THE GEM OF THE INLAND SEAS. 



Sacred with the memory of the great 

 Father Marquette and other early French 

 explorers ; interesting as a landmark in 

 the history of three nations — France, 

 England and the United States ; the old 

 camping-ground of the Indian tribes of 

 the northwest, but now studded with the 

 beautiful summer homes of the fashion- 

 able folk 'of the south and middle west, 

 Mackinac Island is aptly called "the gem 

 of the inland seas," and "the Newport 

 of the west." 



"Michilli Mackinac, the Island of the 

 Giant Fairies," the Indians called it, be- 

 cause of its many natural curiosities. The 

 Indians believed that the giant fairies 

 formed the arch-rock, a natural arch 

 projecting from a precipice on the north- 

 eastern side of the island about one-hun- 

 dred and fifty miles above the lake. It 

 rests on great masses of fallen rock, 

 leaving a vista of perhaps eighty feet, 

 spanned by an arch of some sixty feet. 

 When one emerges from the road that 

 winds among the bautiful birches or the 

 foot-path along the cliffs above the lake, 

 he is charmed by a sudden view of tur- 

 quoise sky and sapphire sea, framed by 

 this limestone arch. 



Made easily accessible by beautiful 

 drives, are sugar loaf rock, a lone rock 

 on a broad pedestal of natural rock, ris- 

 ing from a basin of cedars ; skull and 

 chimney rocks, whose names suggest 

 their likeness ; the devil's cave, punch 

 bowl and kitchen; fairy arch, pointe des 

 cedres ; Pontiac lookout ; cave of the 

 woods and lover's leap. Lover's leap 

 bears the Indian legend of 'the Indian 

 squaw and her lover, who, threatened by 

 cruel parents, sought death together by 

 leaping from this rock into the lake be- 

 low. 



Then there are the beach boulevard, 

 compassing the entire island, and several 

 winding roads through the fragrant ce- 

 dar woods, and Park avenue, which, 



starting from old fort Mackinac, passes 

 arch rock and sugar loaf, around to lov- 

 er's lane and cupid's pathway. There is 

 also the old British landing road, begin- 

 ning at the beach, where the English sol- 

 diers landed, and following their line of 

 march through the Dominian farm to the 

 old' fort. Last but not least, is the steep 

 fort hill, whose climb is laborious, but 

 one is entirely compensated for the ef- 

 fort by the beautiful view of the island 

 and harbor from the fort walls. 



Old Fort Mackinac rises picturesquely 

 from the hills, about two hundred feet 

 above the level of the water. The build- 

 ings are whitewashed and kept in good 

 condition, although the fort was aban- 

 doned as a military post in 1896 and pre- 

 sented to the State of Michigan as a Na- 

 tional park. The island was taken by 

 the British in 1780 and remained in their- 

 possession until 1793 when it was sur- 

 rendered to the United States as part of 

 the Northwest territory. In 1812 it was 

 again captured by the British, but re- 

 turned bv the famous treatv of Ghent in 

 the year 1814. Several fierce battles 

 have been fought during the island's his- 

 tory, and many were the bloody encoun- 

 ters of the Chippewa and Ojibway In- 

 dians. Strange to say, it was also the 

 rendezvous for the grand councils qf 

 peace between the same tribes. Then 

 the calumet or peace-pipe circulated 

 among the chiefs, who exchanged vows 

 of eternal peace, only to be broken again 

 and again. 



The old block-house is the most inter- 

 esting of the fort buildings, and many 

 are the stories told of days, even weeks, 

 spent within its walls, a safe shelter from 

 the ferocity of savage Indian foes. Near 

 the block-house, a large boulder with in- 

 scribed plate, marks the spot where an 

 army surgeon of the civil war performed 

 some important surgical operations up- 

 on an Indian, who offered himself to the 



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