ducing a good crop. Such is the case at Superior. Never in my days have I experienced a finer and more blessed winter; beneficial to the crops, yet protected from the rays of the sun, which would otherwise draw up the weak plants and expose them to the frosts at night, which is common in northern latitudes.

"The vegetable, as well as the floral kingdom, is richer here than in any latitude I ever met with before. Many rare and fine species I have seen in the wild state; and to my great surprise, one morning, while boating on the beautiful Nemadji, I found a new species of the yellow honeysuckle (caprifolium) adorning the banks of that stream. I shall never forget that morning, and the impression made upon my mind to see those beautiful banks, richly lined with shrubbery, and interspersed with trees of different. sorts, so tastefully ordered. I have frequently met with the fine Tiger lily, and the pretty Aggeratus (the latter I saw last spring selling in New York at twenty-five cents each), Ranunculus, roses, and many a fine species of the Umbelito family. Plums, gooseberries (without mildew), strawberries, whortleberries, cranberries, and raspberries, grow everywhere throughout the woods, and as good as I ever saw in their cultivated state. Finer turnips—and the Swedish ruta baga with other kinds. I have never seen since I left Sweden. The potatoes grown here excel anything of the kind I have ever met with. They contain more starts, and are consequently more nutritious for human food. A specimen of wheat raised here was indeed a fair sample, and not the small and shrunken grain grown in other States, but full and plump. From my observations I confidently believe we will yet raise apples, peas, cherries, etc., because I say about this country as Mr. Cobbet expresses himself in his 'American Gardener' about Long

Island, New York, 'When you see the blossom the fruit will follow.'

"The tiller of the soil abroad who wishes to get a healthy, rich, and cheap home, can, from the above statements, conclude whether or not to settle in Superior. Farmers are wanted here. Without them no country can exist."

THE ST. LOUIS RIVER.

This river rises in the northeastern part of Minnesota, and enters Lake Superior on the west. It is extremely rocky, and so full of sunken boulders and dangerous rapids that it never could be made navigable further up than Fond du Lac, which is twenty miles from the City of Superior. The action of its waters, and those of the lake, have formed a narrow strip of land, about seven miles in length, jutting out from the Minnesota shore, which, in connection with a similar point from the Wisconsin shore, in an opposite direction, forms the Bay of Superior. At the head of this bay the river again widens out into another bay of about the same size, which is called the Bay of St. Louis; from thence to Fond du Lac, the old trading-post of the Fur Company, the river is wide, and of sufficient depth to admit the passage of any of the craft which ply upon the lake. It is somewhat crooked, containing numerous islands, some wooded, and others covered with excellent grass, and fields of wild rice. The St. Louis flows through a rich alluvial bottom, from one to three miles in width, partly timbered, and partly covered with natural meadows. From the Bay of St. Louis to the falls, its northern shore is bold and rugged; the bluffs on the south side are similar to those of the north for several miles below the falls. Immense quantities of excellent stone, suitable for building purposes, and slate, are on its banks, and from the surface indications

we would infer that valuable mineral ores abound. During the past winter the lumbermen have not been idle; the first raft consisted of twenty-nine hundred logs, and was towed by the steamboat James Carson, on the 24th of May, from near Fond du Lac to the Du Luth mill. Much of the land along this river is already occupied by settlers, and the productions raised for experiment will equal, if not surpass, in quality and size, those of any State in the Union. A great many specimens of vegetables, etc., were deposited at the office of the "Chronicle" for the purpose of exhibition. Among them were the following: a stalk of corn, eleven feet six inches long, bearing an ear fourteen inches in length, and well proportioned; it was the common yellow corn, and was raised from a grain picked up on Quebec pier; several potatoes, weighing each two pounds. Mr. D. Geo. Morrison contributed a sample of very large potatoes raised in St. Louis county, containing forty-five to the bushel. There were also many specimens of ruta baga turnips, weighing five, six, and nine pounds, and one of eleven pounds, which measured thirty-five inches in circumference.

CHAPTER IV.

PRINCIPAL TOWNS CONTINUED-ONTONAGON-MARQUETTEEAGLE RIVER-EAGLE HARBOR COPPER HARBOR-BAYFIELD LA POINTE-BAY CITY AND ASHLAND, ETC.

ONTONAGON, the largest mining depot, and the second town in size on Lake Superior, is situated at the mouth of the Ontonagon river. The most productive copper mine in the world, the Minnesota, which we have before described, and several other very promising ones, are but a short distance from this town. It has a population of about 1200, a large proportion of which are connected with the mines. During the past winter, there has been 690 feet added to the western side of the harbor, making the total length of the west pier 1175 feet. It will shortly receive another addition of 100 feet, which will carry it out into twelve feet water. The eastern pier has been also extended, and is now over 500 feet. We learn from the Ontonagon Miner of June 15, 1857, that the steamer "Mineral Rock" went out a few days previous with 123 tons of copper on board, and drawing over eight feet water; this. is the legitimate effect of the recent improvement of the harbor. A new brick powder magazine is shortly to be erected on the river above Rose island; an improvement much needed, as the Ontonagon district uses over ten thousand kegs of powder yearly; and a new omnibus makes daily trips to the mines for the accommodation of the tra velling public. Ontonagon will, in less than three years,

be in connection with Milwaukee and Chicago by railroad; when these roads are completed, a new era will be opened in the history of Lake Superior mining, and the miners will be enabled to send copper to market at all seasons of the year. The value of the copper shipped from this port in 1856 exceeded $1,000,000.

MARQUETTE is one of the most important and flourishing towns on the lake, and is named in honor of one of the early French Jesuit explorers. It owes its importance to its iron mines, and may be appropriately called the iron city of Lake Superior. Many houses were erected last year, of neat and tasteful designs, besides four stores, a car factory for the Iron Mountain Railroad Company, an office for the Canal Company, an extensive pier, and the Marquette House has been enlarged and fitted up. The mines are a few miles back of the town, connected with it by a railroad, the first one completed on Lake Superior. The amount of iron shipped from this port, in 1856, was 20,538 gross tons, valued at $102,600. The facilities for taking out ore, and carrying it to the lake, are now such as will enable the various companies to mine upwards of 200,000 tons the present year. Immense quantities of marble have been discovered, of various shades of beauty, within four or five miles from the town, near the Iron Mountain Railroad; new varieties are constantly being brought to light, and as some of its most enterprising citizens are actively engaged in developing these quarries, there is no doubt that, in a year or two, a large trade will spring up with the Eastern cities. The late land grant from Government to the State of Michigan for railroad purposes, provides for two roads terminating at this place. These companies are now united with the Chicago, St. Paul, and Fond du Lac, and are actively at work at various points on the route between Marquette and Fond du Lac.