Lake Borgne

“ Having thus cleared Lake Borgne, the British were free to begin the work of landing. It was a terrible undertaking, however—scarcely less so than the fight itself. The whole army had to be carried thirty miles in open boats and landed in a swamp. The men were drenched with rain, and, a frost coming on, their clothes were frozen on their bodies. There was no fuel to be had on the island where they made their first landing, and to their sufferings from cold was added severe suffering from hunger before supplies of food could be brought to them. ”

“ The River Iberville is called on this map Bayou Manchac, and is still known by that name. The Rigolets is a gut connecting the waters of Lakes Pontchartrain and Borgne, both of which are bodies of salt water and were originally arms of the sea. In order to reach the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico from the middle of Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain the line ran through the Rigolets into Lake Borgne, and after the addition to the state by the act of April 14, 1812, the eastern boundary line of Louisiana entered Lake Borgne to the south by Pearl river as well as the Rigolets. ”

“ He was an ardent fisherman, and, therefore, one of Borglum’s own kind.
The sculptor would go almost anywhere fishing with anybody he trusted. But now and then he would decline to make a second trip. Bob and Madge Davis once invited him to fish with them in a Canadian lake. He didn’t like it. Sitting in a boat and trolling was too tame a sport, he said. “You might as well be pulling a suitcase aboard the boat as one of those lake trout.” The trout stream near Hermosa was the chief reason for his buying the Black Hills{269} ranch. It was expensive and brought more debts and embarrassment. ”

“ May not Surville, from a vague notion of this basin, have imagined, in his map prefixed to Father Caulin's work, an Alpine lake of ten leagues in length, near which, towards the east, rise at the same time the Orinoco, and the Rio Idapa, a tributary stream of the Rio Negro? However vague may be the account of the surgeon of Hildesheim, it is impossible to admit that the mountain, which has a lake at its summit, is to the north of the parallel of 2 degrees 30 minutes: and this latitude coincides nearly with that of the Cerro Unturan. ”

“ A third lake* (* The lake which Surville calls Laguna tenida hasta ahora or La una Parime.) is figured on the west of the Rio Branco, respecting which I found recently some curious details in the manuscript journal of the surgeon Hortsmann. "At the distance of two days' journey below the confluence of the Mahu (Tacutu) with the Rio Parima (Uraricuera) a lake is found on top of a mountain. This lake is stocked with the same fish as the Rio Parima ”

“ Neither spoke again, till the buggy, cresting the last rise, came out on the shoulder of the mountain, whence the road loops downward through the sage to Washoe Lake. Below them, at the base of the Sierra, the lake lay, a sheet of pure blue, its banks shading from the gray of the surroundings to a vivid green where the water moistened them. There was something human in this evidence of the land’s readiness to bloom and beautify itself when the means were given it. It was a touch of coquetry in this austere, unsmiling landscape that seemed so indifferent. ”

“ They are partly cultivated, and extremely fertile on account of the vapours that rise from the lake. Burro, the largest of these islands, is two miles in length, and is inhabited by some families of mestizos, who rear goats. These simple people seldom visit the shore of Mocundo. To them the lake appears of immense extent; they have plantains, cassava, milk, and a little fish. A hut constructed of reeds; hammocks woven from the cotton which the neighbouring fields produce ”

“ We might have fancied ourselves in the valley of Hasli, in the canton of Berne. The neighbouring hills, only one hundred and forty toises in height, are composed of calcareous tufa; but their abrupt declivities project like promontories on the plain. Their form indicates the ancient shore of the lake. The eastern extremity of this valley is parched and uncultivated. No advantage has been derived from the ravines which water the neighbouring mountains; but fine cultivation is commencing in the proximity of the town. ”

“ Lake Bourbon, the most northern of those yet discovered, received its name from some French traders who accompanied a party of Indians to Hudson’s Bay some years ago; and was thus denominated by them in honour of the royal family of France. It is composed of the waters of the Bourbon River, which, as I have before observed, rises a great way to the southward, not far from the northern heads of the Mississippi.
This Lake is about eighty miles in length, north and south, and is nearly circular. It has no very large islands on it. The land on the eastern side is very good ”

“ From the summit another rivulet trickles away to the south, and finds its way through a frightful tamarack swamp, and through woods scarred by ruthless lumbering, to Mud Pond, a quiet body of water, with a ghastly fringe of dead trees, upon which people of grand intentions and weak vocabulary are trying to fix the name of Elk Lake. The descent of the pass on that side is precipitous and exciting. The way is in the stream itself; and a considerable portion of the distance we swung ourselves down the faces of considerable falls, and tumbled down cascades. ”

“ The inhabitants, as we have already mentioned, burn the meadows in order to produce fresher and finer grass. Gramineous plants abound, especially at the summit of the chain; and those vast conflagrations extend sometimes the length of a thousand toises, and appear like streams of lava overflowing the ridge of the mountains. When reposing on the banks of the lake to enjoy the soft freshness of the air in one of those beautiful evenings peculiar to the tropics, it is delightful to contemplate in the waves as they beat the shore, the reflection of the red fires that illumine the horizon. ”

“ Toward Fond du Lac, on the south, the horizon is the lake. South-southwestward, Black Wolf Point runs out, just over the verge, and the tops of the tall trees upon it peep up into view, like shadowy pile-work. Westward are the well-kept hospital grounds, fringed with stately elms overhanging the firm, gravelly beach, studded with ice-heaved bowlders, which extends northward to Neenah. The view to the north and northeast is delightfully hazy, being now dark with delicate fringes of forest which cap the occasional limestone promontories, and again losing itself in a watery sky-line. ”

“ The storm winds are the molan (from the Arve valley towards Geneva) and the bornan (from the Drance valley towards the central portion of the lake) . The lake is not as rich in fish as the other Swiss lakes, one reason being the obstacle opposed by the Perte du Rhône to fish seeking to ascend that river. Prof. Forel knows of but twenty indigenous species (of which the Féra, or Coregonus fera, is the principal) and six that have been introduced by man in the 19th century. A number of lake dwellings, of varying dates, have been found on the shores of the lake. ”

“ In Dease Bay, limestone and sandstone are the prevailing rocks. The waters of the lake are very clear, and of unknown depth; forty-fathoms of line were let down near the shore, in Mac Tavish Bay, without reaching the bottom. There is a considerable quantity of good wood, principally white spruce, in the vicinity of the lake; but there is reason to believe that, before many years elapse, it will become scarce, for it is very slow of growth, and the natives every year set fire to it in various quarters, and thus destroy it for many miles. ”

“ In return for protection from this menace, the villagers would be willing to build a church. They were simple folk and glad to help those who seemed kind and good men.
So, as the seasons succeeded each other, a group of buildings sprang up on the lake shore. The layout would be like that of the other lake missions. A monastery would spread its length ..."
"Ross," I interrupted, "have you ever read a book called Sandford and Merton?"
"No," said Ross. "Is it interesting?" ”

“ Between the lakes of Bienne, Neuchâtel, and Morat, there stretches a vast mossy district known as the "Gross Moos," through which the combined surplus water of the two latter lakes finds its way to the former. From the north end of Lake Bienne the surplus water again emerges, and is conveyed by the Zihl or Lower Thielle in a sluggish channel for some miles farther down the valley, where, before the Correction des Eaux du Jura, it united with the [Pg 22] Aar. ”

“ Burnham explored a tract of land larger than Germany, penetrating a thousand miles through a country, never before visited by white men, to the borders of the Congo Basin. With him he had twenty white men and five hundred natives. The most interesting result of the expedition was the discovery of a lake forty-nine miles square, composed almost entirely of pure carbonate of soda, forming a snowlike crust so thick that on it the men could cross the lake. ”

“ The Roxen Lake, through which we next passed, is some seventeen miles long by seven broad, and is justly regarded as one of the loveliest sheets of water in all Sweden. The shores are neither very high nor very grand, but it would be difficult to find any thing more charming than the rich coloring of the rocks, their varied outlines, the luxuriance of the forests, and the crystal clearness of the water. Villages and farms are seen at occasional intervals in the distance, and sloops, with their sails hanging idly against their masts, float upon the placid surface of the lake as upon a mirror. ”

“ Having passed the rocks, they found the stream broadening out once more. The bottom was now muddy, and here and there grew large clumps of reeds and cattails.
"This seems to be more of a swamp than a lake," was the comment of the doctor's son. "From what Jed Sanborn said I thought it was a narrow stream all the way to the lake."
"So did I," added Giant. "I begin to feel that we have made a mistake."
"If we have, you're to blame," grumbled Whopper.
"Oh, you were willing enough to come this direction," answered Giant sharply. "If we are wrong, you needn't blame me." ”

“ The shore of the lake rounds itself off lazily, but the contours of the hills against the horizon are crisp and well marked, not soft and vaporous as under the paler skies of Switzerland and Savoy. In the evening they seem to sink deep into the clear background. The almost symmetrical undulations of the hills repeat the same forms, exaggerating themselves accordingly as one looks toward the north, so that one feels almost as if they could be measured by the clearly marked stages with which the Novare plain comes up at last against the formidable barrier of the Alps. ”

“ We landed at the first point we could approach but, having found an open channel close to the shore, were obliged to ferry the goods across on pieces of ice. The fresh meat being expended we had to make another inroad on our pounded meat. The evening was very warm and the mosquitoes numerous. A large fire was made to apprise the hunters of our advance. The scenery of Rock-nest Lake is picturesque, its shores are rather low except at the Rock-nest, and two or three eminences on the eastern side. The only wood is the pine which is twenty or thirty feet high and about one foot in diameter. ”

“ They bound our view towards the West. On my bridle-hand is a wide lake. It lies like a mirror almost at our feet. Many coloured grasses and shrubs clothe the slopes which lead down to the limpid water. Acres upon acres of rich grass-land—such as would make the mouth of a Leicestershire farmer water with envy—surround Sabanja on every side. We ride into the village; it consists of about 200 houses, mostly built of dried mud, and with much difficulty I obtain accommodation for the night.
Long before daybreak we were in the saddle. Our road wound through mountain passes. ”

“ A mile away we found the hotel, with Mr. and Mrs. Colwell. The buildings are old but all nature is gloriously grand and beautiful.
Though cordially invited to stay overnight, we pushed on over the Rubicon River, up the hill on part of the Georgetown road for a mile and a half,—from which we had a fine view of Buck Island Lake,—struck the trail for another mile and in the early afternoon made camp at Rock Bound Lake. Here we rowed and swam, studied the country from the nearby hills, and then slept the sleep of the healthfully weary under the blue vault of heaven. ”

“ The problem is to put this fleet and the cities on the lakes—Duluth, Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Marionville—in communication with Europe. The lakes empty into the ocean through the St. Lawrence. That is the road to follow. Unfortunately we have a little obstacle to overcome at the outlet of Lake Erie, an obstacle once and a half as high as the Arc de l'Etoile at Paris. ”

“ Its extent is, first, nine hundred and ten yards, terminating on the shores of a little lake, without outlet, called the Lake of the Isle. There is then a portage of 1,960 yards to another mountain lake, without outlet. We were now near the apex of the summit between Leech Lake and the source of De Corbeau. Another portage of one onwaybee or about a thousand yards, partly through a morass, carried us quite across this summit, and brought us out on elevated and highly beautiful grounds overlooking the Kaginogumaug, or Longwater Lake, which is the source of the Crow-Wing River. ”