I 



Giognosij of St. Paul's Bay. "90 



pleased iii being able to a<ld tlint their attempts wei'e vain. 

 It was fortunate that one of our party, (Mr. Howen,) staid 

 behind to explore in the neighbourhood of St. Urbiu's, 

 otherwise the two days of our absence would have proved 

 a logs of time of some importance, as the period of our stay 

 was limited. This gentleman exerted himself so success- 

 fully during these two days, as to confirm all fonner reports 

 respecting the abmulance of ore, and to discover new 

 localities : to his joui'nal, we refer our reailers for the 

 details. 



The position of these mines situated near both banks of 

 die Ciouffre, a river which at its shallowest periods might 

 easily be rendered navigable for bateaux ; — the abundance 

 of limestone as a flux for the ore ; — the ample supply of 

 wood for making charcoal, render this spot well deserving 

 the notice of government, or of some private capitalists. — 

 The ore is of that excellent description called magnetic 

 oxide of iron by mineralogists, or rock ore by minei's. It 

 sometimes occuis .solid and free from admixture, at others 

 it is mixed up with fusible minerals, so that if the latter 

 in not so rich in metal, neither is it so difficult to fuse ; 

 tfiere is also, as might be expected, bog ore in the low 

 grounds, but \\o\v much has not been ascertained. On 

 both sides of the river there is an excellent road, and the 

 occasional occurrence of small streams descending from the 

 hiJIs ftflbrds the opportunity of working machinery, by 

 water. In short the only thing which occurs to us as want- 

 ing to reiuler the pobition cuuipk-tL-, is the discovery of a 

 ^04m1 fire blune, such as t^ found near Mr. Bell's establish- 

 iuent on tlie St. Maurice river. Even this might be found, 

 tu the probability of which there is no geological objection; 

 that at the forges belonging to the ulU red kMiidistone 



