Sault Sainte Marie

soo sant ma'ri, the Falls of the St. Mary. The name is French. Sault is the same word we have in somer-sault, meaning leap. It has no possible connection with Sioux, and should of right be pronounced "so," not "soo." The falls in question are in the Ste. Marie River between Lakes Superior and Huron. The difference between the levels of the two lakes is about twenty feet. A town of the name has grown up on the Canadian shore and another on the American, with a combined population of 20,000. The Canadian Pacific Railway here connects with the Duluth-South Shore and with the "Soo" Railway. To permit the passage of ships, the state of Michigan constructed a canal as early as 1853-5. The work was subsequently taken over by the United States government and modified, with the result that in 1896 a larger canal was opened for traffic. It is 1.6 miles long, 160 feet wide, and 25 feet deep. There is a single lock 800 feet long, 100 feet wide, and 22 feet deep. A canal on the Canadian side was opened in 1895. It is a trifle shorter, is one-half wider, and has about the same depth. It is served likewise by a single large lock. Both canals are closed by ice in midwinter. The open season is about 250 days.

An enormous amount of freight passes through the canals. Over 30,000,000 tons of iron ore from the Superior region passed down the Ste. Marie in 1905. Wheat, flour, copper, and lumber bring up the southbound tonnage to an astonishing figure. Coal, salt, nails, sugar, and other heavy freights are carried on the return voyages. The number of vessels passing through the canal is not far from 25,000 a year. The gross tonnage surpasses that of the Suez Canal. The official report of tonnage for 1905 is as follows:

In 1909 the total freight, including 99,029,798 bushels of wheat, was upward of 57,000,000 tons. Vessels to the number of 18,712 passed through the locks. See Canal