Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-09-13 00:00:00

ous compound !

ting its shores,

brings the steamer to -the Sault Ste. Marie. At half-
past two p.m., we touched for a few minutes at the
village of that name on the Canadian side. This settle-
ment is scattered and by no means in a flourishing
condition. In its vicinity are a number of the Chippewa
Indians, who have the exclusive right of fishing in the

rs 'contiguous to the Sault, and who supply, the

,ssed to th

American town, also of the same name

the river, at the foot of 01(

rapids. This little town has great advantages over
is Canadian namesake, from its position at the end of

nor with the lower lakes, and will daily become of more miles in length, is in the possession of the
and more importance. This canal is a little more than
American Government—one of the results of the Ash-
a mile in length, and was constructed during the burton treaty—and some speculators a few years ago
years 1853, 1854, and 1855, at a cost of about
1,000,000, by the St. Mary's Falls Ship Canal attempted to work the minerals with which it abounds,
and several expensive buildings and works were erected
Company, who were paid for the contract by
b them. To facilitate an entrance to the harbour, a
a grant of 750,000 acres of public land. ' The lighthouse was built by the government; but for some
y
width of the canal at the top is 115 feet, at the water
100
12 feet. feet, and at the bottom 64 feet. The depth is
There are two locks, each 350 feet in length cause or other, the speculation proved a ruinous affair
line
to all concerned, and the works were abandoned. The
light is still maintained, though of little use, and
and 70 feet in width, and the total amount of lockage is
18 feet. The whole work is constructed in a most sub- the only inhabitants of the island at present are its
keeper and his family. We spent a most pleasant day
stantial and permanent manner, and enables steamers at the island. Some of us trouting and fishing with
and vessels of the largest class to pass from lake to lake
without discharging. • every possible contrivance in the piscatory art, were
rewarded with numerous very large trout. Others
On leaving the canal, we passed through Tah-qua- f eologised and searched for chloristolites, which were
in
me-maw Bay to Whitefish PQt;-about 40 miles above ound in great numbers, and a party armed to the teeth
the Sault, and were on the broad expanse of Superior, with fishing-rods and guns started for a lake in the
on whose waters we witnessed one of the glorious sun- interior, under the guidance of him who, albeit the
sets so common in the pure atmosphere of this region.
Having left at eight p.m., we arrived on the morning of
Hardly had the sun o•one down when the sky became keeper of a lantern, proved no lamp to their
.path.
the 2nd at the Is of Michipieoton, distant from Isle
e,
illuminated by most brilliant coruscations of the Aurora,
scintillating with a splendour almost Arctic.
perhaps as perfectly sheltered from every blast as can
The 29th was spent in the open lake far from land,
Royale about 130 miles, and anchored in a harbour,
and at this part of the trip, and indeed frequently during well be conceived, with a depth of water sufficient to
the journey, it was difficult to realise that we were not
enable the largest vessels to lie alongside the shore
voyaging on the ocean itself. Towards evening strange
outlines of land began to appear on the horizon ; and harbour, when better known, will prove invaluable which in some places form a natural wharf. This
gradually these outlines _faded away, only to assume a refuge, and as the island is richly wooded, will
shapes more fantastic than before. From the extreme
be resorted to by steamers for fuel when the trade is
as
distinctness of the views, it was difficult to believe that
extraordinary forms, the castles, capes, and -mountains again produced, and several formidable devices which
opened. After breakfast the fishing apparatus was
the mirage had been trifling with us, and that the
modesty previously prevented us from offering to the
presented to us, were but " the baseless fabric of a
finny tribe were employed with great success in trolling,
vision."
while those who used the fly in a beautiful river running
From watching these capes fly away, we turned to see
in purple into the harbour, found difficulty in not catching the
the bold contour of Thunder Cape standingi
relief acrainst the rich crimson of the sunset Towering
nnumerable trout which swarms in every creek and
P stream. Nor' was Agate Island forgotten, and many
to a height of 1,350 feet from the water, in some places
almost perpendicularly, and rising in solitary grandeur its name were borne away as mementos of this happy
in these lonely waters, it forms a magnificent portal to beautiful specimens of the stones from which it derives
day at Michipicoten.
the bay which bears its ominous name.
From Michipicoten we sailed to the Sault, where
With the setting sun a dark haze crept over the Bay, same of the more enthusiastically aquatic of the party
and by 11 p.m., when we cast anchor off Fort William, shot the rapids in a canoe, and arrived at the Welling-
the coast line became invisible. To the shriek off the torn Mines on the evening of the 3rd. Under the
steam whistle on our arrival, an answer was given by guidance of the superintendent, we examined the works,
innumerable curs,• and the whoops of their owners. The seeing the copper in all its stages from its first appear-
lateness of the hour preventing a general disembarka- ance from the mine to the state in which it is shipped
tion, we "turned in " and awaited in patience the
for England to be smelted. But space forbids us to
morning light to reveal the end of our journey. describe the ingenious mechanism employed to reduce
During the night, however, we occasionally it to this condition.
caught the sounds of tom-toms, and other On leaving the mines the steamer took the North
instruments of Indian music, which we afterwards dis- Channel, which extends for 125 miles between the Mani-
covered proceeded from a band of Indians, recently toulin group of islands and the mainland, and after
arrived from the interior, and who were encamped near threading her way among
the Fort. The cause of this nocturnal concert, as we
All the fairy crowds
afterwards learned, was the apprehended presence of the Of islands which together lie,
Evil Spirit ; and from the uproar not continuing longer As quietly as the spots of sky,
than one evening, we have reason to believe that that Among the evening clouds;
personage was compelled to leave the neighbourhood. and passing
.La Cloche mountains, rising on the main-
On the morning of the 30th we rowed up to the Fort, land to a height of 2,000 feet, touched on the morning of
and were received with the ,e•reatest kindness by Mr. the 4th at Little Current. This village is situated on the
Mclntyre, the officer of the Hudson's Bay Company in Great Manitoulin Island, which, as is well known, is one
charge of the place, and to the courtesy of this gentle- of the principal Indian reserves. Here we remained
man the party were greatly indebted for much of their only a few minutes, and after rounding Cape Smyth,
pleasure during their stay. The Fort is situated on one the most easterly point of the island, we found ourselves
of the mouths of the Kaministiquoia river, about a mile bowling down Georgian Bay towards Collingwood, where
from the shore of the lake, and is built on low-lying we arrived at nine p.m.
ground which stretches along the banks of the river. All the members of the party expressed their satisfac-
The view from the Fort is exceedingly pituresque. tion with the accommodation afforded them in the
To the left lies the lake, in front the river, with steamer, and with the courtesy and kindness of Captain
grassy bank between it and the woods on the Dick, during their voyage of nearly 1,500 miles.—C'or-
apposite shore, on which our Indian friends had pitched respondent of the Toronto Globe.
their wigwams, and to the right a long vista was closed --
by the lofty height of McKay's mountain. Before THE KACAABECA FALLS.
the Rescue,
leaving for the steamer, through the kindness of Mr. A number of the party, passengers of
Mclntyre, we were enabled to make arrangements for a having determined to visit the above falls, Mr. M•lntyre,
war-dance in the evening, and having given the braves the dicer of the Hudson's Bay Post, at Fort William,
timely warning that their toilettes might be unex- kindly furnished us with a bark-canoe, with seven In-
ceptionable, we went abroad. During the afternoon, dians to paddle, and being also made comfortable with
we steamed down _to_ the east end of Thunder Bay, a feather bed and blankets, we commenced our ascent of
where no steam vessel had ever penetrated before; the river liaministoquoi at one a.m. The first part of the
and well did the magnificent scenery repay the river was, of course, past in the dark, and consequently,
trouble. The bay is broken by several islands, some we were not able to appreciate the beauty of the scenery,
with beetling crags and others densely wooded, while although dimly through the obscurity we discerned the
the red precipices here and there frowned out from bold outline of McKay's mountain, rising almost per-
among the dark woods which crowned every hill as far pendicularly from the river bank to the height of 1,500
as the eye could reach, Nothing could have exceeded feet. About daylight we reached the foot of the first