136 TRAVELS THROUGH LOWER CANADA! 
changes .— The Vessel suffers from the Storm 
whilst at Anchor .—Departure from Point 
Ah mean .—General Description of Lake Erie. 
« 
—Anecdote.—Reach the Islands at the Western 
End of the Lake.——Anchor there. — Descrip¬ 
tion of the Islands.—Serpents of various Kinds 
found there. — Rattlesnakes.—Medicinal Uses 
made of them.—Fabulous Accounts of Ser¬ 
pents.—Departure from the Islands. — Arri¬ 
val at Malden.—Detroit River. 
Malden, October. 
i * 
FORT Chippewa} 7 , from whence my last 
letter was dated, is a small stockaded fort, 
situated on the borders of a creek of the same 
name, about two hundred yards distant from 
Niagara River. Had it^ been built imme¬ 
diately on the latter stream, its situation would 
* 
have been much more convenient* for the 
water of the creek is so bad that it cannot be 
drank, and the garrison is obliged to draw wa¬ 
ter daily from the river. The fort, which oc¬ 
cupies about one rood of ground only, consists 
of a small block house, inclosed by a stockade 
of cedar posts about twelve feet high, which is 
merely sufficient to defend the garrison against 
musket shot. Adjoining to the fort, there are 
about seven or eight farm houses, and some 
large stone houses, # where goods are depo¬ 
sited preparatory to their being conveyed up 
