20 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. • [NOV. 20, 



Arthur's Landing. At this point the vein strikes nearly east and 

 west, and is almost vertical. Its width is about 22 feet ; and the 

 vein-stuff consists mainly of calc spar. Quartz and fluor spar are of 

 occasional occurrence ; and there is a considerable quantity of iron 

 pyrites. The silver is present both in the native form and as 

 sulphide, some specimens being extremely rich. The vein cuts 

 through hard black shales, but has a large mass of hornblendic trap 

 about 50 feet to the south. The vein, however, does not run 

 exactly along the strike of the beds, so that in following it to the 

 west it comes ultimately to have the trap as its foot-wall. Like 

 almost all the veins of the north shore of Lake Superior, the 

 Shuniah lode is of a brecciated character, containing numerous 

 fragments of the country rock. The Shuniah vein admits of being 

 traced for several miles towards the east ; and I entertain no doubt 

 that the so-called 3 A and Leek mines are both situated upon 

 this lode. In passing towards the east, however, the vein diminishes 

 somewhat in thickness, and the vein-stuff becomes siliceous instead 

 of being calcareous. At all points where the vein has been opened 

 it has been found to contain silver, generally in the native form, 

 associated with silver glance. At the 3 A location the vein also 

 contains a considerable quantity of copper-nickel ; and at the Beck or 

 Silver Harbour Mine the silver is commonly associated with zinc- 

 blende. 



The gold-districts of Shabendowan, Round Lake, and Jackfish 

 Lake are situated nearly to the west of Prince Arthur's Landing, the 

 first of these being distant about 60 miles from Thunder Bay. 

 Lake Shabendowan is reached by the so-called " Dawson Road," the 

 commencement of the celebrated " Red-River route," the length of 

 the road being about 47 miles. The entire district travelled over by 

 the " Dawson Road," between Thunder Bay and the foot of Lake 

 Shabendowan, is Of an undulating character, numerous rugged 

 bosses of rock everywhere protruding in ranges which have a 

 prevailing N.E. and S.W. direction. Where not burnt, the country 

 is covered with a dense timber ; biit the trees are of small size, 

 totally unfit for " lumbering "-purposes. They consist mostly of 

 spruce, tamarack, white birch, poplar, bastard pine, and pitch-pine ; 

 but the oak, white and red pine, and maple are altogether wanting. 

 The fundamental rocks of the entire region everywhere exhibit 

 unmistakable proofs of the passage over them of enormous masses 

 of land-ice. Every rock-exposure is moutonnee, polished, and 

 striated ; and we must conclude that the former condition of the 

 country was very similar to that now obtaining in Greenland. The 

 general direction of the striae is N. and S. ; but there is a minor set 

 of grooves occasionally visible, the direction of which is nearly east 

 and west. The greater part of the country is thickly covered up 

 with drift, containing numerous and often large boulders of syenite, 

 granite, gneiss, greenstone, slate, &c, all of which appear to have 

 travelled from the north towards the south. In some places also 

 (as near the bridge over the Kaministiquia liver) there are large 

 masses of stratified drift. 



