248 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



the vastness of the destruction. These places are 

 called Irrulees in the language of the country ; and in 

 a few years after the fire has passed over them, are 

 so thickly covered by raspberry and rose bushes that 

 it is difficult and tiring to cross them on foot. The 

 timber consists of white and red spruce, pitch-pine, 

 balsam, cedar, tamarack, white birch, and poplar, the 

 latter being at some places along the road in large 

 quantities and of a great size. The rocks are trap- 

 pean, a hard compact slate, with numerous veins of 

 amethystine quartz and jasper, and jasper conglom- 

 erate, running through them in irregular directions. 

 Many silver-mines have been discovered in the neigh- 

 bourhood, and galena, plumbago, and copper in sev- 

 eral forms are known to abound ; so that no prophetic 

 powers are necessary to foretell the great importance 

 that this country will assume ere long from the de- 

 velopment of its mineral resources. About midway 

 in this section is the most rocky district traversed by 

 the road, where it ascends through a rugged and hilly 

 country to a height of many hundred feet above 

 Thunder Bay. This region is also heavily wooded, 

 so road-making through it was no easy matter. At 

 many places large-sized boulders had to be removed 

 from the road ; and at others, where great rough rocks 

 cropped up in the way, they were broken up by light- 

 ing huge fires around them, and by throwing water 

 over them when thoroughly heated. This caused 

 them to split up into pieces, reminding, one of the 



