abode under the island, the entrance to which was near the base of the hill, just below the present southern gate of the fort. An old Indian Chees'a'kee, or Spiritualist, who once encamped within the limits of the present garrison, is related to have visited this abode of the fairies under the following circumstances: During the night, while wrapped in the unconsciousness of a sound slumber, one of these spirits approached the place where he was, laid his shadowy hand upon him, and beckoned him to follow. In obedience to the mysterious request, his spirit left the body, and went with the fairy. Together they entered into the mystic dwelling-place of the spirits. Here the Cheesakee was introduced to the Great Spirits assembled in solemn conclave. He was lost in wonder and admiration at what he saw around him. The place where they were assembled seemed to be a very large and beautiful wigwam. After spending some time in the fairy abode, the master-spirit of the assembly directed one of the lesser spirits to show the Indian out, and conduct him back to his body. What were the proceedings of that assembly, the Indian could not be induced to tell, nor were the particulars of what he saw during that mysterious visit ever made known to his fellow red-men. From their fairy abodes, these spirits issued forth at the twilight hour to engage, "with rapid step and giddy whirl, in their mystic dance."

Something of the feeling of veneration which the red men had for this, to them, enchanted island, may be learned from the following soliloquy of an old Indian chief. He was just leaving the island to visit his friends in the Lake Superior country. The shades of night were falling around him, and the deep-blue outlines of the island were dimly shadowed forth. As he sat upon the deck of the steamer and watched the "lovely isle" fast receding from his view, memory was busy in recalling the scenes of by-gone days, and the emotions of his heart found expression in these words:

"Moc'che'ne'mock'e'nung, thou isle of the clear, deep-water lake, how soothing it is, from amidst the curling smoke of my

opawgun (pipe), to trace thy deep blue outlines in the distance; to call from memory's tablets the traditions and stories connected with thy sacred and mystic character! How sacred the regard with which thou hast been once clothed by our Indian seers of by-gone days! How pleasant in imagination for the mind to picture and view, as if now present, the time when the Great Spirit allowed a peaceful stillness to dwell around thee; when only light and balmy winds were permitted to pass over thee, hardly ruffling the mirror surface of the waters that surrounded thee; or to hear, by evening twilight, the sound of the Giant Fairies as they, with rapid step and giddy whirl, dance their mystic dance on thy limestone battlements! Nothing then disturbed thy quiet and deep solitude but the chippering of birds and the rustling of the leaves of the silver-barked birch." But these fairy spirits have long since deserted their island home, and gone, we know not where; and the race of beings in whose imagination they lived has also well-nigh passed away.

From Father Marquette's description of the island, given in a previous chapter, we learn that it was often the chosen home of the savage tribes. Marquette was doubtless the first white man to visit it, or at least to dwell upon it. The first permanent white settlement on this island was made in 1780, when the fort and town were removed to this point, not because of its superiority in a commercial or military point of view, but for the security which it afforded against the surrounding Indian tribes. Had that one event of June 4, 1763,* never occurred, this island would no doubt have still been in the hands of nature, and the fort and town at “Old Mackinac,” where they properly belong.

Contrary to the treaty of 1783, the English held possession of the island until 1795, when they were compelled to give it The size and population of the town has varied at different stages of its history. In 1820 it consisted "of about one

up.

* See page 62.

hundred and fifty houses, and some four hundred and fifty permanent inhabitants." At that time there was no school, no religious service, no attorney, and no physician (other than at the garrison) in the place. There were, however, courts of law, a post-office, a jail, and one or more justices of the peace. At present, there are about nine hundred inhabitants, many of whom are engaged in fishing, and absent during a greater part of the Summer.

The most interesting feature of the island, since the war of 1812, has been its connection with the fur-trade carried on by John Jacob Astor, Esq., of New York. Previous to 1809, an association of traders existed, called the Mackinac Company; but at that date Mr. Astor organized the American Fur Company. Two years after this, he bought out the Mackinac Company, and established a new Company known as the South-west. During the Winter of 1815 and 1816, Congress enacted a law that no foreigner should engage in trade with the Indians who did not become a citizen, and after this Mr, Astor again established the American Company. This Company was organized with a capital of two million dollars. It had no chartered right to a monopoly of the Indian trade, yet by its wealth and influence it virtually controlled that trade through a long series of years. The outposts of the Company were scattered throughout the whole West and North-west. This island was the great central mart. The goods were brought to the Company's storehouses at this point from New York by way of the lakes, and from Quebec and Montreal by way of the Ottawa, Lake Nipissing, and French River, and from this point they were distributed to all the outposts; while from all the Indian countries the furs were annually brought down to the island by the Company's agents, whence they were sent to New York, Quebec, or the various markets of the Old World. The traders and their clerks who went into "the countries were employed by the Company at a salary of from four to six hundred dollars per year, but the engagés or boatmen who were engaged in Canada, generally for five years, received, besides a yearly supply of a

few coarse articles of clothing, less than one hundred dollars per annum. Generally, at the end of five years, the poor voyageurs were in debt from fifty to one hundred and fifty dollars, which they must pay before they could leave the country; and the trader often took advantage of this, even encouraging the men to get in debt, that they might avoid the necessity of introducing new and inexperienced men into the country. The men were fed mainly on soup made of hulled corn, or sometimes of peas, with barely tallow enough to season it, and without salt, unless they purchased it themselves at a high price. The goods were put up in bales or packs of about eighty pounds each, to be carried into the countries. Upon setting out, a certain number of these packs were assigned to each boatman, which he must carry upon his back across the portages, some of which were fifty miles over. They performed the journeys over these portages by short stages, or by carrying the packs but a short distance at a time, thus never permitting their goods to be separated. The route of travel to the head-waters of the Mississippi was by way of Lake Huron, St. Mary's River, Lake Superior, and such rivers as would take them nearest the particular points to which the various parties had been assigned. The valleys of the Mississippi and the Missouri were reached by way of Green Bay, Fox, and Wisconsin Rivers. The traders often occupied nearly the whole Summer in the trip from their trading-posts to Mackinac and back.

Mr. Astor's principal agent on this island was Ramsey Crooks, to whom, with others, he sold out in 1834; but the trade now lacked the energy and controlling influence which Mr. Astor had given it, and the Company soon became involved. 1848, the business was closed, and the property sold. In its best days, the business was one of mammoth proportions; but it exists now only in history.

Schoolcraft gives the following description of the state of society in 1820: "Society at Michilimackinac consists of so many diverse elements, which impart their hue to it, that it is not easy for a passing traveler to form any just estimate of it. The

Indian, with his plumes and gay and easy costume, always imparts an Oriental air to it. To this the Canadian-gay, thoughtless, ever bent on the present, and caring nothing for to-morrow— adds another phase. The trader, or interior clerk, who takes his outfit of goods to the Indians, and spends eleven months of the year in toil and want and petty traffic, appears to dissipate his means with a sailor-like improvidence in a few weeks, and then returns to his forest wanderings, and boiled corn, pork, and wild rice again supply his wants. There is, in these periodical resorts to the central quarters of the Fur Company, much to remind one of the old feudal manners, in which there is proud hospitality and a show of lordliness on the one side, and gay obsequiousness and cringing dependence on the other, at least till the annual bargains for the trade are closed."

The elements of the present population are much the same as during the palmy days of the fur-trade. Indians, primitive possessors of the "beautiful isle,” are still present, and constitute no inconsiderable portion of the inhabitants. Many of the old French and English voyageurs, who have spent the best part of their lives in the employ of the fur-trade, are also living upon the island. The population is mixed. English, French, and Indian blood frequently flows in the veins of the same family. Aside from the original population, there are several very excellent families, who have come to the place at a comparatively recent date.

The town itself is a perfect curiosity. It is situated at the foot of the bluff, upon the brow of which stands the fort, and extends for the distance of about a mile around the beach. It contains two churches, four good hotels, capable of accommodating from thirty to two hundred guests each, seven stores, and four or five groceries, about one hundred dwelling houses, a postoffice, court-house, and jail. Some of the buildings are of modern architecture, but others are antique in design and appearance. There are buildings yet standing, parts of which were brought from Old Mackinac when the town and fort were removed from that point, while several of the houses, some of which are yet