NORTHERN OCEAN. 173 
This mine, if it deferve that appellation, is no 771. 
more than an entire jumble of rocks and gravel, ~~ 
which has been rent many ways by anearthquake. °°” 
Through thefe ruins there runs a {mall river; but 
no part of it, at the time I was there, was more 
than knee-deep. 
_ The Indians who were the occafion of my un. 
dertaking this journey, reprefented this mine to 
be fo rich and valuable, that if a factory were built 
at the river, a fhip might be ballaited with the 
oar, inftead of ftone; and that with the fame eafe 
and difpatch as is done with ftones at Churchill 
River. By their account the hills were entirely 
compofed of that metal, allin handy lumps, like 
aheap of pebbles. But their account differed fo 
much from the truth, that I and almoft all my 
companions expended near four hours in fearch 
of fome of this metal, with fuch poor fuccefs, 
that among us all, only one piece of any fize 
could be found. This, however, was remark- 
ably good, and weighed above four pounds*. I 
believe the copper has formerly been in much 
greater plenty; for in many places, both on 
the furface and in the cavities and crevices of 
the rocks, the ftones are much tinged with ver- 
digrife. 
It may not be unworthy the notice of the cu- 
rious, or undeferving a place in my Journal, to 
remark, 
* This piece of Copper is now in the poffeffion of the Hudfon’s Bay 
Company. : 
