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126 THOMPSON'S COAST PILOT, ten feet per second; a brisk gale twenty feet per second; a very brisk gale thirty feet per second ; a high wind fifty feet per second ; a very high wind seventy feet per second ; a storm or tempest eighty feet per second ; a great storm one hundred feet per second ; a hur- ricane one hundred and twenty feet per second ; a violent hurricane, that tears up trees, etc., one hundred and fifty feet per second. THE COMMERCE, RESOURCES AND ADVANTAGES OF OUR "INLAND SEAS." THE UPPER LAKES, This appellation applies to Lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior, including Green Bay, lying within the confines of the United States, and Georgian Bay, which lies entirely in Canada. These bodies of water embrace an area of about 75,000. square miles, and, as a whole, are deserving of the name of the ' Inland Seas,' being closely connected by straits or water courses, navigable for the largest class of steamers or sail vessels. 'The shores, al- though not elevated, are bold, and free from marsh or swampy lands, present one clean range of coast for about 3,000 miles. By a late decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, the Upper Lakes, including Lake Erie, with their connecting waters, were declared to be seas, commercially and legally. Congress, under this decision, is empowered to improve the harbors of the lakes and the connecting straits, precisely as it has power to do the same on the seaboard. 'This will probably lead to a vigorous policy in the maintenance of Iederal authority, both in improving the harbors, and making provision for the safety of commerce, and protection of life, as well as guarding against foreign invasion. 'The only fortifi- cation of importance that is garrisoned is Fort Mackinac, guarding the passage through the Straits of Mackinac. The islands of these lakes are numerous, particularly in the Straits of Mackinac, and in Georgian Bay, retaining the same bold and virgin appearance as the mainland; most of them are fertile and susceptible of high cultivation, although, as yet, but few are inhabi- ted to any considerable extent. |