CHAPTER XXXII. 



THE ISLAND OF MACKINAC. 



THE STRAITS OF MACKINAC THE PERFECT TRANSPARENCY OF THE 

 WATER PURITY OF THE ATMOSPHERE ANTIDOTE FOR HAY FEVER 

 FORT MACKINAC THE ASTOR HOUSE THE ENCHANTING ISLE 

 SOUVENIRS THE CAPTAIN'S DREAM PELICAN LAKE AN AQUA 

 INCOGNITA THE HOME OF THE MIGHTY MUSCALONGE. 



OUR visit to the beautiful island of Mackinac was of the 

 most delightful character and one long to be remembered. It 

 is one of the most delightful spots on earth. Situated at the 

 confluence of lakes Michigan and Huron and at the western 

 entrance to the Straits of Mackinac, it is surrounded by water 

 than which none clearer, purer or more beautiful is to be 

 found on the globe. It is so perfectly transparent that every 

 pebble of the size of a pea may be easily distinguished at a 

 depth of thirty feet or more. We saw fish from the piers at 

 the boat-landing not more than two inches long in water 

 twenty to thirty feet deep, and could actually distinguish 

 their fins at those depths. The atmosphere is as clear and 

 pure as the water, and at this point, as well as at Petoskey, 

 Cheboygan, and in fact all through this region, is a perfect 

 antidote for hay fever. Hundreds of sufferers from this disease 

 seek and find relief at these points every summer. The island 

 is two and a-half miles in width and about four miles long. 

 Its greatest altitude above the level of the lake is 330 feet. 

 It contains many features of natural and historical interest, 

 prominent among which is old Fort Holmes, where one of 

 the important engagements of the war of 1812 took place, 



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