68 IN THE ACADIAN LAND. 



in the Swiss Alps and other mountains. We 

 know his tracks ; we can see what he does ; 

 and we find the same tracks abundant here on 

 these " Molega Barrens " and all over northern 

 North America. 



I would not tell this story about the glacier 

 only that it explains the prospector's mode of 

 operation. In looking for a gold-bearing vein 

 we seek for fragments of quartz on the surface, 

 among the bushes and bracken, and when found 

 they are broken and examined. These pieces 

 of quartz are known as " float " or " drift," and 

 when a promising bit is found the prospector 

 looks northward for more; if he finds other 

 portions of the vein he continues northward 

 until no more are to be found on top of ground; 

 then he begins to dig a trench, still going north- 

 ward, and, if he succeeds, the vein will be 

 found anywhere from twenty-five to several 

 hundred feet from where the last "float" was 

 obtained on the surface. The reason why the 

 prospector goes northward is because experience 

 has taught him that the fragments of the vein 

 are always south of it. Here science steps in 

 and explains that the glacier was the cause that 

 broke the vein and carried its fragment in its 

 course, and was aided by the rushing floods that 

 moved seaward too, when the Glacial Period 



