INTRODUCTION 



SKETCII OF TTIE HISTORY OF GEOLOGY IN iflCHIOAN. 



Before entering upon the consideration of the subjects strictly 

 belonging to this Report, a brief notice of what has heretofore 

 been done in developing the Geology of Michigan, will undoubt- 

 edly be acceptable to the people of our State. 



The explorations and discoveries of the Jesuit Missionaries, 

 prosecuted for many years along the borders of the great Lakes, 

 may be passed over as too remotely connected with the history 

 of Geology in Michigan, to justify their introduction into the 

 present report. The record of the wonderful labors and suffer- 

 ings of these early christian missionaries, may be found embod- 

 ied in the numerous volumes of a work entitled, "Relations do 

 ce que B'esl de plus rcmarquable aux Missions des peres 



do la compagnie de Jesus, en la Nouvelle France."* A con- 

 densed sketch derived from this source, is given in Foster and 

 Whitney's " Report on the Geology and Topography of a portion 

 of the Lake Superior Land District, in the State of Michigan, 

 Part I." 



The existence of copper in considerable quantity, upon the 

 shores of Lake Superior, had all along attracted the attention 

 of th<- Ifissi aaries. The first mention made of the occurrence 

 of this metal is found in the Eft lation for 1G59-C0. The first 

 mining enterprise of which we have any account, was Buperin- 



:'. 

 «f La* d 



«' .... 11 



•dilUi.i ;.p 637-S1S, Paris, lb4C 



rnay bo fou.v 

 - Htotolr an 1 " TboToaol't RcUtUu« Cm Jivcrs Voyage* L .. 



mi " Recuc-U da Voyages," Fww, 1661 



