They contain round archipelagoes of romantic isles, even as the Polynesian waters do; in large part, are shored by two great contrasting nations, as the Atlantic is; they furnish long maritime approaches to our numerous territorial colonies from the East, dotted all round their banks; here and there are frowned upon by batteries, and by the goat-like craggy guns of lofty Mackinaw; they have heard the fleet thunderings of naval victories; at intervals, they yield their beaches to wild barbarians, whose red painted faces flash from out their peltry wigwams; for leagues and leagues are flanked by ancient and unentered forests, where the gaunt pines stand like serried lines of kings in Gothic genealogies; those same woods harboring wild Afric beasts of prey, and silken creatures whose exported furs give robes to Tartar Emperors; they mirror the paved capitals of Buffalo and Cleveland, as well as Winnebago villages; they float alike the full - rigged merchant ship, the armed cruiser of the State, the steamer, and the beech canoe; they are swept by Borean and dismasting blasts as direful as any that lash the salted wave; they know what shipwrecks are, for out of sight of land, however inland, theyhave drowned full many a midnight ship with all its shrieking crew.
它们包括不少罗曼蒂克的大小群岛，如同玻利尼西亚海一样，大部地区又都是两岸住有两个显著不同的民族，象大西洋那样，他们从东部地方，设置了一些绵长的海口，通到我们那许多准州的地方，防波堤星棋罗布，到处都被排炮，被巍峨的马启诺海峡(马启诺海峡——东边是休伦湖，西边是密执安湖。海峡上有炮台，是十八世纪时英、法，十九世纪英、美在战争时互争的要地。)的山羊似的参差的大炮弄得愁眉不展。他们听到过海军舰队的雷鸣似的胜利，他们有时还把他们的浅滩放弃给未开化的野人，那些野人的红漆色的脸从他们那些毛皮小屋里闪出红光来，两边都有大片的古老的、人迹未到的森林，在那里，那些形状可怕的松树高矗得象峨特族的多如牛毛的帝王。那些树林里都潜伏有许多非洲野兽和有柔毛的动物，它们那些可供出口的皮毛都拿给鞑靼皇帝做龙袍去了，他们反映出布法罗和克利夫兰(克利夫兰——在伊利湖上的商港。)的光滑的首邑和文尼伯哥湖(文尼伯哥湖——在美国威斯康星州。)上的村庄的生活。他们跟装备齐全的商船，跟国家的全副武装的巡洋舰，跟大轮船，跟浅滩的独木舟同样地游来泛去。他们被朔风(原文Borean，即Boreas，希腊神话中的北风之神。)扫荡得桅断船破，好象遭到盐潮的冲击那样的可怕，他们也懂得船只失事的滋味，因为不管是在看不见陆地的地方，还是在内陆，他们都在半夜里不知经历过多少次连人带船覆没的惨祸。