But that is
in Wisconsin, not in Minnesota. From that city (so called, yet city in
earnest it is like to be) to the nearest point in this territory the
distance by water is twelve miles. The St. Louis River is the dividing
line for many miles between Minnesota and Wisconsin. The country round
about this greatest of inland seas is not the most fertile. It is
somewhat bleak, on the northern shore especially, but is nevertheless
fat in minerals. On the banks of the St. Louis River the soil is
described, by the earliest explorers as well as latest visiters, to be
good. The river itself, though it contains a large volume of water, is
not adapted to navigation, on account of its rapids.
Those who have sailed across Lake Superior to the neighborhood of
Fond-du-Lac appear to have been charmed by the scenery of its
magnificent islands and its rock-bound shores. Most people, I suppose,
have heard of its beautiful cluster of islands called the Twelve
Apostles. One peculiar phenomenon often mentioned is the boisterous
condition of its waters at the shore, which occurs when the lake
itself is perfectly calm.
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