We drove rapidly along the shore of Lake Erie, toward the southwest.
This inland sea of water is on the northern boundary of the United
States, lying between Canada on one side and the States of Ohio,
Pennsylvania and New York on the other. If I stop to mention the
geographical position of this lake, its depth, its extent, and the
waters nearest around, it is because the knowledge is necessary for
the understanding of the events which were about to happen.

The surface of Lake Erie covers about ten thousand square miles. It
is nearly six hundred feet above sea level. It is joined on the
northwest, by means of the Detroit River, with the still greater
lakes to the westward, and receives their waters. It has also rivers
of its own though of less importance, such as the Rocky, the
Cuyahoga, and the Black. The lake empties at its northeastern end
into Lake Ontario by means of Niagara River and its celebrated falls.

The greatest known depth of Lake Erie is over one hundred and thirty
feet. Hence it will be seen that the mass of its waters is
considerable. In short, this is a region of most magnificent lakes.
The land, though not situated far northward, is exposed to the full
sweep of the Arctic cold. The region to the northward is low, and the
winds of winter rush down with extreme violence. Hence Lake Erie is
sometimes frozen over from shore to shore.

The principal cities on the borders of this great lake are Buffalo at
the east, which belongs to New York State, and Toledo in Ohio, at the
west, with Cleveland and Sandusky, both Ohio cities, at the south.
Smaller towns and villages are numerous along the shore. The traffic
is naturally large, its annual value being estimated at considerably
over two million dollars.