Historic Diaries: James Doty, 1820
June 22, 1820: Munising to Marquette and Beyond
Editor's Note:
By cutting from point to point in the deep water, rather than hugging the shore, the expedition made excellent progress this day. Schoolcraft notes that one such span between peninsulas reduced the distance from 51 miles to 18. It was a risky strategy, however, since storms and high waves could spring up unexpectedly while they were miles offshore.
The place at which they camped this night was roughly halfway between Sault St. Marie and the Wisconsin/Michigan border.
Location: the vicinity of Hogback and Sugar Loaf mountains, Mich.
View Doty's handwritten manuscript of this page
View page in the 1895 printed edition
We rose and embarked early steering south 75 W. 4 miles to a point, off which lay a small Island near Grand Island… We then turned into a deep bay steering S. 70 W. to its bottom. The course across to the next point was N. 65 W. from which to the Island above Presque Isle the course is N. 50 W… We put into next bay and landed in the mouth of Laughing Fish river and dined, six miles from Train Island.
We steered directly from this to Presque Isle [modern Marquette, Mich.], leaving the shore 12 or 14 miles. The Chocolate river is 15 miles from the Laughing fish river, and 6 miles farther is the River of the Dead, a little below Presque Isle…
We passed around the islands of the Isle 9 miles and encamped on another peninsula. All the land we passed this day appeared good and well timbered. The land around these peninsulas is very high and mountainous. The red sand stone appears to predominate. Large, confused masses of granite is interspersed with hornblend, of which all the high peaks of the mountains appear to be composed. They are thrown up in a very singular manner, and one can scarcely believe they were so raised except by some volcanic eruption. Some of them are upwards of 400 feet high. A stream of good size came in where we were encamped.
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