Meantime, we passed a quiet night in our tents, where the deep sound of the Falls fell on the wakeful ear, interspersed with the distant monotonous thump of the Indian täwäegon. It required but little observation, in the morning, to explore the village of St. Mary's. It consisted of some fifteen or twenty buildings of all sorts, occupied by descendants of the original French settlers, all of whom drew their living from the fur trade. The principal buildings and outhouses were those of Mr. John Johnston, and the group formerly occupied by the Northwest Company. Most of the French habitations stood in the midst of picketed lots. There were about forty or fifty lodges, or two hundred Chippewas, fifty or sixty of whom were warriors. But, although this place was originally occupied as a missionary centre, by the Roman Catholic missionaries of New France, about the middle of the seventeenth century, no trace of the ancient church could be seen, unless it was in an old consecrated graveyard, which has continued to be used for interments. Mr. Johnston, the principal inhabitant, is a native of the County of Antrim, Ireland, where his connections are persons of rank. He is a polite, intelligent, and well-bred man, from a manifestly refined circle; who, soon after the close of the American Revolution, settled here, and married the daughter of a distinguished Indian chief.[38] Although now absent on a visit to Europe, his family received us with marked urbanity and hospitality, and invited the gentlemen composing the travelling family of Governor Cass to take all our meals with them. Everything at this mansion was done with ceremonious attention to the highest rules of English social life; Miss Jane, the eldest daughter, who had received her education in Ireland, presiding.