_eau de vie_, and breakfasted
on some detestable sausages, poisoned with salt.

After this wretched repast, we set out again, and passed toward noon,
the _Mountain Portage_. Here the river _Kaministiquia_ flings itself
over a rock of immense height, and forms a fall scarcely less curious to
see than that of Niagara. Below, the succession of falls and rapids is
constant, so that we made no fewer than thirty-six portages in the
course of the day. Nevertheless we pursued our laborious way with good
cheer, and without a murmur from our Canadian boatmen, who kept their
spirits up by singing their _voyageur_ songs. At last, at about nine
o'clock in the evening, we arrived at Fort William.

Fort William is situated on Lake Superior, at the mouth of the
_Kaministiquia_ river, about forty-five miles north of old _Grand
Portage_. It was built in 1805, when the two rival Canadian companies
were united, and was named in honor of Mr. (now the Honorable) William
M'Gillivray, principal agent of the Northwest Company. The proprietors,
perceiving that the old fort of _Grand Portage_ was on the territory
claimed by the American government, resolved to demolish it and build
another on the British territory. No site appeared more advantageous
than the present for the purposes intended; the river is deep, of easy
access, and offers a safe harbor for shipping. It is true they had to
contend with all the difficulties consequent on a low and swampy soil;
but by incredible labor and perseverance they succeeded in draining the
marshes and reducing the loose and yielding soil to solidity.

Fort William has really the appearance of a fort, with its palisade
fifteen feet high, and that of a pretty village, from the number of
edifices it encloses. In the middle of a spacious square rises a large
building elegantly constructed, though of wood, with a long piazza or
portico, raised about five feet from the ground, and surmounted by a
balcony, extending along the whole front. In the centre is a saloon or
hall, sixty feet in length by thirty in width, decorated with several
pieces of painting, and some portraits of the leading partners. It is in
this hall that the agents, partners, clerks, interpreters, and guides,
take their meals together, at different tables. At each extremity of the
apartment are two rooms; two of these are destined for the two principal
agents; the other two to the steward and his department. The kitchen and
servants' rooms are i