E

Instructions

Work.

Introduction.

ARLY in May, 1898, I received instructions from Mr. Archibald Blue, Director of the Bureau of Mines, to accompany Mr. Alexander Niven, who was despatched to extend the Nipissing-Algoma for the boundary line to Moose river. My instructions were to examine and report on the geological features of the dis' rict, its timber resources, agricultural possibilities and all matters of an economic nature. order to enable me to cover as great an extent of territory as possible I was provided with a canoe, and I was given the assistance of Mr. W. E. H. Carter of the School of Science, who proved quite efficient.

Reaching

Operations.

Basin of Nighthawk Lake.

In

The whole party, 20 in number, left Haileybury at the head of lake Temiscaming on May 21. On May 23 we crossed a the Base of seven-mile portage to the Montreal river, whence a route was followed to Nighthawk lake, the terminal point of the old line. The first 120 miles had been run by Mr. Niven in 1896, and it extended a short distance north of Nighthawk lake. As Mr. Burwash accompanied Mr. Niven on that occasion, an account of this region may be found in his report. Two weeks were spent in reaching this point, via the Montreal river, lake Matachewan and a chain of small lakes and Nighthawk river to the southern point of Nighthawk lake.

but a massive green diorite crops out on the lake shore to the west of its mouth. This rock shows distinct glacial striae s. 15° E. and is overlaid by eight to ten feet of stratified clay.

Geology of the West Shore.

From this point to the mouth of the Redstone river the lake shore presents, in places, bluffs of stratified clay rising as. high as 40 or 50 feet. Its continuity however is interrupted by numerous deposits of fine sand, which appear to occupy denuded valleys in the clay. Occasional outcrops of rocks are seen on this. western shore, consisting of more or less altered diorites interstratified with fine grained quartzose schists carrying pyrite. One and a half miles north of the mouth of the Redstone coarse hornblende and mica diorites crop out on the shore. Near this point also occur fine grained gray hornblende schists with veinlets. of quartz. Three miles farther north are seen rather hard hydromica schists with veinlets of quartz and showing a pronounced schistosity N. 30° E.

About seven miles north of the Redstone river the Porcupine enters from the west, above which stream a long point stretches into the lake, extended by an island. On the north side of this island is a fine grained massive diorite, while to the south occurs a typical chloritoid schist, striking N. 70° w. In addition to these rocks a fine grained crushed granite with pyrite occurs on the small island off the mouth of the Redstone river. From this river to the outlet at the northern extremity of the lake, with the exception of the above mentioned exposures, the shores are clay. High banks of the same material occur directly across the lake, forming the most conspicuous point in the landscape.

Nighthawk lake is very shallow, according to Mr. McLeod, who has spent several years in the region, not exceeding 12 feet in depth. Its waters are very muddy, and had on June 6

a temperature of 60°. Extensive marshes -occupy many places on the shore line, but otherwise its banks are green, being timbered with small spruce, poplar, tamarac and birch.

Redstone

The Redstone river enters Nighthawk lake not far from the 123rd post on the boundary. This stream is of brown water, with River. an easy current as far up as the crossing of the line (two miles); beyond it becomes rapid, flowing over a bed of boulders. No exposures were observed either on the river or on the line in its vicinity.

Another stream entering the lake from the west is the Porcupine, which has its source in a lake of the same name, lying Porcupine River. five or six miles west of Nighthawk lake. The total length of this stream is 30 miles; it is therefore found more convenient to reach Porcupine lake by a portage of five miles, which is broken in the middle by a small lake. The first stretch of this portage starts from the south bank of a small creek entering the Porcupine two miles up. The portage is about two and a half miles long and maintains a general direction of s. 20° w. over level clay soil, very swampy in places and timbered with poplar, spruce and tamarac of moderate size only. About two-thirds of the way across is an exposure of diorite followed by fine grained quartzose schist, weathering into white patches owing to decomposing felspar crystals. The lake at the end of this portage is known as Red Willow lake, from the fact that that shrub is abundant on its shores. It has clay banks and muddy water, which is discharged at the north side through a small stream showing evidence of the activity of beaver. A ridge of dioritic schist thirty feet high constricts the lake towards its eastern end.

The head of the next portage is rather difficult to locate, but once found the trail is easily followed. It holds a general direction

a little south of west, and at first is dry and well timbered with spruce. The greater part of its length however traverses a tamarac swamp, very wet and difficult to travel. The end is on a small creek entering the Porcupine from the southeast. Above the portage this stream is very tortuous, and filled with driftwood derived from a burnt

Ten

area a short distance to the southeast. chains below the portage we enter the Porcupine, and two miles down pass into the lake.

Porcupine lake is two and a half miles long and a half to three-quarters of a mile wide. Its shore line presents several exPorcupine Lake. posures of rock; on the north side occur outcrops of a soft soapstone-like rock. with crystals of magnetite and veinlets of chrysotile. Under the microscope this rock appears to be made up of indistinct fibres of this mineral mixed with quartz. It is evidently a much altered example of the basic eruptive series. A creek of a. very tortuous course flows in from the southeast; on it occur exposures of a gray to white quartz schist, weathering quite white with streaks of quartz and pyrite. Considerable birch and pitch pine are found on this stream. A rocky point of some elevation is seen on the south side of the lake, consisting of altered diabase and gray schist, with asbestiform partings and veinlets of quartz. An overland trip south from this point shows that the rock disap pears as soon as the water is left, the country being low and wet, with tamarac, spruce, poplar and cedar. This latter tree obtains a diameter of 14 to 20 inches in this vicinity, and appears to be plentiful. The temperature of the water in these swamps was 36°, while in Porcupine lake it was 58°.

Rocks on

pine River.

On leaving the lake Porcupine river flows through a marsh half a mile in width and bends northward for 15 miles. It the Porcu- then turns east and south, and crosses the line at 130 miles and 66 ch. It is navigable throughout, but several short portages are required in the upper stretches. The following outcrops of rock occur on this river:

Three miles below the line, a much altered diabase with asbestiform hornblende and green hornblende schist. Four miles below the line, a very fine grained schist, almost pure silica.

Five miles below the line, the rock becomes very ferruginous. Just beyond, the river forms small rapids over fine quartz schist, hydromica-like in places.

One and a half miles from Nighthawk lake there occurs dark gray slate-like schist, weathering white with bands of quartzite. Strike N. 60° E. Dip 30 from vertical.

1 That this low land gives place to rocky ridges farther south has since been ascertained. An account of these outcrops will appear in a future report.

Large areas of Farm

A short distance west of the 29th mile post is an outcrop of diorite, associated with schists containing seams of quartz, which gave on assay a minute trace of land. gold. The only exposures seen on the line between Redstone and Porcupine rivers were two bands of schist near the

126th post. With this exception the line crosses a level clay district thickly wooded with spruce, poplar, tamarac and a little birch, but none of any considerable size. The same features are dominant along the Porcupine river and along Nighthawk lake. Large areas in this region would make excellent farm land, particularly near the lakes and rivers. The country inland is much wetter, and I am inclined to believe increasng in this respect farther to the west.

Rock expo

Lake.

Frederick House Lake and River. The river from Nighthawk lake flows almost due north a distance of six or seven miles to Frederick House or Hollow sures on the Sand lake. It is about two chains wide and is unbroken by any rapid. No outcrop occurs on its banks or on the west shore of Frederick House lake until we near the outlet at the northern end. Here are exposures of diorite and diorite schist with quartzite. The eastern shore is less well protected by clay and sand, and outcrops are more numerous, the following series being presented from north to south:

One and a half miles from the north end, fine-grained porphyrite with pyrite, striking southeast and dipping 30 degrees from the vertical.

Two and a half miles down are fine dark-gray schists with streaks of pyrite and a coarse green rock, apparently highly felspathic. This dark schist shows a banded spheroidal weathering and seems to consist of nuclei of a jasperlike variety enclosed in the darker bands.

This passes

into the ordinary gray and white schists. That these schists are, at least in part, of volcanic origin is well shown at this point.

Frederick House Lake.

Frederick House lake is of much the same character as Nighthawk, but contains fewer islands; like the latter lake it is very shallow, and its waters have the same turbid appearance. The Indian name is Wanatangua, meaning Hollow Sand. I am inclined to think that this name is derived from the fact that the clay shores are covered in places by a layer of sand which gives way on being

pressed by the foot. The southern and eastern shores also are overlaid by extensive deposits of clay. These are interrupted by areas of sand both to the north and east, where gravels and glacial accumulations begin to occur.

This lake is subject to violent storms from the east and southeast, the evidence of which is seen in the fallen trees and scarped clay banks on the western shore.

The country inland from Frederick House lake was examined by means of a series of The Inland portages running west from a point

Region.

four miles north of the mouth

of the river from Nighthawk lake. They join a succession of small lakes, for the most part of beautifully clear water, notably the second, which is known as Clearwater lake. These portages all traverse high, sandy and burnt hills, consisting of very coarse sand with Huronian and Laurentian boulders. Some deep depressions resembling kettle holes are seen on the third portage. By level, Clearwater lake is 60 feet above Hollow Sand, while the intermediate pond is only five feet up.

The last lake of this chain is Ice Chisel lake, which has sand for its eastern and northern boundaries but falls into clay flats to the south and west. For a mile and a half east of the lower bulb of this lake the country is sand with some pitchpine, broken in places by muskegs. A two and a half mile trip from this lake to the west reached the line at the 135th post. This trail crosses a rough and wet country of tamarac and spruce, broken by a single ridge of burnt sand 20 chains inland. The line traverses a similar country, alternating from half dry clay land to very wet muskeg. West from the 136th post the swamp increases in wetness and finally becomes impassable; a typical bog.

barrier of rock crosses here N. 10° E, causing a succession of cascades with a total descent .of 46 feet. An island divides the river, and, in all, it may be said that there are three tiers of three cascades each, with a total width of five chains. A rather steep portage of three chains on the east enables us to pass the obstruction. The rock at this point is a ⚫much altered porphyrite weathering in white patches, and a fine gray homogeneous siliceous schist. Below the falls dioritic and basaltic rocks occur, of which a much altered example shows decomposed felspar crystals surrounded by chlorite. On the east side this ridge follows the river up stream for a half mile, when it becomes less pronounced.

Northeast from here the land gradually falls to low swampy flats, with almost impassable windfalls. Southwest a ridge occurs on the shore, followed by a valley and a second ridge of clay soil well timbered with poplar, spruce, birch and balsam. This is succeeded by a muskeg with scrub spruce and tamarac.

Below the falls the river holds a course a little west of north, receiving a tributary two miles down. This stream is ten feet wide and flows from a lake a short distance to the west. A trail from the river to the northwest leads past the lower end of this lake to another beyond, crossing the line at 47 chains on the 146th mile. This latter lake is doubtless in connection with others to the west. On its shores occur some beautiful sulphur springs. In this district fair sized poplar and spruce are abundant and the land is quite dry. As may be seen on the map, several other small lakes are scattered over this region, all of which are connected by trails giving evidence of their use as hunting grounds. From signs observed, otter, fisher and beaver must be abundant in this region.

Below the above mentioned creek the river turns to the east of north, until its navigability is interrupted by three bad rapids at a distance of four miles from the falls. The first of these is passed by a portage of a chain on the west side. The fall in this rapid is five and a half feet over a rock composed almost exclusively of serpentine impregnated with much magnetite. The second portage

of a half chain is also on the west side of a western division of the river, around an island. The fall is only two feet, but it is much too rough to be run. Five chains below is the third rapid of 30 chains, with a fall of 14 feet. The portage here is also on the west side and is somewhat hilly. The rock at all these portages is the same as that described at the falls. The direction of the river is about north, but it is hard to determine as a compass is almost useless owing to the presence of so much magnetite in the rock.

Below these rapids rock outcrops are more commen than on the upper river. A ridge of white weathering fine-grained schist causes. a small ripple about 50 chains down. This is easily run as the fall is only one foot, but small canoes can make a lift-out over the rock on the easterly shore. Below this ripple there is an outcrop of dark highly hornblendic diorite on a small island. Two small tributaries enter from the west, and a little lower a considerable creek of 20 feet from the east. This was followed southeast for a mile, but was found to be jammed with driftwood. Besides small streams, a large creek enters from the west two miles below this one. The water of this creek is very brown and dirty, while its banks show numerous otter slides. It also is choked by debris 60 chains up. Ꭺ mile below this stream the line crosses at the 157th mile post. Near here a tributary of one chain enters from the east. It has clay banks with evidence of high water two feet above the ordinary level. The river continues a little west of north for four miles more, when it is again broken by a long rapid over coarse gray mica schist with ian-Lauren- garnets, passing into granite, and beyond into Laurentian gneiss. This evidently represents the Laurentian. contact and the end of the Huronian belt thus far traversed. The probable direction of the contact is N. 60° w. as the gneiss shows a general schistosity in this direction. From this point to the mouth of the river, a distance of 25 miles, gneiss is the only rock observed. The first ten chains of this rapid at the contact is easily run to a portage of 15 chains on the east side. Below this rapid is three miles of swift water to another rapid

The Huron

tian contact.