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| A GENERAL HISTORY

that name being oppofite to the junétion of the road from the Mountain
Lake. They then embark on the Rofe Lake, about one mile from the
Eaft end of it, and fteer Weft by South, in an oblique courfe, acrofs it
two miles; then Weft-North-Weft pafling the Petite Perche to the Mar-
ten Portage three miles. In this part of the lake the bottom is mud and
flime, with about three or four feet of water over it; and here I fre-
quently ftruck a canoe pole of twelve fett long, without meeting any other
obftru&ion than if the whole were water: it has, however, a peculiar fuc-
tion or attractive power, fo that it is difficult to paddle a canoe over it.
There is a {mall fpace along the South fhore, where the water is deep,
and this effeét is not felt. In proportion to the diftance from this part,
the fu€tion becomes more powerful: I have, indeed been told that
loaded canoes have been in danger of being fwallowed up, and have only
owed their prefervation to other canoes, which were lighter. I have,
myfelf, found it very difficult to get away from this attractive power, with
fix men, and great exertion, though they did not appear to be in any

danger of finking.

Over againft this 1s a very high, rocky ridge, on the South fide, called
Marten Portage, which is but twenty paces long, and feparated from the
Perche Portage, which is four hundred and eighty paces, by a mud-pond,
covered with white lillies. From hence the courfe is on the lake of the
fame name, Welt-South-Weft three miles to the height of land, where
the waters of the Dove or Pigeon River terminate, and which is one of the
fources of the great St. Laurence in this direttion, Having carried
the canoe and lading over it, fix hundred and feventy-nine paces, they

: embark