THE END OF THE LONG TRAIL
The storm left the ice covered with a depth of soft snow into which the
dogs sank deep and hauled the komatik with difficulty. Snowshoeing,
too, was unusually hard. The day we left Northwest River (Tuesday,
March sixth) the temperature rose above the freezing point, and when it
froze that night a thin crust formed, through which our snowshoes
broke, adding very materially to the labor of walking--and of course it
was all walking.
As the days lengthened and the sun asserting his power, pushed higher
and higher above the horizon, the glare upon the white expanse of snow
dazzled our eyes, and we had to put on smoked glasses to protect
ourselves from snow-blindness. Even with the glasses our driver, Mark,
became partially snow-blind, and when, on the evening of the third day
after leaving Northwest River, we reached his home at Karwalla, an
Eskimo settlement a few miles west of Rigolet, it became necessary for
us to halt until he was sufficiently recovered to enable him to travel
again.
Here we met some of the Eskimos that had been connected with the Eskimo
village at the World's Fair at Chicago, in 1893. Mary, Mark's wife,
was one of the number. She told me of having been exhibited as far
west as Portland, Oregon, and I asked:
"Mary, aren't you discontented here, after seeing so much of the world?
Wouldn't you like to go back?"
"No, sir," she answered. "'Tis fine here, where I has plenty of
company. 'Tis too lonesome in the States, sir."
"But you can't get the good things to eat here--the fruits and other
things," I insisted.
"I likes the oranges and apples fine, sir--but they has no seal meat or
deer's meat in the States."
It was not until Tuesday, March thirteenth, three days after our
arrival at Karwalla, that Mark thought himself quite able to proceed.
The brief "mild" gave place to intense cold and blustery, snowy
weather. We pushed on toward West Bay, on the outer coast again, by
the "Backway," an arm of Hamilton Inlet that extends almost due east
from Karwalla.
At West Bay I secured fresh dogs to carry us on to Cartwright, which I
hoped to reach in one day more. But the going was fearfully poor, soft
snow was drifted deep in the trail over Cape Porcupine, the ice in
Traymore was broken up by the gales, and this necessitated a long
detour, so it was nearly dark and snowing hard when we at last reached
the house of James Williams, at North River, just across Sandwich Bay
from Cartwright Post. The greeting I received was so kindly that I was
not altogether disappointed at having to spend the night here.
"We've been expectin' you all winter, sir," said Mrs. Williams. "When
you stopped two years ago you said you'd come some other time, and we
knew you would. 'Tis fine to see you again, sir."
On the afternoon of March seventeenth we reached Cartwright Post of the
Hudson's Bay Company, and my friend Mr. Ernest Swaffield, the agent,
and Mrs. Swaffield, who had been so kind to me on my former trip, gave
us a cordial welcome. Here also I met Dr. Mumford, the resident
physician at Dr. Grenfell's mission hospital at Battle Harbor, who was
on a trip along the coast visiting the sick.
Another four days' delay was necessary at Cartwright before dogs could
be found to carry us on, but with Swaffield's aid I finally secured
teams and we resumed our journey, stopping at night at the native
cabins along the route. Much bad weather was encountered to retard us
and I had difficulty now and again in securing dogs and drivers. Many
of the men that I had on my previous trip, when I brought Hubbard's
body out to Battle Harbor, were absent hunting, but whenever I could
find them they invariably engaged with me again to help me a stage upon
the journey.
From Long Pond, near Seal Islands, neither I nor the men I had knew the
way (when I traveled down the coast on the former occasion my drivers
took a route outside of Long Pond), and that afternoon we went astray,
and with no one to set us right wandered about upon the ice until long
after dark, looking for a hut at Whale Bight, which was finally located
by the dogs smelling smoke and going to it.
A little beyond Whale Bight we came upon a bay that I recognized, and
from that point I knew the trail and headed directly to Williams'
Harbor, where I found John and James Russell, two of my old drivers,
ready to take us on to Battle Harbor.
At last, on the afternoon of March twenty-sixth we reached the
hospital, and how good it seemed to be back almost within touch of
civilization. It was here that I ended that long and dreary sledge
journey with the last remains of dear old Hubbard, in the spring of
1904, and what a flood of recollections came to me as I stood in front
of the hospital and looked again across the ice of St. Lewis Inlet! How
well I remembered those weary days over there at Fox Harbor, watching
the broken, heaving ice that separated me from Battle Island; the
little boat that one day came into the ice and worked its way slowly
through it until it reached us and took us to the hospital and the
ship; and how thankful I felt that I had reached here with my precious
burden safe.
Mrs. Mumford made us most welcome, and entertained me in the doctor's
house, and was as good and kind as she could be.
I must again express my appreciation of the truly wonderful work that
Dr. Grenfell and his brave associates are carrying on amongst the
people of this dreary coast. Year after year, they brave the hardships
and dangers of sea and fog and winter storms that they may minister to
the lowly and needy in the Master's name. It is a saying on the coast
that "even the dogs know Dr. Grenfell," and it is literally true, for
his activities carry him everywhere and God knows what would become of
some of the people if he were not there to look after them. His
practice extends over a larger territory than that of any other
physician in the world, but the only fee he ever collects is the
pleasure that comes with the knowledge of work well done.
At Battle Harbor I was told by a trader that it would be difficult, if
not impossible, to procure dogs to carry us up the Straits toward
Quebec, and I was strongly advised to end my snowshoe and dog journey
here and wait for a steamer that was expected to come in April to the
whaling station at Cape Charles, twelve miles away. This seemed good
advice, for if we could get a steamer here within three weeks or so
that would take us to St. Johns we should reach home probably earlier
than we possibly could by going to Quebec.
There is a government coast telegraph line that follows the north shore
of the St. Lawrence from Quebec to Chateau Bay, but the nearest office
open at this time was at Red Bay, sixty-five miles from Battle Harbor,
and I determined to go there and get into communication with home and
at the same time telegraph to Bowring Brothers in St. Johns and
ascertain from them exactly when I might expect the whaling steamer.
William Murphy offered to carry me over with his team, and, leaving
Stanton and Easton comfortably housed at Battle Harbor and both of them
quite content to end their dog traveling here, on the morning after my
arrival Murphy and I made an early start for Red Bay.
Except in the more sheltered places the bay ice had broken away along
the Straits and we had to follow the rough ice barricades, sometimes
working inland up and down the rocky hills and steep grades. Before
noon we passed Henley Harbor and the Devil's Dining Table--a basaltic
rock formation--and a little later reached Chateau Bay and had dinner
in a native house. Beyond this point there are cabins built at
intervals of a few miles as shelter for the linemen when making repairs
to the wire. We passed one of these at Wreck Cove toward evening, but
as a storm was threatening, pushed on to the next one at Green Bay,
fifty-five miles from Battle Harbor. It was dark before we got there,
and to reach the Bay we had to descend a steep hill. I shall never
forget the ride down that hill. It is very well to go over places like
that when you know the way and what you are likely to bring up against,
but I did not know the way and had to pin my faith blindly on Murphy,
who had taken me over rotten ice during the day--ice that waved up and
down with our weight and sometimes broke behind us. My opinion of him
was that he was a reckless devil, and when we began to descend that
hill, five hundred feet to the bay ice, this opinion was strengthened.
I would have said uncomplimentary things to him had time permitted. I
expected anything to happen. It looked in the night as though a sheer
precipice with a bottomless pit below was in front of us. Two drags
were thrown over the komatik runners to hold us back, but in spite of
them we went like a shot out of a gun, he on one side, I on the other,
sticking our heels into the hard snow as we extended our legs ahead,
trying our best to hold back and stop our wild progress. But, much to
my surprise, when we got there, and I verily believe to Murphy's
surprise also, we landed right side up at the bottom, with no bones
broken. There were three men camped in the shack here, and we spent
the night with them.
Early the next day we reached Red Bay and the telegraph office. There
are no words in the English language adequate to express my feelings of
gratification when I heard the instruments clicking off the messages.
It had been seventeen years since I had handled a telegraph key--when I
was a railroad telegrapher down in New England--and how I fondled that
key, and what music the click of the sounder was to my ears!
My messages were soon sent, and then I sat down to wait for the replies.
The office was in the house of Thomas Moors, and he was good enough to
invite me to stop with him while in Red Bay. His daughter was the
telegraph operator.
The next day the answers to my telegrams came, and many messages from
friends, and one from Bowring & Company stating that no steamer would
be sent to Cape Charles. I had been making inquiries here, however, in
the meantime, and learned that it was quite possible to secure dogs and
continue the journey up the north shore, so I was not greatly
disappointed. I dispatched Murphy at once to Battle Harbor to bring on
the other men, waiting myself at Red Bay for their coming, and holding
teams in readiness for an immediate departure when they should arrive.
They drove in at two o'clock on April fourth, and we left at once. On
the morning of the sixth we passed through Blanc Sablon, the boundary
line between Newfoundland and Canadian territory, and here I left the
Newfoundland letters from my mail bag. From this point the majority of
the natives are Acadians, and speak only French.
At Brador Bay I stopped to telegraph. No operator was there, so I sent
the message myself, left the money on the desk and proceeded.
Three days more took us to St. Augustine Post of the Hudson's Bay
Company, where we arrived in the morning and accepted the hospitality
of Burgess, the Agent.
Our old friends the Indians whom we met on our inland trip at Northwest
River were here, and John, who had eaten supper with us at our camp on
the hill on the first portage, expressed great pleasure at meeting us,
and had many questions to ask about the country. They had failed in
their deer hunt, and had come out half starved a week or so before,
from the interior.
We did fifty miles on the eleventh, changing dogs at Harrington at noon
and running on to Sealnet Cove that night. Here we found more Indians
who had just emerged from the interior, driven to the coast for food
like those at St. Augustine as the result of their failure to find
caribou.
Two days later we reached the Post at Romain, and on the afternoon of
April seventeenth reached Natashquan and open water. Here I engaged
passage on a small schooner--the first afloat in the St. Lawrence--to
take us on to Eskimo Point, seventy miles farther, where the Quebec
steamer, _King Edward_, was expected to arrive in a week or so. That
night we boarded the schooner and sailed at once. Into the sea I threw
the clothes I had been wearing, and donned fresh ones. What a relief
it was to be clear of the innumerable horde "o' wee sma' beasties" that
had been my close companions all the way down from the Eskimo igloos in
the North. I have wondered many times since whether those clothes swam
ashore, and if they did what happened to them.
It was a great pleasure to be upon the water again, and see the shore
slip past, and feel that no more snowstorms, no more bitter northern
blasts, no more hungry days and nights were to be faced.
Since June twenty-fifth, the day we dipped our paddles into the water
of Northwest River and turned northward into the wastes of the great
unknown wilderness, eight hundred miles had been traversed in reaching
Fort Chimo, and on our return journey with dogs and komatik and
snowshoes, two thousand more.
We reached Eskimo Point on April twentieth, and that very day a rain
began that turned the world into a sea of slush. I was glad indeed
that our komatik work was finished, for it would now have been very
difficult, if not impossible, to travel farther with dogs.
I at once deposited in the post office the bag of letters that I had
carried all the way from far-off Ungava. This was the first mail that
any single messenger had ever carried by dog train from that distant
point, and I felt quite puffed up with the honor of it.
The week that we waited here for the _King Edward_ was a dismal one,
and when the ship finally arrived we lost no time in getting ourselves
and our belongings aboard. It was a mighty satisfaction to feel the
pulse of the engines that with every revolution took us nearer home,
and when at last we tied up at the steamer's wharf in Quebec, I heaved
a sigh of relief.
On April thirtieth, after an absence of just eleven months, we found
ourselves again in the whirl and racket of New York. The portages and
rapids and camp fires, the Indian wigwams and Eskimo igloos and the
great, silent white world of the North that we had so recently left
were now only memories. We had reached the end of The Long Trail. The
work of exploration begun by Hubbard was finished.
APPENDIX
LABRADOR PLANTS
Specimens collected along the route of the expedition between Northwest
River and Lake Michikamau. Determined at the New York Botanical
Gardens:
Ledum groonlandicum, Oeder. Comarum palustre L. Rubus arcticus L.
Solidago multiradiata. Ait. Sanguisorba Canadensis L. Linnaea
Americana, Forbes. Dasiphora fruticosa (L), Rydb. Chamnaerion
latifolium (L), Sweet. Viburnum pancifloram, Pylaim. Viscaxia alpina
(L), Roehl. Menyanthes trifoliata L. Vaznera trifolia (L), Morong.
Ledum prostratum, Rotlb. Betula glandulosa, Michx. Kalmia angustifolia.
Aronia nigra (Willd), Britt. Comus Canadensis L. Arenaria groenlandica
(Retz), Spreng. Barbarea stricta, Audry. Eriophorum russeolum, Fries.
Eriophorum polystachyon L. Phegopteris Phegopt@ (L), Fee.
LICHENS
Cladonia deformis (L), Hoffen. Alectoria dehrolenea (Ehrh.), Nyl.
Umbilicaria Neuhlenbergii (Ac L.), Tuck.
GEOLOGICAL NOTES By G. M. Richards All bearings given, refer to the
true meridian.
My sincere thanks are due Prof. J.F. Kemp and Dr. C.P. Berkey, whose
generous assistance has made this work possible.
ROUTE FOLLOWED
The route was by steamer to the head of Hamilton Inlet,
Labrador--thence by canoes up Grand Lake and the Nascaupee River.
Fifteen miles above Grand Lake, a portage route was followed which
makes a long detour through a series of lakes to avoid rapids in the
river. This trail again returns to the Nascaupee River at Seal Lake
and for some fifty miles above Seal Lake, follows the river. It then
leaves the Nascaupee, making a second long detour through lakes to the
north. On one of these lakes (Bibiquasin Lake) the trail was lost, and
thereafter we traveled in a westerly direction until reaching Lake
Michikamau.
Our food supply was then in so depleted a condition the party was
obliged to separate, three of us returning to Northwest River.
It will be understood that the circumstances would allow of but a very
limited examination of the geological features of the country. Only
typical rock specimens, or those whose character was at all doubtful
were brought back.
PREVIOUS EXPLORATION
Mr. A.P. Low penetrated to Lake Michikamau, by way of the Grand River.
He has thoroughly described the lake in his report to the Canadian
Geological Survey, 1895, and it is not touched upon in the following
paper. In the summer of 1903, an expedition led by Leonidas Hubbard,
Jr., attempted to reach Lake Michikamau by ascending the Nascaupee
River; they, however, missed the mouth of that stream on Grand Lake and
followed the Susan River instead, pursuing a northwesterly course for
two months without reaching the lake. On the return journey, Mr.
Hubbard died of starvation, his two companions, Mr. Wallace and a
half-breed Indian, barely escaping a similar fate.
GEOGRAPHICAL RESULTS OF THE EXPEDITION
The Northwest River represented on the map of the Canadian Geological
Survey (made from information obtained from the Indians) as draining
Lake Michikamau, is but three and one-half miles long, and connects
Grand Lake with Hamilton Inlet. There are six streams flowing into
Grand Lake, instead of only one. It is the Nascaupee River that flows
from Lake Michikamau to Grand Lake; and Seal Lake instead of being the
source of the Nascaupee River is merely an expansion of it.
The source of the Crooked River was also discovered and mapped, as well
as a great number of smaller lakes.
On the Northern Slope the George and Koroksoak Rivers and several lakes
were mapped, and some smaller rivers located.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ROUTE EXPLORED
Northwest River which flows into a small sandy bay at the head of
Hamilton Inlet is only three and one-half miles long and drains Grand
Lake.
For one-quarter of a mile above its mouth the river maintains an
average width of one hundred and fifty yards, and a depth of two and
one-half fathoms. It then expands into a shallow sheet of water two
miles wide and three miles long, known locally as "The Little Lake." At
the head of this small expansion the river again contracts where it
flows out of Grand Lake. This point is known as "The Rapids," and
although there is a strong current, the stream may be ascended in
canoes without tracking.
At the foot of "The Rapids" the effect of the spring tides is barely
perceptible. Between Grand Lake and the head of Hamilton Inlet,
Northwest River flows through a deposit of sand marked by several
distinct marine terraces.
Grand Lake is a body of fresh water forty miles long and from two to
six miles in width, having a direction N. 75 degrees W. It lies in a
deep valley between rocky hills that rise to a height of about four
hundred feet above the lake, and was doubtless at one time an extension
of Hamilton Inlet. At Cape Corbeau and Berry Head the rocks rise
almost perpendicularly from the water; at the former place, to a height
of three hundred feet. Except in a few places the hills are covered to
their summits by a thick growth of small spruce and fir.
At the head of the lake there are two bays, one extending slightly to
the southwest, the other nearly due north. Into the former flow the
Susan and Beaver Rivers, while into the latter empties the water of the
Nascaupee and Crooked Rivers. Besides these there are two small
streams, the Cape Corbeau River on the south, and Watty's Brook on the
north shore.
At the point where the Nascaupee and Crooked Rivers enter the lake
there are two low islands of sand, and a great deal of sand is being
carried down by the two streams and deposited in the lake, which is
very shallow for some distance from the shore.
Three miles above the mouth of the Nascaupee River it is separated from
the Crooked River by a plain of stratified sand and gravel,
three-quarters of a mile wide, with two well-defined terraces. The
first is twenty feet above the river and extends back some three
hundred yards to a second terrace, rising seventy-five feet above the
first.
Half way between this terrace and the Crooked River is, the old bed of
the Nascaupee River, nearly parallel to its present course. A similar
abandoned channel curve was found, making a small arc to the south of
the Crooked River.
Above Grand Lake the Nascaupee River flows through an ancient valley,
which is from a few hundred yards to a mile wide and cut deep into the
old Archaean rocks, affording an excellent example of river erosion.
The banks are of sand, and in some places clay, extending back to the
foot of the precipitous hills. Apparently the ancient river valley has
been partly filled with drift, down through which the river has cut its
way; the present bed of the stream being of post glacial formation.
The general direction of the river is N. 83 degrees W.
Fifteen miles above Grand Lake, the Red River joins the main stream,
coming from N. 87 degrees W. Below its junction with the latter stream,
the Nascaupee River has a width varying between two and three hundred
yards, and an average depth of about ten feet.
The Red River is two hundred feet wide, and its water, unlike that of
the main stream, has a red brown color, like that of many of the
streams of Ontario which have their source in swamp or Muskeg lands.
The first rapids in the Red River are said to be eight miles above its
mouth. Directly opposite the junction of the two streams the portage
leaves the Nascaupee River. The direction is N. 24 degrees E. and the
distance five and one-half miles, with an elevation of 1050 feet above
the river at the end of the second mile.
The last three and one-half miles lead across a level tableland, to a
small lake, from which the trail descends through two lakes into a
shallow valley.
The entire country from the head of Grand Lake to this point has been
devastated by fire, only a few trees near the water having escaped
destruction, and the ground, except in a few places, is destitute even
of its usual covering of reindeer moss.
The underlying rock is gneiss, and the country from the Nascaupee River
is thickly strewn with huge glacial bowlders.
The majority of these bowlders have been derived from the immediate
vicinity, but many consisting of a coarse pegmatite carrying
considerable quantities of ilmenite were observed. None of this rock
was seen in place.
The valley last mentioned is separated from the Crooked River by
Caribou Ridge, a broad, flat-topped elevation, three hundred and fifty
feet high, dotted by small lakes, which fill almost every appreciable
depression in the rock.
The general course to the Crooked River is northeast; at the point
where the portage reaches it the stream is fifty yards wide and very
shallow; flowing over a bed of coarse drift, which obstructs the river,
forming a series of small lake expansions with rapids at the outlet of
each. Between Grand Lake and the point where we reached the river,
the Indians say it is not navigable in canoes, owing to rapids.
The Crooked River has its source in Lake Nipishish, which is about
twenty-two miles long, with an average width of three miles, and a
course due north. Six miles above the outlet of the lake is a bay,
five miles long, extending N. 80 degrees W.
Along the north shore of the lake and in the bay are several small
islands of drift, and many huge angular bowlders projecting above the
water. The country in the vicinity of the lake and in the valley of
the Crooked River is covered with mounds and ridges of drift and many
small moraines.
These moraines consisting of bowlders for the most part from the
immediate vicinity, seemed to have no given direction, but were usually
found at the ends of, and in a transverse direction to the ridges.
The trail leaves Lake Nipishish near the head of the large bay,
continuing in a direction between north and northwest, through several
insignificant lakes, all drained indirectly by the Crooked River, until
it reached Otter Lake, which is eight miles long, running nearly north
and south, and is five hundred and fifty feet below the summits of the
surrounding hills.
From Otter Lake, the course is west through five diminutive lakes, and
across a series of sandy ridges to a small shallow lake, which is the
source of Babewendigash River. Between this lake and Seal Lake
intervene a high range of mountains--the highest seen on the journey to
Lake Michikamau--rising fully one thousand feet above the level of Seal
Lake. They are visible for miles in any direction, and were seen from
Caribou Ridge nearly a month before we reached them.
They are glaciated to their summits, which are entirely destitute of
vegetation and in August were still, in places, covered with snow.
Babewendigash River winds to and fro between the mountains, its course
being determined to a great extent by esker ridges that follow it on
either side and which are often more than one hundred feet high.
Throughout its length of twenty-five miles there are five rapids and
three small lake expansions.
Seal Lake, into which the river flows, is in part an expansion of the
Nascaupee River and fills a basin surrounded on every side by
mountains, rising several hundred feet above the water. The lake is
comparatively shallow, and has a perceptible current. There are
several small islands of drift, covered by a scanty growth of spruce
and willow. The main lake has direction N. 45 degrees W., and is ten
miles long and two and one-half miles wide. The northwestern arm is
fifteen miles long, with the same width, and a course N. 80 degrees W.
The steep rocky shores have precluded the formation of terraces. Above
Seal Lake the course of the Nascaupee River varies between N. 40
degrees W. and N. 80 degrees W.
Five miles above the lake there is an expansion of the river, called
Wuchusk Nipi, or Muskrat Lake, which is eight miles long and a mile and
a half wide, with a course N. 40 degrees W. Except for a channel along
the western shore, the lake is very shallow, being nearly filled with
sand carried down by the river. There is a small stream flowing into
this lake expansion near its head, called Wuchusk Nipishish.
For fifty miles above Muskrat Lake, the river flows between sandy
banks, marked on either side by two well-defined terraces. The river
valley gradually becomes more narrow and the current stronger and with
the exception of a few small expansions, progress is only possible by
means of tracking. There are, however, in this distance but two rapids
necessitating portages.
Opposite the point where the portage leaves the Nascaupee to make a
second long detour around rapids, a small river flows in from the
southwest, having a sheer fall of almost fifty feet, just above its
junction with the main stream.
The trail, after leaving the river, has a course N. 35 degrees W. for
two miles; it then turns N. 85 degrees W. six miles, and again N. 55
degrees W. four miles.
In its course are four small lakes, but there is an unbroken portage of
eight miles between the last two. Nearly the whole country has been
denuded by fire, and the prospect is desolate in the extreme. The end
of the portage is on the high rolling plateau of the interior, timbered
by a sparse and stunted second growth of spruce, covered everywhere
with white reindeer moss, and strewn with lakes innumerable.
The trail which runs N. 50 degrees W. and has not been used for eight
years, gradually became more and more indistinct, until on Bibiquasin
Lake it disappeared entirely. Thereafter the course was N. 70 degrees
W., and finally due west, through a series of lakes which at last
brought us to Lake Michikamau. The largest of this series is
Kasheshebogamog Lake, a sheet of water twenty-three miles long, but
broken by numerous bays and countless islands of drift, with a
direction S. 75 degrees W. The lake is confined between long
bowlder-covered ridges, and is fed at its western end by a small stream.
Although its outlet was not discovered, it doubtless drains into the
Nascaupee River.
On the return journey an attempt was made to descend the Nascaupee
River below Seal Lake.
The river leaves the lake at its southeastern extremity, flowing
between hills that rise almost straight from the waters edge, and is
one long continuation of heavy rapids. After following the stream for
two days we were obliged to retrace our steps to Seal Lake, thereafter
keeping to the course pursued on the inland journey.
DETAILS OF ROCK EXPOSURE
The numbers following the names of rocks refer to corresponding numbers
in appendix.
Of the rocks observed, by far the greater number are foliated basic
eruptives,--schists and gneisses. There are, however, some that are of
undoubted sedimentary origin, but highly metamorphosed.
The general direction of foliation is a few degrees south of east,
subject, of course, to many local changes.
Along Grand Lake the rock is a compact amphibolite [3] with a strike S.
78 degrees E. cut by numerous pegmatite dikes, having a strike N. 30
degrees W. and a dip 79 degrees W.. These dikes vary in width from
three to twenty feet. Half way to the head of the lake is a dike [1]
having a total width of eight feet, consisting of a central band of
segregated quartz, six feet wide, cut by numerous thin sheets of
biotite, which probably mark the planes of shearing. The quartz is
bordered on either side by a band of orthoclase,' one foot in width.
Between these bands of orthoclase and the neighboring amphibolite are
narrow bands of schist [2]
One hundred feet south of the above point is a second dike having a
similar strike and dip and a width of eighteen feet. A third narrow
dike, containing small pockets of magnetite, is twenty-five feet south
of the second. Only the first is distinguished by the segregation of
the quartz.
The next outcrop observed was on the portage from the Nascaupee River.
The rock, a biotite granite gneiss [4] having a strike N. 82 degrees E.
is much weathered and split by the action of the frost, and marked by
pockets of quartz, usually four or five inches in width.
Between this point and Lake Nipishish the underlying rock differs only
in being more extremely crushed and foliated. The one exception is on
Caribou Ridge, which is capped by a much altered gabbro. [6]
The first noticeable change in the character of the country rock is a
Washkagama Lake, where a fine grained epidotic schist [7] was observed,
having a dip 82 degrees W. and a strike S. 78 degrees E.
At Otter Lake a much foliated and weathered phyllite [8] was found.
Strike N. 73 degrees E. and a dip of 16 degrees.
On the Babewendigash River seven miles east of Seal Lake is an exposure
of highly metamorphosed ancient sedimentary rocks. The outcrop occurs
at a height of four hundred feet above the river; and there is a
well-marked stratification.
The lowest bed of a calcarous sericitic schist [9] is four feet thick
and underlies a bed of schistose lime stone [10] six feet in thickness,
which is in turn covered by a finely laminated phyllite, [11] ten feet
thick. The whole is capped by thirty feet of quartzite, [12] which
forms the top of a long ridge.
Owing to the strong weathering action this thickness of quartzite is
doubtless much less than it was originally.
Forty-six miles above Seal Lake an exposure of phyllite was seen, the
same in every respect as the one east of Seal Lake, just mentioned.
The general direction of foliation is S. 70 degrees E. and the dip 70
degrees. The higher hills west of Seal Lake are capped by a much
altered gabbro [13] that has undergone considerable weathering.
Between the Nascaupee River and a few miles beyond Bibiquasin Lake the
rock is quartzite, [14] considerably weathered and covered by drift.
Bowlders of this quartzite were seen along the Nascaupee River long
before the first outcrop was reached, showing the general direction of
the glacial movement to have been to the southeast. From Bibiquasin
Lake to Lake Kasheshebogamog the country is covered with much drift;
the only exposures are on the steep hillsides. The rock being a coarse
hornblende granite.
The western end of Kasheshebogamog Lake lies within the limit of the
anorthosite [15] area, which extends from that point to Lake
Michikamau, a direct distance of twenty miles and was the only
anorthosite observed on the journey.
GLACIAL STRIAE
First portage opposite Red River S. 45 degrees E. On Caribou
Ridge E. At Washkagama Lake
S. 70 degrees E. Near Seal Lake N. 85
degrees E. At Wuchusk Nipi S. 75 degrees E.
Thirty-two miles above Wuchusk Nipi S. 70 degrees E.
MICROSCOPICAL FEATURES OF THE ROCK SPECIMENS
By G. M. Richards, Columbia University 1--Pegmatite-Grand Lake. The
specimen was taken from a pegmatite dike at its contact with an
amphibolite. In the hand specimen it is an apparently pure orthoclase
but in the thin section small scattered quartz grains are observed; as
well as the alteration products, Kaolin and sericite.
The minerals at contact are quartz, biotite, magnetite and hornblende.
Both the quartz and orthoclase contain dust inclusions and
crystallites, while the evidences of shearing and crushing are abundant.
2-Quartz Biotite Schist.
Contact between above dike and amphibolite. A coarse black rock
carrying magnetite and pyrites in considerable quantities.
Under the microscope some of the biotite has a green coloration from
decomposition and is surrounded by strong pleochroic halos.
Small grains of secondary pyroxene are numerous.
AMPHIBOLITE
3-Grand Lake.
A dark, compact rock, having a mottled appearance due to grains of
plagioclase, and a green color in section.
Minerals present are hornblende, biotite, plagioclase, pyroxene, quartz
and the alteration products from the feldspar.
The rock has been subjected to a strong crushing action, which has been
resisted by only small portions of it. The spaces between the grains,
which are intact, are filled with a confused mass of peripherally
granulated minerals, in which strain shadows are very prominent.
The rock has been derived by dynamic metamorphism from a basic igneous
rock.
4-Biotite Granite Gneiss.
Eighteen miles above mouth of Nascaupee River. A fine-grained rock of
gneissic structure having a faint pink color.
Plagioclase, microcline and quartz are the predominating minerals,
while biotite, titanite, epidote, apatite, zircon and garnet are
present in smaller quantities.
There is also a small amount of hematite, pyroxene and sericite.
The rock, which is of a granitic composition, contains numerous
crystallites and has been subjected to considerable strain and
crushing, which has resulted in foliation.
5-Mica Granite Gneiss--Country Rock--near Caribou Ridge.
In the hand specimen the rock has the same appearance as No. 4, if
anything, it is somewhat more compact.
The principal minerals are, plagioclase, biotite and microcline, with
smaller quantities of quartz, iron oxide, pyroxene and garnet.
The feldspar is decomposed with the resulting formation of epidote,
which is quite prominent. There are also numerous included crystals.
The rock has been greatly crushed and sheared, and is much finer than
No. 4.
6--Cap of Caribou Ridge.
A hard compact rock of dark green color, having a mottled appearance,
due to the presence of a white mineral.
Pyroxene, quartz and augite form the groundmass, as seen in section.
There are a few small grains of magnetite.
The severe crushing to which the rock has been subjected has resulted
in the conversion of the plagioclase into scapolite and also in the
formation of zoisite by the characteristic alteration of the lime
bearing silicate of the feldspar in conjunction with other constituents
of the rock.
The light mineral is finely granulated and the whole is marked by
uneven extinction.
The rock has probably been derived by dynamic metamorphism, from a
coarse igneous rock like a gabbro.
7--Epidotic Sericitic Schist. Washkagama Lake.
A fine grained compact gray rock, of aggregate structure, consisting
chiefly of quartz, plagioclase and biotite, and the alteration products
epidote and sericite.
Under the microscope it is a confused mass of finely granulated
minerals, with numerous included crystals.
The rock has undergone complete metamorphism and its origin is unknown.
8--Phyllite-Near Otter Lake.
A soft extremely fine grained gray rock, with a well developed
schistose structure, carrying much magnetite, plagioclase, orthoclase
and their alteration products.
The strain to which the rock has been subjected has resulted in a very
fine lamination, and it is _considerably weathered_.
9--Calcarous Sericite Schist.--Seven Miles East of Seal Lake.
A dark compact rock, in which calcite and sericite predominate. Quartz
is less plentiful. The results of shearing and pressure are very
prominent and bring out the foliation, even in the calcite.
10--Schistose Limestone--Same location as No. 9.
A white rock having a peculiar mottled appearance due to the inclusions
of decomposing biotite which project from the surrounding mass of
calcite. There is some sericite present, also magnetite, resulting
from the decomposition of the biotite.
The bent and metamorphosed condition of the calcite shows the shearing
and crushing which the rock has undergone.
11--Phyllite--same location as No. 9.
A dark red, finely laminated rock consisting chiefly of decomposed
biotite and feldspar, occasional quartz grains and sericite and much
iron oxide.
The rock has been subjected to strong shearing force, producing a good
example of schistose structure.
12--Quartzite--Same location as No. 9.
A compact rock of light red color, made up of uniformly rounded grains
of quartz, and the feldspar with occasional grain of magnetite.
A fine siliceous material discolored by iron oxide, acts as a cement
between the grains.
The quartz grains show secondary growth. 13--Altered Gabbro--Thirty-two
Miles Above Wuchusk Nipi on Nascaupee River.
A coarse dark green rock whose principal constituents are pyroxene
plagioclase and magnetite.
There is a slightly developed diabasic structure and the rock is much
altered by weathering; the resultant product being chlorite.
14--Quartizite--Bibiquagin Lake.
Hard compact rock of light red color, cut in all directions by narrow
veins of quartz, from microscope size to one-half an inch in width.
The grains of the constituent minerals, quartz, feldspar and magnetite
have an angular brecciated appearance; showing uneven extinction and
strong crushing effects.
The magnetite is somewhat decomposed, the resulting hematite filling
the spaces between the quartz grains.
15--Anorthosite--Shore of Lake Michikamau.
A coarse grained rock of dark gray color, in which labradorite is the
chief mineral. Magnetite and Kaolin are present in small quantities.
The labradorite contains inclusions of rutile and biotite and has a
well-developed wedge structure and cross fracture due to the pressure
and shearing which it has undergone.
It is also somewhat stained by the decomposition of the magnetite.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
On the map of the portage route to Lake Michikamau; that lake, the
Grand River and Groswater Bay are taken from the map accompanying the
report of Mr. A. P. Low.
The location of the Susan and Beaver Rivers with their tributaries was
obtained from Dillon Wallace's map in "The Lure of the Labrador Wild."
The instruments used were a Brunton Pocket Transit, a small taffrail
log and an Aneroid Barometer. Distances on land were approximated by
means of a pedometer and by rough triangulation.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Long Labrador Trail, by Dillon Wallace