1763, June.] MACKINAW ISLAND. 359 



mg with the green foliage that half covers them, 

 and in the centre the land rises in woody heights. 

 The rock which forms its foundation assumes fan- 

 tastic shapes — natural bridges, caverns, or sharp 

 pinnacles, which at this day are pointed out as the 

 curiosities of the region. In many of the caves 

 have been found quantities of human bones, as if, 

 at some period, the island had served as a grand 

 depository for the dead ; yet of these remains the 

 present race of Indians can give no account. Le- 

 gends and superstitions attached a mysterious celeb- 

 rity to the place, and here, it was said, the fairies of 

 Indian tradition might often be seen dancing upon 

 the white rocks, or basking in the moonlight.^ 



The Indians landed at the margin of a little bay. 

 Unlading their canoes, and lifting them high and 

 dry upon the beach, they began to erect their 

 lodges, and before night had completed the work. 



1 Tradition, preserved by Henry Conner, See also Schoolcraft, Algic 

 Researches, II. 159. 



" Their tradition concerning tlie name of this little island is curious. 

 They say that Michapous, the chief of spirits, sojourned long in that 

 vicinity. They believed that a mountain on the border of the lake was 

 the place of his abode, and they called it by his name. It was here, say 

 they, that he first instructed man to fabricate nets for taking fish, and 

 where he has collected the greatest quantity of these finny inhabitants of 

 the waters. On the island he left spirits, named Imakinakos ; and from 

 these aerial possessors it has received the appellation of Michillimakinac. 



" When the savages, in those quarters, make a feast of fish, they 

 invoke the spirits of the island, thank them for their bounty, and entreat 

 them to continue their protection to their families. They demand of them 

 to preserve their nets and canoes from the sweUing and destructive bil- 

 lows, when the lakes are agitated by storms. All who assist in the cere- 

 mony lengthen their voices together, which is an act of gratitude. In 

 the observance of this duty of their religion, they were formerly very 

 punctual and scrupulous ; but the French rallied them so much upon the 

 subject, that they became ashamed to practise it openly." — Heriot, 

 Travels in Canada, 185. 



