112 LAKE SUPERIOR. 



Aug. 10th. — Calm this morning, with a swell on the lake ; an 

 unusual occm-rence, owing to the southerly wind of yesterday. We 

 passed at a short distance the river Rideau, which falls in a succes- 

 sion of cascades (said to have ninety feet descent in all) directly 

 into the lake. The final fall, of about thirty or forty feet, is divided 

 in the middle by a large rock, part of the wall of the cove into which 

 it falls. This river, the only one we saw where the never-failing falls 

 descend directly into the lake, was also the only one that had no 

 sand-beach at its mouth. All the others were indicated from a dis- 

 tance by an expanse of white sand. 



Shortly after, the wind sprung up fresh from the south-west, of 

 which we took advantage with our tarpaulin sails. It is a mistaken 

 notion that a canoe will not sail on a wind. Ours sailed very well, 

 with the wind somewhat forward of the beam. Only the sails are 

 not braced up much, but just enough to keep full ; since otherwise, 

 having no keel, the canoe would make too much leeway. 



Opposite Otter Island we counted ten parallel trap-dykes, running 

 north, twenty-five degrees west. Here are several terraces, passing 

 by regular gradations into the present beach. At the Riv. a I'Ois- 

 eau Vert are veins of epidotic trap. The bateau hove in sight out- 

 side of us this morning, with both sails set. 



In the afternoon we came upon the bateaux from Michipicotin, 

 moored under the lee of some rocks. They had been several days 

 on the way already, being kept back by the wind, and thus it was 

 that our stores had not arrived at the Pic. These were now handed 

 over to us, consisting of pork and excellent ship-biscuit. The men in 

 the boats Avere mostly half-breeds, with their families. Several of 

 the women were very pretty ; their complexion, indeed, a faded or 

 bleached olive, as if they had never seen daylight, but with a spot of 

 color in the cheek. We passed Michipicotin Island, having neither 

 time nor favorable weather for visiting it, and encamped on a beach 

 of coarse dark sand, where we observed the white flowering raspberry 

 for the first time on our return. 



Aug. llth. — At half past five this morning when we got under 

 weigh, it was dead calm and somewhat foggy. The fog soon lifted, 

 and the sun shone out warm. The surface of the lake continued 



