Mound Builders in Northeastern Minnesota — Stnntz. 87 



the preceding sketch. The banks on both sides of the sti^eam 

 slope gradually to the vvatei', thus making a trough-shaped chan- 

 nel, navigable in both low and high water. 



There is another dam below the last named where the river 

 is crossed by a trap dike flanked by gneiss and mica slates. The 

 rapid at this place is upwards of 1,000 feet long. The height of 

 this rapid is 12 feet. 



Similar dams are found on the great northern route from 

 Rainy lake fco Grand Portage bay on Lake Superior, the most 

 noted of which are at Gunflint river, in Town 65, Range 4 west, 

 fourth principal meridian. 



The fact that these early inhabitants of northern Minnesota 

 cultivated the soil and propagated forest and fruit trees for fibre 

 and for food has aire ad v been stated.* 



The best fishing stations occupied by the Indians at present 

 are sure to have these groves of oak, linden and plum trees. Some 

 of these oak trees are three to five hundred years old, as can be 

 found by counting their annual rings . 



The Chippewa Indians have occupied the country only about 

 200 years. The Sioux did not cultivate the soil but lived by hunt- 

 ing and fishing. 



The mining operations at lake Vermillion have already been al - 

 luded to.f What mineral was worked for in this locality has not 

 yet been found out, but probably it was for red and yellow ochers, 

 which are quite abundant near the mines of iron. The Chippewa 

 name for Vermillion lake signifies red ocher and not sulphide of mer- 

 cury. 



There are ancient diggings all along both sides of the interna^ 

 tional boundary, east of Vermillion, as far as Grand Portage bay, 

 on Lake Superior. 



These early inhabitants used a rude article of pottery in which 

 to cook their food. Fragments of this pottery are found near Ver- 

 million lake, identical in composition and appearance to fragments 

 found near the mounds on Yellow lake in Wisconsin, nearly 200 

 miles distant.;}; They worked the mines by heating the rocks and 



*See this Bulletin p. 77— [Paper K.] 



tloc. cit. p. 83. 



JThe pottery here mentioned by the writer is probably similar to that 

 found by Mr. ITenry Mayhew, and described in Bulletins vol. ri, p. 379. Editor. 



