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• * THE e º
• MINER,
A ſpontbly 3ournal bevoteo to the ſpineral
tResources of the peningular 5tate. -
Vol. 2.
Mo 1.
- saginaw, Mich., December 1, 1899.
Per Year.
In Advance
Sl
How Michigan was MADE.
— EY—
ASA EDSON MATTICE, PH. M., L.L. B.
ºt.’
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION.
PART I. -
NO. 1.
NO. 2.
NO. 3.
PART II.
NO. 1.
Michigan an ancient sea bottom.
Origin of the vast rock-salt beds.
Origin of the salt wells.
Origin of the coal beds.
2. Origin of the iron beds.
. 3. Origin of the copper beds.
No. 4. Origin of the gypsum beds.
5. Origin of the marl beds.
6
Origin of the sulphur and
Springs.
Origin of the gas and oil wells.
iron
NO. 7.
PART III.
NO. 1.
NO. 2.
PART IV.
NO. 1.
Origin of the glacial period.
Its effects upon Michigan.
Origin of our hills, gravel beds and
MOraines.
Origin of our valleys, lakes and
riverS.
NO. 2,
PART V.
No. 1. Companions of the paleolithic man
in Michigan.
No. 2. The paleolithic man in Michigan.
INTRODUCTION.
The writer of this paper can never
forget the time he was a student at the
great University of Michigan, and there
listened to the inspiring lectures given
in geology by that great Scholar, Alex-
ander Winchell. No student could fail
to catch the inspiration of those master-
ly discourses. The inspiration and love
there kindled for the study of geology
has remained with many a student after
he or she left those historic walls. As
a teacher, the writer has ever tried to ||
inspire his pupils with a desire to know
geology, particularly that of his or her
beloved Michigan. And to the end that
this paper may inspire many High
School teachers and scholars it is writ-
ten. It seems a regret that the branch
of geology is shut out of so many High
Schools in Michigan. It should be an
auspicious hour when the doors of the
High School are thrown open and
geology is bidden to enter as a study.
There was a time, in the far unknown
past, when all the matter in the universe
was in a gaseous state. According to
the Nebula hypothesis, the matter out
of which our planets were formed
originally diffused, at least as far as the
most remote member of our system.
Now, in process of time this Nebulous
gaseous matter began to cool ; as it be-
gan to cool it contracted, or, in other
words, the matter began to seek a cen-
ter; as it began to seek a center it be-
gan to revolve ; hence the origin of
planetary motion. Now, this circular
motion already imparted to the Nebul-
ous mass, together with a condensation
toward a center, finally resulted in the
throwing off or leavlng behind succes-
sive rings. These on disruption and
further condensation assumed the form
of our planets, sometimes with a further
formation of rings, which in the case of
Saturn remain, though in other planets
they have broken up and united into
satellites. Such, in all probability, was
the origin of our earth. Our moon or
satellite originated from the earth in
just the same manner as the earth origi-
nated from the Sun.
We have digressed somewhat from
our theme, but it would seem permissi-
ble. We are to learn, if possible, how
that particular portion of the earth's
crust which we now call Michigan was
formed. A few thoughts concerning
the formation of the earth's crust can
not be amiss. As already said, the
earth represents a detached portion of
the sun, but by the operation of well
known physical laws it became detached
and began to revolve in space by the
motion imported to it by the Sun. This
portion of detached matter which repre-
sents the earth must have been in a very
highly heated state, so much so the
vapors ascended into cold space for un-
told miles. Here they became con-
densed into liquids, in which state they
approached this ball of fire to the point
where they were again converted into
vapors, again to ascend into cold Space.
This process must have continued for
untold ages. But at last the earth had
so cooled down as to permit these
vapors to approach its surface in the
form of rain, and the earth then passed
through its “rainy ” period, the same
period as Jupiter is now passing
through. Time and again this thin
crust must have been broken up by the
fiery billows beneath; but finally, by
solidification from within, by the raida-
tion of heat to the exterior, it became
sufficiently firm and strong so as to be
able to hold up its own weight until the
hot matter beneath had contracted suffi-
ciently, by imparting its heat to the
outer crust and thus to the exterior,
that this outer crust was crushed or fold-
ed upon itself, the result of which was
the formation of mountains and Sea
bottoms or basins. It is one of these
ancient sea, bottoms or basins which we
will now discuss.
PART I.
No. 1 Michigan an ancient sea bottom
or basin.
The evolution of that particular por-
tion of the earth's crust which we have
been pleased to call Michigan, from the
low position of an ancient sea basin to
its high position among the commercial
States of the Union, is a problem of
much interest both to the scholar and

THE MICHIGAN MINER.
2
the man of commerce, Michigan an
ancient sea basin . No human eye to
behold this dismal scene ! Only some
lonely sea fowl to pursue its uncertain
course across this dismal deep; or some
sea monster to plow its undirected
course through its silent waters! We
know that Michigan was once an ancient
sea basin because the bones of whales,
the bones of seals, fossil shells of marine
species and marine fish have been found
in this basim, but always on the mar-
gins, which fact is worthy of notice.
Why should these fossils be found on
the margins of this sea basin P Because
as the water became concentrated or
Saliferous the fish would naturally seek
the highest and freshest part of the
basin, the portions of the basin near-
est the inlets of fresher water from
the parent ocean, and not the low-
est and most Saliferous. Therefore, we
should not expect to find any remains
of life at the central portion of this
basin, for in this region the water would
be so Saliferous as to be incompatible
with life. But we would expect to find
in this central portion of the basin
thicker beds or deposits of salt, and this
state of facts is just what the geological
history of Michigan reveals. Then,
again, the peculiar localities of this
basin in which the fossils have been
found, the bones of a whale in the
southwestern part, the fossil shells of
marine species, the bones of seals,
marine fishes and the bones of whales
in the northeastern portion, bespeak of
the time when this ancient sea basin
had access to the ocean proper through
a channel to the northeast, and, possi-
bly, through one to the southwest or
South.
No. 2. The vast beds of pure or rock-salt.
Convincing evidence is not wanting to
show that beneath this whole peninsula
are vast beds of rock-Salt. Borings of
deep wells and outcrops show this. We
should bear in mind that these vast beds
of pure salt prove beyond the possibility
of a doubt that Michigan was once an
ancient sea basin. From whence came
this vast accumulation of salt P. Now,
various theories have been advanced to
account for the original presence of salt.
Some have supposed it came from the
atmosphere ; others from the remains of
organic life; still others have hypothe-
sized that Salt was produced by the
action of gases upon the elements in the
interior of the earth, and that this
product was forced to the surface
through seams and cracks in the crust.
And still others have advanced the idea
that salt was originally distributed over
the earth in the form of rain as a
Saturated brine, which, besides enrich-
ing the ocean water, permeated many
of the rock formations. But passing by
- - & © |
what may have been the original source
of salt, the ocean is the safe starting
point to account for our salt formations.
Now, of all the theories advançed to ac-
count for the vast deposits of rock-Salt,
such as those at Stassfurt, Germany,
and in other parts of the world, and to
account for the presence of brine in our
rock formations, only one theory can
withstand all the criticism urged against
it. This theory is that the ocean alone
gives us a safe starting point as the
source of the Salt deposits. Schleiden
says the ocean was originally a saturated
brine with 33 per cent. of salts. The
theory that Salt deposits are formed by
precipitation from Sea water in basins
connected with the ocean was advanced
as long ago as the last century, but not
until recent years has this theory been
taken up in detail by Ochsenius, who by
experiments has for all time removed
objections urged against this theory,
and to have made out a very strong
case in its behalf. Now, he has shown
that the evaporation of sea water in the
laboratory results (1) with a deposit of
gypsum ; (2) then a deposit of rock-
Salt ; (3) then another deposit of gyp-
Sum ; (4) and lastly, another deposit of
salt. Now, if chemistry in nature is the
same as chemistry in the laboratory
(and chemistry is the same the world
over), we shall find this statement veri-
fied and verified in the above order.
|Now, the above facts are fully verified
in the geological history of Michigan.
Borings of deep wells do show (1) a
layer of gypsum ; (2) a layer of rock-
Salt ; (3) a layer of gypsum, and (4) a.
layer of rock-salt, counting from below
upward. Gypsum is the lowest and
oldest bed; then above this is a layer or
bed of rock-salt. Now, gypsum begins
to be thrown down when 37 per cent. of
the water has been evaporated ; there-
fore, gypsum beds serve as the floor up-
on which rock-salt beds rest, for 93 per
cent. of the water must be evaporated
before chloride of sodium or rock-salt
will begin to be deposited. Hence, to
repeat, the concentration and evapora-
tion of the sea-water of a salt basin
would give rise (1) to a layer of gypsum
and (2) followed by one of rock-salt.
And We should observe that this has
been found to be the order among all
the Saliferous formations of the earth's
crust. But, however, we should like-
Wise note that gypsum may be precipi-
tated without rock-Salt, either because
the water was diluted before the point
of Saturation for rock-salt was reached,
or because the salt, if deposited, may
have been Subsequently dissolved and
removed. Therefore, in every case
where an alternation of layers of gyp-
Sum and rock-Salt occur there must have
been repeated renewals of the water
supply, each gypsum zone marking the
commencement of a new series of pre-
cipitates. This statement of facts is
fully verified in the geological history
of Michigan. All facts go to show that
Michigan was once a “salt-garden.”
Then again, all facts go to show that at
this particular period in the geological
history of this basin (Michigan) the cli-
mate was much warmer than now,
hence evaporation was much greater;
therefore, precipitation was greater.
Yet it seems to the writer to account for
the Vast beds of rock-salt beneath the
whole peninsula, beds which as yet are
of no particular commercial value to
any one, beds which are from 300 to
1,000 feet thick, we must presuppose a
basin of sufficient and considerable
depth, an almost horizontal inlet con-
necting this basin with the parent ocean,
and the ability to evaporate the inflow-
ing Water as rapidly as it is received, or
we must suppose the barrier separating
the basin from the ocean was frequently
broken down and again uplifted. The
continuous connection of this basin with
the ocean is the Salient point in the
argument for the vast formations of
Very thick deposits of salt, such as are
found at Stassfurt, Germany. But this
continuous connection, or nearly so, of
this basin with the ocean, is not neces-
Sary to account for all salt formations.
But the better opinion seems to be that
the occurrence of absolutely pure rock-
Salt is possible only after fresh acces-
Sions of sea water are rendered impossi-
ble. But how about Michigan P Judg-
ing from all the facts at hand, it seems
quite certain that this ancient sea bot-
tom or basin out of which Michigan was
formed was in periodical connection
with the ocean, through a channel to
the northeast, and perhaps, also, through
one to the Southwest or south, for the
evidence which the writer has been able
to collect does not show that these beds
are absolutely pure rock-salt; therefore,
this basin could not have been per-
manently cut off from the parent ocean.
Then, again, the fact that these vast
salt beds were formed by a layer of gyp-
sum, then a layer of salt, then sand,
then another layer of gypsum, then a
second layer of Salt, and so on, proves
beyond the possibility of a doubt that
this basin was not permanently cut off
from the ocean, but only periodically.
By repeated renewals of fresher water
from the ocean poured into this basin at
intervals our vast beds of rock-salt were
formed. -
But there came a time when the
formation of these rock-salt beds was
forever broken off. By the general sub-
mergence of the earth's crust, supposed
to be in the northeastern portion of
the continent, all barriers were broken
down, the ocean swept in upon this
isolated basin, bringing in vast amounts
THE MICH IGAN MINER.
3.
of sand, gravel and clay and forever
hiding these salt beds from view. Here
closes the history of the formation of
our rock-salt beds, beds whose thickness
are only surpassed by the beds of Central
Europe. And this vast introduction of
sand, gravel and clay, bringing in
organic matter, resulted in the forma-
tion of the vast beds of sandstone or
sandrock and limestone which overlie
these salt beds.
Here we must leave the discussion of
the rock-Salt formations and pass on to
a discussion of the origin of the salt
wells found in Bay and Saginaw Coun-
ties and other portions of the State.
No. 3. Origin of the salt wells
After having discussed the origin and
formation of our rock-salt beds at such a
length, it will not be necessary to devote
much space to the salt wells. The most
plausible theory regarding the origin of
the brine seems to be that it had its
origin in the original Sea water, for ages
taken up by the porous rocks, the sand-
stones in particular, and there in a more
concentrated form held in cavities or
reservoirs in the rocks. The brine which
formed the rock-Salt beds differs from
the brine which formed the salt wells in
this, that in the former precipitation
was reached and salt was thrown down,
while in the latter it was not. As has
already been pointed out, the further
formation of the rock-salt beds was sud-
denly terminated by a breaking down
of the barriers (which isolated this basin
from the parent ocean), allowing the
sea to rush in upon this undisturbed
basim (in which the rock-salt beds were
lain), bringing vast amounts of Sand,
gravel, etc., which buried up the rock-
Salt beds ; and this vast accumulation
of Sand, spread out over this basin, be-
came compacted or compressed into
sandstone by the weight of the overlying
material. These beds of sandrock be-
came the Source of the salt wells, and
upon whose floor the gypsum beds were
lain, a discussion of which will be taken
up later. Thus these sandstone rocks
became the second Salt horizon. That
the ocean had repeated access to this
ancient Sea or Salt basin is shown by the
marine fossils which these rocks contain.
Now follows a period in which this
ancient Sea bottom is cut off from the
ocean, so that evaporation might reach
that point (37 per cent.) where gypsum
might be precipitated. That period in
the geological history of Michigan in
which the gypsum beds were formed, as
compared with the period in which the
rock-Salt beds were formed, must have
been comparatively shorter, because
only 37 per cent, of the sea water need
be evaporated in order to deposit gyp-
Sum, While 93 per cent, of the Water
must be driven off before NaCl will be-
gin to be deposited.
ing works :*
For an extended discussion of salt and
salt wells in Michigan read the follow-
PART II.
No. 1. Origin of the coal beds,
Were all our present forests uprooted
and overthrown, and covered by sedi-
mentary deposits, such as those which
cover our coal seams, the amount of
coal which would thereby be formed for
our use in Some future age would
amount to a thickness of two or three
inches at most. Beside other smaller
coal-producing areas in Germany, the
coal fields of Silesia in the southeastern
corner of Prussia are a possession un-
rivaled both on account of their extent
and thickness. It is stated that there
exist 333 feet of coal, all the seams of
which exceed two and one-half feet, and
that in the aggregate there is here,
!arated from the other.
Michigan proves the fact that this State
Was Once an internal sea bottom or
basin. It was once supposed that there
was a vast sea bottom or basin occupy-
ing the territory now known as Michi-
gan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky,
Tennessee, Virginia, West Virgiaia and
Pennsylvania, Upon whose floor grew
the mighty carboniferous forests out
of which the coal was formed.*
What a mighty forest this must have
been l—almost beyond the conception
of the human mind,--but it is now as-
certained that Michigan had an inde-
pendent basin of its own, isolated from
this great basin of which I have Spoken.
Hence its coal measures are not con-
tinuous with the coal measures of the
other basin. The fact that gypsum is
found in Michigan, but not in Ohio,
proves that the Michigan basin was sep-
There is some-
within a workable depth, the scarcely thing very peculiar and very interest.
conceivable quantity of 50,000,000,000
tons of coal.
possible to form an idea of the vast car-
boniferous forests which once grew in
that region. To trace coal from its con-
dition in the earth as a mineral to car
bon dioxide which was once a part of
the Nebulous mass from which suns,
moons and planets were formed is an
inspiring thought. But such is the
journey of the atoms which now com-
pose our coal beds. The warm and
moist atmosphere of the carboniferous
age was auspicious for the prodigious
growth of plants; and these plants drew
from the atmosphere vast stores of
carbon dioxide and elaborated it into
plant-tissue—elaborated it into mighty
carboniferous forests. We know that
there was a warmer climate in the car-
boniferous age than now, because the
vast amount of carbon dioxide present
in the atmosphere acted as a blanket, as
it were, to prevent radiation of heat
from the earth into space. Thanks be
to the plants for taking the carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere and elabo-
rating it into plant tissue, thus prepar-
ing the way for the coming of the higher
animals which could not live in such a
poisonous and oppressive atmosphere.
Such is the brief story of the journey
of a piece of coal from cosmical space
to its lowly position beneath glacial and
other deposits. y
Wherever we ſind coal measures we
can safely say that this locality was
once an ancient sea basin. This prop-
osition is vertified on the continent, in
Michigan and other portions of the
United States. The presence of coal in
From this example it is :
ing about the formation of the coal
measures in Michigan. Nowhere else,
as far as I am able to learn, was coal
formed in the manner it was here. In
other portions we account for the Origin
of coal in this way. This ancient sea
bottom or basin became elevated above
the sea or nearly so, at least to that
extent it became a mighty swamp.
Now, upon this elevated portion, or in
this swamp, grew the mighty carboni-
ferous forests. This tract was now sub-
merged beneath the waters of the in-
ternal Sea, and the mighty forests were
sunk from sight and buried beneath
Vast deposits of sand, clay or shale. In
Some portions of this great basin we
find several seams of coal, which proves
beyond a doubt that this ancient sea
bottom was repeatedly raised above and
covered with a gigantic forest, and then
sunk again. Every seam of coal repre-
Sents a new forest ; it represents a new
elevation, followed by subsidence. Now,
coal was not formed in Michigan in
this way. Now, the elevation and sub-
sidence theory as to the origin of coal,
described above, will not account for
the origin of coal in Michigan, because
of the peculiar coal zone or belt found
in Michigan, (see fig. I.) Now, if coal
had been formed in Michigan by the
repeated elevation and subsidence of

, this internal sea basin or bottom, every
elevation being covered over by a new
forest, then we ought to find coal in every
portion of Michigan. But as the records
of deep wells do not reveal the presence
of coal in all parts of Michigan, but
only within a certain belt or zone, we
must diseard this theory and seek a new
Oll(2.
Dr. Otto Kuntze, an able German geo-
logist, has suggested various theories
*U. s Geol. Survey, Bulletin No. 65. * *
and 101. i 5, pp. 63
*Mich. Geol. Survey, vol. III, appendix 13,
, [71.
Mich. Geol. Survey, vol. V, part II, p. X.
Mich. Geol. Survey, Winchell's 1st Biennial
Report (1861), p. 177.
U. S. Geol. Survey, Seventh Annual Report,
p. 497.
Geikie's 'I'ext Book of Geology, Second I`di-
tion, pp. 380-385.
U.S. Geol. Survey, 14 Ann. Report. Part Jl, p.
º tº e
THE MICHIGAN MINER,
WEXFORD
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FIG. 1. THE COAL BASIN OF MICHIGAN.
to account for the origin of coal mea-
sures. Among these is the “floating
forest” theory. This is his pet theory.
Coming from such an able scholar, this
theory deserves careful and thoughtful
consideration. We know that “floating
forests” (on a small scale) are now being
formed on some of our small lakes and
ponds. Driftwood is carried from the
shores out toward the center of these
ponds or lakes by the action of the
winds or otherwise, and there collects
together; sand, clay and other material
is washed upon this “raft” and a soil is
formed. The seeds of plants are washed
upon this “raft” and take root, and
our “floating forest” becomes a thing
of actuality. Dr. Kuntze's theory has,
therefore, the sanction of the present. If
this theory stands the test of the present,
why will it not stand the test of the
past? Let us apply this theory to the
formation of the coal measures of Michi-
gan and see if it is in harmony with all
the observed facts. No doubt coal had
its origin in some such a way as follows:
As we have shown, this region was a
deep sea basin, deepest at the center.
No doubt there were rivers, particularly
from the west and north, pouring their
waters into this basin. No doubt, also,
they brought down large quantities of
driftwood and deposited it along the
shores of this internal sea. By the
action of the winds, this driftwood was,
no doubt, wafted out toward the center
of this basin. Here it became collected
together into a mighty raft ; Sand, clay
and other material was washed upon
this mighty raft, thus forming a con-
genial soil for the plants to grew upon.
The seeds or spores of the carboniferous
plants floating in the water were washed
upon this raft, and here they germina-
ted and took root, and, Spreading in all
directions, soon tied the raft firmly to-
gether. Times and circumstances con-
spicuously favored the growth of this
mighty floating forest. Here the Calu-
mites grew to some six or eight feet in
height, the Lepidodendra attaining, pos-
sibly, a height of 50 or 60 feet, and the
Sigillaria also attaining great height,
probably 60 or 70 feet. We must re-
member that the water of this isolated
Sea basin was much saliferous. Hence
it would float a comparatively much
larger floating forest than the same
amount of fresh water. But there came
a time when, by the great growth of
this vegetation, this floating forest must
sink of its own weight. It sunk beneath
the Waters of this basin. In the act of
sinking the spores of the plants would
be scattered in all directions. These
Spores, drifting all over this internal sea,
made the carbonaceous mud, which
later became black shale, cannel coal or
bituminous limestone. As time went
Om, a layer of fine clay would be deposi-
ted over this sunken forest, which fine
clay or silt was brought down and de-
posited by the rivers, and which silt
after ages, under pressure of the super-
incumbent deposits, was formed into
shale; and, as time went on, a new
floating forest would be formed in just
the same manner as the first one already
described. In process of time, this sec-
ond floating forest would be sunk by
its own weight, upon the first sunken















THE MICHIGAN MINER.
5
forest, and buried from sight beneath
the waters of this internal Sea. The
rivers continuing to bring down their
fine clay or silt would deposit it over
this second sunken forest, and again,
after ages, this clay would be com-
pressed into shale by the Superincum-
bent deposits. If I can interpret the
records of deep wells correctly, we have
no less than four seams of coal in Our
coal measures. It seems to me that this
shows that there were formed and Sun-
ken no less than four floating forests,
one upon the other, in this internal Sea
basin. The fact that coal is now and
then found outside of the coal belt or
zone is no argument against the floating
forest hypothesis. It simply shows that
we must modify or enlarge our coal belt
in some localities. These buried forests,
under the pressure of the suberincum-
bent deposits and being excluded from
the atmosphere, and in the presence of
the rock temperature, a process of slow
oxidation took place, in which case a
certain percentage of the volatile gases
were expelled, and the product left is
mineral coal. The process of oxidation
is incomplete, because oxygen is exclu-
ded, except a small amount actually
present is the tissues of the buried
plants. This is, no doubt, the process
through which the buried forests passed
in being formed into bituminous coal,
the only kind of coal found in Michigan.
Those desiring to pursue this inquiry
further are invited to read Dr. Alfred
C. Lane's classic articles on “Coal in
Lower Michigan,” and the other au-
thorities cited. †
No 2.
To successfully account for the vast
deposits of iron ore in the Lake Smperior
region seems to me to be one of the most
perplexing problems in geology. Iron,
the most important of all the metals, is
found only sparingly in the native or
pure state ; in blocks which have fallen
from the skies as meteorites ; also, in
grains or dust inclosed in hailstones, in
the suow of the Alps, in the mud of the
ocean floor at remote distances from the
land, and in some eruptive rocks.
Then, again, a small but constant
amount of native iron as cosmic dust is
constantly falling upon the earth's sur-
face and upon the ocean from outside
the terrestrial atmosphere. This iron
dust, ever falling upon the surface of
the earth, finds its way to the ocean by
the way of the rivers. By the decom-
position of iron-bearing rocks, iron
finds its way to the ocean. So the ocean
seems to be the secondary home of iron.
But a recourse to the Nebula hypothesis
Origin of iron beds.
will, possibly, give us a clue to the tel-
luric origin of iron. The condensation
of matter round centers indicatee prob-
able differences of density throughout
the Nebula. That the materials com-
posing the Nebula may have arranged
themselves according to their respective
densities, the lightest occupying the ex-
terior, the heaviest the interior of the
mass, is shown by a comparison of the
densities of the various planets. Prof.
Lockyer finds in the sun evidence of the
Same tendency toward a stratified ar-
rangement in accordance with the rela-
tive densities. In the gradual conden-
sation of the original Nebula, each suc-
cessive mass left behind represents the
exterior density of the parent shell; and
consists of progressively heavier matter.
The remoter planets would thus consist
of metalloids, like the outer parts of the
sun's atmosphere, while the interior
planets would be mainly metallic. The
rupture of each planetary ring would
raise the temperature of the resultant
Nebulous planet to such a height as to
allow the vapors to arrange themselves
by degrees in successive layers, or
rather shells, according to their respec-
tive densities. Thus, when a planet
threw off a satellite, the body would
possess the composition and density of
the outer layers of its primary.
Then, again, by the specterscopic
analysis of the sun's atmosphere, Prof.
Lockyer has determined that the incan-
descent metals arrange themselves in
the sun's atmosphere, according to
their respective densities. Thus the
coronal atmosphere, which extends to
such a prodigious distance beyond the
disk of the sun, consists, mainly, of sub-
incandescent hydrogen. Beneath this
external vaperous envelope lies the
chromosphere, where the vapors of in-
dandescent hydrogen, calcium and mag-
nesium are detected. Further inward,
the Sun-spot zone shows the presence of
sodium, titanium, etc. And still lower
a layer of intense hot vapors, lying near
or next to the brilliant photosphere,
gives unumistakable evidence of the pres-
ence of incandescent iron, man-
gamese, cobalt, nickel copper, silver,
etc.; therefore, there can be no question
but what the metals would settle toward
the center both of the sun and earth in
accordance with their respective densi-
ties, the heaviest metal at the bottom,
the lighest at the top.” Applying these
facts to the earth, there seems little doubt
but what the center of the earth is largely
metallic. In trying to account for the
origin of iron in the Lake Superior re-
gion, we think wºhave successfully
traced its primitive origin to the Nebu-
*THE MICHIGAN MINER, Vol. I, Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9 and 10.
+Mich, Geo. Survey, Vol. III. p. 122,
Mº Geol. Survey, Winchell 1861, pp. 114 and
1
3.
Martin's The Story of a Piece of Coal,
Dana's Manual Of Geology, p. 363.
*Geikie's Text-Book of Geology, p. 8 and 46.
Young's General Astronomy, p. 115.
Dana’s Manual of Geology, p. 810.
Lockyer's Solar Physics, pp. 384 and 550.
'The American Journal of Science, January, 1893,
p. 16.
lous mass, from thence to the sun, and
from the sun to the earth. It now re-
mains for us to account for the presence
of such vast iron deposits in the Lake
Superior region. Why should iron and
copper deposits be found in this region
rather than elsewhere? Simply because
the conditions favorable for their pro-
duction existed here rather than else-
where. The presence of the greatest of
iron ore beds of the world in the oldest
rocks, the Archean, gives us, it seems to
me, a starting point for our argument.
The fact that iron is associated with
eruptive rocks will also assist us in de-
termining its origin in this region.
We have already shown that the Ne-
bula hypothesis would lead us to sus-
pect and believe that the earth's interior
is largely metallic. It remains for us
to bring these rich stores of minerals to
the surface and account for their depo-
sition. The presence of iron and copper
in the Lake Superior region might be
accounted for in the following way :
The fact that the rock-salt beds extend
indefinitely to the north and northwest
proves that the Lake Superior region
was once an Archean Sea, bottom or
basin. There are reasons which go to
show that the deepest part of this
Archean basin might have been in the
region which is now the Lake Superior
region. In fact, Lake Superior occupies
an ancient synclinal or trough of the
earth's crust. This fact being true, and
that the Archean sea being of great anti-
quity, concerning which proposition
there is no doubt, then vast or thick
beds of sedimentary rocks would be
formed on the floor of this ancient Sea.
Say these beds were formed to the thick-
mess of five or six miles, not an impos-
sible thing in a oceanic basin. We
know as we descend toward the center
of the earth the temparature increases
19 for every 52 feet, 100° for every
mile, and 600° for six miles. The fusing
point for most rocks under atmospheric
pressure is 3,000°; but it is now well
known that rocks under the combined
influence of heat and water fuse at a
much lower degree. This, to distinguish
it from true dry fusion, is called hydro-
thermal fusion. While the tempera-
ture of true dry fusion is not much
less than 2,000° that of hydrothermal
fusion is only 600 to 800 degrees. Now,
these six miles of stratified or sedimen-
tary rocks were formed under Water.
They contain water. And, further,
this thickness of sedimentary rocks
would raise the melting point about
six miles nearer the surface, in which
case the internal heat, coming in
contact with these water-lain rocks,
would engender vast amounts of steam,
which, endeavoring to escape, would
rend the rocks asunder, forming fissures,
through which volcanic cinders and
6
THE MICHIGAN MINER,
ashes would be ejected. And through
these same fissures, no doubt, the iron
and copper of this region found its way
from the interior to the surface, prob-
ably in volcanics, and spread itself out
over the bottom of this Archean Sea.
That there was once great volcanic
activity in the Lake Superior region
there can be no question.
That the limestones which had been
forming on the floor of this Archean Sea
for ages in the past were converted into
marble proves this fact. The presence
of volcanic cinders and ashes and the
scarcity of lava proves great volcanic
activity in this region. The presence of
iron in the eruptive or igneous rocks,
also, supports this theory. Perhaps
another influence was present helping
to bring the iron and copper to the Sur-
face. The vast accumulation of the
sedimentary rocks in this region pos-
- sibly caused the floor of this Archean
sea to settle somewhat ; the pressure
caused by this subsidence would assist
in pushing the metals to the surface.
The fact that the iron beds are welded
together, also, proves intense heat, due to
volcanic activity, in this region. Per-
haps this volcanic activity established a
permanent elevation in this locality, in
which case, by erosion and the disinte-
gration of tho rocks, other portions of
iron and copper were deposited upon
the floor of this ancient sea, or left
exposed to view in massive masses. Be-
cause of the instability of the earth's
crust at this early period, volcanic, dis-
turbances, in this region, may have con-
tinued for ages. It seems to me that
the first appearance of iron and copper
upon the surface of the earth in this
region could be accounted for in such a
manner as I have suggested. I think
there are some who attempt to account
for iron and copper in this region solely
on chemical basis. Chemistry will
account for iron in the form of carbo-
mate, sulphate, etc., it will account for
copper in the form of carbonate and
sulphate. I have never been convinced
that the presence of organic acids alone
can successfully account for the Vast
beds of iron and copper in this region.
It seems to me we must first have iron
and copper present in Some form before
we can rely upon our chemical hypo-
thesis. The carbonate and Sulphate of
iron can be accounted for, probably, in
the following way : We have already
shown that the Northern Peninsula, as
well as the Southern, was an Archean
or ancient sea, bottom or basin. Upon
the floor of this ancient sea basin was
deposited, for many ages, the remains of
organic life. These remains formed a
cherty iron rock or limestone, intersper-
sed with the salts of iron and chert.
That this is water deposited is no ques-
tion. Another fact is quite certain. In
those Archean times, the atmosphere
was more highly charged with carbon
dioxide than at present. Another fact
is certain ; the rocks eomposing the
earth's crust were then of a higher tem-
perature. The atmospheric water would |
absorb the carbon dioxide of the atmos-
phere, and carry it into the limestone
which bordered the ancient sea basin,
and decompose these limestones, setting
free more carbon dioxide, such waters,
flowing out into this Archean Sea or
basin, bearing the very material to pre-
cipitate the salts of iron in the form of
carbonate. Probably the iron in the
form of a sulphate was precipitated,
chemically, by the decomposition of
gypsum in the Archean ocean. The
gypsum breaking up would form free
sulphur. This in the presence of lime-
stone, oxygen and moisture would form
Sulphuric acid; this, acting upon the salts
of iron present, would produce iron in
the form of a sulphate. In view of all
the facts, it seems improbable and
almost impossible, to account for the
Vast deposits of iron and copper in the
Lake Superior region solely on chemical
grounds, for if these vast deposits are due
to precipitation from the Archean sea
by the action of organic agents, why do
we not find iron and copper deposits in
other parts of this Archean sea P
Those wishing to make an extended
examination of the origin of the iron
deposits in this region are invited to
consult the following works.”
No. 3. Origin of the copper beds.
We have devoted so much space to
the origin of iron that scarcely any-
thing need be said regarding the origin
of copper. The same forces operating
in nature brought each to the surface
from the interior and precipitated them.
The fact that the iron-bearing rocks
are beneath the copper-bearing rocks
shows that the iron beds are more
ancient than the copper beds and that
iron is a relatively lighter metal. Cop-
per beds are associated with the Palezoic
rocks, while iron beds are found in the
Archean rocks. During later volcanic
activity the salts of copper, because rela-
tively heavier than iron and hence
deeper in the earth, were brought up
from the interior and deposited upon
the bottom of this Palezoic Sea, and be-
came incorporated in the sedimentary
rocks then forming in the form of sul-
phate of copper, due to the presence of
sulphuric acid, formed originally from
the decomposition of gypsum. This Sul-
phate of copper was no doubt afterwards
changed into a carbonate and silicate by
the action of the organic acids present,
which acids were formed from the pre-
sence of vast accumulations of life in
past ages. From these stratified rocks
the copper was afterwards leached out
by the action of the percolating waters
into the fissures of the earth's crust,
fissures of more recent date than the
ones through which the copper was
brought from the interior to the surface.
By the action of erosion, these copper
deposits or veins became exposed to
view in some portions of the copper
region. -
For an extended discussion on the
copper deposits, consult the following
WorkS.*
No. 4. Origin of the gypsum beds:
Gypsum, or plaster, has been, for a
long time, an article of considerable
importance in Michigan. Near Grand
Rapids there are vast beds of gypsum
which can supply the market for ages
to come ; and, when this supply shall
hase been exhausted, there are other
beds which come to the surface near St.
Ignace; and still there are yet waster
beds which underlie the whole penin-
sula. If I remember the evidence cor-
rectly, the borings of deep wells show
that the thickest rock salt beds are
found near Royal Oak, in Oakland
County. This fact would lead us to be-
lieve that the deepest, portion of the
ancient sea basin was here. Afterwards
the floor of this basin might have been
raised on the eastern side, so that the
deepest portion would be formed near
what is now the Grand Rapids district.
If this hypothesis be correct, we can
now account for the vast beds of gyp-
sum in this locality. As we have seem,
this region was an isolated Sea basin.
When 37 per cent. Of its water was
evaporated, then gypsum would be
thrown down or deposited. Its precipi-
tation might be accounted for in the
following manner : Sulphur, in the
presence of limestone, Oxygen and
moisture, forms sulphuric acid, which,
combining with other limestone, forms
the gypsum. These vast beds of gyp-
sum seems to me would indicate that
they were precipitated long after the
rock Salt formations ; and that, from
the time these beds were forming, this
isolated sea did not reach the point of
precipitation of rock salt. After these
vast beds of gypsum were thrown down
here, the floor of this ancient Sea, bottom
was raised into dry land, erosion, began,
the rocks were worn away, leaving the
gypsum exposed to view. In short, this
*Spurr's Mesabi Iron Bearing Rocks, Bulletin
10, Minn: Geo. Survey, 1894. -
Mich. Geol. Survey, Report for years 1891 and
1892, p. 180.
The Penokee [ron-Bearing Series of Northern
Wisconsin and Michigan by Irving et al.
U. S. Geol. Survey, Monograph Vol. XIX, I892.
The Marquette Iron-Bearing District of Mich.,
by Van Hise et. al. U. S. Geol. Survey, Mono-
graph Vol. XXVIII, 1895.
*U. S. Geol. Survey, Monograph Vol. V, The
Copper-Bearing Rocks of Lake Superior, by
Irving, Chap. N., p. 419.
Mich. Geo. Survey, Vol. I Chap. ſ, p. 42 and 48]
Report of Mich. Geol. Survey for the years 189.
and 1892, p. 180, *
U. S. Geol. Survey, 'I'hird Annual Report' p.
93-188.
THE MICHIGAN MINER,
7
seems to be about the way in which we
can account for gypsum beds.
For a further discussion of the gyp-
sum deposits consult the authorities
given below.”
No. 5. Origin of owr marl beds.
The manufacture of cement from the
marl deposits has become an industly
of considerable importance to our State.
Considerable capital is now represented
in factories for the manufacture of this
article. There is abundant and con-
vincing evidence to show that much of
our marsh lands were once the bottom
of small inland lakes. Now, marl is
substantially a mixture of limestone and
clay. Upon the bottoms of these inland
lakes or seas there was deposited for
many ages the remains of organic life.
In the carboniferous times there lived
unnumerable forms which we now know
as encrimites. These encrimites grew in
such profusion that after death, when
the limestone plates of which their
stems were composed became detached
and scattered over the bed of the sea,
they accumulated in vast beds of lime-
stone. The foraminifera and actin-
izoa likewise contributed largely to the
formation of limestone. The rivers
flowing into these inland seas or lakes
would bring in the clay in the form
of fine silt, and intersperse it with
the forming limestone. When these
inland seas or lakes became dry
land, the formation of marl would
cease, and in
the whole would be covered over by
vegetation. The marl often contains
small shells intact, proving beyond a
doubt it is the remains of organic life,
originally deposited on the shore or
bottom of Some Sea or lake. There can
be no question but what other vast and
rich beds of marl are yet to be discow-
ered in Michigan. Michigan seems to
have been a very favorable spot for the
formation of marl beds.
For a further discussion of the marl
beds read the authorities cited below.f
No. 6.
springs.
Aside from the geological interest at-
tached to the subject of mineral springs,
the fact that within the limits of the
United States there are between 8,000
and 10,000 mineral Springs, and that the
waters from nearly three hundred are
every year placed upon the market to
the extent of over 21,00,000 gallons, at
a valuation of about $5,000,000, shows
*Mich, Geol. Survey, Vol. \", l'art II, pp. 9-24.
Dana's Manual of Geology, 3rd Edition, p. 234.
Mich. Geol. Survey, Vol. III, Part I, p. 168.
Mich. Geol. Survey, Winchell's I'irst Biennial
Report, 1861, p. 91.
+Mich. Geol. Survey, Vol. \", part 11, Chapter II,
plp. 27–28.
Milch. Geol. Survey. Winchell's First Biennial
Report, 1861, p. 131.
The Michigan Miner, Vol. I, No. 6, May, 1899,
pp. 20–23.
bana's Manual of Geology, 3rd lºdition, p. 455.
phur, iron and Saline springs
the process of time.
Origin of the sulphur and iron.
very clearly that the subject is one of
considerable economic importance.
Michigan has not failed to contribute
her share of these mineral springs. But
what is the source of Michigan's sul-
It is
now an undisputed fact that the water
of all springs, whether mineral or other- |
wise, is meteoric in its origin. The
Water of mineral springs, likewise of Hºhose regions where the water
all other springs, is now recognized as
no new revelation, but it is certain that
the spring represents the aqueous circu-
lation which begins and ends in the
clouds which encompass the earth.
Falling from the clouds as rain, some
of this water seeks the ocean through
the river, much of it sinks into the
earth through crevices in the rocks.
But what is the source from whence
comes the gaseous and Solid constitu-
ents of mineral springs 2 They are de-
rived from the decomposition of the
rocks through which the waters pass in
their downward and upward course. Car-
bonic acid is carried by the rains from
the atmosphere into the rocks, where
its supply is greatly augmented by the
downward movement of the percolating
waters. Sulphates are reducted to sul-
phides and yield hydrogen sulphide.
The oxydation of sulphid of iron,
through the decomposition of the per-
colating waters, the hydrogen of the
decomposed water, will form sulphid of
hydrogen with the sulphur, giving rise
to sulphur springs. The decomposition
of gypsum should account for sulphur
springs. Now, the presence of iron
springs can be accounted for in this
way. Iron is a very abundant Sub-
stance, but, by reason of its affinity for
oxygen, it exists most naturally only in
the form of ferric oxide (Fe2O3) in
which state it is diffused through the
rocks. Organic matter in the process
of decay is found everywhere on the
surface of the ground. This is dissolved
by rain-water and sinks into the earth.
Hence, all subterranean Waters contain
organic matter in solution. Such
waters, percolating through the rocks,
reduce the ferric oxide of iron to ferrous
oxide (Fe0), then to ferrous carbonate
(FeCO3), then takes it into solution or
washes it out of the rock, coming to the
surface as springs containing iron car-
bonate. The Water reaches the surface
through springs in this way. Sinking
below the surface, it penetrates the
strata to a great depth, and is subject
to enormous hydrostatic pressure ;
when a favorable opportunity occurs
through a crevice in the rocks, this
pressure forces it to the surface. Be-
fore we pass to another subject, we
ought to notice briefly the geological
position of mineral springs. Inasmuch
as mineral springs derive their solid
constituents from the rocks through
which they pass on their Way down and
up before their emergence as Springs,
there must be a close connection be.
tween them and the geological forma-
tion of the country. In regions where
the older or metamorphic rocks Consti-
tute the surface formation, or are near
to it, the waters contain a much less
Percentage of Solid ingredients than in
to reach
the surface must come through seas.
'mentary rocks, which are not only HQ OPG
readily affected by the solvent powers
of the percolating waters, but also con-
*in a much larger percentage of readi-
ly soluble salts. Michigan being made
up of sedimentary rocks largely ac-
°ounts for its great abundance of min-
eral Springs.
For a discussion of the whole Subject
of mineral springs in the United States,
the reader is referred to the authorities

below. *
Mo. 7 Origin of the gas and oil wells.
Some knowledge of the rock forma-
tions of Lower Michigan is essential to
the proper understanding of the rela-
tions of natural gas and petroleum on
the one hand, and the strata in which
they occur on the other, and it is as essen-
tial to understand the cover of the reser-
Voir from which the gas is obtained as
the character of the reservoir itself.
The geological formation of Lower
Michigan is comparatively simple, con-
Sisting of a series of Sedimentary strata,
generally superimposed one upon the
other without any great breaks in the
Series. Now, this strata consists sub-
stantially of limestones and calcareous
Shales. Whatever their character or
composition, all are of marine origin,
having been laid down in comparatively
deep and quiet waters. The strata of
Lower Michigan have never been great-
ly disturbed. The rocks of Lower
Michigan lie to-day nearly as they did
when they were originally deposited.
Here none of them have been metamor-
Phosed ; the great beds of calcareous
mud, filled with the remains of their
periods, have been consolidated into
limestone, or, where or when the per-
centage of life was small, into calcare-
ous Shales. Now, natural or rock gaS
and petroleum had their origin in about
this manner. It has been shown that
gas, oil and brine are accumulated in
the order of their respective weights
within inverted basins, troughs or anti-
clines, formed by the flexures of the
rocky strata. Therefore, in drilling for
gas or oil, we meet (a) gas, (b) oil, and
(c) brine. This natural or rock gas is
known as light carburetted hydrogen
*U. S. Geol. Survey, 14th Annual Report, Part II
pp. 53–89. -
Dana's Manual of Geology, 3rd lºdition, pp. 234
and 705. .
Mlich. Geol. Survey, Winchell's l'irst |Biennial
*
Report, 1861, p. 131
8
THE MICHIGAN MINER,
(CH4). In composition it closely ap-
proaches marsh gas frequently seen
bubbling up from muddy bottoms of
stagnant pools whenever the mud is dis-
turbed. Natural gas and petroleum are
embraced among the products of the
crust of the earth known as bitumens ;
other bodies in the same list are the
semi-fluid maltha and the solid asphal-
tum. These are technically known as
hydrocarbons, because carbon and hy-
drogen make up almost their entire
substance, the former making about 85
per cent, and the latter about 15 per
cent. of them. Now, the various bitu-
mens found in the strata of the earth
are essentially of common origin. It is
generally understood that the various
bitumens are genetically connected with
and closely allied to marsh gas, and that
they are produced by the natural de-
composition of organic matter or tissue,
both animal and vegetable. -
According to the best geologists an
chemists, rock or natural gas is a sim-
ple product of slow primary decomposi-
tion at low temperature of organic
matter (animal and vegetable) contained
in natural sediments. Likewise, petro-
leum is a simple product of primary
decomposition of organic tissues im-
bedded in sediments when the process
is long continued or accelerated by rise
of temperature, increase of pressure, or
orographic movement. The heavier bitu-
mens may be products of primary de-
composition of organic matter con-
tained in sedimentary strata, when the
process of decomposition is eacceedingly
long continued or greatly intensified by
heat, pressure or structural deforma-
tion ; but most of them are doubtless
the residua left behind after evaporation
of the lighter members of the series. In
order that we may find gas and petro-
leum, three factors must be present :
(a) source, (b) reservoir, and (c) cover.
Each of these factors will be briefly con-
sidered. The source of the petroleum
of the Pennsylvania type is from the
organic matter of the bituminows shales
and is of vegetable origin. The source
of the petroleum of the Canada and
Ohio type is from limestone (Trenton in
Ohio) and is of animal origin. How-
ever, petroleum is much more largely
derived from vegetable than from ami-
mal substances. In Pennsylvania the
porous sandstones buried in shales
have proved to be the reservoir of oil
and gas when the latter are found in
large quantities. The overlying imper-
vious shale is the cover or roof of the
reservoir; the underlying shale seems
to be the source from whence comes the
bituminous products. In Ohio the
abundance of gas is dependent upon
the porosity of that portion of the
Trenton limestone in which the gas is
found. The accumulation of gas and
|the earth's strata.
gas is found in the dome or roof of the
oil in large quantities is not an acci-
dent, but the result of certain fixed and
well defined laws united with the neces-
sary structural and texual conditions of
In Ohio the natural
“Cincinnati arch.” Now, the Cincin-
nati arch is simply an upward move-
ment of the earth's crust in Ohio, form-
ing an inverted trough. And gas and
oil are found in the dome of such in-
verted troughs. Gas is found at the
highest point of this anticlinal structure
because it is the lightest ; water, at the
bottom because it is the heaviest; and
oil between. Why should oil and gas
come to the surface when the drill
touches the reservoir in which they are
held P. The pressure of the water col-
umn that is behind and below the gas |
and oil bring them to the surface. The
philosophy which explaims the flow of
artesian wells explains the flow of gas
and oil wells. Each are governed by
the same principles. As fast as the gas
or oil is exhausted, we find water tak-
ing its place. . -
But what does all this have to do with
Michigan P Does the “Cincinnati up-
lift” extend into Michigan P Are all
the factors present to indicate the pres-
ence of oil and gas in abundance in
Lower Michigan P. The proper solution
of these questions may mean dollars to
the citizens of Michigan. I am not
aware that the “Cincinnati uplift” ex-
tends into Michigan. If it should be
ascertained that this uplift or a branch
thereof extends into Lower Michigan,
then we might be almost positive of the
presence of an abundance of natural
gas and petroleum, for we would then
have an anticlinal structure in the dome
of which the gas and oil might collect.
Do we find any other anticlinal struc-
ture or uplift in Lower Michigan as a
reservoir for the gas and oil to collect
in 9 Possibly, the volcanic disturbances
in the Lake Superior region may have
given us a slight anticlinal structure or
uplift in Lower Michigan for the gas
and oil reservoir P But where is it P
As to source, our limestones and bitum-
imous shales should furnish an abund-
ance of organic material to produce oil
and gas. We have the impervious
shales to prevent its escape. But where
is the reservoir, the anticlinal structure,
the uplift P If we can only discover the
anticlinal structure, then Michigan
should become famous and rich in her
production of natural gas and petro-
leum, provided they have not escaped
at the outcroppings of the rocks. Until
this uplift is found, I question whether
natural gas and petroleum will be found
in Lower Michigan in commercial quan-
tities. Whether there is a “Cincinnati
arch” in Lower Michigan or not, is a
question which we hope will be deter-
mined some future day. It has been
suggested that there is an anticlinal
structure near the center of the basin,
and another one on the east side, near
Clifford. But what the evidence is in
favor or against this proposition, I am
unable to learn. - .
For a complete and exhaustive dis-
cussion of the origin of natural gas and
petroleum, the reader is referred to the
following works. *
(To be continued).
*U. S. Geol, Survey, 8th Annual Report, Part II.
pp. 483-662.
U. S. Geol. Survey, 11th Annual Report, Part 1,
p. p 589–742. .
Mich. Geol. Survey, Vol. V. Part II, Chap. 1,
pp. 35 and 36. …
Tenth Census, U. S., Vol. 10, pp. 61, 70 and 80.
14th Annual Report, Ohio State Board of Agri-
culture p. 607. *
Preliminary Report on Natural Gas and Petro-
leum Columbus, O., 1886, p. 118. .
9
PART III. Vl t
. . . . . . . |able evidence that this State was once
devastated by a vast sheet of snow and
ice, perhaps several thousand feet in |
thickness. We find here significant
* We find
rocks whose faces have been artis-
tically polished and contain. stria.
* No. 1 origin of the glacial period.
From the time our last floating forest ||
of carboniferous plants (from which
was formed the last and uppermost
seam of coal) sank beneath the waters
of our internal basin, the rivers flowing
into this basin continued their labor of
bringing in vast amounts of alluvium
and depositing it over the Submerged
forest. This process of filling in con-
tinued for many ages.
tending this process of filling in, the
bottom of this basin was raised up al-
most into dry land, preparing the way
for the coming of the “glacial winter”
concerning which the writer is about to
speak. Who' or what announced the
coming of this “glacial winter P” Who
or what warned animal and plant life
to flee from danger P Go with me in
imagination to Greenland's shores. It
is now pre-glacial times.
stately forests waving beneath the gem-
tle zephyrs Hear the voices of the
little plants as they sing praises to the
genial sunbeams which had come all
the way through space to gladden their
little lives | Truly. at this time, Green-
land merited the attractive name it
bears. But at the approach of this
“glacial winter” these voices are
hushed iu everlasting silence. We know
that plants once thrived in these regions
because we find coal there.
Many years ago a few Swiss natural-
ists, born in the very shadow of the
glacier-ridden Alps, and reared on their
rugged foot-hills, became greatly inter-
ested in the spring shrinkage and fall
expansion of the glaciers which beset
their mountain home.
among these naturalists was the im-
mortal Agassiz. He had observed cer-
tain geological phenomena for which he
could assign no certain reason. But he
obeyed the suggestion : “Speak to the
earth and it shall teach thee.” He
scientifically spoke to the glaciers and
they were pleased to reveal to him the
hidden knowledge which he had so
earnestly sought. In the immediate
presence of these moving streams of
snow and ice he formulated the glacial
theory. This theory fully explained the
geological phenomena which was before
unexplainable. He applied the theory
to observed facts in other portions of
the World, and it stood the test. But
his new theory brought down upon his
head the wrath of his contemporaries;
he was persecuted and excommunicated
from their society. To-day his theory
is established beyond any quiestion of a
doubt : it is now accepted by all geolo-
gists. Thanks be to Agassiz for the
glacial theory.
As we look about our beloved State,
we everywhere behold evidence of the
Possibly, at-
Behold the
Most famous.
THE MICHIGAN MINER,
glacial period. We discover unmistak-
groves cut into the rocks.
We find here rocks which have been
identified as belonging to those of
of
northern latitudes. The element
crystelline rock has been identified with
the crystelline rocks of Canadian high-
lands.
Michigan and in Ohio must have been
transported thither by ice agency. No
other agency could have brought our
boulders here ; no other theory could
* t g º
account for the groves in the rocks; for
their polished faces but the ice theory.
The track of a glacier is just as un-
mistakable as that of a man or beast.
The polishing and striation of the rocks
are the tracks left behind by this mighty
ice invader. Some one has significantly
said : “A glacier is a mighty plow, file
and sled ; and yet is not quite any of
these.” If all the plows in the universe
could be consolidated into one enor-
mous plow, and if we could imagine a
power sufficient to move this plow, this
plow would utterly fail to do the execu-
tion the mighty, Inoving glaciers have
done.
moving glacier will do : Suppose it
were possible, by the application of
some unknown power of great intensity,
the great pyramids were pushed on-
ward over the desert at the rate of a
foot a day, just think of the awful fric-
tion that would be the result ; imagine
the grinding and crushing of the soil;
think how the rocks would be torn from
their beds and crushed to powder by
such an operation | A moving glacier
will do more than this A glacier is an
enormous file ! If it were possible to
consolidate all the files in the universe
into one enormous file, and if some
bower to operate this file could be
invented, yet this enormous file would
be inadequate to polish and striate the
rocks in the manner the glaciers have
done. A glacier is a mighty sled !
Once more let us imagine that all the
sleds in the world were united into one
amor"mows sled, and suppose we call
upon some imaginary giant to draw this
mighty sled, yet this sled could not
transport the loads of rock and earth
the glaciers have done. The pre-
sence of rocks, sand, silt and clay
in this moving river of snow and ice
enable the glacier to do such efficient
work as an erosive agent. A mighty,
moving river or sheet or expanse of
This is the invader
we are to study about. This is
the monster which once devastated
Michigan. Why came he Whence
snow and ice
The copper found in Eastern
To form a faint idea of what a
came he When came he Will he
come again? These are the questions
the writer will endeavor to answer.
Now, it is fortunate, for we are study-
ing about a mighty ice invader, whose
lineal descendants are still lingering, in
a pigmy form, in the Alps and Hima-
layas of the continent and in the North-
ern Rockies of this country. There is
now sleeping in the northern latitudes
of this country this mighty ice invader
or monster, ready to break its fetters
and again go forth at the bidding of
climatic and geological changes to de-
vastate our shores.
ciers in hiding in Arctic and Antarctic
regions are but the reminiscences of the
geological past. Will they ever break
their fetters and again go forth to de-
vastate hill, plain and valley P
Glaciers are of two types: (a) Alpine
and (b) Continental. We are only inter-
ested in the continental type, because
this was the ice sheet which devastated
the territory now known as Michigan.
Many theories have been advanced to
account for the glacial period or epoch ;
the time in which our Northern States
was devastated by a vast sheet of snow
and ice. Of such importance is this
subject to teacher and scholar, it is
deemed advisable to devote a little time
and space to the presentation of each
theory. Theories respecting the cause
of the glacial period are classified as
astronomical and geological. The as-
tromomical theories are : - -
I. The supposition that the solar Sys-
tem in its movements through space is
subjected to different degrees of heat at
different times. According to this theo-
ry, the warm climate which character-
ized the polar regions during the terti-
ary period, and continued up to the
beginning of the glacial period or epoch,
was produced by the influence of the
warmer portions of space through which
the whole solar system was moving at
that time ; and that the glacial period
or epoch was produced by the influence
These chained gla-
|
of the colder portions of space through
which the system subsequently passed.
This theory can not be accepted as true,
because the ice sheet would have ex-
tended over the entire earth, or, to Say
the least, much farther south than it
did, which all the geological facts dis-
prove. The fact that ice accumulated
upon centres and not upon the whole
surface also disproves this theory.
II. Closely allied with the preceding
theory is the one suggested by some
astronomers that the sun is a variable
star, dependent for its heat upon the
impact of meteorites. Now, when these
meteorites fell into or upon the Sun, their
motion would be arrested ; this arrested
motion would be converted into heat.
Hence, to account for the genial climate
of the northern latitudes in the tertiary
period, they must substantially admit
that the sun must have been just glutted
with food (meteorites), and, likewise to
account for the “glacial winter,” they
must admit the sun was starved. The
theory supposes an enormous supply of
meteorites in the first place, followed
by a great scarcity of them. One fact
which the astronomers overlooked dis-
proves this theory. In North America
the center of accumulation of Snow and
ice was south of the Arctic circle, a
fact which proves very clearly some
other cause than that of the general
lowering of the temperature eacterior to
the earth. - s
III. Some astronomers have attempt—
ed to account for the glacial period by
supposing that the earth shifted its
axis; that at the time of the glacial
period the North Pole, instead of being
where it now is, was somewhere in the
region of Central Greenland. Two facts
silence this argument. (a) The warm
climate preceding the glacial period
seems to have extended towards the
present North Pole upon every side,
which fact argues that there was a gen-
ial period before the glacial epoch and
not all cold as this theory must presup-
pose. (b) It is now recognized as im-
possible for the shell of the earth to
have slipped over the nucleus in order
to permit the North Pole to have
changed its position, because we do not
recognize a solid nucleus and a solid
shell with an unoccupied space inter-
vening between the two. But we do
insist that the earth is solid from sur-
face to center, with the exception of
certain local and vesicular spaces, from
which arise volcanic and earthquake
disturbances. Therefore, it would have
been impossible for the shell of the
earth to have slipped over the nucleus,
which must have been the case iu order
to permit the pole to have changed its
position. The writer doubts whether
the condition of the earth was ever such
as to permit the crust of the earth to
slip over the nucleus. In fact, the poles
of the earth could only change their po-
sition by a change of the position of the
matter at the equator. There is no evi-
dence to show that this is possible.
Hence the theory must be rejected.
IV. A fourth astronomical theory,
received with much favor, attempts to
show that not only one glacial epoch
but a succession of such epochs has oc-
curred in the geological past.
Now,
THE MICHIGAN MINER,
these glacial epochs have been brought
on by the effect of changes which are
supposed to have taken place in the
eccentricity of the earth's orbit, com-
bined with the precission of the equi-
moxes. Since this theory has been so
ably supported by such great scholars |
as Dr. James Croll, Professor James Gei-
kie and Sir Robert Ball, the royal as-
tronomer of Ireland, it is not to be de-
spised by any means. The earth, as
well as all the planets, revolves around
the sun in an orbit which is elliptical;
that is, it is longer in one direction than
in the other, so that the Sun is one side
of the center as in Figure 2. This fig-
7s 2.
ure represents things as they now are.
During the winter of the northern hemi-
sphere the earth is 3,000,000 miles nearer
the sun than in summer; but, because
the North Pole is turned away from the
sun, hence the cold of winter. Now
these Scholars argue that by the unequal
attraction of the planets Venus, Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, but more
particularly that of Venus and Jupiter,
the eccentricity of the earth's orbit is
periodically increased and diminished,
so that there have been periods in the
geological past when the earth was 10,-
500,000 miles farther from the Sun in
winter than in Summer, and that this
glacial winter occurred when the earth
was in that portion of its orbit farther-
est from the sun ; and that, by the pre-
cission of the equinoxes, the North Pole
was turned away from the sun. See Fig.
3. Such an extreme elongation of the
earth's orbit occurred about 21,500 years
ago, and will again occur 10,500 years
hence. Figure 3 represents things as
they were in the glacial epoch. By am
examination of this figure, it is easy to
be seen that such changes in astrono-
mical conditions would produce great
effects upon the earth's climate, and
equally easy to connect with those effects
the vast extension of ice during the
glacial epoch. This is certainly a very
ingenious hypothesis and may have
caused the glacial epoch, but rather
doubtful. It seems to the writer
that there are two facts which rather
Operate against this ingenious theory.
No doubt this theory would account for
the cold. But it must be remembered
that cold alone will not cause an ice age.
There must be precipitation of vast
amounts of moisture to form the snow
and ice. Then, again, there are ho evi-
dences in the rocks of past glacial
epochs, except the one we are now dis-
cussing. The testimony of the rocks is
silent as to the succession of glacial
epochs. Although Sir Robert Ball thinks
he discovers evidences of previous ice
ages in the vast thickness of the strati-
fied or sedimentary rocks.” He argues
that these succeeding ice sheets in the
great geological past would so pulverize
and grind the rocks and surface of the
earth into fine debris, and so vast would
be this material in quantity, it would be
conspicuously noticed in the very thick
beds of stratified rock which would be
formed. The rivers would be very busy,
indeed, in bringing down this vast
amount of material and depositing it
upon the floor of the ancient seas.
We will now discuss some of the geo-
logical theories advanced to account for
the glacial period. I. One theory ad-
vanced supposes the decrease of the ori-
ginal heat of the planet. To mention
only one fact renders this theory conspi-
cuously fallacious. If this threory be
true, then we must look for the glacial
period in the future, not in the past,
because both the Sun and the earth are
constantly cooling. II. Another theory
presupposes a former period of greater
moisture in the atmosphere. This hypo-
thesis falls to the ground when we recall
to mind that the great rock-salt beds of
the world were deposited long before
the glacial period ; these beds being the
result of the evaporation of sea water in
an internal basin, in which case there
must have been much moisture in the
air, which fact should have produced
the glacial period far in the past of the
one under discussion. III. Yet another
theory to account for the ice age is that
a great comet came in contact with the
earth and produced not only the drift,
but also, by its arrested motion being
converted into heat, vast evaporation
took place from the surface of the seas.
This vast amount of moisture pumped
up into the clouds, again to be let down
in the form of snow and ice. If this
theory be true, then we should find the
“drift” everywhere ; but, as we do not,
we dismiss this theory at once. IV. The
fourth and last theory attributes the
cause of the ice age to the change in
the distribution of land and water and
to the elevation of lands in the northern
latitudes. Of all the theories advanced
to account for the ice age in North
America and Europe, this theory alone
is most in harmony with all the observed
facts. Past evidence and present evi-
*Ball's The Cause of an Ice Age, pp. 162–165.


dence all go to support this hypothesis.
However, should my readers be desirous
to acquaint themselves more fully with
all the hypothesis advanced to account
for the origin of the ice age, they should
read the authority mentioned below.”
THE New THEORY OF THE ORIGIN OF
THE GLACIAL PERIOD.
. The formation of glaciers in any part
of the world depends primarily on the
fact that the amount of snow deposited
during a term of years exceeds the
amount dissipated by melting and evap-
oration.
of snow are formed, the lower portions
of which, under pressure, become 'com-
pacted into ice. The change of snow to
ice is known to result from pressure,
and, as ice is mobile under pressure,
the mass tends to change its position,
and it thus acquires motion in the direc-
tion of least resistance.
Now, the glacial period here was
brought about in this manner. Long
before the ice age, the Rocky and Sierra
Nevada, Mountains were in existence,
towering their lofty and majestic heads
far above the sea level Some 12,000 or
15,000 feet. They were in comparative
proximity to the sea ; and so high were
they, they acted as a complete barrier,
compelling the clouds richly-laden with
moisture to deposit their burdens upon
their summits in the form of snow. Much
of this burden melted, producing vast
floods of water, which, flowing down the
sides of the mountains, eroded deep and
abiding channels. This acumulating
Snow may have been continued for ages.
These vast deposits of snow under the
ever increasing pressure became com-
pacted into beds of ice of enormous
thickness, and such was the enor-
mous weight of this Snow and ice
upon these mountains caused their sub-
sidence to that extent, at least, they no
longer acted as a barrier to the clouds
carrying over their moisture and depo-
siting it upon another locality the writer
is about to mention. Further, this sub-
sidence resulted in the crushing of the
rocks, in which case enormous heat was
generated, melting the rocks into Java,
producing the great flows of lava, which
beds still remain to be seen. This vast
out-flow of lava filled the eroded chan-
nels which I have already mentioned.
Further, these vast rivers of flowing
lava, , producing such intense heat, fur-
ther prevented the clouds from any
longer depositing their moisture here,
but compelling them to carry their great
burdens to another locality. Continuing
our reasoning further, it is easily seen
that this subsidence of these mountains
would be carried along down the line
to the Isthmus of Panama. Now, that
the subsidence of the Isthmus of Panama
In this manner vast deposits.
THE MICHIGAN MINER,
was an actual fact, is proved beyond the
possibility of a doubt by the presence
of marine fossils, teeth of sharks, bones
of whales and marine plants, all of
which have been found beneath the soil
there. With this stubborn fact before
us, we must admit that the Gulf stream
could no longer flow up along the east-
ern shores of the continent to distribute
heat to the northern regions, but it must
and actually did pass into the Pacific
Ocean, imparting to it the heat which it
had from time immemorial imparted to
the North Atlantic. The effect of turn-
ing the Gulf stream from the Atlantic
into the Pacific would be enormous and
far-reaching. It would lower the annual
temperature in the northern regions
some 12 degrees, possibly 18.* It would
also raise the temperature of the Pacific
regions some 12, or possibly 18 degrees.
Here we have two facts both of which
are necessary to bring on the ice age.
(A) In the northern regions we have the
necessary lowering of the temperature
to cause precipitation of moisture in the
form of snow; and (B) the raising of the
temperature of the Pacific region, which,
co-operating with the heat produced
by the lava flows, would and must result
in enormous evaporation from the Paci-
fic Ocean. The necessary steps to be
taken in the formation of an ice age
are:—(a) heat ; (b) evaporation ; and (c)
precipitation. Heat must precede evap-
oration; evaporation must precede pre-
cipitation ; what descends as Snow or
rain must be first pumped up from the
sea by heat. Before the subject of tem-
perature is dismissed, I desire to call
the reader's attention to what Prof.
Bonney, says. He says: “The annual
temperature of the Great Lakes (except
Superior) now ranges from 42 to 48 de-
grees, and lowering this temperature 15
degrees would be sufficient (all other
requisites being present) to produce an
ice sheet extending into the warmer
lowlands.”f
Another thing happened when the
Gulf stream was turned from the Atlan-
tic into the Pacific. By withdrawing
its heat from the northern regions,
under-currents of cold air would rush
toward the equator to take the place of
currents of warm air, rising from the
equator and flowing to the morth. This
upper-current of warm air, rising from
the equator aud flowing north, would
carry the aquous vapor formerly at the
equator to the north, which on reachiug
the northern highlands (about which we
are to speak) would deposit its burden
of moisture in the form of snow and ice
upon the already accumulating mass
upon this region.
We believe we have successfully ac-
counted for the heat and moisture neces-
11
sary to produce a continental ice sheet,
such a one as devastated Michigan in
the past. It only remains for us to ac-
count for the locus upon which precipi-
tation may take place. The elevation
of the lands in the northern latitudes is
the place from whence the continental
ice sheet set out on its journey of de-
struction. Now, it is an undisputed geo-
logical fact that the ice age in North
America and Europe was contempor-
aneous;* therefore, the elevation of the
lands in each place was at the same time.
This elevation of the earth's crust in
northern latitudes is not yet completed,
for in portions of Scandinavia the land
is now rising at the rate of three feet in
a century. And in our own there has
been a further elevation of the land since
the glacial period. The raised sea-
beaches So conspicious in the Hudson
Bay regions prove beyond a doubt the
elevation of these lands. Some think
these lands were elevated some 3,00
or 4,000 feet. We have already shown
that a lowering of the temperature some
15 degrees, all other requisites being
present, would produce an ice sheet ex-
tending into the warmer lowlands. As
a rise of 300 feet roughly corresponds
with a fall of 1 degree F. in tempera-
ture, then to reduce the temperature
15 degrees it would only require an
elevation of 15x300 feet or 4,500 feet.
We trust we have made it clear to the
minds of the reader that the true origin
of the glacial period was in the elevation
of the lands in northern latitudes. Ac-
companying this factor and assisting in
bringing on the ice age was the subsi-
dence of the foresaid mountains, per-
mitting the clouds richly laden with
moisture to pass over these mountains
and carry their burdens to the Canadian
highlands. Here the moisture of the
clouds was precipitated by means of the
condensation connected with the lower-
ing of the temperature, caused by the
withdrawal of the Gulf stream from the
Atlantic as before explained. The best
Scholars of today attribute the cause of
the ice age to the elevation of the land
in northern latitudes.f But why should
the earth's crust be elevated in these
northern regions at this time? No doubt,
two causes contributed to the elevation
of these lands:—(a) the gradual contrac-
tion of the earth’s crust due to the dimi-
mishing rate of revolution on its axis;
and (b) the subsidence of the Rocky and
Sierra Nevada Mountains and the
Isthmus of Panama. If this theory be
true, then a depression of the earth's
crust in one portion of the continent
would be accompained by a correspond-
ing elevation in another part. Therefore,
we hypothesize that the subsidence of
*Geikie's The Great Ice Age, pp. 94-136.
* Lyell's Antiquity of Man, p. 364.
A Bonney's Ice-Work, Present and l’ast, p. 38.2
*Lyell's Antiquity of Man, p. 366.
tWright's Man and the Glacial Period. pp. 327–
- 331,
Dawkin's Cave-II unting, pp. 387-389.
the hentioned mountains contributed to
the elevations of the Canadian high-
THE MICHIGAN MINER,
lands. What” caused the ice sheet to
withdraw? We have already shown why
vast amounts of snow and ice would
accumulate upon these Canadian high-
lands., That accumulation may have
been two miles, or 10,000 feet, in thick-
ness. Every square inch of the land
upon which this burden rested would
pounds; every square foot a weight of
300 tons. In time this burden would
become so vast as to cause thé highlands
to begin to subside, which subsidence
would probably be accompanied by the
gradual elevation of the mountains men-
tioned and the isthmus. Then, the
* - . - - f
mountain ranges would again become a
complete barrier, causing the clouds to
deposit their burdens of moisture upon
their summits; and the Gulf stream
would be turned back into the Atlantic,
former or pre-glacial conditions would
be restored, and the ice invader would
begin to withdraw. This ice sheet
came slowly, was vast in duration,
and gradually disappeared.* Will the
glacial period occur again If the
astronomical theory be correct, this
“glacial winter” may again occur; if
the geological theory be true, it will not.
How do glaciers move & They move
very slowly and in this manner. Water
in the act of freezing gives out heat, and
while passing into the solid state ex-
pands, so that ice occupies, weight for
weight, a greater space than water. On
the other hand, when ice melts it absorbs
heat, and, upon becoming water takes
up less room than it did in the crystel-
line or solid state. Bearing this in mind,
let us suppose that the sun shines upon
a glacier, and imparts to its surface a
certain amount of heat. The applica-
tion of this heat will not and can not
possibly raise the temperature of the ice
(taking that temperature at 32°), but its
immediate consequence will be to meit
or turn a certain portion of the ice into
water. When this is clone, a fresh sur-
face of the ice will, of course, be exposed
to the same action, and were the pro-
cess to continue long enough it is ob-
vious that the glacier would ultimately
disappear altogether. But as soon as
the sun ceases to shine upon a glacier,
the Water which has been set free will
freeze again, but meanwhile, however,
it will have changed its position. The
force of gravity compels it, while in the
liquid state, to ſlow from a higher to a
lower level, and now, when it becomes
| years ago.
ice once more, it necessarily rests at
some distance below its former position.
What is true of the surface of the glacier
must also be true, to some extent, of
* Lyell's .\ntiquity of Man, p. 366.
pre-glacial conditions.
"every portion of the frozen mass.” Pres-
sure is a very important factor in the
movement of glaciers; the inclination
of the plane down which the glacier
moves is another. But it is easily seen
how slow glaciers must move.
WHEN WAS THIS GLACIAL PERIODP
We will close this discussion with a few'
thoughts concerning the comparative
\, s ‘. . . . . . . . .e : recentness of the glacial period as com"
have to sustain a weight of 4,00 --
pared with pre-glacial times. To the
geologist the glacial period was an event
of yesterday when compared with pre-
glacial times. Yet Geikie says the glacial
period began 200,000 years ago. + And
Wright thinks 100,000 years would in-
tions clothed with forests similar to our
own. None of, the Great ſakes, was in
existence except Superior. Lake Supe-
rior was then a large internal salt sea.
In these pre-glaciaſ times the present
sites of the other Great Lakes were re-
presented by wide open valleys, through
which pre-glacial streams had flown,
Gutting away , and eroding deep and
ſlasting channels. The ancient Valleys,
these old river beds and channels are to
become the beds of the present Great
Lakes. Coming along down the geologi-
cal ages to the Tertiary times, we find
vast herds of mastodons and mammoths
roaming through these ancient swamps
and forests, pursued by the paleolithic
man, armed with his rude flint imple-
ments... But notice! it begins to grow
cold ; the ice invader is coming It is
slowly creeping down upon Michigan.
clude the slow coming on of the glacial
period and its close. fi There is a cliffer-
ence of opinion among those most com-
petent to judge of the length of time
since the ice period. But the lowest
estimate that the writer can find is that
the ice period disappeared about 8,000
Others say the ice sheet
disappeared 100,000 years ago. This is
a problem which can be only approxi-
mately solved. Here we leave the
thought and pass to another.
No. 2. The effects of the glacial period
oupon Michigan.
We have aiready seen that an ice
sheet is the combined product of cold
and moisture. A simple lowering of
the temperature will not produce an ice
sheet. Before an area can maintain an
ice sheet, it must first get the clouds to
drop down a sufficient amount of snow
upon it. A climate which is cold and
| dry is not so favorable to the production
of an ice sheet as one which is temperate,
yet whose climatic conditions are such
that there will be a large snow-fall. The
circumstances, then, pre-eminently fa-
Voring the production of an ice sheet,
are abwndance of moisture in the atmos-
phere, and climatic conditions favoring
the precipitation of this moisture as
snow rather than as rain. In the case
of snow, the cold is locked up, as it
were, and falls to the earth.
But what about the effects of the ice
sheet upon Michigan? In this connection
we will only study the general effects of
the ice sheet upon this State. The special
effects of the ice sheet belong to and
will be fully discussed in Part IV.
The effects of the glacial period upon
this State completely changed pre-
glacial conditions. The topographical
and hydrographical features of the Low-
er Peninsula are largely due to the ice
sheet. ... Before we can fully appreciate
the effects of an ice sheet upon this
State, we should very briefly review
At the close of
the carboniferous age, all Michigan was
(lvy land, or, at least, a great Swamp or
marsh. Clotted here and there with eleva-
*Geikie's The Great Ice Age, pp. 37-38.
+Geikie's The Great Ice Age, p. 469.
++Wright's Man and the Glacial Period, p. 364.
Animals and plants flee southward.
| Where once stood the waving forest
upon whose foliage had browsed the
huge mastodon and mammoth, all now
is desolation. Forest and all is buried
! beneath a mile of snow and ice. The
whole lake regions are buried beneath
this mantle of ice. By the grinding and
eroding action of this ice invader, the
ancient river Valleys, beds and channels
are Widened and deepened. That these
Valleys which are to become the beds of
the Great Lakes were of considerable
pmagnitude in pre-glacial times is shown
hy the fact that, when the ice sheet did
come, they directed or deflected the
course of the ice flow, as the drift)ess
area in Northeastern Iowa shows. The
brocess of erosion went on; these ancient
river valleys were filled up at their
extremities by eroded materia). Now
comes the geological spring-time. The
Snow and ice begin to melt, vast floods
are the result, which completely filled
these old river valleys, transforming
them into bodies of water, which are tº
become, after many vicissitudes, Lakes
Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario.
The great shallowness of Lake Erie,
being only 70 feet deep, proves beyond
doubt that its bed was once a pre-glacial
river channel, principally formed by
river erosion. Lake Erie is nothing but
a "glacial mill-pond.” In Part IV we
Will show that the present condition of
the Great Lakes is due to the glacial
period : we will attempt to follow their
ever-changing vicissittides during the
continuance of the glacia) epoch up to
their present condition.
Another general effect of the ice age
upon Michigan was the production of
the drift. The ice sheet was the agent
which transported the rocks and boul-
tlers from northern regions to Lower
Michigan. Thanks be to the grinding,
crushing, pulverizing and trailsporting
bower of this ice sheet. The rich condi.
tion of Michigan's soil is due to the ice
sheet.
Those of my readers desiring to make
an exhaustive examination of glaciers,
glacial action and phenomena are in-
Vited to read the authorities cited be-
lo W. * -
*Second Annual Report, U. S. Geol. Survey, p. 188.
thrººm. Report, U. S. Geol. Survey, pp. 295-
l'ifth Ann. Report, U. S. Geol. Survey, 309-355.
Seventh Ann Report, U. S. Geol. Survey, 155–248,
Eighth Ann. Report, U. S. Geol. Survey, Part I,
)))), 321-371. -
Eighth Ann. Report, U. S. Geol. Survey, Part II,
|º]). 994–1034. - - -
I'leventh Ann, Report, U. S. Geo). Survey, Part
I, pp. 280–303; 567–577. * : x ~ .
lºighteenth Ann. Report, U.
- S. Gelo. Survey,
Part 11, pp. 355-409.
*E.
THE MICHIGAN MINER.
18
PART IV.
No. 1. Origin of the hills, gravel beds
and moraines -
We have already shown that, when
ice fields begin to melt, they flow out at
the base, and push along vast quantities
of stones, which, rubbing against each
other, produced the glacial markings
found upon them. This ice field is ever
flowing, but not advancing; hence the
stones by the continued friction of one
against the other, and being pushed
along by the mass behind, and when the
glacier or ice field ceases to flow, vast
amounts of gravel and larger Stones are
piled up and accumulate in vast beds.
Our gravel beds are therefore due to
glacial action.
There is a line in Ohio and Indiana
which marks the southern limit’of the
glacier or ice sheet which devastated
Michigan. This line is conspicuous by
the presence of a ridge of hills running
east and west. These hills were formed
here when the ice sheet could no longer
push along its vast burden of material,
hence dumped it in vast piles, forming
these hills. - -
Now, the trained eye of the geologist
will observe, more or less, the general |
eastern and western direction of Our
Michigan hills.
The origin of our Michigan hills is
clearly traced to glacial or ice action,
modified more or less by erosion.
The moraine consists of an extensive
belt of peculiarly-ridged drift, extend-
ing from the Atlantic Ocean in a sinuous
course across the Northern States to the
Dakotas, and thenee onward into the
British Possessions to an undetermined
distance.
The debris carried to the extremity of
a glacier or ice sheet, and deposited
about its foot, is a terminal moraine.
In Michigan the ice sheet seemed to
have resolved itself in ice lobes, taking
certain directions, hence the ever-
accumulating material would be cle-
posited in continuous ridges along the
margins of these lobes; therefore, we
have lateral moraines. The continuity of
these ridges or moraines is almost posi-
tive proof of ice action. These moraines
or ridges are found in Michigan extend-
ing in a northern and southern direction.
For an extended account of moraines
in Michigan, and in the United States
generally, the reader in referred to the
authority cited below.”
No. 2. Origin of our valleys, lakes and
rivers. -
Many of the valleys in Michigan repre-
sent the beds of ancient rivers. When
these Valleys are carefully examined,
many of them show beyond a doubt
that ancient rivers flowed through them.
*Third Annual Report, U. S. Geol. Survey, pp.
295-402.
How do we explain this fact?
Since these prehistoric rivers occupied
these valleys, they have been greatly
modified by glacial or ice action and by
erosion. In many of these valleys we
find river-terraces, water-worn pebbles
and other evidences which bespeak of
the time when these valleys were once
the beds of rivers.
The presence of small lakes in Michi-
gan is an evidence of the glacial period.
These small lakes had their origin in
about this way : While the hills were
being formed by glacial action, little
pockets were formed among them by
the irregular distribution of the drift.
The stones ever grinding against each
other produced clay, and this clay, act-
ing as cement at the bottom of these
pockets, made them water-tight. In
this way the small lakes of Michigan
were formed. Examine any lake and
you will find that its bottom is cemented
with clay. This deposit of clay pre-
Vents the water in these little lakes
from leaking out.
It is a noteworthy fact that in the
Southern States lakes are wanting—
that is, they are comparatively few.
It is ex-
plained by the fact that the ice fields
did not and could not reach so far
south. -
ORIGIN OF THE GIREAT LAKES.
The writer has offered a few sugges-
tions regarding the probable origin of
the small lakes everywhere to be found
in Michigan. But what about the Great
Lakes P. To successfully trace the ori-
gin and development of the Great Lakes
Those best qualified to determine the
origin of these Laurentian lakes, if such
a thing is possible, cannot agree in de-
tails. The majority hold that all these
Great Lakes, except Superior, came
4 & 24./2.0-6-4-0
º
2.
%
glacial.
| bed,
into existence in the latest of the geo-
logical periods, the pleistocene or
And there can be but little
question that these Great Lakes, except
the one mentioned, had their origin
from and can be traced to the effects of
the ice sheet. Going way back in pre-
glacial times, we have reasons to be-
lieve that the geological situation here
was about this. (See Fig. 4.) A great
sea, which we might call the Cambrian
Sea, occupied all the central portion of
North America, bounded on the west by
the Rocky Mountains, on the north by
the Laurentian Highlands, and on the
east by the Blue Ridge Mountains. If
mortal eye could have looked down
upon this vast Cambrian Sea, these
mountains would have appeared upon
the abysmal scene as enormously elon-
gated islands. Finally subsidence
ceased, and the land in the far north
began to rise or emerge from its watery
grave. It is worthy of notice that the
North American continent had its be-
ginning or nucleus in the far north, in
the Hudson Bay region, then tropical,
but, afterwards to become inhospital,
gradually expanded southward, area
joined to area as time moved on. As
this emergence-continued and the con-
tinent gradually arose from its watery
Lake Superior became isolated
from the sea, remaining for many ages
an internal salt sea, occupying one of
the earliest symclinals of the earth's
crust. As this ancient land continued
to rise, erosion began its effective work,
| cutting out deep and abiding channels,
e g | whi :e to become, after many ages
is a perplexing problem of geology. which are to become, after y ages,
the beds of Lakes Michigan, Huron,
Erie and Ontario.”
*The North American Continent During Cam-
brian Time. U, S. Geol. Surv. 12th Annual
Report, Part I, pp. 529-556.
&c. &


14
THE MICHIGAN MINER,
This ancient body of water which we
now call Lake Superior passed through
many vicissitudes during the glacial
period, which changes will be interest-
ing to follow. . . .**
The quaternary history of Lakes Mono,
Lahonton and Bonneville show beyond
the possibility of a doubt at least two
periods of great precipitation or humid-
ity on this continent. In these lakes
the water twice arose to great heights,
as evidenced by elevated terraces and
sea beaches. No doubt the rise and fall
of the water in these lakes is directly
associated with the history of the glacial
period. These elevåted sea terraces
point, unmistakably to interglacial
periods, periods in which there was an
amelioration of climatic conditions,
periods in which there was a rise in
temperature, permitting the melting
of vast amounts of snow and ice into
water, which augumented the volume
of those lakes vastly beyond their pres-
ent limits.”
The same agency which so vastly en-
larged the borders of those ancient
lakes was the same agency which so
vastly enlarged the present borders of
our present lakes. The former great-
ness of the laurentian lakes is shown
by eroded cliffs, elevated beach ridges,
deltas and lacustrine sediments, abun-
dantly observed in Northern Miohigan,
in Canada and elsewhere. We find
many water-worn valleys, which were
once outlets for these Laurentian lakes,
but long since abandoned. In the
latest of the pre-glacial times we have
reasons for believing the situation re-
garding the Great Lakes was about
as shown in Fig. 5. As near as the
writer can ascertain from a careful ex-
amination of all the authorities at hand
and from a reasonable view of the case,
the condition of the Great Lakes, just at
the close of pre-glacial times, was this :
Lake Superior had an outlet toward the
east by the way of Georgian Bay and
another through Lake Michigan and
the Illinois River to the Mississippi.
Lake Michigan poured its waters into
the Mississippi; the waters of Lake Hu-
ron flowed northward, thence north-
eastward into Georgian Bay, thence
down an ancient river valley into Lake
Ontario near the city of Toronto. Loke
Erie butflowed through the Valley of
Grand River in Canada into the western
end of Lake Ontario : from Ontario the
waters passed down the Valley of the
Mohawk to the Hudson. *
Now, a great change in the drainage
system of the Great Lakes takes place.
The glacial period is upon us; the entire
lake system is buried beneath a mile of
ice or more.
of the ice sheet the drainage of these
During the continuation
Laurentian lakes passed through many
changes, one of which is shown in Fig.
6. Lake Superior had an outlet at its
western end through the St. Croix
River into the Mississippi. Lake Michi-
gam, as before, outflowed to the South
through the Illinois River into the
Mississippi. Lake Erie at first outflowed
through the Wabash Valley to the
Mississippi, but later, finding a lower
outlet to the north into Lake Huron,
thence down what is now Saginaw Bay
through the Grand River Valley into
Lake Michigan. Lake Ontario, or rather
its glacial forerunner, named by Prof. J.
W. Spencer Iroquois, becoming, by the
retreat of the ice sheet isolated from the
other lakes, extended far to the north
and northeast of its present limits, and
poured its waters into the Hudson, at
first through the Mohawk Valley, and
afterward by way of Lake Champlain,
when the continuing glacial recession
uncovered the country to the north of
the Adirondacks and along the great
Minnesota.
3/...at ‘ſºn. 5.
valley where it now overflows by the
St. Lawrence.” In glacial times there
was a vast glacial lake, 700 miles long,
250 miles broad and 70 feet deep once
occupying the territory of Manitoba,
certain portions of the Dakotas and
It is supposed, on very
good authority, that this great glacial
lake had an outlet to the east and south,
passing along the margin of the reced-
ing ice sheet into Lake Superior, thence
through the St. Croix River into the Mis-
sissippi.f. By an examination of Fig. 6,
it is easily seen that the Mississippi in
ancient times must have been a mighty
river. No wonder that this river in
ancient times eroded such a vast chan-
nel below Cairo southward for 500
miles, a channel 200 or 300 feet deep
and an average width of 60 miles.
During the closing scenes of the glacial
period there was a subsidence of the
*U. S. Geol. Surv. Monographs, Vols. I and XI,
U. S. Geol. Surv. Eighth Ann, Report, Part I,
pp. 269-394.
*U. S. Geol, Survey, Monograph XXV, p. 203.
+U. S. Geol. Survey, Monograph XX V, pp. 217-
232.


land in the northeastern regions. This
was the Champlain epoch, in which the
sea came in and again covered the
whole region in and about Eastern
Canada. The drainage system of the
Great Lakes was turned northward.
Once more they were all united into one
vast lake which outflowed through
North Bay, Lake Nipissing and the Ot-
tawa River Valley into the Champlain
Sea. (See Fig. 7.) When again these
lands in the north and northeast were
raised from beneath the Sea, the lakes
became separated and finally assumed
the positions in which we now find
them. -
For an exhaustive examination. of
the origin and development of the
Great Lakes, setting forth all the theo-
ries, the reader is advised to consult the
authorities cited below.”
THE ORIGIN OF OUR RIVERS.
The rivers had their origin in the
drainage system of Michigan ; however,
greatly modified and in some cases com-
pletely changed by the ice sheet. Their
courses have been changed ; they have
eroded new beds. Many of their ancient
channels are now buried many feet be-
neath glacial deposits. At Chicago We
find the ancient bed of the river which
was an outlet to the South for Lake
Michigan; in Southern Michigan we find
the bed of an ancient river which was
the continuation of Saginaw Bay to the
*Wright's The Ice Age in North America, pp.
275–
Taylor's A short History of the Great Lakes.
A most excellent work.
Alm, łº Sci, (3), Vol. XL, plp. 443-451.
0.
Am Jour. Sci, (3), Vol. XLIX, pp. 1-18. Jam.,
1895
Proc. A m, As. Adv. Sci., Vol. XXXVII, for 1888,
pp. 197-199. -
Trans. Royal Society of Canada, Vol, VII, Sec.
4, 1899, pp. 121 134.
The Forum, Vol. V, pp, 417-428, June, 1888.
Ann, Report, Smithsonian Int., 1890.
Spencey's History of the Great Lakes. A clas-
sic exposition of the Origin and develop-
ment of the Great Lakes, although the
author differs in some minor details from
other authorities cited.
l)eC.,
Yº. 7 - ºf ºt. “iſ.ca/
a
ſº ºccs
Southwest diagonally across the State
to Lake Michigan. The ancient out-
let of Lake Ontario—the Mohawk River
—is now found buried many feet be-
neath glacial debris. .
,”
PART V.
No. 1. Companion of the paleolithic
man in Michigan.
On the continent the paleolithic man
has seen the mammoth, mastodon, cave-
hyena, wooley-rhinoceros and cave-bear:
he has seen these flourishing in Siberia ;
he has pushed his foot-steps to the very
north pole of the earth ; he has peopled
all the tropics, penetrated the extremities
of both continents and all the archipe-
lagogs. -
In paleolithic times, the highlands,
the great forests, the great Swamps and
the drainage systems were in exist-
ence.* At this time many portions of
Lower Michigan were great swamp. ;
swamp plants thrived in great profu-
sion. Vast herds of mammoths, masto-
dons and elephants prowled through
these ancient forests and swamps, feed-
ing upon the foliage thereof. Many of
these huge animals mired in these
ancient swamps and there perished,
leaving their skeletons on the spot. We
find their bones in various portions
of Michigan. The mammoth was twice
the weight of the modern elephant and
one-third taller. The mastodon was
the largest of the animals, 12 or 13 feet
high and 24 or 25 feet long. The
elephant was here in those days. Such
were some of the companions of the
paleolithic man in Michigan. With these
gigantic animals the paleolithic man,
with his rude implements of stone, con-
tended for supremacy. These animals
not only roamed over Michigan, but far
to the north, possibly to the north pole
*Geikie's The Great Ice Age, p. 425.
|itself. A well-preserved carcass of a
mammoth was found in the frozen soil
of Alaska. . .
| No. 2. The paleolithic man in Michigan.
The writer is not aware that any
positive evidence of the presence of the
paleolithic man in Michigan has yet
been found; but we are certain that he
| lived here in ancient times along with
the mastodon, mammoth and elephant.
The writer can aot ascertain that any
paleolithic implements have been found
in Michigan ; but they should be found
here provided these implements have
not been too deeply buried beneath gla-
cial deposits. These implements are
always found buried beneath the sur-
face, in Some gravel bed or terrace.
These paleolithic implements, evidences
of the presence of the paleolithic man,
have been found all about us; they have
been found in New Jersey, Delaware,
Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota, etc. We do
know that the remains of the mastodon,
mammoth and elephant have been dis-
covered in Michigan ; we do know that
these animals were contemporaneous
with the paleolithic man; therefore, it is
more than probable that this ancient
man lived in Michigan although we have
not yet found his implements. Before
the ice age drove him away, his home
was in the far north, then tropical ; but
as the ice age set in, he and the mighty
monarchs of the forest were driven
southward, to the land now known as
Michigan. As the ice sheet encroached
more and more upon his habitations, he
was further driven to the south, to Ohio,
Indiana, etc. This paleolithic man, in
tertiary times, saw the land about the
north pole, now buried beneath miles of
solid ice. This palēolithic man who we
believe lived in Michigan was short
in stature, yet very powerful. He
was brave and fierce, because he daily
encountered the mastodon, mammoth
and other fierce and mighty º
of the forest. Cunning was this man,
because he had to live by his wits; to
kill and eat his foes if he would not be
killed and eaten by them. No doubt he
lived without clothing of any kind
until the coming ice age forced him to
clothe himself in the skins of the animals
he had slain. He lived in caves if he
could find them. This man had a very
simple and primitive religion ; there is
some evidence that he believed in a fu-
ture life. He was very inferior in intel-
ligence as his weapons show. Such was
the earliest man in Michigan.
(Concluded.)
Concord, Michigan, March, 1900.



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