SOURCE OF ST. PETER's RIVER, 177 



ing out far before us, its extremity bearing south-east of 

 our course. 



Having crossed the bay, which is about fifteen miles 

 wide, we passed a promontory called Thunder Point, the 

 elevation of which was estimated at eight hundred feet. 

 This, as well as the rest of the shores, has a bold and fine 

 outline. It is doubtless formed of the same rock as the 

 islands ; its dark-red colour, deepened by the effects of 

 the weather, is picturesquely relieved by an orange-co- 

 loured lichen which in many places conceals the rock. 

 The w^eather being very fair, and the wind having sub- 

 sided, we determined to continue our route in order to 

 pass a part of the lake, which, being unsheltered by 

 islands, is very rough when the least wind raises a swell. 

 Having merely stopped for supper we resumed our voy- 

 age by moonlight. The effect of that evening scene was 

 beautiful beyond description ; tall cliffs filled with caverns, 

 and curiously indented by numerous little coves, rose 

 abruptly from the smooth and undisturbed surface of the 

 lake, whose unbounded expanse lay then open to view. 

 In the midst of such a scenery, where both the rock and 

 the lake had an appearance of immensity, and where 

 naught else could be detected by the eye, our small boat 

 seemed a mere speck upon the surface of the waters. 

 At about midnight, we had again reached a shelter of 

 islands, which were very numerous and small ; we conti- 

 nued along them until two o'clock, when the moon setting 

 left us in total darkness ; as it became both difficult and 

 dangerous to continue our course, we sought for a landing 

 place, which we had some difficulty in finding. There 

 we spent the rest of the night; the next morning we ob- 

 served that the place where we had landed was covered 

 with an immense number of small waterworn stones, 



