horth'Carcnna Chronicle ; or,
Fayetteville Gdzefti
K' 14, of Vol. JI.j
M O N D A Y, D E C E M B E R j3f
ti1
'90.
Total
66.
No
IIISTOR2'.
CARVER'S TRAVELS.
( Cvri 'lKUtd. )
TWO very targe rivers empty the m
leirek into this like, on the north
and nor:h ea:t ftdt ; ne is called Nipe
g. n river, or, as the French pronounce
it, the Allanipegon, which leads to a
hind of the Chip'eways, inhabiting a lake
of the fame name", and the othei is term
c.i the Michipiccct n -irer, tlfe fource oi
vhich is li:ua:ed towards James's Bay,
ticr.i v rnc there h hut a lort carriage
tt ano :er ri rer, which implies itielf into
1! at Uav,aL a i rt belonging tethe com
pany. L wmV ;-y this pailage that a par
ty oi French fr.-m Mkhillirnackir.ac in
vaded the fe -dements of that fociety in
the reign of queen Arrne. Having tak n
and dettroyed their forts, they brought
the cannon vhich th.-y fund in them to
the fortrefs from.whence (hey had iffued :
' thefc were fma l bra: s pieces and remain
'there tn this prefent time ; havi g, thro'
the ufiial revolution of fortune, re urned
to (he poifefiion of their crmer matters.
Not far from the Nipegon is a fmall
liver, that, J uft before it enters 'he lake,
has a perpendicular fall fxom the top of
a mountain, of more than fix hundred
feef. Being very narrow, it appears at
a diftancc like a white garter iufpended
in the air.
A few Indians inhabit round the eaft
ern borders cf thi . lake, fuppofed to be
the remains of the Algonkfns, who for
merly profTefledlhis country, but who have
been neaily extirpated by the Ircquris of
Canada. JLske Superior has near forty
rivers that fall into It, fome of which arc
cf a confiderable f ze. Or! the fouth
fdeof it is a remarkable print or cap,
cf about fixty miles in le gth, cal ed
Point Chegomegan. It might a, pro
perly be termed a per.infua, as i: : 1 rar-
feparated from the cor.-met t, 'he
eit fide, by a narrow bar tb:v ert -p
frmj faft to veil. Caroes hvr h.
fi.or 1 portage aci o s th ifihmu. - crt
?s if; fher coaft i rounr, the v; - i
ir.ore ;han an hndreJ r ilcs-
A bout that -lifia cc to the v. c" : :
cspe ijiut defciibed, a coiiiid.. . . Ci
falls into th lake, the head of which is
c( mpofed o. a great aTemblage of fmall
flreams. This river is remarkable for
the abundance of virgin copper that Is
found on and near its banks. A metal
vhich is met with alio in feveral other
places' on this csaft. J obferved that
many of the frca 1 iflands, particularly
thole on the eaftern fhores, were covered
with copjer ore. They appeared like
beds" of cappera, of whieh many tons
lay in a foul! fpac'e-'
A company of adventurers from
England, began, foon after the conqnefl
or Canada, to bring away fome of this
metal, but the Jidra&ed fituation of afr
fairs in America lias obliged them tore
Hr.quiih their fcht me. it irright in fa
tuie times be mad a very advantageous
trade'; as the metal which cofts nothing
on the,fpot, and, requires but little ex
pence to get it on board, could be con
veyed ia boats or canoes through the
' falls of Sc.; Marie to the iflc of St. Joleph,
which lies'. at the bottom of the (heights
near the entrance into lake H.'.ron ; from
' thence je might be put on board larger
veil" Is, and in them tranfporlea acrols
thar lake to the falls of Niagara ; there
' being carried by lan J acrot- the P: rtage
it mich' be conveyed without muchob
flru&ion to Quebec. The cheapnefs and
cafe with which any Quantity of it maf
be procured, will make up for the length
efwy that it is neceiTary to tranfyort it
before it reaches the fea-coafl, and enable
the proprietors to fend it to foreign mar
kets on as good terms as it caa be ex
ported frem ether countries.
Lake Superior abounds with a variety
, of fifh, the principal and beft are the
trout and Hnrgeon, which, may caught
at almoil any ieafon in thegreateu abun
dance. The trouts in general weigh
About twelve pounds, but fome arc
caught that exceed fifty. Befids thei'e,
a fpecies.of white fifh is taken in great
quantities here, 'hat rr rrrble a fliad in
their fhape, but they are rathr thicker,
and le beny ; they weigfi about four
pounds each, and are of a I'elicious tafte.
There are likewife many foits of fmaller
fh in great plenty here, a d which may
5-r faken with eafe ; aimi ng thefe is a
ort refembling the herring-, that ae ge
2ir2lly mads '. ufz of as a bait ior the
,. .....
1 . L - a . , j ' 1
trotft. Verj iraall crabs, n6t larger than j
.halfacrownpiece. are fbunidisoth m this
ahdj lakie Michegafr. ' h I
1 This lake is as much arecredBy florrns
as tpc Atlantic ccean the waves run asj
higt, and are equally as dangerous to !
fHips. It diftharges its waters irom'thc
foutjh eall corher, through the freights
of qt. Marie.; At the tipper end of thefe !
, ftrclghts ftawJs'-a'fort thaf recedes its !
nanjeirom tKetn, comrhantJed: by Monf.
Cadbtv a French Canadian, who being ;
proprietor of the foil, h fllll permitted f
ltd kpep poffeflion of rt. Nfar this fort
;isa yery ft rong rapid, again ft whieh, thb i
it is impoffible for canoes to afcend, yet ;
. whei conduacd by " careful pilots y they i
mrglit pafs down withont danger. f
j llhough lakK Saperior as t hai?eefbre
- oiepredf is fupplied by nearjlbrt rivers,
' JPan7 of which are corifideratle dnes, yet
ri does not appear that onetenth! part of
the waters which are convey jed into it by
thefe rivers are carried off at this evacu
ation. Howach a fnpera'hundance of ;
, watr can be-difpoftd of, as it mult cer- j
, tainy be by fome means or other, with
out -f.hfch the circumferencejcf the lake :
. vrpujd be continually enlarging, I know !
not j that it dots not empty itielf asvthe
Mediterranean fea is fnppofed to do, by ;
an ijinder current, whichj perpetually
counteracts that near the fufrface, ii'cer
tainj; for the ftream which falls ovcthe
rock is. not more than five of" - x feet in ;
deptih. and the whole of it js(0e cn 'hro
the jtreights into the adjacehtake-nor
is it probable that fo great a quantity can
be abftrbed by exhalations, j ror fequent
1) thiey muft find a paflage thrctigh (bfn;
fubtfrrarean cavities, deep vuniaticm
ablej and never fo be explored.
Tft.e falls vi Sr. Marie do pnpt defcend
: perpendicularly as thoie of INiagafa r
St. Jnthoay do, bui connftp cF a fapid
vhich continues near .three quarter of a
mi! el, ever which canoes w;ell piloted
might pais. ip .
Ak the bottom of thefe lls, nature:
has formed a moP( commodious fiaiion,
for patching the f.fh v hih are-,to be
fpund there -in limmenfe quati?k'sj Per-,
fonsj (landing ia the rrcks tbjat Jicadja-'.:;
centjtoit, in ay stake with ' cfpr-ir rctr,: j
abbtit the, monihs of Sep'rmer and Oc- :
tcber, the Tvhitb fifh befcre -jpcttiojnef?.