1863] 



NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



101 



•Ncllces of Btoks. 



Governor Christie aided us, by every means in his power, as well in 

 procuring a fresh supply of provisions as in recommending to us the 

 men besf qualified to manage a canoe, aud to guide us over the diffi- 

 cult and dangerous return route upon which Ave were aboutto euter. 



While detaiued at the Assiuiboin Colony by these preparations for 

 our return, I had au opportunity of making a short visit, which inte- 

 rested me much, to a settlement of about five hundred _Cree Indians, 

 residing below the colony, at Prince Rupert's Lauding. They are 

 decidedly the most civilized tribe which I have seen or heard of m 

 the North. These Indians support themselves mainly by the produce 

 of their farms, which they cultivate with theirown hands They dwell 

 in comfortable squared log buildings, erected, thatched and white- 

 washed by themselves. They are acquaiuted with the use of the sim- 

 pler farming uteusils, and the mechanical operations necessary to keep 

 their farms and houses in order) Each family cultivates from five to 

 ten acres of land, which is kept well fenced. They mow their own 

 hay, and feed their cattle on it in the winter. A few occasionally hunt 

 during a month or more in the summer, or when their crops do not 

 require much attention ; but this is more for recreation than for sup- 

 port. Some of the men occasionally contract with the Hudson Bay 

 Company to transport their goods to and from York Factory, on Hud- 

 son's Bay. 



The remarkable change in the habits and customs of these Indians 

 has been wrought mainly through the force of example, by Mr. Smith- 

 hurst, who resides among them as missionary, aud who is thoroughly 

 conversant with their language. That gentleman is remarkable tor his 

 love of order and is devoted to agriculture and horticulture. His house 

 is situated iu the midst of a delightful little flower garden, kept in 

 beautiful order, with flourishing fields of grain and meadows in the 

 rear. The Indians, having continually before their eyes so pleasing 

 and practical an example, of the comforts of a civilized life, as well as 

 an illustration of the means by wheh, in a rigorous climate, they may 

 be enabled to provide tor themselves a support far more stable and 

 certain than that derived from the chase, have gradually fallen into the 

 habits of their instructor, and, by degrees have gathered around their 

 permanent houses the implements aud appurtenances, and even some 

 of the comforts and luxuries belonging to the thrifty farmer, It is true 

 they are sometimes accosted contemptuously by their neighbours, the 

 Chippewas, and ridiculed as earth-worms aud grubs: but they now 

 retort upon them : — "Wait till the winter sets iu, and then you will 

 come to us, beggars for our surplus potatoes and indifferent peas." , 



The evening we were there, several young lads were engaged in 

 sharpening their scythes, preparing to go out, next morning, in a party 

 to mow. 



The general agricultural character of the Red River country is excel- 

 lent ; the land is highly productive, especially in small grain. The 

 principal drawbacks are occasional protracted droughts during the mid* 

 summer months, and, during the spring, freshets, which from time to 

 time, overflow large tracts of low prairie, especially near the " Great 

 Bend." Its tenacious subsoil insures its durability. 



* * * # -* # * 



The Lake Superior country presents four principal varieties of soil: 

 a drift-soil, similar in its ingredients to that just mentioned ; a red clay 

 and marly soil, prevalent over the high plains borderiug ou the coast, 

 aid the corresponding lands on the adjacent islands ; a trap soil of 

 limited extent, near the foot of the igneous outbursts, and finally, allu- 

 vial bottoms, which are confined exclusively to a small body of land 

 on the east fork of Bad River. 



The drift-soil prevails through the highlands, six hundred to one 

 thousand feet above the level of the lake ; also over the high grounds 

 of the promontory, west of Chegwomigon Bay, at a height of three 

 hundred to six hundred feet, aud the higher points of the neighbour- 

 ing Apostle Islauds. These lands, owing to their inferior siliceous soil, 

 and the abundance of erratic blocks disseminated over them, are hardly 

 fit for cultivation. 



The trap soils, which support agrowth of sugar maple, oak, and other 

 hard woods, are next in richness to the alluvial lauds. They are found 

 chiefly on high ridges and slopes, which, at the east and w< st ends of 

 the district, are only a short distance from the lake shore ; but on the 

 waters of Bad River and the Brule, they recede three-fourths of the 

 distance back, towards the sources of their various branches. 



With these trap soils of the Lake Superior country, may be classed 

 the lands in ilia vicinity of Big Bull Falls, and south of Beaulieau's 

 Rapids, on Wisconsin River ; the Pokegoma country, bordering the 



• Confirmed from page 80. 



lake of the same name in Miunesota, the immediate vicinity of the 

 Falls of St. Croix, and a portion of the Snake, Kettle, and Little Rock 

 River countries ; since the soil of these localities originates from rocks 

 of similar composition. 



The red clay aud marl lands, occupying the high plains skirting 

 Lake Superior, are -characterized particularly by the predominance of 

 oxide of iron, from which they derive their colohr, and which amounts 

 to four and a half per cent, or nearly one half of the weight of the 

 saline matter : it is always a retentive soil, from the abundance of ar- 

 gillaceous earth which enters into its composition, hence these red clay 

 aud marl lands are often wet, particularly when defended from the 

 direct rays of the sun, by the dense growth of cedar, balsam, spruce, 

 birch and hemlock that usually covers them. Still these lands are not 

 so wet, but that by clearing aud a judicious system of husbandry, they 

 would soon become sufficiently dry for most kinds oi crops and garden 

 vegetables. 



Lake Superior has, at times, not only the varied interest, but the 

 sublimity of a true ocean. Its blue, cold, transparent waters, undis- 

 turbed by tides, lie, during a calm, motionless and glassy as those of 

 any small secluded lake, reflecting with perfect truth of form and co- 

 lour, the inverted landscape that slopes down to its smooth sandy 

 beach, But when this inland sea is strirred by the rising tempest, 

 the loug 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 descrip- 

 tion may be seen running before the wiud, or beating up against it, 

 all making tor the most favourite harbour on the lake— the sheltered 

 bay of Madeline Island. 



As a site for a town, aud especially as a place of resort for health 

 and pleasure, La Poiute offers advantages beyond auy portion of the 

 mainland iu 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 and sandy beach, insures a secure footing to the bather. 

 As a fishing station, it is unrivalled. The Baj's and creeks of the nu- 

 merous islands and main shore, distant only a few hour's run, are 

 amongst the best fishing grounds on the whole lake, for trout, siscowet 

 {Percopsis Ghiltatus,) and white fish or lake shad (Cortgonus Albut.') 



Tempered as well in summer as in winter, by the vast expanse of 

 water which surrounds it, and which, except at the immediate surface 

 is almost always at 40° Fahrenheit, its climate is milder, at once, and 

 more equable, than any part of Wisconsin, whether it be on the main- 

 land of Lake Superior, or further south, on- the Mississippi. Chiefly 

 for this reason, but also on account of the bracing winds that sweep 

 across the lake, Madeline island is probably not surpassed, in 

 poiut of health, by any locality throughout the entire western country. 



The prairie country, based on rocks belonging to the Devonian and 

 Carboniferous systems, extending up the valleys of the Red Cedar, 

 Iowa and Des Moines, as high as latitude 42° or42°3f, presents a 

 body of arable land, which taken as a whole, for richness in organic 

 element, for amount of saline matter, and due admixture of earthly 

 silicates, affords a combination that belongs only to the most fertile 

 upland plains. 



Throughout this districfythe general levelness of the surface, unin- 

 terrupted only by gentle swells and moderate undulations, offers facili- 

 ties for the introduction of all those aids which machinery is daily 

 adding to diminish the labour of cultivation, and render easy and ex- 

 peditious, the collection of an abundant harvest. 'There are, it is 

 true, limited spots, less desirable for farming purposes, where the ground 

 is liable to be overflowed by the adjacent streams, in times of freshets, 

 and where local geological causes operate to alter the compesition of 

 the soil; or where, from too uniform a flatness of ground, near the 

 sources of streams, water stagnates; these form, however, but a small 

 fraction of the whole. 



The greatest drawback to the settler in these portions of Iowa, is 

 the limited extent of timber, which is chiefly fouud in belts and groves 

 lining the borders of rivers, gradually diminishing in quantity, as a 

 general rule, towards their heads. This disadvantage is in part coun- 

 terbalanced by the ease with which a farm can be commenced and 

 brought under cultivatiou. 



Nevertheless, with proper economy and a little thought, an ample 

 supply both of fuel and farming timber, may, iu most instances, be 

 insured. Again, the great extent of the coal district, throughout a 

 large area of this prairie country, renders the consumption of timber 

 for fuel unnecessary. 



