The rivers which flow into the great lakes are, for the most part, small and unimportant. A permanent communication between their waters and those of the Mississippi might be formed by means of a short canal from the Fox or Chicago rivers, both of which empty into Lake Michigan. The _Fox_ river rises near the _Ouisconsin_ branch of the Mississippi, and afterwards flows within one and a half miles of its channel, separated from it only by a short portage over a prairie. During the season of high water, the intervening ground is overflowed, so that loaded boats may pass over it. _Saganaw River_ is a large and deep stream, with bold shores, and numerous tributaries, which water a large extent of very delightful and fertile country. The banks of this stream are inhabited by detached bands of Chippeway and Ottaway Indians, who have long derived an easy subsistence from the abundance of game and fish to be found in their neighborhood. The Saganaw empties into a fine bay of the same name, which is by far the largest of the numerous inlets which indent the very irregular shores of Lake Huron. The _Gennessee_ rises in Pennsylvania, and runs north across the west part of New York into Lake Ontario. Five miles from its mouth, at Rochester, are falls of ninety-six and seventy-five feet in descent; above these falls the stream is navigable for boats nearly seventy miles, where two other falls occur, of sixty and ninety feet, one of which is formed by the slope of land which extends from Lewiston on Niagara river. _Black River_ receives its name from the color of its water. It rises in the highlands, north of the Mohawk, and its branches interlock with those of the Hudson; it pursues a northerly course of one hundred and twenty miles, and falls into Lake Ontario, near its outlet. It is a deep but sluggish stream, and the navigation is interrupted by falls; a series of which, called the _Long Falls_, extend fourteen miles. The land upon this stream is generally a rich, dark colored mould. The _Oswegatchie_ consists of two branches, which unite four miles above their entrance into the St. Lawrence. The east branch is about one hundred and twenty miles long, and the west nearly one hundred; they are very crooked streams. The _Oswego_ issues from Oneida Lake, and runs north-westerly into Lake Ontario; it is about forty miles long and is a rapid stream; its navigation is assisted by locks and canals. The _Maumee_ rises in the north-eastern part of Indiana, and flows through the north-western part of Ohio into Lake Erie; it is broad and deep, but has an obstruction from shoals and rapids thirty-three miles above its mouth. The _Sandusky_ rises in the northern part of Ohio, and flows northerly into Lake Erie; it is one hundred miles in length, and is navigable. GENERAL REMARKS ON RIVERS.