[Illustration: The Fountain of the Great Lakes Lorado Taft, Sculptor] The Great Lakes The Vessels That Plough Them: Their Owners, Their Sailors, and Their Cargoes Together with A Brief History of Our Inland Seas By James Oliver Curwood _With 72 Illustrations and a Map_ G. P. Putnam’s Sons New York and London The Knickerbocker Press 1909 COPYRIGHT, 1909 BY JAMES OLIVER CURWOOD The Knickerbocker Press, New York TO HIS FATHER AND MOTHER WHOSE ENCOURAGEMENT AND FAITH IN HIM HAVE BEEN UNFAILING, THE AUTHOR AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATES THIS BOOK Preface In this volume, it has been my object to tell of the people and of the picturesque life of the Great Lakes, and to set before my readers actual facts about the cities, the commerce, and the future of the greatest fresh-water seas in the world. For some unaccountable reason, the Great Lakes, notwithstanding the fact that more than thirty million people live in the States bordering their shores, and in spite of the still more remarkable fact that they are doing more than anything else on the American continent for the commercial progress of the nation, have been almost entirely neglected by writers. To-day there are but few people who know that one of the three greatest ports and the largest fleet of freighters in the world are on these unsalted waters; and I mention the fact in this particular place simply to bring home to the casual reader how little is known by the public at large about our Inland Seas. For this reason, I have not dealt with any single side of Lake life, but have attempted to present as many phases of it as I could; and, for the same reason, I have added a brief historical account of the Lakes at the end of the book. It has been my desire, too, that these pages, from the beginning, should prove of especial value to those many thousands all over the world who are, or may in the future be, directly interested in the Lakes in a business way; and a great deal of attention has, therefore, been given to the commercial side of my subject--statistics and facts regarding Lake commerce, the opportunities of the present day, and a forecast of what the coming years hold in store for the men who have investments, or who plan to invest in business enterprises, on or about the Great Lakes.