tremity of the island, and contains a few
hundred souls, which are sometimes swelled to one or two thousand by the
influx of voyageurs, traders and Indians. On these occasions its
beautiful harbor is seen checkered with American vessels at anchor, and
Indian canoes rapidly shooting across the water in every direction.

"It was formerly the seat of an extensive fur trade; at present it is
noted for the great amount of trout and white fish annually exported.
Fort Mackinac stood on a rocky bluff overlooking the town. The ruins of
Fort Holmes are on the apex of the island. It was built by the British
in the war of 1812, under the name of Fort George, and was changed to
its present appellation after the surrender to the Americans, in
compliment to the memory of Major Holmes, who fell in the attack upon
the island.

"The old town of Michilimackinac stood at the extreme point of the
peninsula of Michigan, nine miles south of the island. Eight years
before La Salle's expedition, Father Marquette, the French missionary,
visited this spot with a party of Hurons, upon whom he prevailed to
locate themselves. A fort was soon constructed, and became an important
post. It continued to be the seat of the fur trade, and the undisturbed
rendezvous of the Indian tribes during the whole period that the French
exercised dominion over the Canadas."

Here at Michilimackinac, La Salle purchased a rich cargo of furs,
exchanging for them his goods at an immense profit. The _Griffin_, laden
with wealth, set out on her return and was wrecked by the way with total
loss. La Salle with his companions had embarked in birch canoes, and
descending Lake Michigan to near its southern extremity, they landed and
erected a fort which they called Miamis. They then carried their canoes
across to the Illinois river and paddled down that stream until they
came near to the present site of Peoria, where they established another
fort, which La Salle, grief-stricken in view of his loss, named
_Creve-Coeur_, or Heartsore. Here the energetic and courageous
adventurer left his men in winter quarters, while, with but three
companions, he traversed the wilderness on foot, amidst the snows of
winter, to Fort Frontenac, a distance of fifteen hundred miles. After an
absence of several weeks, he returned with additional men and the means
of building a large and substantial flat-bottomed boat, with which to
descend the Illinois river to the Mississippi, and the latter strea