Devil's Rock

According to an 1879 account by a European trader using the pseudonym Sha-Ka-Nash, the cliffs were originally known as "Manidoo-Wabikong" (English: "Manitou rock") and were a sacred place where offerings of tobacco were made.

[3] Some sites in the region that were once named for the Manitou were renamed by missionaries to reference the Devil in an effort to Christianize Indigenous communities by framing their deities as evil spirits.

[7] Proceeds from the mines made Matt Murphy wealthy, and he invested some of his wealth into local sports venues including ice rinks.

[11] It has also been named as an "Area of Natural & Scientific Interest" by the Temiskaming Rift Valley Aspiring Geopark, which has proposed creating a geosite that encompasses Devil's Rock.

[7] The peak is accessed through two hiking trails, the shorter being a mostly-flat path which is 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) long and accessessible from a roadside entry point along Highway 567.

The longer trail extends 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) and is entered at the municipally-owned Bucke Park Campground, and features greater inclines than its counterpart which make it a more precarious hike in the winter.

[15] Despite a lack of official signage, Devil's Rock is one of the stops recommended by those travelling the Temiskaming Loop, one of the top ten motorcycle rides in North America.

Signs along the overlook's trails provide warnings when approaching the cliffs, and a large white cross is installed at the edge to remind visitors that the 300 feet (91 m) fall from the height of Devil's Rock is deadly.

[17] Prior to European colonization, the Anishinaabeg called the cliffs "Manidoo-Wabikong" (English: "Manitou rock") and treated the site as a sacred place where offerings of tobacco were made.

I never learned the real significance of the performance, but anyone who passed on the lake with a loaded canoe in front of those rocks will know that such practice was very advisable to court the favor of the water sprite.

Regular tremors around the lake disturbed voyageurs, and some came to believe that tapping sounds on the bottom of their boat were the fault of water sprites who had enlisted fish to follow their canoes.

[3] Appropriating practices learned from their Native forebears, the traders would leave offerings of tobacco at spots like Devil's Rock to ensure safe passage across the lake.

Leslie McFarlane, author of young adult mystery novels including (under the pen name Franklin W. Dixon) a number of early Hardy Boys books, derived inspiration from landmarks the Haileybury area.