64 NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION, 



ing or fixture left ; and tlie site is now as silent and deserted as 

 if it had never been the scene of an active resident population. 



The Island of Michiliraackinac appears to have been occupied 

 first as a military position by the British, about 1780, sa}^ some 

 seven years after the massacre of the garrison of the old penin- 

 sular fort of the same name. 



"Wherever Michilimackinac is mentioned in the missionary let- 

 ters or history of this period, it is the ancient fort, on the apex of 

 the Michigan peninsula, that is alluded to. 



The present town is pleasantly situated around a little bay that 

 affords good clay anchorage and a protection from west and north 

 winds. It has a very antique and foreign look, and most of the 

 inhabitants are, indeed, of the Canadian type of the French. The 

 French language is chiefly spoken. It consists of about one 

 hundred and fifty houses and some four hundred and fifty per- 

 manent inhabitants. 



It is the seat of justice for the most northerly county of Michi- 

 gan. According to the observation of Lieut. Evelith, the island 

 lies in north latitude 45° 54', which is onl}^ twenty-three minutes 

 north of Montreal, as stated by Prof. Silliman.* It is in west 

 longitude 7° 10' from Washington. 



Col. Croghan's attempt to take the island, during the late war, 

 was most unfortunate. He failed from a double spirit of dis- 

 sension in his own forces, being at odds with the commanding 

 officer of the fleet, and at sword's points with his second in com- 

 mand. Major Holmes. After entering the St. Mary's, and taking 

 and burning the old post of St. Joseph's, where nobody resisted, 

 instead of sailing direct to Mackinac, a marauding expedition 

 was sent up this river to St. Mary's, and when the fleet and troops 

 finally reached Mackinac, instead of landing at the town, under 

 the panic of the inhabitants, it sailed about for several days. In 

 the mean time the island filled with Indians from the surrounding 

 shores. 



Fort " Mackina" is eligibly situated on a cliff overlooking the 

 town and harbor, and is garrisoned by a company of artillery. 

 The ruin of Fort Holmes, formerly Fort George, occupies the 

 apex of the island, and has been dismantled since the British 

 evacuated it in 1815.* 



* Tour from Hartford to Quebec, p. 341. 



