20 OUTLINE OF MONOGRAPH. 



the absence of large streams, by the fact that the small and short streams which 

 do exist serve merely to connect the lakes into strings, and by the fact that these 

 streams are frequently interrupted in their courses by rapids and falls. Large 

 swamps still further emphasize this imperfect drainage. The lakes and streams 

 that feed and drain them belong to the large basins of the St. Lawrence Kiver 

 and Hudson Bay. The area belonging to the St. Lawrence drainage basin is very 

 small and is drained bj^ only one small stream, representing the headwaters of the 

 Embai'rass River, which flows south and finall}' empties into Lake Superior. By 

 far the greater part of the district belongs to the Hudson Baj' drainage system. 

 All the waters of this sj'stem flow north and west, and are collected in Rainj' Lake. 

 The streams are short, narrow, and shallow, and form merety the connections 

 between the numerous lakes. The lakes are far more abundant in the eastern than 

 in the western portion of the district. Thej' lie in basins which in general trend 

 east-northeast and constitute the main routes of travel within the district. Most 

 of the lakes have had a mixed mode of origin, owing their existence to pi'e- 

 Glacial erosion, which scooped out deep valleys, and then to the drift, which left 

 dams across these valleys at intervals along their lengths, forming the strings of 

 lakes that we now find. Other lakes appear to owe their present location and 

 existence solely to glacial action. They are depressions in the drift which have 

 been filled by water. Rock exposures are numerous, especiallj^ in the immediate 

 vicinity of the lakes, and are particularly abundant in the eastern part of the 

 district. Onlj^ a small area in the district is wooded with old forests. A very 

 large part of the district, particularly^ the eastern portion, has been burned over 

 repeatedly, and here almost all growth is wanting, or there is but a meager second 

 growth of small timber present. The district is well supplied with fish and game. 

 There are only four towns in the district — Tower, Soudan, Eh', and Winten. Tower 

 is the oldest; it was settled in 1882, and has 1,366 inhabitants, according to the 

 Twelfth Census. Ely, the largest place, has '3,717 inhabitants. The first three 

 places named depend almost altogether upon the mining industrj\ Winten is a 

 small village whose existence is dependent upon two sawmills which are rapidly 

 cutting the timber remaining in the district. There is one Indian reservation in the 

 district, that of the Bois Fort band of the Chippewa Indians, on Sucker Point, 

 where there are reported to be 808 Indians living. As a matter of fact, there are 

 rarely more than 75 or 100 Indians actually upon the reservation, at least during 

 the summer, the remainder being scattered through the surrounding country. They 

 are not progressive, and while apt in the acquirement of the vices of civilization, 

 do not appear to be willing to bear any of its burdens. 



Chapter II. In this chapter there is given a brief statement of the main canoe 

 routes of the district. The methods of travel are described by quotations from the 

 journals of the fur traders, as this shows the conditions existing when the country 

 was being opened up. The methods of travel are now essentially the same, by 

 canoe, although many of the old customs have died out. The remainder of the 



