NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION. 205 



however, but a hem on the fertile prairie lands, not extending 

 more than half a mile or more, and thus masking the fertile lands. 

 Water, in the shape of lagoons, is often accumulated behind these 

 sand-banks, and the force of the winds is such as to choke and 

 sometimes entirely shut up the mouth of its rivers. We had 

 found this hem of sand-hills extending around the southern 

 shore of the lake from the vicinity of Chicago, and soon found 

 that it gave an appearance of sterility to the country that it by no 

 means merited. On reaching the mouth of St, Joseph's Kiver (8d), 

 a full exemplification of this striking effect of the lake action was 

 exhibited. This is one of the largest rivers of the peninsula, run- 

 ning for more than a hundred and twentv miles through a succes- 

 . . . . . . " , » . 



sion of rich plains and prairies ; yet its mouth, which carries a large 



volume of water into the lake, is rendered difficult of entrance to 

 vessels, and its lake-borders are loaded with drifts of shifting sand. 



The next day's journey carried us fifty miles; and, on proceed- 

 ing ten miles further on the 4th, we reached the mouth of the 

 Kalamazoo,* Before reaching this river, I discovered on the 

 beach a body of detached orbicular masses of the calcareous marl 

 called septa ri a — the Indus helmontii of the old mineralogists. On 

 breaking some of these masses, they disclosed small crystalline 

 seams of sulphuret of zinc. The Kalamazoo irrigates a fine tract 

 of the most fertile and beautiful prairies of Michigan, which, at the 

 date of the revision of this journal, is studded with flourishing 

 towns and villages. 



Fifteen miles further progress towards the north, brought us to 

 the mouth of Grand River — the Washtenong of the Indians — 

 which is, I believe the largest and longest stream of the Michigan 

 peninsula. It is the boundary between the hunting-grounds of 

 the Potto wattomies (who have thus far claimed jurisdiction from 

 Chicago) and the Ottowas. The latter live in large numbers at 

 its rapids and on its various tributaries,! The next stream of 



* Kalamazoo. This word is the contraction of an Indian phrase descriptive of 

 the stones seen through the water in its bed, which, from a refractive power in the 

 current, resembles an otter swimming under water. Hence the original term, 

 Negikanamazoo. This term has its root forms in negik, an otter, the verb kana, to 

 hide, and ozoo, a quadruped's tail. The letter / is the mere transposition of / in 

 native words passing from the Indian to the Indo-French language. 



f Ottowas. So late as 1841, the number of the tribe, reported to the Superin- 

 tendent of Indian Affairs for Michigan, was 1,391, which was divided into 13 villages, 



