Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 (1907 Volume 8).djvu/191

 about three hundred miles in length, and seven hundred in circumference. Following the course of it, on the American side, the distance is full four hundred miles. The growth of timber here is, generally, similar to that east of Buffalo; but the soil is of greater fertility, and of easier cultivation. It contains too, considerable limestone; and much animal and vegetable substance. On the American side of the Lake there is an abundance of game.

The islands of the Lake are numerous. Some of them are Grose Isle, Isle Bois Blanc, St. George's, Ship, Sandusky, Turtle, Put-in-Bay, and the Three Sisters.

In some of these islands there are subterraneous passages, which abound with petrifactions. In that called Put-in-Bay there is a considerable cave, which I shall by and by describe.

On the 26th of February I had commenced the long and solitary way, bounded on my right by Lake Erie, presenting an ocean of ice, and on my left by a vast wilderness. In looking back I remembered toils and privations, which had put my resolution to the test; and in contemplating the prospect before me, the swamps of the Sandusky and Miami forcibly presented themselves. Along the American side of the Lake, especially the lower part of it, there are many townships; some of them, however, are very inconsiderable, some are known only on paper, and between the former are large districts of country in a wilderness state. Some of the settlements are visited in the summer season by small vessels on the Lake.

{87} In travelling from Buffalo to Detroit, I marched upon the Lake about fifty miles. Sometimes I travelled near its margin, and sometimes at the distance of thirty or forty miles from it. These numerous courses were taken, to enable me to see various parts of the country, and also for the purpose of obtaining game.