General Description of Lake Erie. 361 



of the lake, and along the water communication between Lakes 

 Erie and Huron. Their officers and men were then attacked 

 bj' mild intermittents, and, in one case, a severe remittent. 



GEOGRAPHY. 



Lake Erie is placed on the north side of the hilly country 

 giving rise to the principal tributaries of the Ohio, and at the 

 south edge of the fertile peninsula included by the waters of 

 Lakes Huron, St. Clair, Erie, Ontario, and Simcoe. 



The part of Lake Erie nearest to Lake Huron is Port Talbot 

 (about the middle), and it is 57 miles distant. It is 21 miles 

 from Lake Ontario, at Sugar-loaf Hill, and 15 miles from 

 Lake St. Clair, at the township of Tilbury East. 



This lake extends (in a narrow, oblong form, and much con- 

 tracted at its north-east end) 231 miles from S.W. to N.E., 

 according to Bouchette, and from long. 78° 16' to long, 82". 

 This estimate agrees closely with data I received from my 

 friend, Lieutenant J. Grant, R.N.* Mr. Bouchette adds, that 

 Lake Erie has its greatest breadth of 63^ miles (lat 41° 10' — 

 42.3) at Port Talbot, and that it is commonly 30 to 40 miles 

 broad, but is little more than 20 at Long Point, on the north 

 shore, 70 miles from the lower end. 



The distance between Point Pele and its opposite headland 

 on the south shore, the peninsula of Sandusky, is very incor- 

 rectly represented in the usual maps, which are, indeed, 

 inaccurate in every thing respecting the head of the lake. 



Purdy's Map of Cabotia makes it an oblong cul de sac, 

 17 miles broad, at the mouth of the Detroit river ; whereas it 

 is a short oval, 30 miles in breadth at that spot, and 42| miles 

 long, measuring W, by N., from midway between the two 

 headlands. He gives 13 miles as the interval between these 

 promontories, while it is 25J miles. Mr. Tanner, a skilful 

 geographer of Philadelphia, assigns to this last space 36 miles 

 in his Map of the State of Ohio ; and Mr. Carey, of the same 

 place, makes it 50 miles, in his Maps of the Michigan Terri- 



* According to Mr. G., who was stationed on this lake in 1820, Middle 

 Island is 190 miles, by ship's course (nearly direct), from the lower end of 

 Lake Erie ; and it is 38^ miles direct from the upper end, by the maps of 

 the Commission : thus making a total of 228 i miles. 



