phere, and recounting the little incidents of the day's journey, until admonished by the falling dew that it was time to retire to our tents. For nearly two days, this formation of oceanic sand, elevated into moderate hills and ridges, forms the constant rest for the eye on the American shore. Toward the north, the conic and serrated pinnacles of Marmoage and Gorgontwa display their blue tops across this embayed part of the lake, and these elevated peaks are not lost sight of, in fair weather, until the voyager has passed a day's journey beyond Whitefish Point.
Early in the morning of our first day beyond the capes, we crossed a wide bay, on the southern shore of which rest the bones of Shingaba Wossin, a politic chief, of noble stature and bearing, who died at this spot, in the autumn of 1828. This chief was, for many years, the leader and ruler of the Odjibwa, or as they are commonly called, Chippewa nation, and evinced a foresight and interest in their public affairs, which reflect the highest credit on his memory. From the establishment of a garrison and agency in this quarter, in 1822, he evinced a friendship for the Americans, which was strengthened by his intercourse with the department. He appeared, from the outset, to understand the true policy of his people, and employed the last eight years of his life in efforts to secure their best interests.
Whitefish Point is a bleak, sandy peninsula, projecting a long distance into the lake; and it is not easy to account for its not being swept away by periodical tempests, without the supposition that this loose body of sand and gravel rests on a rocky basis. Namikong, the name of this point in the Odjibwa, affords an instance of the concise and expressive character of this language, which I will only detain you by remarking, is a compound derivative from the particle na, excelling or abounding, amik, beaver, and ong, a particle of locality; the interior of this part of the country having been formerly noted for the abundance of this animal. It is particularly from the extremity of this prominent point, westward, that the character of the shore strikes the visitor as rather plain and uniform. But this succession of lake sands is terminated by a scene as novel as it is grand. The great sand dunes of Lake Superior, called 'Grandes Sables,' by the French, are almost unique in American scenery. It was late in the afternoon of our third day from St. Mary's, before we turned the point of coast which first brought this imposing sight in view. A long line of high, naked, arid coast, suddenly burst upon us, as if thrown up by an enchanter’s rod. To one who has never observed scenery of this kind, there is really nothing with which to compare it. The vast accumulated strata of sand stands up from the water's edge, like a precipice. There is not a tree or a shrub to detract from its bleak Arabic character, for miles together; and what renders it the more
