THE MACKENZIE RIVER REGION.
Economic Minerals.
The Territory Has Never Been Thoroughly Examined for Minerals.—Tar Springs on the North Shore of Great Slave lake.—The Devonian Rocks Throughout Mackenzie valley are Nearly Everywhere More or Less Petroliferous.—Lignite Discovered in Many Places, Also Gypsum.—Large Deposits of Excellent Salt.—Indications of Gold and Copper.—Indians Report Finding Mica.
Ever since Sir Alexander Mackenzie first passed down the river which now bears his name on his famous voyage of discovery in 1789, and described the burning beds of coal and the salt springs along its banks, the district now under review in these pages has excited the interest of the geologist and the prospector, but on account of the remoteness of the country from civilized settlement and the difficulties of transport, very little, comparatively, is known of the actual extent of mineral wealth of this immense area of country. True, expert explorers like Sir John Franklin, Sir John Richardson, Mr. R. G. McConnell, Mr. William Ogilvie, and Doctor J. M. Bell have conducted scientific surveys along the chief waterways and over some routes overland, and their reports have been splendid and valuable, but from scantiness of their equipment and the omnipresent necessity to economize time, these surveys, from a geological point of view, can be considered only as reconnaissances.
Comparatively brief summaries of what some of these explorers and some others have written and said as to the mineralogy of Mackenzie valley below the 60th parallel of latitude, will suffice to give an idea of what we really know on the subject.
During his explorations about Great Slave lake in 1887, Mr. R. G. McConnell, of the Geological Survey, inspected the tar springs on the north shore. The springs are situated a couple of hundred yards from the shore, at the base of a low limestone cliff, which runs inland from the lake, and are three in number, each of them being surrounded with a small basin, three to four feet in diameter, filled with inspissated bitumen, while the soil and moss for some distance away is impregnated with the same material. A small quantity of pitch is annually taken from these springs and used for boat building purposes, while a much larger supply could be obtained if needed. A sulphur spring resembling those at Sulphur point on the south shore of the lake, but much more copious, issues from the foot of the cliff in close proximity to the bituminous springs, and feeds a considerable stream. The rock through which the petroleum ascends here is a heavily bedded greyish, rather coarsely crystalline cavernous dolomite, and is entirely unlike the bituminous beds south of the lake and down the Mackenzie, which in most cases consist of calcareous shales. The dolomite is everywhere permeated with bituminous matter, which collects in the numerous cavities, and oozing up through cracks, often forms small pools on the surface of the rock.
It was also reported to Mr. McConnell that sulphur and tar springs occur at a point half way between the springs he visited and Fort Rae. On the south shore bituminous shales and limestones outcrop at several points, and it would thus appear, according to Mr. McConnell, that the oil-bearing beds underlie the whole western part of the lake.
Promising Indications of Oil.
The Devonian rocks throughout Mackenzie valley, Mr. McConnell reports, are nearly everywhere more or less petroliferous, and over large areas afford promising indications of the presence of oil in workable quantities. He states that he noticed, in descending the Mackenzie, that bituminous limestones outcropped at the “Rock by the River Side”, at Bear Rock, at the Ramparts, and at numerous other places. Near Fort Good Hope several tar springs exist, and it is from these that the Hudson’s Bay Company now obtain their principal supply of pitch. The springs are situated at some distance from the river and were not examined. Still farther down, in the vicinity of the site of old Fort Good Hope, the river is bordered for several miles by evenly bedded dark shales of Devonian age which are completely saturated with oil. The possible oil country along Mackenzie valley, he concludes, is almost co-extensive with that of the valley itself. On the Mackenzie, the Tertiary beds at the mouth of Bear river hold several seams of lignite, ranging in thickness from two to four feet, and one seam which was concealed at the time of Mr. McConnell’s visit is reported by Richardson to be nine feet thick. The lignite there is of inferior quality, and has been burnt in many places for some distance from the surface by fires which have been in existence since the river was first discovered. Gypsum occurs in large quantities in the Devonian rocks of Bear mountain at the mouth of Bear river.
Deposits of Excellent Salt.
Mr. McConnell also explored part of Salt river in 1887. He reported:—“Several salt springs drain into Salt river, near Fort Smith, about twenty-five miles above its mouth. The springs are enclosed by small evaporating basins, the largest of which is about fifteen feet in diameter, and is crusted with a remarkably pure deposit of sodic chloride. The salt obtained here is of excellent quality, and has been used in Mackenzie river district for many years. Salt is also reported to occur on the headwaters of a small stream which enters the Mackenzie about fifteen miles above Fort Norman.”
Mr. McConnell in 1887 examined the Nahanni Butte at the junction of Nahanni river with the Liard, below Fort Liard, and he states that copper stains were noted in a number of places, but no specimens indicating deposits of economic value were obtained.
In his 1893 report regarding his investigation of the Athabaska tar-sand-petroleum deposits, Mr. McConnell mentioned, as indicating the presence of petroleum deposits over an immense area, that north of Athabaska district “tar occurs at intervals in the Devonian limestone exposed along the valleys of Slave river and the Mackenzie, all the way to Arctic ocean.”
Some Notes by Rev. Father Petitot.
Professor Robert Bell submitted to the Senate committee of 1888 a letter received from Rev. Father Petitot, O.M.I., of Fort Good Hope, dated August 16, 1873, in reply to a letter from Professor Bell, written May 30, the previous year.
The reverend gentleman explained in his letter that he had travelled extensively through this vast region, and proceeded to give a most interesting geological account of the country, although he undoubtedly disclaimed any merit as a geologist.
Points of practical interest to which attention was drawn in this communication were the following:—
“To the south and to the east of the banks of Great Slave lake are flats, composed of alluvium and gravel. On the islands off shore asphalt is found, the hardened debris of which is strewn on the beach.
“Six miles above Fort Norman, and for an extent of from eight to ten miles, the Mackenzie is bounded on its right bank by a precipice which reaches at first about one hundred and fifty feet in height, and gradually diminishes to a height of thirty feet. It is a vast Tertiary deposit composed of alternate stratifications of friable schist, lignite, pipe-clay and vegetable mould. The schists are in a state of combustion winter and summer, but the subterranean fire which shows itself on the surface through smoke holes, stinking of bitumen, is intermittent, and breaks out sometimes at one point, sometimes at another. It is not always visible at the surface, but at others is very active. The soil is very hot, damp and movable in the neighbourhood of these smoke holes.
Crude Forms of Lignite.
“The lignites are not fit for forging work. Sometimes even the trunks of the trees which form the beds of it have been transformed into clay; however, all this debris has evidently undergone the action of fire.
“Great Bear lake river, or Franklin river, presents alternations of granite, limestone, and coal-bearing sandstone.
“Traces of fire are visible in the mountain range at the mouth of the discharge of Great Bear lake. A little lower down, below the rock, the beaches of the Emir present unequivocal traces of other schistose holes which have been extinct for a long time, but which the writer of the letter found in combustion in 1869.
“The left bank of the Mackenzie, opposite Rocher Rouge, exudes ferruginous water, which stains all the water-borne shingle of the beach with oxide of iron. Three or four leagues below Fort Good Hope, iron pyrites is found on the beach, and the Peaux de Lièvre Indians formerly used it in striking fire.
“On the right bank opposite the site of the old Fort Good Hope, there are natural ramparts of limestone or schistose sandstone at the mouth of Thunder river. One finds there hematite, or oxide of iron; sulphate of iron and sulphate of magnesia; alum, which exudes from the fissures in the stone; and red ochre. It was here that the Peaux de Lièvre Indians discovered in ancient times the hematite, which on account of its colour, resembling the dung of the black bear, they called Sa-ts-anne, that is to say, bears’ excrement.
Exude Alum and Saltpetre.
“The second ramparts of the Mackenzie, called the Detroit or Narrows, are composed of lias and limestone, which exude alum and saltpetre. Lower down are schistose sandstones of which the Esquimaux make the heads of their arrows.
“On the sea coast and the right bank the Esquimaux have told me that there are caves containing fossilized bones of large antediluvian animals, particularly of the mastodon, of which they have shown me pieces of tusks of the finest ivory which they call killagvark, and which they know how to distinguish from the ivory of the walrus, or turark. They have also told me that there are, upon the sea shore to the eastward, Tertiary deposits in combustion, similar to those at Fort Norman.”
Writing in his report of the information he had obtained as to the deposits of economic minerals in Mackenzie valley, William Ogilvie, D.L.S., wrote as follows:—“On the Mackenzie, the first coal I heard of was a seam of which Mr. McDougall at Chipewyan told me, and which is situated in the base of the mountain just above Rapid Sans Sault, on the east side of the river. He could not give me any details concerning its extent, more than that he believed it to be about four or five feet thick, and that it was in the limestone rock of the mountain. If this is true, it indicates that this coal is older than the lignite coal of the country, and probably much harder and better. I did not know of its existence until I got to Chipewyan, or I would have tried to have had a specimen sent out after me.
“About three and a half miles above Fort Norman, on the east bank of the river, two extensive exposures of lignite crop out. The upper one is overlaid by about fifty feet of clay and a few feet of friable sandstone, and is about fifteen feet thick. The other seam is probably forty feet below this. When I was there it was nearly all under water. It is said to be as thick as, if not thicker than, the upper one.
On Fire For Over a Century.
“The upper seam has been on fire for over one hundred years, as it was burning when Sir Alexander Mackenzie passed in 1789. The place is locally known as le Boucan. The fire extends at present about two miles along the river, not continuously but at intervals. When I passed, it was burning in three or four places. After it has burned a certain distance into the seam the overlying mass of clay falls down and, to some extent, suppresses the fire. This clay is in time baked into a red colored rock, in which are found innumerable impressions of leaves of plants. Some specimens of these I brought home, and handed to Doctor Dawson. Traces of this red rock were noticed on the bank fourteen miles below Fort Norman, but no trace of lignite was seen near it, having probably been all burned.
“The burning seam appears to be of poor quality, containing much shale and sand, which is converted by the heat into scoriæ. It did not appear to me that it would be difficult to cut off all the burning places, and thus stop the further advance of the fire, which is destroying what yet may be of use. In order to find if the combustion could be checked I took a shovel at one place and soon had all the burning coal for a short distance cut off completely, so that the fire ceased for a time at that spot. It is a pity that at least an attempt to put out the fire is not made. Many persons in that district have an idea that it is subterraneous, and that the seat of it cannot be reached. This is a mistake, as at the point mentioned I cleaned off the fire from the face of the seam to its base and found underneath no trace of burning. The lower seam appears to be of better quality, there being no shale or sand mixed with it, so far as I could see. Heavy rain detained us here for two days, and we burned a good deal of lignite from the lower seam, as we could not reach the top of the bank to procure wood, and could find only a log or two of driftwood. The coal burned well in the open air, and threw out a much stronger heat than a wood fire. These seams are visible at frequent intervals along the bank for eight and a half miles, after which not a trace of them appears for seven miles, where there is another small exposure at the water’s edge. This seam appears, from the reports of many travellers, to extend up Great Bear river for a considerable distance. No other traces of coal were observed on the river.
“While at Fort Good Hope I noticed that many of the outbuildings and fences were painted with a dull red coloring matter, which, on inquiry, I found consisted of the ashes of wood that had lain in the river for some years. It was said poplar trees yielded the best paint and that logs that had been in the river long enough were known by the dull blue color of the wood. A sample of the ashes I brought home, and handed to Doctor Dawson. It may be that the color is due to the presence of oxide of iron; if so, this would indicate the existence in the water of iron in solution. But where the iron comes from is a mystery, as none of this peculiar wood was seen or heard of in the upper river. The inference is that the iron occurs far down in the river, but whether in the soil or in the beds on some of the tributary streams, or whether it is iron at all, has yet to be determined.
Indians Report Mica.
“The Indians report very large deposits of mica on the south side of Great Slave lake, and have brought small samples of it to Fort Resolution. While there I tried to get a specimen, but none was available. It is described as being very abundant.
“No other minerals of economic value were seen or heard of, except bitumen. On the way up (from Fort Providence to Chipewyan) the first indication of this was seen on Great Slave lake, in the form of the bituminous limestone which has already been referred to. Tar springs, as they are called in the vicinity, exist on the lake. I do not know of any of them on Slave river, but they abound on the Athabaska from near the delta for over two hundred miles up, and one is reported only a few miles from Athabaska, less than one hundred miles from Edmonton.”
Mr. von Hamerstein, in his evidence before the select committee of the Senate in 1907, stated that up the rivers that flow into the Mackenzie there are large quantities of native salt thrown up. It is mostly underground, and there seems to be a crater. The salt appears to be close to the ground in large quantities.
Roman Catholic Mission at Fort Resolution.
Mr. Keele, in the report of his explorations in 1908, states:—“Drift lignite is found on the lower part of Gravel river, which is no doubt derived from the Tertiary coal-bearing areas of Mackenzie basin. Hematite occurs on Gravel river about ten miles below the mouth of Natla river. This iron ore is coarsely laminated with red siliceous slate, having a thickness of from fifty to one hundred feet, and is interbedded between conglomerate and dolomite. An assay of an average sample of this ore was made at the assay office of the Mines branch, and gave only twenty-five per cent. of iron.”
Two Hundred Square Miles of Coal.
Mr. Brock, Director of the Geological Survey, in his report for 1909, quoted an estimate made by Mr. D. B. Dowling that the known available coal area in Mackenzie district is two hundred square miles, representing five hundred million tons of lignite.
Tertiary coal is known to exist in large quantities along the Arctic coast east of the Mackenzie and in the Arctic islands. Doctor Armstrong found it on Banks Land and Doctor Richardson mentions that “the Garry islands, lying off the Mackenzie, contain beds of a Tertiary coal which takes fire spontaneously on exposure to the atmosphere. Higher up the Mackenzie, at the junction of Bear lake river, on the 65th parallel of latitude, there is a Tertiary coal deposit of considerable extent, which yields hand specimens entirely similiar to Garry island ones.”
In his annual report for 1911, Superintendent Saunders, D.S.O., of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, commanding the force in the Athabaska, Peace and Mackenzie countries, wrote:—“Very little progress has been made over last year in the development of the mineral resources of the country. Three companies are boring for oil near McMurray but I cannot ascertain that they have met with much success. No work is being done in connection with the tar sands although very favourable reports have been made as to their value for asphalt and street paving, probably the lack of transportation facilities is the reason of the delay.
“From Mackenzie river sub-district I have reports of a few prospectors in different parts, but of no success. Mr. D. F. McRae, however, who went down the Mackenzie in 1910 and went out the same year, has returned again with a party and well equipped outfit, consisting of a powerful gasoline launch, three scows with provisions, two horses, etc. He and one of the other members have their wives with them, and are wintering near the mouth of Herschell river. The fact of his having gone back in this manner would indicate that he has made a discovery of some kind, the nature of which has not been disclosed, as the whole party are very reticent.”