The Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1849-1855, 1852-11-11
CorrespoI Of tho New YORK Tribune
Lake Superior.

The ncrease Of travel upon this lake and tft
attention drawnio ii within a year, are not IT.
tie remarkable One may have some idea @
Tins 10y noticing the number Of arrivals and de.
par,ures Of vessels announced every week from
Saut Sic. Marie. In one week no less than three
boats have been mentioned form the Ontonlcon.
The point Of destination ior most Of he pa>sef.
gers. One only piled last summer There are
several houses IN this settlement ar ioSn, rs il
must soon lee called. where visitors ma, he ac-
ccmn odattd as Wei as 1t 4 large hotel, and
man, have spent great part Of The sumner 81
the vicinity aud and At Eagle river. The tab; oi
fashionable tourists In O!Io and Michigan has
been altogether of Lake Superior lis magnificent
scenery and bracng climate. One gentleman
remarked that IA man might stand ut an angle Q.
ioriy-ilve degrees IA that atmosphere, aud not
faii Yet tor many Years 10 cone, ths region
will not lose its aspect oi romantic wj.dness aud
prImeva grandeur; for even when thriving towns
have taken the place OF is new settlements en-
braced IN the arms Of The forest, there VIII be
enough IN IT. crag.y precipices. is fur crowned
mountains, and vast stretches Of pubroken forest
TO pIivatc the lover Of Wild nature.
The early history of his portion Of our country
has singular ronlance. More than two hundred
years ago. the Jesuils Of Canada first took steps
to explore the country bordering the North Amer
lean Lakes, under the auspices of Count Fronie-
nac IN i6il, Rayniault and Jaque, went IN a
bark canoe to Saut Ste. Marie, where hey found
indian villages with a considerable number # Ia
habitan.s, the abundance Of vhi,ehsi h8Sing
made this The chosen resort for the Chppewas
for centuries. They here heard Of he lake be-
yond, and of grassy plains westward. Where ran
herds If deer and buff oes. and where dvell the
war-Iike Sioux. In 1860, Renemesnard. in his
canoe, reached the head ofkewenaw Bay. which
he called 1t. Teresa, and was lost in the woods.
Claude AoDez, SIX years later. entered thl> Lake
thea sacrificed TO rs divinity by the su,agcs,
and landed al Dhaduame.on Ola pcin,e), where
he bull, chapel and lived tao years; in the
meantime yistin. Fond du Lac, where he he ird
of the Mississippi. La Hentan called this region
s'the fag end Of the world.' and the lake was
described 10y IN ass ''ocean IN storm scuiP;ured
in grluite,' so sirNing was the aspect Of lis tow
erng rocks. deep ta>taes and giant crags, seen,-
Iuc v wreaChed from their places by sone violent
conyuiSion Of nature. About this tine the SOUTH
ern shore Of Superior, tov ards lis western extrem-
,. was the central region of Indian influence and
Intelligence Here was The seat Of power for lhe
Chlppewa-: and here tradition SAYS, was burning
that sacred fire whose extinction foie:od souIe
great ca amty for the nation. The ceremonies
attending ns preservation bv appointed guardians
are said to be remembered in Indian tradition.
The Alpine scenery Of Lake superior has heon
admired by all visitors, and lis remakable coast
described by several geoloeisls. The pass hy
which its waters are poured into ST. Mary's nv
er is guarded by lofty and preclpiious bluffs on
either SIDE, covered with growth of large pines
these peaks, like the pillars of Hercules, forming
a grand entrance into the lake. On me north thu
bold range of ''Cross Cape may be seen; on
the south the promen'ory of Cape lroqucis, no.
ted in ancIen, tradition as the locality o; an In
dian battle. Along the shores, as we proceed
appear green and lovely islands. and IN The dis
taace the ccncal peaks beyond Nhi'efsh Point,
a bleak, sandy peninsula, extending Ear into the
waters Wagshkee, ftnarly Waislkce Bay,
was named after chief who cultivated fields on
lts borders.
The great saud danes Of this lake, called
Graudes Sables have attracted attention as unique
objects of American scenery. These form 4
ranae for some four miles, of vast heaps Of sand
diff rising like loft, structure OF marble to the
height Of $50 or 800 feet, their SUBMITS capped
with loose drifts No tree or shrub grows on The
face This preclpice, and cny few scaniy
everreens here and there overtop the bleak and
denuded nights. A narrow strip of land inter
venes betwe their base and the water.
Mr. Schoolcrafi gays these sand cliffs we're i'm
agined by Indian superstition to be a vast palace
inhabited by powerful spirits as necromancers,
windows TO catch fish The savages also pointed
on the sand the t.acks Of their fairies. Ascend
ing he face of the precipice, singular and Ini-
DOSING view il obtained from the suiuinit. For
tnany niles extend the waste OF sand, herb'ess
desert; a .snorihern Sahara" rising into lofty
cones, Weeping in graceful curves. hurled into
eddylng hooNs, or spread out IN broad valleys
The tops &C half buried pines are seen heTe and
there, barkless and ragged, and worn by whif-
ing dsifs, like the columns Of some ancient tem-
ole The surface Of the sand Is hard as floor,
and srewn with pebbles polished by at,rnion -
Two miles from the coast, behind this desert
track, timber is found, and you may see small
lake far above tha level ofSuperior, It's wlde ana
snvan shores adorned with rich growth Of oaks
and maple on one side, while tn. dunes OF shift
lns sand stretch away On the other, IN a iea1ess
waste like immense snow dtllis, ia ihe midst OF
which the traveller seems walking over the undu-
la,ins billows ofocean, swelling to vast hight, or
ltg down INTO deep basins. The sceue has
been likened to storm among the Alps.