150 Collingwood to Samia. 



are very beautiful to the eye, resembling fine gold. Some 

 200 or 300 men are employed, all from European mines. 

 After being taken out of the shafts, which are twelve in 

 number, the ores are taken .to the crushing-house, where 

 they are passed between large iron rollers, and sifted till 

 only a fine powder remains ; from thence to the "jigger"- 

 works, where they are shaken in v/ater, till much of the 

 earthy matter is washed away, after which it is piled in the 

 yard ready for shipment, having more the appearance of 

 mud than copper. It is mostly shipped to Swansea, in 

 Wales, for smelting. To the south-west, laved by the waters 

 from Superior, and touching the edge of Huron and Michigan, 

 lies the beautiful island of Mackinaw, which has given its 

 name to these straits. All the Detroit and Chicago steamers 

 stop here in passing to and fro, and usually tarry time enough 

 for their passengers to take a cursory glance over the island. 

 The scenery here is romantic in the extreme, and it has four 

 natural curiosities, either one of which would give a reputa- 

 tion to any ordinary island, viz.. Arched Rock, which faces 

 the north, rising from the water to the height of nearly 200 

 feet — a superb piece of wave-formed architecture, appearing, 

 as you look through it, like the gateway - to a new world. 

 Robinson's Folly, a picturesque bluff, also on the north 

 shore, taking its name from the summer residence of an 

 English tourist, which he would persist in building here, 

 despite the warnings of the Indians, and which was swept 

 with its occupant one night of tempest into the deep below. 

 On the western shore is the Cave of Skulls, where, 

 according to tradition, a party of Sioux were murdered by 

 the Ottawas 100 years ago. This is corroborated by Henry 

 the traveller, who, having to take refuge here after the mas- 

 sacre of Mackinack, found himself next morning " reclining 

 on a bed of human bones." The other curiosity is called 

 The Needle, or Sugar Loaf ; it is a lighthouse-looking 

 rock, overlooking the entire island, and throwing its shadow 



