ch he asked me the name. This tree is
found in occasional groups extensively in the region of the upper Lake
latitudes, where it is called the mountain ash. In the expedition to the
sources of the Mississippi in 1820, it was observed on the southern
shores of Lake Superior, which are on the average a little north of
latitude 36 deg. 30'. This tree does not in these straits attain much size;
a trunk of six to eight inches diameter is large. Its leaves, flowers,
and fruit all tend to make it a very attractive species for shade and
ornament. It must have a rich soil, but, this requisite granted, it
delights in wet moist lands, and will thrive with its roots in
springy grounds.

_15th_. One of the curious superstitions of the Chippewas, respecting
the location of spiritual existences, revealed itself to-day. There is
quite an eminence nearly a mile back of the new cantonment, which is
called La Butte de Terre by the French, and Wudjuwong,[18] or Place of
the Mountain, by the natives. This eminence is covered with a fine
growth of forest trees, and lies in the track of an ancient Indian
hunting path. About half way between the brow of the hill and the
cantonment, there formerly stood a large tree of this species, partly
hollow, from the recesses of which, Indian tradition says, there
issued, on a calm day, a sound like the voice of a spirit or monedo. It
resembled the sounds of their own drum. It was therefore considered as
the residence of some powerful spirit, and deemed sacred. To mark their
regard for the place, they began to deposit at its foot bows and twigs
of the same species of tree, as they passed it, from year to year, to
and from their hunting-grounds. These offerings began long before the
French came to the country, and were continued up to this time. Some
years ago, the tree had become so much decayed that it blew down during
a storm, but young shoots came up from its roots, and the natives
continued to make these offerings of twigs, long after the original
trunk had wholly decayed. A few days ago, Colonel Brady directed a road
to be cut from the cantonment to the hill, sixty feet wide, in order to
procure wood from the hill for the garrison. This road passed over the
site of the sacred tree, and the men, without knowing it, removed the
consecrated pile of offerings. It may serve to show a curious
coincidence in the superstitions of nations, between whom, however,
there is not the slightest probability of natio