The pleasant weather continued, and most of them spent the greater part of the following day upon the deck.
"We will reach Detroit early this evening, I suppose, Brother Levis?" said Rosie, in a tone of enquiry.
"Should nothing happen to prevent," was the pleasant-toned reply. "And now I wonder if my pupils can tell us most of the history of that city?"
"Beginning with the war of 1812, I suppose, as we have already gone over the story of the doings of Pontiac?"
"Yes; but first I shall give you a few facts concerning its settlement, growth, and so forth:
"It is by far the oldest city in the western part of our country, and older than either Philadelphia or Baltimore on the seaboard. It was founded by the French in 1670, as an outpost for the prosecution of the fur-trade; and as late as 1840 it still had less than 10,000 inhabitants. It is on the west side of Detroit River, about 7 miles from Lake St. Clair and 18 from Lake Erie. Can you tell me the meaning of the name Detroit, Elsie, daughter?"
"No, papa, you never taught me that," replied the little girl.
"It is the French for strait," he said. "The strait or river connecting Lakes St. Clair and Erie gave the name to the city."
"At the time we are talking of—when General Hull was marching toward the place—Detroit had only 160 houses and a population of about 800, most of them of French descent. It was a very small place considering its age, for it was a trading-post as early as 1620, and established as a settlement as early as 1701, when a Jesuit missionary came there with one hundred men. So it was a very old town though so small; but seven years before there had been a fire that destroyed all the houses but one."