The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-07-22
APOSTLE ISLANDS,
The Charming Beauty of Group of Isles
in Lake Superior.

The Charming Beauty of a Group of Isle.
in Lake Superior
On the southern shore of Lake Supe
rior. that great "unsalted sea- anC
nearing its head, nestle the Apostle
Islands, dotting the entrance to Che
quamegon bay. Some twenty in mum
Der they are of various sizes and shapes,
Long reaches of white sand form here
and there white beaches, while near by
red sandstone cliffs rise perpendicularly
from the water to magnificent heights
Again the shores are lineI with huge
powders ground round by the ceaseless
roll of the surf. Yawning chas ms
within whose wind-shcltered walls boats
glide over the still water; waterfalls
dashing down precipitous hills; huge
pillars seeming as though formed by
the hands of giant stone masons; great
wave-worn fiSsures; immense blocks of
stone fallen from the cliffs and forming
other little islands upon which the
hardy pine has found root and grows,
are some of the natural beauties seen
in passing through the island channels.
The charm of the group lies more.
however, in the ever-varying views Il
their wooded slopes. On a summer
day in that clear atmosphere, when
white clouds fit across an otherwise
brazen sky, a perfect picture is formed.
In the foreground the clear. pure waters
of Chequamegon bay: in front and on
either hand lie the islands as far as the
eye can reach. On the water Il shade
is cast here, giving it a deep green
color; yonder the sun lights it up and
it is molten silver; flashing across
wooded hill, all the vivid colors in the
laboratory Of nature are brought out, Il
shade from a cloud deepens the
emerald-green of spruce and pine, and
as the white-winged boat is waited
along, the scene is changed, ever chang
ing. With balsamic odOrS waited from
deep, woody shores; with refreshing
breezes from the bosom of old Superior.
mellowed by the rays of the sun and
tempered by the winding hills, that
lull their boisterous blasts, life is a
lullaby ended all too soon.
The Jesuit Fathers. Raymbault and
JaqueS. who sought but never reached
the head of the great lake; Mesnard.
who put his trust lin that Providence
which feeds the little birds Ofthe air, and
clothes the wild flowers of the DESERT"
but who wandered into the trackless
woods whence no word or sign, or
sound ever came from him: and Alioiie.
who made his way along the shore,
through the labyrinth of islands and
planted the standard of the cross on the
largest of the group had their hardships.
it is true, but what glorious life they
led, with nature in her majesty, her
beauty, her purity, ever present. That
was more than two centuries ago, and
there sit those islands to-day almost as
they were when the deyout and daring
Jesuits with their Indian guides first
looked upon them in their beauty
Civilization has gone around them; the
hand of man has been stayed.
Save here aud there cleared spot, a
tisherman's cabin, some three or four
lighthouses to guard the great COM
merce which flows past these solitary
abodes of few, they are now as they
were when earth was young.
Long voyages are made to view the
beauties of nature; our people flock to
the shores of many seas in search of
scenes with which to store life $ memory
but these northern and easily accessible
isles equal if they do not surpass. the
most famed groups of the Old World.
James 2. App!egG,e, IN Current.