2. NATURAL HISTORY.

V.
ZOOLOGY.

1. Limits of the Range of the Cervus Sylvestris in the Northwestern parts of the United States. By Henry R. Schoolcraft. (Northwest Journal.)

2. Description of the Fringilia Vespertina, discovered by Mr. Schoolcraft in the Northwest. By William Cooper. (Annals of the New York Lyceum of Natural History.)

3. Conchology.—List of Shells collected by Mr. Schoolcraft, in the Western and Northwestern Territory. By William Cooper.

HELIX.

1. Helix albolabris, Say. Near Lake Michigan.

2. Helix alternata, Say. Banks of the Wabash, near and above the Tippecanoe. Mr. Say remarks, that these two species, so common in the Atlantic States, were not met with in Major Long's second expedition, until their arrival in the secondary country at the eastern extremity of Lake Superior.

PLANORBIS.

3. Planorbis campanulatus, Say. Itasca (or La Biche) Lake, the source of the Mississippi.

4. Planorbis trivolvis, Say. Lake Michigan. These two species were also observed by Mr. Say, as far east as the Falls of Niagara.

LYMNEUS.

5. Lymneus umbrosus, Say, Am. Con. iv. pl. xxxi. Fig. 1. Lake Winnipec, Upper Mississippi, and Rainy Lake.

6. Lymneus reflexus, Say, l. c. pl. xxxi. Fig. 2. Rainy Lake, Seine River, and Lake Winnipec.

7. Lymneus Stagnalis. Lake a la Crosse, Upper Mississippi.

PALUDINA.

8. Paludina ponderosa, Say. Wisconsin River.

9. Paludina vivipara, Say, Am. Con. i. pl. x. The American specimens of this shell are more depressed than the European, but appear to be identical in species.

MELANIA.

10. Melania virginica, Say. Lake Michigan.

ANODONTA.

11. Anodonta cataracta, Say. Chicago, Lake Michigan. This species, Mr. Lea remarks, has a great geographical extension.

12. Anodonta corpulenta, Nobis. Shell thin and fragile, though less so than others of the genus; much inflated at the umbones, margins somewhat compressed; valves connate over the hinge in perfect specimens; surface dark brown, in old shells; in younger, of a pale dingy green, and without rays, in all I have examined; beaks slightly undulated at the tip. The color within is generally of a livid coppery hue, but sometimes, also, pure white.

Length of a middling sized specimen, four and a half inches, breadth, six and a quarter. It is often eighteen inches in circumference round the border of the valves, with a diameter through the umbones of three inches. Inhabits the Upper Mississippi, from Prairie du Chien to Lake Pepin.

This fine shell, much the largest I have seen of the genus, was first sent by Mr. Schoolcraft, to the Lyceum, several years ago. So far as I am able to discover, it is undescribed, and a distinct and remarkable species. It may be known by its length being greater in proportion to its breadth than in the other American species, by the subrhomboidal form of the posterior half, and generally, by the color of the nacre, though this is not to be relied on. It appears to belong to the genus Symphynota of Mr. Lea.

ALASMODONTA.

13. Alasmodonta complanata, Barnes. Symphynota complanata, Lea. Shell Lake, River St. Croix, Upper Mississippi. Many species of shells found in this lake grow to an extraordinary size. Some of the present collected by Mr. Schoolcraft, measure nineteen inches in circumference.

14. Alasmodonta rugosa, Barnes. St. Croix River, and Lake Vaseux, St. Mary's River.

15. Alasmodonta marginata, Say. Lake Vaseux, St. Mary's River; very large.

16. Alasmodonta edentula? Say. Anodon areolatus? Swainson. Lake Vaseux. The specimens of this shell are too old and imperfect to be safely determined.

UNIO.

17. Unio tuberculatus, Barnes. Painted Rock, Upper Mississippi.

18. Unio pustulosus, Lea. Upper Mississippi, Prairie du Chien, to Lake Pepin.

19. Unio verrucosus, Barnes, Lea. St. Croix River of the Upper Mississippi.

20. Unio plicatus, Le Sueur, Say. Prairie du Chien, and River St. Croix.

The specimens of U. plicatus sent from this locality by Mr. Schoolcraft have the nacre beautifully tinged with violet, near the posterior border of the shell, and are also much more ventricose than those found in more eastern localities, as Pittsburg, for example; at the same time, I believe them to be of the same species. Similar variations are observed in other species; the specimens from the south and west generally exhibiting a greater development.

21. Unio trigonus, Lea. From the same locality as the last, and like it unusually ventricose.

22. Unio ebenus, Lea. Upper Mississippi, between Prairie du Chien and Lake Pepin.

23. Unio gibbosus, Barnes. St. Croix River, Upper Mississippi,

24. Unio rectus, Lamarck. U. prælongus, Barnes. Upper Mississippi, from Prairie du Chien to Lake Pepin, and the River St. Croix. The specimens collected by Mr. Schoolcraft, vary much in the color of the nacre. Some have it entirely white, others rose purple, and others entirely of a very fine dark salmon color. This species inhabits the St. Lawrence as far east as Montreal.

25. Unio siliquoideus, Barnes, and U. inflatus, Barnes. Upper Mississippi, between Prairie du Chien and Lake Pepin. Large, ponderous, and the epidermis finely rayed.

26. Unio complanatus, Lea. U. purpureus, Say. Lake Vaseux, St. Mary's River. Lake Vaseux is an expansion of the River St. Mary, a tributary of the upper lakes. This shell does not appear to exist in any of the streams flowing into the Mississippi.

27. Unio crassus, Say. Upper Mississippi, Prairie du Chien.

28. Unio radiatus, Barnes. Lake Vaseux. The specimen is old and imperfect, but I believe it to be the U. radiatus of our conchologists, which is common in Lake Champlain and also inhabits the St. Lawrence.

29. Unio occidens, Lea. U. ventricosus, Say, Am. Con. U. ventricosus, Barnes? Wisconsin and St. Croix Rivers, and Shell Lake. Epidermis variously colored, and marked with numerous rays.

30. Unio ventricosus, Barnes. Upper Mississippi, from Prairie du Chien to Lake Pepin and Shell Lake. The varieties of this, and the preceding pass insensibly into each other. Those from Shell Lake are of extraordinary size.

31. Unio alatus, Say. Symphynota alata, Lea. Upper Mississippi, and Shell Lake. Found also in Lake Champlain, by the late Mr. Barnes.

32. Unio gracilis, Barnes. Symphynota gracilis, Lea. Upper Mississippi, and Shell Lake. The specimens brought by Mr. Schoolcraft are larger and more beautiful than I have seen from any other locality.

VI.
BOTANY.

1. A List of Species and Localities of Plants collected in the Northwestern Expeditions of Mr. Schoolcraft of 1831 and 1832. By Douglass Houghton, M. D., Surgeon to the expeditions.

The localities of the following plants are transcribed from a catalogue kept during the progress of the expeditions, and embrace many plants common to our country, which were collected barely for the purpose of comparison. A more detailed account will be published at some future day.

VII.
MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY.

1. A Report on the Existence of Deposits of Copper in the Geological Basin of Lake Superior. By Dr. D. Houghton.

Fredonia, N. Y., November 14, 1831.

Sir: In fulfilment of the duties assigned to me in the late expedition into the Indian country, under the direction of H. R. Schoolcraft, Esq., Indian Agent, I would beg leave to transmit to you the following observations relative to the existence of copper in the country bordering on the southern shore of Lake Superior.

It is without doubt true that this subject has long been viewed with an interest far beyond its actual merit. Each mass of native copper which this country has produced, however insulated, or however it may have been separated from its original position, appears to have been considered a sure indication of the existence of that metal in beds; and hence we occasionally see, upon maps of that section of our country, particular portions marked as containing "copper mines," where no copper now exists. But, while it is certain that a combination of circumstances has served to mislead the public mind with regard to the geological situation and existing quantity of that metal, it is no less certain that a greater quantity of insulated native copper has been discovered upon the borders of Lake Superior, than in any other equal portion of North America.

Among the masses of native copper which have engaged the attention of travellers in this section of country, one, which from its great size was early noticed, is situated on the Ontonagon River, a stream which empties its waters into the southern part of Lake Superior, 331 miles above the Falls of the Ste. Marie. The Ontonagon River is, with some difficulty, navigable by batteaux 36 miles, at which place, by the union of two smaller streams—one from an easterly and the other from a westerly direction—the main stream is formed. The mass of copper is situated on the western fork, at a distance of six or eight miles from the junction.

The face of the country through the upper half of the distance from Lake Superior is uneven, and the irregularity is given it by hills of marly clay, which occasionally rise quite abruptly to the height of one or two hundred feet. No rock was observed in situ, except in one place, where, for a distance, the red sandstone was observed, forming the bed of the river.

The mass of copper lies, partly covered by water, directly at the foot of a clay hill, from which, together with numerous boulders of the primitive rocks, it has undoubtedly been washed by the action of the water of the river. Although it is completely insulated, there is much to interest in its examination. Its largest surface measures three and a half by four feet, and this, which is of malleable copper, is kept bright by the action of the water, and has the usual appearance of that metal when worn. To one surface is attached a small quantity of rock, singularly bound together by threads of copper, which pass through it in all directions. This rock, although many of its distinctive characters are lost, is evidently a dark colored serpentine, with small interspersed masses of milky quartz.

The mass of copper is so situated as to afford but little that would enable us to judge of its original geological position. In examining the eastern fork of the river, I discovered small water-worn masses of trap-rock, in which were specks of imbedded carbonate of copper and copper black; and with them were occasionally associated minute specks of serpentine, in some respects resembling that which is attached to the large mass of copper; and facts would lead us to infer that the trap formation which appears on Lake Superior east of the Ontonagon River, crosses this section of country at or near the source of that river, and at length forms one of the spurs of the Porcupine Mountains.

Several smaller masses of insulated native copper have been discovered on the borders of Lake Superior, but that upon Ontonagon River is the only one which is now known to remain.

At as early a period as before the American Revolution, an English mining company directed their operations to the country bordering on Lake Superior, and Ontonagon River was one point to which their attention was immediately directed. Traces of a shaft, sunk in the clay hill, near a mass of copper, are still visible—a memento of ignorance and folly.

Operations were also commenced on the southern shore of Lake Superior, near the mouth of a small stream, which, from that circumstance, is called Miners' River. Parts of the names of the miners, carved upon the sandstone rock at the mouth of the river, are still visible. What circumstance led to the selection of this spot does not now appear. No mineral traces are at this day perceptible, except occasional discolorations of the sandstone rock by what is apparently a mixture of the carbonates of iron and copper; and this is only to be observed where water, holding in solution an extremely minute portion of these salts, has trickled slowly over those rocks.

It does not, in fact, appear that the red sandstone, which constitutes the principal rock formation of the southern shore of Lake Superior, is in any instance metalliferous in any considerable degree. If this be true, it would require but little reflection to convince one of the inexpediency of conducting mining operations at either of the points selected for that purpose; and it is beyond a doubt true, that the company did not receive the least inducement to continue their labors.

In addition to these masses of native copper, an ore of that metal has long been known to the lake traders as the green rock, in which the characteristic substances are the green and blue carbonates of copper, accompanied by copper black. It is situated upon Keweena Point, 280 miles above the falls of the Ste. Marie. The ore is embraced by what is apparently a recently formed crag; and, although it is of a kind and so situated as to make an imposing appearance, there is little certainty of its existence in large quantities in this formation. The ore forms a thin covering to the pebbles of which the body of the rock is composed, and is rarely observed in masses separate from it. The crag is composed of angular fragments of trap-rock, and the formation is occasionally traversed by broad and continuous belts of calc. spar, here and there tinged with copper. Although the ore was not observed in any considerable quantity, except at one point, it apparently exists in minute specks through a greater part of the crag formation, which extends several miles, forming the shore of the lake.

This examination of the crag threw new interest upon the trap formation, which had been first observed to take the place of the sandstone at the bottom of a deep bay, called Montreal Bay, on the easterly side of Keweena Point. The trap-rock continues for a few miles, when the crag before noticed appears to lie directly upon it, and to form the extremity of the point; the crag, in turn, disappears, and the trap-rock is continued for a distance of six or eight miles upon the westerly side of the point, when the sandstone again reappears.

The trap-rock is of a compact granular texture, occasionally running into the amygdaloid and toadstone varieties, and is rich in imbedded minerals, such as amethystine quartz, smoky quartz, carnelian, chalcedony, agate, &c., together with several of the ores of copper. Traces of copper ore in the trap-rock were first noticed on the easterly side of Keweena Point, and near the commencement of the trap formation. This ore, which is an impure copper black, was observed in a vein of variable thickness, but not in any part exceeding two and a half inches. It is sufficiently compact and hard to receive a firm polish, but it is rather disposed to break into small irregular masses. A specimen furnished, upon analysis, 47.5 per cent. of pure copper.

On the western side of Keweena Point, the same ore appears under different circumstances, being disseminated through the body of the trap-rock, in grains varying in size from a pin's head to a pea. Although many of these grains are wholly copper black, they are occasionally only depositions of the mineral upon specks of carnelian, chalcedony, or agate, or are more frequently composed, in part, of what is apparently an imperfect steatite. The ore is so connected with, and so much resembles in color the rock, of which it may be said to be a constituent part, that they might easily, during a hasty examination, be confounded. A random specimen of the rock furnished, upon analysis, 3.2 per cent. of pure copper. The rock continues combined with that mineral for nearly the space of three miles. Extremely thin veins of copper black were observed to traverse this same rock; and in enlargements of these were discovered several masses of amorphous native copper. The latter mineral appeared in two forms—the one consisting of compact and malleable masses, varying from four to ten ounces each; and the other, of specks and fasciculi of pure copper, binding together confused masses of copper green, and partially disintegrated trap-rock; the latter was of several pounds' weight. Each variety was closely embraced by the rock, although the action of the water upon the rock had occasionally exposed to view points of the metal. In addition to the accompanying copper green, which was in a disintegrated state, small specks of the oxide of copper were associated in most of the native specimens.

Circumstances would not permit an examination of any portion of the trap formation, except that bordering directly upon the lake. But facts would lead us to infer that that formation extends from one side of Keweena Point to the other, and that a range of thickly wooded hills, which traverses the point, is based upon, if not formed of that rock. An Indian information, which, particularly upon such a subject, must be adopted with caution, would sanction the opinion that the prominent constituents are the same wherever the rock is observed.

After having duly considered the facts which are presented, I would not hesitate to offer, as an opinion, that the trap-rock formation was the original source of the masses of copper which have been observed in the country bordering on Lake Superior; and that, at the present day, examinations for the ores of copper could not be made in that country with hopes of success, except in the trap-rock itself; which rock is not certainly known to exist upon any place upon Lake Superior, other than Keweena Point.

If this opinion be a correct one, the cause of, failure of the mining company in this region is rendered plain. Having considered each insulated mass of pure metal as a true indication of the existence of a bed in the vicinity, operations were directed to wrong points; when, having failed to realize their anticipations, the project was abandoned without further actual investigation. We would be induced to infer that no attempts were made to learn the original source of the metal which was discovered, and thus, while the attention was drawn to insulated masses, the ores, ordinary in appearance, but more important in sitû, were neglected; and perhaps, from the close analogy in appearance to the rock with which they were associated, no distinction was observed.

What quantity of ore the trap-rock of Keweena Point may be capable of producing, can only be determined by minute and laborious examination. The indications which were presented by a hasty investigation are here embodied, and with deference submitted to your consideration.

I have the honor to be,
Sir, your obedient, servant,
DOUGLASS HOUGHTON.

Hon. Lewis Cass, Secretary of War.

2. Remarks on the Occurrence of Native Silver and Ores of Silver in the Stratification of the Basins of Lakes Huron and Superior. By Henry R. Schoolcraft.

Traces of this metal which have been found in the drift and boulder stratum of both Lakes Huron and Superior, indicate the existence of the metal in place. During my residence at St. Mary's, two specimens of its occurrence were brought to my notice. The first of these consisted of points of native silver in a moderately large mass of native copper, found in 1823, near the entrance of the Nama or Sturgeon River into Keweena Lake, of the large peninsula of that name, in Lake Superior. Like the majority of such masses of the region, it had no adhering portion of rock or vein stone, from which a judgment might be formed of its original position.

I had, the prior year, set up my mineralogical cabinet in my office, and stated to the Indians, who roved over large tracts, my solicitude to collect specimens of the mineral productions of the country of every description, and, indeed, of its zoology, always acknowledging their comity, in bringing me specimens in any department of natural history, by some small present; and I found this to be a means of extending my inquiries.

Subsequently, I received a boulder specimen from the shores of Lake Huron, containing veins of native silver. Part of the metal had been detached. I submitted these specimens to the Lyceum of Natural History at New York, in 1825. The following remarks are taken from their annals.

Mineralogical and Chemical Characters.—By examining this mineral, it will be perceived to possess the color, lustre, malleability, and other obvious characters of native silver. It is so soft as to be easily cut by the knife; and in a state of purity which permits it to spread under the hammer. These characters serve to distinguish it from antimonial silver, which is not malleable; from native antimony which tarnishes on exposure, &c. The metal occurs in thin, massive veins in the rock. These veins sometimes intersect, but never cross each other. It is also disseminated in small particles through the stone, or spread in flattened masses over its surface. Some of these masses were detached by the discoverer, but have been preserved, and are presented to the Lyceum with the more solid and undisturbed portions.

By submitting a small portion of the metal to the action of nitric acid, I obtained an imperfect solution. On repeating the experiment, and adding a little sulphuric acid, the action was more brisk, and a clear and apparently perfect solution effected. By standing, however, a pulpy, white precipitate appeared at the bottom of the glass. This was collected and submitted to the action of the blowpipe, on a basis of charcoal. The result gave a number of minute, metallic globules, possessing greater lustre, malleability, and ductility, than the original mass. I repeated the latter experiment, adding to the nitro-sulphuric solution muriate of soda. A more perfect precipitation of the white powder was effected; but the results with the blowpipe remained the same.

Geognostic Position.—It is a rolled mass. An opinion of the specific character of the rock may be dubious, from the smallness of the specimen. It appears to have been detached from a stratum of gneiss, and is essentially composed of quartz. The blackish color of some parts of this latter mineral would, at first glance, lead us to attribute this color to the presence of hornblende; but, on closer examination, it will be perceived to be owing to a dark-colored steatite, which, in certain parts of the rock, is well developed, soft, and easily cut. A little calcspar is intermingled with the steatite.

Locality.—I am indebted to the politeness of Lieut. Lewis S. Johnston, of the British Indian Department, at Malden (U. C.), for the opportunity of adding this specimen to the mineralogical cabinet of the Lyceum. This gentleman, as he informed me, obtained it from an Indian, who picked it up on the southeastern shores of Lake Huron, near Point aux Barques, in Michigan Territory. That part of Lake Huron was cursorily examined by me, in the year 1820, in the course of the expedition conducted by Gov. Cass, through the upper lakes, &c. I consider it remarkable, even in a region abounding in rolled rocks, for the great number and variety of granite, gneiss, hornblende, and trap boulders, scattered along the shores of the lake. The water here is generally shallow and dangerous to approach in vessels; these boulder stones sometimes extending and presenting themselves above water for a mile or more from land. But we could not satisfy ourselves by an examination necessarily partial, that either of the primitive species mentioned, existed there in any other condition than as rolled masses, or displacements of rock strata, contiguous, perhaps, but not observed. Dr. Bigsby has informed me, that he observed the gneiss in sitû, on the northwestern shores of this lake. The nearest rock in place, and that which in fact constitutes the abraded and caverned promontory of Point aux Barques, is gray sandstone.

The occurrence of this metal in the copper-bearing and other metalliferous rocks of this region, may be confidently affirmed.[ [273]

3. A General Summary of the Localities of Minerals observed in the Northwest in 1831 and 1832. By Henry R. Schoolcraft.

CLASS I. Bodies not metallic, containing an acid.

1. Calcareous spar. Keweena Point, Lake Superior. Imbedded in small globular masses, in the trap-rock; also forming veins in the same formation. Some of the masses break into rhombic forms, and possess a certain but not perfect degree of transparency; others are opaque, or discolored by the green carbonate of copper. Also in the trap-rock between Fond du Lac and Old Grand Portage, Lake Superior, in perfect, transparent rhombs, exhibiting the property of double refraction. Also, at the lead mines, in Iowa County, in the marly clay formation, often exhibiting imperfect prisms, variously truncated.

2. Calcareous tufa. Mouth of the River Brulé, of Lake Superior. In small, friable, broken masses, in the diluvial soil. Also, in the gorge below the Falls of St. Anthony. In detached, vesicular masses, amidst debris.

3. Compact carbonate of lime. In the calcareous cliffs of horizontal formation, commencing at the Falls of St. Anthony. Carboniferous.

4. Septaria. In the reddish clay soil, between Montreal River and Lapointe, Lake Superior.

5. Gypsum. In the sandstone rock at the Point of Grand Sable West, Lake Superior. In orbicular masses, firmly imbedded. Not abundant. Granular, also imperfectly foliated.

6. Carbonate of magnesia. Serpentine rock, at Presque Isle, Lake Superior. Compact.

7. Hydrate of magnesia? With the preceding.

CLASS II. Earthy compounds, amorphous or crystalline.

8. Common quartz. Huron Islands, Lake Superior; also the adjoining coast. In very large veins or beds. White, opaque.

9. Granular quartz. Falls of Peckagama, Upper Mississippi. In sitû.

10. Smoky quartz. In the trap-rock, Keweena Point, Lake Superior, crystallized. In connection with amethystine quartz.

11. Amethyst. With the preceding. Also, at the Pic Bay, and at Gargontwa, north shore of Lake Superior, in the trap-rock, in perfect crystals, of various intensity of color.

12. Chalcedony. Keweena Point, Lake Superior. In globular or orbicular masses, in amygdaloid rock. Often, in detached masses along the shores.

13. Carnelian. With the preceding.

14. Hornstone. In detached masses, very hard, on the shores of Lake Superior. Also, at Dodgeville, Iowa County, Mich. Ter., in fragments or nodular masses in the clay soil.

15. Jasper. In the preceding locality. Common and striped, exceedingly difficult of being acted on by the wheel. Not observed in sitû.

16. Agate. Imbedded in the trap-rocks of Lake Superior, and also detached, forming a constituent of its detritus. Variously colored. Often made up of alternate layers of chalcedony, carnelian, and cacholong. Sometimes zoned, or in fortification points. Specimens not taken from the rock are not capable of being scratched by quartz or flint, and are incapable of being acted on by the file; consequently, harder than any of the described species.

17. Cyanite. Specimens of this mineral, in flat, six-sided prisms, imbedded in a dark primitive rock, were brought out from Lac du Flambeau outlet, where the rock is described as existing in sitû. The locality has not been visited, but there are facts brought to light, within the last two or three years, to justify the extension of the primitive to that section of country.

18. Pitchstone. A detached mass of this mineral, very black and lava-like, was picked up in the region of Lake Superior, where the volcanic mineral, trachyte, is common among the rolled masses. Neither of these substances have been observed in sitû.

19. Mica. Huron Islands, Lake Superior. In granite.

20. Schorl. Common. Outlet of Lac du Flambeau. Also, in a detached mass of primitive rock at Green Bay.

21. Feldspar. Porcupine mountains, Lake Superior.

22. Basalt. Amorphous. Granite Point, Lake Superior.

23. Stilbite. Amygdaloid rock, Keweena Point, Lake Superior.

24. Zeolite. Mealy. With the preceding.

25. Zeolite. Radiated. Lake Superior. This mineral consists of fibres, so delicate and firmly united as to appear almost compact, radiating from a centre. Some of the masses produced by this radiation measure 2.5 inches in diameter. They are of a uniform, pale, yellowish red. This mineral has not been traced in sitû, being found in detached masses of rock, and sometimes as water-worn portions of radii. Its true position would seem to be the trap-rock.

26. Asbestus. Presque Isle, Lake Superior. In the serpentine formation.

27. Hornblende. Very abundant as a constituent of the primitive rocks on the Upper Mississippi, and in the basin of Lake Superior. Often in distinct crystals.

28. Diallage, green. Lake Superior. In detached masses, connected with primitive boulders. Harder than the species.

29. Serpentine, common. Presque Isle, Lake Superior.

30. Serpentine, precious. With the preceding. Color, a light pistachio green, and takes a fine polish. Exists in veins in the common variety.

31. Pseudomorphous serpentine. With the preceding. This beautiful green mineral constitutes a portion of the veins of the precious serpentine. Its crystalline impressions are very distinct.

32. Argillite. River St. Louis, northwest of Lake Superior. Nearly vertical in its position.

CLASS III. Combustibles.

33. Peat. Marine sand formation composing the shore of Lake Superior, between White-fish Point and Grand Marais. Also, on the island of Michilimackinac.

CLASS IV. Ores and Metals.

34. Native copper. West side of Keweena Point, Lake Superior. Imbedded in a vein with carbonate of copper, and copper black, in the trap-rock.

35. Copper black. With the preceding.

36. Carbonate of copper, green. With the preceding.

These two minerals (35 and 36) characterize the trap-rock of the peninsula of Keweena, Lake Superior, from Montreal Bay, extending to and around its extremity, west, to Sand-hill Bay. The entire area may be estimated to comprise a rocky, serrated coast of about seventy-five miles in length, and not to exceed seven or eight miles in width. The principal veins are at a point called Roche Verd, and along the coast which we refer to as the Black Rocks. At the latter, native copper is one of the constituents of the vein.

Green and blue carbonate of copper was also observed in limited quantity, in small rounded masses, at one of the lead diggings near Mineral Point, Iowa County.

37. Chromate of iron. Presque Isle, Lake Superior.

38. Sulphuret of lead. Lead mines of Iowa County, Michigan Territory.

39. Earthy carbonate of lead. Brigham's mine, Iowa County, Mich. Ter. Also, in small masses, of a yellowish white, dirty color, and great comparative weight, at several of the lead mines (diggings) in the more westerly and southern parts of the county.

4. Geological Outline of the Taquimenon Valley of Lake Superior. By Henry R. Schoolcraft.

The River Takquimenon originates on a plateau between the northern shores of Lake Michigan and the southeastern coast of Lake Superior. At a central point on this plateau, there lies a lake of moderate size, which, in the translated Indian phrase, is called Heartsblood Lake. A little to the west of this lake, and, perhaps, connected with it, originates the head stream of the North Manistic River of Lake Michigan, running southwest. Towards the northeast the Takwymenon takes its way, winding through level grassy plains, till it reaches the rim of the geological basin that circumscribes Lake Superior. The height of this point is conjectural. It is probably one hundred and fifty feet above the level of the lake.

To comprehend the geography of the region, it is necessary to advert to the fact that the sandstone formation, which appears in the picturesque form of the Pictured Rocks, is last seen in its range eastward at La Pointe des Grande Sable, where its surface is of a compact structure and dull red color. Between this locality and the bold cape of Point Iroquois, at the head of St. Mary's River, there intervenes an extensive formation of gravel, boulders, and sand. The length of this line of coast is about ninety miles, its breadth to the basinic rim, perhaps thirty. It is covered with small pines, spruce, birch, and poplar, with frequent sphagnous tracts and ponds; the lake shore, where the sands are continually accumulated, being higher than the interior portions. It has, from early days, been a favorite resort for beaver, from which it is called by the natives, Namikong, meaning, excellent place of beavers.

This tract of the Namikong is primarily due to diluvial formations, with a comparatively recent hem of lake action, consisting of sands and pebbles pushed up by the waves of Lake Superior. Through this tract, from the plateaux, four small rivers make their way to the lake. They are, in their order, from west to east, the river of Grand Mauvais, the Twin River, the Shelldrake, and the Tacquimenon, which enters the lake fifteen miles from Point Iroquois.

Of these streams, the Tacquimenon carries the largest body of water into the lake. It is already a stream of seventy feet wide, and three feet deep, when it reaches the rim of sandstone rocks referred to. Over these, it is plunged, at a single perpendicular leap, forty feet, falling like a curtain. It drops into a vast concavity in the sand rock, where the water is of unfathomable depth, black and still. I had reached this point in a canoe manned by Indians. They had urged their way up a very rapid brawling bed for six miles above the lower falls, and when we reached this still, deep, and dark basin, they said that care was required to keep from under the suction of the falling sheet.

The lower falls of the stream are probably twelve or fourteen feet. They are broken into several fan-shaped cascades, and present a picturesque appearance—an idea which has also impressed the Chippewas, for they refer to it as a favorite locality of fairies. Hence their name for it. Immediately below these falls the river winds about, making a peninsula, which is covered with deciduous trees and a fertile soil. The amount of water power at this point is such as must command attention whenever the country justifies settlement.

5. Suggestions respecting the Geological Epoch of the Deposit of Sandstone Rock at St. Mary's Falls. By Henry R. Schoolcraft.

Lake Superior presents to the eye the singular spectacle of a body of pure translucent water, five hundred miles in length from east to west, and one hundred and eighty or two hundred miles wide. This vast mass of water is thought to have an extreme depth—I know not on what principles—of nine hundred feet deep. It lies at an elevation of six hundred feet above the Atlantic ocean, at high water.

From this depth there has been protruded from its bottom two species of formations, which were thus elevated by volcanic forces, namely, the trap and the granitical series. Cones and high mural cliffs, with large rents, make this basis one of great inequalities. To fill up these, the sedimentary rocks, by a natural law of gravitation, let fall the dissolved and suspended matter which constitutes the horizontal strata, such as the neutral and deep-colored sandstones. This process also gives origin to grauwackes and the grauwacke slates and the argillites. But these horizontal deposits do not all retain their horizontality. They were tilted up by other volcanic forces, after the deposition and hardening of the sandstones, as we see them at the north foot of the Porcupine Mountains and along the rugged valley of the St. Louis River.

This secondary upheaval or series of upheavals, is conceived to furnish proof of epochs. Strata of the same mineral constitution and system of formation which are upheaved, are clearly of posterior age to the horizontal. Some of these strata of the secondary, epoch have only had their horizontality disturbed, while others are quite vertical. Yet, the disturbances of an epoch are only relative, and it remains true that any disturbance, however slight, in the fundamental series, throws the epoch beyond the newer fletz and tertiary formations.

Some theory of this kind is necessary in scrutinizing the position of the St. Mary's sandstone, which is manifestly of the palaozoic era. It has felt the impulse of disturbance, although it appears to be little. Evidences of this are most perceptible in the British Channel, on the north side of the Island of St. Joseph. This channel, and, indeed, the entire course of the river up to Lake Superior, is the line of juxtaposition between the rocks of elder and the secondary epoch. At the extreme foot of Sugar Island occurs the remains of a stratum of the sandstone era, consisting of white quartz filled with coarse red jasper pebbles. I observed remains of this stratum of remarkable rock, which have been broken off and swept away in the basin of Lake Huron, deposited in boulder masses on its southern shores.

The sandstone of St. Mary's is, structurally, brittle, fissile, and worthless, as a building material. Its substructure is complicated and made up of thin layers exactly deposited, as if from watery suspension, but deposited without disturbance. These sub-layers of construction, are sometimes cut off by parallel lines at right angles, or by new series of layers diagonally formed, or in echelon.