Potosi journal. (Potosi, Mo.) 1894-1929, 1910-08-31
Continued from last week.


night out on Lake Superior and could nc
shake off the thought that there was onl
ia fraction of an inch of steel between m
and the wet that land was miles away ex
cept downward, and was not at all ans
ious to reach i. in that direction. How
ever. before seeking my berth had local
ed a couple of reliable.looking life-pre
servers under it. which gave me iittl
more confidence in the situation. Beside
the elife-preservers. the boat has a full
equipment of life.boats. and, best Of all
a wireless telegraph outfit and operator
by which aid may be summoned eithe
from the shore or from passing boats. Al
passenger boats On the lakes have thi
wireless telegraph Il believe it is now
legal requirement. and there are nov
wireless stations at all towns of any conse
lquence on the shore.
| was out on deck the next morning
about o'clock. On all sides, as far a
the eye could reach there was only water
land had disappeared entirely. and to ou'
who experiences this sigh for the frs
time it produces a novel sensation a
cold. raw wind was blowing. which rough
ened the water into waves perhaps two
feet high. but not enough to cause an IN
! pleasant motion OF the boat.
Making my way to the stern of the boat
I found that, although we were miles from
| land. visitors had come to US with the
light OF day A flock Of gulls were follow
ing in the wake of the boat. These birds
are about the size of wild duck, only
modelled on finer lines, and have a wing
spread of something like eighteen inches.
They are light grey On the back and
creamy white underneath, and have a
yellow, pointed bill. yellow legs with web
bed feet and red eyes. The aeroplane
problem is joke to these birds, for l am
sure there is nothing on wings that can
beat th EN- maneuvering in the air. They
wing. hour after hour, watching for the
cooks to throw food scraps from the kit
chen. AS soon as something is thrown
out they dart after it into the water, often
diving entirely under. and squabble and
pull when more than one has seized upon
piece. They furnish endless entertain.
ment for the passengers with their capers.
They are also wise birds, and are found
only following passenger boats, for it is
from such vessels that the most food
comes.
The expanse of water is susceptible of a
peculiar optical illusion. Often there is a
line of mist between the point OF vision
and the sky line, and beyond ths white
mist line is a narrow, black line of water.
The black iiue appears to be uptuTaed
like the rim Of Pie. plate, and coat on
the horizon seems TO be sailing on this
uoturned rim, instead of on the bosom of
the lake. +
about o'clock 10 tie morning dark
cloud appears in the sky to the east, which
continues to spread out and grow as the
boat advances. 1t is the coast line Of the
peninsula that projects out into the lake
and makes the undercut of the wing like
contour of Lake Superior. Instead OF
making detour of this point of land. the
boats cut across by way of a canal. the
passage being only twenty or twenty-five
miles across, while around the point
would be nearly hundred miles. The
government has opened the west end of
this passage for six or eight miles by cut.
ting a channel through low-lying ridges;
beyond, the rest of the way. is natural
estuary. Midway along this cutoff we
make our first stop. at Houghton. Mich.
This is the celebrated Lake Superior cop.
per region. Here the rocks, the soil and
even the waters of the lake for miles out.
assume red. coppery color. The inevi'
table souvenir. which one meets every.
where in the north. is here also Of copper.
Along the shores one may see large smelt'
ers, and on the shipping docks at Hough.
ton are stacked hundreds Of tons of metallic
copper. just as you see pigs Of lead stack.
ed at the railroad stations in the southeast
Missouri lead belt. Opposite Houghton
is Jackson. where one can see The build.