PETROLEUM IN THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORIES. 229 
in the depths of the forest, near no lake or stream of sufficient size 
to mark the place. The oil issues from springs in the form of great 
holes in the ground, down which poles may be plunged as far as they 
will reach without meeting with any resistance beyond that of the 
slimy liquid. The Indians fill tight boxes with the partially inspis- 
sated petroleum at these springs and haul it to Fort Simpson on 
sleighs in winter. Here it is boiled down to a proper consistence 
and used for pitching boats. 
In giving a general description of the geology of the McKenzie 
River, Richardson says, “a shaly formation makes the chief part of 
the banks and also much of the undulating valleys between the 
elevated spurs. It is based on horizontal beds of limestone and in 
some places of sandstone which abut against the inclined strata of the 
lofty wall-lke ridges or rests partially on their edges. The shale 
crumbles readily and often takes fire spontaneously, occasioning the 
ruin of the bank, so that it is only by the encroachment of the river 
carrying away the debris that the true structure is revealed.” Ata 
high point below Fort Simpson, known as “The Rock by the River’s 
Side,” the bituminous shales are described as having a very great 
similarity to those at the junction of the Clear-water and Athabaska 
Rivers. ‘The same author describes thick beds of bituminous shale 
as occurring on the western shores of Great Bear Lake, which dis- 
charges westward by a comparatively short river into the McKenzie 
River. Below the confluence of these great streams the same shale 
is seen running down the banks of the one last mentioned. ‘“ Under- 
lying the shale, horizontal beds of lime are exposed for some miles 
along the McKenzie and from them issue springs of saline sulphurous 
waters and mineral pitch.” In approaching the Artic Ocean the 
McKenzie River is hemmed in to a width of only about one-third of 
a mile by rocks which, from their forms, have given the locality the 
name of “The Ramparts.” Here Richardson says, “ the cliffs have 
been denuded of the covering of shale which exists higher up the 
stream, but the limestone of which they are chiefly formed is stained 
with bitumen either in patches or whole layers.” 
From the foregoing it will be perceived that I have traced a highly 
bituminous character in the rocks of the Athabaska-McKenzie 
Valley all the way from the Clear-water branch to the Ramparts, a 
distance of no less than one thousand miles in a straight line. The 
continuation of the same rocks is known to extend to the northward 
