winter at the foot of Lake Superior--Copper mines--White
fish--A poetic name for a fish--Indian tale--Polygamy--A
reminiscence--Taking of Fort Niagara--Mythological and allegorical tales
among the aborigines--Chippewa language--Indian vowels--A polite and a
vulgar way of speaking the language--Public worship--Seclusion from
the world.

1822. _Oct. 1st. Copper Mines of Lake Superior._--On the 8th of May
last, the Senate of the United States passed a resolution in
these words:--

"_Resolved_, that the President of the United States be requested to
communicate to the Senate, at the commencement of the next session of
Congress, any information which may be in the possession of the
government, derived from special agents or otherwise, showing the
number, value, and position of the copper mines on the south shore of
Lake Superior; the names of the Indian tribes who claim them; the
practicability of extinguishing their title, and the probable advantage
which may result to the Republic from the acquisition and working
these mines."

The resolution having been referred to me by the Secretary of War, I,
this day, completed and transmitted a report on the subject, embracing
the principal facts known respecting them, insisting on their value and
importance, and warmly recommending their further exploration and
working.[26]

[Footnote 26: See Public Doc. No. 365, 2d Sess., 17th Congress.]

_4th. White Fish Fishery_.--No place in America has been so highly
celebrated as a locality for taking this really fine and delicious fish,
as Saint Mary's Falls, or the _Sault_,[27] as it is more generally and
appropriately called. This fish resorts here in vast numbers, and is in
season after the autumnal equinox, and continues so till the ice begins
to run. It is worthy the attention of ichthyologists. It is a
remarkable, but not singular fact in its natural history, that it is
perpetually found in the attitude of ascent at these falls. It is taken
only in the swift water at the foot of the last leap or descent. Into
this swift water the Indians push their canoes. It requires great skill
and dexterity for this. The fishing canoe is of small size. It is
steered by a man in the stern. The fisherman takes his stand in the
bows, sometimes bestriding the light and frail vessel from gunwale to
gunwale, having a scoop-net in his hands. This net has a long slender
handle, ten feet or more in length. The net is made of strong twine,
open at the