The Old Splendor Of The Place Has Departed,
Its Gardens Are Overgrown With Grass, The Barn Has Been Blown Down,
The
kitchen in which so many grand dinners were cooked consumed by fire, and
the mansion, with its broken and
Patched windows, is now occupied by a
Scotch farmer of the name of Wilson.
We climbed a ridge of hills back of the house to the church of the
Episcopal Mission, built a few years ago as a place of worship for the
Chippewas, who have since been removed by the government. It stands remote
from any habitation, with three or four Indian graves near it, and we
found it filled with hay. The view from its door is uncommonly beautiful;
the broad St. Mary lying below, with its bordering villages and woody
valley, its white rapids and its rocky islands, picturesque with the
pointed summits of the fir-tree. To the northwest the sight followed the
river to the horizon, where it issued from Lake Superior, and I was told
that in clear weather one might discover, from the spot on which I stood,
the promontory of Gros Cap, which guards the outlet of that mighty lake.
The country around was smoking in a dozen places with fires in the woods.
When I returned I asked who kindled them. "It is old Tanner," said one,
"the man who murdered Schoolcraft." There is great fear here of Tanner,
who is thought to be lurking yet in the neighborhood. I was going the
other day to look at a view of the place from an eminence, reached by a
road passing through a swamp, full of larches and firs. "Are you not
afraid of Tanner?" I was asked. Mrs. Schoolcraft, since the assassination
of her husband, has come to live in the fort, which consists of barracks
protected by a high stockade. It is rumored that Tanner has been seen
skulking about within a day or two, and yesterday a place was discovered
which is supposed to have served for his retreat. It was a hollow, thickly
surrounded by shrubs, which some person had evidently made his habitation
for a considerable time. There is a dispute whether this man is insane or
not, but there is no dispute as to his malignity. He has threatened to
take the life of Mr. Bingham, the venerable Baptist missionary at this
place, and as long as it is not certain that he has left the neighborhood
a feeling of insecurity prevails. Nevertheless, as I know no reason why
this man should take it into his head to shoot me, I go whither I list,
without the fear of Tanner before my eyes.
Letter XXXVI.
Indians at the Sault.
Mackinaw, _August_ 19, 1846.
We were detained two days longer than we expected at the Sault de Ste.
Marie, by the failure of the steamer General Scott to depart at the proper
time. If we could have found a steamer going up Lake Superior, we should
most certainly have quieted our impatience at this delay, by embarking on
board of her.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 132 of 206
Words from 68069 to 68583
of 107287
