16 District traversed hy the 



deluge, certainly from the circumstance of these bowlders 

 being commonly found lying on the secondary limestone, 

 and the great size of many of them, it would appear that a 

 body of water more powerful in its effects than the mere 

 overflowing of a river, must have been the agent employed 

 it! conveying them to their present position : — and in this 

 district there is abundant evidence of those waters having 

 retired through the two great vallies of the Ottawa and St. 

 Lawrence, of course subsequent to the deposit of the 

 secondary strata. But to resume our description of the 

 mountain range. 



From the Shewanahegan falls, a hilly country continues 

 to form the shores of the St. Maurice as high as Wemon- 

 tachinque, with occasional intervening vallies of sand. 

 In general an alluvial sandy flat extends from the foot of 

 the hills to the margin of the river, varying in width. 



By ascending the chain of lakes running in rear of Rat 

 River Post, towards the westward, and branching off" to the 

 N. E. towards the River Vermilion, we ascertained the 

 existance of the same primitive range as that forming the 

 shores of the St. Maurice, and covered \\ni\\ a similar 

 silecious sand. As far as the eye could command a view 

 towards the west and south-west, we observed broken 

 ranges of hill, generally dipping towards the St. Lawrence. 

 On ascending the River Vermilion we again distinguished 

 the same description of hilly country extending to the 

 south-west for a considerable distance. On our right hand 

 was a coresponding formation stretching to the east and 

 north-east beyond the shores of the St. Maurice. Frequently 

 the hills were fractured in an awful manner, exhibiting 

 the bare and rugged front of stupendous perpendicular 

 fcliffs, several hundred feet in height. The summits of 



