Proceed along the southern coast of Lake Superior from the Ontonagon,
to Fond du Lac--Porcupine range of mountains--Streams that run
from it, at parallel distances, into the lake--La Pointe--Group of
the Federation Islands--River St. Louis--Physical geography of
Lake Superior.
Head winds detained the expedition at the mouth of the Ontonagon, during
the day and the day following that of our arrival from the copper rock.
It was the first of July, at half-past four o'clock, A. M., when the
state of the lake permitted us to embark. Steering west, we now had the
prominent object of the Porcupine Mountains constantly in view. At the
distance of fifteen miles, we passed the Pewabik Seebe, or Iron River.
This stream, after ascending it a couple of miles, is a mere torrent,
pouring from the Porcupine Mountains, over a very rough bed of
grauwakke, which forbids all navigation. At the computed distance of
five leagues beyond this stream, we passed the river called Pusábika, or
Dented River, so called from standing rocks, which resemble broken human
teeth. The Canadians, who, as previously remarked, appear to have had
but a limited geographical vocabulary, called this Carp River,
neglectful of the fact that they had already bestowed the name on a
small river which flows into the bay south of Granite Point.[55] We were
now at the foot of the Kaug range, which is one vast upheaval of
trap-rock, and has lifted the chocolate-colored sandstone, at its base,
into a vertical position. The Pusábika River originates in this high
trap range, from which it is precipitated, at successive leaps, to the
level of the lake, the nearest of which, a cascade of forty feet, is
within three miles of the river's mouth.
[55] Now the seat of the Marquette Iron Works.
Six miles further brought us to the Presque Isle River of the Canadians,
for which I heard no Indian name. It also originates on this lofty trap
range, and has worn its bed through frightful chasms in the grauwackke,
through which it enters the lake. Within half a mile of its entrance,
the river, hastening from its elevations, drops into a vast cauldron
scooped in the grauwackke rock, whence it glides into the lake. Here are
some picturesque and sublime views, worthy the pencil.
Two leagues beyond this river we reached and passed the entrance of
Black River, another of the streams from the Kaug range. It is stated to
be rapid, and to have its source south of the mountains, in a district
sheltered from the lake winds, and suited to agriculture. Its borders
bear at the same time indications of mineral wealth. Eight miles beyond
this river, we encamped on the open shores of the lake, after travelling
fifty miles. Having been doubled up in the canoe for all this distance,
landing on terra firma, and being able to stretch one's legs, seemed
quite a relief. "I will break a lance with you," quoth A to B,
addressing Mr. Trowbridge, offering him at the same time a dried stalk,
which had been cast up by the waves. We were, in fact, as much pleased
to get ashore, after the day's confinement, as so many boys let loose
from confinement in school. In strolling along the shore, I recognized
the erismatolite, in the dark upheaved sandstone at this locality.
We here observed a phenomenon, which is alluded to by Charlevoix as
peculiar to this lake. Although it was calm, and had been so all day,
save a light breeze for a couple of hours after leaving the Ontonagon,
the waters near shore were in a perfect rage, heaving and lashing upon
the rocks, in a manner which rendered it difficult to land. At the same
time, scarce a breath of air was stirring, and the atmosphere was
beautifully serene.
On passing thirteen miles, the next morning, we reached the mouth of the
Montreal River, which is the last of the mountain streams of the Kaug
range. It throws itself from a high precipice of the vertical sand-rock,
within sight of the lake, creating quite a picturesque view.[56] (Vide
_Information respecting the History, Customs, and Prospects of Indian
Tribes_, vol. iv. plate 26.)
[56] This river has subsequently been fixed on as the northwestern
boundary of the state of Michigan, separating it from Wisconsin.
On landing here a few moments, at an early hour, the air being hazy, we
knocked down some pigeons, which flew very low.[57] This bird seems to
be precisely the common pigeon of the Atlantic borders. The Indians had
constructed a fish-weir between the lake and Montreal falls, where the
lake sturgeon are caught.
[57] BIRDS OF LAKE SUPERIOR.--Of the species that frequent the
vicinity of this lake, the magpie is found to approach as far north
as Lac du Flambeau, on the head of the Montreal and Chippewa Rivers.
This bird is called by the Chippewas Wabish Kagagee, a name derived
from _Wabishkau_, white animate, and _Kaw-gaw-gee_, a crow. The
three-toed woodpecker visits its forests. The T. polyglottis has been
seen as far north as the Island of Michilimackinac. In the spring of
1823, a species of grosbeak visited St. Mary's, of which I
transmitted a specimen to the New York Lyceum of Natural History,
where it received the name of Evening Grosbeak.
After passing about a league beyond the Montreal, the voyager reaches a
curve in the lake shore, at which it bends to the north and northwest.
This curve is observed to extend to the De Tour of the great bay of Fond
du Lac, a computed distance of the _voyageurs_ of thirty-six miles,
which, as before indicated, is about one-third overrated. The immediate
shore is a level plain of sand, which continues to Point Chegoimegon,
say eighteen miles. About two-thirds of this distance, the Muskeego[58]
River enters through the sandy plain from the west. This is a large
stream, consisting of two primary forks, one of which connects it with
Chippewa River, and the other with the River St. Croix of the
Mississippi. The difficulties attending its ascent, from rapids and
portages, have led the French to call it Mauvaise, or Bad River.[59]
[58] From _Muskeeg_, a swamp or bog, and o, the sign of the genitive.
[59] MUSKEEGO, or MAUVAIS RIVER.--In 1831, the United States
government placed under my charge an expedition into the Indian
country which ascended this river, with a view to penetrate through
the intervening region to the Mississippi. Indian canoes were
employed, as being best adapted to its rapids and portages, which
were managed by _voyageurs_. A detachment of infantry, under Lieut.
R. Clary, was added. The tribes in this secluded region were then
meditating the outbreak which eventuated the next year in the Black
Hawk War. This expedition ascended the river through a most
embarrassing series of rapids and rafts, which often choked up its
channel for miles, into a long lake, on its summit, called
Kagenogumaug. From the northwest end of this, it passed, from lake to
lake, to the Namakagun fork of the River St. Croix of the Mississippi,
descended that stream to Yellow River, then retraced the Namakagun to
a portage to Ottowa Lake, a source of Chippewa River, then to a
portage into Lac Chetac, the source of the Red Cedar, or Follavoine
River, and pursued the latter to the main channel of the Chippewa,
and by the latter into the Mississippi, which it enters at the foot
of Lake Pepin; thence down the Mississippi to Prairie du Chien, and
through the present area of the State of Wisconsin, by the Wisconsin
and Fox Rivers, to Green Bay; thence through Lakes Michigan and Huron
to Sault de Ste Marie.
Passing this river, we continued along the sandy formation to its
extreme termination, which separates the Bay of St. Charles by a strait
from that remarkable group of islands, called the Twelve Apostles by
Carwer. It is this sandy point, which is called La Pointe
Chagoimegon[60] by the old French authors, a term now shortened to La
Pointe. Instead of "twelve," there are, however, nearer thirty islands,
agreeably to the subjoined sketch, by which it is seen that each State
in the Union may stand sponsor for one of them, and they might be more
appropriately called the _Federation Group_. Touching at the inner or
largest of the group, we found it occupied by a Chippewa village, under
a chief called Bezhike. There was a tenement occupied by a Mr. M.
Cadotte, who has allied himself to the Chippewas. Hence we proceeded
about eleven miles to the main shore, where we encamped at a rather late
hour. I here found a recurrence of the granitic, sienitic, and
hornblende rocks, in high orbicular hills, and improved the brief time
of daylight to explore the vicinity. The evening proved lowering and
dark, and this eventuated in rain, which continued all night, and until
six o'clock the next morning. Embarking at this hour, we proceeded
northwest about eight miles, to Raspberry River, and southwest to Sandy
River. Here we were driven ashore by a threatening tempest, and before
we had unladen the canoes, there fell one of the most copious and heavy
showers of rain. The water seemed fairly to pour from the clouds. We had
not pitched a tent, nor could the slightest shelter be found. There
seemed but one option at our command, namely, that between sitting and
standing. We chose the latter, and looked at each other, it may be,
foolishly, while this rain tempest poured. When it was over, we were as
completely wetted as if it had been our doom to lay at the bottom of the
lake. When the rain ceased, the wind rose directly ahead, which confined
us to that spot the rest of the day. The next day was the Fourth of
July--a day consecrated in our remembrance, but which we could do no
more than remember. The wind continued to blow adversely till about two
o'clock, when we embarked, not without feeling the lake still laboring
under the agitation into which it had been thrown. On travelling three
miles, we turned the prominent point, called De Tour of Fond du Lac. At
this point our course changed from northwest to south-southwest.
[60] From _Shaugwamegun_, low lands, and _ing_, a place.
The sandstone formation here showed itself for the last time. The shore
soon assumes a diluvial character, bordered with long lines of yellow
sand and pebbles. In some places, heavy beds of pure iron sand were
observed. The agitation which marked the lake soon subsided, under the
change of wind, and our men seemed determined, by the diligence with
which they worked, to make amends for our delay at Sandy River.
At eight o'clock in the evening we came to Cranberry River and encamped,
having, by their estimation, come twenty-three miles. The evening was
perfectly clear and calm, with a striking twilight, which was remarked
all night. These lengthened twilights form a very observable feature as
we proceed north. Mackenzie says that, in lat. 67° 47´, on the 11th of
July, 1789, he saw the sun above the horizon at twelve o'clock P.M.
The calmness and beauty of the night, and our chief's anxiety to press
forward, made this a short night. Gen. Cass aroused the camp at a very
early hour, so that at three o'clock we were again upon the lake, urging
our way up the Fond du Lac Bay. The sun rose above the horizon at ten
minutes before four o'clock. The morning was clear and brilliant. Not a
cloud obscured the sky, and the waves of the lake spread out with the
brightness of a mirror. At the distance of five leagues, we passed the
mouth of the Wisakoda, or Broule River,[61] a stream which forms the
connecting link with the Mississippi River, through the St. Croix. Three
miles beyond this point we landed a short time, on the shore, where we
observed a stratum of iron sand, pure and black, a foot in thickness.
[61] WISACODA, or BROULE RIVER.--On returning down the Mississippi
River, from the exploration of its sources, in 1832, I ascended the
River St. Croix quite to its source in St. Croix Lake. A short
portage, across a sandy summit, terminated at the head springs of the
Wisacoda, which, from a very narrow and tortuous channel, is soon
increased in volume by tributaries, and becomes a copious stream.
Thus swelled in volume, it is dashed down an inclined plane, for
nearly seventy miles, over which it roars and foams with the
impetuosity of a torrent. It is not till within a few miles of Lake
Superior that it becomes still and deep. The entire length of the
river may be estimated at one hundred miles. It has two hundred and
forty distinct rapids, at some of which the river sinks its level
from eight to ten feet. It cannot fall, in this distance, less than
500. That it should ever have been used in the fur trade, is to be
explained by the fact that it has much water.
At eleven o'clock, a northeast wind arose, which enabled the expedition
to hoist sail. Land on the north shore had for some time been in sight,
across the bay, and the line of coast soon closed in front, denoting
that we had reached the head of the lake. At twelve o'clock, we entered
the month of the River St. Louis, having been eighteen days in passing
this lake, including the trip to the Ontonagon.
Before quitting Lake Superior, whose entire length we have now
traversed, one or two generic remarks may be made; and the first
respects its aboriginal name. The Algonquins, who, in the Chippewa
tribe, were found in possession of it, on the arrival of the French,
early in the seventeenth century, applied the same radical word to it
which they bestow on the sea, namely, Gum-ee (Collected water), or, as
it is sometimes pronounced, Gom-ee, or Go-ma; with this difference, that
the adjective big (gitchè) prefixed to this term for Lake Superior, is
repeated when it is applied to the sea. The superlative is formed when
it is meant to be very emphatic, in this language, by the repetition of
the adjective; a principle, indeed, quite common to the Indian grammars
generally. The word did not commend itself to French or English ears, so
much as to lead to its adoption. By taking the syllable Al from
Algonquin, as a prefix, instead of gitchè, we have the more poetic
combination of Algoma.
Geographers have estimated the depth of this lake at nine hundred feet.
By the surveys of the engineers of the New York and Erie Canal, the
surface of Lake Erie is shown to be five hundred and sixty feet above
tide-water, which, agreeably to estimates kept on the present journey,
lies fifty-two feet below the level of Lake Superior. These data would
carry the bottom of the lake two hundred and eighty-eight feet below
tide water. What is more certain is this, that it has been the theatre
of ancient volcanic action, which has thrown its trap-rocks into high
precipices around its northern shores and some of its islands, and
lifted up vast ranges of sandstone rocks into a vertical position, as is
seen at the base of the Porcupine Mountains. Its latest action appears
to have been in its western portion, as is proved by the upheaval of the
horizontal strata; and it may be inferred that its bed is very rough and
unequal.
The western termination of the lake, in the great bay of Fond du Lac,
denotes a double or masked shore, which appears to have been formed of
pebbles and sands, driven up by the tempests, at the distance of a mile
or two, outside of the original shore. The result is shown by an
elongated piece of water, resembling a lake, which receives at the
north, the River St. Louis, and the _Agoche_, or Lefthand River, at its
south extremity.
About three miles above the mouth of the river, we landed at a Chippewa
village. While exchanging the usual salutations with them, we noticed
the children of an African, who had intermarried with this tribe. These
children were the third in descent from Bongo, a freed man of a former
British commanding officer at the Island of Michilimackinac. They
possessed as black skins as the father, a fact which may be accounted
for by observing, what I afterwards learned, that the marriages were, in
the case of the grandfather and father, with the pure Indian, and not
with Africano-Algonquin blood; so that there had been no direct advance
in the genealogical line.
The St. Louis River discharges a large volume of water, and is destined
hereafter to be a port of entry for the lake shipping, but at present it
has shoals of sand at its mouth which would bar the entrance of large
vessels. Proceeding up the river, we found it very serpentine, and
abounding in aquatic plants, portions of it yielding the wild rice. At
the computed distance of twenty-four miles, we reached the establishment
of the American Fur Company. It was seven o'clock when we came to the
place, where we encamped.
Lake Superior is called by the Chippewas a sea.
The superficial area of the lake has been computed by Mr. Darby at a
little under nine hundred billions of feet, and its depth at nine
hundred feet. By the latest surveys and estimate, the altitude of Lake
Superior above tide water, is about six hundred and forty feet.[62]
Allowing Mr. Darby's computation to be correct, this would sink its bed
far below the surface of the Atlantic.
[62] _Vide_ Appendix.
This lake has been the theatre of very extensive volcanic action. Vast
dykes of trap traverse its northern shores. One of the principal of
these has apparently extended across its bed, from northeast to
southwest, to the long peninsula of Keweena, producing at the same time,
the elevated range of the Okaug Mountains. One of the most remarkable
features of these dykes is the numerous and extensive veins of native
copper which characterize them. Subsequent convulsions, and the
demolition of these ancient dykes, by storms and tempests, have
scattered along its shores abundant evidence of the metal and its ores
and veinstones, which have attracted notice from the earliest time. The
geology of its southern coasts may be glanced at, and inferred, from the
subjoined outlines.
[Illustration: Geological outline of Lake Superior.]
The teachings of topography, applied to commerce, are wonderful. A
longitudinal line, dropped south, from this point, would cross the
Mississippi at the foot of Lake Pepin, and pass through Jefferson city
on the Missouri. When, therefore, a ship canal shall be made at St.
Mary's Falls, vessels of large tonnage may sail from Oswego (by the
Welland canal) and Buffalo, through a line of inter-oceanic seas, nearer
to the foot of the Rocky Mountains, by several hundred miles, than by
any other possible route. A railroad line from Fond du Lac west to the
Columbia valley, would also form the shortest and most direct transit
route from the Pacific to New York. Such a road would have the advantage
of passing through a region favorable to agriculture, which cannot but
develop abundant resources.