/^>U€>^'^'t^

' I ^ I 1 I .^

1 1 1^

CANADIAN ICE AGE

r.KIXd NOTKS OX THK I'LKISTOCKXE (iKOLOCY OF

CAXADA, WITH KSl'KCIAL IIKFKRKXCK TO

TI[K LIFK OF THK I'KRIOD AND ITS

CU M A'l' A L COXDITIOXS.

BY

SIR ,1. W1IJ,1AM DAWSOX, C.M.d.

M,.l), K.K.S , l''.<J.a., &c.

MOXTllKAL
WILLTA^[ V. DAAVSON

181):}

'^■^- '^i\3U

FInteied according to Act of Parliament of Canada, in tlie yisar one
thouHand eigiit luindrod and ninety-tiiree, by William V. Dawson,
in the Office of the Minister of Agriculture.

'Witnksh" Peintino House,
muntkeal.

The facts stilted and (jut'slioiis disciissod in this work
have occupied some portion of ilie attention of the untlior
since IHof*, and he has from time to time published his
results in tiie Canadian Natundisf and HctdtKjiiif, and
elsewhere. In 1872 the suhject up to that time was
sunnued U]) in a pamphlet of about 100 pages, entitled
" Notes on the Post-pliocene of Canada," now out of
print ; but since that date no general work on the subject
has appeared, though many separate memoirs and papers
have been issued by the author a.nd other Canadian
geologists.

These papers include a large mass of information bear-
ing on the history of the northern half of the continent
of North America in that Ice-age which was in some
sense peculiarly its own ; and as this material is dillicult
of access both to geologists and to the general public, no
excuse seems necessary for attempting to collect it in a
convenient form.

The author has studied the widespread and complex
glacial formations of Canada too long to be content to
explain them all by one dominant cause, in the rough
and ready method employed by so many of his juniors.
He has long been convinced that we must take into

Vi I'llKKACK.

iiccouiit llic ;ii,f('ii( V ImiiIi of land ice and M(»a-l)(ini(' ice in
many forniH, alon^' with rejiuatod and comiilcx clevation.s
and dcprcssioiiH of lar^a' |i(ii'lii)ns of thu continent, in
order to account for tlie eflects observed. He is disposed,
however, to seek for the causes of changes of elinuite
rather in n'eological and geographical agencies than in
astronomical vicissitudes, some of which arc too slow and
uncertain in tiicir operation, and others altogether con-
jectural. Such views are less sensational than those which
invoke vast and })ortcntous exaggerations of individual
phenomena, hut they are likely, in the end, to commenil
themselves to serious thinkers, especially when they are
confirmed hy the facts observed in the regions which arc,
of all others, best suited for the study both of extinct and
recent ice-action.

The basis (»f the work rests on the observations of the
author, l»ut reference will be made to tlu; large and ini-
j)(jitant contributions of Dr. (}. M. Dawson, Dr. r>(dl,
Dr. Ells, Mr. Whiteaves, Mr. Chalmers, .Mr. Low, Dr.
Spencer, Mr. McConnell, ]\Ir. llichardson, I'rof. Yule Hind,
Lieut.-C'ol. (Jrant, Dr. (J.. I. I linde, and others, whose names
will be fouutl in the subseijucnt pages as workers in the
Pleistocene geology of Canada.

J. WAI. J)A\VSON.

McGiLL COLLECE,

MONTIIEAL, 1893.

CIIAI'TKI! 1. llisiiiRK \i, |)i,TAii,.s, KxtriictH fioni incvioiiH

l'iil)liciiti(iii« Lists of I'liptTH I

CHAI'TKR II.— TiiK SiccKssioN ok Dki'osits.— Tables of Succch-
Hion and Correlation— Tht; Uoulilor (Jlay— The Le<la Clay and
l-'oreHt UedH The Saxieava Sand Terraces and lidund Clilf'a
—The later Boulder I >rift -"

CHAI'TKR III, I'HYHICAI- AM) Ci.iMATAi, CoMHTinNs. (Jent-ral
Coi\dilion8-('ausea of Claciation ami DiHtrilmtion of HrraticH
-(ilaoiers-Cordilleran, Lavirentiile and Apalaehian DitVer-
ential Elevation— Views of Dr. Torell "'

CTIAI'TKH IV. — IMiYsirAi- ani> Cijmatai. Conditions {ront.)
CaiisoH, etc. {rout.) -Seahonio Ice -Field loe and Icebergs —
The Mi.ssouri Coteau, and other so-called Moraines — Ice-
I'reshetH -Bordage Ice — Ice in Tidal Kstuarios — Klevatir)n
and Depression contemporaneous with a((ueous Agencies—
C!liniatal CIonditions-Date of ilic Cliu'ial I'criod . . 10.".

CHAI'TFill v.— SoMK Local Dktaii.s. --(ieographiual Uegions of
Canada — Newfoundland and Labrador — Anticosti - Prince
Edward I.sland— Nova Scotia and New Ihunswicli ~ Lower St.
Lawrence, North Siile -Lower St. Lawrence, .South Side -St.
Lawrence and Ottawa Valleys — Western Regions . . . 1">7

CHAI'TKR VI. — l'i.KisTO(i',Ni'; Kossii.s.— yl/nw^/? FoskHk, Proto-
zoa— Co'lenterata — Eihinodennata— Mollusca, etc. — Annul-
osa—Arthropoda—Vertebrata— Fossils of the Arctic I'.asin -
/'bs.wV /Vrt/i^'J—Sunnnary of Fossils— Man in Canada '200

CHAI'TKR VII. -Cknkkai, Coniu-iskins 'iN7

IJST OK lIJ.nSTIiATlOiNS.

1 1 i s 1 1

\.S

Mdd.iii r.uulil.T l''(.nmiti(.ii uf l.uw.i- St. Lawri'iico (A'

(iliifiatcd l-iiiircMtiaii Hills

Travelled iJoiddiM' iiiid iUucinlfd \'y<'<\<

'ronacuB at 'raddiisHae

Torraeus at L'Aime a l-(.iii), Sa-iueiiay .

Siigufiuiy ("liasiii ....

Ideal .Maps of Noilli .\iiiei'ieii

Map of Inlerioi- I'laiii.s of ("aiiaila

liloek tniiiHported !>>' Moderi\ lee

SeclioiiH of tlic MiHHouri Coteau .

(ilacial Mail of Canada

SoetioM of r.oulderClay and (Iravel, Meri

Seetion at Montreal . ■•

Sections Western l'>o\diler Clay

Aretie Shells in the I'leistoceni

IMeistoeene Kon»niinifuia

IMeistoeene Sponye and Star-tish

i'leistocene Polyzoa ,

IMeistoeene Hraehiopods

Chaiaeteiistie LaniellibmneliH

Cliaraeteristie (Jastropods .

Pleistocene Cnistaeeans

Pleistocene FLshes
rieistoeene Plants

i; lacier of the Cordillera

iitixju'eir)

I'AIIK

xii

41)

1 Oi»

71

7:<

77
nil
107
lis
i:.()
ii;t)

MM)
•20.-)
, '20.S
. 2\'2
. 217
. '2-21
. 22-)
. 22(i
. 244
. 2(52
. 2(>(>
. 272
. 286

THE
ICE AGE 11^ OAXADA.

CIIAlTKlf T.

HISTORICAL NOTICES.

Canadii presents unsurpassed facilities for tlie study of
tlie pleistocene deposits. Extending across the American
Continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific, in the widest
part of that continent, and reaching frt)ni the latitude of
45" to the polar regions, possessing great plains covered
with drift material, and mountainous districts heavily
nuirked with the action of land ice, and having in many
places al)undancc of fossil remains in its more recent
deposits, it has the same relative facilities for the study
of this later geological ])eriod that it has for the earlier
Laurentian ; and it has l)eeu one of the ohjects of the
ambition of the writer for the last thirty years, to do a
little toward making it a typical region for the Tleisto-
cene, as Logan has for the Latii-entian. I shall endeavour,
therefore, to sketch the Tleistoeene as it appears in
Canada.

In making this attempt, I have all along felt compelled

0 TIIK ]('K A<!K TX CAXADA.

liy fuels to insist on the lullowing' n'lvat Iciidiiij;' ]iriiicii»les
as to tlic uliU'iiil ]icrio(l and its causes: — -

1. Tlic ])li('noiii('nii iirc not to lie ('\])lain('(l liy any one
cause or liy any one iiieal all-eniliraeinn' hypothesis, l)ut
liy a in<ire aeti\e and e.\ti'nsi\e. o|)evalion of many of the
ordinary causes still exisiiiiL!,- in the more northern ren'ious.

2. The astrononueal changes which lane lieen in\oked
to account for cold climate, not e\ce])tinL;' those advocated
liy ('roll and I)all, are incai)alile of fully e.\]ilaiinnu; the
facts as now actually ascertained.

.'-). Thei-e lias not. been at any tinu' a polar ice caj», and
the theory of j^'reat continental ice sheets co\-ci'in,i,f the
iiorthei'ii ])arts of the twou,ix'at continents is also liasidess.

4. 'J'he ]ihen()niena indicate! the action of local mountain
glaciers of great volume, along with that of lloating ice
in various forms, and this HKjre es})ecially in periods of
suhsidence of the land.

5. The cold climate of the glacial ])eriod was mainly a
re.sult of jieculiar geographical conditions ami a dilTerent
distrihution of ocean curi'ents, and was not so much
characterised bv general low tennierature as bv the local
occurrence of extreme evajioration and condensation.

G. The close of the glacial period is not very remote,
and cannot have antedated by many ciMituries or mil-
lenniums the first a])pearance of man, as known to us iu
history.

These theses I have maintained in papers whoso dates
reach back to LSoo, and in addresses delivered to the
]>ritish and American Associations and to the Natural
History Society of ^Montreal, and in popular works on
geology. They still a])pear to me to he true, notwilli-
standing the wa\'e of extreme glacial ideas that has been
passing over the world. lUit I am glad to see that a

HISTORICAL XOTICKS. .»

reaction to iK'tlcr xicws luis hcL^iiii to set in, and that
<fo.olo^yists ai'(; nion; (lisposod than formerly to restrict
tlu'ir s])('culations within the limits of physieul possihility.
AVc shall sec cvidiuici! of this in tlu; s('(|n('l ; hut hcfore
referring to the conclnsions of others, I nniy he jiurdo.ied
for j^'ivin*^ a sKetcli of the ])ro,L!;ress of ojiinion, as it has
presented itself in connection with my own work.

When I first luitered on the stndy of these depcjsits in
Nova Scotia, in the year 1841 and snl)se(|nent yeai-s, my
<i;uide and instructor was the great a])ostle of moderate
uniformitarianism, that is, of rational geology. Sir Charles
I.yell. His \iews as to th(i comhiiied agc^ncy of land ice
or glaciers, of floating fragments of glaciers or ice-hergs,
and of field ice, are, or ought to be, well known; hut I
nmst say that they have fiften been unfairly stated.
Lyell well knew the nature and work of glaciers in so
far as ascertained in his time. He had also collected a
large amount of information as to the conveyance of
lioulders, etc., by ice-bergs, and the formation of subma-
rine glacial deposits thereby. Lastly, he had profited by
the observations of the Arctic voyagers, and by those of
IJayiield in the river Saint Lawrence, so as to appreciate
the great carrying and erosive }K)W'er of heavy field ice.
His general theory of the glacial age was based on all
these factors, along with the gradual depression and re-
elevation of the continents in the pleistocene period. I
confess that I still adhere to his views in these respects,
with only such modification as to the relative value of
particular and local causes, as the ol)servations and reatling
of fifty years hate necessitated.

My own conclusions with reference to the phenomena
observed in the Maritime Provinces of Canada, were ex-
pressed for the first time in the first edition of "xicadian

4 THK UK A(iK IN CANADA.

Geolo^fy" ill isr»4-;"). The following;' cxtnict will show that
th(!V were t'onnod vvvv closelv on the rAclliim doetriiio
of " nKulern ciiuses " : —

" If wo ask what lias been the ori^tfiu of this oreat mass
of shifted and drifted material which overspreads the
surface, not only of tiie province we are now descrihiiiji;,
but the greater i)art of the land of the northern heiiii-
s])here, we raise one of the most vexed ([uestioiis of modern
geology. In reasonin<^', however, on this subject as rcigards
Nova Scotia, T have the advantaj^'e of appealin.t,' to causes
now in operation within the country. In the first jdace,
it may at once be admitted that no such operations as
those which formed the drift are now in ]iro,i;ress on the
surface of the land, so that the drift is a relic of a past state
of thinirs, in so far at least as regards the localities in which
it now rests. In the next place, we find, on examining
the drift, that it stnjiigly resembles, though on a greater
scale, the effects now produced by frost and floating ice.
iVost breaks up the surface of the most solid rocks, and
throws down elifl's and preci[)ices. Floating ice annually
takes up and removes immense (juaiitities of loose stones
from the shores, and deposits them in the bottom of the
sea or on distant parts of the coasts. Very heavy masses
are removed in this way. 1 have seen in the strait of
Canseau large stones ten feet in diameter, that had been
taken from below low water mark and pushed up upon
the beacdi. Stones so large that they hail to ))e removed
by blasting, have been taken from the base of the cliff's at
the Joggins and de})osited off the coal-loading pier, and I
have seen resting on the mud fiats at the mouth of tlie
l*etitcodiac river a boulder at least eight feet in length,
that had been floated by the ice down the river. Another
testimony to the same fact is furnished by the rapidity

HISTORICAL XOTK KS. 5

with which hu^e pih's (if fallen lock iii'c rciiiovcMl hy tlu;
lloatiii^H' ic(! frdiii [\u' liasc of the li'a|> rlill's of the hay of
Fiindy. Lrt us siijipose, then, ihc surface of our ]tro\ince,
while its i»rojectin!4 rocks wen- still uiicoNcred liy suri'aoe
(le})osits, e.\])()se(l for many successi\-e ceiilui'ies to tho
iiclion of alternale frosts and thaws, the whole of the
unlravelled drift nii^ht. liaNc heeii accuniulaLed on its
.surface. T.el it then he suhnier^ed until its hill-tojjs
should heconie islands or reefs of rock in a sea loaded in
winter and s))rinjf with drift ice, lloated ulonL"' hy currents,
which, like the ])reseiit arctic current, would set from
N.E. to S.AV^ with various nKjdificatiuns ]»rc)duced hy local
causes. We have in these causes anij)le means h)r
aeconntinif for the whole of the appearances, includiiiji^
the travelled hlueks and the scratched and polished ruck-
surfaces."

This was written, it may 1)(> ohserved, thirty-five years
ago, and with reference to the phenomena presented hy
southern Xew lUninswick and Nova Scotia, where there
is little if any evidence of glacier action.

AVhen, in the autumn of IS.");"), my residence was
transferred to Montreal, my attention was necessarily
devoted to the pleistocene de])osits of ("entral Canada,
and I asked Sir AV^. E. Logan, tlum Director of the
Geological Survey, to place in my hands, as an amateur,
the pleistocene geology of this field, which he readily
consented to do, as no one connected with the survey was
specially cultivating it at the time. I proceeded, in the
first instance, to explore the stratigra])hical arrangement
and fossils of the deposits, dividing the former into the
three groups of IJoulder Clay, Leda Clay and Saxicava
Sand, and raising the known species of fossils in a few
years from a very small numher to ahout 200. Notices

6 THK ICK A(;K in CANADA.

of th(»so rt'som'chcs were ])iiI)Iisli(Ml from liiut' li» time in
the '■ ('aiiiidian Xiitunilisl and Ocold^ist." When, in l.SO:!,
Sir William issued jiis "(}('(»l<(n;y ot' Canada," I was iiiuch
<)i"L'n|)i('d with cuIIcmc work, and t'eJL lliaL the, snlijccl was
too innMatuic to admit of full tfeatnicnt, \n\i i)la('(id in his
hands my notes up to that date, to aid in his chaplcr on
" Superlicial (icolony," in which they were incoi'itoraieil,
thon,uli ill an impcrfrct, luainiri'. Suhsc'(|uenlly, in 1S7-,
1 ('oll(!t'tud all luy jtapiTs up to that dale in u littlo
vohimc entitled " Noti's on the I'ost-iiliocene (looloyy of
Canada," now ouu of jnint, though most of its material is
tti he found in the earlier volumes of the "Canadian
Naturalist and (Jeolo.nist." This work 1 have made tin;
hasis of suhs('(pient ])uhlieations, addiu;^ new material as
it occurred, and puhlishini;' the whole; in the same
periodical and its continuation, the " Canadian Record of
Science." The present woik is a new anil enlarged edition
of these "Notes" of iSTl'.

Since my work in this held he^an, the suhject has
assumed many new ]thases. 'i'lie impoitanl studies of the
Swiss julaciers, l»y Forhes, A<:;assi/ and others, attracted
the attention of i;'eolo,n'isls almost to the exclusion of
other factors. The hold, I may ventiu'e to say extreme,
views of my friends, iiamsay and (ieikie, have gi\en a
tone to the work of Enu'iish ^'eologists, while a like
intluence has been exercised in America by Agassi/ and
Dana. Tims, in later years, what I must regard as
extravagant theories of laml glaciation have gained an
educational ami otlicial currency both in England and
America. Only recently the ])endulum has begnn to
swing in the other direction, and the extreme theories of
glacier action to relax their hold. The time is, therefore,
perhaps a favonrable one to advocate moderate and

IIISI'OIMCAI- N'oriCKS. 7

)'iltiiillill views, ;iiiil liriliiilis In incvclil nil illlililt' l(*il('ti<)ll
ill the (liicdiiiii iijipdsitc tn lliiit l;ilcly |»n'\al('iil.

I Inisl I sliiili IKil Iw licensed (if e^ittisiii it' I |iiesrliL
these liindcrate \ iews, in the lilsl iijstjiiiee, in tlie I'dilii of
extniels i'rinii imlilieat i'liis ihiiiii^ some of tlieiii iieaily
tliiily yejirs ;i^o.

Ill jl |i;i|ier imlilislied ill t lie " ( ';ili;idiilll X;it llVillisl " ill
liSliO, mid speeiiilly dcMileil lo the deseiipt ion of nlac-iiil
]iheiioiiieii;i ill halinidor, Maine, eie., tlie follo\siii;,f words
(teelll' with refereliee liioi'e pail ielllaily to the ehliialeof
the I'leisloeeiie, and are here ,i;i\cii without aheration,*

" K\('ryoiie knows that- the means and extremes of
annual teiiiiieratnre din'er luueli on the ojijiosiie sides of
llie Atlantic. The isothermal line of M) , for examplo,
glasses from the south side! of the j;ulf of St. Lawrence,
skirts Iceland and reaches l<;nr(»|ie near I)rontheiin in
Xorway. This fact, ..pparent as the result of ol)serviiLi()iis
on tli(( lemiierature of the land, is t'(|ually e\ idoiieed hy
the iiihahitants and i)hysieal plu'iiomeiia of the sea. A
lai;i;e proijovtion of the shell-lish inhahilinj^ the gulf of St.
Lawrenei! and the eoast thence to ("ape Coih oeeur on
hoth sides of the Atlantic, hut not in the .same latitudes.
The marine fauna of ("iii)e Cod is parallel in its prevalunco
of horoal forms with that of the .south of Xorway. In
like manner the dcseent of ieehergs from the nortli, the
freezing of hay.s and estuaries, the drifting and i)usliing of
stones and houlders hy ice, are witne.ssed on the American
coast in a manner not i)aralleled in eorrespoiiding lati-
tudes in Europe. It follows from this that a collection of
shells from any given latitude on the coasts of Europe or

* Wlierc aiiytliiiig new is introiluccil into those exti'iict.s, it i.s placed
in brackuts, tluis,-- [ . . . ]

r

8 INK KK AtiK l\ CANADA.

Aiiu'ricii, woiilil Iicif ii'siiiiKniy tn till' cxistiiin' (lirrcrciu-i'

dl" clilllillc. 'I'lic Lli'dln^ist ;i|i|M';ils to llic siiiiic kiinl of
('\ idflicc willl IvI'clTlicr In lllf clilllllli' nf illi' llltlM'

tcn'liury iicriml, anil Irt ih i'iii|iiiri' wlial is its IcsiiiiKiny.

"The lirst ami imtst tfi'iicial aiiswrr is ilial iIm' plcisto-
C'l'lli' cliliialr was cnMt'i- 1 liaii tlic liiinlrili. Tlic |intitf(if
tills ill wi'stnii |'!iii'(t|i(! is \('iy stioni;'. Tin' iiiariiic
fossils of this |i('iinil in IW'ilaiii aiv iimrr like tlic t'\istin;j;
fiiiina of Norway or of Labrador i liaii the pri'si'iit fauna
of I'tritain. ( li'caL t'\ iilciiccs cxisi of ilriftani' of lioitldiTs
liv ice, and traces of ulacit-rs on the liiulicr hills. In
North Anit'iira ihc |noofs of a riiioroiis clinialc, and
e.sjRM'ially of the tians|ioil of Imiilders and othci' niatorial.s
by ice, are ei|iially ^ood. and the niaiiiii' taiina all over
Canada and Xcw Knt^'laiid is of boreal ly|»".

" AihnilLiiiL;", howcNcr, iliat a ri'^orous idiniate iire\ailed
in the i)k'istoeeiie iieiiod, it by no means follows that the
chan<fe has been e([nally Lireal in (lirierent. localities. On
the contrary, while a n'reat and inarki^l re\-oliitioii has
occurred in iMirope.the evidences of such chaiin'e are very
much more sli^'ht in America. In short, the causes of
the citldness of the |tleistoc(nio seas to some extent still
remain in America, while they have <lisa|)))eared or have
been moditicd in Kiiro}»e.

" If we in(iuiro as to these, causes as at itreseiit existinj^',
we Hnd them in the distribution of ocean currents, and
cs[)ecially in the ^'ri-at warm current of the ,L;'ulf stream,
thrown across from America to Europe, and in the arctic
currents bathin.u; the coasts of America. In connection
with these we have the prevailing westerly winds of the
temperate zone, and the great extent of land and shallow
seas in northern Ameiica. Some of the.se causes are
absolutely constant. Of this kind is the distribution of

msTOinCAL XOTICKS. 9

llic winds, (l('|i('ii(liii)4 nn the cjiitirs tciiijicraLiiic atid
rotation. Tlu' couisfs of the ciirrt'iils ai'c also constant,
t'xccpt in so far as inodilicd l»y coasts and lianUs: and the
direction of the drift -sci'atclics and transport of hoiddcrs
in the rieistoeene l>n|ii nf l'lnro|te ami Anunaca, show tliat
tlie aretii' cnricnls a! least, have remained nnchan.i^cMl.
I»ut the distrihiil i<ai of laud and water is a \ariai»h'
elcnuMit, since we lumw thai in the |H!riod in ([nesiion
nearly all northern l'!uro|te, Asia and America were at
oiM' time i)V another nmler tht! waters of the s(vi, and it is
consi'(|nently to tiiis cause that we must mainly look for
the chann'cs wliieli have oeeuri'e(l.

"Such chan,L!,es of level must, as lias heeii lon;^ since
shown hy Sir Charles Lyidl, modify and chan,u;e (diniate.
EveiT diminution of the land in arctics Ameiica must
tend ti» rendei' its (diniate less severe. l^iVery diniinutiou
of land in the t(un|K!rat(! re,yions nmst tend to reduce
IJK^ m(sin tiMuperat nre. Kvery diminution of land aiiy-
wIku'c! nmst lend to diminish tlu^ extremes of luuit
aiulcold; and the condition of tlui southern hennsphere
at present shows that the suhmert^'cuu'e of the ^ruat
continental masses would lowcu- the mean temperature,
hut render the climate much less extreme. (Jlaeiers
mii^hl then exist in latitudes wluu'e now the summer heat
would suMice to melt them, as Darwin has shown that in
vSouth America glaciers extend to the sea level in latitude
46° 50'; and at the same time the ice would melt more
v«lowly and he drifted farther to the southward. [In the
southern hemis[)here, indeed, a glacial period of a peculiar
kind exists at present, since there is ati ice -hound
antarctic continent 1^,000 miles in diameter and houlder-
drift extending from it half-way to the eipiator.] Any
change that tended to divert the arctic currents from our

]() 'lili; ICK .\(ii; IN ( A.NAhA.

roasts wniiM raisi' the ti'iiipcrni mi' nf tlicii' watcrx. Any
t'liiiii^c lluit wniiM iilldw ilir ('(iiiiiidii;!! cin'reiit III |iiirsii('
its ('((iirsc tliriiii;4li to the I'iicilic or almii; the ureal inland
vallt'V III' N'ni'lli Anirrira, wmilil rriliHc tlir l'>rilisli seas !(►
a liin'ral ('ninliiinii.

"'I'lir liiiiililrr t'liruial imi anil ils uNrriyinL!, I'lissiJitcriins
IumIs |iruv(', as I have in prcxions papers cntleaNniired lu
explain willi re'^aiil to ('anada, and as has Keen sIiunsii liy
ot lier ^I'lilii'jisi -; ill I lie ease ul' nt lirr ri"j,ii»iis, thai t he land
(if the iiniiherii hemisphere iiiiilerwcnl ill I he later
lerl iary periiid a ureal and uradiiai ilfpression and then
an eipially u'l-idiial ele\al imi. M\erysiep nf this prnecss
wonld liriii'4 iis nioditieatiniis of elimate, and when the
dcpressimi had attained its iiia\iiiiniii there prnliahly was
as little land in the teinperale re,niiins nf the mirtlieni
lieniisjiliere as in the sinithern miw [while that which
remained ah(.\(' water was liiuh and ninnntainnnsl.* This
windd ,ui\(' a lnw mean temperature and an extension to
the sotith of elaeiers, more especially if at the same time
a considerahle arctic continent remained aho\-e the waters
[as a uatherin^ uronnd|, as seems to he indicated hy tho
otl'ccts of extreme niaiiiie glacial action on the ro(d\S
under the Itoiilder clay. These condit ions, act ually imli-
ealed hy the ])lienomeiia tliemsel\-es,iij»pi'a-r (piite sutlicient
to account hir the <'oldness of the seas of the jiei'iod, and
tlu! wide diri'iision of the unlf stream caused liy tho
suhsideiice of American land, or its csntire diversion into
the i'acilic hasin .+ would L,n\(' that assimilation of the

* The important (luestioii of ditt'erentiiil elevation has been solved in
great part since this was written, and woidd mnch strengthen the
argnnient.

t Tiiis is often excluded from cDnsideration, owing to the fact that
the nuirint! fauna of tiie gulf of Mexico ditl'ers so much from that of tho

mSTOlUCAL N'OTICI'X \[

Aiiit'iii'iiii and l']iii'(i|M'iiii cliiiiiitcs so clijiriictcfisiif t)\' tin;
liiin'. 'I'lic cliiiiJilc (if wcslciii l')iint|M', in slimt. would,
iiiKkir siidi a stall' of thin''s, he ''ft'atlv I'cduci'd in nicaii
IcmiK'raliirc, the (diiiialc of Aim'ricii would sullrf a less
rcductJoM of its Micaii t('iu|M'rat urt', Imt would lie uiudi
less oxtfciuc than at incscut : tlic uviu'ial cll'cct Ikmu-j: tln!
I'slalilisliiut'Mt of a more ('(pialilc Imt lower tciuprraturt!
throughout the norihci'ii hcuiisiihcrc.

" Till' I'stahlishiiU'Ut of tin- incscni disti'ihution of laud
ami water, j,'i\ iiiLi: to Anu'i'ica its uxtivim' (diuiatc, Icaviui,'
its seas cool and ihrowiiiLi; on the coasts of Kuropc tht;
hcalcil wulcr of the tropics, would thus allcct hut sliL,dilly
the luaiinc life of the Auu'ricau coast, hut veiy uiaterially
that of iMiiopc, lu'oducinj,' the result ali'cady I'efiured to,
that our Canadian pleistocene fauna ditlei's conii)aratively
little from that now existini!; in the ^ulf t»f St. r.awrenco,
thoujfh in so far as any ditl'erenee suhsists it is in tho
direction of an arctic character. The chan,ues that have
occurred are perhaps all the less that so soon as tho
Laurent'de hills to the north of the St. Lawrence valley
enierj^ed from the sea, the coasts to the south of theso
hills would he (^lleclually protected from the heavy
Jiorthern ice drifts and from the arctic curi'euls, and
would liave the henelit of the full action of the summer

PaciHc coast ; but, on the other hand, the occurrence of many species
coniinon to the two sides implies a connection in cmnparativcly recent
times, and simihir evidence is atloi-ded by the modern deposits of the
Istlinuis.

Uphanj reports from Dr. Maaclv, in tlie repf)rts of exphirations for
the Panama canal, the fact that on the watersheil between the Atlantic
and PaciHc a "vast area" of the Istinnns is occupied witii "late
tertiary " beils holding aiiells of living species. This would contirni
the supposition based on tlie grounds that a passage across the Isthmua
existed in pleistocene times. — American (Jeologist, December, 18JK).

12 THK K'K A(iH IX CANADA.

liciit, adviiiitimcs which imist liiive oxisled to a less extent
ill western Imiioiic*

" It is t'lirihcr to lie ol)S('r\('(l tliat siicli subsidence and
eleviitiou would lu'ccssaiily allord threat facilities for the
nii^irratioii of avdic inariiu' auinials, and that the din'er-
eiici! lictwecu inoilcrn and ])leistoc('iie faunas must be
greatest in those localities to which the animals of
temperate reiiions could most readily minrute after the
chalice of temperature had occurred."

In an address delivered in 18G4t as reliriiiu: president
of the Natural History Society of Afontreal, the relative
importance of land-ice and sea-borne ice is referred to in
the foliowinu' terms, in connection with the then recent
tipi)earance of Lou'an's "(leneral Keixirt on the (Jeology of
Canada," published in ISIil!: —

" Tliere is another subject of ,u;reat geological importance
on which the i)ublication of this rt'port enables strong
ground to be tid-ceii. F refer to the conditions under
which the hDiiUlcr-driff of Canada was deposited. It
has been customary to refer this to the action of ice-laden
seas and currents, on a continent first subsiding and then
re-elevated. Ihit this opinion has recently l)een giving
way l)efore a re-assertion of the doctrine that land-
glaciers have been the principal agents in the distributiim
of the boulder-drift, and in the erosions with which it was
accompanied. I confess that I have steadily rejected this
last doctrine; being convinced that insu})erable physical

* One cannot be too enipliatic in insisting on the fact that, in Nortli
America, tliroughout geological time, movements of subsidence which
threw open the interior plains to the arctic currents produced refriger-
ation, while those that produced a great mediterranean sea, open to
the south and closed on the north, introduced mild climates.

t Canadian Naturalist, 18(J4.

HISTORICAL NOTICKS. 13

jiiul inetL'oroloo'k'iil olijeclioiis iniu'lit l>i' ui'^xmI a,Li;aiiist it,
aiul tliiit it was not in accordance with the facts which I
had myself observed in Xova Scotia and in Cana(hi. 'J'he
additional facts conlaincd in the ])resent report enable
me to assert with confidence, thonoji with all hnmility,
that j^'laciers conM scarcely have been the a.^cnts in the
striation of Canadian rocks, the transport of Canadian
lK)nlders, or the excavation of Ciinadian lake-basins
[except in the ^'reat mountain ran<fes of the continent].

" The facts to l)e accounted for an; the striation and
polishinjf of rock-surfaces, the deposit of a sluH't of
nnstraXitietl clay and stones, the trans[)ort of boulders
from distant sites lyin^' to the northward, and the dei)osit
on the boulder-clay of beds of .stratified clay and sand,
containing marine shells. The rival theories in discussion
are — Jlrsf, that which supposes a gradual subsidence and
re-elevation, with the action of the sea and its currents,
bearing ice at certain seasons of the year; and, sccoitiUi/,
that which su])poses the Xorth American plateau to have
been covered with a sheet of glacier several thousands of
feet thick.

" The last of these theories, without attempting to
undervalue its application to such regions as those of the
Alps or of Spitzbei'gen or Greenland, has appeared to me
inap])licable to the drift-de])osits ol eastern America, for
the following among other reasons :

"1. It re(pures a series of su[)positions \inlikely in
themselves and not warranted by facts. The most ini[)or-
tant of these is the coincidence of a wide-spread continent
and a universal covering of ice in a tem[)erate latitude.
In the existing state of the world, it is well known that
the ordinary conditions required by glaciers in temperate
latitudes are elevated chains and peaks extending above

14 THE K'K A(iK L\ CANADA.

tlie snow-line: ami lliut cases in whicli, in sncli latitudes,
<;'liic'iers extend nearly to tlie sea-level, oecur only where
the mean teni})eratun' is reduced by cold ocean currents
a])])r(iacliin,t,' to lii,u;li land, as for instance in Terra del
Fue<'() and the southern extremity of South America.
]]ut the temperate regions of Xorth America could not be
covered with a permanent mantle of ice under the existing
conditiijus of solar radiation : for even if the whole were
elevated into a table-land, its breadth would secure a
sullicient summer heat to melt away the ice, except from
high mountain peaks.

" 2. It seems physically impossible that a sheet of ice,
such as that sujiposed, could move over an uneven
surface, striating it in directions uniform over vast areas,
and often dii'lerent from the i>resent inclinations of the
surface. (Uacier-ice may move on very slight slopes, but
it must follow these [since gravitation, along with the
more (jr less plastic nature of the ice, has been shown to
be the cause of its motion]: and the only result of the
innnense accunndation of ice supposed, would be to
jjrevent motion altogether by the want of slo})e or the
counteraction of opposing slopes, or to induce a slight and
irreuular motion toward the margins or outward from the
more prominent protuberances.

" It is to.be observed, also, that, as Ho})kins has shown,
it is only tl\e sUditig motion of glaciers that can polish or
erode surfaces, and that any internal changes resulting
from the mere weight of a thick mass of ice resting on a
level surface, could have little or no influence in this way.

" ?>. The transport of ijoulders to great distances, and
the lodgment of them on hill-tops, could not have been
occasioned by glaciers. These carry downward the blocks
that fall on them from wasting cliff's. But the universal

HISTORICAL NOTICKS. J5

glacier suj)po.se<l could have no such clilTs from which to
collect: and it must have carried l)oulilers for hundreds
of miles, and left them on points as high as those they
were taken from. On the ^Montreal Mountain, at a
lieight of GOO feet above the sea, are Inige boulders of
gneiss from the Laurentide hills, which nnist have heen
carried 50 to 100 miles from i)oints of scarcely greater
elevation, and over a valley in which the stri.e are in a
direction nearly at right angles with that of the ])rol)al)le
driftage of the boulders. Quite as striking examples
occur in many jtarts of this country.* It is also to be
ol)served that boulders, often of large size, occur scattered
through the marine stratified clavs and sands containing
sea-shells; and whatever views may be entertained as to
otlier boulders, it cannot be denied tliat these have been
borne by floating ice. Xor is it true, as has l)een often
attirmed, that the boulder-clay is destitute of marine
fossils. At ]\Iurray liay, lliviere du Lou}) and 8t. Nicholas,
on the St. Lawrence, and also at Ca]»e Elizabeth, near
Portland, tliere are tough stony clays of the nature of true
"till," and in the lower part of tiie drift, which contain
numerous marine sliells of the usual pleistocene species.

" 4. The i>leistocene dejwsits of Canada, in their fossil
remains and general character, indicate a gradual eleva-
tion from a state of de})ression, which, on the evidence of
fossils, must have extended to at least oOO feet, and on
that of far-travelled boulders, to nearly ten times that
amount, while there is nothing but the boulder-clay to
represent the previous subsidence, and nothing whatever

* The same fact, and to heights still greater, has l)een shown by
Ells and others to liold of the liills of the Eastern Townships of Canada,
and by Chalmers in Eastern Quebec and in New Brunswick.

16 TIIH ICK AGE IN CANADA.

to represent tlie supposed ])r(^vious ice-elad state of the
land, exeept the seratehes on the rock-surt'aces, which
must have been caused hy the same a<j;ency which
deposited the boulder-chiy.*

"5. The peat deposits with lir-roots, I'ountl heh)W the
boulder-clay in Cape lireton, tlie remains oi" i)liints and
land-snails in the maiine clays of the Ottawa, and the
shells of the St. I.awrence elavs and sands, show that the
sea at the period in ([uestion had nearly the tem])erature
of the jn'esent arctic currents of our coasts, and that the
land was nt)t covered with ice, but sup])orted a ve^i^elation
similar to that of Labrador and the north shore of the St.
Lawrence at present. Tins tividence refers not to the
later periotl of the mammoth and mastodon, when the
re-elevation was perhaps nearly complete, but to the
earlier period contemporiineous with, or innnediately fol-
lowinj^-, the supposed glacier-peri(»d. In my former
papers on the i'leistocene of the St. Lawrence, I have
shown that the chan^L*e of climate involved is not greater
than that which may have been due to the subsidence of
land, and to the change of course of the e([uatorial and
arctic currents, actually ju'oved by the deposits them-
s> Ives.

" These objections might be purs\ied to much greater
length : but enough has been said to show that there are
in the case of north-eastern America, strong reasons
against the existence of any such period of extreme
glaciation as sup])osed by numy geologists ; and that if we
can otherwise exjdain the rock striation and ])olishing,
and the forntation of fiords an<l lake-basins, the strong

* This was inteiuleil to apply to tlie valley of the St. Lawrence, not
to the mountainous regions having local glaciers.

IllSTOKR'AL XOTIt'KS. 17

puiiits with tlit'sc tlicitrisls, we can (lisi)eiiso all()<!;etlu'r
with tlu! iMtiteiitous chiin^fos in physical ^a'onrajihy involved
ill their \icws, and which arc iii»t iiecossary to explain
any <il" the other i)henoniena."

The adih'uss then proceeds to deal with these ])oints in
the manner to lie stalecl in a snhstMpient chaptei'.

Two years later, in l(S(i(), I prcjtared an account of all
that was known \\\) lo that date of tlrj fossil ])lants of the
niid-])leistocene IhmIs, the Leda clay of the Ottawa and 8t.
Lawrence valleys, e(|uivalent in a<i;e to the so-t-alled inter-
ylacial heds of western Canada. In this paper the
followini;- summary is *;iven of the climatal conditions
indicated : —

" Xone of the ])lants from these mid-^tilacial beds is
projierly arctii' in its (Hsliihiition, ami the assemblage
may Ix; charactmized as a selection frt)m tiie ])resent
Canadian flora of some of the more hardy species having
the most northern range. (Ireen's Creek is in the central
part of Canada, near to the parallel of 4() , and an acci-
dental selection from its present llora, though it might
contain the same S[)ecies found in the nodules, W(nild
certainlv include with these, or instead of ."ome of them,
more southern forms. More especially the balsam poi)lar,
though that tree occurs ])lentiful!y on tlie Ottawa, would
not be so [)redonnnant. IJul such an assemldage of drift
plants nnght be furiushed l)y any American stream
llowing in the latitude of 50^ to oi")" north. If a stream
tlowing to the north, it might deposit these plants in still
more northern latitudes, as the McKenzie river does
now. If llowing to the south, it might dei)osit them to
the south of oO'. In the case of the Ottawa, the plants
could not have been derived from a more southern
locality, nor probably from one very far to the north.
3

18 THK ICK A(iK F\ CANADA.

AV(! iiiav, tlu'iuforo, sut'cly assuiiii' that tlio I'cfiincration
iiulicatetl l)y these, plants would plaeo the royiou hnrderiiiL;
the Ottawa in nearly the same jHisition with that of the
south coast of Lahrador frontinj^on the uulf of St. [.awrence
at pre.sent. The aUsenee of all tla^ nioic aretie si)eeies
oceurrint,' in Labrador, should j»erha]is induce us to infer
a somewhat more mild elimate than this [and also indi-
cates the prohahle existence of the arctic llora to the
northward throughout the pleist(»cene ]terio(l]."

"The moderate amount of refrij^'eration thus required,
would, in my opinion, accord very well with the ])rolial)le
conditions of climate deduciljle from the circumstances in
which the fossil plants in ([uestion occur. At the same time
when they wei'e deposited, the sea Mowed uj) the Ottawa
valley to a height of 2U0 to 400 feet al>ove its i>resent
level, and the valley of the St. Lawrence was a wide arm
of the sea, open to the arctic current. Uiuler these
conditions the immense (juantities of drift ice from the
northward, and the removal of the great heating surface
now presented hy the low lands of Canada and New
England, nuist have given for the Ottawa coast of that
period a summer temperature very similar to that at
present experienced on the Labrador coast, and with this
conclusion the marine remains of the Leda clay, as well
as the few land moUusks whose shells have been found in
the beds containing the ])lants, and which are species still
occurring in Caiuula, ])erfectly coincide.

"The climate of that jjortion of Canada above water at
the time when these plants were imbedded, may safely be
assumed to have been colder in sunnuer than at present,
to an extent equal to about 5° of latitude, and this
refrigeration may be assumed to correspond with the
requirements of the actual geographical changes implied.

HISTUKKAL NOTICKS. 19

In oilier words, if Cimiula was siiliiiii'VLCctl until the
Ottawa valley was converted into an estuary inhabited hy
siiecies of Lvtia, and fre(iuented l»y capelin, lli(( diniinulion
of the summer heat eonse([U(!nt on such depression, would he
precisely suitable to the plants occurring- in these deposits,
without assuming' any other cause of chaii^'e of climate."

This extract, referrinj,' as it does to the evidence of
])lants, reminds us of the contrast between tlu; Pleistocene
and the warm climate of the early Eocene and later
Cretaceous, when warm temperate plants could llourish
as far north as (Treenhind. The reason is sccmi in our
comparative maps of the Cretaceous and I'leistocene of
Canada. The conditions presented in the latter show the
{greatest possil)le facilities for the triinsferencc of arctic
ice to temperate latitudes, and its accumulation therein,
while leaving the extreme arctic coni]>aratively free of
ice. Such conditions are the reverse of those in the early
Eocene, when the interior of the continent was occupied
with a warm mediterranean sea, shielded from the arctic
ice. Thus the known uieoj^raphicd condition of the I'leis-
tocene harmonize with rational views as to the causes and
extent of the refrigeration.

Lastly, in my address to the Natural History Society
of Montreal, in 1873, immediately after the pulJication of
the " Notes," above referred to, the following reference to
the position of the (piestion occurs: —

" In the memoir in the Journal of the Natural History
Society already referred to, I have re-asserted and sup-
ported by many additional proofs the theory of the
combined action of floating ice and glaciers in the produc-
tion of our Canadian l)0ulder clay and other superficial
deposits, which I have for many years maintained, in
opposition to the views of the extreme glacialists. It is

20 THK ICK A(iK IN CANADA.

luiUter of <,'iiitifi('iition to iiu! to liinl, in coMiicciion with
this, that I'cseiirchcs in other r(!<,'ions an; ra|»i(lly lifiidinj,'
to overthrow extromo views on the subject, and to restore
this (lepurtnient of <^<!olo^fi('al (lyiiaiiiics more nearly to
th(! (loniaiii of oi'diiiary I'xislini,' causes. \VhyiM|>er,
Boiiiiey, and other Ali)ine e.\i»h>rer.s, have al>ly sui)i)orted
in Kn,i,dand tlie eonchision which, after a visit to Switzer-
land in 1<S(),"), 1 vi'ntured to allirni here, that the erosi\'e
j)ower of uiaciers is \-ery inconsiderable. Mr. Milne
Home, Mr. Mclnlosh, and otheis, have comltale(l the
])re\alcnl notions of a, ^-eneral glacier in Kni^dand ami
Scotland. Mr. -lames (leikie, a Icadin,;.,' advoi-ate of land
glaciers, has l)een compelliMl to admit that marine beds
are interstralitied with the true boulder (day of Scotland,
and eoiise(iuently to demand a succession of elevations
and depressions in ortlcr to ,ni\'e iiny colour to the theory
of a ueiu'ral u'lacier. The idea of ulacier action as means
of aecountin_i[; for the drifts of Central lMiro))e and of
Hra/il seems to Ite u'cnerally abandoned. Lastly, in a
recent nnndicr of the "American Journal of Science," J'rof.
Dana has admitted the necessit,y, in order to account for
land ,nlaciation of the hills of Xew Kn^'land [by a conti-
nental <i'lacier], of supixisinu; a mountain rant^e or table
land of at U^ast (1,000 feet in heiiiht, to have existed
between the St. Lawrence and Hudson's IJay, while in
addition to the imaginary X. W. t!^ S. K. glacier, Howing
from this innnense and improbable mass, there must have
been a transverse glacier running JKMieath it up the valley
of the St. Lawrence. Such demands amount, in my
iudirment, to a virtual abandonment of the theorv of other
than large local glaciers in America in the pleistocene
period. Thus there are cheering indications that the
world-enveloping glaciei', which has so long spread its

HISTOKICAL NOTK'KS. 21

icy pull over Llm .l^coIo^'v (•(' tin' liitor tcrtiiiry jtoriodH, is
fiist lucltiiii^' away Itcfort! tlu; Hiiiisliinc of tiiitli."

l'('rlia])s 1 was a little too Haiij^niiiir as to the rapidity
(if the )»ro('i!ss, and did not iiiako allowance I'oi' that,
chilling current, (»f jiopnlar texL-l>ooks and otlicial
intlnence winch has so much retarded the final nudt,iii<i; of
the threat continental ^-lacier and the ])iilar ic(! cap.

Tho followinjj; citations, however, from \ery recent
puhlications show thai my forecast of the course of (»]>iin(»n
was not altogether wroiiu, and that we may hope foi' .still
hetter thin;.f.s in tlm futuie.

Sir llohert Uall's recent att(Mn)»t to rehahilitiite ('roll's
ingenious astronomical theory of the glacial a<i;e will not
a.ssist to restore it.s waninj^ fortunes, hut hrin^s out the
fact that this in,i,'enious theory was essentially defective.*
He shows that (.'roll reasoned on ii mistaken assumjjtifJii
that the earth receives e([ual amounts of heat when in
periludion and a])helion ])as8ai,'e, whereas the dill'erence is
as much as 2G ])er cent., and consequently at lonj^'
intervals there nii<fht occur ])erio(ls of ifreut coldness in
one lieniis])lune at a time. Tlu; interval of time, however,
is too lon,u', even on liall's theory, and the fact that the
ice of the glacial period radiated from points consider-
al)ly south of the i)<)lar circle, tells of tin; doniinaney of
terrestial conditions. This new astronomical theory will
therefore fail to all'ect gciological conclusions, and its weak
points have already heen ])ointed out hy geological
reasoners. It may, in short, he held to have given a
death hlow to the theory of astronomical causes of the
glacial ])eriod known to us in geology.

In a recent paper, Mr. Warren Upham, one of the most

* " The Cause of an Ice Age," London, 1892.

22 rilK K !■: ACK l\ CANADA.

iiclivi' 1111(1 Noluiiiiiinus of Anicricfm f^jliicinlists* iiddiici's a
Iniii,' aiiiiy (if citnliiiiis t'loiii (Jrikic, W'dcickkitll', Wiiiclii'll,
(lillMTl, Aii(li'(!\vs, \Viin;lii, Mackiutosli, Lo^'an, Spencer
and (itlieis (111 facts .sliowiiij,' the recency of I lie ^'laciul
iij^'O, wliicli li(! holds coiiM not ha\(' Iteeii more remote
from onr time than from 7,000 to 10,001) years. Ho
further conchides, from the ohser\ati(»ns of Dr. (1. M.
Dawson and others, that " the cause of thi' ^dacial period
was j;reat upHfts of the ^daciated areas," accompanied and
foUowed hy ureat iuid um!(|ual suhsideiice ; and he hrilit^s
evi(h'iice to show that the [)as.sa^f(^ of the e(piatorial
current into thi' Pacific, in cou.seipu'iice of the suhsidc^nco
of Central America, diverted the warm wateis of tl»e
(Julf Stream from the Athmtic. Claypoh', in a ri^view of
the Astronomical Theory,f adduces a (.^reat numher of
facts in evidence of the recency of the <^dacial period and
of its origin from terrestrial causes. In a later ]»aper,*
in which he endeavours to harmonise the doctrines of
threat ice-sheets and local glaciers, he admits that the
evidence from hoth Europe and North America "opjioses
the theory f»f a great polar ice caj) while favouring that of
a numher of separate radiants."

The great subsidence of the pleistocene period is
emphasised liy recent discoveries of high-levcd glacial
gravels in England, which are described by Mr. A. C.
Nicliolson, and which show a dejjression in that country
to the level of more tiian 1,300 feet.§

* American fJeologist, December, 1890.
t Trans. Ed. (^eol. Society, Vol. V.
X "Glacial Radiants," American (Jeologist, 1889.
§ "High Level Gravels at Gloppa," Journal Geological Society,
February, 1892.

msrouicAi. NoTicKs. 2:)

It is Inic tliiil iii;iiiy of tlit'sc writers still spcuU of an
it'i'-slii'i'L lis jMissilily I'Xlt'iiiliiiLr iicniss N'mtli Aiiit'iica ;
Imt tlu'ir own HtiilciiiciitM, as well as ihc imw uiiivci'sallv
mKU'rstood fact that tin- iiitcfior idatcaiix of f^n^Al coii-
liiu'iits caimoi iiiuli'i' any ciiciiiiistiiiiccs iccciM' snow
t'iioii«,^Ii to liri'Ctl ;,'ivaL ^iacit'fs. |»iiint to ciitiirly (lirrrrciit
c'oiicliisioiis.

Lastly, in cNidcnct' of the ^'laihial I'ctuni to more
uiotU'ratt! opinions, 1 may (piotc tlio woids of a Nctcran
gliU'ialist, and a man of wide knowlcdj^c and powt'i' of
tlioMiilit, who liiis recent Iv idissed awav. Alexandef Win-
I'liell Llnis rel'ei's to Canadian conclnsions in a papei' on
" IJeeent Views aliout; (ilaciers":

"Now, llie most- unexpei'ted residts of all tlic recent
lesoarclies appear lo he these: There has heen noeonti-
noiUal <dacier. Then' has heen no unifoim soulherh'
inovonieiit of <,dacier masses. There has lieen no per.sistent
declivity, as a sinr ijiui non down which j;iacier nio\ements
hiivc! taken place. The continuity of the supposed (!onti-
nental ^laeier was interru])ted in tiu! re^'ions of the dry
and treeless i)lains of the West; and in the interior and
Pacific helts of the continent, within tlu! Tnited States,
ancient ^i,daciati()n was restricted to the elevated slopes.
A non-iflaciated hidt, lyin^' a few miles east of the
foothills of the Rockies, extends all the way to the
unglaciated arctic region

" AiKjther unexpected result of c(jntinent-wide ohserva-
tioii is the discovery of ^dacial strialions tending in all
directions from two general centres. One of these is a
north-eastern centre of glaciation, which Dr. G. M.
Dawson proposes to call the ' Laurentide ' centre; the
other is a north-western centre, which he calls ' Cordille-
ran.' The C'ordilleran glacier lay between the range of the

24 1 1 IK K K A<.K I.N ( ANAhA.

UorlvV ^^tH^lltllills prupiT on I lie ('list, imd llic cuurtt niujiios
oil tlio I'lU'ilic, iind .stiHarlicd I'roiii \'i('lnii;i to lalitudt! HO'.
All this ii'Lrioii, consistiiiiiot' llii' iiioiiiitiiiii nm;,M's and of
the clcvatcil pliitciiil Ix'twci'ii tliciii, was once: occupied hy
a conlliiciit j^dacic]' I .IMIO miles l(»ii^' and 400 miles wide.
Tlie main <4atlieiin^'-'j:iiiiind. lio\ve\-ei', was letween the
.".'til and ri'.llh parallels. TlielH'e Llie iee Unwed noiill-
ward ."irtO miles, and soutliwanl al»o\il (iOO miles, diviM'^dng,
in tlie inlei\rnin<Mlistaiice, eastci'lv and westerlv."

The Laurentiile ^laeiei' had I'nr iis centre nji disti-ihntion
tlie highlands called the Lani'entian nmnntains, one arm
of which lies lu'tw'een Ilmlson's I»ay ami thc^ u'roat
plains nf r.rilish America. Iliiheilo, must of (Uii- know-
ledj^e of ^dacici' mnsfnients has pertained to the south-
ward-mo vin;Lj; ]«»rtions of this ^ncat sheet, hut we now
know that the reiuolin' parts moved north and north-west.
J)r. I>tdl has shown that there was also a centre of
distrihution in the peninsula of Lahrador, from which
movements railiate(l east, wi'st, south and north, hut
without reachin^f the coast northwai'd. This, however,
mav not have heeii an independent centre of .snowy
accumulation, as one arm of the Laurentian ridge oxteiids
through Lahrador.

Aitpended to this chapter is a list of the several i)apers
refernMl to ahove and in the follovvin,^' chapters, part of
which have ap])eared in the "Canadian Naturalist and
deologist," and its succe.s.sor, the "Canadian Kecord of
Science.

Jvcferences to memoir.s hy otlier authors will he found
in their proi)er places in the suUsequent chapters.

MISToKH'Ar, N'OTICKS. Of)

LIST III' I'AI'KIIS ON ri.KlsnH'KM': Ml' TANAItA.

(I.) NotiiT iif III!' IMi'iMldiiiic ( J»'ol(>j(y of Nova Si'otiii. " Aciuliiui

( it'<>lnj{y," IS.V).
('.'.) Oh tlu! N'«'\vor l'li<»c»;ii« uml I'lml-pliot'cii*' of tlic Vicinity of

Motitn'iil. ('iiiiuiliiiii N'litiii'iiliHt, \H'u.
(.'),) Atlilitiiiiiiil N'oti'H on the INmt plit iw Ih'iioHitH of tlio St.

l<iiN\ icncc Niillcy. //». iH'iK.
<4.) On tli(M'liniiiti> of Ciinaila in tiio I'oHt-l'liofuni- IN'i joii. //>. IStM).
(.'».) (hi |N)«t Triliiirv l''oHMilM fioni l.aliiiidoi'. //». ISdO.
(U.) On till! (•(Milogy of Miiiray ISay (i'ail .'{, I'oHt |ilioi'ciif Dt^pimilH.

(7. ) Atliln-HH a« I'roMiilfMt of the Natural IliHtory Society of Montreal.

//<. IS(H.
(S.) On tlu' I'ost |)lioccnc |)«!^»oMit» of Hivicro ilii Loup ami Tadous-

sac— /A. I.Stl.').
(!>. ) ConipaiiHoii of the Fc clicr|{w of licjlc inh? ami the (llaciens of

Mont iUanc, witli reference to tlic riniiliirrilay of Canada. —

Il>. IS(Hi.
(10.) On the Kvidence of KoHHil j'lantH as to tlic INrntplioceiic climate

of Cana.la. /A. I.S(i(}.
(II.) Report <if ( leolo^'y of Prince Kilwanl Island. IH7I.
(I'i.) NotcH on the l'ost-|)lioiH'ne (Jeolo^y of Canada, pj). 1 1'2 and

Figures. M<»ntreal, 1872. .\lso Canadian Naturalist, N.S.,

Vol. VI.
(13.) Address to Natural History Society of Montreal. — 1874.
(14.) Note on a Fossil Seal. — Canadian Naturalist, 1877.
(15.) Supplenuiut to Aca<lian (icology. 1878.

( 16.) Notice of Woeickkotr on (ilaciers. Canadian Naturalist, V^ol. X.
(17.) Canadian Pleistocene. — London (ieological Magazine, 188.'<.
(18.) On the Skeleton of a Whale found at Smith's Falls, Ontario. —

Canadian Naturalist, I88.'{.
(19.) (ieology of the line of tiie Canadian Pacific Railway. — ,Journal

Geological Society, London, 1884.
(20.) Boulder Drift and Sea Margins at Little Metis. — Canadian

Record of Science, 188().
(21.) Pleistocene Fossils from Anticosti, — //>. 1880.
(22.) BaltiuiiH Ihuner't and V^arieties of Mya aremtria and M. truncain

in the Pleistocene. —//^ 1889.
(23.) On a Fossil Fish and Marine Worm.— //>. 1890.
(24.) The Pleistocene Flora of Canada (witli descriptions of the plants

by Prof. Penhallow). — liul. (Jeol. Society of America, 1890.

26 TIIK ICK A(!K IN CANADA.

Much of the inatLi'f coutaiiu'd in these detached
publications now re(iuircs ri'vision, more es])eciaily the
lists of I'ossils ; and many additional facts have accunni-
lated. I ])ur})ose, therefore, now to smnmari/e the facts
and conclusions of my previous ])apers and to uinte them
with the new facts, so as (o })resent as complete a, view as
possible of the ,neolotry of the superficial dej)Osits of
Canada. 1 shall also i)rei)are a comph^te list of the fossils
up to date, with revised nomenclature end synonymy.
In this last ])art of the work I have l)een aided by the
late Dr. V. V. Carpenter and Mi'. AVhiteaves. 1 have had
the beiieHt, in the case of several critical species, of the
advice of the late Air. .1. (}. Jefl'reys, the late Mr. 11.
MacAndrew of London and Mr. Dall of Washin,i;ton. I
am also indebted to My. (J. 8. Uradv for determinin<f the
Ostracoda, to the llev. H. AV. Crosskey for opportunities
of com]>arin<j; s])ecimens with those of the Clyde lieds,
and to Prof. T. J(. Jones and Dr. Tarker and Mr. 0. M.
Dawson for help with the Foraminifera. Other mimes of
contributors of information will be mentioned in the notes
and in the lists of fossils.

CHArTEII TT.

THK SUCCESSION OF DEl'OSlTS.

ITiider this lieading I propose to luentioii, in a t,'eneml
maimer, the actual succession of deposits with wliich we
have to deal, and to consider what is known of tlie
probalde conditions of their accumulation and the geo-
graplucal and climatal features of the period.

The deposits which we have to consider are superficial
or overlying beds of boulder clay or till, lannnated clay,
sand and gravel, widely distributed over the northern
part of the American continent, and accompanied with
lidges of detritus (kaims, eskers, etc.), and with travelled
stones and boulders or erratics. They may be arranged
as in the table on the following pnge, which refers to three
important and widely separated regions.* It will be
observed that in each of these there is a general corres-
pondence in the arrangement of the deposits, and that
these may be regarded as comprising a lower and upper
boulder formation separated by an intermediate bed or set
of beds evidencing a less amount of ice action. This
intermediate formation corresponds with that often named
" Inter-glacial" A similar order is observed in other
parts of America, and also in Western Europe.

* Pleistocene Flora of Canada, Bui. Geol. Soc. of America, Vol. I.

28 THK ICE A(JK IN CANADA.

COMPAUATIVK TABLE.

Montreal null hirer Rt. Xorlh shore of Lake Belly rirer, North-
Lan'rencc, Ontdrio. irest Territory.

J. Wfti. Dawson. J. (i. Hinde. (4. M. Dawson.

I. I. I.

Surface soil, post- Surface soil, strati- Surface soil and
glacial alluvia & peat, tied sand and gravel, prairie alluvium.

II. II. II.

Surface boulders, lioulders, sand, etc. Upper boulder clay.

Saxicava sand and Laminated clay. Up-

gravel. Houldera in per boulder deposit.
and below sand.

III. III. III.

Upper Leda clay, Stratified sand and (! ray sand w ith iron-

mcarine shells and drift clay, with fresh-water stonenodules. Brown-

§ plants. Lower Leda shells and plants. ish sandy clay. Car-

o clay, marine shells and bonaccous layers and

drift plants. peat. Gray sand and

(3h i ironstone.

i IV. IV. IV.

Lower boulder clay Lower boulder clay Lower boulder clay,
or tin. Many native or till. Native and Many travelled bould-
and some travelled travelled boulders. ers.
boulders. A few ma-
rine shells of arctic
species.

V. V. V.

Palaiozoic rocks, Palaeozoic rocks, Cretaceous beds,
often striated. often striated.

Taking a somewliat more general view, the whole
pleistocene deposits of eastern Canada may be tabulated

in descending order as follows :-

THE SUCCKSSION OF DEPOSITS.

2U

CANADIAN PLEISTOCENE.

;

(a) Post-glacial deposits, river \
alluvia and gravels, peaty r
deposits, lake bottoms, etc. ''

(h) Saxicava sand and gravel, >
often witli numerous travelled
boulders (upper boulder <le-
posit), probably the same
with Algonia sand, etc., of
inland districts.

(c) Upper Leda clay, and pro- ^

bably Saugeen clay * of
inland distiicts ; clay and
sandy clay, in the lower St.
Lawrence, with numerous
marine shells.

(d) Lower Leda clay; fine clay,
often laminated, and with a
few large travelled boulders,
probably ecjuivalent to Erie
clay t of inland districts.

(e) Lower stratified sands and

gravels (.Syrtensian deposits
of Matthew).]:
(/) Boulder clay or till ; hard
clay, or unstratified sand,
with boidders, local and
travelled, and stones often
striated and polishe<l.

Renuiins of M ' idon and A7-
phdH, modern fresh-water shells.

Shallow-water fauna of boreal
cliaracter, more especially Saxi-
aira ri((josa and its varieties.
Bones of whales, etc.

Holds in eastern Canada a
marine fauna identical witii that
of the northern part of the gulf
of St. Lawrence at present ; and
locally affords remains of a boreal
flora.

Holds Leila (Portland'ui) (irctka
and sometimes Tel/iiia ijroenlan-
(lira ; and seems to have been
deposited in very cold and ice-
laden water.

Tiiese i-epresent land surfaces
and sea and coast areas immedi-
ately posterior to tlie boulder clay.

In the lower St. Lawrence region
holds a few marine shells of arctic
species. Farther inland is non-
fossilferous, but has usually the
chemical characters of a marine
• deposit.

Note. — Vs^ith reference to this table, I wish it to be distinctly
understood that it covers the whole pleistocene deposits as known in
Canada, and that division (/) corresponds to the older boulder clay
and {h) to the upper boulder deposit, which is the more extensively
spread of the two.

* Geology of Canada, 18(32.

t Supplement to Acadian Geology, 1878. Notes on Post-pliocene
of Canada : Canadian Naturalist, Vol. VI., 1871.

X In the province of Quebec beds of this kind in some places
underlie the boulder clay.

'^0 THE ICK A(JE IN CANADA.

The lower liouMer clay (/) is dften a true iuid very
hard till, re,sliM(i; usually ou intensely j^laciated rock-
surfaces, and lilled with stones and boulders. Where
very thick, it can he seen to have a rude stratification.
Even wiien destitute of marine fossils, it shows its sub-
marine accunndation by the unoxidized and unwcathered
condition of its materials. The stria- l)eneath it, and the
direction of transport of its boulders, siiow u general
movement from X.K. to S.AV., u}> the St. Lawrence
valley from the Atlantic. Connected with it, and
apparently of the same a,u;e, are evidences of great local
glaciers descending into the vallev from the Laurentian
highlands. Tlie boulder clay of the basins of the great
lakes, and of the western ])lains, as well as tiiat of the
Missouri Coteau, seems to be of sinular ciiaracter. The
l)asins of the lakes are [)arts of older valleys dammed up
with rieistocene debris.* The ^Missouri Coteau and its
extensions, probably the greatest " moraine " in the world,
and the "terminal moraine" of the great continental
glacier of some American geologists, appears to me to be
the deposit at the margin of a sea laden with vast Htlds
of floating ice.f

The lower Leda clay {(/) seems in all res])ects similar
to the deposits now fornnng under tiie ice in lUiHin's
bay and the Spitzbergen sea. The up])er J^eda clay
represents a considerable amelioration of climate, its
fauna being so similar to that of the gulf of St. Lawrence
at present, that I have dredged in a living state nearly all
the species it contains, off the coasts on which it occurs.

* Newberry, Reports on Ohio ; Hunt, Canadian Reports ; Spencer,
Ancient Outlet of lake Erie, Ann. Phil. Society, 1881.

t Report on 49th Parallel. G. M. Dawson, Paper on Superficial
Deposits of the Plains in the Journal of London Ceological Society.

THE SUCCESSION OF DEPOSITS. ;',1

Land plants found in the beds holdinjr tliosc niiirine shells
are of species still livin>,^ on the north shore of the St.
Lawrence, and show that there were in certain portions of
tiiis period considerable land surfaces clothed with ve<,'eta-
tion. Tiie upper Leda clay is probably contemporaneous
with the so-called inter-glacial deposits holding plants and
insects discovered by Hinde on the shores of lake Ontario.*
On the Ottawa it contains land plants of modern (^madian
species, insects and feathers of birds, intermixed with
skeletons of C'apelin {Ma/lofns) and sliells living in the
gulf of St. Lawrence.

Tiie changes of level in the course of the deposition of
the Leda clays must have been very great ; fossiliferous
marine deposits of this age being found at a height of at
least 000 feet, and sea-beaches at a much greater eleva-
tion, while at other times there must have been large
land' areas and even fresh-water lakes. Littoral gravels
and sands of this period may also l)e undistinguishable,
except by their greater elevation, from those of the Saxi-
cava sand. 1 have described the bones of a large whale
(Mrtjapfnu lom/inuina) from gravel north of the outlet of
lake Ontario and 420 feet above the level of the sea,
which is not improbably contemporaneous with the Leda
clay of hnver levels, and much higlier than deposits near
lake Ontario regarded as of lacustrine origin.f These

* Proceetlh.gs of Canadian Institute, 1877. Dr. Hinde in tliia
paper incorrectly states tliat the Leda clay belongs to the "close of the
glacial period," and that bonlder-drift is not found above it. In
truth, as Admiral Bayfield, Sir Charles Lyell, and the writer have
shown, boulder-drift is still in progress in the gulf and river St.
Lawrence, though in a more limited area than in the pleistocene
period ; but any considerable subsidence of the land might enable it to
resume its former extension.

t Canadian Naturalist, Vol. X., No. 7.

;V2 THK ICK A(iE IN CANADA.

cliiin<j[Os of tlie relative levels of sen iiiul land must be
taken into account in explaining the distrihution of
marine clays and sands, boulder deposits, etc., which are
often regariled with reference to the present levels of the
country, or as contemporaneous deposits without regard
to their elevation, a metiiod certain to lead to inaccurate
conclusions.

The Saxicava sand {!>) indicates shallow-water condi-
tions witli much driftage of Ijoulders, and probably glaciers
on the mountains. It constitutes in many districts a
second boulder formation, aiul possildy implies a some-
what more severe or at least more extreme climate than
that of the up])er Leda clay. Terraces along the coast
mark tiie successive stages of elevation of the lanil in and
after this period. There is also evidence of a greater
elevation of the land succeeding the time of the Saxicava
sand, and preceding the modern era.*

It is well known that very diverse theoretical views
exist among geologists as to the origin of the deposits
above referred to. Tiie conclusions wliich have l^een
forced upon the writer by detailed studies extending over
the last forty years, are that in Canada the condition of
most extreme glaciation was one of partial submergence,
in which the valleys were occupied by a sea laden with
heavy field-ice continuing throughout the summer, while
the hills remaining a])ove water were occupied with
glaciers, and that these conditions varied in their distri-
bution with the varying levels of the land, giving rise to
great local diversities, as well as to changes of climate.
There seems to be within the limits of Canada no good
evidence of a general covering of the land with a thick

Supplement to Acadian Geology, 3rd edition, pp. 14, et seq.

TIIK SI'CCHSSIOX OF DKPOSITS. 33

iiiiuitlc (if ice, tlioiiu'h tlicic iiiiisl ill ceilaiii jHiiods have
boLMi vt'i'V cxti'iisivc local iilacicis on the Apitalachiaiis, tlic
Laiu'c'iiliaii axis and llic iiioiiiilaiiioiis icj^nniis of the
west.* The two latter hasc Ix-cii named liy Dr. (1. M.
Dawson lli(! "Luurenlide" and " ( 'ordilleran " ^'laeiers
i'es))ectively. The i'oi'iner "lav lie named tin " Aiipala-
C'hiaii " glacier, and these three must have been the
principal sources of land ice in the height of the glacial
age, when large; portions of the plains and valleys must
have been suhmeigccl. It does not, indeed, seimi ])ossil»le
that, under any conceivalile meteorological eoudilions, an
area so e.\ti'nsi\e as that of ('anada, if existing as a land
surface, should receive, exci'iit tm its oceani( margins, a
sullieient amount of precipitation to produce a continental
glacier.f

in the great ('ordilleran ranges of the noilh-vvest the
changes e\idenced in the east occurred in an exaggerated
form. The general character and prohal)le com[)lexity
of these changes may lie seen from the following provi-
sional table taken fidin Dr. ( ». ^l. Daws(jn,and the evidenc(!
for which will be found in his memoir on the " I'hysio-
grajihical (Jeology of the Kocky Mountain llegion of
Canada,"'.! already rt'ft'rred to.

* a. M. Dawson, Reports on IJritisii Coluiultiii, iiml Superficial
(ieology of British Coliunltia, Journal (<eol. Society, KS7S. Memoir
on Rocky Mountains, Trans. R. S. C, 1S!M).

t The term "modified drift," sometimeis used for tiie upper pleis-
tocene deposits, is ol)jectioual)le. The gravels and sands of tlie Saxicava
sand are no more "modified" representatives of the lower beds tlian a
carboniferous sandstone or conglomerate is a modification of underlying
strata. Tlie term lias no proper significance, unless it could be siiown
that the boulder clay is a deposit formed on land and subse(iuently
modified by aijueous action. ~-^. _ ,

I Trans. R. S., Canada, 1890.

;i4

TIIK K !•; ACK l\ CANADA.

ScHK.MK Ol" CoilUKLAllnN ol TIIIO PlIICXOMKNA oi' rillC (il.AOIAI,
l*KllIOI) IN rilK (JidtDII.M'lllAN lilOiilo.N AND TIIK KkoION OK
rilK (iltKAT I'j.AINS (in AsCKNIHNd ()|{|)i;il).

CofiliHi iini /{iijlnii,

( 'oidilluniii /one at a liigh I'luvu-
tioii. I'l'i'iod of iiKist si'\i'i'(' j^laci-
ation and niaxiniuin <Ie\'flopnii'nt
of tlio great Conlilleiaii glaeief.

( ifailual siilisidencc of tlie Cor-
tlilleran I'egion and deiiay of tlie
great glacier, witli deposition of
tlie l)oidder elay of tiie Interioi'
Platean and tlie ^'^lkon Dasin, of
tile lower lioiilder elay of the
littoral, and also at a later stage
(and with greater sulniiergenee) of
the inter-glacial .silty l)eds of the
same region.

Re-elevation of the C'oi'dilleran
region to a level prohaMy as high
as or somewhat higher than the
present. Maximum of second
period of glaciation.

Partial sulisidence of the (^)r-
dilleran region to a level about
2,500 feet lower than the present.
Long stage of stability, during
which the white silts were laid
down. (Jlaeiers of the second
period considerably reduced. Up-
per boulder clay of the coast

I{('</ioii (if till (Irutl /'/((iiix.

Correlative subsidence and sub-
mi'igcncc of tilt' great plains,
with possilile contemporaneous
intrca.sed elevation of the Lauren-
tian axis and niaximnm develop-
ment of ice upon it. Deposition
of the lower boulder clay of the
plains.

Correlative elevation of the
westein part of tiie great plains,
which was probalily more or less
irregular, and led to the produc-
tion of extensive lakes, in which
inter-glacial deposits, including
peat, were formed.

Correlative subsidence of the
plains, which (at least in the
western part of the region) ex-
ceeded the first subsidence and
extended submergence to the base
of the Rocky Mountains near the
forty-ninth parallel. Formation of
second boulder clay, and (at a
later stage) dispersion of large
erratics.

('orrelative elevtation of the
plains, or at least of their western
portion, lesulting in a condition
of etjuilibrium as lietween the
plains and the Cordillera, their
nhitire levels becoming nearly as
at present. Probable formation
of the Missouri Coteau along a

THK SUCC'KSSIOX OK I )K I 'OS ITS.

36

Ciirilif/irdii lt> ii'itiii.
prolitiMy fui'iiu-il ut this tiiiio,
tliougli ix'i'liapH in part diiritig the
Hcroiul iniixiniiiin of glaciiitioii,

l'(!iii;\vc(l I'k'vatioii of tliu Coi'-
(lilli'iaii region witli oiio well
inai'i<u(l paiiHu, during wiiicii tlit;
littoral stood aliout "JdO feet 1o\m'I'
than at pri'scnt. (ilai'icis nnifli
reduced and diminishing, in eon-
Hei|Uenee of general anielioiation
of climate toward the clo.se of the
glacial period.

I'njiiiii o/ lite (in III /'/iiiii.i,

Mhore line during thi8 perioil of

re.st.

Simultan(!ou.s elevation of the
great plains to aliout their pren-
enl le\el, witii final exeluHion of
waters in conm^cl ion with the sea.
Lak(' .\gassiz fornieil and even-
tually di'aiued toward tlu^ close (jf
this period. This simullaneMua
movement in tdcvation of Itoth
great areas may prohahly he con-
nected with tilt! moi'e general
northern elevation of laml at tiie
olose of the glacial period.

The tciidciicy of rt'cuiil oUscrvatioiis Ini.s ln'cni to show
that the I'liocuiii' and older siili(h\i.sioii.s ot" th(( 'I'eiliury
covered each of them a iinieh h)iiot',r Lime than the
I'leistoeene, and that the close of the latter approaches
more nearly to the modern or recent time tjian had
])revionsly heen .sn]»])(xsed. 'I'o tlut.se i)oint.s we shall have
occasion to refer in tlu; se(|md.

It may be i)ro])er here to indicate the ,n'eneral nomen-
clature which will be followed. When tlu; whole oeoloojeal
series is divided into Primary, Secondary and Tertiary,
the deposits to which this ])aper relates are usually named
Tost-tertiary or C^)iiaternary. These terms arc, in nty
judgment, unfortunate and misleadinj:-. If we take the
relations of fossils as our guide, then, as Fictet has well
remarked, whether we reoard the land or the sea aniniids,
there is no decided break between the newer Pliocene
and the Pleistocene, the changes not being greater than
those between the Pliocene and the older Tertiary ages.
There is, therefore, no such thing in natui'e as a (^)uater-

80 TIIK ICK ACT, IN CAN'ADA.

iiaiT time tlistiiKi t'loiii tlic Tcrtiiiry, mm llic Tcrliary is
(listiiict t'i'ttiii tilt' St'cdiidiiiy. W'licic tlicrcriu't' the tmiis
PrimiiiT, Sccondiiry and 'l\'rtiiiry an- used, the laltci'
hIkiiiM iii('lu<I(' I lie wlmlc tiliic I'loiii the Kdcciic to the
Modern inclusive, unless indeed llic advent of man l»e
('(tnsidered an event dl' snllicient ;;•('( tjonieal ini]M»rtanee to
warrant a separation of tint Modern from the Tertiary
period. When the terms Taheo/oie, Mcso/oie and Kaino-
zoie or Neo/oie are used, then the two latter terms eoNcr
perfectly the I'leistoeene as wtdl as the Koeene, Miocene
and I'lioeene. 1 woidd theicfore include the Pk'istocene
in the Neo/oie or Tertiary jieriod, and deliia' it to he that
geological age which is includc(| hciween the Pliocene
and the Modem. From the former it is seijarated hv the
advent of the cold or glacial* period, und the accompany-
ing suhsidence of the land, as well as by the disajtpearance
of many species of animals and plants. From tlu; latter
it is se})arated hy the extinction of many mammalian
forms, and liy the introduction of man, and of the jireseiit
levels and climatal conditions of the coidinents.

LATKR KAINOZOIC OR TKKTIAKV I'KRIOI).

(/// A-^trntlliKj Ordrr.)

Newki{ Pliocene. — A continental period of long duration,
in which the land was more elevated than at ])resent,
and vt'ry e.\tensi\e erosion of deep river Nalleys
occurred.

riiEisTocENE. — Covering thi'ee sul)-di\isions : —

(a) J'J«r/>/ I'Irisfotriie: Irregular elevation and depres-
sion of the continents, with cold climate and
great local glaciers.

* I use. the term "glacial" in this paper in its general sense, as
including tiie action of floating ice as well as of land ice.

riiK srccKssiox ok DKi'osns. ;;

'(

{/>) Miil-l'h ixtfiniii' : Sllhlllci'LJcilcc of CKiisIs ilixl VC-

el('\iiii(iii (tf iiitcriur iilutcaiis with iiiiMcr
cliiMiilc. liiUii'-^Iiiciiil pciiod.
{(•) Ltihr /'/risfmriir : Siilimcr^'ciicc (if iilaiiis, hidI
L;('iH'ial icf (Iril't, willi local j^luciuis in
iiiDUiitaiiis.

Kaulv Miiuhijn ()i; I'(»st-( ii.AciAi,. — Sccuiul cuiitiiiciital
])OJ'i(M|, ill wliicli lilt' lainl I'cLiains aliimsl all the
cxtciisioii (if ilic I'lidcciic lime. A'^v (if the MamiiKilh
and MashMldii and (if I'ala'dCdsiiiic man. — I '(t.sl -glacial
Fauna.

MuhiciiN (II! llKcKNT.—Suliincruciicc (if sIkuI duration,
ti'i'iiiiiialiu^ tilt! a^'(! of rala'ocosmic man. |{('-(d('\a-
tioii of contiiicnis lo jircscnl levels. Modein I'aci's
of men iind Modern haiina.

Lei US now eolisidei' liie sexeral liienilieis of llie I'k'I.S-
toeeiie more in delail, u.speeially in those re^i^ions in which
ihev liaM' lieeii .-tudied liv the author.

(IKXKH.M. DK.SCHIITIOX OF ri.Kl.STOCKNK DKI'OSITS.
\,— Tlir Loirrr lluiiUUi'-i'liUj.

Throuuliout a ureal part of t'amida there i.s over all
ihe lower levels a true "Till," consisting- of hard '^xwy
(day, tilled with stones and thi(d<ly packed with houldor.s,
in niaiiy ])laci's, however, the (day liecomes sandy, and in
some ])ortions of the ujtper earhoniferous and triassic
aieas, the ])asle is an incoherent .sand. The mass is usually
destitute of any stratification or suhordinate lamination;
hut sometimes in llii(d\ lieds horizontal line.s of dilt'erent
texture or ctjlour can he perceived, and occasionally the
clay intervening l)etween tho stones heeomes laminated,
or at least shows such a structure when disintegi-ated hy

38 'IIIK UK A»iK IN CANADA.

IVdsi. The lidiildcr-cliiy iisiiiilly i-csts directly on sdiuicd
rock-siiil'i(('('s : hilt I liiivf (tliscrvcd in Ciiiu' r>icti)ii n

peaty III' liinwii cuiil dc|)( 1 ilh Idillielies of eniiit'erniis
trees, wliieli liiidei'lies il, il in dtliei" pliiee-* there ill'e
deposits of rolled ^M'tiNel under thi' lioidder-elay. At/ the
(ili'n hrick-work, n«'ar Monlii-id, a pcenliar modified
houlder-elay occurs, consist in^f of \ery irreu'iilaily hedded
Hiuid and i^rascl, uilli many lar^v liouldeis, and only thin
lavers of elav.

The stones of the iMudiler-elay are often scratched, anil
•jround into those pecidiai' wedi^t'-shapes so chai'aclei'istic
of ice-worketl stones. \'ery ahundant exami)li's of tins
occur at Montreal ami in its \icinity.

Al Isle N'eite, l{i\ icre (hi i-oiip, Muriay I>ay, (,)iieliec,
St. Nicholas, Little Metis, etc., the hoiilder-clay is fos-
siliferoiis, containing' esj»ecially Lnhi iihnidliK, and often
haAin^' hoiilders and lar<,'e stones »'overe(| with lidhnnn^
Jf((iiuri i\\u\ with r»ry(»/oa, i'\idenciii,L!,' that they ha\'e. for
some time ([iiietiy re])osed in thi^ sea bottom hefoie heiny'
huried in tlu^ clay. This is imleeil the; usual condition of
the houlder-elay in the lower part of the St. Lawrence
river.* Further ii]t, in the vicinity of Montreal, it has
not heeii oltserved to contain fossils, hut it ])resents
eipially une(|uivocal evidence of suh-a(pU'oiis oriirin in the
low state of oxidation of the iron in the hliie clay, which
becomes hiown when e.x^io.sed to the wciithei', and in the
bri<,'htiiess of the iron ])yrite.s contained in some of the
glaciated stones, as well as in the presence of rounded and

* Uphain lulniits ( Proc. Brit. Nit. Soy., 1888) that sea shells exist
in the boulder-olay of MassaeiiuseHs ; hut his exi)laiiation tluvt tliey
have been pushed up hy glaciers is (juite iuadiiiissilde, more especially
as they are not of more boreal types than those of Massachusetts bay
«t present.

Till': srccKssioN or dki'osits. 89

• 'laciiilnl Imiips uf I'liiii sliali- ;iii«l nilifi' sul't incUs, wliirh

hocttiiic tlisiiitfiiraird ai umcc wlicii cNiM.scd to wcallicnii^'.

The till.' l.i.iild.'i-clav is ill all (.r.liiiary cas.'s the (.Mcst

UH'IIiImT ..I' the I'jcisluccli.' .l.'l-osils. ail.l it is lint l.ussil.lr

to (lividr it iiitn disliiirt iMuildfr-clavs (.f dilU'iviii
a<,'('s, siiiM'iiiiiiMis.'d nil niif aiintlicr. It may 1m' nliscivt'd,
linwcMT, that ill sn till' as tilt' linuldcr-clay is a iiiai'iin'
doposil, tliiil wliicli nccurs at InwiT ifxt'ls is in all pm-
hal.ility lU'Wcr iliaii ilial wliirli .icciiis at lii-la-r IfV.'ls.
It is alsn In lie nlisclNcd that l-nuldds Willi layt'i's n|'
sioiu's (K'C'asi(»iially ncciir ill tlic l.cda clay : and llial tlm
suiM-rlicial samls and .i-ravrls sninctiiiirs cniitain iari^n^
Wniildcrs, and cv.'ii cniistitntc an iii.ikt nr ncwrr hnnld.T
I'nnuatinii; hut Llu-sc appearances arc n<.t usually snlli-
cicntly iniiinrtant In ciiusc any cxpcriciu'cd nhscrvcr tn
Miislakc such nvcilyin;4 deposits t'nr the Inwer hniilder-clay.
They hclnii-' tn the second nr newer pail i)i the pelind.

Ill some Inealities the stniies ill the hniildcr-clay aro
almost oxchisivi^ly those of the iiei;/lihomiii.y' rock t'onna-
Lious, and this is espiicially the case at the hase ol" dills or
proiiiinent outcrops, whence a lar^c ((uaiitity of material
would he easily (U'rived. In other eases, tliou»,di k'ss
t'rciiueiitly, material travelled fi.an a distance lartrely
predominates. Throu;,diout the valley of the Lower St.
Lawrence, the .uiieiss and other hard metamorphie rocks
of the Laureiitian hills to the north-east are very
ahuiidant.and iu Ixmlders of larue si/e and much roundetl.
Occasional instances also occur where large houlders iiave
heeu transported to the northwards ; hut these are com-
paratively rare, excei>t in the second or upper drift. I
have mentioned some examjjles of this in "Acadian
Geology," p. 01. Similar instances are mentioned in the
" Geology of Canada," p. H9:>.

40 'I'HK K'K ACK IN CAXADA.

Tlioii^U'li the lioiildcr-clay often in'csciits a soincwliat
\vi(l('ly ('.\l('iiil('(l and uiiit'orni slu'tJl, yd il may lie slated
to till up all small \alleys and depressions, lo lie (M»nlined
eliieHv to the lower urounds, and to l)e thin or al)seiil on
ridges and risiuLi' urounds. The Koulders which itcontains
are also hy no means uiul'orndy dis])ei'sed. W'lieic it is
cut through liy ri\-ers, or denuded hy the action of the
sea, ridges of lioulders often appeal' to he included in il.
Those on llu' Ottawa referred to in the ''(leolouy of
Canada," ji. S'.l.'i, are \-ery Liood illustrations, and I luivo
oliserved tlu' same fact on the Lower St. Lawrence and on
the coast of Xo\a Scotia. It is also oliserxaMe that ihese
lines and ui.mps of liouldeis are often not of local
material, hut of rocks from distant localities, and that a
number of the same kind seem often to lane heon
deposited to,u"ether in one <j;roup.

Loose boulders are oft-en found upon the sui'face, and
sometimes in ,u'real numln'i's. in some instances Ihest'
may rejtresent beds of boulder-(day i'emove(l by denuda-
lion. In otiier cases they may have been deri\ed from
the (jverlyin,!^ memliei's of tlu' formaliitn, or may have
been dejjosited on the surface in the later I'leistoeene
sul)sideiu'e, without any coNcriiiL;' of clay or gravel. In
"Acadian (leolony," p. 04, I have illustrated the manner
in which larue stones, sometimes ein'ht feet or more in
diameter, are moved by ilie coast ice and sometimes
deposited on the surface of soft mud, and I have had
occasion to \erify the (jbservalions of the same kind made
by Admiral JJaytield, and (pioted ])y Sir C. liyell in the
" Principles o( (Jeoloey." Lastly, tin certain hinh yrounds
there are large loose l)0ulders, which have probal)ly been
moved to their present positions by means of land ice or
glaciers.

THE SUCCKSSION OF DEPOSITS. 41

Tlio liouldcr-clay locally pivsciits, as above slated, iudi-
calions of successive layers, and il occasionally contains
surfaces on which lie lar.ye boulders striated and ])olislied
on the u])i)er surface, in the manner of the ])avenu'nts of
l)oulders described by Miller, as occurring' in the Till of
Scotland. These ai)i)earances are, however, inre, and few
op])ortunities occur for obsei'xinu; them.

A very general and imjxtrlant ai)])earancc is the polish-
ini;- and striation of the underlyini;- rocks usually to be
observed under the boulder-clay, and which is undoubtedly
of the same character witli that observed under Alpine
o'laciers. This continental striation or uroovinj;- is obvi-
ously the ettect of the action of ice, and its direction
marks the course in which the abrading a,t>ent travelled.
This direction has been ascei'taini'd l)y the Canadian and
United States surveys, and by local obsei'vers, over a
large part of America, ami it ])resents some broad features
well deserving attention. A valuable table of the direc-
tion of this striation is given in the "(ieology of Canada,"
which I may take as a basis for my remarks, adding to it
a few local observations of my own.* The table end)races
one hundred and forty-five observations, extending along
the valleys of the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa and the
borders of the great lakes. In all of these the direction
is south, with an inclination to the west ami east, or to
state the case nu)re pi'ccisely, there are two sets of striae,
a south-west set and a south-east set. In the table
ei<ditv-four are westward of south and tifty-eight are
eastward of south, three being due south. It further

* See also, iov the western distriots, Whittlesey's Memoir in the
Smithsonian C;ontril»utions, and Newherry's Report on Ohio ; Papers
by Dr. (!. M. Dawson on tiie Plains of N.W. Canada in Journal of
(ieol. Soy. of London and Trans. R.S. (.Canada.

42 TMK K'K A<;i-: IX CANADA.

a])]H'iirs, wlu'ii \v(> luavk the loi^alitics on ilie iiiap, tlial in
tho valli'V of \]\o Si. Lawrence and the risinj;' <i,roun(ls
boundinii: it. ll'*' lire\ailin,ii; course is soutli-west, and this
is also the prevalent direction in western \ew Voik, and
ht'hind the unreal Laurentide chain on the north side of
lake Huron. ("rossin_^ this sti'ialion nearly at ri^ht
{Uig'les, is a second set, which occurs in the neck of land
between (leort^'ian hay and lake Ontai'io, in llie valley of
the Ottawa and in the hilly districts of the Eastern
TownsJiii)S of the |iro\ince of (.^)uehe(', where it is con-
nected with a similar sti'ialion wh"''h is jire\alent in the
valleys of lake C'hanijdain and the (!(jnnecticut river and
elsewhere in New En,uland. In Xew Enu'land this
striation is said to have heen ol).ser\i'd on hills 4,(S00 feet
high, as for e.\ain])le on MansHeld iu(anitain, where,
accordiuLi; to Hitchcock, there are striae hearing S. .'»0 E.
at an elevation of 4,(S4S feel. In Xova Scotia and Xew
lirunswick, as in New England, the |»re\ailing direction
is south-eastward, though there are also south-west and
south striation, and a few cases where the direction is
nearly east and west. Kecent ol)servations lead to the
belief that in eastern Canada the south-west and north-
east striation is general on the lower grounds. The
south-east and north-west striation belongs nioi'e to the
higher grounds, and in some cases re})resents ice-How ///
firo directions, to the north-west and south-east of tiie
ridges of high land.

It is obvious that such striation must have resulted
from the action of a solid mass or masses of ice bearing
for a. long time on the surface, and abrading it by means
of stones and sand. It is further obvious that the
different sets of striation could scarcely have been pro-
duced at the same time in any one locality, especially

THK SUCCKSSION OF DEPOSITS. 43

when, as is not infrcMiucnl, we luive two sets nearly at
riglit an.nles to each otlier, in the same locahty. Hence it
becomes an important; (juestion to ascertain the rehitive
ages of the slrialion, ami also the direction in which the
abradinu force moved.

Takino' the valley of the St. Lawrence in the first
instance, the cra,u-and-tail forms of the isolated hills of
trap, like the Montreal monntain, with ahrupt escarp-
ments to the north-east and slopes of delais to the sonth-
west, the quantity of l)oulders carried from them far to
the south-west, and the prevailin.u striation in tiie same
direction, all jjoint to a gericral movement of detritus uj)
the St. Lawrence valley to the south-west. Further, in
some cases the striae themselves show the direction of the
ahradino- force. For example, in a iine exposure recently
made at the Mile-end (piarries, near :NL)ntreal, the polished
and trrooved surface of the limestone shows four sets of
striae. The principal ones have the direction of S. 68° W.
and S. 60" W. respectively, and the second of these sets
is the stronoer and coarser, and sometimes obliterates the
first. The two other sets are comparatively few and
feeble striae, one set running nearly N. and S., and the
other N.W. and S.Fl These last are probably newer than
the two first sets. Xow, with regard to the direction of
•the principal sets of striae, this at the locality in question
was rendered very manifest by the occuri-ence of certain
trap dykes crossing the limestone at right angles to the
striae. The force, whatever it was, had impinged on these
dykes from the N.E., and their S.W. side had protected
the softer limestone. The locality is to the X.E. of the
mass of trap constituting the Montreal mountain, and the
movement must have been up the St. Lawrence valley
from the N.E., and toward the mountain, but at this

44 THE ICE A(iE JN CANADA.

})iirti('\iliir ]»liU'(' the stiiae jioiiit west of its mass. This, 1
have no hositati(t ; in sayinu', is tlic (loniiiiant dircctiou in
the St. I.awn'nc'o valU^y, and it certainly ))oints to the
action of the arctic current jtassing up the valU'y in a
])eri()(l of suhineri^'euce. Further, it is the houlder-clay
connected with this S.W. striation that has hitherto
])ro\('d most rich in marine shells.

If, howcNer, we ])ass from the St. I.,awrcnce valley up
the valleys whicji open into it from the north, as for
example the ,u,'orj4e of the Sa^ueiiay, the Murray liay river,
or the Ottawa river, we at once iind a sti'iation nearly at
ri^t^ht an<;les to the formei', or ]ioiiitiii^ tt» the south-east.

At the mouth of the Sa^n'uena\-, near Moulin IJode, are
striae and _u,i(»ovt's on a mat^'uilicent scale, some of the
latter hein,L;' ten feet wide and foiii' feet dee]), cut into
hard t^neiss. Their course is X. 10 W. to X. 20" W.
magnetic, or N. ."lO to 40' AV. when referred to the true
meridian. In the sanu.' re,uion, on hills ."iOO feet hiu'h, are
rochcs moutonni'CH with their smoothest faces pointing- in
the same direction, or to the north-west. This direction
is that of the valley or Lidruc of the Sayuenay, which
enters nearly at i'it;ht anyles the valley of the St.
Lawrence. At the mouth of the Saguenay the Lark
Shoals constitute a mass of debris and l)oulders, both
inside and outside of which is very deep water; and many
of the frao;ments of stone on these shoals must have been
carried down the Saguenay more than fifty nnles.

In like manner at ^Murray liay there are striae on the
Silurian limestones near Point au I*i((ue, which run about
N. 45° W., but these are crossed by another set havinji; a
course S. oO' AV., so that we have here two sets of
markings, the one pointing upwards along the deep valley
of JMurray liay river to the Laurentide hills inland, the

THK SUCCKSSIOX OF DKI'OSITS. 45

other following;' the uciicnil Ireiul ot' the St. Liiwrcin'o
Viilley. Tlu'. houlder-cliiy wliich rests <»n these striated
surfiiees is it dark-cdloinctl till, full of Laureiitiaii
boulders, aud holding Lrdii (//aria/ is, and also Uiyozoa
cliu'duii: to some of the boulders. In aseendinif the
Murray IJay ri\-er, we lind these Imulder-heds surmounted
by very thieU stratitied elays, with marine shells, whieh
extend upward to an elevation of ahout 800 feet, when
they give plaee to loose lioulders and unstratitied di'ift.
About this elevati(»n, the laminated elays meet a ridge of
drift like a moraine, crossing the valley, whieh forms the
barrier of a small lake, I'etite Lae, and a second similar
barrier separates this from (Iraiul Lac. If the valley of
Murrav I'mv river was occupied with a y,laeier descending

1/1/ I r^ o

from the Laurent ian hills inland, whieh are probably here
l>,000 to 4,000 feet high, this glacier or large detached
masses pushed fiom its foot, must ha\e at one time
extentled (piite to the border of tlu; St. Lnwi'ence, aiul at
another must ha\'e terminated al the borders of the two
lakes above nu'ntioned.

On a still larger scale the X.W. and S.K striation
appears in tiie \alley of the Ottawii, and farther west
between the head of lake Ontario and lake Huron, in the
valleys descending from the Laurent ian ])lateau. Here it
may be ascribed in jtart to general ice-laden currents
from the norlh-west, and in ])art to ])ortions of the gi'eat
Laurentide gl.icier.

A most important ol)servation bearing on this subject
appears in the Report of ^fr. IJ. I'>ell, in the region of
lake Nipigon, north of lake Superior. He observed there
the prevailing south-west striation, but with a more
westerly trend than usual, ("rossing this, however, there
was a southerly aud S.K. set of striae which were observed

4G

TIIK K'K A(iK IN CANADA.

to Iti' oldtT tliiiii the soiilli-wosl slriac!. Tii soiiio other
])arts of Cimiidii the -o striae sccin to ])v newer tliaii the
otluirs, hut there would lie iiothiun' iiiiprohahle in their
oc't'urriii_t;" hoth at the hegiiuiiuy' and end of tlie houhlor-
elav })erio(l.

In sunnnin!,' up this suhjeet, I think it may he atlirnied
that when the striation and transfer of materials have
oliviously heen from X.E. to S.W., in the direetion of the
aretie eurrent, and more especially when marine remahis
occur in the drift, we may infer tliat floating" ice and
marine currents have heen the ellicient a<;ent8. Where
the striation has a local character, dependinti; u])ou exist-
in<;' mountains and valleys, we may on the other hand
infer the action of land ice. For many minor ett'ects of
striation, and of heaping' \\\) of moraine-like ridges, we
may refer to the jtresence of lake or coast ice as the land
was rising or suhsiding. This we now see ])roducing such
elt'eets, and I think it has not lieen sulticiently taken into
the account.

As to the St. Lawrence valley, it is evident that its
condition (hiring the deposit of the houhler-clay must
have heen that of a part of a wide sound or inland sea
extending across the continent, and that local glaciers
may have descended into it from the high lands on the
north, and on the south wdiich may have heen relatively
higher than at present. During this state of the valley

Fig. 1.— Travelled lioiilder on Glaciated Rock. (After Dr. G. M. Dawson.)

rHK SUCCKSSIOX OK DKl'OSITS. 47

^■reiit (|imiil.iti('s of lnnildci's were Iirou^lit dowii into it,
('Specially from the Liinrenlidc hills, iiiid were drifted
aloiiy the \idley, [)riiieil)idly l<i the soulh-west. Ivxteiisivi'
erdsioii also took ]»laee Uy the eoiiiliiiied action of frost,
rain, niellin,i;' siiows, and the arctie cnrreiit and the waves,
and tinis was fnrnislu'd the liner material of the houhU'r-
<day. ()ii the sonth shore of the St. Lawrence, the Xotre
l)aine mountains, stretchinj;' ont towards cajjc (laspe,
uriord indications of local ^'lacialiiMi, and Mr. \l. Chalmers
lias shown that the niovemcnl of ice from this ek'valed
re^'ion has been hoth .south toward the haie dcs Ciialeurs,
and north toward the St. Lawrence.* I liave myself
seen {im])le evidence in larj^'c Iruvelled honlders of Silnrian
limestone on the south shore of the St. Lawrence, of drift
from the hills on the south intermi.xed with that from the
Laurentians on the north. Sinnlai' facts have heeii
observed Ijy Ells and Low in the hills of the Eastern
Townships of the province of (,^)uel)ec.

It is further to he observed that o.scillations of land
must be taken into acc(juut in e.\plaiuin<i; tlie.se phenomena.
Elevations increasing the hei,uht and area of land might
increase the space occu])ied by snow and land ice.
Depressions, on the other hand, would bring larger areas
under the intluence of water-borne ice and marine
<leposits, and these might take ])lace either in a shallow
sea loaded with field and coast ice, or in deeper water in
which laig'e icebergs might Hoat or ground. The efleets
would be the greater if, as Dr. (}. ^L Daw.son has shown
in the ca.se of the Cordilleran chain, there was une(iual
elevation causing contemi)oraneous dejaession of the

* On the (ilaciation and Pleistocene subsidence of northern New
Brunswick and south-eastern Quebec. Trans. R.S.C., 1880.

48

THK UK A(iK IN CANADA.

plains iiikI clcvatidii of inoimlains. There is reason [n
liclievo that such altei'uations were imL iiit'retiuenl in the
IMeistoei'iie, and that t heii' oeenrrenee will e.\|>lain many
of tlu' e()ni]»lexities nf these (je|M)sils.

If we adopt for the more general di'posils t.lie hypothesis
of float ine,' ice, we ninst l)e prejiai'ed to consider in con-
neelion with this sul»ject a snhsidence so yreat as to place
atone period all hiit the highest |iarts of the I^aurentides
and Ai)i»alachians undt'r \vat<'r. in this case a vast
vohune of aiclic ice and water wonld ponr oNcr the
country (tf the ^reat lakes to the S.W., while any ohstrue-
tion occuiring to the south would throw lateral currents
over the A])j)alachians to the eastward.

It is evident from the descriptions of Smith, ( ieikie,
.fanieson, Crosskey, and olhei's, that the houlder-clay
of Scotland and Scandina\ia coi'responds precisely in
character with that of Canada, and there, as in Aniei'ica,
the theory of a continental i^lacier has heen resoiled to
for its explanation. The ohjeetious to this hypothesis are
very al)Iy stated hy Mi'. Milne IIouk; in a ])ai)ei' on the
" IJoulder-clay of JMirope," in the Transactions of the
lioyal Societv of Kdinhuriih, ISO!).

To this ])eriod and these causes must also he assiifued
the excavation of the liasius of the ,t;reat American lakes.
These have heen cut out of the softer memhers of the
Silurian and l)e\dnian Formations: ])Ut the mode of this
excavation has l)een re<i;arded as \ery mysterious : and,
like other mysteries, has l»een referred to glacier.s. Its
real cause was ol)viously river and atmosi)heric erosion in
the riiocene jieriod, sui)i»lemented by the Howing of cold
ocean currents over the American land durinjj; its sub-
mergence.* The lake-basins are thus of the same nature

See Chapter III.

TiiK srctKssioN OF I )i: I "OS ITS. 4()

uitli the (1('('|» liullows ('\t('M(liii^' (MitWiird t'luiii lli(!ii\('r
iiKtiitlis III' (lie Aiiicricau coasts under the dccaii, di'
[H'rliaps llicy arc like tlxisc inlcrvciiiii,!;' liclwccii ihc hanks
cast u[) hy i\\i'. arctic currents on llie j»rcsent American
coast, and like those (U'cp cliannels of the arctic current
in th(! Atlantic recently I'Xiilori.'d hy l)r. Cariicntcr.
Their arran_t>'('inents ueonruphically, as well as their
geolo^yical relations, corres|tond with such \ie\vs.

The I'ornier consideialion with regard to the ^reat lakes
desci'vcs especial notice. Drs. Hunt, Newhcrry, and
Spencer ha\e collected many facts to show that the lake
basins are connecteil with one another and with tlu; sea
hy deep channels now lillcd up with drift-dcjiosits. it is
therefore certain that much of the erosion of these hasins
may have occurred before the ailvcnt of the ,^laciiil i)erio(b
in the I'liocene a^c, when the Aniericiin continent was at
a- higher levcd than at present. I )r. Newberry lias _i;'i\en
in the l'e[)ort in tlie (ieolo^uy of ( )hio, u lai\t;e collection
of facts ascertained by boring or otherwise, which yo far
t(j show that were the olil channels (deared of drift and
the continent slij^htly (devaled, the ercat lakes would be
drained into each other and into the oceun l)y the \alleys
of the Hudson and llu! Mississi})iii, without any ro(d<
cutting, and if the barrier of the Thousand Islands were
then somewhat higher, the St. Lawrence valley nnght
have been cut oil' froui the l)iisiii ol the great lakes.
Spencer has, howc\er, shown, on the evidence of dilt'eren-
tial elevation, that a portit^n at least of the tlrainage of
the I'liocene lake country may have found its way d(.)wn
the present course of the St. Lawrence valley.

The latter cause, namely, the possible eroding action of
ocean currents, is one more ditticult to estimate, yet
5

60 '111'" i< "•• ■\"i' '^' <'.\\.\i»,\.

slwHild mil lie ii('^lt'(ii'(l liy gcdlogists. I Lliiis lelVrrcil to
il ill lS(i4.*

" ( )iir Aiiicricaii liikc-ltiisins iiic ciii mit dcciily in tlic
sitftcr striita. Kiiiiiiiim' wntcr mi tln' laml cdiilil ikiI Iiunc
iloiir iliis umlci' tilt' |nrs('iii L;('(in|'j||ilii(.;il (■(inditioii.s.
tli<Mi<,'li il L'oiild t'Hi'ct il, Willi a liiLilici level miil Itcltcv
drill IlilU'c : mil' cniild ihc icsnil In- ctrcclrd liy nccau
l)rt'iiki'i's. llii>n;4ii ilic l('\(dliii^ jinwcr df ilicsc i.s I'lKtiiiiniis.
(llaciei's ciMiIil iini lia\t' cni'dcil it: I'm' cscii if (lie
(diiiialal coiidii imis for ilicsc were adiiiitlcd, I lici't' is im
lici,^lil (if land to i^i\( lliciii iiidiiicniuiii. Iliit if wi-
siij)it(is(' the laml snlniicrp'il so ilial llif arctic cnrrciit,
tjowiii^ fnmi the inirtli-casi, shoidd |i(Mir ()\ cr the Laiii'-
ciitiaii I'dcks nil tlicmutli side of lake Suiiciiin' and lake
lliii'oii, it Would necessarily cut out of ilic softer Silurian
strata just such liasins. driflin^ their niateiMuls to the
south-west. Al the siiuie lime, ihe lower strata i>\' the
eui'i'dit W(HiId lie |iowerfulIy ilelei iniiieil thrdu^h the
strait lielweeii the Adiioiidac and Lanreiilide hills, and
I'unnin^u,' o\er the ridiic of hard rock which connects theni
at the Thousand Islands, wouM cut oui the loii^- hasin of
lake < )iitario, liea[iin,n' \\\> at the same lime in the lee of
tlu! Laui'entiau rid.uc, tin- eicaL mass of lioiilder-eliiy
wliieli intervenes lietweeii lake Ontario and (!eor<,duii
hay. Lake Krie may have hei'U eut hy the How of the
upper layers of water o\er the Middle Silurian escarp-
ment: and lake Michiuan, tliouuh less closely connocted
with the direction of the current, is, I'ke the others, due
to the action of a eoniinuoiis eroding forct' on rocks of
uueipial hardness.

* Presidential Address to Nat. Hist. Soc. of ^fontreal, Canadian
Xaturalist, 18U4.

TIIK SL'L'CKSSIOX OF DIH'osll'S. ;",I

"The in('(l(iiiiiimiit souili-wcst striutifUi, iind llic ciitliii"
(•f the uii|M'r lakes, (Iciiiaiitl an (iiitlct to tin- ucsi lur tlui
(ii'ctic (•iiiiciii. lint IhiiIi (Ini'in,;^ (U'lirussioM iind fl('\ati(iii
"l" iIm' hiinl, tliric ninst lia\(' liccn a time when lliis unlU'l
was olisiiMiclcd, and wlim llic Idwrr IcncIs id' New \'f»ik,
New Ku;,diind, and Canada were still under water. Then
till! valley (if the Ottawa, that of the Mohawk, and the
low couniiy lietween lakes Ontario and Ihiron, and the
viilloys ot lake Chaniplain and the ( 'onneeticui, wnuld he
•straits or arms of the sea, and the current , olistrneted in
its diieet llow. Would set inineijial Iv aloliij,- tlie>e, ami act
on the rocks in north and south, and north-west and
south-east directions. To this pmiionof the process we
may attiihnte much of i he iiorih-west and s(Uitli-easL
Htriatioii. It is true that t his \ie\v does not account for
the south-east, stiiae ohserxcd on some hi^li |ieaks in New
En.^land : lail, it must he ol)ser\-ed that cncii at the time
of greatest dejiression, the arctic currfHi wduld cliui;- to
till' iiorlherii laud, or he thrown so rajiidly to the west
that its direct action nnuht not reach such sunnuils.
I'licre weie also e\leirsi\(' local glaciers in these uioun-
tiiins, whose work must he st'|)arated from that of the
sea-drift.

" I con(dudc these n-marks with a nu're lel'ereiice to
the alle;_;('(l picvalence of lakc-hasius and hords in hi^li
lutrthcrn latitudes, as connected with Lilacial action. In
reasoning' on this, it seems to he oNcrlooked that the \)vv-
valenee of disturbed and metaniorphie rocks over wide
areas in the north is one element in the matter, and that
in the Phocene age the greater elevation of the land nnist
have caused dee])er tluviatile erosion. Further, the fiords
on coasts, like the deep lateral valleys of mountains, are
often evidences of the action of the waves rather than of

62 Till': i< I*: A(jk in Canada.

tlmt of ice. I tun hujt that this is the cnso with iiniiiy of
the iinlcutiitinDs of the ('oust of Novii Scotiii, which iiro
(Mit iiilo the softer and iiioic shattcriMl liaiids of rock,
and show, in raised hcachcs and ;,'iav(d ridges like those
of the ])iesent coast, the levt.'ls of the sea at the tiine of
theii' formation."

To the period df tlie honhler-clay wc may icfei' lliose
ridj^cs and |ia\('mcnls of hiadders indti^hh-d in this clay
oi' coMliiiuons with it, and which tcslifv to the earrvinj'
and jtackin^f power of ice. WC shall Ihid, howcNci', that
such moraine-like ridj^cs are not contiiicil to this period,
hul occur alonj,' the si'a-mar^dns of the Later Pleistocene,
and are e\'en at this day in process of formation on a
considerahle scale alonjn' the borders of the St. Lawrence.

2.-77,,. Lain Clnji.

This dejiusit constitutes the sultsoil o\er a lar^c portion
of the j,'reat plain of Lower Canada, varying' in thickness
from a few feet to HO or perhaps even 100 feet, and
us\ially ri'stin,^' on the lioulder-clay, into which it some-
times a])pears to ^lailnato, the material of the Leda clay
hcMUif of the same natuii; with the finer portion of the
paste of the houlder-clay. Its nanu; is derived from the
l)re.sence in it of shells of LalK i/hirla/ls, often to the
exclusion of other fossils, and usually in a perfect state,
with both valves united.

The ty[iical Leda clay in its recent slate is usually ^ray
in colour, unctuous, and slightly calcareous. Some beds,
however, are of a reddish hue; and in thick sections
recently cut, it can be seen to j)resenl layers of dil'l'erenl
shades and occasional thin sandy bands, as well as layers
studded with small stones. It sometimes holds hard
calcareous concretions, which, as at Green's creek on the

IIIK srcCKSSlOX (»!•' I>KI'()SlT.s. :,;{

()tlii\sa. iirc (»cciisi(»imlly richly Inssilit'ciKiis, Imt \\\*nv
UMimlly lire ilcslitutc. of t'ossil rcinuiiiM. Wlicii drictl, tliu
LimIu cliiy iM'cdiiit's of stony Imnliu'ss, and wlit'ii Itiinicd,
it iissiiiiu's ii Idick-icil cdjour. Wlicii diicd and Irs ii,'al<'d,
it, nearly iilways iill'ords sonic t'oianiinitcra ami sliclls of
ostnu'oids ; and in this, as well as in its cojuur and
tuxt\irc, it, closely resenildcs l he lihie nind now in |adcess of
de]iosition in the dee|>ei' purls of the <^\\\\' of Si. Lawrence.

The laniiiialion of the LimIu clay and its inclnded sand
layers, show that it was deposited at, int,ervals, hetween
which intervened s])aces when cnrreiits caiiied small
([niinlities of sand oxer the snil'ace. In these intci\als
shells as wtdl as sand were washed oNcr the bottom, while
ordinarilv Le(lu, Nucnla and Astarli; lairrowed in the (dav
itself. The layers and ]tat(dies of stones I allrilaite to
dei)osit from lloatinu; ice, and to the same canse mnst he
attrihnted the lar^n Laurent ian houMers, occasionally
though rarely seen iuihedded in tlu; clay.

The material of the Leda clay has been derived mainly
from the waste of the; lower Silurian shales of the (^)iiehec
and I'tica eroups, whi(di occupy a <freat space in the basin
of the ^ulf and river St. Lawrence. The driftaj^'c, of this
material has been to the south-west, ami in that diicction
it becomes thinner and liner in texture. The sup[)ly of
this mud, under the action of the waves, of streams, of
the .arctic currents and tidal currents, and tloatinj,' ice,
must have Ijeen constant, as it now is in the gulf and
river St. Lawrence. It woidd l)e increased by the meltin<,'
of the snows in spring and )>y any oscillations of level,
and it is probal)ly in these w^ays that we should account
for the alternations of layers in the deposit.

The modern deposit in the gulf of St. Lawrence, the
chemical characters and coloration of which I explained

54 'I'TIK IC'K A(iK L\ CANADA.

iiiimy yoiirs a^o,* sIkiws us that I Ik; lA'da clay, wlicn in
Kn.s|K'iisi()ii, was jJidliaUly reddish or lirnwii mud tinted
with })en).\ide of ii'on, like, that whieh we now .see in the
lower St. Lawrence; but like the modern mud, so so(»n as
deposited in the l)f)ttom, the ferruginous colouring matter
would, in ordinary circumstances, be deoxidised by organic
substances, and reduced to the condition of sulphith^ or
carbonate of the protoxide. This colour, owing to its
inii)ermeubility, it still retains when ele\'ated out of the
sea; but wiien heated in presence of air, or expo.sed for
some time at the surface, it liecomes red or brown. The
occasional layers of reddish I.eda, clay indicate places or
thues when the su})ply of organic matter was iusutlicient
to deoxidise the iron present in the mass.

The greater part of the Leda clay was probal)ly
deposited in water from twenty to one hundred fathoms
in depth, corrcs])()nding to the ordinary de})ths of the
present gulf of St. Law]'ence ; and as we shall tiiul, this
view is conHrmed by the prevalent fossils contained in it,
more especially the Foraminifera. The most abundant
of these in the Leda clay is ]'(i/i/>if(iiiic//a slridtopunrtafa
\'A\\ur(fir(i,\\\\\c\\ is now most abundant at about twenty-
tive or thirty fathoms. Since, however, the shallow-water
marine rost-])liocene beds extend upwards in some i)laces
to a height of six hundred feet on the hills on the north
side of the St. Lawrence, it is probable that deposits of
Leda clay contemporaneous with these high-level marine
beds were formed in the lower [)arts of the plain at de])ths
exceeding one hundred fathoms.

The western limits of the Leda clay appear to occur
wliere the Laurentian ridge of the Thousand Islands

.Journal of (ieological Society of Loiuion, Vol. V., pp. 25 to W.

THK SUt'CE.SSIOX OF DEPOSITS. 5,"

(Tdsscs the ^l. l.awrt'iK'c, and wlicrc tlic same ancient
r(X'ks cross tlu- Ottawa: and in general tlie Leda clay
may be said to lie limited to the lower Silurian plain, and
not to mount up the Laurentian and metamori)hic hills
l)(aiiidin,Li,' il. Since, howcNcr, the le\el of the water, as
indicated hy the ti'rraces in Lower Canada, and hy the
jirohalih' dejilh at which llie Ledii clay was de]»osited,
would cany the sea le\el far lieyond the limits al)o\G
indicated, ami even to the liase of the Niagara escarp-
ment, we must su[)])ose, either — (I) that the supply of
this sediment failed toward the west; or ('2) that tlie
mud has heeii removed l>y tU'iiudation or worked over
again by the fresh waters so as to lose its marine fossils:
or (3) that tlu; relative levels of the western or eastern
parts of Canada were difterent from those at ]iresent ; or
(4) that tlu^ water uiay have l)eeii freshened and rendered
cold by the influx of luelling snow and ice into a landlocked
water area or one with a nanow oi)ening. As already
stated, there are indications that the first may be an
element in the cause. The second is no doubt true of the
clays which lie in the immediate vicinity of the lake
basins. Dr. Sjieneer has detailed many ol)ser\'ations in
favour of the third, more especially in the later glacial
and I'ost-glacial periods.

I believe, however, that nmeh more rigorous investiga-
tions of the claA'S of western Canada are re([uired before
we can certainly ahirm that none of them hold marine
fossils.*

Whittlesey has doseril)ed the western drift depo.sits in
the Smithsonion Contributions, Vol. XV., and according

* It 's to be observed that even neai- the coast the gi-eater part of
the thickness of tlie Leila clay is often unfossiliferous.

56 THK UK AdH IN' CANADA.

l(j him lli(.' hoiildiT-diii'L is llicrc llic iipix'r iiieinber of
the scries. More recently Prof. Xcwherrv has given a
suiiiinary of the facts in his llepoi'L of tlic ( Jciolo^'ical
Survey of ()hio for ISOi). From these sources I condense
tlie followinii' statements :

The lowest, memher of the we.gtern drift, eurrcspoiiding
to the Krie elavs of the Canadian I{ei)ort, is verv widelv
distriltuteij, and tills up the old hollows of the country, in
some easc.s hcinn' two hundiiMl feci or more in thickness.
Toward the noi'th these (days contain hoidders and stones,
liut do not constitute a tiue lioulder-clay. They rest,
however, on the glaciated rock siu'faces. They have
afforded no fossils e.\'c(>])t drifted \e,uetahle remains, which
appear to occur in an " intcrglacial "' or forest bed between
lower and ui)])cr boulder-deposits.

Abovi! these (days are sands of \arial)le thickness.
Tliey contain beds of gravel, and near tla; surface teeth
of elephants ha\'e been fouml. (hi the surface are scat-
tered boulders and Idocks of northern origin, often of
great size, and in some cases trans[)orte(l two hundred
miles from their original })laces. More recent than all
these deposits are the " Lake Ilidges," marking a former
extension of the great lakes.

I believe the Leda (days throughout Canada to consti-
tute in the main one contemporaneous fornuition. Of
cour.se, however, it must be admitted that tlu^ deposit at
the higher levels mav have ceased and been laid dry
while it was still going on at lower levels nearer the sea,
just as a similar deposit still continues in the gulf of 8t.
Lawrence. On the whole, then, while we regard this as
one bed, stratigraphically, we may be prepared to find
that in the lower levels the upper layers of it may be
somewhat more modern than tho.se portions of the

THE SUCCKSSION OF DEPOSITS. 57

dep(j.sit oecurrino' on hij^'licr ground uiid farlher from llio
sen.

Where the Leda elay rests on nuirine l)oulder-cliiy, tlie
change of the deposits implies a dinunution of ice-
transport relatively to deposition of tine sediment from
water; and with this, more favourable circumstances for
marine animals. This may have arisen from geographical
changes dimini.shing the "Supply of ice from local glaciers,
or ol)structing the access of lieavy icebergs from the
arctic region.s. At tlie })resent time, for e.\ami)le, the
action of the heaviest bergs is limited to the outer coasts
of Labrador and Newfoundland, and a deposit rc.-;end)ling
the Leda clay is fornnng in the gulf of 8t. Lawrence:
but a subsidence which would deternune the arctic
current and the trains of heavy bergs into the gulf,
would l)ring with it the conditions for the formation of a
])0ulder-clay, nioi'c especially if there were glaciers on the
Laurentide hills to the nortli. Where the Leda elay rests
on l)oulder-clay which may be sui)})osed to be of terres-
trial origin, subsidence is of course implied ; and it is
interesting to observe that the conditions thus recpiired
are the reverse of CmcIi other. In other words, elevation
of land or sea bottom ndght l)e reijuired to enable Leda
clay to take the place of marine boulder-clay, but depres-
sion of the land would l)e necessary to enable Leda clay
to replace the moraine of a glacier. I cannot say, how-
ever, that I know any case in Canada where I can
certainly atlirni that this last change has occurred ;
though on the nortli shore of the St. Lawrence the)-e are
cases in which the Leda clay rests directly on striated
surfaces which might l)e attril)uted to glaciers ; just as in
the west the Erie clay occupies this position.

Deposits referable to the shores of the Leda clay sea,

58 TJIK UK A(iK IN CANADA.

and the estuaries opeiiin^f into it from tlie [lorlions of the
land still alidvc water aic not unconniion. Of this nature
are the heils at Pakenlmiu, examined hy the late Sheriff
])icl\Son, and which, as 1 was informed l)y liiiu, are
arranged as follows :

Vi'i't. Indies.

Sand 1111(1 .surface soil al«mt 10 (•

Clay 10 (»

Fine gray saml {shells of ]'(i/i-(ih(, &.C.). . . . 0 '2

Clay 1 0

(iray santl, laminated ( 7V /////« (im )il<uiili<'(i) 0 ."{

Clay 0 8

Light gray sand ( V(ilr(tt<i, Ci/cfas, Pn/iidiiKt,

Planorbis and 7'( llhui] 0 10

Clay 1 2

lirown sand and layers of clay (Phtitorliis

and Ci/r/ds 0 4

The frt'sh water species are peculiar to this locality,
and the only marine shell is TeUina (rrie>ikni(Iic(i,ii species
now found farther u]) in our estuaries than most others.

Mr. Dickson informs me that a similar case occurs near
Clarenceville, ahout four miles from the Tnited States
frontier, and at an elevation of ahout ten feet ahove lake
Cham])lain. Si)ecimens from this place contain large
shells of Uiiio rectus and U ratfrlco/^iis, the latter with the
valves cohering, and a Li/iinira. Intimately nnxed with
these in sandy clay are valves of TcUina (rrdnkduflra and
Ml/a arcnaria.

I record these facts, without pledging myself to the
conclusion that these deposits really mark the margins or
river estuaries of the old l*leistf)cene of Canada, though
they will certainly hear that interpretation. In farther
connection with these facts, and in rehition also to the
(piestion why marine fossils have not been found west of
Kingston, Mr. Dickson informs me that fossil capelin are

THE SLX'CKSSION Ol' DEPOSITS. 59

found nil llu! Cliiiudiriv laki', 1M;' feet alxive lake St.
iV'tcr.s, oil the ^laduwaska HOO feet, aiul at Fort C'oul()ii,u,e
lake oiji) feet above tlie same level, u verv intere.stin<'
indication of the gradual recession of the capidin spawn-
ing grounds from this last hiuli elevation to the level of
the more celehrated locality of these fossils at (Ireen's
creek. Farther, throughout tlu; counties of Renfrew,
Lanark, (.'arlet on and Leeds, the marine deposits rise to un
elevation of 42.") feet, or nearly the same with one of the
terraces on Montreal mountain : Imt while this eleva-
tion would, with the ]»reseiit le\t'ls of the countr}-, carry
a ileep sea to the h'-ad of lake ()nlario, no marine fossils
a})pear to ha\e been found on the l)anks of that lake.
Was the depression of the lat<'r I Meistocene period limited
to the country east of lake Ontario, or have the marine
deposits of the u])])er St. T.awreiice hitherto escajK^l
(thservation or been remo\ed l»v denuding agencies ? The
c[uestion awaits further explanations for a satisfactory
answer.

3. — T/ii' Bi(.i:iriira SdinJ, ninl Uppir Bm/hJrr Dcjtosif.

AVhen this deposit rests upon llu' Leda clay, as is not
unfre([uently the case, the contact may be of either of two
kinds. In some instances the surface of the clay has
experienced much denudation, being cut into deep
trenches, and the sand rests abrui)tly upon it. In other
cases there is a transition from one deposit to the other,
the clay becoming sandy and gratlually passing u])vvards
into pure sand or Hue gravel. In this last case the lower
part of the sand at its junction with the clay is often
very rich in fossils, showing that after the deposition of
the clay a time of quiescence supervened with favourable
conditions for the existence of marine animals, before the

00 THK K'K A(1E IX CANADA.

sand was deposited. It is usually, indeed, in tliis ])fisiti()n
that the ,t,a'eatei' ])art of the shells of our l'osl-])liocene
beds occur: the, Saxicava sand heinti; generally somewhat
barren, or containinif only a few shallow-water s'leeies,
while tlu! LiMJa clay is usually also somewhat scantily
su})])lie(l with shells, except toward its upper layers.
Hence it is somewhat diHieuh to ri'fer a lar^^e part of the
shells to (iither dejiosit. 1 have, however, usually
retjarded the; richly fossiliferous deposit as bidonging to
the L(Mla clay: and where, as sometimes hap])ens, tlie
clay itself is absent and merely a thin layer rich in
fossils separates the Saxicava sand from the ])oul(ler-clay,

1 liave regarded this layer as the rei)resentative of the
Leda clay. AVhere, on the other hand, the Leda clay is
thick and well dcvelo])ed, it admits of sub-division into a
loifcr Leda clay, unfossiliferous or with oidy shells of Tjcda
glaciali)i and Macoina Gra>,nl((n<Hra, and an upper Lnhi
clay, usually more sandy and holding a rich boreal fauna
identical with that of the northern ])art of the gulf and
river St. Lawrence at present.

The Saxicava sand, in tyi)ical localities, consists of
yellow or brownish (piartzose sand, derived ])robably from
the waste of the Potsdam san<lstonc and Lauren tian
gneiss, and stratified. It often contains layers of gravel,
and sometimes is represented altogether by coarse gravels.
It is somewhat irregular in its distril)ution, forming banks
and mounds, partly no doubt in consequence of original
irregularities of deposit, and partly from subsequent
denudation. In some outlying localities it is lial)le to be
confounded with the modern 'iver sands and gravels.
Large travelled Ijoulders oftc.i occur in it; but it rarely
contains glaciated stones, the stones and pebbles seen in
it being usually well rounded.

THE SUCCESSION OK DKl'OSITS. 61

From tlio Uiitnri! oF the Siixicava saiiil, it is ohvious
tliat it is for the most part a sliallow-wator deposit,
holoii^'iii^' to tile jx'riod of emerj^cnce of llui land ; and it
must have lieeii originally a marginal and l»anl< deposit,
de})endin.i,' mueh for its distribution on llie movc^ment of
tides and currents. In some instances, as at (,'ote des
Nciges, near Montreal, and on the terraces on the lower
St. Lawrence, it is obviously merely a shore sand and
•jjravel, like that of the. modern Iteach. Kidgcs of Saxi-
cava sand and yraNcl have often been mistal<en for
moraines of niacitn's ; l)Ut they can generally Ijc distin-
Liuished bv their stratilii-d character and the occasional
presence of animal remains, as well as by the water-woin
rather than glaciated app(!arance of their stones and
pebbles. In this connection, however, it must be observed
that it is not p(»ssible to distinguish the high-level beaches
and deposits of su])erHcial travelled Ixjulders from the
Saxicava sand. In other words, ir/iile the Sdxirara sands
and ffrareh ma if In' sindloir-ivatcr deposits, /hri/ ninsf, ir/ien
at high levels, hare heen formed on the margins of deep seas.
This is a most important 'fact in connection witii the
u])per or later l)0ul(U'r deposit.

The Saxicava sand .sometimes rests on the Leda clay or
boulder-clay, and sometimes directly on the rock, and the
latter is often striated below this deposit ; but in this
case there is generidly reason to believe that boulder-clay
has been removed by denudation. It is to l)e ol)served, how-
ever, that the typical Saxicava sand and the upper or newer
boulder-th'ift belong to the same })eri(Kl of submergence.

4. — Terraces and Inland Sea Cliffs, and Kaiins.

These are closely connected with the deposits last
mentioned, inasmuch as they have l)een formed by the

62

TllK UK .\<;K I.\ CANADA.

/

V

&m I

I

■'f,i

!l k

\ -

ir

siiiiic I'L'ct'ssioii (if ihc st';i wliicli
Itidduccd the SaxiciiNa siind. At
^Mdiitical, where tlu; isdlatcd mass
I'l' Map llaiikcd wiih Inwcr Silurian
beds, ediisiiiiiliii.n' Mniiiit llovid,
forms a y^wwi lide-o-au^fe fur the
recession of the rusL-plioeene sea,
thei'eai'c fnnr jtrineipal sea margins,
with several others less distinctly
maiked. The lowest of these, at a
level of ahout TJO feet al)ove llu'
le\('l of the sea at lake St. Teler,
may he considered to corresj)ond
with the .ueiieral level of the ^reat
l»lain of I.eila clay in this part of
< 'anada. ( »ii this terrace in many
places the Sa.\ica\a sand forms tlii'
surface, and the Leda and liouldei--
clay may be seen beneath it. This
may lie called at Montreal tlu' Sher-
bidoke Street tcriace. Another, the
AN'ater-work terrace, is about 'I'li)
feet hijj,h, and is marked by an
indentation on the lower Silurian
limestone. At this level some
boulder-clay appears, and in ]ilaces
the calcareous shales are decom-
jxised to a p'eat de])tli, evidencing
long sul)-aerial action, 'i'liree other
terraces occur at heights of ."kSG,
440, and 470 feet, and the latter
has, at one })lace above the village
of Cote des Xeigcs, a beach of sand

IIIK SlTfKSSlON ol-' DKI'OSIIS. (53

and nia\cl with Sa\ica\a ami oIIht slii'lls;* while, in a
diipressjoii ahoNc ihis, at, a h('i,L;hl nf "("lO iVct, sea-shells
(leeur ill clay and saml, and there is a distinct lieach at
a III lilt (liri Id (iiTi t'eet.-f" l'!\en mi the t(i|i nf the Miiimtain,
at a lieiuht nj' alioiit 7*'i> I'eet, lar^e tia\(dled Laureiitiaii
houlders (iceiir, lyiiin' jiinse and wiihtiiii any lididdei -(day.
On the liiwel' St. Lawrence, li(d(iW <^>Uidicc, the series (if
lerraces is trciH'ially Ncry distinctly marked, and lor the
most |iart the hiwer (Hies are cut into the lionlder and
lA'da (days, which are here d' ureal thickness. I e-jve
heldW Vdue'li nieasiireiiieiits nf the series as they (iccnr at
Les l^li(iiilemciits, Little Mai hay and .Mnrray hay, where
they are \'ery well disiilayeij. I may remark in general,
with resiiect l<i these terraces, t hat the |ihysical ciiiiditiiins
at the lime \vlien they were cut must liaNc heeii much
the same with tlmse which exist at present, the ajiiiear-
aiices ]ireseiitc(l lieiiiL;; \ery similar tn tluise which wmild
(icciir were the ]irescnl heach In he elexaled.

Conijiarisons lit' thenlderand iiiddern lenaces may he
made at many ]ilaees (Ui the Idwer St. Lawrence. Al

Lillle Ah'lis, where I lia\t' had u' 1 diiiidrlunit ies ol'

sludyin<4' their a[i[)earances, the cdasi is fringed with a
hroad l)e]t of houlders, whdlly coNcred at hi^h tide, hni
i,'.\p()SO(l at IdW tide, and dcciipyinu' in many places a
hreuilth of thirty to .'it'tv paces, within which the houhk'vs
are packed very cioselv. Thev \arv in si/e from nine to
ten feet in diiuncter downward, and consist principally of
<irthocla.se ^i^iiei.s.s, Lahradorite rock and other crystalline
rucks from the Laurentiaii of the north slmre, here ahout
thirty-tive miles distant at the nearest point. AV^ith

* The beaoli at Cote des Xeiges is tluit described liy .'>if C". Lyell
in his travels in N. America.

+ Dr. F. D. Adams and Harun de (leer.

64

rill'; UK A(iK l\ C.WAItA.

tlu'si' ;ii(' iiiiisscs of tlic liiiid siilidstoiK's ol' I Ik? lower
Siluriilll lock of the sol.lli coii.sl, ;|||<1 occiisioliallv, tlioll^fli

rarely, blocks of ihc u\t\)vv Siluriiiii liiMcsloiic of the
iiiliiiid hills to the south.

The iioiildci's of ihis licit, tlioiitih suitioimry in smiiiiici',
iiiv often moved hy the coast-ice ji winter. This is well
seen where they have heeii reiMo\»Ml to foini tiiieks
for launching boats. In this case it is not, unusual
to find in the spiiui^ that such tracks have been partially
relilled with boulders. On my own projierty, a tiaek of
thi.s kind was completely bIocke(l a few years a^o by an
ani^idar boulder of sandstone nine feet in length, which
had been lifted from a spot a few feet distant; and it i.s
([uite usual to find in a Iniat-track, cleared in the pi'e\i(ais
summer, a d(t/eu Inaddcrs of two feet or more in dianu'ter
that ha\'e been droi)ped in it l»y tlu^ winter ice. Whether
any of these blocks are bein^- drifted at the ]tresent time
from the north shore is not known : but they are mo\-ei|
freely up and down the coast, and in dl•e<l^•in^ in de|»tlis
of ei,Li;ht to (ift.eeii fathoms, I ha\-e found e\ideiiee that
large boulders are not unconnnon tai the bottom ; and
,jndgin,n- fidui the small specimens taken u|t by the dii'di^c,
they are sinnlar to those on the shore, though ai»i>ar(!ntly
with a larger projxation of Hat, slaty fragments.

If the coast were now in jirocess of subsidence, there
can b(! no question that the; l)oulders would l)e pushe»l
uj)ward, and woidd eventually foi'ui sheets and ridges of
boulders embedded in mud, much in the manner of the
marine boulder-clays now found inland.

Above high water, on certain portions of the coast,
there is a low terrace, only a lew feet above the sea, and
consisting of sand, shingle, and gra\'el, often with frag-
ments of marine shells. IJoulders are not numerous on

'INK sllCKSSloN or I )K I 'OS I IS. or,

this Ifiiiifc, ainl nrc iisiiallv iiifirly I'lauiiiuiits t'loin lt'(ln;t.s
III' l(»('al saiKlsluiic. r>uii('s (if lai^c wliali'S uccasioiiallv
ncnir nil 1 his icrracc.

l'i(i<Tciliii'4 iiilainl, \\r fiinl ii sccuiid tciracc ahmit
ihiily IVt't aluiNn the sea, and coiisisiiii^' »t|' sand, icsiin^
oil hiird liiiiildcr-clay m- till. This last, at, iHirt'it'iiL iilaccs
al(in,n' the (Miast, is st'i'ii Ld vary in ([iialily, liriiiL!; sniiu'-
liiiu's iiaid and Idadud with htnildius, in oLhcr cases a clay
with iiiaiiiu'. shells, and a^aiii a clay with t'cw lidulders
e.\ci'|il al its juiiclimi with ihe sand ahnve. ( )ii the inner
side III' this terrace, where it adjnins the lucky ledti;es
inland, llu'ic is dl'teii a raised li(iiilder-heacli like thai (ni
the i»rescnt slnire, hut with fewer ami smaller hdiilders, as
if the tl'iins|)(trt ilii;' imwer had heeii less than at, incseiit,
and ]i(issihly the time (if its actidii mure liiniled. IhiL
still hiii'lier, im rdcky ledges and ,t;ravel terraces, rising' Id
ihe lieiu,hL nf lifty to sixty feel, llua'e are laryc Laiiientian
Ixiiilders, dfieii fdrniiiiii,' inland honlder-heaches like that
of the shore, and such inland heaches ai'e found iqi to at
least 4U() feet. 'J'here are also a few njipcr Silurian
hoiildi'rs from the south, which liccome nidie numerous
and laru'cr further inland. In sdine places these Silurian
limestdiie houlilevs are sulliciently numerous to atl'ord iJie
material lor the ^^niijily df linu^-kilns pidx idinu' hir local
reijuiremenls. In some Idealities ihey Wdiild seem to he
the deiiosils of glaciers descendiiiLi,' from the hills to tin.'
south, hut in others they would a|i]H'ar to ha\e Ijeen
water-hoiiu'.

Tlu! exjiosed ridges uf rock on tin) second terrace and
on th(( heach are sometimes polished with ice action, and
show the normal X.K. and S.W. striation. I had no
opportunity to ohserxe the coiiditidii of the rock-surface
under the houkler-clay. On the greater part of the
a

66

'INK l< i; .\(.i; IN ( ANAKA.

sixty-fct't tt'rnict', llic rnck-Miirt'iiccs iiic rniijulj, mid yd
lui'i^'L' liuiiMci's ul'tni rest (lii'cclly ii|iiiii ilicm.

'I'lic till nr ||;i|'i| liiilllilt'l'-cliiy n|' ihis Ciiiisl wmiM lie

(•liiiiii('(l liy sdiiit' uliicialists uh ^'liicicr \\nrU : Itiil tlicrc
ciiii lie 1)11 ilniilit thai llicsc clays lucally cniitiiiii inariiic
slii'lls, ami thciv is tlicivrdi't' im need (if iip nkiiiy; laml-ico
fur tlicii' (l('i)iisitiiiii. Ill tills i('s|if(t tlicy iiyit'c with llu'
di'ifl-(l('i»()sils dl' lliu lower St. Lawrence generally, e\ce)»l
ill the case (A' cerlaiii lateral valleys wliieli seem (n lia\'e
heni ()cc\i]»ie(l with local uiaeiers descemliiiu' I'rnm (he
J.aureiiliaii hi^dilamls.

TKHIIACICS, NOIITII SIIOItK Of l.OWKIl ST. I.AWUKNCK.

]lii[lhl!< ill Eiiiili'<h f'll, roiiijlilji fn/ii II irif/t 1,111 hi' X liril (iikI (inrroii/.

Ml itiiAV llu.

!•;. Side.

I.KS
Kluiri.KMKSTs,

JMIO

(itill ....

I'Kiir

i; Mm
T4.S

47i»

."•d.")

32.')

.SIS

22(5 ....

2;»<.)

Ill)

1 1:.

W. ."

M>\,:

81)2 .

.

:

. 44S

:ur> .

. 37«

— .

. 312

— .

281

130 .

. 131)

— .

. IIU

50 .

, 81

32 .

. 30

4.-):.

34(i

2.">1)

127
73

22 2()

Another series of liiNcls taken hy Mr. W. 1>. Dawson,
alonLT the road to IVtit lac and heyond, yixes the followinti'
hei>;'hts :

I'ect.

Hill Houlli of IVtit liio, with drift iiinl lunilders iit this

Icvol 1374

Drift ridge east of lake 810

Water level, Petit lac; appears to discharge over

drift ridge or iiioi'aine 728

Clay, capped with 10 feet sand 589

Clay terrace 241

" " Ijank Murray IJay river 73

1111'; SUCCKSHION (M' I>i:i'()SITS. (J7

Willi rcfcictict' to tlic (lilVm'iMieos in the iiIminc ln'ij;hts,

it is to Ik' ohsci'ved tlmt llir iciract's lliciiisi'lvos slopo

soiiu'wiial, and aic iiiioveu, ainl lliaL tlif principal U'ITuccm

aro S(MiU'liiiu!.s c'()inpli(-'at<'il I'.v niimtr nncs (liviilinn; tlu-ni

iiilit littlu stops. It is llins sonicwlial (lilliciilt to ohiuiii

accinatc nicasiiiviiieiits. Tlicni seems, however, to he a

general an;reeniGnt of lliese terraces, and this 1 havt; no

douht will he I'oinid to prevail v«'ry extensively through

out the lower St. Lawieiice. U will he seen that three (»l'

the principal teiraces iit Montreal correspond with three

of those at Muriay hay; and the foJlowinLi; facts as to

other parts of (,'anada, ;j;leaned from the Kej)orts of the

Survey and from my own ohservations, will serve farther

to illustrate this :

I'f.'t.

Kfiii|itville, Hand and littoral sliolls 'J.'tO

Winuliu.stfr, " " " .'{(HJ

Keiiyon, " " " '270

i,.)fkiLl, " '• " 2(54 & 2!t0

llolilios' Kiills, Filzroy, sand and littoral HJiells .S.*)0

Duiliam Mills, l)e L'lslu, " " " 28!>

Upton 2.")7

The evidence of sea action on many of these heaches,
and the accunndation of shells on others, pcjiut to a some-
what lon^- residence of the sea at sevend of the levels,
and to the intermittent elevation of the land. On the
wider terraces, at several levels it is usual to see a dei)osit
of sand and gravel corresponding to the Saxicava sand.
One of the most important terraces throughout the louver
St. Lawrence is that hetween oOO and (jOO feet, which
.^^eems to correspond with the time of deposition of tlie
principal bed of fossiliferous Leda clay. Corresponding
to the terraces on rising grounds are the " boars' backs,"
kaims or eskers stretching along tlat lands between pro-

68 TIIK ICH A(iK IN CANADA.

jectin,u; liills, iiiid followiiin' did lines of cdust. These nvo
C'-videiilly of the nature of niodeni ,i;Tiivel and sliinule
banks, and are distinuuished from moraines and iee-shove
deposits by their water-worn and sorted material.

()u the lower St. Lawrence I have observed marine
shells on the terraees up to al)out GOO feet above the level
of the sea, but they will i)robid>ly be found by diliti'ent
search at higher levels. In the arctic re,t,don. Captain
Fielden (Journal of (ieol. Society of Lond(Jn,^^)l. XXXIV.,
liS78, p. 5()()) rejxtrts I'leistocene sh(dls, vi/., /'ccft'ii
IshdidicKS, Asfid'fr Jkh'ckHx, Mija irnnrata and Sa.i'icarn
riif/oxa, at the height of 1,000 feet abo\e the sea.

With the terraces and elevated banks nnist be as.sociated
the later boulder-drift, which has distril)uted travelled
stones and boulders throu<.^h ami over the Saxicava sand
and the moraines fif older local glaciers, and has (lej)osited
them at high levels on hills and n> intains far inland.
The assignment of siudi loose Ijouluers to their precise;
date is, however, often extremely ditlicult, a fact which
may be well seen from a study of the data accunnilated by
the l)oulder committee of the (Jeologieal Society of Scot-
land, under the })residency of my friend, Mr. David ]\Iilne
Home. Xeglecting altogether for the present Ixnilders
not far removed from their native sites, some of the far-
travelled boulders at high levels may have been left as
residue of the denudation of the more elevated sheets or
])atches of boulder-clay. Others may belong to the
driftage of the margins and banks of the mid-glacial
depression of the Leda clay, l)ut these can scarcely have
reached higher levels than about GOO feet. Others still
may have been carried l)y ice in that short-lived depression
of very great magnitude which .seems to have innnediately

THE SUCCK8.SI0X OF DEPO.^ITS.

69

preceded the re-elevatioii of the Saxicava sand * and it is
even possible tliat some may have lieen jJaeed in tlieir
present positions in tlie ])()St-ghK'ial subsidenee, of which
there is evidence on l)oth sides of tlie Athmtic. S(jme
belong to lake margins (»f jtost-glacial date. Thns no
general statement can safely be made respecting these
erratics, but each group or belt must l)e studied with
reference to its local associations and the source of the
nijiterial, as well as with reference to the pro1)able stage
in the various continental subsidences and elevations to

Fig. 3.— Teiraecs at L'Aiisu a LcMip, near Taaousac. Lower terrace, clay ; upjier, sand.

which it belongs. The aminq^tiim that all loiddcr-drift
may belong to one period is a fertile souree of error, and
though many important observations on the subject have
been made by Spencer, Dr. G. M. Dawson, Chalmers and
others, there is an almost unlimited field for detailed work-
in this direction.

A still farther complication arises here from the pro-
bability of differential elevation, whereby the relative
levels have been changed in different parts of the l»leisto-

* McGee refers to this in connection with the "Columbia" deposits
of the Appalachians.

70 THE ICE A(;E of CANADA.

ceiio, as illustrated l.y Dr. Ci. :\r. Dawson in bis :\reiiioirs
on Jhitisli Cohnnl.ia, by Mr. (.'hahners on the lower St.
Lawrence, l.y Tpliam, (Jilbcrt and Speneer in the lake
regions, and l.y J)e (leer in Sweden. To Sj.eneer we
are indebted for a ^reat mass of valuable observations on
the lake margins of the Canadian lakes and the (juestious
of the origin of the lakes and the primitive course of the
St. Lawrence river anterior to the Tleistocene age, as well
as to the h.rmer greater extension of the lakes and the
dillerential elevation by which ilicv have been affected.*

* Canadian Naturalist, 1882. Trans. Ti.S. Canada, 1889. See also
^^'arren Uphani's Appendix to Wright's Ice Age and McCee's Seventh
Keport Am. Geol. Survey, p. 039.

CHAl'TKli II [.

I'PIYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CUNDITION.S.

/. — (/riwrdl Co nil Hid IIS.

It is, [ think, iiniversiilly iKliiiitted that the later
Pliocene a-^v, iinniediately preeedino- that of the l)oul(ler-
elay, was a period of elevation of tlie continents in the
northern lieniispherc;, the "Jirxf continental period" of
Lyell. The evidences of tliis are to 1)0 found in everv
text-book of geology, and in Canada I may refer to the
excavation of the Saguenay valley, as explained Ijy nie

Fig. 4.— Valley of Lower Sngueiiay— Old glacier bed.

in my notes of 1872, referred to below, and to the similar
evidence accumulated by Dr. G. ]M. Dawson regarding the
caiions of British Columbia.* It has also been conclu-

.,^=^-

* See also Upham, ({eol. Magazine, Nov., 1890, and Bui. Geol.
Society Am., Vol. I.; Spencer, lb., May, 1890; ami Journal Geol.
Society, Nov., 1890,

72 THE ICK A(iK 1\ CAN'ADA.

.sivelv shown liv scvcial ijvnld^isls * that in lliis iicri'.d
the valk'vs of the ureal Anu'rican lakes woiv I'XCiiviitod,
and llial the ancient St. l-awreiiee llnweil without any
lakes to tlie sea. The presiMit e'veal lakes are ]»artly
(lanuned u]) hy y'laeial deposils, and partly |)ro(lueeil hy
\vari)in!4 or dirterential ele\ation. It may now he con-
sidered as fully estahlished that tlie ^I'eat American lakes
are not the result of glacial action, hut that they are old
river valleys excavated in periods of continental elexation,
and now dammed uj) hy accumulations of ilihris and hy
(lill'erential elevation occurrinu' in the Pleistocene pei'iod.
In the great depression of that ]ieriod, they s})read
far more wiilely than at }»resent, as indicated hy the
old terraces aronnd them, some of which, acc((rding to
Spencer, are 1,700 feet ahove the ])resent water level, and
may indicate a ])eriod when the whole American land was
much l(.)wer than at present. (See Spencer, Journal
(ieol. Society, Vol. XLVl., 1890.) Further, Dr. (1. M.
Dawson •(• has shown that in this and prexious ]»eriods of
continental elevation the great fiords and canons of
liritisli Cohnnhia were cut out, and (piite recently
I'ettersen has al)ly a})})lie(l the same ex])lanation to the
fiords of Norway. The latter says : " 1 have, therefore,
after the most careful researches here, yard hy yard, and
extending over many years, come to the conclusion that
the Bahfjord is not of (jlacial oriyin, hut forracd an incision
or depression in the mountains of older oriejin than the
glacial age. And this conclusion, I helieve, ma//, in the
main, apply to the question of the formed ion of all fjords in

* Newberry, Hunt, Spencer.

t 'Superficial tleology of British Columbia, 1878. Later Physio-
graphical Geology of the Rocky Mountains of Canada, Trans. R.S.C.,
1890.

I'JIYSK'AL AND CLIMATAL COXDITIOX.S.

4 <>

the north of Norway. But wlu^tlier it is ai)]»Iical)lo to all
fjonls in flir /rj,,>/r i>/ y<,rinni \ sliall not attempt to

answer."*

I have, in my I'k'istociMie notes of 1S72, taken the

■ >

)

1

V--A

/"'" 1

Fig. o.— Hiylicr cliffs cf Saguenay gorge. —Cape Eternity.

valley of the Saguenay as a typical illustration, and have
shown that along an old fracture of the Laurentian rocks

Nature, June, 1885.

74 TlIK iC'K A(iK IX CANADA.

Huvatilc (U'liuiliitioii in I'lioceiie nnd pro-PliDceno tiiiios
lias cul a trench to a dt'itih u|' SOO fccL lu'l^w llic jn't'st'iit
water le\-el ot' the St. Lawrence, and that the glacial
action of the IMeistoceni! has |)oHshe(l and ^rooveil its sides
and prohaldy its hoUoni,and piled up dihris at its nuaith.*
1 need hardly say, after the discussions on the suhj'ect,
that the reference of the cuttint^' of lake hasins and tiords
to glacit'rs in the ice au'e, aiiidnst which I have argued
ever since 1<S()(], has hecii altogether exploded.

(1) This heing admitted, and also the fact e.stahlishe(h
by the most comincing evidence, of the great depression
of our continents in the glacial or I'leistocene age, it
follows that the first or oldest of the Pleistocene de])osits,
the till or houlder-clav, ^vas laid down durinu; a time of
subsidence, in which tlu! northern land was slowly sinking
under the sea. AVe leave untouched at present the mode
of deposition of houlder-cday and of polishing and stria-
tioii of rock-surfaces under it, merely nesting that the
boulder-clay proper is confined to the plains and valleys,
where it often contains marine remains. The hills show-
evidence of glacier-movement down their valleys, and
of the formation of moraines, and sometimes of patches
of an indurated ground moraine or hard till, dill'erent
from ordinary boulder-clay.

(2) The formation of the Leda clay and interglacial
deposits, and of the similar deposits on the western
plains, belongs to the time when this region had subsided
beneath the waters, with tracts and islands of higher
lands projecting. The dillerential character of this eleva-
tion, whereby certain parts of the then submerged areas
stood higher than others, will be mentioned later.

* Notes on Pleistocene of Canada, 1872.

IMfVSlCAL AM) CMMA'I'AL COXDriTOXS. 7,-,

Ai this jicridd the viillcy of llic Si. I^iiwiviice and the
onsteni coast, us far wost as lake ('liaiiii)laiii and tlu! east
end ((!' lake: Ontario, as well as the Itorders of the arctic
I)asiii and of the Tacilic, were under the waters of the
ocean and inlial»ited ]>y a licli lioical fauna, nearly all the
species of which, in its eastern developuu'iit, I have
myself dredj^'cd alive in the wateisof the estuary of the
St. Lawrence. On the other hand, the western i)lains
were covered with waters which have not affordcil marine
ainnials in their de])osits, hut hold remains of laud ])lauts.
Farther, these land ])lants were of species not arctic, hut
merely horeal or north temperate,* whiK' the proper
arctic llora nnist have heen still farther north.

(.')) This nud-,i>lacial period was followed hy the second
houlder-dejjosit, in which still farther suhsideuce occurred,
and houlders were carried l)y tloatiu<i' ice to the sumnut
of the hi^i^her hills in eastern Canada and New Eu^'land,
up to the heio-ht of 4,200 feet, and in the llocky ^Jouu-
tains even to the great elevation of 5,289 feet.f This
second period of houlder-drift and its deposits must not
be confounded with the earlier till.

(4) From this depression the continent arose <>radually
or by intermittent throes, leaving- the terraces of the hills
and the sand and gravel beds (Saxicava sand) of the
plains as evidences of the recession of the waters. This
elevation proceeded so far as to inaugurate the second
conthiental period, when the land was more extensive
than at present, and a southern fauna penetrateil far
north along our coasts, while great mammals, now extinct,
overspread the land. Since that time there have been

* See Chapter V.

t G. M, Dawson, Report on Superficial Deposit, Bow river, 1884.

7(1 'IIIK ICH .\(;k i\ caxada.

ciitiU'lyiiiic oscilliitions of Icxcl mul :i iiiirlial siilisidciuco,
which is ;i|)](ar('iilly still in innnrt'ss.*

I'd!' llic evidence lit' this hislnry 1 may refer tn the
l^apei's eileil in the iKites.f where ahundant facts will he
found I'elatin;^' inoi'e especially tn ( 'anada, and, so far as
my readiu},' extcMids, ihey will he hmnd applicahle, with
certain modifications of details, to oihei' parts of the
nortiiern hemisphere.

In closiiiu; this section, 1 desire to refer to the nia]>
(Ki^-. (i, r>.) of the <fi'o<i'ra]ihy of Xorlh America in the
early rieistoceiie, the hciuhl of tla; «;lacial pi-riod. At
this time. I l)tdie\e the northern half of North .Vmericu
consisted of thri'e larj^e and monntainons islands, clad for
the most part with neve and ^'laciers, and surrounded l)y
iee-laden sens and straits. The conditions, it will l>e seen
at a ^dance, wer(! most favourahle to refri^'eration, hy
accumulation of floating \vv in temperate latitudes, while
the arctic climate may have been littli! more severe than
at ])resent, and the extreme o[)iMtsiie of those which
existed in the warm i)eriod of the early tertiary, when
the northern end of the continent was closed a«i:ainst the
arctic currents, and when the interior continental plateau
constituted a northern extension of the warm waters of
the gidf of Mexico. This map inii)lies dillerential de-
pression of the western plains as compared with the
mountains, and of the northern as compared with the
southern portions of North America, and an opening for

* Accurding to Merrill and Lendenkehl (American Journal Science,
June, 1891), alternate depression to the amount of loO feet and eleva-
tion to the amount of 400 feet have occurred in the valley of the
Hudson river since the glacial period. See also Acadian (Jeology,
article "Submarine Forests."

+ Also notes on Canadian Pleistocene, 1872; Acadian Geology, 1878.

IMIVSICAL AN'I) ( I.IMAIAL ( ( iXDri'lON'S.

77

78 Till': ICV' A<.K IN CANADA.

the 0(|iiiil()riiil cuiiciii liftwccii Xmili iiiid Smitli Aiucrioa,
till <i\' wliicli sii|>|»usiii(>iis arc siiltsiautiati'd liy known
^t'tilo^ical t'acls, inure csiK'cially llic occunciicc of IMeislo-
C'uiie I'ttssils al liiyli IcNcls, anil df llu; sunn! siK'cics of
niodi'i'M slu'lls 1)11 ilic Atlantic and Tacitic shores. l-'oUow-
inc' the example ol' those L^eolo^^ists of the I'nited Slates
wh<t ai'i^ ill the haliit oi' ,u'i\iii.u n liK-'ilions icahty to their
jtaheoj^eoyiriiphieal \iews, hy attaehini;' names to I'xtiuet
lakes, etc., wo may name some of tlu! more proiniiiLMit
features of our map after eminent li\inv;' advoeates of
extnuiie ^jhieial \ iews, whose personal merit and ahility, I
am prepaii'd to admit, are in the iiiNcrsi^ projiorlioii to
the prohahility of their iheoi'i'tieal \ lews. Tlu! j^'reat
soulhern Itay, at the hottoiii of which lies the " tenuiiial
moraine," may hear the name of |)ana. 'I'he strait
leading to tiie north-east, where the St. Lawrence now
tlows, may he rpham strait. The j^reaL westi-rn oj»eiiin<j;
may well he called L'hamherlain sound, ami the northern
hay, tilled with ice in the region now occupied hy
lludsun's l)ay, may he the gulf uf Wright. The greater
islands will he respectively Cordilleran and J.aurenlide
lands, lit companictns of (Ireenland ; and the smaller
eastern island, iV})palacliia Infelix. 1'hus will lie com-
])leted the rough general outline of one map of America
in the age of the houlder-clay. liespecting Dana hay
and Wright Itay on the maj), it is evident that the
heavy ice-fields home down by the arctic current and
north-west gales, and the Itergs derived from the moun-
tain glaciers, would choke them with continuous masses of
ice of enormous width, the pressure of which would pile
up heaps of broken ice full of stones and earth on their
shores, and would exert a mechanical force much greater
than that of ordinary glaciers, so that morainic accumula-

IMfVSICAF. AM) (MMA'IAr- COXDI'IIOXS. 70

tioiis (if ii'iTjii iiiiiLiiiil iul<' wniiM lie |iiiMlii(t'(l (if the same
j,'eiM.'raI luitui'c witli tlidsc of tlic .Missdiiii ((ilcaii. Tlicst',
of (M)iirs(', iKiw ('(nisi iinlc ilic uit'iit " tcniiiiiiil iiKHiiiiK^ " *
wliicli liiis lici'ii so ('ai\'fiilly liacc(l liy llu; geologists of
llic I'liilcil Slates.

( 'oiiii>ariiiu' a iiia|i nf Aiin'iica in llic I'lt'istoceiic with
that (if llic saiiic rc'^imi in llic laid' ( 'rctaeenus and early
Koeenc, it will lie at uncc seen Imw, in tiic (Hic case, the
iirclic e(iii(liti(ins ninsl have liccn iiansfcrK'd to tcniiicrate
rejiions, and Ikiw, in ilic nilifi', icni|M'ratc ((indilioiis must
have liecii carried iinilh to (licenland.

It may lie well here to notice shditly the eonteiitioii
ofU-n made that the \M'i,i,dil of the ice uiioii the pai'ls of the
eontinents loaded with it must ha\(' hecn itself a cause of
the rieistoeeui'. dei)l'(!Ssion. No one has, 1 lndie\ e, eoii-
teiided more strenuously than the writer, in eonneetion
hotli with the carlioiiiferons deposits and thost; of the
deltas of n;veat rivers,+ in fa\dur of the inslaliility of the
erust of the eaitli wlien loa(hMl with n'l'eat weights or
when thesi' are I'emoxcd : hut it must be oliserve(l that
sueh weights are usually due to the (lei)osition of sediment
in the sea. 'I'he el't'eet of aeeumulations itf ice on high
lands is less certainly kn(^)wn. If, however, we imagine
that the continental period of the later Pliocene was
closed by a dill'erential de})ression, sulmierging the plains
and leaving the monntains elevated, the resulting geogra-
phical conditions would be favourable to accumulation of

* I need scarcely say that the reference of this terminal moraine to
a land glacier is al)surd on physical grounds ; and there is no modern
example of such a thing, as even the Clreenland neve discharges by
local glaciers.

t "Acadian Geology," "Modern Science in Bible Lands," Presi-
dential Address to Brit. Association, 1880.

80 THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

snow and ice o" the latter. lUit if tlie pressure of sucli
snow and ice was sullicient to depress the lulls, it nuist
necessarily at the sunie time elevate the plains, and this
change, by diminishing evaporation and by increasing
continental warmth, would at once cause the ice-caps to
melt away. Thus subsidence pro(hiced by accunndations
of ice would at once accomplish the destruction of such
accumulations, while it would remove the high lands
necessary to account for any extensive movement of
glacial ice. In other words, as elsewhere urged in this
volume, the facts of dynamical geology and physical
geography are fatal to hypotheses of polar ice-caps and
continental ice-sheets, and if one were to admit all that
has been alleged in reference to depression of land by
l)ressure of ice, these ditliculties would not be removed in
the slightest degree.

//. — Causes of Glaciatioa and Distribation
of Erratics.

We now come to consider the probal)le causes of
glaciation and boulder-dei)osits, and first the agenc) of
" continental " and local glaciers.

1.— GLACIER ACTION, ETC.

1. With res})ect to the agency of land ice, I have no
hesitation in saying that, as I have maintained for thirty
years, a sheet of ice covering the wide surface of the
American continent, and pilhig up a " moraine " such as
that which extends from the northern end of the Missouri
coteau and south of the great lakes to the Atlantic coast,
is a physical impossibility. It is so, firsi, because the
only possible gathering-ground of sullicient snow to form
glaciers is on high lands sufliciently cold and sufficiently

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. 81

near to the ocean to receive and condense its burden of
watery vapour. Tliis is the cause of the present state of
Greenland, and similar conditions would account for that
great ( Jordilleran glacier which Dr. G. M. Dawson has
shown existed in Pleistocene times on the mountains of
British Columljia, and for the Laurentide glacier or local
glaciers which it is known existed on the Laurentian *
highlands of Canada and even on the extension of the
Appalachian mountains in eastern Canada.f On this
subject I may ([uote here the conclusions of the well-
known Itussian geograi)her, Von Woeickoff, J as summarized
in a partial translation puljlished in tlie " CanacHan
Naturalist " in 1882. I ought ])erhaps to a})ologize for
repeating here connnon and cNcn trite conclusions of
physical geography ; but my excuse must be the neglect
with wliich they have been treated by so many geologists,
and the extent to which theories altogether at variance
with them have l)een promulgated.

I may say at the outset that I fully agree with the
views as to the motion of glaciers contained in the sub-
joined extract :

" The fuller consideration of the physical properties of
glacier ice leads to essentially the same conclusions as
those to which Forbes was led forty-one years ago, by the
study of the larger phenomena of glacier motion, that is,
that the motion is that of a slightly viscous mass, partly
sliding upon its bed, partly shearing upon itself under the

* Notes on Post-pliocene, 187*2. See also a paper by McGee in the
the Proc. American Association (Bosti/i-, 1880, p. 447), and Dana in
American Journal of Science, 1872.

+ Chalmers' Glaciation of N. New Brunswick, etc., Trans. R.S.C.
1886.

X Geological Society, Berlin, 1881.

82 THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

inHnencc of gravity." (Trotter, in I'roc. lioyal Society of
London, XXXA'] I i., 107.)

AVoeickolfs conclusions may lie suninied u]) as follows:

"1. The great expanse of ocean in the southern hemis-
phere is fa\ourable to the cle})osit of snow and f(jrmation
of glaciers, hy furnishing a great evaporating surface, and
at the same time a low general tem})erature facilitating
lirecipitation. This a])])lies to the antarctic continent,
and also permits the formation of glaciers far to the north
in Xew Zealand and in South America.

"2. On the other hand, the i)resent condition of the
northern hemisphere is unfavoural)le to glaciers, Itecause
the sea is so warm that deposition near the coasts is
rather as rain than snow up to pretty high latitudes,
while the continents are so wide that there is little
precipitation in their interior.

"3. Thus there are no glaciers in eastern Silieria, even
in the mountains, where the mean ten)peratnre is only 15"
to 16° C, and central Asia generallv is inifav(niral)le to
glaciation on accoinit of its dryness, while eastern Asia is
acted on 1)V the monsoons. If, therefore, the extent of
land in Asia has not materially changed since the riiocene
])eriod, there could not have heen great glaciers there
since that period. Even the submergence of the great
])lain of China could not materially aflect this result,
though it might cause glaciers in the mountains of
Japan.

"4. To ex])lain the great I'leistocene glaciers, of which
traces are found in western Europe, it is necessary to
suppose that the temi)erature was lower, either on account
of submergence of the low lands or of diversion of warm
currents, or both causes may have operated. A submer-
gence connecting the White and Baltic .seas would greatly

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. 8.".

promote tlie production of snow and ice. But this could
not affect the interior of llussia or of Asia, so long as their
})lains renuiined above water.

" 5. The submergence! of tlie plains must be a necessary
condition of the general glaciation of the higlier lands.

" G. Astonomical changes do not affect tliis result.
With a great eccentricity of the orljit and the winter in
aphelion the colder winters and hotter summers would
produce more jjowerful monsoons, while on tlie opposite
condition the interior of the continents would have
warmer winters and cooler summers and weaker monsoons.
In either case the conditions for continental glaciers would
not be improved.

" 7. These considerations show that general coverings of
ice stretching from the I'ole to perliaps 40" are impossible.
Under conditions of submergence of the plains the sea
must keep open, in onler to afford material for snow on
the renuiining high lands, and with large continental
plains the clinuite will be too dry for glaciers. Thus
there must always be seas free from ice, or continental
plains free of ice, and under most supposable conditions
there must be both."

The following comments by the writer accompanied the
above abstract in 1882 :

Applying these very simple geographical truths to the
North American continent, it is easy to perceive that no
amount of refrigeration could produce a continental
glacier, because there could not l)e sufficient evaporation
and precipitation to afford the necessary snow in the
interior. The case of Greenland is often referred to, but
this is the ca.se of a high mass of cold land with sea
mostly open on both sides of it, giving, therefore, the con-
ditions most favourable to precipitation of snow. If

84 THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

(Jreenlaiul were less elevated, or if there were dry plains
around it, the case would be ({uite ditt'erent ; as Xares h .
well shown in the case of (Irinnel land, which in the
immediate vicinity of Greenland presents very dillerent
conditions as to glaciation and climate.

If the plains were suljinerged and the arctic current
allowed free access to the interior of the continent of
America, it is conceivable that the mountainous regions
remaining out of the water should be covered with snow
and ice, and. there is the best evidence that this actually
occurred in the glacial period ; but with the plains out of
water, there could never have been a sufficiency of snow
to cause any general glaciation of the interior. We see
evidence of this at the present day in the fact that in
unusually cold winters the great precipitation of snow
takes place south of Canada, leaving the north compara-
tively bare, while as the temperature becomes milder the
area of snow deposit moves further to the north.

The writer has always maintained these conclusions on
general geographical grounds, as well as on the evidence
afforded by the Weistocene deposits of Canada, and he
continues to regard the supposed evidence of a terminal
moraine of the great continental glacier as nothing but
the southern limit of the ice-drift of a period of submerg-
ence. In such a period the southern margin of an ice-
laden sea where its floe-ice and bergs grounded, or where
its ice was rapidly melted by warmer water, and where
consequently its burden of boulders and other debris was
deposited, would necessarily present the aspect of a
moraine, which by the long continuance of such conditions
might assume gigantic dimensions. Some anomalies in
the levels of the so-called terminal moraine are no doubt
due to differential elevation.

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. 85

By many writers on this subject it is apparentl}' main-
tained that in Nortli America a continental glacier
extended in temperate latitudes from sea to sea, and this
ji^lacier must, in many [)laces at least, have exceeded a
mile in thickness. ]ndei>endently of the physical diffi-
culties atteudiujj;' the movement of such a mass without
any adequate slope, it is obvious, from the considerations
above stated, that the amount of snow necessary to the
production of such a glacier could not possibly be ()l)tained.
With a depression such as we know to have existed,
admitting the arctic currents along the St. Lawrence
valley, through gaps in the Laurentian watersiied, and
down the great plains between the Laurentian areas and
the Rocky mountains, we can easily understand the
covering of die hills of eastern Canada and New England
with ice and Know, and a similar covering of the moun-
tains of tlie west coast ; more especially when we take
into account the probability of an elevation of the
mountains along with the depression of the plains, and of
the southern part of the continent not having been
depressed, atid so blocking the exit of the ice to the south,
along with Lhe escape of the equatorial current through
the isthmus of Panama, then submerged. The sea also in
this case might be ice-laden and boulder-bearing as far
south as 40", while there might still be low islands far to
the north, on which vegetation and animals continued to
exist. We should thus have the conditions necessary to
explain all the anomalies of the glacial deposits.

Whatever difficulties may attend such a supposition,
they are small compared with those attendant on the
belief of a continental glacier, moving without the aid of
gravity, and depending for its material on the precipitation
taking placi on the interior plains of a great continent.

HO THK ICE AGE IN CANADA.

On tlic other IkukI, the evidence of great local <flaciers
in the Pleistocene period is of the best possible descri])-
tion. I may refer here to the indications obtained by
J)r. (r. M. Dawson of an innnense glacier or group of
glaciers occupying the Cordill(;ra of British Columbia, and
discharging its ice to the north into liie Yukon valley, t<»
the south into Puget sound, antl to the west into the
I'acific. Here, as he has shown, the conditions were
combined of a high mountain chain with the Tacitic on
the west, and the then submerged area of the great plains
on the east, al'tbrding next to (ireenland the grandest
gathering-ground for snow and ice that the northern
hemisphere has seen.

The movement of ice north and south from the old
gathering-ground of the Laurentian axis has been shown
by the rei»orts of arctic explorers and of the geological
survey.* That from the Xotre Dame mountains on the
south side of the St. Lawrence, as shown by Chalmers,t
and the radiation of ice from the central districts of
Newfoundland, as described by Kerr and Murray, ^: are
other examples.

Thus the existence of local glaciers on the west and
east and on the higher lands facing the north has been
established, and this not merely in the later, but in the
earlier Pleistocene ; but whatever of increase or dhninu-
tion they experienced in the course of that period, they
could never have beconi.e a continental glacier, spreading
over the plains, nor could there have been a polar ice-cap,

* See papers and reports already referred to, by Dawson, Bell and
others.

t Trans. R.S.C., 1886.

t Journal Geol. Society, 1876. Reports and Survey of Newfound-
land.

PHYSICAL AND C'LIMATAL CONDITIONS. 87

siiieo the facts oljluiiied l»y the C'iUia(haii survey and the
arctic exi^orers show tlial these local u:laciers dischar^'ed
ice ami l»erns l»oth to the iiortli and south. Some of the
evidence of this is thus stated hy Dr. (i. M. Dawson.*

"Alony- the arctic coast, and among- the islands of the
archipelago, then; is a considerahle volume of evitlence to
show that the main direction of movement of erratics
was northicnrtl Thus, l)oulders of granite, supposed l»y
Prof. Haughton to he derived fr< m North Somerset, are
found 100 miles to the north-eastward (Ai)pendix to
M'Clintock's Voyage, p. 374), aiul pebbles of granite,
identical with that of (Iranite point, also hi Xorth
Somerset, occur loo knots to Ww north-west {vp. cif., p.
47G). The east side of King William Land is also said
to be strewn with l)oulders like the gneiss of Montreal
island, to the southward (op. cif., p. •■'>77). Prof. Haught<jn
indicates the direction and distance of travel of some of
these fragments l)y arrows on his geological map of the
arctic archipelago, and reverts to the same subject on
pages 39o, 394, pointing out the general northward move-
ment of ice indicated, and referring the carriage of the
boulders to floating ice of the glacial ])eriod.

" Near I'rincess lloyal island, in I'rince of Wales strait,
and also on the coast of I'rince of Wales island, the
copper said to be picked up in large masses by the
Escpiimaux (Dellauce, Nature, Vol. XL, \). 492), may be
supposed to be derived from the Cambrian rocks of the
Coppermine river region, to the south, as it is scarcely
]iossible that it occurs in place anywhere in the region of
horizontal limestone where it is found.

* Notes on the geology of the northern part of Canada. Geol.
Survey of Canada, 1886.

,S.S THE ICK A(JK IN CANADA.

" Dr. Ariustront,', ])r('vi(iusly (piotcd, notes the oocur-
rcncu of ifi'uniLie aiul ollu'i' rrv-sliilliiic rocks, iioL only on
the south slioi'e of I>;irin<^ island, hut also on the hills
inland. The.se, fidiu what is now known of the rei^don,
ean scareely he sui»i>osed to have come from elsewhere
than the eonli)iental land to tJje southward.

" In an account of ihe scientific results of tlu; ' Polaris'
expedition (Nature, Vol. IX.), it is stated of the west
coast of Smith's sound, north of the Humixildt ^^lacier,
that ' wherever the locality wa.s favoural)le, the land is
covered hy drift, .sometimes containin<f very characteristic
litholoii;ical specimens, the identification of which with
rocks of South ( Jreenland was a very readily accom[)lished
ta.sk. For instance, garnets of uinisually large size were
found in latitude 8F .")', having marked minerological
characters hy which tlie identity with some garnets from
Tiskernaes was established. Drawing a conclusion from
such oh.servations, it became evident that the main line of
the drift, indicating the direction of its motion, runs from
south to north.' It should l)e stated, however, that Dr.
l^es.sels, whoaccompanietl the' Polaris' expedition, regards
these erratics as certainly not transported by glaciers,
but l)y Hoating ice, and as showing that the current of
Davis' strait wis iurmerly to the north, and not to the
.south, as at pre .-'Uii,. ((^>uoted from Bullet in tfr la Soc. de
(Ti'of/riqihie, Paris, March, 1885, in Arctic Manual, p. 553.)

" It may be mentioned, as bearing on the general (pies-
tion here referred to, that Dr. Bell has found evidence of
a northward or north-eastward movement of glacier ice in
the northern part of Hud.son l)ay (Annual lie[)ort Geol.
Survey of Canada, 1885, p. 14, i)i)),with distinct indications
of eastward glaciation throughout Hudson strait, (lleport
of Progress, Geol. Survey of Canada, 1882-84, p. 30, dd.)

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. ,S|)

"The facts avuiliible for this iiortlicrn part of the con-
tiiiout and the Arctic islands thus I'athcr jioiiit to a
iiioveineiit of ice outward in all directions from the j^reat
Laurentian axis or plateau, which extcnids from I^ahrador
round the soutiiern extremity of Hudson bay to the
Arctic sea, than to any general tlovv of ice from north to
south, from the vicinity of the <j;eogra])hical pole."

The same writer, in his more recent [lajx^r on the
Itocky mountains, refers to the facts, that while the
Cordilleran glacier discharged to the northward, the
McKenzie liiver valley is shown to present similar
jthenomena, and that the absence of drift in the northern
]iart of the Yukon district and along the arctic coast as
far as the McKenzie river (Dease and Sim])Son) shows
that this region may have been land enjoying a moderate
climate at the same early I'leistocene period in which
the mountains of Uritish C'olund)ia were covered with ice.*

The observations of Dr. (1. M. Dawson in the Cordil-
leran region of British Columbia, already mentioned, are
so important in this regard,-f- and are presented in so
compact and clear a fonn, that I may be excused for
([uoting froni his account of the great Cordilleran glacier
of the west, which may l)e regarded as a specimen of
those great local glaciers which accumulated in Pleistocene
times on all the high mountains near the coasts of the
continents, or which were surrounded by submerged
plains capable of afi'ording vapours to be precipitated
upon their summits. Let it be observed in this connec-
tion ^^hat the plains east of the Jiocky mountains were

* See also observations of Mr. R. G. McConnell, Bui. Geol. Soc.
America, Vol. I., and I. C. Russell, in the same volume.

t Later Physiographical Geology of the Rocky Mountain Region in
Canada, Trans. R.S.C., 1890.

90 TIIK KK A(;i': IN CANADA.

suliiiu'V^'cd at this time, otherwise tlie ('orcliHeraii j^'liicicr
could .sciircely huNc existed.

"The CordilU'iim vc^fioii, in coiisctinenfe of its hij^h
eh'vation, iuid pi'ohalily also in jtart fiom othei' ctaieurreiit
eaus(!s hy whieh the iioitheni hciiiispln're was aflceled at
the ineeptiou of thc^ period of ^laeiaLioii, api)ears to have
beeoine at this time pre-eiuinently the condenser of the
North Pacifie. Precipitation occurred ujion it chielly in
the form of snow, which was so much in excess of the
intluence of the summer heat as to accumulate frt»m year
to year. Great glaciers formed in the hij^her mountains,
prohahly in the first instance amoui^ those situated nearest
to the coast ; but eventually the greater ])art of the
region became covered and buried either in iirrr or
beneath glacier-ice. The directions of motion of the
glaciers at first i)roduced was doubtless in conformity
with that of the valleys of mountain streams; but at a
hiter date, when the Cordillera became completely buried,
u general movement was initiated from a region situated
between the fifty-fifth and lifty-ninth parallels of north
Ifititude, in south-easterly and north-westerly bearings.*
The Cordillera, in fact, between the forty-eighth and
sixty-third parallels — or for a length of about 1,200
miles — seems to have assumed an appearance closely
analagous to that of (Ireenland at the present day, save
that in conse([uence of the high bordering mountain
ranges, with the general trend of these and of the lower
intervening country of the interior plateau, the greater
part of the ice was forced in this case to follow its length
in tl;e directions above indicated, instead of discharging

* Such general movement probaljly affected only the central portion
of the ice-mass by which the '"/ordillera was covered, and there is no
reason to suppose that it was otherwise than sluggish.

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. 91

hiteriilly <»m liotli sides to the sen. A certain projiortion
of the ice, liovvever, (hiring- tlie iiiiiximiuii phase of this
j^reat ^^ducier, lh)NVe(l throu^^h jiasses in the coast ranges,
iiiid iinitiii",' there with ice derived fVoiii tlie western
sh)pes of these ranu,'es, tilled the great valley htitween
Vaneouvei' island and the mainland, impinged npon the
shores of the (.^neen Charlotte islands, and still further
north rciached the ocean across the coa.st archipelago of
the S()nth-east(!rn coast-strip of Alaska.

" Having, fnjm an examination of the notes of various
arctic explorers, arrived definitely at the conclusion that
the glaciers of the eastern part of the conunent possessed
a northward as well as a southward (lirection of motion
from their main gathering-ground,* the writer was pleased
to be ahle to avail himself of the op])ortunity afforded by
the Yukon exi)6dition to investigate the conditions of the
northern ])art of the C(»rdilleran glacier.-f- Evidence was
there obtained of its northward or north-westward direc-
tion of movement, and this has since been confirmed and
added to by observations in surrounding regions by Mr.
11. G. McConnell, of the Canadian Geological Survey
(1888), and by Mr. I. C. llussell, of the United States
CJeological Survey (1889).+ On the Lewis and Felly
rivers, branches of the great Yukon, striated rock-sur-
faces, evidently due to the general Cordilleran glacier,
were noted ; in the case of the first-mentioned river as

* Annual Report C!eol. Surv. Can., 1886, p. 56, R.

t Chalmers (Am. Ceologist, Nov., 1890) very properly proposes the
names Cordilleran, Laurentian, &c., ''Synfem of Glaciers," to express the
fact that like the modern glaciers of the Alps and even of Oreenland,
a system and not a single glacier is meant.

:;: Bulletin Geol. Soc. Am., Vol. I., p. 99.

§ Oeological Magazine, Dec. .3, Vol. V., p. 348. Annual Report
Geol. Surv. Can., 1887-88, p. 40, b.

92 THE ICE A(iE IN CANADA.

far north as latitude 61° 40', on the Telly to latitude
62° oO', longitude 135° 45'. The ol)served bearings show
a convergence of direction toward tlie low country about
the conHuence of these two rivers, near the site of old fort
Selkirk, and it is not improbable that tlie glaciers may
have here reached to the vicinity of the sixty-third
parallel on the ( ne hundred and thirty-seventh meridian.
No traces of glaciation were observed 1)y Mr. McOonnell,
still further north, along the Torcupine river, nor by Mr.
Kussell further down the main valley of the Yukon,* the
appearances tiiere being, on the contrary, those of a
country which had long been subjected to subaerial decay,
and which had not been passed over either by glaciers
or by Hoating ice capable of bearing erratics.

" Further illustration of tiie fact that the extreme
north-western part of the continent remained a land-
surface upon which no extensive glaciers were developed
even during the time of maximum glaciation, is afforded
by the note of Messrs. Dease and Simpson as to the
entire absence of boulders along the arctic coast westward
from the estuary of the Mackenzie river.f

" Granting that the north-western extremity of the
Cordilleran glacier reached the furthest point above
assigned to it, we find that its extension, from the central
gathering-ground (or from the approximate margin of
this gatliering-ground already given), was much shorter
than that obtained by the south-easterly flowing part, the
approximate lengths being 350 and 600 miles respectively.
This may be regarded as indicating either a greater
relative elevation of this part of the continent to the

* Bulletin Geol. Soc. Am., p. 140.

+ Narrative of Discoveries on the North Coast of America, 1836-39,
p. 149.

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. 93

north-westward, or a less copious supply of snow in that
direction, the latter being the more probable supposition
on account of tlie absence, which has just been referred
to, of traces of glaciation in the extreme north-west.

" The Hooding of the great plains by arctic waters
while the Cordillera stood as a much-elevated land
between them and the warmer waters of the Pacific,
would in itself go far to explain tlie conditions under
which the excessive precipitation reipured for the pro-
duction of the great Cordilleran glacier occurred."

It would appear that there is no evidence of any
extensive flow of ice from the Cordilleran glacier to the
eastward, though small local glaciers may have moved
down to the submerged plains, which, owing to the
prevalent westerly winds, could contribute little to the
snow on the mountain ranges. It would also appear
that the maximum condensation of tlie I*acific moisture
occurred not more than 200 miles irdand from the west
coast. At the same time, the submergence of the great
plains of the St. Lawrence valley and of the eastern
coast would place the Laurentide and Appalachian moun-
tains under similar conditions, but not of so extreme
magnitude.

We have thus a perfect geographical picture of extensive
local glaciation in the early glacial age, in circumstances
most favourable for its existence. Let us not forget,
however, that this picture belongs only to one portion of
the period. There was in the Cordillera also a mid-
glacial period of subsidence of the mountain axis, and a
later development of smaller local glaciers, the deposits
of which have also been worked out by Dr. G. M. Dawson.

Two very interesting and important series of observa-
tions bearing on the glaciation of the eastern part of

94 THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

Canada appear in the Report of the Geological Survey
publislied in 1879.*

Dr. Ells, in his Eeport on the Eastern Townships of
the province of Quebec, notes the fact that the glaciation
along the western side of the hills of that region, con-
stituting an extension of the Appalachian chain, follows
the valleys, the striation pointing ivestward tcnvard the St.
Lawrence valley. This is the old glaciation appertaining
to the till or boulder-clay, and proves local as opposed to
continental glaciation. On the other hand, he .Mtates that
numerous boulders of Laurentian rock, carried in the
opposite direction across the wide and deep St. Lawrence
valley, lie on the sides of the liills up to an elevation of
1,500 feet. Sea shells are also found, though only at a
few localities and not so high. This high-level drift
belongs to the second glacial period. Dr. Ells recognizes
this, and very properly refers the lower or till deposit to
local land glaciers, the newer and higher drift to sub-
mergence and floating ice. He also refers to the fact
stated in Logan's Geology )f Canada, that raised beaches
occur at Ripton in the Green mountains at an elevation
of 2,196 feet.f

"With these observations of Ells may be placed those of
Upliam and other American geologists, and more recently
of Shaler in Maine, on the other side of the mountahi
range. In his report on mount Desert, he shows that the
movement of ice was, as elsewhere on the New England
coast, to the south-eastward, or from the Appalachian
range — the converse direction to that found by Ells on
the opposite side. Shaler also linds tlie underlying till,

* Report for 1887-8.

t These observations perfectly agree with tliose of Chalmers and
the writer, already mentioned.

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. 95

the iiiteriuediiite Leda clay, and the overlying sea-drift,
the latter implying, if rightly interpreted hy him, a
subsidence of at least 1,300 feet.* McGee, in the reports
of the same survey ,-f- in describing the so-called " Colum-
bian " formation farther south, details facts of similar
import ; while in Chamlterlain's map, in the same report,
the direction of striation leads to the same conclusion,
except that on the west side of the xVppalachians the
arrows are reversed, making the glaciers move up the
mountain instead of down. Other citations might be
made to show that the geologists of the United States,
while still adhering to the hypothesis of a continental
glacier with a terminal moraine, stretching half-way
across North America, are accumulating facts in accord-
ance with the results worked out by Canadian geologists
in the Northern Appalachians, in the Laurentides and the
Western Cordillera, and which must eventually greatly
modify their views.

In the same report of the Canadian Survey with the
observations of Dr. Ells, those of Mr. Low, in his report
on James's bay, show that on the east side of the bay the
glacial striae indicate a movement of ice t(j the westward
f.om the high Laurentian land east of the bay. Thus
the great V-shaped Laurentian axis, while throwing off
ice to the St. Lawrence valley on the south-east, and to
the great plains then submerged on the south-west, was
also pouring off its ice into the interior b.isin of Hudson's
bay and into the arctic sea. It may, at the period of
extreme glaciation, have filled Hudson's bay with ice, and
there is evidence of a terminal moraine along the middle
of the bay, which may have belonged to the interglacial

* Report U.S. Geol. Survey, Vol, VIII.
+ Ih., 1885-6.

96 THE ICE AtiE IN CANADA.

period. ]\li. Low also finds that the newer stratified
gravels belonging' to the later period of ice-drift extend
to heights of probably 700 feet, indicating the great
depression which succeeded the earlier glacial period.

All these observations, combined with others detailed
in different parts of this work, constitute the most
complete proof that in Canada the condition of the
continent in the more extreme glacial period was one of
local glaciers, principally on the greater mountain regions,
with submerged plains and sea-drift intervening, and that
this was succeeded by a time of partial elevation of the
plains and diminution of the height of the mountains,
followed by a great and very general submergence, wit)'
much ice-drift preceding the second continental or post-
glacial ])eriod.

Dr. Otto Torell, Director of the Geological Survey of
Sweden, is one of the ablest Scandinavian students of
rieistocene deposits, and has always been an advocate for
the theory of land glaciation, in so far as north-western
Euro})e is concerned. He has also had the advantage of
visiting portions of North America. I had the pleasure
several years ago of guiding him to the best exposures of
glacial and drift-deposits near Montreal. After his return
from America, he stated his general conclusions respecting
our Pleistocene deposits in a short paper published in the
Proceedings of the Royal Academy of Sweden.* In this
he clearly states the conditions necessary to the production
of glaciers as follows :

" 1. Abundance of moisture in the atmosphere.

"2. A low temperature, due either to great elevations
in low latitudes, or to high latitudes with or without such
elevations of land.

* April, 1877.

I'HY.SICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. 97

"Tliese coiulitioiis insure sucli iiccumulatious of snow
above tlie line of perpetual frost as will sooner or later
descend l)elow the line of perpetual snow and be changed
to ice and water.

" The water forms ,i;lacial rivers, and the ice will move
as a plastic mass to a line determined l)y the amount of
snow on tlie one hand and tlie climate on the other.

" The advanciuL!," movement of the glacier is accompanied
by erosion and scratching of the rocks below and by the
formation of dif'l'erent kinds of moraines, as till or blue
1)oulder-clay, and yellow unstratified masses — terminal,
lateral and superficial moraines. Simultaneous with these
phenomena, we have tlie action of tlie glacial rivers,
consisting in a partial denudation of the moraines, and
the formation of stratified gravel, sand and clay."

He next explains his own views of the glaciatiou and
dispersion of erratics from Scandinavia as a centre by the
movement of glaciers, and applies these to America,
admitting, however, that here there must have been
separate centres of dispersion in the east and west. He
tlius states the objections to the current views of American
land-glacialists :

" It lias been the opinion of m my distinguished Ameri-
can geologists that the source of the eastern ice-field is to
be searched for in the Canadian highland. Against this
opinion several important reasons may be urged. First.
in those parts of Canada in wliicli the glaciers in question
are sup])osed to have originated, we have reason to
believe that the rocks are rounded and scratched , pheno-
mena everywhere recognized as glacial, but, I think, in no
case characterizing rocks known to have been covered
witli perpetual snow.
8

98 THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

"Again, tlic elevation and extent of tlie liigliest portions
of Canada are liardly suHicient to aceonnt for the requisite
accunuilation of snow and ice. And, finally, so far as I
have learned, there is not found u[)on tiie rocks of the
nortliern slope of Canada, nor in boulders moved by
glacial force, any satisfactory evidence that there has
been a nortliward as well as southward movement of
glaciers from the hiy-hlands of Canada." *

Kefusing, however, to take into account the Pleistocene
depression and the agency of tioating ice, he finds himself
under the necessity of adopting (Ireenland as the focus of
dispersion and movement of glaciers for north-eastern
America.

" If, therefore, the phenomena of the northern and
eastern United States usually supposed to be glacial are
indeed .such, and if there is not sufficient reas(jn for
assuming the Canadian highlands to have been the source
of the glaciers which produced these phenomena, then
their source nnist be found elsewhere. I think it will be
conceded ])y all geologists who have studied the glacial
phenomena of these regions, that both the character of
the erratics and the direction of the scratches upon the
rocks show that this source must lie to the north-east.
Following the line of glacial movement across Baffin's bay
and Davis' strait into (Ireenland, we find the largest body
of land in the northern hemisphere covered by ice and
snow to a depth of not less than 2,000 feet, and at this
moment sending down its icebergs as far as the Middle
Atlantic.

" From the sixtieth degree of latitude to above the
eightieth, this vast area of land is known to be ice-

* As already stated, later ol)servatious furnish this evidence.

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. 9<)

covered, uiul from the scarcity of the icel)erg.s on the
eastern compared with the western coast of that land, it
may be conchided that the <i;eneral slope of the surface is
to the south-west, and in the exact direction of the glacial
markings and of what is known to have Ijeen the course
of transported l)oulders in nortli-oastern America.

"Moreover, if we bear in mind the ascertained fact that
during tlie glacial period the glaciers moving from the
heights of Greenland toward the sea could not have
formed detached iceliergs, as now, but must have for the
time blocked up all avenues except the one of easiest
escape for the immense accumulation of ice, we may
reasonal)ly assume that this avenue was south-westward
directly across British America and the north-eastern
parts of the United States."

Probably few even of the more extreme glacialists will
think this explanation at all feasible, and Torell himself,
if acquainted with the additional facts ascertained in
recent years, would probably see that it is unnecessary to
go so far for the sources of ice. This will appear clearly
when we consider the following leading facts already
referred to in preceding pages :

1. There is no such universal glaciation of higher
summits as that supposed. On these summits glaciated
surfaces are rare and not strongly marked, and are most
distinctly seen in the valleys and plains, to which also
the boulder formation and till are for the most part
limited.

2. There are the best reasons to believe that in the
Pleistocene period the Laurentian highlands were propor-
tionally more elevated than at present.

3. We now know with certainty that the prevalent
drift on the north side of the Laurentian axis, as well as

100 'i'HE ICK ACJE IN CANADA.

in tlmt of the j^roat Cordilloraii van^o, was to the nortli-
ward, which removes Torell's most important ohjeetioii.

4. Tlic j^reat facts of snhsidoiice to a lar^^e extent in
the rieistocene jteriod, the eU'ects of this on climate and
tlie certainty of the most extensive ])ossi])le action of
floating ice, are not referred to in Torell's theory, and
would of themselves remove his ol)jections, more especially
when we consider th(^ ja-obability that depression of the
plains was accompanied by elevation of the mountains.

It can scarcely be doubted that had these considera-
tions been before the mind of the Swedish geologist, along
with the admitted limitation of glaciers to centres in the
east and west, his general conclusions would coincide
very nearly with those stated in the previous pages witii
reference to the Cordilleran and Laurentian systems of
glaciers and ice-drift over the lower levels.

It seems recently to have been ascertained that, in
Norway, the old 1)each-lines are highest in the middle of
the peninsula of Scandinavia, and descend toward the seii
level at the extremities. This would seem to indicate
that there, as in America, the older sea terraces belong to
the time of the greatest glaciation, and that, if the ice
weighed down the land in the manner indicated bv these
terraces, there could be no height of land maintained to
send land-ice over the continent of Europe so far as
claimed by Scandinavian glacialists.*

The results of the investigations of the " Challenger "
in the antarctic ocean are of great importance with
reference to the formation of marine till and stonv clavs.
The dredge may now indeed be said to have settled this

* Matthew has referred to this in connection with tlie Pleistocene
of New Brunswick in a paper in the Canadian Naturalist, VIII.,
p. 116, 1878.

I'HVSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. 101

question l»y asL'ertiiiiiiii<,' tlio deiiositioii of iiiiuinu lioiilder-
C'lav, or at- leiisl of a (It'j)osiL <»t' sund and clav, with
fnitfnicnls of various rocks over areas i)erliaps as <freat as
those HOW covered with similar (U'posits in tlie northern
lieniisjihere. It is most instructive to find that a bed of
this stony mud is in ])rocess of deposition from ihjatiiiij
ice in Jie soutiiern ocean, and tiiis with such rapidity,
that tlie foraniinifera ami other or^'anisms elsewhere
forming; the dee[>-sea ooze are (juite maskeil by it, while
it is also ])()ssil)le that in some places all traces of these
may be dissolved out by carl)onic acid. It is further
interestiuff to find such deposition taking place so exten-
sively under conditi<jns proljably much less favourable
t^vin those which prevailed in Kurope and America
during the great Tleistocene subsidence.

These facts fully confirm the conclusions stated above
with reference to the Itoulder-clay or till of North
America, and which 1 have endeavoured to establish by
the nature of the deposits now forming in the areas of
ice-drift of the American coast, by the distribution and
chemical contlition of the boulder-clay itself, and by the
occurrence of marine organisms in it. It is to l)e hoped
that in future we shall not have so confident assertion
that these remarkable clays are due to the direct action
of land ice on the surface of our continents.

If the bottom of the South Pacific and Antarctic
oceans could be elevated into land, we should see the
evidence of glacier action on the hills representing the
islands now out of water and extending from these a vast
area of boulder-clay reaching as far north as our similar
records of the Pleistocene submergence spread to the
south, and probably holding in many places marine
organic remains, though there might be expected to be

102 THK ICE AGE IN CANADA.

few, noth on account of the conditions of deposit and the
solvent action of carhctn (hoxide in the cohl hotlom
waters of the ocean. Tiie only point wantinjj; to com-
plete the analogy would he that emhaying and detention
of drift-ice shown on our I'leislocene niaji, and l)y which
the old glacial age was aggravated lioth in Euro]>e and
North America. To [)roduce this would recpiire some
ditl'erential elevation of the hed of the Tacitic toward the
northern margin of the present area of ice-drift.

ClIArTEli IV.

PHYSICAL AND C;LTMATAL C;ONr)ITIONS

(CoNTINTKU).

//. — CatiHCfi of GUu'ldfitiii <(H<I DiHlrilnifiiiu of ErvitticH — Coiiiiiincd.

2. -SEA-BORNE ICE.

2. Wo now come to llic ([ucslloii of dispersion of
Louldeis iiiid tovuiation of lioiddcr-cliiy and striated
surfaces by lloaliu^' ice, wlietlier formed on the sea or
derived from the ends of glaciers discliarging at the level
of the sea. Here we may take for granted the great
submergence of the North American continent, first in
the early glacial period, and sul)se(jnently to a still
greater extent in tiie later glacial period, and that this
submergence was in the earlier })eriod dill'erential, affecting
the plains and not the mountains.

I shall first quote here a letter received several years
ago from my friend, Dr. John llae, F.K.8., a traveller of
almost nnrivalled arctic experience,* and which shows

* September, 1882, Tlie same facts are referred to in a paper l)y
Dr. Rae in the Journal of the Physical Society, 1881.

lOG THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

very clearly what may be effected by floating ice impinging
on shores :

" Having learnt that you took much interest in the
transi)ortation of boulders l)y ice, 1 venture to mention a
peculiar mode in which this is done, which I have not
seen noticed elsewhere.

"When at Ikcpulse bay in 184G-7, I noticed in the
spring that large l)oulders, some of them more than three
feet in diameter, gradually appeared on the surface of the
sea-ice near shore, as the ice wasted away by thaw anil
evaporation. Although I wondered how this was done, I
had no opportunity of proving it until wintering at the
same place in 1853-4.

" First let me say that the rise and fall of the tide is
from eight to ten feet, sometimes more, and that the ice
on Eepulse bay attains a thickness of about eight feet.

" Suppose, then, that a boulder of a good size, say 3i
feet diameter, is lying on the shore, at, or farther out
than low-water mark, in the l)eginning of winter, when
the ice is forming, it comes in contact with the boulder at
low water, and the boulder breaks through it ; but when
the ice becomes two feet or so thick, the boulder freezes
to it, and is lifted with the ice when the tide rises. This
continues all winter, the ice increasing in thickness to
eight feet, soon encloses the boulder inside of it, and
having about four feet of solid ice below. ]>oulders may
thus be carried hundreds of miles.

" There is another phase in connection with this matter.
Supposing boulders are lying in five or six feet of water
or less when it is low water, thete boulders would get
frozen to the lower surface of the ice, and get set into it
as a diamond is set for cutting glass, and would thus be a
good graver of any rocks it might pass over."

PHYSICAL AND CLLMATAL CONDITIONS. 107

To the same effect is the following by Capt. Fieldeu : *

" Sm-icc, moved up and down by tidal action, or driven
on shore by gales, was found to be a very potent agent in
the glaciation of rods and pehhkfi. The work was seen in
progress along the shores of the Polar IJasin. At the
south end of a small island in JMackcliff bav, lat. 82'' 30'
N., the bottoms of the hummocks, some eight to fifteen
feet thick, were studded with hard limestone pebbles,
which, when extracted from the ice, were found to be
rounded and scratched on the exposed surface only.

" On shelving shores, as the tide recedes, the hummocks,
sliding over the subjacent material down to a position of
rest, make a well-marked and peculiar sound, resulting
from the grating of included pchhles, laifk the rock// Jioor
beneath, or in some cases on other pebbles included in
drift overlying the rock."

Action of this kind now taking place along northern
shores must have been carried over all the submerged
portions of the continents in the l*leistocene, and affords
the only rational mode of accounting for the general
striation, not dependant on local glaciers and related to
the lines of valleys, but occurring on the surfaces of the
plains, and on the summits exposed at various times to
the action of ice carried by the northern currents.

hatgc boulder of sandstone deiiositcil \>y modern iee on a sand-bank —
Pelitt'odiac liver, New Brunswick.

* Nares' Arctic Voyage, Vol, II., p. 34.3, quoted, along with other
examples, by Mr. Milne Home.

108 THE ICE AOE IX CANADA.

I have already, in Chapter II., referred to the modern
boulder-belt of the shores of the estuary of <he St.
Lawrence as seen at Little Metis, and may now adduce it
as an exami)le of a pseudo-moraine as well as of detached
groups of lx)ulders, protluced by the present lield-ice in
winter, and giving proof of the movement of great
boulders by this agency and the piling of them up, at and
near the line of low water. The frontispiece shows the
appearance of the boulder-belt at Little Metis, and it is
to be borne in mind that the greater part of the boulders
were originally derived from the Laurentian hills thirty-
five miles or more distant to the northward, and that
these boulders are moved about from year to year by the
ice. Similar facts collected by Capt. Bayfield will be
found in Lyell's l*rinciples of (leology.

I should add here that while the old glacial striae on
the rocks at Little IMetis run N.N.E., there are on the
modern pavements of boulders less pronounced striations
running in a similar direction, ov about N.E., and wiiich
nnist be produced l)y the modern tield-ice drifting up and
down with the tidal currents.

We are indebted to Prof. H. Y. Hind for a graphic
description of the action of sea-ice on the coast of
Labrador, in the form known as " Pan Ice." *

" ' Pan ice ' is derived from bay ice, tioes, and coast ice,
varying from five to ten or twelve feet in thickness, all of
which are broken up during spring storms. When the
disruption of the ice-sheet which seals the fiords, the
island zone, and the sea itself for many miles outside,
continuously, is effected 'n June, the resulting 'pans,' as
the fishermen term tliem, vary in size from a few sipiare

Canadian Naturalist, Vol. VIII., 1877.

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. 109

yards to many acres in extent. The uniform and
unbroken mass of ice in the winter months has no hiteral
motion ; it rises and falls with the tide, but is unaffected
by winds until tlie warmth of spring softens its hold on
the islands to which it is keyed. When the pans are
pressed on the coast by winds, they accommodate them-
selves to all the sinuosities of the shore-line, and being
pushed by the unfailing arctic current, which brings down
a constant supply of tioe ice, the pans rise over all the
low-lying parts of the islands, grinding and polishing
exposed shores, and rasping those tliat are steep- bo. The
pans are shoved over tlie flat surfaces of the islands, and
remove with irresistible force every obstacle which
opposes their thrust, for the attacks are constantly
renewed by the ceaseless ice-stream from the north-east,
and this goes on uninterruptedly for a month or more.
Sometimes a change in the wind brings tlie endless sheet
back again, and it is the middle of July before some of
the fiords are clear of ice. Hence boulders, shingle, and
beaches are rarely seen except in sheltered nooks and
coves, and the masses, pmhed or torn from those surfaces
where cleavage offers a chance of disruption, are urged
into the sea and rounded into boulder form by the rasping
and polishing pans.

" But this is not all of the work of pan ice. The bottom
of the sea, to tlie depth of twelve or fifteen feet, and at
all less depths, is smoothed and planed by the drifting
masses when they pile one on the other, and at depths
less than eight feet, when the pans are driven before the
wind or carried by the currents. In sailing from Aillik
to Nain or to Cape Mugford, the fishermen send a man
aloft to look out for ' White Hocks.' These are promin-
ences or swells in the general level of the sea-bottom

110 THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

among the islands, from wliicli every particle of sea-weed
has l)een removed by })an ice.

" IJuring a period of snl)sidence, the l)Iocks of stone,
boulders, mud, and sand, pushed to and fro on the shallow
sea-bottom by pan ice, ultimately accumulate in hollows
and ravines below its action ; and when the debris is
pushed into profound sulimarine valleys, such as exist on
the Labrador coast, the mass will resemble boulder-clays,
and in a sinking marine area it will accumulate to a
great thickness ; in a rising area it would be liable to be
remodelled by the action of the waves, except in the case
of very deep valleys. There are not many known narrow
and profound submarine valleys on the north-eastern
coast of Labrador, but those which are known otter
precisely the conditions required fi>r the accumulation of
boulder-clays or drift by the action of pan ice.

" The seaward extension of Uksuktak fiord, which lies a
little to the south of Hopedale, attbrds an apt illustration.
Commander Maxwell's soundings show a profouiul sub-
marine ravine between clusters of islands for upwards of
eight miles, in which the depth reaches 124, 126, 128,
106, and 130 fathoms, lietween the islands of Niata'-:
and Paul, near Nain, the lead shows 71 fathoms. It is
evident that the material torn from the surrounding
islands by pan ice, and pushed along the bottom of the
sea into these profound submarine valleys during a period
of general submergence, will be protected from the action
of the waves, and the loose blocks and boulders will have
a forced arrangement in the mud, as if they had been
pushed over a bank, and thus produce the irregular dis-
position so frecpiently seen in boulder-clay deposits. In
such narrow and profound valleys as those instanced, the
accumulation of boulder-drift probably goes on at the

PHYSICAL AND CLLMATAL CONDITIONS. m

present time, and may continue during a period of eleva-
tion, until large portions of the drift are raised above the
sea-level and beyonil the inHuence of the waves, which
will attack only its sea front. J^ut the agent wliich gives
rise to this lietcrogeneous mass is pan ice, and the forma-
tion of boulder clay is very proljably a part of its work
over a vast area on the Lal)rudor coast at the present day,
throughout the labvrinth of islands which friui^e that
coast to a depth of 20 miles seawards."

There can be no doubt, as Dr. G. M. IJawson has pointed
out in the case of the western plains and of l>ritish
Columl)ia, that the typical boulder-clay spread over the
country and filling pre-existing hollows is nuich more of the
luiture of the deposits now forming by field, tloe, and ])an
ice under water, than of anything of the nature of the
bottom moraine of a glacier. Its nuiterial may, however,
have been added to and its arrangement afi'ected by the bergs
thrown off from the foot of glaciers terminating in the sea.

An important question arises here as to the means of
distinguishing sea from land glaciation. Tiiis I believe to
be quite possible if careful observations are nuide. Sea
glaciation is always accompanied with much smoothing
and polishing, and on very hard rocks the striation is
comparatively imperfect, while it is usually not quite
uniform in direction and often presents two sets of sti'iae.
Tiie action of true land glaciers, especially when thick
and moving down considerable slopes, produces deep
grooves, as well as striae, on vertical as well as horizontal
surfaces, and is more fixed and uniform. The more intense
forms of sea glaciation, especially if long continued, J^"j,
however, approach very closely to the effects of land ice.

The action of icebergs is undoubtedly, though not the
chief, one of the most important manifestations of ice-

112 THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

power ; and while it is ([iiite wrong to designiite any
theory of glaciation by floating ice as an " Iceberg theory,"
these hnge ice-islanils are not to ])e neglecteil in our
estimate of factors in the work of transport and planing
of snrfaces. Their main agency is, of course, in the arctic
seas, but their ed'ects are felt as far south as the coast of
Newfoundland and the entrance to the gulf of St.
Lawrence, where alone I have had any opportuity of
observing them.

The snow-clad hills of Crreenland send down to the sea
great glaciers, which, in the bays and fiord.-- of that
inhospitable region, form at their extremities huge cliffs
of solid ice, and annually " calve," as the seamen say,
or give off a great progeny of ice islands which, slowly
drifted to the southward by the arctic current, pass
along the American coast, diffusing a cold and bleak
atmosphere, until they melt in the warm waters of the
Gulf stream. Many of these bergs enter the straits of
Belle-Isle, for the arctic current clings closely to the coast,
and a part of it seems to be deflected into the gulf of St.
Lawrence through this passage, carrying with it many
large bergs.

Mr. Vaughan, late superintendent of the lighthouse at
Belle-Isle, has kept a register of icebergs, for several years.
He states that for ten which enter the straits, fifty drift
to the southward, and that most of those which enter
pass inward on the north side of the island, drift toward
the western end of the straits, and then pass out on the
south of the island, so that the straits seem to be merely
a sort of eddy in the course of the bergs. The number
in the straits varies much in different seasons of the year.
Tlie greatest number are seen in spring, especially in May
and June ; and toward autunni and in the winter very few

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. 113

remain. Those wliieli remain until .lutiimn are reduced
to mere skeletons; but if they survive until winter, they
figuin j^frow in dimensions, owing to the accumulation
upon them of snow and new ice. Those that I liave seen
early in July were large and nuissive in their ])ro[)ortions.
The few that remained in Septcmher were smaller in size
and cut into fantastic ami toppling j)innacles. Vaughan
records that on the 30th of May, l8o8, he counted in the
straits of Belle-Tsle 49(3 bergs, the least of them sixty feet
in height, some of tliem half a mile long and two hundred
feet high. Only one-eighth of the volume of floating ice
appears above water, and many of tiiese great l)ergs may
thus touch the ground in a deptli of thirty fathoms or
more, so that if we imagine four hundred of them moving
up and down under the iuHuenceof the current, oscillating
slowly with the motion of the sea, and grinding on tiie
rocks and stone-covered l)()tt(un at all depths from the
centre of the channel, we may form some conception of
the elfects of these huge polishers of tlie sea-Hoor.

Of the bergs wiiicii pass outsitle of tlie straits, many
ground on the banks oM' ]Jelle-Tsle. Yaughan has seen a
hundreil large bergs aground at one time on the banks,
and they ground on vari<jus parts of the banks of New-
foundland, and all along the coast of that island. As
they are borne by the deei)-seated cold current, and are
scarcely at all ali'ected Ijy the wind, they move somewhat
uniforndy lu a direction from X.E. to S.W., and when
they touch the bottom the striatiou or grooving which
they produce nuist l>e in that direction.

In passing through the straits in July, one sees a great

number of l)ergs. Home are low and flat-topped with

perpendicular sides, others concave or roof-shaped like

great tents pitched on the sea; others are rounded

9

114 THE ICK A(iK IX CANADA.

ill outline oi' rise; into towers and })iiiiiiieles. ^fost; of
them are of a jairc dead while, like loaf .su;j;ar, shaded
with ])ale Iduisii ^rei'ii in the ,ii;reat rents and reeent
fractnres. A few of thiMu seem as if tln'V had ,nrounded
and then overtnrned, presenting- a Hat and seored snrface
covered with sand and earthy matter.

Viewed as i^eolo^deal agents, the icebergs are, in the first
])laee, j)arts of the eosmieal arrangements for e(|nali/;ing
temperature, and for dispersing ilu! gresit accumulations
of ice in the arctic regions, which might otherwise
unsettle the climatic and even the static e([uililtrium of
our glol)e, as they are believed liy some imaginative
physicists and geologists to have done in the so-called
glacial period. If the ice-islands in the Atlantic, like
lum[>s of ice in a i)itc]ier of water, chill our climate in
spring, they are at the same time agents in preventing a
still more serious secular chilling which might result
from the growth without limit of the arctic snow and ice.
They are also constantly employed in wearing down the
arctic land, and aided by the great northern current from
J.)avis's straits, in scattering its debris of stones, boulders
and sand over the banks along the American coast.
Incidentally to this work, they smooth and level the
higher parts of the sea bottom, and mark it with furrows
and striae indicative of the direction of their own motion.
In this manner nndtitudes of boulders from JialUn's bay
are annually distributed along the bed of the arctic
current off the American coast, and are buried in the
accumulations of mud which are being laid down on the
banks by this current ; while in the strait of IJelle-Isle
the same effects are being produced, on a small scale,
which, in the I'leistocene period, were produced in tlie
greater and wider strait then formed by the St. Lawrence

PHYSICAL AND CLLMATAL CONDITIONS. US

valley, and in whicli the icel)ergs from the far north were
probal)ly reinforced l»y ,<:j;reat numbers of similar masses
descendinf; from tlie Laurenlian hills on the north side of
that valley, as well as liy the field-ice formed along its
shores.

I hiive referred in Acadian (leology * to the ingenious
theory of J )arwin us to the transport of boulders from lower
to higher levels by tloalin*' ice in a subsiding condition of
the land.f This theory, in my judgment, still affords the
only satisfactory explanation of such facts as the trans-
ference of slal)S of sandstone from the plains of Cumber-
land and tlie St. Mary's river in Xova Scotia to the
summits of liills several hundred feet higher than the
original seats of the erratics. Facts of this kind are not
infre(|uent througliout Eastern Canada, and are quite
inexplicable on any theory of land glaciation.

As to transport of materials l)y floating ice, it is almost
superfluous to give farther details. A few examples and
a few applications to the I'leistocene may l)e mentioned.
AVe have already seen that extensive boulder-drift is now
taking place in tlie lower St. Lawrence, and that our
boulder beaches and pavements almost rival the so-calJed
moraines of the Pleistocene. Even on lake margins the
ice produces appearances of the same kind on a small scale.
The writer long ago ilescribed these in Nova Scotia, J and
Spencer has correlated the ancient and modern margins
on the larger Canadian lakes. § The removal of large
boulders by the ice is a matter of constant occurrence on
our shores, and tlie dredges of the " Challenger " took \i\)

* Fourth Edition, p. 65.

t Journal of London Geol. Society, Vol. IV., p. 315.
X Acadian Geology. Report on Frince Edward Island.
g Bull. Geol. Sooy. America, Vol. I.

116 THK ICK ACiE IN CANADA.

boulilcrs from tho baiik.s otl' the Aineriean coast, from
vvhic'li I had ]>revioii.sIy recorded travelled stones taken
up by tiu^ hooks of fishermen which became fixed on
organisms growin_i( on them. Off the ends of the (Jreen-
land <^daciers in liaflin's bay and elsewhere, such dejKjsit.s
must be proceedinj,' on a f^n^'antic scale. The Keports of
the " C.'hallenj^fer " show, as already stated, that over vast
oceanic areas lyin*,' to the north of the antarctic continent,
deposits of stones and other debris falling' from ice are so
abun''ant as 'oo mask the organic accumulations. In like
manner immense deposits of submarim; inoriLranic matter
are bein<4 de))osite(l in the arctic seas in the track of the
icebergs and tlie drift floe-ice.

If now we turn to the IMeistocene accuniidations on the
land, I have shown that throughout the vall(?y of the
lower St. Lawrence the old till or liouldcr-chiv contains
marine shells, and in the ovei'lying deposits, the upper
Leda clay and Saxieava sand, these are extremely abun-
dant. I)oth of these deposits contain far-travelled
boulders often of great si/e, and these have been carried
to great heights. On ^lontreal mountain marine shells
occur at an elevation of neaily GUO feet, and at a still
greater height Ixmlders which have been derived from the
Laurentian highlands to the north. On still higher
terraces, up to 1,200 feet, from Lal)rador* to the foot of
lake Ontario, there arc shore beaches and l)oulders,
though in the west they have nijt afforded marine shells.

To the southward, ITpham has found marine shells in
the boulder-clay near P)Oston up to an elevation of 200
feet.^f- It is true this is in Drundins or detached iiills,

* Richardson.

t Ain. Journal of Science, May, 1889.

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. 117

hut tlu!S(; are not unlikely iiMdenudod portions of former
beds, lie also suppose.s tliein to have been ])Ushed up
from the sea by an iee-sheet, which, however, I am sure,
if consulted, woidd refuse to do him any such .service.

Dr. IVU informs me that drift deposits containin<^ shells
occur on the north of the Laurentian axis, facing' llud.son's
bay, in many localities, and that in t)ne of these they
reach to within l'X> miles of lake Superior, and are at an
elevation of (52') feet, or very nearly that of the lake
itself.

I have already referred to the ol)servations of ]Jr. (}. M.
])awson with reference to the Missouri coleau, one of the
j^reatest ridges of drift in the world. Ifis description of
it merits (quotation here, as a remarkable example of an
old sea marj^in.*

" The •.,aeat drift-rid<^e of the Missouri coteau at first
sight resembles a gigantic glacier-moraine ; and, marking
its course on the map, it might be argued that the nearly
parallel line of elevations, of which Turtle mountain forms
one, are remnants of a .second line of moraine produced as
a feebler effort by the retiring ice-sheet.

" Such a glacier must either have been the southern
extension (jf a polar ice-cap, or derived from the elevated
Laurentian region to the east and nortli ; but I think, in
view of the })hysical features of the country, neither of
tiiese theories can l)e sustained.

"To reach the country in the vicinity of the forty-
ninth parallel a northern ice-sheet would have to move
up the long slojje from the Arctic ocean and cross the
second transverse w^atershed ; then, after descending to the
level of the Saskatchewan valley, again to ascend the

* Quarterly Journal London Oeol. Society, 1875.

lis

THK K'K A<;K IX CANADA.

^ slopii (aimiiintiii<i;, as has

I Itt'i'ii shown, t(t (iNcr t'oiii'

;5 foci Iter iiiiU') tn the lirst,

^^ transverse watei-shed and

^ plalean (if the IJ^'nitf

S TerLiar\'. Such an ice-

t- sheet, moving' ihrouuh-

"c out on hi'oad itlains of

2; I soft, unconsohdalcd Cre-

J t laccous and Tertiary

" = rocUs, would he ex])ected

r ^ to mark the surfaces with

^ hroad Ihilin^s parallel to

I I its direction, and to oh-

2. t literate the transverse

% ": watersheds and valleys.

5 ti " If it l>e supposeil that

= ^ a hu;4e <flacier, restin<^

I I on the Laurent ian axis,

0 I s])read westward across

1 I the plains, the i)hysical

p, E (Utru'iiltics arc cvuii more

p 3 serious. The ice inoviuLj

I '

gained the second prairie-

? southward, after hazing'

I descended into the J{ed-

I lliver trough, would have

I had to ascenil the eastern

I escarpment of soft Cre-

5 taceous rocks forming its

^ western side, which in

■s one place rises over 900

" feet ahove it. Having
steppe, it would have ha<i to

IMIVSit Al, AND CIJMATAr- CONMU'llONS. ] ]()

|iiiMH Nvcstwiird u|> its slojiiiii,' siirfiU'i*, .suniioiint the soft
t'd^ft! of llic tliinl st('ii|ic witlidiii iinicli alUirinj^ its form,
iiiul liiially tcnniimU' oNcr TOO luili's fioiii its soiii'ce, iiml
ill ii lii'ii;lit cxcci'tliiii^' lli(! ]tr('S('iit t'liAJitioii of ilic Luurcn-
tiiiii axis liy •»\t'i' 2,000 feut. The (lislril)iitioii df the
drift ('([iially iu'_u;ali\('.s i-ilhcr of these theories, which
would supixise the passage of an iiiiineiisc* t^'laeier across
the phuiis.

" In attrihiilin.u; the ;^lacial itheiioiiiena of the great
l)laiii to tlie action of tloating ice, I find myself in accord
with I )r. Hector, who has studied a great jiart of the
Itasin of the Saslvutehewan — and also, us far as 1 can
judge from his vei)orts, with Dr. Ifayden, who, more than
any oilier geologist, has had the o|)|toi'tunity of Ix-eoming
familiar with all parts of the Western States.

" The glaciating agent of tlu! Laurcnitian jdateau in the
Lake of the Woods region, however, cannot have been
other than glacier ice. The rounding, .striation aiul
polishing of the i'o(d<s there are glacier work ; and ice-
bergs iloaling, witii however steady a current, cannot be
supposed to have ])assed over the higher n^gion of the
watershed to the north, and then, following the direction
of the stria' and gaining ever deeper water, to have borne
down on the subjacent rocks. The slo[)e of the axis,
however, is too small to account for the spontaneous
ilescent of ordinary glaciers. In a distance of about 30
miles, in the vicinity of the Lake of the Woods, the fall
of the general surface of the country is only about 3i feet
to the mile. The height of the watershed region north-
east of the lake has not been actually measured ; but near
Lac Seul, which closely corresponds with the direction
required by glaciati(.)n, according to Mr. Selwyn's measure-
ments, it cannot be over 1,400 feet. The height of land

120 THE ICE A(iE IN CANADA.

ill other parts of tlie Laureiitiau region is very uuiforuily
between about 1,000 and 1,200 feet. Allowing, then,
1,000 feet as a maximum for the region north-east of the
Lake of the Woods, and taking into account the height of
that lake and the distance, the general slope is not greater
than about three feet [)er mile — an estimate agreeing
closely with the last, which is for a smaller area and
obtained in a different way. This .slope cannot be con-
sidered sufficient to impel a glacier over a rocky surface,
which Sir "William Logan has well characterized as
' mamillated,' unless the glacier be a conHuent one pressed
outwards mainly by its own weight and mass.

" Such a glacier, I conceive, must have occupied the
Laurentiun highlands ; and from its wall-like front were
detached the icebeigs which strewed the tlt^bris over the
then submerged plains, and gave rise to the various
monuments of its action now found there.

" The sea, or a body of water in communication with it,
which niay have been during the first stages of the
depression partly or almost entirely fresh, crept slowly
upward and spread westward across the plains, carrying
with it icebergs from the east and north. During its
progress most of the features of the glacial deposits were
impressed. In the section described at Long river, we
find evidence of shallow current-deposited banks of local
material, afterwards, with deepening water, planed off by
heavy ice depositing travelled boulders.

" The sea reaching the edge of the slope constituting
the front of the highest prairie-level, the deposition of the
Coteau began, and must have kept pace with the increas-
ing depth of the water, and prevented the action of heavy
ice on the front of the Tertiary plateau. The water may

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. 121

also have been too nmcli encuinbereil with ice to allow
the formation of heavy waves.

"The isolated drift liighlands of the second plateau,
including the Touchwood hills, Moose mountain and
Turtle mountain, must also at this time have been formed.
With regard to the two former, I do not know whether
there is any preglacial nuf leus round which drift-bearing
icebergs may have gathered. There is no reason to
suppose that Turtle mountain had any such predisposing
cause ; but it would appear that a shoal once formed, by
currents or otherwise, must have been perpetuated and
built up in an increasing ratio by the grounding of the
floating ice.

" The Kocky mountains were probably also at this time
covered with descending glaciers ; but these would appear
to have been smaller than those of the Lauren tian axis,
as might, indeed, be pre-supposed from their position and
comparatively small gathering-surface. The sea, when it
reached their base, received from them smaller icebergs ;
and by these and the shore-ice the quartzite-drift deposits
appear to have been spread. That this material should
have travelled in an opposite direction to the greater mass
of the drift is not strange ; for while the larger eastern
and northern icebergs may have moved with the deeper
currents, the smaller western ice may have taken direc-
tions caused by surface-currents from the south and west,
or even been impelled by the prevailing winds. Some of
the Laurentian ddhris, as we have seen, reached almost to
the mountains, while some of the quartzite -drift can be
distinguished far out towards the Laurentian axis.

" The occurrence of Laurentian fragments at a stage in
the subsidence when, making every allowance for subse-
quent degradation, the Laurentian axis must have been

122 THE ICE A(JE IX CANADA.

far below water, would tend to sliow that the weisj^ht and
mass of tlie ice-cap was such as to enable it to remain a,-
a glacier till submergence was very deep.

" The emergence of the land would .seem to have been
more rapid; or, at least, I do not Hud any phenomena
requiring long action at this period. The water in retreat
must have rearranged to some extent a part of tlic
surface-materials. The (piartzite-drift of the third steppe
was probaljly more uniforndy spread at this time, and a
part of the surface seul]>ture of the drift-deposits of the
second plateau may have been produced. It seems certain,
liowever, tliat the llocky mountains still held compara-
tively small glaciers, and that the I.aurentian region on
its emergence was again clad to some extent with ice, for
at least a short time. The closing e])isode of the glacial
period in tins regi(jn was the formation of the great fresli-
water lake uf the Ifcd Kiver \alley, or first prairie-level
(which was only grajlually drained), and the re-excavation
of the river-courses.

" It must not l)e concealed that there are difficulties yet
unaccounted for bv the theory of the glaciation and
deposit of drift on tlie ])lains by icebergs ; and chief
among these is the absence, wherever I have examined
the deposits and elsewhere (ner the West, of the remains
of marine mollusca or other forms of marine life. With
a submergence as great as that necessitated by the facts,
it is impossible to explain the exclusion of the sea; for,
besides the evidence of the higher western ])l{v'ns and
llocky mountains, there are terraces between the Lake of
the Woods and lake Superior nearly to the summit of the
Laurentian axis, and corresponding beach-marks on the
face of tlie northern part of the second prairie escarpment.

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. 123

" Mr. Belt, in an interesting paper (Quart. Journ. Oeol.
Soc, Nov., 1874), deals with similar ditticiilties in exi)lain-
ing tlie glaciation of Siberia. The nortliern jiart of Asia
appears in many ways to reseml)le tliat of America ;
surrounded l)y mountain-ehains on all sides save the
north, it is a sort of interior continental l)asin covered
witli 'vast level sheets of sand and loam.' As in the
interior regions of America, marine shells are absent, or
are only found along the low ground of the northern
coast. To account for tiiese facts, Mr. l>elt resorts to a
theory first suggested l)y him eight years ago, l)y whicii
he supj)oses the existence of a j)olar ice-sheet capable of
blocking up the entire northern front of the country, and
damming back its waters to form an immense fresh-water
lake. The outfall of this lake, during its highest stage,
lie supposes to have l)een through the depression l)etween
the southern termination of the Ourals and the western
end of tiie Altai to the Aral and Cas[»ian seas."

Tlie main dilHculty in the way of this masterly ex-
planation is the great heiglit above the sea of the western
part of the plains; but this is now met by the ])rol)ability
of the depression of the plains contemporaneously witii
the elevation of the Cordillera, since suggested by the
author of the extract. To the absence of marine shells
from the deposits of the plains no importance need be
attached. The water may have been cold and brackish,
and in all gefdogical periods gravels, sands and conglom-
erates usually have few marine fossils.

In 188;3 I had an opportunity of going over the same
ground, and my notes resi)ecting it are as follows : *

The Cireat ]\Iissouri coteau to which Dr. (1. j\I.
Dawson first directed prominent attention as a glacial

* s

See Journal Geol. Society of London, 1883.

124 'A'HE ICK A(iK IN CANADA.

feature, and which fringes the margin of the thiril plateau,
about 400 miles west of Winnipeg, is now known to be
continuous witli similar ridges extending southward into
the United Slates and eastward towards tlie Atlantic,
and which have been descrilied as the terminal moraine
of a great continental glacier. In the western plains,
however, where it has its greatest development, it cannot
be explained in this way, but must mark the margin of
an ancient glacial sea, or at least of that deeper portion of
such sea in which heavy ice could float, while in its upper
portion it shows evidence of having been, in the later
periods of its formation, an actual water-margin.

The railway, taking advantage of the oblicpie valley of
Thunder creek, crosses the coteau at one of its least-
marked portions, l)ut where it still jiresents very definite
and striking characters. On entering it, the railway
passes for nearly thirty miles througli a rolling or broken
country, consisting of successive ridges and mounds inter-
spersed with swales and alkaline ponds without outlet.
To this class belongs a somewhat extensive series of lakes
known as the " Old Wives' Lakes." The iiighest point of
the coteau on this section is near Secretan Station.

As seen in the road-cutting, the basis of the ridges
appears to consist of thick beds of imperfectly stratified
clay, derived from the disintegration of the local Creta-
ceous beds, but with many Laurentian boulders. In one
place the clay was observed to be crumpled as if by
lateral pressure. Above the clay are stratified gravels,
also with large boulders, most abundant at top. The
ridges are highest and most distinct at the eastern or
lower side, and gradually diminish towards the upper or
western margin, where they terminate on the broadly
rolling surface of the upper prairie.

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. 1 2~t

The liistoiy of the coteau would seem to have been as
follows :

1. The excavation in pre-glacial times of an edge or
esearimieut in the gently sloping surface of the Cretaceous
and Laramie beds, and the cutting by subaerial causes of
couk'es and valleys of streams in this escarpment.

2. Submergence in the glacial period, in such a manner
as to permit heavy ice loaded with Laurentian dchrU to
ground on the edge of the escarpnient and deposit its
burden there, while at the period of greatest submergence
deep water must haAc extended nnich further westward.
Tiiese conditions must have continued for a long time and
with somewhat variable deptli of water.

'?. lie-ele\ation, during whicii gravel ridges wen;
formed, until at length the coteau became the coast-line
of a shallow sea, which lingered at a later date along the
line already referi'ed to in advance of the coteau.

4. On the re-elevation of the country, the transverse
ravines and vallevs were so eft'ectuallv dammed up l)v
the glacial ridge, that the surface waters of tiie regitjn,
now comparatively arid, have to remain as alkaline lakes
and poiuls behind the coteau.

The upper })i'airie plateau, extending from the coteau
to the Itocky mountains, has, on its general surface, com-
paratively few l)oulders ; yet these are locally numerous,
especially on the eastern and northern sides of some
gentle elevations of the prairie. They cfisist, as before,
of Laurentian gneiss, Huronian schists, antl yellow Silurian
limestone, all derived from the eastern side of the plains,
some of the boulders of Laurentian gneiss being of great
dimensions. Some of these have been used in modern times
by the buffalo as rubbing-stones,and are surrounded by basin-
shaped depressions formed by the feet of these animals.

12G THK ICE AGE IN CANADA.

That stron<^ currents of water have traversed this
ui)per plain, is shown not only hy the occasional ridges of
gravel, but V)y the depressions known as " slues," wiiich
must have heen excavated subaqueous currents.

Near Medicine Hat a terrace of lioulders was seen at
an elevation of about 200 feet above the river ; and in
sections of the drift observed in coulees, the boulders were
seen to be arranged in layers ; l)ut whether these appear-
ances had relation to Huviatile action, before the excavation
of the deep valley of the Saskatchewan, or belonged to
the orignal distribution of the drift, was not apparent.

Laurentian boulders were seen all the way to Calgary,
but with an increasing proportion of (puirtzite boulders
from the liocky mountains; and on the banks of the Bow
river were large beds of rounded pebbles will must
have been swept by water out of the valleys of the
mountains, and are quite similar to those now observed in
the bed of the I)Ow itself.

Beyond this. Dr. (1. M. Dawson has recorded Lauren-
tian boulders and fragments of limestone from the eastern
Paheozoic beds, at elevations of from 4,200 to above 5,000
feet,* at the foot of the liocky mountains, evidencing a
driftage of at least 800 miles, and an elevation consider-
ably al)ove that of the sources from which they came.
He well observes that anything which would explain the

* " Many of these (Laurentian erratics along or near the base of the
mountains between the 49th and aOth parallels) lie at heights exceeding
4,000 feet, while the highest observed instances of their occurrence are
at an elevation of 5,289 feet above the present sea-level, the erratics
being here stranded upon moraine ridges due to local glaciers which
have flowed out from the valleys of the Rocky mountains, probably
during the first maximum of glaciation. These erratics are known to
have come a distance of at least 500 miles from the eastward." — G. M.
Dawson.

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIOXS. ] 27

origin of the coteau must also explain the transport of
these houlders so far above it and beyond its limits, as
well as the contemporaneous distribution of boulders
from the Jlocky mountains to the eastward. These
phenomena are explicable on the hypothesis of a nlacial
sea of varying depth, but not on that of land gladation,
which would also be inapplicable in a region necessarily
of so small precipitation of moisture and occupied by soft
deposits so little suited to the movement of glaciers, yi
fortiori the same explanation a})i)lies to that great tail of
di%'iH extending from the southern end of the Afissouri
coteau across the continent, and which forms the great
" terminal moraine " of the continental glacialists. The
fact that this so-called moraine sometimes occurs where
there is no elevated shore innnediately outside of it con-
stitutes no objection to this, since there may have been
unequal elevation. There is, nevertheless, good evidence
of the action of glaciers on a large scale in certain portions
of the glacial periods, both on the Uocky mountains and
on the Laurentian hills and table-lands to the east.

3. -ICE-FRESHETS IX RIVERS.

3. A cause of boulder-drift to which too little import-
ance has been attached, is what may l)e termed " ice
freshets" in the rivers of northern latitudes. Lyell Ju\s
summed up some facts of this kind in relatioii to the
rivers of Siberia, and IJelgrand has referred to the
evidence in the valley of the Somme. On a small scale,
I have noted the effects of these ice-floods in Xova Scotia
and New Brunswick. They occur in early spring, when
sudden thaws and violent rains sometimes occur before
the ice in the rivers has broken up. In these circum-
stances, the rivers rising break up the ice on their

128 THE ICE A(iE IN CANADA.

surfaces, and sweep it downward, laden with uprooted
trees, timber, stones and j^ravel. The destruction of roads,
bridges, and otlier property, and the tearing up and bury-
ing under rid)bish of meadows, are sometimes terrific.
Fortunately, such freshets occur only at long intervals,
but the loss and injury which they cause are long
remembered, and tlie ridges and niounds of (Ubris wliich
tliey deposit remain as nu;mentoes of their destructive
power. Logan lias well described* the annual breaking
up, or " siiove," of the ice on the 8t. Lawrence, whicli,
though a comparatively ipiiet phenomenon, piles up ridges
of stone where the Hoes of ice ground. In the Pleistocene
period, sucli ice-freshets and shoves must have been
frequent, and it is not uidikely that some of the gravel
deposits whicii are credited to the melting of the
continental glacier are due to their agency.

4.-B0RDAGE ICE.

4. A s[)ecial ice agency of some importance is that In
wliich ^Ir. Chalmers has directed attention on the coast
of the bay des Clialeurs.-f-

Mr. Cbalmers describes the rocks of various paleozoic
periods, along the south side of the bay des Chaleurs, as
presenting a somewhat flat and even surface to a height
of 50 to 75 feet above the sea level. A similar appearance
is presented by the beds below the sea level along the
coasts. He connects this with the action of floating ice,
now very evident in the bay. In winter a fixed border
of ice is formed along the coast, from two to six feet thick,
and extending from the shore for a distance of from half
a mile to several miles. Tlie open portion of tiie bay is
generally full of loose floes.

* Journal Geol. Society.

t Canadian Record of Science.

PHYSICAL AND CLLMATAL CONDITIONS. | Of)

III JMarch iuul Ai>ril the inurgiiiul sheets Itreak up into
tlues, and drift up and down the bay, and the ice in the
bay is often reinforced l)y lar^e fields from the gulf
witliout. These sheets of ice grind over the reefs and
impinge on the shores with great force, and, evidently, at
l)resent, exert a great erosive and transporting power.
In the latter [)art of the Pleistocene period, when the
land stood at a lower level and the climate was, possibly,
colder, their action may have been still more powerful.
This action of iloating ice is similar to that which has
been jiointed out by Admiral liaylleld in the river 8t.
Lawrence, and by the writer on the coast of Nova .Scotia ;
but Mr. Chalmers believes that it has had a somewhat
exceptional ])ower on the south side of the bay des
Chaleurs, which renders its influence there unusually
conspicuous and instructive.

r..-TCE IN TIDAL ESTUARIES.

5. Still another form of ice-drift is that of ice-floes in
tidal estuaries, which is seen in, perhaps, its extreme
development in those of the bay of Fundy. In Acadian
geology I have noticed the removal of large boulders in
this way, and the Lower St. Lawrence may l)e regarded
as a tidal estuary ; but I have seen merely the elTects, not
the actual operation, of the ice in winter and early spring,
and Hind has given so graphic and complete a picture of
the phenomena,* that I cannot do better than reproduce
it in his own words. Tiie agency which he de -scribes has,
not improbably, been concerned in the production of those
curious patches of sand and clay frequently seen in
boulder-clay and gravel beds, and whose origin is often
difficult to comprehend.

* Canadian Monthly, Sept. 1875.
10

130 I'HK ICK AOK IN CANADA.

" Tlie appearance of an esluaiy in the bay of Fiuuly at
any time in mid-winter, ])re-<ents some sinjfular and
strikin^Lf phenomena, which may contribute to our know-
ledjfe of the manner in which (UfCerent agents have
assisted in excavatinf? this extrain-dinary l)ay, and are
now engaged in extending its domain in some directions
and reducing it in others.

" Within an liour or so of flood tide, the estuary is seen
to l)e full of masses of floating ice, nuul-stained, and,
sometimes, but not often, loaded with earth, stones, or
pieces of marsh. The tide, flowing at a rate of four or
five miles an hour, rushes past with its broad, ice-laden
current until the flood. A rest, or ' stand,' then occurs,
of varial)le (hiration. J)uring this l)rief period all is
repose and (piiet, but uS soon as the ebb begins, the
innumerable 1 docks of ice commence to move, and in half
an hour they are as swiftly gliding noiselessly towards
the sea, as an hour l)efore they t-wiftly and noiselessly
glided from it. It ])roduces in the mind of one who sees
these ice-streams for the first time, moving up the wide
river faster than he can conveniently walk, a feeling of
astonishment, akin to awe, which is heightened rather
than dinnnishcd if he should return to the same point of
view half an lujur later, and find the ice-stream rushing
as im])etuously as before in exactly the opposite direction.

"During the ebb tide many of the larger blocks ground
on the sand-bars, so that when the tide is out the extensive
fiats are covered with ice-blocks innumeral)le. If the
period between the ebb iind the return of the flood is
very cold, the stranded ice-blocks freeze to the sand-bars
or mud-tiats and are covered l)y the returning tide, hut
only until the warm tidal water succeeds in thawing the
frozen sand or muil around tiie base of the ice-block, and

PHYSICAL AND CUMATAL CONDITIOXS. |;{l

it is eiiiilded, l»y means of its less spocilic ^Tuvity, to
break away with a frozen layer of mud or sand attaclied
to it. It readies the s\irfaee of the water with a hound,
and is instantly swe[>t away by the ineominjj; tide. The
s[)ectacle thus presented l)y an extensive sand-bar after a
few hours (jf freezing weather, is most e.xtraordinary ;
the whole snrface of the tlood or ebl) becomes suddenly
alive wilh ])loeks of ice, sprin,Lfin».f np from below, each
carrying away its burden of sand or mud frozen to its
base. J^ater in the season, towards the middle of March,
thi=j singular plienomenon can be seen to the best advantage,
and it is curious to watch a block of, say, ten feet srpiaro
by five or six in thickness, being gradually covered by the
tide until it becomes lost to view for an hour or more,
during which time the water may have risen three or four
feet above it. ' When least expected ' up the submerged
mass springs ; it has In'oken loose from the frozen bottom,
it seems to stagger and pause for a few moments at the
surface, and then joins the rest of the icy stream on their
monotonous journey, nutii it is again stranded on some
other flat or bar during the ebl^ing tide. ]>ut this is only
a small part of the history of these ice-blocks, for, during
neap tides, it often happens that a block is stranded in
such shallow water that the flood has not ])Ower to raise
it from the substratum to which it is frozen. The block
grows there with every tide ; fresh films of ice and tidal
nmd form all round it four times during every twenty-
four hours. It receives accessions from falling snows, and,
by the time the spring tides begin, it has greatly increased
in size and is more firmly frozen or weighted to the sand-
bar. Even the spring tides may not have the power to
free it from its icy bonds if the weather has been
extremely cold ; the consequence is that it goes on

]:V2 THK ICK ACK IN CANADA.

incnm.siiii,' in sizo, and actually liccftiuos a niim'atuvo Ikt}^,
containing' sonic tlioitsands of cnl»i(^ feci of ice and iniid,
and still retainini' a hnovancv wliicli will cniddi! it, after
a tliaw, (hiring' lii,i,'li sprini;- tidi's, to break awjiy wiili a
load of (/''hri>i, and carry it eitlior out to sea (»r up the
estiuiry, and, if it should chance to he stranded aj^ain, it
will prohably leave a |)orti()n (»f its Imrden, jirovided it
has not melted oil' durinij- its vovau:e with the tide, lint
there can he no douht that S(tine of the attached sand,
mud, or shinj^le is melted oil' durin;^' the journey of the
block or miniature herfj, and drops into the hed of the
river or estuary. Fn reality, these ice-cakes, when in
motion, are per])etually strewing' tlu^ bottom with trans-
ported materiid and biin^inn- a portion from one place to
another, duriui,' about five houi's of the tlood, and ciirryin*^
part of it l>ack ai^ain, duriiin' five hours of cblt, to the
limits of the backward and forward tidal ran<,'e of each
particular ice-cake. lUit when they accumulate in an
eddy, they become ])owerful carriers and dej)ositors of
detritus, and if artificial obstructions be introduced so as
to form an eddy in the usual course of the ice-stream, thi;
accumulation nmst necessarily be very rapid."

6.— CONTINENTAL ELKVATION AND DEI'RKSSION.

6. IJefoi'C leavint^ this summary of causes, it is necessary
to make a few ,t^eneral stater 'Mits res[)ectin_u; elevation
and depression. The first ano most important is that,
from the great I'liocene elevation onward, sul)sidence
and re-elevation were always in prot,ness. At each stage
of these there must have been corres])onding geogra-
phicfil conditions and varying facilities for distribution
of travelled detritus. In regard, therefore, to the causes
of any particular deposit, one of the most important

rilVSlCAL AM) CMMATAL (OXDITIOXS. l^;;

(|ue.stions is, iit wlml st !!<,'(' (tf eluvatioii or dcin'cssion was
it iir()(liK'('(l. Tlic s('('()ii(l is lliat wii imist iidt iiifni" tliat
ll)c i)liivati<tiis and dt^pressiniis were necessarily miil'oriu
locally, hut lliat tlu^y were diHereiit in amount in dillei-ent
jtlaces, and that elevation of mountainous rt\i,Mons often
coincided with depression of plains, and r/Vv irrsd The
ohservations of l'|»ham and Spencei- as to what has heen
termed " war|>in<,'" illustrate this, and it has lieiiii finally
estahlished hy the work of Dr. (1. M. Dawson on the
Cordilleran glacier of the west aln^ady noticed.

It is not my ])urpose h(M'e to discuss the causes of the
elevations and d(q)ressions (tf the continents in the later
tertiary time. The attempt to account primarily for
depros.>ion or elevation of tiie land or the ocean level hy
the accumulation (tf ice on the land is futile, since that
accumulation itself must have dejtended lai'jjfely on the
c!ian<;es of elevation and of consecpient distrihution of
land and water. Primarily, the great elevation of the
land must have heen caused ity the slow depression of the
ocean bod in the intervals between those local foldings of
the crust wliich result from and relieve such depression.
That some later or secondary portion of the local did'eren-
tial depression of mountain regions may have been caused
by tlie great weight of ice heaped on them is probable;
but it is evident that this effect is cpiite inconsistent with
the idea of wide-H))read continental glaciers.

Stutlents of glacial ])henomena are no doubt right in
directing attention to the great sensitivene-s of the crust
of the earth to jtressure. The ])henomena of river deltas
and of such great tliicknesses of sediment as those of the
coal-formation, shows, as I have elsewhere often argued,
that every foot of sediment placed on any part of the
earth's crust must produce a corresponding depression

134 THK ICE AGE IN CANADA.

eitlier slow and ^radnal or by paroxysms, as the weiglit
increases beyond the limit of the rigidity of the outer
crust. Hence, a great weight of ice placed oi. mountains
or high table-lands must tend to depress them relatively
to the plains and sea beds, and the lateral pressure on the
under crust may co-operate in raising the latter. Such
movements, however, though imywrtant, must ever con-
stitute a subsequent ami incidcMital effect of glacial
accumulations proceeding from other causes. In this
connection it must also be o])served that different portions
of the crust must be of unequal tliickness and hardness,
and supported on material of different degrees of mol)ility;
and further, that there are many fractures in the crust
presenting lines of weakness. These differences must
materially affect the results of pressure in different
localities.

Movements of the kind above referred to have not ceased.
Certain regions have in very recent times lieen, and are
still being, weighed down by superficial accumulations, or
arc being buoyed up by the removal of matter l)y denudation
or by the lateral ])ressure under tliem of the subterranean
forces of the earth, wiiile locallv such effects aie here and
there being relieved by igneous eruptions. This is, how-
ever, a subject too large to be treated of here.

///. — Climatal Conditions.

We have now to consider tlie causes which could have
led to such climatal conditions as those to wliicii we have
referred ; and here, however unreasonal)le this may a])pear
to some, I am disposed to content myself witli the
geographical changes long ago insisted on by Sir C Lyell.
There is the more reason to do this, since the facts
established show that great geographical changes actually

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. 135

occurretl in the Pleistocene age, and that we have not
now to account for anything so extreme as a polar ice-cap
or a continental <'lacier. I have alreatlv directed attention
in connection with this part of the subject to the views
which I expressed many years ago, and to which I still in
the main adhere. I do not ask any geologists, more
especially those still affected with the superstitions of
continental glaciers and ice-caps, to accept these causes
as sufficient to account for the climatic changes evitlenced
in geological time ; but I must ask that they should fully
exhaust the iniluence of known changes of distribution of
land and water, and differential elevation and depression
of continental masses, before invoking other causes,
whether of cold or heat. I must also insist on their
admitting, at least as primary conditions in glaciation, not
merely cold but heat, and not merely elevation but
depression of land. In (jther words, there must be
evaporation as well as condensation, and the former
depends on the application of heat to water-surfaces
adjacent to those of precipitation.* On the other hand,
evaporation being provided, there must, in order to
establish a lu'ceding-ground f(jr glaciers, and to permit
their existence, be a low mean temperature and high land
capable of aflbrding a condensing surface. The statements

* To Ameiiciin geologists I would recoMiniend a course of reading
in " Whitney's Climatic (Jlianges," though I do not agree with the
author in all his eonelusions. In a paper in the Proceedings of the
Boston Society of Natural History (18!)0), Upham and Everett fully
admit the geographical causes of the glacial cold, and also the
existence of two periods of boulder distribution, separated by an inter-
glacial period, though they do not appear to see the bearing of these
and other admissions on the validity of the theory of continental
glaciation. .See also an important paper by Upham in the American
Geoloyint, December, 1890.

136 THE ICE AUK IN CANADA.

already made in my first eliaptor are, 1 tliink, sutllicieiit to
illustrate these views, and I may therefore here merely
introduce a few remarks res}>ectin<^ variations of climate
in the glacial age, referring to the map of the North
American continent in the Pleistocene ])eriod at \). 77.

In the early glacial pei'iod, if we judge from the great
accumulation of snow on the Cordillera of the west and
the Laurentian highlands, tlie temperature must have
been low. Similar evidence is alTorded by the few species
of shells found in the boulder-clay, which are of species
now occurring in the cold waters of the Arctic regions
loaded all summer with ice.* It would seem that to
reduce tlie mean temperature of tlie sea to this extent it
would be necessary that geogra})hical changes should
occur which would direct most of the warm ecpuitorial
water lx)th from the Xorth Atlantic and the Xorth
Pacific.

In the time of the lower Leda clay the temperature f)f
the sea seems scarcely to have increased ; but in the
upper Leda clay we have a marine fauna identical with
that of tlie colder waters of the present gulf and I'iver St.
Lawrence. One can to-ilav dredge in a living state oil"
Metis in the river St. Lawrence all the s])ecies found in
the upper Leda clay of the neighl)ouring coast. In like
manner the vegetable remains of the upper Leda clay and
its e(piivalent in the west are not arctic but boreal j)lants,
and we should have to go near to the arctic circle, then
as now, to find the true arctic llora. These facts, while
they im})ly a mean temperature somewhat lower than
that of the present day, show that the climate of the
mid-1'leistocene was not an arctic one. It may have

* See list of fossils, infra.

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. I37

been a little lower in mean teini)emlm-e, l)ut less extreme
than that of Xortli America at the ])resent day. It is
fartiier to he observed that the Pleistocene marine fanna
is a little less boreal in New En,L;land than in the St.
Lawrence valley, and that fnrther north in Hndson's
bay and the arctic coasts, it is not very dissimilar from
that of the St. Lawrence.

In the later f^lacial period, that of the Saxicava sand,
the great size and wide dispersion of boulders indicates
much heavy field-ice, and, conse(piently, a. low temperature
of the sen, while the existence of hjcal glaciers on the
high lands not submerged, also indicates a low temperature.
To this corresponds the vast ])redominance of the species
SaA'icaca riigosa in the lower part of the Saxicava sand.
There would, in this period, seem to have l)een fluctuations
in temperature, due, perhaps to elevations and depressions
of land, so that while in some of the raised l)eaches tlu;
indications of ice-drift are not so extreme as at present,
on Ouher levels there are t'igantic boulders, and some
of these carried far. Thus the later Pleistocene was
characteri/ed at once by great variaticjus in the elevation
of the land and by corresponding vicissitudes of climate.

These few remarks will, I think, sullice on this subject,
when taken in connection with the facts and principles
stated beforehand in chapter first.

An interesting illustration of the effects of varying
distribution of land and water, may be taken from that
warm period already alluded to as intervening between
the glacial and modern times, and coinciding with the
second continentid period of Lyell, as evidenced by the
distribution of marine animals at present on the coasts
of Nova Scotia and New England. This peculiarity of
distribution attracted my attention, as a collector of

i:}8 THI-: K'H A(IK IN CANADA.

marine iuiiiiials, at Pietou, on Xortlnunberlund strait, as
lon*]^ ag;» as 1S40, and is thus referred to in a later
address.*

If we draw a strai<;lit line from tlie northern end of
(.'ape ]ireton, throuji^li the ]Ma,ti;dalen islands, to the mouth
of the hay des ( 'haleurs, we have to the southward an
extensive semi-cireular liay, 200 miles in diameter, wliich
we may call the L!,reat Aradinn haij, and on the north the
larj^er and deeper Irianijular ait-a of the ,u:nlf of St.
Lawrence. This Acadian hay is a sort of _u,i^antie warm-
water acpiarium, sheltered, exeei)t in a few isolated hanks,
which have been pointed out hy Mr. Whiteaves, from the
cold waters of the .u'ulf, and which the l)ather feels ([uite
warm in comparison with the fri^^id iind often not very
limpid li(piid with which we are fain to he coutent in the
lower St. Lawrence. It also alfords to the more delicate
marine animals a more C(Uigenial hal)itat than they can
find in the hay of Fundy, or even on the coast of Maine,
unless in a few sheltered spots, some of which have been
explored hy Prof. \'crrill. It is truci that in winter the
whole Acadian l»ay is encumbered v.itb iloatinu; ice, partly
produced on its own shores and partly drifted from the
north; but, in sunnncr, tlie action of the sun u])ou its
surface, the warm air llowinu' over it from the lUMjjjhhour-
ing land, and the ocean water brought in by the strait of
Canseau, ra]iidly raise its temperature, and it retains this
elevateil temperature till late in autumn. Hence the
character of its fauna, which is indicated \)\ the fact
that many species of molluscs, whose headipiarters are
south of cape Cod, flourish an<l abound in its waters.
Among these are the connnon oyster, which is especially

* See Address, ])y tlie author, to Nat. Hist. Society of Montreal,

1874.

PHYSICAL AND CLLMATAL CONDITIONS. i;^,9

abuiidiuit on the coasts of I'rinpe Edwiird island ami
northern New lirunswiek, the Quahog or Wanipnni shell,
the Pctricola jihohuJiforinis, which, ahjn^n' with Zlrfca
vri^ipatd, l)urro\vs everywhere in the soft sandstones and
shales; the lu-iiutiful Modiolu idira' uln, forming tlense
mussel-I)aid<s in the sheltei'ed coves and estuaries:
Cifilu'rea {CdllUlu) conrcxa ; Cochlorh'siiia leana and Ciim-
mivgia tcUinoidoi ; Cn-pul h fa foniinif.a, the sli|)])er-lini])et,
and its variety Kni/niforniis, swarmin_L( especially in the
oyster h(Mls: JV(i!^s(( ohfialrf a and Biariiium cinereinit, with
many others of similar southern distribution. Xor is
the fauna so very meanre as inight be supposed. My own
collections from Xorthiimberland strait inidude about
fifty sj)ecies of mollusks, and some not possessed by me
have been found by Mr. Whiteaves. Some of these, it is
true, are northern forms, but the majority are of New
England species.

The causes of this exceptional condition of things in
the Acadian l»ay carry us far back in ge(dogical time. Tiie
area now constituting the gulf of St. Lawrence seems to
liave been exemi)t from the great movements of ])lication
and elevation which pro luced the hilly and metamorphic
ridges of the east coast of America. These all die out
and disappear as they a])pr()ach its southern shore. The
tran([uil and gradual passage from the lower to the u[)per
Silurian ascertained l)y l^illings in the rocks of Anticosti,
and uniipK! in North America, furnishes an excellent
illustration of this. Tn the Carb(jniferous period the gulf
of St. Lawrence was a sea area as now, but witii wider
limits, and at that time its southern part was much tilled
up with sandy and muddy detritus, and its margins were
invaded by beds and dykes of trap[)ean rocks. In the
Triassic age tiie red sandstones of that period were

140 THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

oxteiisivi'ly (loposiled in tlie Acadian l)ay, and in ])art have
heen raisin' out of the water in I'rince Edward Island,
wliile the whole bay was shallowed and in ])art cut off
from the remainder of the j^ulf by the elevation of ridges
of lower Carboniferous rocks across its mouth. In the
l*ost-]iliocene ])eriod, that which immediately precedes our
own modern ai^e, as 1 have elsewhere shown,* there was
great subsidence of this region, accompanied by a cold
climate, and boulders of Liurentian rocks were drifted
from Laljrador and deposited on l*rince Edward Island
and Nova Scotia, while tiie southern currents, flowing up
what is now the bay of Fundy, drifted stones from the
hills of New Ihunswick to I'rince Edward Island. At
this time the Acadian bay en joyed no exem})tion from the
general cold, for at (.'ampl)elltown, in Trince Edward
Island, and at IJathurst, in New IJrunswick, we find in the
clays and gravels the northern sludls generally character-
istic of the Post-jjliocene ; tiioui,di perhi)i)s the lists given
by Mr. Matthew for St. dohn and by Mr. Paisley for the
vicinity of liathurst, may be held to show some slight
mitigation of the arctic conditions as com])ared with the
typical deposits in the St. Lawrence valley. Since that
time the land has gradually been raised out of the waters,
and with this elevation the southern or Acadian fauna
has crept northward and established itself around I'rince
Edward Ishmd, as the Acadian Ijay attained its present
form and conditions. lUit liow is it that this fauna is now
isolated, and that intervening colder waters separate it
from that of southern New England ^ W-rrill regards this
colony of the Acadian bay as indicating a warmer climate
intervening between the cold Post-pliocene period and ti\e

* Notes on Post-pliocene of Canada, Canadian yafurolist, 1872.

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. 141

present, and he seems to think tliat this may either liave
heen coincident with a lower level of the land snllicient to
estahlisli a shallow water channel, connecting the hay of
Fnndy with the Gnlf, or witli a higher level raising many
of the hanks on the coast of Xova Scotia ont of water.
(Jeological facts, which I have illnstrated in my Acadian
Geology, indicate tiie latter as the prol)ahle cause. We
know that the east-rn coast of America has in modern
times heen gradually subsiding. Further, the remarkable
submarine forests in the bay of Fundy show that within
a time not sullicient to produce the decay of pine wood this
de])ression has taken place to the extent of at least 40 feet,
and probably to GO feet or more.* We have thus direct
geological evidence (»f a foi'mer higher condition of the
land, which may when at its maximum have greatly
exceeded that al)ove indicated, since we cannot trace the
submarine forests as far below tlie sea level as they actu-
ally extend. The eh'ect of sucli an elevation of the land
would be not only a general shallowing of the water in the
bay of Fundy and tlic Acadian bay, and an elevation of its
temperature both by lliis and by the greater amount of
neighbouring land, l)Ut,as Prof. Verrill well states, it would
alsorai.se the banks off the Xt)va Scotia coast, and extend-
ing soutii from Newfoundland, so as to throw the arctic
current further from the shore and warm tlie water along
the coasts of Nova Scotia and northern New F]ngland. In
these circumstances the marine animals of southern New
England nught readily extend them.selves all around the
coasts of Nova Scotia and Cape lU'cton, and occui)y the
Acadian bay. The modern subsidence of the land would
produce a relapse toward the glacial age, the arctic cur-

* Acadian Geology, p. 29.

142 THE ICK ACJE IN CANADA.

rents would lio allowed to cleiive more closely to the coast,
and the inhiil)ilants of the Acadian hay would ^'radually
become isolated, while tiie northern animals of Labrador
would work their way southward.*

Various modern indications jwint to the .same conclu-
sions. Yerrill has described little colonies of southern
species still surviving on the coast of ]\Iaine. There are
also dead shells of these s])ecies in nnid baidcs, in [daces
where they are now extinct. He also states that the remains
in shell-hea})S left by the Indians indicate that even within
the jwriod of their occupancy some of these sjjccies
existed in places where they are not now fouiul. AVillis has
catalogued some of these species from the deej) Itays and
inlets on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, and has shown
that some of them still exist on the Sable island banks.f

Whiteaves finds in the IJradelle and Orphan bank
littoral species remote from the present shores, and
indicating a time when these banks were islands, which
have been sul)merged by subsidence, aided no doubt by
the action of the waves.

It would thus aj)poar that the colonization of the
Acadian bay wilh southern forms behjngs to the modern
period, but that it has already pas.-icd its culmination,
and the recent sul)sidcnce of the coast has, no doubt,
limited the range of these animals, and is probably still
favouring the gradual inroads of the Arctic fauna from
the north, which, should this suhsidonce go on, will creep
slowly back to re-occupy the ground which it once held
in the I*leistocene time.

* Since my address of 1874, (lanoiig has further ilhistrated this
subject in the Transactions of tlie Natural History Society of New
Brunswick, and of the Royal .Society of Canada.

+ Acadian Geology, p. 37.

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. 143

Siicli ])OC'uliarities of distribution serve to show tlie
efl'ects of civeii coiiiparativuly small cliaiiLces of level upon
climate, and upon the (Hstribution of life, and to eonfirm
the same lesson of caution in our interjirelation of local
diversities of fossils, wliieh geoloo-ists liavt' l)eon lately
learning from the distribution of cold and warm currents
in the Atlantic. Another lesson which they teach is the
wonderful fixity of species, (.'ontinenis rise and sink,
climates change, islands are devoured l»v the sea or
restored again from its depths: marine animals are locally
exterminated, and are enabled in the course of long ages
to regain their lost aljodes ; yet they remain ever the
same, and even in their varietal forms ])erfectly resemble
those remote ancestors which are sepanited from them liy
a vast lapse of ages and by many ])hysical revolutions.
This truth which 1 have already deduced from the I'leis-
tocene fauna of the St. Lawrence valley, is equally
taught l)y the molluscs of the Acadian bay, and l)y their
Arctic relatives returning after long al)sence to claim
their old homes.

Still another lesson may be learned here. It a]»i)ears
tliat our ])rosent climate is se})arated fi'om that of the
glacial age by one somewhat warmer, wliicli was coinci-
dent witii an elevated condition of the land. Ajqjlied to
Europe, as it might easily l)e, this fact sliows tlie futility
of attem[)ting to establisli a later glacial period l)etwcen
the I'leistocene and the present, in the manner
attemj)ted, as I must think on the slenderest possible
grounds, by Prof. (Jeikie in his late work " The (Ireat
Ice Age."

The grandeur of those physical changes which have
occurred since the present marine aninuds came into
being is well illustruied by some other facts to which our

144 THK ICIO A(iK TN CANADA.

utlontioii lias liccii directed. IJeceiit excavations in the
Montreal nioiinlain lia\e cnaliled I'rot'. Kennedv and Prof.
Adams to observe marine sjiells and gravel at a still hi,i,'her
level than that of the old beach aliovc; ("ote des Nei<res,
which was so l()n<f aijo descrilted by Sir Wni. Loi^an and
Sir Charles I.yell. The new ]M)sitions are i'i'A4 to about
(500 feet above the sea. Let us place this fact alon<^ with
the discovery of the skeleton of a whale at an elevation of
420 feet, as far west as Smith's falls, in ( )ntario, and with
that recorded by Prof, liell in the report of the (ieoloLjical
Survey for 1(S70-7I, of th(> occurrence of these same
shells on the hi^'h lands noilh of lal<c Sui»erior, at a
height which, taking' tlu> averaijc of his measurements, is
r)47 feet abov(> the sea level. Let us further iu)te the
fact, that in the liills behind Murray bay and at Les
Kboulenienls 1 have recoi-ded the occurrence of these
remains at the hei<,dit of at least GOO feet. We have,
then, before us the evidence of the submergence of a
portion of the Nortli American continent, at least 1,000
miles in length and 400 miles in breadth, to a depth of
more than a, hundred fathoms, and its re-elevation, with-
out any api)reciable change in moliuscan life.

IV.— Date of the aiwial Pn-iixl.

The (piestion of the time that has elapsed since the
glacial period is closely connected with that as to the
causes of the climatal changes involved. If these last
were astronomical, aiul dependent, as Croll * has ably
argued, on the varying eccentricity of the elliptical orbit
in which our earth moves, along with the gradual proces-
sion of the equinoxes on the eciuator, then the culmination

* " Climate and Time in tlieir Geolotdcal Relations."

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. I45

of tlie last cold period iiiust have Leen at least 100,000
years aj^o, and a period of «S0,000 years may have ela^jsed
since the ice a^'e he^^an to give way to the ))reseiit coiidi-
I'on of things. If, on the other hand, we snppose that the
cliniatal change de[)ended on variations in the heat of
the sun, we have no nieasuvc of time, for if the.se occur to
the extent re(|uired we do not know their jjcriods or if
lh(!se have anv regularitv. AVe can only infer from the
lixity of .solar heat within very narrow limits in historical
times tluit any material clumge mu.st liave occurred very
long ago.

Lastly, if with Lyell we have recourse to changes of
elevation and de])ression leading to dill'erent amounts of
lieating surface and dillerent distrihution of oceanic and
atmos])heric currents on the earth itself, geologists nuiy
assign less or more time to such changes according as tiiey
])refer to regard them as the results of .secular or cata-
clysmic changes. Thus if we adopt the astronomical
theory w'e are shut up to a very ancient date. If we can
explain the facts by merely geological changes the date
Ijcconjes uncertain.

1 have in previous publications * on this subject argued
that the amount of denudation which has occurred since
tlie glacial period is very small, that animal and vegetable
life have remained unchanged since the ice age, and that
such facts as we can measure in river erosion and changes
related to this, indicate but a short time. We may here
look at the List of these and cite a few facts.

In the case of the falls of Niagara, we know tliat these
iiave cut the present gorge from lake Ontario back to the

* Notes on Pleistocene of Canada, 1872, and later papers in Canad.
Record of Science.
II

146 THK R'K A(;K in CANADA.

\vliii'li)Oul, ami liavu cluanud oiit an old cliaimt!! aliove
this, and cut back the present face of the fall some
distance since the close of the glacial j)erio(l, and the
careful observations of Dr. S]»encer* ha\e shown that
the existing relation.s of the Niagara escarpment and the
lakes were established antecedent to the time when the
present fall was established. Claypole-f* has also shown
that the terraces with fresh-water shells on the Niagara
river prove that the I'ctaining ridge between lakes Krie
and Ontario was then as high as now. As I have else-
where argued also, the thickness of the harder bed, the
Niagara limestone, which the river has to cut, has, owing
to the southerly dip of the rocks, been increasing as the
falls were cut back, and there is reason to believe that a
part of the gorge al>ove the whirlp(jol was formed in prc-
glacial times, and has merelv been c":'.?!'n'3d out bv the
modern river, 'i'licre is nlno some reason ro believe that
the amount of water in the fall may have been greater in
the early modern [)eriod than now.

What, then, is the rate of recession of this great
cataract, and how long has it l)een cutting its gorge ?
The rate of cutting has been vari(jusiy estimated at from
one f(jot to three feet annually ; Itut the actual measui'cd
rate for the last fort}'-twt) years, as given on the authority
of Mr. 1!. 8. Woodward, of the U. 8. Geological Survey,
is 24 feet, or nearly two-and-a-half feet per year. This
will give, say 12,000 to 10,000 years for the time required,
and, making allowance for the deductions above stated,
we may confidently allirm that the great cataract began
its labour somewhere between seven and twelve thousand

* Iroquois Beach. Traii.s. R. S. Can., 18S9.

f American Xatura/ist, Oct., 1886. Truus. Ceol. Socy., 1888.

I'HYSICAr. AND CLIMATAL COXDITIONS. 147

yeiir.s aifo, and this iiiusl havo Itccii at iho dose of the
yhicial period, whatever views wcf may take of the nature
of that period.

The estimate derived from Niaj^'ara is coiuiiiued by the
inj^enious and careful calcuhitions of AViiichell* respecting
the recession of the falls of St. Anthony, on the IMissis-
si])jii, ami by those of Andrews,-f- on tlie lake niart^ins of
lake Miclii<,Mn. The former gives a period of between
(),270 and 12,10.'^) years, or an average of 8,859 years.
The latter gives a ]>eriod of from r),290 to 7,490 years.
Humphreys and Abbott deduce similar figures from the
rate of deposit of the delta of the Mississippi, rrestwich
has deduced similar conclusions for England from his
careful and detailed observations of the later Pleistocene
deposits in that country.^ His estimate of the final
disappearance of the ice-age is from 8,000 to 10,000
years, and no English geologist is of greater experience
and authority in Pleistocene (Jeology.

It may be objected that all these data are very uncer-
tain. Tiiis is true, but since these and a vast number of
facts of similar character which might l)e cited from
different parts of the world all point in one direction, their
cumulative evidence l)ecomes very strong : on the one
band in pvxif that the close of the glacial ])eriod is very
recent, and on the other tliat it must have been caused by
telluric changes, and these, geologically speaking, not of
very great magnitude.

With reference to the connection of man with the
Pleistocene ice age, the present tendency of the geological
facts is toward the conclusion that man had his origin in

* Journal Geol. Society, Nov., 1878.
t Trans. Chicago Academy, Vol. II.
X Journal of Geol. Soo. of London, Aug., 1887.

148 THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

the post-glacial continental period, and that he survived
the great depressions and tiuctuations of land which closed
that period and destroyed so many land animals his con-
temporaries in early times. Many observers, however (as
Capellini,Whitney, Harvey, Habenecht, etc.), have adduced
evidence more or less doubtful of the existence of man in
the " first continental period," that of the later Tliocene.
Perhaps the most convincing evidence of such antiquity yet
adduced is that by Dr. Mourlon, of the Geological Survey
of Belgium,* from which it would appear that worked Hints
and broken bones of animals occur in deposits, the rela-
tions of which would indicate that they belong either to
the base of the Pleistocene or close of the I'liocene.
They are imbedded in sands derived from Eocene and
Pliocene beds, and supposed to have been rcmanid by wind
action. With the modesty of a true man of science,
Mourlon presents his facts, and does not insist too strongly
on the important conclusion to wliicli they seem to tend,
but he has certainly established the strongest case yet on
record for the existence of Tertiary man. With this
should, however, be placed tlie facts adduced in a similar
sense by Prestwicli in his paper on the worked ilints of
Ightham.-f-

Should this be establislicd, the curious result will follow
that man must have been the witness of two great conti-
nental subsidences, that of the early I'leistocene and the
early modern, the former of which, and perha})S the latter
also, must have been accompanied with a great acce^^s of
cold in the Northern Hemisphere. It .seems, however,
more likely tliat the facts will be found to admit of a
dillerent explanation.

* Bull, (le rAoademie Roy. tie Belgirjue, 1889.

t Journal London Geological Society, May, 1889. -

CHAPTEll V.

SOME LOCAL DETAILS.

It will ])G impossible, iu llie space at my disjxjsu], to
embrace all the local details involved in my subject, and
to give these woukl be te(li(jus and unremunerative. For
tlie greater part of tliem I mu.st refer to reports and
papers already in print, and some of which will l)e
mentioned at the end of the ciiapter. I propose to notice
only certain leading localities to which my own attention
has been specially directed or which have important
bearings on our general conclusions.

/. — (u'livral Dirisions of Camilla.

That northern lialf of Xorth America included in the
Dominion of Canada and Xewfoundland may, for the
purposes now in view, be divided geogra})hically inlo six
regions, characterized by distinctive physical features, and
by distinct relations to the phenomena of the glacial age.

1. Newfoundland, not yet included in the Dominion of
Canada, and separated from Labrador merely b}- the
straits of ]>elle-isle, may be considered as an outlying
part of the Laurentide range, and as an isolated centre of

152 THE ICK A(;K in t'AXADA.

ice (lislril)uti(»ii, ])roceP(linjT in tlio Oiivly glacial period
from its centre: and later as a series of reefs and islands
in the arctic current.

2. The maritime provinces of Prince Edward Island,
Xova Scotia and Xew Brunswick constitute a ])art of the
Atlantic slope of North Anunica, and not havin^^ any
very hi^h mountains, have had only minor centres of
permanent ice, l)ut hiive l)een traversed l)y jtowerful ice-
laden currents from the north, and at certain periods of
partial submergence, more especially in the later [glacial
age, have had boulders scattered over them from local
sources in their own hills. I'artsof northern Xew Bruns-
wick have been invaded, in the niore extreme glacial ag^,
by local glaciers from the north-east extiMision of the
Appalachian mountains.

-S. The Canadian region ])roper, or that constituting
the provinces of (,^)uebec and Ontario, includes the wid(!
valley of the gulf and river St. liawrence, and part of the
plateau of the great lakes. It curses to the south-west
and north-west around tlu^ great salient angle of the
Laurentian plateau, separating it from the basin of
Hudson's bay and the Arctic sea, aiul has to the south-
eastward the ridges of tlu; (Jreen and Appalachian
mountains forming the breast-bone of the Xorth American
continent. In the earlier and more extreme glacial ])eriod
its lower lands were suljmerged and received on their
margins the ice discharged from the glaciers of the
Laurciititle hills, the Adirondacks and the Appalachians.
The space Ijetween these now occu])ied l>y the St.
Lawrence, was a great channel like P)atlin's bay and Davis
strait ; but owing to its direction, nuich more intensely
(glaciated bv lioating ice ]>;)rne on the Arctic current,
which spread its l)urden over the submerged North

SOME LOCAL DETAILS. 153

Auierican plateau as far as the middle states of the Union,
or to the lines of the modern Ohio and Missouri rivers.

4. The region of Manitol)a and the North-west. This
constitutes another, and now more elevated, plain, con-
tinuous with the former and with the great American
plateau on the soutli, and extending north-west to the
Arctic sea. It has the Laurentian axis on the north-east,
and the Rocky mountains, the eastern ridges of the great
Cordillera of the Pacitic coast on the west. In the early
Pleistocene, this great plain was at a lower level than at
present, and the ico and ih'brk from the Laurentide and
Cordilleran glaciers, and more especially from tlie former,
were distributed by water over its surface. In the mid-
glacial age it was partially elevated and overspread with
vegetation, but in the later glacial age it was much more
extensively submerged and its waters covered witii float-
ing ice.

5. The great Cordilleran region of the west, embracing
the Eocky mountains, the Crold aiul Selkirk ranges, the
elevated interior plateau (jf JU'itish (Jolunibia, and the
coast ranges of tlie Tacific. In the early glacial period
tliis region seems to have stooil high out of the waters
which extended to the east and west of it, and was covered
with a great neve, or snow-cap, sending off gigantic
glaciers in all directions, but more es[)ecially to the south,
north, and west. In the mid-glacial period it was greatly
retluced in height, and, for the most part, denuded of ice,
which, however, returned to it in diminished force in the
second or later glacial age.

Lastly : Canada includes a portion of the Arctic basin
north of the Laurentian ranges, and partly enclosed in
the wide angle which they form northward. This, so far
as known, was, througiiout the glacial age, at a low level.

ir)4 THE ICE AdE IN CANADA.

iiiid with ii fliiiiiiLo liltlo (lil'lerent from tliat wliicli it at
l)i'eseuL pussesstis.* In llie early glacial period, as well as
ill the .i^reat suhiuergeiice oi: the later I'leislocene, its
waters must have received coiitrihiiLi<JUS of ice, not only,
as at present, from (Jreenland, l)ut also from the northern
l»arts of the Cordilleran and Laurentide glaciers, and
tiiere must hiivc hceii imiiKinse accumulations of Held-ice
ill the region of Hudson's hay and northward, wliicli
])oured its supcrahundance around holh ends of the
Laurentides, and, in the times of greater sulimergenee,
prohahly forced its way through many gaps into tiie
region of the great jtlains and the interior continental
plateau south-west of the St. Lawrence valley and great
lakes.

bearing in mind these various local conditions, which
result from the hicts .stated in previous cha}>ters, we sliall
be prepared to appreciate tiie corroborative and otherwise
interesting facts which appear in tlie following local
details.

//. — j\'cii'foiiinU((ii</ nil)/ Lalirathr.

In the doiirnal of the ( n'ological Society of London for
February, 1871, is a communication from Stalf-commander
Kerr, U.X.,in which h(! gives the directions of twenty-eight
examples of grooved and scratched surfaces observed in
the southern i)arL tif Xewfoundlaiid. The course of the
majority of these is X.K. and S.W., ranging from X. <S^ E.
to N. G4^ E. The remainder are X'.AV. and S.E., most of
them with a predominating easterly direction. IJoulders
are mentioned, but no marine l)eds. The author refers

* Tliis is proved l)y the traiispoi-t of boulders to tlie north, by the
temperate oliaracterof the flora to the soutli of it, and by the continued
existenoe in it of tlie nuininiotli aiid its companions.

SOME LOCAL DEIAILS. 155

the glaciation to land ice shoving from tlie interior of tlie
island, su])posing certain suhniertfcd l»anks across the
mouths of the bays to he terminal moraines. (See also
the reports on the (leology of Newfoundland, hy Murray
and Howley.)

The latest information on the I'leistocene of Labrador
is thai given in a paper by Dr. Packard in the memoirs of
the JJoston Society of Natural History for 1<S()7. The
deposits are said to consist of boulders, Leda clay and sand,
and raised beaches, which, on the authority of I'rof. Hind,
are stated to reacli an elevation of 1 ,200 feet above the sea.
The hills to a height <if 2,r»00 feet are rounded as if by ice
action. Some higher hills present a frost-shattered surface
at their summits. Xo directions of striae are given, and
they appear to ])e rare. Mr. (_'am[)bell, author of " Frost
and Fire," mentions examples with course X. -to K. in the
strait of Jielle-isle. It is remarkable that true boulder-
clay is rare in Labrador, thougli loose l»oulders are
abundant in the vallc^ys and on tlii^ inland tal»le-laiid.
Dr. Packard attributes the absence of boulder-clay to
denudation. This may be the case, but it is to be observed
that, on that view of the origin of boulder-clay which
attributes it to ice-laden Arctic currents, there must
always have been in tlie course of su'di currents arciis of
denudation as well as areas of deposition, and an elevated
table-land like; that of Labrador, in a high northern lati-
tude, may well have been of the former character, or may
have been a lain I area C(jvered wdth snow aiul ice at the
time -i' the deposition of the boulder-clay. In many
res[iects, though less elevated, it resembles the aspect of
the Cordillera region of the west as described bv Dr. (}. M.
Dawson.

156 THE ICE A(iE IN CANADA.

The Leda clay occurs in several places, Fii 1860 T pub-
lished a list of species collected by ('a])t. Orlebar; and
Packard has j^reatly added to the iuiuil)er, f,'iviii<r a list
which will be referred to farther on. Dr. Packard very
truly remarks that the fauna of the Labrador clays is very
similar to tliat now found on the coast, and called by him
the Syrtensian fauna. In the latter we have a few .south-
ern forms, absent in the clay, but this is all. Further, the
Labrador pleistocene fauna is identical or nearly so with
that of similar deposits in South Greenland, described by
Moller and Itink. Thus the cliinatal conditions of the
Arctic current on the coast of Labrador seem to have in
no respect (littered in the Pleistocene from those which
obtain at present. The Leda clay with its character-
istic fossils is found as high as 500 feet above the level of
the sea.

Kai.sed beaches and terraces, whether cut into .sand and
clay or the hard metamorphic rocks of the coast, are as
common in Labrador as along the shores of the river St.
Lawrence. Their precise altitudes are not given, but they
appear to be very mimerous and rise to a great height
above the sea. One feature of some interest is their
consisting in some places of large stones and boulders,
eviden(;ing very powerful action of coast ice and currents.
Packard speaks of numy of these beaches as glacier
moraines modified by the sea. From the descriptions of
Prof. Hind,* it would also seem that there are traces of
local glaciers in the river valleys, similar to those referred
to above in the case of tiie Saguenay and the Murray
river, and these might now be restored by a slight
increase of cold or a moderate elevation of the land.

* Trans, (ieol. .Society, 1864.

SOME LOCAL DETAILS. 157

///. — A ndcosti

On the isliind of Aiiticosti Messrs. Hyatt, Verrill and
Slialer found Saxiinra ardicn in clay at an elevation of
fifteen ftict al)()ve the level of the sea.

The late Mr. Richardson of the (reoloi^neal Survey, to
whom we owe most of our knowledife of the ^'oology of
Anticosti, had })reviously noticed, in his ]io})()rt for l(S57,
the occurrence of travelled boulders and of beds of clay,
holding rounded fragments of limestone, and forming
clill's sixty to seventy feet high, but makes no mention of
any pleistocene fossils. In l.StS5 the island was visited by
Lt.-Col. (Jrant, of Hamilton, who made interesting collec-
tions, which he kindly presented to the I'eter liedpath
Museum of Mcdill University.*

The following are extracts from a letter of Col. (}rant,
referring to the localities of the fossils and the mode of
their occurrence :

" The ])(jst-tertiary shells were first noticed in patches
of blue clay in the south-west of Anticosti, in the l,)ed of
iJecscia river, close to its mouth. When first seen, I
thought it ])robal)lc that they had been washed in by a
higli tide from the (Julf, but, on proceeding a short
distance up stream, 1 found the clay and shells in situ,
ca])ped by a considerable thickness of drift, boulders, etc.,
in the river bank. Tiie shells ap{)eared to be unusually
large. I collected a considerable numlier. Many got
subse(piently Jjroken iu rougii weather.

" The pleistocene clay (Leda clay), occurs also in the
bank and bed of Chaloupe river, and it is exposed along
the cliii' within a few miles west of the South-west point

* Notes on Pleistocone Fossils from Anticosti, by Lt.-Col. C. E.
Grant and Sir W. Dawson, Canadian Record of Science, Vol. IL, 18S(i.

158 •HI': It-'K A(iK IN CANADA.

liglitliouso, and at several other points on the south shore.
On proceeding u]) Salmon river, north of Antieosti, at
aliout seven miles from the mouth, the high elilf on the
right hank is eapi)C(l liy a (le])osit of drift.

" Kight miles from the village oT Kiiglish hay (east), a
small stream from the to]» of the eliil's lays hare several
feet of hlue (day, eontaining great nunihers of very large
shells of ^lya. The high tide reaches the hase of the
clay and wash^.s out nund)ers of specimens, as does the
brook adjacent. I was unahle to examine the coast-liiui
except for a short distance. The cliCIs, for some nnles
beyond, from forty to .seventy feet high, aie crowned by
drift deposits. AVhere they slope, the boulders or rounded
pel)hles from the to]) get mixed up with the clay below.
Fragments of shells are here numerous ; complete
specimens arc few.

"The cliff to the west of Kllis or (laniache bay, called,
I think, '.Iuncti(»n clill',' by Jficliardson, is also crowned
by a drift deposit. I succeeded in reaching part of the
slope where some of the Leda dav from al)ove had lodged.
I found it contained many s})eciniens of Sdxicava riKjosa,
and a few of Mi/n Iritnrdtn, the hitler much smaller than
those at ]>ecscia river and eight miles east of English bay.
fllaciated or })olished Hags (chiefly Hudson river lime-
stone) are not unusual in the drift of this ])art of the
island. Laurentian l)oulders were fre([uently remarked
in the river l)eds, some of considerable size also on the
land. There is one ind)edded in the soil of a partly-
cleared farm near English bay.

" The island of Anlicosli seems to l)e rising (ihe old
residents on various parts (jf tiie coast think the sea is
gradiuilly retiring). I was assured by an inhabitant of
English l)ay, that the tops only of two large Laurentian

SOME LOCAL DKTAILS. 159

bmilders, lyiiit,' on tlu! reef in fjoiit of the villai,^.', were
visililc! ill low wiitcr some twenty years ut^o: the base and
iniiiiv var(|s of the; reel' hcn'ond are now exposed to view.
A hij^h ridoe of shingle and sand in rear of the vilhij^o
repi'esents tiie oM lieach. The hones of a whaU; were
found on this heaeh. .Vt MaedonaM's euve, Mi*. Afac-
donahl, (tiie of the ohlest resid(Mit,s, infoi"nied nie : 'This
hay is filhng up so fast that it will soon he dry land. I
renienil)er, when I first came here, there were about two
or three feet of water where you now stand.' At Ellis
l)av, about twelve miles from Kn«dish bav villa'a', evidenecj
also was obtained of the jfradual ele\iition of the island."

The collection contains the following species, all of
them previously known in the IMeistocene of other parts
of Canada, and occurring as recent species in the cohhir
waters of the gulf and river St. Lawrence :

Buccinimi inulatuiii, L., var. /ahradoricinn. A small and
somewhat short specimen, ])rol)ably not fidly grown.

i^. glaci(ili\ L. A decorticated shell, ])robably this species.

Tro])]to)i r/a/hraftoii, L. (7'. xnihn'iforiiic, (rould). \ well-
developed sj)ecimen.

JVadca ((//in is. One yonng shell.

3Ii/a arciHD'io.., L. Shells of nKxlerate size, some of them
distorted.

Myd tnotcafa, L., var. inhJevaknsis. The short arctic
variety, and one of them of unusually large size.

Macoma calcari'd, Chem. Large specimens.

Macoma grmnlamUai, L. One small valve.

Saxiaava nujosa, L. Well-developed s[)eoimens and a})[)ar-
ently common.

Astarte hanksii, Leach. One valve.

Bala n n s even a tus, L.

Bhynchonclla 2^sittacea,\,. „ ^

IGO THK ICK ACK IN CANADA.

*

(Jul. CJniut liiis also noted im occurriiiii in tlio IkmIs tlie
following .s|KH'i(',s, of which thero are no spei'iniun.s in
the collec'ticjn :

JWfcu itilandiniH.
Mi/ti/xs fdiili.s.
Natic<( gi'duildiulica.
BalaiiKs /taniiri.

In sand and clay filling the interior of a Mya, which
seems to have heen entoinlted in sifii, arc many micros-
copic tests of foraminifera and valves of Cythere and
Cy theridca. Among the former were the following species:

Pol i/sf 0)11 I'll a critijxt.

Noniomna scapha (and var. hihratlorica).

Poli/i/i()rphi)i(( ladea.

Truncntidina lohata.

Tjagena fnilcata.

IJntosoU'H i(( (/lohosa.

E. sqiKDiinstt.

Cloh igcr I n a hullo ides.

As usual in the Canadian l*leistocene, Poli/sfo}iiellf'
rrisjja is much more abundant than the other species.
Nonionina scapha conies ne.xt in this respect, and all the
others are rare. The material also contains numerous
spicules of siliceous sponges.

The above fossils may be regarded as characteristic of
the Up[)er Leda clay and Saxicava sand, both of which
members of the Pleistocene formation appear to be repre-
sented in Anticosti.

It would also appear that, as elsewhere in Canada, the
Leda clay is overlaid by a second or newer boulder
deposit connected with the Saxicava sand. To this it is
probable that many of the travelled boulders of Lauren-

SOMK lAK'M. DKTAILS. K)]

tian rocks boloii'', ua tlicv uic. f(»iiii(l in this cniiiu'riidii
not only iilon^' tho wliuU; south shiuv of the St. LuwriMice,
l)Ut even in I'liiice Ivlward Ishimlanil in Xovii Srotiu. It
would !»(( iiii))ortiiiit to distiiij^Miish in Anticosti this upjx'i'
drift more [Kirticuliirly from the lower lM)ulder-cliiy when
this niiiy occur, and to observe any instances of glacial
striation.

AVith refiu'ence to the levels above the sea, it is to be
observed that aloiiu; (he shore of tht; St. Lawrence there
is usually a raised beach only a few feet above the level
of the sea, and on which shells and bones of wiiales
freiiuently occur, and a well-miirked terrace, with beach
deposits and l)oulders, at a level of sixty or seventy feet
above the; sea level, and this W(juld appt'ar to be the ease
also in Anticosti.

Before proceeding,' uj) the St. Lawrence valley into
(Canada proper, I may cross to the south side of the ^'ulf
of St. Lawrence and notice tli(j drift-dei)osits of I'rinct;
Kdward Island, Xova. Scotia .uid Xew jlrunswiek, and
their connection witii those of tiu; state of Maine.

IV. — Pr'nxr Edirnnl J^hnnJ.

The Triassie and iVniiian rock formations of this
island consist almost entirely of red sandstones, and the
country is low and undulatinij,-, its highest eminences not
exceediuf,' 400 feet. The prevalent Tleistocene deposit
is a boulder-clay, or in some ])laces l)oulder loam, composed
of red saiul and clay derived from the waste of the red
santlstones. 1'ius is filled with boulders of red sandstone
derived from the harder beds. They are more or less
rounded, often glaciated, with striae in the direction of
their longer axis, and sometimes polished in a remarkable
manner, when tiie softness and coarse character of the rock
12

1(;l> tfie ice age in Canada.

are considered. This polishing must liave l)eeii ert'ected
by rul)l)ing witli tlio s.aiid and loam in whicli they are
embedded. Tliese boulders are not usually lart^e, though
some were seen as nnu'h as five feet in length. The boul-
ders in this de[)osit are almost universally of the native
rock, anil must have been produced by the grinding of ice
on the outcrops of the harder l)eds. In the eastern and
middle portion of the island, only tliese native rocks were
seen in the clay, with the exception of pebbles of quartzite
whicli may have Itccn 'lerived from the Triassic conglom-
erates. At Cami)belltoii,in the western part of the island,
I observed a bed of boulder-clay filled with l)oulders of
metamorphic rocks similar to those of the mainland of
Xew ])ruiiswick, to the southward of this locality.

Striae were seen only in one place on the north-eastern
coast and at another on the south-western. In the former
case their direction was nearly S.W. and X.E. In the
latter it was S. 70 E.

No marine remains were observed in the boulder-clay ;
but at Canip1)ellton, above tlie boulder-clay already men-
tioned, there is a limited area occupied with beds of
stratified sand and gravel, at an elevation of about fifty
feet above the sea, and in one of the beds there are shells
of TvJlina GnvnJandica.

On the surface of the country, more especially in the
western part of the island, there are numerous travelled
boulders, sometimes of considerable size. As these do not
appear in situ in the boulder-clay, they may be supposed
to belong to a second or newer boulder-drift similar to
that which we shall find to be connected with the Saxicava
sand in Canada. The.se l)ouIdc;*s being of rocks foreign to
Prince Edward Island, the i^uestion of their source
becomes an interesting one. Willi reference to this, it

SOME LOCAL DETAILS. IG.".

may l)e stated in general terms that the majority are
U'raiiite, syenite, diorite, felsite, i)ori)liyry, (juart'/ite and
coarse slates, all identical in mineral character with those
which occur in tlie metamorphic districts of Nova Scotia
and Xew Brunswick, at distances of from 50 to 200 miles
to the south and stnith-west : though some of them may
liave been derived from i'a\)Q Breton on the east. It is
further to be observed that these boulders are most abund-
ant and the evidences of denudation of the Trias greatest
in that part of the island which is opposite the deep break
between the hills of Nova Scotia and New l>runswick,
occupied by the bay of Fundy, Chiynecto bay and the low
country extendi nu; thence to bale \'erte and Northumber-
land strait, an evidence that this boulder-drift was con-
nected with currents of water passing up this depression
from the mtli or south-west during, perhaps, the later
pai't of tbo Pleistocene.*'

liesides these boulder°, however, there are others of a
diftereni character ; such as gneis.s, hornblende schist,
anorthosite and Labradorite rock, which must have been
derived from the Laurentian rocks of Labrador and
Canada, distant '2o0 miles or more, to the northward.
These Laurentian rocks are chiefly found on the north
side of the island, as if at the time of their arrival the
island formed a shoal, at the north side of which the ice
carrying the 1)oulders grounded and melted away. With
reference to these boulders, it is to be observed that a
depression of four or five hundi'ed feet would open a clear
passage for the arctic current entering the straits of

* I am informed that Mr. Chalmers has discovered striae on the
rocks of this low isthmus, which would show the passage of heavy ice
through it in Pleistocene times.

164 THK ICE AGE IX CANADA.

Helle-Esle, to the bay of Fiiiidy ; and that heavy ice
carried by this current might, at the time of greatest
dei)ression, ground on I'rince Edward Island, or be carried
across it to the southward. If the Laurentian boulders
came in this way, their source is probably 400 miles distant
in the strait of Belle Isle. On the north shore of Prince
Edward Island, except where occupied l)y sand dunes, the
beach shows great numljcrs of pebbles and small boulders
of Laurentian rocks. These are said l)y the inhabitants
to be cast up l)y the sea or puslied ui) by the ice in spring.
Whether they are now being drifted l)y ice direct from
the Labrador coast, or are old drift being washed up from
the l)ottom of the Gulf, which, north of tiie island, is
very shallow, does nijt appear. They are all much rounded
by tiie waves, dil'lering in this respect from the majority
of the boulders found inland.

The older boulder-clay of Prince Edward Island, with
native boulders, must have been produced under circum-
stances of powerful ice-action, in which comparatively
little transport of material from a distance occurred. If
we attribute this to a glacier, then, as Prince Edward
Island is merely a slightly raised portion of the bottom of
the "ulf of 8t. Lawrence, this can have been no other
than a gigantic mass of ice tilling the whole basin of the
gulf, and without any slope to give it movement except
toward the centre of this great though shallow depression.
On the other hand, if we attribute the boulder-clay to
floating ice, it must aave been produced at a time when
numerous heavy berg? were disengaged from what of
Labrador was above water, and when this was too
thoroughly enveloped in snow and ice to afford many
travelled stones. Farther, that this boulder-clay is a

SOME LOCAL DETAILS. IGf)

sub-inarine and not a sub-aerial deposit, seems to be
rendered probable by the circumstance that many of the
l)0ulders of sandstone are so soft that they crumble
immediately when exposed to the weather and frost.

Tlie travelled boulders \yin<i on the surface of the
l)Oulder-clay evidently belong to a later period, when the
iiills of Labrador and Nova Scotia were above water,
though lower than at present, and were sulticiently bare
to furnish large supplies of stones to coasu-ice carried by
tlie tidal currents sweeping up the coast, or by the .arctic
current from the north, and deposited on the surface of
I'rince Edward Island, then a sliallow sand-bank. The
sands with sea shells probaldy l)elonged to this period, or
perhaps to the later })art of it, when the land was
gradually risii'g. Prince Edward Island thus appears to
have received lioulders from both sides of the gulf of St.
Lawrence during the later Pleistocene period ; but the
greater inunljer from the south side, ])erhaps because
nearer to it. It thus furnislies a remarkable illustration
of the transport of travelled stones at this period in
difterent directions, and in the comparative absence of
travelled stones in the lower boulder-clay, it furnishes a
similar illustration of the homogeneous and untravelled
character of that deposit, in circumstances where the
theory of Hoating ice serves to account for it, at least as
well as that of land-ice, and in my judgment, greatly
better.

In these respects the Pleistocene of Prince Edward
Island bears considerable resemblance to that of the lower
grounds of Nova Scotia, where local material is prevalent
in the lower part of the deposit, and travelled boulders
from different directions occur in the upper bed.

lOO THE icK A(;k IX Canada.

K. — A'orc Srotiii II ltd Srw Hi'ii iDiii'icl:.

Ill lliesc proNinct'S the dldi'V <f(.'ul(iL!;it'!il sLructure is
different from that in I'rince Edward Island, tlie country
consistinu,' of ( 'arhoniferoiis iin<l TiMassic ])lains, wiih
ranges of older hills, often nietainorithic, and attaining
elevations of 1,200 feet or more, ll may, ])erhai)s, he
hest in the tirst instance to present a sunnnary of the
phenomena, as 1 have given tluMn in my Acadian
({eologv, and to add such additional facts and inferences
as the ])resent state of the subject may re([uire.

The l)eds observed mav he arranged as follows, in
descendiu.g order :

1. (Iravel and sand heds, and ancient gravel ridges
and beaches, indicating the action of shallow water, and
strong currents and waves. Travelled boulders occur in
connection with these beds.

2. Stratified clay with shells, sliowing (puet de[)osition
in dee}»er water.

3. Unstratilied l»oidder-clay, indicating, })r(.)bal)ly, th('
united acti(jn of ice and water.

4. Peaty de})osits, belonging to a land-surface [)receding
the deposit of the 1)oulder-clay.

As the third of these formations is the most important
and generally diffused in Xova Scotia and Xew l>runs-
wick, we shall attend to it tirst, and notice the relation of
the others to it.

The unstratified drift ami l)oulder-clay, which occurs
eliietiy at the lower levels of the country, varies from a
stiff clay to loo.se sand, and its com[)Osition and c(dor
generally depend ui)on those of the underlying and neigh-
bouring rocks. Thus, over sandstone it is arenaceous,
over shales argillaceous, and over conglomerate and hard

SOMK LOCAL DKTAILS. 1G7

sliites ]»ultlily <»i' sliiiiii'ly. 'I'lic greater numlier of tlie
stuiies coiiiaiiu'il in ilic diit'l ai'c usually, like llu' jiaste
coiitainiu}^' tlieni, derivt'd IVoui tlic ueiuliliouriui;- vovk
formations, 'riicsc unlravelled t'rai^nienis arc (tflen of
lai'ue size, and ari' usually anu'ular, ('xcciii wiu'u lliov are
of very soft material, or of rocks nvIiosc corners readily
weather away. It is easy to oliser\e, thai on ]»assin^'
from a ,Li;raiiite district to oiu' con:j)osc(l of slate, or from
slate to sandstone, the character of the loose stones
clian^L;'(^s accordingly. It is also a matter of familiar
observation, that in jiroportion to ilm hardness or softness
of the ja'evailini.^' rocks, the ([uantity of these loose stones
iuereases or diminishes. In some of the (juartzite and
«,a'anite districts of the Atlantic coast, the surface seems
to be heajxid with boulders with only a little soil in their
interstices, ami every little li(dil, cleared with immense
labour, is still half tilled with huj^e white masses
liO])ularly known as " elejihants." ( )ii the other haml, in
the districts of soft sandstone and shale, one may travel
some distance without seeing a boulder of considerable
size. The boulders are, as usual, often glaeiated or
marked with ice-striae.

Though the more abundant fragments are untravelled,
it by no means follows that they are undisturbed. They
have been lifted from their original beds, heaped upon
each other in every variety of position, and intermixed
w"ith sand and clay, in a manner which shows convincingly
that the sorting action of running water has nothing to
do with the matter; and this applies not only to stones
of moderate size, but to masses of ten feet or more in
diameter. In sonm of the carboniferous districts where
tlie boulder-clay is thick, as for example, near Pictoii
harbour, it is as if a gigantic harrow had been dragged

168 THE R'K AilK IX CANADA.

over tlie surface, teariuj^ up the outerojis of tlie liods, ami
iiiiiiifliiio' their fra,i,'Mients in a rude and unsortful mass.

Besides the untravtdled fraifnients, the ih'ift always
contains houlders derived from distant localities, to which
in many cases we Citn ivnvo. them : and I may mention a
few instances of this to siiow how extensive has heen this
transport of detritus. In the low c(juntry of Cuml)erland
there are few houlders, hut of tlie few that ap[)ear some
helon^ t(» the hard ro'-ks of the C.'oheipiid hills to the
southward; others m-iy have heen derived from the
somewhat similar hills of Xew Urunswick. On the
summits of the ('(jl)e({uid hills and their northern slopes,
we find angular fragments of the sandstones of the plain
helow, not only drifted from their original sites, but
elevated several hundreds of feet above them. To the
southward and eastward of the (Jobecpiids, throughout
Colchester, Northern Hants, and Pictou, fragments from
these hills, usually much rounded, are the most abundant
travelled boulders, showing that there has been great
driftage from this elevated tract. Near tlie town of
I'ictou, where a thick bed of a sandy boulder-deposit
occurs, this is tilled with large masses of sandstone
derived from the outcrops of the beds on higher ground to
the north ; but with these are groups of travelled stones
often in the lower part of the mass. Xear the steam
ferry wharf, in the town of Victou, I observed one such
group, consisting of the following, all large boulders and
lying close together — two of red syenite, six of gray
granite, one of compact gray felsite, one of hard con-
glomerate, two of hard grit. The two last were probably
Lower Carboniferous, the others derived from the older
crystalline rocks. All may have been drifted by one berg
or ice-floe from the flanks of the Cobequid range of hills,

SOME LOCAL DI-rrAILS. IGU

or from the similar liills to the east ami south. In like
manner, the loii}^ ri(l,<fe of trap rocks, extending from cape
niomidon to Briar island, has sent of!" great (piantities of
hfjulders across the sandstone valley which bounds it on
tiic south and up the slopes of the slate and granite hills
to the southward of this valley. Well-characterized
fragments of tra]) from Pdomidon may he seen near the
town of Windsor : and I have seen unmistakalde frag-
ments of similar rock from Dighy neck, on the Tusket
river, thirty miles from tlieir original position. On the
other hand, numerous boulders of granite have been
carried to the northward from tiie liills of Annapolis, and
deposited on the slo])es of the o})posite trappean ridge;
and some of tlicm have been carried round its eastern
end, and now lie on the siiores of Londonderry and
Onslow. So also, -vliile immense numbers of boulders
iiave been scattered over the south coast from the granite
and (piartz rock ridges immediately inland, many have
drifted in the opposite direction, and may be found
scattered over the counties of Antigonish, I'ictou and

Str.ililiiid ynivel on boukler-clay, Merigonisli, N.S.

Colchester, A few boulders, apparently of Laurentian
rock from Labrador, occur on the north coast of Nova
Scotia, and Dr. Honeyman has recorded similar boulders
near Halifax on the Atlantic coast. These facts show
that the transport of travelled blocks, though it may here
as in othor parts of America have been principally from

170 THE JCK A<;K in CANADA.

the iiortliwiiid, has liy no nicinis l)et'ii I'xcliisivoly so:
boulders haviiiif lu'cii carritiil in viirious tlii'ct'tions, ami
inoro esi)ociiilly from the more elevated and rocky dis-
tricts to the lower j^aounds in their vicinity. I'rofessoi'
Hind has shown the existence of ii similar relation
between the boulders of New Ih'unswick and the hilly
ran^(!s of that country.

Such observations as 1 ha\'e been abh' to make in Nova
Scotiii and New Urunswick, and those of lliml, Matthews
and others, show a L,HMieral southerly and south-easterly
direction of r.triation, witii some local variations. The
Ke})orts of Mr. K. Chalmers of the (reoloi^ical Survey of
Canada have, hoW(!ver, contributed a larLje mass of new
material,* and have <nnw. far to enable us to distinguish
the ellects of local <flacier action from those of sea-borne
ice. It would aiii)ear, from these ol nervations, that while
local glaciers have l)een shed in diflerent directions, even
from the comparatively low mountains of the maritinn?
provinces, a large and even donunant intluence has been
exercised by marine agencies. The tables of striation in
Mr. Chalmers' l{e[)ort of 1888-0 are especially worthy of
study in this res[)ect. His general results for southern
New lirunswick are thus stated : f " Co-ordinating the
(lata at hand resi)ecting the glaciation of the regi(.)n, it
would seem that the theory of local glaciers on the higher
grounds and ice-bergs or floating ice upon the lower,
(luring the post-tertiary submergence of the.se, is suflficient
to account ior all the facts coming under oljservation."

* Report Geol. Survey of Canada, 188.5 and following years.

t Report of 1889, Ottawa, 1890. See also papers by Mr. Chalmers
in Canadian Record of Science, and Trans. Royal Society of Canada,
1886, p. 139.

, SOMK LOCAL DETAILS. I7I

This ^feiiGval statement aitpears to iiie to apjily tlirou<,'li(uii
tlie maritime provinces, (lioiinl, there are many local
eomplexities, owiii,<r to the peeiiHar oro^'raphiea! ami
j,'eo^U,ra)tIiical fealui'es of the ret^ion.

The lollowiiin- notes relat(^ to a lew special ftNtturcs
referred to in my previonsly jjiihlisiied jiajiers, and to ihc
occurrence of marine fossils in the maritime provinces.

The travelled and nntravelled houlders are usnallv
internnxed in the drift. In some instances, jiowevei', the
former ajjpear to he most numerous near the surface of
the mass, and their horizontal distrihution is also vei'v
irrej^'ular. In examinine' coast sections of the drift we
may find for some distance a great aliuuthuice of an,<fular
hlocks, with few travelled houlders, oi' hoih varieties are
equally intermixed, or travelled houlders ])revail ; and we
may often olwerve particular kinds of ilicse last eroupcd
together, as, for instance, a nund)er of I)locks of granite,
greenstone, syenite, etc., near each other, as if they had
been removed from their original beds and all deposited
together at one operation. On the surface of the country
where the woods have been removed, this arrangement is
sometnnes ecpially evident; thus humh'eds of granite
boulders maybe seen to cumber one hmited spot, while in
its neighbourhood they are comparatively rare, [t is also
well known to the farmers in the more rocky districts that
many spots which ap])ear to be covered with boulders
have, when these are removed, a layer of soil comparatively
free from stones beneath. These appearances may in some
instances result from the action of currents of water, which
have in spots carried oli' the sand or clay, leaving the
boulders behind; but in many cases this is manifestly the
original arrangement of the material, the superficial layer

172 'IHH K'K A(iK IX CAXADA.

of boulders luOoiiyintf to ;i more iveeiil driftage Lliiiii tliiit
of the underlying mass in which Imulders are often mucii
loss ahundant.

Jiouldei's or travelled stones are often found in places
where thei'e is no other drift. For example, on hare
,Ljranite hills, aliout i'>W) feet in liei^dit, near St. Maiy's
river, there are lar^e an.<,nilar blocks (»f (juart/ite, derived
from the ridges of that material, which abound in the dis-
trict, but which are se})arated from the hills on which the
fragments lie by deep valleys.

In Nova Scotia, beds with marine shells jiave been found
l)y Mr. ^latthew at Ib)rton bluff, but not elsewhere, thou<5h
the boulder-clay is often covered with beds of stratified
sand and ijravel. The onlv evidence of land life, in
the boulder period, or immediately befon; it, that I have
noticed, is a hardened peaty bed which a})pears under the
boulder-clay on the north-west arm of the river of Iiduib-
itants in Cape lU'eton. It rests upon gray clay similar to
that which underlies peat bogs, and is overlaid by nearly
twenty feet of boulder-clay. Pressure has rendered it
nearly as hard as coal, though it is somewhat tougher and
more earthy in a])pearance. It has a shining streak,
burns with considerable flame, and ap])roaches in its
characters to the brown coals or more imperfect varieties
of bituminous coal. It contains many small roots and
branches, apparently of a taxine tree, with iUhrisot swamp
plants. The vegetable matter composing this bed must
have flourished before the drift was spread over the surface.

In New Brunswick, stratified clays holding marine
shells have been found overlying the boulder-clay, or in
connection with it, especially in the southern part of the

* Geol. Survey of Canada, 1889 and previous years.

SOMK LOCAL DKTAILS. ^73

l»roviiice, whore (k'lxrsits of tliis kind occur siiiiiliir to
thosu found in ("iinuda and in Maino, Lhou,i,di apparently
on a smaller scale. These dei)osits, as they oceur near
8t. .lohn, consist of ^'ray and reddisli elays, holdin.i,' fossils
which indicate moderately deep water, and are, as to
si)ecies, identical with those oecurrini,' in similar dejiosits
ill (.'anada and in Maine. They would indicate a some-
what lower temperature than that of the waters of the
hay of Fundy at i)resent, or ahout that of the northern
part of the gulf of St. Lawrence.

In JJailey's lleport on the (leohi^ify of Southern New
Brunswick, Professor Hartt has (•iven a list of the fossils
of these heds, as seen at Lawlor's lake, Duck cove and
St. -John, which 1 re-published with some additions in
Acadian (Jeology.

The.se New 15runswick heds are strictly continuous
with, and eipiivalent to those which extend alon^i,' the
coast of New En<,dand, and thence ascend into the valley
of lake Champlain, while on the other side they may he
considered as perfectly re])resentin,ti[ in character and
fossils the Leda clay of Eastern Canada. They are
remarkably like l)uth in mineral character and fossils to
the Clyde beds of Scotland, which are probably their
equivalents. The points of resemblance of the Leda clay
of the coast of Maine, and that of the St. Lawrence, and
Labrador, were noticed by me in my paper of 18G0,
already referred to, and have been more fully brought
out by Dr. Packard, who describes the Leda clay as it
occurs at several localities from Eastport to cape Cod.
Along this whole coast it retains its Labradoric or gulf of
St. Lawrence aspect, though with the introduction of
some more southern species, and the gradual failure of
some more arctic forms. South of cape Cod, as in the

174 THE ICK A(JK IX CANADA.

modern sea, tlie riei.stoceiie beds assume a mueli more
southern aspect in their fossils, tlie boreal forms altooether
disappearinj^'. For a very full exhibition of these facts, 1
may refer to Dr. Packard's paper.

The stratified sand and (gravel of Nova Scotia rests
upon and is newer than the l)oulder-clay, and is also
newer than the stratified marine clays above referred to.
Its age is probably that of the Saxicava sand of the St.
Lawrence valley. The former relati(jn may often be seen
in coast sections or river banks, and occasionally in road
cuttings. I observed some years ago an instructive
illustration of this fact in a bank on the shore a little to
the eastward of Merigoniish harbour. At this jdace the
lower part of the Ijank consists of clay and sand with
angular stones, principally sandstones. Upon this rests a
bed of fine sand and small rounded gravel with lavers of
coarser pebl)les. The gravel is separated from the drift
below l)y a layer of the same sort of angular stones that
appear in the drift, showing that the currents which
deposited the upper bed have washed away some of the
finer portions of the drift before the sand and gravel were
thrown down. In this section, as well as in most others
that I have examined, the hnver part of the stratified
gravel is finer than the upper })art, and contains more sand.

In some cases we can trace the ])ebbles of the gravels
to ancient conglomerate rocks which have furnished them
by their decay; but in other instances the peitbles may
have been rounded by the waters that deposited them in
their present place. In places, however, where old pebble
rocks do not occur, we sometimes find, instead of gravel,
beds of fine laminated sand. A very remarkable instance
of the connection of superficial gravels with ancient
Debbie rocks occurs in the countv of Pictou. In :he coal

SOMK LOCAL DETAILS. 175

formation of tliis county tliere is a very thick bed of
conglomerate, the outcrop of which, owirig to its compara-
live hardness and great mass, forms a high ridge extending
from the hill behind Xew (llasgow across tiie Kast and
Middle rivers, and abaig the south of the West river, and
then, crossing the West river, re-appears in Rogers' hill.
The valleys of these three rivers have been cut tlirough
this bed, and the material thus removed has l)een heaped
u[) in hillocks and l)eds of gravel, along the banks of the
.-streams, on the side toward which the water now Hows,
which happens to be the north and north-east. Accord-
ingly, along the couise of the All»ion Mines Railway and
the lower parts of the Middle and West rivers, these
gravel beds are everywhere exposed in the road-cuttings,
and may in some places be seen to rest on the boulder-
clay, showing that the cutting of these valleys was
completed after the drift was produced. Sinnlar instances
of the connection of gravel with conglomerate occur near
Antigonish, and on the siiles of the Cobecjuid mountains,
where some of the valleys have at their southern entrances
immense tongues of gravel extending out into the plain,
as if currents of enormous volume had swept through
them from north to south.

The stratified gravels do not, like the older drift, form a
continuous sheet spreading over the surface. They occur
in mounds and long ridges, or eskers, sometimes extending
for miles over the country. One of the most remarkable
of these ridges is the " Boar's Back," which runs along the
west side of the Hebert river in Cumberland. It is a
narrow ridge, perhaps from ten to twenty feet in height,
and cut across in several places by the channels of small
l»rooks. The ground on either side appears low and Hat.
For eight miles it forms a natural road, rough, indeed, but

17G THE ICK AOK IX CANADA.

practicable with care to a carriage, the u;eiieral (Urectioii
beinj^ nearly iioi-th and soiitli. What its extent or conrso
may be beyond the points where tlie road enters on and
leaves it, I do not know ; but it appears to extend from tlie
base of tlie Cobecinid mountains to a ridge of sandstone that
crosses the lower part of the Ileliert river. It consists of
gravel and sand, whether stratified or not I could not
ascertain, witli a few large boulders. Another very singu-
lar ridge of tiiis kind is that running along the west side
of C.'lyde river in Slielbuiiie countv. 'I'his rid<je is higiu'r
than tiiat on Hebert river, but, like it, extends parallel lo
the river, and forms a natural road, improved l)y art in
such a manner as to l»e a \ery toleral)le highway. Along
a great part of its course it is separated from the river by
a low alluvial Hat, and on the land side a swamp intervenes
between it ami the higher ground, shorter and moii;
interru])ted ridges of this kind ma}' also l)e seen in tlu;
country northward and easlwai'd of the town of I'ictou.
In sections thev are seen to be stratified, and thev
generally occur on low t)r level tracts, and in places where,
if the country were submerged, the surf or marine currents
and tides might be expected to tlirow uj) ridges. The
presence of boulders shows that ice grounded on these
ridges, and it, probaV)ly by its prc-sure, in some instances,
modified their forms. These eskers, or " Imrse-backs,"
must not, however, be regardi'd as glacier moraines, to
which in structure they generally bi'ar no resembliince.

Mr. Chalmers has in Xew JJrunswick endeavoured, with
some success, to distinguisli those that belong to river
valleys and glaciei's from those that are marine.

The liev. Mr. Paisley has published in the Canadian
Nafnralist (187^) a list of shells ol)tained from a railway
cutting on the Tattagouche river, near Uatlr.irst, in New

SOMK LOCAL DETAILS. 177

Uniiiswick. They wore found in beds of Leda clay
[liissing upwards into sand and gravel. At the daccpiet
river, in the same district, the bones of a small cetacean
have been found, and liavc been described by I)r. (iil})in
and Dr. Honeyman.* They were refcii'ed l)y Dr. Clilpin
to BvliKjti ViriiiinifdiKi of Thomi)soii from the Pleistocene
of X'ermont. Similar bones have been found in the Leda
clay of the St. Lawrence valley, and ha\e Iteen coni])ared
by the late Mr. IWllings with the skcleioii of the recent
B. vatoiloii, L., of the St. Lawrence, with which the
so-called J>. T^'niiniifdiia is probably identical, as the
specimens above referred to, and exannned by JJillings,
I'ertainly were.

Mr. Matthew has found TiUina (1 rnnhiiKyini at ][orton
lUul'l, in l)eds prol)ably of the age of the Sa.\icava sand.
^Ir. j\Litthew has also ])ublished+ a valuable synopsis of
the fossils found up lo 1S7<) in tlie I'osi -pliocene of New
l'>runs\vicl<, in wliich the number of species of mollusca is
raised to more than thirty, lie notes the im])ortaiit fact
that the shells found on the coast of the bale de Chaleurs
are of more norlhern type than lliose in the biiy of Fundy,
which conform more nearly to the asseml)lage f(jund in
those deposits on the \ew iMiglaml coasts, so that the
existing geogra])hical regions were alread'' to some extent
established 011 the coast of Xorih .Ameiica in the period
of the rpi)er Leda clay.

It is probably to the more modern i)art of the Tleisto-
cene, if not to a more recent period fcjlhjwing the elevation
of the land, that the bones of the mastodon found in cape
lU'cton, and descril)ed in "Acadian (ieolou-v," belong. To

* Trans. Nova Scotia Institute, \o\. III.
+ Canadian Xatura/ist, Vol. VIII.

13 -^ _—---—.--.-

ITS TlIK K'K A(;K IX CANADA.

tlii.'." latei' or jxist-^iflacial n,u;(j also lielont;- the bouldci'
pavements of lakes, llio shore ■>' i;('s, the oyster licds and
llie sand dunes described in the sanic work and in the
" .Su})pleinent " to it ([)atfe 17).

IV. — Jjoi'rr Sf. JAiti'i'cucc — North Suh'.

Descriptions of the ricistocene deposits of this rcLcion
are contained in s('\('ral of my ]»aj»ers ahove cited, hut 1
sliall liere give a sunimavy of these, with some Cdn'octions
and additional facts fihtained within the ])ast few years.

S<i(ji(rn(iii Ji'iiri: — 1 ha\e already, in part lirst, referred
to the glacial striation of this region, and ]ierha])S no
better exanii)le couM be found of those lateral valleys
along which ice seems to have been ]»oured into the St.
Lawrence from the north, 'i'lie gorge of the Saguenay is
a narrow and deep cut, luuning nearly N.'W. and S. Iv, or
at right angles to the course of the St. r.awrence, and of
the T.aurenlian ridges. It extends inland more than
forty-tive miles, and then divides into two bi'anches, one
f»f whieh is occupied by the continuation of the river to
lake St, .b)hn, the other by ITa-lIa bav and a ^allev at its
head, in the lower ])art of its conrse, as far as Ifa-lia
l)ay, this gorge is from ~>Q to 140 fathoms deep below the
level of the tide in the St. Lawrence, indicating an eleva-
tion of the land to that extent or more, at the time when
it was excavatetl. In .some places the clifl's on its banks
rise abrnptly to 1,500 feet above the water level, so that
its extreme dejith is nearly 2,400 feet, while its width
varies from al)out a mile to al>out one and a-half. The
striated surfaces and tlie rorues motif.otuiecs seen in this
gorge and on the hills on its sides, to a height of at least
.'-)00 feet, shew that in the glacial jjcriod a powerful
stream of ice must have flowed down the gorge into the

SOMK UX'AL DETAILS. 17;)

St. Lawrenoe, thon^di whether this \vas wholly a ^laeiei'
or ill part a fiord leadin^t,' t'nuii one, like many of tliose in
CJreenland, does not certainly appear. Possibly, with
different levels of the land, these conditions may have
alternated. \ cannot ima<.i'ine anythin,!,^ more like what
the Saguenay may have l)een, than the Franz Joseph fiord
in east (Ireenland.*

The strikes of the gneiss on the opposite sides of the
Sa<]jiieniiy indicate that it occu})ies a line of transverse
fracture, constitutin<f a weak portion of the Laurentian
ridfjes, and this has evidently been smoothed and deei)ened
l)y water and ice under conditions diU'ercnt from the
present, in which it is ])rol)id)le that the channel is being
gradually filled with mud. Its excavation nu'st have
taken ])lace during a })eriod of continental elevation in or
after the I'liocene period, aiul |)revious to the deposition
of the thick beds of marine clay (Letla clay) which appear
near its mouth and in its tributaries, sometimes passing
into boulder-clay below, and ca})ped by sand and gravel.
It is indeed not improbal)le that in the later Pleistocene
it was in great part tilled up with such deposits, which
have been swept away in the course of the re-elevation of
the land.

At Tadoussac, at the nu:)uth of the Saguenay, where the
underlying formati(Ui is the Laurentian gneiss, the Pleis-
tocene beds attain to great thickness, but are of simple
structure and oidy slightly fossiliferous. The ja-incipal
part is a stratified sandy clay with few boulders, except
in places near the ridges of Laurentian rocks, when it
becomes filled with numerous rounded blocks and pebbles
of gneiss. This forms higii baid<s eastward of Tadous.sac.

* Second German Expedition, 1870. .See also a paper by Prof.
Laflaitime, Trana. R.S.C.

180 THK ICK AdK IN CANADA.

It coiiLaiiis ii few sliells of Tclliiut (IrditltnuUva iiml Leila
f/ldrialiti, and a little inland, at Ueigeion river, it also
contains Ccrdiinn Islnndiciiiu, AsUirfc eUiplica, a>:d lilijin-
cho>ii'//(f psiffccra. It resembles some of the beds seen on
the south side of the river St. Lawrence, and has also
much of the aspect of the Leda clay, as developed in the
valley of the Ottawa. On tliis clay there rest in ]»laces
thick beds of yellow sand and gravel.

At Tadoussac these dei)osits have lieen cut into a
succession of terraces which are well seen near the hotel
and old church. The lowest, near the shore, is about ten
feet high ; the second, on which the hotel stands, is forty
feet; the third is 120 to loO feet in height, and is uneven
at top. The highest, which consists of sand and gravel, is
about 250 feet in height. Above this, the country inland
consists of l)are Laurentian rocks. These terraces haxc
l)een cut out of deposits, once more extensive, in the
process of elevation of the land: and the ]>vesent tiat.i oil'
the mouth of the Saguenay would form a similar terrace
as wide as any of the others, if the country were to
ex})erience another elevatary movement. On the third
terrace I observed a few large Laurentian boulders, ami
some pieces of red and gray shale of the (.Quebec grouj),
indicating the action of coast-ice when this terrace was
cut. On the highest terrace there were also a few
boulders; and both teri'aces are capped with pebbly sand
and well-rounded gravel, indicating the long-continued
action of the waves at the levels which they represent.

/diirray Bay, dc. — At Murray bay, Petit Mai bay, and
IjBS Eboulements, as noticed above, the system of Pleisto-
cene terraces is well developed. On the west side of
Murray bay, the Candu'o-Silurian rocks of AVhite point,
immediately within the pier, form a steep clill', in the

SOMK LOCAL DKTAILS. Jgj

middle of which is a tumicod step iiiarkiiig an ancient sea
level. At the end nearest the i)ier tlie sea has a«(ain cut
hack to the old clilT, leavin- merely a narrow shelf ; hut
toward the inner side this slielF i-apidiy expands into the
sandy Hat aloiif,' which the main road runs, and which is
continuous with the lower plain extendin^r all the way to
the head of tlie hay. In this flat the upi)er portion of the
Pleistocene deposit seems to consist principally of sand
and oravel, restinir on stony clay. In the former, which
corresponds to the Saxicava sand of Montreal, I found
oidy a few valves of Telllna (hrnilnndica, which is still
the most abundant shell on the modern beach. !n the
latter, correspond inn- to the Leda clay, which is best seen
in some parts of the shore at low tide, I found a number
of deep water shells of the followin,!,' species, all of which,
except Splrorhis qjlrilliim and AphnnUte Grmnlandica,
have been found in these deposits at Quebec and
Montreal :

FuHus tornatus.

Trophm scalar if arm e.

Margarita luilnna.

Ci/livJina oeculta.

Pcde n Is! a )i die us.

TcUina calcarca.

Leda truncata.

Saxicava rngosa.

Aph rodite Grcmlandica.

Ml/til ns edulis.

Ml/a areaaria.

JJa/anus Hanieri.

Spirorhis sjnrillum.

S. vitrca.

Scrjrida verm icuJaris.

1 ,SL> 'I' 1 1 1'i IC K A( ; I>: 1 N CAN A 1 )A.

These shells imply a hin'lier lu'iich thiui thai of this
lowei' Hat, which is not luoi'e than thirty feet ahovc the
])resent sea level. iVceonlingly, ahove this aie sevei'al
Iii,L,'h('r terraces. (See Sn|ini imdrv "'I'crraecis and liaised
lieaclies.") The second jtrincijtal terrace, which forms a
stee]) hank of clay some distance hehind the main road, is
IIG feet in height, and is of considerahle hreadth, and has
on its front in sonii; ])laces an im])erfect terrace at the
height of SI feet. It corresponds nearly in height with
the shonlder over which the road from the ])ier ])asses.
Upon it, in the rear of the property of Mr. JJuherger, is
a little stream which disa.p])ears nndergroiind, prohahly in
a lissnre of the iniderlying limestone, ami returns to the
surface only on the shore of the hav. Ahove this is a
smaller and hiss distinct terrace, lo9 feet high, lieyond
this the ground rises in a steep slope, which in many
places consists of calcareous heds, worn and ahradcd hy
the waves, hut showing no distinct terrace; and the
highest distinct shore mark which 1 (jhsei'ved is a narrow
heach of rounded peltliles at the height of more than .'Uld
feet; hut above this there is a Hat at tlu; height of 4-1-.S
feet. This hcacli a]>pears to hecome a wide terrace further
to the north, and also on the opposite side of the l»ay.
]t prohahly corresponds with the highest terrace observed
by Sir W. E. Logan at bay St. I'aid, and estimated by
him at the height of 3G0 feet.

As already stated, three of the i)rincipal terraces at
jMurray bay correspond nearly with three of the princii)al
shore levels at Montreal ; aiul in various parts of (Janada
two principal lines of old .sea beaches occur at about 100
to 150 feet, and 300 to ooO feet above the sea, though
there are others at diflerent levels.

SO.MK LOCAL I )K TAILS. Jg;j

III lilt' I'li'istocciM' |H'ii,,(l tlir viillcy i>( ihc Miin;iv Imv
rivci' li;is liccii tilled, iiIuKisldi' ((iiitc to l,||,. I,.\,.l ,,1' the
liiy'iii'st icrracc, willi ,-iii ('iioriiKuisly lliick mass of luud
:mtl iMMildcrs, washed iVoiu the land and deposiied in the
SL'il-hed dlll'iliL;- the IdllL;' perind dl' I'leistoceile suhlliei nvnce.
Thn.u-li this mass the dec], \allev n|' thi' ii\-er has heeii
'■i''- '•'"• 'Ik' <'lii,v, dejii'i\(Ml i,{ suiijioit and ivstin^ im
inclined snrl'aees, has sli[)|)ed dduiiward, f<iiniin,n' sLiaiieely
.sliiiijcd sldpes, and outlyiiiu' masses, that have in some
instances hceii moulded l)y the leeediiin' waves, or j.y ih,.
sulisefiiienL action of the wealher, into conical mounds, so
vcyular that it is dillieult to con\inee many of the visitors
to Ihe hay that I hey are not ailitieial. Sii' \V. Iv Ij.n'an.
Ill liis rei.orl on the district, has, in my view, ,-iven tlie
true t'xi.laiiatioii of these mounds, which may he seen in
all sta^L^cs of formation on the iieiuhhouriiiu' hill-sides.
Their ctlcct to a geological eye is to give to this heautiful
valley an uiilinished as[)ect,as if the time elapsed since its
elevation had not l>een surtieieiit to allow its slopes to
attain to their fully rounded contour. This ap])earaiiee is
no douht due to the enormous thickness of the de])osit of
Pleistocene mud, to the uneven surfaces of the underlvino-
rock, and possihly also in [.art tu the eartlKiuake shocks
which have visited this region.

At the mouth of the Murray i'.ay river, the boulder-
clay rests directly on the striated rock-surfaces, and
IS a true till, filled with the Laurentian stones and
boulders of the inland hills, though resting on Cambro-
Siliirian limestone. It is evidently marine, since it
contains shells of Lctla glucialk ; and many of the stones
are coated with lUyozoa and Spirorl)is. It is also observ-
able that on the X.E. sides of the limestone ridges the
boulders are more numerous and larger. Above the

1S4 'I'HK ICK A(iK IN CANADA.

iMiuldcr-clay imiyiii sonic jilnccs lie seen m sti'iililicd simdy
clay, uliicli t'uillicc up tlic livcr iitliiiiis t(t a i^rcat
lliickiiess. It ('(tulaiiis Sti.iii'ant riitjtixd, TcIHiki (Inni-
londivd and TiIHiki iiilniirii,\i)i, well as Lnhi t/hicifdix. The
most rcH'ciit iloposit is a sand or juravcl, often of considei-
al»l(! tliickiicss, and in some of the heds ol" i^ra\(d the
l»ehl)les are UKtre comitlelely rounded than those of the
mo(h'rn hcacli.

I hav(! already staled my rt'asoiis for Itelievinc; that the
upper part of the valley of the Murray i>ay river may
have been the lied of a glacier ilowinu' down from tin;
inland hills toward the St. Lawrence. X.W. and S.E.
striae attrihutahle to this glacier were seen at an idevation
of SCO feet, and the marine heds were traced up to almost
the same liei<j;ht, above which, t<t a height of about 1,200
feet, loose boulders were observed and glaciated roek-
surfaces, but no marine deposits. It is probable, there-
fore, that at a time when the sea extendiid up to an
elevation of SOO feet, the hi^yher j>art of the valley may
have been Idled with land ice. Whether the 1)er;i;s from
this, drifting' down toward the St. Ijawrence, [n'odueed
the X.W. strialion ob.served at a lower level, or whether
at a previous period, when the land was hiirhei', the ice
extended farther down, may admit of doulit. Certainly no
land ice has extended to a lower level than about 800 feet
since the deposition of the mr-rine boulder and Ledu clay.

Very lart^e boulders occur in this vicinity. ( )ne observed
on the beach on the east side of the l)ay, is an oval mass
of lime felspar, thirty feet in circumference, lyinj^ like
most other large Iwulders in this region, with its longer
axis to the N.E.

Lcs Ehivdemt'nts. — At this place the Lanrentian hills
rise to a great height near the shore, and the Pleistocene

SOMK LOCAL hKTAILS. |}^.-

l»<'(ls ]»res(Mit the ('X('t'[)ti(.iiiil t'cutiiiv of icstiiin- on n sofi
Jiiid (l('(M.iiiiH).sc(l slialu (I'ticii shiilc). This rock ini,L,r|it
indeed he iiiistukt'ii I'or diil't hut for its stratification,
and it must have hccii decoiiiijosi'd t,(» a i^rcat di'pLh hy
•siib-fierial action and .suhseciuently siihiiicr^vd and covei'ed
hy th(! I'leistoceiie Iicds. Its prcserviition is thi; more
rcniarkal)le that the clay ovcrlyiiiL^ it contains very hirifc;
Laureiitian houhh-rs, which must haA(^ Ix'cn ((uietly (h;-
])osited hy Hoatino- ice. Only a few shells of Tr//I,i(t
(/nr/i/ti/K/Int were observed in these clays.

The reinarkal)le series of terraces seen at this ]»lacc,
find noticed in chapter second, risin^' to 900 feet in hei,«,dit,
are all cut out of th(^ IMeistoeeno beds Kind decomposed
shale, and even the highest presents lai«,'e boulders. In
e.\aminin<r such terraces it is always necessary to distin-
<iuish between the clays out of which the terraces have
been cut and the more modern deposits restinj^- on the
terraces. Uoth may contain fossils, but those of the
original clay are in this region mostly of deeper water
species than those in the overlying superficial beds.

lattrilaite the preservation of the thick beds of boulder-
clay and the decomposed shale at Les Ebouleinents, to the
fact that no transverse valley exists here, and that a point
of high Lanrentian land projects to the north-east, so as
to shelter this place from forces acting in that direction.
T have observed this appearance on the lee or south-west
side of other ])rojecting masses of hard rock, and as the
decomposed shale must be a numument remaining from
the riiocene elevation of the land, it shows that no
l)owerful eroding force had acted between that time and
the period of the N.E. arctic ice-laden currents.

It is perhaps deserving of notice that the thick beds of
soft material at Les Eboulenients have been cut into

ISG 'I'HK K'H A(;K I\ CANADA.

innuy irreuuliir t'oriiis hy motk'i'ii subaerial causes nf
(leinidalioii, ami also liy landslips: wiiiidi lasl jiavc hecii in
])art conni't'Lcil with the cartlKiiiakc shocks wiih whidi
this part of the coast has hccii Nisiled more than any
other district of Canada.

Above I.es Klioulcmenis, hay St. I'aul ]ircsenls features
similar to those of Murray bay, and then the Laiirentian
land of cape Tourment comes boldly forward lo the shore
of the river. Above this the comliiioir< are sinnlar to
those observed in the iiei^i;hbourh(»od of <^)uebee.

VII. — Lu/irr St. Latrrcint . — Sonlh Side

The lieport of the (leolou-ical Survey of ("ana<la (lS(j:l)
includes all thai is yet known of the rieist(»eene
formations at ()as[)('\ and thence upward to Trois I'istoi.'s.
According to this Keport, the boulder-clay and o\"erlying
.sands and uravels are extensively spread over the [leninsula
t)f (ras[>('. ( )n the ^TagdabMi river they lia\e been traced
up to a heiu'ht of 1,000 feet above the sea, thouuh marine
shells are not recorded at this great height. Terraces
occur at various elevatioirs, and in one of the lower at
port Daniel, only lifteen feet above the sea, marine sliells
occur. On tlu' coast westward of cajie Rosier, tei'races
occur at many places, and of dillerent heights, and marine
shells ha\e been found ninety feet above the sea. 1 have
not had o])portunities to examine these deposits to the
eastward of the i)lace next to be mentionetl.

Trols ri^tulcs. — At this ])lace one of the most complete
and instructive sections of the Pleistocene in Canada
has been exposed by the deep ravine of the river, and by
the ciitting.s for the Intercolonial llailway. The most
important terracr; at the mouth of the Trois I'istoles
river, that in which the railway cutting has been made, is

SOMK U)CAL I)F/rAILS. 187

aboiU one himdred and tit'lv feet alxtve the level of tlie
sea, and is coniiMJSed of elay, ( apju'd with sand and jj;ravel.
At no ii;real distance inland, there risi-s a set'ond terrace
one hundred and sixty feel higher than the iirst, or about
three hundicd and ten feet ahove tlie sea. In some
places the front of this terrace is cut into two or more.
It consists of clay ca]))ied with sand and liravel, witii some
lar<ie stones and Laureiitian boulders. Still farther inland
is a third terrace, tlie heiuht of whicdi was estimated at
four hundred to foui' hundred and fifty feet.

In tlie first mentioned of the aliove terraces, a vei'v
deeji railway cuttin<j; has been nuide, exposing a thick bed
of homoo-encous clay of a ]iurplish Lfray cohjur, and
extrenu'ly tenacious. It contains few fossils: and these,
as far as I could ascertain, exclusi\'ely Lidn fjldcinlis. It
is, in short, a typical Leila clay, and its thicku'jss in this
lower terrace can scarcely be less than one hundred and
twenty feet. .Vs tlie inland terraces are probably also
cut out of it. this may Ite less than half of its maxinnim
depth, ruder the Leda (day a tyi)ical boulder-clay had
been exposed at one place in di^ugin^ a mill sluice. It
seemed to be about twenty feet thick, and rests on the
smoothed edues of the shales of the C^)uel)ee ,u;roup.

Though the Leda clay at the Trois Pistoles seems
perfectly homo,L!;eneous. it shows indicati<»ns of stratifica-
tion, and holds a few lai'ue Laurentian boulders, which
become more numerous in tracing' it to the westward. A
short distance westward of Trois Pistoles, it is seen to lie
overlaid by a boulder-deposit, in some places consisting of
large loose boulders, in others approaching to the character
of a true bouldcr-clay or associated with stratified sand
ami gravel. We thus have boulder-clay below, next
Leda clav, antl above this a second boulder-drift as.sociated

188 ^'HK ICP] AUK IN CANADA.

with the Saxicava saiul, and apparently resting- on the
terraces cut out of tlie okler clays. This is the ari-ange-
nient which prevails throughout this part of (.'anada. It
is modified l)y the greater or less relative thickness (jf the
boulder-clay and Leda clay, by the irregular distril)Ution
of the overlying sands, aiul by the projection through it
of rid<'es of the underlvin<j; rocks.

The section at Trois I'istoles may l)e represented as
follows in descending order:

1. ^a)i(f and Gravel, capping the terraces cut in the

previous deposits, aiul forming slight ridges or
eskers in some of the lower levels. It contains on
the lower terraces a few shells of Leda and T'cUlna.
At the bottom of this deposit there are seen in
places many large boulders of Laurentian and
Lower Sihu'ian rocks, resting on the Leda clay
below.

2. Leda Clan, exposed in the railway cutting and seen

also in the edge of the second terrace. Thickness
one hundred and twenty feet or more. It holds
a few large lioulders and shells of Leda ;/faelal{s —
the latter uninjured and with the valves united.

."». Boulder-elaij, or hard gray till, with l)oulders and
stones. Seen in a mill-sluice near the bridge, and
estimated at twenty feet in thickness at this })lace,
though apparently increasing in thickness farther
to the westward.

4. Shales of Hiluro-Cambrian aue, seen in the bottom of
the river near the bridge. They are smoothed
over, but show no striae, tiiough they have
numerous structure lines which nnght readily be
mistaken for ice-striae.

SOME LOCAL DETAILS.

189

To the eastward of the HKJUtli of Tr(ji.s Pistoles river,
the fi.'st terrace above mentioned is brouw-lit out to the
siiore by a projectin,-,' point of rock. In ])roceeding west-
ward toward isle Verte, it recedes from the coast, leavin-
a flat of considerable breadth, which represents the lowest
terrace seen on this part of the St. Lawrence, and is
elevated only a few feet above the sea. This ilat is in
many places thickly strewn with lari^e boulders, probably
left when it was excavated out of the clay. In proceeding
westward the first or railway terrace of Trois I'istoles,
inland of the ilat al>ove mentioned, is seen to consist of
boulder-clay, either in consequence of this part of the
deposit thickening in this direction, or of the Leda clay
passing into boulder-clay. It still, however, at isle A'erte,
contains a few sliells of Lahi glaciaJU in tough reddish
clay holding l)oulders.

liivterc-diL-Lotip (nul Cacoi/na. — The country around
Cacouna and Kiviere-du-Loup rests on the sliales, sand-
stones, antl conglomerates of the Quebec aiul Potsdam
groups of Sir W. K Logan. As these rocks vary much in
hardness, and are also highly inclined and much (Hsturbed,
the denudation to which they have l»een subjected has
caused them to present a somewhat uneven surface.
They form long ridges running nearly parallel to the
coast, or north-east and south-west, with interveniiK^
longitudiuid valleys excavated in the softer beds. One of
these ridges forms the long reef off Cacouna, which is
bare oidy at low tide; another, running close to the
shore, supports the village of Cacouna ; another forms tlie
point which is terminated by the pier ; a fourth rises into
Mount Pilote; and a fifth stretches behind the town of
Kiviere-du-Loup.

1<)0 THE ICK A(;K in CANADA.

The (leprc'ssioiis between these ridges are occupied with
I'leistoceiie dejtosits, not so re_t;'ular and unifi)rni in
their arvunj^fement as the eoi'respon(Hn_tf lieds in the ,L,'reat
])lains higher u]) th(> St. Lawrence, but still presenting a
more or less detinite order of succession. The oldest
member of the d(']K)sit is a tough boulder-clay, its cement
foi'med of gray or rtuldish mud derived from the waste of
the shales of the (^)uebe(' grouj), and the stones and
boidders with which it is filled ])artly derived from tiie
harder meml)ers of that grou]), and jiartly from the
Laurontian hills (tn the ()]»])osite or northern side of the
rivei', here more than twenty miles distant. The thick-
ness of this boulder-clay is, no doul)t, very variable, but
does not a})pear to be so great as farther to the eastward.

Above the lioulder-clay is a tough clay with fewer
stones, and abo\'e this a more sandy boulder-clay, con-
taining numerous boulders, overlaid by several feet of
stratified sandy clay without boulders; while on the sides
of the ridges, and at some places near the present shore,
there are beds and terraces of sand and gravel, constituting
old shingle beaches a])parently much more recent than
the other deposits.

xVll these deposits are more or less fossiliferous. The
lower boulder-clay contains large and fine s})ecimens of
Zcda glacial is and otiier deep-water and nuul-d welling
shells, with the valves attached. The upper clay is
remarkably rich in shells of numerous species; and its
stones are covered with IVdyzoa and great Acorn-shells
{Balaniis Ifaineri), sonietimes two inches in diameter and
three inches high. The stratified gravel holds a few
littoral and sub-littoral shells, which also occur in some
places in the more recent gravel. On the surface of some
of the terraces are considerable deposits of large shells

SOME LOCAL DKTAILS. ^^j

of ]\I,/a fnninila, hut lliesc iive modem, and aiv the
"kitchen-middens" of the Indiiins, wiic in former limes
t'ncain])ed liere.

Numbers of Pleistocene sliells may l.e picked up
along the shores of the two little hays\)et\veGn Caconna
and i:ivi('-iv-du-L(.u]): hut I fcund the most prolific
locality to he on the hanks of a little stream called the
I'etite l{ivi(']e-du-Lou]), which runs hetween the ridge
hehind (Vicouna and that of Mount Tilote, and empties
into the hay hetween l^iviere-du-Lou]) and the ])ier. In
these localities I collected and noticed in my ])a].er on
this ]»lace* more tnan eighty species, ahout thirty-six of
them not previously puhlished as occurring in thekeisto-
cene of Canada.

AVe have thus at lliviere-du-Loup induhitahle evidence
of a marine houlder-clay, and this undei'lies the represen-
tative of the Leda clay, and rests immediately on striated
rock surfaces, the striae running north-east and south-west.
The Cacouna houlder-clay is a somewhat deep-water
deposit. Its most ahnndant shells are LcJa f/lm-ia/is,
^|/rl/h fan/is, i\m\ Tcllina pmriuui,i\m\ these are imbedded
in the clay with the valves closed, and in as perfect
condition as if the animals still iidiabited them. At the
time when they lived, the Cacouna ridges nuist have been
reefs in a deep sea. Even :\Iount IMlote has huge
Laurentian l)oulders high np on its sides, in evidence
of this. The shales of the (,)uebec group were beino'
wasted by the waves and currents; and while there is
evidence that much of the fine mud \,,)rn from them was
drifted far to the south-west to form the clays of the
Canadian plains, other portions were deposited between

* Canadian Naturalist, April, ISGo.

10l> THE ICK A(iK IX CANADA.

llie ]'i(l<j;('s, al()n,u' with limilders (li'()])|it'(l from llie ici;
\vliic;Ii (liiflc'(l fioiii till' Laurenliau shore to the norlli.
The process was slow and (|uiet : so much so, that in its
Liter sta<j;es many of the l)oul{lers liecame ciicrnsled with
the calcareous cells of marine animals before they l)ecame
buried in llie clay. No othei' explanation can, I believe,
be g'iven of this de])osii : and it presents a clear and
cunvincinji; illustration, ap[)licidile to wide areas in Eastern
America, of the mode of deposit of the boulder-tday.

A similar process, though, probably, on a much smaller
scale, is now goinu' on in the CJulf. Adnural liaytield has
well illustrated the fact that the ice now raises, and
ilrops in new places, multitudes of lioulders, and I have
noticed the fre(pient occurrence of this at present on the
coast of Xova Scotia. .Vt C'acouna itself, there is, on
some i)arts of the shore, a l»and of lai'gt; T^aureutian
boulders between half tide luid low-water mark, whicli
are moved more or less Ity the ice every winter, so that
the tracks cleared l»y the [)eo])le for launching their l)oats
and building their lishing-wears, are in a few years filled
up. AVherever such boulders are dro[)[)eil on banks of
clay in ])rocess of accunndation, a species of boulder-clay,
sinular lo thai now seen on tlie land, must result. At
present such materials are deposited under tlie inlluence
of tidal currents, runiung alternately in opposite
directions ; but in the older boulder-elay ])eriod, the
current was })robal.)ly a steady one from the north-east,
ami comparatively little al'lected by the tides.

The boulder-clay of Caeouna and liiviere-du-Loup,
being at a lower level and nearer the coast than that
found higher u}) the St. Lawrence valley, is probably newer,
[t may have been deposited after the beds of boulder-clay
at Montreal had emerged. That it is thus more recent.

SOMH LOCAL DKTAILS. Hi;)

is fniilici' slmwii liy its slicUs. wliicli arc, on the wliok', u
iiioi'i! imidi'ni ass('iiililaL!e lliau tlmse (if llie Lcdu clay of
^foiitrciil. Ill I'd-sils, as well as in flcvalioii, llii'so 1k.mIs
more nearly icscmlilc ilmsc on ilic coast of .Maiiii'. It
would thus a])]icar tlial the hoiihU'r-clay is not, a coiiliniious
shed or siialmii, lnit that its dinereiit portions were
formed at (htlereiit, liliies, durillu' the siiliincrLieiiee and
ide\ation of tin; country : ami it must ha\(' lieeii during'
the latter ]»rocess that the greater ]iart of the deposits
now under consideration were formed.

T\\v. assemhlaue ctf shells at Kiviere-dii-Lou)) is, in
almost e\ery particular, that of the modern ^ulf of St.
Lawrence, more es[iccially on its iiorthei'ii coast. 'I'he
jUMncijial diClerence is the ])re\alence of Lk/k nirticd in
the lower part of the deposit. This shell, still li\in,u' in
Arctic America, has not yet occurred in tlie gulf of St.
Lawrence, lait is distrihuted throuuhout the lower jiart of
the Pleistocene deposits in the whole of Lower Canada
and Xew l^niiland, and appears in great numliers at
.Ki\iere-du-Loiip, not only in the ordinaiy form, l)iit in the
shortened and depau))erated Aarieties which ha\G been
named hy JJeeve L. si/i(^iH/ and L. sn/ri/'cra.

Of ^{sldiif Lmi ri'iiliit iiii . su])posed to he extinct, and
which occurs soahiindantly in 'he I'leistoceue at ]Montreal.
few si)ecimens were found, and its place is supplied hy
an allied but apiparently distinct si)ecies, to he noticed in
the seijuel, which is still abundant at CJaspe and Labrador,
and on the coast of Xova Scotia.

It must 1)6 observed that ihoULih the elavs at liiviere-
du-Lou]) are more recent than those of ^Montreal, they are
still of c(insiderable anti(|uity. They must have been
deposited in water perhaps fifty fatlioms deep, and the
bottom must have Iteen raised from that depth to its
14

I<)4 THE ICE A(;E in CANADA.

prosent level; and in the nioantinie the lii^h clil'ls now
fronting,' the coast nnist have licen cnt out of the rocks of
the (.^)ueliec ,nron}).

The order of succession of beds, as seen in the 1 tanks of
tlie Little liivicre-du-Loup, may lie stated as follows, in
descending order :

1. Large loose l)oulders, mostly of Laurent ian rocks, seen

in the tops of ridges of rock and gravel. One angu-
lar mass of ((>uebec group conglomerate was observed
ninety feet in circumference and ten to fifteen feet
high. Near it was a rounded ])Oulder of Anorthosite
from the Laurentian,. 13 feet long.

2. Stratified sand and gravel resting on the sides of the

ridges of rock projecting through the drift. Thick-
ness variable.

:>. Stratified sandy clay and sand with TclUna Gnenlaiulim
and Bueciuam. 10 feet.

4. Gray clay and stones. IiJii/iuviirllc jisUtacca, aiul

Terehratidina SpU:d)crgcnsi)^, \'C. 1 foot or more.

5. Gray clay with large stones, often covered with Ihyozoa

and Acorn-shells. Tel Hud riilrarva very abundant,
also Lrda ardica. 3 feet.

G. Tough, liard, reddish clay, with stones and boulders,
j»assing downward into boulder-clay, and holding
Jjcdii arrfiai. G feet or more.

It was observaljle that the boulders were more abundant
on the south side of the ridges tlian on the north ; and
between Eiviere-du-Loup and (,v)uebec there are numerous
small ridges and projecting masses of rock rising above
the clays, which generally show the action of ice on their
N.E. sides ; while the large boulders lying on the fields are
seen to have their longer axes N.E. and S.W.

SOMK LOCAL DKTAILS. 195

At tlie retite lliviH-e-rtu-Loup tl»e surface of the red clay
( Xo. 0 abovtO was ()l)served to liave burrows of Mi/k anna, -in
with tlie shells (of a deep-water form) still witliiii them.

r have already had occasion, in Chapter III., to notice
the i'leistoccne and modern deposits as seen at Little
.Metis, and mny refer to that chapter for such details as
are of interest.

VITI.—T^urrSf. Lairmur ahorr (,)ihhv,a,ul Oftaira Valley.

Qiirhr a,uJ its Virimf//.— The deposits at ]5eauport, near

(.>uebec, were described l)y Sir C. Lyell in the Geological

Transactions for l.s;!9 ; and a list of their fossils was given,

and was compared with those of Montreal in my paper of

1859. As exposed at the IJeauport .Alills, the I'leistoccne
beds consist of a thick bed of boulder-clay, on which rests
a thin layer of sand with Mhijnrom'Ila ^mttacea and other
deep-water shells. Over this is a thick bed of stratified
sand and gravel filled with Saxicam rugosa and TdUna.
Scattered Laurentian boulders here, as at Montreal and
elsewhere, occur in the beds with the shells. In a brook
near this place, and also in the rising ground behind Point
Levis, the deep-water bed attains to greater thickness, but
does not assume the aspect of a true Leda clay. Above
(,)uebec, however, the clays assume more importance ; and
between that place and Montreal are spread over all the
l<.w country, often attaining a great thickness, and not
unfrecpiently capped with Saxicava sand. At Cap a la
Koche the officers of the (leological Survey have found a
bed of stratified sand under the Leda clay. The Beauport
deposit is evidently somewhat exceptional in its want of
Leda clay, and this I suppose may have been owing to the
powerful currents of water which have swept around Cape
Diamond at the time of the elevation of the land out of

in() THK ICK A(;K in CANADA.

till' I'lcistoc'onc sen. The layor of siiiid at llie surt'iicc n|'
tli(i iMHiMer-c'liiy is evidently lieic llic rcin'csciitiitivc of
the Lodaclay, and al'lui'ds its cliaiiuit'iistic I'dssils, wliilr
the stones pi'ojeetin^- above llie lioulder-elay are erusli-d
witli r>iyo/oa and Acorn-shells. At St. Nicholas, there is
<i sandy h()ulder-(day, not unlike that ol' Ili\iei'e-du-l.oiiip.
which has all'orded some xcry interesting fossils, it is
stilted in the IJc|)oi't of the Sur\ey to he inie hundred and
ei'ditv feet aho\e the sea.

3I(>ntr(<il.— \\\ the nei^hhoni'liood df Afoiitreal \vv\
into'esting c.xiiosures of tlie I'leistocene lieds occur, and
with the terraces on the Mountain lia\'e heen dcscrihed in
niv itiiiiers of lS."i7 and 1S."»0. I nia\'hei'e merelv condense

I. I 1 I «'

the leadin_!.'; hu'ts. addinu' those inoi'c iccenily ohtained.

An interesliui;' section of t he dciiosits is that, ohtained at
Loifan's Farm, which may he thus slated in deseendin.u
order: ,, ,,

Soil iCnl sand 1 !•

Tough reddisli clay 0 UA

(i ray sand, a few spociiiu'iis of Sfixicara riniosd, Mjilihix (iln/i.-*,
TtUiiKi (irii ii/<tiii/if(i, and Mi/d ((iriKirin, the valves generally
united (» N

Tough reddi.sh clay, a few siiell.s of Aslnrli Lainu iiliaiui, and

A( '/a ij/iirln/ii I 1

Gray sand, containing detached valves of Sd.cirarti rinid^t, Mi/k
friiiir((t(i, iiud TiHiiiit (Ini'uhiud'icd : also Trlc/id/ro/iis lion-
(ills, and lUihiiiKti rri-iKt/iix : tin? shells, in three thin layers.. 0 S

Sand and clay, with a few shells, principally 6V(.r/(V/cf( indutaciied

valves 1 .'!

Band of sandy clay, full of Xa/ica r/fiiisa, Trlclnilro/iis hor(n/i-<,
Fiisiis torii(i>ii.-<, Iliiiciinim i/ldrla/i, Aftar/e Ldun iil^((iia,
BaltDiiin cfi'iiafii'i, &e. , &c. , sponges and Vonim'ni'ifcvd.
Nearly n\\ the rare and deep-sea shells of this locality occur
in this hand 0 .">

Sand and clay, a few shells of A<tarte and Sfi.rircd-a, and remains

of sea-weeds with L()>r(i/i(i attached ; also Foidmiitiftm ... '2 0

Stony clay (Boulder-clay). Depth unknown.

SOMK I.OCAf, DKTAILS.

1!)7

III this scclidii ili(. i,rrcfil('r piirt ..(' ihc tliickiiess (•(.rrt-s-
Iioiids lo the L(m1;i cliiv, wliicli nt this |.liic(' is tliiiiiicr and
iiKire lossilifcrous tliaii usual. AIdiil; the sdiitli-cast side
<'!' the Mountain, and in the ciiy.if Mnnlival, the \)ViU
liavc liccn cxjioscd in a uivat iiuiiiIm'I' df j. laces, and arc in
lln" a.^oTcnalc at least l(i{) feet thick, tlionuli tJic tjiickiicss
is evidently very variahle. The succession may lie slated
as follows :

1. Sdj'Inini Sand. — Fine uniformly .uraiiu'd yellowish and
p'ay silicious sand with occasional \)v^U of ^^ravel in
some i)luces, and a few laro-e Lanrentian Ix.ulderp,
S((xkr(r(f,Mi//i/i's,S:v., in the lower jiart. Thickness
varial)le, in some places 10 feet oi' nu)re.

'2. Lr<l((CI((ii. — rncluous ^rayand reddish calcareous clay,
which can he oltserved to he arraiiucd in layers
varying sligiilly in colour and texture. Some of
these layers have sandy i)artiiius in which are
usually Foraminifera and shells or frau'inents of
shells. In the clay itself the only shells usually
found are Lctla arcfini and a smooth dee])-water
form of TcWma (iiwitlainHni ; hut toward the
surface of the clay, in i)laces where it: has not been
denuded before the deposition of the overlying sand,
there are many s^tecies of marine shells. A few-
large boulders are scattered through the Leda clay.

3. Boulder-cI(i//.—HuW gray stony clay, or till, with large
boulders and many glaciated stones, often of the same
Trenton rocks which occur on the tlanks of the
mountain. It is of great thickness, though it has been
nuieh denuded in places, and has not l)een oljserved

._ to contain fossils. It is especially thick at the soutli
and south-west sides of the Montreal mountain.

lOj^ TMK UK A(iK IN CANADA.

TIk^ Montroiil luouiiliiiii, like oLluir isolated trnppeaii
hills ill the ureal plniii of the lower St. Lawrence!, ]»n'S(Mils
a steej), erjiLT^fy li'oiit to llic iioith-east, and a loiij,' slope or
tail to the soulh-wc^si : iind in front of its north-east side-
is a bale, r(«'ky plateau of yreat extt^nt, and at a height of
ahont L'OO feet above the river. This ])lateau must have
been ]»roduecd by marine denudation of tht! solid mass of
the moiuitain in tla; I'leistocene i)eiiod, and proves an
astonish injf amount of this kind of erosive action in hard
limestones interleaved with tiaj) dykes, and which have
been <j;round and polished with ice at the same time that
the plateau was cut into the hill. T>y ice, also, must the
tli'bi'ifi ])roduced by this enormeais erosion have been
removed, and ])iled alonj,' the more sheltered sides of the
hill in the l>oulder-elay.

With rctiiard to the cra,t,'-and-tail attitude of Montreal
mountain, I have to observe that in lar^'e masse.s of this
kind reachiui^ to a considerable height, and risin*;' above
the I'leistocene sea, the north-east, or expf)sed, side has
been cut into steep clifl's, ])ut in smaller i)rojections (jf the
surface over which the ice could frrind, the ex])osed side is
smoothed, or " moutonnee," and the sludtered side is
angular. ^V little reflection nmst sh(»w that this nnist
be the necessary action of a sea burdened with heavy
floating ice.

These facts have been well illustrated in the extensive
limestone ([uarries lying on the ])lateau already referred
to behind the city of jMontreal, and north-east of the
Montreal mountain. At this place the surface of the
limestone has been ])olished and striated, the direction of
the striae ranging from N. 50" E. to N. 70° E. Not only
has tlie surface been intensely glaciated, but ledges of
rock of great size have been lifted up and pushed to the S.W.

SOMK LOCAL DKTAILS.

I!)!)

U)\\i\u\ tho iiiouiitiiiii. Oil Hi,. nlj„.iiit,.,l surl'iKM! lies

liollMcr cliiy hoMilln' luciil nil, I triivrllnl lioul.liTs. AIh.vo
this is chiy iiiid simd in layers, with iiiiiiicfdiis shells (pf

iiiiiiiy sjti'cics, cjijiiicd I(\' sand
and gravel (illcd with Saxirjiva.
On the siii't'acc arc liciv ami
there ^rniips ,i|' LaureiilJaii
h'Milders. A few years a,u'<» all
these apiK'aranees were well
£ I seen, hut at present the (piarry-
;,•. I iii^(»|»eruti(»iis have lieen eariied
1 7. Inward tJK! S. jv side of the
I ^ ridoe where tlu! eroded surface
~ ? itf the limestone is covered only
^i with a little soil. Farthei' oiteii-
■iX iiin' to the (sastward inav iiwiin
f| expose the glacial deposits. The
^1 a)>i)earanees at this ])lace are,
ft I think, eoiielusive as to the
action of tloatins'' ice driftiim'
irp the river valley from the
N.K. The direction of striatioii
and of movement of material
and the marine eluiracter of
the (le|»osits all testify to this.
AVe have already seen that
heaches hohling littoral shells
uccur at Montreal mountain
south-west of this Hmestone
plateau up to a height of 470 feet, and at one place in the
mountain toward its northern side there is a small plain,
in the suhsoil of which there occur shallow-water shells

O X!

d-i) -ri

200 THH ICK A(;H in CANADA.

ill ail cli'Viitidii (if iiltdut ;"(»() feci .iIkivc the sea. Kaurcn-
liaii Itouldcrs, probably diiftcil on ice iu the laler glacial
au'c, jire fdund at a still iiiuher level.

The site of the Tetei' liedpath Museum present.s
another interesting example of the si)ecial features of the
drift-deposits on thi' soulli side of ^Montreal mountain.
Tiie first floor of the museum is 100 feet above the level
of the sea, which is about the height to which intense
glacial ion and boulder-clay extend on the mounlain,* the
terraces above this level l»cing of sand and gi'avel, and
the limestone and trap of the nKJuntain weathered and
deeply deconi'posed and not covered with the boulder-clay.
Thus the foundations of the building were excavated into
a slope at the exact junction of the glaciated and non-
glaciated surface. The excavation for the front of the
building was made iu louu'h boulder-clav, with large
Laurentian and limestone boulders, and this rested on an
intensely glaciated rock surface of limestone, with striae
bearing S. '.]:] W. The rear of the building was cut into
the same limestone, not glaciated, and decomposed to a
depth of 20 feet or more into an earthy, crumbling
mass, still showing the stratitication and fossils of the
formation.

There could not be a finer illustration of the "ice-foot"
of the margin of the old Pleistocene sea ; and any idea
of glacier action was excluded by the directions of the
striae, and by the absence of any lateral moraine.

The most strongly marked terraces on the ^[ontreal
mountain are at heights of 470, 440, 'AHij, and 220 feet
above the sea, but there are less important intermediate

* The heavy ghioiatiou on the phiteau north-east of tlie mountain
e.xtenila up to about 180 feet.

SOME LOCAL DETAILS. 201

teiTiiees. The liiuliest terrace holds littoral marine shells,
whicli also oecnr on a little plateau at a hei<i;ht of 5G0
feet. On the highest of these, on the west side of the
mountain, over Cote des Xei,t>es village, there is a be.ich
with marine shells, and on tiie summit of tht; mountain,
at a height of al)0ut T^O feet, there are rounded surfaces,
possiljly poHshed liy floating ice at the time of greatest
depression, though no strialion remains, and large Lauren-
tian lioulders, which nnist ha\'e l)een carried probably a
hundred miles from the Laurentian regions to the N.E.,
and over the deep intervening valley of tiie St. Lawrence.*

I have already, in the earlier part of this section, noticed
the striation on rock surfaces at Montreal, and may merely
add that it is often very perfect, and must iiave been pro-
duced l)y a force acting up the St. Lawrence valley from
the north-east, and planing all the spurs of the mountain
on that side, while leaving the mountain itself as a bare
and rugged unglaciated escari»ment. In the streets of
Montreal the true l)oulder-clay is often exposed in excava-
tions, and is seen to contain great numbers of glaciated
stones, most of which are of the hardened Lower Silurian
shales and limestones of the base of the mountain ; and,
though no marine shells have l»een fouiul, the sub-acpiatic
origin of the mass is evidenced by its gray unoxidised
character, and by the fact that many of the striated stones
at once fall to i)ieces when exposed to the frost, so that
riiey cannot possibly have been glaciated by a sub-aerial
glacier.

At the (Jlen brick-work, near Montreal, the Leda clay
and underlying deposits have been excavated to a cousid-

* Lyell ("Travels in North America," vol. 2, p. 140) very well
describes the Pleistocene of the vicinity of Montreal. -^

202 'i'HE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

erable deptli.aud present certain remarkahle modifications.
Tlie section observed at this place is as follows :

ft. in.

1. Hani gray laininatcd clay, FornminiJ'tra and Leila, in thin

layers 7 0

2. Red layer, in two bands 0 <)

8. Sandy clay 1 0

4. (jlray and reddisli clay !> 0

f). Hard bnff sand, very tine and laminated 1.1 0

6. Sand with layers of tough clay, holding glaciated stones, and

very irregularly disposed 4 0

7. Fine sand 1 0

8. Gray sand, with rounded pebbles, and laminated obscurely

and diagonally 4 0

it. F'ine laminated yellow sand .S 0

10. Gravel 0 4

11. Very irregular mass of laminated sand, with mud, gravel,

stones and large boulders 1*2 0

oG 10

The wliole of these deposits, except the Leda clay, are
very irregnlarly bedded, and are apparently of a littoral
character. They seem to show the action of ice in shallow
water before the deposition of the Leda clay. The only
way of avoiding this conclusion would l)e to suppose that
the underlying beds are really of the age of the Saxicava
sand, and that the Leda clay has been placed al)ove them
by slip[)ing from a higher terrace ; but I failed to see good
evidence of this. A little farther west, at the gravel pits
dug in the terrace for railway ballast, a deep section is
exposed, showing at the top Saxicava sand, and Ijelow this
a very thick bed of sandy clay with stones and boulders,
constituting apparently a somewhat arenaceous and par-
tially stratified equivalent of the boulder-clay. A little
above this place, at the brick-works, the Saxicava sand
is seen to rest on a highly fossiliferous Leda clay, which

SOME LOCAL DETAILS. 203

probal)ly here intervenes l)et\veen the two heds seen in
contact nearer the edge of the terrace.

Ottawa liiirr.— The Leda clay and Saxicava sand are
well exposed on the Imnks of tlie Ottawa: and (Jreen's
creek, a little below Ottawa city, has Ijeconie celel)rated
for the occurrence of hard calcareous nodules in the clay,
containing not only the ordinary shells of this deposit, hut
also well-preserved skeletons of the Capelin {MalhiuH), of
the Luin])-sucker (Ci/r/optcn/s), and of a species of stickle-
back {(rastcrostci/s). of a Cotti/s, and of a species of seal.
Some of these nodules also contain leaves of land i)lants
and fragments of wood, and a fresh-water shell of the
genus Lymnea has also l)een found.* At I'ackenliam
Mills, west of the Ottawa, the late Sheritf Dickson found
several species of land and fresh-water shells associated
with Tclllna Gnmlandica and apparently in the Saxicava
sand. These facts evidence the vicinity of the Laurentian
sliore, and indicate a climate only a little more rigorous than
that of Central Canada at present. They were noticed in
some detail in my paper of 18G6 in The Canadian Naturalist.
Another illustration of the margin of the sea in this
direction is afforded by the discovery of the bones of a
whale at Smith's Falls, Ontario, in a bed of gravel, with a
few marine shells, lying on the margin of the old Lauren-
tian shore in this locality at a height of 4l>0 feet above the
level of the sea, an elevation not very dilferent from that
of one of the principal terraces with sea shellb on Montreal
mountain.

The marine deposits on the St. Lawrence are limited, as
already stated, to the country east of Kingston ; and the
clays of the basin of the great lakes to the south-westward

See notices of these fossils in Chapter V.

204 THE ICE A(;E in CANADA.

have, fts yet, al'lorded no maiiiie fossils. I'lof. UelljOf the
(U'oloffical Survey, lias, however, found that two hundred
miles north of lake Superior the marine de]>osits reajjpear.
In the above local details, 1 have yiven merely the facts
of greatest im})ortanee, and may refer for many subor-
diuate ])oints to the i)apers eataloj^'ued in the introduc-
tion to this memoir, and to the reports of the (ieological
Survey of Canada.

IA'.~ Wvsfrni Dinfricfs.

In the l*rovince (jf Ontario, west of the marine deposits,
which may lie roughly stated to extend as far as Kingston,
the uppei- and lower drift are developed nuich in the same
manner as to the eastward, and contain many travelled
boulders from the Laurentian country to the north. The
middle I'leistocene deposit, however, corresponding to the
Leda clay, and the greater part of which has been desig-
nated the Erie clay, is not only destitute of marine fossils,
but contains so little protoxide of iron that when burned it
does not assume a red colour, and it also contains fossil
plants, which will be noticeil in the secjuel, becoming thus
a "forest bed" or interg^acial dei»osit. The plants are of
boreal rather than arctic species.* It would thus appear
that, in the middle I'leistocene, land and fresh-water con-
ditions p>^'evailed in the region of the great lakes.

I3r. Frank \). Adams has recently made microscoi)ical
examinations of specimens of the typical Erie clay from
the St. Clair tunnel, where it apjicars to be composed of
debris, both from the Laurentian cystalline rocks and the
Erian beds of the district.f

* Dawson and Penhallow, Pleistocene Flora of Canada, Bui. Am.
Geological Society, 1890 ; Hinde, Interglacial Beds, Canadian
Journal, 1877.

t Trans. Royal Society of Canada, 1891.

SOME LOCAL DETAILS.

201

The comparative tal)le given in chapter 11. shows that
somewhat similar coiuliti(jiis prevail over the great plains

A''^

V'lL'

^^i

^^^^5»i|i^i^

IS

1. Secliou <if Drill ou Milk liivi'i' --(n) Uniililei'-clay ; ('0 nldci- river alluvium ; (o) newer

river alluvium ; {il) .suiracc uiattur.

2. Suoticm (if Drift at l.t'U-^ Hi\i'i--(.i; l.nwiu'clril't, cliicliy li>cal,auil with false lieiMiiij^

(//)u|ii.er ilrifl with larL,'e travelleil boiiMers. [Aftiu- Dr. (1. M. Dawsuii.]

west of lake Superior, the formation of which liave l^een
described by Dr. (1. M. Dawson in his ]leport on tlie 49lh

206 TIIK ICE ACiK IX CANADA.

iViralk'l and in l)i,s paper on the Sui)erHcial Deposits of
the I'hiins. To tliese reference may he made for details.

The sections j^dven in the iif^ures re})resent some features
of these deposits, and are interestin<:f as showing its
massive character in some places, and the fact of an
underlyin<^' dei)Osit of water-sorted material. The general
structure, however, a]i])ears to he that stated in Cliap. II.,
namely, an under and ujtper Ijoulder-deposit, separated
hy heds of stratified silt, and sometimes liolding vegetahle
matter.

I do not propose to extend these local details into the
vast regions lying in the Arctic l)asin, north of the
Laurentian water-shed and west of the l)asin of the great
lakes in ]\Ianitoha and the Xorth-west and in l>ritish
Columhia. These regicjns have Ijcen descril)ed, the lattei',
from i)ersonal knowledge, and hoth, with reference to all
the available authorities, l)y my son. Dr. (}. M. Dawson,
F.li.S., aiul I may refer to his two memoirs : " Xotes on
the CJeology of the Northern Part of the Donunion of
Canada," IJeports Geological Survey of Canada, 1887 ;
and " On the Later Physiographical (iJeology of the IJocky
Mountain IJegion in Canada," Transactions of IJoyal
Society of Canada, 1890. In these papers will also be
found co])ious references to all previous explorations and
sources of information.

P^XPLANATIOX OF PLATE I.

The following plate, drawn under my own direction, is intended to
present, as faithfully as possil.le, the ciuiracters of some of the more
rare and critical shells of tlie Canadian Pleistocene,

Fig. 1. Aslartc JJtod-.sii—A full-grown specimen of tlie ordinary
type. Rivii-re-du-Loup.

Fig. 2. Astarte Laitreii/imia — An average full-grown specimen.
Montreal.

Fig. 3. Asfarte /«r/«t— Ordinary type. Portland, Maine.
Fig. 4. Antarte Elliplica—A specimen witii the ribs extending nearer
to the ventral margin than usual. Portland, Maine.

Fig. "). Bitcriiium ^WHr;— Full-grown specimen. Rivicre-du-Loiip.
~)a — Sculpture enlarged.

Fig. 0. Bncfinum r7/a«fc»??i— Full-grown specimen. Rivicre-du-Loup.
6a — Sculpture enlarged.

Fig. 7. 'incriiiinn ii)idiilai,im~(ya,y. of ?(«</«^»wi)— Immature shell,
broken at lip. Riviere-du-Lonp. 7«— Sculpture enlarged.

Fig. 8. liHrninim ,'//«r/«Ai— Tuberculated variety. Riviere-du-Loup.
iSrt — Sculi)tu .0 enlarged.

Fig. 9. B.icciimm !)/aciak— Smooth variety. Riviere-du-Loup. f)a—
iScul]^yture enlarged.

Fig. 10. Bucchmm ''J/m/»»i— (Fabricius.not Gould)— Smooth variety,
somewliat decorticated. Montreal. 10ft— Sculpture enlarged.

Fig. 11. BurriitHm f(7m^(?;t— (Fabricius, not Gould) — Small but
mature specimen. Recent Murray ]}ay.

Fig. 12. Biicchnim (7rii-)i/andicum— Adult specimen. St. Nicholas.
12a — Sculpture enlarged.

Fig. 13. Chorixtes e/e,7««s— (Carpenter)— Adult specimen. Montreal.
I3rt — Sculpture enlarged.

Fig. M. Capii/us commodns—Vt. Levis, Quebec.

Fossils— Ti.ATK, I.

Ur.iwii liy A. I.. I).

Chariicteristic Pleistoeeiu' Sliolls (see table iif left'ivuce on inevious i>a^'e).

CHArTEU VI.

PLEISTOCENE FOSSILS.

This chapter is necessarily for reference rather than
for reading. It represents, liowever, a large amount of
patient work, and furnishes some of tjie most important
data for conclusions as to the climate and physical con-
ditions of the Pleistocene age. In this connection it will
be observed that the greater part of the fossils recorded
are from the 8t. Lawrence valley and the Atlantic coast,
and from other areas in the arctic basin and west coast
which were submerged in the Pleistocene ; and that the
evidences of life belong chietiy, though by no means
exclusively, to the middle I'leistocr .le.

The lists of Pleistocene fossils of Canada, published
previously to 185G l)y Lyell and others, included only
about 20 species. In my papers pul)lished between that
year and 18G3, the number was raised to nearly 80.
These lists were tabulated, along with some additional
species furnished in M.S., in the Peport of the Geological
Survey for 1803, the list there given amounting to S'A
species, exclusive of Foraminifera. In my paper on the
Post-pliocene of Eiviere-du-Loup and Tadoussac, published
in 1805, I added 38 species, and in the " Notes on the
Post-pliocene of Canada " many others were introduced.

15

2 1 0 TH K IC K A( ; K I N C A X A DA.

The immlter will he still fuvllicr nuj^'iiiented iti tlic
folldwinj,' revision, wliieh will aH'onl ii very eoiiiiileLe
view of the siibjeet up to the [)reseiit lime ; and though
additional speeies will no doubt be found, yet all the
])rincipal de[M)sit.s have been so carefully exi»lored, that
only very rare forms can have escaped observation. For
some of the additional species included in the present list
I am indebted to Prof. Kennedy (now of Windsor, X.S.),
the late Dr. Anderson ((»f (^)uel)ec), the late Sheril'l"
Dickson (of KiuL^ston), .Mr. T. Curry (of Muntrcid), I ieui.-
Colonel (irant (of Hamilton), Dr. I'ackard, Mr. (}.' F.
Matthew, llev. ]\Ir. I'aisley, and other friends, to whom
reference will be made in connection with the several
species in the catalogue.

In so far as nomenclature is concerned, 1 have, wherever
possible, retained the generic and specific names of the
list published in 1872. Where errors had been com-
mitted, the names are of course changed, and any new
generic names or possible identifications with other species
are noted in l)rackets or otherwise.

In the case of the recent species of marine animals,
those ({uoted are largely from my own dredgings in
the Lower St. Lawrence, which I liave prosecuted for
many years with the view of ascertaining the modern
habitats of the rieistocene species ; and reference is made
to other collectors where advantage has been taken of
their labours.

I am indebted to Mr. J. F. Whiteaves, F.G.8., paleon-
tologist to the Geological Survey of Canada, for his kind-
ness in looking over the list and adding .some valuable
corrections and suggestions. Mr. Lambe, of tlie (.Jeological
Survey, has also kindly examined the sponges, and given
me his views as to their relations.

1'LKIST( )( KXK KOSSI LS. 2 1 1

The fossils contained in tlie followin*,' lists have hecn
presented to the Teter Jiedi^ith Museum of ]\le(;ill
Tniversity, Montreal, and are now exposed in its cases.

ANIMAL FOSSILS.

PROVINCE PROTOZOA.

(1) Fo ram in if era.
Nodosaria (O/andulina) lariijata.

^ ^ (Var. Dentalhm rommmm). * *

Fossil— Leda clay Montreal.

Recent— (iiilf St. Lawrence, '^0 to ;W0 fatlionis. ( i. M. 1).*
Tliis species is very rare in tlie Post-pliocene, Imt sometimes of
large size and of different varietal forms.

Luijena Hukata ' (Xixr. (UhIovui).

(Var. Ke?)i!sii/cata).

Fossil-Leda clay, Montreal ; (^lebec ; Mnrray Ray ; Anticosti ;
Riviere-du-Loup ; I'ortland (Maine).

Recent-Gulf St. Lawrence, 18 to 313 fathoms, (i. M. 1). liritish
ColuniMa.f

Rather rare in the I'leistocene as well as in the recent.

Biitosolenia glohosa.

coHtata.

maryinata.

Hqnamo>ia.

Fossil— Montreal, Leda clay ; Lal)rador ; Rivii^re-du-Loup ; Anti-
costi; Murray Ray ; Quebec; Portland (Maine).

Recent— (julf and R' .-er St. Lawrence, 20 to ;il.3 fathoms. G.M.I).

(Jenerally diffused in the Pleistocene, and presenting the same range
of forms as in the recent ; but not conunon. I regard the supposed
species of EutoHolmia above named as merely varietal forms.

* The initials G. M. D., refer to the List of Foraminifera by Dr.
G. M. Dawson in The Canadian Naturalist, 1870.

t This and other species from British Columbia are from a memoir
by Whiteaves on collections of Dr. G. M. Dawson. Trans R S Can
VoLIV.,1887.

212 THK ICK A<;K in CANADA.

JiiifiitiiiKi I'nuH.

— (Var. sfiiiinnnKti),

FohbII— Montreal, Ledd clay ; Fjiiliriulor ; Kivii'ro-du-Loui) ; Mm my
tiny; QiUilit'o ; Portlainl (MaiiiiO.

Recent -(J ulf and River St. Lawrence, 10 to Hl'A fatlioinH. (i. M. I).

Fossils— I'LATK II.

Q

^

% V t ' WW ;y

Pleistocene Fdramiiiifera.—}, Nonioiiiiia scapha (Var. hthnvloriw) ; 2, Poli/slomeUa.
vmhUicatula ; li, Quiniiiielociilimi .lemimilitm ; 4, Piilj/miirpkiiia lactca ('J variotios) •
6, Kntosolenia gluhosa ; 0, E. cosUitd. (AH iiiagiiilloil.)

Generally diffused in the Pleistocene. In the recent it seems to be
mostly a deep-water form. What Parker and Jones call the essentially
arctic form Ji. eleijaiUissiina is not unconunon, though other forms
also occur.

Polymorphiua lactca.

Fossil — Montreal, Leda clay ; Labrador; Riviere-du-Loup; Murray
Bay.

I'LKISTOCKNK I-'OSSILS. 21:1

Rocent— (lulf aiul Kivcr St. Luwronco, .SO to .'U.S fiithoms. (J. M. 1>.
liritiuh L'uluii>l)iu.

Not unuoiniiiou in tho I'leistocene, particularly in tlio (hitper part
of the Leda clay. Lcsa coiiinion recent. I (ilmerved in the Kivii're-
(lii-Loup gatherings a Hniiil! indiviiliial of this Hpecies with tlic internal
pipe at tlie apurturu ciiaracteristic of Entosolenia, which is also some-
times observed in recent speoinienH.

Trniicndilliin lobdtnhi.

Fossil — Leda elay, Labrador; Rivit'-re-du-Loup ; Anticosti.

Recent— Oulf St. Lawrence, very common 30 to .W fathoms. British
Colunii)ia.

This species ia mnch less common in the Pleistocene than in tho
recent,

Othiilina iinirerHU.

Fotsil — Leda clay, Montreal ; Rivi^re-dn-Loup ; Labrador.
This may V)e regarded as a rare and somewhat doubtful I'leistoceno
fossil. It has not yet been ecognized in the (Julf of St. Lawrence.

(i'/ohi(jeylna IniUoides.

Fossil — Rivi6re-du-Loup ; Anticosti.

Recent— (Julf St. Lawrence, more especially in the deeper water,
where it is connuon. It is very rare in the Pleistocene.

rnlrinnHna vcjmnda.

Fossil — Montreal, Leda clay ; Riviere-du-Loup ; Murray Bay ;
Labrador ; Quebec ; Portland (Maine).

Resent— (Julf St. Lawrence, 30 to 3L3 fathoms. G. M. I).

Somewhat rare both in the Pleistocene and recent, and of the small
size usual in the arctic seas,

Polystomella cHxpa. — (Var. xtrialopnnctata).
_ (Var. arctira).

Fossil — Montreal, Leda clay ; Labrador ; Riviere-du-Loup ; Murray
Bay ; Quebec ; Portland (Maine) ; St. John, N.B.

Recent — Gulf and River St. Lawrence, 30 to 40 fathoms. G. M. 1).
British Columbia.

Very common, especially in depths of 10 to 40 fathoms. This is by
far the most abundant species in the Pleistocene deposits, as it is also
in all the shallow parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence at present, and

214 THK ICK A(iE IN CANADA.

also in the Arctic Seas, according to Parker and Jones. It is the
only species yet found in the Boulder-clay of Montreal, and this very
rarely.

Nonionum Kcapha.

(Var. Lahmdoricn).

Fossil— Leda clay, Montreal ; Rivir-re-du-Loup ; Anticosti ;
Labrador; Murray Hay; Quebec; St. John, N.li.

Recent — Ciulf and River St. Lawrence, 10 to 3Ki fatlionis. (G. M. D. )
liritish Columbia. Var. Labradorka is the deeper water form and is
rare in the Leda clay.

Textulavia ]>i/ij»i<i'(i.

Fossil — Leda clay, Labrador; Riviere-du-Loup ; Quebec; also at
Portland (Maine).

Recent— (jiulf St. Lawrence, 10 to 30 fathoms.

The Textulariic are rare and of small size, both in the Pleistocene
cind recent.

Cornmpira /olincea.

Fossil — Leda clay, Montreal.

Recent — Gulf St. Lawrence, 16 to 200 fathoms. G. M. D.

This species ^i rare botli fossil and recent.

Quinqiu'locu/ina \Mi/iofiiia) scminiilnm.

Fossil- -Leda clay, Montreal; Labrador ; Quebec; Portland (Maine).
IJritish (/'olumbia.

Recent — Gulf St. Lawrence, 10 to 'M'.i fathoms, most abundant in
shallow water. G. M. D.

This species is by no means common and not usually large in the
Pleistocene. It is more al)undant in the clays of Maine than in
tliose of Canada.

mioculiiKt rliii/ens.

Fossil — Leda clay, Montreal ; Labrador; Rivicre-du-Loup ; Murray
Bay ; Quebec.

Recent— Gulf St. Lawrence, 30 to .313 fathoms. G. M. D.
Rather rare in the Pleistocene as well as in the recent.

Trifondina trirarinctta.

Fossil — Leda ilay, Rivitre-du-Loup ; Murray Bay ; Quebec.
Recent — ({aspe, .30 to 50 fathoms. G. M. 1).

Rare both in Pleistcene and recent, but perliaps more generally
diffused in the former.

PLELSTOCENK FOSSILS. 215

LitHold and Snccammhui.

A very few minute sandy forms referable to these genera are found
among the tiner parts of the wasliings from Rivicre-du-Loup.

Eiiijlypha?

A single minute test, apparently identical in form with that of
ICuijIyphd a/reo/(it(i, was ff)uud in washing the Riviore-du-Loup clays.

Ill goiioml terms it iiiuy 1)0 stcated that all the species
of Foraiuinifera fouud in the Pleistocene still inhal)it
the gulf and river St. Lawrence. Several species found
in the gulf of St. Lawrence have not yet been recognized
in the Pleistocene, and these are mostly inlial)itants of
depths exceeding 1)0 fathoms, or among the more souiherii
forms found in the gulf.

On the whole, the assemljlage, as in the northern part
of the gulf of St. Lawrence at jn'csent, is essentially
arctic, and not indicative of depths greater than 100
fathoms, which would seem to have been the maximum
depth of the sea of the Leda clay, and corresponds with
well-marked terraces on the hills.

The sandy forms, which are not uncommon in the Gulf,
are very rare in the Pleistocene : but this may l)e
accounted for by the greater dilHcultv of washing them
out of the clay, or possibly their cementing material may
have decomposed, alhjwing them to fall to i)ieces. As the
epidermal matter of shells is often preserved, the last
sui)position seems less likely. The Leda clays are,
however, usually very fine and calcareous, so tliat there
was probaljly more material for calcareous than for arena-
ceous forms.

The Foraiuinifera are very generally dillused in the
Pleistocene clavs, though much more abundant in some
layers than in others. They may easily be detected by a

21G THE ICK A(;i<: IX CAXADA.

pocket lens, and are nsnally in as tine preservation as
recent specimens, especially in the deeper and more
tenacions layers of the Leda clay. Tlicy are, however,
usually more abundant in the somewhat arenaceous layers
near the toj* of the Leda (day, and immediately l)elow the
Saxicava sand, and es])ecially where this layer contains
abundance of shells of mollnsca. I have nowhere found
them m(»re abundant or in greater variety than at the
Crleu l)rick-work near ^Montreal, on the Mcdill College
grounds, and at Lf)gan',s Farm. At the (Uen l»rick-work
a few worn specimens of rolystomella are contained in
the beds underlying the Leda clay and e(piivalent to the
boulder-clay, which, however, has in general, in the vicinity
of Montreal, as yet att'orded no marine fossils.

In searching for Foraminifera in the clays of Kiviere-
du-Louj), 1 have observed in the finer washings severiil
species of ])iatomacea- : and among these a species of
Coscmodixciis very fre([uent in the deeper parts of the
gulf of St. Lawrence. lUit on the whole diatoms a})pear
to be rare in these deposits, in the Hi\ icre-du-Loup
clays I have also observed the ])ollen grains of firs and
spruces.

The nomenclature used above is that of Parker and
Jones, in tlieir ])aper on the North Atlantic Soundings, in
the Transactions of the lioyal Society. For figures of the
species, I may refer to that memoir, and to my previous
papers published in the Co/Hn/iidt JS^dfnndisf.

(2) Poriftm.
Tefhea Lo<iiiui. r)awson.

Leda clay, Montreal. This species has not yet been recognized in a
living state. Its spicules in consideialile masses, looking like white
fibres, are not uncommon in the I'leistoeene at Montreal.

PLKISTOCKXK FOSSILS.

21

According to Mr. Lainbe, this species is a tetractinellid sponge ;
but possibly ditterent forms have inadvertently been included under
one name.

Fossils — Plate III.

Ttlhca Lci(jnni.—(ii) Mass of railiating .siiioiiles in clay ; (h) Spiuules ; (c, </) rortidiis
nt siiicuk's ciiImgiMl. OiihioijUjjihn Sarsii.

Tethea ?

Another silicious sponge is indicated by little groups of small
spicules found at the Tanneries, near Montreal, by Mr. (I. T. Kennedy,
and at Riviere-du-Loup by the author. Its spicules are long and acerate,
and much more slender than those of Ttlhai Loijaui.

218 THE IC'K A(iE IX CANADA.

I'RO N'INC E C!( K L K NT E K ATA.

HjlilnrjKt.

No (listinc'L oru;iiiii.sins refciibli' to the above group
liiive yut l»eeii ft mm I in tlie Pleistocene depu.sits of
(yamida. As our recent fauna includes no stony coral,
and the recent species of the gulf of St. Lawrence have
no parts likely to be preserved other than ndnute spicules,
this is not to be wondered at. In washing the clavs for
Forannnifera, however, numerous fragments are obtained,
which re.semljle portions of the horny skeletons of hydroids,
though not in a state admitting of determination.

PROVINCE ECHINODEILMATA.

(1) Oj>liii(ridt(i.
Ophioijlypha Sarsil. Lutken.

Fossil — Leda tlay, near St. Jolin, New Brunswick ; Mr. Matthew.

Recent — River St. Lawrence, at Murray 15ay ; Kaniouraska ; also
found of large size in deep water in the (iulf of St. Lawrence, by Mr.
Whiteaves.

Ophiucanthd Sj>iini/osn, M. and T. (0. hidi itlald, Retzius).

Fossil— Tanneries, collected by Prof. Kennedy and Mr. Currie.
Recent — Cape Cod to (ireenland, Norway and Spitzbergen.

Amphiura Sp. Montreal, Mr. Currie.

Solasfer (CVo.s>.r(.s/( /•) pappona, M. and T.

Fossil — Montreal, Mr. Kennedy ; ({reen's Creek.
Recent — Labrador, Murray liay, Metis, (Jaspc.

Ophiocoma or Amphiura.

Fragments of a small species of opiiiuroid starfish not determinable,
liave been found in the Leda clay at Montreal, and in nodules at
(ireen's creek.

(2) Erhhioiihu.

Euryechinns (StroiKji/locentrotuK) droliarfiitnisls. Miiller.

Fossil — Leda clay, Heauport ; Rivii-re-du-Loup ; St. Nicholas;
Montreal.

PLEISTOCKXE FOSSILS. 219

This species is rare in the Pleistocene, but very common in all parts
of tlie gulf of St. Lawrence at present. Also west coast liritish
Columbia. *

(.S) /lo/ot/uirhhn.
Psoitis [Lophothiifhi) Fahricli, Diir. and Ivor.

Scales of an animal of this kind have been found in the Leda clay at
Montreal. Tiiey may belong to /'. phftiitopnn, or to the species
/'. (Lophot/inrki) Fahrh'ii, also found on our coasts ; from the form of
the plates, I suppose most likely to the latter species, and to a young or
small individual. /*. Fahricii is very abundant at Little Metis, where
the other species also occurs.

PROVINCE MOLLU.SCA.

Iiitrodiidor//. — In prei)aring this, the largest and most
important ])art of my catalogue, I have to acknowledge
my obligations to the late Dr. P. P. (Jari)enter, iov his
kind aid in comparing dl the more critical species of
shells, and in giving me his valuable judgment a,s to their
relations and synonymy, which I have in nearly every
ca.se accepted as final. I am also indebted to Dr. Carpenter
for many of the notices of West-coast shells.

To Mr. J. F. Whiteaves, F.d.S., I am indel)ted for
reviewing tlie Polyzoa and comparing them with Smitt's
Xorwegian catalogues, and also for many valuable facts as
to shells obtained in his dreilgings in the gulf of 8t.
Lawrence. The Uev. T. Hincks, F.K.S., has also given me
valuable information on the Polyzoa.

To the late Mr. J. ( rwyn dettreys, F.P.S., and the late
Mr. R M< Vndrew, F.K.S., of London, my grateful acknow-
ledgments are due for aid and information, aiul also for

* Names of recent shells from British Columbia, except when other-
wise ci'edited, are (quoted from papers of Mr. Whiteaves on collections
of Dr. G. M. Dawson; Trans. R. 8. Canada, Vol. IV., 188G; Geol.
Survey of Canada, 1878 9.

220 thp: ick age in Canada.

llie (tit})orLuiiily <»f c'oiM])ariii^ my spet'iiiicns with those
in tiieir colluotioiis.

^ly conipiU'isoiis with recent .s])e('ie.s have heeii made to
a jireat extent witli specimens (h-edgcd Ity myself, in the
,u;nll;' and rivcsr St. liawrenee, and especially at Murray
hay and Metis, where the marine fauna seems to ho more
nearly related to that »jf the Pleistocene than in any part
of the gulf of St. Lawrence with which I am acquainted.
1 have also to acknowled.^e the use of specimens from
Greenland, from I'rof. ^Nlorcli : from Norway from Mr.
McAndrew ; from Xova Scotia from ]\Ir. Willis; as well
as the use of the lar^e and valuahle collections of J)r.
Carpenter and aLv. AN'hitcaves.

All the refer- "es in the followinif i)a,i;es, except where
authors are (juo.ed, and many of these last, have heen
verified l>y myself liy actual comparison of specimens.

The princii)al works to which I have referred in the
laihlication of the catalogue are the following:

Beechey's Voyage, Natural Htstory .Appendix.

Ik'lcher's Last of tlie Arctic \'oyages, do.

liell. Report on Inveitel)rata of (iulf of St. Lawrence.

IJiisk, I'olyzoa of tiie Crag.

Crosskey on I'ost-pliocene of Scotland.

Fabrioius, Fauna (Ird'nlandica.

Forbes and Hanley, liritisli Mollusca.

Gould, Invertebrata of Massachusetts, edited by Binney.

Jeffreys' British Conchology.

Lyell on Shells collected by Captain liayfield ; and Travels in North

America.
Matthew on Post-pliocene of New Brunswick.
MiddendortF, Shells of Siberia.

Packard on the Glacial Piienoniena of Labrador and Maine.
Prestwich on the English Crag.
Sars on the (Quaternary of Norway.
Stinipson, Shells of Hayes' Expedition, &c.

PLEISTOCEXK FOSSILS,

■J2\

Whiteaves, Lists of Shells from (Jiilf of St. Lawrence, Cmifi'li'iu

X<ilnr((/itf.
Wood, Crag Mollusca.

Fossils— Plate IV.
1

rJcistocciic Voli/siiK (iiiagiiilioil).--!, Ixjindid (jiuulricuniula ; "J, I., hynlina ami /,. ])ertUM.

Willis, Lists of Shells of Xova Scotia.

Also various recent papers Ity Jeilreys, Hiiieks, Urady, Verrill,
Sars anil otliers.

222 THE ICK A(iK IN CANADA.

C r-Ass I . — -^MoLLUscoi i >ea.

Sub-Clas8 1. — Polyzod.

Memhrauipora eaten iilarin. -laineson.

Fossil — Beauport ; Labrador ; Rivit're-du-Loup.
Recent — (iaspc ; * Labrador (Packard).

Memfirnuipora Lacroixil. Aiulouin.
Fossil — RivitTe-du-Loup.
Recent — (Jaspe ; Labrador (Packard).
Entirely agrees with recent examples from (Julf of St. Lawrence.

Metnb rani porn Uneata. Liini.

Fossil — Riviere-dii-Loiip.
Recent — (iaspu.

Memhranipora jnlo><a, Linn.
.St. Jolm (Matthew).

Hippothoa expansa, Dawson.

Fossil — Beauport ; Riviere-du-Loup.

Recent — Uaspe ; Labrador ; Maine (Packard).

Schhoporella hynlina. Jolinston.

Fossil — Beauport ; Riviere-dii-Loup ; St. John (Matthew).
Recent^— Gaspe.

Lepra/ ia pert una, Esper.

Fossil — Beauport ; Labrador ; Riviere-dii-Loup.
Recent — Gaspe ; Labrador (Packard).

Lepralia quudricornnta, Dawson.
Fossil — Leda clay, Montreal.
Not yet found recent.

Mr. T. Curry, of Montreal, has recently found specimens in a very
perfect state. Tliey show that ihe cells are sculptured in a papillo-
striate manner, and that the ovi-capsules are globular and granulate.
Some cells liave a projection for a vibraculum or avicularium at one

* The references to (iaspe are from my list contributed to the Rept.
Geol. Survey, 1858— Bell and Richardson, collectors; and from subse-
quent dredgings by myself and Mr. Whiteaves.

PLKLSTOCKNE FOSSlLvS. 2'2:\

side of the aperture A few have two of theae. Ohl coloniea have a
pittetl calcareous deposit l)etweeii the cells. The large size ami narrow
aperture with deep sulcus in front and four spines beliind are as in the
specimens formerly described.

Specimens of tiiis npecies were sent in 1883 to Rev. Thomas Hincks,
and he writes to me an tdlows : " Tiie specimens of Lepra/ia qtiadri-
cornn/a wliicii you were kind enough to send ine readied me in perfect
safety, and I have been much interested in examining them. None of
the specimens that I had seen previously sliowed the real character of
the oriHce, and I was therefore led to refer your species to L. rorcinea,
which, in most points of structure, it closely resembles. Indeed, the
only dilferenco of much significance is found in the form of the mouth,
but this is very marked and distinctive. I am now fully convinced that
your species is a good one, and shall take an early opportunity of
correcting tlie error in my ' History.' It has a special interest as being
the only Post-pliocene form that is not known to have survived."

Lepralia xii'niifera? IJusk.
Fossil — Rivierc-du-Loup.

L. Violuce.a ? Jolniston.
Fossil — Rivirre-du-Loup.

L. mrioloxa. Johnston.

Fossil — Riviere-du-Loup.
Recent — (ilaspe.

L. fflofiiftra. Packard.

Fossil — Riviere-du-Loup.
Recent — Labrador (Packard).

Porella Belli. (Lepralia Belli. Dawson.)

Fossil — Riviere-du-Loup.
Recent — (iaspe ; Labrador (Packard).

This species, according to Hincks, is identical with Porella
Coricinna, Busk.

Porella ele(jantula. D'Orbigny.

Fossil — Riviere-du-Loup; Montreal (Curry).
Recent— Labrador (Packard) ; Gaspe.

Very fine and frequent in 10-30 fathoms opposite Cape Rosier
Village. J. F. W.

224 THE K!K A(JE IN CANADA.

Pore.lla comprtHtti. Sowerby. (= Celkporaria gnrculuris. I'ackiinl.)

Fossil— Riviere-«lu-Loup.
Recent— Labrador (Packard) ; (Jaspt'.

Abundant in 10 r>0 fathoms everywhere in tlie Cliilf, and often
drifted down to lower levels. .1. F. W.

Smitfiii prodnctd. Packard. (Sp.)
Fossil — Riviere-du-Loup.
Recent — La))rador (Packard) ; (Jaspt^ ; Murray Hay.

Smittin tris/iiuosti. Jolinston.

Fossil — Rivirre-du-Loup.

Recent— (Jaspe ; Labrador (I'ackurd).

CnhriliiKi pHurtdtd? Hasijall.
Fossil — Riviere-du-Loup.
Gaspe.

MtirroneUd PidrhH, Johnston.
Fossil — Rivirre-du-Loup.
Recent — (iaspt-.

MncroiifJId reiifrirosa. Hassall.
Fos.sil— Rivirre-du-Loup.
Recent^(jiulf St. Lawrence.

Myriozoum planum. Dawson. (Sp. )

Fossil — Riviere-du-Loup.
Recent — (Jaspe.

Myriozoum xuh-i/rdci/c. l)'Orl)igny.
Fossil — Rivir-rc-du- Loup.
Recent — Labrador (Packard) ; (Jaspe.

Cellepora pumicosa. Ellis.
St. John (Matthew).

Tahulipora fmhrid. Lam. (= T. jidhilldrl^. Johnston, non Fabr.)

Fossil— litauport ; Riviore-du-Loup.

Recent— (laspe, Labrador (Packard) ( = 7'. P(ihndt(i,\\ooi[).

Idmoned atlantlcd. Forbes.

Fossil — Riviere-du-Loup.

Recent— I believe this to be identical with the species found in the
gulf of St. Lawrence, and referred by Dr. Packard and Mr. Whiteaves
to the above.

I'LKISTOCKNK FOSSILS.

l!'J">

l>iaslo]tora ohclifi. .lolinstoii.

Fossil— Rivirro-du-Loup.
Recent— (jiispe.

Criaia ehurnea, Ellis.

Fossil -Montreal. A specimen collected l)y Mr. Curry is referred to
tills species by Mr. Whiteaves.

Recent— Labrador (l'aci<ard).
Shore St. Lawrence K. J. F. W.

In 90 fathoms, Trinity 15ay, N.

Alecto. (Sp.)

Fossil — Riviere-du- Loup.

Lichenojiora hiyiiil'i. Fleming. ^Sp.)

Fossil— Riviere-du-Loup. Patc'ies on shells, somewiiat worn, l)ut
referable to tills common North Atlantic species.

2. — Sul)-Class- Ilntckiojioda,
Hhynchondla p.fi/tacc(i. (hn.

Fossil— Montreal ; ]5eauport ; Antieosti ; Rivii-'rc-
du-Louj). Abundant.

Recent— Murray Iky and (Jaspt!- ; Little Metis;
Kamoiiraska; liriti.sh ('(dumbia; Labrador (Packard) ;
(!ulf St. Lawrence. (lenerally on stony ])ottoms lU
fatiioms and over. Arctic seas generally ; also Crag of
England and glacial beds.

In a bod of stony clay at Rivirre-du-Loup, tliis
sliell is very abundant, with Jess abundant specimens
of the next species. It occurs living in precisely the
same relations and in great alumdance at Murray

I'l..i.sto..en.. Il™.ln. ^^''>'' ""^''^'"^ ^" f^^^'"""«-
opodH.^i, Uhyn- Tcrthrafr/la Sjutzhen/aisis. Davidsion.

2.1Vrclii;itfll:iSpitz- Fossil— Riviore-du-Loup.

l)eri,x'iisi.s. Recent— Murray Ray ; also at several localities

in the gulf of St. Lawrence (Wliiteaves) ; Nova Scotia (Willis).

This species has been found in the Pleistocene of Canada, hitherto
only at Riviere-du-Loup, and is rare. It appears to be a rare shell in
every part of the ihili where it has hitherto occurred, except at
Murray bay, where it is not uncommon, and is found attached to
stones in 20 to 25 fathoms, associated with Rhynchondla jmttacea.
16

^'

220

THE ICK A(JE IN CANADA.

FOHHU-S— Tl.ATK V.

' .,/^'

mem

I'leistoceiie l.amellibmnchf.—], Mya lrunca'a—\nr. UtldeniHcnsis-MoDU-eal ; 2, Mya
trunaitii—\iiv. coniHuutis— Poitlaiul ; 3, Macoma ealcarea; 4, Lvdn arctiai ; 5, Mod-
iolaria ni(jm; 6, Saxkawi i'i((/o«i— Viir. arcfiat— Moiitreal ; 7, PtDiopea Sorvegica,
Iliviure-du-Loup,

PLKISTOCKN'K l'()SSn.S. 227

Class If. — Lamelmuhanciwata.
I'hofits (Zir/ihfo) rriHpntn. Linn,

l''uss)il -Maine (I'liulianl).

I liiivo not found this Hpecics fossil in Canada, Init it exists as ii
living siioll (Ml llio New Kngliind coast gtMicialiy, in Noiliiuiulicrland
Ktniit ; gulf of St. Luvrenoe, and, according to IJell, as far to the
noitii-west as liiniouski. I'ugut Sound (U.S. lOxpl. Kxped.) (Jueen
C'hailotto Islands (Widtt-aves).

It has i>t!rha|is extended its northein linut to Canada since the
glacial period. On tiie European coast it is a northern shell, reaching
south to tiie Mediterranean.

Saxirnrit niijonii, Lamarck (and var. (irr/ica).

Fossil --Saxicava sand and top of Lcda day, Montreal; St. Xieholas,
Ottawa; L'Orign d ; Chaudiere Station; Upton, l'.(^).; Storniont, Ont. ;
(Quebec; Marra^\ ly; Riviere-duLoup ; Trois Pistoles; Tadou.ssac ;
Anticosti ! L.iliraitor ; Lawlor's Lake; Hathurst ; New Kiclunond ; *
Vancouver Island ((i. M. Dawson) ; New IJrunswick ; Maine, &c.

Recent — Oulf St. Lawrence ; coast of Nova Scotia ; and New
England and northern seas generally ; also Br'tish Colunihia and west
coast of America as far as Mazatlan. (P. P. Carpenter),

Very abundant in the more shallow-water ])ortions of the Pleisto-
cene tiiroughout Canada, and presenting all tlie numerous varietal
forms of the species in great perfection. It is relatively much more
iil)undant in the drift-deposits than in the gulf of St. Lawrence at
present. Pieces of limestone which have been bored probably by this
shell, are not rare in the drift at Montreal,

This is a widely distiilnited arctic species, and is fouiul in the
Pleistocene deposits of Europe, and as far back as the Miocene,

Punopiia Xorn-'jicd. Spengler,

Fossil — Leda clay; Rivicre-du-Loup. Very rare.

Recent — Little Metis; dredged in (iaspe Ray, 30 and 40 fathoms,
by Mr. Whiteaves ; Halifax (Willis); (irand Manan (Stimpson) ;
Arctic and northern seas generally.

It is very rare in the Pleistocene, a few valves only having been
found at Riviere-du-Loup, The specimens are small, and much
inferior to those fouiul in the Scottish Clyde beds, of which I have a
specimen from Rev, H. Crosskey,

* For shells from this locality I am indebted to Dr, Thornton, of
New Riclmiond.

228 THP: ice age IX CANADA.

Myti inincdta. Linn. (And viir. UihUrallen^x.)

Fossil — Siixicava .sand anil Leda clay ; Montreal; (iHiebeo ; Rivioio-
du-Loup ; Anticosti ; (loose Kis-er, N. Siioi'c, Kivei' St. Lawrence;
New Ricliniond ; I'ortland ; New Uninswick (Matthew) ; Labrador
(Packard) ; (Jreenland (Miiller) ; also in the Pleistocene of Knrope.

Recent — Little Metis ; Tadonssac ; Riviere-du-Loup ; Rritish Col-
umbia ; (Julf 8t. Lawrence, but rare in eoniparison with its abundance
in the drift, (lenerally distributed in tlie Arctic seas and Nortli
Atlantic, American coast as far south as Cape Cod ; Puget Sound
(= preciom Gouhl, P. P. C.)

Tlie variety usually found in the Pleistocene of Canada is the short
or Udilcrd/fi'iiKis variety, wiiich is that occurring in the arctic seas at
present, while in the (iulf St. Lawrence tlie ordinary long variety is
found alni'st exclusively. At Portland, Maine, liowever, the long
v.iriety liven ' tiie Pleistocene, and occasional s})eciniens are found at
Riviere-du-Lo nd New Richmond. The form CdiltraUcnal-i occurs
living in Labi (Packard), and I have found it at Tadoussae and

Little Metis.

It is interesting to observe that while the present species is more
abundant tlian the next in tlie Pleistocene, it is much more rare in the
Gulf at present. It also occurs in <leeper water.

In collectiiiff recent specimens of Mija fnmrtifff and J]f.
arcnaria at Little ]\Ietis, L have had ojjportunity to ol)-
serve their hal)its and varieties in. a manner to ilhistrate
the difi'erences ahove noticed.

At tlie head of Little Metis Wax, whi^n,' the water is
shallow and warm, and the hoitom is soft mud and sand,
a laru^e variety of Mi/d arrimria is very plentiful in the
tiats hare at low tide; so much so that the place is resorted
to hy fishermen from localities lower on the coast for
bait. It sometimes attains the length of 4J, inches, and
has a thick, den.se shell, without perceptible epidermis,
and often with radiatinu; bands. So far as I am aware,
neither Mjj<t tvaiwata nor the peculiar variety of M.
arcnaria referred to below, occurs on this })art of the
coast.

PLEISTOCENE FOSSILS. 229

I have not infrequently dredged Mjid truiicata, usually
tlie long variety, l)ut sonietime.s the sliort Uddevalensis
variety, in deep water outside the ])ay, hut Imve not seen
it ahove low-water mark, though it occurs not far from
this line ; and, on the ojjposite side of the river St.
Lawrence, I have fouiul it at Tadoussac, where the water
is still colder, close to low-water mark. I was not aware
till lately that Alifa arcitarit/ occurred on the compara-
tively steej) and stony shore outside the liay, and it is
certainly not found there inside of the low-water limit.

In 1888, however, after a heavy easterly gale, great
numhers of 3Ii/a an,i<n-i(i, in a living state, and a few
specimens of M. trinicata, were thrown u]) on the beach,
c'lnd must have been derived from the nnul disturbed
by the In'eakers at no great distance outside of low-
water mark, or on a slight l)ank a little further seaward.
1'he former wore all of small or moderate size, some-
what round and Hat in form, much wrinkled and
covered witii a thick brown epidermis which extended a
little way beyond the posterior end of the shell, which
was, however, rounded and not truncated, and destitute
of the corneous tul)e of ^[. fnincatn. Still, many of the
specimens might, at first sight have been mistaken for
M. truncafa, witli the tulie ])artly Ijroken oil'. This
enabled me, for the first time, to understand the remark
of Fabricius, that in (rreenland the two species are so
similar, that but for tiie hinge and the tube they might
l)e confounded. "With these were thrown u]) specimens
of M. trunmta, wiiich nmst have lived with the others,
the inner limit of M. triincafu probably overla])ping the
outer limit of M. arenarid. The short or Uddevalensis
variety of tninrata was, however, very rare, only a few
siiolls in a perfectly recent state having been found, and

230 'I'HE ICE AOK IN CANADA.

they prob;il)ly lived in somewhat deeper and C(dder water
than the others. The water, I may add, on this coast is
so far af'l'eeted by the arctic current as to he ([uitc cold,
except near the shore and in shallow hays, and the species
ilredged in 10 to 15 fatiioms are, in general, similar lo
those of the Labrador coast, belonging rather to the boreal
than to the Acadian fauna. AVith the Mvas were cast ui)
shells of Solenciisii^', var. Amrrifanti^ of Carpenter, and of
Maehacva codata, the latter sometimes of large size,
though it is more abundant in the warmer water at tlie
head of the bay, where Piirpura Lcqullns, a rare shell on
this coast, also occurs on the reefs.

It is evident that though there is no ]iassage fr(jm one
species into the other, the long variety of Mija fru/icatd,
represents the extreme limit of modification of that
species for a shallow and warm- water habitat, while tiie
small epidermis-clad variety of M. arciKiria represents its
extreme modification for deeper and colder water tliau
usual ; and along the coast at Met I., these two varieties
meet.

The coldness of tlie IHeistocene seas thus ex])lains the
occurrence, in the upper Leda clay, of the i)eculiar small
and epidermis-clad variety of M. airmiria and of the
short form of Mya tninada. The conditions in the colder
parts (jf the river St. Lawrence approach in these respects
to those of the rieistcjcene, though they are no doulit
more fully realized in the arctic .seas.

As I have remarked in my notes on the Post-pliocene,
the brown wrinkled epidermis-clad variety of M. arcnaria
♦tccurs plentifully along with M. Uddcvalcnsis in the
upper Leda clay at liiviere-du-Loup.

From llie accoinits of arctic collectors from Fal)ricius
downwards, it would ap[tear that in (Ireenland, as in

IM.KlsnUKXK FOSSILS. 231

PleistoeeiK' ( 'una lit, M. I ruiii'ifn is verv abuiulaiit, and
occurs at low watn in ilie sands, as M. ((rni(iri<i does
further south. It would seem also that it forms a laru'e
[>art of the foo(l of the walrus and other animals, and is
much used hy the inhabitants. It also ajijiears that a
small variety of M. (uriniria, with hrown e[)idermis, is
most connnon in Greenland, and occurs wilii Mjia /nuicata,
wliicii is, however, more ])lentiful. The desci'iption given
hy Fahricius of J/, (irviturid obviously an'rees with tliat of
my small and Ijrown variety from ]\Ietis.

It is interesting to note the companionship of these
illied si)ecies in the Xorth Atlantic throughout the Tleis-
tocene and Moilern periods, and the range of varietal
forms a]»plicable to each, accortling to the conditions to
which thev have l)een e.\'i)osed, ahjngwith their continued
specific distinctness, and the preference of each for certain
kinds of environment, so that in some [)laces one, and in
others the other, pretlonunates, while this relative jnedo-
niinance, as well as the prevalence of certain \arietal
forms, nught no douljt Ijc reversed by change of climate
or of de})th.

J/i/rt an iiaria. Limi.

Fossil — Leda clay and lower part of Saxicava sand ; Moulreal ;
Upton ; (i)iiel)ec ; Murray IJay ; Labrador ; Duck cove and jjawlor'.s
lake, Now Brunswick (Matthew); Auticosti ; Goose River; New
Richmond; Tatagouchc River, N.li. (I'aisle}') ; (iardiner, Maine;
Upton, l*.Q. ; Portland, Maine ; (Ireenland (MoUer) ; also in the Post-
pliocene of I'^urope.

Recent — Little Metis ; Rivicre-du-Loup, &c. Very al)undant
throughout the (Julf of St. Lawrence and coast of Nova Scotia and New
England, also Arctic seas generally. Mr. Jetl'reys eonsiilers it identi-
cal with M. Japoiiira. Jay This or allied in \V. America, P. P. C.

In the (iulf this species grows to a large size ; I have a specimen five
inches long from (Jaspc ; but in the Post-pliocene it it^ small and often
of a short and rounded variety. This is especially the case inland, as

232 THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

at Montreal. At Rivic re-(lu-Li)iip a siniU thin variety with a strong
epidermis ami attenuated posteriorly, i.s found in siln mi its burrows in
tlic Leda elay. It is a deep-water variety. Sonic large speciuiens
in collections from this place, I liave reason to believe, are from aboiiginal
kitchen-middens.

I'aivlom (Ki>nn< rlia) ij/((ri((/i^. Leach.

Fossil — Leda clay; ,St. John, New lirunswick (Mattiicw) ; Saco,
Maine.

Recent —(iaspL- (Wliiteaves) ; Murray Ray; Lilirador (Packard);
Little Metis.

Tiiis species, wliicii was at first confounded witli l^amlora triliiienta,
is apparently (|uitc distinct, and on tlie evidence of the hinge would
seem to belong to a ditlerent genus. Mucli nearer to /'(iiu/ont filiiixi,
Mont. ,• = /'. ohtiiML Forbes and Hanley. d. F. \V. detlVeys regards
these as varieties of /'. 'iinqnirdlfia.

Lyonnid (irenoxa. Miiller.

Fossil — Leda clay ; Montreal (rare and small) ; Rivicrc-du-Loup,
common ; Duck Cove, X.R. (Matthew) ; Saco, Maine ; also in (Greenland
(M.iller).

Recent —Murray T. ly, Riviere-du-Loup, Little Metis and <{aspe:
Halifax (Willis) ; (ireenland (^^'^ller) ; Lal)ra<Ior (Packard).

Some specimens from Portland are much larger than those from
Rivii're-ilu-Loup and Montreal, and Mr. Wl'.iteaves finds individuals an
inch long, living at (iaspe.

Thr(t<:i(t Conrdill, Couthuoy.

Fossil — Saco (Packard).

Not yet found fossil in Canaila, 'nut recent, though rare, in Nova
Scotia (Willis); and at (Iaspe. Abundant and largo in Sliediac liay
(J. P. W.) Also, thougli apparently rare, in Labrador (Packard).

Has probably extended its northern limit to Canada, since the
glacial period.

Macoma Ova-nhindlfd. Reck. (Macoma fnujUin Fabr. sp. J. F. W.)

Fossil — Saxicava sand and Leda clay ; Montreal ; Ottawa ; Perth,
Ont. ; Pakenham Mills, Cornwall ; Clarenceville ; Upton ; Quebec ;
Murray Ray ; Riviere-du-Loup ; Chaudiere Station ; Anticosti ; Upton,
VAi. ', Stormont, Ont. ; Labrador ; Lawlor's lake and Rathurst, N.B. ;
Campbellttm, P.E.I. ; Westbeach, Maine ; Greenland (Mrdler).

PLELSTOCKNE FOSSILS. 23.'?

Recent — Everywhere on the coasts of tlie gulf and river St.
Lawrence, as a common littoral shell, I have found it as far up the
river as Kamouraska.

A tiiin and delicate variety with smooth epidermis is found in the
Loda clay ; coarser aad more wrinkled varieties in the Saxicava san(L
Lirger specimens are found at (Quebec and Rivii-re-du-Loup than more
inland.

In the modern (iulf, the small and depauperated varieties are
littoral and near tiio l)rackisli water, the liner varieties passing into
.Uaroma fasnt, of Say, which is a southern variety, are found on the
coast of Xova Scotia and in the hay of Fnndy. Tiiis shell is repre-
sented iu the European seas and l*ost-plii)ccne deposits hy the closely
allied species M. so'idtda or Jia/fliirn, which seems to pass through a
cfirresponding series of varieties, but to be distinct. On the western
American coast it is similarly represented by M. incoiisjticua. Mr.
Tiyon and Mr. Whiteaves believe the three forms to be conspecific.

It is said to be the Tdlina Fnhririi of Hanley, and I have specimens
from (Jreenland from Morch labelled T. teiierd. The 7'. tcncra of
Ljach, however, is proxhiKi, Brown, teste Hanley, It is apparently
the VtuuH frwjilis of Fabricius.

It is one of the most common and abundant shells of the Pleis-
tocene, as it is of the American coast from (ireenland to New
Kngland.

Macoma calcarea. Chemnitz.

Fossil — Leda and boulder-c'ays ; Montreal; Quebec; Murray Bay;
Uiviere-du-Loup ; Anticosti ; New Richmond ; (ioose River ; Ciiau-
diere Station ; Duck Cove, St. Joiin, N. B. (Mattliew) ; Maine ; Labra-
d(jr ; (ireeulaud (MiUler) ; also Europjan I'leistocene.

Recent — Little Metis ; Gaspj ; Rivicre-du-Loup ; Arctic seas gener-
ally, and on the American coast south to Massachusetts.

This shell is extremely al)undant in the Lcda and boulder-clays, and
often occurs in the clay with the valves attached. It is also of large
size and in tine condition, especially at Riviere-du-Loup. It is Tellina
proxima, lirown, T. ftfthaloaa, .Spengler, and T. sordhla of Couthuoy.
According to Hanley, the T. lata of Gmelin was founded on a figure
of this shell. British Columbia.

Macoma injiata. Stimpson.

Fossil— Montreal ; Riviere-du-Loup. Rare,

Recent — Murray Bay ; and dredged in deeper parts of the gulf of
St. Lawrence by Mr. Whiteaves.

2;U THK ICK A(il>: IN CANADA.

I am not awaro wliei'e tliis littlo slicll lias l)oc'n (le.sui'il»c<l, nor what
is its ranj^ii. It seoni.s idcutical witli a spuciinen in .JutTrfy's collection
labelled Tif/inti /r(ii/i'!'<, Leach, from Spitzhcrgen. The I'leistocenc
specimens are larger ami better developed than the recent, except some
dredged by Mr. Wiiiteaves on the north sliore, and I would infer from
this tliat the shell is Arctic.

Cyrtoddrid .fi/iqiiu. I)aiiilin.

Fossil — Riviere-dn-Loui); L-.il)rador (Packard); (Ireenland (Milller).
I have seen in tlie Post-pliocene of Canada, only an imperfect and
decorticated s[)ecimen of the young shell from Ri\iri'c-(lu-I^oiip.

Recent — Little Metis ; Cape Breton ; Prince Kdward Island ;
(Jaspe ; (iulf of St. Lawrence ; and coasts of No\a Scotia and New
P]ngland.

Madrii (Sphuhi) ord/is. (ionld. M. jiohjmmd. Stimpson.

Fossil — Boulder clay ; Cape Kli/abeth, Maine.

Recent — Little Metis; <iaspr'; Labrador (I'ackard) ; also coast of
Now England.

I foun(L many years ago, a few specimens of this shell at a cove
where a number of si)ecies of marine shells occur in boulder-clay, and
it was published in my list of shells from this place in my paper on tiie
Post-pliocene of Labrador, Maine, itc. It is credited hy Packard ti>
" Zeeb's Cove," Cape Klizal)eth, which may probably be the same place
where I procured it. 'I'liis species has not yet been found within the
limits of Canada in the Pleistocene, though this and the related
species or variety, M. dolidi.^sinin, is found living in Labrador, and
Matthew records it from upper Leda clay, .St John. It has perhaps
moved northward since the glacial period.

Mesodcama (Ctronhi) dtditnitd. Turton.

Fossil — Matane River (Bell) ; Little Metis. 1 have not seen it in
any other localitj' ; and it occurs only on the lowest terrace, .so that
possibly it is modern.

Recent— Abmulant at Tadoussac ; Little Metis ; and elsewhere in
(Julf and River .St. Lawrence; Labrador (I'ackard).

This must be a modern species on f)ur coasts ; but according to
Wood it is found in the Red Crag of Kntrland.

Venericnrdia (Cardila) homdh. Conrad.

Fossil — Labrador (Packard).

Recent — Arctic seas to Long Island ; Little Metis, and common
throughout the (iulf of St. Lawrence. It woultl seem to have been

PLKISTOCKNK FOSSILS. 23')

much loss genei'iilly (listrilmted in tlie I'leistoceno. Western
America as far south as Catalina Island, l*. P. C Ikitish Columbia.

Astnrtc Lrinreiitidua. Lyell.

Fossil — Leda olay, Montreal, abundant ; Beauport and Rivirre-dii
Loup, rare.

Recent --(ireenland (Morcli) ; Lalirador (Packard) ; Murray ]5ay.

This shell may l)e a variety of the next species ; but it is at least
a very distinct varietal form. It is distinguisiied by its very fine and
uniform concentric striation, passing to the ends of tlie valves and to
the ventral mai'gin. There are two varieties, a Hatter, ami a more
tumid. I have the former from (Jreenland named by Morch .1.
Bdiik.iii, and tlie latter named A. striritti ; but they arc diirei'cnt from
shells indicated by tiieso names in (lould and elsewhere. The only
rocent specimens that I have seen from the gulf of St. Lawrence, whicli
can be referreil to this species, are a few I dredged at Murray 1>ay.
A. LdiiroilUiiKi is very iibundant at Montreal, l)iit niueli more rare
nearer the coast. It is evidently an arctic form. (See Figure, Plate I.)

Astarle (Nii:(iiii(() Bantfii. Leach.

Fossil ^Leda clay, Riviere-du-Loup ; Anticosti ; Little Metis ;
Kamouraska, abundant; (Quebec, not infrei^uentj Montreal, very rare ;
Labrador (Packard) ; St. John (Matthew) ; Portland, Maine, also
Uddevalla, Clyde beds and Crag.

Recent— Abundant at (iaspe and elsewhere in (Julf of St. Lawrence,
and also Arctic seas and coast of Nova Scotia.

This shell is that named A. Bnnhnii, in (iould's last edition,
also in Beechey's voyages. It is easily distingui.'ilied from the last
species by its coarser striation, fading toward the ends and also toward
the margin of the shell. It is, however, about tlie same size, but less
delicate and symmetrical in form. It is tiie common small Astarte of
the gulf of St. Lawrence, and also of the Post-pliocene of Riviere-du-
Loup ; but becomes very rare at Montreal, where it is replaced by
A. Ldiii-eiitidiKi. This species was named .4. cowi/o'essa in my former
lists, and it is certainly very near to Kuropean specimens of that
species, especially to the fossils from the Clyde beds and the Crag.
(See Figure, Plate I. )

Astarte elliptic^. Brown.

Fossil — Labrador; Saguenay ; Portland, Maine.

Recent — Labrador ; Murraj' Bay ; Riviere-tUi-Loup ; Little Metis ;
Kamouraska; Gaspe ; coast of Nova Scotia, &c. Also Greenland;
Norway (typical) ; Scotland.

2.",G THE ICE AUE IN CANADA.

Specimens from the Clyde l)e(ls are perfectly identical with ours.
It is alijo found in the Post-pliocene of Norway and rarely in the Crag.
It is a northern species, meeting on the American coast the closely
allied forms ^1. itndota and .1. A'«.s, into which, however, it does not
seem to pass. 'Die two latter species, heiiig more southern forms, are
nr)t found in the Pleistocene. A snuill form of A. crehricostnta
( — lens) is very abundant in 200 fathoms gulf St. Lawrence, J. 1?. W.

A. Oina/ii of S. Wood from the Crag, is very near to this species,
hut is at least a distinct variety.

Aslnrtc el/iptica, IJrown, has been shown by Sylvanus Hanley to be
the VeiniH cojnjmssd, Linn. Hence it is the true A. rompressa.
.1. F. W.

I regard this as .Is/f/r/c hirtea Broil and Sby. ; an<l A. aemixulcafa,
L^ach, but as proI)ai>ly distinct, as Astartes go, fn,ii) A, horecilia, (= A.
(I'-clica). (See Figure, Plate I.)

Astarte arctlcd, Miiller, fvar. htctea.)

Fossil -Labrador (Packard); St. John (Matthew); Portland, Maine;
also Greenland (Moller).

Recent— (jaspc ; Little Metis; Rivicre-du-Loiip ; also Arctic seas ;
Norway (typical).

This species has been found in the Pleistocene of Canada, only in
Librador and New lirunswick ; and is rare in tlic gulf of St.
Liwrence. It is our largest Astarte and I Ijelievc it to be identical
witli A. larteri, Brod. and Sow., and .1. siinisu/cd/a, (Jray. Fossil
specimens from Portland are precisely similar to recent ones from
(iaspe dredged by Mr. Whiteaves and referred by him to A. factea.
lUit he regards A. honalis as probalily distinct. Specimens from
Norway (^1. arrtica) and from Clyde beds (A. horealls) are smoother
and less ribbed than ours. British Columbia. (See Figure, Plate I.)

Other xpecien of Astarte.

At Murray bay, there occurs very rarely a transversely elongated
and regularly striated Astarte with delicately wrinkled epidermis,
which seems to be identical with A. likhardnonii from the Arctic seas
as described but not as figured by Reeve ; but A. Richardtonii is
gsnerally regarded as young A. Idctea. A similar species or variety
occurs, but very rarely, fossil at Riviere-du-Loup. Matthew mentions
A. comprenaa from Pleistocene at St. John. A. sulcata (undata),
.1. rrehricostata (= A. lens), 1. casfanea, and A. qnadrans have not

PLEISTOCENE FOSSILS. 237

yet been found fossil, though the three former at least live in the gulf
of St. Lawrenee.*

Cardinm ))iiiiiii/titnm, Conrad.

Fossil— Leda clay ; Lawlor's Lake and St. John, N.B. (Matthew).
Recent— Oulf St. Lawrence, and coast of Nova Scotia and New
England.

Cardinm Ii/atidicion. Linn.

B^ossil— Rivit-'re-du-Loup; Murray Ray; Saguenay; Little Metis ;
Vancouver Island ((i. M. D.) ; Portland, Maine ; Lawlor's Lake, N.B. ;
(ireenhuid (Mdllfir).

Recent -Riviere-du- Loup ; Little Metis; from (Jreenland to New
England.

Our fossil specimens are mostly small, and similar to the northern
variety or sub-species named l)y Stimpson C. Ifay^tii, and which also
occurs living as far south as Nova Scotia, and seems to be tiie C. ciliatnm
of B'abricius. Decorticated specimens are not distinguishable from
C. Dtut'souii oi Stimpson, from the Pleistocene of Hudson's Ray; of
which I have seen only specimens in this state.

Cardium {Scrri/icx) 0'rn-iifiiii(licnm. Ciiemnitz.

Fossil— Leda clay and boulder-clay, (Quebec ; Riviere-du-Loup ;
Murray Bay; Lawlor's Lake, &c., N.B. (Matthew); New Riciimond ;
Restigouclio ; Bathurst (I'atsley) ; Cape Elizal)eth, Maine; Labrador
(Packard) ; (ireenland (Mdllor) ; Chaudiore Station.

Recent — Little Metis; (iaspo ; Oulf St. Lawrence, sometimes of
large size ; Arctic seas, and Greenland to Cape Cod.

This shell is somewhat rare and of small size in the Post-pliocene,
and has not yet Ijeen found higher up tlie St. Lawrence than Quebec.
Specimens of good size occur at Portland.

Kellia Snhorhicuhiris. Mont.
Black Point, N.B. (Matthew).

* Astarte quadrttiis, Could, has been dredged, living, off Esquimaux
point, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence. Axfarfe crenutu. Gray,
and a small form of A. rrehricostate, Forbes (= A, lens, Stimpson),
have been dredged in 200 to 300 fathoms between Anticosti and the
south shore. The form of .1. iindala, Gould, which comes closest to
A. sidcata, is abundant, living, in Northumberland straits and
between Cape Breton and Prince Edward I land. J. F.W. A. castanea
occurs in Minas basin, Bay of Fundy.

2.38 THK ICK A(iK IN CANADA.

Cnjiitodon (loulili'i. I'liilippi.

Fossil — Montreal. Rare. Matthew records a species supiKJsed to
be distinct from C. (lonlilii at St. John.

Recent — Murray Hay; ( Jaspe (Whiteaves) ; Little Metis ; Kainour-
aska ; (irccnl.-uid to N'ew Hngland.

Tiie Knroi)can form (\ jh .viiosii {Axiiiiisjii xiiotitii) is usually reganled
as distinct, and is found as far north as Spit/.hergen, and in the Crag,
tiie Clyde beds, and the Xijrway I'ost-jjliocene, and in British Cohunbia.
Jeffreys, however, considers the ditFcrence merely vai'ietal, and it
certainly seems to diminish or disappear in the northern and glacial
specimens.

According to Mr. Whitcaves this species has a great range in depth
in the gulf of St. Lawrence, being found, living, from 20 to , SOU fathoms.

Sphderiiim !

Fossil — I'akenham Mills, witli fresh-water l)ivalves and TtUiiKi
ilru-iilfuidtai. The specimens were too imperfect for certain deter-
mination.

Unto rectus, Lamarck.

Fossil — Clarenceville, Lake Champlain (Dickson), with Mya nrtii-
(O'id, Ti'U'ina (irnii/niiillrd, itc.
Recent — Kiver St. Lawrence.

Unio Cdnlhnii f Ralincsijue.

Fossil — With the preceding. This and the preceding species were
represented by large and tiuck shells better developed than thcjse of
the River St. Lawrence at present. It is probal)ly the same with
U. vtnli'koKHn, llarnes.

Uii'io (l/i/isifi. Say.

Fossil — 'i'oronto ; Interglacial lleds.
Recent — River St. Lawrence.

MijtUiiii ediilis. Linn.

Fossil — ^^ontreal ; Acton ; Rivicre-du-Loup ; Quebec ; Chaudiere
Station ; Anticosti ; Labrador (Packard) ; Lawlor's lake, N.B.
(Matthew); (Jrcenland (MiUler).

Recent— North Atlantic and Arctic seas generally ; British Columbia
and North I'acitic (= /ro.s.s»/((s, Gould) ; as far south as Monterey.

The variety most commonly found in the Pleistocene is a small,
oval, tumid form, allied to variety elei/aiix of liritish writers. This

PLKISKX'KXE FOSSILS. o-.O

viirioty still lives at TiKloiissaf, iiiid is iippiufiitly I'liariu'toristio of
■situations wiiuro i\w water is eolil and exposed t(. inteiinixtiiie of fresh
water. 'J'lie ordinaiy variety oeeiirs at IV.rtlaiid, and also in some of
the upper lieds at Rivierc-dn-r.oup. At Montreal only the small oval
variety ocuiirs. This variety is also found in the Clyde beds and in
tlie Crag.

M(iilii)l(i inoiliiihis. \An\\.

Fossil-Montreal, veiy rare.

Recent— Lalirador to New Knj,'land ; very eommnn on the eoasts of
Xova Scotia and New Kngluud ; Xorth I'acltie ; found sjiaringly along
the N'aneouver and Californian coasts till it is rejjlaced in the <;ulf
fauna l>y M. rajnu;, C'onrad.

This sjiecies becomes rare to the northward ; and this, as well as its
being proi)er to rocky shores rather than to clays and sands, may
account for its rarity in the Canadian I'leistoccne. it is, however,
common in the glacial beds of I'luropc.

Jf<)i//(i/(ni(i niijr((. Cray.

Fossil — .\[ontreal ; Rivicre-dn-Loup (small variety )hx(i ; also large
and line) • very large and well preserved in nodules at Kennebeck,
Maine ; Lal)iador (Packard, if his M. i/!.-<frep((n-< as I suppose) ; IMack
Point, N.i;. ? (Matthew). (See Plate V., Fig. o.)

Recent— (iulf of St. [.awreiice (Whiteaves) ; Little Metis: Kivicre-
du-r,oup. Very large ami tine on coast of Xova Scotia (Willis) ami as
far north as (ireeiiland (JA. tlisrors, L.) ; British Colund)ia.

Modiolarld rorrii<ial(i. Stimpson.

Fossil— Rivicre-du- Loup.

Recent— Murray P.ay, Little Metis and Cacouna ; precisely similar
to the shells from the Pleistocene. Also Crecnland (Miilk-r) ; Lalirador
(Packard) ; and south to Cape Cod.

Modlolarid (liscors.

Fossil— IJeauport, of good size ; Greenland (Mr.ller) ; Montreal (Mr.
Kennedy).

Recent— Lal)rador to 'Saw F^ngland ; Little Metis ; Riviere-du-
Loup ; Rritish Columl)ia. Specimens from (iaspe are precisely similar
to the fossil. 'I'his shell is no doubt identical with M. /irrii/a/d. of
(iray, and ^jossibly with the M. iliscrepdn.'i of some other authors.
It is, however, the same Avitli that figured in Binney's (iould as

240 THK ICK A(iK L\ CANADA.

Creiidlti [fhiiiilnlii. Totten.

TliiH HpuuicH, wliifli is at present quite comiiiitn in the (iulf Si.
rwvwreiicc, is indieated in iny formerly publislieil lists as a Montioal
fossil ; but I have mislaid tiie specimens, and cannot therefore now
repeat the comparisons with the recent siiells. It is prol»al)ly (', Jttlia
of Kahrieins.

According to Mr. Whiteavcs tin's is (jnito distinct from C. tlcruxsata,
Montagu, both being found living in (iuspc.

Nucnld fcuiiiM. Montagu.

Fossil — Leda clay, Montreal; Saco (var. iiijfdfn) ; Riviere-du-Loup,
IJay de Ciuileur (Mattiiew)? (ircen's Creek, Ottawa River,

Recent —North Shore ; also (iulf St. Lawrence to (lasp.- (Whiteavcs) ;
Little Metis (type and vur. iiijliitd ; also European coasts and llritish
Columbia.

N. expanxa. Reeve.

Fossil — Leda clay and boulder-clay, RIviero-dii- Loup ; Saco;
\Vestl)rook, Duck Cove, St. John, N. li. (Matthew) ; Pakenham '!

Recent — Labrador (Packard); Murray llay; Little Metis; Arctic
seas.

I doubt if this is not a large and well-developed northern form of
X. tenuis.

AT. antiqua. Miirch. From Leda clay of Maine ; seems to be a variety
of the last.

Leda pernula. Muller.

Fossil — Leda clay, Rivicrj-du-Loup ; New Richmond; New Rruns-
wiek (Matthew) ; I'ortland ; Saco ; Lawlor's Lake, N.R. (Matthew),

Recent — Little Metis ; Kamouraska ; Arctic seas and south to New
England.

This shell occurs very abundiintly at Riviere-du-Loup ; and the
specimens found there show that no specific line can be drawn between
the forms known as peniuUi, hiicr(tl<i (Steenst. ), fciinisn/rd/d, Could, and
Jackmnii, Could. Slender and flattened varieties are pernnia and
tenumdcata, shorter and more tumid forms are huccata ; and specimens
decorticated so as to show tiie origin of tlie hinge teeth are Jacksonl.
Comparison of specimens from Creenland, Norway, Labrador, the
Gulf St. Lawrence, and New England, confirms this conclusion.

PLKISTOCKNE FOSSILS. 241

Leda tnhnita, Fiil)ricin«.

FosBJl — Ledft clay, Montreal ; Hivit-Tc-ilu-Loup ; St. John, &i\
(Matthew) ; <lreenlaii(l (Miillor) ; Lahnulor (Packard).

Recent — Fiittlo Metis ; Kaniouraska ; also liritiHh Columbia ; Arctic
seas, <!ulf St. Lawronce ; coast of Nova Scotia.

Tiio fossil speciinciLS occur ahundautly with the last spccica at
Rivirre-tlu-Loup, and are quite similar to those dredged at Murray
IJay. This was called L. rtiuihild in my former lists.

Leda pynmn'ii. Munster.

Fossil — Leda clay, (Jreen's Creek, Ottawa; Saco, Maine; also
English Crag and other (ilacial lieds.

Recent — North Kuropean seas ; hut nr>t yet recognized on the
American coast. According to Mr. JelFreys and Dr. ('arpenter, our
drift-shells arc rcfcral)le to the variety or species Yoldia, aliyssifola of
Torell.

Yo/diii {/'ort/iindi(() iiirlicn, (iray. (— Laid <//(ici>di.'<, iiute.)

Fossil — licda clay and Roidder clay, Montreal ; (Quebec ; Ottawa
River; Rivicrc-duLoup ; St. John, N. R. ,&c. ; Portland and Saco,
Maine ; also in Pleistocene of Norway (Sars), and of Scotland (Crosskey ).

Recent — Arctic seas.

Tiiis shell is most abundant, and generally diffused in the Leda clay ;
and the variety ordinarily found at Montreal and Riviire-duLoup is
precisely identical with the ordinary Arctic form. A long variety,
called L. iultrmadid by Sars, is also found at Montreal, tliough rarely.
A short variety, connnon in the Pleistocene at Murray Ray, is
similar to the L. ni/iqiKi of Reeve from the Arctic seas ; and young and
depauperated varieties rcsendile L. sid<'i/erii. of tiie same author. The
abundant material from the Pleistocene shows tiiat these are all
varietal forms. (Plate V., Fig. 4.)

This shell is Yo/iHn itirtiai of Sars, but not of Mdller and Morch.
It is )'. fntiicnta of Brown. It is I'ort/foidid <jf(ici(tlis of (Jray, and
Ledd /'orthmdlcd of Hitchcock.

Yoldia hicida, Loven (which is alnuulant living in the deeper parts
of the (iulf of St. Lawrence) resembles the young form of this species,
but the two are probat)ly (juite distinct. J. F. W.

Yoldia Umatula, Say.

Fossil — Leda clay, Riviore-du-Loup. Yoldia mpotitla is I'fecorded
by Matthew from Black Point, N.B. ;--_

Recent— Little Metis; Onlf St. Lawrence to Long Island.
17

242 THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

This shell has been found as yet only at RivitTe-du-Loup, where
the specimens however are as good as those now living in the flulf.
It will be observed, however, that though they liave the number
of teeth of Y, limatiihi, they approach in form to the allied species
or variety Y. H(i}>otUI(i, a shell wliich occurs in (ireenland and thence
to New England, and wliicli I strongly suspect is merely a short
variety bearing a similar relation to Y. liindtuld to that which
Mya Uddera/leiixiii bears to the ordinary M. truiiaitn ; but Jeffreys
considers it distinct. Y. s(ijioti//n is, I may mention, the Y. arctica of
Morch,as proved by a specimen from his collection now in my possession.

Yoblifi myalis. Couthuoy.

Fossil — Labrador ( Packard).

Recent — Rivir-re-du-Loup ; Little Metis ; Kamouraska ; (laspe
(Wiiiteaves) to soutii of Cape Cod. This shell is supposed to be
identical with hyperhorea, Lovcn, from Spitzbergen.

Leda /otiSd. Baird.

Fossil — Vancouver Island (Dr. d. M. Dawson).
Pecten Gni'iddiidk'us. Chemnitz.

Fossil — Leda clay, Portland and .Saco, Maine ; not yet found in
Canada.

Recent— (lulf St. Lawrence (Whiteaves), in deep water 200 to .300
fathoms.

This species is found in the Clyde beds and in Greenland ; and if, as
Jeffreys supposes, identical with /^ nimili.-i (Laskey), it is a shell of
very wide distril)ution in the Atlantic, as well as in geological time.
Tliough not yet found in Canada as a Pleistocene fossil, its occurrence
as a fossil in Maine and recent in the (iulf St. Lawrence, renders it
probable that it may yet occur in our Leda clays.

Pecten fennicoxtatHH. Mighels. {= P. MoijtUdnirus. Lamarck.)

Fossil — Leda clay, St. John, N.B. (Matthew).

Recent— Labrador to Cape Cod.

Tins sliell has not yet been found in the Pleistocene of tlie St.
Lawrence valley ; but since, according to Packard, it is common ia
Labrador, there is notiiing remarkable in its occurrence at St. John.

Pecten Isldudirus, Ciiemnitz.

Fossil— Rivicre-du-Lcmp; Quebec; Anticosti; Labrador (Packard);
St. John, N.R. (Matthew); Portland, Maine ; Cireenland (Mdller); also
Crag, Clyde beds, and Post-pliocene of Norway.

PLEISTOCENE FOSSILS. 243

Recent — Little Metis; Murray Bay; Gaspii ; Gulf St. Lawrence,
and from Greenland to Connecticut.

This is a shell which is very (lural)le, and retains even its colour
when imbedded in the clays. In this it excels the Tellinas, Astartes,
Saxicava and Ledas ; thougli these in turn are always much better
preserved than the Mytili and Modioln.'.

Oatrea Vinjinkina. Lister.

I have picked up a loose specimen at Saco which has the appearance
of being a fossil specimen from the Leda clay, and Mr. Paisley has
sent me specimens from tlie Bay des Chaleurs, which are said to have
come from Pleistocene beds lU feet from the surface.*

Class III. — GASTEuorouA.

I'hi/iue lintolata. Couthuoy.

Fossil t — Montreal, rare.

Recent — Gaspe ; Grand Manan (Stimpson) ; Nova Scotia (Willis).
It is Philine li)it((, Brown, according to Jeffreys.

Cylkhna (tl/xi. Brown.

Fossil -Montreal ; Riviere -du- Loup ; also in the Clyde beds.
(Plate VI., Fig. 11.)

Recent — Gaspe ; Labrador (Packard) ; Gulf St. Lawrence, common
(Whiteaves) ; Arctic seas generally. Same or similar on West Coast
at Sitka (P. P. C.)

Ci/lichna oryza. Totten.

Fossil— Montreal.

Recent — Coast of New England. .JetlVeys regards it as B. utrkulux.
Povichi.

Ci/lichiia nucliold, ^eeve.

Fossil — Montreal ; rare, and pcriiaps doubtful.
Recent — Arctic seas.

* At present, however, its f)ccurrence as a Pleistocene species must
be regarded as doubtful, more especially as in modern times it does not
occur in the colder parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

t Except when otiierwise stateil, all the (Jasteropods are found in
the Leda clay, or at its junction with the Saxicava sand.

244

THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.
Fossils.— Pt ATE VI.

0 4l(KSi,v;S%>.

$onii; 11, Cylichnaalba?

PLELSTOCENK FOSSILS 245

Cylkhna occultd. Mighels and Adams.

Fossil -Montreal ; Murray Bay ; Maine.
Recent— (irconland to New England.

Cyliclum s/ritifa. ]}rown.

Fossil -liivitTe-du-Louj) and Clyde beds.

Recent— Arctic seas. JetJreys thinks this the same with the pre-
ceding species.

Ilnmhua so/ifaria. Say.

Fossil -Montreal ; rather coininon.

Recent— New England and northward.

If this species is rightly determined, it furnishes a curious instance
of a somewhat southern species occurring in the drift of J>Iontreal.
The mtmiimi^, however, can scarcely be identified l)y weathered or
fossil specimens, so that this may possibly be a northern form distinct
from aolitufid.

Diajihana dtbUis. Gould.

Fossil —Mon treal .

Recent— Gulf St. Lawrence (Whiteaves) ; Greenland to New
England.

Jeffreys considers it the same with B. hyallna, Turton. If so, it
is a shell of the Clyde beds and of the Arctic seas generally.

Utriciilus pertenuis. Mighels.

Fossil— Montreal.

Recent-Labrador (Whiteaves) ; Gulf St. Lawrence, and south to
Cape Cod. According to Jeffreys it is U. tun-l(H.-<, Mr.ller, Greenland.

Patula Mriatella. Anthony.

Fossil— Pakenham, Saxicava sand.

Lymnea umhrom. Say.
Fossil— Montreal.

Lymnea caperafa. Say.
Fossil — Montreal.

Limna'a pahiHtru. Muller. ( = L. elodes, H&y.)
Fossil— Pakenham Mills, Saxicava sand.

246 THK ICE A(iE TN CANADA.

I'hmorhi^ liicdr'nHitK'i. Say.

Fossil — Pakenhain Mills, Saxicava sand.

Planorliis trirolvh. .'^ay.

Fossil — Pakenhain Mills, Saxioava Scand.

PJctnorlil.t parrii.-i. Say.

Fossil— Pakcnhani Mills, Saxicava sand.

All of tiie above pulnionates are modern Canadian species, and seem
to have been drifted by some fresh-water stream into the sea of the
Saxicava sand and Leda clay.

Sij)hoiio-(/i iit(t/iii))i rilrtinii. Sai's.

Fossil — Leda clay, Mnrray liay ; also Xorw.ay (Sars).
Recent — (!nlf of St. Lawrence (Wliiteaves) ; coast of Norway (Sars).
It is a rare deep-water shell.

Aminila (Slimiisonclla) Emcrxonu. Couthuoy.

Fossil— Montreal. (Plate L, Fig. 10.)

Recent— Murray Bay; Little Metis; Riviere-dii-Loup ; Halifax;
coast of New England.

My specimens are merely detached valves. They indicate an
animal (juite similar to specimens from Halifax referred to tliis species,
but dilTer slightly from specimens from Murray Bay. Dr. Carpenter
lias labelled the drift form var. "((//lor." The differences among the
recent specimens, as well as tiie fossil valves, are discussed in the
"Contributions to a Monograph of the Chitonida'," prepared liy Dr.
Dall partly from Dr. Carpenter's notes, and printed by tlie Smitiisonian
Institution.

Punclurtl/a (Cemoria) noachiiid, Linn.

Fossil— Quebec ; Riviere-du-Loup ; Clyde be(is.

Recent— Little Metis; (Jaspe ; Murray Bay; Labrador; (iulf St.
Lawrence generally; and throughout the Arctic seas and North
Atlo-ntic.

Acmct'd teKtuilijialis. Miiller.

Fossil— Labrador.

Recent — Tadousac ; Little Metis ; Rivicre-du-Loup ; Murray Bay ;
Oaspti ; Pictou ; Gulf St. Lawrence generally; and throughout the
Arctic seas and North Atlantic.

PLKLSTOCKNE FOSSILS. 247

My only fossil specimen, obtained from Dr. Packard, is of the
small, elevated and depauperated variety so common at Murray Bay
and the north shore of the Gulf. It is curious that this common
modern species is so very rare in the Pleistocene.

Lf./itfn cti'cn. Moller.

Fossil — Montreal ; Rivicre-du-Loup ; Quebec ; Labrador ; European
l»ost-pliocene. (Plate VI., Fig. 9.)

Recent— ( Jaspe ; Labrador ; Arctic seas generally ; and coast of
New England rarely.

This shell is not at all rare, living at Gaspe, and fossil at Riviere-
du-Loup. Carpenter remarks that some of my Montreal specimens
have the characters of variety afriata of MiddendorfF from Siberia.

Capx/itx Uitiiaricus. Lin. (rommodux ? Middendorff. )

Fossil— Point Levi, near (Quebec. One specimen only, found by

Mr. (!unn and communicated )>y Dr. W. J. Anderson. Another and

larger collected at Montreal (Prof. Kennedy) ; Scotland (Jeffreys).

(Plate I., Fig. 14.)

Recent— Spitzbergen ; (Jreenland; Norway. I have not found this

sliell recent in the (>ulf of St. Lawrence.

This species is I'ossil at Uddevalla, and is supposed to be the same

with C. fdllax anc". C. oltfiqiiafiis of Wood from the English Crag. If

a form of Cajxilus Umjaiintf, it has been repeatedly dredged alive off

the New England coast, in deep water, by Verrill.

Crepidida foriiicata, L,

Baron de Geer, in his visit to Canada, 1891, was so fortunate as to
find at the Mile-End Quarries, in the Saxicava sand, a small specimen
of this shell, the first hitherto found in Canadian Pleistocene.

Manjaritd hdkinn. Fabricius.

Fossil — Montreal ; Murray Bay.

Young specimens resemble M. antmiiiata of Mighels. Broad speci-
mens resemble M. Cfuiipdinihito, Morse.

Recent— Arctic seas; (Julf of St. Lawrence; and coast of Nev
England. Also British Columbia. It is M. Arclka, Leach.

Mar(farita argentnta. Gould.

Fossil — Montreal. Rare.

Recent — Labrador and (iulf St. Lawrence (Whiteaves) ; Murray
Bay; Gtaspe ; Riviere-du-Loup ; Little Metis; coast of New England
and Nova Scotia ? Possibly the same with M. qlauca, Moller, from
Greenland.

248 THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

Mtirgarita ciiierea. Couthuoy.

Fossil — Rivicre-du-Loup ; I'ortLaiul.

Recent — OJaspo ; Labrador; RivitTe-du Loup ; Little Metis;
Murray liay; (ireenland to New Kiigliui<l ; var. atriaUi, Dall, .Sitka.

Cycloslreiua (Mliller'm) co.ilitli(/(i. M<iller.

Fossil — Montreal ; Clyde beds ; Uddevalla.
Recent — (iaspe ; Arctic seas to New England.

Cyclostrema Cnthrhnxi. Clark.

' Fossil — Montreal. Rare.

This is an Arctic and British shell, as yet recognized oidy at
Montreal.

Turritella erosd. Coutliuoy

Fossil — Labrador ; Riviere-du-Loup ; Montreal ?
Recent— Little Metis; Murray Ray; Nova Scotia; Greenland to
New England.

Turritella reticulata. Mighels.

Fossil — Labrador (Packard).

Recent— Gaspt^ ; Lal)rador to Gulf St. Lawrence ; also fishing banks,
Nova Scotia (Willis) ; British Coluinl)ia.

My specimens received from Dr. Packard are marked T. costidala
but seem rather to be the above species.

Turritella aciciila, Stimpson.

Fossil — Riviire-du-Loup ; Labrador (Packard).

Recent — Murray Bay ; coast of New England.

There may be some reason to doubt whether this is not a variety of
T. erosa. It is quite possible that the above species should be regarded
as Mesalive.

Campeloma decisnm. Say. ( = Palmliiia deci^a, Say. )

Fossil — Pakenham Mills, Saxicava sand.
Recent — Eastern America generally.

Valmta tncarinnta. Say.

Fossil — Pakenham Mills, with the preceding.
-^ Recent — Eastern America generally.

JeflFreya regards this as a variety of V. piscinalis.

PLEISTOCENE FOSSILS. 249

Amnicold n»wm. Say.

Fossil— I'akenham Mills, witli the preceding.
Recent— Hudson's Iky to Virginia.
This was A. /lomta of the previous Hats.

Lttlorinti nulis. Martin.

Fossil— Rivirre-du-Loup ; also Clyde l)eds and Uddevalla.
Recent— Arctic seas to New England and European coasts.
L. teiiebrom, wiiicii may he regarded as a variety, is also found at
Riviere-du-Loup, Little Metis, and Kainouraska,

liinaoa castunca. Miiller.
Fossil -Montreal.
Recent-Gaspe ; Lal)rador, Trinity Bay (Whiteaves).

Risi^oa exarata. Stimpson.
Fossil — Montreal.
Recent — New England.

Cimjula Jan Meyeni. Friele. (/e/.swort scrobkulata of former lists.)
Fossil — Montreal.

Recent-Greenland ; Gulf St. Lawrence, 200 to 300 fathoms, large •
and small, Gasp6, 30 fathoms (Whiteaves). '

Bela harpularia. Couthuoy.

Fossil-Montreal ; Quebec ; Murray Lay ; River Charles, &c , New
Brunswick (Matthew); Riviere-du-Loup; Labrador (large specimens)

Recent-Gulf St. Lawrence ; very fine at Murray Bay, and rimilar
to large specimens from Riviere-du-Loup ; Riviere-du-Loup ; Little
Metis; Kamouraska; coast of New England. It is i? Wocdimn,
Miiller. (J. F. W.) " '"'"""'

Bela ekjjans. Mciller.

Fossil — Montreal ; Murray Bay.

Rec3nt-Greenland and Norway ; closely allied to next spe>!ies.

Bela prjramidalis. Striim.

Fossil— Montreal ; also Crag, Clyde beds and Uddevalla.

Recent-Labrador (Packard); (iulf St. Lawrence (Whiteaves)-
Murray Bay ; Riviere-du-Loup ; Kamouraska, and south to Cape Cod •
Arctic seas generally. It is the B. i>kurotoma,-ia of CoMthouy, and

250 THK ICK AGE IN CANADA.

li, Vdh/ii of Beck. According to Dr. Carpenter tlie species is
an uncertain one, having apparently varieties connecting it with
li. hfirpulfiria, Ji. hic(ir'iii<il<i, and li, nohived.

Beta turricula. Montagu.

Fossil— Montreal ; Rivicre-du-Loup; Labrador; also Red Crag and
Uddevalla (.leffrcys).

Recent — Little Metis; (iulf of St. Lawrence and coast of Nova
Scotia and New Knghind.

I include under tiiis name B. nohiHn of Mdller ; B. Americana,
Packard ; B. f<r(i/(tri.-<, Mdller ; Ji. / xarnia, AFuller, Morch ; and
B. (iiKjuhdd, Reeve. The var. tiohilh is found at Montreal and f Jaspc ;
also young shells not distinguishable from (xnrdta. Var. scdftiris,
occurs at Riviore-du-Loup and Labrivdor. This shell is a widely-
diffused and somewhat variable northern species. Mr. Whiteaves,
however, regards Ji. iiohi/is, Ji, exarntti, and Ji. sciihtriH as distinct.

Jiela Trere//i(iiia. Turton.

Fossil — Rivi6re-du-Loup ; Labrador ; also Clyde beds and Norway
(Jeffreys).

Recent — Little Metis; Riviere-du-Loup; Murray Bay; Arctic seas,
and (Jreenland to Massachusetts. It is probably B. decw^aafa of
Couthuoy. Ji. cxcurratd (Carpenter), from Puget Sound, may prove
another variety. British Columbia, according to Whiteaves.*

Behi riolacen. Mighels and Adams,

Fossil— Montreal.

Recent — Little Metis ; Rivicre-du-Loup ; British Columbia ;
Murray Bay; Labrador (Packard); (iasp^ (Whit-'aves) ; Fishing
banks Nova Scotia (Willis) ; Massachusetts ^Stimpson). Possibly
Ji. bicariiiata of Couthuoy.

Bela canctUata. Mighels and Adams.

Fossil — Little Metis ; Murray Bay ; Labrador (Packard) ; Casco
Bay (Gould). This shell may be B. inipressa, Beck. In any case the
fossils are identical with the modern Murray Bay specimens. It also
occurs living in Caspe Bay (Whiteaves).

* Whiteaves doubts whether the true Be/a turricula or the
B. Trevelyana have been found in the St. Lawrence.

I'LKISTOC'KNK FOSSILS. 251

Xdlica rhiHHd, }Jro(l. and Sowerby.

Fossil —Montreal ; (Quebec; KiviiTe-du-Loup ; St. John, &c., N.lt.
(Matthew); Labrador; Antioosti ; C'haudii're Station; Portland,
Maine ; Vancouver Island, (d. M. D.) (Plate VI., Kig. 4.)

Recent — (Jrcenhind to Cape Cod ; Little Metis ; (Jaspe ; Tadousac ;
Kaniouraska ; also liritisli Columbia.

Common and extensi\ ely distiiliuted in the Post-pliocene of Kurope,
from Norway to Sicily, ami found at an elevation of I.S.SO to VMVi feet
in Mocil Tryfaen, Wales. (I)arbysiiire). It has been identiKed with
N. affinix, Sni., but Sars and Verrell consider this quite different.

Lnnatiu he rot. Say.

Fossil— lieauport, a single specimen only, and this of small size;
River C'liarles, N.IJ. i.Mattiiew) ; New Richmond; also a depauperated
variety ; lienjamin River, supposed by Matthew to be possibly a
distinct species or variety. Var. ('htihtierni (Matthew).

Recent — Labrador ami southward.

This species is as old as the Miocene Tertiary ; cand in the Pleisto-
cene, Canada was probably its extreme northern limit.

Lunatia Orfeiilnndiai. Beck.

Fossil — Montreal ; Quebec ; Riviere-du-Lonp ; Anticosti ; Maine ;
also Pleistocene of England, .Scotland, and Norw ay.

Recent — Little Metis ; (Jaspe ; Riviere-du-Loup ; Arctic seas
generally ; and extending to Britain and New England.

L. jmU'ula is the representative of this species on the west coast of
America.

Choride:* ele(j(i)iii. Cpr.

Fossil— Saxicava sand, Montreal. Rare. (Plate I., Fig. 13.)
This shell was identified in my former papers with Xatiai helkoiden;

but it is now found to be (juite distinct, and Dr. P. P. Carpenter

d'jscribes it as a new species and genus as follows :

Genus Ciioklstes.

Testa helicoidea, tenuis ; epidermide induta ; anfractus disjunct! ;
labrum postice angulatum, anlice baud emarginatum ; labium plana-
tum ; columella simplex. Animal ignotum.

ChorisltH eleijans, n. s.

Ch. t. satis elevata, tenui, nitente ; epidermide fulva, tenui, hevi,
extua et intus omnino appre'ssa ; anfr. iii. + ....?, vertice nucleoso
decollato, spiraliter obsoletius striatis ; lineis incrementi tenuissimis ;

2r»2 THE ICK A<;K in CANADA.

BpirH Bupenic itlanatiV, Huliiris miixiino inipiesMis, liasi tuineiite ;
imibilico intus iiuijore, cxtws iiK^dico ; apcitura sublunata, posticc ad
anguhiiii circ. 'AO iiiclinata, aiitice late nitumlata ; lal)i'(> aciito, pustite
])laiiutu ; lahio aciilo, plaiiato, iiaiitl rellexo ; ci)luiuella poutiuc regu-
lariter arcuata, iic(|ue viiiargiiiata, ueo angulata, iicc iiiHculpla.

Loinj. (apicc tlec'ollalo) vS'i, /oiiij. splr. 'IV2, Int. "Tli poll. /■'''■. 90'.

I/dli. Montreal, in Htrato glaoiali, fossiliu, raiisaiiuu repcita. Mas,
Duwson, Mdiill Coll., Nat. Hist. Soc,

Dr. Carpenter adds tlie following remarks :

While almost all the other drift fossils are of species still living in
the neighhoiuing seas, this is nf)t known, even generioally, to be at
present in existence. It is hard to pronounce satisfactorily on its
relationships. In its thin, coated shell it resembles VeUitina ; the
striae and loose whirls recall Naticina ; the straight pillar lip reminds
us of Fossarus ; while the Jimbilicus and rounde<l base, with entire
mouth, best accord with the Natica group. With Trichotropis and its
congeners I can see no re3end)lance. One remarkable feature in all
the specimens is the decollation of the upper whirls, seen even in a
nearly perfect young specimen, "2 across ; other young sj)ecimens, even
smaller, have only one whirl and a half remaining. The broken
portion is tilled U]) not so much by a se{)tum as by a solid thickening.
The separation of the whirls is comi)lete from the beginning ; and
although, in the parietal portion, they are closely appressed, the
smooth and somewhat glossy epidermis is distinctly seen between.
The fracture of the mouth in most of the specimens, enables this
feature to be distinctly observed ; and would also reveal the "internal
groove " and columellar callosity ascriljcd to Torellia, did any such
exist.

The straightening of the inner lip, at an angle of 30° from the axis,
makes the umbilicus by no means large (for a Naticoid shell) when
viewed from the base in the line of the pillar ; but the same cause
enlarges it within, recalling the .adult appearance of Amphithalamus.
The flattening of the upper portion of the whirls gives the shell some-
what of an lanthinoid aspect.

While the analogies of the shell point in so many diiTerent directions,
it is impossible to assign it even to its family group. It is to be hoped,
however, that the dredge will yet reveal its existence in a living state.

The above species may be supposed to resemble Torellia vestiUi,
Jeffreys, from Norway. Our specimens differ however in form, as
above noted, and also in the absence of the tooth in the inner lip, and
in the smooth epidermis.

PLKIS'IOCKXK roSSlLS, 25.^

Tlio sliell ill (|Hcsti<m piescnts tlic very umisual charactor of having
tiie wiiiils iipprt'ssoil, yot ([iiito diMcomn'cteil ; tiio smooth opidermis
lining tho unihilical (;liani))urs, and conspicuously prcHorvcd, even in
tiicsc fossil specimens, l)ctwccn the closest parts of tiic parietal region.
In this respect it l)ears the same relation to Torellia as (h)eH Latiaxia
to Rapana, Sei)aratista to Khi/.ocliilus, or Zanclea to 'I'orinia. It
presents a rude rescmldanco to Si'panttintd VhiiiiiiilAl (Add. (ien.
pi. xiv. f. (J), or still more to .S'. HlninrilleiDin (('licnu Man. p. 17'2,
§ S.").'{), hut without the grooved i)illar, or the keels of the latter species.

As to the " hlunt tuhercle " or " callous protulieraiico " of Torellia,
descrilied hy Mr. iJellVeys, l)ut scarcely to 1)0 traced in Mr. Soworhy'a
figure, it certainly does not exist in our fossils. It is not always a
character of importance, as may ho soon hy comparing Piirpuni
columelbtvia with P. patula, Cuma tectum with the remaining species
of the genus, or the gradual transition from Isapis to Kossarus. The
Naticidic are often very irregular in the callous region of the pillar,
even in tho same species,

[The late J. (iwyn JetFreys regarded it as congeneric with his
Tori //id resfitn from the .N'orth Atlantic, hut specitically distinct.
\'urrill has, since the discoveiy of tho species in the I'leistocene,
dredged specimens in deep water off tho Now England coast.]

Vt/iilinii -(inula. (4ou!d. (Plate VI., Fig. (i. )

Fossil — Montreal ; Heauport.

Recent —Arctic seas to Massachusetts; Little Metis: Kamouraska ;
Xova .Scotia.

According to .Jeffreys, tiiis shell is the same with V. inii/tifn, Smith,
from the Clyde l)eds, and is found in the Crag and in the I'ost-pliocene
of Uddevalla.

Sat/(iri(i Gni n/iini/'iai. Perry.

Fossil — Riviere-<lu-Loup ; Quehee ; .Saco ; also .Scottish Post-
pliocene and English Red Crag, under same varietal forms as in
Canada. (Plato VI., Fig. ."), )

Recent— Rivicre-du-L(}up; Nova Scotia ; Kamouraska; Arctic seas,
and American coast, as far south as Massauliusetts.

The specimens from Rivicre-du-Loup are very large, one heing
nearly two inches long ; and, as Dr. Reck has remarked, the varices of
some of the specimens are more ilenJir and lamellar than in recent
specimens, others, however, are similar co the more conunon recent
variety.

254 THK IVi: ACK IN CANADA.

Acirsa Etchrichlii. Hollyoll.

FoBsil — (i»cl)oc ; Hivirro-du-Loup ; Montreal; iiioHt almiitlant iit
RivuTC-du-Loup. (I'lato VI., Fig. 7.)

Recent— Murray Hay ; Little Metis ; (Jrcenland ; nUu Ka8ti)urt
(Vcrrill).

This shell was named in former papers }fiiiislho (ilhuhi, the eroded
specimens found being referred to that species. It has, however, been
correctly described by Dr. Heck in Lyell's paper on Heauport, and
named Sett/itriu hore<i/in. It is not this species of (iould, however.

Tricliolropis hoifulin. IJrod. and Sow.

Fossil — Montreal ; Riviero-du-Loup ; Ciiaudicre Station ; Labra-
dor, Ac. Very abundant at Montreal.

Recent — Labrador; Little Metis; Murray Hay; (iaspc ; Arctic
seas ; and as far south as Massachusetts ; Alaska (Dall).

TrichotrojtiH ttniicd ? Middendorfl".

Fossil — Montreal. Very rare. (I'lateVL, Fig. 8.)

A single imperfect specimen represents tliis species, which is recent

at Alaska (Dall) and Hehring's Straits. The identification is perhaj-s

doubtful.

The figure given by Reeve of T. Ktnstn of Phillippi from Spitz-

bergen, resembles our shell, except in the small number of rev( Iving

bands.

Admele tiridida. Fabricius.

Fossil — Montreal ; Chaudirre Station.

Recent — Labrador (Packard); Little Metis; Rivirre-du-Loup ;
Murray l?ay ; (Jaspe (Whiteav(!s) ; also Greenland, Labrador and
Hritish Columbia. It is the Tritonium tiridulum of Fabricius, and is
a rare shell in the Canadian I'leistocenc, and in the Gulf of St.
Lawrence.

Aporrhais occidenUdis. Beck.

Fossil — Labrador (Hayfield) ; also Packard.
Recent — Little Metis ; (Jaspe ; Labrador to Massachusetts.
It is remarkable that this species, which is found living from
Labrador to Cape Cod, is so rare in the Pleistocene.

Ptychatractus Ugatus (= Fasciolnria lignta, Mighels).

Fossil — Montreal ; very rare.

Recent— Murray liay ; Mingau (Foote) ; Gaspe (Whiteaves) ; Nova
Scotia (Willis) ; rare in all these localities.

PI.KISTOCKNK FOSSILS. o't^t

A Hiiiglu iinitilatcil Mpeciiiit'ii nloiiu, nn yot, repruHciitH this HpecieM in
my I'li'iHtdoeiit' collect ioiiM.

AHtyriH llolhulUL Miillcr.

Fosail— Kivir-rc-dii-Loup ; also glacial 1)cm1h Hritaiii (JeHVeys).

Recent— Littlo Metis ; KaniouniHka ; (Jaspc ; Murray Hay ; Lal>ra-
(lor (Wliiteaves). If iilcntical, as I Biippose, with Cithiinlirlld rosnctfi
((ioiihl), it extends south to New Kngland, and (iould's name has
priority.

liuirinttm nuiliitiim. Linn.

var. umliihiluin. Mdller.
var. Ldhradoiirioii. Keeve.

Fossil— Saxicava sand and Loda clay, Riviere-du-Loup ; Anticosti ;
Labrador ; Duck Cove, St. .loiin, N.B., (Matthew) ; Maine (Packard).

Recent — Little Metis; (Jaspe; Kaniouraska, &c. ; (Julf St. Law-
rence ; soutli (Jreenland to Nantucket. (Sec figure, Plate L)

I cannot satisfy myself tiiac tiiere is any good specific distinction
between this shell and //. uii(l>ititm of the Kuropean seas and glacial
beds. It varies very niucii in size, in slv'iiderness, in tiie fineness of the
spiral striation, in the development o'' the ribs, in the extension of the
mouth, and in the thickness of the shell. Tiie coarser forms are
I}. LdhrailoriciiiH, which ^-asses into tlie ordinary multitmn. Medium
varieties are B. Hinluhitum and sniooth varieties pass into li, cyantum
and li. Tottenii, which last is the ciliatnin of Gould.

Buecinum lottcidi. Stimpson.

Fossil — Riviere-du-Loup, Saxioava sand and Leda clay.

Recent — Little Metis ; Murray Hay and Tatioussac ; also Newfound-
land Hanks. It has some reseml)lance to B. Humph reysidnum, Helmet,
but is specifically distinct. It is the B. ciliatum of Gould, but has no
connection witii the eilintun of Fabricius, except a sligiit resemblance
to the smoother forms of the latter. It is remarkable for its very
regular spiral lines, absence of folds and convex whorls.

Bucdnum eyaneum. Hruguirre.

Fossil — Riviere-du-Loup, abundant.

Recent — Murray Bay and Tadoussac ; Little Metis ; deeper parts of
Gulf St. Lawrence (Wliiteaves) ; Arctic seas.

This species or varietal form is well represented in tiie figure, which
is taken from a large Riviere-du-Loup specimen. Being on the one
hand very near to if not identical with the smooth varieties of B.

256 'i'HE ICE a(;e in Canada.

iimlulatum, and on the other resembling B. Orn^nlnndlcitm, it has
received many names. It is believed to l)e B. borcdle of Leach, and
Orivnlandicum of Morch. It is a very characteristic northern form.
(See Hgure, I'lale I.)

Buccinmn Oranhtndicum. Chemnitz.

Fossil— Leda clay and boulder clay, Montreal; 8t. Nicholas;
Kivir-re-du-Loup ; 'rattagoucho River (Paisley).

Kecent — (ireenland ; Alaska? (Dall) ; Little Metis; Murray Bay.
Specimens from Morch are identical with our fossils. This species is
prol)ably the B. undntuin. of Fabricius. It is allied to B. cynneum,
and may possibly pass into it. li mi\y ha B. angrdosnm (Gray). (See
figure, Plate I.)

Buccinmn temte. Gray.

Fossil — Riviere-du-Loup, not uncommon; St. John, kc, N.B.
(Matthew^ ; (ireenhnid (Hayes) ; Labrador (Packard).

Recent — Little Metis; Murray Hay ; (iaspe ; Labrador (Packard);
Alaska (Dall) ; Arctic seas generally. A common arctic species, and
now living in the Gulf, though much more plentiful in the Pleistocene
beds. (See figure, Plate I.)

Buccinnm ciliatum. Fabricius.

Fossil — Montreal ; Riviere-du-Loup.

Recent — Murray Ray; Little Metis, Riviere-du-Loup; (ireenland
(Fabricius) ; Nova Scotia (Willis) ; Alaska (Dall).

This is the original B. ciliatum of Fabricius, and has been recog-
nized as such by Dr. Stimpson. It is easily distinguished by its
narrow Nassa-like mouth, armed with a tooth on the front of the pillar
lip. It varies much in colour, especially in the longitudinal ril)s. The
variety found at Montreal is only slightly ribbed. That at Riviere-du-
Loup is more distinctly ribbed, thus resembling the recent specimens
from Murr.ay Ray. It is quite distinct from B. ciliatum ((lould), whicli
is very near the smoother varieties of B. undulatum. As it is a rare
and little known sliell, I liave figured two extreme varieties, a fossil
specimen from Montreal and a recent from Murray Ray. I submitted
specimens of this shell to the late Mr. J. Gwyn Jeffreys in 1876, and
after comparison with the type in Copenluigen he agrees with me in
referring them to Fabricius' species. He says it is the species figured
\,y Reeve as B. Moelleri.

PLKISTOCENE F0SSIL8. 257

Buci'inum glacidle. Linn.

Fossil — Rivirre-tlu-Loup; Montreal; Anticosti; Labrailor (Packard);
Hlack Toint, X.IJ. (Matlhuw).

Kucoiit— Murray l>ay ; Little Metis; Alaska (Dall) ; (ireenland,
and Aretic f c.is generally.

This shell has the aperture somewhat like that of ciliatum, and a
very peculiar sculpture of spiral striae with intervening bauds inarkeil
witii liner striae. It has also a carina angulating the body wliorl, and
sometimes more than one. In the latter case it passes into B. Grain-
liiiidicinii, Hancock (not C'henniitz) or B. Ildxcocki Morcli. The
ordinaiy variety is most connuon in the modern (iulf, the latter in
the arctic seas and in the I'lcistoccne. This shell, usually nuicii
decorticated, is the most common l>uccn-inn in the I'leistocene of
Montreal. (See figures, plate L)

Buccinum plectrum. Stimpson.

Fossil— Kiviere-du-Louj) ; rare.

Recent — Murray Bay ; Portland, Maine (Stimpson) ; liehring's
.Straits (Stimjjson) ; Alaska (Dall).

This may l)e a variety of the preceding species, hut can be distin-
guished from it and grows to a larger size. It has the scidpture of
B. glacinle with the aperture of B. undui/itum. Recent and fossil
specimens are (juitfl similar.

The northern Biirrina are involved in so much confusion that I
have made them a subject of special study, and have sedulously
collected all the forms recent and fossil. I have been very mucii
aided in this bj' the abundance of s[)ecimens of the more arctic forms
at Rivien -du-Loup, and the occurrence of most of them recent at
Murray Bay and Tadoussac, and I feel conti<lent that the names given
in this list represent; forms actually occurring as distinct in nature,
though some of them may not be distinct specific types. I believe,
iiowever, that B. ciliatum, B. glacinle, B. undulatum, B. tenue and
B. Granltindicum, are probably entitled to this rank. The others
appear to me, on comparison of large numbers of specimens, to graduate
into one or other of the above forms.

I have given in the engraved plate representatives of the more
critical forms, which will enable them to be recognized.

In the drift the Buccina often part with their outer coat of
prismatic shell, and in this decorticated state are very difficult to
determine. _.:....
18

258 THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

Tritonofusus Kroytri. Miiller.

Fossil — Rivivre-du-Loup ; Labrador (Packard); New Ricliinou<l ;
River Charles, N.B. (Matthew).

Recent— Little Meti.s ; Gnlf St. Lawrence and Arctic seas. First
recognized as this species l)y Mr. Wliiteaves. Specimens from Spitz-
bergen in Mr. MoAndrew's collection are perfectly similar to ours.
Packard found it not unconnnon at Labrador, l)ut it seems rare in other
parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, In some previous lists it has
appeared as B. cretdceum (Reeve), wliich seems to ))e an error. Alaska
(Dall). (I'late VL, fig. 3.)

Sipho ^^2^itzbcrglnsis. Reeve.*

Fossil — Montreal (small and rare).

Recent — Little Metis; Murray Ray to Gasp(5 ; also Spitzbergen,
and ])robably Sea of Okotsk ; N.W. coast (Dall).

Only one specimen occurred at Montreal, and was an unknown form
mitil I fortunately dredged a few specimens at Murray Bay. It is a
beautiful species, evidently ipiite distinct from S. Mandictis. From
Middendortl''s description and figure, I think it not iTiiprobable that it
may be the same with his Trito/iinm Schtintnricum, from the sea of
Okotsk. I was not aware that it had been found on our coast, except
at ilurray bay, until tliese sheets were going tiirougli the press.
Young specimens are renuirkably like in form aiul sculpture to
FascioUtria ligtitd, which 13 found with it at Murray l)ay. Reeve's
figure in Belcher's " Last of the Arctic Voyages," well rein-esents our
specimens, though iieriiaps a very little coarser in sculpture.

Xeptunea doipecta, L.

Fossil — Montreal ; Quebec ; Riviere-du-Loup ; Murray Bay ; New
Riclnnond, River Charles, &c., N.B. (Matthew) ; Labrador (Packard).

Recent— Little Metis, large specimens ; Gaspe Bay, large specimens
( Whiteaves) ; Labrador (Packard).

This shell is not uncommon in the drift, and owing to its dense
texture is generally in good preservation. It ranges from the typical
Fiisiis tonidfiin of Gould to F. de-tjiectUK of Linnanis, as described by
Fabricius, from Greenland, and shells of similar form from the British
Crag are considered by S. Wood as varieties of /'. (iiitiquuti.f Dr. P.

* Verrill calls this 8ipho lividus, and holds that it is distinct from
Fustis Spitzberc/ensin, Reeve. (J. ¥, W. )

t The C. desptctm of Reeve, however, is a very different species,
from the Arctic regions of the North Pacific.

PLEISTOCENE FOSSILS. 251)

1*. Carpenter thinks that tiiis and the British P. (intiqnus may prove
to belong to one very variable species. The /'. (h.'^jnctiis is an Arctic
form. The F. loDiatus is recent, and is the form now found in the Gulf
and Kiver St. Lawrence, where it is much larger and better developed
than in the I'leistocene. C. (Icctmcostdfiis is more southern.

Neptunea (lecenicoxf(tl(t. Say.

Fossil — Portland, Maine.

Kecent — Magdalen Islands and (Jaspu ]5ay (Whiteaves) ; coasts of
Nova Scotia and New England.

This species has not yet been found in the Pleistocene of Canada,
where it is represented by C. tornatiis. There are still two opinions as
to whether Say's species is identical with C. /yrutus (Mart.) =Midden-
dorffii (Cooper) from the Pacific coast. The latter is variable, and
graduates towards tormUuH (Gould), but the living New England shells
are tolerably constant in character.

Tvophon scalarifornie. (iould.

Fossil — Montreal ; Murray Bay ; Rivir-re-du-Loup ; Labrador.

Recent — (ireenland (Hayes) ; Little Metis; Murray Bay; Nova
Scotia (Willis) ; (iaspe and North Shore (Whiteaves).

It is a rare shell in the Pleistocene, but of large size and in good
condition.

Trophoii cluthralum. Linn.

Fossil— Montreal ; Murray Bay ; Riviere-du-IiOup ; Anticosti ; also
glacial beds of Europe.

Recent — Riviere-du-Loup ; Little Metis ; Greenland and Arctic seas
generally ; Labrador ; (lulf St. Lawrence (Whiteaves). The allied
species or variety, T. Ounneri, has been found living at Gaspe by
Whiteaves, and occurs at Little Metis, but not fossil as yet. British
Columbia ; Alaska (Dall).

PROVINCE ANNULOSA.

Anmdata,

Serpula vermicularis. Linn.

Fossil— Montreal ; Murray Bay ; Riviere. du-Loup.
A small species of Serpula, apparently the above, though perhaps
the determination may be regarded as uncertain. _

2G0 THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

Virmilifi scrrula. Stimpson.

Fossil— RiviC're-du- Loup, on shells.

Recent — (iulf St. Lawrence. Itis(juite likely the (ireenlaml species
identified by Ffil)ricius with Scrpidn triquetrd.

Spiocha'toptcrus ti/pus. Sars.
Fossil — Labrador (Packard).
Recent — Labrador (Packard) ; Norway (Sars).

Spirorhis glomeratti {Stimpsoni, Verrill). Mnller.

Fossil— Rivirre-du- Loup ; Little Metis; Labrador (Packard) ; (Jreen-
Icind (Fabr. ); (iaspi-. Tliis species is Spirurbis Stimpsoni of Verrill,
})eing rei^arded l)y iiini as distinct and new.

Spirorhis vUrea. Faljricius.

Fossil— Montreal ; Quel)ec ; Riviere-du-Loup ; Murray Bay. Very
connnon on stones and shells.

Recent— Little Metis ; (ireenland (Fabricius) ; Gulf St. Lawrence.

Spirorbis bore alls. Daudin.

Fossil — Riviere-du-Loup, on shells.

Recent — Gulf St. Lawrence ; (Jreenland (Fabricius).

Spirorbis Incidus. Fleming.

Fossil — Rivi»;re-du-Loup, on the inside of shells.
Recent — CJulf St. Lawrence; Fishing Banks, American Coast
((ioiild).

Spirorbis carinnta. Montague.

Fossil — Riviere-du-Loup, on shells.

This is a Spirorbis with one carina, found also in the Gulf of St.
Lawrence, and possibly the same with the S. contort iiplicata of
Fabricius from Greenland ; Little Metis.

The beautiful Spirorbis canceUata of Fabricius, so common in the
modern Gulf of St. Lawrence, and also in Greenland, has not yet been
foimd in the Pleistocene.

Nereis pelayica. Linn.

Fossil — Green's Creek (collection of Mr. J. Stewart, Ot^^awa, and
J.W. D.)

The specimens are in the nodules from this locality. They resemble
at first sight whitish strips of calcareous matter about four inches in
length and scarcely two lines in breadth. This strip of calcite is a

PLEISTOCENE F0.S8ILS, 261

longitudinal section through the body of the worm, anil shows nothing
of its external characters, and tlie somites of the body are indicated
only by the tufts of brown bristles or setsu at intervals along the sides,
in the best specimen these are in tlie middle j)ortion of tlie body, from
a tenth to a twelfth of an inch apart. On the anterior segments they
are closer together, the body liaving apparently been contracted in that
part. Each foot, as indicated by the setiu — the soft parts having
entirely perished — seems to have had one strong spine and several
others, very fine and hair-like, in a separate bundle. Wlien disengaged
from the matrix (which can easily be dime by treating a small portion
with diluted acid) and examined microscopically, they seem to be
simple, nearly straight and pointed. Near what seems to be the ante-
rior extremity are obscure indications of one of the horny mandibles.
These characters, as far as they go, would indicate a cha'topod worm or
"sea centipede," and, of the species known to me on our coasts, they
resemble most closely that above named, which seems to be tlie ^. caeca
of Fabricius, and is a common and widely distributed species in the
North Atlantic and Arctic seas.

PROVINCE ARTHROPODA.
C/rt^ss / V. — Crustacea.

The most abundant species are bivalve Entomostraca,

which occur in great numbers in the Leda clay, associated

with Foraminifera. The species in my collection have

been kindly determined by Mr, J. S. Brady, who enumerates

the following: —

Cythere MacChesneyi, nov. sp.
" Daicsoni (Brady).
" globulifera (Brady).
" Logani, nov. sp.
Cytheridea papulosa (Bosquet).
" punctillata (Brady).
" Sorbyana (Jones).
•* Mvlleri.
Cytherura Hobertsoni (Brady).
Cytheropteron complanatum, nov. sp.

" inflatum (B., C, and R., MS.)

** angulatum (B., C, and R., MS.)

Eucythere argus.

202

THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

As the paper was ro-jn'inted in the Canaditoi Nuturnlid
(Vol. v., X.S.) it is unnecessary to notice these species
further here, excc])t to state that out of twenty-nine
s]»ecies of recent Ostracods ol)taine(l l)y Mr. lirady from
material from the (lulf St. Lawrence, furnislied by me,
thirteen liave been recognized in the I'leistocene of
Canada and Maine. It is further remarkable that out

Fossils. — I M.ATK VII.

Pleistocene Criistncca.—\, Bulaiitis Ihtmcri (one iif tlie Ixiity valves); •_', l:. llameri
(()l)t>rciil.ir valves); ;i, Ctlthcriika MitUerl—{(i) valves uiiituLl; (h) left valve;
(c) natural si/e.

of thirty-three fossil species from Maine and Canada, no
less than twenty-three occur in the Scottish glacial beds
and twenty-five are living in the British seas, while six
are new species,

Balanus Uameri. Ascanius.

Fossil —Montreal ; St. Nicholas ; Quebec ; Anticosti ; Riviere-du-
Lrup ; also, Uddevalla ; Russia (Murchison) ; Greenland (Spengler).

PI.KISTOCKXH FOSSILS. 26:'

Ht'ci'iit — Coawl of Nova Suotia. I liavc ohtainod speciniL'ns from Mr.
Dowiics of Halifax, l)iit have not clsuwliore seen tlie .speiies recent.
It is /). ('(hlciuille/iHiii ni li.sts of Scandinavian fossils and 1). (iilipd of
.MuUcr. It is a widely ditViiseil Arctic and North Atlantic species.

This .Acorn siudl is very almndant at Riviere-dn-Lou]), and tine
specimens are found entire, attaciied to stones and Itoulders in the
houldei'-clay.

\'ery tine specimens ai'c also ohtained at Kiver licaudette, ahout
'M miles west of Montreal. 'J'iiis locality is noteworthy as being
further Mest than the others mentioned, 'i'he specimens are also
interesting from their remarkahle perfection and the large masses
which they form, some of whicii contain as manj' as a dozen individuals
attached to each other. They were collected \>y Mr. A. \V. McNown,
of Kivieie Heaudette, and by Mr. Stanton, C.I'^,of Lancaster.

The animals seem to have been covered, when living, with an irrup-
tion of sand, for the opercular valves of many f>f them are still in place,
and, owing to a slight infiltration of calcareous matter, the radial plates
and opercular valves have been cemented together, which accounts for
Hieir perfect preservation. It is to be observed, however, that the
shells of llalani are composed of a remarkably dense and indestructible
calcium carbonate, much less perishable than the shells of most moUusks.

The original attachments of the animals, so far as observed, have
been on pebbles on tiie sui'face of clay, and as tliese allbrded space only
for one or two individuals, the young were obliged to attach themselves
to the old in successi\'e generations, forming grotescjue groups, which
still remain entire. They are associated with St.rictfCd rtiyom, Mya
(irenitriu and Macoma Grindnndicd,

Balan us porcat as. DaCosta.

Fossil — IJeauport ; glacial beds of Europe.

Recent — Gulf St. Lawrence, and coast of New England ; Labrador
(Packard); and Arctic and Northern seas generally. It is no doubt
Lcpus bahiHUS of Fabricius from CJreenland.

Much more rare in the Pleistocene than the preceding species.

Balanns crenatus. Brug.

Fossil — Montreal ; Quebec ; Riviere-dii-Loup ; Anticosti ; St. John,
N.li. (Matthew) ; Labrador (Packard) ; Portland, Maine ; glacial beds
of Europe ; Vancouver Island (ft. M. I). )

Recent — Arctic and nortiiern seas, Greenland ; (iulf St. Lawrence
and American coast. It seems to be Lepas halanaris of Fabricius,
from (Jreenland.

264 THK icK a(;k in Canada.

lialiinuH hiilauoidt's.

Fossil — I'ortliuid, Miiiiif. Not yut in Canada.
EiipntfitrKs Ji( niliarihis / Kiihiicius.

Fossil — Rivirredii-fiOiiii. A siiiiiU specimen in a Turritilld may l)c
the young of tliis common species.

IfijdH ro(ir'-t(i/ti. Leach.

Fossil — Rivirre-du-Loup. A few claws only found, Imt evidently
of this common (>ulf of St. Lawrence species.

Estherin Dawsoni. Packard.

Fossil — (Jreen's Creek, Ottawa.

A new species found in tlie nodules containing fishes, &c., and
described hy Packard as follows* : —

This Kstlieria is entirely unlike any northern American or Kuropean
species, ditl'ering decidedly from Esthcrid morsel or E. addirdli and
E, darkii. It rather approaches E, jonem from Cuba in tlie form of
the .shell and style of marking of the valves. It does not resemble
closely any of the fossil forms figured in .Jones' Monograph of Fossil
Estheriie. Tiie markings, however, present some resemblances to
E. middendorfii Jones, but differs in the want of anastomosing cross
wrinkles between the ridges.

One valve and portions of others were preserved ; ))ut none of them
show the l)eaks (umbones), though the form of the remainder of the
shell indicates that they were situated nearer the middle of the valve
than usual — i.e., between the middle and the anterior third of the shell.
The shell is <leep, probably more so than in E.jo/U'sii, though the valves
have evidently been flattened and somewhat distorted by pressure, but
apparently the head-end was more truncated than in E. jonesii, as the
edge of the shell and the parallel lines (or ridges) of growth along the
head-end are, below, bent at right angles to the lower edge of the shell.
The raised lines of growth are very numerous and near together ; they
are of nearly the same distance apart above, near the beaks, as on the
lower edge. The very numerous li»'?s of growth are thrown up into
high sharp ridges, the edges of whieh are often rough, finely granu-
lated, and often the valleys between are rugose on the surface. In one
or two places a row of papillie for the insertion of spinules may be seen
where the shell has been well preserved, and between many of the lines
of growth there are irregular superficial ridges. Length, 10 mm, ;
depth, 7.5 mm.

* American Naturalist, June, 1881.

I'LKISTOCKNK FOSSILS. 265

Tlie valve is evidently that of an Kstheria, much truncated an-
teriorly, and wit), the lines ..f yn.wth n.uch thicker, higher and closer
together than in any North American species known to us, and may
prove, when Letter specimens are found, to he allied to the tertiary
Silierian E, middeudorji.

Insectd.
Fornax' ledensin. Scudder.

This is an elytron of a i)eetlc in a nodule from (Ireen's Creek, along
with a skeleton of M,lht>,s Vi'.hmx. Scudder, who has kindly exam-
ined It, regards it as representing a new species allied to F. culreatua of
North America. It has l,een described by Dr. S. in his volunio on
I ertiary insects.

^ Scudder in his work on Fossil Insects and previously in Reports to the
L'. S. (ieological Survey, notices the insects collected by Hinde in the
iMterglacial ))eds at Scarborough, on Lake Ontario. He regards these
insects as extinct species, but nearly related to modern temperate forms,
and in no respect an Arctic assemblage. This agrees with th 3 evidence
of the fossil plants.

PROVINCK VKRTKBRATA.
Tlie vertehratc animals of the Pleistocene are few; and
we can scarcely include in this formation the Mastodon
or Mammoth, and their contemporaries, as their remains,
so far as known in Canada, are rather I'ost-glacial or
Modern. The fishes are mostly from nodules in the Leda
clay, found at and near (Ireen's Creek on the Ottawa
River, and are ordinary northern species.

If- „ . ... ^^<^^^ Pisces.

MaUotxis nllosus. Cuvier.

The common capelin is found in nodules at Green's Creek on the
Ottawa. (Plate VII.)

Osmerus mordax. (iill.

An imperfect skeleton, apparently referable to the smelt, Green's
Creek, Ottawa.

Cottua (Centrodermichthys) uncinatus. Reinhpvdt,

Fossil— Nodules from Green's Creek, collection of Mr. J. Stewart
Ottawa, and of J. \\\ D.

200

THE K'K A(;K in CANAIU.

P\)SSII.S. -I'l.ATK VIII.

'riii'i'i^ liiivo liccii ill my collct.'-
tiniis fur .suiiic time two spcrimcns
of tlifsc iimliiit'.s, wliicli appeiir lo
fontuin the sivflctons of Hone wpf-
L'iusof Vottiixttv Sciilpiii. Tlicy are,
liowever, imperfectly preserved, sn
lliiit I lia\c Ijceii miiilile to iilelitify
tile spi'cie.s. IJeeeiitiy, Mr. il.
Stewart, of Ottawa, iias kindly
|)la('ed ill my liaiids a, i)etter j)i-e-
.ser\'e(l .speeiiiieii, .sliowiiij,' more'
eHpeuially tiie preopermilar .spines

and i)et'toi'al fin.s in comparatively
good pre.servation, and with the
liolp of t'.ioso I think I can identify
the species, notwithstanding the
confusion which at present seems
to reign as to our Nortli American
cottoids.

The chartacters of the hooked
spines and of the pectoral fin seem
to identify this specimen with Cottlis
(Gentrodermichthys) uncinattis of
Gunther's IJritish Museum cata-
logue. This is C.uncinatusoi Rein-

plklstolhnk fossils. 2(

>l

lianlt, and rt'c/un u/irhiiitiis of Kmycr ami (Sill. I feel coiiviiiccil,
also, that it iinist Ik; tlic Cnffns f/nhii) i)f I''al)ric'ius, thonj^h tliis in
iiHiially iilontilicd witli ('. {(ii/ninurdiit/nis] frininjiis of IxcinliardI, a
very (list iiiet Hpwnes. Cotdis inirimifns occurs in (lironlaiul .iiid in
dct'pcr water as far Hontli ax N'rw I'liiijland, according to dordan, who
(creates foi' it a new gcnuM (Artctliilhix).*

The total length of th(! HjK^ciincn willioul the caudal tin, wldcli is
absent, is four inclu!H, of w Inch tiu! iujad measures one inch. It helongs
to the (•ojh'ctionof Mr. Stewart, 'i'lie othei-and less perfect s|)ecimens,
wiiicii I refiM' U» tiie same species, are in tiic I'eter Kedpalh Museum.

Ci/cloptii'iis III 1)1 pits. Linn.

'i'lie lump sucker occurs in nodides at tl>e same place,

(uistcroKti iiH iiriilciitiUH .' L.

In nodules at the same place;, found Ity SherilT Dickson. It closely
resendiles the two-spined stickleback of tlie (iulf .St. Lawrence, but is
not sutiiciently perfect for detailed description.

Sitlmo suhn'? Linn.

Fossil — A head apparently ri'fcrable to this species in a nodule from
(Joose River, norlli .shore of i{iver St. Lawrence.

Vertebra' and other fragments of lisiies not determinable have been
found at Kiviere-du-Lf»u)> and other places.

Class Aces.

A few specimens of feathers have been preserved in nodules at
(Jreen's Creek. They have apparently belonged to small wading birds.

Class Mammalia.
Phoca (PagopMlus) GrwiilaiHlira. MuUer.

A nearly complete skeleton of this species, found some years ago in
the Leda clay near M(jntreal, is now in the collection of the Geological
Survey of Canada at Ottawa. Detached bones, also found near
Montreal, are in the Peter Redpath Museum of McCiill University.

More than twenty years ago, Mr. liillings, then at Ottawa, obtained
a nodule with certain bonos enclosed in it from the Pleistocene clays
of Green's Creek, on the Ottawa, which iiave afforded so many beautiful
specimens of the Capelin and other fishes, and also of marine sheila of
northern and cold water types. Mr. liillings regarded the bones as
those of the limbs of "a small animal of aquatic habits," but, not being

* Catalogue of Fishes, Fish Commission Reports.

268 THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

able to determine the species, sent the specimen to Dr. Leidy, of Phila-
delphia. He recognized the bones as those of tlie hinder extremity of
a young seal, but of what species was uncertain. A good figure and
description were published in the first volume of tlie Naturalist in 1856.
No further information bearing directly on this fossil was secured until
the discovery some years ago of a jaw bone of a young individual of
this species by Sir J. (irant. It is the left ramus of the lower jaw of a
young seal, containing a canine and four molar teeth, with an impres-
sion of the fifth. It enables us to affirm that the species is Phoea
Grcenlandica (Pagophilus Grwnlajidicus of Gray's catalogue) — the
common Greenland seal, and it is of such size that it may have
belonged to the same individual which furnished the bones described
in 1856, or at least to an animal of the same species and of similar age.

Beluga catodon (Delphi napterus leucas, Pallas ; Beluga vermontana,
Thompson).

Bones of thii species have been foiuid at Riviere-du-Loup and at
Montreal, in the Saxicava sand near Cornwall (Billings) and in the same
deposit near Bathurat (Gilpin and Honeyman). There seems no good
reason to believe that the B. Vermontana of Thompson from the
Pleistocene of Vermont is distinct from this species.

Megaptera longimana. Gray.

Portions of a skeleton of this species were found in 1882 in a ballast
pit on the Canadian Pacific Railway, three miles north of Smith's Falls,
in Ontario, 31 miles north of the St. Lawrence River. They were im-
bedded in gravel along with shells of Tellina Grfenlandica, apparently
on a beach of the Pleistocene period at an elevation of 440 feet above
the sea, which corresponds nearly with one of the principal sea coast
terraces on the Montreal mountain and other parts of the St. Lawrence
valley.

The specimens obtained were presented by Mr. A. Baker, of the
C. P. Railway, to the Peter Redpath Museum. They consist of a
lumbar and dorsal vertebra and a rib, and correspond with these bones
in the species above named, which seems to be Bnhena hoopa of
Fabricius. It is still found in the Gulf of St. I^awrence, and is more
disposed than the other large whales to extend its excursions some
distance into the estuary of the St. Lawrence and other narrow seas.

Belcher (Last of the Arctic Voyages, 185.3) mentions the occurrence
of the bones of a large whale imbedded in clay ac Mount Parker, at an
elevation of 500 feet ; and at Cape D'Israeli a similar specimen at
about the same elevation. On the Lower St. Lawrence, bonea of large

rago}^hibts GroenUuuUciis, Mailer.

Tlie above illustration, for which I ain indebted to ^W.
H. M. Ami, F.G.S., represents the jaw of this species
(referred to at p. 268), in tlie collection of Sir James
Grant, of Ottawa.

Mr. Ami has also kindly sent me the najues of the
following species occurring at Green's Creek, and wliich
are not mentioned in the above lists as from that locality:
Asterias, sp., Balanus crenatus, Mytilus nhdis, Macoma

fragilis, Natlca ajfinis, two additional insects, Tenchrio

calcuknsis, and Byrrhus Ottmvaensis.

pleistocenp: fossils. 269

whales are not infrequent on the lower marine terraces, and are re-
ported as occurring also on the higlier terraces, l»ub this I have not
verified by personal observation. They probably belong either to the
" Humpback " or to the " Finner " wliale, l)oth of which are occasion-
ally present in the Lower St. Lawrence, and are said in former times
to have been more numerous. I secured last summer (1891) a large
jaw-bone found in digging a cellar in the :;helly gravel of the lower
terrace at Metis. It is now in the Peter Redpath Museum.

THE ARCTIC BASIN.

It may be of interest to add here a list of the species

recognized by Jeffreys in the collections of (Japt. Fieldeu

in the Pleistocene of Olrinnell Land and North Greenland

{Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 1877 p. 230; Zoologist, 1877,

pp. 485-440). It would appear that these shells are found

at various elevations, from near the sea level to about

1,200 feet.

ConcJnfera.

Pecten Granlandicus. Sowerby.

Pccten Mandicus. L.

Leda pernula. MuUer.

Leda aretica. (iray.

Leda frigida (TovreW) = Yoldia Nana {'!^9xs.)

Axiniis flexuosus. Montague. Var. Gouldii.

Area glacialls. C ray.

Cardium Islandicum. Chemnitz.

Chemnitz, Conch. Cab., Vol. VI., p. 200, tab. 19, figs. 195, 196. Cir-
cumpolar ; frequent in Post-tertiary deposits throughout the north of
Europe and America.

Astarte borealis. Chemnitz.

Astarte fabnla. Reeve.

This species is probably the Nicania Banksii of Leach, MS., which
was figured by the late Mr. G. B. Sowerby in his Supplement to Gray's
" MolTusca of Beechey's Voyage " (1839), pi. XLIV., fig. 10, as ''Astarte
Banksii? (Gray) in Brit. Mus." MoUer included it in his list of

270 THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

Greenland Mollusca under the name " Niccinia Banksii, Sab." Reeve 'a
publication was in IS").). Sowerby's figure, althougli it represents the
shape, does not show the peculiar sculpture of A. fabula. See also
A, Crcbricostata (Forbes) and ^1. Richnrdsonii. Reeve.

lellina calcarea. Chenni.

Tellina calcarea. Chemn., VI., p. 140, tab. 13, fig. 136. For the
synonymy and range of this common Arctic sliell and " glacial " fossil,
see "British Conchology," Vol. II., pp. 389, 390, and Vol. V., p. 187.

Thracia dbliqua. Jcffr., sp. n.

A valve measuring an inch and six-tenths in breadth by an inch and
one-tenth in length. It is distinguishable from Thracia (Amphideatna)
truncata of Brown, = 1, myopnis (Beck), in having a more oblicpie or
twisted shape, a straight instead of rounded margin in front, and a
more gradual or less abrupt slope to each side ; the truncature at the
posterior side is broad and regularly curvetl ; and the surface is
puckered, as in Mya truncata. It wants the Hexuosity of T. jnibeacena,
but resendjles in its outline that species more than T. truncata. T.
septentrionalis, Jeffr. (truncata of Mighels and Adams), differs in shape
and texture from all the above-named species. Having, however, seen
but a single valve, I will not insist on tliis constituting a new species.

Mya truncata, l^., (vnr. Uddcvallcnsia).

Saxicava i-uijoxa. L.

Neaera suhtortu. Sars.

Solenoconchia.
Siphodentalium vitremn.

Gastropoda.

TrochuH (Mar(/nnta) nmbilica/ix. Brod. and Low.

TrichotropU borealis. Brod. and Low.

Bnccinum temie.

Bucciiinm hydrophanum. Hancock.

Trophoii cldthrutus. L.

Pleurotoma fenuicoMata. Say.

P. Exarata. Miiller.

P. Treve/yana. Fischer.

Cylichna alba, lirown.

Actinozoa.
Funictdina quad ran ipdaria.

Mr. Norman has examined these organisms, and favoured me with
the following memorandum : —

I'LEISTOCEXK FOSSILS. 271

" Fuiiirit/iiin qim<lr<tii<jii/nris (I'allas) = I'aronarid qnadmnffufnrix.
Jolinston.

" Fragments of the full-grown tjuadrangular calcareous skeleton-
rods. They are in good condition, and niucii more recentdooking and
less decayed than a similar rod which I dredged two months ago to the
N.E. of the 'Maiden Rock' near Oban. There can be no doubt that
this Oban specimen was 'recent'; for although I did not dredge it
living, it was close to this locality tiiat Mr. Mc Andrew obtained tiio
first known l^ritish example of this species. Fitiilculiua qi(a<lrn)if/ul(tri.i
is at present known to range from the Adriatic Sea (Kiilliker) to the
Mincli (' Porcupine' Expedition, 1869) on our own coast, and Kattegat
in the Scandinavian Seas (Malm)."

Foramini/era,
Cornuxpira foHacea. Philippi.

Marine A/ijie.
Melobesia pohjmorpha.

FOSSIL PLANTS.

The first locality where fossil plants in any considerable
number were obtained, was Green's creek on the Ottawa,
where they owe their preservation to the nodules of cal-
careous matter that have enclosed delicate specimens,
which otherwise could not have Ijcen secured from the
soft Leda clay in which the nodules are enclosed. They
are associated with Lcda arcfica and with skeletons of
Mal/otas and other fishes. In addition to specimens
collected by myself, I have examined the collections made
by tlie late Eev. Mr. Bell of L'Orignal, those of the late
Sheriff Dickson, and those of the Geological Survey. The
whole were described in my paper in the Canadian
Naturalist for February, 1866, and included nine or ten
species of phaenogams,a moss, and an alga. Subsequently,
additional specimens from this place were collected by
the late Mr. J. S. Miller, and by Mr. J. Stewart of

272

THK KK A(!K IN CANADA.

Fossils.— Plate IX.

1, Fopulus balsiimi/era. 2, Acer Pleistoceiiiwm,

PLKLSTOCKNK FOSSILS. 273

Ottawa, and wero i)lac(3(l in my hands; while si)ecimens
of wood found at dili'eront times in the Leda clay of
Montreal were also jilaced by me in the Peter Kedpath
museum.

The interestinj,' deposits at Scarboro' heights and else-
where on Lake Ontario were described by Dr. J. G. Hinde
in the Canadian Journal in 1877, and be notices the
following i)lants as found by him :

Wood of pine and cedar.
Portions of leaves of rushes, etc.
Seeds of various plants.
Hjipn lun com m utat urn .
H. recolvcns.
Fontinalis.
Br yum.
Chara, sp.

More recently Mr. J. Townseud, of Toronto, was so
fortunate as to find leaves and fragments of wood, .with
shells of Mclania and Ci/das, in beds ai)[)arently of the
same age, in excavations in progress on the liiver Don, at
Toronto.

The section observed at this place is given as follows
by Mr. Townseud :

The locality of the principal vegetable specimens was
150 feet from the bank of tiie Don, and in a cutting 70
feet deep. The section showed 20 feet of fine light-
colored sand, with layers of clay at bottom. Below this
were 24 feet of tough stratified blue clay, the "Erie clay"
of the region. At the base of tliis clay is a seam of
reddish ferruginous sand, about three feet thick, and with

argillaceous nodules, in which was the maple leaf de-
19

274 THK ICE A(iE IN CANADA.

scribed by rrot'i'.s.sor iV'iiliallow. Tx'low this sand wei'c
10 feet of altoi'iiiitiii^' sand and daik-cfilorcd clay, with
fresli-wator sliclls and wood. IScIdw this was ihe bhic
till restin}^ on the surface of the Ifudson rivcu- beds. In
this section tlu; upju'r boulder-clay of Hinde's section is
iKJt represented, but only the lower p'onps as uiveii in his
table. The upi)er boulder-clay is, however, .seen on hiulu'r
ground in the vicinity.

Dr. .1. AV. Spencer, who has studied this locality, as
well as the whole north shore of T.ake Ontario, writes to
me that he reLfanls the earthy sand holdin*^' wood and
fresh-water shells as (Mpnvalent t(j llinde's " internlacial "
lieds at Scarboro' hei,u,hts, and the ovei'lyiiiL!; clay as the
so-called "Erie clay," over which, as alxn'e stated, is the
upper boidder de])Osit which, in the vicinity of Toronto,
has many Laurentian boulders.

Observations have l)een made on the interylacial beds
of the West by Dr. 0. "SI. Dawson, and are recorded
in his ve])orts on the 49th Parallel, and on the {geology of
the ])ow and lielly rivers, and in a paper on l)orin,i;'s made
in ]\ranitoba and the Xorth-west Territories, in A"ol. lY.
of the Transactions of the Jioyal Society of Canada; and
he has placed in my hands s])ecimens of ])eat and wood
from those re<i;ions. In one locality on the JJelly river he
finds a bed of interglacial ])Gat, hardened by pressure in
such a manner as to assume the appearance of a lignite.

In addition to the ve^'ctable remains found as above
stated in the "forest l)eds" or " interglacial" deposits,
trunks of trees and ve.i^etable fragments occur in the
boulder-clays themselves, indicating either the partial
destruction of the older interglacial l)ed ami the mixture
of its debris with glacial deposits, or the enclosiu'e of
drift-wood in the latter in the manner now so common

PLEISTOCKNK I'OSSlLS. 27")

ill tlie arctic rcfjioiis, and descriiied l»y so many arctic
explorers*

One of the most marked illustrations is that of the
boring at Solsgirth, in Manitoha, on the Manitoba and
North-western railway, and at an elevation of I,?")? feet
above the sea.f At this place the section is as follows :

Feet.

1 . Loam . 2

2. Hai'd IjIuo clay iind gravel 42

,'i. Hard bluu (day aiul stones 10

4. Hard yellow " hard pan "' 12

5. Softer bluish clay 1(»

0. " " " 74

7. >Sand willi water

8. Blue clay with stones 1,S(»

9. (iray clay or shale (Cretaceous?) (i8

mo

Fraoiuenls of wood, more or less decayed and com-
pressed, were obtained from de])ths of 90, 107, 120 and
l.'5o feet from the surface. They were thus distributed
throut^h a considcralile thickness of the clay rather than
in a distinct interglacial deposit. It is to lie observed,
however, they were included within the central part
characterized a>s a softer Wue clav, between two jjeds
apparently harder and more stony.

Additional specimens from tliis place have recently
been obtained by ]\[r. J. 15. Tyrrell, of the Geological
Survey of Canada, and have been kindly communicated
to me. Mr. Tyrrell has also found vegetable remains in a

* See Manual of the Natural History, (ieology and Physics of
Greenland, by Professor T. R. Jones, issued by the Royal Society of
London, 1875, index — "Driftwood."

+ Dr. G. M. Dawson, Trans. Royal Society Canada, Vol. IV., 1887,
sec. IV., p. 91. tt seq.

270 THE ICK A(iK IN CANADA.

l»ed uikU'I- the Ixmldcr-flav fit Ilolliii)^' river, M!init<>1>!i,
which are noticed in I'l-ofessor iViihallow's i)ai)er. ThtiV
were accompanied with fr(!.sh-water shi'lls of the t'ollowiiii,'
species, detenniiied hy Mr. Whiteaves, K.(i.S., Pala-outolo-
1,'ist to tlie (ieolojfieal Survey of Canada:

L]imnm cafuHvoit'uint !, \ariety with very sliort spire.
Vulmttt frintriiKtfK, and a keelless variety.
Aninit'iila jmrofd i

P. hiniriiiahts.
Pis idi n III idxlltu III.
Sphcvruun sfriafin inn.

With these was the centrum of a vertebra of a small iish.

Dr. (r. AT. Dawson has also foiuid fratiuients of wood at
Skidegate, (^ueen Charlotte Islands, in boulder-clay,
associated with shells of Lti/n, etc.

As elsewhere stated, at Kiver Inhabitants, in Cai)e
Breton, there is an indurated peat with branches of
Tiwm and remains of swamp plants IwIdh' the boulder-clay.

The wliole of the above cfdlections have been placed in
the liands of Prof, I'enhallow, of ]\Ic(iill University, for
revision and determination, and his results have been
published in the lUilletin of the (Jeological Society of
America, Vol. I., to which reference may be made for
details.

The whole number of Canadian species has thus been
raised to 38, as follows : —

1. Asimina triloba^ Dunal. Don River, Toronto (Townsend).

2. Brasenia peltata, Pursh. Green's Creek nodules (Miller).

3. Drosera rotundifolia, L. Green's Creek, Ottawa (J. W. Dawson).*

* Collection of Sir William Dawson in Peter Redpath Muaeiun.

I'MasTOCKM-: FOSSILS. 277

4. Acer sdcrhuriruim, Wang. (Ireen's Creek, Ottawa (J. W. Dawson).
."). Anr pltistM'ctiirin/), Mp. ikiv. Don lliver, Toronto (Townsend).
U. Potcittilla (t/nnriiHi, L.

(iruon'H Creek, Ottawa (.1. W. DawHun ami Miller).
7. Oaylu»8wia reHuiom, Torr. and day.

(ireen's Creek, Ottawa (.1. W. Dawson).

5. Menyduthcti tvifoliiitit, L. Lnhi liays, Montreal.*

U. UlinitH r(i('emon(i,T\\i^\mw, Don lUver, Toronto (Townaentl).

10. PojiidiiH baltifimiferti, L. (ireen's Creek, Ottawa (.1. W. Dawson).

11. PapiiliiK (/rmidideiitiita, Wichx.

Ledd chiy a, Montreal (Weston).
(Jreen's Creek nodules (Stewart).

12. Piccanlha, Link. Hloomington, 111. (Andrews).

I.'l. Lnrir americdna, Miclix. Zfrfa clays, Montreal (Weston).
14. Thuya ocridentnliH, L.

Zfrfrt clays, Montreal (J. W. Dawson).

Leda River, Manitoba (Dr. (J. M. Dawson).

Marietta, Oliio (Newberry).
lo. T(ii'U8 hnccata, \j.

Don River, Toronto (Townsend).

Solsgirth, Manitoba (O. M. Dawson and Tyii'tilD-

Rolling River, Manitoba (Tyrrell).

Cape Breton (Sir William Dawson).

Bloomington, 111. (Andrews).
I (). Potamogeton perfoHatus, L. (ireen's Creek, Ottawa (J. W. Dawson).

17. Potamogeton pusiUus, L. (Jreen's Creek, Ottawa (J. W. Dawson).

18. Potamogeton rutllana (?), Wolfgang, (ireen's Creek nodule (Stewart).
\S^. Elodea canadensis {"!), yiichx. Rolling River, Manitoba (Tyrrell).

20. Vallisneria (''.). Rolling River, Manitoba (Tyrrell).

21. Carex magellanica. Lamarck.

(ireen's Creek nodules, Ottawa (Miller and Stewart).

22. Oryzopsis asperifolia, Miciix. (ireen's Creek, Ottawa(J. W. Dawson).

23. Bromus ciliatus {''.), L. (ireen's Creek, Ottawa (Miller).

24. Equisetum syleaticum {''.], L. Green's Creek nodules (Stewart).

25. Equisetum Umosum (?), L. (ireen's Creek, nodules (Stewart).

2(J. Equisetum, scirpoides. Michx. (ireen's Creek, Ottawa (J. W. Dawson).

27. Fontinalis (?), sp. (ireen's Creek, Ottawa (J. W. Dawson).

28. Fueus, sp. Green's Creek, Ottawa (J. W. Dawson).

29. Navicula lata. Rolling River, Manitoba.

30. Encyonema prostratum. Rolling River, Manitoba,

* Collection of Sir William Dawson in Peter Redpath Museum.

278 THK ICE AGE IN CANADA.

31. DenUenlalauta. Rolling River, Manitoba.
.'{2. Lkmnpliora (?). Rolling River, Manitoba.
'^'^. Cocconeis. Rolling River, Manitoba.

None of the pbiuts above meiitioiieil are properly
arctic in their distribiitiou, and the assemblage may be
characterized as a selection from the present Canadian
flora of some of the more liardy species having the most
northern range, (ireen's creek is in the central part of
Canada, near to tlie parallel of 4G , and an accidental
selection fiom its present flora, though it might contain
the same species found in the nodules, would certainly
include with these, or instead of some of them, more
southern forms. More especially the l)alsam poplar,
though that tree occurs plentifully on tlie Ottawa, would
not be so predominant, liut such an assemblage of drift
plants might l)e furnished by any American stream flow-
ing in the latitude of 50" to 55' north. If a stream flow-
ing to the north it might deposit these plants in still
more northern latitudes, as the ]\[cKenzie river does
now. If flowing to the south, it miglit dejwsit them to
the south of 50 , In the case of the Ottawa, the plants
could not have been derived from a nif)re southern
locality, nor probably from one ^'ery far to the nortli.
We may therefore safely assume! tliat the refrigeration
indicated by tliese plants would place the region bordering
the Ottawa in nearly the same position with that of the
south coast of Labrador fronting on the Gulf of St.
Lawrence, at present. The al)sence of all the more arctic
species occurring in Labrador, should perhaps induce us
to infer a somewhat more mild climate than this.

The climatic indications aff'orded Ijy these plants are
not dissimilar from those furnished 1)y a consideration of
tlie marine fauna of the period of the Leda clay.

rLEISTOCKNE FOSSILS. 279

SUMMARY OF FOSSILS.

The above lists iiicludo, in all, about 240 species, dis-
tributed as follows :*

I'lants 33

Animals —Protozoa, eto 21

Echinodennata 7

Mollusca 142

Annulosa aiul Arthropoda 30

Veitebrata 7

240

Tile whole of tlie marine species, with two or three
exceptions, may be affirmed to be living northern or
Arctic forms, Ijelonging, in the case of tlie marine species,
to moderate depths, or varying from the littoral zone to
say 100 fatlioms. The assemblage is identical with that
of the northern part of tlie gulf of St. Lawrence and
Labrador coast at present, and diHers merely in the
presence in the modern gulf of a few more southern forms,
especially in its southern part, where tlie fauna is of a
Now F^ngland type, whereas that of the Pleistocene
may be characterized as Labradorian, or at least as corres-
ponding to that part of the gulf of St. Lawrence now
invaded by the Labrador cold current.

I would call attention in this connection to the number
of species recorded as recent on the evidence of my own
dredgings in the lower St. Lawrence at Metis, liiviere-du-
Loup, Murray bay, and Kainouraska. Li point of fact
neai-ly all the marine species of the Leda clay and Saxi-
cava sand are still living on tlie coasts opposite the points
where the fossils occur. It is to l)e observed, however,
that in the modern river and gulf they are associated with

* Exclusive of a few fresh-water species mentioned in the text, and
of which I have not seen specimens.

280 THK ICK A(JK IN CANADA.

some living species of less boreal forms, not found in the
rieistocene beds.

Some of tlie species, it will be seer, are of very wide
distribution in tbe modern seas, occurving in the raeific
as veil as in the Atlantic.

As might have been anticipated from the relations of
the modern marine fauna, the species of the Canadian
Pleistocene are in great part identical with those of the
Greenland seas and of Scandinavia, where, however, there
are many species not found in our Vleistocene. The
Pleistocene fauna of Canada is still more closely allied to
that of the deposits of similar age in Britain and in
Norway. Change of climate, as I have shown in previous
pages, has been much more extensive on the east than
on the west side of the Atlantic, owing to the distribution
of warm and cold currents, resulting from the dill'ering
elevation of the land.

It cannot be assumed that the fauna of the older part
of the Canadian I'leistocene is different to any great
extent from that of the more modern part. Such
difference as exists seems to depend on variations of
depth or on a gradual amelioration of climate. The
shells of the lower boulder-clay, and oi those more inland
and elevated portions of the beds wiiich may be regarded
as older than those of the lower terraces near the coast,
are undoubtedly more arctic in character. In some
localities they are confined to a few species such as occur
in the permanently ice-laden seas ol* Spitzbergen. The
amelioration of the climate seems to have kept pace with
the gradual elevation of the land, which threw the cold
ice-bearing arctic currents from its surface, and exposed
a larger area to the direct action of solar heat, and also
probably determined the flow of the waters of the (Julf

PLEISTOCENE FOSSILS. 281

Stream into the Nortli Atlantic. By these causes the
summer heat was increased, the winds both from the land
and sea were raised in temperature, and the heavy
northern ice was led out into the Atlantic, to be melted
by the Gulf Stream, instead of l)eing tlrif ted to the south-
west over thn lower levels of the continent. Still the
cold arctic currents entering by the straits of ]ielle-isle
and the accumulation of ice and snow in winter, are
(bj.lhcient to enable the old arctic fauna to maintain itself
on the northern side of the gulf of St. Lawrence, and to
extend as far as the latitudes of Murray bay and Gaspe.
South of Gaspt^ we have the warmer New Englaud fauna
of Northumberland strait. I may add that some of the
varietal peculiarities of the I'leistocene fauna in com-
parison with that of the St. Lawrence river, indicate a
considerable influx of fresh water, derived possibly from
melting ice and snow.

MAN IN CANADA.

No remains of man or of his works have yet been
found in the Pleistocene of Canada, though discoveries of
implements have been recorded from alluvial deposits at
depths which indicate a considerable historical antiquity ;
still they do not go farther back than the Modern period,
properly so called. Nor am I aware that human remains
have been found in those early Modern gravels, alluvia,
and sub-soils of bogs, which seem to be the repositories of
the remains of the Mastodon and Manmioth.

The I'ost-glacial, or early Modern period in Canada,
was, as indicated in a previous chapter, characterized by
an elevation of the land to a greater height than at

2H'2 THE ICK A(iK IN CANADA.

present, accompanied with a marked amelicn-ation of
climate, connectad, perhai)s, with the narruwin*,' of those
northern channels which supply drift ice to the north
Atlantic, and with a wider heatiniu'-surface of low land.
In this respect eastern America corresponded with Europe,
and a similar niannnalian fauna oversjnead both sides of
the Atlantic. In this "Second (V)ntinental " period, as it
has been called, man certainly ai)])eared in Europe, and
not improbalily in America, Lhou^■h this may as yet be
rei^arded ds uncertain.

Every reader of the scientific journals of the United
States Huist be aware of the numerous finds of "pal;eo-
lithic " ini[)lements in " L,dacial " gravels. I have
endeavoured to show, in a work })ublished several years
ago,* how much doubt attaches to the reports of these
discoveries, and how nnich such of the " pahcoliths " as
appear to be the work of man resemble the rougher tools
and rejectamenta of the modern Indian.s. ]^ut since the
publication of that work, so great a number of " finds "
have been recorded, that, despite their individual impro-
bability, one was almost overwlielmed l>y the coincidence
of so many witnesses. Now, however, a new aspect has
been given to the (luestion by Mr. ^T. H. Holmes, of the
American (leological Survey, who has published his
observations in the A)iierica)i Journal of Ant hrojwiot/t/ and
elsewhcre.f

One of the most widely known examples was that of
Trenton on the Delaware, where there was a bed of gravel
alleged to be Pleistocene, and which .seemed to contain
enough of " paljcolithic," implements to stock all the

* " Fossil Men," Hodder & Stoughtoii, London, 1880.
+ Science, Nov., 1892. Journal of Oeology, 1893.

PLEISTOCP]NE FOSSILS. OQo.

^oo

museums in the world. The evidence of age was not,
however, satisfactory in a geological point of view, and
Holmes, with the aid of a deep excavation made for a city
sewer, has shown that the supposed imi)Iements do not
belong to the undisturbed gravel, but merely to a talus of
loose debris lying against it, and to which modern Indians
resorted to find material for implements, and left behind
them rejected or unfinished pieces. This alleged dis-
covery has therefore no geological or anthropological
significance. The same acute and industrious observer
has incjuired into a number of similar cases in different
parts of the United States, and finds all iiable to objec-
tions on the above grounds, except in a few cases wdien
the alleged implements are probably not artificial. These
observations not only dispose, for the present it least, of
palieolithic man in America, but they suggest the propriety
of a revision of the whole doctrine of " pala-olithic " and
" neolithic " implements as held in Great Britain and
elsewhere. Such distinctions are often founded on forms
which may ([uite as well represent merely local or tem-
porary exigencies, or the debris of old workshops, as any
dift'erence of time or culture. All this I reasoned out
many years ago on the basis of American analogies, but
the Lyellian doctrine of modern causes as explaining
ancient facts seems as yet to have too little place in the
scienq'e of Anthropology. It may be added that Wright,
in recent papers, attempts to defend some of the " pali-.o-
lithic " finds against Holmes's criticisms ; and a somewhat
active controversy is still in progress. The evidence,
however, for the Pleistocene age of any of the genuine
implements seems too uncertain to be accepted at present.
All that can be affirmed is that there is a certain proba-

284 THK ICK A(IE IN CANADA.

l)ility that men of the American type existed in America
in the rost-<,'hicial or early Anthropic period, und may
have been contemporary with tlie Mastodon and tlie
j^ii^antic animals now extinct. This sul)ject, however, is
not within the scope of the present work ; and I have
discussed it sufticiently elsewhere.*

* '* Fossil Men." "Modern Science in Bible Lantls. "

IS5' I?;'" '2S" i2(^ 115"

jraji of tlic rifistocone Conlillfian Glacier, after Dr. G. M. Dawsim.— The sliort
eurveil liiu-s indicate tlie glacial margin ami niovenieiit. The long Mack
line i>n Kast side of the Uocky Mountains, the lindt of lioulders from the
I.aurentian.

CHAriEli YII.

GENERAL CO^X'LU.SIONS.

These have, perliaps, heeu sutKcieiitly indicated in an
incidental manner in tiie preceding pages; but it may be
well here to note some results of a less special chaiacter
and bearing on larger biological and cosmical question^..

With reference to the life of the Pleistocene period, one
can -jcarcely fail to observe that, whatever may have been
the lapse of geological time from the period of the oldest
boulder-clay to that in whicli we live, and great thougli
the climatal and geographical changes have been, we
cannot aHirm that any change, even of varietal value, has
taken place in any of tiie species of the above lists.
This appears to me a fact of extreme significance with
reference to theories of the modification of species in
geological time. Xo geologist doubts that tlie Pleistocene
was a period of considerable duration. The great eleva-
tions and depressions of the land, the extensive erosions,
the wide and thick beds of sediment, all testify to the
lapse of time. The changes which occurred were fruitful
in modifications of depth and temperature. Deep waters
were sliallowed, and the sea overflowed areas of laud.
The temperature of the waters changed greatly, so that
the geographical distribution of marine animals was

2HH THK ICK A(!E IN CANADA.

materially aflected, ami they liavn had to make iniporlant
changes of habitat, while .some of them iiave so extended
their range as to be found on both sides of the North
Pacific anil North Atlantic. Vet all the Pleistocene
species survive, and this without change. Even variable
forms like the species of Jiaccinum and Astarie show the
same range of variation in the Pleistocene as in the
modern, and though some varieties have changed dieir
geographical ])osition, they have not changed their
character. These changes of geographical jwsition are
also very significant, as they seem to show that arctic and
temperate varieties are readily convertible into each other
when the temperature (tf the water changes, but revert to
the old forms on restoration of the old conditions.* This
result is obviously independent of imperfection of the
geological record, because there is no reason to doubt that
these species have continuously occupied the North
Atlantic area, and we have great abundance of them for
comparison both in the Pleistocene and the modern seas.
It is also independent of any questions as to tiie limits of
species and varieties, inasmuch as it depends on careful
comparisons of the living and fossil specimens ; and by
whatever names we may call these, their similarity t»r
dissimilarity remains unafifected. We have at present no
means of tracing this fauna, as a whole, farther back.
Some of its members we know existed in the Pliocene and
Miocene without specific difference ; but some day the
middle tertiaries of Greenland may reveal to us the
ancestors of these shells, if they lived so far back, and
may throw further light on their origin. In the mean-
time we can affirm that tiie lapse of time since the Pliocene

* See above, the remarks on the species of Mya.

(iKNKKAL COXCIX'SIOXS. 1>,S<)

has iidl sulliced cvuii to produce nciw races; aiul the
inevitalile conclusion is tlial any possible derivation of
one 8i)ecies from another is i)ushed hack indetinitely, that
the origin of specilie types is ([uite distinct from varietal
niodilication, and that the hitter attains to a niaxinunu in
a comparatively siiort time, anil then runs on unchanged,
except in so far as geological vicissitudes nuiy change the
localities of certain varieties. This is jirecisely the same
conidusion at which 1 have elsewhere arrived from a
sinular comjjarison of the fossil tloras of the Uevoniau
and Carboniferous periods in America.

A second leading point to which 1 would direct atten-
tion is the relative value of hind ice and water-borne ice
as causes of geological change in the Pleistocene. Ou
this subject I have constantly maintained that moderate
view which was that of Sir JiodericU ^lurchison and Sir
Charles Lyell, that the rieistocene subsidence and refrig-
eration produced a state of our continents in which the
lower levels, and at certain ])eriods even the tops of the
higher hills, were submerged, under water tilled every
season with heavy tield-ice formed on the surface of the
sea, as at present in Smith's Sound, and also with abundant
ice-bergs derived from glaciers descending from unsub-
merged mountain districts. These conclusions have been
reinforced by the recent establishment of the fact of
difl'erential elevation and submergence, whereby the moun-
tain ridges retained their elevation even when plains and
table-lands were submerged. I need not reiterate the
arguments for these conclusions, but may content myself
with a reference to the changes of opinion on the subject.
The glacier theory of Agassiz and others may be said to
have grown till, like the imaginary glaciers themselves, it
overspread the earth. All northern Europe and America

20

290 THK ICK A(JK IN CANADA.

were covered with a nier-ih'-f/fmr, moving' to the sontliwurd
and outward to the sea. This t^'reat ice-mantle not oidy
removed stones and chiy to immense distances, and
;;laciated and striated tiie whole snrface, hut it cut out
lake basins and fiords, ^'ruund over the tops of the hi<,'hest
liills, and accounted for every thiiif,' otherwise didicult in
the superficial contour of the land. It was even trans-
ferred to IJrazil, and employed to excavate the valley of
the Amazon. Hut this was its last feat, and it has
recently melted away under the warmth of discussion
until it is now hut a shadcnv of its former self. I may
mention a few of the facts which have contributed to
this result. It has been found that the ^dacial boulder-
days are in many cases marine. Cirques and other
alpine valleys, once supposed to be the work of glaciers,
are now known to have been produced by acpieous denu-
dation, (treat lakes, like those of America, supjxised to bo
inexplicable except ))y glacier erosion, have been found to
admit of Ijeing otherwise accounted for. The transport
of boulders and direction of striation have been found to
conflict with the theory of continental glaciation, or to
require too extravagant suppositions to account for them
in that way. Greenland, at one time supposed to be an
analogue of the imaginary ice-clad continent, has proved
to be an exceptional case which could not apply to the
interior of a wide continental area. The relation of
Greenland to Baffin's Bay and J^avis straits is indeed
shnilar to that which may have obtained between the
Laurentide hills and the su emerged valley of the St.
Lawrence, or to that of the Cordillera range to seas lying
west and east of it. The conditions of modern Greenland,
in short, at that time spread southward over the high
ridges exposed to the vapour-laden atmosphere of the

GENKRAL CONCLUtSlONS. 2\)l

snlmierged contineiitnl arciin, and the •greatest of these
analo<,'ues of (Jreeulaiid was, no douht, the ('ordilleran
system of glaciers depicted in the map prefixed to this
chapter.

It has heen the practice of the more extreme glacialists
to attribute to their opponents tlio idea that all glacial
work is done by icebergs, whereas they should have known
that seas loaded with icebergs imj)ly land covered with
snow and ice. Icel)erg-work implies glacier-work. It is
these glacialists who have persisted in conf(Junding the
work of land-ice, icebergs and field-ice, in mixing up the
earlier and later drifts, in neglecting the effects of the
great movements of elevation and depression which were
going on throughout the I'leistocene i)eriod, in omitting
to consider the effects of the comparatively rapid move-
ments of this kind which must have taken place from the
crust suddenly giving way under tension, in confounding
deposits obviously, from their structure and fossils, marine,
with glacier moraines, in quietly assuming for glaciers an
extension physically impos.sible, in neglecting to consider
the possibility of tracts of verdure inhabited by animals
on the margin of snow-clad hills and table-lands, in exag-
gerating the eroiUng and transporting power of glaciers,
and minimizing that of sea-borne ice, and generally in
misunderstanding or misrepresenting the glacial work
now going on in the arctic and Ijoreal regions. These are
grave accusations, but I find none of the memoirs or other
writings of the current school of glacialists free from such
errors ; and I think it is time that reasonable men should
discountenance these misrepresentations, and adopt more
moderate and rational views.

The facts indicate that there was an earlier and later
period of glacial action and dispersion of boulders, that

202 THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

between these, in the middle I'leistocene period, large
portions of the northern parts of the Northern Hemis-
phere possessed a climate not nnich colder than that
enjoyed at present, and that in the height of the cold
period only a limited portion of the north-east of Europe,
the Alpine regions, the Cordillera of Xortli America, the
Laurentide hills and the Appalachians were deeply ice-
capped, while the ice was Howing on all sides, north as
well as south, into submerged areas.

In so far as Canada is concerned — and Canada includes
the northern half of the American continent, the greatest
of all the theatres of glacial action — the history of the
Pleistocene period, as stated in the previous cha})ters, may
be summed up as follows, beginning with the continental
period of the newer Pliocene : —

1. In Canada and the eastern part of North America
generally, it is universally admitted that the later Pli(jcene
period was one of continental elevation, and probably of
temperate climate. It is also evident, from the raised
beaches holding marine shells, extending to elevations of
600 feet, and from boulder-drift reaching to a far greater
height, that extensive submergence occurred in the middle
and later Pleistocene. This was the age of the marine
Leda clays and Haxicava sands found at heights of GOO
feet above the sea in the St. Lawrence valley nearly as far
west as Lake Ontario. It was also the time of the
extensive drift over the great area of the western plains.

2. It is reasonable to conclude that the till, or boulder-
clay, under the Leda clay, and its e(]uivalents, belongs to
the intervening period of probably gradual subsidence of
the lower lands, accompanied with a severe climate and
with snow and glaciers on all the higher grounds, sending
glaciated stones into the sea. This deduction agrees with

(GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 293

ihe marine shells, bryozoa, and cirripedes found in the
houlder-deposits on the lower St. Lawrence, with the
nnoxidi/ed character of the mass, which proves suba(iuatic
deposition, with the fact that it contains soft Iwulders,
which would have crumbled if exposed to the air, with its
limitation to the lower levels and absence on the hill-
sides, and with the prevalent direction of striatior. and
boulder-drift from the north-east.

3. All these indications coincide with the conditions of
the modern boulder-drift on the lower St. Lawrence and
in the arctic regions, where the great belts and ridges of
boulders accumulated by the coast- ice would, if the coast
were sinking, climlj upward and be filled in with mud,
forming a continuous sheet of boulder-deposit similar to
that which has accumulated and is accumulating on the
shores of Smith's sound and elsewhere in the arctic, and
which, like the older boulder-clay, is known to contain
both marine shells and drift-wood.*

4. The conditions of the deposit of till diminished in
intensity as the subsidence continued. The gathering
ground of local glaciers was lessened, the ice was no
longer limited to narrow sounds, but had a wider scope
as well as a freer drift to the southward, and the climate
seems to have been improved. The clays deposited had
few boulders and many marine shells ; and to the west and
north there were deposits of land plants, and on land
elevated above the water peaty deposits accumulated.

5. Tlie shells of the Leda clay indicate depths of less
than 100 fathoms. The numerous foraminifera, so far as
have been observed, belong to this range, and I have never

* For references, see Royal Society's Arctic Manual, London, 1875.
Fielden, Paper on Grinnel Land. Proc. Royal Socy. Dublin, 1878.

294 THE ICE AGE IN CANADA.

seen in the Leda clay the assemblage of foraminiferal
forms now dredged from 200 to 300 fathoms in the Gulf
of St. Lawrence.

6. I infer that the subsidence of the Leda clay period
and of the interglacial beds of Ontario belongs to the
time of the sea beaches from 450 to 600 feet in height,
which are so marked and extensive as to indicate a period
of repose. In this period there were marine conditions
in the lower and middle St. Lawrence and in the Ottawa
valley, and swamps and lakes on the upper Ottawa and
tlie western end of Lake Ontario ; and it was at this time
that the plants described in previous pages occupied the
country. It is quite probable, nay, certain, that during
this interglacial period re-elevation had set in, since the
upper Leda clay and the Saxicava sand indicate shallowing
water, and during thih re-elevation the plant-covered
surface would extend to lower levels.

7. This, however, must have been followed by a second
subsidence, since the water-worn gravels and loose, far-
travelled boulders of the later drift rose to heights never
reached by the till or the Leda clay, and attained to the
tops of the highest hills of the St. Lawrence valley, 1,200
feet in height, and elsewhere to still greater elevations.
This second boulder drift must have been wholly marine,
and probably not of long duration. It shows little
evidence of colder climate than that now prevalent, nor
of extensive glaciers on the mountains; and it was
followed by a paroxysmal elevation in successive stages
till the land attained even more than its present height,
as subsidence is known to have been proceeding in modern
times.

8. For the region between the great lakes and the
Rocky mountains and for the Pacific coast the sequence

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 205

is similuv, but there was a greater amount of differential
elevation as between the mountains and the plains. In
the mountainous regions of the west, also, more especially
in the interior of lU'itish Columbia, the evidence of great
local glaciers is much more pronounced tlian on our lower
mountains of the east.

I shall not attempt to extend these generalizations to
the country south of the Canadian border, but must
respectfully warn those of my geological friends who
insist on portentous accunudations of land-ice in that
(piarter, tliat the nu^frial cannot be supplied to tliem
from Canada. They must establish gathering-grounds
within their own territory.

Note on lleecnt Papers.

While this work was in the press the discussion of
([uestions relating to the glacial period in the United
States and Europe has been actively proceeding. Sir
Henry Howorth has treated the subject in an almost
exhaustive manner in his work the " Glacial Nightmare,"
in whicli his point of view is very nearly that of the
l)resent work; though not like this confined to the case of
Canada. Many important memoirs have also appeared in
American and liritish periodicals, and in those of the
Continent of Europe. Of these I shall notice only the
following, as bearing closely on the scope of the previous
pages :

Prof. Bonney, F.R.S., in a paper read 1 fore the Royal
( Tcographical Society,* discusses in detail the question of
glacial erosion, and arrives at the same conclusion which
I stated in 186G, after visiting the Savoy Alps, viz., that

* " Nature," March 30, 1893.

2;)G THE ICE A(JE IN CANADA.

glaciers fire "ugeiits of abrasion ratlier tlian erosion," and
that in the latter their power is nuicli inferior to that of
iiuviatile action. Xor are glaciers agents in the excava-
tion of lake l)asins, which are to be accounted for in other
ways ; and the great gorges and Hords which have been
ascribed to them are due to a([ueous erosion when the
continents were at a high level, l)efore the glacial age.

An interesting and thoughtful paper, by Warren
rphani, has appeared,* in which he institutes a compari-
son l)etween " Pleistocene and Present Ice-sheets." The
})resent ice-sheets are stated to be four. (1.) The Ant-
arctic or that which fringes the Antartic continent and
is probably 1)etter entitled to the name than any other ;
but which difl'ers from the supposed ice-sheets of the
rieistocene in fronting on the sea and discharging all its
produce as floating ice. In this it certaiidy resembles
many of the great local glaciers of the Pleistocene.
(2.) The great neve of Greenland, which, however, dis-
charges by local glaciers, and these open on the sea, and
which has margins of verdure on its borders in summer.
(.").) The Malaspina glacier of Alaska, evidently a local
glacier of no great magnitude, though presenting some
exceptional features and showing the possibility of the close
contact of glacial phenomena and flourishing woodland.
(4.) The Muir glacier of Alaska, also a local glacier, but
perhaps, like the Malaspina, showing some features illus-
trative of local Pleistocene glaciers, more especially in its
apparent want of erosive power.

In the " conferences and comparisons," however, the
facts detailed in the earlier part of the paper are placed
in comparison with postulates respecting the Pleistocene

* Bulletin Geol. Society of America, March 24, 1893.

GEXKRAL CONCLUSIONS. 297

which are incapable of ]n-oof. (1.) It is taken for granted
that the upper limits of glaciation in tlie mountain ranges
of America indicate the thickness of a continental ice-
sheet. They probably indicate only the upper limit of
the abrasion of local glaciers. (2.) Hence it is computed
that the thickness of a continental glacier Howing radially
outward in all directions from the Laurentian highlands
of Canada, amounted to two miles ; and in connection
with this it is stated that the maximum thickness of
the great Cordilleran glacier of British Columbia has
been estimated to have been about 7,000 feet ; an
entirely different thing, and referring to the maximum
depth of a local glacier traversing deep valleys. (3.) It
is admitted that the assumed continental glacier could
not move without an elevation of the Laurentian high-
lands to the height of several tliousand feet, of which we
have no evidence, for the cutting of the deep fiords
referred to in this connection must have taken place in
the time of Pliocene elevation of the continents before
the glacial period. (4.) Tlie Upper and Lower Boulder
drift, so different in their characters, are accounted for on
the supposition that the former comes from material sus-
pended in the ice at some height above its base, the other
from that in the bottom of the ice. In like manner the
widely distributed interglacial beds holding remains of
land plants of North temperate character, are attributed
to such small local occurrences of trees on or under
moraines as appear in the Alaska glaciers. (5.) The rapid
disappearance of the ice is connected with a supposed
subsidence of the land luider its weiglit, though from
other considerations we know that if this was dependent
on such a cause, it must have Ijeen going on from the
first gathering of the ice, so that the required high land

298 THE ICE A(JE IN CANADA.

could not have existed. x\.ll the evidence, however, points
to subsidence and elevation owing to other and purely
terrestrial causes, and producing not produced by the
glaciers of the I'leistocene.

It nuiy be added that Ui)hani accepts the recency of
the glacial period, and its causation by changes of ocean
currents, which of course would imply that its date
coincided in Europe and America, though not necessarily
or probably in the Southern Hemisphere.

The very important series of papers by Prof. I'restwicli
which have appeared witliin the last three years, and in
which that veteran and able student of the later geological
periods states his conclusions respecting the glacial and
Post-glacial deposits of tlie South of England, contain a
mine of information bearing on the glacial period in
America. The papers by Hicks, Hughes, Lapworth, Mel-
lard lleade, Nicholson and others, respecting the high-
level gravels with marine shells in England and Wales,
have also elicited facts which tend to bring them into
harmony with those of America. The time was when the
boulder-clays and raised beaches of Eastern America were
explained by earth(piake waves and glacier thrusts ; but
their vast extent and obviously submarine characters
have rendered such contentions untenable, and it may be
confidently predicted that this will be their fate in Great
Britain also.

I^DEX.

Acadian Bay, 1 38.
Andrews, Dr., 147.
Anticosti, 157.
Annulosa, 259.
Appalachian Glacier, 9.3.
Arctic Basin, 206.
Arthropoda, 261.
Astronomical Theories, 21,

Ball on Glacial Age, 21.
Bailey, Prof., 173.
Bayfield, Admiral, 192.
Belle-Isle, 113.
Beluga, 177.
Beauport, 195.
Bell, Dr., 204.
Boulder-clay, 27.

Lower, 37.

Upper, 59.
Boulder-drift, Later, 68.
Boulder-belts, Modern, 63.
Boulders, 40.

in the Sea, 101.
Bordage Ice, 129.
Boars' Backs, 175.
Brachiopoda, 225.
Bryozoa, 222.

Canada, Regions of, 151.

Cacouna, 189.

•♦Challenger" Soundings, 100.

Chalmers, Mr., 170.
Climate and Geography, 76.
Climatal Conditions, l.'J4.
Clay pole, Prof., 146.
Cordillera, 33.
Cordilleran Glacier, 89.
Coteau de Missouri, 117.
Crag and Tail, 198.

Date of Glacial Period, 22, 144.
Dawson, Dr. G. M., 33, 89.
on Missouri Coteau, 117.
Deposits, Summary of, 75.
Depression, Continental, 1.32.
Divisions of Canada, 151.
Drumlins, 116.
Drift to North, 87.

Eboulements, 185.
Echinodermata, 218.
Elevation, Continental, 1.32.
Ells, Dr., 94.
Erie Clay, 57.
Eskers, 61, 176.
Eternity, Cape, 73.

Forest Beds, 56, 205.
Fossils, 206, 209.

Geographical Changes, 76.
Gilpin, Dr., 177.

.soo

INDEX.

<!lauiers, Limits of Action of, 13.

Action of, 80.

Motion of, 81.

ContlitioMs of, 82.

Cordilleran, 89.

Apalachian, 93.

Laureutide, 93.
(Jlaciation, Marine, III.
(irant. Col., 157.
(h-een's Creek, 20.3.
(irant. Sir .lames, 268.

Hartt, Prof., 17.3.

Hincle, Prof. H. Y., 108, 155.

Ice-bergs of Belle-Isle, 11.3.
Ice-fresliets, 127.
Ice, Bordage, 128.

in Estuaries, 129.
Ice, Sea-borne, 105.
Inland Cliffs, 61.
Insecta, 265.
Interglacial Beds, 56, 205.

Kaims, 61.

Labrador, 155.

liake Basins, 49.

Lake of the Woods, 119.

Lake Ridges, 56.

Lake Margins, 115.

Leda Clay, 53.

List of Papers, 25.

Little Metis, Boulder-belt at, 63.

Local Details, 151.

Logan, Sir W. , 5.

Low, Mr., on Hudson's Bay, 95.

Lyell on Pleistocene, 3.

Mammoth, 265.
Man, 147, 281.

Map of N. America, 77.
Mastodon, 265.

Matthews, Mr., 170, 172, 177.
McConnell, Mr. R. ({., 91.
Metis, B()ulder-l)elts at, 63, 195.
Missouri Coteau, 117, 12.3.
Montreal, 196.

Moraine, Terminal, 79, 84, 117, 124.
Moraines, Torell on, 97.
Mourlon, Dr., 148.
Murray Bay, 182.
Terraces at, 66.

Newfoundland, 154.
New Brunswick, 166, 170.
Newberry, Dr., on old erosion, 49.

on Western Drift, ,56.
Niagara, Recession of, 145.
Northward Drift, 87, 91.
Nova Scotia, 166.

Ontario, 205.
Ottawa River, 203.

Pan Ice, 109.
Papers, List of, 25.
Packard, Dr., 155.
Paisley, Mr., 176.
Plains, Western, 119, 205.
Plants, Fossil, 17, 271.
Porifera, 216.
Polyzoa, 222.
Prestwich, Prof., 298.
Prince Edward Island, 161.
Protozoa, 211.

Pleistocene, Tabular View, 28.
Series of Events in, 74.

Quebec, Vicinity of, 195.

Rae, Dr. John, 105.

Recency of Glacial Age, 22, 144.

INDEX.

;{0i

Regions of Canada, 151.
Redpatli Museum, 200.
Richardson, Mr., \!S1,
Riviere-du-Loup, 189.
Rocky Mountains, 121.
Roclies Moutoiuii's, 44.

Saguenay Valley, 71, 178.
Saxicava Sand, .W.
Sea-borne Ice, lOf).
Section Missouri Coteau, 118.

at Merigonish, 169.

at Riviere-du-Loup, 194.

at Montreal, 190.

at Redpatii Museum, 199.

at (Jlen Brick-work, 202.

at Long and Milk Rivers, 204.
Shore Ice, 107.
Spencer, Dr., 14(j.
St. Anthony, Falls of, 147.
St. Lawrence, North Sliore, 178.

South Shore, 180.

Striation, Glacial, 41.
Succession of Events in IMeisto-
ceue, 74.

Table of I'leistocene, 28.

of Kaiuo/.oic, 36.
Tadoussac, 180.
Terraces, 61.

Height of, 67.
Tlieories of Drift, 13.
Torell, Dr., 96.
Trois Pistoles, 186.

Upham, Dr. Warren, 296.

Vaughan, Mr., 112.

Vertebrata, 26.").

Vegetation of Pleistocene, 17, 271.

Wincliell, Prof., 147.
VVoeickoff, Dr., 81.
Woodward, Mr. R. S., 146.

Erratum. — Page 195, Hue 4, for "chapter III." read "chapter II.''

In Memorkun. — While this work was passing through the press,
intelligence arrived of the death of my esteemed frienil. Dr. John Rae,
F.R.S., one of the most intrepid and successful of arctic explorers, and
a diligent and accurate observer of the phenomena of nature in those
dreary yet interesting regions with which he was so familiar. Some
observations on shore ice, kindly contributed by him, are given at
page 105 of tliis work.