MINERAL WEALTH. 257 



would imagine, by the blows of some giant mechanic 

 who had used his mallet and chisel upon their 

 surface. These crevices have been attributed by 

 some to the action of water, and by others to that 

 of drift ice, at a time when the world was far 

 younger than it is at present. I lean to the latter 

 surmise ; for not only here, but also further south, 

 there are remarkable and convincing proofs that bergs 

 once were frequent in this region. The process by 

 which these appearances must have been produced, is 

 easily imaginable. An immense iceberg, acres in 

 extent, and over a hundred feet in height, floating 

 at the mercy of the winds and waves, its im- 

 mense mass having barely depth enough to float, 

 and its submerged portion having numerous large 

 boulders firmly imbedded in it, would, when it 

 grounded and scraped against the bottom, tear it up 

 with an herculean force that would produce exactly 

 such crevices as those described. Where watercourses 

 abound, these piles of rock are more numerous ; the 

 current of the existing stream probably washing 

 away the debris which otherwise would hide them 

 from observation. 



That this district is rich in mineral wealth I 

 have no doubt, from its similarity to the copper- 

 producing districts on the shores of Lake Superior. 

 It is not improbable that when, between emigration 

 and the reproduction of the human family, the arable 

 grounds of the more favoured neighbouring climates 

 are all settled by a race devoted to agricultural 



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