Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1863-10-02
Written for the Journal.
UP THE LAX rs.

Ontonagon, or oven Marquette. Some visit the
North Shore, which is said to be attractive, es-
pccally the lslo Royale. Our boat was bound
for Ontonagon. (In pronouncing this name the
accent should be put upon the third syllable or
Pennlt, aud the vowel should receive the broad
sound Of atg in Sdtc.)
If you would derive real benefit from what l
say of the route aud places Of interest, you
should get map of the region and find as many
of the points named as you can. Johnson's
Family Atlas, pages 40 and so, contains a very
good map. The route may be easily traced with
the eye upon the map. As to scenery, the De-
troit and st. Mary rivers present that which is
most beautiful, at least so far as ! Witnessed
The ST. Clair river aud the Pictured Rocks be-
tween the Sault and Marqutte, we passed in the
night both going and coming. The Saint Ma
rvs river is sixty miles in length and abounds
in most beautiful islands, covered with ever
greens to the water edge. This river presents
many little settlements on either bank, mostly
OF French and Indians living in very poor huts,
and gaining their subsistence by fishing, hunt
ing and gathering Bueherrics and Raspberries.
These berries abound in all Il at region, and large
quantities are collected by the Indians Twelve
miles below the Sault dc st. Marie, is Church's
Landing" where there is q good wharf, a steam
saw-hiill, one dwelling -house-a good one too
and a sort of store where trinkets and some sub
stantial goods are sold. This store shows the
newcomer a sign--viz: "Raspberry JAM
Well, what docs that mean? SO / asked, and
" tnl Mr.. E..
twelve to twenty tons of this article every year,
for sale. | went into the Store and saw num-
bers of jars filled with it. They hold from one
TO two and half gallons each, and arc sold at
from two to five dollars peri Quite novel
trade ' .t To f.H
The Sault itself is beautiful Fall of the wa
ter rather Rapids, nearly mile in length
The fall is eighteen and one half feet The In
dians pass up and down these Rapids in their
canoes. Steamers pass through the Ship Canal
most beautiful and honorable piece of work
manship. 1t is about a mile in length, and has
two locks, each three hundred and fifty feet
long, and seventy feet wide. The locks are built
of stone, most substantially, and the whole can
al is lined with stone
The village is small, and not particularly in
teresting.
As to the localities which visited on Lake
Superior 1 will begin with Ontonagon. We
could not land there The Lake was rough,
and the pier had been destroyed by ice. On
tonagon is place, apparently, of some one thou
sand inhabitants. There is one large hotel
There are at least three churches. 1t is the point
from which the minnesota mine" is reached.
But the mine is some miles in the interior, and
one needs toremain several days in order to see
it.
On the map you will observe "Keweenaw
Point iutting far out into the Lake Near the
Northern extremity are six or eight little places
at which vessels stop. We only touched at
"Copper Harbor" and Eagle Harbor." Both
are most sternly rock-bound The latter has
quite village and one or two churches. But
here, as at Ontonagon, the mines are inland, and
little of interest can be seen without a length
ened stay.
Near the base of Keweenaw Point on the
map you will observe "Portagc Lake" with an
outlet on the eastern shore. This outlet has
been dredged out and Strengthened so that ves-
sells drawing twelve feet of water are able to en-
ter the lake. We visited this locality twice;
both going and coming. The Portage Lake is
an irregular body of water some twenty miles
long. 1t cuts through the high hills and ex.
tends within two or three miles of the western
shore. A ship canal of that length would save
one hundred miles of dangerous navigation TO
every vessel going west of Portage Lake. Lake
Superior, off Keweenaw Point, is manifestly an
ugly place in a gale. The steamer Sunbeam
was recently lost there.
The mouth Of the outlet TO Portage Lake. is
called "Portage Entrance" About fourteen
miles from this the Lake is contracted to about
half mile in width On Johnson's map YOU
find the name "Houghton," on the north side,
also the name "Quincy Mine" This is partly
an error. There are two villages. "Houghton"
is on the south side and Hancock" on the north
side of the lake, and little Ferry-boat buzzes
about like fro-fy between them. Houghton
is said TO contain some twelve hundred people,
and Hancock four thousand. Both villages lie
on hill-sides, the hills being three or four hun
dred feet high. On the top of these hills are
the entrances to the copper mines. We visited
the Quincy mime 1t is six hundred and fifty
feet deep. We had not time to enter The men
go down on ladders, carrying each candle on
his hat The rock is drawn up by steam en- /.
gine, in buckets made of heavy boiler iron. and
each about as large as a hogshead. That portion
of the rock taken out which contains no copper,
is removed and thrown over the brow of the
hill. That portion which contains the ore is
broken up with heavy sledges, or sometimes
with the aid of heat, being burnt as limestone is
burnt in kiln, Then it is put into small cars
works. Here it is thrown into trough and
staIsped by huge iron timbers-they look like
tmbers-till it is broken into small pieces. =
Then it is washed and then stamped again, till
the copper is separated. In the stamping house
| saw them washing Jumps of solid native cop-
per large as a mans head. They sometimes
fluid Jumps much larger.
The washings from the stamping works give
the lake dark copper color, aud must gradually
do something even towards filling it up at that
point From the stamping works tie ore is
taken TO the smelling" works where it is smelt-
ed and cast into blocks for commerce.
Before my visit, was not aware of tho exist
encc of these places. The view from the hill at
Quincy mine is very fine. One can look down
the valley to the "entrance," andout upon Lake
Superior. My only regret is that, instead of
going on 10 Ontonagon, did not remain at
Hancock till the steamer returned and spend
the time in looking around.
The villages are not specially attractive
saw very few buildings built of any thing but
wood, in the whole region. At Marquette /
saw one dwelling of stone and school house of
brick-a far better and more tasteful building
than any school house in Fremont. Besides
these saw only wood buildings, with the excep-
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