SOURCE OF ST. PETEr's RIVER. 109 



portage terminates ; but after we had passed that island 

 we found ourselves upon a smooth sheet of water, inter- 

 spersed with numberless islands, which break the uniform- 

 ity of the water scenery. Few of these islands are large ; 

 all rest upon solid rock, and are covered with small trees, 

 chiefly pine, spruce, hazel, willow, cherry, &c. besides 

 vast quantities of bushes, bearing berries. The prickly 

 pear abounds in these islands. The rocky shores are partly 

 concealed by the moss and lichen which cover their sur- 

 face, and by the grass and bushes which grow out from 

 their deep crevices. In this respect the rocks in the 

 lake differ from those in the river, as the latter are al- 

 ways bare, to a certain elevation, which indicates that of 

 the floods that occasionally swell it ; the dark lines, which 

 are seen running horizontally along the shore, point out the 

 height of the various floods which have at different times 

 occurred. 



The weather was so unfavourable during our stay at the 

 portage, as to prevent us from taking any observation. It 

 having cleared up at night, we proceeded at^ two A. M. 

 with a fine moonlight. At one of the islands, (Cosse's,) 

 while we stopped for breakfast, Mr. Seymour sketched the 

 scenery of the lake, plate 11. 



The Lake of the Woods has been described to us as be- 

 ing about three hundred miles in circumference. Its shores 

 are very inuch indented by bays, in which an immense 

 quantity of wild rice is annually collected. Our passage 

 through the lake, which was nearly in a diagonal direction, 

 was effected in a time very little exceeding two days. 

 The number of islands which we saw was immense; at one 

 time, looking merely before us, we could count upwards of 

 tifty in sight. All are on solid rock, except one, near the 



Vol. II. • 15 



