The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1870-07-01
Lake Nipigon.

of the expedition, few evenings
since Iectured in Toronto on the suts
iect, and gave the following inter-
esting facts in regard to the little
known lake, which was figured in
the map as an insignificant body Of
water, but which Professor Bell
shows to be a worthy member of the
family of great lakes:
In two or three days after leaving
Fort William the surveying party
arrived at Red Rock at the mouth
OF the Nipigon River; and in four
uays ana half reached the lake,
the distance being about thirty miles,
IN which there were seven portages,
some OF them about a mile LONG.
The scenery along the Nipioon RiT-
er was very fine; Rid Rock. at its
mouth, being thought by some tn
be one of the prettiest places in Can
ada, the river itself being unriyaled
for trout fishing. Steamboats, might
pass up the river as far as about ten
miles from its mouth, but above that
point was interrupted by rapids.
On arriving at the lake the view was
found to be very grand. Owing to
the existence of magnetic rocks the
surveying party could make but lit
tie use OF their compasses; the an
giles, however, were taken, and its
distances measured by a microme-
ter; the latitudes were also taken by
various observations of the sun and
pole-star, and meridian lines were
also laid down. Lake Nipigon lies
directly north of the northern ex-
tremity of Lake Superior, and is
more than half the size of Lake On
tario; and its general outlines ellipt-
ical. Its area was 3,700 square miles
or about four-sevenths of the size
of Lake Ontario; its length 20, and
its breadth so miles. As an illus
tration of the size of Lake Nipigon,
he might mention that there are
nine lakes in Canada-amongst
them Lake st. John, Lake Metape-
dica, Lake TemiscOuta, Lake Meg
antic, Lake st. Francis and Lake
Memphremagog-but Lake NipigOn
is four times as large as the whole
nine put together. Lake Nipigon is
by far the most beautiful of all the
great lakes, and is studded through
out its whole extent by islands,
large and small, and high and low,
some rocky and some thickiy wood
ed. The lake is filled with a multi
tude of islands. They could not, of
course, survey the whole Of these
during one season; but in connection
with their triangulation Ofthe coast,
they managed to locate 460 of these
with tOlerable accurrency, and more
roughly over 100 others. Some Of
these islands were large enough to
form whole townships. One Ofthem
was eight miles in diameter; several
were from five to six miles across,
while those from two to three miles
in breadth were quite common.
They were all covered with good
soil and well timbered, and some
day will, no doubt, be converted in
to well cultivated farms. The coast
line Of the lake measures $50 miles,
or, perhaps, considerably more than
the coast line of Lake Ontario, and
therefore, a great deal of the coun-
| try round the lake is accessible from
the water. Sixteen rivers, with IN.
| pronouncable. Indian names, flow
| into the lake, and the average size
of these streams is as large as the
Grand river of Ontario. The Gull
river is much larger. As far as
these rivers were examined the coun-
try through which they flow was
found to be level, with clayey soil
and light surface Of sand. Like
all rivers flowing through level coun-
tries, the feeders are very crooked
and when the water is low they re-
sembIe great winding bitches with
muddy banks. On one river which
they assembled they met no rapids
for ten miles up, and that was but
a small one. Some distance up this
same river they found an open mar
gin, very fertile and covered with an
abundance Of good grass. He did
not mean by this ''beaver hay" but
a very superior kind Of grass, which
was found by experience 20 be very
valuable as fodder for cattle and
horses. The country is very free
from rocks, and at one place they did
not find stones large enough to sink
the lower edge of their net. There
is evidence in the NipigOn country,
as well as in the Thunder Bay region,
that the forests have been frequent
ly swept by fires in past times, and
the Indians told him that these fires
often originated from lightning. It
was likely that the prariss were
= formed in this way. He believed
there was a tradition among the In
dians that the prairies once extended
eastward as far as Lake Nipigon,
but all the country east of the Lake
Of the Woods has since been over
grown with forest. They sometimes
. left the shores and struck away into
the woods, and they generally found
! the country level. Although the
soil was good the trees were small,
and stood 50 far apart that the party
could carry their canoe without un-
derbrushing a road anywhere.
Wheat was not raised by the In.
dians, although the country was
well adapted to raising it. The In
dians raised nothing but potatoes
In the Hudson Bay Company's gar
dens they saw splendid crops of all
kinds of ordinary vegetables, and
also patch of Indian corn for using
green, though some kinds were found
to ripen there. The latitude OF
that part of the country was about
the sane as at the mouth of the St
Lawrence-between 40 deg. and 90
deg. north latitude, but it was well
, known that in that part of the coun
try the isOthermal lines bend to the
Northwest. The cold waters OfLakC
Superior exert a cold influence on
the surrounding country, but short
distance back from the great lake a
+, change of fora took place, and the
l plants growing there were very sim
> liar to those in other parts Of the
; country. The timber was about
:, half ever0rpen and half deciduOus,