152 



FORMATIONS OF THE INTERIOR 



From O'Neil's Creek, in Township 24 north, Range 2 west, to Wedge's Creek, in 

 Township 25 north, Range 4 west, the only rock observed was a single ledge of 

 pebbly sandstone, twelve feet above the surface ; even boulders, which are so nume- 

 rous further north, are absent; but the character of the surrounding country is 

 similar to that above the forks, where granites are in place. Beyond Wedge's 

 Creek the soil is more sandy, and piue timber more abundant, but not of as good 

 quality as that north of the east fork of Black River. 



In Township 26 north, Range 2 west, is an isolated hill, one hundred and fifty 

 feet high, composed of compact sandstone (F. 1). Others can be seen in the dis- 

 tance to the west and south. On the northeast of Townships 26 and 27 north, 

 Range 3 west, on the head waters of the east branch of the L'Eau Claire, granite 

 is exposed, of similar colour and structure to that on the Falls of Black River. 

 The country southwest of this Range, lying between Black River and the forks of 

 the L'Eau Claire, becomes gradually more sandy. This is the boundary between 

 the inferior sandstone of F. 1, and the crystalline rocks, and the northeast margin 

 of that sandy belt of country heretofore noticed in the description of the Lower 

 Chippewa River. 



Conspicuous outliers of F. 1, a, can be seen stretching away to the southwest, 

 some of which, near the L'Eau Claire, are capped with a Lingula sandstone. 



The last rocks seen in place by Mr. Randall, on the head waters of Black River, 

 were on the northern part of Township 28, between Ranges 1 and 2 west. It is a 

 low range of chlorite slate, of a similar character and composition to that above 

 the Falls of Black River. 



Beyond this, after passing the Correction Line, the country becomes flat and 

 swampy, and, except limited spots, almost worthless for agricultural purposes. 



No metallic veins were noticed by Mr. Randall traversing any of these crystalline 

 ranges on Black River, within the limits of the Chippewa Land District ; indeed 

 their elevation above the water-courses is for the most part so slight, that there is 

 little or no prospect of their ever becoming valuable as mineral lands. 



After the 4th Principal Meridian crosses Black River, no rocks but boulders 

 appear on the surface for sixty miles; indeed, it traverses an almost continuous 

 swamp in Township 40. Here the crystalline rocks again protrude, and form pre- 

 cipitous cliffs on the Upper Rapids and Falls of the Manidowish, of twenty to thirty 

 feet in height. On this stream, where the Meridian crosses it, the rock differs but 

 little from the graphic granite of the Falls of the Appomattox. The felspar, which 

 enters largely into its composition, is of a light bluish pink, with a glistening vit- 

 reous lustre; disseminated through it is only a small proportion of quartz. Two 

 miles below, on this river, the granite is traversed by veins of gneiss. Granitic 

 and hornblendic rocks are exposed, with little interruption, along the course of the 

 Manidowish to within fourteen miles of its confluence with the Chippewa, where 

 the pebbly and lower sandstones of F. 1 cross the river. Below this, the crystalline 

 rocks are only seen on the surface, for a short distance, when they disappear be- 

 neath deposits of drift. 



From the Manidowish to the north part of Township 43, there are a succession 

 of maple ridges and intervening tamerack, cedar, and alder swamps, the former of 



