A General History of the Fur Trade, 



29 



is its Northern extremity, being in latitude 46. 31. North, 

 and in longitude 84. West, where there is no variation of 

 the compass whatever, while its Southern extremity, at the 

 River St. Louis, is in latitude 46. 45. North, and longitude 

 92. 10. West : its greatest breadth is one hundred and twenty 

 miles, and its circumference, including its various bays, is 

 not less than one thousand two hundred miles. Along its 

 North shore is the safest navigation, as it is a continued 

 mountainous embankment of rock, from three hundred to 

 one thousand five hundred feet in height. There are nu- 

 merous coves and sandy bays to land, which are frequently 

 sheltered by islands from the swell of the lake. This is 

 particularly the case at the distance of one hundred miles to 

 the Eastward of the Grande Portage, and is called the Pays 

 Plat. 



This seems to have been caused by some convulsion of 

 nature, for many of the islands display a composition of lava, 

 intermixed with round stones of the size of a pigeon's egg. 

 The surrounding rock is generally hard, and of a dark blue- 

 grey, though it frequently has the appearance of iron and 

 copper. The South side of the lake, from Point Shagoimigo 

 East, is almost a continual straight line of sandy beach, in- 

 terspersed with rocky precipices of lime-stones, sometimes 

 rising to an hundred feet in height, without a bay. The 

 embankments from that point Westward are, in general, of 

 strong clay, mixed with stones, which renders the naviga- 

 tion irksome and dangerous. On the same side, at the 

 River Tonnagan, is found a quantity of virgin copper. The 

 Americans, soon after they got possession of that country, 

 sent an engineer thither ; and I should not be surprized to 

 hear of their employing people to work the mine. Indeed, it 

 might be well worthy the attention of the British subjects to 

 work the mines on the North coast, though they are not 

 supposed to be so rich as those on the South. 



Lake Superior is the largest and most magnificent body 

 of fresh water in the world : it is clear and pellucid, of great 

 depth, and abounding in a great variety of fish, which are 

 the most excellent of their kind. There are trouts of three 

 kinds, weighing from five to fifty pounds, sturgeon, pick- 

 erel, pike, red and white carp, black bass, herrings, &c. &c. 

 and the last and best of all, the Ticamang, or white fish, 

 which weighs from four to sixteen pounds, and is of a su- 

 perior quality in these waters, 



