Section V.

Ten miles above Bear Lake River, at the junction of a small torrent with the Mackenzie, there is a cliff about forty feet high, in which the strata have a dip of sixty degrees to the southward.

98 Bed, No. 1 Porcelain clay 2 yards 2 Potter's clay slightly bituminous 99 3 Thin-slaty lignite, with two seams of 2-1/2 100, 101 clay-iron stone, an inch thick 4 Pipe clay, (nine inches) 1/4 104 5 Porcelain clay 3 105 6 Bituminous clay 3 106 7 Lignite, with a conchoidal fracture 2 8 Pipe clay 1/4 107 9 Porcelain clay 3 10 Bituminous clay 3 110 11 Lignite, earthy paste, enclosing 2 fibrous fragments 12 Porcelain earth } 13 Bituminous clay } 9 14 Porcelain earth } ---------- 31 yards.

The three last beds it is probable, once inclosed seams of coal which have been consumed, but the quantity of debris prevented this from being ascertained satisfactorily during the hurried visit I paid to them.

104, 98. The substance composing beds Nos. 1 and 5, which I have denominated Porcelain clay, has a fine, granular texture, and the appearance of some varieties of chalk. It adheres slightly to the tongue, yields readily to the nail, is meagre, and soils the fingers slightly. There are many specks of coaly matter disseminated through it, and some minute scales of mica, and perhaps of quartz. When moistened with water, it becomes more friable, and is not plastic. It does not effervesce with acids.

Bed No. 9 is the same mineral that forms beds 1 and 5; but it has a grayer colour from the greater quantity of coaly particles, and its structure is slightly slaty.

The bituminous clay of bed No. 6, has a thick-slaty structure, a grayish-black colour, and a shining resinous streak. It is sectile, but does not yield to the nail. Pieces of lignite occur imbedded in it, and it is traversed by fibrous ramifications of carbonaceous matter.

Specimens 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, are of substances altered by contact with beds of burning coal.

See Page 50 of the Narrative.

Noticed in page 267.

List of specimens, collected by Captain Franklin, on the sea-coast, to the westward of the Mackenzie.

From Mount Fitton in the Richardson Chain.

344 Grauwacke-slate in columnar concretions, detached from the rocky strata by an Esquimaux.

348 Grauwacke-slate, resembling the preceding, from the same place. Used by the Esquimaux as a whetstone.

345, 346 Globular balls of dark, blackish-gray, splintery limestone, and of flinty-slate, traversed by minute veins of calc-spar. Picked up at the base of the mountain.

347 Worn pebbles of quartz, lydian stone, splintery limestone, and grauwacke, from the same spot.

349 Fine-grained, mountain-green clay-slate, approaching to potstone; quarried by the Esquimaux in the Cupola Mountain of the same chain, and used to form utensils.

350 Rock-crystal from the same chain of mountains.

From the beach between Point Sabine and Point King.

351 Brown-coal, woody structure scarcely perceptible. There are beds of this coal in the earthy cliffs where the party was encamped on the 13th and 14th July near Point King.

352 Clay-iron stone, forming boulders in the channels of the rills, which cut the earthy banks containing coal.

353, 354 Pitch-coal, having a fibrous structure and a very beautiful fracture, presenting a congeries of circles. (This coal was recognised by Professor Buckland to be a tertiary pitch-coal, and is precisely similar to specimens brought from the upper branches of the Saskatchewan, by Mr. Drummond: see page 284.) The specimen was picked up from the gravelly beach at the mouth of the Babbage River.

355 Greenish-gray limestone, with a somewhat earthy granular aspect; containing shells which Mr. Sowerby considers to be very like the cyclas medius of the Sussex weald-clay. Picked up at the same place with the preceding specimen.

Captain Franklin remarks, that "the Babbage flows between the mountains of the Richardson Chain, and that there were no solid strata nor any large boulders near its mouth. The gravel consisted of pebbles of red and white sandstone, slaty limestone, greenstone, and porphyry, much worn by attrition."

From Mount Conybeare, in the Buckland Chain.

356 Greenish-gray grauwacke slate, (resembling No. 348,) with specks of effervescent carbonate of lime. The surfaces of the slates exhibit interspersed scales of mica. The specimens were broken from the summit of Mount Conybeare, at the western extreme of the Buckland Chain: latitude 69 degrees 27 minutes, longitude 139 degrees 53 minutes west.

358 Fine-grained grauwacke-slate in columnar concretions, from the same place with specimen 356.

357 Grauwacke-slate, in thick slaty columnar concretions, besprinkled with scales of mica. Taken from a bed about the middle of Mount Conybeare. The resemblance of this stone to that of Mount Fitton (No. 344) is very remarkable.

360 Similar rock to 358, with an adhering portion of a vein of crystallized quartz, and on one side a bit of bluish-gray slate. From the middle of Mount Conybeare.

359 Columnar concretion of a slaty rock, like 356, but more quartzose, breaking into rhomboidal fragments. From the middle of Mount Conybeare.

361, 362 Grauwacke-slate, with a thin adhering vein of carbonate of lime and numerous particles of disseminated mica. From the middle of Mount Conybeare.

363 Bluish-gray grauwacke-slate, resembling Nos. 348 and 344. From the Upper Terrace, at the base of Mount Conybeare.

364 Dark-bluish gray and very fine-grained grauwacke-slate, with a glimmering lustre, traversed by a vein of quartz. From the same place.

365 A thick-slaty angular concretion of a very quartzose grauwacke-slate, (similar to Nos. 348 and 358,) decomposed on the surface and breaking into rhomboidal fragments. From the middle Terrace at the base of Mount Conybeare.

366 A somewhat rhomboidal portion of flinty-slate, apparently part of a bed. From the Lower Terrace of Mount Conybeare, which is composed of this rock. The terrace is ten miles distant from the sea-coast, and the intervening ground is swampy.

The whole series of specimens from Mount Conybeare, (Nos. 356 to 366,) appear to belong to transition rocks; and the continuity of the formation with that of Mount Fitton is rendered probable, both by the resemblance of the specimens and the geographical situation of the mountains.

Captain Franklin saw no rocks, in situ, on the coast to the westward of the Richardson Chain; but he gathered boulders of the following rocks from the bed of the Net-setting Rivulet, which flows from the British Chain of the Rocky Mountains, and falls into the Arctic Sea, between Sir P. Malcolm River and Backhouse River.

367 Greenstone; 368, yellowish-gray sandstone; 369, dark-coloured splintery-limestone; 370, 371, 372, dolomite; 373, quartzose sandstone, like the old red sandstone; 374, grauwacke-slate; 375, quartz and iron pyrites.

Boulders of the under-mentioned rocks were gathered on Flaxman Island.

378 Fine-grained, greenish clay-slate, obviously of primitive rock, abundant in the neighbourhood, and supposed to have been brought down by the rivulets which flow from the Romanzoff Chain. 379, quartz.

376 and 377 were from Foggy Island, and are rolled specimens of flinty-slate; one of them containing corallines.

Page 268.

134. These specimens have a wood-brown colour internally, and appear to be composed of minute grains of quartz, variously coloured, white, yellowish-brown and black, cemented together by an earthy basis. It is a hard and apparently durable stone, occurring in layers an inch thick, and having its seam-surfaces of a grayish-black colour, with little lustre, as if from a thin coating of bituminous clay.

135, are specimens of a more compact, harder, and finer-grained quartzose sandstone, with less cement, and of a deeper bluish-gray colour.

Mackenzie attempted to ascend this hill, but was compelled to desist by clouds of musquitoes, (July 6th, 1789. Voyage to the Arctic Sea, p. 40.)

136 This limestone effervesces strongly with acids, breaks into irregular fragments, but with an imperfect slaty structure, and has a brown colour, with considerable lustre in the cross fracture.

The specimens collected by Captain Franklin were as follows:--

144a Sandstone of an ash-gray colour, composed of rounded grains of semi-transparent quartz of various sizes, imbedded in a considerable proportion of a powdery basis which effervesces with acids. This bed weathers readily.

145 Thick-slaty sandstone passing into slate-clay, having a very fine-grained earthy fracture, and a light bluish-gray colour. It is very similar to some of the softer sandstones that occur in the coal field at Edinburgh, particularly in the Calton Hill.

146 Sectile ash-gray slate-clay which forms the partings of the beds.

144b Bluish-gray marl, impregnated with quartz, forming a moderately hard stone, and containing corallines (amplexus.)

Upper part of the ramparts.

148 A fine-granular, foliated limestone, of a white colour, having large patches stained yellowish-brown, apparently by bitumen.

149 A yellowish-gray slightly granular limestone, with disseminated calc-spar.

150 Compact, white limestone, which, when examined with a lens, appears to be entirely composed of madrepores.

151 Specimens of limestone, having a crystalline texture, a brownish colour and slaty structure.

152 The seams are dark, as if from the carbonaceous matter--portions of this bed have the appearance of old mortar; but contain obscure madrepores.

From the middle of the ramparts.

153 Fine-granular limestone, having a pale, wood-brown colour, and a splintery fracture. It resembles the limestone of the hill at the mouth of Bear Lake River.

154 Pale yellowish-brown limestone, with a dull fracture, but interspersed with small, shining, sparry plates, and traversed by concretions of calc-spar, that appear to have originated in corallines.

155 Yellowish-gray limestone, passing into a soft marl slate.

156 Some beds contain a shell, which Mr. Sowerby refers, though with doubt, to the species named terebratula sphaeroidalis, a fossil of the cornbrash. The substance of the shells is preserved.

Some of the specimens contain producti, and fragments of the coral named amplexus.

Lower end of the ramparts.

157 Fine-grained limestone, of a dark-brown colour, containing some small, round, smooth balls of dark limestone--occurs in horizontal strata.

158 Brownish-black flinty-slate, which forms a layer an inch thick, and covers the horizontal beds of limestone last mentioned. (157.)

Specimens from the cliffs in lat. 66-3/4 degrees.

159 Very fine-grained sandstone, with much clayey basis--portions of the bed iron-shot.

160 Sandstone fine-grained, and appearing, when examined with a lens, to be composed of minute grains of whitish translucent quartz, black Lydian stone, and ochre-coloured grains, probably of disintegrated felspar.

161 Rounded grains of nearly transparent quartz united without cement--this stone is friable.

162 Sandstone composed of grains like the preceding, united by a basis, and forming a firmer stone.

163 Hard, thin, slaty, bluish-gray sandstone, much iron-shot.

164 Fine-grained, bluish-gray sandstone, not to be distinguished in hand-specimens from some of the sandstones which occur at the rapid in Bear Lake River.

Horizontal limestone beds lying under the sandstone.

166 Fine-grained limestone, with an earthy fracture, coloured brown and grayish-white in patches.

167, 168 Similar stone to preceding, containing many shells. Some beds contain only broken shells.

169 Bed of imperfectly crystalline limestone, of a brownish-gray colour, traversed by veins of calc-spar.

170 Fragments containing madrepores and chain coral--occur amongst the debris of the limestone cliffs.

Sandstone cliffs twenty miles below Fort Good Hope.

173 Friable sandstone, composed of grayish-white quartz, in smooth, rounded grains, cemented by a brownish basis. Some carbonaceous matter is interspersed through the stone, and it contains small fragments of bituminous shale.

174 Calcareous sandstone passing into slate-clay--bluish-gray colour.

175 Black, flinty-slate, with a flat conchoidal cross fracture. Some of the pieces appear to be rhomboidal distinct concretions.

176 Dull, flinty-slate, with an even fracture.

178 Thin-slaty blackish-gray sandstone, much indurated, containing scales of mica.

179, 180 Bluish-gray sandstone, containing many minute specks of carbonaceous matter; also, in patches, grains of chert, and flinty-slate, and imbedded pieces of iron-shot clay, which has obscure casts of shells. Scales of mica are interspersed through this stone.

181, 182 Sandstone containing specks of bituminous? coal, and casts of some vegetable? substance.

183 Gray limestone, much impregnated with quartz, and having an imperfect crystalline structure.

Mackenzie notices the precipices of "gray stone," which bound the river here, p. 71.

See page 288.

Specimens from Sellwood Bay.

202 Fine-grained dark brownish-gray dolomite, with corallines filled with white calc-spar.

203 Lucullite grayish-black, compact, and without lustre.

204 Gray dolomite.

205 A rolled piece, evidently of the same rock with the preceding, containing the impression of a cardium.

206

Specimens from the Promontory of Cape Parry, which rises into a hill, seven hundred feet high. Strata dipping lightly to the northward.

207 Yellowish-gray dolomite, imperfectly crystalline, being similar to the limestone of Lake Winipeg.

208 Brownish dolomite impregnated with silica.

209 Thin-slaty, gray limestone. Very common also in Lake Winipeg.

210, 211 Boulders of dolomite.

212

213 Brown dolomite, with drusy cavities and veins, lined by calc-spar.

In the geological notices appended to the narrative of Captain Franklin's Journey to the Coppermine, I have termed this rock a dark purplish-red felspar rock. On examining it again on this journey, I perceived it to be a greenstone, whose surfaces weather of a rusty brown colour.

Transcriber's Notes:

The original makes extensive use of sidenotes, and several sidenotes are often associated with a single paragraph, especially within the final chapter. Because of this, inline sidenotes have been used and are positioned as close to the relevant passage as was possible during proofing.

Old spellings are retained, e.g. musquitoes, felspar, Esquimaux, kaiyacks, imbedded, incloses, inclosing, inquiry, inquiries, moveable, incrusted, trowsers, bivouack, referrible, teazing. Both vallies and valleys are used interchangably and this has not altered. Names with suffixes "Mc" or "Mac" written as "M'" throughout text; this convention is retained. Only printer's errors have been corrected.

"A.M." and "P.M." are shown without an internal space--spaces have been removed where they were present in manuscript. Usage was inconsistent, perhaps to better justify text. Internal spaces have also been removed from initials such as R.N., F.R.S., K.G., &c., to improve rewrap behaviour. Decimal points were locally denoted by commas. This convention is replaced by standard decimal point notation throughout. Degree, minute and second have been spelled out, replacing symbols in the original.

Lengthy quotations were denoted by a leading quotation mark in the first column of each line. They are replaced with standard opening and closing quotation marks for each quoted passage.

Italic text is surrounded by underscores. Greek letters are only used in a single paragraph concerning astronomy on page 244 and have been written as their English names. Small caps have been rendered as upper case. The oe ligature symbol in the original is represented by oe in this text.

"Dog-Rib" Indians were sometimes referred to as "Dog-rib". Usage is now "Dog-Rib" throughout.

Specific corrections made to text follow. Note that examples are given after a colon and are the corrected text. All other printer's errors remain.

Page Comment ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 14,51,79 "water-proof" changed to "waterproof". 16 "depot" changed to "depot". 17 "Hudsons's Bay Company" corrected to "Hudson's Bay Company". "bat-/teau" corrected to "bateau" to be consistent with rest of text. Typo was across end of line hyphen. 24 "Hudson's Bay-Company" corrected to "Hudson's Bay Company". 25 "was dragged by other eight men" corrected to "was dragged by another eight men". 26 "Riviere" corrected to "Riviere". "Hudson" corrected to "Hudson's". 27 "or" corrected to "on": "live on dried provision". 28 "depend" corrected to "depends". 29 "chace" corrected to "chase". Whilst both forms are acceptable for the time, both were used in the book. The change makes everything consistent. See also page 65. "of" inserted: "under the roof of our hospitable friend". 30 "Winnipeg" corrected to "Winipeg" to be consistent with rest of manuscript. 32,51 "northwest" corrected to "north-west" for consistency. 34 "eastermost" corrected to "easternmost". 39,53,65,96,202 "day-light" changed to daylight". 42 "sandbanks" changed to "sand-banks" for consistency with rest of manuscript. 48,51 "rein deer" corrected to "rein-deer" twice on this page to be consistent with rest of manuscript. 52,299 "lydianstone" corrected to "lydian-stone". 49 "Rocky mountains" capitalised to "Rocky Mountains". 52 "occurence" corrected to "occurrence". 53 "chissel" changed to "chisel": "ice-chisel". Inserted comma after "ice-chisel" to correct list punctuation. 54 "Cannon-shot" changed to "Cannon-Shot" for consistency in place name "Cannon-Shot Reach". 56 "where-ever" across end of line changed to "wherever" twice on this page. 62 "skreening" amended to "screening": "screening us from the snow". 65 "bag-pipes" to "bagpipes". "chace" corrected to "chase". 70 "Chepewyan" corrected to "Chipewyan". "invariable" corrected to "invariably": "the needle almost invariably remained stationary". 77 "temperature in the shade +8 degrees 5 minutes": odd use of minutes noted. It is not immediately obvious what is intended. 80 "dimunition" corrected to "diminution". 83 "canvass" corrected to "canvas": "waterproof canvas". 88 "aud" corrected to "and": "iron-work, knives, and beads". 92 "northeast" changed to "north-east". 94 "Francois" changed to "Francois". "westermost" changed to "westernmost". 95 "36' N" changed to "36' N.". 101 "mall" corrected to "small": "so small a number". 109 "mases" to "masses": "the larger masses". 111 "Copper-mine" to "Coppermine": "the Coppermine River". "tatoed" to "tattoed": "men being tattoed". 112,119,130,132,172,173,190 "oomiacks" changed to "oomiaks". 115 "Rocky mountains" capitalised to "Rocky Mountains". 117 "liittle" to "little": "our little friend". 122 "seperated" corrected to "separated". 124 "ancle" amended to "ankle". 126 "Dip" made lower-case "dip" since mid-sentence. 129 "British chain" changed to "British Chain" for consistency. 132 "visiters" corrected to "visitors". "oomiack" corrected to "oomiak". 132,148,152,190 "oomiack" corrected to "oomiak". 146 "ice chissel" changed to "ice-chisel". 147 "and the main, that when" changed to "and the main than when" to correct typos. 148 "Humphreys" changed to "Humphrys" to be consistent. 156 "Capitalised start of sentence: "be killed? You are active". Added closing quotation marks after "depart instantly". 157 "hair skins" changed to "hare skins" since "their dress consisting principally of hare skins" is noted on page 247. 160 Degree symbol used instead of minute symbol. Correct form: "latitude 69 deg 34 min & 69 deg 44 min N." 163 Comma changed to full-stop since it occurs at end of sentence: "white spruce trees. Our voyage amongst these". 166 "Richard's" changed to "Richards'" since the governor was John Baker Richards. "island" changed to "Island": "Richards' Island". 167 Comma changed to full-stop since it occurs at end of sentence: "intimidation and extortion. When the interview". "kaiyaks" changed to "kaiyacks". 173 "harassing" changed to "harrassing". 174 It is unclear whether these Eskimo words were meant to have oe or ae. The printer seems to have used the oe ligature indifferently for ae, as sometimes happened at this period. Cf. sertulariae p. 179 etc. And the only such word in non-italic has ae: Narrakazzae p. 266. At any rate, later writers certainly seem to have read them all as oe. "peechaw-ooloo" has a macron (overscore) diacritical mark on its final letter; this has been omitted. 177 "ice-bergs" changed to "icebergs". 180 "Wednesday 12th" changed to "Wednesday, 12th" to be consistent with other sidenotes. 184 "grounded-ice" amended to "grounded ice". 185 "K'Kinley" corrected to "M'Kinley": "Captain George M'Kinley". 189 "sine" changed to "side". 190 "ecstacy" changed to "ecstasy". "their wide boots" changed to "their wide hoods", cf. pp. 44, 110. 195 "head-land" changed to "headland". 199 "preservance" corrected to "perseverance". "from" changed to "form": "those which form its western". 200 "short-voyage" changed to "short voyage". Comma changed to full-stop since it occurs at end of sentence: "south-east direction. We landed a little to the eastward". 202 "head-lands" changed to "headlands". "day-light" changed to daylight". 204 "closenes" corrected to "closeness". 207 "lime-stone" corrected to "limestone". 208 "deers-meat" corrected to "deer-meat". 211 "semed" corrected to "seemed": "seemed to contain". 214 "lime-stone" corrected to "limestone". 225 "several of of them" changed to "several of them". Word was repeated across end of line. "dimunition" corrected to "diminution": "suffered some diminution". 226 Comma changed to full-stop since it occurs at end of sentence: "on their route to Bear Lake. The ridges of hill". 227 "ecstacy" corrected to "ecstasy". 230 "68" changed to "66": 3 days ago they were at 67 deg. 10', heading SW; the northernmost point of Great Bear Lake is at about 67 deg.. 232 "Thursday 24th" changed to "Thursday, 24th" to be consistent with other sidenotes. "I I therefore embarked" changed to "I therefore embarked"; repeat was across line break. 237 "Krusensten" changed to "Krusenstern" since the latter is used in the rest of the text. 240 "indvalids" corrected to "invalids". 244 "extrordinary" corrected to "extraordinary" "Corona" corrected to "Coronae". 245 "+30.5 degrees." changed to "+30.5 degrees,". 246 "re-appearance" corrected to "reappearance". 257 "house changed to "House". 261 "depots" changed to "depots". 268 "sulphat" corrected to "sulphate": "crystals of sulphate of iron". 271 "moses" corrected to "mosses": "is covered a foot deep, or more, by mosses". 274 "off" corrected to "of": "at the bottom of the cliff". 278 "sandsone" corrected to "sandstone". 279 "sand-stones" corrected to "sandstones". "oscasionally" corrected to "occasionally". 280 "clay-stone" to "claystone". 283 "long;" changed to "long.;". 284 "formation" corrected to "formations": "similar formations which occupy". 285 "limetone" corrected to "limestone". 290 "swells gently into a hill several feet high"; should this be "several hundred feet high"? "Horn Mountain" changed to "Horn Mountains". "sienities" changed to "sienites". 293 "in some, reaches" changed to "in some reaches,". Footnote 36: "very-fine grained" changed to "very fine-grained. 295 "specifind" corrected to "specified". "sphoeroidalis" corrected to "sphaeroidalis". "corbrash" corrected to "cornbrash". 296 Removed spurious opening quotation mark before "ramparts", thereby balancing quotation marks. 297 "terrebratula" corrected to "terebratula". 303 "coasted" changed to "coated". 308 "othoceratites" changed to "orthoceratites". 318 "Sowbery" changed to "Sowerby".