the laws being vindicated and an example being made, the matter, from
motives, no doubt, of public safety, was allowed to drop, and for the
future the red men had it all their own way, although there were
certainly signs of amendment, and the evil decreased to a very great
extent. The Indian maxim being, "Firm in friendship but ruthless in
war," there is little doubt that the course pursued on this occasion by
the city authorities, was the best under such circumstances.

Lake Erie is a fine piece of water, being 265 miles long, from Buffalo
to Detroit, the two extreme ends, and averaging about 60 miles broad. At
its north-east end it communicates with Lake Ontario and the Canadian
shores, by the gut or strait of Niagara. Towards the west end are
numerous islands and banks, which are furnished with light-houses for
the guidance of the mariner. Its waters wash the foot of Maine-street
(Buffalo) where they meet the river from which that city takes its name.
It is frequently visited by furious gales, which play havoc with the
steamers, many of which are annually wrecked.

While I remained in Buffalo, I took several excursions to the towns that
skirt this beautiful inland sea. On one of these occasions, the steamer
was driven by stress of weather to take shelter in the small harbour of
Huron, some distance up the lake; this we reached with much difficulty,
the violence of the sea threatening every moment the total destruction
of the vessel. As we entered the harbour, the air rang with a shout of
welcome from the inhabitants of the place, who had been watching our
perilous progress in great anxiety, and were assembled at the end of the
little pier. Here we remained for two days and nights, the wind blowing
all that time with the fury of a hurricane; the lake, during the storm,
presenting the appearance of the sea in a stiff north-wester, the
white-crested waves rising in violent commotion to a fearful height.