NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION. 57 



grouse, or partridge, "vvhicli bad crowned their efforts since leav- 

 ing Detroit. It must be borne in mind, however, that there has 

 been very little opportunity for hunting, that we have had 

 abundant supplies, and that our mode of travelling is such as to 

 alarm all game within sound of our track. They have, indeed, 

 brought reports at several points of seeing the footprints of the 

 deer and black bear, but they have not had the leisure to pursue 

 them. 



At five o'clock, the wind abated so much as to permit embark- 

 ation, and our canoe-men hastened forward with the intention of 

 travelling all night, but at eleven o'clock it freshened to such a 

 degree, and at the same time became so intensely dark, that we 

 were compelled to land and encamp. Neither the topography, 

 mineralogy, or any branch of the physical geography of a country 

 can be ascertained without minute examination ; and this consti- 

 tutes, indeed, the object of the investigations, which have been, 

 thus far, so toilsomely pursued against adverse winds since the 

 commencement of the expedition ; but they have disclosed facts 

 which reveal the true structure and physical history of this bleak, 

 ungenial coast ; this hope serves, every day, to give new impetus 

 to the voyage. 



Another day along the Iluron coast. It was now the 6th of 

 June. The voyageurs began now to manifest great anxiety to 

 reach Michilimackinac, and had their canoes in the water at a 

 very early hour. We all participated in this feeling, and saw with 

 pleasure the long lines of sandy shores, strewed with boulders and 

 pebbles, that were swiftly passed. We had traced about forty 

 miles of the coast when we reached the foot of Bois Blanc Island, 

 and pushed over the intervening 'arm of the lake to get its south 

 or lee shore. This was a labor of hazard, as the wind was di- 

 rectly ahead, and drove the waves into the canoes. When accom- 

 plished, we had the shelter of this island for twelve miles, till 

 reaching its southwest part. We then passed, due north, be- 

 tween it and Isle Eonde, which brought the wind again ahead. 

 But the men had not kept this course long, when Michilimackinac, 

 with its picturesque and imposing features, burst upon our view. 



longest, and callous a short distance from the paws up. Ears tipped with black. 

 Covering of the body rusty fur, beneath long coarse hair. Probable weight sis 

 pounds. 



