i  30 
;  ,>.\  n;u-.r  rioNs   to   economic   GEOLOGY,  1905. 
described  by  Ransome.a     lis  southern  boundary  is  aboul  20  miles  north  of  the  northers 
limit  of  the  area  covered  in  Lindgren's  reconnaissance  across  the  Bitterroot  Range. 6 
This  region  is  traversed  by  few  lines  of  travel.  Steamboats  on  St .  Joe  River  ran  approach 
within  15  miles,  and  above  the  head  of  such  navigation  canoes  can  be  poled  up  the  swift 
water  well  into  the  heart  o(  the  district  here  described.  There  arc.  consequently,  a  few 
scattered  settlements  along  the  river.  Alone;  the  main  divides  old.  well-beaten  trails,  often 
referred  to  as  parts  of  the  "Lolo"  trail,  have  been  traveled  by  the  Indians  since  prehis- 
toric times.  Then1  are  also  two  trails  made  by  hunters  and  trappers,  which  start  from 
Wallace  and  He  Borgia,  respectively,  and  cross  the  St.  Joe  drainage  basin  from  north  to 
south,  joining  the  "  Lolo"  trail  on  the  Clearwater  divide.  The  northeastern  border  of  the 
district  is  crossed  for  half  a  mile  by  a  wagon  road  built  from  Saltese,  Mont.,  a  station  on 
the  Northern  Pacific  Railway,  but  with  this  exception  there  are  no  wagon  roads,  though  a 
contract  has  been  let  for  building  one  along  the  Wallace  trail  to  the  St.  Joe. 
u*     l 
zo  30         +0  so  miles 
Fir,.  6.— Map  showing  location  of  St.  Toe  River  basin. 
TIMBER    AND   AGRICULTURAL   LANDS. 
The  whole  region  has  been  more  or  less  heavily  timbered,  but  forest  fires  occurring 
intervals  during  the  last  twenty  years  have  burned  over  la  lit  15  per  cent  ol 
the  land,  distributed  in  small  patches,  carries  merchantable  timber.  Nearly  all  of  the 
remainder  is  covered  by  a  thick  growth  of  underbrush  and  small  trees,  some  of  which 
large  enough  for  mining  purposes.  For  this  reason  prospecting  and  travel  away  from  the 
trails  are  difficult.  All  the  mountains  and  ridges  which  rise  above  an  elevation  of 
feet  are  timbered  with  '•balsam  fir"'  and  hemlock,  reported  to  be  of  little  value,  but 
lower  elevations  the  timber  consists  of  red  fir.  white  pine,  tamarack,  and  cedar,  all  of  whic 
are  valuable. 
The  agricultural  lands  are  confined  to  the  narrow  bottoms  ..long  the  creeks  and  rivers 
It  has  been  estimated  that  there  may  be  as  much  as  400  acres  of  land  suitable  for  agricul- 
ture along  St.  -Toe  River  within  the  district   and  2(K)  to  400  acres  more  distributed  alon 
some  of  the  tributary  streams,     On  account  of  the  heavy  undergrowth  and  timber  only 
small  part  of  this  land  is  suitable  for  grazing  at  the  present  time. 
a  Ransonie,  F.  L.,  Ore  deposits  of  t :  dene  district,  Idaho:  Bull.  V.  S.  Geol.  Sui 
1904.  pp.  274-303. 
b  Lindgren,  Waldemar,  A  geological  reconnaissance  across  the  Bitterroot 
Mountains  in  Montana  and  Idaho:  Prof.  Paper  U.S.  Geol.  Sin-        N      23  ...  I. 
