cently drawing a moral therefrom,"a man 'll never know how necessary he is to society if he don't make his life valuable to his friends as well as to his-self."

We were actively employed during our stay at the Sault in laying in provisions, &c. for our western journey, as it was the last civilised place we were likely to see for some time. The store at which we purchased our outfit belonged to a most obliging person, and contained a very miscellaneous assortment of articles. The most interesting were those which were in requisition during the winter. On account of its remote position, large supplies of every kind are always laid in here during the summer months, although the more adventurous inhabitants do keep up a communication with Detroit, across Lake Huron, upon the ice, by means of dog-sleighs. We examined with some curiosity those used by our friend. He also showed us some of his dogs, whose drooping hindquarters and languid gait betokened the hard work they had undergone. Their master himself had performed marvellous feats upon snow-shoes, and thought nothing of walking eight hundred miles in three weeks, being at the rate of forty miles a-day. Of course he carried nothing: his food and clothing were dragged in the dogsleigh by his side. We crossed over to the Hudson's Bay Company's Fort, and there too were interested in looking over the stores which are kept for trading with the Indians. Beads, blankets, rifles, moccasins, and all the appurtenances of wild Indian life, were here piled in shelves, and transported us in imagination to the council-fires of distant tribes. The Red River settlement is principally supplied from these stores. At present, the difficulty of transport is the great drawback to the prosperity of this colony, the inhabitants of which also complain of being prohibited from trading with the Indians upon their own account. The population amounts to about nine thousand, and is not likely to increase rapidly until greater facilities are provided for conveying their agricultural produce to the Canadian or American markets. provided ourselves, at the recommendation of the hospitable agent of the

VOL. LXXVII.-NO. CCCCLXXVI.

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Company, with some stout ox-bide moccasins, and a piece of tarpaulin to serve as a tent or screen, and were thankful for the hints he gave us on a canoe life in the western rivers.

The most characteristic feature of the Sault Ste. Marie, as suggestive of the vast resources of the shores of Lake Superior, to which its future prosperity must be mainly due, is the tramroad which runs down the centre of the main street, and along which trucks, loaded with huge blocks of copper, are perpetually rumbling. The weight of each was generally marked upon it, and I observed that some of the masses exceeded 6000 lb. I was somewhat startled, upon the morning of our departure, to find, on coming to the door of the hotel, that our luggage had taken the place of the usual more valuable freight, and that, seated in picturesque attitudes upon piles of boxes and carpetbags, about two hundred persons were waiting to be trundled away to the steamer, more than a mile distant. They were so thickly hived upon the long line of trucks, that I could scarcely find a spare corner in which to take up a position. At last, however, a thin man, with high cheek-bones and a red beard, invited me to share the top of a barrel with him, which I accordingly did; and having lit a cigar, I was in the act of acknowledging his civility by offering my new friend one, when some little black suspicious-looking grains, jolting up through a crack in the lid, revealed to me the horrifying fact that we were seated upon a barrel of gunpowder. Springing hastily off, I seized my companion's hand just in time to prevent his lighting a fresh fusee, and pointed to his danger. He only remarked, as he swung himself leisurely from his perch, "that he had come darned near busting up the crowd," and recommended me to "slope along with him;" a suggestion I was by no means backward in complying with. There was a most miscellaneous cluster of persons sticking upon their no less miscellaneous effects. Fragile, delicate-looking ladies, with pink and white complexions, black ringlets, bright dresses, and thin satin shoes, reclined gracefully upon carpet-bags, and presided over pyramids of bandboxes. Square-built German fraus sat

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astride huge rolls of bedding, displaying stout legs, blue worsted stockings, and hob-nailed shoes. Sallow Yankees, with straw-hats, swallow-tailed coats, and pumps, carried their little all in their pockets; and having nothing to lose and everything to gain in the western world to which they were bound, whittled, smoked, or chewed cheerfully. Hard-featured, bronzed miners, having spent their earnings in the bowling saloons at the Sault, were returning to the bowels of the earth gloomily. There were tourists in various costumes, doing the agreeable to the ladies; and hardy pioneers of the woods, in flannel shirts, and trousers supported by leathern belts, and well supplied with bowies, were telling tough yarns, and astonishing the weak minds of the emigrants, who represented half the countries of Europe. We left the town, waving salutations to our numerous friends who came to the verandahs to see the living freight pass by-for a departure to the other end of the lake was rather an event—and, receiving their hearty farewells in return, were soon following the bank of the canal, which was then in process of construction, and is ere this completed. As it connects the two largest lakes in the world, the dimensions of this work are fully equal to its importance, and it therefore deserves some notice; while, at the same time, it may not be uninteresting to glance at the trade which now passes along it. Two years had scarcely elapsed since Congress passed the act for the construction of a ship canal round the falls of the Ste. Marie. The entire length of the river, which connects Lake Superior with Lakes Huron and Michigan, is about twenty-five miles; but the portion which is not navigable extends over a distance of barely a mile. The rapid develop ment of the mineral resources on the south shore of Lake Superior rendered this a work of paramount importance, and it has accordingly been undertaken and accomplished with a skill and energy worthy the most enterprising nation in the world. As all the lands in the United States belong originally to the Federal Government, whenever any great work is to be constructed of a similar character,

an Act of Congress is necessary to allow the particular State interested the right of locating the canal or railway through the public lands; while, at the same time, a certain quantity of land is usually placed at the disposal of the State, as a means of raising the necessary funds. Agreeably to this arrangement, the State of Michigan was granted 750.000 acres of public land, to be selected in subdivisions by agents appointed by the governor.

The canal is nearly a mile in length. It is 100 feet wide, 12 feet deep, and contains two locks, each 300 feet long. It will thus be capable of receiving the largest lake craft afloat. The soil is partly gravelly, and partly solid clay; but the sides of the canal are faced with stone, brought at great expense from the neighbourhood of Detroit. I did not ascertain the precise amount expended at the period of my visit, but it was calculated that the entire cost would exceed a million of dollars.

It is difficult to estimate the extent of the traffic which must pass through this canal, partly because no regular reports of the trade of Lake Superior have ever yet been made. But even if they had, the impetus which it would receive upon the completion of this canal would render it scarcely appreciable. It is quite clear, from the nature of the products of this country, that they must seek a distant market; and that for some time, at any rate, the miners must obtain the great bulk of their supplies from the Eastern States. But the time must come when the agricultural resources of Minnesota, and a great part of Wisconsin, will be developed, and find their outlet in this direction. In 1851 the value of the imports which crossed the Sault was estimated at a million of dollars. They consisted principally of grain, dry goods, provisions, groceries, &c. The exports were valued at about 700,000 dollars, and consisted almost entirely of copper and iron. The population upon the southern shore of Lake Superior has, however, nearly trebled since then; and so, no doubt, has the traffic. The great majority of the passengers on board the "Sam Ward" were going to take up their

permanent_abodes in these distant regions. This respectable craft had been built upon the lake, all the materials for her construction having been carried round the Sault rapids. She was large and roomy, but considered by a gentleman accustomed to the magnificent boats on the more civilised lakes, to be "tarnation old, and shaky some." However, we had very comfortable accommodation, and prosperous weather; and I cherish the most lively and agreeable recollections of my voyage in the "Sam."

Towards evening, the low wooded shores of the river Ste. Marie sank beneath the horizon, and we found ourselves at last upon the broad bosom of Lake Superior. It was a calm moonlight night. The only airs that fanned my cheek, the only ripples that danced in the moonbeam, were caused by our rapid motion, as we ploughed our way through the clear still water. Land was nowhere visible; and as I leant over the sharp bows, and watched the silver spray as it sprang from beneath them, it was difficult to realise the fact that this monster boat, with her living freight of near three hundred souls, was already fifteen hundred miles from the ocean, and was bound upon a voyage of four hundred more.

We passed the pictured rocks a little after daylight on the following morning, though at too great a distance to be able fully to appreciate this great natural curiosity. We observed, however, that they extended for twelve miles, forming a perpendicular wall about 300 feet high. It is said that they are indented with vast caverns, and that the roar of the waters is audible a long way off. At one place there is a cascade 70 feet high, and the stream, which is considerable, is thrown to so great a distance that boats may pass between it and the rock. There is also a natural arch, which consists of an isolated mass of sandstone, covered with soil, from whence spring lofty spruce and fir trees, the whole being supported by four pillars. From the accounts we received of the fish in Lake Superior, we found that our experience at the Sault was likely to give us an erroneous impression of the sport which

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might be procured. Lake trout are said to have been caught exceeding fifty pounds in weight, and white fish and sturgeon are abundant. It is about 150 miles from the Sault to the watering-place of Marquette. were delighted to find that two hours were allowed us to explore the picturesque neighbourhood, and we would gladly have lingered longer to enjoy the really noble trout-fishing which the river running into the bay affords, or to sketch the beauties of the scenery. A very respectable hotel is always full, during the summer, of pleasure or health-seeking Yankees. The village is embosomed in wood, which reaches to the water's edge; rocky promontories jut far into the lake; and enterprising pine-trees shoot up between the crevices, and overshadow the deep clear water, with the white sand sparkling at the bottom; and quantities of fish go about in shoals exploring nooks and crannies, or unexpectedly dodging in and out of hidden cavities. The whole forms an enchanting picture, the background to which is composed of a range of wooded hills about 1000 feet in height. It is not, however, owing to the romantic character of the scenery amid which it is situated that Marquette has become a place of considerable importance. At a distance of about twelve miles into the interior runs the range of mountains from which great quantities of iron ore have recently been extracted. It is found in trap associated with azoic, and is shipped here in its raw state, and conveyed to Cleveland, on the southern shore of Lake Erie, to be smelted. The scarcity of fuel rendering that process impossible on the spot, the great additional expenditure which is involved by this mode of proceeding makes it doubtful whether the iron of Lake Superior, although perhaps to be found in greater quantities, will ever be able to compete with that of Lake Champlain or New Jersey.

Marquette derives its name from the most celebrated of that devoted band of Jesuit missionaries who first sought, about the middle of the seventeenth century, to introduce Christianity amongst the red men of the Far West. A disciple of St François Xavier, he is second only to him in the zeal and

enterprise which characterised his labours. In the course of these noble endeavours to enlighten barbarous nations, he was enabled to achieve geographical discoveries fraught with results of the highest importance to civilisation. The first to reach the Mississippi from the north-east, he continued his explorations until he was satisfied that it was identical with the river already visited by the first Spanish adventurers from the Gulf of Mexico. His early labours were amongst the remnant of the Hurons, who, persecuted by the Iroquois, and other neighbouring Indian tribes, left the shores of Georgian Bay, which they had originally occupied, and found a refuge at La Pointe, a settlement on the southern coast of Lake Superior, near its western extremity. At this the most distant point of missionary exploration, he planted the cross in the year 1669; and meeting here, for the first time, the Sioux and Illinois, he prepared himself, by studying their language and customs, for that journey through their territory which he afterwards accomplished with so much success. Renewed persecution soon after drove the Hurons to Mackinaw, upon the northern shore of Lake Michigan; and, following his little flock to this spot, Father Marquette chose it as the starting-point for his expedition. Accompanied by only one other Frenchman, the Sieur Jolliet, he left Mackinaw, with two canoes, in the spring of 1673, and ascended the Fox River for 175 miles, until they reached the portage to the Wisconsin. Thence they sailed down the latter river for an equal distance, until, to their inexpressible joy, they found themselves carried down the rapid current of the mighty stream, the existence of which had so long been doubtful. Father Marquette's journal of his voyage is full of interest. An enthusiastic adorer of the Virgin Immaculate, he at once named his discovery, after the object of his devotion, the "Conception," and subsequently founded a mission on its banks. It is in the very first page of his journal that he announces his intention of doing so in the following terms:-" Above all, I put our voyage under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Immaculate, promising her

that, if she did us the grace to discover the great river, I would give it the name of Conception; and that I would also give that name to the first mission which I should establish among these new nations, as I have actually done among the Illinois." Elsewhere is recorded the form of the daily devotions of the little band. After the creed they said one, "Hail, Father!" and "hail, Mary !"-then four times these words, "Hail, daughter of God the Father! Hail, mother of God the Son! Hail, spouse of the Holy Ghost! Hail, temple of the Holy Trinity! By thy holy virginity and immaculate conception, O most pure Virgin, cleanse my flesh and my heart, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost;" and, last of all, "Glory be to the Father!"-the whole being thrice repeated. At this particular epoch, it is not without its significance that this form of prayer should have been in the mouth of a missionary exploring an unknown American river nearly two hundred years ago. It is singular, however, that, upon descending this river for upwards of a thousand miles, Marquette should have reached that portion of it which had been first visited by De Soto, and named the "Espiritu Santo." After remaining some time at the mouth of the Arkansas, these voyageurs (in the true sense of the word) retraced their steps, and Marquette found a grave at the mouth of an obscure river on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. The event is thus recorded by his pious chronicler :"So tender a devotion to the Mother of God deserved some singular grace; and she accordingly granted him the favour he had always asked-to die on a Saturday; and his two companions had no doubt that she appeared to him at the hour of his death, when, after pronouncing the names of Jesus and Mary, he suddenly raised his eyes above the crucifix, fixing them on an object which he regarded with such pleasure, and a joy that lit up his countenance; and they from that moment believed that he had surrendered his soul into the hands of his good Mother."

Upon leaving Marquette, we rounded a singular promontory called Kee

wenaw Point, which projects nearly half-way across Lake Superior. Indeed, in coasting along the southern shore of the lake, one cannot but be struck with the singular shape of that State of which it is the northern boundary. Michigan is composed of two peninsulas: one runs in a due north and south direction, between Lakes Huron and Michigan; the other due east and west, between Lakes Michigan and Superior; and that portion of this latter peninsula which is the richest in mineral resources is Keewenaw Point. The extreme length of the deposit is 135 miles, and it has a width varying from one to six miles. It lies chiefly in a primitive formation. A well - wooded range intersects the whole length of the promontory, while the Porcupine Mountains form the dividing ridge between Lakes Superior and Michigan. The peaks towards the western boundary have been estimated at from 1800 to 2000 feet in height. The scenery is wild, but not attractive. Dense pine forests clothe the hills, while occasional plains of sand give a desolate aspect to the country. There is, nevertheless, good water-power, and the numerous large streams which flow upon either side of the dividing range will facilitate the transport of lumber, and enhance the value of this portion of the State. The extent of its lake coast has been estimated at from seven to eight hundred miles, so that five-sevenths of the entire peninsula may be reached by water. There is good grazing in parts, and potatoes and garden vegetables flourish; but for corn, both country and climate are uncongenial. Nevertheless, the timber and mineral resources of the northern part of the State are very great, and have attracted to its shores a rapidly increasing population, which already amounts to about 12,000 inhabitants. The northern peninsula was given to the State in compensation for Toledo, a district upon its southern frontier, which now forms part of Ohio. Michigan, with the remainder of the original north-west territory, was held by France until 1763, and then by England until ceded to the United States in 1783. It was not, however, taken possession of for some

years after, and only constituted a territory in 1805. In 1837 it was admitted as a State into the Union. After much vehement controversy, the capital has quite recently been fixed at Lansing, an uninhabited spot in the centre of the country, approached only by a miserable corduroy road. The rival claims of the principal towns already existing in the State were so difficult to satisfy, that the most ineligible site in the province was chosen, it being deemed more desirable that the entire State should suffer from its inconvenient position, rather than that its general prosperity should be advanced at the expense of certain particular interests.

The sun was setting as, rounding Keewenaw Point, we steamed into Copper Harbour,-a pretty little village at the head of a land-locked bay, where the neat white houses. contrasted strongly with the sombre pine-woods that overshadowed them. We only remained here long enough to enable some miners to land, and then, with the rising moon, pursued our voyage to Eagle River,-a more important place, where a few lights were still twinkling, though it was past midnight. Within two miles of the town are the Cliff copper mines, said to be the most productive of the entire region. They are 600 feet deep, and, at the period of our visit, a block of solid copper, 160 tons weight, was being cut through in the mine with the cold chisel, at an expense of nine dollars a foot. The enormous size of the mass renders a far heavier expenditure necessary than when the copper is found in smaller quantities. It is conveyed to market at a cost of about two and a half cents a pound, and its value there is thirty-five cents. But it is hardly fair, upon a public not directly interested in these iniues, to expatiate more fully upon their relative merits, though among our numerous "prospecting" passengers little else was talked of but shares, copper, dollars, and cents. One little colonel in particular was always full of minute statistical information, which he used to deliver himself of with great volubility at all times, and was positively eloquent