VOYAGE FROM THE SAUT DE ST. MARIE TO GREEN BAY, &c.
The next day was occupied in the disembarcation of a second[5]
detachment of the troops, at the garrison of the Saut, and in the
transaction of other business appertaining to the vessel; while a
small party went up to take a peep at the opening bosom of Lake
Superior, a few miles above; and another was entertained at dinner
in the hospitable mansion, which made the _home_ of the young lady
above-mentioned. To sit down at a table, spread with furniture, and
burdened with viands and wines, not unbefitting the metropolis of a
civilized community, with a pure Indian woman, acting as mistress of
ceremonies, who did not venture to speak a word of the vernacular
tongue of her guests, that office being supplied by her son-in-law, at
the other end, and by her children around her:--and the scene laid
in that remote region--was an interesting occasion, as may well be
supposed. The dinner was necessarily early and hasty, as the vessel was
to leave in the afternoon to retrace her path, as far as the northern
border of Huron, to clear the islands, if possible, before night,
on her way to Mackinaw;--which was accomplished, with no remarkable
incident, except, that, while passing rapidly down a current, in the
midst of a granite region, and under the full power of steam, the
packet rubbed fearfully on the point of a rock. If the vessel had
drawn six inches more, she must inevitably have been stove and lost,
though not probably with the peril of life, as the shore was within the
toss of a stone, and the packet furnished with boats. But it would at
least have been unpleasant for such a host of passengers to be left,
shipwrecked, in such a wild region.
It was on the passage from the _Saut_ to Mackinaw, that the question of
the _thirty-two thousand_ islands, on the northern and eastern margin
of Lake Huron, was agitated. It was stated by one of the passengers,
that Mr. ----, who ought to know, had affirmed it. Indeed several
witnesses testified to the fact. And if so, incredible as it might
seem, the reputation of that gentleman for accurate knowledge, and his
opportunities of information, were entitled to settle the question.
I, however, observed, that, in my own opinion, thirty-two _hundred_
was quite enough; and that there must be a mistake. Indeed I observed,
that I could hardly believe there were _thirty-two thousand_ islands,
in all the waters of the continent of America. From an independent and
unquestionable source of evidence, however, I was afterwards obliged
to admit the fact. The record, as was affirmed, was attested from the
surveys, made by the joint Board of Commissioners of Great Britain
and the United States, appointed to settle the boundary line of their
contiguous jurisdictions.[6] And the region, through which the common
charts have drawn the channel of St. Mary’s river, forms a portion of
these islands--reducing that strait to twenty-five miles in length--ten
miles below and fifteen miles above the rapids, or falls. The falls, it
may be observed, are run with safety by canoes, and have been run by a
small vessel.
The St. Mary’s river forms three channels a little below the falls,
and consequently two considerable islands, besides many smaller ones,
for the distance of fifteen to twenty miles;--and thence to Lake
Huron, especially towards the east, are parts of the immense group. It
is impossible for any thing, but actual observation, to estimate the
unnumbered beauties, created by these sports of nature. I regretted
exceedingly not to have been indulged with a stay at the Saut, long
enough to have made an excursion by a canoe into Lake Superior. Some
half dozen of our passengers, by a bold and determined push, and at the
hazard of being left behind, ran up and cast a _coup d’œil_ upon the
face of those interesting waters. They saw the Queen of Lakes, which,
indeed, was worth the effort. The rest of us contented ourselves with
proving, that the Lake commences at the head of the rapids, and having
been there, that we saw it too.
At break of day, on Sunday morning, the 8th of August, after sailing
all night upon the bosom of Lake Huron, and from the entrance of the
straits of St. Mary, the island of Mackinaw, the snow-white fort
upon its rocky summit, and the beautiful town below, adorned with a
Christian church, lifting up its steeple, opened upon us with a fine
and most welcome display;--and at sunrise we lay still in the clear
waters of its crescent harbour, directly under the guns of the fort.
If Quebec is the Gibraltar of North America, Mackinaw is only second
in its physical character, and in its susceptibilities of improvement,
as a military post. It is also a most important position for the
facilities it affords, in the fur-trade, between New York and the
North-West. From this point, the bateaux of the traders, boats of
fifteen tons, go annually in the autumn to the most distant shores
of Lake Superior, in one direction; and to the upper regions of the
Mississippi in another, laden with provisions, blankets and ammunition,
and other articles of merchandize, to give the Indians in exchange
for furs;--and return to Mackinaw in the spring, where these furs are
shipped for New York, by way of Buffalo. Mackinaw is used merely, as
a frontier garrison, and a trading post; and has a population of 600
to 700. It is a beautiful island, or great rock, planted in the strait
of the same name, which forms the connexion between Lakes Huron and
Michigan. The meaning of the Indian name--Michillimackinack--is a
_great turtle_. The island is crowned with a cap 300 feet above the
surrounding waters, on the top of which is a fortification, but not in
keeping. The principal fort, and the one kept in order and garrisoned,
rests upon the brow of the rocky summit, 150 feet below the crown, or
cap, and the same number of feet above the water; and in such relation
to the semicircular harbour, as to command it perfectly, together
with the opposite strait. The harbour forms an exact crescent, the
tips of its horns being about one mile asunder. The town itself, for
the most part, lies immediately on the crescent, near the water’s
edge, and under the towering rock, which sustains the fort above. The
harbour, town, and fort look with open and cheerful aspect towards
the Huron waters, south-east, inviting or frowning, according as they
are approached by friend or foe. The island of Mackinaw is nearly
all covered with forests of slender growth. The shores and beach are
composed of small pebbles and gravel, without a single particle of
pulverized substance to cloud the transparent waters, which dash upon
them. So clear are the waters of these Lakes, that a white napkin, tied
to a lead, and sunk thirty fathoms beneath a smooth surface, may be
seen as distinctly, as when immersed three feet. The fish may be seen,
playing in the waters, over the sides of the various craft, lying in
the harbours.
There are two objects of natural curiosity at Mackinaw, worthy of
notice: _the arched rock and sugar-loaf_. The latter is a cone of solid
rock (and when seen from one direction, it has the exact form of the
loaf, after which it is named) lifting itself about 100 feet above
the plain, in the heart, and on the summit of the island, with a base
of fifty feet. Some trees and shrubbery shoot out from its sides and
crevices, in defiance of the lack of soil.
As to the _arched rock_: suppose a perpendicular shore of rock, 250
feet high, on the margin of the sea--from the brow of which, in
retreat, lies a romantic broken ground, and an almost impervious
thicket. Then suppose a notch were scolloped out of the edge, extending
back about thirty feet, and down the precipice about one hundred,
measuring across the supposed broken edge, fifty feet. Suppose,
however, a string of the rocky edge, three feet in diameter, still to
remain, stretching across this chasm, in the form of an arch, smallest
in the centre, and increasing somewhat in its dimensions towards either
of its natural abutments:--and this is the picture of the _Arched Rock_
of Mackinaw. From the giddy summit above, the spectator looks down
upon the Lake beneath the arch, which has the appearance of an immense
gate-way, erected from the delineations of art. Or, from the bosom of
the waters below, he looks up, as to the gate of heaven, inviting him
to the celestial regions; and it is even possible for him to _get
up_;--and then to get down again, beneath the arch;--but it is a giddy
task. And it is a still more perilous piece of sport to walk across the
arch itself--and yet it has been done, not only by men of nerve, but
by boys in their play. In descending near the base of this arch on the
right, is a natural tunnel, six feet in diameter, running down some
rods through the solid rock, letting out the passengers on the shore
below, or by which they may ascend, if they prefer it, to the broad
highway under the arch. But in ascending or descending this grand and
perilous steep, the adventurer must hug the pointed rocks with the most
tenacious adherence, or be precipitated and dashed in pieces at the
bottom. These two objects are interesting and magnificent specimens of
nature’s masonry.
From Mackinaw to the mouth of Fox river, in the North-West Territory,
the place of destination--and which is commonly called _Green Bay_,
after the body of water, at the head of which it stands--our course was
south-west, across Lake Michigan, and up the Bay--the whole distance
being about 200 miles. We cast anchor in Fox river, opposite the
village, or settlement of Green Bay, on the morning of the 10th of
August.