XXXIV INTRODUCTION. 
true ocean. Its blue, cold, transparent waters, undisturbed by tides, le, during a 
calm, motionless and glassy as those of any small, secluded lake, reflecting, with per- 
fect truth of form and colour, the inverted landscape that slopes down to its smooth, 
sandy beach. But when this inland sea is stirred by the rising tempest, the long 
sweep of its waves, and the curling white-caps that crest its surface, give warning, 
not only to the light bark canoe, still much used along its shores, but also to sloop 
and schooner and lake steamer, to seek some sheltering haven. At such times, 
craft of every description may be seen running before the wind, or beating up against 
it, all making for the most favourite harbour on the lake.—the sheltered bay of 
Madeline Island. 
As a site for a town, and especially as a place of resort for health and pleasure, 
La Pointe offers advantages beyond any portion of the mainland in Wisconsin. Its 
surface is sufficiently level and extensive for all purposes of agriculture ; its soil, a 
retentive red marl, is capable, under a proper system of tillage, of returning to the 
husbandman a hundred-fold, and of producing fruits and vegetables in perfection. 
Its gently sloping sandy beach insures a secure footing to the bather. As a 
fishing station, it is unrivalled. The bays and creeks of the numerous islands and 
main shore, distant only a few hours’ run, are amongst the best fishing-grounds on 
the whole lake, for trout, siscowet (Percopsis guttatus), and white-fish or lake shad 
( Coregonus albus). 
