60 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [FEB. 9, 



pliosed in places, is tilted up at a sharp angle, and shows every 

 rariety, from gray and blue to a fine white statuary marble 

 quite equal to the Carara. Near the summit of Mt. Morris 

 I found a vein of quartzite running northeast and southwest, 

 showing evidence of galena and stringers of gray copper, but 

 without any development worthy of mention. 



From the summit of Mt. Morris the other peaks which to- 

 gether form the mass of the East Butte are observed, being 

 named respectively Mounts Lebanon, Brown, and Royal. De- 

 scending Mt. Morris toward the west and nortli, tlie limestone 

 collar is soon reached and was followed by me to the north and 

 east. 



At the contact between the marble ami porphyry on the 

 north side occurs an interesting deposit of magnetic iron ore, 

 showing, where decomposed at the surface, copper stains, and 

 carrying traces of copper at certain spots. The outcrop is from 

 forty to fifty feet in width, and extends for seven hundred or 

 eiglit hundred feet in the arc of a circle, following the lime- 

 stone contact, and has been prospected in a number of points by 

 shafts, tunnels, and cross-cuts, indicating a probable permanency 

 to a considerable depth. At one point a shaft fifty-four feet deep 

 was all in ore, with a cut extending southward for forty feet, all 

 in solid magnetite, without, as yet, going through it. This ore 

 yields sixty per cent of iron by assay and is low in phosphorus. 

 Its location, however, renders it of little value for many years to 

 come. From the fact that magnetic bowlders were noticed by 

 me on the north side of the mountain and also on the eastern 

 slope, I am ready to believe that this iron-ore bed may be found 

 to extend for several thousand feet further than it has been ex- 

 plored as yet. 



I had no opportunity to examine the other peaks of the East 

 Butte, nor to ascend iMther the Middle or West Butte, but was 

 informed by an intelligent miner that they consisted of por- 

 phyry similar to Mt. Morris, with the same dikes of trap, and 

 with indications of copper, lead, and gold, but practically un- 

 prospected. 



The line of the Great Northern running westward from 

 Assinniboine will cross the famous Flathead country between 

 the main range and the Bitter Root range of the R)ckies, over- 

 coming the former through the Marias Pass. This Flathead 

 country promises remarkable developments in coal, iron, and 

 other metals, but is at present almost unexplored, excepting 

 around the lake and reservation, and is a paradise for the lover 

 of big game. Then turning northward, the line will strike the 

 Kootenai River at the point where from its southern flow it 



