SOURCE OF ST. PETEr's RIVER. 16.3 



cago and its vicinity. We found in it nothing to justify 

 the great eulogium lavished upon this place by a late 

 traveller, who observes that " it is the most fertile and 

 beautiful that can be imagined." " As a farming country," 

 says he, " it unites the fertile soil of the finest lowland 

 prairies with an elevation which exempts it from the in- 

 fluence of stagnant waters, and a summer climate of de- 

 lightful serenity."* The best comment upon this description 

 of the climate and soil is the fact that, with the most active 

 vigilance on the part of the officers, it was impossible for 

 the garrison, consisting of from seventy to ninety men, to 

 subsist themselves upon the grain raised in the country, 

 although much of their time was devoted to agricultural 

 pursuits. The difficulties which the agriculturist meets 

 with here are numerous; they arise from the shallowness 

 of the soil, from its humidity, and from its exposure to the 

 cold and damp winds which blow from the lake with great 

 force during most part of the year; the grain is fre- 

 quently destroyed by swarms of insects; there are also a 

 number of destructive birds of which it was impossible for 

 the garrison to avoid the baneful influence, except by keep- 

 ing, as was practised at Fort Dearborn, a party of soldiers 

 constantly engaged at shooting at the crows and blackbirds 

 that depredated upon the corn planted by them. But, even 

 with all these exertions, the maize seldom has time to ri- 

 pen, owing to the shortness and coldness of the season. The 

 provisions for the garrison were for the most part conveyed 

 from Mackinaw in a schooner, and sometimes they were 

 brought from St. Louis, a distance of three hundred and 

 eighty-six miles up the Illinois and Des Plaines rivers. 



The appearance of the country near Chicago ofiers but 

 few features upon which the eye of the traveller can dwell 



• Schoolcraft's Nan-ative Journal of Travels, (Albany, 1820,) page 

 384. 



