﻿Ill] 
  

  

  The 
  Five 
  Islands 
  : 
  Petite 
  Anse 
  

  

  249 
  

  

  quality 
  of 
  the 
  Kansas 
  salt 
  is 
  inferior 
  to 
  that 
  of 
  Petite 
  Anse, 
  its 
  

   nearness 
  to 
  the 
  great 
  packing 
  houses 
  largely 
  offsets 
  the 
  differ- 
  

   ence. 
  

  

  *i88i 
  to 
  1896 
  from 
  mineral 
  resources 
  of 
  the 
  U. 
  S. 
  

  

  The 
  Lakes 
  : 
  a 
  zoological 
  probleryi. 
  — 
  The 
  lakes 
  on 
  the 
  island 
  are 
  

   of 
  the 
  same 
  origin 
  as 
  those 
  on 
  Grand 
  Cote. 
  These 
  fresh 
  water 
  

   lakes, 
  three 
  on 
  Petite 
  Anse, 
  five 
  on 
  Grand 
  Cote 
  and 
  one 
  on 
  Belle 
  

   Isle, 
  offer 
  material 
  for 
  a 
  very 
  interesting 
  scientific 
  investigation. 
  

   Isolated 
  as 
  they 
  are 
  from 
  other 
  bodies 
  of 
  fresh 
  water 
  and 
  sepa- 
  

   rated 
  from 
  the 
  main 
  land 
  by 
  sea 
  marshes 
  we 
  would 
  naturally 
  

   look 
  for 
  some 
  faunal 
  peculiarities. 
  Although 
  the 
  age 
  of 
  the 
  

   lakes 
  is 
  not 
  very 
  considerable 
  they 
  would 
  probabl}^ 
  show 
  some 
  

   interesting 
  things 
  on 
  variation. 
  

  

  Marsh 
  fires. 
  — 
  Few 
  nights 
  passed 
  during 
  my 
  stay 
  on 
  the 
  island 
  

   that 
  great 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  horizon 
  were 
  not 
  an 
  angry 
  red 
  from 
  dis- 
  

   tant 
  marsh 
  fires. 
  During 
  the 
  day 
  columns 
  of 
  smoke 
  told 
  of 
  

   their 
  existence, 
  and 
  sometimes 
  they 
  approached 
  sufficiently 
  near 
  

   to 
  be 
  seen 
  and 
  heard. 
  In 
  dry 
  seasons 
  or 
  after 
  a 
  very 
  severe 
  win- 
  

   ter 
  the 
  reeds 
  are 
  easily 
  ignited, 
  and 
  once 
  started 
  the 
  fire 
  spreads 
  

   with 
  great 
  rapidity, 
  often 
  covering 
  many 
  hundred 
  acres. 
  To 
  

   these 
  marsh 
  fires 
  is 
  probably 
  to 
  be 
  traced 
  the 
  early 
  idea 
  that 
  

   these 
  hills 
  were 
  blazing 
  volcanoes. 
  They 
  have 
  given 
  rise 
  to 
  the 
  

   name 
  "Fire 
  Islands" 
  mentioned 
  by 
  Hilgard 
  and 
  to 
  Stoddard's 
  

   story 
  that 
  "one 
  of 
  the 
  islands 
  has 
  been 
  known 
  to 
  be 
  on 
  fire 
  for 
  

   at 
  least 
  three 
  months." 
  

  

  