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 SECOND 
 
 ANNUAL REPORT 
 
 GEOLOGY OF 
 
 UBLIC LANDS, 
 
 BELONGING TO THE STATES OP 
 
 MAINE AND MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 
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SECOND 
 
 ANNUAL REPORT 
 
 ON THE 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS, 
 
 BELONGING TO THE TWO STATES OF 
 
 / \ 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS AND MAINE. 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
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 V4 
 
 
 B Y C. T. JACKSON, 
 
 GEOLOGICAL SURVEYOR. 
 
 Boston: 
 
 DUTTON AND WENTWORTH, STATE PRINTERS. 
 
 1833. 
 
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 T I 3S-^ 
 
 To the Senate and House of Representatives : 
 
 I transmit to the House of Representatives for the information of 
 the Legislature, the Second and final Report of the Geologist ap- 
 pointed to make a Geological Survey of the Public Lands in the 
 State of Maine. 
 
 EDWARD EVERETT. 
 
 Council Chamber, 
 
 4th April, 1838. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 * in 2016 
 
 https://archive.org/details/secondannualrepoOOjack 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 In order to forma comprehensive idea of the Geological Structure 
 of the Public Lands in Maine, it is necessary to consider some of the 
 results to which we have arrived, in examining other portions of the 
 state so far as to determine the relative positions and ages of the va- 
 rious great rock formations, which present themselves to view while 
 we apply the general principles of geological science to their eluci- 
 dation. 
 
 In making our explorations of the state, we have endeavored to re- 
 cord with strict accuracy, every observation which we were able to 
 make while on the spot where the phenomena presented themselves, 
 and specimens of all the rocks have been collected by us, and were 
 invariably labelled immediately after they were obtained, so that they 
 are faithful indications of the true geology of the country. 
 
 In addition to our more especial geological duties, we have en- 
 deavored to give a portion of our attention to the interesting topo- 
 graphical features of the state, and have measured the altitude of 
 many remarkable eminences and table lands, so that we might be en- 
 abled to present sectional views of the relief of the country. 
 
 At the same time, I have laid down with care, the various rock 
 formations, which I have represented in colors upon the best maps of 
 the state that could be procured. 
 
 An uncolored map of the late Moses Greenleaf, Esq., has served as 
 a basis for our general records, while the admirable manuscript plans of 
 the Penobscot and Allagash waters, drawn by Col. Joseph Treat, while 
 employed to make a survey of those regions, under the orders of the 
 late Governor Lincoln, of Maine, have been copied by my direc- 
 tions, and were used for laying down in detail, the various rocks 
 which present themselves in that great section of the public lands. 
 
VI 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A general map of the public lands, drawn under the direction of 
 the Massachusetts land agent, G. W. Coffin, Esq., and intended for 
 the purpose of laying out the various townships belonging to the two 
 states in common, was also found to be very useful as indicating the 
 positions of those portions of the public domain in which the two 
 states are still interested, while the map being drawn on a large scale, 
 gave us ample room for the insertion of our observations respecting 
 the geology of the country, which we were called upon to explore. 
 
 Since there were several rivers which had never been surveyed, 
 upon which our researches extended, and those rivers were not put 
 down correctly upon the state map, I was called upon to draw plans 
 of them sufficiently accurate for our purposes. By means of a 
 good pocket compass placed in the bow of the canoe, we could 
 easily run the courses of these rivers, and the distances of the 
 various points were ascertained, either by noting the intersections of 
 township lines, or by estimating by the eye the distances by diame- 
 ters of the rivers as we proceeded. More accurate surveys of those 
 waters ought to be made, but such surveys of the geography of the 
 country would have required too much of our time, and have pre- 
 vented our making such observations as were the especial objects of 
 our explorations. A large portion of the State we have already ex- 
 plored, and the heights of the most interesting places has been de- 
 termined, either by barometrical measurement or by triangulation. 
 After making the measurement of Mt. Ktaadn, the barometers were 
 so much injured by the rough usage, to which they were necessarily 
 exposed in such a laborious journey amid tangled thickets, that they 
 could no longer be relied upon, and consequently they were not car- 
 ried over to the Aroostook river. 
 
 All the elevations reported, were, however, made, when these in- 
 struments were in perfect order, and many of their results have been 
 most carefully proved by comparison of the heights taken in detail 
 and added together, and by direct calculation, as also by the opera- 
 tion of triangulations, by means of a small portable theodolite pocket 
 sextant, and Sir Howard Douglas’s reflecting semi-circle. It was 
 my intention to have caused a geological map of the public lands to 
 be drawn, illustrated by sectional views of its geological structure ; 
 but such plans could not possibly be drawn in season to accompany 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Vll 
 
 the present report. If they should be desired hereafter, I shall most 
 cheerfully comply with the orders of government. 
 
 Should future surveys be called for, in adjusting the vexed question 
 of the North Eastern Boundary line of the United States, it will be 
 necessary to carry a set of good mountain barometers along the line 
 which is claimed by us under the treaty of 1783 ; and I doubt not, 
 that the chain of highlands which separate the waters flowing into the 
 Atlantic ocean from those that flow into the St. Lawrence, will be 
 readily found in the district where the present claim is made by the 
 United States. 
 
 It will be seen, in the report of my excellent assistant, Mr. James 
 T. Hodge, that there is a chain of highlands in the district in ques- 
 tion, there being a number of mountains which divide the waters 
 flowing north from those which flow to the south. Should the boun- 
 dary line be submitted to the exploration of a board of engineers, I 
 apprehend they would find no difficulty in tracing it according to our 
 claim. 
 
 The claim set up by Great Britain to more than ten thousand 
 square miles of the territory of Maine, on the plea that the St. John 
 does not empty into the Atlantic ocean, but pours its waters into the 
 Bay of Fundy, and that the chain of highlands designated in the 
 treaty of 1783, is the range which divides the Penobscot and Ken- 
 nebec waters from the Allagash and Walloostook, is certainly too 
 absurd for serious refutation, and shows only an earnest and grasping 
 desire of that country to extend its territory into lands belonging justly 
 to this country. 
 
 It is greatly to be deplored, that few of our legislators or commis- 
 sioners have ever visited the disputed territory, and that they are not 
 prepared to act understandingly upon the subject, while they have 
 not even the advantage of consulting a correct map of that region, 
 since no accurate surveys have yet been made along the northern 
 boundary. 
 
 I will ask, however, if we are prepared to make a sacrifice of one 
 of the most valuable timber and agricultural districts in the state of 
 Maine, or if we shall willingly give to Great Britain the great military 
 power over our territory which she would be able to possess, should 
 we relinquish to her, in any degree, our boundary line. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 viii 
 
 The question is not, however, merely one of property in the back- 
 woods of Maine, although such a consideration is of no small impor- 
 tance, but it is one of great military and civil interest, in which not 
 only Massachusetts and Maine are concerned, as proprietors of the 
 soil, but all New England and the whole confederacy of the states 
 are interested ; for the British claim extends entirely from the St. 
 John, at Mars Hill, to the westernmost branch of the Connecticut 
 river, and would give to that government facilities which, in time of 
 war, would extend her power along the central parts of Maine, by 
 the sources of all her great rivers, to the Connecticut, which empties 
 its waters into Long Island Sound, thus surrounding all the New 
 England states, upon the frontiers of which a most harassing warfare 
 might be carried on ; while the strong arm of the Union would thus 
 be crippled, so that its strength could not be so powerfully exerted 
 in the defence of our common country. Although war is a great 
 evil, yet exigencies may arise by which we may be forced into such 
 a contest, and I would urge upon government the importance of main- 
 taining unaltered our ancient well-defined boundary, which ought to 
 be forthwith surveyed and marked by suitable monuments. 
 
 I shall not enter farther into the discussion of this important sub- 
 ject, nor agitate the question respecting the constitutional power of the 
 United States Government to cede any portion of the state of Maine, 
 now’ inhabited by citizens of that state, or to sever a portion from 
 the state of Vermont, by allowing the line claimed by the British 
 government ; but I will observe, that the country is now arrested, in 
 the increase of its settlements and in its commercial business, by the 
 unsettled state of this question. The moment the boundary line is 
 adjusted, agreeably to our claim, the tide of emigration will begin to 
 flow rapidly towards the banks of the Aroostook and to the Mada- 
 waska territory, and many active and enterprising individuals will be 
 deterred from distant western emigration, and will turn their labor 
 towards the Eastern forests, and soils, and minerals, while that im- 
 portant section of the country will become a great agricultural and 
 manufacturing district. 
 
 In describing the geology of Maine, I have denoted the localities 
 of many valuable rocks and minerals, while the relative positions and 
 ages of the great rock formations have been carefully ascertained. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IX 
 
 Along the western line of the state where it joins New Hamp- 
 shire, the principal masses of rocks belong to the primary class, and 
 are mostly granite gneiss and mica slate, which have been burst open 
 by intruding masses of molten rocks, injected from below, which 
 have been protruded from beneath the granite, and cut through that 
 rock in long dykes or great veins of rock that have been forced 
 up through long rents in the superincumbent mass. 
 
 The granite itself bears ample proofs of its igneous origin, and 
 it was forced up in a molten state, since the deposition and consoli- 
 dation of the stratified rocks that rest upon it, they being variously 
 broken and distorted by this violent upheaving. 
 
 The epoch of this granitic eruption we have ascertained to have 
 been since the deposition of the transition argillaceous slates. By 
 this disruption, the strata have been turned up so as to incline highly 
 to the horizon, while various remarkable changes have been effected 
 in their composition and structure. 
 
 The lower slate strata pass by regular gradations into micacious 
 slate, and that in turn graduates into gneiss, which rests immediately 
 upon the sides of the granite mountains, and all these rocks show by 
 their contortions and fractures and chemical changes which they have 
 undergone, that they have been subjected to violent mechanical and 
 igneous disturbance. 
 
 The limestone beds which abound in the gneiss and mica slate 
 rocks entirely across the counties of York, Oxford and Kennebec, 
 from the New Hampshire boundary line to the Kennebec River, are 
 of the granular crystalline variety, filled with minute crystals of green 
 coccolite or pyroxene, and it is the opinion of geologists, that such 
 beds of limestone were originally formed from marine shells, which 
 were deposited with the sedimentary matter that was subsequently 
 converted into gneiss by the igneous action of the subjacent granite. 
 The mountains in York and Oxford counties evidently belong to the 
 same group of erupted rocks as those of the White mountain range 
 in New Hampshire, and they extend from the boundary line of that 
 state entirely to the Kennebec River. 
 
 Between the Kennebec and Penobscot Rivers, along the great 
 road from Augusta to Bangor, the talcose and argillaceous slate rocks 
 present themselves to view, and these stratified rocks repose direcdy 
 
X 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 upon the granite which shews itself along the whole sea coast of 
 Lincoln county, and bursts through the strata upon the Penobscot 
 at Mt. Waldo and Mosquito Mountains in Frankfort. 
 
 Proceeding from Bangor to Lubec, and to the shores of the St. 
 Croix river, we passed over various granitic rocks, and along a great 
 belt of greenstone trap, which has been forced up through all the so- 
 lid rocks from below the granite, to the top of the new red sandstone 
 formation, exhibiting the most marked and wonderful effects of the 
 action of fire, and forming the largest mass of similar origin hitherto 
 described. 
 
 As we ascend the St. Croix, we discover its banks to be compo- 
 sed cheifly of new red sandstone, resting upon the transition argilla- 
 ceous limestone, filled with numerous marine shells, which shews it- 
 self at Perry, and along the shores of Cobscook bay ; and this sand- 
 stone is cut through by numerous and powerful dykes of greenstone 
 trap, which igneous rock has exerted so remarkable an action upon 
 the sandstone, that no one could doubt, for a moment, that the in- 
 jected rock was thrown in, in a liquid incandescent state. Follow- 
 ing the eastern boundary line through the forests, along the banks of 
 the St. Croix, to Houlton, and thence, traversing a line parallel to 
 the St. John river, along our boundary, w 7 e first pass over masses of 
 granite and sienite rocks which have burst through the slate strata, 
 along the St. Croix road, and come next to the transition limestone, 
 near Houlton ; and from that frontier post, northward, we find a con- 
 tinued succession of limestone and slate strata, cut by numerous trap 
 dykes, and beds, veins of iron ore, and manganese. 
 
 If we now return to the Penobscot waters, we shall discover along 
 the southern boundary of the public lands, in Williamburg, Brown- 
 ville, Barnard, and Foxcroft, inexhaustible supplies of valuable roof- 
 ing slate, and important beds of excellent bog iron ores. The slates 
 running nearly parallel with the Piscataquis river, on the northern side 
 of which they are of the best quality. 
 
 Ascending the Penobscot to Mount Ktaadn, we first pass by nu- 
 merous ledges of argillaceous slate, which extends from Frankfort, 
 below Bangor, entirely to the Grand Falls, upon the west branch of 
 the Penobscot, where we come to the granite rocks which belong to 
 the great Ktaadn range. The whole country around Mount Ktaadn 
 is composed of granite rocks, and that mountain forms the point of 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 XI 
 
 the great central elevation of the strata in that part of Maine, for the 
 stratified rocks to the north and south of it, recline upon its sides. 
 
 Continuing our route northward, along the line of lakes which are 
 connected by the Allagash waters with the St. John, and through 
 that route to Canada, we pass over the newer transition slates and 
 grau-wacke rocks, containing beds of limestone, valuable for agricul- 
 ture, and reach the shores of the St. Lawrence, at the mouths of the 
 Riviere du Loup. 
 
 By ascending the Seboois we gain another transverse section of 
 the strata to the eastward of Mount Ktaadn, and traverse numerous 
 conglomerate rocks, grau-wacke, and slate strata, filled with numer- 
 ous and valuable beds of madrepore limestones, and on reaching the 
 Aroostook, we follow that broad sweeping river through its mean- 
 derings, as it makes its great curvatures through the public lands 
 and projects itself over a fall of 15 feet into the St. John, a little 
 above the confluence of the Tobique stream. The Aroostook is 
 remarkable for its wide spreading intervales, and excellent limestone 
 soil, while its banks are covered with a luxuriant growth of various 
 valuable forest trees. 
 
 The rocks upon this river are chiefly limestone, slate, grau-wacke 
 and trap rocks, which exist in abundance. Valuable beds of iron 
 ore are also found included in the green and red calciferous slates 
 upon this river, and from the occurrence of fine grau-wacke impreg- 
 nated with carbon, it is highly probable that anthracite will be discov- 
 ered in that vicinity when clearings shall expose the out-cropping 
 edges of the strata now concealed from view. A belt of the rocks 
 belonging to the coal formation extends from Sugar-loaf mountain 
 upon the Seboois to the Aroostook, and to Mars Hill upon the St. 
 John, forming a tract of country 40 miles wide by 60 miles inJength, 
 and this same formation has been traced by the assistant geologist 
 quite to the shores of the St. Lawrence in Canada. 
 
 If we draw a line from the shores of the St. Croix to Quebec in 
 Canada, it will cut across all the great rock formations of Maine, and 
 considering the Mount Ktaadn group of granite mountains as the 
 centre of elevation, we shall find the stratified rocks to belong to 
 newer formations as we recede from it in N.W. & S.E. directions, 
 until we come to the fossiliferous lime-stones and sand-stones of the 
 St. Croix on the one hand, and the secondary limestones on the other. 
 
XU 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Having presented the above generalizations, I would remark that, the 
 nature of the soils in various parts of the state appears to depend 
 upon the nature of the rocks which occur to the northward of the 
 localities, where they are observed more than upon the nature of the 
 rocks immediately beneath ; for there are indubitable proofs that the 
 whole mass of loose materials have been swept from the surface of 
 their parent ledges towards the south, and the precise direction of the 
 diluvial current by which this was effected, has been found to have 
 been from the N. 15° W. to S. 15° E., while the exact extent of 
 this aqueous transportation has not yet been satisfactorily determined. 
 
 On the Aroostook it is probable, that] nearly all the soils which 
 form the intervals upon the banks of that river are of alluvial origin, 
 or were brought down and deposited by that river while its course 
 winding its way among various rocks, principally grau-wacke, lime- 
 stone slate, and trap, would enable the waters to take up and deposit 
 various rich alluvions. 
 
 The character of the country in most cases determines the oc- 
 cupations of the inhabitants, so it will appear from the geological 
 character of this river, that the settlers will engage first in the lum- 
 ber trade, which will be followed by the more sure and profitable 
 occupation of farming ; while iron founderies, with their various ma- 
 chine shops will lay the foundation for a thriving manufacturing busi- 
 ness, and will supply all the important implements in agriculture and 
 the arts. The limestones will be burned for lime which is required 
 for building and for agricultural use, and the Tobique gypsum will 
 always afford the means of bringing out the virtues of the limestone 
 soil, which is covered with a rich black vegetable mould, that will 
 be rendered more nutritive to plants by skilful treatment. With 
 such resources the public domain cannot fail to become a most valu- 
 able territory, and all that is now wanting to give an impetus to its 
 settlement is, first, to finish the great roads, so as give ready access 
 to the Aroostook and Madawaska, so that the settlers may have the 
 means of transporting their produce to market ; and secondly, to 
 adjust the boundary question, so as to remove the injunction now 
 placed against the cutting of timber, an injunction which evidently 
 favors the lumber dealers upon the St. John, while it prevents 
 American citizens from engaging in a profitable occupation, and ob- 
 structs the free settlement of the country. 
 
To His Excellency 
 
 Edward Everett, 
 
 Governor of Massachusetts : 
 
 Sir, — In accordance with the instructions received from your 
 Excellency, I have made a general reconnoissance of the Geology 
 of such portions of the Public Lands, belonging jointly to the states 
 of Massachusetts and Maine, as would prove advantageous to the 
 State, from their situation, and the facilities of communication with 
 them. It being evident that no immediate benefit would arise from 
 minute researches in the midst of trackless forests seldom if ever 
 visited by civilized men. I thought it would be advisable to devote 
 our attention chiefly to those districts that lie upon the borders of 
 the great rivers which intersect the public domain, for those regions 
 are the only districts which are at present accessible to the lumber- 
 man and settler, since the rivers are the only highways which there 
 exist, by which the various articles of supplies and trade can be trans- 
 ported. The important sections of this great territory now accessi- 
 ble, are intersected J>y the Penobscot, Seboois, Allagash, St. Fran- 
 cois, Madawaska, St. John, and Aroostook, while numerous great 
 lakes surrounded by dense groves of valuable timber, and useful 
 rocks, serve to give access to a large portion of the country. 
 
 There are commonly recognised two grand divisions in the public 
 property. The timber districts and the settling lands, and it fre- 
 quently happens that a tract of land is adapted to but one of these 
 purposes. This is especially the case upon the Penobscot, where 
 the lofty pine and hemlock trees frequently abound upon a soil, that 
 would not repay the agriculturalist for the labor of its cultivation. 
 
 Upon the Seboois and Aroostook, it is, however, otherwise, and 
 good timber is found upon rich settling lands. This is especially 
 the case with the latter river, which is ODe of the most remarkable 
 in the country, and its borders are certainly richer as an agricultural 
 district than any other portion of Maine. 
 
 1 
 
2 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 An attentive observer will remark that the soil upon the Penob- 
 scot is chiefly composed of an alluvion from argillaceous slate and 
 granite rocks, and that it is generally a cold and wet soil, producing 
 a great abundance of hemlock and pine trees, the hemlocks greatly 
 predominating along the margin of the livers and lakes, while the 
 heaviest pines grow on the more elevated land. 
 
 On the Aroostook, it will be remarked, that very few, if any, 
 hemlock trees exist, and the predominating growth is a mixture of 
 various hard wood forest trees, the sugar maple, ash, and yellow 
 birch abounding, while occur scattering some of the most lofty pine 
 trees ever beheld. 
 
 There are evident reasons why this should be the case ; for the 
 richest soils are always most crowded with a mixed growth, and the 
 Aroostook soils are mostly of limestone alluvion, and are exceeding- 
 ly rich and good settling lands, remarkable for their heavy crops of 
 wheat, rye, and other grains. 
 
 The geological structure of the Penobscot is very simple and 
 monotonous in its character, while that of the Seboois and Ar- 
 oostook are extremely interesting, and furnish an abundance of valua- 
 ble materials for the supply of the inhabitants and for foreign trade. 
 
 In order to accomplish as much as possible in our survey, it was 
 necessary to lay down a plan of operations, and, after due considera- 
 tion, the following method was adopted. 
 
 A sectional line was laid out along the Penobscot river, through 
 the public lands, to the Allagash stream, and upon that stream into 
 the St. John, from whence the route was continued through to the 
 St. Lawrence by the Madawaska, and returning, a survey was made 
 of the St. Francois. 
 
 A large map having been carefully compiled, which gave all the 
 important details of the country, on a scale of a mile to the inch, we 
 were enabled to record minutely the geology of the country traversed. 
 These maps were put into the hands of the assistant geologist, who 
 had become familiar with my method of making and recording obser- 
 vations, and written instructions were given him as to the subjects 
 which he was to investigate and record. Thus prepared, Mr. Hodge 
 was furnished with a boat and two men familiar with the region in 
 question, and set out for his long and fatiguing voyage to Canada. 
 
1838 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 3 
 
 The results of his observations are herewith presented, and, since all 
 the observations were exactly recorded according to my directions, 
 and the specimens collected have all been examined by me, I am 
 willing to guarantee their correctness. 
 
 While the assistant was engaged in the performance of this work, I 
 devoted three months to the examination of other districts of Maine, 
 and subsequently entered upon the public lands, where I spent two 
 months in the various explorations of its topography and geology. 
 Thus the lime spent by the assistant upon those districts was four 
 months, and two more were devoted to them by me, so that a full 
 proportion of our labors have been devoted to the examination of the 
 public lands. 
 
 After the assistant had completed the Penobscot and Allagash sec- 
 tion, he accompanied me in reviewing a portion of the work, and 
 then I laid out and completed the great line of observations upon the 
 east branch of the Penobscot, the Seboois and Aroostook rivers, 
 which sweep through the lands belonging jointly to the two states, 
 and give admirable sections of the geological structure of the country. 
 
 Thus we have been able, by our joint efforts, to complete the 
 exploration of all the great rivers 'upon those portions of the public 
 lands which are at present available to the lumberman and settler, 
 while the sources of the Walloostook still remain unexplored, and 
 may be examined hereafter, when the country in that portion of the 
 wilderness becomes of commercial value. Thus far, nothing is 
 known of that district, and it is not divided into townships, since no 
 surveys have ever been made there. From the accounts which I 
 have obtained from the Indians, I should not suppose that it would 
 prove very interesting to the geologist. 
 
 During the warm months of the past summer the dense swarms of 
 black flies and mosquitoes almost disabled us in our labors, but af- 
 terwards, when the weather became cooler, we were enabled to work 
 to greater advantage, and at that season a vast amount of geological 
 information was obtained. , 
 
 Since no surveys have ever been made of the St. Francois, 
 Aroostook, and Seboois rivers, we found it necessary for the pur- 
 pose of keeping our records of-the geol gical structure of the coun- 
 try, to make plans of them on a large scale, and I have thus been 
 
4 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 enabled to make a faithful record of all our researches upon those 
 rivers. Our plan of the Aroostook is drawn on so large a scale that 
 it would form a map twenty-five feet in length, and thus presents am- 
 ple details : every rock, ledge, island, or other remarkable object 
 is thus put down very accurately, while the nature of the soil, the 
 height of the river’s banks, and the nature of the forest trees, are all 
 distinctly noted, and the houses of the settlers, are all put down as 
 they present themselves on our way. 
 
 Since it was thought probable at that time, that difficulties might 
 perhaps occasion a rupture between the British provinces and Maine, 
 I was more especially anxious to record the marked topographical 
 features of a country, which would necessarily become the theatre of 
 action in case of war. 
 
 There are now said to be, per census, about 450 inhabitants settled 
 upon the banks of the Aroostook, and they are chiefly citizens who 
 have emigrated from other portions of Maine, and are strongly at- 
 tached to our institutions and laws. They have never submitted to 
 foreign jurisdiction, but met the first attempt of the kind by open 
 and successful resistance. They claim, and will receive the protec- 
 tion and aid of Maine. 
 
 Madawaska is populated by the descendants of the ancient Acadi- 
 ans, who were driven from their homes in Nova Scotia, in 1775. 
 They are generally unacquainted with the English language, but 
 speak a peculiar dialect or patois of the French tongue. 
 
 They know but little of the geography or politics of the country, 
 and desire to live unmolested by the dissentions of the two countries 
 who claim jurisdiction over them. Their habits are simple and fru- 
 gal, while they live chiefly by hunting, fishing, and trapping of beaver 
 and otter. Since a detailed account of this district was laid before 
 your Excellency in my last annual report it will not be necessary to 
 repeat those observations here. 
 
 It is sufficient to remark, that it is a matter of great importance to 
 us, that the Madawaska people should become attached to the insti- 
 tutions of our country, instead of being brought up to consider them- 
 selves subjects to the crown of Great Britain. 
 
 Madawaska is a valuable agricultural district, capable of produc- 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 5 
 
 ing an abundance of grain, for the soils are chiefly from the lime- 
 stone rocks, and are rich and productive. 
 
 Limestones abound in the whole tract of country from the Seboois 
 and Aroostook to the River St. Lawrence in Canada, and that whole 
 district is capable of being an important agricultural country. 
 
 The researches of the present season have brought to light many 
 important resources in the public domain, which were before un- 
 known. Beds of iron ore of immense magnitude, favorably situated 
 for advantageous operations occur on the Aroostook, and ’all the 
 marked characteristics of the regular coal formation exhibit them- 
 selves over a great belt of country from the Seboois to the Aroos- 
 took and St.John, and extend to the Temiscuata lake, near the fron- 
 tiers of Canada. 
 
 The observations which we have here recorded, cannot fail to 
 augment the value of the public lands, for every new resource in the 
 country when discovered, tends to enhance the value of that district. 
 
 The new road now in progress from the great military road to the 
 Aroostook, and from thence to Madawaska will, when completed, af- 
 ford ready access to those valuable regions, and settlers will soon 
 crowd into that part of the country, which will become so densely 
 populated, as to defy the power of foreign aggression. 
 
 It should be the policy of the two states of Massachusetts and 
 Maine, to afford every facility to the actual settler upon that dis- 
 trict, for there is no more effectual method of settling the boundary 
 question, than by actually taking possession of the country within 
 the limits of our ancient and well known boundary line. 
 
 In drawing up our Reports upon the public lands, I have thought 
 it would be expedient to present as much topographical information 
 respecting the country, as could conveniently be interwoven in such 
 a report ; and since if we had confined ourselves to a mere geolog- 
 ical description of the country, it would have been difficult to pre- 
 sent these details, I have found it more practicable to present our 
 observations in the form of -a journal, which gives the various par- 
 ticulars of interest to those who may be desirous of visiting those 
 regions. Thus we shall be able to give a more just picture of 
 back-woods life, and prepare the reader for the journeys which he 
 
c 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 may be called upon to make, should his business ever call him upon 
 the public lands. 
 
 I would also remark, that the cold weather commenced the past 
 autumn much earlier than usual, so that the reader must not be 
 alarmed by the fact that we were obliged to break our way through 
 ice, and travel amid snow storms in the month of October. 
 
 After making our surveys of the other portions of the state as- 
 signed me, our steps were bent towards the public lands, and we 
 were then ready for our excursions up the Penobscot and Aroos- 
 took waters. 
 
 On the ninth of September, Mr. Larrabee and myself returned to 
 Bangor, where we found Mr. Hodge, the assistant for Massachusetts, 
 awaiting our arrival, after having made his excursions through the 
 public lands to Canada. 
 
 We there made preparation for a journey to Mount Ktaadn by 
 the route of the west branch of the Penobscot river, through Milli- 
 nocket and Pamidumcook lakes to the base of the mountain. 
 
 The objects of this survey were to make a sectional view of the 
 banks of the Penobscot, and to measure the altitude of Mount 
 Ktaadn, which, as its aboriginal name signifies, is the highest moun- 
 tain in the state. 
 
 Having, on a previous occasion, ordered a light batteau to be built 
 for our use, we were enabled to make every preparation required for 
 the excursion, in a short space of time, and set out on the thirteenth 
 of September. 
 
 On reaching Oldtown, we found that the batteau would not carry 
 our whole party with the necessary supplies of provisions, and, on 
 that account, I purchased a birch canoe, and hired an excellent In- 
 dian, (Peol Michael,) to take one of the assistants and a part of our 
 baggage. 
 
 The provisions required for an excursion of ten days, consisting 
 of hard bread and pork, was put into the boats, and we set out on 
 our route up the Penobscot. 
 
 Samuel Bolton and Thomas Fobes of Oldtown, were employed 
 to navigate the boat, which arduous duty they performed in an able 
 and satisfactory manner. 
 
 Those who have never been on such a journey, would be surprised 
 
1S3S. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 7 
 
 at the dexterity of the Penobscot boatmen, as they drive their frail 
 batteaux through the rapids and among dangerous rocks. The 
 slightest failure on their part on passing the numerous water-falls, 
 would place the lives of those on board in imminent peril, and the 
 traveller has good reason to be thankful, if. the boat by their care is 
 saved from being overturned, or sunk in the river. 
 
 When the waters rush swiftly down a rapid slope of smooth and 
 rounded rocks, forming what are called gravel beds, the most strenu- 
 ous exertions of the boatmen are required to stem the current, and, 
 not unfrequently, their setting poles are caught between the rocks, so 
 as to be jerked from their grasp. 
 
 Batteaux are navigated up stream by means of slender poles of 
 spruce, about twelve or fifteen feet in length, armed with an iron 
 point, confined by a ferule, or iron band, around its extremity. 
 
 One boatman stands in the bow, and braces his foot against the 
 stem, as he labors. The other stands in the stern, and they both 
 pole on the same side, as they proceed up the margin of the stream. 
 Descending the river, they make use of paddles. 
 
 Great experience is required for the safe navigation of the Penob- 
 scot, and even with such practical knowledge, many persons loose 
 their lives in these waters. 
 
 Canoes of birch bark, when navigated by Indians, are compara- 
 tively safe and easy means of conveyance, but the passenger must 
 also understand how to balance himself in the canoe, and must keep 
 himself perfectly cool, amid dangers, trusting to the skill of his abo- 
 riginal navigator, for safe deliverance. 
 
 Canoes, will not, however, bear a heavy burthen, and the utmost 
 care is requisite to prevent their being split asunder on the rocks. 
 They are also liable to be worn out in a long cruise. On this ac- 
 count, it is always desirable to have both a batteaux, and a canoe, so 
 that if one is destroyed, the other may be put in requisition. 
 
 Since we were required to collect heavy loads of specimens, a 
 boat was absolutely necessary, and was found very serviceable. 
 
 A batteau, for such an excursion, should not weigh more than two 
 hundred and eighty pounds, and ought to be pitched and painted, so 
 as to prevent the absorption of water ; for it would be impossible to 
 
s 
 
 GEOLOGY OB" THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 transport a heavy boat over the numerous and difficult carrying places 
 that we are obliged to pass. 
 
 The river was low, and although this circumstance rendered navi- 
 gation difficult, still it was favorable for our purpose, since we desir- 
 ed an opportunity of inspecting the strata, laid bare by the river. 
 
 On asking the Indians if we should meet with many rocks, they 
 replied, “ Ah ! too many !” and with this assurance we set forth 
 duly equipped with hammers, crowbars, chisels, camping apparatus, 
 and all the surveying instruments required in our work. 
 
 13th Sept. Following our course up the river we stopped at 
 Sunkhaze for the night, having remarked on our route that the rocks 
 along each side of the stream were uniformly argillaceous slate, of a 
 compact kind, charged with sileceous matter, and intersected by 
 numerous veins of quartz. The strata run parallel with the river’s 
 course and dip to the S. E. 80°. 
 
 Few objects of interest present themselves in the geology of this 
 day’s route. The rivers’ banks are low and are formed of round 
 pebbles of sileceous slate and granite boulders. Barometer stands at 
 this place 9 P. M. at 29.870 T = 52°. 
 
 On reaching the mouth of the Piscataquis, a river so named from 
 the Indian word for (a branch,) we stopped for the night at the house 
 of Mr. William C. Hammat, a gentleman who has cleared for himself 
 a tract of land at this place, and has prepared a very good farm, having 
 a handsome dwelling and farm-houses. Having been entertained hos- 
 pitably by this gentleman, we left on the following morning for our 
 cruise to Ktaadn, accompanied by Messrs. Hammat and Simmons, 
 who volunteered to join our party. 
 
 At Lincoln the land has been cleared of forest trees, and the soil 
 is good. Above this town the growth is mostly small hard wood, 
 such as white maple, beech, and birch trees. The only rocks in 
 place along the river are argillaceous slate. There are also deep 
 diluvial deposits, forming rounded hills at Matamiscontis, on the 
 western side of the river. 
 
 At night, on the 13th of September, encamped at the Na-ma-ka- 
 nock island, amid a dense grove of maple, birch, and hemlock trees, 
 some of the trunks of which served us for fuel, while the hemlock 
 boughs formed a very comfortable bed. Here we prepared our 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 9 
 
 meal, consisting of fried fat pork and biscuit, which are the usual arti- 
 cles of food required while travelling in the forests, and they are rel- 
 ished by the traveller as the greatest delicacies, for labor gives a 
 keenness to the appetite, making even coarse fare agreeable. 
 
 The Penobscot boatmen are well skilled in the art of camping in 
 a comfortable manner, and soon prepare their fire for the night, make 
 a bed of boughs, and pitch the tent in such a manner as to afford a 
 complete shelter. Having partaken of our meal we reposed upon 
 the boughs spread upon the earth, our feet being turned toward the 
 fire. 
 
 This being our first encampment for the season, the novelty of the 
 scene prevented sleep ; the night was very pleasant, and the broad 
 moon slowly descending in the west added her effulgence to beautify 
 the scene, her image being reflected by the rippling waters, while 
 various contrasts of light and shade from the dense foliage, and the 
 pale moonbeam and glaring red camp fire gave an effect full of beau- 
 ty, and worthy the attention of an artist. 
 
 Amid scenes of calm delight we are however subject to contrasts 
 of a less agreeable kind, and here our Indian while cutting wood suf- 
 fered a severe accident ; his hatchet accidentally slipping, was driven 
 deeply into his leg between the two bones so as to expose the an- 
 terior tibial artery. I was then called upon in my surgical capacity, 
 and having my instruments with me, dressed his wound in the 
 usual manner, and early the next morning we took him to Matanaw- 
 cook island, where he made arrangements with another Indian, Louis 
 Neptune, to supply his place while he was recovering from his wound. 
 This arrangement having been made we continued our journey. 
 
 Two miles below Natham’s island the slate ledges again appear, 
 but are quite uninteresting. The strata dip to the S. E. 
 
 Snow’s island, seven miles below Maitawamkeag point, is covered 
 with a heavy growth of rock maple and hemlock trees, and has a very 
 picturesque appearance. 
 
 Two miles below Five Islands Falls, there is found a bed of roof 
 slate, but not of good quality. 
 
 16th Sept. Arrived at Mattawamkeag point, where we left a 
 part of our load, and then continued our course. 
 
 2 
 
10 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 17th Sept. Leaving the Point we ran up to Nickatow, or as its 
 Indian name signifies (the Forks,) of the east and west branch of the 
 Penobscot. Here we obtained a view of Mount Ktaadn, and took 
 some observations. Its highest peak bears N. 28° 30' W., and its 
 angle of elevation is 1° 20'. These measurements being taken near 
 the deserted house at the Point where we passed the night. 
 
 After breakfast the next morning we ascended the west branch of 
 the river, and came to rapids about one mile above Nickatow. Two 
 miles below the Little Schoodic river, slate suitable for roofs is 
 found, but it is not so good as that found at Brownville. The water 
 now becomes extremely rapid, rushing through heaps of large round- 
 ed masses of granite. Boulders of greenstone trap abound along the 
 rivers’ course. 
 
 Five miles above the Little Schoodic we came to Shad pond, 
 which is but an expansion of the river. 
 
 We then reached Millinocket stream, which is sluggish for the 
 principal part of its course, but becomes very rapid and rocky near 
 the lake. 
 
 Having ascended this stream about three miles we encamped for 
 the night amid a beautiful grove of ash, maple and birch trees. This 
 township is one of the most valuable timber districts upon the river, 
 and large numbers of pine trees are obtained during the winter sea- 
 son. 
 
 When we had passed through several difficult and rocky rapids, 
 we entered Millinocket Lake, a most beautiful sheet of water, con- 
 taining a great number of small islands, from which circumstance it 
 takes its name. 
 
 The islands are composed of the detritus of granite rocks, and 
 the shores of the lake are composed entirely of similar materials. 
 
 Mount Ktaadn is seen rearing itself majestically on the N. N. W., 
 and appears as if on the margin of the lake, although it is more than 
 fifteen miles distant. 
 
 I made several sketches of the mountain from different points of 
 view, and took the exact bearings and angles of elevation of the sev- 
 eral peaks. 
 
 The eastern extreme of its summit bears N. 20° W. The wes- 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 11 
 
 tern extreme N. 30° W. — central peak N. 20° W. Angle of 
 elevation from the lake, 3° 25' 
 
 Several nearly perpendicular bands of the rock left bare by eboul- 
 ments or slides are conspicuously seen, and their steepness threat- 
 ens us with great difficulties in making our ascent to the summit of 
 the mountain. Forest trees appear to be extremely diminutive and 
 disappear below the top of the slides. While I was engaged in 
 noting the bearings of this mountain, the clouds suddenly darted 
 down upon its summit and concealed it from view ; while we could 
 observe that a violent snow squall was paying homage to Po- 
 mola, the demon of the mountain. Presently, the storm ceased, and 
 the clouds having thus paid their tribute, passed on and left the moun- 
 tain white with snow. This took place on the twentieth of Sep- 
 tember. 
 
 A remarkable saddle shaped mountain, composed of two peaks, 
 and called the Travellers, presents itself. The western peak bear- 
 ing N. 8° W., and the eastern N. 6° W. This mountain is seen 
 from many different points of view, and hence its name. It is not 
 designated upon the state maps. 
 
 Crossing the lake, we reached the carrying place at the head of a 
 long creek, where we pitched our camp amid a few poplar trees, 
 which are of second growth, or have sprung up since the forests 
 were burnt. The want of good fuel and of boughs for a bed was 
 severely felt, since we were obliged to repose on naked rocks, and 
 the green poplar trees appeared to give more smoke than fire. The 
 night w 7 as cold, and the wind violent, so that sleep was out of the 
 question. 
 
 Early in the morning, we prepared to carry our boats over to Am- 
 bejijis Lake, and the labor was found very difficult, since the water 
 was low, and we had to traverse a long tract of boggy land, before 
 reaching the other lake. This bog is underlaid by marl, derived 
 from myriads of fresh water shells, such as the ciclas, planorbis, 
 unio, and anadonta, and where the ice had torn up the peat, the marl 
 was exposed to view. Tracks of Moose and Carriboo abound in this 
 mud, since they frequent the shallow parts of the lake, to feed upon 
 the lily pads, or the leaves of the Nuphar lutea, w r hich here abound, 
 A noble looking carriboo suddenly started from the woods, and trot- 
 
12 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 ted quietly along the shores of the lake, quite near to us, but we 
 were not prepared to take him, and he presently darted into the for- 
 est and disappeared. 
 
 Snow fell abundantly upon Ktaadn last night, and clouds are now 
 seen driving swiftly over its summit. 
 
 On reaching Ambejijis Lake, which was effected before night, we 
 stopped a while to rest, at a bar of granite-gravel, which separates it 
 from Pamiduncook or Bar Lake, and from his spot I took a view of 
 Joe Merry Mountain, which appears rising to a considerable eleva- 
 tion on the south-west. This mountain is not indicated upon the 
 state map, nor upon that of the public lands. It is composed of 
 granite, and is a commanding point of view for examining the sur- 
 rounding country, so that it is frequented by explorers for timber. 
 The following wood cut will give a good idea of its appearance from 
 Ambejijis Lake. 
 
 View of Joe Merry Mountain from Ambejijis Lake. 
 
 The following bearings were taken. Western extreme of sum- 
 mit, S. 65° W. Eastern extreme, S. 62° W. Angle of eleva- 
 tion of summit above lake, 2 °. 
 
 Two rocky peaks appear to the south of this mountain, which 
 bear S. 55° W., and S. 49° W. Crossing over the bar, we took 
 another view of Mount Ktaadn, the central peak of which bears 
 
183S. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 13 
 
 north, 30° W., and appears to be the highest point. Angle of el- 
 evation, 3° 25'. 
 
 Outop Mountain is seen to the N. 22°. W., and appears in form 
 exactly like a volcanic cone, but it is probably composed of granite, 
 since blocks of that stone may be discovered on its sides by the 
 means of the telescope. Its angle of elevation from the lake is 
 1° 15'. 
 
 Proceeding up the lake, we reached the river, where there are 
 very troublesome rapids and falls, over which we passed, and camp- 
 ed upon the western bank, at Katepskonegan Lake. This name 
 signifyingcarrying place, since it is necessary to carry the canoe bye. 
 
 The forest trees on its shores are chiefly hard wood, such as rock 
 maple, yellow birch, ash, &c. Pines, hemlocks and fir trees also 
 abound, but the pine timber trees are not on the immediate shores 
 of the lake. 
 
 Our provisions having been reduced, owing to the circumstance 
 that our journey proved much longer than we had anticipated, I thought 
 it necessary to put the whole party on a regular allowance, which was 
 mutually agreed to. Our Indian, Neptune, succeeded in catching 
 half a dozen musquash, which we were glad to share with him, and 
 a few trout which were also taken, and served to save a portion of 
 our more substantial food. Finding that our provisions would not 
 last many days, and that there was no probability of obtaining any 
 until we returned to Nicatow, we hastened our journey. 
 
 At the head of Katepskonegan lake we have another magnificent 
 view of Ktaadn, the highest peak of which bears N. 22° E., and the 
 angle of elevation is 5° 20'. Outop bears N. 18° W., angle of 
 elevation 2°. 
 
 Leaving our boats we walked to Pock-wock-amus falls, where the 
 river rushes over a ledge of granite, numerous huge blocks of which 
 obstruct the course of the water. 
 
 Large trout are caught abundantly at this place, and we stopped 
 a short time to obtain a supply. They are readily taken with a 
 common fishing hook and fine, baited with a piece of pork, or even 
 with a slip of white paper, which is to be trailed over the surface of 
 the water. Some of the trout thus taken would weigh from three 
 and a half to four pounds. 
 
14 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 When our boats came up we took our places and went up to a 
 little island just above the outlet of muddy lake, where we camped 
 for the night. From this point the following view was taken and 
 will serve to give a correct idea of the aspect of the mountain. 
 
 View of Mt. Ktaadn, bearing- N 37° E. from west branch of Penobscot. 
 
 The highest peak bears N. 27° E. ; western slide N. 13° E. ; 
 second slide from west N. 17° E. ; eastern extremity N. 37° E. ; 
 western extremity N. 8° E. angle of elevation of highest peak 
 7° 15' ; head of second slide 6° 50' ; lower western peak 5° 10'. 
 
 Outop Mountain, bears N. 17° W. 
 
 Barometer stands at 29.470 T = 66° F. 
 
 On the 22d of September we prepared ourselves for ascending 
 the mountain, taking with us our tent, a few cooking utensils, and 
 all the food remaining excepting a small quantity of Indian corn 
 meal, which we concealed on the island for use on our return. 
 
 Our party all clothed in red flannel shirts, and loaded with our 
 various equipments made a singular appearance as we landed on the 
 opposite shore and filed into the woods. Our party consisted now” 
 of ten persons, and each one of us took upon his shoulders as much 
 as he was able to carry, the surveying instruments, knapsack and 
 hammer falling to my lot. 
 
 Our course was directed towards the second western side, by 
 which we intended to make an ascension of the mountain. Plunging 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE — No. 70. 
 
 15 
 
 into a dense foliage of undergrowth that has sprung up since the forests 
 were burned, we travelled some distance and then turned to the left, 
 in order to take advantage of a high ridge of land less covered with 
 trees. At 10J A. M., the barometer stood upon the ridge a 
 29.340 inches T = 59°. 
 
 Blue-berries of large size abound and press the smaller bushes to 
 the earth. Bunch-berries or the fruit of the Cornus canadensis 
 abound. Wild red cherries also occur in loaded panicles and the 
 trees have been broken by the bears that have frequented them 
 for the fruit. 
 
 Beautiful specimens of the Trillium pictum Convallarius, of sev- 
 eral species ; Crategus, &c. ; grow abundantly on the burnt lands. 
 
 At noon we reached the Aboljacknagesic (or open land,) stream, 
 where we stopped to partake of a scanty meal. At 1 , P. M, bar- 
 ometer h. 28.820 T. = 60°. 
 
 The waters of the Aboljacknagesic stream rush over huge piles of 
 granite rocks, some of them being nearly 20 feet square and standing 
 in such positions as to shew that they came to the sides of Ktaadn. 
 The temperature of the water was found to be 40° F., while that 
 of the air was 60°. 
 
 Water boils at this place at 210° F. Continuing our journey we 
 travelled through a thick grove of young cedars and a swamp filled 
 with the Rhus toxicodendron or poison dogwood ; crossed the 
 stream again where it falls over granite rocks, boulders of trap and 
 masses of grau-wacke containing marine shells. At 4 P. M. we 
 reached the foot of the slide. Barometer = 28.200 T. = 59° F. 
 
 Ascending the slide, we measured a base line on it, 2000 feet in 
 length, at an angle of 10° 40' above the horizon. 
 
 From the lower station the angle of elevation of the central peak 
 is 22° 15'. From the upper station the angle of elevation was 25°. 
 Eastern peak from lower station 15° 55' — upper station 17°. 
 These observations calculated will give the height of the mountain 
 from the base of the slide. 
 
 Having reached a height where the forest trees were so diminu- 
 tive, that we could not camp any higher up, for want of fuel we 
 pitched our tent. This place is about half way up the mountain; 
 from it we have an extensive view of the surrounding country. 
 Moose Head Lake appears very near and many mountains, rivers, 
 
16 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 and lakes may be descried around. 5j P. M., barometer 27.770 
 T. = 52. Water boils at 206° F. 
 
 Passed a fine night, but without any other food than a small piece 
 of clear pork, our bread having been exhausted the day previous. 
 Towards morning, the sky began to threaten rain, and we hastened 
 to ascend the mountain before it should take place ; — 23d, 6 A. M. 
 Barometer = 27.420, T. = 44°. 
 
 Leaving our camp on the mountain side, at 7 A. M., we set out 
 for the summit of Ktaadn, carrying with us our hammers, knapsacks, 
 and instruments for measuring its altitude. Travelling steadily up 
 the slide, clambering over loose boulders of granite trap and grau- 
 wacke, which are heaped up in confusion along its course, and are 
 capable of being set in motion by a careless step, we at length reached 
 a place where it was dangerous longer to walk on the loose rocks, and 
 crossing over to the right hand side, clambered up among the dwarf- 
 ish bushes that cling to the side of the mountain. At the top of the 
 slide, the barometer stood at 25.580, T. = 36°. Here all traces of 
 arborescence disappear, and only a few low spicy blueberries and 
 mountain cranberries are found, clinging to the rocks. The ascent 
 now became exceedingly laborious, owing to large overhanging rocks, 
 which were covered with moss, and, being wet, were very slippery, 
 so that it was difficult to mount over them. Snow and sleet drove 
 fiercely against us, and our clothing being wet, began to freeze. 
 
 Two of our party became discouraged, on attaining this point, and 
 there being no necessity of their accompanying us, they were allowed 
 to return to the camp. Along the whole course of the slide, we 
 found an abundance of rounded diluvial boulders of grau-wacke, and 
 compact limestone, filled with impressions of marine shells, showing 
 that the diluvial current once passed over the summit of this lofty 
 mountain. 
 
 The remainder of our ascent was extremely difficult, and required 
 no small perseverance. Our Indian guide, Louis, placed stones 
 along the path, in order that we might more readily find the way 
 down the mountain, and the wisdom of this precaution was fully 
 manifest in the sequel. 
 
 At 10 A. M., we reached the table land, which forms the mountains’ 
 top, and ascends gradually to the central peak. Here the wind driv- 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 17 
 
 ing snow and hail, rendered it almost impossible to proceed, but we 
 at length reached the central peak. At 11 A. M., I placed my ba- 
 rometer beside the shelter of a high rock, and observed the altitude 
 of the mercurial column to be 24.820 T. = 30° F. 
 
 On comparing the height of the mercurial column in our barome- 
 ters, at the various stations where they were placed, and making due 
 corrections for difference of temperature in the instruments, and in 
 the atmospheric layers, and for the curvature of the earth, in the lat- 
 itude given, we are enabled to calculate from those data, the exact 
 height of Mount Ktaadn. 
 
 By calculating separately, the height of all the separate stations, and 
 then adding them together, it is found that the difference, or sum of 
 error, between the heights obtained by that operation, and by the di- 
 rect calculation from the summit of the mountain to the sea level, is 
 but 8 feet, so that the results which we have obtained, are undoubt- 
 edly correct. Thus we have ascertained that the true altitude of 
 Mount Ktaadn above the level of the sea, is 5,300 feet, or a little 
 more than one mile perpendicular elevation. It is then evidently, 
 the highest point in the State of Maine, and is the most abrupt gran- 
 ite mountain in New England. 
 
 When this operation was completed, finding that it was impossible 
 to make many geological researches, amid such a furious north-east 
 snow storm, we set out on our return from this region of clouds and 
 snow. Louis declared that Pomola was angry with us for presuming 
 to measure the height of the mountain, and revenged himself upon 
 us by this storm. 
 
 Mount Ktaadn, is composed entirely of granite rocks, of a good 
 texture, containing black mica and white felspar, with a little quartz. 
 A few dry dwarfish plants, such as the Saxifraga a Carex, and Iceland 
 moss, grow upon the rocks. 
 
 Descending, we had nearly gone astray, and might have descended 
 the wrong slide, had it not been for the precautions of Louis, who 
 had marked our path back to the slide by which we had ascended. 
 Clouds and darkness h'ung upon the mountain’s brow, and the 
 cold blast almost deprived us of breath. Encrusted with snow, 
 we effected our descent, sliding carefully upon the surface of the 
 rocks. Our boatmen, on reaching the head of the slide, tumbled 
 3 
 
18 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 down some large blocks of granite, that descended with a terrible 
 fracas, dashing the rocks into fragments, as they bounded along. 
 A ravine lies upon the eastern side of the slide, and is of immense 
 depth, and overhung by projecting rocks. 
 
 On returning to our camp, we collected various specimens of cu- 
 rious rocks in the slide, some of which, we brought home, while a large 
 heap of those we were unable to carry, were left at our camp. 
 
 Finding that our provisions were entirely exhausted, Mr. Larrabee 
 and two of our men, were determined to return to the river that night, 
 while the remainder of our party encamped upon the mountain side, 
 and passed a sleepless night, without food, and amid a driving snow 
 storm. Owing to the small size of the trees, it was exceedingly dif- 
 ficult to keep our fire burning, and the night was very cold and un- 
 comfortable. 
 
 Early the next morning, we struck our tent, and descended the 
 mountain, but so enfeebled had we become by hunger, privations, 
 and fatigue, that it was with difficulty we could carry our several 
 burthens. Every now and then, our knees would give way beneath 
 us, and cause us to fall upon the ground. 
 
 When we had reached the base of the mountain, we discovered 
 some wild choke cherries, hanging in bunches from the trees, which 
 the bears had often climbed and broken for the fruit. Felling one of 
 these cherry trees, we ate the astringent fruit and were, in some 
 measure resuscitated in strength, so as to march with renewed 
 vigor. A bed of blueberries also presented itself, and we stopped 
 to dine upon them. 
 
 Following the course of the Aboljocknagesic stream, we came to 
 a cascade, where the river falls over a large sheet of granite. At 
 the mouth of this river, we met Larrabee and Simonds, who 
 had cooked all the Indian meal that was left at our old camp on the 
 island, and brought the cakes for our relief. After partaking of this 
 scanty, but very welcome meal, we took the boats, and ran down to 
 the island, intending to move homeward as rapidly as possible, not 
 having any more food, and being several days’ journey from any house, 
 or camp. 
 
 Fortunately, we descried a canoe, in which two young men were 
 ascending the river on an exploring party, and we quickly gave chase 
 
183S. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 19 
 
 and induced them to sell us 20 biscuits, which, being two to a man, 
 on short allowance, we hoped to be able to reach Nickatow. 
 
 September 25th, Monday, 7 A. M., at the island, 
 
 Barometer = 29.400, T = 42°. 
 
 Descending the river, we passed through Katepskonegan lake, 
 and camped at the foot of Pamiduncook. 
 
 On the 26th, we met with Col. Webster, of Orono, who was 
 going to Nah-me-can-te stream, to clear out certain rocks that inter- 
 rupted lumbering operations. He kindly supplied us with some 
 biscuits, and we continued our route. 
 
 Passed through Katachicw^ac lake, where there are three rapids, 
 then came to Quakis, where we obtained a supply of trout, which 
 answered for food, until we reached Nickatow, where there is a 
 house, at which we stopped, and obtained supplies. All the rocks 
 at Quakis lake, are granite, and the water falls over huge boulders 
 of that rock. The forest trees are a mixed growth of hard and soft 
 wood, maple, birch, beech, hemlock, &c. This lake is a beautiful 
 sheet of water, now surrounded by autumnal foliage. 
 
 On the 27th, we arrived at Mattawamkeag point, and there I left 
 the boats, in order to go down to Bangor, for supplies for an excur- 
 sion up to the Aroostook river. 
 
 On the 4th of October, we left Mattawamkeag point, having with 
 us a batteau and a canoe, provided with a competent supply of bread, 
 rice, and pork, for a month’s cruise. 
 
 Our route lay up the east branch of the Penobscot, to the Seboois 
 river, from whence one of our boats was sent to examine the grand 
 falls on the east branch, and the Seboois was then followed to its 
 sources. 
 
 The weather had become so cold, that we were no longer troubled 
 by venomous insects, and only suffered from cold feet and hands, 
 when confined to the boats. 
 
 On entering the east branch we proceeded one mile, and then en- 
 camped amid a beautiful grove of maple trees. The country thus 
 far is composed of argillaceous slate rocks, and diluvial embank- 
 ments, called Horsebacks. The river’s banks are low, and the wa- 
 ter is not rapid. Several small and picturesque islands, covered with 
 lofty maple trees, lie in the midst of the stream. 
 
20 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 Ledge-falls,, two miles up this branch of the river, shows the slate 
 rocks running N. E., S. W., and dipping.70° N. W. Grey lime- 
 stone occurs imbedded in this rock, and is valuable for agricultural 
 use. 
 
 The river above the falls is broad and tranquil, and its banks are 
 thickly crowded with maple, hemlock and birch trees. A short dis- 
 tance above the falls we again found limestone rocks, and the strata 
 dip S. E. 80°. 
 
 The river’s banks become more elevated as we proceed, and tall 
 pine trees abound on the left hand side of the stream. As we con- 
 tinue the water becomes more rapid, and there are troublesome gravel- 
 beds. Numerous islets covered with grass occur in the river. 
 Seven miles above Nickatow we found Grau-wacke in strata with 
 the slate, and the latter rock is charged with pyrites. 
 
 One hundred yards from the left hand bank of the river, there is 
 a long ridge of table land elevated 200 feet above the stream, and 
 running north and south, for the distance of three miles. This high 
 embankment was formerly washed by the river, as may be evidently 
 seen on inspecting its surface. The soil is diluvial, and the direc- 
 tion of the embankment is the same as we have observed in exam- 
 ining most of the horseback ridges of the state. 
 
 From the summit of this ridge, we have a very fine panoramic 
 view of Mt. Ktaadn and its adjacent highlands, while the Penobscot 
 waters are seen winding their way through the country below. This 
 tract of land is known under the name of the Brown township, and 
 it was burnt over in 1825. Numerous charred stumps of large size 
 show, that it was once heavily clothed with pine timber. 
 
 Continuing our route, the banks of the river became more lofty, 
 rising from 20 to 100 feet directly from the stream, and the water 
 is here rapid and rushes amid numerous large blocks of granite and 
 slate rocks. 
 
 Arrived at grindstone and falls, where the river pitches over ledges 
 of Argillaceous slate, and among huge blocks of granite. The slate 
 strata run N. 33° E., and dip 80° S. E. by E., the rock being 
 roofing slate of a bluish green color, and alternating with beds of 
 Grau-wacke and limestone. 
 
 About half way up the falls, the dip of the strata becomes suddenly 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 21 
 
 reversed, and they incline to the N. W. 60°. It is remarkable, that 
 the Grau-wacke beds do not coincide with the fissile layers of slate, 
 but dip in an opposite direction. Grindstone falls receive their name 
 from the circumstance that the current of water causes the rounded 
 rocks to wear deep u pot-holes” in the slate which they effect by 
 continual whirling and attrition of their surfaces, aided by the gravel 
 that is continually washed into the cavities. 
 
 It is evident that the river has forced its own way through this 
 ledge, for the broken and worn rocks, rising from 50 to 70 feet on 
 each side bear marks of its violence. 
 
 While we were engaged in exploring the rocks, our men tried to 
 shove the boat up the falls, but the violence of the current prevent- 
 ed their effecting their object, the boat being instantly filled and sunk 
 in the attempt ; while all our baggage and provisions that remained 
 on board were swept off and carried down the stream. A scene of 
 unwonted activity now ensued, in our ^endeavors to save our articles 
 as they were rapidly borne down the foaming waters. The boat 
 fortunately, was not much injured, and we succeeded in hauling it 
 upon a rock, and bailed out the water, after which we gave chase to 
 our lost articles, and succeeded in saving those that were most es- 
 sential to our safety. The bread-barrel, although scuttled, was but 
 half full of bread, and floated down stream, with its opening upper- 
 most, so that but little of it was injured. Our bucket of rice burst 
 open, and was lost. The tea-kettle and other cooking apparatus sank 
 in the river, and were fished up by a hook and line. The tent was 
 found about a mile down the river, stretched across a rock. The 
 maps and charts were all soaked with water, so that it required almost 
 as much labor and patience to unrol them, as the papyry of Hercu- 
 laneum. Our spare boots and shoes were irrecoverably lost. Hav- 
 ing rescued the most important articles from the water, we carried 
 by the falls, camped and dried our papers and provisions, being 
 thankful that no worse an accident had befallen us. Fortunately we 
 had taken the precaution to remove our surveying instruments and 
 the blankets from the boat, before the falls were attempted. 
 
 Having kindled a camp fire and dried ourselves, a storm of rain 
 began to pour around us, but our great fire was not easily damped, 
 and we passed a comfortable night beneath the shelter of a water- 
 proof tent. 
 
22 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 October 6th. This morning vve corked and pitched our boat, 
 repairing the damage it had sustained in the falls, and at 10 o’clock, 
 set out on our journey. The river is now tranquil, and its banks 
 are 60 feet high on the left and 5 or 6 feet on the right. Presently 
 we came to Crowfoot falls, which are rapids produced by nu- 
 merous blocks of granite. 
 
 Just below Mud Brook, a small stream that empties into the 
 east branch, we descried a large moose crossing the river, and gave 
 chase for him. A bullet was quickly rammed down upon a small 
 charge intended for patridges, and on firing at the moose, the lead 
 being too heavy for the charge of powder failed to produce any 
 effect, and so we were disappointed in our game. 
 
 Near this place there are several small gravelly islands covered 
 with a profusion of deep purple beach plums, but since they had 
 been frozen they were found to be tasteless and insipid. Bog iron 
 ore, and black oxide of manganese, are found near Brown’s Island, 
 forming a bed on the river’s side four inches in thickness. 
 
 At Whetstone Falls there occur ledges of siliceous clay slate, 
 from which these rapids take their name. 
 
 Arrived at Mr. William Hunt’s, twenty-four miles above Nicka- 
 tow, and passed the night there. This gentleman has prepared for 
 himself at this place a very good farm, on which he raises supplies 
 of provisions for the lumber cutters. He has dwelt here five years, 
 and has brought the soil into a good state of cultivation, and during 
 the present summer has raised one hundred bushels of wheat, and 
 an abundance of potatoes and hay. 
 
 Mr. Hodge had been sent up the east branch of the Penobscot, 
 and we were to meet him at the forks of that river and the Seboois. 
 Proceeding thither, we met him on his return from the Grand Falls, 
 and we proceeded in company up the Seboois. This stream is 
 much wider than we had imagined it to be, and the waters are easy 
 for the first day’s cruise. Slate and limestone ledges shew them- 
 selves in the bed of the river and along its banks. The forest trees 
 are luxuriant and are mostly of hard wood growth, such as rock 
 maple, red oak, hornbeam, besides an abundance of hemlock and 
 spruce trees. The soil is good alluvial loam, derived from lime- 
 stone and slate. 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 23 
 
 4 P. M. Here we came to burnt land, and before entering it, 
 as night was at hand we thought it expedient to camp. The rocks 
 along the river’s course for this day are calciferous slate and lime- 
 stone, while the bottom of the stream is covered with pebbles of 
 the same kind of rocks. A violent hail-storm followed by a vivid 
 rainbow in the eastern sky here served to vary the scene as we pre- 
 pared our lodging for the night. 
 
 In the morning (Sth of October) we found that there had been a 
 slight fall of snow during the night, and ice one eight inch thick, 
 formed in our boat and along the margin of the river. Proceeding 
 up the stream, we came in view of Peaked Mountain, a singular 
 saddle-shaped hill on the left hand side of the stream. The rocks 
 along from this place upward are composed entirely of Grau-wacke, 
 the strata of which runs N. 10° E., and dip 80° S. 10° E. 
 
 This rock forms the principal mass of the Mountain, and it 
 extends far into the country around, alternating with clay-slate and 
 limestone rocks. It belongs to the regular anthracite coal series. 
 Large beds of limestone made up of madrepores are included in its 
 strata, and are extremely valuable for the manufacture of lime. 
 
 Diluvial boulders of amygdaloidal trap, jasper, red ferruginous 
 slate, epidote-rock, and huge boulders of madrepore limestone 
 abound. We searched the rocks for a long distance in the burnt 
 forest to ascertain whether there were discoverable any indications 
 of coal. The rocks certainly belong to that formation, and are fre- 
 quently glazed with carbon, but no bed of coal was discoverable. 
 
 Indeed, such is the state of the wild lands, that there is but little 
 probability of our finding a bed of this combustible, unless considera- 
 ble labor and expense are bestowed in digging into the earth, for 
 where coal occurs the soft strata are generally so much decomposed 
 that it is covered with deep soil, which would be likely to conceal it 
 from view. An upturned stump may, however, yet reveal its ex- 
 istence ; or it may happen, that some trench cut by a mountain torrent, 
 may bring it to light, but it is not our duty to do more to indicate the 
 proper localities for such researches. Mining, hereafter, may be 
 carried on here, when, by digging a well or cellar some fortunate 
 individual lights upon a coal bed. 
 
 From the base of Peaked Mountain, we triangulated its height 
 
24 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 above the Seboois, and found its perpendicular elevation to be 800 
 feet above the river at its base. This mountain is composed of 
 conglomerate or grau-wacke, and is cut through its centre by a huge 
 mass of greenstone trap, which has produced some very curious 
 changes in the strata. Its southern peak is composed of amygdaloidal 
 trap, and slate melted into hornestone, forming a curious breccia. 
 
 The central peak is composed mostly of coarse conglomerate, or 
 grau-wacke, which is in part cut by the trap, forms the northern 
 peak. Boulders of old red sandstone, of diluvial deposition, are 
 found upon its surface. Veins of calcareous spar and calcareous 
 tufa occur in this rock. 
 
 From the highest point of this mountain, we have a magnificent 
 view of the surrounding country, and I counted no less than twenty- 
 seven high mountains, that were seen around. Ktaadn, white with 
 snow, rears itself in the west, and clouds are seen to descend upon 
 its summit, discharging their burdens of snow and hail. Chases 
 Mountain, a conspicuous point, bears N. 55° E. Sugar-loaf Moun- 
 tain N. 14° E. Ktaadn’s highest peak bears S. 80° W. Piscata- 
 quis ridge S. 23° E. The Travellers’, N. 42° W. Another lofty 
 mountain, unknown, N. 45° W. Highlands around Houlton are 
 seen in the east. The Seboois winds in a serpentine manner from 
 the north and around the mountain’s base. 
 
 The labor of clambering up this craggy and steep mountain was 
 amply repaid by the beauty of the scenery viewed from its summit, 
 and we should have remained there longer had we not been forced 
 to retreat by a furious hail storm from Ktaadn, that drove violently 
 from that mountain, and reminded our Indian of his threat that Po- 
 mola would be revenged upon us for measuring the height of his 
 mountain. 
 
 Descending, we found that two Indians, Francois Bear and 
 Thomas Murray, had stopped at the base of the mountain to hold a 
 talk with us. They were on a hunting excursion for otter and 
 beaver furs. Learning that we should come to some very difficult 
 carrying places, it was suggested that we might advantageously em- 
 ploy the aid of these Indians for a few days and I then engaged them 
 to accompany us to the Aroostook. 
 
 We afterwards found that this was a most fortunate arrangement 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE — No. 70. 
 
 27 
 
 ded in the grau-wacke, and an abundance of rich red jasper is found 
 at their junctions. Large blocks of limestone filled with madrepores 
 and enicrinites, are profusely scattered on the soil. Several veins of 
 magnetic iron ore of small dimensions were also found. 
 
 11th. October. This morning we set out for Godfrey’s falls, one 
 of the most difficult carrying places on our route. The river’s banks 
 are 150 feet high on our course, and the forests have all been burnt. 
 The soil is of excellent quality, and contains carbonate of lime. 
 Rocks like those formerly described abound, and the strata dip N. 
 W. 60°. Proceeding a little further, the dip becomes reversed, and 
 again it is changed to the N. W. 
 
 Reached Godfrey’s falls, which are produced by a fall of the Se- 
 boois over high ledges of slate rocks. The banks rise perpendicu- 
 larly on each side to the height of 200 feet, and we have to carry 
 all our effects and the boats up a ledge, at an angle of 45°, and then 
 through the burnt forest for the distance of four miles before we 
 again reach the river. By the aid of our Indian party we shall be 
 able to effect this in two days. It was a singular spectacle to wit- 
 ness the passage of our party by this carrying place, each having an 
 enormous pack upon his shoulders, and scrambling up the craggy 
 ledge. After reaching the top of the ledge of rocks, and having ev- 
 ery thing brought up there, we set out with our loads, and travel- 
 led over burnt logs to the river above the falls, where a camp fire 
 was kindled, and we rested for the night. 
 
 The next morning, 12th of October, proved to be rainy, and made 
 the labor of carrying far more laborious. 
 
 13th October. Having brought all our effects over, we set out 
 again upon the Seboois river, which is here sluggish, running amid low 
 grassy meadows in a serpentine manner. Two miles farther up, we 
 came to rapid water, which rushes amid numerous blocks of slate 
 and trap rocks. A violent hail-storm rendered our journey very 
 uncomfortable while we were crossing Long Pond, beyond which 
 we proposed to visit an old logging camp, and there pass the night. 
 
 In crossing through the woods below this lake our party discov- 
 ered an important bed of limestone, and in the afternoon I returned 
 with them to explore it more carefully. The limestone proved to 
 be a bed included in grau-wacke rocks, and most curiously brecciated 
 
28 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 by the intrusion of scoriaceous trap, which has run through the va- 
 rious crevices and cemented the broken fragments together, forming 
 an elegant breccia marble of various colored stripes standing in 
 every imaginable position. Some of the masses have been render- 
 ed compact and subcrystalline by igneous agency, while others con- 
 tain distinct remains of madrepores and encrinites. This bed is no 
 less than 90 feet wide, and large masses project above the soil. It 
 is situated near the mouth of the first Seboois lake, upon township 
 No. 7, 7th range, and will prove of great value to the inhabitants when 
 the country is settled. Having loaded ourselves with specimens we 
 retured in the evening to our camp between the lakes. 
 
 14th October. This morning we crossed the second Seboois 
 lake, which is a beautiful sheet of water about two miles long and 
 of nearly the same width. Reaching the opposite shore, we carried 
 our baggage over a logging road to the third lake, which is along 
 sheet of water, extending N.W. and S.E. seven miles, and it is two 
 miles wide. The rocks are argillaceous limestone, grau*wacke and 
 greenstone trap. 
 
 The forest trees are large, being mostly cedar, pine, and hemlock. 
 On reaching the upper extremity of this lake, we entered a small 
 sluggish stream, where the ice had formed upon its surface three- 
 fourths of an inch thick, so that we were forced to break our way 
 through it with the batteau, while the canoes followed in the channel 
 thus opened. This operation injured our boat so that we were 
 obliged to stop and make repairs. The forest trees are mostly 
 hackmetack or larch, juniper, and yellow birch. 
 
 15th. Last night was very uncomfortable, and the snow driving 
 into our tent kept us wet and cold. This morning we shall carry over 
 to La Pompique stream, by which we propose to descend into the 
 Aroostook. Francois, being familiar with these regions, is to serve 
 as guide. Each of us taking our load we set out on the journey 
 through the forest, following a spotted township line. On reaching 
 La Pompique, we found it frozen, and the ice being an inch and a 
 half thick it was found exceedingly laborious to break our way 
 through it with the batteau, our progress was therefore very slow and 
 tedious. 
 
 The forest trees along this stream are larch, spruce, juniper, 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE — No. 70. 
 
 25 
 
 as the voyage would hardly have been completed without their 
 aid since the season was far advanced, and the carrying places 
 proved very tedious, requiring great labor, which would have de- 
 layed us till the river froze, so as to prevent our passage. 
 
 October 9th. This morning is very cold (2 Q below freezing) 
 and ice covers every part of our boat. 
 
 Continuing our voyage we passed along amid high precipices of 
 Grau-wacke rocks rising to the elevation of two or three hundred 
 feet directly from the river. On reaching Jerry-brook, we came to 
 the old red sandstone formation in township No. 5, 7th range on the 
 western bank of the Seboois. The strata run N. E., and S. W. 
 and dip to the S. E. 70°. It belongs to the regular coal series, 
 and rests upon the Grau-wacke. 
 
 Sugar-loaf mountain presents its lofty cone on the eastern bank of 
 the Seboois, from which it is three miles distant. Being desirous of 
 examining this remarkable eminence, we took such instruments as 
 were required, and set out for the mountain, travelling through a 
 dense forest of maple, beech, birch, hemlock and pine trees. Ow- 
 ing to the abundance of fallen trees and rotten logs that ob- 
 structed our path, the journey was found more laborious than we had 
 anticipated. Ascending this mountain, when we had reached a spot 
 from whence we could see the river, I took its angle of depression 
 below the level, and there set off a base line to the summit of the 
 mountain at an angle of 40° 15', and clambering over the craggy 
 rocks to its highest peak, the base line was measured 900 feet. 
 The angle of depression of the river was again taken, and from these 
 elements we ascertained that the height of the mountain is 1900 feet 
 above the level of the river at its base. 
 
 From this point Ktaadn bears S. 61°. W. Peaked Mountain, 
 S. 12° E. Chase’s Mountain, N. 75° E. The Travellers W., 
 Shin Pond, S. E., Seboois falls N. 17° W. 
 
 I remarked also, that on the map of the public lands, Shin Brook 
 is put down as running between the Seboois and this mountain, while 
 it really is on its eastern side, and makes a broad sweep around it, 
 and enters the river near the falls. No less than 50 mountains and 
 17 lakes, may be seen from the summit of the sugar-loaf. 
 
 This mountain is composed of grau-wacke and clay slate, cut 
 4 
 
26 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 through by a huge trap dyke, the igneous influence of which has 
 converted the slate, in contact with it, into a beautiful blood-red Jas- 
 per, hornestone and compact felspar. In fact every shade of meta- 
 morphosis produced by the action of a molten rock may here be ob- 
 served. Epidote and calcareous spar abound in the amygdaloidal 
 trap, and are some of the products of its action upon the neighbor- 
 ing rocks. 
 
 This great dyke is no less than 500 feet wide, and it rises higher above 
 the sea than I have ever before seen that rock attain, and is certainly 
 a most wonderful phenomenon. The bed of jasper is no less than 
 10 feet wide, and occurs on the N. W. side of the mountain’s top. 
 We remained until sunset exploring the various minerals found on 
 this mountain, and, although the view of the setting sun from this em- 
 inence was a splendid sight, it reminded us that we had a long jour- 
 ney to perform before we could reach our camp at the falls, and 
 caused us to hasten our descent. 
 
 On entering the forest below, we found ourselves enveloped in 
 total darkness, and it was a most painful task to travel through the 
 woods, stumbling over logs, thrashed in the face by the boughs of 
 trees, or stumbling over rotten logs into a peat bog. The moon 
 however, soon rose above the horizon, and glimmering through the 
 trees, served to direct our course. 
 
 Our assistant, Mr. Hodge, choosing his own route, was soon lost, 
 and wandered far up Shin brook, mistaking the roar of the falls upon 
 that stream for those of the Seboois. On reaching the river we 
 forded the stream, and arrived safe at the camp, from whence I sent 
 out a party in search of Mr. Hodge, who was found encamped alone 
 under the bark of a hemlock tree, the stump of which he had set on 
 fire, and had determined to remain until morning. He was guided 
 by the men back to our camp, where more comfortable quarters were 
 prepared for him. 
 
 10th. After labelling our specimens, we continued our journey, 
 and examined the rocks at Che-ga-laps-cagos falls, which were 
 grau-wacke like that before described. Carried by the falls where 
 there occur an abundance of red slate rocks, running N. 35° E., 
 and dipping N. W. 80°. 
 
 Above the falls we come to numerous dykes of trap rocks imbed- 
 
1838 . 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 31 
 
 At the confluence of La Pompique, with the Aroostook, the lat- 
 ter river is 60 yards wide, and the water about 5 feet deep, while its 
 banks are 5 or 6 feet high on each side, and are of alluvial origin. 
 The soil is of a chocolate brown and ash color, free from pebbles or 
 blocks of stone. Rounded blocks of greenstone trap occur in the 
 bed of the river, but no ledges are visible. Proceeding down the 
 river, we soon came to ledges of calciferous slate, belonging to the 
 grau-wacke series, and the beds of limestone. Below the lime- 
 stone ledges, the soil changes its character, it becoming alight yellow 
 loam, free from pebbles, and is evidently of alluvial origin. On the 
 dark-colored soil above mentioned, flourish an abundance of lofty 
 pines, larch, juniper, fir, spruce, cedar, and yellow birch trees. The 
 yellow loam is remarkable for the tali rank grass, called blue joint, 
 which skirts the margin of the river, and is from 4 to 5 feet high, 
 and extremely luxuriant. The forest trees are of mixed growth, 
 but the sugar maples are most abundant, and are of gigantic size. 
 Elms, white birch, black and white ash, also abound. The soft 
 wood grows mostly on the low lands, while the uplands in the rear, 
 are densely crowded with hard wood trees, among which, are scat- 
 tered magnificent pines. 
 
 Proceeding 13 miles down the river, exploring the various slate 
 and limestone ledges, we encamped for the night. Early the next 
 morning, we continued our voyage, the water became deeper, and 
 the river widened to 80 feet. Ash and elm trees abound, while the 
 immediate shores of the river, are densely crowded with alder bushes. 
 We passed a small river on the right, called the Am-qual-kus stream. 
 Having reached a curve, called the Oxbow, we found that the In- 
 dians had there held an encampment, and almost every birch tree 
 had been stripped of its bark, to furnish torches, used in spearing 
 salmon. The Oxbow forms a curvature of one mile, and the neck 
 of land included between the two portions of the curve, is but 20 
 rods across, so that it is customary for the Indians to carry their 
 canoes over this portage. Several acres of this neck of land, has 
 been cleared ; the soil is oT good quality, being of alluvial origin, 
 and resting upon a stratum of bog iron ore. 
 
 Continuing our route, we passed several small islands in the midst 
 of the river. Ledges of slate and quartz rocks, occur on the left 
 
32 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 hand side ; the loose rocks in the river are mostly composed of a 
 coarse conglomerate or grau-wacke, and greenstone trap. 
 
 18th. Encamped for the night on the left hand side of the river. 
 Early the next morning, we set out on our voyage, and ran down to 
 the confluence of the Aroostook and St. Croix, where there are 
 several settlers. Visited Mr. Thomas Goss, who is one of the old- 
 est inhabitants on the river, having resided there 10 years. He has, 
 within four years, cleared at this place a very good farm, and suc- 
 ceeds in raising all the produce required for his family. He informed 
 me, that wheat grows very well upon his land, and is of good quality, 
 weighing 60 lbs. to the bushel, and producing 50 lbs. of flour. 
 
 Corn succeeds well in good seasons on the uplands, and potatoes 
 are extremely luxuriant, and one of those which he showed us, 
 weighed 2£ lbs. The soil is of a light yellow loam, covered to the 
 depth of 4 or 5 inches, by a black vegetable mould. Mr. Goss is 
 of opinion, that from 15 to 20,000 tons of square pine timber were 
 carried down to the St. John, from the Aroostook, during the past 
 year. A party was at that time engaged in this unlawful business, 
 and the land agent of Maine, had just sent an emissary to forbid 
 their depredations. 
 
 On the right, about half a mile below Mr. Goss’ house, there 
 are limestone ledges. The strata run S.W., and dip 40° S.E. 
 The St. Croix, at its confluence with the Aroostook, is about equal 
 in width with that river, and is an important tributary. Upon it, are 
 excellent mill sites, with a good fall of water, of 6 or 8 feet. The 
 mouth of the St. Croix, is 80 miles above the falls of the Aroos- 
 took, and 40 miles above the Presq’ Isle. During freshets, a raft 
 may run from this place to the mouth of the river in one day, but 
 when the waters are low, as they are at present, three days would be 
 required . There are several log cabins near this place, where the 
 settlers are preparing to clear the land. 
 
 Proceeding down river, we found that the water became deeper, 
 and the banks on each side more elevated, rising to the height of 30 to 
 40 feet. A few ledges of limestone crop out. At the mouth of 
 the great Machias, (which is a tributary stream entering the Aroos- 
 took on its western side,) ten miles below the St. Croix, we reached 
 the residence of Mr. Dalton, who has built a small but good house, 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 29 
 
 pines, and black alders ; the larch and junipers being the most 
 common. Many of the pines are very large and lofty, and they have 
 never yet been visited by the axe of the lumberman. As we de- 
 scended the stream, the ice became gradually thinner, and at length 
 we came to deep and 01*1 water. Here Francois took me into a 
 swamp to shew me a be&Ver house, which is five feet high, and of a 
 conical or dome shape, made up of sticks and mud. Our guide had 
 recently destroyed the last beaver of the family, so that the house 
 was untenanted. On examining its structure, it appeared that it was 
 composed of four or five stories and had a subaqueous communica- 
 tion with the little dams around. It is formed of sticks gnawed into 
 regular lengths of about two feet, and these sticks were generally 
 of yellow birch, the bark of which serves the animals for food during 
 the winter. Around the house were the stumps of trees, that had 
 been felled by these sagacious animals, and some there were six 
 inches in diameter. Half a mile from this place we came to a beaver 
 dam, where these animals have laid a barrier two feet high across the 
 stream. 
 
 The river being here too shallow and rocky for the boats, we 
 carried over to deeper water, following a crooked hunting path for 
 the distance of half a mile. 
 
 16th. Having brought all our baggage over, we intended this day 
 to reach the Aroostook. Following La Pompique, we had a good 
 opportunity of seeing the lofty timber trees that abound along its 
 course. When we bad reached deep water we pushed rapidly along, 
 and arrived at the Aroostook, at 4 P. M., and camped a little below 
 the mouth of La Pompique stream. The Aroostook here is a broad 
 and beautiful river, having a deep alluvial soil of a chocolate color, 
 and covered with lofty forest trees, of various kinds, indicative of a 
 rich soil. When we had made our camp fire, we claimed a song 
 the Indians had promised, and they gave us first a grand Te Deum 
 in Latin ! Strange indeed did it sound to us to hear a Latin hymn 
 from the sons of the forest, amid the wilderness, where axe had 
 never resounded ! After this we desired the war dance as being 
 more in character with the scene, and our three Indians performed 
 it, singing a peculiar chaunt in their own language. The Indians 
 Francois and Thomas, having performed their duty as guides and la- 
 
30 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 borers in a satisfactory manner, were paid and discharged, since their 
 services were no longer required. 
 
 17th. This morning the tent was struck, and we proceeded slow- 
 ly down the river, exploring the banks of the stream, and collecting 
 specimens of the various soils, while at the same time I kept a plan 
 of the river as we passed along, and recorded upon it every remark- 
 able object in our course. 
 
 The rocks in the stream are large boulders of greenstone trap, 
 but there were no ledges visible until we had descended eight miles, 
 when the ealciferous slate shews itself and runs N. 45° E., and 
 dips 50° S.E. Beds of good limestone are included between the 
 strata. Loose masses of amygdaloidal trap, and boulders of jasper, 
 abound. Bog iron ore also occurs in small beds six or eight inches 
 thick, and accompanied by black oxide of manganese. 
 
 Having run about 12 miles, we encamped amid a beautiful grove 
 of lofty rock maple, yellow birch, and ash trees. 
 
 18th. This morning, after labelling and packing specimens, we 
 set out for our descent of the Aroostook. The rocks, here and 
 there, show themselves, and are argillaceous slate, the strata of which 
 run N.E., S.W., and dip N.W. 30°. Encamped left hand side of 
 river. Rain fell in night. 
 
 19th. Without entering into minute details, it might be advisable 
 to give a general account of the country through which the Aroos- 
 took winds it way, to the St. John. This river is a broad and beau- 
 tiful stream, having a gradual and easy descent, free from obstructions, 
 so that a raft may run freely from La Pompique, to the falls at its con- 
 fluence, with the St. John. Its bottom is composed of pebbles for 
 the principal part of its course, and there are a few low islands in its 
 midst. The soil, for the first 12 miles, is an alluvium of an ash- 
 gray, or chocolate brown color, made up of the fine particles of slate 
 limestone, and greenstone trap, brought down the river, and deposit- 
 ed with vegetable matter along its course. 
 
 Lower down, we came to yellow loam, of a fine kind, derived 
 from the limestone rocks, and luxuriant in its produce. 
 
 The average width of the alluvial region, cannot be less than six 
 or eight miles, and, in some places, it is much wider. It is a well 
 wooded region, and is the best settling land in the state. 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 33 
 
 and cleared a small tract of land. It is 52 miles above the Aroos- 
 took falls. Opposite this place, there are high ledges of grau-wacke, 
 of a fine texture, filled with the remains of plants, and glazed with 
 carbonaceous matter. Marine exuviae, such as terebratulae, favorsites, 
 madrepores, and corrallines, abound. The strata run N.E. S.W., 
 and the dip is anticlinical, or to the S.E. and N.W. Thin grau- 
 wacke slates, covered with impressions of fuci, are abundant. This 
 rock belongs to the regular anthracite coal formation, and it is highly 
 probable, that beds of that valuable combustible, will be found in this 
 vicinity. The rock may be used profitably for mill-stones, for the 
 construction of lime kilns and iron furnaces. Limestone abounds in 
 this vicinity, and forms cliffs rising 10 or 12 feet from the rivers’ 
 level. Mr. Dalton states, that in good seasons, he has raised 40 
 bushels of good wheat to the acre, and he found that the crops improv- 
 ed on the second and third tillage of the soil. This is doubtless the 
 case as by ploughing, the black vegetable mould which is from four 
 to six inches thick, becomes mixed with the loam, increasing its fer- 
 tility. Indian corn succeeds well in good seasons, likewise all the 
 usual culinary vegetables. The manufacture of maple sugar is here 
 carried on to a great extent, during the spring season. The process 
 is as follows : holes being bored into the trees with an auger, a piece 
 of wood is inserted, in which a groove is cut, in order to conduct 
 the sap into receiving vessels, which are made of birch bark, and 
 are called by the French name Casseroles. Three men can manage 
 1,000 maple trees, and boil down the sap as it is collected. The 
 sugar season begins about the middle of March, and continues to the 
 middle of May. Three men usually obtain from 1,500 to 2,000 
 lbs. of sugar during the season, and it sells from 10 to 20 cents per 
 pound. 
 
 Twenty quarts of sap yield one pound of sugar, at the first tapping 
 of the trees ; on the second the same quantity of sap yields one and 
 a half, and on the third, two pounds are obtained. The chief ob- 
 stacle to this manufacture is the want of good evaporating kettles, 
 common iron pots being generally used. If large tinned copper 
 boilers could be obtained, the business could be carried on in a more 
 rapid and profitable manner, while the sugar would be of a much 
 better quality. If good utensils were used in its manufacture, and 
 5 
 
34 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 more skill employed in clarifying the syrup, I have no doubt that 
 excellent white sugar might be made at a much lower cost than the 
 inhabitants now pay for the foreign article. One mile below Dalton’s 
 we came to the little Machias, a small river entering the Aroostook 
 from the west, and ten miles up this river there is a lake, and mill 
 privileges are said to occur on it. Grau-wacke, of fine texture, re- 
 sembling the grey sandstone, filled with numerous petrifactions of 
 corrallines, madrepores, favosites, and impressions of terebratulae 
 and spiriferae. The accompanying slates are glazed with carbon, 
 and contain remains of fuci or sea-weed. This rock is used for mill 
 stones and will answer for the construction of lime-kilns and furnaces. 
 Limestone of good quality also occurs near this place. 
 
 October 19. After passing an uncomfortable night encamped in 
 the woods and exposed to a violent snow storm, we set out for Mr. 
 Currier’s, ten miles above the Presq Isle river, passing on our way 
 several islands covered with hard wood trees, chiefly sugar maples. 
 The river curved most beautifully as we descended, and occasionally 
 the banks protected from the violence of the storm which was still 
 raging. We here observed an abundance of argillaceous slate and 
 grau-wacke, filled with beds of limestone, and cut through by occa- 
 sional dykes of greenstone trap. The land becomes more elevated 
 and the river’s banks rise from 40 to 100 feet. 
 
 On the 20th of October we encamped at night, and next morning 
 continued our course down the river, notwithstanding the continu- 
 ance of the snow-storm. We here observed a ridge of land elevated 
 300 feet above the river’s level, and densely covered with a luxu- 
 riant growth of maple and other forest trees. Strata of black lime- 
 stone filled with an infinity of veins of calcareous spar occur on the 
 left hand side of the river, and continue to the distance of 10 or 12 
 miles, cropping out here and there along its banks. 
 
 Near Mr. Currier’s I discovered a valuable mine of rich iron ore. 
 It is of that variety called compact red haematite. It occurs on the 
 hill, S.E. from the house, and about half a mile distant. Its out 
 croppings may be seen in two different places upon the side and on 
 the summit of the hill. The lower bed runs north 9° E., and dips 
 S5° eastwardly ; the upper bed runs north 5° east, and dips also to 
 the eastward. This ore occurs in calciferous slate charged with 
 manganese, its colors being red, green, and black. The strata run 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 35 
 
 N. 16° west. In order to ascertain the extent of this ore I caused 
 the soil to be removed in several places, and, on finding the bounda- 
 ries of the principal bed, it was measured and found to be 36 feet 
 wide. The soil, overlaying it was covered with an abundance of 
 red sorrel, which served to indicate the position of the ore, and by 
 digging along its margin we always found the haematite below. 
 The soil is very thin and composed entirely of disintegrated ore. 
 I measured the limits of the bed as far as I was able to expose it, 
 and found its length to be 450 feet. It continues into the forest 
 and is probably connected with the great bed of iron ore which I 
 discovered last year upon the Meduxnikeag, at Woodstock. The 
 hill at Currier’s, is more than 100 feet above the river’s level, so 
 that a mine may be easily wrought and drained. Let us now calcu- 
 late from the measurements which we have made, the quantity of 
 iron ore which may here be obtained. 
 
 Thus the bed is 450 ft. long, 36 ft. wide, and can be drained ea- 
 sily to the depth of 100 feet. 450X36X100=1,520,000 cubic 
 feet. A cubic foot of the ore weighs 240 lbs. 1,520,000-^240 
 =364,800,000 lbs. of ore, which, yielding 50 per cent of iron will 
 give 182,400,000 lbs of iron, or 9,120,000 tons within the limits of 
 our measurements. 9,120,000 tons of iron at $50 per ton would 
 give $456,000,000 as the value of the iron contained in this bed. 
 At the present time iron is worth $100 per ton at Woodstock, upon 
 the St. John, and costs vastly more upon the Aroostook, so that we 
 cannot doubt that a most profitable investment may be made in work- 
 ing this ore. Such a discovery as this amply proves the importance 
 of a geological survey of the country. The following are the re- 
 sults I have obtained by analysis of this ore, Sp. Gr. =3,863 
 weight of a cubic foot, calculated from the Sp. Gr.=241 lbs. 
 
 In 100 grs. the ore contains as follows : 
 
 Water, .... 6.00 
 
 Insoluble residue, consisting of silex, . 8.80 
 
 Per oxide of iroij, . . . 76.80 
 
 Ox. manganese, . . . 8 20 
 
 99.80 
 
 Loss, .... 20 
 
 100.00 
 
36 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 76.8 of per oxide of iron contains 53 of pure iron ; hence we 
 may say that the ore will yield 50 per cent of bar iron or 60 per cent 
 of cast iron, for about 7 per cent of carbon enters into the composi- 
 tion of the latter variety. Ten miles above this place on the margin 
 of the river as already described, occur materials required for the 
 erection of an iron furnace. Limestone, suitable for a flux abounds 
 in the immediate vicinity, and on the Tobique stream opposite, the 
 mouth of the Aroostook, is an abundance of new red sandstone, 
 suitable for the lining of the furnace, and for hearth-stones, while 
 charcoal may be had in any quantity for the mere labor of cutting 
 and burning the wood. By means of charcoal, the finest varieties 
 of iron may be manufactured like that brought from Sweden, and 
 capable like that metal of forming the best cast steel. 
 
 A gentleman in Boston, well acquainted with iron works, has fur- 
 nished me with the following statistical observations respecting the 
 expenditures and profits of iron furnaces. 
 
 In Vermont near Troy, there has been lately established a large 
 blast furnace, by which three tons of cast iron are obtained per diem 
 from the granular magnetic ore of that town. 
 
 The charcoal used each day amounts to 600 bushels, 
 
 and costs per bushel 4 cents, 
 
 
 $24 00 
 
 Cost of ore and flux for 3 tons of iron — $10 per diem, 
 
 10 00 
 
 Labor, $10 
 
 
 10 00 
 
 Interest on capital of $100,000, per diem, 
 
 
 16 67 
 
 Cost of three tons of cast iron, 
 
 
 $60 67 
 
 Three tons of cast iron, at $45 per ton, sell for 135 00 
 
 
 Deduct cost of manufacturing, 
 
 60 67 
 
 
 Profit on three tons, 
 
 $74 33 
 
 
 When two tons are made, the profit is $43 33 
 
 
 
 This gentleman also states that the following are 
 
 the items of ex- 
 
 penditure and profit, at the Franconia, N. H., iron works, where 
 magnetic iron ore is also wrought, the average width of the veins 
 being but two feet, from which one man can blast out two tons daily, 
 at the cost of $6 per ton. 
 
183S. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 37 
 
 Six laborers are employed at the furnace, viz. two top men, who 
 attend to the charge ; three fire men, who have the care of the blast, 
 and of the casting ; and one gutter man. 
 
 Two tons of iron are made each day. Limestone, used for flux, 
 is carted six miles to the furnace. 
 
 700 bushels of coal are used daily, costing 4 cents per 
 
 bushel, $28 00 
 
 Cost of the ore, $6 per ton, 4 tons, 24 00 
 
 Cost of flux, and roasting of the ore, 2 00 
 
 Labor of six men, 10 00 
 
 Interest on capital, and contingencies, 16 67 
 
 Cost of two tons of pig iron, $80 67 
 
 Two tons of pig iron sell at the foundry for 100 00 
 Deduct cost, 80 69 
 
 Daily profit, $20 33 
 
 But, in the form of castings, made at the works, the iron sells 
 frequently for $75 per ton, which would give $69 33, daily profit. 
 Bar iron sells for $100 per ton. 
 
 I trust that we may soon have a number of smelting furnaces in 
 operation in Maine, and that no longer so large and valuable resour- 
 ces will be allowed to remain neglected, while the State is paying 
 enormous sums of money to England, Sweden and Russia, for her 
 supplies of this indispensable metal. 
 
 A small blast furnace, capable of yielding a ton and a half of iron 
 daily, has been erected at Shapleigh in York county, Maine, and 
 cost but $13,000. Such a furnace could be erected upon the 
 Aroostook for about $20,000 and would answer for the supply of 
 the present demand for iron in that district. As the country becomes 
 settled, more extensive works may be erected, and all the usual depart- 
 ments of the business maybe carried on. I have estimated the cost 
 of a furnace upon the Aroostook higher than that of one in a more 
 densely populated part of the state, because the price of labor re- 
 quired for the erection of the works would be necessarily greater, 
 since the chief workmen would be obtained from some other section 
 
38 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 of the country. The principal materials required for the building 
 of the furnace can, however, be obtained for the mere labor of ex- 
 tracting them, and they occur close at hand. 
 
 Situated so favorably upon the borders of a great river where 
 water power can be advantageously employed in working the ma- 
 chinery of the blowing apparatus, &c., amid interminable forests of 
 hard wood trees which will furnish a never failing supply of charcoal, 
 possessing in fact every advantage required ; this ore is of incalcu- 
 lable value, and not only sufficient to supply all the future inhabitants 
 who may subsequently settle on this river, but also those upon the 
 St/ John and the whole Penobscot country. Besides this, it is capa- 
 ble of becoming of national importance in furnishing supplies of can- 
 non and small arms, and will hereafter become an admirable site for 
 a national foundry. 
 
 From the direction in which these beds of iron ore run it is highly 
 probable that they continue through the country, and connect them- 
 selves with those which I formerly discovered in Woodstock, N. B., 
 thus passing directly above the United States Military Post at 
 Houlton. Should this opinion prove to be correct such a discovery 
 will prove of immense importance to the United States, for it is ex- 
 tremely difficult to carry heavy ordinance to that frontier post, and 
 in case of war it would be almost impossible to furnish a supply of 
 cannon, and the balls required in defence of that fortification. Al- 
 though war is a great evil, yet it is always the best policy to hold 
 ourselves in readiness to meet such an exigency, and by such alert- 
 ness on our part the probability of such an issue will be farther re- 
 moved ; and it is an established maxim that u in time of peace we 
 should prepare for war.” 
 
 After making a careful exploration of the iron ore at Currier’s, 
 we set out on our voyage to the mouth of the Presq Isle, 10 miles 
 below this locality. Limestone of a blue color, filled with an infinity 
 of calcareous spar veins, occurs abundantly on each side of the 
 Aroostook. So much of the day having been taken up in the exam- 
 ination of the iron ore and limestones, we were unable to proceed 
 far before night, and encamped upon an island covered with maple 
 and birch trees, a little more than a mile below. 
 
 Oct. 22d. Early this morning struck our tent, and proceeded 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE — No. 70. 
 
 39 
 
 down river, examining the numerous limestone rocks that crop out 
 on each side. Passed by several log houses, where recent clearings 
 of the wood land had taken place. The country becomes more ele- 
 vated, and hills three or four hundred feet high rise from the right 
 bank of the river. The forest trees are very abundant, and are of a 
 mixed open growth of hard wood, fir and pine. A little below, a 
 large island 3J miles above Presq Isle river, we came to the dwel- 
 ling of Mr. Peter Bull, who is one of the first settlers on this river, 
 having resided there 15 years. His first dwelling was an ordinary 
 log hut, but since that time, he has erected a handsome house, hav- 
 i ng a brick chimney, and being well glazed. He informed me that he 
 manufactured his own bricks from the clay found about | a mile below, 
 on the river. His lime, however, was brought from the city of St. 
 John, and cost him $16 per tierce ! Very few of the settlers in- 
 dulge in the luxury of plastered walls and ceilings, on account of the 
 expense of lime. Yet the very rocks under their feet are excellent 
 limestone, but they were not aware of the fact, nor did the people 
 then know anything of the simple process of converting them into lime. 
 It was formerly the custom to obtain their flour from Woodstock, and 
 it cost the people there no less than $20 per barrel, but now they 
 generally raise their own wheat, and there are two flour mills in op- 
 eration on the tributary streams. Some of the inhabitants grind 
 their own wheat in small mills turned by hand, the mill-stones being 
 obtained from the grindstone ledge. 
 
 After spending the night at Mr. Bull’s, we again took our boats, 
 and proceeded down stream, when arriving at Mr. Gardiner’s, a few 
 miles below, I was called to visit a sick patient, and having given 
 advice, continued our voyage to Hooper’s, i a mile above Presq 
 Isle, where we stopped for the night. This place is 36 miles above 
 the Aroostook falls, and a raft will run to that place during freshets, 
 in 4 hours. But as the waters run at the present time, it would re- 
 quire 12 hours. 
 
 The most rapid rate of the current during high freshets, is 9 miles 
 an hour, and the slowest is 3 miles, the mean rate being 6 miles. 
 
 The soil upon Hooper’s farm is a rich yellow loam from disinte- 
 gration of limestone rocks, and it is of a diluvial and alluvial char- 
 acter. 
 
40 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 On Monday morning 23d October, we entered the Presq Isle river, 
 and ascended that stream to the farm of Mr. Dennis Fairbanks/who 
 had sent me an invitation to call upon him. His dwelling is a mile 
 and a half up this stream, and he has there established saw and flour 
 mills. On reaching his establishment, we were very cordially re- 
 ceived, and our time was spent in exploring the resources of the 
 country around. 
 
 Mr. Fairbanks has dwelt there 9 years, and has brought his estate 
 into a good state of cultivation. He pursues almost every branch 
 of trade required in a new settlement, makes his own agricultural 
 tools, machinery, and even his boots and shoes, showing unusual 
 dexterity in these various occupations. 
 
 His mills are three stories high on one side, and two on the other, 
 and the building is handsomely shingled and painted. 
 
 In this building is an excellent flour mill, and it is kept in contin- 
 ual operation. A part of the building serves also as a carpenter’s 
 shop, where Mr. Fairbanks carries on the work according to his 
 need. He has also a saw mill, and saws boards which are sent to 
 the boundary line for sale. 
 
 After examining his manufacturing establishments) I visited the 
 fields where he had lately reaped a most abundant harvest. The 
 wheat stubble was extremely crowded, and of so large size, that from 
 curiosity I was disposed to split open one of the straws and measure 
 it, when I found that it was one and a third inch in circumference ! 
 Indeed, I never saw more convincing proofs of the fertility of the 
 soil. When I had collected all the specimens of soil that I wished 
 for analysis, I was desired to enter the two large barns belonging to 
 this gentleman. His crop had been so luxuriant that he had been 
 obliged to put up a new building to contain it, and both the barns 
 were found to be crowded from the floors to the ridgepoles with 
 sheafs of wheat, rye, and oats ; there being, as was estimated, no 
 less than 800 or 1000 bushels of grain, garnered in ; and all this was 
 obtained from less that 30 acres of land ! 
 
 The wheat weighs 60 lbs. to the bushel ; rye, 65 lbs. ; oats, 
 40 lbs. It was stated to me that he had raised 50 bushels of oats 
 upon an acre of land. Indian corn, turnips, potatoes, pumpkins, 
 and all usual culinary vegetables grow well upon this soil. The 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE — No. 70. 
 
 41 
 
 average crops of wheat for the past three years upon the Aroostook, 
 have been 20 bushels to the acre. “ Indeed,” remarks Mr. Fair- 
 banks, “ there were never greater natural advantages offered to the 
 farmer than are to be found upon this river. Nothing is wanting 
 but industry, enterprise, and education.” Having learned that there 
 were indications of iron ore seven miles above here upon the Presqu 
 Isle, I sent Mr. Hodge, with Louis, in a canoe, to make explora- 
 tions ; but on his return he stated that there were nothing but slate 
 limestone and greenstone trap rocks, at the place designated. 
 
 A road has been cut through from the Presq Isle to Mars Hill, 
 fifteen miles distant, and during winter a sled may pass by that 
 route to Houlton, but the stumps have not yet been cleared away, 
 so as to allow of the passage of wheel carriages. The journey may 
 be performed on horseback in one day. During the British survey 
 for a rail-road through these regions to Quebec, the engineers spent 
 much of their time in this vicinity, and erected an observatory upon 
 a hill N. 75° W. from Fairbanks’ house. 
 
 A little lead ore is said to have been found in blasting the lime- 
 stone and slate rocks, while erecting the saw mills on this river, but 
 I could not obtain any specimens, as the water was too high. 
 
 Mr. F. says that, the spring before last depredations were carried 
 on extensively by British subjects, 10,000 tons of timber of the 
 Aroostook, having been carried down the St. John. During the 
 past spring he thinks that not more than 3,000 tons were plundered 
 and sent down to St. John. It is difficult for the British Warden 
 of the disputed territory to detect these unlawful transactions, for the 
 timber is mixed at the mouth of the Aroostook with that brought 
 down the St. John, and thus the depredators escape detection. 
 
 October 25th. Having collected all the information in my power, 
 I left the hospitable home that had been so freely tendered to my 
 whole party, and ran down again to the Aroostook, and continued 
 our voyage to the Falls at its mouth, the distance being 36 miles. 
 
 The country now becomes more elevated, and lofty mural preci- 
 pices of limestone and calciferous slate rise on each bank of the 
 river, while the country in the rear is broken, hilly, and is covered 
 with an abundant mixed growth of forest trees. Good blue limestone 
 with calcareous spar veins abounds on each side of the river. 
 
 6 
 
42 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 At the Aroostook falls, the water is very rapid, and rushes over 
 ledges of slate and limestone rocks, for J of a mile. Then the riv- 
 er precipitates itself over a steep and broken ledge of 12 or 15 feet 
 into a wide basin below. The rocks here are blue limestone and 
 slate, in wavy strata, cut by numerous dykes of greenstone trap, and 
 there are deep “ pot-holes” worn in the limestone by the grinding 
 motion of rounded stones, moved by the impetuous current. Some 
 of these holes are 5 feet in diameter, and 4 feet deep. This water- 
 fall is overhung by a heavy growth of cedar trees, and forms a very 
 picturesque appearance when viewed from below. 
 
 At the junction of the dykes with the slate, the latter rock is 
 fused into honestone and chert. The strata run N. E., S. W., and 
 the dykes cut through the strata at right angles, or run N. W. and 
 S. E. 
 
 The short portage by the falls is three quarters of a mile in length, 
 and the road was very muddy, owing to the late rain and snow storm. 
 Our boats and baggage were carried over this road by means of a 
 horse and sled, hired for the purpose. 
 
 The long portage is much better than this, but is 3 miles in length. 
 The assistant with the Indian and the canoe chose that route, and 
 having nothing to carry but the canoe, arrived at the St. John, be- 
 fore us. On reaching the river below the falls, night set in, and the 
 rain began to pour in torrents. Fearing to attempt the passage of 
 the rapids in the dark; we encamped in the woods just below the 
 falls, and early the next morning, ran down the St. John. At 
 the mouth of the Aroostook, there are several houses inhabited by 
 American and Irish settlers. The falls are on the British side of the 
 boundary line, and will become valuable for the purpose of estab- 
 lishment of saw mills when the boundary question is settled, and the 
 injunction against cutting timber is removed, since the Aroostook ter- 
 ritory will furnish an almost inexhaustible supply of large pine tim- 
 ber, and the St. John from this point is wide, deep and navigable. 
 
 Nearly opposite the mouth of the Tobique, a few miles below 
 the Aroostook on an island, there is an excellent tavern kept by Mr. 
 Tibbets, where we stopped to dine, and to obtain packing paper and 
 boxes for our specimens. At the mouth of the Tobique there is 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 43 
 
 an Indian settlement, where a large tribe of Indians reside, and gain 
 a livelihood by trapping otter and beaver. These Indians are quite 
 distinct in appearance and manners from the Penobscot tribe, and 
 speak a peculiar language. At the time of our arrival there, they 
 had just brought in a number of otter and beaver, and were busy 
 in preparing their skins, while we remarked that they reserved the 
 flesh of these animals for food. 
 
 The Tobique river is an important tributary to the St. John, and 
 upon its banks near the red rapids (so called from their falling over 
 new red sandstone) there is an abundant supply of good gypsum, 
 valuable for agricultural use, and capable of being extensively 
 wrought for the supply of the Aroostook territory. 
 
 Since I had formerly sent the assistant geologist to make explora- 
 tions up this river, I thought it unnecessary forme to visit the locality, 
 and I beg leave to refer to his report herewith presented, for a more 
 particular description. 
 
 October 26th. Proceeding down the St. John, we stopped at 
 the River de Chute, where I proposed to make an excursion to Mars 
 Hill, but owing to continual rainy weather, I thought it would be 
 impossible for me to effect my purpose of triangulating its height, 
 and therefore left Mr Hodge to wait for clear weather, and then to 
 make the necessary exploration, while, in the meantime, we contin- 
 ued our route to Woodstock. 
 
 The assistant having ascended Mars Hill and obtained the required 
 information respecting its composition, reported that the mountain is 
 entirely covered with forest trees, but here and there he succeeded 
 in finding the outcropping ledges, which proved on examination to be 
 grau-wacke, exactly like that upon the Sugar-loaf mountain, and 
 like that rock belonging to the regular anthracite coal measures. 
 
 On the summit of Mars Hill, there is a high board platform, 
 formerly used by the engineers in their surveys. 
 
 On reaching Woodstock, I sold our boat and some of our camp- 
 ing apparatus no longer required for our operations, and hired the 
 stage coach to carry us wjth our specimens and baggage to Houlton, 
 in season to take the Bangor stage which we found just ready to 
 leave. Our party being large we readily induced the driver to wait 
 until we had dined, and then set out for Bangor by the route of the 
 
44 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 Military Road to Mattawamkeag point, and then we returned to 
 Bangor. 
 
 The men were then paid and discharged, and when all due ar- 
 rangements had been made for closing the survey, I took passage 
 for Boston, and arrived there on the 9th of November. 
 
 On reviewing this journal of observations, it will be at once per- 
 ceived that the country which we have explored, is a most val- 
 uable territory, possessing every advantage required by settlers. 
 Heavy timber offers a reward to the enterprising timber dealer. A 
 rich soil, capable of producing an average crop of 20 bushels of 
 wheat to the acre, and in some cases producing from 30 to 40 
 bushels, offers an ample reward to the husbandman. 
 
 Inexhaustible supplies of limestone, valuable both for building ma- 
 terials and for agriculture ; vast and inexhaustible mines of rich iron 
 ore, amid interminable forests which will supply an abundance of 
 charcoal, required for the manufacture of the finest kinds of iron and 
 steel ; hills and precipices of fine grau-wacke, suitable for building 
 furnaces and lime-kilns, and for the construction of dwellings, as 
 also for the manufacture of mill-stones, required in grinding wheat, 
 — the country presents every natural advantage that might be re- 
 quired to call forth the enterprise and industry of the farmer and 
 manufacturer. 
 
 Besides this it is highly probable, that as the country becomes 
 settled, that important beds of anthracite may be disclosed by the 
 various excavations made in the course of settlement ; for by sinking 
 a well or digging a cellar, beds of coal may be discovered, that have 
 escaped our detection during a rapid reconnoissance of a densely 
 wooded country, where the thick layers of dead leaves, and the 
 superficial soil may have concealed them from our view. 
 
 When the new Aroostook road is open so as to afford ready 
 communication with that most valuable agricultural region, the tide 
 of emigration will turn in that direction, and as the country becomes 
 more populated, it will successfully resist all foreign encroachments, 
 and forever place that portion of Maine beyond the power of foreign 
 jurisdiction. Thus far the few inhabitants of the Aroostook have 
 successfully resisted British jurisdiction, and have maintained their 
 own independence, acknowledging no law but their own arbitration. 
 
1838. 
 
 ’HOUSE — No. 70. 
 
 45 
 
 The present population is estimated at from 450 to 500 persons, and 
 they are mostly of American origin, and are civil and correct in 
 their deportment. 
 
 It is deeply to be regretted, however, that while a young genera- 
 tion is rising up there, that they have not the advantages of education, 
 there being no schools or means of instruction in that country. I 
 saw one religious meeting held in a private house, and noted the 
 general decorum of the people who had thronged the dwelling. 
 
 Upon the shore of the river lay a small fleet of their piroques or 
 log canoes that here serve in the place of carriages, which are un- 
 known in a region where there are no roads. 
 
 The State should stretch forth its helping hand to the inhabitants 
 of the Aroostook, and afford the people the advantages of public 
 schools, otherwise a vast number of young people will there grow 
 up in a state of lamentable ignorance. By thus taking an interest in 
 their welfare you will secure their affections, and their patriotism 
 will be exerted in your behalf whenever any exigency may arise 
 calling for their aid in the protection of the rights of the State. 
 
 I would not, however, confine our views to mere acts of policy, 
 for we ought in justice to extend to those people advantages which 
 are the birthrights of all American citizens. 
 
 In the course of two years there will be a free communication 
 between the Aroostook and Bangor, and a great number of enter- 
 prising settlers will take up their residence there, and by farming 
 they will obtain an ample reward, and that region will become as it 
 is destined by nature to be the Granery of the North. 
 
46 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 J\fr. Hodges Report on the Jlllagash Section, from the Penobscot to 
 the St. Lawrence Rivers. 
 
 According to instructions received from Dr. Jackson, I left Bos- 
 ton on the 9th June, and proceeded immediately to Bangor. While 
 delayed by the necessary preparations for an excursion into the in- 
 terior, I had an opportunity of gaining some information in regard to 
 the geology of Howland, and its vicinity. This town, lies at the 
 junction of the Penobscot and the Piscataquis rivers ; is based upon 
 slate, of the older transition series, which breaks out in many places 
 on the banks of both these rivers. It is not of a kind, which would 
 answer for roofing, or writing slates ; but from the representation of 
 Mr. Hammatt, and from specimens I have seen, brought from near 
 the head of the Ceboois, I have no doubt good slate may be there 
 obtained. The general direction of the slate is N.N.E., S.S.W., 
 and dip about 75° E.S.E. Much of the township, particularly on 
 the borders of the rivers, is covered, to a good depth, with rich al- 
 luvial soil, which is, however, sometimes heavy, owing to a predom- 
 inance of clay ; but it produces large crops of potatoes, hay, and 
 grain. 
 
 Back from the streams, the soil is evidently derived from the de- 
 composition of slate, and being occasionally mixed with sand and 
 gravel, presents with its undulating surface, abundant proofs of dilu- 
 vial action. The township is well watered by the two large rivers 
 above mentioned, the Ceboois, which intersects it, and by many 
 smaller streams. On most of these, there are good water privileges; 
 two saw-mills are now in operation. 
 
 About five miles up the Seboois comes in a spring, strongly 
 charged with sulphuretted hydrogen. In dry seasons, it is strongly 
 impregnated with this gas, and deposits the yellow sub-sulphate of 
 iron around. The water is then powerfully astringent and tonic. 
 
 In the clay near the banks of the Piscattaquis, have been found 
 the same u cigar-shaped” fossils, that are so abundant at Bangor. 
 They are called siphoniae, and are supposed to be formed from the 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 47 
 
 remains of molluscous animals. In form, they resemble cigars, and 
 different kinds of fruit, and nothing analogous to them is now living. 
 
 On the eastern side of the Penobscot, opposite Howland, lies an 
 extensive level tract of country, which has been entirely burned over 
 several times in the course of the last fifteen years. It extends 
 nearly to Lincoln, and four or five miles back from the river. 
 Wherever this district has been settled, the soil has been found good, 
 producing heavy crops. In going from Howland, to Cold Stream 
 Pond, in Enfield, we pass through the burnt district, to a more hilly 
 country. The soil suddenly changes from a slate to a granite soil. 
 Boulders of granite, lie scattered about in abundance, and the rock, 
 itself, is found place f of a mile west from the Pond. Granite 
 forms the hills, which border the Pond, and the slate rocks upon 
 their sides are curiously altered by its action. They are changed 
 into micaceous, alternating with siliceous slate, traversed by numerous 
 veins of quartz, and singularly veined and striped — somtimes coated 
 with carbonate of lime, and sometimes colored by oxide of iron. The 
 presence of carbonate of lime, had led to the belief, that the rock, 
 was limestone, and preparations have been made to burn it. 
 
 Having engaged two boatmen, and purchased a batteau, to trans- 
 port us with our provisions, &c., upon the rivers, I left Howland on 
 the 22d June, and proceeded up the Penobscot river. 
 
 As Dr. Jackson has since made nearly the same tour as far up as 
 Mount Ktaadn, I shall pass cursorily over those places examined by 
 him. 
 
 I visited one of the granite quarries at Lincoln, 48 miles above 
 Bangor. The rock forms a hill of about three acres, a mile and a 
 half E.N.E. from the village on the road to Lee. Other hills in the 
 neighborhood are of the same formation ; but the rock has been 
 opened at only one other locality, a mile beyond this. From the 
 two quarries, at least a thousand tons of stone have been wrought 
 within the two last years. Part of this has been carried down the 
 river on rafts to Oldtown and Bangor, and the remainder used in the 
 village for cellars and underpining. This has been taken only from 
 the surface. Wherever the rock is exposed, seams are observed 
 crossing it, and sometimes veins of another variety of granite. By 
 making fissures parallel to the seams, the workmen split out perfectly 
 
48 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 true blocks of 50 feet in length, and of any width and thickness 
 under four feet square. The stone is very sound, and free from 
 iron, retains a sharp edge when smooth-hammered, is of good grain, 
 and of a fine dark color. It sells in the quarry, for one cent per foot, 
 and when rough-split, from seven to ten cents per foot, according as 
 the demand is for a smaller or larger quantity. 
 
 Two miles south from Lincoln, are ledges of micaceous and sili- 
 ceous slates, very much resembling those at Cold Stream Pond. 
 Their direction is N.E by E. & S. W by W., and they are so nearly 
 vertical, I could not ascertain their true dip. As lime is worth at 
 Lincoln $4 a cask, it was hoped limestone might be found at this 
 place. 
 
 On the 25th, we reached the Grand Falls of the Penobscot, and I 
 spent the succeeding day in examinations of the vicinity. The river 
 is here but a few rods in width, running between high ledges of slate, 
 over which it falls about 20 feet. The banks below the Falls, are 
 about the same height, and being worn away by the action of the 
 water, which in spring rushes through this passage with great velocity, 
 the edges and quality of the rock are fairly exposed. The strata are 
 irregular, so that it is difficult to ascertain their true dip and direction. 
 Just below the Falls, they run E.N.E. W.S.W., and dip S.S.E. 
 Haifa mile farther down, they run N.E. SW., and dip N.W. The 
 slate is argillaceous, and contains beds of quartz and Talcose slate. 
 Good roofing or writing slates, cannot be obtained. At the mouth of 
 Noliseemack stream, which comes into the river below the Falls, is 
 a ledge of quartz rock, the strata of which, run E. & W. The hills 
 around are covered with boulders of granite, most of them crumbling 
 to pieces. Owing to the swarms of black flies at this place, it was 
 with great difficulty, I could make any observations. 
 
 As the river is difficult to ascend for a mile above the Falls, we 
 returned to Noliseemack, or Shad Pond, and passed up the Millino- 
 ket stream two miles, to the foot of a road which leads across to the 
 Penobscot, above the rapids. Shad Pond, near the mouth of Milli- 
 noket, is shallow, and at this time we pushed our boat through an 
 acre or more of buck-beans, (Fabia,) which had taken root at the 
 bottom, and bloomed above the surface in the greatest profusion and 
 beauty. 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 49 
 
 At the landing, our boat was taken out of the water, and fastened 
 with its freight, upon an ox-sled. We accompanied it in its perilous 
 voyage of two miles, on foot over a rough hilly road, filled with 
 boulders of granite and slate, until we arrived a little below the foot 
 of Quakis. This is a narrow pond, 3 miles long, through which the 
 current runs to its outlet. It is surrounded by low banks, which 
 are covered with pine, birch, and oak. At its foot, is a ledge of 
 roofing slate, of poor quality. From Quakis, we continue up a mile 
 through quick water and rapids ; — the river filled with large rounded 
 boulders of granite, and come to another small pond called Elbow 
 lake, — thence through the North Twin lake, 3 or 4 miles to Pemadum- 
 cook lake. The land on the borders of these lakes is low, and con- 
 tains no ledges of rocks ; but its surface is scattered over with multi- 
 tudes of boulders of granite, some of them of large size. The growth 
 does not indicate a rich soil, and what timber once grew here, has 
 been mostly cut off. Only one attempt has been made to clear 
 a farm above that on the Millinoket, and it turned out unsuccessfully. 
 Excellent brook trout abound in the rapids, and are taken with the 
 greatest ease, often almost jumping into the boat for the bait, which 
 is nothing more than a piece of salt pork. They weigh from a few 
 ounces to three pounds. 
 
 We were detained the whole of the 28th, at the foot of Perna- 
 dumcook, by a high wind, which would not admit of a batteaux 
 crossing the lake. 
 
 On the 29th, we continued across the Pemadumcook, and passed 
 through Ambejijis, and came to a portage above. After carrying 
 our boat, &c., about eighty rods, we again put in, and soon arrived 
 at another lake or pond, called Katepskenegan. This is a long 
 strip of water through which the river runs a little east of south. On 
 its western side, is a high hill of granite, covered with immense loose 
 blocks of the same rock, piled one upon another almost perpendicu- 
 larly. On the other sides, the land is generally low, but rising to hills 
 at a distance from the water. 
 
 A little above this pond, there is another portage, where the river 
 falls over loose granite rocks for some distance. We crossed this 
 on the 30th, and two miles above, we were obliged to carry by again 
 on the western side. The opposite bank, is formed of granite, of a 
 7 
 
60 
 
 GEOLOGY OF. THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 beautiful variety, lying in the best position and form for working. It 
 is in large parallel blocks, extending in a N.W. and S.E. direction. 
 These split naturally to a very smooth surface, presenting a face in 
 which the materials appear finely disseminated ; the mica in small 
 black scales, the feldspar perfectly white and pure, and the quartz in 
 small vitreous particles. Though worn for ages by the current, and 
 subjected to continual moisture, the rock shows no symptoms of de- 
 cay or disintegration, as it inevitably would, if it contained the least 
 iron or other foreign matter. 
 
 Not far above this, we arrived at a fifth portage, which is called 
 the Pauquakamus. Here we encamped, and the next day, the first 
 of July, carried across about 40 rods. These Falls are also formed 
 by the river being almost choked up by loose granite rocks. At 
 the head of this portage, the bank is a smooth ledge of granite. The 
 country around is more hilly and mountainous. It is evident that we 
 have arrived at the great centre of elevation of the state ; the up- 
 heaving of which, has left its visible effects in the general inclination 
 of the strata. 
 
 We soon passed the two streams, called Aboljocknagesick, 
 that come in from Ktaadn. Being supplied from the mountain 
 springs, they are cool and clear ; the lower one, particularly, even 
 retaining its purity of color for some distance after its discharge into 
 the main river. We then came to Gibson’s clearing of 80 acres on 
 the eastern side. The banks are from 10 to 15 feet high, and the 
 soil, judging from the fine growth of grass which then covered the 
 open intervale, is very good. The place is not inhabited. Among 
 the loose pieces of granite, slate, &c. on the shores, I found speci- 
 mens of grau-wacke, containing distinct impressions of terebratulae. 
 These a e important as indi ating, somewhere above, rocks belong- 
 ing to the anthracite coal formation. 
 
 On the western bank are ledges of granite similar to, though not 
 so good as, that found at Katepskenegan below. 
 
 A little above this clearing on the eastern side comes in the Sow- 
 adnehunk, so named by the aborigines from its running between 
 mountains. It is a rough, rocky river, known only to a few Indians 
 and whites, who have hunted or explored in its vicinity. Its last fall 
 of a few feet over a granite ledge, is but a rod or two above its 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 51 
 
 entrance into the Penobscot. The main river a little above the 
 mouth of the Sovvadnehunk has also a fall of 10 or 15 feet. Over 
 this we were obliged to haul our boat and baggage. A violent tem- 
 pest, which is not uncommon in the midst of these mountains, per- 
 mitted us to proceed but a few miles farther up the river, before we 
 encamped. 
 
 The next day (Sunday 2d,) I spent in visiting a rocky mountain 
 which rises directly from the north-eastern shore. A fire had for- 
 merly run over it and stripped it entirely of trees. Their trunks 
 half-burned, lay scattered among the loose blocks of granite, which 
 covered its sides. Among these I found numerous specimens of 
 grau-waeke, containing terebratulae and turritellae, greenstone trap, 
 and a coarse conglomerate or grau-wacke. Near the top of the hill 
 I came to high granite precipices, from the summit of which the 
 fine prospect amply repaid the labor of ascending. Ktaadn still re- 
 taining a little snow in its northern valley, seemed directly above, and 
 Double-capped Mt., or Outop, as if one might step across to its sum- 
 mit, though between lay hills and vallies, among which I could trace 
 the first meanderings of the Sovvadnehunk and other streams, not 
 yet explored nor named. On the other side, the Penobscot was 
 distinctly visible for a long distance above and below, sometimes, 
 however, lost among the hills, through which it wound its way, and 
 then widening out into large lakes. Of these Chesuncook was re- 
 markable by its apparently high level. On every side rose hills be- 
 hind hills, most of them covered with forests, and washed at their 
 base by some river or stream. 
 
 On the third, we continued up the river, passing by a rough coun- 
 try. Twice we were compelled to carry our boat over portages, 
 one of which was 100 rods long, where no path was cut out. The 
 hills are all composed of granite, and most of them burned over. 
 The granite often lies in regular sheets, running N.W. and S.E. 
 In the aftern on we arrived at the font of the Rippogenus portage, 
 known as the most difficult on the Penobscot River. It is three 
 miles in length, by a long series of rapids, the path is not cut out, 
 and is almost impassable by reason of rocks, burnt trees and bushes. 
 We carried one load half a mile in the midst of a hard rain, and en- 
 camped in an old deserted log-hut. 
 
52 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 The 4th and 5tl^of July were spent in carrying our provisions, 
 &c., across this portage. The men succeeded by great risk and ex- 
 ertion in getting the batleau up by water to the foot of an island near 
 Rippogenus Lake. On the sixth they cut a path across the island, 
 half a mile, carried over the boat, and we proceeded nearly a mile 
 up the lake to a clearing, where we found a log hut and two men. 
 They were living here to raise hay and supplies for the lumbermen 
 who might log on the river during the coming winter. 
 
 On the 7th, I visited the island above mentioned, and the falls, to 
 examine the rocks more particularly. Rippogenus lake is about two 
 miles long at its lower extremity, nearly barred by high hills. 
 Through these the river has made its way, rushing among them for 
 two or three miles in one almost continued fall. A little below the 
 lake, the current is divided by the island, on each side of which, 
 compressed to a few feet in width, it rushes impetuously, sometimes 
 under perpendicular banks of slate 60 feet high, and, on the south- 
 ern side of the island, over surfaces of trap ledges, worn into hills 
 like rolling waves. The slate on the island dips S.S. W. At the 
 lower part of the island, and on the main shore opposite, the slate 
 contains beds of grey limestone. Some of this is changed by the 
 action of the trap into a good Hydraulic limestone ; and some huge 
 masses apparently raised up by trap-rocks, are filled with madre- 
 pores or corallines, which being worn distinct by the action of the 
 current, give to the rock a curious honey-combed appearance. 
 Some of the limestone is formed into a curious breccia. This is 
 the locality called in Greenleaf’s description of Maine, u a quarry 
 of fine statuary marble !” At the foot of the lake, on the north 
 side, rises a rocky bluff 70 feet perpendicularly, extending back to 
 a great height. At its base the compact siliceous rock runs E.S.E., 
 W.N.W., and dips 28° N.N.E. Directly over it the same rock 
 runs in the same direction, and is nearly vertical. Upon the hills 
 back are ledges of slate, much of which is of the kind called novac- 
 ulite, suitable for whetstones. 
 
 At the rapids between Rippogenus and Chesuncook lakes, are 
 ledges of quartz rock; strata contorted, general dip 70° E.S.E. 
 Beyond are banks 20 feet high, formed of a green slate. It covers 
 the country back from the river, which is completely burned over 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 53 
 
 and destitute of soil. The strata are much contorted, and the slate 
 crumbling — its general direction is N.E., S.W., r dip 60° S.E. At 
 the foot of Chesuncook are ledges of porphyritic greenstone, and 
 quartz rock, dipping 80° S.E. by S. 
 
 Chesuncook lake is a fine sheet of water, extending N.E. and S. 
 W. 18 miles, and about 2 miles in width. There are no islands in 
 it ; the country around is low and flat, and the banks formed of sand 
 and gravel, seldom exceeding six feet in height. Among the loose 
 stones, I found specimens of coarse grau-wacke, slate, quartz rock, 
 and a few large boulders of good limestone. At the upper extremity 
 of the lake are ledges of siliceous slate dipping 75° N. W., and argil- 
 laceous slate dipping from 40° to 80° N.W. These last come out 
 in slabs like grave-stones, and are scattered in every direction over 
 the shores. 
 
 The west branch of the Penobscot and the Umbazookskus come 
 into the lake very near each other ; the one flowing from the west, 
 and the other from the north. A clearing has been made at the head 
 of the lake, on land belonging to the state, and some timber cut. 
 There is not, however, much good timber in the immediate vicinity. 
 
 Having determined to visit Moosehead lake, before proceeding to 
 the St. John waters, I continued up the west branch to the lower 
 carry into that lake. The river, for a few miles above Chesuncook, is 
 sluggish, and the country around scarcely rises above its level. It is 
 covered with a thick growth of cedar, spruce, birch and fir, to which 
 its black, muddy soil seems well adapted. We soon, however, leave 
 this, and come to banks of a fine blue clay, from ten to fifteen feet 
 high. Near by are rapids, where the river runs violently over the 
 ledges of slate, which form its bed. These run E.N.E., W.S.W, 
 and dip 60° N.N.W. Banks of clay and loam then prevail, with 
 occasional ledges of slate, which dip from the North to N.N.W. 70°. 
 For twelve miles below the ]ow 7 er portage, there is not a ledge of 
 rock. The boulders in the river are principally of slate and quartz 
 rock. 
 
 Fine forests of hard \yood border the river, and on the hills is 
 much good pine timber intermixed. The soil is excellent, and the 
 country in every respect well adapted for settling. Tracks of moose, 
 resembling those of oxen, were very abundant in the banks ; many 
 
54 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 apparently just made by the animal coming down into the water. 
 The river varies much in depth and rapidity ; running rapidly over 
 the gravel beds, where it is always shoal ; and being comparatively 
 still and tranquil in deep water. 
 
 The upper carry is about eight miles above the lower, and between 
 them are rapids and falls. At the lower one, where we stopped, 
 the river is about 2i miles from the head of the lake, and the 
 country between is so low, that in freshets the water from the lake, 
 which is somewhat higher than the river, is said to find its way 
 across, and flow into, the Penobscot. As this portage is much used 
 by people passing to Madawaska, a road has been cut by the state, 
 for their benefit, and for the convenience of supplying exploring par- 
 ties. It is now out of repair, muddy, and encumbered by fallen trees 
 and bushes. 
 
 On the 12th of July we brought our boat, provisions, and utensils 
 over, and paddled half way to the foot of Moosehead lake. The 
 wind blew strong against us both this day and the next, and it was 
 only by running great risk of filling our boat, and by hard labor, that 
 we were able to reach Gower’s, at the foot of the lake, on the night 
 of the thirteenth. Here I remained three days, expecting farther 
 instructions from Dr. Jackson. I spent the time in examining 
 around the lake. Its whole extent from N. to S. is about 40 miles, 
 and varies in width from one to 6 or 8 miles. It is very irregular in 
 shape, owing to its deep coves, bays, and islands which in some 
 parts almost fill the lake. Many of these are mere ledges of slate, 
 covered with a scanty growth of cedar and fir, rising perpendicular- 
 ly from the surface of the water, which falls suddenly to a great 
 depth, by their sides. Others are large islands of many acres, well 
 wooded, and bordered by beaches of sand, as well as by ledges of 
 rock. On the eastern side, a few miles from the foot of the lake, 
 rises a high rocky point called Burnt Jacket. It is composed of gneiss, 
 curiously crossed in every direction by veins of quartz. Its sides 
 are covered with huge blocks of gneiss, which have fallen from the 
 top, forming long dens and passages between them. One of these 
 blocks was coated with a layer of quartz and feldspar, in which I dis- 
 covered distinct, though poor, crystals of black tourmaline and anda- 
 lusite. At the foot of the hill, immediately over the water, is a de- 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 55 
 
 composing vein of a coarser kind of gneiss, which contains some 
 pretty good crystals of the black tourmaline, feldspar, and mica. 
 
 Not far from this locality, on the eastern point of Deer island, oc- 
 curs siliceous slate coutaining beds of quartz. The strata run E. and 
 W. and dip 65° N. A few rods to the north, the same slate dips 
 as many degress to the south. 
 
 On a small low island N. W. from Moose island, I found the beach 
 almost covered with fine black ferruginous sand. It is the common 
 black sand used in writing. It lies upon, and in strata with the yel- 
 low beach sand, and may be collected in great abundance. Such 
 sand is commonly sold when put up in pound papers at six cents 
 each. To obtain large quantities, it might be scooped up with 
 shovels, and afterwards separated from the yellow sand by powerful 
 magnets. Very near the shore are boggy holes filled with water, 
 which is coated with a film of iron. There are also ledges of slate 
 on this island. 
 
 On the main land to the N.W., occurs calciferous slate in strata, 
 running N.W., S.E., and nearly vertical. It contains nests of ma- 
 drepores or corallines, and evidently belongs to the grau-wacke forma- 
 tion. This calciferous or grau-wacke slate extends a mile along the 
 lake, and its southern extremity gives place to micaceous slate. 
 Squaw mountain rises immediately in the rear of this locality, and 
 had I then known the report that pieces of coal had been found on 
 the mountain, I should have been much more unwilling to have left 
 so important a region without further examination. 
 
 But my directions being, to continue immediately on the north- 
 ward, in order to obtain a geological section of the country, I was 
 under the necessity of returning to the head of the lake. Passing 
 by Mt. Kenio, my attention being attracted by its singular appear- 
 ance, I stopped to ascend and examine the mountain. It is the ter- 
 mination of a peninsula, which extends for some distance into the lake 
 on the eastern side, opposite the mouth of Moose river. As we ap- 
 proached the mountain from the south-west it had the appearance of 
 a huge, artificial wall of stone, rising directly out of the water. We 
 paddled under its cliffs, which jutted out over our heads at a height 
 of five or six hundred feet. Below they descended perpendicularly 
 ninety feet. The northern and western sides are covered with trees, 
 
56 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 and slope, so that one can reach the top by a path along the edge of 
 the precipice. From its summit is enjoyed a beautiful prospect of 
 the lake with its islands, and of the adjoining country, forming a 
 most picturesque landscape. The country to the northward and to 
 the westward is generally low. — Moose river is seen making its way 
 through it, and finally emptying into the lake on the opposite side. 
 To the eastward it is more hilly, until the view is lost among the 
 mountains of the Ktaadn group. 
 
 On looking down from the edge of the precipice, we see the water 
 directly beneath ; and so steep and overhanging is the rock, that, by 
 a single leap, one might throw himself from almost the highest point, 
 and strike the water six hundred feet below, and many feet distant 
 from the base of the mountain. 
 
 Mt. Kenio receives its name from that of an old Indian, who 
 formerly lived and hunted in its vicinity. It is a mountain com- 
 posed entirely of a bluish hornstone, like flint, exceedingly hard 
 and compact. After long exposure, the surface of the stone be- 
 comes white. At the base of the hill, it is said, there is another kind 
 of rock, probably greenstone trap ; but the water, being three feet 
 higher than usual, concealed it. 
 
 On the 18th of July, we reached the portage at the head of the 
 lake. The next day we carried over our boat and utensils, proceeded 
 five or six miles down the river, and encamped on an island. The 
 islands on the west branch are numerous ; most of them are covered 
 with a good alluvial soil and a fine growth of hard wood, such as birch, 
 maple, ash, &c. On the 20th, we continued down the river, but with 
 great difficulty, owing to the shallowness of the water, which had 
 fallen 18 inches in the course of the preceding week. We were en- 
 abled, however, to reach Chesuncook lake before night, and pass up 
 to the union of the Caucomgomac and Umbazookskus, where we 
 encamped. — These two streams, at their union, run in opposite direc- 
 tions ; the one east and the other west ; so that they have the ap- 
 pearance of being but one river. The country is so low and flat, 
 that their currents at this place are hardly perceptible. A lew rods 
 up the Caucomgomac, the current is quicker, and there is a dyke 
 of greenstone trap with veins of carb. lime in the bank, which rises 
 to the height of 1 5 or 20 feet. But the Umbazookskus continues 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE — No. 70. 
 
 57 
 
 continues sluggish and shallow, till within a few miles of the lake of 
 the same name, from whence it flows. It is a smaller stream than 
 the other, exceedingly crooked, only ten miles long, and almost 
 overgrown with tall grass and lily-pads. Thick elder-bushes cover 
 its banks, through which it is almost impossible to penetrate: so that 
 a part of the three last miles, where- the stream was too low to float 
 the boat, we were compelled to wade. A good portage has been cut 
 out by the state to the distance of about fifty rods ; but had the same 
 time and labor been spent in clearing out the channel, it never would 
 have been necessary to “take out” on this stream. The water is 
 very seldom so low as when we passed up ; and even then the men 
 succeeded in wading up the stream with the batteau, and carried only 
 the load by the portage. 
 
 Umbazookskus is a shallow lake, with sandy bottom. We crossed 
 the south-east corner of it to the portage, which passes over to Pon- 
 guongamook or Mud lake, the head waters of the Allagash river. 
 These two lakes are only If miles apart ; the country between and 
 around is low, and covered with the greatest abundance of pine. 
 The timber, however, is small, as is generally the case where it oc- 
 curs so plentifully ; but it is, nevertheless, very valuable. We 
 spent the night of the 21st on this portage ; the next day passed 
 over it, and across Mud lake, and the portage of 80 rods at its foot, 
 the outlet being too shallow to float the batteau. Mud lake, as its 
 name indicates, is low and muddy. Its level has been found to be 
 fourteen feet above that of the Umbazookskus. A canal might be 
 cut, with little expense to the state, across to some part of Umba- 
 zookskus pond or stream, which would increase that branch of the 
 Penobscot, and furnish a means of getting down some of the timber, 
 which lies between Mud lake and lake Pelos, and around the upper 
 Allagash lakes, which region comprises the best timber land in the 
 state. This is the only way by which this timber can be brought to 
 market, for the Allagash lakes are too long and dead to allow of its 
 being carried to Madawaska. But this has already been proposed by 
 others. 
 
 The outlet of Mud pond, down which we passed on the 23d, is 
 very small and shallow for the first mile ; almost filled with rounded 
 boulders of siliceous and argillaceous slates. Its banks abound with 
 8 
 
58 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 juniper and hackinetack, and rise to the height of small hills. For 
 the last mile above Chamberlin lake, the stream is deeper and easily 
 navigated. This lake, called also Baamchenungamook and App- 
 moojeenegamook, or Great Cross lake, is the largest of the Allagash 
 lakes. It is erroneously represented on the charts, for it extends in a 
 N.N.E. S.S-W. direction about twelve miles. The shores are low, 
 covered with gravel and small boulders of slate and quartz rock, and 
 the country around is level, with some good scattering pines. The 
 outlet is three or four miles from the inlet, across a part of the lake. 
 On the banks of the outlet, close by the lake, I observed a ledge of 
 clay slate, strata running E. and W. and dipping to the S. A few 
 rods below is an island composed of greenstone trap ; the same rock 
 also forms the bed of the stream. This is wide and quick, but 
 shallow. At the island there is a good opportunity for building a 
 dam across the stream, and erecting a saw mill. At night we 
 reached the long string of lakes, called Umsaskis, or Sausage lakes, 
 and were detained the whole of the 24th by rain storms. 
 
 The rain continued on the 25th, but we succeeded in going down 
 about 20 miles to the foot of Chase’s or Long Falls. Excepting 
 these falls, our route was through dead water, mostly lakes. The 
 country continues low, and scarcely any hills are to be seen. Pine 
 timber is abundant and large, mixed with spruce, fir, maple, &c. 
 On the western side of lake Pongokwahem, is a ledge of coarse con- 
 glomerate, or grau-wacke. It is cut through by a dyke of greenstone 
 trap, which runs N.E., S.W. At point of contact of the two rocks, 
 the trap is amygdaloidal, and the cavities filled with calcareous spar 
 and chlorite. Two miles to the north of this locality, occurs green- 
 stone trap again. These are the only rocks in place which we found 
 on the lakes. We encamped at night in a good log-hut, built the 
 last year for the accommodation of the surveyors, who run the line 
 for the Quebec and St. Andrews Rail-road. 
 
 Immediately below Chase’s falls are ledges of argillaceous alterna- 
 ting with siliceous slate. The former is sound, though it shows 
 traces of iron sheets 3 feet long, lj wide, and not more than J inch 
 thick, are readily split out. It contains beds of milky quartz. The 
 strata dip 62° N.N.W. It appears along the river for six rods. 
 
 The stream for several miles below is filled with large boulders of 
 granite, trap, and a slate altered by trap. 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 59 
 
 At the Lower Urnsaskis lake occur micaceous and siliceous slate. 
 But for the next 25 miles there is not a ledge of rock visible. Hills 
 appear around, on the sides of which pines are scattered in abun- 
 dance ; the shores, however, are low, composed of clay, gravel, and 
 alluvial soil. 
 
 On the 28th, four miles above the Grand Falls on the Allagash, 
 we met with argillaceous slate, running N.E. b. N., S.W. b. S. 
 This is succeeded by banks of clay and gravel, until a little above the 
 falls we find micaceous and argillaceous slate ; and at the falls the 
 latter rock, forming the entire bed and shores of the stream. It dips 
 75° S.S.E., is of poor quality, and gullied full of deep pot-holes. 
 At the falls the river is divided by a small island, on each side of 
 which it pitches over the rough slate rocks 25 feet, nearly perpendi- 
 cularly. The banks just below are precipitous, and of about the same 
 height. The country in the vicinity has been burnt over, and the rough 
 ledges of slate appear every where above the soil. Through these 
 the portage extends about 25 rods on the southern side. Below, the 
 slate dips 70° S.E. From the falls to the mouth of the Allagash, 
 the water is shallow and quick ; the immediate shores continue low, 
 and are formed of gravel. Before we reach the mouth, the river 
 makes a large bend or “ ox-bow,” after passing which we find it ex- 
 pands into a wide bay, at its confluence with the Walloostook. This 
 bay is filled with small islands and their banks are covered with a 
 luxuriant growth of grass. 
 
 On the 29th, we continued down the St. John, which is formed 
 by the confluence of the Walloostook and Allagash. It is a broad 
 deep river, running quick, often with rapids dangerous to small boats, 
 by their swell, and is bordered by high banks of sand and gravel, 
 sometimes ferruginous, which fiequently contain beds of blue and 
 yellow clay. Through these argillaceous slate, occasionally appears, 
 running from N.E. S.W. to E.N.E. S.S.W. lj miles down the 
 St. John, dipping to the S.E. ; a little below 75° N.N.W. On the 
 shores are boulders of quartz, slate, and red sandstone, and grau- 
 wacke in small pieces. ' The first settlement is nearly opposite the 
 mouth of the St. Francois, 16 miles from the mouth of the Allagash. 
 Four miles farther down is a rich island, inhabited by a former citi- 
 zen of Kennebec county. Another, below, supports a family from 
 the western part of the state ; while two other “ Yankees ” live on 
 
60 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 the southern bank of the river near by. These, with Mr. John B#- 
 ker, who lives at the mouth of the Meriumpticook, are the only 
 Americans on the river. 
 
 The numerous islands are composed of a rich alluvial soil, which 
 -yields heavy crops of grain, particularly wheat, and supports a fine 
 growth of hard wood, such as elm, maple, ash, and bass. Most of 
 these islands are taken possession of, and are cultivated by settlers. 
 The intervales in the upper settlements are high, and the country 
 behind rolls back in swells, forming high ranges of hills. These 
 abound in the sugar or rock maple tree, birch, and pine. The for- 
 mer is of great importance to the inhabitants, as they derive from it 
 all their sugar and molasses. At night we reached Baker’s 36 miles 
 from the mouth of the Allagash. 
 
 After leaving Baker’s I passed down to the mouth of the Mada- 
 waska river ; thence up that stream to Temiscouata lake, across the 
 Grand Portage to a little village on the St. Lawrence, called the 
 Riviere du Loup, and returned down the St. Francois to the St. 
 John again. 
 
 On the St. Francois our boat was overturned, and I lost, together 
 with our provisions and a part of our baggage, most of my notes for 
 the preceding fortnight. I have restored them as well as I was able 
 from memory. 
 
 From the mouth of the Meriumpticook to the Madawaska river is 
 twelve miles. The banks are generally high, composed of gravel 
 and clay, and the same kind of slate so common above. The stream 
 is swift, and the country around hilly ; there are, however, fine in- 
 tervales on the borders. These are taken up by French settlers, 
 many of whom have already become wealthy in this country. 
 
 Excepting the fall near the mouth, we found the Madawaska a fine 
 stream to navigate, the water being rather high, and running with a 
 gentle current. The country on the western side is hilly, but the 
 banks seldom exceed twelve feet in height. They are generally not 
 more than eight feet high, are composed of loam and sand. 
 
 On the eastern side the country often extends ! ack into rich inter- 
 vales. Ledges of rock occur only in three places below the lake, 
 and are argillaceous slate, running N.E. S.W. and nearly verti- 
 cal. The forests are entirely of the u black growth hardwood 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 61 
 
 is scarce, and pine not abundant. There are about fifteen houses 
 on the river which belong to the Canadian French. 
 
 We arrived at Temiscouata lake on Friday, August 4th. This is 
 24 Miles N. from the St. John, and extends nearly N. about 24 
 miles farther. High hills generally well-wooded surround the Lake 
 on all sides, but they do not abound in pines, although there are 
 enough to employ, every winter, a lumbering party from Madawaska. 
 The territory for six miles around the Lake was granted by the 
 French to Col. Frazier, who lived on the west side, near the foot of 
 the Grand Portage. He died the last spring, and a part of it now 
 belongs to citizens of Maine. At the foot of the Lake is a ledge of 
 argillaceous slate, running N.E. b. E., S.W. b. W., which contains 
 a little graphite. Several other similar ledges occur on the western 
 side of the Lake, and one of a coarse conglomerate or grau-wacke. 
 On the eastern side, opposite the foot of the Portage, is a high preci- 
 pitous hill, composed of grau-wacke slate lying in a nearly vertical 
 position, and having a N.E. and S.W. direction. At its base are 
 ledges of grau-wacke, which are filled with madrepores. They are 
 so numerous that the rock has been burned for lime, and plastering 
 made from it, when all the lime was derived merely from the coral- 
 lines. We have thus again arrived at the grau-wacke formation on 
 the other side of the Ktaadn mountains, the centre of elevation. 
 
 Temiscouata lake and the Madawaska river are of the greatest 
 importance to the state of Maine, and to Great Britain. By this 
 route the most ready communication may be had from Madawaska 
 to the sea-coast. It is also the most direct route between New 
 Brunswick and Lower Canada ; their mail traverses it regularly. 
 Nearly all the supplies for Madawaska come from the St. Law- 
 rence ; first across the Grand Portage, a road cut by the English 
 from St. Andre to Temiscouata Lake, 40 miles ; and thence by 
 boats to the St. John. There is much more travelling here than 
 is generally supposed. The day before we reached the # Portage, 
 there arrived twenty-one horses and carts, with supplies for the 
 Great Falls on the St. 'John. Families of emigrants are also con- 
 tinually passing over ; we met several on the road with their loads 
 of furniture moving from Canada. 
 
 Having learned that there was a piroque or French log-canoe on 
 
62 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 the St. Francois, which I could probably purchase, I left the balteau 
 at the Lake, with directions that it should be sent down to the 
 mouth of the Madawaska, by some trustworthy traveller, and set 
 out to cross the Portage, on the 6th of August, our baggage in one 
 of the French carts, which was returning ; ourselves on foot. My 
 object in going to a settlement was to obtain a new supply of pro- 
 visions, which could not be procured in Madawaska. 
 
 For the first four or five miles the road passes through a tract of 
 burnt lands ; the growth is spruce, cedar, fir, &c.; the surface un- 
 even with no high hills. The country then becomes more rough ; 
 the road passing over hills of considerable elevation, and through 
 deep swamps. Many of the hills abound with fine sugar maple 
 trees, and the country is adapted for settling ; but the present inhab- 
 itants choose those spots, which are not encumbered with hard wood, 
 and are the most easily cleared. I noticed only one ledge of rock 
 this day, which was slate about six miles from the Lake. 
 
 We reached the first house at night, having come sixteen miles. 
 The inhabitants were uneducated French people, who knew little of 
 what was passing excepting on the Grand Portage. They express- 
 ed much surprise when I told them the ground they lived upon was 
 in dispute between Great Britain and u the States.” 
 
 The next day we continued our journey ; but owing to the bad 
 state of the road the horse could get along but slowly. I therefore 
 left him and the men to make the best of their way, while I con- 
 tinued on. After travelling a little more than a mile I came to 
 ledges of red and green slate in alternating beds, their direction is 
 N.N.E., S.S.W. dip, 75° E.S.E. Five miles farther on is the 
 St. Francois ; it is little more than a brook, where the road crosses 
 it. Beyond this for two or three miles in extent, the surface is 
 at intervals formed entirely of rounded boulders of quartz rock. 
 Their average size is not far from eighteen i ches in diameter, and 
 they lie one upon another, and exposed as if they once formed the 
 bottom of mountain torrents or large streams. . 
 
 Six miles west from the St. Francois, the road crosses a consid- 
 erable stream, running to the north, and emptying into the St. Law- 
 rence. It is called the Riviere Verte. Its banks, at the portage, are 
 15 or 20 feet high, and composed entirely of red slate. The water 
 is colored red, as are all the brooks which flow through this soil. 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE — No. 70. 
 
 63 
 
 In this vicinity are the ranges of high lands which separate the wa- 
 ters running north from those running south. They form some high 
 hills, which extend in a N. and S. direction, so that the road crosses 
 them all. They are not difficult to cross, but have been considered of 
 sufficient elevation to receive names, as La Fourche, Mt. La Verte, 
 &c. 
 
 When within four miles of the St. Lawrence, I came out upon an 
 extensive plain, covered with fields of grass and grain, houses and 
 barns. It is a thickly settled spot for more than a mile. The inhabi- 
 tants are poor, living on the coarsest fare. Every one, however, owns 
 one or two good Canadian horses an^ cows. I stopped at one of 
 the houses to obtain something to eat. A large tin pan of “ bonny 
 clabber ” and a huge crust of sour brown bread were set before me, 
 these were all the house afforded, and nearly all that the inhabitants 
 require. Walking without food for eight hours enabled me to do 
 ample justice even to this. I hired the man of the house to take me 
 on to the Riviere du Loup, in his cart. The distance was nine 
 miles, and it would be necessary for him to return late in the even- 
 ing ; for this he charged 80 cents. 
 
 When we first came in sight of the St. Lawrence, from the top of 
 a high hill the view was most striking, and much more interesting to 
 me from having been shut up in the woods for the two previous 
 months. Directly below us lays the broad river, extending across 
 9 or 10 miles, its surface broken by a few islands and reefs ; and two 
 ships riding at anchor near the shore. Beyond, extended ranges of 
 uncultivated hills, parallel with the river. The sun was just going 
 down behind them, and gilding the whole scene with its parting rays. 
 St. Andre is the name of the first parish ; it contains few houses. 
 Riviere du Loup, the parish six miles below, is much larger; it con- 
 tains about a hundred houses, and a catholic church. We passed 
 the river of the same name, a broad shallow stream, a mile or two 
 back from the St. Lawrence, thence over several hills to the St. 
 Lawrence, and along its side, a part of the way under a precipitous 
 bank of grau-wacke on ©ur right, twenty or more feet high. This 
 rock forms curious ridges, running parallel with the river, and at con- 
 siderable distances from each other. The stratification is irregular, 
 as if it had been once disturbed. The principal street is through the 
 
64 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 plateau between two of these ridges. Directly above it the rock lies 
 in large tabular masses, the seams of stratification inclining in different 
 directions. These lie in the second ridge from the river. 
 
 I was detained here three days, the S, 9, and 10th of August. 
 The two last days it rained almost incessantly. I was treated with 
 great hospitality and kindness by Mr. Davidson, who has charge of 
 the saw-mills at the falls of the Riv du Loup, and of all the business 
 of supplying the English ships with deal from this place. These 
 falls are a mile back from the St. Lawrence ; in this distance the 
 river descends at least 150 feet ; about 70 feet at the second pitch, 
 above which there is a mill. The view is very striking and romantic, 
 — the river falling with a continued roar over this high precipice, and 
 afterwards rushing between higher banks of slate, through which it 
 has excavated for itself, a narrow passage, and which now rise per- 
 pendicularly above it from 60 to 100 feet. The slate is of the red 
 and greenish kinds noticed above ; it easily crumbles, and is worn 
 away by the current. The saw-mill is supplied with timber from the 
 head of the Riviere du Loup, where it is in great abundance, as it is 
 around the head of the Riviere Verte. 
 
 After it is cut into deal, or thick plank, it is conveyed to near the 
 mouth of the river in a sluice, which is a mile and a quarter long, in 
 fourteen minutes. It is thence carried in large batteaux to the ships 
 in the stream. Lumber is exported from the provinces in the form 
 of deal, partly on account of the convenience of stowage, but princi- 
 pally to avoid the high duties on boards, clapboards, and shingles. 
 After the deal has arrived in Europe, it is most of it sawed again, 
 each piece into five boards. 
 
 The land on the St. Lawrence is good, and pretty well cultivated. 
 Along the river are fine meadows, which yield abundant crops of 
 grain, and both salt and English hay. This vicinity is not so subject 
 to frost, as the country back. The large plain I passed over, nine 
 miles from the St. Lawrence, produced the heaviest crops of grass 
 I have ever seen ; but their grain is almost sure to be cut off. 
 
 On the 11th we returned as far as the St. Francois, — 21 miles. 
 The rains had flooded the country, and the last nine miles were al- 
 most impassable. I found on the road the owner of the piroque, 
 which I purchased, and at night we encamped on the St. Francois. 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 65 
 
 This river, where it is crossed by the Grand Portage is a small 
 stream, but being now flowed by the rains, may be ten or twelve 
 feet across. In descending we find it often very narrow and shoal, 
 hardly able to float our canoe ; and overgrown for miles with elder 
 bushes, and obstructed by jams of trees, and full of crooks and turns, 
 through all which the current would hurry us much swifter than is 
 at all consistent with safety. The country around is low and flat, 
 producing only spruce, juniper, fir, cedar, and some birch. About 
 twelve miles below the portage appear two ledges of quartz rock, 
 running N.E. and S.W. very compact and hard. As we came 
 rapidly round a sharp turn, not far from seventeen miles below the 
 Grand Portage, our canoe was suddenly brought up by two fir trees, 
 lying across the stream. Their thick branches prevented her going 
 through ; she came round, filled, and rolled under. We remained 
 in the trees. That night and the next morning we collected what 
 we could find of our provisions and baggage, and as there was not 
 a day’s allowance of the former, we were compelled to hurry through 
 to Madawaska, as fast as possible. We passed down twelve miles 
 with the current, as rapid as it was above, more crooked, and much 
 obstructed by jams. We then came to a large lake about eight 
 miles long and one wide. It was surrounded by hills, on which pine 
 grew abundantly, but of small size. The shores were hid by the 
 water, which extended up among the trees. We passed through 
 this lake, about eight miles below, and encamped. Pine continued 
 plenty all the way from the lake, and balm of gilead, and ash, 
 abound on the banks. 
 
 On the 14th, we crossed another lake about four miles long, soon 
 after three in a string, like the Umaskis or Sausage lakes, and at 
 night another, five miles long, and encamped at the foot. We were 
 obliged to make one portage of a quarter of a mile by a jam. The 
 country through which we passed is poor for settling, but rich in 
 pine timber. The banks vary much in height, being for two miles 
 on the western side of the river from fifteen to thirty feet high, 
 while the opposite shorq. is little above the water. They are com- 
 posed of sand and gravel and a little clay. Argillaceous slate occurs 
 in one place, which is at least 40 miles below the last ledge we 
 9 
 
66 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 passed. The strata run N.E. b E., S.W. b W., and are nearly 
 vertical. 
 
 The next day we arrived early at the mouth of the St. Francois, 
 which is six miles below the last lake. Soon after we reached 
 Mr. HunnewelPs, on Sugar Isle, where we were liberally supplied 
 with every thing we required. We then continued down to Mr. 
 Baker’s. 
 
 The distance from the Grand Portage to the St. John, following 
 the course of the St. Francois, cannot be far from eighty-five miles ; 
 in a direct line not much more than half this distance. It is upon 
 the whole, a good pine country, and thei*e are some excellent water 
 privileges at the outlets of the lakes ; the best of these I noticed 
 was taken possession of by the usual way of felling trees around. 
 But the poor soil, and difficult navigation of the waters, are great 
 objections to this region. On the lower lake, there has already been 
 some timber cut. I find the inhabitants every where are not scrupu- 
 lous in cutting timber on the public lands. 
 
 About fourteen miles up the Meriumpticook occur argillaceous 
 slates ; which according to Mr. Baker’s account may be obtained in 
 large thin sheets. 
 
 On the 17th, we continued down the St. John. At the mouth 
 of Madawaska we again took our batteau, which had been sent down 
 from Temiscouata Lake. The next day we arrived at the Great 
 Falls. In the clay bank near Grand Isle, examined last year, I 
 discovered at this time the trunk of a large brown ash tree. It lay 
 nearly horizontally ten feet below the surface and as many feet above 
 the water. It was somewhat decomposed, but I succeeded in get- 
 ting out some large pieces of it. Near it were spruce buds, imper- 
 fectly preserved, and sticks of various shapes. 
 
 The night of the 18th, we spent at the Great Falls of the St. 
 John. The next day we procured some provisions of Mr. Coffin, 
 agent and mill-right of Sir John Caldwell, who assisted us in every 
 way, and then passed down the river as far as the mouth of the 
 Tobique. Having been directed to ascend this river, in order to 
 gain some correct information as to the sandstone and plaster rock, 
 said to occur on its banks, we left the St. John on the morning 
 
1838 . 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 67 
 
 of the 20th, and at night encamped about fifteen miles up the 
 Tobique. 
 
 In coming into the Tobique water from the St. John, one is 
 struck with its clear appearance, it being very transparent and dis- 
 tinct from that of the main river. The banks at its mouth are from 
 6 to 25 feet high. The Indian village which is on the northern 
 bank, contains only about twenty huts. A few roads above this we 
 meet with argillaceous slate, similar to that so common on the St. 
 John. A mile and a half above, it occurs again, for near half a mile, 
 forming steep banks of eighty feet or more high. Between these 
 the river has worn out a narrow passage, which is called the Narrows, 
 and which in spring, when the water is high, is exceedingly dangerous 
 to navigate. At present the water is very shoal ; but still runs quick, 
 and the river abounding in “gravel beds,” makes it difficult to as- 
 cend. The slate runs N.E. and S.W.; it frequently contains small 
 beds of white carbonate of lime ; which, however, are not of suf- 
 ficient extent to make them of any importance. The strata appear 
 perpendicular. A mile farther up they dip 60° S.E. In continu- 
 ing up the river I noticed successively ledges of the following des- 
 cription. Quartz rock dipping 70° N.W. b W. Compact silice- 
 ous rock dipping 20° N.W., and crossed by seams, resting uncom- 
 formably upon argillaceous slate, which dips 80° S.S.E. Above 
 this by a saw-mill, which is six miles from the mouth of the Tobique, 
 siliceous slate, dipping 60° N.W. b N.; very near this the same 
 rock dipping 60° S.E.; then quartz rock. A mile above the last 
 we came to a dam, which is just made across the river by Mr. 
 Lombard, of Augusta. Here are to be erected saw-mills, for which 
 there is a fine privilege. The banks are ten or fifteen feet high, 
 formed entirely of new red sandstone. It lies in strata nearly hori- 
 zontal, and where exposed to the current and to the weather is un- 
 sound and crumbling. No large pieces can be got out. This is 
 called fourteen miles from the mouth. A mile above we encamped. 
 The next day, (21st August,) we continued up the river — noticed 
 coarse conglomerate or sandstone overlaying the new red sandstone, 
 strata apparently horizontal. To the mouth of the Wapskenheagan, 
 banks of red sandstone, and red sand derived from the decomposition 
 
68 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, ’38. 
 
 of the rock, continually occur, sometimes rising 60 feet above the 
 river. A few rods up this stream are high cliffs of red gypsum, 
 filled with veins of white fibrous selenite which vary from one-half 
 an inch to two inches in thickness. The same rock appears on the 
 Tobique, two miles above, and the cliff there, which rises nearly 
 100 feet perpendicularly from the river, is probably a continuation 
 of that on the Wapskenhegan. On the face of the cliff are seen 
 these veins of white gypsum, and also beds of green gypsum. The 
 rock is crumbling, and at the base of the precipice are heaps of loose 
 pieces which have fallen from its sides. 
 
 The rock appears to dip 20° E.N.E. 
 
 A little below on the western side it dips 20° E. Though the 
 plaster rock is here of poor quality, it will answer as well as the 
 best for fertilizing the soil ; and it now lies in heaps ready to be 
 thrown into boats, which in the early part of the season could navi- 
 gate this river without much difficulty. We spent a part of the 
 next day in searching for a salt spring, which is said to exist some- 
 where in this vicinity. We were however unable to find it. There 
 is little doubt but that there is such a spring near by. 
 
 Though it would have been pleasant to have made farther exam- 
 inations in this interesting and important section, I did not feel au- 
 thorized to spend more time out of the limits of the State, and there- 
 fore returned immediately. 
 
 The islands in the Tobique, of which there are many, are low, 
 and covered with a fine growth of hard wood, particularly elm ; and 
 groves of these trees are frequent on the shores of the Tobique. 
 Hemlock is also abundant ; a tree we have not seen any where else, 
 excepting on the Penobscot waters. Of pine there are said to be 
 large quantities about the river. This will soon become an impor- 
 tant section to the inhabitants of Maine ; not only for lumbering, 
 but for obtaining plaster, and the sandstone for linings for furnaces. 
 Here is the formation, where bituminous coal is expected to be 
 found, there being every indication of its existing in the vicinity. 
 
 JAMES T. HODGE, Assistant. 
 
AGRICULTURAL GEOLOGY. 
 
 GEOLOGICAL ORIGIN, DISTRIBUTION, CHEMICAL COMPOSITION 
 AND CAPABILITIES OF SOILS. 
 
 Considering the vital importance of a correct knowledge of the 
 science and art of agriculture, upon which man depends for his daily 
 bread, we shall willingly avail ourselves of any information that may 
 throw light upon the principles, by which we are to be guided in 
 practical operations. 
 
 It cannot be concealed, that agriculture in this country is far below 
 the standard attained in Europe, and that by their more scientific 
 methods, the French, German and Italian farmers are enabled to 
 raise larger crops, so as to supply us with many articles of agricultural 
 produce, at a lower rate than we have been able to grow them upon 
 our own soil, and this too has been effected by people whose soil 
 costs vastly more than ours. 
 
 It is well known, that, for several years past, large quantities of 
 wheat, barley, indian corn and beans, have been imported into this 
 country from France, Germany, Venitian Lombardy, Tuscany and 
 Egypt, while, at the same time, orders have been sent out from 
 France for the purchase of our refuse bones, and the bone black of 
 our sugar refineries — -substances used in that country for improving 
 the soil. Thus, strange as it may seem, the French farmers send 
 out to this country for manure, and supply us with bread, while 
 many remain ignorant of the value of those very substances so eagerly 
 sought for by our foreign brethren ! 
 
 European science ha§ been brought to bear upon the art of agri- 
 culture, and hence the improvements are rapidly progressing there ; 
 while we have as yet done but little towards the development of this 
 most important of arts. 
 
70 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 I know that many intelligent farmers decry u book farming” as 
 useless, and their remarks are certainly worthy of our attention, and 
 we may perhaps remove their objections. Good books on this 
 subject record the experience of many excellent practical farmers, 
 and concentrate all the information that is scattered in various parts 
 of the world ; while at the same time they give general rules by 
 which we are to be guided in practice. Where then is the objection 
 that has been raised against such knowledge ? It will be found, that 
 there are few such books in existence, although there are materials 
 enough on record to furnish a good treatise, and those books that 
 have appeared are deficient in some of the most essential particulars, 
 or they are so technical that those who are unacquainted with the 
 elements of science cannot understand them. There are also imper- 
 fections in the certificates and rules, owing to no analysis having been 
 made of the soils in question. 
 
 So also our own farmers are unacquainted with the composition of 
 their own soils. Hence we account for the uncertainty of the results 
 obtained by those who make trials of new methods in farming, and 
 we ought not to be surprised at their frequent failures. 
 
 If, however, all the conditions of the problem were understood by 
 both parties, farmers would readily join hands with their scientific 
 co-laborers, and the art of agriculture would soon become as certain 
 as any other art, while, by the application of scientific principles, the 
 business would become of a more exalted character, and assume its 
 true rank in the consideration of all men. 
 
 In order to make rational experiments in farming, it is essential that 
 the composition of the soil should be known, and then we can act 
 understanding^ in our operations. In order to amend a soil, that 
 knowledge is absolutely necessary, otherwise we might destroy its 
 fertility, by the processes intended for its amelioration, and thus be 
 subjected to disappointment and chagrin. 
 
 Mineralogy, geology and chemistry come to our aid, and serve to 
 indicate the nature of various soils, while sure indications are readily 
 discoverable for the amendment of those which are sterile. 
 
 Agriculture is of so great importance to the community, that we 
 should not allow our knowledge of it to rest upon mere empyricism. 
 It ought to be exalted to the rank of a true science, and then it will 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 71 
 
 become one of the most honorable, as it is one of the most useful of 
 arts, and even the most highly educated men will then be proud to 
 rank as scientific farmers. 
 
 Let us now examine the subject more in detail, and ascertain how 
 much light we may obtain from the science of geology, that may 
 serve to guide us in our researches. 
 
 We have first to consider the geological origin of soils. 
 
 Every attentive person must have observed, that solid rocks, ex- 
 posed to the combined action of air, water, and different degrees of 
 temperature, undergo decomposition and disintegration, so that they 
 crumble into powder, and that some rocks decay more rapidly than 
 others, owing to their structure, or mineralogical composition. If a 
 rock is porous, or stratified in its structure, water infiltrates into it, 
 and on freezing, expands with such power, as to tear the surface of 
 the rock to pieces, so that it readily crumbles. When fire runs 
 through the forests, it heats the surface of the rocks, and by the ir- 
 regular expansion produced, they are shivered into fragments. 
 
 The action of running water and friction of stones, also serve to 
 grind the rocks into powder, by attrition of their surfaces, and the 
 detritus is borne along by the streams, and deposited in low lands, 
 or along their borders. 
 
 When a rock contains iron pyrites, or sulphuret of iron, that 
 mineral, by the action of air and water, decomposes, and forms 
 copperas, or sulphate of iron, and the sulphuric acid of that substance 
 acts powerfully on some of the ingredients of the rock, and causes 
 its rapid decomposition. Any person, who has been on Iron Mine 
 Hill, in Gardiner, will fully understand how rapid is this operation, 
 and may there see its results. The oxidizing power of the atmos- 
 phere, also, acts powerfully upon the surface of those rocks, which 
 have for one of their components, the prot-oxides of the metals, 
 iron and manganese, and as those oxides take up another portion of 
 oxygen, they increase in bulk, become brown or black, and the stone 
 falls into fragments. 
 
 These are a few of the causes now in action, which modify the 
 solid crust of the globe, and it appears that their effects are far more 
 important, than we might at first imagine. Whoever looks upon the 
 muddy waters of the Mississippi, Ganges, Po, the Rhine, and the 
 
72 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 Rhone, or reads the calculations respecting the enormous quantity of 
 matter brought down from the mountains by those rivers, will at 
 once appreciate the modifying influence of those causes which are 
 continually wearing down the solid matter that forms the mass of our 
 mountains. 
 
 Geology teaches us, that such causes were formerly in more 
 powerful operation, and that the ancient world was, from its infancy, 
 subject to violent catastrophes accompanied by powerful inroads of 
 the sea ; oceanic currents and tumultuous waves having for many 
 successive periods rushed over the land, and beaten the loftiest crags 
 of the highest mountains. We should then naturally expect, that the 
 earth would present ample testimony of the action of these powerful 
 causes of disintegration of the rocks, and we do observe that a large 
 portion of the loose materials upon the surface, bears proofs of aque- 
 ous action and mechanical abrasion. By those ancient convulsions, 
 the detritus of the solid rocks was prepared, and forming the various 
 soils, which we observe, the earth was rendered capable of yielding 
 its rich stores of vegetation, on which a large proportion of the ani- 
 mated creatures depend for their food. From the foundation of the 
 everlasting hills, the Creator began to prepare the world for the 
 habitation of his noblest creature, man, and converted a portion of 
 the solid rocks into soils, which were given as the field of human 
 labor, and to the progenitor of our race it was commanded that he 
 should till the soil. 
 
 If we take up a handful of earth, and examine it attentively, we 
 shall readily discover such mineral ingredients, as denote the rocks 
 from which it originated. Thus we discover in a soil numerous 
 spangles of mica, grains of quartz, and white or brown earthy look- 
 ing particles, which are felspar ; besides which, we remark a con- 
 siderable portion of fine brown powder, which being examined with 
 a microscope is found to be composed of the same minerals, more 
 finely pulverised, and mixed with the brown oxide of iron. It will 
 be at once understood, that such a soil arises from the disintegration 
 and decomposition of granite rocks, and that the oxide of iron was 
 derived from the pyrites, or the prot-oxide of iron, contained in that 
 rock. 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 73 
 
 A soil arising from the decomposition of gneiss, possesses similar 
 characters, only the mica is more abundant. 
 
 Soils from mica slate are made up of a large proportion of mica, 
 mixed with grains of quartz. 
 
 Sienite, and hornblende rock produce a dark brown soil, in which 
 there is but little quartz, and a great deal of felspar, and decomposed 
 hornblende. 
 
 -Greenstone trap-rocks form, by their decomposition, a brown soil, 
 which contains pieces of the undecomposed rock, but the component 
 minerals in the soil itself, are rarely so distinct as to be discoverable. 
 This soil is a warm kind of loam, soft and spongy, easily compress- 
 ed into smaller dimensions by the pressure of the hand, but not adhe^ 
 sive like clay. It is peculiarly adapted to the growth of potatoes, 
 and is a luxuriant soil for most of our ordinary produce. 
 
 Slate-rocks form a soil of a blue color, in which numerous unde- 
 composed fragments of the rock may be discovered. When trans- 
 ported by water, it is deposited in the state of tough blue clay. 
 
 Limestone forms various colored soils, according to the nature of 
 the impurities it contains. They are generally of a light yellowish 
 brown colour, from admixture of a certain proportion of oxide of 
 iron. This is especially the case with those soils derived from the 
 argillo-ferruginous limestone. 
 
 Calcareous soils, if they are rich in carbonate of lime, may be dis- 
 tinguished by their effervescence with acids, and the quantity of this 
 substance may be estimated by the loss of weight which indicates the 
 proportion of carbonic acid, that has been expelled, and since the 
 carbonic acid always occurs in the ratio of nearly 44 per cent, to 56 
 per cent, of lime, it is easy, by a proportional calculation, to ascer- 
 tain the quantity of that mineral in the soil. 
 
 It more frequently happens, that there is so minute a quantity of 
 carbonate of lime in the soil, as to require a minute chemical analysis 
 for its detection, and few farmers have either leisure or means for 
 such an operation. Examples of such analyses will be presently laid 
 before you. 
 
 Talcose slate rocks, when decomposed, form a light brown soil, 
 in which particles of the rock are discoverable, and, on analysis, a 
 
 10 
 
74 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 considerable quantity of the silicate of magnesia is found, which is 
 one of the chief components of talc. 
 
 Red sandstone, or disintegration, forms soil composed almost en- 
 tirely of grains of quartz, with oxide of iron, and clay, with a few 
 spangles of undecomposed mica. 
 
 Grau-wacke, or conglomerate, when disintegrated, produces a light 
 grey soil, full of smooth rounded pebbles, which originate from the 
 undecomposed components of the rock. 
 
 Red porphyry is very slow of decomposition, and forms a bright 
 red fine powder, filled with angular fragments of the rock. 
 
 I have thus distinguished and described the appearances which 
 characterise those soils that arise immediately from the decay of solid 
 rocks, and various characteristic specimens of each variety may be 
 seen in the cabinet arranged for the use of the state. 
 
 Let us next consider how soils are distributed on the earth’s sur- 
 face, and see how their qualities depend upon their situation. 
 
 In various sections of this report may be seen recorded the proofs 
 of diluvial transportation of rocks, far from their parent beds, and we 
 ' have every reason to believe, that this removal was effected by a 
 tremendous current of water, that swept over the state from the north 
 15° west, to the south 15° east, and we have adduced in testimony, 
 that such was the direction of that current, numerous grooves, fur- 
 rows, or scratches upon the surface of the solid rocks, in place, and 
 have shown conclusively, that the rocks which we find thus trans- 
 ported, proved to be portions of ledges situated to the north of the 
 localities where their scattered fragments are found. 
 
 It is a matter of surprise, that such enormous masses of rock should 
 have been moved so far by an aqueous current ; but, when it is re- 
 membered, that a rock does not weigh but half so much when im- 
 mersed in water, as it does when weighed in air, owing to the sup- 
 port given it by the water around ; and when we reflect on the fact, 
 that a rock is still more powerfully supported under the pressure of 
 deep water, it may be conceived, that, if a flood of water did once 
 rush over the land, it might have removed large and weighty masses 
 of rock, such as we find to have been the case. 
 
 From the observations made upon Mount Ktaadn, it is proved, 
 that the current did rush over the summit of that lofty mountain, and 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 75 
 
 consequently, the diluvial waters rose to the height of more than 
 5000 feet. Hence we are enabled to prove, that the ancient ocean, 
 which rushed over the surface of the state, was at least a mile in 
 depth, and its transporting power must have been greatly increased 
 by its enormous pressure. 
 
 It will be readily conceived, that if solid rocks were moved 
 from their native beds, and carried forward several miles, the finer 
 particles of soil should have been transported to a still greater dis- 
 tance, so we find that the whole mass of loose materials on the sur- 
 face has been removed southwardly, and the soil resting upon the 
 surface of rocks, in place, is rarely, if ever, such as results from the 
 decomposition of those rocks, but was evidently derived from those 
 ledges which occur to the northward. 
 
 If an attentive observer examines the soil in the city of Portland, 
 he will discover, at once, that it is made up from the detritus of gran- 
 ite and gneiss rocks, while the ledges in that city are wholly com- 
 posed of the argillaceous, talcose, and mica slate-rocks, and granite 
 and gneiss occur in great abundance to the northward. 
 
 All the markings on the surface of the rocks, and the scattered 
 boulders of granite and gneiss, which abound in that soil, indicate its 
 origin to have been in the north 1 5° or 20° west. I merely quote 
 the above locality, on account of its being a spot where most per- 
 sons will have occasion to examine the facts stated. The various 
 sections of the state present ample illustration of the same fact, and 
 every one who will take the trouble, may convince himself of its 
 reality. 
 
 The tertiary deposits of clay, sand and marine shells, were evi- 
 dently produced in tranquil water, since their strata indicate, by their 
 situation, structure and beds of shells, that the clay was gradually 
 and slowly deposited, allowing time for the propagation and growth 
 of the various shell fish in its several layers. Not so was the dilu- 
 vial matter deposited, for we find it to bear marks of sudden and vio- 
 lent transportation and deposition, the various pebbles, boulders and 
 erratic blocks of stone being mixed in great confusion. I have for- 
 merly mentioned a locality, in Bangor, near the court-house, where, 
 it would seem, there are proofs of a gradual subsidence of the dilu- 
 vial current, the various particles becoming smaller, as we ascend 
 
76 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 the embankment, until we come to fine clay, which must have sub- 
 sided from tranquil water. 
 
 We observe, then, that the tertiary deposits were cut through by 
 the diluvial waters, which have excavated deep vallies, and heaped 
 up long ridges called horse-backs, and the general direction of these 
 valleys and ridges, coincides with the direction formerly indicated, as 
 the course in which the current swept. 
 
 Although we are informed in the scriptures, that the deluge was 
 ordained for the punishment of wicked men, it is certain, that there 
 was mercy mingled with this dispensation, for the soils were com- 
 minuted, transported, and mixed in such a manner, that their quali- 
 ties were improved, and rendered more suitable for the growth of 
 plants, so that new and more fertile soils were prepared for coming 
 generations, who literally reap advantage from the deluge. 
 
 Besides the ancient aqueous current, we see every day the action 
 of water modifying the surface of the globe, transporting fine parti- 
 cles from the mountain-side, and depositing them in the valleys and 
 along the margin of running streams. Especially during freshets, 
 when the rivers burst their narrow confines, and spread out over the 
 intervales, do we see rich deposits formed of alluvial soil. 
 
 Such currents, arising amid decomposing vegetable matters, trans- 
 port an infinity of fine particles of such matter, and deposit it with 
 the various earthy ingredients, which form our richest meadows, and 
 luxuriant intervale soils. Thus are formed many of those bottom 
 lands, which occur along the river courses of the Western States, 
 and the banks of rivers in Maine, under similar circumstances, are 
 found to be composed of like soils. 
 
 A river, coursing its way amid various rocks, carries down and 
 deposits fine particles of every kind, which it meets with in its way. 
 
 If the rocks above are limestone, we shall have calcareous soil 
 brought down and deposited by the river. So on the banks of the 
 Aroostook, we find a rich alluvial soil, equalling in fertility the famed 
 regions of the Western States, and capable, even under a less genial 
 clime, of producing crops of wheat and other grain, fully equal in 
 abundance with any soils of which we have any records. 
 
 That river, with its wide and fertile intervales, is destined to be- 
 come the granary of the North, and whenever the policy of the State 
 
183S. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 77 
 
 shall complete the roads, and offer facilities for settlement, we shall 
 turn the tide of emigration, populate a fertile district, and I trust 
 forever place that portion of Maine beyond the power of foreign ag- 
 gression. 
 
 Soils are powerfully modified by the circumstances under which 
 they are placed, and it will be useful to consider, how this may be 
 affected by their order of super-position. 
 
 I have had occasion to examine two portions of a field, in the 
 town of Saco, where the superficial soil was uniformly composed 
 of a light brown sandy loam, and in one part of that field, the Indian 
 corn growing upon it, was tall and luxuriant, while on the other, it 
 was short and feeble. The several parts of this field were treated 
 with the same kind of manure, and planted with the same grain, in 
 the same manner, so that their circumstances were apparently alike. 
 On searching into the cause of this difference of fertility, it was 
 discovered, that in the luxuriant part of the field, there was a deposit 
 of clay, from one to two feet from the surface, while, in the other, it 
 was four feet below. Hence it would appear, that, in the first in- 
 stance, the clay served as a retainer of moisture and of manure, 
 while in the other, these indispensable requisites for healthy vegeta- 
 tion, sank beyond the reach of the corn. The remedy was at once 
 apparent, for it was only necessary to mix clay with the barren soil, 
 to make it retentive. 
 
 It frequently happens, also, that we observe a farmer toiling upon 
 a tough clayey soil, which it is in vain for him to attempt to keep 
 loose, for with the first rain, the clay is washed down into a slimy 
 paste, which by the ardent sun-beams, is soon baked into an imper- 
 meable mass, which prevents the free germination and growth of the 
 seed. Now, hard by, occurs a hill of sand, that nature seems kindly 
 to have placed at his disposal, and he is only required, after plough- 
 ing his clay soil, to cart a quantity of sand into the furrows, and har- 
 row it in, in order to produce a soil of good texture, which may 
 then be manured as required, and will produce well. In such cases, 
 the saud may be added every year, until there is a sufficiency. Such 
 soils are highly retentive of manure, and are worth the labor of re- 
 claiming, and I should denote the neighborhood of Bangor, as a 
 suitable field for such improvements ; and I doubt not, that the 
 
78 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 market of that city would, by its demand, amply repay the labor and 
 money expended. 
 
 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF SOILS. 
 
 From the mineral ingredients we may form some idea of the 
 chemical nature of the soils, but since there may be many matters 
 mingled, in the state of fine powdei;, not capable of discrimination 
 by the eye, and those very substances may be the cause of its pecu- 
 liar properties, it becomes necessary to resort to the aid of chemical 
 science, and analytical art for their detection. 
 
 It is a strange and almost unaccountable fact, that while we have 
 the most minute and delicate analysis of rare and curious minerals, 
 chemists have either neglected to ascertain the composition of soils, 
 or have satisfied themselves with the most crude and careless exam- 
 inations, that do not answer the purpose intended. 
 
 The late illustrious chemist, Sir Humphrey Davy, was called 
 upon by the British Agricultural Board, to give a course of lectures 
 upon, the chemical composition of soils, and the modes of amending 
 those which were sterile, and his lectures contain nearly all the in- 
 formation attainable by the farmer respecting the composition of 
 soils. Although Davy’s Agricultural Chemistry is as good an essay 
 as we had a right to expect when the art of chemical analysis was in 
 its infancy, and a vast deal of valuable information is contained in it, 
 still the analyses are so imperfect, that they neither serve to distin- 
 guish one kind of soil from another, possessing altogether different 
 properties, nor serve to indicate such ameliorations as are required. 
 When Davy acknowledges that his errors in the analyses amount to 
 5 or 10 per cent., we must feel convinced that either sufficient care 
 was not taken, or that the instruments of analysis which he used 
 were not sufficiently exact. We shall see in the analyses that I shall 
 present, that an error of even one or two per cent., would cause an 
 utter failure in respect to the information desired, and shall at once 
 perceive the importance of the most scrupulous exactness in the op- 
 eration. 
 
 Chaptal has also given us some chemical essays upon agriculture, 
 but the analyses of soils are generally borrowed from the work of 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 79 
 
 Davy. It contains, however* much valuable information respecting 
 several different departments of the art, and a special treatise upon 
 the cultivation of beets and making of sugar. This essay has been 
 translated into English, and is worthy of the farmer’s attention. 
 
 The chemical analysis of soils is one of the most difficult and te- 
 dious operations the chemist is called upon to perform, and it seldom 
 happens that the processes are completed within three weeks from 
 the time they were commenced. Hence the necessity of my car- 
 rying on a number of analyses at a time, in order to be able to pre- 
 sent them in season for this Report. By operating on three or four 
 specimens at a time, the chemist is kept continually employed, and 
 an extensive supply of apparatus is put in requisition, since the pro- 
 cesses multiply with astonishing rapidity, and soon every vessel in 
 the laboratory finds occupation, and it is necessary to label each 
 glass, funnel or filter as he proceeds. Attempts have been made to 
 render the art of chemical analysis easy, so that farmers might be 
 able to do them for themselves, but such attempts have been entirely 
 abortive, for it would presuppose a knowledge of chemical science 
 and manipulation rarely if ever in possession of any but professed 
 chemists, and it would be idle to put instruments and reagents into 
 the hands of those who do not know how to use them. It would 
 certainly be very useful to the community, if our agricultural breth- 
 ren would establish a college or institute, devoted exclusively to 
 those arts appertaining to agriculture, and such institutions will ere 
 long be founded in each of the States, for we begin to see and feel 
 the importance of a good scientific education among the farmers 
 throughout our country, and our young men ought to possess ad- 
 vantages so desirable and important for their welfare and prosperity. 
 It is evident that small schools will do no good, since they would not 
 be sufficiently well endowed to command the services of scientific 
 teachers, and hence if the attempt is made, let there be one large and 
 well endowed agricultural college in each State, connected, if found 
 practicable, with the usual classical institutions, and forming a branch 
 of each university. Many, who do not desire to spend years in the 
 study of Latin and Greek authors, are still anxious to learn the ele- 
 ments of those sciences which appertain to their professions, and I 
 have not the least doubt, that a well ordered and scientific agricultu- 
 
80 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 ral institute would prove one of the most popular and useful schools 
 in the country. In such a college, mathematics, drawing, surveying, 
 mechanics, architecture, chemistry, mineralogy, geology, zoology 
 and the practical arts, each in thpir several departments, might be 
 taught by study and lecture, while every practical operation should 
 be learned by actual practice. 
 
 MECHANICAL AND CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF SOILS FROM MAINE. 
 
 Much information may be obtained by mechanical separation of the 
 various particles of soil, and such I have made one of the preliminary 
 steps in the operations of analysis. 
 
 Three different kinds of sieves were selected, the first of which 
 has meshes 1-12 of an inch, or one line in diameter, and is made of 
 copper wire. The second is a sieve of nearly double the fineness 
 of the above, having openings of the meshes 1-20 of an inch. The 
 third is a very fine gauze sieve, with openings not more than the 1-50 
 of an inch. 
 
 By sifting the soil, we can then obtain four different divisions of 
 the particles, which I divide into different grades, beginning with the 
 coarse matter left on the sieve No. 1, and so on. 
 
 After these operations the next is to be effected by agitating the 
 finest soil which passed the fourth sieve with a quantity of water, and 
 then pouring off the suspended matter from that left at the bottom, 
 after J minute’s repose. This gives us two other degrees of fine- 
 ness, or the fifth and sixth divisions. 
 
 One thousand grains of each specimen was taken for each analysis, 
 and each proportion of divided matter was weighed in the balance. 
 For example, let us take a specimen of a soil from Major Stone’s 
 farm, in Waterford, taken from his luxuriant wheat field, six inches 
 from the surface. 
 
 This soil is of a yellow loam of mellow texture and remarkably 
 fertile, having on it a crop of wheat, which will probably measure 
 more than 30 bushels to the acre. This soil had been limed four 
 casks to the acre, and was also manured from the barn-yard to a 
 small extent. One thousand grains divided as follows: — 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 81 
 
 No. 1 — does not pass the coarse sieve, and consists of gravel de- 
 rived from granite rocks, sticks and roots. No. 1 = 175 grains. 
 
 Does not pass 2d sieve — fine sand and vegetable fibres. No. 
 2 = 240 grains. 
 
 Does not pass the third sieve — No. 3 = 20 grains. 
 
 Fine powder which came through the gauze sieve. No. 4 = 565 
 grains. 
 
 No. 1= 175 
 
 No. 2= 240 
 No. 3 = 20 
 
 No. 4 = 565 
 
 1000 
 
 This fine powder, agitated with a pint of water, and turned off in 
 30 seconds, left fine sand. No. 5 =249, matter not suspensible. 
 Matter suspended, No. 6 = 316. 
 
 This will give an idea of a mechanical analysis of soils. These 
 operations show the texture and relative fineness of the materials, 
 which throws great light upon their peculiar properties. 
 
 Chemical Analysis of Soil from Major Stone’s farm, Waterford. 
 One hundred grains of the finest powder, analyzed, gave the follow- 
 ing results:— 
 
 Water, 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 05.0 
 
 Vegetable matter, 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 14.0 
 
 Silica, 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 65.0 
 
 Alumina, 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 10.0 
 
 Oxide of Iron, 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 2.0 
 
 Oxide of Manganese, - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 1.5 
 
 Phosphate of Lime, 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 1.0 
 
 Carb. Lime, - 
 
 
 
 1.5 
 
 100.0 
 
 This soil is remarkably productive, and is in a high state of culti- 
 vation. 
 
 Analysis of Soil from the farm of Moses Emery , Esq ., of Saco. 
 This soil yields 40 bushels of corn to the acre. It is a yellow, 
 sandy loam, and was evidently derived from granite rocks. One 
 
 11 
 
82 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 thousand grains, by mechanical analysis, give — the degrees of com- 
 position as per method above described — 
 
 1st, sticks and roots, 5 
 
 2d, coarse gravel, - - - 13 
 
 3d, fine gravel, 40 
 
 4th, fine sand, 17 
 
 5th, fine powder, &c. - 925 
 
 1000 
 
 Of this fine powder there are — 
 
 Matter suspensible in water, - - 122 
 
 Matter not suspensible, - 780 
 
 Vegetable matter which floats on the surface of water, 23 
 
 925 
 
 Alluvial Soil , Hooper's farm , Aroostook River. It is a fine yel- 
 low loam, very luxuriant and productive of wheat, potatoes, &c. 
 
 Mechanical analysis — 
 
 1st degree, ----- 0 
 
 2d, vegetable fibres and coarse sand, 4 
 
 3d, “ fine sand, - - 9 
 
 4th, very fine loam, - 987 
 
 1000 
 
 Chemical analysis gives the following results — 
 
 Water, - 4.9 
 
 Vegetable matter, - - - - 4.0 
 
 Silica, - 76.0 
 
 Alumina, - 5.0 
 
 Per ox. iron and alumina, - - - 10.9 
 
 100.9 
 
 In 100 grains there are — 
 
 Insoluble matter, 77 
 
 Soluble u - - 23 
 
 100 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 83 
 
 Mechanical 
 
 50 
 90 
 40 
 920 
 
 1000 
 
 6.5 
 11.5 
 
 60.0 
 
 4.0 
 
 11.0 
 
 2.0 
 
 1.0 
 
 1.0 
 
 3.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 Analysis of Soil from Bodge's Mountain , Thomaston. Dark 
 red brown color ; growth, black-oaks, grass, rye — luxuriant. Rocks 
 around, manganesian mica slate. 
 
 Mechanical analysis — • 
 
 1st, particles of slate, pebbles, and little pieces of 
 manganesian slate, - 
 
 2d, silicious gravel, - 
 
 3d, fine sand, - 
 
 4th, very fine powder, - 
 
 Chemical analysis on 100 grains of the fine powder — 
 
 Water, - * - 
 
 Vegetable matter, - 
 
 Silica, - 
 
 Alumina and Magnesia, - - 
 
 206 
 
 175 
 
 10 
 
 609 
 
 1000 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 51 
 
 15 
 
 Chemical analysis of 100 grains — 
 Water, - . 
 
 Vegetable matter, 
 
 Silica, 
 
 Manganese, 
 
 Alumina, 
 
 Ox. Iron, 
 
 Lime, 
 
 Potash, 
 
 Magnesia, 
 
 Soil of Phipsburg Basin , Dea. Hutchins ’ farm. 
 analysis on 1 000 grains — 
 
 1st deg. of fineness, veg. fibres and pebbles, 
 
 2d 46 “ 
 
 3d “ “ 
 
 4th 
 
84 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 Ox. Iron, ----- 12 
 
 Manganese, ----- 6 
 
 101 
 
 # 
 
 Gain from moisture, 1 
 
 100 
 
 Wiscasset. Soil remarkable for the excellence of its potatoes. 
 
 Mechanical analysis of 1000 grains — 
 
 1st degree of fineness, veg. fibres and sticks, - 10 
 
 2d “ “ - - - - 10 
 
 3d “ “ - 20 
 
 4th “ “ fine mould, - - 960 
 
 1000 
 
 Chemical analysis on 100 grains of the fine powder — 
 
 Water, ----- 4.0 
 
 Vegetable matter, - - - - 10.0 
 
 Silica, ----- 58.0 
 
 Alumina, ----- 14.0 
 
 Magnesia, ----- 12. 0 
 
 Ox. Iron, ----- 2.0 
 
 100,0 
 
 Chemical analysis of fine alluvial soil, of an ash-grey color, from 
 the Oxbow, of the Aroostook river, not cultivated — 
 
 Water, 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 8 
 
 Vegetable matter, 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 5 
 
 Oxide Iron, 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 3 
 
 Alumina, 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 20 
 
 Silica, 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 61 
 
 Carb. Lime, - 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 2 
 
 99 
 
 Loss, 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 1 
 
 100 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 85 
 
 Analysis of soil from Fairbanks’s farm, Presq’ Isle river, near the 
 Aroostook : yellow loam, mellow, not adhesive ; no stones in it ; 
 produces 35 bushels of wheat the acre 
 
 Water, - 4.0 
 
 Vegetable matter, - - - 4.5 
 
 Ox. Iron, - - - - 4.5 
 
 Silica, - - - - - 76.0 
 
 Alumina, ----- 10.0 
 
 Carb. Lime, - - - - 1.0 
 
 99.5 
 
 Loss, - - - - 5 
 
 100.0 
 
 The black vegetable mould upon the surface of this soil contains 
 26 per cent, of vegetable matter, and the remainder is yellow soil, 
 like that above reported. This vegetable matter, when treated with 
 boiling water, gives 5 grains of vegetable extract which possesses the 
 properties of ulmine. 
 
 Soil from Peter Bull's estate , on the Aroostook river. 
 
 Mechanical analysis of LOO grains — 
 
 1st, pebbles, - 525 
 
 2d, fine sand, - 330 
 
 3d, “ - 25 
 
 4th, fine powder, - - - 130 
 
 1000 
 
 CAPABILITIES OF SOILS — VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 
 
 It is evident that plants are not endowed with creative powers, 
 and consequently are unable to produce any new elementary sub- 
 stances ; hence the various substances which enter into their compo- 
 sition, must be derived from the air, water or earth. All the saline 
 and earthy matters which they contain are readily traced to their 
 origin in the soil ; while the carbon, hydrogen, oxigen and nitrogen 
 that exist in them, are elements which they draw from air, water, 
 and the animal and vegetable substances used as manures. 
 
86 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 The atmosphere is composed chiefly of the two gases, nitrogen 
 and oxigen, mixed together in aeriform solution, in the proportion of 
 four fifths nitrogen, and one fifth oxigen ; besides which gases there 
 is always a certain proportion of carbonic acid gas, amounting to 
 10*000 P ai ‘t, and variable proportions of aqueous vapor. 
 
 From the carbonic acid gas of the atmosphere, plants derive a 
 large share of their carbon, which is the basis of all vegetable matter. 
 Some of it is also furnished by the fermentation of vegetable and ani- 
 mal substances, which decompose in the soil, and this gas is either 
 decomposed by the leaves of vegetables, or is carried into their roots 
 by aqueous solution and absorption. All fresh growing plants de- 
 compose the carbonic acid of the air, take up its carbon, and exhale 
 oxigen gas, and this operation goes on more rapidly while the sun 
 shines upon them. In darkness, plants give out carbonic acid, but 
 the quantity is relatively small, when compared with that which they 
 absorb during the day. So that if a plant is grown under a bell 
 glass, containing air mixed with this gas, the carbonic acid is soon 
 removed, and replaced by pure oxigen. 
 
 Thus vegetation is continually removing a substance deleterious to 
 man and all animals, and replacing it by pure vital air — a gas abso- 
 lutely necessary for their respiration. This beautiful law of nature 
 should never be lost sight of by the farmer, nor should he ever for- 
 get the relation which the green woods and fields bear to the health- 
 fulness of the country. 
 
 Seed will not germinate, without the joint action of air, water, 
 light and heat. Without these essential conditions, the germ re- 
 mains, as it were, asleep for an unknown length of time. Seeds, 
 taken from the tombs of ancient Thebes, in Egypt, where they had 
 remained in a dry, dark and sequestered spot for more than three thou- 
 sand years, were found still to possess their vital properties, and 
 when planted in a botanical garden in London, sprang forth, to flour- 
 ish in the present age. How long a seed,, thus immured in dark- 
 ness, shut out from all the causes which would produce germination 
 or decay, would remain alive, is wholly unknown ; but from the 
 known facts respecting spontaneous rotation of crops and of forest 
 trees, it would seem that the seed remain buried in the soil for enor- 
 mous lengths of time, before the circumstances necessary for their 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 87 
 
 putting forth, arrive. Dead leaves of the forest shut out light, and 
 preclude, in some measure, the influence of the atmosphere, while 
 the sombre foliage hangs over the soil, and serves, by its shade, as 
 an additional cause preventing germination. Thus, I suppose, the 
 seed, buried in the forests, remain dormant until the removal of the 
 shade trees, or the burning of the leaves, gives free access to the 
 causes requisite for germination and growth of the hidden plants ; 
 and we consequently perceive a new growth almost invariably follows 
 the removal of the primeval forests. According to Decandole, 
 plants exude from their rootlets certain substances, which have the 
 property of eventually eradicating their own species, while they are 
 not preventive of the growth of other plants ; hence he accounts for 
 natural rotation. It is probable, also, that one kind of vegetables 
 may exhaust their proper nutriment, and thus render the soil incapa- 
 ble of supporting their kind, while there are other principles left, 
 suitable for the support of different species. . This subject is, how- 
 ever, the most obscure department of vegetable physiology, and 
 one which demands the labor of modern chemists and botanists. 
 Thus much we know, that the conditions above stated are essential 
 requisites to healthy vegetation, and that the soil must furnish certain 
 substances not attainable alone from air and water. When we ana- 
 lyze a plant, we always find a certain quantity of silex, alumina, lime 
 and potash, forming a large proportion of the ashes which is left on 
 burning the plant. All these matters are contained in the soil, in 
 greater or less proportions, and some of them are essential to the 
 growth of the plants. The coating of wheat, rye and barley straw 
 is silex, and gives the necessary strength and hardness to the stalk. 
 
 The analysis of the grain of wheat gives a large proportion of the 
 carbonates and phosphate of lime, and we know that this grain only 
 thrives upon a soil containing calcareous matter. It was long ago 
 observed in Massachusetts, and is also seen in certain districts in 
 Maine, that wheat straw grows very well, but the grain does not fill 
 and present a plump and solid appearance, but looks wilted, and is 
 not heavy. This was .formerly supposed to be owing to the climate, 
 but on more careful examination it is found to arise from the want of 
 lime in the soil. Many animal manures contain a little of this sub- 
 stance, and it accordingly appears, that where a farm is well ma- 
 
88 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 nured, wheat will grow well upon it, but a large annual expenditure 
 is required for the purpose. It is observed, that all the grain regions 
 of the country have soils more or less calcareous, and we find, that, 
 by adding lime to the soil, we may produce by art the material want- 
 ing ; and it appears by the analyses here presented, and by the re- 
 sults of certain experiments which have been made in France, and 
 repeated here, that a very minute proportion of lime is amply suf- 
 ficient for the purpose. Thus one or two per cent, of carbonate of 
 lime will answer the purpose, and this small quantity costs so little, 
 that any farmer can well afford to apply it to the soil. Indeed, I 
 do not see how he can afford to do otherwise, since he will be a 
 loser, and his more skilful neighbors will be enabled to supply the 
 market, while he will not be able to recover his seed. 
 
 It is a great mistake to suppose, that wheat will grow in any soil ; 
 for I know, that in many instances, the crop raised the past season, 
 which has certainly been very propitious, did not equal in value the 
 seed sown ; and these instances all occurred where the soil was des- 
 titute of lime, and was not largely manured. 
 
 Unless you wish to waste your labor upon barren and unproduc- 
 tive fields, attend carefully to the nature of your soil, and supply 
 those elements which are wanting, in order to render it fruitful. 
 
 When lime is moistened with water, it becomes hot, swells, and 
 falls into a bulky white powder, called by chemists, the hydrate of 
 lime, it being composed of water combined with that substance in a 
 solid state. This powder, if the lime is of good quality, will amount 
 to nearly three times as much as before it was slaked, so that one 
 cask of lime will fill three casks with the hydrate, or water-slaked 
 lime. If, on the other hand, the lime is exposed to the action of the 
 air, it will attract carbonic acid gas, and become air-slaked, which op- 
 eration re-converts it into its original chemical state. The hydrate 
 also attract carbonic' acid from the air, and is likewise converted into 
 the carbonate, which will weigh nearly twice as much as the quick 
 lime, from which it is made. 
 
 I mention these evident facts, in order to assure the farmer, that 
 when he buys a cask of lime, it will make about three of the article 
 which he uses as a manure, and consequently, that it is not so expen- 
 sive as he might imagine, since it increases in bulk, and will cover a 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 89 
 
 considerable surface. Moreover, by a skilful management, the farm- 
 er may, by the use of lime, form a vast number of valuable composts, 
 and may destroy, or not, as he pleases, the seeds and insects in his 
 compost or barn manure. It also has the power of decomposing an- 
 imal and vegetable substances, the extent of which operations, a 
 skilful hand can regulate at will, and a great variety of valuable saline 
 compounds, the most active of manures, may be formed. There are 
 many cases, also, where the combining power of this substance can 
 be taken advantage of, in the neutralization or removal of deleterious 
 matters, and by judicious management, those very principles may be 
 converted into valuable manures. 
 
 The following table shows the relative strength of several different 
 kinds of limestone found in Maine during the past season ; 100 grains 
 being the weight of each stone analysed. 
 
 LOCALITY. 
 
 KIND OF ROCK FOR- 
 MATION. 
 
 INSOLUBLE MAT- 
 TER, PER CENT. 
 
 CARB. LIME 
 PER CENT. 
 
 QUANTITY PURE 
 LIME PER CENT. 
 
 Buckfield, 
 
 Beds in gneiss rest- 
 ing on gran, rocks. 
 
 49. 
 
 51. 
 
 28.71 
 
 Winthrop, Mr. Boll’s farm, 
 
 43. 
 
 57. 
 
 31.94 
 
 Hallowell, 
 
 ii ii 
 
 42. 
 
 58. 
 
 32.60 
 
 Newfield, impure kind, 
 
 a (( 
 
 26. 
 
 74. 
 
 41.10 
 
 “ purer, Davis’ farm, 
 
 ii (€ 
 
 19. 
 
 81. 
 
 45.41 
 
 Norway, 
 
 M U 
 
 38. 
 
 62. 
 
 34.80 
 
 Bluehiil, 
 
 (C ii 
 
 31. 
 
 69. 
 
 38.70 
 
 Paris, 
 
 44 44 
 
 18. 
 
 82. 
 
 46.12 
 
 Whitefield, 
 
 Union, 
 
 4C CC 
 
 (4 it 
 
 5. 
 
 95. 
 
 53.50 
 
 It is a common practice among farmers, to make use of peat, pond 
 mud, or muck, as they call it, and I have observed instances in which 
 it was evident that the soil was greatly injured by its application. In 
 one instance, I observed in Waterford, that a portion of the field on 
 which this substance was placed, presented a dwarfish and sickly yel- 
 low crop of Indian corn, while that part of the field not treated by it, 
 was covered with a most luxuriant and healthy growth of the same 
 corn. The operation was tried experimentally, in order to ascertain 
 the value of peat alone as a manure. 
 
 If it had first been made into a compost, with animal manure and 
 lime, it would have presented very different results. Lime alone on 
 peat merely renders its acid properties inert, and then it answers 
 pretty well as a manure. But if laid down in layers with barn-yard 
 12 
 
90 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 manure, night soil, dead fish, or any other animal matter, and then 
 each layer is strewed with lime, a most powerful fomentation will take 
 place, and a vast quantity of ammonia will be disengaged, which com- 
 bining with the ulmic acid of peat, will form ulmate of ammonia, a 
 most powerful manure. Carbonate of ammonia, and many other salts, 
 will also result, which convert the whole mass into the very richest 
 kind of manure, forming what may be properly called a universal 
 compost. 
 
 If the farmer is desirous of destroying the seeds and insects in barn- 
 yard manure, let him heap it up in alternate layers, with fresh quick 
 lime, and the heat generated will effectually destroy them. This op- 
 eration produces a number of soluble salts, and therefore it should 
 only be done where the manure is soon to be used, for the rain 
 would remove them in solution. 
 
 If a soil is charged with sulphate of iron, it is best to use quick- 
 lime in powder sprinkled on the surface of the soil, for its action is 
 the more rapid and powerful. Generally, however, it is proper to 
 slake the lime with water, and then to expose it freely to the air, in 
 case it is to be sown broad-cast, so that it may become carbonated, 
 which renders it more permanent, it being less soluble in water. 
 
 In general, it may be stated, that about four casks of lime are re- 
 quired for each acre of land, and according to the experience of M. 
 Puvis, this quantity, in many cases, was found amply sufficient. If 
 the soil is loose and sandy, without any clay bottom near the surface, 
 it is evident that annual renewals will be required, until the desirable 
 quantity is obtained. 
 
 The following tables shew the amelioration of soils in France, 
 where liming has been very successful ; and where it has been found 
 that 3 per cent, of lime in the soil was amply sufficient to render it 
 extremely luxuriant. It will also be remarked, that the beneficial 
 effects of this treatment were even more strongly marked on the rye 
 crops than on those of wheat. It is found, also, that lime succeeds 
 best when used in a compost of animal and vegetable matter, and 
 where this method is pursued, the soil becomes annually richer, in- 
 stead of being exhausted. 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE— No. 70. 
 
 91 
 
 Table of Product of the Domain of La Croi- 
 
 
 RYE. 
 
 WHEAT. 
 
 RYE. 
 
 WHEAT. 
 
 YEARS. 
 
 Seed. 
 
 Product. 
 
 Seed. 
 
 Product. 
 
 ! Seed. 
 
 Product. 
 
 Seed. 
 
 Product. 
 
 1822 
 
 110 
 
 600 
 
 24 
 
 146 
 
 no 
 
 505 
 
 22 
 
 180 
 
 1823 
 
 110 
 
 764 
 
 24 
 
 136 
 
 no 
 
 643 
 
 22 
 
 138 
 
 1824 
 
 no 
 
 744 
 
 24 
 
 156 
 
 no 
 
 662 
 
 24 
 
 149 
 
 1825 
 
 107 
 
 406 
 
 27 
 
 251 
 
 102 
 
 398 
 
 32 
 
 252 
 
 1826 
 
 106 
 
 576 
 
 28 
 
 210 
 
 no 
 
 612 
 
 32 
 
 187 
 
 1827 
 
 100 
 
 504 
 
 30 
 
 249 
 
 107 
 
 546 
 
 34 
 
 204 
 
 1828 
 
 90 
 
 634 
 
 36 
 
 391 
 
 98 
 
 696 
 
 38 
 
 243 
 
 1829 
 
 82 
 
 538 
 
 48 
 
 309 
 
 84 
 
 608 
 
 40 
 
 268 
 
 1830 
 
 60 
 
 307 
 
 60 
 
 459 
 
 91 
 
 389 
 
 59 
 
 374 
 
 1831 
 
 78 
 
 350 
 
 40 
 
 417 
 
 92 
 
 411 
 
 40 
 
 295 
 
 1832 
 
 55 
 
 478 
 
 68 
 
 816 
 
 70 
 
 512 
 
 80 
 
 649 
 
 1833 
 
 61 
 
 529 
 
 52 
 
 545 
 
 75 
 
 511 
 
 51 
 
 471 
 
 Table of Product of the Domain of 
 La Barronne. 
 
 Marl may be used in the same manner as air-slaked lime, and it is 
 found to possess similar properties. Sea shells may be used when 
 broken to pieces by the action of fire, or by frost, and great benefit 
 is gained by such a dressing. Shells owe their fertilising properties 
 to the carbonate of lime, of which they are chiefly composed, but 
 their compact texture requires to be broken down in the manner 
 alluded to. 
 
 Burnt bones contain a small quantity of carbonate, mixed with a 
 large proportion of the phosphate of lime, and may be advantageously 
 used. Bones ground to powder have also a very powerful and de- 
 sirable influence, forming one of the most valuable top-dressings with 
 which we are acquainted. The refuse bone black, from sugar re- 
 fineries, is also extremely powerful, and is one of the warmest and 
 strongest manures known. It is highly prized in France, and I have 
 formerly mentioned the fact, that orders were even sent to this coun- 
 try for this article. It may be made into a compost with other mat- 
 ters, since it is too strong to be used alone. 
 
 Gypsum is said to operate well as a stimulant to vegetation, and 
 acts powerfully where the soils are calcareous. In Pennsylvania, it 
 is sown broad-cast upon their limestone soils, and operates power- 
 fully, favoring the growth of grain and grasses. In Maine, it is the 
 general opinion of farmers, that this mineral does not succeed upon 
 the sea-coast, while it answers a good purpose in the interior of the 
 state. I am not yet prepared, however, to report upon the subject, 
 since I have not been able to gather the requisite number of facts. 
 
 I will venture to say, however, that gypsum will prove an advan^ 
 
93 
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. April, 
 
 tageous dressing to the soils near Houlton, New Limerick, and along 
 the whole course of the Aroostook, while, if it should be required, 
 the Tobique river, opposite the mouth of the Aroostook, contains 
 upon its banks an inexhaustible supply. It will, however, seldom be 
 necessary for many years to apply any manures to the Aroostook 
 soils, for the farmers there only complained that the soil was too 
 rich at first, and when reduced by several years’ cultivation, was more 
 easily managed. I have no doubt of the truth of this observation, 
 for upon Mr. Fairbanks’s farm, on that river, I observed gigantic 
 wheat stubble, one straw of which measured 1 J inch in circumfer- 
 ence, and Mr. F. remarked, that new crops were frequently laid by 
 their weight, before they were ready to reap. 
 
 I have no doubt, that in the course of time, it will be found ad- 
 vantageous to burn the Aroostook limestone, for the treatment of the 
 soils, where they are devoid of it, and every advantage is there pre- 
 sented for this purpose. 
 
 The limestone of Newfield, Norway, Paris and Buckfield, may 
 be advantageously used for manure, and can be burned by means of 
 peat or wood. On the sea-coast it will be more economical to pur- 
 chase Thomaston and Camden lime, unless it should be found, that 
 lime-burning can be carried on on a large scale by means of peat or 
 hard coal. 
 
 There are so many localities of peat in Maine, that I hardly have 
 thought it necessary to describe them, but I would, however, point 
 out the localities. 
 
 1st. On the rail-road route in Bangor. 
 
 2d. At Bluehill. 
 
 3d. Near the Marsh quarry in Thomaston. 
 
 4th. In the town of Limerick, in York County. 
 
 5th. In the town of Waterford, in Oxford County, on the Coolidge 
 farm. 
 
 These localities are among the most abundant, and may be most 
 advantageously wrought for fuel, which may be used for the burning 
 of lime and for domestic use, besides which it may be converted 
 into a powerful manure, adapted admirably for loosening and enrich- 
 ing clayey soils. 
 
 Artificial meadows formed upon the surface of a peat bog, are al- 
 
1838. 
 
 HOUSE — No. 70. 
 
 93 
 
 ways exempt from drought, and they are remarkably fertile. They 
 may be made by carting soil upon them, and will amply repay the 
 labor. Any person who is desirous of seeing a fine example of an 
 artificial meadow of the kind I have mentioned, is referred to the 
 rich farm of Benjamin Bussey, Esq., Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, 
 Mass., where that enterprising agriculturist has formed an almost 
 evergreen meadow, of the kind alluded to above. 
 
 I may remark in general, that all the soils between Bangor and the 
 mouth of the Kennebec, evidently need liming to greater or less ex- 
 tent ; and the vicinity of Richmond, Gardiner, Vassalborough, Unity 
 and Dixmont, evidently would be highly improved by its judicious 
 application. 
 
 When we have learned by chemical analysis, the composition of 
 the most remarkable soils of the State, we may be enabled to give 
 specific directions for their amelioration. 
 
 Much light may be gained respecting their relative fertility, by the 
 agricultural returns made under the orders of the Legislature, and if 
 due attention is paid to the filling of the blanks, sent out to the treas- 
 urers of the various towns, we shall have an admirable statistical view 
 of the relative value of the various soils in different parts of the State. 
 
 It will be useful to send out printed blanks for other kinds of pro- 
 duce besides wheat, so that we may learn what are the present agri- 
 cultural capabilities of the State, and in another year we can furnish 
 more extended and accurate information on this very important sub- 
 ject. 
 
 Geology and chemistry are capable of furnishing powerful aid to 
 the farmers, and if we are allowed sufficient means to accomplish the 
 work in a satisfactory manner, immense benefits will necessarily accrue 
 to the citizens of Maine. 
 
 Respectfully submitted, 
 
 By your obedient servant, 
 
 C. T. JACKSON. 
 
N. B. An important error has escaped our detection, while the foregoing 
 sheets were rapidly going through press, and the reader is desired to note 
 and correct it, by substituting for the erroneous calculation, respecting the 
 quantity and value of the Aroostook iron ore on page 35, the following : 
 
 450 X 36 XlOCbr 1,620, COO cubic feet of ore each cubic foot weighing 240 lbs. 
 1,620,000X240,0001=388,800,000 lbs. of ore, which yielding 50 per cent, 
 of iron, would give 194,400,000 lbs. of iron or 97,200 tons. This multiplied 
 by $50 the value of a ton of iron, will give $4,860,000, as the value of the 
 iron in this bed within the limits measured. 
 
 C. T. J.