62 THE GREAT NORTH-WEST 



them. Some are well wooded, and others pretty well 

 covered with bushes ; but some of the small rocks have a 

 barren appearance; nor is the timber on the coast of 

 Huron, as far as can be seen from the water, remarkable 

 for either size or abundance. There is plenty of fish hi 

 the waters. Will it ever be exterminated by the waste 

 of a superabundant population on the shores? White 

 fish swarms at present ; and a big trade in it has already 

 sprung up. It is salted and sent all over Canada and 

 the Northern States. 



Our voyage along the shores of Huron was fairly rapid, 

 and without incident. On the ninth day we arrived at 

 St. Mary's River ; and the following day had to make a 

 portage across St. Mary's Leap, or the St. Mary Rapids 

 as the maps call it. This is the spot where the waters of 

 Superior rush into Huron, and it is a dangerous place 

 where many lives are reported to have been lost. There 

 is " a fort " on the United States side ; a mere military 

 post where a few soldiers are kept, most of whom seemed 

 to me to be Germans or Hollanders, and a village has 

 sprung up round this military shanty. I think that term 

 correctly describes it : for it appears to be built of timber, 

 and about two shots, I, should think, from a gun of 

 moderate size, would blow it to atoms. 



On the Canadian side there is also a hamlet, or a bit 

 of one. It had a tumble-down appearance; but there 

 was a fish-curing establishment or two there on a small 

 scale ; and the Yankee, or German, soldiers seemed to 

 frequent it a good deal more than their own place, for 

 the purpose of getting drunk and quarrelling with the 

 sailors belonging to the police craft on the lakes. 



The voyage on Lake Superior took us twelve days, in- 

 cluding one or two short stoppages; but here also we 

 met with no incident worth record until we arrived at 

 Fort William. Superior is described in a later chapter. 



Fort William was once a very important depot of the 

 North- West Company, the rivals of the Hudson Com- 



