356 



specimens killed in this vicinity of late years, and called bay lynx, 

 were the Canada lynx. 



Mr. S. H. Scudder gave an account of a recent visit to 

 Lake Winnipeg and the Saskatchawan River, having 

 ascended the latter about one hundred and fifty miles. 



Near Red River, not far from Dayton, Minn., the limit between 

 the rolling and the level prairie is very abrupt ; this river is very 

 crooked, with a general current of 1^ miles an hour, and with 

 occasional rapids ; the streams opening into it, though small, all 

 have names, being important on account of the growth of timber 

 which is found along the banks, even of the smallest, and nowhere 

 else. The navigation is not impeded by fallen trees, as they stand 

 back 40 to 60 feet from the water ; they are principally aspen, oak, 

 and elm ; the reason of this jDOsition of the trees is that the river 

 flows to the north, and the ice breaks up soonest at the source ; the 

 ice not being floated down by the current below forms high dams 

 which go alon^ slowly, grinding down all the trees on the sides 

 of the stream within the reach of high water ; there is a level 

 prairie on each side. 



The west shore of Lake Winnipeg is a sandy beach, 20 to 30 

 yards wide, and beyond this is a vast marsh of tamarack and spruce ; 

 the eastern shore is granitic, rising into low mounds covered with 

 trees, the western being limestone with some sandstone ; in some 

 places are large collections of rounded stones, larger than paving 

 stones, often thirty feet high, thrown up by the waves of this narrow 

 lake. It is shallow,' and rendered turbid by very slight winds; the 

 northern portion, above Cape Kitchinashi, is clear ; near Gull 

 Island the shore was lined with the cast-off skins of EpIiemeridcEy 

 forming a kind of windrow miles in length, concealing the sand, 

 and at least a* foot in width ; the flying Ephemeridce were very 

 abundant and the mosquitoes, as seen at a distance, appeared 

 like small clouds. 



The Saskatchawan River is very rapid, and its banks are for 

 the most part vast marshes ; the same marshy character prevails 

 as far as he went, for one hundred and fifty miles or more west of 

 the lake, rendering the country unfit for cultivation. 



Prof. Agassiz made a communication on the age 



