14 District traversed by the 



constantly supplied, not only with living springs, but by 

 the melting of the great quantities of snow which fall in 

 these regions, find their outlet through the vallies occa- 

 sioned by the dip of the mountains towards the south and 

 S. S.W. and meeting in their course with the extensive 

 basins formed by the subsidence of the rocky strata, spread 

 themselves over the hollows ; thus constituting the smaller 

 lakes, which cover nearly one-third of the country lying 

 between the lands height and valley of the St. Lawrence. 

 These lakes discharge themselves by innumerable shallow 

 streams, into the St. Maurice and aux Lievres Rivers, and 

 ultimately blend with the waters of the St. Lawrence ; in 

 one or two instances the streams swell into large and rapid 

 rivers and discharge into the Ottawa and Lake St. Peter 

 in a direct course. The beds of all these lakes and rivers 

 are of primitive formation, usually covered with sand, the 

 debris of the neighboring rocks. Some of the lakes 

 explored, were evidently once of much greater extent ; 

 while on the other hand some are annually encreasing in 

 size, by the spring floods carrying away portions of their 

 sandy banks. 



On the summits and sides of the hills were seen immense 

 angular fragments of rock, their edges but little worn ; 

 many are thickly covered with moss. These fragments 

 lye embedded in sand ; and doubtless owe the origin of 

 their present situation to that great internal convulsion 

 which has caused the stupendous precipices, so frequently 

 seen in these mountain lands. 



At what period this catastrophe took place it is not now 

 easy to conjecture, whether at the retiring of the great 

 waters which once covered this continent, or whether it 

 was the effect of some subsequent earthquake, can be of no 



