American main shore and the said St. George's island, so as to appropriate the said island to his Britannic Majesty: and the American commissioner being of opinion that the line should be conducted from the beforementioned terminating point of the boundary under the 6th article, into and along the ship channel between St. Joseph's and St. Tammany's islands, to the division of the channel at or near the head of St. Joseph's island; (concurring thus far with the British commissioner;) thence, turning eastwardly and northwardly around the lower end of St. George's or Sugar island, and following the middle of the channel which divides St. George's island, first from St. Joseph's island, and afterwards from the main British shore, to the before mentioned point in the middle of St. Mary's river, about one mile above St. George's or Sugar island, so as to appropriate the said island to the United States."

From the point last named to a point near Agreement on Line Isle Royale, in Lake Superior, the commisfrom St. George's sioners agreed. They expressed their agreement thus:

Island to Isle Roy

ale.

"That, in the opinion of the commissioners, the following described line, which is more clearly indicated by a series of maps prepared by the surveyors, and now on the files of this board, by a line of black ink, shaded on the British side with red, and on the American side with blue, is, so far as the same extends, the true boundary intended by the treaties of 1783 and 1814; that is to say, beginning at a point in the middle of St. Mary's river, about one mile above the head of St. George's or Sugar island, and running thence, westerly, through the middle of said river, passing between the groups of islands and rocks which lie on the north side, and those which lie on the south side of the Sault de Ste. Marie, as exhibited on the maps; thence, through the middle of said river, between points Iroquois and Gros Cap, which are situated on the opposite main shores, at the head of the river St. Mary's, and at the entrance into Lake Superior; thence, in a straight line, through Lake Superior, passing a little to the south of isle Caribœuf, to a point in said lake, one hundred yards to the north and east of a small island named on the map Chapeau, and lying opposite and near to the northeastern point of isle Royale."

ale to Lac la Pluie

From the point last mentioned to another Disagreement as to point designated on the maps at the foot of Line from Isle Roy Chaudière Falls, in Lac la Pluie, situated between Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods, the commissioners again disagreed. The American commissioner declared that in his opinion the line between these two points ought

"to proceed from the said point in Lake Superior, and, passing

to the north of the island named on the map 'Paté,' and the small group of surrounding islands which he supposes to be the islands called Philipeaux in the treaty of 1783, in a direction to enter the mouth of the river Kamanistiquia, to the mouth of said river; thence, up the middle of the river, to the lake called Dog Lake, but which the American commissioner supposes to be the same water which is called in the treaty of 1783 Long Lake; thence, through the middle of Dog or Long Lake; and through the middle of the river marked on the maps Dog River, until it arrives at a tributary water which leads to Lac de l'Eau Froide; thence, through the middle of said tributary water, to its source in the highlands which divide the waters of lake Superior from those of Hudson's bay, near Lac de l'Eau Froide; thence across the height of land, and through the middle of the lakes and rivers known and described as the 'old road' of the French, to the river Savannah; and thence, through the middle of the Savannah, to Mille Lac; through the middle of Mille Lac, and its water communication with Lac Darade; through the middle of Lac Darade, and its water communication with Lac Winnebago; through the middle of Lac Winnebago, and its water communication with Sturgeon lake; through the middle of Sturgeon lake, and the Rivière Maligne, to Lac à la Croix; through the middle of Lac à la Croix, and its water communication with Lake Namecan, to Lake Namecan; thence, through the middle of Lake Namecan, and its water communication with Lac la Pluie, to the point in Lac la Pluie where the two routes assumed by the commissioners again unite, as represented on the maps."

The British commissioner expressed the opinion that the line ought, from the point of its commencement, to pass north of Chapeau Island and Isle Royale; thence west of Isle Royale through the middle of Lake Superior, and north of the islands called the Apostles, through the middle of the Fond du Lac, to the middle of the sortie or mouth of the estuary or lake of the St. Louis River; thence up the middle thereof and through various channels to the Grand Portage of about 11,915 yards on the north side of the river and its falls; thence by this portage, the middle of the river, the Portage des Couteaux, and the middle of the river again, to its junction with the Rivière des Embarras; thence by the middle of the latter river and various lakes and portages to the Portage of the Height of Land; thence by this portage, the Vermilion River, and certain portages, to the Great Vermilion Lake; thence by this lake, the Vermilion River again, and certain portages to Crane Lake; thence through the middle of that lake and of Sand Point Lake and its strait or river, into Lake Namecan; thence

by the middle of this lake and the river to the nearest channel to Lac la Pluie.

Agreement on Line from Lac la Pluie.

On the rest of the boundary under Article VII. from Lac la Pluie to the northwesternmost head of the Lake of the Woods, the commissioners agreed. They described the line thus:

"Beginning at a point in Lac la Pluie, close north of island marked No. 1, lying below the Chaudière falls of lake Namecan; thence, down this channel, between the islets marked No. 2 and No. 3; thence, down the middle of said channel, into Lac La Pluie, westward of island No. 4; thence, through the said lake, close to the south point of island No. 5; thence, through the middle of said lake, north of island No. 6, and south of island No. 7; thence through the middle of said lake, to the north of islet No. 8, and south of islands No. 9, No. 10, No. 11, and between islands No. 12 and No. 13; thence, south of islands No. 14 and No. 15; thence, through the middle of said lake, north of a group of islands, No. 16; thence, south of a group of rocks, No. 17; thence, south of a group of islets, No. 18; thence, north of an islet, No. 19; thence, through the middle of said lake, to the south of island No. 20, and all its contiguous islets; thence, south of island No. 21, and midway between islands No. 22 and No. 23; thence, southwest of island No. 24; thence, north of island No. 25; thence, through the middle of said lake, to its sortie, which is the head of the Rivière La Pluie; thence, down the middle of said river, to the Chaudière falls, and having a portage on each side; thence, down the middle of said falls and river, passing close south of islet No. 26; thence, down the middle of said Rivière la Pluie, and passing north of islands No. 27, No. 28, No. 29, and No.30; thence, down the middle of said river, passing west of island No. 31; thence, east of island No. 32; thence, down the middle of said river, and of the Manitou rapid, and passing south of No. 33; thence, down the middle of said river, and the Long Sault rapid, north of island No. 34, and south of islets No. 35, No. 36, and No. 37; thence, down the middle of said river, passing south of island No. 38; thence, down the middle of said river, to its entrance between the main land and Great Sand Island, into the Lake of the Woods; thence, by a direct line to a point in said lake, one hundred yards east of the most eastern point of island No. 1; thence, northwestward, passing south of islands No. 2 and No. 3; thence, northwestward of island No. 4, and southwestward of islands No. 5 and No. 6; thence, northward of island No. 7, and southward of islands No. 8, No. 9, No. 10, and No. 11; thence, through the middle of the waters of this bay, to the northwest extremity of the same, being the most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods. And from a monument erected in this bay, on the nearest firm ground to the above northwest extremity of said bay, the courses and

distances are as follows, viz: 1st. N., 56° W., 156.5 feet; 2d. N., 6° W., 861 feet; 3d. N., 28° W., 615.4 feet; 4th. N., 27° 10' W., 495.4 feet; 5th. N., 5° 10' E., 1,322 feet; 6th. N., 7° 45′ W., 493 feet; the variation being 12° east. The termination of this 6th or last course and distance, being the above said most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods, as designated by the 7th article of the treaty of Ghent; and being in the latitude forty-nine degrees twenty-three minutes and fifty-five seconds north of the equator; and in longitude, ninety-five degrees fourteen minutes and thirty-eight seconds west from the observatory at Greenwich."

Propositions of Compromise.

Having thus entered their points of agreement and disagreement, the commissioners caused to be entered in the journal certain propositions, made by each of them during their oral discussions, of lines different from those assumed in their preceding joint declaration. These propositions, which were declared to have been submitted by way of compromise, in the desire to avoid the delay and expense of a reference to a third party, were expressed in the journal thus:

"Mr. Porter (adhering inflexibly to his opinion that the boundary ought to be run through the channel which divides St. George's Island, in the River St. Mary's, from the British shore, so as to appropriate that island to The United States, inasmuch as the establishment of the line through the American channel, which is much the smallest branch of the river, would have the effect to throw the only navigable communica tion for lake vessels, exclusively within the territories of one of the parties, and thereby violate a principle, the strict observance of which is in his view more important to the interests of both Governments, than any other consideration connected with the fair adjustment of the boundary and from which he has never departed) proposed to his colleague that, in regard to their differences respecting the Boundary between Lake Superior and the Chaudière Falls in Lac la Pluie (St. George's Island being first appropriated to The United States), they should both relinquish the lines which they had respectively assumed, and adopt in lieu thereof the following route, namely:

"Beginning at the point in Lake Superior described as 100 yards distant from the island named Chapeau, near the northeast end of Ile Royale, and proceeding thence to the mouth of the Pigeon River, on the northwestern shore of the lake, enter and ascend the middle of that river, and leaving it at its junction with Arrow River, proceed to Lake Namecan and Lac la Pluie, by the most direct and most continuous water communication, as delineated on the reduced map on the files of this board to which reference was already made.

"The British Commissioner, on the other hand, still maintaining the claim of Great Britain to St. George's Island, and to the establishment of the line through the middle Neebish, and the Sugar Rapids, as before set forth, stated to his colleague the necessity of his adherence to the same, as he considered that the application of the same principles which under Article VI. of the Treaty of Ghent, appropriated Barnhart's Island in the St. Lawrence, and the Islands at the head of Lake St. Clair, lying between the boundary line as there settled, and the American main shore to The United States, would in this instance require St. George's Island to be allotted to great Britain.

"Mr. Barclay, however, impressed with the propriety not only of dividing the doubtful territory between the two Governments, but also of preserving the navigation free to both nations, proposed to stipulate with the American Commissioner, upon condition of his agreeing to fix the boundary in the Middle Neebish and Sugar Rapids, and to allot St. George's Island to Great Britain, that the Channel through the East Neebish and Lake George should remain free for the fair and lawful commerce of both nations, provided the Commissioner of The United States would guarantee the like with respect to the channel running on the south-east side of Barnhart's Island, and to that channel, through the islands of Lake St. Clair, which is contiguous to the American mainland, and which is commonly used because it is the easiest and safest. And as to the proposition of Mr. Porter to conduct the line 'from Lake Superior to the mouth of Pigeon River; thence through the middle of said river, proceeding to Lac la Pluie by the most direct and continuous water communication,' Mr. Barclay consented to adopt a route from Lake Superior, by the Grand Portage, to Pigeon River, and thence by the most easy and direct route to Lac la Pluie, provided the American Commissioner would consent that the boundary should be conducted from water to water, overland, through the middle of the old and accustomed portages, in those places where from falls, rapids, shallows, or any other obstruction, the navigation and access into the interior by water, are rendered impracticable."1

Closing Sessions of
Commissioners.

The matter just detailed, which the commissioners caused on the 23d of October 1826 to be entered in their journal, they transmitted to their governments, and on the 10th of November they adjourned till the 1st of March in the following year, in order that they might have an opportunity to receive instructions. Their meeting was postponed till October 22, 1827, when the

Br. and For. State Papers, LVII. 810-811.