and also the
Indians living in numerous villages south of the Straits. The Island
of Mackinac was merely occupied by the English to escape a second
massacre as in 1763; and which occupancy our Government has blindly
followed, believing it, as an evidence of English military skill and
judgment in the selection of commanding posts, while they at that
period did not make this selection with any reference to a future
hostile maritime power who might wish to pass, or force a passage
through the Straits.

[Illustration: Sugar Loaf--Mackinac.]

[Illustration: Mackinac Island. 1. Lover's Leap. 2. Harbor. 3.
Village. 4. Fort. 5. Signal. 6. Sugar Loaf. 7. Mission. 8. Robinson's
Folly.]

"The land rises gradually from the water at Mackinaw City, until it
reaches an elevation of seventy-five feet, from which beautiful and
picturesque views are obtained of the waters of the Straits, with the
numerous Islands sleeping on its bosom. The prospect from the City is
beautiful, beyond description--the Battery at New York can only be
compared to it, which is like it in its location. The visitor will
enjoy the view presented of the Islands, Points, and adjacent shores;
especially on a calm day, for the lake, and the green woods upon isle
and promontory, lie with a sleepy stillness before him, enhancing the
beauty of the prospect; and when the mind contemplates the events of
two hundred and fifty years ago, when thousands of the red sons of the
forest passed and repassed the site upon which he now stands, he will
appreciate more fully the rapid strides of civilization.

"Two hundred and fifty years ago, bark canoes only dotted the surface
of the Lake; this spell of quiet was then broken a few years afterward
by the boisterous Canadian _Voyageur_ with his songs, as he rowed or
paddled his _bateaux_ and large northwest canoe. Now, the roaring
noise of the wheels of steamers, the shrill whistle of the propeller,
and the whitening sails of hundreds of vessels have succeeded to the
past age of darkness and quiet. Civilization and commerce have broken
the charm which beautified Indian scenery in years forever gone by."

A work, published under the auspices of the Canadian Government, in
three large octavo volumes, French, entitled "Relations of the
Jesuits," containing the most remarkable events that transpired in
the missions of the Jesuits in New France, furnishes valuable
information of the missions in the Mackinaw region. Among the
rema