172 EARL DE GREY'S ADDRESS. [May 28, 1860. 



of the Mackenzie. In the cretaceous shales, which form the base of 

 the country drained by the Little Souris, and part of the Assinni- 

 boine, clay iron-stone of remarkable purity and in great abundance 

 has been found to exist, while on Battle Eiver and the north branch 

 of the Saskatchewan Dr. Hector discovered an abundant supply of 

 lignite coal. 



West of Assinniboine the country furnishes limited areas well 

 suited for settlement, but the south .branch of the Saskatchewan 

 flows through a region which from its aridity will probably never 

 be generally occupied by civilized man. 



A very important and curious feature in the surface of the great 

 prairie-plains drained by the Saskatchewan and the affluents of 

 Eed River is the numerous deep river-channels, which cut the 

 country to the depth of 300 and even 400 feet. The most remark- 

 able example is that of the Qu'appelle river and valley, which form 

 a continuous water communication from the south branch of the 

 Saskatchewan at the Elbow to the Assinniboine near Fort Ellice. 

 The entire length of this valley was traversed, partly in canoe and 

 partly on horseback, by Professor Hind's expedition, and instru- 

 mental measurements were taken of its leading dimensions. Its 

 least depth is at the height of land, 1 2 miles from the Elbow of the 

 South Branch; here it is 110 feet deep and one mile broad. From 

 a small lake in this part of the valley, water flows both to the 

 Saskatchewan and the Assinniboine, 257 miles to the east. The 

 narrow lakes in this valley have a depth of 66 feet, and are 57 miles 

 long in the aggregate ; the bottoms of the lakes in some instances 

 being about 350 feet below the prairie level. Other communications 

 between the South Branch and the Assinniboine exist besides that 

 of the Qu'appelle valley, showing that the prairie-plains which they 

 intersect have probably been subjected to a slow but continuous 

 process of upheaval, whereby river-courses have been changed and 

 the numerous Elbows originated, which form such a curious feature 

 in the prairie rivers of the basin of Lake Winnipeg. 



With a vast area of fertile soil, and a climate favourable to the 

 cultivation and growth of wheat ; with lignite coal, iron-ore, and 

 common salt in abundance, a great future is probably in store for 

 the Basin of Lake Winnipeg. Lying between the rich gold-fields 

 of British Columbia* and the powerful, populous, and wealthy colony 



* Vide Papers relative to the Affairs of British Columbia, Part III. Blue-Book, 

 1860 ; and page 155 of this Address.— Ed. 



