Featherstonhaugh^s Geological Report. 149 



I began to find calcareous boulders^ formed of flat laminae of 

 salmon-colored limestones, with impressions of producta and 

 spirifers, from which 1 concluded myself to be upon the south- 

 ern edge of the granite coming in from the north, and that I 

 might probably come upon the limestone again, if 1 should get 

 far enough to the west. 



The river now narrowed again to about seventy yards, and 

 became so shallow that we were in constant expectation of 

 being obliged to stop, notwithstanding I had made caches of 

 our heaviest articles, by burying them in the ground. The 

 daily fall of the water, too, created apprehensions as to the 

 manner in which we should be able to accomplish our return. 

 After walking through the brakes for some time, I came to a 

 small stream on the left bank, called Chahtahnboah, or Spar- 

 rowhawk river, which the voyageurs, for some idle reason, 

 have named Eau de Vie. Nearly opposite to this the Pahjeetah 

 Zeezeehah, or Yellow Medicine river, joins the St. Peter's, its 

 mouth almost choked up with wild rice. The main river 

 now becomes about eighty yards wide again, the banks low, 

 with great quantities of zizania ; the slopes of the upland 

 prairie on the right bank are well wooded ; and a very good 

 channel, from five to eight feet deep. At the termination of 

 this channel there is another hahhah, or fall, with a rapid 

 about one hundred yards long, through which the canoe had 

 to be dragged by the men up to their w^aists in water. From 

 here to the Grand Portage there is a succession of rapids. At 

 this point the river makes a detour of three miles, the whole 

 distance being one continued rapid, through which the canoe 

 had to be dragged. The portage is one mile and three-quar- 

 ters across, by land, and it was here the singularly-laminated 

 rock occurred, which is spoken of at page 27, and which re- 

 sembles granite in every particular except its stratification. 

 The strike or direction of (hese masses is N. E. by E. and S. 

 W. by W., dipping S. E., and I of course crossed their whole 

 breadth at right angles. After passing the portage and re- 



