is case,
they make two trips; that is, the men leave half their lading, land it
at the distance required, and then return for that which was left. There
are three carrying places; and, near the last of them, the river is a
mile and a half wide, and has a regular current, for about sixty miles,
to the first _portage de Chaudiere_. The whole body of water is here
precipitated, twenty-five feet, down, craggy and excavated rocks, and in
a most wild and romantic manner.

Over this portage, it is requisite to carry the canoe and all its
lading; but the rock is so steep, that the canoe cannot be taken out of
the water by fewer than twelve men, and it is carried by six men.

The next remarkable object which the traders approach, is a lake called
_Nepisingui_, about twelve leagues long, and fifteen miles wide, in the
widest part. The inhabitants of the country adjacent to this lake,
consist of the remainder of a numerous tribe called _Nepisinguis_, of
the Algonquin nation.

Out of the lake flows the _Riviere de Francois_, over rocks of
considerable height. This river is very irregular, both as to its
breadth and form; and it is so interspersed with islands, that, in its
whole course, its banks are seldom visible. Of its various channels,
that which is generally followed by the canoes is obstructed by five
portages. The distance hence to Lake Huron is about twenty-five leagues.
There is scarcely a foot of soil to be seen from one end of the river to
the other; for its banks consist entirely of rock.

The coast of _Lake Huron_ is similar to this; but it is lower, and
backed, at some distance, by high lands. The canoes pass along the
northern bank of this lake, into _Lake Superior_, the largest and most
magnificent body of fresh water in the world. It is clear, of great
depth, and abounds in fish of various kinds. Sturgeon are caught here,
and trout, some of which weigh from forty to fifty pounds each. The
adjacent country is bleak, rocky, and desolate: it contains no large
animals, except a few moose and fallow deer; and the little timber that
is to be seen, is extremely stunted in its growth. The inhabitants of
the coast of Lake Superior are all of the _Algonquin nation_, who
subsist chiefly on fish. They do not, at present, exceed one hundred and
fifty families; though, a century ago, the whole adjacent country is
said to have been inhabited by them.

Near the north-western shore of Lake Superior, and beneath a hill,
three