REMARKS. 107 
The new post on Detroit River commands 
the channel much more effectually than the 
old fort in the town of Detroit; vessels cannot 
go up or down the river without passing within 
a very few yards of it. It is remarkable in¬ 
deed, that the French, when they first pene¬ 
trated into this part of the country, fixed upon 
the spot chosen for this new fort, in preference 
to that where Detroit stands, and they had ab¬ 
solutely begun their fort and town, when the 
whole party was unhappily cut off by the In¬ 
dians. 
The island of St. Joseph, in the third place* 
is a more eligible situation for a British mi¬ 
litary post than Michillimakinack, inasmuch as 
it commands the entrance of Rake Superior* 
whereas Michillimakinack, only, commands the 
entrance into Lake Michigan, which is wholly 
within the territory of the United States. 
It is sincerely to be hoped, however, that 
Great Britain and tli^ United States may con¬ 
tinue friends, and that we never may have oc¬ 
casion to view those posts on the frontiers in 
any other light than as convenient places for 
carrying op commerce. 
