THE NORTHERN LAKES. 



That all may "read our title clear," and that the author may not 

 appear as treating a boundless and unlimited territory, the follow- 

 ing explanation is vouchsafed: The scope of the present work is 

 intended to include, besides the three Great Lakes, Superior, Huron 

 and Michigan, a few of the more accessible inland lakes within the 

 boundaries of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. 



There are, it is claimed, within this territory, fully fifteen thous- 

 and distinct bodies of water. They are of all sizes, ranging from 

 those of many miles in extent down to a mere mill pond, covering a 

 few hundred acres. 



The region in which these northern lakes lie nestled is greatly 

 diversified in its topography. From scenes of pastoral beautj^, 

 lingering amid vast prairies, whose risings and fallings remind one 

 of the mighty waves of the ocean, to the forest- girt lake, hidden 

 beneath lofty mountains, or the mighty river coursing sublimely 

 through some of the grandest of American scenery, all are in- 

 cluded within the borders of our northern domain. 



The sportsman can here find that Eldorado he has so long sought 

 for,— a forest home, myriads of wild game, fish in abundance, and 

 that quiet rest so invigorating to man. Here the wildfowl, the 

 deer and the bear most do congregate, and here the disciples of 

 Isaac Walton may satisfy their craving hearts. 



The firmest, and the most delicately flavored fish, as a rule, are 

 found in northern waters. The colder and purer the water the more 

 delicious the fish; an assertion generally admitted by all authori- 

 ties. Who that has tasted the far famed white-fish just taken from 

 the pure, cold northern waters, can say otherwise ? 



The trout family inhabit all our northern lakes and streams. 

 There is scarcely a brook in Northern Wisconsin, Minnesota or 

 Michigan that is not literally alive with the speckled trout. Wher- 



