St. Maurice Expedition, 17 



Ihese cliffs are covered with sand, and at tlieir feet lay 

 the lari,'e ani,'ular fragments of the rock, their angles 

 slightly worn by the action of the air. From out of the 

 crevices of these fallen masses grew small sized spruce, 

 birch and poplar trees. One of these precipices, near a 

 mile in length, was |)articuhirly remarked on the portage 

 to Black Beaver Lake ; and another was noticed near the 

 Great Lake of the Coo-coo-cash, in a direction nearly 

 south and east. 



From the Coo-coo-casli to Wcmontachinque, we could 

 distinguish, on the west shore of the St. Maurice, similarly 

 formed hills, with occasional precipices reaching far to 

 the westward. 



Fiom Wemontachintjue we crossed in nearly a direct 

 western course, to the River aux Lievres. Our route 

 generally lay at the northern end of the lakes which over- 

 spread the vast basins formed between the spurs of the 

 mountains. These spurs have an almost uniform direction 

 to the S. S. W. ; although occasionally small ridges were 

 seen to run in a contrary direction. Some of the lakes 

 afforded an opportunity of examining that j)ortion of the 

 country seen from the River Vermilion : invariably it 

 upfieared to pos-'ess the same features as those portions we 

 were traversing. It may not be unnecessary to remark 

 that this chain of lakes lie in the mountain ridge forming 

 a part of the lunds iieight. 



At length we descended the River aux Lievres in ii 

 generally suiith direction, and observed the mountain lands 

 extending to the south and S. S. E., also on our right hand 

 towards the north-west. In the descent of this river which 

 AvoiMid its ioriuouK course through the vallies formed by 

 the broken ridges of hill', we were iigain struck with the 



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