Lake Superior, July 5, 1831.
It was my intention to have had a letter for you in readiness to send
by Mr. Aikin, but we met him sooner than we expected, and I was
obliged to postpone the fulfilment of my promise until the Indian boys
returned.
In my letter to Mrs. S., I conducted her as far as Lake Leelinau.
Supposing that an account of our further progress would be as
acceptable as any thing I can write, I will give you an invitation to
a seat in our canoe, as we depart for the Pictured Rocks. These you
have often heard described, and nothing can be added by my poor pen to
what has already been said about them. They were all, and more than an
excited imagination had conceived them to be. As we approach them the
mind is struck with awe at their lofty battlements, and in comparison
the most stupendous of the works of art sink into insignificance. Near
their commencement a beautiful cascade comes tumbling down the rocks,
and finally makes a leap of about thirty feet into the waters below.
Passing on from this, we soon come to a most singular arrangement of
rocks and arches, and the first thought that strikes the mind is, to
ascend and give them an examination. It is the work but of a moment,
for the eye is unsatisfied until it has drunk in all the wonders
before it. Our first resting place was under the main arch, from which
we had a bird's-eye view of the world of woods, and waters, and rocks,
by which we were surrounded. While here, Mr. Clary with his barge came
along, and jumping upon the rocks, he soon made one of our party, when
we commenced a minute examination of the celebrated Doric Rock. The
principal arch, under which we were, is about twenty feet in height;
and while standing under its crumbling walls, our sensations were not
lessened by the idea that in an instant it might be said of us, _we
had been_. At our left, and in the centre of one of the large pillars
another arch is formed,--upon entering this we still find one more at
our right, and which commands a view of the lake. Between the two
stands a pillar of stone, near four feet in height, entirely detached
at the sides, and composed of thin plates of sand rock. As we go out
from these, for the purpose of ascending the roof, a large urn of
nature's own design and workmanship, appears before us. It might be a
fit depository for the ashes of some of those mighty men, who before
the children "with a white, white face," overran their country, strode
through these forests, or in their light canoes bounded over these
vast waters--but alas, their graves and those of their fathers are
mingling with the common dust! Near this urn are the remains of an
Indian's fire, which he had lighted at the close of his fast, when
propitiating his Manito--a place well calculated to foster the
wildness of superstition, and which to a mind more enlightened than
that of the poor wanderer of the wilderness, would not be deficient in
suggestions of mystery. Who can wonder that the untaught natives of a
region like this, should make to themselves a Deity in the rushing
stream or the beetling cliff? They act from the impulse of nature, and
well will it be for those who enjoy every advantage that civilization
and Christianity can bestow, if when weighed in the balance, even with
the pagan Indian, they are not found wanting. We were soon at the top
of the Doric Rock, and from its dizzy height the prospect was such as
to preclude all attempt at delineation, at least by language. Your
brother expressed his emotion as well as it was in the power of any
mortal to do. Clapping his hands together, and putting a peculiar
emphasis upon the last syllable, he exclaimed "Oh! _Oh!_" Nothing more
could be said. But while enjoying the grandeur of the scene, I wished
that M. was at my side, for my pleasure would have been increased
tenfold by sharing it with her. The summit of the arch is itself a
curiosity. It does not appear to be more than three feet in thickness,
and yet it supports and nourishes several lofty pine trees, whose
weight alone I should think would crush it to atoms. The root of one
of them winds around the outer edge of the rock, as if to support the
source of its existence. But we had not long to indulge our
admiration, for our table was spread under the shade of one of these
immense rocks, and all the sublimity around us could not satisfy the
imperious demands of appetite; so after regaling ourselves on some of
the dainties furnished by our excellent friends at the Sault, we
departed to behold new wonders, and utter repeated exclamations of
_Oh! Oh!_ Turning a point of the rocks, {170} we came in view of those
natural excavations that have excited so much astonishment. It was our
intention to pass through one of them, but the entrance was blocked up
by the falling of an arch, the ruins of which were scattered around.
We were obliged to content ourselves with an outside view; but this
surpassed every thing of the kind I had before seen. We were in a bay
formed by a semi-circle in the rocks. Above us the cliff, at the
height of upwards of a hundred feet, projected far beyond our canoes,
and formed a canopy of the most terrific description. We could not
behold it without a shudder of awe. Upon leaving it we discharged our
gun, and the reverberations were almost deafening. The sound rolled
through these vast ramparts, and seemed to shake them to their
foundations. It was like the groaning of an imprisoned spirit in its
struggle to be free. At every stage of our progress we had new cause
for amazement; and when we left them it was with the impression that
we "ne'er should look upon their like again." Our encampment was at
Grand Island. The next day we reached the _Riviere des Moines_,--here
we pitched our tents, and immediately commenced a search for some of
the precious minerals. The locality proved so interesting that it was
determined we should devote a day or two to its examination. For the
first time we were compelled to resort to our musquito bars, and it
afforded me infinite amusement upon waking in the morning, to see
about fifty of these insects puzzling their brains to discover the
meaning of certain initials that seemed to attract their attention.
This day we removed our encampment four miles. In so doing we passed a
rocky mountain, that filled us instantly with a desire to ascend to
its summit. This was resolved on, and at five in the afternoon we
procured an Indian guide, and were soon clinging to the roots and
branches that overhung its precipitous sides, as we scrambled up the
ascent. We were amply repaid for our fatigue, by the prospect from its
peak. Immediately before us was a beautiful bay, studded with numerous
islands, some of which were crowned with verdure, while others were
immense masses of rock. The bay was formed by the projections of
Granite Point and Presque Isle, both of which terminated in circular
mountainous elevations that were connected to the main land, but by
very narrow isthmuses. At the distance of fifty miles were seen Grand
Island and the Pictured Rocks. To the north-west are seen seven large
bays, and Point Kewena, from which we are 65 miles distant. In the
back ground, mountain rises on mountain, as far as the eye can reach.
Here and there, to add variety to the scene, a lofty peak of massy,
naked granite, rears its head high above its less aspiring neighbors;
and to soften the asperity of the view, there are two beautiful open
spots of level green, that might be taken for fairy playgrounds--so
secluded, and so environed, that even the spirits of the air in them
could find a resting place. And think you not when my eyes were gazing
at the splendor of this scene, glowing as it was in the last rays of a
glorious sun-set, that my mind wandered to the Being who is the author
of these creations?
When we have occasionally met the traders, as they were returning from
their year's residence among the Indians, I have asked myself what
mysterious excitement there could be in the spirit of gain, that will
cause men to separate themselves from society, and voluntarily
renounce those privileges incident to an intercourse with the world?
But as I pass along my wonder ceases. There is such an union of beauty
and grandeur in all the works of nature throughout this region, that
it is impossible to be acquainted with them, and not wish to pass a
life in their admiration. Following the impulse of my present
feelings, I could joyfully make my home among these hills and valleys,
and I should want no other. 'Tis true, the busy hum of men would not
reach such a wild retreat, neither would their faithlessness and cold
deceit.
And now, let me tell you how I have written this letter. We are
waiting, at the Kewena Bay, for the arrival of some Indians to
transport part of our baggage to the Ontonagon. Mr. S., and Mr.
Houghton, with Lt. Clary, are by this time over the traverse. It was
uncertain how soon we might be able to embark, but I resolved to
devote what time I had to you. Accordingly at 5 o'clock this morning,
I turned a chest upside down for a desk, planted myself against the
tent-pole, and with the stump of a pen commenced operations. But alas!
the sand flies and musquitoes made such a desperate onset that I was
obliged to haul down my colors, and ingloriously fly for my life. I
then waited until after breakfast, and commenced again with no better
success. I then resorted to the open air; and placing my paper on a
small bank, and standing on the stones below, with the sun at 90,
pouring its rays upon my head, while with one hand and sometimes two,
I battled insects of divers descriptions, at last have made _black
marks_, over the greater part of this sheet. Should you in decyphering
these hieroglyphics, come to any place where the subject was suddenly
dropped and another commenced, without any apology, attribute it to a
huge horse-fly, which lighting on my nasal protuberance, caused me to
drop my pen, and with it my ideas. But here come a dozen of them, so
good bye till you hear from me again.