226 The American Geologist. April. 1893 
about Little Falls is found in the presence of mounds and earth- 
works and in the discovery of arrow points of quartz and other 
ordinary' Indian implements. From these varied observations it is 
plainly seen that this locality was extensivel}- occupied b}' our his- 
toric tribes, and the evidence is ample that the}" made free use of 
the quartz, outcropping at so manj' points, and that the refuse 
resulting from the manufacture of their implements is identical in 
ever}' way with the relics obtained b}' professor Winchell and Miss 
Babbitt. 
I paid my first visit to the site of Miss Babbitt's well known in- 
vestigations in compau}- with professor Winchell and Mr. W. "W. 
Williams, of Little Falls, and the former identified and pointed 
out the exact spot on which the finds were made. So far as can 
now be seen the conformation of the ground is accurateh' described 
by Miss Babbitt, although since the period of her studies the river 
has been much altered by a dam and at this point the water has 
been raised eight or ten feet. The chief change produced is the 
entire drowning of the lower flood plain, which, if I am correctly 
informed, extended from near the base of the blufl" several hundred 
feet outward to the margin of the main channel. A little farther 
down the outer and higher portion of this plane is still visible 
during periods of low water and is known as Boom island. It is, 
or was, separated from the present shore — the main bluff face — bj- 
a shallow channel. The water now rises to within an average of 
about twelve feet of the summit of this bluflf, washing the slope 
a little below the level of the supposed outcrop of artificial 
quartzes. 
At this point a shallow water-way or wash called the "notch," 
by Miss Babbitt and formerlj' occupied as a wagon road, leads 
obliquel}^ down the slope to the water's edge. Before the dam 
was built ferr}' boats landed at a lower level, and in aboriginal 
times this spot was no doubt the upper end of a portage by 
means of which the rapids were avoided. Save for this break 
the bluff is continuous for a long distance, rising in places at a 
steep angle, but having at this point a slope of perhaps twenty or 
twenty-five degrees; the old roadway has a more gentle inclina- 
tion. The accompanying sketch map conveys a clear notion of 
the topography of the spot and indicates the nature and extent 
of my trenching operations. 
It was observed that the sloping sides of the shallow roadway 
