88 The Forest Begloti of Northern Idaho — Leiberg. 



dashing water upon them and then pounding them with stone ham- 

 mers. Ashes and charcoal are found in great abundance in and 

 around these old diggings. 



This ancient people explored theLake Superior region, as well 

 as the mining region that extends across the northern part of 

 Minnesota. A great many, if not all the valuable mines had been 

 prospected and doubtless worked by them. The northern part of 

 Minnesota does not seem to have been densely populated. Their 

 largest settlements were near the most available points for securing 

 a sufficient food supply with which to work the mines and trans- 

 port such material out of the country as a half civilized people 

 could make available for their wauts. 



January (>, 1885. 



[ P(fper M. ] 



N^OTES ox THE FOREST REGION OF NORTHERN IDAHO. 



— Bij JohnB. Leiberg. 



[Read, April 7, 1885,] 



During the spring and summer of 1884, the writer made a 

 trip through northern Idaho, and thence on horseback from Spok- 

 ane Falls, W. T., to Jamestown, Dakota. You are all aware of the 

 great excitement attending the alleged discovery of gold in some 

 of the affluents of the north fork of the Coeur d'Alene river about 

 this time. The journey was undertaken mainly with the view o£ 

 ascertaining what, if any, were the prospects of mineral wealth in 

 this region. For want of time and other facilities, it was not pos- 

 sible to make systematic or extensive collections of the very inter- 

 esting and somewhat peculiar flora met with, and the following 

 ni.tes deal mainly with the arboreal vegetation, that being the 

 most conspicuous and impresive feature of the flora of this portion 

 of Idaho. 



The mountain s\steni of northern Idaho is mostly made up 

 of the Camr d'Alene range with its western spurs and branches, 

 which commences at the southern end of lake Pend d'Oreille and 

 runs thence in a southerly direction for two hundred and fifty or 

 three hundred miles, finally losing itself in the main range of the 

 Rockies. Its scuthern portion is called the Bitter Root mountains 



