Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1855-09-15
THE PICTURED ROCKS OF LAKp
SUPERIOR.

Marquette, Mich, Aug 10Th 1853
Mr.. Enron After leaving the famous "so,p
on board the steamer Baltimore, nothing Of int.
est occurred to us till our arrival at the Pe,u,,l
Rocks. On our way we stopped to wool I'M !,
walsta Bay, commonly called Whisky Bay ~,
only on account Of the similarity Of sound >,
there was no whiskey to be found in The ,iei,t,
except in the saloon Of the boat. Tho saloon {.
the way, is very much disgraced on the Lake lo,,
its main use being ms place where baekcp, ma.
gamble and get drunk.
We sailed leisnrely along at The rate OF s;-,,
miles IN hour, and about five O'Clock IN the ,Do,r
ing, we came in sight o. the wonderful pie,n,,,
Rocks, which lie just East Of Grand Island al
extend along the South shore Of Lake Superb, =.
distance Of nine miles. have mover seen A.
scrpiion Of these rocks which gave any IDEA of a.
magnitude and splendor Of this range Of cs,
Indeed the exaggerating style Of neadley oouu
hardly oyer-ratc them.
The Rock Is red sandstone, quite son. ,,5t.
pictures have been formed by the eIas,,i,.
and wearing away Of the ciff by the action q h.
lake, which for centuries has dashed an occ.p.it,
surf against its base The whole surface n A,
rock Is most brilliantly colored, and as he N,
shines upon II in the afternoon It presents the a.,
pcaranee Of an immense oil painting. The ayen,.
hight Of the cliff is about two hundred and "a,
feet, and the depth Of water at the base three bu,
dred feet. Tine and space would fail me wer. Ia
attempt description Of the entire range. and
can do little more than to name the principle se.
tures and eayerns.
The first great picture, going EastwArdly from
Grand Island is ''The Miners Castle" seventh.
eve feet high. II has two entrances at the base.
and two chimney-like openings Mt the top, and IA,
very much the appearance Of double blast far.
mace. Next is ''The Amphthcater, which extend,
for two or three miles. Af,er passing this, and 4.
series Of caverns and groiesque openings pressn,.
ing most beautiful variety Of forms and colors, We
came to the "Sail Rock, - which Is an eract rem.
reseniaiion Of the full spread jb and mainsaf Of
sloop. SO accurate is the imitation that when
viewed from a suitable distance, with full glare
Of light upon II. the illusion is perfect The roes
is about ffty feet high.
just beyond is the ''Grand Portal. " which opens
out on the Lake, and is Of magnificent dimensions,
being a hundred and ahy feet high and hundred
and sixty eight feet broad at the sursce q the va
ter The rock Is more than hundred feet thick
above the arch. Those who have sailed into this
immense cavern say that no tongue, peu, nor pen
ell, can convey an adequate idea Of the wonderful
scene. The vast dimensions Of the cave, the yaul.
ted passages, the varied effects Of the light as It
falls the different objects, the deep green Of The
water, the ecasecss sweet of the lake, keeping up
an uninterrupted succession of musical echOcs-sl
must be seen heard, and felt to be fully Apprecis
tel. Next to this is The Chapel, - The most grO-
tesque Of all the scenes. The roof rests on four
huge columns Of sandstone, forty feet high ADD
Of about the same diameter. II is literally ga house
not made with hands, but no description Of mine
can do it justice.
Marquette, where / am now writing, is hun
dred and eighty miles from the $780," and is des-
tined TO be the largest, as ii already is the pleasant
est town on the Lake. Its beautifully located on
fne bay at the mouth Of Carps river, and Is the
only shipping port for the iron distrc, of Lake su
pcrior, the iron from which must soon be an arti-
Gle of large export.
Being DESTROYS Of visiting the Iron Mountain.
and having to leave by steamer in the afternoon.
we started at 4 O'Clock A. NJ, accompanied by Mr..
Harvey, (the Canal compAny's land agent in the
upper PENINSULA and proceeded in a very print
tive Wagon drawn by two horses, to the mountain,
fifteen miles from this place. The FIRST part Of the
road was through the toughest country imagna-
bic. 1t must have been this road which suggested
the song Jordan an hard road to travel" at
any rate, it suggested the song to us After tray-
cling about six miles we reached the plank rad
that is being constructed from Marquette to the
Mountain, and after that our ride was compar-
atiyely easy. The mountain is some 1900 het
above the lake and seems to be solid mass Of iron
ore covered with soil from one to ten feet deep and
heavily timbered. This is the richest iron ore in
the United States, the iron is Of superior textur,
when hammered, and the ore yields fran 20 to 50
per cent. Companies are now working this iron,
and large quantities are shipped both in ore and
in bloom. railroad is being GU sirueiel to tho
mines, which. when completed, will very much a.
cilitate operations and increase the business F f.
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