken only by low ridges of drift and streaked everywhere with water—-parts of large irregular lakes—the view from the ridge giving an impression‘ that over one half of the surface in those directions is covered with water.

The southern inlet of Birch Lake appears to be the largest ; it varies from 100 yards to nearly a mile in width, and is greatly obstructed by low, sandy islands, with shale beneath. The channels are shallow, and the current strong, with several small rapids, especially along the upper part, the last a heavy one 200 yards long, where the river flows out of Dyke Lake. There are twelve miles of river between the lakes, and several small streams enter by deep bays on both sides. At the foot of the upper rapid two channels separated by two long islands join as the river issues from Dyke Lake.

‘

Low. ASHUANIPI BRANCH. 151 L

The shores along the river are low and well wooded, and the general flatness of the surrounding country is broken by a few short rocky ridges of irregular outline on both sides.

Entering Dyke Lake by the right-hand channel, a bay about one Dyke Lake mile wide and four miles long is ascended to the end of the large island that extends from Birch Lake. The bay is walled in between steep rocky ridges that rise from 300 to 500 feet above the surface. The ridge on the north side terminates abruptly in a sharp pointed hill 490 feet high and cut transversely to the ridge by a great fault, and on this account called Fault Hill. The southern ridge is wooded, the northern one is mostly burnt. The lower flanks of Fault Hill are covered with groves of white and black spruce for 300 feet up; above this, only willows and alders grow to near the summit, where moss alone partly covers the surface. The trees, as the river is ascended, again become small, and, although large white spruce trees are met with on the lower flanks of the hills, they are stunted in height, and thick branches grow close to the ground, forming great knots in the trunk and rendering the wood practically valueless. Poplar is not seen above Birch Lake.

The only way in which an idea of the extent and shape of these Country about irregular lakes along the river can be obtained, is by climbing the Fault Hill hills, For this reason Fault Hill was ascended, and from its summit Dyke Lake was seen stretching away far to the north-west. The southern channel extends into a deep bay behind two large islands on the south side. These islands are separated by a narrow channel a short distance above Fault Hill, and from there the upper island con- tinues five miles with a channel nearly half a mile wide, dividing it from a point of the mainland. Looking backwards, the two northern channels, as well as the one ascended, can be traced to Birch Lake-

They are all dotted with islands, and the darker water in several places indicates short stretches of rapids.

The bay on the north side of Fault Hill, is much deeper and wider than that on the south side, and extends seven miles eastward. Its surface is covered with numerous islands, very irregular in shape, and apparently representing ridges of drift, the lower portions of which are submerged. Abreast of Fault Hill, the lake is nearly twelve miles wide, but no idea of its size can be obtained on its sur- face owing to the number of islands. Westward, the lake gradually narrows, and two large islands almost separate the northern side from the main body. Eight miles further up, the large islands terminate, and the lake narrows to about two miles.

Entrance to Lake Petit- sikapau.

Lake Petit- sikapau.

152 L Labrador Peninsula.

The country about this lake is much rougher than any previously passed through and the north side of the lake is bounded by a con- tinuous ridge that rises from 300 to 500 feet. The larger islands are high and rocky, and consists of broken ridges. Along the south shore, ther is an interval of low land extending to within a short distance west of Fault Hill, where a wide ridge commences and extends westward several miles. This is probably one of the highest points in this region ; the main hill rises far above the surrounding ridges and the upper half appears quite barren.

The lower land to the south is covered with large lakes, and the horizon is bounded by a long, unbroken ridge. From the narrows the lake continues north-west for nine miles to the head of the north bay, were a short, deep, rocky narrow about two hundred yards wide divides it from Lake Petitsikapau. A high rocky ridge bounds the north side of the lake along this part, with an interval of swamp be tween it and the water, terminating in a low muddy shore. The high land on the south side ends about three miles up, and is replaced by a flat swamp, thickly covered with black spruce and larch. The trees, on the slopes of the northern ridge are larger, and many stout, knotted white spruce are seen on the lower flanks more than two feet in dia- meter at three feet from the ground. The main river enters with a short rapid on the south side- near the head of the lake. At the time this place was reached, the water in Lake Petitsikapau was very high, and a large volume was passing through the deep outlet, which was mistaken for the main river. In consequence, a week was spent carefully examining the western and northern shores of that lake, in search of a large river flowing into it.

Lake Petitsikapau (or Willow-fringed Lake) is the largest body of water in this part of the country. It fills a wide, shallow valley between sharp ridges of rocky hills similar to those already des cribed. Minor ridges cut its ends into a number of deep bays and give to it a very irregular outline. Almost everywhere, the shores are low and swampy and bordered with willows. The greatest length is twenty-five miles from south-east to north-west, and its widest part measures eight miles across. The north-west end is divided into four narrow bays, of which the northern one is the longest. To the south- ward there are only two bays, the most southern of which is from two to three miles wide, and extends south-east over ten miles, with only a narrow neck of land between it and Dyke Lake. The northern end of the lake is covered with numerous low islands of limestone and shale: these islands are generally long and narrow, running parallel to the strike of the rocks. The water between the islands is very shallow, and

tow. ASHUANIPI BRANCH. 153 L

in many places difficulty is experienced in finding a passage for light Shallow canoes. The southern portion is comparatively free of islands, and Water. those found there consist of drift and are somewhat higher than those of limestone and shale. The whole lake is very shallow, and in its widest part, where islands are absent, it was found not to exceed ten feet in depth. Small streams flow into the heads of all the northern bays, and from the ridges these are seen to drain chains of small lakes in a wide valley that extends many miles beyond the head of the lake, where the waters of Hamilton River interlock with those of a branch of the Koksoak River flowing into Ungava Bay. The largest stream entering the lake flows through a chain of lakes to the eastward and empties into the north-east bay. A rocky ridge from 200 to 300 feet high and less than a half mile wide, extends along the north shore westward of this stream, and divides Petitsikapau from a deep narrow bay of Lake Attikamagen or Deer-spear Lake, at Head-waters the head of the George River, which also empties into Ungava Bay. of Gorge This bay runs north-west some eight miles, and joins the main body

of the lake, which, from the crest of the ridge, is seen stretching away

several miles in that direction ; it then bends eastward, where it dis-

appears behind a high ridge. A deep cut in the horizon-line to the

east shows where the outlet of the lake passes between the hills.

!

Ÿ Lake Petitsikapau is on the edge of the barren grounds. The trees still grow in the valleys and on the lower hillsides, but the upper parts of the hills are barren. Northward a succession of high, barren ridges are se2n, with an occasional glimpse of a lake, or of a valley wooded with small spruce and larch trees. Total barrens do not occur in Labrador until Ungava Bay is reached, as trees always grow in the river-valleys to the south of it, although the uplands beyond Petitsikapau are covered only with willows and arctic shrubbery.

For many years the Hudson’s Bay Company had a post called Fort Fort Nas- Nascaupee on the second northern bay of Petitsikapau. This post was “UPS established about the time of McLean’s journeys from Ungava to Ham- ilton Inlet, in or about the year 1841, and it is mentioned by W. H.

A. Davies in an article published in 1843, as having then been lately established.* This post was erected for trade with the Nascaupee Indians of the interior, and was quite successful until after the second establishment of Fort Chimo in 1866, when the Indians began to desert it; those from the north going to Fort Chimo, while the southern Indians traded at Mingan or Seven Islands, on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, or at Northwest River—all of them preferring to undertake the long

*Trans. Lit. and Hist. Soc. Quebec, vol. IV., part I., p. 74.

Ruins of the fort.

River ahove Dyke Lake.

154 L Labrador Peninsula.

arduous journey to and from the coast, where they could obtain better prices for ‘their furs, and purchase provisions and other necessities at a much cheaper rate than at the interior post, where the cost of transport and maintenance added several hundred per cent to the original cost of the goods. The post was accordingly abandoncd about 1873, and now the only trading posts of the interior are those situated at Nichicun and Mistassini.

The ruins of Fort Nascaupee stand in a small clearing, close to the shore of the lake, and only a short distance above high-water mark. The houses were built of small, squared logs, with board roofs. When visited, the dwelling-house was in a fair state of repair, with the window sashes and some of the glass still in place. The doors and movables inside had been broken up and used for firewood by Indians ; the roct was nearly unbroken, and leaked only in a few places. This building is about twelve by eighteen feet, and has a low room under the attic roof above. Adjoining the main building on each side are two smaller buildings, evidently used for a kitchen and store ; the roofs of both have fallen in. Traces about twenty yards to the east of these ruins, probably represent the remains of some outbuilding. About fifty yards behind, the powder-house covered with earth was seen, with broken roof and partly filled up with earth. Adjoining this is a small burying place with a large wooden cross in its centre, but without any marks on the graves, which are probably those of Indians. In the attic a fragment of “ The Albion,” of March 7th, 1846, was found. Close to the house were several patches of rhubarb eighteen inches high, while a number of introduced plants still flourish in the old door-yard.

As previously stated, the main river flows into Dyke Lake, from the south, close to its north-west end. At its entrance the river is obstructed by a number of small rocky islands and large boulders between which the stream descends in a heavy, shallow rapid about 300 yards long. The lake above the rapid has the general north-west and south-east trend, and is six miles long and two miles wide at its south end, gradually decreasing to a mile at the other end. Both sides are high and rocky. The river flows into the lake from the south almost opposite the outlet. At the entrance a large dyke crosses the stream, forming a number of islands with heavy rapids between them; above the rapid is a short stretch of swift current, and a large island of drift divides it into two equal channels each about 300 yards wide, where the river falls with shallow rapids for a quarter of a mile from Astray Lake, immediately above.

ton. ASHUANIPI BRANCH. 155 L

Astray Lake, so called from our wanderings in search of the river, follows the general direction of all the lakes of the vicinity, deter- mined by the course of the rocky ridges. From the head of its longest northern bay to where the river leaves it, the distance is twenty-five miles, and the south-eastern bay extends some distance beyond. In its widest part it is about four miles across. Two rocky ridges, form- ing long narrow points, divide the northern half into three deep narrow bays ; the southern end, five miles below the outlet, narrows to less than two miles, and passes close to the foot of Red Mountain, the high hill seen from the top of Fault Hill. Two low ridges of limestone extend down the centre of the wide part of the lake, and form chains of rocky islands. The ridges on the south side of the lake are low and broken, and the shore line on that side shows frequent low cliffs of yellowish-white limestone. Quartz Hill is a sharp hill of white quartzite that rises 300 feet above the lake, on the south side, opposite the outlet. This hill is wooded almost to its summit with white and black spruce trees, but on the summit they do not grow more than six inches high. The trees surrounding the lake are very similar to those seen about Dyke Lake, except that they are somewhat smaller.

A small branch of the river flows into Astray Lake, twenty-four miles from its north end, coming in with a short, shallow rapid from the next lake, called Marble Lake, which is separated from the last only by a narrow ridge of limestone. The other channel of the river flows out of a south bay and joins Astray Lake, a few miles to the east of the first. ;

Astray Lake.

Marble Lake stretches north-westward from the outlet, and for four yrarble Lake.

miles is more than three miles wide; it then contracts to about a mile, and becoming shallow, soon shows current, and thus changes into theriver. There isasmall rapid two miles above, where a ridge of drift- covered islands extends diagonally out from a long point on the north side causing the stream to flow in a narrow channel on the south side. The shores of the lake are low, and often composed of ledges of white limestone. The surrounding country is also low, apparently swampy, and well wooded with a thick growth of small spruce and larch.

The river above the narrows continues to flow with a strong current from the north-west for six miles, in a shallow channel over half a mile wide, with low swampy shores. Many sandy shoals obstruct the chan- nel, and huge boulders are scattered everywhere.

The course of the stream now changes to south-west, and in the next six miles is broken by heavy rapids, full of large boulders, as it descends from the next lake above. Flowing in this direction, it crosses the

Menihek Lakes.

Middle lake.

156 L Labrador Peninsula.

strike of the rock at a right-angle, and the rapids are formed by thie river passing over nearly flat beds of limestone. Two miles above the bend, there is à fall of six feet, where the river drops down over the edge of a thick bed of limestone. The channel along this stretch is very irregular in width, aud is often split by large islands. The rapids end in a long narrow lake trending north-north-west from it: outlet for several miles to where it appears to end against a high range of hills. The west side of this lake is bounded by a continuous ranze of sharp, barren hills that extends far southward.

Th: river now nearly doubles on its former course, and passes directly from the south through three long narrow lakes, called the Menihek Lakes, connected by short river stretches .The lower lake is fifteen miles long from its outlet to its head, and it varie from one to two miles in breadth. The rocky ridge already re. ferred to passes close along the west side, with foot-hills of drift in many places rising directly from the water. The country on the east side is low and swampy, and broken only by small ridges of drift. An invasion of sandy drift forms two long points extending out from the west side of the lake, contracting the channel and causing a wide shallow rapid nearly half a mile long, at the head of the lake. The next lake is twenty-three miles long and its average breadth is slightly greater than the last. The surrounding country is similar to that last described, being flat eastward and having the high, sharp range alor: the west side. Towards the upper end, the course of the lake and that of the hills diverge slightly, so that at its head the hills are from three to five miles distant, and are lower than to the northward. Twelve miles above the outlet of the lake, a large stream flows through a deep cut in the hills and enters the lake with heavy rapids from the west. Its volume is about equal to one-third of the whole river below.

The middle lake is separated from the upper by a stretch of river three miles long. The stream is half a mile wide, and the channel is vert shallow, with a moderate current. The banks on both sides are formed of drift, and those on the east side are terraced for sixty feet above the present level of the lakes. The upper lake is ten miles long and about two miles wide. It is very shallow and filled with islands of drift, two of which are high, with scarped banks of coarse sand. The range of hills on the west side is now from five to ten miles distant, and appears to be gradually dying away to the southward. In the distance, on the east side, a high range is seen, which is probably the Ice Mountains to the south-west of Sandgirt Lake.

The country on both sides of the lake is higher and more broken than previously noted, the ridges of drift being more pronounced.

row. ASHUANIPI BRANCH. 157 L

This change in the topography is probably due to the change in the

underlying rock, the stratified Cambrian beds giving place to Archean schists.

Above the upper lake the character of the river changes completely, Character of and resemble the stretch between Sandgirt and Birch lakes, becoming ‘he country narrow and rapid, with an irregular channel filled with many small Menihek islands of drift, and with irregular sandy banks cut out of ridges of till. Frequent short rapids, full of boulders, connect longer stretches of swift, unbroken water for the néxt twenty-four miles, to where the exploration ended at a small conical hill close to the east bank. From the summit of this hill looking southward up the valley, the river was seen to expand into a small lake a few miles above, and beyond that to again contract as it winds with short bends, from side to side.

From information subsequently obtained from Indians acquainted with

the part above, it was learned that it flows out of Ashuanipi Lake some Aghuanipi thirty or forty miles south of the farthest point reached, and that its Lake. character remains the same to the outlet of that lake, with swifter

water in a narrow, irregular channel, studded with many small islands.

The region through which it passes is low and broken by rounded hills

and ridges of drift that never rise more than 300 feet above the general level.

At the end of the survey the river is seventy-five yards wide with an average depth of six feet, and the current is about four miles an hour, viving a discharge of nearly 8000 cubic feet per second.

Lake Ashuanipi, from descriptions given by the Indians, is situated close to the watershed dividing the Hami'ton River from the Moisie River. It is upwards of fifty miles long, very irregular in outline, with deep bays, and is partly covered with many islands, some of which

are very large. It is not a deep lake, but its water is very clear and well stocked with fish.

The trees along the river and the Menihek Lakes are much smaller Tye¢s. than any previously seen. Black spruce forms ninety per cent of the whole, with larch next in abundance, and a few balsam and white birch. Along the lake shores the trees are very stunted, and all bent towards the south by the prevailing northerly winds. The stunted growth of this region is accounted for by the large areas of swamp land along both shores, where deep sphagnum covers the wet ground, which below a depth of eighteen inches from the surface is permanently frozen. The ridge on the west side of the river varies from 300 to 600 feet in height above the water, and is devoid of trees above the level of 200 feet. Much of the lower ground is also treeless, having been

Lobatick Lake.

158 1 . Labrador Peninsula.

burnt over by extensive fires at different periods. After such fire: the country is covered only by willows and alders for many years, until the spruce again reproduces itself.

Route to Lake Michikamau.

Having returned from the upper part of the Ashuanipi River to Sandgirt Lake, an exploration was next made from there to ani around Lake Michikamau. A description of this portion of the cour- try 1s introduced here, because the other route leads up the Attikonak Branch to its head, and from there down the Romaine River to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and it is thought advisable to complete the description of the interior before entering upon that of the southem region.

The route to Michikamau leaves Sandgirt Lake by its northern di: charge, which is four miles long, over half a mile wide, and is obstructed with large islands. The channels are shallow with low shores, and the current is strong, terminating in a quarter of a mile of heavy rapid: where the river empties into Lobstick Lake. This is another large body of water, divided into deep bays by long low points and large islands. The surrounding country is nearly flat, and broken only by small rounded hummocks of rock, that seldom rise over 100 feet above the general level. There is also a marked absence of the long parallel ridges of drift, and bare rock shows in almost every elevation, forming the many small islands scattered over the surface of the lakes. There are two deep bays that extend away from the inlet of the lake. One runs directly south-east, with its outlet close to Flour Lake, into which it discharges by the north channel of the river, as has been already mentioned. The other bay runs due east about eighteen miles, and is divided into two portions by two large islands, that extend from the westward of the inlet to within four miles of the head of this bar. There is also a great bay stretching in a north-west direction from the discharge and ending at the foot of a range of rounded hills some twenty-five miles distant, where a small river flows in, which is used br the Indians as a canoe-route to the caribou grounds on the George River, beyond the north end of Lake Michikamau.

The route to Michikamau follows the east bay, passing along the south shore of the large islands. Four miles from the inlet a narrov is passed, where the water between the low, rocky islands and shore i so shallow that only with difficulty a channel can be found for light canoes between the boulders, which thickly cover the bottom. At the

wow ROUTE TO LAKK MICHIKAMAU. 159 L .

narrow, a slight current is apparent flowing toward the west. Beyond the narrow, the route continues up the bay, passing between many rocky islands for ten miles, to another narrow about fifty yards wide, between the second large island and a long rocky point. Here, the current is strong for 200 yards, when the lake again opens out, but is covered with such a multitude of small rocky islands that no idea of its extent can be obtained by passing through it. For ten miles the route now follows the south shore, passing through narrow channels between the islets. A number of long, rocky points form deep, narrow bays along shore, and complicate the navigation, so that even an Indian guide is often at fault as to the right direction to follow. Two short heavy rapids on a small stream lead upwards into another island-covered lake, with even more crooked and narrower channels through which the route passes to a small bay near the eastern end of the lake, five miles from its outlet.

A range of rounded hills from 200 to 400 feet high extends along the north and east sides of the lake. At the head of the small bay, there is a gap in the hills about half a mile wide, where at ordinary stages of the water a small stream trickles down from the next lake, a mile beyond, through a series of little rocky pools filled with boulders. When the water is high in Lake Michikamau, which connects with this small lake, a large stream discharges from it through this valley, thus connecting the headwaters of the Hamilton River with those of the Northwest River, which flows out of Lake Michikamau on its north side. A portage of a mile and a half is here ordinarily made. It crosses a rocky hill on the east side of the valley, and then passes over a high drift plain to near its upper end, where it terminates on the wide-bouldery shore of the upper lake. This lake is very shallow and full of smal] rocky islands and points, with its shores and bottom deeply covered with boulders. It lies in a continuation of the valley, between low rocky hills. Two miles eastward, a rocky narrow occurs, where the water runs in and out, the direction of the flow being determined by that of the wind. Beyond the narrow, the lake widens to over two miles and extends a few degrees south of east, for eleven miles. A long low point separates this bay from a similar one on the north side. The south side is bounded by low, rounded, rocky hills, and the surface of the lake is strewn with small rocky islands, with shallow water between them, where large solitary boulders often rise above the surface. The bay on the north side of the long point, heads nearly opposite the portage, where a small stream enters

Isiand- covered lakes.

Watershed

tween Hamilton and Northwest rivers.

it from the west. Near the mouth of this stream, the Hudson’s pryudson’s Bay Bay Company kept a small outpost called Michikamau during the post.

Lake Michi- kamau.

Finer scenery than ahout Mistasaini.

160 L Labrador Peninsula.

time that Fort Nascaupee was occupied. Nothing can be learned about this outpost from the old Hudson’s Bay Company journals at Rigolet or Northwest River, beyond the bare facts that a post was main- tained there for a number of years, and was finally abandoned from the same reasons which caused Fort Nascaupee to be given up. This post was not visited, but, from the accounts of the Indians, some of the buildings have been accidentally burnt, and those remaining are in about the same state of decay as Fort Nascaupee.

From the head of the lake, the route turns south-east for nearly six miles, following down a small river that flows close along the west side of a rocky ridge flanked with sandy drift. The channel varies from 100 to 200 feet in width, and is bounded on the west side by a long point of sand, broken into narrow islands towards the south. This point and the islands are merely a ridge thrown up by the river,

between it and a large lake to the westward.

The next change in direction is to due east, where the river flows first with a strong current between a number of low rocky islands, and then widening gradually passes, for four miles, between high banks of drift into Lake Michikamau. The hills, on the west side of the river are rounded and irregular, varying from 50 to 200 feet, and covered thickly with boulders. The east side is from 50 to 100 feet high and flat on the top, with traces of terraces from thirty to fifty feet above the present level of the lake.

Lake Michikamau.

Michikamau, or the Great Lake of the Indiana, is the largest in eastern Labrador, being second only.in size to Lake Mistassini. Its greatest length from south-east to north-west is about eighty miles, and it is twenty-five miles across in its widest part opposite the dis- charge. The main body of the lake is sixty miles long, with a long, narrow, unexplored bay extending south-east more than twenty miles. from the south-east corner. The widest part of the lake is in the southern third ; in the northern part of the middle third, a long point, and a line of large, high islands of eruptive rock, extend far out from the north-east side, and narrow the lake to six miles Between this point and the north-west end, the average breadth is eight miles. Islands are numerous along the shore and in the southern part of the lake but elsewhere it is unobstructed. In comparison with Lake Mis tassini, this is a much finer body of water, and its size appears much greater, owing to the absence of long points, and chains of islands

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Low. ] LAKE MICHIKAMAU. 161 L

Lake Michikamau is surrounded by rugged hills which add to the grandeur of the scenery, in marked contrast to the low monotonous shores of Mistassini. The water of the lake is remarkably clear and cold, and according to the Indians, who set lines through the ice in winter, the depth is very great.

On account of the heavy sea running during the whole time we were Delays caused

engaged in exploring the lake, it was impossible to make soundings PY wind. from the small canoes, except behind islands and close to the shore. The lake being free from islands, any moderate wind raises such a sea that canoe travel is frequently impossible, and the Indians are often weeks in passing from the dischargs to the north end, on their way to the caribou grounds.

The lake occupies a deep basin surrounded by chains of rounded Archean hills that rise from 200 to 500 feet above its surface. This basin is very ancient, and like that of Lake Mistassini, must have existed previous to the deposition of the Cambrian rocks which are now found lying undisturbed in many places around the lake.

The hills surrounding the lake are wooded for only about 200 feet Character of above the water, their tops being covered with white lichens and ine palit small arctic shrubs. The outer islands and exposed points are also treeless, and the trees growing on the more protected islands and shores, are small black spruce and larch, with only an occasional clump of straggling white birch on the lower slopes of the hills.

From a high barren hill north of the discharge, the view looking northward beyond the lake is exceedingly desolate, and shows a suc- cession of low rocky ridges extending to the horizon. Trees grow only in smail patches in the lake-strewn valleys between, and innu- merable huge boulders are scattered indiscriminately everywhere. Northward along the west shore, for seven miles from the inlet, the shores are low and boulder-strewn, with many small low’ islands of drift strung along in a close fringe. The shore-line is irregular, and small ridges of drift form points behind which long, narrow bays run off westward. Some of the islands are flattened at

the top, evidently by the action of water, and there are small terraces

on the scarped sides up to thirty-five feet above the present level of the lake. Beyond this the shores become higher, with rounded hills of dark-brown rock rising in small hummocks above the drift, and also forming high rocky islands along shore. The country behind

is quite rough, rising in irregular hills, from 50 to 250 feet high, and culminating in a sharp cone called Petiscapiskau, more than 350 feet Petiscapiskau high, which is visible for many miles along the other shore, and forms Hill.

. dl

Michikamats Lake.

Country to the north of Michikamau.

162 L Labrador Peninsula.

an admirable triangulation point. From Petiscapiskau to the north end of the lake, some six miles, the shores are low and sandy, with boulder-covered points. The land slopes gently up from the water to an even ridge of drift-covered granite about 300 feet high that extends north-west far beyond the north end of the lake.

The north shore is low and sandy, with shoal water extending far out from it. Many boulders of red granite are scattered about, both in and out of the water, and are sometimes arranged in rows along the shore, by the expansion of the ice in the spring before the waters rise.

A. little river enters the north end of the lake, with a small rapid full of large boulders, where the channel is about fifty yards wide and too shallow for canoes. This is the discharge of Michikamats or Little Michikamau Lake, which occupies the northern extension of the valley and is separated from the main body of the lake only by a long, narrow interval of drift. This lake is over twenty-five miles long, and extends north-west to and beyond the north side of a high range of hills which is seen in the distance to divide the main valley. From the north end of Michikamats, three portages connecting narrow lakes lead to a branch of the George River, where the Indians of the region assemble in September to spear the caribou, which then cross the river in immense herds in the course of their annual migration from the high barren grounds behind Nain to the wooded region of the interior, where they pass the winter.

The east shore of Michikamau for twenty miles from the north end, is low, with bouldery points and reefs, and without the fringe of islands. A sharp rocky ridge 30) feet high runs parallel to the shore, and about six miles back from it. The interval between the water and the hills is occupied by small lakes and swamps that lie between low ridges of drift.

Twenty miles up, the highlands come out on the shore of the lake : and from there to tbe outlet, or for the next thirty miles, the shores are high and rocky, with deep water close in, and only a few smal! rocky islands along shore. The country behind is exceedingly broken and rough, with bare hills of dark-brown rock, rising in irregular, sharp bosses from 50 to 300 feet above the surface of the lake. Along the lake southward, the gabbro rocks, which form these broken hills, are replaced by granite near the discharge, and-.then the country becomes more regular, although still very hilly.

From the summit of a barren granite hill 400 feet high, close by, the discharge or Northwest River is seen to leave the lake between

Low. ATTIKONAK BRANCH. 163 L

a number of large, flat-topped islands of drift about thirty feot high, that extend outwards from the shore some four miles, and along it for six miles. A long, low point of drift, passing into a ridge, separates the river from the southern part of the lake, and the river is seen extending eastward through a succession of lake-expansions, until it passes behind and is hidden by rocky ridges in that direction. Another chain of lakes extends northward from the river and passes close to the base of a high range on the horizon. By these lakes a second route leads to the caribou grounds, which is used by the Indians when they want to proceed there direct, without the delay usually caused by adverse winds on Michikamau and Michikamats. The river flowing into the Atlantic near Davis Inlet, heads in the high range to the north, and a winter-route from the George River to the coast follows its course closely. Owing to many rapids and falls, entailing several long portages, this stream is never used as a canoe-route by the Indians.

From the discharge to the south-east end of the main body of the gouthern lake, some ten miles, the shores are low and sandy, with boulder- #hores. covered points and much swampy land behind. There is a deep narrow bay that extends south-east from this corner, where it passes away between rounded, rocky ridges, running parallel to its course. Its entrance is nearly closed by small, low islands ; its upper end was not explored, but it is said to be more than twenty-five miles long, with a small river falling in at its head.

The south end of the lake is shallow and is dotted with many small islands of granite. The shore is very irregular and often rocky, and the country behind is broken by several ridges from 200 to 300 feet high. There is another deep bay on the south side, where a couple of small streams discharge.

The country along the west side is broken by low ridges, with a wide interval of swampy land along the shore. The coast-line is indented by deep bays, between wide swampy points, fringed with boulders. From the south end to within five miles of the inlet, there is a wide fringe of large islands of sandy drift, that rise only a few feet above the water.

Attikonak Branch.

The northern channel of the Attikonak Branch flows into Sandgirt a ttikonak Lake on its south side. It is ascended from the lake in an east-south- River. east direction three miles, to where it is broken by a heavy rapid nearly a mile long, with the channel about 100 yards wide, choked with

164 L Labrador Peninsula.

large boulders. A portage of a quarter of a mile, across a boulder-strewn point, ends in a small bay of a lake-expansion above the rapid. From the head of the rapid the river widens to nearly a mile, and for the next three miles flows from south-south-east. Beyond this course the direction changes to north-west, and continues so for five miles, in a narrow, irregular channel, obstructed by numerous islands, and

- hounded by low, rocky shores in many places, to where a small branch

Ossokmanuan Lake.

Valley River.

from the base of the Ice Mountains joins the main stream. A chain of small lakes is now entered, connected by short rapids. The general course of the route through these lakes and a larger lake above them is south-south-east ; the lower lakes are four miles long, while the large one, called Gabbro Lake, is seven miles from outlet to inlet, with a long bay stretching towards the south-east. Another narrow one mile long, with a slight current, joins Gabbro and Ossokmanuan lakes. The latter is a narrow body of water more than forty miles long, and lying nearly east-south-east. From its northern outlet it trends directly south for eight miles, and in this portion varies from two to four miles in width, being dotted by many small rocky islands, and surrounded by low rounded ridges of drift-covered rocky hills, with rock showing below the drift in many places along the shore. Another bay stretching away more than twenty miles to the north-west now joins the main body. Like the first it is full of islands, many of them composed of coarse drift. The south side of this bay is bounded by a ridge 300 feet high, and at its head a small branch falls in, which drains a number of lakes to the south-westward and forms a canoe- route to Lake Ashuanipi, on the way to the Moisie River. From the junction of the two bays, the main body of the lake extends south-east twenty miles, and then south-south-east fourteen miles. Five miles up the first course, the foot of one of two high, rocky, large islands is reached. This island is six miles, and the other ten miles long, and they practically divide this portion of the lake in two. The part on the south side of the islands averages two miles across, the northern channel being somewhat narrower. On the north side near the head of the upper island a branch called Valley River flows out. This stream is somewhat larger than the northern outlet, and constitutes the river which at present flows down the Hamilton River valley above its junc- tion with Bodwoin Cañon. According to our guide, after passing through two lakes, together about twenty miles long and connected by rapids, it begins to fall rapidly in a succession of low chutes. About these chutes the valley is still wide, with gently sloping walls and not like the cafion on the main river. The guide had never visited the river below the chutes, but had heard that there was a high fall on it, some fifteen or twenty miles above the place at which the main body

tow. ATTIKONAK BRANCH. 165 1

of the Hamilton River enters the valley at the mouth of Bodwoin Ca ñon.

Besides the large islands already mentioned, there are only a few small ones, formed of drift, in the southern half of the lake. The water is clear, but has a brownish tinge and is never very deep. A contin- uation of the high ridge on the west side of the north-west bay runs on southward along the west shore of the main body, but gradually dies out towards the southern end. From the lake the land rises slowly upwards to this ridge, leaving a wide interval of flat land and low shores along this portion. On the north-east side the country is lower, and is only broken by a few rounded rocky ridges that have recently been burnt over. The trees about the lake are small, and are chiefly Trees. black spruce with larch and balsam fir, but no white spruce. Balsam poplar and mountain ash are seen growing in small straggling clumps on several of the low points on the wet shore.

The river enters the lake on the west side, some ten miles from its south end, where it narrows to less than two miles. Its volume is con- siderably greater than the channel ascended to Ossokmanuan Lake, being half as large again as the Ashuanipi Branch at the end of the survey, and flows swiftly from the south in a shallow channel from 400 to 1200 yards wide, with 16w banks and frequent hummocks of gneiss for eight miles, tv where it leaves Lake Panchiamitkats. The country on both sides of the river is slightly higher than about the lake below, and much fine drift is seen on the islands and shores arranged in long parallel ridges from thirty to one hundred feet high, running parallel to the glacial striæ or a little east of south.

Lake Panchiamitkats is about twelve miles long and averages two Panchiamit- iniles in width, with its longer axis running due north-and-south. It kate Lake. is dotted with a few small islands, and has low drift shores. There is à prominent rounded hill on the west side just beyond the entrance of the river, five miles above the outlet. Another hill rises from the east shore opposite the inlet ; the remainder of the country is covered with low ridges that run parallel to the lake.

The river above its entrance to this lake, flows from the west for a mile and then from the south, and is separated from the southern end of the lake by a narrow ridge only. It continues from the south for sixteen miles, to where it flows out of Lake Attikonak. Its channel is from 200 to 600 yards wide, obstructed by small rocky islands, while its shores present many rocky points. The current everywhere is strong, and the stream is frequently broken into short rapids between the many small rocky islands. Ten miles up, where

164 L Labrador Peninsula.

large boulders. A portage of a quarter of a mile, across a boulderstrewn point, ends in a small bay of a lake-expansion above the rapid. From the head of the rapid the river widens to nearly a mile, and for the next three miles flows from suuth-south-east. Beyond this course the direction changes to north-west, and continues so for five miles, in a narrow, irregular channel, obstructed by numerous islands, and

- bounded by low, rocky shores in many places, to where a small branch

Ossokmanuan ke.

Valley River.

from the base of the Ice Mountains joins the main stream. A chain of small lakes is now entered, connected by short rapids. The general course of the route through these lakes and a larger lake above them is south-south-east ; the lower lakes are four miles long, while the large one, called Gabbro Lake, is seven miles from outlet to inlet, with a long bay stretching towards the south-east. Another narrow one mile long, with a slight current, joins Gabbro and Ossokmanuan lakes. The latter is a narrow body of water more than forty miles long, and lying nearly east-south-east. From its northern outlet it trends directly south for eight miles, and in this portion varies from two to four miles in width, being dotted by many small rocky islands, and surrounded by low rounded ridges of drift-covered rocky bills, with rock showing below the drift in many places along the shore. Another bay stretching away more than twenty miles to the north-west now joins the main body. Like the first it is full of islands, many of them composed of coarse drift. The south side of this bay is bounded by a ridge 300 feet high, and at its head a small branch falls in, which drains a number of lakes to the south-westward and forms a canoe- route to Lake Ashuanipi, on the way to the Moisie River. From the junction of the two bays, the main body of the lake extends south-east twenty miles, and then south-south-east fourteen miles. Five miles up the first course, the foot of one of two high, rocky, large islands is reached. This island is six miles, and the other ten miles long, and they practically divide this portion of the lake in two. The part on the south side of the islands averages two miles across, the northern channel being somewhat narrower. On the north side near the head of the upper island a branch called Valley River flows out. This stream is somewhat larger than the northern outlet, and constitutes the river which at present flows down the Hamilton River valley above its junc- tion with Bodwoin Cañon. According to our guide, after passing through two lakes, together about twenty miles long and connected by rapids, it begins to fall rapidly in a succession of low chutes. About these chutes the valley is still wide, with gently sloping walls and not like the cafion on the main river. The guide had never visited the river below the chutes, but had heard that there was a high fall on it, some fifteen or twenty miles above the place at which the main body

’

tow. ATTIKONAK BRANCH. 165 L

of the Hamilton River enters the valley at the mouth of Bodwoin Cafion.

Besides the large islands already mentioned, there are only a few small ones, formed of drift, in the southern half of the lake. The water is clear, but has a brownish tinge and is never very deep. A contin- uation of the high ridge on the west side of the north-west bay runs on southward along the west shore of the main body, but gradually dies out towards the southern end. From the lake the land rises slowly upwards to this ridge, leaving a wide interval of flat land and low shores along this portion. On the north-east side the country is lower, and is only broken by a few rounded rocky ridges that have recently been burnt over. The trees about the lake are small, and are chiefly Trees. black spruce with larch and balsam fir, but no white spruce. Balsam poplar and mountain ash are seen growing in small straggling clumps on several of the low points on the we&t shore.

The river enters the lake on the west side, some ten miles from its south end, where it narrows to less than two miles. Its volume is con- siderably greater than the channel ascended to Ossokmanuan Lake, being half as large again as the Ashuanipi Branch at the end of the survey, and flows swiftly from the south in a shallow channel from 400 to 1200 yards wide, with 1éw banks and frequent huramocks of gneiss for eight miles, tu where it leaves Lake Panchiamitkats. The country on both sides of the river is slightly higher than about the lake below, and much fine drift is seen on the islands and shores arranged in long parallel ridges from thirty to one hundred feet high, running parallel to the glacial striæ or a little east of south.

Lake Panchiamitkats is about twelve miles long and averages two Panchiamit- iniles in width, with its longer axis running due north-and-south. It kate Lake. is dotted with a few small islands, and has low drift shores. There is a prominent rounded hill on the west side just beyond the entrance of the river, five miles above the outlet. Another hill rises from the east shore opposite the inlet ; the remainder of the country is covered with low ridges that run parallel to the lake.

The river above its entrance to this lake, flows the west fora mile and then from the south, and is separated from the southern end of the lake by a narrow ridge only. It continues from the south for sixteen miles, to where it flows out of Lake Attikonak. Its channel is from 200 to 600 yards wide, obstructed by small rocky islands, while its shores present many rocky points. The current everywhere is strong, and the stream is frequently broken into short tapids between the many small rocky islands. Ten miles up, where

Lake Atti- konak.

166 L Labrador Peninsula.

the river passes over rocky ledges, there is a chute of four feet, followed by a short heavy rapid that necessitates a portage. Above the chute the current is slack and the river nearly half a mile wide, with low sandy shores, to within two miles of the upper lake, where there are two short rapids, the upper of which is wide and very shallow, as the river issues from Lake Attikonak. The country surrounding this stretch of river continues low, with long, rounded ridges from fifty to one hundred feet high. The timber is similar in kind but perhaps

slightly larger than the last described.

The east shore of Lake Attikonak was followed in a direction a few degrees east of south for thirty-eight miles, to the head of its south-east bay. On account of the great number of islands that everywhere break its surface, no idea of its shape or size can be obtained without a com-

plete exploration of its shore-line, which task, owing to the many deep

Large islands.

bays in the lake, would have required more time than could be given toit. From a number of long leads seen between the islands, the lake must be at least twenty miles wide in places, and, according to our guide, its south end is considerably beyond the head of the bay where the route leaves it. A large stream flows in at the south end, which rises in lakes to the south-west of Attikonak, near the head waters of the Magpie River, flowing into the St. Lawrence ; and it is used as an alternative route to and from the coast by the Indians of the interior. Many of the islands in Lake Attikonak are large and high, one of them rising into a rounded hill of 300 feet, others seem to be formed wholly of fine sandy drift, with irregular outlines, and scarped banks up to one hundred feet in height. Very little rock is seen except in the south-east bay ; elsewhere the shores are generally sandy, with low, boulder-strewn points. The water of the lake is clean with a brownish colour, and does not appear to be very deep. The eastern side is bounded by low ridges of drift, with a range of hills from 200 to 300 feet high some few miles behind. At the south end of the lake, there is a sharp rugged range of hills, extending away westward, probably more than 400 feet high. The trees continue to increase slightly in.size, black spruce predominating, but associated with balsam fir, larch and white birch, the last often occurring on the islands and points in large clumps with many trees up to ten inches in diameter. Near the south end of the lake, two small clumps of dwarfed aspen were seen, the first noted since the Grand Falls were passed.

From the outlet, the lake lies due south for twelve miles and is from one to three miles wide, with several deep bays running off on both sides. A large streaya falls into a bay on the east side, immediatelr

Low. ROMAINE RIVER. 167 L

above the rapid, while another enters from the west three miles farther south. Above this the course changes to south-south-west, and con- tinues in that direction through a labyrinth of islands for sixteen miles to a short narrow leading into the south-east bay, which was followed for twelve miles, to its head. This bay gradually narrows from two miles to less than a half mile at its head, where a small stream flows in with a short, steep rapid. The shores and islands of the lower half of the bay are formed of sand and boulders, while along the upper half they are steep and rocky, with the country behind higher and more rugged with very little drift, the bare rock rising everywhere in small knolls. Here the trees become much smaller and are wholly black spruce and larch.

The route passes up the small stream last mentioned, a short distance to a very narrow shallow lake at its head. A portage of two miles, over and between a number of small rocky hills with swamps between them, joins the last lake with a little stream emptying into the Ro- maine River. The country about the portage has been recently burnt over, and the standing blackened trunks of the small spruce give a sort of hairy appearance to the otherwise bare rocky hills, from which all the vegetable soil has been removed, and do not add to the beauty of the scenery, which is very rugged and desolate.

Romaine River.

Portage to Romaine River.

It is only a quarter of a mile by the little stream from the end of Upper

maine

the portage to the Romaine River. The latter where joined River.

varies from fifty to one hundred yards in width, and for two miles passes between low banks, broken by rocky knolls. At the end of this distance there is a short heavy rapid, where the river passes over a rocky ledge between small islands. portage of fifty yards is neces- sary here. Below this, for six miles to the upper Burnt Lake, the banks are low and sandy and often overgrown with willows and alders. The river winds backwards and forwards with a moderate current, and has formed a delta of low sandy islands where it enters the lake. On the east side there is a large lake that is separated from the river only by a narrow low point of sand. This lake has a short discharge which joins the main stream three miles below the rapids. The coun- try surrounding the river is slightly rolling on the west side, with rocky hills from 50 to 200 feet high. The water of the river is dark- brown in colour, and carries more suspended matter than the rivers of the eastern watershed.

168 L Labrador Peninsula.

Headwaters. According to the guide, about ten miles above the place at which the portage-route joins it, the Romaine River issues from a narrow lake nearly twenty miles long, that extends north-eastward, and is called Tishinakamau Lake.

Beyond the head of this lake the river is very small, and soon breaks up into little branches, the discharges of small Jakes near the head- waters of the Elizabeth and Minipi branches of the Hamilton River, and also near the sources of the Natashquan River, that flows south ward into the St. Lawrence. Portage-routes connect the heads of all these streams.

The Burnt Upper Burnt Lake is twenty miles long and varies from one to four

Lakes. miles in width. From its head, for six miles, its course is east-south- east, and then changes to south-south-east to the lower end. Twelve miles from the upper end, a deep bay extends south-west for five miles. The middle portion of the lake is for several miles greatly obstructed by long islands of drift. The country surrounding the uprer part is low, with long sloping hills quite different from the rounded knolls previously passed; for there is a change in the rocks of which they are composed, the former being granite, the latter gabbro. Towards the south end, the country becomes higher and rougher, with the ridges closer together. Small black spruce and larch predominate, with some white birch on the islands.

A short rapid at the south end of the lake, joins it with the second Burnt Lake, which is four miles long, with a deep bay on the west side. Another short rapid and a mile of river connects this with the third Burnt Lake, which continues southward for two miles, and then turns abruptly north-west for five miles to another short heavy rapid that flows into the lowest Burnt Lake, the south shore of which was followed westward two miles to its outlet. A long bay extends north- ward several miles, and a portage at its head connects with the south bay of the upper lake. The country about the lower lakes is quite rough, with sharp ridges of rocky hills rising from 200 to 400 feet directly from the water. The forest about all these lakes has been devastated by a great fire some ten years ago, and now only small patches of green woods are seen in swamps and in spots along the

banks. Character of As it passes out of the last Burnt Lake, the river falls twenty-five feet the river ot in less than a quarter of a mile, in a heavy rapid, over huge boulders and Lakes. a few ledges of rock. For seventeen miles from the lake, to where 8

western branch joins, the general course of the stream is due south. Half a mile below the first rapid, the river again falls twenty feet in one

we ] ROMAINE RIVER. 169 L

hundred yards, over masses of huge boulders. From here it winds to

and fro, with a strong current, between steep banks of stratified sand

from ten to fifty feet high, in a valley from two to four miles wide, bounded on both si ‘es by steep rocky hills that rise from 400 to 500

feet above it. About seven miles above the forks, the river is broken

by small rapids at intervals for nearly four miles ; here the valley is much narrower and the scarped banks are occasionally 150 feet high,

with rock coming out from beneath. The west branch has about half

the volume of the main stream, and enters it with a heavy rapid from

a narrow valley between the hills. The trees are everywhere burnt, except in a few patches here and there, along the river-banks. They

are somewhat larger, and white spruce grows on the points and islands. Distinct terraces are seen at intervals, with elevations of 10, 20, 50 Terraced drift and 60 feet above the present river-level, cut out of stratified sand banks. with a large admixture of clay.

Below the forks, the river is from 100 to 300 yards wide, and flows swiftly in a shallow channel with a sandy bottom and steep banks of the same material from ten to thirty feet high. For eight miles the general course is south-east ; it then turns south, and flows in that direction sixteen miles. At the bend there are on the west side several sharp, irregular hills of drift which extend one mile to the foot of the steep rocky hills. One of these hills cut into by the river, shows the sand and gravel to be false-bedded, and, in other places along the river, the bedding of the sands is not horizontal. These hills are thickly strewn with boulders, which do not appear to be scattered through the mass, but only over the upper surface, leading to the belief that the deposition and stratification of the drift took place in ice-water flowing under the glacier, and that the boulders on the surface were left there by the ice on its dissolution.

Below the bend, the valley narrows gradually for four miles, to two Character of chutes, where it is less than a mile across, and is filled with sharp ‘he valley. hummocks of drift from 50 to 150 feet high, covered with boulders.

At the upper chute, the river passes along the base of a granite hill that rises sheer for 500 feet. This fall has a drop of four feet, followed immediately by another of six feet, ending in fifty yards of heavy rapids, where the descent is twenty feet. Fifty yards below is the second chute, twenty feet high, followed by heavy rapids for three miles. The banks immediately below this chute are from 50 to 100 feet high, and sections show them to be composed of re-arranged till, with false bedding ; the angle is so high that in places it is impos- sible to walk along the foot of the cliffs, owing to the displacement and

Extensive burnt areas.

Difficult por- tage-route to St. John River.

Tributary of the Romaine River.

170 4 Labrador Peninsula.

slipping of the sand along the bedding planes. Terraces up to sixty feet are numerous along the sides of the valley.

Below the rapid, for nine miles, to the next bend, the current gradually slackens, until it flows along with an even rate of about three miles an hour. The channel widens from 50 to 200 yards, and the valley also opens to nearly two miles, with sharp rocky hills bounding it on both sides, those to the west presenting high cliff-faces. The sharp hummocks of till gradually die out, leaving low and almost flat stretches to the foot of the hills on either side. The country is wholly burnt. The next bend is to the south-west for ten miles, and for that distance the river preserves the same character as above, but is slightly wider, being now about a quarter of a mile across. Six miles from the bend, a small branch, forty yards wide, comes in from the west. The old burnt woods end near the bend, but a fire of the present season (1894) has passed over all the remaining green woods below, and has practically destroyed all the forest along the river.

The river now turns south for six miles to where the portage-route to the St. John River leaves it by a small western tributary. The chan- nel along this stretch varies from a quarter of a mile to half a mile across ; the river is very shallow and greatly obstructed by large sandy shoals. The valley is more than two miles wide, and the hills bounding it rise sharply from 600 to 800 feet above it. A small branch joins from the west two miles below the last bend. Below the place at which the portage-route leaves it, the river flows south-east for four or five wiles, jn a wide shallow channel that slowly contracts as the current increases, and finally breaks into heavy rapids where the river passes into a nar- row cut between steep high hills. Nothing is known of the river for over fifty miles below this point, except that it is quite impassable for canoes, probably on account of long rapids with perpendicular rocky walls, where portages are impossible. Nothing but the absolute impossibility of passing up and down this part of the river, would induce the Indians to make use of the present portage-route between the Romaine and St. John rivers, which is the longest and worst of those known to the writer anywhere in north-eastern Canada. Careful inquiries from a score of Indians met coming inland, afforded n0 information concerning this part of the river, which has never been descended by any one so far as known.

Portage-route between the Romaine and St. John Rivers.

The small branch previously mentioned, was ascended from the Romaine half a mile, to a portage three-quarters of a mile long, past heavy shallow rapids. The portage passes along the west side, through

Low. ROUTE BETWEEN ROMAINE AND ST. JOHN RIVERS. 171 L

burnt woods and over sandy hills that rise from 50 to 100 feet above the river on the slopes of the rocky hills bounding the narrow valley. Beyond this the stream is followed for a quarter of a mile to a portage of the same length ; after which it is ascended for half a mile to a portage of one mile, followed by a stretch of river one mile long, above which the stream divides. The valley of the south branch is followed with a half mile portage, to a small lake two miles and a half long, from which a portage of a mile and a half leads over the height- of-land between the Romaine and St. John rivers. The branch, as will be seen from the above description, is full of long, shallow rapids, and flows through a narrow valley between steep rocky hills, from 200 to 300 feet high, fronted by lower hills of sandy drift, over which the portages pass. The hills along the small lake are somewhat higher and more rugged. The country travelled through is mostly burnt and the standing trees are small.

Beyond the height-of-land, the route passes for two miles and a half Tributaries of through two littlé lakes connected by a short portage. From the the St. John discharge of the second lake, a portage of three-quarters of a mile leads up hill to a small pond, and then down hill across the discharge of the last lake to the foot of a high fall. Next follows a short stretch of river, with a three-quarters of a mile portage past heavy rapids, closely followed by three short portages, past chutes. These portages, though short, are exceedingly bad, going straight up and down the rocky walls of a narrow gorge, over great blocks of anorthosite. The last ends in a narrow lake hemmed in by rocky walls that rise sheer from 500 to 800 feet above the water, and often present over-hanging cliffs, the sides being partly wooded with small spruce and birch that form a pleasing contrast to the bare rock elsewhere. In many places great blocks have been detached from the cliffs and are heaped up at their base. A number of small streams fall perpendicularly over the cliffs.

At its discharge, the river falls seventy feet in as many yards, through a narrow pass partly filled with huge angular blocks. The portage is along the side of the cliff, often straight up and down, over blocks and through the water, the whole making the worst possible combination of obstacles. Below the portage, the river is followed for a mile and a half to its junction with a larger stream from the west. Just below the last-mentioned portage a large stream falls in from the east with two chutes over 300 feet high. Lower down, a smaller stream comes in on the same side with a higher fall, which shows that the valley is much beiow the general level of the surrounding country.

Cliff Lake.

Trees.

172 L Labrador Peninsula.

The next portage leaves the river a short distance above the west- ern branch, and in three-quarters of a mile ascends over 300 feet, ending just above a high chute on the west branch, where it falls, down a narrow gorge, to join the other branch below. This stream is then ascended for four miles, with two short portages past rapids on the way, before reaching Cliff Lake, which is eight miles long and from a half to one mile wide. The scenery about this lake is very striking. Both sides are formed of vertical cliffs, often rising sheer from 500 to 600 feet above the water and terminating, in the higher points, in bare, rocky knolls, without a particle of soil. In many places great masses of rock have broken away, and are now piled up in confused masses that extend far out into the lake. At every depression in the walls of the valley, little streams fall into the lake and are fringed by small trees of spruce and birch, which also grow along the edges of the lake and in rocky crevices up the sides of the cliffs.

The small stream that flows in at the head of the lake is ascended for three miles, through two small lake-expansions, to a portage of one mile ending in a very small lake at its head. The next port- age is two miles and a half long, and follows a valley between high hills, first ascending to the head-waters of the stream last fol- lowed and then down another small brook flowing in the opposite direction. This portage, besides being long, is very rough, leading over broken rock and through swamps. It endsin a small lake, out of which a little river fifty feet wide issues and flows southward witha winding course and strong current, in a deep valley about one mile wide. Its banks are low and generally sandy, and the valley is covered with a thick growth of small black spruce, larch, balsam fir and white birch, somewhat larger than any previously seen on the route from the Romaine River, but still too small to be of any commercial value. This little river was descended for eleven miles to where it is joined by a small western branch, which was ascended for one mile, through a shallow lake. Thence a short portage leads to another very small Jake on the same stream, followed by still another portage of a third of a mile into a third small lake at the head of the stream.

A portage two-thirds of a mile long next leads up hill to another small lake, from which a portage of three miles follows the stream issuing from it, and descends 600 feet to the next lake below. There is here a general fall in the surface of the country and a change in the outline of the hills, as the route passes from the rugged anorthosite area, with its high knoblike hills, to the lower and more rolling country underlain by gneiss.

tow. ST. JOHN RIVER. 173 L

The lake at the foot of the portage is a little over two miles long, Fortages to and its discharge is followed four miles and a half, with five portages the St. John past shallow rapids. A portage of a half mile passes up from the stream over a hill 300 feet high to a lake 100 feet above it. This lake and its outlet are followed three miles, with two short portages on the way, to the last portage to the St. John River, which leaves the small stream and passes down a steep gully cut out of drift for about

one mile, where it descends 365 feet to the level of the St. John River

The total number of portages from the Romaine to the St. John is thirty-one, and their combined length aggregates nineteen miles and a half.

St. John River.

The St. John River, where the portage-route joins it, is about 100 St. John yards wide and pursues a winding course in a valley about one mile River. wide, bounded by steep hills from 200 to 500 feet high.

There is a great accumulation of drift in the valley, out of which the shallow channel of the stream is cut. The banks are mostly low where the river crosses the valley, and are high only at the bends, where sections from ten to sixty feet deep show stratified sands over- lying clay.

A few mil s above the portage, the river is broken by heavy rapids and’ chutes, and is almost impassable for canoes. Below, the gradient of the valley is steep, and the river in consequence has a strong current, especially at the bends, where it generally falls with short rapids through narrow channels cut out of the shingly shoals that obstruct it. It greatly resembles the rapid-flowing streams of the Gaspé Peninsula. Eight miles below the portage a large branch joins from the east, the head-waters of which form the various streams of the portage-route already described. Below this branch the channel widens somewhat and continues to wind from side to side in the valley for twenty miles; the hills then close in, and the river descends a narrow gorge, with a heavy rapid ending in a fall of twenty feet.

The trees in the valley show a marked improvement both in size and Trees. variety. White spruce fifty feet tall and from twelve to eighteen inches in diameter is plentiful, along with larger black spruce, balsam fir,larch, white birch, balsam poplar and aspen. The sides of the valley are more than half burnt.

The portage past the chute is nearly a mile long and passes along the

almost perpendicular side of the valley some 300 feet above the stream. The ascent and descent at both sides is so steep that the Indians are

Salmon Branch.

Position of the mouth.

174 L Labrador Peninsula.

forced to cut steps out of the soil in order to pass over with loads. In the middle it is close to the rocky wall, and the road has been made by placing logs along narrow parts, which almost overhang the boiling stream far below.

A mile below this portag: the Salmon Branch joins from the west It has a deep valley like the main stream and is considerably smaller. About a mile below this branch there is a salmon fishing camp, with a fine large house situated on a wide bank at the mouth of a small stream, the resort of sportsmen during the summer.

From the chute the general course of the river-valley is almost south for twenty-five miles, to the coast. The valley is narrower than above, and for ten miles does not exceed half a mile, with walls of anorthosite rock rising in nearly perpendicular cliffs from 300 to 600 feet above the water. As the coast is approached, the valley widens and the hills become lower, so that a short distance below Chambers River, or ten miles from the mouth, the rocky hills give place to banks of stratified clay and sand that gradually decrease in height down to the sea.

The country surrounding the river has been over three-quarters burnt, and the remaining forest is very similar to that already des- cribed.

The river from the chute to its mouth varies from 200 to 400 yards in width. It is quite shallow and has a very rapid current, with many short rapids, as it winds from side to side in the valley. The limit of tide is eight miles and a haif above its mouth.

Manicuagan River.

The Manicuagan River flows into the St. Lawrence about two hundred and forty miles below Quebec. Within ten miles of their mouths, the Manicuagan and Outardes rivers are separated only by a high sand plain, about two miles across. Above and below this place, their courses diverge, so that their mouths are fifteen miles apart, and the land between forms a broad peninsula composed of stratified clay and sand, evidently brought down by the rivers. The channels thus diverted, instead of passing out into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, hug the shore for several miles with wide sandy shoals outside. The Outardes water flows westward, and that of the Manicuagan River towards the east. Owing to the channels being in-shore and to their broadening as they leave the mouths of the rivers, it is impossible to approach within ten miles of either stream with large vessels, while

Low, MANICUAGAN RIVER. 175 L

anchorage is dangerous outside on account of insufficient holding ground, the bottom being sandy.

From the mouth of the Manicuagan River, where the stream is about three miles wide and greatly obstructed with shoals bare at low water, the course is directly west for four miles, to where the rocky point projecting from the north side narrows the strenm to less than half a mile. Above this, the west course continues two miles, with rocky banks and, towards the upper end, with a number of small rocky islands, between which the river flows with a rapid current. A sharp bend to the north now leads to a succession of heavy chutes that obstruct navigation for the next two miles. The river, while passing the chutes, rushes through a narrow gorge from 200 to 300 feet wide, with low rocky walls. The highest direct fall is about 30 feet, while the total descent is 110 feet. The volume of water passing down is Volume of very great, being over half that of the Ottawa at the Chaudière Falls. water. The portage is divided into two parts, the upper half being only used during high water ; at other times short portages are made up or down this part of the gorge.

A short distance above the upper portage, a road climbs a high bank of modified drift, and leads to the Outardes River, some three miles distant. This route is frequently used by the Indians, to avoid the long coast journey, from the mouth of the Manicuagan River to Bersimis, where they reside during the summer months.

Above the portage the river widens to about 500 yards, and con- tinucs from the north for five miles, after which the valley bends to the north-east, for a similar distance, to the next portage. Several long islands of drift occur in the upper half of the stretch between the portages. The valley is about one mile wide, bounded by rounded, rocky hills, 600 feet high and flanked by thick deposits of stratified clay overlain by sand. These superficial deposits are terraced at fre- quent intervals up to an. elevation of 350 feet above the water-level. The clay deposits do not rise more than 100 feet above the river and are horizontally bedded. The banks and hills are well wooded with Timber. large trees of the following species, arranged in their order of abund- ance :— White birch, white spruce, aspen, black spruce, balsam poplar, balsam fir, yellow birch, Banksian pine, white pine and black ash. Many of the spruce trees are sufficiently large to afford good commercial timber. The current along this stretch gradually in- creases from two to four miles per hour as the stream is ascended.

The next portage is about two miles long, and, for the greater part

of its length, passes over a sandy plain 320 feet above the river at its lower end. Steep hills of clay and sand are found at either end, and,

Toolnustook iver.

Chesniup

Portage.

176 L Labrador Peninsula.

being constantly wetted by small streams, are very difficult to ascend or descend with heavy loads. The river here again passes, with heavy rapids and chutes, through a low rocky gorge ; the full is 165 feet.

Above the portage the valley again widens and the next portage is thirty miles farther up. The course of the valley for the first nine miles is due north ; its walls are from half a mile to one mile apart, rising in abrupt rocky cliffs from 600 to 1000 feet, the river flowing close to the western wall, with a wide interval of sandy bottom-land intervening on the east side. The stream varies from a third of a mile to half a mile in width, and its channel is broken in many places br sandy shoals. The current is even and averages about three miles an hour.

The valley next bends to the north east for four miles, and again to the north for six miles, where a large branch called the Toolnustook or Elbow River, joins the main stream. This branch comes in through a deep valley from the north-east, and takes its rise in the same lake out of which the Godbout River flows. Along the lower bend of the stream, the mountains forming the western wall of the valley are greatly broken and rise in detached rounded hills more than 100 feet above the river. One of these mountains, immediately at the bend, towers upwards, with bare rocky walls, directly from the water, and is named by the Indians the “ Manitou Pulpit.” Above the bend the valley widens to more than two miles, and continues so to the mouth of the Toolnustook. Wide terraces occupy both sides between the hills and the water, and are covered with a fine growth of trees similar to those named above. The current quickens as the fork is approached, and there flows steadily at a rate between three and foar miles an hour, in a shallow, sandy channel. Above the forks, the main valley changes its direction to nearly north-west, and for the next twelve miles averages a mile wide, with high rugged hills of anorthosite forming its walls. The river here varies from 200 to 300 yards in width, and flows with a very strong current, as it winds from side to side down the valley. At each bend it reaches the rocky walls. while elsewhere it has high banks cut out of the heavy deposits of stratified clay and sand, which partly fill the valley in the form of terraces, of which the highest is 150 feet above the river.

At the end of this stretch a high bank of terraced drift extends almost across the valley, apparently filling the old river-channel and forcing the stream through a narrow rocky gorge on the east side, where it descends 115 feet, in a succession of five chutes in about half a mile. The portage, named the Chesniup Portage, passes along the side of the west bank, where the terraced drift rises 250 feet above the water.

Low.] MANICUAGAN RIVER. 177 L

For thirteen miles above, the river continues narrow, crooked and swift, with frequent short rapids and a couple of dangerous whirl- pools, in a valley from a quarter to half a mile wide, surrounded by irregular, rounded hills from 400 to 500 feet high. Down every depression between the hills on both sides, small streams fall in beautiful cascades from the higher lands surrounding the valley. The drift, along the lower half of this stretch, is not heavy, and nar- row terraces are cut into it up to about one hundred feet above the present level of the river. As the upper half of the distance is Character of ascended, the valley widens, and the rocky walls are somewhat lower tale and more regular. With the increased width of the valley the channel also widens to a quarter of a mile and the current slackens. The valley now straightens, and for twenty miles runs slightly east of north, widening to nearly two miles, with regular rocky walls on either side. The river along this portion averages half a mile in breadth ; it is very shallow, and is broken by a number of low, sandy islands and shoals. The current is even and moderate, and the banks are low, rising in wide terraces to the rocky walls. About six miles up this stretch a burnt area is entered, which extends up both sides of the valley, leaving only a narrow fringe of green woods at intervals along the river-margin. The timber in the valley and on the hillsides is all of fair size, and much of the white spruce is of good quality and in sufficient quantity for profitable lumbering. Black spruce predominates, followed in decreasing order by white birch, aspen, white spruce, balsam fir, larch and Banksian pine. The northern limit, in this valley, of white pine, yellow birch and black

ash appears to be along the crooked stretches close to the Chesniup Portage.

About half way up the last described stretch, a portage-route leaves Portage-route the river on its west side, and, after passing over the wide, sandy to the Dut plain, ascends a gulley in the hills to a small lake on the table-land, some 500 feet above. Thence two or three other small lakes are passed to a larger one, called Tetiskouskua, the outlet of which is de-cended to the Outardes River. This is the route followed by the Indians who hunt along that stream, in order to avoid the many long portages along its lower part.

The valley next again turns more to the eastward, and then bends to the north for twenty-four miles, to the next portage. It narrows, and the river becomes deep with a rapid current. The lower part of the valley contains much drift, which is in part terraced to a height of 200 feet above the river. Clay is no longer seen; the Stratified sands extend downward to the water’s edge, and are often

Branch Portage.

Kikaskuata- gan Portage.

1178 L Labrador Peninsula.

capped with thin beds of fine gravel. In most places the bedding is nearly horizontal, but in a few places the angle of bedding is con siderably inclined and the drift appears to have been, at least in part, deposited under or in cracks of the glacier. The walls of the valley are still rocky, and vary from 500 to 800 feet in height. Much of the forest has been destroyed by fires at different times, the latest having occurred about fifteen years ago. The older burnt areas are grown up with thickets of small white birch, aspen, black spruce and Banksian pine. On the unburnt portions the trees are considerably smaller than those already noted, and tne quantity of white spruce is much less, black spruce predominating.

The next portage crosses the neck of a small peninsula, formed by the main stream and a branch which comes in from the east. The portage is about half a mile long and passes over a level plain of sand 250 feet above the river at its lower end. The upper end of the portage comes out on the small branch, about fifty fect wide and very deep, which winds with a sluggish current between high sandy banks, for nearly two miles, to where it joins the main stream. The river just below passes into a very narrow, rocky gorge, where it descends 175 feet in less than two miles.

From the mouth of the small branch to the next portage, the dis tance is five miles and the course of the valley about north-west. The valley is narrow, and the hills on either side rise in almost per- pendicular cliffs, directly from the water, to heights ranging from 500 to 1000 feet. A little drift is seen, terraced to 100 feet, and through this deep, narrow valley the river rushes in a deep channel, with many stretches of broken water.

The next portage is called Kikaskuatagan, and is nearly a mile long. It starts from a steep, rocky ledge, where, owing to the constant heavy swell, unloading is very dangerous The road leads up a narrow gully filled with rough broken rock, and ascends almost perpen- dicularly for a hundred feet to a sandy terrace, which it follows to the head of the portage, where a steep drift hill is descended. The river at this place falls about twenty feet, with heavy rapids, where the channel is obstructed by numerous boulders. During high water the lower end of the portage cannot be approached, and at such times a gully more than half a mile lower down, is used to reach the terrace. Above this portage the direction of the valley changes to north-north- east for eleven miles. For the lower six miles the river averages 100 yards in width, and flows in a deep channel at the base of the western wall, which here rises in perpendicular cliffs from 300 to 600 feet high, with numerous small streams falling in narrow white ribbons of spray

wow. MANICUAGAN RIVER. 179 L

into the river. The eastern hills are less abrupt and are flanked by a good deal of sandy drift, terraced to one hundred feet above the river. Along the upper five miles of. this course, the valley widens and contains much drift; the grade of the river is here very heavy and, as the bed widens, it becomes divided into numerous channels by low shingle bars, over and between which the stream rushes at a rate of five or six miles an hour, so that it is exceedingly difficult to ascend with loaded canoes.

The course of the valley next changes to north-west and continues in that direction seven miles. A short distance above the bend, the walls again approach and, two miles above, are less than a quarter of a mile apart. As the stream is ascended, its channel narrows and deepens, and it flows very rapidly between steep binks of boulders or . rock for four miles, to where the Long Portage leaves it. Above the Long Portage. lower end of this portage the stream is still more contracted, and is walled in by steep rocky cliffs on both sides, where it is impossible to eater or leave the valley with canoes for the next three miles. In this distance the river is interrupted by a number of low chutes, which at low stages of water can be passed with canoes in descending. The portage leaves the valley on its east side, at the mouth of a small tributary. A sharp ascent of 250 feet leads to a terrace of coarse sand and gravel, formed along the flank of a rocky hill. This terrace is followed about one mile, and then a sharp bend to the north carries the road, in the next half mile, over the shoulder of the hill, to a small lake 560 feet above the river. A short portage leads from this lake to a slightly larger one, from the north side of which another portage one mile and a half long again leads d>wn to the river, after first passing over a flat drift plain between the hills. The trees surrounding the lakes are mostly small black spruce, with a few fir, larch and white spruce, none of which are of commercial value.

Above the Long Portage, the still contracted valley stretches due Character of north for three miles, when it changes to north-north-east for eight valle aye miles, to the next portage. The river, along the lower half of these Portage. distances, is deep, narrow and very swift, with steep banks of rock or large boulders. Along the upper half it alternates between long stretches of quiet water, and short rapids, where heavy banks of

coarse drift project out from the sides, contracting the channel.

The portage, at the head of these courses, is about 100 yards long, and passes a heavy rapid full of large boulders, where the stream falls over a low ledge of rock. From here, to the outlet of Lake Ichima- nicuagan, six miles above, the valley continues in the same direction

Lake Ichi- manicuagan.

Previous surveys.

Tributaries.

180 L Labrador Peninsula.

as the last course, and gradually widens to about one mile. The hills —

forming its sides rise very abruptly from 600 to 1000 feet, and in mos: places their sides are bare rock, with straggling spruce and birch

trees growing here and there in crevices. The river gradually widens, —

and after a short rapid, about two miles above the portage, its current slackens, and it passes imperceptibly into the lake. The

rocky walls are flanked on both sides with some quantity of drift, cut into terraces at various heights, up to 150 feet above the water, these terraces being well wooded with spruce, aspen and birch. Numerous large trees of white spruce grow on the lower terraces, many of them more than thirty inches in diameter three feet from the ground.

The view at the outlet of Lake Ichimanicuagan is one of great beauty and grandeur, the quiet water of the lake contrasting in colour with the bright sandy shores, backed by the dark green of the spruce and the lighter-coloured birches and aspen, while the rocky walls of the vall-y rise abruptly on both sides, bold and bare, with a fringe of small trees crowning their summits. Out of every depression in the hills above a stream issues, falling in most places directly down the rocky walls from 300 to 800 feet. One stream in particular, on the east side, is of considerable volume and has a sheer fall of upwards of 500 feet. In its descent it dashes against the almost perpendicular wall, and, by the time it reaches the lower level, is completely broken into spray.

Lake Ichimanicuagan is the lower of the two great natura reservoirs which collect the waters of the upper portion of the Mani- cuagan River. The lake lies in a deep aarrow valley, a continuation of that of the river lower down. The water surface is 685 feet above sea-level, and nearly as many feet below the level of the surround. ing country. This lake was not examined by us, but was surveyed in 1872 by John Bignell, P.L.S., and was found by him to be sixty-three miles long, while its breadth varies from half a mile to two miles, giving an average breadth of one mile, the southern half being the narrower. The lake is crescent-shaped, so that a line drawn from the two ends runs nearly north-and-south, while the convexity of the curve is towards the east. The principal river flowing into the lake. enters it on the west side, about four miles above the outlet, and forms the discharge of Lake Mouchalagan, the upper large lake. The other large streams entering the lake are three in number, but they do not compare in volume with the last mentioned. Two come in on the east side: the lower, called Gabriel River, enters about half way up: the other, called Wachaogamau River, flows in about ten miles from the north end, and is used by the Indians as a route crossing to the head-

wow. MANICUAGAN RIVER. 181 4

waters Of the Ste. Marguerite River. The third river flows into the north end, and is exceedingly rapid, as it descends quickly from the table-land to the level of the lake. It rises some forty or fifty miles to the north and north-east, in a number of lakes, cf which the waters interlock with those of the main stream on the west, the Ste. Marguer- ite on the east, and tributaries of the Koksoak River on the north.

As stated above, the main stream, flowing into Lake Ichimanicua- Mouchalagan gan, comes in from the west about four miles from the outlet, River. This river, which equals at least three-quarters of the volume of the out- let, enters the lake through a deep narrow gorge, nearly at right-angles to the main valley, and also cuts almost directly across the strike of the rocks. For three miles above the lake, the valley is not over 200 yards wide and is walled in by rocky hills, which on the north side rise in perpendicular cliffs from 800 to 1000 feet ; the south wall is equally high, but less abrupt, and is about one half wooded with small spruce and birch. The river has an average breadth of one hundred yards, and flows swiftly in its deep narrow channel, which is frequently partly blocked with huge masses of angular rock, fallen from the overhanging cliffs of the north side. Several small streams tumble in from the high lands on the south side, in series of beautiful waterfalls. After three miles, the valley curves gently towards the north for four miles, widening in so doing, and thus allowing for a narrow interval of terraced drift between the river and the walls of the valley. The east wall continues abrupt, but farther up the stream it gradually decreases in height, and the scenery loses much of its wild grandeur. The course of the valley next changes to nearly north- east; here it widens, and its walls become lower and much less rugged, so that in the upper part, the surrounding hills do not rise mure than 500 feet above the stream, and have well wooded, rounded outlines. The current throughout is swift, and two miles up this course, a large ledge of rock, crossing the stream, causes a low chute and heavy rapid, passed by a portage of one hundred yards on the east side.

At the upper end of the cours”, the stream bends quickly to the {Upper rapids. north-west, and for more than a mile is broken into broad low chutes and heavy rapids. This obstruction is passed by a portage nearly a mile long, of which the lower end is found a short distance up asmall stream Which flows in on the west side at the foot of the rapids. The portage rises rapidly 170 feet, to the level of a flat sandy terrace, and then crosses northward, on the level, to the river, where a sharp scarped

bank of sand is descended.

Lake Moucha- lagan.

Height above Rea,

Fish,

182 L Labrador Peninsula.

From the upper end of the portage, the stream gradually bends to the westward for the next five miles, to where it flows out of Lake Mouchalagan. Along this portion the banks are not high, and the rounded rocky hills are quite distant, so that the country on either side of the river is low and flat, and is thickly wooded with spruce, Banksian pine, fir and birch, somewhat smaller than before noted.

Lake Mouchalagan is not as long or as large as the lower lake, but, notwithstanding, contains a great volume of water. Its greatest length ie forty-one miles, and its average breadth about one mile, being least in its southern half, and varying from one mile and ahalf to two miles in the northern part. In shape this lake also resembles an irregular arc, but with the convexity towards the west ; on account of the opposite bends in these long lakes, their northern ends approach within fifteen miles of each other, and the interval there is occupied by low lands covered with lakes.

The level of the lake is 830 feet above the sea, and its water is remarkably deep. Soundings made off Partridge-tail Hill, on the west side, about fifteen miles from the north end of the lake, give a depth of 466 feet, at one hundred yards from shore ; while at a distance of 500 yards the depth is 655 feet, the greatest known depth of any lake in the Labrador Peninsula. The water is clear, with a brownish tinge.

Owing to the great depth, but few places are suitable for the setting of nets, and consequently the fisheries are not well known to the Indians except in the northern part, where the sand brought down by the principal tributary has silted up the bottom and produced shal- low water over a considerable area. Here large quantities of lake trout, whitefish, land-locked salmon, pike and suckers are taken in nets during the spring and autumn.

The shores of the lake alternate between wide rocky points and sandy bays, and the banks in most places rise in terraces cut out of thick deposits of drift that flank the rocky hills on both sides. The highest terrace is about 150 feet above the present level of the lake, and it is seen on both sides in all favourable localities. -

The hills are, for the most part, well rounded, but broken by deep valleys, those on the west side rising from 200 to 500 feet above the water. On the east side they are low and regular until the midd!e of the lake is reached, where a range of high irregular-shaped hills of rusty garnet-diorite occupies the country back from the shore for more than ten miles, when they again die away in the low lands at the head of the lake. To the north of the lake a low flat country extends for

Low. MANICUAGAN RIVER. 183 L some ten miles, to the foot of a high irregular range of hil's, which, from their outline and white colour are believed to be formed of crystal- line limestone—an extension of the hills seen along the river above the lake and described later. Over three-quarters of the country surround- ing the lake has, within the last three years, been devastated by fire, and im consequence only blackened trunks are seen in most places. The timber remaiuing is chiefly black spruce, seldom exceeding twelve inches in dia:ieter, together with white birch, balsam fir, aspen, Banksian pine and a few larch, all growing thickly, but small in size.

A number of small rivers enter the lake, generally with falls close Tributaries. to their mouth. Most of them come in on the west side, and one of them, which enters a few miles south of the Partridge-trail, forms with its connected lakes, a route to Outardes River. The main stream, or Mouchalagan River, flows through a wide, flat valley on the west side, about five miles from the north end of the lake.

As before stated, wide shoals extend for more than a mile into the lake, dividing the stream into narrow channels, which render an ap- proach difficult during low stages of water. For the first four miles from its mouth, the stream flows from the north-north-west in a chan- nel more than a quarter of a mile wide, with low scarped shores and sandy shallow bottom, with a moderate current. At the head of this course, # large branch, called the Kawikwanipinis River, joins from Kawikwani- the north-east. Its volume appears to be about one-quarter of the Pinis River. main stream below its junction. It is about 100 yards wide and averages six feet in depth, with a current of two miles an hour.

This river, a short distance above its mouth, passes in a deep narrow valley, between high rugged hills of white crystalline limestone. From information obtained from the Indians, who hunt along the stream for many miles above its mouth, it is a succession of long heavy rapids and quite unnavigable, until near its head, where iv flows out of a large Jake called Mishinik, some fifty miles to the north-east of its mouth and close to the northern watershed. From the north end of this lake, portage-routes through small lakes lead north and north- east into the headwaters of streams flowing north into the Koksoak River, and eastward into the Moisie River. The portage-route to Lake Mishinik and past the rapid lower part of the river, is by a small : tributary which joins the main stream fourteen miles above the Kawikwanipinis. This route is exceedingly long and rough, and quite impassable during the summer months for heavily loaded canoes, owing to the shallow streams and lakes connected by more than fifty portages, many of which are long and pass through deepswamps. The Indians

High°cliffs.

Gorge.

184 L Labrador Peninsula.

wait at Lake Mouchalagan until winter sets in, and then haul their canoes and outfit over the portage-route, returning in the spring in their canoes. At this time they carry out only the furs caught during the winter, and in consequence pass over the portages in one trip.

Above the Kawikwanipinis, the main stream, for the next fourteen miles up to the small tributary above mentioned, has a general direction from the north-west, with a number of minor bends on both sides of the course. It now enters a distinct valley, which narrows from a mile to less than half a mile across as the stream is ascended, with rocky walls fro:n 300 to 500 feet high, often with perpendicular cliff-faces, especially along the upper half of the distance, where white crystalline limestone and rusty, decomposed gneiss are the prevalent rocks.

For five miles above the forks, the channel averages 200 yards in width, and a steady current flows over the sandy shallow bottom; farther up, the stream is broken into numerous channels by long islands of drift, often well wooded with medium-sized white spruce and white

' birch. The current here becomes swift with short shallow rapids, and

poling is necessary in ascending with canoes. In many places thick sections of false-bedded sands and gravels are exposed in the scarped banks, and well-marked terraces were noted at 10, 20, 40, 60, 70, and 100 feet above the stream. The lower terraces are thickly wooded with trees similar to those found on the islands, along with black spruce, which predominates on the upper terraces and on the rocky sides of the valley. About one-half of the forest in the valley has been recently burnt.

The valley now turns due west for two miles and a half, and then nearly north for three miles and a half. Throughout these distances the river passes through a narrow rocky gorge with walls rising from 200 to 500 feet. The channel, in ascending, first narrows to about fifty yards and continues so for more than a mile. The current is very strong, and increases into a heavy rapid, with a low chute where the stream passes Over a ledge of limestone. Above the chute the stream widens to 300 yards and is broken into numerous shallow channels by gravel bars and masses of coarse blocks and buulders. The stream here descends with heavy rapids. At the bend, the valley and river again narrow, and the latter varies from ten to 100 yards in width as it passes down over a number of short chutes connected by heavy rapids With this character the stream continues to the head of the gorge, where the valley gradually opens up, and as it widens it becomes free from rocky ledges. This portion of the river can be navigated with canoes only at low stages of water, as then only can portages be made over the rocky margins between the steep walls and the water at the chutes.

wow. MANICUAGAN RIVER. 185 L

The Indians never use this part of the stream ; they pass it by a portage-route of which the lower end leaves the main stream on its east bank a few yards above the mouth of the already-mentioned tributary. The portage is short and ends on this stream, which is followed north- ward for a mile and a half in a direct line, but, owing to the stream winding from side to side in a valley about half a mile wide, the dis- tance by water is more than four miles. The direction of the route now changes to north-west and continues nearly so to the head of the gorge. From the stream a portage of a mile and a half leads to a small lake 450 feet above the river. The route next passes through Portage past three small lakes connected by short portages, for two miles, and then the gorge. by a portage of a mile and a half down hill to the river. The country surrounding the Jakes is characterized by rounded, rolling hills partly covered with small black spruce and larch, with a few birch trees.

From the head of the portage, the valley runs nearly due north, and quickly widens out to nearly one mile, with its bordering hills rising gradually on both sides to heights varying from 300 to 600 feet. The river has an average width of 400 yards for the next five miles, up to where the main portage-route leaves it. The channel is shallow and greatly broken by drift bars and low wooded islands, with a very swift current that averages five miles an hour and is occasionally broken into short rapids. Between the hills and the water there are wide intervals of terraced drift, the highest terraces being about 100 feet above the water. Scarped banks show the drift to be chiefly fine sand, with occasional beds of small gravel near the top, all showing signs of bedding at various angles to the horizontal. The trees in the valley continue to be of fair size and are chiefly black spruce, with white spruce, balsam fir, white birch, aspen, larch and Banksian pine.

The main stream, a few miles above where the portage-route leaves Portage-route it at the head of this stretch, becomes very rapid, and flows in a' deep, to head of narrow gorge, with high, steep, rocky banks, where it is impossible to ascend with canoes, and very dangerous to descend. On this account, the Indians make use of a long afd difficult portage-route, in order to reach the upper waters of the river. This route was passed over in ascending to the watershed, and will be described further on.

Above this portage-route, the valley continues northward for seven miles. Along the lower part it is somewhat wider than the portion last described, and the river is also broader, with high drift banks, from beneath which rounded masses of rock outcrop at intervals.

Along the upper three miles, the valley gradually narrows and the drifton the banks of the stream give place to rock, which hems it in

186 L Labrador Peninsula.

and, as the grade is heavy, causes it to form wild 1apids in a channel less than 100 yards wide.

Pepechekau On the east side, about one mile below the upper end of the course, River. . . a large branch called the Pepechekau River, enters the valley with a beautiful fall of fifty feet. This stream heads in the neighbourhood of Mishinik Lake, to the north-eastward.

The valley, for the next twenty miles, runs almost straight north- north-west, with only a few minor bends. For the whole distance it never exceeds 400 yards in width in the bottom, and for many long stretches i; less than one hundred yards across, with high, rocky banks rising abruptly from 300 to 600 feet, to the level of the irregular table-land above. -The grade of the valley is steep, and down it the river, much contined, rushes in wild, heavy rapids, broken occasionally by short, low chutes. The shore is rocky, and

Dangerous broken with small, irregular points, past which the water rushes with

rapids, . . . . great velocity and thus forms dangerous whirlpools. This portion of the river is exceedingly dangerous to travel, owing to the impossi- bility of making portages in most places, on account of the high, perpendicular walls of the valley and of the absence of any beach between their foot and the water. During the descent of this portion of the river it was only with the greatest difficulty and danger that the frequent landings necessary for ‘the survey were made, and dis- aster was avoided in a number of places only by good luck. Ata rapid pitch about half way down, one canoe was accidentally upset, and Paul Bacon, an Indian guide, was most unfortunately drowned in the whirlpools. Although the river was carefully searched below, no trace was found of the body of the unfortunate young man, nor of the canoe or its contents, which must have been caught in some of the eddies and sunk out of sight beneath the deeply-eroded, rocky banks.

Along the upper mile of this course, where the river first passes into the cafion, it falls 140 feet, in a succession of chutes over rocky ledges, the stream being broken into a multitude of channels by small rocky islands. The trees along the walls of the caiion are chiefly black spruce and a few white birch, with an occasional tree of white spruce along the lower portion.

Above the head of this gorge, the hills on both sides fall away: leaving a valley several miles across, bounded by broken ridges of rounded hills from 100 to 500 feet high. The valley is filled with 5 great accumulation of drift arranged in low ranges of drumlin-like hills, covered with boulders. The river now spreads out, and is broken

wo MANICUAGAN RIVER. 187 L

into numerous channels by the detached drift ridges, so that for the next fourteen miles it assumes a lake-like character, although everywhere the current is perceptible and in many places strong. This portion is called Natokapau. The stream continues to flow from north-north- west for eight miles, to where a large branch called the Attikopi River joins it from the westward. The main stream, or Itomami Branch, then changes its direction and flows almost due south. Several large streams from the surrounding country join the main river in this neighbourhood. On the west side two flow in below the Attikopi River, and drain small chains of lakes on the high lands, through which a portage-route passes to join the Attikopi River. Two other streams enter on the east side, within a short distance of the commengement of the cafion, while at the upper end of Natokapau a large branch called the Mossy-pine River, joins from the north-east, where it is said to head in several long lakes on the watershed, one of which, at least, also discharges northward into the Koksoak River.

Above the Attikopi, the main stream flows in short crooked courses down a valley from one to four miles wide, bounded by rounded hills from 200 to 500 feet high, that run in broken ranges parallel to the direction of the valley, or north-east and south-west. The lower lands surrounding the river are covered with ridges of drift, often largely formed of coarse boulders and angular blocks of rock. The summits of all the higher hills rise above the tree-line and are covered only with low arctic willows and shrubs. The trees growing on the low lands are small and stunted; over ninety per cent are black spruce, with a few larch and Banksian pines, and an occasional clump of small straggling white birch. The aspen is not found above the mouth of the Attikopi River.

The valley continues in a north-east direction for forty miles, gp to the watershed, beyond which it was seen holding the same course for at least thirty miles farther.

Above the Mossy-pine River, the main stream is about one hundred feet wide in rapids, where the average depth is under two feet. Im- mediately above its junction there is a short heavy rapid leading from a small lake-expansion connected by short rapids with three others in the next seven miles. Above these, for twelve miles the river is nar- row and blocked with small islands and huge boulders, past and over which it pours in continuous heavy rapids. It then flows out of the lower of a series of lake-expansions that almost fill the bottom of the valley, and are only separated from one another by short heavy rapids. These continue for ten miles, until the outlet of Lake Itoma- mis is reached. This lake is five miles long, and from one to two

Notakapau.

Branches.

Character of the upper river.

188 L Labrador Peninsula.

Itomamis miles wide, with several small irregular bays stretching away from the Lake. main body. It is surrounded by barren-topped hills that rise from 200 to 500 feet above it. Low shores, backed by drift ridges, inter- vene in many places between the water and the surrounding hills, and they are covered by patches of stunted black spruce and a few larches. The lake is fed by two large and a number of small streams. The largest flows in on the west side, near the south end, and forms the outlet of a chain of lakes on a portage-route to the head of the Attikopi River as described further on. The second large stream flows into the north end of the lake, and, by two short rapids and a small lake-expansion, connects this lake with Itomami or Summit Lake, so called on account of its waters discharg- ing in opposite directions; the southern outlet forming the head of the main branch of the Manicuagan River, the northern flowing into Lake Kaniapiskau, and thence into Ungava Bay. The streams flow- ing out are about equal in size and volume, being about ten feet wide in the rapids of both discharges.

Summit Lake. Summit Lake is cut by the 53rd parallel of north latitude. It is six miles long, and averages about one mile in width, with two lateral bays, which increase the width in the centre to three miles. It is esti- mated to be 1940 feet above sea-level. Like the lower lake, it is sur- rounded by rugged, rocky hills, arranged in roughly parallel ridges. These hills are all barren on the top; on the low lands surrounding the lake small black spruce grows, but only in open groves. A great part of the timber has been destroyed by fire, and the landscape has a most desolate, barren appearance.

Country about From the summit of a hill that rises 565 feet above the water,

the watershed. situated on the east side of the lake near its north end, a fine view was obtained of the country about the watershed. The valley of Itomami is seen continuing in a north-north-east direction for more than twenty-five miles ; beyond, it appears to bend towards the north, and a chain of long narrow lakes partly fills the valley, down which they discharge into Lake Kaniapiskau. Another wide valley stretches off towards the north, with two large lakes, the upper of which appears to be about 200 feet above the level of Summit Lake, into which it drains. To the westward are two more lakes, the lower separated only by a narrow strip of sand from Summit Lake. To the south, there is a narrow valley containing a chain of small lakes. With these exceptions, nothing is seen in all directions but rounded, barren-topped mountains, apparently considerably higher to the east, north-east, and north than about the lake, and the elevation of these mountains may vary from 300 to 600 feet above the lake, or from 2000 to 2500 feet above sea-level.

ow. ATTIKOPI BRANCH. 189 L

Attikopr Branch.

This stream, as before mentioned, joins the main river in a small Junction with bay at Natokapau. At its mouth there is a short rapid where the M7 "1° river passes down a channel about one hundred feet wide, over and between large boulders. For ten miles it flows in an irregular channel between low ridges of drift, thickly strewn with boulders and angular blocks of rock, on its way down from Lake Attikopi. The stream is great.y broken by rapids and chutes, and descends over 250 feet in the ten miles. The grade of the upper half is the heavier, and low ledges of rock along this portion cause frequent chutes. In all six portages, aggregating four miles in length, are necessary to pass these obstructions. Besides the low boulder-strewn ridges, occasional low hills of rock rise above the general level, and become more marked as Lake Attikopi is approached.

This lake is very irregular in shape, and its surface is broken by many Lake Attikopi rocky islands. A long point, stretching out from the south side, di- vides it iato two bays, with a third trending towards the north-east- From the discharge, at the south-east end, to its north-east inlet, the distance is about five miles, and its greatest breadth is about four miles. It is surrounded by broken ranges of rocky hills, from 200 to 400 feet high, the wide valleys between being characterized by low ridges of drift, Over one half of the forest has been destroyed by fire, and the remain- der is chiefly small black spruce and larch, with a few Banksian pines and birches. Here the river divides into two branches of about equal volume. That flowing into the south-west bay is called the Kiche-wa- pistoakan River, while the one entering the north-west angle of the lake, is cal ed the Attikopis River. The former flows from the south- guth-west west, where it rises some forty miles away from Lake Attikopi, in branch. a number of small lakes whose discharges interlock streams flowing into the Peribonka and Outardes rivers, with the head-waters of the Manicuagan River. This stream was explored for twenty miles above its outlet, to where a small tributary passes into Lake Kitchewapistoa- kan, on the portage-route past the unnavigable portion of the Moucha- lagan River. For this distance the stream flows in a channel about one hundred feet wide, generally with a sluggish current, except at short rapids which occur at frequent intervals. The channel is very crooked, and the banks seldom show solid rock, being for the most part composed of sand and generally low. The main direction of the stream is determined by sharp irregular ridges of sand, which bound its west- ern side. These ridges are nearly continuous and where they are cut Great esker by the river, show the false-bedded structure of an esker, or deposit "18e.

Highest area of central Labrador.

Attikopis . Branch.

190 1 . Labrador Peninsula.

formed by a river flowing in or under the ice-sheet. This great esker was traced for more than twenty-five miles beyond Lake Attikopi toward the north-east, while in the opposite direction, according to the Indians, it extends almost to Lake Pletipi on the Outardes River, ora total distance of nearly one hundred miles. It is a marked physical feature in its south-western half, where it traverses wide swamps, and is used as a highway by the Indians in their winter travel. On the east side of the river, the country is covered with low, drumlin ridges of coarse till.

From the above description, the general surface of the country sur rounding the river will be seen to be low and nearly flat, and it is only broken by occasional isolated rocky hills that rise from 200 to 400 feet above the general level. According to the Indian guide, the upper, unexplored portion of the river preserves the same character, flowing nearly on the surface of a wide swampy plain broken only by the esker ridge and by a few low drumlins. This plain extends northwards about ten miles to the font of a high range of barren hills that rises 500 to 1000 feet above its level, and constitutes the highest area of central Labrador, being about 2400 feet above sea-level, forming the watershed between the Big River of Hudson Bay and the rivers flowing into the St. Lawrence.

The Attikopis Branch flows from the north-east, where it takes its rise in Lake Attikopis, or Little Attikopi, some twenty miles from the larger lake. The smaller lake is less than three miles long, and is divided by two narrows; it is chiefly of importance on account of two portag--routes which join here. One, from the westward leads to Nichicun, the other to Summit Lake. The Attikopis River, below the lake, flows in crooked courses in a wide valley bounded by rounded, rocky, isolated hills on the east side and by the higher range of granite hills on the west. Two spurs of this range rise close to the river. The valley is broken by low boulder ridges, with extensive swamps and small lakes between them. This country is partly covered with small, stunted black spruce and a few larches, while the hills are almost wholly barren. The river-channel is very irregular and occupies the depressions between the drift ridges. It practically consists of nar- row lakes, connected by short rapids, where the channel is lined with boulders. Before reaching Lake Attikopi, it passes through a lake three miles long and about one mile wide, below which a mile cf rapids and strong current leads to the large lake. Little Attikopi Lake is fed by two large brooks, both of which head in the mountainous country westward of Summit Lake. The portage-route follows the the eastern stream, almost due east, for six miles by its winding chat

ww. PORTAGE-ROUTE LAKE ATIIKOPIS TO NICHICUN. 191 L

nel, to a lake about two miles across, surrounded by high, rugged, barren hills. Above this lake the stream is too small for canoes, and portages are made alony it between the three small lakes at its head ; these portages are respectively one-half, two, and one mile long. The portage over the watershed, between this stream and one flowing into the main branch, is about a mile and a half long and passes over a ridge between high, rugged hills, which surround the route. These hills are semi-barren, and the country has a very rough, d-solate

Four small ponds, connected by a little stream, lead into a larger lake,about four miles long, thedischargeof which isnavigable with canoes, and, in a mile and a half to the next lake, it is broken by several rapids. This lake is'a mile long and empties by a short rapid into Spruce Mountain Lake, which is four miles across to its southern angle, where it discharges. A narrow bay runs up a deep valley to the northward, and the lake is filled with islands and surrounded by high hills. The discharge is characterized by heavy rapids for two miles, to where it enters Itomamis Lake.

Portage-route between Lake Attikopis and Nichicun.

The portage-route to Nichicun leaves Lake Attikopis by its western Route to tributary, which is ascended for about one mile ; then a portage of over Nichicun. a mile leads to a little lake that empties into the small river. From this little lake two portages of a mile and a half mile respectively, with a small pond between them, end in a narrow lake, one mile long, connected by a short portage with a larger irregular lake, nearly three miles long. The general direction of this portion of the route is almost due west, and is through a wide valley surrounded by barren, rocky hills, from 300 to 600 feet high. The only trees seen skirt the lakes or grow in the swamps, the remainder having been destroyed by fire, leav- ing exposeu low hummocks of drift thickly strewn with boulders. A portage of a quarter of a mile crosses the watershed and ends ina small lake drained by a tributary of the Big River. The direction of the route now changes to nearly south-west, for nine miles, as it passes first through a lake two miles long, connected with the next by a river stretch of one mile, with three portages past rapids, followed by à lake for five miles and another river stretch of a mile, with several rapids. A change of direction next occurs to west-north- west for the next twenty-four miles, along which course the stream passes through seven small lakes, and is greatly augmented by the junction of small branches from the lakes that partly fill the surrounding valleys.

Lake Naoku-

kan.

192 L Labrador Peninsula.

Between each lake there are heavy rapids, so that the large lake. called Naokokan, into which the river empties, is some 200 feet below the level of the lake at the watershed, or nearly 1800 feet above the sea. The country surrounding the river is rough, but the rocky hills near the valley die away to the south and west as Naokokan is approached. Recent fires have destroyed the greater part of the small stunted, black spruce and larch, which partly covered the lower lands. Naokokan is a large, irregular lake, nearly covered with islands and deaply indented with bays. Its greatest length, of thirty miles. is from east to west, while its width appears to be nearly twenty miles. From an elevation of 300 feet, near the mouth of the river, the lake had the appearance of a wide plain coyered with numerous small lakes. and it was found only on passing into the lake that these numerous small lakes were really connected by straits and passages. Three day, were spent in examining the southern shore of the lake in search of its outlet, and in that time only one of the deep western bays was explored. Owing to unfavourable weather—heavy south-west gales, accompanied by rain and fog,—and failing supplies, the exploration was ended here, without the outlet being found and descended to Nichicun. It has since been learned that the outlet is somewhere near the north-east angle of the lake, and that along it the distance to Nichicun is not more than twenty-five miles.

À large branch was discovered, falling with heavy rapids into the south side of the lake. This is the main stream of the Nichicun River, and takes its rise in a number of small lakes to the south. along the northern slopes of the mountains forming the watershed between it and the Manicuagan, Outardes and Peribonka rivers South and west of Lake Naokokan, there is a wide, flat plain, broken only by small isolated hills, and covered with innumerable lakes: to the north and north-east, the high mountains of the vicinity of Nichicun are seen with their rugged barren tops.

Portage-route used in Ascending the Mouchalagan River.

As previously stated, a portage-route leaves the west bank of the Mouchalagan River, about twenty-five miles above Mouchalagan Lake. A description of this route is intelligible only by reference to the map. as it follows a succession of portages joining little lakes and streams that lie in small valleys between the hills of the table-land, high above the level of the river-valley. The first portage is a mile and a quarter long. It leaves the river immediately above the mouth of a small stream and follows up its valley to a little lake on the table-land 620

Low. PORTAGE-ROUTE MOUCHALAGAN RIVER. 193 Lb

feet above the river. There is a very marked change in the size and variety of forest trees between the ends of the portage. At the river there is a dense growth of medium-sized, black and white spruce, balsam fir, Banksian pine, larch, white birch and aspen, while, about the small leke above, only stunted black spruce and Banksian pine separated by open glades, are found together with a few larch about the swampy margin of the lake.

Crooked courses for two miles lead to the west end of the lake, whence a portage of half a mile, then a pon, followed by a portage of a mile, lead to a chain of very small lakes, on the head-waters of the stream, at a level 200 feet above that of the lower lake. Three small lakes joined by rapids follow, to a portage one-third of a mile long, through a swamp, ending in a narrow, crooked stream which is ascended about a mile and then left by another swampy portage half a mile long, crossing the watershed between tributaries of the Mani- cuagan and Outardes rivers at an elevation of 1680 feet above sea- level, or 770 feet above the river at the commencement of the portage- route. The country surrounding the route is rolling, being broken by Character of short, isolated ridges of rounded hills, that rise from 100 to 400 feet the country. above the water level. Wide valleys lie between the hills, covered either with small lakes or swamps, and with frequent low ridges of boulders rising above the level. The soil is scanty, and everywhere boulders and large angular fragments of rock are scattered in profusion, so that there is no difficulty in walking in any direction over the higher ground without stepping off these, while in the swamps the portage roads frequently lead along ridges of packed fragments, without any fine material between, and only partly covered with a deep coat- ing of sphagnum, or white moss. The trees growing on this poor soil are small and stunted, and over ninety per cent are black spruce, with only a few groves of Banksian pine and small larch in the swamps.

From the height-of-land portage, the route for five miles follows a small stream connecting four little lakes, with short portages between them, and so reaches Little Matonipi Lake, about four miles long and a mile and a half wide, studded with many small, rocky islands. A portage of a mile and a half leads from near the dis- charge, at the north-west corner of the lake, to the eastern bay of Matonipi Lake. This bay is about two miles long, and from its Matomipi mouth a northern bay extends four miles to its head, where the Lake. porta’e-route leaves it. Another long bay extends southward several miles, with a small river flowing out of its head, to join the Outardes River some twenty miles below the outlet of Lake Pletipi. The lake averages a mile in width, and is surrounded by rocky hills that rise

Highest level.

194 L Labrador Peninsula.

in rounded outline from 200 to 500 feet, those on the west side being the highest. This western ridge is only a few miles across, and an old portage-route leads over it to Lake Pletipi, some fifteen miles away.

The direction of the portage-route to Lake Matonipi has been nearly due west. It now changes to north, and con'inues near that course until it reaches the south-west branch of the Attikopi River. The surface of the lake is 1640 feet above sea-level. The next lake at the upper end of the portage is two miles distant from the north end of Matonipi,;it is about three-quarters of a mile across, and 270 feet above Matonipi.

From this lake another portage of two miles leads over a barren, rocky ridge thickly strewn with boulders, into a narrow gully filled with small ponds, connected by a brook which discharges into Lake Matonipi. The rise on this portage is 350 feet. The route con. tinues up the gully, and passes in the next four miles through five ponds, with intervening portages, to the height-of-land between the waters of the Outardes River and a small branch of the Mouchalagan River, at a height of 2390 feet above sea-level, and one of the highest water summits of the Labrador peninsula.

The portage over the summit is more than a mile long, and passes between low, rounded, rocky hills, covered with blocks and boulders, and ends in a small swampy lake, out of which issues a stream tov small to be descended by canoes.

Two miles of portage, over boulders and through swamp, lead to the junction of this stream with a somewhat larger one. The portage here crosses to the west bank, and for two miles and a half farther, follows down stream, on the summit of a narrow esker of stratified sand.

At the lower end of the portage, the stream is about tweaty-five feet wide, but soon increases to fifty feet, below a small north branch, where it has a shallow channel, sandy bottom and sluggish current. This stream was followed for three miles and a half, and then left by a short portage to a pond, followed by another portage of half a mile to a small lake without any outlet. From this lake a three-mile portage leads north- ward to another pond connected with a small lake by a portage of half a mile. A similar portage leads from this to a larger lake, which is followed northward three miles to its end. This lake empties br another branch into the main river. The next three miles are occupied by five portages, which pass up a shallow valley, surrounded br drumlin hills of coarse drift, and containing five small ponds. The next lake is two and a quarter miles long, and is left by a half-mile

cow. GEOLOGY. 195 L

portage, ending in a small lake-expansion of the discharge of that

lake. The discharge is followed for a couple of miles, and then a small

branch is ascended a short distance, to a portage of a quarter of a mile,

past rapids, to a small lake above. Five portages connecting ponds oc-

cupy the next threemiles ; then a small stream is reached and descended

for about one mile, after which a two-mile portage leads to a pond connected by a short portage with a lake nearly two miles long, from

which a portage of a half-mile leads to Lake Kichewapistoakan on a

small stream flowing into the south-west branch of the Attikopi River

already described. This lake is of no great size, and is broken into South weet ti. deep irregular bays by low points of drift and rock. It is chiefly re- kopi River. markable, on account of its possessing two discharges, both of which

enter the valley of the main river within a short distance of each other.

In the spring, when the Attikopi branch is in freshet, its water backs

into the lake, and flows out by the second outlet, which at ordinary

times is nearly dry.

The country and timber from the watershed to this place is similar to that already described. The only difference being the increase of drift on the northern slope, in the form of till and sand or esker-like deposits. The only trees are black spruce along with a very few larch, and all are stunted and confined to the valleys.

Geology.

The following notes on the various geological formations of the Source of in- Labrador Peninsula are the result of observations made along widely formation. separated lines of exploration in that great territory, and the time given to the work was very limited. It will thus be understood that they afford only the means of making a rough estimation of the dis- tribution and extent of the areas of the different rocks, with some general remarks on their relations, modes of occurrence and age, to- gether with a more or less detailed statement of the various exposures of rock actually examined along the routes followed.

The descriptions of the different rocks are from observations made in the field, together with a microscopic examination of the hand specimens brought back. It is to be regretted that circumstances pre- vented more than a small number of microscopic sections being made. These have been examined by Mr. W. F. Ferrier and des- cribed in Appendix V.

Geological Formations.

The term Laurentian is employed to designate the complex mass of Laurentian. highly crystalline Archean rocks of which the greater part of the

Huronian.

Cambrian.

Great lapse of time between Huronian and

Cambrian.

196 L Labrador Peninsula.

Labrador Peninsula is composed. These do not differ in any essential particulars from those similarly designated in other parts of Canada. They consist chiefly of gneisses and schists, some of which are believed to be highly metamorphosed materials of clastic origin, while others are regarded as foliated eruptives. As it is not possible, except in — limited areas, to separate these rocks on the map, they are necessarily

treated together.

The rocks of clastic origin are in nearly all cases the most ancient. The age of the areas of irruptive rocks is not known definitely, but many of them are very ancient, as fragments from them are included in the conglomerates of the Huronian. Others closely resemble the basi: irruptives found cutting the Cambrian strata, and possibly are newer than that bedded series. These basic irruptives are in turn cut by later intrusions of granite, so that if the former are post-Cambrian some of the latter may be high up in Paleozoic time. Where the age of these rocks can be determined by their intrusion into the bedded series of the Huronian or Cambrian, they have been separated from the rest of the complex, and the remainder grouped under the name Laurentiar until more evidence is obtained as‘to their exact age. It may be taken for granted, however, that by far the greater portion of the irruptive rocks included in the Laurentian are extremely ancient, and that the areas of those supposed to be post-Cambrian are unimportant compared with the areas of rocks long antedating that formation.

Under the name Huronian are included several widely separated areas of clastic and volcanic rocks, together with many basic eruptives: these are represented by various schists, conglomerates, breccias. diorites and other rocks more or less interfolded with the Laurentian.

The Cambrian rocks rest unconformably upon the Laurentian and Huronian, and are made up of bedded sandstones, argillites, shales and limestones, along with bedded traps and other basic intrusive or volcanic rocks. More detailed descriptions of the Huronian and Cambrian rocks are given under their respective headings.

The Laurentian and Huronian gneisses and schists are intensely folded. This folding took place long previous to the deposition of the sedimentary beds of Cambrian age ; and a sufficiently long time had elapsed between the period of folding and the Cambrian submergence. to allow for great removal of material by denudation and for the main sculpturing of the peninsula. The Cambrian rocks are found flat- bedded in the valley of Hamilton Inlet, and extend fifty miles up the Hamilton River; they are also found resting almost undisturbed in the great basins of Mistassini and Michikamau lakes. These examples

Low. ] LAURENTIAN. 197 L

show that the chief physical features of the Labrador Peninsula due to erosion, existed previous to the deposition of the Cambrian, and the enormous lapse of time requisite for the formation of the Hamilton inlet and river-valley can hardly be conceived, if the denudation was not much greater than that under present conditions.

Laurentian.

The Laurentian rocks occupy more than nine-tenths of the area of Area

the peninsula, the remainder being underlain by scattered areas of Huronian and Cambrian.

Nearly all these rocks ae more or less foliated, the general direc- Direction of tions of the foliation being roughly as follows: On the lower East foliation. Main River, near the coast, the general direction is east-south-east ; farther inland, along the river, it is about east-north-east ; along the upper part of the river, it varies from east to south-east. Between the East Main River and Lake Kaniapiskau the direction of foliation varies from east to east-north-east. Along the Koksoak River, above Cambrian Lake, it is from east-south-east to south-east, while, along the lower part of the same river, it is from north to north-east, show- ing a considerable change in the direction of the line of pressure, which here seems to have acted from the eastward, while elsewhere it appears to have been from the southward. Along the lower Hamilton River, the strike is from east to north-east, and above the Grand Falls, alung the main stream, it is the same ; but northward, towards Lake Michikamau, it rauges from east-north-east to north, the direction here being parallel to the Atlantic coast. On the Attikonak branch, where there are several large areas of basic irruptives, the strikes are more divergent, and range from east to south-south-east. Along the Romaine River, they vary from east to east-north-east, or are roughly parallel to the direction of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Of course the directions of foliation given above are merely general ones, subject to many minor changes, especially in the neighbourhood of intrusive areas, of both acidic and basic crystalline rocks. Insuch cases, the older foliated rocks appear to bend round these masses, and are often greatly contorted, both on the strike and dip.

By far the greatest area of the peninsula is underlain by medium Fundamental to coarse-textured hornblende-granite-gneiss, corresponding to the Gneiss. Fundamental Gneiss of Logan. This gneiss varies in colour from red to light-gray, a pink variety being most abundant. It is made up chiefly of orthoclase, abundant quartz, together with hornblende,

198 L Labrador Peninsula.

and commonly mica. It nearly always has a gneissic foliation, and — at times an augen structure, due to the orthoclase collecting in

bead-like masses, between laminæ of hornblende and mica. Sometime: over large areas the foliation is obscure, and the rock then approaches

a true hornblende-granite.

Between Lake St. John and Lake Mistassini, along the route: examined, gneissic rocks of the above kind occupy over nine-tenth; of the area. Northward, from Lake Mistassini to the East Main River, with the exception of a few bands of mica-gneiss, these are the only rocks met with. Large areas are found inland from the east coast of Hudson Bay, along the Big, Great Whale and Clear- water rivers.* Along the East Main River, rocks of this kind are met with at intervals; they are most abundant along the upper parts of the river, where, in places, being unfoliated, they pass into horn- blende-granite, and as such form the great area passed through, from the head of the river to Lake Kaniapiskau. On the Koksoak River, an area of mica-schist and gneiss extends from Lake Kaniapiskau to the first gorge, below which the hornblende-granites, more or less foliated, again appear in association with mica-granite-gneiss, and continue along the river until the gneisses pass under the Cambrian rocks. On the Lower Koksoak River, the hornblende-granite-gneiss is less abundant. The same kind of rock is met with on the George River, at Port Burwell, Nachvak and along Hamilton Inlet. On the lower Hamilton River, it is found along with mica-gneisses, the latter being most abundant. Above the Grand Falls, hornblende-granite is the principal rock seen along the routes travelled, in the country stretching from Lake Michikamau on the north to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Differences in From field study, the hornblende-granites do not appear to be all of

"ee the same age, some 6f the areas having an older and more altered look than others. The exact difference cannot be explained, but is quite noticeable when the areas are traversed. To one of these newer- looking masses, large dykes or veins of pegmatite were directly traced. These dykes were found cutting the rocks of Huronian age on the East Muin River.

Peginatite Pegmatite dykes or veins are very numerous everywhere in the veins. . . .

Archæan rocks of the peninsula. They are found cutting the Huroniaa

v schists and basic eruptives, the anorthosite areas, the mica-gneisses, #

well as the hornblende-granites, to which they appear to be geneticalls

related. The most abundant mineral of these veins is orthoclase 11

coarsely crystalline masses, quartz in irregular crystalline lumps is nes!

Annual Report, Geol. Surv. Can., vol. III. (N.S.), part J.

wow. LAURENTIAN. 199 L

in abundance and hornblende is nearly always present, together with mica (biotite or muscovite) often in large plates, but usually much bent and twisted. Black tourmaline and red garnet are often found, the latter being most abundant. The colour of the orthoclase varies from red to white, and depends on the colour of the granite or granitite area, from which the pegmatite is derived. The width and direction of these veins are not nearly so constant as those of the basic dykes found throughout the region. They are often lenticular, and appear to have been injected into fractures and fissures, filling even very small cracks. Some of the veins are of great size, like those met with above the Great Bend of the East Main River, where the pegmatite is often more abund- ant than the mica-gneiss and schists constituting the original country- rock. The larger veins often hold angular fragments of the well foliated gnciss and schists, and some of these fragments are of great size. Although differing in appearance from the basic dykes, it is believed that these veins of pegmatite, from their character above described. and from the fact of their cutting all varieties of rocks of the Archean: - must be of ifruptive origin, as has been clearly shown to be the case with similar veins met with in Sweden, and ably described by Prof. W. C. Brégger,* who believes that the pegmatite veins were formed during the later stages of irruption of the granite, when the main mass was in part solidified, and that the veins cutting the surrounding rocks were injected in a molten state ; also that the materials of the veins were not deposited from highly heated aqueous solutions.

The rocks next in importance as regards area, are the mica-gneisses Grenville and mica-schists, that occur in wide persistent bands throughout the Series. Labrador peninsula, and are taken to be the representatives of the Grenville Series of Logan, lately so well described by Dr. F. Adams. f

Mica-gneiss greatly predominates over all the other members of this group, and it varies from coarse-grained, well crystallized gneiss, through all gradations of texture and composition to mica-schist. Pink or white orthoclase, quartz and mica (generally biotite) are always pre- sent, and hornblende is often found in small quantities. Garnetiferous bands are frequently met with, especially in the great areas along the Manicuagan River. The gneisses are usually very quartzose, and in many places shade into an impure, garnetiferous quartzite. All are well foliated or stratified, and in many places the dip of the foliation approaches the horizontal, giving the rocks the appearance of flat- bedded, altered clastic rocks. In many places these gneisses and schists are associated with bands of crystalline limestone. On the upper

*Can. Rec. Science, vol. VI, Nu. 1-2. ‘On the formation of Pegmatite Veina.’ tAm. Journ. Sci., vol. L., July, 1895.

Crystalline limestone.

Supposed bed- ded structure.

Associated eruptives.

200 L Labrador Peninsula.

Manicuagan River, the limestones are extensively developed and are found in thick beds, always associated with a rusty- weathering mica- gneiss that contains both pyrites and graphite. Several smaller bands of limestone occur along the rivers north of Lake St. John, in con- junction with the garnetiferous mica-gneiss, also in the valley of the Hamilton River, below Lake Winokapau, and at Lake Attikonak. On the East Main River, a couple of small bands were noted a few miles above its mouth, and along the coast of James Bay in the vicinity of that river. These limestones, when the bands are thin, are some- times greatly broken and very irregular. They then often enclose broken masses of the surrounding gneiss, and apparently pass between different strata of the gneiss, so that they often resemble veins parallel to the bedding rather than true beds. In other places they closely follow the bedding or foliation of the adjoining gneiss, being quite persistent for considerable distances, and having all the characters of true beds.

The well marked foliation of this series of gneisses and schists, the developement of garnet in most of them, together with the graphite in the beds adjoining the limestone, and the apparently great bedded masses of limestone and iron ore of the Manicuagan River, all point to a former clastic origin and bedded structure for this series ; and in many places where the limestones, quartzites and iron-bearing gneisses are present, the lines of foliation appear to coincide with those of the bedding planes. An originally bedded structure would also account for the nearly horizontal position of the gneisses noted in many places. The association of altered hornblendic and chloritic schists, probably of volcanic origin, and bearing a close resemblance to similar rocks of Huronian age, with the mica-schists and garnet-mica-gneisses of this series, as seen along the upper gorge of the Mouchalagan River, points to a connection between the Grenville series of the Laurentian and the Huronian.

Along with the mica-gneisses occur bands of hornblende-schist, often broken and at times stretched out into lenticular masses. From the field relations, these hornblende-schists in most cases appear to have been ancient basic dykes, which were folded up, broken, and con- torted by the same pressure that produced the changes in the surround- ing gneisses. This is well shown at the whirlpool at the Great Bend of the East Main River, where a dyke of hornblende-schist is seen inclosing a large mass of the gneiss. Where it runs transverse to the foliation of the gneiss, the schistose structure of the dyke remains parallel to that of the gneiss, or transverse to the walls of the dyke.

The minor areas of acidic irruptive rocks include some of syenite, generally with a little quartz; others of quartz-porphyry and granite,

tow. LAURENTIAN. 201 L

holding considerable plagioclase. The basic irruptives are represented by great areas of anorthosite, gabbro, diabase and diorite. The anor- thosite areas are the Jargest and most common. They occur on both sides of Lake Michikamau, along Lake Ossokmanuan, about the south end of Lake Attikonak, on the upper part of the Romaine River, as well as along the portage-route between that stream and the St. John River, and extending down the last-named river to within a few miles of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This last-mentioned area probably ex- tends westward to the Moisie River, and forms part of the great mass of this rock fuund by H. Y. Hind* on that stream. A probable con- tinuation of this area was also met with along the Manicuagan River, where it has a breadth of more than twenty-five miles, its southern limit being within twenty-five miles of the coast.

Along the Atlantic coast, anorthosite is found in a number of places southward from Nain to Hamilton Inlet, and areas are said to occur on Grand Lake of the Northwest River, in the Mealy Mountains, south of Hamilton Inlet, and, according to A. S. Packard,t at Tub Island, within a hundred miles of the Strait of Belle Isle.

The anorthosite is a variety of gabbro, made up of labradorite holding isolated masses of hypersthene or rhombic pyroxene, ilmenite and mica- In texture it varies from exceedingly coarse, with crystalline faces some- times nine by six inches, to a fine-grained saccharoidal form. The colour is generally a shade of violet, and is mostly dark, especially in the coarser varieties, which sometimes havea green tinge. The fine-grained gran- ular variety is always light-coloured, varying from white to light shades of pink and violet. Aiong the north shore of Michikamau Lake, where the rock is very coarse-grained, many of the crystal faces show a beautiful irridescent play of colour, in shades of green, blue and bronze-yellow. The crystals having this property are not confined to veins or dykes in the rock, but pervade the whole mass, and were seen for more than ten miles along the shore of the lake. This prop- erly of the rock was seen to a less degree in large crystalline surfaces included in the granular variety on the upper Romaine River.

The coarse crystallization of these rocks is probably due to the slow cooling of the enormous masses in which they are found. Dr. F. D. Adams, from his microscopic study of the Morin and Saguenay anortho- sites, has shown that the light-coloured varieties were originally coarse in texture and dark in colour, like the massive areas, and that their present structure and colour was induced by pressure. The light-

——

*Explorations in Labrador, vol. I. Coast of Labrador. {Canadian Record of Science, vol. VI., p. 277, Jan, 1895.

Anorthosite areas,

Precious. anorthosite.

Contact of coarse and fine anorthosite.

Associated minerals.

202 1 Labrador Peninsula.

coloured anorthosite is often found foliated, and passes into a gneiss, from the presence of mica in smal] scales, or from small grains of ilmenite arranged in bands. Dark red garnets were found in some of the gneissic areas. As before stated, large, isolated, crystalline masses are found in the granular rock, being evidently uncrushed parts of the former mass. Near the head of Lake Attikonak, a contact be- tween the massive rock and a gneissic granular variety was seen. The two rocks are here found separated by a sharp, distinct fault- line that runs nearly at right-angles to the direction of foliation, or parallel to the line of pressure. On one side of the fault the rock is coarse-grained, dark-violet anorthosite, without any signs of gneissic structure or pressure disturbance ; on the other, the rock is whitish, with a granular texture, resembling coarse loaf sugar, and in places it has a distinct banded structure, from the presence of small plates of mica, grains of ilmenite and some red garnet. It would appear that a strong force from a south-eastern direction had acted upon this area of anorthosite, causing first the fault, and, subsequently, the crushing to the gneissic mass.

The light-coloured, granular anorthosites predominate on the upper Romaine River and in tiie great area between that stream a:.d the St. John River, showing apparently that the crushing of the anorthosite areas was greater to the south, along the St. Lawrence coast, than in the interior, where the crushed rock is very rare. It is not found about Lake Michikamau.

The anorthosite areas of the interior generally weather to a dark brown, while towards the coast the decomposed surface is usually white. The hypersthene found in these rocks occurs generally in large crystalline masses, often a foot in diameter, exhibiting, at times, zig-zag structure in section, due probably to crushing. Its of a brown colour and generally has a metallic lustre. The ilmenite, or titanic iron ore, is mostly found in irregular, crystalline masses,

varying from small grains to lumps several tons in weight. Some-

Diabase.

times the ilmenite is in small crystals scattered through the mass of the labradorite. Mica is not common, except in the foliated varieties where it occurs in small plates, and much more rarely in the massive rock. In the area about Ossokmanuan Lake especially, the labradorite is considerably decomposed, into large, irregular patches of dark green saussurite. On the south side of Lake Michikamau, the anorthosite passes into a dark green gabbro along the east side of the mass.

Gabbro and diabase, having to all appearance the same or 3 similar origin to the great anorthosite areas, are met with along

Low. ] LAURENTIAN. 203 L

the Haunilton River, especially in the neighbourhood of the Grand Falls, where these rocks form all the higher hills about the port- age-route. These areas are small, and are separated from one another by belts of orthoclase gneiss. The texture is generally moderately coarse, but at times it is fine-grained. The colour is greenish to black, while the weathered surface is commonly brown. These masses of gabbro and diabase closely resemble those found cutting the Cambrian rocks of the upper Hamilton River, and may be of the same age, as they appear to have been intruded into the old gneisses after the latter had become foliated. The great diabase dykes found everywhere throughout the peninsula, where they cut rocks of all ages, up to and including the Cambrian, are directly associated with these diabase or gabbro masses in the district, and probably represent the latest great irruption of igneous matter to be found in the Archean of Labrador.

Diorites are not commonly found along the routes traversed, and pjiorite. the small areas noted may be in part, at least, only altered diabase. Sometimes they shade into quartz-diorite, which, with the basic granites above referred to, form several comparatively small areas on the Chamouchouan River, and along the Koksoak and Lower Ham- ilton rivers.

DETAILS OF Rock EXPOSURES ALONG ROUTES. . Chamouchouan River.

The rocks along the Chamouchouan River, from its mouth at Take St. John, to its head-waters, have been described by Jas. Richardson,* who examined the river and the route beyond to Lake j Richardson Mistassini, in 1870, and it only remains to add such information as has been obtained later, from a closer examination of certain areas along these routes and at other places not visited by Richardson. Before doing so, it is right that mention should be made of the careful work done by that observer, and it is only our more extended knowledge of the country that enables changes to be made in a few of his determinations.

From the first rapid to the quiet stretch of water above the Little jittle Bear Bear Portage, the rocks show frequently from below the overlying, Portage. stratified drift along the river-valley. They are fine to coarse-grained red and gray mica-gneiss and mica-hornblende-gneiss, accompanied by thin bands of hornblende-schist. Strike N. to N.E.

ee ee Cee

. Can., 1870-71.

Basic granite

‘Chaudière Falls.

Crystalline Jlimestone.

204 L Labrador Peninsula.

Thirty-five miles above its mouth, the river enters a narrow valley between steep rocky walls that afford almost continuous rock-exposure to the Chaudiere Falls, twenty-one miles farther up stream. At the foot of the valley, on the west side of the river, dark red and gray mica-gneiss occurs, along with coarser, grayish-green hornblende- gneiss, holding small grains of magnetite. Dip E. 60°-70°. From here to the mouth of the Mouchipon River, seven miles above, the rocks are mostly a coarse-grained, dark-greenish, basic gneiss, composed of dark, grayish-green orthoclase and plagioclase, dark-green horn- blende and quartz. The rock in mass greatly resembles the crushed basic granite, microscopically examined by Mr. Ferrier,* that occurs along the upper Jacques Cartier River, in Portneuf County, and other similar areas met with throughout the region between the St. Lawrence and Lake St. John. Along with these basic rocks are bands and veins of coarse, red pegmatite, and also bands of finer-grained, gray and pink mica-gneiss, and fine-grained, flesh-coloured hornblende-gneiss, the hornblende of which is light-green and much decomposed.

From the Mouchipon River to the foot of the White Spruce Rapid. some seven miles above, the rocks seen are all dark-greenish basic granite, containing much dark plagioclase and specks of pyrites ; ther are not well foliated, and have the appearance of an intrusive mass Large veins of red and white pegmatite are commonly seen penetrat- ing the granite.

At the foot of the White Spruce Rapid, there is an exposure of medium-grained, pink mica-hornblende-gneiss. Dip 8S. 45°. At the Chaudière Falls, the rocks are chiefly fine-grained, thin-banded, gray and pink mica-gneiss and mica-hornblende-gneiss, interbanded with thin bands of dark greenish-gray mica-diorite-gneiss, that often approaches a hornblende-schist. Average strike N. These rocks are much con- torted and are penetrated by large veins of pegmatite that hold much dark green hornblende. Richardson found, below the falls, thin band of pink crystalline limestone, but it was not seen by the writer, being probably covered hy the high water.

At the Little Chaudiére Fall, the rocks are the same, only the amount of basic gneiss is less. Another thin bed of limestone occur in the gneiss just above the last-mentioned fall. Mica-gneiss and mics- hornblende-gneisses are met with along the main stream to its junction with the Chief River. At the sixty-sixth mile, thin bands of gray crystalline limestone, holding scales of mica, are interbanded with coarse mica gneiss and dark mica-schists. These bands are seen almost

Annual Report, Geol. Surv. Can.. vol. V. (N. $.), p. 75 L.

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continuously along the west bank of the river for the next two miles, to the mouth of Pike River. The thin bands of limestone and associated gneiss are not above fifty feet thick, and none of the limestone bands exceed a foot in thickness. Above, at the bend of the river, the beds appear to thicken, and may be twice the width mentioned. Dip N. 75 E. <40°. Limestone is not ‘gain seen in the Laurentian rocks northward up to Lake Mistassini.

No rock in place is seen along the Chief River from the forks to Chief River. the first chute, about fifteen miles up. Here the river passes over a ledge of dark-gray medium-grained hornblende-gneiss, composed chiefly of black hornblende, with white orthoclase and little quartz. Dark red garnets are generally present, at times in crushed crystals an inch in diameter. The gneiss is cut by a number of pink pegmatite veins. Dip S. 40° E 60°. These gneisses continue along the river-banks for more than half a mile, to the foot of the next chute. They are here interbanded with fine-grained, highly felspathic, pink hornblende- gneiss.

At the head of the second chute, medium fine-grained, light-gray hornblende-mica-gneiss is seen, along with finer bands of a pinkish tinge. Dip 8S. 40° E. 50°. Above this to the fourth portage, eight miles farther up, frequent exposures of hornblende gneiss and hornblende- mica-gneiss occur along the river. The rocks are everywhere evenly bedded, and are not contorted along the strike. At the fourth portage the strike is S. 45° E. 45°-60°.

The same rocks are seen, at long intervals, in the next eight miles, gapin-créche to the mouth of the Sapin-créche River. The banks of this stream River. are low, and are formed of drift for eleven miles above its junction with the Chief River, and no rock is seen in place until the long portage past a heavy rapid is reached, where light-gray, highly felspathic, medium to fine-grained hornblende-mica-gneiss occurs. Strike N. 45° E.

These light-gray hornblende-gneisseg are seen at intervals, everywhere along the route, up to the head of the river. In places about Canoe and File-axe lakes they have a granitic structure, and then resemble a true hornblende-granite. Small garnets are often present in these rocks. Beyond the watershed, they again show foliation and at times change to a hornblende-schist. Ten miles up the Perch River, which flows into the south-west bay of Lake Mistassini, these schistose gneisses are seen, overlain by the Cambrian limestones of Mistassini without the intervention of the Huronian rocks found to the south- west of Lake Mistassini, and which, if they extend in a north-west direction, pass under and are concealed by the newer limestones about: the lake.

Chegobich

River.

Lake Nikaubau.

Hornblende- granite-gneiss-

206 L LABRADOR PENINSULA. Chegobich Branch.

The Chegobich River, which joins the Chamouchouan a short distance above the Chaudiére Falls, flows from the north-west, where it heads in Chegobich Lake, close to Lake Ashoupmouchouan. Owing to its more direct course and fewer rapids, it is used as a port- age-route to the last-named lake, in the spring time, when its volume is sufficient to float loaded canoes.

The Laurentian gneisses are exposed along its course at frequent intervals, and as the general strike of the rocks is nearly north-and- south, the stream crosses it diagonally. For the first nine miles from the mouth of this branch, the rocks met with are gray and pink mica- gneiss, that varies from medium-coarse to fine-textured ; the pink- coloured variety predominates, and all are very felspathic.

Along the next twelve miles, to Lake Chegobich, these mica-gneisses are interbanded with medium-grained, gray mica-hornblende-gneiss, together with a few bands of white quartzite, holding garnets, and also bands of rusty-weathering mica-gneiss.

On the sides of Chegobich Mountain, near the discharge of the lake, the yellowish-pink mica bands predominate, along with a few gray bands; their texture varies from medium to fine-grained, and orthoclase is the predominant constituent, with mica and quartz, and in some bands hornblende. Pegmatite veins are common here as well as lower down the river. The shores of the lake are low, and the country between it and Ashoupmouchouan Lake is swampy, without any rock in place.

From Lake Ashoupmouchouan to the head of the river, exposures of rock are met with but rarely, and where seen they were made up of red and gray mica-gneiss, along with bands of dark hornblende-gneiss and hornblende-mica-gneiss.” On an island in Lake Nikaubau the gneisses are cut by a dyke over fifteen feet wide, of dark brownish-green diabase of fine texture, containing a quantity of brown, translucent mineral.

Lake Mistassini to East Main River.

The rocks underlying the country from the north-west shore of Lake Mistassini almost to the East Main River, are all referable to the Laurentian. From the numerous exposures examined, it would appear that hornblende-mica-gneisses and hornblende-gneisses, alone, charac- terize this area, with only one large dyke of diabase cutting them. These gneisses are often only obscurely foliated and approach closely to the

Low. ] LAURENTIAN. 207 L

structure of hornblende-granites. To all appearance this great area is, like those between Lake Nichicun and Lake Kaniapiscau, along the Koksoak River and also on the Big and (Great Whale rivers, referable

in type to the fundamental gneiss of Logan’s Trembling Mountain section.

Leaving Lake Mistassini, coarse to medium-grained, pink and red, hornblende-mica-gneiss is met with in several places along the low banks and small islands of the northern channel of the Rupert River, before the first portage is reached. In these gneisses hornblende ap- pears to be always more plentiful than mica. Scattered throughout the mass of the gneiss, are lenticular patches of dark hornblende-schists and often finer bands of hornblende-schists and hornblende-mica-schists. General strike N. 50° W. The same kinds of rock are constantly met with to the portage past the fall, where the river enters Pinched-neck Lake. Below the portage, great angular masses of dark-green amphi- Amphibolite bolite are seen in which the hornblende is arranged in large sheaf-like masses of long, narrow, secondary crystals, some of the masses being six inches in diameter. On the islands of Pinched-neck Luke, the exposures are small and few, and show pink granite-gneiss, with in- clusions and broken bands of dark hornblende-schist, much contorted. Strike N. 10° E. to N. 40° E.

At the narrows leading from Lake No. 7 to Lake No. 8 of the por- tage-route between the Rupert and East Main rivers, there is exposed a portion of a large diabase dyke. The rock is of a dark greenish- gray colour with more or less rounded, yellowish-green masses of plagio- clase. The size and direction of the dyke is unknown, as its contacts with the surrounding gneisses are concealed. This rock has been Huronite microscopically examined by Mr. A. E. Barlow, and his description of dyke. it is to be found in Appendix V. The few exposures along the port- age-route to the East Main River, show that the underlying rock is all hornblende-mica-gneiss, with its associated bands of hornblende-schist, as far as the outlet of Clearwater Lake. Only two or three small rock-outcrops are seen along the discharge of this lake, and they are all fine to medium-grained mice-gneiss like that found along the East Main River in the immediate vicinity of the mouth of that stream. General strike N. 10° E.

Lower East Main River.

The land surrounding the mouth of the East Main River is low, and Mouth of the river-banks consist of stratified clay. On Governor Island, at the Fast Main entrance of the river, there is a large exposure of light-gray, medium-

208 L Labrador Peninsula.

grained granite-gneiss, cut by asses and dykes of a dark-red hornblende- granite. The gray gneiss is much contorted and has a general strike of N. 80° E.

The next exposure seen along the river, is on a small island close to the south shore, two miles above the Hudson’s Bay post, where coarse, gray mica-gneiss appears, holding patches and veins of fine-grained,

Contact of pink hornblende-granite. Strike N. 75° E. No Laurentian rocks are

Laurentian again met with along the river for 125 miles, or to within twenty

below the 4 miles of the lower end of the Great Bend. The river, in this part uf its length, follows closely the strike of a band or bands of Huronian rocks, described under their proper heading.

The gneiss below the Great Bend, varies from fine to medium texture. and is either pink or light-gray in colour. It is very felspathic, and as a rule holds little quartz. Hornblende and mica are present, the foriner being always most abundant. In places, the foliation is indis- tinct, and the gneiss then approaches à hornblende-granite. The general strike varies from N. 70° E. to N. 85° E The foliation of this mass apparently took place previous to the deposition of the Huronian schists, as blocks of the gneiss are inclosed in these, with the gneissic structure sometimes transverse to the structure of the schists. At the lower end of the Great Bend, these hornblende-gneisses are associated with small areas of light-gray rock, composed chietly of white orthoclase, with crystalline grains of opalescent quartz, and

Contact at the Scattered porphyritic crystals of orthoclase. This appears to be an

Great Bend. intrusion of quartz-porphyry into the granites. Along the next two miles, the granite-gneisses are mixed up with diorites and hornblende and chlorite-schists, that are taken to represent intrusive masses of Huronian age, as they clearly cut the gneisses. These gradually thin out, and only a few narrow bands of dark-green hornblende-schist aie seen penetrating the gneiss for a mile above, to the chutes.

The river above the chutes flows in a shallow channel between rocky banks overlain with drift. For twenty-one miles, only Laurentian gneisses are met with, until they are again cut off by an area of basic irruptives. The gneisses are light-gray and pink in colour. For the lower half of the distance, a coarse-grained hornblende-granite pre-

Augen gneiss, dominates. It often has an augen structure, but in other places is almost unfoliated, and then holds large porphyritic crystals of orthoclase. Segregations of hornblende are common, often large, and always lenti- cular in shape. The rock has the appearance of an irruptive mass. Associated with it, are bands of finer-grained mica-gneiss, with a more marked foliation. Along the upper half of the distance, the hornblende. gneiss is much finer and very felspathic, while the accompanying mica-

tow. LAURENTIAN. 209 L

gneiss is more abundant. The strike throughout is very regular and is almost directly E. and W.

The basic intrusives first appear about two miles below the Broken- puddle River. From here to the mouth of that stream, the main river

Contact of Laurentian and Huronian

passes close to the contact between the Laurentian gneisses and the at Broken-

Huronian rocks. Contacts were seen in several places, and at all of them the Huronian dykes were undoubtedly intruded into the older Laurentian gneisses.

Gineisses are not again seen along the river for seventeen miles ; they re-appear five miles above the last exposure of Huronian, the rocks in the interval being concealed beneath the drift.

For the succeeding twenty-five miles, to beyond the next sharp northern bend of the river, the rock is chiefly a mica-gneiss. It varies from a mica-schist to a medium-grained gneiss, and its general colour changes with that of the constituent minerals, from dark-gray to light- gray or pink. The rocks have a general dip to the northward 15°- 70°. They are cut by numerous dykes or veins of coarse pegmatite,

paddle River.

either white or light-pink in colour. These dykes are very irregular in Pegmatite size, and along their direction pinch out and come in again, so that veins.

they have a lenticular appearance in most places. They clearly cut the gneisses, and often enclose angular masses of the gneiss, which when so situated is generally schistose. Farther up the river the

gmatite becomes more abundant, and at the upper end of this course greatly exceeds the gneiss and forms high rocky walls showing large enclosed fragments of the schist. The pegmatite is composed chiefly of coarsely crystalline orthoclase, with large masses of quartz and little mica or hornblende. Large dark-red garnets are not uncommonly scattered through the mass, and in some places large crystals of black tourmaline are seen.

For the next ten miles, to the lake portages, the same rocks are seen, along with a medium-grained red hornblende-mica-gneiss. Here the pegmatite dykes are not so large and are less abundant. The red hornblende-mica-gneiss is interbanded with the gray mica-gneisses, but their relations to one another could not be studied. The general dip is N.10 E 15°-80°.

At the upper end of Prosper Gorge, the rock is chiefly a medium- to Prosper coarse-grained, pink hornblende-mica-gneiss, in which the horn- Gorge.

blende predominates over the mica. It holds a few fine-grained dark- gray schistose bands. Dip N. 35 E. 15°. This rock has the ap- pearance of an irruptive and is associated with a gray and more mica- ceous gneiss, holding grains of magnetite.

210 L Labrador Peninsula.

A mile above the portage, there is a large exposure of coarse, red, highly felspathic gneiss, containing small quantities of light-green decomposed hornblende. Dip N. 50° E. 30°.

Medium- to fine-grained hornblende-mica-gneiss, along with thin bands of gray mica-gneiss, outcrop at intervals for the next six miles, to a small chute. Above the chute, and from there to the foot of Ross Gorge, the gneisses become darker and more schistose, and are cut by dykes of red peginatite that carry much hornblende. The schists are mica-hornblendic and micaceous. The strike of these rocks along here shows that there has been a great bend in the foliation, which assumes

Large diabase a direction N. 60° W. Three miles above the chute, there is a large

dyke, dyke of coarse diabase, holding much pyrites, and running N. 30° W., or diagonally across the strike of the foliated rocks. The composition of this dyke is similar to the newer dykes previously described as of post-Huronian age.

The few exposures met with on the portage past Ross Gorge, show pink mica-hornblende-gneiss, full of small red garnets, and cut by coarse pink pegmatite.

Between the head of Ross Gorge and Lake Nesaskauso, there 1s only one small exposure of pink mica-gneiss. About this lake, the rock is t all appearance an altered, intrusive hornblende-granite. It is generally red in colour and coarse-grained, with frequent bands of dark mica-hornblende-schists. These bands are long lenticular masses lying parallel to the foliation, and when followed along the strike are soon found to pinch out.

From the lake to the foot of Grand Island, the rocks along the river are mostly light-coloured mica-gneiss, with a few bands of mica-horn- blende-schist, both of which are cut by large masses of white and pink pegmatite. Garnets are common both in the pegmatites and gneisses. The strike of the foliation here is again nearly parallel to that below Prosper Gorge, or N. 80° E.

The exposures along the northern channel past. the Grand Island, are few, and everywhere show coarse, light-pink or white pegmatite. in great dykes, cutting mica-schists and enclosing broken bands of mica schists and mica-hornblende-schists. The pegmatites are much more plentiful than the foliated rocks. In the pegmatites garnet is com- mon, in large dark-red or black crystals, and dark-green hornblende and greenish muscovite are frequently met with, along with much quartz. Two miles above the foot of the island, there is a large mass of dark-green amphibolite, which is probably the decomposition-product of a diorite dyke; its contact with the gneisses is concealed.

we. LAURENTIAN. 211 L

The rock is made up of dark-green hornblende arranged ii stellar Diorite dyke. masses of needle-like secondary crystals. These masses va1y from

half an inch to one inch in diameter, and give to the rock a beautiful

spotted appearance on its smooth glaciated surfaces. Large blocks of

the same rock are found at the rapid on the south channel, about a

mile and a half above the foot of the island, and probably repr2sent an

extension of the dyke in this direction.

About Tide Lake, along the soutn channel, the pegmatite dykes are fewer and smaller, and, in consequence, more of the foliated gneisses are seen. These are mostly mica-gneisses, that vary in texture from medium to fie, and in colour from light-gray to light-red. Along with these are a few bands of red hornblende-mica-gneiss. Above Tide Lake no rock is seen along the south channel until within two miles of the head of Grand Island, where a low exposure of light-green gerpentine. serpentine appears on the north side. The mass seen is about thirty feet wide, and is bounded on the east side by green chlorite schists, containing small blotches of white plagioclase. The serpentine con- tains pearly hydromica in radiating flakes, and whitish hornblende in secundary radiating crystals. It is probably a highly decomposed dyke cutting the pegmatite and mica-gneisses that are seen a short distance above.

From the head of Grand Island to the end of the survey of 1892, a distance of about ten miles, the rocks are all mica-gneisses cut by

gmatite dykes. The gneiss varies from a fine dark-gray mica-schist to a medium-grained light-gray gneiss. The pegmatite is always white, and as the river is ascended the dykes gradually die out.

Upper East Main River.

At the starting point of the survey of 1893, the rocks are medium Mica-gneisses.

to fine-grained, dark greenish-gray mica-schist, and dark-gray mica- gneiss, cut by large, irregular masses of white or light-pink pegmatite. Both pegmatite and gneisses are cut by small dykes of fine-grained, compact, dark-green diabase. In the next three miles, small exposures of tine-grained, light-gray, highly felspathic granite-gneiss, cut by peg- Matite, are seen on both banks of the river. Strike N. 80° E. with northerly dip.

At the lower end of the large island immediately above the mouth of the Kawatstakau River, the rock is finely banded gray and pink granite-gneiss, cut by pegmatite. Strike N. 65° W. Fine-grained, dark-gray, highly micaceous gneiss, associated with coarse white

212 x LABRADOR PENINSULA.

pegmatite, is seen at the small rapid one mile and a half above the last. From here to Sunday Portage very few exposures are seen, and all consist of gray and pink mica-gneiss along with pegmatite. Sume of the gneissic bands are garnetiferous. Strike N. 80° W.

At the foot of the next rapid, two miles above, there are exposures of dark-gray granite-gneiss, cut by gray pegmatite. Half a mile above this rapid, low cliffs occupy both shores for a short distance, the rock being chiefly coarse, white pegmatite, with broken bands of fine- grained, dark-gray hornblende-granite-gneiss, often weathering greenish from the presence of decomposed hornblende. Some of the bands are highly hornblendic. Sirike N. 80° W. Two other exposures occur on the south side, before the Pond Portage, both showing the same dark greenish-gray hornblende-granite-gneiss, cut by pegmatite, and at the upper exposure the rock is nearly horizontal. Mica is the principal constituent, the hornblende forming but a small percentag- of the mass. At the foot of Pond Portage, similar schistose gneisses,

Pond Portage. cut by pink pegmatite, are seen, dipping N. 5° W. 15°; while at the small lake on the portage, these are found interbanded with coarser highly felspathic, light-gray granite-gneiss, both cut by pegmatite. Strike S. 85° E. At the short rapid on the north-west bend, three miles above the Pond Portage, the rock is mostly a dark greenish-gray mica-schist, with coarser, more felspathic bands, and pegmatite. Dip N. 80° W. 25. mile and a half above, on the west side, is an exposure of medium-grained, light-gray granite-gneiss, cut by peg- matite ; while half a mile farther on the same side, there is a sharp rocky point where dark, greenish gray mica-schist is interbanded with lighter-gray granite-gneiss, and is cut by a yellow-weathering, red pegmatite. Strike N. 10° W.

At the islands, a mile and a half above the north-west bend, the rock is a dark-red, highly quartzose granite-gneiss, holding little hornblende. One mile above, and on the south side, light-grar. medium-grained granite-gneiss is seen, with a few bands of dark mica schist. Strike N. 80° W. No exposures now occur along the river for over three miles, until the foot of the high hill is reached on the north side. There the rock is a coarse pink pegmatite, at times s coarse syenite, and holds a few broken bands of mica-schist. The mountain mass appears to be formed of coarse pink and red horn- blende-granite. On the opposite shore are seen dark greenish-gray mica-hornblende-schists.

Hornblende- A quarter of a mile above, where the river bends abruptly

granite. south, away from the mountain, the rock is a coarse, red hornblende granite, and is followed a mile anda half beyund by medium-coars

Low. LAURENTIAN. 213 L

tiesh-red hornblende-granite, with a light-green serpentine, or chloritic mineral, filling small cracks and veins in it. The hornblende is dark- green in colour. The quartz, at times, is stained dark-red, and small red garnets are also present. The granite often shows signs of folia- tion, and so becomes a hornblende-granite-gneiss.

At Sharp Rock Portage a continuous section of schists is exposed Huronian

fur a quarter of a mile. At the lower end of the portage, dark- Shave Bek gray mica-schists are interbedded with more felspathic, fine-grained, Portage. light-gray gneisses, and are conformably followed by a considerable thickness of dark hornblendic and altered hornblende-schists, on edge, their strike being S. 85° W., and very regular, except where they fold around lenticular masses of dark-green hornblende. The schists are arranged in narrow, dark-green, light-green, white and brown bands: The white bands are highly felspathic, while the colour of the brown ones is due to the decomposition of pyrites, which mineral, along with quartz, is also found in small irregular veins, cutting the schists. A few small bands of white pegmatite also cut the schists. These schists closely resemble the hornblende-schists associated with irruptive rocks, found in several large areas along the lower parts of the river, and are supposed to be of the same or Huronian age. The pegmatites and the masses of hornblende-granite from which they are derived, must be post-Huronian, as they distinctly cut these rocks.

One mile above the portage, on the south side of the river, bands of greenish-gray mica-schists and mica-hornblende-schists are seen, inter- foliated with thin felspathic bands of a light-gray colour, and the whole is cut by pegmatite. Strike 8. 85° W.

A mile above the last, on the same side, is a large exposure of coarse white pegmatite. At the chute, a short distance farther up along the north side, the dark-gray schists are much contorted and broken by masses of pegmatite.

At and below the islands at the narrows, two miles above the chute, the dark greenish-gray mica-schists and mica-hornblende-schists are partly interfoliated with a medium-grained, pink, highly quartzose hornblende-gneiss, which appears to have broken up between the Upper con- bedding planes of the schists, and in places forms great masses wholly ‘ct displacing them. The granite has in many places a porphyritic appear- ance, due to large perfect crystals of orthoclase, generally parallel to the plane of foliation. At the upper end of the island the schists are found only in broken bands and fragments imbedded in the granite. On the south shore, opposite the head of the island, the schists are, however, well developed, and only a little granite is seen.

Hornblende- granite.

Diabase dyke.

214 L ; Labrador Peninsula.

Three-quarters of a mile beyond, and for nearly half a mile alon: the north shore, red hornblende-granite and gneiss are found holding a few broken bands of mica-schists and hornblende-mica-schists. The saine rocks are again seen coming out at the head of a small island ha:: a mile above; dip N. 5° W. 30°. At the foot of the hills, three- quarters of a mile farther up, on both sides, are hornblende-granites cut- ting mica-schist, interbanded with medium-grained, highly felspathic hornblende-granite-gneiss ; dip N. 5° E. 40°. For the next four miles there are three small exposures, all of medium-grained, pink hornblende-granite and gneiss.

At and below Mink Portage and at the chute immediately above. there are a few bands of mica-schist along with a great thickness vi medium to coarse-grained, light-gray hornblende-granite, at time: showing signs of foliation parallel to that of the schists. Dip N. 30 W. 45°. Both schist and granite are cut by white pegn atite. From here to above the islands of Channel Portage, a distance of over four miles, on both sides of the river there are many exposures of medium-grained, light to dark-gray hornblende-granite-gneiss, associated with, and apparently cut by pink to red granite, also medium-coare in texture. The granites are most abundant, and both rocks show frequently signs of foliation. Strike N. 50° E.

For the next four miles upward, the river flows between low sandy banks, the rocks again appearing on the small islands in the rapid at the end of that distance, where part of a great diahase dyke is seen cutting a flesh-red, medium-grained hornblende-granite. The same dyke is probably seen on the north side, a quarter of a mile above the islands, where it cuts a medium-grained, pink hornblende-gneiss. Strike N. 60° E. The dyke is here thirty-five feet wide, and runs 20° W. In structure it is fine-grained, and it splits into sharp, angular fragments, along two principal cleavage-planes, arranged at an acute angle to one another. The colour is dark-green, and only a few blotches of dull, white felspar are coarser than the general texture.

Exposures of pink and red, medium to coarse hornblende-gneiss, are frequent along both banks of the river for the next two miles, and are followed by a great exposure of dark-greenish hornblende-schist, which forms the mass of a high hill on the south side. The hornblende schist, towards the upper end of the exposure, takes up mica acd gradually passes into a dark-green mica-hornblende-schist, closels resembling the rock met with along the river below the granites It is also cut by white pegmatite.

Above this, for two miles, the shures are composed of till, and then again become rocky, forming an almost continuous exposure for the next

Low. ] LAURENTIAN. 215 L

two miles, with frequent exposures in the following ten miles. Red

and pink hornblende-gneiss forms the mass of the rock, and often holds broken bands and lenticular patches of dark-green hornblende-schist. General strike N. 60° E. In places the bedding, or plane of fracture, is nearly horizontal. Some bands are composed largely of felspar, and

are then light pinkish-gray in colour and fine-grained in texture.

Four miles above the Cascade Portage, a large diabase dyke is seen at Cascade intervals for nearly half a mile along the north shore. As its contact Portage. with the surrounding granite could not be ceen, its width and direction

could not be determined, but its course is roughly parallel to the

river, or about N. 45° E. This dyke is medium-grained in texture, dark-green in colour, and holds numerous small, porphyritic crystals

of greenish-white plagioclase. .

Exposures of hornblende-granite are very frequent to the mouth of the Misask River. Two miles and a half below that place, the rock is a medium fine-grained, light-gray, highly felspathic hornblende-gneiss.

Dip S. 60° E. 20°.

On the islands in the rapid immediately below that river, the same light, pink and gray hornblende-gneiss occurs, and here holds a few broken bands of dark-green hornblende-schist ; while small fractures and cracks in the pink hornblende gneiss are filled with light-green serpentine. At the first portage above, an abundance of the same rock is seen, and here dips S, 60° E. 5°-4C’.

Beyond this point only angular blocks are seen, until the last portage before Long Portage Creek is reached, where similar fine-grained, light- gray and pink, highly felspathic, hornblende-gneiss occurs, holding broken bands of hornblende-:chist. Strike N. 65° E.

No further exposures are seen along the route until the rocky portage Absence of on Long Portage Creek is reached, where there is a mountain formed Ck exposures of medium to coarse, red hornblende-granite, at times showing signs of foliation. Although no exposures of rock in place are seen in this long interval, yet, from the number of large angular blocks scattered about the river-bed and apparently not far-travelled, the rock under- lying this section of country must be wholly hornblende-granite and gneiss. Above this to the second small lake beyond the Long Portage, loose blocks of granite are common, but no rocks are seen in place un- til they come out on the north side of that lake, where they are dark- pink, medium-grained hornblende-granite. The next exposure is seen at the small rapid at the entrance of Opemiska Lake, where the same Opemiske granitic gneiss is seen lying nearly flat. Strike N. 80° E.

On a small rocky island on the north side, half a mile from the eastern end of this lake, coarse, pink pegmatite-gneiss holding broken

Hornblende- granite.

Green schists.

Great horn- blende-gran- ite area.

216 L Labrador Peninsula.

bands of hornblende-mica schist is again met with. Strike N. 80° E. At the lowest rapid on the river between Opemiska and Wahemen lakes, there are large exposures of medium-grained, pink, highly quartzose, hornblende-gneiss. Strike N. 80° E. It is associated with coarse pegmatite, the contact of which with the gneiss is covered, and above, in the rapid, there is a large development of dark-gray mica- hornblende-schist.

Half a mile farther up, at the short portage over a small island, there is a considerable thickness of dark-gray mica-hornblende-schist. Dip N. 30° W. 50°. These beds are sharply cut by large dykes of pegmatite that hold considerable quantities of hornblende. Between this and the last exposures, on both sides of the river, the hills are formed of coarse, red hornblende-granite, from which the pegmatite runs out as dykes. Granite is seen on the shores and islands along the river to Lake Wahemen. These granites are often foliated, but commonly show no signs of structure. No exposures were seen along the shores of Lake Wahemen or of the small lakes between it and Patamisk Lake: but from the large angular blocks of granite it may be taken that this kind of rock underlies the drift of this region. Dark-grav mica-schists cut by pegmatite are seen on some of the islands in Patamisk Lake. Strike N. 80° E.

At the west end of the first small lake beyond Patamisk Lake, there are immense angular blocks of dark-gray mica and hornblende-mica- schist. On the south side of the same lake, half a mile from the port- age, there is a large exposure of fine-banded, highly contorted horn- blende and altered hornblende-schists. The bands are of various colours, being yellowish, white, light-green, dark-green and reddish- brown. Dip N. 70° E. 50°. On the other side of the lake, and half a mile beyond, similar banded schists are seen. Dip N. 60. Some of the bands contain finely divided pyrites and weather brown. They closely resemble the rocks seen at Sharp Rock Portage on the East Main River. From here no rocks are seen in place until the Big River is reached, but the angular blocks on the next two portages are nearly all mica-schist, or a fine light gray mica-gneiss.

Upper Big River.

A great area of hornblende-granite is now entered, that extends from the Big River north-eastward to Lake Kaniapiskau, a distance of over one hundred miles. Throughout this distance, the rocks met with consist almost wholly of pink or red hornblende-granite, at times associated with hornblende-mica-gran ite and rarely including fragments

Low. LAURENTIAN. 211 L

of the bedded series of mica-gneisses. These granites are generally massive, and do nbt show signs of foliation, except in the segregated masses of hornblende that frequently occur with them. The segrega- tions have commonly a schistose structure induced by pressure. Where the segregations are large and numerous, the remainder of the rock contains a very small proportion of hornblende, it apparently having been nearly all collected into dark-coloured masses. Some of the segregations contain a small amount of mica. Along the Big River above Nichicun Lake, the coarse, red granites are seen in two places ; the lower being at the Sharp Hill, where the river enters Back Lake. Both exposures show no signs of foliation, are coarse in structure, and contain a very small percentage of inica.

The islands of Lake Nichicun are often rocky, and wherever ex- Lake Nichi-

amined the rock was found to be coarse-grained, pink and red horn- “ blende-granite and mica-hornblende-granite, the former predomina- ting. On the first portage below Nichicun Lake, a consideratle ex- po-ure of medium-grained highly felspathic mica-hornblende-gneiss was seen, along with thin bands of dark-gray micaceous schist. Strike N. 80° E. For several miles below, rock-exposures are frequent along the river, and where examined show coarse-grained, pink and red horn- blende-granite. At the lake-expansion below the third portage, the bedded series of micaceous gneiss is again seen. From here to beyond Lake Kiaswachigastook, the rocks are all granite. On Eagle Lake the granite in places shows signs of foliation. Strike N. 75° E. On both sides of the long bay of Snipe Lake there are numerous broken bands of mica-schists and mica-hornblende-schists inclosed in the granite, and this development of the bedded schists continues across the portage to Long Lake, where the granites again come in, holding many segregations of hornblende-schist inclosed in a magma of almost pure orthoclase.

Koksoak River.

No rock in place was seen from here until the height-of-land was Lake Kan- passed, but from the immense number of blocks and boulders scattered iapiskau. about, the underlying rock is taken to be hornblende-granite. From the height-of-land to Lake Kaniapiskau, a number of exposures were examined, and all were found to be hornblende-granite, sometimes in- cluding hornblende segregations, and rarely showing signs of foliation.

On an island, off the discharge of Lake Kaniapiskau, the bedded Change from

. . . , . . granite to series of gneisses is again seen as fine grained rusty-weathering dark- ie, enoiss.

gray mica-hornblende-schist. Strike 10° S. The first exposure on the

218 L Labrador Peninsula.

river is three miles below the lake, where an outcrop of dark-gray, schistose mica-gneiss occurs at a heavy rapid. Strike S. 85° E No other exposures are seen for several miles, but from the many larve blocks scattered about in the drift, the underlying rock is supposed to belong to the bedded series of gneisses.

The next exposure on the river is eight miles below the last, where the rock is a dark-gray mica-schist, with numerous thin bands of light-gray felspathic gneiss. Below this, there is an interval of twenty-two miles to the next rock-outcrop, which occurs at a rapid below the lake-expansions. Here the rock is a very coarse, pink

Pegmatite. pegmatite, some of the orthoclase faces being eight by ten inches. The rock contains a considerable amount of quartz in large rounded masses, and is singularly free of mica or hornblende. It resembles a great dyke over 300 yards wide, and appears torun N. 70° E. The same kind of rock is met with at the next rapid, one mile below the last. Similar rocks occur frequently for two miles below, when very coarse, pink and gray granite-gneiss appears. Dip N. 15° E. 50. Some of it has an augen structure, and there are also finer-grained bands. These rocks do not resemble the bedded mica-gneisses, and may represent irruptive granites, with the pegmatite dykes derived froin the granite mass. Rocks at the From here, along the east channel past the large islands, the river EE flows over many rocky ledges to the head of the first gorge thirteen miles below. These exposures show a great development of coarse to medium-grained gray granite, often with porphyritic crystals of white orthoclase, and charged with a considerable quantity of mica. Along with these are broken bands of finer, and often darker, mica-schist and granite-gneiss, that perhaps represent the bedded series. All these rocks are cut by dykes of coarse pink pegmatite. Along the gorge these rocks are continuously exposed for eight miles. The coarse red peg- matite here developes into a hornblende-granite, from the presence of dark-green hornblende, and it carries in cracks small veins of light green chlorite. These rocks cut the coarse-grained light-gray basic syenites or granites,* which in places contain well formed crystals of brown orthortombic pyroxene. Associated with, and cut by both the granites. are large masses of mica-schist and fine-grained mica-gneiss, in the form Basic granite. of broken bands. These schists and gneisses are often highly charged with dark-red garnets, some of the crystals being nearly two inches in diameter. The general strike of the foliation is S. 75° E.

For several miles below the gorge the valley continues narrow, with high rocky walls that afford an almost continuous exposure on both

*See No. 6, Appendix V.

Low. LAURENTIAN. 219 L

sides of the stream. Owing to the heavy rapids in the river, the rock

could only be examined at favourable landing places. Where examined

the light-gray basic granites were found to predominate ; they are at

times garnetiferous and sometimes change to a mica-hornblende-granite

from the presence of small quantities of dark hornblende. They then Hornblende hold segregations of hornblende with a schistose structure. The rocks 5egregations. are often foliated, but still the general appearance and the well developed crystallization point to their irruptive origin. They con-

tinue to hold large fragments of the tiner-grained, less metamorphosed,

bedded series. The hornblende-granites and pegmatite dykes cut

both of these rocks.

Eight miles below the gorge, and along the stretch of three miles where the river runs east, the mica-hornblende-gganites are very abun- dant and hold many segregations of hornblende. The direction of the foliation is S. 75° E. They are penetrated by many large fed pegma- tite dykes, and cut by small veins of serpentine and steatite. Three miles below, where the river bends to the north-west, there is much fine- grained schistose hornblende-granite of a dark-green colour. Strike S. 55° E.

For the next eighteen miles, the rocks were examined at intervals, and were found to be similar to those already described. Garnets Garnets. were often seen plentifully scattered through the mica-schists as well as through the granites, the former being found more largely de- veloped as the river was descended. The general strike is S. 80° E.

For the next five miles the river banks are sandy, but farther down stream the same varieties of rock are seen, the granite changing to a mica-hornblende-granite from a free admixture of hornblende with the mica. Strike S. 75° E.

At the foot of the next long rapid, twelve miles below the last ex- posure, the rock is a medium-grained, greenish-gray, basic mica-horn- blende-gneiss. It is composed chiefly of a yellow-weathering plagio- clase, and holds a good deal of dark-green hornblende along with mica. It changes into the light-gray gneiss, and the rusty colour is probably due to decomposition. Strike S. 80° E.

Seven miles farther down, at a heavy rapid, a large diabase dyke was seen, but could not be examined, as it was impossible to land near it.

The next exposure examined was three miles above the mouth of Sandy River. Sandy River, where medium grained, light gray mica-hornblende-gnei:s was seen. Strike S. 60° E. Similar exposures were seen at the low chute a mile below, where the rock was found to be contorted on the strike, and holds a number of shattered bands of hornblende-schist. General dip N. 25°

Eaton Cañon.

Granite Fall.

220 L Labrador Peninsula.

At the second gorge, four miles below Sandy River, medium-grained, light-gray and pink mica gneisses and mica-hornblende-gneisses were seen in nearly flat layers. There are large masses of dark-green horn- blende-schist in places, and these appear to be the remains of old dykes, foliated by pressure. The same rock is seen at the small chute one mile below, and there the dip is N. 15° E. 20°-50°.

At the head of Eaton Cafion, the same flat-bedded gneisses are seen. cut by large dykes of dark-red pegmatite, holding large decomposed crystals of green hornblende. The cafion proper is cut out of a medium- grained, dark-red hornblende-granite, from the mass of which the pegmatite dykes appear to be given off. The granite is extremely brittle and is much fractured along two sets of cleavage-planes ; it is so minutely broken thateit is next to impossible to obtain an ordinary hand specimen. These is a large dyke of fine-grained, compact diabase 125 feet wide, running N. 55° E. along the south side of the river. This dyke appears to have been the cause of the shattered condition of the granite, as the latter is more broken and friable near the con- tact than elsewhere. At the foot of the cañon, the granite is again displaced by the medium-grained, light-gray mica-hornblende-gneiss, that forms the steep rocky walls of the river-valley to the mouth of the Goodwood River.

Below the Goodwood, the walls continue high and rocky for many miles. Five miles down, the rocks, where examined, consist of coarse to fine-grained, gray and pink mica-hornblende-gneiss. Strike S. 15° E. Six miles farther down the ‘same gray and pink granite-gneisss are seen, cut by red hornblende-granite. Strike E. Two miles alove the Granite Fall, only coarse-grained, hornblende-gneiss with light- green hornblende is seen. Strike S. 45° E. At the fall the rock is also coarse, pink and red hornblende-gneiss, including lenticular masses of dark hornblende-schist, often much broken. The gneiss is consid- erably contorted, but the general dip is N. 45° E. 40°.

For seven miles below the falls, the river has banks cut out of drift. which conceals the underlying rock ; then the rocks are seen at the bends of the river, where the heavy rapids occur, and where a landing cannot be made. In consequence, no exposure was examined for twelve iniles below the falls, where a highly contorted, coarse-grained, gray and red hornblende-gneiss was seen.

The valley now widens out, and there is a considerable interval of drift between the river and the rocky hills. In a few places low hum- mocks of red hornblende-gneiss are found along the shores. At times the gneisses are massive, but they generally shew signs of foliation, and have a general dip of N. 45° E. 20°-70°. These characters continue

Low. LAURENTIAN. 291 L

till the crystalline rocks are replaced by the overlying Cambrian strata. Sixteen miles below the Stillwater River, the Laurentian rocks are Contact of again found rising from below those of Cambrian age, although the Lau Sam latter still form the summits of the hills on both sides of the valley. The first exposure on the south side of the river shows finely banded, pearly-gray schists, somewhat calcareous, with plates of silvery hydro- mica, and in some of the bands green hornblende and chlorite. The Garnet schists. hornblendic bands are full of dark-red garnet, some of the crystals being nearly two inches across. These bands are vertical, and the strike is 8S. 45° E. A curious coincidence is that, on the Hamilton River, near the eastern contact of the Laurentian and Cambrian rock, similar beds of hydromica-schists are met with. Three miles below, on the same bank, the Laurentian rocks are again seen, and are here fine- grained, gray mica-gneiss, cut by large masses of red pegmatite. Dip N. 55° W. 40°. On the summit and side of the hill in rear of the last exposure, the rock is a fine-grained, dark mica-schist, interbanded with coarse grained pink mica-gneiss. Dip N. 75° W. 10°-40°. On the north bank at the Head-of-tide Rapid, medium-grained pink mica-gneiss is met with. Dip S. 35° E. 40°. Below this there appears to be only patches of the Cambrian rocks on the tops of the hills on the north side of the valley, and these soon disappear.

From five miles helow the rapid, there is an almost continuous exposure along the south shore for nearly four miles. Along the upper part the rock is largely fine-grained, light-gray mica-gneiss. Dip S. 75° E. 40°. A mile below, a section of 400 feet of banded, light and dark-coloured mica-schists is seen, along with thin bands of dark- green, hornblende-schist. Dip S. 65° E. 10°-30°. Some of the dark micaceous bands are full of small, dark-red garnets.

Similar schistose rocks, cut by large veins of pegmatite, appear on ron Chimo.

the high rocky islands, above the Hudson’s Bay post. Immediately behind the post, is fine-grained, gray and light-pink mica-gneiss, cut by large dykes of pegmatite. Strike N. 45° E. Similar rocks now bound the river on both sides to its mouth, and they all appear to belong to the bedded series of dark gneisses, except the pegmatites, which may represent dykes from some irruptive masses in the vicinity, not seen along the river.

About George River, the country is high and rocky, and near the George River. Hudson’s Bay post the rocks are contorted, gray mica-gneiss, cut by fine to coarse-grained red hornblende-granites. The high country eastward of the Hudson’s Bay post is mostly bare rock, and shows

Muskrat Falls.

Cambrian rocks.

Pyroxenite.

299 L Labrador Peninsula.

gray and pink granite-gneiss, cut by large masses of red hornblende- granite.

Near Port Burwell, the rock is a highly contorted, fine to medium- grained, red hornblende-gneiss cut by large dykes of dark-green diabase.

Lower Hamilton River.

The first rock seen in place along the Lower Hamilton River, is at the Muskrat Falls, where the river passes over a number of ledges of dark grayish-green, diorite-gneiss,* along with medium-grained. light-gray and pink mica, and mica-hornblende gneiss. These rocks are greatly contorted along their strike, which appears to be about N. 80° E. About five miles above the falls, a rocky spur projects from the south wall of the valley, giving an exposure a quarter of a mile long on the bank of the river, where contorted, medium-grained, pink and gray mica-gneisses and mica-hornblende-gneisses are seen.

On the north shore at Sandy-banks Rapid, there is a low cliff of coarse, light-red sandstone along with bands of fine conglomerate of irregular thickness and of Cambrian age. No other exposures are met with until the second bend of the Horse-shoe Rapids is reached, where there is a high cliff of fine-grained, dark-gray mica-gneiss with coarse, light-gray and pink augen-mica-gneiss. Dip S. 65° E. 70.

Along the south shore of the river, from here to the mouth of the Minipi River, there is an almost continuous exposure of gneiss and granite, which could not be examined, owing to the river being open along this part, and to the impossibility of travel on the ice along that shore. Immediately above the Minipi River, there is a large exposure of dark-red hornblende-granite, with gray and pink mica-hornblende gneisses and mica-gneisses. Dip S. 75° E 50°.

Five miles above the Minipi River, a large dyke of very coarse grained pyroxenitef crosses the valley and narrows the river-channel to less than one hundred yards, with an island on the south side. On this island the rock is well exposed. It has a brownish colour, and is much rotted on the surface, where it is broken into great rounded masses. It is formed of a jumble of large crystals of rhombic pyroxene and holds a good deal of black mica in small scales. The direction of the dyke is S. 5° E., and it exceeds seventy feet in width.

No rock is seen in place in the river-valley for thirty-five miles above this dyke, and until the valley again becomes quite narrow about three miles above Squirrel River. But an examination of

*No. 11, Appendix V. +No. 13, Appendix V.

Low ] LAURENTIAN. 223 L

scattered angular blocks shows that the underlying rocks are largely mica-gneisses. Above this, up to Lake Winokapau, exposures are fre- quently met with on both sides of the river. The first is on the north side and shows a band of coarsely crystalline limestone, enclosed in coarse, highly felspathic augen-gneiss, associated with finer gray mica- gneiss. The limestone band is very irregular and varies from one to ji stone. four feet in thickness only. In colour it ranges from pure white to a beautiful cobalt-blue and contains no associated minerals. Strike N. 75° E. The next exposure examined was on the south shore, three miles higher up, where the rock was found to be medium to fine, dark and light-gray mica-gneiss, along with apparently broken dykes of dark-green schistose hornblende. Strike N. 35° E.

A mile above the last, medium-grained, gray and -pink augen-mica- gneiss was seen, together with fine-grained mica-gneiss, in broken bands. Strike N. 35° E. The orthoclase of the augen-gneiss has often a beautiful pearly lustre.

From here to Lake Winokapau, all the rocks met with were coarse, Augen-mica highly felspathic augen-mica-gneiss, varying in colour with the felspar, 8n915. from white through yellow and pink to red. At the entrance of the lake, the rocky walls rise 1000 feet sheer, and huge angular blocks, fallen from above, are piled up at the base of the cliffs. On the surface of one of these large blocks is a beautiful example of the secondary crystallization of hornblende, which is nearly always present in small quantities in these rocks. The needle-like crystals vary from one-tenth to one-fortieth of an inch in diameter, and from a half to two inches in length ; they are arranged so as to radiate from: centres, thus forming dark-green stars.

The next exposures of rock, on the north shore of Lake Winokapau, Lake Winoka- twelve miles above its outlet, are schistose to medium-coarse, pink Pau: mica-gneiss. Strike N. 80° E. Exposures of mica-gneiss and mica- hornblende-gneiss continue for three miles along th.s shore, and these are cut by a dyke of dark-brown, coarse-grained pyroxenite similar to that already described. Thi- dyke is more than one hundred feet wide. On the south side. sixteen miles above the outlet, and for four miles beyond its first appearance, the shore is high and rocky. The rock is mostly gray, fine to medium-grained mica-gneiss, cut by sinall veins of white pegmatite. Dip N. 10° W. 45°.

The north shore, for three miles below the lower island, at the head of the lake, rises in perpendicular cliffs of contorted, micaceous gneisses mostly pink in colour. There appear to be two series of rocks repre- sented, the most abundant being a coarse augen-gneiss or granite, which in places holds large, almost perfectly developed crystals of

Quartz-diorite

Disaster Rapid.

224 L Labrador Peninsula.

orthoclase. The other is made up of fine to medium-grained mica- gneiss, sometimes schistose, and probably an altered clastic rock; whereas the first series has every appearance of an igneous origin, and encloses broken bands of the schistose rock. At the small point on the north side, opposite the lower island, there is a large dyke of very coarse, red pegmatite, formed of large crystals of red orthoclase (9x1? inches), and holding much brown mica in crystals, up to four inches in diameter. Masses of translucent quartz in the pegmatite hold large crystals of black hornblende. At the bend one mile below the mouth of the Metchin River, there is a low cliff of fine-grained mica-gneiss, the dip being N. 60° E. 20°-50°. Opposite the mouth of this river, dark-gray mica-gneiss is seen holding large quantities of dark. red garnets ; these are mostly small, but some crystals are half an inch in diameter. Dip S. 80° W. 40°.

No rock is now seen for six miles, to the next sharp bend of the valley to the northward. Here, on the east side, are two or three small exposures of fine-grained gray and pink mica-gneiss. D'p§&. 20° W. At the upper end of the bend, and on the opposite side of the valley, a prominent hill rises vertically from the water. The rock here is a dark-green, medium-grained quartz-diorite, made up chiefly of dark-green hornblende, with irregular spots of plagioclase and a small amount of quartz. The relation of this rock to the mica- gneisses, which again outcrop on the east side above the bend, is unknown.

The valley from here is free from rock for sixteen miles, to wherea point projecting from the north shore, shows highly contorted, mica- gneisses, associated with red hornblende-mica-gneiss. Strike E. toi. Large, angular blocks fallen from the cliff, opposite the mouth of Portage River, are all composed of mica-gneiss.

The next exposure is one mile above the Big Hill Portage, where dark-red hornblende-gneiss is seen. Rock in place is again seen In the river bed at Disaster Rapid, six miles above the portage, and from here to the mouth of Bowdoin Cañon exposures are of frequent occur rence. Only the north bank of the river was examined owing to the stream being open.

At Disaster Rapid, the rock is a medium-grained, light and dark gray and pink mica-gneiss. Strike N. 80° E. One mile above, the san:e rocks were seen with highly felspathic, pink bands. This is followed, half a mile above, by an exposure, a quarter mile long, of red mica-gneiss and mica-hornblende-gneiss, in which the hornblende is much decomposed. These rocks are distinct from the banded mica- gneisses, and are associated with coarse augen-gneiss. A quarter of

Low. ] LAURENTIAN. 295 L

a mile above, the augen-gneiss is found along with broken bands of fine-grained mica-gneiss. Dip S. 60° W. 40°.

These are followed, two miles beyond, by light-gray mica-gneisses, cut by broken bands of dark hornblende-schist, that are apparently formed from ancient diorite dykes. Along with these gneisses, and seemingly interbanded with them, are gray hornblende-gneiss and a very felspathic, pink hornblende-gneiss. Strike 8. 5° W. The next exposure is half a mile above, and consists of medium-grained, dark and light-gray mica-hornblende-augen-gneiss, with a few bands of pink hornblende-gneiss. A short distance above the last, coarse horn- blende-mica-gneiss and hornblenJe-augen-gneiss are again seen, not well foliated. Strike S. 65° E. This rock is more basic than any yet passed, and has the characters of un intrusive mass cutting or dis- placing the banded mica-gneiss.

No exposure is now met with for three miles, or to within a half Hornblende- mile of the mouth of the cafion, where a medium-grained schistose gneiss. hornblende-gneiss is found, associated with a dark-red, compact horn- blende-gneiss, holding very little quartz, as well as similar bands with both hornblende and mica. These rocks are highly felspathic and are very brittle, splitting along several jointage-planes. They have been greatly shattered and have been recemented by veins of chlorite and serpentine. Dip S. 60° E. 40°-80°. The Bodwoin Cañon, for the greater part of its length, is cut out of this kind of rock, and its shat- tered condition and friable nature must have greatly aided the erosive action of the water.

At the Grand Falls, the rock forming the walls of the basin and the Grand Falls. ca on to below the first bend, is a coarse-grained augen-mica-gneiss- Strike S. 50° W. The foliation planes dip at a high angle, but the rock splits up into great blocks along several planes, one of which is nearly horizontal, and there appear to be two other principal planes, one running nearly east and the other south-west. The direction of these principal lines of jointage corresponds to and probably deter- inined those of the reaches of the cafion immediately below the falls. Similar rocks, above the falls, are cut by bands of coarse horn- blende-mica-augen-gneiss, and both are cut by large dykes of dar k- green, medium-grained diorite.

Upper Hamilton River.

One mile above the falls, these rocks are exposed along the shore for a quarter of a mile, and here they appear to change gradually into

mica-schists and mica-hornblende-schists by the reduction in amount of

Gabbro.

Rocks of Flour Lake.

226 L Labrador Peninsula.

felspar.* Several bands of dark-green hornblende-schist are seen inter- banded with the gray schists, but are found on close examination to cut the latter, and are in all probability squeezed diorite dykes. On the east bank, one mile farther up stream, is a very felspathic, red gneiss, with thin partings of mica, and at times chlorite ; this rock is interbanded with ordinary, gray mica-schists. Dip S. 10° W. 70. On the islands, at the outlet of Jacopie Lake, two miles and a half above the last exposure, are large masses of unstratified uralitic gabbrot enclosing broken bands of mica-gneiss.

On another island, half a mile eastward of the outlet, bluish-gray augen-mica-hornblende-gneiss is seen; strike E. The same rock was also seen, on the low hills, along the south-east shore of the lake.

The rocks underlying the portage-route past the Grand Falls, appear to be coarse augen-mica-gneisses and mica-hornblende-gneisses, cut by large masses of uralitic gabbro, which, owing to its superior hardness and weathering qualities, now rise as rounded hills from 100 to 500 feet above the general level of the surrounding country. Four of these hills were ascended, and each was found to be composed of medium-grained gabbro, in some places very felspathic. There are also several exposures of gabbro seen on the islands of Jacopie Lake. The rock varies from fine to coarse-grained, and often holds consider- able mica. At the entrance to the narrow east channel at the head of the lake, thin bands of coarse-grained, red hornblende-granite are met with, cutting the gabbro.

A small exposure of medium-grained, gray and pink hornblende granite-gneiss outcrops on the east bank nearly two miles above the head of the channel. This rock carries much bluish-white translucent quartz, and is somewhat contorted, with a general strike S. 60° W.

No rock was seen in place for several miles until the small hil' on ‘the west side near the outlet of Flour Lake was examined, where the rock was found to be dark-gray mica-gneiss.

The islands of Flour Lake appear to be all formed of hummocks of fine to very coarse-grained, dark-brownish and greenish gabbro, made up largely of coarsely crystalline plagioclase, with irregular masses of augite or hornblende, hypersthene and mica, and also holding small grains of ilmenite. The coarser masses are badly weathered and de cayed on the surface, the rock resembling a typical anorthosite, while the finer-grained rocks are similar to the gabbros of Jacopie Lake and Lookout Mountain, and all may have come from the same or nearly contemporaneous outbursts of igneous matter.

——

*No.19, Appendix V. tNo.12 Appendix V.

Low. ] LAURENTIAN. 227 L

At the head of Flour Lake coarse-grained, red, .ery felspathic hornblende-gneiss crosses the river, with its strike N. 50° W. Similar rock, only finer grained, is met with three miles up the river, where it is much contorted and encloses masses of hornblende-schist. Beyond, no rocks are seen in place along the south channel of the river for ten miles to Sandgirt Lake. There are great numbers of angular blocks of hornblende-granite scattered everywhere along this interval, and this rock probably underlies the drift here. At the outlet of Sandgirt Lake there is a small island of coarse, red hornblende- granite, cut by small veins of finer-grained, similar rock.

There are very few rock exposures about the shores or on the islands gandgirt of Sandgirt Lake, but on two small islands near the middle of the Lake. lake are huge angular blocks of light-gray and pink mica-gneiss, much contorted and holding inclusions and broken bands of hornblende- schist. On an island at the northern outlet of the lake is a ledge of fine-grained red hornblende-mica-gneiss ; dip N. 45°.

Ashuanipi Branch.

The first exposures along the shores of the Ashuanipi Branch occur at the foot of the hill on the north side, four miles above Sandgirt Lake. The rock on the top of the hill is an unfoliated gabbro like that of Lookout Mountain, which changes to a gabbro-gneiss on the eastern flank. The same rock comes out on the river at the south. west end of the hill, and here, as also on an island immediately above, shows obscure foliation striking S. 40° E. There is much broken fine- grained red hornblende-gneiss along the southern flank of the hill,

which appears to have been baked by the intrusion of the gabbro and is very brittle.

After this no rock in place is seen along the river for ten miles, when a long exposure occurs on the north bank, consisting of evenly banded light-gray and greenish sericite and tle-schists, with a few narrow bands of a fine-grained slaty, altered hornblende-rock holding pyrites; dip N. 65° E. 25°-60°.

These rocks closely resemble those met with on the Koksoak River Rocks like immediately after leaving the Cambrian area, and those here noted are those on Kok- again immediately followed by rocks of the Cambrian series to the westward, This is probably only a coincidence, and does not show that the Cambrian has an altered series attached to its base, as the Cambrian strata found a few miles farther up-stream are of detrital

228 L Labrador Peninsula.

sand-rock and bear no resemblance to the schists, which resemble the Huronian lithologically.

At a point a short distance above the exposure of schist, a portir. of a large dyke is seen, made up of very fine-grained dark-green alter hornblende and plagioclase, with a considerable amount of pyrites dis- seminated through it.

In the small lake-expansion, six miles above, the bedded sandstones of the Cambrian appear on several small low islands, and from here t: the upper end of Menihek Lake the country passed through is under. lain by rocks of this age. A description of these rocks is given farther on.

Above Me- Along the river, above Menihek Lake, to the end of the exploratiwr

nihek Lake. oy the Ashuanipi Branch, there is only one exposure of rock in place. and that is near the end of the survey, where dark pearly-giav hydromica-schists are found with thin layers of white orthoclase ac: quartz, associated with dark-greenish chloritic schists ; dip, S. 10° W 35°. Below this place, in the river-valley, to the Menihek lake. large angular blocks of dark schist are met with frequently, and thes rocks probably underlie the drift of this area. They resemble rock- of volcanic origin and are possibly plutonics of the same period as tE- Huronian rocks of the East Main River; they may be better correlated with these than with the Laurentian gneisses.

The small rounded hill at the end of the survey, is formed from 4 mass of medium-grained dark-green diabase.

Route to Lake Michikamau.

North of At the northern outlet of Sandgirt Lake, medium-grained, rei

Sandgirt Lake ornblende-mica-gneiss occurs on several small islands. Dip N. 60° E. 45° This rock is composed chiefly of red orthoclase and horz- blende, and breaks up into angular fragments, along different joint- age-planes, like similar rock at the outlet of Bodwoin Caïñon At tke rapid, where the channel discharges into Lob-stick Lake, there ts 4 coarse-grained, greenish-gray hornblende-mica gneiss, holding sma- broken dykes now converted into hornblende-schist. At the foot the rapid, the rock is a well-banded, light-gray and pink mica-gners. Strike N. 10° W.

Lob-stick The geology of Lob-stick Lake and the country beyond, to the head

Take to Mi- of the eastern bay of Lake Michikamau, is very complicated, and would require much more study and examination to work it out than it wa

Low. LAURENTIAN. 229 L

possible to give it on a hurried trip through the lakes. This area is remarkably free from drift, and in consequence the rocks are every- where exposed along the shores, and on the myriads of small islands of the Jakes. From the hasty examination made, it would appear that the route passes close to the contact of a great area of coarse-grained, red hornblende-granite, like that about Lake Nichicun, with an older series of foliated mica-gneisses and mica-hornblende-gneisses. The contact of these rocks was examined in a number of places, and overy-| where the hornblende-granites cut the gneisses. The latter, near the contact are much contorted, and at the contact become darker and change from mica-gneiss to mica-hornblende-gneiss, from an admixture of hornblende, perhaps absorbed from the hornblende-granite. Both series are full of broken masses, or bands of hornblende-schist, the probable remains of old diorite dykes that cut the rocks previous to the final squeezing and folding, when they were broken up and changed to their present condition. All these rocks are cut by several large diabase dykes, which are undoubtedly of much later age.

Michikamau Lake.

At the head of the east bay of Lake Michikamau, the hornblende- granites give place to light-gray, talcose and hydromica-schists, holding small garnets, with partings of white orthoclase and quartz, closely

resembling the rocks of the Ashuanipi Branch, at the contact between the Laurentian and Cambrian. Strike N. 25° W.

No exposures are seen along the shores of the east bay, or on the Anorthosite west side of Lake Michikamau for eight miles northward, up to where low rounded bosses of anorthosite come out along shore and on the small islands fringing it. These rocks continue along this side of the lake for thirty miles, or up to within four miles of the north end. The rock is everywhere very constant in its physical characters. It is almost wholly formed of coarsely crystalline masses of dark-purple anorthosite, or labradorite, holding masses of dark brown hypersthene, and ilmen- ite, and at times mica. The rock is badly weathered to a depth of several inches below the surface, and disintegrates, leaving rounded cores. The labradorite, where weathered, has a dark, greenish-brown colour. It is so coarse that cleavage faces six inches across are not uncommon.

The mass of dark-purple anorthosite includes large patches, or rather bands, of a lighter coloured and finer grained variety, due to the segre- gation of the almost white plagioclase from the darker.

Hornblende- granite.

Labradorite.

Hornblende- granite resu- mes,

230 L Labrador Peninsula.

Ed

The hypersthene is present in crystalline masses from one to eight inches in diameter. The ilmenite has no definite crystallization, bu: occurs as irregular masses, generally small, although sometime: measuring more than a foot through.

About four miles from the north end of the lake, the anorthasites give place to a coarse, red hornblende-granite, which occupies th- shore for a couple of miles and then passes under the drift, at the head of the lake. The contact of the anorthosite and granite is cn. cealed and their relations are consequently unknown.

The north end of the lake is low, and the shores are formed of sawi and boulders ; the western side is also low for twenty-two miles frm the north end, to where a ridge of anorthosite hills projects into 'ne lake, forming a prominent point and large high islands. From her, anorthosite is found on every point along the shore for nearly twenty miles. In physical characters this rock closely resembles that of tir opposite side of the lake, except that the felspar has the peculiir opalescent character of labradorite, with a play of colours showin: dark-blue, light-blue, green and bronze-yellow. Some of the crystai: are six inches by eight inches, and at times the outline of the crvsta! and lines of growth are beautifully marked by the different colourir: The precious variety of the rock is not confined to veins or dykes, bu: includes the whole mass. Owing to the badly weathered condition v: the rock, good specimens could not be obtained above water withct: blasting. The beauty of the rock was best seen along the shore bew+ the water-level, where the surface protected by the water was fresher and had been smovthed and polished by glacier-ice. Here, lookit- down through the clear water, the play of colour from the numer:- large crystal faces is most beautiful.

About eight miles north of the outlet of the lake, hornblende-grau::- replaces the anorthosite and again the contact is concealed. Exposure:

of granite are frequently inet with up to the high bill just north of th

discharge. This hill is granite with patches of bluish-gray Cambrian

limestone. At the base of the hill is a large exposure of pink —

and gray hornblende-granite, with an obscure foliation in the directit N. 30° W. From here, for fourteen miles, to the south end of the lake, the western shore is low and formed of sandy drift, strewn with large angular blocks of Cambrian sandstone. The south end of tie lake is shallow and filled with small rocky islands of ccarse, red hort- blende-granite, that are often thickly strewn with huge, angular : of Cambrian limestones and sandstones. The west shore of the lake also low and drift-covered from the south end to the entrance of eastern bay.

Laurentian. 931 L

Attikonak Branch.

From Sandgirt Lake to the first lake expansion, the Attikonak Hornblende- River passes through an area of red hornblende-granite and horn- areas, and blende-mica-gneiss, evidently of igneous origin. The first exposure, about one mile up the river, shews fine, pink hornblende-mica-gneiss, interbanded with darker hornblende-schists. Strike N. The gneiss has partings and small cracks filled with light-green chlorite and serpentine. The second exposure is about five miles farther up, and is formed of well banded, medium-grained, red and dark greenish-gray hornblende-gneiss. Strike N. 20° W. There are numerous exposures along the ten miles of river below the lake-expansion, and they are all medium-grained, red hornblende-granite with green hornblende and partings of chlorite, the orthoclase at times being developed into small porphyritic crystals. Strike N. 10° W.

With the south bend of the stream, as it passes through the small Rocks proba- lake-expansions after leaving Lake Ossokmanowan, there is a distinct bly of age. change in the underlying rocks, which now apparently become bedded argillites, altered grauwackes, and chloritic schists, cut by large diabase dykes. These rocks are frequently exposed, until they are seemingly cut off by a great area of gabbro, near the north end of Ossokmanuan Lake. Up the stream, the first exposure of these rocks is seen on a long point opposite the discharge of the fir-t lake, where the rock is a fine-grained, dark-green chlorite, somewhat schistose in character, and probably the remains of an ancient dyke.

Strike S. 80° W. The next exposure is nearly a mile above, where à Ogsokmanuan large dyke of medium-grained, greenish-gray diabase is seen giving a Lake.

beautiful example of the phrenocrysts of plagioclase. The contact of this dyke with the adjacent rocks was not seen, so that its width and direction are unknown. On the next point, half a mile above, dark. green chlorite-schists are found, interbanded with a very siliceous grauwacke holding small scales of secondary mica and evidently highly altered. Black slates are also interbanded with the last. On the opposite side, and a mile farther up stream, are light-gray sericite-schists, together with altered grauwacke. Strike W. The last two exposures are on islands in the north end of Ossokmanuan Lake, where exposures of dark anorthosite are seen along the west shore. The rock on the islands is light-gray in colour, very siliceous, and is probably an altered grauwacke. Strike N. 50° W. The above- described rocks, taken together, resemble strongly certain aspects of the Huronian, and are probably an extension of the Huronian area met with on the upper part of the. Ashuanipi River, the strike of the

Large area of anorthosite.

Further expo- sures on Os- sokmanuan Lake.

232 L Labrador Peninsula.

rocks being such that, if continued, they would cross that stream at this place.

The anorthosite area appears to be largely developed to the south-west of Ossokmanuan Lake, and its characteristic rounded knobs are seen frequently along the west shore and islands of the lake for ten miles, to the mouth of the large south-west bay. The eastern side of this part of the lake seems to lie along the contact between the anorthosite and a hornblende mica-gneiss, which is seen on the east point of the first narrrows, with anorthosite on the other side of the lake. The anortho- site is generally coarse-grained and almost wholly made up of large crystalline masses of plagioclase, without any play of colour, as seen in the rocks of Lake Michikamau. In some places the rock is medium- grained and contains much pyroxene. This is probably near a con- tact, as the rock is cut by small dykes or veins of red orthoclase and hornblende. The colour of the mass varies from dark-green to dark- violet, and on the surface weathers to a brownish-green. In the coarser rock, hypersthene and ilmenite are always present in varying quantities.

No exposures occur along the lake for the next seven miles, but the broken rock scattered everywhere is chiefly coarse grained hornblende- mica-gneiss, and this rock probably underlies the drift. The two large islands that stretch down the middle of the lake, are high and rocky, and from a distance appear to be formed of gabbro. Along the west side of the lake, five exposures are seen in six miles opposite the northern island. The first is a, fine-grained, compact, dark green- ish-gray basic rock, that is much decomposed but was probably a diabase. It holds fragments of coarse, red hornblende-granite and has an indistinct foliation N. 10° E. It is either a large dyke, or the contact rock of the basic mass with the granites, most probably the latter. The next two exposures are close together, and show a similar rock, with obscure banded structure due to the development of white plagioclase crystals in thin lines. Two miles beyond, these rocks again hold broken bands of red hornblende-gneiss. Strike N. 75° W. The last exposure, a mile further on, is medium dark gray gabbro-gneiss composed chiefly of rusty-white plagioclase and pyroxene. Strike N. 20° W.

From here the shores of the like are low and drift-covered for eighteen miles, to where rock in place is again seen for three miles, on several small points, to the mouth of the river. The first exposure is fine-grained, dark-grayish-green, altered diorite or diabase cut by small veins of red pegmatite. Two hundred yards beyond, there is a large exposure of fine-grained, pink mica-gneiss, very much contorted.

tow. ] LAUEENTIAN. 933 L

At the next point, half a mile farther on, the same gneiss is seen, and is here uncontorted. Dip S. 70° W. 40°. More exposures of this gneiss, which appears to represent the bedded series, are met with fre- quently along the river for three miles above the lake, when the drift again covers the rock, and no exposures are met with until Lake Panchiamiskats is passed.

Between this lake and Lake Attikonak, the mica-gneisses are Ossokmanuan mixed up with a coarse augen-gneiss that appears to cut the bedded Ÿ Attikonak series. At the inlet of the lower lake, on the points and islands, are numerous exposures of coarse augen-gneiss. Strike N. 20° W. This rock is formed of fine-grained, light-gray mica-gneiss, holding strings of well developed crystals of red and pink orthoclase up to 14x # in.

Two miles up-stream is a small island of medium-grained bluish- gray hornblende-mica-gneiss. The orthoclase has a purplish tinge. Strike N. 10° E. Along the river above this exposure, the augen- gneiss is often exposed, together with fine-grained, gray and pink mica-gneisses. At the portage these rocks are banded with twenty- five feet of dark greenish-gray hornblende-gneiss. Dip N. 25°. Above the portage the augen-gneiss appears to die out, leaving only the bedded series of banded mica-gneisses. General strike N. 30° W.

In the northern part of Lake Attikonak only one exposure of rock Rocks of Lake in place was seen on the west side, about three miles above the outlet, Attikonak. where a reef of fine, pink granite-gneiss (Dip 8. 80° W. 40°) forms a line of low islands. Beyond this for twenty miles, the shores and islands are covered with drift, and no rock is seen in place until a small island is reached four miles from the narrows leading to the south-east bay. From the number of angular blocks of mica-gneiss scattered along the shores, it is believed that similar rock underlies the drift and must be interbedded with white crystalline limestone, which is also found in angular blocks along shore. On the island above mentioned, and in several places along shore to the narrows, medium, red hornblende-mica-gneiss is met with. It is contorted and shattered, and the small cracks are filled with light-green serpentine. Strike N. 80° E.

Beyond the narrows no rock is met with for four miles, until a Anorthosite. bunch of small islands is reached. From here to beyond the head of the bay the country is quite rough, with the rounded hills character- istic of an anorthosite area. On the first island, medium-grained, violet anorthosite is found, penetrated by small veins of pink orthoclase.

The anorthosite holds considerable quantities of ilmenite in small masses that are often crystallized ; pyrites is also present in small

Gabbro- gneisses.

234 L Labrador ‘Peninsula.

grains, along with brown hypersthene. There are a few small cavities in the rock partly filled with green saussurite. On the next island the same rock is seen holding much hypersthene. There is a well-

‘marked contact between the coarse violet anorthosite and a gabbro-

gneiss on the next small island. The dark-coloured anorthosite cuts straight across the gneiss, the direction of the contact being S. 30 E.. while the strike of the gneiss is E. The only difference in the anorthosite close to the contact is that it appears to be slightly finer- grained than away from it. The gneiss is a moderately coare grained gray rock, composed chiefly of white plagioclase with a granular structure. It holds bands of biotite and dark hornblende. and is often highly garnetiferous, some of the crystals of that minerai being an inch in diameter and of a dark-red colour.

Similar gabbro-gneisses are met with in several places farther alors our route to the southward, and they are everywhere intimately asso- ciated with the unfoliated rocks. Their crushed appearance ani foliated structure, together with the development of mica, hornb‘ermt- and garnet, leads to the opinion that these gneissic areas are unly patches in the great masses of unaltered gabbros, that for some ua- known cause have been subjected to great pressure, and that the line ci contact with the unfoliated mass is simply a line of fracture.

The next exposure examined was on the point on the west side, 1 mile and a half south of the islands ; here the foliated gabbro is again seen, but the gneissic structure is not so well marked as on the former exposure, owing to the small quantities of mica present. Strike 60° W. On the small island, a quarter of a mile from this point. coarse, violet anorthosite is found, holding large quantities of dark- green saussurite and a few large dark-red garnets. The dark, unfoliatr1 anorthosite is exposed frequently up to the head of the bay, and in a number of places large veins of red pegmatite are seen cutting Il At the head of the bay a six-inch band of mica-gneiss is inclosed it massive gabbro.

Romaine River.

Rounded hills of massive anorthosite are met with along the portage-route to the Romaine River, and the area appears to ext: far to the south-west, forming the high rugged hills seen in tls direction, beyond Lake Attikonak.

For about four miles below the place at which the portage-rut reaches the Romaine River, there are numerous exposures of an thosite. Opposite the mouth of the portage creek the rock is shite

Low. ] LAURENTIAN. 235 L

and granular, and resembles coarse loaf-sugar. This fine-grained rock holds small masses of coarsely crystalline, violet anorthosite, and masses of brown hypersthene, often several inches in diameter. The hypers- thene often exhibits a zig-zag crumpled structure. Ilmenite is also scattered through the white rock in grains and sometimes in irregular lumps several pounds in weight.

At the head of the rapid, two miles below, the same white, granular Anorthosite of anorthosite is seen, with an indistinct foliation N. 70° E. At the two varieties. portage, a short distance lower down stream, the foliated, white anorthosite, holding many coarsely crystalline lumps of the darker variety, are associated with a light-gray gabbro-gneiss, made up of the granular anorthosite with considerable biotite, hornblende and ilmenite, that give to the rock its gneissic structure. In some placer, ilmenite alone is present, and is arranged in thin bands of grains, separated by the plagioclase and thus forming a gneiss. All these rocks are cut by veins or dykes of red pegmatite that vary from a few inches to several feet in width. On the small islands, the masses of coarsely crystalline, violet anorthosite are very numerous, and some of the faces show the opalescent blue, green and bronze-yellow peculiar to labradorite. These masses appear to represent cores of the original rock in an unaltered state, whereas the white granular variety that encloses them, seems to have been formed by the same or a similar pressure to that which induced the gneissic structure in the foliated variety.

Below the portage, the character of the surrounding country changes ; Gneiasic area

the sharp rounded hills characteristic of the anorthosite areas, give entered. place to flatter and more undulating hills, probably formed of gneiss. No exposures of rock are seen along the river, below this place, nor along the drift-covered shores of the first and second Burnt Lakes, but the underlying rocks are probably hornblende-granite and gneiss. At the outlet of thesecond lake, coarse-grained, dark-green hornblende- schist is seen, penetrated by numerous small, red orthoclase veins. Strike S. 70° E. The next rock seen in place, is in the rapid at the outlet of the lowest Burnt Lake, and consists of a coarse-grained red hornblende-mica-gneiss.

The river on leaving the Burnt Lakes enters a distinct valley with Exposures rocky walls. This valley is partly filled with drift, and the river- ew Burnt channel is cut into the drift, in consequence of which very few rock-

exposures are seen along its banks.

Five miles above the junction of the upper western branch, there is a small exposure of coarse-grained, red hornblende-granite, very

Anorthosite- gneiss.

Cliffs of anor- thosite.

236 L Labrador Peninsula.

felspathic, and holding a little mica. Below this no rock is seen for sixteen miles, until the upper chute is reached. Here coarse-grained mica-hornblende-gneiss and hornblende-gneiss occur on both sides of the stream. The rock is mostly red and pink, with some finer broken bands of a dark colour, probably squeezed segregations of hornblende and mica. Strike E.

At the lower chute, the same coarse, pink and red hornblende-mica- gneiss is seen, often with an augen structure. Strike N. 80° E.

The next exposure is twenty-two miles farther down-stream, or four miles above where the portage-route to the St. John River turns off, and the interval is probably occupied by hornblende-mica-gneisses Here medium to fine-grained, pink and gray hornblende-mica-gneiss is seen, with some of the bands holding small red garnets. Strike N. 70° E.

Portage-route between Romaine ani St. John Rivers.

No rock is seen in place, until the first lake of the portage-route is reached, where a great area of anorthosite is entered, that extends far down the St. John River.

On the first lake, the rock is a light-gray anorthosite-gneiss, made up of granular, crystalline, white plagioclase and mica, and closely resem- bling that described on the upper Romaine River. On the portage leading from the second lake, a light, violet-gray anorthosite is seen, holding small quantities of mica, hypersthene and ilmenite. This rock is coarser than the last and does not appear to have been subject to as great pressure. At the lower end of the long portage leading to the first small branch flowing into the St. John River, white, granular anor- thosite is seen, enclosing a large mass of light-pink, very quartzose hornblende-granite.

As far as the next branch, some six miles, the stream is hemmed in between perpendicular walls of anorthosite that rise more than 300 feet. Most of the rock seen is of the light-coloured, granular variety, and at times becomes pink or light violet. It holds much hypersthene, often in large masses, some a foot across. In several places, pegmatite dykes were seen cutting the rock. The light-violet and pinkish anorthosite, with a medium-grained, granular structure, extends along the other branch of the stream past Cliff Lake, where it rises on both sides of the lake in imposing cliffs capped by bare rounded knobs.

*See No. 24, Appendix V.

Low. ] LAURENTIAN. 237 L

The same rocks are met with, at frequent intervals, along the portage-route, until the second long portage lake is reached, which lies close to a contact between the anorthosite and mica-gneiss. On an island in the middle of the lake, the light-violet anorthosite is cut by large dykes of coarse, white pegmatite. At the outlet the same anor- thosite incloses masses of fine-grained, red mica-gneiss, and is itself cut by small pegmatite dykes. The anorthosite has here a gneissic structure and holds a good deal of mica. Strike N. 55° E.

On the small stream flowing out of the lake, and a mile below the Mica-gneiss.

last exposure, medium-grained, red mica-gneiss is seen, and appears to be ‘nearly horizontally bedded. On the first of the three small - lakes passed through before reaching the St. John River, there is a coarse, greenish, basic rock, composed of dark plagioclase and mica, that appears to inclose broken bands of red wica-gneiss. On the third lake, dark-violet anorthosite is seen, somewhat foliated. Dip S. 60° W. 45°-70°.

St. John River.

The next exposure examined was on the St. John River, about a Rocks chiefly mile below the end of the portageroute. The rock here is a fine- 27°rthosites. grained, granular, white anorthosite, full of grains of ilmenite and hypersthene. It is somewhat foliated, and strikes S.10° E. The next exposure is two miles below on the east side, where the rock is coarse-grained, dark-violet in colour and holds large masses of hypersthene. At the next bend, one mile and a half lower down on the west bank, there is a pink and gray, fine-grained mica- gneiss, cut by coarser, red granite dykes. Strike S. 10° E.

As far as the portage twenty-six miles below the last exposures, all the rocks examined were anorth site, most of it of a light-violet colour, and including masses of the dark, coarsely crystalline variety. In a number of places it is cut by large dykes of red pegmatite. Below the portage the light-violet anorthosite outcrops in many places along the river, to within a short distance of the mouth of the Chambers Branch. Here on the east bank of the main stream, foliated, light- gray gabbro-gneiss is seen. Strike S. 15° E. About 200 yards farther down-stream, on the same -ide, dark-red, coarse-grained hornblende- Hornblende- granite-gneiss occurs. It is much shattered, and the small cracks are 8"°'88*- filled with green chiorite. It has all the appearance of an igneous rock and the foliation is probably due to pressure alone. Strike S. 25° E. Unfortunately the contact between these rocks and the anortho- site is concealed, and their relations are consequently unknown.

Gneissic rocks of lower river.

Anorthosite above Tool- nustook.

238 L Labrador Peninsula.

The coarse hornblende-gneisses outcrop in a number of places along the river, to within ten miles of its mouth, when they pass under the drift which forms the river-banks to its discharge into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Manicuagan River.

The first rock-exposure examined in ascending the Manicuagan River, was on the north side at the narrows, four miles above its mouth. Here, compact, fine-grained, greenish mica-gneiss is found in low folds, cut by irregular masses of medium-grained hornblende- gneiss, apparently remnants of old squeezed dykes. Red pegmatite veins cut both rocks. General dip N. 65° E. 10°-50°.

Similar rocks are exposed on the shores and islands to the foot of the first portage, where coarse-textured hornblende-mica-gneiss and hornblende-gneiss prevail, cut by large pegmatite veins. Strike N. 25° E.

At the upper end of the portage, a medium-grained, dark-red mica- gneiss occurs. Strike N. 10° E.; and on the second portage, similar gneiss was also noted, but here it is highly quartzose and passes in places into a quartzite. At the upper end of the portage and on the small islands a couple of miles above, similar rocks occur. Mica- gneisses, cut by much pegmatite, outcrop at intervals up to the third portage, where they are exceedingly quartzose and in places pass into a pure quartzite, which has been waterworn to a smooth porcelain- like surface. Large quartzose pegmatite dykes occur here and cut dark-greenish mica-hornblende-gneiss, and also enclose large angular fragments of the same rock.

Above the third portage, drift covers the rocks in the wide valley, and only a few small exposures are seen for ten mies, to the easterp bend. Red and gray mica-gneisses, often weathering rusty, and cut by a few red pegmatite veins, were seen. Dip N. 10° E. 60°.

At the bend, the hills surrounding the valley become higher and much bolder in outline, concurrently with the change from the mica gneisses to a dark greenish gabbro-gneiss and anorthosite. Gabbro gneiss alone is seen along the river up to about five miles above the junction of the Toolnustook, where it gives place to unfoliated, purple anorthosite. The gabbro-gneiss is usually much weathered on the

' surface, and has a rusty, greenish colour; it is composed chiefly of

plagioclase and mica, with some green hornblende in places.

The unfoliated anorthosite resembles that found along the Romaine and St. John rivers. It is generally of a dark-violet colour, with large

Low. LAURENTIAN. 239 L

crystal-faces, sometimes enclosed in a granular matrix, where the rock has been subjected to crushing. In many places, especially along the gorge at the fourth portage, decomposition has produced in these rocks large irregular masses of saussurite and in other places a gneissic structure is seen where mica and ilmenite are found in thin bands. At the head of the gorge the rocks are well exposed, and are mostly massive anorthosite, with detached patches showing gneissic structure. In places the rock is decomposed to green saussurite. This mineral occurs in irregular masses of varying size, which when large have the inner portion fine-grained, compact, and weathering reddish, while the outer is composed of about half an inch of a dark-green, fibrous, scaly

mineral. Several dykes of compact, red pegmatite cut the anorthosite here.

Above the fourth or Chesniup portage, outcrops of anorthosite are py nosures frequent in the river-valley for thirteen miles, up to where it again Ae Portage. straightens and widens out. The last exposure is of dark-greenish, gabbro-gneiss containing little mica, interbanded with a light-gray, medium-textured, basic gneiss, holding much mica and small garnets, evidently representing rocks near the contact of the anorthosite with the acidic gneisses. Strike N. 50° E.

The country above this place again assumes the character of that underlain by mica-gneisses, and, although no rock-exposures are seen for several miles, from the change in the physical features, it has been

assumed that the edge of the anorthosite is close to the last exposure noted.

Up to near the head of the next straight stretch of the river, twenty miles above, no rock is seen in place in the valley. Along the next twenty-four miles, to the portage, several exposures of red and gray, medium-textured, fine-banded mica-gneiss, occur in a few places, interfoliated with medium-grained, red mica-hornblende-augen-gneiss. General strike N. 40° E.

Between the fifth and the sixth or Kikaskuatagan Portage, medium Kikaskuata- . . . . . gan Portage. to coarse-grained, pink and gray augen-gneiss, often garnetiferous, is seen. Dip N. 50° E. 20°-70°.

From the last-named portage to the Long Portage, there are frequent exposures of rock in the valley ; coarse, augen-gneiss predominates, and is associated with a few bands of fine-grained mica-gneiss. The augen- gneiss is largely composed of orthoclase, with mica, quartz and at times hornblende. Near the lower end of the Long Portage the strike is N. Long Portage. 25° E. Above the portage, similar coarse augen-gneiss is met with

for three miles; it is generally micaceous, but at times carries mica and hornblende.

240 L Labrador Peninsula,

At and below the next short portage, the coarse augen-gneis gives place to dark greenish, schistose mica-gneiss, holding small, dark- red garnets and interbanded with a bed of green serpentine-lime-tone. three feet thick, holding scales of graphite. Immediately above the portage, similar dark mica-gneiss is associated with thin bands uf mica-hornblende- and hornblende-schists, some of the bands beins highly charged with small garnets. Dip 8. 60° E. 45. At the next short rapid three miles farther up, schistose mica-gneiss is seen. cut by coarse pegmatite, made up chiefly of purplish-pink orthocla-. with dark-green hornblende, biotite and quartz. Dip 8.70° EF. 61).

Lake Ichima- The perpendicular walls of the deep valley of the river flowing int menagen. Lake Ichimanicuagan, afford fine exposures of the rocks, which are seen dipping regularly towards the 8S. E. 45°. Several slip faults almost parallel to the dip are seen, as well as others at right-angles tv the dip. The rocks are chiefly red mica-gneiss, together with coare augen-gneiss, which often encloses large lenticular masses of dark schist. Below the first portage on this part of the river, several exposures show dark greenish-gray mica-hornblende-gneiss with thin bands of a red variety. Both are composed largely of a gray orth clase, mica and decomposed, green hornblende. At the portage, there are bands of red and yellowish, medium-grained mica-hornblende- gneiss, holding some magnetite in small grains, and weathering rusty. Dip S. 75° E. 20°-45°. Rocks of Lake The next exposure examined is on the west side of Lake Mouchala- Mouchalagan. gan, about two miles north of its outlet. Here the rocks are fine banded red and gray, garnetiferous mica-hornblende-gneiss, on edge. Strike N. 20° E. These rocks outcrop at several small points on this side of the lake at intervals for the next twelve miles, when coarse- textured, red and gray, garnetiferous mica-gneiss is seen. Strike 10° E. On the opposite shore, ten miles above the last exposure, the high rugged hills of the locality approach the shore, and form low cliffs where the lake bends to the east of north. Here a foliated rock is composed wholly of dark green scaly crystals of hornblende and dark Garnetiferous red garnets, forming a garnet-diorite. The garnets vary in size from gneisses, that of small shot to crystals more than an inch in diameter. Inter- foliated with this diorite are wide bands of fine-grained, light-gray and pink mica-hornblende-gneiss, also highly garnetiferous. Dip S. 70° E 40°. These garnet-diorite rocks are largely developed in the hill behind, where they are easily recognized by their weathering in irregular masses of a rusty colour. They appear to be associated with bands of crystalline limestone.

Low. LAURENTIAN. 241 L

At the next point, half a mile farther up the lake, ordinary garnet- Crystalline . . 2 limestones. iferous mica-hornblende-gneiss is seen, and the same rock outcrops two miles beyond at the Partridge-tail Hill on the west side of the lake. The rocks of the first small point beyond, are yellow and reddish- weathering, rotten crystalline limestone and garnet-diorite. The limestone contains many garnets, together with scales of graphite and ‘ small quantities of light-green hornblende and mica. The garnet rock is fine-grained and compact ; it is composed chiefly of fine-textured hornblende, small garnets and gray plagioclase, and is charged with pyrites. This rock intrudes into and distorts the bands of limestone and garnetiferous mica-gneiss.

At the mouth of the Mouchalagan River, there is a small bluff of Mouth of light- and dark-gray hornblende mica-gneiss, holding small scattered Mouel garnets and composed chiefly of nfedium- to coarse-grained hornblende and gray orthoclase, with little mica and quartz. Dip N.30° E. 70°. Similar exposures occur along the east bank of the river for two miles above, and in places they are cut by small dykes of red pegmatite.

The next exp*sure of rock is on the west bank, at the foot of the islands above the junction of the Kawikuanapisis River. Here, and at intervals for two miles above, the rocks are chiefly medium-grained gray and pink mica-hornblende-gneiss, the coarse bands sometimes having porphyritic crystals of orthoclase. Associated with these rocks are bands of finer grained pink and light-gray gneiss, holding much mica and quartz and little hornblende or garnet. Dip N.15° E. 45°.

For three miles above the islands, upto the small tributary, where the ({neisses and portage past the gorge leaves the river, there is an almost continuous crystalline wall of rock on both sides of the valley. On the east side, at the lower end of the cliff, dark and light-gray, well-banded mica-gneiss holding rounded fragments of hornblende-schist, is overlain by ten feet of pyritiferous, schistose mica-gneiss, very much decomposed and holding graphite and garnet. This in turn is overlain by one hundred feet of crystalline limestone interrupted by thin bands of mica-schist.

Up along the stream, the lower bands dip below the water, leaving only the limestones and mica-schist exposed in the cliffs. The west bank of the river is nearly all limestone, and if the stream does not run on the line of a fault, there is a great thickness of limestone (more than 1000 feet) developed here. The limestone, in its different bands, varies in colour and purity: the white bands are coarsely crys- talline and very pure; the impure bands have a yellowish tinge, due to the presence of small scales of light-brown mica. Small veins of white radiating crystalline tremolite are common, as are also little cavities lined with short light-green crystals of that mineral.

Rocks of the gorge.

Line of fault.

Mass: ve limestones.

249 L . Labrador Peninsula.

Immediately above the portage, the gorge is cut out of dark- and light-gray hornblende-granite, with a few pink bands associated with or overlain by dark- and light-gray fine to medium-grained garnetifer- ous mica-gneisses. Strike N. 80° E.

At and below the first chute, on the west side, well-banded light- gray highly felspathic mica-gneisses are interbanded with thin layers of garnet-diorite, composed wholly of garnets and dark-green hom. blende. These rocks are overlain by bands of limestone twenty and ten feet thick, separated by forty feet of mica-garnet-gneiss. The chute passes over a line of fault, for on the east side of the river where the limestone is well developed, the beds, though greatly crumpled, are nearly flat, above the chute, while below it the limestone and gneiss are on edge. Strike, N. 50° E.

At the second chute and above it up to the head of the gorge, the limestones are abundantly developed in bands varying from ten to 200 feet in thickness, but, as they are greatly contorted and. faulted, no exact estimate of the total thickness of the beds can be given although they must approximate to 1000 feet if they do not even exceed this

thickness. Rotten, rusty-weathered mica-schist always accompanies the

limestone bands, usually very pyritiferous, and often carrying much graphite and garnet, while some of the bands contain considerable percentages of magnetite and hematite in small grains, with quartz Veins of white tremolite are common in the limestone ; some of them a foot in thickness, with beautiful radiating needles of that mineral : other veins of the same radiating mineral are brownish in colour, from

iron.

The rocks immediately above the gorge are fine to medium-grained, light to dark-gray mica-hornblende-gneiss, inclosing broken bands and lenticular masses of dark hornblende-garnet-gneiss. Strike S, 75° E The next exposure occurs on the west bank three miles farther up. stream, where medium to coarse-grained, light-gray, highly hornblendic garnet-gneiss is seen. Strike N. 35° W. Two or three small outcrops of the same rock were seen along shore up to the place at which the portage-route leaves the west shore for Lake Attikopi.

From the portage to the mouth of the Pepechekau River, the rocks are well exposed on both sides of the stream, being almost continuous along the river up to the commencement of the long gorge. They are mostly medium, gray mica-gneiss, together with bands of coarser hornblende-mica-gneiss, often very garnetiferous. Owing to the heavy rapids in the gorge, and the difficulty of landing and examining the nearly perpendicular walls of rock, only a general

tow. ] LAURENTIAN. 243 L

description of the exposures along this portion of the river can be

given. In the gorge above the mouth of the Pepechekau, the rock-exposures on both banks become almost continuous. The Complicated structure and association of the various rocks are very complicated, association of and it would require much work to establish their relations to Pepechekau. one another. It would appear that the mica-gneiss and mica-schist,

whichare most abundant, closely resemble similar rocks on the Kast Main

River, where they in part have been referred to metamorphic clastic rocks

of the Huronian. Along the upper part of the gorge, these rocks are

found to be cut by various dark-green schists of chlorite and altered hornblende, which correspond closely to the supposed volcanic and ash

rocks of the Huronian. All the above rocks in turn are apparently

displaced by great masses of generally coarse-textured, pink and gray hornblende-granite, frequently more or less garnetiferous, the mica- Hornblende gneisses being also often garnetiferous. Great dyke masses, altered to 8ranite. serpentine, are also met with, and in places show stages of alteration,

from a coarse diabase. Many of the exposures of chlorite and altered hornblende-schists weather rusty from the decomposition of pyrites,

with which they are usually highly charged. They are often cut by quartz-veins, carrying pyrites and crystals of black tourmaline, horn-

blende and garnets. Towards the head of the gorge, the altered hornblende and chlorite rocks die out, leaving only the schistose mica-

gneiss and a few bands of mica-hornblende-schist, both cut by very

coarse, highly felspathic hornblende-granite, at times garnetiferous.

A short distance above the junction of the Attikopi River, the main

stream flows through a large area of hornblende-granite rocks, similar

to those found about Nichicun, and probably a south-eastern extension

of that great area.

From here to Itomamis Lake, the numerous exposures met with Attikopi Ri- along the stream are all composed of varieties of hornblende-granite 7 Dome that vary in colour from white through pink to red, and in texture from medium-grained to very coarse-grained. Hornblende is always present, and mica in varying quantities nearly always. Orthoclase is the predominant mineral, and quartz is always freely distributed through the mass. These rocks usually show foliation, the strike of which is nearly constant and varies from N. 60° E. to N. 80° E. Segregations of dark-green hornblende-schist are of common occur- rence, usually in the form of lenticular masses, at times in strings, so that they appear to have been formed by the stretching and breaking of bands of this rock while inclosed in the granite.

Itomamis Lake appears to be situated near the junction of the horn- ttomamis

blende-granite mass with a dark-gray garnetiferous mica-gneiss, which Lake.

244 L Labrador Peninsula.

is seen at the outlet of the lake, and also along the stream leading to Summit Lake. In other places about the shores of the lake only coarse hornblende-granite occurs, often with an augen-gneiss structure. About Summit Lake the rocks are all of the garnetiferous variety. They are usually very quartzose, and often weather rusty. Mica pre- dominates over hornblende, the latter being often absent. Dip N. 30°-60°.

Portage-route of the Mouchalagan River.

The portage-route to the head-waters of the Mouchalagan leaves the river itself, about twenty-five miles above Lake Mouchalagan, and, passing westward, rapidly rises to the level of the irregular interior plateau. Rock-exposures along the route, though not uncommon, are not nearly as numerous as in the deep river-valley along its rocky walls.

On the summit of the first portage leading from the river, there is a small exposure of dark, rusty-weathering, garnetiferous mica- hornblende-gneiss. Strike N. 10° W. From here to the watershed between the Outardes and Mouchalagan streams no rock is seen in place, but the great number of scattered blocks and boulders show the underlying rock to be chiefly gray mica- and mica-hornblende- gneiss, with some pink hornblende-granite often very coarse in texture.

The next rock seen, was at the entrance to the first small lake above Little Matonipi Lake, where coarse gray and pink mica gneisses outcrop. Dip 8. 50° E. <20°. On a small island in the same lake, similar gneisses occur in nearly flat beds, cut by much coarse pegmatite. At the end of the portage, on the small stream leading to Little Matonipi Lake, there is a low, sharp ridge of coarse pink, and fine-grained gray, highly quartzose mica-gneiss, cut by pink peg- matite. Dip 8. 50° W. 4 0°.

On'the shores and the small island adjoining the outlet of the lake, there is a remarkable development of bedded iron ore. The sections exposed give a thickness of over two hundred feet of ore, which varies from a pure mixture of magnetite and hematite, to a highly quartzose, ferruginous gneiss. The exceedingly quartzose nature of the gneiss and the quality of the ore, have a certain resemblance to the occurrence of the bedded ores of the Cambrian formation, describal under that heading ; this would lead to a belief that these ores of the Laurentian may have had a similar origin, and are products of 3 similar character, more completely altered in conformity with the greater metamorphism of the containing rocks.

Low. ] LAURENTIAN. 245 L

The next outcrop of rock noted, was found on the long portage lead- ing northward from Lake Matonipi, where two small exposures of the ore rise above the drift at the summit of the hill. The ore here resembles an ordinary medium-grained highly quartzose gneiss, holding a small amount of garnet and orthoclase, and with magnetite taking the place of mica or hornblende. The direction of the strike here (S. 60° E.) coincides with a line drawn through the last mentioned outcrops, and consequently both probably belong to the same band.

The small shining crystal-faces of the ore give to the rock a most bril-

liant effect in sunlight, so that it sparkles as if studded with diamonds.

There is mentioned in the Relations des Jésuites, a “burning mountain” The reported situated in Labrador near the head-waters of the Manicuagan River, wountain” and information obtained from our guide is to the effect that a shining mountain lies about twenty miles to the westward of the portage and

directly on the course of the strike of the iron gneiss. There, a similar sparkling effect is produced by the sunlight, and the “burning moun-

tain” of the missionaries is in all probability a large development of

the iron ore in a cliff face. There is no ground whatever for the

belief in the existence of an active volcano in this region, based by

some writers upon the statements of the Relations des Jésuites.

Along the course of the portage up the gulley to the watershed Rocks near between the Outardes and Manicuagan rivers, numerous exposures are watershed seen of light-gray medium-grained, highly felspathic mica-gneiss with nicuagan and many bands of dark mica-schist. General strike N. 40° E.

Beyond the first stream tributary to the Manicuagan met with on the portage, drift conceals nearly all the rocks of the neighbouring rounded hills for about twelve miles, but, from the loose angular biocks, similar gray mica-gneisses probably prevail to within a short distance of Lake Kichewapistoakan, where hornblende-granite is found in connection with the mica-gneisses, probably forming the south- eastern limit of the great area of such rocks centering about Nichicun.

The high range of mountains on the north side of the south-west branch of the Attikopi River, is probably also formed of this horn- blende-granite as outcrops of it occur along that stream on the way to Lake Attikopi. At the first portage in descending, there is dark mica-hornblende-schist, cut by coarse, pink hornblende-gneiss. Strike N. 60° E. Similar coarse hornblende-granite, at times unfoliated, is seen frequently along the shores of Lake Attikopi and down its dis- pay Attikopi charge to its junction with the main stream. On the north-east branch of the Attikopi River, from the larger lake to Attikopis Lake, the mica-gneisses are most prevalent along the lower portion with the granites predominating as the upper lake is approached. A large

Lake Naoko- kan.

Character of the rocks.

Two main areas.

246 L Labrador Peninsula

dyke of coarse, dark-green diabase was noted above the second

‘portage. It is greatly decomposed and largely changed to serpentine.

Very few exposures were seen along the route leading from Attikopis Lake to Nichicun, until Lake Naokokan was reached, where hornblende-granite is freely exposed on the shores and islands. About two miles above the last-mentioned lake, outcrops of schistose garnetiferous mica-gneiss occur at the rapids, where they strike N. 80° E. In the valley above, the scattered blocks and boulders are about equally composed of coarse, red hornblende-granite and gray, garnet- gneiss.

Along the route leading north-east from Attikopis Lake to Summit Lake, different varieties of hornblende-granite alone were met with.

HURONIAN. General Remarks.

The rocks included under this system belong both to the sedimentary and to the eruptive classes. The sedimentary rocks are represented by beds of arkose, conglomerate, limestone, shale and slate, sandstone, chert, quartzite, and mica-schist. The eruptive rocks, which were in part, at least, contemporaneous in formation with the sedimentary series, are chiefly basic in composition, and at present are chiefly represented by schists, characterized by chlorite, epidote, altered horn- blende, hornblende, sericite and hydromica. There are also massive diabases and diorites ; all the rocks are more or less decomposed. The acidic rocks, associated with the above, are mica-granites, mica-horn- blende-granites, and hornblende-granites, and perhaps quartz-porphyry. The rocks of the various areas found in Labrador bear a more or less close resemblance to the rocks of other Huronian areas in Canada described by Logan, Bell, Lawson and Barlow in former reports of the Geological Survey.

Two large areas of Huronian rocks, besides a number of smaller ones, have so far been met with in the Labrador Peninsula. The large areas appear to be confined to the western half of the peninsula, with only a few minor ones in the other half. The largest area is found along the East Main River, where it extends from a few miles above the mouth of the river inland for more than one hundred and sixty miles. In this distance the river generally flows closely parallel to the strike of the rocks. In three places granite-gneiss areas are met with along the stream, where they replace the Huronian rocks. It is impossible to state whether the areas separated by these granite

Low. ] HURONIAN. 247 L

gneisses are all connected, or form separate wide bands. If, as is probable, they are connected, they constitute a very wide belt, known to be more than twenty miles across the strike where the river cuts it diagonally.

The clastic rocks are represented by a mica-schist, which always con- Clastic rocks

tains grains of white felspar and at times of quartz. Ina number of on East Main places these schists change to a conglomerate from the inclusion of rounded pebbles of granite and syenite. The conglomerates are local, and are found in long lenticular masses thinning out at the ends along the strike. At Conglomerate Gorge, several of the lenticular masses of conglomerate are found overlapping each other and separated by bands of the mica-schist. The total thickness of the conglomerate here, including the separating bands of schist, exceeds 400 feet. In other places the conglomerates are not so well developed, and are rarely 100 feet through in the thickest beds. The mica-schists have not been microscopically examined, but macroscopically they are seen to be generally quite distinct from the more highly crystalline Lauren- tian mica-gneisses, although at times they seem to shade into them. The conglomerates are usually fine, but sometimes hold fragments several tons in weight. All the fragments are well rounded, and in many places they appear to have been flattened and drawn out in the direction of the foliation. By far the greater number of the boulders are composed of fine-textured granite and syenite, with dark basic eruptives less abundantly represented.’

In conjunction with a great mass of basic eruptives, a small area of agglomerate was found on the upper part of the river, with the con- tained fragments composed chiefly of quartzite, jasper, and diorite, altogether different from the conglomerates described above. The matrix is a dark greenish-gray chloritic schist, and is probably derived from altered volcanic ash.

The eruptives of this area appear to be confined to certain places, Eruptive where they cut the mica-schists or are interbanded with them. The Tcke. chlotite-schists, hydromica-schists and some of the hornblende-schists are often interbanded with the mica-schist, and seem to have been for- med as ash beds along with them. As has been already stated, bands of these supposed altered ash-rocks were found in association with the garnet mica-gneisses and close to the crystalline limestones of the Laurentian along the Mouchalagan River, and other hornblende- schists are clearly altered dykes, that cut the beds of mica-schist, and probably proceeded from the masses of diabase and diorite that repre- sent the cores of the volcanic eruptions.

Area south- west of Mis- tassini.

Clastic rocks.

Eruptives.

Smaller Huro- nian areas.

248 L Labrador Peninsula.

The granites are evidently of later age, for they cut all members of the Huronian. The nature of the contact and other details are described further on in the report.

The other important area of Huronian rocks occupies the basins of the large lakes south-west of Lake Mistassini. To the north-east it runs under the Cambrian limestones, while its south-western limit is unknown, but probably extends for a considerable distance, possibly connecting with the great area of similar rocks known to ran eastward beyond the head-waters of the Ottawa River.

In this area the clastic rocks are much better represented than alon? the East Main River. There is a great thickness of arkose material and agglomerates, with x matrix of chlorite-schist, that is likely an altered volcanic material. The agglomerates are associated with bands of red felsitic schists, furmed from the finer detritusof the coarse-textured granitic material that affords the boulders of the agglomerate. The other bedded rocks are quartzite and limestone, the latter being only in thin cherty bands.

The eruptives are massive diabases and diorites, generally highly altered and chloritic, and in one place changed to serpentine. The volcanic rocks, besides the agglomerates, form thick beds of chloritic and epidotic schists.

A mass of later granite is intruded into the western part of this area, and occupies the greater part of the basin of Lake Obatagoman and the south-western part of Lake Chibougamoo. This area was first examined by Mr. Jas. Richardson in 1870, and only a few changes have been made in his delineation of it.*

Smaller areas of Huronian schists occur on the upper East Main River, in the vicinity of the Sharp Rock Portage and along the small lakes leading from that stream to the head-waters of the Big River.

Hydromica- and hornblende-schists occur along the Koksoak River, for some distance below the last outcrop of Cambrian rock, where they are associated with pegmatites. These rocks may be Huronian, On the upper waters of the Ashuanipi Branch of the Hamilton River, there is a large area, in part or wholly underlain by Huronian schists, but as the outcrops are very few, little is known of the extent and kind of rocks occurring here. A small area of similar rook is met with on the Attikonak Branch at Gabbro Lake, and the strike is such as to lead to the belief that this is an extension of the area just mentioned. Below Birch Lake and at the head of the south-east bay of Michikamau Lake, there is a narrow band of tale-schists, hydromica-schists and chlorite-schists, which may be Huronian.

— — —

*Report of Progress, Geol. Surv. Can., 1870-71, pp. 292-2914.

Low. HURONIAN. 249 L

Along the east coast of Hudson Bay, areas of Huronian rocks have East const of been described by Dr. R. Bell,* as occurring at Cape Hope and Paint Hudson Bay. Hills, between the East Main and Big rivers. The rocks are horn- blendic, chloritic and epidotic schists, together with mica-schist con- glomerates like those found on the East Main River. Farther north- ward, at Richmond Gulf, there are some thin-bedded quartzites, that underlie unconformably the Cambrian rocks of that region, and are supposed by Dr. Bell to be possibly of Huronian age. On the Great Whale River, a small area of Huronian schists was met with by the writer. t

The large quantity of drift, of undoubted Huronian origin, found Areg north- about Lake Mistassini, leads to the belief that an area of these rocks ont of Mistas- will be found to the north-east of that lake. Dark-green schists are reported as occurring in the mountains about the heads of the Outardes and Manicuagan rivers.

Along the Atlantic coast, Dr. Bell reports Huronian rocks about Atlanticcoast. the mouth of Nachvak Bay, and about the Moravian Mission station Ramah, in the next bay south of Nachvak.

No other areas of these rocks are known in the Labrador Peninsula, Economic but there is yet every probability that other bands will be found when importance. the country is more fully explored. The occurrence of gold, copper, nickel and pyrites in rocks of this age in other parts of Canada, render the tracing of these areas of great importance.

Lower East Main River.

Twelve miles above the mouth of the East Main River, the Lauren- Schistose tian gneisses and hornblende-granites found on the islands about the "876188. mouth of the river, give place to a dark-gray, fine-grained mica- gneiss, often schistose. The mica is arranged in thin layers of small plates, separated from one another by very fine grains of white orthoclase and quartz. This rock closely resembles the rocks met with farther up-stream, where they form a conglomerate holding large boulders of granite and other Laurentian rocks. The mica- schists and fine mica-gneisses often have a porphyritic appearance on weathered surfaces, from the inclusion of Jarge grains of felspar and quartz that are evidently only the coarser particles of the detrital material from which the beds were originally formed. Subsequent folding and pressure have probably changed these sedimentary rocks

— —

*Report of Progress, Geol. Surv. Can., 1877-78, pp. 10 c., 11 c., 15 c. +Annual Report, Geol. Surv. Can., vol. IIT. (N.S.), p. 54 J. +Report of Progress, Geol. Surv. Can., 1882-84, p. 15 pp.

250 L Labrador Peninsula.

Resemblance to Couchi- ching series.

Rocks of Basil Gorge.

Talking Falls.

into their present condition. From their field relations to the Lauren- tian rocks and also to the irruptive members of the Huronian, there is little doubt that these rocks are the representatives of the sedimen- tary series of the Huronian, and in places they closely resemble the rocks described by Lawson in the region about Rainy Lake, referred by him there to the Couchiching series, which he supposed to be unconformably below his Keewatin series.* In our hurried exa- mination along the East Main River, no such unconformity was observed. These mica-schists and gneisses, in places contain horn- blende along with the mica, and thus grade into a hornblende-schist which is quite distinct from the hornblende-schists produced from eruptive rocks, in that the hornblende is in thin laminæ, separated by the fine-grained white felspar and quartz similar to that in the mica-schists. At the first place where they are seen, they form low outcrops along the north shore of the river for a mile. Some of the bands are somewhat hornblendic. Strike N. 75° E.

At the head-of-tide, similar mica-schists are seen, cut by large irregular dykes of white pegmatite. Strike E.

Along Basil Gorge, six miles above tide-water, these rocks are again found, associated with large masses of hornblende and chlorite-schists At the foot of the gorge, the bedded schists are cut by an irregular vein of light-pink, finely crystalline limestone, holding much green hornblende and some sericite. The vein varies in width from eight inches to eight feet and cuts diagonally across the bedding, with an obscure gneissic structure developed in it parallel to the bedding of the surrounding schists, which dip 8. 75° E.< 80°. As the gorge is ascended, the mica-schists are found to be cut by large masses of fine- grained, dark-green, altered hornblende-schists and chlorite-schists. Owing to the perpendicular walls of the gorge no detailed examination could be made of the relations of these rocks, but they appear to be similar to those found farther up the stream, and described later on.

. From the head of Basil Gorge to near the Talking Falls, nine miles above, there is only one small outcrop of mica-schist, on the point between the forks of the river, two miles above the gorge. Everr- where else the river has high steep banks of clay that overlie and con- ceal the rock beneath. At and below the Talking Falls, a medium grained gray mica-hornblende-granite is seen, with obscure foliation but with every appearance of being an irruptive rock. The mica is much more abundant than the bornblende, and the whole is likely post-Huronian intrusion, from which great dykes of white pegmatite

Annual Report, Geol. Surv. Can., vol. III. (N.S.), pp. 1-196 r.

Low. HURONIAN. 251 L

run off and cut the mica-schists, as seen farther up-stream. At the sharp bend a mile above the falls, and for a mile from there to the foot of a long rapid, very coarse-grained, light-gray mica-hornblende- granite Is met with on the islands and shores. From the foot of the rapid toits head, for nearly two miles, the northern shore is formed of rock. Along the lower portion of this stretch the dark mica-schists are seen to be cut by great dykes of white pegmatite. This pegmatite is exceed- ingly coarse, and, embedded in the white orthoclase, are large masses of that mineral having a light-bluish colour. There are also large plates of light-green muscovite scattered through the mass, but they are gene- rally too much crushed and broken to be of value. Quartz in large masses 1s also present, along with large crystals of black tourmaline. Near the dykes the mica-schists are in many places much disturbed aud twisted. As the stream is ascended, the dykes, which run generally parallel to the bedding, become smaller and fewer.

About half-way up the rapid, a large pegmatite dyke cuts off great angular masses of the mica-schist, which here dips N. 65° W. 60°. Near the contact the schist appears to be more siliceous and approaches Conglomera- an impure quartzite. Half a mile from the head of the rapid, the schist is found to include several beds of fine conglomerate from nine to fifteen inches thick. The pebbles are all derived from medium to fine-grained red and gray granite. At the head of the rapid the rock is a rusty mica-schist, charged with partly decomposed pyrites and cut by thin dykes of fine-grained hornblende-schist that run almost parallel to the bedding of the mica-schists.

At the Island Fall, two miles farther up the stream, the mica-schists [sland Fall.

again outcrop, striking N. 85° E. For six miles above, the banks

of the river are cut out of stratified clays and sands, and no rock

is seen in place up to the foot of the rapids that extend for three miles

below Clouston Gorge. Along both shores, up to the foot of the gorge, Clouston mica-schists are seen at frequent intervals rising from beneath the &°°8° stratified drift. There is a continuous exposure of rock from the head

of this gorge to the rapids below it. The mica-schists are now asso-

clated with irruptives in the form of large masses of medium to fine- textured diorite of a dark-green colour. In some of the coarser

grained rock there is a beautiful secondary arrangement of hornblende

in small radiating masses of crystals. These diorites seem to be intimately connected with bands of dark-green altered hornblende-

schists and chlorite-schists, which appear to have originally formed Altered dykes cutting the bedded rocks now represented by the mica-schists, ¢Y*¢*- their present schistose structure being due to subsequent pressure.

This would also account for the breaking and apparent inclusion of

252 L Labrador Peninsula.

fragments of these chloritic-schists in the mica-gneisses. The large masses of diorite cut the mica-schists and gneisses. The latter rocks. near the contacts with the diorites, are apparently more highly altered than elsewhere, as they then occur either as true mica-schists or as crystalline, fine-grained mica-gneiss. The strike is also disturbed, and all the phenomena of the contact point to an intrusion of the diorites and their associated dykes into the bedded series, previous to the final folding of the latter.

Great diabase Above Clouston Gorge, the banks of the river again become low, and

yke are formed of stratified drift up to within a short distance of the nex: rocky defile, called Conglomerate Gorge, twenty-two miles farther up stream. The only rock seen between these places is a low boss on the south shore, eight miles above the lower gorge. This low hill is formed of medium-grained, dark-green diabase, and is probably part of a great dyke similar to others of a like nature that are found everywhere throughout Labrador, where they cut the rocks of all the formations. including the Cambrian. This mass is over one hundred yards wide. but as its borders are not seen, its total width is unknown. About a mile below the mouth of Conglomerate Gorge, there is a small exposure of medium-grained mica-hornblende-gneiss, that has the aspect of a Laurentian rock, but the exposure is so small that it is hardly possible to say what the age of this rock may be.

Conglomerate Conglomerate Gorge is three miles long, and the channel and shores

Gorge. are rocky throughout, but as the strike is almost parallel to the direction of the gorge, no great thickness of strata is exposed. At the lower end of the gorge, mica-schist is seen interbanded with greet chlorite-schists, which appear tobe either old dykes or altered pyroclastic beds. Both series are cut by a dyke of medium-grained, dark-greet diabase, holding a considerable amount of pyrites in small grains. The dyke is about one hundred feet wide and its direction is N. 10 W. The schists on the east side of the dyke strike N. 50° E, while thos on the west side strike N. 30° E.; showing a disturbance due to the intrusion. The wall-rock is also considerably altered near the dyke For half a mile between the dyke and the lower fall, the mica-schists are highly charged with pyrites, and are separated from the green chlorite schists by fifty feet of light yellow slate.

Mica-schists © Between the chutes, the rock is all mica-schist holding smal!

and conglome: lenticular masses of a coarse conglomerate. A small dyke of fine textured, dark-green diabase, nine inches wide, was observed here. being probably a branch from the main dyke already noted.

From the upper chute to the head of the gorge, a distance of mort than a mile and a half, only mica-schist and conglomerate are seen. The

tow. HURONIAN. 253 L

conglomerate occurs, as before, in heavy lenticular beds, and the total thickness of these must be at least 400 feet. The fragments in the conglomerate range from large pebbles to boulders two feet in diameter.

Fully nine-tenths of them consist of a medium-grained, pink granite

that closely resembles the rock of a granite area passed through farther up the river. The remainder of the pebbles are made up of a fine-grained, rusty-weathering diorite, light-bluish quartzite, and mediuin-grained gray mica-hornblende-gneiss, the last being very rare. Above Conglomerate Gorge, the river makes a sharp reversed curve in

the next three miles, and the several small rock exposures along it

are of mica-schist, with an occasional bed of conglomerate. At the Last conglo- upper end of the bend, there is a small chute where the last conglo- "rate. merate bands are seen. The matrix is mica-schist and is at times charged with pyrites, and some bands of the schist hold small, dark-

red garnets.

Mica-schist outcrops frequently along both shores of the river for afsica-schists.

the next twenty-five miles, up to the mouth of the Wabamisk River, but,

as the strike of the rocks is roughly parallel to the direction of the

river, only a comparatively small cross-section is displayed. Five

miles above the last conglomerate mentioned, a dyke of dark-green

diabase of medium texture and holding masses of light-green huronite Huronite. and a large amount of pyrites, crosses the bedding of the schists.

This dyke is seventy-five feet wide, and its direction is N. 75° W., or

nearly parallel to the other large dyke seen at Conglomerate Gorge.

Several small dykes of the same kind occur a short distance farther

down stream, and differ from the larger only in that their texture is

finer.

At the mouth of the Wabamisk River, the bedded series of mica- wabamisk schists is replaced by hornblende-schists chlorite-schists and altered River. diorites. On the north bank half a mile above this branch, the chlorite-schists are highly charged with pyrites, which for 100 feet Bedof pyrites.. along the strike is found in an almost pure bed ten feet thick. ° The surface of this ore is much oxidized and changed to brown limonite.

On analysis only traces of gold were found in the pyrites.

Frequent exposures of green chlorite- and sericite-schists, are met with on the small islands and shores for the next two miles up the stream, where there is a contact between the altered hornblende-schists and a fine-grained, schistose mica-gneiss. The hornblende-schist cuts it sharply, and is itself somewhat altered for several inches from the con- tact. The hornblende-schist encloses fragments of the gneiss that at times have their foliation transverse to that of the schists. Here also is seen a soft, green steatite rock, holding fragments of boulders of

Aquatako iver.

Probable source of boul- ders in conglo- merates.

Altered dykes.

254 L Labrador Peninsula.

dark green, altered hornblende-gneiss also cut by the green hornblende-

schists.

At the mouth of the Aquatako River, green chlorite-schists are again seen, charged with pyrites and cut bya vein of calcite nine inches wide. For the next ten miles up-stream, frequent exposures of dark-green altered hornblendic and chloritic schists occur on the shores and islands, the squeezed products of altered diabase, diorite and quartz-porphyry.* Along the upper three miles of this stretch, the ex- posures of schist are mixed with others of fine- to medium-grained. white mica-hornblende-gneisss Where the contact between these rocks is seen, the green schists cut the gneisses, and often inclose masses of them, showing that the schists have been eruptive rocks in the gneisses. These gneisses f bear a close resemblance to the majority of the boulders found in the conglomerates already described, and may represent the source from which they have been derived. They now occur along the river-banks for twenty miles, with a total absence of the hornblende-schists, until the lower end of the Great Bend is passed, when the schists and associated diorite rock are again met with. The total width of the band here, including the inclosed bands and masses of gneiss, is slightly less than one mile across the strike, which runs N. 70° E.

Below the whirlpool, the bands of fine-grained hornblende-schist are thin, and the hornblende-granite predominates. At the whirlpool there is a thick band of dark-green, fine-grained, uralitic gabbro,: which abuts against a light-pink mica-hornblende gneiss of medium- texture and this latter is interbanded with green hornblende-schists. A close examination proves that the latter are altered dykes, probably connected with the gabbro masses in the vicinity. These dykes, asa rule, run parallel to the foliation of the gneiss, but are found in places to cross it, and also to branch, and again unite, thus inclosing large masses of the gneiss. The foliation of the dykes is constant in direc- tion with that of the gneiss, and when the dyke is not parallel with the gneiss, the foliation is found to be transverse to that of the dyke.

Near the contact the mica-hornblende-gneiss has a hardened appear- ance, its texture is finer, and numerous small cracks are filled with light green chlorite. The geology here is further complicated by the presence of a number of small dykes of dark-green, fine-textured diabase, which cut all the other rocks. These small dykes show the faulted condition of the rocks they pass through, as at every few feet

See Nos. 5, 25, 30, Appendix V. +See No. 21, Appendix V. +See No. 2, Appendix V.

Low. HURONIAN. 255 L

along their course they are broken, with a throw of six to twelve inches at each fault.

Above the whirlpool, for a mile along the south shore, the rocks seen are all thin-banded, fine-grained, light-gray mica-schists and dark- green hornblende-schists. Strike N. 85° E.

The Laurentian gneisses again come in above, and the Huronian Border of the rocks are not met with along the river for twenty-one miles, up to a point Huronian. two miles below the mouth of the Broken Paddle River, where the Huronian irruptives are again found cutting the Laurentian gneisses.

This area of Huronian extends along the river for twelve miles, but Area charac- as the strike is nearly parallel to the course of the stream, the breadth nee of the band (if the strike can be taken to represent anything but folia- tion induced by pressure) is not greater than three miles. The rocks here are all, or nearly all, of volcanic and igneous origin ; and they are so intricately associated that little information could be obtained in regard to their relative positions in the necessarily hurried examina- tions made. The irruptive rocks have to a great extent been rendered schistose by pressure and have been much altered, so that diorites and diabase look alike and are hardly distinguishable under the micro- scope. From the field relations there appears to have been an older intrusion of diorite, together with volcanic outbursts, resulting in the formation of tuffaceous agglomerates and shales. These in turn appear to have been cut by masses of gabbro and their accompanying diabase dykes. The gabbro masses and dykes have a much older appearance and are more decomposed than the heavy dykes of diabase met with farther down the river, probably belonging to an older period than these,

The first contact with the gneisses is on the north shore, two miles Near Broken

below the mouth of the Broken Paddle River, where the rock is Paddle River. probably the remains of a great diorite dyke, now altered to a dark- green amphibolite, holding angular fragments of a fine-grained mica- gneiss, which is seen to be sharply cut on the west side. On a small island, just below the mouth of the river, five dykes of dark-green altered diabase or diorite cut the gneisses almost in the direction of the strike, which is here east. On the shore opposite the island, light-gray and pink mica-gneiss is seen, a good deal contorted. Strike 8. 75° E. The next exposure is opposite the mouth of the small river, where the pink and gray mica-gneiss is in contact with a dark-green, coarsely crystalline diabase, holding crystals of light-green plagioclase. The diabase is fine-grained near the contact and abruptly cuts the gneiss, also entering cracks and irregularities in it.

956 L Labrador Peninsula.

Altered diori- No rocks are seen above for a mile and a half, to an island on the

blende schists, South side, where a light-gray, compact, altered diorite of fine texture, containing much disseminated pyrites in small grains, is associated with a compact dark-green, altered trap, and dark-green hornblende-schist. Above this island on the opposite shore, the altered diorite is seen sharply cutting the mica-gneiss, while a few small schisto:e bands of hornblende penetrate the gneisses along the strike and a larger dyke from the diorite cuts them transversely. Similar contacts are seen on both sides of the river in the next mile, after which the Laurentian gneisses do not appear.

Agglomerate These altered diorites and hornblende-schists continue for more

band. . : than a mile, when, on the south shore, a band of agglomerate is encoun. tered, which appears to be nearly 300 feet thick, including an intru- sion of diorite fifty feet wide. This agglomerate in its western extension appears to pass into a schistose, basic, arkose material full of large rounded grains of quartz. The matrix of the agglomerate is a dark-green and grayish schist,* and the boulders and pebbles are all, or nearly all, well rounded, and flattened or pulled out parallel to the bedding or foliation. The largest boulders are fifteen inches long and twelve inches thick. The greater number are composed of gray quartzite, having at times a pinkish or green tinge. Along with these are a few boulders of dark-red jasper, and a light-green diabase. To the eastward, the conglomerate also passes into grauwacke holding large grains of quartz.

Squeezed clas- For the next mile, up to a low chute, the rocks are massive altered

diorite and chlorite-schists. Above the chute, there is a considerable

thickness of mica-schist, similar to the bedded rock associated with the irruptives, at the places already noted on the lower parts of the river. These mica-schists are associated with a fine-grained, highly siliceous, dark-gray schist, that holds small pebbles of quartzite and fine textured granite, and is probably a squeezed conglomerate. They are cut by bands of hornblende-schist, and there is a large band of altered diabase* on an island. A mile above the chute, dark green chlorite-schists and altered hornblende-schists are seen, containing narrow quartz-veins that hold small quantities of copper-pyrites.

For six miles above the last-mentioned exposure, there is a constant jumble of chlorite-, sericite- and altered hornblende schists, along with massive altered eruptives,{ and small areas of a dark-gray quartzite hold- ing scales of mica, and perhaps representing the bedded series. The eastern contact between the Huronian and Laurentian rocks is not

*See No. 28, Appendix V. +See No. 31, Appendix V. t See Nos. 10, 16, 17, Appendix V.

Low. HURONIAN. 257 L

seen on the river, there being an interval of five miles between the upper exposure of the former and the next outcrop of gneiss.

The next area of hornblende-schists, hornblende-mica- and mica- proper and schists is found between the Prosper and Ross gorges, over fifty miles Ross gorges. farther up the stream. These rocks here form a belt less than a mile wide, and are cut by large masses of pink pegmatite. The schists are more gneissic and less decomposed than those previously noted, and there is an absence of the altered diorite and diabase masses commonly found with them. They probably represent only altered schistose dykes, due to the Huronian period, with perhaps some of the micaceous bands of that formation. Taken altogether, they have an older, more metamor- phic appearance than any of the Huronian areas previously described, and until further evidence is forthcoming cannot well be separated from the general Laurentian mass.

Huronian Area South-west of Lake Mistassini.

Extending from the south-west end of Lake Mistassini to and Clasticand probably beyond Take Obatagoman, some sixty miles to the south- eruptive west, there is an area of Huronian rocks out of which the basins of Wakwanichi and Chibougamoo lakes have been excavated. The rocks found in a hurried examination along the shores of the lakes, and on the portages between them, show that there is here developed a series of altered hornblendic and chloritic schists, agglomerates and serpen- tines, probably formed by the alteration of basic eruptives, and asso- ciated with volcanic ash rocks. A clastic series is also represented with the eruptives, consisting of thick beds of arkose conglomerate or agglomerate, felspathic schists, with dark chert limestone.

A mass of true granite appears to have been injected along the south-west margin of the area, subsequent to the formation of the basic series. Altogether, this area is worthy of a much more detailed examination than could be afforded by a trip through it to a field of work beyond, and it may prove interesting and important mineral- ogically, as well as geologically, on account of the rich deposits of iron- peposits of and copper-pyrites, seen in several places near the contact of the iron- and cop- chlorite-schists with the granite and altered diabases. In this respect per-pyrites. the deposits of ore are much like the nickel-bearing deposits of the Sudbury district, and on more extended investigation it is not im- probable that such deposits might be found in this region, although assays of the pyrites from here have not given any nickel or have given only a trace of this metal.

Rocks of Lake Obatagoman.

Lake Chibou- gamoo.

Vicinity of Paint Mount- ain.

Iron-pyrites.

Conglomerate.

258 L Labrador Peninsula.

The examination of these rocks was made along the route leading from the head of the Chamouchouan River, north-east to Lake Mistassini. On crossing the watershed, Lake Obatagoman, the first of three large lakes, is entered. The route passes northward through this lake between myriads of small granite islands, to a deep, narrow bay leading north-east, with a portage-route to Lake Chibougamoo. Along the shores of this bay dark-green chlorite-schists and massive dark-green altered diabase* of fine texture are met with. Strike S. 70° E.

On the firs: portage, a light grayish-green altered eruptivef is found, with schistose felspathic rocks holding many greenish and purplish flattened concretions, which on weathered surfaces show concentric lines. Similar felsitic schists are met with on the second portage, where the concretions are less numerous and the beds are cut by many small quartz-veins, holding chlorite and epidote, and associated with a massive, fine-grained chlorite rock.

The next exposures are along the west shore of Lake Chibougamoo and the adjacent island:, where a probable extension of the granite area is seen. On the small islands, about two miles off the mouth of the narrows, compact, dark-green diorite is cut by small dykes of light-green diabase of fine texture. Along the north-west shore of the lake, just before reaching Paint Mountain, green chlorite rock is seen, weathering to a grayish-green, and holding considerable quan- tities of magnetite in disseminated grains. At the foot of the mountain the rock is a green chlorite-schist, holding specks of copper- and iron- pyrites. On the south side of the mountain there is a contact between a large mass of coarse, white hornblende-granite and the compact and schistose chlorite rocks. At and near the contact these measures are much broken, and the cracks and cavities are highly charged with iron-pyrites, in a zone extending twenty feet from the contact. The chlorite rocks are penetrated by many small veins of quartz holding epidote.

Along the east side of Paint Mountain, leading to the discharge of the lake, the schists are again seen, together with a diorite mass nearly 200 yards wide, and followed again by green schists to the northward. Near the southern contact there is a dark-green vein or dyke several yards wide running into the mountain, highly charged with pyrites. On the south side of the narrows, the green schists with pyrites are again met with. In the narrows, there are several exposures in a couple of miles, of what appears to be a volcanic conglomerate or agglomerate. The matrix is a dark-green schistose chlorite, evidently an altered ash.

See No. 15, Appendix V. + See No. 14, Appendix V.

Low. HURONIAN. 259 L

and it appears to have filled up the interstices between masses of Laur- entian débris, and by subsequent folding and pressure it has been ren- dered schistose and decomposed to chlorite. The material forming

the pebbles and boulders of the conglomerate is, nearly all, moro or less rounded fragments of Laurentian granite, generally red in colour and coarse in texture, and varying in size from small grains to masses several tons in weight. A number of larger boulders consist of pink Large boul- and grayish-green hornblende-granite, much finer in texture than the ders. red granites, and many of them are somewhat decomposed and slightly impregnated with chlorite. An impure quartzite forms a few of the masses, and there are some pebbles of red jasper and of a fine-grained siliceous chlorite rock.

Where the fragments are small in size, the amount of the green Character of chlorite mixture is not great, owing to there being less space to fill matrix. between the particles, and to the difficulty with which the supposed ash would fill these cavities in a large mass of such fine material. / Where the boulders are large, the dark-green schist greatly predomi- nates, and the rock finally passes from a conglomerate into a chlorite- schist, in which boulders are absent.

The small islands at the head of the north-east bay, close to the first portage landing to Lake Wahwanichi, are formed of gray, compact diabase, composed chiefly of dark-gray plagioclase, and holding small crystals of greenish-white plagioclase. Two hundred yards to the west of the commencement of the portage, there is a conical hill of dark-green serpentine, on the top of which, Mr. Richardson found a Serpentine. band of blackish limestone, about a foot thick, interstratified with the serpentine. A sliced portion of the limestone under the microscope revealed a structure resembling that of some coral.* According to T. Sterry Huntt the serpentines contain much disseminated magnetic iron, that yields on analysis a considerable percentage of chromium and traces of nickel.

On the portages and small lakes between Chibougamoo and Wah- a rkose rocks. wanichi, light and dark chloritic and felsitic schists only are seen. Along the south-east shore of Wahwanichi Lake, no rock-exposures occur to within six miles of its outlet, where green chlorite-schist and squeezed arkose bands again outcrop, on edge. The arkose rock appears to be in places an agglomerate with a schistose paste, holding masses of coarse, red, very felspathic granite. Where the beds are finer grained, they are formed chiefly of grains of red orthoclase, with some quartz. The folding and pressure has induced a schistose

Report of Progress, Geol. Surv. Can., 1870-71, p. 294. t Ibid.

260 L Labrador Peninsula.

structure in the finest beds, so that they are now an impure felsite- schist.

Richardsonon According to Richardson* :—‘‘On the north-west side of the lake.

rocks of Wah- shout the middle, these rocks rise to a height of 150 to 200 feet, form- ing a bare escarpment extending for about four miles; and, on the same side, near the outlet, Wahwanichi Mountain, which is entirely composed of them, rises about 350 feet, for the most part bare and rocky, and extending along the margin of the lake for nearly three miles, The fragments in the conglomerates in the last two localities are chiefly of Laurentian rocks, and the enclosed masses are often many tons in weight. In some places, without close examination, the conglomerate might be mistaken for a Laurentian gneiss. In many parts of this hill considerable exposures of red shale are met with, as well as gray and chocolate-brown sandstones, made up of fine grains of reddish felspar and white quartz.”

At the portage past the chute at the outlet of the lake, a small exposure of light-gray, impure chert, holding grains of quartz and flecked with spots of brownish dolomite, is seen associated with dark- gray chert, holding occasional large grains of quartz and small pebbles of gneiss.

Relations of At the second portage, at the south-west end of Lake Mistassini, Huronian there is a small outcrop of the green schistose agglomerate. Beyond brian of Mis- this only large angular blocks of dark-gray cherty limestone are seen ransini. —belonging to the almost flat-bedded series of Cambrian rocks of the Lake Mistassini basin. These last-mentioned rocks appear to rest un- conformably on the tilted-up series of agglomerates, schists and cherts but this is not here established by an actual contact, as the nearest outcrop seen of the flat-bedded limestones is fully ten miles away from the Huronian rocks. A more detailed examination of the region about the south-western portion of Mistassini must be undertaken, before any definite statement of the actual relations of the two series can be made, except that on the Perch River, which empties into the west side of the south-west bay of Mistassini, the limestones are found resting directly on the Laurentian gneiss, and here either cover the tilted series to the south-west unconformably or overlap them; the former

being probably the case.

Large area of Lake Obatagoman occupies a shallow basin in a large ares of granite ae similar to that already described along the East Main River, which from its cutting the Huronian schists can be distinctly referred to

*Report of Progress, Geol. Surv. Can., 1870-71, p. 294.

Low. ] CAMBRIAN. 261 OL

as irruptive. This area of granite appears to extend north-east so as to occupy the southern part of Lake Chibougamoo, giving a known length of twenty miles, with a breadth of eight miles. Except where it is seen close to the dark chlorite-schists, on the northern shores of Lake Obatagoman, there are no signs of foliation in the mass, which elsewhere has all the appearance of being of an irruptive origin. The granite, as seen on the islands and points of the last-named lake, is usually of medium texture and always of a light yellowish-gray colour, due to the colour of the contained orthoclase. Quartz is usually very abundant, and mica occurs in fine plates. Hornblende appears to be always associated with the mica, but usually in small quantities. Where seen on Lake Chibougamoo, the granite is coarser and very felspathic, with little quartz, mica and hornblende. It is penetrated by little veins of pyrites, and also by small dykes of white pegmatite. At Paint Mountain on the west side of the narrows, the granite is very coarse in texture, and is almost wholly formed of white orthoclase with green hornblende and little or no quartz, becoming a syenite. This granite cuts the dark-green chlorite-schists that make up the mass of the mountain, and the pyrites found in them is especially abundant in the granite zone within twenty feet of the contact.

This area of granite bears a close resemblance to the granite mass met with about the Talking Falls on the East Main River, where the granite undoubtedly cuts rock of Huronian age.

Cambrian.

The series of rocks classified as Cambrian, comprises beds of arkose General cha- rock, sandstone, chert, limestone, dolomite, felsitic shale, argillite, and racter and argillaceous shale, together with gabbro, diabase, fine-grained decom- posed traps and volcanic agglomerates. No acid eruptives, such as

quartz-porphyry, were found.

The sedimentary deposits have a minimum thickness of about 2500 feet, and may have a much greater thickness, which can be determined only by close study of the areas along the Koksoak and Hamilton rivers, where a series of step or overthrust faults cause frequent repetitions of the different members, rendering it exceedingly difficult to determine the total thickness of the measures by means of observa- tions made along a couple of lines of hurried exploration.

The following section is a rough estimate of the succession and General sec- probable thickness of the sedimentary rocks along the Koksoak River tion. in descending order :—

Remarks on section.

Correlation of

the rocks,

to for) to et

Labrador Peninsula.

Feet. 1. Rusty-weathering, black, micaceous shales 600 2. Dark-gray, ferruginous cherts ... 200 3. Dark-gray, ferruginous cherts, together with beds of jasper and magnetite 500 4. Fine-grained, dark-gray, ferruginous chert, some- what calcareous and blotched with siderite... . 150 5. Light-pink, very compact, brecciated limestone, often very siliceous 20 6. -Light-green siliceous shales . 30 7. Black, carbonaceous, graphitic shales 100 8. Massive, cherty, dark-blue dolomite... . 10 9. Pearly-green shales, with cherty dolomite beds, showing ripple marks. ... 40 10. Course, gray sandstoné ... 3 11. Greenish-gray, calcareous shale, with occasional bands (6 in. to 15 in.) of fine-grained, dark-blue dolomite, weathering yellow 30 12. Fragmental, violet-pink, calcareous chert 200 13. Red calcareous sandrock , 200 14. Medium-grained red-sandstone, and thin beds of red felsitic shales, 10 15. Bands of red and gray sandstone, separated by beds of red felsitic shales 425

This section is constructed from several broken sections taken along the river. No. 15 rests unconformably upon Laurentian granite. No. 14 represents the lowest beds of another cliff-face, and perhaps may be the upper part of No. 15.

There is a break in the section between No. 11 and No. 12, with probably a few beds missing. From No. 4 to No. 11 the section is continuous, while the upper measures are added by estimation, from the various exposures seen along the river, and are only an approxima- tion of the thickness of the iron-bearing cherts, shales and limestones.

On account of the great distances dividing the respective develop- ments, it is impossible to correlate these rocks directly with those of Lake Superior or Newfoundland, which are supposed to represent the same geological period. The only rocks with which they closely agree are found along the east coast of Hudson Bay, which have been called by Dr. R. Bell,* the Manitounuck and Nastapoka groups. These he correlates with the Nipigon series, the equivalents of the Keweenawan of Lake Superior. From an examination of the various sections given by Dr. Bell, and a comparison of the hand specimens, there appears to be a closer agreement between the rocks of Hudson Bay and the Animikie formation of Lake Superior, which underlies the Keweena- wan rocks.

*Report of Progress, Geol. Surv. Cafi., 1877-78, pp. 11c-20c.

wow CAMBRIAN. 263 L

The correlation of the rocks of Central Labrador with those of Newfoundland is difficult owing to the lack of specimens from the latter place. There appears to be considerable resemblance between the section above, and that given by Sir Wm. Logan,t of the rocks along the Labrador shore of the Strait of Belle Isle and the northern part of Newfoundland. The fossils found in these rocks are of Lower Cambrian age. Unfortunately no fossils have been found in the supposed Cambrian rocks of the interior of Labrador or those of Hudson Bay, and until such are found their precise age and equi- valency can only be conjectured on lithological grounds.

Whatever their precise age may be, there must have been a great lapse of time between the deposition of the Huronian rocks and the main period of deformation and folding to which these, in common with the aggregation of rocks classed as Laurentian, were subjected, and the deposit of these later strata, which rest uncomfortably upon both of the older formations. This period of time was sufficient to permit not only the levelling down and removal of great masses cf the contorted older formations, but also to allow the sculpturing of the main existing features of the peninsula upon the surface thus formed, including, in part at least, the erosion of the great valley of the Hamil- ton River and Inlet. In this excavation beds of sandstone identical with the lower beds of the Koksoak and upper Hamilton rivers, and of Lake Michikamau, are found resting horizontally in the valley of the inlet and river, at or near the present water-level. The great basins of Mistassini and Michikamau lakes were also formed previous to the deposition of these sandstones and limestones; and along the shores of these lakes and in other places, where the contact between the older and newer rocks is seen, the gneisses and schists present the same rounded hummocks so characteristic of the uâcovered and sub- sequently glaciated Laurentian and Huronian hills of many parts of northern Canada. In many places the overlying rocks rest undis- turbed upon the rounded surfaces, but in other localities they show signs of having been shoved over them.

When the amount of denudation and erosion implied is considered, and also the length of time required to cut deep valleys out of Archean granites and gneisses, where the excavation since the glacial period is practically nothing, it must be admitted that the interval between the deposition of the Laurentian and Huronian strata and that of the rocks classed as Cambrian, marks one of the greatest breaks known in geological tiie.

ne i

+ Geology of Canada, 1863, pp. 865-67.

No fc ssils found,

Evidence of great denuda- tion between Archæan and Cambrian.

Rocks of Kok- soak and Ha- milton rivers probably con- nected.

Numerous parallel faults.

East coast of Hudson Bay.

264 L Labrador Peninsula.

The greatest development of this series is found along the Koksoak and upper Hamilton rivers. From the direction of the strike of the areas, it is highly probable that they are portions of a single great belt that extends from the neighbourhood of latitude 54° N. to beyond the Koksoak River, and continues in a north-north-west direction to Hopes Advance, on the east side of Ungava Bay, from where speci- mens of similar rocks were brought to Fort Chimo by the Eskimo. The total length would in this case be more than 400 miles. The breadth of this band where examined is about fifty miles. Both on the Koksoak and Hamilton rivers the strata are inclined towards the north-east or north-north-east, at angles varying from ten to eighty degrees. A number of parallel step-faults, with heavy throws, cause a series of repetitions of the various members of the formation. On the Koksoak River, below the junction of the Stillwater River. the hills on the north side of the stream show sixteen of these faults in a distance of twenty miles. Above the Stillwater, the repetitions of measures from this cause are numerous, but their extent and number were not determined. On the upper Hamilton River, where the whole series is well developed, the same step-faults were noticed, and are there marked by the sharp ridges so characteristic of the country underlain by these rocks. The ridges are cut off abruptly on their western faces, while their eastern slopes agree with the dip of the underlying rocks.

At Lake Mistassini, where only the cherty limestones are found, similar faults have been noticed, the direction of the thrust there be- ing from east-south-east towards west-north-west. On the east coast of Hudson Bay, at least one line of fault, and perhaps two or more mar be observed, so that the rocks now dip seaward at moderately high angles. The coast is fringed with a chain of islands of the newer rocks, and these islands have abrupt faces towards the land, and slope towards the bay at the same angle as the inclination of the beds. The sections observed in the rocks of the islands are in part similar to those on the mainland, and are evidently a repetition caused by an overthrust sim- ilar to those met with on the Koksoak River. The thick stiata of sandstone, chert and limestone appear to have resisted flexure, under a pressure exerted from the direction of the sea, on both sides of the Labrador Peninsula, and instead of folding they have faulted and have been thrown into a series of steps. The shales, where well developed, have been folded as well as faulted.

These rocks along the east coast of Hudson Bay, as before stated, form only a narrow fringe on the mainland, and include the islands 4 short distance off the coast. They extend from Cape Jones north- ward for three hundred miles to Cape Dufferin.

Low. ] CAMBRIAN. 265 L

The basin of Lake Michikamau is occupied by an outlier of Cam- Lake Michi- brian rocks, which may connect with the main area of the Koksoak Fam. River. Only the lower sandstones and limestones are found here, generally horizontal, but resting at a high angle against the granite hills near the discharge of the lake.

In the neighbourhood of Lake Mistassini, the cherty limestones Lake Mistas- only are found, covering an area one hundred miles long and about “ni: twenty-five broad. Small patches of arkose sandstone and conglom- erate were met with on the Hamilton River about forty miles above its mouth, and similar rocks were found, flat-bedded, along the low shores of Hamilton Inlet, about Milligan Bay.

Dr. A. S. Packard* mentions as occurring along the Labrador ‘ Domino

coast from Domino Harbour to Cape Webuc, for a distance of 125 miles, 8"¢**-”

a “development” of “domino gneiss” occupying depressions in

the Laurention gneiss, on which it rests uncomformably, generally dip-

ping at low angles. From his description of these rocks, they appear

to be arkose conglomerate and sandstone beds, similar to those seen

on Hamilton Inlet, and may represent the basal beds of the Cambrian, although Dr. Packard believes them to be of Pre-Cambrian age.

The igneous rocks of this series, as far as seen, all appear to be Cambrian basic in composition, and include gabbro and diabase in the form of '8neous rocks. great masses or large dykes, as the deep-seated irruptives, with finer- grained greenstones, which occur as bedded traps and are generally so much decomposed that they show only chlorite in the microscopic sections. These trap-flows, in the interior regions, are always found interbedded with the clastic rocks. Many of the large diabase dykes or sills also conform with the bedding planes, and only by following the outcrops can they be found jogging from one plane to another. On the east coast of Hudson Bay some of the traps have formed overflows on the surface, and are now represented by dark-green, fine-grained melaphyres, having large amygdaloidal cavities filled with quartz and agate. Similar overflows of trap also occur on the Atlantic coast at Chateau Bay, near the eastern entrance of the Strait of Belle Isle,

where the trap rests directly on Laurentian gneisses without any of the bedded clastic rocks.

The mode of occurrence of thick beds of magnetic iron ore Iron ores. overlain by cherty, non-fragmental carbonates in this series, closely resembles that of the iron ores of the Lake Superior region described by Irving, Van Hiset and others. This, with other characters of resemblance, renders it almost certain that the two

*The Labrador Coast. Hodges, New York, 1891, pp. 286-290. +t U.S. Geol. Surv., Monograph XIX.

Cambrian of Lake Mistas- sini.

Its limits.

Thicknese,

266 L Labrador Peninsula.

developments represent the same period, or, in other words, that the Animikie rocks of Lake Superior, assumed to be Lower Cambrian, are equivalent to the rocks here described as Cambrian in Labrador. There must have been at this time a wide-spread subsidence of the Archean of north-eastern America.*

Lake Mistassini Area.

The great basin in the Archæan rocks at present partly filled by the Mistassini lakes, appears to have existed as such at a very remote period, previous to the deposition of the Cambrian limestones that are now found forming the shores and islands of the lakes. The area at present occupied by these limestones, stretches from the south-west end of Lake Mistassini, to a short distance beyond the north-east end of the lakes, about one hundred miles. The greatest breadth of the area is not much over twenty-five miles.

Along the north-west side of Mistassini, the limestone is found on the points and numerous small islands that fringe the shore, while the deeper bays are cut out of Laurentian gneiss. In many places the limestone is seen resting uncomformably on bosses of gneiss, that to all appearance had the same rounded outline as the uncovered ani recently glaciated surrounding hills. The north-east limit appears to extend about three or four miles beyond the head of Lake Mistassini, to the foot of a high range of hills that crosses the end of the lake. Beyond the north end of Little Mistassini, there is a low area probably underlain by this formation, that extends a short distance up the Temiscamie River, until the gneiss is met with. The south-eastern boundary is beyond the Temiscamie River, which flows parallel to Litt:e Mistassini Lake, and is separated from it by a narrow limestone ridge. The south-western boundary does not appear to pass beyond Mistassini Lake, where the rocks are cut off by the sharp hills of the Huronian area.

The total thickness of the limestones remaining, probably does not exceed three or four hundred feet, and across the strike there are probably repetitions caused by faults parallel to the strike, like those seen along the Koksoak and Hamilton rivers. The first line of faut, met with in passing from north-west to south-east, is in the middle ot Lake Mistassini, and has produced the long points at the ends of the lake and the chain of islands between them. The western sides of the points and islands have abrupt escarpments, with deep water close in to their shores.

*Compare Annual Report, Geol. Surv. Can., vol. II. (N.S.), p. 8 RB.

Low. ] CAMBRIAN. 267 L

The rocks are also considerably contorted and broken for some dis- Faults. tance away from the line of fault. The second line of fault is indicated by the escarpment that divides the two lakes, and a third fault forms another ridge along the south-east side of Little Mistassini and divides the lake from the Temiscamie River. Besides these three principal lines of fault, there appear to be several minor ones that produce lines of low islands along the south-east shore of the great lake as well as in the smaller lake. Except where disturbed, close to the lines of fault, the limestones dip towards the south-east at angles that vary only from four to ten degrees from the horizontal.

The lowest beds, resting on the gneisses along the north-west side of Succession of Lake Mistassini, consist of a dark bluish-gray limestone of medium- Pos grained crystalline texture, and hold irregular concretionary masses of black chert and thin veins and bands of the same material, along with thin bands of black shaly limestone. Above these are thin beds of light-blue, fine-grained, siliceous, dolomitic limestone, that weather to a light buff and are interbedded with thin layers of a grayish, coarêe, gritty limestone, containing large quantities of small rounded grains of transparent quartz. Resting on these are beds of light-blue, very compact limestone, exceedingly hard and breaking with a conchoidal fracture. These are followed in ascending order by thinner beds of the same character, interbedded with coarse-gray, siliceous limestones full of grit.

As before stated, the beds close to the lines of fault are much con- Disturbance

torted and broken, and in many places have been greatly shattered and 2nd fracture. re-cemented with either calcite or quartz, most often the latter, which give the rock a brecciated appearance, and cause it at times to resemble a conglomerate. At the end of the south-west point of the larger lake, where the rock is disturbed and jointed, the small veins of calcite hold little globules of the bright black bituminous mineral ‘“ anthraxolite”* or altered bitumen, probably gathered from the surrounding lime- stones, some of which are quite dark and carbonaceous. Along the portage between Great and Little Mistassini, the limestones are again contorted and broken, and appear to be more altered than elsewhere. The light-gray dolomitic variety is most abundant here, and is finely crystalline and brecciated, the limestone filling the cracks being pink in colour. All are very siliceous, and at times pass into an impure quartzite. On the islands in the smaller lake, the dark bands contain- ing small grains of transparent quartz are most abundant.

There is a marked resemblance between these limestones and those Rocks like found along the Koksoak and Hamilton rivers. The resemblance is those of other

See Annual Report, (reol. Surv., Can., vol. VII. (N.S.), p. 66 R.

Cambrian of Koksoak River.

Sections on Cambrian Lake.

268 L Labrador Peninsula.

so great, that from the hand specimens in the office, almost any rock from the one locality can be duplicated from either of the other localities, and when they are mixed together, it is impossible to distinguish them. The same remarks apply to the limestones found along the east coast of Hudson Bay, from Cape Jones northward to teyond Great Whale River.

Koksoak River Area.

At Cambrian Lake, about 150 miles above the mouth of the Koks- oak River, the west side of the probable northern extension of the Hamilton River area is first seen. The first exposure occurs on the west shore of the lake, five miles below the mouth of the Death River, where the measures form a low cliff and dip N. 10° W. 100, or ata small angle to the direction of the shore. The section displayed, in descending or natural order, is as follows :—

1. Brecciated, purplish, calcareous sand-rock 100 2. Banded, red and gray sand-rock, consisting of grains

of quartz with a calcareous matrix. .. 200

3. Ferruginous red argillite 10

The lowest measures are concealed and broken, but from appear- ances there must be at least 300 feet of red calcareous sand-rock, with partings of red argillite, and some beds of green siliceous argillite hold- ing a good deal of pyrites in cubes. A bay with low shores separates this section from the next exposure, a mile and a half away, but as the second exposure is nearly on the strike of the first there can only be a small break in the series. This second exposure is half a mile long, and gives the following section in descending order :—

Feet.

1. Fine-grained red ferruginous chert ; containing small

blotches of carbonate of iron 150 2. Light-pink, very compact brecciated limestone, con-

taining a considerable quantity of silica 20 3. Light-green, siliceous argillite. 30 4. Blackish graphitic shales Les ve 100 5. Blue dolomite, somewhat cherty... 10 6. Pearly, green shales, showing ripple marks and parted "

by thin beds of doloinite 40 7. Coarse gray sandstone 3

8. Greenish-gray, calcareous shale and dark-green argil- Inceous limestone, with occasional beds of fine- grained, dark-blue, yellow-weathering dolomite (6 inches to 15 inches thick) 0 30

‘ATAIU AVOSHON ‘HHV'T NVIUMNVO ‘SWIVHS ANV SENOILSANVS Aguada “t68r ‘MoT a AQ “OR0NT

SVUYRYY) aU anse stereo

Low. ] CAMBRIAN. 969 L

The shore is now drift-covered for one mile, and then forms a low cliff for two miles, but as the strike of the rocks nearly coincides with the shore-line no great thickness of beds is seen. The section probably repeats the last, with the addition of some 200 feet of argillaceous. limestone and black shales on top.

The next outcrop occurs at a high point on the same side of the lake and five miles northward of the last. Here the Cambrian strata rest unconformably on a boss of hornblende-granite, dipping E. 70.

The following is a descending section of the beds which probably are- the lowest of the series :—

Feet.

1. Red sandstone 4 2. Red argillite. .. 3 3. Red sandstone 5 4. Red argillite ou à cane ee cece eer aenes 4 5. Red sandstone 10 6. Red argillite . 6

7. Red sandstone , 3

8. Red argillite , , 5

9. Red sandstone ... 2 10. Red argillite 25 11. Red sandstone 2 12. Red argillite Lever 8 13. Red sandstone 2 14. Red argillite , ,... 4 15. Gray sandstone , 3- 16. Red argillite 5 17. Red and gray sandstone , 15 18. Red argillite . .. 40: 19. Gray sandstone beta eee eeeeee 2 20. Red argillite. .. 3 21. Red sandstone 8 22. Red argillite.. bec e cee eeceeeucetenees 6 28. Red sandstone 8 24. Red argillite , 9 25. Red sandstone ,.,. ... 30 26. Red argillite. 4 27. Red sandstone ,,.. 2 28. Red argillite Le eos 9 29. Red sandstone 4 30. Red argillite ae cee eee eee cee 2 31. Red sandstune , 3 32. Red argillite 40 33. Red sandstone . 5 34. Red argillite. 20 35. Gray and red sandstone 60 36. Red argillite. 2 37. Coarse, grayish-pink, arkose sandrock 10 38. Concealed, to granite ,... 50

River below Cambrian Lake.

Rocks at Shale Chute.

Tron ores and jasper.

270 L Labrador Peninsula.

The Cambrian rocks are not again seen on the shores of the lake, but cap the high hills on both sides. On the north-west side they are coarse, pinkish-gray sandstone, while on the south-east side red sand- stones, rusty-weathering shales and limestones predominate.

The Laurentian hornblende-granite forms two low hills close to the water, the first being on the east side at the point where the lake changes direction from north to north-east, the second is on the north side three miles lower down where the lake again gradually narrows and shallows into the river. For ten miles below the second outcrop of granite, the river banks are low and sandy, until a small exposure is reached on the south bank, of fine-grained, dark green graywacke* composed chiefly of minute fragments of felspar and closely resembling a fine-grained trap, especially on weathered surfaces. This rock is very compact, and exceedingly tough. On a hill near by, the same rock was found capping a high cliff, with argillaceous limestone and black shales beneath it. Dip 8S. 80° W. 30°.

At the Shale Chute there are 500 feet of dark, greenish-gray shale, on edge, along with a few thin bands of light greenish-gray argillaceous limestone. On the south bank immediately below this chute, and for some distance further down, the rocks outcrop in a narrow band between the water and the overlying drift, giving a small section of very cherty, ferruginous limestone, holding thin bands of buff-weather- ing, pinkish siderite. These rocks are overlain by twenty feet of dark- blue, cherty limestone, containing nests of siderite.

Two miles below Shale Chute, there is a large exposure of bedded iron ore (a mixture of magnetite and hematite) about twenty-five feet thick, underlain by ten feet of highly ferruginous cherty limestone, with spathic ore in small spots and masses scattered through it. The magnetic ores are interstratified with thin bands of red jasper varying in colour from crimson to vermilion ; these bands are of unequal thick- ness, and sometimes they are broken into lenticular masses. The thickest is about three inches, but they are usually less than one inch through. The next exposure is on the west bank, three miles and a half farther down stream than the last, where a dark-gray, compact chert holds angular fragments of cherty limestone and siderite, both weathering yellow, and all cut by many small quartz-veins. On the same bank half a mile lower down stream, fifty feet of red siliceous shale and jasper are overlain by 200 feet of jaspery magnetite ; the shale holds many small red garnets, while the jasper bands are always less than sixinches thick. In the next half-mile 400 feet of red jasper

See No. 9, Appendix V.

wow CAMBRIAN. 271 L

and magnetite are overlain by fifty feet of dark-gray, cherty rock containing masses of carbonate of iron. The jasper bands vary from half an inch to eight inches in thickness ; the magnetites are mostly impure and shaly.

On the north shore, opposite the mouth of Swampy-bay River, 100 Rocks at feet of dark-gray, argillaceous limestone are overlain by 400 feet of dark pwampy-bay shales, both nearly on edge. Strike N. 15° W.

At a heavy rapid, two miles above the Swampy-bay River, there is a large exposure of jasper banded with brownish-gray spathic ore. The jasper is olive-green in colour, and often has angular fragments of red jasper scattered through it, from the fracturing of thin red bands and the filling of the cracks with the green variety. This rock would take a high polish and make a beautiful ornamental stone.

A mile below Swampy-bay River, there is an entire hill of dark- blue, cherty, ferruginous limestone holding large patches of siderite throughout. Along with the limestone are a few bands of jasper. These rocks are continuously exposed for a mile along the river, then follow two miles of drift-formed banks with rusty- weathering, black shales and argillaceous limestones in a greatly disturbed condition.

The river-valley for the next thirteen miles is wider, and only occa- imestones

sional exposures of shale and limestone rise from beneath the drift. repracing wo. Along this distance, down-stream, the limestones gradually take the stream. place of the shales, and at the lower end of the stretch only thin beds of greenish-gray shale are seen at the base of the overlying magnesian limestone. For the next following twelve miles, to the Pyrites Chute, almost constant exposures of limestone occur along the river-banks. This limestone is almost identical with that found at Lake Mistassini and along the east coast of Hudson Bay. It is generally light-blue in colour, very siliceous, breaking into sharp, angular fragments, exceed- ingly fine in texture where free from grains of quartz, which are found in some of the beds. The rock has been much disturbed, being thrown into sharp folds and faulted into a series of sharp, parallel ridges of hills, The faulting and shattering has broken many of the beds of limestone into angular fragments which have been cemented again with calcareous matter into a sort of breccia. The whole, after being recemented, must again have been fractured, when the last cracks were filled with quartz-veins, that now penetrate the mass of rock in all directions.

At the Pyrites Chute the black shales are again met with; at the Rocks at Pyri- head of the chute they include a few beds of fine-grained, black lime- tes Chute. stone. The bedding is greatly contorted into small domes, that dip

272 L Labrador Peninsula.

steeply in all directions. About half way down the chute the beds are more regular, and dip away from domes of light-weathering lime- stone on which they rest. The transition from limestone to black shale is made in about fifteen feet, through a light-gray, argillaceous limestone, that gradually changes to light, pearly shale, and this again to the dark variety. The black shales and limestones are all highly charged with pyrites, usually occurring as separate cubes, but some- times in large masses.

Below the chute on the east side of the river, the low hills have rusty cliffs, and are probably formed of shale.

At Limestone The light-blue magnesian limestones are again seen on the island- above the Limestone Fall, where they are less distributed. At the fall the river descends sixty feet over ledges of limestone. The rock is of a light-blue colour, somewhat siliceous, and brecciated br numerous small veins of quartz that cut it in all directions. A fer thin beds of pearly-gray, calcareous shale are interbedded with the limestone. Dip N. 75° E. 40°.

Black shales No rock is seen in the valley from this fall to the head of the

ei Maniton Manitou Gorge, four miles farther down-stream, where the river ha: cut a long, narrow channel out of the shales and limestones. At tke head of the gorge, large exposures of black shales are found, with a very regular dip N. 75° E. 50°. They continue down the east side of the gorge, and were examined for over a mile. Where their edze have been polished in the channel, their colour is green. Pyrites in cubes is scattered in considerable quantities through the shales A number of thin beds of light-gray pearly shale are enclosed among the © black beds. Numerous small veins of quartz penetrate the shales: they are usually barren, but sometimes carry pyrites, and in one place a small quantity of galena was observed.

Junction of At the lower end of the portage, on the east bank, the shales overlie limestones imestone ; as the junction is approached, the shales change from black to pearly-gray, becoming somewhat siliceous and having interbedded thin bands of limestones which gradually become more numerous and thicker until they finally altogether displace the shales. The bams enclosed in the shales are very siliceous, and some of them pass int quartzite. Some of these quartzite bands are white, others vellovis and others again have a purple colour. The limestones extend halts mile below the foot of the gorge, the beds gradually becoming flatte:.

Rocks below Four miles below the gorge, or a mile above the mouth of Stillwater Stillwater. River, there is on the east bank a large exposure of light-blue, ite grained, siliceous limestone. Dip N. 70° E. 10°. Below this rive’

Low. CAMBRIAN. 273 L

the valley widens out, and the river-banks are low and sandy, only two rock exposures being seen in seventeen miles. These exposures are respectively three and a half and eight miles below the Stillwater. They consist of well-rounded bosses rising above the drift. The rock at both places is nearly identical, and is a medium-grained, light-green, much altered diorite* holding much whitish plagioclase, with specks of pyrite. The diorites are directly on the strike of the capping rock of Numerous si- the sharp hills that bound the valley on the northside. The hills run milar ridges. in sharp ridges parallel to the strike of the rocks, and have perpen- dicular faces towards the west, while the slope on the opposite side is quite gentle (10°-20°). The cliff-faces of the ridges are all very similar in appearance ; a thick cap of compact rock, perhaps bedded diorite generally overhanging the rocks below, which are rusty-weathering, black shales from 300 feet to 400 feet thick, with limestone forming a steep slope at the bottom. The two upper members of the. series are seen in every cliff, the lower one being sometimes concealed, either by being covered with débris, or owing to the lower part of the hill not rising above the east slope of the adjoining ridge. The ridges are from a quarter of a mile to two miles apart, and sixteen of them were counted in

a distance of twenty miles down the stream. Each of the cliff-faces of the ridges practically repeats, in a more or less complete form, the section given in the others. This, in itself, appears to be sufficient reason to assume that the beds are again and again repeated by faults, otherwise the total thickness of the rocks would be enormous, and the uniformity of repetition of members whoily improbable.

Twenty miles below the mouth of the Stillwater, the Laurentian North edge gneisses again rise from beneath the Cambrian, and the latter rocks are of the Cam- confined to the summits of the hills, from which they gradually dis- appear as the river is further descended.

Hamilton River Area.

The rocks of the great area of Cambrian on the Ashuanipi Branch Cambrian on of the Hamilton River, were first seen on a number of low islands in Ashuanipi the small lake-expansion six miles below the outlet of Birch Lake. The beds here are impure sandstone or graywacke, made up of irregular grains of quartz and red orthoclase cemented together with silica.

These beds have evidently been formed from the detritus of the gneisses on which they rest. They dip W. 40°.

Along the river to the outlet of Birch Lake, the banks are formed Outcrops on of drift deposits, and no rock is seen in place. On the low islands Birch Lake.

See No. 28, Appendix V.

Section on Dyke Lake,

274 L Labrador Peninsula.

extending westward from the outlet of the lake and dividing it into two deep bays on the north side of the outlet, there are large quanti. ties of black shale, with thin bands of dark argillaceous limestone evidently broken up in place by the ice. On the south shofe, at the entrance to the south bay, is a low bluff of dark-greenish very siliceous limestone, holding small quantities of pyrite and having little irregular veins from two to four inches wide of siderite and calcite. The veins run generally parallel to the bedding which dips 8. 45° W. 90°. The rock has also two sets of cleavage-planes—one vertical and st right-angles to the true dip, and the other dipping N. 60° W. 4. On the sharp ridge on the south side of the lake, near its southem inlet, a similar dark siliceous and ferruginous limestone is seen forming the crest of the hill. For three miles up the southern inlet, the only rocks observed were small exposures of a similar limestone, very much fractured.and dipping west at a high angle. From the angular blocks scattered about, it is evident that these rocks hold large quantities af carbonate of iron, present as segregations or concretions in the lime stone.

The river here becomes obstructed by many small islands, that divide it into numerous channels for the next seven miles to where it flows out of Dyke Lake. These islands appear to be all formed of bedded black shale. Just above the heavy rapid at the outlet of Dyke Lake, there is a rocky ridge extending along the north side. The

rocks here are very complicated, bedded siliceous limestones being in-

terbanded with volcanic ash rocks and eruptives and also with a jasper conglomerate. The rocks dip 8. 80° W. 70, and the section exposed is as follows :—

40 feet of jasper conglomerate. The jasper is present generally in the form of small water-worn pebbles, but is at times angular, with a few larger pebbles of ferruginous red quartzite. The matrix is 4 dark-green schistose chlorite. In places where the jasper pebbles are

small and numerous, it would appear that all the interstices had not

been filled in with the ashy material, and that the pebbles were sub sequently cemented together by infiltrations of white quartz.

20 feet of dark greenish compact rock, occasionally holding smal amygdules, filled with calcite. This rock is quite ferruginous, ds tinctly bedded, and is probably a volcanic-ash rock.*

10 feet of brownish, porous rock, highly siliceous and distinctly clastic, probably another ash rock.

5 feet of compact, finely crystalline magnetite, coloured by :

small admixture of red hematite.

*See No. 1, Appendix V,

Low. CAMBRIAN. ; 275 L

10 feet of brownish trap rock. 5 feet of bedded magnetite. 20 feet of brownish trap rock.

The cherty volcanic-ash rocks come out along the lake shore for about three miles above the rapid, where they appear to be backed on the hill behind by a large mass of dark-green, fine-grained diabase, that is much decomposed on the surface.

On the summit of Fault Hill, at the end of the long point between the ni northern and southern discharges of Dyke Lake, a medium-grained, dark and vicinity, diabase is seen, while on the southern flanks of the hill a brownish, fine-grained, highly siliceous shale is met with in broken masses, con- taining much carbonate of iron. Fault Hill derives its name from the great fracture which traverses it from south-east to north-west, in con- sequence of which the western portion rises abruptly over 100 feet above the adjoining eastern end.

On the south shore of the lake, opposite Fault Hill, and continuing from there northward some three miles, light greenish-gray shales are seen, along with thin beds of dark-blue cherty rock of a fine texture, often holding small grains of quartz. At times this rock is highly pyritous, and it often holds small yellow patches of siderite. These rocks are all on edge, and strike S. 60° E.

On the large island on the north side of the main channel, four . miles north of Fault Hill, low exposures of light-green argillite interbedded with -gray sand-rock, occur for more than a mile along shore. The argillites show ripple-marks, and in places are somewhat slickensided. All the beds are penetrated by numerous small quartz-veins.

At the point of the next large island to the north, where it adjoins the eastern shore, are twenty feet of light-gray sand-rock, often coarse- grained, and interbedded with thin bands of cherty limestones. These rocks are greatly cut up by small reticulated quartz-veins. Strike S. 30° E.

On the mainland just above, there is a large mass of light-green Great iabase diabase,t generally quite coarse in texture, except on the north side, dyke. where it becomes fine-grained near its contact with the sand-rock, and causes the reticulated structure in the latter. The diabase often con- tains large porphyritic crystals of huronite and also specks of pyrite and pyrrhotite. This rock is in the form of a great dyke that

. stretches northward along the west shore of the lake for eight miles, to the narrows leading to Lake Petitsikapau. The direction of the

See No. 22, Appendix V. ‘See No. 33, Appendix V. {See No. 34, Appendix V.

Entrance to

Lake Petitsi-

kapau, —

276 L Labrador Peninsula.

dyke is such that, if continued, it would pass through Fault Hill, and the diabase found there points to such a southern extension. The dyke appears to form all the points along the west side of thelake. At one of these, a mile to the northward of the last-described exposure, the dyke is 200 yards wide and its contacts with the bedded series are well seen. The direction of the dyke is nearly parallel to the bedding, but it jogs occasionally from one bed to another. The west wall is formed of light-gray sand-rock, apparently baked at the contact, and full of small quartz-veins, which usually extend only a few feet from the contact. On the east side, black shales form the wall-rock, and

‘near the contact they are changed to a light-green argillite. The

diabase continues to be seen on the points, as above described, while in the bays between are black shales with occasional beds of black argillaceous limestone. The shales at times weather rusty from the decomposition of the pyrites contained in them.

On the east side of the entrance to the narrows leading to Lake Petitsikapau, there is another contact between the diabase dyke and the black shales and limestones. As before, the dyke runs mainly parallel to the bedding, but is seen in one place to jog four feet, and in another eight inches. The shales and limestones are hardened near the contact, and are of a light, grayish-green colour, owing to the contained carbon having been burnt out. They are cut by small quartz-veins that extend from eight to ten feet from the dyke, and then die out. The shales are tilted up at high angles and strike N. 50° W.

On the western point, at the narrows, a bed of fine granular magne- tite, twenty feet wide, is seen extending along the shore for 200 feet. Like all other beds of this kind, the iron ore is associated with red jasper in broken angular masses, scattered in bands through the ore. The appearance of the jasper leads to the belief that it originally formed beds, varying from a quarter of an inch to six inches in thick- ness, which have been subsequently broken by folding and pressure, so as to assume their present appearance. The beds are on edge and the strike is N. 30° W. On the west side these beds are followed by 200 feet of dark cherty rock, with a brownish fracture, and containing a considerable percentage of carbonate of iron. These rocks contain in some places a few small pebbles of quartzite, and in others irregular masses of apple-green chert.

At the upper end of the narrows, the rock seen is a dark, shaly, siliceous limestone, holding a considerable quantity of iron. Strike W. These shaly, ferruginous rocks are met with along the west sides of the first deep northern bay of Lake Petitsikapau where their strike coincides closely with the trend of the shores.

oe tow. CAMBRIAN. 277 L

Along the shores of the other northern bays and on all the low Rocks of Lake islands in the lake, rock is seen everywhere. In the northern bays Fetitsikapau. limestone predominates, and is accompanied by shale. On the islands the latter is most plentiful, and in places has a perpendicular cleavage. Where the limestone is in thick beds, it has a dark bluish- gray colour and a medium-grained crystalline texture. In many places it includes angular masses of a very fine-grained, black carbon- aceous limestone. Some of the beds hold small grains of quartz, and closely resemble similar beds at Lake Mistassini. These rocks are all much fractured, and are tilted up at high angles with evidence of numerous faults. Where the shales predominate, the rocks of the limestone bands are finer-grained and more.carbonaceous. The shales are nearly always black, and sometimes bituminous ; rarely, bands of a lighter green colour are met with, more especially where limestone is plentiful.

Scattered amongst the broken shale and limestone, on two islands near the mouth of the north-east bay, a number of blocks of a black carbon mineral were observed. The largest blocks measured eight inches in thickness, and, from the white vein-quartz attached to their sides, it is obvious that the mineral occurs either in veins or pockets. It has a foliated appearance, with plates arranged at right- angles to the walls. In colour itis black with a high lustre, resembling graphite. A more detailed description of this material is given under the heading of economic minerals.

On the summit of a range of hills along the east side of the lake, East side of

were found bedded limestones and ferruginous cherts, tilted up at a the lake. high angle, with their strike parallel to the direction of the hill, or N. 20° W. A small dyke of fine-grained diabase* cuts these rocks. In places on the western side of the summit, the rocks appear not to have been glaciated, and are much decomposed on the surface. The limestone is here represented by a residual, impure, black oxide of iron, and the small quartz-veins that penetrate it stand out from six to eight inches above the general mass.

Leaving Lake Petitsikapau, and returning to Dyke Lake along the Great diabase west shore, to the northward of the inlet of the river we find a long ke. exposure of brown-weathering, shaly limestone, and ferruginous chert.

Strike N. 60° W. At the inlet of the river, the stream is broken into heavy rapids, as it passes over ledges and between small islands formed by a great dyke, that here crosses the stream and continues N,. 30° W., along the east shore of the next lake-expansion above, for

See No. 20, Appendix V.

Rocks of As- tray Lake.

Iron area.

78 L Labrador Peninsula.

more than five miles. This dyke is over 300 yards wide, and only its eastern contact with the bedded series is seen. The rock forming the dyke is medium-grained, dark-green diabase, holding in places light- green crystals of plagioclase. Near the contact, the rock is much finer in texture and darker-coloured. Dark-blue, medium-grained limestone is found on the east side of the dyke, where the beds dip N. 40° E. 80°, or away from the dyke. For twelve feet from the con- tact, the limestone has a baked appearance, its colour being lighter, and the bedding marked by different shades; its texture also appears finer, and it is very hard, brittle and cherty. The dyke runs parallel to the strike, but jogs from bed to bed, in one place crossing about twenty feet.

On the west side of the lake there is only one small exposure of shaly limestone. At the south-west angle, where the river flows in, another great dyke of diabase is met with, and its contact with the cherty limestone is seen. At the contact the limestone is baked, intensely fractured and re-cemented. The diabase near the contact is of a strongly developed porphyritic character.* The dyke is seen passing southward for a mile along the river, when it is covered with drift.

In Astray Lake two chains of low, rocky islands and reefs extend several miles down the centre of the lake. These are all composed of a compact, light-blue limestone, very fine in texture, cherty, and greatly fractured, the small cracks being filled with quartz, which gives a finely reticulated appearance to weathered surfaces. Large irregular masses of black chert are scattered through it. The rocks weather yellowish- white, with some brown bands. These limestones are identical in appearance with those of Lake Mistassini and those of the Koksoak River at and below the Limestone Fall.

Near the head of the middle northern bay of Astray Lake, on its west shore, a low hill, 150 feet high, of bedded jaspery iron ore is seen; dip S. 50° E. 20°. The ore is a fine-grained magnetite with patches of red hematite, and holds broken bands of red jasper. Some of the beds more than fifteen inches thick are of pure ore without any jasper. The ore-beds are overlain by the buff-weathering, blue limestones, holding black chert, and are greatly shattered and re-cemented by quartz. These limestones come out in great thickness on a high island about a mile to the south-east. On the west shore, a large dyke of fine-grained, dark-green diabase follows the shore, from behind the island, southward for upwards of a mile. This dyke forms a low escarpment, and its contact with the bedded rocks was not seen.

See No. 3, Appendix V.

wow. CAMBRIAN. 279 L

On the north-east bay ledges of buff-weathering limestone are seen along the west shore and on the large islands. On the east side, three miles from the head of this bay, is an escarpment of 120 feet, cut out of black shales and thin beds of limestone; dip, N. 40° E. 45°-60°. Between this escarpment and fifty feet of jaspery iron ore, exposed on a small point, is an interval of 200 feet concealed by drift. The ore- beds contain much jasper and are not very rich in iron.

The west shore of Astray Lake is low and drift-covered as far south Quartz Hill. as Quartz Hill, which rises in a sharp cone close to the shore between the lake and the river leading to Menihek Lake. The top of the hill is bare, and the rock is a white-weathering, light-gray and green quartzite, holding angular fragments of blue-banded flint that are evidently the remains of broken beds of that material. The beds are on edge, and the strike is N. 30° W.

On the long narrow island in Astray Lake, a low rocky escarpment Limestones

extends for more than three miles along its eastern side. The rocks #nd cherts. forming the escarpment are very fine-grained, compact, light-gray and pink cherts, much fractured, and overlain by a very siliceous buff- weathering limestone that dips N. 50° E. 35°. There are frequent outcrops of buff-weathering cherty limestone along the west shore of Astray Lake for five miles, to the small rapid leading to Marble Lake. The strike of the limestone is parallel to the shore, and only a small section is exposed. The dip is N. 50° E. The same buff limestones form low cliffs at intervals along the east shore of Marble Lake for three miles from its outlet, and also appear on the west shore at its north end. On the eastern side of the river there are many loose blocks of dark-green trap, holding angular masses of red jasper.

At the first heavy rapid, where the river turns westward towards ponte to Me- Menihek Lake, the rock is nearly horizontal, and lies in low flat domes. nihek Lake. It is a well-banded, very dark gray siliceous trap, and resembles an al- tered compact ash. The same flat-bedded traps are seen at the small fall some three miles below the lower Menihek Lake, where they are full of small specks of pyrites arranged in bands. At the outlet of the lake there are many large loose blocks of alternately, bedded jasper and magnetite. These blocks evidently show the condition of the bedded ores when undisturbed, the jasper being in continuous layers from one-half to three inches thick, and not in angular fragments scattered through the ore, as seen where the beds have been tilted and crushed.

The shores of Menihek Lake are generally low and formed of drift, Rocks of. so that very few rock-exposures are seen. No outcrops occur on the Menihek-

Anthraxolite.

Chert and siderite.

Rocks on Lake Michi- kamau.

Lowest beds of the Cam- brian.

280 L Labrador Peninsula.

east side of the lake, and only three on the west side. The first noted is on à long point, four miles south of the outlet. Here the rock is not seen in place, but in fragments heaped up by the ice in a mound of large angular blocks. These blocks show a rusty-weathering, coarsely crystalline, siliceous limestone, containing a large percentage of small rounded grains of quartz, and at times containing large peb- bles of dark chert, as well as irregular chert masses. Small veins of calcite penetrate the rock and hold globular masses of a brilliant black carbon, probably of the same nature as the “anthraxolite” of Lake Petitsikapau and of Lake Mistassini.

Ten miles to the south, where a small stream enters the lake from the westward, there is an exposure a quarter of a mile long, of flat-bedded dark-gray chert, much broken, and weathering a dark brown. The rock is blotched with siderite, often altered to an earthy limonite. The ore-masses vary from half an inch to two or three feet in diameter, and also occur as thin beds of irregular thickness. The total thickness seen is about forty feet, and the rock is everywhere split up into angular blocks, that are scattered about, giving the exposure the appearance of a dump at a mine.

The last exposure of rock on the Menihek Lake, is at the mouth of the large western branch, twelve miles farther southward. On the south bank of this stream, there is an outcrop of fifteen feet of similar fer- ruginous chert. From here southward for twenty miles, to the head of the lakes, although no rocks are seen in place, the numerous angular blocks of chert scattered about everywhere, with the continuous simi larity in character of the country, lead to the belief that the Cam brian rocks continue underlying the drift to the entrance of the river, where the surface changes in aspect and loose blocks of Huronian schists replace those of chert.

Lake Michikamau.

The basin occupied by Lake Michikamau seems to have been cut out of the lower beds of the Cambrian series, and the area of thee rocks here may be connected with the main mass to the north of Lake Petitsikapau, as the wide valley partly occupied by Lake Michikamau extends far beyond the north end of the lake towards the main area.

Although there are only a few places about the lake where the

Cambrian rocks are seen in place, there is no doubt but that these rocks are everywhere present in the bottom of the lake, and that the loose

Low. CAMBRIAN. 281 L

angular masses of sandstone which are very abundant in many places along the shores, have been shoved by the ice out of the water into their present position. Only the lowest beds of the Cambrian series are met with, consisting of red conglomerate and red sandstone, with a few beds of limestone above them. On the west side of the lake, from the south end northward to the beginning of the anorthosite area, the shores are low and all the points are thickly strewn with angular blocks of red sandstone. This sandstone varies in texture from fine to coarse, and some of it is mottled with light-pink and green blotches. Such blocks are much more numerous than the gneissic boulders found along with them. The north end of the lake is low and the shores are formed chiefly of sand ; the scattered boulders are mostly large and consist of Archean rocks, these being much more abundant than the Cambrian sandstones. Southward along the eastern side, the blocks of sandstone are not numerous on the sandy shores until the anorthosite rocks have been passed, when they again become plentiful.

Eight miles north of the outlet of the lake, the low granite hills peas nea along the shore, and the numerous small islands, are almost completely outlet. covered by large blocks of sandstone and light bluish cherty limestone.

These blocks continue numerous until the hill on the north side of the discharge is reached, where patches of bluish-gray limestone are seen resting on the sides of the granite hill, and along the base of the hill thin beds of red sandstone rest at a high angle against the granite.

To the south of the outlet of the lake the shores are again low and sandy. As the south end of the main body of the lake is approached, huge blocks uf coarse sandstone and fine conglomerate are seen on the low shore and islands.

The conglomerate probably represents the lowest beds of the series. Conglomera- Its matrix is a coarse sandstone, or more properly grauwacke, as it contains many small angular fragments of orthoclase, intermixed with the quartz grains. The pebbles of the conglomerate are mostly small, but are occasionally as much as nine inches in diameter. They are composed almost wholly of various kinds of hornblende-granite, mostly fine-grained, along with a few white quartzite pebbles, no anorthosite pebbles being seen. The conglomerate passes into a coarse red sand- stone, and the latter, becoming fine-grained, passes into a very siliceous limestone, of a light bluish-gray or pink colour. The lime- stone is often greatly contorted, and at times the weathering of the finely bedded and highly contorted rock presents the appearance of organic structure similar to that of Stromatopera.

Gold.

Silver.

Copper.

282 L Labrador Peninsula.

The low rounded islands of granite that form a wide fringe along the south shore of the lake, are covered by these blocks of sandstone and limestone, the latter predominating towards the western side of the lake. Many of these blocks contain more than fifty cubic feet, and are apparently almost undisturbed.

Economic MINERALS,

Gold.—This metal was not actually observed in any of the rocks along the routes followed; but it may occur in the numerous small quartz-veins that cut the Huronian rocks, carrying iron- and copper- pyrites when close to the eruptive masses penetrating this formation. The shales of the Cambrian formation are also cut by numerous quartz- veins, often highly charged with pyrites ; and these may contain gold, although careful examination of a number of them failed to show traces of free gold. It is to be reyretted that circumstances prevented the search from being carried on by panning the gravels of these areas. The most promising localities for future investigation are along the Koksoak River, especially in the vicinity of the Manitou Gorge, a few miles above the mouth of the Stillwater River, where the quartz- veins carry abundance of pyrites, and some of them smal! quantities of galena.

Silver.—This metal has only been found associated with lead in the limestones of the Cambrian area of the east coast of Hudson Bay, where, according to Dr. Bell,* it occurs in bunches of galena in a band of magnesian limestone twenty-five feet thick, in quantities sufficient to be of economic value. This band was traced from Little Whale River to Richmond Gulf, a distance of about twelve miles. Assays by Dr. Harrington give 5:104 to 12-03 ounces of silver per ton. An opening was made by the Hudson’s Bay Company at Little Whale River several years ago, but the working proved unprofitable and was soon abandoned. This galena-bearing band of limestone was not observed in the Cambrian areas of the interior, and that ore was only found in small quantities in a few little quartz-veins along with pyrites.

Copper.—Copper-pyrites is sparingly met with in the Huronian, but not in the Laurentian or Cambrian rocks along the routes traversed. In the neighbourhood of Paint Mountain, on Lake Chibougamoo, the chloritic schists are charged with a small percentage of copper-pyrites associated with iron-pyrites ; but where seen the ore was too sparsely disseminated to be of economic value, and the indications of copper

Report of Progress, Geol. Surv. Can., 1877-78, p. 200.

Low. ECONOMIC MINERALS. 283 L

here are only valuable as pointing to the possible occurrence of more concentrated bodies of ore in the neighbourhood. On the East Main River, a few miles above the mouth of the Broken-paddle River,

copper-pyrites was met with in small quartz-veins, cutting the chloritic schists of Huronian age.

Iron.—The immense deposits of magnetite, hematite and siderite in Iron. the Cambrian formation, and their wide-spread distribution, may at some future date be of economic importance, especially those containing a large percentage of manganese which fits them for use in the manu- facture of steel by the Bessemer process. The mode of occurrence of

these ores appears to be closely analogous to that of the iron ores of Michigan and Wisconsin.*

The ores are always associated with a cherty limestone, and this Possible mode cherty carbonate of lime is very wide-spread, being met with on the of formation east coast of Hudson Bay, at Lake Mistassini, and along the Koksoak and Hawilton rivers. The associated iron carbonates are more limited in their distribution, being confined to portions of the country adjacent to Koksoak and Hamilton rivers, and to the northern part of the Hudson Bay area.

C. R. Van Hise, holds that the similar ores of Michigan and Wis- consin were originally deposited as carbonates along with lime and silica, and that the richer ores of magnetite and hematite are concen- trations of the iron so deposited, carried by leaching waters holding silica to the lowest beds, where they were re-deposited in a concentrated form, in troughs formed by the tilted lower fragmental beds of the series on the one side, and trap dykes on the other. ‘

From the limited study of the Labrador areas, it is impossible to say whether this is the general case there, but on the Hamilton River, several of the large deposits of magnetite were close to, and apparently influenced by large dykes of diabase. Only in one place were the richer ores found undisturbed, at the entrance of Menihek Lake, and here they rested upon a flat-bedded impervious trap-rock. Along the Koksoak River, large dykes are not seen, and the rich ores are found always beneath and associated with the cherty carbonate ores, but in some places they did not appear to lie beneath these, but were rather . interbedded with them.

The bedded iron ores are first met with in descending the Koksoak Ores of Kok- River, on the south bank, just below the Shale Chute, or a few miles River. below Cambrian Lake, where a thin section of jaspery magnetite is overlain by twenty feet of cherty limestone containing large blotches

*U. S. Geological Survey, Monograph XIX. Penokee Iron-bearing Series of Michigan and Wisconsin.

284 L Labrador Peninsula.

Shale Chute. of carbonate of iron. The following analyses of the ores were made in the laboratory of the survey by Mr. F. G. Wait :—

The jaspery magnetite ore :—

/ Per cent. (1.) Metallic iron 31 23 Insoluble matter . ev aceaee 56°71 Titanic acid none.

The carbonate ore of the upper beds is described as a mixture of ankerite and magnetite.

, Per cent. (2.) Metallic iron , 33° 62 Insoluble matter. 4°99 Titanic acid ,. . .. none.

Exposure of For the next ten miles, to the mouth of the Swampy-bay River, ded ores.

Shale Chute @Xposures of iron-bearing rocks are almost continuous, and the amount

eke of ore in sight must be reckoned by hundreds of millions of tons. The ore is not everywhere high-grade, and probably a large proportion of it would be unprofitable to work, but there is certainly an almost inexhaustible supply of high-grade ore. It may here be mentioned that specimens were not procured from the thickest and richest beds, owing to the impossibility of breaking up the rounded and glaciated surfaces with the small hammers. Two miles below the last-mentioned exposure, the rocks were found to consist of a twenty- five-foot bed of jaspery ore, composed largely of magnetite with a small admixture of hematite, underlain by ten feet of siliceous, ferruginous limestone, holding spathic ore in bands and nodular masses up to several hundred pounds in weight. A great part of the magnetite is nearly pure and contains little jasper. The beds are exposed along the right bank of the river for more than a quarter of a mile.

Five miles The rocks were again examined three miles and a half farther down- a Haver. stream, where only the cherty carbonates were found ; but half a mile below, the river passes close to a high hill on the west side, where fifty feet of red garnetiferous, siliceous, ferruginous shale and jasper are overlain by 200 feet of jaspery ore, composed chiefly of magnetite and coloured by an admixture of hematite. An analysis of the ore in the

. garnetiferous rocks gave :— Per cent. (3.) Metallic irom 19°14 Insoluble matter . ... .. .. 72°86 Titanic acid , none. And another analysis of the ore from the beds above gave :— Per cent. (4) Metallic iron .., 48°29 Insoluble matter 30°62 Titanic acid , ,. none.

on. ECONOMIC MINERALS. 285 L

Jn the same side, half a mile below, the section exposed on the hill- ide shows 400 feet of jaspery magnetite and hematite, overlain by ifty feet of cherty carbonate ore. A specimen of the jaspery ore con- taining a large percentage of hematite gave :—

Per cent. (5.) Metallic iron anne ec encceasceee 54°35 Insoluble matter 16-03 Titanic acid , none

The bedded iron ores outcrop along the river for about three miles farther down-stream to near the mouth of the Swampy-bay River, and then the main stream turns eastward and passes between banks of shale and siliceous limestone, so that the iron-bearing members are not again seen along its banks.

On the Hamilton River, the cherty carbonate rocks are well de- Iron ores of veloped along the shores and in the hills surrounding the lakes from Hamilton Ri- Birch Lake to the Menihek Lakes on the Ashuanipi Branch. The fault- ing of the rocks has caused these measures to be repeated in four ridges in a distance of about twenty-five miles across the strike. The most westerly ridge runs along the west side of the Menihek Lakes ; the next is along the east side of Astray Lake ; the third forms the ridge between Dyke and Petitsikapau lakes, and the last forms the watershed be- tween Petitsikapau and the head-waters of the George River.

The concentrated magnetite and hæmatite ores were first met with at the rapid at the discharge of Dyke Lake, where two beds each about five feet wide were found associated with cherty carbonate and asiliceous trap ash-rock. At the narrows into Lake Petitsikapau, over Ore near Lake twenty-five miles beyond along the same ridge, the ores again come Petitsikapeu.

out on the shore for 200 feet, with a width of twenty feet. Analysis of the ores from this place gave :— Per cent. Metallic iron ... , 30°43 Insoluble matter 51°22

Titanic acid At the head of the middle northern bay of Astray Lake, there is a low hill where 150 feet of jaspery magnetite and hematite are seen.

Some of the ore-beds are two feet thick between the jasper partings

Fifty feet of similar ore are exposed on the shore of the north-east hay, about two miles from its head.

At the outlet of the Menihek Lakes, large blocks of jaspery ore are yancanife- Scattered about, and they appear to rest horizontally on beds of trap, rous iron ores. Here the magnetite and jasper are arranged in distinct layers, and the

Mouchelagan £ thick bands of magnetite were met with on Little Matonipi Lake

River. Greac M magnetite.

286 L Labrador Peninsula.

jasper is not broken as in all the other exposures where the rocks have been disturbed. This ore on analysis gives :—

Per cent. Metallic iron 40°72 Insoluble matter 29°90 Titanic acid none.

These were all the outcrops met with on the waters of the Hamilton River, but they are sufficient to show that the deposits are wide-spread and that the ores will be found in practically inexhaustible quantity.

In the Hudson Bay area, the more concentrated ores are not abundant, but there are great thicknesses of the cherty carbonates Specimens of the ores brought home by Dr. Bell and apalysed by Dr. Harrington, gave:—

) Per cent. Metallic iron 25° 44 Carbonate of manganese 24°00

an excellent ore for spiegeleisen, and for conversion with richer ores into Bessemer steel.

The percentage of manganese in the ores from the Koksoak River area is considerably lower than in the Hudson Bay ores, but sufficient is present to give promise of richer deposits. The following analyse of No. 2 and No. 5, show the percentage of manganese in these ores :—

Per cent. (No. 2.) Ferric oxide , 23°43 Ferrous oxide ce 21°32 Manganous oxide 1°34 Insoluble residue . .. 6°72 (No. 5.) Ferric oxide ... 80°17 Ferrous oxide. ... 0°35 Manganous oxide 3°09 Insoluble residue 13°78

On the portege-route past the upper part of the Mouchalagan River,

and on the portage leading northward from the larger lake, tbe Indians report that there is a hill of similar ore several miles west of the last-mentioned place in the same direction as the strike of te rocks. Large masses of similar ore were also seen on the Mouchalagss River, so that it appears that this deposit may be traced more than forty miles along the strike. The ore is associated with the mc gneisses and limestones of the supposed bedded series of the Laurer tian. In composition it varies from a pure magnetic ore to a fer ginous gneiss. The quantity of ore seen is very great, as the band! more than 100 feet wide.

vow. ECONOMIC MINERALS. 287 L

Titanic Iron Ore.—Throughout the great anorthosite areas of the Ilmenite. peninsula, ilmenite or titanic iron ore is always found in more or less abundance, varying from small grains to masses several tons in weight.

The banks of the rivers passing through these areas usually have thick beds of black iron-sands scattered at intervals along them, these iron- sands being derived from the disintegration of the anorthosite rocks.

Pyrites.—This mineral is abundantly found both in the Huronian Pyrites,

and Cambrian rocks. In the area of Huronian to the south-west of Lake Mistassini, the chloritic schists, close to the junction of the eruptive masses of basic and acidic rocks, are always highly charged with pyrites. At Paint Mountain, on the south-west shore of Lake Chibougamoo, the schists are very pyritous, and a zone extending twenty feet from the contact with the granite mass holds at least twenty-five per cent of pyrites. Along the narrows leading to the east end of the lake, highly pyritous chloritic schists are met with for upwards of a mile.

On the East Main River, the schists at Conglomerate Gorge, in the vicinity of the large diabase dyke, are highly pyritiferous. Three miles above the gorge there is another large area of schist charged with pyrites.

Half a mile above the mouth of the Wabamisk River, is a large Large outcrop deposit of pure pyrites in a green chloritic schist. Where it is ex- of iron pyr posed along the river, the deposit is ten feet thick and 100 feet long, being concealed under drift at both ends.

In the Cambrian formation, pyrites is found in nearly all the strata, and is always present in the black and green shales. The black shales, when exposed in cliff-faces, always weather brownish-red from the oxidation of the contained pyrites. This mineral is particularly abundant at the Shale Chute, where it is found strung out in lenticular masses between the partings. In many places these masses are so large and close together that, if they were more accessible, they might form a pyrites ore. At the Manitou Gorge, similar masses of pyrites are present in the black shales and also in the quartz-veins cutting them.

Along the Hamilton River, the black shales are usually charged with pyrites, but no locality was seen where the percentage was suf- ficiently great for profitable working.

Anthrazxolite. — A bituminous mineral with the lpstre and colour of Anthraxolite, anthracite, is found in the Cambrian black shales and limestones, where it occurs either as irregular veins or in small irregular globules in veins of quartz and calcite, cutting the limestones. This mineral is widely distributed, being found at Lake Mistassini, at Petitsikapau and

Its character.

Mica.

288 L Labrador Peninsula.

Menihek lakes on the Hamilton River, and also on Long Island in Hudson Bay.

At Lake Petitsikapau the largest amount was found in loose blocks scattered about with broken shale, and, from the pieces found, it probably occurs as a vein from six to eight inches wide, with quartz lining the vein. The mineral is arranged in small flattened plates set at right-angles to the walls and these plates inclose little rounded grains of quartz, and are themselves often coated with ferric hydrate. The following is an analysis of a specimen from this locality made by Dr. Hoffmann :—

Per cent Water (at 110°-115° C.) 3°56 Additional loss on ignition in closed vessel 2°48 Fixed carbon .. 86°83 Ash (light reddish-brown) 7°13 100°00

“The ash, which consisted for the most part of silica, would appear to be alinost solely derived from accidental impurities, a view strength- ened by the fact that other fragments of this material—which. although most carefully picked, were not regarded as absolutely above suspicion —left on ignition but 0:31 per cent of ash.”

The analysis of a fragment picked up on Long Island, and also examined by Dr. Hoffmann, gave 94-91 per cent of fixed carbon and only 0:25 per cent of ash.

From the above analysis and the mode of occurrence of this mineral, it is seen that it is the result of the hardening of probably liquid bitu- men, derived from the carbon of the adjoining rocks, and inclosed in quartz or calcite veins, where it has lost much of its volatile matter and has assumed its present form. It is obvious that the occur- rence of this mineral affords no indication of the existence of coal, as ordinarily understood, that is in beds of economic value for mining and burning.

Mica.—This mineral often occurs in large crystals in the massive pegmatite dykes met with everywhere throughout the Archean rocks, but in very few places was commercial mica found, owing to the bent and broken nature of the crystals. The best locality noted was on the East Main River, between the Talking and Island falls, where the mica was in large plates of a light greenish coloured muscovite. Near the head of Lake Winokapau, fine crystals were seen in a large dyke of red pegmatite, and other localities might be mentioned which would repay prospecting if they were more accessible.

iow. ] ECONOMIC MINERALS. 289 L

Ornamental Stones.—The agates found in the melaphyres of the Ornamental Hudson Bay coast are often large and beautifully coloured and Jasper banded, and would polish well. The jasper of the iron-bearing rocks varies in colour from bright vermilion to crimson, and sometimes green. The red varieties are often in large masses, and slabs several square feet in surface and more than six inches thick, are easily obtained in many places. On the Koksoak River there is a thick band of apple-green jasper, brecciated with small angular fragments of the red varieties, which might be used for pannels and other decora- tive purposes. On the Hamilton River, near the outlet of Dyke Lake, the jasper conglomerate is in places formed of small pebbles cemented with white quartz and it can take a high even polish.

Labradorite of the precious variety occurs in great abundance on Labradorite. the north-east side of Lake Michikamau, where large and beautiful erystals of this mineral are seen continuously along the shore for more than ten miles. The play of colour in these large crystalline masses when placed below the surface of the water is particularly splendid, the opalescent hues varying from deep cobalt-blue to green and bronze yellow. On some of the faces the lines of growth of the crystal are distinctly marked by the different colours arranged in con- centric bands. Among other localities where the precious labradorite is found, may be mentioned the islands in Lake. Ossokmanuan, and the shores of the Romaine River above the burnt lakes.

Building Stones.—Many of the limestones of the Cambrian areas Building sto- would answer admirably for building purposes, as would also the horn- Pec en blende-granites, but, as the rocks are so far away from any point of

shipment, they are valueless.

Cement Rock.—The rusty-weathering bands of magnesian limestone might very probably yield a hydraulic cement on burning.

Grindstones.—The hard sand-rock at the base of the Cambrian, would answer for this purpose, while the fine-grained cherty beds in the limestones would make good hone-stones.

Excellent flag-stones could be obtained from the green felsite slates of the Cambrian, and other materials such as brick clays, etc., of economic value, when near settlements, are abundant in the Labrador Peninsula, but are practically valueless owing to the distance from any market.

Glacial Geology.

The observations of striæ and other glacial phenomena taken along Extent and

the different routes followed during these explorations, in conjunction theewen of

290 L Labrador Feninsula.

with similar evidence previously obtained on the rivers flowing west- ward into Hudson Bay, all show that the Labrador Peninsula, with the exception of a narrow strip of highlands along the North Atlantic Coast, was completely covered with ice during a portion at least of the glacial period. The movement of the ice followed the general slope of the country outward in all directions from a central gathering-ground, or nevé, and the thickness of the ice was such that in its flow it passed over ridges and valleys unchanged, or with only minor deflections.

Either the greatest thickness of ice was to the northward of the southern watershed, or there have been slight changes in the relative levels of the central area since the glacial epoch, as the present watersheds do not altogether correspond to the former central nevé grounds.

Position of The central nevé ground, characterized by but slight traces of glacial

central neve. motion, is situated about midway between the east and west coasts of the peninsula, and between latitudes 53° and 55°, consequently its southern boundary is from fifty to two hundred miles north of the present southern watershed.

Its character. The region occupied by this nevé is marked by the presence of partly istics. rounded boulders and angular blocks of rock scattered indiscrimin- ately over hill and hollow. ‘These blocks and boulders, in the great majority of cases, rest upon rocks of the same kind, and have evidently not been transported to any distance from their original positions. They are often of great size, and are heaped together loosely, so that it is a dangerous undertaking to scramble up the steep sides of the hills owing to the liability of displacing them. In many places large blocks are seen perched upon much smaller ones, even on the very summits of the highest rocky hills. Either these conditions of the loose rocks must be due to their having been sub-angular cores in the rotted gneisses and granites, from which the finer material has been carried by water or by slowly-moving ice; or their present position is due to the boulders having been dropped upon one another from the ice-sheet that inclosed them when the ice finally melted away. The former supposition seems the most likely. The loose piles along the sides of the hills may in a great measure be due to the simple falling of the harder cores from higher elevations after the removal of the finer material, and the disappearance of the ice.

Few traces of In that part of the nevé ground crossed between Nichicun and glaciation ™ Kaniapiskau lakes, the country is very rough and broken into ridges of sharply rounded hills of granite, that rise from 300 to more than 800 feet above the neighbouring lakes. In this area the signs of

Low. ] GLACIAL GEOLOGY. 291 L

glaciation on the rock surfaces are very indistinct and no well-marked striæ were found showing the direction in which the ice moved. The outlines of the hills, although rounded, are much sharper and more angular than in the regions where the glaciation is well marked by striæ and where the smaller angular projections have been reduced to a common gentle curve by the grinding power of the ice-transported drift. The following list of glacial striæ will show the various directions of General direc-

the ice-movement down the different slopes of the peninsula. tions of motion

The watershed south of Lake Mistassini, extends from north-north- Watershed east to south-south-west and slopes rapidly towards the north-west, south of Lake falling from 300 to 500 feet in a few miles, thus forming an escarp- ment that has been observed to extend from Lake Temiscamie to the north-east of Lake Mistassini, to beyond Lake Obatagoman to the south-west of that lake, or in all more than 200 miles. This escarp- ment appears to have played an important part in determining the direction of the ice-flow in that region.

On the north side of the escarpment, along the Mistassini lakes and Glaciation the large lakes to the south-west of them, the general direction of north of wer glaciation was toward S. 30° W., or nearly parallel to the trend of the

escarpment.

On the southern watershed, near its head, and on a considerably South of wa-

higher level, the glaciation was not intense. There was, seemingly, an tershed. area where the ice-movement was small, and not to a considerable distance southward are the glacial striæ well-marked, when, as on the different branches of the Chamouchouan River, they show a movement towards the south or generally a few degrees to the east of south. On the Manicuagan River and the surrounding table-land, to the head of the river in Summit Lake, the direction of the ice-movement runs a few degrees west of south. At Summit Lake, on the watershed between the Manicuagan and Koksoak rivers, the striæ are well marked on the top of a hill 565 feet above the lake, thus showing that the thickness of ice here was considerable, and that the centre of movement was situated to the northward of the present watershed.

Northward of Lake Mistassini, two sets of striæ are found, extending Two sets of to the East Main River and down that stream to within 200 miles of strie north of the coast. The older of these sets runs S. 20° W., or nearly parallel to sini. the direction of flow about Mistassini. The newer set extends from the nevé region about Lake Nichicun, where the general direction of the ice-movement is towards S. 40° W. to the vicinity of the portage- route from the Rupert River to the East Main, or about 300 miles

Striæ on va- rious rivers east of Hud- son Bay.

North ward motion of ice.

Striz of Ham- ilton River valley.

292 L Labrador Peninsula.

from the coast. Beyond this, as the coast is approached, the direction of flow gradually tends more and more towards the west, until within the last hundred miles the general course is S. 70° W.

When within fifteen miles of the mouth of the river, there isa rapid change in the direction of the striæ, which from here to and about the mouth of the river run about S. 40° W. As stated ina former report,* along the Big River, which flows into the east side of James Bay about 120 miles to the north of the East Main River, the general direction of the striæ for more than 200 miles inland is towards S. 75° W. The direction along the interior route between the Big and Great Whale rivers is 8. 60° W., and along the lower course of the last mentioned stream N. 70° W. Farther north, in the area between Clearwater Lake and Richmond Gulf, the glacier moved S. 80° W., or everywhere a few degrees north or south of west into Hudson Bay, at all times following the general slope of the country.

The first definite strie showing a northward movement of the ice, were met with at Lake Kaniapiskau, where the striæ run N. 85° E. and after a few miles along the Koksoak River, they bend round to N. 60° E., and then to N. 20° E., which general direction they hold until the Koksoak River passes down off the table-land into a distinct deep valley. In the valley, the direction of the striæ is to a great extent governed by its trend, and runs east or west of north with the valley. Not until the valley widens out and the surrounding country falls away, below the junction of the Stillwater River, do the strie again have a uniform course of N. 40° E.

On the hills about the Hudson’s Bay post, situated some twenty miles above the mouth of the George River, which flows into the south- east corner of Ungava Bay, the glaciation is towards N.60° E. Near Port Burwell, just inside Cape Chidley, the north-eastern point of Labrador, the lower hills only are glaciated, and the striæ run N. 10° E. On Hamilton Inlet, where the highest hills are rounded and have been apparently well-glaciated to their summits, the direction of the striæ is north-east, or parallel to the general direction of the inlet.

In the valley of the Hamilton River, the conditions are not favour- able to the study of the course of glacial movement, owing to the great depth of the valley below the general level of the table-land, as well as to the few exposed rock surfaces. The snow was also deep at the time this valley was examined. Striz were found on the rocks at the Musk- rat Falls, about twenty-five miles above the mouth of the river, where they run directly east. From here no striæ were observed until Lake

Annual Report, Geol. Surv. Can., vol. III. (N.8S.), p. 62 3.

ww. GLACIAL GEOLOGY. 293 L

Winokapau was reached, where the southern wall of the valley only is rounded and striated by ice. In the valley the movement was directly east, while on the top of a small peak on the table-land, on the south side of the head of lake, the striæ run N. 80° E. The only other striæ noted in this valley occur about seven miles below the Big Hill Portage, and there the direction is 8. 65° E.

On rising with the river to the level of the table-land at the Grand Near Grand Falls, the whole surface is well-glaciated, and striæ are found on the ” summits of the higher hills. In the vicinity of the Grand Falls the ice-movement was towards 8. 70° E. Following the river upward to Sandgirt Lake, the striæ are found to vary in direction from S. 45° E. to S. 70° E. This variation appears to be due to the occurrence of two distinct sets of striæ, which, however, were never seen crossing each other.

Along the Ashuanipi Branch, as far as Dyke Lake, the direction of On Ashuanip flow continues towards 8. 45° E. Here an older set of striæ towards Branch. Two N. 60° E. is found, at first imperfectly seen beneath those first noted, but in the course of a few miles becoming much better developed as those of the other set gradually die out. About Lake Petitsikapau, only the N. 60° E. set is found, even on the high hills (420 feet) about the north side of the lake. Ona small area between Dyke and Astray lakes, the ice-movement appears to have been somewhat erratic, and sets of strive having S., S. 50° W. and S. 50° E. directions are found.

About Astray Lake and along the river above to the Menihek Lakes, the direction is again constant and towards S. 50° E. Along the Meni- hek Lake and the river stretch above, to the end of survey on the Ashuanipi Branch, no striæ were noted on the few rock exposures met with. This was due to the broken character of the rock, and does not imply any exemption from ice action. Passing north-eastward from Sandgirt Lake to Lake Michikamau, the direction of the striæ varies from S. 70° E. to E. .

On the Attikonak Branch of the Hamilton River, above Sandgirt on Attikonak Lake, two sets of striæ are met with, S. 45° E. and S. 75° E. respect Branch and ively, the last being the older. Along Ossokmanuan Lake the older set dies out, leaving the newer striæ, which at the head of the lake bend more to the southward (S. 5° E. to S. 20° E.) until Attikonak Lake is reached, when the general direction again becomes 8, 45° E.

' This direction is maintained southward along the Romaine River to where the portage-route leaves it for the St. John River. On the area of high anorthosite hills between the rivers, striæ were found only at the first lake of the portage-route, and are there S.10°E. The absence of strie in this region is due rather to the rotted state of the rock

294 L Labrador Peninsula.

surfaces than to the want of glacial action, as there is distinct evidence in the drift and in the rounded outlines of the hills to show that it was ice-covered.

Along the St. John River the course of the striæ is influenced by the direction of its deep valley, the striæ following in the main the course of the river.

Probable The strong glaciation of the highest hills in the interior, on great thick- the edges of the névé region, the constant directions of the strie over hill and valley, and the fact that the general slope of the plateau from the interior outwards is very slight and does not exceed two or three feet per mile until within a few miles of the coast, all point to a considerable thickness of ice in the interior such as to cause the strong, radial flow of the ice evidenced by the glaciation of the

region. The following list of striæ, from which the above summary has been

compiled, includes all the observations taken during the seasons of 1892, 1893 and 1894.

List of glacial List of Glacial Strie.

striæ. Southern Watershed.

Chamouchouan River :—

Direction. Chaudière Portage .. ….. SE 2nd Portage Chief River. S. 5th 11 " M sos tn sus neu es vus & 35° E. 3rd " Sapin Croche River S. Lake Bonhomme Lecce cece cee eceees Dessous S. 12° W. File-axe Lake .. S. 06° E. 20 ft. chute, Shegobiche River. S. 25° E. Chegobich Mountain css eee eee eee S. 05° E. Height-of-Land Lake S.

Romaine River :— Mouth of Attikonak Portage Creek. S. 45° E. At rapid, two miles below S. 45° E. Foot of Upper Burnt Lake S. 45° E. 12 miles below Burnt Lakes S. 4° E. At Two Chutes , , S. 30° E. Portage route to St. John River, Ist lake S. 16 E. St. John River :—

1 mile below portage route from Romaine River S. 20° E. 3 miles 1 1! " " " 7 S. 40° E. 3 miles below Upper Forks S. 05° E. 13 miles below Portage ,... 8. 3° W. 3 miles below Chambers River S. 08° E.

Low. ]

GLACIAL GEOLOGY. 295 L Direction Manicuagan River :— 4 miles above the mouth of the river 8.45 E Below the 4th portage S. 10 miles below the 5th portage S.-10° E. 10 miles up west shore Mouchalagan Lake S. 55° E. Partridge-tail Hill, " a ei ea S. 20° E. Mouth of Mouchalagan River S. 20° E. Entrance to Little Matonipi Lake S. 10° W. On summit leading from Matonipi Lake S. 5° W. On summit near Kichewapistoakan Lake S. 5° W. 1st chute south-west branch, Attikopi River S. 45° E. 3rd chute " CL) D M ss, su. S. Near entrance to Lake Naokokan S. 15° W. On summit of hill, 3rd lake beyond Attikopish Lake... S. 40° E. On summit of hill, south end Summit Lake S. 10° W. On east shore, Summit Lake S. 10° W. On hill (565 feet) at north end Summit Lake doussseoues S. 5° W. On east shore Itomamis Lake ° S. 8° W. Western Watershed. Lake Chibougamoo :— Paint Mountain S. 30° W. South-west Point S. 15° E.(?) At narTOWS S. 33° W. Lake Wahwanichl S. 20° W. Lake Mistassini :— Near outlet , ,.. S. 23° W. Islands in centre S. 23° W. Rupert River :— Ast portage S. 25° W. 3 miles below , S. 30° W. Pinched-neck Lake.. S. 25° W.(?) " No acc ete cece eee een eee Coenen eees S. 18° W. Portage route between Rupert and East Main rivers :— Lake No. 1 ,.. S. 53° W.(%)

" mn 4 osseuses sete ence nent eeeeas S. 55° W.(?)

” Ty A siens seen esse severe S. 53° W.(%) Huronite dyke, Lake No. 7 . S. 25° W. Summit of Hill Portage S. 18° W. Lake No. 11 bee eee serres S. 35° W.

" Te , ,... S. 35° W. Clearwater Lake .. , S. 43° W. Discharge, Clearwater Lake . S. 45° W.

East Main River :—

On shore of James Bay, 13 miles north of river S. 38° W. On shore of James Bay 9 miles north of mver S. 48° W.

i LL LL sous Ss. 49° W. Governor’s Island, at mouth of river... , S. 45° W. 5 miles above mouth of river S. 48° W. 12 uw "1 a sons S. 40° W. At head of tide S. 62° W. Basil Gorge , S. 62° W. 1 mile below Talking Fall ete teens S. 70° W.

296 L . LABRADOR PENINSULA. Direction. Island Fall ,.., S. 66° W. Clouston Gorge, at foot S. 54 W. " st middle . S. 69° W. CT) " head S. 60° W. Conglomerate Gorge S. 71 W. 10 miles below Kausabiskau River ... S. 68° W. 8 " " " cr . Sms lan I 4 LL LL LL M soso sms S. 68° W. 2 " u Wabistan River .. S. G° W. At mouth of " CE S. 65° W. 4 miles below Wabamisk River S. 05° W. 2 " " " Tr esse see S. 58° W. 3 ou un Akuatago River S. 53 W. At mouth of " We rw re wee ete eee sue S. 58° W. 4 miles above tt Wo ew wwe eee ewe ee te eee S. 65° W. 12 miles above the last , S. 65° W. 2 miles below Great Bend : , S. 57° W. At foot of ne Wo nace EE See wee eee S. 57° W. 5 miles down Wo eee ee ee ence eee eeee ee sure S. 55° W. 1 mile below north-west bend S. 40° W. 4 " " " i a ee S. 36° W. 1 mile above lake expansion S. 2 W. loin " Sharp Rock Portage ee i i S. 40° W. At next chute above ,, S. 38° W. Mink Portage ... ... S Ha Wold Channel Portage Le cece eee e eee ee eee 8. 40° W. 4 miles above last S. 35° W. Cascade Portage S. 45° W. Opemiska Lake at entrance ... ... oe W u tt (east end) sme we we eee eee ss S, 40° W. Rapids between Opemiska and Wakemen Lake S. 40° W. Wahemen Lake lose S. 3& W. Big River :— 2 miles below portage from Crooked Lake S. 40° W. Little Back Lake S. 33° W. Ist portage below Lake Nichicun N. 80° W. Square-rock Lake . , D LS Eagle Lake .. S. 55° W. Koksoak River :— Lake Kaniapiskau .. Lice ete eee eees N. 50 E. 3 miles below Lake Kaniapiskau N. 60° E. 8 ou " ... N. 60° E. 23 LL LA M uen nn ss nos ons rss N. 55° E. At head of Great Bend 00 ,..,.. S. 56° W. 4 mile below Inst Lee ee se. N. 25° E Middle of Big Island N. @ E. Foot of Big Island Lure N.25 E. Foot of Ist gorge S. 85° E. 8 miles below last ,.. .. N. 15° E. 3 LL ones mme mes nn mme N. 25° E. 12 de eeecucceveesrernaccecee + see … NOY E 6 Lh rr ee sn onm ss ns se N. 25° E.

Glacial Geology.

Direction. 15 miles above Sandy River ... N.55° E. 3 ee LL ut M er eee a ses: N. 80° E. 2 ow on ' kee eeeeeee tenes N. 60° E. At 2nd gorge or N. 30° E. At chute 1 mile below 2nd gorge N. 55° F. N. 70° E. On portage past Eaton Cañon . .. . oN. BW, 5 miles below Goodwood River. RE T C] ¥ 6 miles below last. Ê. roe Ww. 2 miles above Granite Fall N. 53° E. N. 30° E. At Granite Fall 50° E. N. 70° E. 12 miles below Granite Fall N. 5 W. 4 miles below Broken-paddle River S Le Wi old) 2 n above " " COR S. 58° W. § te " tt vt re ee ee ee sms. S. 54° W. 3 on " the last S. 54 W. 7 U Li s! nos sr esse essss ns ee... S. 49° W 4 t LA st CR : S. 53° W. 9 LL LL tt te ee ee eurs een. S. 51° W. 11 below Prosper Gorge S. 50° W. Foot of u It rarer S. 51° W. At chute " ww en sonne em eus S. 53° W. 3 miles above " dk we eee tae wt te S. 51° W. Foot of Ross Gorge . ... Léseessseeesene S. 47° W. Outlet of Nesaskuaso S. 43° W. 1 mile below foot of Grand Island S. 43° W. 3 miles above 1 " cece cee eee e ous S. 43° W. Head of " rr S. 18° W. Two miles above " re 5 ae wi ol d) Tide Lake , S. 43° W. Mouth of Tichagami River .. S. 47° W. End of Survey, 1892... .. . , S. 43° W. 3 miles above last S. 40° W. Mouth of Kawatstakau River S. 42° W. 2 miles below Sunday Portage ... preteen eeeee S. 38° W. 1 mile below Pond Portage Sete eee EEE S. 40° W. 10 miles below Death River N. 51° W. Bend of Cambrian Lake N, 235° E. N. 25° W. On peninsula 3 miles below last 0... - à 10 we N. 30° E. At Shale Chute N. 20° W. 2 miles above Swampy-bay River... N. 35° E. 3 miles below Stillwater River... N. 3% E. 8 wiles st r CO RE N. 40° E. 17 miles u " Ho ne ee ee we wee eee wees … NN. 40° E. Head of Tide. N. 40° E. Fort Chimo N. 40° E.

298 L Labrador Peninsula.

Direction. George River :— On island opposite H. B. Post... N. 60 E On hills in rear " Mo ween cee cece eee eeeeee ences N. 60° E. Port Burwell N.10 E. Eastern Watershed. Lower Hamilton River :— At Muskrat Falls E 5 miles above Muskrat Falls N. 8° E. Lake Winokapau , , E. On Summit at head of Lake Winokapau N.@ E 4 miles below Portage River S. 65° E. Upper Hamilton River :— : Grand Falls... ceci. ee... {sO E 1 mile above Grand Falls S. 70° E. On hill east of Jacopie Lake S. 70 E. On west side Lookout Mountain S. 50° E. On summit , S. 6° E Jacopie Lake, at end of portage S. @ E. " wo onisland S. 60” E. " LL Woo ss. eee vues ess. S. 48° E, " nu eastchannel S. 44 E. Head of Flour Lake Les sous S. 72 E Outlet of Sandgirt Lake. : S. 60° E Ashuanipi Branch :— On hill + miles above Sandgirt Lake S. 63° E. At foot of hill S. 60° E. 3 miles below Birch Lake .. S. 67° E Top of Hill, east of Birch Lake S. 50° E. Outlet of Dyke Lake S. 45° E. Dyke Lake, 8 miles north of Fault Hill... EVE: 2 miles north of last .. Ne E 4 miles north of last S 50° E At Petitsikapau Narrows x. a É North end Petitsikapau Lake N. 60° E. Hill on north side Petitsikapau Lake N. 6 E. On island, east side " Wee eee eee eee N. 50° E. Hill on north-east side M esse N. 58° E . S. Rapids at head of Dyke Lake... ... N. 50 E. S. 50° E. North end of lake above Dyke Lake ... S. At inlet " " a a ou. Ss. 50° E Quartz Hill, Astray Lake S. 0 E. South end " cee eee e eens oo ce verso S. 43° E. Rapids between Marble and Menihek lakes S. 50° E. Attikonak Branch :— Mouth of river, Sandgirt Lake S. 65 EB 2nd rapid above nn EEE S. 45° E.

Outlet Gabbro Lake 8. 75 E.

Low. Glacial Geology. 299 L

Direction. Gabbro Lake. S. 45° E. " re ee ee ee S. 80° E. ( S. 45° E. LL] M sou nnmo nm ss sm ns ess 1 S. 80° E. Entrance to Ossokmanuan Lake .. .. S. &° E. Big Island, " CEE russe S. 55° E. At inlet tt a ra S. 55° E. " " LL M ss sossesent ss see S. 45° E. 1 vf tt M ee esse so serum S. 38° E. At inlet Panchiamichats Lake S. 20° E. 1 mile above CL CEE S. 20° E. 9 miles above u CE EE S. 5° E. At outlet Attikonak Lake S. 15° W. Attikonak Lake, 4 miles above last S. 5° E. " 3 miles south of narrows S. 45° E. " south-east bay 5 miles to end S. 40° E. " mile beyond last S. 40° E. Route to Lake Michikamau :— Entrance to Lob-stick Lake S. 50° E. " " w (below rapid) S. 70° E. Islands in u CL er ra I S. 70° E. st " CE S. 80° E. East end " Mo ce wc eww ee em eee tee mene ee S. 85° E. East inlet tt Wh we cer ew ew ere esr a eset wees E. Outlet Overflow Lake S. 80° E. West end " Ww wee wer re cee e rere nar rears n sree E. Lake Michikamau, west bay .. S. 75° E. " " west 8ide S. 60°-75° E. " " east side S. 78°-85° E. CL " south side. scene pee tee S. 72°-80° E.

Tul.

In the southern half of the Labrador Peninsula, a detailed qin or boul-

study of the boulder-clay or till is almost impossible, owing to the der-clay.

dense forest growth which covers the greater part of the area. It is only where extensive fires have denuded the surface of its trees, and much of the thick coating of moss and vegetable matter, that some investigation becomes practicable. Such being the case, only general facts relating to the drift deposits of the interior plateau are given here.

Unstratified drift is found throughout the whole interior, in varying thicknesses. To a great extent it appears to have been formed from the disintegration due to atmospheric decay of the upper portions of the surrounding rock-masses. Everywhere more than seventy-five per cent of the included boulders are from the immediate neighbour- hood.

300 L Labrador Peninsula.

The amount of erosion and the change wrought upon the general surface by glacial action have not been as great as is often supposed. The ice certainly removed a considerable quantity of disintegrated material, with included cores, from the various hills, and deposited it, for the most part, in the adjoining valleys, working with a kind of “cut and fill” action, to reduce the surface to a general uniform level. There is no evidence to show that the glacier ever hollowed or scooped out deep depressions as has been often stated to have occurred elsewhere.

Amount of The amount of rotten débris removed from the hills and perhaps by ice, also displaced in the valleys, although great, does not represent an