In 1721, P. De Charlevoix, the historian of New France, was commissioned by the French Government to make a tour of observation through the Canadas, and in addition to his topographical and historical account of New France, published a journal of his voyage through the Lakes. He was one of the most learned divines of his age, and although strongly tinctured with the doctrines of fatality, and disposed to view everything relative to the Indian tribes with the over-zealous eye of a Catholic missionary, yet his works bear the impress of a strong and well-cultivated mind, and abound in philosophical reflections, enlarged views, and accurate deductions; and, notwithstanding the lapse of a century, he must still be regarded as the most polished and illustrious traveller of the region. He first landed at Quebec in the spring of 1721, and immediately proceeded up the St. Lawrence to Fort Frontenac and Niagara, where he corrects the error into which those who preceded him had fallen, with respect to the height of the cataract. He proceeds through Lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan, descends the Illinois and Mississippi to New Orleans, then recently settled, and embarks for France. The period of his visit was that, when the Mississippi Scheme was in the height of experiment, and excited the liveliest interest in the French metropolis; people were then engaged, in Louisiana, in exploring every part of the country, under the delusive hope of finding rich mines of gold and silver; and the remarks he makes upon the probability of a failure, were shortly justified by the event. In 1760, Alexander Henry, Esq. visited the upper lakes, in the character of a trader, and devoted sixteen years to travelling over different parts of the north-western region of the Canadas and the United States. The result of his observations upon the topography, Indian tribes, and natural history of the country, was first published in 1809, and, as a volume of travels and adventures, is a valuable acquisition to our means of information. This work abounds in just and sensible reflections upon scenes, situations, and objects of the most interesting kind, and is written in a style of the most charming perspicuity and simplicity. He was the first English traveller of the region.