Historic Diaries: James Doty, 1820
June 3, 1820: Toward Michigan's Northern Shore
Editor's Note:
Schoolcraft recorded that "the distance from the river aux Sablés to Thunder Bay, is forty miles, reckoning to the island,-- thence to Flat Rock Point, called by the Chippeways, Sho-she-ko-naw-be-ko-king, eight miles. These form the extreme points of our journey during this day."
He then speculated on the origin of the name, "Thunder Bay":
"What has been so often reiterated, as to the highly electrified state of the atmosphere at this Bay, seems to have no foundation in truth. There is nothing in the appearance of the surrounding country,-- in the proximity of mountains,-- or the currents of the atmosphere, to justify a belief that the air contains a surcharge of the electric fluid. In no place does the coast attain a sufficient altitude to allow us to suppose that it can exert any sensible influence upon the clouds, nor is it known that any mineral exhalations are given out in this vicinity, as has been suggested, capable of conducing towards a state of electrical irritability in the atmosphere. From the northwest cape of Saganaw Bay, to the vicinity of Flat-Rock-Point, we find the shore of the lake an alluvial bank, edged with a beach of sand, with masses of primary and floetzose rocks, sparingly scattered along the shore, or projecting above the water. In no instance do the rock strata jut out along the shore, until we reach Thunder Bay, and here they are not elevated more than two or three feet above the level of the water, but generally very much shattered by the violence of the storms, so as rather to present a bed of rubbish, than a ledge of rock."
Location: east of modern Long Lake, Mich.
View Doty's handwritten manuscript of this page
View page in the 1895 printed edition
Early this morning we embarked, steering a N. course to Tamerack point, distance 4 miles, thence N. to a point 3 miles. From this to Rush point (Puck-wi-e-con-ing) course N. distance 9 miles the land is high — apparently mountainous. In the middle of the bay on the shore is seen a large black rock, one of the Indian stopping places. On this point there were several Indian lodges. At a considerable distance off, and on each side of the point, the water is very shoal, bottom rocky, shore sandy. To Island point our course was N. 10 W. 8 miles distant. For the first 4 miles of this course the land continues high, after which the country becomes flat & swampy. The point receives its name from a small Island which lies near it…
From Thunder Bay point on the N. side to the point at Little Sturgeon Bay is 2 miles. Off here lie what are called the Thunder Bay Islands. This Bay is about 5 miles long and 3 deep. It contains 2 Islands, 1 about 2 miles long and 1 broad, the other small. The course from pt. to pt. is N. 20 W., which line also touches the outer edge of the large Islands. The N. point has the appearance of an island — it is nearly a peninsula… Continuing the same course we made another point in … [gap in original] miles, on which we encamped.
This point is a bed of limestone, with so light a soil that there is scarcely any vegetation. Cedar is the only timber. Many beautiful and intelligible specimens of marine remains were on the shore and in the rocks. The stone is of a dark color, and that lying in the water is very soft & rotten.
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